TheBeesKnees

Pictures! Seriously impressive.

I love all that happened here while I was away. NPH has stated that he and his husband share all their clothes, which is completely adorable. My mom never misses an episode of Castle and while she'd never admit to having a crush on Nathan Fillion, she always refers to him as "so charismatic." Wrists are steadily improving since I've started doing the wrists weight lift moves; last night I stayed up in a wheel/backbend pose for 12 mississippis before the little buggers started complaining. Also, my abs are sore for some reason. Not sure if it's the dropbacks to the wall or skimboarding (new thing, have only tried for the first couple time the past few weeks.) But rarrrr! Sore abs!

Yes. For me it was Wash and Kaylee. As they damn well should. You gave them happiness that only lasted fourteen episodes and a movie.

They both had their moments for sure. Earlier this year I discovered Misfits and nothing will ever live up to the first two seasons of that show. More recently it was Sirens, a comedy about EMTs that only ran for six episodes on 2011. Amazing. I haven't tried Green Wing just yet, mostly because the Netflix description referred to it revolving "around the romantic indecisions" of someone and there is nothing less interesting to me than someone else's romantic indecisions.

I can't wait until I'm in a position to take said classes. And until then I'll be reading your adventures. That's the thing, it doesn't really feel like work. The sweet ache that come with stretching is nothing for me compared to the effort required to, like, move. I'm so lazy. But you have been kicking Lyme's butt even though it bites back and that's impressive to me. I'm the kind of person who just absorbs all the awkward in a room like it's my job. I'm the awkward sponge. When I first saw Peep Show I marathoned them with a group of local and visiting friends. The whole experience was so intense by the time we turned it off I didn't know which way was up and I'm pretty sure I looked like this for the next three days:

This. The trick (or, rather, wild dream, I guess) is to find someone else who keeps learning new things and trying new things. This is one of the most important qualities in my closest friends.

Ah! Happy birthday! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

Thanks for the idea of reading HP on another language. It only JUST hit me how brilliant that is. If you're an HP geek already (guilty), you know the stories left, right, backwards, and forwards so your brain would have a big boost already. And it's always fun to re-read them. Clever. Anyway, did you hear Ms. Rowling is writing a movie about Newt Scamander? It's going to be based in New York in the 20s! So excited. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

I have no idea. But there's another question: if I've always wanted to be flexible and I love the stretchy pain, why haven't I become a contortionist before now? Nah, for me it's those magical moments when both Dara Ó Briain and Bill Bailey are on QI. Now that the subject has been raised. Anyone have any super good British series they just discovered? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

Day One Not a bad one, unless you're talking to my wrists, who feel pretty pissed they weren't consulted on this whole "put 30+ pounds of pressure on each" thing. I did two ground to backbend attempts (11 mississippis on the first and six on the second) before the right wrist got all Sam Weir from Freaks and Geeks: And then the left one followed suit just to difficult. So I grabbed some weights and started wrists up-and-down-ish lifts (technical name):2 set of 15 reps with 3 Kilos per wrist per exercise Underhand, overhand, sidehand (this the only description I can come up with without naming a dirty hand gesture) Back to backbends: Camel pose three times until my arms started to tingle in a way that made me think my blood vessels were a little angry Dropbacks to wall—six or seven tries at this pose (this isn't me): I started walking my hands down the wall until I couldn't keep a grip (about two and a half feet above the floor) and panicked a little After half a dozen attempts at trying to relax into it I was sweating like a monkey and shaking Stretches: Forward bend: five minutes Super lunge-y quad stretch (another technical name): two minutes each Frog: 10 minutes Pancake: 20 minutes Pigeion: 10 minutes each side Butterfly: five minutes (not sure I'm getting enough of a stretch in this one anymore, does anyone have a next step for the same muscles?) Random note: I pancaked last night for almost half an hour while watching TV when I'd meant to do five minutes. Whoops. I really like the stretching pain and moving stories. Two hours of freelance-seeking work today. Got one promising response. Solid start.

Tough Mudder! Video game launch! You have some great things happening. Congrats on all accounts. And awesome hair to boot.

Totally watching this space.

I agree one hundred percent. Your challenge is awesome, your profile pic is adorable, and "sucks big hairy turtle balls" is my new favorite phrase. Go forth and kick ass. (Or turtle testicles. Whatever.)

Oh man. If that's the case we're all gonna have to hope that the world can be saved by marathoning British tv shows. Or sleep. I'm pretty good at doing that. And though my sleepbending skills are great, I have a lot to learn before I save anyone. But I believe? I can save the world. *epic music* Previously on LazyGirlWithBendyDreams...

Nice quest! I'm also working on backbends. Specifically I'm trying to get over a fear of dropping into one from standing. If only I could turn my pre-frontal off for a few minutes at a time. The fact that you've done two pull-ups is huge. I've only ever trained for them for a few weeks. My progress was so slow I got frustrated and gave up. But you're inspiring me to try it out one of these challenges.

Nice. Thank you! Awesome. I've rustled up some weights to get started.

Ah ha. Like your cartoon ladies a bit prickly, eh? I thought I was going to hate Toph at first, but by the time she was zooming through the countryside yelling, "I AM THE GREATEST EARTHBENDER IN THE WORLD," I was totally agreeing with her. I just looked up Wing Chun on Wikipedia and found this: "After Yim Wing-Chun rebuffed the local warlord's marriage offer, she said she'd reconsider his proposal if he could beat her in a fight." Well, that's just awesome.

Sorry for the double post. I see an "edit" but no "delete" button.

Totally sound goals. You'll go great!

This is awesome. I think all Avatar-themed questers should stick together, yes? I like how you picked the craziest picture of Azula you could find. Neuro person! Yay! I'm a neuro-geek. Non professional. I'd be a terrible scientist, so I just took neuro and bio-psych classes for all my electives. So. Much. Fun. Congrats on finishing your thesis. I just finished mine about six months ago and I'm only just starting to recover. Good luck and be careful in the Avatar State. (Roku asked me to tell you; He's such a busybody.)

Fracking awesome quest.

Ohhh, hell yes, I'm following your challenge.

Wow! Thanks, guys! dtdlurch, can't wait to see yours! Phoenix Burning, keep watching! It gets SO MUCH better. imahuph, thank you. You too! Hero, Sokka humor is the best humor. I have a MY CABBAGES! shirt somewhere, I should dig it out and wear it through the challenge. A firebender! Nice. You must let us all know when you start Northern Shaolin. Meanwhile I'll totally be trying to drum up some genuine airbending mojo. Dragoness, I have super weak ankles and wrists too. I really need to get in the habit of doing strengthening exercises while reading or working. Do you have any specific exercises you recommend? fiOWNya, thank you! Krav maga is badass too. And omegads that baby is unbearably cute. Yours? Mad Hatter, so overrated. Overrated and lame and awfully vengeful sometimes. (I currently have a pancake-sized bruise on my hip to prove it.) Warm up, will do. I think I still remember the tips you gave me last time: look at your feet and the more flexible you are the better. Anything else?

Oh, see, now you have to that. It's just too awesome. And you really do find the best pictures. I watched Creepy Spider Girl up there for about five minutes without blinking.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my favorite stories of all time and for my first NF Challenge, I want to invoke Aang and laugh at gravity. {For those who aren't familiar: The show was originally written for kids and aired on Nickelodeon, but it was so good much of the regular audience was made up of over 18s. My local bar in Brooklyn actually packed in a huge crowd when they played the final four-episode finale. The premise of this world is that there are four main superpowers in existence, and four separate nations or groups of people: The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Special people from each can "bend" their own group's element. Fun fact: The bending styles are based closely on four Chinese martial arts, respectively: tai chi, hung gar, northern shoalin, and baguathang.} My friend and roommate, C, introduced me to this show the very same week she took me and our other roommate, L, to a medley martial arts class. We joked about what kind of bender we'd be and I was the last one to figure mine out. C already knew she was Waterbender (a natural at Tai Chi, sensitive, graceful) and after a few classes not even the giant dudes could knock L down, even though she's tiny. She's totally an Earthbender. It wasn't until we started using holds that I found I could escape almost any situation, particularly with spinning moves. I'm a goddamn Airbender. Fast forward a year, I'm no longer in New York (which makes me happy and sad at the same time) and no longer taking martial arts classes (which just makes me sad). I will again once I'm settled into a new city, but for now while I'm being a bit nomadic I have to do my Airbender training solo. And Airbending is a lot of acrobatics. In the past I've done exercise I didn't love: Running, swimming laps, lifting weights—along with (excessively) restricting food. It never works for long because eventually my resentment that I have to slog through it every single day outweighs the benefits and I start making rude hand gestures at the whole endeavor. The irony in all this is that the times I've been fittest in my life have been when I've done only the things I like. Mostly? Acrobatic, gravity defying stuff. Here on in I will no longer be dragging myself to a gym. I will no longer fight myself. I am going to do what I enjoy. I need to ditch the desire to be routine. Many people seem to take comfort in consistency and repetition. For me routines are shackles. So instead of trying to do a series of movements or circuits a certain number of times a week I'm going to learn specific tricks. Task 1 Upside down things 1: Learn to drop into a backbend. Aim to practice every day, with a minimum of four times a week. My starting count in an up-from-the-ground wheel is a max of 10 "mississippis" in this pose, I'll aim to stay up just a few longer than feels comfortable at the time and take a count at the middle and end of the challenge. 2: If I master drop-backs before the end of the challenge, I'll move on to practicing my crow/frog stand and bound headstand balance times. I'm currently at about 3 "mississippis" for each. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 2 Stamina: 1 Dexterity: 1 Task 2 Get bendy Splits are a mainstay of acrobats, ninjas, and basasses of all stripes, including Airbenders. And I want in. My starting yet-to-split measurements are right leg front: about 30 centimeters left leg front: about 30 centimeters horizontal: about 23 centimeters To get lower I'm going to do the following stretches (each for a total of at least five minutes) throughout the day as I take breaks from working and/or before bed: Forward bends Butterfly Pancake Pigeon with quad stretch Frog stretch Reclining Hero Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 1 Dexterity: 2 Task 3 Slash at the thyroid monster with food I have a bit of a tendency to restrict my eating when I want to see results and it's problematic, especially because I have a mostly-dead thyroid. In my early 20s (I'm in my late 20s now) while my thyroid was secretly doing the hereditary death-rumba, I found that to lose about a pound a month I had to workout at least an hour a day, seven days a week, and eat less than 1200 calories a day. I did this on and off for years until my thyroid totally died about a year ago and I gained at least 30 or 40 pounds in a couple of months while barely eating at all. It was awesome. Of course, once I got on the right thyroid medication and threw out the grains, things started to change without the need to starve and exercise to exhaustion. I promise to eat. I will eat when my stomach rumbles. EAT. EAT. EAT. Like Appa and Momo. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Constitution: 1 Life goal Fight the complacency beast I'm a freelancer, which means buckets of freedom, and that's great. But to get more (and more interesting) work I need to do some hard self-promotion including cold emails, and that blows. I'd rather bathe in leeches than "network" but I really like having a bed indoors, so I will spend five hours a week pursuing new work. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Charisma: 1 Wisdom: 1 Ready? Set? Yip yip!