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Oh god, is there a new challenge already? OK: Still trying to learn the dance from last time Choose a poem and learn it by heart Bike adventure - ride my new bike from here to Cambridge and back. Done! 10k run on the 23rd - be prepared! Then revert to one long, two short per week Eat sensibly - paleoish and use some sort of portion control That'll do.

To continue with the acronym… Those that have been following for a while know that in 2019 I was doing really good hitting my goals, so I went back to see what I was doing then that was working so well. I've been more lax this year on the food aspect (thanks Covid) With D cooking her fair share making a detailed plan is a little more difficult, but that's only one meal a day every other week so it shouldn't derail me as much as I've been letting it. Making sure I stop eating when I'm supposed to is the biggest challenge with food, since what I eat is generally good. We've started something new with this, we both were tired of creating menus, shopping, and cooking (even though shopping means ordering online) We decided to each purchase our own meals (usually frozen, sometimes just veggies and protein) every two weeks on Tuesday we rotate who makes their tacos, and make enough for two weeks and every Friday we order from a local pizza place that makes a cauliflower crust so amazing you can't tell that's what you're eating! Doing this has helped immensely with portion control and I've lost about 5lbs so far. I've also been tracking just to stay aware of what and how much I'm eating. I'm doing better at making sure my workouts happen, I have a treadmill and workout equipment at home, there is no good reason for this not to be a priority, until I feel comfortable going to the gym again. (I live in FL, my governor is an idiot, this will probably not happen soon) Reminding myself how good I feel and not letting my brain make excuses are helping...my much needed motivation is I have a birthday cruise to prepare for and I need to be in shape for season. Running around a ballpark is probably not going to be easy with a mask on, so cardio is important! I may not be running around a ballpark this year, we'll find out this challenge (probably week zero) Workouts are still a priority though if I get another job my schedule may have to change a bit. Sleep is essential for these goals as well, I struggle to get 7 hours a night, not because I go to bed late or get up too early, it's because sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain won't shut off! Updates need to happen to hold me accountable, and extra stuff needs to happen because I have a tendency to hermit away, and they say all work and no play...but I'm anything but dull The Plan... Cardio - Three interval runs/bicycle rides/HITT Workout, and one strength training a week. Update - Post in thread three times a week. Track - Sleep (at least 7 hours a night) Food (eat when hungry, stop when full, track to be mindful) Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and any other random stuff goes here Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️

Original post: Challenge goals: 1. Minimize room. 2. Stretch every morning. 3. Exercise every day. 4. Serve less food at mealtimes. Details: 1. Let go of excess clothing, books, papers, miscellany, mementos, etc. Marie Kondo-style. Except she gives clients 6 months and I'm going to do it in four weeks (or five if I spill over a bit into zero week) because challenge timeframe. And because I still basically live like a college student with all my life possessions stored in a single room, so I don't have to do the whole house. 2. Greet the morning with a full-body yoga session. I've gotten really stiff and lost a lot of my flexibility from lack of stretching lately, and I want it back. Although I pretty much stay hidden in my room first thing in the morning, regardless of how much mess I make with goal #1 I should still have space for a yoga mat in here. 3. Two part goal, first part is do something active: swimming, walk 2 miles, do a day of Elements, do a dumbbell workout. If I come up with some other workout plan I like, I might consider adding it, but I think I already have so many options it's probably better to stick with what's here. Second part is just put pull up bar up in my doorway every day after Mom leaves the house (and take it down when she comes home). Usually having it up is enough to remind me to spend some time playing with it, but I can't keep it up 24/7 because the door doesn't close and my mom hates the sight of it. So just while she's not here! 4. Try to down-adjust "normal" portion sizes by serving a bit less at every meal. If it wasn't enough, go back for more, but check in and make sure it REALLY wasn't enough first. Does not apply to salad. Title: It would be more accurate to say "Wobbegong Cleans It Up" because exercise habits, physical space, and diet habits are all getting tidied this challenge. However, "Makes a Mess" sounds like more fun, and at the very least step 1 will result in a mess (temporarily).

Quest 1: Swim! 3 - 5 days per week. Quest 2: Portion Control! (no limit to the vegetables) Quest 3: Finish the Duolingo Spanish Tree Quest 4: Do the thing! -- The Strength Training Thing -- 1 - 3 days per week.

Deep in the caves, the little hobbit opened her eyes, and it was so dark it was as if she hadn't opened them at all. She fumbled through the blackness, nervous and gasping at every little sound, and her shaking hands chanced upon a cold shape. She felt its strange, mesmerising smoothness, and, out of their own volition, her fingers closed around its circumference. A metallic taste slowly crept onto her tongue. Her eyes darted through the dank gloom, back and forth, her heart pounding, gorge rising, suddenly knowing. This, THIS, this long forgotten thing, of which she'd known so much and so little, had treasured, and had lost. Back. Back in her own hand. She stared forward, gimlet eyes piercing the emptiness, alive, and fierce, and unafraid. "How long have we had this flaming parsnip?!" Her companion, Boyfriend, turned on the kitchen light. "It's all bendy now. Why do I never use them up in time?" the little hobbit asked. "Bleeeeee!" said Boyfriend, absent-mindedly, and went back to bed. Last time, I kicked my Irn Bru habit, and I'm a very happy hobbit who has now haddit with bad habits. One of my bad habits is buying a basket full of vegetables with every intent to cook them, then leaving them in the fridge until they go all brown and wrinkly. Thus, instead of lovely steaming tureens of stew all ready to microwave on lazy week nights, I just end up with a fuller bin and a stodge-and-cheese-based diet. So I'm going to fix that. Calorie counting is very dull and unproductive, so I'm going to focus on portion control for things that I would like to eat less of, like stodge-and-cheese. I'm walking to Mordor, but miss strength training and want to feel less feeble, so I'm bringing that back too. Main Goal: "Get lean and healthy enough to be an awesome field ecologist." Challenge Goals: 1.) Cook food. A mostly vegetable-based recipe. At least once a week. In a quantity that will last at least four meals. (CON +4) 2.) Get back to strength training. BBWW thrice a week, yoga once a week. (STR +3, STA +1, DEX +1) 3.) Control portion sizes. Weigh food! (CON +2, WIS +2 [because I need to do all the learning about portion sizes]) Life Goal: 4.) Finish one item from your list of unfinished craft projects every week. Pics or it didn't happen. Also, maybe find a camera. (WIS +2) - Finish kusudama balls - Finish pom pom rug - Finish pleather armour - Finish grey cushion cover - Finish red bag - Finish turtle painting - Finish green fascinator - Finish Christmas wreaths - Finish Christmas ornament set (I'm really behind on the whole Christmas decorations thing.) - Finish squid tentacle thing (sculpture? Hmm.) Things to do before challenge starts: - Get some cheap tupperware boxes and portion out rice and quinoa for cooking; treat self to half-decent veg knife. - Dig up some recipes that aren't mostly jalapenos and tabasco. Write shopping lists. - Make sure the kitchen is clean, tidy and inviting for maximum cooking likelihood. - Make sure there is space in bedroom or living room for workout - *gulp* Tidy my craft cupboard. The little hobbit rubbed her hands together. She grinned a bright, confident grin. She turned on her heel to march off to victory. "AAAAAA" screamed the little hobbit as she saw Boyfriend suddenly in the corridor, minding his own business. "AAAAAA" screamed Boyfriend, startled. "AAAAAA" screamed the little hobbit, scared of the loud Boyfriend noise. "AAAAAA" screamed Boyfriend, conversationally. "SHUT UP" shouted Other Flatmates. Anyway.

As theme I picked some of the things that a true rebel should never do. And twisted them completely My wife and me are in a long distance relationship at the moment. It sucks to live in different countries, but for the time being we have to cope with that. So, when we are together we try to make the most of our time together, which means also leave on the side some of the interests and activities that we do no share. Of the 42 day of the challenge we have 17 days together this time. So I split the challenge in a "alone"-challenge and a "together"-challenge. The "together" bit is still my challenge, in the sense that I want to take the initiative and the lead, but if she is really not up to it, then we will do something different. I am not going to force her into this Collecting pants (alone) If I collect enough pants I will achieve world domination. I mean this one quite literally. My house is a mess most of the time and I end up doing emergency tidy-up every 3-4 weeks. That must change. So I start collecting pants. That is: pick the clothes up from the rack where I hung them, fold them and put in the proper drawer. It will happen within 2 days from the washing (3 for hand-washed things, they need time to dry out) CHA +3 for the more guest-friendly house DEX +1 for the getting better at folding clothes I don't like boring (together) While my wife is here, I'll walk with her every day, for at least 1 hour, every time on a different place/path. Just to start some good habit. CON +1 for the good habits and the movement WIS +1 for finding the way STA +1 for the walk itself Lift light (together) I know that when we are together we tend to eat more. Because we go out, we have dinner with friends, we enjoy cooking and we don't throw away anything (everything that land in our dish is eaten). So, portion control is the word here. Not to eat less, but to eat "as usual". So, my dish will be lighter even when going out CON +2 for the food CHA +2 because nobody like to eat with a pig like me Don't change anything (alone) I was happy with my previous challenge. So I keep it as is was: push-ups, pull-ups, handstand, run (but 2.5 times/week), climb, check the food. This part of the challenge will happen in the days that I am not with my wife. If I manage to sneak in something, good, otherwise I still have the point for family life STR +3 STA +1 No yoga as a challenge this time. Maybe I will do something anyway, but just as recovery or for the fun of it. And the monkish bit as always is the background for all this The usual spreadsheet will follow