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I am still working on my "year to awesome." Some things have gone well, some have not. My biggest issue has been my diet. I have not made it a priority, so it keeps getting lost in the shuffle. So this round will be a full on emphasis on diet. As luck would have it, Lent is almost upon us, which gives me both a spiritual and physical reason to start a new diet lifestyle. I will do the following: Health and Fitness Observer the Whole 30 protocol during the days of Lent. This starts on Wednesday, March 5 and ends on Saturday, April 19. Yes, this is after the end of this challenge, but Lent is when Lent is . I will use the time between now and March 5 to do proper preparation. +2 STA, +2 CON, +1 CHR I will practice handstands for two minutes each day. +2 DEX, +2 STA I will add another day of pullups/pushups to my current weekly high intensity weight lifting routine. +2 STRPersonal Growth I will practice music at least five hours a week. split however it happens to fit. This must be at least two hours each of violin and mandolin playing. I have a recording project I would like to get done before the end of Easter (my parents would like a meditative recording of the rosary), so that should help with motivation. +2 WIS, +2 CHR

My long-term goal is still to be awesome, as defined several months ago. Continuing with my quest, I still have several issues that keep coming up, so will address them this round, hopefully making some better habits. Physical Goals Eat low-carb. I define low-carb as anything below 100g of carbs per day, with 60g per day as the target to allow some overshoot. My goal is 100%, but I will count it good if I do it 80% of the time. I have been doing better lately, but not there yet. +2 STA, +2 CON, +1 CHR Work at learning a handstand. My long-term goals include a headstand, but handstands are more impressive. Steve just posted an article on how to gently pull it off. I will practice for 5min per day during the challenge. With any luck, I should be able to do it by the challenge end, since my major problem is dizziness inverted, not strength. +2 DEX, +2 STA Start tracking my workouts again. I used to track repetitions and weight, but my old PDA died and I have yet to find another app to do it well. I have a shiny android phone with a nice display (Nexus 4). I will find an app and start using it. +2 STRLife Quest I love playing my mandolin and violin, but don't do it enough to stay sharp. I will practice music for thirty minutes at least three times per week. Goal is five to seven times per week, but life has been a bit too complicated lately to make this realistic. +2 WIS, +2 CHR

Main Quest This will be my third challenge on my "year to awesome" quest. I have made some progress toward the physical goals, more toward the life work goals. I have been very consistent about getting old projects done, furniture fixed and refinished, etc, but have still been neglecting my music a bit too much. My main area of work this challenge is getting my body fat percentage down. Short Term Quest Keep carb consumption down to 100g per day or less, subject to 80/20 rule. STA +2 CON +3 Drop an inch or more of waist size (currently 36.1"). CHA +2 Work on headstands at least four times per week. I still get dizzy when I try them and I need to get over this. STR +2 DEX +2Life Quest Publish some music, somewhere, and let this community know where. I currently have several projects in the works that could qualify for this. WIS +2 CHA +2

Main Quest This will be my third challenge on my "year to awesome" quest. I have made some progress toward the physical goals, more toward the life work goals. I have been very consistent about getting old projects done, furniture fixed and refinished, etc, but have still been neglecting my music a bit too much. My main area of work this challenge is getting my body fat percentage down. Short Term Quest Keep carb consumption down to 100g per day or less, subject to 80/20 rule. STA +2 CON +3 Drop an inch or more of waist size (currently 36.1"). CHA +2 Work on headstands at least four times per week. I still get dizzy when I try them and I need to get over this. STR +2 DEX +2Life Quest Publish some music, somewhere, and let this community know where. I currently have several projects in the works that could qualify for this. WIS +2 CHA +2

After having several challenges under my belt, I have had beat into my thick head that I really can't do more than a couple of things at once and keep up with life. I have too many plates up in the air. So I am going to make this challenge very simple: Health Related I will stop eating excess sugar and starches. This means less than 100g of carbohydrates per day. STR +1 DEX +2 STA +2 CON +3 WIS +1 I will decrease my waist size by at least an inch, stretch goal two inches. I am currently at 37". CHR +2Life Related I will trade playing video games for singing/playing/recording/writing music. I have a large number of music related projects I need to get done. CHR +2 WIS +2Just to give a bit more accountability, I will buy the video game of their choice for each of my sons if I do not get at least a B in all items. Since they are somewhat addicted to video games, I really do not want to do this. This will get my "year to awesome" going in the right direction. Diet is the key to everything.