SpazzyMal

Hello Chanda! The dog is doing a lot better now after some time with her. I guess we both just needed some time to stick with the training. She still kinda goes nuts when there's other dogs around to try to run to, but other than that she's doing awesomely. I have indeed restarted with the awesomeness, and because of the new diet, I have never wanted bread or pasta more in my entire life. I enjoy what I'm eating right now, and I'm enjoying playing around with things and learning, and I'm definitely not letting myself get hungry or anything like that (in fact, I'm eating MORE in volume) but damn would I love a sandwich or some spaghetti. I also don't feel significantly different yet, so I'm fighting with myself about whether it's worth it for me or not. But inside I know it's gotta take more than a few days if I'm gonna get any results, so I stop myself from caving. Also I'm too stubborn to lose on this challenge. As for habits, I definitely think the dog walking part has stuck. The meditation actually seems to be doing best of all. I incorporated it into my nighttime ritual, so it helps me calm down before bedtime. The exercise, though... I dunno. I do it, but I need to be stricter on what time I do it, I think. I want to do it in the mornings, but I find I'm more apt to do it at night for some reason. If I say I'm gonna do it in the morning, sometimes I just push it to the side and say "I'll do it later" and then later ends up being 10PM or something. Grahhhhh.

I love cons. I've been going to cons for over 10 years now. I've done a little bit of costuming here and there, but nothing really worth noting yet. I hope to learn to sew soon so I can do some cool stuff, because I really love costumes, I just haven't ever had the means to make some to really be proud of/ Or if I have made one to be proud of, it wasn't con-applicable.

I have this little baby beast, I just got her on Halloween as a birthday present. Her name is Dinosaur (because I always wanted a pet dinosaur), or Dinah for short, and she's a Pembroke Welsh Corgi: I also live with a cat we took off the street. He's a black and white American Shorthair, but I don't have any decent pics of him at the moment because I recently (stupidly) deleted all my pics from my phone. >__>

I managed to find dumbbells that are essentially just mini-barbells. They use standard plates like a barbell does. I think this'll save me money in the long run!

I'm considering raw, too... I've actually started today, but I'm "just" trying it out for 30 days right now. I read 80/10/10 and I'm (mostly) following that, which basically is... eat fruit. Lots of fruit. Eat some veggies. Raw and as unprocessed as possible, so I'm not dehydrating anything or making gourmet stuff. I'm pretty much sticking to fruits or smoothies and salads, though I might cook some veggies for soup here or there. Not sure yet. Anyway, so that's what I'm doing, but I don't know if I'll stick with it or not. I wanted to do this first though as a sort of a baseline to build off of later on when I experiment changing things up or adding things back... I like the idea of raw a lot, but I'm also not sure if I am 100% sold on it yet. I guess I'll see how much better (or worse) I feel after the 30 days. =D But as for raw protein, definitely spouts. You already mentioned nuts. Veggies, too, I think, tend to have more than fruits, but their calorie count is generally low so it can't be relied on if you're going for high protein. But it doesn't hurt, right? Oh! Hemp seeds. If you can find some of those, I hear they make a nice snack. Good luck!

I've been doing okay. I got a little lazy this Holiday weekend, missed a few things... I've had a hard time figuring out exactly what to do, too, but I think I've finally got it figured out. I fixed my workout routine (picked up some weights at the store so I don't have to rely on piggybacking on a friend's gym membership) and I'm on the next phase of my diet, so things should even out starting today. Hopefully.

Have you done any training with the dog? Do you take the dog for daily walks? If not, start both of those. Training him to obey commands will help teach him to respect you and other people. Taking him for walks will help keep him calmer, and also reinforce you as leader if you make sure he walks beside you or behind you instead of pulling you along (the leader is in front, that should be you). Get your roommates to do the same, it should help get the dog to see them as a leader and not just someone it lives with. Look up dog/wolf body language, too. Or, here, I found you a page. You have to learn to watch their cues so you can redirect it before a bite happens. But basically, learn to read the dog, teach them how to do the same, and definitely invest in someone to come see the dog at home. =)

Thanks! I just got back from the store and I bought my own barbell and an adjustable dumbbell set (not the ones that snap, but the kind you can put standard plates on). Bought more weight than I really meant to because they were out of barbells on their own and just selling sets, but that's fine. I've got 140lbs in plates now. Better to have a too much right now starting off than too little, right? I'll grow into it.

I've had a couple of days of not-amazingness. But I think I needed the break mentally. I'm going to be a little lax on myself this weekend, but on Monday... Monday starts the new diet for me. I've decided to do a less strict version of a raw vegan diet that's going to consist mostly of me playing with my smoothie machine, which wont be 100% raw (cheating, I know) but the non-raw will be limited. The stuff that wont be raw is just basic stuff like if I want to heat up some home-made vegetable soup (and there might be some cooked onions or garlic in the soup), and the dressings for my salads might not always be raw, nor the powder for my post-workout shake. But as long as it's a vegetable that's being cooked and I'm not eating grains/starches I'm not going to worry about it too much. I'm also going to start a new workout then, too. Still kinda fuzzy on the details of what I'm gonna do though, but I have the weekend to figure it out. I don't think Body Revolution is for me, and I can't get to the gym on a schedule I can count on (I piggyback on a friend's membership sometimes), so I need to figure out something to do at home. I might buy some weights to keep here. I can't afford a gym membership, but I can swing $150 or so for some home stuff right now. That said, I actually like bodyweight workouts, so I don't really NEED to go to the gym anyway, nor do I need a lot of equipment at home. I'll figure it out.

Oh, don't worry about it. It's just every once in a while my days pile up in a weird way and I end up being tired. I probably shouldn't have gone bike riding, but my friends wanted to... and how can I say no, right? I almost never get out to do stuff like that with other people! Anyway guys, I'm doing pretty good right now, I think. Took yesterday and today off of working out because the extra biking session, which killed my arms for some reason. I figure it's better to give them a little extra time than to push it too much.

I am so TIRED today! I fell asleep late last night and woke up early to clean today, and then went bicycling for an hour after taking the dog for her walk... I'm beat. But, I'm on track!

Did good yesterday, everything on track. Did an hour long weight lifting class that kicked my ass and is making me all kinds of sore today. Tonight I've had two cooked meals, because my family decided we needed to eat out instead of going back home after some shopping, and I was hungry so I went along with it this time. Only human, right? Still gotta do my Japanese studies and meditation, but I don't think I'll have any trouble with either of those.

I wish I knew more about my ancestry... I'm also Scottish on my dad's side. Our surname is actually Scott, so we're pretty obviously Scottish. No idea if it always was Scott or not, though. We migrated over to America pretty early on... apparently because if we didn't leave we'd be hung for treason of some type... yeah. I should probably ask my dad about everything, he's into that kinda stuff. Anyway, hey there! Good goals. I've been working on decluttering my life, too. It's not one of my official goals right now, but I've been going at it for about a year now... Every month or so I look at my stuff and I just go "okay, too much, time to get rid of some more" and I do another sweep through my room. Nowadays it's mostly just my wardrobe left to do. But I got rid of about 25 shirts today! I've still got like a bazillion, but one step at a time... If you need any help or tips or just someone to talk to about it, feel free to give me a shout. When I first started I went through my entire house and tossed out no less than 9 trash bags of clothes, 4 bags of papers/misc office-type stuff, 2 bags of toys, mounds of books, and who knows what else. And that's just what my mom allowed me to get rid of. Of course... I hope your life isn't as cluttered as mine was. My mom is like borderline hoarder and I clearly got trained to be the same as a kid, haha! Still... our house is now decluttered enough where we can have people over here for the first time in a very long time.

Oh man, Wreck-It Ralph! I loved that movie so much when I went to see it the other day. I went into it with high hopes and it blew those away. It's just a bunch of fun for a geek, isn't it? Hope you feel better soon!

micmac - You've just got to be consistant! If they know they can get somewhere by pulling you, then that's what they're gonna do. You have to teach them that they can't get anywhere unless they don't pull. Use treats and just walk up and down the hall if you gotta, eventually they'll get it. Eridian - God, I love corgis. I've wanted one for so many years... I had to fight for this dog for a long, long time, haha. But I got her! And she's amazing. I hope to one day be able to have her walk beside me without needing a leash, too. Hopefully. There's a trail that's not too far from my house and I'd love to be able to take her there. I have a friend who's got a Lab and that dog literally walks herself. She takes her leash in her mouth, and follows him, walking herself on the leash. It's the funniest thing.