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With my senior recital and graduation rapidly approaching (my recital hearing, which is more important than the recital itself, is in 5 days), I don't have a lot of time or energy to devote to a proper assassin's challenge, so I'm taking up some desk work for a while. /failed attempt at sort of themeing Goals: > 10h practice clarinet per week outside of rehearsal and lesson (%) > keep evening checklists of things to do before bed and do them. I must Tame my Monkey! (No more than one thing left undone every night) (P/F daily) > do something for bio outside of class 5 days /week (P/F) > do something for Spanish outside of class 2 days /week (P/F) > no late work! Also no more incomplete work. (%) > accumulate 25 points in Darebee Daily Dare thing (P/F) > pass recital hearing (P/F) > earn 94% or higher on next biology test (P/F) > earn full marks on next Spanish presentation (indigenous cultures; rehearse, do not read) (P/F) > Tame the Monkey (my score > Monkey at end of every week) (P/F *5) > limit phone (especially this) and laptop usage during the day and before bed. Things like using airplane mode or turning it off altogether during bio, practice, rehearsals, etc. Because EMFs are poison. > tennis ball rolling 3 days /week (% EC)

'Tis the season for a new challenge! Yay.... I think. I'm saving my Swords of Power challenge for January/February when I will have maybe come up with a way to assign attributes that aren't all purely mental and habit control (ex: "avoid the influence of Mindsword/Skulltwister by not even looking at memes or Netflix or Crunchyroll or <insert long list of distractors>", "do not sit at home doing nothing for all of break like you're possessed by Soulcutter", etc etc). Anyway, what better way to theme at this time of the year than through Christmas celebration! (awkward fragment is awkward lol) Note: still a draft. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." Practice clarinet and accumulate at least 10 points per week -2 points for no or insignificant practice 0 points for significant practice less than an hour in duration +2 points for the first hour in a day +1 point per each additional half hour +1 for singing practice "The four food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup." make good choices in food so I can make all the bad choices when Christmas cookies and candy roll out. Goal: average 2 points per day He's making a list, checking it twice Basically making sure I stay on top of academics into the Finals season and through winter break. I'm taking Bio 2 next semester but it's been 6-and-a-half years since I had AP Bio so woot. Going to keep working on Japanese as well. All the tacky Christmas clothing! Tacky Christmas socks Flexibility exercises for splits. EVERYDAY. Following advice from 30 Days & Stretches to Splits with supplementary material from GMB Fitness (both links I found here on NFR) Tacky Christmas sweater 100 Push-ups challenge starting on week 1 column 1 Tacky Christmas hat At the moment, this just encompasses all the other physical activity I might do. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake Sleep! I've been doing better with the sleeping part. Now I just need to do better on the awake-time time management without sacrificing sleep (oops). Happy Birthday Jesus Daily reading the Bible in preparation for Christmas. Even if it's just 5 minutes. Church.... kind of counts? So 8 possible pts /wk I'm running out of list related metaphors. I need to post a log (or at least a point distribution) here every week. I'm going to make it so that if I don't post my weekly log, all of my positive logging points negate. I also need to update my spreadsheet daily (so I don't forget details). I'm not 100% sure yet but I think this week is going to overlap both the end of my SU challenge (because the infrastructure is already there in that spreadsheet) and the beginning of this challenge. I'm still going over some ideas with regard to point distribution, category weights, and adjustments so that negative points just zero out instead of bleeding into other categories. I might use a combination. Reward system (likely related to presents under the Christmas tree) forthcoming.

Snickie has not fared well in the first half of season 1 with the Crystal Gems. Let's hope she can turn things around and get out of Pearl Point debt! Amethyst - Food Gems don't need to eat, but I do. Gotta make sure that what I'm putting into my very human body is actually good for humans! Amethyst isn't a good example, but she can put away all the junk food I don't eat. Record each meal and snack in my handy dandy spreadsheet. +1 point per paleo (Wahls) food group represented in substantial part Wahls groups: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, colorful fruit/vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, seaweed, etc. -1 point for non-paleo food group represented in substantial part non-paleo neutral: plantain chips, oatmeal, vodka sauce from a jar (I checked the ingredients mkay) New scale effective on Week 6! Steven - Music Steven is a friggin' musical prodigy, and heaven knows I don't practice enough. The Gems all have their own musical talents and leitmotifs as well. One day I can hope to be as good as Steven. +2 points for the first full 60 minutes of practice (0 points if less than an hour), +1 point for each additional 30 minutes -2 points if I don't practice at all Exception: illness; 3 hours or more of rehearsal Connie - Academics Academics are life right now. College and stuff. I'm terrible at completing large assignments on time and actually studying, so here: +1 point per 30 minutes per subject (partial credit given) studied or assignment worked on PDE: +1 point per problem worked (since these tend to take a long time anyway) -n points on the (n-1)th day after it was due and not turned in +1 point if Japanese was studied Garnet - Physical Jasper is out there somewhere. I need to be in top physical condition to be able to combat her when she comes. +1 point per exercise type attempted (at least 10m) +1 point for dance - dancing is important for fusion. +1 point for NF mini-challenge items -1 /day if non-exercise streak exceeds 1 Exception: illness, injury The Human Population of Beach City I'm human, so it's important to do other human things. +1 for getting 7 hours or more of sleep at night +1 for each additional hour, not to exceed 10 hours -1 for each nap taken -1 for getting less than 6 hours of sleep +1 for each 15 minutes of meditation +1 for each day that I make my bed Peridot - Logging If I don't log about it (or at least throw down numbers and details in my spreadsheet), then does it really exist? o_o How am I supposed to keep track of all the good things I've been trying to do if I don't, you know, log them?! +1 for each day that I log things into my spreadsheet +1 for journal entries Handdrawn images coming soon! (No more broken IMG codes and no more ZIBBITs. )

In school? Studying for an exam? Super-huge thing coming up that you need to prepare for? Need support? Someone to hold you accountable? Then this is for you Trying to be healthy (work out, eat right, get enough sleep) juggle schoolwork, and work/family/social stress is tough...we can't promise to help you pass advanced accounting, but at least you're among others that understand what you're going through, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

Those that know me know a bit about this...for those who may be new (or forgetful like me) a brief recap My wife was 'downsized' out of a job (after 20 years) about 6 weeks ago, we are currently fixing up our house to rent out, searching for an RV (trailer) to live in, and are going to be relocating to Florida probably sometime mid-July (the 15th is the goal date to move, we have to be out of the house by the last week of June!) The move is dependent on me finishing up my course I'm working on (for Dietary Management, because I work in a hospital and have to work in this type of facility to complete it)...also have my oldest son getting married next weekend, things are very crazy for me at work with departmental cuts being made left and right and every expense being examined under a microscope and questioned, and me trying to save my staff members from being cut My challenges while all this has been going on have been very basic, this one will probably be even more so...this place keeps me sane and accountable and I need that right now (not that I claim to be sane) Every day get some type of movement, walking, yoga, housework...this should not be difficult to do right now! Every day work on homework, no NF or anything else till this is done! Participate in the new minis, I'm super excited to see how this is going to go The real challenge this time is trying to remember and do everything I need to (lists are my friends!) and not get overwhelmed by all of it...take one thing at a time and work through it, most importantly do not be afraid to ask for help!! She is out of town the majority of time now (driving charter buses) so it's falling on me to get it done My current state of mind!

Ivy is back!! Invigorate - Walking - Every day, outdoors if possible - Work in garden or something creative at least once a week Variety - Yoga - 2 days a week Yearning - Homework - Want to finish school so I can move on to better things...want to start this AFAA course that I signed up for last challenge two challenges ago and see where that leads Doing the Daily Dare PVP, hope to get bronze again, I tried for silver last time but too much of it was beyond my ability. So much happened last challenge...my wife lost her job, we're getting the house ready to rent out and going to get an RV Trailer to live in (can't wait!! I'm so excited!!) We do have a lot of work to do and a little time to do it, hopefully by the time I finish my course we will be ready to go back to Florida! We are tearing up the carpet, laying laminate flooring, finishing the kitchen, cleaning up the yard, getting the outside painted and some minor fixes, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something in here...as well as looking for a truck to finance for a reasonable amount (because her's is too small) and trailer to purchase within our budget... My oldest son is getting married in June - I make candles and am doing the centerpieces for them My nephew is graduating high school in June - Which means I have to deal with my family, Goddess give me patience because if I have strength I'll hurt someone We plan on being out and the house rented July 1st Not happy with weight loss right now, it seems no matter what I try nothing is happening...I don't 'cheat' or go over calories that much or that often, I stay in an activity range that should have me losing weight, but I'm not, doesn't seem to matter what I do one way or the other, I stay in the same 5 lb range....I'm wondering if it's the fact that I don't have a gall bladder, which is about the only thing I haven't looked at since my hormones are dealt with, sleep is as good as it's ever been, and it seems to be about the time that it was taken out was when I started having trouble, which was the same time I went Paleo. Going to try a couple of things this go around and see if it helps, Ox bile is one of those things, if anyone has any suggestions or has dealt with the same problem I'd love to hear if you found a solution!

The Introduction Hello, dearies! If you can't tell from the above gif, I have been watching a lot of Once Upon a Time lately. At first I thought of it as a guilty pleasure, but then I started to realize that this show is actually quite good. Modern takes on fairy tales, not only having kick-ass strong female characters but the entire cast essentially being strong female characters, having Disney characters being gay, amazingly creative costuming and makeup, and overall incredibly imaginative plots that totally switch everything up that you thought you knew about fairy tales is completely inspiring from all angles. I love how they address a lot of the issues with fairy tales and make fun of themselves too. (At one point, in reference to Beauty and the Beast someone says "not that I'm saying you should love someone who is keeping you prisoner, what kind of message would that send to girls everywhere?"). So refreshing. And don't even get me started on the villains. The characters and backstories they create are so imaginative I have a lot of respect for the writers who take something so old and used and turn it into something so fresh and exciting. Also, Snow White's character is SUCH A FRAKKIN RANGER IT'S RIDONKULOUS. So anyway, the more I thought about this the more I realized that in all honesty, fairy tales are quite nerdy. In fact, fairy tales were possibly one of the first things that were ever nerded out about. I started looking into the origins of modern fairy tales and discovered that the Brothers Grimm were some of the first fantasy nerds to really make a name for themselves. They didn’t *write* fairy tales. This would have made them authors, not necessarily nerds. But they were obsessed with the fantasy stories of German folklore, they not only wanted the story, but they became cultural explorers, researching at a collegic level the cultural affects and representations of folklore. They developed a methodology for collecting, recording, validating, and researching folklore. They not only were nerds, but they opened up a whole new area of study for others to nerd out about in the future. And at its core, they were fantasy stories! If that’s not nerdy, I don’t know what is. Also, for a lot of us fairy tales were the first kind of fantasy we were exposed to. Think back to the first time you heard a story that took you away to another place. When you were a tiny child, whether it be a movie, a radio broadcast, a TV show, a book. Chances are it was some sort of fairy tale (Disney-version or otherwise). As you grow up, you transition to stories that fit your likes, dislikes, and age. But at its core, fantasy and science fiction stories are really all their own kind of fairy tale. So here I present to you without further ado, a throwback from a way old school nerdom themed challenge with a modern twist – Once Upon A Time in Raxie’s Enchanted Forest.

Figured it's time to officially do my IVY challenge even though it's going to look extremely familiar to some of you Weddings...must be something in the air, my oldest boy is going to be getting married in June, this means more candles/centerpieces Invigorate - Walking - Every day, outdoors if possible - Work in garden or something creative at least once a week Variety - Yoga - 2 days a week - Zumba - create routine this challenge...not putting a number on this yet, just need to get started! Yearning - Homework - Want to finish school so I can move on to better things...also want to do this AFAA course that I signed up for last challenge and see where that leads Will be doing a 'diet bet' at work to lose about 6lbs this month as part of our wellness program Will be doing 3 5k's in the next 2 weeks...one is this Friday, one this Saturday, so not 'officially' part of the challenge....one next Saturday... Hopefully the return of zero week means I can keep up on here better!

I'm back! Last challenge my life took a turn for the crazy. My classes started getting really time consuming, I got more responsibilities piled on me at my job, I went on vacation, and my family life got a little hectic. All this resulted in me, for the first time since joining the rebellion 17 wonderful/crazy/difficult challenges ago, having to step away from the forums for a few weeks and settle back into my life. I missed you all terribly, there were so many times I’d be like “oh I can’t wait to tell the nerds!†and then I’d remember I had to use my time doing other things. NF has become such an engrained part of my life it was really hard for me to just take a beat and work things out on my own. But I did, I have finally gotten used to the new pace of my life which seems it is here to stay, and am feeling refreshed from both my vacation and my challenge hiatus. So I’m feeling super motivated to tackle this new challenge. This challenge will be focused around my weekends. I have noticed that a lot of times I am unsuccessful during the week because I am not taking advantage of my weekends adequately. So I’m going to make all of my goals weekend oriented. If I set myself up for success, it’ll be hard to fail. I am definitely guilty of wasting entire Saturdays away doing basically nothing because I am not planning it out. I plan my weekdays every week now it’s time to plan my weekends too for MAXIMUM SUCCESS! Main Mission One: Move Weird I will utilize the weekends to do some fun movement that I don’t have a chance to do during the week. This can be an intense mobility session, restorative yoga, a hike, a ruck, or anything else of that nature. Main Mission Two: Homework I will do all my homework every weekend no matter what. I will not leave it for the weekdays. This has been something that’s been holding me back on weekdays a lot. I have plenty of time on weekends to do it, I’ve just got to get it done. Main Mission Three: Laundry Self-explanatory. I’ll wash, dry and PUT AWAY (seriously Raxie, put your damn clothes away) at least one load of laundry every weekend. Food Mission: Batch Cooking Every weekend I will prep all of my meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) for Monday-Friday of the upcoming week. I will post pictures here of my success each week for accountability and because nom. Life Mission: Nerd Fitness Because part of the reason I had to step away from the forums last challenge was due to not enough time, I will make sure to dedicate a chunk of time every weekend to catching up around here and commenting on all the threads I am following. And there it is. I’m gonna ranger my weekends for serial! Oh also, PS – I recently crossed something off my 2016 yearly goals. I paid off my credit card! Wohoooo! It’s crazy how it really wasn’t hard to do once I decided to do it. Making the minimum payment each month was so easy, but once I forced myself to buckle down, stop charging to it, and live a little more frugally to put more money towards, and also not spending my tax return on things but instead on my future by throwing a large chunk towards this as well… I was able to 100% pay off all 3 of my cards, not just my Discover card which was actually my goal of the year. Feeling really great about this.

Poison Ivy Because this fits me... Friends wedding will be happening this challenge, have to finish the centerpieces for this I will be taking Zumba teacher training this month as well...that will be next challenge I start having classes Going to try and reach 10,000 steps per day, at least 6,000 minimum Will be doing yoga 2 days a week at work Will be doing one lesson a day, at least one unit a week till I get my class finished Keep it clean will be the theme of my eating, since I can't outrun my fork and it will keep everything from getting derailed...that is just a given, not an official part of the challenge Work is going to be crazy this month, I am taking on the cleaning of the Medical Office Building in addition to what I'm already responsible for, have to get staff in place and trained by mid-month. Changes coming in the kitchen again, trying to get it back on track and fully staffed so it's not a chaotic. I don't want to have to choose between working out and doing homework so I'm cutting way back till schoolwork is done...I have two months to finish this! My youngest will be here for a week mid-month (yay!) for spring break...this is the same week of the instructor class and wedding...nothing like getting it all done at once... I also want to try and keep up with my friends better on here, because I miss you guys!!

This article is AMAZING!! For those who do not know me...I just (Jan. 2nd) had my two year "nerd-versary", I have always been an adventurer...Not sure what this "Ranger" guild is about but we'll give it a shot because Adventurers no longer 'fit' (if y'all will accept me that is...) Some Things I've Learned What has worked: Eating Paleo, not so much because of weight loss, but because I have RA and not eating the SAD foods has reduced my inflammation to more manageable levels. Walking, because I have realized I really enjoy it, and doing 5K's because they're fun! Yoga, because stress and my neck injury are a real thing Weights, because....well because I want to be a BadAss! What has not worked: Derby, not because it doesn't work, but because I have RA and my recovery time is crazy...I have to be able to move the next day. Anything that requires me to go to a gym, or devote crazy amounts of time to, because my schedule is constantly changing from one day to another... tl/dr; Immediate Goal To lose 40 lbs and finish Dietary Manager Course Goal 1 After Work - Week 1 & 2- GGS Workout M&F - HIIT Tuesday - MIC Thursday - Week 3 - GGS Workout M&F - HIIT M&F - MIC T&T - Week 4 - GGS Workout M&F - HIIT MWF - MIC T&T STR – 2 CON – 2 Goal 2 All Day - Moving 3 Miles a day/5 days a week At Work - Yoga 2 days a week (T&T) STA – 2 DEX – 2 Goal 3 After Workout - Homework! Do 1 Lesson a week WIS – 2 CHA - 2 eta - update to workout plans to match GGS program

So I was going to do another acronym challenge and call it I.V.Y. just so I could use this picture Because holy crap does it describe me! LOL But then the 'powers that be' decided to go revamp the site and piss me off With our Fearless Leader posting his views on what our 'description' should be, I decided to change the topic of my challenge, even though what I'm working on stays the same For those who do not know me...I just (Jan. 2nd) had my two year "nerd-versary", I have always been an adventurer...I do not particularly give a rats ass what some book decided to change the description to! I have tried several things in those two years...some have worked, some, not so much! What has worked: Eating Paleo, not so much because of weight loss, but because I have RA and not eating the SAD foods has reduced my inflammation to more manageable levels. Walking, because I have realized I really enjoy it, and doing 5K's because they're fun! Yoga, because stress and my neck injury are a real thing Kettlebells, because they're versatile enough to keep me motivated and continuing to use them. What has not worked: Derby, not because it doesn't work, but because I have RA and my recovery time is crazy...I have to be able to move the next day. HIIT, see derby. Anything that requires me to go to a gym, or devote crazy amounts of time to, because my schedule is constantly changing from one day to another... So once again, I'm trying something new for this challenge...a friend talked me into DietBet, I figured why not (if you want more info just ask) nothing like money to motivate you to lose weight! Our "Wellness@Work" program is doing a walking challenge, kinda like the walking to Mordor one here but we're walking from our facility to the beach (virtually of course) While I'm not doing derby anymore, I do have access to a program (that I paid for so I gotta use it! LOL) called CoreBuilder that looks intriguing, it's a month long so that works perfectly with the new format... I'm also looking at scheduling when I'm doing my workouts, because I work better with structure, as well as why I'm doing what I'm doing...'to lose weight' isn't cutting it apparently...I spelled all this out in my spreadsheet tl/dr; Immediate Goal To lose 40 lbs and finish Dietary Manager Course Goal 1 After Work Because I’m tired of making excuses and feeling bad - CoreBuilder 3-4 days a week - Kettlebell 2-3 days a week STR – 2 CON – 2 Goal 2 Before Work Yoga At Work Because I love how I feel and endorphins are awesome! - Moving 3 miles a day - Yoga 2 days a week STA – 2 DEX – 2 Goal 3 After Workout Because I will run out of time! - Homework! WIS – 2 CHA - 2

Hey guys, Guess who's back? Back again? Piddip's back. Tell a friend. Okay, so this is my fourth attempt at a challenge. My first, I completely bailed. My second, I completed. My third, I had to quit for private reasons. My fourth, I haven't done yet, 'cause this is it! BREAK IT DOWN: Main Quest: Get my body in tip-top condition to make the most of the playground we call earth. First Objective: Do the Angry Birds Workout every 3 days. (4 STR, 1 STA) Second Objective: Practise handstands for 5 mins a day, everyday. (4 STA, 1 STR) Third Objective: Drink at least 1l of water a day. (3 CON) Life Quest: Start homework the day I get it, or as soon as possible if that can't be done for whatever reasons. (2 WIS) Also, since I FAIL at keeping myself accountable, I created a Google Docs. spreadsheet. Link here. The table to the left is my workout (I added leg lifts), and the table to the right is for comments, questions, anything really. You guys can go on there and say anything (as long as it's positive), and I'll do my best to reply. And yes, I did create an all-new email address purely for this, so feel free to hit me up with a question or something like that. See you guys soon, Piddip. P.S. Can someone give me advice for parkour rolls? I managed to fall onto my shoulder while doing one... How can I stop this happening? Go faster? Go slower?