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No matter how many or how few flowers you plant in your garden, you will eventually want to do some work with them that is not about planting more. Spruce up the borders. Build an automatic watering system. Make nicer pathways. Heck, build a cute picnic table that you can eat some of those home-grown veggies at. This is that time. I noted WAY back, not long after I first joined if I recall correctly, that my challenge items tend to fall into the "habit" or the "goal" category, and that mixing both tends to mean I succeed on goals but fail spectacularly on my habits. Probably this is because habits are harder and more nebulous in their benefit and wanting, and they are never completed, whereas goals have normally a more urgent (or at least current) reason for coming about, you can throw yourself into them for hours at a time, there's an end date, and you get something out of it at the end. And I like to front-load my work, because I am lazy like that. If I can put in some time to automate a thing so that I either never have to do it again or it is forever easier somehow, this is HIGHLY motivating for me, as my day of building out my work dashboard at the end of the last challenge proved. But committing to doing something forever without end feels like the exact opposite of that. It is adding work to my life. So I'm going to take a page from @KeysMcGee, and my own past challenges, this time around. I'm going to focus on goals that I can (hopefully) complete in this challenge time period. I will also have some habit-based stuff thrown in, because I never learn. But I am going to try to frame them more like goals. Anyway. Here we go. Goals 1. Sort out my investments. Pretty sure I have had this on the list before and didn't finish on the follow-through. I built a plan a couple of challenges ago with categories and percentages and everything! Now I just need to apply it. This goal has three steps: Finish moving money. There is a limit to how much can be moved per day, and some things I need to watch with moving things between accounts. The money that should be in investments accounts is not yet all there. Research categories. For each category, pick one ETF. Two or more if there is a good reason for it (but do not get lost looking for the perfect in the good! That can come later!). Purchase things. Self-explanatory. 2. Fix my bicycle. I have an electric bike. It's a bit of a mess right now. Needs a new battery, issues with the tube. I've wanted to get it rideable again ever since we moved here (and indeed before), but I cannot motivate myself to work on this in an unheated room in the winter. I know this as surely as I know my own name. This is a summer-or-bust job. This goal has three parts. Not so much steps; they can be worked on independently and each have multiple parts, but we started with a numbered list so we're sticking with it: Fix the battery. This basically involves getting a new battery (or two), wiring it in, and disposing of the old one(s). This is both an exciting project and a frightening one. My father was an electrician. I have respect for electric current. Fix the tires. The tube in one of the tires (possibly both) has a slow leak. When repaired, it returns. So the last time I rode this bike, I would just pump it up before I went out, and that would normally last the day, but it would be flat in a day or two. (I did take the pump with me.) I am not 100% sure what the issue is, but I have some ideas to test. This step is done when both tires hold air for a reasonable length of time after a ride. General maintenance spruce-up. check the brakes. Check the cables. Oil things a little. See if the chain needs replacing. The usual stuff. 3. Finish knitting scarf. I have a commission to knit a scarf. I have already been paid. I set the deadline in the contract I wrote for the end of August. The buyer has extended it into December, but if I can honour my original terms, I will feel better. This project has but one step, but the step is easily broken down into measurable pieces. I am currently at row 325 of 780. A little more than 40%. Two rows takes approximately 3-3.5 minutes to knit, so I need to average about 30 minutes per day in order to finish "on time". Habits Many of the habit things from last challenge that weren't going well were lacking a trigger, or had a bad one. I need to apply the Tiny Habit spirit of experimentation here, rather than just complaining that I need a good trigger and then doing nothing about it as I have been. So my habit goal for this challenge is to take one goal per week that has not been consistent (or even existent), and play with its parameters. Try a new prompt. Turn it from a starter action into a scaled-back behaviour, or vice versa. Think about what makes this action difficult. Change the habit entirely to something that better meets the intention behind the habit. And so on. I took notes. I just haven't been applying them. And I plan to continue the habits I already have (or like to believe I do). The ones I will track will be getting rid of one thing per day, exercise in some form (probably GMB), and reading and posting on NF (this last one will be one of the weekly items to work on, but it can stay here in the meantime). So there we are. Three goals, one "goal", and three continuing habits. It is enough. Happy challenge everyone!

In the latter half of last year the Enting started school, business travel picked up (for both me and Mr), and just to top it off we all caught Covid over the Christmas holidays. During all this, I stopped losing weight and gained back some of that I'd been losing. (Thankfully, not all of it!) This year I'm keen to get my weight/BMI back down to the best of last year. But more than that, I want to be better at getting back on track when chaos ensues and I get derailed--because chaos happens, constantly. I already have good practices and habits. They work. I just need to remember to keep them going (or reimplement them) when things go wacky. The Challenge: These are my practices that I need to keep in place Use the daily planner/tracker - Daily to-dos, habit-tracking, etc. Create/use the weekly meal plan - If I get too hungry without a plan, I'll end up eating a fistful of crackers with nutella, which is delicious but not exactly healthy. 5 Miles a Day/Dog Training - Oh, did I forget to mention? We have a puppy now! Skye is a 4.5 month old golden retriever and she's my new walking companion. I love her! She came to us at 15 weeks and basically no training at all, so we've been working hard with her. Luckily, she's a swift and eager pupil and in the 3 weeks we've had her, she's already come very far! And she doesn't let me slack off my lunchtime walk (not to mention the shorter walks I've had to add in the morning and evening...). Good for her, good for me. Level Up: Spring is coming to Owlshire! I need to get started on the vegetable garden, and I want to get back into my crafts. I debated between a daily habit, or specifics, and I've decided to go for specifics: Finish the jumper I'm knitting Spin something on my wheel (or at least start it) Prepare our new garden terraces (after two disasterous winters of not being able to DIY them, we hired it out. And now we have terraces!) Get all February seeds in the propagator Get or start the March seeds Pass/Fail Parameters: This challenge is about getting back on track--and then doing it again, and again. So I need to check in each week, and if I've gone off course, I need to get back on it again. As long as I do that, it's a success.

Hello. I am Stronkey Kong. Umm... Been on NF over seven years. I'm still fat and making the best of it. Which means I'm tempering my goals, accepting what is and what is not (feasibly and sustainably) possible. I eat as healthy as I can while enjoying my food. I move as often as I can while enjoying movement. I think. I create. I devise elaborate plans for challenges and eschew all rules as soon as convenience dictates. <sigh> This challenge is inspired by a recent dream I had. This is one of my stress dreams. It came after spending a week switching to day shift, rather abruptly, after having been on night shift for over a year, going to a training course across town, then coming back to work to find out that someone more senior than me, and training/guiding me at work is leaving in another week and then I'm pretty much on my own kinda. Idk. This is gonna get tough. I suppose the point/meaning of this dream, if they do have meanings, is that I need to avoid quick fixes and work on my coping mechanisms ahead of stressors. Then there's the fact that I'm turning my attention back to mindfulness and my Buddhist practice. I have dabbled and practiced with varying degrees of seriousness in Zen. I'm currently learning about Tibetan Buddhism and reading and meditating on Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva, and am planning to get back into my meditation routine. If you've never heard the term, Bodhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but rather than pursuing full Buddhahood (where you get to just chill out in Nirvana for eternity, free from suffering) they choose to return to Samsara (the eternal cycle of life, suffering, death, and rebirth) to guide other beings on the path to enlightenment. Hence, they are good examples to follow for freeing oneself from suffering and helping others. I could go on on this topic, but I'll leave it there for now. I just thought I'd let you know why I named my challenge as I did. And then there's the Big List... which I made during the Holiday challenge as a set of goals to pursue long term. From this list I usually create a goal or two from something on the list to work toward, and lately I usually focus on Intuitive Eating, Exercise, Creativity, and buying a home. My goals are listed in order of general priority. I'm putting the TL;DR up front and spoilering the details to tidy things up here: TL;DR Mindfulness: daily meditation with increasing session times Lotus Position: stretch to improve lotus posture during meditation Nourishment: Eat mindfully and watch out for GERD symptoms Movement: Qigong Abode: spring cleaning Creativity: Knit a Beanie or Finish part one of my fantasy novel Wisdom: Study The Way of the Bodhisattva Knowledge: study Tibetan language

I am QRG! Or Mary. Either way. I'm currently deep in the throws of a Supernatural re-watch so my battle will be to train me for "saving people, hunting things". Really, I'm just a chick who loves horror, supernatural, superheroes, and knitting. I could just as well be a slayer in training, but Buffy is waiting for its re-watch turn. I've worked in various offices for most of my life, starting with folding pamphlets and babysitting for my dad's church as a kid, followed by market research, insurance, and trucking. Being an office monkey is good for me since I kind of enjoy getting lost in paperwork, forms and organization. But its bad for my body. Also, I'm no longer a weird little nerdy punk rocker grrrl. I sit to knit and watch tv. And I'm not running all over town visiting friends and going to shows. Adulting is hard all over. So, here is where I'm sort of starting (sort of because I've been an NF member for a year now, but I've only done 2 challenges counting the current): That was a couple weeks ago. I'll update after the next challenge or during it sometime. No pictures yet. I took some, I just really don't feel like sharing right now. So, I've been working on my food. I love baking, but I've been spreading out to making more salads (which I also love) and experimenting with other dishes more centered around veggies. I love veggies. But I still get asked to bake a lot, so I just make sure its clear the leftovers are not coming home with me. My boyfriend Mike is adjusting to there being more vegetables than chip in the house. He's doing ok so far. But he still brings in his own and eats out a lot. Which is cool.. This is my thing, he is only required to participate if he wants to keep eating the food I cook and keep around. Unless he's buying chocolate or pizza. Then I have to fight it. I've started running. I love it, even if I'm not very good yet. I did track in junior high, but I hadn't run since. I just love how I feel afterwards on a run day. Aside from the stiffness, I mean. I have more energy and I just am in a much better mood on run days. I feel like I have more patience. My best mile so far is 16:11 I'm trying to do yoga more and meditate, but those have not been my main focus. I do need to make yoga more primary, though. I miss my old flexibility and I am definitely stiff and in need of yoga after a run. I'm also starting to lift. This is quite recent. I had been doing bodyweight workouts and that was great, but I am in love with the bar. Right now I'm only lifting the bar, but I plan to get a schedule set up to start really strength training for the next challenge. A hunter has to be strong to fight. Those are the basics. With some side quests along the way. Here are links to my challenges: The Adventure Begins QRG vs the Army of Darkness QRG Apocalypse Preparation QRG Does Stuff. And Things. QRG - No Power in the 'Verse Can Stop Me QRG - Five by Five Now let's do this.

Hi everyone! This group is for you to display your creative endeavors. Enjoy.

So what's going on now. I just got back from a monk challenge and the bottom dropped out of that. I did however learn that if we call it 'roadwork' instead of 'running' or 'jogging' it makes it permissible to do cardio once in a while. This summer, I had/have been looking for jobs in data analysis, and relearning some programming, and thinking about getting back into biology. I applied and interviewed for a job recently as a data analyst for a nonprofit that does clinical trial research... but didn't get it. That got me down a little bit, and I started thinking about things. 1) The main reason I want(ed) to switch back to this type of work is the money. Really. That's it. Granted I like the work of programming and analysis, and there's some value in the biological research (if it went that way) but I'd do (almost) anything else in a heartbeat. 2) Why do I want more money? Simply to pay down/off my debts and buy a home. And to make ends meet where I live. 3) If I do buy a home, no matter where it is I'd be doing the homestead thing, urban or rural. Then earlier this week I found out about USDA rural home loans. This might start sounding like an ad. They are no money down, they give them to people with bad to mediocre credit, and they are insured by the government (this, I believe, negates the need to purchase mortgage insurance. The only catch is you can't use them for city properties... though many single family homes (even within city limits) qualify... in case you're interested. Those of you who have been following the Brogo saga for a while might remember a few years ago I had this idea of starting a farm/homestead kind of thing. I was raised out in the country. I like being outdoors. I like gardening. I like building things with my hands. I'd like to get a piece of land (5-10 acres) and just live off of it as much as possible (gardening, hunting/fishing, farming etc), take care of it, and do it all off the grid with as few external inputs and leave as small a footprint as possible. Basically, having some land will give me resources to take control of my environment and rebuild my life. Right now, the way I live is the exact opposite. I'm in the city, surrounded by man made noise, and I'm completely dependent on my ability to make money to buy stuff or services. And I'm flushing my money down the toilet with each months rent. I'm lazing around staring at screens. Blah, yadda, etc. These USDA loans might make it possible to change all this. Here's how: A little ways south of here (Indy) are some really pretty farm and country lands. I've been looking and I can find 5-10 acre properties that are cheap... mostly wooded lots etc. I can get a mortgage for one and since I'm willing to rough it for a while and build, I can live on it either in a tiny house, or possibly a yurt (google it)... for a start at least. I'd either expand or just save up and plan out building a more permanent structure. The mortgage would probably be less than the rent I'm paying now. With no utilities comes no bills. If I can grow my own food I save on groceries (one of my biggest monthly expenses). So the move should cut down on my living costs. Anyway. I need to get to sleep. My challenge will be focused figuring this out, and researching and preparing myself for a home brosteading lifestyle. Goals: Work Exercise Cooking Camping Finance/Research

Mind Body and Soul I’ve gotten a bit slack with the daily writing and the yoga routines and all the rest. I was feeling disconnected, spent from a very bleak midwinter indeed, and I need to reconnect, especially at the soul level. I’m looking forward to setting down anxiety and fretfulness and worry. I’m looking forward to living in harmony and love, letting the universe be in charge. I’m thinking of this round sort of like a sustained balance pose, like the Eagle or the tree. Or, my favorite, Lord of the Dance, even though this past challenge I considered it a huge success just to do Corpse pose. Let’s see what the Universe has in mind for me, shall we? This spring I’m doing something kind of weird. I’m putting a whole bunch of stuff out into the universe and seeing what comes back. I’ve put out a mountain of energy and intention and effort and invitation in the past three months. Mostly, I’ve heard nothing, except for the occasional faint and distant no. Okay, universe; message received. Apparently the directions I have been looking are not the ones the Universe has in mind for me. But I still don’t know exactly what I am supposed to be doing. This round I’m working with the uncertainty of it all, leaning on the knowledge that I am a powerfully effective person and very capable indeed. If it should all come back that I end up with two master’s degree programs and a full time job and a part time one on top of that, I could probably do it all, frankly, though not for very long. But maybe just long enough to see what I want to keep. I’m crafting this challenge around what I want to be doing regardless of the external validation structures that might come my way. I’m going to highlight the things in my life that are actively positive elements, and I’m going to update on how my focus on them is going. Mind - daily activities Read Spiritual Book Group Book A Testament of Devotion I'll add in other books as they happen. This place is being left as available depending on what happens with the two graduate programs I'm working with. Knit Publish the patterns that I have finished. Finish the Mrs. Who capelet and publish the pattern. Consider the possibilities of a wholesale yarn order Begin Vivian's Daphne Dress Write Pages are due before the colonoscopy on April 25. More pages will be required at the Queens Workshop May 20-26 Then pages will be needed for June and July, too. Body Gym: I have missed the gym, and it has missed me. It's no real surprise that there is a positive feedback loop of negativity when I don't go to the gym because I'm getting depressed. So the answer is: More Gym Time. Weights and walking and swimming are wonderful and have been missing from my world for too long. The Steam room and sauna are definitely needed. Any day with these is a good day. Yoga: I've added in a bit of structure since the yoga has fallen by the wayside. Tuesday Morning Yoga at the Library Wednesday Evening Yoga at the Mansion Friday Morning Yoga at the Library Soul - This is the area of greatest need, and fortunately is the one that has the most activity scheduled. These are the ways of the universe, in which there are no coincidences. Monday Evening meeting Sunday Friends Monthly Spiritual Formation Meeting - date tbd for May Monthly Women’s Wisdom Meeting April 18 & May 16 Semi-annual Spiritual Retreat May 4-6 Annual Friends Blue Ridge Gathering April 29

Heck yeah, MORE, gimme MORE MUAHAHAHAHA Will update with more concrete info here soonest. So life has me by the belt, and is flinging me about. I have no theme, per sé, but I was thinking about taking a photo of my stash yarn. Still not sure if maybe I'll do that. I have a few WIPs that need finishing, a tiny pi-shawlette that needs a border, a gift (old shale triangle shawl) for a friend that needs some love (stitches and beads), a second sock for my left foot, because unequal foot wear is not fun, first ever woolen sock pair I am knitting for myself (the one pair of cotton sneaker socks, 5-10 years ago don't count as knitting socks for myself). If I can knit size 49 (German sizes are weird, I'm on the phone and too lazy to translate that) for hubby, I can knit some socks for myself. I deserve amazing footwear. A few acrylic crochet toy things I am not looking at right now. I stress knit. But I also am finding the joy in fibres, textures, patterns, colours again. So it's not just my son's physical/mental health problems anymore. Not enough? More. I teach Luebecker Modell Bewegungswelten classes twice a week in an elderly home a half-hour walk from home. Good program, amazing people, good money. I am only training once a week myself right now. But that's way enough. Or it has to be for now. (Tuesday night 630-9pm) I should be focussing on all the things. But I am mostly sitting down at some point in the earliesk afternoon, for some knitting and some thinking. I rarely pull out my bujo, but I shall endeavor to do so more often, for it helps keep track of Schiff, if I don't have to carry it in my head, but have it written down instead. I weigh myself daily, for a nice pretty moving average, but I don't look at it too much. Sadly it's currently going in the wrong direction overall. But I have to breathe and go on. Giving up is not an option. I need to take the time and figure out a few breakfast and supper options that I can eat, do eat, and will eat so I don't have to log every ingredient separately every time. I need to make logging so easy I can't not. That's my plan for some of this month. I have someone coming to my class at the end of the month to give me coaching, which is exciting and scary. But I'll prevail. I have all the things on my plate. It'll be fine. Linkage and pics later today when there's natural light and such. Possibly. Did I mention that it's hubby's bday Wednesday and he's turning 40 and I love him and I actually finally have a gift for him? I am giving him a card, telling him of the weekend with no kids, got the car and day of hiking we'll both enjoy like crazy, may even book a room in advance and stay out and make it a weekend-thing instead of a Saturday thing. Never done that kinda stuff before. I pretty certain he'll love it. Nature, walking, no appointments, no obligations, just an easy 10k walk or something of the sort. Gift on Wednesday, actual walk on the 31.March/1.April-weekend. I'll keep you informed. So that's my challenge posted up. About time, isn't it?

Mistr tries something completely different My New Year's resolution for the last few years has been the same: get more sleep. My success has been mixed at best. My sensei says "secret of the samurai: more of what's not working does not work". So for the next two challenges I'm going to change my focus. 1) Do fun things. I have a lot of internalized guilt (in my grandmothers' voices) about not getting all the things done. My family would be happier if I let that go and relaxed more. I don't need a goal to tell me to do the essential things, I already have an internal nag for that. I do need encouragement to do my own things. A. In a fit of enthusiasm, I signed up for the geekiest thing ever: Yarn Quest 2018 - The Steam Age. This is a role-playing game knitting challenge. I've created my character and her feline companion (all the characters have feline companions). Every week the author sends out a new chapter. In it are instructions on how to roll to determine what happens with your character. You find out the results by knitting the charts that correspond with the rolls. At the end I will have a scarf that tells my story. The timing fits nicely with the next two challenges. The clues call for knitting 80 rows a week. Yesterday was a holiday and I got about 10 rows done. It may be a stretch for me to keep up. I'll give myself credit for getting 3/6 charts knit each week. B. To avoid making fun into a chore, I'm adding a second option of doing other fun things. These are creative things. Socializing is a different beast. spinning yarn/carding wool knitting on my ongoing sock project embroidery on either of my ongoing projects weaving playing piano reading for fun 2) Make good use of my time. Mostly this means not goofing off on the internet because I don't want to do something. Also not reading junk mail at the kitchen table because I don't want to do chores. I hereby give myself permission to do fun things before chores. A. Lunchtime. Use my lunch hour for my stuff. Exercise, meditation, Duolingo, knitting, reading - anything is okay. Just get away from my desk and use the time. It being too cold to go outside is no excuse. B. Evenings. Choose one fun thing to do first or between chores. Not last. 3) Sleep is fun. My bed is comfy and warm. Remember this on cold winter nights. Reading in bed counts. So does knitting in bed. Go to bed. I still want to keep doing exercise and meditation. I decided against doing a Zen challenge from my zendo. That has a minimum of 20 minutes a day for a year with only 5 missed days. I fell like it would be more stress instead of encouraging me to sit zen consistently. Another thing I want to do is keep up on logging. There was a whole week over the holidays that I missed. I want to have the data on what I'm doing and how it is working. Metrics: report here at least twice a week.

Discipline A good assassin practices discipline, and great assassin lives it. Instead of focusing on different aspects of being an assassin, Snuggles needs to focus on improving the discipline in her life. She needs to focus on the things she can control and actively change. Physical #1: Working on the back. I have joined a Pilates group that meets twice a week. I also want to get back into my physical therapy. Week #1 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 3 times Week #2 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 4 times & Pilates twice Week #3 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 5 times & Pilates twice Week #4 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 6 times & Pilates twice Week #5 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 7 times & Pilates twice Physical #2: I need to do something physical every day. Things to include are walking at least 2 miles, hiking, weight training, knife practice or something else. Week #1 of my challenge: 3 times a week Week #2 of my challenge: 4 times a week Week #3 of my challenge: 5 times a week Week #4 of my challenge: 6 times a week Week #5 of my challenge: 7 times a week Bonus: I would like to average at least 70k steps a week and 10k a day! Prize to be determined… Diet: Snuggles needs to start interacting with food in good ways again. I need to eat breakfast 6 days a week. Sunday Brunch is acceptable if I get at least a piece of fruit early. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge: Tracking is King: Finally Snuggles needs to start incorporating her many interests into her daily routine. (The To-Do Chart has returned!) In the past my chore chart is a wonderful indicator of what works and where I need work. It gives me a weekly visual so I know very quickly where I need to focus my energies. I will use this along with my Fit-bit to track food and activities. Activities include French, Knife Defense, Knitting, Lockpicking, Game Night, etc. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge: Builder Goals: I will be starting fresh so this challenge will be spent focusing on creating a baseline. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge:

Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 49.75 | CON - 78 | WIS - 51 | CHA - 50.5 Weight 170lb Waist 30" Belly 33" Hips 38.5" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.54% Goals Cardio I’ve got rugby practice a couple times a week right now, weather permitting, and 2 rugby games during the course of the challenge, so on weekends when I don’t have a game I’ll go for a run. And if practice is canceled due to rain I'll go for a run. Ideally I’ll be able to go over to the park that’s ~1.5km away (I think) and run the big hill there, but that’ll also depend on the weather (the area at the bottom of the hill, which also includes a dirt/clay(?) running track collects water like no one’s business when it rains). The hill isn't a sand dune, but it'll do! Not technically cardio, but I also want to make sure I get my 10 000 steps a day in - if anyone’s got a FitBit I’m down to do challenges! My name is also maegs on the app, my picture there is a hummingbird, but I'm not sure if you can search by username? It's weird... The url for my profile is https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KVHMR anyways Reading Read 2 books during the course of this challenge. I’m behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge so I have to start catching up! Knitting Work on Lambing Mitts and finish at least one mitt! Mobility Do eeett!! I have to do something each day. Sociable Unofficial goal - be more active on here, both on my own thread and on others' threads! To Do List Fix leggings, T shirt Organize kitchen cupboards Tidy living room - magazines, tray Tidy bedroom - grey drawers, closet Try on clothes from home Finish white skirt Shrink sweater sleeves Clean green purse Plan what to see at the Stratford Festival The Road So Far Week 1: Rugby practice x1 - yep Run x1 - yep Rugby game x1 - actually played 1 1/2 games this weekend! Steps - 7/7, averaged ~15380 steps/day Read - nope Knit - nope Mobility - 5/7 [Sociable] - nope! most of the time I was at home this week I was either sleeping or trying not to fall asleep Week 2: Rugby practice x2 - 2/2 Rugby game x1 - 1/1 Steps - 7/7 Read - got some reading in Knit - no Mobility - 4/7 [Sociable] - 4/7 Week 3 - concussion city, population me: Rugby practice x2 Rugby game x1 Steps - 7/7 Read - 2 books finished Knit - no Mobility - 2/7 [Sociable] - 0/7 Week 4: Rugby practice x2 Rugby game x1 Steps - 7/7 Read - 2 books finished Knit - no Mobility - 4/7 [Sociable] - 1/7

These are largely the same overarching goals as the last challenge, just adjusted for the month ahead. Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 47.5 | STA - 47.75 | CON - 75 | WIS - 47 | CHA - 47.5 Weight 170lb Waist 30" Belly 33.25" Hips 38.75" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.60% Goals Food Continue eating as per low-GI guidelines. Be stricter re: treats, things that are almost ok - this means better planning and sufficient snacks on hand. Allowed exceptions - but remember guidelines for socializing!: Friend’s bachelorette Post-rugby-games (x2 this challenge) - social-ing after games = pub food and beer Plan Carried over from the last challenge - I need to refine my goals/plan from my 2017 Roadmap. It's not specific enough about specific steps to take and mini-goals/smaller things on the way to the big goals. So I want to work on figuring out the specifics in a more detailed and organized way. Also apply lessons from The Life Changing Magic Of Not Giving A Fuck to help eliminate/prioritize goals. Cardio I’ve got rugby practice a couple times a week right now, weather permitting, and 2 rugby games during the course of the challenge, so on weekends when I don’t have a game I’ll go for a run. And if practice is canceled due to rain I'll go for a run. Ideally I’ll be able to go over to the park that’s ~1.5km away (I think) and run the big hill there, but that’ll also depend on the weather (the area at the bottom of the hill, which also includes a dirt/clay(?) running track collects water like no one’s business when it rains). The hill isn't a sand dune, but it'll do! Not technically cardio, but I also want to make sure I get my 10 000 steps a day in - if anyone’s got a FitBit I’m down to do challenges! My name is also maegs on the app, my picture there is a hummingbird Reading Read 2 books during the course of this challenge. I’m 2 books behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge so I have to start catching up! Knitting Finish the blanket I finished knitting during the last challenge - weave in the ends, wash, and block it. Remember to take pictures Start Lambing Mitts Sociable Unofficial goal - be more active on here, both on my own thread and on others' threads! To Do List Fix leggings, T shirt Organize kitchen cupboards Tidy living room - magazines, tray Tidy bedroom - desk, grey drawers, closet, dresser top Try on clothes from home Finish white skirt Shrink sweater sleeves Clean green purse Flats & dress for Britt's wedding Plan what to see at the Stratford Festival The Road So Far Week 1: Eat right (rugby) - done Plan - nope Rugby practice x1 - done Run x1 - done Rugby game x1 (preseason) - done Steps - 7/7 Read - nope Knit - nope [Sociable] - x4 days Week 2: Eat right - done Plan - a little Rugby practice x1 - done Run x2 Steps - 7/7 Read - nope Knit - a little [Sociable] - x5 days Week 3: Eat right (bachelorette + rugby) - done Plan - a little Rugby practice x2 - done Rugby game x1 (season opener) - done Steps - 5/7 Read - one book read Knit - blanket blocked [Sociable] - x2 days Week 4: Eat right - yep Plan - mostly done Rugby practice x1 - nope Run x2 - nope Steps - 5/7 days Read - a bit Knit - Lambing Mitts started [Sociable] - x1 day

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

Time for a new thread to go up... I am late. Later than usual. With the thread, you know, and I even had this amazing theme idea... now I'm just gonna try to make it make sense to you, see what will come of that. It's that time of year, you know? The dark time, it's almost Winsol (you know this reference?), it is that crazy time of cookie baking, childrens birthdays (yes both my kids are born in December, what was I thinking?!) and wait for it to get cold outside. I'm located in the far north of Germany, that little nub between northsea and baltic... no not Denmark, just south of Denmark, actually we were Danish at some point in the past... anyway, unimportant, so we have the baltic right outside our doorstep (kinda) and that's a big body of water, fed mostly by rivers out of scandinavian mountains and Belarus, so imagine: cold, but huge body of water, now on the other side of this piece of land we have the north sea, fed by the golf stream going by, even bigger body of water. Now imagine what happens when temperatures change: yeah, not much, the bodies of water take the heat out of our summers, and the bite out of our winters, we get lot's of humidity year round though, and that can be a bit... English, if you know what I mean. But anyway if you are into that kinda thing Kiel is a nice place to live and I wouldn't change it for the world. and since the profecies of Shadowrun didn't come to pass so far, I'm pretty hopeful it'll stay a nice place until further notice. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the dark and cold season. Winsol not too far away now, the first-born's birthday looming (this WED) I can almost feel that break up ahead, that I have been waiting for. And for me that means rereading favourite stories. Binging on Anne Bishop, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Neil Gaiman (fict) and Phyllis Curott, Julia Cameron, Marian Green and Ute M Schiran (non-fict). Lot's of chores, cleaning and cooking/baking. Return to introspection: a desire to journal again. And shopping for and wrapping the last presents. Challenge: Log food 3x/week Sleep 7 1/2+h each night, stay close to the 8h a night I've reach last challenge be on the forums, either reading (and supporting) others' threads or updating my own 4x/week start journaling again bullet journal Find a way to recharge that doesn't include binging on Netflix or comfort food Thank you for those reading on in my little corner, I am sorry for the wall text tendencies... maybe with journaling that will clear itself up too... Katrin Gratitude washing machines - imagine doing the laundry at a river or in the Kiel Bay... shudder music of (almost) all kinds good stories read on a dark night in a home with central heating. (being read to or reading myself both count)

In the past, NF challenges have been great for me. But the last 2 years, since I had my second child, I have been neglecting myself, and the challenges didn’t work for me. Than lately, I was desperatly trying to regain my previous routines, from when I had only one kid, with no succes and much frustration. Until I realised that my general situation changed, and that probably what worked in the past wouldn’t work anymore. That maybe I had to switch things up completely and figure it out again. Since then, I have been way more relaxed about this, and let the flow of the days guide my goals, with only an “intention of doing x” to guide me. And it’s much better. As usual, for me a new year means a new intention, theme or mantra. 2015 was “be present” and I don’t feel I achieved that at all. I think the word was not the right one. Reflecting back, I actually “drifted” most of the time. For 2016, after a week of self reflextion, thinking, and brainstorming, life gave me the answer : BALANCE. Now is the time to put more focus and intention in my days, to achieve more balance. Time for me, time for my kids, my boyfriend, a little of everything I love, less of things I don’t. With the new guilds, I feel like I should go in the druids the way my goals are, but at the same time, Adventurer is more “me”. I’ll stay in adventurers for now. I guess I consider myslef a curious druid, thisty for adventure and trying new things ! Main goal : Achieve balance by fulling my well first with exercise, clean foods and sleep. To enjoy family life, be more patient, calm, loving and compasionnate. Slow down to enjoy the moment and be mindful. Mind : incorporate the SAVERS mirable morning routine, before everyone else is awake. I aim to do this in about 15-30 minutes each morning. - Silence : 2 min meditation (eventually up to 10 min) - Affirmation “every day, in every way, I am getting better and better” - Visualisation : see myself being calm, patient, in a place of love, mindfull, in control of my emotions during all events of the day, especially in parenting - Exercise : do some spine stretches and twists & tree pose. - Reading : “the life changing magic of tidying up” by Marie Kondo; then apply my learnings. - Script: bullet journal for the day + 3 things to be grateful for Shape up: Move 30 minutes daily - Run 2-3 times a week, after work with my kids while my BF is prepping dinner. - Blogilates’ august month every day for 15 min or more in the evening (aiming at 30) - Yoga : get back into my yoga classe on Thursdays for 1.5hours Fuel: breakfast everyday + calories - Take the time to eat some proteinated breakfast every day, like eggs and bacon, frittata, egg muffins, quiche, etc - Bring a second breakfast/snack for the am - Put a scandishake in my morning coffee to add calories Sleep: 7hours a day - Wake between 5h and 5h30 - Go to bed at 10pm Tidy: get back into a daily habit for 15 min a day. Tidy home, tidy brain. This makes me calmer, and brings more clarity in general. It eases tension as well. In my mind, a little goes a long way. - Wash dishes - Check laundry - Pick up around the house - Continue the Konmari method throughout the house - hoping to tackle these this mont: o Clothes o Books o Papers o Komono general o Komono office o https://www.pinterest.com/pin/319122323576061842/ Fun : Om shawl KAL - Start and maybe finish my om shawl with the knit along group

This Challenge--- I have no idea yet. Rambling brainstorm coming in - music at the bottom: I want to get "Them" to give me a confirmation for a spot in the licence class I wish to take in September (I got the sponsoring settled, but "they" (=not them) took their bloody time.) I will be in Vienna, Austria July 6th through 10th. I have already organised and tentatively looked up knitting meets that fall withing the time frame (I have wool shopping plans) and am hoping the trip will be as awesome as I think it'll be. Mum booked the whole trip (bus: shudder - and hotel: 4 stars) as a package thing, including sight seeing tour of the city on day one there (which because of the bus ride through all of Germany to Vienna via Prague taking 16 hours or thereabouts is actually day two of the trip). I am much excited, I don't think you can read it in my words here, I am actually, truly, utterly psyched. I haven't traveled since I went to sweden with friends the year I graduated AND was pregnant with my now 12 YO son. Mind Blown. I will take as much of that trip in as I can, take some pictures (but more looking and experiencing than watching it through a camera) and I will take some wool with me, something that'll keep reminding me for months to come, while I knit, and years (hopefully) to come while I wear, whatever it'll become.... I'm a tactile person like that, this really speaks to me. I need to cook better. Log more. And that is not negotiable. I need to get my legs to work properly. PT and all that. And I need to start really training for the Mudrun in early October. Sustainably. That is my first braindump of a thought for next challenge. I will run my challenge June 13th 'till July 10th, making my vacation the long straight before the finish line... I should look up fitness options in Vienna... maybe they have indoor playgrounds there... *research mode engage* Speak soon Katrin

I'm back after a rather long hiatus from NF and some of that time was spent on hiatus from exercise in general, but I've been trying to do better recently. I had another Battle Log before I left and while I feel like there are many of those goals I would still like to achieve (eventually), but I've somewhat re-evaluated my priorities more recently and also, some of the short term goals are probably now more like mid- to long-term goals. So I figured that starting again was a good plan. Primary goal: To build and maintain healthy habits, including regular exercise, eating reasonably well, sleeping well and generally leaving time for life. Short term fitness goals: Complete a 30 day yoga challenge. Accomplished on August 10th, 2015!Run 5 km again. Accomplished on October 7th, 2015!Lose 5 cm off my waist (get to 74 cm waist).Make a habit of doing the BBWW 2-3 times a week for a month.Medium term fitness goals: Run 5 km three times a week regularly for 6 months.Keep up doing yoga for at least 6 months.Get to 70 cm waist.Long term fitness goals: Run 5 km in under 30 minutes.Run at least 5 km three times a week regularly for one year.Run in a 5 km race!Learn some arm balances.Short to medium term goals (life): Get better at poilearn beginner skillslearn intermediate skillsProgramming goals:Learn Pythonfinish tutorialstart to work on learning NumPy, SciPyimprove program I've been writingLearn R (find tutorial, complete tutorial).Learn some JavaScript.Get a job in data analysis.Finish knitting the sweater vest that's been on my needles forever.Knit the batshawl.Knit a squid hat.I'll obviously be updating this as I go and as I figure things out. I will also try making small goals at the start of each week to sort of plan out what I'll be doing. Note: Items added and organized as some get completed.

I feel like all I got sometimes is showing up, and right now I can't even do that? but. I'm just going to keep trying. for serious. I need to bring this down an even further notch from my super not-a-lot-of-notches of last challenge. I'm really trying. Goal 1: figure out if I'm sabotaging my progress by eating more and drinking beers. This one sounds a little silly, but for real, I would like to increase my calories. End of last challenge I noticed my weight was up a tick. but I also wasn't exercising much. so, keep doing the more eating thing, but add in the more exercising thing. figure it out by the end of the challenge. Goal 2: do things and tell you about them. again, post here with things I am going to do, and have done. Goal 3: don't get frustrated because I'm having a hard time showing up, and don't not show up even more out of a sense of ridiculous sulkiness. this one, this is headspace crap. I'm feeling resentful and pissy about how I can't seem to get the most bare minimum of stuff done, and stay here as a valuable community member, and I KNOW it's mostly just because we're at end of winter and I have an itch for spring. the days are getting longer and I should be feeling better, I need to remember that my bare minimum of stuff is probably still more than the average american (but who wants to be average, anyway?!), and I just have to stick it out.

Yeah Assassining isn't a word but whatever. I am so bad at Topic titles and it's better than Jonesy's 2nd Challenge. Haha. Sort of nervous to post here but here it goes. My name is Tiffany. My friends call me Tiff, Jonesy, Mrs. Bilbo Baggins, or Hobbit. This is my first big adventure outside of the Rebels or the Adventurer guild. Little backstory. I’ve been attempting to get healthy for the last 3 or 4 years. I have not been able to find something that makes me keep with it though and it’s starting to piss me off. I want to find something fitness related that makes me want to be active. I’m fitness shy and get incredibly self conscious when trying new things. I’d really like to be able to do a handstand or some of those fancy push ups and this “most of all we are determined to be the masters of our own bodies†is a huge reason why I gravitated towards the Assassins. Long Term Quest : Over the course of the next 2 years I want to lose 100-150lbs, become more flexibly and learn to do some awesome things with my body. Main Quest: For my second challenge, my main quest is to strengthen my body. I want to focus on doing bodyweight workouts, so hello Assassins! Exercise/Food Quests: 1. Go to the gym and do yoga at least 1 time each, each week. This is practically the same quest as last time but I’m adding in yoga as well. I want to start using my gym reimbursement for rewards so I need to keep at this. There is no good reason I should not be doing this!!! Gym : Elliptical + Stretching Yoga : Yoga For Beginners - 40 Minute Home Yoga Workout or something else if I find one I like better. Grading : A 4+, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 Character Points : 25 points (6.25 points each week) 2. Do 2 bodyweight or resistance band workouts each week. TRACKING I have not done bodyweight workouts in a long time so I feel I will struggle with this in the beginning. Warm Up: 2 songs jog in place, 8 Stretches Your Tight Hips Are Begging For Assassins Workout - In honor of moving over to the Assassins guild! Resistance Band Workout 5 min cool down/stretching Grading - How many days I did bodyweight workouts during the challenge : A 8+, B 5-7, C 2-4, D 1, F 0 Character Points : 30 points (7.5 points each week) 3. Track Food everyday. Either write it down or input into Myfitnesspal. I need to get back into the habit of knowing how much I actually eat. I bought a kitchen scale and I’m going to see if measuring some of my food helps will controlling my intake. Grading - How many days did I track : A 25+, B 18-24, C 13-17, D 10-13, F 0-9 Character Points : 35 points Life Quest: 1. Knit at least 50+ rows My main life goal is to read 4 books a month and that won’t change but I have some additional life quests that I’ve been slacking on. I’ve been working on this scarf for my friend for almost 2 years. I’m so horribly slow and have other things to do that it gets pushed to the back burner. I am committed to finishing this damn scarf within the next few challenges. I won’t be starting ANYTHING creative like knitting or painting until this scarf is done! I’m so close too. If I end up finishing this quests early, yippie! Possible books this challenge : Night Seeker, Blood Rites, Parasitology Series, The Diabolical Miss Hyde , Black Widow, Fifth Grave past the Light, & Written in Red Grading : A 50+ or F 0 Character Points : 10

What? Two challenges in a row? Jeez. I realize I didn't do a lot of updating over the last challenge, and really no visiting of anyone else's threads. For me, NF is a very all-or-nothing thing. I used to spend all day on here, updating, reading, encouraging, playing in chat, etc. And then it got to be too much (well, Mr Mir felt it was too much because I wasn't spending any time with him). So, in my way of doing things, the NF switch got flipped to Off. I'm still not sure what an appropriate amount of time looks like. I miss interacting with nerds; I miss talking to the people that have encouraged and loved me through some of the hardest times in my (recent) life. So I'm trying. This is me, trying. I still don't have any clear goals for this challenge, other than continuing my am/pm routine and trying to turn it into a habit. Not doing so great so far - from Jan 11 to 31 I only did my am/pm stuff 6 times. It's easy stuff, but I just wait until too late and then I'm tired and say, "whatever, I can just do it in the morning". As far as the morning stuff...I'm usually running behind during the week, and I guess I'm just lazy on the weekend - I'll get up, put on some pjs, and go downstairs instead of cleaning my guard, which would take all of 2 minutes. Sometimes I take a step back and analyze the reason for putting these things into place to begin with. I don't want to get stuck back in a place where I feel guilty because I'm not doing the things I said I would, but the only reason I said I would do them was so I could accomplish some other goal, and I'm accomplishing the other goal without doing the things. (That seems rambly; does it make sense?) So like prepping my coffee the night before - is it necessary? Not really. I can do coffee in the morning. But it IS kind of nice (especially during the week) to be able to stumble downstairs and basically just hit "brew". Eliminating steps in the morning is good. And cleaning my occlusal guard isn't to accomplish something else but should be done for its own sake - because ew. And meds - goes without saying, really. So, yes, back to the goals. I don't know what to set. There are too many things and I can't decide what's most important. Is it important to do my physical therapy exercises? Is it important to set up a launch pad? Is it important to make sure the dishes are done every day? Is it important to keep laundry off the floor? There are too many options, and then I get overwhelmed and think maybe I should just keep trying the am/pm thing until it's a habit and then add things slowly. But then I think maybe I should discard the am/pm idea because it's not working. Too much stress. Very overwhelm. In other news, which I don't think I talked about last challenge, I got dumped by my therapist. (Bolding bc important thing in the middle of word vomit.) Being dumped sucks. Being dumped by a therapist REALLY sucks. Being dumped by a therapist via no contact/response really, really, really, REALLY sucks. I will admit that I was not great at keeping appointments. But I never no call/no showed. I always let her know. And really...last summer was tough. Some days I didn't have enough spoons to even get dressed. One day I emailed her (yes, we primarily communicated via email) to cancel/reschedule...and I never heard back from her. Ever. To this day. It was just a couple weeks before I was planning to go back to work, and I thought it was probably a good idea to see her. But yeah, no response. I tried not to judge; I figured maybe she was sick or wasn't practicing anymore or whatever. However, I heard through the grapevine that she is, indeed, still practicing. So I vagged up one day and called her. Got her voicemail stating she would return my call within 24 hours. Never heard back. Ever. To this day. It was fairly recent - about 2 weeks ago. Definitely informed my depressive episode. So now here I am, without a therapist, and still in that place of "omg, I'm going to have to find someone new and spend all that time and energy and effort AGAIN" - those of you who are/have been in therapy know exactly what I'm talking about. Rehashing everything all over again...it gets so old. Anyway...other than that, feeling generally sad and weepy today. And frustrated. Frustrated by many things. I'm trying to just sit with it and not judge or be mad at myself that I've basically gotten no work done yet today. Especially since I might start crying at any moment! But! There's a ray of sunshine in the darkness! His name is Benson; I've nicknamed him Bun Bun. He is adorable and soft and cute and sweet...but, in true guinea pig fashion, still very skittish and frightened. Hopefully he will warm up to me in time.

I'm not sure on goals yet, so I will edit later. BUT FIRST. YOU GUYS DID YOU WATCH ONE PUNCH MAN? because it is kind of the best thing ever. so for my training, I'm kind of going to mimic Saitama. Kind of. I mean, this sort of describes my REGULAR fitness routine, right? Quick intro! I'm karinajean, 38, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I joined the NFA in October 2013 and over the last 2 years I’ve gone from 206 to around 180. I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have an overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it. challenge back story I meant to get to a pull-up in 2015, but I didn’t try as hard as I should have. I’m coming out of a period of not being able to prioritize myself very well -- my husband was in school last semester and working full time, and he was taking 3 project classes and with his commute it was essentially a nightmare of him working on school all the time and me barely holding together everything else - wait, no. I did a damn fine job of holding everything together, but it was at the expense of my own things I wanted to do. He’s still taking classes this semester but he strongly suggests it will be different this time around and by gum, I’m going to hold him to it. At the end of last challenge I identified making my body a different shape as something I’d like - and that’s going to take a more purposeful approach to diet and exercise than I’ve been using over the last many challenges. But first, I need to get comfortable with my “doing things for me†routine. GOAL TIME PEACHES! GOAL 1: do something every single day! [except for one day a week. because I don't actually want to go bald] I’m not a nut, I mean, I’m not going to run so hard that my hair falls out or anything. but, I do need to do something just about every day. I’ve been watching the calories on my fitbit charge hr and the days that I just sit around? those are the days that I can’t eat what I want. constraints apply though! I do want that push-up/pull-up efficient movement at some point. so each week I must: run 2x do tkd as many times as I can get there practice push-ups 2x a week (counters, but try to work lower and lower) practice pull-ups 2x a week (assisted band, hangs, or lat pulls) bodyweight exercise 1x a week (age of pandora, most likely) my elaborate holiday mini-challenge list of exercises was good and in a pinch, this list applies too. GOAL 2: something about food! In as much as I have lost a bunch of weight and feel super good about my body size, it’s still a little mooshy around the middle and I would like to keep up the momentum of the last two years. So, still tracking. I’m keeping holiday goals of tracking every day and not slacking until the next day and trying to remember everything. also, no booze on “school nights.†this is sort of my first step towards some kind of cut next year. I’m also going to be paying attention to protein and how much I’m getting. I would like to get into the habit of getting upwards of 100 g but I’m going to use these 4 week challenges as stepping stones on the food thing, because I hate fiddling with food. GOAL 3: something about doing things for ME! I have been able to prioritize making time for exercise over the last two years, but for some reason I have a hard time prioritizing making time for me to do the other things that I love and want to be good at. this means things like knitting (and watching naruto) and getting my sewing space cleared out so I can make a few more skirts (I am totally out of skirts). I talk every year about planning a new recipe to cook with my husband on a regular basis and I rarely get to it. I need to apply the fitness tools that worked so well for me to the rest of my non-existent leisure time. SO. plan out each week when I’m going to *make time* to do a thing that I want to do. write it on my calendar with my workout plans, and do it. this is key: ASK MY HUSBAND to help do things that need doing for me, house, and family, even if it’s making a plan that we will tackle x nasty job on y day together. LIFE GOAL: figure out social media better for ME. I’m feeling torn by all my inputs, and when I think logically about what I gave up to exercise, it was internet time, really. I need to understand where my friends live on the internet (facebook/instagram/twitter/tumblr) and decide what kind of a presence *I* want to have on these places to share those friendships. If that means I need to instead make a point to have a non-internet relationship with people I need to make the time for that. All that said, I’m going to start slow on this one by taking a photo every day and posting it to my blog. because I like that darn thing, and I’ve been neglecting it for years, and I can do this for a month.

So umm.....hi. Let me explain....no, is too much. Let me sum up: I'm just coming out of the worst year of my life, complete with mental breakdown and taking a medical leave of absence from work, almost getting divorced, and all that good stuff. I've taken a LONG break from NF, for lots of reasons, but I miss my nerds TERRIBLY and I've decided it's time to come back. Plus, I'm trying something different this time. I've spent most of my adult life feeling like a failure, a fuckup, a worthless piece of sludge. I suffer from depression and ADHD, and so things that are simple for others are nearly impossible for me. While I don't necessarily compare myself to other people, I have in my mind this Ideal Person, and the kind of things this person does. I have wasted so much time comparing myself to this Person, falling short, and beating myself up for it. I've decided that it ends, NOW. I've decided to be the best Mir I can be, and that means embracing all the awesome things that make me Mir, while acknowledging my weaknesses but not hating myself for them. I'm not sure exactly how things work around here these days, and also I only decided yesterday to make a challenge, so here are my thoughts thus far: Main Quest: Love Thyself How am I going to accomplish this? I, errr....don't really know. What I've come up with so far is to ask myself two questions: Does this make my life easier? / What will make my life easier? Does this make me happier? / What will make me happier? The non easy/happy things are going out the window. I'm going to look at my life differently. I'm going to look at my SELF differently. I am simply not wired to be the Super Organizer that for some reason I've felt I should be. Instead, I'm wired to be fun, crazy, wild, creative, zany, loud, outgoing, etc etc etc. It's time to embrace me. It's time to be authentically Mir. Other things I'd like to accomplish, but I haven't decided the order/priority in which they fall (and certainly some of them are more than 4 week goals): start doing PT againgo back to gymmake good food choices/cook yummy food at hometake care of myself while at work (this includes things like actually taking a lunch, bringing food to eat instead of drinking coffee and eating candy all day, getting up from my desk once in a while, etc)get Etsy shop off the groundstart doing home improvement stuff again (painting, ugh)

Quick intro! I'm karinajean, 38, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and am trying super hard to do really good form push- and pull-ups this year. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house is. I'm an assassin because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- if I can do those and run and do martial arts I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. challenge back story A year and a challenge ago, I was a sad panda, and I decided I would get ready for hibernation. The next challenge I realized that I couldn't let the panda's win, and that I needed to celebrate my own awesomeness! This year, ironically? kind of horribly? I realized that I'm crazy over-committed, and my husband is crazy over-committed, and I'm doing too much and I need to figure out how to do it all and still have a rewarding relationship with my sweetheart and also pursue my goals and be a brilliant adulting fun person. So this challenge, I need to Be the HiberNOT! I don't need no stinkin' hibernation. [[HYPERnation, maybe. (and all the assassins say AMEN)]] ERGO HYBERNOTS. this challenge, I will HYBERNOT. I want to swing into winter, well, swinging. I want to fight off the doldrums, I want to make it through this super challenging semester that my husband is doing while doing my own things too, and not living in squalor. NOT A BIG DEAL, RIGHT? I got this, RIGHT? Goal 1: Swing in Swinging I want to do a pull-up in 2015. I've been saying that all year! 2015 is the year of the -UPs! And.... I haven't been very diligent about this. I made really good progress with the push-ups during the challenge-before-last. I need to work on those too though! my super slow push-ups could be faster and better. SURELY they could. This one! I will do pull-up practice and push-up practice 3x a week. write it down, check it off. DOOOO EEEET. Goal 2: Run away! Run away! Fight Fight Fight! I'm going to sign up for a turkey trot 10k on thanksgiving. so, practice for this. and this also means do my tkd exercises ala cross-training, because that's the way I roll. and AOP when I need cross-training, because that's just fun. write it down, check it off. DOOOO EEEEET. Goal 3: Keep working the food, bro. I just renewed my LoseIt premium subscription for year 3. this tool works for me, so I'm going to keep working it. And in addition! turns out that actually the alcohol during the week is probably not the best for me. Husband suggested for his own sake that we don't keep lots of beer in the house approaching the holidays, because those extra calories are just ridiculous. I agree! so: no weekday beers or wine, only occasional cocktails. because, well. I like a gin and tonic now and then. And my food evaluation from last challenge! the better breakfasts experiment was a big success, I need to continue that. This is all geared towards MAINTENANCE. I'm sure I'll get there sometime. I don't feel super restricted now, but I want to make sure I'm really understanding how I can tweak my regular diet for the most success, and still some wiggle room for cocktails and pizza and beer and cake. Life Goal. Well, I have a lot of life goals. I want my home to be peaceful and clean (maybe that doesn't mean neat, but not dirty).I want my partner to partner with me on the things we have to do for the family, with enough time for us each to follow our passions, and also be passionate together.I want to make things. I want to cook and knit and spin. I want to make sure I'm doing those things regularly.and reading! I want to read!being here on the forums! I heart my friends and I want to see you all here more frequently!So this challenge, I'm going to do my best, and make a point to remark on the things that are working, and the things that are not working, so that I can remind myself how much I am capable of and how well my husband and I work together to do things and to permit each other to do things separately. I know, this is so super boring. I do it every couple of challenges. for reals I think I do this all every couple of challenges.

Yeah, well, I know HP’s been done to death, but it is my everlasting true nerd love and given the calendar timing, I thought the Yule Ball would be a fun add on… Start with what you know, eh. I was sorely tempted to switch out to a Red Rising or Martian theme, but I’ll save those for another time. Excited to be completing my first challenge as a Ranger! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Marauder uses her 20 seconds of courage and scribbles her name on a small slip of paper, marches forward, and tosses in into the cup… Her doubts rear their ugly heads instantly with a barrage of taunts. but you’re not strong enough to… but you aren’t smart enough to… but you can’t compete with them… Marauder digs deep and, with a confidence she hasn’t felt in a long long time, stifles the voices. I AM strong. I AM smart. I CAN win this thing. Training must commence immediately. I only have 6 weeks to prepare… Preparation is the path. Passion is the key. Victory is the undeniable result. Quest 1: The Dragon Challenge Strength training is a key element to success in all the challenges, but the dragon challenge in particular could require feats I’ve yet to attempt. A very exhausted owl just delivered some dumbbells for my new training. How much does a dragon’s egg weigh? Hopefully lifting some heavy things will have me ready… Scheduled training will be performed three times per week starting with Dumbbell Division level 1. Keep an eye out for progressing something each workout. Trophy: new workout top Points: +3 STR/ +1STA Quest 2: The Merpeople Challenge Gillyweed is the key. Supplies are low in my area, so veggies are the answer for now. Superpowers of improved night vision, boosted immunity, increased blood flow, and anti aging properties are all bound to help in other quests as well. Surely, increased veggie consumption will make the gillyweed more palatable when the actual challenge comes… Required training consists of consumption of 3 servings per day of vegetables. Trophy: TBD Points: +3 CON Quest 3: The Maze The key to success in any maze is to keep your mind focused and clear. Be ready for surprises and obstacles. Observation is key… Required training will be my own form of meditation, an outdoor nature ramble with photo, 5 days per week. No speed or distance criteria, just get your head clear, and SEE. Capture one thing you observe with a photo and post here to training log. Trophy: New wool socks! Points: +2 WIS, +2 CHA Life Quest: Get smart, get warm, and prepare for the Yule Ball… Besides the obvious training required for the challenges, I need to keep up my studies, prepare for winter weather, and get ready for the Yule Ball. get smart… finish the 6 books remaining in your 50-book challenge for 2015. get warm… finish knitting a hat for the cool weather. prepare for the yule ball… work on grace with twice weekly yoga practice. no time restriction, build a healthy habit. bonus yule challenge… have all yule purchases complete or finalized by end of challenge. Trophy: new yoga mat for successful completion (>80%) of yoga challenge (yeah, I’m yoga-ing on the carpet, itchy). Points: +2 DEX, +2 CON

Going to use this space to keep up with my goals during the winter break. Please follow along if you'd like or just drop in to say hello from time to time.