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Hello friends... my name is Katrin [cut-reen]. I go by Morag around here, and Katrin Morag almost everywhere else. I have been around these forums since April 2016 (2015?). Last challenge was the first challenge in all that time that I missed entirely. I am a 35 year old mother of two lovely boys, ages 8 and 15. We live in Kiel, Northern Germany. I weigh in at 97kg, which is a problem, but it's currently so far down the list of priorities, that I don't even have time to worry about it. My husband of 16 years is in the process of moving out. Actually he is almost entirely moved out, but the books and boardgames we collected over the decade-and-a-half of marriage, which turns out neither of us wants to keep, are a forest in my entryhall/diningroom. I am still in therapy. This break week is the last week of school before 6 weeks of summerbreak. I have a PILE of paperwork to do to get all the running costs to be send to my name and run through my bank account. And just a "minor aside" I need to find a job, so that I can indeed continue to rent our apartment, our home. I started sorting out my bedroom and library first, cant pour from an empty pitcher, and it is almost done. I have a tendency to make a floordrobe. I can't get myself to put worn-but-still-fine clothes back into the wardrobe. To keep that in check I have plans to build a kind of coat rack / silent butler in my bedroom. The space is there, I just need wood. I moved some furniture around, now I am finally sleeping under the windows again and the former space where the bed had been is a library reading corner. Which BabyBoy and I have been using quite a lot already. Next: livingroom. Still to be unearthed from all the clutter, need to decide if I keep the coffee table or get the other one out of the hall closet. Besides being able to walk through the room again would be nice. I dream of vacuuming. Second week of summer break, Wed 10th through Sun 14th, the kids and I will be out for a much needed camping break. Hubby and I never went camping with the kids. It's not so expensive. And the kids and I deserve a treat after all this bullshit. Hubby and I are in a weird place. He doesn't want to break up with me, but he doesn't want to continue living here either. I thought I knew what I wanted. I am not entirely sure any more, beyond "the apartment sorted" and "all this chaos out of my living area". The kids are stressed, confused. Yesterday hubby was here most of the day, putting things on ebay and taking boxes/bags to his place. Afterward the elder kid asked me, why Papa doesn't sleep here any more (because he's moved out). And BabyBoy has been sleeping in my bed for an entire week now. They suffer, but it will be better once the living arrangements don't resemble a garbage pile any more. I have plans for living room and entryhall/dining room. Both need a few things which I can't budget for yet, might not even be able to this challenge, but the kids are very brave and we will be okay. I am FLYing, have been for a while. My energy levels are iffy during shark week, but that's almost over now, and I am starting to get back into things. BabyBoy made a list for himself too, things he wants to do every day, tick off... it's cool. I gotta get the three of us moving. I have a lot on my list for the week, and I WILL make a dent in it today, so that I get a good solid start. Life is different than Hubby and I had planned, different than I had worked towards for the last 16 years. But maybe I get less compromises and more what I myself want afterall now... time to see what is possible.

Have some music: It's almost mid-July now. A LOT of changes heading towards me and mine. Little boy "graduates" from Kindergarten. Summer break for most of our fitness activities, most of all our regular schedule. Life is weird. And it never really changes to not being weird, when I think I almost got used to things, they change again. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. It's just something that keeps me on my toes. This time without theme to go back to what is essential, what is REALLY important. I am aiming for a log-in every other day to every day with core data, and at least 3 times per week with a few words about what is going on. The goals right now are: log EVERYTHING (foodwise in mfp, challengewise in bujo and here). Drink enough water (2+L/d). Get enough oxytosin (stay in touch with supportive people, and support the right people in turn) how much and how often is to be determined, I am not quite sure what a good number is right now. Take a break in the early afternoons to sit with tea and check in with myself. That's it from me for now. Hope you are having an AMAZING SUMMER. I'll come check in with you in a little bit. Love you, my Ranger-friends, and rebels all. Katrin

Huzzaaaaahhhh the threads are opened up! The plan is set, I already logged food and goals yesterday and am eager to get started. It's still dark outside. But this season's bout of depression and endorphin-depletion was broken around Midwinter. It was broken easier than ever before and I am happy and eager to get started with the christmas gift I made myself: new journal. The goals are: Log everything. Note down what I eat. Include quantities, where possible, do not stress if not possible. Go for runs (or >30min walks) 3× per week. Go to classes. (FKS (Fitness, conditioning, sports-games), tue+thu, if it happens) (Bellydancing, wed, schedule permitting) Workouts at home to stay at 2× or 3× per week. Figure out if cancelling studio membership would be right choice or wrong. Figure out a way to stay emotionally healthy. No running myself into the ground and then starting to cancel workouts, ending in me being depressed. Rest. It's not optional. Gorrammit. Will add some nice theme-y pictures once on the PC. But I'm not yet and I am planning a run/long walk along the coast at dawn... things to look up and get ready.

Bards, Paladins, Innkeepers, Clerics, Healers (and more?) of All Guilds... TAG! You're IT! A tag matching system to help nerds find other nerds of the same role-play occupation... With the new changes on Nerd Fitness, the old questions of "Why don't we have a Bard's guild?" or "How can I best find other nerds with the same 'class/occupation/interests'?" have surfaced again. After reading people's ideas on the CHALLENGE AND CLASS CHANGES AND UPDATES thread, I realized we don't need any new features or additional guilds. We have the necessary tool already at hand! All it will take is for a few good nerds to band together and teach people to hack the existing tag system to good advantage. The beauty of this approach (beyond the fact that it means no extra work for the hard-working NF admins and site team!) is that it is totally configurable, readily available, and should be able to adapt to any of the new features and changes that will appear on Nerd Fitness in the coming months. Are you with me? What I'd like to do is start a sort of "meta-accountability group" team that would help connect nerds that want to play "tag" to be more accountable to each other. What I see this group doing is to make up a list of suggested tags, and then fanning out across the forums to let people know that there is a way to connect with others of similar interests, whatever their guild affiliations may (or may not) be. This approach to tagging can work independently of the guilds, as the occupations that are most mentioned/requested cross guild lines, much like most of the regular accountability groups. And I believe that once a little coordination is in place, it could encourage "tag" groups to form their own accountability groups as well, thus strengthening the entire system. My hope is that this method will help people feel more at home in their guilds, appreciating the camaraderie and help system already there, and also fulfill the concurrent need to connect with others of similar interests across guild lines. Who wants to play "TAG"? You can sign up to be a guild-focused flagger and/or an occupation-focused tagger. Both roles are needed, but have slightly different responsibilities. Everything below is really just a simple perception shift from "class" or guild-based thinking, to "occupation" based thinking. Guild Flaggers are nerds who know one guild well and have connections to many individuals within it. They work within their existing guild to let those they see looking for like-minded people know that there is a way to connect with people of similar "occupation" outside of or across guilds. This can be done via challenge threads, posts in guild chat threads, or PMs, by providing links to the tag spreadsheet we will create as part of this group and by providing instructions on how to tag a topic post. Occupation Taggers are people who know quite a few people in more than one guild and most likely have connections to a number of individuals with similar interests, regardless of their guild affiliation. They work with anyone they see looking for like-minded people and let them know that there is a way to connect with people of similar "occupation" whatever their guild affiliation. This can be done via challenge threads, posts in interest-related forums (general forums, accountability groups, PVPs, battle logs, etc.), or PMs, by providing links to the tag spreadsheet we will create as part of this group and by providing instructions on how to tag a topic post. As a "meta-accountability group," I expect most people interested in doing this will be rebels of some experience who find that giving something back to the NF community is fulfilling and helpful to their own challenges. That said, you don't have to many challenges behind you or know a lot of people to do this. The only pre-requisite is to be willing to reach out when you see the opportunity. GUILD FLAGGERS DarK_Raider Raxie Rurik the Ranger shaarawy ShadowLion OCCUPATION TAGGERS darkfoxx LadyShello mr_willes NeverThatBored SkiBlue Introduce yourself below and let me know if you want to be a tagger or a flagger.