Briniel

Uh oh. I feel kind of guilty for getting this whole Sims 4 thing started. Which let's play do you watch? I'm doing excactly what you described as your previous game style, trying to max out all the skills and stuff. And do all the jobs. And get all the collectibles (this is going to take so very long). My problem is that I usually get bored with a certain sim after a while and create a new one to change it up a little and then when I go back to the old one I forget what I was up to with them and don't want to play them anymore Is the electricity back up? Glad to hear the decluttering is already having effects on your headspace What's the box-count at right now? It sounded like you're a little ahead of plan, right?

You're doing so great, I'm totally with Jarric here I totally get your concerns about a personal trainer... they cost so much that I'd like to be extra sure they actually know their stuff enough to be able to trouble shoot an individual solution for my issues. Maybe there's some website with online reviews of local trainers? I don't know, I'm just guessing here, but that's where I'd look unless I had someone accquaintance I could ask.

Thanks for asking! Friday was a bit rough since I didn't get to any of my goals before work and was too tired after, but I did good on hydration, nutrition and hygiene. Saturday started really well with my first ever real yoga lesson (which wasn't much different from Yoga with Adriene, to be honest, just with more social pressure ) and a massage and brunch at my boyfriend's mom's house. I was off to a great start and theeeeeen... I got sick. Had to deal with headaches, tummyaches, throat aches over the weekend, sometimes so bad that I couldn't sleep because every swallow hurt and woke me up again. Not fun. Got typical cold symptoms around the middle of the week and have been laying low since then. I didn't even track my goals. I thought about making an emergency plan to make sure I stay on track as much as I can (and get enough hydration and fresh air and self care) but I just didn't get around to it and I'm okay with that. I do intend to get back at it as good as I can from tomorrow on. I think I'd like to track my basic needs/habits in a monthly tracker again and use the weekly challenges to 1) get into the habit of doing all the things on the tracker by setting specific goals 2) come up with additional tasks like specific workouts 3) design larger quest lines or aspirations (to stay in the Sims lingo) with multiple steps and rewards attached to them. But for the rest of this challenge I just want to set up my habit and housekeeping tracker for april and get as many points in these as I can. Btw, stats for week 1: Hydration: 26 points Nutrition: 30 points Movement: 20 points Fun: 12 points Social: 20 points Hygiene: 28 points Really glad to see that the nutrition habits I installed last year are still in effect. I think my goal for next week is to get at least 20 points in each category.

Aaah, so that's how you do it So much win in the last post. And I'm totally envious of the bacholerette party By the way, all the salad talk has been stuck in my brain and when grocery shopping today, there were a lot of greens in my cart... guess what I'll be making

Unfortunately I don't think it works like that, but if you figure something out, let me know Do you maybe have an idea of what you *don't* want to do? There's so many options, maybe another perspective might help dwindling it down a bit.

Hi there! Sounds like a really exciting challenge you've got going here. I'm a bit late to the party, I hope that's okay So much stuff going on!!! I took notes I'm really curious how going nomadic will work out for you, it definitely appeals to me (but I have way, WAY too much stuff). But it sounds like a LOT of work, too. I totally get the still-unpacked-boxes dilemma (and I've lived in this place for 6 years...) The 100%/99% thing is so true. I've found that having a clear no-excuses goal makes it so much easier to stick to it than having to decide over and over again whether this cookie or that glass of orange juice is okay. Hope that one works out well for you No internet before lunch is so hard. But so motivating! (until you start going "screw this" and find yourself on the computer first thing in the morning... oh well) I love the 8 areas idea and was really impressed with your list and how you highlighted the ones to start on. Than I read that the bold ones are the ones you've already done, so now I'm even more impressed Congrats on selling the house! It sounds like a perfect solution both for your finances and the work you will (or won't) have to put in it. Glad the new owners are so accomodating And congrats on getting all this stuff done! I already thought so when reading the list, but reading about it in your posts has me seriously impressed. I'm also impressed with all the planning you're doing. Good thing you recounted those boxes. That's a lot. But you'll get there and breaking it down into small/big tasks sounds like a really smart idea.

Aah, I probably didn't word that properly. I didn't think you were in Ireland, my question was rather "what are your plans for Ireland", but you answered it anyway Canada and Ireland both sound great! Unfortunately, I have no idea how one would go about an endeavour like that...

Quick Thursday update (because I really don't have energy for anything other than a quick update): Hydration - 3 (didn't have time to drink at work... stressfull day) Nutrition - 5 Exercise - 3 (stairs and yoga) Fun - 3 (put a bit more effort in this one) Social - 2 (uuuuum) Hygiene - 5 Not really happy with these numbers, but at least I'm more mindful of the things I want to do, even if I don't yet get around to doing all of them.

Good job on that paper I had to google contact information for my dad once and it sucks. So much. What are you up to in Ireland?

Regarding salad dressings, if the acidity is bothering you, try adding something sweet. Could be some fruit, if you're into that, or a wee bit of honey (unless that conflicts with your paleo goals). That usually takes the edge of for me. But I usually do a vinegar/olive oil/cream dressing that has more calories than the rest of the salad combined... Good work on getting that run in! Since starting to work full time, I'm really, REALLY impressed with anyone getting anything done after a work day. I'm sitting here, with a cat on my lap, trying to think of easy ways to get a few more points on my challenge goals, because I'm too tired to do anything slightly straining. And you just go on that run, have an awesome aikido session and worry about not getting a shovelglove in... you rock!

That was actually what I was going to suggest. I've considered something along these lines, myself. But right now the real-life consequences of slipping up terrify me more than they'd motivate me Congrats for going to study class!! It can be really hard being social, sometimes. How did it go?

Ah, flea... hang in there. I really don't know what else to say (can I just copy what lynetta and dagger said?), but we're here and rooting for you.

Hey there! Sounds like your going strong That sticker board is awesome!! Anything to get motivated

Great goals you have there. I especially love the "Finish all the things" slogan, I can relate to it so much! Yay for cooperative weather. Today it really felt like spring for the first time this year. Can't wait for warmth!!

Go get that paper going!

that sounds creepy O_O salad without dressing just doesn't work, so I totally get your breakfast salad troubles. And yay for getting the smoothie in, too I can realte to the snacking cravings so much. I've tried taking grapes or cherry tomatoes or pears and cheese or some other healthy alternative to work just so I won't gore on the chocolate and candy and it worked quite well for me. Do you have links to the wrist work and stretches? Do you like the GMB stuff? I've heard about it before and it sounds really good.

Quick Wednesday update: put in an effort to do the things that were lacking before. Worked pretty well. Hydration - 4 Nutrition - 5 3 (had some baklava that my boyfriend brought from work. I did not resist.) Exercise - 5 (thanks to a 40 minute session of Yoga with Adriene and stairs) Fun - 2 Social - 3 Hygiene - 4 (the counter did get some lovin', but not enough to call it a kitchen counter zero. Getting there!) I don't have to go to work until 10am today, so I will try and meet my exercise and fun goals before that.

NOOOOOOO!! I hate when that happens Can you put a post-it with "exercise helps" somewhere prominent or something?

Nah, it kinda already was hard before. Well, let me specify: Playing with the cats is (unfortunately) a chore for me. I rarely do it and while it can be fun while I'm at it, I usually don't have much patience. And I have a really big bad conscience because of this. I love cuddling with "my" cat, but she's not often in the mood for that. I read the newspaper on the way to work and just finished a book on relationships that was really interesting. But I finished all my reading material yesterday and haven't yet decided on what to read next. There's a book I read to my boyfriend sometimes and we both really enjoy that, but our sleep schedules are so different that we rarely manage to get that done. I could (and want to) put some more effort into this. The private dance party is something I read about in another NF challenge and liked the sound of (and it IS fun when I do it), but making it a goal doesn't work, probably just like you said, NTB. Singing is something I'll get back to soon (choir starts again) and that, again, I want to do more of. I'd like to practice for my private singing lessons more often (and have more of those, but that depends on my teacher's schedule) and make more music with my boyfriend. But this stuff just happens when you're in the mood for it, I guess, and I can't really force it. Though, to be fair, I haven't really made an effort in this one so far. Maybe it would be fun once I start... Going outside just for the sake of going outside is one of those things that I'd like to do although there's no inner motivation. I do enjoy it once I'm outside, but there's this really big hurdle inside my mind when it comes to leaving the house. I just want to stay home and cuddle up on my couch in a blanket. I guess the question is this: Is the FUN category supposed to optimize my leisure time activities or is it supposed to be geared more towards self-care. It's definitely ill-designed for the latter.

I'm so sorry you're feeling this bad. Just remember that this is the depression, it's not you. You did all you could and more than most manage to do under these circumstances. You're awesome for sticking around and trying even with all this emptiness bearing down on you. This is not permanent, even if it may feel like that right now. You will get out of this, you will get better, and in the meantime, take care of yourself. Sending lots of good thoughts your way!

It didn't... I had a friend from work over and completely forgot about it. Tuesday stats: Hydration - 4 (solid) Nutrition - 5 (woot!) Movement - 2 (well... I did yoga in the morning, but that's about it. No stairs to climb) Fun - 1 (I'm not sure whether I just don't have time for this or whether the things I chose are not really fun and therefor not internally motivating to me... or maybe it's something completely different) Social - 4 (had that friend over which was really great. Had some good conversation and a really fun discussion on why I don't want to even try playing VR horror games) Hygiene - 4 (that damn kitchen counter! I'll get to it tonight)

On sunday I was so happy about this and felt like it was so easy and even considered making my goals a bit harder in some areas. Then monday hit me. And work. And... well... let's just say I'm going to stick to my goals as they were. Hydration - 4 (though I'm not quite sure that's correct... I need to track how many refills I've had) Nutrition - 5 (so happy about this one) Exercise - 2 (stairs + 10 minutes of yoga in the morning) Fun - 1 (reading on the way to and from work) Social - 1 (didn't talk to anyone outside my work except for my boyfriend... ugh) Hygiene - 4 (put my clothes away!! Didn't do kitchen counter zero again. Third time's the charm!)

How can you be allergic to cats when you spend a week with two cats without symptoms? This confuses me so much.

That's a really interesting point here. I have a difficult time doing things for no other purpose than that they're good for me. I have this huge pressure of doing things that I deem usefull (whatever that is) or they don't count. And yeah, the usual self-care suggestions didn't really click so far. I had a hard time coming up with things for the "fun" category for my challenge and in the end, most of them are things that have some kind of higher purpose. But I don't want "me-time" to feel like a chore or another task to check off...

Had a pretty good first day Hydration - 4 - I had my water bottle next to me all day and drank about 4 and a half fillings. That computes to 2.7l which is pretty awesome. I've found that just having something to drink near me at all times helps a lot, but I still have to remind myself to actually drink once in a while. Nutrition - 4 - I didn't have any white flour or sugar (though my friend had butter cookies that were really tempting me!). I usually eat a bowl of fruit and quark/yoghurt in the morning but didn't yesterday for some reason, so I had it at a snack later in the day. I had chicken breasts for lunch and potatoes for dinner which make up a decent meal if combined, I guess? I didn't get a veggie point though. While potatoes could be considered veggies, I had the non-starchy ones in mind when setting this up. Otherwise I'd just eat potato casserole all day (which is basically just potatoes, cheese and cream) and get two points for that. Movement - 2 - I decided to not count the "stairs instead of elevators" one unless there are acctually elevators to avoid. So I didn't get that point, but I did 26 minutes of yoga in the evening before bed. I decided on some Yoga with Adriene videos. She's so great. Did some of her routines this morning, too and time went by so quickly! Fun - 2 - I did a little reading in the evening and sat on my friend's balcony for a while which definitely counts as the outside. It was so, so cold, but for a minute or so I even had a little bit of sunshine on my face. I think I need to add some sort of time frame for this one, though, just to get a clear idea of what counts and what doesn't. Social - 5 - Met with friends and shared ideas about living arrangements. I really, really love tiny houses or container homes, they're so cool. We've been thinking about buying a big property for some version of shared living, but it's just ideas and daydreams so far. Curious to see what will come off it. I also talked to my boyfriend and his mom, so that's two more points for this one. Oh, and I updated my challenge thread and commented on some others! I just realized. That makes my first max score Hygiene - 3 - I brushed my teeth and flossed and also did my tidying tasks (for those who remember, my housekeeping chart is pretty much the only thing from my last challenges that's still going (mostly) strong), but I forgot the kitchen counter zero thing and my clothes are not where they're supposed to be. Still pretty decent. Today started off with yoga and fruit. I start work late so there's still a little time left. Might as well get a head-start on my chores... maybe I'll put away my clothes