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Challenge goals: Walk Meditate Study Bonus: Do logical things when there is emotional resistance. Stardate: Week 0 Day X Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Journal Fitness Vulcan Meditation Study Daily Schedule Planning Daily List Generator & Tracker

Greetings program! . . . wait Alright let's get to it! Goal 1 - RUNNING! Just signed up for the Oakland 2022 Marathon!!!! Got to figure out a training plan but first we have to keep the running habit happening We are looking to run 3 days a week with distances of 3 to 5 miles during the week and 5+ on the weekends. We are also signed up for a 5K on Sept 12th which should be a good test Goal 2 STRETCH To keep from having trouble running - we're going to try to do 3 days of yoga between the runs. This will likely be very low impact and boring yoga but still Goal 3 Training Plan To go with all this we need a plan, I'll be looking into what's out there and try to find what will work for us. Goal 4 Savings With our recent home purchase we are running low in our savings - so we'll be rebuilding that emergency fund while trying to figure out what's next.

The evening breeze curled playfully around the hillside where Eamon and I had spread out our picnic several hours before, surrounding us with the spicy damp scent of trees exhaling their warmth from the day and the soft hum of insects serenading each other in the dusk light. Night was falling, and the village vista far below had quieted, with lamps lit in windows and a softening of the sounds of bustling carts and brisk voices. Our conversation, too, had softened into a comfortable silence; and I curled into the space underneath Eamon's strong arm, resting my head on his shoulder and letting his body support my weight. It was my favorite kind of evening, where in privacy I could tell and show my partner how deeply I loved him - but as happened so often on those evenings, instead of being filled with bright warmth and loving happiness, I was hollowed out with the frosty stillness of my ice powers, as numb and lifeless as a forest clearing buried in midwinter snow. I ached with wishing I could just once feel the love and delight I knew I felt for him underneath the chill - but no matter how hard I tried to shake free, I was locked inside, all my emotions buried underneath the cold. I laughed when he joked or flirted, said all the things I knew in my head that I would say if I could feel anything - but I was sure that somehow, even in the dimming light, he had to see the deadness in my eyes and hear the hollow emptiness in my laughter. I didn't understand why it was happening and that made it even worse. As we gazed quietly down across the valley, Eamon unexpectedly reached over to take my hand - and I thought I saw him flinch the tiniest bit when his warm fingers contacted my frigid palm. Still, he didn't hesitate as he enveloped my small hand in his big one, and he said calmly as if nothing had happened, "You know, I heard from a friend a few villages over that some of the harvest festivals might take place this year. If you like, I could ask him for more information and we could try to go. It might even be after the wedding, so we could go together. What do you think?" I looked sorrowfully down at the dull blue glow of the runes on my bare wrists and arms, and two cold tears rose in my eyes. "Eamon," I whispered, "I'm sorry I'm not going to be a better wife for you." Immediately Eamon shifted to gaze down into my eyes, his heavy brows lowered over concerned blue eyes. "What are you talking about?" I spread my palms and bit back tired tears at the scars and patterns that laced across my hands and forearms, all of which were glowing a jagged, frosty blue instead of the golden light of healing and compassion that seemed so elusive these days. Words and emotions jumbled up in my thoughts, until all that would come out was, "I'm sorry I'm ... not normal. I'm ... sorry I'm ... broken." Eamon sighed heavily and pulled me close to his heart, pressing his warm hand over the cold one I rested miserably on his chest. "Sky," he said, firmly but gently, "I love you. Because you're you. I wish I could do something to help you heal and make your life easier - and if there ever is anything I can do, I will gladly do that, because I want you to be happy. But even if nothing ever changes - even if you feel this way for the rest of our lives - I'm going to love you and be here with you anyway. Not because you're perfect, not because things are simple and easy, but because you're my best friend and the woman I love and want in my life. Nothing will ever change that." "I know," I mumbled. "I just wish I were -" "- perfect," Eamon supplied. I looked up at him, startled. "What?" "You want to be perfect and flawless. But honey, that's not how anything works. I'm not perfect and neither are you. But we don't have to be." His words reminded me of one of my counselor's favorite sayings - "Breathe in, and when you breathe out, release your need for perfection and say to yourself, 'This is good enough,'", she always said. "I don't want you to suffer and I do want you to heal. But that's not for my sake. I'll love you no matter what. And part of how I'm going to love you is by supporting your healing journey any way I can." Maybe allowing love to come into your brokenness is part of being good enough, I wondered to myself. Maybe accepting that two broken people are going to have mess and pain and needs - and can still bring all the love they have to give - maybe that's good enough. Maybe it's good enough to be unwell or irritable or frustrated or half-healed or struggling, together. "Okay?" Eamon leaned back to smile into my face, and for the first time all evening, a tiny spark of hope flickered in my heart as I smiled back. "I may not be perfect, but I'm good enough," I whispered back. Eamon beamed and kissed my forehead. "Amen."

Basically, I'm tired of Kathryn Janeway not being the most awesome thing ever, so it's time to go back with a rewatch and see if we can change that. This challenge: Captain's Log - Stuff is going on in my life, and I need my brain to work on it, so I will write it all down and create documentation. This is the "pics or it didn't happen" of the thinking process. Starfleet Fitness Training - Does what it says on the tin. Vulcan Meditation - Having Vulcan officers makes this hard to avoid. Ship Routines - Routines are hard, but ships run on them. I will try again. What Would Janeway Do - Take advice from Janeway during my rewatch.

Im back with good news! The MRT pics of my brain came back and Im healthy! No multiple sclerosis, no early dementia. just a healthy brain in a fairly healthy body. lets celebrate, people!!!!! June is also midsummer night ( 21.) and my birthday ( 25.) plus summer holidays are beginning on the 21. here as well. uncork the bubbly! goal one: exercise for 15 to 20 minutes every day. you can choose between yoga, stretching, bodyweight circuit and kettlebell circuit and walk around the block. just do one of these daily during afternoon/ early evening hours. ( the hikes with the dog are a habit now, no need to concentrate on these). goal two: drugs. 2 glasses of wine max/day ... also reduce smoking gradually every week. starting point: 25 cigarettes a day, then one cigarette less every week. goal three: start duolingo again. this time try Italian. 5 to 10 minutes/day. goal four: find work project. I am broke af and need to do something small everyday to end up with a plan for an additional income after the summer holidays. Students are not enough. I started reaching out to contacts and have to decide what to do and apply for funds pronto. happy to be back!!!

Hello. I am Stronkey Kong. I've been on NF over seven years -- it's getting close to 8 now. I'm still fat and making the best of it. Some days I'm not sure if I can even. I'm kind of winnowing down to what matters and that's having good health, a calm mind, good relationships with others, and being able to enjoy life better. Lately I've been really committing myself to practicing Buddhism, and studying through the Tibetan Gelug lineage (same as the Dalai Lama). So meditation and study has become a real focal point. I'm also no longer worried about losing weight or getting ripped/buff/jacked... or stronk even, I just want to have the flexibility, stability, and stamina to move through daily life with less effort and be able to endure through my meditation practice comfortably and not have a shitty back or diabetes and whatnot in a few years if it can be helped. Just so I can even. During the holidays I made a wishlist for this year to work on. Every challenge since I've come back to it and picked out a few things to work, made some amendments, etc. Then I make a challenge of it. Here is said list (with updates and shit): Goals: Shop and cook/prep smarter: Something that's bothering me is that I keep having to throw away good food at the end of every week. This is usually because I bought too much of something because I thought I needed it or wanted it when I didn't really need or want it at all. Then I'm hungry, I look in the fridge at all the things I don't want, and I'm like "Fuck it, I'm having pizza." I've actually been pretty good about not eating fuck loads of pizza lately, but this general area of picking foods better and wasting less needs work. Here's an example: I had three yellow squashes that are on the verge of going bad cuz they've sat all week. There are fresh carrots and celery that I snack on with PB. There's lettuce and tomatoes for quick salads. And while yellow squash in pasta or soup is fine, I'm not thrilled about mushy, bland summer squashes and didn't make any soup that called for them. So why the hell did I buy them? ... because I thought I needed another vegetable. Basically I need to be more mindful of why I'm buying something. I need to ask myself, before I put it in the cart: Do I really need it? -- Is it going in a recipe that I plan to make? Will it be harmful to my diet to not eat this, and is there no other substitute for it? Do I want it? -- If it's not part of a bigger tastier recipe, will I eat it on it's own? Is it good? If I buy this do I have something to pair it with that is good? If I have to buy another thing to make this thing edible is it worth it? Also: Do I need to buy/make that much of it? How long will it hold up in the fridge and can I freeze it for later? Daily Movement: Work on one of the following for at least 20 min daily Ruck: Walk with backpack with 25 lbs. weight Yoga: Go back and re-read/study Yoga for the Inflexible Male and work on the poses and routines therein. Qigong: For when yoga gets boring and I still want to work on being flowey and breathing and stuff. Quarterstaff: Not sure yet, but if I start working on this again it will be acceptable movement Write Get crackin' on that novel. I was supposed to come up with 5000 words last challenge to get to the end of part 1. FFS, why not try to finish the thing? Do at least one 15 min writing sprint daily Study: All my Buddhist classwork, readings, and language study, also taking breaks to read other things. I typically do some Tibetan study in the morning, and study a text at night. Then lighter filler material when I'm bored on the weekends. Tibetan Main goal: Memorize writing and reading the conjunct characters -- I can do this before the end of this challenge. Stretch goal: transcribe and memorize the Prajana Paramita Sutra in Tibetan -- I might be able to start this before the end of this challenge. Nagarjuna: Mulamadhyamakakarika -- keep going Lighter stuff: take a break from study and read for recreation, but keep reading things People: I have to start peopling again. What? How? I'm getting my first covid shot on Wed. May 5. We're getting toward the end of all the hardest social distancing stuff. I haven't been totally cut off from family and work, but I haven't been meeting new people, or only rarely. And by the end of this challenge, my Buddhist Center will likely open back up so I can hang out with those people and attend classes in person. I'm not sure what the goals should be, but something to do with getting out of the house and peopling again. Idk. Meetups? Dating? Going to new shops/restaurants? Learn a couple Dad jokes? I've got until I get my second shot (+ 10 days I think) to figure out a plan for how to people again. Oh! And now I'm sober... how do I even? Camping: I am going camping sometime around the end of this challenge. At least an overnight trip. My zero week goal will be to research and make arrangements for said trip... i.e. pick a park and site, and purchase passes/reservations as needed... Probably gonna hike in somewhere on the Tecumseh trail and do it backwoods style but car camping will remain an option. However, I am on night shift and will likely be getting somewhere in the evening and staying up all night meditating and reading. Could be weird, but it's still time outdoors.

Suddenly the machine was wobbling... In a few hours the shops out there were expecting deliveries, and they weren't going to arrive. The government couldn't sit this one out. A city like Ankh-Morpork was only two meals away from chaos at the best of times. Every day, maybe a hundred cows died for Ankh-Morpork. So did a flock of sheep and a herd of pigs and the gods alone knew how many ducks, chickens and geese. Flour? He'd heard it was eighty tons, and about the same amount of potatoes and maybe twenty tons of herring. He didn't particularly want to know this kind of thing, but once you started having to sort out the everlasting traffic problem these were facts that got handed to you. Every day, forty thousand eggs were laid for the city. Every day, hundreds, thousands of carts and boats and barges converged on the city with fish and honey and oysters and olives and eels and lobsters. And then think of the horses dragging this stuff, and the windmills... and the wool coming in, too, every day, the cloth, the tobacco, the spices, the ore, the timber, the cheese, the coal, the fat, the tallow, the hay, EVERY DAMN DAY. And that was now. Back home, the city was twice as big. Against the dark screen of night, Vimes had a vision of Ankh-Morpork. It wasn't a city, it was a process, a weight on the world that distorted the land for hundreds of miles around. People who'd never see it in their whole life nevertheless spent their life working for it. Thousands and thousands of green acres were part of it, forests were part of it. It drew in and consumed... ...and gave back the dung from its pens and the soot from its chimneys, and steel, and saucepans, and all the tools by which its food was made. And also clothes, and fashions and ideas and interesting vices, songs and knowledge and something which, if looked at in the right light, was called civilization. That's what civilization meant. It meant the city. Was anyone else out there thinking about this? Was anyone important thinking about this? Suddenly the machine was wobbling, but Winder and his cronies didn't think about the machine, they thought about money. Meat and drink came from servants. They happened. Vetinari, Vimes realized, thought about this sort of thing all the time. The Ankh-Morpork back home was twice as big and four times as vulnerable. He wouldn't have let something like this happen. Little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn, he'd say. But now, in the dark, it all spun on Vimes. If the man breaks down, it all breaks down, he thought. The whole machine breaks down. And it goes on breaking down. And it breaks down the people. Terry Pratchett, Night Watch My machine is wobbling, and little wheels must spin so that the machine can turn. Right now, it all spins on me. If I break down, it all breaks down.

It’s 74. 74 challenges. *insert Count* 74 Cycles of varying levels of having my shit together-ness. As it looks like I’m not quite finished languishing, I’ll be continuing on my slow roll toward better habits (yet again) and going the simple route. Goal The First Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition Keeping up with macro tracking has proven to be too much in the realm of effort for my brain again, so I’ll be edging toward that way again. Gotta hit those things side-on. Actual macros have not changed in ages, though off the top of my head I can’t remember what they are. Maybe I need to re-institute weekly weigh-ins for a little kick in the pants. We shall see. Aside from that, eat in a way that doesn’t kill my GI system, with a mind toward more veggies in my life, and not over eating. Or at least limiting the over eating, since I *still* can’t control myself around Indian. Goal The Second Movement in a way that feels good and does good. Zoom yoga 2 - 4 x a week as the schedule allows - as many classes as the schedule permits. The goal here is at least 1 functional-based class, 1 joy in movement class, and 1 handstand practice class. Keep the TRX straps up during the day - on yoga days do squat pull sets of 10 every time I pass the straps; on non-yoga days do at least 2 run-throughs of my full-body set per day + squat pull sets. Go for walks on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday in the sun; Sunday in a mall. Goal The Third Fulfillment. Do something to feed myself each day, be it something with digital art, graphic design, or one of my physical crafts. Something. Also: keep up with the social media stuff for DH’s Twitch thing & my blog. Also chucking redecorating and Spring cleaning the apartment in this slot. I’m tired of looking at our shit and tired of having the shit we have shoved in drawers that I literally never see. Since the move is off, I need to find a way to make this place annoy me less for the next 13 months. List Of Fulfillment Work with the dogs on some sort of training goal Digital art tutorial Digital art freestyle time while listening to a podcast Big projects on my Animal Crossing Island Creating images for WTFGaming Instagram & channel banners Taking pictures for Gastography Instagram Creating, writing, photographing & publishing recipes for Gastography Finding a way to include more food content on Gastography Instagram feed Creating & posting Pins for Gastography recipes Lucet cord making Tablet weaving Sashiko embroidery The quilt project I’m supposed to be doing but have put off because it’s a pain to find fabric Lace crocheting And that’s all I can think of for the moment; I’m sure there are more things. We also need to plan some sort of getaway - a staycation is fine; as long as it involves the dogs at the boarder + suitcases. When things open back up a bit here (i.e. we won’t have to stay in our room if we visit one of the resorts here that are still hella expensive even with zero amenities open), we shall make that happen. We’ve got at least a semi-portable setup for DH’s Twitch channel, so we can at least stream our Bad Game on a Saturday from the “road” if we don’t want to take a week off in this early stage with like 6 followers. We had intended on doing that for our anniversary in April, but (light) lockdown happened, amenities closed and some of the less bonkers places were reclassified again as COVID hotels. I mean ... we *could* have gone to the resort offering massive iftar catering all Ramadan for their private villa rental residents ... but we are not spending $1,000 a night for anything, let alone a villa in a resort with no amenities open. Hellz to the no. Even if we had the money. That’s ridiculous. Or, the brand new water park hotel - with the closed water park and nothing else open. That’s an option. Yeah. My ass is not getting into a pool in this weather, let alone going to a just-opened water park in the middle of a pandemic. That may or may not be dodgy. It’s a Hilton, but .... I don’t really trust it. We did hear something about more travel bubbles for vaccinated people flying Qatar Air opening up - Georgia is on the list, as are Turkey, the Maldives, and Greece. Out of those, Tbilisi Georgia is tops on our list for being affordable, pretty and having great food. Greece is definitely on the list as well, but they’ve got their own drama to deal with at the moment - I have no idea how they got on the travel bubble list, and from what I’ve been seeing (from @DarK_RaideR and others), I worry that that’s going to be a shitshow for them. Maybe Tbilisi is less of a mess? I don’t even know what we would want to do on vacation, at this point. Eat in a restaurant. Be in a Western city with modern Western morals (i.e beer, democracy(at least ish) & side boob). Drink a beer on a terrace. Look at some old shit; hike a bit ... Which, tbh, is what we generally do on vacation anyways. We’re not ones for doing crowded and popular things unless those things consist of walking around and not interacting with other people that aren’t chatty shopkeepers. Mostly just ruminating, there - it’ll be at the bare minimum a month before we can even contemplate leaving the country, and then it will be a 99% chance of DH flying out for work with a 15% chance of me being able to follow for Week 2 of his trip like we were doing. We will lightly contemplate, but actual firm planning is a recipe for those plans being immediately cancelled.

Oh, I need to make goals... Wow I've not been here in a while, it looks a little different. So, I've up and moved to faraway during a global pandemic, for the best more amazing program/job, and long-story short, it was taken away from me. Not because of Covid, even, but because of a government takeover of the school... Things are weird out here in Eastern Europe. So my priority is mostly "move forward", whatever that looks like, and "pick up the pieces." My main goal is to GET VACCINATED. But that's super complicated here (currently: impossible), and it's really not even a goal, because once I am able I will absolutely do it, it's not like I have to "work towards it". I need the government to work towards me (according to them I can register now, but turns out that's a lie. So... I am stuck). Then there's the option of moving back to the US for a short undefined period of time, to get easily vaccinated, but managing insurance while I'm there, plus being sure I can still get back here (though to a different country), is turning out quite a chore. So I don't know. But I do know that is my goal number one. My stress levels are off the gosh darn charts, so I am going to try to make manageable goal number two something yoga-related. I messed up my shoulder here, so I've avoided my long beloved push-ups for stress management routine, but maybe yoga and stretching will help it heal (it seems like a torn rotator cuff or tendonitis) So my goal is to get on the mat every day, doesn't matter what time, just put in the 20-30 minutes of yoga. It would really be good for me, I think, but for some reason it's nigh impossible for me to motivate in that direction. Still, putting it on the list. My second goal beyond that is to maintain a ritual I've made up while I'm here, which is a 4km or so walk to (and return from) an island park. I've been going every day and feeding crows there. Religiously. And I have befriended a few who will check on me and eat out of my hand. It's the best therapy, honestly. That's all really... yoga, try not to get overwhelmed by nonsense I can't control, and feed some birbs.

Ramadan will hit around April 13 this year and stretch for that lunar month. This usually means gyms shift schedules around to accommodate later hours, everything pretty much shifts later, with shops and the like staying open until Midnight or 1 every night. Some things open as late as Noon; some actually later - or some shops have a big gap in the afternoon when they are closed. So. Were I not planning on pretty much staying home, this time of year is frustrating. Frustrating, getting hot, and you’re not allowed to drink or eat in public. So. No coffees or breakfasts out. Lots of dinner buffets to go around. I’m hoping to treat this year like last year and have it be a non-event. I’m not in the mental space to buckle down and add too much to my life fitness or weight watching wise - I’ll stay the course with nutrition (adding back in MFP tracking this cycle and macro adherence next cycle), and work on finding a better balance between foods that don’t piss my GI system off and foods that are healthy and nutritious. Again. I need some FODMAP veggie inspo. Goal 1: Nutrition Staying the course on my more recent nutritional guidelines: Smaller portions, less meat, more veggies, nutrient dense food options, no GI issues. Drink enough water. Eat with an eye toward Base MFP goals for slow weight loss: 1,260 calories, 20% protein, 50% carbs, 30% fat but without judgement if I go over or under on calories. Basically, eat what I’m going to eat - but by the fact of tracking, that tends to be more reasonable. I’ll also be continuing on with my probiotics and digestive enzymes in an effort to help with gut issues. I haven’t yet seen any measurable difference I can pinpoint to those two things, but they haven’t hurt - and I’m not yet out of either thing. Goal 2: Fitness Staying my Druidy course of action (shocker) with 4ish yoga classes per week - hoping to continue my M/T/W/F schedule, with walking to and from the studio. We shall see what curveballs Ramadan throws me there. Goal 3: Fulfillment This goal encompasses a bunch of small things I have going on a daily basis already - with a couple tweaks. Some bloggy stuff, some creative stuff, some dog stuff. Checklisty Stuff Daily [ - ] Duolingo Arabic classes [ - ] Digital art practice: [ - ] Enrichment for the pups: [ - ] Yoga class: [ - ] Breakfast: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Lunch: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Dinner: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Snacks: [ - ] Picture of the Day + Daily meal collage Weekly/Challenge [ - ] Promote W30 recipes e-Book in at least a blog post [ - ] Post weekly recipe [ - ] Schedule & post March/April Pins [ - ] Stay connected with the world outside my little bubble - be it through keeping my regularly scheduled weekly chat or attempting to forge new connections.

It is finally spring again. The days are getting longer, the weather is warming up, and nature is slowly coming back to life. There have already been multiple days where I could open up the windows around the apartment and turn off the heat. My last couple of challenges have been fairly strong, and my intent is to continue to build on that. I did struggle some with my INT goals last challenge, but a lot of that had to do with some time contraints that arose during the challenge. I made a valiant effort to catch them up before the end of the last challenge, but could not QUITE make it. That being said, I was able to do a lot of catching up, so I feel comfortable wrapping them into this challenge along with a new round of things to do. Challenge Goals: Body of a Agile Swordswoman - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x/week - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 3x/week - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks 4x/week - (CON) Nutrition: Avoid processed sugar 6 days/week - (CON) Hydration: Drink 64 oz of water per day - (CON) Physique: Track macros daily Mind of a Scholar - (INT) Develop Breadth: Read 6.5 books (6 for present challenge + 0.5 from last challenge) - (INT/WIS) Develop Depth: Complete 7 modules of certification course (6 for current challenge +1 from last challenge) - (CHA) Career Knowledge: Complete Digital Marketing Course part 3 (15%) (roll over from last challenge) Weekend Warrior Side Quests - Spring Cleaning Edition - Inbox Zero - Declutter desk - Clean/clean out car - File Taxes

First off, I totally love this stupid possum image I found and I will likely keep using it because it makes me happy Physical health things to do this time around: Act like a good little kid and go to bed when my Mum, aka the alarm on my phone, says it's bedtime Prep food for work based on the hours I will be working and the general level of effort that shift will require. Follow the very easy, very doable plan set up in my yoga app and hopefully earn back some of the flexibility and ease of movement I used to have. Mental health things to do this time around: Play WoW with my girlfriend at least twice a week for at most 3 hours. I'm paying for the game and it's an easy low energy thing we can do together that won't sap her limited energy and doesn't require masks. Finish reading one actual novel off my bookshelf that I had not read before... After I finish re-reading Ender's Game 🙄 Listen to music and take some solo time at home at least twice a week. I don't have privacy, but I want to see if this will help. Environmental things to do this time around: Do the dishes, check/take out the trash daily. I am bad at letting things pile up and then I run out of things like forks, and floor space... Crack open all the windows and sweep/vacuum the apartment. Go through the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom cabinet and the hall closet and throw out what is just trash, and move anything that is a seasonal item down to the storage locker. Things I want do but likely won't because lately, my brain doesn't let me have nice things: Get a haircut, this shit is getting unruly and it is very uneven. Paint my nails purple!

Last challenge got a little rough about halfway through, but I got a solid framework built to work on I think. Explanation on the proposal I submitted, TL;DR I asked for more help in the team at work So, that's staying exactly the same. SQ1 - Doing yoga before work (4/week) I'm going to try to get this more consistent this round, basically. I had about a 50% rate on this one last challenge, but on the days i've done it I have definitely noticed a difference. SQ2 - Food prep on days off (2/wk) Prepping a lunch to go with me to work for the following 2 days basically so that I don't have to worry about that the days I'm working, since the last thing I feel like doing after 10-12 hr shifts is typically prepping food for the next day. SQ3 - Getting cardio in VR/AR (2/wk) With the fact that Ohio is no longer a frozen waste land, I'm adding Zombies, Run! and Pokemon, Go! into the mix here. (Zombies, Run! is only walking right now, with chases turned off since my knees are in no mood for running more than a few yards yet) Just like last time, I'm counting week 0 (this week) for the challenge, so the totals will be out of 6 weeks.

Acute systems failure due to known glitches with the 202.0 program. Please reboot your system and apply the 202.1 patch. (More details on 202.0 crash here) So far, the 202.1 patch & update is working much better on my end - I'm halfway through a 30 days of yoga series (which is probably the longest I've continued a workout series in years), am back on a 4*10hr shift schedule which is making food prep much easier for me to handle, and I got myself a Fitbit which is a very bossy little helper that also helps keep me on track. So now that last month didn't (entirely) suck, time to hop back in here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Quest: Reclaiming my health I'm moving from aiming for my time, which got entirely away from me last year due to gestures broadly, but that's mostly because I actually have gotten back to a 2 days on/one day off schedule, which should help. SQ1 - Doing yoga before work (4/week) I'm really lucky with my work in that if I go in a bit later than I want to get there, I don't get in trouble - only downside is that if I go in later, I work later to make sure I get in my hours. So last month, I decided that I didn't care if it made me "late" for work, I was working out before I went in with some yoga. Which I haven't done perfectly, due to some muscle soreness from not being used to doing things like downward dog, but on the days I have I've noticed a lot of improvements in my brain, and even on days when I haven't I'm noticing differences in things like my posture. SQ2 - Food prep on days off (2/wk) Prepping a lunch to go with me to work for the following 2 days basically so that I don't have to worry about that the days I'm working, since the last thing I feel like doing after 10-12 hr shifts is typically prepping food for the next day. SQ3 - Getting cardio in VR (2/wk) Because @Starpuck has created a monster, and also because right now Ohio is... awful. Legit, I am NOT going outside into -10 F or colder windchills right now. Plus the stuff on VR is a little easier on my joints than hitting pavement right now, eventually I want to play the rest of the way through Zombies, Run! - but that might wait until a) winter lets up a little bit, and b) I get a bit of weight off and feel a bit better in my knees especially. Which, right now I have P L EN T Y of options on VR between Beat Saber, Swordsman, BoxVR and Vader: Immortal dojo playing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hopefully this will give me a decent launching off point to start getting healthy again; I'm sitting at about 250 lbs right now and my joints and breathing H A T E me right now. Btw, for anyone who feels like it - I made an Insta for food & workout accountability, since it's easier for me to update on mobile than here is (Tapatalk does not like my phone... no idea why, but it won't let me do things) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLCxj7PpgHe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link I'll be starting with this as Week 0, and damn it's good to be back.

Hi all. Respawning under a battle log because this year the challenges have not been working for me. I want to be active on the forums but keeping my own thread up to date drained too much energy from my super-introvert self. Going to use this thread as a home-base to update on my quests and progress, but realistically most of my energy will be focused on checking in with my NF Coach in the app. My hope is that having a low-pressure home base in the battle logs will make participating in the forums less intimidating for me. That way I can hang out in the super inspiring threads of other Rebels What am I training towards? I want to participate in my first Tri-Sprint by this time next year (Swim: 750 m; Bike: 20 km; Run 5 km) Global pandemic back-up plan is a self-run/virtual duathlon (Sprint distance - 5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run)

This challenge was rudely interrupted by a pandemic last year. However, now that we're settling into our post-apocalyptic plaguescape for the long haul, it is yet again time. This challenge, I will endeavour to become the Disc's second greatest lover. "My name's Casanunda," he said. "I'm reputed to be the world's greatest lover. What do you think?" Nanny Ogg looked him up and down or, at least, down and further down. "You're a dwarf," she said. "Size isn't important." This challenge, I'm working my way up the rankings of the world's lovers by leveling up my international playdwarf lifestyle. (Or, as a previous challenge put it, do things with elegance. Strangely, despite years of aikido and years of urban myths about people being told to do things elegantly, I had to re-derive the principle in another way before I realized this was not about aesthetics but about managing to combine mindfulness with emptying the mind.) Some of these may seem like odd choices for a fitness/life level-up (like increasing alcohol consumption, and, I dunno, taking life advice from the worst possible people), but there are three factors at play here: first, this challenge needs to be fun, cuz this us what we do instead of vacations in plague years; second, it's addressing recovery from a certain amount (which is to say, lots) of cutting corners on self-care in the broader day to day living sense and getting by on "acceptable"; and three, it's addressing the (narrative) causality between good habits and seemingly unrelated projects and lifestyle choices. Or, as Vetinari would have it, all the little wheels must spin so the machine can turn. And this is a timely challenge. I've really been struggling with self-care lately. Part I: Casanunda Training There are two first steps to becoming the world's greatest lover: First, yoga warmups with lots of hip openers, for obvious reasons, and, second, get into bed as often as possible. (For sleep, of course. I don't know what you're thinking.) If I'm going to be a soldier of fortune, I need to work on mental stillness and physical prowess. Walking and strength training, to start with, and some meditation. Tasks to be checked off: rewatch Casanova and take notes. Part II: Be a Better Lover Than Lord Rust "It was a Guild of Assassins, after all. Black was what you wore. The night was black and so were you. And black had such style, and an Assassin without style, everyone agreed, was just a highly paid arrogant thug." While Assassin-School-trained, Lord Ronald Rust did not particularly benefit from the lessons on style. So I think I can outdo him here on the things that make an Assassin an Assassin. The projects I will do here include repairing and replacing bits of my wardrobe with a focus on rotating in my higher quality clothes, leveling up my daily grooming from ultra-practical to something attempting a little actual style, and more aperitifs-and-tapas. This will also involve getting back in the habit of making actual things with recipes and planning and cultural connotations, rather than just going with the fastest and most basic form of slapping nutrition onto the table, and managing my pantry better. Also, getting back to my macros and IF schedule. Part III: Be a Better Lover Than Rufus Drumknott "I believe he collects different types of stationery," said Vetinari. "I have sometimes speculated that he might change his life for the better should he meet a young lady willing to dress up as a manila envelope." All this lifestyle-leveling-up requires a certain amount of organization and schedule-wrangling. Being the world's second greatest is demanding. And for me, leveling up the bachelor pad is going to center on organizing: not just finding the right place for everything, but finding the right use for everything, and the most efficient way to organize it all. Where the Lord Rust half of this focuses on making everything I own beautiful, the Drumknott portion involves making it all useful, and also includes recycling things I don't use into things I do. Things will fit into the storage I already have, be more organized, and work better. Also, the habits I use to clean and organise it will be streamlined.

Brains are interesting things, and the persistence of ones’ past experiences is super fascinating. Case in point: It’s February. I spent my early childhood in the Midwest USA, where we pretty much always had snow this time of year. I split my remaining childhood between the Midwest and Southeastern US, where it was always cold - but not usually cold enough to snow - and potentially rainy this time of year. I moved to the extreme Southeastern US, where winter meant the dry season and temps would dip down to jacket territory. I moved to the Northeast, where the biting wind and snow would occasionally cause the City to freeze, resembling a snow globe. I currently live in the Middle East, where it’s sunny every day with an average temp in the high 70s F. Winter here means the freedom to enjoy the outdoors and (usually) an increase in festivals and other cool things to do. What does my brain think about all this bouncing around? My brain takes the calendar month and the deep shade that is my balcony (my apartment doesn’t get direct sunlight at any time of the year) and translates that into: whelp, it must be cold. Probably with howling winds. Never mind that it’s 23C in the house; you want to hibernate with your gathered nuts. Cabbage & potatoes with kielbasa sounds great. I’m continually shocked that it’s warm outside. Shocked and disappointed that it’s too warm for a jacket (most days, and then the wind kicks up and I’m freezing to death). I’ve spoken about this disconnect to friends from other climates (mostly regarding holidays), and their feeling is the same: my Australian friends fare pretty well - and are more surprised when it’s 50C here in July - friends from snowy climes are confused in similar way to me. Friends that are less hiberatory (just go with it) see less of a disconnect because they deal more in actual reality - whereas I have theory and feeling to inform my brain. Super interesting stuff and has shitall to do with my goals this Cycle, but is a drop in the bucket to explain my seasonal need to pad my ass with fat (lol). More contextual stuff: There is also a rumor that we may imminently be going back into lockdown here. They’ve increased restrictions a bit again (with at least lip service being paid to mask enforcement), but cases are still rising (we are currently at 427 new daily cases). We are also in the midst of the FIFA World Cup 2020 (or something like that) tournament with a big tennis tournament later in the month set to start. And it’s winter - when things usually happen around here. Aaaaaand the blockade just lifted, and with it - a slight lift in travel restrictions (quarantine is still required and tourists aren’t allowed in - but citizens and residents can, at least at this moment, move with some amount of guarantee they can get back into the country if they leave. We’ve also got at least 1 travel bubble in place). So. That all is a conflicting pile of info and it’s unclear what that all will come to mean for day-to-day life. Whatever it is, I shall adjust accordingly. Updates coming if needed. Goal 1: Nutrition Staying the course on my more recent nutritional guidelines: Smaller portions, less meat, more veggies, nutrient dense food options, no GI issues. Drink enough water. Eat with an eye toward Base MFP goals for slow weight loss: 1,260 calories, 20% protein, 50% carbs, 30% fat but without judgement if I go over or under on calories. Basically, eat what I’m going to eat - but by the fact of tracking, that tends to be more reasonable. I’ll also be adding in some probiotics and digestive enzymes in an effort to help with gut issues. Goal 2: Fitness Staying my Druidy course of action (shocker) with 4-5 yoga classes per week - hoping to continue my M vinyasa /T functional/W detox/F handstands schedule, with a 20 minute walk to and from the studio. Goal 3: Fulfillment This goal encompasses a bunch of small things I have going on a daily basis already - with a couple tweaks. Some bloggy stuff, some creative stuff, some dog stuff. Checklisty Stuff Daily [ - ] Duolingo Arabic classes [ - ] Physical craft project (currently sashiko, lucet cord making & planning another quilt) [ - ] Digital art practice [ - ] Enrichment feeds for the pups [ - ] Training for the pups [ - ] Yoga class [ - ] Breakfast: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Lunch: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Dinner: [ - ] Probiotic & Enzymes Snacks: [ - ] Picture of the Day + Daily meal collage Weekly/Challenge [ - ] Finish W30 recipes e-Book [ - ] Post W30 recipes e-Book for sale [ - ] Work on Paleo recipes e-Book [ - ] Post weekly recipe [ - ] Create February/March Pins [ - ] Schedule & post February/March Pins [ - ] Schedule February/March ‘Grams [ - ] Review Q1 financial shit in prep for taxes send off [ - ] Stay connected with the world outside my little bubble - be it through keeping a regularly scheduled chat up (my local bestie is moving to North America next week - so my now-usual Tuesday coffee morning will likely be spotty at best as our remaining coffee friend has a newborn and spotty attendance) or attempting to forge new connections. Or, if restrictions go the other way, who knows? We may just see a return to forced scheduled socialization

Once, an elven lord, desperate for a child of his own, turned to drow worlock when all other magic failed to help his wife concieve. The powerful drow gave the elven man what he wanted...or so he thought. When the child, concieved out of dark magic, began to grow older, the elven couple noticed a strong power, a strange darkness to their child. When they took their young daughter to an old, scholarly wizard, his prognosis was dire: the girl was touched by the hand of Darkness itself, a force that would consume her before she reached adulthood. If she tried to contain it, it would poison her from the inside out and take her life. If she released it, it would spell destruction for everyone around her. The distraught couple searched high and low for a way to spare their child. No one was willing to make an attempt at breaking the spell; no one knew if such a thing even existed. As the elven girl approach adulthood, the elven parents had nearly lost all hope when they came across a Bladesinger master. He said he could not heal their child, but if they entrusted her into his tutelage, he might be able to spare her life while protecting her from others. So began the arduous training of the young elven lass. For years she has trained in the shadowy, quiet forest, honing her skills and her magic. Only with extreme discipline, careful precision, and the best of the arcane spells can the darkness be funneled and released in a safe and productive way through bladesong. Now, her years of an apprentice are drawing closer to an end. With continued training, she will soon be a master herself. But the training does not end there. The darkness is ever present, waiting for discipline and vigilence to desolve so that it can take hold and bring destruction. Bladesong is not her profession, it is her life-blood. Alright everyone, time to dive right into the next challenge. I don't really plan on taking a week zero, because I have lots of momentum going from the last challenge and want to continue with it. I may go a little more lax with nutrition goals during week zero, but only because my birthday is this week. BECAUSE it is my birthday, do not be surprised if things get a little contemplative/reflective around here. Challenge Goals: Body of a Agile Swordswoman - (STR) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x/week - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga and/or stretching 3x/week - (CON) Stamina: 20min+ walks 4x/week - (CON) Nutrition: Avoid processed sugar 6 days/week - (CON) Hydration: Drink 64 oz of water per day Mind of a Scholar - (INT) Intelligence: Read 6 books - (INT) Intelligence: Complete 5 modules of certification course - (CHA) Career Knowledge: Complete Digital Marketing Course part 3 - (INT/WIS/CON) Focus: Meditate 6 min per day, 5x per week Upping the difficulty a little bit from last challenge, but not much. Just want to make it slightly more challenging to keep it interesting, without making it overwhelming.

Hi guys! I'm excited to start Yoga with Adriene's newest yoga journey tomorrow, January 1, and I'm looking for acountabilibuddies to take the journey with me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1URy0H0PsuY7q3kg2DknUaCAsiq0pDgdCBAhlJ3d0RnU/edit?usp=sharing I'm using Owaves, a daily schedule app, to set aside time every evening before or after dinner to do the latest video. Feel free to use this thread for comments, questions and remarks as well as using the spreadsheet to track your progress. See you on the mat!

SYRRAN: [My name is] Arev. T'POL: That means 'desert wind'. SYRRAN: Does it. Why are you here? ARCHER: We could ask you the same thing. SYRRAN: I follow the path of Surak in meditation and study. Challenge goals: Walk Meditate Study Bonus: Do logical things when there is emotional resistance. Just three goals this time, but my head is feeling in need of a clear-out and my physical conditioning is feeling blah, so I want to hit those three hard, to see where I feel health improvements. I'm going for endurance on all three. My end goal for the challenge is two hours a day of walking (though a substitute of half an hour of yoga and alternate day half hour strength workouts will count towards the activity total if I want to mix it up with more mobility and strength), and half an hour of meditation per day. There are two things qualifying for study at the moment, one professional and one brain hacking. I'll count either, with a goal of two hours a day. I won't hit these goals right away, I'll be stepping up to them. No, they're not sustainable amounts of time long-term. But for a focused short-term reset, I think they'll be worth the time I put in. Like a deep spring-clean. The catch: My sleep, hydration, and food need to be fairly stable for this, and they're not. I'm hoping the increased activity will help stabilise my sleep, and the activity plus meditation will take down some brain focus issues that will improve my routines. But there's a hidden hydration reset and diet reset in here. I'm thinking about batch cooking on weekends to keep the diet reset from being a daily concern, at least. I'll be testing this a bit in zero week, though I still have a week of Hogswatch to go. Fortunately, there's enough overlap that I can run both simultaneously.

I crack myself up. Weeeeeeellll ... it’s another year. Which will hopefully be better than the last. Fingers frickin crossed there. Let’s turn to a fresh page, shall we? Let’s start this year off on the right foot with continuing to stay the course on most things, while peppering in a few extras for spice. Goal 1: As always, Nutrition Staying the course on my more recent nutritional guidelines: Smaller portions, less meat, more veggies, nutrient dense food options, no GI issues. Drink enough water. Eat with an eye toward Base MFP goals for slow weight loss: 1,260 calories, 20% protein, 50% carbs, 30% fat but without judgement if I go over or under on calories. Basically, eat what I’m going to eat - but by the fact of tracking, that tends to be more reasonable. I’ll also be continuing onto my third year of daily food photos (to go along with my Picture of the Day), since y’all seem to enjoy that and get something out of it. Goal 2: As always, a Fitness Component Staying my Druidy course of action (shocker) with 4-5 yoga classes per week - hoping to mix in live 3-D classes with my Zoom schedule. Not sure as of writing this how exactly that’ll take shape. Will update later. Also adding my wrist, ankle/quad/glute, and breath work rehab exercises here for accountability. Wrists & breath work are daily, along with trigger point massage; ankle/quad/glute work is every other day. Goal 3: Fulfillment This goal encompasses a bunch of small things I have going on a daily basis already - with a couple tweaks. The secondary digital project is new, but I’m enjoying learning how to create in this space so I think I’ll keep it up. Pup training is back - I think they’re ready to move on from just working on reactivity; we can find another project aside from deep naps. [ - ] Duolingo Arabic classes [ - ] Primary craft project [ - ] Secondary digital project [ - ] Enrichment feeds for the pups [ - ] Training for the pups Goal 4: Do Some Shit That Feels Adulty We have a few things on the fire at the moment, or hope to in the near future, so I will have goals & targets there. More on those as they materialize. Hopefully. I also still want to focus actual (step up from minimal) effort on my blog, so that goal is staying. Picture of the Day has been going strong for 10 years; I’ll be continuing that Weekly recipes are staying I’m hoping to add weekly ingredient spotlights e-Book(s) are happening this year At least a modicum of Pinterest effort is happening Working on yet again revamping my food photography style for this year And aside from that, I need to find something else to work toward so my brain doesn’t mush. Pulling sentences for the last big blog post I wrote was harder than it should have been, and it isn’t a great post, tbh. More on this one when I pick a course of action.

My challenges lately have been kind of disoriented and unfocused. I was looking for something I could use as a theme to orient them around (in hopes of making them more focused and more oriented towards long-term goals), and I noticed a lot of people really digging back into the gamification/RPG realm of NF. I decided I would give it a try again. When I first joined NF, I made a half-hearted attempt at gamification in my challenges and then gave up. Still nailing down how I want to deal with points/levels, but I have decided on a character to orient my challenges around. I came across a subclass called the Bladesingers, which are elven wizards trained in the art of bladesong, a fighting style that combines a dance-like martial art, a weapon, and spells that when performed correctly creates whistle tones that resemble song. It really resonates with my current interests, with a fighting style focused around agility and dexterity (my current training focus is bodyweight exercises and yoga/flexibility), the scholarly element of wizard spells (learning and reading goals will never not be part of my challenges), high levels of focus and meditative abilities (wanting to build a meditative practice) , and song and dance (creativity, also something that is pretty much always incorporated into my goals). Challenge Goals: Body of a Agile Swordswoman - (STR/DEX) Strength and Agility: Bodyweight workouts 3x a week - (DEX) Balance and Coordination: Yoga 2x a week - (CON) Stamina: 15min+ walks 4x (or more) a week (yes Aquarii, even though it is cold, stop being a wimp) - (CON) Nutrition: Post-holiday sugar detox, avoid processed sugar at least 6 days/week (not including condiments, such as marinara and BBQ sauce) - (CON) Hydration: Drink 64 oz of water per day (non-caf and decaf tea and coffee count) Mind of a Scholar - (INT) Intelligence: Read 5 books (part of 2021 Reading challenge) - (INT/CHA) Career Knowledge: Complete Skillcrush Digital Marketing Course part 1 & 2 - (INT/WIS/CON) Focus: Meditate 5 min per day, 5x per week

The morning was still and sharp with frost as the cold yellow light of dawn began to trickle through the bare trees, illuminating the campsite where I hunched over my flickering lantern. On the makeshift table in front of me, I had arranged the materials I would need for my task: Light steel from my home in Middle Earth, solid iron from Temple Island, woven straps from Ciena the Healer, soft leather pieces shared by Eamon, Ayre, Amethyst, and the Bearded Ranger. I had never done anything like this before, but I took a deep breath and flexed my fingers lightly. It was time to give it a try. My ice powers had continued to grow inside me - sometimes clenching my body tight with acute pain, more often dulling my senses with their persistent low hiss of crackling cold and fear, they had become increasingly present in my consciousness to the point that I saw the world through fearful eyes as often as I did through my own. My stripe of white hair was spreading and lightening the rest of my hair; my skin grew translucent, the runes had lost their graceful definition and become more jagged, more fractured. I had lost so much of my power and my world had shrunk to the size of my own mind. Day by day, I was becoming more Eldarwen, and less Sky. I lightly ran my fingertips across each piece of metal, feeling their contour, their unique timbre and shape. Each one represented a lesson I had learned, knowledge I had gained, truths that could protect me or power that could guide me. The straps from Ciena were the tools and truths that bound all that together. And the soft leather from the friends who loved me best would protect me from the cold surface of the metal, reminding me I was safe, supported and loved. The bracers I was about to make were not meant to simply strengthen an arrow shot - these were the tools and knowledge I needed to bring me back to myself. These bracers would protect my ragged, raw wrists and arms, allowing my runes to begin to heal and keeping me strong when the ice flooded my veins. Not long ago, I had begun to heal by shattering the supports I no longer needed - but that healing needed to continue by shoring myself up with support and protection once again. The sun had just let go of the horizon as I lifted my hands over the pieces of metal and summoned my healing and light powers from deep in my belly. It was harder these days to find the light in myself - but it rose to meet my call today, flowing warm and sweet down my arms, appearing in the air before me as I began to stitch the pieces together. Only love could make these what they needed to be - the icy chill of self-punishment would not do. The edges of the metal pieces began to melt and fuse together, as I wove strand after strand of light through the air, grafting and molding them into place. I was aware of Eamon entering the camp as I worked, but I did not speak, and he paused a respectful distance away from the table, watching as I completed the first bracer and began to pull the second together. Knowledge to fight or deflect the Voice, wisdom on how to care for my body, the knowledge of who I was and who I wanted to be - a dozen lessons blended together as I molded and shaped the metal. At the end, I carefully lifted each one into the air and etched on its surface the familiar scrolling vines of the Silver Bow. These bracers would not dampen my power - rather, they would help me channel it. The sun was fully up as I set the second bracer down and drew a long breath, tired but satisfied. They were a strange conglomeration of colors and textures, but the lines from the Silver Bow tied them all together. Eamon approached the table as he saw me sag against it, gently touching one of my hands. "I saw what you were doing, but didn't want to interrupt you - these are beautiful and I'm so proud of you." "Thanks." I looked up and grinned at him, breathing heavily. "I'm pretty proud of myself too. These are good work. And they'll help me get stronger again." "You're already stronger than you think. But I'm glad you're doing what you need to do to support yourself until you feel strong again. May I help you put them on?" "Yes, please, that would be much appreciated." I stretched out my trembling hands and he gently fitted the bracers over them, carefully tying the soft leather straps over the bruised, raw runes on my wrists. They fit snugly and softly against my skin. Smiling a little, I lifted my hands and summoned my healing powers once again; and the scrollwork on the bracers lit up, surrounding my weakened arms with warmth and light. The Silver Archer would return to her full strength one day. With help and knowledge from my past, I would be strong enough to become myself once again in the future.

When we last left our hero... I was last active here in 2015-2016, but have had a few false starts since then. The short version is that I've been dealing with depression most of my life, and since 2013 have lost both parents, ended two relationships, and of course have recently been dealing with the effects of the pandemic as someone who works in and is finishing up a degree in hotel and restaurants hospitality. It's been really, really hard to have any motivation to do anything. My depression has gotten a lot worse, I haven't been doing well in school or work, and I have gained about 20lbs. I've tried to jump into a challenge a few times recently but for whatever reason get immediately overwhelmed with the challenge and keeping up with the forums, so I've decided to sort of slip through the back and work on my battle log while commenting on others' challenges for the time being. Anyway. Hi. I'm Cody, she/her, 35 from Michigan. I'm 100% a Druid that low-key wants to be a Ranger. I very much miss when we were doing subclasses/professions like Innkeeper on the forums and would love to bring it back.

There is my scoring system. Now I need things to score. This is difficult, because I'm tired of long lists, but they're so useful for providing reminders through the day. And because lately my challenges have had to do a lot of adapting. So I think this will be a hybrid system, which I will test drive during zero week. I will score what I have done on a naughty/nice axis in a "be mindful of my needs and choices" kind of thing, and set a small number of goals each week. During zero week, let's try: Make a list and check it twice Hogswatch cheer Walking in a winter wonderland Right. First set of challenge goals.