RainicornDreams

So, two days into my first challenge I disappeared off the face of the earth. Nothing changed for me. That was in June, I think. About a week ago, I decided that I was going to train my dog. Poochie is already extremely athletic and a very good girl; I am unbelievably (probably too...) proud of her already, but I want to be able to take her places and have always fantasized about having her be one of those hospital visit dogs, as she somehow knows whatever is wrong with someone (got a headache? She'll lay next to your face. Coughing? She'll sit on your chest. Boo-boos of all sorts? Prepare to have them cleaned and cuddled by the Poochie Mouth Service!). So, knowing that this would require very solid training, I started our first session. After twenty minutes, she had a thorough grasp of sit. By the end of the day, she sat on command for not only treats, but toys and whenever she wanted to go outside. The next day, she learned lay and shake, and on the third day, she learned down, let go, and go inside, and began to sit/lay repeatedly on command (aka doggy pushups) consistently, without treats until the very end of our sequence. Prior to this, she was already housebroken (she has never made a mess in the house, even when we were gone for 10 hours!) and treadmill trained. The point? If my Poochie-Baby can learn all of that, and SELF MAINTAIN her exercise regime (she will sit on the treadmill and whine until you turn it on, and won't get off unless she has been on for at least forty minutes, not even when someone knocks at the door!), and show that much discipline, why can't I stick to a diet or exercise regime?! And so, I'm back here. I really hope I stay this time. That being said, this time I come armed with Big-Ass Salads... a truly powerful weapon for my busy schedule

Mission Three has been a total success today. I have never felt more satisfied with a meal! Mission Two has definitely been met for the day. (Vegan cooking is surprisingly good for Missions Two and Three) Mission One has been met! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I drank some green tea while I made my beautiful glorious breakfast.

I figure off topic is the best place to put things, hmmm? Well, I'm apparently pretty unhirable. I had one job for a month, and then had to leave (doctor recommended; apparently being outside in the heat all day long isn't the best thing when you aren't allowed breaks...). So, while I'm looking for a new job (aiming for a crafts store, games store, or book store, but it took me over a year to find my FIRST job...) I was wondering what sort of things I could do to make money. I can do/make/etc: Knit Sew/Hem Make Perler Art Bead Sing Cook Make Soap General hair/skin care items Dog Treats Little Rinky Dink Crafts Candles But I'm not sure how to go about doing it, selling the things, you know. I'm thinking of joining Etsy, but I also want to be able to reach people other ways as well, especially those in my area. But I'm just not sure how to do that either! Plus, all the things to be done. Making a logo? Brand name? I am not creative in the slightest. I likely don't even know what all is involved! I tried looking up a guide for such things, but end up even more confused... I'm also considering starting a YouTube channel. I mean, hey, that would be great for advertisement. What are y'all's opinions? Ideas? Criticisms?

I haven't died, yay! I ended up spending the weekend with my bff in Fredericksburg, Tx... All the way there, there were big signs advertising that they were selling Fredericksburg peaches, and as soon as people found out we were going... "Can you get me some peaches?" "I'll pay you back if you grab me some peaches!" "Can you get some peach butter!?!" "I would kill for a tomato, if they have any!" "Get us some spiced peach wine from the winery!" "Does that shop still sell peach-liquor chocolate?" Not even joking. When we left, we ended up with 150lbs of peaches and some ungodly large sized tomatoes. I had some on the way home, they were so sweet and juicy! I have two crates in my fridge waiting for my Ogre-Mom to work her (completely diet unfriendly) magic (preserves, cobler, and some weird... She said it was a Southern dessert... Ugh, I don't know!). We are keeping the pits for seed, to plant our own peach trees. Farmer-Ogre-Mom for the win!!! I didn't have any problems driving. Since Ogre-Mom has been teaching me, we hahe learned a few things: 1) If you say "brakes" you get whiplash. 2) I'm very good at parking my chariot and driving in reverse. 3) I am the only person on this earth who can give someone whiplash by whipping the horses lightly. Multiple times. Like a drummer. Yup. On the bright side I have created a grocery list! It is a bit on the small side, though... Garbanzo Beans (1) Pineapple Strips (1) Vega One (1 when needed) Sprouted Quinoa (1) Ezekiel Taco Tortillas (1) Green Onions (1) Shredded Carrots (1) Corn Cobs (3) Shredded Lettuce (1) Guacamole (1) Radishes (1) Multivatins (1 when needed) Yyyeeeaaah. I'm considering adding bell peppers, but not sure. Maybe rice cakes, but I have a horrible rice cake addiction So for now I consider my life quest for this portion: Complete! Mission Three is being completed almost every day, even with my little experiments! Mission Two is being neglected, but I'm hoping that with my latest recipe experiments it will be met as well Mission One hasn't been met one single day. That being said, I'm going to drink the tea while I "make" my breakfast. It's already cooked, but still has to be put together. In the morning I want to have green tea. So... Yup. Update over!

What are some suprisingly tasty things you have made? So, today I made several dishes. For the sake of meal prep. Yup! Anyhow, here is what I tried: Vegan "tuna salad" (note: I have never had tuna salad, so I don't know how it compares) 15oz drained garbanzo beans, 1/4c hummus, 1/2 each finely chopped carrot and green onions. Mash it all up good. It was pretty good and filling! I made a tiny burrito with an Ezekiel taco tortilla and 1/4 cup as the meat... It was very good! But then, I like most things I make from scratch. Quinoa Salad: 1c lettuce, 1c salad base (corn, carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes), 1/2c quinoa, 2tbsp guacamole, stir it all up... I never knew guacamole could flavor something so strongly! Also, quinoa doesn't taste like dirt for once! And last but not least... Raini's Decent-Tasting Vega Shake! 1c chopped pineapple, 1 scoop vanilla Vega, 1.5cups Republic of Tea Pineapple Lychee tea (cooled). The only decent tasting attempt. I'm trying to move away from those super processed nut milks.

So, I have decided to have turkey! Lately I've had serious cravings for turkey sandwiches. Don't know why. But they are amazing. Just 2 slices of bread with a slice of turkey between them. Heaven. I'm going to try to find some decent turkey for my sandwiches , as I'm weary of regular deli meat.

Thanks

This post is going to sound particularly lazy, excuse-y, and blame-everyone-but-myself-y. I apologize in advance. So, last night I got a migraine. This may not seem like a big deal, except my migraines are severe. At one point I had a serious conversation with my neurologist about collecting disability for it. I had to drop out of school as a sophomore (have gotten GED and starting college in the fall) because I just couldn't attend school. Now, after 4 years (actually, my whole Damn life... I had to stop public school when I was small) I figured something out. If I am active, IE standing up for most of the day, my headaches happen less frequently (I'm down to 8 headache days a month !!!) and if I eat very cleanly with a lot of physical activity (lots of lifting and walking, when I had my job) I only had one headache at most each week, and it either went away while I worked or stayed managable until the my shift was over. It was great. Unfortunately I quit my job recently and my activity has gone way down... Only about 2 hours worth of activity (I'm working to change that) and so the severity and frequency are rising quickly. It hasn't been bad enough to hospitalize yet though! Well, last night I had a migraine. Small compared to normal. While I can't eat during one, after the pain goes away I get absolutely ravenous! And I don't crave what I normally eat... I crave chocolate and coffee (which I quit eating as- believe it or not, they were a big trigger) and something GREASY. Now, I know it's stupid to blame that for my mess ups, but gosh... I'm already pissy and still suffering from certain migraine symptoms, the medication I take for it (sumitriptan injections and 600mg Motrin for less severe migraines) sends me into "Homicidal Bitch Monster" mode (Same for my Dad... We are allergic to most medicines and the ones we aren't allergic to make us aggressive... And the thing is, we don't even realize it so if someone says "OI, YOU CRANKY TODAY" we start rowing down denial river... With extra Bitch sauce in our haterade), and I just want some comfort food that makes my suffering worth it! At least, in my head. And then when I eat it, I'm like... Gosh, that was soooo not worth it... Well, except that grease bomb... Totally worth it. And then about half an hour later... *Gag--gurgle--"OOOOH NO"--*spews vomit everywhere in parking lot... store trashcan... And bathroom* It's just frustrating because it's the same cycle... Headache-crave-binge-puke. Heck, it wasn't even a BINGE... Literally, cup of coffee+frenchtoast+a bite of tilapia (that stuff is NOT not-fried, way too greasy...) Sigh. You would think that after a lifetime of this I would learn, but nope... Pity party over On what I'm doing to try and move past this, I've decided to meal prep (Mostly... can't do avocado the night before, it turns brown) and walk around the house/clean a room every day to keep me active to help reduce severity/frequency. So.... Yeah! GOOD EVENING. I hope glitter rains on you from the sky!

Sigh. Was totally derailed today. We took a trip to Ihop before grocery shopping. Fortunately because of my refined, princess-ly palette I couldn't even get halfway through my meal without getting nauseous. Luckily I didn't empty myself in the parking lot like last time. (Read: An abnormally large variety of foods make me sick, which is why my diet isn't as varied as I'd like... That being said I figured out how to eat avocado without insta-puking the other day!) As far as exercise goes, mine is coming later today. My workout buddy is my Royal Mutt ^¬^! What I like to do -We are interrupting this post to tell you about THIS REALLY COOL CAR THAT JUST DROVE BY, it looks like a bullet and it's SOOO short and small!!!- Anyhow, what I like to do is walk on the treadmill with my dog. I wrap her leash around the bar and she walks behind me. We've gotten a lot closer doing this Then I jump on the rebounder while she jogs on the treadmill. If she doesn't get her jog in (she jogs at 12% incline, 5 MPH... She is a smallish dog so she is jogging at that speed, for 30 to 45 minutes) she will sit on the treadmill and whine. It is SOOO cute. She doesn't need the leash anymore but I don't risk it when I'm on there with her. Then we go and play fetch and tuggy. She is super strong and has iron jaws, so I lift her like a kettlebell as she holds into the toy. Sometimes I do leg lifts with a rope toy around my leg for extra resistance That being said, Puppy is far healthier than I am... I've always been really strict about about her food (cooking it myself, no tablefood I haven't approved, nothing processed until I've cooked/prepared it, etc). One of the reasons I started working her out SO much (it used to be mostly "strength" training for her and a 20 minute walk w8th 5 mile walks together on the weekend... I make sure even her abs get worked. She is bootylicious for a dog, let me tell you) because she isn't a good eater. There are still days when she won't eat anything but a small piece of chicken (thumb nail sized, as a reward for not having accidents overnight) and still days where she just doesn't eat, not even her treat. However she is nice and muscular, not bony, so we aren't too worried. I can only hope my arms and shoulders and... Well, everything, are/is as nice as hers one day. Isn't sad when you realize you take better care of your dog than yourself? Also, I'm regards to avocado: If I get it pureed, I can mix 2tbsp in with my salad. It's a bit creamy for my tastes, but the flavor is good!

I want to be a princess! No, seriously. Why are you laughing!? Anyhow. So, this will be my log, in which I keep track of all my princess-ly training/activities!

Well. I realise the challenge doesn't start for a bit, but I'll be posting here anyways... I finished my breakfast I'm really not a breakfast person so I'm kind of happy about that. I had a strawberry and orange juice smoothie (unpasteurized organic OJ) that came out to be about 20oz. It was very tasty... So I guess, I've completed mission three for the morning! I'm about to go practice my chariot driving skills... Yesterday I nearly steered the thing into some poor sod's house... Needless to say, Ogre-Mama (aka, my instructor) was not pleased ^¬^;

I have a question!!! So, I am fairly large. On top of that, I am ridiculously inflexible (literally, it hurts). How can I ease into yoga/work on becoming more flexible?

Oh my gosh, I'm not alone I'm 5'3" and 275 pounds. My Dad has always been very small despite horrendous eating habits, and my Mom has an eating disorder background (we have never once talked about food unless it was a comment on someone's cooking. Very taboo topic...) So I never really had a grasp on what was "normal". Throughout my life I've gone through phases of extreme restriction and extreme bingeing, even as a child. When I was twelve, I would eat only plain lettuce for a week (specifically, 2 outer leaves of romaine per meal) and then pig out the next... at the time I had no idea that this was at all out of the ordinary. The same goes for exercise... I would ride my bike constantly, for at least an hour each day. When we moved to an apartment with a gym I would lift weights and use the elliptical and rower machine. Every single day, for a while, which would eventually be followed by a period of complete inactivity. Eventually it just turned to bingeing, around the time I was 15. 2-3 plates of each meal. I started exercising again, and one day my dad walked in on me doing jumping jacks. He made a rather snide comment, which I don't even remember now... But it ruined exercise for me for ages. For a long time I didn't do it at all, and eventually I started locking the door and having My Mom holler before she would come back there, just to avoid being seen. I didn't even want them to know what video I was using, and refused to exercise evenings and weekend because my Dad was home. Aaaaand that's how I got here. Now that I'm 18, I've bought my own treadmill (even the dog uses it!) and a mini trampoline. I use them every day for at least 20 minutes each. Currently I'm working on getting my binge-eating sorted out

So... Yeah. I'm Raini, and this is my first challenge. Obviously. Anyhow... Race: Hobbit (Strangely enough, Daddy is a nymph and Mommy is an ogre. Isn't THAT a combo?) Main Quest: Stick to my diet. Explanation: Well, I'm a horrid yoyo dieter. I have a rather nasty binge habit that I'd like to break. Whenever I look back, I always lament the fact that I could have been at my goal of I had only stuck to it. My diet is (and has always been) plant based; however my bingeing far outweighs my dietary choices. Despite the gross excess of calories, this has kept me in great health, apart from my weight. Besides that, I have horrible problems with staying committed to pretty much everything... I feel like this is a good place to start. Mission One: Drink a cup of tea upon waking. This will help me think/get my head straight in the morning. Mission Two: Make vegetables a large part of my diet. This will help by providing more volume without racking up the calories (unlike delicious potatoes, Mmmm..... ) Mission Three: Make meals that I actually like, rather than a nasty meal just because it's lower calories. Because my word, those yam noodles are just disgusting. Like munching on little worms bathed in formaldehyde. Life Quest: Create a weekly grocery list.