more back bridge
more boxing training training to get stronger fingers and hand tendon stretching. Need that.
abs
waist and belly thingy, sort of climbing in the air
running
belly dance
deadlift
back exercises
I really like this. This way I am training everything I want to train in "lagom" proportions and I can influence the difficulty of the exercise - if it gives me a pole position that is way too demanding to me, I can break it down and train the parts so that one day in the future I will be able to do what the pin says.
But - I didn't do this today either. :-(
Tomorrow is another day, but also it's the first day of my year of reaching a goal every day, so it's pretty packed as it is. Now... I also want to lose weight, and even though I AM losing weight, I'm not happy with the pace. I have lost 8 kilos in 16 weeks. That's a pound a week, and I am not happy about that. I AM happy about having lost weight, but I am not happy with myself. I feel I could have done more. Like taking this Pinterest challenge seriously and actually giving this at least an hour. I mean, at least do SOMETHING.
I have written this list as "just do it and get it over with", based on the National holidays list, and then I have picked some goals from my own Bucketlist, which cannot be done in a day, but to be able to be completed one day, has to be worked on on several days.
First thing to do is to go through your Bucket List and see if there are things that can be done in one day. Write these things in slips of paper and put in a jar so that you can pick a slip a day you don't have anything else to do. Choose a goal that can be completed any day in September.
Some examples of these goals:
- get a tattoo
- donate blood
- send a message in a bottle
- sleep under the stars
- dance in the rain (I mean, you don't need to be good at dancing to actually do this, but if you want, learn Gene Kelly's Dancing In The Rain coreography and do that. But I suppose that will take a little more time than a day...)
- build a kite, fly a kite
- learn to juggle
- watch the sun rise, sun go down, see the sunrise and sunset the same day
- write a letter to myself 10 years from now, 20 years from now
- take up photography
- push a slinky down a flight of stairs
- go to a nature walk
- get a massage
- have a picnic
- make a recipe you have bookmarked/Pinterest/recipe collection
- go a day without technology
- take a homeless person for a meal
- go without make-up
- karaoke in public
- don't say a word for a day
- go a day without complaining
- pay for the person in line next to me
- learn to say alphabet backwards
- Spend All Day In An Airport People Watching Are there events in your neighborhood in September you could attend? Exhibitions? What's happening in museums, theaters and galleries in your town? How about Meet Up?
How about "Scare Yourself Every Day"? Go through his list of scary things to do, and write your own. It might not be what he finds scary, but you will know what you find scary when you do it. Google Fall Bucket List or Autumn Bucket List and compile a list of 30 things that you can do in a day, that you want to do. Then just do it. Find a September photo a day prompt list and do it. Or draw it, write it, create it one way or another.
Things to do every day in September:
work on the 100 pushups and the other programs (who doesn't want to be able to do 25 pull-ups or 200 situps?) and C25K and 30 days to splits. (these things are on many person's to do list, they just can't get it done. Now is the time, and this is your sign.
-
if you do the programs as said, it will take 4 weeks to get your
splits, 6-7 weeks for the 100 pushups and the other challenges and 9
weeks to be able to run 5K (3 miles) in half an hour. (From zero. Think
about that for the next 2 months, and keep doing the exercises. Post a
picture or video of yourself doing the daily workout on Instagram, and
get "365 self-portrait challenge" done, too :-D
* Watch a Disney theatrical animated feature film, one a day. You will be able to tick "watch every Disney movie" from your list in two months. (There's 61 of them at the moment.)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
The Reluctant Dragon
Dumbo
Bambi
Saludos Amigos
Victory Through Air Power
The Three Caballeros
Make Mine Music
Song of the South
Fun and Fancy Free
Melody Time
So Dear to My Heart
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Sword in the Stone
The Jungle Book
The Aristocats
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Rescuers
The Fox and the Hound
The Black Cauldron
The Great Mouse Detective
Oliver & Company
The Little Mermaid
The Rescuers Down Under
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Fantasia 2000
Dinosaur
The Emperor's New Groove
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Lilo & Stitch
Treasure Planet
Brother Bear
Home on the Range
Chicken Little
Meet the Robinsons
Bolt
The Princess and the Frog
Tangled
Winnie the Pooh
Wreck-It Ralph
Frozen
Big Hero 6
Zootopia
Moana
Ralph Breaks the Internet
(If you don't want to watch the Disney movies, choose another movie list, and watch one a day.)
Another list of movies on many person's list is "Watch a movie starting with each letter of the alphabet". You can do this, too, in September.
A - Aristocats, 1/9
B - The Black Cauldron 23/9
C - Chicken Little 11/9
D - Dumbo 10/9
E - The Emperor's New Groove 15/9
F - The Fox and the Hound 20/9
G - The Great Mouse Detective 28/9
H - Home on the Range 17/9
I - Iris 21/9
J - The Junglebook 4/9
K - Kick-ass 25/9
L - Lady and the Tramp 28/9
M - Melody Time 26/9
N - Nosso Lar 7/9
O - Oliver & Company 5/9
P - Peter Pan 19/9
Q - ¿Quién diablos es Juliette? 16/9
R - The Rescuers 11/9
S - Saludos Amigos 7/9
T - The Three Caballeros 16/9
U - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 22/9
V - Victory Through Air Power 11/9
W - Winnie the Pooh 9/9
X - Xích Lô 2/9
Y - Yip Man; Ying xiong (Hero), or Yin shi nan nu (Eat, Drink, Man, Woman) 13/9
Z - Zootopia
01.09
Celebrate Ginger Cat Appreciation Day by watching Aristocats, Three Lives of Thomasina, and Alien; eating kitty litter cake and drinking Ginger Cats (vodka with ginger ale - actually, it should be Cathead vodka, but - uh.) Have a photoshoot with ginger cat. If you can't find a real one, get a toy cat.
02.09
Celebrate the Vietnamese National Day by cooking Vietnamese summer rolls, Goi Cuon, with beef and Hoisin peanut sauce. Let's make it more challenging by making the rice paper ourselves - and learning some Vietnamese.
Duolingo offers free Vietnamese course. Use the opportunity and spend 15 minutes a day there the whole September, and add "Learn Vietnamese", "Learn a new language" to your goals.
And, watch a Vietnamese movie. (I recommend Cyclo or Xích Lô as it is in original language, to check off X from your alphabetical movie list.)
03.09
Is the Welsh Rarebit day, so let's make some and watch Phantom Thread - and have Welsh Rabbit with a poached egg on top of it, not too runny, bacon, scones, butter, cream, jam, not strawberry, raspberry, Lapsang Souchong tea, and some sausages. Now, I personally think Lapsang should be enjoyed with milk, and perhaps even a little sugar, but that's me.
04.09
Is a National Wildlife Day - so let's watch some nature documentaries - a macadamia nut day - so let's bake something with macadamia nuts - and the paperboy day - so let's make something with newspapers, and a paperboy hat.
You could also watch The Jungle Book this day.
05.09
It's International Day of Charity. Buy a goat to someone and check out "change someone's life to the better" from your Bucket list.
Then enjoy a good cheese pizza. And perhaps watch The Volunteers. :-D
06.09
Is Read the Book Day - so read a book. Try to read as much of a book as you can. Try to beat a record. Read at least 400 pages.
It's also the Independence Day of Swaziland, so make some Swazi food, like chicken dust - a grilled chicken served with salad and pap (much like polenta).
Make some ice cream for dessert, because it's also the national coffee ice cream day.
07.09
Brazilian independence day! So perhaps make some Salpicao or Feijoado and learn to dance Samba. Maybe watch a Brazilian movie. (If you choose Nosso Lar, you'll get a movie that starts with N - that doesn't exist among Disney movies.)
Also, watch Saludos Amigos
08.09
It's Star Trek day - so have a Star Trek marathon, and make some Star Trek food :-D There's plenty of recipes out there, from obviously fake to... disturbingly real.
You could watch the Treasure Planet today.
09.09
It's the Teddy Bear Day, Care Bears Share your Care day, and Wiener schnitzel day. Now, a Wiener Schnitzel is always, always, always, no exceptions, made with veal, but it's OK to eat some other schnitzel on this day, if you don't want to eat veal. Eat German potato salad and green salad to it.
And watch Care Bears the movie and Winnie the Pooh
It's also the Gibraltar day. You could make Rosto and Calentita. Maybe you could invite a friend over?
Perhaps watch Dumbo?
11.09
It's the National 911 day. It might be a good day to remember your local first responders and take some cookies and flowers to them.
Also, learn first aid and CPR, and how you can best aid first responders in an emergency.
Perhaps Chicken Little?
12.09
Celebrate Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, with some Injera meal. You could watch the Phat Girlz, which is directed by Nnegest Likké, who has Ethiopian roots.
It is also the Banana day. There's a lot of things to do on the Banana day. You could "dress dangerously", as Carmen Miranda, with a banana hat, the whole day and see how your experience of the world and self image changes :-D
Maybe watch Zootopia?
13.09
Roald Dahl was born this day, 1916. There's TONS to do on this day! What is on your Bucket list that fits the day's theme? You could learn to mec like Danny, the Champion of the World or perhaps learn how to make perfect donuts, like farmer Bunce from Fantastic Mr. Fox. I don't recommend goose liver paté with them. But learning to make liver paté wouldn't be at all bad. Or learn to make cider like farmer Bean.
It is also the Moon Cake Day or Mid-Autumn Festival.
14.09
It's Eat a Hoagie Day and Cream Filled Donut day. Learn to make them yourself, and make yourself a Philly Cheese Steak. :-)
15.09
It's "make a hat day", "linguine day" and "double cheeseburger day".
So, make a hat. You can learn to knit or crochet to make a hat. It's pretty quick to make a hat, and you should be able to learn to knit or crochet enough in a day to finish the hat today as well. You could also sew a hat or felt a hat. Or go all out and learn how modists make hats with blocks and steam and all that. That won't be done in a day.
Learn to make linguine. It's basically spaghetti that's flattened to get the oval shape. Linguine is not flat, it's oval.
Learn to make a perfect hamburger. If you're vegan, learn to make the perfect vegan burger. Duh. :-D
You could also watch the Emperor's New Groove while you knit yourself an Andean Chullo hat
16.09
Is Mexican Independence Day. Not, it's not May fifth.
So have a fiesta and go wild. Try to avoid stereotypes and other such crap.
Also, watch a Mexican movie. I recommend ¿Quién diablos es Juliette?, because it starts with Q.
(And watch The Three Amigos)
17.09
It's International Country Music Day. Live up to your inner cowgirl or -boy.
Take some riding lessons, or hire a horse and ride a bit today.
You could also start learning how to play guitar.
Serve Nashville style fried chicken with biscuits, mashed potatoes and sweet tea, and apple dumplings as dessert (it's the Apple Dumpling Day as well :-D)
Also, watch Home on the Range
18.09
This day is a bit boring... it's Cheeseburger day, but we had a double cheeseburger day just a week ago, so it feels really stupid to do that. It's "Hug a Greeting Card Writer Day", which feels very random :-D But you could watch a movie about a greeting card writer, and perhaps try writing greeting cards yourself.
Some movies: Girlfriend’s Day, The Lonely Guy, Mr. Deeds, Season's Greetings, 500 Days of Summer (for the alphabet movie list; G, L, M, S and F)
19.09
Talk like a Pirate Day! Really easy to find things to do for today :-D
You could also start learning to sail.
Or get a parrot and teach it to speak.
Of course, watch Peter Pan.
20.09
It's the feast day of St. Eustace, the patron saint of hunters.
I'd arrange a medieval hunting picnic to this day.
Start my training to become a hunter. Here in Sweden you have to take a test and pass a shooting test, so it's not something you do in a day.
And if you think hunting is disgusting, hunt with a camera. Wildlife photography is a skill. How to Take Great Pictures of Animals
I think The Fox and The Hound might fit for this day. Or perhaps Bambi.
21.09
It's the international peace day, pecan cookie day and miniature golf day.
So, bake some pecan cookies, and take with you when you go play miniature golf, and share with the other golfers, to promote peace between people :-D
It's also World Alzheimer's Day. Get some habits that keep your brain healthier, like learn to solve Sudoku or cross word puzzles, learn a new language (you should be studying Vietnamese!) etc. What can you do to avoid Alzheimer's disease
Watch some movies about Alzheimer's. (I recommend Iris so that you can check off I from your alphabet movie list.)
Also, the Oktoberfest starts in Munich, so if that's on your Bucketlist, you might want to go - or arrange something fun to do with friends here at home. It lasts two weeks, over three weekends, so there's plenty of time to do something.
22.09
It's the Hobbit Day. Read J.R.R.Tolkien's The Hobbit and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the prologue and the first chapter. Then you know exactly why and how to celebrate the Hobbit Day.
You could watch the movies, if you want to, if they are on your bucket list. (Letters F, T, R, U, D and B, because "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" don't count...)
23.09
It's Autumn Equinox. Celebrate it in some ways. For inspiration, you can see what Wiccans do with Mabon. There's plenty of ideas there.
You could try to brew wine.
Also, watch The Black Cauldron. It's loosely based on Mabinogion which is associated with Mabon.
24.09
is Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving, Cherries Jubilee day, and South African Heritage Day.
Learn about Schwenkfelderites and South African heritage, and make Cherries Jubilee.
Cherries Jubilee was created to celebrate queen Victoria's Jubilee, and if you make it, you can check "flambé food" and "eat flambéed food" from your list. :-)
25.09
It's a National Comic Book Day. So, of course, you'll see your favorite comic book movie(s).
It's also the National lobster day and National crab meat newburg day, so if you have always wanted to taste lobster, today is the day. Or if you want to cook a lobster.
Also, you could watch Kick-ass or Kingsmen, to get a movie starting with K to your list, or Ironman for I.
26.09
This is a good day, so much to do!
It's Lumberjack Day. So learn about lumberjacks, learn how to correctly cut a tree, and wear plaid.
It's Pancake Day. So learn to make the best, fluffiest pancakes in the world.
It's Johnny Appleseed day. So watch the Disney's Melody Time - there's one section called Johnny Appleseed - and plant some appleseeds of your own. Grow them a year and then next year go plant the saplings somewhere.
It's Batman day. So if you started your Batman movie marathon yesterday, you can continue today with good conscience :-D
27.09
It's National Scarf Day. Learn 20 ways to tie a scarf and make a video of yourself tying them.
It's corned beef hash day, so make some. You can also learn how to make corned beef.
28.09
National Good Neighbor Day; Strawberry Cream Pie Day and International Poke Day. Make Poké and Strawberry Cream Pie and invite your neighbors to dinner.
Watch The Great Mouse Detective or Lady and the Tramp, both with good neighbors
29.09
So - here comes the biggest clash - to me. It's St. Michael's Day AND Rosh Hashanah. St. Michael has been The Harvest Feast day to me my whole life. It was the day in Finland when people left their old work places and got a new job, if they had a year long employment, like being a farm help or maid or something like that. Big fairs were organized all over the country, so that people could mingle and find their new employer/employee. This day was kind of Finnish Thanksgiving.
And then, Rosh Hashanah. One of the Big Ones for the Jewish people, and my husband happens to be one of them. So I suppose I'll combine the two.
You do what ever you think fits. It is also the World Heart Day, so do something to make your heart happy, whether it is finding love or aerobic exercise :-)
30.09
Hot Mulled Cider Day; Mud Pack Day, and International Podcast Day.
Make mulled cider, give yourself a mud mask and create a podcast.
Today you should also be able to tick "be able to do the splits" from your bucketlist, if you have followed the 30 day program.
Day 2, I did it a bit differently.
I went to Pinterest and took 10 first pins that had ANYTHING to do with exercises and movement and such.
They were
- a yoga position called Camel. Except the woman doing it was bending so much back that her head touched her heels...
So - practicing my bridge today it is.
- It's really not an exercise pin, just a reminder.
- some core exercises from @diamondcut_fitness
- the malasana pose
- a woman on pole
- Twisty Surya Play Sequence
- a boxing poster from 30s
- Das perfekte Fitnessworkout für zuhause
- another pole position
- upper back and shoulder relief
Didn't do any of it. :-(
Very displeased with myself here.
So, I have about 15.000 pins in 173 boards on my Pinterest account.
One of my Pinterest accounts... I don't even want to think how many pins I have on all of them... This is the exercise and action account.
I keep going there and pinning things I find interesting, and then nothing happens.
Most people on Pinterest do that.
A lot of people who do this are annoyed with themselves because of this. I am one of them :-D
There is a reason to why I have pinned all of these pins. I want something. These pins would help me to get it. IF I JUST DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT OTHER THAN JUST PINNING AND DREAMING AND WISHING.
So, Pinterest challenge: try one pin a day.
"Try" can be; do the exercise or workout, cook the dish, take steps to reach the goal, do something about why you pinned the pin.
Now... I am trying to get fit and lose weight, and one doesn't do that by doing one exercise every day.
Also, I have nothing else to do but what I want, all day long. (No, it's not what you think. I am living on disability pension - I have all the time and freedom in the world, no job or obligations, but I don't have all the resources to do what I want to do. I don't have much money nor able body and mind to do whatever I want, like traveling, or ticking off items from bucket lists.)
So, it would be totally possible for me to workout 6 hours a day.
Which is actually what I should be doing to reach a lot of my goals.
So, this is what I am going to do the next month.
I am going to let Pinterest decide what I will do those 6 hours.
I am going to write a list of all the boards, and separate the boards with doable exercise from those without. Like, there is a board about Bellydance, and another board about Bellydance Costume. Bellydance costume is, obviously, a board where there are no exercises. I could put these boards in a jar of their own, and give an hour a day to things like that, like sewing my bellydance costume.
Then take all the boards with exercises and workouts, write them in slips of paper, and put them in a jar.
Then, at 5 a.m. I'll take a slip, and then go to Pinterest, open the board and click on a pin at random, and do that. When it's done, take another slip and another pin. Repeat until 9 a.m.
Go eat breakfast.
At 5 p.m. repeat
Go to bed.
So...
I did this, and got
Gymnastics
Fencing
Climbing
Yoga
Swimming
Then I thought that that will do for beginning...
He.
For gymnastics, I got this pin. And I clicked it and eyed through what was there, and it looked all like you'd need a gymnasium for that, and I don't have that, so I decided to do this instead:
I mean... close enough. For me, who can't do a cartwheel :-D
And the stretches were a bit too much for me :-D With my hip arthritis.
I really need to stretch more!
Well... for fencing I got this pin. Didn't do it.
For climbing, this. Didn't do it
For yoga, this. Didn't do that either.
I went for a swim. Walked 2K to the lake, swam 400 meters, walked 2K back. I have new inner soles for my shoes, so they chafed and bit a hole to both of my little toes. :-( I don't think I want to walk to the lake tomorrow... :-(
If you don't get 92 things on your list, don't worry. Write as many as you can think of.
- commit to take a photo on each day of Autumn according to this list of your personal favorites. This is why the number os 92. If you didn't get 92 things, don't worry about it, just take more photos of some of your favorites.
- Search "[name of the month] photo/photography challenge". There's dozens of suggestions on-line. Pick your favorites, print the list and cut it into strips, and put the strips in a bowl. Every day of Autumn, pick a strip and take a photo.
Yes, it's a lot of photos. But it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes top most to snap a photo of a thing. It doesn't need to be the greatest photo in the history of photography. It doesn't even need to be a good photo. Or a photo you are proud of. Or a photo you like. It just needs to be a photo of something.
- Start an Autumn journal
a bit like "December Daily", though this is "August/September/October Daily"
illustrate it with your photos-a-day.
make the pages like an art journal, "Project Life" page or a scrapbook page.
make a page every day
there are different journal prompts around, and "project life" prompts etc. Use them.
write down the best part of each day. This doesn't need to be perfect, amazing, inspiring or even good. "best" means "the least bad".
start a gratitude journal - write this, too, in your autumn journal
start writing morning pages. Write these to separate pages and add to your journal.
keep a nature journal or notebook. Write down the weather and nature phenomenon you observed. For this you need to take a nature walk every day with your camera... so we'll get both practice with camera and exercise in the list just like that :-D
Pick a beautiful tree and take a photo of it once a week from the same spot, to see how the seasons change. Pick a tree with beautiful autumn colors, like a maple or aspen. Rowens are nice too, with their berries.
"Sharpen your Observational Skills through Drawing" - again, it doesn't need to be good. The point is to sharpen your observational skills, not to make art... and that you will get better with drawing is just a bonus. ;-)
- clean your home for winter. There are several "fall cleaning" checklists and suggestions on-line.
- decorate your home
- prepare your wardrobe for the transition.
Create a fall capsule wardrobe fit for your lifestyle, activities and purposes.
On my list is "tweed promenade suit, 40's felt hat, plenty of patterned tights, brogue oxfords with heel, leather gloves"
Check the sweaters and cardigans, let them air in the crisp autumn air and start wearing them.
Get a pair of good, comfortable, classic fall boots you will be wearing the rest of your life, and a pair of boot socks.
- Knit something. Learn to knit. On my list is a white, soft aran sweater and a fair-isle set of vest and cardigan. And a tam.
- Take the "week of dressing dangerously" challenge.
Look at all the clothing styles people have, all the costumes, all the tv-series and everything where people wear clothes. Pick five favorites. Pick five of the costumes or outfits you wish you had or could wear or would wear "if..." If you were skinny or curvy. If you were tall or short. If you were a man. If you were in your favorite fantasy world. If you were your favorite superhero. If you were a rock star.
Get yourself these outfits/costumes.
Wear them a whole day, as if it was your normal attire.
On my list
tree
steampunk
goth
gypsy
Change your life in 30 areas to reduce your carbon footprint
I do have the Japanese "oil from plastic" machine on my shopping list... and then I will be making oil. But until I get one - or build one - there are other things to do.
have a “earth day” every day – 1 hour of no electricity
use water as if it was a rarity
use electricity as if it was a rarity
get a bike
start walking at least one hour every day
get a monthly bus pass and get to know your town.
get good curtains to every window – black curtains and thick side curtains
turn off lights
unplug items not in use
get more houseplants
plant more trees
keep the electric appliances clean
learn to use no fire cookers
minimize your belongings – take the 100 things challenge. Only keep things you love and that make you feel good
eat more veggies and fruits. Have at least one vegetarian day every week.
eat more locally produced and organic food
write a food plan and keep it
stop throwing food away
cook from scratch
eat less
shorter showers
take the stairs. Elevators and escalators use electricity.
get a compost and start composting everything that can be composted
recycle all your garbage
start cleaning your environment. “roska päivässä” movement
change electric appliances to manpowered, crank or treadle powered
use less dishes and wash them by hand, air dry
use less clothes and use them wisely. Get work clothes and use clothes-protecting items like aprons and sleeve covers. Air your clothes often, wash them less.
buy minimally packaged goods, and make things of the packaging
eliminate disposable products - make reusable pads, reusable produce bags, reusable handkerchiefs, reusable shopping bags, sandwich bags, reusable bowl covers for the fridge etc.
check how to use cloth instead of toilet paper (this is VERY EXTREME)
- One of the most important "things" in my life, one "thing" I'm grateful every day, is my husband, and I want to do things for our relationship.
There was a list of some 25 things you could do this fall with your husband, but I can't find it :-( There were really nice ideas.
There are also "fall dating ideas" lists. Go through some and pick things that sound reasonable to do with your spouse.
Go to a date every week in Autumn
spend a whole morning in bed
write a fall bucket list together
go reading together in a park with sammies and wine
go tossing a frisbee
make a kite together and go flying it
build a fort in living room and have a movie night
have a ghostbusters movie night
have a scary movie marathon
have a Harry Potter movie marathon
read ghost stories to each other in candlelight
make a quilt together for snuggling
have a game night
go to a market, buy things and come home to cook something with those things
cook a romantic dinner togehter
bake together
go to a flea market, second hand etc. buy a piece of furniture and fix it together
go on a bookstore date
go on a sunrise or sunset date
go shopping some fall decor and things
go picking some nature elements that can be used to make fall decorations with, and make fall decorations together
make autumnal gingerbread house
go to a picnic in a romantic place and play in leaves
get bicycles for both of us and go on a biking tour with picnic basket
go bowling
go play pool
go hiking and camping, spend a night in the wilderness and watch stars together, by a fire, in a blanket, and make s'mores
get a new hobby together (I chose cabinetmaking :-D)
learn a foreign language together (I chose French)
learn to dance with my spouse and go dancing
learn to give massage and give each other massage
paint each other's portrait
go tour your home town; either take a guided tour or find out information to share with each other
learn to play an instrument together (I chose guitar)
learn to play a new card game
practice yoga daily together
go on a "day trip" (I chose a zoo nearby, which is going to take the whole day.)
take a CPR/first aid course together
learn to make candles
make candy together
For this I added three things to my own autumn bucket list:
* build a home theater (within our resources, naturally. It might not be much more than rearranging the living room so that the television and comfy chairs are "strategically" placed with the coffee table - but that alone would improve the movie and tv watching time together.)
* build a fake fireplace (to be able to cuddle in front of the fireplace and to decorate the mantel)
* make a "cuddle kit"
Write - I have a couple of books I need to write on my list
Compile a collection of spooky stories
Have a teddy bears' picnic, October 27th (The International Teddy Bear Day)
Host or attend a fall festival with fun games, crafts, and prizes!
Invites friends over for chili night
Have a sock knitting bee
Learn orienteering
Learn the Thriller dance
Make 30 autumn cards and send to people
Make a pinecone weather station
Have a board-game night
Play hide and seek outside
Play pumpkin bowling
Prepare the balcony for winter
Find five scents that feels like autumn
Learn to solve puzzle cubes
Surprise someone you love with a fall-colored mum
Take a walk in the rain, without an umbrella. Don’t resist the urge to jump in puddles
Visit a craft show with friends
Visit a haunted house
Visit Skogskyrkogård
Stay up late and watch the harvest moon 28/9
Celebrate Rosh Hashanah September 14. Celebrate Yom Kippur September 22. Celebrate Sukkot September 28-October 5
Celebrate the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival September 27
Celebrate Mabon 23/9
Celebrate National Potato Day, 19/8
Celebrate Oktoberfest
Have a Halloween bonfire with hot apple cider
Have a Halloween masquerade party with apple bobbing
Build a Dia de los Muertos altar
Collect autumn leaves
Plant Lily-of-the-valleys for Independence Day
Create an autumn nature table
Enjoy autumn
Go apple picking in an apple orchard
Go indoor apple picking
Go for an early morning walk and watch the sun rise on a cool, crisp day
Go to a leaf hunt
jump in leaf piles
Make a fall leaf maze
Make a nature shadow box
Make land art with leaves
Play conkers
Play with a fall sensory bucket
Look for signs of fall
Play fall "I Spy"
decorate an autumn cake
Get 8 Sabbath boxes and start filling them. (I want 8 big boxes with all the Sabbath associated stuff in, and nothing more.)
celebrate Mabon
Do some Autumn crafts The following is from my personal bucket list, so not autumn related
Paint china
Improve my French Improve my German Learn the basics of all Celtic languages Learn LatinLearn hulahooping learn whip cracking
I am 50 now and I didn't do much of anything of the things in my list. :-(
I did not stretch and work to get my splits. Not one pushup or pullup was done. Not a K was run, not in a minute nor in an hour. Yoga I did a little, but not taichi. I didn't do anything about Parkour. I weighed 124 kilos on my birthday. I haven't thrown any balls. I haven't trained my feet. If I had lost my arms, I would need help to wipe my ass. I haven't learned one dance, or to juggle, and I still can't hulahoop. I haven't taken one photo of me, nor have I had a photoshoot. I haven't made one video, movie or tutorial, or posted anything anywhere. I haven't made one dollar. I have made some clothes/accessories, but not a whole wardrobe. I haven't worn makeup. I haven't had an exhibition. I haven't made a BJD. I haven't written, translated or illustrated any books, not even a chapter. I changed a string in the guitar and started to tune it, and the tuning key broke, so that's that. Haven't gotten it fixed. Still can't play anything. I haven't written any songs, I haven't sang in public. I still know only Finnish, Swedish and English. I haven't made sausage, cider, jams or jellies, handpulled noodles or baked through the Daring Bakers' list. I started to replace the houseplants, and they are all dead now. I almost got debt free, but now I'm back in debt. I haven't taken a roadtrip. I haven't lived as a fruitarian for a month. I don't know any tricks. I know only the CPR and first aid I have picked up. I have put some books in a reading journal, but that's mostly new books. I am not a mentalist.
I did celebrate my 50th birthday in a nice country place, but not as I wanted to, and not on my birthday. It was basically very... low. I had three guests. I got a couple of presents. They were all wonderful and I loved them, but...
All in all, it was very unsatisfactory. I have this idea of that I am not worth it, and it's useless to plan anything big where anything depends on other people, because it just won't happen.
Everything I wrote on this list is achievable. *I* am the only reason to why I don't have it right now.
I have the knowhow and resources to 4/5 of the list and the rest... most of it is just a question of money. I KNOW how I could collect the money to do all the things I want to do, I just don't do it.
And something happened yesterday that made me realize a lot of things.
I don't want to think about difficult things. Most things in my life has been easy, too easy. So I have no training on how to push through when the pushing gets hard. How to deal with the panic of "I don't have the slightest idea of how to do this, I can't do this!" So far in my life I have dealt with that with quitting, fleeing, and hiding in the planning and dreaming department. I'm good at that.
So, anyway, something happened yesterday, and I got confused and scared, and my "fight or flight" response kicked in. I flee.
Now, fight or flight response is "created" as a survival mechanism in a dangerous situation. What was the "dangerous situation" I was in yesterday? I couldn't follow with a dance exercise video.
Yeah.
Dangerous.
So, why did my body see this situation as dangerous?
Usually it is because the person reacting on little things is stressed out in their lives, of other things. There are bigger issues which causes me to be in the "fight or flight" situation all the time, and things like this; obvious "failure", obvious stress, obvious discomfort, distress, obstacle, things don't go as we planned, makes it just flare. This is why we start crying because of something insignificant. The thing is insignificant, we aren't crying because of that, it was just the last straw and we can't take anymore. Let's look at what in our lives is so stressful and deal with that.
Now, it's probably something a lot bigger and impossible to fix in the next five minutes, so what can you do when you fight or flight reflex kicks in?
1) exercise. Do something physical. Choose to flee for 10 seconds, but come back and deal with the situation. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't give in. It's enough to do some pushups or lunges or a sprint, anything physical that makes your heart beat faster. Your brain is pretty stupid like that.
2) take an intellectual inventory of the situation. "No, I'm not going to die, I'm just having a panic attack, my body is just preparing to fight or flight, I'm medically safe. Everything is all right, I am safe."
3) relax. Take 10 deep breaths and go through your body and intentionally flex and relax every part of it. Stretch as high up as you can and stay there for five seconds, and then let your body relax down. Yawn.
4) cut the situation into pieces. So I can't do the whole video. Can I do one movement? Do it. That's good.
Do you want to try the next movement? Good.
If not, that's good, too. You can do something else. Just not quit. Don't go doing something you always do to calm yourself down, like play some videogames or read or watch telly or eat.
Write a list of small, tiny, eeny weeny things you can do, little steps you can take, to reduce the overall stress in your life, or reach your goals.
For example, for me, something constructive to do would have been to do some other exercise. A couple of sit ups or so. Still doing exercise, still taking steps to reach the goal, doing something to reduce the stress, and not trying to ignore it and sit in the corner busy doing nothing, while the problem and stress just grows and gets worse. And next time it's even smaller things that will make me lose my cool, until all I do is slouch on the couch and get fat.
There are two more things in action here.
What I call the mañana reaction. "I can wait. I'll do it tomorrow. There's still enough time. I can do this later".
"Uh, can't be bothered". "This is boring". It's especially difficult problem now, because I don't have much ability to focus and concentrate on things. I watch movies in 10-15 minutes installments, because I don't have the peace to do one thing for more than that. It took me three days to crochet a kippah to my hubby; something that usually takes a couple of hours. I tried to do an exercise program, which usually I finish if I start it, and this time... couldn't be bothered. Boring. I want to do something fun. The problem with that is, is that nothing is fun nowadays. I am still recovering from a deep trauma. I lost three important people between February 2012 and July 2014. I have PTSD. But - I'm coming out of it. :-)
And I'm learning.
