AprilMay

I know this thread is pretty old. I'm currently growing a surprise tiny human. I just passed the 24 weeks mark. I have been eating healthy and walking a lot prior to pregnancy, but those first few weeks were killer. Hot hot Texas summer heat, walking around to summer classes, tired, no appetite, etc. I ended up losing about 15 lbs. Oddly my OBGYN basically congratulated me on that little accomplishment. I love her. Since I was already on the heavier side, she didn't suggest any weight gain was necessary for me. I have now caught back up to my pre-pregnancy weight and this kid craves sugar. The holidays are going to be hard with all the pie and fudge and hot chocolate and growing a tiny sugar obsessed baby. I hope this phase of cravings passes soon. Any suggestions on working out. Sore lower ligaments make long duration walks very uncomfortable, but I can manage a bit at a time. Also, ladies, any advice at all on pre-delivery exercise or stretching to avoid any extra damage to the lady bits and pelvic floor, etc?

Update Time! Walking. Better steps at work with the standing desk. Super long walk last weekend. Water. I lost my water bottle. Seriously. I have the lid. Bought a back up. It's bigger, I find I drink more water consistently with it, less trips for refills. Reading. 2 books complete. Big catch up on the Bible with the app and a new tracking page. Yay for tracking! Yoga. Ok, this is where I need the work. I hate doing this when I feel like I'm being watched. I can go to class with strangers though. I need blocks for my lunges. Blocks are a quick fix, so poor excuse really. I'll be practicing some wrist mobility, my wrists have been hurting in the inverted moves.

I'm currently doing the NerdFitnes Yoga. I bought it ages ago and haven't used it much. I've been enjoying it. As for reading, I'm currently on Inkheart 2. It's a series I never made it to when I was younger. My goal is to get through a lot of the books I own but don't want to keep. Unfortunately, I'm out of fiction. There are days where I drink tons of water and I feel great. Then there are the days where I don't, and I don't notice until I feel generally meh about life.

OMG, I missed this place so much, you guys are awesome!! Thank You for the comments and encouragement! As for my reading habits, I read on my phone at lunch and anytime it gets a bit too slow at work. If its a library book, I take my Kindle. I read each night before I sleep, sometimes more than others. I am trying to get through all the books I own and pare down my collection again. I don't have too many more to go until I have this one met! Hmm, it seems the challenge layout has changed some. I should adjust my signature accordingly.

Its been a long while since I participated in a challenge and I'm excited to get back into things. I've been in a relationship the past couple years that has left me complacent and now that I'm free of that, its time to focus on what I want. I have big goals this year and they will take my focus all year to accomplish them. For this challenge I will focus on the following: Yoga- 3x per week. Daily Step and Stair Goals Drink 120oz H20 Daily Catch up on my Reading Goal for 2017. Nothing massive, nice small habits to build and to focus on. Once I have completed this challenge, I will be upping my step goal by 250 steps daily and add another flight of stairs. I think that I will be making this a standard practice each challenge until I have made it back to my previous level. The new standing desk at work will help to reach this. The water is close to half my weight in ounces. It is a tough goal to make without some focus and mindfulness, but it is key to controlling the calories I take in. Full and hydrated means I don't overeat my meals. My reading goal each year is 52 books and the entire Bible. I am behind. This is only week 12 and I am 9 books behind. Time to get it in gear. I love to read, but I have been allowing myself to be distracted. I have an app for the Bible goal and I have a library card and my Kindle and Kindle app. No excuses. Part of my daily reading habit is to journal a bit each evening. Nothing about the goal includes the length, but I have to write something. Yoga 3 times a week. I have missed doing yoga regularly. My wrist strength is not what it used to be, so this is a great way to work on it. My flexibility is also not what it used to be and I want that back. I feel stiff and tight most of the time.

Update Again Sadly, I was not awarded the internal job I put in for. The only real annoyance I have regarding the decision is the length of time it took to make it. With a Six Sigma project and monthly 5S projects ongoing, I have plenty to keep myself occupied and I will wait until the next posting comes up. The new equipment will be up and running next week, so it is going to get pretty silly at work for a while. I was up and going so much at work last night that I was sure I would be beating a step goal, but it turns out my fitbit was at home on the charger. I'll make up some more tonight if I can. I finished Losing My Virginity. I put it off for a while to read some other things because I had gotten bored with it and thought I had another 100 pages to go. Turns out it was more like 5 and the Index is huge. I always forget to check these things. I'm halfway through Eve's Bible now and its been interesting. Freakanomics is about halfway done as well, so I'm going at a good pace. The last two books are the real challenge. Antifragile was a heavier book than I was expecting and I needed to google a couple words within the first couple chapters. Maybe I will start to use fissiparous in everyday speech. My fitness goals are not going well. My work schedule is a pain this week and I am allowing that to be my excuse to do nothing. Fail. The file room at work is done as of last night, so no more heavy boxes to toss around. I think I will get in a round of yoga today before work and then see how many desk pushups I can do without getting caught tonight. My goal is 50.

Update! Last week was a week full of 12 hour shifts. No fun, but over and I survived it again. No more upcoming 12s on the forecast until after Christmas, so that's a relief. I struggle to stay until 2am. About 1am and I feel completely useless. Exercise: I'm not doing well at this really. The last two nights I've been cleaning out the filing room at work, so that mean schlepping around 40lb boxes of files and such. Not a struggle, but the closest thing to a workout I've gotten in a bit. The step count at work is good, so I need to focus of the heavy things. Somehow I think if the safety guy catches me throwing in a couple squats with those file boxes I might be in trouble. Books: I've finished Fast Food Nation and its gone into the giant pile of books to get rid of. If anyone wants it or wants anything else in that pile, I'd be happy to send it to you. Currently I'm reading Losing my Virginity but I've reached a point where Branson is no longer struggling as a startup and is just a rich billionaire trying to make more money. It is loosing its appeal. Eve's Bible is interesting so far. I went to a very Christian university, so I was expecting something very different that what it is. The author uses some of the writings not included in the traditional Bible, which I am happy to see, and digs into the who and why the books were written. However, it is starting to feel a little too angry feminist for my liking, but I'm going to give it a few more chapters before I put it down for good. By angry feminist, I mean hateful towards men. While I have no problem with feminism, I hate to see any gender or race or any group for that matter talked about with hateful intent. Right now I'm starting to feel the pinch at work. We are coming up on finishing the install of a new multi-million dollar piece of equipment and as much as I like the idea, I don't see how my department can handle the upcoming surge in product flow. I hope someone thought this through. I am also starting my first Six Sigma project next week. I'm excited and scared at the same time. The training was great, but now trying to put everything together and get a group of people to listen and work together seems like a serious challenge. I think that if I get myself stuck tonight when I get a few minutes to work on it, I am calling in some help. There has been no word on the job I applied for in July other than the interview I sat in September. Still waiting on a yes or no. I still want the job. Rumor is, the other applicant may not want it as badly now other than the possible raise it might provide. There was no salary listed or talked about in the interview, so I have no idea if there is even a raise involved. I would take it without a raise at all, that wasn't the purpose of my application. I want day shift again. I want normal hours and a social life again.

The books on my list right now are to finish the following: Fast Food Nation-finished this this morning finally. Losing My Viginity Playing to Win Eve's Bible Antifragile The Actuary Survival Guide I have a terrible habit of starting too many books at a time and then taking forever to finish them. As for camp, I was Sarah from the Labyrinth for costume night. Knee push ups are really a way for me to get my upper body conditioned to the pushup movement. I am also including planks in my normal workouts to keep my core strength up and increasing. I don't really have anything at the right height at home for incline pushups. Either the things are too tall and too easy, or they are too short and mostly impossible to get more than 1 pushup done. Also, makeup is now at a minimalist level. I let my younger cousin have a free for all after I set aside what I normally wear and what fits in a very small bag. She cleaned me out except for a few things which I just tossed since they were used a few times. I have canceled my ipsy subscription, so there will be no more incoming makeup to add to the pile. Bonus, I now don't pay 10$ a month for samples I don't really use. If I need to start wearing makeup at work (if I get the new job) I will go see a friend who is a makeup artist and have her show me what works best and is easy and simple. No more buying and hoping things work.

Last challenge of the year, I've been off track for most of the year it seems and its time to get going again. +2 WIS-Read 6 books +3 STR Benchpress max to 60lbs +4 STA 1 set of 25 knee push-ups +2 CON clean out the extra stuff +4 DEX +15% improvement on NF flexibility benchmarks My schedule at work is up in the air and has been since July when I applied for a new position with completely different hours. I can't allow this to continue to be an excuse, so I;m just going to move forward until I hear otherwise. CampNF was a blast, but I haven't stopped moving and traveling since and now that I'm back at home with no other upcoming travels, I need to get myself back into my normal groove. My goals this year have not really been met, but I am ok with that, other things have happened and I have adjusted. Even my goals for next year are starting to look pretty different.

Ok, so I've been awol from the forums again for months and apparently missed a meetup. I'd love to jump in on the next one that happens. I live in Ft Worth, but anywhere in DFW is worth a drive.

All good, just a little bummed the lakes are closed right now.

I would say that's a definite. Even if we got 3 together, that would be awesome! How about we plan a hike or something equally fun and cheap? Would be great to do before it gets hot.

I'm also in Ft Worth, always up for a good meetup or ridiculous activity.

This last week was great up until Friday when I got hit by a monster sinus cold. Fun Fun. No yoga done this week since I was putting it off until Saturday and my body just up and decided that was a big glass of nope. This week, maybe I'll do yoga twice to make up for the lost one. Three personal bests in crossfit. I trashed my previous record on the rower and my front squat. I also finally managed to get a double under on the jump rope. Not bad for someone with my level of coordination. This week's mini challenge will be to get myself organized on the computer. It is part of my goal this month to update and change a lot of my passwords so that will get done. I will get my photos organized and tagged. I am sure I have a lot of duplicates I need to take care of as well. I also would like to get the info off of my two broken external drives. That means buying an external drive port. Lucky these are only about 30$ and not a struggle to do. I will put it on my list to purchase a new external driver for backup, preferably one without a power supply/power cable that fails. Pretty sure I saw a 2TB portable at Costco for a decent price. I'll go on the hunt for this. My documents and photos will be in order and searchable soon.

Mini #1 +1 WIS My goals are measurable and attainable. My New Years resolutions are also measurable and attainable. I have even started to break down my long term goal of finishing school into manageable chunks. Step 1...file my taxes so I can file my FAFSA. My biggest challenge this year will be to increase my net worth by 50%. Totally doable! To be honest, my challenge goals always line up with my bigger goals. My bigger goals always line up with my big plan for life. Not to say that things can't completely change, but I like to know a direction to start moving in, even if it changes.

I usually read a few books at a time. Right now I've got a bookmark in these: Getting Things Done Android Karenina Is God a Mathematician Fast Food Nation The Gluten Connection The Measure of All Things Not sure which one I'll finish first.

Another challenge and I'm ready. Back to crossfit, and adding another day each week. Adding a yoga session once a week to help with flexibility and range of motion. Tracking my food and water intake....something is off on my diet and I intend to find out what it is. I am making a point to get my sleep schedule back on track. I use the mornings for meditation and journaling and errands. If I don't get up on time I am rushed out the door and often skip crossfit in order to give myself time to get ready for work. I will be reading 6 books minimum to keep up with my yearly goal of a book a week.

The last week of this challenge was tough with the buildup before Christmas and all of the month end activities at work. I feel like I finished it well though. Final stats to be added soon.

Crossfit yesterday totally kicked my butt. I woke up and wasn't moving fast so I decided to take a recovery day. For my recovery day, I used my free time before work to finish up one of the Batcave tasks I had on my list. All of my filing is done, my desk is clear and my files are put away. Win!

Mini-Challenge #2 I have gone through my book and re-evaluated my goals. All of mine are very trackable. These are also maintainable. I have updated where I am on each goal and already thought some out for the next go round. +1 WIS for me!

Mini challenge trashed....like my arms. I went to Crossfit 4 times last week. Mon/Tues and Thurs/Fri. Wednesday was a day of pain...the doms caught up to me. But I recovered enough to hit it again on Thrusday. I track my weight on a FitBit scale so that I can see the trends. I am at a 5 year low....so excited. I have not really cared much about the weight number itself because my body has been changing and the scale has not been reflecting that, but last week it started a downward trend. Its fun to see....love those nerdy graphs. The walking thing is not going well. I will have to get myself out there after work and walk a couple laps to get my number up. They have changed the rules at work and I can no longer walk across my own shipping docks. It has severly limited my mobility at work. Water intake is tough once it gets cold. I don't want to drink cold or cool water, I want a nice cup of tea. Basically this weekend was aweful. I was pretty much useless in the movement department and I ended up eating a lot of what I really shouldn't have. Back on track today....the week is looking better. Crossfit and good food.

Mini #1- Be Brave +1 CHA I'll be fighting my fear of working out 2 days in a row. I'm never really that sore day one, its day two that's the "hurts so good." I can hit two in a row and rest the third. So for me, two Crossfits in a row is my goal....I'm a hero!

I've always been scared to try two heavy days in a row. In fact I feel I've always been a wimp and given myself too much recovery time between workouts and it's slowing my progress. This week I will hit two Crossfit days back to back and see how I feel. That is of course if I didn't just trash myself the day before and can't move the next...I'm trying to be brave, not foolish.

Ok, the pic above while cute, has a certain creepy factor. So here's the layout of the challenge. My goal is to fit those jeans the next size down I've pulled out to taunt myself with. Motivation! Fitness: I have started Crossfit after a 5 year break. My goal is to make 2 classes a week minimum. +3 STR I will be using my fitbit to track 10k steps a day on average. +2 STA I will be doing some Yoga once a week to help rebuild some balance and flexibility. +2 DEX Diet: I am making myself take my vitamins daily. +2 CON I will be drinking a lot of water. Half of my body weight in ounces daily. Its a lot, but it will help keep me full as well. +2 CON I am tackling the Detox to Retox challenge at my Crossfit gym.This is essentially 11 days to detox before Thanksgiving where I'll probably be eating things I should not. +1 STA Life: My Batcave is getting some upgrades. I have a list of things to do, 100pts total and each task has points assigned to it. +1 WIS +2 CHA Yay fun, ready to get started.

Ok, so the last few months have been interesting. First off there was CampNF. Seriously some of the best fun I have ever had. I'm going next year, don't care how it happens. Work decided I was needed to go share my awesomeness and train another facility for 4 weeks. This was at the same time as camp and a family wedding I was participating in. HOLY BUSY BATMAN. That was a lot of flights and packing/unpacking and just generally no time for being at home. I'm happy to be home, I'm happy to be back on my normal schedule, and I'm super excited to start a new challenge. Bring it on. I just celebrated my 30th birthday. This did NOT get me down. In fact I think I feel better now than when I was 25. I know I am happier! In fact I might be annoyingly happy right now, people are noticing my sunny outlook. Life is good! As far as what I am challenging myself with, I am still working out the details. I want to make this challenge about new habits. I am still sticking to my no sugar in my coffee habit from a previous challenge. Going about 8 months on that one and still going strong. I know I can make changes if I just work them out in baby steps. I want to tackle the habit of taking my vitamins every day. Krill oil makes my joints happy and I need to make it a daily thing. I drink plenty of water in the summer when it's hot, but now that its cooling down, I am going to have to be more mindful. I am excited about getting my batcave into working order. I will think about what I want to change and how I can track those changes and make them a part of the challenge. No more sitting at my desk in front of the comp. The filing I am putting off needs to be done and that file box must come off my desk...I hate the clutter. I am annoyed with my current gym and the price and the people and the equipment and the group of stay at home moms that invades at the same time I like to go and stand around and are obnoxious and talk about their kids while they lift tiny weights and do excessive cardio and are just generally in everyone's way. All in all, we need to see other people. There are two new Crossfit operations that have opened in the last 6 months both within a ridiculously easy distance. I would love to get back into Crossfit. I will be trying them out and seeing which is the best fit for my schedule and personality. The only thing about my gym I will miss is the badass guy who comes in all quiet, lifts like a beast and then does pull ups with a 50lb plate hanging from his waist. That man is my hero. I would high five him, but I fear it would break his concentration. The high five is implied! I will work out the details on these goals and see what specs I can include over the next few days. A detailed update and outline of my challenge will follow. EXCITED!!