Why I haven't blogged in a month

Well, I'm sure no one is sitting around wondering what I've been up to in my month of absence, but for posterity or for the curious, I'll share.

Almost exactly a month ago I got back into the most addicting game, World of Warcraft.  I hadn't played since the 2012 release of the last expansion, Mists of Pandaria.

I really enjoyed it but since then we have moved out to the boonies where high speed internet is only available via AT&T 4G hotspot.  It's pretty pricey, but with the recent Apple iPhone 6 release, AT&T offered a new plan that doubled our data to 60GB/month for $100 less than what we were previously paying for 30GB.  I finally had the data to update the game and get back into WoW just in time for the November 13th release of the next expansion, Warlords of Draenor and WoW's 10th anniversary!

It's been a fun distraction from the stress I've been dealing with, sick kitty, sick piggie, house-hunting anxiety, daily aches & pains, and family issues.  The kit-kat and guinea pig are both fine now, thanks to a great new vet and extra TLC from Hubby.

It's also been nice to reconnect with a good Christian friend I used to play Star Wars The Old Republic (SWTOR) and The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO) with.  He introduced me to a great guild full of generous and active players.  Learning the ropes again has been pleasant and fun.  I made a new character and leveled her to 90. I've never gotten a character that high and there was lots of new things to see and do.

Now that I am re-established with the game play and have my character topped out, I will be settling back into a more regular daily schedule.

Have you ever used a hobby as a distraction from stress in your life?  Do you think it's healthy?

The Motivation Train has Entered the Station!

I'm not sure what's caused the sudden rejuvenation of spirit I've felt in the last couple of weeks, but I'll ride this train until it gets to where it's going!  I've really felt motivated to plan a house-hunting trip to the Catskills, knuckle-down on my nutrition and exercise regimen , and get a few crafts projects done! Yes, I said DONE!

This kind of confluence almost never happens, and I know I should have the determination to do these things even when I am not motivated.

I have lost 4 pounds in two weeks and here's how I did it:

1. My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone

   I set my goal weight and time-frame I want to reach it. 
   I enter my age, gender, weight, etc. So it can calculate the total number of calories I should be consuming daily.
   I enter everything I eat and any exercise I do each day.  I record my weight.
   I eat under the prescribed number of calories each day and check my nutritional content to make sure my carbs, fats, and proteins are balanced.

2. Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 on Xbox 360

   Yes, I play a video game to help me get active and lose weight.  This is my first fitness title on the Xbox 360 and it's pretty good.  I've been using it at least 3X's a week and I have noticed that I am getting better at some activities.
   I really feel like this is one of the major reasons that I have felt so uplifted lately.  Mood enhancing endorphins are flowing through my system much more post-workout (which I try to do in the morning) and I feel like my day is much more productive afterwards.  No more sluggish feeling.

3. Ovia Fertility app

   Okay, that probably doesn't sound like a fitness tool, but it's been pretty great!  It is an iPhone app focused on fertility and tracking cycles, but it's a great health journal as well.  I can record my moods, symptoms, sleep, blood pressure, weight, nutrition, activity, and medications daily.
   Recording this information daily has helped me become more aware of what's affecting my body and I feel it will be a great record that I can use to communicate more effectively with my doctor. 
   I encourage my lady-readers to check it out.  It's free!

4. Walking

   My husband has supported my dedication to change by making time a few mornings a week to go on a walk together.  We live in such a pastoral area and it's so nice to get out and enjoy it at a slower pace (at least before the snow comes!).
   I've gotten some beautiful photos along the way which is inspirational and hopefully marketable.  And it's always good to spend some quiet time together in the beauty of nature. 
   The 2-5 miles a few times a week has been doable with noticeable benefits.

I am encouraged by the results and I just can't wait to see more progress.

Gaming with Mom

     For the last decade or so, I would be considered a hardcore gamer.  I finally got my own PC not long after I got married in 2001, but I had been gaming on console since I was about four and playing Pac-Man on the floor on my mom's Atari 2600.  My mom was awesome that way. How many women get their little girls into gaming?  We played Frogger, Super Breakout, Combat, and Pac-Man the most.  I was also selected to be in a computer class when I was in kindergarten in Florida.  I remember playing something like Space Invaders on these strange-looking computers.  Those old computers looked as odd as the new microwave we bought that wouldn't even fit in our little farmhouse kitchen.  Instead, it sat on the back enclosed porch and set fire and sparks to anything with foil on it...who knew?!  Since then I have gamed on nearly every console produced and enjoyed it as a hobby immensely!

     These days I spend a lot of time playing games because my real passion, having a hobby farm, seems out of reach, so I sit in my dark house and, I like to say tongue-in-cheek, I am "Saving the World from Evil...Again!" as that is so often the premise to games.  I even made that the tag-line for my gaming blog, Limited Addiction.  I have been a life-long story enthusiast.  I love writing, reading, and listening to stories.  I love movies and tv because of the stories.  I really love and miss a tv show that was on PBS when I was younger where a storyteller would read a story (usually an older one) while I watched someone draw out some of the scenes in charcoal.  I loved it and am still inspired by it.  My point is, I love stories and love gaming because of it.  It is so rewarding and thrilling to play through a story!

     It is so much fun to talk to my mom and hear how she is playing Kingdom Hearts again, but this time on the hardest difficulty, or how she's stuck on a boss in Beyond Good and Evil and do I remember how to beat him?  She's in her sixties and lives in a tiny rural southern town, and the nearest game store is twenty miles away, but she is still a gamer!

What's the first game you remember playing and how did you get into gaming?