KitBi12

After checking the leaf door for drafts, Kit returned to find the satyr rifling through her knapsack. She deftly picked her way through the group and plucked the corrupted heartwood from his hands. "You're a leader, not a thief. Learn to respect the boundaries of those in your service. However," Kit pulled a vibrant lily from her bag, "if you insist on taking without permission, at least take something which once belonged to you." Bypassing Teros, Kit brought the fire flower to the center of the cave and coaxed it to bloom. The flower filled the space with a warm light which sank through the skin to weary bones. And the party slept soundly. Heeding the call of the jungle, Kit packed her things, imbued the fire flower with energy, and silently wished her companions success before disappearing. Though full of dark, danger, and chaos, Kit trusted herself to the wilderness. Hey all, I'm not going to finish out this challenge or start another on NF. I will, of course, answer PMs if people wish to keep in touch. Best of luck to you all. Stay strong and adventure on!

Hey Kyliewyotie (fantastic name, btw), Thanks for checking in. Unfortunately, I won't be finishing out this challenge on NF. Or starting another one next time. While I feel terribly about leaving our team mid-competition, I don't think it's a good idea for me to be on the forums for a long, long while for reasons I won't go into on a public forum. For those of you who do still wish to contact me, I will respond to PMs. ^.^ Best of luck, everyone. Kick some butt!

All of these things are magic from whole foods.

The 'junk', BTW, is mostly veggie chips and chili-dusted pineapple. And a little dark chocolate peanut butter for emergencies. Or strawberries. Whichever happens first.

I can help out as a beater (basic burpees) or chaser (jumping jacks). I don't always have access to a computer, so I shouldn't be a seeker. Wouldn't want to miss the surprise and not participate. >.> That being said, I will update points as much as possible during games.

Week 1! I did my 4x workouts and increased the resistance for my cardio. I doubled the amount of times I’m working out, more than doubled the resistance, and doubled the length of my ‘cardio.’ Hopefully, this will yield results, but, more than anything, it just feels good. ^.^ (STA 5/5) I joined the mini and proceed to be hours behind the challenges. >.> I haven’t done much for the mini… but I did join. It’s something. (3/5 STR?) Haven’t bought much junk, and the junk I did buy would have been healthy one year ago. (3/4 CON)

Day 1 on my own! (Boyfriend is out of town; drove to the airport instead of going to the gym) I worked a few extra hours, went grocery shopping and arrived home absolutely ravenous. I brought home some chicken pot pie soup (instead of an actual chicken pot pie) from the grocery store, and am making some delicious smelling minestrone. Heirloom tomatoes, garlic scapes, all the aromatics, fresh parsley, cauliflower, kidney beans, and spinach (to be added later) are simmering away. I went shopping for just myself while incredibly hungry, and am a little pleased that my splurge items were a bag a veggie chips and some yogurt.

Salutations fellow Rebels! Kit is a kitsune, a fox of Japanese lore who can take the shape of a human and/or a fox-human hybrid before their powers come to fruition. For now, Kit has fuzzy ears and a fluffy fox tail. [i didn’t draw the above picture. Kudos to ayane-ninja, who did! (Thank you for a lovely drawing of a kitsune not dressed in lingerie. Why is this so difficult to find?)] Kitsune with a darker leaning have control over fire and lightening, but my powers come from the goddess that foxes serve, Inari, the goddess of fertility. She makes the rice grow. J I can create small flames or charges, but I focus on growing plants for healing or manipulating them into weaponry. Growing vines to ensnare and throw enemies, puncturing major arteries with exaggerated thorns, burning enemies with concentrated pitcher plant acid – all possibilities. Also, helpful to our ragtag group, I can grow fruits and veggies (am a self-taught cook and am happy to chat recipes). ^.^ Kitsune are intelligent creatures: puzzles and patterns are their jam. However, Kit is a tiny fox. She should not be counted on for feats of strength; that’s why she employes the vines. The plants feed off of magic (willpower + knowledge), rather than brute strength. Kit’s greatest strength is also her greatest weakness. She is highly inquisitive and has a very active mind. This can lead to creative weaponry and useful deductions, or it can lead to callous reasoning and a mind clouded with anxiety (i.e., Kit is very warm hearted but also cerebral, occasionally making her seem aloof and inattentive). My thread is Chapter 8 in my signature. My goals are very S.M.A.R.T this time around. Work out, do the mini-challenge, don't buy junk. Distracted by her botany journal, Kit didn't realize the sun had risen until the tumultuous clattering from the dining hall became too much to ignore. She cleaned up, checked in with their leader (chowing down on some strange food), and settled in to hear the new plan. Figures of smoke... dark water... and necromancer in the jungle. What could it all mean? Kit couldn't keep her mind from morbid wondering: How could the necromancer control the dead? Spirits, magic, mind control, abuse of jungle's medicine? 'He is better than me.' She finished her fruit, lost in thought.

My neighbor has itty bitty Yorkies who act like Boos from Super Mario. I can hear them follow me around, but they freeze whenever I turn around. They don't hide. They just stand completely still and wait until I move along. So funny. This morning as an omelette with turnip greens, feta cheese, and chives. Tasty!

Signed up for the mini! I'm going to work on push-ups, straight leg inverted rows, wall sits, and V-sits. Also, started off my challenge right by going to the gym 5 times this week. 5! In addition to realizing I don't need quite as many 'rest' days as I've taken in previous challenges, I realized that while I don't pay for junk food, I am offered tons. So much junk. o.o For example, my supervisor ordered us all pizza for lunch on Monday because he's lovely!, he forgot his lunch on Tuesday (and ordered us all pizza again), Thursday was a weekly catered meeting (kale salad from Panera, with chicps and an offered cookie, and all sorts of goodies lying around), Thursday morning, I went to a Stats class where I was offered candy and then cookies (stats based on # of chocolate chips), and Friday breakfast (provided by the office) includes bagels and muffins (which I passed on) in addition to fresh doughnuts because it was National Doughnut day (had 1/2 of one >.>). When I got home on Friday, my boyfriend brought home a dozen doughnuts for the 'special occasion' and fried chicken. Birthday party on Friday (ice cream, drinks, eating out). So much stuff! -.- It has definitely been a year of learning. Time to see if I can put it into practice! (Thanks for the support, y'all. ^.^)

Plant wielder reporting for duty!

This challenge marks my 1 year anniversary on NF! ^.^ And *checks the scale* nothing has changed… To be fair, aside from the number on the scale, much has changed. I finally found a job that I love and have held the same position for nearly a full year (as opposed to job hopping immediately after college). I did, at one point, weigh 135 lbs! Until a family member and some close family friends passed away. That combined with the stress of work and other personal drama led me to pack on the pounds for winter. As the snow melted, I began to clean up my diet at a turtle’s pace. Last challenge was all about controlling the stress and anxiety to give myself a healthy mind prepared to create a healthy body. By being mindful and trying to live in the present, I have my anxiety under control. I’m been doing crazy things (e.g., going to bars with coworkers or wearing dresses in public)! Now it’s time to fix the body-ody-ody! +5 STA - Workout 4x per week (just do it, Sleepy Fox) +5 STR - Do the mini-challenge. +1 CHA - Do the freakin’ mini-challenge. This is my 8th challenge, I haven’t involved/brave/committed enough to participate in any of the mini-challenges. +4 CON - Don’t buy junk food. One of my food problems has been partaking in junk food when out with friends, and out with family, and at work functions, and buying the occasional thing for home. It’s just too much! For the next 6 weeks, I won’t spend money on things that will spike my blood sugar. This does allow for the odd treat this is provided to me or my purchase ‘junk’ food that won’t affect my blood glucose levels. One thing at a time. :/ Most of my food this challenge will be full of healthy nutrients. My boyfriend and I have a share in a CSA! This summer will be organic, heirloom, seasonal veggie-tastic!

MY goals for this challenge were to include more play in my life and doing little things to desensitize myself to anxiety. I've definitely included more play (seeing lots of friends, going to the park, etc) and ended up skipping the little things and jumping straight to the activities that would normally cause me boatloads of anxiety (going to bars, spending lots of time with new people without having a get-away plan). I keep reminding myself that things are going to take as long as they take. Simple as that. Points (based on averages): +4 CON, +4 STA, +4 WIS Level 6 STR 10 | DEX 10 | STA 7.5 | CON 13 | WIS 16.5 | CHA 12.5

Lol. He's jumping. Not the music video. *ring ding ding *

Week 6 Monday: No morning gym because I went into work early, but I did get in a nice walk in the evening. Also, my boyfriend set up a stationary bike in our living room and altered the height setting to accommodate my tiny legs. (All the hyper-extension!) Food today was *mumble mumble mumble* I made a mini-mistake at work today and was able to laugh about it instead of thinking my boss was going to fire me on the spot (groundless, perpetual anxiety). The kitchen is handled; the laundry is done, and I'm pretending I won't have to deep clean the house before my friend arrives on Friday. >.> Friend arrives on Friday! Tuesday: Late update - what even happened this week... This week had some full but not crazy hours at work and only 1 or 2 morning visits to the gym. Every day did include a few office walks. I'm learning about a new design software and am extremely excited to start testing it next week. My friend is here! We had a great weekend walking around and and trying all sorts of yummy food (some healthy some... delicious. >.>). And my boyfriend (with some minor assistance) reorganized the house. It's lovely! and somehow, I was able to help instead of freaking out during the process (clutter and packing generally cause me a lot of anxiety, but this was fine. No freaking out; was even able to help.) +5 CON Slept well, went for daily walks, and went to the gym at least once (4/5) +5 STA No doodles… but lots of music, lots of fun, lots of doing my own thing without causing others lot much inconvenience. I did a lot of things this week (reorganizing, learning new software, learning new review systems, navigating NYC, preparing for a not-my-family family visit, having a one-on-one with my department director) without freaking out. No fuss. J (5/5) +5 WIS I read and new learned systems. The new system is going to help me develop a new assay, so… almost. J I’m near completing my first change control (!) which will enable an existing assay to test a new product. (5/5)