Kvedulf

Hi, thanks for checking in on me, @Severine. Life's been crazy the past two weeks. Post surgery toddlers are NOT fun at all. Ms Kvedulf and I were operating on about 4 hours of sleep a night and Kvedulf Jr was in almost constant pain. Was not fun. As far as life experiences go I give it 1 star. Thankfully though, he's better now and actually seems like a happier little boy. He also seems to be more communicative, but I'm not sure if I'm imagining that or not. Needless to say, the challenge has kind of fallen by the wayside. The only thing I've managed to do is actually cut out the coffee after the first one. I'm actually doing that. And Jr's room is almost finished. Pretty happy with that and I may share pics But I'm not beating myself up about this challenge being a bust: unhappy and hurting toddler was more important. Will check in on everyone later today.

Cheers for the info. Did not know about that all. I live about 150km west of Brisbane but livec in Brisbane for about 7 years. Given that air pollution is so low here, no one really thinks of it. But I can imagine how important it would be in places like Beijing. Thanks again

I know the pain of trying to increase your flexibility. Its something I've tried to work on in the past and will work on in future challenges as well. If you find anything that works for you, please share And where the hell in the world do you live that air pollution levels 1) have to be measured and announced and 2) can get that bad that you can't really go outside?

Quick update for the week: Have been drinking at least 2 litres of water each day. There was two days this week when I had a second coffee. I'm really happy about that because two weeks ago I was averaging at least 6-8 coffees each day. Meditation is going well. Not feeling any benefits yet but I know it will take time, like everything else. Haven't done my workout this week On the to do list side of things, I've finished the painting, put in the flooring and the skirting for Kvedulf Jr's new bedroom. Ms Kvedulf also helped me fill out the paperwork for the government department to sort out my refund and reenrolment for study. So aftef week 1 I'm really happy with my challenge. Also Kvedulf Jr is going into hospital for his operation tomorrow. Feeling pretty anxious about that

Hi! Welcome to the forums. I know how hard it can be to make connections with people but the Rebellion is full of wonderful people. Nice challenge. What sort of activities are you looking at doing?

What a week. Nearly through it though. That solutions journalism group sounds pretty cool. You'll have to keep us posted on that.

Following for the adventures. Still trying to wrap my head around the concept of the icecream truck delivering while its snowing. Actually, to be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of snow

Fair enough. My biggest problem is that without a deadline, I don't start moving. I work really well when I'm time pressured. So even a self imposed deadline works well for me. The flipside is that if I fail to achieve the deadline, I lose all momentum a sthe brainweasels systematically attack. Hence this system, which seems to work for me. And I'm not too sure about normal people. I think I met one once *shudder* @Severine Maxichuffed is now my new favourite word.

@Severine I took your advice and started the day with a glass of water. It definitely worked. Felt so much better within moments. Thanks for the tip! The floating deadline thing is pretty simple really. I think "normal" people do it all the time. I just have trouble doing it. But basically, for all things that I need to do that don't have a set in stone date (bills, appointments etc) I set a date to get it done by. If it doesn't get done by that date, I have to look at the page, say "that's ok" and reschedule the date to the next available day, which is usually the next day. Simple as that. Because I'm the kind of person that once they have a deadline will move hell to get it done, I don't really have the issue of being lazy and just changing the date. What it does though is help me not berate and criticize myself into the foetal position for not completing something when I thought I would get it done, when it has no real repurcussions if it gets done today or tomorrow. @Bookish Badger Kvedulf Jr still loves his dinosaurs and still refers to them as "Gabetz". He loves them so much that he wanted to go the Queensland Museum to see the dinosaurs for his third birthday. I feel like I should state that he goes to the museum about once a month anyway. He's also fallen in love with all things rockets and will happily watch youtube videos of NASA launches or space shuttle footage for half an hour at a time. Pretty good for a three year old I think. On a less positive note, his speech is really lagging but we've finally been able to get a doctor to refer him to all the necessary speech pathologists and specialists, so that's good that the all is rolling finally. He's also going into hospital next Tuesday to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. On the challenge note, I had two coffees yesterday (One in the morning and one at night), drank 1.5L of water and got my meditation in. Today, so far I've drunk my water, had 1 coffee and even meditated

How had I never picked up on the little death before? I'm never going to be able to read Dune with a straight face again. Thanks

That is really powerful. I didn't take that much away from the scene and now I feel kind of disappointed that I didn't. On the mantra side of things, when I'm struggling against anxiety or a panic attack, I keep repeating the Bene Gesserit litany against fear from Dune.

Hi all. It's been a while since I last did a challenge. I had been making quite a bit of progress but unfortunately, a series of things mostly out of my control and a rather large reinfestation of brain weasels led to me completely falling off the wagon. It's taken this long for me to get anywhere back on track and it took a couple of messages from some fellow Rebels to give me the final push to come back here. And I'm glad I did. This challenge is going to be a bit easier than some of the ones I had done (hopefully. I do have a habit of biting off waaaaay more than I can chew.) I'm focusing on those things that I had been doing that were working. I think I need to simply feel better about myself first, so that's what this challenge is about: restarting those little habits that were helping. 1. Drink 2 litres of water each day. Simple, easy and necessary. And, shock horror, it did make me feel better. 2. Replace all coffees (except the first morning one) with green tea. I love the first coffee in the morning. I enjoy it. But after that, I don't really know why I drink it. Kind of like smoking. And the excess caffeine gives me too much energy which translates into feeling like a panic attack. Which then obviously turns into a panic attack. Coffee is not good for me. Green tea on the other hand leaves me feeling refreshed, relaxed, calm and focused. Which is what I need. 3. Do the NFBBW workout once each week. I know it's less than what I was doing and certainly less than what I want to be be doing, but I'm not making the mistake of pushing too hard too soon. 4. Practice zazen meditation for 5 minutes each day I was just starting to feel the benefits of this when I stopped last time. Not the smartest thing I've done. I want to resume meditating. I'm not going to bother setting a time for it, as that's nearly impossible to do with a three year old running around. 5. Work through the following to do list. I'm not going to stress over it too much if it doesn't all get done. Having a to do list that I can complete is one of the best ways for me to feel good, but I do tend to punish myself a lot if I don't get it done. My therapist and I have been working on having a "floating" deadline system that seems to be working so far. The list: Finish renovating Kvedulf Jr's new bedroom. Find and buy a second hand pushbike Sort out my studying options Get in touch with a nearby dojo about jodo and taiko drumming classes Fix my lawnmower Renew Learner's licence and start learning to drive. Create my Nerdfitness Battle log. So that's it. Hopefully a relatively stress free easing back into the Rebellion. I do want to resume my samurai challenges, but for now it's baby steps.

What's this "Becoming" a beast business? You're already pretty damn beastly! I don't really have any advice either, but I shall also lurk and swipe the ideas that @fleaball misses.

Damn, I'm really late. Have to work on this. Sending good feelings your way Severine.

That gif is quite possibly yhr greatest thing I have seen in days.

C...Cretaceous creatures. Because dinosaurs are awesome. Damn it, now I want to do a dinosaur challenge

I second what SnowOwl said!

But there are some advantages, like not having to sit on cold or dirty toilet seats just to pee. And on that note, how's things going Badger?

So much good stuff to quote I don't know where to start! You're in Beast Mode You're an inspiration EJ. Definitely helping me break down some of the brain weasels that have been plaguing me recently. Awesome work

Damn, that's a douchey thing to do. Fingers crossed for the job application. Also, a bit late to the party but another member fo the Bedknobs and Broomsticks brigade checking in.

Heya! Glad you're still here too! How's things? Also, following

Yay, Severine is still here! Insert adorable cat gif of your choice here (its way too hard to do on my rubbish phone). Hope you're feeling better. Following.

Hey mate. Long time no chat. Told you I would be back though. And like always, everything you write sounds so familiar You got this. Following all the way.

Holy crap, it's Thursday already. Where did the week go? Pretty sure Kvedulf Jr has stolen it... Anyway, the challenge is going alright I guess. Have only had one coffee every day so far. I drink a disturbingly large amount of green tea but I'm ok with that. My posting has been a bit off but at least I'm posting again so that's a win. Zazen happens Wednesday - Friday when Kvedulf Jr is at daycare. (hard to even contemplate meditating when being attacked by a two year old pretending to be a dinosaur with guns).Workouts are the same for about the same reason. In other news, horticulture study is going pretty well. I've also started reading a Japanese history book. Ms Kvedulf just got a new job which means more money (enough that we don't have to worry about eating budget food and giving up the diet we have become accustomed to, which is good). Kvedulf Jr is still dinosaur mad and is in his second week of daycare, so he can start to socialise with other kids, and is loving it. I'm also contemplating taking up kendo and jujutsu but have to work up the courage to interact with people to be able to start doing it.

Hey mate,how's things going?