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I'm currently eight hundred steps behind where I want to be in life, give or take a few. I hate baby steps and working back toward things I've already achieved and lost. And I'm constantly complaining that I wish real life worked like video games so I could see how far I've come, what else I have to do to level up, all that fun stuff. Haven't figured out how to structure a challenge like that so far. And then today in the shower, where all great ideas are spawned, I started thinking about how I've played through Final Fantasy XII two dozen times since the apocalypse started. I love it (obviously) but man does the beginning get boring when you can't do much of anything. At some point I started grinding hard at the very start in order to get more loot and better weapons and abilities sooner than they'd normally be accessible. All while sitting there going "ugh I can't wait until I get [spell]" and "this is so annoying without [party member]" and all that fun stuff. Oh hey, look at that. Starting well behind where I want to be and where I've been before, knowing how to get those things but blocked from them, having to do a bunch of repetitive and time-consuming tasks because I don't have the capabilities to do them any faster or progress without them... that sounds exactly like what I've been trying to avoid doing irl? Awkward. So I guess I have a theme for this challenge now. Week 1: Do one guided meditation per day on Insight Timer. Week 2: If I do 5/7 for week one, level up and add warm eye mask to daily meditation. If not, repeat week 1. Week 3: TBD Week 4: TBD Week 5: TBD Not sure what the other goals will be yet. I have ideas but want to see how the first week plays out first.

Ch1 saw me trying to get back into the groove of things, and trying to find a new baseline. Plus some agonising over work/living situation stuff. I do have some 'maintenance' habits I'm going to try to keep on for this challenge, and while they're important to me (and they will help to work towards my quarterly and annual goals), they are not the focus for this challenge. But for the sake of my own reference: - daily BUJO & check ins - C25k 3x, weights 3x each week (plus whatever physio has assigned) - hit daily protein goals, either with meal prep or protein shake liquid days, or both; + staying hydrated - Sun Salutations in the morning, & eating breakfast within 1hr of waking up - bedtime alarm to go to bed at a reasonable time (which, tonight, I've already failed at smh) and no reading in bed! What I'm really focusing on this challenge is... My 'daily declutter' goals haven't worked in the past. I feel stuck in a rut. And I am overwhelmed by the lack of organisation in my space. Enough is enough, let's treat this thing like a job. I will declutter for no less than 25hrs a week this challenge. No more than 40hrs. By the end of the challenge I hope to at least have MY stuff in some semblance of order. And then I can step back and reassess, to see how I'd like to tackle the rest of the house. If I finish my stuff early (guess we'll see, after 100+hrs), I'll get started on the guest bedrooms (aka. my bro/sis' old rooms), so I can 'move' into that side of the house. I'll take the opportunity to listen/watch some CreativeLive (online courses) stuff at the same time, since I rarely need to focus much on those, and that saves me from making up excuses/distractions of figuring out what content I want to consume. __________ __________ Feb 07 - When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. - William Arthur Ward

Hi all For those new to our story, So to do a quick up to speed, Mom had a serious 4 year old tantrum during last challenge and basically took a tactical Nuke to what was left of our relationship. I am not okay about. I am hurt, I am angry and mostly, I am just done with her, but I can’t walk away. Not even after that. However, I am limiting contact with her as much as possible and Hubby has been with me any time I have to go see her as a reason for her to behave. I have never in my life wanted to run away more than I do now, but I am doing what has to be done to take care of her and that is about it. I have gotten her mostly retired (need to talk to retirement people), her insurance is now handled and it is much more in a place where I don’t have to worry she won’t get something done in a timely manner. However, all of this puts me in a weird place where no one will tell me what is needed or not, but I am waiting for the flip out of “why aren’t you doing X” when no one told me. I don’t know where any of this stands, and its hard. Agent K9s cancer is worse. He has not been eating real well, he will start eating again and stop. But he is lethargic and not my K9. Hubby and I are both trying to let him tell us when it is time, but I really don’t think he has very long. I doubt highly he finishes the challenge, let alone the month. We are looking into a Puppy because we are an animal family. We know he would want us to save someone else like we saved him and love them too. This is in the works, but I would not be shocked if we add a new little fluffy agent of Chaos to the family this challenge. So some of the challenge will be around either work with, training or preparing for this. We may even overlap dogs for the first time this challenge. This challenge I am hoping to find some footing in all of this. I need to get back to taking care of me (something I did do better with AFTER the meltdown after I could think again and not be so hurt/upset/whatever this is. I am not okay, but I am trying to find how to move forward with Mom, what life will be like without K9 and with a Puppy. I am trying to maybe put me first. To work on this long term goal I have following paths that are not great and maybe getting my life, my house, and my health under control. Be aware, there will probably be some of me dealing with whatever it is that will come from the Mom corner. Especially as I feel I am at my worst point in my health, and I really am afraid that I will be stuck going down a path of my body giving out well before I am ready to because I didn’t take care of myself. I am doing boxes again, I won’t add the, but they have changed some. Mostly to allow for a things being so chaotic and uncertain. Now to see what happens. I started Sunday and am doing okay for day 3. I want to be here more, but some days it takes spoons I don’t have, and others I just don’t want to be ms. Negative. So I am here. Thank you all for the support. Last challenge especially, it meant the world to have people support me, and remind me maybe I might be doing the right thing and that sometimes, life isn’t fair.

These two delight in a lack of progress, in maintaining the mental status quo, and possibly backsliding if they can make it work. They've decided to combine efforts and come for me just when I want to advance some skills and when I need to focus on continuing education. The Distraxolotl- It is a cute little critter who whispers to unwary people that 'all the things' deserve attention, and that 'you can finish later' but 'later' is filled with another thing. He offers 'false' progress through acquiring lots of new skills without actually advancing in any current skills. He's come for me just as I've finished two major goals and am drawn in several directions by a few things I've had in the back of my mind. The Ignoraminx- A wily animal that sneaks around the edges of thought. It gently sings the alluring suggestion that learning is hard work and unnecessary. It values idling in what you already know and convincing its victim that education efforts are pointless. Maybe just give up that thing that requires education? That sounds easier. Thankfully I recognized its song in time. And it may have backfired! Its mindless melody reminded me that I have an impending deadline for continuing education. We've met the insidious creatures, on to the plan for battling them. I have a shiny new point system that I've outlined in my battle log. This is my first attempt applying it. Here we go! -to fight the Distraxolotl I need to pick and focus on specific tasks that will either use (up) supplies I have, advance current skills, or learn new but related skills. 3 pts per day/ 4 days per week = 12 pts wkly The battle plan is: 🦎 finish the crazy yarn project for Lyn finish the dragonwing shawl I've drooled over for years and finally started either start learning Tunisian crochet to continue my on-going goal to convince knitters that crochet isn't just granny squares, or pick my next knit skill to learn and a project to go with it. But! only if I'm having success against the Ignoraminx. -elude the Ignoraminx by making progress on the massage CEUs I need by the end of April (this can take two challenges to actually complete if needed) and return to the studying I need to do for my job (to meet other personal goals) 2 pts per day/ 4 days per week = 8 pts wkly The battle plan is: 🦨 make significant headway on massage ceus. subtasks are: look up exact hour needs and dates for AMTA and state license double check what I've already done return to learning difference in sewing machines by: returning to cbt work using machines at work to do the learning tasks from each ^cbt^ -ongoing lesser goal for the challenge are 1 pt per day/ 4 days per week = 4 pts wkly each strength training - finish current DB program then return to my own pull up focuses plan, if the weather allows me to play outside yet. 4 pts wkly 🏋️‍♀️ pick a household task daily. Any sort of task; cleaning, meal planning, making it more homey (ie painting etc), whatever is needful 4 pts wkly 🏚️🏠🏡🏘️ (hey look! different levels of houses!) Points basic breakdown total 28 pts/ week. 140 per challenge bonus point is 1 pt per extra day of any above.

credit: Still Stuck with you. by PascalCampion CHAPTER 2: AThousandWords is a Constant Refrain "You didn't even look?" I frown. The door at the train station has been in the back of my mind all day — the missed opportunity, the cost of not peeking through that clouded glass. Your own child crying at the crucial moment when you might have reached out to touch the door handle... until reality snaps back in. Hungry toddlers. A juice box spilled on the pavement. No time for doors or adventure. I shake my head. "We'll walk back up that way again tomorrow. I'll take a peek then and see if it's anything interesting." My husband shrugs, accepting the ordinary solution for an ordinary problem. He wasn't there to feel the light-as-a-dust-mote prickling that made you doubt whether the door was there at all. "It's just weird, " he says after a minute. "We're at that train station all the time. I feel like I would have seen a door like that." "We're always busy, right?" It's the constant refrain of parents everywhere. "We probably just didn't notice it. But," I hesitate, and he raises his eyebrows. I'm debating whether to explain the pull I felt, the sense that something is coming closer. I wonder if I'm just being melodramatic: imaging myself at the precipice of a cliff, unsure of whether it's safer to remain where I am or catapult myself off. It must play out on my face because my husband drops his eyebrows into a concerned look. He can always tell when I'm making myself smaller, sanding myself off at the corners. "Well. It would be nice to go somewhere," I say finally. "Get out of here for a while." He hums in agreement, then smiles at me until I find myself smiling back. But we walk to the train station the next day and the door is gone. This challenge is all about accepting what we can't change, I suppose. Last month was a struggle: between snow and quarantines I think we had a total of 7 full days of daycare out of the entire month. And then last week we we learned that under-5 vaccines won't be submitted for approval until April and the small thread of hope we'd had for travel and normalcy this spring is put on hold again. I'm stretched thin between demanding work and unrelenting parenting, I miss spending time with my husband and friends, and I find myself wishing so badly we could get out of this day to day routine and go adventuring. Instead we're treading water and the best I can do this challenge is just to focus on what I can control. Half-marathon training has become a small lifeline of personal time, and I'm starting to feel ready. I ran 11 miles last weekend and this challenge will be ending the weekend I run the real thing: 13 miles. Inconceivable to the me who started the Couch 2 5k last summer. It also feels like a light at the end of the long tunnel of winter: travel, family, community. So this challenge I'm going to do my best to be ready for it, avoid injury, and picture myself crossing the finish line. You'd think flexibility would be key here, but I'm running the opposite direction. I'm going to try and nail myself to a schedule and let consistency take me through the rest of winter. I'm hoping there will be warmer days ahead with more breathing room and joy, and setting habits in stone now will keep me on track for the rest of the year. Habit 0: Run four times a week I will commit to running all the days and distances in my training plan: Mon, Weds, Thurs, Sat Bonus: Figure out what comes next after I finish training for this Half Marathon Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week I will complete a 30 min yoga class from the Peloton app on Tuesdays and Fridays, after daycare drop-off Can switch this to evening practice only if my morning is booked Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week I will only eat during an 8 hour window (usually 12pm - 8pm) for 6/7 days a week Coffee + creamer or water allowed outside this window (I can't give up my morning coffee! 😆 ) Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week On Monday morning, I will schedule 4 hours of projects with goals of what to accomplish for during that time Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday I will ensure I have a new book ready to read on Monday nights and spend at least 1 hour reading before bedtime Finishing the previous week's book is obviously preferred, but not required! Tracking will be done here! Live! No habit apps or spreadsheets, just forcing myself to get on to NerdFitness, say hello, and stay aligned with my goals. Cheers, all - to the last challenge of winter and hopefully the start of something new.

This will mostly be a continuation of the last challenge. At least goals-wise. D and I are planning to move mid-March, so my main focus with this challenge will be getting things ready to move and then moving/settling into our new space. Goal 1: Cleaning - For the days that I'm home, I would like to focus on organizing something somewhere in the apartment that will be beneficial towards getting things ready for the move. My goal will be at least 5 min spent on this. > During Zero Week I plan to map out what I'd like this to look like/what time during the day I'd like to focus on this goal. Completed = 🟩 Ignored = 🟥 N/A (to that specific day) = ❎ Goal 2: Stretching - I would like to continue with my stretching through this challenge. My preference would be to do a yoga "workout" each day, but Ik that's not always possible, so making sure I stretch my legs at the minimum will be my focus. > Tuesdays will be my "rest" day because of the movement I get from cleaning two houses in a day. Completed = 🆙 Ignored = ❌ Goal 3: Vitamins - As always, my goal will be to actually take my vitamins. I did decently well last challenge, mostly for the fact that I marked the goal as completed even if I didn't take all my vitamins (i.e. I marked it if I only took my AM or my PM ones instead of both). This challenge, I would like to be focused on consistency with both AM and PM vitamins, so it only counts if I take all of them. (I'm sure this will be a frustration to me, but hopefully it'll help with consistency. lol) > I plan to count out my vitamins for the week sometime during the weekend. Completed = ✔️ Ignored = ✖️ Might add a goal focused on finishing reading The Silmarillion. We'll see how that goes with cleaning/organizing though.

Some may say I need to be committed, I say if it includes my own padded room that doesn't sound so bad! I have reached challenge number 70...not all of these challenges went the way I planned, not all of these challenges resulted in me leveling up, All of those challenges have resulted in learning something, even if it's what doesn't work for me. I'm a pretty typical type A, I prefer to do things myself, have a difficult time asking for help and sharing my feelings...the older I get the more I realize this is not always healthy. I work from home, so making sure I have enough movement in my day as well as not eating "all the unhealthy things" is important. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle. I've been a workaholic as long as I can remember, mostly because of past experience and not wanting to have to count on anyone for things I need. D (my wife for those new here) and I have had many conversations about this. She understands my feelings because she's the same way, but we also know the importance to our relationship for us to be able to depend and count on each other. This is a very long winded way of saying that we need to remember to step away from work and have some fun, riding our motorcycles are a huge part of this for us for right now our every 4 week trips to FL also count towards this. The Plan... Cardio - 8,000 steps a day (includes 30 min on treadmill), and one kettlebell workout a week Update - Post in thread three times a week. Track - Sleep (7 hours a night) and Food (deficit per tracker) Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life events go here Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ I have a Terrain Race planned in May that I do not want to embarrass myself at, I'd also like to get rid of the 35 lbs. that I put on since the last race I did in Feb 2020.

I made a plan for 2022 and I’m working at crossing everything off the list! I like lists. I’m hoping that as I complete things off my big list that I will gain happiness and peace of mind. Everything in this challenge works towards that. Main Quests > Lose 5lbs (264.8lbs) > Track calories daily (1800-1950cal) > On work days, take 2 breaks to get up and move for 2-5 minutes > Play time with Sizzle once per week Mini Quests > Finish my 3 commissions [Week 0-1: Golden Pony, Week 2-3: Monty, Week 4-5: Percy] > Fill cement hole in basement (1/5 house sell tasks) > Finish filling laundry shelf bins Last weigh-in: 269.8lbs Challenge Progress Lose 5lbs: ◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️ Commissions: 🐊◻️◻️ Cement hole: ◻️ Laundry shelf: ◻️ Weigh Ins

Doing a continuation of my 3rd challenge! Can't wait!

Grateful for a new job, but its rhythms, compounded by COVID, means my routine is...not so routine right now! So I want to screw down on some things I've been doing well, but that have gotten a little loose over the past two+ weeks (can't blame it all on the new job 🙄). 30 activity minutes daily 8 glasses of water daily Daily Prayer Reading professionally and for leisure Big 3 and 3 Gratitudes

WELCOME to a thread\challenge I thought I'd never get to post. Over the course of this challenge I'll be MOVING into our new to us house in the TN mountains. As required, it is rural (so Door Dash and grocery delivery will be a thing of the past), it has acreage (12 acres to be exact) and it has bi-directional Gigabit Internet! As added bonuses it also has a detached shop big enough to house hubby's business AND give us space to work as a workshop (hello long delayed woodworking hobbies) AND a fully stocked pond. Monday (2/14) we get the keys and Thursday (2/17) the movers show up to the apartment. As you can imagine, Week 0 will be PACK ALL THE THINGS. My plan is to pack up nearly everything by the end of this coming weekend so that the first few days of next week we can focus on getting things setup at the new house including setup of Internet, move the delicate electronics I'm not trusting to the movers AND get the kitties moved up and settled into a room that won't get a lot of traffic by movers (likely the guest suite). We'll be with them for the day and let them explore before crashing at the apartment since they'll be here at 8am Thursday. Luckily, I have plenty of vacation time, so I'm taking off 2 weeks (starting 2/14) so I'll have over a week to unpack\setup and get a detail clean done on the apartment before we do our moveout. I'm sure I'll have lots of things to add on the challenge list once moved - but mostly I'll be tracking packing, moving, unpacking and settling in. OH - and enjoying the hell out of the nicest kitchen I've ever cooked in. Which is important because eating out will be a thing of the past - so I'm going to need quick meals for those days I feel like shit LOL. Later - it'll be all about setting up for "full on" homesteading - and I do plan to blog about that and maybe setup Youtube\Twitch for content. If I do - I'll link for those that are interested in following along.

Well I wanted to start off this year strong, but just everything was too overwhelming. Completely nope'd last challenge. I did however get myself to some much needed appointments. New glasses, a few dental things having to be done, and a doctor visit this last Wednesday. How did things go? Bad. I've gone from controlling my diabetes, to going full on back into OMG territory. A1c was very high. So now I get to jump back on medication. Plus a start a second medication in 8 more days. Like it was bad enough, there was no "Can I just see where I am at in 2 months". I have the yearly physical appointment set for 2 months from now. Lab work about a week before. I immediately though of going full on keto again. I know it did very well for controlling blood sugar in the past. The problem is, I just don't think this is how I would eat forever. I like popcorn. I would like to still have a potato etc. These next couple of months, I want to see if I can get things back in control. I want to focus on eating foods that will be lower calorie, higher volume. A lot of what Greg Doucette had referred to. This should still offer me some flexibility. I just really can't let myself eat all the things. Like the cupcakes and other sweets my wife still bought today. I also really need to get moving, and sleeping well. I still have plenty of things I really need to do around the apartment. I'm going to try to not overwhelm myself with too much. I can't just jump in and start all the things at once, even when my brain thinks I should be able too haha. Goal#1) I need to reset my sleep cycle Too many nights, it's after 2 am when I go to bed. Too many morning I don't get out of bed. This puts me in the mood of "I don't feel like doing anything", and "Wow, I've already lots the whole day sitting around in bed" The goal is to try to get myself back into a proper sleep cycle. I want to get back to reading before bed again. So stop what I am doing to read at 10:30 PM. Then I read for an hour. Get off to bed at 11:30 PM. This should get me into bed around 11:45 PM. Provided I get to bed, I don't want to sit in bed for hours. So I also want to get up with my alarm. I'll set this at 8:30 PM for the moment, but I imagine I'll be getting up earlier. It's sort of happened a little be this last week when I did get to bed earlier. Off to read at 10:30 PM, Off to bed at 11:30 PM, get the heck out of bed in the morning 15 points each day. 105 points for the week Goal#2) Fueling for success Let's see if I can set myself up to eat well in these next couple of months. I need to get back to tracking my food. I want to track in Cronometer, but even if I track with pen and paper, that counts! I just want to give myself the best chance to get it done. With tracking, I can make sure my calories are in a deficit. Or at least it might help me figure that out. I want to aim for under 2500 calories for now. I could get myself down in the 1800 area, but that didn't seem to work the best in the past. At least in the long run. So slower, should hopefully be better. Tracking food intake, Under 2500 Calories 10 points per day, 70 points for the week Goal#3) Start small, build up to more There is many things I want to do. I want to run again. I want to be able to do a pull up. I want to feel stronger and healthier. I just know I can't jump in full throttle. I need to start off small, and build things up. I am going to start with walking. I'm not going to set a certain time, or number of steps. I just want to get walking each day. Short goal, I want to be able to walk around nearby Lake Elizabeth. Pokemon Go Tour 2022 runs on February 26th. It's from 9 am to 9 pm. I want to be able to stay out there for a few hours walking around. It's going to be too soon to just expect I go out there and walk the whole time, but I can rest on some benches haha. I also ordered myself some resistance bands, and a pull up bar that can handle heavier people. First focus is walking. I might do some indoor bodyweight stuff soon, but I want to focus on walking first. Hopefully, a week or two in, I will be ready for more exercising. Farther walks, workouts, maybe even starting to run. I'll see how things go. If I feel I want to add I will. Walking first though Week 1: Walk every day 10 points per day, 70 on the week. No goal 4. I want to add things to do. I need to focus on the first 3 goals first. It's a few changes, and I don't want to feel forced that I have to get even more things done. I have my goals, I want to see much improvement buy my next doctor visit. Good news for my vision, she didn't see any diabetes damage to my eyes. My dental work it things that I have needed to fix for the last couple of years. Might weight has actually been lower too. It's not all bad news for me. I just feel let down that I did this tom myself. Measurements - Day 1 / End of challenge Chest - Waist - Bicep (L) - Bicep (R) - Thigh (L) - Thigh (R) - Weight - Challenge Points Week 1 (02/13 - 02/19) - 0/245 Week 2 (02/20 - 02/26) - 0/245 Week 3 (02/27 - 03/05) - 0/245 Week 4 (03/06 - 03/12) - 0/245 Week 5 (03/13 - 03/19) - 0/245 Total points - 0/1225

I am bad at all things time-related. Underestimate how long things will take me, overestimate how long I have to get somewhere or do something, and my favorite, assume tasks will take forever no matter their size. Thus never starting anything because I won’t have time to finish it. Do these things contradict each other? Yep. Should anyone be surprised at this point? Nope. And then the other day I opened the app for my PT exercises and it said “9 minute routine.” Bruh. That’s all it is?! I can do 9 minutes. So this entire challenge is going to focus on things that feel like I don’t have time for but absolutely do, and on the actual time it takes for them. Baby goals right now because I have other things I want to work on but couldn’t fit into this setup. 1. TMJ exercises: 9 minutes every day 2. Flossing and mouthwash: 4 minutes every night 3. Warm eye mask: 25 minutes every day (20 wearing it, 5 for microwaving it, firing up my meditation app, and getting settled) 4. Any scary thing (job apps, etc): 10 minutes at a time 5. Any task that takes 5 minutes or less: 5 a day Wish me luck.

Looks like the December 2021 challenge didn’t go so badly thanks to these checkmarks I realized I can add to keep myself accountable…mostly…when I remember to actually post on here. 😐 So, let’s keep that up, shall we? (We shall). For this challenge, I’m going to: 1) Go back on vitamins – I bought some with biotin to see if they’ll help my spontaneous hair loss (because spoiler alert: my doctor doesn’t care that I’ve lost about 40% of my hair and outright refused to do a blood test to see if I have any deficiencies or an autoimmune disease…so I’m just going to pray it’s not the latter and tend to my hair in the meantime – don’t really know what else I can do at this point). I want to aim for every day, but I tend to be quite the lazy sod so let’s say 5 times a week for the next two weeks. On second thought, make that 4. I don’t trust myself. 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 2) I might not renew my Nerd Fitness app subscription because I’m really bad at keeping up with it. So just in case, I’m going to try and finish as many unfinished (or mildly enticing) quests as I can. If I can finish ONE by the end of this challenge, I’ll call that a win. 🟦 3) I’m 90% certain my wellness program coach is going to have me start this meal plan she asked me to get used to looking at very soon, so I’ll try it out and see if I can still do at least 3 days a week. 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 4) I lost a little bit of weight last year, so I think this is the year I’ll experiment with…before and after photos. I’m dreading every moment of this, but worst-case scenario I can always delete them. I’ll also take some to record my flexibility, particularly my bunion-ish feet. (Not that I plan on posting them ANYWHERE because update, the weight and hair pics are really horrible to look at.) 🟦 🟦 🟦 🟦 (for body measurements, hair, flexibility benchmark chart, and feet) Bonus…nah I’ll just call this 5) I want to finish For Health and Home with at LEAST three lives, so I’m going to try not to lose more than…two? 🟩 Total score = ___ / 20 Five things seem like a lot in writing, but this challenge is more like three because 2) and 4) are more like to-do items than ongoing tasks. Only time will tell. (I’m full of shrugs these days, so this felt appropriate) Good luck with your challenges, everyone.

After a long hiatus, it's time to get off my a** and do something about my health. My goals this challenge: Take readings of my CGM so there are no more than 10 gaps in readings Go for a 15 minute walk at least 3 times each week Complete 10 Academy quests

Currently I'm readin the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, and I realised that in my currently tiny social circle I don't have any people that do any form of exercise other than a dily walk or bike-commuting. I decided it was time to come back here to have people to talk exercise with . All fun things are closed right now, so I have to do my exercising at home. This is actually fine (although not as fun), since over the years I have collected enough equipment at home to do a ton of different things. In the second half of 2021 I did mostly youtube videos that use dumbbells, but I gradually lost my motivation with them as they are quite long and intense. I also want my pull-ups and mobility back, so alternating bodyweight training and yoga it is! Furthermore, I want to slowly but surely start losing the covid weight, since it looks like the lockdowns won't be over for quite some time. I really have to start seeing this as a new normal. I will start by making a "snack" box with fruits and nuts so that I eat fewer cookies and chocolates. Lastly, I want a tidy house and a tidy head. I don't know what exactly will work for me there, with all the rules and activities changing all the time, so I'm going to start with just setting up an evening routine. Challenge To ease into it, I have defined my goals in multiple steps. Ideally I will get to the bold-level for each goal, but if for some reason I don't have the energy/motivation, I can take a lower level. The goal is to establish the habits, to be expanded upon later. Strength training (M/W/F) Level 1: do 1 set of push-ups Level 2: do 1 set of all exercises in the start bodyweight routine Level 3: do the start bodyweight routine Yoga (Thu/Tue/Sat) Level 1: change into yoga clothes and do 1 stretch on my yoga mat Level 2: 10 minute practice Level 3: 20 minute practice Snackbox (weekdays) Level 1: put some nuts and frozen fruits in a box Level 2: add some washed/cut fresh fruit Level 3: also add a high-protein snack Evening routine (every day) Level 1: brush and floss teeth (this is pretty established already :)) Level 2: also lay out clothes for next day Level 3: also write down a good thing/decision from that day in my BuJo Now I'm off to do my strength training .

I feel that I am living in a science fiction novel. A dystopian society and a plague. As a front line healthcare worker who is terrified of this damnable virus, and as a nasty surge is expected here very soon, I will be self isolating. Still. Damn it. Fortunately, I am a devout introvert and, in fact, the shutdown did not significantly change my life. It has still been stressful, though, trying to avoid catching the virus. I always mask indoors, keep six feet away, and avoid crowds. My doctor says it is a miracle I haven't caught the virus yet. I said, PPE and being careful. We are expecting to get slammed in January. Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta did which means many more people are getting sick at once. The health system is overwhelmed and in some places, is collapsing. I do mobile X-rays. I drive around with a portable machine and take X-rays in nursing homes. At least one facility has shut down an entire wing. They don’t have enough nurses to staff the beds and the nurses that are left are doing a lot of overtime. Fortunately, the state of California mandates nursing ratios, how many patients one nurse can take care of. Other states do not and the nurses are overwhelmed and quitting because they are so burned out and patients are dying from lack of proper care. Anyway, my challenge: Stay out of the hospital. I ended up in the ED three times in the past two years. Once for shortness of breath, totally stress related. Twice for irregular heartbeat. I was born with a heart condition and the stress can make it much worse. I am on meds for it these days. I really don’t want to be a patient in an overwhelmed hospital right now. This means driving defensively (avoid a car accident!) and taking care of my health by exercising, eating right, managing my mental health, and isolating. I want to increase the exercise and eat better. I haven’t been able to find a therapist (no openings) so I just read a lot about mental health and feel I am doing better in that area. Funny story. One time the advice nurse told me to call an ambulance . The EMT had a newbie that he was training so he was pointing out what he saw on the EKG monitor. He said “Look there are PVCs, and PVAs and oh look here her heart’s not beating at all!” Dude I’m right here.

credit: MorJer on DeviantArt CHAPTER 1: AThousandWords finds a Door At the top of the hill. At the back of the wardrobe. At the end of the trail. There is always a Door. Today it is hidden in yellow siding, tucked away at the back of an unused train station, metres away from a bustling pedestrian highway. Hundreds of cyclists and joggers and families passing by daily, none the wiser. Finely painted, with a trompe-l'œil handle that you think you could reach out and turn. An ornate window made of clouded glass, just far enough out of reach that you'd have to get on tip-toes to see through. If there were anything to see. I must have run past it a hundred times myself - surely it's always been there? Tucked away by creeping vines and tall brown grass. I hesitate, torn between wanting to reach out and feel if the doorknob is real and warm from the sun, yet unwilling to let the illusion dissipate. Happy New Year! I'm going to indulge myself this year in a long-running, immersive fantasy. For me, 2022 is a work in peeling back layers of old habits and forging new ones that support the identity I want to embody. I'm unlearning some negative traits (particularly around diet and weight loss) and opening a door to more consistency, simplicity, and joy. My framework for this challenge is based on Atomic Habits: establishing micro-building blocks that feed into the habits I want to establish. It looks a little different from my previous challenges, but I'm giving it a whirl! Habit 1: Schedule and Start 2 hours of Deep Work every weekday Use reclaim.ai to schedule 2 hours of focused work time on work days When the notification goes off, I will actually get started with work - even if it's just 2 minutes Habit 2: Fill up water cup every morning Every morning while I make coffee, I will fill up my big 24oz water cup Habit 3: Spend 15 minutes every weekday adding recipes to Plan to Eat Use reclaim.ai to schedule 15 minutes of time every weekday Add at least one recipe that I'm actually willing to cook/eat to Plan to Eat during this time Habit 4: Practice yoga for 30 min a week I will complete a 30 min yoga class from the Peloton app for 30 min on Tuesdays, after daycare dropoff If, for some reason, I can't do Tuesday, Friday or Sunday are my back up days Behind the scenes, there are lots of other things I'm working on: I'm still training for a half-marathon and running 3-4x a week. I'm trying to read more (that's a work in progress that will probably be its own challenge item down the road). I never finished those dollhouses, so that's definitely going to be happening this month. I'm also still parenting two small kids during a pandemic, with all the associated stress and joy that brings. 🤷‍♀️ But these four things feel like a good starting point toward establishing healthy habits this year, and casting a strong vote toward the person I want to be at the end of 2022.

Hi all For those new to our story, So I disappeared during the holiday mini challenge due to the fact that I just had nothing left. I did do some boxes, but I just didn’t have the spoons or the time to post here. Work got more stressful when my boss tested positive for Covid after being in the office the day he tested. Very few people wear masks in the office, and while I do when out of my office, not everyone respects my space and some people will stand directly next to/over me without a mask when I am at my desk. So I asked to work from home for fear of my mom. Then there was some drama over an email and I am honestly worried about going back to work after Jan 3rd. Mom had/has 3 procedures for Dec, all with extra care pre/during and post procedure for me to do, and then you have Christmas stuff. My brother was supposed to come up, but didn’t at the last minute due to kids getting sick. Every day was something new. Oh and Agent K9 had started drooling and his breathe stank, so we took him to the vet thinking it would be a broken tooth, it was a ping-pong sized mass on his tongue. Its aggressive cancer and right now they are saying we may have 60 days since we won’t put him through chemo. Things are worse now than they were a month ago, currently on tap · Mom’s hip is being replaced on Dec 28th. They are currently saying she will come home on Dec 29th which means I will be sole caregiver. Brother isn’t coming home at all to help and Mom has no other family in the area besides my aunt who might offer to help, and no real friends that are more than just “I talk to you once a month at work” kinda thing. So I get repeat October and stay at her house. And I told her about the memory/loss of words concerns so she is doing the silent angry whispers at me, (Her excuse is she talks to cats all day so why does she need to get the words right). So I am sure this will go well when I could barely care for her in October when they cut some excess skin off. This time an entire JOINT is getting replaced. Supposedly she may be held longer if they don’t think it safe for her to come home, but I have given up on this idea. No reason to get hopes up. · Mom has been on FMLA and getting short-term disability since August. She is going to retire on Feb 2 since she’s going to get fired if she is not back in the office. She has had no interest or desire to deal with her workplace this whole time, or the retirement in general. In fact she said “I don’t deal with that. I have you to do it for me.” So I need to figure out what we need to get her retired. Oh plus this will change all of her insurance and income and yeah. · Agent K9 is terminal cancer. They said its super-fast growing, and while we may have 60 days, I am not always sure. I am upset that I may not be here if he needs me and needs to cross that bridge since Mom, but I am trying to spoil him and enjoy him, but I am not even here much for that since Mom. · The loss of Agent K9 would generally put us in a place to look for a new Puppy to help us all heal and fill the void. But with Yappy Dog who has issues here, that may be harder, PLUS can I train a puppy right now? I know it will be so much fun, but extra stress, cleanup, changes to everything here. And Agent Eldest didn’t take the loss of our first dog well and didn’t do well until we had a new puppy to fill that void, but Puppies are also difficult since Agent K9 would want to play and he wasn’t always in the mood. But our house is so weird, older animals (even a year or so) probably won’t acclimate well to 30 people in the house one day, no one home for 8 hours the next. · But I and Family will be more upset with just Yappy Dog since we care for him, he is better here, but he’s not ours. We don’t expect him to go back to Mom’s ever, but he’s another sign that she can’t take care of herself either. He’s happy here, and we enjoy him, but there are just times I want to be angry about it. · Technically I am supposed to be back at work as of Jan 3rd, but the Mom surgery thing may change that. I have a huge training on Jan 3rd I may not be there for, but don’t know until Mom’s surgery. My boss is being cool, but with everything else going on, I don’t feel as okay with taking this time off as I would like because things are so weird. · My anxiety and depression are higher than they have been in years. Anxiety over lack of control for my ENTIRE LIFE since so many things depend on the “Post Surgery” return date. Depression since I don’t see a way out, I don’t think this will change anything and no one believes me that rehab needs to be a thing. If I have to live out of her house for 2 weeks again with her moods and anger, this will not end well for me. If I talk to her about “hey, let’s try to work this out” I am told I am mean and horrible and how dare I speak back to her, so why try. With all of this going on, I have no idea what my challenge looks like yet. Right now, I have boxes built and set up, but no idea if they are valid. I live at moms, I can’t stretch or exercise since the mocking and I am making too much noise. I can’t work on cleaning my house and my chaos boxes there. I won’t even control my own food since I may have to eat what I make her since she won’t eat what I would. If she goes to rehab, this may all be pushed to later Jan. I just don’t know. So this is kind of a placeholder until Jan 28th when surgery will be a thing. Hopefully by an 29th, I might know something. I just want a plan. That would be nice. I also hope to have energy for a challenge and for people since I know I am doing the “Hide from people since no one wants to deal with my depressive self” thing. I apologize now for being a self-absorbed depressive who makes others deal person. I am trying to not be as hard on myself, but I know this challenge is going to be hard, and I am going to try and not be such a downer. Trying not to be all doom and gloom. I apologize now if I don’t do as well at trying as I would like.

And here we go again! I've hit rock bottom, with nothing to show for it, and no precipitating event to mark it. But if I was a rolling stone slowly gathering moss, I'm officially stationary at the moment. That sucks, so I guess it's time to start rolling again. I have quarterly goals and kinda-sorta affirmations for each area I'd like to improve in, but specificity is the name of the game. Week 1: - try BUJO to help keep track of the days, check in here daily with the calendar 'Words of Inspiration' - C25k w/ 100-Ups at least 2x, weight training at least 1x - spend at least 1hr decluttering my room or office (possibly while listening/watching CreativeLive?) - sign up for CreativeLive - write out a 7-14 day meal plan (5:2 or vegetarian keto?) - set an alarm for bedtime (9:45pm) in bed for 10pm, no reading in bed (UGH) - do some research on if there are resources and/or a coach that I would trust to chat with, to try to figure out WTF to do with myself ____________ ____________ Jan 01 - You will never win if you never begin. - Helen Rowland

2022 Looking forward to whatever this year holds and the goals that I'm looking to achieve this year! I'm including a list of my goals for 2022 here. (The link is to my battle logs) Wanted to start out with a challenge involving things that just need to happen. I know for sure a couple of these will be in multiple challenges at the start of this year (basically till Baby comes). Goals: 💊 (V)itamins - Really need to stay consistent with my vitamins right now. I can feel it in my body when I don't take them as often as I should. Just makes me feel like crap. > I've found counting them out ahead of time at the beginning of the week helps a lot, so I plan to do that on either Sundays or Mondays (whichever is least tiring that week). 🆙 (S)tretching - I've found that not working leaves me sitting around the house a lot more (whether on my phone or doing other things like crafts or whatever). I need to remember to stretch. I plan to either stretch in some way or do yoga every day. I might throw a workout in every now and then depending on how I'm feeling. 🧹 (C)lean - 2021 was a crazy busy year for the most part, and then I got pregnant and felt like crap for the longest time (thanks morning sickness.....😒). Having said that, my house is kinda a mess. My goal is to work on getting things clean/organized for at least 5 min every day. > If things don't seem like they're getting done as fast as I'd like, I might up that to 10 min every day. ✒️ (D)rawing - I'd like to get more into my art stuff again. It's a great stress relief for me and plus, it's fun! My goal is to draw something at least once a week. > I'm considering using the weekly prompts from Inktober52. ------------------------------

Just realized I reached my birth year in challenges, not in a place I thought I would be at this point 🤔 Can't really control pandemics, life challenges, moves, and changes in schedule...I can't stop having to return to FL every four weeks, so lets work with that. I can control what I do and how I handle these things. Not much has changed with my challenges over the last few years, when I do it how I plan, it works, when I don't, I get where I am now 😕 The Plan... Cardio - 8,000 steps a day (includes 30 min on treadmill), and one kettlebell workout a week Update - Post in thread three times a week. Track - Sleep (7 hours a night) and Food (hunger cues, tracking) Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life events go here Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ My biggest issue is making excuses for myself to not do these things, justifying overdoing things like food and alcohol, and letting stress overwhelm me so I lay awake and let the squirrels run amok. 2022 is going to be more about recognizing when I'm sabotaging my efforts and work on getting back to where I was.

Doing a continuation of my 2nd challenge. Can't wait!

There’s no better time to heal, rest and plan than winter and there’s definitely no better place to do that than Kaer Morhen with my fellow Witchers. I’ve done some reflection about how I want 2022 to look and feel. Hygge… I want so much hygge. I want to practice my homesteading skills, transform my environment into a place of ultimate comfort and happiness, keep growing my financial stability, create things that are just for me. In order to accomplish the year I want I will need to take a breath so I can get back on track. For this challenge I need to get back into the habit of tracking calories, replenish my stores (financials), troubleshoot what’s making my foot hurt and start rehabbing it. Witcher Contract: - Slay 5lb water hag ✅ - Slay 5 drowners Main Quests: - 1800-1950 calories daily - Fix foot (will elaborate later when I figure out what this means) Secondary Quests - Pay back debts…. Make RRSP contribution + pay off credit card [paid off this billing period, will strike this when second billing period is paid off] - Replenish stores… increase savings by 500 crowns - Relax… Finish 2 pony paintings - Organize stash… put newly acquired things in their new home [started] - Foraging… Plant garlic Tending Roach - Exercise and groom Sizzle minimum once a week - Rasp Daisy’s feet as needed (I really hope Roach isn’t doing anything dirty in this gif lol I’m on my phone and it just looks like she’s doing push ups) Its going to get tricky to lose 5lbs for this challenge but I can do it - I just need to stay focused. And if I manage to get my foot back to normal then I can start doing my walking and Zumba again. Weigh ins (I try to do it 2-3 times a week)

Two days before Christmas, I got word that my cousin died. He was 6 weeks older then me. I'll be 49 in November this year. Apparently he had a heart attack, and has had a multiples. In fact, has a pacemaker already too. We were all much more close back when I lived in Missouri, and saw that side of my family a lot more. My cousin was a big guy, and I'm sure that was part of what led to his early death. Years back, my uncle (his dad) had mentioned to me "Yeah, we can see you are a Thomas" while hitting his belly. I mean, at the time it was funny. But it just shows that I have a lot of bigger family out there haha. For New Years, I helped my sister-in-law move. Part of why I am late to the challenge Her fiancé is currently on dialysis. He also has quite a few issues from having uncontrolled diabetes. They are not that much older then I am. Eyes are messed up, kidneys etc. This all got me thinking about my own mortality again. My wife had her weight loss surgery done. She's still recovering some from that, but mostly recovered. I basically sat out the last challenge to take care of her. Before all this, I've been getting that feeling that I really need to change things for myself. All of this and all the other things we've all been through the last couple of years, I figure it is time for me to get serious. #1) Sleep Yes, big surprise my number 1 goal is to get my sleep in. It is just so important to everything else. Fully rested, I make much better choices. Getting rest allows recover from workouts etc. In general, thing are just much better rested, instead of feeling drained and sleepy. 10:30 PM Start reading. 11:30 PM head to bed. Wake up, and get out of bed. No sitting there playing on the phone. 15 points per day. 105 points per week. #2) Calorie tracking I want to get back to tracking my calories. I want to be under 2500 calories for now. I can adjust to see how I feel. Nothing special for a way of eating. I just want to start making smarter choices. Higher volume, lower calories I suppose. I did consider going back to Keto, because it did work well for me. I just don't know that that is going to be how I would want to eat forever. I still like having my popcorn Tracking calories in Cronometer, plus staying under 2500 calories 10 points per day, 70 points per week. #3) Walking and workouts One thing is clear, is I need to make sure to take care of my heart. So bring on the cardio. I might also be able to convince my older son to start walking too. He has mentioned to me lately. Maybe even get the rest of the family going. I also want to build up my strength. There are a few goals I wish to accomplish, and getting stronger will help For walking. I am going for 15 minutes to start off. I might do 5 minutes to start with my kid, then do more after. I figure that's a good start. Eventually, I will move it up to a certain number of steps. For workouts, I believe I will just start off with things at home. Everyone and their mom will probably start using out little gym at my apartment complex. So I want to start off with something else. Eventually moving into the bit of stuff at the gym. Walking 5 points every day for 15 minutes each day. M, W, F for workouts. 10 points each. 65 points each week. #4) Chores and Early spring cleaning There are many things to get done around here, plus the stuff that needs to get done each day or two. We close up our storage unit a couple of challenges a back. So we still just have so much stuff to go through. Chores each day are dishes and cat boxes. Then I need to get though a tub, or a few boxes of baseball cards/comics. There are many other things, but these are what I shall focus on. 5 points per day for chores, and 15 total points for decluttering each week. 50 points total per week. Challenge point totals: Week 1 - 0/210 Week 2 - 0/290 Week 3 - 0/290 Week 4 - 0/290 Week 5 - 0/290 Total points this Challenge - 0/1370 Measurements Start / Finish (coming soon) Chest - Waist - Bicep (L) - Bicep (R) - Thigh (L) - Thigh (R) - Weight -