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So, after a very questionable start to 2022 where my whole marriage fell apart (for the final time) and I spent a long time being kind of okay until I just WASN'T OKAY AT ALL, I am ready for a mulligan (or to kick 2022 in the nads to show it how I really feel). So, if you need to know one thing about me as we move forward, its that I am terrified (in an almost paralyzing way) of failure and being alone, two things which are exacerbated by my ADHD and my anxiety (that I am diagnosed with and medicated for). SO MY BIG GOAL FOR 2022, as I sit in a place in my life where (in my eyes) I have undeniably failed as a human and now must forage ahead by myself, is to become THE BADASS BITCH who takes what she wants and loves herself and says YES to adventures and exciting new things just because she can. And maybe I'll do lots of this alone, but (unlike 25 year old Nova who was following the traditional WASP path of college-marriage-kids as the gateway to fulfillment) I have to remember that I get to define myself however I want now, and UNLEARNING this idea that a traditional lifestyle leads to the ONLY path to happiness is going to be so crucial to me this year. My other major goal is to NOT put the focus on getting me right so I can just get with another man. If I build me and my lifestyle in a way that brings me joy, a man might fit into that one day. But I am no longer playing origami or hide and seek with my priorities, finances, and goals because of another person. I mean, at 33, I get to look back at dreams I had in my early 20's (when I was undiagnosed and less financially stable) and say, "YES" instead of "maybe later" or "when I'm older" or "If I had the money." While this whole idea is TERRIFYING, I always had that nagging thought in the back of my head, "how could things have been different for me if...." and while I can't go back and get an early 20s diagnosis for my mental health issues, a hard reset like this is the closest thing to it, and I'm scared, but I'm here for it. So, WELCOME TO NOVA'S YEAR OF THE BADASS...where each challenge I pick a few BADASS WOMEN (from TV, real life, sports, etc) and emulate their awesome qualities to help get me where I want to be. So, the first line up includes: Beauregard (from Critical Roll Season 2), Amy Santiago (from Brooklyn 99) and Elsa (from Frozen...thanks to a little general chatter inspo last night). Train Like Beau: So, she's a bit rough around the edges, BUT she is always authentically 100% herself (unless she's being Tracy...but that's a different story). Anyway, she's a badass, and she trains hard so she can kick the crap out of shit. But she also meditates (sometime, begrudgingly....like someone else I know) so I figured she would be a great fit. Part of learning to love myself by myself is learning to love myself PERIOD. And currently, I'm not super nice to physical me because I know I have it in me to kick some ass, not just sit on the couch. Goals: 2 gym sessions per week Can replace with a home session of at least 45 minutes as needed 1800 calories a day Yoga x3 Meditation after yoga (1 minute, with a 30 second build each week) Plan Like Amy: So, she's a bit much when it comes to organizing, but she owns it. She's a character (like me) who has high anxiety and fears failure, but doesn't let those things change who she is. She still proudly organizes more than any human ever needs to, does her ridiculous victory dances in public, all the time, and and sees her quirks as positives more often than not. Organization has never been my skill, and I started a good thing with my ITS ALL RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF MY FACE wall last challenge, so I want to continue that. I'm also working to continue putting as much of my life on autopilot as possible, so there's less to worry about, and more room in my brain for fun things. I wanted there to be a more financial slant to this challenge but due to (insert divorce annoyances here) our money is still together this month. Lastly, I want to be more mindful of all my screen time, and try to cut that down a bit. So we are going to plan and find control in our life with Amy. Goals: Meal Prep With HelloFresh Use the wall calendar and COMPLETE the daily and weekly chore lists Take my meds EVERYDAY Make preparations where I can for financial independence in March Put things on auto draft (by end of month) Set up a summer saving account to help bulk up my savings without having to think about it. (by end of Month) Turn in Direct Debit form (by 2nd of week 2) Track spending Let It Go like Elsa So this is really getting at the heart of what I was going on about at the top. She had to learn to love herself for who she was, and so do I. She has a secret magic power; I have mental health diagnoses...tomato potato? Anyhow, this is the fun part. Goals Let go of who we thought we had to/should be at 33, and welcome who we CAN BE Try a new (or forgotten) hobby or gym class Visit somewhere in town I’ve never been WRITE daily for at least 15 minutes (finish draft 3 of Children’s Book, revisit your novel, or one of the million short stories on your drive) Keep a journal about new adventures and self discovery and write in it at least once a week (does not count toward writing goal). I'm headed back to work tomorrow after surviving my bout with COVID, and I have already tried to set myself up well by cooking one of my HelloFresh meals tonight incase I come home exhausted tomorrow (being tired is like my one nagging symptom, but I'm negative now, soooo). Can't wait to see what everyone else is up to!!

i want to do a taoist inspired challenge, something centered around mindfulness and the middle way. i've found taoist philosophy inspiring for years, and with everything going on in my life, i desperately need to find my center. there's a book i read that contained the phrase "return to trueness" and that's exactly the vibe i'm going for with this challenge. taking time to check in, to be my authentic self. my adhd has been out of control hard to deal with, returning to the present moment and being mindful of distractions (both helpful and not) is a good way to help manage my stress and anxiety. i've been reading some articles about adhd management so i'd like to try and incorporate a tip a week. but ultimately this challenge is about staying present and listening to my mind and body. 1. mindful reading: read a page of the tao te ching every day 2. mindful reflection: daily to do list 3. mindful breathing: daily meditation 4. mindful body: continue with the doctor follow ups, trying to figure out the cause of my exhaustion and headaches LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!

(It's been forever since I did a themed challenge, but I always had fun writing them, and the story aspect gave me an extra motivation to get things to go in the right direction. So, here goes nothin') NightWatcher woke up and looked around. The area seemed quiet, which was strange - the last thing she remembered was a loud clatter, a screaming hollow, and a sudden dull pain in her chest. She glanced over at the fire, then down at the mark branded into her skin, and groaned as the memories flooded her mind - the undead asylum, the flight, and the warning that if she didn't restore her humanity, she would eventually lose her mind. Looking at her shriveling hands, she pulled a soul from her inventory and inhaled as life flooded her limbs again. Slowly, NightWatcher pulled her feet back under herself and forced her body back to standing. Weary, but not done, she started from the fire to find the last place she had died, and reclaim what she had lost there. This challenge is basically the same as the last one, structurally speaking - in large part because I wound up getting bronchitis early on in the last one and not getting as much done as I'd wanted last time. I still have a bit of a cough, but hopefully when I go in for my follow up appointment on Wednesday the doc will be able to get a better idea as to why I'm still coughing and I can kick this stupid thing to the curb. For now, while trying to get some extra rest in, I'm also going to try to get my next steps on this goal done. And for anyone who hasn't played Dark Souls, the entire premise of the game is try, try again. And again. And again... Main Quest: Grasping the sword (getting up and fighting back against my mental and physical issues - when I set this for the year, I didn't expect it to be **quite** this on the nose) Sidequest 1 - Rekindling the Flames (exercise) : Daily yoga practice; I have my practices scheduled at 11am, but due to my bizarre schedule and the fact that I've been sleeping extra due to illness I've wound up doing them after work at 12:30/1am a lot of the time. The tracking aspect of this is just getting the yoga in for now, with a possible bonus point if I get a run in - for now, runs are 100% a bonus though, the yoga is the main goal. Tracking - 1 point/session of yoga, aiming for 7 points/week. 1 bonus/grace point for a run Sidequest 2 - Fighting off the Hollows (food tracking) : Working on slowly getting some of the extra weight I've gained back off - which at least for now, means tracking calories so I can get enough of a deficit to be losing weight, while making sure I'm eating enough and also gives me a record to look back on and see both good and bad habits. Tracking - 1 point/day of food tracking 2 points for getting food prepared ahead for the week for work -1 point for each weekday trip through a drive through Aiming for 7 points/week Sidequest 3 - Linking the Fires(community) : No one succeeds completely alone, and we all need to spend time around bonfires swapping stories with the other folks around. Both for my own accountability and to help others in this community, I want to make sure I'm getting out in there and encouraging others <3 so I want to make sure I comment on at least 10 threads per week besides my own. I think I'm actually going to try to schedule specific time for this, since otherwise I tend to slip into "I'll-do-it-later"-itis. Tracking - 1 point/thread, aiming for 10/week Lifequest - Know your Armory (organization) : going through the game and getting all the shiny new armors (or 50 broken swords and about 20 copies of Baldor knight shields... tomato, tomahto)is all well and good, but it's not super useful unless you know which weapon will deal enough damage to that annoying knight in the way, or which suit of armor will protect you from the fire that witch casts & let you roll out of the way before you die. Again. All that random flavor text to say I need to organize my house & schedule a bit better. Since this is week 0, I'm going for schedule this week, then more physical organization starting on week 1. Tracking - This isn't a scaled thing; either the thing I pick at the beginning of the week gets done, or it doesn't. This one is tracked out of 5 points. Point scale - 29+ points: A+ - estus flask boost 25-28 points: A- - not terrible, but could be better. At least you're still human though. 20-24 points: B - ok, we need to work on this a bit, you're starting to go hollow. 15-20 points: C - are you alright? You're starting to look a bit... Vacant. Here, have a soul, you kinda need it. >15 points: OK, I need to step back and look and see if there are some factors I need to reign in in my environment or schedule. This is not how progress is made I'm also going to try to update this at least every other day, if not daily, so feel free to poke me with a stick if I go too quiet without giving some form of reason beforehand

This challenge I'm going to work on re-establishing habits that I've let slide, or continuing progress from last challenge. 1. Pre-Fuel for success! Eat enough food. Eat high-value foods. Drink juice and protein shakes when I can't eat. (specific goals for this one will depend on what my Dr wants me to work on each week.) 2. French book work Goal will be for 4 20 minute sessions per week. (not 80 minute sessions.... *side-eyes french number system*) Gotta build from the last challenge, as I can really see the value of this in how fast I'm learning! 3. Play! Start practicing my staff spinning and tricking in the mornings again. Just dabble, play around with stuff I've allready learned. Get back in the habit of moving in the morning. I messed around with animal flow a bit a few months ago and that was RAD, so I'd like to play with that a bit too. 4. Un-F my house Several years ago, I organized my entire house acordding to my ADHD and it actually STAYED CLEAN for years. I just moved to a new apartment and I neglected to set it up this way in favor of "asthetic". Guess what? My house has never been less astheticly pleasing, as everything I own is on every flat surface all the time. The plan is to setup a good system again. Also, I have a whole extra room in this apartment! And I have always wanted? A BATTLE ROOM. So in the process of Un-Fing my house, I want to set that room up for excercise and maybe also painting. My "activities" room. I was feeling kind of stressed by my tally system last challenge, so I'm not really going to "Track" things the same this time. I'll keep updates on how the things are going, but I'm not going to assign numerical values to things (except the time spent studying.)

For those of you who haven't seen my recent challenges, they have been a bit...scattered. Mostly they end up reverting to running and counting net carbs. The start of the year everything was more focused - beat the blood sugar monster and reverse Type II diabetes. While I'm still working on that one, the end of this last challenge had my blood sugar numbers averaging under 100 for the last couple of weeks. This despite the fact that my exercise goals have been ping-ponging all over the place and the ability to focus has been non-existent. So we're going to try to change that with more of a plan. I don't know if it's already an acronym or not, but as I laid these out I realized they spelled out NEST. Hmm, not sure its a good acronym as I'm not sure what it gets at (building a foundation? a new life home? a comfy place??????) but what the hell, let's go with it! I'll even move it into the title and bold the first letters of each category! (stream of consciousness goal setting and I wonder why my mind has been scattered lately) Nutrition This is working for now, so I'm not going to change too much initially. If I'm too tired or not recovering as well as I think I should, I might look to add more to some of my macros. Total carbs under 100 grams per day, protein around 150 grams per day and the rest will be fats (no trans fats and poly unsaturated fats should be kept to a minimum). Find/create some quick and easy low carb smoothie recipes for breakfasts on the go. This will be especially helpful when the kids go back to school in September and my mornings get crunched for time. +1 point for each day the macros are hit and +1 point for each new recipe tried. 36 points possible (28 for macros and 10 for smoothies) Exercise The context here is that the running and net carb counting has helped me drop 30+ pounds over the last 9 months. While my heart, lungs and blood-work are much improved, my strength (as well as my ability to do things other than running) is lacking. So, I'm going to try to set the foundation for the upcoming months of getting stronger. Resistance training 3x/week - This could be body weight training, weight lifting, etc. But, something that requires me to use more muscles than my legs, heart and diaphragm. Running 2x/week - I'm cutting this back but not out. I enjoy it too much to get rid of it. Could be some sprinting, slower distances or a temp run. But, just get outside and move quicker than walking from point A to point B. Interval/circuit training will be some component in each of the above workouts. I will somehow integrate them together to keep things fun and interesting and then post them here to be kept honest. +1 point for each instance of exercise completed. 28 possible (I'm not counting zero week) Sleep I've been bad lately about staying up too late and then getting up and expecting to function. I've done okay in the mornings but run out of steam as the day wears on. Could be caloric intake, but during a week of vacation last challenge where I got almost 8 hours of sleep a day, I didn't have that problem. During vacation I slept in. Now I need to go earn a living, so I need to go to bed earlier at night. Be in bed by 10:30 each night as a goal. No phones/tablets/computers after 9 PM. +1 point for each nighttime routine completed successfully for a total of 28 points. Time management I can't stay focused without being organized. Being organized is something I suck at. So, baby steps. 10 minutes each day checking/planning the day's calendar. Can be simply looking it over to make sure I have things set in my mind, or it could be time boxing my day planning it out. But, this is to avoid not being prepared when something pops up on my screen saying I have something going on in 15 minutes. 15 minutes each week checking/planning the week's calendar. Ideally, this will be Sunday night (starting at 8:45 PM at the latest) getting the week mapped out. +.5 point for each day and week for a total of 16 points.

2018 Changing Behaviors This year, my first challenge was a “what the hell am I going to do challenge”. So I threw in some stuff that I thought would be good to focus on. Those goals were good but I still felt a little lost and kept thinking about 2017 and what worked and didn’t work. 2017 was a stressful year and I let my impulses kind of run wild. I’ve always been a wants over needs type of person but have had a difficult time figuring out a way to change that. I just want to do everything now and feel silly taking it slow. Mentally, that’s what I want and I don’t want to wait to do anything. Physically, I put things off if I’m not sure how to do something or if it requires manual labor. 2018 is going to be about changing my behaviors. I want to have a good routine and strategy for overcoming my impulses. It’s time to start small and work my way up to the person I aspire to be. To accomplish this task I need a clear and fairly simple plan. My challenges are rarely simple so this will be clear but probably not simple. I need knowledge to help create that plan. I’ll need motivation or motivational tools to help when things get tough. I also need to make sure I have a support system (Thanks Rebels ). 2018 Changing Behaviors Levels LVL 1 - Organization LVL 2 - Night LVL 3 - Morning LVL 4 - Nutrition LVL 5 - Movement LVL 6 - Financial LVL 7 - Knowledge LVL 8 - Expression LVL 9 - Self-Discipline LVL 10 - Sustaining Each Level will last approximately 1 challenge cycle (28 days). If I do not follow my plan or fail to achieve my desired goal, then I do not move up a level. These levels are meant to build upon previous challenges and continue the habits gained from the previous level. For example, when I reach level 6, I should still be doing what I did through levels 1 to 5. The goal here is not to get as many points as possible but to develop the habit. If I end up skipping something or putting it off, I need to examine the reason why. Standard Goals Save $84 Got to the gym 4x Read 3 books Donate Plasma Monthly Focus - Feb : Sleep (7 to 8 hours) & Mar : No Spending on Non-Essentials Level 1 Goals Follow Dailies Cleaning Routine (1 pt each - 84 possibly points - GOAL = 58 points) Make Bed Bedroom Floor Clear Dish Free Sink Follow Weekly Cleaning Routine (1 pt each - 28 possibly points - GOAL = 19 points) Dust Mop Floors Vacuum Laundry Trash Clean Counters Clear Surfaces Follow Bi-Weekly Cleaning Routine (1 pt each - 8 possibly points - GOAL = 5 points) Scrub Bathroom Clean Sheets Toss Expired Foods Wipe Down Appliances Follow Monthly Cleaning Routine (1 pt each - 6 possibly points - GOAL = 4 points) Clean out car Clean out fridge Wipe down fridge Clean inside Microwave Sanitize sponges Deep Clean granite floors Follow Bi-Annually Cleaning Routine (1 pt each - 1 possibly points - GOAL = 1 points) Wipe Baseboards Follow Annual Cleaning Routine if applicable No Annual Cleaning task for February

This challenge is mostly a continuation of the last challenge for me, since I came in late and the things I was working on are still in progress ^^; There are some modifications though. Main Quest - Grasping the sword (getting up and fighting back against my mental and physical issues) Sidequest 1 - Daily yoga - I have my yoga set for 11am right now, which means I need to be up a bit before that to eat something (before you ask - I work 3:30-midnight, hence the weirdness of my schedule. I'm trying to roll back my timing so I'm up earlier and in bed before 4am) and I want to roll this back slowly over this challenge to between 9:30 and 10am. Oh boy. Ultimately I'm hoping to get enough of my muscle tone and movement back to be able to confidently get back into martial arts, and starting parkour again this spring. Bonus points if I get 2 runs in in a week now that the second gym at work is up and running again. SQ1 Tracking - 1 point/session of yoga, aiming for 7 points/week 1 bonus/grace point for 2 runs Sidequest 2 - Food tracking - I'm on Whole30 until the 15th, after which I'm going to try to keep a close eye on my intake of convenience and junk food and make sure I'm cooking for several days at a time so I have cooked food available that doesn't involve a drive thru. SQ2 Tracking - 1 Point/1 day food tracked (LifeSum), aiming for 7 points/week. 1 point lost for each weekday trip through a drive through / fast food spot Sidequest 3 - Community building - both for my own accountability and to help others in this community, I want to make sure I'm getting out in there and encouraging others <3 so I want to make sure I get at least 10 comments per week on threads that are not my own. SQ3 Tracking - 1 point/comment on a separate thread - can't be 10 on the same couple of threads ^^; Aiming for 10/week Lifequest - Organization - since the Bujo, schedule, and my house organization have become entwined, this is just all getting lobbed together on my challenge. LQ Tracking - 5 points for getting one room done over the week - aiming for 5 points/week Point scale - 29 points - A+ yaaaaay! 25-28 points - A- - not terrible, but could be better 20-24 points - B - ok, we're going to work on this a bit >20 points - I need to take a look at what other factors are causing avoidance and stress, and get back on track. I'll be editing this sometime later to give everything a more measurable way to track progress, I have to go to work right now (Edited to add trackability)

So... This was initially just going to be a picking up the pieces after the holidays sent a wrecking ball through my fitness routine and diet, and most of what I want to do is still the same as what I was planning - I'll be starting Whole30 later this month to break the sugar addiction that's resurfaced, and going to a basic yoga routine until the landscape is less... Antarctic. But. After I got back from holidays, and was getting ready to get started on this challenge a couple of days early, I got the news that my grandfather had passed away out of the blue. Long story short it was sudden, and my mind has not been cooperating the past few days with doing anything productive. So this one, at least until next week, will be super dialed back because I'll be on the road for a few days again, which will make food tracking, yoga etc difficult to keep up with. I'll worry more about being super on top of doing things once I get my head on straight, but I'm making this so I have some form of a written plan, and structure. I'm going to need it when I get back to my home this weekend from the funeral Main Quest - Sidequest 1 - Yoga, daily (once back) Sidequest 2 - start Whole 30 on the 15th, ramp up gently several days before (for anyone who hasn't cold turkeyed into a Whole 30 before - do not recommend. It sucks, first time I did it I felt like my joints were falling apart on day 4) Sidequest 3 - keep up with the Bujo with planning things out, try to keep up with to-do list rather than constantly rescheduling things that don't have accountability outside of myself Lifequest - organization - my space is currently a mass of chaos after getting back from the holidays and not having the spell slots (spoons) to clean up things the past few days

“Read to beam up,” the transporter engineer said. “Engage,” Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge ordered The transponter engaged and Command Kronos stood on the platform. His red Starfleet uniform was immaculate. Even the rank pips seemed polished. Kronos stepped off the platform and he greeted the Lieutenant. “I’m Lieutenant Commander LaForge, head of Engineeering on the Enterprise,” LaForge said and gestured to his right. “This is Lieutenant Commander Data, he’ll be giving you a tour of the ship, before taking you to the bridge.” “Thank you,” Kronos said, giving the man a nod. He turned towards the Android. “I’m looking forward to getting started.” The android looked at him. “Thank you Commander, if you would please follow me.” Kronos thanked LaForge and followed the android around the ship. For an android, Data was rather articulate. He seemed almost human. It was quite endearing. Kronos used the tour to try to get a rein in on his emotions. He was excited. Kronos had heard of the crew of the Enterprise, and he was honored to have been sent to the ship to learn from such a talented crew. “And this is Sick Bay,” Data stopped, allowing Commander Kronos to enter first. A few nurses attended to their duties. “This way, please, Commander.” The android gestured to a side office in which a woman sat. She stood as the two entered. “Dr. Crusher, this is Commander Kronos. He is hear to observe and learn. Commander - this is Dr. Crusher, the Enterprise’s Chief Medical Officer.” Kronos shook hands with the Doctor. “I’m looking forward to working with you Dr. Crusher,” Kronos said, pulling out a datatape. “My medical records are here. I figured I’d save you the trouble of procuring them yourself.” “Thank you,” she said. “I look forward to working with you as well.” The pair left and went finally to the lift. Data ordered the lift to take them to the bridge. Kronos could feel the anxiety building up as the doors opened. Several crew members worked at their stations. Two men and a woman sat in the center of the bridge. They stood and turned towards the lift as Data left and resumed his own work at his station. “Permission to come aboard the bridge, Captain,” Kronos said, his heart fluttering. “Permission granted,” came the reply from Captain. Kronos entered the bridge and the trio met him. A bald man, the Captain, greeted him. “I’m Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Welcome aboard the Enterprise Commander Kronos. We are very excited to be able to work with you.” “Thank you, Captain,” Kronos said, taking the man’s outstretched hand. “The pleasure is all mine.” Captain Picard gestured to the man at his right, who, like Kronos, wore read and had three rank pips on his collar. “This is my First Officer, Commander William Riker.” The two men greeted each other and the Captain gestured to the woman on his left. “And this is our Counselor, Deanna Troi.” The woman leaned in as Kronos shook her hand. “Relax,” she said, sensing his anxiety. “My security officer, Lieutenant Worf, and I believe you have already met Mr. Data.” the Captain finished introductions. “Please take a seat,” Commander Riker said, gesturing towards his own chair. “I couldn’t,” Kronos said. “I’m just here to observe and learn.” Commander Riker gave him an encouraging smile. “What better way to learn.” Kronos looked at the Captain who smiled and said, “Don’t make me order you to take your seat Commander.” “Aye, sir,” Kronos said taking the seat to the Captain’s right. “Alright Commander, let’s set our heading,” Captain Picard said. “Aye, sir. Mr. Data - set course bearing 151-mark-3 Warp factor three.” Kronos ordered. “Course laid in,” Data said, typing at his pad. “We are ready for warp sir.” Kronos took a deep breath. “Engage.” In this challenge, different members of the Enterprise crew will be giving Commander Kronos advice on how to become a better Starfleet officer. Each officer has also given the Commander a sub-quest and although it is not necessary, it will help the Commander achieve his goals Counselor Troi's Challenge As ship's counselor - Deanna Troi's responsibilities are to make sure the crew is emotionally stable to do their duties with the best judgment. As such, her challenge to Commander Kronos is to continue making progress on fighting depression and anxiety through religious study and prayer. He should also make sure to not isolate himself in an unhealthy way. Sub Quest: Start the day out with mindful meditation/prayer Dr. Crusher's Challenge As the ship's Chief Medical Officer, it is Dr. Crusher's responsibility to make sure the crew is physically fit to perform their duties. Her challenge to the Commander is eating based. She would urge the Commander to not skip meals and to eat more vegetables. He should be also active at least three times a week. Sub Quest: Try a new food once a week Commander Riker's Challenge Commander Riker's responsibilities are to assist the Captain, but the Commander also knows how to have a good time and is a good trombone player. His challenge to Command Kronos is to practice his banjo five days a week for a half an hour each time. Sub Quest: Listen to some new music or share music with others Captain Picard's Challenge The Captain is in charge of all day to day activities on the Enterprise. This requires a great deal of organization. This challenge will be difficult, but with some organization should be possible. Captain Picard's challenge is for Kronos to log his food, activity and practicing. Journaling would be great as well. Setting up a calendar would help a great deal for planning purposes. Sub Quest: Read Level Up Your Life

I need to work on balance. In more ways than one. My personal physical ability to balance is something I enjoy working on. I even still do balance drills while I stand in line at the pharmacy and my boss just commented on the fact that I was on one foot almost the entire time I taught our active shooter class.(that was an accident) Working on my physical balance is something I already know I enjoy, so that will help me stick to it. This also fits in nicely with my hand stand goals. I also need to work on life and mental balance. I tend to gravitate towards being an all or nothing type person, especially when I'm cranky. If I can't clean the WHOLE closet right now, why bother? If I can't kayak the WHOLE day, why even go to the marina? (you know, the one that is less than a mile from my house, I have keys to, and can use theirs for free if I don't want to haul mine. I really have no excuse.) If I can't eat the WHOLE pan of brownies, why are they in my house? The really annoying thing is when I'm like that, I get nothing done, and that puts me in a worse mood, which only contributes to the all or nothingness. I had gotten better, I thought, but I realized that has been part of my problem lately. The attitude, not the brownies. I haven't had a brownie in forever. Which makes me sad. I should fix that, but when with my family, so that I only get 1. In order to prevent my all or nothing attitude from ruining my days and keeping my house screwed up, I'm going to make some rules for my evenings. 20 minutes of cleaning/organizing non-daily things- this means not laundry, not dishes, but overall unpacking, set up my house kind of stuff, it doesn't matter what room, but I am going to actually set a timer and work for 20 minutes 20 minutes of daily, normal chore type stuff- so like sweeping, dishes, laundry, wiping off the stove, etc. Eventually, I'll be done with the first one. Then once every week or two do an organization upkeep of 15-20 minutes. I also realized that I need to plan my workouts better. This sounds like a total no brainer, but I need to plan them with fun things in mind and taking my work schedule into consideration. Instead of being annoyed that I can't go kayak when I'm on call, I need to schedule my month so that I go kayaking on a day I'm not on call. The on call system here is very different than my old park, so it still bothers me that I can't LEAVE MY HOUSE while I'm on call. Not even if I'm still in the park. At Mount Magazine, we just couldn't leave the park, but we had a 24/7 front desk. Here, they close at 5 and the phone is forwarded to our house. I'm working on changing it here. I requested and received a park cell phone; that should help. It has better service than MY phone. I have my slackline. It's still in the box it came in. I've come close to opening it, but haven't.I did make it to the two trees I was going to use, once. I did watch the included DVD. I need to set it up and use it. I need to schedule those days, too. I'm also considering enlisting my dad and grandpa in helping me come up with way to set up my line semi permanently in the backyard, I think. Though my house is extremely visible to park guests, so I need to think on that some more. I do think we need a low balance beam near the playground though. Anyway, I have lots of thoughts on the playground area but that is not for here. I also need to remember to do what I love. Creating things makes me feel productive like nothing else I do. Whether it's weaving, building, sewing, or whatever, I enjoy creating something. I need to set more time aside to do that. I may make it part of my mandated time, but I think that once I start getting back to it, I'll do it more frequently without the set time. I have some ideas, but I'm not sure yet how exactly I want to set up these goals to make them SMART. I'm going to think on that some tonight. After my 40 mandated minutes and my workout. If the cell phone fairy is kind, I'll add that tonight at home. I'm going to stick with the same goal categories for a few challenges. I have been all over the place, and haven't done well. Lose Weight 1. Stick to my academy workouts, 2x a week, and handstand stuff for at least 5 minutes every day that I am home. By the end of the challenge, I'd like to be able to complete 1A all the way through. I can only do 2 rounds of it right now, with less than 10 knee pushups. 1B isn't really a problem. 2. Log my food in mfp. Don't be over 1450 calories a day. Don't be under 1200. Eat back 1/4 of what I burn. At least. When I can't log it in mfp because of service, write it down, count it, and add it later. Don't miss logging more than 1 meal a week. Balance & Feats 3. Do the foot & wrist mobility mini yoga sessions 2x per week and do full yoga at least 1x per week. (&Handstand 5 minutes a day.) 4. Slackline, 1x per week Keeping Me Sane 5. Stick to my 20 organizing/20 cleaning every day that I am home all day. 6. Dedicate 20 minutes a day to either reading or creating something. Zero Week: 29 Oct 16- Batcave is good to go! My house is stressing me out. When I go to do something relaxing, i feel guilty because I should work on my house. I'm tired and want to relax cause I've been working. I have had to leave lots for training (and ok, I ran away last week to camp, but it was actually work related. I was researching disc golf courses because we will hopefully get one. That's my story anyway.), and I just never finished moving in. Part of the problem is the size of my house. It's not tiny, but the size is distributed differently. My old house had a HUGE kitchen and living room but smaller bedrooms. My new house has a smaller living room and really limited kitchen. In my old house, the kitchen was the center of everything. I made soap, baked, dyed yarn, all sorts of things in the kitchen, and did lots in the dining room that was technically still the kitchen. Here, I just stopped unpacking because I haven't figured out how to organize and put stuff and I'm tired of getting rid of things I like! I love my porch though. It goes all the way across the front of the house and is screened in. But right now, it has boxes of kitchen stuff sitting on it. And things I need to throw away, and you get the idea. Basically, I'm going to improve my batcave. I'm going to get my kitchen in line, my porch taken care, and then turn the extra room into a workout/relax space.

I just started my bullet journal as part of my injury rehab respawn. Whether it is chicken scratch or Instagram-worthy artwork, let me see your bullet journal spreads for fitness, food, and general life-tracking! Looking for inspiration. Thanks!

So life has been goofy lately. I haven't been very diligent with getting into the gym, or really anything associated with a healthy life style. Been getting 1-2 workouts in per week, but my low back is still a bit of a mess and overall, I'm not doing much to get back on track. So I think it's time to get back into the challenge game to give myself a kick start. So, I've been doing this for about a week now, and it's been working so far so I'm going to go with this for my challenge. I've been physically writing out a list of some daily stuff I want to get done (on top of my job and family stuff). Not sure why, but it's been helping. The daily stuff for this whole challenge will be. Meditate (10 minute session, 7 days a week) - Been using headspace.com for awhile now. I'm on like a 55 day streak, although I'm still not sold that its helping me. But I've got a year subscription and there are days when it's great, but a lot more days that it sucks. Bible Verse (Could be a single verse to a chapter, 7 days a week) - My faith is important to me, and it's been a huge struggle lately. Tons of doubt, mainly I think stemming from my child having a brain tumor. Either way, I'm sticking with it for now, and I'm going to be diligent about this. Grease the Groove: Grip (3 sets of 5 closes, each hand, with a CoC Trainer, 7 days a week) - Pavel says that random sets throughout the day will make you better. I'm trying it. Grease the Groove: Pull-ups (3 sets of 1, 7 days a week) - I suck at pull-ups so I'm going to do a boat-load of them and try and get better. Mostly this will be at work. Take a break from my desk and go knock one out in the gym. Workout (6 days a week) - Get something done 6 days a week. Programming is a bit odd right now, but I'm going to get into the gym and do something. Mobility Work (10 minutes per day, 6 days a week) - Hopefully knock this out near bedtime every night, but I need to get better about working on my hamstrings, IT band, and glutes right now as I think that's where the issues with my back are stemming from. No snacking (7 days a week) - Just trying to eat a bit cleaner. This will be fairly loose guideline and mainly revolves around crap at work. Too often, I'm eating all sorts of sugar goodness that other people are bringing in. Need to stop that. Example list: Seems like a lot, but I think it's doable. I was going to add one about getting to work by 7am every morning, but life is just too much for that right now. My daughter sleeps like crap and too often is up by 6am for me to get outta the house since my wife isn't up until 6:45am most mornings. I added it this morning, then after some thinking decided it was too much out of my control at the moment to be something I could measure.

As a technomage, Beerzerker himself rarely understood on the planets he visits. His armor appears to be smoother than steel and generates its own light in the conditions. Able to summon illumination, even fire at times, and the ability to boost his strength has granted him legendary status in some worlds. He has battled ruffians before, and they made the mistake of assuming his clear faceplate was a point of weakness. The easy distraction proved their undoing. Beerzerker faces some new challenges. He has heard rumor of the Bandersnatch. An evil creature no one has been able to fully describe to him. Everyone he encounters has given different descriptions. In fact, it doesn't even seem like one creature at all. Maybe the Bandersnatch possesses some of the lost tech the leader of the technomages told him about. There was a mirage pack that disappeared from the mothership eons ago. No one has been able to replicate its abilities, because its maker worked on her own and didn't create plans for her devices. She believed part of creation was experimentation, and you don't get that following a diagram. The mirage pack gives its wearer the ability to create a fully interactive mirage surrounding themselves. 3-dimonsional, solid, and powered by the pack so it doesn't drain your armor. Since it's not fully an illusion, the mirage functions as a bulky set of armor protecting the wearer. It sounds like whoever has this pack has used it while wearing the guise of a rancor, a Balrog, and something Beerzerker doesn't recognize from the tales. But Beerzerker recognizes a weakness. In order to fully use the mirage pack, a warrior must possess strength in three areas: 1. Their work must bring them joy and allow for improvement of those around them. 2. The user must pursue improvement of their own body. 3. They must work to improve their relationships with others. In order to be worthy of facing and conquering this Bandersnatch, Beerzerker commits to the following: 1. Searching for and discovering a new job which allows more personal interaction and makes better use of my skills as a writer and ability to build rapport quickly. 2. Exercise at least 5 days per week. This includes Tae Kwon Do lessons on Monday and Wednesday, and can include mountain biking or other activities. But on the days there is no class, I will practice my forms to work toward the next test. 3. I will support my wife and kids as they pursue their interests, offering encouragement and help as I am able. I will also make an effort to do something special for each of them at least once per week. Recognizing work needs to be done, Beerzerker enters his meditation pose to allow the power cells in his armor to charge from the sunlight and from his own body. This is the thing his encouragers don't understand. While his armor can do amazing things, it must be powered by energy from within or around Beerzerker. The power from the sun allows short bursts of strength, even flight, but anything that lasts must be drawn from within his own body and mind.

My hubby bust out laughing at my title which I guess tells alot about my adaptability-ness. Overall, I'm an extremely easy going person and will go with the flow for other people. However, when it comes to myself, the ability to adapt becomes much more challenging. This round, adaptability is critical because all of the things I can do right now get reset on Friday, April 8. This is because I have surgery to have my ACL rebuilt (for a second time) followed by 6-8 months of physical therapy. I've built some great habits that I want to maintain and recognize that because of the fragility of my ACL I have to modify lots and listen to my body on what I can and can't do. This weekend, I plan to jot down my current physical abilities and the max reps I can do for different body weight exercises. I'm thinking this will give me something to use for future goals to work towards as I regain abilities in my leg. For this month, my adventures are going to be: Continue my yoga streak. As of today (March 31) I have done 89 days of yoga in a row without missing a single day. The yoga is mostly hatha yoga flows with a few restorative sessions every few days. My plan for after surgery is to utilize chair yoga. It isn't going to be as physically challenging, but I think the meditative aspects are going to help me cope with other messy things life is throwing at me. I don't remember the exact rehabilitation schedule, but I think I'm on crutches for at least two weeks before I can put my full weight on my leg. I plan to experiment with different balances and stretches (with a chair nearby to prevent any falls) as soon as I'm free of the crutches. Any poses on my knees are completely out because I remember it being painful for quite awhile. Do Everything Asked of Me in PT This wasn't a problem last round, but I figure it still counts as a goal. Whatever exercises my physical therapist assigns I do them for the reps and frequency requested. Last time, the only thing I didn't do with cheerfulness was the stepper machine. Stepper machines are the most awful thing ever invented. I'd rather climb a mountain or rock wall thanks. Experiment with Free Weight Workouts. I'm hoping to maintain my upper strength that I've gained. Because of the risks involved in re-injuring my knee, bodyweight workouts have to be avoided (plus my first brace is frustrating to do workouts with). I don't know what to expect post-surgery, so I can't give an exact goal until I'm there. I plan to experiment with lifting weights while seated in a chair or maybe on my bench. I may seek out a gym later, but for this month, I can't drive until the 24th or there abouts. Eat Well My family loves to treat me with goodies. If I remember correctly, the pain from the surgery with leave me on the couch with lots of ice for at least a week, if not two. So I've put out the request not to shower me with excessive treats. I'm not sure it will be honored fully because they love to do it, but I figure it will be easier to say no when they are aware of my goals. I'll let two treats slip in a week in small servings. Create Art Once a Week I'm enjoying the Big Art Quest on youtube because I'm working on an art project every week. I don't need to complete the art piece within a week, but working on it for at least an hour if not more brings me joy. I won't be tinkering with acrylics while on the couch with my cryo-cuff, but I bought a lap easel yesterday that will store my drawing tools (pencils, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, and inktense pencils) so I can continue to create each week. I'm hoping to have more art for the week after my surgery because I'm not moving as much. Get Myself Organized Slowly... I'm a scatter brain because I have so many interests and things going on. I'm also very talented in the fact that I can hide my own Easter eggs and forget where I put them so I have my own Easter egg hunt. Since I have more reading time coming up, I found a book titled: "Time Management for the Creative Person" that may give me some tools I can use to slowly gain order in my crazy life. I plan to pick two techniques that resonate with me and test them out. The organization won't happen overnight or even in a month, but I figure if I can build it slowly it may actually stick. Build My Nerd Fitness Character/Epic Quest Being couchbound has it's advantages. I read "Level Up Your Life" and didn't do much with setting up my character on the website. I have chicken scratches on papers floating around here and figure I could get it setup so that it's capturing my dreams in one spot. So by the end of the month, I will have this setup (and -note to self- it doesn't have to be perfect). That's probably more than enough to keep me busy for the month.

These are all scored daily, either full credit or half credit (or no credit) for each day. Tallied up for each goal, scores are A=25 days, B=20 days, C=15 days, D=10 days (out of 28 days) So a passing score is just slightly better than half credit on all days, which seems reasonable. Kettlebells - Simple & Sinister Get back to Pavel's "Simple & Sinister" kettlebell routine, with custom warmups and stretches to address my various achy parts. For this challenge, full credit is: Any Mobility drills or warmups, 5-10 minutes. 10 sets of 10 swings - 35lb (16kg), generally one handed. 5-10 minutes. 10 getups - as many with 35lb as I can manage before switching to 20lb. 10-15 minutes. Any stretches - 5-10 minutes. (Although Pavel says no passive forward bends after swings, so anything besides that.) Half credit is any two of these, so yes, it could be just mobility drills and stretches. In case of actual injury or illness, I can get full credit for using whatever weight seems appropriate, and/or substituting 10 sets of 10 of any of the preliminary swing drills in S&S, and getup drills (5 sets of 5, R&L) of one segment of the getup. Fatigue from other activity is not an excuse - do the workout first thing in the morning. Food Goal - Simple & Sensible Keep it simple. Just eat decent meals with protein and veggies. To keep me on track, my sensible responsible adult meals are defined as: protein - roughly 1/2lb (measured raw, boneless) at least "big enough to share", like two chicken thighs, or a can of tuna. 4-6 eggs. veggies - roughly 2 cups or 1/2lb (measured raw and reasonably packed) or one standard can. (Figure that cooking and mashing each reduce size roughly by half.) other stuff - whatever carbs and fat, as much as I am genuinely hungry for. water (or another healthy beverage) - total of about a pint (500ml) Skipping a meal is fine, if I'm not hungry, or if I'm away from home and decent food is not available. Alternately, have a small meal of a half portion of protein, a half or full portion of veggies, and water, no extra carbs or fat. (And no snacking later.) If I'm hungry and eating full meals, snacks and treats are okay, so long as I drink water with them. No eating when I'm not hungry, or stuffing myself. Full credit for three "sensible" meals a day, plus whatever other snacks or treats (with water). Full credit for less than three full "sensible" meals a day, IF I'M NOT HUNGRY and that is pretty much all I'm eating. (No more than two SMALL snacks.) Half credit for two "sensible" meals a day along with other snacks or meals (with water). I've got no excuses for not being extremely physically active next month - I'm doing construction, not taxes - so I'm not looking to restrict calories. I just shouldn't subsist solely on peanut butter and banana sandwiches, raisin bran, and toast. Besides, it is veggie time! EAT ALL THE VEGGIES! Teamwork Goal - Simple & Supportive Every day, find an opportunity to do some kind of physical activity with my partner. (Do it together, if at all practical.) Full credit if I make an enthusiastic and welcoming offer IN PERSON with a doable time, place, and activity, regardless of whether my offer is taken. My partner is often ill or in pain (lupus, arthritis, etc) and always busy despite that, so coming up with a good offer is not trivial. Full credit if he's already done substantial physical activity without me offering. That is actually the long-term goal - to help him get in the habit of being more active and giving him ideas about things he CAN do, when there is so much he CAN'T do. Half credit if I seriously gave my best effort to figure out an appropriate time, place, and activity, but couldn't come up with anything plausible to offer, given the circumstances. No credit for nagging or making offers that I really should have known were implausible. Any activity counts - a short walk with the dog, a few minutes of Tai Chi, some gardening, maybe some careful assisted strength training, or if all else fails, some assisted passive stretching/massage. BONUS - Once a week, go do something active with Silver Olivia! One bonus point for each time we actually do something. Half a point for realistic firm plans that fall through. Life Goal - Simple & Systematic Check-in every evening and use the list daily. Half credit for only doing one and not the other, or for a serious system malfunction. Super simple. Just do it. PREVIOUS CHALLENGES: 1. Weasel Gets Things Done Nov-Dec 2015 Eat more protein, veggies, and whole grains (B+). Sleep Routine (A). "Primal Fitness Blueprint" (A++). Laundry! (A++). Order of the Stick (Success!) 2. Return of the Weasel : Consistency! Jan 2016 Handstands (A), Kettlebells - Pavel's "Simple & Sinister" (A-), Daily Routine (A), Ukulele! (C ) 3. Weasel Takes this Show on the Road! Feb 2016 Continue Simple & Sinister kettlebell routine. (D. Injury.) Track sleep schedule (A). Make a diet plan (A). Write on spirituality blog. (F) 4. Sith-Weasel's Road Trip Continues Mach 2016 Daily fitness activity (D) Responsible Adult Meals (A++), Hydration (C ), Tasks & Check-in (D). (Travel is hard on routines!)

Between grad school, wedding planning, report cards, testing, and a million things, I had to sit February and March out. But it's spring! Days are longer! Snow is wetter and heavier! Green has begun to appear! And I am back for a new challenge (one which I have already started... shhh) Quest 1: STR ↑ I will attend the gym 3x or more a week. Days of the week will change, but I plan to do at least 2-3 days of Stronglifts and at least 1-2 days of cardio (Zombies Run!) Quest 2: Food LVL ↑ I am using Staci's level 1 lunch plan I already did it this week, but I have some ideas for how to make next week better. Anyway this goal is to do chicken, veggie, sweet potato lunches on work days. Quest 3: Hydration ↑ I don't drink enough water, so instead of complicated ounce goals that I will probably fail at, this one is simple: I will start each morning with a glass of water. Quest 4: LUYL I'm getting married this summer so there are so many fun things I could do for this! Unfortunately I am really disorganized and my formal observation is coming up this month. So my goal for this one is to clear off the long counter around my classroom and either organize its contents, or put them away, or discard them. That's all ETA: measurements:

Happy Monday. This is my third consecutive challenge. I rocked January's but had some issues with February's. For March I'm going to be going back to basics since life will be more complicated this month. We sold our house and closing is March 25. I currently live and work near Detroit, MI during the week. I've got a one bedroom apartment in a large apartment complex. I lost my job in the late spring 2015 and found a much better one in August...4 hours from our beautiful house (that we bought Feb 2015!! ) near Youngstown, OH. My husband is in the OH house but he just had hernia surgery last Monday so basically he's taking care of our two dogs and doing what little he's cleared to do until I go home on the weekends. He's not even allowed to drive until March 17. We joke that he picked an extremely convenient time to be an invalid. Heh. Anyway: this month I want to sustain good habits. Food is my huge stumbling block. It seems like it's just so easy to eat a frozen pizza while in front of the TV. Diet: track everything with MFP and steps with Fitbit every day Diet: drink 72 oz water/day Fitness: Complete NF bodyweight workout 2x/week Level Up Life: complete something on my moving productivity list every day (except Fridays - after work I drive 4 hours to OH).When I track my food with MyFitnessPal it makes me very aware of what I'm eating and guilts me in to behaving. Eventually I'd like to switch over to Paleo but for now I think this will work best for me. Last month I set a Paleo goal too early for my current living situation. When my husband and I are co-habitating again things will get much easier. 72 oz water/day really works for me. I feel good, my skin looks better, and I my ankles don't puff up (I sound like my mother!). I'm antisocial when up here by myself during the week, and especially since the weather is still pretty nasty here, so I think working out at home will be do-able. And I used to love lifting weights but I'm so out of shape...eventually I'd like to get into it again. Maybe get into the Warrior group...? And completing something on my moving list...weekends will be when I'm focused on packing but the apartment is a great big mess since it's only me so I really need to pick up my clutter. I have a "nest" around the chair where I sit and watch TV, play on my laptop, read, and knit/crochet.

I walk away for a few weeks.... what the hell happened to my forge?!? Ohhh yeah.... kind of didn't put anything away and left things to fester Time to clean this up!!! So, I ghosted out right after the start of the last challenge, didn't have anything to contribute, left you all high and dry, and for all that I'm sorry Time to get back on track. The last month has been a considerable change for me and now it's time to get things organized, get things cleaned up, and get things better around here. Goal One: Heating Things Up In The Smelter I need to get the home fires burning hot and strong again!! I think with the adjustments that I've made to my life that I've let the fires burn down (more specifically my metabolism) and it's time to get that going again. Best way to do that.... get that exercise going again. I'm looking to do three workouts throughout the week. Whether they be walking the neighborhood (weather permitting), using the Xbox for exercise, or getting to bodyweight workouts, things must be done to stoke the fire and get them burning strong! Goal Two: Sharpening Things On The Grindstone I need to get things more refined, sharpened to a razor point. What better to sharpen than my cooking? Now that I'm in a situation where I am at home more often and less actively going towards fast food places for meals, it's time to start working on more things that I can make that will be both healthy and fulfilling for my body. Going to shoot for one recipe a week, something that I've worked on, made, and tested. Extra credit for making something that can be batch cooked. Goal Three: Hammering Things Out On The Anvil Once pulled from the fire, an object isn't shaped until it's been hammered out over the anvil. No, this isn't a goal for getting hammered every weekend (I'm too damn old for that crap ) but it's for building better habits for myself. This goal is still a bit of a work in progress, more soon. Life Goal: Stretching Things Out On The Skinning Rack This goal is a little more outside the box but none the less just as necessary. After the chaos, I've had to go through quite a few things and I have realized that I've got a lot of crap, physical, not so much emotional anymore. So what I plan with this goal is two-fold: One, to rid myself of some of the items in my life that I don't need and Two, to clothe myself in things that are more supportive to me (both physically and emotionally). Now, it's time to use some elbow grease and get this place cleaned up!!

Wow, that break really flew by. Between our anniversary, a long weekend family trip, and the start of our county fair, it's already time for the new challenge! To recap where I am now. I am a bit more than halfway through a pregnancy. I've been gaining weight well and we found out little one #4 is a girl! Long term goal: take care of myself the best I can so baby and I can be in good shape by her arrival in Dec/ Jan Quest 1- continue gaining weight and eating well STR-1, STA-1, CON-2 Quest 2- I don't want to get out of bed at all in the mornings. I'm sore and in pain when I first wake up so I'm going to try to find some kind of stretching to help with that. Suggestions welcome, but I am not a fan of yoga. Bonus if I can find something that does some minor strength building as well DEX-1, STA-1 Quest 3- Drink more water. I just don't drink very much if I'm not sitting down to a meal. I need to get back on top of this. CON-2 Life Quest- sort through our crap for the community yard sale in 3 weeks- so...much..crap I need to go through our clothes, the school room (disaster), the basement ( yikes), the shed (at least stuff is in boxes), and whatever else random stuff. I need to get some of this stuff out. WIS-2 That's about it for now. Time to get going on a healthy fall.

So I have soft goals of getting the house clean enough to really live in and limiting screen time. Right now, I'm spending all of my time uselessly wandering the internet because I can't stand being here, but the feeling intensifies after I've been somewhere and come back. Some of the decluttering and organizing is up to hubby, so I'm not going for a firm milestone in progress. What I do want to do is really documenting how much effort I'm putting into what I can do and post it on tumblr. Password is: ilovenerds The old stuff really shows how the house has been worse. The text part of my check-in will be here. A rough guideline is that I should snap pics of the kitchen and any other room I plan to work on in the morning, and again when I'm finished cleaning. I think every room downstairs should get at least one snapshot a week. (Skipping the bedroom and the bathroom since there's no space to really get messy besides a few stray blankets.) The upstairs only needs to be documented if I'm working on it or manage to build the "fun" area. For the limiting screen time, I'm talking about not sitting down at the computer, especially before breakfast or getting something done. I can use my tablet to grab morning pictures, my phone to get the tv going, and the kindle if I'm up for reading. Otherwise, there's really only one thing that's important enough to turn my screen on first thing, and I haven't been writing lately.

This Challenge: <32% Body Fat The Big Goal is to be under <25% body fat, and qualify as 'fitness' level. Short-term, under 30% by Christmas. I have some major motivators going on right now: Seeing family at holidays -- want to be as fit as everybody elsePost-Christmas vacation in Cancun! Annnnd bikini.Moving from California to Ohio early next year -- must make the most of good weather!Next year I'm doing a triathlon, and need to be able to keep up with my marathoner momAs additional motivation, I'm going to post progress pictures (eeeeeeeek) for the first time ever. Last challenge, I took it slow, trying to get the hang of my diet and then adding in some workouts again. This challenge I want to go all out, all six weeks. I've done well previous challenges for the first few weeks and then petered out. Inspired by the women of SHIELD. I'll admit I only watched the first season, but: Plus the actress voiced Mulan! Target #1: Destroy, then Rebuild -- Workout 5x/week Time to get intense about workouts again. I took a handful of spin classes last challenge, and felt amazing after each one. I just bought a deal for 30-day membership at boot camp, so I'll be using that the first month. Obviously working to avoid injury as well as improve endurance and strength. What counts: boot camp, Crossfit, hike/bike 1hr+, yoga STA-3, STR-2 Target #2: Take Down Opponents - Keep cravings in control Now that I've dialed in my diet somewhat, I need to keep it on track to avoid getting sick. FODMAPS are still in question, so I'll be experimenting in that area. Mostly Paleo plus low-FODMAP plus low-fiber when my stomach is iffy. I can eat any food I want as long as it truly satisfies the craving. This seems difficult to measure, but I KNOW when I've gone overboard (four bowls of buttery popcorn instead of one). CON-4 Target #3: Hone the Skills - Strength Goals Do a chinup Do a pullup Re-memorize my TKD formsSTR-2, DEX-1 Bonus Target: Ownage Complete job application/interview process Make Christmas gifts for family/friends Eat everything in freezer, 30 pantry items Purge kitchen equipment Post to NF at least every other day (mine +others)WIS-2 I refuse to believe this is too much to accomplish. Especially considering how much time has been spent watching TV lately. Work is light now, so it's a good time to ATTACK!

I decided to use a positive topic this time, so let's see if reality conforms to it by the end. "Gobnait is competent" Since my goal of making the house comfortable relies on hubby's help, I'm going to focus on what I can do to keep things from going to heck. I think part of that is to focus on fun instead of frustration. If I get into a kitchen-rut again, I may go on a cooking strike. By November 2, I should have a list of "Things I should be doing" that is hanging up instead of hidden away online. The kitchen list that is already on my fridge, once I write "Know what's for dinner" on it, is good enough to count. But I would rather get a bulletin board set up. I think I should consider "have adventures weekly" with some sort of instant reward if I manage it, but I'm not sure what will really have an impact. I want to have busy-activities ready and actually say that I used them and replaced them. I don't want to say I hung out online for all of my down-time. I think that I should keep an at-least weekly photo blog with how the house looks. Morning and evening for days where I might have done something significant.

By all rights, she should have been home by now. In the middle of her previous mission, a sudden injury had put her in the care of the Druids, who helped her find not only her way back to health, but the strength and will to cross the lake on her way back home. She had planned to climb the mountain and down the other side, but as she looked for the best climbing route, had heard sounds of a skirmish between a band of orcs and a lone elf. The orcs had been uncharacteristically stealthy. The elf had been taken by surprise, suffering several wounds before he managed to draw his bow. He was able to take a few of them down before going down himself, but was ultimately wounded, roughed-up, robbed, and left for dead on the mountainside. Dantilla found him just as he was regaining consciousness, and he called to her in a hoarse voice. She looked at him and remembered the kindness of the druids. She knew now how she would repay them. She—they—would be taking the long way around the mountain. Challenge: 1. Carry the elf. Strength building. One day a week of core exercises. http://darebee.com/workouts/fusion-workout.html Two days a week of strength training One day a week of swimming One day a week of rock climbing 2. Walk by his side. Accompany him for his therapy walks 5x week. These generally consist of 1-mile walks, pushing the speed. 3. Make camp and cook I will be meeting with a nutritionist this Friday to help me manage some health things. I want to put a plan into action based on what she tells me. In preparation, I need to track everything I put in my body this week. I generally track food, but I have been lazy about tracking things with no calories. I need to track EVERYTHING. LQ. Describe the homeland I have made some progress with my music room, but there is still a lot left to do. Over the next six weeks I'd like to personalize it more. Rearrange the furniture, put things on the walls, get the bed out of there, and PAINT. Picking a paint color and arranging a paint day will also be part of this.

I'm late to the party on this challenge. More proof that I'm choosing the right goals. My main goal this challenge is to get more on top of things. The messes in my house, garden and garage are the most obvious things. Last challenge I made substantial improvement in getting enough sleep by going to bed on time. I started meditation as part of a mini-challenge and signed up for a meditation class at work. I feel like I’m halfway up the mountain for most of my goals. Exercise/wellness adventure challenge I signed up for a spring wellness challenge at work to add some variety to my exercise program. Conveniently, it runs from April 14 to May 12. Many of the things on the list are already habits for me (marked in green). Daily routine Drink water: 10 points/8oz glass, max 600 points per day (I marked my water glass with 8oz lines) Walking/biking paths: 500 points per day Fitness center: 500 points per day Adventure challenges (5000 points each) Fitness consultation: Meet with the trainer. I do this every ~6 weeks. Need to schedule a session. Lunch n Learn: Session with nutrition consultant. Meditation series: I signed up for this two weeks ago. Meditation: group or individual session (don’t know why this is a separate item but I’ll take the points) New exercise: try something new Peer fitness: bring a friend to a fitness class Walking meeting: have a walking meeting with coworkers Local trails: (walk or bike the local trails) Salad: build a healthy salad from the cafeteria (I did this today for lunch) Farmer’s Market: shop at the local market (market opens May 7 – only one opportunity to shop before 5/12) Hot water: Use the steam room, sauna or hot pool Work offers a variety of fitness classes. I tried Zumba for a while but decided it was too risky for my knees. I still have several passes for classes. The challenge will give me motivation to try something out. I’m leaning towards yoga or PiYo, a pilates/yoga mix. The yoga class is in the same building as the sauna and steam room. And it is after work. <rubs hands> A very attractive combination. The nice thing about this goal is that I can keep doing my regular physical therapy exercises and strength training and get credit for it (under Fitness Center). If I want to max out my points I could bike partway to work on the bike path AND work out at lunch. I live about 9.5 miles from work. It takes too long to bike in for daily commuting. However, I could park 5 miles away and bike in. Google says that would take 30 minutes. Or I could put my bike on the back of my car and just bike at lunch, although that seems kind of silly. I'd rather hike in the woods at noon. Aikido does not count for the challenge and it is not a goal because it is a regular part of my life. I expect to be teaching every Wednesday for the next few months. In a perfect world I would go to all the Monday and Friday classes. I might skip one or the other if work gets crazy or if I screw up and get too tired or too behind at home. If I go on the weekend I am likely to skip Monday class. No seminars this challenge. Here is a photo of me at a seminar last summer, working on unfamiliar weapons exercises. Food Last time I tried a strict limitation on food and it backfired. I am starting this challenge two pounds heavier than I started the last one. I went to cons the last two weekends. Not only did I not have time to cook, I ate a lot of restaurant food and treats. My challenge for this time is to cook healthy food containing vegetables. A couple new dishes over the six weeks would be great. Green salad only counts if I prep all the components for multiple servings. Grading: 3/week x 6 = 18 total, bonus points for new recipes. Doing all the things Over the last few challenges I have gotten better at balancing my activities. I’m getting more sleep, making better decisions and giving myself permission to take some time for fun things. I am hoping that adding meditation will help me be more productive by consciously taking time to not do anything at all. The things include: Staying on top of financial records and filingDealing with the backlog of old records and filesChanging over winter/summer clothesGardeningCookingCleaningSorting the stuff in boxes in the garage and family room.Getting rid of stuff identified in sorting (shredding, selling, taking to the city drop-off, etc.)Ongoing maintenance of thingsFor the most part these are not dreaded tasks. I like gardening. Entering financial records is fine as long as we have enough money. It gets stressful when things are tight. Cleaning is not exactly fun but mostly I find the satisfaction of having things clean is enough to get me through the work. The dread level increases for me when a task has been put off too long. Track tasks completed every week. Note tasks that have been languishing on the list and difficult tasks. No specific number goal because tasks vary in time/energy needed.

Hello all, So I'm taking the plunge and committing to a challenge. I'm actually a bit anxious about this. I have a very checkered history with weight loss in general, but it feels like the right time to recommit to myself. Main Quest: To reach a happy, healthy place where I am healthy and in shape. Sub-Goals: Write down everything that I eat for the next week.Week after -begin making healthy changes to my food (To be determined after looking at the data set).Prepare lunch the night before on work days.Make my own breakfast at least two days a week.Motivations (My Big Why): Honestly, this has been a long time coming. I'm currently about 120 lbs over where I probably should be (277 lbs as of Saturday; 5' 6.5" woman with a heavy bone structure), and I've found myself struggling more and more with the issues that my body has presented me with. In addition, I've seen my grandmother (a strong woman who raised four children after being widowed 40 years ago) struggle with dementia and type II diabetes for the past five or so years. I know that this runs in my family: apparently my great-grandmother had it as well as one of my great-uncles; and I don't want this to be me. Add in that yesterday night I managed to sprain my ankle for the umpteenth time last night while stepping down some stairs, and I have a fairly solid motivation to want to lose the weight and get into shape. I also would really like to work on my experience of loving myself as I am (mindfulness and contentment are big motivations for me. Realistically, I am probably a druid.... Towards this end, I have a major goal of being more content with myself and being more aware of when various thought patterns are running in my head. I also really want to work on organization and time management. Towards this end, I would like to: spend 15 minutes a day 5 days a week decluttering and organizing my house, my work spaces (itinerant music teacher), and my life.create simple morning and evening afternoon routines that help me be more organized and on task.