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Because not all Disney princesses are damsels in distress, and anyone who knows me can tell you that I am the exact opposite of a damsel in distress. Hi again! I’m blkhole24601, or Vicki if you want a real name to work with, a former Scout who is learning the graces of Assassinhood through dancing and maybe someday, gymnastics. My main motivation is because of my night job: I’m an actress in the Denver area and musical theatre is my first love, which is all well and good except I’m not exactly what you’d call graceful. Thus, my focus on dance! I’m also trying to pick up other physical skills (see: handstands, cartwheels, splits, etc.) that will make me more employable. Main Quest: Become a physically adept actress! Quest 1: Mulan - Let’s Get Down to Business [+2 STR +4 DEX +3 TBD] I know Mulan isn't technically a princess, but she's part of the official Disney Princess franchise so... This quest is honestly just a fancy way of saying, “I will exercise five times a week.†There is a regimen I want to incorporate into every workout that I do, and this is the easiest way to be sure that I not only find that routine but also continue to learn/perfect the skills I want to have under my belt by year’s end. So, said regimen: TMNT Mobility and Balance 5x/week [+2 DEX] Stronglifts 2x/week, free-for-all workout 3x/week [+2 STR, +3 TBD based on what I do] Jazz/ballet/tap classes don’t count. Not because I don’t think they’re a workout because I know they are, but because my focus is more on technique than a cardio session. Alternatively, other dance classes will count, and any at-home work on jazz/ballet/tap will also count. Tentative plan for the three other workouts will be yoga, running, and at-home dance work/U-Jam/Zumba, but again, NOT holding myself to this in case of Life. Splits/Flexibility Work 5x/week [+2 DEX] If a minimum of 30 minutes of yoga was completed as the main workout, it will also count towards this criterion. A = all 3 criteria met | B = 2 criteria met | C = 1 criteria met | D = for effort | F = zilch Quest 2: Ariel - Getting New Legs [+3 DEX] To continue my ultimate 2015 quest to quit moving like a graceless lummox at dance callbacks, I’m dedicating myself to 3x/week of dancing, with one of those days being at a jazz/ballet/tap class. Ideally I’d love for this to be twice a week but realistically schedules may not always work out that way. Zumba/U-Jam/anything that isn’t jazz or ballet or tap will not count towards having gone to class but will count towards the 3x/week. [3/6/2015 Adjustment: Weeks 5 and 6 will be excluded from the class requirement as long as I spend one dance session focused purely on technique.] A = 3x/week (A- =3x/week, no class) | B = 2x/week (B- = 2x/week, no class) | C = 1x/week, class | D = 1x/week, no class | F = zilch Quest 3: Tiana - Best Cook This Side of the Mississippi [+1 CON] Okay, so my meals will most definitely not hold a candle to Tiana’s, but I do miss cooking like something fierce. Therefore, I will cook once a week. I know it’s not a lot, but it’s all about starting small. I do hope that cooking more frequently than once a week will come naturally as I get into it more! A = 6 weeks complete| B = 5 weeks complete | C = 3-4 weeks complete | D = 1-2 meals cooked | F = never happened Life Quest: Giselle - Happy Working Song [+2 CHA] I don't care that she's not part of the official franchise, I love her and I love this movie. Part One: Sing 6x/week, just to solidify this as a habit. For a contingency should I not be able to sing for whatever reason (sick, voice needs a break, etc.), as long as I dedicate time towards studying musical theory, working on my audition pieces or The Mikado music (such as solfege work or plucking the notes out on my piano to get them in my head), or researching pieces for upcoming auditions, it will count. [+1 CHA] A = 6x/week | B = 5x/week | C = 3-4x/week | D = 1-2x/week | F = zilch Part Two: And now for a proper adulting requirement. I’m bad at keeping my apartment clean. I’m good at Netflix marathons. So, let’s combine the two! I will clean 5x/week for the length of an episode of whatever on Netflix. If I put in something that’s longer than 20-40 minutes, then I will only dedicate myself to cleaning for the first half hour or so. This should also, theoretically, help me declutter, too. [+1 CHA] [3/6/2015 Adjustment: 2 days a week starting in Week 3, as long as I do one chore in the house, it will count towards this quest. Chores mean putting away dishes, starting laundry, putting away laundry, taking out the trash, cleaning the litter box, etc.] A = 5x/week | B = 4x/week | C = 3x/week | D = 1-2x/week | F = zilch In Summary: 1. Workout 5x/week [+2 STR +4 DEX +3 TBD] 2. Dance 3x/week (Class 1x/week) [+3 DEX] 3. Cook 1x/week [+1 CON] 4. Sing 6x/week [+1 CHA] 5. Clean 5x/week [+1 CHA] (see why I basically HAD to go with a Disney princess theme???) Attribute Point Distribution: 2+ STR | 7+ DEX | - STA | 1 CON | 0 WIS | 2 CHA (3 points from Quest 1 to be distributed at the end of the challenge based upon what exercises I do. Tentatively +1 STA and +2 DEX) Weekly Recaps: Day 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Challenge Complete! Mini-Challenges +1 STR earned +1 STA earned +1 CON earned +1 DEX earned +1 CHA earned +1 WIS earned

Respawning seems to be a theme right now. Maybe it has to do with overambitious New Year's resolutions? For me, January sucked, and it took longer than a month to recover from the sheer panic of being convinced that hubby's work was trying to kill him before he could leave. Since I make New Year's resolutions in the spring (not necessarily April first) because that's when my energy picks up again, I'm not planning anything too ambitious until at least then. No points this challenge, just getting things accomplished for the benefits that result. I'm wanting to start with building a routine now that our life can support one. There is a bit of a problem since I don't wake up at a consistent time. Sometimes I'm awake at stupid-o-clock, sometimes I stay asleep until after dawn. I refuse to do much of anything useful before dawn, especially if hubby is still asleep. That means that some days require goofing off first thing if I'm being stubborn about the dawn thing. Idealistically, I would wake up, make tea, maybe a little goofing off in the form of checking wecomics while I flex my feet. Then I'd go through my kitchen checks, know what I'm making for dinner, and possibly do whatever prep-work I could before doing less-critical things. I want to add to my daily list, but I'm going to start with the very basics. I re-read challenge seven about doing dailies, I still don't have a good rule about when dailies reset. I could clean the kitchen in the evening and double-dip on the "done" because I can consider the counter wiped if nothing got on it between me cleaning it and noon the next day. Other than going on a 36-hour schedule, it just means I got to follow the intent of what I hope to accomplish. Basically there are going to be some days when I don't do my dailies and it doesn't count as a negative because I cleaned in the evening and didn't mess it up until next evening, meaning it was clean during the day, even if I cleaned in the morning as well. Darnit, I'm confused again, but I know what I mean. Do the dailies: What I'm trying to accomplish is to always have the kitchen be "ready" and not an overwhelming mess. Hopefully I can spread to my craft room, the living room being in similar states of readiness, and even have the storage rooms be clean enough to be able to mindlessly wander in and grab something. Be intentional about downtime: I want to do crafts, draw and color, play with toys. Right now I'm just poking around online and waiting for things to be better, probably the definition of collecting underpants? With the mess right now, it's probably less-ambitious to set aside time for video games and reading stuff on the kindle or real books. Check in just about every day: Not being aware of what day it is was a relaxing coping mechanism, but it's really past time to reject paying attention to time. Mostly I'll be talking about how the day went, what I accomplished, what I made for dinner.

This is my first challenge as an Assassin, and I'm very excited. Also determined. I'm sick of flaking out halfway through challenges. I want to be that version of myself where I put my whole being into everything I do and rock the shit out of it. Or, at least feel like I tried to rock the shit out of it, even if I fail. Even if I'm aching from DOMS. Gonna be a bit of that this challenge. xD MAIN QUEST: Enjoy Every Day of 2015 CURRENT QUEST: Get strong! do 1x5 pull ups do 1x5 pistol squats do a freestanding handstand for 30 seconds look better naked wear more black Quest 1 - Prepared for anything. Do this after waking up every day. I struggle to wake up easily some mornings, but getting up and moving normally helps. It should also prepare my body before I workout on the days I do also. (from Steve’s TMNT workout) • Neck rolls: 5 each direction. • Shoulder shrugs: 5 each direction • Arm circles: 10 each direction • Wrist Circles: 10 each direction • Bends at the waist and touching the ground: 10 reps • Hip circles: 10 each direction • Forward leg swings: 10 each leg • Side leg swings: 10 each leg • frogger jumps x10 Quest 2 - Ninja Skills I read through Waldo’s guide to body weights, and think I’ve built a full-body workout that I can push myself in and still feel like I’m achieving something. If I can see myself adding reps/minutes to exercises, then I can’t complain that I never see any results. 3 days p/week. Proficiency is when sets are completed with no shaking [do mobility first!] Super Set 1: 45degree incline push ups to failure x3 (working up to 3x10) inverted rows to failure x3 (to 3x10) 30s rest. Super Set 2: chair pistol squats to failure x3 (working up to 3x10) hollow body holds (up to 1min, work on straightening out) 30s rest. Quest 3 - Cleaning Ninja Clean the house, following; http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-your-house-in-20-minutes-a-day-for-30-days-131142 Set a timer. Wear a ninja outfit. Make it fun! Just clean! The house is not looking too bad, but I'd like to make more of a habit of keeping it clean. I'm also pretty slack when it comes to things like cleaning the floors and shower and toilet, and I'm sure there are things I'm missing also. As I clean things, I become more aware of when it gets dirty and am more likely to clean it again when it starts to gross me out. Quest 4 - The Hit List Complete at least one task from this list daily (or anything else I consider productive not listed) Just because I need to fill my time with productive things, rather then staring at the internets all day. crafting leaving the house walking the dog meditating doing yoga gardening catching up with people I don’t live with not eating dairy (milk, cream, ice-cream, yoghurt - cheese is okay) not eating processed wheatyness (whole grains are fine) go to the actual gym Edit: Oh yeah, made myself a pretty spreadsheet to track my quests in. Edit pt. II: starting progress pics - BONUS!! TWO WEEK MINI HABIT MINI CHALLENGE I'm doing a mini challenge for the 2 week break between challenges! Starts here on this thread. basically to stop me falling off the wagon.

While I'm sure most people here are pumped and ready to get back into the swing of things...I'm not. I have 3 days of challenge and then I'm off to sun, sand and relaxation in JAMAICA! I'm extremely excited, this is my first hot holiday, and the start to a very travel-exciting 15 months. (January 2015 - Jamaica, Sept 2015 Camp NF!!!, March 2016 -Europe!!) So it's really hard to set challenge goals when the first 2 weeks will kinda be a wash. The other thing that's tough for me is because I'm a fitness instructor, I start up a bunch of my classes in the end of January, and from now until the end of April, my schedule is a bit crazy. So I'm setting out some small goals to try to ease into the new year of challenges (PS. I'll hoping to hit the end of February challenge hard, and be ready for it!) Main Quest - Be a badass who looks killer in a bikini and can do a pull-up (aka, the ultimate in badassery) For those who don't know - I love practicing aerial hoop/lyra and in March, I'll be taking another step towards teaching it! The super cool upside is that I get all the free practice time I want, and 50% off classes at my studio! Yay! So my goals are also to do things that will help me in hoop - the pull up for sure, and also flexibility and mobility is another pretty big goal for me. Goals 1) Drink 3L of water/day - with my trip coming up, it's hard to set a food goal, and I'll have to see how things are when I get back. With that in mind, staying hydrated is definitely a step I can take towards keeping my body in check, so water it is. I find this hard at the best of times, but especially in the winter. While on vacation, this is a bit harder, so the general goal is to stay hydrated, and not be hung over. lol 2) Stretch/fascia rolling daily - I'm really needing to work on my flexibility for hoop and and also focus on self-care a lot more. I really believe in the whole holistic aspect of health and fitness, and with what I've been reading about fascia is just fascinating (yup, I just did that), and so I need to a) finish reading The Role Model (about half way now) and continue to roll, ideally daily. For this, I really plan to instagram daily either a stretch sequence, or rolling, or something related to it for accountability. If you're all instagrammy, follow me and cheer me on @jbean86 AAAAAaaaand 2 goals is going to be it for the physical side. My 2015 mantra is the idea of "doing more with less". Experiences trump stuff, less is more, etc. As part of that I'm trying to purge my house, use up what I have, buy a minimum amount of stuff. This is really inspired by me wanting to move across the country in 2 years. I figure if I start downsizing now, I'll be happier, but also ready to move when the time comes. And who knows, it may been sooner than 2 years, and if the right opportunities come up, I want to be ready. Well...readier. lol Life Goals 1) Clean and purge my house. As part of this, I also want to finish up projects that have been started, including decorating my condo. I want a nice place to live in, but also when it comes time to sell it, I want to have a showing-ready place. Basically, I'm a grown up (without kids) and there's no reason I can't have a nice looking place. lol To make this more trackable, I want to set aside (minimum) an hour per week (with the exception of week 2) to make an effort to do something towards this goal. 2-ish) I've been toying with the idea of journaling again. I did it as a hard hat challenge a while back and by the end of it, I really liked it. Maybe I'll try to add this when I get back from holidays. There you have it folks. Simple, but do-able. Tracking: 1) Water 1/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 2) Stretching 1/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 3) Cleaning 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1

Introduction Trying this out again, last time I posted once then gave up! I'm a physician-scientist & can usually find some reason I'm "too busy" to eat well or exercise (like being up for 24 hours!)When I was growing up, I was "husky" and was never very physically fit and have typically had an unhealthy relationship with food (it's a "reward" & I can blow through a box of Cheez-It's by the end of a Big Bang Theory episode!)I've weighed as much as 203lb and was down to 168lb many years ago (thanks elliptical!) but am now about 190lbMotivation I've had a whole lot of life changes recently and am on a quest to make myself "better" both for myself & for a girl I'm seeing . I'm 30 years old & although that's not "old," I want to make sure I live the rest of my lifeTeddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" quote (in my signature) is the underlying motivation in my life right now - I'm tired of hiding & saying "I'll do it later" & being complacent!!!!Main quest To improve physical fitness: to get back to a middling-BMI (170lb = 23.1) by the middle of the year (like three to four six-week challenges?)Workout 5 days a week: alternate the "Beginner Bodyweight Workout" here on NF with a Namaste Yoga (only 22 minutes!) workoutGrading: A = 30+ workouts, B = 18-29 workouts, C = 12-17 workouts, F = <12 workoutsEat less: net 1830 calories a day (per MyFitnessPal to lose 1.5lb/week)Grading based on average number of calories/day over the 6 week period: A = on target, B = 2080 calories/day (per MFP to lose 1 lb/week), C = 2330 calories/day (per MFP to lose 0.5 lb/week), F = >2580 calories/day (per MFP to maintain current weight)Try to cook more (I'm already a pretty good cook if I do say so myself!) - one-dish pasta dishes are usually my go to (I know I know, but I can't commit to doing Paleo - it feels like too big of a change... maybe one day) and this way I can also avoid processed, artificial food!A big help towards achieveing this is to not eat anything after dinner - snacking in bed while reading is a no-no & "easy" way to cut down on calories!Life Side Quests To improve spiritual fitness: grow closer to God & incorporate faith into my lifeI've been going to weekly mass for a few months and want to continue thatContinue nightly prayers & saying grace at dinnertimeWork through The Purpose-Driven Life - it's a 40 day journey which fits nicely into a 6-week challengeTo keep a clean homeI've been pretty good about doing a top-to-bottom cleaning every two weeks, but certainly need to do better than that...It can only help my social calendar & with two cats, it's necessary!Clean all the rooms on a weekly basis: two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room - maybe one a day? Or vacuum/dust on one day then mop on another, tackle bathroom on its own day? I'll figure this out as I go...Plus cleaning counts as cardio! (the harder you work, the faster it goes!)My username comes from my former obsession with ska (which I am now over) and Star Trek (which I still get excited about) Atrribute point allocation pending...

The entire month of January is going to suck harder than usual. February is going to be interesting because hopefully there will finally be a steady pattern. I think that I'm mostly going to plan and do some preliminary work, hopefully be ready to start developing habits I can live with during the challenge after this one. For this challenge, I'm going to try different things at-whim. Basically here I'm going to take a quick note of what I did during the day or any troubles I had. This is the area of the house I need to attack. The attic storage and hubby's office aren't going to be my concern for a while.

Brand-new ranger, still adapting to this hard, wonderful life. Living like a real wood elf, in the trees. Tree living is defensible and disguisable (especially from those walking below), making tree living a useful adaptation to the Swiss Family Robinson, various birds and beasts, and the Ewoks of Endor. Despite the fact that my people have lived arboreally for countless generations (elves belong in trees), my city-dwelling has led me away from this lifestyle and into unhealthy, weakening habits. I will acclimate myself to forest living in four ways: 1.) Climbing practice. Any defensible treehouse must have multiple paces of egress and ingress, preferably only accessible by the initiated. Therefore, a rope ladder or series of graceful stairways is more suited to the Lórien cousins than to my simple life. To be able to get into, out of, and around my home, I must become stronger, better able to lift my own weight. Therefore, three times a week, I will complete body weight exercises, specifically: Starting Body Weight Beginner’s Program. If scheduling becomes a problem, I can abort to another bodyweight program, but hope to manage the SBW for six weeks, and hope to see results. 2.) Woodland Stride. To further defend my home, the ability to move quickly to or away from it to escape, distract, mislead, or just utterly destroy intruders, monsters, or dangerous animals will be paramount. I must improve my speed and stamina, continuing to range across the forest, seeking out evil. As such, I will “range†three times a week. One will be a long sweep (starting at 5K, potentially adding more distance each week), to work on longer-term stamina and note any growing darknesses and looming threats. The other two will be shorter, to clear the areas surrounding my home and places of note within my territory. Each of these will be timed (20-30 minutes), rather than measured by distance. I also hope to include some speed play"* or intervals to increase my speed during these shorter rangings. 3.) Bounty of the Forest. A Ranger must travel light and maximize the space in her caches of food and supplies. Maintaining organized caches will be paramount to my survival and ability to protect this area. As such, I intend to log all food and drink intake for the next six weeks. Hopefully I will need to make few trips to town for staples, and allow the forest, river, and sea to provide for me. I intend to use macros (I presume, a type of small basket) to balance and organize my intake, and have obtained a small recording imp to keep track of it all. He refuses to create pie charts a third of the time, and insists on being referred to by his full title, as my “Infernal Servitor, Servant Abyssal, Scribe of all things Unknowable, Mazik-Clerk, and Fitness Palâ€. I foresee frustrations there, but will do my best. 4.) Preparing my Home for the Dark Winter. As the temperature drops and the nights become longer and colder, more supplies must be brought in to weather the chill. I haven’t much room, so superfluities must be ejected to ensure enough room for myself, my husband, and any lost travelers or wounded animals that may need my care. Daily/weekly cleaning schedule. Reorganizing kitchen, reorganizing electronics, and doing projects for the home (knitting slippers, etc.) would be nice additions, given time. 15 points: Climbing – STR +3 Woodland Stride – DEX +2, STA +3 Bounty of the Forest – CON +2, WIS +1 Home – WIS +2, CHA +2 * I am not enough of an adult to say "fartlek" without giggling.

I want to make the house work for me more than I work for it. Have the kitchen be clean once in the day. (Between 30 and 36 is good, more is better.) Kitchen checklist: cutting boards cleanknives cleanmain counter wipeddrain-trap dumpeddishwasher statusfrying pans readylarge lid useable Less-important goals. Account for the day. Account for food waste. Poke at messes. Prepare sit-down projects that don't involve screens.

Sorry, my sloth brethren. I'm going team corgi this time, because corgi Assassins are awesome. For those who've never followed my threads, I'm a notorious shiny object chaser in the guild. I rock climb 2-3 times per week, do yoga another 3 times, and then fill in the rest of my time with playground parkour, gymnastic rings workouts, hand balancing (flying crow, side crow, 8 angle, elbow lever. yay), hooping, martial arts weapons stuff, and whatever else strikes my fancy. And I'm okay with that. I'm also 8 months out from an ACL reconstruction (horrible climbing accident in December), so I'm still somewhat rehabbing that. I've had a pattern over the last many challenges of picking a flavor-of-the-month skill, working on it to a point where I'm burned out and no longer care, getting frustrated because my benchmark was either too easy or entirely unreasonable, and then half-assing it the last week or two. I've come to the realization that I don't need any motivation to exercise. I already exercise 1+ hours/day. It's also okay to be a shiny object chaser. My main thing is the rock climbing, and I do that 2-3 times per week. Everything else is just filler, and it's perfectly fine to just do whatever exercises I feel like doing. So, I'm not going to have strong exercise goals. Instead, I'm focusing more on developing some wisdom or inner peace. Yeah, I probably should be in the Druids for this one, but I like it here. I'll still log my exercises, post training videos, and the like, just as I have for previous challenges. The goals will be kind of weird this time... Goal 1: Reduce the alcohol consumption. Only 1 drink/week is allowed. I'm not particularly concerned with losing weight or fat, but if I did wish to do so, my best approach would be eliminating the alcohol or calorie bearing drinks. Either way, it would be healthier to cut back a bit. Goal 2: Electronics off at 10 pm on Sunday-Thursday evening. No iPhone. No computer. No tv. After 10, it's reading time and then sleeping time. This will hopefully lead to an easier time falling asleep, less tiredness, and more reading. Should be wins all around. Goal 3: Stop taking life too seriously. Sometimes, I just get agitated or grumpy over minor things and just can't shake the funk. Other times, I hold back from doing things I want to do out of fear of looking silly or stupid. So, this is a two part goal: a) create a happiness folder on my computer of videos, pictures, or whatever that always make me chuckle. Whenever I'm feeling stressed or grumpy, look through the folder and get a good laugh. b.) I'm only permitted 1 time for the entire challenge where I don't do something out of fear of looking silly. Usually, this happens when I get the itch to work on hand balancing while at the gym or when I want to do some playground parkour, but I'm worried that people are looking at me. Goal 4: Cleaning. How can I find some degree of inner peace when my home is a disaster? Between my 2 young kids and the fact that both my husband and I are prone to clutter, the house is always a disaster. Goal is 10 cleaning tasks/week (excluding dishes and laundry, since there's a never ending stream of those). Goal 5: proper maintenance. My mobility isn't great. And my shoulders and wrists take a beating between the hand balancing, climbing, and rings. And I'm still quasi-rehabbing from the knee surgery. Goal is 2 hours of mobility work per week. I already do a decent amount of yoga, but I'm hoping to develop a habit of doing some brief mobility work when I'm waiting at the bus stop, cooking, or even during commercial breaks.

Embracing the day Make a pot of tea every dayAccount for what I did during the dayStart adding mild stretches once my legs stop hurtingComing out of cyber-space Work on getting the house clean and organizedDo an activity that doesn't involve computer interactionBonus activities Start preparing to blogRevise the chore list Notes for next challenge: I think next challenge I need to work on a food waste goal. It's been a problem that started creeping in over the last couple months, so by the end of this challenge I need to clean out the fridge and start working on a plan. Also, I think I should prepare to get into a "pristine kitchen" goal, (knives washed and hung, cutting boards clean and in their holders, big frying pan and lid can live on the stove but they need to be clean, figure out what to do with the small frying pan and lid because they're constantly dirty,) which should make life easier.

This is mostly a placeholder post so far. What I have written so far is below the line. ---------- This is a continuation of my last quest, which was inadvertantly set on hardcore mode due to renovations both at home and at work. The former resulted in frequent delays when it came to room cleaning, and the latter often resulted in 10+ hour days after which I didn't feel like doing fuck-all. Nevertheless, I managed to get some decluttering done, so progress was made. This is the continuation of this quest to declutter my living space. Or living spaces, rather, since I've also decided to clutterbust and clean the front porch. A simple continuation of the last quest is a bit...boring, however. The amount of progress I make depends on other life events and is somewhat hit-or-miss, although I've become better at telling myself "no, I need to do things instead of fucking around on Marvel Heroes all day" lately. So to keep things interesting and form some new little habits, I've decided to extend the cleaning and decluttering to my body as well. Goals: - Continue decluttering, especially clothes. - Brush/floss before bed - Skin brush! (As soon as I get a brush) - Drink more water (tea also counts). - Cut and clean vegetables every day. That's right. Not even "eat vegetables", because whenever I give myself a veggie goal, I always do poorly because I'm too lazy to cut and clean the bastards in the first place. Hopefully if they're cut I'll eat more of them since it will be easy, and I'm going to be more full and less likely to reach for the peanut butter jar. Banned foods: - Peanut butter* - Chocolate chips right out of the bag - Maple syrup* Potential life quests, in order of importance: - Graduate - Get an appointment with my doctor to get a few tests done, because there are a few things I'm worried about. - Get coffee reselling business going - Get new job To accomplish the first one, I will WORK ON THE GODDAMNED THESIS 20 MINUTES EVERY NIGHT** Vegetables to experiment with: - Broccoli - Quinoa - Brussel sprouts - Cauliflower - Sweet potatoes - Squash - Carrots - Mushroom, MUSHROOM - Grape tomatoes - Zucchinis - Onions, green beans, yellow beans, garlic, eggplants...ALL THE THINGS D: Ehh...I'll pick whatever happens to be in the vegetable basket in the fridge. Mom is a cooking nut and likes to try different things, so there is usually a great variety of vegetables there. * One tbsp of peanut butter allowed per day, and one small spoon full of maple syrup allowed per day. ** Every night that I'm not fucking exhausted after a 10+ hour work day.

The earliest parts of 2014 were some very trying months for me, where I had to deal with a knee blowout, surgery, and tons of physical therapy. But now I'm free and ready to take flight once more. And in honor of dealing with feeling crapped on by the world, but persevering, I'm going for a fun, Firefly theme. (and bonus geek points to anyone who can tell me who said each line and in what episode/context) Goal 1. "I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar" (physical) Now that I've been cleared for sports and such, I want to test myself with some new fancy flying tricks (well, hanging and balancing moves with my legs off of the ground). I plan to work on these moves at least 3 times per week, with the aim of mastering at least 3 5! new moves by the end of the challenge: yoga balances: firefly , dragonfly, 8 angle pose, shoulder press, leg forward crow variation, flying crow variation, forearm stand bar or misc stuff: tucked leg front lever, tucked leg back lever, tucked human flag, and/or dragon flag. Current status: can balance a forearm stand 10 seconds if I wall balance first (will need a solid, 20 second hold for challenge). Can hold tucked leg front lever 3-5 seconds (will need a solid 10 second hold for challenge). I can hold peacock/elbow lever, side crow with legs extended, flying crow, and scissor pose. I haven't really tried or succeeded at any of the rest of these. I would need a 10 second hold for the move to "count". Goal 2. "I aim to misbehave" or behave. (le sigh). (physical) Yeah, I still have to be a good girl with the PT stuff and the climbing rules. So, Leg day must be done 2 times per week (can be split into more days, depending). I must do squats, split squats, balances, knee ROM stretches, lunges, my jumping sets, the leg press machine, the hamstring curl machine, and 30+ minutes of some sort of leg endurance building cardio, like cycling, elliptical, jogging, or swimming. For climbing, I need to follow my rules, which are: -No letting my right leg get more than 3 feet off of the ground while bouldering. (basically, I can only do traverses and the bottoms of routes) -I'm not allowed to do drop knee or heel hook moves with the right leg. -If the knee hurts at all, stop. It's not worth it to push through the pain just to make it to the top of a route. -No knee brace = no climbing. No exceptions. -No whining. Just enjoy being able to climb again. Goal 3 - "The living legend needs eggs" (diet) -I've been doing a lot of strength building stuff. But, as a vegetarian, it's tough to be sure that I'm getting enough protein. So, I need to track my protein and reach 100g each day. I'm expecting to eat lots of eggs. Goal 4 - "What the hell's goin' on in the engine room? Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?" Life goal #1 Yeah.. That's how the home often looks, largely because I do have two terrifying space monkeys wreaking havoc on everything. I was pretty successful when I did Flylady a few challenges ago, but I don't find her chores especially relevant for my house. Instead, I made my own chore list and randomizer (yay, iOS programming). The goal is to do 6 of these cleaning chores each week. Goal 5 - "Also, I can kill you with my brain." Life goal #2 This is kind of an extension of my time management goal, but I'm going to improve my brain by learning iOS development. My goal by the end of the challenge is to completely go through my tutorial book. Also, I need to paint at least 4 images for some apps I'm planning on making, as well as record at least 3 piano songs to use for background music in said apps. I've already started one of the apps, which is my cleaning chore manager and randomizer. I'm hoping to add a lot more front end features and make it a professional looking app by the end of the challenge. Bonus "flying" goal (maybe I'll turn this into a PVP): Pull ups in odd places: Yeah, there's a poses in unusual places PVP, but I want to try doing pull-ups in random places or on random things. I already kind of look for odd things to pull up on, but this time, I want to take videos and make a montage of weird pull-ups. Anything other than a standard horizontal bar or rings would "count". Hey, I'm a climber, so I always have to work on my grip. I'll still be hooping. I'm just planning on putting on music and just going with it, rather than specifically learning new moves. And I'll still go swimming with the kids or do it as part of my endurance-building physical therapy. And I'll still be cooking. i'm just not planning on specifically focusing on any of these.

"uhhhnnn..." "Sire! He's awake!" "Hmm? Well then, it appears Rosa's efforts aren't in vain, after all." "Who dat? Who's dere?..." "Easy, friend, you're among comrades." Red sits up to see who's talking, "Comrades?... GASP! My brothers! Where are they?!" Red looks around frantically. "Your brothers? I'm sorry, but we just found you, no one else... But there was a smashed teleporter." Red mutters to himself, "I hope they got away in time... Hey, who are you guys?" The guard steps forward "How DARE you speak to the King that way!?" "Heh heh, that's enough Biggs, he is a stranger to these parts, we can't blame him for not knowing who I am." Biggs clears his throat "You are in the Presence of the Lunarian King, Cecil Harvey, Lord of the Kingdom of Baron, Savior of the Blue Planet, Paladin King, Commander of the Baron Army, former Commander of the Red Wings." Red jests "That's a mouthful." "WHAT?!" The soldier exclaimed. "Ha ha ha! Yes, it is sometimes! You should hear the title of my friend, the King of Fabul, He's got belts in nearly every martial art! One time, he--" Another soldier runs in, "My Lord, we're under attack!" "Then we must go! To Victory!" He shouts as he leaves the tent, The soldiers rally behind him, "TO VICTORY!" they all yell, as they follow their King. "You stay here, Stranger!" Biggs shouts as he leaves. "Stay here? Yeah right!" Red says to himself as he jumps out of the bed In the Fog of war, Red sees the soldiers fighting against an army of monsters, his eyes spot King Cecil surrounded by monsters, and they're closing in fast. "I've gotta do something!" Red leaps in the middle of the battle! "What the--?" Cecil exclaims. "You're kidding me right? A Knight who uses a White sword? How can I not help you?" "Alright then, I must admit, your resolve is inspiring. Here, take this!" Red receives Echo Grass! "If you're going to fight with us, you're going to need to communicate with our scouts, just speak into it and they'll hear you." "Huh, thanks! Now, let's do this!" BATTLE!! "Are you alright? You're slower than you look." "Heh, Life has been interesting to me lately, but I'll be fine, I just need time for my body to remember how strong it used to be." "I see, well then, how about I help you? Using your Past, Present, and Future." "Remember your Past, the routine you used to follow!" I am going to workout three times a week, every week! I will be doing the Advanced Bodyweight workout given to us by Steve Kamb. 1 point per workout, 18 total; Points given: Str +2 & Sta +2 "Now face the Present at hand!" I am going to increase my shoulder strength. I am going to lift heavy things over my head in sets, Using my old textbooks and nearby objects, I'll be doing something like a Shoulder Press but holding for a set amount of time. Goal Time: 3 Minutes Weight: TBD Points given: Str +1 & Sta +3 "Get ready for the Futur--" "..lo? Hello?" "AHHHH!!! WHO SAID THAT?!" "... ahh... my ears... *ahem* Hello, This is Baron Scout, Cami. I've been informed to help you help our King." "Oh, right, The Echoy Grass thing!." "...*Ahem* Well, there are many obstacles and heavy objects ahead of you, you'll need to push them out of the way." "How many would you say there are?" "...43... 75... About 100 obstacles here that would require you to use upper body strength. Yep, you're going to have to attempt 100 Push(up)s." ​​Following this program: http://www.hundredpushups.com/ Currently at 30 Pushups Points given: Str +3 & Sta +1 "Hey! Focus! The enemies that we'll be facing are a difficult bunch! Each of them requires different means to defeat them! - This monster feeds off of the dirt and mold around us, to defeat it, we'll need to cleanse the area! (At least one cleaning activity a day.) Wis +1 & Con +1 - This foe feeds off of your mind, If you keep your wits about you, you'll be able to stave off his attacks! (Read a Chapter every Tuesday and Thurs; Book: To Kill a Mockingbird) Wis +2 - This creature uses a foreign language to cast spells upon the soldiers, if you can learn it's language you can interrupt the casting! (Study Spanish using Duolingo, a section every Monday, Wednesday, Friday) Wis +2 & Cha +1 "Huh, there's that music again..." "You can hear that? That song can decrease the strength of the Spirit beasts if you can find a way to amplify it, even if it's only a part." - (Play Moonlight Sonata part 2) Wis +2 Alright, So with this challenge, it's going to be interesting because of lots of Life things. My summer course is ending this week (thurs is my last day), my nieces start their school soon (Aug 11th and Aug 13th), Still looking for a job, Planning on going to University in the fall, and I still have visiting relatives that'll be here for about 2-3 weeks.

I tried creating a character in the Game of Life in the last challenge and that didn't work. Maybe my computer was inadequate, or maybe I don't have enough RAM to run the Game of Life. Maybe the system is too cluttered with old files that are never used, resulting in very little free space, memory problems, and general slowness whenever I try to make it anywhere in the Game. Creating a character included. the system might run a little smoother if I clear up some space and run defrag. I've had "clean my room" as a side challenge for over 6 months now, and yet this goal has been neglected all this time. It's clear that this task needs to become a 6-week challenge all in itself. Here is a list of what must be done, in no particular order: Organizing and decluttering: - Get rid of the small wobbly shelves that are greatly reducing floor space - Get rid of slightly larger wobbly shelf that is also greatly reducing floor space - Clear out (and clean) the large crawlspace on the south side of my room - Bring shelves into the crawlspace - Go through books and donate the ones I no longer care about - Stack remaining books onto crawlspace shelves - Sort through the boxes that were formerly in the crawlspace - Put boxes back into the crawlspace - Bring box of old VHS tapes to the thrift shop - Dispose of old taped-from-TV VHS tapes - Figure out an organization scheme for putting clothes into the drawers inside the wall - Go through remaining clothes and make a give-away box - Put remaining clothes into said drawers - Move the bookshelf elsewhere since it's in the way of the drawers - Cut out the carpet. It's too filthy to clean, and probably moldy - Convince family to donate the closet space near the staircase to me because there is no closet in my room, and the standing port-a-closet is a freaking eyesore - Clean out newly acquired closet space - Put clothes into newly acquired closet space - Dismantle (and put away) the ugly port-a-closet - Organize all the junk under the bed, mostly books and action figure boxes, and LEGO Makin' money: - Take pictures of items to sell on eBay - Write a thing about the items to sell on eBay - Actually sell items on eBay - Take pictures of the clothes I no longer wear, to sell or to give - Actually sell or give away said clothes Bonus items: - Build stands for my cosplays - Buy a little zen garden, so I can be all zen and shit There is a long, narrow, and sketchy crawlspace in my room. Maybe my books can go in there. I think some of my old consoles are in there right now. N64 and PS2 maybe? I never play either of them anymore. Maybe those can be sold, too. Oh right, I also have an Xbox 360 collecting dust. Wait no. Two Xbox 360s. The crawlspace cannot currently be accessed because there is a desk in the way. The desk can't really be used either because it is full of junk, Loki armor pieces, comic books, and regular books. The drawers have my NES and SNES (and games) in them, but I'm not getting rid of those ;P Still, they need to be moved elsewhere. Or the desk has to be moved because it is a good desk that is only placed in a bad location. It needs go be where the crappy wobbly shelves are. Or where the bookshelf is. The bookshelf also needs to go because it prevents some of the wall drawers from opening. It's like my room was designed with no furniture in mind, because any desks or shelves that go in there always end up either blocking a window or preventing something from opening. Oh, and both side walls are only about 4ft high and then slope at a 45° angle towards the ceilings, making it so no tall items can be placed in the corners. Even regular furniture can't be placed in corners because that's where both crawl spaces are. The wall drawers are also close to a corner, which is bullshit. This is me rambling about things more than anything. I'll probably edit this in the near future. I also need to add a life quest. For reference, the following images of my room were taken just a few months ago. The clutter level is about the same, it just changed locations. For example, the Loki pants are on the middle shelf now, instead of being on the side shelf.

This quest is not very fitness related, but as the habits I want learn are important in keeping me SANE I thought I might best fit into the druids. Motivation I hate it when things happen that I'm not prepared for, somehow this is the motive of my whole life. Stuff to be prepared for reaches from "when the shit hits the fan" to "being able to invite neighbours over without getting a panic attack because the living room is all messed up". I don't have strong habits regarding cleaning, neither does my boyfriend. We have a habit of leaving stuff around, and a dog. And of buying stuff that clutter our home. (We are still able to ninja clean the home in one day when parents etc. are coming over but it would be exhausting. So it doesn't look like in those messi "documentations" on tv. Just for scale ) The mess at home is a huge psychological problem for me. For example sometimes I can't just go to the kitchen and make something healthy because stuff is standing around. Work is demanding too, so the last thing when I come home from a hard day is being grossed out by my very own mess. Main Quest Make my home a comfortable relaxing place, not an additional stress factor. Quest 1 *3 sun salutations per day (morning or evening) +4 Str Quest 2 *Keep the space near my bed clean every day, including my nightstand. This includes not putting down clothes, magazines, etc. +3 Wis Quest 3 *10 minutes of concentrated, continued tidying up or cleaning every day. +5 Wis Livequest *Get rid of 100 things +3 Wis

Minion25 finds serenity Goal 1: Yoga 3x per week I have a “yoga in the AM†video that has 20min sessions, 20 min! There should be no excuse. STA-3 Goal 2: I want to learn how to Kayak. Weather permitting: Rent a Kayak (or Paddleboard!) at the State Park to practice with 1-2 times per week. Getting out into nature is a bonus! I MAY take a hike while I'm out there. STR-2 CHA-2 Goal 3: Eat at home I no longer go to Burger King, McDonalds, or Taco Bell BUT I do go out to eat A LOT. This needs to end. The exception is if I am going out with friends (or family)-which really doesn’t happen too often. Who knows maybe I'll really enjoy it?! A: 0 meals eaten out B: 1 meal eaten out C: 2 meals eaten out D: 3 meals eaten out per week WIS-2 CON-3 Goal 4: Channel my inner Disney Princess and CLEAN My apartment needs an overhaul cleaning. I haven’t been able to get down and actually scrub things for over 2 years (no lie-between my knee surgery and then my back I really haven’t been able to!) It’s rather disgusting and stressful. I have 6 rooms, and there’s six weeks in this challenge, how convenient. I’m going to TRY for one room per week, but we’ll see how that works with my “busy week(s)†at work. Now if I only had some helpful animals… CON-2 CHA-1 A: All 6 rooms B: 5 C:4 D:3

So, now that the ship is all sparkly clean like, our resident Preacher said that we have a lot of goods. He suggested that we clean up our act a bit, remove what's not needed in our lives, and in general pare everything down to our essentials. What can you see in your life that really is just taking up space and you can actually live without? Take time sometime during the rest of the week, and find a room in your house/apartment/condo/Firefly class ship, clean it up, and try to clear out anything which is no longer needed. If you're comfortable, post before and after pictures of the room in question, so we can marvel at the shiny. Now if you excuse me, I'll be in my bunk. That place is a mess and needs to be cleaned thoroughly.

Hey fellow rebels. I've been super mega busy lately, things should calm down Wednesday but for now I'm just going to get this challenge up. So last challenge was a rousing success for me. Things were totally freaking unbelievably insane from travelling nonstop for work and some other things. INSANE I TELL YOU. But I used my training program to stay focused and grounded during stressful times. I also think I actually really started my health journey last challenge, even though I've been trying (and moderately succeeding) to do these challenges for over 6 months now. I learned I had to be doing this from a place of self love, and that I have to always remember how good I feel when I treat myself right. I've just got to do it. And making myself do it during the flurry of travel really kept me sane and destressed me. It also helped pull me out of the depression I was kind of sinking into. All in all, I feel great. And I want to keep this momentum going. I'm going to seroiusly switch up something huge in my life for this challenge. Two things in fact, both food related. I'm going to officially stop counting calories. Completley and totally stop. This is crazy for me. I've never not counted calories. I'm kind of really freaking out about it.... Previously I've counted them but set a ridiculously high limit for myself, just to make sure I'm not completely out of control, but when I have it down to a number based system I end up hurting myself. I'm like "oh this pizza only has 1200 calories in it. If that's all I eat all day it's fine" Nope... not OK. I'd rather just judge my food on what it is. And that brings me to the other thing I'm switching up. I'm going to grade myself for my food intake based purely on whether it was "healthy" or not. I know when I'm being healthy, and I know when I'm not. I can spot a healthy meal from a mile away, I can feel it in my stomach almost instantly, I can usually smell it. I know gluten and dairy are no nos for my tummy, and I know I'm trying to avoid soy. I know when I'm BSing myself, and can now be honest with myself and admit it. I don't need to micrcomanage my diet any more (or at least I hope so!) and am just going to try to eat the healthiest I can possibly eat this challenge. No stressing about calories, and no micromanaging every single meal. I'm also going to be listening to my body more when it comes to exercising. I'm cutting my strength training down to 2 days a week, and replacing the third with a wild card. Every week I'll see how I'm feeling and pick whatever exercise I want to do that weekend. It could be another strength session, but it could also be pilates. Or hiking. Or even a meditation session if I feel so inclined. So here's the spreadsheet: Quick explanations: Move pretty self explanatory Strength 2x/week Yoga 2x/week Zombies, Run! 2x/week Random! 1x/week Stay Moving I sit at my desk all day, and do watch a fair amount of TV. I want to stop sitting so much basically. So I've set an alarm on my phone to remind me to walk around and do little desk exercises throughout the day, I'm in the office an average of 3.5 days a week, so I'll try to complete all my deskercise goals that many days a week. I've also purchased a mini elliptical stepper thingy that I will be using 100% of the time during TV commercials and if I'm watching Netflix I'll set a timer to make sure I'm doing it for 5 minutes every 15 minutes (which is the average commercial set up I think). . I watch TV probably most days so I put I need to do this 5 days a week. I might adjust this when I have more time to think about how to actually grade this... maybe deduct points for whenever I watch TV and don't do it? We'll see... I'm going to grade this like I grade eating out. Start at 100% and dock points when I don't do what I plan on doing. Take Care I need to take better care of myself externally. And have more me-time. Nightly Routine: Wash my face, floss, brush my teeth and moisturize every weeknight Weekly Routine: Relax, take a bath, light a candle. Face mask. Monthly Routine: Add a hair mask, a foot mask and a bath bomb to one weekly routine a month. Live it up. Eat Healthy Self explanatory, eat healthy every day. Also stop eating out so much. Eating healthy is positive points I earn, eating out are negative points I dock from a starting 100% when I do it. Keep Clean Staying in line with my listen to my body/intuition goals, I'm going to clean every day... but I'm going to pick what I'm going to do the day of depending on the state of my apartment. Grading Based completely on level of effort, numbers based solely on excel's rounding to the nearest 0.25 calculation (using the MROUND() function if anyone was interested): >87% = A >62% = B >37% = C >12% = D <12%= F Possible points and point types are in the spreadsheet. Sorry this is so all over the place and not at all organized. I swear it makes sense in my head. I'm so excited to be a normal person again on Wednesday and be able to hang out with you nerds via the interwebs again. I also am going to get back to keeping my battle log up to date, because I mega slacked on that last challenge and it makes me sad. So that's that. *Edited to fix spreadsheet errors, update TV stepper grading info and to add grading percentage numbers to letters info (and more gifage because that was seriously lackingand not up to my usual standards)*

To achieve Level 8, I will be continuing working towards a more balanced self. I have some loose ends to tie up before I holiday in Amsterdam with my SO and BFF and a crowd of other dolly people. My Amsterdam trip will happen during the last 2 weeks of this challenge. My main quest is to fit comfortably into size 14 trousers by losing body fat. To move towards this achievement, I have set the following quests for this challenge: 1. Handstands! STR+1 DEX+2 As a much younger hooman, summer lunchtimes were spent out on the fields doing cartwheels and handstands. Now I have all but overcome my shoulder injury, the time has come to revisit those carefree days. Using Chris Salvato's method as a guide, I will spend 5 minutes per day on handstand practice (continued from previous challenge). A = 28+ days of handstand practice B = 25-27 days C = 22-24 days F = 21 days or fewer of handstand practice. 2. New Moves! STR+1 DEX+2 WIS+2 After being introduced to kettlebells last round by the Rangers mini-challenge, I found I enjoy learning new things and incorporating them into my circuits. So using sources such as Girls Gone Strong and Lift Weights Faster, I plan to learn new exercises I can put into practice. A = 15 new moves or more B = 12-14 new moves C = 9-11 new moves F = 8 new moves or fewer 3. Spreadsheets! WIS+3 CON+1 My employers have provided me with an advanced course in Excel, all paid for, but I need to find a few hours a week to learn it, practice it and take an exam. I want to take the exam before August. A = Learned, practiced and exam date agreed B = Still practicing but nearly there C = Still learning; will sit exam but not sure if I will pass F = Nowhere near ready, have to defer the exam 4. Floor! CON+2 CHA+1 Now my wardrobe is tidy, I want to make use of the mirrored doors and the space in front of the doors. I need to make a space on my floor for my exercise mat to fit. In order to see that bit of floor, I need to put things away and keep them away. A = Plenty of space for my mat B = Mat fits but clutter is creeping back C = Mat just fits but I trashed everywhere else F = No space for a mat to fit

It's later than I intended, so I'll just put in a bit of a placeholder here. I'm also watching American Ninja Warrior online and there are so many people involved that I'd like to punch. This is kind of an exciting challenge, since the Warrior Dash -- my first obstacle course race -- is taking place in it. So it's the culmination of a lot. It's also a bit weird, since that event is going to be next weekend -- i.e., day 6 of the challenge. So a big part of my challenge goal will be done early. I'm in the hunt for hobbies. Is there anything I should try? I'm welcoming suggestions. No idea too absurd to consider. Frankly, the randomer the better. (Although I make no promises about anything... resources are finite, after all, and I'm not super-fond of putting my butt over my head.) More to come.

I haven't been happy with my progress the last couple challenges, no excuses. It's time to double down and get back to basics. I'm going to focus on Lifting, Running, Hydrating, and Recording. Main Quest: a ) Finish this challenge as intended. b ) Under 200 Lbs by 30th birthday (12/04/14) Mini Quests: 1. Workout more frequently [sTR +3] [DEX +2] 6am workouts alternating with running & lifting. Angry birds workout with added dumbbell workouts. Success is dependent on getting to bed early. A = 5 workouts B = 4 workouts C = 3 workouts D = 2 workouts F = <2 workouts 2. Hydrate [WIS +1] [CON +3] Drink 1+ Liters of water each day. Cut out all juice, booze, creamer. Coffee & Tea are permitted, but no more than 2 per day. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 3. Record Keeping [WIS +2] [CON +1] Track food/drink on MFP A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days 4. Clean house [CON +1] [WIS +2] All dishes done before bed + 15 minutes of clutter clean up. A = 5 days B = 4 days C = 3 days D = 2 days F = <2 days Starting Stats Weight Waist Hips Chest Biceps Legs Calves Neck

Why yes, yes they are. That being said, what the hell am I doing? Relaxation and Recovery are NOT my strong points, so it could be argued that I never stop "doing something", and that may be true, but why do I never "feel" like I do anything??? Perhaps because I don't "do" what is important to me. Why not? you ask. That IS the question. I have said before and I will say it again, I feel like my life is nothing but a series of chaotic events that I just manage, rather than actually living and enjoying my life...and I am starting to REALLY hate that. So, the ever present question in my head is "What do I enjoy?" and I have a few answers, and some of the realizations I have come to, aren't very pleasant, because well, I am not really a princess as much as i want to be...so I have to live in a world not structured for be to be a princess...and that is not how I like it! So...what do I enjoy: 1. Yoga (but I have realized that in order to "do" yoga, I need the perfect surrounding space...which makes me not "do" it.) 2. Reading 3. Cleaning and organizing and decorating my house (but I can't get the process started on my own...stupid Executive Functioning!!! grrrr! so I never actually do it either) 4. Climbing, jumping, running, generally acting like a child outdoors (I don't ever do this either, because I'm afraid of hurting myself mostly, and trying to get someone to do it with me is like pulling teeth around here and I don't like going alone, so I dont do this either) 5. the beach 6. Quiet (which is more of a need than a want, but I have teenagers, so you can imagine how much I get of it) 7. Cold weather (and I live in Florida...grrrrr) 8. Not having to worry about money (hahahahahahaha like this EVER happens ) 9. Helping people 10. Games (video, computer, board games etc.) 11. Making things colorful (decorating them, coloring them, crafts...whatever, I love looking around me and seeing lots of color) 12. Learning new things (which I am not sure why I shy away from this so much...fear of failure is the only thing I can guess, because I really love learning in general) So, my challenge goals are going to be to actually DO some things I enjoy, and not make excuses. The last time I did anything fun outdoors was when I was doing challenges for BL 1.0, and that seems like a lifetime ago, and i can't really do much physically at the moment anyway bc of my recent surgery...so those will have to wait. I am going to participate in BL 3.0 but it's not going to be part of my challenge this time. Probably next time for sure since it usually goes for more than one challenge round. Challenge Goal #1: Cleaning, Organizing and Decorating: Make a PvS (or PvP if anyone is interested) for doing Flylady daily routines, missions and zone work. and settle definitively on what I want as far as decor changes (I need new curtains and bedroom stuff mainly). I get a rainbow sticker for doing this everyday before 9pm. Challenge Goal #2: Quiet Time: Do the Mediations from the Mat and finish up the WoT series and use my earplugs in the house ALL the time if I need to. Spend 10 minutes after my breathing doing the Meditations, and just read before bed like I have been doing. I get a star sticker for the doing the meditations. Challenge Goal #3: Helping People: I have really been slacking on my Ambassador duties around here, granted I had a good reason, but it doesn't make me feel good to have committed to doing something and then not done it. I have done the same thing with my son's Scout troop and both make me feel terrible about myself. So I am going to go to his Scout meetings every week during this challenge and take on the training coordinator role that I have been assigned, and I am going to spend no less than 30 minutes, 3 days per week here helping out new and potential Druids. Challenge Goal #4: Learn something new: I need to learn how to do the various yoga breathing techniques correctly...and I really have put it off, because I don't ever feel like I'm "doing it right" and so I just quit...but I can't practice any asana right now, but I can damn sure sit on my mat and breathe...so I am going to spend 10 minutes a day just learning to breathe. I get a big smiley sticker for doing my breathing.

I'm back! After a one challenge break due to first illness and then just general procrastination. But I've got important things to do and people to kill, so here I am again. I am not a bride, nor am I likely to ever be one at this point. But The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. And recently I took one of those 'Which character are you?' quizzes for The Princess Bride. I got Westley! And immediately I realized that's perfect because I could be the next Dread Pirate Roberts! What does an assassin have in common with the Dread Pirate Roberts, you might ask? Well, besides the wearing of black, there's the ability to scale the Cliffs of Insanity while sporting a stylish mask, for starters. Dueling sword-masters, wrestling giants, outwitting Sicilians? All in a days work. Not to mention fighting R.O.U.S.s and saving the odd damsel or dudemar from the Flame Spurts and Lightning Sands of the Fire Swamp. Although the trees are quite lovely... So let's get started! Life Quest - To return to my High School weight, when I thought I was fat but really wasn't. Around 150 pounds. My Main Quest for the first half of 2014 and for this challenge is to run my first 5K. That's coming up fast in June. My Goals #1 INCONCEIVABLE! ( STA +2) Taking up running in my forties, that's insane, impossible.... INCONCEIVABLE! But I'm doing it anyway. My goal is to finish training for the 5k. That involves running three days a week. I've completed the first two weeks of the 8 week program. I'd like to keep on schedule and complete the last run by the last day of this challenge. This would require that I not repeat any days. Repeating scheduled runs isn't bad if I don't think I'm ready for the next level. But I'd rather not. My time is short and though I don't care about running fast, I do want to maintain a steady jog throughout the 5K if possible. No walking breaks. So I WILL train, no matter how Insane. Two or less repeat days = A Three or four repeat days = B One missed day = C Two missed days or more than four repeats = F #2 I AM NOT LEFT-HANDED! ( STR +3 | Dex +2) I saw this line about what The Princess Bride has taught us. It read: "Good fighting is as much about style as it is about skill. Add style to your skills because style is more fun to watch." I'm not taking up sword fighting, but I thought it would be fund to add some style to my workouts skills. These are the stylish skills I'd like to focus on. I'm going to be doing an Angry Bird style progression so here are my starting values on each skill, as a baseline. Planks = 70 seconds Crab Reach = 2 (on each side) Side Kick Throughs = Vertical Frog Jumps = 8 Head Stand = 8 seconds (knees never left elbows) Trying to measure how good I'll get at these in six weeks is not practical. My goal then is to do these stylish skills three times a week for the duration of the challenge to see how much of an improvement I can make in that time frame. Zero or One missed day = A Two or Three missed days = B Four or Five missed days = C Six or more missed days = F #3 The Chocolate Coating Makes It Go Down Easier ( CON +3 ) As I've mentioned before, I'm still on this stupid plateau. I MUST do something drastic to get off the darn thing. As much as I hate tracking everything I eat, I'm really going to have to just that if I want to get into One-derland, i.e. below two hundred pounds on the scale. I'm SOOOOO close. Less than five pounds. So I believe that I can achieve 199 or less in the course of this challenge. My official weigh-in will be tomorrow evening at my next WW meeting. But whether I shed those pounds or not, I WILL start writing down every darn thing and being accountable for all of my points, starting tomorrow bright and early. I'm not gonna like it. But I'll do it, because... Four or less missed day = A Five to Seven missed days = B Eight to Ten missed days = C Eleven or more missed days = F Side Quests Get Some Rest (Fitness) ( CHA +3 ) I'm getting better at going to bed earlier, but actually falling asleep can be a problem. My mattress is absolutely ancient, embarrassingly so, and I believe this may be part of my issue. So I intend to use my tax refund to buy a spiffy new mattress. But I procrastinate wickedly, as evident by the age of my current mattess. So my main goal here to have that new mattress installed and the old one carried off before these six weeks are up. I'm counting this as a fitness challenging because getting a good night's sleep is very important for weight loss and general good health. New Mattress = A No New Mattress = F Have Fun Storming The Castle (Life) ( WIS +2 ) My apartment is my home, my castle. And I need very much to clean my castle, but I want to have fun doing it! I plan to clean 5 days per week. That makes 30 cleaning sessions. So I've written down 30 cleaning tasks on slips of paper, and I put all the slips into a jar. Each cleaning day I will draw one slip and clean whatever comes up. Randomness makes it fun. I will set a timer for 15 minutes and challenge myself to finish the task, whatever it is, in that timeframe. Challenges make it funner. And I will crank up my music, because cleaning to awesome music makes it the funnest fun a person can have while still actually doing housework. And to top that all off, I will reward myself. 27-30 tasks completed = 3 new books = A 23-26 tasks completed = 2 new books = B 19-22 tasks completed = 1 new book = C 18 or less tasks completed = no book = Fs

As theme I picked some of the things that a true rebel should never do. And twisted them completely My wife and me are in a long distance relationship at the moment. It sucks to live in different countries, but for the time being we have to cope with that. So, when we are together we try to make the most of our time together, which means also leave on the side some of the interests and activities that we do no share. Of the 42 day of the challenge we have 17 days together this time. So I split the challenge in a "alone"-challenge and a "together"-challenge. The "together" bit is still my challenge, in the sense that I want to take the initiative and the lead, but if she is really not up to it, then we will do something different. I am not going to force her into this Collecting pants (alone) If I collect enough pants I will achieve world domination. I mean this one quite literally. My house is a mess most of the time and I end up doing emergency tidy-up every 3-4 weeks. That must change. So I start collecting pants. That is: pick the clothes up from the rack where I hung them, fold them and put in the proper drawer. It will happen within 2 days from the washing (3 for hand-washed things, they need time to dry out) CHA +3 for the more guest-friendly house DEX +1 for the getting better at folding clothes I don't like boring (together) While my wife is here, I'll walk with her every day, for at least 1 hour, every time on a different place/path. Just to start some good habit. CON +1 for the good habits and the movement WIS +1 for finding the way STA +1 for the walk itself Lift light (together) I know that when we are together we tend to eat more. Because we go out, we have dinner with friends, we enjoy cooking and we don't throw away anything (everything that land in our dish is eaten). So, portion control is the word here. Not to eat less, but to eat "as usual". So, my dish will be lighter even when going out CON +2 for the food CHA +2 because nobody like to eat with a pig like me Don't change anything (alone) I was happy with my previous challenge. So I keep it as is was: push-ups, pull-ups, handstand, run (but 2.5 times/week), climb, check the food. This part of the challenge will happen in the days that I am not with my wife. If I manage to sneak in something, good, otherwise I still have the point for family life STR +3 STA +1 No yoga as a challenge this time. Maybe I will do something anyway, but just as recovery or for the fun of it. And the monkish bit as always is the background for all this The usual spreadsheet will follow

All of my goals this challenge are set with the aim of building habits, rather than achieving something specific. I don't have a specific goal at this point, however I do have a life in flux, so I want good habits that will carry through and that are easily adaptable to change. Main life quest: Balance Generally, to achieve a healthy balance in all aspects of my life: eating vs exercise, work vs play, rest vs activity, alone time vs social time, etc. The area where I feel I need the most work eating and my tendency to overeat. Goal - end overeating - step 2 WIS +1 CHA +2 - slow down and enjoy every meal - stop eating when I am full (or if this doesn't work: take smaller portions and wait before taking more OR measure out portions) - this is new this challenge Grading: This is a daily yes or no. As last time, I'm looking for progress, not perfection, so I'll tend to be easier on myself at the beginning and harder toward the end. I'll grade myself based on the percentage success out of the 42 days. Fitness + Health goals Movement STR +1 DEX +2 STA +1 (bonus as below STA +1) 30 minutes of activity every day, ideally outdoors. This is not limited to one specific activity, but can change depending on how I'm feeling, the weather, and other life circumstances. This includes, but is not limited to: walking to work (which I usually do 4 times per week already), running, yoga, Pillates, strength training, aerobics, serious walking to do errands (at a good pace, not wandering, unless its for a very long time). bonus - 3 times per week, movement gets my heart rate up & I get good and sweaty Grading: Total days missed through whole challenge: 0 - 6 = 100%, 7 - 10 = 75%, 11 - 15 = 60%, more than 15: FAIL (I am allowed to miss up to one day per week, average, and still get 100%.) Bonus is counted separately: 16 - 18 = 100%, 12 - 15 = 75%, less than 12 = FAIL Food WIS +1 CON +1 eat fish / seafood at least twice per week - should be easy with lent starting (& my husband is Catholic) plan meals in advance - include leftovers / batch cooking freezer food for lunches create a list of quick meals to make when I haven't planned for something - using basic ingredients start a searchable database of favourite recipes for easy reference and planning Grading: The fish is easy to count. 12 or more = 100%, 9 - 11 = 75%, 7 or 8 = 50, 6 or less = FAIL -> worth 50 % Planning meals -> I'll give myself a weekly grade to see how I did. This is hard to judge so I'll do my best to be honest. -> worth 40% Creating list + setting up database -> this is something I want to incorporate for the future, again, I'll just judge and see how I do -> worth 10% General Health CON +2 floss every day get up and move / stretch every hour set timer on phone drink more water + tea to encourage more getting up Grading: This is a daily yes or no. I'll judge myself based on the percentage of successful days out of the 42. Life Goal Reduce Stress (with a clean house) CHA +2 CON +1 I have this weird emotional attachment to "stuff" and can have a hard time getting rid of things. Not always, but sometimes. I need to stop. Just because something was a gift, doesn't mean I need to keep it, for example. So, my life goal for this challenge: PURGE - get rid of stuff - don't just "organize" it! clear out the two closets in the spare room / office the bookshelf (aka dumping ground) beside my bed - I hate looking at that mess first thing in the morning! CLEAN - second priority, but still important - clean the house, especially the ever-present nemesis - the shower Spend at least 1 hour per week (not necessarily all at one time) working on this goal. Grading: Total weeks missed through whole challenge: 0 = 100%, 1 = 80%, 2 = 65 %, 3 or more = fail