Jayniana Jones Climbs Mt. Inspirest

[Jayniana Jones]

For this challenge, I'm going to back to my roots. In the days before raising a family, I was passionate about rock climbing. At the moment, I can't actually go rock climbing because I'm rehabbing my knee after ACL surgery. However, there are skills I can build while I wait for the all clear to resume climbing.

 

Be Flexible

Every climber needs to have the ability to shift and bend in sometimes unexpected ways. I'm by far a contortionist, however, I can definitely continue to increase the little flexibility I have.
Goal: Continue my daily yoga streak. As of today, the streak count is at 159.

 

Build Strength and Endurance

To get to the top of a climb, a strong body and the ability to hang on to the wall for awhile are necessities.

Goal: To continue my 6 days a week knee rehab exercises as instructed (I'm going to PT once a week now and by the end of the month will be on an every other week schedule). As soon I as I have my new brace I'd like to resume my upper bodyweight exercises and do them twice a week.

 

Lighten Up

The more weight a climber has (both emotionally and physically) the harder it is to climb. I need to find more humor in the moments (when I can). At the moment, I feel like I'm a tree branch that is bending to the point where I might break because of the juggling I need to do to help support and care for my parents in addition to caring for my immediate family. Usually, I deal with the stress and pressure by sabotaging my normally good eating habits. The sudden overdose of sugary sweets messes with my motivation and mood.

Goal: This round, I want to take a daily inventory to see if I resisted the temptation of emotional eating by answering these two questions: Was I tempted to eat crappy or binge? If so, did I resist temptation? Right now, I don't want to make any adjustments, I just want to see how I'm holding up. A bonus to this one is seeking out things that make me smile or laugh as frequently as possible.

 

Strengthen My Focus and Discipline

To be a great climber, focus and discipline are other handy skills. My deadline for my first novel draft is coming up on July 15. Finishing a novel and using my handy to-do list is an excellent way to build the skills I need for climbing.

Goal: Write 6,500 words per week on my novel. Use my daily to-do list Monday - Friday (I tied it to a game which makes it more fun).

 

Enhance Creativity

There are always more ways to the top than a straight path. The ability to look at things from a different perspective can be the determining factor on whether the top is reached. To build this skill I'd like to start painting my idea for my large canvas (40" x 30").

Goal: Work on it once a minimum of once a week. I'll post small pictures to track my progress.

[RogueLibrarian]

Following back! Go go climber!

[SnowOwl]

6 hours ago, Jayniana Jones said:

I'll post small pictures to track my progress.

Yay! 

[Schaengel]

Following of course...also much love for climbing goal

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view7/2469341/buddy-climbing-o.gif

[SaltyDragon]

Love the climbing theme, and really like your use of imagery and metaphor. Can't wait for more!

[karinajean]

in for awesome ACLs! GO BIONIC WOMAN!

[tenaciousglee]

Need a laugh? Check out the Bad Joke Thread!  There are 3+ years of bad jokes over there!

 

 

[Jayniana Jones]

Yippee!!! I'm off to get my new functional brace, which will put me one step closer to normal. Haha.

[Schaengel]

1 hour ago, Jayniana Jones said:

Yippee!!! I'm off to get my new functional brace, which will put me one step closer to normal. Haha.

Hooray

[Elleica]

following... your streak is amazing!

[Alexandrite]

Excitedly waiting for a pic of the new brace, and the color!

Following!

Sent by my Navi-powered device!

[Jayniana Jones]

Is it Friday already? 

Quick update. While my non-fitness goals are a bit behind for the week, I think I did well considering the chaos that consumed me. I did enough driving to get me from WI to the Pacific coast this week. Too bad I'm still in WI. My dad survived his surgery. My mom started a new form of chemo because the last one wasn't working (I was her escort because my dad was on too many pain meds to drive). I kind of, sort of, fell apart mentally Wednesday night and Thursday. I haven't slept well and I'm sure that was a huge factor. So today, I opted for a mental health day (a.k.a. an afternoon nap) after lunch.

 

Despite the chaos...

My yoga streak continues. Today is day 165.

 

My rehab continues. I figured out how to work my rehab exercises into a bodyweight routine on Wednesday. I thought I was being kind to myself and did lighter than usual uppers but ended up with stiff muscles. Haha.

 

Resisting temptation happened once so far this week. I didn't go hog wild the other days, but ice cream and chocolate are my comfort foods when I'm really stressed. Polishing/dusting is my other comfort, but I wasn't home much during daylight to bother with that.

 

I have about 500 words written this week. I may have to tweak my goal because I've logged about 5 hours on my writing because I'm re-reading and editing items. It's hard to reach 6,500 words for the week when I delete 500 words before I start. I'll figure the tweak tomorrow.

 

My canvas will get attention this weekend. I actually did an underpainting during week 0 and just haven't posted the proof.  

 

My new brace is awesome (for a brace that I have to wear for the next 9-12 months) and fits like a glove. I'll post pictures soon of my brace and canvas. I plan to catch up with everyone over the weekend. Right now, I'm beat despite a nap so I'm taking the rest of the evening off.

 

 

Have a good weekend everyone.

[Pavowski]

Writers gonna write. The hardest thing is just getting the words down on paper. Don't second guess too much -- just keep that pen (or the little blinking cursor, or the scrawl in blood -- you know, whatever works) moving!

[SaltyDragon]

I can only imagine how hard it is for you with all you have going on. That you can deal with all of it and keep the yoga streak going is beyond impressive. Don't sweat the ice cream – I sure wish I had some about now.

 

Can't wait to see the new brace!

[Jayniana Jones]

On 6/13/2016 at 11:50 AM, tenaciousglee said:

Need a laugh? Check out the Bad Joke Thread!  There are 3+ years of bad jokes over there!

That is awesome! I read a few of them to my teens at dinner. Lots of eye rolling. It was great!

[Jayniana Jones]

On 6/17/2016 at 9:39 PM, Pavowski said:

Writers gonna write. The hardest thing is just getting the words down on paper. Don't second guess too much -- just keep that pen (or the little blinking cursor, or the scrawl in blood -- you know, whatever works) moving!

 

Thanks for the encouragement. The timing when I read it on Saturday was good because I almost ditched writing for the day.

 

On 6/18/2016 at 5:16 AM, SaltyDragon said:

I can only imagine how hard it is for you with all you have going on. That you can deal with all of it and keep the yoga streak going is beyond impressive. Don't sweat the ice cream – I sure wish I had some about now.

 

Can't wait to see the new brace!

 

Thanks. 

 

On 6/15/2016 at 1:50 AM, Elleica said:

following... your streak is amazing!

Thanks.

[Jayniana Jones]

Weekend recap.

My yoga streak is still going. I managed to end last week with 2,432 words written. My canvas got some attention on Saturday. Here are my progress pictures:

Week 0 was an underpainting. Oddly, my wall is a bright yellow and, on my end, in this photo the wall looks green. Anyways, I call this canvas "An Ode to Chocolate"

 

Week 1 - I chalked in the shapes and got some water in place. I'm a bit surprised on how much paint I'm going through, which is fine because it means more trips to the art store.  

 

My brace pics will be coming soon. I thought of an idea for a before and after type shot and need my hubby's help. 

 

Today I wrote 2,132 words, completed day 168 of my yoga streak, finished my rehab, homeschooled and enjoyed spending almost my entire day outside. It was a high of 78 degrees F.  The only thing I didn't do outside was my writing session because I haven't figured out how to comfortably see my screen in the sun.

[SnowOwl]

I'm very excited about your painting

 

[karinajean]

oh gracious, you have SO MUCH going on right now. you're doing amazing, just by your own recognition, and to have all that too? super amazing.

[Jayniana Jones]

Weekly update:

Hmm. I think this is one of those challenge rounds where I'm learning to go with the flow, pay attention to what I need, and pay attention to the calendar before getting too ambitious.  This week I needed to breathe in between running everyone around (for some reason I thought this would be my slow week).

 

I am fiddling with an art journal to help my mind cope with worry and such. That got more attention than my writing. 

 

I met with a podiatrist this week because I'm having severe ankle and foot pain (on the same leg with the knee issues) at the end of the day. It turns out I have plantar fascitis. I meet with a separate physical therapist this week to start fixing that because the concern is my foot pain will affect my knee rehab. I have a night brace that I'm supposed to wear to help stretch the tendon but I can't stand the pain so I wear it for as long as I can stand in the evening when sitting on the couch.

 

Here's the status of my challenge:

• My yoga streak is still going. I'm on day 174. 
• Rehab is going well. I'm cleared to ride my bike on hills. Our road happens to be one of the scenic routes mentioned in many biking guides. I couldn't go far but I was excited to feel the wind on my face. One lesson though don't grin when bugs are coming at you. 
• My canvas got attention. I did some underpainting for rocks. The canvas is looking messy but I'm still getting shapes in place. I'll post a pic this week of my progress. I'm waiting for it to dry at the moment.
• Writing - This one I got about 3 1/2 hours in this week. Not as much as usual. I spent time reading my manuscript, scribbling notes, and making tweaks to existing things. I wrote the story out of order (usually I write start to finish). I have a few transition scenes to write to make everything flow. I'm thinking I'll make up some of the words I'm behind this week. If I'm super crazy and want to catch up I need to write about 16,000 words. We'll see. 
• Eating was better. Not perfect but I won't stress about it. I did 4 out of 7 days of resisting temptation. 

As promised last week, here are the pictures. I thought it'd be fun to show a before picture and then an after. 

 

I didn't realize it until I took the photos, but my new brace is almost the same color as my bedroom wall. It's almost double the thickness of Ed. I haven't named it yet because my teens said it has to be a positive name. (The black one in the before picture was named CRAP.) I suggested Kablooey but it didn't meet approval. 

 

This week will be smooth climbing. I just know it.  

[SaltyDragon]

I'm happy the rehab is still going well. And, a bug or two every now and then is probably good for you. Sorry to hear about the foot, though.

 

BTW, I totally approve of Kablooey ('cause it's blue, right? See, I get it!).

[karinajean]

love that the teens are moderating the name selection for suitable positivity!

sorry to hear about the foot and ankle pain. That is super rough! I hope that you are able to stretch it out sufficiently.

 

your yoga streak is SO impressive.

[Jayniana Jones]

Trying to keep up with the speed of NF and life. Here's my painting progress from last week. It isn't much, but the shapes are pulling it together. This is for Week #2.

[Jayniana Jones]

Update: 

• Yoga streak continues. Rehab is good.
• Eating clean is much better. I did a meditation on emotional eating and it was enough to help me chill and avoid eating when I'm not hungry. (4 days out of 7 so far)
• Writing my novel. I decided to declare my novel draft complete. I have 57,832 words. There are a few holes that I need to repair and some subplots I want to add. I figure the word count tracking will be too tricky with all the edits and tweaks I do. My deadline for the final draft is August 30.

I've been playing around with an art journal. My mom has been wanting to draw more, so when we were at an art store on Tuesday I suggested we hold each other accountable for doing a little something every day. The goal is texting a picture we created 5 out of 7 days each week. The picture can be a ten-minute piece of art or longer whatever we're in the mood for. We're on day two. She is super excited and I'm hoping it's enough of a distraction from her cancer stuff.

 

Here's my creation I did while waiting for my daughter to finish up her afternoon activity.

 

I learned there's a space limit to the total number of pics I can post directly to NF my account. I deleted a few but I'll have to find an alternative storage spot for future items. Any suggestions?

[SnowOwl]

2 hours ago, Jayniana Jones said:

Trying to keep up with the speed of NF and life. Here's my painting progress from last week. It isn't much, but the shapes are pulling it together. This is for Week #2.

It's like a sci-fi other world! Awesome.