Chin-up bar

I was shocked when I was 25 and I found myself on monkey bars and I couldn't even pretend to hold up my own weight. This weekend my boyfriend installed my chin-up bar for me. I'm sort of remotely pretend in shape at the moment. Which both means I can hold myself up for 1-2 second, but I'm also mentally prepared to not do it for longer than that. He got it up and told me to put my weight on it to make sure it would hold. I did my two seconds and every muscle between my finger tips and my lower back said, "Wow, ow, ok good she's stopping." It was the best 2 second workout ever. I get major tinglies every time I pass under it now. I can't wait to do it again.

Last week I had another minor milestone. I did 6 squats with a weighted bar, held behind my neck just like the professionals. I've been doing the remedial stretching and strengthening to be able to do squats with no weights, putting my hands wherever just for balance. Of course, every day I go to work at a desk for 8 hours and largely undo the stretching I did, but eventually the work will accumulate. It already is, slowly.

No Stale Nuts

I was doing six things at once in the kitchen and accidentally found out that raw nuts can be roasted in the microwave.

The main trick seems to be to cook them for a minute or two, stir them, let them sit a couple of minutes, then repeat. When I try to do all the cooking at once, some of them burn and some of them don't cook at all. It's like the heat distributes while they sit.

I haven't done too much experimenting, but I have noticed that sunflower seeds are done when they turn brown (even though they smell done before they turn brown.) Alternately almonds are done when they smell done (even though they haven't turned brown yet.) They turn brown after cooling for a few minutes.

Dad Feet

I look at feet when people wear sandals. Some are pink and smooth and moisturized, some are white and crusty with dead skin, cracked skin and callouses. My feet always looked fine so I never touched them, but then somebody gave me some foot exfoliation lotion and I loved it. My feet felt better, and I didn't even know they hurt.

I had callouses around some of my toenails that kind of hurt. I went to my dad's house to ask him to take them off with a razor blade. This makes doctors cringe but it works so well if you're careful. My dad took them off like a pro, complete with extra task lighting and magnifying glasses. Then he showed me his "ugly toenail." It was just slightly dented in an accident a long time ago. But OMG. His feet are beautiful. Pink and smooth and moisturized. He scrubs them with a soapy wash cloth everyday. It was a surprising point of refinement in a man so little concerned with appearances. And a seeming impossibility for someone with such feet endangering pasttimes - gardening barefoot, running, hiking & logging trees, and losing control of heavy sharp objects wielded during home improvement projects.