Waterscape

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@Fremen @MadamMeow @Mamatigerj @GentleOx @NancyTree Thank you!

Well, that's 1 of 3 programs and 1 of 3 challenges for the year done!

I had another rough week, so I decided to pause and focus on resting for a bit while I considered what to do next. I'm kinda in the mood for an RPG, so I think I'm gonna try Pathfinder this time. I might re-read N.K. Jemison's Broken Earth trilogy while I'm at it - there are definite thematic similarities :LOL:.

And after a conversation with my therapist, I'm going to do the Counting Victories challenge as well. I have my doubts if it will help me, it seems too simple , but maybe that's just the anxiety talking. I have been known to overthink things, lol :cantcope:.

Hope you have a great day, Bees!
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@Mamatigerj Thank you!

April 24: Pathfinder day 1 (found 3 survivors); Counting Victories (CV) - wrote in my journal and updated my logbook
April 25: CV - tidied up my maker space
April 26: Pathfinder day 2; CV - updated my Goodreads
April 27: CV - washed a load of sheets and my comforter

I couldn't decide which of three video games (Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5 Strikers, or Bioshock Infinite) I wanted to start re-playing this weekend, so I put all three boxes down on the floor and let the cat decide. She investigated all three (because I put a treat on each), and then she sat on one. Her choice: Persona 5 Royal! (Here's one of my favorite tracks from the game.)

And THEN, I kid ya'll not, she sat down next to me and watched me play the game! For 10 whole minutes! It was adorable! But she got distracted by a bug on the window and decided she had to go chase it. :kill:
Decision-by-feline isn't something I do often, but as much as she seemed to enjoy it, I think I'll try it again soon.:puurke::bouncy:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
April 28: Pathfinder day 3; CV - put away my clean laundry
April 29: Pathfinder day 4; CV - bought groceries
April 30: CV - dentist appointment #1 to fix the cracked tooth :sadness:
May 1: CV - took all of my medicine on time
May 2: Pathfinder day 5; CV - made potato and leek soup :drink:
May 3: dropped off work shirts to be embroidered
May 4: voted in the local elections

I read a post on social media this past week that said (paraphrased a bit) 'before you start crochet/knitting, you have to ask yourself, 1) can I count, and 2) am I able to handle the answer to question #1, which is no.' :haha:

I've been crocheting a lot this week, and the number of times it's taken multiple tries to count the same number of stitches in a row has been very, very humbling. And every time it's happened I've said to myself, "The answer to question one is NO." :facepalm: :LOL:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
May 5-May 18: Pathfinder day 6-11; Counting victories: done every day

Yeah, last week was rough. I got hurt at work and had to spend 6 hours in the emergency room.

I truly thought I was going to die at one point.

Thankfully, it was not as bad as it could have been, and physically I'm fine. Mentally and emotionally? Well. It's definitely changed my perspective on a few things (and not always for the better. Thanks, anxiety brain!). But I'm sure with patience and a little work (and therapy, lots of therapy) I'm going to be just fine.

I think I kinda understand how Schrodinger's cat feels now, though. :LOL:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@JohnStrong @MadamMeow @NancyTree @Mamatigerj Thank you all so much!

May 19: Pathfinder day 12; CV - monthly donation to the Farmer's Market
May 20: Pathfinder day 13
May 21: Pathfinder day 14; CV - stocked up on my medicated shampoo
May 22: CV - only ate half my takeout meal (saved the rest for the next night's supper)
May 23: CV - online shopping for conditioner and electrolyte mix (online shopping always makes me nervous)
May 24: CV - finished my monthly leadership book
May 25: Pathfinder day 15; CV - self-care Saturday (housekeeping; cooking; hair care routine)

I try to read one book about leadership a month - I got NO training when I was promoted to senior, so I'm trying to learn management techniques from books, basically. This month was Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Learn How to Channel Your Emotions at Work by Melody Wilding. It was really interesting! I like how she organized the information, and her explanations were nice and clear. I might actually buy my own copy, there was so much good stuff in it.
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
May 26: Pathfinder day 16; CV - prepped food for tomorrow
May 27: Pathfinder day 17; CV - journaling session
May 28: Pathfinder day 18; CV - finished both my non-fiction books
May 29: CV - gratitude practice w/ tarot cards
May 30: CV - shipped the stonefish
May 31: CV - got the A/C fixed in the car
June 1: CV - chat with friends and family

I'm trying to eat less meat, which means I get to try new tofu recipes! I made vegan iri doufu on Saturday, and I've been packing it into a bento for my lunch the last two days. I LOVE IT.
I use red miso instead of the white the recipe calls for (I can't get white miso at my grocery store :vsad:). It turns the tofu a bit brown and gives it a fantastic, deep, savory flavor. I'll definitely be making it again!
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
June 2: Pathfinder day 19; CV - grocery run for veggies
June 3: Pathfinder day 20
June 6: CV - journaling session with tarot
June 7: CV - worked hard at physical therapy appointment
June 8: Pathfinder day 21; CV - food prep at midnight (my air conditioning is out, so I waited until it got cooler to start cooking for the week)

My physical therapist is a 45 minute drive away from my home, and her office is about 5 minutes away from some of my favorite shops. I also have a tendency to overspend when I'm not feeling well. The combination of 'oh, it's just around the corner' and 'I could really use a treat right now' means my wallet has taken quite a hit the past few weeks.

My solution (hopefully) is to restrict myself to just one (1) favorite shop per week, and ONLY if I do my PT exercises every day the week before. Hopefully that will keep me motivated and keep me from spending so dang much on stuff I may or may not actually need. :facepalm:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
June 9 through June 22: Pathfinder day 22-28, CV done every day

I made the mistake(?) of reorganizing my craft space last week. I found all kinds of stuff I had forgotten about! :chuckle: So of course I had to make things with all my "new" materials.
I'm proudest of the hot/cold pack specifically for my neck. I used an old dishtowel and added ribbons so I could tie it around my neck and keep my hands free. I filled it with rice, and it holds both heat and cold really well. I'll post a picture soon (if I can figure out how to get my phone to do it...:smash:)
 
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AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@MadamMeow Thank you! My physical therapist uses a velcro strap around the entire hot wrap when she does heat therapy on my neck :chuckle: I thought ribbons would be cute and useful.

June 23: Pathfinder day 29; CV - finished a history book (River of the Gods by Candice Millard. It was really, really good!)
June 25: CV - tried a new food for lunch
June 27: Pathfinder day 30; CV - made a doctor's appointment to recheck blood work

Alright, that means Pathfinder and the Counting Victories challenge are both :completed::completed:With them done, I am 2/3 of the way toward my goal for the year!:yas:

My reward is going to be an art print from Pride Knights that I've been wanting for a long time. They're also doing pre-orders for some really cool enamel pins right now, and, uh, I'm kinda obsessed:yaz: They're big, and they're sparkly, and the dragons are super cute, and I LOVE the swords. I figure if I order one the swords now, I might actually be done with Ronin's Blade by the time it ships, and it will be the perfect reward! :imp:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@NancyTree @Fremen @MadamMeow @graoumia Thank you all so much!

June 30: Ronin's Blade day 1 (let's goooooo!)
July 1: Ronin's Blade day 2
July 3: Ronin's Blade day 3 - DODGE :move:
July 4: Ronin's Blade day 4

When I told my doctor that a) I drink almost 100 oz of fluids a day - mostly green and herbal tea, and b) the tests I had done at the ER in May showed I had low potassium levels, she told me to make sure I was getting my electrolytes. So I guess I'm going to start buying SkratchLabs mixes again.

I stopped using them because I was worried about my sugar intake and they were easy to cut out of my diet. Now, though, Skratch makes a few no-sugar, Everyday Hydration mixes! I'm hoping that I can find a happy medium by using the Everyday mixes for everyday and the sweeter Sport Hydration mixes for the occasional tasty treat. :cup:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
July 7 - Ronin's Blade day 5
July 9 - Ronin's Blade day 6 - of course I saved the bear :aww:
July 10 - Ronin's Blade day 7 - underdogs, always
July 12 - Ronin's Blade day 8
July 13 - Ronin's Blade day 9

Workout track of of the week: Opening - Bombing Mission, Final Fantasy VII, from the Distant Worlds album :plot:
 

neilarey

Administrator
DAREBEE Team
Shieldmaiden from Greece
Posts: 679
"Trust The Awesomeness"
Happy Birthday!

Celebrating Happy Birthday GIF by framboisettte
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@NancyTree @Fremen @graoumia @neilarey @MadamMeow @Mamatigerj Thank you all so much! It's been a wonderful day!

July 14 - August 3: Ronin's Blade days 10 - 15

Usually I take the day off of work for my birthday, but this year I'm working the closing shift this week: four 10-hour days and a three day weekend. My weekend is Thurs. through Saturday, so I figured I'd save my PTO time and just do my birthday on Thursday this year. The art museum is doing a special exhibit on Meiji Era Japanese art this month, so I think my gift for myself this year is going to be a day at the museum. I'm looking forward to it!
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
August 4: Ronin's Blade day 16
August 5: Ronin's Blade day 17
August 6: Ronin's Blade day 18
August 10: Ronin's Blade day 19 - thanks, passing underdog!

This week the theme at my house is beans. (Not intentionally, it just kinda worked out that way.) I made cowboy beans Friday, and then I made taco soup yesterday from a recipe my mother gave me. It did not register with me that I had made two dishes that were heavy on the beans until after I made the soup. :oops: Maybe I was craving beans subconsciously? Or maybe I'm just absentminded :LOL:. Either way, they're both tasty, and a little extra fiber won't do me any harm. :nod:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
August 14: Ronin's Blade day 20

Not gonna lie, Bees, I'm not doing too great. I've had a pretty sharp uptick in pain the past week, to the point where I haven't been able to do all I need or want to do. My ankle is a lot worse, and I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon to investigate. My lower back is aching (from limping around trying to baby my ankle :mad:), and I've got tendonitis flare-ups in my wrists and elbows. So I'm cutting back on workouts to 1-2 a week until I can get my pain levels back down and going as easy as I can in each session.
And the cherry on the crap-tastic cake? I have a salivary gland infection that's causing pain when I eat and makes the left side of my mouth constantly taste of metal. :blink: I didn't even know salivary glands could get infected! (To be honest, I didn't actually know where the salivary glands are until the doctor pulled out a diagram and showed me, but I digress.) I've got antibiotics, and I've been ordered to suck on lemon drops or sour patch kids to, basically, make me drool enough to help flush out the infection :drool:I think its hilarious that my doctor's telling me to eat more candy. Yes, sir, Doc! That I can do! :LOL:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@MadamMeow @Lallafa @Fremen @NancyTree Thank you all!

Last two weeks of August: :scull: (no workouts :sad:)


Welp, guess I'll be restarting Ronin's Blade when my ankle finally gets stronger. You know it's bad when you can't even hold your stance, let alone take a step. The doctor pronounced it "Tendon Stuff" (and yes, that is a direct quote :facepalm:), gave me a steroid prescription, and sent me to the same physical therapist that works on my TMJ.

My first session was Friday, and it was ROUGH. So I decided, screw the rules, I deserved a shopping trip after that and went to the bookstore. I got The Way of the Househusband: A Gangster's Guide to Housekeeping, and it is awesome! I'm definitely trying the star anise chicken soup recipe. :soup:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
@graoumia Thank you!

September 6: Epic Arms Challenge, day 1
September 7: Epic Arms, day 2

Well, I'm going to be tending this ankle for a while, apparently. The physical therapist hasn't even started me on exercises yet; she's been focusing on getting the pain and inflammation down these first two weeks, and she said it'd probably be a couple more weeks before we could even think about trying to start building the strength back. So lower body workouts are out for the foreseeable future. :surrender:

But! I can still work my upper body, dang it, and I gotta get going if I'm gonna make my goal of 3 Challenges for the year. So I'm going to work on Epic arm Challenge now, and hopefully by the time I'm through I'll be up for the updated Foundation Light program. :worried:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
September 8-14: Epic Arms, days 3-6
September 15-21: Epic Arms, days 7-10

I've been working on thinning out my fabric stash lately. I buy a lot of fat quarters (1/4 yard lengths of pre-cut fabric that are usually pretty cheap) with cute or fun prints to make things like face masks, small purses, wallets, and fabric wraps. The good thing about fat quarters is that they come in neat squares or small rolls that don't take up much space. The bad thing is that I can collect A LOT of them before I realize it :facepalm: :LOL:. Fortunately, it only takes about an hour to make a face mask or wallet, so I can clean out the stash pretty quickly.

I'll post pictures of some finished products once I get home!
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
September 22-27: Epic Arms, days 11-14
September 29-October 4: Epic Arms, days 15-18

My cat has upped her vocalization game recently. When she comes in the room and sees me, she meows using the same two notes I use when I say "Hello!" to her. She's always done this loud back-of-the-throat thing (that sounds like 'woe') when she's mad, but now she's doing a softer, pitiful version specifically when I won't give her supper an hour early.

She's also picked up "Ta-dah!" (I say it whenever I finish putting things away - clean dishes, laundry, etc. Celebration of a job well done :LOL:) Last night she took her favorite stuffed stingray toy, dropped it neatly in her water dish, and said "Ta-dah!" Then she realized she'd get her feet wet fishing it out, so she called out "Mom!" and came running to me to rescue it for her. :fish:
 

AquaMarie

Well-known member
Paladin from Texas, USA
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 164
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."
October 6: Epic Arms, day 19
October 7: Epic Arms, day 20
October 9: Epic Arms, day 21
October 11: Epic Arms, day 22

I went to a Halloween party when I was a kid, and there was a fortune teller there. I had my fortune told, and wow, did she get it wrong (at 8 years old I was not interested in 'going steady,' like, EVER). I was determined to prove she was absolutely wrong and figure out how she could be so off base when she KNEW THE FUTURE:pose:. So being a bookish child, that meant reading every book on the subject I could get ahold of at the library.

Fast forward to the present: every week at work someone gives a presentation during our staff meeting about pretty much whatever they want, so long as it relates to our field (aquarium keeping) - part of the boss' initiative to make the meetings more worthwhile. Last week was my turn, and I decided to do something fun in honor of spooky season. So I introduced everyone to ichthyomancy: divination using fish.

Long story short: I learned a ton about ancient divination and modern day fortune-telling as a kid out of spite, and last week I taught my coworkers how to tell fortunes using fish.
The moral of the story: Never underestimate the power of spite. :devil:
 
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