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Back to another ‘I won’t be home for most of this Cycle’ challenge. It’s back to hotel life for a few weeks, and a movement shift is in order. I’m still looking to see if there are any good looking daytime yoga classes anywhere near where I’ll be, but thus far - nada. It looks like people are sliding from Ramadan timings to Summer Hours. Boo. That’s fine. I’ve got some inversion homework from one of my teachers, another that has moved to the UK has posted a host of YouTube flows, and I’ll have access to a fairly decent gym if I remember correctly. My big challenge is going to be doing what I need to do motivation-wise to ensure I get a good workout in (i.e. forcing myself to get ready out of order by wearing contacts + workout clothes to breakfast and showering after the gym), and not eating anything too crazy. Or at least not too many crazy meals. Alcohol won’t be an issue. Movement Get something done each day. A trip to the hotel gym, a yoga class out in town, a flow in my hotel room, a mall walk - something. Nutrition Simple breakfasts - most likely back to my egg/spinach/mushroom combo; if I remember correctly, this hotel has soy milk for coffee but that’s it on the dairy-free front. I *think* they also do eggs. At least scrambled. Don’t go too crazy at dinner - watch my hunger cues if I’m getting any that day, otherwise aim for 80% of my plate. Err on the side of veggies when possible. Other I’m bringing a big crochet project and my iPad for drawing, so should be good there. I had intended on bringing a sewing project as well, but didn’t have *quite* enough fusible fleece to complete 1 bag. Boo. I got everything I have cut though. I think that’s mostly it while we are gone. I need to do some scrapbook stuff finding/scrap filling once I get another book - it looks like my Smash Book journals may have been discontinued (at least on Amazon), so I need to find an alternative. I also want to continue working to step up my wardrobe game a bit and may look for some more “fun” pieces while we are gone. I got a super cute but plain orange sun dress while in Paris (I was excited to see a Uniqlo) and a really pretty silk scarf from the Van Gogh Museum I can use to zhuzh up an otherwise basic outfit. Hopefully I can still get away with the jeans I bought right before we left for at least most of the trip - I’ll mostly be living in lounge wear, but we will be hitting the mall pretty much every night. Should be enough a/c so I don’t melt completely. It’s only in the low 90s. I think that’s it for this challenge. The last week or so will be spent rebuilding my yoga schedule, snuggling the pups, and re-acquainting myself with the current grocery stock.

Yeah, I'll still be climbing and talking about climbing, but there aren't any climbing goals that I wasn't already going to be doing. Instead, the focus will be on cool art and crafts projects. Recently, I bought a 3d resin printer! It's so incredibly cool! I'm still a noob, but I'd be totally happy to answer anyone's questions about 3d printing. So far, I've printed things using other people's 3d files. Now, I want to learn to create my own 3d models. I also have to paint all of the family D&D campaign minis. And I have crochet projects. And I have a piano to practice and songs to record...... So..... 1. 10 Blender tutorials per week. It's probably the best free 3d modeling program out there, and I need to learn how to make better use of it. In the short term, I want to design my own chess set and Catan pieces. Eventually, I want to be able to use it in conjunction with MakeHuman to create my own character minis. 2. Finish painting the family D&D minis. We custom printed 4 minis using Heroforge to customize our characters. I've painted my husband's character, and I posted the pics in my last thread. Now, I have 3 left. I will also post pictures of the finished pieces. 3. Do some sort of crochet project. I haven't yet decided what... When I figure it out, I'll post pics here. 4. Record and post a video of Chopin Nocturne #8. I need the added pressure of a deadline to try to clean up the piece. Also, I need to stop feeling like nothing is ever good enough to post. 5. (In some ways, this is the most important). Stop debating and arguing with people on Internet forums. It's a huge time waster, and it does nothing for my mental health. I will completely avoid a couple problematic forums, and instead use that time more productively.

Last challenge, I found a climbing gym, rediscovered my love for climbing, and got into a great rhythm of climbing every other day. I'm keeping things much simpler this time and keeping the momentum rolling. 1. Battling pride Climbing has been great..... but, I'm still struggling with feeling self conscious about sucking or getting overly upset when I can't solve a route that is marked with a low enough grade that I ought to be able to solve it. Yesterday, Pride defeated me. Some new routes were set, and I could not for the life of me solve a vertical wall 5.8. (I can usually get the vertical 5.10s and the 5.8s kind of seem like ladders) I got really frustrated and worried that everyone would see how much I sucked, whined a lot, and was almost ready to walk out of the gym..... so.... To defeat Pride, I must: Attempt every single route marked 5.9 or lower. If I can't get it, keep trying and ask for help from one of the other climbers. One of my problems is that I tend to climb the things that play to my strengths, and I need to stop doing that. I will learn the most if I work on some of those weaknesses, even if they make me feel like I suck. 2. Battling Envy This one is simple. I've always been jealous of people who can do the splits. Rather than being envious, I'm going to take real steps to become more flexible. I started a program called Hyperbolic Stretching, and I'm going to stick with the stretching workouts there. The goal for this is 3 stretching sessions per week. 3. Battling Gluttony This one is another simple goal, stolen from I think @Elastigirl. I still need to lose weight. I'm still struggling a bit with mindless munching. If I want a snack, I will make myself wait at least 15 minutes before indulging. I'll also make sure to drink some water or tea in the meantime, since that can often stave off hunger. 4. Battling Sloth I need to be more productive and less lazy. For this goal, I'm going to focus on crochet and complete at least 3 small projects during the challenge. Some of the things in my queue are that I need to make a crochet cactus arrangement for my mom, a Shy Guy (from Mario games) for my son, and some vampires (based on the Voldemort from my HP crochet book) for Halloween. Let's do this!

Topic Title: Snickie Builds a Solids Foundation Topics: Challenge requirements (Major and Minor Goals), Reward System, Commentary Spreadsheet CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS Major Practice clarinet. Average 40 minutes a day every other day. Concentration on Cavallini Caprice 1 and Hommage a J. S. Bach by Bela Kovacs Scales to rebuild my finger prowess Clarinet in boat pose is always encouraged Follow a set study schedule for Solid Mechanics. For each chapter, in the following order: Jeff Hanson videos Pearson homework and book example problems Lecture videos Practice problems Get solid, using the 22-minute math alarm timer UTR Leg Day Bulgarian split squats with back foot on a footstool. Start 30. Goblet squats with 10 lb dumbbell. Start 30. MWF Triple P Day Pull: inverted rows on my dad's walker, straight legs. Math 1-6 Start 25 Push: diamond pushups on bathroom counter Math 7-12 Start 30 Planks: front and side, bonus for boat Math 13-18 Start 60 S Rest Day Brush my teeth every night sometime after dinner Minor Read my Bible Or otherwise do the homework for the Bible study sessions Finish Dune Start Dune Messiah Write for Flash Fiction Month (July only) Do some crochet (on an existing project only OR start and finish a project in one session) Do literally anything outside Other Eat three meals a day. Do meal planning (minimum 4 dinners and 2 lunches) so I know what to cook and how much to buy. Week 5 of the challenge, I will record myself (video and audio) playing Hommage a J.S. Bach and forward to my guy-I'm-dating-and-has-video-making-experience to edit into a parody Twosetviolin esque video full of memes. General adulting stuff. REWARD SYSTEM Daily Rewards: ~30 minutes of Animal Crossing in the morning For daily town maintenance only - digging up fossils/gyroids, watering flowers, hitting money rock, shaking fruit trees, accounting for visitors, visiting already-awake villagers For brushing and flossing my teeth the night before Animal Crossing in the afternoon/evening Everything I didn't do in the morning For clarinet daily minutes average over 20 For having practiced that day For being on schedule with Solid Mechanics coursework For making progress on at least two of the minor goals There will be no time travel. Midterm Reward Advance my campaign on Heroes of Might & Magic 3 For following the study schedule and earning an A on the next Solid Mechanics test, to be redeemed on the Friday immediately following. Test 3 falls during week zero of the next challenge cycle. This will apply to that as well. The order on the spreadsheet corresponds to how I would like to have my daily schedule set up using these element. Of course, the likelihood of me actually following it is pretty low, but it's a model. COMMENTARY I got a 76% on the first Solid Mechanics test and was literally told by my dad that that was below expectations, which in his mind is equivalent to unacceptable, like I didn't already know that. I'm not Asian and my work ethic definitely isn't (stereotypically) but my academic expectations are. The average was a 44%. The high was 92% and the low was 8%. I happen to know the professor will drop the lowest test grade and may also apply a generous curve. That said, I need this 76 to be the test that is dropped. I can't afford to not have straight A's anymore, and not because of what my dad said. The better I do in classes, the more money people will throw at me to help me finish the degree. Leg Day might get moved from Sunday to Saturday now that I'm working Saturdays again. Saturdays are slow so as long as patients don't bring their families I can do all the squats I want and just use stacks of charts instead of a dumbbell lol.

Last month was a month of doing stuff. This month is the same. Some of the goals have changed, but the overall goal remains - to do all of the things in true Ranger style. Should I exceed any of my goals each week, I will be putting £5 into a savings jar per goal exceeded. At the end of the month, I'll use the money to treat myself to something on my Amazon Wish List. Join with me as I sail the 4 Cs with regular stops along the Exercise Islands. Goals: 1. Crochet. Last month my goal was to crochet 3 squares OR sew one row onto the blanket I'm making my son per week. This goal has not changed. By the end of this challenge I should have at least 1.5 rows worth of squares crocheted and 1 row sewed onto the blanket. I will be grading this goal by keeping track of how many squares/rows I get done throughout the week. Squares: 0/3 2. Cook. This is a new goal, but one that I believe I mentioned either on my challenge or someone else's challenge last month. My goal is to clean out the food shelves, fridge, and freezer by cooking one meal each day that I'm home. I will only buy food that is needed to use the food that we already have. For example, if I have a BBQ pulled pork spice pack, then I can buy some pork. The reason I'm doing this is because we have loads of frozen food, sauce packs, tinned food, etc that's been sitting on various shelves for well over a year and they need to be eaten before they go off. My version of the NFA eating plan is going to take a hit this month, but that's ok. Once all of this food is gone, I can start the second part of my plan and start stocking up on stuff that does fit with my eating plan. I'll be tracking this goal by sharing photos of what I cook over on my FB page and will link to the photos here (though you're welcome to add me or follow me over there, if you like). 3. Clean. Because I spend most of my time during the day job hunting, taking my Android Basics course, and taking care of my son's needs, T is meant to do the majority of the housework. However, he has a bad habit of not seeing when something needs to be done (example, he left the dishes piling up for nearly 3 days because we still had clean dishes, so he didn't notice the dirty ones in the sink). So to help him out, I'm going to clean one room from top to bottom each week. Week 0: Living Room Week 1: Kitchen Week 2: Paul's room Week 3: The Master Bedroom Week 4: My Bedroom 4. Class. My Android Basics programming course is nearly done, but that doesn't mean I can slack off. My goal is to get through the rest of my course by the end of this challenge month. (Weekly goals may be changed depending on how well I did the week before) Week 0: Complete at least half of Lesson 3B Week 1: Complete Lesson 3B Week 2: Design final project Week 3: Final project finished and posted in class forums Week 4: Fix any problems noticed by other students and mentors 5. Exercise. Welcome to exercise isles! Each week, we'll have a different goal to complete. Week 0: Go Geocaching. Last week I tried Geocaching for the first time. It was so much fun that I decided to make it a part of this month's challenge. My goal is to find 5 caches this week. To get to their location, I'll either walk or cycle. Week 1: Go on a Virtual Walk. I will choose one race from yes.fit and walk the entire thing this week. Week 2: Go on a Virtual Cycle. Same as above, except instead of walking, I will cycle the entire distance. Week 3: Do NFA Bodyweight workouts 4A, 4B, and 4C at least once (each) this week. Week 4: Battle NFA Bodyweight Level 4 Boss. Counts as exceeded goal if boss is defeated.

December, I've got your number this year! I am taking a full on running head start on New Years awesomeness, and this challenge is where you're going to witness it all go down! Okay, so the specifics are a little vague right now - I need to sit down and plan a little more closely, but I wanted to get started anyhow. Update: Real Goals! 1. Eat so good. Calories: 1300-1800 per day. Carbs: <100g per day Protein: >80g per day 3 possible points per day - target is 18 points per week. A : 72+ B : 63 C 54 D : 43 F : 42 or less 2.Workout so bad. 2x per week gym workouts A : 8+ B : 6+ C : 4+ D : 2+ F : 1 or less 1x per week play with kettlebell. I'm not even putting any guidelines on this, except that I pick it up and do SOMETHING for a least 10 minutes, just so I don't get out of the habit altogether. A : 4 B : 3 C : 2 D : 1 F : 0 3. Crochet ALL THE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! My goal is super minimal Christmas spending. (Actually, not all the gifts are crochet. I'm including all homemade gifts under this category.) We're not doing gifts for my side of the family until Jan 7th (Ukrainian Christmas!), so I have some extra time for a couple items. 1. Girl's Hooded Cowl #1 2. Girl's Hooded Cowl #2 3t. Girl's Hooded Cowl #3 (J7) 4. Girl's Toque #2 (J7) 5. Boy's Hooded Cowl 6. Men's Slippers (J7) 7. Ladies Scarf #1 (started) 8. Ladies Scarf #2 (J7) 9. Men's workout shirt 10. Boys poster #1 11. Boys poster #2 12. T-shirts that are getting mailed. (x3) 13 T-shirts for everyone else. (x9) 14. Women's workout shirt 4. STEPS! Yeah yeah, I'm bringing it back. Weekend step challenges with @Hiroro should help with this Gotta get going with that fresh air! Aiming for 70,000 per week. Go big or go home. A : 280,000+ B : 250,000+ C: 220,000+ D : 190,000+ F : 189,999 or less.

Greetings fellow Rangers! Well, the last challenge was enough of a success (though not 100%) to motivate me to try it again, so here we go! I learned a lot of things about myself through the last challenge, in particular about my motivation levels through the day. With that in mind, I've decided that my "Main Quest" for this challenge is to become better at being me. This may sound like a wussy, fluffy goal, but for anyone who's even done battle with the inner-mind demons, you'll know it's anything but. I'm working on finding out what I'm good what, what I can improve at, and what parts of myself are just gonna stick there until the day I die. So how will I do this? I'm going to go back to the basics and start building from there: 1). I'm a runner. There's just no getting around this one. No matter what type of cross-training I try I always end up bored and longing for the freedom of the wooded trails. While I plan to keep at least one cross-training cardio workout a week for injury prevention, I'm going to start building up my running distance. By the end of this challenge, I want to be back to running for a full 60 minutes without any knee issues. I'm already up to 30 minutes, so the plan is to increase the distance by 5 minutes each week. This also saves me from wasting time trying to find routes of a certain distance, which is time consuming. 2). My upper body is weaker than my lower body, and it bothers me. Like, A LOT! Solution? Work it harder. I have always lamented the fact that, while I can pull a 40kg calf into this world, I can't pull my own body up over a bar. I realize that I won't get to a full pull-up in 6 weeks, but what I would like to do is get to having the assisted pull-up machine compensating for less than half of my body weight. At the moment, it's lifting 80lbs and I'm lifting 60lbs, so the goal is to push towards flipping those numbers around in 6 weeks. 3). Anything that involves investing a lot of time that I don't complete, makes me stressed and angry at myself, no matter how petty and worthless the activity. Therefore, I'm going to remove one of the most time-consuming and worthless activities in my day. That's right, I'm going to STOP COUNTING CALORIES!! Wow, even saying it feels liberating! Ever since I began my quest to reclaim my fitness 4 years ago, I have been a slave to a bunch of numbers. Well today, that slavery comes to an end. I am going to shift my focus to mindful eating, thinking about a meal before I eat it, listening to my body and feeding it what it needs. My life quest is going to involve addressing another thing I'm very bad at - doing things for myself. I enjoy taking care of others, and while I know that's not a bad thing, I do so to the point where I rarely seem to ever have time for things I want, and even when I do make the time I feel guilty. Case and point: my crochet hobby. I have finished countless baby projects for friends and family, scarves and hats galore, but I only have 2 projects that I've ever completed for myself. This is usually because, about the time I start one, someone else gets pregnant or puts in a request for a Christmas present, so my project gets stuffed away out of some guilty need to bend over backwards for everyone else. For this 6 weeks, that is going to change. I have started a sweater that I would LOVE to finish before the cold returns, so for these 6 weeks I'm going to dedicate 3 hours a week minimum to working on this project. The pattern is easy, but like all things it just takes time, so that is exactly what I'm going to give it. So what's my motivation? The thought that one day I will be able to wake up and be happy with myself, exactly the way I am. My fiance loves me and can give me a laundry list of reasons why; it's time for me to stop beating myself up long enough to see them.