Malva

Wow - Eve, awesome difference! You should be proud - great work

I finished two books My own nightstand book - Marley's Ghost. And the book I have been reading aloud to the kids - Inkheart.

salad dressing update - my balsamic vinaigrette was edible but nothing too fantastic this caesar was soooo good though! http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2011/07/classic-caesar-salad-dressing-recipe/

I decided that I want to learn to make a good salad dressing - I don't know why I can't seem to do this, I am a good cook, I can even make mayonnaise, for pete's sake! so I am going to conquer a balsamic vinaigrette....

omg I want to come to your house for easter LOL - I have always wanted to try yorkshire pudding

This WAS a tough mission - but it was good, because as the mission stated it required us to get outside our comfort zone. For me, that meant succeeding at the mission based on what someone else did - decide to respond to my post - rather than what I did. Bit of a control freak - um yeah. I am the "I will just do it, because I know how to do it right. You just stand back and let me do it." kind of person. :sigh: So I also really struggled with not wanting to be spammy or just set traps for poor unsuspecting rebels, so I could get a thank you. I read a lot of posts before I found a few that I felt I could comment on with authenticity and real feeling. And I just did it and let it go - not! Kept checking back to see if anyone responded... like a crazy stalker LOL. Then after a few days I just let it go - that was hard - because I am also the "I must get ALL the challenges so I can get the BONUS POINT" kind of person. I really need to work on that LOL. And lo and behold someone came over to my challenge thread and thanked me. "Gem , I wanted to thank you for stopping by and giving me encouragement, which totally rocks as I have been sick and have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things!! " What do you know? I did it - I completed the challenge LOL!!! And made an awesome new rebel friend in the process

Oh - sorry to hear that you are feeling bad! Hope it gets better soon - so frustrating not to be at our best when we signed up for something called a "challenge," isn't it LOL? You can build some good habits, though, by getting back on plan as soon as you are feeling better, and sticking with aspects of your plan that can be done, and it sounds like you are doing that. Good job! LOVE LOVE LOVE homemade soaps and lotions! One thing that I wish I knew how to do is MAKE SOAP! lol. I am devoted to a local goat milk soap that I have been using for years - I can't stand the feeling of washing with store brands of soap anymore. I even use tooth soap from this soapmaker, I make a lot of stuff like laundry powder - and recently I made homemade deodorant with coconut oil, beeswax and baking soda - I really like that and love the feeling of not having the store stuff on. As summer comes, I guess I will see how it works and if I start to smell a little ripe So far, so good, I scent it with jasmine oil. do you have an etsy store or a fb page for your product? share!

Oh yes, the chard will be fine. I think chard is a biennial - at least for me it does not go to seed until it has been in the ground for a whole season. We get some pretty hot summers in sw Arkansas and it does look pretty sad in the hottest months of the year, but then it comes back to life when the weather cools down. I looked at your profile and it said you were in VA - I think planting chard is fine. We are setting out transplants of brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli still, hoping to get one late-ish crop from it. We'll see - depends on how hot it gets early in the season, probably. I wish I could figure out how to post pics here because I have got some chard growing in my high tunnel that is to die for! Magenta, golden and ruby red. You can see a bundle of it in the pic in this post on my site. http://sunshinefordinner.com/2013/03/18/on-the-menu-march-18-2013/ Oh awesome, I hope you learn a lot! And what class did you sign up for? There is one going right now that I signed up for a while back but I am not taking it because I just can't get sucked into that right now LOL. But it is "how things work" and I soooo want to be watching all the videos. I think I can go back and watch the videos later, at least the videos for some of the courses I signed up for a long time ago still work. I just won't get the certificate :sigh: I do love those ridiculous certificates;) I got 'with distinction' in my astrobiology course LOL I have been showing it to everyone, I am like LOOK AT MY CERTIFICATE!!!

Ack I should have done that - but you know what I figured out? If you go up to the top of the page where your username is, there is a dropdown menu - choose 'my content' then choose 'topics and posts' from the sidebar and you can go back and find the threads you posted on... that saved me this morning

Thanks, everyone - that gives me some things to think about. Heel striking - I am going to pay attention to that and see if I am doing it. Barefoot - this seems to have the opposite effect for me - the more I go barefoot or in a flat shoe the more it hurts - I have to wear my running shoes all the time and get new ones pretty frequently. I have read about barefoot running and running in those weird toe shoes and I wish I had a store near me that I could buy some - it just looks like something you really need to try on first LOL not just order and hope for the best. No access to a pool - but your suggestion has me thinking about some leg work I can do lying down that would be better than nothing. Just what I needed - a bit of fresh perspective.

Hi, ya'll, I am sneaking over here from the druid camp to say hello :waves: I do so love to run, I barely trot along LOL but it is so wonderful when I do - I finished a c25k about 2 years ago, and was going along so well, then I did something dumb with my feet and had a recurrence of my plantar fasciitis... which is still going on. about a year and a half later. I laid off running for a while, thinking it would 'heal' but no... it hasn't. So I went back to running but just very mildly - I get out for 30 mins or so every now and then on a dirt track in the woods (druid running), very springy and forgiving. For this challenge I have been doing yoga each day and to my surprise, my foot seems to be healing. The yoga is doing it, I think. Lots of downward dog. I know I need to rehabilitate my whole right leg as it has lost a lot of strength. For the rest of this challenge I am keeping up the yoga and running every now and then when I can, and adding other things to try to aid my foot in healing. I do stretching all the time like my PT taught me, massage on my foot and calf, acupressure on some muscle micro spasms in my calf... last time I had this and finally got better - I had a recumbent bicycle that I used to build strength without foot pressure. I don't have it anymore Any runners with advice on the cure for the plantar fasciitis? I want to be ready to skip on over to this camp, maybe, for the next challenge, to ease back into a real running habit again. I have the zombie running app so I want to DO IT lol.

Hi Sora - I am visiting the scout clan I am half-druid and half-scout, I think... I might be able to help with the lunches because I often pack my own lunch. Anyway - the most obvious advice may really be helpful here - make up your lunches ahead of time. Do you take leftovers? Pack them up in individual containers when you are putting dinner away. Just grab one in the morning. Make up some containers of lunch meat (turkey breast or ham) and cheese, grab a box of healthy crackers. That's lunch. I have even done a container of dry cereal and a jar of milk as lunch. I always pack fruit - plenty of fruit. I do a small container of dip and a baggie of veggies. I do a sweet potato sometimes. What about yogurt? When do you do grocery shopping? I ask because a lot of people do that on the weekends - so by Friday you may be out of the yummiest stuff. Maybe you should try to take your lunch earlier in the week. Here is another point to consider - when is your most productive time of day? Are you always struggling in the morning - if so, packing your lunch at night is a must! Are you a morning person? maybe you can put together a lunch while you eat breakfast. Are any of these suggestions helpful? Tell us a little more about what you have tried and what feels like it works and what feels like it doesn't. Maybe we can help you make a menu for the rest of the challenge:)

I am so interested in your goal #4 - I think it is just wonderful that you are working toward your own business. My hubby and I are self-employed and I am so thankful that at some point we started "working on a business" just like you are doing. If we had never started, we wouldn't be doing it today. We would probably make more $$$ at an office job or as someone's employee, but we would lose our freedom. We do landscape design and maintenance and also sell veggies that we grow through a CSA. What kind of business are you working on?

I am going for it... off to find some unsuspecting non-druid lol

Eve - I know it is frustrating not to be well when you are signed up for a challenge like this one. I hope you are feeling better soon. Sometimes drinking something nutritious can be helpful when you have a poor appetite, instead of trying to force yourself to eat. Or do the drink in between meals as an easy way to get extra nutrients when you need them. Is there some kind of nutritious drink you like - a protein smoothie, maybe? Or if you use whey protein, you can mix that into a hot drink, like chocolate milk/hot cocoa. You live in a cold place, don't you? A hot drink may be better for you. I will tell you something weird that I drink sometimes. I like hot drinks, especially when I don't feel well. One that I do I call "hot vanilla." It is a couple cups of milk with a couple of eggs well blended into it, plus honey and vanilla - heat over low heat, stirring, until it barely starts to simmer. It should thicken ever so slightly, just to be velvety in texture. This mixture, if you cooled it, would basically be eggnog. It has quite a bit of nourishment, plus it tastes very rich and good and is easy on the tummy. The smell is good, very vanilla, and this helps with the appetite. Another thing I drink hot when I am sick is bone broth - or just simple broth - heated with crushed garlic and bay leaf. This is a savory alternative if I don't want so much sugar. Again the smell, with the bay leaf and garlic is very appetizing. I hope that helps, and that you are feeling better soon.

I will just copy my post from the mini challenge thread because it summed up my week pretty well Just going back over my notebook for the week - I have not felt much like I excelled, but much to my surprise I find that I did indeed stick to the plan. Ha. What do you know. And I had a lot of unexpected stuff going on this week - you know, life happened. Like I decided it was time to start harvesting veggies and delivering to my CSA customers - an event that I totally had not taken into consideration when I started the challenge. And my mother in law came for an unexpected visit - a welcome visit but a little spur of the moment (her: Hi I was thinking of coming to visit -me: Oh great! When? her: How about tomorrow? me: Yay! { as I go for the vacuum cleaner } LOL) But I kept on making my little notes and doing my yoga and I even got in a bit of time working on my book editing project... and I went to a birthday party today and had cake (confession: and chips. they were good. funyuns.) but my other days and meals today were good. stayed up late only one night watching a family movie. my numbers for this week are good. I guess I did indeed work the plan. I wrote 'excel' at the corner of the my notebook page each day to remind me... and I think it kept me going.

Just going back over my notebook for the week - I have not felt much like I excelled, but much to my surprise I find that I did indeed stick to the plan. Ha. What do you know. And I had a lot of unexpected stuff going on this week - you know, life happened. Like I decided it was time to start harvesting veggies and delivering to my CSA customers - an event that I totally had not taken into consideration when I started the challenge. And my mother in law came for an unexpected visit - a welcome visit but a little spur of the moment (her: Hi I was thinking of coming to visit -me: Oh great! When? her: How about tomorrow? me: Yay! { as I go for the vacuum cleaner } LOL) But I kept on making my little notes and doing my yoga and I even got in a bit of time working on my book editing project... and I went to a birthday party today and had cake (confession: and chips. they were good. funyuns.) but my other days and meals today were good. stayed up late only one night watching a family movie. my numbers for this week are good. I guess I did indeed work the plan. I wrote 'excel' at the corner of the my notebook page each day to remind me... and I think it kept me going.

Hydration is a big one - how are you reminding yourself to drink water all day? I need to add it to my "daily plan" so I don't forget on busy days - daily plan sounds fancy but it is just a post it note LOL with some reminders for morning afternoon and bedtime. I use a mason jar to drink water and I set it out on the counter, full of water, in the morning - in theory I should see it and be reminded to drink but often I find it still pretty full and I know I haven't been doing my job :/

To excel for me this week - stick to the plan! Work the plan. Revisit each goal - why did I make it, where do I want it to take me in 6 weeks. A big one for me right about now is DON'T GET DISTRACTED - as the challenge initially stated Two weeks ago you set yourself a number of goals. Goals which will surely help you level up your life. Bright eyed and bushy tailed you started on your 6 week journey to achieve them. Do you know when most people start losing focus on their goals? It’s usually around 2 weeks! I have already felt the urge to change goals, pick up side goals, increase goals, complicate things - I am not gonna do it! I am gonna stick with the plan. Excel = work the plan.

Oh that is good stuff, Chandra. I did not even think about preparing for easter - thanks for sharing your plans.

I told myself that I had to stick with the same yoga routine for the whole challenge. No skipping around. Learn it - get better at it - get more comfortable with it - make the transitions smoother... all that stuff. And I was right. It is just a short routine (abt 7 mins) on an ipod app, but I have now done it 10 times and it is starting to come together. It is kind of amazing how I can feel a difference in my wellness by how my body reacts during the routine - I have had a bad sinus infection and I could feel it coming on and going away as the days went by through my breathing and muscle response. My short routine is good - I have a dvd that I love but it is 45 mins. I just can't carve out 45 mins if I am accessible to my family at all. I can do that long if I am away from home - like running - or every once in a while, but not daily. Just won't work right now in my house. 7 minutes I can do daily. And it feel great. I am seeing some improvement in my plantar fasciitis, I think. I hope I purposefully set my exercise goal to include either yoga or body weight workout or running or meditation. I wanted to give myself flexibility to do what fit my day/circumstances. I have chosen yoga overwhelmingly (although I would have run more if I hadn't been sick). I dread the body weight workouts - I don't enjoy them that much. So anyway, my point is, I see my pattern emerging.

update for week 2 Goals are: Health #1 - meditate and/or exercise most days each week - 4-5 days per week (24-30 times) week 2 - I had 7 instance of meditate and/or exercise - which was either running or yoga this week Health #2 - food tracking most days - 6-7 days per week (36-42 days) - counting carbs and aiming for 60-80 per day week 2 - 6 days food tracking Health #3 - early bedtime - 9:30-10:00 bedtime - 5-6 days per week (30-36 days) week 2 - 7 days for the bedtime goal but time change is making it hard... Life - finish the two Coursera courses I am enrolled in to earn the certificate for each, then upon completion, use that allotted time to work on my copy editing project. finished!!!! finished!!! but did not do any good on picking up my editing project here's the problem. I did not write it down in my notebook so I did not do it. sounds dumb but that is the way it works for me sometimes. I have to write everything down or else I forget really important stuff. and I have been writing everything on sticky notes and putting it in my food log notebook so there it all is - brain dump. but I did not write this down. so now I wrote it down! hope that helps, sheesh!

yep- in light of the excel challenge this week I am really trying hard to not succumb.

getting started right! nothing wrong with that ---------------------------------------- ack! daylight savings time! always sneaks up on me. we are all gonna have to watch the clock next week!

today is the 6th day of a steadily worsening sinus infection - started taking antibiotic finally so hopefully I will get some relief soon. I often slip into bad habits, foodwise, when I am sick - easy to do because I just don't feel like dealing with it. I have seen from my food log that for the last 3 days things are getting very carby. Even not counting the special birthday lunch I had today with my sister. Just that the trend is there. So here's hoping that when I feel better I can turn that trend around. Also no energy for yoga or running for past two days. Bad sign.