TaylaraRavynthall

When I was 18 (back in 2000) my 13-year-old sister was looking through a CD catalog and asked me who Joey MacIntyre was. I just figured she didn't remember his name, so I said, "He's the youngest member of New Kids on the Block." She still had no idea what I was talking about.

Day 2 Update: 5/29/18 I walked 1 mile today. I worked on my novel. I did a little bit of stretching. I wrote down all of my food in my BuJo, and I'm including it below for extra accountability! one flip yogurt one banana Asian rice meal (TV dinner) handful of Smarties candy 3-4 handfuls of sunflower seeds medium French fry small chocolate shake cheeseburger root beer 8-inch gourmet pizza (with lots of veggies and a bit of meat and cheese) I feel good, because although I did eat some not so great things, I made intentional choices to do so. It was my birthday yesterday, and I decided to just enjoy myself. Even with that, I didn't go crazy overboard, and I even left the last few bites of my pizza because I felt like I was full and if I ate more I would be overfull!

I am leaning towards Mansions of Madness. I really enjoy Lovecraftian types of board games, especially ones where all or most of the players are working together! Day 1 Update: 5/28/18 I walked 2.2 miles today. I worked on my novel. I did a little bit of stretching. I wrote down all of my food in my BuJo, and I'm including it below for extra accountability! one flip yogurt one banana chicken-corn casserole meal (TV dinner) 3-4 handfuls of sunflower seeds 7 oatmeal peanut butter cookies bowl of pinto posole 2 cans of Diet Soda

Taylara climbed out of bed, threw on some clothes, and headed out the door. She hurried through the forest, eager to begin her daily training with Steve. Knocking on his door, she heard his voice telling her to enter. When she did, she found him standing by the table, gear spread out around him. "Today we will begin to focus more on making the changes that you need to make in your life," said Steve, "We will start slowly, to make the adjustments easier on both your mind and your body." He gestured towards the table, and Taylara saw that a mat of some kind, several journals, and a couple of quills were laid out on it, "I want you to log everything that you eat or drink for the next few weeks. That way, we have a baseline that she can start from. If you want to see progress, you have to know where you began." Taylara nodded, "I understand." Steve smiled, "I also want you to get used to stretching and loosening up your muscles on a daily basis. This is very important. You need that fluidity in your muscles if you want to move on to more intense and involved activities." Nodding, Taylara scooped up the items on the table. Then she followed Steve outside, where he began to show her a series of stretches and yoga movements to help her loosen up. * * * * * Main Quest: My primary goal is to feel healthy. I believe that this will happen when I weigh 140 lbs, can run a 5K in 45 minutes or less, and can routinely lift at least 75 lbs. Challenge Goal #1: My first goal is to log my food here on a daily basis. (0/28) Challenge Goal #2: My second goal is to stretch and/or do yoga every day. (0/28) Challenge Goal #3: My third goal is to walk 6 days a week, at least 1 mile of intentional movement. (0/24) Life Goal: My life goal is to work on my writing on a daily basis. (0/28) Reward: If I get at least a C (75%) in all areas, I will purchase a board game for myself.

For anyone wanting to follow me in the next challenge, I will be hanging out with the druids!

Since it was Mother's Day, we skipped the end celebrations and headed over to my mom's house instead! I promised my daughter that we would stay for them next year! I think the best part was when I was heading up the main street, and someone heading down the street yelled out "Wizard in the Wild!" (that's a sure sign that whoever it was is part of my online Harry Potter running club)!

I definitely did not nail everything this challenge. However, I have gotten a great start on establishing my drinking water habit. I've also gotten great at walking 5 days a week (after work). I made some decent progress in the Academy as well. Overall, it was a good beginning.

5/15/18 Drank 8 cups of water. Walked a mile. Worked on the Academy stuff. Did not work on my novel.

5/14/18 Drank 8 cups of water. Walked a mile. Worked on my novel. Worked on my Batcave for the Academy! Woohoo! I'm getting myself back on track!

Ok...still doing amazing with the water! I am consistently drinking 6-8 cups of water every day! Yay, me! The walking has improved. This past week, I walked a mile after work with my daughter every single day, and we walked 2 miles on Thursday. By the end of the week we had earned the medal for one of our virtual races (the Nargle 9K)! We then intentionally took Saturday as a rest day. Sunday, we participated in the Color Run, so we did a 5K! I did get the goal setting quest in the Academy done, but then I haven't gone on and looked at anything else. The writing has been stuck, and I need to figure out how to get unstuck. So, for the last week, I'm going to maintain the progress I've made in the areas of water and walking, and try to up my game in the Academy and novelling areas!

Wow! I fell way behind on checking in here. The walking has been super sporadic. The novel has been dead in the water. I have been hung up on the goal setting quest in the Academy for weeks. On the positive side - I have been drinking at least one cup of water (usually between 6-8 cups) every single day! Yay, me!

4/23/18 Did not go for an intentional walk. Drank 3 bottles of water. Did not work on my novel. Printed off my Big Why and stuck it up in multiple places. 4/24/18 Walked a mile. Drank 4 bottles of water. Did not work on my novel. Read through the next Academy Quest.

Check-In for 4/21 and 4/22 4/21/18 Thought about my big why, but didn't spend a lot of time on it, as the day was pretty much packed. Walked around 2 miles. Drank multiple glasses of water. Read through part of Chapter 3 of my novel. 4/22/18 Did not do any walking. Drank multiple glasses of water. Did not work on my novel at all. Came up with my big why (see below). Saturday was a decent day. I had union stuff all morning. Then it was lunch with Vaughan, which was awesome! I haven't seen him in ages, and I love having conversations with him. I always walk away feeling like I've learned something about myself! Afterwards, Dianne and I drove back home. Sunday I lazed around all day. Mostly played video games and watched episodes of Grimm with my kids. I stayed up way too late reading my latest book, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. My Big Why I want to look in the mirror and feel attractive. I want to be able to walk upstairs without getting so out of breath that I need a lie down. I want to live long enough to travel every place I want to do (and it's a long list), and I want to be healthy enough to truly enjoy myself to the fullest while doing so. I want to be in control of my life. Right now, my past often influences my choices in the present, both due to established poor habits and my tendency to use food to both make myself feel better and distract myself from having to deal with emotions that crop up that I don't want to deal with. I want to be able to recognize when my past is influencing my present and make the choice to nip that in the bud.

I got lucky, and the convention center that our meetings are held in is half a mile from the hotel we're staying at! Thanks! No, I don't have a specific game in mind. I have a couple that I like, but I will probably just go browse one of the game stores I like and see what catches my eye! Check-In: 4/20/18 I read through the next quest in the academy. I haven't had time to sit down and really give this quest the thought it deserves, but it's been poking around in the back of my mind all day. I walked well over half a mile (several miles total, I'm sure). I drank several glasses of water. I re-read Chapter 2 of my novel. It was a decent day. The meetings weren't too bad. My friend, Dianne, and I had lunch at a yummy Irish pub. We got a cocktail in the hotel's Peacock Lounge for happy hour. Then I met my sister. We went to the Gilded Unicorn for dinner. Then we hit Gamer's Arcade and played some air hockey. We ended the night at Lucky's with a couple games of poker. We walked everywhere, and we got lost a few times, so we walked quite a bit. I also made sure to drink lots of water since I was having alcohol!

Check-In: 4/19/18 Here is my daily check-in. I took my beginning measurements. I drank a bottle of water (16 oz). (plus an additional bottle) I walked one mile. I re-read Chapter 1. I am in Spokane, at my big conference thing. By a total fluke, I am staying in the swankiest hotel room I have ever been in! Seriously, this place is huge and gorgeous! Everything is made of carved wood, and there are real paintings on the walls (the kind in those super ornate, gilded frames like the paintings in a museum)!