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Bouncer eyes the entrance of the dungeon, the stone stairs below her don’t look appealing at all. She could feel her heart drop, as the sunlight seemed to get lost in the entrance. She had heard from many that opportunities for adventurers of any alike could treasure hunt and call for bounties for the many monsters. Bouncer’s druid instinct seemed to wonder though what would happen if she continued her hero story differently, making the many levels of a deep dungeon a home of hers! ---- 2 inspirations while I tried to Unplug... "Delicious in the Dungeon" (Netflix Series)and “Walkscape” (game )aka going cold turkey unplugging didn't work and realize I had some really good inspiration around me. A new perspective on how long a journey is and how fluid/open it is. And what type of games/stories are better for me now. Overall goals for 2024: Have a Thriving Base Camp -Fully Unpack, Organize/Declutter, Hygge, Catification Making Delicious in the Dungeon -To be Upfront Money IS TIGHT with my current home, I have a hard time eating only from home while being busy AND staying frugal. Also realizing to work on some financial goals (paying off student loans, having money for needs, and saving for a few dream trips…). The more creative I can get better. Maintaining Making Gold I’m in a lucky life stage, I HAVE many opportunities to make money. My stamina and executive functioning skills are what shortcuts me. Keep my Mana High and Become a better Druid Meditation, mindfulness, Qigong, Eating nutrient-dense food, stay active. All help me keep my energy up and continue my healing. Life is not at my most difficult, but I am in the part of my life to strengthen skills and habits with tools to become helpful in future stresses. Okay, SMART goals for this challenge! Find Base Camp and Learn what Monsters are Edible Restart FlyLady 31 Baby steps, the goal is to do a Morning/Evening routine daily. To make it a little easier I will only continue on the baby steps when I feel confident to continue on the next step (morning check-in). End goal - have the morning/evening goals be a habit. 85%+ - I find a safe place to set up a camp in the dungeon and has what I need, able to start wandering a little safer. Below 85% I might have a random monster attack to get through to keep going through the dungeon. Struggling to write this in a SMART goal. Meal plan/Prep/Eat; stay under budget. Only go out to eat once. Staying in budget is 100% difficult. So will share my thoughts around it.

Most of my habits fell off a cliff last challenge, which I partially blame on Daylight Savings Time and starting a new job (which is going fantastically! I'm working with good people and have awesome benefits and am contributing to community programs that help people!) but I really think the bigger problem is that I've let the mess take over, and not metaphorically. My space is a disaster. I've been making excuses for it because I'm trying to stockpile stuff for my apartment and cram it into one bedroom while keeping the space livable, but while that is a genuine obstacle, the fact remains that my apartment is not going to be completed for quite some time yet and I can't keep living like this. So this challenge, I shall beard the dragon in its lair, organize the hoard, and reclaim the Lonely Mountain as a well organized dwarven kingdom. Instead of making a big check list all at once, I'm just going to take things one step at a time. First step is to sort through the large pile of stuff in the corner that I've been meaning to get rid of and decide if it needs junked or donated. (And then follow through with said junking and donating.) My original plan was to stick to one goal this challenge, but I'm terrible at reasonable things like that, so here are a few bonus goals to round things out. Music: Music is mostly associated with elves in Middle Earth, but the dwarves have been known to produce a nice tune now and then, and it's important to keep morale up when you're fighting a dragon. So the goal is to blast show tunes while cleaning (or other music, but I've been on a huge showtune kick lately) and to make music. I'm not putting a numbers goal on that one (which isn't SMART) but the idea is before I start killing time on unproductive things, stop myself and really think about playing an instrument instead. And speaking of killing time unproductively... Screen Time: One of the dangers of handling dragon treasure is that is starts to corrupt. The best way to combat this is to fill your mind with good things, unlike mindless phone games and doomscrolling. This is me recommitting to my goal of only using my phone for calls or texts after 5. I find myself reaching for my phone in the evenings because I feel too fried for anything else, but even though it seems to be the least tiring option, it is insidiously draining and leaves me feeling even more incapable of applying myself to other things. The idea is, by taking that off the table, I'll be forced to return to other hobbies like music or crochet, that may take more willpower to start, but which in the end prove to be truly restorative in the way that mindless consumption can never be. And to circle back around to decluttering, both of these bonus goals will be greatly helped by cleaning up so I don't have to wade through so much stuff to get to my trombone, yarn, etc, etc.

Ch1 saw me trying to get back into the groove of things, and trying to find a new baseline. Plus some agonising over work/living situation stuff. I do have some 'maintenance' habits I'm going to try to keep on for this challenge, and while they're important to me (and they will help to work towards my quarterly and annual goals), they are not the focus for this challenge. But for the sake of my own reference: - daily BUJO & check ins - C25k 3x, weights 3x each week (plus whatever physio has assigned) - hit daily protein goals, either with meal prep or protein shake liquid days, or both; + staying hydrated - Sun Salutations in the morning, & eating breakfast within 1hr of waking up - bedtime alarm to go to bed at a reasonable time (which, tonight, I've already failed at smh) and no reading in bed! What I'm really focusing on this challenge is... My 'daily declutter' goals haven't worked in the past. I feel stuck in a rut. And I am overwhelmed by the lack of organisation in my space. Enough is enough, let's treat this thing like a job. I will declutter for no less than 25hrs a week this challenge. No more than 40hrs. By the end of the challenge I hope to at least have MY stuff in some semblance of order. And then I can step back and reassess, to see how I'd like to tackle the rest of the house. If I finish my stuff early (guess we'll see, after 100+hrs), I'll get started on the guest bedrooms (aka. my bro/sis' old rooms), so I can 'move' into that side of the house. I'll take the opportunity to listen/watch some CreativeLive (online courses) stuff at the same time, since I rarely need to focus much on those, and that saves me from making up excuses/distractions of figuring out what content I want to consume. __________ __________ Feb 07 - When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. - William Arthur Ward

I made a plan for 2022 and I’m working at crossing everything off the list! I like lists. I’m hoping that as I complete things off my big list that I will gain happiness and peace of mind. Everything in this challenge works towards that. Main Quests > Lose 5lbs (264.8lbs) > Track calories daily (1800-1950cal) > On work days, take 2 breaks to get up and move for 2-5 minutes > Play time with Sizzle once per week Mini Quests > Finish my 3 commissions [Week 0-1: Golden Pony, Week 2-3: Monty, Week 4-5: Percy] > Fill cement hole in basement (1/5 house sell tasks) > Finish filling laundry shelf bins Last weigh-in: 269.8lbs Challenge Progress Lose 5lbs: ◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️ Commissions: 🐊◻️◻️ Cement hole: ◻️ Laundry shelf: ◻️ Weigh Ins

Happy First Day of AUTUMN! (North Hemisphere - Happy First Day of Spring to ya'll Southerners!). So life has me starting a new job! I finished my Internship (basically cried in the end with people not wanting to see me go). Trying a job in Security (because Money... it pays more than any Janitorial job, but will have to stay grounded). My mom and step-dad getting married on October 9th, we moving out of the apartment by Halloween. A great time to make new habits as life goes into chaos... but a calm can be seen for the Holidays (honestly see myself working on the Holidays this year... because Overtime!) I have been LOVING NF Prime, (the Journey App) and had a realization of what are "baby steps." Small goals you can keep up for the next 3 years even on shitty days.... I have taken a weight off myself because I remind myself daily. My small things now will help make the best step better. I actually think I'm in the right mindset to back at getting NF Coaching, but this year instead of buying a couple months I want to save up for the whole subscription. So seeing if I can keep up the momentum for myself and see how that goes, as I save up. The only issue I have with NF's Journey App, is the continuing habits after the quest. So why I'm here, to help keep the momentum up. Currently my character is at level 28 after 1 month and half. I've decided to not step on the scale until Halloween, just to check in. Small changes make small changes.... The Scale only says so much. Now to the habits. Nutrition Habits I feel I have: ⭐Intentional eating is coming out, not a burden more of coming out when I eat food I know I want to sit down and enjoy (and gives my bedroom and car a break from the crumbs. ⭐Intentional on Drinking Calories...(Finally accepted Diet Drinks when I do want Soda, or intentional at home cold brew with cream at home). Idk if the weight is falling off, but I've made it a goal some days just to drink zero calories (or order Small... and noticing how big they are). ⭐Read Labels for Calories and Serving Size... Been intrigued by how this shifts how much I eat when I acknowledge both... Habits I will Be Working on! Meditation - Been working on this one for awhile, right now it just involves me turning on a chanting video that has me get out of my head before falling asleep (just listening to it, grounds me like crazy where I have listened to the whole hour without realizing_ NF Planning A Meal- Planning out Meals the Next Day NF No 2 in a Row - Enjoy my treat/rest, make the next option better! NF Walk - I'm at 7 mins currently (found a lap in the front of my house that works perfectly for this in the morning). Morning Routine After Walk - Making the goal to work out in the morning, so first a walk than breakfast/shower/getting life together (I work at 3 pm - 11 pm now). NF Dailies - A daily goal that the NF Journey gives will note here if I did it. YNAB - Check in on my budget transitions, bonus when I reconcile! Side Quest - Post daily, work on Konmaring my room (still working on this...) Yesterday's Results/Template: 9/21/2021 NF Walk (7 mins) 🍁Done after work Morning Routine after Walk - 🍁 Went to On the Job Training for 7-3, was presentable (can see why this shift would be appealing but meh). NF Plan Tomorrow's Meal 🍁 (Breakfast and Lunch was planned and made) NF "No 2 in a Row": (didn't start) NF Daily 🍁 Was "plan a meal", I planned out a Dairy Queen run when I couldn't say no to mom before driving out there (and ate it at the table when I got home). Post daily! 🍁 Konmarie? No... just not a day. Now trying not to eat more than 1 serving of cookies... if I'm hungry I'll batch cook

NEW CHALLENGE TIME! Due to recent and upcoming events, I have to change my priorities for a while. The main reason for this change is that I’m aiming to move out and live entirely by myself for the first time in June. Other than that, I have a wedding at the end of March, my 30th birthday at the end of this challenge (YAY), and my coworker invited me to her daughter’s quinceanera in June (for which I need to buy a dress ). I’m sure more things will pop up along the way - I’ll have to take them as they come. With the shift in priorities, and having looked back on what worked and what didn’t last challenge, I’m doing a bit of an overhaul. Back in my early NF challenge days I used a point system, and that’s what I’m going back to. It gives me a little wiggle room to tailor minor goals to whatever my schedule is each week, while also keeping up with my main goals. All tracker info and updates will live in the post below this one. ><><><><><><><><>< Self care Dragon Journal: This will be staying the same. It can be anything from a few words to a few pages, I just need to get something out in order to manage my stress level. 4x per week. Declutter: I want to start my almost-spring cleaning. This includes going through clothes, re-organizing, decluttering, and purging stuff I don’t want/need/use. I’ve made a list of general tasks to complete in my tracker throughout the course of the challenge. Financial Dragon The goals: cut spending, save more, pay down debt, and sell anything I don’t need or want. Finances are going to be a big deal from here on out, so I’m making it the main focus. Spending/saving: I want to live on my own, and I’m stubborn enough to find a way to make it work. Sure, having roommates makes apartment living more affordable, but I’m genuinely sick of dealing with other people’s shit (can you tell I’m a little salty...lol). I get more stress from it than anything else, so I’m determined to do it on my own even if it means becoming a hermit and pinching my pennies. I’d also like to start on the path towards homeownership. In order to get on track for both of these, I need to see exactly where my money is going so I’m going to be tracking everything in a notebook. I’m not excited for this process, but it needs to happen. From there I can cut out unnecessary spending, be thrifty, and save, save, save the rest. Debt: Between the remainder of my car loan and two credit cards, the combined total of my debt is less than 10k. Not terrible, but not great either. I want to begin by paying down the higher interest debt that I’ve accumulated - the two cards. To do this, I can go one of two ways - 1) One card has a much lower balance on it, so I put more money towards it and pay that one off first. When that is done, I can put a larger monthly sum towards the other card. 2) If I can find a low or zero interest card to transfer both balances onto, then I’ll only have one payment per month instead of 2. Having the low or zero interest would be a HUGE help too, as I’d actually be paying the balance down. I want to look more into option 2, as interest is the real killer here. I’m going to do some research to see if that’s a possibility for me, and what options I have if it is. In the meantime, I’m going to work on option 1. Once these cards are done, I’ll go back to paying a larger sum each month towards my car until that’s gone too. Sell: Part of my self care goal is to declutter via almost-spring cleaning. In addition to throwing away and donating, I want to post any eligible items for resale online in order to make a little extra cash. Another thing I can try is to dig into my surplus of unused crafting supplies and make stuff to sell on etsy or wherever. Not sure how much luck I’ll have with that, but worse come to worst I’ll donate them. Health Dragon Diet: I’ll be continuing to cut down on soda this challenge as well. I’m not totally cutting it out yet, but that will come. Fitness: Workout 3x per week, though with less specificity as to what kind of routine I need to do. Last time around I wanted to stick with beginner bodyweight and/or kettlebell workouts, buuuut I don’t like to confine myself to a box. As long as I’m purposefully getting exercise one way or another, it counts. Misc. Dragon(s) There are a number of things I want to do outside of my main goals that I may not be able to do consistently every week or are only one-time events. Reading, photography, crafty stuff, updates, etc. They’re going here. Crafting: My mom asked me to crochet her some dish cloths, and I want to get those done before this challenge is out so I can ship them to her. Included in this category will be crafting things for an etsy shop or something of the like. Reading: I recently started a book called The Joy of Less, which is about minimalism and decluttering. I thought it would be a good thing to read while I go through my cleaning process. Photography: A continuation from last challenge, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with it regularly as I’d previously planned. I still need to find new editing software, but otherwise I’d like to get a few shoots in. Updates: Aiming for 2 per week overall, preferably on Mondays and Thursdays. I’ll try to be better about following other challenges as well; I know I wasn’t super on top of that last time.

this will be a lot more updated over the days. Goal 1: Allocate time and use it wisely writing on my thesis. Goal 2: at least 2 muscle up, and 2 focused handstand training pr week. Goal 3: Get my habit back of daily meditation, pranayama and arm balance work. 5 minute of each pr day is enough, more is better Goal 4: Get rid of at least one thing that clutters a day on average.

HELLOOOOO MY ASSASSINSSSSSS! So, I have decided to go light on exercise related goals and take on a bit of a personal boss-battle this round, MY RIDICULOUSLY CLUTTERED BEDROOM. I seriously have SO MUCH clothing in particular. PILES of clothes ALL THE PILES, and as I think "hmm it would be cool to maybe think about dating again sometime" I also look at my room and think "GOOD GOD I AM NOT BRINGING A DUDE BACK HERE EVER ACK." I need to be a damn adult and actually prioritize my time for cleaning and decluttering! Step one shall be wardrobe and if I get that done this challenge I will update and move on to another part of the room! BOSS BATTLE - TRASH HEAP BOSS BATTLE SUB GOALS: STEP 1 - Gather all random clothes piles in my room into one big pile STEP 2 - Sort giant pile into 3 piles - LOVE IT/KEEP, NOT SURE/TRY ON, and TRASH/DONATE I'll add more sub-goals here as I think of them! GOAL 2 - Cardio! I totally failed at this one last round WOOPS. My goal for this one is cardio at least 4x a week. If that is just 5 min of jump roping that's still something! (I'd actually like to aim for a 5 min of jump roping every day goal. but I was to start smaller/less days and if I happen to do every day then yay. This also leaves room to work this around my rather busy regular exercise schedule. I'm keeping it super basic for now with just the 2 goals unless I think of something small and manageable to add in here!

Hey Druids, I'm joining the Circle this month, had a change of plans from my Monk activities due to injury, and also just general stress and need for self-care and things, and it feels like this is the place to be. Hello! The name of my post is the Utada Hikaru song featured in Kingdom Hearts, it really seems to suit what I need in my life right now: Simplicity in a hectic life, and clean pure eating and living to treat my body right and calm the heck down. Without getting into detail, 2 small kids, full time job (including drama there out of my control), and just life making it hard to calm down and take care of myself. Adding my wrist injury to the mix, it's very frustrating dealing with a partially immobilized arm when I need to do do do so much for the household and family. Hoping for things to get better on that front after I start going to PT this week. Aaaaaand....the quests in a nutshell: 1. Feeding the Body: Clean whole food 6 days (I do have a definition for this in mind, basically unprocessed stuff, will post later), minus the Friday morning treat with my son, minus vacation. "Treat day" is not gorge day, treat it like a regular sort of person not struggling with eating issues would eat. 2. Feeding the Soul: Me-time: A nice bath, sit down to an art project/creative endeavor, meditate, etc. Soul-feeding activity 1x a week. Outdoors/Activity: Stay home and spend time in the yard, OR go out for an out-in-nature endeavor one weekend day per week, minus vacation. Bonus (but not optional)Practice 5 Animals Qigong DVD finally. (hopefully my injury doesn't get in the way of this one too much, and it's a soul feeding activity I haven't gotten "around to" ) 3. Simplifying life 1: Budget - Save money by not making unnecessary purchases this month (minus vacation). Use things I have rather than buying more. Getting coffee out 1x (no more than 2) week (minus vacation). Buying meals out (1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner) 1x/week (minus vacation) 4. Simplifying life 2: Declutter, etc. Perform one "Round Tuit" (when I get a round tuit) duty per week. This may take the form of taking a solid hour block of time devoted only to getting things done at the house that are put off. Organizing the cupboard, clothes, sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom LOL, SOMETHING This challenge is devoted to living a better life and fixing things that have been neglected.

I'm still pondering my exact goals but I am looking at something like this: Drinks water - DRINK MORE WATER. Aim for finishing two 16 oz water cups at work and 16 more oz in the evening (so 16 oz x 3 minimum per day!) I could probably also bump up my usual 8oz glass with my pills in the morning to be a 16 oz if I want to be extra! Does cardio - I have not done SHIT for cardio lately except dance and when my trainer decides to make me do HIIT every now and then. Which consequently HIIT feels terrible because my body is like WTF ARE YOU DOING, DUDE?! Cardio 3x per week. This can be as basic as going for a lunch walk to doing an HIIT video. (I'll count dance in this area unless we are doing something super mellow and slow and flowy that doesn't get my heart rate up!) THIRD GOAL OF MYSTERY - Tracks calories? Grip strength? Pull up stuff? HMMMMM. TBD! I am leaning towards doing grip again because it still sucks and my intuitive eating plan seems to be going well; I'm losing fat while not being totally dead for workouts. If I feel that "YOU NEED TO EAT MORE" hanger and grumpiness I make myself eat more and I generally eat more on training days/ days after training days and less when I haven't had time to get in workouts. Life Goal: Declutter - need to decide on specifics but I am thinking I need to require minimum of 30 min declutter per week. But I am almost thinking if I make myself do smaller chunks vs one big chunk all together that will help it become more of a habit. Hmm. Basically I've been BUSY so what declutter progress I had made is now all gone and my room looks terrifying. (admittedly I did intentionally sort of spread around my clothing piles to make my room look ransacked when we were getting the house fumigated so if anyone broke in they'd come in and be like NAAAAH. Hahahahahaha.)

IM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK. I can't believe it's really only been a month or so. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. Do you ever have one of those times where it feels like your life has significantly changed in some way even though it hasn't been that long and on the surface things are more or less the same? Yeah..having one of those times! I guess a really stressful year ending with a trial of LITERAL FIRE and then my cat randomly dying is the sort of stuff that changes a person? Oh, life! I am pretty happy with where things are as far as exercise stuff so my only specific exercise related goal is going to be FLEXIBILITY! I am fairly flexible just because aerial and dance both tend to include some flexibility work but I don't spend any dedicated stretching time and I'd really like to. For other things I am currently doing aerial once a week, lifting/rings training with trainer once a week, and at least one more day of wacky bodyweight at home. I want to get back to running and walking more as well but the air is still a little smoky so I hesitate to do anything to increase need to breathe while outdoors! ANYWHO! Goals! Goal 1 - Life Balance: Time has shown I am really good at overbooking myself and I need to not do that! Here are some small goals to try and keep me reeled in: A. LAZY SUNDAY in full effect for month of January (don't you dare make Sunday plans, self!!) B. Lazy weekday evening - at least one evening during the week without plans or a class . This will likely be Wednesday evenings but flexible if something comes up c. Assess Stress Level Once per week - I need to consciously assess how I am feeling about life to determine if I am overdoing it. Lets say this shall currently be something to think about on Sundays since I am making that a designated rest day! Goal 2 - Flexibility: Spend at least 10 min a day stretching (this can be throughout the day or all at once if I forget.) I'd like to get to where I can clasp my hands behind my back again which I haven't been able to do in YEAAAARS. And this has the very practical application that it will help me with keeping sunscreen on my giant tattoo that is now faded way more than I'd like because of negligence with SPF. Goal 3 - Declutter: Overall goal is to remove all excess clothes and random stuff from my floor by the end of this challenge. In practical application I will shoot for at least 30 min a week of declutter work, or alternately make sure I do at least ONE thing per day to work towards this. (If I put a clothing item a day into a to donate bag that's a lot of clothes not on my floor!) This is all for now...I AM pondering adding a lipstick goal since I still never wear any of my collection and this worked for me to get myself actually using eyeshadow. Maybe I will wait until February/ give myself an easy round this time though!!

BEHOLD the challenge in which I pretty much do exactly the same goals as last challenge, but with NEW silly pictures. (SO FANCY!) JUST KIDDING! I added one goal that is totally new! 日本語, bitches! :D! GOAL 1- STRENGTH Strength training at least 3x per week! this can be bodyweight training, aerial, or lifting. OPTIONS, YO. I am especially determined to get my chin up back some day soooo yeah ALL the hanging and pulling and ab work! GOAL 2 - RUNNING Running 1x per week! I sucked at actually getting around to this last round so sticking to aiming for once per week and not ramping up just yet. GOAL 3 - MACROS Track macros on weekdays for duration of challenge! I am happy with keeping track of these during weekdays. It helps me make sure I am getting enough protein, and since I am getting used to seeing about how much food I need to eat during the weekdays I still mostly stick to that on weekends even if I skip tracking on those days. GOAL 4 - JAPANESE OH LOOK I ADDED A GOAL. SO FANCY! Study Japanese every day for at least 15 min (at bare minimum this means doing Anki flashcards due for the day.) I am SO MUCH BETTER at knowing how to develop habits and get better at things than I was back when I was getting my BA in Japanese. I never really did enough work on reading because "it was haaaard waaaah" and go figure I always sucked at reading and it held me back on getting better. Also just in generally I did not do enough practice on the route to fluency and then I just was like whateverrrrr I am out of practice guess I will just stop working on this at all. But yo, I LIKE studying languages and it is super fun and who cares if I don't plan to move to Japan or something; it's still a fun skill to have and to work on. Like...I do aerial and I'm not planning on joining a circus yo, so my whole "meh but it isn't useful enough" excuse is dumb. Also, I occasionally see jobs that want native English speakers fluent in Japanese and I'm always like THAT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU DUDE BUT NOOOO.... Anyway, LOTS OF REASONS. DO THE THING! WOOT! Life Goal: GET SHIT DONE! GET THE THINGS DONE WOOHOO. I copied over my list from last round and will add to it as I see fit. My goal is to get ONE of these things on my list done per week. LIST OF LISTYNESS: Gather 1 bag of stuffed animals or clothes for donations or to trash because no one wants it (depending on the stuff!) I gathered 3 total! Yay! Move box of books into the closet. Declutter the damn floor so you can actually move the desk and the AC unit and vacuum and stuff. - partial! water bottle graveyard is gone! Disassemble your old desk. Trash/Get rid of old desk. Move air conditioner to correct spot once desk is gone. Set up new air conditioner once moved. Move furniture around in more useful configuration. (Even moving one thing or coming up with some schemes will count for this.) Come up with better way to organize clothes and make things more accessible (this will also be a big process.) Deal with water-bottle graveyard in my car -- partially! Reseal leaking window on the studio appt DO TAXES/ Do house finances/rental income info spreadsheet for me and brother Come up with more expanded flea prevention scheme AND enact (last year was flea hell and it looks to be getting hot even earlier this year. DO NOT WANT. I want to do stuff NOW rather than wait until I actually see the little fuckers. I already started the kittehs back up on spot treatment, but I think I also want to upgrade to a better flea comb and maybe do a house treatment with borax..which will be a pain because I have to keep the cats out of the space to use that so I am thinking a room by room process and locking them elsewhere will be the way to go.)

Adventhur kitteh reportin 4 duty! So, one again I have a challenge without any planned travel currently. What I do have is a lot of errands planned. As in a lot planned for me. I don't know about other people. But here is a list of the errands I must do or would be very good if I did: (EDIT: BOLD MEANS DONE) Real estate agent meeting (Mar 14) Hair dyeing (Mar 15) Second real estate agent meeting (Mar 15) Private showing (Mar 16) Insurance visit (Mar 17) Rest of electrician visit Fix the leak visit Get grass load to recycle station Re-schedule tattoo Vaccination appointment Contraception appointment I have a lot things planned for this challenge, so like everyone who's followed me knows, that means something will implode and I have a sneaking suspicion I might have to delay everything for a couple of weeks depending on how fast I work... (I'll get to that below my plan.) Oh, who am I and why amz I an advenchur kitteh? Because I'm currently hurling myself towards becoming nomadic. This means I have a large host of things to do: Declutter like a kitteh from hell. I need to reduce my belongs down to a backpack and perhaps a suitcase, plus a couple of boxes of stuff I hope to leave with my parents and another couple of boxes of books I can leave with a friend. Do appointments like a boss. Everything from appointments I need for travel (vaccinations), selling my house, telling family about my plans, bank visits to fix with finances, and having contractors come and fix broken things in the home I am selling. Do a lot of other prep for travel such as reading books, distilling info from books, making lists for that info and other. Eventually I will also need to decide on my first stops and research them for the different things I need. Basically, my list of stuff to do is huge, at the same time I don't want to completely quite my self-improvement challenge goals (or objectives as I call them). However, I'm starting to see I am between a rock and a hard place. More on that below my plans. Kitteh haz 100% rulez! Some person I am right now too lazy to look up said: "100% is a breeze. 99% is a bitch." What the saying means is that it is much easier if you commit 100% to something. If you will do it with no or few exceptions, then the change will be easier than if you try for moderation or part effort. For example: if you decide to quit sugar eventually, you will fight yourself every day when you try to decide how much sugar you can have that day and you will constantly use will power. If you on the other hand decide to quit fully with no exceptions or very easy to define exceptions, then there is no choice and therefore no will power drain; you do the thing. So here are my 100% rules this challenge and I'll admit most of them are new and I am currently breaking one of them, although I meant to follow them during zero week. (I need to stop staying up until oh-dark o-clock, because sleep deprivation certainly makes me very willing to be lax with my rules.) Morning alarm at 8 every morning. (With the intent on getting up at that hour, with some leeway especially early in the challenge, say zero week or so) Nourishment every day, preferably in the morning. (If I hit it right before bed, I'll be somewhat irritated at myself, but the point is to not miss.) No internet before lunch. (This is the one I am currently breaking. This will be more of a "working towards getting this to 100%". My brain needs a lot of new habits to make it work.) Deal with some dish washing while cooking lunch. (Unless I have no time to spare while cooking lunch as in I'm doing something with cooking for the full cooking duration.) Oh... I forgot the two I've been following for a while now: Buy no soda. Buy max 1 sweet per grocery shopping trip (or any other time I can shop sweets). Edit: Another 100% rule As long as there is no ice on the sidewalks and road: Movement every day. (Walking is my favorite which is why this goal disappears if the ice streets come back.) Kitteh haz daily needz! Now over to my objectives. These would be more like my typical challenge goals, but since I put so many new 100% rules in place (new format for me) these are reduced. Plus I have more below... Daily intentional movement Daily nourishment Daily journaling about a space/setting Daily writing, minimum ~250 words The two in italics I just realized I can't start yet. Perhaps I can start them during Week 1, but it depends on what the next few days look like and if I'll go with a certain plan that is starting in my brain... Kitteh improovez evrywhere! So during Nourish Yourself, a course from Kate Marolt (I usually link but you can easily find it through her website or googling (I'm assuming)), I learned that there is a more granular way to divide up your life than body, mind, and soul. Although I like that three part, for me it lacks the external things that affect us and that we need to deal with. Basically, while we need to care for yourself, we also have to deal with the outside world, so I always found "body, mind, soul" lacking in that. The eight areas are: physical (body), mental, emotional, spiritual, environment (not as in being as green as possible (necessarily), but the environment you spend time in), finances, creativity, and relationships. So below are projects I have in each of those areas that I want to hit this challenge. Some of them are directly related to things I've already mentioned about, some are not. Finances Sell a specific stock (didn't sell, so need to try again (asked for too high a price)) Buy a specific stock Write/re-draft/choose story to send to WotF Submissions (WotF and potentially more) Work on Submissions sheets Do taxes Finish off Financial plan v 1.0, March 31 Send X logo reminder email Send X email asking for review links for book Send Y email about copyediting, choose a story for her to do Take picture with me and book a, and share on fb (use in blog post later on) Book b will release, March 31. Do something? (Release date was moved by almost a month) Take action on book a blog post and update of website? Transcribe notes from Master class on file structure Spirituality Read about all tarot cards, March 31 Chase down missing deck (either fully done yesterday or partly done depending on if I decide to try more, plus I need to make sure I do get the refund) Physical Cook one paleo meal Mental Finish Nourish Yourself Call vaccination clinic about appointment to discuss what I need and what I have and what I need to boost Call (9:00-9:30) for contraceptive appointment plus examination, plus potentially STD check Can I reschedule tattoo appointment? How much healing did it need before I can swim in pool/ocean (min 2 weeks)? What do I need to do to retake depth workshop in June/July? Schedule what I need to do to retake depth in June/July If I have time, start organization lecture during challenge Get bankkort Visa from bank OR other travel card — Tried this last day of the challenge but the online application form isn't working for me Creativity Create start-writing-ritual Write New validation on Price of Magic Cut walk-to-story some way in Family Is… Environment Finish reflection tasks from to-do list Take a load to charity Recycle cardboard from side room Read a book from the “maybe keep” pile Emotional Watch 1-3 new things Read 1 new book Finish The Big Leap Work on stuff from The Big Leap Relations Call 2-4 people (1/2-4) Finish call list Expand email list (anthology people) Email M (about house sitting) and L (about talking to her daughter about website design) Call K *bold means I've done them Kitteh ned 2 rest! I have two full rest days planned. This is to make sure I WILL take those rest days beyond any rest I take when I feel I need it or really want it. The dates are: March 28 and April 7. Those are evenly spread in the middle of the challenge (discounting zero week). I don't remember how I decided on two days, but after I did I then basically divided up four weeks into three blocks as evenly as possible. Kitteh attackz challenge! ~*~*~*~*~*~ HERE COMEZ THE POSSIBLE DISRUPTION. Today in a few hours, a real estate agent will come and we'll talk about selling my house. I realized that if I want to show the house, I have a crapton to do. I'm a sloooooow mover, so I still have a heck of a lot of boxes still unpacked from moving in here in Dec 2015. I have also started my decluttering efforts, so my stuff are more everywhere than before and in ways that aren't so easy to conceal or hide away. So... If I want to show my house asap and actually give a good enough impression that I could get some good money for it... I need to deal with my stuff. Because there are already things I can't deal with that will lessen the impression (an out of shape garden, broken gate, broken lawn due to heating system change, and more). And to mitigate the bad impression, I need to make sure the interior looks as well as possible despite changes in one basement room (washing room plus the place with the heating system). So... I just realized I might need to disband any challenge goals or much of anything but taking care of my mess of stuff until I can show this home off to a pretty enough degree. This will take more than a weekend of fixing. Part of it I can just fix enough to look good or hide the worst offenders in storage places in the basement. But I have to do a lot because there are areas and things I can't fix myself. So I might have to spend up to two weeks doing this, and that is only if I do it in a focused way and don't let myself get distracted with other things. Advenchur kitteh out.

Maybe referring to the upcoming move as a cataclysm isn’t the best of starts, after all there is no Deathwing coming to tear my world apart, but right now that’s how it feels. My life will be upended, and I will have to build anew. And that’s great, but the build up to it is so far more stress than I’m able to properly handle, and trying to tell myself that it’s ok, that it’ll be fine, is not making things any better. Stress is my dragon, it is having an increasingly negative impact on my life, and I need to get it under control before it gets any worse. And that’s what brings me to the druids. For this challenge I’m keeping things as simple as I can in an effort to regain my calm. The Goals 1. Meditation - Daily. I’d like to figure out a time that works best, and I’d like to try out a few different variations. 2. Declutter - Also daily. No matter how big or small, some part of the mountain of stuff I’ve accumulated has to vanish daily. Ditch or donate, it doesn’t matter. Apart from anything else, it will make moving across the country easier. 3. Sleep - Eight hours per night. The only exception is to be when I’m scheduled to work an opening shift after a back shift, an unfair and underhand tactic work uses which leaves me roughly nine hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next. 4. Stretching and burpees - Another daily one. Stretching is to be done on rising and right before bed. Burpees are to be done throughout the day, and the amount of burpees done must always exceed the number of burpees done the previous day. 5. Walk - My current mileage is between 11 and 16 miles a week, depending on how many days I’m scheduled to work. My aim is to bring this up to 20 miles per week. >>> Sidequest: Stress Relief - Anything that takes my fancy, really. However anything I pick up must be continued for the duration of the challenge, otherwise I’m not really going to get much of an idea at how good it is for relieving said stress. >>> Sidequest: Socialise - Post daily, no matter how small the update. I’m going to utilise a technique I found particularly effective during the last challenge, and that is that I will post by 8:30am every morning (on my days off and when I’m working back shifts, that is). I’m not sure what the penalty for not doing so will be yet, but last time just saying I’d do it provided sufficient motivation to get me out of bed on time. And that’s it. Simple, fairly loosely structured, and hopefully effective.

Last challenge I had some mental health issues towards the end and so the last week was a bit of a wash. The quests I set for myself were doable, though, in the early weeks, and I'm aiming for similar goals this time around. GOAL 1: LIFTING Hitting all my workouts, and doing them to the best of my ability. I'm up to Rank 1B in the Barbell Battalion for the Rebel Strength guide, which has me aiming for 4 workouts per week. I'm aiming for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Metric: hitting all workouts Goal: 16/16 workouts completed GOAL 2: EATING I'm still aiming at prepping and eating my breakfasts and lunches, with a view to paleo meals. I've also got an underlying theme of quitting sugar, because I've found that when I eat much less sugar than usual, I feel much better. I'm trying to do it slowly but surely, so as to not accidentally slip up and eat a whole tub of ice cream. Hard to do, but I'm working on it. Metric: eating all prepped meals for the week, and not eating sugar Goal: 40/40 prepped meals eaten Additional goal: 28/28 days without sugar (this is lofty, and probably unattainable - but I want to track my sugar intake and see how I go with one or two or more days per week without sugar, or with minimal sugar) GOAL 3: YOGA I have really bad back problems, because I have mild scoliosis and a terrible posture. Instead of trying to do one large chunk of yoga per week, I'm instead aiming this time for five to ten minutes of yoga/stretching per day, ideally just after I wake up or just before I go to bed. Metric: doing yoga every day Goal: 28/28 days that I've practiced yoga GOAL 4: DECLUTTERING Still working on reorganising my books. My goal here is to put up a book to sell on eBay or Carousell every week. This is to help both with culling and organising my book collection and with saving money for my big US trip in September/October Metric: books put on the internet to sell, and complete organisation of fiction collection of books Goal: 4/4 books up to sell additional goal: 4/4 sessions of organising books GOAL 5: WRITING Mostly my goal here is to finish my uni semester well, to finish off my assessments and to go to classes. I also want to spend at least one short session writing for fun every week. Metric: assessments completed, and fun writing sessions completed Goal: 4/4 assessments for university completed additional goal: 4/4 fun writing sessions completed

I realize today is the first day, but I am still ironing things out. Regardless, I will be here and I am going to do whatever it takes to get back onto the health train. More to come!

Alright! New term, new challenge, new home! Well, I've still seven weeks before we even get the place, but it's a pretty big deal. I'm going to keep this challenge pretty short this time though. Exercise: Grease the Groove: Pull ups and dips have been added to my routine, but they are not proceeding as quickly as I would like. And, on my pull ups, I'm not quite getting to the bar. I feel like I'm getting the full range of motion in my elbow (i.e. I can't flex my arm any more). Maybe I need to widen my grip a bit to allow my back to move more. (Maybe I need to film it?) Plan? Grease the groove. Pull ups and dips before and after every sword class (which means I need to go twice a week), as well as at the gym (now that I have time for three days a week there too). Rest Days: 2 (separated) sets of Weeks 1, 2: 3 Week 3: 4 Week 4: 5 Gym days: 2 sets of 5 (or exhaustion) 1 set to exhaustion If I start the challenge this Saturday, that gives me five days a week, for four weeks, so twenty days. Standard school grading on this then. I need to be getting my chest to the bar each time by the end of the challenge! Diet: Frutta ed Vedura: I did alright last time. But this time, more! I need to get a couple servings of fruit and at least one of vegetables every day. Also strict school grading here! Maybe I should make some carbonated fruit like in this gif. Life: Rasettare: We're moving and I need to get rid of stuff. So, this is a checklist of things to pitch (or give away): Clothes: I've a fair amount I don't wear anymore. Maybe I can get some dough for them too. Comics: Get rid of those extra books that I have lying around. Find some I don't care about and sell them/get store credit. Something! Papers: Clean up desk, get rid of papers that are lying around. Notebooks and Sketchbooks: Pitch old school notebooks. Find something to do with that multitude of sketchbooks I have. Games, CD's and DVD's: get rid of cases of the ones to keep, and get rid of ones that I don't want. Get storage materials for the GameBoy and DS cartridges (recommendations welcome) Toys: Try to see if I can part with any of the toys we have. (Probably, but also probably not much) Additionally: add to Delicious Library all the media that I am keeping. Bonus points: Creatività: I was really wanting to create after C2E2! So, I need to draw or write or practice ʻukulele more. Ideas to kick this off would be appreciated,

Hi Everyone! My name is Ash. This is my first challenge as a Druid, and I'm hoping to set up a semi-permanent home here. I'm 25 years old, and I have a lot going on in my life. Too much actually. I work a full time job that is draining my soul away in order to pay the bills, and three (yes, you read that right, three) part time jobs to help pay down debt and save for my upcoming wedding. I volunteer with 5 community groups on a regular basis. I have a home with a partner, a dog, and three cats that needs constant attention. I'm getting married in October, and my family is making the wedding planning incredibly stressful. Needless to say, I've lost touch with myself. I feel like I'm just running from one commitment to the next, and I'm certainly not making enough time for myself. I've been caught in a really negative rut recently, and I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with my lack of self-care and needing to reconnect with myself. So, for this challenge, I'm going to focus on making things better for myself. Goal One: Declutter this house! My house if full of crap that I don't need. We moved in May, and there are boxes that we haven't opened, and I have no idea what is in them. My goal is to get rid of (donate, sell, trash) one thing for every day of the challenge. Hopefully this will also translate into our house getting a little bit cleaner. Right now, I can't find my kitchen table, or my counters, or my bathroom floor. It's disgusting in here. Goal Two: Drink water. Coffee has been my life-sustaining force over the past few months, but I know it's wreaking havoc on my body. I'm constantly tired and I get caffeine headaches regularly. It's time to focus on getting some more water into my life again. My goal is to drink 1200mL of water every day. Goal Three: Yoga I have a gym membership that I use maybe once a month. I know they offer yoga classes, so my goal is to try and get to at least three yoga classes during the challenge. Bonus points if I do some yoga at home. Goal Four: Meditate Mindfulness is something that I really need to be working on. My relationships with others have suffered because I've been spending so much time thinking about all of the things that I need to do. I haven't been taking care to spend time for myself, just being in the moment. My goal is to spend some time in meditation every day. It doesn't need to be huge sessions, but just setting aside a few minutes, whenever I get a chance. As an aside, I'd like to spend some time getting seedlings ready for the garden. I'm not making this a goal, because I feel like it adds pressure to get it done, but it is something that I would really love to do over the next week. I have everything that I need, I just need a bit of time to get my hands dirty. Feedback is appreciated! Hopefully this goes well.

I tried last challenge and I'll try again. This year is mostly about making habits and sticking to them, keeping up with the habits that I have made and basically trying not to fall completely off the wagon. Goal 1: Everyday movement Walking - a k a day - one kilometre (or more) per day. Bonus if it's not to get somewhere but just for fun. Cycling - to (and hopefully from) work - twice a week Goal 2: Strength One strength workout per week. This can be a strength focused class at my gym, a bodyweight workout or my own hodgepodge. Goal 3: Nutrition Paleo breakfast 5 x a week Paleo meal prep 1 x a week (and eat that food without letting it go to waste!) Goal 4: Declutter Still working on my floor.

New challenge, not so new goals... But hey, constant dripping wears away the stone. Last challenge I was somewhat impaired because a nasty virus sent me adrift between bed and sofa, leaving occasional clear days for work and bare necessities. But I do not wish to complain. Selfcare was big, and it helped. I managed to set myself straight again with Paleo, which helped a lot, too. Mindfulness is difficult when your brain feels like a chloroformed cottonball, but then … here's to the February challenge! By the way, it is a leap year, and February has 29 days. 29 beautiful days to make the best out of. So, what will I do? Basically, resume where I left off. #1 Keep it Paleo, maybe a bit more low carb, since I found out that I feel better getting my energy NOT from carbs. #2 Yoga. Doing it on a regular basis has the power of giving me back some flexibility, it brings actually peace to my mind and I enjoy it. #3 Life balance. Work has still a way too big say in my life. There are other important things, too, which are necessary to make a person feel complete and happy and sane. #4 Working on mindfulness, every day with everything I do. Perseverance will make it happen, I hope. #5 Take decluttering to a new level. My desk works best for me with minimalistic equipment. Free myself of the unnecessary. Oh, and be more regular in poking my head in fellow nerds' threads! I am back. (imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger accent) Life is worth living. This is not just a phrase.

What in the world has happened to my life? Ok, it's not that bad. And I know what happened. Life happened. I made some significant life changes, and my diet and exercise has suffered since October. I slowly let myself stop paying attention to what I put in my mouth. I got a new great job and it's harder to get to the gym. I let myself float through the holidays doing whatever the heck I felt like. I haven't focused on myself at all. I've let my life get hectic all over again and that crap stops now. GET MY LIFE BACK: Get my diet in order. I have gained 20 lbs since my lowest, but really 15 lbs since my last reliable stable weight. I worked my ass off to get down to those weights, and I won't let it go this easily. I am doing a diet program that was written by a doctor who specializes in Insulin Resistance. Saturday nights when I have a social night and Sunday morning brunch with my friend can be my only two divergences. And I must do as good as I can on those occasions. - Follow Dr. Spencer's diet - Track my food - every. damn. day. - Do not eat things at work that I did not bring!! Strength Train Regularly. I feel better when I work out. Lifting weights brings me functional strength that helps me through life. I enjoy the gym and need the stress reduction. I have started the Unapologetically Powerful lifting program and have done two workouts so far. I like it, it challenges me. - Life weights! Aiming for the U.P. program 2x a week. Plus one "other" workout Work on Decluttering My House. I come from a long line of hoarders. I have an 1100 sq ft house and inherited a lot of junk from my parents. I don't have the space or need for a lot of this crap. I need remember that my home is not a container for my stuff, but rather a place for joy and connection. - Get rid of something significant and measureable every week! MOTIVATION "Great things will happen when you get up, dust yourself off, and go after life with Determination and Courage" PROGRESS Pass or fail each week - categories are: Food, Exercise, Decluttering Beginning Weight: 184.8 Week 1: 181.8 Week 2: 181 Week 3: 179.2 Beginning 3x8 working weights: Bench - 55 lbs. Squat - 95 lbs. Deadlift - 115 lbs. Week 1: Diet: Pass Exercise: Pass Decluttering: Pass Week 2: Diet: Pass Exercise: Pass Decluttering: Pass Week 3: Diet: Pass Exercise: Fail (2/3) Decluttering: Pass

I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things. This year is my year, and I'm going to complete as many of these four week challenges as possible. I can do it. I can, and I will. Goal 1: Declutter. I want my room to be a haven for myself, and at the moment I have too much stuff. I've divided it into sections, and for this challenge I'm focusing on the floor. I have two crates of stuff that I want to be gone so I can use the crates for different storage (Christmas stuff and craft stuff). If they're gone by the end of the challenge, it's a win. If I get my Christmas and/or craft stuff in one or both crates, it's extra credit. Goal 2: Yoga every day. I find a significant change in my mobility and joint health when I practice yoga regularly. I really find this is useful for my everyday life and my sanity. At least ten minutes of yoga every day. Goal 3: Eat a whole food based breakfast. Nutrition is the most difficult thing for me to change so I'm going to try to start the days well. Eggs and veggies, meat and veggies or a protein shake and veggies, and a green smoothie in the morning too if I can get my ass into gear. Goal 4: Get to the gym. My gym has a community building focus with lots of classes that are mostly high intensity aimed at losing fat. I want to eventually get back into lifting but for now I want to get back to the gym and start making more friends there. I want to go at least three times a week, and up to five, or work out at home three to five times a week. I have to have a caveat because I'm going to be away for the last week of the challenge. My main quest for this challenge is to lose 4% of my bodyweight, as I've also signed up for DietBet for this four weeks. I hope with my smart goals I can achieve this. I'll also be aiming to drink lots of water, get to sleep on time and write every day, as these are my goals for the year.

So this will be the last challenge of 2015. I would like very much to make it count. To make it count, I need to choose my goals wisely, and try not to put too much in too short of a time. My lower back hurts, and I have issues with my spine in the neck area (tingling fingers can tell a lot about this). So it is bad for me to not be physically active. Besides that, I feel constantly stressed and harrassed with too many things going on. Quest one: do Yoga 3 times a week, sometimes - as the flow goes - in combination with Pilates. Basically, do "Yogilates." Side track to this: log step count every day. Just logging at this time, to see where I am actually standing. Quest two: keep decluttering, because it makes me happy and clears my mind. Every day get rid of at least one item. Side track to this: keep taking St. John's Wort daily, which I started recently, hoping that it might impact my general mood towards a happier and less stressed outlook. Quest three: Doing every day something nice just for myself. Be it taking the time for a face mask, a long hot bath or just a few minutes with a cup of tea or maybe a few pages of a book before bed - anything counts, as long as it is possible to be counted as self care. Side track to this: log water intake. I do feel much better drinking enough water, but I tend to forget it on stressful days. Quest four: keep up the nice habit of storytelling time with my kids, try to record more stories. Side track to this: try to start writing down at least some of my stories and - sometimes - write down in a journal if something happened that emotionally did something to me: either make me very happy, sad, pissed off … anything. Just to get more in touch with my feelings, acknowledging them. Because, honestly, I suck at giving my emotions enough room. Side tracks will not be graded. Life Quest: find balance between work and my personal needs. I would love to one day wake up (no matter whether day off or work day) and just feel happy, rested and at ease instead of tense, worn out and unnerved.

My main life quest is to improve my body composition. In order to achieve this, I need a solid foundation upon which to build a more balanced life. My goals for this challenge focus on improving habits, routines and creating a more healthy way of life. 1. Walk! STA+1 CON+2 I have already got into the habit of walking in the evenings (avec dog) but on weekdays I sit at a desk, looking at a computer screen for 7+ hours per day and I need to take proper breaks. I will buy a timer, bring it to work, and at some point in the day I will get up and take a 5-min walking break. So look out Mordor, here I come. A = 30 or more 5-min walks B = 24-29 walks C = 18-23 walks F = 17 walks or fewer 2. Gym! STR+1 DEX+1 STA+1 CHA+1 I last worked out at the gym on 30th June 2015; then summer happened, holidays happened and this all contributed to one big gym hiatus. The hiatus has to end. I will get back to the gym and do stuff. I will have to restart gradually but I will restart. A = 18 or more workouts B = 12-17 workouts C = 6-11 workouts F = 5 workouts or fewer 3. Sugar! CON+2 WIS+1 CHA+1 I regularly consume excessive amounts of sugar, mostly in the form of chocolate, biscuits and desserts. Cravings get the better of me, causing me to mindlessly devour any sugar in sight. I will keep a check on my sugar intake and reduce the amount of added / processed sugar I consume. Naturally occurring sugars (in fruit and vegetables) are allowed for this challenge. I will treat this as a "hard hat" challenge for the whole 6 weeks, meaning I will not miss 2 or more days in a row and I will either pass or fail. Pass = never miss 2 or more days in a row Fail = miss 2 or more days in a row 4. Declutter! CON+2 WIS+2 Building on my last challenge to get organised, it is difficult to achieve a good level of organisation in life when things are cluttered. A cluttered living space leads to a cluttered mind and body. The clutter has to go. I will rid myself of 126 bits of tangible clutter over these 6 weeks. That’s an average of 3 items per day. These items will be sold, recycled, donated or gifted to friends. Actual rubbish does not count. If something is put aside for gifting or donation it will be out of the house within one week. A = Got rid of 127 items or more B = 84-126 items C = 42-83 items F = Got rid of 41 items or fewer. Starting stats: (using my home scale which I am sure is wildly inaccurate but at least will be consistently inaccurate) Weight 86.9kg Fat 33.6% Water 48.4% Muscle 31.4% BMI 30.1

Since last year, many things have happened in my life, and not all of them were pleasant. Last spring, I discovered NF, did a challenge amongst the Assassins -- and in the summer, I sort of ... disappeared. Not only from NF, but from many parts and aspects of my life I used to love and which stealthily fell behind, disappearing in the shadows. Friends, creativity, joy of life. Somehow, I didn't put up much of a fight and now I see that this was a mistake. No matter what life presents you with, there is always more to it than "just functioning." This year, I turned 49, and yes, it did make me think about the "second half of life." Second half? Who says I'm going to make it to 100 years? See, I feel that I need to change something, before it is too late. I am a mother of two, married, fighting a workaholic's fight on too many fronts at the same time, neclecting myself and those who are closest to me. This has to be changed. Better now than never. One positive thing since last year: I lost loads of weight, and I kept it off by following a very low carb lifestyle which I enjoy - much to the surprise of many. So these are my goals, listed but not ranked: #1: reconnect with friends. Due to the fact that I lived in different countries, this means digging up addresses, asking others for emails and so on. In order to reconnect, write at least two letters/ emails per week to different persons I would like to reconnect with. #2: do Yoga every day. I am not much of a gym person, and I love the fact that Yoga can easily be practised at home. Since my Yoga is sort of self-taught with a book, I signed up with NF yoga, and I would like to do two weeks Water Series A, two weeks Water Series B, and maybe - if things run really well - two weeks Fire Series A, depending on how I feel with it. #3: on "short" Yoga days, do my regular Pilates routine in addition, since it helped me a lot with some pains and ailments that come with excessive desk work. #4: before bedtime, storytelling time with my kids. They don't have much time with me, but they love it when I am not too pooped at the end of the day to read to them or to just talk about THEIR day. #5: finish one crafting project per week (I have a lot of started but unfinished stuff here…) #6: get rid of stuff that just sits around and clutters my space. I believe that "mess outside" is a symbol of "mess inside", and I need more clarity and peace of mind. Instead of junkyard, think Zen garden… I will use a method a fellow nerd inspired me to (I already have a big box in the hallway for stuff to go). Life Quest: reduce work hours, get healthy and come to a point where I can say again that I am happy with my life. Sounds like a pretty easy plan, but I would be happy if I can do it. I leave the house around 7.30am and I return earliest by 6pm. Every day. There is not much time left for anything else but work. Breaks at work I will use to follow threads, and to post. Any input is greatly appreciated! And here my grading system, days counted include weekends: #1 Writing 12 letters during challenge = A, 9 letters = B, 6 letters = C, 3 letters = D 2 or less = fail. #2 Yoga every day = A, miss one day per week = B, miss two days per week = C, miss three days per week = D, miss more than three days per week = fail #3 Pilates three times per week = A, 2 times = B, one time = C, none = fail #4 Storytelling: every day = A, miss one = B, miss two = C, miss three = D, miss more than three = fail #5 6 crating projects selected: all six done = A, five done = B, four done = C, three done = D, less than three = fail (calculated over the duration of the whole challenge) #6 Decluttering: tackling every day at least one corner, drawer or compartment in my office shelf, no matter how small. Every day get one part done = A, miss one day = B, miss tow days = C, miss three days = D, less than three days or none = fail This goes by week, and in the end I'll somehow come up with a total grade how the challenge went as a whole setup.