Pretty Pretty Pain Cave

I started a Six Week Shred that Dan suggested I do.

nnnnnnngngngngnggnnnggggggggggg

It is designed as a six days for six weeks lifting routine where you do 8-10 exercises a day for 10x10 @ 50% of 10/15RM (50% of the maximum weight I can lift ten or fifteen times) or three sets of 10/15RM.  I really like it, except for the part where I need to do 100 reps of a single exercise and it takes FOR FUCKING EVER.  I'm five days in (sporadically since 9/25) and doing as much as I can for 1.5 hours.  

Finding my max weights has been a trial, since I haven't lifted regularly since I can't remember when.  But now that I'm starting to repeat exercises, I'm doing much better.

Today I squatted 115 (10 10 10) 95 (10 10) and did a hundred fucking calf raises at 130 lbs because fuck you that's why.  My calves are freaks.

So far, these are the maxes I've found:

- Bench press 65x12

- Incline dumbbell press 20x11

- Cable crossover 15x14

- Lat pull down 55x26

- Bent over barbell row 75x9.5

- Straight arm pull down 30x18

- Deadlift 155x11

- Squat 185x1 136x6

- Leg press 180x20

- Leg curl 90x18

- Leg extension 110x15

- Calf raises 130x15

- Seated calf raises 90x45

- Overhead press 25x7

- Lat raises 7.5x11.5

- Bent over delt raise 7.5x15

- Shrugs 27.5x23

- Bicep curl 12.5x20

- Incline curl 15x3

- Incline flyes 7.5x15

- One arm rows 15x20

- Reverse crunches 10

- Lunges 27.5x3 fuck lunges

- Romanian deadlifts 95x5 grip won't hold

- Tricep pulldown 25x10

- Overhead tricep extension 15x15

ROOOOOOOOMAN

There's been a lot of impromptu SCA sewing since this summer, and I have forgotten to document all of it >.>

This week was Aethelmeark Coronation, for which we wanted to dress in Roman in support of Anna Leigh's ascent.  I found three yards of purple linen in my stash and some sari trim Dani had given me and put them together into an under dress. I also used a sari from my stash to wear as an over dress (toga) with veil.  Even when I'm "quickly throwing something together out of my stash", I still take 8 hours to meticulously hand sew the trim on.

I also found myself as part of the slave labor crash team putting together Sven and Sioban's step-down clothes. 12 more hours of meticulously sewing on bias tape and trim!  Other people did the embroidery and tablet weaving and construction, and it was GORGEOUS. And that wooooool...

And the last thing I haven't documented is the doublet I made this summer to wear under my armor.  I loved it so much that I also made pants to wear with it (and, of course, a codpiece).  I wore them as a set once at the beginning of Pennsic, then strapped my arms onto the doublet and haven't pulled it out since -_-  The pants have been getting some regular wear though, so I want to make another doublet that is better fit now that I understand the pattern.  I've also been commissioned by Gary to make a Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez outfit once the linen comes in.

Best thing about this weekend was freaking out people with my dick cheese.  It was beyond amazing.

Pepper and Peach Jam

What do you do with a BA in English?  No clue, I don't have one of those.  But I did have a dozen peaches in the freezer that I bought a couple of months ago for a couple of bucks from the clearance rack!  Add that to my friend Sean's Big Bag o' Peppers and a curiosity to try something new and now I have a baker's dozen little jars of jam!

BASE RECIPE FROM PECTIN BOX:

Use EXACT measurements for proper jelling.

4.5 cups finely chopped peaches

3 cups sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 box Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin For Less or No Sugar Recipes

- Heat up peaches and lemon with 1/4 C sugar and packet of pectin and bring to a rolling boil.

- Add remaining sugar and bring to a rolling boil again.

- Boil for EXACTLY ONE MINUTE, pull off heat.

- Pour into jars, clean off lips, and can as usual.

ACTUAL RECIPE

4 cups finely chopped peaches
0.5 cups chopped peppers
2 clementines, zested and juiced
3 cups sugar

1 box Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin For Less or No Sugar Recipes

1 cup water

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- Heat up peaches, peppers, and clementines with 1/4 C sugar and packet of pectin and bring ot a rolling boil.

- Add water, vinegar, and remaining sugar and bring to a rolling boil again.

- Boil for EXACTLY ONE MINUTE, pull off heat.

- Panic while you try to get the jars open and you pour molten jam into your hand.

- Clean lips and close and cross fingers that enough of a vacuum is produced.

  

We got 12 of the 4oz jars and had probably another 5oz leftover that I mixed with equal parts of the leftover pulp from the krupnik.  Which I just realized I haven't posted about yet >.> But yeah.  These peppers were pretty spicey and we maced ourselves every time we tried to wash anything with hot water.  But the recipe is jelling quite nicely and I am very excited to make more ^_^

Happy 2 Year Housiversary!

In true form, I have been over committing myself all year to do a bunch of stuff I barely had time to do, including derby, SCA, the house, and maybe even my job.  Over Winter Break, we tore down the wall between the middle room and the upstairs hall and put up drywall and five power outlets and painted it Shark Fin and Dark Currant. We also installed the same floor as in the back room, and it has been quite pleasant as Dave's office.  And, because why not, we found live knob and tube in the floorboards that ran the fans downstairs.

We spent New Years with friends, only to come home to a frozen water meter.  This prompted the next project: replumbing the house.  Over Spring Break we bought a new water heater and Dave replumbed everything with PEX.  It is quite nice to have an all inclusive manifold that can turn off every individual output in the house.

Over the summer, I am supposed to rewrite the book for EMCH 316.  Hopefully I can also finish off the hall-side of that wall >.> and the rest of the flooring upstairs.  The only things that will be missing then will be putting in useful shelves in the bathroom and a couple of lights that were disconnected from the knob-and-tube.

Oh! I'm supposed to be getting a new roof in four weeks, if the contractor gets his shit together.