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Why hello, friends. I think I can do this again. I came to post a challenge and I guess this is a zero week too! awesome! I don't feel under any pressure at all! UM last challenge was a little meep. I got through the first two weeks really well! of course, I was pre-vacation, and then on vacation. and when I got back and my knees started hurting and I realized that I was suffering from an anxiety hangover from the last..... oh 4-6 months.... I shut down a little. week 3 was a bad week, and week 4 was a week of doing JUST ONE THING. I would go for a walk. or do a yoga thing. or just do one thing. And I had 3 weeks of serious acupuncture sessions to fix my knees and legs and they're doing GREAT, and I am getting new running shoes, and the older kid graduated from high school, and work is in a weird lull that is ok by me, and I finished my volunteer obligation as secretary/treasurer at my alumni association, and my dad is doing really great, and I feel like I can BREATHE again. so, I'm getting back on this horse! and this horse is an amazing SPARKLECORN! and this challenge is going to be SUPER AWESOME. Goals: Goal 1. Work the food thing. Stay on target with the calories. try to increase protein. eat your csa veggies. be cool. Goal 2. Do a thing every day. just a thing. a pokewalk, a stretching session, tkd, running, these are all things I like. Goal 3. Don't bag out on this challenge. This seems pretty simple, right? ok lets go.

Well, dear Ranger family, I’m back. Again. I’ve been off and on this challenge train for a few years now, and I think it’s finally time this stuck. I’m feeling good about it, I’m in a good place in my life, so why the hell not, right?! As this is a total respawn for me, I’m starting from the lowest rung on the ladder. Over the last 2ish weeks, I’ve been updating my Battle Log waiting for this challenge to start. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I’ll summarize the last 6-7months since I've been here (in no particular order): -I left an unhealthy and, in hindsight, emotionally abusive relationship -Been doing a whole load of nothing health-wise -Lost a bunch of weight (~15-20lb) in a very short time due to stress/depression and not eating -Gained all the weight back, and more -Opened up to a new relationship -Adopted a baby Hedgehog, whom I’ve named Bean. He’s now 5 months old -Left my soul-sucking job for one that I actually enjoy going to and doing -Stopped going to therapy and am no longer and anti-anxiety medication (YAY!) -I'm in a much improved mental state -Moved into a new apartment this past weekend (6/24) -Added to my tattoo collection with two new arm pieces (part of a planned half-sleeve) and a calf piece Don’t worry, there will be plenty of pictures of the little Beansicle for everyone to see On to the challenge stuff…. I’m going to be focusing on a few general goals over the coming months/year: -Losing weight/dropping fat and gaining muscle -Cutting down on my spending -Learning a new skill -More me time/self care Lose the weight The new complex that I moved into has it’s own fitness center - and it’s in my building! That means I have literally no excuses not to work out. It is mostly limited to cardio machines, but I have a set of adjustable dumbbells and my own bodyweight to use towards strength training. Plus, I have a set of Monkii Bars 2 on order via Kickstarter (they’re like the TRX system). I’m not sure when those are coming in, but it should be soonish. The basic plan is to work out 3x/week, for no less than 40min. I plan to do 20-30 min of cardio, and however much time I need to complete the strength training. Cardio will be whatever I feel like doing that day - stepper, treadmill, bike, etc. I will likely be following along with Zombies!Run for the interval training. For strength, I will be following the NF Academy Bodyweight workouts, switching between A and B. Workout 3x/week, or a total of 12x during the challenge. One of the really bad habits I’ve picked up since the start of the year is drinking a lot of Red Bull. Typically, I have one in the morning to start my day during the workweek. On weekends, I don’t drink them as much, but if I’m out and about it’s highly likely that I will stop at a gas station or convenience store to pick up my dose of caffeine. This needs to stop. The plan it to cut down to 3 every week. It’s going to suck, and I’m going to hate it, but it has to be done. No more than 3 Red Bulls/week, for a total of 12. Cut down spending Another area in which i’ve been terrible is keeping to my budget. I do have a budget, I just have a way of not really following it, and then I end up screwing myself. So, here’s the deal: I get paid every other week, the next time being the 7th - right before the challenge. Every paycheck, I will allow myself to spend up to $40 out of budget. This is money that I need to have in cash - I cannot use my card because that’s how things get out of control. I can spend this money on: Red bull (for the previous goal), take out or dinners out with people, clothes, art supplies, video games or other gaming items, and pretty much anything else that either isn’t already budgeted for or is considered ‘unnecessary’. On Saturdays, I will also evaluate my spending for the previous week and see where else I can improve and take note of it. Spend no more than $40 every other week on non-necessity items, total of $80/challenge. Learn a skill: Digital Art For Christmas, my dad bought me this awesome drawing tablet. It has a full screen display and everything - it just plugs right into my computer and I’m off. As cool as it is, I’ve used it a total of 1 time As I’ve been itching to get back into drawing and sketching, I figured why not incorporate this awesome new tool! Digital art is something I’ve been interested in for years, well, actually it’s probably closer to a decade now that I think about it….man, I feel old haha. I’d like to spend 30-60 min, 3x/wk learning to use the tablet, and to complete one art piece by the end of the challenge. I’m not yet sure what that will be, but I’m brainstorming and going to look into tutorials. It’s so much different from classic drawing, that I’m sure it’s not going to be that great starting out - but that’s why I’m doing this in the first place, right? Spend 1.5-3hrs a week (split into 3 sessions) learning to use my tablet and creating a drawing. More ‘me time’ Yeah, yeah, heads out of the gutter please I’m talking about self care here, time spent focusing on myself and my mental health. As well as I’m doing now in comparison to where I was a year ago, I still struggle regularly with bouts of depression and anxiety. In order to increase the number of good days, I need to make time for me. This could be taking a nap, crafting, playing video games, taking a bath, walking, reading, whatever. Anything I need to lessen the stress and relax for a little bit. This doesn’t mean I can’t do those things outside of this time, this just happens to be scheduled. Schedule 1hr every week to do something just for me. That’s it. Let’s get this shindig started, shall we? Edit: This challenge isn't themed, I'm just all up in the hype for Destiny 2 haha

I am not an insane person. A little (a lot?) weird and quirky and I'm okay with that, but I'm not straight up insane. So why have I been doing the same thing, and expecting different results? This question has come to a head lately when an unusually hectic schedule was placed on top of my usual gamut of goals, and I crumbled under the pressure. Pushing oneself can be a good thing, but pushing past the brink is not. So this challenge is about taking a BIG step back, and showing myself some serious love and care. My schedule is still a little bit crazy, so the focus is going to be on reducing stress, showing my body and my mind that I treasure both, and having some fun. Eat more fruits and vegetables. This is a great goal for the summer anyways. And I like vegetables (I can take or leave fruit - not that I don't like it, I just don't particularly care if I eat any or not). At any rate, I eat some form of vegetable at most meals, but I want to drastically increase the volume to both bolster my micronutrient intake, and hopefully crowd out less healthful choices. My goal is 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day (1 cup leafy greens or 1/2 cup other veggies or fruit = 1 serving.) Eat more mindfully. I've tried this in the past, and mostly found it tedious. But that's largely because I am utterly addicted to reading/browsing/watching TV while eating which is a terrible habit. 1. Pause before meals to contemplate the source of the food, the nutrition it will give my body and my gratefulness for it. 2. No multitasking while eating. Taste the food. Chew it. Enjoy. I am going to give myself a little leeway with breakfast, as I eat it at work, at my desk. But for Lunch and Dinner, for sure. 3. Eat outside when possible. I love the idea of bringing a blanket to work and having a mini-picnic daily. Grass between my toes, sunshine, so good. This should also help with the no screens etc while eating. Relieve stress My goal is to engage in at least one form of stress relieving self-care per day, from the following options (May add to this list as time goes on. I also know exercise and walks and books and tea help with this too, but I want to go above and beyond my usual strategies). - Meditation - Yoga - Painting, drawing, crafting or creative time in general - Foam roll - Write down things I am grateful for - Go fishing - Get grounded (bare feet to earth) - Go for a nature walk. (Does not count walking the dog around the neighbourhood - although of course he can come too! Nor does the disc golf course count. Needs to be an actual forest.) Love myself: I am guilty of negative self talk - I try to catch it, and shut it down, but kind of like with the veggies, it's not just enough to stop with the bad stuff, it needs to be pushed out by good stuff. I am committing to a daily pep talk to myself. I'm going for a full-out every day streak with this one! Keep up on the Gardening: I have a tendency to be all gung-ho with this at the start of the year, and then burn out quickly. I really want to have a nice yard this year to enjoy! We've gotten a good start on things, but there are still some major projects to complete, plus the usual maintenance. 1. Amend soil in balcony bed, and get flowers planted. 2. Make new raised bed along side of house. 3. Clean up back parking area and branch trimmings 4. Mulch under apple tree (and other beds once plants have come up). 5. Weed at least weekly! 6. Water potted plants daily. Steps: I am still trying to hit my 3,650,000 steps in 2017 goal. Plus walking totally counts as self-care Aiming for 77,000 steps per week. And that's it. I will definitely be on here celebrating all the activity I do, but I'm not making myself a workout or a biking goal. I just want to be healthy and happy, and I am pretty confident that this is the way to do it. I know these goals are a little nebulous, but I need a break from the structure of SMARTness. I am also hoping that this will help me finally shift towards a focus on health, rather than the ever looming spectre that is my weight. I can't just not care about it... but maybe I can channel a more productive and kinder attitude towards my body, and come to reach my goals from that direction.

So my life has been pretty damn interesting in the past week. I had a batter of interviews, lots of angst about my finances dropping to critical levels, lots of making peace with moving away from my home and dojo and comfort zone to move to halfway across the country to a state that’s the polar opposite of mine, and then, when all hope seemed lost, a ridiculously amazing job offer just dropped into my lap like manna from heaven. So I accepted the offer and then did the totally irresponsible thing and bought an expensive plane ticket to visit Company before I have to start work on Thursday. Story behind the spoiler that is not (entirely) related to the challenge: So this challenge is entirely a “How to balance work and life” Challenge again. That includes making sure my food intake is reasonable, my workouts still happen, and my self care remains on point. 1) Less Work is More Work Clearly Aikido is still a massive priority to me. What just had me geeking out is that according to Google, at peak traffic hours, I am roughly 10 minutes away from my dojo leaving work. TEN. And it is mostly along back roads that aren’t heavily traveled. This is ridiculous. Um, so, THAT particular tidbit aside – I’m going to aim for 5 hours of class a week still. That’s likely Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (all of these days have double classes), and gives me wiggle room to go light one day. Being so close and almost required to drive past the dojo to get home means I could probably swing going every night, but let’s aim for slightly less for now. Goal: Five hours of aikido classes a week. 2) Working on an Empty Stomach So I’m going to try my not-quite Intermittent Fasting routine for the job, for at least this month. I want to play with batch cooked lunches that are actually warm, or at least warm for 2-3 meals a week. Since I usually feel like warm meals are more calorically dense, I want to use IF as a way to counter that. That said, I’m still going to be really working on being okay eating more (by adding a certain amount of calories based on my activity level that day), and being a bit more paleo/primal overall. Not eating until 10 or so has been pretty normal for me, so I’m not too concerned. Mostly I’ve had a bit of fruit early in the morning with coffee, which still is mostly okay on the IF front (Sisson says if you’re having less than 100 calories, it’s kinda hand waving a bit. Not entirely a fast, but also not enough to do much to the IF benefits, and if it keeps you going, so much the better.) So let’s give this a shot. Goal: Intermittent Fasting-ish during work week (last meal around 8:30 or 9, don’t eat meal until 10-12pm following day). Still maintain ~2800 calories per day, plus 100-150 calories per aikido class, or +600 calories post-Lifting and post-Stadium. Three warm lunch meals batched cooked by the end of the challenge per week. 3) Work out that Iron Speaking of lifting. I’m dropping down to one lifting workout a week for this challenge. I don’t want to try and shoehorn something that’s a distant second priority into my life while I’m trying to get my feet under me at a new job. That said, I don’t want to totally lose what tiny gains I’ve made over the last couple months (even though I’m not really progressing right now because life keeps getting in the way of my regular lifting schedule). So a single, whole body workout a week involving iron is needed. If I’m trying to pull back a tiny bit on aikido, that’s actually pretty simple. Goal: One lifting session a week, slightly longer than usual – three lifts, at least 2 accessory exercises. 4) I Work best Alone I need to focus on selfcare. Like, seriously. Just because I have entered a new phase where I’ll probably immeasurably less anxious and depressed than I have been for month does not mean I am allowed to forget about good selfcare habits. So first off, I need to make sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour and get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I also need to make sure I remember that I’m going to need to be meeting and interacting with a lot of new people, so I need to be okay with countering that extroversion with my hermit cave tendencies. But I also need to get out a bit now and then. So trying to remember alone time, balanced with social and professional extroversion is going to be important. Goal: Get to be between 10 and 11PM every night. Read 30 minutes before bedtime. At least 5 hours of complete me-time on the weekend (Batch cooking does not count. Aikido does not count. Running errands does not count. This is time to revel in things I *want* to do, not tasks I *have* to do. Sleeping in totally counts towards this.) Time to get to Work.

This challenge is about working WITH my body and accepting where I am at. I need to find balance in my life and since my life is always go-go-go, that means slowing down a smidge and prioritizing things that soothe and nourish. My stressors right now are passing the NCLEX and finding a job as an RN (finally!!) which are pretty draining objectives. I am trying something different this challenge by starting April 18th as I think the extra week is good for getting into the swing of things. During the extra week, there are no penalties if a day is missed. Every success during this week is a bonus for the 4 week challenge and the idea is to have a routine in place by the time the first 'real' week of challenge begins. Nourish Have a smoothie every day, preferably within the first 1-2 hours of getting up. My smoothie formula is frozen fruit + ground flax seed + protein powder + water. Soothe Get at least 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Goal is 7 but sometimes I seem to need a couple extra hours depending on pain levels (IBS, shoulder pain, and random cramping from getting an IUD) Do 10 minutes of yoga/meditation every day. Ideally 10 minutes of yoga and a couple minutes of meditation, but if I am drained and just meditate for the 10 minutes I'm ok with that. Boss Battle: Pass the NCLEX!! 15 practice questions every day (with rationales) Complete minimum 3 chapters in Saunders Comprehensive Review every week Edit: after my extra credit week, I have removed the Saunders review and decided that any HEALTHY breakfast gives me credit. It's either been a smoothie or egg so it counts.

Celebrating the good weather, and eager for a more hospitable terrain than the Vale of Arryn, we journey South and West to the Reach. Home of chivalry in Westeros, and of the most fertile and green lands in all Seven Kingdoms, the Reach is a center of culture, whether agri-, vini-, or high. When we toured Dorne, we concentrated on important moments of Dornish history. In the Stormlands, we noted several important people who hail from that area. In the Vale, we celebrated a particular Spring tradition. However, with the history and important players in the Game of Thrones that hail from the Reach, this time we’ll focus on Geography, looking at some of the most important places in the what the maesters call “the most beautiful of the Seven Kingdoms”. Highgarden rules the Reach. The Tyrell lords, and the Gardener kings before them, hold uncontested sway over the Reach. The Tyrell armies are large and well-fed, with many notable cavalrymen, due to the popularity of jousting and other knightly pursuits. Highgarden deserves its name, as the tiered-walled castle has gardens and fountains, groves and small vineyards located inside and on its walls, and is surrounded by a briar labyrinth. It lies amidst the breadbasket of Westeros, which enabled Margaery Tyrell to feed the populace of King’s Landing upon her betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon, gaining immense political capital with the starving smallfolk. Robert Baratheon himself said of Highgarden “there are fields of golden roses that stretch away as far as the eye can see. The fruits are so ripe they explode in your mouth-melons, peaches, fireplums, you've never tasted such sweetness” For Highgarden, I will eat four servings of fruits and vegetables each day, with one being a leafy green in order to count the day as a success. We move from Highgarden to the seat of the Tyrell’s most loyal bannerman, Randyll Tarly. Horn Hill is a Marcher castle, set near the borders with Dorne. The Marcher Lords tend to be proud and fierce, from centuries of constant warfare across the borders. The Tarlys wield a Valyrian steel sword known as Heartsbane, and are counted as the strongest and most loyal of the Tyrell bannermen to join the war of the Five Kings. (I’m not using the show version, because it doesn’t look very defensible, and what kind of Marcher lord keeps an indefensible palace? ) Withstanding (and carrying out) near-constant raids across the Dornish Marches breeds strong men and women, and creates the need for strong castles. To build and maintain defenses is the work of strong backs and muscles. For Horn Hill, I will work out with weight of some sort (active yoga, bodyweight, shovelglove) 3 times per week. Our travels now take us to Oldtown, the inarguable center of culture, learning, and piety in the Seven Kingdoms. Home to three major institutions and their three famous edifices, Oldtown has been a temporary home to scholars, septons, and seekers of mysteries from before the time of the Andals, and perhaps before the coming of the First Men to Westeros. Oldtown is the home of the Citadel, where the Maesters train and study, before being sent off to serve lords across Westeros as scribes, advisors, and healers. Allegedly built during the Age of Heroes, the Citadel holds secrets untold to the rank and file of Westeros, even those who can claim some education. The Citadel has been a depository of wisdom for centuries, perhaps millennia. However, little of it escapes the confines to be of help to Westerosi across the Kingdoms. Also, the studies of the Maesters can breed narrow-minded pedants. For the Citadel, I will search and rearrange the archives. This will take the form of going through and either repacking, discarding, donating, or reassigning the contents of 4 drawers of boxes per week. If the Citadel is the mind of Oldtown, the Starry Sept is its heart. Built by the Andals as the center of their Faith of the Seven when they fled Andalos for Westeros. Its black marble walls and stained glass windows awe the Faithful with their crystal insets, casting the refracted light of the Seven down upon them. (no picture available of the Starry Sept) The High Septon makes his residence at King’s Landing, but the Starry Sept remains one of the holiest places in Westeros to those who follow the Seven. In honor of this place of pilgrimage, I vow to rededicate myself to relflection and meditation, to walk with the Justice of the Father, the Wisdom of the Crone, the Bravery of the Warrior, the Beauty of the Maiden, the Tirelessness of the Smith, and the Mercy of the Mother*. I will practice self-care, in the form of meditation, stretching, prayer, or restorative yoga twice a week. *We don’t mention the Stranger. The political power in Oldtown, and it’s most notable landmark, is the Hightower. The seat of House Hightower, a First Men house and patrons of the faith and the order of the maesters since their introductions to Westeros. The Hightower itself is at the center of Oldtown, the city having grown around it, and it stands taller than any other structure in Westeros. It is said that the Wall is visible from its top. Its base is a labyrinthine fortress of oily black stone that predates the first men and may have been built by ancient peoples only theorized by the maesters. The Maze Makers of Lorath and the legendary Deep Ones are listed as possibilities. The First Men kings raised a tower atop that during the Dawn of Days, and the tower was said to have been erected by Bran the Builder himself. A beacon fire burns from the top day and night, guiding sailors to the mouth of the Honeywine river. In response to the current Ironborn threat, Lord Leyton Hightower is sequestered near the top with his (allegedly) prescient daughter Malora “the Mad Maid.” Whether he will be as successful as Aegon Targaryen, who consulted his maiden daughter Daenys the dreamer to escape the Doom of Valyria is yet to be seen. The common folk of Oldtown whisper that they consult books of spells to raise and army from the sea. If so, one has to wonder whether the Ironborn are threat enough to warrant such measures, or whether the Maid has seen something worse to come. For the Hightower, I’m going to think literally about the leg power it takes to maintain a nearly entirely vertical keep. I will walk or run 3 times a week, for a minimum of 20 minutes each time. It’s nothing compared to the poor stewards who ferry meals to Lord Leyton and his daughter, but I have other stuff to do.

After a year-long hiatus from the Rebellion, I've made it back here to start my fitness journey all over again. Not by choice. The long version of the hows and why's are here if you feel like a read. The short version; Aussie Roller Derby player / hospitality professional. Broke an ankle, am now housebound. Gone from SuperActive to CouchSurfer. Non-weight bearing for another month on my right leg. Then have to learn to walk and skate and play and work all over again. Without my usual routine I've lost everything that defines me and I want it back. Starting from the beginning because if I have to sit on the couch like a sloth for another month I'm gonna lose it. Long Term Goals; Walk again sans limp. completed 23/3 Be cleared to skate again. completed 19/4 Skate a whole training session. Again, preferably without too much pain. Re-Pass my Minimum Skills. All of the skills a roller derby player needs in one simple test. Play a full Roller Derby Bout. I'm aiming for September for this to become a reality. The long weekend in September is the state tournament for all the teams and I wanna play. I feel this also gives me more then ample recovery time to rehab my broken ankle and be able to skate safely on it without fear of re-injuring it or anyone else. Find a new job that I am excited for. Not hospitality. If further study is a thing then so be it. Not hospitality. Can't do it anymore. Feb 2017 Goals. Mar 2017 Goals Apr 2017 Goals Gym 3x Daily Meal Prep 1x Weekly Design Daily Journal Daily

--- Strength, flexibility, functionality. Assassins want it all. The only tool needed is you. --- It is the year 2217. Cybernetic technology has reached the public domain. Government and terrorists alike are scrabbling to buy up and use any and all technology in the fights against each other and to control and scare the general public into submission. The general public are sick of having their lives thrown around between the higher authorities and have taken matters into their own hands; creating private armies and training to fight for the underdogs and people unable to fight for themselves. Friends of mine were part of these armies but I had no intent on joining. Not until we were walking down the street one day and attacked out of the shadows. My friend and her superior fighting skills was fine but I was hurt. I woke up 6 days later to find they had upgraded my badly damaged right leg with the very same cybernetic equipment that had started this war in the first place. I would be back stronger then ever they said... Once the technology was fully fused with my human body. It would take weeks before I was ready. Once I was, I would be working for the very same Private Military as my friend. They were the ones who paid the cost of the still-rather-expensive technology now holding my shattered ankle together... And I would be working to pay that debt off. Cyborg Assassin Wannabe Step 1. Hand-to-hand combat training. While I'm waiting for my new leg to heal I gotta get up to speed with my basic training skills. QUEST 1: Bodyweights Erry Day. After surgery with 8 screws and a plate added into my leg, I am 4 weeks into 6 weeks of no weight bearing, and started doing some basic fitness on the 1st of February. If I can't use my legs I might as well catch up my upper body and core strength up a little bit. All strength will be helpful upon my glorious return to fighting the government roller derby. Do +1 push up, tricep dip, clamshell every day. Do +5 seconds of Superman hold and V-Up hold every day. Step 2. Stay Limber Simple enough. Assassins gotta be ready for anything. Having cold muscles is the best way to get beaten in combat. QUEST 2: Warmup before each exercise session. Do a dynamic full-body warmup before doing exercise. I'll be using the one we do at training before skating. It moves the whole body and is great. Bonus points for doing it more then once, during the day, between technology sessions. Step 3. Know Thy Enemy If I'm going back into battle I have to know what I'm up against. Knowledge is power? QUEST 3: Be one with the Derby I also don't want to lose touch with my teammates and the sport I love so my next goal is to watch a few games of roller derby on the internet every week, taking notes if I like, to see how the pros play the game and what I can incorporate into my practice when I do finally get back. I will also try to go to training despite being unable to skate, because I can help the others and observe any new stuff they might learn. Bonus points for taking notes while watching games / watching training. Watch 2 games of Roller Derby weekly. (Preferably on Monday & Thursday, before training) Bonus points for taking notes at any time, or watching extra games. Step 4. Be ready at all times. Assassins always have to be ready to jump up and go somewhere, just in case. QUEST 4: Be a responsible technology user Most of my couch-surfing activities will inevitably involve the TV, Xbox or my computer, so if I'm going to be staring at screens for the next 3 weeks I need to do so in a responsible manner. This means no all-day marathons without eating or moving because that's just not healthy. 10 minute breaks every 1 hour of technology. So far it seems to be quite effective. I am forced to get up and do things like eat, or do my body weights exercises; things I could / would put off for "one more quest." Bonus points here for any extra self-care I might do while I'm stuck at home. Might as well spoil myself a bit with this forced holiday of mine. 10 minutes of break for every 1 hour of technology use. Bonus points for extra self care done. Doing nails, face scrubbing, meditating, etc. --- Strong, functional, and flexible - I was all of those things. At the end of 2016, my body was (becoming) a weapon! 2017 was going to be my year of kicking ass and taking names in Roller Derby and life and 11 days into January I had to go and break my ankle. Phooey. So I've had to take a step back* and figure out how to continue getting stronger and better while I can't actually walk. Or work. Or drive, or skate or even leave the house without help. Being at home is terribly unmotivating for me so I've returned to the rebellion for the goal-setting and motivation that I need to actually do something, instead of just sitting on the couch bingeing on Dr. Who and not moving for 6 weeks. *haha! It's funny because that's how I broke my ankle. Near the end of this challenge (on the 27th) will be my 6-week post-op appointment with the surgeon that operated on my ankle. He will hopefully say I can start weight-bearing with the moonboot on and doing some basic ankle exercises. I completely underestimated just how much I enjoyed being as active as I was, so this challenge is all about keeping up some sliver of exercise without stressing my ankle. I need it to recover so I can get back to skating and working and going to the gym!!

2017 LET'S GO I'm bracing for a pretty bad year. The world became scarier last year, and as a queer nonbinary human being, I'm not feeling so great about it. I have my team at my back; I want to become stronger again so that I can have theirs, too. Daily chores for the household: Do a load of laundry Run the dishwasher Hand wash a load of dishes Tidy something Daily tasks for me: Sleep at least 7 hours Stretch or physio Grooming (accumulated tasks tracked weekly) I still need to track down a pullup bar. I still want to learn ukulele. I got into Nuit des cordes again this year so I'll be doing three rope performances in Montreal at the start of March, so I need to do some prep for that, too. Daily tracking will be in my battle log. My usual warning: I'm queer, genderqueer (they/them), poly, and kinky. I keep this pretty SFW, and anything otherwise will be tagged as such and put under a cut. The photos I share here will be safe, but if you follow any links to my Instagram page, some are a little less so!

Guess who's back?! (No, not Slim Shady....) It's been at least 6 months since I last took part in a proper challenge (holy crap, it's been so long!). I realize this one is coming a few days late, but I've had all kinds of shit going down lately and I'm slowly catching up. There's a lot to fill you all in on, but I'll do my best to give you as brief of a synopsis as possible before moving forward with my challenge goals. For those who don't know or remember me - HI! I'm your friendly neighbourhood Ranger-Cyborg who has a hankering for adventure, crafting, video games, and overall badassness. Last you guys really saw from me was a month or two after my second ICL surgery, where I had my contact lens implants replaced (hence the cyborg bit). Thankfully, everything is going great on that front! At the time, I was getting back into the crossfit game, doing some urbexing, and had recently purchased my replacement car after hit and run totaled my previous one. My boyfriend and I were living on the Massachusetts coast line and trying to get our collective 'stuff' together - sorting our individual mental health problems, improving the living situation, and doing general growing up/adulting. The present... I am continuing to go to therapy for depression and anxiety after starting last spring; it has been incredibly helpful, but opened up a lot of old wounds that never properly healed. Long term, this is good, but it has made me question a lot of things in my life. I became (and still am to some degree) unsure of my surroundings, priorities, and, most disturbingly, myself. It's brought about A LOT of introspective thought and having to figure out what's really important to me. I'm still working on it, it's not a done deal, but pieces are coming into place. I have a better idea of what path I need to be on. As for my car, I'm still loving the hell out of it, and she runs and drives like a dream. Even with the snow, ice, and low temps we've had recently, she's been swell! Now, onto some major changes. For starters, my job has been sucking the life out of me, and I've been looking to move on for a few months now. It's gotten to the point where I am just so apathetic about my work and it takes all of my effort to even get out of bed in the morning (granted, depression doesn't help with that). Luckily, a friend knew of a position that was opening at her company and offered to pass on my resume. Long story short, I should be receiving an offer letter in my inbox any day now Received the offer today - JOB ACCEPTED!! Time for the next steps Secondly, Shaun and I are no longer together. I came to the realization during my introspection that I wasn't happy in my relationship and hadn’t been for a long time. There were a number of factors involved - some had been there since the beginning, and others had come up over the last year. Ultimately, I ended it, but it's turned into a bit of a nasty situation. In any case, I have moved in with my college friend for the foreseeable future. Even with this big bad thing slowly settling itself in the background, it's brought about some good things too - I'll be closer to my new job, I have unlimited access to my friend-turned-roommate's 3 kitties (Max, Momo, and Goober), and I've made new friends and am working on strengthening my pre-existing relationships. I've also started seeing someone else, which has been an adventure in and of itself (especially since I was not expecting to get into anything new for a while, nor was I looking for it. It just kinda...happened). Lastly, due to my move, I am no longer participating in crossfit. It’s not something I want to give up completely, but I’m going to have to hold off for a bit because of the way my finances are right now. I’m bummed about it, but I gotta do what I gotta do. I think that’s all the big, or at least the most prevalent, stuff that tends to show up in my posts. So, shall we move along to the goals?

I tried to prioritize ukulele practice last challenge, but it just didn't happen. I'm not ready, and I've got too much else on my plate. I still want to learn, and my younger kid wants to learn, too, but I don't have the spoons. So I want to focus on how to replenish my spoons in a sustainable way. Partly inspired by this blog post, which says: "The painful self-care I am doing now is coming to terms with the fact that I have built my life around performing only the best parts of myself for other people, or performing for myself to project an image of who I would like to be." This one's also great: "Every parent I know will jump through hoops of fire to ensure their kids get enough sleep, but it stops there. For themselves, they view sleep as an indulgence. They brag about how little they get. “I was up till midnight working.” “I got up at 5:30 a.m. to make muffins for the bake sale.” “I never get more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I have too much to do.”" A friend said to me on Facebook today that self care is like parenting yourself. I want to feel good more often than not; I'm tired all the time. I never feel like I have enough time to do anything. I'm not burnt out like I was in the spring, but things could still be better. So this challenge is to REALLY ACTUALLY DO SELF CARE, AND DO IT RIGHT. This challenge I will: Get at least seven hours of sleep five nights per week (which went decently last challenge!) Stretch, foam roll, and do physio on my knee on alternate days (really necessary) Keep my nails painted nicely and my hair colour vibrant (because having nice nails that aren't bitten and amazing hair helps me feel better) Clean or organize something around the house every weekday BONUS: Sledgehammering, meditation, or hula hooping gets me a gif party extravaganza. Here's my kanban board in the kitchen, which lists all of the cleaning/organising things to do around the house. Sorry it's sideways! Daily tracking will be in my battle log. Standard warning: I'm queer, genderqueer (they/them), poly, and kinky. I keep this pretty SFW, and anything otherwise will be tagged as such and put under a cut. The photos I share here will be safe, but if you follow any links to my Instagram page, some are a little less so! Enjoy!

I really should have been screaming into the side of a koalasheep more the last few months So, Selfcare challenges. I apparently have the habit, after looking over my old challenges (this is my 27th challenge on NF, by the way), to really need a self-care focused challenge every, eh 5-6 challenge rounds. Given how stressful the last couple of weeks have been and the fact that the holiday season is on us, it's probably good if I force into my brain that selfcare is an every-day thing, and not a "sometimes" thing. Add in that I'm also kind of injured (shoulder, foot doing a bit of planter facitis or something), and I should really zone in on those things to get better. So, the goal isn't quantity right now, it's quality, and focus-on-me levels of it (that'll come into play in a bit, you'll see). Just gotta do ONE thing. Per day. But ONE thing. 1) Self Care: Perform one of these tasks, once a day. · Meditation (10+ minutes) · Reading · Early bed ( 9.5+ hours sleep total) · Extended no-electronics time (4+ hours) · Walks (unweighted) · Hermit DAY · Cooking experimentation · Python lessons? These are all things that destress me. You'll note that the dojo is not there. That's because while I love my Mat Therapy, it still involves interacting with people, and while I love them all, sometimes it is a bit much (looking at you, OG...). I never regret going to the dojo, but it does sometimes require me to drag myself there and the effort required to ramp myself up to movement is really hard when I'm feeling low. So I'm not discounting it as a selfcare act, but I also don't want to be selfish with my mat time and make it all about me. The other oddball thing here is the Python lessons. I've wanted to learn some programming/coding for a bit. When I was picking hobbies, I had options between coding and wood carving. I went woodcarving because it's off the computer, but I'm currently buffering up against the fact that a lot of the things I want to do carving wise require some more tools and equipment. If I have ideas I want to be able to implement them, not get frustrated with subpar tools when I can get my hands on them otherwise. It's just the otherwise is Christmas, so the carving is on hold. So I'm going to start coding. I'd like to say it would be an hour or a lesson, but I'm not sure which I'm doing. When I floating programming ideas, @The Most Loathed suggested I look into the book "Automate the Boring Stuff" and so I already grabbed that book and downloaded Python and started playing. I don't feel like the lessons in the book are super hard, but it's early. And then I might try to find a class to audit on Python. So. That's just stuff to do. Anyway, doing these tasks once a day should help maintain my sanity. 2) Workouts: Do one Workout Per Day · Aikido (one class) · Rucks · Lifting · November Project · Stretching/Yoga In all likelihood, since I've included aikido in this, I'll probably still make 2 workouts a day. But I want to get it into my brain that if I only do one thing I'm not a giant waste. Which is why self care is there - to take up the time the second workout would have. 3) Eating: Primal Holidays Okay, not exactly a "One" theme here. Goal is to eat mostly primal, or well measured non-primal things (like oatmeal and rice), hopefully mostly veggies. I want to be able to go to the couple of holiday parties I have without feeling like I blew everything that week, and stricter eating will be key on the non-social side of things. So only crappy eating when at social parties. And thankfully, I no longer have any wiggle room in my budget to be social, so I can flat out refuse going out now because I have no money! Unemployment is fun! That about covers it. Mostly focusing on taking care of myself. I sense I'll need to do a lot of that in the coming days.

Welcome back to a new challenge. We will not accept any new recruits. However if you are already a doodlie: put the link to your challenge in this sign in sheet, so we know you're in and where to find you This time @Tanktimus the Encourager will whip us up a challenge to help us make a road map for 2017. We will start the challenge December 4th Daily tasks Tasks week 1

So I exist in this wasteland, reduced to one instinct: survive. When the going gets tough, who survives better than Max Rockatansky? It's no secret I love Mad Max, this will actually be my second Mad Max themed challenge HECK YEAH! 2016 has been the literal worst. While peppered with some really great stuff and achievements and personal I-am-a-rad-human moments, the tail end of this year is hitting me like a battering ram, mainly in my personal life, and right now in the interest of self-preservation I need to take my foot off the gas and just hold on. While not my favorite thing to do, I am mindful enough to realize that right now this is a very necessary tactic. This challenge will focus wholly on self-care. I will, of course, keep fitnessing in the background - Zero week will be a deload week (that seriously couldn't have come at a better time) and following that I will still be lifting three days, throwing in something extra for the fourth, and working on my mobility drills. My quests this go around will keep me from losing my everloving shit and not collapsing into a useless pile at any given moment, because I'm going to enjoy the holiday season, darn it!! (YES HI I did put up all the decorations today bahahaha~) So in the interest of keeping it real, my quests: 1. Stay Yeah I can't do that disappearing thing again. Very very bad for my overall everything. Keep posting here regularly, should be simple, right? 2. Daily Draw I've been futzing about with tarot again and grabbed myself a really killer deck recently, with some amazing dark digital artwork. I'd like to do a card draw most mornings - not all - just to give myself that time of mindfulness and check in with myself, and see how I can fit the energy and meaning of what I draw into my daily life. This ties gently into my third quest as well~ 3. Viewfinder I'm really working on using my Instagram more, and in more varied ways than just 500 FFXIV screens. (BUT those are cool too~ <3) Since I've mostly backed away from Facebook and its idiocy IG is really my main social media point now, and it works for me because I've always loved photography. While I don't have the oomph currently to pick up my DSLR and go shoot out in the wild, I really want to utilize photography more as a creative outlet and self-care tool. Here's one I took this morning: I will, of course, share my shots here. A big motivator for me to complete this challenge is that my next NF level will put me at level 20 (!!!!!!!!!) and that's pretty rad to think about, I've successfully completed 20 challenges as of 2017?!? That's pretty heckin' cool!!! So yes, let's go and finish 2016 in one piece, so when 2017 comes it won't even know what hit it. <3

One Hundred Floors. Each one more challenging than the last. It's like our Challenges here, each one incrementally getting more difficult, more straining than the last. But we will conquer them all in the end with persistence and skill. 1) Kirito - Strong, persistent, and sometimes stupidly stubborn. He keeps moving forward. I need to log a great deal of hours in training before December for my exam. I also want to get stronger. So right now, Kirito is going to represent going to aikido 6 days a week, Stairs, and two lifting workouts. The only way to get better is keep pushing forward, and at the moment this is the way I will push. 2) Asuna - Calm, focused, multitalented, and a damn good chef. Asuna is as much of a figher as Kirito, but rather than always spend time fighting she has also maxed out her cooking skill. She's going to represent a more solid focus on my food intake. I have done well with my Mostly Primal, but I think I am going to buckle down and go more-or-less full tilt on it this coming challenge. No more than 5 non-Primal treats a week. The except to this will be oatmeal , which I'm still counting as a treat, but only half of one. It's a comfort food for me, as well as actually good for you, and,. a good source of carbs for heavy training days. It's silly to completely remove. In addition, I want to craft a new meal each week. And I'm not talking about changing the spices, I mean a whole new meal. Something besides my typical starch/steamed veggie/meat combo. Something that will in fact take a little while to make, but should be delicious and yummy for that effort alone. 3) Yui - Mental Programming Unit for Players Benefit. When introduced, it's assumed that Yui is a small child in the game who lost her parents. It's later revealed that she is in fact an AI, tasked with trying to help the players' mental states when needed. The holidays means a lot more social interaction, which means I will need my alone time, as well as be mentally prepared for being asked how the job hunt and unemployment is going. So I need to spend time being okay with answering those questions. This self-care goal is multifaceted. Try to get into bed by 10:30PM, read for a bit, and lights off around 11PM. Wake up at 8AM (except on Stairs Days), and start doing functional things by 9AM (ie - don't sit and sip coffee until 10 or 11AM, and then try to rush and do everything). Work on wood carving (blade sharpening, pattern thoughts, actual freaking carving) because I need some physical, hands on craft hobby at least one hour a week. And so, I have a lot of things to work on, in a very busy month: November 11th - Nerd gathering and my 30th Birthday GORUCK Novermber 19th - ACTUAL birthday and probably gathering with folks November 24th - Thanksgiving Hopefully somewhere in there will be a job start date. But I won't hold my breath. Short version of the challenge: 1) Aikido 6 days a week, lifting twice, Stairs once. 2) Primal eating, no more than 5 non-primal treats per week, one new meal a week. 3) Self care, self care, self care. Time to log on, Nerds.

Hello, all. No fancy challenge theme this time. To be honest, I was debating not doing a challenge at all, after how I vanished during the last one. My depression is getting really, really bad, so I am hoping that this challenge will help me manage it. It may not be very "adventurer" but it is what it is. I am sorry I stopped following all of your challenges last time around. I got overwhelmed by it all. I kept doing mine, but not posting. I have posted a challenge summary now in my last thread (here) if you are interested. My goals for this challenge are going to be about taking care of myself. 1. Track everything on MFP. Even if I decided to have that muffin. Having a muffin won't derail all my progress, but slacking at tracking very well could. 2. Stay active. Shoot for my 10k steps daily. Hit the gym 2x a week. Etc. 3. Get good sleep. Shoot for 6+ hours a night. 4. Personal hygiene is the first thing to go when I'm depressed. I'm going to set the bar low and hopefully exceed it. Brush teeth daily. Shower 3x a week. Wash face daily. Tracking spreadsheet here

Earlier this month I got to spend five days at a beach house in Grand Bend on Lake Huron. It felt like coming home. I've called myself a mermaid for years, and here was a whole community that felt like it was just for me. I loved the pace, sitting around flipping LPs on the record player, watching the waves, feeling the breeze, being myself with my friends, and enjoying everything about the aesthetics, too. I used to wear the kinds of clothes I ended up buying while I was there. I know fashions come and go, and it was great to get back into the things I was so comfortable in as a teenager. Coming back to my roots, but as an adult with a vastly different perspective. I love being a hard femme goth shark mermaid. Last challenge was about self care, and so is this one. I set some really lofty and ultimately unrealistic goals in regards to frequency, but I'm not being very strict with myself. I'm the one accountable to myself, so I'm going to forgive myself for not being perfect. This challenge I will: Get at least seven hours of sleep five nights per week Do something creative five times per week (ukulele, art, writing, photography, baking) Do something for my body five times per week (stretch, meditate, sledgehammer, hulahoop, walk home from the subway, get a massage, do my nails) Daily tracking will be in my battle log, as usual. Standard warning: I'm queer, genderqueer, poly, and kinky. I keep this pretty SFW, and anything otherwise will be tagged as such and put under a cut. The photos I share here are SFW, but if you follow any links to my Instagram page, some are a little less so! Enjoy!

We Meet Again... The Goats are BACK! I mean, did they leave? No. But they're back like, officially back. Edited: after a week and a half of the reality of my life hitting me in the face, I've edited this challenge down to my top priorities: Work and Health. Baby steps to the end goat. Maybe later I can incorporate those other goals, but my plate is full. Goat 1: Draw 2 hours, 5 days a week -I’ve had major artist block this summer. This is #1 for a reason. If I don't draw, I don't work. I need work! Van Goat Goat 2: Cardio 4x a week – I stopped exercising during Whole 30, because I was so damn tired. And I feel so much better when I do! I’m not setting a time limit for a cardio session because I can walk for a really long time, but I can only keep up with a dance video for so long. The goal is to move and make it a habit. I'll get better the more I do it! Goat 3: Strong Workouts 2x a week- I’ve gotten a head start on this, but it often gets left to the side when life gets stressful. Not this challenge! 3x a week for a full body strong workout . This goat works out. Goat 4: Yoga 3x a week- yoga is a restorative practice. I feel stronger in body and mind after a good session of yoga. Yogoat Goat 5: Continue using a food log/ journal to track meals, snacks, water, and thoughts for the day. I think this will keep me from stress-eating cookies. Okay. This is good enough. Let's go!

Ok, so I have been slacking hard in the accountability sector, so this is my inner June fighting off my inner Chloe. Who will win? The points will tell. 64 points or more, and the light side wins (to team June!). 63 points or less and it’s the dark side, Team Chloe, taking over. But I mean, Chloe isn’t all that bad is she?... Goal One: Half Marathon Training, B! (0/20) This includes three runs, one weight day, and one cross training day. I get a point for each day I get that sh*t done. Rest days are Friday and Sunday but can be shuffled if my social calendar jurisdicts it. Because it often does. Goal Two: Water Yourself, B! (0/28) I’ve been bad about water intake and I need to get better with the hot weather and the running. I am also trying to limit my alcohol consumption this month to 4 drinks a week. It doesn’t seem like much, but my social life is a lot of tasty beer and friends. Not tasty friends… I mean they could be, but I’m not really into eating my friends. So I need to drink 60oz of water a day to earn my point. That’s under my daily goal, but over what I’m already getting… so we’re taking baby steps. Goal Three: Get Your S*it Together, B! (0/4) The house needs organizing again. Each week there will be a task and it must get done by the end of the week. The four projects will be the craft room, the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Clean them like they have never been cleaned before. Because it’s been a long time since they have been. Goal Four: Track Your Food, B! (0/28) It wasn’t a huge success in the last challenge, but I am getting to the point in training where it is really important that I am not undereating and that I’m getting enough fuel for my body. So we’re going to try this again. With MFP this time. Here we go. A point for each day I log. And SIDE QUEST, B! Playing on last challenge but twisting it a little. I am going to post one thing I am grateful for at each check in. Just… literally anything I am grateful for that day.

Oh hai guys! Kinda fell of the face of NF for a while there, but I’m back Intro The time I’ve been away has allowed me the room to do some much needed reflection and truly figure out where I need to put my focus. I’ve been dealing with some pretty severe waves of depression and anxiety for the better part of a year now, and especially since the start of 2016. There are definitely good days and weeks, sometimes even a month or more, but overall it’s affected just about everything I do in the real world - from work to socializing to diet and exercise. That’s where this challenge comes in - and I’m so ready to be back! (Plus, I really missed you all!!) The general focus/goal for this challenge is self care: something I thought I had been doing, but in which I’m actually quite lacking. I’ve touched on the below goals in some shape or form throughout my previous challenges, but not so much as a way of caring for myself. They always felt like things I was just supposed to do or be doing as an adult. In keeping with the self care, this challenge is going to be kept pretty relaxed as to not add additional stress, but structured enough that it shouldn’t be a problem getting everything done. Now, on to the goals!

Edited to add my disclaimer: I'm queer, genderqueer, poly, and kinky. I keep this pretty SFW, and anything otherwise will be tagged as such. The photos I share here are SFW, but if you go to my Instagram page, some are a little less so! Enjoy! It's time to switch things up. I'm maintaining well at just over 140lbs, even while I was eating whatever on vacation. I'm biking thanks to the nice weather, stretching every now and then, spending time with people who lift me up, and generally feeling pretty good. With that, I'm going to focus on two things from previous challenges. UKULELE and SLEEP. My husband plays electric bass and my older kid has requested to play drums at school next year. Both the kids like joining my husband on percussion (djembe or tambourine) while he plays, and we just got my friend's old drum kit. My younger kid has been writing their own songs, and they both love to sing. My husband did this to our basement yesterday: Isn't it great?? Obviously it's a work in progress, but EEE! Excited! So I've got to really learn how to play my uke after all this time. The goal is to practice five times per week for at least twenty minutes, and to learn four songs, starting with Stairway to Heaven because I love the opening bit. There may be videos. NO PROMISES. Sleep goal is at least seven hours, five nights per week. I may add in a cleaning goal, but I'm worried that will be overambitious.

Committing to this challenge early. I think posting here can only help me, so again it's a similar goal: daily to do list. One step at a time.

We all carry around baggage, and eventually, it's too much. I loved the idea of sorting through it all, taking what really is important, and walking away from the rest. It's what drew me to the Druids in the first place, and I realized that it's taken me this long to sort through a lot of it and pick out what really matters to me, and now I have to decide what gets left behind. This challenge I'll be doing Whole 30. I'm really excited about it, and I'm hoping this helps me feel better. I'm also excited because this is a great opportunity to break some really bad stress-eating/binging habits and learn to put my needs before the wants of others. This is the point in my life where I say "If I'm ever going to make this work, now is the time." It's a terrible time to start a major change. Lots of stressful things are going on this month! But it's also the perfect time to make life changes because life is stressful. I can't just shut down every time it gets hard! I can DO this. Goal 1: Complete Whole 30, the reintroduction and then make some decisions about my daily diet. Goal 2: Complete a total body strength training workout 2-3 times a week. Keep those muscles strong! Goal 3: Draw for an hour everyday. It's time to get back to work!

I'm working on de-compartmentalizing my feelings. I'm working on reaching out for help when I need it, as well as sharing how I'm feeling with the people who care about me. This mental work is my priority right now. I'm doing so much mental heavy lifting that my physical stuff has all but stopped. My knee (for which I did six months of physio) still hurts, and the toe that I broke at the end of February still hurts. It's nearly biking weather. I have my swim stuff at the office ready to go any time. And yet, I can't bring myself to exercise. I know that exercise will help with mental stuff, but it's a secondary priority. Third priority is job stuff. Getting a new one, working on writing with the intent to publish, and getting more clients for my second job. I need to do this to get myself out of my current situation, because it's never going to get better. So! Challenge goals: Mind: be kind to myself, meditate, look after my emotions, ask for help when things are hard, share. Body: move my body, stretch, get outside, get in the pool. Work: write (fiction and cover letters), submit (manuscripts and resumes). (NSFW lyrics!)