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[The Heiress and The Squire, as depicted in "Fuck me yourself you coward”, by Noctilia] Good Morning and welcome to Laghail's June/July Challenge, themed after the fantasy series, A Practical Guide to Evil. I'll be using a twin challenge approach with standard goals but also a secondary maintenance-only goals to revert to in case I'm suddenly moving, or catch COVID, or am confronted with any other part of our modern hellscape. We do have a planned one night trip to the Mayo clinic on the 4th and 5th, and Liam's bday on the 15th, but neither should trigger maintenance mode. In any case: Lies and Violence! (and Laghail) The Challenge of Noontide Sun! (Flexible Habits - Regular Mode) Rejuvenate (Sleep Hygiene) 8 hours in bed, and any meditation before bed or yoga upon rising counts towards the total. Fortify (Volume Lifting) 5x5 of the day's main lift at 70-80% of 1RM. Learn (3d Modeling) 30 mins daily time modifying or creating a design in Fusion 360 or Blender. Pursuing personal hobbies during work hours is highly encouraged. The Challenge of Moonless Nights! (Flexible Habits - Easy Mode) Rejuvenate (Sleep Hygiene) Sleep requirements during a crisis mode is unchanged. Persevere (Daily Maintenance) Pickup the banjo every day, feed the Duolingo owl once a day, read fiction once a day. Historically, I get depressed when a crisis prevents me from maintenance on the things I love. Foresee (Routine Perseverance) When crisis-mode is engaged, make a timeline of the crisis with best available knowledge, then track days elapsed until the best estimation of normalcy. Monthly Tasks! (Deadlines are not inflected throughout the challenge as each task is single-step) Moving Prep Pack away hospitality & entertaining Pack away ground floor books & games Relocate compost howe (Regular Mode only) Quality of Life Improvements Relocate craft studio Relocate wardrobe Close down Liam's university office Hobbies Complete 40 units in Duolingo Norwegian (Regular Mode only) Memorize "Ballad of Jed Clampett" Memorize "Down the Road" (Regular Mode only) Learn "Speed the Ploughman" [The Woes, as depicted in "Cute Woes", by Gwennafran]

To arms, draftsmen! It’s time to join the army, nerds, because we’re studying arms, including all the anatomy from the shoulder to the fingers, and all the things that go upon the arms, including sleeves, gauntlets, gloves, bracers, bracelets, rings, and things the hands hold high. You can focus on anything you want: line quality, anatomy, consistency, having fun, rendering, or just dipping your toes (into fingers). You can draw or paint a whole figure, or just the arm, or only the hand. If there’s an arm, there’s no harm. If you like, you can start by setting a goal for yourself like drawing a certain number of pictures, or with a certain frequency, or trying a new technique. You might say what you’d like to work on and improve in your own work. As well as sharing your pictures, if you find an awesome tutorial on anatomy or accessories, share that, too! Just your favourites, though, otherwise the thread will be as bulky as the biceps of a gym bro who skips legs for extra curls.

Good news: Curse of Strahd is still going strong. Count Strahd is not missing (maybe that's bad news... for the players). I am not expecting the schedule to change even though my DM brain has started screaming that I'm so used to one shots that having been running a game for about a year is absolutely nuts and I should realize I don't know what I'm doing and give up (encouragement may be helpful here). No, my title is just because I have no idea how many challenges I've actually participated in since I lost count at twelve. My phone isn't very conducive for investigating it, nor for updating my signature line, so I'll have to spend a spoon to do that on a computer one of these days without letting myself get sidetracked. Maybe I'll update the title when I know what count I'm at. 😂 Alternatively, it could be applicable since I lose count on reps when doing... *drum roll* 🥁 🥁 🥁 Turkish Get-Ups. Which I managed to convince myself to do this morning, though I don't like that I had to be a bit menacing to accomplish the convincing. But at least my breathing hasn't been any harder for it, and my body aches aren't too bad. My mom plans to move further away from me by the end of the month, to be closer to the rest of the family. I'm visiting her on weekends as the time draws near, trying to help out with this and that. The rest of the family will be visiting on Father's Day weekend. Hopefully we're all helping, but it's hard to say. 😅 Packing away things that have weight of sentimental ties, and trying to sift out the unnecessary is never easy. 🥲 Anyway, it's about time I got back into an exercise pattern, so I'd be happy to have you checking in on me to make sure I sustain the restart into a continual pattern. Thanks for being here, Maerad

Get in, nerds, we’re painting snails. And slugs. And nudibranches. And anythign that looks vaguely related. The goal: draw or paint (or carve or embroider or collage or fold paper into) at gastropods and share them here. Apprentice level: 5 studies. Journeyman level: 10 studies. Master: 15 studies. Are you an artist? Then join the challenge. Are you not an artist but want to draw or paint snails? Join the challenge. Not an artists, don’t want to paint snails, but feel duty bound to contribute to the gallery of gastropods? Join the challenge. Together, we can do it. We can collect a collection of ONE HUNDRED SNAILS. Why? Because it was suggested, and no one can resist a suggestion, ever. Do it do it do it. Also you can use it to practice skills. Painting skills. Drawing skills. Slug recognition skills. If you want free reference photos, try pexels and unplash. Also feel free to invent a snail. I painted this fire snail and she can start us off. That's 1/100

I'm back. Still getting my challenge together, but wanted to commit to it in the midst of all the other things I am juggling. GOALS 1. Walk What: Walk the Flagstaff Urban Trail System’s (FUTS) easy to moderate trails. Currently about 56 total miles in the system, out of a planned 130 miles. I want to do at least 50 miles of 56 this challenge. Stretch goal do all 56. Limit elevation gain the first couple weeks. This is my primary fitness goal for this challenge. Objective: Get outdoors, enjoy nature, and rack up some miles. Build stamina in preparation for longer, more strenuous walks. Ultimately, walk the whole FUTS and the extended trail system that includes parts of the Arizona Trail, an 800 mile trail that runs the length of Arizona, from the border with Mexico to Utah. I want to get into good enough shape to start doing section hikes of the Arizona Trail with my friend Trudi starting in 2025. Schedule Daily mileages will vary according to difficulty of that week’s trails Wk 1 - 3 times a week, Total miles 6, average miles 2.0; T, Th, Sa Wk 2 - 4 times a week, Total miles 8, average miles 2.0; M, W, Th, Sa Wk 3 - 4 times a week, Total miles 10, average miles 2.5; T, Th, F, Su Wk 4 - 4 times a week, Total miles 12, average miles 3; M, W, Th, Sa Wk 5 - 5 times a week, Total miles 14, average miles 2.8; Su, T, W, F, Sa 50 miles 2. Strength Training What: Use a mix of kettlebell and bodyweight exercises 2 - 3 x per week. I have a number of basic kettlebell and bodyweight workouts bookmarked. Will start easy and adjust the level of difficulty as I see how my body responds. Objective: Increase muscle mass, strength; evaluate my current level of strength in preparation for greater focus on training for body composition change next challenge. A very basic program designed to establish good habits in preparation for greater focus on strength training for body composition change next challenge. I’m flabby. Schedule Wk 1 - 2 times a week, W, Su Wk 2 - 2 times a week, T, F Wk 3 - 3 times a week, M, W, Sa Wk 4 - 3 times a week, T, F, Su Wk 5 - 3 times a week, M, Th, Su 3. Cut the Clutter and Disorganization I've been so busy getting two different businesses off the ground that my living environment has suffered. Which in turn makes it more difficult to achieve my entrepreneurial goals. Vicious cycle ensues... What: Have a set amount of time to do remedial house cleaning to get to the point where I'm caught up and just need to do basic, daily maintenance. Objective: Track my daily amount of time spent and use that data to set future goals. First, get the apartment in order, then work to get storage unit cleaned out and cut that cost out of my budget. Schedule: Daily, 30 minutes minimum. More whenever time allows. Expect some surprises - in the last few years the puzzle pieces have finally fit together, and in a rather unexpected way. I'm back doing wildland fire, but from a different angle. An AI character to give you an only somewhat misleading hint–besides the fact that she is considerably younger and better looking than I am! Oh! And, Tuesday Truck Porn will be back, as will Friday Fire Aviation...

Hi Friends! This challenge will see my Nerd Fitness Forums Anniversary (May 9, 2022!!) so I am wanting to celebrate and do something a little different. I have been focused heavily on healing my binge eating, mindfulness around eating, and trying to get more movement in pretty steadily over the last ~two years. I have made great progress with all of these things and I am happy to experience the changes that have come along with the successes. I would like to keep building on that by continuing to eat consciously and move as much as I can. However, for this Challenge, I want to focus on healing something a little more ephemeral: my relationship with creating art. I have been an artist all my life. When I was a kid you couldn't keep a pencil out of my hands, so much so that by the time I was 14 I needed a Carpal Tunnel release surgery. At the time I was the youngest person in my province who had had it done that hadn't been involved in a crushing accident like a car wreck. Mine was entirely self-inflicted. Because I was so young a lot of people, including administrators at my school, thought I was faking. I wasn't given the supports I needed for a proper recovery, and as a result needed a second CT release at 16 to remove scar tissue. I was told then that they wouldn't perform another surgery until I was much older for reasons I don't remember now, but they put the fear of living in pain into me and it made me give up my art for years lest I overwork myself into the same issues again. I think I went a decade with barely drawing or writing and it was a messy ten years without my biggest coping strategies in play. As someone who had assumed heading to art school and becoming an illustrator was how it was going to be, this was world-bendingly derailing. A very long story short, I ended up coming back to drawing while I was going through my divorce and kind of thought "Well, fuck it. I am done being miserable and if I need another surgery, so be it, we will cross that bridge when we get to it." So I resumed drawing. I felt very lost for a long time, not really sure what I wanted to be *doing* with my art. Meeting Dave spurred my interest in RPGs which got me into map making. That took off and I started doing a lot of commission work and a Patreon and all kinds of things. I did that for a few years and earned a fairly significant reputation in the circles I moved in, had maps published in a few books, that kind of thing. And eventually burnt out. Friends, it was intense. This flame of passion that I had nurtured through so much just extinguished. I closed the Patreon, gave up posting to my socials, ignored my pens, everything. The idea of doing anything creative was excruciating and tinged with all kinds of hard things: resentment, productivity culture, hustle culture, economic inadequacy because my commissions had been my only income... it went on. And I was so done. I turned away from art: looking at it, making it, funding it... you name it, I wasn't doing it. I turned my creativity toward running RPGs in addition to playing in them and leaned heavily into worldbuilding and writing instead of drawing. This is not a bad thing and I have accomplished a lot in those areas. But something was missing and I knew exactly what it was. I think I have drawn five maps in the last three years and two were commissions. I have done only one "real" drawing that I can think of right now. I am barely doodling, although it's not nothing. Recently I can feel myself tiptoeing round doing the thing again. @Harriet's thread on Diet Fatigue really had me thinking a lot about my Art Fatigue and I saw so many parallels. The one that really stuck out to me was the idea that you're just not going to engage until you have had sufficient recovery time. I am finding myself looking at art more on Instagram and Facebook and I think that is a sign. I have developed a decorative practice in my Bujos and while it isn't the beautiful work @Sea-to-sky is doing, the stickers and washi are making me happy and helping things feel approachable again. So I think I am going to give it a go and see if it feels good. This is a very low stakes challenge. I don't want to set myself back if this isn't the right time and I am not ready yet. But I feel hopeful and willing and I think that counts for a lot. So, goals: 1) Make marks every day. This can be a drawing, a texture, a watercolour blob, whatever. Just do the thing intentionally and be mindful while doing it. 2) Look at art every day. Bonus points for posting an Instagram, web page, image, etc., here to share the things that are catching my eye and filling my well. 3) Keep up on the Bujo chart goals as best I can for the duration of this challenge. I don't want to be lapsing there just because they aren't the "front of mind" part of this challenge cycle. That's it. *deep breath* Here is the chart for this Challenge: Largely the same goals, only I have subbed out "Adulting" for "Draw", which might be the same thing to the healing Artist part of my brain. I hope that you will join me for the journey. If you are resting for Zero Week I wish you the high-test relaxation and recuperation! If you are off to the races, I wish you the dexterity and endurance you need to reach your goals. Thank you so much for being here. ❤️

Some mood musique We had some interesting discussions about French dietary habits last challenge (small portions, variety, satiety, quality, etc) that made me want to try a little French-themed experiment this challenge. It may seem like I have a lot of goals (especially after the last extremely simplified challenge), but some of these goals are things I do pretty well anyway and am just adding it to round out the theme. 🍞 Boulangerie An important aspect of French cuisine is fresh, quality ingredients, especially BREAD 😍. Sure, vegetables too, but we will work up to those. My goal is to bake my own bread twice during the challenge. I have no idea how long I should expect a loaf to last, and I don't want to overwhelm, so two is a good goal to start. The bread does not have to be French -- in fact, I can almost guarantee the first one will be focaccia -- but baguette may happen if I am ambitious. 🍰 Patisserie Desserts are de rigeur in France, even among the svelte, but portion sizes are miniscule compared to American servings. So my goal is to keep desserts to French standard portion sizes - two or three good bites. The best way to make this portion size feel satisfying is of course to take smaller bites and savor a quality dessert (no prepackaged cookies, trail mix, or other low quality "junk foods"). A square of dark chocolate is fine. 🛶 La TraverSeine There is an annual rowing event on the Seine in Paris in early September. Kayaks, canoes, even dragon boats may enter for the 15k "explore" event or 26k competition. The route goes under some 30 Parisian bridges and past most of the tourist traps: Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc etc. I...will not be going 😂. But, for fun I will pretend to be training for the event by indoor rowing twice a week (minimum) and actually kayaking at least once (hopefully the Poker Run mid-August). 🎨 La Louvre Continue my exploration of pen and ink art via the Inktober52 Instagram challenge. We are on week 29 (I think?) and I haven't missed a week yet! ⚜️ Lingua Franca Maintain my streak of foreign language practice on Duolingo (currently at 209 days).

I am channeling inspiration from Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education this challenge, because the forge thing seems to have burned itself out (ba-dum-crash). I will try not to give too many spoilers if you haven't read the book. I think I can fairly summarize without spoiling: At Scholomance (school for wizard children) everything is trying to kill you -- the monstrous maleficaria "mals" which creep through the pipes and vents, your fellow students, even the school itself (after all, how else would you learn to survive?). Your only hope to survive school -- or worse, graduation -- is to form alliances to watch your back and store up mana to power your magic for fighting the really big mals. How does one gather mana, you ask? You do things that suck while wearing a storage crystal, of course. The more difficult and onerous the task, the more mana it generates. If you focus hard while doing the task, the mana is channeled into your crystal, which is connected to your backup crystals and they begin to charge. Slowly. I am way behind on my mana storage for graduation due to an ill-advised battle with the worst kind of mal *shudders*. I need to fill at least 20 storage crystals before graduation next year to have a prayer of leaving the Scholomance alive. I hope to fill 4 this challenge. Roughly 500 mana fills a crystal. Here is how I hope to earn it: Eat 100 calories under maintenance = 10 mana (can be cumulative) Difficult/onerous exercises for 30 minutes = 30 mana Skipping sweets for a whole day = 50 mana I will use art to track my progress, because why not? As each crystal fills, I will post it here like so: Here's hoping we all make it!

If there's anything I've learned about myself from the past couple of challenges, it's that I can't overextend myself when it comes to building positive habits. I basically spent the last two challenges cementing alcohol avoidance and healthier eating habits (yay for those strides forward!) but basically ignored every other thing that I wanted to do. Why? I don't know, really. I just couldn't focus very well on more than two things. With that in mind, I'm going to just pick two things to work on this challenge. I'm still of the opinion that my health needs to be my greatest priority. I lost almost 18 pounds in the last challenge and am now down to 252.6 pounds at 5'5". Yay for that! Just as a side note, and this really is a side note, I hope to lose another 12 pounds this challenge. Here's what I would like to do to make more progress on my fitness and health journey: - 💪 Challenging Exercise - 30+ Minutes 4 Days a Week And for my second focus, I'd like to make time to express myself, whether it's with writing or painting or whatever form of art: - 🖌️Work on art projects - 45+ Minutes 4 Days a Week

Organic Programming II: Rind Reveries I have reviewed the Organic Programming principles. This challenge I’m adding some journalling and preparation to sandwich the day. I think this will be the most helpful expansion to my programme because I have a little extra energy and desire to do things at the moment, but I don’t focus it into activities automatically; I need some prompting. Journalling reminds me of my options in the morning, and helps me prepare in the evening so the activity is more available the next day, and there’s less resistance and more inspiration. I’m dropping the dairy during this second month of carnivorous eating to see if it makes a difference to my weight or energy. So yeah, pretty much just eating beef ("Rind") for a month. I’ll allow spices and condiments, though, because I don’t think I can face plain meat at the moment. I’ll be swapping black tea for herbal teas. I’ll use zero week to taper down the black tea and finish off the dairy that's in the fridge. For art and reading I want to focus on the quality of my attention, not the length of practice, since I have noticed distraction creeping in. I'm feeling like I have a tiny bit more interest in doing things, but I also get tired. So extra cooking and science classes are optional, for when I want a little more movement or study. Standard exercises for this challenge: DB weights at home first thing Look at my journal and plan the day 30 minutes focused reading Get properly dressed 2 x 50 minutes focused art Walk after lunch (or after grocery shopping) Prep for next day’s art & reading Carnivore, no dairy. Spices & minor condiments allowed. Overreach for this challenge: Science class in the afternoon, only if desired Cook extra snacks and lunches for Mr Harriet, only if desired Fatigue Management/Fallback Position DBs: do the first rep. Sundays off! Reading: set the timer and try. Sundays off! Dress: brush and rebraid hair Art: set the timer and try. Sundays off! Walk: take a nap if I really cannot face the walk Song: (Rind) Reverie

Harriet's Organic Programming: Overview I want to combine programming with flexibility. I like how the JTS programming book explains the principles needed to make programming work (like identifying your priorities, determining what traits you want to cultivate and what modalities/exercises will support them, applying specificity, overreach and fatigue management, etc). It makes programming less mysterious. I want to take a structured approach to my programming this year. But at the same time I need to be flexible because I cannot know how bad my fatigue will be in advance. Hence, organic programming. It’s a sapling, testing where the stone might crumble a little to allow a tendril to anchor. It’s the seed of a planet coagulating speck by speck as each new mote joins and adds its own gravity to the growing core. The principles of my organic programming are within the spoiler. Process for Challenges Reflect on the goals, traits and modalities, and determine either the greatest current obstacle or an area that seems ripe for expansion. Choose what ‘exercises’ could help, decide on something to overreach in (difficulty that seems a little beyond me) but also pick a fatigue management fallback; lower-effort options that will help me maintain instead of giving up completely.

RAISE THE BAR !!!! ^CHORD This challenge is going to be about raising the bar! And that includes working on the F bar chord in guitar too, because boy - that thing is a little punk. For a long time NF challenger, it's very easy to get into the place of just doing the same old same old. And that's great. But it's time for me to add a few rings to my tree trunk, -er, I am talking about 'growth', not putting weight on lol! I've coasted a bit and want to get back into growing as a person; improving myself physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. That's too much to try and do all at once, so we'll break it down into smaller things that get focused on per challenge. When one gets leveled up, we work on the next, and so on. I am also setting a long term goal here, in writing. I want to compose and record an original song before I am 50. (Honestly, I think I can nail that one far before the expiration date, but I didn't want to feel pressured - I want to enjoy the learning process, so we're setting this out there a few years.) Now for the list of longer term things I want to start working on over the next few months. Understand Starpuck, be the best Starpuck I can be. Step 1: Read "The Road Back to You" (An Enneagram Thingy) Conquer fear of change, and move out into my own place - be it an apartment or a house. Step 1: Rework budgets, set savings goals and plans, use envelope method for 'allowance/eating out'. Find guitar teacher, take a short term session of lessons. Step 1: Reach out to Perry's music. Stop judging teachers by awful pictures, lol! Go meet them. 5 WEEK CHALLENGE GOALS Goal #1 - FOOD! In 5/4 Timing - What? This means, aim to eat 5 times through the day, with quarter note sized meals lol. I was debating if I wanted to track calories, but coming from a total free for all, I don't want to swing too hard to the other end of the spectrum. I think just being mindful will get me back to a good 'starting point'. Plan: Eat Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Snack each day. Avoid adding extra snacks, especially in the evening or on weekends. Track It: Must note when I overdo the snacks, otherwise, each day assumed to have been 'in time' with the band. Goal #2 - Groove and Move - This is about keeping my physical body up to snuff. I want to be healthy and active long term, and that means putting in the work now. I also have noticed that over the past several years, the better my nutrition and sleep have been, the less illness I've had to face. That seems like one heck of a perk there. Groove is for strength training (not that I'm doing grease the groove) and Move is for any other intentional movement. I want to keep my cardio/pulmonary working well too, so getting heart rate up and lungs kicking is a goal, but it can be chill like walking or hiking too. (Not that either of those will be happening during the midst of winter. Plan: 2-3 Strength Days / Week. (Winter means less options for cardio, so a great time to increase strength days to 3.) 2+ other activity days. Track It: Yeah. Easy track here. Did I do them, or skip them? Goal #3 - Pick, Pluck, and Pen - This is the creative ensemble. It covers my music practice, which, I have set a pretty decent achievable goal of 2 hours / instrument per week, and 3 hours of art. I often go over, but this allows me to still hit targets on weeks that have extra changes in the line up, or outings, or hiccups that make practicing harder. Plan: 2 hours / week of guitar, bass and piano. 3 hours of art. Track It: Use Timelog app to keep track of this. Great app! 10/10 would recommend. General To Do's - Boldness, Books and Budgets - This final goal is just to track that I am remembering and paying attention to Step 1's of some of the longer term goals. I don't want to put "weekly" rules and requirements on this, so they will just be general to do's, and check marks that I am, in fact, putting some time and thought into them. Continue search for guitar lessons, check Perry's out. Local is a + and they are cheapest I've found. Read the book. Take it slow. Add notes in the side or on Post-Its. Use this to continue to sort out my challenges and learn to overcome my repeat hurdles. Create budget. Set up house savings / move money monthly into this. Create envelopes and use them. (app, or actual cash?) Start planning for 2023 vacations. (Hawaii still on radar?) Smaller trip / via car somewhere. Start working on the audio interface and software. Take it slow. Don't panic. Also - after original excitement about this theme, lol, I might change it in a week or so. My mood is all over the place right now! LOL. Short Bio

Year of Battle: rout the enemies of fatigue, anxiety, and distraction addiction, win the territories of lifting, art, writing, and whatnot. All right. One last skirmish. Fatigue and distraction addiction are wounded, anxiety is down and being kicked in the head. We’ve got art fairly well fortified. Let’s try to pry lifting back from the hands of the enemy. Goals 3 sets of any lift at home with the first tea every day. Art from roughly 8-12

The last week of the previous challenge was ... really bad all around. No nothing done! I fell out of all my habits and need to get back into the groove. 🎶 See what I did there? Since leading into the holidays is a tough time to crack down, I am keeping this super simple. EAT BETTER! I had been doing okay with eating 'normal' for 2 weeks after my trip. Then the last week hit and I got a stomach bug/weird ookiness going on, and I just ate total garbage. I will feel better if I am eating cleaner again. I should probably track calories to ensure I get my ass in gear, but this week and weekend is also b-day outings, so ... I have to give some flexibility. EXERCISE!! I skipped exercising for a week straight (partly due to stomach ookiness) mostly due to laziness and 'dunwannas'. I can't be that way. I must get into the warehouse 2x for strength and find some movement/cardio for the other days. Even if that means signing up for the walking track at the local park district by work. Those are the priorities! That's where my first effort goes. Music and art have been been an easy target for me for weeks. I am still super enjoying it and running with it, so I will do those and track them with my time log app. The food and exercise will get tracked here for accountability because I want to start getting my summer body ready now... and not wait till the last 'not happening' like usual lol. Strength⬜⬜ Move ⬜⬜⬜ Food ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ In other news, I got my new guitar! An electric guitar for some day soon (hopefully) music recording and song writing. My sister and brother in law decided it would be part of my Christmas gifts and paid for a chunk of it. I am hoping to get a video up showing my new rig 🎸but I need to find a way to make the sound not sound awful! Art continues with lots of inspiration being drawn from the Vampire: the Masquerade game still, so I'll try and post some of that here too. Plan for Week 1 Monday - Eat good, strength day. Piano, bass and art. Tuesday: Eat good, b-day dinner, maybe some post fam stuff creativity. Wednesday: Eat good, strength day. Guitar. Game night with peeps. Thursday: Eat good, 1/2 day, beat saber, music time, make dinner, Vampire game night. Friday: Day off. Eat good breakfast and light lunch (maybe the zoo?) 4pm Axe Throwing, 6pm Shabu Shabu! Saturday: Get some exercise, eat good, make dinner (for Thursday left overs) to boot. Sunday: Church, music, some hang outs, D&D To Do Stuffs

Year of Battle. You know the plan: destroy fatigue, anxiety, and distraction addiction so I can have an actual life with lifting, art, writing, and whatnot. Last challenge I managed to create a sort of routine. I am amazed at myself. This is what I have been struggling to achieve for many years. I am terrified it won’t stick, because I have no idea what I did to make this time different. Oh well. With Tank providing a blessed paladinic example of consistency, I will dig in and fortify. This challenge, the goal is simply to hold the line: gym first thing art until noon sleep routine from 9-10

Creeping, lurking ... ready to devour. Hanging over every minute, every hour. My foe is there, but victory's mine, Remember my light - and let it shine. Stealing a bit of Vampire the Masquerade Floon for this one. I am still super hyped and into that game and using that for inspiration here. The Beast - for vampires, it's the monster within. For me, it's the gloom of autumn and winter, combined with growing feelings of being stuck where I am. I have to re-frame this perspective because if I keep focusing on the negatives, and the "not yet's", or the not where I wanted to be's, I fail to see what I do have. Comparison to other perceived 'better' views is a joy stealer. And I want to stop doing this. Goals are going to be largely based on mental and emotional health this time around. Sure I'll have my other things to keep track of because seeing consistency is GOOD for my brain. And I am still very much thriving on the music endeavors, so that's been great and I want to keep up with that. (The #backtomusic2022 has lasted, ALL year, so this feels legit!) Goal 1: Use Gratitude App Daily - Follow prompts. Make time. Do it. No excuses. The point is to get it done daily to teach your mind how to look past the negatives. If I do it only when I feel good and have a thing immediately come to mind to be thankful for, then I am not learning a new perspective, I am letting the old one dictate my choices. Daily Gratitude on App Goal 2: Track Calories - but Stop Being So Militant about it! - Tracking has worked great the past 6 weeks, and I dropped about 4-5 pounds. I have to stop freaking out for those occasions where I can't really track them. Because that's making me a tyrant. No one wants a raging calorie tracker at an outing. 😛 Track Daily (except for untrackable outings, just enjoy those on occasion) Goal 3: Create! It brings Joy! - I found a really coo, tracker called TimeLog - and it lets me keep track of the hours I spend on various hobbies. I originally did it to keep track of music specifically, but I've also used it for art. Keep doing the music and art. I had it set for 4x a week each thing. And that almost happens. But I find that even if it's 4x/week - I almost always get 2 hours a week on each thing. Which is 4 x 30 minutes. So 4x or 2 hours / week is a doable amount on my stuff. So I'll keep it there for now. 4x / Week or 2 Hours Each Minimum: Bass - Guitar - Piano - Art Goal Eh: Keep exercising. - I thought to take this off as a goal because I am in such a good routine with it, but with winter here it will actually be harder for me to get my move days in - so this might serve as a reminder to focus on the effort. 2-3 Strength / week 2-3 Move / week Finally, a challenge long list of things I want to remember to try and get done. We're calling it a Side Quest list. Side Quests Oil Change Tire Rotation Purge Unused Items from Closet Reorganize Closet Purge Unused Items from TV Stand Cabinet Purge Unused Items from all Drawers in Room Go through Clothes, Donate Items no longer Worn Find Room Arrangement to Allow for easier Creative Outlets (might require getting rid of some furnishings / replacing with new ideas) Research music recording software. Research music notation software. Purchase / ask for Christmas - items needed for above. Look up theory classes to brush up on music theory. Bass lessons? Look into this. Continue watching house market / look at ones that might be doable. Make appt with financial advisor / budget helper. Finish Dad/Daughter Pic

So, I’ve tried a lot of things and tried to develop habits. Sometimes it seems like none of my attempts have worked. But the fatigue is somewhat under control at the moment (for reasons I don’t even understand—maybe the pacing and improvements in sleep?), I currently have nothing much in the way of depression, and I have also created some breathing space for myself by limiting my internet use. I seem to have trouble creating (good) habits. The usual recommendation is to start with small steps, but for me this is not rewarding enough to be reinforcing. And because I am mostly out of work, the sheer amount of time I have to fill is overwhelming and encourages bad habits. So I want to try a routine that is designed to create larger blocks in which I can accomplish flow states, which is also what Hari recommended as the antidote to distraction addiction in his book Stolen Focus. Recently, apart from a few days off, I’ve been doing two hours of art per day. I have experienced flow states, and it’s most definitely the direction I want to be going in. I want to add two hours of writing in the afternoons, which are otherwise empty. I’ve also filled in the rest of the schedule with things like journalling, meditation, meal planning and grocery shopping, gym, chores, etc. It should stay flexible—I may be required to do other things. But I should try not to take off more than one day in a row, because when you put two indolent days together, they breed with ironic industry and birth resistance, distraction, fear, and further indolence. Lastly, I am feeling humiliated by my terrible German listening skills, which for some reason didn’t improve as much as I wanted just by reading German (?!?). So I’m going to listen to something German (podcast, audiobook) in the afternoon for 30-60 minutes. Knitting encouraged. !!!WARPLAN!!! Art (10am-12pm) Writing (2-4pm) Doitsh (4-5pm) Have at thee!!!!!

THE CHALLENGE!!! STARPUCK FIGHTS THE BEAST I've fought this beast before. He's often goes by the title Gloom Monster, but we're referring to him as The Beast on this challenge. He gets more powerful as summer ends and autumn gives way to winter. He's a little stronger this time around, because our heroine has been fighting a side of apathy lately. One of my greatest weapons against that is momentum. But to get momentum, you have to get a first step underfoot and follow it up with a second, and third and so on. Bio: ON TO THE CHALLENGE Doing much of the same old same old! In fact, I found a google sheet tracker I made in May 2021 and just changed a few of the things I plan on tracking. I really need to get my food consistency back in place. I do fine at work and during the early part of the week. Going into the Thursday gaming night and weekend tends to unravel full tilt. Exercise is not a problem ever, but I'd like to be more focused in what I am choosing to do. Art is back on the table, on top of me trying to practice three instruments at once. (I did mention Ranger, right?) Goals: Track food daily. If unable to track on a weekend meal, eat sensibly, guesstimate cals. Exercise 5x a week. Art some times a week. Music - try to get 3-4 practices on each instrument, length of time not important. (** Might switch this to amount of time on each per week. Some days I get on a roll, and might jam out for a good amount of time on just one instrument.) Track Spending. I gotta get this under control too. As a side note, I am 8 sessions into our latest TTRPG game; Vampire the Masquerade. I am SO into this game right now, so lots of art for it has been kicked out. It's also where I have borrowed the idea of fighting against the beast within. For vampires, that beast is their monstrous side. For me, it's apathy and inconsistency as we hit the S.A.D heavy days. I'll try and catch up on sharing some art (and a quick backdrop as to what it means.) Vampire Art Taking Zero Week to get slowly back into a better groove after this last hurrah, lol. See ya Rebels tomorrow!

I am kind of in need of a reboot (or maybe just a kick in the pants). I have decided to bolster my flagging motivation by focusing on creating beauty in myself and my environment. So, without further ado, les goals: 1. Feast of the eyes This one is about getting more color on my plate, namely fruits and vegetables. I tend to stick to brown foods, so the goal is minimum of 3 colorful plates per week to be eaten and posted here for accountability. 2. Movement Naturelle This is about practicing graceful, natural movement through any environment and incorporates mobility, strength, and skill training. The MovNat Journal has some great free workout plans that integrates all of this fairly seamlessly, so the goal is to complete 3 MovNat sessions per week. 3. Create Beauty I need to engage my mind in some healthier, creative pursuits and not solve my boredom/restlessness with food. I am keeping the goal to a minimum of 5 minutes daily, because a) I can do anything for 5 minutes, b) setting a long time goal will make me feel overwhelmed and therefore I will procrastinate, and c) once I get going, I will more than likely go for more than 5 minutes anyway. It's the starting that's hard. Creative pursuits that count for this goal include (but are not limited to): painting/drawing/coloring, gardening, writing, sewing, home decorating, or crafting. Time spent underpants collecting in the name of "planning" art/writing projects does not count.

Let's keep the music themes going eh? 8 weeks till Vacation, or 4/4! And I've set myself four goals to chart. I still haven't gotten my consistency underfoot, but I got really close to nailing it this last week. (Then had a really stressful weekend and by Sunday, I needed liquid courage and woops.) So, this challenge will be a continuation of trying to get my chops back. Figuratively. Exercise Goals - 5x a week. I do best with strength twice a week and random intentional movement on at least three occasions. Some weeks a third strength is fine, but I know I don't do well with 3x every week right now. Music & Art - I was able to get 4 sessions for each instrument in most of last challenge, and, since I want to improve my skills, I do need to aim for this kind of thoughtful amount of time spent. Monday's and Tuesday's work great for getting lots of music in, so do Friday's and Sundays. The rest of the days, if I just strum a bit before other commitments, cool beans. I would also like to get pencil to sketchbook again too, but no pressure on this. Food - Either track, or don't eat like an ahole. Pretty straight forward here. I know what I should be eating, and how much. Just need to do it. Socials & Self Time - I need to work on two things. Getting social and being with people, but also carving out time for myself to unwind and reflect. This can be tallied up in an easy, totally contradicting phrase. "Start saying yes -- Start saying no." Going to track on here, because that should have me checking the forums more often lol! Weekly trackers below. **ALSO! I want to start doing the recreate gifs thing, so look for that! EXERCISE 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 FOOD 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 ARTSY STUFF 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 PIANO 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 BASS 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 GUITAR 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲 SKETCH/DOODLE

Perfectly timed you say? Timed?!? Perhaps, because someone has defected to the rhythm section friends! I, along with some other wonderful nerds, decided to "#BackToMusic2022" and folks, I really have done a smashing job of this. I've been playing piano consistently for the whole year! About 6 weeks ago, I also picked up acoustic guitar and started slowing learning that. (It's wrecking my finger tips yo! LOL - And the D chord is impossible for me to play nicely even still.) And, so, what else does one do in that case but decide .oO( Clearly, I am not learning enough instruments, I should buy a bass! It will help my fingers get used to strings, but more gently!) So I bought a bass last week and it's now in my possession. As far as everything else goes... I have major regrets that one thing after another this year has become an excuse for why I am not on track to be slimmed down and back to strong and healthy for the summer. Part of that is, well, health. In January I started dealing with some weird, non-critical but annoying symptoms that lead to several trips to docs and diagnosed theories on what is to blame. About 2 weeks ago, the last of the weird little symptoms were gone and I was anxious for not only a return to feeling myself, but also a much anticipated vacation in early May. And then I got Covid. In fact, I still have 3 more days before I can leave the 10 day 'quarantine and/or mask up' schtick and return to normal routine. I had it mildly, but, as someone who has not even had so much as a two day sniffle in like 4 years, being sick is still being sick. I am not quite fully back on my feet yet, but I have high hopes that at the 2 week proper mark I should be pretty much okay. It did cause my sis and I to also have to cancel our trip. Soooo, yeah, long and short of it is that 2022 hasn't been the easiest year thus far. But, post recovery here, plus the turning of the seasons, plus a brand new bass in my possession are all great reasons to get back to the right tempo! I also am really inspired to clean up my eating habits again after this whole Dances with Germs thing. A well fueled, well nourished body just does things better, usually. I've also been watching more anime again lately, so my interest in getting my art going again is kind flooning. So we've got, piano, guitar, bass, art, strength training, cardio health routines, and my usual D&D nights and friends hang outs, lol. I know that tracking food works best for me to shed a few pounds, so I need to get into the mindset to do that. If I do more cooking with the boyfriend, (who also just had covid, but we didn't catch it from each other actually) that will help with tracking on the weekends, and reining in the spending that's gotten out of hand with me. Woops. So, some goals. Track Food Daily - if a meal out can't be actively tracked, then rely on sensible eating for that meal. Strength Train - 2x a week is my sweet spot. Cardio-Ish - 3x a week. Piano - 4x a week Bass - 4x a week /or 20 minutes daily (lets see how it goes) Guitar - 15m daily has been working, but with other instruments, I won't keep this as a MUST do daily. Art - 2-3x a week, let's see how it fits in Connect - Do that connect with people thing that I talked about last challenge. Follow on the forums, dangit, Starpuck, DO THIS!

Overview of the Battle The objective: to gain the mountain and obtain the precious treasures of lifting, writing, painting, walking, cooking and spirit work The enemies: fatigue, emotional resistance, distraction addiction, hopelessness The weapons: axe of strength, sword of courage, staff of clarity, reflective shield Second Skirmish: Invading the Foothills of Figure Sketching The main new habit this challenge will be doing a little work on my art, whether it's sketching or watching lessons. As with the writing, I should start with small, low stakes practices to sidestep the emotional resistance. I want to focus on figures for several months. Reflective Shield Journalling and reflecting on what works -I need to recommit to daily morning journalling, since I have neglected it -I should set a calendar reminder to reflect on Sundays, since I neglected this, too -I should continue noting how I feel after lifting (fatigue, mental fatigue, joint pain) Sword of Courage Overcoming emotional blocks to the creative work I want to do -I am increasing the writing to 20 minutes -I will add 10-20 minutes of art after dinner Staff of Clarity Getting freedom from distraction addiction and negative emotions -I will continue meditating each morning, and may experiment with a short second session at night -I will renew the internet block but update it to support journalling in the mornings and Sunday -I will continue doing 20 minutes of cleaning per day. It's not exactly one of the mountain treasures but it is good to have, and a clean house promotes an uncluttered mood Axe of Strength Strength through food, iron, and rest -I just have to keep going with my high meat keto without getting sidetracked or shamed -I will continue pacing. It's really helping -I will continue lifting: I will design a deload & strength block

So I came off the first challenge practically 100%-ing the darn thing and then... As if I'd been touched by a wraith, all the energy and life force in me just vanished. All that momentum gone. The boulder having pushed to the top of the hill, has rolled down and settled in the valley. I know I can't stay down there with old Bouldy. (That's Sisyphus' job.) So I have to keep trekking forward. I might have small boots, and the journey is long, but I have five weeks of budding habits that work and I know it. So this challenge is going to be more about pushing through the slump. No fancy tracker this time; but I have made one page to use for the whole 5 weeks. Filling in boxes in motivating for me, but I needed less weekly time devoted to the making of it. So Goals Then - Keep on keeping on. Track Food 7x/week - best guess for any 'treat meals'. Move 5-6x/week - 3 strengths works really well for me, a few beat sabers, and fill the rest. Make Stuff - This is art and piano and D&D prep. I really liked hitting the stride of 3-4x a week for music/art. I'd like to keep this going. Misc goal "Grow" - This is about growing emotionally and spiritually. My devotion habit is a habit. Cool. Keep that up. I want to challenge myself going forward. This challenge is going to consist of doing some out of the comfort zone projects. I feel like I might have a problem with envy and a side dish of slander - things I don't want in my card catalog in general. So to combat this, I am planning to "write a letter" to any friend I have ever spoke about, in any fashion, behind their back, and fill it with all the reasons I am grateful for who they are and what they've done for me through the years of friendship. Bonus points if I actually send it to them lol. Other things may come up too, but that's what I am starting with. That's all I got for now. I am hoping to make the rounds on your guys challenges soon here ...

I set out on a new journey; a path that travels through many realms and one that will teach me many things. I often daydream about potential -and must admit that I struggle the most with my friends when I see them failing to push toward their own. Which leads me to the honest confession that I often fail to push the boundaries of my own potential. For me, it's never been lack of effort, or the unwillingness to try in the first place. For me, Fear has been my greatest foe and Perfectionism his best accomplice. The only way I am going to thrive- (because if the past two years has taught me anything, it's that the only thing that stops us from thriving, is ourselves) then I must learn that I can be stronger than my circumstances, and that my hope comes from beyond whatever earthly conditions surround me at any given time. Fear is an illness. If you leave it untreated, it can consume you. I'd like to find some balance in the coming challenges, while picking up a few new hobbies and dusting off some old ones. I'd also like to get back into a healthier lifestyle habit as the past several weeks really had me shut down to 0%. That's going to require facing the scale at least once. While I know it's going to be a number that displeases me, it got there based on my choices. I can't change the past. I can reshape the future. FOOD GOAL The best way to get my habits in line again will be tracking my calories. It usually doesn't anger me, and it helps me make better choices. I'm a big fan of 'more bang for your buck' and that works with food too. Track in MFP 7 Days/Week *Impossible to track treats may be skipped or 'best guessed' but must be limited to once a week. EXERCISE GOAL I feel best when I am keeping in shape. It really just makes every other part of my life better. With winter in full effect it's easier to strength train than cardio, so I will do what's easiest to schedule in. Strength 2-3x a week Fill in other days to reach 5x exercise per week. CREATIVITY GOAL I want to continue drawing and have taken steps (costly ones) to get my desk set up more conducive to that. Draw 2x/week. I'm part of the Bard2022 Gang here, and I have both a full size digital piano with weighted keys (mmm) and a brand new 17 key Kalimba. I was VERY active in music in highschool, but reading music is going to be like brushing up on a foreign language you haven't read in 20 years. Music 2x/week. ESTABLISH A DAILY ROUTINE FOR AM AND PM AM - Devotional / bible study + Positivity journaling. PM - Computer off 20 minutes before bed, Teeth routine + Face routine with good health creams. More to come ... including a 'to do list' to be done during the next 5 weeks.

This is part three of a year that I am setting aside to try to heal from chronic exhaustion and demotivation. There are four aspects to lifestyle healing magic: food, stress, movement, and sleep. This module is for fine tuning the food aspect. Last challenge I started keto, and saw a massive reduction in anxiety, and some other mental benefits. This challenge I will experiment with different variations on the ketogenic diet to increase my knowledge about what works. I have some improved mental energy, and hope to spend it on writing and painting. But I won’t push it if I don’t feel like it. Motivation must come from an un-inflamed and adequately fuelled mind, not from desperate attempts to whip up willpower out of the watery gruel of fatigue. A loose sort of schedule does seem to be developing on its own, so I’m just going to let that continue. I haven’t really recovered my physical strength and energy since the last trip to Munich (now some weeks ago damnit) so exercise will be advised but optional. (We have proven to our satisfaction the inefficacy of forcing the lab mouse to run when exhausted). Lifestyle Healing Magic: Ketonics Module I Potions (food) Lesson One: Do Not Ingest Poison: no sugar, caffeine, or alcohol (Ke)Tonics general instructions: eat at or under 20g net carbohydrates per day. (Ke)tonics specific experiments: Zero week will be no chocolate and no live sauerkraut, to see if this helps with my current heartburn. I must also undergo the trial of the Silberhochzeit, in which I must endure some periods of foodlessness on the train, and evade all attempts to poison me with celebratory food. Weeks 1-5 I will adjust other parameters. Possible experiments could be increasing and decreasing the plant content of my diet, which will probably mean decreasing and increasing the dairy content, since those are my two sources of carbs, and they compete for space. I might also try cutting eggs and processed meats and really going all in on fresh meat, green things, and water. I might add fasting or save it for next challenge. Or maybe I will devise a diet inspired by Artio the bear goddess and eat salmon, berries, meat, and (*googles bears*) herbs, pine cones, hikers, and 20 000 calories worth of moths??? (*note to self: check carbs in moths*). Defence Against the Dark Arts (stress) Occlumency (meditation) is suspended so that its anxiety-lowering effects may be trialled separately from the ketonics. It shall be reintroduced next challenge. Enspiriting Runes: I shall aim to do a little art every other day. Sparking Sigils: I shall aim to write a little every other day. Transfiguration (movement) Hypertrophy Charm: any form of strength training, if energy allows. I seem to be losing weight from the keto, and I don’t really like what I see—my weightlifting over the last few years has added thickness to my legs, arms, and waist, but not to my chest, upper back, or glutes. I seem to be in a slightly longer term tired phase, so I will simply do some exercises for these areas whenever possible, until moderately tired, at home or at the gym. Recommendations for isolating the glutes without the hamstrings welcome. Current ideas include swings and single legged glute bridges. Recommendations for hitting the chest without the arms also welcome. So far, the barbell bench has added weight to my arms only. Spell of Ambulancy: at least one short walk daily. Charms (sleep) Somnolence Ritual: screens off at 9:30 Hmmm. This entry looks kind of dry without any gifs or pictures. Here, have an experimental scribble. And share gifs of mead, honey, and other beautiful liquids, please.