[Sovalis]

14 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

With a spreadsheet of course! 

That's a thing of beauty!

[Heidi]

2 hours ago, RES said:

I think I'm in love ❤️ 

Right??

Let’s woo her together — it’s the only way to fit it into our schedules.  

 

Zazen was, once again, so amazing. (+20 Druiding points)

I mean, it took forever for me to settle, still. The first session I ever sat was great, but the once since have been fiddly for the first bit, and that’s okay. I’m having to sit with my self-consciousness, and it’s not my favorite thing, of course. What’s inspiring is how gently and easily it retreats — suddenly I’m breathing and have been  breathing and just sitting and there is no self-conscious awkwardness. This is the Way.

 

Afterward, I felt at peace, as I have each time. 

I like this.

I came home and changed into my nightgown.

I took my blood pressure medication and unloaded the dishwasher and loaded it with today’s (few) dishes while the kettle heated. (+1 Cantrip point)

I made tea.

 

I had thought I would skip the debate, but then I decided to watch and picked up a live stream about halfway into the debate.

This is a scary time, politically, but more importantly, I believe it is a pivotal time, one that will be analyzed and spoken of for at least a century regardless of the outcome of the election. I mentioned earlier today that the options for leadership are so starkly different that no matter who becomes president, I believe this election will define the 21st century, and will shape politics in ways we cannot, as yet, truly get our heads around.

 

Anyway, the moon is beautiful and the air is that perfect early-autumn crisp without too much chill.

This tea is perfect.

❤️ 

 

[Heidi]

I figured I would be out shortly after Zazen last night, having only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before, but no.

I was up and watched most of the debate, then had a difficult time falling asleep again. There were no angst-dreams, but even so, I didn't sleep until after 1:30. 

 

I woke at 7 again, and didn't have to cast any spells--not for the Bookworm and not for gumption--and put on gym clothes, picked up the bag with my towel, water bottle, and keys, and left the building. This is good. This is the Way.

 

At the gym, I was mindful of the time, but not pressured by it. I walked one lap shy of a mile, which wasn't a bad distance given that I had decided to walk until 7:30, whatever distance that produced. I rowed 250m, then went to the locker room for time in the steam room and sauna. I checked the time again after my shower as I was leaving: 7:50.  This is good to know.

 

As I stood at the intersection waiting for traffic to thin so that I could cross the street to my building, I realized that the traffic had picked up with the later schedule. If this happens again, I'll turn the corner and walk down the hill for a block, cross the street at the opposite intersection and walk back up the hill -- better to get in more steps than just standing like a lunk waiting for the light to change.

 

Back in the Loft, I set the gym clothes and towels where they needed to go and changed into a workaday dress, then set up tea and logged in.

I've noticed that even though it's only been three days, I can feel the rowing starting to have an effect on my posture and my abs. I like this.

Today is already a success.

Life is good.

[Artemis Prime]

12 hours ago, RES said:

I think I'm in love ❤️ 

There's a reason my sister made my Hulu avatar Amy Santiago.

[Artemis Prime]

10 hours ago, Heidi said:

Right??

Let’s woo her together — it’s the only way to fit it into our schedules.  

This is why I love Nerd Fitness - where else are my spreadsheets considered devastatingly sexy?

[Heidi]

While setting up for the morning meeting, I saw an ad for a shirt and immediately dismissed it because I don't need a new shirt (even though I was musing in the shower this morning that maybe I need dedicated tees just for the gym so I'm not wrecking my nice tees that are acutally presentable for evenings of pinball and football games), and I don't usually do shirts with writing, and I'm not here to spend money right now and

 

But wait, there's more, it gets worse:

 

They have philosophy-nerd things!:

And also it gets very much better:

 

 

Okay, I've never done the whole challenge reward  thing, because it just never really made sense to me, but here we are, and I'm thinking that maybe for each successful week of the West-Marshes, I can choose a "badge" tee to support my future gym-ly endeavors. Now that's something that I can get behind.

[Heidi]

29 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

This is why I love Nerd Fitness - where else are my spreadsheets considered devastatingly sexy?

Look, we can't help it that the universe is populated with people who can't see or appreciate the wonders right in front of them.  

[Mistr]

Good for you in going to the gym even when you are short on sleep!

 

13 hours ago, Heidi said:

Zazen was, once again, so amazing. (+20 Druiding points)

I mean, it took forever for me to settle, still. The first session I ever sat was great, but the once since have been fiddly for the first bit, and that’s okay. I’m having to sit with my self-consciousness, and it’s not my favorite thing, of course. What’s inspiring is how gently and easily it retreats — suddenly I’m breathing and have been  breathing and just sitting and there is no self-conscious awkwardness. This is the Way.

 

Having to sit with things is normal. I have been much happier with my zen practice since I came back to it with a different attitude this year. Instead of being frustrated at my mind and body being difficult, I told myself that it was going to suck. Then I could be happy when my brain finally calmed down after 20 minutes. After six months of much more consistent practice, I still expect more mental turbulence when I have skipped a day or just did a 15 minute sit.

 

I have it on good authority from two teachers in different traditions that stuff will come up in your mind when you meditate. This goes hand-in-hand with your brain waiting until you are in a safe place to bring up trauma emotions. Things in the environment will set off associations in your brain and bring up memories. According to Patanjali, eventually you will be able to see that entire process happen and just let the memory go without needing to look at it. Maybe even just hear the sound and not tie it to anything. Someday. ?

[Heidi]

43 minutes ago, Mistr said:

. Someday. ?

Someday indeed.  

Thank you very much for your insights. This is very helpful.

[Darciana]

I love everything about this whole challenge thread. The spreadsheets, the success, the banter, the shirts. It's all so lovely, cozy, and very..... homely [utilizing the British definition here]. I feel at home here and, considering its not my own challenge, that's very significant and nice.

 

Thank you. I love this corner of the internet so very much.

[Heidi]

3 hours ago, Darciana said:

I love everything about this whole challenge thread. The spreadsheets, the success, the banter, the shirts. It's all so lovely, cozy, and very..... homely [utilizing the British definition here]. I feel at home here and, considering its not my own challenge, that's very significant and nice.

 

Thank you. I love this corner of the internet so very much.

Welcome, and grab some tea or fetch a bowl of bean soup from the stove. Your words warmed my heart. 

 

Friends, apparently it's time to talk about nutrients.

According to a study published August 29 in the journal The Lancet Global Health,  more than 5 billion people don’t consume enough iodine, vitamin E or calcium. That's 62.5% of the entire world. My jaw dropped and I continued reading, only to find out that half of us (over 4 million) don't consume enough  iron, riboflavin, folate or vitamin C. I was shocked.  The research team estimated the prevalence of inadequate intakes of 15 micronutrients among 185 countries, or 99.3% of the population. So the dice roll on this means that if you're just going along, being who you are, you would have to roll a 20 to even be in view of the people (or in this case, like single person on the planet) that gets sufficient nutrients.

 

Ho, hum, yeah, that's bad, but not really my jam, what's the big deal, Dear Druid?

I'm so glad you asked.

So many of us struggle with sleep, or with quality of sleep, or with builking up, or with feeling edgy and anxious.

Food won't cure everything, but I'm here to tell you that lack of nutrients is literally crazy-making and insomnia-inducing and sleep-wrecking, and no amount of workout can overcome a lack of the foods needed to support strength.

So, being a druid philosopher librarian thing, here's a table (who doesn't love a good table??) of the seven nutrients the study found we are most deficient in, what they support, and what foods are good sources. Bonus: I've added some color to help the foods that hit many categories be more evident.

 

Nutrient	Foods	Uses
Calcium	Found in dairy products and fortified soy-, almond- or rice-based alternatives; dark leafy greens; tofu; sardines; salmon; tahini; and fortified orange or grapefruit juice	Important for strong bones and overall health, including functions involving muscles, nerves, blood vessels and the release of hormones and enzymes
Folate	Found in dark green vegetables, beans, peas, lentils and enriched grains such as bread, pasta, rice and cereal	Important for red blood cell formation and cell growth and function, especially during pregnancy
Iodine	Found in fish, seaweed, shrimp, dairy products, eggs and iodized salt	Important for thyroid function and bone and brain development
Iron	Found in oysters, duck, beef, sardines, crab, lamb, fortified grains, spinach, artichokes, beans, lentils, dark leafy greens and potatoes	Important for delivery of oxygen to the body as well as growth and development
Magnesium	Found in legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables and fortified cereals	Important for muscle and nerve function, blood sugar, blood pressure, and the making of protein, bone and DNA
Niacin (B3)	Found in beef, chicken, marinara sauce, turkey, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, salmon and fortified grains	Important for nervous and digestive systems, especially the absorbtion of other nutrients
Riboflavin (B2)	Found in eggs, dairy products, meats, grains and green vegetables	Important for metabolism of food for energy, the immune system and healthy skin and hair

 

WIth that said, the fresh pot of bean soup is almost finished cooking, and I have the fixings for a salad in the fridge. It's time for a hearty dinner and a big glass of milk, and after reading this I'm definitely prioritizing picking up some shrimp and salmon at the butcher's tomorrow. 

 

Wednesday is my built-in rest day, a day when I dont schedule appointments or social events and an evening when I more or less don't do chores, just enough to maintain things being neat and in their places. 

Bonus: AppleTV+ has decided to put the new Slow Horses episodes out on Wednesdays, so this works very well for helping me carve out time to simply be.

Knitting and TV it is.

May you have a beautiful day.

?

[Elastigirl]

That table is helpful thanks. I'm trying to eat more seafood, and a bit of seaweed.  I eat eggs, but not dairy, so I'm probably low on Iodine (or not at optimal ) And I'm also trying to add more nuts back in my diet. I sort of phased them out because I tend to overeat them.But they are really nutritious, so I'm adding them to salads.

[Artemis Prime]

This is the latest of several recent nudges that I should maybe get back on a multi-vitamin. I bounce in and out of the school of thought that if you just "eat a balanced diet, you'll get all your micronutrients." This study seems to indicate otherwise (although it's not beyond the realm of possibility that that many people just aren't eating balanced diets. But also, I don't have a lot of free brain power at the moment to be tracking micronutrients, so taking the easier path of covering my bases with vitamins seems like a pretty harmless shortcut.

[Sepherina]

On 9/10/2024 at 7:05 AM, Artemis Prime said:

With a spreadsheet of course! 

Dang….I love it!  Soo purdy.

[RES]

On 9/10/2024 at 10:59 PM, Heidi said:

Right??

Let’s woo her together — it’s the only way to fit it into our schedules.  

Considering how long it took me to respond,  you're not kidding!  

 

22 hours ago, Heidi said:

Look, we can't help it that the universe is populated with people who can't see or appreciate the wonders right in front of them.  

[Heidi]

1 hour ago, Sepherina said:

Dang….I love it!  Soo purdy.

I know. I think I actually said ooooo the first time I saw it.

 

38 minutes ago, RES said:

Considering how long it took me to respond,  you're not kidding!  

 

I mean, we are laughably overbooked, but what I love about the both of us is how we are approaching it: Yep, got too much going on, and everyone keeps adding stuff to my list, sure, okay Universe, let's go. And then we also do all that and end up posting pics of us having a great freaking time, like that's why the gods made us. 

HighFive, fellow badass.

[Heidi]

14 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

That table is helpful thanks. I'm trying to eat more seafood, and a bit of seaweed.  I eat eggs, but not dairy, so I'm probably low on Iodine (or not at optimal ) And I'm also trying to add more nuts back in my diet. I sort of phased them out because I tend to overeat them.But they are really nutritious, so I'm adding them to salads.

A little bit of good food goes a long way for nutrition!

I drink whole milk for calcium (becuase brain and neurology things!) but I hear that almond milk (or even a few almonds) packs a big punch too.

US folks have iodized salt, which helps for iodine, but is crap for sodium intake. 

The truth is that the US diet is packed with sodium in processed foods, and if we were to eat non-processed foods with a little iodized salt, we'd be fine.

 

12 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

This is the latest of several recent nudges that I should maybe get back on a multi-vitamin. I bounce in and out of the school of thought that if you just "eat a balanced diet, you'll get all your micronutrients." This study seems to indicate otherwise (although it's not beyond the realm of possibility that that many people just aren't eating balanced diets. But also, I don't have a lot of free brain power at the moment to be tracking micronutrients, so taking the easier path of covering my bases with vitamins seems like a pretty harmless shortcut.

 

A multivitamin is always an answer, and a tempting one. The problem is that it is very difficult for the body to absorb the nutrients in a vitamin.

After I read your post last night, I logged my meal: a salad of shredded kale, broccoli, and red and green cabbage (i think there's a mix of this available in a bag, no farm share required!), some cucumber, tomatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. I sprinkled black pepper on it and drizzled olive oil and red wine vinegar over it (becuase prepared dressings make my head spin). This alone was most of the nutrients on the list, and then when I logged the 1.5 cups of navy beans, it added protein and fiber. A tall glass of milk helped with calcium, of course. All this is to say one simple meal went a long way in covering the bases.  If you want to talk about this, DM me and we'll find a time to chat. I am happy to strategize ways to find simple food and help it fit into your life in supportive ways that are stress-busting, not stress-boosting. [We all have too much stress in our lives!]

 

 

Good morning, Friends.

What's in the air?
Who knows, but the insomnia is real. 

I went to bed at 9 last night, but didn't fall asleep until nearly midnight.

I wasn't stressing or worrying or scrolling or anything really. Just went to bed and thought some thoughts and the next thing I knew it was midnight.

Okay, Universe, that's better than 1:30 (like the night before) or half-past three in the morning (like the night before that).

 

I woke up at 6:30 and had a dicey moment with the head. Spellcasting Level 1 RestoreBalance was an easy success, and it took 30 minutes of sitting in the dark, letting the day do its thing without me.

When I got up, I put on my gym clothes and made tea, still not caring about the clock. Restore Balance tends to have these spillover effects: the head is better and I am at peace in my heart, and all the things tugging at my sleeve are ephemeral, including clock time, which is an illusion anyway, more of a group-hallucination than an actual thing.

 

I left the building around 7:15 and morning downtown traffic was really thick. I decided to walk around the block which would give me a 40' hill at the end before going in the building.

I walked a mile on the track and then went to the rowing machines, which were all populated. Okay, Universe. I skipped the rowing, considered weights and just skipped that too and made my way to the steam room and sauna. In the locker room, I chose a new locker. I know it won't make any difference: the people who broke into my locker at whatever various location I've had before would also break into this one if I left things. But it felt like a better placement for me, and so tomorrow morning I'll ask the front desk to change my official locker assignment. I still probably won't leave anything in the locker overnight, but it's all good.

 

The feeling that I had already won the day hit me as I walked out of the locker room. This is good; this is the Way.

Back at the Loft, I logged in just in time to answer a few questions. All to the good.

 

I have a lot going on tomorrow, but that's tomorrow. Today I pick up the farm share and that is about it.

I plan on going to the butcher and picking up shrimp, or maybe salmon, depending on what looks best.

The soup pot beans are a delight, and I'm glad I have them.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

❤️ 

 

[Artemis Prime]

15 minutes ago, Heidi said:

All this is to say one simple meal went a long way in covering the bases.  If you want to talk about this, DM me and we'll find a time to chat. I am happy to strategize ways to find simple food and help it fit into your life in supportive ways that are stress-busting, not stress-boosting. [We all have too much stress in our lives!]

Hmmm...I looked back at my brief food tracking log, and it seems like I did very well with minerals and B Vitamins, a bit low on A, C, D, E, and K. May take you up on your offer later, thank you for making it. For now, I think I will start with baby steps and add 1 glass of milk into my day. And maybe go back to tracking on week days (lots of free time sitting at a computer, so easy enough to do) not worry about weekends for now, and see how things go. 

 

Sorry to hear about the insomnia but glad that Restore Balance was a success. 

 

20 minutes ago, Heidi said:

The feeling that I had already won the day hit me as I walked out of the locker room. This is good; this is the Way.

Back at the Loft, I logged in just in time to answer a few questions. All to the good.

 

I have a lot going on tomorrow, but that's tomorrow. Today I pick up the farm share and that is about it.

I plan on going to the butcher and picking up shrimp, or maybe salmon, depending on what looks best.

The soup pot beans are a delight, and I'm glad I have them.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

❤️

This all makes me happy. May you enjoy the Day that you have already Won.

[Elastigirl]

2 hours ago, Heidi said:

US folks have iodized salt, which helps for iodine, but is crap for sodium intake. 

The truth is that the US diet is packed with sodium in processed foods, and if we were to eat non-processed foods with a little iodized salt, we'd be fine.

Yeah,I usually use sea salt, but I bought some iodized salt to use on occasion

[Heidi]

3 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I think I will start with baby steps and add 1 glass of milk into my day.

this is a great start! most milk is D fortified, so that's a boost as well.

❤️ 

[Heidi]

I was very much not feeling like getting up and going to the market, but the Farm Share is today, so I went. I put off the butcher's for today. 

I brought everything home and put it away. 

I dealt with the "things that have no home yet" on one of the shelves in the bookcase in the downstairs bathroom.

I folded my now-clean gym towel.

The rest of the towels are also clean, but they are in a heap in a chair, where they can just stay for a bit.

 

I think tonight is just going to be an early night with nothing else.

Happy Thursday, Nerds.

❤️ 

[RES]

12 hours ago, Heidi said:

I mean, we are laughably overbooked, but what I love about the both of us is how we are approaching it: Yep, got too much going on, and everyone keeps adding stuff to my list, sure, okay Universe, let's go. And then we also do all that and end up posting pics of us having a great freaking time, like that's why the gods made us. 

HighFive, fellow badass.

[Heidi]

31 minutes ago, RES said:

Go us!

have a great time on your trip.  

 

I hit send on my earlier post and then went into my nice dark quiet bedroom to just sit a minute and think some thoughts.

That was over four hours ago, and while I wouldn’t say it was sleep,  it was very sleep-ish. I kind of had a few thoughts about the electoral college, and then remembered the 1984 electoral results and thought about that for a bit and just wandered through the section of my brain that is “US Political Science.” Apparently I had a decent journey, because I had no idea that much time had passed, and I feel restored. Okay, Universe. 

 

It’s probably going to be like this until Election Day, isn’t it?

 

Speaking of Election Day, back in April I mentioned to some friends that I am not prepared for this election, no matter who is declared the winner, and of course that was before everything changed on July 21, but still. I am wondering if I am prepared for November 6, and the more I sit with that query, the less certain I am of an answer. This is good to know. 

 

I get emotional about politics.

I get emotional about politics like some people get emotional about sports.

You know how fandom is presented in Silver Linings Playbook and in Ted Lasso (both excellent and highly recommended if you haven’t seen them)?

I’m like that about politics and justice and policies and well, you get the idea.

 

But for me it’s not about winning or about even losing really. It’s about hope and Big Ideas. It’s about possibilities. 

So I think I’ll go watch The Newsroom, which I haven’t seen since I watched it originally in 2016 or so, and spend some time considering where I want to be on November 5-6 for the watch party and The Morning After.

Sleep well, Friends.

May both sides of your pillow be cool.

❤️ 

 

[DarK_RaideR]

5 hours ago, Heidi said:

while I wouldn’t say it was sleep,  it was very sleep-ish

I'd call it "meditative"

[Heidi]

5 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

I'd call it "meditative"

Yes: Sometimes we sit the meditation; sometimes the Meditation sits us.

Clearly I needed it, and it was restorative and good.

 

This morning I woke up around six and just laid there a bit. I noticed I was going through a lot of reasons why I didn't need to go the the gym this morning.

I let that tape continue for a bit, then got up to go to the bathroom and make tea, and the reasons came with me.

I put the things together in my gym bag and put on my gym clothes and walked out the door, and the reasons came along, still.

I walked into the gym and swiped in, and waved to the Old TImers and started around the track. 

Friends, the reasons were still singing their song well into the second lap. 

This made me laugh. Poor reasons.

 

 

I walked a mile, rowed 250m , and did the steam room and sauna, then showered and left. 

In the Loft, I logged in just in time to answer a bunch of organizational questions -- this new project management tool is really messing everyone up, and it doesn't help that they don't really know what the SmolTeam does. One of the Business Analysts (now renamed to System Analyst, which is BS, becuase a Systems Analyst is a programmer, but whatever, not my circus) mentioned that we had assigned a piece of code incorrectly. HUH? Unlikely but possible, so I checked it out and confirmed that it's assigned to Relase 13.5 as anticipated. She told me that Release 13.5 doesn't go out until the end of October, so did I want to update it with the correct release?

 

Aren't they just adorable?

 

Anyway, I mentioned that the release is Monday the 16th, then went to make tea.

 

While I was waiting on the kettle, I started a load of laundry and folded the towels. I loaded last night's dishes into the dishwasher and folded the sheets and took them upstairs to the closet. As I closed the closet and went back to the laptop, the sense of Winning the Day came to me again. It's interesting how sometimes it's quick and sometimes it's fiddly, but what's really interesting to me is that it always happens. Wow. What sorcery is this? 

 

The housekeepers are here, and today I have a lot on the Activities calendar, including acupuncture at lunchtime and then the committee meeting at 2. I'm supposed to meet a fellow band parent at the high school for dinner (packed from home) and chat after the committee meeting and before the first home game of the season, then go to the home game, then the Band Boosters have decided to get together after  the game and Friends, I am exhausted just thinking about it, BUT it's the first game and also the first time I've ever been included and yes, I kind of have to go. Please pray for me.

 

So today before I leave for acupuncture, I'm going to steam some black lentils and then steam some salmon and pack it up, and make a salad and pack it up as well. 

The Committee Meeting should be sucking all the air out of the room, but somehow it's actually barely a blip, and I think this is good and healthy: My role is actually very minimal for the meeting itself, just answering any questions the committe has and letting them talk amongst themselves as we set dates and guidelines for the Qualifying Exam questions. My calm about this might be misguided, but Ill take it. What a difference a year makes. 

 

I wish  you the happiest of Fridays the Thirteenth. 

May the Universe shower you with love and peace.

❤️