Syren

On the last day of November, my path to health granted me -- some yoga because it is FL cold outside. I definitely benefit from meal prep.

All together this year? Neat Breaks out a cask of bourbon she hides within her plot hole. Drinks all around! Happy yuletide!

Marine biology, Wetland ecology, and environmental science. I still work in environmental science, but I no longer have a field component and it is all remote sensing assessment and policy related. Still interesting and still a lot to learn, but not quite as fulfilling as when I could go out in the field occasionally or be in the lab analyzing samples.

And now I have two weeks worth of food in my pantry, fridge and freezer. Didn't realize I would need to become a microprepper for fear of the outcome of a democratic election, but here we are. *sigh* At least it is gorgeous today. Setting up the all Hallow's Eve festivities --> It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (0:25) The Simpson's Tree House of Horror V, VI, VII, XII (01:30) Hocus Pocus (01:35) Casper (the one from the 90's) (01:41) Ghost Busters (01:45) Ghost Busters II (01:48) Young Frankenstein (01:42) Rocky Horror Picture Show (1:40) I could add The Adam's Family, Adam's Family Values, and Stardust from Netflix.... but I already have 12-hours of DVD & Bluray wholesome horror which I think should be plenty. Between each round of terror, do one lap around the apartment complex and choose one from below: 12-lunges (per side) 12-push ups 12-squats 12-triceps dips 12-leg raises 12-40-lb band rows over hand grip 12-40-lb band rows under hand grip And one - two of the following clean the roomba clean the cat water bowl clean the stove top take out the recycling brush the cats dust off the computer screens water the plants put the clean dishes away load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher clean the bathroom sink clean the litter box throw the laundry in the washing machine toss the laundry in the dryer I'm thinking of doing a couple of garden cream cheese stuffed jalapeno's with a bacon wrapping alongside some sweet potato tortilla chip chilaquiles for dinner. Or pho, could do pho.

Day 3 __ Not feeling the story telling aspect of today. I did a walk, was feeling kinda tired today. Weather had been rainy most of the day. After work it cleared up though. I did some stretching. I have gotten most of the daily cleaning done. I need to go grab a rag and wipe down the stove.... I can do the thing, I can do the thing. I'll go do the thing.

Day 2 __ The Otto is attempting to play bard this morning, singing the song of his people. The Penelope was suspiciously absent from the awakening ritual, but never misses a meal. I learned through the grape vine that the local watering hole was beset with steam mephit. It was an interesting challenge to go at them with fists rather than spells. Minor burn damage, but nothing that can't be healed with a long rest and some stocked potions. Needless to say, I wasn't up for battling with the darklings tonight, but I did do some light stretches after the battle with the steam bois.

Day 1 Continuted: ___ Well, the journey through the dungeon was mostly uneventful. I did encounter a couple of oblex spawn at the dumpster (the residents of my apartment complex cannot figure out how to break down boxes or recycle them -- this also happens at the end of each month so people are also just throwing their crap away that they can't fit into their moving van or are unwilling to take to the thrift store... ugh I hate all people). Then on the way out there was one very minor kobold (largest freaking brown anole I've ever seen! he was impressive). No loot to speak of... but there's always tomorrow. I found some skeletons skulking about down at the edge of the forest. Luckily we're all low level here (for now) so they were dusted fairly easily.... (just did one full body circuit). I had some bad rolls so I got pushed to the ground, but I got back up again. I didn't pull my punches with some well timed lunges. Those boney bastards were quick though, so there was still plenty of opportunity to dodge. Safe for another night. (1 x 12: push ups, lunges (per side), 40 lb band rows forward grip, squats, 40 lb band rows reverse grip, leg raises, 40 lb triceps extensions). I just finished up with the ritualistic cleansing of the apartment spawn in some key locations. There are still a few lurking around, but we shall beat them back this week! Now, if I can just solicit the two familiars to help with the cleaning...

Day 1 I wake up in a modestly furnished apartment... For the most part. There are a few extravagant creature comforts procured by my artificer/rogue significant other. Two cats weave underfoot as I prepare breakfast. After breakfast, it's time to scheme and plan. I find I miss my adventuring and the questing lifestyle. It's time to get back into shape! There's a lot that's been lost on my more academic druish pursuits, but the core values are the same. I need something physical, something more martial. So, ranger shall ranger. While I'm no archdruid, I took a chance at starting over and binding my magic temporarily so I can't use it as a crutch. My wisdom and intelligence stats are by far the most cultivated... guess nothing to it other than attack the day! Actions! Clear the Oblex Spawn from the apartment --> stick to the cleaning schedule, or they will come back in force Collect plants and beasts to eat like this --> http://www.fammed.usouthal.edu/Guides&JobAids/handouts/Metabolic/1600CalMealPlanningGuide.pdf Dungeon Runs (daily) Aquatic Dungeon --> 30-minute run through can encounter various monsters (swim days) Urban Dungeon --> 30-minute run can encounter various monsters (spinning or VR days) Tangled Forest --> 30-minute run can encounter various monsters (Hikes) Undead raid --> clearing skeletons from the swamp (strength training 3 days) Fey Focus --> Battling the darklings in the woods (yoga/stretching 4 days) Tracking: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HzJIXSCYKt_BK_U8xCYATg0nCOBUPDQuGHDIMjbjyts/edit?usp=sharing

I decided to check in because I haven't been in for a while, and lucky me there's a challenge starting tomorrow!

Kinda like a scene from Carrie, bordering on the elevator scene from the Shining. I made a google sheet for tracking progress, but it has been a bit of an extra challenge towards the end of the week with the whole bleeding to death thing my body seems to be compelled to do every month. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iWktz-fZ0mJPit9n-iwOH5qUvvU1caiwh8uFk-0xKzo/edit?usp=sharing

For Monday, I think I managed to only make the Green Monkey team. Everything else is a work in progress 🐙 Thanks for the encouragement @WolfDreamer and @annyshay 😊

This Challenge's Artifact --> "The Denim Pantaloons of Yesteryear" Round 0: Choose your Team (02/10/2020) Red Jaguars --> Set work life balance boundaries Blue Barracudas --> Drink water all of the time Green Monkeys --> Find humor in most situations Orange Iguanas --> Seek the sun Purple Parrots --> Know when to get out of the office Silver Snakes --> Give hugs to their... loved ones... >.> Round One: The Moat (02/17/2020) Work out 30-minutes each day Keep to the meal plan at least 60% Go to bed at the same time every day Round Two: The Steps of Knowledge (02/24/2020) 2-days flexibility focus workout Keep to the meal plan at least 65% Prepare the to-do list prior to bedtime Round Three: The Temple Games (03/02/2020) 2-days strength focus workout Keep to the meal plan at least 70% Turn off the screens 30-minutes before bed Round Four: The Temple Run (03/09/2020) 2-days cardio focus workout Keep to the meal plan at least 75% Meditate for 10-minutes each day Round Five: Slime Time (03/16/2020) 1-day wildcard workout Keep to the meal plan at least 80% Tea time before bed

Thanks for checking on me 😊 I did pretty solid on sticking with the meal plan this week. Not as good with walking - - we were busy at work this week. Ankle caused some issues when it was raining earlier this week, by it has gotten better as it dried out.

I made a tracking sheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14Qknk0ndOa8Ou8wzwY48Od05IMbjIRCGGA9qwe7r1uU/edit?usp=drivesdk

Thanks, ☺️ Easy to be irritated by it since it's lingering and seems to be one thing right after another. The attached image shows what today's meal plan will contain: Breakfast: Avocado toast with scrambled eggs (I am only using half the avocado this morning, the other half is going to my SO) Snack: Clementines/banana (that banana is almost 8oz and the two Clementines are just shy of 7oz) Lunch: leftover chicken noodle soup (representative parts being chicken, noodles, celery, parsnip, carrot, onion about 9 oz of veggies alone) Snack: cheese (I like cheese, but I don't think I can eat this much with my aversion to mucous production right now) Dinner: either chicken gumbo or chicken tortilla soup depending on which flavor we feel like (chicken, pepper (9 oz pepper!), onion, celery?, tomatoes, rice, additional seasonings and garlic) The chicken breast in the picture is 10.5 oz, so it will be making leftovers and I will be sharing it with my SO. Did my ankle exercises this morning and I think I will go for my walk after I post this since it is nice and sunny.

After looking into it for way too many months now, I don't think the USDA understands them, and they make them up. 🐙

One mermaid's yuck is another goblin's yum

Crime and Punishment?

Hi I live in Florida, previously in West Palm Beach (pretty south) and now in Tallahassee (basically south Georgia), Orlando is right in between -- Weather: right now we are currently in what the Netherlands might consider as spring or summer weather, because of course 22*C is normal in January. Nevertheless, if temps are lower than 26*C in Florida, you will see people in shorts and parkas, because Floridians. In May, it will be almost surface of the sun hot plus pre-hurricane season. It's not really the temperature that is all that shocking, it is the sheer amount of moisture that lays on you like a blanket. The humidity will most likely be around 80 - 95% on your visit. You could get lucky, we could get a cold front and you would be in for very entertaining people watching as the day temps might get to 16*C. Tap Water: Central Florida tap water, while safe from biological contamination, tastes like sulfur, has a slightly greasy feeling to it (at least to me), and is quite possibly the worst water I have ever drank. It even makes coffee and tea awful. I don't know what is wrong with the aquifer -- but especially in Kissimmee where Disney is, omg, it's awful. While I really hate suggesting this because plastic is the worst, but you might want to bring some extra money along to buy bottled water to cook with and definitely to drink. Food Labels and Groceries: You've gotten some pretty awesome food advice already, I will plug Publix again as a grocery store since you can't go more than five blocks in Florida without seeing one. There are a few farmer's markets all around Orlando and Kissimmee though if grocery stores aren't your favorite. Prices and variety will vary. We do have a few grass fed farm operations in that area too so it is very probable that you could find some good quality fresh beef if you are into that. Publix does try to source their meat and produce from Florida and you will be coming in at the end of strawberry season and the beginning of mango season (this state likes to raise fruit and beef). Tank found a great explanation of the food labels we have on processed foods and dairy. A lot of the labels now also break down if a food has added sugar. Mileage will vary on that since the law to do this is still new and I think producers had some extended time to transition. Our produce, deli, and butcher items do not typically require nutrition labels, so if you get something like a fruit salad from the produce section, it may have a list of ingredients and it will tell you how much it weighs in pounds so you can get the price but not much else. The bagged salads Elastigirl mentioned will have nutrition labels though since they have been packaged in a factory rather than prepared in the store like the fruit salad... I'm actually really confused by this policy now, because most fruit in the US is packaged in factories, but still do not have nutrition labels on the packages. A lot of food labels try to work with 100 g serving sizes, but not all of them have caught onto this. It's great fun when they put items in volume rather than mass too, e.g. 1/2 cup of oats... what do you mean United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)? It's not a liquid, why would you do this?! The USDA is in charge of coming up with our nutrition labels and health guidelines. Also most labels show calories... but we're American so we have to do our own thing and be difficult... but these calories are actually kilocalories... I think we are that afraid of the metric system...

2020 -- The goal is 12 books -- because since becoming an adult, I don't read like I did as a kid -- ah, responsibility... ok it might be a reliable and high speed internet connection +2 2020 List January - Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy by Steven Campbell (suggested by my SO when I finished my last book) The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas (given to me by a co-worker when they left for a job in California) The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Xmas gift from...2017? need to read) Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B. Carroll (Xmas gift from...2018? need to read) Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (suggested by SO) What is Life? by Addy Pross (b-day gift from 2018... need to read) Land of Mist and Snow by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald (when did I get this? what do you mean I haven't read it yet?) Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons (xmas gift from...2019! read this one too) The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall (...I feel like I bought this because it had "Shark" in the title, but didn't read it, and now I need to read it) The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart (b-day gift from 2019... reading this one too) Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain (aw... impulse buy from 2018, read it) Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo (given to me as a high school graduation gift... 2006... I've had this book since 2006 and I haven't read it... wut?!) Additional books that I will obligatorily be buying and reading as they come out: Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore (5/12/2020 because it's a Christopher Moore book) Title to be determined The Stormlight Archive #4 by Brandon Sanderson (11/17/2020 -- how do you have a publishing date but not a title or cover Sanderson?!) And if Rothfuss or Martin actually end up publishing a Kingkiller Chronicle or the Winds of Winter this year

So, as seems to be my body's tradition when beginning a new challenge, I am currently sick -- I got sick, a sinus cold in particular, shortly after trying to start my Festivus advent challenge. I got better, but then had a more than normally unpleasant time with my period. And now I seem to have a different flavor of the cold virus -- it's in the lungs this time -- woohoo -- with some extra fatigue on the side. I want to say that I normally don't get very sick -- however I really think this is relativistic and I am simply ignoring the memories of those irritating times of life. On top of that, I live in the south eastern US, and the weather can't decide if it wants to be spring or fall or summer on any given day (hush any of you who think < 70 F is winter, you know nothing John Snow) which just confuses the hell out of all the flora, which then confuses my immune system into thinking its being invaded. The power of cytokines compels me to hate the south for more than politics at the moment (for those in the back who just say "why not leave if you hate it so much?!" in outrage and hatred, the answer is I would love to, I just need to have a gainful employment elsewhere first. Thanks for playing, the internet is obviously a place for airing grievances). I'm also really cranky because I'm miserable and can't fix it, so, skip and tldr? That being said, here's what I want to accomplish this year: Fit into my size 14 jeans again --> can I make it into a size 12? Work on my hiking stamina --> presently 2 miles on light terrain is the limit my ankle can handle and still needs some extra care afterwards --> I would like to condition up to moderate terrain levels and 5 miles, just aiming for day hikes Save up for a national park tour out west this summer/fall -- haven't decided yet on Yosemite, Sequoya, Yellow Stone, or Glacier --> it will likely be dependent on how the stamina goal goes To achieve the year long goals, for the next 5-weeks I will be: 1. Eating based on USDA guidelines: 1700 Calories daily servings Daily weight (oz) Fruit 1.5 6.375 Vegetables 2.25 10.125 Grains 5.5 5.5 Protein 5 5 Dairy 3 4.5 Since embarking on this trying to be healthier journey, I have become obsessed with trying to figure out how to get all of the micronutrients (calcium, potassium, B12, etc.). Supposedly, if you eat a balanced diet, you should get all of these. However, I have no concept of what a balanced diet is. I grew up in the 90's and meals were pizza, cereal, pop-tarts, or mac & cheese. This ends up with me obsessing on how to eat better while still always wanting pizza. I'm also a numbers person, so the numbers above are calculations that are based on averages from the USDA report for my recommended ideal weight and activity level. Nuts and bolts: the recommended weights are really what I'm after. I don't want to calculate each micronutrient and calorie. The weight of the recommended servings can help me figure out how much of which food group to buy each week and gives me a goal towards nutrition without tediously crunching each number... or running samples through a mass spec and calorimeter... the assumption is that the USDA has done a good analysis of the available data. 2. Walk each day and hike on the weekends -- also get some sun, absorb vitamin D, and get some exercise -- ---- Week 1: Start off with 20-minutes each day (this should be increased as I feel better) 3. Ankle strengthening each morning and care each evening -- do each rotation and flexion/dorsiflexion exercise 3 x 10 each morning -- alternate soaking and massaging each night ---- glorious back story ---- I was in a car wreck in 2008 and managed to come out pretty okay, just a very badly sprained ankle, two sprained knees, and a totaled 2003 Chevy Malibu. I did not do PT after the crash because I am both an idiot and health care here is TBD. For the most part it works fine, but there are days when it makes me exceptionally cranky and gives me an excuse to continue being lazy. 4. Develop a tentative itinerary, budget, and savings plan for the trip

I thought an advent would be a fun way to play around with chores I've been meaning to do and start some better habits 😊

(Roughly to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas) 1. On the first day of Festivus the law said unto me “you can’t buy alcohol on Sundays…” --> Alcohol Redux (< 7 servs per week) 2. On the second day of Festivus the weather cooled on me when I decided to Swim 3x per week 3. On the third day of Festivus my dentist said to me “You gotta’ do the thing” --> Floss daily 4. On the fourth day of Festivus my true love helped me make a pile of dishes we have to clean. 5. On the fifth day of Festivus, my kitties meowed to me, "scoop my poop minion!" Progress Tracking: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11vbcyNgdY6Ad815zF3izfGYZLnKrFCRTtJN-mpsYdjw/edit?usp=sharing

Poorly, since I am still trying to get my routine down. Water has been better though! I consistently drink 2.5 L each day, which is good for the current climate and lack of significant exercise. Reading is necessary, but I am finding that it is extra difficult to read a technical paper in my off time after having spent the work day reading technical papers and manipulating data. The fish pop papers are really interesting, but you have to read the stats to understand what they are claiming and this is now what I do -- just with phosphorus and nitrogen loads in watersheds. Still reading for class, just also listening to equal measures of audiobooks and story podcasts for fun. Listening uses different sections of the brain, so it's not the same as reading, but it is nice and relaxing -- which was the initial intent of this goal back in January.

Progress Report Week 0 M | T | W | R | F | Sa | Su Walk Drink Read Week 1 M | T | W | R | F | Sa | Su Walk Drink Read Week 2 M | T | W | R | F | Sa | Su Walk Drink Read Week 3 M | T | W | R | F | Sa | Su Walk Drink Read Week 4 M | T | W | R | F | Sa | Su Walk Drink Read