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Finally getting back into a routine with the arrival of baby #2! It was recommended by @Sloth the Enduring to consolidate threads so I’m going to be posting my challenge and daily logs all right here. Still a bit sleep deprived but will be posting more soon. Thanks for all the well wishes!

For this challenge, I’m very much feeling a fighter/warrior vibe. First of all, because my main method of fitness will be lifting and dumbbell workouts at home, so if the guild sub-forums were still a thing*, you’d be finding this thread in the Warriors part of the forums. Second, because I’m sticking to the simple, boring basics; much like in most RPGs you get spellcasters with their flashy magic and rogues with their fancy flips while the fighter just swings their weapon level in and level out, just with increasing bonuses to attack and damage. Even more so if you factor in my love for OSR games (or dislike for Marvel/anime style modern RPG aesthetics. I’m a grognard about this, sue me). The point is, I’m not doing anything impressive, I’m just doing the basics, but I want to do them well and consistently. * I’ll always think about these things a certain way because that’s how I initially experienced NF and it’s been hardwired into my brain Nutrition This interval fasting thing has been working pretty well for me during my break last challenge. Despite the lack of challenge goals and 2 weeks of decadence during my fiance’s visit, I still ended up losing almost 3,5kg within a month, so I must be doing something right, plus it’s still flexible enough to fit my current phase in life. Thus, in order to keep up with this I shall: - Weigh in every morning, preferably after a toilet visit. Track my weight. No harm done if it doesn’t happen for a day or two, it’s a soft goal but I still want to keep up the habit. Also, for tracking purposes, my benchmark weight at the start of this challenge is 96,3kg. - Maintain a 16:8 hour fasting schedule daily. This is flexible if circumstances demand a change, but the fat burning phase is supposed to start after 12 hours of fasting, thus my bare minimum is 12 hours of fasting. I’m also allowing myself to push past the 16 hours if possible. - My food tracking app helps with all these goals so far, as it includes a fasting timer and a weight tracker. It also allows me to track my eating (even if it’s a guesstimation), water consumption and steps (thanks to it being connected to GoogleFit). Therefore, I have one point of reference for all my nutrition goals, which I’ll try to stay consistent with and report my results here. Workouts Here’s the dumbbell workout schedule I’ve been doing before taking a break for these last couple of weeks. Minus the Lunges, because the floor here won't allow for them. Alternating between the two for two times, which gives me 4 workouts a week (A on day 1, then B the next time, another go at A for the third time and finally B again) and 3 rest days. No need to tie those down to specific days, as long as I end the week having put the work in. Allowing myself some flexibility to account for days when I'm not feeling well or something comes up and doesn't allow me to train. Arrangement A Arrangement B Sets x Reps Exercise Sets x Reps Exercise 3x8-15 Bench Press 3x8-15 Overhead Press 3x8-15 Pull Overs 3x8-15 Dumbbell Rows 3x8-15 Overhead Press 3x8-15 Decline Pushup 3x12-20 Biceps Curls 3x12-20 Hammer Curls 3x15-20 Skull Crushers 3x15-20 Triceps Kickbacks 3x15-20 Rear Delt Flyes 3x15-20 Rear Delt Flyes 3x15-20 Lat Raises 3x15-20 Lat Raises 3x8-15 Front Squat 3x12-15 Lunges per leg 3x8-15 Romanian Deadlift 3x8-15 Front Squats 3x15-25 Calf Raises 3x15-25 Calf Raises The idea of rep ranges means I start from the bottom end of low reps, then without sacrificing proper form and technique, do more reps next workout (or next week's workout, if it already felt hard to pull off). Once I'm able to do the workout on the high end of the range, it's time to increase dumbbell weight and start again from the low end of the rep range. This is meant to achieve progressive overload, ensuring I don't get comfortable (or bored) where I'm at but always doing a little more, a little better each time. Sleep I need a minimum 6 hours of sleep every night in order to be functional. Usually I have no problem going to bed in time (adjusted for late night video calls with deffy) and falling asleep immediately, but lately I've been noticing this isn't the case. I tend to stay up late, either due to stress or because I'm scrolling on my phone, then I've underslept and the deficit piles up over the work week. Gonna try to be mindful and reverse this trend before it becomes a bigger problem. Given the heat, I expect to come home from work late in the evening, have dinner, chill and digest for a couple of hours, then workout, shower and that should set me up good for bed. Wildcard here is my social life, so let's see how I juggle everything. Other things (not tracked) - Music: Still doing my Music in Time project. I'd like to keep that up. - Videogames: Still knocking games off my backlog. Cautious about the free ones I get from Epic Games Store, instead of blindly grabbing whatever's on offer, I do pause to think if I'd even be interested to trying it out. Have avoided some clutter this way. On the other hand, having some money on the side, I've grabbed a game or two. Also got me a game controller and moved the sofa around for a more console type setup. - Reading: Feels like kind of a luxury, given my work hours and workout/sleep goals, but I still want to do it. In a focused way, not struggling to read a few pages in bed before I fall asleep. Don't get me wrong, it's just that my work involves a lot of reading and writing so as much as I love books, sometimes I just need to do something different, which makes it harder to tackle literature. Then there's my Reading Challenge of GoodReads, I'm in 5 books out of 9 I've set a goal for and it's the middle of the year. Think I'll go for the Blackhearts Omnibus, which is a Warhammer Fantasy collection of stories/novels about a bunch of criminals sentenced to death and sent on a suicide mission instead of facing the noose. Scratches my grimdark itch and aligns with my warrior vibes this challenge. Speaking of Warhammer Fantasy, I recently purchased a hardcopy of the game's 4e core rulebook and an adventures book. I've read them both as pdfs, but I'd also like to read the actual things, cover to cover. - Language learning: I've been revising my German and learning Spanish on Duolingo, but yet again it feels like it can't get me past a certain level. Or that I'm trained to beat the logic of its puzzles, not actually learn the language. Then there's the pressure of keeping up the streak (a meme unto itself), even if it means doing a single lesson just to shut the owl up. Deffy told me of Clozemaster which seems marginally better. Either way, I'd like to use either or both to at least keep in touch with the languages somehow, lest I forget stuff and undo my progress so far.

[The Heiress and The Squire, as depicted in "Fuck me yourself you coward”, by Noctilia] Good Morning and welcome to Laghail's June/July Challenge, themed after the fantasy series, A Practical Guide to Evil. I'll be using a twin challenge approach with standard goals but also a secondary maintenance-only goals to revert to in case I'm suddenly moving, or catch COVID, or am confronted with any other part of our modern hellscape. We do have a planned one night trip to the Mayo clinic on the 4th and 5th, and Liam's bday on the 15th, but neither should trigger maintenance mode. In any case: Lies and Violence! (and Laghail) The Challenge of Noontide Sun! (Flexible Habits - Regular Mode) Rejuvenate (Sleep Hygiene) 8 hours in bed, and any meditation before bed or yoga upon rising counts towards the total. Fortify (Volume Lifting) 5x5 of the day's main lift at 70-80% of 1RM. Learn (3d Modeling) 30 mins daily time modifying or creating a design in Fusion 360 or Blender. Pursuing personal hobbies during work hours is highly encouraged. The Challenge of Moonless Nights! (Flexible Habits - Easy Mode) Rejuvenate (Sleep Hygiene) Sleep requirements during a crisis mode is unchanged. Persevere (Daily Maintenance) Pickup the banjo every day, feed the Duolingo owl once a day, read fiction once a day. Historically, I get depressed when a crisis prevents me from maintenance on the things I love. Foresee (Routine Perseverance) When crisis-mode is engaged, make a timeline of the crisis with best available knowledge, then track days elapsed until the best estimation of normalcy. Monthly Tasks! (Deadlines are not inflected throughout the challenge as each task is single-step) Moving Prep Pack away hospitality & entertaining Pack away ground floor books & games Relocate compost howe (Regular Mode only) Quality of Life Improvements Relocate craft studio Relocate wardrobe Close down Liam's university office Hobbies Complete 40 units in Duolingo Norwegian (Regular Mode only) Memorize "Ballad of Jed Clampett" Memorize "Down the Road" (Regular Mode only) Learn "Speed the Ploughman" [The Woes, as depicted in "Cute Woes", by Gwennafran]

Not for the first time in her life, Scalyfreak decided that it was very frustrating and possibly even a bit unfair that whenever she successfully escaped from either Self-Sabotage or Stress-Hydra, she inevitably ran into the other before too long. At least she had time to take cover and heal this time, just barely, before one of the seven hydra heads spun around to stare in her direction and sniff the air loudly. So Scalyfreak lobbed a smoke bomb in the curious head's general direction, and took off running. And running. And running, around tree trunks and fallen branches, avoiding paths and roads wherever she could, and she has just established managed to find a brisk and comfortable pace when she round a corner and runs straight into something hard and unyielding. Or someone, rather. A someone she bounces off of, and who makes a sound of surprise. “Running from something?” “Big Hydra!” Scalyfreak manages to get the words out, while gesturing back the way she came, while scrambling back to her feet. And in the process realizes that amused voice, and the steel chest place she collided with are very familiar, and all desire to stop running fades when she realizes who she has run into. “You know, the really big one that I can't do anything with because the moment I slow down it hits me with something and I don't have armor worth shit anymore.” Scalyfreak sighs, frustrated by how powerless she is against Stress-Hydra ever since the plot scroll took her heavy armor and shield away, and glances behind her. The crashing noises of a large creature moving through the forest are gradually drawing nearer. But her relief at for once not needing to explain her constant struggles to cauterize the Hydra's necks quickly enough for a severed head to grow back is interrupted when the Paladin walks close enough to grab the medallion she wears around her neck, and tugs sharply at it to get her attention. “The whole reason we have these is to call for backup, but it only works if you actually use it. We've talked about this, remember?” He sounds surprisingly irritated about this situation. “I... I'm very bad at remembering in the heat of the moment” Scalyfreak gives in to the temptation to squeeze the Paladin's fingers as she reaches up to take her medallion back, and is pleasantly surprised when a large part of his irritation fades away. Instantly feeling a touch awkward, she takes a step back and gestures towards the now rapidly approaching noises behind her, the kind of noises that typically are made by very large and blood-thirsty monsters that never fight fair. “So, would you mind helping me with this big Hydra that keeps following me around?” “Not at all.” All traces of irritation are gone, the Paladin manages to smile in a way that somehow is both warm and gleefully blood-thirsty, at the same time. While he turns towards the loud Hydra noises, Scalyfreak quickly stashes her backpack, along with her bow and arrows, off to the side of the clearing, then she positions herself off to the side, and reaches for the fire that always burns inside her. It comes eagerly, the flames collecting in her fingertips, and Scalyfreak feels her face slowly stretch into a blood-thirsty smile of her own. ”Ready when you are.” A brief “intro” for anyone who doesn't know me very well: Life has been unfocused and scattered lately. Work gets done, necessary tasks outside work gets done, but very little that isn't necessary is remembered and taken care of. A large part of this is the cancer things that happened in challenge #122... when everything is over, there is still high anxiety, and because the human brain is very illogical, it immediately begins searching for a reason to be anxious. Because the anxiety is there, and the notion that it is there for no reason is unacceptable, so the brain searches and searches and searches, and when it fails to find a reason, it picks one. There has been a lot going on at work as well. The kind of stress that happens when co-workers have medical emergencies, or when they refuse to accept little things like how change is a part of life, or various other things like how the nature of customer services means that things that were not a part of your job when you where hired years ago are a part of your job now and you need to learn how to do them..... all of this means stress of some form or another. And then there is family, and friends, and the stress that comes with managing all of those relationships. And it never stops. Ever. As soon as one thing starts to taper down another ramps up and the cycle repeats and repeats and repeats. So for this challenge, I'm going to stop waiting for things to slow down, and stop being irritated that things keep happening. Swim with the current, don't fight it, in other words. To this end, I'm sticking to the basics with my challenge goals: Health Bar (physical health) Work out on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Form of workout is less important than actually doing a workout, but getting to the gym is considered better than working out at home. Mana Bar (Mindfulness/Mental Health) Meditating on weekends continues to be a struggle. So the goal to meditate Saturday and Sunday is still very much in effect. Stamina Bar (Resilience/Emotional Energy) Do at least one thing every day that is entirely for me, because it will make me feel good. Whether this is to read a good book, to dance to one of my favorite songs, paint my nails, or whatever else, is irrelevant. And off we go! As far as I am concerned this challenge started on Monday, and I missed my Tuesday workout, so I am not off to the greatest start.... but I have help and I have determination, and I will get this done.

Hi everyone! Some time ago, KB Girl and I talked about NF a bit at the gym, and I felt like catching up with y'all again . From reading comes posting, so here's my challenge. This challenge, I'd like to focus on starting up my evening routine again. It consists of the following steps: 1. Make breakfast 2. Take multivitamin 3a. Brush & floss teeth 3b. Meanwhile, stretch calves 4. Put out tomorrow's clothes Pretty simple, it takes like 10 minutes, but it helps me a lot the following day. As for the rest, I just want to do what I usually do: enough walking, going to KB training twice a week and the occasional crazy thing like biking to work (1 hour each way). I probably should start losing a little weight at some point, but I have the hope that it will happen on its own if I feel mentally more energetic again . If someone has some awesome easy vegetarian recipes, I'm always open to that as well . As for a theme, I'm shamelessly stealing Mad Hatter's theme of bee/wasp-pictures, as they are easy to obtain this time a year. Here's one of my garden:

Made it to Level 5!!! Format of the challenge is virtually unchanged. And I'm feeling a bit lazy this morning, so if you want a full write up of how this works, here's my first cleric challenge with very detailed instructions. But I will go through my big 3 goals for the year: 1. Become an Ordained Deacon in the ACNA For this challenge, this will mostly involve keeping up with my summer class assignments. Also have to register for my fall classes and submit the paperwork for my background check. 2. Strength GainZ Go to the gym 2-3 days per week. This week is my deload week, then starting the 2nd of 3 7-week blocks that make up Stronger by Science's 21-week programming. Day 1: Romanian Deadlift, Lat Pulldown, Smith Machine Bench Press, Tricep Extensions Day 2: Smith Machine Squat, DB Row (or maybe Cable Row, we'll see what I feel like), Cable Chest Fly (although actually, it will probably switch between cable and DB, to make smaller weight increment jumps), Face Pulls Day 3...Haven't really figured this out, because I'm mostly shooting for 2. For now, we'll say lunges, high rows, DB press, and...ab work? Sure, let's go with that. 3. Finish Barndominium I am almost done staining! Should finish that off without too much trouble this week, and then on to the next job, which is closing the eaves up. Really not looking forward to this job, but it must be done, and I am looking forward to it being over. I am cautiously optimistic that I will be able to start on my deck by the end of this challenge. Also have a couple minor things I can work on inside the barn when the sun gets to be too much, like putting up knee braces, finishing interior walls, and framing in the tack room. None of that is high priority, but I'll pick away at it here and there.

Hey Everyone long time no see! I decided to jump into a challenge since I have managed to keep up with a few workouts in a row. A lot has changed for me in the last few years since visiting here. For this challenge I am going to draw on some of my favorite inspiration Dragon Ball! It is time for me to head back to the Kame House for some refresher training. Time to slap on the Turtle Shell and start pushing some weight again and workout 2X a week at least. I need practice with telling the anxiety thoughts in my head to shut up for a bit. Meditate 10 mins a day In my time away I have packed on some pounds. So to reach my goal of going from 215 to 185 I have to stay within my Calorie limit at least 6 days a week.

I'm finally sleeping reasonably well, so I can start to put a little effort towards fitness again. I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with the way my body is right now, but I've been hesitant to work on weight loss. I'm still nursing and I don't want to go too hardcore and lose supply. But... I don't think I need to drink multiple sugary drinks a day or eat huge desserts to keep that up. Once my baby turns about a year old (she's 10 months!!) I'm considering doing intermittent fasting pretty hardcore again because that works amazingly for my body. But until then let's get back to some basics! 1. No added sugar or caloric drinks before lunchtime (which is somewhere between noon and 2 with Mr. Griz, who works nights until like 4). This will help me avoid a sugar spike at the beginning of the day and the allure of 500 extra calories in coffee shop treats and drinks. I will still have a long way to go from there. Yesterday I think I had a mocha, a beer, and a milkshake after lunch. And maybe a chocolate chip banana muffin. 2. The teeniest tiniest intermittent fasting. I'll just push my first meal a little later and do 14:10. Right now I happen to be on about a 12:12 schedule. 3. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during baby naps, go down to our home gym and do at least one set of anything on the barbell. With just the barbell is fine. I haven't lifted in... Close to two years? Can I even squat anymore? Bonus baby pic!

I have low and variable energy, and am trying to avoid crashes that last for weeks. Apparently my fatigue is due to viral reactivation, which is primarily triggered by stress, especially psychological stress. I should continue with meditation, good sleep, low-stress exercise, and somatic therapy. The year of hippie wellness shit continues, as does the year of bujo, because it provides a flexible, mindful approach to scheduling that can be done even during crashes. I am tracking my crashes, and they seem to cover about half of my time, happening a bit less than once a month and lasting for weeks. It’s no wonder, then, that my routines and plans are constantly interrupted. If I accept that crashes are inevitable, then perhaps success will look less like a unbroken streak and more like circling back to the things I value. Persistence, not consistency. A spiral, not a beeline. (Thanks to Mad Hatter for the spiral metaphor). Walking up and down hills in Cassis made me aware that my conditioning has worsened, so I want to get back to the rowing in the gym. I did three months, then quit when I crashed. For some reason I figured that, because I stopped, it meant the rowing plan itself had failed, and I didn’t bother rowing any more. With my new understanding of spiral-persistence succes, it’s time to circle back and keep chipping away at it. Another idea I want to come back to is little “adventures” or outings to shops, cafes, the market. Staying at home is restful, but depressing, and it eventually shrinks my list of available behaviours. Although I think my fatigue is largely physical, I believe it also causes a psychological aspect of avoidance that further limits me. I want to push back gently on this and increase my comfort zone. I have also noticed that, although I have stuck to my internet ban for a few months now, I am actually creating the same oblivion state through low quality books, podcasts, and other time killing activities that take me out of awareness of my environment, body, and mind. I want to be here for my life, even if it is uncomfortable. So in addition to my physical exercise, I want to set aside some time every day for low stakes, low stress “study”, which could be painting, German, or a higher quality book or podcast. I must focus on the practice, not the achievement, because I just don’t like where my art skills are at right now. Art should be play, so my “study” should be fun. To further work on trading oblivion for presence, I am trying to bring mindfulness to my eating, and my lifting. I am reading a book on weightlifting as a mindfulness practice for healing trauma—the somatic therapist recommended it. It very much chimes with Sovalis’s concept of embodied prayer, or Scaly’s metaphor of iron worship. Or literal worship? I am unsure. I was searching for a spiritual practice—I haven’t been able to stick to morning prayer or meditation because they both feel a bit hollow. But I am thinking of dedicating my lifts to a certain crippled god of valour, and trying to emphasise the mindfulness/embodied aspect of my lifts. I tried it this morning. It was good. I’ll report on whether I managed prayerful gym, small adventures, mindful eating, and playful study.

Hello, everyone! I am Artemis Prime, level 4 Life Domain cleric, but by the end of this challenge, I plan to be level 5! Before we get into that though, a review of my high-tier 2024 goals: 1. Become an Ordained Deacon in the ACNA Things might be a little slower here this challenge. I finish my spring class this week, then will have a week off before summer class starts. My Parish Discernment Committee is wrapped up, so the next step is meeting with the Diocesan Council, and I'm not sure how quickly that is going to get scheduled. 2. Strength GainZ I want to spend the summer really focusing on increasing my pull ups and push ups, but I've been spending a lot of money lately and so am going to wait until next challenge to order the weighted vest I want to use for that. I just joined a gym though, and am riding high on the fun honeymoon phase, so this challenge is going to be all about familiarizing myself with the equipment there, and prepping for the summer with lots of lat pulldowns and chest presses. The goal is at least twice a week, possibly three if scheduling permits, and I always have the option of using my home weights if I can't get to the gym. Running-wise, I want to start adding speedwork back into my routine. For this challenge, the goal is speedwork once per week. Week One I will also gauge my mile time (wanted to do it in Zero Week, but 5k timing threw that off) and see if/how it changes by the end of the challenge. 3. Finish Barndominium Progress has been slow here lately, but is picking up as the weather improves. Focus continues to be on staining, and interior stall walls, which are almost done, so then barn ceiling will be next on the list. Once the staining is done, I want to get the soffit and flashing on. And then put the deck up. And THEN, finally, I'll be ready to start finishing my apartment. I hope my horses appreciate how much higher their living space is on the list than mine.

Warrior related discussions! *Note: You can participate in guild discussions regardless of your chosen guild. You love the idea of getting stronger and more powerful. Every day is an opportunity to move heavy things or test yourself against others in competition and prove your might. * Fictional example: Thor of Asgard (The Avengers); Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones) * Real-world example: Mattie Rogers, US Weightlifting Olympic team; 10x IFP World Champ Jen Thompson; Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who plays The Mountain on Game of Thrones.

Total Eclipse of The Heart Remember this song? Probably not, most of you weren't born. But the 80's were epic, my hair was born for the 80's. This challenge I will be travelling to Texas to see the eclipse. This will be the second total eclipse I have seen. We travelled to Oregon (driving distance) and this time we are flying with several family members. So, here is my eclipse challenge: Goal 1 : "Turn Around": Continuing habit of Bible before screen Goal 2: "Bright eyes" Levelling up on habit of getting out workout clothes, now that winter's past and" I'm no longer living in the dark", goal is to actually get dressed before breakfast .First half of challenge I'm aiming for 2/5 days. then I will go for 3/5 Goal 3: "Every now and then I get a little restless and dream of something wild:" Give myself time to dream. Chatting with @Harriet about how too much screen time sucks out our creativity. I want more time to dream and be creative. No screens (unless I'm using them for creativity in something tangible like scrapbooking) from 1-4 in the afternoon Goal 4 : "Together we can make it to the end of the line" I'm continuing my reverse diet. Right now I'm at a good point with my calories , so I just plan on maintaining that. After we return from our trip, the following Monday I will start my cut. Plan is to continue tracking calories and keep at it for 6 weeks

Follow along as I search for the true slayer among the crowd of promising potentials - the true slayer is a comedian who can excel at the the four marks of destiny - laughs per minute (LPM), story telling, presence, and X factor. I also shouldn't have to say this, but because of woke I'll be very clear, a comedian is a woman. I have no time for so called "male-comedians", those men who make a career of voice acting r/incel posts. I understand there are queer men, disabled men, BIPOC men, Jewish men, and men with hilariously exploitable trauma who can do a passable job as actual male-comedians; but the true slayer slays, without a hyphen.* To find the true slayer, I need to train like a slayer, and I'm focusing on the following areas for this challenge: Lore Head on pillow in bed reading fiction by 11pm - 5x/week Continued Duolingo streak by noon - 7x/week Meditation Ass on meditation pillow for 5 minutes or more - 7x/week Bodhrán meditation 3x/week Strength 3x8 65% work - 4x/week 15 mins HIIT - 4x/week Punching Empty the attic Attend one Stammtisch Attend one open mic Learn "the Ballad of Jed Clampett" Complete the book and workbook "Change Your Story Change Your Life" (CYSCYL) by Carl Greer Design and produce statuettes St Sebastian / Apollo The Norns The Black Madonna of Czestochowa / Erzulie Dantor St Rita of Cascia / Marsha P Johnson Produce pre-designed statuettes Eve-Asherah Gullveig-Freyja Redesign and produce statuettes Brigid Persephone Fro-ingvi Produce prayer beads Green agate and oak choker Unakite and rose quartz counting bracelet malas Obsidian and agate counting bracelet malas Jasper and copper counting bracelet malas Jasper "dude" bracelet Coffee-tone steel "dude" bracelet Get two tattoos *Expect lots of standup clips, and a decent amount of AI generated images of vampire slayers as comedians

The dark and emerald path closes behind Sepherina. Staring at the road ahead of her she can feel the power of the druids guiding her footsteps. Armed with some tonics and herbs from their grove she feels more confident in her ability to continue on. Spring is coming here in fits and spurts; and with that my sinuses are a mess. I am pretty sure I have a cold coupled with seasonal allergies. This means I must be diligent in taking my meds if I want to avoid more of the last week of severe migraines. I also think I have identified one food/beverage trigger that I am sad about and will probably have to be more aware of avoiding it. A reminder of what my 2024 goals are. 🏋️‍♀️ (Body) Strength Training: This is going well most weeks. I am excited to get into the gym and lift most days, but I have noticed I do have a week here or there where I fall off the wagon completely. I am at about 80% and really would love this to be closer to 100%. When I am making my days in the gym, I am seeing gains, but the week off usually requires a day or so to get back into the groove. I am trying to give myself a bunch of grace here as I have had two major migraines in the last week. I am communicating with my doctor about this and we are still trying to see if the regiment of meds will help. As a precaution I did have blood work ran and everything is fine on that front. Sourcing a stock of medication is on my list of things to do today as it can be hard to find in the dosage that works best for me. Meals: In the last challenge managed to track about 40% of my meals. For this one I am going to try for 60% as a low goal and 75% for a stretch goal. I need to make this a routine either in the morning or before bed. One requires that I plan what I am going to eat (which I have had some success in doing) and the other requires that I actually take time to do it post dinner/before bed (not so successful). To reduce choices on the lunch front I am meal prepping 4 of my lunches each week so hopefully this will help with tracking. As a creature of habit, breakfast isn’t a concern with the consistent rotation of the same things and dinner is now the meal kits which has a listing of all ingredients/calories. General Care: This past Thursday I enjoyed dinner and an IPA with friends. Friday was a doozy migraine and I suspect the IPA I had with dinner triggered the migraine. I am already sensitive to dry red wines (nearly instant headache for most US wines) and there are many herbal teas I cannot enjoy (allergic to rose hips and hibiscus). We are slowly removing the alcohol from our house since in most cases we can’t enjoy it. Which is sad because I have a nice stock of high quality beers With that said, spring is still coming and I will be setting an alarm for my twice a day medication (I metabolize the 24 hour stuff too fast). I have also fallen off my sleep regiment. This challenge the phone will be placed across the room, the sunrise alarm set and a general push to read before bed instead of scrolling social media. The intent is to be in bed by 10 PM most nights. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑(Social) Goal here is to spend time with friends a few times per month and check in on those I don’t see too often. We don’t have any big plans this month, but I am sure things will come up. We will probably have a monthly community dinner and I know we have at least one monthly creative meeting on the calendar. 💸(Money/Time) By the end of this challenge the goal is to pay the credit card to under $5,700 and keep our spend under control. For the most part we are doing okay sticking to our budget. On Wednesday we had someone come out and measure the area we wish to have fenced in for Maple and hopefully we will have an estimate soon. We are also mulling around the idea of gutting the kitchen this summer and remodeling it. We have money set aside for this. I am also looking mindfully at ways to exchange money for saving me time. Grocery pick up has been a time saver here as have the meal kits. 🌻(Spirit) I have some creative projects that I am attempting to bring into fruition. At our first monthly creative meeting I brought up my desire to create a campaign setting for D&D using Gary Gygax’s 5 week workbook. Instead of doing it in 5 weeks though I decided to do it over the span of 5 months. It gives me some bandwidth to explore and dig in to some themes without feeling rushed. I also have a witch’s garden to plan (herbs and flowers already bought) and some oils/tonics I am looking forward to creating. I considered creating a bujo page for this challenge, but I already have one set up for March and I don’t feel the need to record in two places. Maybe I will play around with a “standardization” of my daily pages. Lastly I am wanting to set a better bedtime routine (in conjunction with myself care) so I will be playing around with some rituals and such in this challenge. I have a lot going on here and to reward myself for hard work, here is what I can look forward to at the end of this challenge. Gym Goal of 90% or higher attendance. I get a new summer workout outfit. (Leggings and top) Food tracking of 60%. $20 towards the espresso machine we have been eyeing to replace the wasteful Keurig. Food tracking of 75% or higher: $50 towards the espresso machine. New Sleep routine - No phone, in bed by 10 pm for at least 75% of the time: A new silk or satin pillowcase. My old one ripped and I haven’t had the time or the talent to mend it. Medication adherence/alcohol avoidance: No migraines (hopefully). Credit card under 5,700 by end of challenge: A full day off of work and a home self care spa day. Thanks for reading and I hope to see all of you out on your adventures!

The comforting forest eventually gives way to wasteland.... the trees around here are smaller, younger, and farther apart. While the landscape is beautiful and the sun warm, Scalyfreak has learned the hard way that being out in the open like this makes her an easy target, and the lack of cover is making her more and more uneasy. And so, when the road she has been following leads away from safety, Scalyfreak stops following the path and turns back towards the shade of the treeline. Leaving the paved road means progress is slower, but Scalyfreak doesn't mind this at all. The trees are powerful and when she focuses and stands absolutely still, she thinks she can hear them sing to each other... maybe...? Scalyfreak keeps an eye on the wide open field to her right as she continues on her way. The treeline and the paved road are running parallel to each other as far as the eye can see and Scalyfreak can't think of a single reason for why she would want to travel where everyone else travels, exposed to all the hazards of the road, not when she doesn't have to. So she stays with the trees, mindful of her surroundings and cautiously optimistic that she'll reach her destination by nightfall. A brief “intro” for anyone who doesn't know me very well: The quest for better physical health continues, because my doctor's orders to get my blood pressure under control are still very much relevant, because that's what it means to have a chronic medical thing like high blood pressure. The management measures don't go away. One of the most important management measures is that I need to move more, to build my Strength and Constitution attributes, to help my myocardium get stronger, and also to give my body an alternative to storing excess food as body fat, by raising the higher daily energy needs a little bit. Another measure is to stop consuming stimulants that raise my heart rate and blood pressure.... in other words, cut back on caffeine. That last part might not sound like a big deal, but I'm starting from a position of drinking a little over a liter of coffee per day, and that is after already starting to cut back. I like to make my coffee a lot stronger than average (for the US anyway) because I like coffee to actually be black while it's being poured into a cup, and to generally have flavor. I have, as mentioned, started my gradual decaffeination by switching to black tea on weekends. I tend to sleep in for several hours when given the chance to do so, and it seemed unwise to start drinking coffee at noon. So I am drinking tea on weekends, and on workdays I have given myself a cutoff and am not drinking coffee after my lunch break. I'm also starting to collect black teas and herbal teas, and have started searching local stores for coffee alternatives that provide the savory and rich “coffee-type” flavor without dosing me with caffeine. Smokey black teas definitely live in this niche, but a fully caffeine free option that has some kind of coffee flavor would be nice. And no, decaf coffee is not an option. It has a weird kind of side-effect taste that makes it gross. I'm hoping that reducing caffeine for blood pressure reasons also will have a generally positive impact to my sleep. All of these vague descriptions need to somehow solidify into goals though, so here we go: Health Either go for a walk or do a workout, every day. “Workout” is defined very generously as any kind of deliberate movement done for the sake of moving”. The Daily Dare most absolutely counts, and so does stretching on days when that's all there is energy for. Mana Meditate every day. I am still struggling with remembering to do this on weekends, and until that habit is automatic this needs to remain a goal. Stamina Reduce caffeine intake by gradually switching away from coffee to tea and other beverages. Since I have coffee at home that needs to be consumed before the switch can fully take place, there's not a fixed timeline on this.

銀公雞的光輝長廊 (Beware of Chicken) 貪得無厭的班卓人無情的教導 (Banjo Practice) Work ligaments every day for at least 3 sessions - Working to get better in the "window", or holding frets 8 and 9 while switching among 10, 11, 12 on the banjo. Means my poor left pinky needs to learn new ROM's and lots of small physical therapy-style sessions every day are best. Reward - an Earl Skrugg's songbook!! Practice on fucking Thursdays and Saturdays - those days are the most often skipped. Reward - fancy new picks!! 沉睡惡魔的隱密法庭和他的許多仁慈 (Sleep Hygiene) 7 hours per day in a week Reward - Punjabi curry bowl on takeout Friday!! 支撐世界的烏龜必須自己更換無價的外殼 (Moving Prep) Empty both garage bays - before and after pics included. Reward - AYCE sushi!! Organize craft area - before and after pics included. Reward - $25 order credit on Pandahall!! Put away Christmas shit. Reward - $25 order credit on Pandahall!! 短暫的鑿子賦予了看不見的奇蹟以形式 (Sculpture Production) Print & paint Brigid v1.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Persephone v.20 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Oski-Otsi v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Frō-Ingvi v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Ylgr v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Lucy-Asherah v1.0 - pics before and after painting. Reward - re-order lion's tail petals. 光榮但笨重的泰坦研究卑微但不知疲倦的螞蟻 (Barbell Volume) 3x8 sets at 65% 4x a week. Whining before and after is not mandatory but will be included. In copious amounts. Reward - replace the old crumbling gym bag!!

Welcome, one and all, welcome to Level Four! Same basic premise as before, starting with the big goals: 1. Become an Ordained Deacon in the ACNA. Just started seminary classes so that will be the bulk of this goal for now. Also hoping to meet with my Parish Discernment Committee this challenge. 2. Strength GainZ Continue my Stronger by Science workouts 3/week. Currently doing Bulgarian Split Squats and Overhead Press, at the end of this training block (which will be about Week 3 in challenge time) I will be switching to lunges and rows (with deadlifts in both cycles, always). Also going to lump my cardio goals here, thought about making them separate, but really since the goal this year is a faster mile, that's more of a strength goal than an endurance goal. Also, three is a good number, so I didn't want to add another. For this challenge, the goal is just to start rebuilding the habit on my bike trainer. I'm also going to count it if I do stairs during my lunch break, to give me other options on busy weeks. 3. Finish Barndominium Spring is slowly creeping in, so I'll be able to start putting more work into my barn/apartment again. This challenge I want to get my north door hung, finish the interior barn walls, and at least start the barn ceiling.

"Oh hey you guys! Man, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry to have been away from this wonderful place for such a long time. Life has been interesting to say the least. I hope you've all been good. Me? Oh well, it's a bit, I'll tell you that. There was that... Oh then there's the... Well, heh, let me do this in my usual way." *Ahem* "So I met a girl in the usual way. We were playing Mario Kart and, what can I say? The shells were flying! I remember it so fondly..." "But she might remember things differently..." "But her name is @Blue1323, she's a Scout, loves Mass Effect, baking and is just the coolest person. Then after having my rent increased, I decided to move in with my friend and got an apartment together." "Once that was done, it was time to resume my Certification exam! I took the exam and unfortunately, I failed the exam by 2 points!" "Sigh... 2 Points. But you know what?! I'm not going to let that deter me! I'm going to take it again! I got this! But before this one, I'm going to take the Florida exam and guess what? I passed it! Narrow margins was the name of the game, but who cares? I passed!" "OK, Now on to the next attempt and wouldn't you know it?" "I failed it. Again! This time by 1 lousy point! One!! But you know what? That's ok. Because it was onto the next big thing that was on my mind. Throughout this whole endeavor, I've had the love and support of someone who became very special to me. I saved up enough gold and made a purchase and then I asked a question so few Adventurers are so lucky to ask..." It was shortly after this heartwarming scene that Blue1323 equipped the Ring, and gained +2 Int. She then briefly changed her mind... Briefly. "So now that brings us to here and now! I have tried to stay in shape on my own and trying to keep up with my own endeavors, but it's not the same. Especially since 'the incident' " "I've officially hit 200 lbs! This is a first for me, but also a wake up call that I need to do something about it. In the past, I have been hyping you guys up to @Blue1323 and we both felt it was time to join the folds (once again for me). So here is my return challenge!" The Return: "OK So in the past I've been infamous for going MIA due to some excuse reason, but now that I have someone to keep me in check and make sure that I stay consistent with both my goals and my personal accountability. So here's my 3 fitness goals: Running 2x a week Strength Training/Lifting 2x a week "Movie Night" 1x a week And for my Life goal: Post on NF boards, consistently, 3x a week For my fitness goals, these three things don't all fall on the same days, but there will be some overlap. For my Strength days, I'll be breaking them into 2 things: Upper and Lower. With Upper, they'll be Push and Pull exercises but they'll have a run day with them. With the Lower, I'll just focus on strengthening my legs and core, but no running. For Running, I can do a 5k with some walking in, but I want to do better. I'm going to push to be able to run a 10k. I have some... motivation to achieve this goal, like agreeing to run one, ha ha ha! But I have obtained a guide to help me find out the best way to increase my running distance. "Movie Night" will be an youtube video that Blue1323 and I found that is either a Muay Thai video or some intense Yoga video. Either way, we're going to be sweating at the end of it! Happy to be back with you guys and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead!

I'm going to continue working on the habits I've been trying to establish: Habit #1 Reading Bible before looking at screens Habit #2 Setting Workout clothes on my bed before breakfast, so that I am ready to workout as soon as I finish breakfast Both of these I have in my habit reminder on the phone, so I also need to check off there whether I have done them or not Habit #3 Writing out weekly goals and daily goals for the week/day. New goal: The workout program I'm doing: Anabolic , has what they call trigger sessions on days where I'm not working out. The idea is you use resistance bands, some intensity but not too hard, just enough to get a pump. Goal is to do these at least once ( they recommend 1-3 times during the day) a day 3 times a week What else I'm doing: Right now I' m doing a slight bulk. I want this to be at least mostly muscle gain. Which means I need to track calories, and weigh and measure myself. So, I will be doing that. I'm not listing it is a goal, because that actually backfires and makes me less likely to do it, because I slide too quickly into the all or nothing category. I feel like I'm lying if I report on here that I tracked, and I really can't remember what I ate for lunch, and it was only a guestimate. Where if I'm just noting it for myself I don't do as much self questioning and am more flexible. My workout program is Anabolic by Mindpump it's set up to be a 2 to 3 day a week workout. I will usually do 3 days, cause I love working out. I will also do walking. Maybe not as much rowing. I felt like January I was sick and pushed myself too hard, so I'm trying to back off. Let my rest days be rest days . I have the trigger sessions to do, which gives me movement, so I think I will just do walking. If I really want to get a row in, that's fine. J

Sepherina’s soul is weary of the next challenge. Up ahead she notices the path leads into the Enchantress’s Forest. She thinks to herself, I could use some magic and insight to aide me in my quest. With a spring in her step and a sureness of heart, she steps off the path and into the woods. This Warrior is taking the scenic route to her next mission. I feel the need for a bit of self reflection and therefore some Druidic help. A mini quest as part of my larger quest. A reminder of my 2024 goals and where I am heading Goals for this challenge 🏋️‍♀️ Continue with my current lifting schedule. Monday is all body, Tuesday is lower/leg days and Thursday is arm/upper body day. I am holding the line here but I am mulling over some changes. Mostly around if I want to continue to invest the outrageous amount of money I am paying for personal training and maybe find a more affordable option. I will also strive to take at least a 30 minute walk every day with Maple. This is good for her health and mine. With food, I am trying to eat for muscle gains. But the last challenge the scale didn’t budge in either direction despite me eating until I am satisfied. For now that may need to be enough. Additional things needed for this goal. Really try to get water in, keep alcohol to a minimum and nail the sleep schedule. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Make more forum friends. Spend a least 4 days this month doing something with a friend in person. Continue to cultivate relationships I currently have. Get a couple of date nights in with the hubs. 💸 My credit card balance is now under 7K. I have some extra money this month so I am going to try to bring it under 6500. It may be hard but it is doable if I am diligent. Look into some new ways of being frugal and spending my money based on my values. 🌻 I used to have a very diligent self care and yoga practice. But injury and then life got in the way. The injury now is mostly healed and other things in my life are more stable. I miss my self care. I miss my space on the mat. I will be prioritizing this. More to come on this goal. Plan out my garden for this spring and spruce up our outdoor living spaces for summer. I am a warm weather gal. Soon it will be time for bare feet in the dirt and sun kissed arms. Svastha: There are some things/relationships in my life I am not satisfied with. I no longer accept them as is. If I can change something I will try to do so with empathy, but sometimes you have to cut things loose. A good friend told me that I shouldn’t sacrifice my happiness just to accommodate someone else’s bad behavior or continue to accept the status quo to keep the peace. I also shouldn’t keep habits/lifestyle choices that make me miserable. I will be rooting those out as well. And because it has been awhile since I have shared, here is a Maple picture. She is getting soo big. She is about 7-8 months now.

I posted a challenge last challenge, thinking I was on the other end of some health stuff, and it turns out the worst was just beginning. It was a tough month, but after a ton of appointments and a quick surgery, I should be back up and running and back to "normal" by next week, just in time for this next challenge to start. So I'm taking my last challenge and almost duplicating it, only simplifying it a bit Spezzy is a Korok If we look back at the periods of time when I've been the happiest and healthiest, they're times when I'm spending significant time outside. Even in my years that I spent hours every day in the gym - I was either doing additional training outside or in open air gyms in Texas. The periods of my life where I haven't had the gym and I was the happiest, I've spent the majority of my time outside Now that I'm back in the darkness of new england, I've been finding myself skipping workouts and other things just to optimize the amount of time I am able to just be outside during the day - and why would I want to be in the gym if I can be doing projects outside? This will be me attempting to build out this new life embracing the fact that I am not a magical humanoid race (Hylian) like I have wanted all along, but am, in fact, a child of the forest (Korok). (Now of course, this doesn't mean I can't do things Hylians can do - Koroks are very versatile little creatures. But it means that I need to prioritize the things that make me the happiest, and for me, that's being outside and interacting with nature/animals/plants/etc. ) It's going to also focus on re-solidifying some older habits that have stopped (like a daily walk or regularly strength training). With recovery, I'll have to focus on doing better each week so may not hit everything the first week, but I'll get there. I'm not concerned about nutrition all around, so no goals around that. Just focusing on reintegrating movement and a solid schedule that includes lots of time outdoors. GOALS: Exercise: Daily Walk - non negotiable. Bonus: a second walk, even if it is on the property. Strength 3x/week Unfortunately, this will have to be inside most days, but bonus points if I can figure out wintertime outside strength work! Rowing or yoga at night - the rower is in the house now. I do best at sleeping if I exercise lightly before bed, so 10 minutes of either yoga or rowing every night. Spellbooks/Schedule: I now have complete freedom of schedule in my new role at work, and since I don't have kids or anything else with a specific schedule, I can really do whatever I want. The problem is, I'm not sure what the BEST schedule is, so part of this is figuring out what that is. I'm also focusing on getting up earlier and earlier, to optimize sunlight since it gets dark very early here. Get up when I wake up or by the last call alarm time (if I wake up before alarm, just get up) Nightly spellbooks review + prep everything for next day (as a part of this challenge, make checklist of things that need to be prepped for next day) Follow schedule plan with work blocks (shifting schedule to do a large portion of work when it is dark out). notes: work when I'm supposed to be working, even though I have my own schedule. Use ADHD coping mechanisms - headphones, timers, do it up. Outdoor Farm Life / Mindset - these specific things will be built into my schedule A few minutes each day either focusing on breathing/meditation. If I do yoga, this can be included at the end there, but I'd prefer to do it outside. Sitting out by the river in the morning sounds like it could be a good thing. Take a break from work and spend at least 20 minutes with the animals during the day - this could be training huckleberry, sitting with the chickens, or hanging with the goats. Doesn't matter, but spend time with the animals. This makes a huge difference in overall mood. Get outside for at least 30 minutes before sundown in the afternoon. And that's it!

So. January?! Last fall I worked hard on getting my life (myself?!) in order. Mentally I’m in a better place, with some new and improved planning skills, and nothing significantly on fire, so this challenge I want to tackle some long-standing Things I Want. Weight loss. It crept up during the house remodel a few years back and just stayed. I feel awkward in my body and I want to deal with that. How: calories under 1900 average/day, workouts as usual, walk 10 miles/week. I’m aiming at very gradual, slow progress is fine. If this doesn’t do it I’ll drop to 1800. Writing. Tackle some projects and build momentum. How: after breakfast, any amount of time, days when I don’t go to the office. And I signed up for a class. Living space. Get things cleaned up and set up. Repair things that need repairing. How: 10 minutes/day, working clockwise around the whole house. And say yes to my husband’s ideas on this, to support and build on his momentum. Can include the garden too. Work. Try some new stuff. Partly for interest, partly to sort of future-proof my thinking in case there are layoffs (feels like there should be more to say about that, but I don’t know what). How: blocked time on my calendar, made a list of things to research. I actually started some of this last week. I’m amazed at how incorrect my assumptions about calories are, but feels pretty good overall!

Here we are, with my 4th cleric challenge, and while not much is changing with the format of the challenge, there are some underlying shifts happening. Starting with the fact that I have not tagged this with ranger, and instead am running in the warrior guild. You'll notice that my crest hasn't changed, because I'm easing myself into this, but my Ranger Brain(TM) is being put in the closet for 2024 while I focus on my three main goals of the year: becoming an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church of North America (which may take longer than a year), gaining as much strength as possible, and completing my barndominium. 1- Become an Ordained Deacon in ACNA I will be starting seminary classes on January 29. It's about a 2 year program, but depending on how things go my first semester, I may double up on classes. On Wednesday, I have a meeting with the Bishop, after which I'll hopefully have a better idea of the timeline for everything else. I'm actually not sure my seminary certificate is required to be ordained, but I do love classes, and it should be helpful, so either way I'm completing the program. 2 - Strength GainZ Why did I spell gains with a capital Z? I really don't know, but we're going with it. Anyways, I'm really enjoying lifting, and I want to take advantage of still being in the period of my life where strength is fairly easy to come by. I feel good when I'm strong, life is easier when I'm strong, and the stronger I get now, the easier it will be to maintain once my immortality wears off. I'm currently following Stronger by Science's free programming which so far has served me well. 3 - Complete Barndominium For those of you who have been following, you know I've been working on building a barn + apartment for 1.5 years already. The barn portion is mostly done. Horses are moved in, and they are loving life in their new digs. This will mostly be on hold for the beginning of the year. Through the winter, I may pick away at finishing a few things inside the barn. Once spring arrives, I'll be focusing on finishing the apartment. The goal is to be moved in by the end of 2024. Since it's all interior work, the weather isn't actually that much of a limiting factor, but at the moment I have very limited daylight outside of work hours, so I'm waiting for longer days as much as nicer weather. There are lots of smaller things I still want to incorporate into my challenges, but here are my big 3 for the year. Let's do this!

The shrine to The Iron remains a comfort for Scalyfreak, who is starting to feel quite comfortable in her tent in front of the altar. It is safe, and it provides much needed rest on her long journey. But regardless of how comfortable the shrine camp site is, it is not a full temple and as such it cannot provide either fresh water or provisions or any kind. Since Scalyfreak does need to eat and drink water both regularly and frequently, she finds herself forced to pack up and move on from the Iron Shrine sooner than she wishes to. Ah well. She does still need to reach her destination before the next new moon after all. Decision made, Scalyfreak packs her things up and leaves the safe haven of the Iron Shrine, to once again set out towards the nearest road going west. Every now and then she stops to look for the hoof prints that led her to the Iron Shrine, but most of her attention is spent on being aware of her surroundings and listening for changes from the forest around her. The large demons who have stalked her for as long as she can remember are never far away, and they move swiftly and silently. Still, the further Scalyfreak walks, the more she comes to realize that there is no danger to her where she is at. The forest around her path is teeming with life and all the sounds that creates, but there is a calmness to it, a steady rhythm that knows it cannot be stopped and has no need to hurry. If Scalyfreak concentrates she can feel the ground hum faintly under her feet, and the air is moving around her although there is no breeze underneath the canopy of tall and dense trees. It's fascinating, and soothing, and Scalyfreak cannot help but feel nearly as safe here in this forest as she did by the iron altar. Something about being close to the trees is comforting, and Scalyfreak soon realizes that she appears to have slowed her pace, extending the time she'll spend in this forest, before her path eventually reaches the open valley where the trees are younger, and further apart. A brief “intro” for anyone who doesn't know me very well: I dislike New Year's Resolutions. For one, I subscribe to the notion that if I am serious about waiting to make a positive change in my life, there's no valid reason to wait until the end of the year, I should get started as soon as possible. For another, there's this weird pressure about making them, as if it's mandatory to resolve to either lose weight or exercise more or something else that I should be trying to do regularly anyway, and the extra pressure of New Year's Resolutions being so special and serious makes it more likely for me to give up on them. Yuck. But, with all that in mind, I do need a bit of a fresh start, or rather I need to get back to what I was trying to do as a fresh start a few months ago, before Self-Sabotage “helped” me stress myself out more than I should over just how much adjusting I need to do in order to work well with everyone around me in my new job. So here we are, with a shiny new challenge where my goals are to reestablish good habits I have had in the past, that I know work for keeping me happy, physically healthy, and keeps my anxiety disorder at a level that allows me to live without metaphorically self-immolating the moment my stress levels spike. Physical Health Move intentionally every day. If all else fails and I can't get anything else done, I will do the exercise from the Daily Dare PVP as my bare minimum for that day. It's time to grow stronger again. Mental Health Mediate every day. As is my habit, I lose this habit when I take time off work. This is in large part because the biggest source of stress in my life is work, so I have less of a need for meditation when I am not working. I need to reestablish meditation as a part of my morning routine. Emotional Stamina My old bullet journal only had a very small number of pages left at the end of the year, so I am starting a new one for January. I'm creating pages for things that I have been wanting to do for a while, but never seem to get around to (like sorting through the contents of our linen closet and get rid of the things we haven't used in years), and will also track things like daily walks on weekends, gym visits, et cetera. But emotional stamina is also about doing things for me, that make me happy, just because they will make me happy, so that will also fall under this category. Gym visit tracking will start next challenge. I'm opposed to sharing a small space with a large group of strangers who may or may not be plague-bearers, and historically the New Years Resolution crowd thins out after about 6-8 weeks. I can work out at home while I wait.