Spend a whole day naked

This one was supposed to be a lighthearted, fun little silly thing to do, but I realized it turned in to a bit more than that.

Spend a whole day naked
I am not really happy with my body the way it is right now, and that showed today as I spent the day naked. Instead of feeling free and silly, I felt uncomfortable and insecure. I kept trying to hide my body in other ways and mostly spent the day wrapped in a blanket, which felt nice on my body at least. But it was the kick in the butt I need to start trying again to lose some weight and get to where I'm happy. It's a shame my car isn't in great condition. But I can still make an effort at home! So today I am taking in the last of my junk food, and from now on, hopefully, it will be in moderation!

No pics this time, haha.

Learn something new

I am trying out this new Role-Playing game and my character has a resemblance to an Arctic Fox. So I figure, why not learn some things about the Arctic Fox!

Learn something new
The first thing I learned as that they're adorable! Okay, well I already knew that, but look how cute!

I also learned that they're pretty small, generally ranging from 75 to 115 cm in length and weighing about 2.5 to 9 kg. In other words, if anyone doesn't speak metric, they are between 2.5 and 3.7 feet long, and weigh between 5.5 and 20 lbs.

I also learned that an Arctic Fox pregnancy lasts between 51 and 57 days and their litters are usually between 5 and 11 or more pups. It nurses them in dens that are often several hundred years old. It can also endure temperatures of -50 degrees C.

I hope you also learned something! This was a really fun subject.

Play charades

Today I was feeling pretty sleepy, I haven't been sleeping well, but my boyfriend was home all afternoon. After some computer troubles, we decided to play a game together.

Play charades
It was pretty fun. We didn't play by being a super stickler for the rules, but it was fun anyways. Overall we did really well except he had a hard time guessing one of mine and I had a hard time with one of his. It was fun, we laughed and had a really good time. I'm glad we did it!

Give sushi another try

This is one I haven't been really excited about because I hate seafood, and I've never liked sushi. But my boyfriend enjoys it and doesn't get to eat it often because I don't like it. So I decided to give it another try.

Give sushi another try
I went to a place called Tokyo Bay and tried me some sushi!

The two in the front are cucumber rolls and... I don't remember the name of the second one. It's some kind of beef and veggie roll. The orange one is some kind of lobster, but I didn't try that one because I don't like lobster.

First I tried the cucumber one, thinking it's just cucumber and rice, both things I like, it can't be that bad. I hated it. Hated. We figured it must be the seaweed. So for the second one, we took it out of the seaweed wrapping and it was better. Still nothing I would go out of my way to eat, but better.

Overall this was a flop, but at least I tried! The dessert was pretty good, though.

Try a new kind of juice

This ended up being a spur of the moment while I was trying to decide which of my things to do today. My boyfriend had bought this juice to try for himself, so I decided to give it a try when he offered.

Try a new kind of juice
This was a bit of a risk because I don't like mango and I don't like lemonade. Surprisingly, it isn't bad at all. I was pleasantly surprised. I would drink it again. I have, in fact, had 2 glasses of it. Would I buy it again? I don't think so, there are many juices I prefer, but if it's there I'll have no problem drinking it.

Try a video game I've never tried

Today we went and spent some extra money on video games for some fun. We actually weren't expecting to, but we found a bunch of games at 75% off. I got a few games, but my boyfriend wanted me to try the one he got, Zombie Ninja Pro-Am.

Try a video game I've never tried
The game is based off of a show called Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which I was never a big fan of. It's also a golf game, which I am not a fan of. I tried to get through one round of golf but you also have to attack enemies in between shots, which I was awful at. I really tried my best but I couldn't beat the boss, "Carl", and I eventually handed the game over to my boyfriend. As far as how I did at the golf, I could have done better but I wasn't awful.

One thing I did appreciate about the game is that they have little scenes and references to the actual show, which I thought was a nice thing for them to include for people who did enjoy the show.

Learn a new word and use it in conversation

I realized I have done nothing yet from the language section of my 365 things in 365 days, and I haven't practiced my Spanish enough for a lot of them.

Learn a new word and use it in conversation
So I decided to pick a new word and use it in conversation. Today's word is lassitude.

Lassitude: Having little energy or motivation; weariness.

Conversation: My lassitude is preventing me from doing all of the cleaning I need to do today.

Speaking of which, I need to get to that.

Try a new cereal

I am not a huge cereal eater, but I do enjoy it on occasion. But I usually buy the same kinds over and over again, so why not try something different?

Try a new cereal
I am a fan of sugary, unhealthy cereals, such as froot loops and fruity pebbles and the like. So I found some Scooby-Doo cereal that I had never seen before and decided to give that a try.

They were pretty good. Not something I would eat everyday, they were a little bit bland, but at least not a wasted box either.

Post a thread in each of the Final Fantasy forums

As some of you know, I am a member of a Final Fantasy (video game) forum. Today I decided to post up some topics of discussion in each of the sections on the forum.
 
Post a thread in each of the Final Fantasy forums
Here are the subjects and discussion threads I posted.

Final Fantasy I - Replace the job classes with other FF characters

Final Fantasy II - Troubles

Final Fantasy III - How could this game be made more memorable

Final Fantasy IV - I haven't finished this game yet

Final Fantasy V - Take a character from another FF game

Final Fantasy VI - If you could change one thing about this game

Final Fantasy VII - Favorite Turk

Final Fantasy VIII - Favorite location

Final Fantasy IX - If you could change one thing about this game

Final Fantasy X - Who would make the best couple

Final Fantasy XI - How does this work

Final Fantasy XII - If you could change one thing about this game

Final Fantasy XIII What is your favorite thing about this game

Final Fantasy XIV - Is this a good beginner MMO

Final Fantasy XV - Which character looks most interesting

Final Fantasy Tactics - Add a job class

Final Fantasy - Come up with a non-numbered entry

Hopefully this will lead to some interesting discussions!

Go 24 hours without TV

I am 2 hours away from completing this one, and it won't be a problem.

Go 24 hours without TV
Despite wanting to know what happens next on my awful teen dramas, and despite wanting to play a certain video game, I have not touched the TV all day. In about 2 hours, I will have gone 24 hours without TV. I did so by reading, playing my handheld system, surfing the Internet, and writing some stuff. Overall it has been pretty easy!

Paint Easter eggs

Happy Easter to everyone! Today I made some nice colourful eggs for Easter!

Paint Easter eggs
I suppose I can let the pictures speak for themselves here.

And there we have it! I had a lot of fun and it was my first time setting all of this up on my own. Next year I might try for something fancier. Sadly, my boyfriend ate one of the pretty pink ones!

Buy a special kind of tea

Got out of the house for the first time all week, and it wasn't for anything exciting, just groceries. But, I was able to complete another challenge!

Buy a special kind of tea
I bought 2 boxes of sampler teas. Some I have tried, some I have not.

And today I opened it up and tried the Black Cherry Berry kind!

I really enjoyed the way everything was packaged. There are a few tea bags inside of each of the bigger bags inside of the box. It's so neat and orderly.

The tea itself was okay. A bit strong for my tastes, but good enough to drink again. Just not everyday!

Learn one Japanese character (writing)

I am finally on the road to not sick. I'm not completely better, but I can at least do enough to catch up on the large amounts of cleaning needing to be done. I got to thinking a lot about love and decided to learn the Kanji character for love.

Learn one Japanese character (writing)
I don't know Japanese and I don't know much about it, so I apologize to everyone who knows more about this than I do. I could just have the wrong character and be writing something different and my execution of it is probably poor. But I tried anyways, and hopefully it isn't making people cringe.

http://japanese.about.com/library/blkod441.htm

Compliment someone I appreciate

Still sick but slowly getting better. Today I have been feeling pretty worthless, so in an effort to be more positive and prevent someone else from feeling like this, I chose this challenge.

Compliment someone I appreciate
There is a friend I have never actually met in person. We are on a forum together. I used to think it was odd to have online friends, but they are some of the best people I've met. I sent a message to this particular person to tell them how they are a good person, a good friend, and I appreciate all of the support they've given me.

Now you should go out and tell someone how much you appreciate them!

Eat a spoonful of honey

So today I am still sick. I am pretty fed up with being sick, actually. Sick of being sick, if you will. It has been a beautiful day outside and I wanted to go for a nice walk in the park, but just sweeping and doing laundry is enough to make me feel like dying, so I have no choice but to observe the beauty of the outdoors from inside my blanket cocoon.

Eat a spoonful of honey
This was more challenging than I had anticipated as we have barely any honey left and it was all stuck to the bottom. So after a few hours of waiting, I knifed it out and put it on a spoon. I was hoping it might help with my sore throat, but it did not. It did taste good, though!

Read some good news and spread it around

So today I am sicker than ever, but in the interest of keeping positive, I chose this challenge.

Read some good news and spread it around
This is a sweet story of a man and his dog. A man got treated not only for his injuries, but he also got the surgery he needed. His loyal dog waited for him for over a week and they were finally reunited.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/14/dog-waits-outside-hospital-8-days-for-owner_n_5147240.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

You can see just how happy the dog is to finally see his owner. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. Now I am off to spread the good news in the hopes that it will put a smile on someone's face. Maybe it will even encourage others to spread some good news.

Paint my toenails

So just when I figure I can get home and relax, I find myself with a cold! That's okay, because I have some low-key things to do.

Paint my toenails
I haven't painted my toenails since I was very young. I paint my fingernails quite often, but I've just never bothered with toes. So today I did! I painted them my 2 favorite colours!

Pink and blue! I'll probably paint my fingernails to match.

Play a car game

I'm not sure if it counts, but we did indeed play a game in the car.

Play a car game
After days of traveling and little sleep and rest with a four year old, we weren't feeling very creative or motivated, so we just ended up playing the Star Trek trivia game again. This time I did abysmally and my boyfriend did great. That's usually how it ends up. I also bought myself a little dress-up sticker book. They give you little paper dolls and clothing stickers and themes and you dress them up accordingly. I guess I'm like a big kid still!

Also, remember that I have all of the entries of the past week posted up tonight, so you can check the index on the right and select whatever looks interesting. It was a really fun trip but the driving was exhausting! We will probably fly out next time.

Drink a root beer float

It ended up a coincidence as we were returning that my boyfriend's cousin brought us on a tour of Baltimore, which concluded with Root Beer Floats!

Drink a root beer float
Of course I am silly and forgot to take pictures until after we left, so all I got was a dark picture of the restaurant. But it was good. I had tried one many years ago and wasn't super impressed. This one actually tasted really good. I would definitely have it again.

Blow bubbles

Another fun activity to do with my son!

Blow bubbles
This was a lot of fun, and he really enjoyed popping the bubbles. We found a great, cheap, pre-made bubble mix that worked the best I've ever found. I even got one for me to bring home. One of my mothers cats also had fun playing bubbles with us.

Have a pillow fight

This was a funny one, because apparently my mom had attempted this with him and he got offended.

Have a pillow fight
But the good news is he had fun with me. I was worried about even initiating after she told me he wasn't pleased, but he actually initiated on his own. So we had a fun pillow fight as he jumped on the bed and I worried about him hitting his head. All was okay though, and it mostly ended with me burying him in pillows. He was laughing and having a really good time!

Take my son on a trip to the park and spend as long as he wants there

This was a bit more of a challenge for a potty trained young boy with a small bladder, but we pulled it off!

Take my son on a trip to the park and spend as long as he wants there
We stayed there for over 2 hours and he had a lot of fun playing with all of the kids. I did get a few pictures, as well as some pictures of him playing with my boyfriend.

Throw my son a fun birthday party

On Tuesday, it was time to celebrate my son's birthday! He turned 4 at the end of March.

Throw my son a fun birthday party
He really enjoys pirates, so we had a pirate theme. He had 3 kids come over, which was a good amount for the size of the house. I'm thinking next year that an outing party will be much better for him.

Have a tickle fight with Michael

Monday was the first full day I got with my son. We did a lot of things on my list, but I can only count one per day.

Have a tickle fight with Michael
He really enjoys being tickled, and I had a lot of fun too. He tried to tickle me, but he isn't so great at it yet, but I played along. I don't have any pictures, but his playgroup was also that day and I have a few pictures of that.

Go on a road trip

My challenge for Sunday was to go on a road trip!

Go on a road trip
I drove from Anderson, SC to Boston, MA over 2 days. We went up North Carolina, through Virginia. Everything was going well until we hit D.C. and my car started having issues. We were worried about it holding up all week. So we headed north and then west on our way to Boston, avoiding stop and go traffic like Philly and New York. It was much less stressful on Sunday and much prettier too. We stayed with my boyfriend's family. On the way back, we did the same thing, but we headed west around D.C. and saw some very pretty Virginia farmland. I was very excited about this because I've always wanted to take a road trip. It was fun, but after driving for 2 days twice, I'm glad to be home.

I did take some pictures on the way back! Mostly of mountains.

Go to a new restaurant

Since I was out of town on Saturday, April 5th (see road trip challenge) I decided this was a prime opportunity to try a new restaurant.

Go to a new restaurant
Family of my boyfriend's decided on this burger place called the Hamilton Tavern that they described as hipster. It actually was. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have because I was tired after driving for 12 hours and we had to wait standing up for nearly an hour before we got to eat. It was also very late and we had to be up early for more driving the next day. But still was nice to experience something new.

Make a list of 10 things I am happy about in my life

So today is the day before I leave for a week. I will be gone Saturday through the next Sunday. Don't worry, I still plan to do my 365 things, but unfortunately I will not be able to update this blog until I get back. When I do, I will make a separate entry for each one so that it's easy to find each in the little index on the side.

But I can still update today! Also, it has been a week of me doing my 365 things! Off to a good start so far.

Make a list of 10 things I am happy about in my life
Today I will leave you with 10 things I am happy about in my life. Have some positivity!

1. I have a wonderful boy who is caring and loving and kind to others
2. I have help of my mother to keep my son in a stable, happy environment until I can give him the life he deserves
3. I have a great supportive, caring boyfriend
4. Despite being in a very low income bracket, we can afford the things we need to
5. We have the help of my boyfriends family to provide us with support, and give us an affordable place to live
6. I am relatively healthy and don't have any physical illnesses that would require constant medical attention
7. I lived through a situation of abuse and am now in a better place
8. Despite my mental illnesses, I can still function pretty well and stay motivated to do things like this blog
9. An overall well behaved cat
10. I have hobbies that are affordable and that I enjoy doing

Have a great week everyone! I will see you when I get back!

Pull an all-nighter

Last night, I tried to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. It didn't work. I was tossing and turning forever and so I made a decision.

Pull an all-nighter
I need to get on a different schedule than I am now. I will soon be going to visit my son, and he is up by 5 or 6 am. I go to bed a few hours before that. That will not do. It would be an incredibly long week if I tried to pull that off. So I pulled an all-nighter in the hopes that it will make me tired enough tonight to get to bed at a reasonable time.

I did take a short nap this morning. I still feel exhausted and groggy. Hoping this will translate to bedtime. I mostly surfed the Internet, played some Pokemon, and started reading a new book, A Canticle for Leibowitz. I thought this task would be easier, as I have tons of things I could do, but I had not energy and couldn't focus on very much. Overall it was a pretty boring night, and I feel awful.

Hoping it was worth it!

Learn about mental a disease or illness and what support and prevention there is

So today I decided to learn more about a mental illness. I decided on one that I struggle with as well, which is anxiety and panic disorder.

Learn about mental a disease or illness and what support and prevention there is
Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that include generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorder, and panic disorder. They are mental disorders that lead to anxiety and fear about future events and about present events. While the different anxiety disorders all have different symptoms, they all include symptoms of anxiety.

Generalized anxiety disorder is a disorder characterized by a long lasting anxiety that is not focused towards any one object or situation. Phobias are characterized by anxiety being triggered by one or more certain fears, such as heights or public speaking. Panic disorder is when someone suffers through intense moments of panic and anxiety, and will often shake, have difficulty breathing, or any other number of physical reaction.

You can find out about many more of these and learn more details on the wikipedia page and also on WebMD:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/default.htm?names-dropdown=

You can learn about some of the symptoms here:

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

And you can also find some help and support here:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_self_help.htm

Anxiety affects 40 million Americans a year and many sufferers also suffer from Depression. There are a number of treatment options, ranging from things you can do it home, as well as medication and therapy.

This is a website which provides a good step by step detailed guide on some of the things you can try to help relieve some of the burden:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_self_help.htm

There are a number of causes of anxiety, and a number of symptoms that go with it. You may not fit in to the exact guide, but if you often feel anxious, worried, tense, if you experience physical symptoms such as lack of breath, and shaking, or any of the other symptoms of panic attacks, I urge you to seek out some information and educate yourself more on the subject. If you experience severe anxiety or panic attacks, you should consult with your doctor or therapist about what would be the best for you in terms of medication and treatment plans.

I'm glad I did this challenge, I learned a lot and I hope that some of the information provided can be of some help to someone. I didn't want to make a wall of text, so I mostly left it to links so people can follow up on what they would like to learn more about.

This is a link to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a non-profit organization which can also hopefully provide some support. They also accept donations, if you have some extra money and want to give.

https://www.adaa.org/

And here is another charity specializing in anxiety:

http://www.anxietydisordersfoundation.org/

Thanks for learning about this with me and hopefully it is helpful to someone!

Come up with an art prompt

This is a task for one of the forums I am on. There is a thread called "Artination Prompts", which is used to help encourage and motivate members who enjoy drawing, or painting or what have you. Ever Tuesday, someone comes up with a prompt, and the people interested in participating do so and post up their work.

Come up with an art prompt
This week, I decided to come up with the prompt. I have been motivated recently by my "Draw Pokemon as humans" challenge that I will face another day. I had already drawn the Pokemon, Mareep, as a human, and I felt inspired to continue doing so.

The prompt I picked was:

Draw a Pokemon as a human

OR

Draw a Final Fantasy character as a Pokemon.

I decided to go with the former. Here are the results:

Overall I am pretty satisfied with it! I will still have more of these to come, as drawing Pokemon as humans is one of my other 365 things to do in 365 days challenge!