#not to be cheesy but I highly recommend this exercise <3

[zerodaryls]

mindful music reblog game

when you see this post, listen to the song the reblogger put in the tags, but try to do so mindfully – whatever that means for you.

you can pay special attention to the melody, or the lyrics. you can practice empathy for the singer. you can immerse yourself in the overall Mood of the song. whatever feels most like "mindful" engagement with music to you.

then, reblog and put a song in the tags for the next person to listen to. it can be literally anything, from the serious and heart-wrenching to the lighthearted and silly. this is just an exercise in taking a few minutes to immerse yourself in the mood/emotions/story that one human (or a band of humans) wanted to share with the world.

[thisisthelifeiwant]

Wieiad when I know I can't avoid eating

I usually med to high restrict but I do less if I know I'm going to be around people who 1. make me eat and 2. know what I want to eat so I can't lie and say I don't want it

Sw - 128.8 lbs

Height - 5'4

Bmi - 22.1

Day 1 - 515

Fast - 18 hrs (highly recommend fasting to keep yourself from eating "just one bite")

Food:

White monster - 10

Sugar free mocha - 105

Cheeto puffs - 60

Homemade cheesy pasta ~ 600 I have to guess cause we don't use a recipe for it :(

Exercise:

Walking - 60

Cardio - 200

Total: 775 - 260 = 515

Day 2 - 425

Fast - 24 hrs (my longest fasting record!!!)

Food:

White monster - 10

Crystal light (bad 🤢) - 5

Cherry pepsi zero - 0

Homemade cheesy pasta leftovers ~ 600

Sips from my girlfriend's cherry limeade - 10

Exercise:

Running/walking 2.1 miles - 200

Total: 625 - 200 = 425

I use this to calculate my running and walking calories and then split the difference between 1% and 2% incline to account for running and/or being outside

Day 3 - 1235

Fast - 14 hrs

Food:

Strawberry monster - 10

Spicy chicken sandwich - 238

Cookie - 90

Fries -30

Mac and cheese - 600 my girlfriend switched our plates so i had the bigger amount :(((

Mini twix - 50

Starburst - 20

Cheeseburger - 221

Fries - 300

Sauce - 20

Diet dr pepper - 0

Exercise:

Used this but had to stop early cause my mom got home and burpees make too much noise on the second floor :/

30 push-ups - 12

60 sec arm circles - 10

30 burpees- 13

35 squats - 12

40 jumping jacks - 17

1 min wall sit - 5

10 min tiny waist pilaties - 75

Work - 200

Total: 1579 - 344 = 1235

Day 4 - 1690

Okay so I not only started my period this day but it was also my gf and I's one year anniversary so don't judge me too harshly

Food:

One belvita thing - 115

Most of a cheeseburger - 250

Soft pretzel - 400

Cheeto puffs - 140

Tiny bit of funnel cake - 30

Chocolate icecream cone (it was free :D) - 400

Iced mocha - 400

Diet cherry limeade - 5

Cheddar bites - 320

Pretzel twist (can you tell I like pretzels) - 250

Bite of my gf's food - 30

Exercise:

Walking - 200

Jumping - 350

Playing tetherball (I cut my hand open 😔) - 100

Total: 2340 - 650 = 1690

Day 5 (final day) - 1737

I went to the city with my gf (hour and a half away) and we went and got so much food and I didn't realize how many calories were in all of it :(

Food:

Cinnamon roll donut - 280

Pepsi zero cherry - 0

Wings - 409

Mozzarella sticks - 260

Pepsi zero - 0

Boba - 528 (why so much 😭😭😭)

Pizza - 500

Bread sticks - 300

Cinnamon sticks - 300

Coke zero - 0

Exercise:

Walking - 570

Total: 2307 - 570 = 1737

End stats

Ew - 130.4 lbs

Bmi - 22.3

Honestly, I was worried it was gonna be so much worse so I'm not too upset about the 1.5 lb gain. I can work that off in no time, tho I really wish I didn't get that boba now that I know how many calories are in it :((

[confusedlamp]

Mental Health Strategies

I have dealt with various mental health BS (anxiety, depression, ADHD), and while I haven't gotten it all figured out, I have been dealing with it for well over a decade now. I figured I would make a list of coping mechanisms that have helped me and are worth trying out if you haven't already. None of these things are “magic” (just try this and your brain will be all fixed!),  and obviously not applicable in all situations. I mostly learned these via therapy or from other people struggling with mental illness. This also may or may not be to help me have a list of things written down for when I forget. 

Putting this below a keep reading thing because this got long FAST: 

For depression funks:

-Find a small task you can complete. Wash a dish, throw clothes in the hamper, take out the trash, etc. Something small.

-Take a shower. And try changing clothes. Even if it's in to some pajamas. If you aren't up to showering, try washing your face and maybe wiping down with a wipe. But a change of clothes will still feel better.

-Eat something. Doesn't have to be "healthy." Some food, no matter what it is, is better than no food.

-Can you get outside? Doesn't have to be to excercise. Just sitting on the front steps for a few minutes in the sun.

-Doing something to take care of yourself. Can you brush your teeth? Have a glass of water? Brush your hair? Just pick one thing and so it.

-Plan something. See if you can get a friend to meet you to hang out (or zoom) or maybe for dinner. For yourself, maybe find a movie to go see (post pandemic). Preferably find something that has a set time.

For panics:

- Square breathing. Breathe in for 5, hold for 5, breath out for 5, hold for 5. Repeat.

-There are a ton of meditations on youtube. Search "5 minute meditation" and you'll find a ton of videos.

-After the initial panic is over try calling a friend. If you can't for some reason (sometimes it's 3 am or your friend isn't available), try finding some cat videos on youtube. I highly recommend Cole and Marmalade. Something light that will get your brain on something else.

For Executive Dysfunction:

-Remove steps to putting things away. For awhile in school, I would have a mess of papers that weren't organized or put away because I was trying to use a binder. As silly as it sounds, having to neatly align paper holes or got find a place to punch those holes, would prevent me from putting things away. So I switched to folders. Suddenly I stopped losing things and my papers were organized.

-Bullet journaling. Or rather, I just have a little notebook where I put all my to do lists, grocery lists, project planning, brainstorming, etc. I don't properly Bullet Journal (TM) but I keep all my lists in one spot and it helps.

-To do lists in general. Writing out steps to get something done. Cross things out when you finish them. You get a better sense of accomplishment.

-When executive dysfunction is preventing you from getting out of bed, break it down. Step one, sit up. Step 2, swing legs over side. Step 3 stand up.

-Same with any task. If it seems too overwhelming or you just can't bring yourself to do it, it might be because you are looking at all the steps and feeling it's too much. So just think about the first one.

-Alarms and reminders. I put everything on a calendar in my phone. Google Calendar allows you to set a reminder for events days, weeks, hours, and minutes ahead. You can also set alarms for things like "I know I need to leave at 3 for the appointment, so I am going to set an alarm for 2:45 to start getting ready." Do not rely on yourself to look at the clock. YOU WILL NOT LOOK AT THE CLOCK IN TIME.

-Set the dang alarm clock across the room. That way, you gotta get out of bed to turn it off. Once out of bed, go take any meds, or if you don’t have meds, go do a small morning task. Usually doing this small task is enough to get me awake enough to not get back into bed. If I do, well, at least I have taken my meds. 

Sensory Issues:

- Fitted sweat pants and hiking pants. I can’t stand tight clothing, but I want to look presentable. Sweatpants that taper can still look decent. Travel pants or hiking pants (you can find these at places like REI), basically look like slacks but are made out of stretchy material. They also usually are made out of quick dry material which is nice. 

-Fidget and sensory toys. I really like hedgehog rings which have these little spikes on them I can run my thumb over. Also the tangle. I have a tangle that has a rubber coating that has little bumps on it. What you end up liking might differ, but those are two of my favorite. Also, if anyone gives you shit about these, you can explain “it’s sorta like a stress ball, but instead you [whatever you do with this fidget toy].” 

-Ear plugs. I wear these a lot because I have particular issues with sounds, especially certain ones. I prefer either silicone gummy ones or I like these that are “slim” because they don’t make my ears hurt. You can also get musician ear plugs that are made for musicians to protect their hearing, but still be able to hear tones and what is going on, for when sound is simply too load (also good for concerts). 

For General ADHD things: 

-Work somewhere different. This is a bit limited due to the pandemic currently, but just working at the kitchen table instead of your bedroom can help. In college, I used to go to the library to work. Just the idea that I was going to someplace specific to do a specific task, helped me actually get started. 

-Promise yourself that you will work for 10 minutes. Set an alarm if needed. Usually just starting will make the task seem less intimidating. If 10 minutes is too much, do 5. 

-Cardio. Get your self moving. This is good for a lot of things, but I highly recommend it for before you have to sit down to work on a task, like school work. I personally run, but if that’s not your thing dance, a class, walking, biking, etc. Just whatever you like. 

-Time dependent things are good to get yourself going. Again, this is limited by the pandemic, but for normal times, can you meet a friend for breakfast? Can you schedule your appointment so you have to get to it before you start work? When I was in college, I used to go to morning gym classes before my first class of the day. This got me up and if I was 5 minutes late, it was better to do that for a gym class than a physics class. Bonus because it was exercise and I could focus better on the class. 

-In classes, try to find a notes buddy or study group. That way, if you zoned out a moment, you can ask them for the notes from that section and vice versa. Also, meeting up with them is a great way to have a set time to study. 

For General Anxiety/ Depression: 

-This is going to sound cheesy as fuck, but: Make a list for what you are good at. Things you like about yourself. Things you have accomplished. They don’t have to be super deep, but can be. Do you like your nose? Can you paint your nails well? Are you good at understanding your cat? Are you good at writing? Drawing? Did you overcome a bad test and still manage to pass a class?  If you have a friend or significant other that you are comfortable with, ask them to help maybe. Keep this list for when you feel like shit. 

-Yoga. I’m sorry to put this on here because it seems like the most neurotypical advice, but. I honestly love this shit. If you haven’t given it a shot, there’s a reason why people like it. You don’t have to belong to a gym to try it. I highly recommend Yoga with Adrienne. She has some great beginner videos. 

-Take breaks from social media and news as needed. Seriously. You are a single person and can’t fix everything. Do what you can (share the information, make a donation, join in mutual aid efforts, etc.) but doom scrolling and obsessing won’t help anyone. If you won’t do it for yourself, consider that burning yourself out will make you unable to help later on. 

-Create things. They don’t have to be amazing. Crocheting, knitting, drawing, writing, etc. Having something that you can look at and be like “I made that” is really satisfying. Youtube has some great tutorials for pretty much anything. For drawing, I really like Proko. He has some great videos on drawing faces. But again: IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE GOOD. 

General Resources/ Advice:

-If you are currently in college, most campuses will have groups for counseling and even limited one on one sessions. Usually, these counseling groups are free and the one on one sessions can help you find a counselor nearby. 

-How to ADHD. Seriously I love this youtube channel. She goes over how ADHD affects the brain and has seriously helped me understand it better. 

-The Trevor Project. For LGBTQ teens and youth. They have a hotline and many other resources.  

-If what is stopping you from getting therapy is the idea that you are being dramatic/ are not that bad/ others have it worse: Go get therapy. What are we going to do, find the one person who has it the worst off than anyone and only they are allowed to feel bad and get help? Screw that. Get some help. 

-Remember that there are good things in your future. Where ever you are in life, you have something positive in your future, even if you don’t know it yet. One day, there will be a moment when you look back on the dark times and be so glad you didn’t give up. 

-Obligatory: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/  (1-800-273-8255). This is national suicide prevention lifeline, for the US. They can help. 

-https://www.crisistextline.org/ For when you don’t like phone calls, try texting instead. Has US, Canada, UK, and Ireland numbers. 

[sandalaris]

10 for 10 for 10

I’ve been tagged by @yossariandawn Thanks for thinking of me! and for all the great questions! (and sorry it took so long. I had a hard time thinking of 10 questions of my own.)

Answer 10 questions, ask 10 questions, tag 10 people.

1. If you could learn a new skill instantly, what would you choose? I’m not sure. I think that if it’s a skill you really enjoy than taking the time to learn becomes part of the enjoyment, so it’d have to be a skill I either only kind of wanted or that I felt was a need over a want. Oo, MMA, good exercise and the ability to defend myself or someone else if I ever need to, and it’s not something I feel really passionately about going through the process of learning.

2. What part of the world (that you’ve never been to) would you choose to live in for a month? Hyère, France. Don’t even have to think about it. About eight years ago I was planning a move and it was on the short list of places I was considering going to. The climate seemed the most ideal to what I wanted to live in and all the pictures were beautiful. 

3. Favorite kind of sandwich or wrap? Grilled cheese? I don’t like sandwiches (or wraps) typically.

4. Show swap! Bring back 3 shows you love, but you also have to choose 3 you like to cancel instead. Oo, gotta think about this one. I don’t want to bring back a show that was already past its peak and I don’t want to say to cancel a show that isn’t ready to end.

Cancel: (I stuck only with shows that I watch and enjoy so I’m not digging at any show just because it’s not my personal preference)

NCIS – I love the show, seen every last episode and will continue watching it until the end, but it’s time for it to wrap up. It well past its prime.

Lucifer – Listen, I love this show, and there’s a ton of great characters and material here to make a long running series, but they have started going in circles with it and that’s making it feel old. How many times can the same characters learn the same lessons before it just feels like the writers are just forcing things back into the same ol’ mold? Let the story grow or move on.

Shameless – It’s a stretch because the finale season has already been declared, but it’s a show that I don’t really need that finale season, even if I will watch and enjoy it, because it’s reached its natural end.

Bring back:

From Dusk till Dawn: the series – I debated on this one. It wrapped everything up so nicely and I’m quite happy with how it ended, but at the same time the writers had plans for the next season and it was never officially cancelled and there’s so much more story that could be told.

Firefly – Although it’s been enough time that it might have to be more of a reboot maybe? Or are we doing the impossible and it’s coming back shortly after it was canceled? Either way, that show was cancelled way too soon.

The Gifted – Yes, it was a bit cheesy but it’s just as good, if not better than, a lot of the comicbook shows still going AND it ended on a cliffhanger. It needed to continue

5. What fandom would you want to get into, but haven’t yet? I don’t know. I feel like I don’t exactly pick my fandoms. I start watching a show or go see a movie or read a book and then if I feel like looking up fandom stuff after I do.  

6. What show or movie do you watch to cheer you up? Probably Community. It’s a good show that has that nice balance of being a ridiculous comedy, but not too silly at the same time. And it hits so many of my favorite tropes. (Leverage could also count.)

7. Favorite condiments? ….salt? That’s technically a seasoning, but I am not a condiment fan. They are mostly gross and just cover up the flavor the food with their grossness.

8. What characters (from different universes) do you think would love hanging out together? Pick as many as you want. I wrote for fun a Kisa (FDtD) and Troy (Community) scene and discovered I really like them interacting (there was other people in the scene, but they stole all my attention in a matter of moments). They connected in a weird way and I loved writing Kisa’s bizarre and confused reactions to Troy. Britta (Community) and Richie (FDtD) would get along well I think. They’d click in that odd way that Richie has with random people and Britta would be a little too oblivious to Richie’s more social flaws/creepy nature, as is her way when it comes to guys with even the tiniest bit of charm and intelligence. Not gonna lie, I kind of ship them now.

I would also put Shawn from Psych with the entire Leverage crew. Sophie is the only one I feel would find him a bit much at times, mainly because she can spot a grift a mile away and Shawn’s kind of always “on” and think it would mess with her trust issues too much for her to be entirely comfortable around him. Nate sees his potential, especially if Shawn’s been brought in to help on a job, and the guy is ultimately one of the Good Guys, and he would go a long way to helping put Sophie at ease. Because Nate’s too smart to be taken in by someone like Shawn and Sophie wouldn’t feel like she’s the only one who sees him for the conartist he is. Eliot would groan and grumble for show, but in the end Shawn’s like a combination of  his two favorite people in the world; Parker and Hardison. Plus, I headcanon Shawn and Eliot as cousins. I think Hardison might find Shawn a little too like himself to ever be best buddies with the guy, but overall they’d get along just fine. As for Parker... I feel like they’d be almost like two kids on the playground who both found out they like the same obscure cartoon none of the other kids have seen. 

I have a little headcanon about Parker (Leverage) and Clint Barton (MCU) having been in the same foster home as kids and having this kind of a past-sibling-esque connection. I like to think that with both their careers they don’t meet up often, but whenever they realize they are in the same place at the same time, it’s a given that they’ll hang out while there.

My roommate keeps yelling over my shoulder Starlord and Micheal (from the movie starring John Travolta) until I agreed to put them. They would get along in a weird sort of fun way that would be fun to watch but hard to be a part of, but since I haven’t see that movie since I was a kid it’s not one I think of.

9. What’s the most underrated show or movie or book or artist that you love and people should really check out?

Ilona Andrews is an amazing author and more people should check their works out. But the most underrated show I think I’ve ever gotten into… honestly would probably be From Dusk till Dawn. I feel like most of my followers are at least aware of it though because I post enough about it, but it was just really good and sort of cut off before its time. A really close second would be Leverage. It’s still the number one show I recommend when people ask me and I just adore it to pieces.

10. What were you obsessed with as a kid?

So many things, but probably Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin the most. Pretty sure I named more than one stuffed animal after her.

My questions:

1.      What was your first fandom? Are you still a part of it?

2.      Current self care method(s)?

3.      What are three (3) shows you keep meaning to binge watch but haven’t yet?

4.      Do you stay active in fandoms after a new one catches your eye, or are you more a one at a time person?

5.      What was the last movie you saw with someone else? What would you rate it?

6.      Favorite guilty pleasure?

7.      What’s a highly underrated show/movie/book series that you would recommend?

8.      Any new hobbies you’ve started during quarantine? Any you want to start?

9.      What meme do you wish would just die already?

10.  Spread the love to your followers and post at least one link to a fic you’re reading/have read/wish to read/you’ve written yourself/etc. 

I tag: @shyesplease @valeskaj @ithoughtiwasflying @c-sand @mygutsforgarters @bethanyactually @crystallinee-waters @evanberries @nevergonnabemuchmorethanweather @katwithlove and anyone else who wants to do answer! Seriously, I love having people respond even if I didn’t tag someone. 

[etudaire]

A big bang of “how to” stuff

There I was again tonight forcing laughter faking smiles so I made up this long ass post for y'all!

So you a potato. Me a potato. World conquered by we potatoes. But potato need survival tips. So your brotato (get it? Bro potato?) help you out. Yay potato. Go go potato.

Study related stuff :

1. Get good grades

Catch concepts, not chapters. Your portion is most likely gonna be super vast, so it’s helpful to know a little something from every chapter rather than knowing just 50% of your syllabus.

Figure out which concepts are important and master them.

Keep all assignments completed at least 1 day before submission date. This isn’t always possible but trust me if you do this you’re guaranteeing marks for proper submission. Job done early? Proof check and add touches to enhance that essay!

Let the teachers know that you’re working hard. I actually passed math because my math teacher knew I was working super hard on my math skills. Participate in the class, gather a bunch of doubts and then dump them on your teacher when the chapter ends.

Try not to miss lectures because chances are you’ll remember that silly mnemonic your friend made up in class and get the answer correct.

Analysis of your exam type is super important. Want me to make a long ass post about it?

2. Be more productive

Having a stuydjo/bujo by your side helps hella lot.

Plan plan plan. Lists, organise lists and colour code them. Basically become Monica Geller Bing and you’re set for life.

Motivational quotes from pinterest almost make me guilty for not being productive and force me to do something.

Before starting your study session, dance around to upbeat music for like 5 minutes. You’ll see the difference I promise.

Seek out inspiration from your smart friends /tumblr friends /people you look up to by constantly reminding yourself about them. I always think of hermione granger because even randomly picturing her with books in my mind ignites that badass boss feeling complying me to study tf up.

3. Manage your time

Studyjo/bujo saves your life.

Wear a watch all the damn time, it will remind you of how much time you’re spending doing nothing. You’ll end up saving several extra minutes!

List out what you’re gonna do every hour of the day on a sticky note and refer to it when you feel lazy.

Get a super nice friend /parent /sibling who will constantly remind you to utilise your time.

Think of time as currency and pretend that it’s all a game where you need to save up as much money as you can to become a billionaire. Save up your time and become rich af.

4. Avoid procrastinating

Stduyjo/bujo again. You know the drill now.

A little bit of exercise before starting work generally works you up and sets the correct mood.

Knowing how ahead your friends are from you often makes you wanna catch up so try getting that motivation.

Set goals + rewards that actually matter to you. Maybe a face care spa day isn’t your thing but munching on a snickers bar is. Treat yo self.

Tell someone a detailed plan of what you are going to accomplish the next day. Now whenever you see that person you’ll want to prove to them that you’re doing what you promised. Or the guilt may drive you too.

Appearance related stuff :

1. Look more put together

Try the lipstick trick. There are days when you do not have the time /want to put on makeup, so just put on a lipstick that matches your outfit and you’ll automatically create an illusion of being more put together, boss af and fabulous.

Try out cheap (potato can’t afford sorry) but elegant accessories. If it’s a necklace try tucking it under the collar of your shirt and see the magic. Stick to one staple accessory that’s gonna be your trademark.

Tame that mane potato. Your hair isn’t gonna detangle itself. You gotta do it. I mean, don’t you love your hair?

Minimalistic colours rock. Some outfits never go old like flannels or white shirts or black dresses.

2. Feel beautiful

The lipstick does the trick for me.

Putting my hair in a sky high ponytail makes me feel like I’m a queen or something.

Save little compliments for yourself as reminders and when you get them you’ll feel 10x more beautiful than before.

Mind related stuff :

1. Deal with burnout/slump

Try to accomplish super tiny stuff. Break down every task into micromolecular basics.

Give yourself a ted talk. It works.

Sometimes the best way of dealing with burnout is by detoxing from the thing that caused burnout. Stay away form books and after some time you’ll actually want to study.

2. Study with slumps/mental illness

Step one is to finish homework /assignments. If you can concentrate on them, you’re good to go.

Do not take up a lot of load, just skimming through textbooks, reviewing notes, going over flashcards should do the trick.

If you desperately need to get shit done, just ignore the fact that you do not want to do it. It’s harsh on your mind but desperate times require desperate measures.

Avoid forcing yourself to study because you’ll not retain info like that.

Take it easy. But consistently. Maybe just one topic a day. But do not miss a day. A steady everyday practice goes long way in the future.

3. Strengthen self control

There are several apps that can help you with this, like forest. My top pick is the Tide app which has a gorgeous interface and super aesthetic timers with new pictures everyday. I shit you not every time I quit my pomodoro I feel the guilt of having killed 1000 puppies its worse and I avoid doing that at all costs.

If you study in your room, keep your phone in the kitchen for some time. Your lazy ass is less likely to get up and use the phone.

Switching the phone off before starting a study session works because I care for my phone like a baby and it feels horrible to switch it on and off and on and off.

Practice 30 minutes of digital detox everyday. You don’t have to study at that time, just stay away from everything that is technology. Read and book, eat a fruit, make a sandwich, paint, sing, dance, exercise. Study if you want. Just no gadgets.

4. Deal with stress

Yoga works. Potato body ain’t that flexible so just breathing exercises for a start is also enough.

Highly recommended : brain dump every night before sleeping can ensure that you’ll not stay up too late pondering over the meaning of your existence and world politics.

Having a hearty talk with someone you trust will also lift weight off your chest.

Pin point the cause of your stress and annihilate the problem. Slay it.

Life related stuff :

1. Drink more water

Carry a cool ass bottle of water with you every frigging where.

Make it a rule to have a drink everytime you go to the loo or you take a bath /shower.

Replace one of your daily caffeines /sugars with water. You don’t have to get rid of coffee because that’s just non potato ish, but maybe that third cup could be replaced with water.

Try a game thingy. Maybe everytime the word ‘procrastination’ pops in your mind take a drink. Wow, I’m so creative *sighs for eternities*.

2. Be more healthy

5 minute stretches right after getting up works you up.

Try one of those YouTube videos of 15 minute workouts. You can have 3 such workouts through the day and call yourself a fit potato.

Replacing one packet of junk food with nuts/fruits also works.

Everytime you hear someone say something related to money, have a banana. Random much? Nope, bananas are known to increase hormones that make you happy in your body, meaning you’ll feel full and happy. Maybe offer the person a banana too.

3. Be more happy

Eat bananas!

Take pictures of things you love, not things your followers love.

Puppies are a source of eternal joy.

Reading goofy/cheesy/romance books make you giggle and feel good in general.

Watching cheesy films or good ass romcoms works just well.

Friends was created for a reason.

Writing down what you accomplished today gives a sense of pride and satisfaction. Take that shit.

Tumblr has shitposts made basically to make you happy.

4. Find your true calling /figuring tf out what you wanna do with your life

Lists lists lists. Subjects you love, you hate, you’re good at, you suck at.

Consulting your teachers, family etc and find out what they think you’re good at. Sometimes other people can see traits of yours better than you.

Career tests rock.

You’ll figure it out in the end somehow.

And that’s about it for now folks, hope this helps. See y'all laterz~

Etudaire ♥

[wolfricivarrwitchythings]

13 Goals of a Witch: Goals #10 and #11

Goal #10: Breathe and Eat Correctly

If there is one goal that many MANY of us struggle with, it would be this one. On nearly a constant basis, we’re fed loads of information about what is good for you, bad for you, and there is an endless supply of different diets and such that promise to help you lose weight and....

It’s exhausting.

Listen: Here is the absolute truth. It is 100% ok to have a little pudge on you. In early times (middle ages mostly, if I recall my history correctly) rich people often had a little bit more weight to them because they showed the world that they were eating well. 

That being said, let me share a few things that have helped me to feel better about what I have been eating:

1) More fruits and veggies! The more natural your diet is, the better you will feel and the closer to the divine you will be. For me, I have a strictly vegetarian diet because I feel that is how I can better allow the energy in my body to flow, and how I can best honor the divine. Some people don’t need that, and that’s ok! Best recommended health tip I can offer to none vegetarians/vegans- make about 80% of your diet fruits and veggies. Also remember: Raw is better than cooked in most cases. 

2) Make it colorful! Along with consuming more fruits and veggies, having a lot of color on your plate can help you feel healthier and more in tune with nature/the divine/your magick. Different colors in different fruits and veggies provide different nutritional values. Like this:

Red - lycopene found in tomatoes, watermelon, & pink grapefruit Orange - beta carotene found in carrots, mangoes, & cantaloupe Yellow - beta cryptothanxin found in pineapple, oranges, & peaches Green - indoles found in broccoli, cabbage, & kale Purple - anthocyanins found in blueberries, grapes, eggplant & cherries White – allicin found in garlic, onions, & chives

Consuming a variety of colorful fruits and veggies is also a great source of antioxidants!

3) Drink LOTS of water! But obviously not too much. Most people actually have a certain amount of water that they need specific to your body. Why? Because different body types have different amounts of blood running through their veins! Drinking water is like the body’s lube. Car can’t run without engine oil, right? Well, your body can’t run and, more specifically, carry all of those nutrients throughout your body if it doesn’t have water! Pro-tip: If you’re not a fan of the flavor of water, which can be kind of bland, use water-flavoring drops like Mio or Dasani Drops or Crystal Light Liquid. They’re all 0 calorie so feel free to be liberal with the amount of “drops” you put in. Lol

Honestly, I could go on and on about this subject. Really, eating healthier is a matter of doing your research and trying different things. Eventually you’ll find what works for you! Eating that is calibrated to your body will help you feel better, help the energy your body uses on a daily basis flow better, and will put you more in touch with your magick. 

For your convenience, I created a Dropbox folder with my diet plan in it. The diet comes from the University of Michigan, who did a wonderful job with their information! I can’t seem to find the info on their page anymore though...

Goal #11: Exercise the Body!

Everyone knows how important it is to exercise. Being active is an important factor in our health! The healthier the body, the better our energies flow and the more access we have to our magick. 

But, if you’re like me, you struggle to feel motivated to exercise on a daily basis. Here is one thing that is important to remember: You don’t have to have an entire exercise regime and go to the gym to be active. Here are a few tips:

1) Download Pokemon Go! I know this sounds cheesy as hell, but seriously... when you’re concentrating on catching Pokemon, it is so much easier to go for a walk! It’ll feel more like a pastime than exercise. Brilliant on their part, I think. Plus, you have to walk to hatch your eggs! Haha

2) Take your fur babies on walks! When I was younger, I would walk literally everywhere for hours. Walking for me is one of the most therapeutic forms of exercise. So, grab that leash, plug in some headphones, and go walk for a little while.

3) Subscribe to podcasts! There are literally thousands of podcasts out there on virtually any subject you can think of. It is excellent for entertainment while engaging in any physical activity and, it’s free. Here are some good ones I think my peeps will enjoy.

True Crime Garage: Although not really witchy, I love a good mystery. True Crime garage offers a weekly show that is sometimes multiple parts long and offers amazing amounts of detail and conversation to the show. Highly recommend for any of you true crime lovers!

Lore: I love this podcast so much! Lore talks about myths and legends from around the world and delves into those stories. The author and host Aaron Mahnke does an excellent job telling the stories and, with help from his research assistants, creates compelling and fact-based stories that are just absolutely riveting!

The Jenna & Julien Podcast: If you’re like me, who is a huge fan or Jenna Mourey (aka Jenna Marbles) and her funny YouTube videos, then you’ll love the podcast. It’s basically her and her long time boyfriend Julien Solomita just shooting the shit. Sometimes they play entertaining games, talk about sports, TV shows, or (little known fact) conspiracy theories! I’m a sucker for a good conspiracy theory. 

Those three are like the staples of my podcast listening experience. But, like I said, there are THOUSANDS of podcasts out there! Also, in the future (hopefully soonish future) I will also be releasing a Podcast! 

If you’re not sure where to get access to Podcasts, here is a short list of apps:

Stitcher

Spreaker

The native Podcasts App on iPhone

Google Podcasts on Android

SIDENOTE: Maybe I’ll try and do a little research to find Witchy Podcasts for you folks and do a post about that soon. 

Of course, there are lots of ways to keep yourself motivated to get out and be active! Go for a nature walk! Go swimming, play night games, pick up yoga- whatever! Just try your best to do something active everyday for at least 30 minutes a day. And please PLEASE remember that you do not have to run or lift weights or do anything that is normally considered “exercise” to be active. And, as witches, it’d best to do your activity outside in the fresh air!

Trust me, being active will literally invigorate you! Your goal doesn’t have to be “lose weight” or “gain muscle” is that’s not your thing. The purpose of the exercise in this instance is for better health, better flow of energy in the body, and better connection to your magick and therefore the divine. Another benefit of eating right and being active is that it will help to ground and center you as well as help to relieve anxiety and depression!

Sorry this one was long! Hopefully it was informative and motivating! Now, find your center and eat your fruits and veggies Mi Maripositas!

And remember, go check out my online store to show support for the blog!

[beforeandafterweightloss]

Dana submitted: 

 Height: 5’4”

Starting weight: 157 lbs

Ending weight: 134.2 lbs

Weight lost: 22.8 lbs

Total time: 366 days (June 22nd 2016 to June 20th 2017)

Strategy: To start, I’m a realist. I’ve tried a lot of gimmicky diets in the past, but it took swallowing some hard truths before I eventually learned that nothing in life is really magic. If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. That is especially true in the world of fat loss. The truth is, it’s really not as complicated as people’s struggles with it and 1000+ ways of going about it would have you believe. What it comes down to is: 1) maintain a large enough caloric deficit for enough time for your body to burn the fat you want it to burn. 2) Do step 1 in a way that is sustainable for you, and wherever possible, don’t do things you hate. The good news, is that everyone (yes, everyone) can do it. All it takes is setting a realistic goal, taking it one day at a time, and being real with yourself, adjusting your behavior as needed. The bad news is that it’s really hard, because your body hates losing fat every bit as much as you want to be less fat. That means you are often, essentially fighting yourself. However, as someone who has never successfully lost and kept off fat before this year, and who never really believed long term fat loss was going to happen, I am here to promise you, you can do it. However, I also promise you that it won’t happen by magic.

Specifics: I used the Lose it! app to track my calories and weight loss progress, although any weight loss app that allows you to track calories and weight will work. The graph below my pictures shows what my weight loss looked like in more detail. I started out eating a NET 1600 calories a day, about 500 calories below my maintenance level, and by the end was eating a net 1500 calories a day (since once you lose weight, your maintenance level changes as well). By “net” calories, I mean that if I worked out and burned 200 calories, my new limit for that day would be 1700 (1700-200 = 1500). Lose it! makes doing this easy, since it automatically subtracts any exercise calories you enter from your calories consumed.

Sustainable weight loss does not happen in a week, or two weeks, or six (unlike what many weight loss programs would have you believe). It takes months of starting once again every time you fail, taking two steps forward and one step back. However, successfully losing weight requires having a plan that is sustainable over indefinite periods of time. In other words, if you can’t see yourself doing whatever it is you are doing now for the forseeable future, then ask yourself: what happens when your program ends? What happens when you stop dieting? My advice to those of you who want to lose weight: net calories (however many your body burns and however many you consume) is the only direct cause of fat loss. Other diets can be successful by indirectly leading to a caloric deficit, leading your body to burn fat (and some muscle) for fuel. However, the most direct path, caloric control, will always be the most powerful way for you to control your own progress.

Here are my tips:

1. Put yourself in charge of your caloric deficit. Think of it as a literal budget, where every calorie is a dollar and your weekly limit (daily limit x7) is your weekly spending budget. Act as if you don’t HAVE any other dollars to spend, so whatever you decide to eat must fit within that limit.

2. Remember: Maintaining a large enough caloric deficit over a large enough period of time is the ONLY direct way to lose fat. Every other weight loss strategy you see out there only succeeds by virtue of this fact – by virtue of indirectly causing a deficit to happen (e.g. by making you go to the gym more, having you eat more vegetables, which are low in calories, drinking more water, etc.) Therefore, I find that directly controlling calories in and calories out is the most powerful way of controlling your own fat loss progress. So: however else you go about your fat loss strategy, protect your deficit. If that deficit goes away, your hard-won progress will stop. And, if you get cocky and you go too far in the other direction, either accidentally or intentionally creating a caloric surplus, you’ll undo progress. It happened to me at least four or five times over the past year, where I accidentally was counting my exercise calories twice, or underestimating the amount of calories I was eating. If that happens to you, it’s okay. Just be honest with yourself. If you fall down, brush yourself off and get back up again.

3. Measure food by weight where possible (it is much more reliable than eyeballing with a measuring cup). Use apps like Lose it! which has nutrient / calorie information for hundreds of thousands of foods, and lets you scan barcodes with your phone directly. Make life easier on yourself wherever possible.

4. Weigh yourself consistently—hold yourself accountable to your average weekly weight, as evidence of whether or not your actions are working. If you aren’t happy with your weight loss progress after three weeks, one of three things is happening: you are eating more than you think you are. You are burning less than you think you are. Or your personal deficit (in – out) needs to be larger than you think it does, in order to get the rate of progress that you want.

5. Have reasonable expectations about your rate of weight loss. You will not burn 50 pounds of fat in two months. That is simply unsustainable. If you make your daily calorie deficit too ambitious, you’ll get hungry, your body and brain will trick you into thinking that you are starving (even though you likely aren’t, barring a food disorder), and you WILL sabotage yourself. Remember, your brain runs on food, too, so if you starve it, you will get stupid, and you need to stay smart to get lean. A 250-500 calorie deficit a day is what worked best for me, and is what I personally recommend for someone of my weight. However, exact caloric deficits should be based on percent body weight. I highly recommend the advice over at aweightlossroutine.

6. If you have a binge day, RECORD IT ANYWAY. Don’t let yourself think “Oh, well, it was a party/feast/holiday/binge day and I know I ate a ton, so tracking is just going to make me depressed. What will knowing how badly I went over my daily limit help me?” Actually, it will help you a lot, for at least two reasons. One, it will give you a ton of data about which foods tend to send you over while partying (perhaps alcohol? Cheesy dips?) so that next time you can limit those and only those foods which are most calorically dense (limit—don’t eliminate! Eating calorie dense foods strategically is one of the most important tools in my arsenal for making my own personal weight loss work). Two, tracking binge days will tell you exactly HOW many calories you’ve eliminated from your precious long-term caloric deficit, which you’ve been building over a period of weeks and months. Calculate how much less you’ll have to eat over the next week to get a sense of how that day impacted the rest of your progress (so if you ate over your limit by 400 calories, you’ll need to eat roughly 60 calories less a day for the next week to make up for it. Alternatively, you’ll need to eat 100 fewer calories a day for four out of the seven, etc. etc.)

🤳 Submit your own before and after pictures to be featured on this blog 📸 New Motivational Instagram: stepup365

[terselylove]

30 Tips For Falling Asleep When You’re Worried About Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow

1. Cheesy as it is, watch Bob Ross painting videos on Youtube. He makes me feel safe and secure. I love falling asleep to the funny stories he tells about his paintings.

He calms me down a lot when I’m feeling anxious or upset (which is mainly the reason I stay up) and I can drift off dreaming about happy little clouds and trees, and a river that Bob fishes in.

2. It’s kinda weird but stick a block of ice in your mouth and just lie in bed. As it melts it’s kinda like your consciousness melts with it.

3. The Spotify “Sleep” playlist; I put it through the Google Home Mini, lay back, close my eyes, and within about 10 minutes I’m drifting off!

4. Take a quick, hot, shower. It really helps you relax and makes you tired.

5. I learned to fall asleep by daydreaming.

Simple enough, but I had to adopt certain rules around it.

Don’t daydream about realistic things. That camping trip I’m planning for the weekend? That’s off limits. Anything centered around my real life is off limits.

Why? because that opens to the door to anxiety and overthinking those events. I become invested in making sure they go a certain way and that keeps me awake at night.

The same rule applies to people. Nobody I know. Because if I build the habit around people I spend time with it becomes: “Wait, should I have said that thing I said last week? I don’t think they liked that, oh gawd they hate me now.” I don’t want to be overthinking my real world relationships. I don’t really do that when I’m awake and alert, but I certainly do when I’m exhausted and not thinking straight.

So blast off in a tardis, go explore the moon, be a superhero. Or super spy. Explore some alien worlds and then the matrix and then escape the zombie apocalypse to sip martinis on the beaches of jurassic park. If I’m really struggling to fall asleep it helps to imagine scenarios where you’re physically exhausted.

6. I just put my pillow on the other side of the bed and for some reason this has worked since I was a child just turning around.

7. Focusing on my breathing. Breath in is one, breath out is two and so on. Get to ten and start again. If my attention drifts bring it back to breathing.

8. The military sleep procedure.

Here’s how to do it:

Relax the muscles in your face, including tongue, jaw and the muscles around the eyes.

Drop your shoulders as far down as they’ll go, followed by your upper and lower arm, one side at a time.

Breathe out, relaxing your chest followed by your legs, starting from the thighs and working down.

You should then spend 10 seconds trying to clear your mind before thinking about one of the three following images:

You’re lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing but a clear blue sky above you.

You’re lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room.

You say “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” to yourself over and over for about 10 seconds.

The technique is said to work for 96 percent of people after six weeks of practice.

9. White noise, such as rain sounds.

10. I’m kinda shocked no one said Sleep With Mepodcast. I used to have terrible nights not being able to sleep due to stress and anxiety, but Dearest Scooter’s dulcet tones and superfluous tangents (his words not mine) have definitely helped me to fall asleep. It’s the best podcast I never remember listening to, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

11. I have imaginary conversations with fictional characters. Sometimes I vent or ask for advice/guidance, sometimes I give it. Sometimes I antagonize them. Sometimes I’m a ‘character’ in their ‘universe’, part of their story. Sometimes I’m still me but I got stuck in their universe somehow. Sometimes I appear early in their story and have foreknowledge of their adventures and meticulously plan out how to minimize their tragedies. Eventually I’m dreaming.

12. Exercise. If you burned a reasonable amount of calories at any point today, your body is gonna sleep well.

13. I learned a trick recently that helps me a lot.

I count backwards from 99. SLOWLY.

The key is to do it slowly, and I cannot emphasize the importance of that enough. Think the number, then take a pause that feels a little bit too long before thinking the next number, then take another pause.

99… pause…

98… pause…

97… pause…

96… pause…

The lowest I’ve ever counted is into the 60s or maybe the 50s before I fall asleep. Often, I’m asleep before I’m through the 80s. Sometimes I’ll lose track of what the next number is because I catch myself falling asleep, so I’ll start over, and I always fall asleep quickly after that.

Again, the key is to count backward… s l o w l y

14. I just make up stories in my head. Sometimes I’m in the world of a TV show I like or in my own little dream universe I made where I have made up characters and such. And eventually I just fall asleep doing this.

15. Reading. It’s kinda sad but I’ve realized books put me to sleep now, even if it’s an exciting book.

16. Masturbate.

17. This is going to sound weird, but I slowly say good night to each of my body parts, starting with my toes and working up. Usually, I’m asleep by the time I hit my chest or so. If I’m not, I know it’s going to be a long night.

18. Listening to Rain and City Ambience on youtube, really relaxing.

19. I’ll usually listen to some music (on low volume) and just focus on that rather than focusing on trying to sleep.

20. Meditate. Some YouTube guided meditations really help for sleep.

21. Bedtime stories, they have plenty of them targeted toward adults for the specific purpose of getting you to fall asleep.

22. Eating a banana. It apparently helps you produce melatonin.

23. The alphabet game. I think of a category, like “types of plants” and go through the alphabet in my head and try to think of something in that category for each letter. I often fall asleep midway through the alphabet.

24. Camomile tea.

25. I tell myself not to think about sleeping. Just enjoy the nice crispy blankets and soft bed and I tell myself to try to relax and get really cozy instead and not to worry about falling asleep.

26. Weed.

27. I just look at the fan above me and follow its blade by revolving my eyes and I slowly get tired of it and fall asleep.

28. Probably not the healthiest method and not something to rely on but eating a large meal knocks me out.

29. Cuddling my plushies.

30. Basically I convince myself I’ve given up and go on my phone or play 3DS and make a plan to read something or play to a measurable point, so that there’s something that I WANT to stay awake for. Something that sleep would interrupt. Puts me right the fuck to sleep, and I’m never sure if I should be glad or annoyed.

[adulting-with-autism]

Hi there friends! Welcome to episode 4! Transcript under cut

Nick: Welcome to another stirring installment of Adulting With Autism

Liz: I’m here this time

Nick: Yes there is another human with me. Things are back to normal. It’s nice. We only have one question this week so I’m going to assume that everything is fine and dandy for most people, everybody’s having a swell time

Liz: Or our advice was so good nobody needs to answer any more questions

Nick: I think we’ve solved life, we’ve solved being an adult which is great but it means the follow-up is going to be a tough one. It’s like, you know, Orson Wells made Citizen Kane but then Magnificent Ambersens. People don’t talk about that as much

Liz: Never heard of it. Is it bad?

Nick: It’s alright actually, but it’s no Citizen Kane. Unlike Citizen Kane.

Liz: You can say that about all films, like the Rugrats movie. It’s no Citizen Kane

Nick: That’s because it’s better than Citizen Kane

Liz: I first watched Citizen Kane at the age of 12, at that point I did prefer the Rugrats Movie

Nick: What’s important to note is the much broader palette of colours the rugrats movie uses

Liz: More variety in outfit design as well. You wouldn’t see a Citizen Kane character in a nappy

Nick: You would most likely not, except at the very end of his life just before he uh…

Liz: No spoilers

Nick: Yeah. Just in case anybody out there

Liz: In case anybody does’nt know what happens at the end of life, we’ll just leave that until you watch the film

Nick: Keep things a mystery, you know? we seem to have been temporarily rebranded into a film podcast by accident, which is great. That’s what everybody’s here for.

Liz: Yeah if there’s one thing the world needs is more film podcasts

Nick: There’s just not enough of them. We have a question…

Liz: We do, we have exactly one question and it’s from anonymous

Nick: I like them, they’ve given us a lot of material over the past weeks

Liz: I prefer their early work

Nick: Me too

Liz: Well, The Legion would like to know how to keep up with household chores if you get tired or executive dysfunction

Nick: That is a good question

Liz: There’s multiple options, Option 1 you don’t. Option 2 you have housemates and they don’t mind you not doing much

Nick: Option 3 is, you’ve got to make compromises with yourself. At least say ok I’m not going to be able to get on top of everything today. But today’s dishes, tomorrow’s vacuuming or something like that. Just take it bit by bit and you might sometimes be behind it’ll at least be behind in the sense of oh this place could do with a bit of a clean rather than this place is a dump

Liz: One thing I find is quite useful for me is sometimes you might get a sudden burst of energy that’s directionless even if youre’ completely exhausted. What I do is set a 10-15 min timer on my phone and keep going until it stops. That’s enough time to do a load of washing up, tidy up a small section of a room, put some laundry in.

Nick: That seems to be something that works for you. I find I’m not a morning person but I find I start off with more energy when I do wake up

Liz: Yeah you’re like an iPhone. You charge overnight, you’re full of energy and you do something and very quickly lose all your energy

Nick: My energy levels are very very strange things. I find that I don't know if this is just me personally but I find it’s important to say “I’ll take it easy today” but I find saying that I always do the opposite

Liz: Yeah, and that’s by no means an autism thing, my mum does that. She’ s the worst person at being ill. She will have the flu and say I won’t do anything and will go and hoover the living room, do some gardening, do 3, 4 loads of washing up.

Nick: I don’t tend to tire myself out in that way I don’t tire myself out doing useful stuff. 

Liz: [sneeze] sorry about that loud noise

Nick: It’s always like “ok I’m not going to write anything I don’t need to do that, I’ve done plenty lately. Oh no I’ve done 10 pages I messed up”

Liz: 10 pages? Last time you did that you wrote an entire sitcom pilot

Nick: Well, potato, po-tah-toe, p-ilot

Liz: P-ilot?

Nick: Yeah. P-ilot. Thank you for that question anon, and if anybody has any questions please do send them in because we are bereft.

Liz: We’re not even at 7 mins

Nick: Not even at 7 mins.

Liz: One thing that might be good to talk about today is surviving summer with sensory issues

Nick: Ooh that’s good because we’re dying, we’re absoluitely dying today

Liz: It’s the mid-high 20s with 70-80% humidity, which is what I like to call the death zone

Nick: I don't know where our listeners are from

Liz: According to the youtube stats we have France, Germany, the US and Canada but not the UK oddly enough

Nick: That’s interesting

Liz: Youtube says no-one from the UK has listened to our podcast. It may be incorrect but that’s interesting.

Nick: Okay, I need to explain at this point everything in this country is built to maintain heat. It’s like the country is wrapped in blankets all the time, so when it gets above 15 everyone just starts dying

Liz: Thing is when you live in cold and windy land the majority of the year your houses and buildings are desgined to keep heat in and you don’t have air conditioning except very modern buildings so when it does get hot there’s no escape

Nick: And we live in quite a traditional terraced house so we are toasty

Liz: But not in a fun cheesy way, though we can be fun and cheesy

Nick: [groans]

Liz: You are not allowed to complain about puns NickBlake

Nick: Ok

Liz: You are the one person whos not allowed you know this, for you are the font of puns

Nick: I am. Fun Times New Roman.

Liz: I have no words

Nick: I have plenty that’s everyone’s problem with me.

Liz: So yes, surviving heat. 

Nick: We’ve been opening all the windows and back door and that. We’ve stockpiled a reasonable amount of icepops to keep us cold

Liz: If you have the freezer space I highly recommend going on amazon and buying 150 Mr Freeze icepops, so you know you're getting the good stuff, for 16 pounds. I don't know what that converts to in whatever currency but it’s not a lot of money

Nick: For what you get it’s pretty good

Liz: It’s pretty much wholesale

Nick: We got wholesale price iced pops, so that’s good

Liz: It does take up an entire freezer drawer but you could always not freeze all of them at once

Nick: It’s kinda great. We’ve been taking as many pajama days as possible

Liz: You’ve been having pajama days because your pajamas are not wearing clothes. I’ve just been wearing tiny skimpy outfits

Nick: Yes, light clothing as much as possible, open the windows, get 150 ice pops

Liz: Eat ice and be sexy is how to survive the summer

Nick: That’s exactly how you survive the summer

Liz: Cold foods as well. Thing is there have been studies that show things like apple juice and milk hydrate you after exercise better than water does, so logically things like that would also hydrate you better when it’s hot right?

Nick: So what you're saying is you should be a good milky boy

Liz: Or girl or non-binary person. Yeah. Or a juicy boy if you prefer. But also we had pea and mint soup yesterday. Which is apparently not a thing in the US? I have been told this

Nick: I’m very confused because I distinctly remember in my early childhood watching Rescuers Down Under and pea soup was explicitly referenced in one fo the opening scenes.

Liz: Maybe they never thought to combine peas and mint or maybe this person’s never heard of it and they’re the anti-soup Georg

Nick: Thing is it’s we’re talking about Americans thinking to put seasoning in the dish so… 

Liz: To be fair though a lot of Americans are good at seasoning, it’s WASPs who are bad at seasoning. Though my friend is a WASP, they live in Upstate New York.

Nick: Ah. Maybe I think there are a lot of people in America who are good at seasoning but they’re all in the south. They’ve clumped, like chili powder when you’ve had it too long.

Liz: Not that they would understand that reference, the WASPs. I say that I am technically a WASP but it’s different

Nick: Yup, a whole nother thing. Well, we’ve dispensed some nice advice

Liz: Soupy advice

Nick: Nice soupy advice.

Liz: If you want to make pea and mint soup by the way really easy for 1 person you want 250g frozen peas you cook them in stock you add however much mint you want and you blend it. That’s it.

Nick: You can add an onion

Liz: Some people also add a potato but we didn’t

Nick: Too much potato can make it a bit starchy I think

Liz: And don’t worry if it ends up looking like green paint, it still tastes good

Nick: You're on the right track if it looks like it’s not edible

Liz: A lot of soups and stews look like that. I’ll say it a lot of my Mums cooking looks like vomit it’s delicious.

Nick: A lot of old English food doesn’t look pretty, it’s not designed to be appetising. It’s brown liquid with things in it. It’s good and keeps you going.

Liz: It coats your bones as they say

Nick: Yes it coats your bones which sounds so gross

Liz: You don’t want that you want pea and mint soup

Nick: You want bleached bones

Liz: You don’t that’s just a thing that happens in the sun

Nick: Don’t die, don’t have your bones be bleached. That’s my survival tip. Don’t die

Liz: Good survival tip, I like it

Nick: I might write a book one day. 

Liz: On how to not be dead

Nick: You just put your lips together, then put some food between them. Followed by liquids

Liz: It’s probably easier if you open your lips a little bit

Nick: And I think a combination of meats and various legumes and don’t have poison.

Liz: I think we should possibly end there because we’re degenerating into just mindless rambling

Nick: I maintain my survival tips are solid

Liz: Maybe you should start your own podcast where you just talk for half an hour, see what happens

Nick: I’ll have a straw poll on that. See what listeners would want. Speaking of rambling and voices and talking and natural segues, we had an offer from one of our listeners to come on our show and chat. Nothing came of it but I think that might be an interesting angle to pursue, talking to people about how they adult with autism.

Liz: Maybe have them help answer questions. Could be fun

Nick: I think what I’m doing here is setting the floor. If you feel self conscious about what you’re saying, remember I suggested meat and legumes and not dying as survival tips. You can’t get worse than that. So yeah, if you’ve got questions let us now, if you might want to guest on the show also let us know.

Liz: If you want to contact us personally, at invisible-goats

Nick: And Nightwarbler

Liz: That’s all one word

Nick: Yup.

Liz: We’re not doing too badly for length

Nick: We’re not. Slightly shorter than usual but we have a hefty big proud boy, big nice…

Liz: Are you hoping if you keep talking like that they’ll let you on Maximum Fun?

Nick: Now you’ve rumbled me, that was my secret plan

Liz: Just call me Rumblestiltskin

Nick: Niiice. If you have any kind of oddly specific products for me to endorse for money like I’ll definitely do that. Send me some underwear or mattresses and I’ll just record all the podcasts on my nice new mattress in my nice custom underwear.

Liz: Custom underwear?

Nick: You’ll have to go one better than the others, you know

Liz: I wouldn’t turn down custom underwear it’s hard to buy bras

Nick: Send us your custom underwear and I will heartily endorse it. Just…yeah. Bespoke…coverings, that’s what I want…or...

Liz: A mattress is not a covering

Nick: It’s a covering for a floor

Liz: Only because we don’t own a bed

Nick: Send us your questions and offers to be on the show. Don’t send us underwear come to think of it that doesn’t sound like an ok thing

Liz: And we’ll be back in a couple of weeks, hopefully with more questions and less about underwear and poison

Nick: Yeah, don’t send us underwear don’t eat poison

Liz: And don’t kiss your dad square on the lips?

Nick: Yeah that’s weird. That’s a bad thing to do. Yeah, see you next time.

[loud-snoring-os]

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful if you do Artist's way morning pages

4.0 out of 5 stars Clarity and a truely different form of journal writing I have written in journals sporatically for years, when I was "in the mood". Morning pages are a different kind of journal writing that must be taken on faith at first. Get up half an hour early every day just to brain dump into a book? Sounds crazy, but it works. As the weeks go by, you find answers as well as grumbling complaints, worries, and random thoughts. Amazingly, as you clear away the clutter of your mind, all these wonderful creative things start to happen. I discovered I was joyful and clear headed when I wrote my morning pages and began looking forward to them like a good friend who always listens patiently. Match them with artist dates, and watch your life change. I highly recommend it. Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Best thing to ever Happen to me! I love Cameron. Morning Pages have changed my life forever. That 30 minutes stuff is just nuts, three pages take longer, and I usually finish mine in about 90 minutes. I write, and have explored many issues. Morning Pages, 3 pages everyday, you write, you don't read it, you don't correct it, and you don't think about it! You explore your mind, and it takes you on a wild ride! You will have your life turned upside down, start thinking with a clear head, and write everyday, something many aspiring artists just don't do, and should. This is a method of healing that works, seriously consider this if you want to be an Artist. A painter, a writer, a sculptor, a musician, whatever you want to do creatively, morning pages are a road that will help you get there...This is for all Artists and anyone interested in getting in touch with their creative side! Good Luck. Go to Amazon

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money Only,if you need serious handholding while doing "The Artist's Way," this might possibly be helpful. It is basically a blank book with the sugested 3 pages ticked off for each writing session. The author threw in some quotes from the book and a couple of paragraphs in the weekly segments. Also, there is no extra room to do some of the exercises each week--a feature that would have been helpful.It isn't even very comfortable to write in.I wish I had looked a little harder at it when making my purchase Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars The potential to change your life Reading "The Artist's Way" & actually doing some of the key things can change your life. Morning pages are one of the key things (others include a weekly artist date & the use of affirmations) & this is a great volume to start in. I'm a slow learner so I actually went through four of these before I bought my own blank-paged journals. Things I like about this volume include that it forced me to fill a certain amount of space: there are three pages for each day & that's what Cameron wants you to do & this volume gives a very good guide of how much writing is desirable. I also like the quotations, the summaries of the goals for the coming week & even the potentially cheesy contract with myself to commit to the process. Time IS an issue & Cameron's 30 minutes is at least at the beginning optimistic, though that's what I now generally use. At first it might take longer, even significantly longer, but it's well worth it. I started writing morning pages in November 1998. Three years later, I am still writing them. They are a wonderful tool toward a clear head & the working through of issues & about the only thing I believe someone can do wrong in using them is to be afraid of letting whatever comes out come out. Coincidentally (I don't THINK so) I started serious work on my first, non-fiction book at the same time I started morning pages & three years later I'm very close to finishing it, so I know the program works. It also goes very well with 12 Step programs, for people in those. If you buy this journal, also buy "The Artist's Way," the book that lays it all out ... & consider some of Cameron's little books of affirmations, which are outstanding. This is a wonderful tool and deserves five stars. Go to Amazon