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I'll try to lean into the roleplaying part of making a challenge and see if this gives me some extra motivation. I'm on my personal fitness journey for a while and have always done a little, but could never really get into it. I'm dreaming of my first pull up, but it's a long way to go to get there. So here's the story: Hey fellow rebels, I'm Agent Toracorbat. I've been on desk duty the past couple of years, but I've been asked to go on field missions soon. Of course, I said yes, but now I have to level up some skills to succeed. For the missions I'll need good endurance, hiking long trails in nature or commute under the radar in citys. Plus the missions lead me to (partly) french speaking countries. To blend in, I'll have to learn french. As you see, there's a lot to do. My goals for the next five weeks are: 1) Workout at least two times a week, but no more than four times a week 2) Spend two times a week, but no more than five times a week on focus training (like meditation) 3) Do 1 french learning exercise (no matter how small) every day It's my first challenge in a long time, which means part of this training will be to improve my training grounds.

I’ve never done a daily battle log thread, and I’m not sure if I’m going to use it “properly” as I’ll most likely be doing the bulk of my updates in my four week challenges. But I wanted to start a thread I could refer back to regarding my big picture, year long goals of what I want to achieve by the end of 2019, and updates of how I’m moving forward towards them. If I’m not doing a challenge (missed the start date, felt like too much pressure, Ect) I’ll try to keep updating in here to keep momentum going. The title is a reference to the fact that due to my synesthesia (associating colors and numbers) 2019 is a very nice bright shade of yellow. So I’m going to make it a good year. My big goals: Atain a B1 level in French I have many reasons for this, practical and personal. I live in an area that’s bilingual French/English. More than Half of the customers at my job speak French. My coworkers first languages are all French. I am able to get by because my small town is pretty anglophone and almost everyone ALSO speaks at least a little English (and I have about a two year olds ability in French and we get by) But there’s definitely like 15% of our customers that don’t speak any English and I struggle. I want to be able to really serve our full customer base in a complete way. I’m sick of having to ask coworkers to help me translate things. Since I’ve started working there, job descriptions have come to say “bilingual French/English mandatory” I’m not going to LOSE my job over this, but it’s telling to know that if I was reapplying to my job now, I wouldn’t get hired. I have one coworker who hates me, and one of the things she complains about is my lack of French. I want to prove her wrong (petty reasons count!) I have a friend who is francophone and although her English is fantastic, I want to talk with her in her FIRST language. Also her family only speaks French and her mom just seems SO NICE and I want to talk to her SO BADLY??! My area is pretty anglophone but the town nearby where ALL the fun things are is super francophone. I want to go take art classes and parkour classes and all this super fun classes and workshops but they are all in French. I set B1 as my level goal because it will be a comfortable level for conversing and functioning, and also because a B1 score is usually a requirement for college studies and if I decide to go take some courses at the CÉGEP I’ll need that level of proficiency. On a bigger picture note, I’ve always wanted to be fluent in at minimum five languages. French was never on that list, but given where I’m living now, it seems only logical that it become one of my five languages. So working on this goal is working towards my big picture life long “who I want to be as a person” goals. Improve my mental health I wish I had a better SMART goal for this, but I’m kind of new to the idea of my mental health and I don’t really know what specific things I can work towards. This wasn’t really something I’d realized I needed to work on until recently. I had a really, really bad last summer. One of my friends has been saying for the last two years that I should really consider therapy (one late, sleep deprived night she got me talking about stuff I don’t usually discuss. I told her like 2% of my history and she was like “sweetheart that’s some pretty serious trauma” and I was thinking lol yikes that’s nothing.) I finally caved and went to a psychologist and I found out I really do have a lot of things to work on (apparently having suicidal thoughts multiple times every day is not something everyone does?) I’ve been diagnosed with C-PTSD which is a subtype of ptsd, and the treatment is very long but there IS treatment. For years I’ve oscillated between “there’s nothing wrong with me” and “I’m so fundamentally flawed there’s not point in trying to fix it” but I’ve finally come to “there’s definitely stuff wrong, but I can do something about it” I don’t really have any specific goals, but it’s important to me that I keep working and making steps toward improving in this area. This past summer was very bad and I barely survived it. I don’t want to slide back to that again. Loose set of ongoing goals: Continue going to therapy regirally Stick with/improve my meditation habit Have regular, ideally daily, physical activity that involves skill-building Pursue potential medication (this is nearly always an early part of treatment to go on meds temporarily until the skills to cope are developed in therapy- I’ve hated the idea of meds but as part of a bigger picture treatment, I’m trying to be more open) Get a pet or volunteer with animals Cultivate my friendships Increase my cardio to be able to run for one hour straight This one isn’t really a running goal, but the running aspect is more of a benchmark to test. I do enjoy running, but I wouldn’t call myself a “runner” as my main sport. However, cardio is my weak area in everything I do (parkour, staff spinning, hockey) I hate having to stop my skill practice because I’m wheezing. I want to improve my stamina both by doing these sports more intensely and also by running, to the point where I can run for one hour straight without having to stop for a walk break. I know I can accomplish this easily in this year if I don’t slack, as when I finished zombies run 5k, I was running 50 minutes straight, and that’s an 8 week program. I haven’t run in like....months so I’m starting from scratch, but I can do it. Since I’ve moved to the frozen north, my outdoor sport has been basically zero for 9 months of the year, and that’s not enough to build stamina. I’ve now bought myself some solid winter outdoor gear and I’m ready to start just going out there anyway. Restart and complete zombies run 5k Do lots of stamina skate drills Basically if it’s warmer than -16 and the wind isn’t blowing, I GO. Develop some plan for when it IS colder than -16 and still doing SOMETHING inside to keep the habit flowing. Finally get my splits Getting full front splits (striving towards middle splits too, but I’m farther away in that one) is my specific and measurable goal. I’m about six inches off with my left leg and four inches off with my right. I think this is realistic and attainable in a year. Big picture reasons for this is that I need to stretch every day for injury prevention. I’m super, super tight in my entire body but mostly hips and shoulders. Because of this my body is not very resilient to issues in my sports and the slightest mishap can cause injury and it’s super frustrating. (Also, I learned that this muscle tightness is a symptom of my C-PTSD and regular stretching is part of my treatment plan so it’s also working on goal number 2. Multitasking for the win!) Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

It’s the beginning of a new year and I need to get back into my fitness and eating routine. Happy New Year! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My Motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. Although I’m going to try to limit it to one day, rather than both Saturday and Sunday. I enjoy doing themed workouts and for this challenge it will be Star Wars in conjunction with the release of The Last Jedi (which I loved!). May the Force be with you! Smaller Quests 1. "Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try." - Yoda Walking When I'm in Europe I’ll be walking everywhere, so I need time to get into proper walking shape. This challenge will be heavily focused on walking as many miles as possible. I usually do 2 miles at a stretch, several times a week on a treadmill. For this challenge, I’m upping that to adding in another walk early in the mornings before work. While space travel and transport on planets was likely done by some type of vehicle, there’s no doubt that training to be a Jedi involves a lot of physical activity, which includes walking. Rey herself walked a lot on both Jakku and in searching for Luke, in addition to her other Jedi training. Scoring: x/50 miles in 5 weeks Reward: +3 to STA & +3 to DEX 2. "Help me DuoLingo (Obi-Wan Kenobi). You’re My Only Hope!" - Princess Leia French I’m going to Europe soon so I need to get back to practicing French. Since I found it difficult, I know I need to practice every day. I want to practice at least three DuoLingo sessions each day, once a day. I also find that I practice more regularly in conjunction with a challenge here. As a member of the Rebel Alliance, I would encounter many other species and cultures. Although despite something like either translator microbes or the babel fish being available, still being able to speak and understand another language would be useful in the Outer Rim Territories. Scoring: /35 Reward: +3 to WIS 3. "Never Tell Me the Odds" - Han Solo Editing Edit ‘Bonita Blue’, my 2017 NaNoWriMo win, once a week by getting through 3-4 chapters at a time. The story currently has 18 chapters so this seems reasonable. Scoring: x/5 weeks Reward: +3 to CHA 4. "I'll Never Turn to the Dark Side!" - Luke Skywalker Sweet Treats I have a terrible sweet tooth, particularly where processed sugars are concerned. And since, over the holidays, there were tasty things everywhere, I need to focus on less sugar in my daily diet, especially as I move into the new year and getting back into more exercise and healthy eating again. It’s a good goal to have for the first challenge in 2018. Because of my blow meals on weekends, I’m going to try to only have sweet treats 2-3 times per week, Monday through Friday. Eat healthier by cutting down on the sweet treats to 2-3 times in the 5 day week. Scoring: /15 days Reward: +3 to CON

So by the end of the last challenge I was feeling a little like: NaNoWriMo is wrapping up. I already ordered my winner's T-shirt. Overconfident? Why yes, that's how I roll. And now it is time to focus my attention back on the business of gettingstrongerness. What I want out of this challenge: A bodyweight chin-up (strict) Consistent squat form near my max (correct my tendency to collapse forward and come up hips-first/"good-morning") Increased fluency in French (for funsies) Stronger immune system (everyone I know has a cold, the flu, or bronchitis right now!) To prepare for the battle of Agincourt Add chin-up progressions at least 3x/wk (leg drive, band assisted, or lat pulldowns) Add front squats to programming 1x/wk to improve low-bar back squat form Add creatine back into the mix, 5mg/day To prepare for peace with France: 4. Duolingo French practice target - 20 pts/day (current streak 118 days) 5. Continue daily Headspace meditation (current streak 82 days) To resist dying of common transmissible illnesses: 5. consume 1 c. homemade chicken broth/day 6. consume Airborne 2x/day

It’s been awhile since I participated with the Warrior’s Guild, and since I was made a Warrior Ambassador too, I’m back and ready to lift all the heavy things again! And since this challenge runs over Halloween, my favorite holiday, it’s werewolf themed again! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. I've managed to put on some muscle in an effort to become stronger by weightlifting and I’ve discovered that I love lifting heavy things! I enjoy doing themed workouts and for this challenge it will be werewolves. For several reasons but mostly because 1. I love them 2. they’re the best fantasy monster and 3. they’re amazingly fast and incredibly strong beasts not to be messed with. This is perfect for a warrior challenge! Smaller Quests 1. Big Beastie = Weight lifting It’s time to get back to lifting all the heavy things! I’ve missed it, so it’s time to re-set and lift stuff again. I like it, it makes me feel better about myself and it’s got practical, real-world purposes. Werewolves are, first and foremost, destructive forces with incredible strength. Most werewolves are particularly strong in the upper body, although they’re really just all-over slabs of muscle. Scoring: x/5 (1 for each weight achieved) Bar Curls: 20lbs → 25lbs Bench Press: 60lbs → 75lbs Deadlift: 65lbs → 80lbs Pullups: 3 → 6 Tricep Pullovers: 20lbs → 30lbs Reward: +5 to STR (+1 for each completed) 2. Loup Garou = French I’m going to Europe this winter so it’s time to learn a new language! I’ve already given French a try and it’s hard, so I need to practice to be ready by February. I want to practice at least three DuoLingo sessions each day, once a day. This will be difficult because of my schedule on weekends and going to Grand Caymen in a few weeks, but I need to do this and I find that I practice more regularly in conjunction with a challenge here. One of the most famous werewolf legends is that of the French loup garou. It’s even got a cousin in New Orleans called the rougarou. Scoring: /28 Reward: +4 to WIS 3. Stalking = Walking I’ve done running for challenges and I’ve done walking and I think walking is actually better for me personally. I’ve seen better weight loss and toning results because of it. It doesn’t make me break as big a sweat as running does, but it makes my legs stiff in new and painful ways so that’s gotta’ count for something! Also, my husband walks A LOT and I want to be able to keep up with him better. And while in Europe I’ll be walking everywhere so I need time to get into proper walking shape so I’m starting early. The third week of this challenge will likely get tricky for this though as I will be in Grand Caymen and thus, underwater scuba diving most of my days. Hopefully, I can get to my 20 mile goal without needing to walk a lot while on vacation. Werewolves are the perfect predator; not only are they incredibly strong, but they’re also excellent stalkers. They are silent and deadly that not only rely on their inhuman strength, but also on their quiet stalking skills. Scoring: x/20 miles in 4 weeks (5 miles per week, at the gym) Reward: +3 to STA & +3 to DEX

I just got back from an Epic Trip. To some of my favorite places. Where we hung out with a few of my closest friends. Coming home has been... an adjustment. I haven't actually been that happy to be home. I miss my life in the Steiermark, even though that was more than 5 years ago. Coming back put me back in a beautiful place, but it's still a neighborhood on the far side of a town that has no Backerei, Konditorei, oder Bahnhof. We do have a couple PNW-style coffee shops. Trouble is, I'd trade a convenient Starbucks any day for twisting streets and a little café. But this is my reality right now; I live here with my bf and our families. Europe is a possibility in the future (especially for university!), but I am accepting that being here is my right now. The trouble is... Kummerspeck (lit. sadness bacon) due to Heimweh... and it`s turning me into a Schweinhund. Instead of getting mad at myself, I`m getting back into the swing of things. I need to see some stats on my pudginess. 5 days/wk weigh in, logged in a google doc. I need to re-establish my range of motion and core. My ROM test for my shoulders is good with push ups, hips by squats, core gets better with sit ups or wheel rolls. I can space that stuff over the day to keep myself moving. CF can also be used to knockout a bunch of those (or a day`s worth).100 each of [squats, push ups, sit-ups] 5x/wk My language skills are slipping. Duolingo or something... I so much enjoyed speaking German again that it is really hard for me to want to pick up French again. But this is where I`m headed to in a few months, and I said when I was hired that I would be fluent in 2 years. That was 3 years ago. Anyone who is a native French speaker and would be willing to work with a beginner, drop me a line! French 5 days/wk Any other ideas, folks?

Hello all :-) Joining Rising Heroes seems to have been the kick in the pants I needed. I'm getting back into things. Going to try a less basic challenge this round but I'll just add stuff as bonuses. I'll be happy if I finish the basic goals. Appropriate to my last challenge - kicking things off with one more storm tomorrow/night. Meh. 25 to 45 cm of snow expected. Physical Workout 3/week - whatever I want, just do it. Kickboxing is fun right now. Yoga Bodyweight training running at the track wall climbing? shoveling piles of snow (more of an extra) Bonus - Stretch and shoulder maintenance - at least 3/week. Preferably more. Mental Settle enough to get to sleep by midnight work nights 5/week Weekend nights are generally fine. Bonus - Get back to meditation - 3/week Fun/personal development things - yes, this is stacked up. I want to do more fun things. Guitar - 3/week - continue 30 day challenge with my division French - 1 duolingo lesson/day or substitute time with slow French news or watching a cartoon without subtitles Bonus - Videogames - 2/week instead of my usual 1/week. Logging in to do the hunt counts. Bonus - Watch TV on my own - 2 eps/week of whatever Deal with the chores - backslid a bit lately wash the floors clean the fridge wash the windows Finish the handwash pile Dust and sweep 2/week - allergies have been worse of late Food is not going to be a goal this time around as it's been good lately. I may still post about it. The most cheerful song about everyone dying in the end of the world. No meaning attached to this. I just like it.

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

Hi Rangers! After a month off, I'm back and ready to get stuff done. I'm focusing on 3 things this challenge: Core, and mobility from my hips to my shoulders. 2000 sit-ups by the end of the challenge. That's 500/wk, or 100/day for 5 days/wk. GHD's count as double! 8-minute Abs must be subb'd at least 1 day/wk NO BINGES for the next few weeks! I have dealt with disordered eating, and it's sort of like having been an addict. You always have to be on your guard for relapses. I've gotten tons better in the past several years, and my bf has helped so much with with me giving permission to eat and also questions me when I know I'm at risk. Work on my French. I'm going to do something every day. My bf's little sister and I were doing once-a-week French practice, and putting together projects for that in conjunction with Coffee Break French was excellent. She starts school in a few weeks, but at least we'll have a little time to practice together! Finally, I need to stay on track, and one of the best ways of doing that is to stay plugged in. 5 posts in my own thread, 5 posts in someone else's thread every week. Best of luck to everyone in their challenge! May the Force be with you!

It is time for some fun and some French - French fun!. Last month, I ran my first marathon (in 4h47 - woo!) and I had been in training for it for about 6 months. I took the last challenge off to recuperate and chill, but now I'm back and looking for something different and exciting. Enter roller blading! This is something that I have wanted to properly try since my very first visit to Paris (ten years ago) - and I'm very excited even if I fully expect this attempt to be painful and humbling. Physical: Learn to roller blade I have a friend who is just beginning to roller blade as well, and we've made a pact that when she visits me at the end of June, we'll roller blade through Paris together on the Sunday mass meet-up (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rollers-coquillages/sets/). So I've got my deadline and I've got to start moving. Weekly goal: Put on the skates twice a week. Challenge checklist: Buy all the equipment (skates, helmet, wrist/knee/elbow protection), Decide how many taught sessions and when, Read about falling safely, Identify good places/times to practice, Read about balance, Read about stopping safely and Take a lesson. Reward: You'll actually have learnt to skate, dumbass! And it'll be wonderful! Mental: Improve my French To put it simply, I'm not confident in French and it is getting in the way of making friends and truly feeling settled. My major obstacle here is that studying French has become very mundane to me and somewhat boring , so I have been choosing the path of least resistance where I coast along and avoid the more demanding situations. But doesn't that sound really stupid? Especially when it is a source of stress and it is making me unhappy. I want to tackle this problem by laying down some rules: Whenever I get home earlier than my boyfriend, turn the TV on Visit the library once a week Read a chapter of a novel each week (or an entire comic/manga) Spend 60 minutes before work on a Wednesday, studying grammar from my textbook Buy a coffee for someone every Tuesday Spend 30 minutes, jotting down plots and ideas for short stories on a Saturday morning Reward: 12 euros to put towards having a nice lunch in a restaurant or café near work. However, the catch is that I will take away 50 centimes for every rule broken per week. Hopefully, I'm going to come out of this challenge with more than a baguette!

Second attempt to Theme It Up Good, now presenting, :3 Just look at their little faces, my children, my loves, my collection of cinnamon rolls and angry kittens and- *AHEM* sorry. So sorry. Anyway. So here's what happened in the last Challenge: Things went pretty well as far as doing what I set out to do, keeping up with tasks and whatnot, but then hit a giant roadblock in the form of a close relative's death and the resulting emotional turmoil. The household has not been the same at all. Final half of last Challenge was spent focusing less on the tasks and more on keeping afloat during difficult times. Now, we're in the rebuilding stage. My goals for this Challenge are much the same as they always are, but with a few other things thrown in. Anyway, ~ The Set Up ~ ________________ For this Challenge I'll be drawing inspiration from one of my favorite stories, "The Three Musketeers". The book(s) are actually my favorite version, but the BBC's adaptation is an incredibly close second. It has almost all my favorite things; intense brotherhood, antics, snark, humor, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...uh....<.< The four beautiful heroes each have their own unique plot arcs and development over the course of the series while also dealing with the main plot of each episode and the main plot of the series itself. They also have some very specific traits, some of which follow them through every version of their story, some of which are particular to this one. In the Title's spirit, I've selected three traits from each of them to base my Challenge on, plus a mini-quest. These traits are, Athos: (The Leader with a troubled soul. Also looks exactly like Grumpy Cat in the BBC version) Stamina- Athos is not one to quit. Each day, walking/running or Plank Challenges will award me a point here. Intelligence- As a gentleman, Athos is highly educated, That, and his sass-game is always on point. Here, I'll receive points for studying my French and Spanish, and also Mathematics on Khan Academy Serenity- Yes, Athos is known as something of a tortured soul and does occasionally deal with it by drinking himself into a stupor, but for the most part he stays cool and collected under pressure and is the first one to pass on the advice, "head over heart". For this one, I'll be keeping a journal. Last Challenge, issues of anxiety, among other things, came up and so attempts will be made to investigate via journaling. Aramis: (The Monk with a taste for adrenaline and romance, ninety percent of season two is his fault) Agility- In almost all his fight scenes, the man is duel-wielding. Which is awesome. He's also fond of jumping out windows, but that's beside the point. In attempt to level up my own Agility, I'll be working on yoga, with one point per session. Friendliness: Aramis is always ready with a kind word and often finds his advice to "not get involved" difficult to follow. I'll be working on my own people-skills and attitude throughout the Challenge. Faith: For all his wandering ways, Aramis is devout in his faith. Bible Reading and Prayer are the goals. Porthos: (The Warrior with a heart of gold and ambition to match, he's highly skilled in combat using forks, chairs, and sometimes headgear) Strength: Porthos' main recurring trait! He is physically the strongest of the group. I'll be working out to gain some strength for a point! Resourcefulness: Armed with only a three-pronged fork, he successfully dueled a man. He's also great at good-cop-bad-cop. For my feat of resourcefulness, however, I'll be aiming for four bottles of water a day and also making an effort where food is concerned. Joy: Honestly, though, Porthos has the best smile. I'll be focusing on positivity. D'Artagnan: (The Puppy- I mean...uh...The Ace of the Group. Full of potential and raw nerve. He is also a cinnamon roll.) Speed: On the one hand, d'Artagnan is known for recklessness, impatience, passion-without-pause, but on the other, he's also a quick and eager learner and polishes well. My feat of speed, ironically, will be to slow down and do my own polishing in the form of stretching and developing flexibility. Perseverance: For d'Artagnan, it's rarely a question of 'if' but rather 'when'. He rarely doubts whether something will happen that he's striving for, just keeps on fighting for it until it does. Likewise, I'll be plowing ahead in my writing. Courage: Another d'Artagnan signature. I'll be trying for a tiny adventure or a brave deed each day. Points will be awarded for each successful completion, and there will be a mini-quest each week worth two points per successful completion. The rest of Zero-Week, however, will be spent in Captain-Treville mode, setting everything up.

Hi all, first challenge with the Rangers. Excited to be here! Had a bit of a mixed bag last month (link in my signature if you're interested) so doing some more of the same, and a couple of new bits as well. My Quest To be fitter, stonger, healthier and to look better naked. Challenges Swim More, Swim Better (15XP) - Did exactly this in the last challenge and failed miserably. Also haven't been swimming since the last challenge. So I'm upping the XP and trying again. Swim at least 3 mornings per week before work, with at least one drill day (bonus 5XP for 5 times a week on at least two weeks). Get Hiking (10XP) Going for a hike across Dartmoor on the last weekend of the month so I want to get back in hiking practice. Two long walks over the course of the challenge (10 miles plus) Parle plus en français (15XP) - Didn't do badly on this last month, but I want to get it perfect this month. Switching to a weekly goal rather than a daily goal to give myself some leeway in case fate intercedes with my progress. 350XP on Duolingo each week. Take care of your teeth! (10XP) - It seems ridiculous as a 27 year old man that I can't do this reliably, but for some reason I avoid brushing my teeth all too often. Simply brush teeth twice per day every day for this challenge. Does not have to be morning and night; can be any time (but must be a meal or sleep between each time). Keep track (10XP) - I ran into a few problems with the last challenge in not remembering if I had completed things, so this challenge is to complete my battle log every day for the duration of the challenge. Exception allowed for end of month hike if I can't get on the internet. No compromises (10XP) - I have the above challenges, the ranger mini-challenge and a PVP to do this month. These must be done in addition to my normal Gym routine (at least 2x per week) and badminton routine (as often as it can be booked in with my partner), and not at expense of them. The hike at the end of the month will be day 1 of this: http://www.carfreewalks.org/walks/75/dartmoor_north_to_south, and then we're thinking of heading east to Haytor and getting picked up from there as we're staying in that area afterwards. Also, Haytor is awesome, and I want to climb it again: Still quite new to this, so comments, criticisms and advice always welcome.

Hello, Druids. After a bit of contemplating upon my last challenge, I decided I will fit better here, than I did in the adventures. I registered in 2014, and not once did I thought I'd end up here, yet my life choices have slowly pushed me here. Goal 1: Vegan Diet. Currently, I am trying to be a vegan. It may not be the most healthy option, but it sure is healthier for the animals, which I choose not to eat and/or exploit. To complete this goal, I need to: - Eat more fruits, veggies, nuts, oats, seeds. - Drink at least 2L of water every day. - Skip things such as: meat, milk, cheese, eggs, proccessed foods with sugars (candy, chips), soda; - Learn a few new good easy recipes for vegan meals; Grading: 1-2 days, not completing my diet - 3 CON 3-4 days, not completing my diet - 2 CON 5-6 days, not completing my diet - 1 CON Goal 2: Clean Mind, Developed Mind. I have recently started again with meditation and to take studying more seriously. My mind is my greatest asset and I should train it. To complete this goal, I need to: - Meditate for 10mins/twice a day. - Currently I do 20mins/once a day, 23 days streak. but shorter and more frequent sessions should lead to a long-term habbit. - Study French and Russian every day. Grading: 1-2 days failing - 3 WIS, 1 CHA 3-4 days failing - 2 WIS, 1 CHA 5-6 days failing - 1 WIS Goal 3: Fitness. I like to be physicaly active through working out and running. And now, more than ever, I need it - I am going to be a Lifeguard this summer. As Ned Stark would say: Summer is Comming. To complete this goal, I need to: - Workout frequently, by doing a strenght workout (pull-ups at some bar), or running outside. Grading: 18+ workouts this challenge - 2 DEX, 1 STA, 1 STR 14-17 workouts this challenge - 1 DEX, 1 STA, 1 STR 10-14 workouts this challenge - 1 DEX, 1 STA Life Goal: Travel. Make a few trips outside of my city. Take a few days to just see other cool cities, see Mother Nature. Resume of my challenge goals and things I should do: - Work out. - Eat vegan. - Drink water. - Meditate. - Study French and Russian.

Talvi: "All part of the plan I just made up" Hi there, I’m a scout who started running about 2 years ago and I’m currently in the last phase of training for my first marathon. I’ve had plenty of mixed feelings about the upcoming marathon in the last month or two. On one hand I’m really pretty excited about the race, the course (Paris) and setting new PRs, but on the other hand I’m worried that I haven’t trained enough and that the long distance training has begun to bore me. There is only one month of training left before the big race on 3rd April, so I’m going to use this challenge as the last push to get me to that starting line. Fitness goal: Get the runs done I have a schedule of sorts planned out for the next month, which I’ll post below. I’ll be running at least 3 runs a week peaking with a 20 mile run before tapering the distance down in the last two weeks prior to the big day. I simply need to keep up with the plan and complete the lucky 13 runs . Fitness bonus goals: Support the running I’ve learnt that running paradoxically makes me stronger and yet more vulnerable at the same time. To become less fragile, I want to support my running with cross-training, yoga and general self-care. I will earn points for completing these complementing activities – and because I find it easier to avoid these activities – if I earn enough points at the end of the challenge then I’ll earn a reward.. Points allocated: 0.5 points for feet care, 1 point for Runner’s yoga session or cycling somewhere (instead of metro) and 2 points for a dynamic workout (BBWW, darebee or bouldering session) or an extra run of 5-10km. Carrots: 8-11 points for Slytherin, 12-14 points for 5 euros to spend on lol or 14-16 points for 10 euros to spend on lol Life goal: Get busy Since the beginning of 2016, I feel like I’ve been stalling. I have a magnificent list of things I want to achieve this year and I haven’t been working at it at all. Ultimately, I got into bad habits and my personal drive must have gone on holiday. I don’t need to anything specific this challenge, but I want to just correct my attitude and get back on top of things. I have a lot of ongoing projects, including French, Spanish, coding and cocktail making. I’m going to have a point/reward system here too and I’ll see if it works well. It is a little vague, but I’ll give points to anything proactive that works towards my epic quests for 2016 or adulating in general. Examples of points allocated: 1 point for anything I do that sorts out my admin folder, 30 minutes chatting in French or Spanish, 30 minutes working on French or Spanish grammar or 30 minutes coding. Rewards: 4-7 points for Gryffindor, 8-12 points for a Raspberry Pi/running magazine, 13-16 points for Domino’s pizza and 17+ points for a nice restaurant meal out (perhaps that Mexican down the street….) By Sanshikisumire on DeviantArt P.S. I’m very into playing League of Legends at the moment, where I play best with Lux, Caitlyn, Ashe and Jinx, so there may or may not be lol art and memes… just saying

TALVI: Nimbly I go (to the Druids!) Hi Druids! I’m quite definitely a scout in my overarching goals, but I’d like to hang out with you guys for a challenge if that’s okay. I’ve gone from running 5km to 15km in 2015, and I’m now planning on running my first marathon (the Paris one) on 3rd April 2016. Nearly all my NF challenges have concentrated on either running or climbing. I’m fairly confident that I’ve built sustainable running habits now, so it doesn’t need to be the principal focus anymore, and frankly I'm ready for a change. Hence YOGA CHALLENGE! I’ve heard of a few other rebels trying out various yoga challenges on their threads so I thought I’d give it a go. With gains in flexibility, balance, peace of mind and, all the while, complementing my running and reducing my chances of injury – why the hell not? Main yogi goal: Complete the 30 day yoga challenge Potential stat allocation: 4 DEX & 2 CON I’ll be doing 10 to 30 minutes of yoga a day from the doyouyoga.com challenge. I’ve heard good things about this particular yoga challenge, but there are a few of them about the internet so I’ll change if another suits me better. I also quite like the runner’s world yoga videos, so I score extra brownie points if I end up doing a few of those too. I plan to do the yoga everyday, but if I miss a day then I can catch up by doing multiple videos in one day. Secondary running goal: Keep up with the Novice 1 Hal Higdon's marathon training program Potential stat allocation: 3 STA The challenge will be to complete the yoga routines, but it motivates me to report on challenges about my running. I aim to run three times a week: 1 x 5km, 1 x 5-10km and one long run (currently is between 12 and 21km). If anyone has advice on warm-up activities or stretches then I’d love to hear it. I currently slack a lot with warming up and I’m hoping daily yoga might change my stretching ways. Life quest: French it up Potential stat allocation: 2 CHA & 1 WIS I live in France and I do speak French, but I’m embarrassed about my level. I want to change that this year, so it is on my epic list for 2016. Last year, I read Benny Hill Lewis’s book and followed the principles to immerse myself in Spanish and to speak as much as possible – and it worked really well! Now, I’m hoping to do the same in French and take an active approach to improving my fluency. I will need to get 7 points per week to be successful, and I will earn one point every time I do one of the following: Listen to the news or audiobooks for 30 minutes Listen to French music for an hour Watch 60 minutes of French TV/cinema Read a chapter of a French book Spend 30 minutes studying grammar Go for a coffee with a co-worker and ask them to correct me Thanks for reading and good luck with your challenges!

So I thought about it means to be a successful assassin and found it covers many things. Endurance, strength, stamina and dexterity are obvious, but things like stealth and adaptability are also important. I decided to give myself a basic fitness test (no judgement, just want to know where I am starting) and as a result, I have determined the following goals. My first goal will focus on stamina. If the Zombie Hoards start coming, I need to be able to get away quickly and regroup. I want to be able to run (not walk or jog) a whole mile. If I manage to do this before the 4 weeks are up, I will work on improving my time. I would like to do this 5-7 times a week if possible. Week 1 run at least .25 of a mile walk/jog the restWeek 2 run at least .5 of a mile walk/jog the restWeek 3 run at least .75 of a mile, walk/jog the restWeek 4 run full mile= 3(STA) = 2.25(STA) = 1.5(STA) = .75 (STA)Next I need to work on my body strength and dexterity. If I need to climb the side of a mountain or navigate treacherous terrain after taking out the evil warlord, I need to be able to move. I worked with my physical therapist (dealing with a back injury) and developed the following workout. 3 Sets (Every morning for stretching) Trunk Rotation 10 times Bridge 10 times Spinal stretch, Hold for 15 seconds 3 times both sides Dog to Camel pose 10 timesKnee Planks, Work up to 2 min each setQuadriceps Stretch, Hold for 15 seconds 3 times both sides2 Sets Heal lifted squats with 16lb weight 10 times Over-the-Head weights with 10lbs 10 timesLateral shoulder raise with 8lbs 10 timesBoxers, 10 each side, 3lbsCurls with 8lbs 10 times= 5 days a week = 3(STR) & 3(DEX) = 4 days a week = 2.25(STR) & 2.25(DEX) = 3 days a week = 1.5(STR) & 1.5(DEX) = 2 Days a week = .75(STR) & .75(DEX)Let's face it, if my diet sucks, I won't be able to accomplish any of my physical challenges so I must take on the task of "Fruit (and Veggie) Ninja". I need to eat a total of at least 3 servings of fruits and veggies every day. (not to be confused with 3 servings of each, every day) = 6 days a week for both = 2(CON) = 5 days a week for both = 1.5(CON) = 4 days a week for both = 1(CON) = 3 days a week for both = .5(CON)Finally, what good is an assassin if they are only limited to basic English?! A truly successful assassin can travel and if necessary help our allies, so towards that end I will teach myself French. = 1 hour 6 days a week = 2(WIS) & 2(CHA) = 1 hour 5 days a week = 1.5(WIS) & 1.5(CHA) = 1 hour 4 days a week = 1(WIS) & 1(CHA) = 1 hour 3 days a week = .5(WIS) & .5(CHA)

"You know nothing, Jon Snow." 41 year old married mom of one takes on the Night's Watch! This is the year I take care of me. I'm a hobbit, 5'1" and ultimately looking to lose 160lbs, down 18 so far. The weight is coming off a lot slower than I'd hoped, but this time it's coming off for good. Overall goal: To lose 10 more pounds. I'm the kind of person who: 1. Does a bodyweight workout 2x a week. I'm starting with Darbee's Night's Watch workout and working up to Level 1: 3 sets. So I will start with one set, and build up through the weeks. (#/2 + bonus points for progression to 3 sets by end of six weeks.) 2. Does 20+ mins of cardio 5 times a week. Gotta keep up the stamina to flee from the White Walkers. (#/5) 3. Gratitude Journal - write down 2 things I'm grateful for every day. (p/f) *I'm going to stick to the workouts I have, and save yoga for a future goal. I have some unwelcome visitors over the next few weeks and I'm going to need to keep a positive mindset. Life goal: I really want to do Nanowrimo, but I think i better sit this one out and stick to my 10 min of French daily goal.

Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 The Knight Sabers is the name given to the girls who don their hard suits and keep the city safe from rogue Boomers (and in proper anime style, end up saving the world in the process). But not just anyone can become a Knight Saber. You have to be smart, fast, strong and tenacious. Quest 1: Nene Romanova: Hacker Fingers By day, Nene is a dispatcher for the ADP, and pretty much sits at a desk all day. By night she hones her hacking skills and helps out the Knight Sabers in more of a support role. I, too, spend a whole lot of time in front of the computer, and some days my hands can really tell. I will be practicing hand and forearm exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles and tendons that take such a beating from such a “simple†job Q1: 5+ minutes hand/forearm exercises/5 days per week Scoring: 1 pt per day (max 30) Reward: 2 DEX | 1 CON Quest 2: Linna Yamazaki: Speed & Agility Before Linna moved to Tokyo to try to join the Knight Sabers, she was in Track and Field. This, I’m sure, helped when she raced Priss’ motorcycle on foot. I will be continuing to run 2-3 times per week. I will have a three-pronged focus this time. 2 of the 3 runs, I will be focusing on extending the amount of time I can run between bouts of walking. The 3rd run will be focused more on distance and will switch up the route I take to keep things interesting. The 3rd aspect will be incorporating sprints. These will probably be thrown in towards the end of my regular runs, but this is very much a work-in-progress so it will evolve as needed. Q2a: run 3 days per weekScoring: 1 pt per run (max 18)Reward: 3 STA Q2b: incorporate sprintsScoring: 1 pt per run (max 12)Reward: 1 DEX Quest 3: Priss Asagiri: The Tank Priss is the powerhouse of the team, with her knuckle bombs and just general ability to kick a whole lot of ass. To be strong like Priss, I will be focusing my bodyweight training on quite a bit of core and upper-body work. With the last challenge, I kindof fell in love with inverted rows and now I can’t wait to start working towards pull ups. I have also set myself a goal to be able to do a “proper†handstand by my birthday in November- Ideally this would be free-standing, but I won’t be too upset if I can at least do an impressive handstand at the wall by then. I’m also hoping to incorporate more shadow boxing into this because it’s just fun and I keep forgetting about it! Q3: Train 4 days per weekScoring: 1 pt per day (24 max)Reward: 4 STR Life Quest: Sylia Stingray: The Creator Sylia is the brain behind the Knight Sabers, almost literally. In fact, quite a few things came from her mind- some frightening, some awe-inspiring. This quest has 2 parts: Creativity and Language. I want to create at least one thing each week. Whether it’s a drawing, a new crochet design (or significant progress on previous projects from the back burner), or a really inspired meal. Additionally, I might be going to France in October. If I go, I will likely be sharing translation duty for another person on our trip, so I really need to practice my French. I will have a goal of a minimum of 30minutes, 4 days/week. LQa: Creativity: Complete or make significant progress on something creative. Scoring: 1 pt per week (6 max) Reward: 2 CHA LQb: Language: Practice at least 30 minutes, 4 days per week Scoring: 1 pt per day (24 max) Reward: 2 WIS Expected challenges and other comments: - For the first 3 weeks or so, my work schedule will have shifted so I have to be at work at 8am instead of 10, meaning that I will have to wake up extra early on mornings that I want to run. - Therapy days will more often than not be semi-mandatory rest days. Knight Sabers, Action!

For right now, this is a placeholder for the Challenge. It's Bye Week Challenge time right now! I confess, I could read/watch The Two Towers and only follow the journey of the Three Hunters across Rohan. Not that Frodo and Sam aren't important, of course. I just love the idea of running across Rohan. That's right, I'm headed to Edoras. I have a lot going on at the moment, and indeed throughout the challenge. A half marathon on July 12, my sister's wedding at the end of June, the fitness challenge that my gym launched last week (and will run though the length of the challenge), and travelling to Quebec (I'm on a layover at Chicago O'Hare right now), Detroit, and central Oregon in the next 4 weeks. So here we go! 1. get ready to run! I've borderline blown out my knees in the past few weeks, thanks to shortened medial somethingorother muscles after heavy squats. I've packed my softball and my running shoes with me, but the big deal will be doing hard core mobility work every day. (Getting my milage back up is a given!) Let's hunt some orc (+DEX, +STR, +STA) 2. The "beach body challenge" kicked off at my gym. Here are my baselines: 5:18 Fran 18% body fat (#117 lean mass) #142.8 Body measurements (my coach has them) We're following the Zone block plan, although one of my coaches gave me a "flexible dieting" book that I burned through. I think I will incorporate elements of that into the "block" idea of the Zone. Right now, I've been impressed by how little the zone gives you to eat. Yes, I calculated my needs based on my lean body mass. My goal is, using MFP, to stick close to a Zone plan/ratio for at least the first 2 weeks. I'll tweak the plan after that point, depending on what way I'm headed. The ultimate goal is to improve on all of those stats! I won't get final feedback until after this challenge ends, but should be able to tell whether I'm making progress in 6 weeks. If I hit #137 at the end of the challenge without losing muscle, I'll consider it a huge win. So far, I've managed to get my protein in every day (+CONS) 3. Daily language practice. I'm tempted to pick up Spanish, thanks to my upcoming Peru trip, but I'm currently en route to Quebec, und ich vermisse Deutsche... but the language of the challenge is FRENCH! (+CHA, +WIS) (just imagine the Eorlingas spoke French, although I always imagined them speaking some germanic Scandi language )

Hello Rebel Army! My name is Parker. I am a 160lb 20yr old college student who is tired of feeling sub par about my fitness level. I have done one challenge before, but some family tragedy along with passivity on my end helped me fall off the wagon pretty hard afterwards. BUT: the past is in the past, where it belongs. I'm ready to kick some tail, and I am honored to do it alongside of you inspirational fighters! Goal #1 Lose 10lbs I understand that because I am wanting to become stronger my weight might not change that much whereas my body fat percentage might, so this one is flexible. Ultimately I plan on trying to get from Level 4 of nutrition to level 6 (based off of the Academy descriptions.) This means to go to level 5: "I consume a vegetable with every lunch or every dinner, replacing a normal carbohydrate or starch, for 10 total days in a 2 week period, and I go one week without eating pasta. Instead of french fries, I order broccoli. Instead of white bread, I’m eating asparagus." and then to go to level 6: "I have gone 12 out of 14 days without eating bread OR pasta, and 12 out of 14 days with a vegetable in every meal I eat." Goal #2 Do bodyweight workouts 3x a week This one is pretty self-explanatory. I just want to get back into a routine. To help me with this I decided to do the Nerdwarts mini challenge, so I will be adding those workouts to my schedule as well. Goal #3 Drink 3 liters of water a day and go to bed BY 11. Also self-explanatory. Needless to say the times I have felt the best were when I drank enough water and consistently had a good bed time. In other words: NO MORE BINGING ARROW UNTIL 1AM. Life Side Quest #1: Keep up with French I am aiming to learn 5 new french words every day. I am about to enter my 4th and final semester of French, and I HAVE to kill it if I want to maintain my scholarship. Life Side Quest #2: Budget for this summer I am moving away from my parents's house finally and I'm about to be in the big, bad renter's world. I need to work my tail off and save money like a miser. I look forward to updating y'all on how life is going and to hearing how your journeys fair! (Hopefully my next posts will be more fun and dynamic with nice little gifs and such.) Loot: Vape Mod If I get an "A" in all of my goal categories (and the budget allows it) I'm finally buying my own (zero nicotine) Vape pen/mod and ejuice. Yay no more borrowing a few hits off of my friend's!

I found this recipe here and it looked absolutely amazing8 Thought I might share it with you, so it's in the oven now ^^ Ingredients 8 slice Nitrate Free, Uncured, cooked bacon1 small butternut squash2 cups spinach6 eggs1/2 cup canned whole fat coconut milk1/2 tsp. dried oregano1/2 tsp. sea salt (optional)1 tsp. pepper1 tsp. coconut oil, meltedInstructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a pie dish or tart pan by coating with melted coconut oil. Chop up half the cooked bacon and cut the other four strips in half. Peel and de-seed butternut squash then thinly slice into 1/4 inch disks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk and seasonings. Line the bottom of the prepared dish with one layer of butternut squash. Sprinkle chopped bacon over the top. Layer the spinach over the butternut squash and bacon. Place another layer of butternut squash over the spinach followed by the remaining slices of bacon. Pour egg mixture over the top evenly. Bake for 35-40. Devour!!Serve with a salad or something. Quiche is usually really heavy and asks for something light on the side. I'll post a picture of the outcome, in about 30 minutes *excited*

I'll fill this first post out more when I'm home, but here are my goals for this challenge, just to get them out there. Goal 1: Recover from the holidays...and then some What this looks like: Body fat goal: 26.25%Start of challenge: 28.27%Where I ended in 2014: 26.97%How much I need to reduce beyond 2014 levels: 0.72%Waist size goal: 38.5"Start of challenge: 39.75"Where I ended in 2014: 38.75"How much I need to reduce beyond 2014 levels: 0.25"Supported through maintaining an 80/20 Paleo diet. Having all my Non-Paleo Tokens (NPTs) for meals and snacks in one pot during the last challenge hindered me a little I think, so I'm going to separate them out and have different banks for each. So that means I start the challenge with 25 Meal NPTs and 17 Snack NPTs.If by some miracle, I blow past these goals, I have stretch goals in mind that I'll introduce when/if the time comes. Goal 2: The Superhero Trajectory What this looks like: Gym time 2-3 times per week. I'm currently still doing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles workout, but I'm not necessarily tied to that. However, they are superheroes I can admire. Supplement with Days 5-46 of the PLP 60-day challenge. I started doing PLP on January 1st, so why not use that to my advantage!Further supplement workouts with trying out HIIT on off-days, 1-2 times per week.Goal 3: "Cure" my apartment What this looks like: Participate in "The January Cure," modified to suit my needs.Continue to lighten the load by getting rid of 50-100 more pounds of "stuff."Goal 4: Become multi-lingual What this looks like: Practice French at least 5 times per week using the DuoLingo website/app.Bonus points if I can get a 40 day streak on DuoLingo (starting from today)!I did technically start my challenge on Monday, and I definitely used some NPTs over the past few days so my bank is currently at 22 Meal NPTs and 13 Snack NPTs.

Welcome to the Castle of Lord Helix. Take of your shoes. It might sound sad, but I don't know what my mission is - I don't know what I want. I just know I want to create these few habbits, because they will help me. Goal 1: +CHA Reach level 20 in French in Duolingo. (I am level 14 now) Goal 2: +INT Read 6 books. (about 250 pages each) Goal 3: +STR Be able to do 30 pull-ups. (i can do about 25 now) 30 - 3 STR, 28 - 2.5 STR, 25 - 2STR. Daily Tasks: - Continue my Duolingo streak. - Continue my Lumosity streak. - Read 40 pages. - Meditate for 5 minutes. - Stretch legs for 5 minutes. - Listen to a new music album. - No unhealthy food. Life Goal: +WIS Get a job. For that, I need to apply for jobs. For that, I need to get my photo taken. For that, I need to feel good. It's complicated. I want to learn french, so I have been trying for months. I want to read more, so I can be a better company to people and to have more topics to talk about. I want to listen to a new musical album for the same reason, and because for a while now i've had the feeling that I am listening to the same music over and over again, like I am stuck on the same place. And music is life. Lumosity is a site that develops the mind, and it takes 5 minutes per day. Stretching and meditations would also take 5 minutes per day, so I want to try and make them a habit. // MiniChallenge 1 of L1 Guild - Done. +1WIS // // MiniChallenge 2 of L1 Guild - Done. +1CHA // // MiniChallenge 3 of L1 Guild - Done. + 1WIS // // MiniChallenge 4 of L1 Guild - Done. (reaching lvl 1) //

Since my life is going to remain pretty busy with both work and pony-sitting until mid-October, at least, I simply don't have the energy for an elaborate new challenge. The best I can do right now is to not fall off the wagon entirely in regards to stress eating and neglecting exercise. So this is going to be a pretty unexciting holding pattern, trying to keep me from sliding back into bad habits. Goal #1: Beat that Sugar Monster Number one on this list is still my fight against the Sugar Monster. It turns out that even if I reduce the days when I eat the sweet stuff, I can still go totally overboard (there was that 250 g Ritter Bar that didn't last even an hour, poor thing). Goals: * Remain candy free at least 21 out of 42 days. * Don't eat more than one 100 g bar of chocolate (or an equivalent if the Sugar Monster is of the baked goods variety) in one day. Goal #2: Hit that target Keep the overall amount of calories in check. Tracking my food intake alone doesn't seem to do the trick. So I'll set again a limit on my weekly average. Last time I did have that target, an average of 1600 kcal max seemed to work quite well. Goal #3: Do yoga Don't forget to keep moving. While I'm still figuring out how to proceed with my KB classes, I can't really set a realistic goal there. But I did sign up for the 30-day yoga challenge on doyouyoga - so far I have made it to day 4. I'd like to make a bit better progress than the past two weeks... So I'll aim for an average 3 videos per week, or a total of 18 over the course of the next six weeks. Which should at least bring me to day 22 at the end of this challenge. Goal #4: Practice French And then I'll continue to brush up my mad French skillz via duolingo. I'd like to progress at least one lesson per week. Stat points and grades will follow... Just wanted to get this up so I'll have a new place to crash here for this round. Also still need to update my sig. I know. ... and for the Brigade... JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM???

Okay, sounds a bit crazy huh? Well, let me explain. I have a dear friend (swampling) and this is a little "joke" that has been a fun way of dealing with stress over the last challenge. It started with making a joke about burying things that bug us. She lives in Germany and happens to have access to the Black Forrest. I love unicorns. So, when something would bug me we would talk about packing up the unicorns and taking a trip to the woods to do a little digging. This is going to be a VERY busy time in my life and I have a feeling I will need to go visit the Black Forrest often. School is starting and I homeschool six kiddos from a high school senior to a preschooler. Between school and the day to day of life it can get so busy that it's easier to focus on the squeaky wheels and start the ....... "I just don't have time for......." This challenge will be to focus on keeping that from happening and moving in a positive and healthy direction. Also, I injured my knee a week ago.....promptly ignored it, and now I am paying for it. Day before yesterday I reached down and found a lump the size of a golf ball sticking out of my kneecap and within a few hours the skin all around that area started turning dark purple and red. Now, I can barely walk on it. Treatment seems to be to "stay off it as much as possible" , ice, and pain meds. That means that for the start of this challenge I will be looking to do something that keeps me active but puts little stress on that knee until it heals. I have no idea how long that will be, or quite what that will be yet. Goal 1: Stay active.....stretching, upper body work, rehab exercises, Belly Dancing lessons, ect. And, Because injuries tend to lead to being more sedentary and being sedentary to eating too much or to often....or not what is not the healthiest..... Goal 2: Food Tracking.....everything that goes in my mouth. I don't do MFP well, I tend to be a bit old school and find that having a physical journal works better for me. Though I may throw it into MFP as I feel inclined. But, everyday I have to list in my journal every bite I eat and approx. amounts. This will give me a basis to work from and hopefully deter me from eating anything I don't want to write down. Goal 3: Still working on this one....... And finally.............. A Life Goal..............French I have always wanted to read the Little Prince after having it highly recommended by a number of people. Last challenge my friend swampling mentioned that she wanted to read the Little Prince in French and asked me if I would like to join her. I was thrilled to do it. As I mentioned , I wanted to read it anyway and my oldest daughter had hinted that she wanted to learn a language and this would be an excellent way to brush up on the French I took in high school...... which I remember NONE of..... So, French....... Here We Come! Alrighty, here's to a new challenge, pretty unicorns and trips to the Black Forrest! Care to join me? Grades and any further details to come......