Darkfoxx 74: What Number Is This?

[darkfoxx]

It’s 74. 74 challenges. 

 

*insert Count*

 

 

74 Cycles of varying levels of having my shit together-ness. 

 

As it looks like I’m not quite finished languishing, I’ll be continuing on my slow roll toward better habits (yet again) and going the simple route. 

 

Goal The First

 

Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition

 

Keeping up with macro tracking has proven to be too much in the realm of effort for my brain again, so I’ll be edging toward that way again. Gotta hit those things side-on.  Actual macros have not changed in ages, though off the top of my head I can’t remember what they are. Maybe I need to re-institute weekly weigh-ins for a little kick in the pants. We shall see. 

 

Aside from that, eat in a way that doesn’t kill my GI system, with a mind toward more veggies in my life, and not over eating. Or at least limiting the over eating, since I *still* can’t control myself around Indian. 

 

Goal The Second

 

Movement in a way that feels good and does good. 

 

Zoom yoga 2 - 4 x a week as the schedule allows - as many classes as the schedule permits. The goal here is at least 1 functional-based class, 1 joy in movement class, and 1 handstand practice class. 

 

Keep the TRX straps up during the day - on yoga days do squat pull sets of 10 every time I pass the straps; on non-yoga days do at least 2 run-throughs of my full-body set per day + squat pull sets. 

 

Go for walks on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday in the sun; Sunday in a mall. 

 

Goal The Third

 

Fulfillment.

 

Do something to feed myself each day, be it something with digital art, graphic design, or one of my physical crafts. Something. 

 

Also: keep up with the social media stuff for DH’s Twitch thing & my blog. 

 

Also chucking redecorating and Spring cleaning the apartment in this slot. I’m tired of looking at our shit and tired of having the shit we have shoved in drawers that I literally never see. Since the move is off, I need to find a way to make this place annoy me less for the next 13 months. 

 

List Of Fulfillment

 

Work with the dogs on some sort of training goal

Digital art tutorial

Digital art freestyle time while listening to a podcast

Big projects on my Animal Crossing Island

Creating images for WTFGaming Instagram & channel banners

Taking pictures for Gastography Instagram

Creating, writing, photographing & publishing recipes for Gastography

Finding a way to include more food content on Gastography Instagram feed

Creating & posting Pins for Gastography recipes

Lucet cord making

Tablet weaving

Sashiko embroidery

The quilt project I’m supposed to be doing but have put off because it’s a pain to find fabric 

Lace crocheting

 

And that’s all I can think of for the moment; I’m sure there are more things. 

 

We also need to plan some sort of getaway - a staycation is fine; as long as it involves the dogs at the boarder + suitcases. When things open back up a bit here (i.e. we won’t have to stay in our room if we visit one of the resorts here that are still hella expensive even with zero amenities open), we shall make that happen. We’ve got at least a semi-portable setup for DH’s Twitch channel, so we can at least stream our Bad Game on a Saturday from the “road” if we don’t want to take a week off in this early stage with like 6 followers. 

 

We had intended on doing that for our anniversary in April, but (light) lockdown happened, amenities closed and some of the less bonkers places were reclassified again as COVID hotels. 

 

I mean ... we *could* have gone to the resort offering massive iftar catering all Ramadan for their private villa rental residents ... but we are not spending $1,000 a night for anything, let alone a villa in a resort with no amenities open. Hellz to the no. Even if we had the money. That’s ridiculous. Or, the brand new water park hotel - with the closed water park and nothing else open. That’s an option. Yeah. My ass is not getting into a pool in this weather, let alone going to a just-opened water park in the middle of a pandemic. That may or may not be dodgy. It’s a Hilton, but .... I don’t really trust it. 

 

We did hear something about more travel bubbles for vaccinated people flying Qatar Air opening up - Georgia is on the list, as are Turkey, the Maldives, and Greece. Out of those, Tbilisi Georgia is tops on our list for being affordable, pretty and having great food.

 

Greece is definitely on the list as well, but they’ve got their own drama to deal with at the moment - I have no idea how they got on the travel bubble list, and from what I’ve been seeing (from @DarK_RaideR and others), I worry that that’s going to be a shitshow for them.

 

Maybe Tbilisi is less of a mess? I don’t even know what we would want to do on vacation, at this point. Eat in a restaurant. Be in a Western city with modern Western morals (i.e beer, democracy(at least ish) & side boob). Drink a beer on a terrace. Look at some old shit; hike a bit ... Which, tbh, is what we generally do on vacation anyways. We’re not ones for doing crowded and popular things unless those things consist of walking around and not interacting with other people that aren’t chatty shopkeepers. 

 

Mostly just ruminating, there - it’ll be at the bare minimum a month before we can even contemplate leaving the country, and then it will be a 99% chance of DH flying out for work with a 15% chance of me being able to follow for Week 2 of his trip like we were doing. We will lightly contemplate, but actual firm planning is a recipe for those plans being immediately cancelled. 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Hi friend. I'll be following. I hope some good vacation options come available. 

[Scaly Freak]

Here for more dog inspiration!  

 

And for the food photos, because they are inspirational too.

[Rookie]

Here for dogs, art and staycation vibes! 

[Big_Show]

Beer on a terrace sounds good.  Hope you find a way to get to it soon!

[DarK_RaideR]

13 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

I have no idea how they got on the travel bubble list

Same way we got into the EU. By fudging the numbers.

[DrFeelgood]

Following

[miss_marissa]

74 challenges is awesome! you should be proud of that

[Terra]

16 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

a Western city with modern Western morals (i.e beer, democracy(at least ish) & side boob).

I absolutely love this criteria!!!  I laughed out loud and then shared with my 16 year old (yeah I'm that parent) 

 

The travel bug is alive with me too, but much less exotic.  We are planning a week in Boston and then a long weekend in the mountains for my parent's 50th Anniversary.  I'm excited to see where you can figure out to escape to....  

[darkfoxx]

11 hours ago, Big_Show said:

Beer on a terrace sounds good.  Hope you find a way to get to it soon!

It may just be our terrace for now (when QDC opens back up), and a friend’s terrace when we can hopefully see them again in a few weeks, but beer on a terrace will be had by the end of this challenge! 

 

8 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Same way we got into the EU. By fudging the numbers.

I mean ..... you’re totally not alone in the scope of Europe for that. Allegedly. Let’s see if this bubble sticks. I think we briefly had a bubble with at least one of the Qatar Air destinations in Greece last year - I think that one got shut down fairly quickly because: logic; hopefully since they’re only letting vaccinated passengers fly and are still requiring negative PCR tests on both ends, it won’t be an utter shit show for either end of the bubble. 

 

8 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

Following

Yay! I’m happy to see you back! 

 

5 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

74 challenges is awesome! you should be proud of that

I am! Totally wouldn’t have stuck around through all 74 if it weren’t for my Forum friends

 

5 hours ago, Terra said:

I absolutely love this criteria!!!  I laughed out loud and then shared with my 16 year old (yeah I'm that parent) 

 

The travel bug is alive with me too, but much less exotic.  We are planning a week in Boston and then a long weekend in the mountains for my parent's 50th Anniversary.  I'm excited to see where you can figure out to escape to....  

It’s our ‘escape from the sandpit’ criteria for vacation. Side boob isn’t a necessity, but the *ability* to do so is what we are after. Mostly. 

 

Boston is great! I absolutely loved walking the cobblestone streets and the aquarium is 🔥DH would also kill for some time in the mountains - any mountains. We have sand dunes and a couple cliffs - no mountains. Though, theoretically, since the blockade is technically over (now there are just COVID travel restrictions in place), we could drive to mountains in Saudi. Theoretically. That is, if Saudi opens to American tourists once it opens back up. 

 

 

 

 

[darkfoxx]

Week 0: Monday

 

Daily

 

[ ☑️] DuoLingo Arabic class

[ ☑️ ] Digital art practice:  Did a flat lay floral arrangement tutorial 

[ ☑️ ] Enrichment for the pups:  Tonight’s dinner featured the Hol-E-Roller, strips of old bedsheet & baby zucchini. It was a big hit. 

[ ☑️ ] Yoga class, TRX, Walk:  Tonight was functional class; continued on with hip flexors & hammies 

Breakfast: Oats, tahini, frozen blackberries, granola, pepitas 

Lunch: A concoction of leftovers - pasta, sundried tomato, a package of spinach, turkey bacon, some lemony dressing 

Dinner: Greek style frychos - oven fries topped with vegan cheese, peppers & onions, chicken & dairy-free tzatzki - it was a surprising smash hit with DH 

Snacks: X

Today’s macro spread: X calories, Xg protein, Xg fat, Xg carbs  

Did I feel like I over ate today?   [ ☑️  Yes] A bit at lunch - I wasn’t starving when I ate lunch and ate a bit extra; but that extra fueled yoga so I wasn’t ravenous afterward. 

This week’s weigh-in:  

 

Weekly/Challenge Grab Bag Of Things I Want To Keep In Mind

 

• Work with the dogs on some sort of training goal 
• Digital art tutorial  
• Digital art freestyle time while listening to a podcast  
• Big projects on my Animal Crossing Island  
• Creating images for WTFGaming Instagram & channel banners  
• Taking pictures for Gastography Instagram  
• Creating, writing, photographing & publishing recipes for Gastography  
• Finding a way to include more food content on Gastography Instagram feed  
• Creating & posting Pins for Gastography recipes  
• Lucet cord making  
• Tablet weaving  
• Sashiko embroidery  
• The quilt project I’m supposed to be doing but have put off because it’s a pain to find fabric  
• Lace crocheting  

 

[ ☑️ ] Did I do anything on the above list today? I did some work for WTF’s Instagram, photographed and typed a recipe for Gastography

[ - ] What about making current nest more tolerable? Have I done anything toward that this week?  

 

Also caught up with one of my Tuesday Coffee girlfriends this morning. Had a good chat and practiced waving & clapping with her little. Girlfriend was excited af to wave at that cute baby in Mom’s phone. 

[darkfoxx]

Week 0: Tuesday

 

Daily

 

[ ☑️] DuoLingo Arabic class

[ - ] Digital art practice:  Nope

[ ☑️ ] Enrichment for the pups:  Tonight was frozen foods night, and we are back to working on sitting in bed instead of being reactive at the hall 

[ - ] Yoga class, TRX, Walk:  Nope. Should have TRXed; didn’t wanna 

Breakfast: Oats, frozen blackberries, tahini, pepitas, granola 

Lunch: Leftover pasta, chicken, peppers & onions & Greek t-sauce 

Dinner: Jjiangmeyon(sp?) which wasn’t black but turned out well nonetheless 

Snacks: X

Today’s macro spread: X calories, Xg protein, Xg fat, Xg carbs  

Did I feel like I over ate today?    [ ☑️  No] Mostly no? I probably actually did, but wasn’t stretching the fullness 

This week’s weigh-in:  

 

Weekly/Challenge Grab Bag Of Things I Want To Keep In Mind

 

• Work with the dogs on some sort of training goal 
• Digital art tutorial  
• Digital art freestyle time while listening to a podcast  
• Big projects on my Animal Crossing Island  
• Creating images for WTFGaming Instagram & channel banners  
• Taking pictures for Gastography Instagram  
• Creating, writing, photographing & publishing recipes for Gastography  
• Finding a way to include more food content on Gastography Instagram feed  
• Creating & posting Pins for Gastography recipes  
• Lucet cord making  
• Tablet weaving  
• Sashiko embroidery  
• The quilt project I’m supposed to be doing but have put off because it’s a pain to find fabric  
• Lace crocheting  

[ - ] Did I do anything on the above list today? What?  Probably but I don’t remember what 

[ - ] What about making current nest more tolerable? Have I done anything toward that this week?  

 

Today was streaming day for Sekiro - which went well, despite DH having to generously help me along a little. 

[DarK_RaideR]

9 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Greek t-sauce 

Please elaborate.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

3 minutes ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Please elaborate.

Judging by the picture, I think she meant Tzatziki.

[sarakingdom]

6 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Please elaborate.

 

 

⬆️
On the Greek T-sauce.

[DarK_RaideR]

9 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Judging by the picture, I think she meant Tzatziki.

That's what I thought as well, but still wanna hear the exact details straight from the horse's fox's mouth.

[darkfoxx]

On 5/6/2021 at 11:34 PM, DarK_RaideR said:

Please elaborate.

 

On 5/6/2021 at 11:37 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Judging by the picture, I think she meant Tzatziki.

 

On 5/7/2021 at 6:28 AM, sarakingdom said:

 

 

⬆️
On the Greek T-sauce.

 

 

I meant tzatziki but cannot for the damn life of me spell that word without looking it up - aaaaand I was lazy after having to look it up 3. Friggin. Times. That day 😆

 

My vegan version was pretty good - certainly better than some of the watery af sorry excuses passed off around here; have definitely had better, but we go with what  probably won’t give us the stabby-stabby. 

[darkfoxx]

Wooooooow, totally thought I updated every day last week. 

 

Super did not. 

 

Did shitall for working out aside from Tuesday Functional Yoga & Friday slow flow + handstand classes. 

 

Food was .... food. I’m not especially thrilled with the outcome my choices have produced. Brain says I now have a full-blown Fupa. I’m sure brain is exaggerating, but ... there is definitely something there. 

 

D&D happened Friday and was good. Streaming happened Saturday with friends and that was good. 

 

Got our second jabs today and mall walked. Felt beat up afterward, but felt beat up before. 

 

On to Week 1. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Brain says I now have a full-blown Fupa. I’m sure brain is exaggerating, but ... there is definitely something there. 

Body image issues are poop.

[Rurik Harrgath]

I made the mistake of scrolling right to the food porn bomb.

 

Thank goodness it's almost breakfast time.  😬

 

On 5/4/2021 at 4:23 AM, darkfoxx said:

74 Cycles of varying levels of having my shit together-ness. 

 

That's basically how I describe my birthdays too.  Over three decades and I still don't feel any closer to being an adult yet.

[Fonzico]

I'm strictly here for the beer, democracy and side boob. Will not be entertaining any other topics of discussion. 

 

[darkfoxx]

On 5/9/2021 at 8:47 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Body image issues are poop.

 

Not my favorite thing at all - but I *do* have some data to indicate that I am, in fact, up in weight numbers since the start of this mini lockdown. So I’m not all off the mark. Just some. 

On 5/9/2021 at 9:05 PM, Rurik Harrgath said:

I made the mistake of scrolling right to the food porn bomb.

 

Thank goodness it's almost breakfast time.  😬

 

 

That's basically how I describe my birthdays too.  Over three decades and I still don't feel any closer to being an adult yet.

Lols. Yeah ... no. I can’t remember which decade of life I’m in, have zero sense of personal time, and absolutely do not know what “adult” actually means. I’m probably fine with this. 

On 5/10/2021 at 4:06 AM, Fonzico said:

I'm strictly here for the beer, democracy and side boob. Will not be entertaining any other topics of discussion. 

 

Yaaaaas! Glad to see you! 

[darkfoxx]

Whelp, we lost a day. 

 

Got our second jabs Sunday and lost yesterday to watching movies because neither of us could focus on much else, taking Tylenol to control periodic fevers, and sitting still to combat joint ache. 

 

We are much better today. I think at least both of us feel fine - DH went to work, so I’m assuming he’s ok. 

 

Poor guy had to wrangle the insurance company + the lender company for house stuff while trying to kick a low fever. Strange. They seem to make him hot; I get so cold my teeth chatter and all my muscles want to tense up. Meanwhile, he’s running around shirtless, trailing one of the blankets from the couch. 😆

 

Up & at em today. Got yoga this evening; probably won’t be doing any TRX this afternoon, but will definitely do my Functional class and should also loop in a round or two of at least hip flexor rehab. 

 

Food was .... existent yesterday. Ate 3 potato rolls and some oatmeal because I was not into standing up long enough to cook anything and didn’t want to deal with barking dogs & delivery. We had a bunch of junk.

 

The weekend was fine - didn’t go for my walk again on Saturday; napped mostly instead. Sunday was a few hours in the health clinic for jabs and then a mall walk in prep for not moving Monday. 

 

Picked up enough food to mostly make dinners for the week - though without a clear plan, so those dinners aren’t going to be 100% healthful or super super nutritious. For some reason, the grocery we hit had a shit selection of sad vegetables. We will, however, work our way through some more of the freezer stock so we can hopefully finally defrost the damn thing. 

 

 

[Scaly Freak]

4 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Lols. Yeah ... no. I can’t remember which decade of life I’m in, have zero sense of personal time, and absolutely do not know what “adult” actually means. I’m probably fine with this. 

 

The thing with being adults, is that we are the ones who get to decide what that means to us.  

[Rurik Harrgath]

6 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

...and absolutely do not know what “adult” actually means. I’m probably fine with this. 

 

I am 1000% okay with this personally.  #f*ckadulthood

 

6 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

For some reason, the grocery we hit had a shit selection of sad vegetables.