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It's been awhile... Rather than try anything fancy I'm just going to load an old Assassin Creed game I've already completed and try out New Game+. This way I can ease into the gameplay and remind myself how the controller feels in my hand and what weapons work best for my style of play. Going off of memory, I'm choosing the following weapons, shields, etc... Weapon: Body Weight exercises 3x a week Shield: Track food every day Armor: No gluten Health Potion: 3 cups of water/tea (replacing the mega amount of coffee I drink) Animus: Sleep 7 hours I'm going to do a week zero and see how it goes. I haven't been very motivated to exercise so that will be my biggest challenge. In fact, I won't put a time limit on the amount of exercise I do in a day. I think I'll just focus on Bulgarian Split Squats, Side Planks and Push Ups.

I have made this a few times since I found the recipe on eatliverun.com and absolutely love it. It's cheap to make, and really satisfies. It is vegan if you use vegetable stock but can be made otherwise. Rice & Bean Casserole with Guacamole Ingredients: 1 cup brown rice, dry 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 1 4-oz can diced green chilies 1 14.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp garlic powder 2 avocados, very ripe 1 whole jalapeno, minced pinch of cumin big pinch of garlic salt juice of 1-2 limes Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 13" pan, combine the rice, broth, beans, tomato sauce, green chilies, cumin, chili powder, salt and garlic powder. Stir well then cover TIGHTLY with tin foil. Place in oven and bake for 90 minutes {no peaking!}. To make the guacamole topping, mash the avocados with the minced jalapenos, cumin, garlic salt and lime juice. Season with additional cumin and garlic salt to taste. When the rice and beans has finished cooking, serve on plates topped with a big scoop of guacamole! Time: active time ~ 5 minutes total time ~ 90 minutes

So I have a rash from Eczema and I've been told to try cutting out gluten from my diet. I'm moving to Texas in a week and I plan to try to cut out gluten from my diet then since I'll be in a new environment. The main issue is that I love carbs and breads and pasta (I will find a gluten-free mac and cheese otherwise this is doomed to fail lol). I'm trying to stay away from packaged food which seems to be people's main suggestions. What were some things you did to cut out gluten/bread/ grains etc? What were some surprising things you found that had gluten in them? (I know beer has gluten)

Name: NikaNika Level: 2 Note: This is my second NF challenge, new to druids. Main Quest Strengthen mind-body-spirit connection. Challenge Quest Breakdown Earth Two Visual Neila Ray Workouts per Week. Water Continue gluten-free diet. Create at least one gluten-free meal weekly. Experiment with recipes and available ingredients. Air Learn and practice basic Tai Chi postures. Remain aware of spinal posture daily. Fire Expand Heart Center. Perform at least one helpful, or kind, act daily for another person without expectation. Embody and perceive unconditional love for all whenever capable. Akasha Daily Affirmations of Confidence, Compassion, and Gratitude. Practice frequent breathwork and internal expansion meditation. Motivation Grace of Nymphs Guide Me, Twists of Fate Challenge Me, Bring Forth Before My Eyes, That Which Strengthens My Heart, Teach of Greater Wisdoms, Elevate My Soul. STATS Age: 24, Height: 5' 5" Starting Weight: 180 lbs Current Weight: 175 lbs Prospective Weight: 140 lbs Starting Race: Wood Elf Prospective Race: Valkyrie Attribute Points: STR: 1 DEX: 2 STA: 2 CON: 1 WIS: 4 CHA: 4 Grading Rubric Earth Mission A - 2 visual workouts / week B - 1.5 visual workouts / week C - 1 visual workout / week D - .5 visual workout / week F - 0 visual workout/week Water Mission (Meal: nutritious ingredients are harvested, 2-3 hours spent in preparation, left-overs possible) A - One Meal/week, Frequent experimentation. B - One Meal/week, Moderate experimentation. C - One Meal/week, Minimal experimentation. D - <1 meal/week, No experimentation. F - Return to Gluten. Air Mission A - 15-24 Tai Chi postures practiced. B - 7-14 Tai Chi postures practiced. C - 3-6 Tai Chi postures practiced. D - 1-2 Tai Chi postures practiced. F - 0 Tai Chi postures practiced. Fire Mission A - Acceptance, daily acts. B - 5-6 acts/week, relaxing. C - 1-4 acts / week, struggle. D - Struggle between Hate and Love. F - Contracted Heart Center, embodying hate. Akasha Mission A - 7 sessions of affirmation, frequent meditation (daily). B - 4-6 sessions of affirmation, less frequent meditation (5-6 days/week). C - 2-4 sessions of affirmation, moderate meditation (3-4 days/week). D - <1 session of affirmation, infrequent meditation (1-2 days/week). F - 0% put forward.

AKLulu's "Clean Up Your Act!" Challenge (In which Lulu tries yet another challenge... ) So I've been a slacker. Sure I make it to CrossFit once in a while. Yes, I eat good food a lot of times. But is this really the best I can do? Dang, Wonder Woman, you know TOO much. I guess I've been called out... time to own up and do something about it. Challenge accepted. Main Quest This is a tough one for me. I've never had any particular health or fitness goals. I just want to be... healthy. I'm also quitting my job and most likely moving within the next couple of months (last day at my job is May 15th), so that's on my mind a lot right now. I think my main quest will simply be this: Be as prepared as I can for whatever comes next (as vague as that is). I may end up hiking around lake country in SW Alaska taking hydrological measurements, commercial fishing, or sitting at a desk in the big city. Who knows?? I sure don't. All I know is that I want to be ready for it. So what am I going to do to get ready? 1. Forgo the Gluten - Gluten makes me bloat. I haven't been good at avoiding it lately, but I'm tired of my size fluctuating so much and would like to be well and truly into a size 14 pant (because size 16 is just a little too big). How can I buy clothes and look super good for interviews (or for the salmon) if I'm not at a more steady state body-wise? No gluten for the duration of the challenge. 2. Decline the Wine - I have little use for liquid courage or liquid calories. I really enjoy my alcoholic beverages, but it's time to cut back for the sake of my waistline and budget. I also don't sleep quite as well when I've had alcohol before bed, so it will be better for my brain too. I'm allowed alcoholic beverages a maximum of two nights per week. 3. Make that Money Matter - I'm quitting my job. I'm moving. I'm living in a house by myself that was meant to be afforded by two people. I'm squeaking by okay, but I'd like to be putting more money away in savings, so it's time to cut out some unnecessary expenses. Now, I love my CrossFit, but if I'm not making it at least three times a week, it's cheaper for me to pay a drop-in rate. So if I don't average three times a week at CrossFit for this challenge, I have to drop it. Side Quests 1. Life Side Quest - I'm not good at keeping my house tidy lately and I want to get organized for packing and moving, so this side quest will be to clean one area of my house per week. 2. Fitness Side Quest - I've been saying for ages that I want to get into running. Well, Portland's "snowpocalypse" is well and truly past, so I think it's safe to add in running one day a week. 3. Mini Quests - I will try to participate, but we'll see how it lines up with the rest of my challenge. Well... that's all I have to say about that. Trying to keep it simple so I don't fail because of trying to change too much at once (like getting back to strict Paleo). Woo.

Fall is a time for pumpkin and a time for soups. I love this soup so much, and it is one of the very few recipes that I've altered then perfected off of an inspiring recipe, so I feel that it is truly my own. I MUCH prefer fresh pumpkin for about everything, but this recipe is one that I truly don't mind canned pumpkin in. I could eat it all week, it would not be a mistake to make a double batch in order to use the whole can of pumpkin. Curried Pumpkin Soup Makes: serves 4 - 6 Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped carrots 1/3 cup chopped celery 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. curry powder 2 tbsp butter or your favorite oil 1 cup pureed pumpkin (or about 1/2 can of pumpkin) 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp. sugar 2 cups veggie broth (or can use chicken broth) 1 1/2 cups milk 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrow root or tapioca powder (use as thickening agent) 2 tbsp heavy cream (optional) chopped chives (as decoration) Preparation Directions: 1. In large pan cook onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and curry in the butter or margarine for a few minutes until onion is tender. 2. Add pumpkin, nutmeg, sugar, the bay leaf and the broth. Stir and bring to a boil. 3. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. 4. Take out the bay leaf. 5. Stir in 1 cup of the milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes. 6. In another bowl, stir together the remaining milk and the cornstarch until dissolved, then add it to the pan. 7. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Then cook a couple more minutes. Add more curry and some salt to taste. To serve: Swirl the cream on top, and garnish with chives.

THE SETUP I know the next challenge doesn't start until November 11 but... I can't resist College. Senior year. A director friend, M. Doyle, asked me to play a part in a student film she was working on called Project Delta. Despite my shyness and lack of acting experience I said yes. Best decision ever. Because of the excitement around the project and the fact that I had to look good on camera while doing fight choreography over multiple takes, I consistently exercised and was in pretty good shape. It turns out that nothing in the world gets me motivated like being in a film does. From this base I have two slightly divergent reasons that I'm really motivated this time around. DIVERGENCE ONE: HATTER Doyle and I are turning the story idea behind the film into a webcomic called DELTA that she's writing and I'm illustrating, and because I've been looking at the characters so much recently I've decided that my character, Hatter, is kind of tired of being trapped in my body. I want to become more like her. Physically. Because I definitely do not want the violent homicidal tendencies and insanity DIVERGENCE TWO: TAKE OVER THE WORLD I saw Doyle recently and she mentioned another film idea she's been thinking about in which I would play the villain... again (Type cast much? Haha! I promise I'm not actually evil...). The outfit I would wear would be of the tightly-fitting variety so if/when this film happens I'd like to actually look good in the costume. It would also make a rocking awesome GLaDOS costume so I will be using it as such, meaning that I have until February to shape up as much as possible. SO THE POINT OF ALL THAT IS... I'm slim and at peace with my pear-shaped body, but I'm the consistency of a well-worn throw pillow. I'd like to be stronger, gain some muscle mass (and definition, but it's more important to me to be strong and healthy than "toned") so I will not only look good but will be able to do physical activities as needed without feeling like I'm going to keel over and die. GOALS 1) HATTER HANDSTANDS. No real reason for this except I would feel super cool if I was able to do a handstand. And Hatter would love it. She's such a goob. (Yes, I talk about my characters as if they're real people. It's normal.) I started working on this back during my Project Delta days and worked up to being able to do a wall handstand for about 10 seconds but I haven't done any for a while so it's back to square one. Success means I can hold a wall handstand (or close to one) for at least 30 seconds by the end of the challenge. STR1 DEX4 2) SHAPE UP FOR WORLD DOMINATION. I started doing some light weight training this week so I'm going to keep that up every other day and increase the intensity as I feel comfortable. I'm focusing on my arms and abs mostly. I've made walking a habit so I'm not as worried about my legs. I will keep track of how many reps I do and how heavy the weights are so I can track improvement. I will consider myself successful if I feel good about my improvements by the end of this challenge. STR4 3) FUEL UP ON PREMIUM. I have a gluten intolerance and a couple of other food-related problems. My family is supportive, but it's too expensive for us all to go gluten free and they sometimes forget that I need to eat differently, leaving me to scrounge the fridge while they're eating fancy lasagna or breaded chicken with broccoli (which I love but my esophagus does not). I've wanted to take charge of my own meal plan but our house is tiny and there's not enough room for me to have a totally different food area for my stuff. I've decided the best way to handle this is to take over all the meal planning for the whole family. That way I can control what is eaten, reduce and provide myself alternatives for gluten-containing meals, and help out my very busy mom at the same time. I will be successful if I can make a healthy and relatively inexpensive meal plan, and cook at least three of the major meals for the whole family each week. CON3 WIS1 SIDE GOAL. I've never been consistent with reading my Bible except when I was in college and brought it with me to study between classes. I'd like to make it a habit again, so I aim to read and study at least 15 minutes a day every day. I know 15 minutes isn't much, but I need to start somewhere and it's better than what I'm doing now! WIS2 A PRESENT FOR YOU! I also wanted to share a Level Up Tracking Sheet that I designed and have been using for the last three challenges. It's really helpful to me so I figured someone else out there might like to print it out and use it. It was too big to download into this post so you can find it here.

THE SETUP College. Senior year. A director friend, M. Doyle, asked me to play a part in a student film she was working on called . Despite my shyness and lack of acting experience I said yes. Best decision ever. Because of the excitement around the project and the fact that I had to look good on camera while doing fight choreography over multiple takes, I consistently exercised and was in pretty good shape. It turns out that nothing in the world gets me motivated like being in a film does. From this base I have two slightly divergent reasons that I'm really motivated this time around. DIVERGENCE ONE: HATTER Doyle and I are turning the story idea behind the film into a webcomic called DELTA that she's writing and I'm illustrating, and because I've been looking at the characters so much recently I've decided that my character, Hatter, is kind of tired of being trapped in my body. I want to become more like her. Physically. Because I definitely do not want the violent homicidal tendencies and insanity DIVERGENCE TWO: TAKE OVER THE WORLD I saw Doyle recently and she mentioned another film idea she's been thinking about in which I would play the villain... again (Type cast much? Haha! I promise I'm not actually evil...). The outfit I would wear would be of the tightly-fitting variety so if/when this film happens I'd like to actually look good in the costume. It would also make a rocking awesome GLaDOS costume so I will be using it as such, meaning that I have until February to shape up as much as possible. SO THE POINT OF ALL THAT IS... I'm slim and at peace with my pear-shaped body, but I'm the consistency of a well-worn throw pillow. I'd like to be stronger, gain some muscle mass (and definition, but it's more important to me to be strong and healthy than "toned") so I will not only look good but will be able to do physical activities as needed without feeling like I'm going to keel over and die. GOALS 1) HATTER HANDSTANDS. No real reason for this except I would feel super cool if I was able to do a handstand. And Hatter would love it. She's such a goob. (Yes, I talk about my characters as if they're real people. It's normal.) I started working on this back during my Project Delta days and worked up to being able to do a wall handstand for about 10 seconds but I haven't done any for a while so it's back to square one. Success means I can hold a wall handstand (or close to one) for at least 30 seconds by the end of the challenge. STR1 DEX4 2) SHAPE UP FOR WORLD DOMINATION. I started doing some light weight training this week so I'm going to keep that up every other day and increase the intensity as I feel comfortable. I'm focusing on my arms and abs mostly. I've made walking a habit so I'm not as worried about my legs. I will keep track of how many reps I do and how heavy the weights are so I can track improvement. I will consider myself successful if I feel good about my improvements by the end of this challenge. STR4 3) FUEL UP ON PREMIUM. I have a gluten intolerance and a couple of other food-related problems. My family is supportive, but it's too expensive for us all to go gluten free and they sometimes forget that I need to eat differently, leaving me to scrounge the fridge while they're eating fancy lasagna or breaded chicken with broccoli (which I love but my esophagus does not). I've wanted to take charge of my own meal plan but our house is tiny and there's not enough room for me to have a totally different food area for my stuff. I've decided the best way to handle this is to take over all the meal planning for the whole family. That way I can control what is eaten, reduce and provide myself alternatives for gluten-containing meals, and help out my very busy mom at the same time. I will be successful if I can make a healthy and relatively inexpensive meal plan, and cook at least three of the major meals for the whole family each week. CON3 WIS1 SIDE GOAL. I've never been consistent with reading my Bible except when I was in college and brought it with me to study between classes. I'd like to make it a habit again, so I aim to read and study at least 15 minutes a day every day. I know 15 minutes isn't much, but I need to start somewhere and it's better than what I'm doing now! WIS2 A PRESENT FOR YOU! I also wanted to share a Level Up Tracking Sheet that I designed and have been using for the last three challenges. It's really helpful to me so I figured someone else out there might like to print it out and use it. It was too big to download into this post so you can find it here.

Who are you? I'm a Zoë. We tend to be a local, vivid bunch and this particular one is Gothy and thinks of herself as more of a he. I'm working on making a living with writing, practicing Aikido, figuring out cooking, raising chickens and GMing when I have the time. Somewhere in the there is yoga, cleaning, sleeping and picking up and dropping off an art habit. What's your current status? Um....better. In March I ripped my mcl (the tendon on the inside of your knee) in an Aikido practice. I spent a lot of time off getting back to just walking and went up to basically a size 18 from size 14. I came back to Aikido in midJune and now am working towards my brown belt test in October. Also I'm down to fitting into the size 16 clothes again. Where do you see trouble coming from ? Trying to write enough to have enough to eat, balancing time, and oh yes, my boyfriend probably has Celiac's so now I have to figure out gluten-free baking and cooking. I also seem to lose weight horridly but at least gain muscle well (for a female). When do you think you'll be a "vampire"? Not ever since I don't think they actually exist. But the idea of a vampire is seductive as a goal to me, more than describing myself as a warrior or a monk. Vampires can be protagonists in stories now, often fighting against their own self-destructive urges. They are also very strong, very fast, and very mentally flexible. If they come up against something stronger than them, they don't insist on having an arm wrestling contest. They use their speed and flexibility to beat them. They aren't one trick ponies; they are clever demons. Plus vampires put off a predator vibe. Other things avoid them and respect them. In Aikido, we think the ability to avoid a fight is a wonderful thing. A vampire avoids having to fight by just being scary powerful (and sometimes smooth talking their way out of a corner.) Why Level One? Because in some games you start at level zero. Zip, nothing, nada. And then you go thru the game guide, kill a rat or two and then get to add a stat point or two and find a twig to equip yourself with. Ya, that's how I feel after my injury. I have a stick- fear me! How are you going to run this log? More reflection based. I'm going to aim to post the day after recapping the highlights. Sometimes I'll just put out food lists and exercise lists when I have nothing better to add. But I'd like to put in recipes, reflections and more journal posts when I have the time.