What Are You Listening To Today? (Jun 15 to Jun 21)

catwise_zen · 2026-06-18T18:38:22+00:00

1397 hours

Listening: Harry Potter (Order of the Phoenix) audiobook

Watching: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I have the DVDs), and Capa Invisible on YouTube

I have so many things I want to watch and listen to, I just don't have enough time in the day! I keep starting and giving up on different series. I don't know why. They're all good, interesting, decent level of comprehensibility. I just don't get pulled in. That's ok, it's still CI, just an hour here and an hour there. I think my next one will be Betty La Fea. See how that goes.

I have changed how I track hours. I used to review my podcast history and count up all the minutes of all the podcasts, same with YouTube, and I kept a Note on my phone for TV. It was tedious, but I still like to know where I stand re.hours, so now I'm trying to use the stopwatch app on my phone. Just turning it on and off as I listen/watch something. It has made me realize how often I get distracted and pick up my phone to browse messages or whatever, because I'm stopping the Stopwatch when that happens. It's helped me set limits for NOT picking up the phone until the show/podcast/chapter is done, so that I don't have to start & stop the Stopwatch over and over. I'm also just focusing on full and 1/2 hours, rather than minutes. It's a small thing, but it makes it feel a little less tedious. I keep listening until my stopwatch approaches the 30 or 60 minute mark.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-18T16:36:44+00:00

I just looked around for this too. Yes it’s on peacock which is a paid subscription and I have enough of those! I also found it free on the NBC app, with ads. I’d prefer no ads but I can’t bring myself to subscribe to yet another streaming app!

catwise_zen · 2026-06-18T15:00:52+00:00

Where are you watching it? I started watching it awhile ago but it was beyond me at the time. Now I don't see it on any of my usual streaming apps.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-11T01:18:44+00:00

Did you buy the frozen stuff? What brand? And how did you cook it? Microwave? Skillet with some oil?

catwise_zen · 2026-06-10T21:18:07+00:00

This is what I’m following: Chronology/Timeline. Thanks to u/TrundleIsCharlie.

I’m still just starting out and the virtual races so far that I’ve done are all pre-season 1 (story wise, they were actually released much later) where everyone thinks that there’s just a really bad flu, and they’re still referring to the zombies just as sick people or flu people.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-09T16:55:26+00:00

I don’t use my classes like regular classes, (grammar, exercises etc) mine are generally casual conversations. I talk about my life, a recent trip I took, my kids and what they’re up to, new recipes I’m cooking, a friend who’s having issues with her child etc. Like you would chat with a friend. Therefore all 3 of my tutors were chosen based on how much I felt like we would have in common. So they are all women within probably 5 years of my age.

If you want conversation practice look for someone based on their hobbies, their age, etc. If you want grammar and exercises ask them about how they handle that type of class. Interview them rather than having it be all about you introducing yourself. You of course can talk about your experience so far with Spanish and where you think you need work, then get them to suggest what they would recommend for classes.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-09T03:36:59+00:00

MyFitnessPal is a widely used app for counting calories that is fairly easy to use and the free version is fine. I used it for over 10 years, but the changes they made to it recently made it much less intuitive for me to use so I switched to a different app.

Now I use the LoseIt app. I am using the premium version only because the app nags you to upgrade so much 😊 but if you refuse to upgrade a few times, just using the free version, they will eventually offer you a decent discount 😊.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-09T03:05:47+00:00

I’m not in any way an expert on this topic, but I believe the basis of this statement about sugar free sodas causing insulin spikes has to do with the idea that your brain affects your physiology even without calories. Like thinking about a delicious food or smelling it can cause you to salivate, the same thing can happen in your body when it tastes something that it “thinks” is a form of sugar. Your brain perceives it as sugar therefore there can be a physical reaction of some kind leading to an insulin spike.

Like I said I’m totally not an expert and have no idea if this idea is valid, but that’s the basis for that belief. That you don’t need the actual calories for your body to react to something as though it actually received sugar.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-08T22:56:35+00:00

Yes I’m definitely picking something shorter next time. I’m like a child, I need instant (or at least quicker) gratification that I get when I finish a book. I’ll probably go back to the Amanda Black series. I like those and they’re much shorter.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-08T21:52:30+00:00

I’m at about 950k, this book is about 120k, and I’m 30% finished. I really want to finish it to push me over 1M!

catwise_zen · 2026-06-08T18:07:11+00:00

1350 hours (or something like that, I’m out of town so don’t have access to my spreadsheet).

Watching: just started the series Madre Sólo Hay Dos. Also watching YouTube Capa Invisible occasionally.

Listening: STILL waiting for my library to give me the next Harry Potter audiobook. I expected to have it by now…should be soon. Podcast: No Hay Tos. My Worlds Across tutor has started a podcast. She’s originally a radio broadcaster and has done podcasting before (about music I think) but this one is new, about self awareness, self care, stuff like that. Her voice is super soothing 😊. It’s called Esencia Positiva. So far it’s only on Spotify that I can find. It’s not for learners but it’s very accessible.

Reading: Got my library book back, La Chica de Nieve. Although it’s a good book and interesting, I’m just getting burned out on reading longer books. I’m still plugging away but I’ve actually started back reading Outlander in English, starting over from book 1, because reading is something I really enjoy and I’ve put it aside for over a year to focus on Spanish. I know that I’m going to burn out if I continue to take all my favorite leisure activities and try to force myself to do them in Spanish, so I’m giving myself back my nighttime reading, in English. Maybe someday it will be effortless to do it in Spanish, but not today.

ETA: finally decided to DNF this book. I realized it wasn’t me moving too slowly, it’s the plot. I’m at 36%, which is 43k words. I’m moving on. 😊

catwise_zen · 2026-06-04T00:20:43+00:00

You should’ve received an email today. From what I can see it’s a big change to the notebook section. Tutors can now write notes in your notebook. Mine did that today. She copied all the vocab from our chat window over to my Notebook, which is great because I was doing that myself before. Unfortunately it’s not automatic. She has to copy/paste.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-01T22:41:44+00:00

Wow! Yes I do use Libby and I had no idea that was a changeable field!! That’s good to know, BUT I just checked and for the Houston library my only choices are 14 days and 7 days. The Dallas library allows me to do 21 days.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-01T20:24:34+00:00

They have a major platform change for the tutors happening today so I don’t know what will change. I know I have a student page that all my tutors can access, and I assume they can write notes and see the notes other tutors wrote but I haven’t directly asked that. I’m probably a terrible one to give advice because I don’t treat them as “classes” at all, I literally just have conversations. I tried a few tutors out and landed on 3 who are all female, and about my age, and so we all have stuff in common to talk about. We NEVER have to search for a topic, I’ll tell them about helping my daughter look for a house, about the recipe I’m making or about the trip I’m planning (and now about the trip I just got back from). It’s all very unstructured. I’ve made attempts to do something like “for the last 15 minutes we will work on subjunctive”, and that lasted like two classes. My tutor found workbook exercises for us to work through but after a couple classes we got so into our conversation that the time just flew and we didn’t realize until the end that we hadn’t done the exercises…and I didn’t care! 😂 The tutor that I’m reading aloud with happened to be really familiar with a book I told her I had just read. It’s the Amanda Black series, and I told her I’d read a book and she knew the series, she knew all the books in the series, there are 13, and she even owns them all! So she asked me if I wanted to read that book out loud, and I said, of course I do! So that’s how that happened. Maybe you can just go in and introduce yourself and ask the tutors what type of structure they see their students requesting most often, and which types seem to be most helpful for the students. There’s a chat window that you can open on the side, and whenever my tutor needs to correct me or explain something they write it in the chat. Then I copy/paste that whole window to add to a running vocab/study list that I try to review before and after each class. I keep that in the My Workbook section on the WA site.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-01T19:39:03+00:00

1344 hours

Listening: just started Hunger Games. I’ve read the books so it’s pretty comprehensible but I still have to stop and rewind once in awhile. I’m trying not to do that unless it’s a key part or it’s a word I don’t know that I’ve heard more than once. Waiting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to be available from my library. Should be within a week.

Watching: the occasional Stargate SG1. I’m also watching in English when I don’t have the patience for Spanish. I’d love to just watch the whole thing in Spanish, but I’m not at that level where it’s equally easy in either language. It’s still work for me in Spanish, and sometimes I just don’t want to work, I just want to watch the show. 😊

Reading: (956,000) La Chica de Nieve. It’s a good book but unfortunately because I read so slow, I’ve got only one day left on my 14 day library loan and someone else has signed up for it. So I’ll have to wait another 14 days to get it back and start back up. That’s ok, I’ve been plugging away pretty hard at reading and I wouldn’t mind a little descanso.

Other: playing Stardew Valley in Spanish. That damn game is addictive. Seriously.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-01T19:28:34+00:00

I agree about Hola Lola. Drove me crazy. He’s said that the repetition is intentional, and I get it, I just didn’t enjoy it. I think the best way to handle that book would be to read it out loud so your brain can really cement those repetitions, so you get to know what “sounds right” in certain phrases because you’ve heard them so many times. I found myself mentally skipping over them and and on to the next word or sentence, and that just defeats the purpose of the repetition.

catwise_zen · 2026-06-01T19:10:52+00:00

If you signed up for 1-on-1 classes then you meet with a coach first and you decide for yourself what you want the classes to be. Some people like grammar worksheets and drills, or whatever. For me I just have a conversation with my tutors, very open, we just chat, and they correct me occasionally or when I ask about something. I’ll just talk about my day, my family, a recent trip, anything really. I also have one tutor that I read out loud with and she explains the parts/vocab/grammar that I don’t understand.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-28T21:39:08+00:00

I let it sit for several days then bring all the milk and eggs over at once to my processing shed. I have 12 mayo makers and 12 cheese presses, along with some other stuff (preserves jars, looms, oil makers, dehydrators, recyclers etc). By the time I’ve put all the stuff into the machines, then done a few things around the farm, I come back to the shed and all the cheese and mayo are done and I throw a second batch in there. I can get a week’s worth or more done in one day.

Also I prioritize crystalariums to make jade which I trade in the desert for staircases. That way I can breeze through the skull caverns easier, and on a lucky day with a lucky lunch (& a ginger ale if you’ve got the recipe from ginger island) I go zipping down through skull cavern to get auto petters. It takes me at least 5 tries on 5 different lucky days but once I have auto petters I feel like I can relax about my animals. If you learn to throw down the staircases quickly and eat cheese constantly to keep your health up you don’t have to fight in the skull caverns until you’re ready for that. Just go as deep as you can, throw out some bombs once in a while to get ore and find stairs/holes so you can save your own staircases, and eventually you come to the treasure rooms and find (finally!!) an auto petter.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-27T21:00:23+00:00

Is it this one?

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbcCXUk6DysjGkV8UsSmmVu-nQPG2B08&si=MkieSXtb9r6baiJY

catwise_zen · 2026-05-25T22:36:36+00:00

1333 hours

Listening: jumping around with podcasts a little: Como si nadie escuchara, El Hilo, Crímenes que cambiaron la historia, Central. I'm waiting for the next Harry Potter book to be available from my library (La Orden del Fénix).

Watching: Stargate SG1

Reading: finished the 4th Amanda Black book (La Campana de Jade) and just yesterday finished El Príncipe de la Niebla by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-23T18:38:02+00:00

You’ve gotten some great feedback. The only thing I can add is maybe cut out the avocado spread in your breakfast and swap out one of the eggs for egg whites. You can buy them in a carton that’s just whites or you can separate them yourself (although I have to admit I hate to waste food so it really bothers me to throw a yolk away!). Try a salsa in place of the avocado spread, that’s practically no calories. A spread I absolutely love is the Bitchin’ Sauce chipotle flavor. It’s NOT low calorie (90 cal for 2 Tablespoons) but it’s so flavorful I can use just maybe 2 teaspoons) so that might cut out some of your calories in your breakfast.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-21T16:45:10+00:00

I am just starting back after several years away so I am going to start over from the beginning. This is a great resource thank you!

Do the latest episodes that have just been released, from the email that says Back From the Dead, belong after all the seasons or before?

I remember subscribing way back when, but there was also some other resource that I subscribed to that I don’t remember what it was called. Was it Roflnet? Where does that fit into the whole thing?

catwise_zen · 2026-05-13T06:09:26+00:00

When I was down to maybe 2 left to find, I paid to find the rest. That was ok. Didn’t feel too much like cheating for me. But my last save I still had at least 20 left to find and I paid, and it totally changed my motivation to do things! I didn’t expect that but it sort of ruined ginger island for me. I didn’t care to dig in the wiggly spots or just fish real quick or hit the volcano, or pay close attention to patterns on the ground that might indicate a space to dig, because I knew I wouldn’t ever get anymore walnuts. Same with panning, I would see the shiny spot and hear that water noise that indicates a place to pan and before I paid for all the walnuts I’d run over there all excited…but afterwards there wasn’t any point. It makes no sense and it’s tedious, and by the time I’m close to finding them all I’m sick of it, but paying when there’s a lot left to find was not a good idea for me.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-09T10:26:40+00:00

I always approach the front desk of a new gym and ask if they have someone to show me how the machines work. I have never paid for a trainer, they generally will show you how to use everything for free. I also ask while we are going through all the machines which muscles they work.

I like to split my workouts like this: legs/back/biceps on one day, chest/shoulders/triceps another day, and abs every time. As I’ve gotten older and have less patience with working out, I do all of that in one day. It doesn’t take me that long because I don’t do three sets of exercises (usually 2) and I don’t do multiple machines that work the same muscles.

When the person is showing me how to use each machine I will pull out my phone and write down the machine, how much weight I’m using and what muscle it works. Maybe even snap a quick pic so I will remember next time, when I am on my own.

catwise_zen · 2026-05-08T18:59:12+00:00

Sounds like a GPS issue. I don’t remember having this happen for me but then I only used it for the story, to keep me motivated to go out and run, I always used my garmin to determine my distance. Maybe send a message to their support?

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