Ann of Owlshire

The Mr loves having guests to stay. Our place in London practically felt like a B&B, but (especially once we had Enting) we were all on top of one another and I Do Not Like People in My Space. So when we moved to Owlshire one of my requirements was dedicated guest quarters. And that usually works out fine, except when it's my in-laws

To be honest, it’s usually a better visit when they aren’t staying with us. The Mr and his sister are prone to lots of micro aggressions and this way they (and their partners) all get a break.

I'm finally caught up... I started a new career (completely unplanned) at 41 after 2.5 years of Stay-at-Home momming. It was also in the midst of the pandemic and national lockdowns which made our search for childcare even more difficult. Our son had, for several months, completely ignored his old sleep routine schedule and would just go to bed any time between 5PM and 10PM. After a couple of months of work, I couldn't cope with the erratic sleep schedule anymore, and my husband heroically spent a long weekend enforcing bedtime. He's been to bed at 7 every night for the last two years since I'm not saying that to say "I had it harder" because I didn't. I'm saying it, because I want you to know I got through it all, and I know you can, too ❤️ You might find it easier to focus on nailing one or two of these new habits at a time than trying to DO IT ALL?

Week 1 (the remains of) Report: Dragon Form Steps: 76,786/80,000 I've had a decline in step averages lately, need to work on that. I think I'm reducing net snack consumption, but I still need to work on it. I've got a habit tracker (see below) set up for this week which I'm hoping will help. Dragon Wings I already mentioned my London business travel last week. Now I need to prepare for the one to Devon next week. (And should buy train tickets for my November business travel...) We have arranged our family holiday in November. Two days in the Sussex countryside at a friend's holiday cottage, and then two days in London. Hurrah! Dragon Heart I think I'll make this broader on my next challenge. I've been binge reading books on home education (more "how" than "why") and developing some activities/games tailored to the Enting to work on some things he's been resistant about (which also include more research into game design). None of my spiritual studies are getting completed. I think this is fine. What Dragon Heart is really about is making time for the things that I am passionate about--home education and game design are also among them and I'm doing a lot in that regard (above and beyond the hours I spend in my day job). Also, I've just signed up for four weeks of adolescent dog obedience classes for Skye. Dragon Horde Uh. We haven't had a working boiler in more than three weeks. There is no fix or replacement yet scheduled. (A part--with no tracking info--supposedly on the way to the repair people from Finland.) The plumbing in the guest bedroom (runs on a different system) was leaking, so we couldn't using the shower in there, either. Last Monday, the plumber came by and believed he'd done an temporary fix to the leaky shower but a few days later water was coming through the more wrecked than before ceiling below so... not so much. Now we've torn out the rotting ceiling boards. More fun! (Also no ETA on a fix.) Oh, and my in-laws are coming to visit this weekend! (They've decided to stay at a nearby B&B given our "living history" situation, which I'm sure they won't be passive-aggressive about at all.) In other news, I recently received the digital planner for the Hero's Planner I backed. The physical one comes in December, but I'm printing off sheets and putting them in my notebook. I'm going to making use of the habit tracker this week, particularly for: No snacks (AM) No snacks (PM) 10k+ per day Out of bed by 6:30AM (I've recently developed a poor habit of laying in bed long after the alarm and then being in a rush the rest of the morning.)

Week Zero (and part of 1) Already thrown off course! Mr was away on a business trip, we had weekend guests visiting from the North, and then I had a short business trip to London. Through all of this, Enting has been ill. (He saw the GP yesterday.) Our boiler is still dead. We are currently looking into replacing it. I think on future updates I'll add a photo collage from the week, but for now I'll just get an update posted because it's like Thursday on Week 1.... Dragon Form 77,000/80,0000 steps on Week 0, so a bit to improve on. I haven't eliminated snacks, but I'm lower quantity. It's a stepped process. I'm also trying to lower portions at meal times. Dragon Wings I've been to London and back again (Week 1). Tried a new route (driving to a different station and catching the train from there), it had problems (IE, absurb traffic, I nearly missed the train), will refine for the next round. Much accomplished on said work trip. I'm going to do some research on routes and train fares for the next trip to London (November). Our family trip is beginning to take form. A couple of days in the Sussex countryside (with friends whose family have a holiday cottage there), and then a couple of days at their home in London. Now to figure out what to do about the dog... I have a 3 day writing retreat (Tues-Thursday) at the end of September. I decided to add Monday and Friday to my time off work to have the full week off. Those will be at home doing things with the Enting. Dragon Heart I've poked the vision statement. Not much else done, unfortunately. Dragon Horde Haha, no.

At least it's during the summer this time. A couple of winters back our boiler was out for a cumulative 5+ weeks. I've become very skilled with the wood stove....

Week 0 Orientation: It's back to school week which has all sorts of feelings. We pulled Enting out of school late last year so this is will be our first full year of home education. If he was in school, he'd be Year 1, which feels like we're really in it now. 😬 Mr is away on a business trip this week. In fact, for every week during this challenge either the Mr or I will be away. We are not quite ships in the night as our outings are usually only 2-3 days at a time, but still.... Boiler engineer finally came yesterday, on Day 10 without hot water. He needs to order a part. We may see him again later this week? I hope? I'm getting braver with my cold showers. Wim Hof here I come?

I have a joke that it's not an NF challenge if we all haven't come down with something at least once. My kiddo is a magnet for germs! I hope you all feel better soon ❤️

Briefly, a Who I Am: I'm a 44 year old American woman living on a 10 acre woodland property in rural England I call Owlshire with my partner and 5 y/o son. I work in gamedev, our son is home educated (by ourselves and outsourced help), we have a bouncy adolescent golden retriever pup, a flock of plucky rescue hens, and as a family we enjoy nature and gaming. We moved to Owlshire not quite three years ago in the midst of the Global Pandemic/UK Lockdowns and we're still trying to find/form our tribe of fellow misfits and geeks. This challenge looks a lot like the last one, but with more travel. I turned 44 at the end of the last challenge, and my intention is to embrace the unknowns of our unique and quirky life and not worry so much that just because something changed that everything is "bad" or "wrong." Because it isn't at all! It just doesn't look quite what a past me thought it would look like! We are living an off-the-road-most-traveled adventure, and here be dragons. Dragon Form Building my strength and stamina and getting a sleeker dragon shape. Continue to aim for 80,000 steps a week. My weight at same or lower by the end of the challenge. Also, reduce snacking. This has become a real problem, I'm nibbling on something between nearly every meal and I'm not even hungry. I suspect it started as stress eating and has now become a habit I need to break. Dragon Wings Exploration and adventure at home and beyond. I have two overnight trips known for this challenge: A two day business trip to London. A three night trip to Devon for pleasure (my annual "Mum's holiday") There are some more in discussion but not yet defined. I decided not to do the cruise I was pondering last challenge, as it was causing me a lot of stress to decide on and figure out, and the whole point was a holiday plan that didn't stress me out. I haven't yet decided when or what I'll do instead. I also need to set up arrangements for trips which will happen later this year: Dragon Heart Vision, community, and mental health. Update Vision Statement One things I realized during the last challenge is that I was feeling out of sorts because life had deviated from The Vision. But actually, life was going in good--even great--directions. I'm still walking toward the same Mountain, it turns out; I'm just approaching from a different route. So I'm updating The Vision. I'm still working to align it and make the verbiage pretty rather than just a bunch of haphazard bulletpoints, but I'm already feeling better. Complete the Vision 2023 Update. Be more social Reach out and arrange things with local people. This includes with my family! Arrange regular games and outdoor activites with Enting Arrange regular date nights with Mr. Spirituality/Pagan Studies Spend more time on spiritual activities. It always ends up the first things sacrificed when things go sideways, and that's probably when I need it the most! For this challenge I'm focusing on lessons and learning as part of the pagan groups I'm in because it's easily measurable and pleases my inner Hermione Granger. Complete 3 lessons (including the one in progress) for my coven. Reinvestigate the Hearthkeeper's Way (ADF) to integrate in my practice. Dragon Horde Taking care of Owlshire, creating a comfy place to live. Continue the decluttering project. Look after my autumn garden. There are pumpkins!

Everything Shaar said! I think of my challenges as realignments. My challenges always go off the rails. Always. And then when I'm ready (whether that's the next challenge or six months down the road) I pick right back up again. Welcome back!

This. I haven't had this happen on NF so much, but I've had it on other communities both in person and online. It turns out my friends were interested to see me evolve and change ~ Shaar: you've taken some big steps on reclaiming yourself, and you've been through a lot! I hope you find some peace in this challenge and beyond ❤️

It wouldn't be an NF challenge if there weren't multiple rounds of illness and at least major incident of chaos (in this case, Revenge of the Boiler)! Plus an unexpected work trip to arrange. Have I kept on my goals? Kind of? In spirit? I'll ponder my next challenge. It's going to involve a bit of travel...

Glad to hear from you ❤️ I am a little envious of your Life of the Mind and shoebox apartment, so I look forward to experiencing it vicariously through you You may be older than your tutor-mates but you have a lot more lived experience than many of them combined and despite a youth-obsessed culture, it counts for a lot. I hope the house gets sorted (or at least more so) and you can begin whatever the next steps are to stop being (ram)shackled by it!

I think some people enjoy chaos more than I do 😁

Week 2 I had my sisters, a couple of days of work, and then by Thursday the household (minus Enting, somehow) were all taken down by a nasty cold... which I'm still recovering from. 🥲 Dragon Form Steps: 65,171 - I did well earlier in the week but numbers unsurprisingly tanked when I came down sick. I'm not going to penalize myself for that. Weight: - Dragon Wings Trip planning/research: I've been thinking a lot about that autumnal trip abroad with the Enting. I think it's going to be in early-mid October. Being real, I know where I'm at right now--I'm exhausted by this year (and the years before), and I just want to do something easy. The idea of planning and executing a trip abroad--even though I've done it before--feels daunting. Trying to do one that will also incorporate a 5 year old that I will be solo-parenting? Paralyzing. I like cafes, museums, wandering. He would find all of that dead boring. (Or, as a wise friend who shares my adventuring spirit said to me "TBH with looking after a wee one, there isn't much scope for hiking to the summit of Kilimanjaro and wotnot.") So, when reality dawned, I started looking at resorts in Italy (Spain and Netherlands are out as the Mr wants to go with us; I've already been to France and Germany so they aren't high on my list), and when I couldn't stomach the cost, I started looking at holiday camps instead. But then I started thinking about cruises. They are basically floating resorts that take you to new and interesting places each day. Luxury adventuring. For that, I would pay resort costs. And the Mr has basically no interest in going on a cruise, so it's a good opportunity for us to try it. I'm thinking of taking a page from @oromendur's book and trying to do a "last minute" cruise deal. This would be me and the Enting, probably 5-7 nights from Southhampton (about 2.5 hours drive away--but that means no airport/flights to worry about.) Trying for "last minute" is a little trickier--the Enting doesn't have the school calendar restrictions, but I would want to give his tutor some notice. My work would like sufficient notice before I book a week off. The Mr can hold down the fort at Owlshire, but there are a few days in that period where he needs to be away for work himself so we'd need to be able to kennel the pup and get the neighbors on board to check on the chickens. I have some solutions: For work, my plan is to tell my boss that I'm hoping to take a week off in the first half of October but the dates aren't yet certain. I think that'll give enough notice. (And honestly I'll probably do "last minute" like weeks in advance, not days.) I'll also mention it to the tutor so she's aware. She's usually pretty flexible. I'll start looking into a local kennel next week (when I'm healthier). I'm not too worried about the chickens, with sufficient food/water they can go a few days without us, and I'm sure I can find a neighbor to pop around once and a while. It's all doable. And I know there are travel bloggers who take their 5 under 5 with them on world-hopping adventures, but at the moment that's not me. We'll do more boot-strap on-the-ground type adventures when Enting's old enough to both be able to help plan and appreciate the experience. Dragon Heart Affirmations, confidence-building, spiritual work: Nothing stands out to me this week, but I have been a snotty slug for the last 5 days so whatever. Dragon Horde Removing clutter, etc. We had plans to do more decluttering of the box room this weekend, but 🤣