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Soo this happened: blood pressure 225/116 😭ending up with me in the hospital for 3 hours while they brought it back down. I am now on meds for the forseeable future. Stress 😥 + not eating correctly or sleeping well. Prayers greatly appreciated. Needless to say: this challenge will be a departure from my last two. Warrior's barracks: Not sure whether running will be happening. I am going to try to continue with: 1. Kettlebell ladders 2. The 100 Glute challenge 3. Daily Dare as I am able. I have a doc. appointment the 1st week of April & will make a solid decision on running after that. If running is a no-go, I may sub ballet-based movement instead. Room of Ritual: I need to get my house back in order so this component will focus on decluttering 15 minutes M-T-TH-F & organization; beginning with my bedroom. I have really let this get out of hand & am disgusted with myself.😤 Monk's Temple Daily prayer, memory verses, & reading plan Athenaeum Let the craftiness begin! Take time each day to be creative (at least 30 minutes) Also delving back in to Anatomy: specifically brain function. Details to follow. Wednesday is 'fun day' once I get off work. @Rookie@Elastigirl

Action absorbs anxiety. My cousin used this phrase recently, and it's a concept I apply all the time, but I'd never heard that phrase before and it's been stuck in my head ever since then. I moved away from my home of 4 years in NY a little under 2 months ago, and it's been a struggle to adjust to being in a new place. I'm staying at my boyfriend's place, but he's the only person I know here. I don't have any friends or family, and I work from home so I don't even have work people to socialize with during the day. Plus, I just had wrist surgery so I haven't been able to go to my usual activities like Aikido. I miss having friends, even just friendly acquaintances, who I could regularly see and spend time around. I miss knowing how to get around. I miss having a familiar grocery store to go to. I miss a lot of things. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I made this decision, but the struggle is still there. I've been doing a pretty good job of exploring the area and getting out. i did some yoga classes for a bit before I had the actual surgery, I've made a list of different parks and such to explore and I've gone to explore them. I've found doctors, etc. But the anxiety's obviously still there, and it builds up when I don't take enough action. So, this challenge is all about taking action. A little background -- I've been focusing on one habit per challenge this year instead of tackling a bunch of things at once: So for Challenge #9, I want to continue to take action in different categories. I'm not sure I can really call this one habit, but whatevs. 1. Fitness I can't do a whole lot with my wrist recovering, sadly including running. So instead, I want to focus on the things I can do. There are two categories. A - Walking. I get 1 point per day that I walk 60 minutes, and I get a second point for any additional 30 minute increments. B - I get one point per other fitness activity I do. I'm aiming for 4/week. I have a weekly stretch video and a yoga video (with slight modifications) that I can do. I can also do some workouts made up of squats, lunges, dead horse crunches, bicycles, flutter kicks, russian twists, etc. since none of those things should bother me too much. I'll be flexible about which ones I do. 2. Food Since I won't need any extra energy for the low intensity stuff described above, it's actually a great time to focus in on diet. If I end the day feeling like I made mostly good choices and with a net positive effect on my waistline, I get one point. If I make a good decision in a restaurant (which is a huge problem area for me) I get an extra point. 3. Work Working from home can be challenging. It's harder to get into the swing of things. I've been working on a project with very few intense deadlines, so that makes it even more challenging. I get work done, but I always sort of feel like I should do more. It's kind of embarrassing because I've always been a hard worker, but between an old manager who never assigned me work and working from home, I've somehow accidentally overridden my good habits with lazier ones. So. I get one point for the morning and one point for the afternoon. I earn these points by doing more than I have to - either helping someone out, or getting ahead on something, or whatever. 4. One-Time Tasks I have some one off things that always need to get done. For example, I'm planning to go to the DMV on Monday to register my car, since that's kiiiind of overdue. Also, there are places I want to explore in the area. This one's harder to score because it's not necessarily something that I need to do daily and the target score will flex depending on my to do list for the week. I'll write out the list later and decide the scoring requirements week by week for that one. 5. Recurring Tasks This can be anything from doing my laundry to doing some extra tidying, etc. I'll get one point per day that I do a recurring chore. I can get extra points for extra tasks. Bonus Points Any time I take an extra action specifically as a way to handle and manage anxiety, I get a bonus point. This can happen across any of the above categories. Rewards I'm planning to figure out some sort of reward system for this challenge. There's a base score I'm aiming for in each category, and then bonus points I can earn in most of them. So I'll create some reward tiers and each extra tier I hit will earn an extra reward. TBD.

Last challenge went ok! Not perfect by a long shot, but ok. I made progress, but ran into some trouble, related to the state of my kitchen and the amount of effort/time it took to do...well, anything. So, time to tackle the next couple of obstacles to me having a healthy life style: Messy House and Lack of Sleep! I was going to do a continuation of my "battle with the hydra" theme, but then I realized this challenge ends on/right before (depending on which set of dates you go by o_O) my bout, so I need a more epic theme. In keeping with my team, I'm a Fire Elemental! But what kind of Fire Elemental am I? Time to find out! Goals: Messy House - week 1: get the kitchen cleaned up. Week 2: get my bedroom cleaned up. Week 3: get the living room cleaned up. Week 4: get my desk cleaned up. All weeks: spend at least 15 minutes/day working on the house, and don't leave any (new) dishes in the sink or sitting out. Points - 1/day for spending 15 minutes working on the house, 15 points for completing each week's task in that allotted week. Lack of Sleep - get to bed by 9 every day I don't have late practice. Get to bed ASAP on practice nights. I now have to get to work early enough that I can pick Little Bug up from school by 3, so this really needs to be non-negotiable. I will leave some room to adjust on the weekends, perhaps, but it would probably be better if I can stick to a routine every day. Which probably means I should keep getting up early on the weekends as well. But ugh, early mornings don't like me. :/ Points - 4/day if I'm in bed on time, losing one point for each 15 minutes I'm late. Goals 0-50, I'm a Wisp. 51-100, I'm a Salamander. 101-150, I'm a Firebird. 151-200, I'm a Volcano Goddess On top of all of this, I am going to attempt to keep up exercising and eating well. Not going to put those as official goals for this challenge, but I do need to keep on top of them so I am ready for my bout. I'm going to take zero week off this time around, and work on packing lunch for me and Little Bug every day. Let's see how big I can grow! And if anyone wants to come watch me play... http://www.tiltedthunder.com/bout-tickets/ October 14th, at 5pm, at the Evergreen State Fairgounds Edit: switched up a couple of the categories because I thought of stuff I liked better.

...finally made it. I said once that shit is going down, but I am not, but I’ve got to be honest, I’m fairly close to sinking. Things got bad, and the situation was completely beyond my control, and that stress and upset and helplessness hit hard. But things are better, and I’m using the knowledge to try and recover as best I can before the Spartan Sprint at the end of the month, perhaps the most difficult physical feat I’ll have undertaken to date. Shouldn’t be that bad, I mean, in the past three weeks I haven’t gone on a run, haven’t worked out properly, and have eaten like absolute crap… I am so unprepared for this it’s almost funny, but that doesn’t mean I won’t put my all into it when the time comes. Despite the race, what’s most important right now is remembering how to function. My flat is disgusting, my sleep schedule is non-existent, and I haven’t left home for anything but work and the odd bit of food shopping in far longer than is healthy. Sadly, not an uncommon occurrence in my life, but recognising I’ve fallen back into it is a good sign. So I've got a few simple things I want to start with before even beginning to think about anything else. The Fix-Up i. the fifteen minute method Spend at least fifteen minutes every day on household tasks. Could be washing dishes, cleaning down appliances, washing the floor, or a bite-sized clear out, just as long as something is done. After fifteen minutes, take a break. If it was a struggle to get through those fifteen minutes then go on to do something enjoyable. If not, take another fifteen minutes for more housework. scoring 0-10 sets of 15: Utter failure 11-20 sets of 15: Regular failure 21-27 sets of fifteen: Barely a pass - No reward 28 sets of 15: Target - Reward TBD 28+ sets of 15: Success - Extra reward(s) TBD Tally: 3/28 ii. wakey wakey Getting the right amount of sleep has become complicated due to the vodka-pickled party pensioner downstairs (it is being dealt with, just excruciatingly slowly). However, on weekdays there is no reason I should be relinquishing forever more in bed. If I’m not working, or working a back shift, I should be out of bed by 8am sharp. scoring ...to be done retroactively, I think. I don’t know how many days off I’ll have or how many weekends I’ll have no sleep. iii. escape the hidey-hole Go outside. Go for a walk. Get on a bus and go somewhere new. Do something that is not sitting on the sofa wallowing in self-pity. Once a week at the very least. scoring 0-3: Failure 4+: Pass - Reward TBD iv. unfinished business I’ve always enjoyed art, I have a lot of plans for this little flat of mine, and my memory appears to be disintegrating. All of these things have resulted in me beginning to draw out said plans, and the results are better than I would have thought. So by the end of this challenge cycle I’d like to have every room planned out. Aside from allowing me to get a better visual and not forget which ideas I’ve had, it gives me something to work towards. scoring The flat really only has three rooms, but they can be split into seven zones. 0-5: Failure 6-7: Pass - Reward TBD v. fun fun fun Fun is not mindlessly surfing the internet for something to occupy my time. Fun is picking up my guitar or a book, fun is gardening or knitting, fun is something that will actually make me smile, and that’s been in short order recently. scoring Might work this as a ‘no fun = penalty’ kind of thing, not sure yet. bonus no vi. socialise Imposed self-isolation is no fun, and is incredibly damaging. I’m not doing myself any favours, and despite what my insecurities would have me believe, I’m not doing anyone else any favours by shutting myself away. So I’ll talk to people. Every day. bonus no vii. smoothies My diet has consisted of crap, and that’s when I actually eat. While I’ve managed to get myself back into eating food with proper nutritional value, I’m still struggling to adjust to eating enough to fuel myself. It’s amazing just how quickly the stomach adapts to eating next to nothing… Drinking is a lot easier, therefore if I find myself having a day where I’m on the low end of the calorie consumption scale then all I need to do is blend up a smoothie and have at it. There we have it. I was considering pushing forwards with the challenge I’d originally planned, but it didn’t fit with what I know really needs to get done. Yeah, regular workouts, running, and on point nutrition will benefit me massively, but I can’t do that if I can’t figure out how to go about my day to day life. So I’m trying to figure it out and not vanish off the face of the earth in the process.

Last challenge I managed to maintain my weight. This challenge my goal is to refocus on my workouts, and to continue to tweak my eating and drinking habits. I will be adding in a Weekly Menu section (complete with pics) and am committing to completely giving up alcohol. Let the saga continue… ULTIMATE GOAL: Gain the Intelligence Report Materiel Report Assault Plan RANGER TRAINING 10 minute Warm Up - Rowing machine - Cycling - Walking (outside/treadmill) Active Work - Pick 3 exercises for 4 sets each - Barbell: Squat / Deadlift / Bench Press / Row - Dumbbell: Curl / Press/ Fly / Kickback / Side Raise / Row - Cable: Pull-up / Pull-down / Extension / Curl / Fly - Bodyweight: Plank / Weighted Russian Twist / Flutter Kicks / Ab Roller Wheel Cardio 1 mile run (treadmill) Scoring I’m doing this the old fashioned way and keeping a straight tally. Only mini-boss and boss fights are worth more: 5 marks for a mini-boss, 10 for a boss-boss. There is no end goal: I want my high ground to be an ever-growing mountain of the skulls of my enemies. Tally W1 ///// - ///// W2 ///// - ///// W3 ///// - ///// W4 ///// - ///// 12 Feb - 11 Mar One mini-boss battle included Grade: F 19 Mar - 15 Apr One mini-boss battle included Grade: A 23 Apr - 20 May One mini-boss battle included Grade: B 27 May - 23 Jun No mini-boss battle this 4WC Grade: Shit that's changed My husband is working a crappy night shift (1pm - 11pm), so I try work my schedule around his as best I can. I get up at 04:30 every morning in order to get a workout in before heading to the office. I meal prep our lunches for the week on Sunday, so everything is grab-n-go from the fridge. I make a point of getting my Domestic Rangering done as soon as I get home from work, to ensure I don't skip it. DOMESTIC RANGERING M Vacuum/Sweep T Clean bathrooms W Vacuum/Sweep Th General pick-up F Vacuum/Sweep Everyday: clean litter box, pick up yard As needed: wash, dry, fold, put away laundry

Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight 173lb Waist 31" Belly 35" Hips 40" Thigh 23 1/2" Body Fat 27.11% Previous Challenge Goals Sleep 10:30pm bedtime. Pay attention to the reminders on my phone re: getting ready for bed/getting to bed. Cardio Minimum 1 "long" (read 30 minutes/5kish) run per week + 1 intervals session. Extra is encouraged Reading Haven't been reading as much as I would like, so 210 minutes of reading per week (equivalent of 30 minutes/day) Mini Challenge Strength Feat - 1 extra lifting session COMPLETE Ranger Feat - start next knitting project. Minimum 120 minutes of working on it throughout the week. COMPLETE Distance Feat - 1 extra cardio session COMPLETE Recovery Feat - Go to a yoga class COMPLETE

Hello my friends! Yasha’s back again with the second challenge of the year. I had great succusses last challenge and hope to keep that momentum rolling through this challenge, dsepite (because of?) having a lot on my plate in terms of commitments. Learn all the things! I started back at the Master of Business on Wednesday of zero week and will be continuing through with it until the 28th of April. I have also signed up for a Diploma in Languages starting on the 27th February to learn Mandarin Chinese. I will dedicate myself to AT LEAST 2hrs study per week in addition to face-to-face class time. I want to maintain my distinction average and be fluent in the second language asap. Get in my head, language! http://www.theworldofchinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Keoni_headbang.gif Eat all the things! (or rather, don’t eat all the things). 5 days Paleo (plus potato), 2 days variance available (but not required!). After all the dramatic difference from doing whole30 last challenge (which is honestly just Paleo plus the occasional white potato) I’m keen to keep it up this challenge as well. Mr and I really missed going out on our dates though, so we’ll be strongly Paleo(pp) for 5days a week (likely the M-F workweek, but flexible enough that if someone wants to go for drinks on a weeknight we can do the shuffle), then have the option for 2days a week variance, this could be a meal, a drink or the whole day (but try not to go too crazy). http://horriblehousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Paleo-party-food-idea-rainbow-fruit-bowls-1024x599.jpg Exercise all the days! Keep up with the Monday-Thursday morning gym classes plus hit 10,000 steps/bike ride/mountain climbing on the other days. If I do both classes on Monday morning I have the option to sub-out a day where I don’t hit the 10,000 steps. https://media.giphy.com/media/Dsu5cqUg327w4/giphy.gif Tick all the boxes! Mr loved it when I was doing the daily list and he has requested its return twice, I will do up a list and add the photo of it tonight after class. I’m expecting similar type daily tasks (water the plants, teeth and face care, a little cleaning, take vitamins) and will definitely be bringing back the affirmation because I AM a badass ranger of awesomeness, I just need to remind myself of that sometimes. https://d13yacurqjgara.cloudfront.net/users/555872/screenshots/2182807/check.gif

Time for bed, deets tomorrow Mmk, technically bedtime now but I should do this to so... Last challenge: didn't take holidays into account, didn't end up tracking food at all due to not making my food for probably half the challenge cause I was home, continued sleeping not-enough, etc. etc. So, time to try and do the things that I've been trying to do for ages? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 41.75 | CON - 72 | WIS - 41.5 | CHA - 44.5 Weight Waist Belly Hips Thigh Body Fat Goals Cardio I have a 5k coming up in a couple months, so that and rugby starting up again are my cardio motivation. I should do a "long" (5k-ish) run once a week, and intervals once a week. Sleep This is the big one. Bedtime is 10:30, gotta figure out how to meet it. Mobility Gotta do this 5/7 days a week to keep my body happy Food Food prep + IIFYM are gonna be the order of the day here. Aiming for 5/7 days of IIFYM. Mini Challenge Week 1: You Must Gather More Resources Before we can begin rebuilding the Guild Hall, we need something to build it with. So for week 1 we will be quarrying stone, chopping down trees, and gathering dirt for mortar. This will be represented by several activities from which you can choose. Wood Choppers will represent cutting down trees and milling them. Kettlebell Swings will represent mining for stone. Shovelglove workouts will represent gathering supplies for mortar. We will track it by multiplying reps times weight. It would get to technical trying to keep the three separate, so any of the three, in any combination, counts toward the goal. Keep track of how many reps you do at each weight, and post your totals in the mini-challenge tracking spreadsheet. Week 2: Return To Base We have gathered all the supplies we need to re build the guild hall. Now we need to get them to the construction site. This weeks feat is a distance feat. We need to log 220 miles as a guild to get all the wood, stone and mortar supplies to the fort so we can use them. The barkeep is getting positively giddy with anticipation. Apparently the rubble we cleared from the old hall was organized in our absence, which means the new hall will be even bigger and more impressive than the last. Any mileage counts, whether its real world stuff or on some sort of cardio machine, just log your miles on the tracking spreadsheet. Count anything from 12:01 am Sunday morning your time to 11:59pm Saturday night your time. Week 3: Construction Commencing We have gathered all the supplies we need to rebuild the hall and transported them to the construction site. Let's build this thing! To represent moving the supplies into position, shaping them, and actually assembling them, we will work with over the head weighted exercises. By that I mean anything that involves moving something weighted over your head. That could be any of the Olympic lifts or their variants, over head press, push press, thrusters, squat thrusters, squat press, Turkish Get Ups, any of it. Again, multiply weight times reps to get yours score and post it on the tracking spreadsheet. We need 50000 lbs to finish. Week 4: Putting The Tent Away Well done everyone, we've got the project done on time and under budget. The only thing that remains is to give the guild tent a thorough cleaning before folding it up and putting it away one last time. That's right, it's time to do your Domestic Rangering feat. When you finish, put a 1 in the week 4 column by your name in the tracking spreadsheet. At least twenty of us need to get our feats done to get the tent cleaned and fully packed into the cart. To Do List 2017 Roadmap Mitts for Dad Kitchen Organize cupboards Work on Imagining Other Earths on Coursera Shrink sweater sleeves Stretch NY shirt Rugby team website/image gallery/design Account/password list Finish white skirt Drawing Change address Tidy Closet - started Grey drawers - started Bed drawers - started Clean green purse Get watch button fixed Living Room TV out Magazines - working through the stack Tray on coffee table (actually a trunk) Mending (socks + leggings) Send @Wild Wolf that prehab stuff (I promise I didn't forget - I scanned the stuff I had and then realized that it's not super helpful without visuals so I have to find videos/pictures to go along with it) The Road So Far Week 1: Cardio 1/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 4/5 Food 4/5 Week 2: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 1/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5 Week 3: Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 3/5 Food 5/5 Week 4 Cardio 2/2 Sleep 0/7 Mobility 5/5 Food 5/5

Life on Jund is a never ending struggle of survival of the fittest… And I will survive. This is a harsh land. From the ecosystems created by the volcanoes and lava and hot, dry weather to the hardened creatures shaped by the landscape, forged into vicious survivors. As a training ground for a battle mage, well… It’s perfect. I took a long, hard look at my goals for this year and decided that the battlemage class from the Elder Scrolls games fitted quite aptly (and luckily for me, there’s such a card from the Shards of Alara expansion, and it’s a Jund one). Every battlemage has to start somewhere, and my beginnings will be modest, but the learning curve will be steep. I have a vast amount of uncertainty to survive and adapt to, I have a solid understanding of my quests and how to progress. All I need to do is adapt, and this is where my adaption begins. THE MISSIONS Carving out a home: Quest line: Move > Prepping the flat to be ready for a move whenever it may come. The packrat beast needs to be banished once and for all, which means I need to be ruthless. Stage One: Living Room Tidy Clean Organised Decorated All relatively self-explanatory. As for the decoration segment of the goal… Well, I’m not allowed painting the walls, and the creamy kind of beige colour gets so incredibly boring. It doesn’t matter how much time I have left here, I want to liven it up a little. > Must be worked on daily > Burpee penalties for inactive days. How many burpees depends on the date, for example if I miss a day on the tenth, I do ten burpees. If I miss a day on the twentieth, twenty burpees. > Photo or video confirmation (whether the goal is passed or failed) at the end of the challenge as an extra bit of motivation to succeed. Becoming battle ready: Quest line: Spartan > Becoming the most physically fit and healthy version of myself in an effort to conquer the Spartan Sprint Stage One: Mobility Wrist Stretching Toe touch Making use of NF Yoga and the mobility drills it includes to try, first and foremost, to undo the damage done to my wrists. The right one in particular only bends back to a roughly forty five degree angle, and that makes all manner of things difficult, including some yoga poses and push ups done with my hands flat on the floor. Distance Walk two short/one long weekly I’ve become a distinct homebody, leaving only to go to work or to do essential shopping trips. Time for that to end. A short walk will be classed as under half an hour, and a long walk is classed as over half an hour. Weather is not a valid excuse to stay in considering I walk to work in truly horrific conditions and come out unscathed. > Again, for both goals burpee penalties will be assigned for inactive days. The date determines the number of burpees done. If I miss both goals on one day, the number of burpees is the date doubled. > Photos from walks are encouraged. Honing the mind: Quest line: Rock Solid Mental Health > Becoming an actual person again, one who can adapt to anything Stage One: Routine Night before work prep Laptop off/read one hour before bed In addition to the self-care checklists I’m tracking in my battle log, I’m going to try and instill two habits I know have worked for me in the past. In the beginning there won’t be any penalties, but if I find it too difficult to stick to without the thought of multiple burpees awaiting failure then in come those burpees. There will be mandatory daily check-ins as the majority of these things are daily tasks. Weekly summaries also mandatory. As none of this is too far above and beyond what I was trying to do with my dailies, I think it makes a good starting point and a good foundation for introducing more ambitious goals next time around. I’m using Zero Week as a warmup of sorts, so I can get used to juggling a battle log and a challenge and working everything in around my job. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the challenge officially starts during my January holidays, and I’ll be travelling to the other side of the country and back for the mandatory once-a-year family visit. I can’t think of a better way to start, given this challenge is all about adapting in the face of uncertainty and surprising conditions!

I made a mind map for 2017! It's not quite done, but a good start. FITNESS CHALLENGE 1: PROTEIN POWER! I'd like to increase strength, which means MOAR PROTEEEEENS. I'm currently supposed to be at 1800 calories, but it's hard to get to! I average around 1650. If my math is correct, I've averaged around 100g protein since August. I think my goal is around 135, +-10g. So aiming for 30g more per day (I think that's a little more than a chicken breast or something. Maybe double meats? Hmmm...) Step 1: Figure out how much more I need to eat! Aim for 135g protein Within 10: 2/26 Step 2: Figure out a sustainable way to do this! Step 3: Do the thing! 0/26 FITNESS CHALLENGE 2: PT PLUS! I've got a 10 week with my previous PT, we meet on the beginning Thursday. My husband's PT offered for me to set-in with them on the weekend, so that means I'll have two other days that I need to solo the gym. If I can't gym, I need to make it up. And off days need to have a movement of some sort (house cleaning, yoga, walk, etc.) Step 1: Figure out new system on Thursday - COMPLETE! Step 2: Figure out homework schedule Step 3: Stick to it! 5/26 CHALLENGE 3: I'm not doing it! LOL I'm focusing on the gainz department in my Battle Log, and I'm working towards 1. Increasing my deadlift, 2. Increasing my squat, 3. Gaining wrist and core strength to do handstands. I am going to work on Parkour this year, but waiting until it's warmer. Also, we're rock climbing in February, woot! So instead I'll focus my challenge efforts on more life goals: LIFE CHALLENGE 1: Domestic Rangering - TRAPPINGS TOWER TAKEDOWN Last fall I organized a bunch of clothes to get rid of. And then put them in the art room and didn't touch them. So I have ~6 tubs full of clothes I can't wear/don't like. The goal is to get rid of them by the end of the challenge. Step 1: Post about it on facebook Step 2: Allow people to take things Step 3: Goodwill whatever's left on final weekend BONUS: The tower minions have friends! Bonus points if I go through my closet, I'd like to have space again. 1/3 LIFE CHALLENGE 2: Nihongo nande? I'll be sitting in on a Japanese class towards the end of the month to see if I can hop in midway through a class in February. I'd taken two semester back in, oh... 2001 o_O So this month I'll be working on brushing up my basic skills to catch back up. Step 1: 10 minutes of Japanese review per day until 1/21 - so 20 days Complete: 10/20 Step 2: Sit in on the class! Step 3: Evaluate from there! BONUS: If I do review more than 10 minutes, specifically working on words and phrases 5/15 We're also working on hitting a room focus a week. I'm not going to make it a challenge because I already have too many, but I may focus on it in February.

Last time I tried something new, and it went fairly well. It was just all the same ol', same ol' stuff I had trouble with... After a month of not getting enough sleep, and suffering the consequences, redeveloping my sleep habits will be my main focus this time 'round. My new job is shift work, and with 2 on-call nights/week (essentially means I'm 'working' for 25+ hours straight twice/week) and keeping a couple of shifts/week at my old job, I really feel like sleep is the key to my happiness, my sanity, and my success. For reference, my weekly schedule looks (more or less) like this: Sunday - work 12-8, on call overnight Monday - work 8-4, then 5:30-9 (?) Tuesday - work 3-11, on call overnight Wednesday - work 8-4, then 5:30-9 Thursday - work 10-6 Friday - off Saturday - off I've arranged to have my shifts at job #2 on the days after my on call shifts, mainly because I'm so exhausted by the end of the 'work late-on call-work early' cycle that I'm not going to do any exercise anyway, so instead of lazing around being disappointment at myself, I might as well make a bit of extra money at a job where being half asleep is not a major detriment. That leaves 5 days/week in which to exercise, and the plan is to alternate running and Stronglifts, such that one week I'll run 3x, lift 2x, and the following week I'll run 2x, lift 3x. Also note, in July, I'm actually only working on Wednesdays, not on Mondays, so for the first two weeks I think I'll use Mondays as rest-ish days. If, by some miracle, I have energy after work, I can do a workout if I want to, but it doesn't count against me if I don't. I have a feeling I'm going to find this plan to be a little grueling, so that might be a nice 'ease-in' period. Or something... I'd also like to take one of my 'weekends' to go to the cottage, I'd leave after work on Thursday and then come home in the evening on Saturday. I don't know if or when this will happen, I tend to decide these things last minute, but if it does happen, I'll still consider it a success if I do a Stronglifts workout on the Thursday, then run both days at the cottage, since I don't have access to a gym up there. That might change The Count (see below) a little, but I'll just adjust as necessary. Goal 1 ~ Sleep the Good Sleep I've had success by maintaining good sleep habits in the past, and I've never really been able to pin down why I let them slip sometimes. I've definitely noticed that when my mood dips down, it's more likely for me to fall out of that habit, which makes my mood worse, and on and on. My mood's been pretty good over the last while, but I've still been having trouble with bedtimes and get-up times. So, my goal is 11pm bedtime every night except the one on which I work 3-11, in which case I'll be in bed by midnight, barring an emergency I have to attend to. And then up with my alarm every morning, no lazing around on work days. I will allow myself to beditate on one of my off days, but I'll do it by setting my alarm for later than my natural wake-up time (usually around 9:30am), so I can wake up naturally but still have a deadline to get out of bed (ie. on off days, if I wake up on my own, I'm allowed to stay in bed until my alarm goes off, but if I sleep until my alarm goes off, I have to get up right away). Goal 2 ~ Jog My Memory I gotta get my running mojo back. And by 'running mojo' I mean I need to buckle down, I've never really had any real 'mojo' in this area... My life plan is such that I won't have to redo the police physical for some time yet, but if I coast until a month before my test and then try to get my cardio back last minute, I'm not going to pass (I might've been able to pass before, but they've made it harder...) My plan is to run every other non-2-job day. I'm anticipating this being a slog with no full days off of all responsibilities, but it's only for 4 weeks. I actually don't mind intervals, but I think all intervals all the time would be a bit much, so I'd like to try one interval workout for every 3 runs (if that makes sense, I can't really say 'per week' because I'm not on a 'per week' schedule). The point is to run, though, so if it's a run day and I just don't have an interval workout in me, that's fine, but I still have to go around the block. Goal 3 ~ Semper Gumby Just simply to stretch most things daily. And I should probably do wrist mobility 3x/week, they're a bit cranky with all the extra typing I've been doing with my new job. Goal 4 ~ Cleaning House I had some success a few challenges ago with a 'weekly tidying' goal, whereby I fully cleaned my room in zero week, then tidied once per week to keep it that way. This involves, putting away clean laundry, straightening magazine piles and putting away ones I've read, vacuuming and dusting. I already have a plan to deep clean on the Saturday before the challenge starts for real, so this shouldn't be too hard. This will mostly likely happen on Fridays or Saturdays. Goal 4 ~ Stronglifts I surprised myself in the last challenge by really taking to this lifting thing, so this is a little further down the list because it was the one thing I stuck with last time, so I feel like I can stick with it again. My goal is simply to do the prescribed workout every other non-2-job day, and continue to be mindful of my form so as to avoid injury (ie. don't progress just because the app says I can, but don't be afraid to challenge myself either). Goal 5 ~ Reward Myself Not really a goal, per se, but to go along with the sentiment of 'it's only 4 weeks' expressed in my running goal, and based on the success others have had with promising themselves a reward for reaching some goal, and my own feeling that some sort of reward would be fairly motivating for me, I'm going to try this to help my willpower along this time. My paychques are a bit bigger than they used to be, even when I don't count the extra money from job #2, so I can afford to promise myself a little something if I succeed. I have no idea what, though, I'll have to think on it. I want it to be something I really want and something I'll really use, but also something I wouldn't otherwise be able to justify spending money on. It doesn't necessarily have to be expensive, just something I wouldn't buy 'just because'. With that said, I'm not forcing myself to come up with something, if I can't come up with something I would really like to have (that I can also afford, a trip to Iceland would motivate me to do just about anything but that's out of reach right now), rather than something I just kinda want, then I'll just do my best regardless. To earn whatever reward I come up with, I have to be 100% in this challenge. I'm feeling like I need to kick myself in the ass a bit right now, so there's no wiggle room on this. The challenge can still be a success without it being 100%, but I don't get my reward for anything less. The Count Run ~ 0/10 Stronglifts ~ 0/10 Tidy ~ 0/4 Bedtime ~ 0/28 Get-up Time ~ 0/28 Stretching ~ 0/28 Wrists ~ 0/12

The Intro Spiel Phase One started off as a means to build a little bit of money up, to have something to fall back on or even just some disposable income. While in the strictest sense it might seem like I’ve failed in that goal, that isn’t entirely true. Extra hours, reduced expenses, and a concrete goal with a fixed target have come of this phase of my life. So begins the third and final chapter of Phase One, and while the focus is still slowly saving money, this one is also building on the lessons learned whilst fighting Lyssa and her Maniae. I had a few low points last challenge, one of which was so bad I ended up fleeing to the north coast to find people to help me out of it. It happens, and eventually it passes. It doesn’t happen as much nowadays, but apparently when it does, it really does. But that just means I’ve had to build a better contingency plan. This challenge is the cementing phase, the one where I give those bad habits a final kick and completely embrace the good habits I’ve been building. The System This time around there will be goals in the form of lessons learned from the Titans of old. It’s a little more of a return to the traditional set-up, but at the same time it’s just open-ended enough to let me feel like I have control over them (rather than them having control over me). The Boss Geras, god of old age. He doesn’t care much about trading blows with a mere mortal, but his presence can be felt acutely at many points in a lifetime. This is one such point. On July 18th, one day after this challenge officially starts, I turn 25. A full quarter of a century. A mere stone’s throw until 30. Geras is making himself known by showing me how far everyone else has come, leading me to despair as to whether or not I’ve truly achieved anything at an age where most of my peers doing major life things. You know, getting married, popping out kids, the things that are traditionally expected of a female my age to be doing. And yet I do not want to be doing those things. I will fight Geras by living my own life, celebrating my own self-worth, and deciding exactly which direction I want to take. External expectations do not control me. The Game Plan Atlas The Titan charged with holding up the sky for all eternity. From him I can learn two things: Power: I’ve taken on SL5x5 for the second time, and as of writing this I’ve been at it for about a month. My current lifts are below in red, and my end of challenge aims for them are in green immediately after: Squat: 47.5kg >>> 55kg Bench: 30kg >>> 35kg OHP: 27.5kg >>> 32.5kg Row: 30kg >>> 35kg Deadlift: 52.5kg >>> 62.5kg These are fairly conservative goals, but I know my own limitations and I know I’m slowing down already. While the SL program may say it’s possible to continue adding 2.5kg to your lifts every workout for twelve weeks, that is definitely not going to be the case for me! Patience: Last challenge saw me achieve my first chin up from standing, my next target is flexible. I want a either a second consecutive rep or a full chin up from a deadhang. While most of what I put towards this goal will be done in a grease the groove style, The accessory exercises I add on to the end of my 5x5 workouts will be geared mostly to that as well (and to balance things out, I’ll be working pistol squats, but with less fervour as I’ve been able to do them in the past and am not far off regaining that ability). Cronus Dude ate his children, so he isn’t a shining example of dietary brilliance. From him I can learn two things: Variances: I’m working towards a mostly clean kind of diet, however I know this isn’t always possible. Therefore I will give myself three variances every week, assuming I have a good reason for using one. Otherwise, as clean as possible! Preparation: Specifically, lunches and dinners on workdays. I’ve fallen out of the habit of doing this, which is costing me money and doing my insides no good. Therefore for every shift I have a lunch/dinner break, I will prep said meal, including something to drink. And for every other shift (where I get a 15 minute break), I’ll ensure I have something to drink and a decent snack. Mnemosyne Mother of the Muses, so an apt teacher for balancing work and play. From her I can learn three things: A clean and tidy home is a happy home: I failed my domestic goals quite woefully last challenge, so this time around I am renewing my efforts to make my flat a pleasant place to live for the remainder of the time that I am here. It's all or nothing this time. I'll figure out a reward for success and a punishment for failure later on. Calming the mind: Meditation twice daily. I’ve found several methods that work for me, with my notable favourite being heavy metal meditation, therefore I intend to utilise this. One session in the morning before work to drag my mind from the haze of sleep and dreams and out to focus properly, and one session in the evening, to calm me and work through whatever I may have encountered throughout the day. Listen to the Muses: Gotta have some fun sometimes. My guitar has been neglected, so that’s where I’m going to start. At this point in time my repertoire consists of Happy Birthday, Auld Lang Syne, a one string version of ACDC’s TNT, and about half of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars. Time to brush up on those, and maybe learn something new along the way.

This time 'round, I'm trying something new. I've been thinking for a while I'd like to try lifting heavy things (other than myself) and putting them back down again. Reading here and there led me to the Stronglifts 5x5 program, which seems simple enough, and is also free, so I decided to try that. I found a gym that I feel somewhat comfortable in (I don't take to exercising in public very naturally) and has the equipment I'll need. I downloaded the Stronglifts app. And now I guess I'm ready to go. Or something... I also did a little research about ways to run a faster 5k (since I have no desire to ever run more than 5k at any one time), and have cobbled together a sort of running program (any I found that were made for me involved running 5-6x/week, which simply won't happen). So, the challenge this time will mainly involve sticking to the plan and doing what I'm told. Goal 1 - Stronglifts Follow the program. That is all. Goal 2 - Run Run 2-3x/week, on non-lifting days. I will do 1 interval workout, 1 longer slower run, and 1 hill run, not necessarily in that order. For the intervals, I will use a track when I can and my street when I can't (the track is at a high school, and while I don't think I'd get in trouble if I used it while school was in, I don't really want teenagers watching me...), and will work up to 10x(distance) (for the record, on the track that's 10x400m, for my street it's 10x~330m). The long slow run will be somewhere relatively flat but with nice things to look at to combat boredom, mostly likely on the University campus, and maybe along the river, depending on the distances. The hill run will be my regular route around the block, done twice, for ~4k. Goal 3 - Stretch This one is so easy for me to slack with, and hoo boy, have I been slacking. This is simple, as it always is: stretch most things every day, ideally within 30mins of completing my workout for the day. Goal 4 - Domestic Rangering I had decent success with getting my room clean, then keeping it that way by having a goal to tidy once per week. I've slacked with this as well, and while the floordrobe is not as big as it has been in the past, and the dust is not as thick, and the carpet not as hairy (from the dogs, not me), it's still gotten closer to the 'messy' end of the spectrum than it was (and a chairdrobe has started to form). So I'll get things cleaned up by the end of week one, then tidy/put away clean laundry/vacuum/dust once per week on Sundays. Goal 5 - Sleep In bed by 11pm on work nights (or midnight on my late shift, and on nights before off days), and up by 9:15am at the latest (when I work earlier shifts I have to get up earlier, obviously, but no sleeping in for hours and hours on days when I don't have to get up early). No lazing in the morning (ie. get up when the alarm goes off, no laying in bed and risking drifting back to sleep). Simple as that. Timing I originally had a goal to do strength 3x/week, and run 3x/week, but upon reflection, I don't think that's going to happen. So I will be alternating strength and run days and doing exercise 5 days a week, with my 2-job day (where I work more or less from 8am-9pm between my 2 jobs) and my day off of all jobs as my off days from exercise. Trying to force myself to workout at 9:30pm after being on the go for 13 hours is an exercise in futility and will just end in disappointment, and I know I will need that day off to be a day off of everything in order to stay sane.

The Intro Spiel Improvement is difficult. It’s difficult to attain, and for me it’s difficult to see. Yet I’ve seen it in the past couple of challenges, which means I must be doing something right. Yes, I’ve continued with the odd slip’n’slide theme of starting strong, getting knocked down part-way through, and then having to get back up again, but the hits I take seem less and getting back up seems easier. I think this sets me up perfectly for the second part of Phase One. The plan originally revolved around building up savings, and while I’m by no means affluent, I’ve managed to secure extra hours at work and have cut down considerably on my energy costs. Thanks to summer I need no heating whatsoever and I can make do through most of the day with no need for lights to be switched on for any great length of time, plus shorter, cooler showers. The main thing I’m fighting now is my own dissatisfaction at my situation, at that little voice that says, “Hey, it’s ok, just spend X amount for Y object, you’ve got more money now.” Sure, I have marginally more money, but I mean to continue living on as tight a budget as possible. Allowances will be made for food and household necessities only. The System This time around the system will be slightly different. Three main goals that function as little boss battles, plus lists of objectives that will earn me health and rage points. While I enjoyed the freedom the lists provided last time, I found a small issue with not having enough focus and sort of wandering without much of an aim other than ‘fit X, Y, and Z’ into my day. The Boss Lyssa, the very same spirit of madness who inflicted the great Hercules with insanity. She stalks from a distance, not yet close enough to cast that fatal blow, but close enough to inflict anger and frustration, boredom and spurts of reckless impulsiveness. Defeating her will be tricky, more a mental game than physical. The key lies in defeating her cohorts, the Maniae. Once they are defeated, she will be considerably weakened and dispatching her will be easier. The Game Plan 1st Mania: Insanity 10,000 KB Swing Challenge Though I started this at the beginning of the month, my goal is to stick to the program and complete it successfully. After all, it is four weeks. Four weeks to kick my ass back into gear. Four weeks to reset. Four weeks of simplicity during which I can re-evaluate my fitness situation and decide where to go next. In order to avoid a typical Yeti-disaster, there has been a change of plan for the Insanity goal that is explained in this post and the battle log entry linked within. Instead of the 10,000 swings, I will instead be moving on to SL5x5. I was debating between that and 5/3/1. As it is, I definitely think I've got the potential for the kind of linear progression SL aims for, so I will continue with that until such progression is no longer possible. At the end of the challenge I will test my one rep maxes as I'd originally planned to do. 2nd Mania: Madness Boring, Boring Diet For budget and health considerations. While I have come a long way to cutting out a lot of the crap I tend to buy when I feel, well, crappy, I do slip from time to time. The aim this challenge is to stop those slips and make only informed decisions. I also aim to do the following: Eat more on workout days, less on rest days Drink at least three litres of water a day Phase out rice/pasta on rest days, replace with veg Since I’ve spent the last few days making, terrible, terrible nutrition decisions, I’m bringing back the meal posting thing for accountability. 3rd Mania: Crazed Frenzy Build-a-home Home is where I spend the most time, therefore my home needs to reflect my need for comfort and health. By the end of the challenge I will have completed my ‘too much stuff’ purge, rearranged my living room, organised my kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, and will have made good progress in decorating my study/gym. The Bonus Points Health +5 per: 20xp Duolingo, 1 hour spent on OU Free, 30 min spent on knitting project, 30 min spent on guitar, tending the garden/veg garden, 5 minute meditation, wild food foraged, photo walk, 30 min spent reading Rage +5 per: Primal movement session (5-15mins), 3 minutes accumulate deadhang, 10 minutes accumulated deep squat, three miles walked, 5 minutes foam rolling, mobility session, yoga session The Closing Speech There we have it. Things are a bit more structured this time, and each goal is set up for progression. I’m about 75% certain which direction I want to take things once I finish the 10,000 swing challenge, but I will use these weeks for careful consideration. I know exactly where I want to take my diet, but that requires time and adjustment. And I know what kind of home I want to live in, but again that requires time (and a little extra money). In short, this time around I know what I want to do, and I have the drive to do it. It’s easier to look at a long term plan and be comfortable with the fact that I need to hit several smaller goals before I reach my big, life-changing moments.

My last challenge went better than many of my other recent ones, but improvement can still be had! This challenge will be more of the same, with some focus put on not cramming at the end of the week to get all the things in (this is a hard one for me, it's easy for me to choose instant gratification over long term gratification...) I will also focus on keeping up with The Count, to help me keep better track of my progress. My inspiration for this one is Wall-E, for no other reason than that I love Wall-E. I apologize in advance for the giant videos taking up space, but I have no idea how to make them smaller, or if it's even possible... Goal 1 - Do the Work (That's dedication) Wall-E goes to work every day and does his job. I go to work every day and do my job too, but when I get home, I don't always do my other 'work', which leaves me either needing to cram in a bunch of double-up days at the end of the week, or admit that I missed some of the things I should be doing. Like last time, I will post my weekly schedule on the Saturday before the week starts, to arrange my schedule according to what I've got going on. I will do 3 runs per week, and 3 strength workouts per week. It's ok for me to double up if Life Stuff gets in the way, but I'm focusing on not doubling up just because I was too lazy to do the thing I should have on a day earlier in the week. I'll be trying out a few new things with my runs, but I aim for 20-30 minutes of cardio-type exercise. I will sometimes just run my 4k hilly route, I will sometimes do the long intervals I tried out a while back and didn't hate, and will attempt to do an interval-only workout at a track once per week (probably on weekends). Strength stuff consists of the following: pushups, dead bugs, something like a bridge hold (but this one's getting boring so I'm looking for alternatives), body weight rows, bulgarian split squats. R = runs (0/12) S = strength (0/12) Goal 2 - Sleep-Wake (I feel ya man... I feel ya) In the last challenge I had a goal to go to bed on time (11pm) and get up with my alarm (8:15am, no lazing), and this went surprisingly well (I did better with the get-ups than the bedtimes, but still much better than I was expecting overall). It was feeling a bit habit-like, but this Zero Week has shown me that that's not exactly the case... So, same goals as before, though I'm allowing my Friday and Saturday bedtimes to be midnight, and my Saturday and Sunday get-ups to be 9:15. N = TV off at 11pm/midnight G = get up at 8:15/9:15am Goal 3 - Domestic Rangering (Sorry this one's a little long, but the last bit always makes me smile, and M-O is one of my favourite characters) This slipped a little towards the end of the challenge, and definitely over Zero Week (the floordrobe has begun to reform...) The goal is basically to get my room tidy, then keep it that way. This means putting away all my clean laundry (my least favourite task), vacuuming and dusting once per week (dusting doesn't really need to be done that often, but I think it'll be easier for me to remember to do every week), and keeping my magazine pile more stack-like and less sprawl-like, and putting away the ones I'm done with in the basket thingy. T = laundry away, dusting and vacuuming done (0/4) Goal 4 - Stretch Dem Things (Another long one, and it has nothing to do with stretching, but I couldn't find anything stretching-related, and it's my favourite part of the whole movie, and this is my challenge, and you can't stop me) I had some good success with stretching in the last challenge (though I definitely didn't do it every day as I should have). I had less success with my mobility and physio. So this time I'm going to set a goal for stretching every day, and mobility/physio 3x/week. S = stretch most things (0/28) M = mobility/physio (0/12) Other Things Learning Forum once per week. Crow pose practice 3x/week. L = learning forum video/quiz (0/4) C = 5 minutes of crow pose practice (0/12) The Count (reposting it here for easy copy/pasting) R = runs (0/12) S = strength (0/12) N = lights off at 11pm/midnight G = get up at 8:15/9:15am T = laundry away, dusting and vacuuming done (0/4) S = stretch most things (0/28) M = mobility/physio (0/12) L = learning forum video/quiz (0/4) C = 5 minutes of crow post practice (0/12)

This challenge is going to be a bit weird. I have a parkour rank testing in a week, so I'll be a little bit deload-y the first week. I'm on vacation the last week. And I still kind of have whiplash from doing so many short challenges back to back. I also tend to have a full schedule with all of the parkour, climbing, and yoga, so any specific exercises have to be kind of opportunistic rather than scheduled for me. Thanks to all of this, I'm going to embrace and love the pirate code this challenge: Main Quest: Parkour all of the things!!! Climb all of the things!!! Balance in mind-bending ways! Play with weapons! Look like someone who could compete on ANW. 2016 goals Goal 1 - Raise the Black Flag Last challenge, I played around with Human Flag progressions, and now I'm hooked. I can do the first progression, which is a quasi one-armed lever, pretty well I'm okay-ish with the second one, which is an armpit tucked flag lever. I have started working through the third, which is dragon flags. Goal: Take advantage of any reasonable opportunities to work through these progressions. Goal 2: Hang on the rigging - I've neglected my dead hang pull ups, and I haven't really made progress in the last many months. Goal: take advantage of any reasonable opportunities to focus on the pull ups. For both goals 1 and 2, if I'm not completely sore and destroyed after parkour class or a climbing session, I need to do these progressions. If I'm already pretty spent, I can skip. If I have something major the next day and don't want to risk DOMS, I need to just do a minor GTG approach. I'm just grading these on vague, mushy feelings of whether I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Goal 3 - Get rid of the rum. (diet) I'm going on vacation in 3 weeks to a resort with free booze. So, in the meantime, I'm giving my liver a bit of a rest and reset period. I've played around with going dry in the past, but I generally have ended up just cutting back because I enjoy booze and don't truly care enough about being dry. The difference this time is that my husband is going dry with me, rather than taunting me with tasty drinks. Goal - Dry until vacation. On vacation, don't overdo it too much (which I won't, since the kids will be there too) Goal 4: Swab the deck (domestic Rangering) Domestic Rangering went okay last time. This time, I'm going to keep up with daily chores as well as doing a Flylady (or substitute) cleaning mission every day. Goal 5 - Learn the Language of the Land (Duolingo spanish) I don't want to be an asshole American tourist, so the goal is to amass 1000 xp in Duolingo Spanish before my vacation. On vacation, the goal is to at least make some attempt to read or speak spanish. Bonus goals: Bonus 1: Swim like a pirate captain Before vacation, brush up on swimming and get the kids ready to swim a lot. On vacation, swim a ton. We are planning on swimming in a cenote, and there's the beach, hotel pools, and some other great swimming sites. Bonus 2: Stop culling the herd (videos and media) Yeah, I totally need a goal to encourage myself to post more media... Really, though, the goal is to post pictures or videos that are technically sound, even if I think I look flabby, my hair is messy, or I'm otherwise nitpicking the way I look. And after I post those pictures or videos, I'm not allowed to say anything negative about my appearance. I also have kind of promised piano video for ages, but I tend to overly nitpick any recordings and then just don't post them. So, the goal is to post something, even if it sounds (to me) like a steaming pile of cat vomit. Bonus 3 - make my own adventure guide (travel) I need more excitement and adventure in my life. And now that springtime is approaching, it's the perfect time to look into day trips and long weekend trips. My goal is to research all of the best attractions in all of the major cities, the national parks, and the climbing sites in about a 6 hour driving radius (which is A LOT), and then come up with a bunch of 1-day, weekend, and 3-5 day trip options. The goal is to add 6 little trips to my list (which currently sits at 2). So. um.. yeah. This is a lot of stuff for a kind of burned out challenge. But I have no doubt I can prevail, because of this: And this:

Now that I'm refreshed and relaxed from a two week holiday I think this is a good time to reboot my healthy lifestyle goals for this year. I know what I want, I just struggle to find and/or stick to a routine that works for me XD 1. Leave the house, do some exercise, 1x a week. I went to the gym a few times on the cruise ship and rather enjoyed it! I'd also like to incorporate some outdoor skating to improve my skating skills; these both entail me leaving the actual house; its only the idea of leaving the house that stops me - once I'm out and about I'm happy to exercise! Just once a week is a good start to supplement my 2x week derby training. 2. Clear 1x surface "hot spot" and keep it clean for the week. By the end of the challenge I should be keeping 4 small areas of the house clear of rubbish and dishes and things that are not put away. I hate that my house is never as clean as I want it to be because I am definitely happier when I'm on top of the housework. Starting small and building up does work for me with housework, but keeping the momentum up is the hard part! 3. Something something something... Nutrition. Track what I eat. I'm getting too slack with what I put in my body. I definitely feel better when I eat less refined food and more vegetables and protein. That's it. This can't start until I actually get home from my holiday though; I'm currently still in Singapore. We get home Wednesday so I'll start this on Thursday.

All righty, guys - I've officially decided to jump in on the February challenge. Given the events in January, I wasn't sure if I was going to participate, but fuck it. I need this community, and the battle log just isn't the same. So, building off of last month, here are the goals: Quest 1: Continue attending Crossfit 3x/wk. The last week of this challenge is also the first week of the Open, in which I am participating. Yay. | STR +2 | DEX +1 | STA +1 | Quest 2: It's probably a good idea to get some kind of exercise in everyday in addition to CF. Therefore I'm going to start small with a mini workout that I can do as soon as I'm out of bed or home from work. (in no particular order) :30 Plank 20 Goblet Squats 15 KB high pulls 10 Turkish get ups (5 per side) | STR +2 | DEX +1 | Quest 3: It's time to up the protein with a daily morning shake. Thanks to my CF buddy, I have a good recipe to start me off and a brand spanking new tub of protein powder. This will be super easy to set up the night before, so all I will have to do is dump it all in the blender, mix, and pour. | STA +1 | CHA +1 | Man, this is so true...totally thought mine came without a scoop and started using my scale... Quest 4: The main focus of this challenge - working on getting my nutrition sorted via meal prep. I used to do this every week, and then I fell off it. I'm going to start with just preparing breakfast and lunches every Sunday, with dinners planned but not cooked until needed. It's probably going to be close to the same thing every week, but it's something. | CON +2 | Quest 5: Journaling at least 5 days per week. In order to stay sane and keep myself afloat, this is going to need to become a habit. Get my thoughts and events from the day down on paper and out of my head. Length of time spent writing and length of entry do not matter. | WIS +2 | CON +1 | Quest 6: Finally, keep up the Domestic RangeringTM. I'm going to keep with 15min/day, but I also want to incorporate two 1hr blocks of time to scrub down the bathroom and kitchen. | WIS +1 | It's the month for ALL the cleans: Crossfit cleans, cleaning up my nutrition, and doing actual around-the-house cleaning.

2015 was a great year for me, but I want to make 2016 even better!! There are already big plans in progress for this year, but I don't want to be totally underprepared for everything. The first few things to happen to me this year will be the new roller derby season and us going on holidays, then moving house soon afterwards. I want to continue building habits to make all of these things go smoothly so I can enjoy everything this year throws at me! Goal 1: Exercise to build Strength and Confidence Fitness levels are handy for roller derby. I am also a better skater when I have confidence in myself! 2 Yoga Sessions 3 Body weights sessions Goal 2: Fight the Grime! Follow Fly Lady's routine. The very most basic one for now! Daily self-care routine: Brush Teeth, wash face, get dressed to shoes Declutter a room for 15 minutes daily Clear and wipe the kitchen sink Do something with the laundry Goal 3: De-clutter the Darkest Corners ... of the house. Throw out 1 box of stuff weekly, donate 1 box of stuff weekly. Goal 4: Holiday Planning! These things really need to be done before I go away or I'm going to be stressing last minute. I also know that I am totally able to put these things off until last minute even though they need to be done. Organise travel sickness fix - make a dr's appt Plan tours for holiday Prepaid debit card for spending money Buy a Suitcase.

Yay, it’s 2016! Where did the time go…. I can’t believe we are starting this new challenge already; it feels like just yesterday we were setting up goals for break. A lot has happened in these brief few weeks, all leading up to what is sure to be a very exciting year. Originally, I had a super kickass theme for this challenge, but have decided to hold off until I have the new system down pat. I’m also still working on a way of tying all my challenges together, as opposed to last year’s almost-randomness. This is going to be used more as a way of getting myself into specific habits, and for that reason some of these may continue on into future threads. (As a forewarning, this is not 100% complete - I’ve been waiting to post it until the new character creation has gone live, but that hasn’t happened yet - as far as I’ve seen - and I’m tired of waiting. Once that is up, I will have a better idea of the scoring system and can update this post with that information.) _______________________________________________________ Goal 1: Raising the Bar During winter break I joined a crossfit gym, completed my foundation classes, and started going as a legitimate member. Currently, I have the ‘base’ membership, but I think in a few months time I will upgrade to the unlimited (for goal reasons). Until then, I need to make sure I am in the habit of going there on a consistent basis. The plan was for this to happen before the challenge started, but the holiday hours didn’t mesh with my schedule very well. As my membership allows me to be there no more than 3 times per week, that is my goal. Possible days will be Mon/Wed/Fri or Mon/Thurs/Sat depending on what is planned for the week. _______________________________________________________ Goal 2: Balance and Stretch As a way to both relax and help rehab/stretch out sore crossfit muscles, I’m going to include NF yoga on non-CF days. I’ve used it on and off since I bought it, but would like to turn it into an actual thing I do instead of something I do when I happen to remember and feel like doing it. As with CF, the goal is 3x/wk (minimum). _______________________________________________________ Goal 3: A Drop of Water Yup, that’s right, I need more water. I drink a fair amount, but usually only on workout days. That’s not good enough for me. It will help regulate my appetite and should hopefully curb any cravings. Minimum intake is 60oz, which is a little more than my main water bottle (38oz). I’m sure I’ve had this as a goal before (my memory is not working right now), but I clearly wasn’t focusing on making it a permanent thing. _______________________________________________________ Goal 4: Domestic RangeringTM I’ve had a really hard time pinning down what to use as my life goal for this challenge due to the number of activities I have going on this month and year. Ultimately, I’ve decided to focus on Domestic RangeringTM as that is the area where I need the most work. Specifically, I want to spend 15min every day doing some kind of decluttering and/or cleaning. If I do more, great, but it’s not going to count as extra points or whatever the scoring ends up being. Obviously if I am not home for a day, I will allow myself a pass. The only thing that will not be included as part of the 15min is washing the dishes, because I do that anyway. As a secondary element to this goal, I want to try to make it kind of fun by throwing some music on and/or making a game out of it (how much can I clean/put away within the time frame, or during this song, etc). I think that this will help solidify it as a daily task and make it less of a chore (even though it kind of is). _______________________________________________________ Outside of this challenge, I have a bunch of other goals/projects going on, including: •Make it Forward Project: during each month of 2016 I will create one handmade gift for someone. I’m currently looking for recipients (I have 11 months open as of 1/4), so if you’re interested and would like to learn more check out the post I made about it in my Battle Log. •I’m aiming to read 12 books by Dec 31, 2016. List is pending. •Soon to be revealed podcast projects that I’m working on with some friends. There’s more ‘info’ about this in the same post as the Make it Forward Project. Once I’m able to give more info away, I will absolutely be posting about it. I’m super excited for this one All of these, and more, will be posted in my Battle Log. I’d like to keep my challenge thread as challenge oriented as possible, but I will probably post about some of these things (or at least give links) as they happen. Finally, I’m sure I will be updating and revising this as the week goes on and the character creation info goes up. I’ll be sure to make a note if there are any drastic changes.