WhiteBeltBrowncoat

Hey Daule, just thought I'd stop by and see how things were going. Hope life is going smoothly.

Thanks Ceph. Sadly the car ended up being $630 to replace the alternator and battery. That stings more than a little bit. On the challenge front, yesterday was a bit of a wash. Didn't get around to practicing at home, chose unhealthy snacks after work, and a large slice of pie and ice cream for dessert. On the plus side, the pie is all gone now and I don't have to worry about it tempting me. I did manage to put together a large potato gratin for eating later in the week and freezing the leftover curry. So food prep counts as +1 adulting. Updates: 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (2/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (4/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (7/84) 2.3 - Adulting (+1; 6/57) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2)

I like that. I'm going to have to work on adding that to my lunches.

Hey all, thought I'd drop by and say hello. I don't actually have a kettlebell per say, but I do have a 26lb (~12kg) bag of tire chains that works well enough until I can convince the wife to add a kettlebell to the house. I've managed to convince (delude) myself that using the bag of tire chains also helps me work on grip strength. Ok, probably not, but I haven't sent the bag of chains flying through the window or glass door to the patio yet. So far I've been working on Simple and Sinister and have been really enjoying that. I've really liked Pavel's concept of strength as a skill and leaving something in the tank for later. The fact that I can also sneak a workout in while the little one watches tv and I'm making dinner is a wonderful bonus.

I'm jealous of your rooftop setup. Now I'm going to have to add that to the list of things I want.

Yum, fresh veggies. Now I want to go to the market.

In all, it sounds like a productive weekend spent around people you enjoy. Can't find anything wrong with that.

I really like this approach. It makes a lot of sense. Maybe I'll have to try something similar with breads and tortillas.

Ooh, the couscous salad with pomegranates sounds interesting. It is always refreshing to look at your posts and seeing the gratitude part. Makes me realize that I should be more mindful and not take things for granted.

Updates: 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (2/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (+1; 4/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (+1; 7/84) 2.3 - Adulting (+2; 5/57) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2) The practicing at home went really well this weekend. Saturday/Sunday I did the warm ups from my kaju class and noticed it getting easier which felt really good. Then Sunday afternoon my wife and I were able to do a little bit of sticks work together while we were waiting for the little bear to finish making his road in the garden right where we were trying to plant. Snacking was harder, the wife made a really yummy rustic apple tart and that threw all sense of reasonable dessert out the window. The only way to properly enjoy that is a large slice (or two) with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. But I did manage to make up another batch of rice for the week to go with the large pot of curry. Adulting was okay. Great in the sense that all the clothes are clean and put away before the week starts and the house is mostly clean, but we didn't talk about our finances like we needed to. One of our cars took a dive on Friday and we're hoping it is the alternator (only a $450 fix) vs. something else. Sadly this sort of thing tanks us and unless the repair shop can pull some sort of miracle and get the car diagnosed and repaired today, I need to rent a car to deal with picking up and dropping off the little bear, not to mention getting to and from work. Blegh. Other than that it was a good weekend. Productive and relaxing.

Updates: 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (2/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (+2; 3/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (+1; 5/84) 2.3 - Adulting (+2; 3/18) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2) 2.1b – Doing good here. Last night I got to do maybe 10-15 minutes practice on the figure 8 pattern with two sticks. I finally know how the coordinated kids in middle school did the twirly thing with the glow sticks at the school dances. It only took me 20 years to catch up. And then this morning I got to do the warmup sequence that the kaju class has been doing lately (45 seconds pushups, 45 seconds crunches, 45 seconds squat jumps; then 30 seconds; then 15; then 5). 2.2 Snacking last night was a mixed bag. I did good until dinner, but then after dinner I snacked a bunch while doing chores and waiting for the wife to come home. I'll have to work on that. The big challenge is the mouth feel of crunchy bread and butter or cereal. 2.3 Adulting – I done good. Last night I folded two batches of laundry and got a third into the dryer, did all the dishes, wiped down the stove and counters.

Nice job on the BBWW! Ooohhh freezer meals. Right before myw ife had our son, she stocked our freezer with a month or two worth of frozen meals. It was super handy being able to pull and throw it in the oven. Now you've got me excited to go look through cookbooks to see what I can freeze.

Cool. Sounds like a fun challenge.

Updates: 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (+1; 2/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (1/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (+2; 4/84) 2.3 - Adulting (+1; 3/18) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2) 2.1a – Kaju class last night was fun. I was the only beginner again so for half the class I got to work with the more advanced students. I guess that means I get more exposure to other things and working with more experienced partners. Then I got to work with an instructor one-on-one for the other half of the class. Reviewed some old material and went over something new that I'm looking forward to practicing at home. 2.2 – Snacking went well. I wasn't home until late so that removed the snacking after work temptation, and then I managed to convince myself that I was full and didn't need dessert. I think I want to work towards not having dessert every night. It was a treat growing up, but now it's more of an every night kind of thing. 2.3 – Adulting. I'm thinking I'm going to change this starting next week to take care of 10 adult responsibilities in a week. That can include finances, laundry, dishes, cleaning, parenting. Any of the non-fun stuff that needs to get done for the household to run smoothly. Snow Owl – The idea of freezing bread is a good one. Too often I've come across a stale, half-eaten loaf in the bread basket on top of the fridge because we couldn't see it. Keeping it in the freezer would keep us from wasting that. Kishi – I'll keep that in the back of my head. Also, I can't wait until I can get a real kettlebell. The bag of tire chains works, but the proper tools would be nice. On a side note, I really like Tsatsouline's view of exercise being a skill that should be practiced, not a mindless repetition of things.

Awesome to hear that things are going well. It seems to me that just getting to class in the first is the biggest challenge. The TMNT workout is one of my favorites here, though I'm looking forward to trying out the new Arrow workout. Keep it up!

One thing that I will usually do with eggs and spinach is brown some ground beef, saute some onions, the mushrooms, and a little bit of garlic, toss in the spinach and cover so the spinach wilts down. Then pour the scrambled eggs over everything and stir until the egg is cooked. Top with some parmesean and you've got a tasty meal. Growing up, my parents would make that for us on camping trips.

I like the real world goals. Schlock Mercenary has made references to phones (or their future equivalent) as hand-brains which seems somewhat appropriate, I know I'm guilty of it. This photographer had an interesting take on the relationship with our phones and other people. At some point I think I'll have to do something similar and try to unplug/wean myself away from the phone/computer (aside from the forums here of course). It looks like you have some solid plans here.

I must say that the reading recommendations are dangerous. Prior to last challenge I hadn't heard of the Dresden Files. Well maybe I was mildly aware of them, but didn't know squat about them. In about the span of two weeks I read them all. My sleep pattern was a little wonky and now I need more Dresden Files and don't want to wait. Darn you people for introducing me to something awesome.

I think you're right, that it will get easier later on. Unfortunately, it seems like this school is a bit disorganized when it comes to the beginners classes. It seems like each instructor has a different idea of what curriculum is being covered. Which is nice when you get a good instructor who you work well with, but it does seem like it can leave gaps. Recap: Still sore from Tuesday night class, but I managed to do a Simple and Sinister session. I like how it is designed to not totally exhaust you. Snacking wise, I did good not eating before dinner, but dinner left something lacking and after dessert (a small root beer float) ended up snacking on buttered toast. I think I need to work on leaving bread out of the shopping cart when we go to the grocery store. Adulting-wise, I discovered the bottom of the sink. Turns out it HAD been hiding underneath all the dishes. Alas, it disappeared again this morning. Also managed to wash two loads of laundry, but now I have two loads of laundry sitting on the living room floor waiting for me to fold them. I had been planning on folding them while watching tv with the wife, but that just didn't happen. Ooh, and I managed to make up a large batch of rice, which will help with meals for the rest of the week, so that semi counts for the batch cooking challenge, maybe. I'm thinking that veggie curry will make an appearance tonight or tomorrow. Stoic reading: I got through the first couple pages in the Obstacle is the Way. Not much, but it is more than yesterday. 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (1/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (+1; 1/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (+1; 2/84) 2.3 - Adulting (+1; 2/18) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2)

As far as I could figure out for the wrap, start on the side closer to the heart and work towards the extremity. So for the elbow, start the wrap above your elbow and then wrap down towards your hand. If you have someone else to help you, it is a lot easier to keep the band flat. I was trying to do it by myself with a band that was probably too short and got frustrated. A couple of times harsh language may even have been employed.

Following. Sounds like you've got this!

Following. Sounds like you've got some solid plans. The Norse runes sound really interesting. And ouch on the migraines. That's no fun at all.

Oooh, I like that idea.

I'm glad to hear that you're moving onto something new and better. I'm liking your challenge format and may have to borrow shamelessly from it in the future. For the elbow, if you have some you might try 'flossing' the joint (Kelly Starrett, another article I can't find the source at the moment). It worked pretty well for me after I tweaked my elbow throwing a punch wrong.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. It really is amazing how supportive this community is. I'm browsing through Flylady's site now. It just so happens that I have a sink full of dishes to clean when I get home tonight. I'll have to start with shining up the sink when I finish. I agree that adding 31 things in a row sounds like a whole lot. Maybe I'll try for a 31-week process and see if that works. The budgeting stuff is tricky. My wife is a bit of a technophobe (though she just found pinterest and is enjoying that), so our budgeting is all on pen and paper. I've dallied with Mint but never been able to stick with it for any length of time. Sadly, Everydollar isn't on Android yet, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it. And daily vitamins are a good thing for sure, when I come up with some (or shamelessly steal) I'll have to see about posting them (now I've got the Flintstone Kids vitamin song going through my head). Last night was the triumphant return to Kaju class after being out for three weeks (turns out that trying to spend time with the wife, clean the house before going on a weekend trip, and trying to make a halloween costume for a little bear will eat up any and all time/energy for Kaju). About 5 minutes into warmups I felt like I was going to die. Proof that I need to be doing my at home exercises more I think. The class itself was kind of meh. The instructor is one who is great with the kids, but my experience is that he tends to gloss over the basics. I was the only beginner last night so the class was geared towards the intermediate/advanced students which left me trying to puzzle out the basic steps that were being shown. Hopefully Thursday's class will have a different instructor. Foodwise, eh. I did better controlling the snacking at home; it was easier being away from the house. But I did end up having more sugary treats at work. So six of one, half a dozen of another. Adulting, Kaju class threw a wrench into it. I got home, showered, then ate dinner and watched a couple episodes with the wife. Sounds nice. Unfortunately, I didn't do laundry or dishes that needed to be done. Though I did manage to look at the finances, so that's a plus at least. Recap: 2.1a - Attend Kaju class (1/12) 2.1b - Practice at home (0/24) 2.2 - Responsible snacking (1/84) 2.3 - Adulting (1/18) 2.4 - Stoics (0/2)