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Let's get to it! 1. Workout 3 x per week. Fell behind pace while I was gone, but not too far--I'd like to get back on track this challenge. 2. Salad cluuuuuuuuuuub. Things I love in salads right now: Fresh mozzarella, salami, olives. Lettuce chopped into tiny bits instead of big bits. Provolone. Red wine vinegar. 3. I am like water and will erode my backlog into dust. New strategy. As I approach the end of something I frequently switch to a different backlog thing because why? I dunno. My brain is dumb. So this month the focus is on my last three kickstarter rewards (I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE BEEN REALLY PATIENT ON THESE.) I have a list of tasks I need to complete to get these done, listed behind this spoiler alert b/c they're super boring but it helps me keep it all straight: I've put some time on the calendar, and I'm *also* going to try to work on this in between those times as well. 4. Go outside. I'd like to go outside at least once a day, five days a week. WORKING FROM HOME IS HARD OKAY. Other fun stuff happening this month: I'm planning a local writing retreat. I'm going to try some new (or long forgotten) activities: Rock climbing, a sensory deprivation chamber, and a ninja gym. Gonna buy an adjustable standing desk and new chair for my office -- any suggestions? I feel like I should have more things on my list, but...I don't know. I feel okay about this. I'll add stuff in later as needed.

Okay, a couple challenges ago I outlined what I'd like to get done this year. I've hidden the full blow-by-blow below because it's long and boring, but have at it if you like: I am in a good place to hit *most* of the remaining goals, especially with a little challenge love! Q1: Workout 2x per week + 2 extra workouts as able. Why? Achieves my yearly 120 workouts goals. I have a pretty rigid schedule as far as workouts go, so for my 2 extra workouts, a short 10-minute yoga or bodyweight session will count. Challenges: If I follow my regular schedule, I'll be two short at the end of the year. So, I not only have to stay focused on my standard workout, I also have to squeeze in two extras. Last year ended in a very similar way--down to the wire, lots of scheduling to make them all happen. But I know I can get this done. Q2: Bike 1x per week. Why? Achieves my goals of biking once a week, and helps me hit my yearly 120 workouts goals Challenges: I have not been good about getting out on my bike, and it's cold now. And dark. Q3: Daily progress on kickstarter rewards. Details: I have one cross-stitch to finish (already designed and started!), two poems to hand write and one last poem to write. Why? I SHALL BE FREEEEEE...to spend more time reducing the # of old projects in my life in 2019. Q4: Have a salad or otherwise sub in veggies 3x per week. Details: Salad is not always working for me, but I want to be sure there's an ample amount of veggies in my lunch. Why? Achieve the goal of having 10 nutrition-related quests in 2018! BONUS ACTIVITIES: Attend a writing group--I've got this scheduled, so all I gotta do at this point is show up. Find a mid-to-long term goal that motivates me. Current candidates: Pistol squat, full pushup, splits, backbend. I want to do some research into the goal and the progression that gets me there, and then pick it and set a date!

Friends! As ever, I come to the rebellion to stay focused on my long-term goals and also to post lots of gifs. Last month was spotty. The month before that was...spotty. It's been spotty! Turns out it takes a while to rebuild your life when you change everything all at once. Almost all my quests are identical to last month's, and the month before that too...third verse, same as the first. Building my spotty pattern. Q1: Walk two times a week. On my last two challenges, this is the only one I didn't complete. The main struggle seems to be that I expect to be able to do this in the evenings but don't actually plan it. Q2: Eat a salad for lunch three days a week. I nailed this the first time, and the second time...not so much. We *still* don't have a working fridge, which makes salads a bit challenging. So, until the fridge arrives, I'll commit to eating a piece of fruit for a snack once a day. When the fridge arrives, SALAD CLUB BABY! Q3: Workout twice a week, bike once a week. I've been totally nailing this one. I am caught up on my workouts for the year and I've even been doing a short yoga session after each bodyweight workout for the past two-ish weeks. I don't want to stress myself out by making this harder in terms of quantity, so the official quest is the same. But I commit to upgrading one activity per workout to a harder version. So, if it's wall pushups, I go to knee pushups. Q4: Cross stitch (or work on a design) every day. I've been making serious progress on these over the last two challenges. I have one project being stitched and a second being designed--if I can get these done then I'm super super close to having the whole Kickstarter finished. (I am really hoping to get them finished before NaNo starts on November 1, but, you know, we'll see what happens.) Overall: I'm feeling a little discombobulated after a week of vacation, and I'm about to leave on Wednesday for a business trip (with two talks to deliver, yikes). The broken fridge is hard to deal with and we have a new long-term house guest so the dynamics at home are shifting. I'm trying super hard not to get depressed about the environment and our political situation more generally. I want to be writing more and completing more projects, which is bumping up against some very deeply buried fears about how maybe I suck as a writer and how maybe writing is a waste of time anyway. YOU KNOW. EASY STUFF. But I laugh at a challenge. Let's do this.

Second verse, same as the first: 1. Go for a walk twice a week. 2. Salad lunch three times a week. 3. Finish one of my cross-stitch projects. 4. Work out twice a week; ride my bike once a week. For those of you who followed along last challenge, you may notice that *nothing changed at all*. After the trip (which was awesome!) I'm feeling a need to re-establish these patterns after a successful challenge last month. I have so many things I'd like to add (Writing! Decluttering! Going to a PT to see about my knee! Fitness classes!) but I've been down that path before...and down that path lies burned-out traaki. If this is going swimmingly, then maybe I'll add in another goal. But for now--this is it.

It's been....a year since I last checked in on my long-term goals here. Sooooo I have this super detailed system for tracking my life goals, which involves determining what areas of my life are most important to me, making sure my goals fit into those areas, breaking the goals down into actionable steps....it's a lot, but it works for me. These are the 6 categories I have in 2018, and here's a check-in on how the year is going. Here are my goals/plans for 2018, in order of priority: Healthy body * Complete 120 workouts (up from 104 last year) * Complete a nutrition quest in all challenges. * Find a mid-to-long term goal that motivates me (e.g. a skill to learn, a milestone to achieve, whatever it is I need) * Lose 10 pounds. (I'm super skeptical about this goal; more later.) Be happy * Keep reading lots of books! Let's read 30 this year! * Bike once a week * Reduce the number of old projects I have sitting around. Increased financial stability * Fully fund my IRA & 401(k). * Save as much as possible for a house. * Don't spend in any of my restricted categories (beauty, clothing, online writing classes, jewelry, decor). Community * Say yes to opportunities to meet new people. * Find ways to do what I like *with* other people, not just alone. * Set up the internship with Outreachy. Writing Community * Attend three local writing groups or classes. * Finish the cross-stitch projects for my Kickstarter. Work Life * Get comfortable at work. --- My current focus: Healthy Body / Be Happy 1. Go for a walk two nights a week. Why it's great: This quest hits a couple different goals. The only time I really lost weight was when I was walking a ton. My family frequently goes for walks in the evenings and I almost never join them, so this action will help me be closer to them as well. Why it's hard: I frequently am doing something when my family goes for a walk. I will need to make time in my schedule to accommodate these. 2. Salad lunch 3 days a week. Why it's great: As I realized when I was traveling this week, even though I often struggle to make exercise work when traveling, I could do a much better job of eating well when traveling (and, y'know, all the time). And we all know you can't outrun the fork (though lord, I am trying). Plus, eating better = feeling better. Why it's hard: Specifically, with the salad quest, I have struggled with eating out. I'm going to be home this whole month (not traveling yay!) so I should be able to prepare and keep the ingredients around for this. 3. Finish one of my cross-stitch projects. EDITED TO ADD BONUS QUEST: Design a second project. Why it's great: I will feel so happy when these are finished; they weigh on me constantly. It will feel amazing to send them to people and hear their reactions, plus it means I can do something productive while watching TV. Why it's hard: I'm not sure, but it's been a huge pain! I have really struggled to get started, though once I get started it's quick and easy to finish. 4. Work out twice this week; ride my bike once. Why it's great: I feel better when I work out more--less stiff, stronger, happier. And being on my bike makes me happy. Why it's hard: I'm out of practice on this--I've kept up the habit in terms of setting aside the time, though, so I think it'll be okay. BONUS: Take one fitness/exercise class. Why it's great: My job pays for it! I can try whatever I want! It will be great to try some new things and see if I'm inspired toward a more long-term goal. I am thinking of trying rock climbing, a ninja gym, dance classes, yoga, Feldenkrais, aerial classes....over time, of course. Not all of 'em right now. Just one for now. Why it's hard: I don't always like to leave my house. I am always late...and I hate being late. It's hard to choose which one to try. I want to keep the focus on finding things that make me happy. I always have other stuff going on aside from what's here, like a writing goal, or whatever--but I really want to focus on this challenge over my other goals this month. If I have spare time, I want to turn to this list and not my general list of goals. I want to interact with the forums more. I've lost a little faith in myself over the last few months because I haven't been able to keep up with my own goals. I've been setting goals that weren't honest or achievable, I failed to hit them, and then I felt bad about myself. It's time to build a strong foundation. I'm feeling pretty good about this quest. I like that it's small. I need to remember not to ask so much of myself that I can't complete it. I need to look at every goal I set and say to myself: If you take this challenge, you MUST succeed. Are you ready to do what it takes to get it done? And to honestly say yes or no. The only changes that matter are the ones I'm actually able to make, not the ones I wish I could make. EDITED TO ADD: I added workout twice/ride once as a quest and bumped the class down to a bonus class. I realized that I need to keep up on my workouts, but not having it in my challenge was feeling weird and off-kilter.

1. Balancing Classwork Hand balancing participation in the Crow PVP Do 3 accessories with lifting workouts 2. Avoid the Freshman 15 Salad Club salads 5x per week Monitor late night snacking (personally, not really in this thread) 3. Adult-ish Responsibilities Keep up driving practice weekly as possible (aim for another 4 practices) Clean out kitchen drawers (again) Dishes 2x on weeknights (you can't cram all your dishes on SUNDAY all the time, okay?) 4. Extra Curricular Activities Bonus points for running Bonus points for working on the Guide to Daydrinking Bonus points for signing up for an aerial arts sampler class Bonus points for going to the ninja gym