Artemis Prime

Sticking with AF options when everyone else is drinking is rock star level sobriety, Sal!

I love the husky picture with the bubbles. 😂

Rounding the final bend and heading for home, now! But first!

Last week was an off week for me. I was very low energy, low interest in doing things, low appetite, which is quite unusual for me. Not sure what was going on there, but I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much more like myself this week. Despite setbacks, I managed an even 100 points last week, including a spontaneous community theater outing with a friend on Sunday, which was excellent, and a reminder that I really need to be more open to last minute get togethers. I joke that plans must be submitted to be at least 48 hours in advance, and while I do in general prefer to have things planned out ahead of time, I need to work on my knee jerk rejection of anything that comes up unexpectedly.

I did not do well with Morning Prayer at all last week, and took quite a beating from the Imp. My Fitbit alarm experiment appears to have been a bust, although it was an off week, as I said, so perhaps it's unfair to judge it based on that alone. But I'm going to anyways. Reverting back to using my sunrise alarm, and going to test out going the opposite way and getting up earlier than I have been. Days I've had to be up and moving earlier than usual, I've had no problem rolling out of bed. It could be because I've had stuff going on that meant I had to be up and moving, but it's still worth a test run. Tomorrow I have to be up early anyways to help with election day stuff, so I'll just leave my alarm set for that time for the rest of the week, and we'll see what happens. I'm thinking with an earlier start, I could get Morning Prayer in and even do some lifting before I have to move on to chores and work prep and everything. 

199 points away from my goal. I really have to finish off a Dread Warrior or an Imp this week to "win" this challenge. All the more motivation to do better with Morning Prayer and make sure I don't miss any workouts.

53 minutes ago, sylph said:

Our 16th anniversary was on Friday. Dinner was had.

Congratulations!

54 minutes ago, sylph said:

As for goals:

Well done on the goals! For the snacking - it is kind of surprising to me the difference it makes whether a snack is planned or not on how it affects the rest of my day, particularly my mindset.

Art club sounds like fun! And I'm super excited about SPARK for you. Sounds right up your alley, and like a nice source of income for you.

6 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

Cross your fingers for me!

🤞🤞🤞

7 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

D&D went pretty well (we almost died

There are not too many hobbies where those two phrases go together.

7 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I saw a pretty significant spoiler for last Thursday’s episode and it has piqued my interest again

I am still only about halfway through C2, but I saw something similar from C3 (not enough to actually spoil anything, but enough to make me go, "oh, that's interesting") and it makes me wish I was not approximately 4 years behind.

Week Three in the books!

Quick recap:

Monday - Aid points for the farrier, Sanctuary points for interior stall work. Exploration points for dog retrieval, mending point for chicken coop cleaning, and Turn Undead for going through dresser drawers.

Tuesday - Morning Prayer, finished class assignment for Borrowed Knowledge points.

Wednesday - Morning Prayer, Guiding Bolt for Spiritual Direction, Ceremony for Parish Discernment Committee. 

Thursday - Class night - Borrowed Knowledge

Friday - Social points for going to the Newsies

Saturday - Combat points, Sanctuary points

Sunday - Exploration points for running

Still whittling down a Dread Warrior. Morning Prayer has been iffy lately. Going to try switching to my Fitbit alarm to wake up to see if that mixes things up enough to get me moving. I only had 9 hit points at the end of the week, but I'm still standing! 148 points brings me to a total of 4,951, so I'm 299 points away from my goal for this challenge. Should easily happen, especially with a Dread Warrior hanging on at 2 hit points. Mama Prime seems back to full form, so the Prime household is mostly back to its normal routine.

Had some crazy weather over the weekend, but things are looking better for this week, so hoping to get serious about staining the south wall. Going to grab some caulk on my lunchbreak and today's goal is to get the 3 southern windows caulked and ready for stain. But to break it down for the whole week:

Monday - barn work

Tuesday - dinner with sister

Wednesday - Parish Discernment Committee, lift

Thursday - Help neighbor

Friday - cardio, barn work

Saturday - lift, barn work, Bible study

Sunday - teach Sunday school, run, barn work

Hoping all that barn work is staining, but if it's wet I'll have to switch to interior walls. For Channel Divinity I want to go through half of my closet and get rid of things I don't wear.

Spells prepped:

7 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I told him that I was in particular struggling with the way he’s listening to me and then not saying anything (this is an Army thing that he is particularly bad for; I have to remind him I am a civilian and not a subordinate sometimes 😅) and he said he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say because I am right and he’s hearing me. I told him that telling me I am right would go a long way toward making me feel acknowledged and respected right now which seemed to surprise him. I am kind of agog that he is surprised, but it is a good reminder that we think completely differently. Whooo boy. 

If I ever do any relationship counseling, may I use this anecdote? Seriously, this is peak relationshipping here. And a good reminder that people don't know what we need if we don't communicate it clearly, even when it feels to us like it should be obvious. Good job on your end to initiate the conversation, and excellent response from Dave. You both get an A+ in Partnership 101 from me today.

2 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

But the complete lack of effort too meet you halfway is not okay when something bothers you this much, and I completely understand that you're feeling alone. Feeling like you're not being supported in your own home is difficult and can become painful over time. If I may suggest... add this to the list of things to talk about when the visit is over, when you discuss ground rules for visitors. Because looking into this situation from the outside, Dave's behavior is advertising to observing outsiders that his guest is more important to him than his wife is, and that should never be the case. The two of you are a team, and one of the most fundamental aspects of being team mates is that everyone does their part.

 

Edit to clarify:

I'm trying to strike a balance between supporting you and validating your feelings, while also trying to avoid attacking or vilifying Dave. If I missed, please let me know so I can adjust for future posts.

Very well said. And I'd agree that this isn't about attacking Dave, but that it can easily become that if this is left to fester. Brene Brown has some great quotes on accountability, including this one: “When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.” Dave's behavior, from this outsider's perspective anyways, needs a little shaping up. And I think it's important to address that openly and sooner rather than later, before resentment breeds and accountability becomes blame.

How's the first half of your week been, Sal?

On 4/4/2024 at 4:37 PM, Ranger Hal said:

A little more time between eating and gym might be good.

It's so tricky trying to juggle everything into a schedule. How long is church? Maybe you could shoot for food before the service rather than in between service and gym.

Hey, Sov, finally making time to catch up. Sorry you have to deal with a very long and unexpected guest and that it is interfering with your reintegration time with Dave. I commend you for handling it as graciously as you are. 

I do think you and Dave ought to have a conversation in the future regarding ground rules for houseguests in general and this one in particular. Being blindsided by this visit is totally unfair to both of you, and obviously any real processing and rule-making will have to wait a while, so this time around really does seem like it's a "grit your teeth and make the best of it" situation. But in the future, having boundaries that you both agree on and are willing to help each other enforce can hopefully help avoid unpleasantness in other visits. To that end, it is all well and good for Dave to be laid back about things, but if I could distill Partnership 101 into a single sentence, I think it would be this: "If it's a problem for your partner, it's a problem for you."  That could mean finding fixes for the problem, it could mean helping you brainstorm coping mechanisms to use when guests are present, the important part is that it means acknowledging that there is a problem and that it needs to be addressed. (Sorry, went on a little tangent there, my brother is also a very laid-back person and it annoys me when I see him ignoring things that irritate his wife because they don't bother him.)

As others have said, you have been more than gracious to your guest (and to Dave, in recognizing that this is an important person to him). Make sure to be gracious to yourself as well.

Hi - just spent a very enjoyable 15 minutes catching up and soaking in all your flower pics. You are making me rethink my minimalist landscaping approach.

I love lilac bushes, and can confirm they grow well in our area. We accidentally ran one over with an excavator and it's still going strong.

Yay lifting! Boo taxes!

Thank you all again for the support!

Let's see what I can remember of the high points:

Monday: Word of Radiance - killed an imp! Water before coffee. 

Tuesday: No Light or Morning Prayer, took a nasty Imp bite. Water before coffee, got a workout in, signed up for my summer class, which is supposed to meet twice a week, but I'm going to email the professor and let her know that I'll sign in to participate in the discussion sessions, but will be watching her lectures asynchronously because I am learning to set boundaries around my time.

Wednesday: Surgery day. Got a Light point and Bless points for sitting in the hospital all day. Everything went well, Mama Prime started to feel better almost immediately, and the city flooding didn't impact us at all. All in all, as good a day as could be expected.

Thursday: Light point, Word of Radiance point, water before coffee.

Friday: Started to get a cold. Morning Prayer, water before coffee, turned in my class assignment for the week. Went to sleep ridiculously early.

Saturday: Very congested all day. Drove down to my brother's house to get a load of lumber he had gotten milled. Did a lot of cleaning, got rid of a bunch of clothes. Had D&D in the evening.

Sunday: Still congested. Started to feel it in my throat. Went to church, celebrated my niece's birthday, and did not do much else all day. 

Due to surgery and congestion, missed one workout and both cardios. Gave Dread Warrior advantage on one attack for missing my run, luckily he rolled 4s on both. Rolled really well on the other two attacks, but thanks to a couple short rests on Friday and Sunday, I am still standing with 11 hit points.  Point total for the week: 135 + 200 for Imp slaying. Gives me a total of 4,603, so I need 215 points per week to reach my goal this challenge.

This week is going to be busy, and is already off to a rocky start. I took today off because my farrier is coming to trim horse hooves. Had a whole plan for the rest of my day, but the congestion has settled in my chest, so running has been nixed, and the weather is not as nice as expected, so my plans to stain my barn are also nixed. Added complication - my dog decided to go on an unsanctioned ramble this morning which has also thrown me off my groove. Silver lining - I got a mile of bushwhacking in to retrieve her, and I'm counting that as my first cardio session for the week. Using this update time to recollect myself and make up a new plan for the day. Might do some light lifting, or just stretch depending on how that feels. Should do some cleaning and also want to finish a class assignment. Depending on how I feel, what the weather does, and how the farrier visit goes, might do some barn work that doesn't matter if things are a bit damp.

For the rest of the week:

Tuesday: First meeting with leadership committee to start planning this year's fall retreat.

Wednesday: Spiritual Direction and Parish Discernment Committee.

Thursday: Class

Friday: Going to local high school's musical with my mom.

Saturday: Have to get another load of lumber from my brother.

Sunday: Hopefully just rest.

Should be able to get a run in on Saturday or Sunday. If I lift today, I can get the second lift in on whichever weekend day I don't run. Also will probably go to my neighbor's but not sure when. I texted her last night to tell her that it's a busy week but I could do a little bit today or Thursday. She texts back, "Can you do Tuesday or Wednesday?" No, Rosemary, I can't, that's why I told you Monday or Thursday. It's how it always goes with her, and I mostly just shake my head and laugh, but some days I'm just not in the mood to find it amusing.

Anyways, spells prepped:

A happy Week Three to all of you!

Thanks all for the concern! I've gotten slammed at work, so not much time for a full update - but the surgery went very well. Mama Prime is already feeling better and is recovering excellently. It's a huge relief.

14 minutes ago, Harriet said:

 

Noice! It looks like the bundle has options for different scenarios. Can you customise for your own circumstances?

The spreadsheet is fairly overwhelming, but there is a document full of instructions that walks you through customizing programs. You input your 1RM, select which primary exercises you want to do, which auxiliary ones you want, the intensity of your workouts, and how much you want to increase or decrease weight from workout to workout. And then it gives you options for working out for everything from twice to six times per week. I still have to play with it a lot more, but I think it might be one of those things that looks confusing at first, but if you just follow it one step at a time, it makes sense.

Was starting to get a bit bored with the Stronger by Science free programming, so I decided to bite the bullet and pay for it, only to discover that the whole bundle is only $10. About a half hour of messing with spreadsheets means I now have my training planned out until September, with convenient tweaking options if I change my mind about anything between now and then.

The vivoactive is the one I was eyeing up. The venu's a bit too fancy for me.

Oh no! But also - new gadget!

Which one do you have now?

Hi, Sal! Glad to hear from you.

1 hour ago, Salinger said:

feel like i should plan my day more. So i dont have to make as many decisions

Having a routine can be a helpful way to lighten cognitive loads. It might take more effort at first to establish, but then it becomes something you no longer have to think about. 

1 hour ago, Salinger said:

But then will that help?

It might, or it might not. But there's not much risk in testing it out and seeing, is there?

1 hour ago, Salinger said:

its a dream job

Fingers crossed for you!

I am glad you are improving. Great job completing goals and resting! 

On 3/31/2024 at 12:03 PM, Jarric said:

Here's some quick sketches which are very much copied from that video:

I did not notice when you posted on discord that one of the dragons has a pouch. I love marsupial dragon!

16 hours ago, Jarric said:

Kneehab: 7/7

Excellent!

8 minutes ago, sylph said:

rather than try to exert myself, I did 10-15 minutes of yoga to get the blood flowing and to try to feel less creaky

This strikes me as a solid adaptation. 

Well, I guess it's a thing now.

Rocking that tennis outfit!

Although I must confess, I watched Aquaman the Lost Kingdom last week... and it was terrible. C'mon DC, get it together!

Other things I did in Week One:

Monday: Did Morning Prayer, forgot about water before coffee until too late, and finished staining my west wall for Sanctuary points.

Tuesday: Did Morning Prayer, water before coffee (wbc), did a workout

Wednesday: Morning Prayer, wbc, went to my neighbor's for Bless points, did a jump rope workout for cardio.

Thursday: Morning Prayer, wbc

Friday: Good Friday, so no work. Wbc, cleaned the whole house for Locate Object points, went for a run, was chalice bearer at the evening service for Ceremony points.

Saturday: wbc, went to church to polish all the silver for Easter (I actually really enjoyed the prep for Easter, which was also the bishop's yearly visit. It was a nice vibe hanging out with a bunch of cool women getting everything dressed to the nines.) went back home, baked a cake, dyed Easter eggs, filled plastic eggs with quarters, made a really tasty chicken tetrazzini for dinner, back to church for the Easter Vigil, so more Ceremony points. Also lifted at some point in there.

Sunday: Got the ham in the oven, off to church where I was chalice bearer again, so more Ceremony points, back home to put the finishing touches on dinner, hide eggs, decorate the cake. Had a really nice dinner with the family. (Bought the ham from a local butcher and it was *chef's kiss*  Pretty wiped by the end of everything, fell asleep at like 8:30 last night.

Point total for week one: 139.  Not bad. Could have done better on cantrips. That leaves me with 982 points to go to reach my goal this challenge, or 245.5 points/week. The Dread Warrior and Imp are taking hits but still standing, Dread Warrior has 20hp, the Imp has 3. Good news is, neither one of them have gotten to hit me.

Positives from a very busy Easter weekend: Church was great. Fr. D and Fr. M were both very proactive in recruiting me to help with things, explaining behind the scenes stuff to me, just in general being very inclusive and making me feel like an apprentice clergy, which is basically what I am right now. After feeling for years like I had to force my way into certain spaces, being invited in is great. I'm very excited about being a cleric, although once I'm officially a deacon, there will be more responsibilities on me for Holy Week, so note to self: take Easter Monday off in the future. I would love to not be at work right now. But on to more positives: my sister and sister-in-law were super helpful with the cooking and cleaning up after Easter dinner. I had everything pretty clean when they got there, and by the time they left, it was all back to pretty good condition. It was much appreciated. Bonus: my sister-in-law brought a bunch of extra food that she stashed in the fridge when I wasn't paying attention for after my mom's surgery. 

Plans for Week Two:

????

Wednesday is my mom's surgery, and everything kind of feels like it's in a holding pattern until we see how that goes. I'm going to try to get a workout in today, need to keep working on class readings, and I don't really know what else. List of spells prepped, which I will allow myself to fudge because I'm having trouble making a coherent plan for the week: