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Chexala
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#1
Old 01-02-2014, 07:58 PM





Comments and posting is welcome. :D

Last edited by Chexala; 01-11-2014 at 05:55 AM..

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#2
Old 01-02-2014, 08:18 PM

2014 Resolutions
★★★★★

The new year is a really great time to make changes in our lives, and there is a lot I want to change in my life during this coming year. It's easy to get excited and overwhelm yourself with too many over-ambitious changes though, so this year, I decided to hone in on just a few relatively simple changes. Loosely, these five resolutions fall under the headers of "drink more water" and "exercise more," which I decided were the most important changes I should start my year with.

Drink 2 liters of water every day
Stretch every day
Go outside everyday
Do cardio exercises 3 days a week
Go for a walk at least 3 days a week

Last edited by Chexala; 01-06-2014 at 11:41 PM..

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#3
Old 01-02-2014, 08:31 PM

Table of Contents
January
Dec 31/Jan 1 | Jan 2/3 | Jan 4/5/6 | Jan 7/8/9 | Jan 10 | Jan 11 | Jan 12 | Jan 20 |
February
Feb 10 | Feb 11 | Feb 26
March
Mar 8/9/10 |
April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December



Links and Other Stuff

Coming Soon!

Last edited by Chexala; 03-10-2014 at 08:56 PM..

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#4
Old 01-02-2014, 08:35 PM

Here are some memories to get started with:

★ New Year's Eve:
I had a lovely New Year's Eve with my family this year. I spent the night with my sister, my niece, and my nephew. We made "mood board" collages for our New Year's wishes, and a bonfire in the back year where we roasted hotdogs and made smores. At one point, my nephew (who is 2) looked up at the sky and said "Look at all da stars! Stars everywhere! Oh my gosh dammit!" My sister and I both burst out laughing, because despite the swearing, it seemed like an appropriate response to how beautiful the night sky can be. It was unexpected and delightful.



★ January 1st:
I'm making New Year's resolutions this year. I haven't made resolutions in a long time, but this year I feel the need to focus on improving my health. One resolution is to stretch and exercise everyday. The other is to drink two liters or water everyday. I haven't done my exercising yet, but I did drink all the water, so I feel like I'm off to a good start.

Last edited by Chexala; 02-12-2014 at 05:46 AM..

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#5
Old 01-04-2014, 05:51 AM

★ January 2nd
Went to see The Hobbit 2 with my sister and niece. It was very pretty and exciting—Smaug was beautiful, and Murkwood was really cool—but the plot was... well, it was a middle movie. My niece got really scared by Smaug though, and said afterwards that she almost cried!



★ January 3rd
Spent many hours playing with my nephew through the day, taking him for walks, looking at all his toys, flying, and star-gazing. He is adorable so it was very fun, and it gave my sister a bit of a break.

Last edited by Chexala; 02-12-2014 at 05:47 AM..

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#6
Old 01-06-2014, 09:29 PM

★ January 4th:




★ January 5th:
Went with my sister to IKEA and managed to not buy anything other than food. Later, I read a cheesy romance novel on my train ride home and giggled out loud at its absurdities.



★ January 6th:
Went on a walk to the beach with my roommate. We went after dark and carried lanterns, more for the fun of it than for practicality. We had lots of fun ranting about the failings of the Harry Potter wizarding world.

Last edited by Chexala; 01-07-2014 at 07:51 AM..

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#7
Old 01-09-2014, 06:59 PM

★ January 7th:
Went on a cleaning rampage and cleaned the whole kitchen. We have a hard time keeping our kitchen clean, and things got particularly messy while I was away, so things had reached in intollerable level for me. The cleaning was gratifying in itself, but it was also nice to get thanks from my housemates. XD



★ January 8th:
Spent most of the day curled up on the couch reading a cheap paperback, which is something I haven't done in ages. I'm reading Heart of the Storm, by Rexanne Becnal, which is a cheesy romance novel. It's by no means great literature, but it's better quality than the last romance I read.



★ January 9th:
Took a walk down to the beach after dark to quietly celebrate Severus Snape's birthday. Wore a cloak and witchy dress, walked barefoot in the sand, and illicitly drank some rum. Blew some bubbles. The waxing moon was bright on the water and clouds; waves rolled up in a rhythmic low roar. Dabbled my feet in the water and poured some rum into the sea, and then walked home. That's the kind of magic I like to make.

Last edited by Chexala; 01-10-2014 at 07:59 AM..

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#8
Old 01-11-2014, 07:03 AM

★ January 10th:
Today has been glorious. At face value, it was nothing but an ordinary day filled with mundane things—appointments, errands, chores, cooking, projects, and so on—but it was also filled with many small delightful things. I had numerous pleasant encounters with strangers and retail workers. I spent lots of time outside walking around and working on projects in the yard. I ate simple meals that exactly satisfied my hunger. I had some time to sit and read a silly novel. My housemates and I got motivated to do some home improvement work on our troublesome kitchen and it's going to be so glorious now. I got a new water bottle to make it easier to track how much water I am drinking every day. I bought craft supplies for making a pair of house slippers.

I also passed a busker on the street who was playing a Hang. (Or at least, it looked like a Hang, but it may have been a handpan, which are off-brand instuments inspired by the Hang.) Hanghang are a unique and special kind of instrument which I deeply love (also, the plural "Hanghang" is the most adorable plural I have ever met). I have only ever seen one in person once before, when I was traveling abroad several years ago. I am not a religious person, but I swear I can hear God when I listen to Hanghang; I feel like I can hear the deep truth and unity of the cosmos in them. I wanted to stop and listen to the busker play, but I was on my way elsewhere and didn't linger. Sadly, when I came back later he was gone, so I only got to hear him play a little bit, but that little bit was gorgeous. Here is one of my favorite youtube videos of a Hang in action:



So that was my day. It felt like there was lots of lovely stuff to remember.

Last edited by Chexala; 01-11-2014 at 07:53 AM..

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#9
Old 01-12-2014, 12:05 AM

★ January 11th:
Kitchen improvement projects continue. Today we're painting a bunch of cheap second hand and make-shift furniture so that it all looks matching and polished. Here you can see paint drying:

The overcast weather does not do our colors justice. The gold cinder blocks in particular are more glorious in person.

Yesterday we finally put up some pegboard for all our pots and pans, which is a huge improvement. Also, we got a new dishes cupboard from IKEA recently.

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#10
Old 01-13-2014, 07:33 AM

★ January 12th:
This morning I dreamt that I became friends with Benedict Cumberbatch. :3

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#11
Old 01-20-2014, 09:57 AM

I like the bright and vibrant colours you've chosen for your furniture and stuff.

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#12
Old 01-21-2014, 07:07 AM

Thanks Ling! We had a lot of fun painting everything, and everything is so bright now. :D


Sheesh, I've fallen quite behind with my memory jar.



★ January 20th:
I haven't been working towards my exercise resolution at all so far. I was thinking about that today though, and finally got off my butt and did some stretching and cardio exercises. I put on an up-tempo playlist and mixed some dancing in with my stretching, which made things more fun and reminded me that I want to learn dancing again. :D

Last edited by Chexala; 01-21-2014 at 08:03 AM..

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#13
Old 02-11-2014, 05:46 AM

★ February 10th:
California has been have a record drought this winter but it finally started raining again, for which I am grateful. We've had more than a week of steady rain every day where I live. It's been really soothing to wake up to the sound of rain on the roof.

Last edited by Chexala; 02-12-2014 at 05:41 AM..

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#14
Old 02-11-2014, 10:52 PM


i love the robin's egg blue!
hope y'all get some rain

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#15
Old 02-12-2014, 12:16 AM

Oh yes, in person the drawers are a lovely bright teal that I bet you would love, hummy.

We've finally had a break in the rain, but I hope it starts up again soon.

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#16
Old 02-12-2014, 05:40 AM

★ February 11th:
I've had very low energy for the past few weeks and it's been hard for me to get things done. Today I had more energy though, and I'm hoping I've turned a corner in whatever this funk is. <fingers crossed>

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#17
Old 03-10-2014, 08:41 PM

Time for some memory jar catch-up!

★ February 26th:
Got the last of my worldly goods packed up and ready to move back up north to my hometown. I shared a moving van with a friend in the area who was also moving back north at the same time, which worked out well for me, since I don't drive. As it happened, our moving day ended up being one of the fewrainy days we've had all winter. We all donned rain gear and had to load the van through off-and-on rain, and it rained for the whole day of driving. Between the moving van and the weather, we drove quite slowly, so we didn't get into town until very late, but we had lots of good conversation along the way. By the time I got home to my mom's house, I had reached a dazed, mesmerized, and slightly blissed-out state of mind that was lovely.

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#18
Old 03-10-2014, 08:50 PM

★ March 8th:
Went to the a Road show put on by the local county museum. It was fantastic! It featured a variety of stories and music about the history of our county. Many of the stories were collected from old people at the Bicentennial, recording their memories about the olden days. They read headlines and snippets from newspaper archives, showed old photographs, and got the audience involved in sing-alongs. All around, it was a rousing, fun, and moving show that actually made me cry at several points. I'm looking forward to seeing their show again next year.



★ March 9th:
I found a big spider in my laundry basket. (Photo to come.)
Welcome back to rural life. XD



★ March 10th:
Spent some time babysitting my nephew this afternoon. We took a walk through the big backyard, did some digging in the garden, and played with trucks. Our cat came along and hung out with us—he comes when he's called and likes to stay near us like a dog, but also takes his time and keeps his distance like a cat. Nephew and I also played with water and toys in the backyard, and then went in and played with trains before lunch.

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#19
Old 03-15-2014, 08:27 PM

★ March 15th:
Claimed my first Ingress portal today!

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#20
Old 03-23-2014, 06:16 AM

★March 22nd:
Built my first Ingress control field!

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#21
Old 04-14-2014, 06:42 AM

★ April 13th:
Had a big day today. Went to see a sailing ship that was visiting from Hawaii. Repotted all my houseplants into proper pots instead of old salsa jars. Went to the river with my family—the water was freezing but I got all the way in anyways. Sang lots of songs and blew lots of bubbles.

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#22
Old 05-03-2014, 06:12 AM

★ May 2nd:

Today is my cakeday! Things got off to a shitty start and did not go at all according to plan, but ultimately there were some good moments and it ended well. I have a lot to be grateful for.

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#23
Old 05-06-2014, 02:43 AM

Chexala, I'll tell you something about myself in relation to exercise:

I was fat, bordering on obese around this same time year... I remained this way throughout most of the year even though I was walking a whole heap to get from A to B, and going to gym when I had time. My physical health and appearance was not good, but I was also studying at this time, so commitments relating to being a student was a priority.

What I ended up realising was that my health was starting to decline and a lot of it was because I was not looking after myself as a whole... and I also realised that I needed to work to improve my health and get it to be the best it can be at my age... so I started exercising more at gym, swimming, going out more and spending time with friends or just exploring my surroundings alone.

What I also realised is that the number on the scales, my body weight, is actually not an indication of good or bad health... this was a very useful realisation because I'm not using it as an indication of healthy or unhealthy....I still weigh myself but like I measure my other body parts... it's a way to monitor changes in my body.

You didn't indicate in your entries your reasons for wanting to exercise and drink more water but I do think they're good lifestyle changes regardless, so good luck with it all... I hope what I've said may provide some motivation.

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#24
Old 05-06-2014, 07:23 AM

Thanks for the motivation Ling! My water and exercise goals are indeed for improving my health. I was doing pretty well with the water goal for a while, but I've fallen off it lately. On the other hand, I made a big change this year by moving home with my family, which changed the way I was eating and consequently I've lost some weight. You're right that weight alone is not a good measure of health, which is why I didn't own my own scale for years and years. I've started weighing myself now, but it's not my only measure of health and change.

As I've gone through this year, my exact exercise goals have changed slightly—I've been really caught up on "exercise routines" but I'm turning my attention back towards fun exercise-type activities, such as gardening, dancing, and yoga. I am way more likely to dance than do a cardio routine, so dancing it is!



★ May 5th:
My new computer arrived! It's strange to have a new computer after 6 years, so it's going to take a while to settle into it. I can't wait to play games on it though; I expect to be lost to the world for a few days while I indulge in The Sims 3.

Also, Menewsha looks gorgeous! Everyone's avatars look so richly colorful!

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#25
Old 05-06-2014, 11:27 AM

I'm glad you took my post the way I intended. I was worried you'd think I was sounding like a know-it-all...and yay for new computers~ I need one too...my current desktop that I've only had since beginning 2011 is already busted...currently using borrowed tablet in the mean time.

 



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