Couch 250: An August Couch

Couch Workout Club day 39

Went into town at the weekend - yuck.
Got 4200 steps in.

Great job.

I’m going to a flea market and to the outlet mall today. We are having beautiful weather today so I must enjoy it before it gets hot again later this week. I don’t have anything to count my steps but I’m sure I’ll get my steps in for sure.

I’ve been back home in London for the past 5 days. I haven’t been home for over 600 days. My mother is a hoarder. Not the minor jokey kind, It got worse with my siblings leaving for university and bringing back their stuff. I could barely even get into one room, as it was so filled with junk and carrier bags. It’s not fully done. I cleared out one room, you can now walk into the second.

My mother only pulled a few items out of the carrier bag. My old coat that doesn’t zip up, but that she could send overseas for a distant relative to use as they could fix it. An old bed sheet protector . Awful I know but I also started discarding things without showing her first because I know she would make excuses and try to keep it.

I’ve donated books that have been in the cupboard for over 15 years. I’ve donated extra food at a food bank that’s still in date. I physically had to carry it, but split it up into three bags as it was so heavy.

All I’ve literally been doing, since I came back is just cleaning and decluttering. My mother has told me to rest, but I won’t be here long term, so need to get it done.

There’s still two other rooms left. I felt so overwhelmed, but started chipping away at it bit by bit by putting on my favourite musical playlists and an audiobook I listen to on repeat .

I got hurt from when I got a long cut on my foot. My fault as I wasn’t wearing shoes in the room, and got scraped by a broken clothes drying rack.

I feel so resentful towards my two younger siblings who still live at home who have barely been helping at all and also allowed things to get so bad. One is on break from university until October. The other does work 10 hour shifts, but doesn’t work every single day. The age gaps between us is 11 and 9 years.

I also booked an experience for them too. It was supposed to start at 1pm. They didn’t leave with enough time so missed it. It cost £150. The youngest is 21. I woke her up at 9am. She knew she had to go. She paid me back, but I’m still annoyed and so done with both of them. The only thing that was different this time round is that I didn’t nag, and let them sort it out themselves.

Apart from one ikea trip, I haven’t done anything for myself since I got here. I’m just going to head out by myself more.

On the plus side, I found photographs I’ve never seen before of my brother and me as kids. .

my brother was going through a box of old photos he'd gotten from our mom last time he visited, he found some negatives that he had digitized or whatever and some of them were from one of the summers I worked at the north rim of the grand canyon. Here is yours truly, posing on the railing of one of the cabins that I cleaned, in the summer of 1986!! I was what, 24? we'll see how long i can stand to leave the picture up haha. Wish I was still that skinny.

Back when we still had a regular UPA.

I didn’t see the photo. I left to watch the horror movie talk to me.

Moral of that movie, be careful picking your friends and do not under any circumstances willingly invite spirits into your body.

Oh, sorry I missed the photo, too, Artie! Was at a concert (and then trying to get out of the parking garage and taking a very long time to actually get on the highway from the concert).

The experience thing above was a photoshoot in the park. I know I have pushed this since ‘22 because I don’t actually have a lot of photographs of myself as a child. I wanted nice photos of my family too so hired someone.

I asked my father why there were hardly any of my brother and his reply was that “: I wasn’t interested”.

The photographs we do have are mainly from my aunt. I would still say there’s under 35 of me as a child.

Maybe I should stop pushing the photoshoots on my sister. I have paid for 6 sessions previously. I do think she’s still too young to understand the value of them now. I did them because I wanted to help improve her self image of herself.

I’m currently 32 and nostalgic for a rose tinted time I barely even remember. Not taking enough photos with those you love is a common regret on Reddit. Especially if that person passes away suddenly.

Couch Workout Club day 40

I cannot believe this...

I did three sets of seated core workout exercises.

Impressive! Is that a 40-day streak?

I had a workout dancing at a concert last night--Garmin says I did 13,000 steps total for the day, which is quite high for me!

I am now taking my old dogs on 3 slow shorter walks a day but it is adding up to more walking. And my walking/sports buddies are back from summer vacations so I usually add in another fast and long walk or bike ride or pickleball time each day. I do have to be careful about combining biking and pickle balling and walking in a day because my knees are not as forgiving as they used to be.

It is!

Now we're being audited by the irs. This has been the worst year of my life.

I'm so sorry, Scarlet...Hugs to you. I hope everything works out OK with the audit.

I am in southern Greece. It's hot and then it's hot and then it's hell hot which is the reading on the thermometer here.

Couch Workout Club day 41

Two rounds of my seated boxing workout, to move some of the energy hanging around after therapy.

I'm so sorry, Scarlet. I hope everything goes okay with that.

We got audited I think it was in 2020. It was stressful for me, h took it in stride like he does everything. In the end it took a good while for us to get the letter from the IRS saying all was resolved, but it all worked out fine. we just had to provide them with h's detailed mileage logs that he keeps, and all of his settlements showing proof of each of the jobs he did (he's self employed as a courier). Thankfully he keeps good records.

I made what turned out to be a pretty tasty concoction for dinner. Tossed some cut up chicken breast, a couple cans of green beans, a can of chicken tortilla soup, half a jar of fire-roasted black bean salsa, and some leftover pasta in the crock pot and let it cook on high for 2.5 hours. I was tired of eating protein bars for dinner and decided to actually cook something for once. I doubt h will eat it, so I have dinner for the next few nights in the fridge now.

A week from tomorrow I'll be at my sister's house for almost 6 days! Yay!

Thanks Artie and LT. It's the tax preparer's fault for figuring out credits, and our fault for allowing him to do it. The only good news is we bought insurance from H&R Block, so they have the legally help us.