Sovalis

Oof, that sounds like hard mode for sure. I hope that you can make it work in your schedule for recovery and that it helps quickly with a minimum of pain and inconvenience. I am away for a few days but love you from afar. Please take good care! ❤️

That looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing! Dyson is quite talented. He’s been at the map making for a very long time. Thank you! Yes, it is a life saver. Right? Yes, I think either of these options will suffice. I do not listen to death metal. Maybe I should expand my repertoire. I hope it’s smart. I am eager to see how this project goes down given that I don’t know what I am doing. I will need to sand the backsplash pretty thoroughly and then prime it before I paint it. And of course wash it before all of that. But I am hoping the end result is worth it. There are so many cool shower curtains now. I have one for my main bathroom that has a giant black and white squid on it. It’s pretty great. Thanks, Scaly! Thanks, TG! I am pretty excited! Hi Friends! It’s almost 4:30 am and I can’t sleep. I woke up ~45 minutes ago. I think it’s because I had two ciders with the Bears while we were out for dinner. I seem to remember the last time I had a few drinks sleeping pretty terribly too. It might be something I need to give up entirely. I so rarely do it and then to be inconvenienced the night before a really big day. Not worth it. Oh well. Here now. The rest is Future Me’s problem. Future Me is going to be really busy in the morning because I am heading to the city after work today. So I need to get up and get cracking on packing all of the gear I need for Nerdly so I can load the car up and head out pretty much right after work. I should still have decent daylight if it’s not overcast; the sun still isn’t going down until ~8:20pm and it will be light for a bit after that. If I leave here around 6pm I can get to my Parent’s by 8-ish. That will be good. I think I need to wrap up my challenge now as I will be without internet for the next few days. I am looking forward to the trip but acknowledge it’s a pretty significant break in my routine, including internet access, being here, etc. I promise I will come back and catch up on everyone’s wrap up posts when I am home again next week. So, how did things go for me during my Lavender Lagom? The chart: Highlights: 1) Not tracking breakfast: I did not do any better eating breakfast when I stopped tracking it. It was spotty anyway, but better after I reinvigorated my produce selection and soft-launched my Villain Era. 2) Soft No-Spend: I did pretty well with this. Notable exception was my splurge purchase of the beautiful pen I linked to a while ago. It has arrived and I am very excited about it. I will be transitioning my spending to paying for the trainer come September. Any extra tip money will either be spent or saved up for the 2025 Hobinichi Cousin Avec notebooks I want when they release, and maybe a 5-year Hobinichi. Both are ~$100 each, so pocket money is a must and the trainer comes first. 3) Eating Plants: I’ve been much better at this the last 10 days or so. It’s amazing what having produce I like that I like to eat raw will do for consumption. 4) Adulting, Dishes, and Chores: While I think it’s useful to have these three things parsed out separately, it really highlights how I seldom get all three of these things done on the same day. I am trying to not judge myself too harshly on that. 5) Art Goal: Definitely a fail on this one, outside of my daily journalling practice which involves decorating with stickers and washi, but not creating my own work. I might carry this forward as a goal, I might not. Not sure. 6) Time Outside: I was much more intentional about this at the beginning of the challenge using hammock time, etc. The latter half of the challenge I’ve had a few fires which are always lovely and I’ve been back to playing with Sax outside in the mornings, but that is less intentional time and more functional time. I do make a point of listening to the birds and being really aware of the weather though. I think it counts. 7) Restoration: I really liked this goal and I liked tracking what it was that I did that was restorative that day. I will carry that forward with me into the next challenge, I think. Other Considerations: 1) Daily Tarot and Dedicated Tarot Challenge for Introspection: This dual draw system was really good for me. Lionharts does good guided challenges and seems to do them back-to-back, so I might read through the new one when it gets posted and see if I want to carry on using it as a foil for introspection. I got a lot of good Work done thinking about my fitness and weight and ambivalence and I am grateful for the cards and being able to share what I was thinking here. It’s a powerful combination. 2) Villain Era: I am feeling energized and revitalized by arriving at the conclusion that it is time for another Villain Era. I am feeling competent and invested in myself in a way that I haven’t for a few challenges. I hope it lasts. Again, super grateful for all of the discussions on my thread and other threads about villainy and self-care and prioritization of goals. This is something I know I struggle with and finding a way to embrace it has already been so good for me. Here’s hoping the momentum continues. Alright, I am feeling tired again (it’s 5 am now) so I am going to try to sleep for a few more hours. I hope that you had a beautiful sleep and an easy waking up and that you are able to achieve what you want to with your day. May you wear something that evokes villainy for you and know that I think you’re invincible. Thanks for being here, Friends. See you in September! ❤️

You’re going to do great. You’ve been enjoying other gigs sober, this is just a bigger one. Have the best time knowing you aren’t going to be hung over after!! ❤️

You have got this! I am rooting for you!

Would that all of my petulance were interpreted as confidence. ❤️

You’re just in the loop of the spiral. You will come around again. Rest is important. ❤️

Congratulations!

Hooray for future irises and canoe trips and sleep!

Hugs, Ever. A ship date is never easy and I can’t imagine how it would feel when it’s your child.

Thank you! ❤️ I don’t think I want to paint the back of the cabinets because if we rent the house out over a possible Latvia posting I want to be able to make the space more neutral for the renters. I think. I don’t know. Also, you can see into the kitchen from the living room and I don’t want that view to be too overwhelming. I will check the secondhand shop. There’s only one here so it won’t take long. I think you’re right about the kitchen investiture and a spillover effect - I have noticed I am even more excited to be in there since doing all the Sunday cleaning and raising the blinds. What a change that made! It is the work. I credit this place with keeping the work more interesting than any other time I have tried to pursue it, but I guess it was bound to get stale eventually. The fact that it took 2.5 years to do so is a testament to all of yours awesomeness. You’re welcome! ❤️ Ooh, what colour is your accent wall? It is open and does have a light, yes. I was thinking of just leaving the board there. I like it as a space to hang art (and fly strips for when the black flies are intolerable), it’s not blocking the window at all, and it is hiding the light fixture. I was wondering about painting it (maybe the same blue as the shelf?) but I don’t mind it white right now either. Hi Friends! My Dad is willing to go to Home Depot and get me yellow paint samples for the kitchen before I show up at his place to drop the dog off on Friday, then he will get me a small tin of what I choose before I come to collect the dog again on Monday. This saves me the hassle of needing to make a trip into Lloyd… although I just realized that I need to make a trip to Lloyd on the Tuesday for a psych appointment anyway… So maybe I will just get him to get me the samples and I will actually see them in space and pick up what I want when I make that trip… That might be better. The two yellows I have selected are pretty bright. It’s hard to tell them apart on a computer screen in a small swatch, but the larger swatches and “room samples” differentiate them fairly well. One is a lemon yellow that leans slightly more toward butter, the other is a lemon yellow that leans slightly more toward egg yolk. Either would probably be fine but I’d like to see them in situ. I am also planning to get a sample pot of a gloss or semi gloss true red to paint the trim in the gaming bathroom. The tile in there is a mix of beige and terracotta and the trim has been painted a flat white which is so boring. I have recently hung some framed D&D postcards of famous vintage art in there and put my Mimic on the counter. I am enjoying the personalization of the space and really think the additional colour is necessary for it to feel finished. I am also planning to buy a shower curtain of a map from Dyson Logos’ Redbubble offerings: either the first one or the third one. I am leaning toward the mega dungeon because of vibes. I spent last night trying to think my way through how I want to set up the categories for next challenge while making a Villainy Playlist on Spotify. It’s mostly full of songs that I like that make me feel confident or feeling like dancing. I had anticipated Pete and I would be working on the house but he didn’t message or come by. Maybe tonight? We will see I guess. Last night I used the Instant Pot to pressure cook some chicken breasts from frozen (hot damn is that so convenient!), made a sauce for the chicken with some gochujang and sundries, and then pan-fried some cut bok choy until it was crispy on the cut side. I threw the chicken and greens into tortillas. Definitely not authentic anything, but pretty tasty. Felt good to cook a tiny bit after working a full shift but not be overwhelmed by the cooking. I do need to do dishes though. There aren’t many right now and I should really stay ahead of them so I don’t get overwhelmed by those. Ugh, dishes. Why do you have to be so relentless? Last night was also my last shift with my least favourite coworker before they return to school. Nice to have that out of the way. Okay. I have half an hour to finish reading the forums and get my dishes done. Best get on it. I hope that you have a brilliant day and that you’re able to get through your to-do list. Thanks for being here. ❤️

Hi Darling! I am really excited that your coach is leaning you gently toward intuitive eating. That seems really responsible because it means they are giving you the skills you need to evaluate and plan for yourself without having to be chained to a tracking app for the rest of forever (I personally find tracking to be very difficult). That upped my respect for them and I already thought they were doing a very good job for you! I hope the DOMS aren’t too rough. I am proud of you for going at the pace you need and preventing injury. That is fabulous awareness and self-care. I hope the Man’s homework isn’t too arduous. You are being such an excellent support. I hope he is expressing his gratitude to you regularly. And yay for being half done! ❤️ Keep going, you’re doing great.

Glad to see you, Mistr!

Right? Lol Yes, I think so. I really enjoy the impact. There is a panel above the window, yes. I am not sure if I want to remove it because then there would be dead space up there and I am not sure what I would do with it. I don’t hate it. Thank you! I think so too! Hi Friends! I think it’s fair to say that I am getting excited about the villainy. I spent some time re-reading this thread last night and it surprised me to see how confused and ambivalent I was at the beginning about further self-investment in the forms of fitness and weight loss. I am certainly not feeling unresolved now. Where I am at in recent days is much more where I prefer to be in terms of mood and motivation. So hooray for finding a fresh way back into a lasting endeavour! I am grateful for new ways of approaching things when I am feeling flat and stale. And I am grateful for all of you for helping me think my way through this. Today is the beginning of the last week of the challenge. I am feeling very eager to draft up my new chart. I might take what I need to do it to Nerdly and spend some downtime this weekend putting it together. Or I might not be able to wait and do it this week. I think I am working on exterior house stuff with Pete again tonight (he hasn’t messaged but he’s bad about messaging) and I have some other chores I need to do to be ready for the long weekend away. I am feeling very centred and restored after my two day weekend. It was exactly what I needed and I am so grateful that I got the time and that I was able to use the time to best advantage. I know I will feel less restored next week because the long weekend will involve travel and a lot of people, but it is so worth it to go. The kitchen keeps evolving in my head. Most of it is easy to do (painting the terrible ceiling and irritating khaki walls in the dining area is now on my list of to-do’s) and I am excited for it. I am going to talk to Pete about the best way to tackle painting a ceiling. I know he will give good advice. I have to run to get ready for work. I hope that your day is full of compassion and confidence! Show off that swagger! Thanks for being here. ❤️

I am very interested!! Thanks for organizing, AP!

I don't think everyone else looks fine in everything; fashion is as much curation as clothes. We aren't seeing the images that don't make the cut.