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Get in, nerds, we’re painting snails. And slugs. And nudibranches. And anythign that looks vaguely related. The goal: draw or paint (or carve or embroider or collage or fold paper into) at gastropods and share them here. Apprentice level: 5 studies. Journeyman level: 10 studies. Master: 15 studies. Are you an artist? Then join the challenge. Are you not an artist but want to draw or paint snails? Join the challenge. Not an artists, don’t want to paint snails, but feel duty bound to contribute to the gallery of gastropods? Join the challenge. Together, we can do it. We can collect a collection of ONE HUNDRED SNAILS. Why? Because it was suggested, and no one can resist a suggestion, ever. Do it do it do it. Also you can use it to practice skills. Painting skills. Drawing skills. Slug recognition skills. If you want free reference photos, try pexels and unplash. Also feel free to invent a snail. I painted this fire snail and she can start us off. That's 1/100

Hey guys 👀 I am trying Weight Watchers (online) aka glorified calorie counting but hopefully it is different enough from calorie counting that my brain will be happier about doing it. I am not aiming for perfection this challenge. Goal 1 : Try Weight Watchers Week 0 - Aim for 50% success 🙅‍♀️ Week 1 - Aim for 60% success 🙅‍♀️ Week 2 - Aim for 70% success Week 3 - Aim for 80% success Week 4+5 - Maintain 80% success Goal 2: Chip away at things that are causing me stress / annoyance - Clear garage out - Clean/organize garage - De-clutter reading nook area - Clear off table - Put away canning stuff - Clean camp bedding stuff - Purge and organize clothes - clean out crispers in fridge cause they somehow have turkey juice Goal 3: Get the adulting done - Sign Winnie up for puppy classes - Renew License sticker - Renew dog licenses - Turn off outdoor water - Do something about patio furniture for winter

Last challenge was a bit crazy for me to say the least but here we are! After trying on our waders for fly fishing, Mr.R and I have come to the decision to try keto again until May 14 which is our fly fishing lesson. This challenge will mainly focus on trying to get started with keto and getting into the flow. Goals: - Stay under 50g carbs - Attempt 5 minutes on elliptical 2x/week - Paint 1 time / week - Meal plan 1 time/week And of course in addition to all that I will be riding 3 times a week. Fingers crossed we got Daisy’s cough under control this time.

I made a plan for 2022 and I’m working at crossing everything off the list! I like lists. I’m hoping that as I complete things off my big list that I will gain happiness and peace of mind. Everything in this challenge works towards that. Main Quests > Lose 5lbs (264.8lbs) > Track calories daily (1800-1950cal) > On work days, take 2 breaks to get up and move for 2-5 minutes > Play time with Sizzle once per week Mini Quests > Finish my 3 commissions [Week 0-1: Golden Pony, Week 2-3: Monty, Week 4-5: Percy] > Fill cement hole in basement (1/5 house sell tasks) > Finish filling laundry shelf bins Last weigh-in: 269.8lbs Challenge Progress Lose 5lbs: ◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️ Commissions: 🐊◻️◻️ Cement hole: ◻️ Laundry shelf: ◻️ Weigh Ins

There’s no better time to heal, rest and plan than winter and there’s definitely no better place to do that than Kaer Morhen with my fellow Witchers. I’ve done some reflection about how I want 2022 to look and feel. Hygge… I want so much hygge. I want to practice my homesteading skills, transform my environment into a place of ultimate comfort and happiness, keep growing my financial stability, create things that are just for me. In order to accomplish the year I want I will need to take a breath so I can get back on track. For this challenge I need to get back into the habit of tracking calories, replenish my stores (financials), troubleshoot what’s making my foot hurt and start rehabbing it. Witcher Contract: - Slay 5lb water hag ✅ - Slay 5 drowners Main Quests: - 1800-1950 calories daily - Fix foot (will elaborate later when I figure out what this means) Secondary Quests - Pay back debts…. Make RRSP contribution + pay off credit card [paid off this billing period, will strike this when second billing period is paid off] - Replenish stores… increase savings by 500 crowns - Relax… Finish 2 pony paintings - Organize stash… put newly acquired things in their new home [started] - Foraging… Plant garlic Tending Roach - Exercise and groom Sizzle minimum once a week - Rasp Daisy’s feet as needed (I really hope Roach isn’t doing anything dirty in this gif lol I’m on my phone and it just looks like she’s doing push ups) Its going to get tricky to lose 5lbs for this challenge but I can do it - I just need to stay focused. And if I manage to get my foot back to normal then I can start doing my walking and Zumba again. Weigh ins (I try to do it 2-3 times a week)

As of today, I have 348 days to get down to 200lbs. Progress: 4/75lbs Quest: Lose 5lbs (268lbs) 1. Track calories 5 times per week 2. 90 additional minutes of movement per week 3. A productive thing per day 4. Work on painting once a week Specific productive tasks

I have been in a mood for the past month or so mostly brought on by the perpetual heatwave. BUT it has finally started to be a livable temperature outside and life is slowing down a bit. So time to refocus. The house and garden need some love. I need to make progress on my paintings. I have books to read. I have weight to lose. My goal for this challenge is to lose 5lbs, get back to doing house work and painting. - Track calories 5 days per week - Go on a walk per day - Do a productive thing per day - Work on painting once per week During this challenge I have my last camping trip of the year, Mud Girl obstacle run and I will finally be going back into the office.

The spirit of this challenge is making small changes towards what I think is my ideal life. My ideal life has creativity, lacks excess, keeps me active and intertwines with nature. Week 3: Refocused Challenge Goals Change weekday morning routine (which was to before work Starbucks) (+1 point per thing) Out of bed by 7am on work days Brush teeth + hair Get dressed Go for walk around block if I think of going to Starbucks instead Make breakfast (no white carbs) Start work at 8am > No more Starbucks* > 5 minutes of active time per day > Meal plan I am still planning on doing my painting challenges + hikes but I didn't add them because I had a gut feeling I should leave them out. Scrapped Challenge Painting challenges: Week 0: "Art Battle" style painting (no reference and you only get 20 minutes) Week 1: Still life with something metallic and something glass Week 2: Mundane scene (ie. dirty dishes, a pile of socks) Week 3: Painting plein-air (outside) Week 4: Funny face portrait Week 5: Food

Big mood right here. With health, with finances, with everything. Quest: Lose 50lbs by Dec 31, 2021 [46 weeks] Progress: 0lbs Sub Quests: - Aim for 1700 calories / day Track calories daily Veggie or fruit with lunch + dinner 1 starch per meal (2 slices of toast, 1 cup rice, 1 cup pasta, 1 medium potato, 1 serving cereal) - 2 extra movements / week Good Morning Workout weekday mornings Cozy Up Sofa Workout once during work day Walks on Saturday + Sunday - Do something creative every day (paint, doodle, digital art) Passive Habits > 2L water / day > Floss + brush teeth every night This challenge is about pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying to move forward (as it always is). I want to apply this to multiple parts in my life. I really want to keep chiseling away at the definition of my ideal life and what I will need to do to make that a possibility. In my ideal life I have a fantastic relationship with food. I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. I appreciate my food and enjoy every bite. In my ideal life I am a strong and able woman. My body is useful and can do many things. I get to spend more time outside doing active things and exploring nature. My gyms are lakes, oceans, forests, beaches, meadows, mountains, and deserts. In my ideal life Mr.R and I don't need to work a traditional Mon to Fri 9-5pm. We have time to do things we want to do and the resources in place to do those things. We live a flexible life where the jobs we choose to work are because we think they are fun. In my ideal life I am creative and make fun, bold, colourful paintings that invoke feelings of whimsy and nostalgia. I experiment and play with my art. Ideal Me I am continuing my goals for eating at a calorie deficit and getting more active minutes. I am asking myself a little mental checklist of questions when I eat... especially if it is impromptu snacking. On top of my 90mins of exercise from horseback riding I am looking to do 2 more active things (ideally this will add up to 1 extra hour of exercise). I am thinking my main form of exercises will be walking or DDR. Ideal Life I am taking steps towards getting other streams of income aside from my day job. I started investing in 2020 and last challenge I took the leap and set up an Etsy shop. This whole small business thing is scary but also exciting! It will help me gain money for my investments and I am hoping it will help burn some of my random pandemic energy which might help me snack less. Plus its creative! My first goal for the store is 160 sales so that I can use that money to purchase an iPad Pro + apple pen. That goal seems huge right now haha but if you don't try then it won't happen right? My very good friend was actually my first sale on Etsy! I am very appreciative towards her because this has been such a learning experience and now I only need 159 sales! I am also going to take my original art more seriously and really work on being more creative in my life by painting, doodling and making "sticker" designs. I am looking to get my online portfolio up and running and I can put stuff up for sale on their too. 2021-02-08: 250lbs (Zero week starting) 2021-02-11: 249.6lbs 2021-02-18: 252.6lbs 2021-02-25: 252.2lbs 2021-03-04: 248.2lbs 2021-03-11: 2021-03-18: Sales Goal: 2/160

I'm Stronkey Kong -- neutral good human/wizard adventurer/warrior hybrid. I made a list for Santa during the holiday challenge. That is now 'The Big List' that I'm trying to achieve goals on to improve life, health, and fitness. Right now the big things on my plate are strength training, getting outdoors and walking/hiking, cooking/eating healthier, painting/drawing, and buying a home (my Wizard's tower). I left off last challenge building a foundation of barbel training, batch cooking, and just put an offer on a house. Here's the big list: (spoilered cuz it's a big list) And here's what I'm focusing on for this challenge. Intuitive Eating: Keep batch cooking tasty, healthy meals Start food journaling, Bujo portions and notes on mood, energy, etc. Intuitive Exercising: Keep up the barbell program 2+ times /week Ruck (>= 1 mi) or walk (>= 2 mi) 1+ times/week Painting and drawing: Ahh.... just keep going. But especially with the ink drawings right now because that makes me focus... cuz you only get one chance with ink. Buying my Wizard's Tower: This one's an ongoing to-do list Satisfy requirements for loan Gather documents Do taxes Complete first-time homeowner class(es?) Realtor/Property Search Look at moar houses. Work and save Respond to shop manager about the lab position Tax returns: Set aside a portion for first-time homeowner classes Save the rest

It's been a while since I re-introduced myself. I'm Stronkey Kong (for now). Over the 7+ years I've been on the NF forums, I've previously been known as (from most to least recent) Chris Tarly, Brogo, Curl Brogo, and Darwin's Demon. The focus of most of my previous challenges has been some combination of gaining strength and losing weight. While I've got some benefits from strength training, my weight loss battle is mostly a losing battle full of frustrations. Recently I've been reading about Intuitive eating and Health at Every Size, and have been focusing health and being more active. I used the holiday challenge to outline some big goals (aka the big list): (spoilered cuz the list is long) I'm gonna keep this list around so I can edit it and add ideas. The big overarching challenge now is that I need to start working more hours since it supports a number of my life goals like creating more paintings (buying supplies and a DSLR camera) and saving up to buy a house. I'm going to have to shoot to start working 45 hours a week to be able to save what I need to. For the challenge I'm gonna take some of the main, long-term goals, the pick one goal for each to work on to make progress toward the big one. So here they are: Become an intuitive eater -- Buy and prep a variety of satisfying, healthy foods for my lunches I take to work. Become an intuitive exerciser At least 20 min of daily movement Keep creating -- Hyperrealistic paintings Three times a week, work on painting and drawing (drawing practice, prepping canvas, anything) Buy my Wizard's Tower Stay on top of my to-do list: Gather documents for loan agent meeting Loan agent meeting on Jan 6 Work (45+ hours a week) and save according to plan

Building Habits 2.0 It's time for refinement Quest: Lose 5lbs (SW: 282, GW: 277) Subquest 1: Food tracking: Track calories and 3 days not exceeding calorie goal - 1 point / day tracked - 1 point / day for hitting calorie goal Subquest 2: Water: Drink 2L - Drink 1L [ 1 point ] - Drink 1.5L [ 2 point ] - Drink 2L [ 3 point ] Subquest 3: Physio: Complete at least 5 assigned physio exercises 2 times a day - 1 point / day this is completed Shoulder stretch [1 min] Neck stretch [1 min] Bicep curl while laying on my back and arm hanging down. max 5lb weight. [10 reps] Stomach lay robot thing.... (on stomach, arm bent at 90 degree angle, rotate down, then back up slowly) [10 reps] Sitting straight arm non-curl? Arms start in curl position, instead of bending like a curl, bring arms up straight up to shoulder level.. then back down. [10 reps] While sitting in a chair, raise leg until leg is straight. Cross other leg over top as dead weight. Bring leg down slowly in 5 secs. [10 reps] Wall squat with medicine ball between legs [10 seconds] Life Quest: - Finish bathroom reno - Clean art desk - Deliver brother his tools [Week 2] - Attach mailbox back onto the wall [Week 2] - Get Haircut - Clean all dust out of basement from reno [in progress] [Week 1-3] - Work on shark painting [in progress] [Week 1-3] - Deliver dad his tools [Week 2] - Sort clothes - Organize ensuite drawers - Work on painting apple + horse - Fix upstairs fire detector - Clean dishwasher filter - Regrout upstairs bathroom - Add floor transition for M.Bedroom + fix office one - Add transition between bathroom tile and carpet in basement - Add weatherstripping to cold room door - Fix cement outside of basement bathroom - Carpet over the cement outside of bathroom - Caulk the vent outside of the house [Week 2] - Do taxes Week 1 Weigh In: 280.8lbs SQ 1: Food tracking (8/10) SQ 2: Water (12/21) SQ 3: Physio (6/14) Week 2 Weigh In: Didn't check after this crazy weekend SQ 1: Food tracking (7/10) SQ 2: Water (10/21) SQ 3: Physio (4/14) Week 3 Review Weigh In: 280.8 SQ 1: Food tracking (7/10) SQ 2: Water (9/21) SQ 3: Physio (2/14) My pride and joy <3 My motivation

Right now I'm unemployed and it's great! I'm finishing a semester of school, and I've got a job lined up to start on May 21, pending a physical and such on Friday morning. But until then, I've got plenty of time to get into the gym and work my butt off and prepare good meals and track nutrition. If I really buckle down, I think I can get below 240 lbs. by the start of my new job. I've also just read How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci. I've always had a spiritual and philosophical streak in me, and I've had problems with depression, anxiety, and some anger. I often go down youtube rabbit holes about philosophy, religion, and society. Recently, I came across some videos on Cynicism and Stoicism, and decided to give Massimo's book a read. As those who've followed me a while I'm fond of Zen Buddhism for its mindfulness, discipline, and compassion, but one thing that always bothered me with it is its disregard of rational thought in favor of spontaneity and emptiness. Stoicism seems to compensate for that well while by replacing these with rational thought, and it's virtues foster mindfulness, discipline, and compassion. So let's shoe horn some goals into the cardinal Stoic virtues... eh? And for once, I'll actually grade things with points. Because a Stoic would collect data and use it to inform future decisions, even if it was time consuming and sometimes frustrating or annoying. Zero week points = bonus points to be distributed freely at challenge end. Goal 1, Wisdom: Practice Stoic meditations in the morning and evening. Journal the results. Morning meditation questions: Reminder of the previous day. What challenges do you anticipate today? How will you overcome these challenges while maintaining your virtue? Evening: What good deeds did you do today? In what deeds did you fail to maintain your virtue? What is left to be done, or improved upon? Do it everyday. 28 days. 1 point for morning, 1 point for evening, 1 point for journaling. 3 points/day. 84 points total Goal 2, Temperance: Track nutrition, regulate food intake for healthy weight loss. MFP everyday. Hit BMR calories, ~2167 cals. Stay below, 3000 cals. At least 100 g Protein 1 point each day for tracking. 1 point for keeping cals in range, 1 point for sufficient protein. 3 points/day. 84 points total. Side quests: Limit coffee to one cup before sun up. And avoid alcohol. This is for GI health, and mental clarity. And avoiding alcohol for weight loss. Goal 3, Courage Go to gym. Because lifting stuff makes you braver or something. Go to the gym and lift something then do cardio. 6 hours each of four weeks. 1 point / hour. 24 points total. Goal 4, Justice. Do good deeds. Help other people. Or at the very least, be a fucking adult. 1 point for each good deed or adulting task completed. Aim for 1 per day. 28 days. 28 points. LUYL_1: Figure out what the fuck cardio means in spanish. I spent 90 minutes on an elliptical, while I'm glad I burned 900 calories (supposedly), that time might have been better spent studying my Spanish textbook, or consuming some other reading material. Hmm... maybe I should have tried to find a Spanish channel on one of the TVs while I ellipticaled. Basically, this goal is to bring a book to the gym to make good use of lame cardio time. LUYL_2: Keep studying spanish. Duolingo changed everything all of a sudden and now it annoys me. But I should start incorporating and moving on to new ways of learning. Such as: Working through the Spanish language course Watching Netflix shows in spanish Reading Kid's books, newspapers in Spanish. I should still try to finish the Duolingo tree tho. LUYL_3: Flamenco guitar Daily practice. My teacher dropped hints last week he might invite me to join his Flamenco orchestra this summer. So I ought to keep practicing daily and dilligently. Ugh. Why are my initial posts so damn long?

Formerly, Curl Brogo... It's time to chill out and seek my center again. The one constant this year has been painting and developing my artwork. There's gonna be a lot of that. But my morning routine, exercise, and diet have been all over. I'm gonna focus this in the morning routine. That's the part of my day when I am the least drained. Mega goal 1: Build a good morning routine: M_Goal 1: Up at 4am. If I'm gonna get stuff done in the morning I'll need time to do it. So I gotta get up earlier and stop hitting snooze until the last possible minute. If I get up at 4, that gives me an hour and 45 min to do the rest. I think I'm gonna grade this by counting the minutes from 4 to 545 that I gain. M_Goal 2, morning exercise. First damn thing! ... well after I pee. Do a set of something, then make the coffee, do another set while it brews. I just need to build a habit of exercising in the morning. I don't care of its 100 burpees or 10 crunches. My first goal in the morning is to move. M_Goal 3: Breakfast - whole 30 style Gotta get a good solid breakfast for the day. No more last minute gas station food cuz I'm in a hurry. Mega goal 2: complete another Whole 30 Mega goal 3: Meditate Good Ole zazen. If it won't fit in the morning, I'll do it in the evening. LUYL goal: Keep making art.

I'm just redoing my last challenge, but raising the bar a bit on some goals. Goal 1: Stay hungry. Not eating much is for me the most effective way to actually lose weight. Step one: Eat only small, healthy snacks until dinner time. <200 cals, has some damn protein, fiber, and vitamins. My schedule at work makes it so I can have 4 of these. Step two: meat and veggies for dinner first, then carbs till I'm no longer hungry. Weight goal: 245 lbs. Goal 2: One adventure a week Go visit or see a new thing each week. Hiking in parks, go to a new store, new restaurant, visit the damn at museum already. Just gotta get outta the apartment and do something new. Goal 3: Sweat three times a week. Workout. Doesn't matter where or what. Just break a sweat at least. Goal 4: Paint I want to complete a dozen works for my painting/drawing portfolio. My goal is to do three this challenge. The only limitation of that I must paint or draw from life. Sidequest: Assemble a plein aire painting adventure kit. Boom! Challenge!

Another challenge is here and once again I'm building it around my mindfulness practice. I decided that for 2017 I'm renewing my commitment to my practice of Soto Zen Buddhism, which has been on and off for about a decade now. The practice centers on daily zazen (sitting meditation) and mindfulness practice throughout the day. This practice has in recent months been helping me re-center and rebuild my life and has proven effective with controlling my mood and depression, hunger, and is currently helping me reduce caffeine and alcohol consumption. Plus it is really helping me better appreciate every moment and live more fully. I have two goals for the year related to this. The first is to explore the different Sanghas (buddhist communities/churches) in/near Indy. The second is to go to a seshin (meditation retreat) which is usually 3-5 days of just meditation, work, eating, and sleeping. So this challenge is about improving my zazen practice and endurance, and using mindfulness to improve my health, fitness, and life in general. Goal 1: Zazen Sit in "lotus" or seiza for meals at home. Spending more time in a criss legged sitting posture should help me increase my flexibility and endurance in zazen. I also need to: Maintain daily zazen practice (@least 10 min) Do stretches before zazen Do one long session (40+ min) once a week Side quests: Caffeine causes scatterbrainededness, and alcohol diminishes awareness. So... 1) No caffeine for 30 days 2) No alcohol for 30 days These will be ongoing, resetting after failure until I achieve all 30 days on both. Reward: I'll buy a French press for single servings of coffee afterward. Goal 2: Nutrition Here are some dietary observations I've accumulated. Meat: Makes emotions more intense, especially red meat. To little interferes with sleep. I need to experiment more with fish. Grains: wheat/gluten are fine, a are oats and rice. Barley and rye cause bloat/gas/discomfort. Dairy: Milk and lots of whey/milk protein causes gas/bloat/discomfort. Eating high quantities of dairy send to cause mild seeking and mucus formation in the throat and nasal passes and overall puffiness. Soy: Is fine with me. Legumes: canned and pressure cooked are fine, but otherwise cause gas/bloat/discomfort. Nuts/sees: limit to small handfuls. To much causes constipation and bloat. Peanuts are mildly irritating. Tubers: white potatoes cause more fullness but are mildly irritating. Sweet potatoes do not. Sugar: Every time i eat a sugary snack/soda/candy/dessert i feel fatter at the end of the day. Literally, my stomach seems fuller and more jiggly. In light odd these observations I'll focus on the challenges that are most difficult to surmount. Track meat consumption vs. sleep quality I'll just be jotting firm days i eat meat on my calendar and noting my sleep quality each morning. Limit dairy and sugar I'm going to make conscious decisions to not consume or substitute these in various recipes. Eat more root vegetables Eat a tuber everyday. Replace some carbs with more tuber veggies. Buy more fresh tubers at the store, and try new ones out ones I've not had in a while. Goal 3, Exercise: Break a Sweat 6 days per week. Barbell, treadmill, kettlebell, bodyweight... 30 min., 20 min., 5 min.? No matter. Just break a sweat. I also want to go to the actual gym at least once a week, i am paying for membership after all. LUYL_1: Manage finances Spend one hour a week with my mind on my money. Making spreadsheets, planning a budget, going through receipts, clip coupons, read about saving and paying off debt, retirement plans, investments. Whatever. One hour. I currently don't really think about money until there's a problem... and that's why I'm in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Sidequest: have enough extra cash lying around at the end of cheyenne to buy a cable modem and wifi router. LUYL_2: Art Paint and complete at last one painting each week. Grading: Basically I've got my dry erase board calendar set up. Every time I do a thing for a goal, including side quests etc. I make a doodle or dot on the calendar. If the calendar is reasonably congested with squiggles and dots while i contemplate the progress I've made and the challenges i faced during the 1+4 weeks... Cool. If it's empty, not cool.

Hi! Is anyone else here interested in painting, drawing, sculpture, crafts, or any other form of art? I have an art blog, but there are really no people with whom I could talk about art, share my drawings/paintings/what-have-yous and change thoughts. And, well, since NF is filled with like-minded people, I thought about giving this a go. I think it would be nice to share our art here, get comments, and share ideas! And if there happens to be a topic like this already, please guide me there. I searched for one, but couldn't find anything similar...! So... Come out, come out, wherever you are!

After completely flaming out on my last challenge, I am rejoining the rebels and getting back to basics to wrap up the year. A bit about myself. I teach middle school math, enjoy playing board games, and 2016 has been the busiest year of my life (bought/remodeled my first house, got married, first overseas trip, and first baby on the way). I have lost about 85 lbs over the past 2 years and would like to lose about 60 more, but have plateaued for awhile do to inconsistency. For this months challenge I am going to focus on some basic things that I know I can do that have been successful for me in the past. Quest Chart Calories - everyday, no matter what, chart my calories on Lose It! and stay under my limit. Workout - I need to be more consistent about this (in the past month, I only worked out a couple of times) so I will work out 4 times per week - 3 lifting sessions, 1 session with my trainer. Avoid the Drive Through - I have been on a major fast food binge - I need to cut it out entirely, it's too expensive, unhealthy, and (in all honesty) gross. LUML - Paint - I love painting miniature soldiers - the focus and stillness of it is a perfect comedown from a long school day. I have 4 Guild Ball teams that I have recently purchased and my goal is to paint at least 4 days each week. Goal My goal this challenge is to lose 15 lbs. That may some like a lot, but most of that is just bloat from my last month of relative inactivity.

So my high school football season has come to an end, after a terrible, terrible season. I now will have a ton of extra free time and I will continue training, but my focus this challenge is on relaxing. Foam Rolling: I plan on lifting 4 days per week during this challenge. My particular goal is to finish up each session with a full body foam rolling session. That would mean 20 sessions over the course of this month, but I am going to Los Angeles towards the end of the month and I will be skipping that week, lowering me down to 18 session. Walking: I worked up quite a bit of steps at practice every day. To make up for those lost steps and to improve my conditioning I will be walking on each of my 4 lifting days each week. I will be following this plan to keep pushing my walks. Again, that puts me at a potential 18 sessions for the month. Weekends: During my recent challenges, my week days were really successful, but my weekends have been awful. I still want to have fun and enjoy my weekends, but I can't binge every weekend. For this challenge, I will chart and stay under my allowed calories Friday - Sunday. That means I need to chart for 12 days (I will not be counting on my trip). Painting: I love painting miniature soldiers, but due to buying/remodeling a house, getting married, and coaching football, my painting time has been nonexistent this year (only 2 models painted since I have moved into my house). My goal this challenge is to do some painting at least 3 days per week over the course of this challenge, this should put me at 14 days for the challenge. I will also post pictures of my work as I complete it. Goal: My goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds. Reward: There are 62 opportunities for me to work on myself this challenge. My goal is to have at least an 85% success rate which means I need to get at least 53 successes. If I can hit this goal, I will purchase my self an ab roller.

Intro: I had a productive first year in NF, and then the wheels came off. Amidst the perfect storm of mental and physical burnout, injuries and illness, family and work stresses, I went into a bit of a dark place. I went back to bad habits of eating like crap, making excuses not to exercise and isolating myself from everyone. It took longer than it should have for me to recognise and confront those issues, but I’ve done that over the last couple of challenges, and I feel like I’m getting back to a better place. This challenge, I’ll start the transition towards becoming more active again. QUEST 1: Fitness Now that the injuries and aches are subsiding, it’s time to start moving again. Light cardio, light weights, three times per week. No targets just yet, this is just about forcing myself to walk through the doors of the gym again. Points available: +2 DEX, +2 STA QUEST 2: Fuel Don’t Eat and Drink Like a DickheadTM. Continue the carb purge. No energy drinks. Limit the red wine to alternate weekends. Points available: +5 CON QUEST 3: Felicity A healthy body must work in tandem with a healthy mind. Look after what’s upstairs, by any means necessary. Sleep, meditate, ASMR, sit under a tree, stroke a pet, cook, read a book, take a bath. Continue the “must do” task, take a leaf out of Spooky’s book and list three things I’m grateful for on a daily basis. Points available: +3 WIS QUEST 4: Finesse Continue to explore my creative side. Keep painting, and share the results, good, bad or indifferent, on here. Maybe try some drawing again, too. Keep updating the tumblr here with the output. Points available: +3 CHA

Intro: I had a productive first year in NF, and then the wheels came off. Amidst the perfect storm of mental and physical burnout, injuries and illness, family and work stresses, I went into a bit of a dark place. I went back to bad habits of eating like crap, making excuses not to exercise and isolating myself from everyone. It took longer than it should have for me to recognise and confront those issues, but I started to do that last challenge. This is somewhat of an extension of that as I continue to rehab my body, mind and spirit. QUEST 1: See a Grown Man Cry Try to re-establish some kind of fitness routine, whilst continuing to rehab my shoulder and neck. Make sure I do the daily stretches my doctor gave me. Try to get three light cardio sessions per week done at the gym. Walk more, regardless of the weather. It’s rain, not acid. I won’t die. Points available: +3 DEX, +1 STA QUEST 2: Black Coffee Blues Don’t Eat and Drink Like a DickheadTM. No more than one chocolate bar per week. No energy drinks. If you need caffeine, have some damn coffee. There’s a perfectly good coffee machine in the kitchen, you don’t need Rockstar. Drink water. It’s plentiful. Points available: +4 CON QUEST 3: Solipsist A healthy body must work in tandem with a healthy mind. Look after what’s upstairs, by any means necessary. Sleep, meditate, ASMR, sit under a tree, stroke a pet, cook, read a book, take a bath. I’ll try to finish Ken Costa’s “Know Your Why” during this challenge, but no pressure to do so. I’ll read if I feel like reading, but not going to force it. One “must do” task, is take a leaf out of Spooky’s book and list three things I’m grateful for on a daily basis. Points available: +4 WIS QUEST 4: Art to Choke Hearts Inspired in part by binge watching Bob Ross on Netflix, I decided to have a go at painting during the last challenge, and discovered that I really enjoy it. Keep at it, and share the results, good, bad or indifferent, on here. There’s also a tumblr here for the things I’ve done. Points available: +3 CHA

Return to The Loft Welcome back to The Loft! A fun little space where we can share our love of creativity and help inspire each other to keep pursuing our passions. Whether you're a hobbyist, full time artists/writer/crafter or simply curious and wanting to get started, this is an awesome group for you! We had a lot of fun last time and I was really excited about how much interaction, activity and discussion we were having! I'm really happy that so many people had a good time with this group and I hope to keep that momentum going as we move onto the next challenge! I plan on using this thread not just to share art (though please if you have any art, writing, photos, videos, etc that you want to share, they are more than welcome here), but also to share tips and tricks, pose some topics, and just overall have a great time. We are here to level up every aspect of our lives, especially our passions! The doors are once again open! Please step inside and explore The Loft!

We are the Renaissance Rebels... We're having a Creative Revolution and you're invited! Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds and level up your health and fitness habits and your creativity. Sure, that's a lot of balls to juggle over the course of six weeks, but it's a lot easier and more fun when you've got buddies! Post a reply below to introduce yourself. We're happy to have you! Renaissance Rebels BlackTezca Jakkals JMitch Kilo Luciana Valerosa Culming QuietRiotGrrrl Robkashikoi roseofmay scrawlcreatelive ShadowLion Silverwitch spookyfoot Terinatum WoodNymph WushuWarrior

Warning: This post is in progress and subject to frequent updates. I am still building my epic quest, but I know these are part of what I'd like it to be: Write a novelKeep an art journalWatercolor paintingMove to BeachTownGet my associate's degreeGet my bachelor's degree