[Artemis Prime]

I love the new paint! 

I'm pretty sure I've read Mercedes Lackey, but couldn't tell you which one and turns out she has a fairly ridiculous backlist. 

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

Felt really honest to show up the way I was though, and I think there’s something to be said for that. 

I agree, it's hard to fight against the natural drift that a lot of relationships suffer from, and showing up in less than ideal circumstances is a powerful way to combat that drift.

 

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

I am proud of my progress, but it feels unending and I am struggling with that a bit.

I have had the same struggle with property maintenance in the past, but I've actually found it kind of freeing to accept that it is literally unending. There is no "finished" condition, so no reason to hurry to the end. There will always be more, so just do what you can do today, and if that's very little or nothing at all for a day, that's okay too.

[Heidi]

Definitely here to chime in on the arnica love.

On 9/5/2024 at 4:26 PM, Mistr said:

Great job on going to the gym even though you were still sore from Tuesday!

 

Hang in there, it will get better quickly.

 

I strongly recommend arnica gel for bruises and muscle strains. It helps prevent swelling and inflammation. It used to be just a health store thing, but now I can get it at my regular drug store.

 

On 9/5/2024 at 6:18 PM, Darciana said:

I, too, strongly recommend arnica gel/cream! I've used cream, not gel but that may be an availability thing as I don't think I found the gel when I last looked. Good call, Mistr! I had forgotten about it entirely and now must add some to my shopping list to have on hand.

also here to recommend arnica internally, as it might help with that knee pain. Homeopathic remedies used to be pretty difficult to find, but know they're everywhere, and my favorite source is Boiron.

They're available from Amazon, if you can't find it around your town.

I find that internally they seem to target and heal a bit more effectively than topical (though topical is great too).

 

 

On 9/7/2024 at 12:16 PM, Sovalis said:

. I need to do some Worldbuilding to nail down Mar’s origins: his mother, Ghislaine, is a human Druid from an Arctic tribe and his father, Vyoss, is a Marid genie. I know that Vyoss granted Ghislaine three wishes. The first of which was Mar’s birth, the last of which was never seeing Vyoss again. I don’t know why yet and need to work that out. Would also probably be helpful to discover what the second wish was. Thinking required.  

ooooo, i love this. 

I really liked 3000 Years.

1 hour ago, athousandwords said:

What if it were a way of keeping your druid - their child - from harm? Like maybe Vyoss was bound to some genie pact or curse that his first born son had to be imprisoned as a genie as well. But he loved Ghislaine so much that he couldn't help a grant her wish for a child. And the only way to stop the curse from being fulfilled was for him to leave and never see their child? ?

This is along the thoughts I had, too, that somehow the Djinn Council would be horrified or delighted, or horribly delighted at the prospect of the human Djinn child. 

 

I'm sorry you're feeling a bit off. 

I'm hoping that going to work was the right energy for bumping you out of melancholy.

I love the door and the window.  

Sending good vibes.

?

[Heidi]

6 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

There is no "finished" condition, so no reason to hurry to the end. There will always be more, so just do what you can do today, and if that's very little or nothing at all for a day, that's okay too.

This is Wisdom.

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Yup. I am thinking a little bit of the movie “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and wondering about modeling Ghislaine and Vyoss’ love story after the love story at the end of that. Where her wishing to never see him again was a way of preserving him from harm. I don’t want them to have had a fight or anything. 

I've been thinking about that film lately! Likely prompted by a similar story thread in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which played out ridiculously similar to how Cidran and I played the characters he wooed me through). Stories with beautiful sad endings hit just right sometimes.

 

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I’ve put a few other books on hold at the library and have The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey in the queue next. 

??? I love her books, especially that series! I'm not even sure I've read that one! It looks like it could share some details with From a High Tower in the same series.

[Mistr]

Your front door looks great!

 

The window trim looks good too. It is hard to tell how it goes with the rest of your kitchen from that view. I am sure it brightens things up.

 

My sympathy on feeling like there are so many things to do and you are the only responsible adult at the moment. I get that feeling often. Give yourself credit for all the things you do, however small. They add up and make a difference.

[Snarkyfishguts]

I love the door and sill. Those colors sing!!

[Sea-to-sky]

All the new paint colours look amazing ?❤️ 

adore the turquoise door. So cheerful for dreary months

[DarK_RaideR]

Door is nice, but I love the yellow on the window!

[Sepherina]

Beautiful! Following 

[Sovalis]

23 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Wow, that sounds pretty epic. My brain went strait to blindness when i saw the wish first off. But there are so many bad options for it

There definitely are. By Ghislaine and Vyoss are a love story and I want to preserve that. There are so many tragedies in D&D it’s nice to have some romance for once. 

 

23 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I love this kind of bittersweet tragedy. What if it were a way of keeping your druid - their child - from harm? Like maybe Vyoss was bound to some genie pact or curse that his first born son had to be imprisoned as a genie as well. But he loved Ghislaine so much that he couldn't help a grant her wish for a child. And the only way to stop the curse from being fulfilled was for him to leave and never see their child? ?

 

Love the front door color - it looks great with the new siding and the welcome mat! I actually love the yellow window too, but it's hard to see how it looks against the backsplash with the light coming in, so I'll take your word for it not matching. But I'd be more inclined to paint the backsplash tile than water down that lovely yellow! ?

I think there is something like that going on, yes. There is a turf war going on with the Elemental Plains that Vyoss is a cartographer for, so something involving that most likely. I just need to get it worked out. 

I am planning to paint the backsplash, for sure. Just need to figure out what shade of yellow. 

 

21 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I love the new paint! 

I'm pretty sure I've read Mercedes Lackey, but couldn't tell you which one and turns out she has a fairly ridiculous backlist. 

I agree, it's hard to fight against the natural drift that a lot of relationships suffer from, and showing up in less than ideal circumstances is a powerful way to combat that drift.

 

I have had the same struggle with property maintenance in the past, but I've actually found it kind of freeing to accept that it is literally unending. There is no "finished" condition, so no reason to hurry to the end. There will always be more, so just do what you can do today, and if that's very little or nothing at all for a day, that's okay too.

Thank you!

Yes, her backlist is pretty wild. I find her formulaic in some of her series, but she’s a bit of a comfort-food read for me. Easy, highly digestible. 

The natural drift is hard. I am not entirely sure what to do about it, but this feels like an honest attempt at making it better. 

Yeah. The idea that I am on a hamster wheel of maintenance is not sitting well with my brain right now, no matter how true it is. *sigh*

 

21 hours ago, Heidi said:

Definitely here to chime in on the arnica love.

 

also here to recommend arnica internally, as it might help with that knee pain. Homeopathic remedies used to be pretty difficult to find, but know they're everywhere, and my favorite source is Boiron.

They're available from Amazon, if you can't find it around your town.

I find that internally they seem to target and heal a bit more effectively than topical (though topical is great too).

Thanks, Heidi. I’ll look into it. 

 

21 hours ago, Heidi said:

ooooo, i love this. 

I really liked 3000 Years.

This is along the thoughts I had, too, that somehow the Djinn Council would be horrified or delighted, or horribly delighted at the prospect of the human Djinn child. 

Yes, something along these lines. Wasn’t that a great film?

 

21 hours ago, Heidi said:

I'm sorry you're feeling a bit off. 

I'm hoping that going to work was the right energy for bumping you out of melancholy.

I love the door and the window.  

Sending good vibes.

?

Thank you so much. ❤️ 

 

21 hours ago, Heidi said:

This is Wisdom.

Indeed.

 

21 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I've been thinking about that film lately! Likely prompted by a similar story thread in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which played out ridiculously similar to how Cidran and I played the characters he wooed me through). Stories with beautiful sad endings hit just right sometimes.

 

??? I love her books, especially that series! I'm not even sure I've read that one! It looks like it could share some details with From a High Tower in the same series.

Absolutely. 

This is my favourite series of hers. I think it could share some details from Tower and I am looking forward to seeing if it does. 

 

20 hours ago, Mistr said:

Your front door looks great!

 

The window trim looks good too. It is hard to tell how it goes with the rest of your kitchen from that view. I am sure it brightens things up.

 

My sympathy on feeling like there are so many things to do and you are the only responsible adult at the moment. I get that feeling often. Give yourself credit for all the things you do, however small. They add up and make a difference.

Thank you, Mistr! ❤️ 

 

19 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I love the door and sill. Those colors sing!!

Thanks, Snarky!

 

7 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

All the new paint colours look amazing ?❤️ 

adore the turquoise door. So cheerful for dreary months

Thanks, Sea-to-sky! That was the intention. I hope it helps because we can be hella dreary here. Lol

 

5 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Door is nice, but I love the yellow on the window!

I am glad you like it!

 

5 hours ago, Sepherina said:

Beautiful! Following 

So nice to have you, Sepherina!

 

 

Hi Friends!

 

Well, yesterday was just weird all around. It slowly got better but I felt off and askew for pretty much the whole day. Sonjia let me go home early so I didn’t have to close and I was relieved that I could do that. I just didn’t want to be there with all the stimulus, it was exhausting. I am feeling quite a bit better today so hopefully things go more smoothly. 

 

I ended up on three long, back-to-back calls last night with different people supporting them in different ways which was not how I intended to spend such an exhausted evening. I feel good about being the person people feel they can come to. I also feel good about ending the last call early and heading to bed. No regrets. 

 

I managed to cook supper last night which surprised me. I had asked a good friend of mine to make me up a parcel of delicious, shelf stable foods from the fun Asian supermarkets in the City, and in the box there were two packages of Raman noodles with black bean sauce. I decided to cook up one package, then pan fried some sliced zucchini and bell peppers to go with, and threw some chicken nuggets into the air fryer as my protein source. Not the healthiest, sure, but fed is best, especially on a hard day. There were vegetables and a protein and that is a solid win when I would otherwise skip eating or just have meat sticks and cheese. Got my Chemistry checkbox for the day and I wasn’t expecting that to happen. 

 

Checked my CRA log in to discover that my Disability Tax Credit application is still in processing. It looks like they want more information or something, but that request will go back to my doctor and not to me from the looks of things. The new decision date is listed as October 20th, so I guess we will wait for that to come around and see what happens. I am grateful that the application has not been rejected outright although disappointed about a further wait (I struggle with waiting). But time will pass regardless, so best to fill it well while it does. 

 

I feel like the vibe of the forums has elevated the past week or ten days or so. People seem really engaged and enthusiastic and it’s really nice. Part of that is the West Marches thread giving me excitement (many thanks to those of you adventuring over there!). The community spirit feels really alive and well and I am liking that. 

 

As I was getting ready to leave work yesterday I got a text from my trainer saying she was coming into the cafe for her drink and wondering if I was working. I usually don’t check my phone while I am at work so it was nice that I saw the message in time. I said was just heading out but wanted to talk to her so I’d wait. I showed her the picture of my knee and explained what had happened. She was surprised and not happy about it. We talked strategy about how to avoid future injuries and she told me what she thought had happened (ruptured the varicose vein over my kneecap, which was what I’d thought had occurred too). She said I should avoid even squats right now while it heals up and that we are always going to modify workouts so I am never on my knees again. I suggested knee pads but she said that wasn’t really going to make a difference which makes sense to me - if the pressure is my body against something, there is a limit to what even the softest things can absorb before creating feedback pressure. It was a good talk and I felt comfortable having it with her which is good because I get anxious about being perceived as “difficult”. Later that night I got a text from her saying I should take the morning off (I was supposed to go to the gym today) and that she’d credit me for the session, and that she’d take better care of me in the future. I got a little misty-eyed at that. It feels good to know she cares enough/is professional enough to take me seriously and want me to succeed. 

 

Having this morning to be slow and steady after such a social night last night has been really good. I needed this down time. I have about an hour to fill before I need to get ready for work. My to-do list is pretty long, but I can start on some of it at least. 

 

I hope that your local and digital communities offer you exactly the right support today and that sunshine streams through your windows in an idyllic way. Thanks for being here. ❤️ 

[Artemis Prime]

20 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I feel like the vibe of the forums has elevated the past week or ten days or so. People seem really engaged and enthusiastic and it’s really nice. Part of that is the West Marches thread giving me excitement (many thanks to those of you adventuring over there!). The community spirit feels really alive and well and I am liking that. 

I have been noticing the same. Some of it I know is on my end, I have upped my engagement and that definitely improves the experience I get on the forums. But it does seem to be a bit more than that. Whatever it is, I am loving it.

 

I am also loving that your trainer is taking you seriously and adapting as needed. You deserve to be taken care of, Friend.

[Elastigirl]

Your trainer sounds amazing! 

I'm enjoying  the West Marches party. Thanks for helping set it up. We've lost a bit of the fun vibe nerd vibe lately on NF, and I feel like it's brought that back.

[Heidi]

32 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

I have been noticing the same. Some of it I know is on my end, I have upped my engagement and that definitely improves the experience I get on the forums. But it does seem to be a bit more than that. Whatever it is, I am loving it.

 

I am also loving that your trainer is taking you seriously and adapting as needed. You deserve to be taken care of, Friend.

Agree about the forums!

I definitely think that the willingness to be engaging is being well met by the Rebels Roost mission, and that the Rebels Roost missions was, in turn, well timed since there was a renewed spirit of engagement happening. This feels organic, but also like a good bit of a Level Up for the forums, and I'm liking it. For my part, the Adventure Spirit is reinforcing my willingness and desire to connect with others.

One of the things that I think is really working is the way the Rebels Roost narrative is focused on giving credit for what we do. I know this might sound overly simple, but the focus on what we can do and focusing on what we have done is the spirit that keeps us from sinking. 

 

(So often I read a challenge and it reminds me of all the "don't do this, don't do that" that I used to do and the trap that we are all in, culturally. Focusing on celebrating the success of each day makes all the difference.)

 

Woo hoo for getting some space from work and positive care from the trainer. I really like this for you. 

Sending love for your emotions and for your knee. 

I hope you see success every time you look out that kitchen window, becuase that's what I see.

You are loved.

You can do beautiful things.

❤️ 

 

[Ranger Hal]

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I feel like the vibe of the forums has elevated the past week or ten days or so. People seem really engaged and enthusiastic and it’s really nice. Part of that is the West Marches thread giving me excitement (many thanks to those of you adventuring over there!). The community spirit feels really alive and well and I am liking that. 

I'm really excited about the West Marches thread. I'd skimmed through one or two of the old group adventures and was sad I'd joined the forums too late to be part of them, but now we've got one that I can be part of!

[Rhovaniel]

3 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I showed her the picture of my knee and explained what had happened. She was surprised and not happy about it. We talked strategy about how to avoid future injuries and she told me what she thought had happened (ruptured the varicose vein over my kneecap, which was what I’d thought had occurred too). She said I should avoid even squats right now while it heals up and that we are always going to modify workouts so I am never on my knees again. I suggested knee pads but she said that wasn’t really going to make a difference which makes sense to me - if the pressure is my body against something, there is a limit to what even the softest things can absorb before creating feedback pressure. It was a good talk and I felt comfortable having it with her which is good because I get anxious about being perceived as “difficult”. Later that night I got a text from her saying I should take the morning off (I was supposed to go to the gym today) and that she’d credit me for the session, and that she’d take better care of me in the future. I got a little misty-eyed at that

That right there is the mark of a very good trainer. I am so glad you are in good, and seemingly capable hands! Rest up!

[Everstorm]

Love the door and really glad your trainer adapted her approach for you.  She sounds like a good one.

[athousandwords]

8 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Later that night I got a text from her saying I should take the morning off (I was supposed to go to the gym today) and that she’d credit me for the session, and that she’d take better care of me in the future. I got a little misty-eyed at that. It feels good to know she cares enough/is professional enough to take me seriously and want me to succeed. 

 

So happy you have a caring, thoughtful professional in your corner!

 

8 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Part of that is the West Marches thread giving me excitement (many thanks to those of you adventuring over there!)

 

Off to be nosy! ?

[RES]

Chiming in my agreement on the forums  

[DarK_RaideR]

I was thinking the same thing about renewed forum activity, ever since I turned on notifications for likes and quotes I used to have a couple every morning when I'd log onto the forums. These past few days I get like 15-20, and if I log again later in the day there's another 15-20 new ones. Really glad this kind of vibe is back and also glad to see people are embracing the West Marches project. If there's a causal link between the two, even better!

[AerynLee]

Awesome coach for taking your injury seriously and making a plan for adjusting things for you!

[Darciana]

I really love the new paint! It is so well done and beautiful. I cannot wait to see how the kitchen turns out as you continue working out what suits you ❤️ 

 

I agree with the now-general consensus of the enthusiasm amongst us all. It's really delightful and has really helped to motivate me to check in and be more active - I know I can find the time if I just prioritize and stop doom-scrolling, I can be quite active and engaged here as I was before work became so hectic. I must be nosy now about this West Marches and have 8 minutes to go check on my own thread.

[Snarkyfishguts]

On 9/10/2024 at 12:15 PM, Sovalis said:

that she’d credit me for the session, and that she’d take better care of me in the future

I like this person. ?

 

On 9/10/2024 at 12:15 PM, Sovalis said:

I feel like the vibe of the forums has elevated the past week or ten days or so. People seem really engaged and enthusiastic and it’s really nice.

Seems like everyone’s getting a second wind, and not the smelly kind ?

[Salinger]

Hey SOV!!!!

Your trainer is amazing wow! 

 

The difference in the way you write is wonderful to see btw. You seem to have more confidence in yourself, and you write with more reflection and time. 

 

It is so great to read your challenge and to support you from afar. 

 

Lots of love xx

[Sovalis]

On 9/10/2024 at 10:37 AM, Artemis Prime said:

I have been noticing the same. Some of it I know is on my end, I have upped my engagement and that definitely improves the experience I get on the forums. But it does seem to be a bit more than that. Whatever it is, I am loving it.

 

I am also loving that your trainer is taking you seriously and adapting as needed. You deserve to be taken care of, Friend.

I really love it when people are more active. I know how hard it can be to balance - I think I spend about an hour here a day, sometimes more, between checking threads and writing my own. I want to be supportive to as many people as possible, but sometimes it’s a lot. 

I am super pleased with my trainer. She is turning out to be awesome. 

 

On 9/10/2024 at 11:04 AM, Elastigirl said:

Your trainer sounds amazing! 

I'm enjoying  the West Marches party. Thanks for helping set it up. We've lost a bit of the fun vibe nerd vibe lately on NF, and I feel like it's brought that back.

She is really great!

I am glad you are enjoying it!

 

On 9/10/2024 at 11:33 AM, Heidi said:

Agree about the forums!

I definitely think that the willingness to be engaging is being well met by the Rebels Roost mission, and that the Rebels Roost missions was, in turn, well timed since there was a renewed spirit of engagement happening. This feels organic, but also like a good bit of a Level Up for the forums, and I'm liking it. For my part, the Adventure Spirit is reinforcing my willingness and desire to connect with others.

One of the things that I think is really working is the way the Rebels Roost narrative is focused on giving credit for what we do. I know this might sound overly simple, but the focus on what we can do and focusing on what we have done is the spirit that keeps us from sinking. 

 

(So often I read a challenge and it reminds me of all the "don't do this, don't do that" that I used to do and the trap that we are all in, culturally. Focusing on celebrating the success of each day makes all the difference.)

 

Woo hoo for getting some space from work and positive care from the trainer. I really like this for you. 

Sending love for your emotions and for your knee. 

I hope you see success every time you look out that kitchen window, becuase that's what I see.

You are loved.

You can do beautiful things.

❤️

 

I think focusing on what we do is so important. I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were talking about praise culture and dopamine and celebration and how all of these things are linked and help reinforce better habits. We agreed that there needs to be a minimum amount of time we need to celebrate wins to reinforce to our brains that we get the good chemicals from doing hard things. I think that is part of what makes the forums so valuable to me: I write about my wins here, we all party, and we celebrate each other. It’s a positive reinforcement loop and I think it’s so valuable. 

You are amazing. Thank you for validating me. ❤️ 

 

On 9/10/2024 at 12:48 PM, Ranger Hal said:

I'm really excited about the West Marches thread. I'd skimmed through one or two of the old group adventures and was sad I'd joined the forums too late to be part of them, but now we've got one that I can be part of!

I am excited that you get to hang out in the adventuring party! Woot!

 

On 9/10/2024 at 1:32 PM, Rhovaniel said:

That right there is the mark of a very good trainer. I am so glad you are in good, and seemingly capable hands! Rest up!

Right? I am really happy about that!

 

On 9/10/2024 at 4:10 PM, Everstorm said:

Love the door and really glad your trainer adapted her approach for you.  She sounds like a good one.

Thank you, Ever!

 

On 9/10/2024 at 6:24 PM, athousandwords said:

So happy you have a caring, thoughtful professional in your corner!

 

Off to be nosy! ?

Me too. 

Come, be nosy! ❤️ 

 

On 9/10/2024 at 6:52 PM, RES said:

Chiming in my agreement on the forums  

Right? It’s so good!

 

On 9/11/2024 at 4:54 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

I was thinking the same thing about renewed forum activity, ever since I turned on notifications for likes and quotes I used to have a couple every morning when I'd log onto the forums. These past few days I get like 15-20, and if I log again later in the day there's another 15-20 new ones. Really glad this kind of vibe is back and also glad to see people are embracing the West Marches project. If there's a causal link between the two, even better!

I think there is a link and I am excited to see the wave of interactions on people’s threads. It’s so good! Thanks for working with me to make awesome for others. 

 

23 hours ago, AerynLee said:

Awesome coach for taking your injury seriously and making a plan for adjusting things for you!

Yes, it’s excellent!

 

21 hours ago, Darciana said:

I really love the new paint! It is so well done and beautiful. I cannot wait to see how the kitchen turns out as you continue working out what suits you ❤️ 

 

I agree with the now-general consensus of the enthusiasm amongst us all. It's really delightful and has really helped to motivate me to check in and be more active - I know I can find the time if I just prioritize and stop doom-scrolling, I can be quite active and engaged here as I was before work became so hectic. I must be nosy now about this West Marches and have 8 minutes to go check on my own thread.

Thanks, Darling!

It’s wild how much time we lose to Doom-scrolling, hey? Glad you are feeling the upped vibes of the forums. That is awesome. ❤️ Hope you have a good day today!

 

20 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I like this person. ?

 

Seems like everyone’s getting a second wind, and not the smelly kind ?

I like this person, too. 

Yay, fair wind!  

 

6 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hey SOV!!!!

Your trainer is amazing wow! 

 

The difference in the way you write is wonderful to see btw. You seem to have more confidence in yourself, and you write with more reflection and time. 

 

It is so great to read your challenge and to support you from afar. 

 

Lots of love xx

Hi Sal!! 

Yes, she is, I am excited about it!

Thank you for saying that. I am feeling really good right now, mentally - have had a few physically tired days, but that makes sense for the Nerdly/work cycle. I hope this keeps up.

It’s great to have you. ❤️ Lots of love back!!

 

 

Hi Friends!

 

I had a great day yesterday. My trainer texted me in the morning to see if I wanted to come to the gym that day instead of waiting for today (Thursday). I had enough time to get ready and play with Sax and was feeling pretty good, so I went. It was a really good session (arms, back, and abs) and I came home feeling invigorated and accomplished, much like Heidi going to the gym before logging into work. I had time for a shower and all, so I got cleaned up, then played with Sax again and left for work. Shift went well and then I came home. My friend Raven drove a four hour round trip to cook me dinner (Thai Basil Beef!) and visit, which was just incredible. I don’t get to see them often and it always amazes me that they are willing to drive such distances to hang out for a few hours. I wish I could do that.  It’s nice to be able to host them when they are able to come though. They even helped me get the brackets for the blinds in the kitchen down which had been foiling me, so triple bonus!

 

Raven left around 10 pm and I got ready for bed. I was going to read a bit but I was pretty tired so I just crashed. Woke up this morning at 7 without an alarm, which was great. It’s a little overcast and chilly here, but it feels like fall and I am okay with that. Made coffee, did Bujos and Tarot, tidied my coffee table (where I write and type each morning, it was getting out of hand), and now I am here. I don’t have significant DOMS this morning, which is excellent. A little bit of “you worked” ache, but nowhere near as debilitating as last week was, and I got through more of the workout yesterday which felt good.

 

I tried a slightly different layout in my Cousin, not sure if I like it yet or not. I am feeling like I am in a bit of a rut with my Bujos and Tarot. It’s still satisfying to do, but more in a having it done way than an I am doing this way, if that makes any sense. I don’t think I need new tools, I think I just need a new way in. Lionharts has a new Tarot challenge that I think I will dig into. Those usually help. It might also be that I am focused on doing external things like working on the house and going to the gym, rather than internal things like introspection. I did a lot of introspection last challenge, so this is probably fine. 

 

I think I am not going to weigh myself this challenge. The scale is up since last week by ~4-5 lbs, and while I am sure that is inflammation and water from the new gym routine, it’s demoralizing. So I am going to let it go for now and see how that goes for me. I am also forgoing getting my InBody Scan done for the beginning of this challenge, which feels a little weird (I might give in and get that done just for the consistency. It’s less demoralizing than weighing in a few times a week because it’s once every six weeks). I think it might be time for me to actually take some measurements so I can track those. I have a little tape measure I can use, I just need to make a new chart in my Bujo to track things, because my last tracking chart was two books ago. ?

 

I am really liking this having an extra hour in the mornings that comes along with more consistently starting at noon, even though it’s not ideal for the workflow at work or my paycheque. It’s a bit of a home-life silver lining though and I’ll take it. 

 

I hope some kind of silver lining occurs to you today. Feel free to share if you are so inclined! Thanks for being here! ❤️ 

[Laghail]

14 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I had a great day yesterday. My trainer texted me in the morning to see if I wanted to come to the gym that day instead of waiting for today (Thursday). I had enough time to get ready and play with Sax and was feeling pretty good, so I went. It was a really good session (arms, back, and abs) and I came home feeling invigorated and accomplished, much like Heidi going to the gym before logging into work. I had time for a shower and all, so I got cleaned up, then played with Sax again and left for work. Shift went well and then I came home. My friend Raven drove a four hour round trip to cook me dinner (Thai Basil Beef!) and visit, which was just incredible. I don’t get to see them often and it always amazes me that they are willing to drive such distances to hang out for a few hours. I wish I could do that.  It’s nice to be able to host them when they are able to come though. They even helped me get the brackets for the blinds in the kitchen down which had been foiling me, so triple bonus!

 

Quick reminder that your buddy is obviously getting something wonderful out of this deal and you're worth spending time with. I know you know and all that. Just, it true. 

 

14 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I tried a slightly different layout in my Cousin, not sure if I like it yet or not. I am feeling like I am in a bit of a rut with my Bujos and Tarot. It’s still satisfying to do, but more in a having it done way than an I am doing this way, if that makes any sense. I don’t think I need new tools, I think I just need a new way in. Lionharts has a new Tarot challenge that I think I will dig into. Those usually help. It might also be that I am focused on doing external things like working on the house and going to the gym, rather than internal things like introspection. I did a lot of introspection last challenge, so this is probably fine. 

 

Sadly I don't speak tarot - what's a layout in cousin, and what's a tarot challenge like?

 

14 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I think I am not going to weigh myself this challenge. The scale is up since last week by ~4-5 lbs, and while I am sure that is inflammation and water from the new gym routine, it’s demoralizing. So I am going to let it go for now and see how that goes for me. I am also forgoing getting my InBody Scan done for the beginning of this challenge, which feels a little weird (I might give in and get that done just for the consistency. It’s less demoralizing than weighing in a few times a week because it’s once every six weeks). I think it might be time for me to actually take some measurements so I can track those. I have a little tape measure I can use, I just need to make a new chart in my Bujo to track things, because my last tracking chart was two books ago. ?

 

Big approval, that damn scale should serve your needs, not the other way around. I do like inbody with how it gives metrics other than the scale's raw bodyweight, but defo skip if it'd be unhelpful. 

 

14 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I am really liking this having an extra hour in the mornings that comes along with more consistently starting at noon, even though it’s not ideal for the workflow at work or my paycheque. It’s a bit of a home-life silver lining though and I’ll take it. 

 

❤️❤️❤️