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So, hi! This might come out a bit jumbled. I didn't really get much sleep last night. And while I know what I want to do this challenge, I'm having trouble putting it into words. I guess you could call me a traveling assassin, and I'm spending some time with the rangers because it felt like a good idea. For this challenge I'm drawing inspiration from the elements: fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. One of the things fire represents is change. A big change that I have to work through is finding a new job. This is something I need to do. My current job really sucks for many reasons. It's not all bad, but the bad definitely outweighs the good. However, anxiety and depression inevitably stand in my way. To give myself an extra push, I've picked my "last" day at this job, June 20th, the day before summer solstice. If I haven't actually found a job by then, I can't actually afford to quit. I don't really get any hours during the summer, so I usually rely on unemployment benefits, which I can't get if I quit. But it's never enough to cover everything (I barely make enough to cover rent with my regular hours), so the pressure will still be on to find a new job. So, I have nine weeks to get a new job (which is why this is a two part challenge). But if I throw everything I have at it, I'll burn out. I need to give myself time for fun. I need a work/play balance. Well, I did a bunch of math, because why not, and I came up with 50 hours a week dedicated towards work, 35 towards self-care, and 5 towards training (the remaining hours go toward sleep and meal breaks). So basically, I need to count up all the hours I work for the week at my current job (it varies a lot), and subtract that from 50. The rest goes toward the job hunt. I'll need to sit down and schedule specific times to work on it. I usually get my schedule for the next week on Thursday or Friday, so I need to have everything scheduled by the end of Saturday. If I miss a job hunting session, I can only make it up in the same week that I miss it. Given time, water will carve a path through stone. In this, water shows us patience. So, I need to patiently and consistently follow the steps that will help me reach my long term goals. I'm going to keep it simple and focus on working towards my "adventure" goals, which are hiking, parkour, and snowboarding. The things that I've decided to focus on improving right now are pushing, pulling, jumping, endurance, and grip. Luckily, there is a playground about a mile from me where I can work on this. And I can find ways to work on this at home if the weather is bad. I have 5 hours a week for this. I'll schedule training "slots" where I can use up to that amount of time, but if I don't end up using the full time for the slot, it won't count against me. Grounding oneself. Building a strong foundation to stand on. Self-care is a necessity. So let's give it the attention that it deserves. I have 35 hours in the week to take care of myself. I'm not going to actively schedule self care. Rather, I'll make some lists of self care activities based on how much time it takes. Probably 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and an hour+. Then when I have some spare time, and don't know what to do, instead of just sitting around doing nothing, I can pick whatever activity is the most appealing at that moment. Go where the wind takes you. Go outside. Go somewhere. Do something new. Once a week I will go on an adventure. I'm a bit limited in where I can go because I rely on public transportation. But, I have a monthly pass, so I can hop on the bus, train, or light rail any time I want. I'm also very tight on money. But, I can find things to do that don't cost anything. Obviously hiking. And I'm sure there's other stuff, especially if I get imaginative. Everything is connected. I'm going to try working on turning negative thinking into positive thinking. And accepting without judging. But the first step is to be honest about my thoughts, and learning to recognize when I'm being mean to myself. And to not jump to the defensive if someone calls me out on it. --- As far as grading this challenge, some of it is objective, and some of it is subjective. I'll need to figure this out before the start of the challenge, so tomorrow. I'm still going to use my battle log. But it'll be more for my life things that aren't challenge related.

This is mostly a placeholder but here are my thoughts at the moment: Goal 1: Walk 4 times per week. Goal 2: Prep at least 3 lunches per week, five breakfasts and five snacks. Goal 3: Write and post a poem every day. Goal 4: Meditation/focus goal? Next week is a big conference that is always super exhilarating and super exhausting, and this year promises to be more of both. So basically all my goals for week one are out and I'm going to be doing something. I think: Goal 1: Stay hydrated (3 nalgenes per day) Goal 2: Lie down on the floor for ten minutes every day. Goal 3: At the end of the day, review your notes and prepare a checklist of tasks/ideas etc to pursue when conference is over. Goal 4: Check-in with my conference buddies at least once a day. Okay, that's it for now.

The Westerlands are in some ways the most mysterious of the Seven Kingdoms to we readers/watchers, because it is the only place we have never been with a POV character. Apart from a few stories and a flashback/dream swequence, we’ve never seen Casterly Rock, Lannisport, or even any of the Westerlands countryside. Known for their vast mineral wealth and fertile, hilly countryside, the Lords of the West have always been important, and none more so than House Lannister of Casterly Rock. Serving mostly as antagonists (except for Tyrion) through the first book, we started getting POV chapters from Cersei and Jaime soon after. More so than even the Dornish schemes, more so than the proposed Grand Northern Conspiracy, the Lannisters are involved deeply in the game of thrones, on several fronts of the war(s). The Lannisters have also always been a fertile house, with many cadet branches in Lannisport and throughout the Westerlands, and until this generation, usually a vast network of close, in-House relations. I’ll be basing my goals on the forward planning of House Lannister, which means potential spoilers for all books and the show. I’ll white out what I can, but assume spoilers for Book 1/Season 1 here, and white out could be spoilers for anything through Dance with Dragons. Sorry Kevan and Gerion fans – they’re relegated to a potential stretch goal/mini-game I’m thinking about. Going in Order of our introduction to each character, we start with fan-favorite Tyrion “the Imp” Lannister, dwarf son of the late great Tywin Lannister. He's currently serving with the Essosi sellswrod Company the Second Sons, attempting to get in with Danerys Targaryen in hopes of returning to Westeros Lord of Casterly Rock and getting revenge on his sister . . . Tyrion is the most-travelled Lannister, (except maybe for Uncle Gerion?), so I will also move about, walking 60,000 steps per week. This adds up to a little more than 8,000 per day, so it should be doable. Jaime "the Kingslayer" Lannister is everything a knight should look like, if not everything a knight should be. A member of the Kingsguard and probable best swordsman in the Realm, After his brutal maiming by Vargo Hoat, Jaime is currently on a redemption quest, to reconnect to what being a knight means. Less than two years ago, I worked out three times a week with a bodyweight progressing that gave me room to keep improving. I too, have a quest to redeem myself from my slack ambitions. I will train (luckily, not with Ser Ilyn Payne or Bronn) 3 times a week with some sort of weight, body or otherwise. My prenatal yoga will do. Queen Cersei Lannister is at the center of political life in southern Westeros. Attempting to maintain rule through Tommen, Cersei is also attempting to wrest power from her rival Queen Margaery and the regent Kevan Lannister. She also needs to regain her queenliness after her walk of atonement and extricate herself from the noose the Faith got around her neck due to her ill-thought-out machinations, at least until her champion can stand for her in trial by combat. In the interests of appearing pious and atoned, I imagine Cersei is eating somewhat abstemiously, avoiding large servings of meat and sweets in favor of simple meals to appease the septas who are always watching her. Then again, her drinking habits appear unchanged. I mean to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, with at least one being a leafy green in order to count the day as a success. Fermented grapes don't count. Fermented cabbage does! Lancel Lannister, after his treason, murder, and adultery of book one, is currently on a redemptive arc toward the Faith Militant. Setting aside his marriage to Amerei "Gatehouse Ami" Frey and the attendant rights to Darry, he has chosen to join the Warrior's Sons as a result of guilt-driven dreams and visions. . . Lancel is spending his time (when not training) praying, meditating, and visualizing his life as he wishes it, free of Lannisters, Freys, and distractions from his goal. I intend to do likewise (without giving up my family, marriage, or worldly possessions, but making time 3 times a week to practice self-care in pursuit of my goal, which is a healthy pregnancy and labor. Genna Lannister Frey is the best Lannister. No-nonsense sister to Tywin Lannister, and aunt to the above listed, Genna is hilarious, schrewd, and sees through her family's dysfunction and schemes. Married to Emmon Frey, she is currently guiding him trough the political minefield of being proclaimed Lord of Riverrun by the crown while Edmure Tully (and his child in Roslyn Frey Tully) yet live. . . . I love this lady's cosplay! Genna holds the purse strings, and so marshals the resources to maintain herself, her husband, and their descendants as best she can, while also stabilizing the area for other Lannister interests, after the war between Riverlanders and Westerlanders that has ravaged the region. I need to marshal my resources as well, and I intend to do that by meeting my protein goals during this challenge. 3-4 servings of #grams/day.

Starting weight baseline: 198 lbs. CrossFit Skill Metrics: CrossFit Metrics CrossFit Games Athlete profile: https://games.crossfit.com/athlete/602549 PRELUDE: Sinister forces have arisen. They haunt the shadows, preying primarily on those in solitude, plaguing your thoughts and leading you further and further astray until you have strayed so far from the Path that you inhabit the self-same darkness these demonic entities originate and derive their baleful powers from. Lo, I am no blessed Paladin or Priest, nor mighty Warrior or Sorcerer. I am blessed by no faith, but remain strong of limb and keen of reflex; still, it will take a cunning mind to withstand the taint of Demonic corruption. I will either find the strength within me to resist or I will surely fall to insanity and madness... can one hope to dance with demons and emerge through the waltz unscathed? I am the Dark Ranger, and I will find out. HAVOC. 4 CrossFit classes per week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐☐] 3 Supplementary workouts per week: ☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐☐] MASTERY. Visit the Sanctum of Inner Sight (Happy Place™) daily: ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ 3 sessions of “something resembling meditation” per week: ☐☐☐ BLOOD ALCHEMY. RP Plan & MyFitnessPal Tracking 5 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐☐] Mindful Moment before meals [Challenge Total: __ ] SELF-IMPROVEMENT JUNKIE. Post a daily challenge update 4 of 7 days/week: ☐☐☐☐ [Challenge Total: ☐☐☐☐☐] To-Do list… ☐☐ Debt Management. ☐ Skin Care 101: have moles looked at/removed. ☐ Read: Focus on your N.U.T.S. "Step into the abyss. Welcome it. Know it. It's yours, now." – Kunai. CHALLENGE INSPIRATION: Duty no longer will suffice; this battle is one of survival. In the long-abandoned Dreadlands exist a sect of forgotten souls oath-sworn to seek out and eradicate the infernal taint of evil wherever it may be found… these dark marauders, witch slayers and demon hunters have dedicated themselves to thwarting the darkness through whatever means necessary. Their use of weaponry and apocryphal magicks considered by many to be unnatural or itself as evil as the corrupt forces these restless vigilantes claim to destroy have earned the mistrust of nearly all, though their successes cannot be argued. Like them I have seen the madness within and I must resist its temptation, to fall down that hole into insanity. For the last few months I have been battling my own demons in the form of anxiety and it has made some significant impacts on my personal life, mental wellness, & motivation on more than one occasion. As with my personal health and fitness, I seek artifacts, traits and abilities, and wisdom through self-care that will aid me in this battle lest it conquer me completely. I will carve out my Path. This is the season of the Dark Ranger.

Hello again! I'm a little late getting into the game here! A couple of the tools I wanted to bring from my previous challenges were the meal planning that I was doing so intensely during the last challenge and actually tracking my workouts. Unfortunately, like so many others on here, I was brought down by the sickness! All of last week I was down for the count with all of the debuffs. This really limited my workouts (to 0) but I maintained my eating and increased my vitamins for that week. I am back on the train though! I got in my first workout in a week, last night, and I'm feeling much better despite my lingering cough. For this Challenge: Meal Plan, Meal Plan, Meal Plan This has been so crucial to my lifestyle changes. Even though I haven't been as strict about the planning part, I've generally maintained my eating guidelines - no processed, hardly any added sugar, small portions = better choices. I have a couple of cheat meals a week (a girl's gotta live! and cheat days could destroy my whole week so I choose carefully), and I try to drink about 100 oz of water each day. Keep using my meal plan and plan future meals This helps with grocery shopping and making sure that I actually have snacks available! Tally in my water for the day It's really easy to forget to hydrate throughout the day. This way, I'm making sure it's happening and can chug if I'm behind! Any way to get it down. Food diary As I go, I check off things I ate and edit to other things if I didn't stick to my plan! This gives me a real look at what I'm eating so later I can see what didn't work and plan accordingly. Move. Push. Sweat. A LOT. I cancelled my gym membership because I realized I don't have the personality to really push myself - especially when I was around so many other people (empath problems). I'm not competitive at all and coaching doesn't work for me because I don't take physical criticism well, or worse, I underreport the discomfort/pain because "I can do it" and I overdo it and end up tearing or really damaging my muscles. No go. So what's worked well for me, after much experimentation, is workout videos at home. I bought the digital versions of 30 Day Shred and Yoga Meltdown, both by Jillian Michaels, and maaaaan do I sweat it out. I'm in the comfort of my home, it takes 20-30 minutes from start to finish, and then I can cool down and walk 20 feet to the bathroom to shower. Works way better for me so I'm much more likely to do it! Work out 4 days a week, even if it's just 1 video! Relax & De-Stress In all of the whirlwinds that have been happening lately, I haven't been doing a very good job at taking care of my sanity. The great bedtime habits I created a couple months ago have disappeared and I am back to a generally overflowing schedule. It's no wonder I got sick and I've been losing meal plan momentum! Time to turn that around and give myself back some clarity and time. This can be accomplished in a lot of ways but some of the items that seem to be good for me are: 3 days a week: Read for pleasure Take a bubble bath At home mani-pedi Color in a book Take a short hike Go for a drive This is it! I'm starting a little late but I'm on it! I'm excited to keep seeing results!

Well, my fellow Rangers, I think my title says it all. I'm trying to find some consistency as far as my workouts go and I feel like I'm just in a holding at my office. While I generally like my job, I'm feeling very done with working at my current firm. I've been here 10 years and I've hit the ceiling as far as upward mobility - unless I stage a coup (not likely). The good news is that my best friend wants to hire me! We work very well together (same industry) and push each other - playing devil's advocate and such. The bad news, I have to wait until have the 1st of the year - thus I am treading water in my current job. As a result of my job, my anxiety has flared up quite badly and I'm not sleeping super well. And when I don't sleep super well, that means that I then don't want to get up and workout the next morning. And it's a vicious cycle. So, I'm going to keep things simple. Goal 1: 2 strength workouts a week Goal 2: 2 cardio workouts a week (even if it just means a 20 minute walk) Goal 3: Meditate every day. 3 days a week. (Every day was setting myself up for failure). Goal 4: Complete one of my Epic Quest Challenges (read 75 books in one year)! Well, here's to leaving 2016 behind!

Hello my fellow Rangers! Well, I had grand plans of setting up this thread this past weekend when I returned from a trip and didn't get there. Then the week started and here we are! I have no grand, over-arching quest or goal right now. Mainly because I'm so incredibly overwhelmed with work; so overwhelmed that I can't seem to find the time to apply to other jobs! Ugh. So, perhaps my over-arching quest is to keep my sanity. Mission 1: Stick with Hero's Journey bodyweight training. Mission 2: Run twice a week (not much, but I'm working on being gentle with myself). Or general cardio - ideally I'd like to get to the pool. Mission 3: Get caught up on all my comics! Comics waiting to be read (and this will be updated once I get home): Aquaman Rebirth #8 Aquaman Rebirth #9 Green Arrow Rebirth #1 Green Arrow Rebirth #2 Green Arrow Rebirth #3 Green Arrow Rebirth #4 Green Arrow Rebirth #5 Green Arrow Rebirth #6 Green Arrow Rebirth #7 Green Arrow Rebirth #8 Green Arrow Rebirth #9 Wonder Woman Rebirth #5 Wonder Woman Rebirth #6 Wonder Woman Rebirth #7 Wonder Woman Rebirth #8 Wonder Woman Rebirth #9 The Killing Joke The Man Without Fear Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor (ok, not a comic, but I would like to finish it). Spell or Highwater (ok, another book, but it's nerdy, listening to it) Simple, nothing earth-shattering. . .

Ok, take two as the site ate my first attempt. Self-Compassion The Often Missing Ingredient In Healthy Eating I joined the Nerd Fitness Academy several years ago. At the time, I was in the middle of what I would later realize was some form of an eating disorder that sort of resembled orthorexia. I started removing food groups from my diet, and trying to eat a restrictive "clean" diet because of digestive problems that I was having (which I later realized were due to extreme amounts of stress due to a really unhealthy relationship). I would eat "clean" for a few months, and then I would fall off the wagon. I would go back to eating clean for a while and then fall off the wagon. I did more and more reading coming from several different clean eating camps, all of which predicted doom, gloom and death if I didn't eat cleanly. I developed more and more anxiety around food. I swung through cycles of being too exhausted to cook clean food, too poor to eat clean food, and fiercely dedicated to eating a diet free of sugar, processed foods, and grains. When I was eating clean, I felt good about myself. I was "good". My inner critic would be quiet. It didn't matter that I was so exhausted there were days I couldn't get out of bed, or walk up my stairs because my carbs were so low, and I wasn't capable of affording, or even eating, enough clean food. When I was "off the wagon", I was a total piece of crap. I had no will power. I didn't deserve to complain about being fat, or unhealthy because I was doing it to myself. I was "cheating". I was killing myself with every mouthful. My digestive problems only increased - and of course, it had to be from the devil food I was eating, not the fact that I was stressing myself out so much about fueling my body. Needless to say, after purchasing NFA, I never got around to the workouts. I was too tired, and too wrapped up in my food issues. Not only was I not able to stick to any health related goals, I had gotten to the point where I couldn't do anything. I was stuck to my couch, watching Supernatural for the fifth time. I wanted to be cleaning my apartment, doing my laundry, going to bed on time, taking better care of myself, learning how to play the piano I'd bought for myself. I wasn't doing any of those things, and as far as I was concerned, I was failing at being even a basic human being, let alone one who could actually achieve any sort of success doing anything else. Then I tripped over a concept called Demand Resistance, or Demand Sensitivity. The gist of both things is "You're not the boss of me." From the book Too Perfect, the definition is, "A chronic and automatic negative inner response to the perception of pressure, expectations, or demands, from within or without.” I am a perfectionist. However, I am the kind of perfectionist who becomes absolutely inert under the pressure to be perfect, or to live up to my own, absolutely unattainable, expectations. I had an Inner Rebel who was fighting me every step of the way every time I tried to motivate myself, because the only way I knew how to motivate myself was through shame and guilt and emotional abuse. It's how I was raised, it's how many people in authority in my life thought motivation should be done. No one ever said to me, "It's ok to fail. It doesn't mean you're a bad person." So whether it was my diet, fitness, showering regularly, or going to bed on time, it was either do it and feel the warm glow of moral "goodness", or don't do it and feel the constant berating of my inner drill sergeant, humiliating me and making me "evil." It had gotten to the point where my Inner Rebel would just stomp her foot and say, "You're not the boss of me!" with every "I should be..." "I ought to..." "I need to...." I didn't do things because I wanted to any more. I did things because deadlines were looming, or just to relieve the pressure of self-hatred. My Inner Rebel was trying to save me from myself. I wanted to make so many changes, but not because I wanted to be healthier, or more creative, I wanted to make them because I thought I was a piece of crap that needed improving. When I realized the tug of war that was going on between me and my Inner Rebel, especially around food, I dropped one end of the rope and decided to allow my Inner Rebel to just have her way for a while. The first time I went grocery shopping and set a goal to just, buy what I wanted to without weighing each item's healthfulness, and not count the "unhealthy/cheat" foods in my basket, it was a revelation. I started reading some materials on Intuitive Eating, some of which suggested just allowing yourself to eat what you want, to "refeed" essentially. They promised that if you had items that you had banned because you couldn't keep from eating all of them, if you just allowed yourself to have as much as you wanted, your cravings would essentially run their course. It was crazy. It was counter intuitive. It was terrifying for someone who had a long list of "not allowed in the house" foods, someone who absolutely didn't want to gain weight, someone who had become so afraid of food. It was an interesting theory though, one which I thought I could experiment with. I bought cereal. I bought Oreo's. I bought ice cream. All things on my "can't have it in the house" list. I let myself eat whatever I wanted. Interestingly, it wasn't the oreo's, cereal, or ice cream that I ended up bingeing on. Sour cream. Something that I hadn't really even restricted in the past. When I lifted all of my restrictions, and promised my Inner Rebel that she could have whatever she wanted, it was sour cream that she went crazy with. For a month or so, I put sour cream on everything. I ate those tiny little microwave burritos when I got home from work, with sour cream. There were some nights there was more sour cream on the plate than there was burrito. I stopped just short of sitting down with a pint of sour cream and a spoon. My body wanted All The Calories, and All The Fats. I had never thought of myself as a "yo-yo dieter" because I'd started on the health food journey because of actual health concerns, not to lose weight. And even though I'd go 10, 16, 19 hours without eating, I didn't think of myself as "fasting". My body had no idea when I was going to give it food, or whether or not it was going to get enough calories, or nutrients when I did. And just like the Intuitive Eating people said, after a while, it tapered off and I was no longer over indulging in anything. Maybe I ate an entire package of Oreo's a few times, or a whole box of cereal in a day or two. But now, two years later, I do not have a list of "can't bring it into the house" foods. I don't binge on things like that anymore. I still have issues around knowing when I'm full when it comes to actual meals, but snack foods, I have far less of a problem with now. My digestive issues, within the first two weeks of me dropping that tug of war rope, started to drastically improve. I've since learned just how much anxiety can affect the digestive system, and now I can see the connections between regular stress, and my 3 anxiety disorders, and my digestion. And all of my "adrenal fatigue" symptoms, which I'd literally spent thousands of dollars on trying to fix with different supplement protocols and hair testing, nearly harming myself with some very strange protocols, seemed to magically disappear. The exhaustion that I was feeling started to lift, my hair stopped falling out, my air hunger went away. I still have days when that stuff comes back, but I can always trace it back to having slacked off from eating mindfully and making sure that I eat consistently, and am getting enough calories. I still have some emotional and disordered issues around food that I'm trying to resolve but I'm no longer tearing myself apart for eating less healthful foods. I still have some health issues that I'm struggling with, and I gained a lot of weight over the last two years. However, I am happier. I'm also in a place now where I feel like I can start tentatively approaching food and fitness in a gentle, compassionate and mindful way that won't trigger me. Here are the things that I'm focusing on now: Food - I'm using the YouFood Android app to become more mindful of what I'm eating. I was really good last week about logging all my meals while I was at work. It allows you to just take a picture of what you ate, so it's a photographic log rather than calorie counting. I was never good at counting macros. It's not sustainable for me, and because of that, it's triggering. I want to work on more consistent logging/logging while I'm at home and on my days off. I'm not beating myself up when I don't log. I'm easing into drinking more water. I did replace my afternoon work soda with water. I'm still drinking giant soda's occasionally in the evenings with the Mr. I'm limiting it to a 32oz cup rather than the larger one. I'm not beating myself up when I'm drinking it. While I'm not counting calories, I'm looking at serving sizes on things, and taking note of the calories. I was shocked the other day when I saw that Tyson's frozen chicken nuggets, something that I'd been eating entire plate fulls of, have a serving size of 5. 5 chicken nuggets is the suggested serving size and one serving size has 280 calories. Mindful eating. I'm currently working on figuring out when I am actually hungry, and when I'm just bored, or emotionally eating. I'm just taking note of things for now. "Yes, I'm eating this unhealthy and expensive restaurant meal because I had an awful day." I'm not beating myself up for that. I'm not yet trying to change the behavior. I'm just taking note of it. Becoming mindful of my motivations. I'm also actively working on trying to figure out when I am full, and putting my fork down. I have had some real wins lately when it comes to this. I've stopped eating and either put the food away, or given the few last bites which I always have a hard time throwing away, to the dog. I'm still over eating. I'm not beating myself up about it. I'll go over physical stuff in a later post.

Here we are again. This is my 16th challenge... can you believe it? Anyway... The other day I ate like a pig. Not ONE healthy thing all day. So yeahhhh... that will be on the list for a bit. The second thing I need to look at is rest, both as "rest days" and "me-time" as well as "night sleep". Life has been a hell of a busy time lately. But the end is in sight. The weekend of 0 week I'll finish my theoretic course to become a trainer, then I am just 5 course weekends of practical hands on training (in early '17) away from getting my licence. Similarly I have been training for my first obstacle course race. Okay, per definition it's a mud run, not a race, but I'll call it race, for simplicities sake. The race is on Oct 8th, and I am VERY MUCH excited about it. I have not gotten as strong as I would have liked to become by now, but there is a direct correlation between how much I put in and how little I got out. So that is only fair... if unfortunate. I am in the mood to DO ALL THE THINGS. But I know better. I'll do the ranger thing without the overload, this time, I hope... Plans for this challenge: write down food - might not be in-app everything measured and concrete calories and macros and all that hassle. Just write down what you ate, snacked on or otherwise stuffed in your face. Keep lists. stop eating like a dickhead - one veggie or fruit each day, no excuses, no processed substitutions. One. Each. Day. Also skip the salt and drink your goddamned water, for crying out loud! Keep training and resting and enjoy the ride. I mean what more is there? Soon my friends from Australia and the Netherlands will be here for a weekend, I will clean like a maniac (I'm human afterall). I will train, both running outside as well as fitness and belly dancing classes, peer pressure is my saviour! I will rest when I can, I will keep logging my sleep (not awesome atm) I just brushed off a minor cold, so I am taking the hint of taking things less serious and rest more. I am not sure how to measure this though. And enjoy the ride? When do you ever meet online friends in person for the first time, run your very first mud run / OCR? Enjoy it! Take lot's of mental pictures, real ones too. Live the life, be present in the moment. Anyway, I will post this up, since you nice folk are so very patient with me, let me tell you again how grateful I am for your companionship, support, insight. Morag. Gratitude Wasabi - yummy. FlyLady - even though I have to regularly start over again and again... difficult to find a third item here today... I think relationships. Both romantic as well as platonic. So many so-very-different people connect and interconnected in so many different ways, it's amazing, breath taking, awe inspiring. Wonderful. It makes you wonder.

It's an awesome theme, I promise. Stay with me. Old friends, welcome. New rebels, be welcome as well! Annyshay is a hobbit. She likes to have quiet time in her hobbit hole drinking tea with her Dragon (my orange fluffy cat's name). Annyshay is a very busy doctor and does not get as much time in her hobbit hole as she would like. Also, Annyshay tends to use sitting and sweets more than is good for her, especially when her crazy work stresses her out. Last challenge, Annyshay respawned and started from the beginning working on excellent habits with the help of the Nerd Fitness Academy. What better foundation for a healthy body is there than hobbit feet? Main Quest: Be Resilient and Radiant Goal the First Level Up with NFA Diet. After all, healthy feet are made in the kitchen. I've got a consistent habit of tracking my calories in My Fitness Pal going. Next goal is two weeks of Level 3, which is "no liquid calories". I've been on a roll since Friday and I plan to keep it up! Once I beat that level, I'll set my sites on Level 4 (details to come once we get there...). Goal the Second Walk This has gotten significantly more exciting now that Pokemon Go is out. Planning to catch 'em all and walk all the steps! Goal the Third Self care for my feet. My plantar fascitis is acting up again. No more of this shenanigans. Alphabet tracing in the morning, lacrosse ball, and whatever other kindness and love I can give my feet will count towards this goal. In addition, I'm working on maintaining lots of other things... meditation, good sleep habits, etc. I'll probably go on a ramble from time to time talking about more parts of my journey and as always, you can follow my weekly process in my battle log. Be welcome here, rebels!

After two and a half years of juggling work, school, and working out, I have almost completed my Master's degree. Although the classes are online, the program is very big on practical application, and breaks are only 2 weeks between classes. I have two more courses to go (one being a thesis class), and I am somewhat apprehensive about the whole thesis-applying for jobs-interviews- student loans coming due-etc etc etc. Fortunately, I have a trimester off this fall, as 1) they aren't offering the last class I need, and 2) my gentleman and I are going on our first overseas trip together to London and Ireland (squee!). I intend to take that time to put out applications, but I suspect my usual lackadaisical, slapdash approach to applications and semi-professional business attire won't cut it in the big leagues. I could be wrong, but better to not risk it. So! This challenge will focus on getting ready for moving up in the business world. (I'm working on the pretend and invent bit) Goals: Update the resume and prepare an "elevator speech." Resume must be done by Week 2, and must have at least a rough draft of the elevator speech verbalized by week 3. Get up early at least 1 day a week and do something nice with my hair: braid, ponytail, and bun don't count. (This will take some work as I just cut 8" off, and it feels super short to me. Hopefully this makes new styles easier, not harder). Bonus points for doing more than one day per week, and for leaving the style in all day. Bonus goal: I suspect that any of the jobs I really want will significantly increase my driving time (in the Baltimore/DC area), so I need to work on driving calmly. I don't think I'm ready to completely end my tendency toward anger while driving, but I want to get a baseline for when I start. I will be tracking the below metrics for the duration of this challenge. Top speed Traffic density Number of swear words used in the car Number of moments of either "Screw this!" and speeding up, or "Ok, not worth it" and backing off. In the meantime, I'm still going to be doing my weights, parkour, and walking/running. I think I've gotten past noob gains, so it's just grinding for improvements at this point. That tends to bore me to the point of giving up, hence why the main goals are focused on non-workout things. Long-term workout goals: Test for Green Band level at parkour (probably around August of 2017) Do a full pull-up (currently working on flexed arm hangs) Do 100 incline push-ups (hm, I need to test where I am!) Finally, since I rarely (to be finished later!) So I mismanaged my time horribly today, and had to cut the post short (ha) to run to my haircut (see above), and now I have no idea what I was going to say I rarely do. Sew? Go out? Fish? Punch things? Embroider? I'll see if it pops back into my head, but in the meantime, to infinity job preparation and beyond!

So, uh. I finally found the twenty one pilots bandwagon. And hooooo boy am I on it. I love this band, you guys. I. LOVE. THIS. BAND. *ahem* As you may know, I am off in a (not actually very far) faraway land doing physics research at another university for the summer. Which is super exciting, but I'm also having a bit of a hard time. When my parents dropped me off, I was really emotional at first - this is an entirely new thing for me. I have not spent any amount of time away from home by myself. It has now been one week. During the weekdays this first week, I was so insanely busy that I didn't really have time to think. But once the weekend arrived and everything slowed waaaay doooown, all of my sad feelings came back. I really miss my family and friends and familiar people. I feel lonely, cos even though I get along really well with all the other students in my research program, we still aren't at the close-friend level yet (obviously; it's only been a week) and I tend to cling to thrive on one or two close connections with people, and now I have none (they're all back at home), and it makes me feel lonely by default even when I'm surrounded by people whose company I enjoy. And I also kinda feel overwhelmed by the scope of my project (it's about lasers) and like my knowledge/skills are not nearly sufficient. tl;dr I miss my hoomans (and my doge) I feel lonely I feel like I'm not good enough I know that I really am not alone - I am surrounded by cool nerds who I get along well and have a lot in common with; and if I wasn't good enough, I wouldn't have been accepted to the program in the first place. But that doesn't make all those niggling thoughts and feelings go away. So now it's down to surviving the yucky feelings and getting on with the rest of my summer, and not letting my sadness control or consume me (like it kinda did this past weekend [oops]). Which brings me to the reason I chose this band as my theme. Their music is all about dealing with that darker side of your mind, and it makes me feel a little better when I'm having a rough time. Here are my goals this time around, inspired by part of the lyrics to twenty one pilots's song, Fairly Local. Only one is actually measurable; the others are just things I need to remind myself of, so I figured I'd write them down too, while I'm at it. The Few - few desserts :: At this university, the dining hall is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet with a sinful quantity of dessert foods (I'm lookin' at you, maple-glazed cake doughnuts...). Limit one dessert/carb-heavy food per day. Re-evaluate at the end of week 2, if it goes well. The Proud - pride in my progress :: I've come a long way, learned a lot, and fallen in love with physics. Remember that I am capable of a lot more than I think. - pride in my potential :: The directors of this program obviously thought I was good enough. Work hard, make it worth it, and do something I can be proud of by the time it's over. The Emotional - self-care :: Remember to rest. Remember to read my Bible. Make sure to get enough sleep. If needed, find a quiet place so I can get my feelings out; but try not to let it get to that point. - socialize :: Don't hide/isolate myself just because I'm sad. Get involved and stay involved. Friends aren't going to make themselves. There have been good days and bad days. I'm hoping that as the days go by, I'll get used to living away from home and my emotions will level out. But either way, there's only 9 weeks left. Let's do this.

Asuka going from Giant to Valkyrie! – Part 1: Establishing strong bases This is it. This is the time. I am in good health, I am committed, and since I am focusing on maintaining reasonable hours at work, I will have some time to dedicate to this challenge – to me. This will be a long path. This first challenge will probably put me a few steps closer to my goal, but obviously not all the way. For the next five weeks, the goal will be to focus on habits, creating good ones and making off with old, bad ones. So off towards my Valkyrie future I go – no more Mrs. Giant. What is a Giant? The Giant is strong, very strong. Nothing will stop him until he reaches his target. But he is rather stupid – will only target buildings, blindly going through other threats without stopping. He’s not even wearing shoes! What is a Valkyrie? A Valkyrie (“Valk”) is tough and smart. Targets all potential threats and destroys them, even behind her. And she’s all female, wearing makeup and heels, showing off the strong bod she built for herself. Isn’t she the best? So far, I am a pretty good Giant. I’m big, so I go the easy way - I see, I destroy. Be it a cake or a new project. But this is not good – neither in my personal, nor my professional life, especially since I became a Giant for the wrong reasons. It’s time for a change. Let’s go! Goal #1 – Get leaner This is the key difference between a Giant and a Valk. She is awesome, but doesn’t need to be extra bulky. So why should I? Plan: For that one, I’ll request the help of Weight Watchers, which did awesome work in the past. I will track what I eat and keep it below 26 points per day, with 49 additional points weekly, which is the level where I was last time I did the program. I have been tracking for two weeks already, although I have not counted, I just wrote it down. Grading: 1 point per day below or at 33 points (with weekly addition), 3 additional points for a full week below the total of 231. I will also get an additional point for days below 26 points. Extra point also for not snacking in the afternoon. [Max baseline 10 points] Goal #2 – Get stronger Valks are strong. In hordes in Clash of Clans, they are nearly unstoppable and will wipe out a base pretty fast. So it’s important that I keep exercising and keep getting stronger. Plan: Continue working out every day, the way I did it in the last mini. I’m hoping the new mini will also help me in that goal! The goal is to work out for an hour, including voluntary walks (not the walk to and from the office). All workouts are welcome, cycling, HIIT, dancing, walking, strength training. Grading: 0.5 point per half-hour when I work out, 3 additional points for working out all seven days of the week. Two additional point per BBWW since I’m still not happy with them. [Max baseline 10 points] Goal #3 – Get smarter Valks target all threats in their paths. So should I. Which is why I need to be smarter, and to spend more time studying to that effect. I need both to prepare more seriously for my Korean exam and focus on planning at work, rather than working tirelessly. Plan: Study five hours a week. Not complicated. Shout out to Fenyx for inspiring me to pick up studying again. Grading: 2 points per hour spent studying. 3 point for every hour beyond the five hours of the plan. [Max baseline 10 points]. Goal #4 – Take better care of myself I am not good at being a feminine girl. In fact, I sometimes don’t feel like a girl at all. I tried to shed the girly girl image to be seen as stronger. But the Giant act is not working. In fact, the single most successful person in our office is very girly. That will teach me. The Valk is strong, but in heels and makeup. So I need to focus on me and making myself feel good. Plan: I will have a list of potential ways to take care of myself, with different point rewards. - Doing a manicure (2 pts) - Going to the hairdresser (10 pts) - Moisturizing (1 pt) - Taking a long bath (3 pts) - Exfoliating (1 pt) - Doing a face mask (2 points) - Going to the dermatologist (10 pts) - Buying clothes fitting me (5 points) - Doing face treatment (e.g., scrub, night cream) (1 pt) - Stretching for 20 minutes (1 pt) Grading: I will set a goal of 10 points per week as well. If I cannot make it, I may readjust it. MAC makeup guarantees Valk will look good even after a long fight. Complementary goal: Be more open to people Valks are great at synergies with other troops. So I need to be more open to other people, and not shut myself in the house. Plan: I need to be more sociable, rather than spend so much time in the house. Also make the house more welcoming to other people. - Putting wallpaper in my room (20 points) - Making a new friend (attempting to is ok) (20 pts) - Going out of the house during the weekend (1 pt) - Going out to drinks or dinner or lunch with a friend (10 pts) Reward: I am expecting 40 points per week from the key four goals, and hopefully some 50 from the complimentary goal. Over five weeks that is a total of 250. I will set rewards per level – all rewards will add to each other. - 200 points reached: $20 to spend any way I want (most probably in Clash Royale!) - 250 points reached: Another $60 to spend (Total $80) - 300 points reached: The set of beautiful weights I really really want to buy (cost $130) - 350 points reached: Another $120 to spend!! (Total $200 + weights) I look forward to this new challenge. It starts with a day off, so I’ll put in some Taking Care points today on top of my work out. Valk power!

This challenge, I'll be doing what I usually do, but with a few important tweaks to help it run more smoothly. Goal 1: Intermittent Fasting One fresh fruit smoothie or juice, up to 400kcal, around lunchtime One meal, up to 1000kcal, in the evenings. Half-hour evening eating window. The idea being that it'll give me less room for error (i.e going over 1400kcal, which is my tried and tested weight loss Magic Number) than my usual 23hr weekday fasts and 16hr weekend fasts, but will also give me a bit more energy during the afternoons when I tend to find myself flagging. +3 CON (I can't get my head round the new XP rules today, may switch next challenge!) Goal 2: 5 Freggies a Day. Enabled in part by the fruit in my smoothie tweak Goal 1. Ideally, make sure the rest of the day's freggies are vegetables. Key to this one for me is always budgeting. I rarely manage a full 35-freggie complement in the week before pay day. The +1 WIS is meant to reflect having successfully budgeted if I pass this goal. +2 CON, +1 WIS Goal 3: Self-Care - Face: Apply day cream in the morning, night cream at night. Face scrub every two or three days. - Creaky bits: Yoga, as needed, when needed. By which I mean 20 mins, every day I don't want to do yoga. And then as much yoga as I like every day I do want to do yoga. - Squishy bits: One pint of water when I wake up, and one pint of water at 6pm. That's the minimum. Extra fluids encouraged, but every day must see a litre of unadulterated water going down my gullet. +2 DEX, + 1 CHA Bonus Goal 4: Acting Waffle Chief-ery JC's taking a break from being Chief Waffle in the Doodlie PvP for this challenge, so I'm keeping his seat warm. (And also making sure I'm more accountable by being responsible.) - Check up on every Waffle every two days without fail. - Ensure that by Sunday night all Waffle scores are calculated and entered. - Pure beast every PvP challenge you can take part in, and make sure that you officially sit out the ones you know you won't get done so that your zero score doesn't drag the team average down. - Avoid going mad with power. +1 WIS, +1 CHA, +1 STA, +1 STR upon successful completion of all PvP challenges only. Otherwise, nil points. Life Goal: Weekly Scavenger Hunt I liked the cultural scavenger hunt I did last month as my adventurer class qualifier, but there was a whole load of stuff that I regret not having included, and I'd included too many repetitions of things. Happier with the variety in this one. Complete 50%+ to pass. - 1 hour of vocal practice - See one new play - See one new film - See one new episode of a decent TV show - Cook one new healthy recipe from a different country - Read and contemplate one new poem - Complete 1 unit of the Khan Academy course "Crash Course in World History" that the Doodlies are working through together. - Pick up litter from the beach. - Find something beautiful and photograph it. - Finish one unfinished craft project. - Complete 1 unit of another online course. - Read one new poem - Read 1+ new chapters of a novel, or one short story. - Read 1+ new chapters of a non-fiction book. - Write one new thing - a poem, a song, a short story. - 1 hour of guitar scales (Just scales. Any extra playing is encouraged but will not count towards total.) +1 WIS, +2 CHA Prep: - House is clean. - Kitchen has protein and vegetables in it - Clothes are ready - Misc. courses and books selected. They include a free course on theropods and birds on Coursera if you're interested in playing along. - Not much to prep this time. Which is quite nice, really. Just need to set aside an hour or so tomorrow, to prep the Waffle sheet and sub to everyone's threads, and do whatever prep I need to do for the first Doodlie PvP week, and that's it!

"'Oh, something's gotta happen, Something's gotta give and something's got to break,I know: someday it's gonna happen,Someday it's gonna give, can't always be this way.And if the riptide comes to get meAnd pulls me under, it won't upset me, I'll go down.I'll throw the white flag of surrender,Knock me down, not forever, just for now.Not forever, just for now,Not forever, just for now,Not forever, not forever, not forever,Won't stay down." MAIN QUEST: Hey, I'm a member of the SSIA again! *crickets* Okay, that wasn't worthy of applause, I suppose. But what else can I do, starting out the new year injured, but go back to the basics and rebuild myself stronger than ever? It isn't exciting or fancy, but it's necessary. Time for some basic grinding with stars. So basic that there's not even a theme. Just cats. Lots and lots of cats. What? They land on their feet. I intend to do the same. After some consideration, I've decided to keep the "paper RPG" stats system going for my own sake. I like it/find it motivating. Quest 1: Every Day Is Leg Day (+1 STR, +2 STA) So, hamstring, you're feeling weak and cranky? Well, time to make you strong and cranky. This is about as simple as it gets: 5 days a week, 100 ATG BW squats. The PT says they're good for me. I get a bye on days I take a group exercise class with a legs focus OR on days I squat weight (assuming those actually come to pass this month). A: 5 days, B: 4 days, C: 3 days Quest 2: Back on the Horse (+2 STR, +1 DEX) Time to get back in the air AT LAST. I'm not sure how many times per week my body will be able to handle silks, but I do know one thing: I was on the verge of a straddle-up breakthrough before I got hurt, and this basic building block of aerial skill won't aggravate my leg. Thus, I'll commit to 5 GOOD FORM straddle-ups per side every time I go to open gym, and as many as I can fit in when in class (sometimes, depending on the day's tricks, I may not get to 5). Good form may involve bent legs in the first week or two as I get back into things, as long as the développé is tidy. This is all about working towards my year-end straight/straight straddle goal.... and getting me back to aerial with something that ISN'T going to cause me anxiety. PASS: I did 5 per side, FAIL: I am lazy Quest 3: Chase Triple Digits (+2 STR) Did I mention yet that my goals are extremely basic? If I want to get that 100lb bench press before the end of the year, I need to increase my sad, sad bench volume. For the duration of the challenge, bench press twice a week. A: 2 times, B: 1 time Life Quest: Fight the Dry (+2 CHA) Another basic-as-hell challenge! You know how dry it is in Colorado? Hint: very. You know how often I remember to put on lotion, despite that fact? Hint: just north of NEVER. So, from now until the end of the challenge, I'm going to fight dry winter air and resolve to put on lotion after every shower at home. I may not always make it at the gym (sometimes, time before my next meeting is tight) but it's a START. Bonus: remember to put on hand lotion after washing my hands. PASS: I did the thing, FAIL: I decided to be a crocodile Boring? Maybe. But I'll try to liven it up with cat memes and my usual brand of ridiculousness. Ready, set, let's go be...

For this challenge I'm going to take on something that I find very difficult: Being gentle but disciplined, rather than swinging madly between extremes of bravada and exhaustion. I have a nasty tendency to push too hard, particularly physically, then go *splat* for a few days and feel guilty for not doing anything. It's obviously not the best way to do things, so I'm going to try something different. Main quest: Get into the habit of doing simple, low-stress and knees-safe fitness with yoga, Pilates, isometric exercise and whatever else is appropriate, with particular emphasis on building strength in the thigh muscles. The goal is to stabilize the knees and reduce pain rather than increasing it, by using slow, conscious and careful movement. (++STR, +CON, +STA) Subquest #1: Weight reduction. I'm aiming for the lower half of the 170s this time, and I also want to add more fiber to my diet, reduce the amount of diet soda I drink, and cut back somewhat on meat. I also want to be more selective in terms of restaurant food, going for independents rather than national chains. (+CON, +CHR) Subquest #2: Offload as much stress as I can by doing one small thing every day to clear up old projects. To this end I'm going to make up a master to-do list of Things That Bug Me and cross things off one by one. I'm also going to get back into regular meditation, and wind back my bedtime bit by bit to improve my sleep habits. (+WIS, +CON) Life Quest: Memorize "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi. I love, love, love this piano piece, and with the holidays (and A Charlie Brown Christmas) coming up fast, I want to finish learning the improv solo in the middle and polish the rest of it so that I can sit down at a piano anywhere, anytime and just play it from memory. (+WIS, ++DEX, +CHR) Now, about that to-do list... (wanders off to find a sheet of paper)

Introduction: Day 0 There's nothing out here but a wasteland of misery and destruction- and a shit-tonne of dust. I am weak, and ill-prepared. If I am to survive, I will need to find shelter- recover my health, and build my strength. I shield my bleary eyes and look up to where the sun lays, giant and aggressive at the crest of a cliff, it's unending shower of painful rays strangling out the last shreds of moisture from the choking landscape. I gaze so long I begin to see dots- dark smudges against the backdrop of fierce, fiery orange. Strangely still for a trick of the eyes. that is when I notice it is not a trick of my vision at all, but an actual, physical object. A shack, standing strong in the nothingness that surrounds it. It is ramshackle, it will surely need a great many repairs to fortify it, but it is there, and it is real. Shelter at last. Ashtree's 6 Week Challenge! My name is Tree, and this is my first 6 Week Challenge, and my theme is Post-Apocalyptic Shelter Repair! i.e- I'm gonna clean my garage and turn it into a dance studio/gym! My long-term goals are fitness and recreation based- in my youth I was a member of a scout-like club called "Pathfinders" and I did so much outdoorsy-fitnessy-healthy stuff, but I have since gone way off the rail. The past 10 years have been a struggle of fighting mental illness and fixing myself emotionally- now that I have it under control (not cured, but controlled) I want to rebuild myself into a greater version of who I was before. Nerd Fitness is how I hope to attain that! So, without further adieu, my 6 Week Challenge Goals: Main Goal 1: Clean the garage, turn it into a great studio for fitness. A good survivalist has priorities: Shelter is one of the highest. This is something I HAD to do anyway (the cleaning part) so why not make it a goal, amirite? To achieve this, I need to do the following things: Sort and organise camping equipment.Find containers or storage for gardening stuff- especially the fuel.Sweep the entire garage.Debug. Despider (move them outside nicely)Purchase and lay-down foam flooring.Purchase and set up new "studio mirror" (it's an old dresser with a giant mirror...)Set up curtain dividing storage space from studio space.Attach power source (no power at the moment)Purchase and set up punching bag and frame.Set up lighting. This goal will be graded based on how many of the items I complete- 10% per item. Main Goal 2: Swimming, at least Once a Week! A good survivalist makes use of accessible resources! Both of my housemates go to aqua-aerobics, and also just plain old swimming, twice a week. I'm not in the financial-space to pay for sessions, but there's no reason I can't go to the pool with them and just swim. I also live near beautiful beaches, with ocean baths- that are free. It's hitting summer here, so I should really make use of those. Grading wise, I'll assign 10% to each session, which means I *won't* be able to make 100% just by attending. The extra points can only be made by swimming laps while there (I tend to just...float and splash). 5% per lap. Main Goal 3: See Doctor, Create Weightloss Plan: A good survivalist takes care of their health: I am a fats. I have always been a fats. What I have not always been is unfit. As a child, I was involved in everything- camping, hiking, sports, orienteering, canoeing, band camp- if it was an optional activity on a sign-up sheet, I was there. Since mental illness took over in my late teens, I have neglected myself in a big way. I am no longer able to hike 25km in 2 days with a 15kg pack like I could when I was a teenager. That was something I loved doing and something I miss greatly- as you can see in my "goal bars" below, I want to- however long it takes- get back into the rough scrambler mode I once was, and hike a cumulative 100km with a pack. To get there, I need to get myself in shape- my pack belt doesn't even clip around my waist anymore. I don't know how much I weigh but it's more than conventional scales can display, so my only step for this goal so far is to see a doctor about my weight, make some plans, find out what I actually weigh and go from there. 100% just for seeing the doc on this one, because I have been putting it off a long long time. And now- just for fun- Side-goal: Just be a little bit tidier in general, geez Tree... A good survivalist is neat, tidy- with a solid working knowledge of their inventory. This one is easy- over the next few weeks of this challenge, I just need to progressively tidy up, get rid of stuff I don't need and organise what I do need. I'm about to start a course online, so I need to make sure my work-space is workable. I have to share that room with my housemates, and it's also where I feed my cat- so it *really* needs to be organised. As well as my room. And the bathroom- the sinks have standing water in them that need to be fixed too- I basically need to make this a livable environment. Grading? 50% for initial clean of whole house next week, 5% per "upkeep" job thereafter. I think that's everything covered now- WOO! LET THE APOCALYPSE BEGIN! -Tree

Guys, I'm super-excited for this challenge, it's going to be the best one yet--I can feel it. Hopefully I won't look back on this and #irony, so here we go~! So much to do, so much to build on, and a few new things to boot. That's the name of the game, here. I will be straight-up repeating a few things from last challenge, tweaking some a bit, and adding brand new requirements this time around. It should be fairly straightforward and not too overwhelming, but we shall see, yes? Makoto (STR+2) Iron mind, iron will. It helps to have a full cybernetic body, doesn't it? Well, I don't. That said, it doesn't mean the Major can't serve as my inspiration for this challenge! We can always aspire to mimic her skills...one day... The Mission: Greater Strength is a Major Tactical Advantage. Get some. Lifting - Squats and Texas Method (or TM) progression Walking - as often as possible Chin-ups - 7/wk - follow the below progression Week 1 - 3x3 Week 2 - 1x4 Week 3 - 2x4 Week 4 - 3x4 Week 5 - 1x5 Week 6 - 2x5 The grading: Chins - 7=A, 6=B, 5=C, 4=D, <4 = F Batou (CON+4, WIS+1) If Batou knows anything, the right fuel changes everything. Even if the machine kids complain about it. Well, no whining here--we're gonna do it by the book so we can help Makoto and Togusa kick ass without casualties! The Mission: Moderate the dietary surplus I've been under for a while now to maintain present weight with limited assistance from certain food groups. Maintenance @ 112 - 7/wk - Maintain 2400 calories/day with acceptable deviation amounting to 2150-2650/day. If I see my weight trending up or down...I'll have to adjust my target accordingly. The point is to hit the target. Limited milk - 7/wk - Hold milk consumption to 1.5 cups on weekdays and 3 cups on weekends Limited junk - 4/wk - I am allowing myself 4 snacks a week. Less calories from sugar is better. Updated specs - 1/wk - present up-to-date measurements once weekly, preferably Sunday The grading: Maintenance, milk - 7=A, 6=B, 5=C, 4=D, <4 = F Junk - 0-4 = A, 5 = B, <5 = F Updated specs - Pass/Fail Togusa (DEX+3, CON+1) Ah, a guy with whom I can identify--he's got no cybernetic enhancements whatsoever, so taking a bullet means a lot more to him than other members of Section 9. Us flesh-and-blood types need to take care to avoid injuries and other setbacks cause by insufficient self-care. There's going to be a big emphasis on this mission during the challenge. The Mission: It's all about the self-care. You can't perform if you don't have the energy or are knocked out of commission by an aching quad! Foam Roll - 3/wk - Foam or PVC, roll out those tired, sensitive muscles every lifting session at least a bit. I have a roller at home now, so no excuses! Hand care - 2/day - Moisturize to keep dryness, itching, and calluses down - 1/wk - Inspect calluses and fingernails and address as needed Stretches - 2/wk - I don't care if it's at home or at the gym doing a yoga class, two sessions of doing some kind of stretches to ease myself back into this domain Curfew! - 5/wk - It's lights-out at 10:30 Sunday - Thursday night, no curfew in effect for the weekend Max Energy - 5/wk - track hours slept and overall energy for the weekdays only The grading: Foam roll - 3=A, 2=B, <2 = F Hand care - 13-14 = A, 11-12 = B, 9-10 = C, else F Stretches - 2 = A, 1 = B, 0 = F Curfew! - 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2 = C, else F Max Energy - 7=A, 6=B, 5=C, 4=D, else F Saito (CHA+2) The reluctant team player: sniper Saito. His job is to support the other members of Section 9 with his satellite-linked Hawkeye and rifle. I'm going to be using different equipment, but the net effect is similar--I'm in a position to help others who can't help themselves! The Mission: Time to take out the trash! And cat hair. Cat care - 1/wk - I've got four cats, they need to be brushed and their claws clipped regularly. I've just kinda done this whenever, it needs to be habit Junk mail - 1/wk - I've been doing this never. Shred some every week with the goal being no mail left by the end of the challenge. Simple. Take it out. The grading: Pass/Fail Bonus Tachikomas! (WIS+2) Look who just dropped in? Cloaked. With grappling hooks and guns blazing. It's everybody's favorite philosophizing AI-enabled tanks. And who doesn't love a good philosophical tank. This Mission: Read stuff. Report. Read something - 3/wk - Whether it's my own outline or a book, I need to read more. Can't report in detail on my own work, but I'll give a little recap of what I read and if it is a straight novel, I'll hide it under a spoiler. Fair warning, there's a good chance historical texts may feature here. The grading: 3=A, 2 = B, 1 = C, 0=F Measurements & Starting Stats Weight: 111.2 lbs Waist: 24.0" Hips: 33.0" Biceps(L/R): 10.25"/10.25" Forearm(L/R): 9.25"/9.0" Thighs(L/R): 20.5"/20.13" Calves(L/R): 12.125"/12.0"

"we all got our stories but please tell me what there is to complain about when you're happy like a foollet it take you overwhen everything is outyou gotta take it in oh this has gotta be the good life...." MAIN QUEST: Win the House Cup! And don't forget - it's all a game, so have fun with it! I'm certainly guilty of taking myself too seriously sometimes, but lately I've been working on lightening up and living in the moment. Guys, bumps in the road aside, my life is so good, seriously. And so, since my fitness regimen is chugging along like the Hogwarts Express, I decided that this challenge is the perfect time to play a little game with myself. I have a long list of little things I could or should do so... why not all of them? At once? Yeah, maybe it's crazy, but I'm a crazy flying assassin, and anyway, trust me to come up with something that requires a complex spreadsheet. I'm excited, because this way I get to fly, lift, sing, cook, spend time with my wife, laugh with my friends, enjoy the beautiful fall weather, and not worry so much about keeping my goals up while I live it up at CAMP NERD FITNESS in week 3. How It Works: Each Hogwarts House has been assigned a focus area and a list of 10 goals. Most accomplishments earn me 5 House Points. A few (marked bonus) earn 10 points, and a few (marked negative) subtract 5 points (STUDENTS OUT OF BED! 5 POINTS FROM RAVENCLAW!). Bonuses are balanced by negatives to give each house a roughly equivalent chance at winning. At the end of the challenge, all houses have to have earned a minimum of 200 points (an average of 40 tasks complete, aka ~1 per day) in order for the challenge to be considered a success. In the end, this is all about balancing my life priorities. Every week, the trailing house will be given an extra bonus challenge (worth 20 points!) to encourage me to give attention to the part of my life I've been neglecting. There are no limits to the number of times per day/week/challenge I can cash in on the same accomplishment. If I get 3 PRs in one day, for example, that's super! Stat points will be awarded based on which House wins the Cup! Ambition (and Fitness) - STR, DEX, STA Slytherin is all about ambition, and I don't lack that... I want to be better, stronger, and more graceful than the me of yesterday. Slytherin can earn points in the following ways: Doing straight leg straddle drills Backbend practice Splits practice Achieving a barbell PR Doing a set of pull-ups or chin-ups at home Taking a dance class Doing some yoga Taking a bike ride Going for a walk outside Trying a new workout Loyalty (and Self-Care... and FOOD) - CON, CHA Hufflepuffs are kind and diligent, and I need to be kinder to myself and more diligent about caring for myself instead of always pushing for the next accomplishment. Also, Hufflepuff common room is right by the kitchen, and let's be honest.... every other House is jealous. Hufflepuff can earn points in the following ways: Trying a new recipe Eating >100g of protein in a given day Getting to bed by 10:30pm Giving myself a facial Giving myself a pedicure (or treating myself to one at the nail salon) Having a quiet night in Getting up a wee bit earlier and taking a bit of time in the morning for tea and reflection Anything that keeps the romance alive in my marriage BONUS: Batch cooking for more than two meals NEGATIVE: Getting to bed after 11:30pm (Camp and non-work weekends exempt) Wisdom (and Adulting) - WIS, CHA If ever there was a House that exemplified rational thought and adulting, it would certainly be Ravenclaw. In case you weren't aware, this is my favorite House - and I am told by my friends that I am a boss at adulting. Still, there are a few things I could benefit from improving. Ravenclaw can earn points in the following ways: Buying a holiday gift in advance Dressing up for work Doing something with my hair that isn't a ponytail or bun Warming up before rehearsal/performance or working on my music in general BONUS: Spending <$150 on weekly groceries BONUS: Doing some yard work BONUS: Putting $50 into savings NEGATIVE: Buying >2 snack items when food shopping NEGATIVE: Buying clothes or shoes NEGATIVE: Going out to eat (work-related outings and travel days exempt) Adventure (and Fun) - CHA No one parties like a Gryffindor, and I could probably do with being a bit more like the Lions in this. Having fun is important, too! Gryffindor can earn points in the following ways: Spending face-to-face time with a friend Skyping with a friend or relative Hosting an event at home Doing anything that furthers my plans for AWESOME HALLOWEEN DECOR this year (crafting, decorating, etc) Going on an outing with stillskies that ISN'T just shopping for necessities Engaging in some collab gaming (video or board or card - it all goes!) Reading a book for >1 hour Reading in Russian or French (non-book media are fine) Working on a puzzle Posting a picture or video to my thread Which House will emerge triumphant at the end of term? Taking bets now~! (I'm thinking Slytherin has an unfair advantage, here, but who knows?) Measurements: Neck: 12.8" Waist: 26" Hips: 36" Shoulders: 40.5" Thigh: R: 20.7" L: 20" Calf: R: 14.7" L: 14.4" Bicep: R: 10.7" L: 10.5" Weight: 133.8 BF%: 19.47% Dress/pants size: 0/2

Summer… For most people I know, it means sunshine, swimming or relaxing by the pool, trips to the beach and family vacations now that the kids are on break. For the Hobbit and I, it means the busy season for his team building business. The Hobbit’s business is going through a growth phase this year, and we are working on hiring and outsourcing to lessen the load and stress on the two of us, but there is a lot of work to do to make that happen. In the meantime, I also am back at teaching one childbirth class a month, and just launched my healthy pregnancy blog to start helping women have more comfortable pregnancies, better births, and healthier babies (and hopefully eventually sell my books and such). Also, my kids are a rising sophomore and rising junior in high school, so I want to start really focusing on the life skills they will need in a couple of years when they graduate. Because of all of this, I want to keep things simple to make it easier to maintain habits, make progress, be successful, and post updates. Goal 1: Stay Active Do some kind of activity at least 6 days a week. I hope to do at least 2 BWW and 2 aerobic workouts, but whatever I do is good and will count. I will be driving Fourteen to cross country practice 4 days a week, so hopefully some of my workouts can happen then. Goal 2: Come Out of My Shell I have spent far too many years trying to hide myself from the world, out of concern that I would be rejected. I am now feeling better about who I am, but I still have to get out there and build some community and create the habit of being more social. Working from home and not being a church-goer means that I have to put effort into social contact in order for it to happen. At least 6 days a week, do either 2 small things or 1 big thing that is social or being authentic. Here is a list of some possible activities, but I reserve the right to some up with additional ones, too. Small Social/Authentic Activities (do 2) Post a positive, personal thing on social media Spend 5 minutes hanging out with the kids Leave a positive note for someone Encourage someone on social media or NF Give a real hug Give a 1-minute massage Text a friend or relative Big Social/Authentic Activities (do 1 instead of small things) Call a friend and talk Visit a friend Spend > 20 min connecting with the Hobbit or one of the kids Have the kids help me with a project or housework (only if in the same room & interacting) Play a family game Go to a social meeting Goal 3: Keep Nurturing Myself Every day, do something that takes care of me. Hopefully, I will do more than one thing on most days, but I need to do something every day for my sanity. J Options include mediation, taking a bath, reading for fun, practicing gratitude & positive questions, self-parenting, taking a riding lesson, etc. This can NOT count for another category, too, unless it is a long activity (for example, it is ok to count visiting a friend for 2 ½ hours as both social and self-care). So that’s it! It seems like such a simple challenge to me, but that is the point. I hope you will join me for the ride!

So the rock has gotten moving and is planning next steps....placeholder Brainstorming some ideas for goals: - Sleep more (bed before a certain time) - A daily exercise goal - A stretching goal - A housekeeping goal (i'm very bad with the organizing) - Self-care goal - Cooking/Food goal - Meditation goal That seems like a lot to undertake at one time.

Liberator Living in the Now! Challenge #9 I struggled with writing this challenge and it is still not flushed out. I am not sure what I want this to be or what direction I want to go. I miss having a place to write my gratitude statements. The gratitude statements are my grounding activity and my mental adjustment and life perspective. This is a mental & spirit fitness challenge inspired by the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. For me things need to start from the inside and the outside will reflect the interior; actions follow thoughts. The body follows the mind, the mind follows the spirit! Strengthen the spirit and the mind and body will be strengthen! Things to Stop Doing: Stop Worrying, it is a waste of time! Stop sarcasm! It is not nice! I started a sarcasm jar last challenge at work and at home. Now family and students let me now anytime I am being sarcastic. I am a work in progress with this! Do not give advice, do not share your opinion, do not bother with gossip. Mind your own business! I have enough to do with my own life! (I just realized I do this here on NF as well, I want to encourage others but be sure to not cross the line to giving unsolicited advice.) Drop judgment. I use judgment to feel superior to others. Not nice! No complaints! Another waste of time! I want to stop listening and validating others complains as well, in a kind way. Stop comparisons Things to do more often: Smile Be kind especially to myself! Think good thoughts of others See the potential in others Allow yourself to feel the emotion of the moment: accept it, feel it Be aware of body and breath, yoga helps with this. Do things as you think of them Clear away clutter; clear away the past! Avoid piling things up for a later date! Clearing my mental clutter, thoughts that don't serve me, like thinking I am unorganized or messy or lazy... That reinforces the behavior and internalizes it as though it were a fixed state of being. Creativity Creating art I tap into the moment and when things are going well I have a greater awareness of the now and actively responding to the moment. I have taught art for nearly 20 years and value the inner development of students more than skill development. Learning to get out of the way and tap into the creative spirit, the flow state is the most rewarding part of art. Writing this points me to three things to focus on Yoga Meditation Art/creativity My motivation: living a connected, positive, creative life

My time with the Druids refocused me. The biggest threat to my health last year was not weight or inactivity. I was wounded by the combination of depression, anxiety, and stress. During 2014, I learned resilience despite these wounds. Sleep, clean eating, movement, and simple habits formed new foundations. My journey, however, will be about more than my own health as I strive to love others well. Currently, I am an assassin apprentice. I cannot succeed if I rely solely on instinct, experience, and emotion. Far too often, my pride and stubbornness make me deaf to the wisdom around me, but I will learn to listen carefully. So, I don the black anew and vow to pursue my new quest to listen faithfully. Join me, rebels! Main Quest - Listen January will shift into a crazy work schedule (working 30 hours every fourth day, only 4 days off all month, etc). This is hopefully the last time that I will ever have to work like this. Given the extreme limits on my time and energy, this is a crucial time to strengthen the foundation I built last year. I am making self-care and rest a priority, so that I can begin to listen better to my body and those around me with more wisdom. I will meet these goals consistently and build my new lifestyle around them. This January, I will not succumb to drastic resolutions. After all, "let's not be hasty." 1) Sleep - I turn off screens and prepare for bed at 9pm - bed routine, read, dark room, >7 hours, good naps 2) Eat - I eat two meals per day mindfully and log everything I consume on NF - no screens, no work, no reading, sit down, give thanks, enjoy 3) Move - I move for at least five minutes daily - sun salutation, PT exercises, walk, dance, yoga, BWW Life quest - Listen - I am a woman who actively listens - prayer, silence, mindful conversation, self-reflection, instruction, Bible study Bonus quest - Self-care - I am somebody that cares for myself daily - Mindfulness, Affirmation, Creation, Studying, Decluttering NF keeps me focused in the midst of possible chaos, so I will reward myself for sticking to these goals and logging consistently! - $5 per core/life goal that I achieve and document at least 6 days per week - roll once per day that I complete and log at least 3 self care activities Roll Rewards 1) yoga block 2) zombies run 3) natural calm 4) iPad game 5) read 30 minutes 6) $5 in reward fund 7) new playlist 8) bubble bath 9) new tea 10) browse books Here we go!

My primary quest for this challenge is simple: Exercise daily for 6 weeks without injuring myself. I have a tendency to get carried away with goal-setting, refusing to back down once I've declared a target, so this time I'm not going to set any quantitative objective other than "do something towards the quest every day." The exercise could be yoga, t'ai chi, Pilates, aerobics, or low-intensity weight training, as long as it can be done without causing undue distress to joints and muscles. (+WIS, +STA, +CON, perhaps +STR depending on what exercises I opt for) Sub-quest #1: Sign up for beginners' Pilates class and learn the basics. (+STR, +DEX, +STA) Sub-quest #2: Establish a daily meditation practice. (+WIS) Side quest: Read! I have a number of partially-read books occupying prime real estate on my desk, including A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine, a book about Stoicism. The contents would do a lot more good in my brain, so I'm going to strive to read every day. I was about to quantify the amount of reading, but caught myself just in time. (+WIS)

I've been depressed for the last month. It's been getting a little better, but I'm still having a lot of trouble taking care of myself. I'm doing ok at keeping going to the gym (usually twice a week), so that's not really on the goal list. I have some vague goals there, but mostly just maintenance and slow, steady improvements at this point. Good news is my hip is a lot better as long as I make the gym regularly. So all my goals are self-care oriented right now. Goal 1: Skin care I've been having a lot of eczema breaking out lately. It itches like crazy, then I scratch, then it gets worse. I have a prescription cream (which I cleverly refilled last week in prep for this challenge). My skin improves if I use the prescription every day, so that's my goal. Goal 2: Teeth care I should be using fluoride regularly and I don't (otherwise I take pretty good care of my teeth). I don't fluoride because it drives me super crazy for a lot of reasons, but I want to try. So use some form of fluoride daily (I have 2 or 3 lying around the house - some of them because of my partner and some because I kept trying to buy new fluorides to try to find one I can stand). So daily fluoride is the goal. Goal 3: Mental health I don't have a specific and reliable self care routine, and can't come up with a specific thing I can seriously do every day. So my daily care is to choose one of the following: clean up, poetry, or visual art. Pretty much anything else I can think of that falls into the "treating myself well" that is specific can be substituted, as long as I do something every day. Cleaning up doesn't have to take very long or involve anything big. In fact, smaller is better. I have a section of my bedroom that really needs to be fixed up, which makes a great target. The one requirement for "cleaning up" to be successful is that I MUST throw something away. That tends to be the hardest part, and I have a lot of junk and pseudo-junk because of it.Poetry can involve writing poetry (not something I usually do, but sounds fun), reading poetry (just downloaded a bunch of free books and samples of interesting looking stuff to my kindle in prep for this), memorizing poetry (cuz that sounds interesting and kind of fun, if I can find any poems I like). Poetry came up a few times looking up daily self care and mindfulness types of things, and is something specific I can actually do.Visual art can be pretty much anything: drawing, painting, sculpting, papercraft. I've dabbled in all of them and have supplies for pretty much everything (or can easily get them). I only do those kinds of things for fun, but that's kind of the reason this is on the list. Side Goal: Writing This doesn't fall into self care because my long term specific goal is to write a novel. It's more of a work-like hobby than a relaxing thing. I haven't been writing much at all since I got depressed, and only just started reading for fun again in the last week. Because it's so hard when I'm feeling depressed, I'm not measuring this. I just want to try to make space to write every single day: pen and notebook out, even if I don't get a single word down.