[Darciana]

This challenge will end a day after I return from my week-long vacation out of the country.

This will be my first time ever leaving the country and is my birthday gift from the Man, T, and Kers (T and Kers visited Tobago for their honeymoon and have gone twice more since they love it so much).

 

I have my coaching pre-paid through Oct 22nd to get me through the return from vacation and back into the groove of things so this challenge is, once again, focused on meeting all the goals I have with Coach and seeing good progress/learning new things about myself so I can continue this journey on my own after Coach and I part ways (I'll always have her around, just not in a paid professional type manner). Unless, of course, I decide I need to extend again. That's Future Me's decision to make on the next challenge.

 

My Goals as I know them right now:

Nutrition: Hit my macros as set by Coach. We are in a slight deficit, but nothing too hectic. She did drop me slightly right before I got sick and we've maintained here for a couple of week as I recovered and she traveled. I'm not sure if we'll change again come Monday but, as of typing this on 9/04, I am at:

Protein: 150g (this likely won't change at all)

Carbs: 160g

Fats: 70g

Fiber: 30-35g

Water: 1 gallon (128oz)

 

I aim to track 5-6 days a week. Of those 5-6 days, I'm to select 2 meals which I intuitively eat. This is an exercise in letting go and taking what I've learned from these months of tracking to eat with my goals/macros in mind but without having to weigh/measure everything so meticulously.

 

Movement:

Daily walks - if weather doesn't cooperate, I have a walking pad (sorry doggos). I've been horribly slacking on hitting 8-10k steps so I want to re-introduce that goal back into my life.

Gym 4-5 days a week. Right now I'm set up for:

Monday: Legs/quads

Tuesday: Back (mainly upper such as lats), Biceps, shoulders (part 1)

Wednesday: Chest, Triceps, shoulders (part 2)

Thursday: Cardio/Class (Melissa and I have been going to this Les Mills class they hold on Thursdays and so far we like it. If we don't do that, she'll do weights and I'll do cardio such as walk/run and rowing)

Friday: Booty (hammies, hips, glutes) and back (low back)

 

The week we leave for vacation we will be leaving before the gym opens on Friday so I'll skip my cardio/class day and move Booty up from Friday to Thursday. This gives me 4 more days of legs, 4 more days of back, 4 days of chest, 4 days (including tomorrow's workout) of cardio/class, and 5 (including this week) more days of Booty before we leave.

 

Spiritual:

My New Moon tarot informed me that having a daily ritual/practice is paramount right now. It has been something I've been slowly working to cultivate, but I suppose it's coming down to the "now or never" and I need to really take that deep dive and be consistent. I've built up many consistent practices over my time being here with these challenges but I need to put things together to form something truly helpful for me moving forward.

Starting off, I want to keep my daily coffee intentions, my outside Greet the Day, and my daily journaling (in which I write a mantra/intention and then reflect on the previous day. I also check off my to-do, check in emotionally, and see what I have on my daily planner). I have a daily Gua Sha as well and now I have a dry brush I really need to incorporate. I've absolutely fallen off the wagon when it comes to making my daily Gua Sha routine something intentional/spiritual. Now that I want to add in dry brushing, I need to figure out the best way to stick to the goal without taking up too much time as I often will step away on a short work/mental break to do my Gua Sha. Maybe I'll need to divide dry brushing and Gua Sha into two different mental breaks. It'll definitely help with my step goal by forcing me out of my chair!

I want to get a bit more intentional about Sabbats as well. Autumn Equinox/Mabon is coming this month (Sept 22nd I believe) and we have a Full Moon the 17th. The New Moon already occurred on the 2nd, hence my New Moon tarot reading about consistent practice. These events will give me a bit of practice with actually sticking to something, I think.

 

Education:

The Man's current semester ends October 6th (2 days after we leave for vacation) so we'll be aiming to finish his last week's homework prior to our departure Friday. This weekend is the big midterm paper and also likely a large final paper as well. The stuff in between is equally as challenging, but shorter and a bit less time consuming. For this challenge, I'll be enjoying my birthday week traveling abroad with no concern of homework! Until then, we will stay dedicated to getting it done (and by we, I mean he will grovel at my feet to review his papers).

I have pulled out my PE Practice Exams as a reminder I need to start reviewing. I won't worry too much about doing anything with them prior to vacation and instead, push that until we return. I don't have a dedicated timeline other than "I need to get this done sooner rather than later" so I can wait until the stress of travel is gone.

 

Debt:

Not too much here as I'm not going to put large chunks towards debt until after vacation. It seems inevitable that every time I put something large towards paying down debt, something happens and I need to gather extra cash. I'd rather be home and not about to leave for or be on vacation and needing said cash. The debt will be there no matter what (because I don't have enough to pay it off in full yet).

There are plenty of opportunities for me to work OT so I may take advantage of a few of those days to earn some extra money before vacation. Currently, I have money set aside for the HOA dues (Due Oct 1st) and all my bills will be covered with a little leftover for fun. The Man has money for vacation set aside already so we shouldn't need anything additional, but it's always good to be prepared with extra. Plus, if I don't spend that extra cash, I'll have that extra money to go towards Christmas presents (it's almost that time!) and additional debt payoff.

 

 

With that said, it looks like there's going to be work-related travel for me in a week and a half. There's a proposal site walkdown visit on the 17th (Tuesday) which will require me to fly out Monday and likely fly home Wednesday (don't think the flight out Tuesday night is late enough as the airport is nearly 3 hours away). There is a direct flight, at least, so I can make that happen and not waste time/energy with layovers.

In addition, we have a concert out of town the 21st (Saturday), a concern in town (if we choose to go to it) the 27th (Friday), a parade and event in which the Man and I will be taking one of our fire trucks to the next town over on the 28th (Saturday). Then we then leave for vacation the following Friday. Busy busy second half of the month! I'm not sure of any plans this weekend (the 7th/8th) but we do have our monthly Fire Dept meeting the morning of the 7th. I'm also not sure any plans the following weekend (14th/15th) but I would imagine they'll be filled with something, even if it's just homework and household tasks (like the lawn desperately needing mowed but it's so rainy we can't).

 

All in all, this challenge will focus on me preparing for my first time leaving the country, a nice week-long vacation, and trying to be mentally prepared for letting go of my goals a bit to truly enjoy life and not worry too much about workouts or eating. But sticking to those goals on the lead up so I can feel a bit better about where I am in my adventure as well as let a little loose guilt-free.

 

If you've read through that, wow. Here's pet-tax of both Smoke and Harley being parrots on the back of the couch! Thanks for being here ?

[Darciana]

Hello Friends!

 

A quick check in as I have a meeting in 15 minutes.

 

I went and did my workout today. Walked for a bout 20 minutes, set up for class, and managed 25 minutes of class before I had to start putting up my weights and props to leave by 630 for work. It was definitely a huge challenge but muuuuuch better than last week when I was so incredibly sore. I kept up so much better this time - I wanted to cry keeping up, but I did it! Definitely something I'd continue.

I'm also pretty sure I hit my step goal yesterday. My watch doesn't always count steps if my arm isn't swinging by my side and it says I was 47 steps shy. I know I walked around the house at least once while my watch was charging and that's at least 30 steps by itself. I'm counting it. Today I'm already only 1,100 steps from my minimum goal of 8k due to having that 20 minute walk before class started and then walking the dogs on our usual 1-mile route. This is good.

 

I stuck to macros yesterday and also got in my water goals. I'm also pretty far ahead in water goals today - I need to keep this momentum going! I've been awful about front-loading my water intake but if I want to be sure I'm hitting my water goal, I do need to make sure I'm drinking enough in the morning to make it possible without having to wake up multiple times in the night from my last minute chug sessions ?

Today I'm intuitively eating lunch. My day is nearly identical to yesterday (breakfast, lunch, snack) but dinner is different. Due to that, I'll need to slightly, intuitively, adjust my lunch/snack. I know my dinner is more carb-heavy so my snack of skyr with chopped nuts, strawberries and blueberries will be adjusted to remove the strawberries to account for fewer carbs needed. I think that should be sufficient. I also will need to eye my portions at lunch to make sure I'm getting the proper portion sizing. I usually will weigh/measure when I'm logging so lunch and the skyr itself will need to be estimated. Eek. Luckily I did weigh/measure yesterday so I have a recent picture in my mind's eye of what those measurements look like.

 

Tomorrow I'm planning on intuitively eating lunch as I'll be out running errands all morning and likely into the early afternoon. That said, I'll likely need to have lunch while I'm out and about and, since I can't weigh/measure every little thing and I have to estimate it to track it anyway, it is the perfect opportunity to hit my second "intuitively eaten" untracked meal. Dinner is prepped since Monday was a holiday, our meal preps are for Tuesday-Friday instead of the normal Monday-Thursday and breakfast is pretty typical - won't do anything hectic as I'll be on a time crunch to get home from the gym, shower, eat, walk dogs, and head out to my doc appointment in time.

 

I haven't managed to come up with a good daily ritual yet other than my normal coffee intentions and walking Greet the Day. Today, I'll be rushing my shower so I also have time to eat before my next meeting so I'm hoping I can still get a good dry-brushing and Gua Sha session.

 

Alright, meeting has started! Bye for now ?

[Darciana]

Hiya Friends!

 

Today is a bit of a mess. I need to return to the store as I somehow missed putting a few items on my grocery list when I went Friday. I have one set of meal prep done but waiting on ingredients for the other. We may be going to hang out with T and Kers for a short bit. If we do, we can grab those items on the way back in from town rather than make 2 trips so I'm waiting. They're on the way to town now so I'll know shortly. I'm battling a large headache, I must've been grinding my teeth particularly hard the majority of the night as that's where the pain is originating from. Medication isn't helping significantly so I'm simply working to power through.

 

The Man took me on a dinner and movie date last night. I haven't been to a movie theater in 5 years! We went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice because I'm obsessed with almost anything related to Tim Burton. It was great! With that said, I'm bloated and bleh today. On track to hit my macros, though, which was the primary goal for today. That and getting my gallon of water in.

 

It was chilly this morning for our walk - a low 54F! The coolest I've noticed it since springtime was 67F so that's a big difference. Yesterday morning was about 70F so it was a nice large drop, too. I still got in a walk with the dogs, though!

 

Finished the Man's papers and got everything submitted. Whew. Lots of editing since he had a 5 page paper and a 6 page paper due this week for midterms. Kicked both our behinds. But it's done.

 

I've been absolutely slacking on meditation. Have managed coffee intentions and Gua Sha. I've gotten in a couple dry brushing sessions in as well. Not a total failure but not as good as can be. It's how I'm feeling about many of my goals right now - my macros have been off these last couple days (Pizza Friday night and yesterday was an unlogged day and I ate my feelings for sure). It is what it is. The only thing I can do is to focus on doing better today and setting myself up for success in the coming days.

 

Alright, off we go to hang out. I'll try to check in tomorrow with work but I know it'll be suuuuuper busy

[Snarkyfishguts]

You are off to an AMAZING start! I am excited for your vacation, it sounds like a wonderful time is waiting for you!

[Sovalis]

Oh wow, Darling, don’t forget to breathe! You’re so busy!!

 

I hear you about wanting to double down on the spiritual work. I am feeling a little lacklustre there myself. We can work on it in tandem. 

 

Love you! You’ve got this!! ❤️ 

[Darciana]

4 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Oh wow, Darling, don’t forget to breathe! You’re so busy!!

 

I hear you about wanting to double down on the spiritual work. I am feeling a little lacklustre there myself. We can work on it in tandem. 

 

Love you! You’ve got this!! ❤️ 

I would love to work with you in tandem!! Love you back!! ❤️ 

 

20 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

You are off to an AMAZING start! I am excited for your vacation, it sounds like a wonderful time is waiting for you!

Thank you Snarky ❤️ I'm so glad to have you here with me

 

 

Alrighty, very very quick update as I I have training in 15 minutes that goes to the end of my work day. Then a rush to get dinner and then I have an overtime meeting for a project -- they are in New Zealand so the time difference requires a late night for me. Thankfully I can get OT pay for it. Anyway, I'll be busy busy until 7pm starting in 15 minutes. Whew.

 

I had an amazing workout today. I managed a solid 400lb hack squat for 8 reps! Even better was that it was my 4th set (started at 340lbs, then 360, then 380, and my final set was at 400lbs) AND I had done 4 sets of back squats (4 sets of 9 reps with 85lbs - back squats are harder on my back so I'm slowly working that weight up so as not to disturb my surgery site or cause further damage). Then, I went to leg press and did 230 for 3 sets and jumped up to my max at 250lbs for my final set. Including the machine weight (20.1lbs) I did a full set of 8 reps of a total of 270lbs! You'd think I'd be worn out by then but nope. Finished off with 3 sets of seated leg extension. I did take those light and stayed at the same 85lbs. I did bump up to 9 reps on the last set just to "progress" but didn't want to go overboard. Feeling SO STRONG. I love it.

 

Coach is going to slowly increase me up to maintenance between now and vacay. She has now bumped me up to:

1930 calories

Protein: 150g (not changed)

Carbs: 175g (increased from 160g)

Fats: 70g (not changed)

Fiber: 30-35g (not changed)

Water: 1 gallon/128oz (not changed)

We are focused on bringing me to maintenance to focus on muscle growth and give my body some time to recover and my metabolism to reset a bit before we go into another small cut. I'm okay with this since all last week I battled hunger, even with focusing on filling whole foods like lean protein and plenty of veggies and fiber for satiety. This slight increase has already made a difference as I noticed I'm not battling hunger at all, even with my heavy lifts this morning. I'll see how it goes through the week. We are maintaining 1-2 "intuitive" meals (unlogged) a week on top of only logging 5-6 days (so in reality I have 1-2 full day(s) of not logging/intuitive eating and 2 days in which I log as normal with the exception of 1 meal of my choice). I struggled last week because of my increased hunger levels and felt like I went a little off the rails with those meals. If today is any indication, this week should be better with the higher macros, even if its only slightly increased. We shall see!

 

Spiritually I'm a bit slow going today but it's been so hectic! I've taken a deeper dive with my morning coffee. Rather than just a quick grounding and intention setting, I ground, say a few mantra-like intentions. If my intention today is to be focused and productive, I'll say "I am focused and productive throughout the day" then I'll repeat any mantras to help such as "I am intuitive and mindful. I am intelligent. I am strong. I am focused on my goals" and then finish off with at least one thing I'm grateful for (today was being grateful for being physically capable of lifting heavy at the gym despite my injuries and nerves about re-injury). Then I stir clockwise 3 times to infuse it in.

I did pull my Weekly Tarot this morning (Five of Swords ?) and journaled. I need to meditate at some point. I want to do it early so maybe I'll try to set aside 5 minutes around my little dinner break between meetings. Otherwise I'll try to remember to do it as part of my bedtime routine, either before or after I read.

 

Yesterday the Man asked me to get "witchy" and figure out what I could make/put together/use to help with his shoulder pain. The PT said there's a group of muscles in his back that are so tight they're tugging on the bicep area which is what is causing all this extra pain at the surgery site. Not only do I need to help massage it out later, but I used my Simply Earth box to make a Muscle Relief Massage Oil and Muscle Relief Balm. While I was at it, I went ahead and made a Sleepy Time roll on for pulse points and aromatherapy for rest and relaxation. It felt good to pull those things out and actually make some of the recipes.

 

Busy weekend this weekend so I'm trying to convince the Man to start on his papers early so I can edit before the weekend. Saturday I'm giving blood then have to get groceries. The Man agreed to go to Kers and T's house Sunday for the Cowboys game to hang out so I'll also have to meal prep Saturday as well. Unfortunately, because we'll be out of the house Sunday, when all his homework is due, we'll also need to be sure his papers are done and submitted Saturday otherwise I'll have to wake up early (again) Sunday to finish editing before we leave. Hopefully he'll help out, especially with meal prep and homework. Luckily, we've gotten through the midterms so it should be a little lighter week. At least, I hope.

 

Okay, I'm off to be on endless meetings until bed! Hopefully a bit more of a thorough check-in tomorrow. ❤️ 

[Sepherina]

A tad late but following!

[Sovalis]

 

GREAT job on your lifts, Sunshine!!!! I am so proud of you!!

 

Wishing you calm and focus and enough energy to get through that mountain of work. I believe in you. ❤️ 

[Darciana]

14 hours ago, Sepherina said:

A tad late but following!

Better late than never! I'm always happy to have you along my Dear ❤️ 

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

 

GREAT job on your lifts, Sunshine!!!! I am so proud of you!!

 

Wishing you calm and focus and enough energy to get through that mountain of work. I believe in you. ❤️ 

Thank you. I've managed to get a nice dent in actual work done. The Man looked up homework and it's much lighter - 2 papers, one of them is 2-3 pages, one is 1-2 pages and then a discussion board. Thank goodness.

Also with travel next week, I'll likely only need to meal prep one meal and he'll have to eat on it for 4 days. I'll figure something out for dinner for 2 nights for myself once I'm home as it looks like I'll leave Monday and have to fly out Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday night (no flights are late enough to finish the walkdown and make the 3 hour drive to the airport in time).

 

Hi Friends!

Rough morning in that I did not sleep restfully at all and had nightmares. I nearly didn't go to the gym but I knew I'd be tired no matter what and the gym gave me a better chance of being somewhat productive through the day. I did get in a really good, tough workout though! I'm feeling much better about the idea of getting at least 1 unassisted pull up before the end of the year now.

The walk with the dogs was chilly but not quite as cold as yesterday. I did wait a bit longer (more like breakfast took longer) so the sun was up a bit more and for longer to warm things up. I'm shockingly not as sore as I expected.

 

Food was good yesterday. Coach upped macros early enough I could adjust lunch and snacks to accommodate the slight increase. Today's meals/snacks are all planned out, too, and on-track.

 

I didn't Greet the Day on the walk with the dogs because Harley was being an absolutely nightmare and didn't give me chance to take a single deep breath without having to yell at her to not rip my arm off, not attack Smoke (she's been ramming into him lately unprovoked), etc. I love her but that girl does NOT listen. The stubborn Shar Pei part of her is dominant in the attitude department and  I was simply over it. Between being absolutely exhausted and then cold, I did not have any extra energy to dedicate to dealing with her shenanigans. Alas, we finished the walk and she's still being a bit of a nightmare when she's not snoring loudly to rub it in my face she can sleep while I work. I did go out on the back deck a bit ago and had a moment to Greet the Day after I managed to get Harley to stop incessantly barking at absolutely nothing (she barks just to hear her own voice I think) but I'm not getting a dang fine from the HOA for her annoying little self. She was NOT happy that I booted her inside while Smoke and I enjoyed the sun for a few minutes longer. Not sorry. You definitely know better.

I did do Gua Sha but no dry brushing. I'm more impressed I convinced myself to Gua Sha considering my lack of energy has impacted nearly every part of my day so far. I'll take what I can get and if it's only one thing, then that's better than nothing.

 

Not much else to report on. I suppose I should go make my lunch and eat it but I know I'll probably just want to faceplant my keyboard even more once I put food in my belly. Oh the joy.

 

I hope something truly energizes you today and gives you the push you need to do something amazing!

[Darciana]

Hi Friends!

 

I'm working my way through reading/catching up on West Marches. I'm debating whether I should join considering all the travel I'll be doing in the coming weeks.

I just got the approval and go-ahead to buy my flights to travel Monday-Wednesday next week for a proposal kick-off meeting in West Virginia. Unfortunately the meeting goes until 3, there's a 3 hour drive to the airport, and no flights out late enough so I'll have to stay over another night. Good news is that I'll get home at a decent hour Wednesday! If all goes well, I'll be home before dinner which means not only can I have dinner and a relaxing evening at home with my pups and the Man, but I can resume my normal gym routine Thursday.

I will leave Monday and my flight is only 30 minutes earlier than my previous work travel flight meaning, if I get everything situation appropriately, I'll be able to hit the gym for leg day Monday before I leave. I'll then only need to worry about Tuesday and Wednesday at hotels.

 

Given the finality of it, here is my tentative plan, if interested. It is subject to change as more information becomes available:
 

Spoiler

I can eat at home (so long as its a quick/easy meal) for breakfast, lunch will be at the airport before flying out (or grabbing something to eat on the plane since it's a 3 1/2 hour flight - easy enough. Supposedly there's also the option for purchasing meals on the flight due to it being long enough which I'll research a bit more into). Dinner is likely with my coworker who is scheduled to land at the same airport 3 minutes after I land. We have a 3 hour drive (we're sharing a car) to the location and she's going to ask the Client what their recommended nearby hotels are for us so we can book those before the weekend.

Breakfast Tuesday is going to be at the hotel so long as they offer it (most do, but there are a few I've seen that don't) and lunch will be provided/catered by the Client on-site. Dinner, again, is likely to be out with coworker. I'm not sure if we will stay in the same hotel as Monday night and drive the 3 hours (which my flight leaves at 8:25 meaning boarding begins at probably around 7:45am plus turning in rental car and getting through security) or if we'll get a hotel closer to the airport so as not to have to be awake so early. That's a discussion for tomorrow with her. Wednesday is likely breakfast in the airport and I'll land right about lunchtime so I'm not sure whether I'll plan for a small snack to hold me over and eat a late lunch at home or stop in town to grab something. We shall see how I feel and I'll look into how far away the restaurant the Man and I like to go to is from the airport. Dinner Wednesday will certainly be home unless something catastrophic happens in which my flight is severely delayed (talking by 5-6 hours at which point they usually will just cancel it) or cancelled entirely.

 

Today was a good day at the gym for chest and triceps. Nothing spectacular to note but I'm feeling quite strong and happy. No major soreness in the legs for Day 2 DOMS which is very shocking considering the PBs I got Monday.

 

Food is also good. I'm still finding myself hungry or snackish through the day despite the increased macros. Maybe Coach will increase them further next week. Not only would that be nice as far as being better equipped to meet macros while traveling/eating out, but I'd like to have less hunger when I'm in far less control of when/what I get to eat. I will for sure be stocking up on snacks that are easy to travel with that I can also take with me into the power plant to subtly snack on through the day as needed to quiet my rumbling tummy.

 

I did Greet the Day, journal, Gua Sha, and stir in coffee intentions. I'm really liking my updated coffee ritual. It feels Good and Right which is exactly as it should. I still need to work on further spiritual work through the day, but it's been so hectic it is hard. Especially now with travel. Travel next week, then travel next weekend (an overnight stay an hour away for a concert so not as big a deal), then a weekend home, then travel for a week. Goodness! The Man wants to aim for only carry on luggage for our October trip so I'll need to figure out how I'm going to handle my journal. I may leave the binder and only take the individual pages in a folder or something so I can still keep up with that.

 

I helped with an outline for a discussion board post for the Man last night. All that's left is to edit that once written, figure out what's needed for his video check in paper (1-2 page paper instead of video check in) which is related to the final paper (I'm guessing another 6-8 page paper building off the midterm paper) and then a 2-3 page paper based on a new prompt I'll need to review and see how I can simplify for him. TBIs are truly awful and impact people in the weirdest of ways. I'm just glad I'm around to help.

 

Alright, it's dinnertime now! Love you all ❤️ 

[Darciana]

Hi Friends,

 

Wow, yesterday was INSANE busy. I obviously didn't get a chance to post anything because I barely had time to eat! I am here now, though, thankfully.

 

Yesterday I did the Les Mills class again. Man is it touuuugh! But I feel so good after. Today was booty day. I'm thinking, since I have to leave the house to get to the airport early, I might switch leg and booty day next week. Booty day is just deadlifts, hip abduction/adduction, and step ups. If I can get in, stay focused, and get it done, I'll be done early and can head home earlier. I'll have Friday next week off so I can take a bit longer in the gym for leg day and to make up any other areas I may have missed. I might not get to hit the gym Tuesday or Wednesday - the closest hotel to site is 30 minutes on Tuesday and it's actually a lodge - I didn't see any mention of a gym/fitness center. Wednesday I have to be at the airport for a super early flight and doubt I'll squeeze anything in without waking up at like 2-3am to do so. Not worth it. At least I'll be well-rested for Les Mills on Thursday!

 

Yesterday I did well with food and stuck to goals. Today the Man wants calzones so I logged my greek yogurt/protein crust and my fillings. I had to stop at the store to get stuff to make them this morning and ended up grabbing a donut for the Man and I. I meant only to get him something but the donuts were stuck together and once I was home, I couldn't deny that craving. I've managed to work macros around it, thankfully, so today should be good if I can stick to what I said I'd eat. Unfortunately I didn't have room in my macros for a glass of the Apple Cider I bought now they have it in stock. I'm an absolute sucker for apple cider ❤️ 

 

I did my Greet the Day, Coffee Intentions, and Gua Sha today so far. I haven't even written in my journal (I knew I needed to hop on here while I could!) but that's next on my list. I realized the Full Moon is on Tuesday when I'll be traveling. I think I'm going to take my larger backpack and bring my tarot cards and tarot spread printout with me so I can try to knock that out Tuesday night once we get to the hotel by the airport. If not, I'll do it once I'm home Wednesday. I need to make my list so I can continue to add to it through the weekend and not forget anything. I'll do that after my journal. It's work-related and I was told to spend a good chunk of today reviewing for this trip - I think that includes ensuring I have everything needed, including my hard hat, gloves, notebook, and mental capacities!

 

Tonight I really need to knock out the Man's homework outline/prep stuff for him so he can write while I'm running all my errands and such tomorrow. I hope it will be a really light day work-wise with prep for travel next week. If so, I'll have the mental capacity to deal with his stuff. Or at least more mental capacity to handle it than I have thus far this week with all the business!

[Darciana]

Long time, no type my Friends!

 

It has been super hectic. Summary of my time away:

 

I didn't get any workouts in during my 3 day travel. I did, however, wake up and get to the gym Thursday and Friday last week. I was dehydrated and cramping about 3am this morning so I decided to switch back and leg day (back day is usually Tuesday so I'll aim for legs tomorrow) and hit back today to give my cramping legs a rest. I took some magnesium and am pushing plenty of water to get back on track and recover.

 

Food has been... not awful, but not great. I hadn't tracked much of anything all last week. I actually think I only managed to track Thursday fully. We ended up doing a Costco run on Friday which took the majority of the day between the travel to/from and the shopping itself. Saturday we went to a concert and beforehand stopped at the All Hallow's Market by the local metaphysical store there in town. I went to the market last year for my birthday and loved it. It was super hot and I didn't have much water. Sunday I was better, but not perfect with water intake which probably isn't helping the leg cramp situation.

 

As far as spiritual routines, I've been slacking. I did stir in my intentions this morning and pulled a weekly Tarot card. Other than that, not much else. I failed at just about everything the entire week otherwise. I did manage to write in my journal and my daily mantra so that'll have to suffice.

 

The Man has one more week of big homework (finals, in a sense) this week (due Sunday) and next week should just be smaller loose ends if it's anything like his prior classes. Thankfully we won't have anything during vacation week.

 

Work is so hectic, especially as I try to knock out as much as I can to make up for being gone for a week. I'm not looking forward to coming back to work - that's going to be a nightmare.

 

Alright, another call. Miss you guys ❤️ 

[Snarkyfishguts]

I feel like when you're gone for a week, the parameters of what makes a week successful must be adapted.  It sounds like you're mentally ready for the upcoming week so that's a win in my opinion!

[Sovalis]

Hi Darling! 

 

I've been away for a few days myself. We will find our feet. I'm proud of you. ?

[Darciana]

Gaaaaaaaah! So much happening, so little time. Work is hectic and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I think part of it is travel - I'm not sure what to expect and travel always makes me a bit anxious.

 

Alas, my workouts have been fantastic - I managed to hit 450lb hack squat today for 2 sets of 8 reps which was exciting.

My macros have been on track yesterday and today so I'm feeling quite good. My new swimsuits arrived today so after work this afternoon I'll get those, try them on and hopefully get to get those packed (versus needing an exchange).

 

I also extended my coaching another 4 months (through February) - the program has a huge promo for prior and current clients to re-start or extend. I was thinking of extending anyway since I'm just now getting back up to maintenance for muscle building and metabolism reset and then I'll be on vacay. Once I get back, I only have a week and a half left with Coach so it's been on my mind to extend for awhile anyway. This promo makes it a bit easier to spend the money (it'll go on the credit card but I'll pay that back down after vacay - I just want to make sure I got bills covered and any travel expenses covered first). This makes me feel a lot better about coming back from vacation and getting through those tricky holiday months (we have no current plans for Thanksgiving but kids will be here for Christmas so plenty of yummy treats!)

 

The Man's big Milestone 3 (aka final) is due this weekend, worth 1/2 his grade so I'm in major editing/tutoring mode on top of work crazies. It's a lot. I am looking forward to no school work or work work for a week.

 

Anyway, got another task come in my inbox so must go knock that out before the end of my day here in about 45 minutes. And it may take that long to knock it out. Ugh.

[Darciana]

Friends, I have failed.

I have not been as active as I had hoped. Between the Man's very very hectic finals assignments I've been trying to help with, my own work which I'm part of several projects severely behind schedule, and then the Man has several big projects coming up next week and I've been helping him with that when it comes to presentations and editing and general flow of presentations I'm just booked up.

 

I have stuck to my workouts so far this week and have one more tomorrow to knock out. It feels great to be making that progress.

Food has been pretty good - I met macros so far and estimated mine yesterday with my "intuitive" meal as lunch.

 

I've been good about coffee intentions, gua sha, greet the day, gratefulness, and journaling. I've managed 3 days of meditations, even if they're only 2 minutes it's better than nothing. I also did dry brushing today before my shower which I've been meaning to do and always forget. I definitely want to do more research on the best way to do it and the optimal frequency.

 

As I mentioned, the Man's finals week is kicking butt considering work is kicking both our butts this week so we're already mentally drained when it comes time to tackle homework. This is DEFINITELY at team effort this week given the circumstances. We also have 1 week and about 2 hours until we leave for vacation so that's likely not helping things. I know my anxiety is going a bit haywire.

 

On that note, I've packed clothes, swimsuits, and snorkeling stuff. I need to pack my personal hygiene kit and my backpack full of little things such as medication, kindle, headphones (which I'm using for the gym and work), etc. I have a list I'm checking and double checking. I'm also adding to it as I think of new things, as well. The Man is laughing at me but I've found starting early allows me to add things I would otherwise forget with enough time rather than trying to remember EVERYTHING the night before or something.

 

I have yet another meeting so I must go again. I make no promises about how much I'll check in before we leave but I will try at least a couple more times.

[Snarkyfishguts]

I hope this trip is wonderful for you. I hope the weather is fantastic and all the food is delicious. 

 

I don't agree with your statement that you've failed. I think you're doing an amazing job! 

[Darciana]

8 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I hope this trip is wonderful for you. I hope the weather is fantastic and all the food is delicious. 

 

I don't agree with your statement that you've failed. I think you're doing an amazing job! 

I needed this. Thank you, Snarky, for the insight and wisdom. I cannot wait until we've landed and I'm on the beach relaxing already. The lead up to vacation and all the goings on involved are really making me wonder if it's even worth it [I know it is just for the sake of not burning out at work and giving myself some self care in the form of just letting go]
❤️ 

[Sovalis]

Darling, that is not failure AT ALL. You are doing amazing things on a severely overloaded and compressed schedule. Wow!!!!!

 

I am so proud of you!! And I am rooting for you and the Man to get through all of this and then escape for your wonderful trip!

[Darciana]

On 9/28/2024 at 12:02 AM, Sovalis said:

Darling, that is not failure AT ALL. You are doing amazing things on a severely overloaded and compressed schedule. Wow!!!!!

 

I am so proud of you!! And I am rooting for you and the Man to get through all of this and then escape for your wonderful trip!

Thank you, Dearest ❤️ 

 

Friends, I am exhausted.

 

Today I combined my Monday and Friday leg days and managed 500lbs on the hack squat! Then finished out leg press with 270lbs (290lbs with machine weight). Also did deadlifts and the hip abduction/adduction but no major weights there. I didn't bring lifting straps and my grip was slipping at the end for deadlifts.

 

Food hasn't been great this weekend. We were part of a parade and the event didn't have food vendors or anything so we were snacking mostly. It was hot and boring. Bleh. Then yesterday the Man brought home pizza for lunch and I ate a little too much of that. Back on track today, though. I haven't gotten an update from Coach about increasing macros but she did say something about increasing this week before I leave. I'm right at macros (I'm 5g over my buffer limit on fat) but I can adjust lunch/dinner as needed to make up for it. I also am 10g shy of my fiber goal today so I need to figure out something to help out there. Hopefully I'll get something from Coach before lunch so I can adjust a bit easier. I don't have any snacks planned so it's just adjusting main meals right now if I want any hope of hitting my goals.

Otherwise, I was good all last week on macros which was very nice.

 

The Man's finals are done! He has some minor work (1-2 page paper, discussion boards) to finish up this semester - due by Sunday so we'll aim to finish before we leave Thursday evening. We will have a week off and his new classes will start the Monday after we return. Such a relief to not have to worry about homework or regular work on vacation!

 

I've managed to add gratitude and intentions to my coffee every day thus far with success. I've also managed to Gua Sha and have gotten a couple days (including today) of dry brushing done. Nothing directly spiritual, but it is a bit of self care and taking time to myself for a few quiet moments so it feels special and worth keeping up. My dry brush is so small I might sneak it into my bag to take with me on vacay. I have a spare gua sha tool I have packed for travel. It's plastic (my primary is quartz) so less likely to break during travel so it has come in handy. The New Moon is on Wednesday so I'll knock out that ritual before we leave. I have yet to pull a weekly card for this week but it is on my to-do. I know there's some online decks I can use to pull for next week. Although not the same, I'd rather not pack all that for one card pull on Monday. I will also need to be sure I'm intentional about my daily gratitude and intentions as I will be sharing a rental house with 4 other adults (not including the Man since I already live with him) and 2 kids which will likely disrupt my morning quiet. There was also mentioned it is hard to get quality coffee as they export most of what they grow/produce. We shall see but that may also cause some issues with my coffee intentions haha!

 

Alright, off to a work call. Will do my best to check in up through Thursday ❤️ 

 

[Darciana]

Alrighty, possibly my final post before we leave. I cannot guarantee I'll be able to hop on tomorrow. We're trying to leave as soon as The Man and I are off work (about 430) which means I have to pack any last minute items (things like meds and my journal) after I take/use them which also means I'll be trying to pack and get things sorted while trying to finish off everything for work. Work is sure to be hectic since we're so far behind on things already.

On top of that I have to drop the dogs off at our vet for boarding. It's a sad sad trip. I hate to leave them and it is the ONE thing I'm dreading the most about leaving. I love my babies so much and it hurts to leave them. Fortunately this trip is only scheduled for a couple days longer than our beach trips and we've done a couple of those and they've been okay. I just hate not being with them so much.

 

Gym so far as been good this week. Since I combined leg days on Monday, I'm going to stick with my usual Thursday Les Mills class. It's a full body intense-fest and it'll be great way to end this week and start off vacation. I'll likely have plenty of walking and swimming while gone, but no dedicated workouts so I want to finish strong. Nothing kicks my behind quite like that Les Mills class haha!

 

Food is okay, not perfect. We didn't meal prep this week due to not being here for the full week -- dinner will be at hotel or on way to hotel tomorrow and meal prepping for 3 days for 2 people was more trouble than it's worth. Yesterday I got distracted and didn't end up meeting my fiber and carb goal. Oops. I realized once I was in bed that I didn't eat my afternoon snack as planned which would've gotten me to goal. I did manage to get water in, though, and hit my fat and protein.

Today I'm on track for hitting all my goals so long as I can continue to get up and move around to get my steps. Coach has me at 8-10k (I requested the goal be put back because I was averaging about 5-6k due to work) and yesterday I only missed it by about 250 steps. I just didn't think about it until I was already in bed with lights off and such. I couldn't disturb the Man trying to fall asleep for 250 goals. I'll suck it up as a learning experience. Plus my watch was nearly dead and I needed it to charge as long as possible while I read so I could be sure it wouldn't die before waking me up this morning (it's my silent alarm).

 

Spiritually, I did my New Moon Tarot this morning. Yesterday I did my weekly tarot a day behind as I got distracted and lost track of my days. I also did blow cinnamon (sorry, @Sovalis I totally forgot to hop on and remind you! Here it is for you a tad bit late) for abundance, prosperity, and wealth in all areas. I've stirred in my daily gratefulness and intentions in my coffee as usual. I also did Greet the Day on my walk with the pups this morning.

 

The Man's homework for the week is completely done as of last night - he had a 1-2 page paper and 2 discussion boards (each one requiring his post and him replying to 2 additional people). Now we don't have to worry about his school work until Oct 14th with his new classes! Whew. Perfect timing.

 

I'm not sure what else to note on so if I don't get a chance to pop on tomorrow, happy Challenge-End and I hope you had a fantastic round. I'll see you on the next one once I return! ❤️ 

[Sovalis]

I hope you have an amazing trip, Darling! ❤️ 

[Darciana]

I have successfully survived my first ever trip out of the country. It was a delight and I'm sad about it being over already. The only good thing is that I have my puppies back since I missed them so very much

 

Yesterday I hit all my goals except steps. Today I'm aiming to hit all my goals to solidify getting back on track. Coach is content with me focusing only on tracking 5 days and intuitively eating the other 2 days this week and taking it easy on myself.

 

I have so so much to do with work and life in general so I'll be a bit spotty through this week until things get settled back in!

[Heidi]

23 hours ago, Darciana said:

I have successfully survived my first ever trip out of the country. It was a delight and I'm sad about it being over already. The only good thing is that I have my puppies back since I missed them so very much

 

Yesterday I hit all my goals except steps. Today I'm aiming to hit all my goals to solidify getting back on track. Coach is content with me focusing only on tracking 5 days and intuitively eating the other 2 days this week and taking it easy on myself.

 

I have so so much to do with work and life in general so I'll be a bit spotty through this week until things get settled back in!

Welcome back!

Hooray for wonderful travels and supportive coaches.

Zero week is perfect for re-entry, which is always a bit fiddly.

Take your time and breathe.

 

[Darciana]

3 hours ago, Heidi said:

Welcome back!

Hooray for wonderful travels and supportive coaches.

Zero week is perfect for re-entry, which is always a bit fiddly.

Take your time and breathe.

 

Thank you, Darling ❤️ I needed that reminder. I will probably always need that reminder in all honesty.

 

So some updates and reflections:

I have reintroduced guided meditation to help me ease into normal life and routine again. After living the easy island life for a week, I have started researching other locations for travel and reminded myself of a few things that are very un-American-but-very-important. With that said, I want to incorporate the "work to live" mindset by focusing more on enjoyable activities and not coordinating my life around work (within reason since I do have some set hours and I need my job to pay bills and such, as most do).

We have a full moon this week in which I can set the intention to shed what is not helpful [stress, workaholic mindset, expectations and standards that have no reason to exist, etc]. I started my daily coffee gratefulness and intention setting. My dogs are home and I made sure to take a lunch walk with them once they were home yesterday (my morning walks were well before the boarding/vet place opened to retrieve them so I postponed) and started greeting the day again during our (now) morning walks. Although, being in the rain forest and on an island in the open sea I really didn't miss that, I just greeted it in a much different way than I do at home.

 

While I was out, I received my self-development journal from Coach (a sign-on bonus only available to those who re-signed or extended their coaching like I did) with 17 journal prompts that I intend to sit down and read through when life calms down a bit more. I also resumed my normal weekly journal and completed my weekly Tarot. Things are falling back into place in my routine.

 

Met macros Sunday, yesterday, and so far today (despite pizza). I stopped to grab a pizza for lunch on my way home from my mammogram -  I'm free and clear until I'm over 40 unless I start to have symptoms or find another lump in my breasts. It's just a dense fibrous lump, thankfully, and my paternal grandmother had that as well, which is nice. My mom is adopted, though, so I don't know family history or risk factors from her side, so better safe than sorry. Anyway, pizza was my treat for getting my tidbits smashed right after vacation for the sake of safety and I still managed to make it fit in my macros. They didn't change this week since Coach is giving me the week to settle back into routine. Next week I have the joys of a full well-women's exam so hopefully no other scares pop up. Also talking about hormones and coming off some medications (for acne and other PMS symptoms) that are known to disrupt hormones and if that's the right choice for me and my health moving forward. I think it is, but it's always good to have a professional's perspective. The woman I'm seeing is an RN, not Dr but she's phenomenal and I absolutely adore her. She listens and seems to genuinely want what's best for us patients, not what BigPharma wants.

 

The gym is leaving me sore this week, but I haven't had a major decrease in anything. No new increases or records for me, but just getting back in is kind of it's own type of record to set. I'm aiming for 5 days since there's no reason for me to not go every day. Hopefully next week my body will be readjusted and I can resume my MuscleMommy Winter Arc goals. I keep seeing this whole Winter Arc thing and I rather like it, though there are variations. I have no more vacations or planned trips (work may still come up with something, I'm sure). The Man and I are hoping to find a good excuse to skip the big production of Thanksgiving with T and Kers - we want to keep it quiet and calm. The kids will be here for the week of Christmas and the week of New Years (one of those weeks is to make up for the extra week BioMom got them for 4th of July over summer when she was only supposed to have them 1 week). However, we probably won't be doing anything too extravagant then, either. Perfect for tucking in and focusing on goals!

I'd like, through the end of the year as part of my own "Winter Arc" to focus on:

-Reading

-Journaling

-Meditation

-Spirituality

-Gym

-Nutrition

-Alchemy, particularly related to health

 

 

And there it is. We have ended yet another challenge and I'm looking back wondering how in the world have I been here this long? I've never been particularly consistent with any online forums or groups and yet I've been around with a fair amount of consistency for over a year and a half. Wow. Thank you all for being the most bestest group on the internet. I'm glad I re-stumbled on you when I needed this most ❤️