In South Africa most people are on summer holiday 16 Dec to 2 Jan at least. This means that all the tourists are in town so the complex is busy, it's seal pup season so we are either rehabbing or releasing seals, the reptiles are more active and hungry, we are on short staff because people are away and all our friends are organising fun stuff so for those of us who work, is pretty crazy. My main aim at this time of year is to get to January!
Today I needed to be at work at 5:30. We loaded up a stranded seal and drove to the harbour to give it to some Rangers who were going to release him. Back at work we spent an hour before anyone else arrived putting chlorine over algae on the sides of the empty pool. My hands are still burning and I smell of it. Then vet visit and make sure the reptile staff and volunteers have everything under control. Thankfully I have an amazing intern who I can trust to just get on with everything. Then formula for me stranded puppy we need to hand raise and put together a second batch of stuff to make formula so someone can take pup home and feed outside hours. Then off to help with cleaning the algae off the pool wall. I took my watch off for the next 90 minutes or so as our job was to unlock the drain. The water was about knee high by then and I immediately slipped on the algae which entertained the visitors. After pulling algae off the drain for about 30 minutes I finally got enough off to allow water through. By this point I had figured out that if I sat in the water I could block more algae from getting to the drain and I was already wet. It is all about embracing your inner swamp monster. At one point our temperamental Mommy seal came right up to me. My colleague was nearby and better if us knew how Sammy would react. Luckily she didn't attack but watched me briefly and moved away. Once the drain was working I joined in with pulling algae off the walls or pilling it up to be loaded into buckets and pulled out of the pool. Finally took a short break at 1 to eat before I collapsed. Afternoon was similar, formula for puppy and cleaning the pool. I did a 30 minute session with the high pressure hose which requires strength to control. Home to shower and then off to Jiu Jitsu for a brief roll. Not counting the 90 minutes of drain clearing or the time on the mat, I have nearly 20000 steps for the day. I think I was active enough.
Food choices were not ideal but logged and cane in at a reasonable total.
Tomorrow I can go in a bit later, although I need to drop something off on my way to yoga.

December 18
Exercised?: Yes (ice-skating - I really enjoyed that. Was the first time I was on skates in this millennium. A little scary aswell)
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

As a retired person, I take each day as it comes. Hoping to finally get through a Christmas without undoing all my hard work on getting to my UGW. 😂

Over 20 mins exercise? ✅ 125 active Fitbit minutes (walking + Physio)
Under Calorie Gaol? ✅
Tracked? ✅

Remaining Pass Days? 2️⃣ out of 3️⃣

I, too, went to the doctor's office recently and I discovered I am shrinking! They checked my height twice and I repeated the exercise at home. I've lost a half inch!!! I'm joining the Little Old Ladies Club. Yikes!

Yes, I do have a few to-dos before we say goodbye to the 20teens but nothing to stress over.

Yes x 3 - Barre class

Yes x3. Upper body strength.
My to do list before Christmas is quite short! We leave on the weekend to see family and I will have some cleaning and last minute things to do on Monday before more family comes to us.