Koaladle

[Jayniana Jones]

Yeah, I love when things like that happen. Way to go on your bravery. It sounds like it was well rewarded.

[Spartan John]

Koaladle U aussie?

[Koaladle]

 

Koaladle U aussie?

 

No, but I definitely want to go someday.

[Spartan John]

Don't wait.

[Koaladle]

 

Don't wait.

 

Oh, if only. Right now would be terrible timing; we're buying a house, getting ready to start a family, and I need to go to college and use my GI Bill. The good news is that I've been looking forward to all this insanity; while visiting Australia is a little further down on the list, I am very happy where I am in the life journey thing majiggity.

 

You know what I mean. I have adventures to enjoy before travel the world again.

 

 

CHALLENGE UPDATE

Not going well. Between big problems with the VA, buying the house, and various personal life dealios, I ended up crumbling. Stress hit me around the same time I had a massive craving for carrot cake, so my equally stressed husband brought home a delectable temptress. The plan was to split a single serving from Publix, but alas! The cake he bought takes up over half a shelf. When you combine that with a lack of grocery shopping last weekend, you're in for a tasty week with a lot of stomach aches.

 

 

THE GOOD NEWS: I spent all yesterday deep cleaning the apartment (+5 self esteem), and am resolved to spend time in the kitchen scraping together healthy soups to get me through the next few days. We also have acorn squash in the fridge; I'm going to eat one for lunch and then serve the other tonight with a roast from the freezer. For husband's lunches, I'll throw together some husband-only freezer food and get it packed for the next couple of days. We're going to be down to emergency pasta by the time we go shopping on Tuesday, but it'll work.

 

I have two friends from high school who work out on a regular basis (I'm sure most of my dears do, but two in particular call me on their way to the gym), so I'm going to ask them to start holding me accountable for movement goals.  Next month is approaching and movement is going to be the cornerstone of self improvement. I feel as though I've progressed enough with my dietary habits that I can switch focus without losing too much progress. Historically, the more I work out the closer I watch my diet. 

 

I start seeing food like this, though these values are entirely inaccurate for me

 

SO:

-Make soup

-Pack husband's lunches

-Bake squash

-Roast the roast

-Pre-portion the remaining cake (to save room, keep it from going stale, and get it out of sight)

-Take out trash (when the cooking is all done)

-Walk dog as long as he can stand (to aid this: put water dish outside the apartment)

-Complete full workout

-Text Merida and Belle about keeping me focused

 

I'll check in tonight to report productivity. :-)

[Koaladle]

I rocked this afternoon!  

 

Completed:

-Make soup

-Pack husband's lunches

-Bake squash

-Roast the roast

-Pre-portion the remaining cake

-Text Merida and Belle (Merida happily accepted, and Belle hasn't responded yet)

 

It's a  stormy; the long walk and taking out the trash will have to wait. I'm delaying the workout in favor of cuddles with Heimdall (thunder is the WORST), but I'll get it done tonight during the Sharks game. It's playoff season, and it's not like I can keep my seat anyway.

 

 

[Spartan John]

 

 

Oh, if only. Right now would be terrible timing; we're buying a house, getting ready to start a family, and I need to go to college and use my GI Bill. The good news is that I've been looking forward to all this insanity; while visiting Australia is a little further down on the list, I am very happy where I am in the life journey thing majiggity.

 

You know what I mean. I have adventures to enjoy before travel the world again.

Seriously... a husband (wife in my case) and a house is more than I could imagine right now. That's like, you Mrs. @koaladle, beat the big mean boss and now you fight the game backwards or something like this. Being married and having my own place in the world is a big deal. Weight loss / fitness / all of the other b.s. goals can't really overcome those damn beauty achievements you got yourself there.

 

P.S.

Never seen someone using the word "terrible" for bad stuff. U weirdos...

[Koaladle]

 

Seriously... a husband (wife in my case) and a house is more than I could imagine right now. That's like, you Mrs. @koaladle, beat the big mean boss and now you fight the game backwards or something like this. Being married and having my own place in the world is a big deal. Weight loss / fitness / all of the other b.s. goals can't really overcome those damn beauty achievements you got yourself there.

 

P.S.

Never seen someone using the word "terrible" for bad stuff. U weirdos...

 

No matter your age, you might be/not be ready for marriage. I've wanted a family since I was 19 (but waited until I was 23 and sailed halfway around the world), and my best friends are all in their mid-twenties now and are more interested in establishing themselves as professionals than having kids. Some of them have zero interest in having a family. While getting married is absolutely an important event, it's certainly not a required milestone. If you're eventually ready for it, lovely! If you decide that's not what you want, also lovely! Lots of ways to live a life. <3 BUT I disagree about the weight loss and fitness goals being BS in comparison to starting a nuclear family. Being an overweight lady puts me at high risk for problems with conception, pregnancy complications, and issues with labor, not to mention getting back on my feet once the baby arrives.  The way I see it, my health ties in directly with the well-being and happiness of my family. The biggest hurdle to my journey may have been finding a husband, but to me my health is the boss battle. The two of us decided that I need to be at a healthy weight  before we try to start a family, so that adventure depends on my commitment to healthy living. It's like getting a car before getting a license; sure you could drive, but it might lead to a heap of problems. 

 

Since you're not at a point where you have/want(?) a family, focusing on living a healthy life sets you up to be ready for whatever else comes your way. <3 Your health is serious business!!

 

THAT PICTURE IN PARTICULAR IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. It's up there with flappy-ear koala.

 

[Koaladle]

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

 

Merida and Belle both heartily agreed to be my accountabilibuddies! I'm switching between yoga and cardiobodyweight smorgasbord every day, so my movement is back on track. WHOO! Not only to I get to talk to them every day, but I couldn't possibly let them down by saying I'm not going to hold up my end of the bargain. They're three time zones behind me, and it would take minimal effort to prank call at 03....

 

Food is still pretty bad. We're going grocery shopping tomorrow, but I did scrape together as much as I could between the freezer and the leftovers. We're not going to go hungry or anything (there's enough pasta and tomato sauce in the pantry that we could go a month on that alone), but we are in dire need of veggies. Meat and rice doth not butter parsnips. The good news is that my definition of unhealthy food is radically different than it was a few months ago. :-)

 

Fluid intake has been good! No juice, soda, or corn syrup in a few days now. I'm back on track by limiting my choices to water, regular hot tea, and black coffee. The occasional glug of whatever HH is drinking (beer, juice, Coke) is enough to sate the urge to splurge, and I'm happy to say I generally don't even miss it. 

[Spartan John]

I never said health isn't important; Though, I did say that it's nothing in comparison to getting married, starting a family, etc. I really believe that finding a soulmate is a damn hard task.

We'll have to agree to disagree now. I think you made your big step before you started working on the mechanics of living (building yourself towards pregnancy, laboring). It's like playing a DLC after you finished the main story arc. A person like you can say "I already found myself, I can do ANYTHING". You can draw powers beyond measure from this link between you (and damn sure you already do that). I always get happy when I hear people talk in plural. Together is the best.

 

As for meself, I'm in a middle of a long, overdue journey to a place I should have conquered much earlier in melife. I can't have family now because of it. That's harsh, but I manage somehow. In life, there are some places you need to reach, things you must do. Because you're a fighter, and that's what fighters do. They get up, blow after blow, spits blood and anger, and rise for another round. Choice is somewhat unnecessary in moments like this. Same with hope. Same with negative feelings. There's the opponent; there's the ring: now act.

[Koaladle]

Agree to disagree. 

 

My dad finally found his soulmate, but after years of neglect his body is deteriorating rapidly. Without good health, you don't get to enjoy the time you get. *shrug* 

[Butternut]

 sorry to hear about your dad, but maybe he's soul mate can give him some peaceful years to come.   And congrats on your non sugar intake, your gonna make your weight goal quick! 

 

my dad is with a wonderful woman, she takes care of him, and I've never seen him happier (alot less yelling) but she eats like crap.  She feeds him crap too.  It worries me a lot, and she has terrible health issues, alot of it is coming from what they eat, but she believes they eat healthy. I just want to go in there and sit down with both of them, but I know it will only create hate.  

 

The saying that "4 things you never talk about, money, sex, politics, and religion" but I really think Food should be the next thing.

[Spartan John]

 

Agree to disagree. 

 

My dad finally found his soulmate, but after years of neglect his body is deteriorating rapidly. Without good health, you don't get to enjoy the time you get. *shrug* 

That's a very strong point you raised there.

I sense so much grief in people's posts. Not just you. Everyone here has a bitter tale to tell. Broken houses and unfinished stories. I also see how's everybody shakes their damn heads and MOVES ON. Every thread's a thriller. I once read here about a 93' Gulf-War veteran who did some crazy deeds to overcome his uncontrolled obesity. Using yoga, he became thinner than a twig. I'm sure he's story is here somewhere.

 

Let's agree on HEALTH IS YOUR PROVISIONS TO THE ROAD OF LIFE. I think it's sums it up pretty well. Can't survive the material world without a vessel; No point in doing that without a greater cause.

[Koaladle]

The last few days have been mostly good with the food, not so good with hydration, and awesome with the workouts. Despite feeling like I'm making consistantly good decisions, my weight has shot up some. I think that part of it is due to the fact that it's summer, which leads me to my main challenge for May:

 

Pack the scale.

 

I've started that behavior where the number on the scale determines the mood for the rest of the day. NOT HEALTHY. Considering that it's the time of year where I need 4-6 liters of water a day just to go on a short walk, having the scale out isn't going to help me anyway. The number displayed isn't going to reflect progress, so May will be about tracking veggies, water, and workouts. I'm not going to step on the scale until it's in the bathroom of our first house. 

 

May Challenge Rules

1) Barring doctor's appointments, I am not allowed to step on the scale.

2) Must eat four servings of vegetation per day, but only one serving of fruit counts

3) Must drink three liters of water per day

4) Must follow A/B schedule of yoga and bodyweight/cardio at least five days a week (to allow for lazy stretch day or housework marathon), and check in with Merida or Belle, as appropriate. 

I've nicknamed my besties after the Disney Princess they best resemble

(I'm in the middle)

(I want to link the artist, but I couldn't find this off pinterest)

[Spartan John]

Can you post here the yoga/cardio schedule?

3 liters a-day sounds to me like a crazy thing.

[Jack Ryan- Rebel Recruit]

Hay how is it going?

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

[ixaera]

[Spartan John]

Hi, where did you disappear to?

[Koaladle]

This summer was absurd. It was a season I would describe less as a roller coaster and more like spacediving. 

 

A whole lot of down.

 

In May, we started packing up our apartment to close on our house on June first and move the following Sunday. Thanks to sadistic cosmic timing, I started running a fever on Friday and was so sick Sunday morning that my husband ran the move while I sat in our truck with Heimdall. Once the movers unloaded their truck and our trailer , we rushed to an urgent care. As it turns out, I didn't have a cold or an allergic reaction--I managed to contract Hand, Foot, and Mouth. If you're not familiar, this is a highly contagious disease where sores appear on the aforementioned body parts and makes it feel as though said body parts are stuck in a bonfire. To make matters worse, the summer heat had already hit and the AC wouldn't work. Fortunately for my mouth sores (gross gross GROSS), husband showed his affection by buying dozens of popsicles and bringing ice water whenever I let out a pathetic mew.

 

Halp, plz.

 

By Tuesday, my husband had dealt with the AC but left for a week-long trip to Washington state for a wedding. Though I was sick and miserable, I made him leave--not only did I want to keep from contaminating him, but this was one of the last of his friends to get married and he was finally able to make it. He'd missed other weddings due to his military service, and there was no way I was going to let his miss this one. It was a good thing he went, too--he was an invaluable help to the bride and groom by working long hours in preparation and acting as the scary, bearded bouncer when wedding crashers showed up. Anyway, I was sick and miserable and stuck in a new house with nothing unpacked for a week. There was only one thing to do those first few days: read all the Harry Potter books in record time (91 hours). With another 6 days to go, I started shuffling around the house, unpacking boxes and trying to get settled. When he finally came home (after flight delays totaling 14 hours because why not), I was not contagious so there were many cuddles to be had.

 

 

I started feeling better, but by then all the sores were scabbing and peeling and otherwise being disgusting. To make matters even more gross, HFM started to aggravate the boot rot I contracted while in the Navy. As if the stress and weight gain weren't enough, seeing my skin and toes in such a sad state launched me headfirst into renewed slumps of depression and anxiety. After hosting a housewarming party, my diet got even worse as we ate our way through the leftovers. At that point, I just gave up. The exhausting days of trying to get settled after sleepless nights were just too much. This went on until early August.

 

But finally, the upswing! I started hanging out with a couple of the neighbors I'd met at the party. One of them is teaching me how to quilt, and the other trades mowing our lawn for manual labor and beers in her pool. It took a lot of clawing to drag myself out of the slump enough to pick up the phone and socialize, but it was worth the effort. Seeing the minimal momentum, I started taking care of myself, little by little. Whether it was just getting dressed or taking the time to blow dry my hair, I was putting in the effort. During an afternoon of productivity, I found myself enrolled in the neighborhood university marching band and writing an admission essay to start full time next fall. I figured it was time to make a commitment to something; I hate confrontation, so dragging myself out the door for band camp surrounded by strangers managed to be less terrifying than turning in my mellophone and facing the shame of disappointment.

 

I leap to another tree that I might be deaf to their heavy sighs!

 

Anyway, I'm starting to get it back together. Having a schedule is doing me a world of good, and I think I'm ready to set goals again.

 

08SEP-13SEP

Food: Drink 2 liters of water before 1400, eat one vegetable per day

Movement: Walk to/from band functions, walk dog on off-days

House Projects: Clear out spare room for High Koalaty Workout Land, toss out half the stuff in there because it was in storage for six years and I didn't miss it.

 

14SEP-20SEP

Food: Drink 2 liters of water before 1400, eat one vegetable per day, and trade the sugary stuff for fruit

Movement: Walk to/from band functions, walk dog on off days, and use the High Koalaty Workout Land twice a week

House Projects: Sand kitchen cabinet doors, part one

 

21SEP-27SEP

Food: Drink 2 liters of water before 1400, eat two vegetables per day, and trade the sugary stuff for fruit

Movement: Walk to/from band functions, walk dog on off days, and use the High Koalaty Workout Land three times a week

House Projects: Sand kitchen cabinet doors, part two

 

28SEP-30SEP

Food: Drink 2 liters of water before 1400, eat three vegetables per day, and trade the sugary stuff for fruit

Movement: Walk to/from band functions, walk dog on off days, use the High Koalaty Workout Land three times a week, go on a bike ride

House Projects: Sand kitchen cabinets, part one (if cabinet doors are done, but I could very possibly be underestimating how long this will take)

 

A couple of notes: I know it sounds like a lot at once, but a lot of this stuff happens pretty regularly anyway. I either walk or ride to band unless I get rained out, I usually manage to hydrate before marching, and resisting sugar is a matter of making sure it doesn't get in the house and we are just about out of it. For sanding down the cabinets, I should be able to accomplish this no matter what the weather. We have a nicely protected carport, so even if there's rain I can go outside and sand down the doors. I gave myself two weeks because I don't want to underestimate the amount of work to be done. If I get done early, I can just move on to the next task.

[Koaladle]

On 5/25/2016 at 1:00 AM, Vizzini said:

Hay how is it going?

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

On 8/30/2016 at 6:54 PM, ixaera said:

 

On 8/31/2016 at 11:46 AM, Spartan John said:

Hi, where did you disappear to?

 

 

Thanks for checking in. <3 I really do appreciate it.

[ixaera]

Vegetables!

I recently churned out a pretty easy quinoa & sauteed veggie mix that ended up tasty. I will share that as my WELCOME BACK OMG *cheer* *confetti*

 

Bring to boil broth & garlic & salt, add quinoa. While that's cooking (I just follow the instructions on the bag), chop up some yellow onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini. (Amounts probably don't matter that much, but for reference I did a cup dry of quinoa, 1/2 zucchini, 1/3 large yellow onion, and 1/2 bell pepper, and the proportions seemed good for 3 servings. It's a big dose, so you can file it down if needed or just portion out more portions. 

 

Heat 2 tbsp oil (I used sunflower) in a pan, add veggies and cook on medium til the onions get see-through. Reduce to low and add chipotle powder & basil (I did probably 1 tsp chipotle and 1/2 tbsp basil, didn't want it too strong).

 

When the quinoa's done, add to the veggie mix and remove from heat, stirring everything together.

 

Sorry to hear you were so sick! I have never had HFM, but it sounds straight up awful.

[Koaladle]

6 minutes ago, ixaera said:

Vegetables!

I recently churned out a pretty easy quinoa & sauteed veggie mix that ended up tasty. I will share that as my WELCOME BACK OMG *cheer* *confetti*

 

Bring to boil broth & garlic & salt, add quinoa. While that's cooking (I just follow the instructions on the bag), chop up some yellow onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini. (Amounts probably don't matter that much, but for reference I did a cup dry of quinoa, 1/2 zucchini, 1/3 large yellow onion, and 1/2 bell pepper, and the proportions seemed good for 3 servings. It's a big dose, so you can file it down if needed or just portion out more portions. 

 

Heat 2 tbsp oil (I used sunflower) in a pan, add veggies and cook on medium til the onions get see-through. Reduce to low and add chipotle powder & basil (I did probably 1 tsp chipotle and 1/2 tbsp basil, didn't want it too strong).

 

When the quinoa's done, add to the veggie mix and remove from heat, stirring everything together.

 

Sorry to hear you were so sick! I have never had HFM, but it sounds straight up awful.

 

I will use this for food prep next time that happens (this Sunday, I hope because we are almost out of food)! It sounds tasty!

 

HFM was the absolute worst illness I have ever had. I was sleeping with my feet in a roasting pan of ice water, and my hands in tupperware. O.O It is so contagious that if you blow your nose, you get your face infected with itchy sores. Fortunately, I had a huge bag of q-tips and found creative, sanitary ways to rub my eyes and such.

 

[ixaera]

2 minutes ago, Koaladle said:

HFM was the absolute worst illness I have ever had. I was sleeping with my feet in a roasting pan of ice water, and my hands in tupperware. O.O It is so contagious that if you blow your nose, you get your face infected with itchy sores. Fortunately, I had a huge bag of q-tips and found creative, sanitary ways to rub my eyes and such.

 

That sounds like something they do to people in hell

OOOF Glad you are better now!

[Koaladle]

2 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

That sounds like something they do to people in hell

OOOF Glad you are better now!

 

ME TOO. I'm going to update every day because that seemed to be the best way to stay focused on my goals. I think the planned progression through the weeks will help as well, and husband is printing out a calendar for me so I can earn stickers again (if I can locate said stickers...). The big wall calendar was destroyed in the move, but I will definitely order a new one for next year.

[Koaladle]

Koala stickers arrive on Friday. I am way more excited than is appropriate for a grown woman.