Hoping this week goes better than last week. The terribleness of it all peaked on Saturday, when I was rudely checking my phone at the funeral of someone who died in a very sudden, tragic way, because my dad was having emergency surgery >1000 miles away.

The number one secret of dog training: It is just creating a shared language between you and your pup so that they can be successful.

Are they doing something you don’t want them to? Teach them what you want them to do in that scenario instead. For instance, my dog used to sprint towards the road when he wanted to cross. I taught him to sit instead, and then we crossed whenever he asked by sitting to reinforce the much safer behavior.

The point is to teach them how to tell you what they want/need in healthy ways, and actually listen when they do what you taught them. Another example, give them a way to tell you they need to go outside (bells they can ring is a good option) and then let them out when they ask in the way you taught them.

It can depend on where you’re located and how deep you get into the sport. For beginner classes, in my area, they are ~$100 for 6 weeks. It gets more expensive once you need your own gear and if you choose to compete and/or take private lessons.

I think the most comparable comparison in costs are probably club hockey and club soccer.

• Walking my dog - Better awareness of my neighborhood/getting to know my neighbors. Fresh air, sunshine, and time to work through my thoughts helps me stay clear headed. Cardio is good for you.

• Fencing - both physically and mentally challenging. It is basically violently enforced meditation. Hella fun and is great stress relief. Cons - can be expensive and relatively few adults.

• Reading fiction - I enjoy getting lost in other worlds. Helps to disconnect from the internet from time to time

• Yoga - reduces random aches and pains from sitting all day at work/high impact activities. It just generally feels good afterwards.

• Curling - team sport I do with my spouse. Throwing shit and drinking/eating afterwards is nice. Good community to socialize with.

• Watching movies/tv/YouTube - Lots of great stuff out there. Easy to do too much of this one, especially youtube.

Most recently… empanadas.

But there are so many foods i hadn’t been exposed to but absolutely adore. We didn’t have much “ethnic” foods as a kid, so there’s been a lot I’ve tried as an adult and loved. Butter chicken has become a staple for me. Saag paneer. Pad see ew is another great one. Savory pies in former British colonies (I had a butter chicken pie at a takeaway in NZ that was incredible). The list goes on…

I’m the opposite. I saw it as white and gold, saw a picture of it in better lighting, and now can only see it as blue and black

Doing ~20min of yoga every day I can, which works out to about 4-6 days a week. All my random aches and pains disappeared and my body feels way less stiff.

If I skip a week or so, I definitely feel noticably worse than I do when I keep it up.

Earthship homes are also an alternative that are pretty decent at remaining a stable temperature. Plus, I think they look pretty cool!

Teal

Though I’ve always loved all the cool colors: Blue, Purple, Green