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So.... I'm back "on" with working out after months of "off", which is just a regular cycle that switches back and forth every few months, whatever. Happened to wander into the forums due to a notification on a thread that will never die, and saw all these new challenge posts. Keep it simple: Workout Goal: Workout 3 times a week. ideally weightlifting (hello, Warriors!) but honestly? I'll take whatever I can do. Back on Stronglifts after literally 3 months off, so working my way back up from the bottom. Like literally - over 50% deload on everything puts me back on the bar except for squats and deads.Does that mean I get to sing that Drake song at the end of the challenge?Ultimate Frisbee should be happening twice a week most weeks (Tuesday pick-up, Sunday rec league), so that counts if it needs to.Kickball will be happening on Thursdays. Lol. Doesn't count.Life Goal: 2 hours per week of education Ideally a Coursera or Edx course.Currently signed up for: Coursera - Marketing in a Digital World and EdX - The Science of Everyday ThinkingBoth are self-paced, so low pressure, and sound interesting enough to ease back into the learning thing, which I haven't done in a whileCodeAcademy also works - am learning html and css for work anyway, so that'll be good to get better.Could also be sign language via ASL UniversityCan be broken into any size chunks -2 hours once, 1 hour twice, .5 hour 4 times, whatevs. Just need to get back into the habit after 2 months of running my mouth. THAT'S IT, FOLKS. Oh, and un-measurable but worth mentioning: Keep calendar updated, even with just potential activities, and use it. Both work and personal calendars. Because telling people, "whoops" really sucks. Not going to try to quantify it (b/c how?), so it doesn't bear weight in the success of this challenge I have a ton of other things I should probably include, but keeping it simple. No weigh-ins, no measurements, no 3 goals + life goal, I can't keep on top of all that right now. And if anyone remembers me from before, and remember all my "I need a new job" whining from before, at least the reason why I stopped working out in the spring was because of an intensifying job search... which paid off, and life has been so much better since May! Seriously, stress levels are cut in half, I don't dread work, and life is happy. Amazing.

Goals for Challenge #39: Do StrongLifts at least 2x per week (14/14) I'm really shooting for 3, but life. I've been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for about a year and a half now, simply because I keep stopping and starting, so I'm really trying to get through to the point of failure -> 3x5 this time around. Track my eating on MyFitnessPal 5 out of 7 days per week (30/30) While ultimately I want to be hitting my calorie and goal requirements, the more important thing is just the tracking - I will naturally adjust as I watch the tracking anyway, but when I don't track I definitely eat too much! Two break days each week because there's some things you just can't track. Meet Fitbit goals daily-ish (36/36) 10,000 steps, 7+ hours of sleep, and 64 oz of "water" per day. May be kinda cheating as this covers several things, but they're all kinda routine things that I look for anyway. Ideally I'd actually hit 15,000 steps and 8-9 hours of sleep, but this is more likely to be acheivable! Giving myself 7 unscheduled days to not meet my goals, because life. Life goal: Submit two job applications per week (or until a new job happens) I need to move on like whoa, and am awful about the process of doing so. Bonuses - Not measured or tracked, but things that will bring me joy to do: Keep up with Lenten disciplines - no alcohol and daily reflection on Instagram Do something with "real" photography every week Host a dinner party (go easier this time tho kthanks) Try a new recipe every week Read real books Reward for successful completion of challenge(>90%): cool workout tank NF shirt + new sports bra bike shorts Partial completion of challenge (>50%): new sports bra bike shorts Insufficient completion of challenge: sad trombone + donate $100 to the agency I work for

...I'm going to need help thinking up future "punny" titles >_< Anyway, I've got two sets of goals here. I've included my goals for all of 2015, as they stand right now, so that I'm keeping a long-term plan in mind, as well as the goals for this actual challenge, which are all designed to move me forward on these long-term goals. Overarching 2015 goals: Keep going to the gym throughout- no more than a week off at any pointWhile there will be times that I just cannot get to the gym (hello 14-hour workdays, and camp in August) I want to avoid being on and off every few months, as is my current trend. Let this be a year of consistency!flexibility - be able to do a center split againUsed to be able to do center splits, front-and-back, whatever... now I'm struggling to pull 90 degrees! That's embarrassing...strength - be able to do two pull-upsOne could be a fluke, or accidental kipping, but two? Yeah, there it is.Average 10,000 steps per day (or higher) over the course of the yearthis allows for the fact that I will have days that I can't walk - sickness, work, hopefully not injury though - but still keep an elevated count throughout the year. I've been hitting an average of 9300 since my car stopped working, so I'm not far off.Lose 20 poundsPotentially more, but want this to be acheivable, and want to make allowances for muscle gain. I would put an inch measurement goal here instead of weight, but I'm not used to thinking in inches so I'm just not sure what to put.Eat betterI know, this isn't a SMART goal... and this is really still a nebulous concept, but I think where I'm going with this is to have some sort of healthy eating habit goal in each challenge, and the successful completion of each of these goals will indicate a better eating trend. I'd love to count macros, but I eat way too many things that I have no idea how to track/what's in them (kimchi burritos? shish kafta?), so that won't happen unless I really start cooking myself more... which is in the plans!Engage with others sociallyI'm no longer living with other people, which is great because no pants, no financial burdens caused by others, etc. However, I'm at risk of becoming reclusive, especially in efforts to save money, so I need to be intentional about spending time with people. This also means being better at living in an organized fashion, as I can no longer lock my bedroom door while inviting guests into my living room, as my bedroom is my living room! (glorified studio apartment, natch) Goals for Challenge #38: Do StrongLifts at least 2x per week (14/14) I'm really shooting for 3, but I know that this may not happen with work in January - I can't go to the gym if I'm at work the entire time it's open! I've been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for about a year and a half now, simply because I keep stopping and starting, so I'm really trying to get through to the point of failure -> 3x5 this time around. Do yoga on any Sunday that I don't have post-church plans. If I do have post-church plans, do some sort of flexibility stretching during the weekend on my own. (6/6) My gym has yoga at 2:00 on Sundays, which I've gone to before and enjoyed (even if I get weirded out by the chanting at the end), and I'd like to take that back up. Knowing that I tend to over-schedule myself, I'd like to have a back-up stretching routine focused on flexibility that I can do independently. Until I find a good routine, I'll fall back on doing sets of Sun Salutations, since I at least know how to do those. Drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink (80%) Now that I can drink beer (and enjoy it), that's turned into a frequent beverage of choice which I'll indulge in more casually than I ever did bourbon. Add into that the fact that I don't like to drink water, and will drink beer instead, well, that's a problem. An 8oz glass of water with each beer will be both healthier and economical, as well as setting up better habits for the future. Complete a mini-project around the apartment each week (6/6) I moved out of a house into a glorified studio in September, and I'm still adjusting to how different life is! I need to get my apartment into an order that is conduicive to healthy and organized living, since part of the reason I'm making messes is that things just don't have a home! Also want to make my apartment feel more like my home, a happy space to be in. Possible projects: Organize clothing closet, rearrange dresser/bookshelves, figure out full-wall picture (through to printing), put up full-wall picture, clean and reorganize kitchen, general straightening of possessions, get dividing curtain rod up, make and hang dividing curtain, organize sewing stuff, set up desktop for photo-editing, set up desktop for dual monitor use, get rid of a bed, acquire a couch Reward for successful completion of challenge(>90%): cool workout tank + new sports bra Partial completion of challenge (>50%): new sports bra Insufficient completion of challenge: sad trombone + donate $100 to the agency I work for