Anathema

Oh man . . . sadly, what was in store was a horrible sinus infection. I was just knocked out for a few days . . . I actually had a couple more good days that I hadn't logged yet, but Saturday through yesterday were pretty grim. I'm feeling a lot better today, and gonna at least do some light workout tomorrow. What a bummer. Oh well, I usually get either a sinus infection or bronchitus most winters (fun leftovers from some medical stuff of years gone by leaving me with susceptible respiratory system that germs just love!), and this was way less bad than it could have been. I think I'll just start tracking again tomorrow and stay with it. I'm in Vegas the second half of next week for a trade show so definitely want t track and be accountable cuz it's so easy to fall off the rails on business travel.

I'm doing "Novice 2" kind of at random . . . I've done 1 full marathon a few years ago, and a lot of halfs, but I'm coming off a year of injuries and rehab (broken patella, followed by a severe ankle sprain) so I feel like I'm not exactly back to the start, but definitely not wanting to push myself too hard. So, pretending to be a novice, and taking it from there . . .

Yay for the 50 and Fabulous Scouts! So, Day 1 went well . . . and then i had a dental emergency (I have massive amounts of dental work that's in the process of being redone, so it was an emergency but not a catastrophe. but it did mean I needed to be at my dentist at 8:30 Tuesday, so Day 2 will be less of a success!). Anyway, Day 1: Monday, Jan 4 • 154.6 lbs Goal 1: Modified paleo. Rocked it! 1/28 (this goal is for every day) Goal 2: Cardio: Yep, short run 1 for the week. 1/12 (3 run per week for 4 weeks) Goal 3: Strength. Not yet! 0/8 (2 gym visits per week for 4 weeks) Goal 4: Time management. Yep, stuck to plan. 1/20 (figure I won't try to do the plan on weekends) Goal 5: Tidying. Yep! 1/28 Tuesday, Jan 5 • 153.6 lbs • -1 today • -1 overall Goal 1: Modified paleo. Absent-mindedly ate naan, rice at lunch 1/28 Goal 2: Cardio: no 1/12 (3 run per week for 4 weeks) Goal 3: Strength. dang it, dental woes kept me from gym! 0/8 (2 gym visits per week for 4 weeks) Goal 4: Time management. dental stuff interrupted plan 1/20 Goal 5: Tidying. Yep! 2/28 Wednesday, Jan 6 • 153.6 lbs • -0 today • -1 overall Goal 1: had a drink at day's end, dang it 1/28 Goal 2: Cardio: yes 2/12 Goal 3: Strength. no 0/8 Goal 4: Time management. yes 2/20 Goal 5: Tidying. Yep! 3/28

As a professional writer/editor, I can say that it is sooooooo easy to put off writing. "My ideas aren't fully baked," "I don't have the time to do much so it's a waste of time to start," "Oh, look squirrels!". So as a writer/procrastinator who has a book contract and hasn't written a word on it in . . . gulp . . . weeks, I salute you and say JUST DO IT! It's so much easier to *keep* writing than it is to *start* writing. So get over the hump, start writing just about anything, and suddenly it gets a lot easier. And now I have to take my own advice and write this darn book . . . one page at a time . . .

Those are really good, concrete goals. Good luck, and enjoy the Dark Side. I hear they have cookies!

Yay! Glad to be back with old friends and meet new ones! And I'm going to have some AMAZING photos to post soon . . . I just turned 50, and did an "In Your Face, Arbitrary Number" photoshoot with a friend of mine who does stunning boudoir/glam photography professionally, and did the shoot for me for free as a birthday present. Such Goth! So Vampire!

Hey Scouty Scout Scouts . . . I've been gone for ages for lots of reasons, none of them having to do with not liking NF or the Scouts or anything. Just . . . life. But I've missed this group and the discipline of Challenges, and I'm psyched to start 2016 back in the saddle. My bigger goal is to the the Oakland Half Marathon in March. I'd hoped to the the full marathon, but coming back from a few injuries, and i think a half is in my wheelhouse, but don't have time to get in shape for the full sheboodle, so half it is. Then maybe the San Francisco marathon in July. For this Challenge, however, my main goal is getting back on the weight-loss train. I actually managed to not have a net weight gain over the holidays, which is a plus, but now it's back to the low-carb grindstone. Fitness Goal 1: Modified Paleo. I don't do well with super-low carbs, so my version of paleo involves modest amounts of whole grains and legumes. But no refined carbs, no processed foods, all that good stuff. Fitness Goal 2: Half Marathon Training Cardio. Download the Hal Higdon Half Marathon plan, stick with it. I always modify it a bit to do more strength, but get in at least 2 solid shorter runs and the weekly long run. Fitness Goal 3: Get Back to the Gym. My strength training has fallen to nothing over the holidays. Make it to the gym for strength at least 2 days a week. Life Goal 1: Time Management. I did this before, and it was great for helping me not waste time mucking about on the Internet all morning. Here's the schedule: 6:00 Wake up 6-6:30 Make tea, feed cats, get dressed, stumble about 6:30-7 Catch up on email, Facebook, etc. 7-7:30 Walk the dog 7:30-8 Make lunch, do 15 mins of cleaning 8:00 Go for run or to gym, depending Bonus Fitness Goal: Calorie Control. I tend to frontload my calories and then be too hungry later in the day. Lunch may be my biggest meal of the day, which is fine, but keep it to 500 calories or fewer. Bonus Life Goal: 15 Mins of Tidying per Day. This is usually 10 mins. I figure, 5 extra mins is barely anything in terms of my schedule, but amazingly impactful in terms of keeping the house from sliding into chaos.

Hey friends . . . I've been gone for a while, dealing with random personal stuff (injuries took me away from running, dealing with sickly husband, realizing I really do need to stop drinking, etc.). But I'm back, and psyched to start a new Challenge and bask in the awesomeness of Scoutly support. Woohoo!

I have tracked this week, but not reported as much. I'll do a roundup today. Very little "official" exercise, though lots of walking. Not sure what's up with that. Food's been better though. Amazing how not having crap around the house means eating less crap! And did a really good networking thing Friday, spoke at an industry event and then met some neat people in my industry and connected with others.

Well, I've been tracking-ish, but another wave of work & life overwhelming. Making the commitment to just have my update be the first thing I do when I crack open my computer every morning, instead of (once I finish this one thing" since, well, that doesn't work so well timewise. Not gonna report on a whole dang week but I did get caught up on my tracking sheet with some random guesses for days I couldn't quite remember. Largely, went well except still not eating as I should. I talked to my lunch-date coworker about more "picnic in the park with salads" type lunches which is way cheaper than a restaurant, and easier to control portions. He's a creature of habit, so once we establish that pattern he'll be fine. And I had my one planned non-sober day on Friday when I had a small drink with a friend, but then ended up tkaing a sleeping pill Sunday, so one day over my goal of 7 substance-free days. Not super worried, this week is starting out fine and my sleep has been way better. Here's yesterday under the "get back on the horse" heading . . . Week 3, Day 2 Tuesday, April 28 154.4 lbs Follow food rule 1 1/ 7 Run 3 times 1 1 /3 2 strength 0 0 /2 Sober 1 2 /7 Network 0 1/ 7 NF Boards 0 0 /7 Housework 2 2/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1

Okay, I'm adding the following to my goals for each day. Ask, are you hungry? before eating something. If not hungry, don't eat. Note what made me want to eat . . . bored, anxious, tasty food shoved in my face by well-meaning co-worker, etc. Will be an interesting mindfulness practice . . .

Kind forgot to roll for food challenge on the weekend. And I had a drink at my friend's housewarming party, but I'd kind of assumed I would, and budgeted mentally for it. Plus, I was driving, so it was a drink, not a "party" consisting of me, a bottle of red wine, and the Internet. Here's the weekend: Week 1, Day 6 Saturday, April 18 152.4 lbs Follow food rule 0 2/ 7 Run 3 times 0 2 /3 2 strength 1 2/2 Sober 0 5 /7 Network 0 4/ 7 NF Boards 0 5 /7 Housework 3 6/ 7 Gardening 1 1 /1 31 / 41 for the week Sunday, April 19 152 lbs Follow food rule 0 2/ 7 Run 3 times 0 2 /3 2 strength 0 2/2 Sober 1 6 /7 Network 0 4/ 7 NF Boards 0 5 /7 Housework 1 7/ 7 Gardening 0 1 /1 32 / 41 for the week

Gardening's a weekend thing . . . housework the goal is 10 minutes a day, but if I miss one of two, I allow myself to get caught up on the weekend--doing 20 or 30 mins. The clutter is definitely diminishing (I have a dog who sheds like crazy even though he's very short-haired, two rambunctious kittens who love knocking things on the floor, and a husband who turns every room he touches into a Man Cave . . . so it's an unending battle . . . not like Joe never helps, but realistically he works a physically debilitating job, so I get why he needs more downtime than I do.)

Another 40-30-30. I actually hit it during the day but then I stopped tracking at the end. Probably still did, however, since my end-of-day stuff was not super fatty. So I'll take the point. But still try to be lower calorie moving forwards. Week 1, Day 5 Friday, April 17 152.4 lbs Follow food rule 1 2/ 7 Run 3 times 1 2 /3 2 strength 0 1/2 Sober 1 5 /7 Network 0 4/ 7 NF Boards 1 5 /7 Housework 0 3/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1 22 / 41 for the week

Pretty good so far . . . the dice-roll thing seems to work with the way my brain does. I think the main food thing I'm learning is that I tend to front-load my calories and then close out the day at like 6 . . . and then eat too much and not well later. Full-on intermittent morning fast isn't something I like (though including it in the dice roll just for variety and to remind myself that I won't actually die if I don't eat for 16 hours), but I think I need to eliminate the "morning snack." Even if it's a healthy morning snack, it's calories I don't really need and it gets the day off to an overly snacky start. That's gonna be a mindfulness focus this week. And thanks for checking in! I've been foruming a bit (per my goal), but gotta do more, see what others are doing, say hi . . .

Today's dice roll was 40-30-30, and I did pretty well all day but then way over-carbed at the end. Ah well, the rest was good. Though I was really bloated this morning from late, salty carbs (Thurs weight was 150 . . . Fri was 152. Yeah, I don't think I gained 2 lbs in 12 hours. But still annoying.) Week 1, Day 4 Thursday, April 16 150 lbs Follow food rule 0 1/ 7 Run 3 times 0 1 /3 2 strength 0 1/2 Sober 1 4 /7 Network 1 4/ 7 NF Boards 1 4 /7 Housework 0 3/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1 18 / 41 for the week

Today's dice roll was no refined carbs. I did it! Having the one, specific, random goal was very helpful. And knowing that, well, I really want that chile-lime mango that's got some sugar (why add sugar to dried fruit! It's just as tasty without!). But tomorrow I can no doubt have some, so it's only a one-day thing. Much easier to do. Week 1, Day 3 Wednesday, April 15 151.4 lbs Follow food rule 1 1/ 7 Run 3 times 0 1 /3 2 strength 1 1/2 Sober 1 3 /7 Network 1 3/ 7 NF Boards 1 3 /7 Housework 1 3/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1 15 / 41 for the week

I've decided "no junk food" is too vague. The idea was to simplify my eating, but actually I think I've figured out that I prefer rules. Going back to the "dice roll" choose-an-eating-plan idea from a couple of Challenges ago. Each day roll a 6-sider, and do one of the following: 1 = 12 hr intermittent fast 2 = no refined carbs 3 = 40-30-30 4 = full-on paleo 5 = 750 calorie deficit 6 = 1,000 calorie deficit And here's yesterday. Planned to work out after work, but then was exhausted. I do so much better with morning workouts, but sometimes my work schedule makes that difficult. And Indian food lunch may not have been technically "junk food" but I ate way more fried things than an eating-healthy person should . . . Week 1, Day 2 Tuesday, April 14 151.4 lbs No junk food 0 0/ 7 Run 3 times 0 1 /3 2 strength 0 0/2 Sober 1 2 /7 Network 1 2/ 7 NF Boards 1 2 /7 Housework 1 2/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1 9 / 41 for the week

One of my players opted for a Dramatic Failure this weekend after failing a roll to impress a Very Important Vampire at a party. He basically turned to check out a passing girl's butt, elbowed the vampire elder aside for a better look, and then forgot he was being introduced and ambled off after the hot barbarian chick. His character is kind of a meathead anyway, so not a major stretch . . . My NPC who's kind of a dippy teenager nobody really likes then rolled 7 successes, so she's basically now BFFs with the Queen of the Vampires. Because dice have a hilarious sense of humor.

So after using corner-store pizza as my example of what to avoid I had . . . corner-store pizza after work last night. Ah well, other stuff went well. I need to think about stress eating and how to handle. I think part of it is shifting my healthy snack intake later in the day. And part of it is just not giving in to it. I made a Google doc to make keeping track of stuff easier. First column is did I do the thing today or not. Second column is running total for the week, and third column is how many points per week I'd get maximum (so, for instance, my goal is only 2 strength sessions per week, so 2/2 is a success. Housework is every day, so 2/7 is . . . less of a success. But I could convert it to Dramatic Failure to get an XP). Networking point was a "barely counts," since what I did was print out a form that's needed for my industry group, but not actually walk it down to the bank and file it. I'll do that today. Week 1, Day 1 Monday, April 13 150.8 lbs No junk food 0 0/ 7 Run 3 times 1 1 /3 2 strength 0 0/2 Sober 1 1 /7 Network 1 1/ 7 NF Boards 1 1 /7 Housework 1 1/ 7 Gardening 0 0 /1 5 / 41 for the week

It's a funny thing about those "glamour jobs"--as a former boss of mine actually said to me with a straight face to justify the low pay in media. Also, the US (or at least California? Not sure if it's a federal or a state thing actually) has really odd laws about what jobs are exempt from overtime. Like, if you use artistic judgment in your job, your employer doesn't have to pay you overtime. I think it grew out of some sort of honorable idea about trying to being sure people working really unfun jobs (factory assembly line, agricultural labor, etc) were fairly compensated, but somehow that then got flipped around to, and if you're not in one of those jobs, you don't deserve fair pay. Not quite sure exactly how that happened . . . and of course it's not like folks working at Wal-Mart and such benefit either. Because America.

My leg is . . . much, much better, but I think my hope of doing a half or even full marathon in July isn't realistic (which, the ortho doctor said was a "maybe, just see how training goes and don't pay any fees til you're sure" thing, so not a big surprise). I did a long hike on Friday and was noticably limping on Saturday, so gonna just ramp back and be sensible. Bah, sensible. It's like being a grown-up or something . . .

So, I dropped out of the last challenge because my work was so stressful that I just kind of lost it. Working super long hours, getting anxious about everything, all that fun stuff. The good thing is I didn't go full-blown off the rails, in that I kept eating okay if not great, was at least getting my 10,000 steps a day if not always more cardio, etc. So not full-blown face down in a vat of Cheetos and vodka type off the rails, but not awesome either. Work is still stressful though a little less so. For those of you who've been following my saga, Hell Project is still off and on. It was going to go on hold and then it wasn't and Hell Client is sending me multiple abusive and insane emails a day asking to change already-approved and not-easy-to-change things. And by "asking" I mean petulantly demanding while denying every having approved the stuff he approved last week. But I do go on. Let's talk Challenge instead. Since I'm still pressed for time, I'm going to make this really simple. My goal is to keep losing weight and also keep my personal life from falling into shambles due to work stress. To that end: Goal 1: No junk food. I am intentionally not saying "no simple carbs" because sometimes working late, a protein bar of some sort really is a reasonable thing to grab at the corner store. But no crap food. Luna Bar yes, greasy fast-food pizza slice, no. Goal 2: Three runs and two strength sessions a week. I have been totally blowing off the gym, and that's not good for body or soul. Also, there's water rationing in California right now with potentially very high fines for water wasters, so showering at the gym is good! Goal 3: Totally sober. I drink too much when I'm stressed out, and I am too quick to take a prescription sleeping pill when I'm anxious at night, even if really a nice cup of herb tea and some meditation would do the trick. Life goal: Be better at networking. I love my job, but a lot of folks have left recently for much higher-paid jobs in tech. Keeping on top of my network (I run a very informal online networking thing for my industry, and am on the board of another one that is kind of falling apart from everyone on it being too busy). I agreed to speak at an industry event in May so that's a start. I have have done nothing about my presentation yet so, yeah, I should probably work on that . . . Bonus goal: Check in on the NF boards daily, post progress, talk to folks, encourage newbies. Always goal: 10 minutes of housework a day. One hour of gardening on the weekends. As ever, $1 per goal attained per day, to the tattoo fund. Which sadly I had to empty out for unexpected massively expensive car repairs. So, building it back up.

Hey friends, just saying hi. I dropped out of the last Challenge because I was so overwhelmed with work stress that I just couldn't focus on anything else. And then i got a really bad cold--nothing drastic, but that kind of annoying thing that you get when you're stressed out and such where I was just feeling bleah for weeks. Better now, and totally psyched to jump back in on the 13th. I'm still feeling a little groggy and sleeping a ton, but I've been doing at least minimal exercise, and will hopefully be back to full strength soon. And as of this morning my boss agreed that we need to put the one project that has been making me crazy on hold. Without going into more detail than necessary, it's basically a client who is kind of insane and horribly time-consuming and demanding, and trying to make the thing work was taking over my life, and meaning that all of my other projects were suffering. Luckily, my boss is a really good guy, and he agreed that maybe you just can't please some people, and we need to figure out how to solve this in a way that doesn't mean me working 12-hour days and coming in on weekends. I know the stress is why I got so sick, but it's also a really bad cold that's going around, as a number of my friends and coworkers have had it, so sort of just a pile-up of ick. But no more whinging! Back on the Challenge horse for me! I'll post my goals later when I have a bit more brainspace, but gonna keep it re=latively simple this time so I don't get discouraged/overwhelmed again. Basically, run more, eat less.

Okay, it's Monday, I've basically taken a week off from the Challenge, darn it, I'm back. I did sort of track for the past week, but also didn't really push myself. My hellish project is still fairly hellish, but getting better. And my boss has actually said we can shelve it for a bit if need be, to concentrate on things that have better short-term payoff. I'll check in at day's end with an official report!