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Hey yo! Is anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo this month? I'm off to a late start, but I'm working on catching up today. You can add as a buddy on the official site: christinewyrd is my username. Good luck, any fellow writers!

While last time was okay, I found myself skipping the workout and missing my third workout challenge consistently, so I'm going to implement the don't skip twice rule for all the things I'm trying this challenge. My midlife/writing crisis also threw me off, so I've set more specific goals instead of leaving it as vague as I did last time. I'm doing five weeks, starting today, so I'll be tracking everything from here out. Workout 3 per week, no more than three days in between (15pts) I'm focusing on the BBB with a particular focus on the push up since I suck at them. Self Care One item from list, every other day. (18 pts) List Shower bomb, Floss, Read, Write 750 words, Epsom salts scrub, No dessert, or No alcohol. (I may add more as the challenge shows me what I'm doing or I see other great ideas in other challenges) Rituals for Transformation I ordered a 108 day workbook and have been working through this. It's still new so I'm still building the habit. I want to track it to make sure I stay on top of it. So far so good, but better safe than sorry. Reading, meditation, intention, morning reflection, evening reflection and gratitude. Daily. Tracked morning and night. (50 pts) Writing I plan to write a short fiction piece to submit to an anthology. I want to have it completed by the end of the challenge. I'll likely be looking for readers/editors as this will be my first piece of work I'll ever finish, if I do this. Find and read short fiction the length of the story I’m writing (1 pt) Write for 90 minutes per week using #amwriting and/or #wordsprints on Twitter in no less than 3 sessions. (15 pts) Bonus I noticed that I do or need to do a lot of other random stuff and there are some things I've been missing, so I made a bonus of list of randomness. This is just for me to track to learn more about my habits. 1 pt per bonus item, doesn’t count towards success of challenge. List: Amerithon tracking (I keep forgetting to record my daily walking total), NF Check-in, Something off my running To do list, Crochet (It's still hot to really do this, but it is something I've been missing), Making Jewelry, or Zentangle. It's a lot of points, I don't know what I'm going to do with them. Maybe just level up. My big focus is really keeping up the BBB and getting that writing in. So if I do those two things perhaps I'll find a special treat related to working out or writing. I can't believe that it'll be nearly Halloween when we finish this challenge, this year is just flying by.

It should be obvious what the theme is this challenge. I'll be working on four goals, plus writing story. The story portions will have their own posts. I'm planning on six parts, one at the end of each week, plus the opening. This time I'm starting the challenge at the beginning of zero week. AKA, today! Goal #1: Poké Chef! Cook one *new* family meal a week. Goal #2: Catch that pokémon! Work on job hunt four times each week. If I get the job I interviewed for last week, replace job hunt with study. Goal #3: Walk, walk, and walk some more! Walk 25 miles (40 km) each week. Goal #4: Wake-up Slap! Follow the morning routine five times a week. Meditate -> Daily Dare -> Bullet Journal -> Nerd Fitness

It's my seventh challenge and I'm ready to do this! Whatever this is. I'm ready for that. --- Quest #1: Workout 3x per week (continuation/upgrade from last challenge) My yearly goal is to work out 2 x per week. I'm eleven workouts behind, so if I just add one extra per week, it's still gonna take nearly the rest of the year to catch up...which means it's definitely time to scale this up. The good news: I'm feeling really motivated to workout more. The bad news: More workouts take more time. So I will keep these workouts short and sweet. I will do them before work in the morning. I will succeed. Quest #2: Lights out at 10 pm (continuation from last challenge) I am still committed to getting to bed earlier, and my partner is in on it. Strategies that will help: Not overscheduling myself, heeding my alarms at 9:20 that I need to get in bed. Quest #3: Write a poem every other day and post it before 9 pm (continuation/upgrade from last challenge) This quest messed up my bed time quest last time because I like to stay in bed and write. I also feel more pressure to produce really good poems as the project goes on longer, so I spend more time on them. Which is fine--but I'd like to have a deadline. Quest #4: Manage my $$ (new quest!) I used to be A+ 100% amazing at keeping up with YNAB and various other money-related tasks. It's been minimum two months since I've done that. My partner and I have a shared money date (as we call it) and I have a solo money date where I sit down and do a bunch of boring money stuff and usually have a treat as well. I will reschedule my solo money time because it's still in the middle of the day on Tuesday...even though I haven't worked for myself in almost a year. I am committing to at least one session of one hour per week of managing my money, whether it is on my own or with my partner. Overall thoughts I wish I were doing a nutrition quest but I think the upgraded time commitments on both money management and workouts is going to be a lot to handle. I've pretty well built a habit of eating veggies where possible (okay, I don't order salad when I eat out because it makes me sad) so I'll keep up the basic levels of good eatin' I currently have.

Wow. The end of the last challenge went through my life like a meat grinder. Mediation Workshops, threats of nuclear war, Personal Relationship Crumbling, Charlottesville. Thank goodness I have the NF community and the habits I've built with you guys over the past few years. One of the things that I know is that we will do it together, and we will go farther than we ever could have imagined. #Writing: After attending the Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop, I applied for and got accepted into the Queens University MFA in Creative writing. This means that I have to read and write every day. I started a scheduled structure, and stick to it mostly. I need to continue it so that it is a solid habit. First submission due: September 1. I also need to submit a piece to a contest or so, since it would be a wonderful thing to get a cash award, and the validation wouldn't be awful. But the writing is the thing. Feel free to check out my progress in my tracking spreadsheet (two tabs). Also, I have a paper on American Exceptionalism to write that I got an extension on, and that needs to be swept up. #Writers Life #Mediation certification: I took all the required training seminars last challenge, and will spend this challenge getting the required practicums -- observations and co-mediation -- taken care of. Hopefully the court certification will be finalized by the end of this challenge. #FingersCrossed. #Communication with Vivian. My daily calls with my daughter were suspended when we went to court on July 6. This hurts, and she was in tears over it. The appeal hearing was moved to the end of October (two challenges from now, I think, but maybe three -- this is how I measure things). I'm now limited to calling on Monday and Wednesday. I wrote her a Garden Report and included a garden word search along with the pictures I took and mailed it to her, and thus began a habit of mailing her something most days. Harvey mails some days too. It's our way to stay in touch now. I send a puzzle or coloring page or whathaveyou. And then I'm going to write my pen pal, who is in prison. #SnailMailRules #Employment I interview for a position to teach GED classes at the regional jail. This resonates with me in ways that don't really make any sense, but in a very positive, contributory way. Part time. I'm thinking of it as a work-study component to the writing classes. #WishMeLuck #Self-care Nightly sleep I need to take care of myself by making certain I'm getting enough rest. If I'm worn out and exhausted, I can't be a good student / parent / friend. I need to be in bed no later than 9 p.m. Daily Sauna or hot bath Meetings A few meetings a week, especially on Wednesday, then therapy on Thursday and then the Friends Meeting every Sunday. Water reestablish the habit. Walking. My steps fell to hell as the office job progressed. I went from a ten mile a day habit to barely a mile, and lost the habit of walking thirty minutes every day as well. I'm hoping to put it back. #FinancialPlanning with the attorney: Financial worry is soul-crushing. Bankruptcy filing in Monday, August 14. #Acceptance leads to #balance. #Balance leads to #harmony. #Harmony leads to #peace.

She blinked as she woke up. She reached for her glasses on the nightstand...good god, it's covered with stuff. What happened to the sleek modern nightstand with a couple magazines and a fancy ipad that controlled the lights? This place is a wreck. She finds her phone...it's 7 am. She never wakes up that early without an alarm. Slowly she begins to remember. She's not in London anymore. The view outside her window is no longer the impenetrable Tower of London, it's...a two-story 1960s LA apartment building. She can see the smog in the distance, and it's already pushing 85 degrees. The mission was a success. She ran through the tasks: the dry suit diving at the Churchill Barriers to get the keys to the Tower. The coded message from the shepherd in the highlands, delivered in morse via sheep shears. The unexpected rendezvous with an agent she'd known since childhood. The coordinates, hidden in plain sight at Westminster. And finally, the disaster thwarted when she returned the missing treasure to its spot in the Tower. It had been a great success, and no one would ever hear about it. And now she was back at home, awaiting the next gig. Maybe this time she'd try to settle down. Work a regular job, that kind of thing. It seemed impossible, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. ---- Well, I'm back from a 3 week vacation in Scotland & London and I barely know what real life is anymore. I'm crashing hard from the long time away from work, all the walking, the good food, the time outdoors, and of course, all the people and problems I ignored while I was gone! I'm trying a gentle re-entry challenge to get my head back in the regular day-to-day, with a little bit of travel inspiration thrown in. What I love about traveling: I don't worry about anything that isn't actually important. I see lots of cool new stuff and have a lot of time to think. I have far fewer possessions to deal with and all of my possessions get used regularly. I intentionally use things up rather than saving them for a just-in-case scenario. What I don't love about travelling: I don't take care of my body as well (eat bad food, don't work out, don't hydrate) I spend too much money My quest for this challenge: To retain the magical spirit of vacation but also To rebuild the habits that support me (It's also the one-year anniversary of my last re-spawn, as well as QUEST #1: Work out 2x per week. Although I'm behind on my yearly workout goal by 9 workouts, now is not the time to go crazy on adding workouts! Before the trip I was solidly at 2x/week and I am sure I can achieve that again. QUEST #2: Eat vegetables every day. I have a lot of support here from my partner who is also lamenting the large quantities of potatoes we ate in the UK. QUEST #3: Get to bed by 10 pm every work night. I will sleep minimum 8 hours per night, and get to bed before 10 pm each night. QUEST #4: Write and post a poem every day. I'd really like to do more here (like get my Patreon page set up) but for now I want to just keep up the momentum I had on this project while I was travelling. I'm also trying some new strategies for managing my day-to-day life that I'd like to record here without making them part of the official challenge: Don't fill up your to-do list just because you have things to do. In fact, if you fill it up, you're doing it wrong. To-do list should be reserved for things that are actually going to get done, not things you are idly considering. Clothing diet: this is something I've done after trips before, where I wear the same clothes I wore on my trip for about a month after I return. Often the things I packed for the trip are among my favorite clothing and it reminds me that I can get rid of clothes I'm not wearing AND I can get by with fewer clothes. One fun thing, one work thing: I gotta keep doing laundry and stuff but I don't have to only do laundry. I will prioritize one fun activity every day. Save money wherever possible. Stay in, eat in, prep lunches. Okay, it's about 3 am according to my body so off I go to bed. I'm excited for the challenge ahead and really trying not to overstuff it.

I don't have a clue when I last posted -- I know that the #BigHeavyWeight of it all wrapped itself around my shoulders on June 19 and I have been working my way through a bit of hell ever since. Anton Chekhov wrote that "Any idiot can handle a crisis. It's the day to day living that wears you out." And I've had about three weeks of living in that space. The good news is that I am brave enough to say I'm tired, brave enough to quit pretending all is well, brave enough to rest and to begin to heal. Another wonderful man once said "This is not the end, and not even the beginning of the end, but it might be the end of the beginning." #KeepSwimming My employment ended on June 3o, the afternoon after a demonstration by a company that can do everything I do, only from India. I texted my partner that I was pretty certain that I was going to be outsourced, and sure enough, I was shown the door the next day. #MoreTimeToWrite. #Writing: After attending the Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop, I've decided to formalize my path as a writer. This is weird and vulnerable and scary for me. I need to keep a log of pieces that I have submitted (a New Thing That Just Happened on Monday) and pieces that need rework. I hope to have a submission, rework and new work every day, along with reading. Stay tuned. Feel free to check out my progress in my tracking spreadsheet (two tabs). #Mediation certification: I will be taking the Domestic Violence and the Family seminar on July 21, and then the Family Mediation Training in Richmond in August (next challenge). I'm still waiting to make progress on the General Court observation, but it will come in due time. The Family Mediation Certification will likely come at the end of August (also next challenge). It feels good to have progress on this. #Communication with Vivian. My daily calls with my daughter were suspended when we went to court on July 6. This hurts, and she was in tears over it. We go back to court in September (two challenges from now, I think, but maybe three -- this is how I measure things). I'm now limited to calling on Monday and Wednesday, which doesn't really make any sense, since the argument they presented was that I was inappropriate on the phone, so why would it be ok to be inappropriate two times a week? #MovingOn. When we were on the phone on Monday, we started talking about the garden and how it's coming along and she got a little sad. I said I could send her pictures, and she brightened up and said she would love that. So there it is, in the midst of the dark, the single star to guide me through. I wrote her a Garden Report and included a garden word search along with the pictures I took and mailed it yesterday. I'm going to write her every day, including a puzzle or coloring page or whathaveyou. And then I'm going to write my pen pal, who is in prison. #SnailMailRules #Self-care Nightly sleep I need to take care of myself by making certain I'm getting enough rest. If I'm worn out and exhausted, I can't be a good student / parent / friend. I need to be in bed no later than 9 p.m. Daily Sauna or hot bath Daily Meetings Reason 417 that not having a job is grand for me is that I get to return to my lunchtime meeting. It meets at 12:15 seven days a week, and I'm thinking of adding Saturday to the mix when my partner has overtime or a seminar. It fits perfectly after my writing workshop meeting at 9:30 at the local library, and then the Friends Meeting every Sunday. Water reestablish the habit. Walking. My steps fell to hell as the office job progressed. I went from a ten mile a day habit to barely a mile, and lost the habit of walking thirty minutes every day as well. I'm hoping to put it back. #FinancialPlanning with the attorney: Financial worry is soul-crushing. I recently read a report on the effects of poverty sapping nearly an entire standard deviation from a person's intelligence, and I can completely believe that. The mental peace that will come from financial clarity is huge. I have until July 31 to wrap this up, and am hoping that it will be done much sooner than that. It's only waiting on me at this point, so pester me for updates.

This glorious geeky bastard, y'all. Life goals. I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine. Goal: Sleep. Measurement: Hours. Frequency: Daily. (Night before.) 4-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I'm doing badly on this one lately, and need to recover some ground. I've replaced my missing fitness tracker so I can quantify sleep better and report it to my ADHD coach. Also, feel free to harass me if you see this number averaging under 6.5-7 hours. Seriously. Want it fast, want it hard. Goal: Aikido. Measurement: Full points for attendance or reasonable substitution. Half points for any substitution. Frequency: 3x/week, or as possible. 0-x-_-x-x-_-x//_-x-_-x-x-_-x//_-x-_-x-x-_-x//_-x-_-x-x-_-x//_-x-_-x-x-_-x I'm doing reasonably well on this one, though I've been skipping classes for work reasons lately, which isn't great. (If I get the ADHD handled better, this will happen less.) The x's are there for adding in extra visits to the gym, which I'm going to try to step up when I get back from my vacation. Less for fitness, more for my brain. Goal: Intermittent fasting (fast, get it?). Measurement: Full points for LCHF+IF. Half points for one or the other. Frequency: Daily. 5-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I'm pretty reliably LCHF 90% of the time or more, but IF has slipped. I'd ideally like to do both. I find both at once challenge, so that's this challenge. One track mind, one track heart. Goal: Focus meditation. Measurement: Yes/no. Frequency: Daily. 0-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Recovering lost ground again; I considered a more challenging measurement, but I realized I've meditated maybe twice in the past month, which is no bueno. Anything goes. Goal: Focus, and do some ADHD shit. Measurement: WTF, I dunno. Frequency: Daily. 10-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Yeah, I don't know how to measure this one. On the one hand, it's things like "did I successfully use a strategy or do something biggish like see my coach", and on the other, it's, like, did I do a little educational thing that may or may not move the needle. (And, to be honest, my coach and I are running out of ideas, a little. I still get more done working with her around, but the coaching isn't going on so much.) I'm not sure. I'll take suggestions. I feel like I'm the worst, so I always act like I'm the best. Goal: Metta meditation before bed. Measurement: Yes/no. Frequency: Daily. 0-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ This is a two-birds-one-stone kind of thing. I'm hoping it helps with some of the sleep problems by centering me a little at bedtime, and I'm hoping to spend a bit less time feeling like I'm the worst. Bonus: Practicing a certain Doctorish arrogance. Measurement: Sliding scale. Frequency: As arises. 0-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I don't know what this looks like, but I think it's worth doing. Maybe I'll just practice saying some really arrogant shit about myself. I know exactly what I want and who I want to be. Goal: Timepunk lifestyle reboot. Measurement: Sliding scale. Frequency: As arises/daily. 2-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Bonus: One-off timepunk lifestyle reboot shit. Measurement: Sliding scale. Frequency: As arises. 5-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I don't really know what to do here. (Yes, the goal quote is a lie.) I'm sort of going, "I'll know it when I see it," except then I sometimes don't see the opportunities. Any suggestions on this one? I think I might need a blazer of some kind. (Summer is not good time for layering, WTF.) Fortunately, it's sunglasses season and I have light-sensitive eyes, so I'm getting back in the sunglasses habit. Wouldn't kill me to break out the punk albums again. But that's all low-hanging fruit. If I'm really clever, maybe there's something here about using the ADHD traits in an actually useful way, cuz that dude's the ADHD poster child. Bad grades, distractable as a cat, poor impulse control, doesn't handle authority well, into adrenaline sports... but he makes it work somehow. (I'm counting the activity tracker acquisition, because any device that analyzes my activity and vibrates to extend my senses while looking like jewelry is surely a futuristic cyberpunk marvel.) TV taught me how to feel, now real life has no appeal. Goal: Writing. Measurement: Full points for 10 minutes or 10 words. Frequency: Daily. 0-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Time to make with the fictional worlds again. Starting small to get the habit going again. If you are not very careful, your possessions will possess you. Goal: General possession-ranching, particularly organizing and repairing. Measurement: Sliding scale. Frequency: Bi-weekly. _-_//_-_//_-_//_-_//_-_ I wasn't going to, but the song's pretty clear on it, and it's not a bad goal, so just a few stuff-husbandry goals. Not acquiring. Acquiring is not the point. In theory, I do this, but in practice, I wouldn't notice if it slipped, so this is the weekly reminder. Don't do love, don't do friends. I'm only after success. Bonus: Points for social activity. Measurement: Sliding scale. Frequency: As arises. 3-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_//_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I have a habit of getting way too stuck into work, and then hibernating when I have time off. Right now, I'm just tracking and awarding bonus points, but at some point, it'll be more goalish. I will count aikido, because it's social and seeing people outside of work - any outside club activity counts. This looks like a long one, but it's mostly data-gathering, or nudging existing habits back into place. TL;DR on the audience participation: Hassle me if I don't average 7 hours of sleep a night. My ADHD goals need measurability. My timepunk lifestyle reboot needs both goals and measurability. I could also use a little help being arrogant, frankly.

I actually did the planning worksheet this time. Who am I, and what have I done with my impulsive hot mess self? Here's the fire plan sketch... Guardian: Increase weight on squat and deadlifts at least weekly. I've had a few "resets" recently to check form. I want a consistent four weeks of increase. Sometimes I tend to wimp out - especially on squatting - because I get scared. If 65# feels so heavy I'm scared to go to depth, I will make excuses and not even try 70#, even if Coach tells me I'm strong enough. Yeah. It feels heavy. So? Pick it up anyways. Big Girl: Diligently hit protein targets every. single. day. It is a pain in the heiney to track my macros every single day, but it is making a big difference in my strength, recovery, and firmitude of bicep. I struggle the most with getting in my target 110g of protein every day, so for the duration of the challenge I want to be very intentional about putting a bare minimum of 100g in my face every day. Yeah, even if that means I have to choke down an Exo bar or make a second protein shake before bedtime. You have to EAT if you want to grow up big and strong, right? Junkyard Dog: No Junk Food for 30 days. This is from the NF Academy nutrition quests, and I almost checked it off without thinking about it when I first saw it, because I hardly ever eat junk food. I didn't let myself, though, because I had not specifically tracked or paid attention to whether "hardly ever" actually equalled a certain number of days. Well, today I got out of class late and starving, stopped at the grocery on the way home for butter (mmmmmm.... butter....) and somehow in the checkout line the evil hangry imp that I had not seen or heard from in I don't know how long got a candy bar and an orange soda pop onto the checkout belt, into the bag, and into my belly with almost no protest from the brain part of my brain. So now I'm going to hold myself publicly accountable before I award myself that check mark and 75 points! Chronicler. Complete the exercises in the Structuring Your Novel Workbook during July Camp NaNoWriMo. I am an aspiring writer. Not sure if I've mentioned that anywhere except the NaNoWriMo thread, but I am a long time fangirl/participant/devotee of National Novel Writing Month. Usually I "pants" (as in, write by the seat of my pants, just fling words at the paper and let the story go wherever it will, making a disorganized mess of plot devices and rabbit trails that ends up way too daunting to revise and edit) but this year I am trying a more disciplined approach that might actually lead to a coherent, workable novel draft. Maybe. I hope. Worth a shot. I'll be starting this one early, because these 30 writing exercises are my goal for the upcoming Camp NaNoWriMo which runs the calendar month of July.

Hey, all-- I'm planning to do NaNoWriMo this year and wondering if any other Rebels are going to as well. I'm pretty intimidated by it and am planning to make it part of my next challenge--thought maybe we could all form a little guild and encourage each other. For those who are not familiar: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month, when a bunch of people all try to write a novel in one month. www.nanowrimo.org.

This challenge will build on my previous one. In the last challenge, my goal was to stabilize my emotional and physical state. Check! Now, we get down to business. Under a doctor's supervision, I'm going to start a 2-3 month keto-adaptive boot camp. I have already ordered the blood-testing kit and keto strips. I wanted to start last week, but the doc has some extra steps he wants me to take before I go full bore. He was worried I didn't have sufficient ketones built up to withstand the initial diet. I take my first blood test Tues-Weds when the kit arrives, and I also have bloodwork that's coming back. This challenge will coincide with the "full bore" phase, starting May 28. I will be evaluating and tweaking my diet as I go based on the ketone results strips. Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of in someone else's office. 4 Week Challenge Goal: Complete month 1 of the keto-adaptive boot camp. Diet: Category 1 food list, no coffee, alcohol, proscribed carbs of any kind. This is super strict. A = <=1 fails/week, CON +3, CHA +2 B = <=3 fails/week, CON +2, CHA +1 C = <=5 fails/week, CON +1, CHA +1 Exercise: I want to focus on building stamina and vitality, so focus on 5+ "vigorous" exercises and 4+ yoga exercises per week. A = 9+/week, DEX +3, STR +1 B = 6-8/week, DEX +2, STR +1 C = 3-5/week, DEX +1 Refresh: Continue work into mental health-- books and talk therapist if I can corral one. A = 4+/week, WIS +3 B = 3/week, WIS +2 C = 1-2/week, WIS +1 Fiction: Life goal, this. I'm up for one new story a week, which includes a major revision. That will clear the decks for the novel. A = 4+/week STA +3 B = 3/week STA +2 C = 1-2/week STA +1

I've been around NF for ages, but I've never really managed to get anything to "stick", except NF yoga. And then, somehow, everything came together at the end of last year and I had a Facebook meltdown which meant that I stopped using it - right at the same time that the NF yoga challenge started. So I had a lot more time each day (plus loads more mental energy) and a clear challenge to finish. And I found that the format of doing something, even if not something very big, every day for a month, really felt like a good fit for me. If you only have to do 10 minutes' meditation a day, then surely you can keep it up for a month? (Answer... yes, but only barely.) Since then I've done the following: Yoga for at least 10 minutes every day. Many days it's been a lot more. On the days when I had the flu at the worst, in mid-December, it was really only those 10 minutes, and some of those were just the kind of yoga sessions where you stretch a few limbs, but I did it. So since 1 December I've done more than 30 hours of yoga. And although I've still got the tightest hamstrings in the universe I'm definitely feeling a bit more bendy and more able to balance. Sometimes. My January month's challenge was 10 minutes of meditation a day. And I hated it. HATED it. But I did it. And actually I did learn some stuff - such as I find it much easier to meditate while in slight pain (one of the meditations involved holding your arms out to the side for the whole time. That really hurt, but it gave me something else to think about.) The worst ones were where the instructor said "release your worry about..." and then listed a whole load of things that were completely irrelevant or just annoyed me. But again I learned that actually most things in my life are pretty good - it's stuff like "release your worry about Brexit meaning that the entire foundation of your life has just collapsed" that I'd have to include, and that's the kind of thing that would make anyone worry. So I have actually done meditation a couple of times since January, and I'm going to try to keep trying it, because I know the various benefits are astonishing. Although I was amused to read the other day that Mark Sisson can't be doing with meditation either! My February month's challenge was at least 15 minutes of writing every day. And I looooved it. It's not that I was surprised to love writing, because I've always thought of myself as a writer, but the format was something I didn't think I'd enjoy. A couple of years back I enrolled for a month's free write challenge (you had a topic every day, you were supposed to just write for 15 minutes, no crossings out, not thinking too much about what you were writing). I did maybe three of the prompts and then gave up because I "didn't have time". So I dug out those prompts and used them. I wrote last thing at night, in bed, longhand. Sometimes that meant that I started writing at 1am. But I did it. I actually even created a little loop of music to work to with an app on my phone for quite a lot of the sessions, which was fun too. And the prompts were weird things, like "Creativity all over it" and "Fruit party", "Cloud dancing" and "She stood for". And from this I learned that 1) when I'm writing stuff that's not meant to be part of something longer, I'm amazed by the things that come out of my head. Often even when I actually started writing I didn't know what I was going to write, but pretty much all of the pieces are OK, and one or two of them are really good, either as they stand or as clues to a longer piece; 2) at some level I think that short fiction should involve violent death. I killed or threatened to kill several other people in these stories, and in one of them I was the victim. So that was fun!; 3) you can actually end up writing quite a lot if you only write every day for 15 minutes (although of course a lot of them were longer sessions). So writing is going to carry on. Indeed, this mammoth battle log entry is going to be my writing for today, I think. March... now, March is why I'm here. There are a number of reasons why I want to finally do something about losing the few pounds extra that I'm carrying (particularly as I'm going to hit 49 in May and the few extra pounds are increasing all the time). So March needs to be about fitness/body composition. I've been a member of NF Academy since it was launched and never really done much with it, so that's my basis for my "at least one thing a day" for this month. And last night I wrote down my "big why". Which was that I haven't really got one, and how that fact has been one of the things preventing me for doing much about my body composition for several years. My big why (and the full version runs for several pages) is that yeah, I understand completely why a big why is a good idea. But mine boils down to "because". So that's what I'm going with. Thus far, I have to say that this challenge format is great fun. I've really enjoyed doing different things each month and then finding ways to keep up the activities I enjoy. Other things I want to be adding for other months later in the year include improving my Spanish, not for any reason other than it sounds so nice, and trying to achieve better sleep hygiene while still managing to squeeze all the other stuff in - this will be easier as of April when I'm meant to be back home in Sweden and not renovating in France for at least a few months. Oh, and I'm still off Facebook. Which given all the shite that's been happening is looking increasingly like an excellent decision. So, yeah, a bit of a saga there. But this is for my own accountability so that's fine. I'm intending to post regularly but I probably won't usually write very much - one of the keys to this set of challenges has been about not making it too strict for myself, so I'm not setting rules for how often/what I'll post. Tomorrow's action: Take my "before" photos. Again. And try not to despair too much at the fat I've put on over the winter.

I'm back for my second challenge! What's changed? Well, I have decided to say farewell to the Rangers and join the Warriors! Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement. I am looking forward to working on this one for the full 4 weeks, as I joined my first one a few days late. THE GOALS: Write weekly blog posts Create a content calendar by 4/25 and post it to the NF thread COMPLETE 4/25! Share links of weekly blog posts on NF thread to keep me accountable Finish setting up website Finish setting up footer, social media threads, related posts, and all miscellaneous template stuff by 5/7/17. Website is www.kaylamaeanderson.com for those of you that are curious. Hit macros 5/7 days/week I downloaded the MyMacros + app to help me track Current Macros are: Protein 122 Carbs 152 Fat 59 Calories 1623 Make macro-friendly snacks over the weekend to have on hand throughout the week Complete morning routine 5/7 days per week M/W/F up at 5:15am T/Th up at 6:15am M/W/F 5:30-7:00 Gym 7:15-7:30 Shake/coffee 7:30-8:15 Journal and Meditation 8:15 Get ready for work T/Th 6:15-6:30 Coffee/Walk Dog 6:30-6:45 Breakfast 6:45-7:15 Journal and meditation 7:15-8:15 Work on blogs/performance pieces

I am going with Kiki this month. Kiki is Ghibli's heroine of 1989. She is honest and cheerful, hardworking and loyal, and honestly a little lost. She isn't an awesome witch, and when she leaves home for her mandatory year of training away she only really can do one witch thing. Flying. And she's not really good at that either. But she goes and does it anyway. And in way we all know, at least I do, she looses that thing that makes her her, and has to relearn magic from scratch, and she has only herself, and the friends she makes along the way and she figures out how to be what she knows she has to be. A witch. A good one too. So I really could use her spirit right now. I am hitting the books hard, learning what I can about being a trainer and I am not entirely sure if I can do this. But I like giving people tools to make themselves less fragile. And encouraging them to find a healthier person inside themselves, doing good things for themselves... Work. 8h / week. Do something productive for me being a trainer. Plan classes, read school material, work on homework. FlyLady. 15min / day. Do some adulting at home every single day. No doing heaps one day then lazying off for days on end. Act like the badass you know you can be. Drink water. (every day) Eat well. (a good choice each day) Move daily (DailyDare or yoga 5 days per week = non-class days) That's the plan so far. I will log in my bujo (bullet journal), and from time to time I will dazzly you with the pretty of it... Or with food porn... or you know, being spring, with nature being pretty. You have been warned. I do love this community. And the amazing people in it. Katrin

Okay starting today, I am taking in the sights as I breeze into a new town of regular habits, creativity, and a stronger me! I'm looking for 75% success on all my goals! Goal 1: 6 cups of water per day - in meh/okay process Goal 2: PT 3 times per week (min of 15 minutes per session) (will take note of extra sessions as big wins) - in very minimal process Goal 3: practice guitar for 15 mins every day (following book - report on chapters worked and how it feels) - in pretty good process Goal 4: 30 minute writing sessions 4 times per week (free writes would be great - editing only after initial 30 mins) - not started yet Goal 5: Bonus Goal -- set up workout area and create workout program binder -- put it up and write it down!! Simple in detail, strong in desire, tiny steps expected!!

Woo, new challenge. Last challenge I needed something to focus on to keep myself from falling into a slump while waiting for my non-weight-bearing period for my broken ankle to end. It did, and I am now cleared to weight bear as tolerated. I am not yet cleared to drive so I'm still house bound, but I have a physio appointment this Thursday so depending on what they say I may alter my goals slightly. My long-term goals currently stand like this; Walk without moon boot, crutches or limp. Be cleared to drive again. Be cleared to skate again. Re-Pass my Minimum Skills Test. Play a whole derby bout. My quests for this challenge focus mostly on the first three goals - being able to walk, and then drive my car and eventually skate again all rely on me strengthening and stretching my weakened right ankle. Passing my MST and playing derby will come in a few months when I can skate again without fear of re-injuring myself. QUEST 1 - CLEARED FOR SKATING Part 1 - CARDIO. 3x a week; Planned for M/W/F I need to keep this up because otherwise I will die when I get back on skates. I will be using the stationary exercise bike I own and doing intervals on that as it is currently the only form of cardio I can do that is low-impact and also good for my ankle. I have started with 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off and I will increase the intervals weekly. I want to work up to cycling for 2 minutes with a 30 second break because that is the longest one derby jam can go for. If my breathing can keep up that long I can survive most derby stuff. Week 1: 45/15, Week 2: 60/20, Week 3: 75/30, Week 4: 90/30 Part 2 - REHAB. Daily. Once my physio tells me what to do I will be doing that. I also have some derby ankle strengthening exercises I can do as well if I feel like it. If I have to take a rest day and just stretch and ice my ankle, then that will count. Rest is rehab too. Physio has prescribed theraband exercises (working on all the different ranges of motion my foot struggles with) and one-leg balancing. I need to do it at least once a day, but three times is optimal. Part 3 - WALK IT OFF. Daily. For this quest I am just wearing my pedometer everywhere and logging the steps. I will aim to increase my steps weekly by a small amount. Being able to walk again is crucial to my returning to work and me feeling like an able bodied human again. QUEST 2 - MIND YOUR HEAD Part 1 - MEDITATE. Daily. I find myself often trying to burn up any free time I have with being on social media, especially before bed in the evenings and before getting up in the morning. I plan to stop that and focus on nothing but my breathing either in the morning or the evening. Just for a minute or two. In the morning I can set positive intentions for the day and in the evening I can look back over anything I was grateful for and things I did well. QUEST 3 - TALK ABOUT IT Part 1 - WRITE. Daily. I have a sci-fi story that I am working on that I'd love to get more of done, and I can also journal about my day or something I need to vent about if I don't feel like writing sci fi. I aim to do this directly after meditating in the morning or just before bed in the evening. I will log the word count and try and increase it weekly.

No time to say "Hello, Goodbye” I'm late, I'm late I'm late! Each week I will do the following with a bonus task (see below for week bonuses) The Jabberwock Build strength to defeat The Jabberwock (Overall Challenge Goal : 10 workouts to defeat The Jabberwock) Mad Hatter Join the Mad Tea Party (Overall Challenge Goal : 14 cups of tea consumed at the Mad Tea Party - 2 per prep/home cooking) White Rabbit I’m late, I’m late, I’m LATE! Stay ahead of the White Rabbit (Overall Challenge Goal: 40 times I've gotten ahead of the White Rabbit - hitting snooze buttons) Caterpillar Be advised on how to cope with life’s difficulties (Overall Challenge Goal: 3000 pages filled with how to cope and adapt to life’s difficulties - 1 hour of reading = 100 pages) Cheshire Cat Gain insight on life (Overall Challenge Goal: 28 days of insight - Bullet Journal) Queen of Hearts If the cleaning is not done, off with her head! (Overall Challenge Goal: 120 mins of avoiding beheadings - Cleaning) Bonus Tasks Per week Task 1 : Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop. - The King of Hearts I have multiple projects to do and I keep adding new ones before I even start or finish old projects. I have 3 projects I want to work on this month and 1 or more HAVE to be finished. I have the whole challenge to finish this. Projects : Mosaic Mirror, 1 knitting Square & Rose Mobile. Task 2 : “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." - The Red Queen It's about finding out what is keeping me in the same place and then figuring out a solution to fix the problems. I know it might seem easier to keep doing the same things over and over and while I’ve made some progress, I’d like to see more. I have the whole challenge to complete this. Questions to ask myself - What do I do that keeps me in the same place? Am I doing things that are making it harder on myself? Make a list and then make a change. Task 3 : “I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” My subconscious can be fairly imaginative, specially if I eat pizza before bed. I dream some funky dreams but that doesn't often translate to my waking hours. I think this is because I’ve set limits and have told myself too many times, “You can’t do that so why try?” I want to focus on building my imagination with practice and action. Either start week 2 or week 3 depending on how the other tasks go. Have 1, 10 min imagination session a day, embrace the multiple spontaneous sessions I can get in, try something I previously said was impossible. Task 4 : There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I’ll write one. - Alice Week 4 is going to tie in with week 3 because I’ve always wanted to write but I’m terrible at writing and grammar. This is a scary goal! Write for 10 mins a day because it’s not impossible, I want to work on my imagination and maybe it will help me learn to express myself better.

TW: depression, anxiety, hopelessness What. An. Incredibly. Shitty. Day. Let me just start by saying that I have depression and anxiety. It's relatively mild, in fact the official term for my level of depression as explained to me by my doctor and therapist is "sadness". It seems to be mostly manageable and I have good days and bad ones. Most of my bad days correlate with work. I really do not like my job. I work in a retail store in a mall, we sell mostly household items. It is a mindbogglingly boring job that mostly involves dusting and human communication, both of which I don't enjoy unless in very certain circumstances. I feel guilty for hating my job so much, after all it's a pretty basic, alright paying job. My boss is kind and some of my coworkers are fun to be around (others not so much) but still I am emotionally drained after each shift and dream of quitting every single day- even though I only work 3-4 days a week! I'm ashamed that I feel this way. After all there are other people in much worse situations complaining much less. But feeling guilt over my sadness because others are sadder is the logical equivalent of not allowing myself to be happy because other people are happier. Now isn't that just ridiculous? I'm tired of my life. I have a BSc in psychology, a field I don't like at all and shouldn't have studied to begin with. I wasted three years of my life and haven't progressed at all towards any kind of meaningful work. I don't know what I want to do with my life but I picture it involving some kind of performance, theater, writing, stand up.. But when I mention that people constantly remind me that performance arts are difficult - as if the only reason I would pursue them would be out of laziness. Then there's the added anxiety of actually being on stage, what if everyone laughs at me? Assuming if I even get into a theater program, which I'm not even sure I truly want? There are three things you need to make it as an artist: talent, discipline and passion. And I am scared that I only have an ounce of each. Passion especially. Life seems dull and grey and I don't even know if I have passion for anything. I just feel like an ungrateful, spoiled little brat who doesn't want to work for anything. I don't know if I have what it takes to be an artist, and if even I don't fully believe in myself why the hell would any producer or director? I just hate this feeling of not having a purpose, a goal, something! Frodo didn't feel like he had a purpose and then bam! Take the ring to Mordor. There's your ultimate life's mission. Can someone give me a quest, please? I want to change my way of life, figure out what I'm supposed to do, and I want to do it right now! Because otherwise I have to go back to work tomorrow and continue leading my boring ass life until I eventually kill myself.

Hi guys! So, it happened like clockwork, just like I said it would - the fat loss stalled out on 02/11. That was kind of weird. Knowing my body as well as I do, being able to have it down to the day. Wasn't quite prepared for that. So now I need to figure out what to do next. I could lower the calories, but the yield on that is going to be comparatively small at this point. I don't have a lot of reason to do something like that. But I still want to cut. The temptation is to attempt recomp, but everything I've ever seen about that assumes a specific training modality to go with it, and that's not me anymore. So, I don't think a traditional recomp is in the books for me. Instead, I'm going to try something different. Once, a long, long time ago, I tried my hand at Leangains. This is the father of most IF protocols that you see being bandied about in the fitness world these days (with Pilon's Eat Stop Eat being the granddaddy). I didn't stick with it because it didn't work because I didn't understand a lot about what it takes to make most nutritional protocols work. And interestingly, the cutting protocol would still wind up being more calories than I normally take in anyway, which I suspect is where I need to direct my efforts next. So, you know. Maybe do that and see what happens. There's a bunch of other stuff too. I need to fix some problems with my body, and the dojo's moving. There will be more training opportunities, and the more time I can spend on the mats, the better off I'll be. I'm going to have to account for that. I want to be the best martial artist I can be, but I also need to be the best me I can be for the people in my life who need me. In addition to promotion being somewhere in the cards this year, I've been challenged to participate in the TSC coming up in a couple of months, and the Dragon OCR coming up after that. One other rub as well, and probably the most significant as far as the year's Epic Quest is concerned. I need to honestly assess my finances and determine whether or not I need to pursue alternative income in addition to what I'm bringing in now. On paper, I'm making a lot more money than I was, and I'll admit I've got a lot more breathing room than I previously had. But in practice, a lot of what I make goes to taxes and benefits, and taking up my car payment in addition to putting away for savings and paying my folks for what living space isn't exactly making things easier. Why would I need more income? Because the goal is to free myself before the year is out. Right now, I'm thinking I might be ahead $150 to $200 a month, and that's not gonna work. I could probably cut back on the quality of food and such like that, but truthfully, that's not a cut I'm willing to make, and I don't know what else I can cut that I'm willing to. (I don't need a gym membership. I don't need to eat well. But, well, I make my choices and I'm willing to live with the consequences). Fwah. Okay. So. I need to get stronger, run farther, fight better, acquire currency, and not get sick no matter what. Because the world needs the best of all of us, and even me. Piece of cake. Goal 1: GAIN LEANLY Basically, Leangains is a super-flexbible IIFYM diet that focuses on intermittent fasting and maximizing whatever metabolic processes are engaged on any particular day. The temptation to misuse this flexibility is awful. Goal is 90% adherence to macros on any given day, and to not get so bent out of shape when I get invited to eat outside of my chosen eating window. Goal 2: RUN Running doesn't suck. Since the goal is to get better at distance, I will take up the 100m-800m run protocol as listed in this article. I can use the treadmill at the gym for this - I no longer subscribe to earlier statements I made about losing hamstring strength. I already know I can do 100m at 12 mph, and could probably do it faster if the damn thing could keep up with me. Goal 3: SNATCH The goal is to get to the point where I can do snatches for five minutes straight. Most of what I've got to play with as far as KBs go mean getting good w/ the 24kg, but... I don't know whether to go for the Novice or for the Open divisions. (Novice is 5 minutes w/ 20kg versus the Open's 24). Either way, I need to get good with the 24, and I need to get to a point where I can snatch continuously for time rather than treat it as power work. I miss my hang cleans. Goal 4: WRITE AND EDIT I think that whatever path I take to acquiring extra currency, it's going to involve doing things that I do already. Bump up the writing to 4 pages and figure out (and take) what steps are necessary to freelance as an editor. Okay. Okay. Here we go.

I am super behind on getting this ready, so here is the skeleton and I'll fill out the details and the charm* later. I've kind of been ignoring the NF planning worksheets and all that, and while I'm going to continue ignoring 95% of it, I was realizing that I DO have six-month goals and this is what they are: Become more financially stable. Establish one month of emergency savings. Pay off my smallest credit card and pay down at least 30% of the other card. This goal is basically on auto-pilot--just have to keep it in mind and I know I will get there. Become more politically/socially active. Discover what I want to focus on. Take action (phone calls, protests, letters, etc.) Attend a city council meeting. This goal is going to take a lot of time and emotional energy. Become an even more awesome developer. Finish at least two video series that will help me be better at my job. Consider getting certified in April. Write more. I have been writing 10 minute chunks 2-3 times a week. I'd like to increase that to 20 minute chunks 3-4 times a week. I also want to be editing and publishing my work. Do one full push-up. That's it. Notably, none of my goals are particularly fitness-related. But, I know I will need a strong healthy foundation to achieve them. I will focus on one of them at a time, I think. Nutrition quest #1: Green up! Add a veggie to my breakfast 5 days a week. Fitness quest #1: Work out! Do two bodyweight workouts per week. Fitness quest #2: Self-care! Practice self-massage** every day. Ideally for 10 minutes, but any amount helps. Mindset quest: Go to bed! Be in bed by 10:45 pm this week, by 10:30 pm next week, by 10:10 the week after, and by 10 pm the final challenge week. Lights have to be off 15 minutes after the deadline. You get one day per week to stay up late, so choose wisely, young night owl. Life quest: Save the world! Every day, take one small action to engage with the world at large. Ideas to start with: Pick up trash on your way to work. Enter all the numbers of your state & local representatives into your phone. Make a call to one of those fine folks. Find out when and where the next city council meeting is. Vote. Write about what you want to focus on. BONUS POINTS: Do squats or wall push-ups when you go to the bathroom. 10 of either will do. I'd love to flesh this out, but I gotta go to bed or this is already off to a bad start. * Or just the weirdness. Whatever you want to call it. ** No, that's not what I mean.

A new challenge begins and I start it by confusing people! What I mean is that I call this challenge "build strength" and I'm actually not starting any new fitness routines this time around. I'm using the word strength in a broad meaning. (Isn't this an awesome gif. Random awesome find.) Strength does include one fitness objective and two nutrition objectives, but the most important objective is to continue with Nourish Yourself and everything around that. Nourish Yourself is a course from Kate Marolt. I might also re-start her meditation course (easy to find through her shop)—Choose Freedom, mostly because I want to increase the amount of time I spend on nourishment every day. After strength, my second priority is whittling down my to do list for Becoming Nomadic. I want to sell my house and go traveling. I don't know if I'll be staying long in different places or if I'll flit from place to place. I'll see when I get there. First I need to shed belongings and my house. Third priority—FINALLY—is writing. I feel like I haven't had the space in my life to make this such a focus, but I finally do. Is it because I put most things under strength? Or am I just ready to give this the time it deserves? But it is still only my third priority. However, I don't plan a heavy load of nomadic tasks so hopefully I won't have to let this slip of the caring for myself tasks. Oh, wait I guess I should explain that. For one thing, I call my goals objectives because it feels better. Although you'll often see me call them goals for common language on the forum stuff. But for some reason I like calling them objectives in my head, perhaps because it feels more ok to fail an objective than a goal? Or maybe because an objective is an aim more than a goal, and even if you miss, you tried to aim so you succeeded? The mind games we play. Another mindset shift I'm doing is that I'm seeing my goals/objectives as acts that I do because I love myself. I'm very focused on self-care at the moment. Of bringing nourishment, joy, and happiness into my every day life. So every day I ask myself what would be loving to do. When I feel good, it is loving to do my objectives. On other days (even some good days) it is more loving to put them aside and do what will really nourish me in that moment. You'll probably find me exploring different activities and how they make me feel. My recovery activities and whether they actually help me recover is vitally important to me. I'm also looking at what I'd call filler activities—not the best of names. Those activities are the stuff you do while you wait for water to boil, when you're waiting for an important phone call and can't really start anything, when you need to clear your mind between tasks, when you just need a mental break. These activities doesn't necessarily have to be recovery activities. I'm just looking at them and seeing how they affect me and I've noticed how small shifts in what I do in those moments really changes the way I feel for the rest of my day. I suppose I have a little more to explain, mainly my journey into spirituality that I'm on right now. For the past 27 years of my life, I've basically ignored my spirituality, or only explored it in flashes without success. Since last fall I have however started to dig deeper into it. I've looked (and plan to get back to) shinto and secular buddhism. Currently, I'm doing the Nourish Yourself course which includes invocations and meditation and intentions and mantras. And from that I went to acquiring a tarot deck—I also have an oracle deck and lenormand deck winging from the UK to me. I bought a mala from Kate and I'm working out how to add that into my life and make it help me. Basically, I'm exploring a lot of things that I would have called hooey only a few months ago and I'm finding joy in the seeking. I know that it might seem strange and unusual to some of you, so I hope you just enjoy the ride even if it doesn't fit with your beliefs. I think that covers most of it. But before I state my goals objectives for this challenge, I wanted to pull your attention to my yearly goals which I'm quoting from my dormant battle log (convenient place to track them): I just added another one today, or rather I found a way I could "formally" track it. Basically most of these goals are monthly. One is quarterly and the first one is an overall yearly one (I need 8'333 words per month to hit the goal). Hmm... I'd actually call these ones goals. I guess what I do day to day is objectives to achieve the goals. You'll notice those goals doesn't cover everything. For example, my main goal for 2017 is to create a fitness habit. With that I mean I want to grow my daily movement and perhaps establish a 3x per week workout habit, but I say perhaps because daily movement is much more important to me and it is easier to create for me since it is every day consistency rather than weekly consistency. These goals above are more "lofty" things that I want to accomplish and I'm sure as I improve and find other such goals that makes me feel expansive, I will add them. Oh right. Something Kate says multiple times about setting goals is to ask yourself if they make you feel expansive and joyous and happy, or if they make you feel restricted and tight and unhappy. And to choose the goals that makes you feel expansive, joyous and/or happy. So that is what I aim for. Some goals I want to achieve made me feel restricted first, and I stopped and asked myself why, and when I figured that out and fixed it, the goal felt expansive instead. So just because it makes you feel restricted today, doesn't mean you'll never feel expansive from it. I'm slightly ahead with some goals above as you can see. I know which ones I definitely aim to work on here in February and it is alright to not perfectly hit the monthly goals in the right month; the point is to keep them in mind and try to work them in when they fit my life. Okay. Lets do a gif cleanse. Wild Animal does yoga: Happy baby pose. Oh, shit! I forgot the second part of the title of this challenge. TRAVEL. The thing is that I will travel to the US early in Week 2 of the challenge and then stay there until early Week 4. The first few days will be spent being a tourist and meeting up with a fellow NF nerd (not on the forum though). Then from Saturday to Saturday I will be at an Anthology workshop. In this case it means I might sell four stories I've written and submitted, but considering only about a quarter of 240 stories are sold, I will go with the expectation of not selling (or I will try). This workshop usually means about 16 hour days of socializing and sessions (sessions are about 6 hours, the rest is socializing). I also have a load of reading to do before the workshop if I want to enjoy it throughly, however my mental health kinda demands I don't take it too serious and basically there is a big clash there. The reading is those 240 short stories that have been submitted. And I'll aim to read 10 a day on good days, but give myself leeway to both read more or less depending on how I feel. I'll do my best to not attach guilt to not reading enough and spend as much time as needed on nourishment to keep myself from feeling overwhelm. I see an epic failure to do most of the reading in my future, but I suppose having such a defeatist attitude isn't helpful. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, now we'll really get to the objectives... Strength Nourish Yourself Finish the 40 day practice. Week 1 starts on Day 33. Do all 9 modules. 3 were done last challenge, and two will most likely be done during Zero Week. Add in additional nourishment in my day, not necessarily every day: ritual, mantra, intentions, reading/drawing tarot, meditation, working with my mala, or other activity I'm not listing right now either because I don't know it or because the list is long enough already. Nourish Yourself Q&A call, Feb 18. Figure out what I will do when the practice reach 40 days. Will I continue as I have done? Will I adjust? Change it? Maybe do Choose Freedom every morning? I'm guessing Kate will have either a worksheet or something about it or we'll discuss it at least. Continue to reflect on foundations in the eight nourishment areas: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, creativity, financial, and relationship. (Very loose objective, might be considered an additional nourishment thing.) Read about each tarot card so I can get an initial impression about what they mean. Finish by the end of the challenge if possible. Figure out plan to stay sane and energetic through the whole workshop. The goal is to keep my temper in check (I can get snappish if I am tired/overwhelmed), and to not have everyone tell me how tired I look on the last day. Yes, that is a goal. I'm sick of people telling me I look tired on the last day of those kinds of challenges, EVERYONE does it. I guess I can look really tired when I am tired... thanks for the info, guys. *sarcasm* Fitness Intentional daily movement. I put no restriction on what this means. It can mean a 3-song dance party. It can mean taking an hour walk. It can be taking a 10-15 minute walk. It can be dragging myself to the mailbox when I'm exhausted/sick. I just want to intentionally choose to move. Keep my buying no soda streak. At the end of the previous challenge it was 35 days. When this challenge starts it will be 42 if I keep it up during Zero Week. Keep my only buying one sweet per grocery store visit streak. At the end of the previous challenge this was 31 (didn't start it until five days into the challenge). At the start of this challenge it will hopefully be 38 days from a complying Zero Week. I would have loved to add in a little more movement this challenge, but due to my travels there just isn't space, energy and time to do that, so I'll save it for the next challenge. Becoming Nomadic List of tasks I want to do during this challenge: Book 5 appointments: vaccines, alternative contraceptives to what I have, real estate agent, tattoo, and cutting and maybe dyeing my hair. Clear one computer I plan to sell. 4 reflection tasks: Overconfidence, Pre-mortem, Pre-parade, and Trip wires. (These come from Decisive by Dan and Chip Heath) Move information from 2 travel books I've read to my list document for travel: Conquering Mountains and Wandering Earl's book. If I don't quite hit them all it is alright. I've put them in order of importance to get done this challenge. Writing This is what I aim for: 8'333 words or more if I can in Feb (that means trying to hit that before February ends). But no pressure. It is for joy and fun. Some words in March after I get home from trip. It is for joy and fun. Submit a reprint to an anthology (I has story that fits an anthology call (different from the workshop)). Deadline is Feb 28. Read 10 stories per day of the 240. I hit 27 during the previous challenge, and I don't know how much will happen during Zero Week and I am determined to not care or worry about it. I have a feeling I can't quite let it go though. ~*~*~*~*~*~ I always start my challenges on Mondays. So my first day is Feb 13 and it goes to March 12. I also plan to not track Zero Week this time around. Shocking, isn't it? I usually track Zero Week because I am raring to go and ready to get started. And while I feel that this time too, I also remember that I ended the last challenge with an empty well and I can't refill that in one day. So I'm taking Zero Week off from official tracking and official objective-kick-assing. However, I'm pretty sure some things will happen. Nourish Yourself stuff will happen, because they are the whole point of taking this Zero Week off. And... I'M GOING TO A FRIGGING AWESOME SPA OVER THE WEEKEND BECAUSE I DECIDED TO TREAT MYSELF!!! I'm going on Friday and coming home Sunday afternoon. So I can start the challenge completely fresh and relaxed. Also, I am planing a computer/internet free zone while I am there. I will only have my kindle with me (and my phone because I need it for tickets and stuff, but it will be in airplane mode while there) and a notebook and pens. Planing, self-reflection, and that stuff will just have to happen on paper. Aw yeah... (I have this cool head movement going on, but I can't find a stupid gif with it and I know they exist. It is from some movie or TV-show...) This is the spa: I've been there twice before and it is great. And such good food.

Hi Nerd Fitness, Well, I suppose it should read, ‘Hello Again NF!’ I left a few years ago, when life threw a few speedballs that had me thrown to the ground, crying, and lamenting the losses of my physical abilities. Most especially, I lost my ability to run. So, no more trail runs and working toward a good 5k time result. I also lost the ability to do Olympic lifts like deadlifts, squats, and presses. With these major changes came the depression and anxiety that kept me in a dark and hopeless place. I gained back 65 of the 96 pounds that I lost during my past challenges, between Feb 2013 and June 2015. I turned 50 years old with a new and worsened set of physical limitations. I have degenerative disc disease which includes: osteoarthritis throughout my spine and SI joints (along with my hands), one bulging disc, and mild to moderate facet disease in my neck, low back, and some in my mid-back spine. I am left with a small ability list. As I’m sure you can imagine ‘complaining’ and ‘giving up’ came easily with these physical changes. I find myself at a crossroads today. I can give up on trying to maintain the positive changes that I’ve been working on for the last year or so. I can continue to rely on ‘woe is me’ and ‘I can’t do ANY of that anymore.’ Or… as I am working on now, thankfully, is attempting to juggle the priorities in my life. I want to be consistent with my: at-home physical therapy routine, cooking at home, limiting sugar junk food intake, and creating art for expression, healing, and sharing. To succeed on my journey, I want to use all the avenues available and known to me. Hence, coming back to Nerd Fitness is essential to my journey. So, Hi NF!! I’m Back!! Cheers, Terinatum

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Episode V A NEW HOPE It is a dark time for Starstuff. Seduced by the call of Dark Side, she has spent many months away from the REBELLION and her Jedi training. After a fearful encounter with the dark lord Darth Complacency, Starstuff realized the true price of the Dark Side of the Force and vowed to rid herself of its influence. Accompanied by her new companion, the canine FN-2187, Starstuff leaves the remote ice world of Sloth in search of her Rebel friends... It's been a while, but I'm back! Since I was last here, I acquired a new puppy (yes, we really did name him FN-2187, but he mostly goes by Finn), ran my first full marathon, and then used finishing my first marathon as an excuse to slack off on, well, basically everything for the past four months. Needless to say, I have not been progressing much toward my goals, health or otherwise, and in some cases I've made some serious negative progress. But the time for slacking has passed, and I'm ready to rejoin the ranks of the Rebellion. Goal 1: Attend Rebel mission briefings I decided to bite the bullet and try out Rising Heroes, so this goal is simply to complete all of my Rising Heroes missions every week during the challenge. Full credit for missions completed on time, 75% credit for missions completed after they expire. Goal 2: Perimeter patrol If you're going to have a successful rebellion, it's important to patrol your base for Imperial probe droids...or zombies. To that end, I will run three Zombies, Run! missions every week. Goal 3: Ration supplies Running a rebellion means using what few supplies you have to the greatest effect. I don't tend to make the best food choices in the moment, either health-wise or budget-wise, so my goal is to prep my lunches for the week every weekend, and then actually eat what I've prepped to take in-the-moment decision making out of the equation for the meal that gives me the most trouble in that regard. Life goal: Forge a holocron Holocrons are used to store information and Jedi teachings. They take a great deal of time and work to forge properly. Much like writing a novel! It will no doubt take me many challenges to complete my "holocron," but my goal for this challenge is to add 500 words to my novel every day. _____________________________________________________________ Updated with goals, but I'm keeping the picture of my pup because I love looking at his cute, fuzzy face.

2016 was hard for me. I came in at the beginning of the year wondering how the hell I'd get through it, because I already gave 2015 everything I had. I did get through it, but it was mostly paddling to stay above water rather than making much progress. Things that went better than expected: My job (even though I don't feel I did great, they keep giving me interesting work to do so I must be doing something right) My kid (he did much better at school and at Italian) My uni studies (only three more units to go after this one! I finish in January 2018, wooooo!) My cycling (I cycled about 4 times more than I did in 2015 - even I'm impressed when I say it like that, but it was just from 30 kilometers to about 120 kilometers) Things that went much worse than expected: My mental health (I had too many I can't do this anymore moments) My lifting (I injured my knee, then was sick a lot - I think my numbers went backwards) My writing (I barely wrote anything all year) My weight My weight is a big one because a lot of my weight gain was mental. Here's a chart: I hit 106 kilos around March. At 105 kilos, I would have lost a total of 40 kilos. And when I realised that I completely freaked out. Soon I'd be under 100 and then guys might start hitting on me and if they were guys I didn't like that would make me uncomfortable. I wouldn't have my safety barrier anymore. So I just started eating whatever I felt like, give or take some attempts to put order back in my eating habits. I'm still not sure how to get over this problem. I think maybe if I do a martial art I may feel safer even if I lose weight, but it's not really my scene. And it's not even that I feel physically unsafe, I just don't like being made to feel guilty or awkward. Is there a social martial arts equivalent? I need to think about this more. In any event, 2016 was a mixed bag but I feel 100% more positive coming into 2017! Here are my goals for the year (and so also for this challenge scaled appropriately): Eat an average of 2000 calories a day across the year. I think this will help me with my cravings. I've made a spreadsheet which tells me how many calories I am up or down for the year. Ride 1825 kilometers (that's 5k a day) Submit 12 short stories to publications (1 a month, so 1 for this challenge) Go to lifting 2-3 times per week No McDonalds or KFC whatsoever. I let down my guard and then it becomes a habit because of the drive-through convenience. Other takeaway is fine as long as I stick to Goal 1 above. Start my Italian tumblr using nerd stuff to help myself remember Italian words. Do a Powerlifting Meet. Do a Strongman Event. Woo yeah 2017! Bring it on!

"But Kishi, aren't you doing themed challenges?" Well, I'm still working through the WOT, but like I said, theming it was getting pretty thin. And since I'm still working my way through book 6, well, I didn't think it made a lot of sense to worry too much. I suspect that going forward, I'm going to have to let that sink into the background of things. Anyway. I'll have to post some Righteous Santa Justice or something once I'm at a computer that lets me do that. So. I went to give blood on Monday. Giving blood is a good thing to do - it burns calories, regulates iron, and oh yeah it saves lives maybe. It's also useful as a pseudophysical, which when I didn't have insurance was pretty great. And for the most part, the numbers came back awesome - pulse was a touch higher, but that's to be expected given that I have a sedentary job now. But that perfect blood pressure, tho. But then it got interesting when it came time to take my temperature. I clocked in low 97. Why is that interesting? Because a lowered temperature is a sign of a depressed metabolism. It wasn't something I'd ever really noticed before, but after seeing some of the discussions here on the board, I've begun watching that in myself. I was suspicious before: the fact that I couldn't stop being cold up in Boston wasn't just my delicate Southern constitution, and I've noticed that my internal temperature shifts depending on how much I've eaten. Even having taken to eating more, I've noticed that I'm hungry in the mornings, and three hours after I've woken up my hands are back to being cold again. How do you fix that? Well, barring some kind of medical intervention, your best bet or so I've heard is to eat more. A lot more. But I'm still not lean enough for it to make sense to pursue the fabled Dirty Bulk. No, no. We're not doing that. Instead, we're going to keep it clean and Low Carb, except for training days. The training, for its part, is going to have to be adjusted somewhat as well. I'm going to put this energy to work. Don't worry, though, I'm not talking about hopping on a treadmill or something like that. Everything is deliberate. And since I insist on being a socially normal person, I suppose Da Cheatz will come as they do. Goal 1: EAT ALL THE THINGS I'm not really exaggerating on this. The recommendation I got is to take maintenance and add 300 calories to it. Combined with my tendency to modulate my eating based on what I've done that day... oooooh. I'll be over 3000 calories on training days, man. Bring on the almond butter. And extra guac, and beef. No real carbs, though, not beyond some fruit periworkout and some beans at dinner. This will be tough. Low carb high calorie is expensive. In order to do that, I'm going to have to win the time to batch cook in the kitchen, when nobody else is using it. Spoilers: between my brother who is on bulk and my parents who cook at home, there is always someone using it. Haha, dammit. Okay. They don't call these Challenges for nothing. Goal 2: TRAIN HARD Well, if I'm going to take in all this energy, I might as well put it to work. I'm going to up the rep ranges some - from 5 to 8. No RPT work this time. I just want to lift heavy. Rucking will continue. Finishers, provided that the rest of the session has gone according to plan, will be reintroduced. I just got my first taste of a Versaclimber on Sunday, and... it's terrible. It's like a Stairclimber on steroids. Can't wait for next time. Beyond that, though, I think I want to build Finishers around crawls and carries as well, and I think I know how to do it. Goal 3: WRITE ON I need to find a way to keep my writing habit going. NaNoWriMo is always good for starting it, but I don't seem to stick out long past that. I end up getting distracted by side projects and such like that. But this year is different, on account of the fact that 1) I like the project I'm working on, and 2) I'm not desperate to submit things, since I have a good job now. There's no need for me to be distracted now, beyond the pull of the day to day. Goal 4: DO WORK SON I may be up for a raise at the end of the month. That's going to depend on my evaluation. That's going to depend on my work. Best get to it.