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Hey ya'll! First time on the challenges, long time lurker of these amazing forums. Just gotta say you all are super motivating and the way people encourage others to do cool stuff around here is really uplifting. Ok, enough of that, Its time for a challenge! In 4 weeks, I'd like to get some things DONE: I want to do 5 towel pullups. Done, and now I guess I can crush things with my super hands. I thought I was decent at pullups, but I like, can't hold onto a towel. I want to get strong and do that. I will fast til noon every weekday. When I eat, the real hunger starts, and the floodgates open. Lets keep busy and focus on food for later in the day, yeah? I want to run 5k. Not a 5k mind you. 5k distance. This is mostly contingent on my leg fully healing, as I'm still feeling the aftereffects of overuse from last fall. I want to run again. I will finish at least two books. Easy and done. Moved on to more. Fahrenheit 451 anyone? I've got a stack of books by my bed, and they need to be devoured. Between the bus and bedtime, I am going to crush this. I will talk to my boss about the future. Done, and now the future is less murky, yay! I have a contract job. That contract will end this year. I am scared of the future, and of talking to my boss. I have to get strong and talk about the future. I'm going to deadlift 315. Done, now to do it again with even better form. I've been chasing this for years, stymied by leg injuries and poor form. I'm going to get there in 4 weeks . I will finish my 3d environment. I fancy myself an artist, or at least, my art school degree tells me I am. I still do some 3d art on the side, and I've been noodling on an environment piece. I'm going to finish it in 4 weeks and its going to look awesome. I got a bullet journal and aim to plan out every week and be all productive and stuff. Its gonna be great. Heres to progress! Go forth and reap the gains.

First of all: sorry that I'm late with making this challenge. I went through a hard time: my emotional scales are a bit wibbly wobbly (wimey timey... stuff) and I had to change workout plans since my back hurted a lot because I can't do anymore weightlifting (I have a form of Spina Bifida) I decided to make a themed challenge and choose Avatar as inspiration. I was always mostly fascinated by uncle Iroh. Misunderstood and used by his family but always keeping his head up. It's that kind aof person who knows what he is about. He has been through hard times but still sees humour in a lot of things. And he also is such a bad ass! One of the most inspirational quotes in the series is when he teaches Zuko to also learn from other elements and seek balance. P.S.: he also has these amazing mutton chops. GOAL 1: The first erlement is Air. I feel it's about finding flexibility and finding a way to move the body with the least resistance. My first goal is to get a more flexible body through yoga. I will move through my yoga poses and study them, one at a time. I will do this three times a week for the next three weeks. So I will start with 1 asana and end with 9 asanas in my last session. I try to do them for at least 3 minutes or longer. GOAL 2: Water is my second element and the element of change. Also it takes it power the moon.which pulls and pushes the tides. This reminded me about meditation and how the minds get pulled and pushed, more precisely how you try to focus and sometimes totally lose the focus. So I will try to do meditation once a day. I have a pranayama app that I will use as guidance. GOAL 3: Moving on to earth. Earthbenders seem very tactical to me. Rather defensive untill the moment that they know they can do a step forward. They wait, aim and listen for the right moment. It's like playing a game of chess. You can attack blindlessly and probably lose all your peices. But you can also move them around untill there is an opening you can abuse to win the game. I think it's very good to use this philosphy in my art. I rush everything to fast. So that's why I will try to make more studies before making a painting. (at least five). GOAL 4: As I said workout changed because of my handicap. I recently started reading Convict Conditioning. I like it, and the way he lets you build op slowly to amazing, epic bodyweight movements (like one handed pull ups and push ups). I think bodyweight exercices also go very well with the element of fire. It's all about the action. (reminder to that moment that Iroh started working out in his cell to just blast the iron away with his build up power). I will go more in details on my workout scedule later, because it got it's own set of goals (not necessarily to be finished this month) THE END

Experience Tranquility! Why hello, Challenge #2! I'm glad that I have the challenge weeks on my calendar because it keeps me going! My first challenge of the year died off at the end. I was still (sort of?) tracking most of my food choices, but I could tell that I was only giving 50% of the effort. I realized that I don't really like putting heavy time constraints on myself. Having a routine is one thing, and something I am going to be working on, but I don't like doing things in time blocks. I am more of a "Make a List and Do each of the things as they come but not necessarily in any order" and I'm successful with it! I also realized that I sincerely miss doing yoga. I miss having it be part of a daily routine whether it was in the morning, in the afternoon, or bedtime yoga. It helped me keep a calm mind, fight fatigue, sleep better, and just have an overall better outlook on life. All of that said, lets jump right into it: The cycle begins a new... Quest One: "Repetition is the path to mastery" My first quest revolves around establishing a routine. There are not set time slots, but it will be important to maintain the routine as close as possible. Given that life will sometimes throw you lemons, or commitments, don't fret! Just plan accordingly. Daily Routine Brush teeth/wash face/shower Change clothes (don't hang out in pjs all day!) Take out items for dinner If crockpot meal, prep and set to cook Prep items early if possible Breakfast/Coffee with one or two shows If appointments are scheduled, consider breakfast/coffee on the go for both myself and Mom At least two-three housekeeping events (because using the word chore makes it look ominous!) Kitchen always Vacuum Dust Bathroom up-keep Recycling Bedroom de-clutter Maintain an active laundry cycle as to keep from getting behind Daily exercise Lunch at a reasonable time Plan snacks if appointments/errands run long Carry water at all times Play time Computer time Reading time More shows Dinner ready, at the latest, 6:30 PM Kitchen clean-up I think that this will be a great routine to work to establish. There are things that may change, or may be finished prior, which is why not having time constraints work best for me. I am also going to get back into the habit of grading myself! I think it's a good way to keep myself accountable, because who likes seeing a failing mark on anything they do? This particular quest is a Pass/Fail. Along with keeping it here, I am making myself a habit chart so that I can manually check off each time I successfully complete an item. It will also let me see how often certain things need to be done, and if they do not have to be done. I can also note if I substituted something else in an items place. Maintain Routine for Four Weeks: Pass Not Maintaining Routine: Fail Quest Two: "Life is more than a series of ones and zeroes" While the above is to help me establish and maintain a routine, this quest is going to help me remember that there is more to life than fretting over said routine. Once it has been established, and repeated, it will begin to feel like second nature. However, I find myself once again neglecting things that I was very excited to jump back into at the beginning of the last challenge. Therefore, this quest is to help me keep a steady foot on the road of art, photography, silly selfies, writing, and reading. Not to be confused the the play time part of the above routine, I want this to help me continue to build the enthusiasm I had just a few weeks ago. I was drawing, sketching, and just playing around with a variety of art media. I haven't done that in a while, and I can see a drastic difference in my state of mind. I was also sharing things that I was doing, and it really felt good doing so. Even if pieces weren't completed or, in my own opinion "good", I shared them. Not only was it building my confidence, others were voicing their enjoyment on seeing them! So my goal here is to share at least one piece of art every week during this challenge. If there is more, great! It can be in any state of progress and any media. As long as I am doing something and sharing it (here on the forums, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, DeviantArt, etc!), it will count! One Piece of Artwork Shared a Week: Pass No Artwork Shared: Fail Quest Three: "One cannot survive on strength alone" And here we are at the actual fitness part of my challenge. For a long time, I was so intrigued my Yoga. It not only looked cool, but I had always heard how much fun and relaxing it could be. I finally tried it, and actively did at least 15 minutes a day for a while. I was not only losing weight, but a lot of the aches and pains I've regained weren't there. My lower back didn't bother me, my hip joints weren't always sore, and I just felt better. It was good for both my mind and my body, and that is what I need more than anything. So, I am going back to it. Why I left it, it's hard to say. I tried to think about the reasons the other day, and while I did run into some life-related complications, I should not have let it stand in my way. Then again, at the time, I wasn't strong enough mentally to battle it. My ultimate goal is to start and complete Nerd Fitness Yoga Water A, which I believe is the beginner course. I was very close to being able to complete the first one before everything went belly up. While I work toward that, I will be working on the foundation and basic poses of Yoga to establish stamina and do some core strengthening. I know of some great Yogis on Instagram, and also found some good beginner Yoga routines through Pinterest. So, my quest for this challenge will be to do, at least, 10 minutes of yoga a day. It can be more, it can be in two different 5 minute intervals, but I MUST do at least 10 minutes. Even if it's working on one or two different poses. Repetition! 10 Minutes of Yoga a Day: A 10 Minutes of Yoga 4 Days/Week: B 10 Minutes of Yoga 3 Days/Week: C 10 Minutes of Yoga 1 Day/Week or None at All/Week: F Like Zenyatta, my ultimate goal this time around is to balance discord and harmony. Take the discord and throw it back to battle the enemy. Take the harmony and use it to heal wounds overtime. "We walk in harmony, my student." "I know the doubts that plague you."

I'm Lieutenant Dan. Fuck you 2016. Woo...it is a new year. A brand new spanking year that I desperately need. I have been out for the forums quite a bit last year for one main reason! Quick reminder for all of you folks who have yet to meet the Queen of Gifs; I am BlackTezca and I first joined the Rebellion back in 2014! I started out with my very first post in From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel! I also started a new battle log for the year titled BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards A Much Better Year (We all need a much better year). I had a lovely challenge during my Golden age in BlackTezca's 14th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon Goes Back to School!!! and the challenge ended up being a pretty damn good success! I was ready to kick the rest of Octobers' ass and really rock the rest of 2016 until...disaster struck. Monsters abounded... I know a lot of folks who have figurative (and literal) battle scars from 2016 and I have to say...I am one of them. Some of you may have know this already, but the hubs and I lost our clone, Ezekiel, better known to us as Zeke. Zeke was...too much for this small puny world to handle and went off to conquer far, far, far away celestial places. He will be miss, and his departure hit us really hard. That was the best, and the very worst, Halloween weekend I have ever experience. That was what I shall call, the Eclipse moment. If you are familiar with the anime Berserk, which was...fittingly, gonna be my October challenge theme, then you know the Eclipse moment. The moment where everything goes to literal hell in Berserk and the dark dirty world transforms into a Apocalyptic Fantasy horror landscape. I really truly believe that losing Zeke was that moment; sure I didn't lose an eye nor lost an arm, but things are definitely not the same anymore. I didn't go on a 2 year hunting down Apostles hiatus like Guts did, but I did have a hiatus so I can heal physically and start healing emotionally. Cause I'm back bitches!! Time to kickass and get back to my main quest! As we all may remember, I have one hero that I always admire, one hero that I aspire to be! Her movie is coming out soon (JUNE 02 2017) and as such I must prepare myself to follow in her awesome footsteps...!! My Main Quest to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Without further ado, let's see my new awesome quests for January 2017! Note that most of these are familiar, but this is to get back into the habit and get back into the Rebellion! It's always good to revisit the basics and what made things so great the first time around :D. Guts will never stop, never yield. He is simply to simple minded, too stubborn, and too bad ass. Details: Still keeping things simple here. Just like Guts who will never stop to rest for his simple goals (vengeance against Griffith, protecting Casca, getting monsters to leave him alone), I too shall not stop! Time to get my ass back into gear and work out as hard as I usual do!...While taking rest days and doing some yoga (which I will count as well! WOO YOGA!) Contingencies: Sickness and travel pretty much. However considering the flexibility here, I should be able to do something! Walking, yoga, etc! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for workout (including yoga) 4 to 5 times a week - 25 pts ( 2 Sta 2 Dex 2 Str ) B for workout (including yoga) out 2 to 3 times a week - 20 pts ( 1 Sta 1 Dex 2 Str ) F for all else Casca is a strong independent woman who don't need no man to kick some ass! Details: A woman with pride, strength and an efficient fighting style, Casca is a soldier through and through. She fights with finesse and often using her opponents greater strength to her advantage. I haven't been doing much to keep up with my own fighting skills and would like to get back into kickboxing and Muay Thai! Contingencies: If I can't make the Easton classes, I'll simply do a kickboxing work out at home with focus on good technique from Easton! Huzzah!Tracking: I'll be tracking the Muay Thai and Kickboxing using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well.Grading: A for Kickboxing/Muay Thai 3 times a week - 20 pts ( 1 Sta 2 Dex 1 Str ) B for Kickboxing/Muay Thai out 2 times a week - 15 pts ( 2 Dex ) C for Kickboxing/Muay Thai out 2 times a week - 10 pts ( 1 Dex ) F for all else Ishidoro needs to bulk up and eat at least 100 gram of protein to catch up to Guts! Details: Lets' get back to focusing on eating all the protein (and watching my carbs and sugar and such). Ishidoro wants to steal all of Guts techniques and skills, but he needs to pump up for that! I mean the dragonslayer is about 400 pounds and Guts can swing that with one arm. For me to get back to the weight I use to lift, I need to eat more protein! Contingencies: None. I should be able to stuff my face with yogurt and protein bars if I need to and while I don't want to go over my calories too much, I'm NOT cutting. Thus the daily amount should not scare me. I need the protein, I need that fuel! Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with extra accountability done here. Grading: A for 100 g of protein 6 to 7 times a week - 25 exp ( 2 Con 1 Wis) B for 100 g of protein 4 to 5 times a week - 20 exp ( 2 Con ) C for 100 g of protein 2 to 3 times a week - 15 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Griffith has dreams, ambitions...and let one year with a bad day lead to a pretty horrific decision... Details: Oh man...oh Griffith...you're a real piece of work. Turning from one of the coolest characters into one of the most shittiest assholes over the course of one ruthless, hateful decision. To be fair to him, he had a bad year. He was tortured for a year, left disabled and unable to fight or even speak and after being united with his friends and comrades, realized he had just become a burden. That sucks. Really, really sucks. I am not gonna be like Griffith and just hole up into myself, making horrible choices. I had a pretty shitty 2016. I have some healing to do. And while I have done a pretty good job so far, I need to stop putting off getting some grief counseling. Not sure what yet, nor when, but I need to get some grief counseling of some kind. Maybe to let it all out, maybe to hep make a plan, I'm not sure, but something could still help me get a handle on this loss a little more. Contingencies: None; I need to not put it off.Tracking: Tracking to be done here and I'll need to use this thread to do some research and let ya'll know how I'm doing so far.Grading: A for one group or individual grief counseling session this challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha ) F for all else Puck is real are so are demons, other elves, and magic in the Berserkverse! Details: Puck is the resident light in the darkness known as the Berserkverse. He provides the comedy relief and much needed lightness for the series as well as proof that there are supernatural happenings afoot. He is an elf that is visible to all but the blind and tries his best to support Guts and his crew. Due to his supernatural, magical nature, he best represents my art quest! Same old here; painting and art for 30 minutes a day, most days of the week! Contingencies: The usual! Friends being in town, going on possible trips else where, etc. Need to focus on painting! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. Grading: A for Arting (model painting mostly) at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 20 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha )B for Arting (model painting mostly) at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha) F for all else The quests are set! I should be honest and have some stats posted for the new year! They...ugh...won't be great, but here they are!! Starting Measurements: Date: 01/05/2017 @ 7:30 am Weight: 161 ***Body Fat***: 26 Waist: 26 Waist @ Navel: 28 Hips: 40 Neck: 12.5 Chest: 34 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 19.5 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 9 Ughhhh...I know these are looking great, but hey! Cut me some slack :P. I'm getting back into things and I'm already feeling more trim and also feeling better! Hurray! Let's get this challenge going! Time to fight against the Dark Ages and kick ass Berserk style! WOO!!

Moment of honesty here; Starpuck is starting to falter. The Dark Side whispers temptations into my mind and they are growing harder and harder to resist. I'm just starting to feel like nothing works and when nothing works, hope is lost and motivation falls with it. I don't want that to be the case, so I must double my efforts. I need to SEEK these changes and have trust in the Force that it will come together. This challenge will be a lot of the same as last, though with a few tweaks. Bring Balance to the Force- Food. 1A) Eat as clean as possible, limit splurges, don't have frak it moments. 1B) Veggies and fruits - 3x / day. 1C) Debating yet on if I want to track or not. On one side, data is good - on the other side, with motivation at its low, maybe I should save it for some of the other tasks. Knowledge- the life of a Jedi should be one of constant learning, constant self-improvement. Mental/Spiritual Improvement 2A) Every morning, read a chapter. 2B) Every morning, write affirmation. 2C) Art - 3x/week + more frequent quick sketches. 2D) One night a week, set uninterrupted time aside to read book for 30 minutes. Physical Improvement 3A) Lift 2-3x / week. 3B) Sweat (without lifting) 2-3x / week. 3C) Yoga 1x / week I seriously have the biggest crush on this ^ Obi-wan. I love him. I want to marry him. And I think he was a really good Jedi. I have heard people debate and theorize on who was the stronger Jedi at the time of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-wan or Anakin. At the end of the short commentary this person put up, they said something that has stuck with me ever since. Anakin was more powerful naturally in the force, Obi-wan had to apply himself more and work harder- and due to that, he was able to defeat Anakin on Mustafar. I really want to emulate Obi-wan's commitment and perseverance. In NF terms, simply put: Obi-wan had to play on Hard Mode and he ended up kicking ass. I want to be like Obi-wan. There are a few other things I need to jot down here tomorrow (I have the day off) and I am officially starting this challenge on Monday because Monday's just work better for me. I also had a pretty hectic weekend of wakes, funerals, hockey games, birthday parties and then a dumping of 6" of snow to contend with today. But. Here's the challenge folks. Wish me luck.

Hi! Is anyone else here interested in painting, drawing, sculpture, crafts, or any other form of art? I have an art blog, but there are really no people with whom I could talk about art, share my drawings/paintings/what-have-yous and change thoughts. And, well, since NF is filled with like-minded people, I thought about giving this a go. I think it would be nice to share our art here, get comments, and share ideas! And if there happens to be a topic like this already, please guide me there. I searched for one, but couldn't find anything similar...! So... Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Right now I'm on a rollercoaster that I can't get off of. There are really great days and some not so great days. What I'd like to do is give myself a steady, predictable routine to carry me through the low parts. I'm not fond of schedules where I have to do things at certain times of the day, however, I think experimenting with a routine that covers the things I want to do may be a good idea because I'm getting tired of feeling disappointed with myself for not getting the things that matter to me done. My responsibilities are shifting over the next few weeks with homeschooling resuming full-time and my teens' activities restarting in September. I figure it's a good time to start carving out time for my items. I plan to carry this challenge through the next 12 weeks. I'd like to focus on the areas below. Maintain my yoga streak I've been doing yoga every day since Jan. 5. Today is day 229 with no break. Goal: Keep it going. Rehab my knee At the start of this round, my rehab was placed on hold thanks to an inflamed tendon (or two) in my ankle. I think I'll be safe to resume knee rehab exercises by the end of the week. Goal: Focus on my rehab exercises 6 out of 7 days per week. Add to my art journal I have an art journal that I've been adding to regularly to practice drawing and painting techniques. What I love is that it's portable (meaning it fits in my purse) and meditative. I'm working my way through a watercolor book for beginners and I'd like to continue doing this. Goal: Add a picture 5 out of 7 days per week. Work through the Artist's Way I picked up the book as a recommendation from a friend. The book is a 12-week course and I'm curious about the outcomes if I completed it. This one I'll confess I'm a bit worried about how much time it will take, but I figure I'll try it out and see what I think. Goal: Work on it daily. Although I won't stress if I miss a day here and there. Train Buddy Buddy (my mini-australian shepherd) is afraid of people, dogs, and new things. Originally, I wanted to train him for agility, but, because of his fears, I can't get him to perform reliably. So my first step is to get him to the point where he can pass his good canine citizen test. I've learned some techniques that I can teach him to build his confidence. He has an obedience class once a week until September. Goal: Ideally daily, but some days I won't be home. 5 out of 7 days per week will be fine. Ideally, I'd like to have the above items (except for training Buddy) completed before lunch. There are doctor appointments, work related projects, helping my parents, and other scheduled items I'll need to work around so having some flexibility will be necessary. My reward for reaching my goals for the next 12 weeks is a weekend trip by myself in late November. No teens, no hubby, no dog, and no responsibility except to relax... that makes me wish I could hurry the time up a bit.

LET'S KICK SOME ASS!!! It has been a fun return so far! Returning to working out and Muay Thai has been great. Tracking is...well it's tracking and I do need to figure out tweaks to my diet, but having that habit again is great! Also doing art again! My muse has returned!! The last challenge just kicked so much ass so I wanted to make sure I kept the awesome train going! As most of you may remembered, I first sought out my NerdFitness training about...one over a year and half ago and brought myself to this gym in my introductory From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel! thread before moving onwards in detailing more of my training for various boughts and challenges I would do in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness. In there I have logged my many victories over my honorable challenges (as well as one crushing defeating) include my comeback fight with my latest challenge BlackTezca's 12(.5)th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon Must Choose Between Mercy...or GENOCIDE!. And now it's time to face my NEXT CHALLENGER!!! For this challenge I have chosen a long running anime for my theme. A boxing anime called Hajime no Ippo that seems well suited to my chosen martial art (we went over Boxing Techniques and movement Wednesday) and a very awesome character study. Though gifs maybe hard to come by, I'll do my best to show this show off with this challenge! Not only does this show match up with my main goal, but so do my quests! My quest to get my strength back, my Muay Thai and kickboxing going, my artistic muse kicking, and also to honor those who may have returned from the battlefront but did not fully come back home...this quest is... My Main Quest to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Lets' move onward to the quests! This is gonna be a bit of a hard challenge than last time, mostly cause I'm trying to set stricter ground rules on what I had built up before. Gonna be a bit of a pain, but hey...a challenge isn't suppose to be easy! It's suppose to LEVEL ME UP! Ichiro Miyata has the technique and the diligence but needs to work on that glass jaw! Details: Miyata is an awesome boxer with great technique on footwork and famous for his counters, however he is not the strongest puncher (thus why he utilizes his opponents strength against them through counters) and is infamous for his glaw jaw. A trait inherited from his dad. I myself need to get stronger like he does and thus will be doing strength training 3 times a week. This could be a leg day and arm day then a combo, or combo all three times (squats, deadlifts, benchpress, overhead press for at least 2 sets of 8). We'll see. Contingencies: Sickness and travel pretty much. However considering the flexibility here, I should be able to do something! Walking, yoga, etc! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for strength training 3 times a week - 25 pts ( 2 Sta 2 Str ) B for strength training 2 times a week - 20 pts ( 1 Sta 2 Str ) C for strength training 1 times a week - 15 pts ( 1 Str ) F for all else Ippo Makunouchi keeps up his passion and training for boxing! Details: Let's up the ante and train more like Ippo! Twice a week for kickboxing and/or Muay Thai! I have an Shirt Promotion ceremony Sunday which will help dictate which classes I can go to (all of them should be the answer. Except for sparring and NOT because of the shirt but for...other reasons). Contingencies: Sickness, vacation and any nausea from clone habitat building. Should be all right though now that the first trimester is over! We'll see! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Kickboxing/Muay Thai twice a week! - 15 pt ( 1 Sta 1 Dex) B for Kickboxing/Muay Thai once a week! - 10 pt ( 1 Dex) F for all else Masaru Aoki is a great chef who makes great food which I need to eat! Details: So Aoki is an...interesting boxer, but a very good cook who also makes delicious food. While I don't make delicious foods, I eat a lot of delicious foods and now I need to go back to getting my protein game on! So hoping to eat over 100 grams of protein again for the added strength training! Contingencies: Phone does like my myfitnesspal anymore. However, I can still track with a tablet and my computer. As well trust my trust memory!Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well (with total calories and some food descriptions. Good and bad).Grading: A > 100 grams of protein goodness 6 to 7 days a week - 20 exp ( 1 Cha 2 Con )B > 100 grams of protein goodness 4 to 5 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Cha 1 Con ) C > 100 grams of protein goodness 2 to 3 days a week - 10 exp ( 1 Cha ) F for all else Masahiko Umezawa is finding his own identity and making art his dream! Details: Umezawa grew up A LOT since his high school days; going from bullying Ippo to being his biggest fan, to his best friend, and finally finding his own dream of being a manga artist. I need to keep my own art up and it's almost NaNoWriMo, so I need to get back to working on my story! Expect not just art but also more character descriptions coming up too! Contingencies: Busy weeks and weekends and friends visiting during labor day. However I have been making time for both model painting and my drawing so this should not be an issue :D.Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. Grading: A for at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 20 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha )B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha) F for all else Ryo Mashiba has the longest arms in Japan and has grown up too hard and too fast... Details: One of my friends nominated me for the 22 push ups for 22 days challenge. This challenge is known as 22Kill and is to honor our veterans and raise awareness of veteran suicide. I am a proud military brat and my father, brother, uncles, and grandfather are all veterans and each one has had their challenges from the wars they each served in. Sadly our veterans don't get the support they need once they return home; some of them come home with demons that they sometimes don't escape from and battles they don't win against. I'm doing this challenge not just for my family who I am grateful to still have in my life, but for those families who have lost their loved ones and honoring those who still serve in hopes they finally can get the support they need and that they deserve. I'm not gonna 'tag' or challenge anyone for this, but if someone else wanted to join in, that would be awesome :D. Contingencies: Need to remember to do this. 22 push ups is not a lot, but ugh pregnancy brain and tiredness. Also illness. Hope not to get sick.Tracking: Tracking to be done here mostly as well as MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) under individual exercise reps!Grading: A for 22 push ups 20 to 22 days of challenge - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 2 Str )B for 22 push ups 18 to 19 days of challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Str ) C for 22 push ups 15 to 17 days of challenge - 10 exp ( 1 Str ) F for all else The challenge is set up and I'm ready to go SMASH MY FIST INTO IT! Below is a 'fitness' photo; though some things are getting a bit bigger, I like to point out my arms are one of those things :D. <Photo TBD> Got a photo up and I'm planning on making it slideshow...in fact I may post it as a slideshow gif once I have the preferred photo. It show my state as I get into the ring with this challenge. I'm quite excited to still be here and get my ass into gear and beating this challenge will definitely show that I am here to stay...for now. Until later in the third trimester maybe. Until then, lets' fight on!!

The Loft: Creativity Never Dies The Loft has returned! I'm keeping this train going because as the title says...Creativity Never Dies. It sometimes can be fleeting, and blocks happen to the best of artisits, writers, and crafters, but it never really dies! Just needs the right inspiration to pull it out! Hopefully this group can offer this inspiration in order for us Rebels to level up in our skills and passions for our chosen craft! This is a place to share pieces you are proud of (or not but need advice, etc), what inspires your creative juices, as well any tips and tricks you have discovered find may be beneficial to other rebels! This is a fun space where you may find some artistic prompts or topics to discuss on a weekly basis as well! If you are new, feel free to introduce yourself and share the craft of your choice and how you got into it! It could be anything creativity based: painting, sculpting, quilting, music, writing, etc! Just as long as the creative juice flow! Come and join us my fellow Artsy Rebels!! :D.

Ensi signing up for another round with the Druids! It's my third challenge with the druids, and this class has been really good for my well-being. I'm working with lowering the high expectations I have towards myself, and getting strong and healthy after a straining, stressful winter. I'd say we're going pretty strong! During the past two years, I've lost 20 kg, and I'm still going for another 5 kg. This would land me in 65 kg, which is my ultimate weight goal. There's no deadline for this, though; I'm mostly after getting strong and feeling good, and managing my anxiety issues and, well, life During my last challenge, I started keeping a comic journal. This turned out to be a pretty nice way to report my progress, so I'm going to keep doing it. I do enjoy art and drawing, and this is a good way to get some comics done every day. My challenge will be different each week: I'm going to set a goal that I need to follow in order to get a reward. I've had a Hidden Item Hunt, in which one of you holds an item, and I can know what it is only if I manage to reach my weekly goal! I'm going to think about this setting for this week, which I'm actually taking off I'm gonna plan my studies and come up with a structure for the four weeks that this challenge is going to last. Is this challenge lacking goals? Absolutely. But hey, comics! Coming up!

Welcome to the Loft Hey there everyone! I decided to follow a little thread I had in one of my challenges and create a Accountbilbuddies group for Rebels who have creative based quests on their challenges, who like to craft, write or draw in some of their spare time, or who just really like following along artists, writers, sculptors, and various other awesome crafters! I wanted to have a space for people to also hold each other accountable (well...hold myself accountable) for their creative-based quests. Also, I wanted to make a space so I can share some tips on my preferred creative craft (Digital Art), so if anyone was curious or had questions, here is a place where questions can be asked! If anyone else wanted to share tips they have picked up during their craft, that'll be awesome as well! We're here to level up our life, and for me that also includes my art :D. No matter what level, what skill, what craft, if you're looking for a space to share your work, share you ideas, or just hang out with, the Loft doors are open!

I'm hopping back to the druid guild for this round because I'm not sure what to do next and sometimes moving forward requires going back to where I started. My life is completely nutty at the moment and I find that I can't look beyond the current day on the family calendar without feeling immense panic about how I'm going to survive the week. So I've been living one day at a time and letting things play out as they may. Normally, I feel compelled to up the ante for the next challenge. This time around I feel mentally exhausted and I don't think I'm up for making my challenge any more challenging than it already is. So for this round, I want to continue what has worked for me in the last few months. Continue my daily yoga challenge. It started on a whim with my daughter back in January to see how many days in a row we could keep doing yoga. As I type this we are on day 196. I think it is safe to say that this is the longest I have stuck with anything (besides being married) and haven't missed a single day. Because I didn't want to ruin our yoga streak I even did my yoga through recovering from ACL surgery back on April 8th. Over the weekend, my daughter and I did our yoga practice on our camping trip. Day 200 (which is Friday, July 22) will give us a reward of going to Madison, WI to tour the capitol and do a girl's day in the city. It's about a four-hour drive from here and I'm looking forward to it. I haven't planned the trip yet just in case we mess up. Continue my rehab. My physical therapy schedule shifted to once a week every other week. I'm cleared for many exercises so I'll be figuring out a routine that will give me some variety and challenge in the exercises. My main goal is to get my left leg (the one that had surgery on it) to have the same strength as my right leg. There are a few exercises I have to do nearly every day. Edit my novel. My novel draft is done and now it's time to edit. My deadline for having the manuscript ready to send to publishers is August 30. I'd like to spend 10 hours a week working on my novel. Create. Art is my escape from some of the not so fun things I have to deal with right now. I have a painting on a large canvas that needs finishing. This round if I can get to it at least two times in the next four weeks I'll be happy. I also have an art journal that I'd like to keep adding to daily. The daily entries are small and simple but are designed to maintain the habit of letting myself play. This round I really want to stay steady and moving forward on things that are important to me.

Revenge of The Loft It has been a while! Welcome back to The Loft! A simple a humble space for all those rebels out there who wish to level up their creative side! This group is here to offer inspiration and support for all the writers, musicians, and artists out there. In the past threads I have been blown away with all the interaction, advice and sharing that has gone on and I hope to have that continue this time around. For myself I will admit that life has thrown some curveballs along the way that I have been pleasantly surprised with or completely overwhelmed. I am happy to be back and to bring this group back for some awesome fun times! I'm not sure about doing weekly topics since I have had a hard time tracking and keep those up, but any and all suggestions are welcomed and nothing wrong with a few creative exercises to get those imagination juices flowing :). Anywho, hope to see ya'll around these parts! Let's share some art!

I'm BACK BITCHES! I had to take a bit of a break. See a lot of stuff was going on with work has I have whined about before and as some of you may know, I have been hit with major fatigue and continuous low-level nausea due to the success of the cloning project! The experiment was a success!! Which presented itself with its' own challenges. Now that I am adjusted I am also ready to go on my own adventure! I started out from humble roots in my introduction From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, did a few side quests and explored some back alleys in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness and have completed one major quest in BlackTezca's 11th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon becomes a Badass Retro Agent of the SSR! only to get lost in a sprawling dungeon during BlackTezca's 12th Trial: An Artsy Geeky Amazon Brings Destruction to the Silver Millennium so it can be Reborn Anew. That just means it's time to come back stronger than ever. Especially now that there is another person residing inside me! Hopefully not like that! Though I have been going through a lot changes, especially physically, my goals have not changed. I want to get back into the swing of things in order aim for my main quest as well as be a good role model for the future clone! This challenge is not only to help me come back and respawning back into my usual awesome crazy self that will be responsible for raising someone even more AWESOME than me! This challenge is to help me onward to my main quest...and we all know which quest that is... My Main Quest to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Now lets' introduce ourselves to the inspiration for this month! I'm sure some of you have heard of undertale and also heard of the awesome story, characters in the game! What else is awesome is the FANTASTIC music which you will be hearing a lot of this month! I may even have the weekly summaries and start and end on an awesome song! Before we get into that, I did mention some awesome characters so here they are!! Undyne is on a strict regime of suplexing boulders. Details: Undyne is a badass. She is strong, buff, a good fighter and hilarious. Essentially is the ultimate anime hero. I'd like to be more like her and while I'm no where near suplexing boulder levels and I'm taking it easier than usually do, I still need to keep up a good habit of working out! Maybe not as much as previously, but enough to get buff and strong like my awesome Undyne!! Contingencies: Sickness and travel pretty much. However considering the flexibility here, I should be able to do something! Walking, yoga, etc! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Working out for at least 30 minutes 3 to 4 days a week ( 25 pt - 2 Sta 2 Str 1 Dex) B for Working out for at least 30 minutes 2 days a week( 20 pts - 1 Sta 2 Str 1 Dex) F for all else Papyrus wants to become a member of the Royal Guard! Details: Simple quest with a simple goal: get my ass back to Easton. Been gone out of there for too long. I'd like to go there at least once a week. Hopefully more. Problem is that they have cancelled morning classes...Still should be able to make kickboxing in the afternoons and Muay Thai sometime! Contingencies: Sickness, vacation and any nausea from clone habitat building. Should be all right though! We'll see! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Kickboxing/Muay Thai once a week! ( 10 pt - 1 Dex) F for all else Alphys is keep strict records of her success...and her failures Details: Hey you know what I have not been doing as well? Tracking. I have not been tracking my food intake. At all. Lets' get back into the habit. Seriously. I'm not gonna be too hard on what I eat, but I know if I track it'll also help me make healthier decisions since I have been admittedly giving no fucks with food. So...I need to give a few more fucks. I shall find the fucks I need to give. Contingencies: Phone does like my myfitnesspal anymore. However, I can still track with a tablet and my computer. As well trust my trust memory!Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well (with total calories and some food descriptions. Good and bad).Grading: A tracking 25 to 28 days - 25 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Con )B tracking 22 to 24 days - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Con ) C tracking 20 to 22 days - 15 exp ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Sans maybe lazy, but if you're on the wrong path you're gonna have a bad time... Details: SLEEP CHALLENGE! AND WAKE UP CHALLENGE!!! I need to make sure I get plenty of sleepy ( at least 7 hours) and I also need to get up when my alarm tells me too! Contingencies: Mostly caring about weekdays and non vacation days here.Tracking: Fitbit keeps me honest and I shall track here!Grading: A for good sleep and waking up 15 to 17 days of challenge - 20 exp ( 1 Wis 2 Con )B for good sleep and waking up 13 to 14 days of challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Con ) C for good sleep and waking up 12 days of challenge - 10 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Mettaton EX is gonna bring back some GLAMOR into my life! Details: Mettaton is fabulous. My art is also...well...I guess decent enough! I need to get back into drawing! Sketching, model painting, coloring, etc counts here! Just need to keep up my habit again! Contingencies: Busy weeks and weekends and vacation need week. However I have been making time for both model painting and my drawing so this should not be an issue :D.Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. Grading: A for at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 20 exp ( 2 Wis 1 Cha )B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha) F for all else Now my challenge is all set! Usually I do measurements but...uhmmm that won't be realistic for long. However, I will keep taking fitness photos, mostly gauge the return of DEM GAINZ but also to see how the habitat is progressing. It's a silly thing yeah but hey at least it keeps up the photo measuring habit. As you can see there is a small progression already! I won't be shirtless for long but I kinda like the idea of comparing myself challenge to challenge, even during this time. In any case... The stage is set! The challenge is ready! My sleepy goober face is up there! We are ready to go!!! LET'S DO THIS!!! Shall I show mercy...? Or shall I...FIGHT?!! Told you the music is awesome!!!

This is a place to share your hobbies and ask questions if you want to learn a new hobby.

White Haired Wolf This lady absolutely KILLED it with her female!Geralt. I don't know if I can summon up real chainmail, so I may need to go another way. As a huge fan of Witcher 3, I've been inspired enough by the character Geralt of Rivia to want to try my hand at cosplay. I have never done any sort of cosplay - I haven't even dressed up for a Renn faire - but I would love to put my sewing skills to use by putting together a female!Geralt costume. The vision that I have for my female!Geralt is not of one who's 5'6" and 214.2 pounds, though. I just don't have enough self-confidence for that. There's a whole lot of stuff that I'd like to work on, including my self-confidence, but while I'm working on that I may as well work on my physique. I used to be in such amazing shape, after all... I believe that I can get back to that level of fitness again, and be as strong and shapely as Ciri. If I don't quite make it to that level of fitness, that's okay, too. If I've done my job and leveled up through my other self-improvement goals, it won't matter. Future Level 50 Accomplishments female!Geralt of Rivia cosplay debuted at a convention and/or Renn faire. At least ten published short stories under my belt and SFWA membership. At least four screenplays submitted to two successive years of Nicholl Fellowship. Travel with Kyle to Colmar, France some Christmas; to Amsterdam, Netherlands; to Hawaii; to Zion and Arches; to Acadia in Maine; to Costa Rica; to Chiang Mai, Thailand; to Sweden. Paint my self-portrait and a portrait of my husband. Stable part-time income stream from artwork print sales and writing. Complete three regional Spartan races (sprints or otherwise!). Build a tiny house on wheels with my husband and live rent-free. Spend at least forty hours out of the year volunteering. Submit a novel manuscript to publishers. Run-walk a marathon. Create an emergency savings fund with my husband strong enough to cover at least three months of expenses. Here is how I'll make a good start toward my long-term goals: Levels 1 through 5 Strength Walk up Mar Vista stairs with 40lb weights, 3 circuits. 40 XP Complete five unassisted chin ups. 100 XP Complete 30 day squats challenge. 20 XP Complete 10 full pushups in a row. 20 XP Complete 5 sets of 20 glute bridges. 10 XP Endurance Complete a Spartan Sprint course. 100 XP Complete 20m kettlebell circuits, 3x/week for four weeks with 35lb bells. 40 XP Complete the Temescal Canyon hike up to Skull Rock in less than 1 hour with < 2 brief rests. 40 XP Complete 20m kettlebell circuits, 3x/week for two weeks with 15lb bells 20 XP Walk 10,000 steps per day 6 days/week for four weeks. 20 XP Complete 20m kettlebell circuits, 3x/week for four weeks with 25lb bells. 20 XP Complete 15m kettlebell circuits, 4x/week for one week with 15lb bells. 10 XP Powers Stick to meal planning for one week straight. 10 XP Stick to meal planning for one month straight. 20 XP Volunteer for 3 months with Habitat for Humanity or Twilight Brigade. 50 XP Submit a short story to a literary magazine and track it. 10 XP Submit and track fifteen short stories to literary magazines. 100 XP Spend 15 minutes per day keeping my living space clean and orderly for two weeks straight. 10 XP Create a Society6 shop and list 10 art pieces. 50 XP Do one good work for someone other than myself at least 1x/week for a month. 20 XP Meditate 10m per day for a month. 20 XP

THROUGH PASSION, I GAIN STRENGTH "It is our goal to be stronger, to achieve our potential and not rest upon our laurels. We are the seekers, not the shepherds." ―Yuthura Ban Only recently attuned to the Force and beginning to understand her powers, Starpuck begins to see the potential that comes with them. Having found freedom as she starts to break the chains that hold her, our young Force user now looks to delve deeper into the codes that direct the use of this great energy. For this challenge, the goals and schedules are going to have to be looser, and more flexible. Sunday the 12th (Week 1 if you start on Sunday) I am running a Sprint Triathalon. OMG. The end of Week 2, start of Week 3 I will be visiting friends in Canada. (Thur-Mon) And of course, Week 4 includes a super summer holiday of July 4th. Non-Specific Goals For Challenge Do not back out of the Triathalon! Finish Nia Shanks 12 Week Dumbbell/Bodyweight Program (Have weeks 11 & 12 to finish.) Buy new Nikon so I can learn it before my trip to New Mexico/Texas. GOAL #1 - "Through Strength I Gain Power" "Without strife, the victory has no meaning. Without strife, one does not advance. Without strife, there is only stagnation." This challenge will present many obstacles if I want to keep to my training schedule. While I've said I plan to be more flexible, that does not mean I will be lax. To account for trips and holidays, I must make sure I am meeting my goals on the rest of the non-eventful days. The busy schedule is my strife. And I will have victory even through it! Hockey 1-2x / week :: Total Required 5-7 Lift 2-3x / week :: Total Required 10-11 Run/Move/Active 1-2x / week :: Total Required 7-8 GOAL #2 - "The Force Shall Free me" "The Force is our servant and our master. Our teacher and our companion. A weapon and a tool. Know it and you know the universe. Master it and you master the universe. Strive for perfection and the Force shall reward you." This has to do with food stuff. Namely, calorie counting. There is a nice parallel to what Yuthura Ban said as it relates to my relationship with food and counting calories! It can be a tool or a weapon with me... a weapon that hurts myself. The goal here is to aim for keeping on track (perfection) when I can, and not obsess about it otherwise. *I* am its master. Not the other way around. Track Calories 6x / week :: Total Required :: 21 days Vacation = No Track, Just Smart 4 days :: Total Required 4 days (I'm gonna pretend that is a sandwich in front of her... so hard to find Star Wars gifs related to food.) GOAL #3 - "Embrace your Passions" "To think us creatures beyond the need of simple passions is a delusion." This has to do with art, photography, travel ... ie, hobbies, interests and passions. Arts 2-3x / week :: Total Required :: 10-11 LIFE GOAL - "Through Victory, my Chains are Broken" "One who has freed themselves from all restrictions has reached perfection… their potential fulfilled. Perfect strength, perfect power, perfect destiny." This one is to build on my last challenge of self affirmation and building up a better, more positive body and self image. It's time for the next step, and that step is a big one that leads OUTSIDE of my comfort zone. I have to think on this more, and figure out what sort of things will accomplish this, but that in and of itself is a prime example of how terrible I am at this. An easily stressed, anxiety ridden, likes her routine person, is going to intentionally step out of her comfort zone at least once a week and then share the experience on here. Comfort Zone Left 1x / week :: Total Required :: 4 I must unlearn my fears and step beyond my current boundaries.

Patience. I'm patient with everyone else, but often short change myself. I'm currently on the recovery side of an ACL repair and I'm in the window where I feel no pain and yet my knee ligament is at it's weakest point. I have to be careful not to push things. So patience is needed this month. As far as goals go for this challenge most of them are going to stay the same as before with a slight twist... Get Organized Slowly... Last round, I implemented a to-do list that is working really well for me because it requires me to identify the top three most important things I need to do for the day. I write some reminder at the top that it's meant to help me not harm me. While I don't use it every day, it's really helping me to keep things I care about most in the forefront of my mind. So I'm going to keep using the technique. In addition, I read about a technique that may help me reach some of the big picture goals that I have called the 6-week press. Basically, I'm adapting it for five weeks to match the Nerd Fitness challenge forums. The first four weeks I work super duper hard on my goals and then the fifth week I go do fun things I normally wouldn't do. I plan to have lighter loads the fifth week because I think if I completely stop my routine it'll be harder to get going again - however having a week of fun stuff sounds worth the effort to earn it. Maintain my yoga steak. As of today, I'm at Day 126. I honestly didn't expect myself to get this far but I'm glad I'm still working at it. I have to figure out some new stuff because I'm getting bored and when I get bored I tend to procrastinate. Obviously, procrastination puts my yoga streak in jeopardy and I don't like fretting about missing it. Do what my physical therapist tells me to. Pretty easy because I care about getting full use of my leg. I have some pretty big physical goals I'm working toward and my knee needs the best chance it can get. At the moment, the two home sessions of exercises take about 40 minutes total, so I'm thinking between yoga, these exercises, and walking that's enough fitness focus. Work on my novel. I've been puttering with my novel draft and decided before my surgery to have a deadline of July 15th. I was a bit optimistic about what I could actually get done in the month of April, but I figure I need to honor my deadline unless something super terrible pops up (and, yes, sadly there are some things on the horizon that could explode). My guesstimate for my novel's length is 75,000 words. This challenge I need to get 33,500 words written. That's about 8,375 words per week. It's a lot but for some reason, I'm motivated by things that push my abilities. Also, within my writing section, I need to send off my completed novel draft (a different one that is in editing mode) to my writer's group for review. They want the whole thing which scares me. I told them I'd think about it. Then on the way home realized, I have to say yes because of my Epic Quest item that says "Say yes to something that scares the crap out of me." I need to send it by Saturday (5/15) Gulp. Start an Epic Quest item. I had wanted to get my passport this month, but costs may prevent me now that I'm seeing medical bills rolling in. So I'm thinking about picking an art one that I can get started on. I'm not sure which one I want to do yet. I need to sleep on it. Follow other Nerd Fitness Folks I like keeping up with what everyone else is doing. My biggest struggle is I burn up hours reading and commenting in one evening. This isn't terrible, but I find that usually I'm using it as a tool to procrastinate something else. Then I don't check in for a few days and find there's tons of reading to do. So, this month I'll have to experiment with the best way to keep up without overwhelm.

"Through strength, my chains are broken..." Goal #1 - Train the Body "Through Passion I Gain Strength" - Continue training for functional strength and general fitness and performance. Strength Train 3X / Week Move 3X / Week Hockey 1-2 / Week Goal #2 - Fuel the Body "Through Strength I Gain Power" - Continue data gathering to dial in my specific dietary needs. Fuss with numbers less; stop worrying about how many calories I am burning with every walk, run, hockey, session. Eat a predetermined amount of calories per day and see what happens. Adjust based off of results. Weeks Zero & 1 : 1600 calories / day Weeks 2 & 3 : TBD Week 4 : TBD. Goal #3 - Free the Mind "Through Power I gain Victory, Through Victory My Chains are Broken" - Build up my mental and emotional fortitude so I can more easily overcome fears and defend against negativity. Post a positive thought, comment, revelation about myself daily. Share a pic with a body positive comment 1X / Week Goal #4 - Express Emotions & Practice Passions "The Force Shall Free Me" - Do things that bring me joy and happiness. Explore my creative side and take pleasure in the journey of learning and progressing. Continue practicing art / digital art - aiming for 3X / Week Work on photography- trip coming up and I want to get some good pics. Extra Life Goal : Complete Apprentice Training I will be taking a trip at the end of July which I would like to attempt a mountain hike on. I am not great with edges when heights are involved, and this will be an 8 mile round trip hike, with an elevation gain of almost 3000' in the first 3 miles. It will also be the middle of summer, in the Chihuahan Desert. In order to prepare for this I am going to start doing weighted practice hikes. With pictures! Because that will also help my photography goal. A little bit on the theme choice... This past October, my Sunday night gaming group made the switch to Star Wars Force & Destiny. Now, if we go way back, you'll come to discover that Star Wars was my very first Nerd fandom as a child. At age 5, I wanted nothing to do with Barbies or dolls, but everything to do with getting those awesome speeders for my Star Wars figures and ... oh, the Ewok Village??! YES PLEASE. As I've been reintroduced to this world and its lore, I've found myself really drawn into it again. It may seem a little ... dark side, sure. But rest assured, I've no intention of blowing up planets or anything. I just need to embrace my emotions and follow my passions, and well, those fuddy duddy Jedi aren't into that sort of thing. I have a lot of negative voices in my life- many don't even mean to be negative, but I am surrounded by a chorus of 'For your age,' 'you're not so young any more', 'you can't keep doing this, you're pushing 40' etc etc. Then add in my own voice about how I should look, what size I should be, how I am failing this, or suck at that, can't do this. It needs to stop!! And, the Sith Code seems better suited to guiding my path in that endeavor.

I feel kinda burned out on the 6WCs. I slip up because of the gap between them, and the goals seem to be mostly the same. Not real drive behind some of them, either. Next year is also forming a major hurdle, too. I will not act upon my suicidal thoughts, no matter how tempting. 1) A plan for the remaining schoolwork. 2) 1 drawing a day. Small everyday objects, tackling bigger things as I develop skill. I wasn't comfortable with putting pictures I've drawn this far on a public album quite yet, so it's friends only. Can share them, if you ask. Open for articulated critique, of course. "I like this, but not this, because [reason]" 3) Zen Habits 1000 cuts, 3 things a day. 4) Gratitude statements every day. 4.12.2015 Fri I am grateful.. That I am still alive,as the Christmas is coming. I am dabbling in drawing after a half a year pause. At least I enjoy it, though it is not an 'useful' thing as such. That drawing is a skill, and can be trained. Relatively healthy is a good thing. 1000 cuts 10 push ups 2 pull ups 2 chin ups

My hubby bust out laughing at my title which I guess tells alot about my adaptability-ness. Overall, I'm an extremely easy going person and will go with the flow for other people. However, when it comes to myself, the ability to adapt becomes much more challenging. This round, adaptability is critical because all of the things I can do right now get reset on Friday, April 8. This is because I have surgery to have my ACL rebuilt (for a second time) followed by 6-8 months of physical therapy. I've built some great habits that I want to maintain and recognize that because of the fragility of my ACL I have to modify lots and listen to my body on what I can and can't do. This weekend, I plan to jot down my current physical abilities and the max reps I can do for different body weight exercises. I'm thinking this will give me something to use for future goals to work towards as I regain abilities in my leg. For this month, my adventures are going to be: Continue my yoga streak. As of today (March 31) I have done 89 days of yoga in a row without missing a single day. The yoga is mostly hatha yoga flows with a few restorative sessions every few days. My plan for after surgery is to utilize chair yoga. It isn't going to be as physically challenging, but I think the meditative aspects are going to help me cope with other messy things life is throwing at me. I don't remember the exact rehabilitation schedule, but I think I'm on crutches for at least two weeks before I can put my full weight on my leg. I plan to experiment with different balances and stretches (with a chair nearby to prevent any falls) as soon as I'm free of the crutches. Any poses on my knees are completely out because I remember it being painful for quite awhile. Do Everything Asked of Me in PT This wasn't a problem last round, but I figure it still counts as a goal. Whatever exercises my physical therapist assigns I do them for the reps and frequency requested. Last time, the only thing I didn't do with cheerfulness was the stepper machine. Stepper machines are the most awful thing ever invented. I'd rather climb a mountain or rock wall thanks. Experiment with Free Weight Workouts. I'm hoping to maintain my upper strength that I've gained. Because of the risks involved in re-injuring my knee, bodyweight workouts have to be avoided (plus my first brace is frustrating to do workouts with). I don't know what to expect post-surgery, so I can't give an exact goal until I'm there. I plan to experiment with lifting weights while seated in a chair or maybe on my bench. I may seek out a gym later, but for this month, I can't drive until the 24th or there abouts. Eat Well My family loves to treat me with goodies. If I remember correctly, the pain from the surgery with leave me on the couch with lots of ice for at least a week, if not two. So I've put out the request not to shower me with excessive treats. I'm not sure it will be honored fully because they love to do it, but I figure it will be easier to say no when they are aware of my goals. I'll let two treats slip in a week in small servings. Create Art Once a Week I'm enjoying the Big Art Quest on youtube because I'm working on an art project every week. I don't need to complete the art piece within a week, but working on it for at least an hour if not more brings me joy. I won't be tinkering with acrylics while on the couch with my cryo-cuff, but I bought a lap easel yesterday that will store my drawing tools (pencils, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, and inktense pencils) so I can continue to create each week. I'm hoping to have more art for the week after my surgery because I'm not moving as much. Get Myself Organized Slowly... I'm a scatter brain because I have so many interests and things going on. I'm also very talented in the fact that I can hide my own Easter eggs and forget where I put them so I have my own Easter egg hunt. Since I have more reading time coming up, I found a book titled: "Time Management for the Creative Person" that may give me some tools I can use to slowly gain order in my crazy life. I plan to pick two techniques that resonate with me and test them out. The organization won't happen overnight or even in a month, but I figure if I can build it slowly it may actually stick. Build My Nerd Fitness Character/Epic Quest Being couchbound has it's advantages. I read "Level Up Your Life" and didn't do much with setting up my character on the website. I have chicken scratches on papers floating around here and figure I could get it setup so that it's capturing my dreams in one spot. So by the end of the month, I will have this setup (and -note to self- it doesn't have to be perfect). That's probably more than enough to keep me busy for the month.

RESPAWN!!! Wow, y'all spiffied up while I was gone. Keeping this challenge pretty loose, so hopefully I can actually complete a challenge without falling off the face of the earth again. Quest #1: Getting Strong, Yo (me doing the OHP) Starting Strength 3x per week Reset my Starting Strength program on Friday, so I have baseline work set numbers to start from. Squat: 55lbs OHP: 20lbs Bench: 25lbs Deadlift: 55lbs Starting Measurements: Weight: 140.4lbs Fat %: 28.5 Bust: 36.75" Waist: 34.25" Hips: 37.5" Rewards: +5 STR Rogue Fitness sweatshirt I've had my eye on for the nights when the garage is a little chilly for working out Quest #2: Pretending to be an adult This quest involves choosing to do some adulting every day. Examples: fold some of the 4-5 loads of clean laundry kicking around, pull weeds, clear clutter off the kitchen table so we have a place to eat dinner all together... Basically any type of activity that doesn't fall into watching stupid YouTube videos or the next quest. Rewards: +3 WIS Either a new porcelain travel mug to replace the one I broke or a new lunch box/bag to replace the one that's wearing out on me Quest #3: Do something creative every day Things that fall into this category: - Art journal - Learning my new tablet & digital program combo - Practicing the ear training exercises my vocal coach assigned - Learning the song my coach & I are working on (is there a way to embed the youtubes in the new forum set up?) Rewards: +2 CHA I'm thinking maybe some artist grade watercolor supplies (Arches paper & tube paints maybe)

These 4 Week Challenges are going to deplete my list of clever anime-related word play and puns! Unacceptable! I'll have to let the title slide this time, in favor of setting up an amazing challenge... That I will kick the ass of as if it were an angsty teen-Sasuke! STARPUCK'S FEB -er MARCH CHALLENGE; WHERE SHE GETS HER ACT TOGETHER BECAUSE SUMMER IS COMING AND SHE LOVES SUMMER AND ... SUMMER THINGS, AND SHE IS GOING TO BUY A NEW BIKE! AND THEN GO BIKE-CAMPING OR SOMETHING COOL AND ... ahem... right. Annnnnyway.... Many things will remain the same because I've only really started lightly poking at them again after the winter blues and hurdles. STEP #1 Strength and Rehab - I am still battling the pain and limitations of shoulder impingement and inflammation. I've been doing what I can, and working carefully around it with the prescribed exercises and such. It's been a very hard battle to let go of the 'What I used to be capable of' to adopt the 'What I can do now, and work to improve on' mentality. I still haven't truly mastered it. So I am borrowing inspiration on this one from Rock Lee. Who, countless times, took the card he was dealt or the setback he faced, and persevered through it. Terms: 3x / week I will do a strength and rehab workout. Focus on the shoulder rehab, with strength training as tolerated. Schedule for best success: Mon - Wed - Fri STEP #2 Run and Move and Sweat - This one should be simple. Because I (mostly) love doing these things. I'm aiming for 2 runs per week, because I really do notice some difference in hockey endurance when I am actively running. Also. It shaves my hips like nothing else does! But bike season soon, and I looooove bike riding like crazy. And in general summer movement stuff. So. To qualify for this goal - it need only be something that gets my heart rate up, but with an emphasis on making two runs per week. Inspiration? Move like a Ninja ... not like a Titan... Terms: 2x / run + 1x / week additional sweat, move, whatevers! Schedule for best success: Tue - Thu for runs. Extra day ideally on a weekend but can double up on strength days and still count. STEP #3 Eat Smart - Live Life - I am not in a place to track my food. I am borderline calorie-raging right now. So instead, we're going to just be SMART this challenge. 7FG helped me brainstorm up a way to track my progress versus hiccups, in a way that will help me keep this going. Basically, each meal and snack starts out being worth 5 points. Every time I add something to that meal that is not ideal, I lose a point. The catch here is that I am not aiming for 100% on the points. I am aiming for an 80/20 spread. I need to learn how to have my consistent days, and then MODERATE my treats and indulgences. Spreadsheet thingamabob to follow. Inspiration for this one ... well, Starpuck does not wield Dragon Slayer magic, so she should not eat like one! Eat more like Happy... one savored fish at a time. Terms: Track points daily per meal. 16+ points per day average will net me my 80/20 goal. Schedule for best success: Mon-Fri keep my at work meals and snacks consistent! This is typically where I can finish the strongest. Plot for weekends out. Limit them to 1 per day on Sat/Sun. STEP #4 Keep Arting! - I am making progress on this I think. I feel as if I can look at pics I did this past week, compared to three months ago, and see growth. This is awesome. Especially because it does not come easily for me, and I so easily fall victim to the 'I am not the best, therefore I suck, and should quit' demon. So yeah. This is exciting! Terms: 3x / week do some art stuff. Sketch book or digital counts. Schedule for best success: Mon, Tues, Wed after work has been ideal. Adding in a weekend day will help me learn and retain things better, so that might be an angle to try. ALRIGHT! I told you it was going to be an amazing challenge write up! Let's do this. March is going to be so great!

NEW CHALLENGE!!! Last month, I stretched, I cleaned out my closet, stretched daily, took care of my feet, drank more water and defeated a really hard art deadline. During February, I also started doing body weight exercises consistently, and the results from that and the challenge were great. It feels really good to celebrate non-scale victories. It became clear to me that in 2015, I focused too much on restrictions, and becoming smaller. But my world became small, and I found that I felt smaller on the inside while my waistline became bigger. So I put away the scale, and I put away the measuring tape, and I took away all the restrictions and all the judgments. Well, most of the judgments. That's a daily battle. So for this challenge, I'm adding MORE in addition to maintaining the good habits I started last month.. 1. MORE vegetables On a mindful day, I eat 3 servings of veggies and 2 servings of fruit. But I'm not always so mindful, and there are days when I eat okay, but I didn't eat any vegetables! So my goal is to eat more vegetables. It doesn't matter how many. Just more. 1 serving, 2 servings, 6 servings. The goal is to make vegetables a habit. 2. MORE cardio ! I have a really nice schedule of bodyweight and dumb bell exercises going on. However, I have really been awesome at making excuses not to do more cardio. It's cold, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm sore, I'm bored. Whatever. I'm going to say 20 minutes of sweaty cardio a day. MORE is awesome! But at least 20 minutes to start. 3. MORE mindfulness and balance. There's a lot I want to accomplish, and I tend to be a completist. So if I start a knitting project, everything else stops until the knitting is done. If I read a book, I stay up until 3am finishing it (actually, sometimes that's just fun) if I have an art project, I just draw 10 hours a day. If I'm cleaning the house, I will spend the whole day until I'm too tired to pick up a bucket. So instead, I'm going to take some time in the morning, plan my day, and then stick to that plan. So maybe in the morning it's clean, workout, emails, and the afternoon is work, cook dinner, and the evenings are read or knit. No more all or nothing. No more obsessive binging on an activity. Balance, mindfulness, and MORE fun too! This is a pretty BIG challenge that may keep popping up, but it's okay. I'm working towards a healthy lifestyle. Side Quest: Art exploration. In the last challenge, I expressed frustration with my art, and felt like my work wasn't authentic. Not that I'm copying other people's work, but in the sense that it's not true to me. It doesn't reflect me as an artist. I've lost my way, and I've lost my voice. This month, I'm going on a non-judgmental art exploration to rediscover what I love and reconnect with my art.

*I'm still working on this challenge and may edit a bit over the next couple of days, but I need to get started! (Or maybe I'll just go with what I've got.) EDIT: I'm not getting to this, so we'll just go with what I've got! Edit: Since I now have both a pull-up mentor and pull-up rival, pull-ups will be my exercise focus this challenge. Quest 1: Art The Big Art Quest from the art sherpa on youtube. In keeping with SnowOwl’s recent discovery of her true elven identity, she will continue to discover more about herself through art. Details and Scoring: Quest 2: Clean Earn xp by cleaning my house. Details and Scoring: Quest 3: Sugar Cane sugar fast. Details and Scoring: Bonus: Elfhaven Projects Details and Scoring: Rewards: Excellent: TBD Great: NF t-shirt Good: one new art supply (a stencil, a new paint color, a pad of paper, etc.)