Jlailin

I've been terrible about updating this... This crazy dance schedule has been getting the better of me. >_> However, all dance goals are going well, so yay! Home stuff has been woefully neglected. I just haven't been spending enough time at home to think of and work on improvements. ...and my ginger has not yet sprouted, but my mystery-most-likely-pea sprout is going strong! ...Maybe I'll just have peas instead of ginger? xD Intermittent fasting is mostly good... I've broken the rules a few times because I was SO hungry post dance. It's been fine though since my activity level has been so high. ...I think if I want to continue the true intermittent fasting gaps I've had before, I will have to pay more attention to what I eat during the feasting period. Need more protein~~~! I've also noticed something rather interesting after getting to such a high activity level--I no longer have the desire to drink coffee/tea in the morning for the caffeine. I wake up, and I'm just naturally buzzing with energy. I got myself coffee/tea at work for about a week, but it kept sitting there undrunk by the end of the day. Like I would take a sip or two for the taste, but then I just decided I didn't want it anymore--what I really wanted was just water. It still feels weird to not go to the coffee machines at work--like part of my morning ritual is missing. Sometimes I just want the smell of it around, but honestly the water is all I really need. ...I do think I should get one of those ginormous water bottles, so I don't have to keep walking back and forth to refill these tiny cups though.

Haha! I know the eucalyptus will ward off the bugs here, but unfortunately it's also toxic to my kitty, so I can't use it since he tends to try to chomp on anything in my garden as well. Honestly, between him and the squirrels it's like I'm only feeding the animals. That sounds so fun! I would think it would give you more motivation to grow them just to find out what they are!

Haha I'm even more impressed by your skills now. She's adorable. Omg! Ditto! That last one where she jumped onto you and crawled up your back though... dying. xD Cats are great.

Really nice work! And your cat grabbing your foot is adorable! I commend you for being able to continue with the pose while you had little kitty paws grabbing at you.

Perhaps I'll try it again the next time my turn rolls around. I'll bring out the vacuum and set it next to the chip plate to ward the cat away. Very nice work! Such a creative idea of using a chair to get to the position! ...I'm currently attempting to sit in a lotus position in my work chair to get used to the position, but this chair has arm rests so it's not super comfortable. Oh well, I'll should probably just wait till I get home.

Ohhhh, curry sounds so good right now. I think that should be my next meal prep meal. And now I have to decide if I want Japanese curry or Thai curry... Hmm... I totally hear you on the variety thing. Sometimes I think I'll meal prep to have a rotation of two meals during the week, but I always end up with so much food when I do that--plus I end up eating only one of them because I end up liking it better. I think my brain just wants to have a choice to be obstinate. ...but good on you for getting the curry instead of chips! Yay for the sugar counting! Good job on resisting during the holiday! Those are so hard when all the treats are around. Sending all the energy and willpower! Do those push ups~! Go Lateral Planet, go!

Totally happens to all of us, but good on you for realizing it! I hope things become less crazy for you and/or you find a way to navigate through the craziness. One of my friends follows this 2 minute rule thing where if he notices something that needs to get done and if it will take less than 2 minutes, he'll do it then and there. It's pretty similar to your "why don't I just do it?" method. I feel like they really do help reduce the build up of tasks. As for remembering it, maybe just write something like "why don't I just do it now?" in your planner/calendar or on sticky notes stuck in a places you look often? Sometimes it's nice to see that reminder to help reset your brain.

Yay! Glad to have you here! Hmm, yeah, I would plant extra, but I'm on a third floor apartment balcony and there's not a ton of space. My neighbors near me don't seem to garden very much, so all the squirrels see my balcony as a little squirrel oasis. >_< I wish I could just cage in my whole balcony like I've done with the bottom (so I don't have worry about my cat slipping through when I let him outside with me), but the building maintenance sometimes accesses the unit through the balcony door for carpet cleaning and stuff. That is a good point about the temperature. If I go with copper pipe, I will make sure to keep an eye on that. Rats... I think what is sprouting in the pot is an old pea sprout--although I have NO IDEA how it got in there and survived and didn't sprout before since I last grew peas three years ago... It does look suspiciously like the sprouting peas I saw before, and it is supposed to be too early for the ginger to sprout as well. Pretty sure it needs another week or two before it is supposed to sprout if it follows the 2-3 week to sprout thing I saw online. ...I wonder what my mystery plant is though. Maybe I'll dig it up when it gets a little bigger and put it in a different pot to see what it becomes.

Yay! Looking forward to seeing your version! Yup! I am actually allergic to my cat, so I got one as soon as I heard I could use water as a "filter" instead of shelling out about a hundred bucks for replacement filters. It's been great. You have one?

Omg, seriously! I wanted to do a silly "hungry crow" pose where I dipped my head down and picked up chips, but my cat kept on stealing all my chips... Really nice work though! ...I had a somewhat decent eight angle and straddle hold, but I failed at filming them. Note to self--just leave the camera running. My reattempts after when the camera was actually on were all on shaky arms, and they quickly turned into face plants. I think I just need to try again tomorrow with fresh arms. Anyways, here is my contribution--shoulder pressing pose! ...not technically a crow, but I was running out of do-able ideas; I think this still falls in the similar arm balance family. If any of you amazing people can somehow manage to get to here from crow, go for it!

Challenge update time! Dance Going really well! Attended all my classes. My favorite kpop teacher has come back, which I'm really happy about. She has such good energy, and I love the way she teaches. At my Saturday Puzzle Box class, I got to learn the chorus to my favorite group's debut song--Mama by EXO! Eeee! I love that this class isn't focused on only new stuff--they focus more on the dance aspect, so it lets them bring back older dances like this one. I feel like I am slowly making friends at this studio. Yay for networking! Lyrical Jazz class was so fun. We did a piece to The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson, and it was so cute and the moves were so challenging. We learned how to do backward c-jumps and we did little kick handstands in the middle. It was a really fun piece. Home I THINK MY GINGER SPROUTED! Well, one eye has sprouted at least. I do not think there were any old seeds of anything else in there. I'll examine it more closely when I get home because I have no idea what a ginger sprout is supposed to look like. All I know if that there is a tiny green thing poking out of the soil. Still brainstorming on squirrel lock out system... Body Intermittent fasting continues... Strength training as my circuit didn't happen this week, but I did do a lot of arm balances since I joined the Crow PvP. I think I can count that as a form of strength training, since I am holding up my body weight. Meal prep didn't happen because of the long weekend. Ergh. >_< This is going to be an expensive week unless I stay up late one night an scrounge something up. Career The posting still isn't up, so I haven't applied yet. However, I think I have made the decision of what I'd like to do given ideal conditions--if my vacation and salary needs are met by the position conversion, I'd like to stay with my current client and convert. I know I can be successful either way I go, but I feel like there is more opportunity to grow if I dig my roots deeper. I feel like once I'm in the company there are higher places I can reach for.

Omg, for real?! That is crazy! ...I mean I guess I did have squirrels eat a hole through one of my giant rubbermaid containers with gardening supplies. ...but I was thinking plastic would be better than wood? ...or is metal the only sure thing to use with the little buggers? o_0 ...maybe I need to build my frame out of copper pipe?

Really nice work! Oh wow, we got here so fast! I shall try to film something after my dance class tonight. ...I'm thinking of trying some modification to the flying pigeon/crow pose. ...or if that fails, I may just be silly and try to imitate one of these guys

Definitely helps to see the video of your attempt and read your explanation! I will try again later tonight and focus on that ankle cross and the leg squeeze... I think the squeeze is the big part of what I've been missing. Will probably also try using my upside down pull up bar. Thank you!

Very nice! I think I'm going to have to try your trick for baby crow with the blocks under the arms. I feel like it may help me feel less squished. I think I also want to try the elbow hook trick you do for side crow. It looks like it makes positioning for balancing much easier. ...Also I think your second video with the eight angle and floor taps got replaced with a copy of your first video.

Here and following to cheer you on!

Honestly, I surprised myself here too! I hadn't done crow for maybe a few months, and the last time was pretty shaky--hence my worries. I suppose the copious dance classes I've taken in between somehow helped with that. ...and I also didn't post my many, many takes of crowing that included all my face planting. Sooooo hard! >_< I think I need bigger books... I got rid of most of my big text books and the ones I've got are tiny paperbacks. Those did not work very well. ...Or I should just buy myself some yoga blocks. Oh wait! I have a door pull up bar that I think I can flip over or something! I vaguely remember seeing a picture when I set it up. Hmm... I shall take it down and attempt using it later!

Ohhh, I love pumpkin soup! ...It's not really pumpkin or squash season here, but I'm sure I could find a reasonable butternut somewhere... And yes, fries are so hard to resist! I specifically avoid the other building's cafeteria because I always end up getting fries when I'm there. I did try this... I made the crazy hot pepper spray by simmering and steeping crazy hot peppers plus chili flakes. My eyes were watering when I made it. ...but I sprayed it on and I think my particular squirrels have a thing for spicy because they still ate everything. ~_~ ...I'm thinking my best bet will be some kind of cage structure that physically keeps them away. ...Maybe a pvc frame because I shouldn't need nails or screws if I do it that way.

Okay, so I don't know how to edit videos either, but I'm nowhere near as talented as WhiteGhost. ...so you guys just get several video clips. Back Crow and clapping crow A very, very modified baby crow... I had to start with my feet already up and sort of back into it to even achieve the pose without face planting. Side crow was approached the same way as baby crow. My knees just didn't want to leave my arms when I tried going directly from regular crow. Headstand crow Crow floor taps Very wobbly side crow ...As for that eight angle thing, I cannot for the life of me figure it out. I basically just end up sitting on the ground with my legs wrapped around my arm. Anyone have any ideas for modification?

I think I just place them on my elbows in the beginning. Looking at everyone's videos, I think I'm starting with my hips too low from the get go. I think maybe I'll try tippy toeing or using a block/cushion/stack of books to see if I can get further up my arms. I shall try it tonight!

Seconding on the freezing of bread loaves! I am a single person, so I definitely can't finish an entire loaf before it goes bad (I mean I can, but I really shouldn't ). However, growing up I've always kept my bread in the freezer because in Hawaii the humidity level is so high that things go stale really, really fast. Freezing it saved us from mold and staleness. Your challenge looks great! Will be cheering for you!

Thank you! Yes, I somehow ended up buying lunch almost every day in April because I added more classes to my schedule, didn't cook every day, went to sleep later, woke up later, and kept running out of time to pack lunch. I did find a relatively healthy-ish burrito bowl option at work, but it's so inconsistent. Sometimes the pulled pork is dry; sometimes the ratio or ingredients is off; sometimes the person putting my bowl together skimps on the amount of lettuce. It's good when they make it right, but I hate having so little control over something I'm paying $7 for. So yes, meal planning it is! This week I have grilled bulgogi and cute sesame furikake musubi. ...but I have no idea what to make for next week. Do you have any good resources for finding meal prep ideas?

Okay, okay, you've all convinced me. I shall join in and learn to crow with the aid of many, many props! I tried baby crow last night, and it kept turning into baby face plant crow--at least my face was close to the ground already. Also how are people getting there knees so far up on their arms? Whenever I try to crow, my knees tend to end up more like their balancing on my elbows. Flexibility isn't an issue--I can pull to that position on my back, but I don't know why I'm not there when I'm right side up. Is it an arm strength thing?

Come play! I can't do the full baby crow either. I played around with it today, and did it with yoga blocks, and with one foot on the ground . I am so tempted to... Okay, so I'm gonna go home and try the first bit of the sequence we've got--if I can do them/find modifications for them, then I shall become a crow! ...I don't actually own yoga blocks, anyone have any good recommendations for substitutes?

Oh~ This is so cool! I had no idea there were so many crow variations out there. ...I can barely do basic crow, so I think I'll just lurk and stare at all the shinies.