Tuesday, March 10, 2026
After putting off several errands last week (mostly due to inclement weather), I had to take care of several issues, yesterday, Monday, March 9, 2026.
It was 70° and sunny and still I chose black lined wool slacks and a
jacket. I was comfortable even though it was warmer.
Below a short video of the outfit I wore.
I have been busy with business, financial, and technology issues, as well as trying to get a handle on the yard work.
And then there are the 10,000 steps per day...
I am not sure if that is why I was so tired yesterday morning as I was trying to get ready to go out or the fact I was up at 4:00 am working out. I went to bed around 10 the night before.
I rarely take medications, an Advil if I feel I am catching a cold, however nothing else. I have no active medical prescriptions (other than for my glasses and contacts), however, feel- I probably need to supplement my diet with vitamins since I seem to be skipping meals and exercising more than usual.
My glucose numbers are normally between 60 to 70 when I check. I have always burned sugar quickly and in college my doctor recommended I take B12. I am probably a type 1 diabetic, however, my nails have stopped the slight discoloration strips I noticed two years ago, so I am not sure why I was so tired yesterday.
Normally, I feel great when I get enough sleep and exercise. And no, I do not take B12 on a regular basis, so I am not sure why my nails are so clear. Two years ago, I took B12 once a week and my nails cleared up. Today, nothing. Why? I hate the way that medication smells so unless my nails are a problem, I would rather not use it.
After I originally posted this entry, I checked two foods I eat for breakfast on a regular basis. Hard boiled eggs and grapes. Eggs are a good source of B12. Think I found the reason why my nails are clear.
I am HIV negative, however, my blood pressure seems to be a bit high as reported by the fitness Apps I use. My oxygen saturation is around 99% most of the time. Heart rate- 75-81bpm active/64bpm resting. My stats are reported to Google Fit, Google Health, and FitCloudPro at least twice a day.
Why provide this information? Have to leave this response for another time.
Saturday, March 07, 2026
Over the last week a lot has been going on, mainly to do with fitness
goals.
The following photos show an example of an outfit I wear daily to obtain about 6000 steps by 8:00 each morning and then another 4000 to 6000 steps by the end of the day. A total of 10,000 to 12,000 steps daily.
Yes, I am losing weight, however, the weight loss is not dramatically
noticeable in the photos nor the following short video.
As the month progresses, I hope the weight loss will become more apparent.
One of the other things I wanted to do in March, was to move funds from one of my
high yield savings accounts (AmEx) to a CD (this was done, as illustrated in
recent entries in
the Microsoft Money register I maintain for the account).
In late 2025, I noticed the APY rates on the AmEX high yield savings account were dropping. Earlier in the year, the APY was about 3.70% and by the end of the year it was 3.40%. Keep in mind this is still a great rate, however, I noticed other interest rates i.e., mortgage, the prime, etc. had also steadily declined over the same time period. I wanted to ensure at least part of the funds in the AmEx HYSA would continue to get the maximum yields for as long as possible.
The Excel spreadsheet data below, shows the APY rates on my AmEx HYSA
since opening the account in 2022.
The first week in March, I also renewed my real estate license.
I hope to realize my fitness goals for March. This will be my primary focus this month. I also have a number of software projects planned, however, I am not sure when I will get to them.
Friday, February 27, 2026
Yesterday, I went by the post office to post a certified mailing for tax season. I am so happy all of the tax returns I need to file have been filed or posted.
I also had another chore I had to take care of yesterday, so I decided to
wear my Well Worn burgundy/wine velvet/velour jeans, a burgundy sweater, JASGOOD Chocolate Skinny Leather Belt, Anne Klein
Chocolate Tutorial Ankle Bootie, and my brown suede jacket.
Below, a short video of the outfit I wore yesterday.
These days, it seems all I am trying to do- is stay ahead of my next task or chore. That said, I am getting a lot done.
On another note, today I used the new Nuwave Bravo XL Pro to prepare a Red Baron Supreme Pizza.
In the last post, I indicated I would have to experiment with new settings for the oven, and today I had the opportunity to test the Red Baron Supreme Pizza I normally prepare with the conventional oven. Although the instructions indicated, preheat the oven to 400° and bake for 18-21 minutes, I found the pizza was browning a little to quickly. In the future, I think I am going to use 375° for 15 minutes when I use the new oven for frozen pizza. That said, the pizza was great.
In case I did not mention this before, I think I am going to love using the Nuwave Bravo XL Pro.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
I finally ordered a new convection oven, the Nuwave Bravo XL Pro to replace my Oster counter top oven purchased over 15 years ago. (Note, I provided the Amazon Nuwave Bravo XL Pro link, however, I ordered my oven from Costco.)
I am very pleased this turned out better than I hoped. I loved the convenience of my Oster convection oven when I first purchased it, however, last year I could not find an extra baking rack so I began researching other options.
I really have not done a lot with the new oven, however, I did make toast and
tested an apple turnover recipe. I love the way the turnovers came out,
however, I will have to test new temperature and time settings to use with my
old recipes. That said, this oven makes it very easy to change these
settings. I came up to speed very quickly.
Below a video demonstration (fast motion) using the Nuwave Bravo XL Pro convection oven to make apple turnovers.
Over the years, I was able to get a lot of use out of my Oster convection oven and I think I am going to get a lot of use out of the Nuwave Bravo XL Pro oven as well.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Yesterday, I had several errands to run. Because of the amount of snow and ice still remaining, I again wore my black PU leather riding boots.
Related information about the outfit:
- Long black wool skirt (late 90s)
- Charcoal grey cashmere sweater (late 2024 shop research, see illustration below)
- Black wool with mandarin collar jacket (TJ Maxx 2002 or so)
- Black PU leather riding boots (2022)
- Sunglasses Amazon 2025
Below a short video of the outfit I wore yesterday, February 19, 2026.
I have been working several projects and very happy about a couple of recent acquisitions. I hope to provide more details in the coming weeks.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Sunday, relatives from out of town stopped by. I decided to wear my Well Worn black velour/velvet jeans, a blue teal sweater, and my black Nine West hiking boots.
Sunday, it was cold. Today, the temperatures finally sustained ranges above
32°,
however, the total meltdown is still a long way off. That said, we are in for
warmer temperatures through Thursday, February 19, 2026 and I am hoping things
will get back to normal.
This storm has sidelined anything I wanted to do outside. The extreme cold, hard frozen snow, and a late start to the cleanup, contributing factors to my frustration with the situation.
On a different theme...
I purchased Blink Home Monitoring equipment during the holidays, and recently, the Blink Mini 2 cam went on sale. Two for about $44 so I used a gift card and credit card rewards to add two more cameras to my system. I am pretty pleased with the Blink monitoring system. The new Blink Mini 2 cameras arrived today so this is what I now have in my system:
+
By the way, I added to my cooking utensils. I ordered a great set of
measuring cups and spoons that enable me to reduce recipes without estimating
smaller
amounts. Now I have the correct sizes. I love this set of tools.
While staying in from the cold, I have been exercising. I
noticed mid-January I was eating more so I decided to get busy with diet
goals. I am pretty pleased with my efforts in this area.
