It is designated circle swim and I cannot flip turn and I am not sure I swim straight. I have not swum in probably 5 years, I know I have not even put on a swimsuit in 3 until today. I do not like the body I currently have, but I pushed through it.

Walking in water is a good workout, msbelle. Way to go. Last time I was faced with having to split a lane I just bailed on the swim entirely, I'm afraid.

This is the problem. Washing pots in a sink that's 5 inches lower than my elbows makes me bend over by about 30 degrees and it's murder on my back.

I have this same problem doing dishes. Kills my back bending over the sink for a half hour.

You got in the water, that's what counts. I know you're unhappy where you're at. I hope this and everything comes together to make you feel more home with yourself.

No one prefers a circle over split, that's just evil policy. And for the record, I don't flip turn. Never felt natural doing them.

I'm short, and trying to cut hard vegetables or big blocks of cheese, or well, pretty much anything on standard height counters is an exercize in elbows and earlobes. There's a rolltop desk in the alcove just outside the kitchen. I use that a lot for cutting. What I want is a table at the right height for me, that I can cut and chop on, and roll out dough, and all those things I used to do in my short kitchen.

Someone gave us a NY strip steak. Never cooked that cut before so checked on the interbunny. Mostly followed instructions to pan sear at high temperature. One thing I ignored were admonitions to season with salt and pepper only. The idea of steak without garlic just does not sit right with me, so I used plenty of garlic in addition to salt and pepper, and (in our opinions) the steak was good.

Okay, I have destroyed the dust bunny colony living under my bed, went through multiple Swiffer sheets, and emptied the Dustbuster three times. After I fold laundry, it's time for wine and Frozen. So my nieces will stop looking at me like I'm an alien when I tell them I haven't seen it yet.

So my nieces will stop looking at me like I'm an alien when I tell them I haven't seen it yet.

I just saw it a couple of weeks ago (on vacation with 3 small children; we watched the Lego movie the night before Frozen, and the rest of the week I had a mash-up of "Everything is Awesome" and "Let it Go" stuck in my head).

I have drunk more alcohol this weekend than in a very long time. Goodness. Met up with friends for dimsum brunch. Met up with an acquaintance from Texas who is visiting with her family, had a drink with her. Another friend came over to chill on the patio and brought some cider. Made two batches of blueberry muffins (with the blueberries I'd picked on Saturday), was dissatisfied with both of them. Grump. Not at all what I wanted. Not sure if I was how I made them or my ingredients or the recipes or what. But so that I can feel like I accomplished something, I screwed a new bottle opener to my porch and hung up a painting I bought last week, and am about to pay some bills online.

Haven't seen the Lego Movie or Frozen. Yet.

Garlic is never a bad addition to steak in my book, TB.

I have the table my dad gave my mom for their first anniversary (he got it second hand and stripped, sanded, and stained it at a friend's house on evenings he told her he was playing poker) and it's the right height for me. Unfortunately, being a horizontal surface in my general vicinity, it tends to get covered in stuff. But it is my favored work surface height-wise.

Put in another half hour on the weeds. I think I got almost all of the tall prickly ones. I still have the giant bunch of non-decorative bunchgrass to dig up, and then mostly I can just mow the lawn I think. The salsify is done blooming, cutting it is probably fine.