PinkNinja

33 minutes ago, The Shogun said:

I'm officially offended you didn't consider skipping Duolingo and practicing Spanish with me. I won't be visiting this thread anytime soon. 

I actually thought about it, but I decided it would be rude to subject anyone I like to my limited repetoire in Spanish. 

The conversation would basically be hello, please, thank you, bathroom, cat, and good bye.

And now that I have practiced on Duolingo, all I can add to that is:

Soy un caballo, hablo Ingles.

 

I hope your sleep situation improves. Until the last couple of months, I had a terrible time sleeping. It sounds like you have some solid plans to beat it into submission.

I <3 climbing. I don't get to go often. I hope you find something there you enjoy. Bouldering is neat. I know several people that prefer that to more vertical climbing; one friend says its like chess for him. There's a guy at the climbing center I went to that only boulders and he makes it look like Spiderman's spider bit him first. 

 

 

When I get home, I'm going to walk Turtle, then workout.

I sort of framed the workout the way our classes were organized.

 

Work out Pasted below

 

 

This day is dragging by. I've answered the phone three times. Once was a wrong number, once was the wrong state, and one just hung up!

 

I obviously need to write down my workout and do it. I will do that tomorrow. And @Jigme can hold me accountable because I'll post it on here to share.

I will literally be the only person working in the park tomorrow. But our office is closed and I don't have to answer the main phone. I just have to drive through occasionally and answer the emergency cell phone if it rings. I anticipate getting plenty of things accomplished. Including a couple of lists delegating and making assignments for people while I'm gone in December, since I'm gone so much. I am going to plan my next week or so too . I think I'll get more done and stress less when I'm at home and doing holiday stuff if I leave Thursday knowing i've got a solid game plan. being gone so much in December is stressing me out already, so I'm trying to fix it.

So tomorrow:
Day 3 on 7DOC, at least 2 language lessons, write workout, do workout, and do yoga.
And get rid of something else.

Friday I will be off through Sunday. My family is doing our Thanksgiving Sunday because my sister and I both have to work. I'm making half and half potato rolls and some kind of side dish. So far they've shot down everything I suggested. I really wanted to make a carrot souffle, too! Our get together will be later on Sunday, so I shouldn't have a problem sticking to everything on my days off.

 

Happy US Thanksgiving guys!

 

Recap

Darebee
I made it to day 25 of the Darebee 30 day Foundation.  I didn't do any of the days that were mostly jumping jacks. I substituted walking because jumping jacks are evil, and their evilness increases proportionately to bust size.

 

Mordor
I have made it halfway to the encounter with the Black Rider. I know there were a few walks I forgot to log in the Mordor app. 

 

No Soda

I have definitely improved on the soda front. Bringing tea to work has helped a lot. Also I have not been eating out as much.

 

 

Could've been better, but not bad.
I'm going to do some more measurable goals & work on brain stuff a little next challenge.

 

 

Oh, and not that it's relevant, but I figured out what to get my dad. So I'm done with Christmas gift planning, nearly done with buying, and 1/3 of the way through making.

5 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

the Fathead dough recipe is stupidly useful

I've seen this but not been brave enough to try it. It looks interesting.  I first saw it in a pizza recipe as the crust.

 

This is what comes to mind when I read about your punctuality goals. 

 

 

That and it makes me want to read Discworld.

 

1 hour ago, sarakingdom said:

 

I have this issue. I love the theory of bodyweight workouts, and I want to do more strength training. But it annoys me, when it's not in the context of, say, a martial arts interval workout with punching shit. And yoga is okay. I don't love it as much, but I enjoy it more than just sets of push-ups and stuff. Maybe you can get some strength benefit from stuff like that, but I really have no idea. I'm not sure what changes to make.

 

(Though I'm also having time issues lately. Martial arts is a time sink on the days I go, so I try to keep my other days sort of sparse. Maybe it'd be enough to add some push-ups and squats and plank to my martial arts warmup, and consider the rest of the week recovery. At least for now.)

 

 

That's what I plan to do with my 2 martial arts workouts a week. I don't mind some squats, especially if they are squat kicks. I kind of like the challenge of increasing my plank & wall sit or horse stance times. I'm thinking I'll do basic punches, basic kicks, and some combos mixed with squats, planks, and something.   I want to use these and yoga to get in the habit of doing it and to help kick start me mentally. In the past, once I get going, I start to find more I like. I'm hoping that happens.
I think at my current level, I'll benefit strength & cardio wise from just about anything.

I also really like the look of the Darebee "Athena's Playbook". I may work up to it.

Week 4

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

 

Meditate

✪ for Calm, ✔ for other

✔ ✔ -✔✔✔

 

Get Rid of It

# of things gone

1 3 - 6 (11)(15)

 

Yoga & Workout

Yoga: ✔✔-✔✔✔

WO: - - - - - - -

 

Duolingo

(D, J, S, or G denote German, Japanese, Spanish, or Greek)

S S - S S S

 

 

Monday:   Redid 7DoC day 2, the noting lesson, I didn't do that great and figured more practice on 2 & 3 before moving on could only be good

I got rid of an old notebook. I wasn't in the mood to throw lots away tonight. I need to go to bed earlier tonight

I did yoga, and Turtle and I walked a little over a mile.

I did several Duo lessons to finish out the first unit of Spanish.

 

So recap, I had internet issues and was busy at work, so I just now got to updating. Wednesday, I did nothing because I woke up early to go with my sister & niece to the allergy doctor. I thought about it later, I could've done Duo in the car with my sister, but we talked the whole way. It's a 2.5 hour
I did Duo last night, but it was after midnight, so I lost my streak again.

I didn't get rid of anything Wednesday because I didn't get home until late. I made up for it during the week. I found 3 boxes that I still haven't unpacked. I unpacked the first and got rid of most of it. The books are in an Amazon give back box, the plates and bowls have been given to a girl at work, and I'm going through the jewelry box. Some of it is sentimental, and I'll let the 3 girls that claim me go pick something out of the sentimental jewelry, and send the rest in the Amazon box. I also didn't count the chopsticks I through away. I counted them as 1 even though it was several pairs. I worked out too late last week and was sore. I was going to work out Wednesday, but sis sprung the trip on me. And while I was with her Wednesday, we apparently contracted food poisoning. All 3 of us. My niece, of course, got it the worst. Poor kiddo. I was miserable, so I can't imagine how much it sucked for her. I started feeling better yesterday evening. I did light yoga, but no workout. I'm going to make another one and next week, I will get both done. I'll do one tomorrow.

 

Week 0
May as well start now. It's not like I've been doing much to take a break from anyway.

 

Meditate

✪ for Calm, ✔ for other

✔ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✔ ✔ ✔

 

Get Rid of It

# of things gone

2 1 3 2 1 3 1

 

Yoga & Workout

Yoga: ✔✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✔

WO: - - - ✔ - - -

 

Duolingo

(D, J, S, or G denote German, Japanese, Spanish, or Greek)

- S S S S S S

 

Monday: Did the breath bubble a couple times through the afternoon.
                I got rid of all the socks I'd been hanging on to make puppets with the girls. They were all either single or holey. I kept 2. That was 1 paper sack (not full!) The other was a USB cord that doesn't work. 

               Did Morning Yoga but no extra. No workout

              No Duolingo - I forgot.

Tuesday: I decided to start with the 7 days of Calm instead. I'm glad I did that. It was way harder to clear my mind than I remember it being. Starting back at the beginning was a good decision.

                Cup with lid and straw

                  Did Morning Yoga but no extra. No workout

                Duolingo 2 Spanish lessons

Wednesday:  Day 2 of 7DoC

                   Two mixing bowls & a cake pop pan.

                     Did Morning Yoga but no extra. No workout

                    Duolingo 2 Spanish lessons

Thursday:  Day 3 of 7DoC

                   Two used books I bought a long time ago for work research are no longer on my shelf. (Bombardier Beetles & Fever Trees, and Thieves, Deceivers,& Killers: Tales of Chemistry in Nature, they are both about interesting defense mechanisms in nature. I had to resist the urge to say "oo.. I should read them one more time" lol

                     Did my TKD workout and I enjoyed it. I thought maybe I went too easy, but my thighs are jelly-ish right now, so maybe not.

                    I did a Spanish lesson on Duo. I may do another one or two when I get in bed. Or play Hearthstone. Or sleep. Whatever, it's my Friday.

Friday:  Breath Bubble-ish. So I mentally pictured the breath bubble and did it that way. A lot. I was supposed to be off work but there was/is a major sewer leak at the NEW bathhouse that's still technically the contractor's bathhouse. I'm off & it's not my bathhouse, so whatever, right? Except no. Because it was the Friday after Thanksgiving, the guy "in charge" at work considers letting me know the solution to his problem (which technically, I get, but its the kind of thing that I'd have handled when I was in his position..) but no one had even tried to call our boss. I couldn't get in touch with the contractors or the people in our department that are technically over the contractors. I knew there was a limit on how much sewage could be on the ground before you had to notify the state environmental agency, but I didn't know how much, whose responsibility it is, or even how to go about reporting it.  I handled it, cause that's what I do, and I'm good at it. My imaginary breath bubble came in when I had done everything I could do. I can't personally go get a backhoe, dig up the sewer main, and fix it. I kept feeling myself start to stress over it after I was home. (doesn't help that I can see the leak area from my house) I finally left, went to my mom's, and made jambalaya for everyone. I think my imaginary breath bubble helped me a lot. Especially while I was driving.

                   Threw away a pair of pajama pants that I never wear because they're capri length and don't have pockets. (yes, I know they're for sleeping, but I like having PJ pockets, ok?!) 

                     Yoga felt good bc I was a little sore.

                    I did a Spanish lesson on Duo

 

Saturday:  I tried a loving kindness meditation I read about where you focus on goodwill toward yourself, a good friend, a neural person, and a difficult person. I still love my friend and I still want to punch the contractor square on his pointy nose. *shrug* Maybe it's not for me at the this.

                   I felt guilty getting rid of books, but I boxed up some more to donate.

                     Did Morning Yoga but No workout. I thought about it but then my abs tried to kill me. Really sore today.

                    A treasure chest popped up on Duolingo and Duo challenged me to earn 100xp and get the chest. I can't back down from an animated green owl, so I did it. I reached 15% fluency. Which is weird because I feel like it's mostly useless. I doubt I ever need to say "I am a horse, I speak English." Did Mr. Ed travel much? I don't remember there being such whacky sentences in the early stages of learning German on Duo.

 

Sunday:  I used the beach scene while my eggs cooked in my instantpot because I overslept. I was responsible for making rolls & deviled eggs for our family Thanksgiving today. The rolls took plan A(half&half sweet potato& potato rolls), B (boilios), and C (slightly dressed up generic just get them made or you'll have to suck it up & buy some), but the end result was loved by all. They were even pretty & evenly shaped except for the 4 mini ones I made for the nieces.

                   Tossed out a pair of boots that should've went a long time ago.

                    I did yoga while the dough was rising

                    Duolingo 1 Spanish lesson

 

I feel 1000X better than I did 2 months ago. I feel better than I knew I felt bad, if that makes sense. 

BUT Just because I feel like I can do all the things now when I felt like I couldn't do the bare minimum before, doesn't mean I should try! Time to be SMART with my goals.

I've not had very specific or measurable goals the last couple of months, and I'm changing that. I'm also thinking of doing a grade/reward thing but can't think of a reward right now.
(I had more here & was almost done with my whole challenge, but the power went out, and I'm too annoyed at having to start over to redo it right now. But I talk too much anyway, so it's probably a good thing! )

 

 

1. Meditate for a total of at least 2 minutes a day.
My brain feels out of whack; I think I haven't leveled out yet. Lately, I have seen several people mentioning why they meditate. Each time I'm like "oh, I need help with that", "mm, yep, me." Help with focus, discipline, sleep, and patience.  I think I've never stuck with a regular habit of meditating long enough to benefit much. I'm going to start building that habit now.  I plan to use the 21 Days of Calm program, but it looks like it has some longer sessions, so I'm also allowing myself to use another method (like the breath bubble) on some days. At least 2 days a week will be longer sessions, from the 21 DOC. Or I may redo the 7 days if the 21 days starts off with too much. My intentions are to manage stress, get better at leaving work at work, and while I don't want to slow down the random ideas I get mid-sentence, I do want to get better at not spitting them out. It has caused some confusion with my boss. My former boss didn't usually have a problem keeping up when I switched tracks; she even said she liked it. My new boss, he is more of a one track guy.  

 

2. Get rid of one thing a day.

Yeah, I'm back to this. While I was moving so often and all my stuff was packed into storage, I kind of liked it. Now I've been back in a house and had my ALL my stuff for a year. I feel closed in and squished. Part of it is probably how this house was laid out compared to the one I lived in before. Previous (long term) house was an open floor plan with wonderful & large kitchen. Current house is not as big and has too many walls. I actually just had maintenance tear a closet out because it was useless and would make the kitchen & living room flow better. The master bedroom  & bathroom are HUGE because it was a small house and to make it fit the new(er at the time) park standard for size, they had to add on. So they added it all in those two rooms that they built on. So it's weirdly shaped. The idea of minimalism appeals to me. I doubt I could ever truly be a minimalist just because the things I enjoy require "stuff." But I can reduce how much of it I have at one time by not hoarding it, only buying it for specific projects, and not buy more until I finish said project. (I'm looking at ya'll, Yarn & Reed) I also have way more books than I could re-read and several I don't want to re-read. They've got to go.
So at least one thing a day. Getting rid of more than one thing in a day is good, but it won't roll forward. If I get rid of 6 things today, I still have to get rid of one tomorrow. The only exception being if I'm not going to be home for a couple days, because I think it's pretty obvious I can't stay home for more than 2 weeks at a time. Then I have to get rid of one thing for each day I'll be gone BEFORE I pack.

 

3. Do yoga 4 days a week for at least 10 minutes total & at least 2 days a week do a combat/MA workout.

I like yoga. I really, really actually enjoy it. More than most of the bodyweight workouts I've been trying to do lately. The BW feels boring. Yoga doesn't. This is weird because BW has more movement. So I dunno. But I re-realized (partially because of @Jigme's last challenge) there's no point doing something I don't enjoy if I can do something else effective that I do enjoy. I'm a monk because I love martial arts. I haven't actually been to a martial arts class in 3 years, but if I like TKD workouts, why don't I do them in my house by myself? Duh. I used to help teach class, surely, I can come up with something. So I'm going to do that, too. Some of the Darebee workouts have stuff I like, and some of the ones in the Foundation series I started were fun because they were more MA/combat. I also have a deck of exercise card that are combat themed. This is my movement for this challenge. I want to slowly build on it. I've been doing yoga as part of my morning routine and still mostly stick with it. The days can(&will) overlap.
I plan to walk some, and maybe even run, but I'm not including it on the challenge. First, because I want to see how Turtle is doing first. If he's not able to walk, I'm not sure I'll be able leave him alone in the house to go walk, especially if he may not survive. Second, because I've gotten to where it's pretty routine, especially with the pup. I want to work back up to running, though, so it'll come soon. I really loved running before.

4. Do Duolingo 6 days a week.
It can be German, Japanese, Greek, or Spanish. I've decided mostly to focus on reviewing German and learning Spanish. I want to visit my cousin in Germany in the next couple of years, so that'd be useful. I'm also going to (hopefully) start doing EMT PRN work with a couple of local services. Spanish would be very helpful there. I'm going to look into some Spanish programs specific for EMS after the holidays.

 

Challenges!
I'm going to be at a pretty intensive Wilderness EMT training for 9 days of December. It's an 90 hour course crammed into 9 days. If the days are as active (hiking, carry outs, etc) as I suspect they will be, I'm going to take off the MA wo & just make sure I do yoga. I don't know if I'll have internet or cell phone access, so I may not do Duolingo those 9 days. I'll meditate, but maybe not with Calm, bc of connectivity. It doesn't seem like you can download stuff ahead of time anymore? I will get rid of stuff for those days before I leave. I have a German course from Living Language. I will take the book and work in it to sub for Duolingo.
I don't think the holidays will be much of  a challenge aside from traveling a little for Christmas with my guy's family. I have a lot of time off work. Dec. 20 - Jan. 1st.

 

 

To Do List

Sew napkins for Christmas presents

Weave & Sew dish towels for Christmas presents (35% done)

Weave mug rugs

Sew doll sleeping bags

Grab & Go Binder Update & Organize  (Started  25% done)
Consolidate Go bags  I have more than one. That's dumb. I had a bag I keep in my car with extra clothes, sleeping bag,  & stuff for in case I stay decide to stay somewhere and I have a slightly more traditional emergency evacuation bag. I need to just squish them together. I can keep the change of clothes on top of the other stuff or put it in a smaller bag snapped to it. (Started, but had to unpack it to wash it bc Turtle had an accident on it..)

Clean up my extra room. It'd be a great workout space and office space if I'd get it reorganized.

Finish cleaning up the porch maintenance tore a closet out of my house and my porch is covered in dry wall dust now (I did quite a bit of work on the porch before I left for training 50%) Not much left. I finished unpacking a box that's been there for too long and some other stuff 65% I think my telescope needs a new home.

List bed, cds, & stuff I plan to sell instead of procrastinating

Clean out T-shirt drawer It's gotten a little crowded in the shirt world. It's like they multiply. I haven't even bought a shirt in months!

Consolidate First Aid Kits Seriously? How many does a girl need? I have a hiking one, a daily one, a work Responder bag, a personal responder bag, a house kit, and a water sports kit. Not Necessary. Oh! And there's a first aid kit in both the go bags. I keep them all updated and just listing those, man, how much time I'll save if I squish them down. There's no reason my paddling one can't be the same as my hiking one. Anyway. sorry. tmi  (Started by rounding up all of them 10%)

 

 

Congratulations!
That's so cool! You beat out the 5 & 6 year folks! Go m urder face!!

I pick up my pup on Tuesday and we'll discuss oncology options. I'm trying really hard to be optimistic. There's not anything I can do, so I shouldn't stress so much.

I finally updated my Calm app, and I am totally in love with the new (to me) breath bubble. I had already decided to incorporate mediation into my next challenge. That's really a great tool for me.

I went to see my guy this weekend. That's normally when I go off the rails with soda & food. I did well at avoiding soda. We ate at CiCi's pizza and I still resisted. I also mostly ate salad at the pizza buffet, and it was the worst meal of the trip.

The little one and I did some walking, but not lots. I didn't do any other workouts.

Tonight, I had a sandwich with my homemade sauerkraut on it! My sauerkraut was delicious. If I do say so myself.

I have everything I need to sew cloth napkins for my mom. I got a present for my sister's dude! I have enough to get my guy the perfect present. My dad is all I have left. Decision wise. I still have to finish the handmade ones.

 

 

I'm sorry about the tragedy. Keep crawling, you'll make it.

Good luck with the tournament! I hope you kick staff & broadsword booty. 

14 hours ago, Jigme said:

However, personally, when it comes to martial arts, I've always thought that you pick one and commit for the next 30 years - lifetime, hence my hesitation at considering something (gasp!) new.  And no, for some reason, going from aikido to kyudo did not count; presumably because in my mind, they are complementary.  Go figure.

 

My tkd school teaches the exact opposite. Once we get to a higher level of training, we're encouraged to cross train in any other martial art we find, believing everyone has something worthwhile to learn.  When we belt test, if your one-steps include moves from other styles, the graders get all drooly.

14 hours ago, Jigme said:

Things I like seem to have two things in common:  they are outside and they are quiet.  Other people may or may not be involved.  Kyudo, running, hiking, leisurely bike rides. 

Have you tried kayaking? I love it, outside & quiet, and a good core workout.

Our "Never do again" lists are very similar. I've never tried Bikram yoga, though. I don't like any kind of "power" yoga that I've tried. Zumba is too crowded and I'm not a fan of the "you'll learn it if you stick with it and screw up enough" method of learning things. 
I had the same realization about Duolingo when I started learning Japanese. All the other languages I've done on there were languages I was keeping up, like German, or languages I had at least a little experience in, like Spanish, French, and Greek. I have to do a lesson several times before I finally notice the patterns and start to pick up on which character means what. 

I'm a tad jealous that you have so many places to try new things around you! Sometimes I wish I lived near a big city just so I could try things like aerial silks, bikram, gymnastics, dance classes ( I had ballet and tap when I was a kid), and ALL the martial arts.  

 

Sounds like with a little adapting, your challenge is going well.

14 hours ago, Shotokan said:

It's easier than the other workouts but still tougher than I thought it would be.  It seems like a solid program so far but I need a couple months with it to see if it's what I need. 

 

It seems that the reason I wasn't feeling like training was from a cold working on me.  I had a tough time sleeping last night and my throat is feeling weird. I kinda knew something was working on me when I noticed my energy level was lower than usual since the weekend. 

 

13 hours ago, Luciana Valerosa Culming said:

Sorry, for disappearing. I'm hanging in. I'm just struggling with anxietys again and tracking made some things worse. I'll come back, when my headspace is more stable and I don't belittle myself while reflecting.

 

The thing they removed from Turtle's neck is already growing back. It's already nearly half the size of the original tumor.

 

No soda for 10 days. One thing has helped at work is I took some of my flavored teas to drink instead. I also have been super penny pinching because vets are expensive and I'm trying SO hard to use my credit cards as little as possible. It's my goal to not use credit for Christmas at all this year. The presents may all end up homemade and lame, but I've explained to the adults. I don't know what to do about my dad, my sister's dude, and my dude. :|  I've already got groupon-special ($5!!), age-specific Zoobook subscriptions for all the kiddos. The penny pinching has helped with not getting soda because no eating out!

No working out lately, but I've been walking. I've been walking more at work, too.
I've made progress on consolidating first aid kits, the grab & go binder, and my porch. While updating my binder, I realized I'm not sure of the location of the key to my fireproof safe.  

 

Yay for Birthdays!

 

 

 

I should be able to get Turtle back today.

My air has been fixed. I had a nice day with my sister. I got my loom warped and half of it woven.

We didn't get to Netflix because her boyfriend's 3 yo couldn't go to the sitter. So there was Paw Patrol and Octonauts in the background. 

 

My coffee table is clean. Woohoo!

 

10 hours ago, Jigme said:

(btw I was laughing at your story about reinforcing w/dental floss, not the lack of sense of smell) 

I never thought that you weren't laughing at the dental floss. 

 

10 hours ago, Jigme said:

Do you still drink coffee for the energizing effects?

No. It tastes terrible. I have considered it, especially when I worked at a coffee shop and had free, unlimited coffee and espresso. But I also had free, unlimited tea, and I like tea. My boss tried to slip coffee into different things that he made for me all the time. He was convinced that eventually, he'd put it in something and I wouldn't be able to taste it. That never happened. The one coffee drink he made that I drank was basically a huge milkshake with half a tablespoon of espresso grounds in it. So it wasn't brewed and there was a ton of sugar.
I also hate peanut butter and people always try to blame that on my lack of smell, but I don't think that's it. I just don't like peanut stuff.

12 minutes ago, Jigme said:

 

Unbelievable.  That is the funniest thing I've heard all day!

I've never met anyone without a sense of smell!  Is the loss partial or complete?  Does food taste weird to you?  Are these questions too obnoxious?  Feel free not to answer them; I just read a book about the human sense of taste, and there was a lot of talk about how much smell plays into it.

 

I was born without a complete olfactory system, so it's a total absence of the sense. Food doesn't taste weird. I've had tests to check out my taste. (taste tests!) The deviation in my results was no more or less than the average of person to person. The way that the neurologists explained it to me is that a big part of the reason smell plays such a role in taste for people is that people spend their whole life tasting and smelling at the same time. I have never experienced the two together. Though, there are foods that I don't like, and a lot of them, are things where smell plays a large role in the taste experience. Things like coffee and wine. Like with wine, I don't get any of those "subtle notes" or "bouquets", I just get a bitter alcohol taste. I also like things with a stronger taste, things that are spicy, fishy, sour, or gamey. Not a big fan of salty though. It may be because of my smell or because I grew up eating food like that. Will never know!
I don't mind questions.