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Inspirational as bleep. So I've packed on some weight. It's been a rough couple of months. I can't really complain that much, because in general, my life is really good. It's just been... hectic, I guess is the best word, with all of my time being taken up by my various other responsibilities. My wife is full-time in university, my kids have activities all week, my dog needs walks at 5am and 5pm, and I'm still working full time and trying to make it as a writer. I probably bitch about this every time, but I have ALL of this energy going out into the world, and I have no energy coming IN to my life. I am the nice, sturdy foundation of my world: I'm solid, dependable, blocky, and always there. And like most foundations, you kinda forget it's there and just assume it'll always be there. I've been in my routine, and my routine doesn't leave a lot of room for exercise (outside of walking the dog, which is probably all that's kept me alive so far!). I've been treating my depression with food, as I always do, and an impressive pattern of telling myself I'll stop tomorrow. And just the other week, I noticed, I REALLY NOTICED that I'm significantly fatter and more out of shape than just a few months ago. My back hurts, my knees hurt, my wrists and elbows hurt, and five minutes on the heavy bag was my total limit. So right now, I'm going to start some small steps in order to build some better habits, some better routines. I'm going to be on autopilot, with my daily routines, for the next eight months at least (after which, I'll probably be on another new routine). I can't BREAK the routine... there's too much to do. But I can tweak the routine. Try and shape it to be more productive. Challenge #1 - 30 Minutes With The Kettlebells I'm up early every morning, just because my dog REALLY wants to come in. It used to be she only wanted in when it got light around 6am, and then as the days got shorter she would want in around 6:15am, or 6:30am. But now, she's going backwards, and she wants in around 5am. So I'm gonna be up anyways, and I can't sit when it's that early, because I just stiffen up. So I want my NEW ROUTINE to be making my big morning coffee, hanging with the dog, stretching out, then 30 minutes with the kettlebells, mostly legs and back. Then walk the dog when she wakes up again (she always comes in then passes out for a bit), then home to clean up the house and make lunches before the kids wake up. I'm ALREADY UP, so lets use some of that time better. Challenge #2 - 30 Minutes Bag Work At Night I sleep better if I burn off some energy at night. There's usually some time between when the kids go to bed, and when I go to bed, that I either write or I play a couple video games and try to unwind. Every time I play video games to unwind, I wish afterwards that I'd done anything else. So now I'm gonna do anything else. 30 MINUTES OF BAG WORK. Not power shots, since I don't need a POWER WORKOUT at night, but speed, stance, ducking and weaving and pulling and shifting, and really working the core and throwing fast combinations. Work up a sweat, then stretch, and off to bed. Challenge #3 - Better Eating At Work I need to get back into eating sensible food at work. No getting frustrated and driving around aimlessly until I find whatever fast food joint appeals to me that day. No more going grocery shopping, and throwing a bag of chips or a bag of chocolate almonds into the cart and then leaving them in the van 'for work', rather than bringing them into the house. Sensible food, at work. Bring sandwiches, bring leftovers, and keep a case of soup under my desk again like the old days. BE HUNGRY at work. Not starving, but that level of hunger that tells me to drink more water. I don't need to be full 24/7. Challenge #4 - Self Care This one... I don't really know how to cover. Writing makes me happy, and I have been writing a lot more. I've been prepping two novels, and of course getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I'm still up in the air about working on a web serial, because my writing is inconsistent and I have a hard time writing THE SAME THING for an entire week, let alone every week for a year or two. But I need simple things that make me happy, that make me hopeful. When I figure out what those are, I will try and update this challenge. On the flip side, though, another part of self care is significantly LESS social media. Less Facebook, by far. Less Internet, probably. My only friends are online, though, so I need to find some good habits where I can keep in touch with people, but where I don't need to constantly expose myself to the horribleness that has become the norm. Baby steps in this direction. Find the balance. ... there's not a lot of "Monk-ish-ness" here, but I'll get back there.