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“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.†If there is one thing I've been good at in life it's starting over. This last challenge I started off with a bang, then several things went bust and all did not end as well as I'd hoped. I ended up undoing several good things I had going, gained weight, stopped getting up to work out, and giving in to sugar cravings. So this challenge is going to be about starting over. Work smarter, not harder...I will have 4 weeks left of school when this challenge starts, this is the last challenge I will need to make that part of my challenge!! 30 min a day, before doing anything else online +2 WIS Got to move it, move it...I got out of the habit of getting up and working out due to injuries and other things going on in my life, if I need to modify this I did but I plan on doing this series of workouts at least 5 days a week...I did one, and now I cannot move! Not sure what I was thinking but I need to 'work up' to that workout...going to go back to elliptical 3 days a week, and bodyweight or yoga workouts 2 days (I was good on elliptical before, bodyweight needs work) Elliptical A – All 18 workouts (+1 DEX, +2STA) B – Skipped 1-3 workouts (.75 DEX, +1.5 STA) C – Skipped 3-6 workouts (+.5 DEX, +1 STA) D – Skipped 7-9 workouts (+.25 DEX, +.5 STA) F – Skipped more than 10 workouts. Bodyweight or Yoga A – All 12 workouts (+2 STR, +1 DEX) B – Skipped 1-3 workouts (+1.5 STR, +.75 DEX) C – Skipped 4-5 workouts (+1 STR, +.5 DEX) D – Skipped 6-7 workouts (+.5 STR, +.25 DEX) F – Skipped more than 8 workouts. Come on inner peace, I don't have all day...there are a lot of things going on right now that I'm struggling with, I've been interested in doing meditation for a while now so I signed up with Meditation Experience (yes, the Oprah and Deepak thing) to encourage me to do it...pass or fail, +2 CHA if I do it, nothing if I don't... Sugar, paleo, etc...just do it, I know I feel better when I do and like crap when I don't...just take it, and everything else...one day at a time... Longish term goal...I want to RUN in a 5k, specifically the Race for the Cure on April 11th, for time...this gives me something to work towards...doing the elliptical will help build my endurance, and we're going to buy a treadmill soon to use until the weather gets warmer.

What better analogy for going to grad school after being out of college for several years than a school that is simultaneously wonderful, confounding, and possibly deadly? I’ve recently accepted a new main quest: Make it through my master’s degree without taking on debt. I started off thinking about all of the things I don’t want to do to get to that end point: I don’t want to lose all my progress in health and fitness. I don’t want to become a shut in. I don’t want to feel deprived and angry. But I decided that a better way to look at it is what I do want out of this time. Once I had my “do†list, I realized that there are three loose categories present, and I’ve picked a goal from each. Fitness Goal: Track calories eaten, everyday. (+4 CON) Last challenge I completed most of a Whole30 before finances got in the way, and I loved how it made me feel. Right now I’m eating what I’ve already purchased in my pantry/fridge/freezer, so I’m more a “freegan†than anything else. But it’s still important that I fall into the right range for calories consumed, so I need to track this every. single. day. Better to go over calories and be able to see it in the data than not track it and have no idea how much over I went. It should be noted that I will also be exercising during this challenge and posting about the workouts, but since I’m already averaging 4-5 workouts a week I don’t see a need to make a goal for it. Best case scenario, I’d keep doing what I’m doing; worst case scenario, I’d exercise just enough to make my numbers and then slack off. Grading: Days completed A = 40, B = 35, C = 28, D = 14, F = 7 Learning Goal: Spend 15 minutes a day learning. (+4 DEX - I’m calling this dexterity of the mind ) This one is intentionally vague. It might be listening to a TED talk, working on my French skills, doing some math at Khan Academy, whatever. I want to get my brain back into “learning†mode. Grading: Days completed 15 minutes (can not makeup days, to avoid fudging the numbers and making up all my hours in one fell swoop) A = 40, B = 35, C = 28, D = 14, F = 7 Confidence Goal: Complete full oral and facial hygiene routine everyday. (+2 CHA) http://i116.piczo.com/view/4/c/c/t/t/h/m/m/c/f/8/9/img/i252360260_70073_7.jpg I’m in my mid twenties and still have acne, and years of chugging energy drinks have left a bit of yellow in my teeth. I can earn ten points a day (one point for each part of the routine), with a bonus point available for not picking at my skin. I tested this one out during our week off, and it was really hard for me to keep up with. So instead of grading this, I'm going to take baseline data this challenge to see where I'm at. So if I'm only able to average, say, four points a day, I can grade myself on a curve based on that to slowly work up to doing all of the routine. Ungraded I loved my “mini-challenge†format last challenge, so I’m leaving a few points open for me to earn from those. A few ideas off the top of my head: master a new hairstyle (master = do not need to view instructions before being able to complete hairstyle within 15 minutes) (CHA) write down something positive about myself every day (WIS) try not to say “sorry†unless I actually mean it (e.g. instead of my boss saying, “Could you hand me that?†and me saying “Ooh, sorry!†just saying “Sureâ€) (CHA) finish lesson 10 of Coffee Break French while answering the questions before the “student†(format is teacher asks question, pause for me to respond, then student responds) (WIS) fill up a Pinterest board with at least 20 outfits I like (CHA) use ^ to put together a thrifted outfit suitable for work for under $15 (DEX - flexible thinking!) work up to a 60 second plank (first step to doing a handstand) Complete Zombies, Run! 5k training app (STA/DEX) Run three miles at 10 minutes per mile (STA/DEX)