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Yeah, yeah. Those of you who've been around a while have seen THAT before LOL. Right along with "and this time I mean it". But, I'm gonna keep laser focusing on that because it truly, truly is that LAST key piece to my fitness struggle. So, my challenge is raising my step count on my fitbit to 5k and hit it 5 days a week. I'd love, love to hit 10k a day at some point. My body is capable of it. It's cooling off and there's no real reason I can't walk twice a day other than weather (rain and avoiding sun rays). Can't do a WHOLE lot about rain, but I have "sun sleeves" and hats - so I need to stop using "I can only walk in the shade" as an excuse - because that's what it is..... an excuse. Enough challenge stuff LOL. In other news, I just made it back (and am recovering) from DragonCon - where I totally averaged > 10k steps a day. Every year we do a little less - getting older SUCKS - but we hit a few panels, saw some old friends and were amazed at everyone's Cosplay. If ya'll are interested in seeing pictures - Search FB Groups for Dragon Con (Official) and Dragon Con (Unofficial). There will be a lot of cross-over as many folks are in both groups - but tons and tons of pictures - some by pros. I think my personal favorite costume was Marvin the Mandalorian - a crossover Marvin the Martian as a Mandolorian character. Brilliantly done (and he was in the "masquerade" where you have to show that you constructed the piece, so yes he designed and did all of the armor himself). Barbie and Ken were EVERYWHERE - and everything you can imagine was Barbiefied - from a Barbie Mandalorians and Storm Troopers to "Hungover DragonCon Barbie". Folks are so brilliantly clever and talented. I've always loved Cosplay but never was good at designing my own stuff. I'm CONSIDERING working with Mom to design a kind of universal wrap dress pattern, then using fabric and fabric paint to design some nerdy nods in dress form which would work as something cool\comfortable for Con and if not too in your face I can wear it outside of Con too. I really, really want a skirt out of the Dr. Who van Gogh pattern.

Yep. I'm still trying to walk. My one goal is drag my sorry a$$ out of bed in the morning and walk. That's it. That's the challenge. We're working to lock down some new stuff with hubby's company so we're busy AF. Business meeting about an event later this year tomorrow and working a takeout for another series of events where their current network vendor has not been doing a good job so we're working our contacts on their next big event and helping some coordination and some other sticks in the fire may catch so fingers crossed 2024 is "the year" to actually get his company off the ground and running.....

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - not an Albert Einstein quote by the way - but you get the gist But still - I'm going to keep plugging away at trying to work walks into my daily routine. I mean: My house is mostly clean - someone could legit stop by and I wouldn't have a heart attack. 10 min warning and I would be fine giving them a complete house tour (minus roommate area in Basement) While I don't have the BEST sleep schedule, it's a LOT better than it was I'm eating more veggies and better in general We're meal planning and sticking to it I just seem to have some sort of "block" about getting off my a$$ and walking and I need to just do it - with or without Nike...... So that's my challenge. Yes, I'd like to pick up\detail clean a few spots in the house (namely my office) but I really, really need to just get out and walk.......

Hi. I'm going to vague post a bit for now, and I apologize, but having thought about what I want I basically have to conclude that I don't really have the time to explain everything in detail. The very short version is that I've spent the past week thinking about what I want for this challenge and concluding that I've got a lot of interconnected problems that may require some relatively drastic solutions. I'm tempted toward drastic changes now for the first time in a long time, not because my life is particularly bad right now but because I feel a pretty profound sense of disconnect between where I am now and where I want to be in terms of my health and personal development. The good news is, moving on from my situation doesn't really require any sudden dramatic shifts. Slow and steady and consistent change suits my temperament better, and I can get after it. Having got the heavy movement (my strength and conditioning) dialed in for the most part, it's time for me to turn to two other kinds of movement: daily movement, or Mobility, and martial arts, or Play. These will be my goals for this challenge. Goal 1: Mobility I don't like how sedentary I've become. It's bad for my waistline and for my mind, and I need to set a boundary for myself here to get up and move. The standard of 7,500 steps is a little too drastic right now for me to take, not because that much walking is hard but because that much walking is long. There is one way to get that many steps a day though in a relatively short amount of time: the Dreaded Running. Which I'm not convinced is a good short term idea to just jump into, but I think in the long run would actually be very beneficial for me. That's probably more Epic Goal than anything, but the first step (hah!) toward that is carving time out of my day to get away from the job and move. So, goal is to get a half hour every day of walking. That's it. Goal 2: Play You ever have friends who were your enemies? I'm kind of there now. I have a lot of wonderful friends whom I love very much and whose lives I want very much to be a part of, but they're getting in the way of my mat time and so I'm becoming less and less the person I want to be in order to be more and more the person I think they want. There is a solution to this, and it's one I've been holding off on because I don't think I'm worthy of it, but avoiding it isn't making me more worthy of it, so I'm just going to have to do it, and that's this: I need to make a point of doing noontime classes for martial arts whenever I can. The one day I've been doing it consistently, it's been good for me because I get to honor both my obligations to myself and to others. I need to do that more. Along with that, Goal 3: Study Dedicated study of what I learn. Detailed notes on the things I'm taught so that I can keep engaging with what I'm learning and internalize it better. And... yeah. That's that for now.

Yeah, I suck at titles, but with Imbolc officially behind us, I am very much looking forward to spring slowly getting underway! Anyway, this is not a hugely exciting challenge for me - mostly just keeping up momentum, honestly - but it is an important one. A few of the big things happening during this period: 1. my first and second grad school essays and exams (out of three of each, so a good chunk of my first grade is in these next six weeks!) 2. hopefully 🤞🤞 my first attempt an IVF transfer 3. my first Foreign Language Leadership meeting 4. the birth of my nephew (due Feb. 28) which will stir up some strong emotions, mostly due to point #2 5. presentation to district admin to begin laying groundwork to offer Seal of Biliteracy testing/honors So let's get to it: Quest One: Movement This is very prone to change depending on how the IVF stuff goes, but right now my goals are: 1) Get my 2023 walking/running total to 78 miles or more. Current total: 33.3 miles 1a) run at least a mile. Total. I can run probably two miles in one go if absolutely necessary, but it's uncomfy as hell. My hope is to start slow, even if that's just a 1/4 mile at a time. 2) do at least two yoga workouts 😂 Progressing from my singular one last challenge! Quest Two: Nutrition I did surprisingly well here last challenge, and also my Diet Coke addition feels pretty darn broken, so it's time to add: 1) eat at least one produce-y thing at least every other day. That sounds dumb and basic as hell, but I default to protein + rice + sauce a LOT. Like last night's dinner was pork and ginger meatballs with sticky rice and cilantro sauce, for example. Or, if I'm stressed/busy, it's just quick and easy carbs. Fruits and veggies are super underrepresented a lot of the time, but I feel like if I say every single day, I'll panic and flounder. So we'll try for every other. Not even worrying about measuring out a certain amount, any inclusion at all is a good place to start. 2) drink at least 16 ounces of water a day. Especially during weekdays, when I don't get many pee breaks, I have my morning coffee then typically abstain from any drinks at all until an afternoon soda or hot chocolate. I do tend to have water at dinner, but I'm not 100% sure how frequent that actually is, so let's track it! 3) keep cooking - let's try for 3 recipes this challenge Quest Three: Languages This is partly a quest and partly just me tracking what I need to get done anyway, honestly. 1) keep up with the weekly department Instagram posts 2) watch 6 Dreaming Spanish videos (intermediate or advanced) OR Spanish-language TV show episodes - I've been really into Iron Chef Mexico lately 😆 3) keep up in Reckley's class: 2 essays, 2 exams, theoretically 4 homework assignments (though she's been really behind on assigning these compared to what's on the syllabus so we'll see what I actually get), and 3 discussion board posts + responses 4) finish Maya Erikson y el misterio del laberinto - it's only 7 chapters, but 157 pages. Currently on chapter 2 (page 29). 5) get extensive reading program quizzes off the ground with at least 20 made (I started an extensive reading program this year, but my students tend to spend the time just flipping through pictures before writing super shitty reflections, so I'm implementing simple 5 question, multiple choice comprehension quizzes to encourage them to actually engage in the text itself at least a little. The downside for me is that I have probably a hundred books in the library for them to choose already...that's a lot of quizzes to write!) I have the first 3 done 6) finish Spanish 2 Units 4 and 5 curriculum - Unit 4 is nearly done (just needs standards selected and listed by lesson arc) Quest Four: Home and Hobbies This is the challenge I always suck at because it's just so easy to push off! Let's start simple this time: 1) Sew at least one seam on the damn log cabin quilt every week. This should be stupidly easy, but I managed to go all last challenge without doing anything more than looking at it, so every stitch helps. 2) Patch the dog toys. He has five that he has ripped open to the point where we had to take them away. I have stitched up two of them so far and both seams have held so far. (Obnoxiously enough, he did re-rip one of them but in a totally different spot. I have already mended that new rip as well. ) I am hoping if I can keep on top of these, we can avoid having to spend so much money constantly buying new ones or replacing things that he chewed that he's not supposed to...like my kid's shinguards. Again. 😠 3) Download the ridiculous amount of free quilting/block patterns piling up in my personal email because I'm on far too many mailing lists!

Back again for another round. If you're new here - I've been around for years. Making progress, quitting, rejoining, trying to make it through the struggle that is life. I'm an old school nerd (well, I'm also old in comparison to many of the young whipper snappers around here ). A bit of background behind spoiler guard if you're interested: OK - the actual challenge is small. I've found making a few small changes is best for me (after lots of fits & starts). What I'm primarily working on now is just getting out and moving more - without letting a bunch of stuff I've mostly "got" slide. Get out and walk. I've upped my Fitbit goal to 7500 steps a day. I've rarely made it, but I can't just "take" the 5k and be good with it. I know it won't happen every day but I'm capable of it and I need to walk more. It's really more of a 50k weekly goal - that's the average per day I'd like to see Actually use my Robot Vacuum's to keep the house a bit cleaner - shooting for a full run of the house twice a week Keep the kitchen clean - Mom's been here so that hasn't been an issue - but I'm taking her home this coming weekend so I'll be losing her for a few months (as it is an almost certainty she'll be moving in early next year). I've been plumb SPOILED over the last 2 weeks - and went to make sure she was feeling ok because there wasn't coffee when I got up this morning LOL. PLUMB SPOILED I tell you! Over the challenge - need to actually get started on clearing the beds at the front of the house. The 2 on either side of the front entrance (these will mainly be for pretty flowers to attract butterflies and such since I can see them from my office) and then in the side yard which is currently just a see of Iris's - they're pretty for about 2 weeks then just green spikes. *yawn* There's more space over there so that will probably be veggies & herbs - although I may do herbs in containers on the deck (and bring them onto the sun porch in the winter).

tldr; I'm in a place to focus on things - feel free to skip the below if you just want to see my challenge without the background Background - I've been here a really long time. Much of it struggling with getting a handle on stuff. Really, life was just not where I needed it to be - hindsight and all that. While the pandemic has been rough..... it also allowed so much to happen that has gotten me into a headspace for things to really stick. We moved out of Atlanta. I was stuck in a tiny kitchen where I had NO CHOICE but to keep it clean (and have learned the joy of a clean kitchen by spending 10-15 at night cleaning up and 5 min in the morning unloading the dishwasher). We FINALLY found a house with acreage in a rural area in the mountains (well, on the Cumberland Plateau - the Appalachians are old and time has scraped off the tops) with gigabit access. The pandemic allowed my 85% travel job to become 100% WFH. I switched from Services to Sales which greatly reduced stress. I discovered an inexpensive Meal Kit service (Every Plate) which does most of my weekly meal planning for me, delivers the food to my door which allows us to eat relatively healthy and not get in a rut of frozen pizzas and chicken tenders. Since it's cooled off (by mid-August - there was a week we didn't get to 80!), I'm getting in a daily walk and slowly extending it. I'm FINALLY starting to do all of the things I've known I needed to do to get healthy. It only took a f'ing Global Pandemic...... So - enough with the WOT and on to the challenge! 1) Walk - starting goal week 0 is 5k steps per day I can manage when not raining. My ultimate goal is to be doing 10k a day by end of challenge. My knee was good at D*Con (a couple of reminders I did a BAD thing 2.5 weeks ago, but didn't need the brace or sleeve). I just got back from DragonCon where I did over 10k steps per day so I know I'm capable of more, but sometimes finding the time and weather interferes. This doesn't have to be all at once, and multiple walks per day (2-3) would be a GOOD thing 2) I really need to make getting up at 7:30a on work days a thing - BUT I'm on vacation so that will really start week 1. Week 0 however, I'm setting a 9a alarm and going to try to get to bed by midnight and not fuck up my schedule completely. 3) Eat my veggies. There MUST be a veggie with dinner. I don't care if it's carrots that came with Every Plate, salad or a bag of frozen veggies, I need to replace some of the crap I'm eating with something better for me. I also should at least TRY to add veggies to lunch. Breakfast during the week is a Vegan protein shake so it's actually packed with good stuff for me. 4) Stay on top of keeping the kitchen clean. If I miss a day, no big - but not 2 days in a row. This is somewhat helped by having a limited # of dishes\cookware. Once had way too much and it was too easy to just stack shit until it became critical and it would take all day to run everything through the dishwasher or an hour (or so) to wash by hand. 5) Stay on top of keeping the house clean. Run Rosie. Do some laundry. Clean a bathroom. Just a few minutes is all it takes. Consider reviewing Flylady stuff again just to make sure I'm on some sort of detail cleaning schedule so everything gets "touched" every month. 6) Hubby and I are looking at hobbies that we enjoy that could also make us $$ again. We're working a few ideas, we need to pick ONE, get the equipment and proceed to experiment. I'm also going to make another vanilla order and make vanilla paste (which doesn't take as long to "cure" as extract). I need some for me and I may as well see if it's something I can sell to at a minimum pay for my addiction LOL. That should do it and then some. I usually only babystep a couple of things. Some of what's here is stuff I have at least a half a handle on, but don't want to let slide while focusing on other stuff.

SYRRAN: [My name is] Arev. T'POL: That means 'desert wind'. SYRRAN: Does it. Why are you here? ARCHER: We could ask you the same thing. SYRRAN: I follow the path of Surak in meditation and study. Challenge goals: Walk Meditate Study Train traditional Vulcan arts Walking is, well, walking. But I'm going to add some light exposure goals, stolen from Andrew Huberman. He says they're the one important thing to do, so on the list they go. Blackout from 11pm-4am, and sunlight early in the day. Meditation, I will technically count anything, but I'll mostly be using Plum Village's pebble meditation, minus the pebbles, and possibly plus swords. I think that's a set of metaphors that Vulcan could go for. They're big into religiously significant mountains, and, like, water, and space and stuff. Maybe I'll add some rest tracking. Studying for challenge purposes will be mindset stuff, encompassing Zen, martial arts, and ADHD. Also I have a book that I want to go through that should fit in there, sorta. I'm keeping a reminder for the dopamine increment habit, because it's not quite sticking yet. Martial arts is sort of limited, since I cannot study space naginata. Even aikido is not really available locally. Heck, even other stuff is a little hard to come by. So we'll work on strength and mobility. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Those pictures contain a lot of weapons for a supposedly pacifist planet, don't they?" Yes. Yes, they do. We're not falling into the soft Zen trap this challenge. The Needs of the One Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Total Walk Evening Blackout Morning Sun Meditate Take a rest break Sleep deficit < 7h Study Dopamine Increments Strength Mobility Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Total

Happy New Year folks! I completed a four week challenge over the festivities though not being great with foods, I kept up most of the exercises so am happy with that. I'm back up to 12 stone (was a few lbs under a month ago) but that's to be expected, and my main goals are to lose bodyfat and get stronger. THE CHALLENGE (running six weeks from today) Exercise: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, Table dips Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 3x 5sec Pull-up hold, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class Monday evenings - youtube class otherwise Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH and non-work days: 2 miles min, ideally in daylight Teethbrushing squat: held for 2+min Cycle once a week Foods: Tracking 1600 calories on mfp, days that may scupper: 8th January: Afternoon tea with the quartet 15th January: Burns Night evening That's it at the moment but I'm sure more things will come up! Other: Stop scrolling crap on my phone before bed Read instead! POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Cycle once a week = 50pts Any missed sessions, the week will be scored at my discretion based on how well I did otherwise. Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts No phone scrolling before bed: 100pts for 7/7 days, 75pts for 6/7 days, 50% for 5/7 days Read instead of phone crap: 50pts for at least 4/7 days Two weeks in a row = 20 bonus points Max better bedtime points = 1000pts Total possible points = 4000pts

Walk to Mordor and Back Again (2021) Whether you have been trekking to Mordor for years or just looking to get started, you are welcome to join us at anytime. All miles/kilometers count. You decide how you want to accumulate distance. This is your adventure! (Frodo's journey included canoeing, horseback, and eagle-back, so anything is fair game!) Sign Up Here: SPREADSHEET Open the spreadsheet, click on the 'Sign Up' tab at the bottom of the page, fill in all fields labeled in yellow, and begin tracking and logging your distance in the appropriate monthly tab. “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Bilbo Baggins

I’m reading “atomic habits” at the moment and the focus this challenge will be on continuing my habit building from last challenge. It was the first challenge I’ve finished in a LONG time, so I’m sticking with what worked, as well as adding another potential tick. 5/4/3/2/1: ⏹⏹⏹⏹⏹5 veggies ⏹⏹⏹⏹ 4/week legumes ⏹⏹⏹ 3 serves whole grain ⏹⏹ 2 fruit ⏹ 1 nuts/seeds Noom homework: ⏹ keep working through those modules, doing the readings, weighing in etc. focus for zero week/most of week 1 is going to be maintaining at approx 90kg. Then weeks 2-5 will be a gentle deficit to bring it down by another 2-3kg before hopping back into maintenance mode. Say hi to the nerds! ⏹Keep up with the regular updates, folklore (autocorrected from ‘follow’, but I’m keeping it) and interact with other’s challenges. Runner 5, report: ⏹5,500 steps per day. Under 5hrs screen time on the phone: ⏹ self explanatory. PUMP IT (louder): ⏹new habit: gym on Tuesday and Thursday. Get reacquainted with the iron. Active recovery the other days, ideally yoga, but minimum physio stretches.

Oh hai there, how are you? I am very pleased that this got saved as a draft from yesterday! My last challenge was named incorrectly thanks to me not knowing how to find my historical info (oops) so correcting this to 21st. I successfully completed my last challenge with 85% and levelled up, woop! Main goals as ever: reduce body fat % and get stronger (should probably actually check my current bf%). I would also LOVE to be under 12 stone by the end of the challenge, currently 12.5. Existing good habits: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline I've been switching to a short walk pre-hill which I'd like to not do Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats I'm happy keeping this as is Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, push-ups (elbows in, on knees) Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 10x Negative chin-ups, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class most Monday evenings Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH days: 2 miles at lunch or after work Sat/Sun: 2 miles min Teethbrushing squat: Basically my evening teethbrushing I do a held squat for 2min I have also just got a bicycle, so would like to incorporate this! THE CHALLENGE Exercise: Pre-work run: move to cutting the 'walk' so my final week of the challenge is all run Pre-work pilates hundred - improve form Weight training - carry on carrying on Pilates class OR 1hr online makeup class during the week Evening squat: move to squatting lower and/or holding for longer Walk to the station and over the river every office working day (2 miles) Walk 2 miles every WfH lunchtime/after work Walk 2 miles every Saturday and Sunday Cycle at least once a week (any distance!) Foods: Continue on mfp tracking 1600 calories a day. From today up to 28th November I currently have the following things which are likely to scupper/lead to overeating: 24th Oct: Niece's birthday party, usually full of buffet food, cakes and biscuits (this will be tough) 31st Oct: Boardgaming at a friends, which usually involves takeaway - might be doable 6-7th Nov: I might be going away for the weekend, but as yet undecided so we shall see 10th Nov: Theme Park day - I'm hoping I can make a packed lunch and not buy snacks I think that's it. And I think all of these are pretty much manageable, except this Sunday where all the sugar. POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Any of the above missed get NIL PWA, but I can make them back for 75pts instead Cycle once a week = 50pts Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts Total possible points = 3000pts

The weather has cooled off finally, and it is time to hit the trails! for this challenge, I am going to 1. Walk 55 miles. This is a busy time of year for me, so I know I cant make a “complete x for z days a week”. But if I aim for a number, that gives me flexibility. I may walk a half mile one day, and three another. 55 is a good number to get me outdoors and moving in the crisp air. spoilered content is mile tracking 2. Finish a picture book. I’m not talking about the book itself, because I have learned not to do this. Picture books are typically 32 pages, including end papers and title pages, and is it ambitious? Kinda? I have the story in my head, and the character design done. This is about getting over my fear of failure and just doing the work, writing and drawing it down to paper. 3. Traveling made me realize I spend way too much time at home. I cant even really blame the pandemic, I’ve always hidden away at home, and it’s not doing me any good. For this challenge, I am going to get out of the house and do something for 3 different days or evenings. Not running errands, but going out to a festival, checking out a museum, a concert… something.. I’m going to schedule it, and show up! Spoilered for tracking

Happy First Day of AUTUMN! (North Hemisphere - Happy First Day of Spring to ya'll Southerners!). So life has me starting a new job! I finished my Internship (basically cried in the end with people not wanting to see me go). Trying a job in Security (because Money... it pays more than any Janitorial job, but will have to stay grounded). My mom and step-dad getting married on October 9th, we moving out of the apartment by Halloween. A great time to make new habits as life goes into chaos... but a calm can be seen for the Holidays (honestly see myself working on the Holidays this year... because Overtime!) I have been LOVING NF Prime, (the Journey App) and had a realization of what are "baby steps." Small goals you can keep up for the next 3 years even on shitty days.... I have taken a weight off myself because I remind myself daily. My small things now will help make the best step better. I actually think I'm in the right mindset to back at getting NF Coaching, but this year instead of buying a couple months I want to save up for the whole subscription. So seeing if I can keep up the momentum for myself and see how that goes, as I save up. The only issue I have with NF's Journey App, is the continuing habits after the quest. So why I'm here, to help keep the momentum up. Currently my character is at level 28 after 1 month and half. I've decided to not step on the scale until Halloween, just to check in. Small changes make small changes.... The Scale only says so much. Now to the habits. Nutrition Habits I feel I have: ⭐Intentional eating is coming out, not a burden more of coming out when I eat food I know I want to sit down and enjoy (and gives my bedroom and car a break from the crumbs. ⭐Intentional on Drinking Calories...(Finally accepted Diet Drinks when I do want Soda, or intentional at home cold brew with cream at home). Idk if the weight is falling off, but I've made it a goal some days just to drink zero calories (or order Small... and noticing how big they are). ⭐Read Labels for Calories and Serving Size... Been intrigued by how this shifts how much I eat when I acknowledge both... Habits I will Be Working on! Meditation - Been working on this one for awhile, right now it just involves me turning on a chanting video that has me get out of my head before falling asleep (just listening to it, grounds me like crazy where I have listened to the whole hour without realizing_ NF Planning A Meal- Planning out Meals the Next Day NF No 2 in a Row - Enjoy my treat/rest, make the next option better! NF Walk - I'm at 7 mins currently (found a lap in the front of my house that works perfectly for this in the morning). Morning Routine After Walk - Making the goal to work out in the morning, so first a walk than breakfast/shower/getting life together (I work at 3 pm - 11 pm now). NF Dailies - A daily goal that the NF Journey gives will note here if I did it. YNAB - Check in on my budget transitions, bonus when I reconcile! Side Quest - Post daily, work on Konmaring my room (still working on this...) Yesterday's Results/Template: 9/21/2021 NF Walk (7 mins) 🍁Done after work Morning Routine after Walk - 🍁 Went to On the Job Training for 7-3, was presentable (can see why this shift would be appealing but meh). NF Plan Tomorrow's Meal 🍁 (Breakfast and Lunch was planned and made) NF "No 2 in a Row": (didn't start) NF Daily 🍁 Was "plan a meal", I planned out a Dairy Queen run when I couldn't say no to mom before driving out there (and ate it at the table when I got home). Post daily! 🍁 Konmarie? No... just not a day. Now trying not to eat more than 1 serving of cookies... if I'm hungry I'll batch cook

August is usually pretty miserable when it comes to the weather. It pretty much just totally sucks. So I need to take care of myself so I don’t turn into a puddle. Or a fried egg. Both are pretty unappealing fates. Looking back at my last challenge, it was really successful. So I think I’ve found a system that fits me nicely. The basic concept is to ramp up the goals over the course of the challenge. And to utilize a cork board I have over my headboard, with my tracking sheet as the focus of attention. It has stickers! Going into this challenge, I’m adding in a ranking system, plus a stat system I first introduced last fall. The ranking system classifies things as a goal, habit in training, or habit. A goal is a new or modified goal. A habit in training is a goal I succeeded at from my last challenge. And if I keep succeeding, it graduates to being a habit! My stat system lets me group the things I’m working on into five different categories. It streamlines things in an app I use to help me track. Plus it’s cool. Mostly it’s just cool. And fun. The stats are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Sanity, and Charisma. Now, on to the actual Things! Which I’ll be starting during zero week. So, now. I have two habits in training, taking my AM and PM pills (Sanity), and staying hydrated (Constitution). I did very well on these last challenge. So, I need keep doing them every day so they become ful And then I have my new goal: washing my face. I’m going to build this up to doing it every day. I’m starting with twice a week. And then add one to that each week. Finally, there’s my Training Program. I’m not training for anything specific, but that sounds better than workout schedule. It is a challenge goal, but it’s written as a monthly schedule, instead of following the actual dates for the challenge. So, to round out July, I have a kettlebell workout on the 26th, 28th, and 30th. And on the 30th I decide if I want to move up in difficulty, or keep it the same. Moving into August, I’m adding in walking (Constitution) on Sundays. And the kettlebell workouts (Strength) will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. With a work in progress plan for what to do when I have a week long migraine. And I think that’s about it! For anyone that doesn’t know me, here’s a few things about myself:

Alliance with who, I hear you asking? Well, you, of course! And also my doctors, husband, teachers, new co-workers, new boss, local librarian, probably the baristas at my favorite coffee shop that just reopened... This summer for me is really the pinnacle of the idea that no man is an island - with all the transitions and new tasks going on, I'm going to be depending on the people around me more than ever: One grad school semester just ended, but a new one is starting soon (May 17th) and I'm taking twice as many credit hours as usual so I can get started on my thesis. My current job will be ending very shortly (May 28th) and then I will be slowly transitioning to a new one over the summer, complete with writing my own programs from scratch. I'm also having surgery on June 2nd to repair a persistent issue from my c-section back in 2017 (laparoscopic and out-patient, but surgery nevertheless...and honestly barely-not-experimental surgery, this procedure has only been around for about 4-5 years). While it won't be healed this summer - it takes a minimum of 3 months to heal, so at least September before I'm ready for anything else - we will also be discussing our next steps RE: infertility treatments... ...while simultaneously welcoming not one, not two, but THREE family babies this summer. Two of which live close enough that we're fully expected to visit. And apparently provide gifts for, which no one told me until yesterday but that's a whole other story. Also doesn't "Summer Alliance" sound kinda badass? Or is that just me? Anyway, that means that while my quests are focused on a few different things, I'm trying to find ways in each one to build some of those alliances with others so they're nice and strong for the variety of tasks they have to survive: Quest One: Walk (or maybe run) This will obviously need to pause right after my surgery, though I'm not entirely sure for how long. But family walks are a favorite of my kid and it's good for all of us (plus it should be easy to score a few points with another camping trip planned in May, we always hike at least one trail!) I got the Walk to Mordor app...I think 2 challenges ago now? and we are about 5 miles shy of Buckleberry Ferry. I'm also going to start including personal walks and runs, if I go on (m)any, but my RE says I'm under no circumstances to go more than 14 miles a week. Why 14, I'm not actually sure, it seems rather arbitrary. But he's the expert who I am paying literally tens of thousands of dollars for his help, so a 14 miles per week cap it is. If I got to that cap exactly every single week, it would actually get me precisely to the doors of Bree...but I'm definitely not going to get that cap every week even before I consider the fact I'm also having surgery, so I'm setting my goal at being captured by the Barrow-wight instead. Though if the surgeon says I need to sit on my butt more, I might stop at Tom Bombadil's house. I have my pre-surgery consultation at the end of May and should be able to ask her then. Quest Two: Begin Tackling the Sugar Beast Boo! Hiss! I don't want to do this...which probably means I need to do this more than just about anything. Holy cow do I eat a lot of dessert and it only gets worse when I'm stressed. I'm going to be stressed a LOT this summer. But I also managed to gain weight my last challenge despite my goal being to lose a tiny bit of weight, so...yeah. It has to be done. Going to start on easy mode: no more than 3 servings of dessert a day, preferably 2 but I'll forgive 3 if I'm really struggling. "Servings" to be determined as I go but that's mostly so I can't like load up an entire plate full of cookies and call it one dessert...because that is, admittedly, something I would actually do. Not kidding y'all, I have a real problem. This admittedly doesn't help me connect with anyone but it'll make me feel less like a disgusting slob, so that's also good, right? Quest Three: Be Social Every day, I need to reach out to folks. Somewhere, somehow. Could be on here. Could be on Instagram (where most of my social media contacts/friends/former students/a few family members are). Could be my infertility support group. Could be chatting to a grad school classmate on Teams, not that that happens very often at all. Could be meeting with my new co-workers and/or new boss to set up stuff for next school year. The only person who doesn't count is my husband, because I rely on him too much and part of the goal here is building more external network. Also I literally chat to him every day already, duh. (Also, just liking posts doesn't count. I have to actually say something. Should be obvious, but with me you never know.) Quest Four: Make Something Yeah, yeah. I said I was going to simplify this challenge. And you believed me? This is simple for me, that's one reason why I fail at so many of these hahaha. What can I say, ranger brain is a real thing. Anyway, this is legitimately a connections thing as well. My son has been waiting very, very patiently for me to finish the shirt I started sewing for him literally months ago, and I also have 2 projects to do in his bedroom (2 book rails and a shoe organizer). I feel AWFUL that he's waited this long, but he hasn't complained even once, and I'd like to prove to him that mommy can indeed come through...at least eventually. I've also debated making crib quilts for the expected babies, because patchwork is a happy place for me and dammit, I just can't handle shopping for baby things right now with where we are on our infertility journey. (I actually hate the rest of quilting, hahaha, but love making patchwork. Apparently it's genetic, because I have an entire bag full of quilt tops that my great-grandma made the patchwork for and never actually finished turning them into quilts). Also, I'm convinced that the fastest way to make social headway into a new job is offering some baked goods or other food treats - gives you a reason to stop by a bunch of random desks, it's an easier topic to talk about, and most people are happy to enjoy something homemade they didn't have to actually make. There's zero percent chance I'm doing all of that this challenge, so my goal is to make something. Literally one thing. Or very good headway into that thing, if I do a quilt (because those can take quite a long time and my free time is at a real premium until I graduate next May).

Walk to Mordor and Back Again (2020) Whether you have been trekking to Mordor for years or just looking to get started, you are welcome to join us at anytime. All miles/kilometers count. You decide how you want to accumulate distance. This is your adventure! (ex. my journey has included walking/steps, hiking, running, biking (distance/3), and swimming (distance*3)) Begin Your Journey Now! SPREADSHEET Open the spreadsheet, click on the 'Sign Up' tab at the bottom of the page, fill in all fields labeled in yellow, and begin tracking and logging your distance in the appropriate monthly tab. “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Bilbo Baggins

This is the first stanza of a children's spring song we sing here in South Africa, with English translation in brackets. I tried finding a YT video but alas... Dis heerlike lente, die winter is verby, (It's wonderful spring time, winter is past) weer vrolik die velde vir jou en vir my! (joyful are the fields again, for you and for me) Ryde the Spring Wave Blooms are opening up in an array of colours; grass shoots are pushing their little heads through the dark, nutritious soil; the warm sun is shining bright, and every now and again the soft swish of rain comes down to quench the thirsty soil. I'm just trying to keep my balance between stress, life, and continuing with a 'normal' routine. Not aspiring to reach any level of fitness, not training for anything, just keep moving. Oh, but I am trying to reach 100 (maybe aim at 150?) push ups at some point in time. I am going to try and learn line dancing with my youngest son, and I am going to try and loose a bit of weight. Again, nothing serious, just... cut down a bit on food, think seriously before I eat, weigh myself every Saturday and see how I do. The extra stress-causing-things going on in my life at the moment are... nr. 1 probably the current situation of our country (South Africa). nr. 2 our plans to try and emigrate (and all the preparations it entails). nr. 3 my mom, and the usual little foxes that happen in life to throw you a curve ball. NOTE: My birthday is going to be end of week 3/beginning of week 4 and I am going to have cake/chocolate or something in that line. Goals to focus on this challenge: (only going to check over week days - will continue over weekends, and try to stay in control over weekends, but only check weekdays for the challenge) Bible/Quiet time doing bible study with/without my boys and/or quiet time sometime during the day to gather my thoughts, praying, or just unwinding and relaxing (catching my breath). Water/Herbal tea, fruit/veg water drinks +-2 bottles (just under 2Lt) per day. Go to bed at the latest 21h30 (give or take 5min.). Food: keep gluten to one day a week only (Fishy Fridays), and try to cut down on how much I'm eating. Check weight every Saturday (report on Monday). Let's see if I can loose 1kg (2Lb) this challenge. I'm the heaviest that I've EVER been in my life. Finances: monthlies and dailies. Monthlies are up to date, but will need to be done by end of September again. Dailies are done +-3x/week, or as necessary. Clean house: I have a schedule for the month. Certain chores that I need to check on every day. My vacuum cleaner just burnt (basically brand new) and I'm back to using a broom. Will know whether they'll fix it within the next two weeks. Burpees at least 3x/week, which will include a pushup, which will count to my pushup challenge if they are full pushups. Pushup count: currently 39 Other exercises: Walking (Wednesdays for a long walk, and short, steep uphill on a Thursday) and Dancing (going to try and learn line dancing with my youngest son) on a Friday.

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

No other way to start this challenge than with what week 0 ended with: huge thunderstorm, the smell of rain (wet soil) and jasmine in the air, and almost two days next to the beach. Thursday night a thunderstorm came up, and it was so nice to both fall asleep and wake up Friday morning with the sound of rain falling on our carport roof. The first sniff of jasmine in the air, mixing with the wonderful promise of wet soil, all to let you know that spring is on its way. The boys and I left for the south coast Friday morning, firstly to stop by a friend, but mainly to join Brandt for one evening with his racing buddies. We fell asleep with the sound of surf in the background. Saturday (this morning) saw the boys and I driving the 2.5hrs back home, but breaking it up into smaller chunks by stopping at a small beach town (Ifafa) for breakfast, and a dip in the ocean. The boys enjoyed the man-made ocean pool, while I collected some mussels washed up after the last high tide. The first hour and half's driving was almost constantly next/close to the coast. It was breathtaking. Top left-clockwise: boys in ocean pool; view from restaurant's deck; looking back at the restaurant from the beach; another view from the restaurant's deck. Things I HAVE TO concentrate on this challenge: Bible study: I've joined the 28days of Daily Devotionals via sms. At least every week day, but aiming for every day, and a longer church sermon via Fb on Sundays. Walking with the boys! We need to get fit and strong for a short hike in the mountains with friends around end September. At least 2x a week with the boys. Finances: I've taken on a lot more of our financial responsibilities and have to find a new routine of doing things. I tend to procrastinate on finances because I don't like doing it. Now I can't. I have to keep up, doing things in a new way. Finalise June and July finances. Update planned and actual finances every single day for August from slips. Sleep: Go to bed between 21h00-21h30. This has been slipping the last challenge and week0. At least every weekday night. Otherwise all my other daily life goals are still there: dry fire practice once a week and club shoot once a month, sort of intuitive eating where I seriously cut down on how much carbs (starch and baked stuff) and sweet things I eat. And last but very important: try to get two or three strength training sessions in during every week. I've decided on a basic strength training routine for those mornings: Joint circles (warm up) Jumping jacks (warm up) 20x Circuit to repeat at least 2x: Plank2Pushup 10x Abs Roll Out 10x Front Lunges 10x Deadlifts (starting at 30kg) 10x (hopefully able to increase +-2kg every week) Flys: Front 10x & Lateral 10x at 2.5kg d.bells Bridge & Pinch 1x20sec Sit-twist stretch Shoulder stretch Chest stretch Hopefully the spring feeling will help to invigorate me to keep things going.

Wonder Woman Teams Up Anew Diana gave the men around her a friendly smile as she entered the room. Everyone on their small team (The Justice League) were there: Bruce Wayne, the unofficial leader, also known as Batman, Clark Kent (Superman), Arthur Curry (Aquaman), Barry Alan (The Flash), and Victor Stone (Cyborg). Alfred was probably somewhere in the new headquarters’ computer room, sorting through tech., getting everything set up, making sure Bruce’s every whim is taken care of. Now that they were through the aftermath of Darkseid’s attack, they had to focus on plans to protect Earth in the future. There had been another huge battle waged in the cold north, in Sokovia, but by another group altogether, The Avengers. It was against a robot-alien-techno-thing that had gone rogue, if she understood the file that was passed on to her. Bruce has been talking of joining up with this group, to spread their resources more evenly over Earth. Seeing as Superman has been helping them incognito at times anyway, and Thor, a very distant relation of hers apparently (small world or galaxy, rather, isn’t it?), is going away indefinitely, it could work. They will háve to work together for Earth to survive, she corrected herself. The short and long of it is though, they have a whole Earth to cover, limited people with “special” powers and a lot of people who have to be trained in a very short space of time. Because the big war wás coming. Something about Infinity Stones. Diana concentrated on the rest of Bruce’s explanation. “So as it stands, I need to stay near Gotham, in reach of Alfred and Victor, who will be sprucing up our computer systems with outside help from Wakanda. Barry will stay here for further training and he has a new job to attend to during the day.” Bruce lifted an eyebrow in Barry’s direction, and was greeted with a big goofy smile. “Arthur and Clark will head up the underwater team looking for more para-demon lairs, as well as assisting with the training of the Atlanteans.” Bruce went on. That left her, she realised. She would have to go to the other team and help with training. She nodded with a small sigh. “The Avengers are hoping to train small groups of elite fighters who will help protect the world against terrorists, war criminals, bio-tech, and at times, aliens. But mostly elite human-, or enhanced human enemies to start with.” Bruce explained further. Nothing they didn’t already know. Diana and Steve will be heading up the training of these elite small groups. “Wakanda’s leader, T’Challa (Black Panther), has agreed to create a hidden training facility on his land in East Africa. The training will be overseen by Captain Steven Brandt Rogers, super soldier. The superhuman serum that enhanced Captain America's physical attributes also improved his mental faculties—such as cognition, perception, balance, aim, and reflexes—to near genius-level. He is just as lethal with his shield, as our Diana is with hers.” Bruce said with a slight smile. Bruce went on to explain in more detail to her, how similar their fighting styles were, pointed out some of the differences, and then emphasized that, as Captain Rogers came from a military background, he could also shoot extremely well. As their future missions will be focusing more on fighting terrorists, and enhanced-human enemies, Steve will be helping Diana further with her shooting skills. They will be training together, and train the newbs as well. Diana had a week in which she got everything ready, and left on one of Bruce’s private jet’s for Wakanda. She loved Africa. In fact she was there only a couple of months ago while recuperating from a vicious mental and physical attack. It is the ideal place to recharge your batteries, for there is a good reason they say the continent runs on “Africa-time”. People do not seem to hurry, and appointments are sometimes more a suggestion of time to meet, than a fact. The same could of course not be said of big cities, where everything ran around money and time. It was the exquisite rural vistas that drew her, and helped her heal. Then again, with what was waiting on them, and the background of T’Challa and his technologically super-advanced state, she doubted they ran on “Africa-time”. Wakanda itself was a smallish country, with villages, or settlements, in various nooks and crannies of the plato, which was itself on the side of a mountain. It lay on different levels each only reachable by huge swaying, roundabout rope bridges, marvels of engineering itself, other than the very small, dangerous air field of Wakanda. To the north was a huge mountain peak; the biggest desert lake in Africa was to the south, and inescapable cliffs to both the west and east. From the main lake ran three rivers, two of which surrounded Wakanda as well. It was near impenetrable, if you didn’t know your stuff. The settlements seemed to be randomly placed, but in actual fact was in strategic defensive positions with regards to the country, and the Vibranium they were protecting. The capital (Birnin Zana, also known locally as the Golden City) was on the banks of Lake Turkana, seemingly just another African city, but upon closer inspection the touch of technology could be seen everywhere. It was the most technologically advanced country in the world, despite its size. Due to it being cloaked, it can’t easily be detected. Diana gasped at the profusely growing plants everywhere. Even the farmland had to be maintained every day to stop the plants from taking back the space. As such she knew that her main diet for the next couple of months would be meat, vegetables and fruit. Very little starch (gluten specifically) based foods such as bread, rice, and pasta, and very little to no sweets, she told herself. The one “weak” point she had being chocolate, specifically Belgian, but in general any chocolate. The stash she brought along would have to last her this whole time. She was taken directly to the new training facility close to Warrior Falls, and the hive of activity continued non-stop as she was helped out of the Jeep. All around the sound of building, metal scraping, hammers hitting nails, the grunts and moans of hard labour permeated the air. “This way, please ma’am.” the soldier beckoned. “I am to take you to your room to deposit your bags, and then take you to Captain Rogers and King T’Challa” he continued nervously. He wasn’t prepared to meet such a lady. She had an air of regality about her, even though her demeanour was that of any normal person. They were told she was a female soldier, a fighter. She didn’t look like one. He lead her into a wood and grass building, seemingly no bigger than a three room house from the outside. They entered through a doorway with an invisible force field, which she of course could detect with no problem. Inside, the cool, plastered walls belied its humble outside appearance. The hum and vibrations of technology filled the air. Vibranium driven machines were running full steam, so to speak. She was lead down a long flight of spiralling stairs, along a winding passage with various doors leading off it. Beautiful tapestries depicting the everyday life of Wakandan people, were on display on the passage walls. They stopped in front of a nondescript door which the soldier opened for her. “Your quarters ma’am. This is a small lounge, with your room and private bathroom through those doors respectively. Meals are served three times a day in the dining room at the end of this passage, and you are welcome to help yourself to something in the kitchen off the dining room at other times. If you could please place your hand here,” and he motioned to a lighted rectangle next to the door. She felt a small prick on her thumb, and only just stopped herself from punching the rectangle. “Your bio-print is now registered with the system, and I’ll set it so only you have access to your quarters.” Diana looked on in amazement. She wasn’t quite comfortable knowing she was underground and surrounded by this much technology, but the room felt comfortable and airy with various lights shining out of niches in the walls. In the corner of the lounge was a small kitchenette, and she quickly peeked into her room when her bags were carried in. She will be most comfortable here. “We better not keep the gentlemen waiting any longer,” Diana said and turned to the soldier with a smile as he lead her out of her rooms. They went down one more flight of stairs, and her guide named the rooms as they passed them. The doors were not marked in any way as far as she could see. “Armoury or 'The Toy Store' as we call it” he explained with a huge grin on his boyish face. “Gun range, safety equipment, medical equipment, training rooms, exercise rooms, weights, bathrooms here and here, massage rooms, computer and tech.room for surveillance, offices for you and the Captain, and then the two boardrooms. One big, one small. The small one is where we are headed. And another large dining room at the end of the passage so you don’t have to go back upstairs for lunch.” He opened the door for her and blushed profusely as she smiled and thanked him, which stopped his nervous babble. Diana took a deep breath and turned to meet the two men in the room. She couldn’t stop the small involuntary gasp when she came face-to-face with Captain Steven Brandt Rogers. This is indeed going to be an interesting time. ----000---- Mental Health: First 15 bible study weekday mornings. Sleep: lights off by 21h45. Water/Rooibos: >= 750ml/day. Prize: For every 5 days (all three goals), I can buy an Aloe cooldrink/water at that time. Physical Health: Morning exercises (Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays - BW & other strength). (PASS: 10 days) Afternoon exercises (at least 3x/week, one long (4km) and two short (2km) walks). (PASS: 10 days) Gluten-based food OR starches, and chocolate once a week each, only. (More than that --> 10x burpees/each portion). No prize (well the prize for staying away from starches and chocolates are NO burpees! That's a win however way you see it.) FA Training: Dry fire practice mornings (Tuesdays, Thursdays). (PASS: 6 days) EDC at least 3x/week. (PASS: 10 days) Prize: AIWB holster for my belly band - no clip, slip into space but should hold form. Finances: Report to King T’Challa on March budget for training, or in Elize terminology: finish up to March finances on the spreadsheet. PS: still to add prizes, but this round I will focus more on dry fire training and edc-ing. Exercises are of course important, but they are basically continuing from last challenge with only small changes. I only have 6 weeks left till the Waterra OCR which Brandt (hubby) and I will take part in together. For those who don't know me, and haven't guessed as yet, I tend to ramble a lot about my daily life, my hubby and kids in my challenges and at times this becomes something of a "Dear Diary" monologue. I'm just mentioning that here, because I know that is not everyone's cup of tea.

For 2017, I chose a word to help guide me through my goals for the year. My word was 'Connection' because I wanted to be more outgoing and connect with people - being an introvert I actually need to remind myself to do that. I wasn't sure how I'd done, but when I mentioned that word and goal to friends of mine at the end of the year, they said they could tell I was putting myself out there more, so that was nice. For 2018, I've been struggling to find the right word for what I want to achieve, because frankly I have lots of goals. 'Center' was one thought, and another possible word that I really liked was 'Win'. But they weren't quite right - too focused on me, when I'm trying to be more outgoing toward others. Then today in church, the sermon focused on a favorite verse of mine. Isaiah 60:1 - 'Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.' As part of his sermon about how we can shine in our lives every day, the pastor used this phrase - 'Be Extraordinary at the Ordinary.' And suddenly I had my perfect word for the year, a word that will motivate me to do my best even at the little goals, and to shine all the while with a positive attitude and kind words for everyone around me. SHINE Since the RPG leveling up side of Nerd Fitness has never motivated me much, I'm going to add stars - - to my signature when I succeed. Then I can keep better track of things and have that visual reminder of my progress as I go. My goals for this first challenge are fairly simple, and I'm using the 3 R's of forming a habit to try and make them stick. Reminder, Routine, Reward. SHINE has the bonus connotation of constantly reminding me of Firefly. So I got myself a nerdy/geeky theme to boot! Yay me! Goal #1 - Sleep More I'm supposed to being getting 7 hours of sleep minimum, but lately I've fallen back into bad habits of staying up far later than I should. My goal is lights out by 11:20 on work nights. Reminder - I have two alarms set for 10:30 and 11:00pm nightly. Routine - Shut down the computer at 10:30 sharp, the first alarm. That gives me half an hour to get ready for bed, pack my lunch for tomorrow, read a devotion, or whatever. And the 11 pm alarm will give me time to crawl into bed and read a book or brush the cat for a little while before lights out time. Reward - for 15 stars or more on this challenge, my reward is too be better rested. But I further shall reward myself with a new book. Maybe this one... Goal #2 - Drink More I really need to drink more water. Once upon a time, I drank tons every day at work, but I'm so busy I don't think about it these days. However I can tell that I'm dehydrated, and I also think I have the tendency to think I'm hungry when what my body really wants is H2O. So... Reminder - This one is trickier. What can I do to remind myself to drink? I do have to run to the copier, and to my co-workers cubicles to drop off work - coming back into my own cube could be my cue. Routine - When I return from getting copies, I will take a drink before sitting down. I might not do it every single time, but my goal is to drink eight glasses - 64 oz of water at work every day. Reward - for 15 stars or more on this challenge, my reward is be better hydrated. But I will reward myself by upgrading my next massage to a hot stone massage. That's very motivating, right there. And so is this... Goal #3 - Exercise More In early March, we have the annual Fight for Air stair climb by the American Lung Association, in my building which is the tallest in the state. I work on the 15th floor, so I can train for this challenge, I've already climbed the 600 steps from my floor to the top once already, and I know I need to do more. This is prep work that I can do while the weather is crappy, to start getting in shape for a 5k. Aside from lunch hour stair climbs and my weekly Zumba class, what I really need to add back into my routine is a home strength program. Reminder - When I come home from work the first thing I do is take off my boots. Routine - When I take off my boots, I'll also change into work-out clothes and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'll do some kind of strength training - I haven't figure out what quite yet. Reward - for 8 stars or more on this challenge, my reward is that I'll start converting some of this fat over to muscle. But I'll reward myself with a new top. Goal #4 - Floss More Seems silly to make this a goal, but I recently had a root canal - Yuck! And I switched to a new dentist at the same time for my regular cleaning and check-up. The hygienist was friggin' BRUTAL. It was like being in a torture chamber while she worked on me. I gotta go back and face that again? I don't know, maybe it's me and I just really need to take better care of my teeth. Or maybe it's her and she's psycho. But either way, I ought to floss more than I do, which is very little at present . Reminder - I've put a bowl of floss sticks right next to my toothbrush and paste, super convenient. Routine - Whenever I brush, I will also flush, either before or after. Reward - for 20 stars or more, my reward will hopefully be kick-ass checkup the next time I go to the dentist, but that's not until June. In the meantime, I'll reward myself with a new movie from the bargain section. I already have this one, clearly.

Hello everyone! I'm Jiah Faye. This is actually a respawn point for me. I discovered Nerdfitness last 2014 but only started actively participating on the forums last year, 2016. My main goal didn't actually change which is to reduce my waist size to 25 inches. I still didn't get my body measurements so I don't know how far I am to my main goal. During this year (maybe sometime in August), I tried to incorporate walking/running into my daily life. I was averaging a 2.5km walking distance but I suddenly stopped it because I was doing it at night and I can't seem to sleep earlier. I also wanted to participate on a run but because I don't have training, I didn't get to sign up to anything. So before the year ends, I want to run for an event even just for once. Which leads me to my MAIN QUEST: Run a 5KM course on 1st week of December 2017 My mini-quests to help me achieve my main quest are: Walk/Run atleast 30 minutes every morning. Track sleep everyday. This will also help me in doing the walk/run every morning. No soda November. I was inspired by a post on the FB group so I want to participate in this. My way of tracking this is using spreadsheets. To be honest, I never used spreadsheets before but I hope I can have new perspective in doing my quests through this system. Also, I will be using the ZR5k app whenever I run. I also have an app to help me track my sleep through my phone. Creating this challenge is a bit late but I hope to have a great start and do this one step at a time. LET'S DO THIS!

Start of the Challenge: March 21, 2017 - April 15, 2017 (26 Days) LEVEL UP YOUR LIFE GOAL Create a To-do Master List Everything-I-Want-To-Do-and-To-Be Master List [10 XP] Quarterly Master List [10 XP] Monthly Master List [10 XP] Weekly List [10 XP] Daily List [10 XP] EC: spend 30 minutes in doing above tasks everyday [3XP] Finish Goal-Setting Course Finish Course [10 XP] EC: spend 30 minutes in doing the course everyday [3XP] SLEEP GOAL: Sleep for 7 hours Extra credit: Sleep before 12AM. [2 XP] Frequency: everyday [1 XP] DIET GOAL: Track food and beverage Extra credit: Eat vegetable in a meal. [2 XP] Frequency: everyday. [1 XP] FITNESS GOAL: Work them legs Use stairs when going home. Extra credit: 5x a week [double XP] Frequency: 5x a week [1 XP] Walk home from the bus stop. Extra credit: 5x a week [double XP] Frequency: 5x a week [1 XP] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Greetings! A little bit late to join the challenge but here I am! I'm happy to be back. I forgot how I was doing my challenges to be honest, but the guides are helping me so much! So many new features added on the forums. And I am glad to see rebels I was following last year still active til now! ^^ Hoping to have more time browsing through all your posts!!!

From Muddy Princess to Raising Superheroes... ok, I've always been trying to raise my two superheroes. This challenge I'm just (again) putting a conscious effort into it, specifically about health and fitness. I scandalously borrowed the title idea for this challenge from Banting's children's recipe book: Raising Superheroes. I'll be using some recipes from this book as well. Apparently I have a cape somewhere... While raising the next generation of superheroes I need to take care of myself as well. So although I'll be focusing on what The Boys are eating, drinking and doing in the background, here I'll mostly note my own feats of heroism w.r.t. health, exercise and sleep, to be the best Superhero mom I can be. Who am I kidding? I can't help but chat to my Rebel friends about all that is life. Health: Water & Rooibos: At least one bottle of water and/or some Rooibos. Coffee: No more than 3x mugs per day. Healthy Lunch: Yes/No. Breakfast and Dinner are mostly sorted, but lunch can be a bit much on the nerves especially if we are busy and The Boys are Hungry! Have lunch prepped and ready to take-and-go. Exercise: Only one morning with organised sport, which Youngest will take part in. Super Mom will have to save the day by getting them fit and strong! Mondays: BW Strength @ Home with The Boys. A walk during the afternoon would be an extra (not compulsory). Tuesdays: Youngest @ Playball; Oldest and SuperMom Walk; SuperMom and FriendC Walk. Wednesdays: Dance with Youngest +- 30min session. Thursdays: Self Defense with The Boys. Following our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman's programme. Thursday Rehashed: XBox Kinect game or OFF Fridays: BW Strength @ Home without The Boys. This is when I pull the irons out. Sleep: Every superhero has "kryptonite" and mine is lack of sleep. I must try and get at least 7hrs sleep in every night. Evening routine: 20h00 Boys shower. Then Oldest tells Youngest some bedtime stories. I tidy the kitchen, take out meat for next day to defrost, etc. etc. I shower. Say final good night. Lights off. 21h00 I must go to bed! 21h30 LATEST! EDIT: It keeps throwing out my images! What evil super villainy is this?