Hilary_W

Hilary calls forth her alter-ego Montclare Swiftjoy to bring this Ranger journey forward to new heights. Gains from previous challenges will be sustained while new challenges await. Achievements from the last challenge included adventure, new skills and lots of play. Why mess with a good thing? This challenge will be more, more, more .... 1. Community - Every good ranger needs companions but I must learn to be a good friend to earn the trust of the epic adventurers in my guild. This challenge I will become more involved in the community by reading and commenting on a minimum of 10 ranger challenges each week. 2. Nourishment - Awareness is the key to change. Home prepped meals for the win - no restaurant meals 6 days out of 7 plus I will drink minimum 2 full pitchers of H2O each day. 3. Movement and skills - I will begin trail running 3 days per week. For strength I will do body weight workouts and dumbbells 2 days per week as well. 4. Adventure - Expanding possibilities - Each week I will do at least 1 new activity that I haven't done before. In addition I choose to level up 3 out of the 4 activities that I tried during the last challenge. Namely: storytelling - Level 1 - wrote origin story (completed). Level 2 - work at writing my posts in story format (this challenge) sketching - Level 1 - took a sketching course (still in progress), Level 2 - complete a daily sketch or drawing (this challenge) bird watching - Level 1 - took a bird watching intro course (completed), Level 2 - go bird watching at least once a week (this challenge) Onwards and upwards ...

Rurik Harrgath, I think that I replied to your wise words before but they are so relevant that I'm going to return to them again. Rounding out this challenge I moved my yard sticks closer to where I want to be, even though I was not doing my activities every day for the entire 4 weeks. A big win for me is that I'm still here since I didn't finish the last two challenges. A large part of that is your advice and support. Thank you so much! Final report card ... 1. Play outside - I did a great job of taking my little guy outside and trying new activities. He is a lot happier and we both enjoyed this month immensely. 2. Adventure - Completed 1 adventure task each week. 1. wrote origin story 2. sketching class 3. book club - did reading, club meeting was cancelled by organizer 4. bird watching class 3. Pushups - made it through the early part of the week - will modify this goal next time IOT work on creating a sustainable habit 4. Food tracking and no restaurant challenge 6 days out of 7 - did a good job tracking for the early part of the challenge. Completed the 6/7 no restaurant challenge and feel really good about creating the habit of making snacks at home and taking them along on my outings. Will continue forming this habit in the next challenge. Overall I feel better (which is the whole point) and am ready to level up in the next challenge. See you all there.

Pushing through boundaries. Way to go on that swim!

Bike commuting sounds like so much fun. May the wind be at your back in both directions.

That's so awesome. Congrats on getting your story published.

Good to see you're taking care of yourself. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Rounding out the middle of week 4: 1. Play outside - Took my son to the playground and then picked up some free compost from the local garden society and prepped my pots for spring planting. 2. Adventure - b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - still doing assignments & have tried to do some sketching that wasn't part of the class but kept getting pulled away every 2 minutes by my son. Finally gave up and got my son involved with mixing colours and painting colour blobs on paper. He liked it so much he taped both pictures to the wall after they dried. c. book club - the lady who was hosting the book club sent me an email saying the meeting was cancelled and she wanted the book back. I returned the book and had a short chat with her 1-on-1 about it. I'm actually quite glad that it didn't work out because I didn't like the book. d. I promised to do 1 adventure task each week. Today I signed up for an intro to birding class that is being held next Saturday morning. It will cover binos, bird books, places to visit and other useful tips for beginners. I'm looking forward to it. 3. Pushups & pullups - haven't done any regular workouts since early last week, and require more upper body work. To be continued next challenge ... 4. Food tracking and restaurants - went for a burger today. First take out food since the pizza when my family visited. Overall I've been eating a balanced diet and have been good about cooking at home. Made a nice big blender full of green juice today so I'm all veggied up.

5 AM - wow! Great job on heading straight out the door and doing your workout. Glad to see your knee is cooperating so you can kick the scale to the curb next time it does a 5 lb bounce. Some water will probably take care of that for you.

Thank you so much for the pep talk. Life is busy, isn't it? I have to admit that I'm struggling with the specifics that I chose for this challenge, but overall I'm living a healthier life than I was this time last month. Way more out-door time, more time with my son, taking on new activities and working on some new habits. Staying away from restaurants (fast food) and coffee shops has made a very good difference to my nutrition and bank account. So far, so good. The sketching habit is coming along - practicing new ways to "see" the world. Book club - in the final stretch to finish the book and attend the meeting later this week. Food tracking has slipped but my awareness is up. I tend to eat the same things over and over so now I'm more aware of the nutritional content. This challenge - tracking was for information, not calorie restriction. I added some meatless meals and feel good energy. Upper body strength - still needs work so I'll find some new activities to bring to the next challenge IOT develop further. Might try something other than pushups. Family will leave on Wednesday. I'm still here but won't likely post until then. See you all soon.

Day 19: Went off track a bit this week but it was a fairly healthy week even though I didn't hit the challenge goals. My parents came for a visit so my routine changed. 1. Play outside - Bought a "buddy bike" for my son that attaches to the back of my bike. Together we can peddle longer distances than he can do on his little bike. We went places every day (playground, daycare, just biking). Win! 2. Adventure - b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - still doing assignments c. book club - I'm only at page 62/200 so I have budgeted time today to get caught up. The book club is next Thursday 3. Pushups & pullups - fell off track this week because I did more lower body than upper body. Overall I was active outdoors this week so I'm not too worried about general strength and health. 4. Stopped tracking for 3 days but did eat healthy foods cooked at home. Yesterday we bought pizza so that counts as my restaurant meal for this week. I did take a pass on a coffee shop + cookie run that my folks did - brought coffee in a thermos and passed on the cookies. They tried hard to sabotage my plans but I had a conversation with them about how I would appreciate their support while I improve my habits and ultimately my health. They listened to my words but I don't think they understand. Families are not good at change.

Day 14&15, "C": Nice weekend - spent most of my time outside. Yeah summer! 1. Play outside - Saturday played with my son and his friends at the playground. 3 parents / 5 kids - lots of fun. Sunday went for a bike ride with my friend and our two kids. Finished the bike ride sitting by a lake watching the two little guys throw rocks into the water. Such competitive kids! They each wanted the biggest rock, farthest throw, and loudest splash. So funny to watch. 2. Adventure - b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - drawing on Saturday c. book club - no reading this weekend 3. Pushup habit - no work yesterday or today Pulling habit - no work yesterday or today 4. Tracked all food and stayed away from restaurants. - slipped a little in the meal-by-meal tracking but I think I remembered what I ate. The weights and measures might be a bit off, though. Sunday: Fat: Prot: Carbs: 81.00g 70.71g 256.06g Saturday: Fat: Prot: Carbs: 50.91g 86.73g 195.14g

It looks like you're having a blast Starpuck. Hope you get those hugs from RDJ.

Good luck with round 3. Hope you end up in a good place.

Rooting for you Odinson_Rising!

Day 13, "A": 1. Play outside - Went to a local canyon with my son. We started by throwing rocks over the edge of the viewpoint, moved to cooking lunch on a coleman stove in the back of the truck and then finally went for a decent hike. Very fun. 2. Adventure - b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - continues c. book club - continues 3. Pushup habit - 12, 10, 12, 10, 12, 10 = 60+ Pulling habit - no work today 4. Tracked all food and stayed away from restaurants. Had some extra snacks at home but overall I'm feeling pretty good to be back to home cooking. The nutrient levels will soon be back to where they should be. Fat: Prot: Carbs: 62.70g 74.83g 305.88g

Day 12, "B": 1. Play outside - Went to a nearby river for a couple of hours. I picked up rocks in a bucket to use for drainage in my plant pots while the boy threw rocks into the river. Lots of fun. 2. Adventure - a. origin story created - done b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - no progress today c. next item: book club - no progress today 3. Pushup habit - no work today Pulling habit - no work today But - I did haul rocks around in a bucket so today wasn't entirely slothful. 4. Tracked all food - calories were way too high today - probably a rebound from eating poorly yesterday. Awareness is the first step! Lunch at A&W. The food tasted too salty compared to my home cooked food and I felt a little off this afternoon from eating it. I guess this is a healthy change although I'm sure going to miss my teen burgers when I stop fast food for good. Never miss 2 in a row - cooked dinner at home. IMHO my meatloaf tasted better than that A&W burger. 2453 123% Fat: Prot: Carbs: 123.04g 104.97g 238.45g

Yeah, this book club idea is a real challenge for me but who knows, maybe I'll end up liking it. If not then I'll just move on to try something else.

Update from yesterday - I had a late night snack Fat: Prot: Carbs: 45.82g 56.21g 199.73g

You're still here which is half the battle. A short rest will mean you come back stronger to finish the week.

Day 11, "A": 1. Play outside - Went to the swimming pool with my son and played with the pool toys. 2. Adventure - a. origin story created - done b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - continues c. next item: book club - reading continues 3. Pushup habit - full pushups 6 sets of 10 = 60 Pulling habit - Functional work - for spring clean up I pulled a queen size mattress and box spring out of my basement, up stairs with a hairpin turn, out the door, into my truck and then off the truck at the waste transfer station. The mattress was a beast to get up the stairs. 4. Tracked all food and stayed away from restaurants. Was busy today and forgot to eat or drink H2O properly. Fat: Prot: Carbs: 24.25g 28.84g 72.61g

I'm taking a class called Learn to Draw and Keep a Sketchbook. It offers daily lessons and the course author posts comments and advice for us when we upload our sketches to the facebook group. Habit building again - this is a theme in NF, for sure. I'm having fun but since I'm not artistically inclined I'm finding that I have to learn the habit of doing the daily sketches. I've always wanted to be able to sit down somewhere and pull off a nice sketch and I'm hoping that this course is the first step.

Day 10, "A": 1. Play outside - Took my son on a short hike. He did pretty well for a 4 year old. I carried him for about half of the return journey and he almost fell asleep while we walked. 2. Adventure - a. origin story created - done b. drawing class 30 day course via the internet - continues c. next item: I agreed to take part in a book club sponsored by the local parentlink center. The topic this month is mindful discipline. I don't usually do this sort of thing because: a. I read to escape. Parenting all day and then reading about parenting at night is a little too much of a good thing. b. I am fearful that book club people will think the things I say are stupid. Soooo ... In the great adventuring spirit of nerd fitness I will read the book and attend the meeting on 28 April. Expanding my boundaries one challenge at a time. 3. Pushup habit - full pushups sets of 12, 10, 12, 10, 12, 10 = 60+ Level up - starting tomorrow I'll add a daily pulling exercise and will continue with the lower body and core work that I started in the playground last week. 4. Tracked all food and stayed away from restaurants. It's getting easier to stay away from the coffee shops. My protein should be higher and I'll work on it in the coming days. Fat: Prot: Carbs: 72.12g 53.51g 199.63g

The mission ramps up ... can't wait to see the team of heroes pulling together.

Thank you for the reading suggestion. Will add The Saga of the Volsungs to my reading list.

Day 9, "A": Habit building is hard work! I'm fighting a sinus cold. The last two times my challenges fell off the rails when my health faltered but I'm pushing through this time. Reading Steve's book is helping with my motivation. So far, so good. 1. Play outside - Went to the playground but the wind picked up and rain started. We got about 20 minutes in but then decided to skedadle off to the garden centre to dream of warm weather and sprouting seeds. Planting time doesn't come until the May long weekend but my spirit is ready now. 2. Adventure - drawing class continues. I'm feeling a lot of internal resistance at posting my sketches to the class facebook page. My drawing skills are Level 0 but reading Steve's book is helping. I have to keep telling myself that the only way to be good at sketching is to do the work and practice, practice, practice. This class will get me to level 1 - the first step on my journey to level 50 artist. 3. Pushup habit - full pushups 4 ladders: 1 warm-up set (1,2,3,4,5) and 3 sets (5,4,3,2,1) = 60. My form is improving. I got side tracked reading about pushups on the Men's health website but realized that I was just "collecting underpants" and closed the computer. 4. Track all food and stay away from restaurants. Sick again so calories are down. I'm sure that my appetite will come back soon. In the grocery store today I picked up some items not on the list but they aren't show stoppers. Ice cream (on sale) and microwave popcorn. Did manage to stay out of the restaurants and coffee shops so I'll count this as a win. Fat: Prot: Carbs: 40.32g 77.87g 167.59g