[Sovalis]

Your lunch sounds delicious. I am sorry the emotions were ambushing you. I am glad you were able to write about it. And you’re 100% right: even if hormones are compounding them, they are still real and valid. You deserve support and space to process. *Hugs offered*

 

I haven’t watched My Hero Academia, but yeah, school festivals (especially ones that don’t revolve around sports) would be so cool. 

 

I am also painting minis tomorrow! Twins!  

 

Happy Pi(e) Day to you, too! ❤️ 

[Everstorm]

4 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Winter took a bite at us yesterday, which makes me glad I hadn't rushed to plant my seeds, though I still am struggling to get back out and pull weeds. 😥 

We have been having some extra cold weather after such a warm February and now I am having to cover my plants every night.  (Not new ones...I knew better than to plant, but ones that woke up too early)

[MaeradCase]

18 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am sorry the emotions were ambushing you. I am glad you were able to write about it. And you’re 100% right: even if hormones are compounding them, they are still real and valid. You deserve support and space to process. *Hugs offered*

Validation received. Thank you so much, Sovalis. ❤

 

18 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I haven’t watched My Hero Academia, but yeah, school festivals (especially ones that don’t revolve around sports) would be so cool. 

It has been impressing me with the quality of characters. And if I were to submit myself to getting a trainer, I'd ask them to theme my training to be like MHA. Izuku Midoriya has to get stronger in body to be able to use his power without getting hurt, and to be able to use it to its full potential. 😍 Lots of things about his training make me think of incremental improvements in a real life training process.

 

18 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am also painting minis tomorrow! Twins!  

(Your paint nights are part of why I suggested it to my group. Thanks for being an inspiration!) One of the group members nearly ruined my day thinking we'd continue the game where we left off, rather than alternate every other week. I spoke up to confirm I thought we'd paint, and decide on our character level-up perks. That was enough to make sure they didn't cancel paint night, especially since Fallout RPG apparently has a LOT of perks to pick from. 😅

 

18 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Happy Pi(e) Day to you, too! ❤️ 

🥧! Cid got me a chocolate pecan pie to share with others. ❤ Sometimes I think ahead to make a pie meal (pizza pie (/quiche) or shepherd's pie) since he doesn't like any fruit pies, but he's good with nutty or chocolate options. Honestly, I crave cobblers. Maybe I should join a Baptist church for the potlucks. 😂

 

13 hours ago, Everstorm said:

We have been having some extra cold weather after such a warm February and now I am having to cover my plants every night.  (Not new ones...I knew better than to plant, but ones that woke up too early)

Plants, man. They get so optimistic about changes in weather, only to be betrayed soon after. It's still a little cool, but in a way that feels nice, so I finally did a batch of weeding. When I had done enough, I came inside and opened the patio door. Zemi has been enjoying the breath of fresh air and the noise of birds. ❤

[Artemis Prime]

4 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

Plants, man. They get so optimistic about changes in weather, only to be betrayed soon after

Me too. Am I a plant? 

 

Sorry I haven't been around this challenge, but I've been lurking a bit and you're definitely inspiring me to get back to writing. 

[MaeradCase]

1 minute ago, Artemis Prime said:

Me too. Am I a plant? 

So relatable. 😂

 

1 minute ago, Artemis Prime said:

Sorry I haven't been around this challenge, but I've been lurking a bit and you're definitely inspiring me to get back to writing. 

Thanks for lurking. 😆 I'm glad to hear you're inspired to write! Will you be joining NF NaNo for April's Camp NaNo?

[MaeradCase]

I had an elaborate post already started and now it's vanished, and I'm hungry, and Zemi has finally stopped butting their face into my hands (never mind, they're still not satisfied), so quick recap instead!

 

Yesterday I got 1100 nook miles. In addition to fruit, veggies, and water, I also did my warm-up and I colored before bed! Other things accomplished without scoring were finishing reading "The Singing", biking when I got home, and watching more MHA with Cid.

 

This morning I gardened after a debate of "is it my want to do it or my want to avoid guilt and remorse" to which the answer was "I want to do it, and by going and doing it I will have no guilt or remorse about having skipped again." Turns out, I had to cut out the again, because it carries more frustration at self, and I need to be okay with doing things when I can and not doing things when they're too much.

 

Okay, I really do have to eat before my body does some weird sci-fi horror inside-out change like a sea cucumber trying to catch food with its stomach. (Gross, but my hunger is ridiculous at the moment, and I say this in hopes of maybe making you laugh or go "ewww" out loud... 😂)

 

Have a great morning! Hope you find a chance to do a thing you've been meaning to do even if you only do 5%!

❤ Maerad

[Silmarilliane]

3 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I need to be okay with doing things when I can and not doing things when they're too much

 

This is a good life lesson ❤️ 

[MaeradCase]

16 minutes ago, Silmarilliane said:

This is a good life lesson ❤️ 

I give credit for most of my good life lessons to the NF forum community encouraging healthy mindsets in life and fitness. 🏆

 

Wanted to expand upon my happy reports this morning with pictures!

 

3 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I colored before bed!

With this update, the last of her magical possessions have been colored, and now I have to figure out how to not make the rest fifty shades of brown (especially the walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture - oh my gosh, how do I distinguish all those colors from each other? *collapses in existential artist dread*)

 

3 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

This morning I gardened

I removed more weeds (there were more of the brown ones in front of the green zone, that are now pulled up) and rolled up my pile of pulled plants to discard unceremoniously into the bricked off corner so it might dry out and die and be useful somehow later. 😂

I'm still torn on leaving the nice green grass. I'm leaving the clover, but the grass isn't easy to pull forth from it. When it's at the edges I started pulling it just to thin it out.

[Everstorm]

7 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

With this update, the last of her magical possessions have been colored, and now I have to figure out how to not make the rest fifty shades of brown (especially the walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture - oh my gosh, how do I distinguish all those colors from each other? *collapses in existential artist dread*)

Maybe you don't?  Most items in a ship's cabin would be made of the same wood, ergo, the same color with some variance for shadows/light, wear, and wood grain.  Maybe Google some images for inspiration?

[MaeradCase]

12 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Maybe you don't?  Most items in a ship's cabin would be made of the same wood, ergo, the same color with some variance for shadows/light, wear, and wood grain.  Maybe Google some images for inspiration?

Maybe. I definitely do use reference images. The trouble is my inexperience with coloring backdrops. This portrait is actually far beyond my level because I only ever draw the character and whatever stuff they're holding, and potentially some environment they interact with... But a room full of stuff? *blood drains from face* I did this because I wanted to. I did this because I wanted to. I did this because I wanted to. 😅 Honestly it sat uncolored for a while, so I am proud of myself for slowly adding color to it.

 

What I'm mostly worried about it not being able to produce a sufficiently contrasted look in the numerous wood surfaces if they're all colored at different times. But it would be extremely overwhelming to attempt to color literally everything that's left in one go. 😣

[MaeradCase]

Good morning, y'all!

 

I managed 1100 nook miles yesterday. This challenge ends soon and the tally must be done, but I'm not gonna do that at the moment. 😅 I had no fruits and veggies until dinner when I had my favorite dish - a sweet chicken stir fry with pineapple. 😍 I love having leftovers. I need to buy a bell pepper though, since Cid and I didn't get any groceries this weekend. 😥

 

Paint night went well. The DM had invested in cards that listed all the perks (kind of like the spell cards for 5e D&D magic-users based on class or sourcebook), so we could make sure we met the skill requirements, and then decide how we liked our options. I considered 5 cards including swimming and avoiding triggering traps, but since I know what it's like to be a girl surrounded by boys (see college major and the ratio very much in their favor), I decided the character probably should have an edge in combat against masculine threats, so now she has the perk of "black widow." 😳

 

After noting our choices, pie got shared, and we painted minis. I chose to paint minis from my hoard sourced from some other game, redesigning them to be D&D characters. I worked on two, and finished neither, though one was closer to being done than the other. One has swords and the other looked lycanthropic (they have a tail and wild hair). Cid was in a much better mood, but he still doesn't want to paint. 🤷

 

Not much else to report. Have a great day! Hope you set aside a moment to relax and be content with yourself.

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Sovalis]

Ooh, a chicken stir fry with pineapple sounds delightful. I love pineapple. I am firmly in the pineapple on pizza camp.

 

I am glad paint night went well! Your perk sounds like great role play flavour and efficient play strategy. Nicely done. Yay for pie!

 

Hope you have a great day!

[Snarkyfishguts]

I like pineapple in stirfry. Cooked pineapple is one of the few produce I like better cooked than raw.  It's just so dang good. 

[MaeradCase]

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

Ooh, a chicken stir fry with pineapple sounds delightful. I love pineapple. I am firmly in the pineapple on pizza camp.

I like it when the pizza is a Hawaiian pizza, but I wouldn't put pineapple on say a meat lover's pizza. 😆 Another odd flavor I liked that Cid got for us some time ago was a chicken alfredo pizza! That was fun, too!

 

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

I am glad paint night went well! Your perk sounds like great role play flavour and efficient play strategy. Nicely done. Yay for pie!

 

Hope you have a great day!

Yeah! We talked more than last time. It probably helped that our other player was with us, and the DM was playing Fallout on their TV. We were all situated to have a good time and have something to do and hang out very casually.

 

59 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I like pineapple in stirfry. Cooked pineapple is one of the few produce I like better cooked than raw.  It's just so dang good. 

That's true. And grilled pineapple is sooo good. 😍 I tried suggesting pineapple upside-down cake to Cid, but I also didn't mind being talked into using our fresh pineapple as a side of fruit or a fruity ingredient in stir fry. I mostly am just craving fruit desserts. 😆

[Sovalis]

Canned pineapple is better for cakes in my experience because it’s generally more tender. But all of it is delicious!

[MaeradCase]

19 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Canned pineapple is better for cakes in my experience because it’s generally more tender. But all of it is delicious!

That makes sense both for tenderness and for way less work than trying to carve up a pineapple and slice it perfectly. 😆 I might convince him that we should get the ingredients to make one, including the canned pineapple rings. 😉

[Salinger]

Hey MC, sending support and love! 

Hows your Friday going? xx

[MaeradCase]

25 minutes ago, Salinger said:

Hey MC, sending support and love! 

Hows your Friday going? xx

Thanks, Sal!

 

I woke up, stretched, and climbed back into bed to snooze, and cuddled with Zemi until I had to get up for work.

 

My neck and shoulders are killing me, and I don't know what to do aside from the ibuprofen I already took. Wish I had some icy hot or tiger balm handy.

 

I have lunch with my mom today, which I'm looking forward to.

[MaeradCase]

Oh man, I really do hate when I have a whole post written up and it vanishes. A moment of silent crying for my loss.

😭 

😭

😭

😭

😥

*sniff* Okay. Take two.

 

Quicker recap: yesterday I went to the dentist and then treated myself to a steakhouse I haven't been to in a while because Cid prefers another one (his loss 😅). Then I went to work to do a half shift of work, stopped at the store for a few things for dinner, made dinner, and watched MHA with Cid.

 

Got a new record of lowest score with 500 nook miles, but it was a pleasant day, and I refuse to be bothered. 😜 I'll try summing up my nook miles earned for recap sometime tonight or this weekend. 😃

 

Thank you for being here. Happy St. Patrick's Day. I hope your day is snake free. 😆 Unless you like snakes, in which case...

Spoiler

(disclaimer: I paid to have my picture taken with that lovely python - it does not belong to me)

Maerad

[Sovalis]

That python is so gorgeous!! And that is such a great photo of you!

 

Hope the dentist stuff went well and that the steakhouse was delicious. Don’t fret the low mileage, we can’t be rocking it every day and that is totally alright. ❤️ 

[MaeradCase]

Time for the end of challenge list of gratitude! I wouldn't be persevering on the rough days with quite as much tenacity if it weren't for you guys cheering me on!

 

On 2/5/2023 at 10:32 PM, Everstorm said:

Sounds like you'll be getting a lot of mileage out of the new theme 😆  

So glad you got me started off with such a great pun. Thank you, Ever. 😆

 

On 2/10/2023 at 8:23 PM, XBlackWidowX said:

What a fantastic challenge, so many different things to do! I am following!

I recall you saying you had a few active and future goals in common with my list. I hope your five week challenge went well. 😃

 

On 2/12/2023 at 7:56 AM, shaar said:

Valentines falling on a Taco Tuesday though is AMAZING and I hope you guys enjoy the hell out of it!!

 

Taco Tuesday Valentine's Day was a good highlight for week 1. 😍 Also thank you for the Pusheen sticker, shaar. She is my favorite, as seen in my sticker choices for tracking accomplishments on my calendar. 😃

 

On 2/14/2023 at 7:12 AM, Rhovaniel said:

I LOVE gamifying goals, this is awesome! 

 

Following of course  

Upcoming final report! Thanks for following along, Rho! Good job with your chapter work!

 

On 2/17/2023 at 6:29 AM, Silmarilliane said:

Glad you had the support through the melt down and that you're feeling better since then ❤️

Thanks for your support, Sil! I also loved visiting your island, and being able to pick up some tips from someone experienced with New Horizons. 😃

 

On 2/20/2023 at 5:25 PM, Snarkyfishguts said:

 

yay animal crossing!

 

I’m sorry about the nerd but their loss. 
 

the progress on your art is awesome!!

Thanks for cheering me on, and cheering me up, Snarky. 😃 Good job with your flamingos!

 

On 2/21/2023 at 3:13 AM, Salinger said:

Sending lots of love and friendship to you. You are awesome xx

As always, Sal, you win the award for biggest cheerleader. Thanks for stopping by, checking in, and cheering me on. 😃 Gold star! 🌟

 

On 2/23/2023 at 11:21 AM, Elastigirl said:

I love Sentinels of the Universe!

😃 Love finding out how cool everyone is on here with nerdy interests to share!

 

On 3/7/2023 at 2:16 PM, Sovalis said:

Productivity does not define your worth. You are a cosmic being and you deserve rest as part of that. Hugs if you want them. ❤️ 

This deserves to be saved for eternity. Thank you for your encouragement, Sov! ❤

 

On 3/15/2023 at 8:03 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Me too. Am I a plant? 

 

Sorry I haven't been around this challenge, but I've been lurking a bit and you're definitely inspiring me to get back to writing. 

Thanks again for letting me know my daily check-ins to keep myself on track also provide a source of inspiration to others. I'm so looking forward to picking up writing with a team again come April. 

 

You all are awesome! Additional shout-out for those who followed and liked even if I didn't see a comment from you! Thank you all for your support and encouragement. 

Sincerely,

Maerad

[MaeradCase]

What better time than now to recap the end of my eighth five week challenge?

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

Ahead, I've got a list of the Nook Miles+ Reward challenge names from ACNH, a list of the exercises done in the plaza of ACNH, and all my numerous wordy thoughts on how I intend to adapt the challenges into my own goals so that if I put them all on Index cards and shuffle them into a deck I'll have a random draw of which five goals will get a double point bonus for getting done. XD

I played ACNH very consistently through this challenge. I think I have a little bit of rearranging left before I would say I've done enough landscaping on my island. Using the Nook Miles+ challenges for a points system was both amusing and a little... not what I was anticipating. I never made the index cards to get doubled points, so what I set by week 1 was what I got for the rest of the challenge. 😅😥

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

The first thing that made me consider this theme for my 5-week challenge was the stretching that can be done as a daily activity in game. I want to scale back my goals so that I have a daily goal to do that warm-up first thing in the morning, and/or last thing at night. I don't have the ability to do it in the video game because I don't have the joy cons, but I do have the ability to do the exercises without the game giving me credit for it. So I've compiled the list of stretches used in the little exercise.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Arm Lifts while marching

Arm Rotations while marching

Side Stretches

Twists and Large Twists

Toe Touches

Body Rotations

Jumping + Jacks

Arm Lifts while marching

 

(If you watch a video of the exercises and have a better name for the exercises, please share. I feel like at least two of these have a more precise name I can't think of)

 

That being said, I already know I'm including the "Stretch to Refresh" challenge because it's already a goal I want to accomplish every day - even if I don't pull the index card. It can be a warm-up for other exercises, but I am going to consider just doing these warm-ups their own goal in attempt to promote motion. I will keep track of my daily streak in my attempt to do the stretches every day.

I did manage to do the stretches daily for most of the challenge. It was funny seeing my body unable to do toe touches after my first morning in the garden. 😅 I also showed them to my friend while I was getting my hair done. Her daughter wanted to do them, but wasn't pleased that she couldn't see my tiny screen. There's jumps and jumping jacks as the penultimate set, and I sometimes did heel raises instead when my feet or ankles were complaining about existence. 😅

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

My next thought is the fact that my coloring project I originally included as one of my crafty options for my Artificer goals *never* got touched in all of January. But I *do* want to color and draw. My solution is to disguise it in a less daunting facade. I'm using "Chop Down a Tree" as a goal to sharpen one pencil. That puts me in the place where I can use said pencils. In the same theme, "Plant a tree" would be a challenge to draw something, and "Plant a fruit tree" would be to color something. I could also include "Chop 10 Wood" as a journal prompt or letter-writing assignment.

Surprising progress made on the picture by allowing myself to get points for a little progress, and bonus points for sharpening pencils. Unfortunately, those bonus points failed to lure me over to the page by sharpening a pencil every day like I originally was scheming, but it made for coloring having double points in a way, so not that bad a deal. 😉

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

"Talk to 3 neighbors" immediately goes into the ranks with little creative thought needed. So long as I make contact with three friends by the end of the day, this goal will be met. To be honest, that's a very necessary goal at this time. I can try spreading it out to one per mealtime if reaching out to three at once seems daunting.

Making it one honest conversation didn't stop this from being daunting. I did try reaching out more often, or just sharing memes to encourage maintaining the thought of each other. Don't know what to do about it, but I'll keep working on it.

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

I'll include the DIY project challenges, but strangely enough, not for my quilt. XD I'm thinking "Make 3 DIY projects" could be writing for 30 minutes (maybe in sprint mode), and "Customize 2 things" could be editing for 20 minutes (or contemplative writing). That way I get started on the second draft. It's not going to revise itself. XD I *do* want to include my quilt as a goal, though. I think it'd be a good match with "Pop a Balloon" (because needles and pins are sharp?), and the goal could be to get a thread's length of quilting done.

I never wrote or edited through this challenge. 😑 I did take notes during a couple discussions, and I took numerous sticky notes of shower thoughts, so it's not that I did nothing... It's more that I labelled the goal in a way that didn't align with my actions.

 

Getting points for sewing and quilting was nice. 😍 

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

"Sell 10 Seashells" fits with an activity I've already been spending some time doing: sifting through my phone's gallery, trying to delete the excessive hoards of saved images. I'll also apply "Sell 20 Weeds" to this task because I move files around while I sift through them. "Sell 20 weeds" is moving 20 images to trash or folders, and "Sell 10 shells" is moving 10 to trash. Another aspect of sifting through my folders of pictures is sharing them. "Sell 5 fruits" can be sharing 5 pictures with friends. "Sell a hot item" could be sharing a picture on Facebook.

Dude, I sifted SO MANY pictures out of my phone or into new folders where they could be again sifted. I had about 2 MB left on my SD card, and now I have a little over 8 MB. These easy points allowed me to redirect my path from going to FB when I kept checking my phone, and encouraged earning points instead. 😍

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

I feel like the goals for catching bugs and fish would be a funny way to get points for eating fruits and vegetables. The goal of catching 5 fish would be to have an abundance of vegetables at my meal. The goal of catching 1 fish could be to go and get an unusual veggie (we almost always have carrots, onions, or bell peppers, but we do like plenty of other veggies that a diverse array is viable... potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, celery, asparagus, salads, corn, etc.) Likewise, for fruit, catching 5 bugs would be to have an abundance of fruit, and catching 1 bug would be to get one that I don't usually have on hand (I love so many fruits, that it's basically anything except apples which I almost always grab for an addition to my lunches).

I did use this to promote getting extra fruits and veggies. I didn't go out of my way often to get anything very unusual, but indulging in things I like that aren't our staple ingredients was a fun way to score big points in a doubled fashion.

 

On 2/5/2023 at 9:24 PM, MaeradCase said:

"Water 8 flowers" should definitely be to use my enormous Hufflepuff cauldron mug for my water. XD That thing hydrates like magic. But I don't know what "Planting 3 flowers" would be in that sense, so it may not make it into the challenge. That fine - it wouldn't be the only challenge that I liked but didn't have a goal to align the challenge with.

I didn't always use the mug, but if I used my color shifting cup with at least one refill I considered it the equivalent volume of water. I've been hydrating very well this month!

 

Oh, and I sifted through my posts to get my Nook Miles+ track record!

Week 0: 7450 (before reorganizing scoring)

Week 1: 6000

Week 2: 3950+unknown

Week 3: 6900

Week 4: 5400

Week 5: 5300

 

Overall, the thing I've noticed in tracking these small habits is that there are things I wish I'd give myself points for doing, but I was pretty strict about sticking to rewarding only the items on the list I finalized at the end of week 0. I did things that were a big deal - some editing, some map-making, a little gardening, some bike rides, and spending time with people digitally or in person - but they didn't get me bonus points.

On the other hand, this list promoted and rewarded acting on a list of activities I enjoy and don't always pick up to do, so I made progress on the 4th quilt segment of 20, I made progress on my elaborate drawing, and I made journal entries when I needed to sort out my feelings.

 

Overall I'd say this was a fun challenge. I'm looking forward to challenging myself to get myself accustomed to my new bike, continuing to get my tiny yard ready for flowers, and in a few weeks picking up the writing challenge again with Team NF NaNo for Camp NaNo.

 

Thanks for tagging along for this challenge. Hope to see you on the next one, too. 😃

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Sovalis]

You did so well. I am so proud of you! ❤️