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*record scratch* *freeze frame* Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here. I’m TiogaGirl and I’m here because I dig the warm and fun and supportive environment, not to mention the structure of challenges! I’ve started more challenges than I’ve completed, but when I do stick with it I end up feeling good and making some progress. I have a job I love (that can get pretty all-consuming and stressful, so it sometimes drives me crazy), great husband and kids, and an alarming number of pets ... 2 big dogs, a cat and 4 birds. I am also a shameless fan of musical theatre and one of my biggest accomplishments in 2019 was to audition for a show choir — turns out to be a LOT of work, although absolutely fun as well. Steve’s “wake up excited / go to bed proud” language has always really resonated with me, and I have a pretty good idea of how I want to feel at the end of each day of this challenge. Muscles pleasantly tired, body feeling good about the day’s food intake, brain feeling smug about the day’s accomplishments, emotionally topped-up from having laughed with and connected with the people I love, and looking forward to what the next day has to offer. Goals: Track food in MFP for 18 full days (the other 3 days can be partials, ie losing track in the evenings at social events) Hit an average caloric deficit in the 250-500 range each week Finish 219 workouts in 2019 challenge (I have 20 more to go, so pretty much daily workouts on the horizon, but these can be as quick as a darebee session — just something intentional BEYOND walking to work which I do on the reg anyway) 8 yoga classes — more is great, but 8 works out to almost 3/week, which will help keep me strong and bendy and stretchy and zen Prep turkey meatballs so I have high protein snacks on hand Look into physio and book a first appointment (knee injury) No alcohol! Messes with my sleep and my willpower, and the fun I have is not worth the next-day dragginess! Check in here daily, report on the above, and also identify one thing I’m proud about for the day plus something to look forward to Scoring: tba!

Hi I'm Sarah/Nyxkyria and I'm based in NYC. I've been familiar with Nerd Fitness since about 2008/9 when it started, but never really got into the boards or anything. Medical issues, drinking too much, and general laziness have led to me putting on way more weight than I'd like. I hate the way I look in the mirror and none of my clothes fit. I have struggled with ED behaviours in the past, so any sort of exercising and "restricting" makes me nervous that I won't be able to do it without getting into a bad head space. As far as nerd interests: Game of Thrones/ASOIAF -- Sansan 5ever! HP since 1997 (I'm having a crappy day and just watched Potter Puppet Pals and I feel a bit better), and Buffy helped me realize that I wasn't a weirdo! (Thanks Willow!) I play more WoW and Civ5 than one person should. I tend to role Mages - usually Undead, but I play around. My main quest for this six weeks, is going to be to get sober(ish). I know that me attempting to go completely cold turkey will end in failure, so I'm looking to manage my drinking. I also hope to lose a few pounds in the process, but if not, no biggie. My 3 SMART quests are: not to go to the bar next to my house (I don't have an off button there), decrease drinking one night a week until I am not drinking at all, and decrease the amount by 15%-20% each week. So instead of drinking every night, then I'll only drink 6 nights a week and when I do, it won't be the whole container/bottle, only 3/4 until I'm not drinking anymore. As this is one of the cruxes* of my issues, tackling this first can only lead to better things. On to DeathKnell! *Miriam/Webster says that cruxes/cruces are both correct forms.

Sovellis cast his eyes around at the destruction surrounding him. The murky, disease ridden flood waters had begun to recede, revealing the true cost of the disaster. Amid the battered and broken buildings, bodies emerged. Young, old, mothers, fathers, children, their skin darkened and mottled from injury and rot. The stench was overwhelming. Somewhere in the distance a fire raged, sending thick clouds of acrid smoke wafting through the remains of the town. He looked around in horror. This was his fault. He didn't know how he knew this, but he knew it to be true. It was him. Him and the shit choices he made. All had led to this loss. He couldn't breathe. His lungs burned. He began to panic. There was no fixing this, and it was all his fault... He fell unelegantly out of bed, waking in time to see the floor rapidly approaching his face. Instead of his usual slew of obscenities, he frantically scrambled to his feet, kicking a couple empty bottles across the floor, searching the darkness for the destruction that had surrounded him just moments before. In its place, all he saw was the familiar confines of his usual room at the inn. Shaking his head angrily, he tried to catch his breath. His bed clothes were soaked through and clammy with sweat and it looked like someone had tried to tie the blankets into a pretzel. "Just a dream. Another goddamn dream," he breathed to himself quietly. Prone to unpleasant dreams for as long as he could remember, their frequency and vividness had taken a decidedly ambitious step up in intensity as of late. He used to be able to block them out by drinking, but now they were breaking through even the deepest stupors. Just as he was starting to orient himself to reality again, there was a knock at the door. Grumbling, he stumbled through the dark to answer the summons. Opening the door unsurprisingly revealed the innkeeper, who looked as unhappy to be making this call as he was to receive it. "My lord, you know how I appreciate the aid you've offered this town, but there have been three complaints tonight alone of shouting coming from this room. I owe you as much gratitude as any, but I am running a business here, and people are starting to check out early. You understand," she explained as politely as she could, seeing the state he was in. Sovellis nodded tiredly and wiped his hand over his face. "I understand. I can head out tomorrow. Thank you for being so patient with me. Sorry for being such a problem." "Oh no problem at all, sir, and thank you for understanding." She turned to leave, then paused. "If you don't mind me saying so, my lord, I would ask you to take care of yourself and dispel whatever evil it is that haunts you so. You deserve to be happy, or at least content." She looked nervous, but breathed a sigh of relief when he offered her a nod and a smile of appreciation. Shutting the door he turned back to the mess of his bed. He needed rest but feared what awaited him in the realm of dreams. Each of his nightmares seemed to center around his fears of the slowly aggregating consequences of his innumerable and consistently poor choices. Just like so many times before, he knew something needed to change. Reluctantly he climbed back into the unpleasantly damp bed to try and sleep. "Ugh, I wish you were here, Ishu. You wouldn't stand for me making foolish choices, you never did. Why didn't I listen to you back then?" Closing his eyes, he clutched the pillow tightly, an anchor to the reality where it wasn't too late, where he could still change his fate by making better choices. Or at least that's what he hoped. <------<<< So I decided to join the druids this time around. Ultimately, I would like to stay a ranger, because I love running and weight lifting and doing warrior dash and all that stuff. The reality is that I need to take care of some seriously more fundamental health and self care issues first. I am in the final stages of earning my doctorate in clinical psychology, which means applying for internship and working on my dissertation. This is intensely stressful and I have not been coping well. I need to find a better balance, learn to be okay being alone, and figure out how to consistently make good choices about self care. Specifically, I am going to focus on reducing my alcohol intake. Again. I tried this last challenge, but I think the structure I tried didn't work well for me, so I'm going to try something a little different this time. Goal 1: Do one academic thing each day. Goal 2: Do one fitness thing each day (lifting, yoga, running, archery, even taking a long walk, anything really other than sitting on the couch will count for this). Goal 3: Do one healthy self care thing each day (shower, read, meditate, play a game, going to be exploring options for this to see what works for me). Goal 4: Alcohol reduction. Each day where I do not drink at all, I get to bank 2 drinks for later, which I can cash in at any time. This means that after one dry day, I have 2 drinks available. After 2 days it would be 4, and so on. I cannot earn any drinks without having at least one dry day. If I manage to stick to this, it will significantly reduce my weekly consumption. I think it stands a better chance of working because it is a reward system that leaves the power of choice in my hands, so I don't feel like I'm being deprived or punished.

"Sov, I think I am going about this all wrong. I have researched all I could and thought myself in spirals, but nothing is happening." She stood shifting from foot to foot, staring down at the table covered in crooked stacks of foolscap, dusty books, pinned scrolls, and spell paraphernalia. "I need to be *doing* things. I have come farthest with this curse when circumstances have pushed me into adventures." She smiled remembering olden days when circumstances were often named Sovellis. "Huh, I suppose that makes sense," he agreed, picking his head up off the table and rubbing his face. "So what do we do? Become sell swords and take a job or something? Or I suppose I could go insult a king and you could try to rescue me again, but that didn't work out so well last time." His lips twisted into a tired smirk. "Sweet gods, please no royalty! I was thinking more about taking a journey up into the fey wilds and seeing what we can find. Its possible some of the lines of the riddle are referring to places after all." His brows arched sharply at her words. "The fey wilds? Wait wait wait, so royalty is out, but fey are a-okay? Have you lost your mind? Besides, there's no good taverns in the fey wilds." He had managed to finish the wine he had brought back to the hut rather more quickly than he planned, and the thought of not being able to replenish his stock was unpleasant to say the least. "I can hardly go to a tavern as I am anyhow." She cocked an eyebrow and motioned to her giant proportions. "besides, you can easily do without wine- you can prestidigitate your water if you miss it. Wine and trails do not mix unless you are a construct like Flotsam. No one needs to walk for hours with a hangover." "Prestidigitation only flavors the water," he grumbled, but she had a point. "As to the rest..." She crossed the cabin to the wall where the words of her curse were etched. "I don't know how to master fey magic. The only way I know to break through this is to go to a place where the fey are and ask them. Besides, you never know what we might find up in those mountains!" She grinned at him, the light of avarice shining in her eyes. "Heh, yeah, or what might try to eat us." Despite arguing, he smiled, happy to see that spark in his friend's eye. "So you plan to find a fey something, walk up to it, and just ask it? I'll admit that approach has worked for us before, but not with fey." "Well there was that Eagle that time, but no, I was thinking more that we would search for some of the things mentioned in the riddle Halfling's pride, Balefire, the rooftop Feydance, all of these seem to refer to acts I have to do or people I have to best. "Rooftop feydance sounds fun. Baelfire not so much." The thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, I would still prefer to have access to taverns, but might do me some good. When do you want to take off?" "I want to be in the highlands by the end of the ride. As you can see, we are mostly provisioned already." She motioned to shelves in the cooking alcove now filled with the trail bars and jerkey made from all Noor's hunting. "You've been busy, that's for sure," he nodded, looking at the shelves full of trail foods. "And we have the supplies I brought, what's left of them anyway, so we have healing potions and things, and my quiver is full. I guess we should get packed." <------<<< Time for the next chapter in the Sovellis Saga! This challenge my goals are very similar to the last. 1. Do something school related every day, even if it's just a tiny thing. 2. Do something physical fitness related every day, even if it's just a tiny thing. 3. Do something adultish every day, be it chores, bills, making a phone call, whatever. 4. Do something related to spirituality every day. But this time around, all of these are going to play second fiddle to this last point: 5. No alcohol. None. For 6 weeks. I've done this sort of thing before, if not for this length of time, and I think it's time to do it again. Complete sobriety is not my ultimate goal, but going dry periodically seems to help me keep better control over my drinking habits, which have been slipping as of late. Not looking forward to the ups and downs I know are coming, but it'll be alright. I'll be alright. Between this and it finally starting to cool off, maybe I'll finally be able to make it back to the range or go slack lining again!

Sovellis woke with a splitting headache. He felt woozy and disoriented. Looking around, he saw he was back in Noor's stone shack. How had he gotten there? Wasn't he just at the ruins of that tower? Despite feeling awful, at least he could feel that the fae beast's hold on him had been broken. Noor calmly chopped vegetables, layering them over chunks of rabbit meat to start a stew. She ached all over and her mind felt crisped, but it was over for now. The tower was free of beasts and she could finish her research and collapse it's haunted hall. Sovellis was freed for now. "What the hell happened...?" he croaked, his voice hoarse from disuse. How long had he been out? "You were almost taken by a faebeast in that blasted tower. Do you remember anything? Did you accidentally talk to it?" Noor crossed to him and handed him one ofher heavy mugs filled with strong smelling tea Taking the mug, he tried to remember. "Ishu, I talked to Ishu." He shook his head. "But that makes no sense, Ishu couldn't be there. I had to get out, but I couldn't." His memories were a confusing mess, and didn't seem to flit together cohesively. "AH. it stole an image from your mind and tricked you into speaking to it. There was too much magic in that place to be safe." She shuddered, glad that the creature was gone. He stared down into the steaming mug, slumping. "I'm sorry, I should have been stronger. I'm not being any help at all. Just putting both of us in greater danger." She placed one large gnarled hand on his shoulder. "Stop. You know how dangerous fae can be. That's why I waited fro there to be two of us to go back. Had it been just me, it could have taken me I would still be there in its clutches. He looked up at his old friend with a sad smile. "Thanks for saving my life. Again. Heh, my family should have paid you double." She laughed long and hard remembering. "Your family pays plenty well. You should send them a letter after this. Speaking with Ishu for real might do you well." Nodding and fiddling with his signet ring, he sniffed the tea, then took a cautious sip. It was surprisingly good, if rather pungent and strong. "Were you able to find out anything helpful at least?" "Well, I came close to sorting through all the magics and traced the curse to the fae's room. Now that its gone and made a bond to not return, I can go back and finish my work. One thing I do know is that this curse can not be dispelled and has to be survived or bested." "A curse that can't be dispelled? I didn't know such a thing could be done. Damned fae. Sounds like you are doing a pretty good job besting it so far!" He still felt a little ashamed for being tricked and captured by the fae, but he tried instead to focus on his friend's success. "So, back to the tower again?" "Yes, soon. First though we need to make you well again. You didn't eat properly for several days, or meditate." That explained why he felt so horrible. "I'll be fine, I should just need a day or so. I don't want to slow you down." "And I could use a day to research and rest before heading back to work. We shall have stew and relax tonight, spend tomorrow regrouping. Then we can see how well you have recovered and if the fae keeps its word." At the mention of stew, his stomach growled. Nodding, his smile grew as a spark of hope returned to him. "Good plan, especially the stew part!" "I had good hunting today. A brace of rabbits, a small deer. Hunting w iht a cat is so difernt than with a dog." SHe beamed at the large sleeping cat napping inthe sunlight "Heheh, I bet, a predator that large that can also sneak up on things? Terrifying!" He stretched his stiff limbs, trying to feel closer to normal. This quest had not been kind to him so far, but he had to find a way to move forward. <-------<<< Woo! Another challenge! Last one did not go so well for me. My poor elf succumbed to the pressures he faced, but luckily he had his friend Noor there to defeat the fae beast and drag him to safety. This challenge I am back with the rangers, and will look very different for me, because school stuff is ramping up again. I am going to focus on balance. In therapy I realized there were 5 basic areas that I need to succeed in to be a happy, healthy person. Academia, spirituality, physical fitness, chores (basic adulting), and reducing my drinking. I have shown many times over that I can rock any one of these at a time. The problem is that I need to make them all work at the same time. For this challenge, I must do something productive in each category to be counted successful. Four of five categories accomplished is a successful day. This feels uncomfortable for me, because it will place less emphasis on several things I've been doing awesome at and more emphasis on things I've been avoiding. I am also trying to practice greater patience and empathy for myself, but most of the time I still want to kick myself in the face. We will see how this goes, hopefully it works better than the last challenge! Woooo! *dives in* Also, I am starting my challenge tomorrow and counting two days past the official end of the challenge because I mixed up what day of the week it was. Oops.

Sovellis groaned as he woke up on the hard stone floor of Noor's mountain hut. This wouldn't do. "First thing we need to work on is making a better bed. Stone is not kind to my poor spine," he grumbled, "and I'm guessing we're going to be out here for a while." Stretching the stiffness from his limbs, he got up and looked around. The giant cat was laying on top of Noor, and the dog, Dael, was laying on top of the cat. The sight made him smile. He tried prodding his friend, who appeared to still be asleep. No reaction. So strange, her skin really felt like stone. Sighing, he got dressed and headed out into the cool sunny day. If she was still asleep, he may as well explore a bit and get the lay of the land. <------<<< Okay, so finally getting this post up. I had some family stuff that needed to be taken care of, but now that's out of the way. Still kinda processing stuff, but I think I can finally move forward with the challenge. I've moved over to the assassins because I want to work more on dex based stuff like slacklining. I'm trying to keep going on the habits I've been building in previous challenges, re-trying a failed goal, and adding in some new goals. This challenge will be done partly in conjunction with my friend Noor (her challenge post can be found here: Breaking Stoneshape ) Anyways, here's my goals for this challenge! 1. No Taverns in the Wild Redeux (CON): A = 1 day or less of drinking a week B = 2 days of drinking a week C = 3 days of drinking a week F = more than 3 days 2. Nimble Hunter (DEX): A = 5 days or more a week doing slacklining or archery B = 4 days a week C = 3 days a week 3. Warrior Poet (CHA/INT): Write a limerick a day! A = 38 days B = 32 C = 28 4. Make Ishu Proud (STR/STA): Keep up the strength and cardio training! A = 38 days B = 32 C = 28

Sovellis woke with a blinding headache, cursing the sun, festivals, wine, himself, and pretty much everything else. Now that the festival week was over, he felt he could use a holiday from his holiday. Perhaps he had gotten a little too carried away during the festivities. Heh, well his father was fond of reminding him that he never did anything half way, for good or ill. He should probably get up. Maybe. Eventually. Then there was the decision between throwing up, having breakfast, or both. He began a fresh round of cursing when he heard a sharp tapping sound at his window. What could be making such a racket? Grumbling incoherently he threw the first thing he could reach at the window. The book hit the wall a good ten feet from the window, utterly failing to deter the source of the torturous sound. With a low growl, the elf climbed out of bed, brushing his long black hair from his face. "Whoever you are, you'd better have a damn good reason for waking me!" he threatened, stumbling to the window and throwing it open, only to have a small bird fly in. He started swearing and swatting at it, but crumpled into a ball on the floor, holding his head. What the hell was he doing with his life? He used to fight monsters and start insurrections, now he was defeated by a songbird."Hey there long ears I hope this finds you well," the voice startled him and he jumped. "Noor?!" Trying to get to his feet, he only managed to trip on a pile of papers and fell hard, swearing again. Only then did he realize that it was the bird talking, and not his old friend. "Of course you sent an animal. Always with the animals." The bird continued, "I am in a bit of a bind in the far north mountains above Soar Craig- you know the ones, where Ingy got that lovely curse and then we accidentally fell through a mountain to Intregoss. I took a job guarding a stupid fat merchant up into the old hall and something... fell on us. Killed my battle boar outright. I should really stick to dogs. tehy are somehow more durable. I am the only survivor, but I am... changed. In order to get myself back, I have one doosy of a quest to go on, and I need my sharpshooter and resident bard to figure it all out. Besides, it's not been the same since the Path disbanded. I miss you Sov. Just whisper your answer to the bird and it will fly it to me. blessings of Jensa be upon us both. Solosu as well." Shaking his head, he stared at the bird in disbelief, then leaned forward. "Noor, you crafty little shit, you scared the crap out of me! I'm not sure how much help I can be, but at least my injuries are healed now. I'm on my way. Can't wait to see you again, you curly tailed quarterling!" As the bird flew off to deliver his response, he leaned back against the wall. What good could he be to her? He was useless, nothing like he had been, but he had to try, right? Alright, that settled it, he had to get up and get dressed so he could prepare for his unexpected journey. <------<<< So! This is my first challenge as a ranger, and it's going to be a tough one! I realized a lot of things in my first challenge that are holding me back. It is time to set things right and get myself healthy, both physically and mentally. Main Goal: Feel better about myself. I suffer from anxiety and depression, as well as some serious self image and body issues. I want to learn to see the good in me, and not just my failures or inadequacies. I plan to attack this on multiple fronts. Goal 1: Trail Rations! (CON) I am cutting all the junk out of my diet. No grains, no sugar (except a small bit of honey in my coffee). I plan to be eating pretty much only lean meat and vegetables. On one hand this shouldn't be too hard, since I don't have a sweet tooth or anything, but on the other hand, I do eat a lot of rice and potatoes and I'm a sucker for potato chips. +3 CON 38 or more days +2 CON 28 days or more +1 CON 14 days or more Goal 2: No taverns in the wild (CON) I am going to allow myself only one day each week when I can have any alcohol at all. I need to stop sabotaging myself with my love of beer. +3 CON 6 or less drinking days +2 CON 12 or less +1 CON 15 or less Goal 3: No jungle rot (CHA) Even in the wilds it is important to maintain a basic level of grooming, something I have been struggling with (yay depression!). I have set up a scoring system for basic grooming tasks such as brushing my teeth, shaving, or showering. I will post that separately from this (this post is getting pretty long already). Goal 4: Climbing through the mountains (STR/STA) I will continue my strength training and C25K (indoor bike if weather is uncooperative). +3 STR/STA 38 or more days +2 STR/STA 28 days or days +1 STR/STA 14 points or days(a completed day will constitute cardio plus either weight training or archery) Life Goal: GRADUATE - I am working on getting my doctorate in clinical psychology. All I have left is internship and dissertation, and both of these have been rather epic quests in and of themselves. Here is a link to my friend Noor's challenge thread! http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/63198-noor-stoneshod-journey/#entry1445491

Background: I live in a very active community where fitness is weaved into the average person's day. This community is also very social, and most bars/pubs are kid friendly. ...which means I drink frequently, which means I crave carbs in the morning, which means I don't feel like working out... = weight gain. My goal is to lose 10 lbs by September. My plan over the next 6 weeks is to drink only 1 night per week. At the beginning of each week I will plan which night I can drink I will eat at least 1 protein item every morning for breakfast. ...and we will see where that gets me. Pretty sure I can't lose out by doing this.