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As we head into the remaining days of the year, I’m grateful for all that I have accomplished in 2023. I’m focusing on squaring things up at the tail end of the year: turning in last assignments; making some small organizational decisions; and focusing on rest. The success matrix remains the same: having my homework done and my house clean. The stats skill tree has grown this year, and I’m very glad I took this approach to my challenges. It’s easy for me to lose sight of what I accomplished six weeks ago, and I’ll be thinking about how I want to level-set the skills going into 2024. In a lot of ways, when I look at the stats where they are now, I think they are descriptively accurate. I am not sure how much more I can add, and it will be an interesting exercise to see what sort of skill enhancing I can add in, kind of like finding Seven League Boots (a car) or a Bag of Holding (better organization in my backpack) or a Thinking Cap (the academy’s writing center has been a godsend boost). I definitely need to rest and recover. Last challenge I expanded my activities beyond what I thought I would ever be able to manage, and I did it with grace and dignity even when I had no clue how it would work. I am proud of all that, and also I know that grace and dignity need rest, too, just like any other muscle that gets a workout. The biggest gain was to Stamina. While it was only a couple points overall, that there were any gains at all is a big deal. And to keep that, I’ll need to have a bit of a recovery period. This is a time of strategic retreat, a time to shelter inside during the gathering darkness and nurture the embers. Welcome. Pull up a seat by the fire, and tell me about your day. Opening Stats Con 10 Str 9 Int 13 Dex 13 Wis 13 Cha 12 Sta 5 Executive Summary (for those of you who, like me, are trying to parse the details) Zero Week, November 30 - December 3: Learning Reflection Paper: Draft to Writing Center; Submitted Playoff Game: We had a great time, even though the team didn't win. Honestly, I think the parents are all secretly relieved to have the season over. Poster Presentation: Submitted Oral Presentation: Submitted seven minutes late. I guarantee she'll take off for that. Visitation: Notebooks; Games; Conversation; Swimming is back on the books and is a great space for us; so much Good Food; Elbow re-injury Week One, December 4 - 10: Finals Week Taking on morning workouts? No, this became taking on morning meditation ma zone: making space for myself in the day. Very helpful. Ethics Discussion Posts and Replies: Submitted Literature Review: Submitted. I got an A Research Proposal Paper: Submitted Research Proposal Discussion Posts (the requirements for this remain completely murky): Submitted Finalizing that pesky holiday visitation schedule (just the thought of this wears me out): Yes, I just keep gettin gon this carsousel. Nothing is solved yet. Laundry: yep Week Two, December 11-17 ma Visitation: Friday morning - Sunday early evening. Gaming store visits and D&D. Delivery of D&D Handbook and Dice to school (They want to have a D&D Club, so I bought 6 of each). Acupuncture: happened Librarian Shannon Meeting: Yes, let's do an independent study! Philosopher James Meeting: Hey, this is great. Let's put together a syllabus for the Spring Reading List Consider moving to a new place. Week Three, December 18-24 Schedule movers Schedule move-in cleaning and exit cleaning for February Sign transfer request for the new apartment Reflection Week, December 25-31 Visitation on Christmas Day: yep, that's it. Might also do laundry or something. Ending Stats, 2023 Constitution: Stregnth: Intelligence: Dexterity: Wisdom: Charisma: Stamina:

My main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good (to me) naked. I'm in a struggle with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. I don’t want this to be a focus for the rest of my life, I want to build some habits/routines so it becomes second nature and I don’t have to think about it. I also want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up and be able to do things with them, as well as things I enjoy as I get older, and I enjoy a lot of things! I work from home as an accountant. I have a full time job and a few side gigs, making sure I have enough movement in my day is important because it's very easy to lose track of time and I feel better when I move more! The Struggle is real! I'm going to take the time to do what I need to do, also making sure I get enough off-time, put in the work and effort that hopefully will lead to lower numbers on the scale as well as other health markers that are important. The Struggle... ( S )teps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal ( T )rack - using Cronometer ( R )est - Sleep (7 hours a night) ( U )nder - Stay under calorie goal ( G )o - Do things in life you enjoy, 5ks, ride motorcycles or bicycles, travel. ( G )uitar - practice 5 days a week ( L )ift - Lift some semi-heavy things (I have nerve damage in my neck, so some limitations) ( E )xercise - Exercise, on days I don’t lift things I do cardio Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. Update - Daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, finished. Yes, I’m still working on it. I want to get my bicycle fixed (tires are flat, not a tough fix) and take advantage of the bike trails around this area when the heat isn’t so bad. I want to take advantage of the fact I have a pool in my backyard. I want to take advantage of a lake less than half a mile from my house and the paddleboard in my garage. My personal life may be falling apart, I am doing my best to keep me from doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life.

So, I posted all of my goals for this challenge in my last thread as I was thinking ahead. Just saying as an FYI for those of you who already read it! . . . . My health needs to be my greatest priority. I'm 265 270 pounds at 5'5" and have been steady at that weight for all of 2022 to now. Before that I was 225 pounds when I was more active. That was 2020-2021. I fractured my ankle in July 2021, which was the turning point which lead to my inactivity and weight gain. My "happy weight" and happy fitness level was when I was between 165-185 pounds but that was way back in 2015-2017. I believe that I can get back to that happy spot. I have to believe it. If I do, I can get off of taking insulin for my diabetes management, which would be AWESOME. I hate poking myself every day. I actually have a doctor's appointment with a new doc today - he handles diabetes management and weight management - hopefully he can help me get somewhere on my journey. I would like to set a measurable goal of 10 pounds lost for the next challenge along with measurable actions that I'll take toward that goal. - 🚫Avoid Alcohol - only two drinking days per month allowed (and 2 drinks max per day) - 🥦Eat Smaller Portions and Healthier Foods - yes/no to my best judgment - 💪 Challenging Exercise - 30+ Minutes 4 Days a Week I've chosen not to count calories and macros as it has fed an unfortunate little monster of obsession in me in the past and has not been good for my mental health. If I don't make weight loss progress using a smaller portion/best judgment approach this month, I'll consider adding CICO back into my life (* cringe *). What I've decided to do instead is to temporarily move me and my family to a healthy subscription meal plan service so that my meal planning is taken care of for dinners. That'll help a lot as we have been ordering in quite a bit. Making things easier on myself with meal planning will really help with a part of the burden of meal planning that I've had on my shoulders for a while now. Anyway, that's the idea. I'll also buy some extra fruit and vegetables to supplement the meals as snacks and such. I would like to make time for art because that is what I do best besides my mom duties, and I want to keep at it. - 🖌️Work on art projects - 45+ Minutes 4 Days a Week Make Time for Self Care - 👳‍♀️At Home "Spa" Time - Twice a Month - 🕯️Spiritual Time - 10 Minutes per Day - 🫂Hang Out with Friends - Once a Month So these are seven different things that I want to work on in my next challenge, which typically I would say is too much, but two of the things are infrequent asks, so it's more like five. I was already doing really well on two of the other five, so I think that this is a reasonable ask of myself, after all.

For those who are new or behind, my main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good naked, and fit in clothes I used to. I love 5Ks and kettlebells. I'm struggling with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. My original goal was to lose 58.4 lbs, I have lost 5.1 of those. I work from home, (3 jobs) as an accountant, so making sure I have enough movement in my day as well as not eating "all the unhealthy things" is important. It's very easy to lose track of how much time I've been sitting trying to solve an issue. Not having "all the unhealthy things" in the house also helps. I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle My last 5k (on the 6/5) was a real wake up call. I've let a lot of things go since the pandemic, I could barely move for three days after doing it, I was not trained for it and in retrospect I probably shouldn't have done it. I’ve decided to go back to the 5k training plan I used in 2019 that worked better than anything else I tried…it calls for one day strength training, three days ‘running’ (intervals at your pace is suggested) and one to two days cross training or rest days. *I’m using the NF Journey app for workouts on the two days I’m not running. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I plan on posting daily to make sure I'm on track where I need to be The Plan... Workout - The 5k training plan/NF Journey App Rest - Sleep (7 hours a night) - sleep is important Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life events go here - because fun makes life worth living Steps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal, minimum Track - Food (stay in deficit) track in Cronometer Update - Post in thread at least three times a week. - self explanatory Duolingo daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ * - changes from previous challenge Progress Track - ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Gunna focus on stuff that I’ve found works in the past (thinking: eating the 5/4/3/2/1, daily walks, not drinking soft drinks etc) with a theme of self love, starting on Valentine’s Day and doing things for myself from love, not hate. Will flesh it out proper but not at 11pm after DnD 😂

Per Request 😉 The Plan.... Conscientious: Make 24 hour plan, eat on plan when hungry, stop when full. Unconventional: Rides, 5k's, events, and any other random stuff goes here Time: Get 7 hours of sleep a night, post at least 3 times a week in my thread. Exercise: Weights 1x week, 6,000 steps a day, 3 days treadmill workout (when no work event) I have a bad habit this time of year of hiding away...I want to go to all the things then when the time comes I make excuses and don't do them...this isn't starting off too well since I've already bailed on two plans this weekend. In my defense they conflicted so I canceled one, then the other got rained out...blame Florida weather 🙄

Hello Nerds, annyshay here! Back again for another challenge. I'm not going to make too many tweaks to things at the moment because they're honestly going really well. I want to maintain my momentum. For those that don't know me, I'm a thirty-something single lady that who lives with an orange tabby named Dragon in the Northeastern US. I've been a member of the Nerd Fitness forums for many years. Along the way, I met my health coach, Amy Clover, who has been helping me move past dieting and performance health based on external metrics to focus more on the way that I want to feel and building habits that support that. I'm going to go back to the elements for my challenge this time, with a heavy emphasis on those in Avatar: The Last Airbender (lovingly referred to in the future as ATLA). Earth - walk at least once a day Air - intentionally seek out support Fire - PT exercises Water - cook 1-2 times per week

So, being forced to limit exercise due to Costochondritis issues (GAHH! Hating this!); this challenge will be posted here: Bricks I will comment in this post (mostly about my self-care routine); but my stats will be in the Monkey Tamers United post as I plan on taking the monkey down & building my wall. My self-care routine includes: 1. Taking time to de-stress using the Stop, Breathe, & Think app. 2. Regular skin care routine 3. Sleep 4. Hydration

Restarting after a few years away from this site! This year is not off to quite the start I had planned. I had gone off keto from thanksgiving to new years because I can't go through December without egg nog, but I had planned to go right back on Jan 1. Then the start of the new decade rolled around and I came down with a nasty head cold, preventing me from being active, following any sort of diet, or even posting here until now. Oh well, better late than never, right? I will probably add some sort of fiction to my posts as things go along, but I want to get something posted so I don't use this as an excuse to push things off any further. GOAL1: Nutrition. I tried keto last year and found that while it was a difficult adjustment, I felt significantly better. I want to get back into that, cooking regularly, planning my meals out ahead of time, and being very conscious about what I put in my body. I will be using Cronometer.com to track everything I eat and drink. A bonus would be if I could put on a couple pounds, as it has been historically difficult for me to gain any weight at all. GOAL 2: Sleep. My default is nocturnal. Unfortunately, this does not lend itself well to working or otherwise being a functional person. The first thing I'm tackling is my sleep, starting tonight. For now, I am going to aim for a 2am bed time, waking at 10am, no snoozing (this might not sound like much, but last 'night' I went to bed at 6am). GOAl 3: Strength Training. I plan to get back on track with my regular workouts, shooting for 3 days a week. Once I get this re-established I am hoping to add in 2 days a week of cardio, most likely on my indoor bike trainer. LEVEL UP MY LIFE: Finances I am going to die in debt due to student loans, there is nothing I can do about that (I have already consulted a bankruptcy lawyer), but there are things I can do to get my finances in better shape than what they are currently. Part of this will mean continuing to build my case load at work, part will be resisting impulse buys or 'retail therapy' when I am having a bad day, and part will fit in well with my nutrition goal because if I plan my food out ahead of time I have no excuse to eat out. At some point I will need to contact the bank that manages my federal student loans and set up some sort of payment plan with them. I am still hoping to find something I can do about my private student loans, but it looks unlikely that Ii have any options but to just let them default.

A few days following the start of this new challenge will mark the date I entered this world....50 years ago... Not too bad for an old lady if I do say so myself... Recap from prior challenges this year below I've lost a lot this year, a lot has changed for me...if you had asked me before where I would be at this point in my life it would damn sure not be here! My marriage is essentially "married companions" we love each other but more than that is not happening in the foreseeable future...we do enjoy each others company and we are a 'safe space' for the other. I used to think I was interested in dating, but right now I find I'm more interested in working on me...I have a tendency to lose myself in relationships, and I'm a pretty awesome individual that doesn't need to go anywhere just because I'm with someone...so this is going to be about 'finding' and keeping me! I had a goal of losing 50 lbs by my 50th birthday...I got halfway there...I'm re-committing myself to losing the rest, and working on losing the excess rolls that seem to not want to go anywhere! I want to not jiggle when I move and try to get rid of this 'hip dip' thing that I've had most of my life...wish me luck I also had a goal of running a 5k entirely and completing a 10k, neither one of those happened either but I did set a new PR for my 5k...the 10k should be done by the end of the year and I have a goal to train for a 15k in March. I'm okay if I never completely run any of them, I run intervals and that's more than I ever did before! The Plan.... Run: I'm following NYAR 10K training plan currently, so points for when I do what is scheduled (including rest days) Eat: Continue making the 24 hour plan, eat on plan when hungry, stop when full. Calm: Three times a week (at least) take time for me, this can be journaling, crocheting, or time to read. This also includes excursions with friends, or anything else I want it to! ommit: (yes I know, spelling, but work with me here) anything that does not work for or serve me...this year is about being a bit selfish. I'm also going to 'ommit' some debt this year, we'll pay off the first major expense and possibly get two eliminated! I have a goal of completing 10 items on my bucket list between now and my next birthday, hopefully by my next challenge the following will be completed: Get Passport Visit Key West Go Parasailing Go Snorkeling (I was going to say scuba diving but I'm claustrophobic so we'll see how snorkeling goes first) Get my motorcycle license (again...been 30 years since I had it) That's one a week...should be a good start! On with the show! Disclaimer, I'm a kinky lesbian in an open relationship. My threads used to have a tendency to get rather interesting (it's been years but I can hope it happens again ) and I have had people unsubscribe because of that...

Hello! DISCLAIMER! I used to be Stribs, but last challenge I went through a huge mental shift so I changed everything, including my name in order to leave that person and all that negative energy behind. I have a terrifying verbosity that knows no bounds, and you are under no obligation to read all that shit written below because DAMN... it's a lot. Two things: I highlighted for easy skimming AND my goals are highlighted in red for those of you who just want to skip everything else. I will NOT care, ha. So, last challenge changed like 17 times, but so did my life. It was a crucial time when a lot of things finally clicked in my brain and I was able to own a lot of my own shit that had been weighing down both myself and my relationship unnecessarily for a long time. If you’re feeling anxious and hopeless and overwhelmed about life, I cannot suggest ENOUGH The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, by Mark Manson. It’s been on my shelf since January and I’m so disappointed that I only read it last challenge So, what does this all mean for my challenges? It means I’m starting fresh. While I don’t want to just dismiss all the progress I made, most of it was temporary, like a bandaid, and now we have to commit to the actual brain surgery. I changed my BIG WHY and really focused the fucks I have to give on things that are important to me and chose to work toward constant improvement instead of meeting an arbitrary goal, and my goals will reflect this new outlook that I’ve chosen What really makes this go round different is I have three key pieces of information that I didn’t have 6 weeks ago: 1. My anxiety is not my fault, but it is my responsibility I can stop placing blame on myself for my anxiety hijacking my life the last decade or so, but I’m not off the hook about managing it the best I can going forward either. 2. AVERAGE IS OKAY, and also totally normal, as long as I am always working to improve I have spent years thinking my life wasn’t EXCITING enough. I didn’t feel unique or special, or exemplary at anything, and to me that was a failure. This is now a mindset I can work to let go of in order to be the best version of who I am right now. 3. You always get to choose the metric by which to measure your experiences All too often I base my self worth on the perceptions of others. I need the metric to always be sometime I can control. I need to be in charge of my own goals and improvements. Armed with these three things, I am read to transition from Stribs to Novaurora (and yes, it can be roughly translated to new new, but I liked how it sounded ). Here’s to new beginnings and a better life moving forward. So, now to my theme. While waiting for Hurricane Dorian to strike, I binge watched season one of The News Room by Aaron Sorkin. I love Aaron Sorkin and think everything he touches is genius, and these character’s lives were about as trainwrecky as mine, so there’s that too. If you have Amazon prime, give it a watch! Start my career as a writer: Neal Neal has the drive I wish I had. He wants to be a producer, so he is always pitching stories, even if they seem insane (he spends a whole episode on bigfoot). He never flinches when he gets rejected and he just keeps trying again. Me on the other hand, I’ve spent 10 years trying to (for lack of a better word) hatch “Cucumbers” (a story that I wrote in a creative writing class in COLLEGE 9 years ago) and keep coming up with different excuses not to pursue publishing it, but that’s the fear talking. That’s me deciding no one will want my story before I even submit it anywhere, and that negative ass bullshit can see itself to the door. Goals: Meet or exceed all deadlines for Cucumbers, Gwendolyn and the CATastrophe, and Evelyn story Write for at least 30 minutes a day (x5 a week) Habit Building: Sloane Sabbath I chose Sloane for this one because the girl is an economics GENIUS with two PhDs who, out of everyone on the show so far, seems to have her shit the most together. You don’t have 2 PhDs without some decent habits, that’s all I’m saying. As for me, this is where the whole “outside perception” was really at the core of my failures. I wasn’t making these improvements to better myself. I either thought they were what other people (namely hubs) wanted of me, or it would make other people like me more. I chose an arbitrary number on the scale, told myself that if I cleaned the house I could fix our marriage, and tried to cook to help with both these things. But I did learn a few things along the way: I enjoy lifting, I feel better when I eat food I cooked at home, and I am less anxious when my house is clean. If I do better for me, I can be the better me for everyone else. Goals: Stronglifts MWF House dailies Cook dinner x3 a week Manage anxiety: Maggie Jordan I chose Maggie for this one because she has all sorts of shit going on and she doesn’t handle it well. Where we are in the storyline, she let her anxiety grab hold of her for a minute and it is not ending well for her currently. She probably could use some of the strategies I’m using, because I was her just a few months ago. The difference here from the past is the reflection piece, and taking responsibility for how I react when my anxiety is fighting for control in my brain, and minimizing that control as much as possible. Goals: Daily/weekly journaling Take meds every day Practice mindfulness daily Attend therapy Read Everything is Fucked, a Book about Hope, by Mark Manson Work/Life balance: Jim This is another “what not to do” choice. Jim is always working, whether he’s actually at work, or he’s at a party, he’s working. He loves his job and he is passionate, just like me, but we both need some space from it. I don’t have much for this one this go round because previously when I choose a time to leave my house or leave school, it never ends up working because life happens some days. I get chatting with a co worker, a parent calls, meeting, the dogs puke everywhere, etc. I can only control what I do at school everyday, so that’s what I will focus on. Goals: School dailies Make planning time about grading one day a week Relationship: Mack and Will This relationship makes me feel better about mine sometimes. They aren’t together in season 1 (they WERE before, but DRAMAAAAA), but I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be back together before the end of season 3...so there’s that. HOWEVER, even when they are at odds (which is a lot) they have to work together because Will is the anchor and Mack is his executive producer, so communication is key, just like communication is key for myself and hubs, and somehow they make it work and so can we. Goals: Don’t eat dinner in front of the TV x3 a week Work on fostering intimacy through multiple avenues (I know this is vague...but do you REALLY want more detail??) Go to therapy Congrats. You made it to the end! Happy challenge!

I don't like eat, pray, love, or live, laugh, love, or any of that cheesy wall art stuff. The only acceptable version. However, during week 4 of the previous challenge I accepted that I am suffering from burnout. It has affected my nutrition and fitness. The burnout is professional, and it's seeping into other aspects of my life, as evidenced by my waistline, reduced cooking, and anemic workout patterns. That burnout is also exacerbated by perfectionism, which I'm also working through. Tova suggested a book I have purchased called The Gifts of Imperfection; finishing it is a priority this challenge. Self care is one of the important pieces of the puzzle in recovering from burnout, so I am choosing to view my goals as self care. Eat: In the words of Michael Pollan, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." That's nice and simple. Meat, fruit and vegetables are important. Bread and grains are ok. I'm an Intutive Eater, so I'm not eliminating anything. I want to focus on good, nutritious meals with plenty of good stuff. Move: I went for a while last challenge without any intentional exercise, and it hurt. Kettlebell workouts are good, body weight workouts are good, yoga is good. Walks are nice, and they take a while, so they might not happen as often. Rest: This originally started as an awareness of the importance of sleep. Part of the time with no workouts coincided with poor sleep, and not much of it. I was so tired I was almost crying. Sleep is good, and getting enough is a goal. In addition, recovery from burnout includes plenty of rest while awake. One of the things I'll be resting from is putting pressure on myself. Deciding not to pressure myself about stuff was as freeing as realizing I'm not going to restrict food when going through Intuitive Eating. I'm going to be deliberate instead of desperate. Also, it's helpful to accept my role on the forums has changed. Gone are the days when I can follow everyone. That happened at a time when I had no responsibilities with NF (2015), and I had very little going on in general. I was just out of a bad relationship, and had not yet begun to rebuild social networks. I had plenty of time, and the forums filled much of it for me. Now I'm responsible for not just a guild but all the forums, I'm married, a baby is on the way, and we are hoping to buy a house and move in the summer. Trying to follow people like I used to would keep me from doing my best work for NF, and hamper me in my recovery from burnout. I'm already following fewer threads than I used to. I may have to follow even less this time around. (English Majors who know the less/fewer rules, please assume I used the correct one in both instances). Doing my job well means trusting the awesome Guild Leaders to take care of people. Please don't read this and think you can't reach out to me, you still can. I just know what's going to help me recover, and I may not be able to follow some of you that I've been checking in on each challenge.

I think I might battle-log it up this round. I’d like to go rock climbing more, or do some other intentional physical activity besides softball, maybe once a week or so; but, who knows. My mental health is on a downswing, so everything is hard right now. But I still want to try and be here, even if it’s sporadic. I kinda love you guys.

NEW CHALLENGE TIME! Due to recent and upcoming events, I have to change my priorities for a while. The main reason for this change is that I’m aiming to move out and live entirely by myself for the first time in June. Other than that, I have a wedding at the end of March, my 30th birthday at the end of this challenge (YAY), and my coworker invited me to her daughter’s quinceanera in June (for which I need to buy a dress ). I’m sure more things will pop up along the way - I’ll have to take them as they come. With the shift in priorities, and having looked back on what worked and what didn’t last challenge, I’m doing a bit of an overhaul. Back in my early NF challenge days I used a point system, and that’s what I’m going back to. It gives me a little wiggle room to tailor minor goals to whatever my schedule is each week, while also keeping up with my main goals. All tracker info and updates will live in the post below this one. ><><><><><><><><>< Self care Dragon Journal: This will be staying the same. It can be anything from a few words to a few pages, I just need to get something out in order to manage my stress level. 4x per week. Declutter: I want to start my almost-spring cleaning. This includes going through clothes, re-organizing, decluttering, and purging stuff I don’t want/need/use. I’ve made a list of general tasks to complete in my tracker throughout the course of the challenge. Financial Dragon The goals: cut spending, save more, pay down debt, and sell anything I don’t need or want. Finances are going to be a big deal from here on out, so I’m making it the main focus. Spending/saving: I want to live on my own, and I’m stubborn enough to find a way to make it work. Sure, having roommates makes apartment living more affordable, but I’m genuinely sick of dealing with other people’s shit (can you tell I’m a little salty...lol). I get more stress from it than anything else, so I’m determined to do it on my own even if it means becoming a hermit and pinching my pennies. I’d also like to start on the path towards homeownership. In order to get on track for both of these, I need to see exactly where my money is going so I’m going to be tracking everything in a notebook. I’m not excited for this process, but it needs to happen. From there I can cut out unnecessary spending, be thrifty, and save, save, save the rest. Debt: Between the remainder of my car loan and two credit cards, the combined total of my debt is less than 10k. Not terrible, but not great either. I want to begin by paying down the higher interest debt that I’ve accumulated - the two cards. To do this, I can go one of two ways - 1) One card has a much lower balance on it, so I put more money towards it and pay that one off first. When that is done, I can put a larger monthly sum towards the other card. 2) If I can find a low or zero interest card to transfer both balances onto, then I’ll only have one payment per month instead of 2. Having the low or zero interest would be a HUGE help too, as I’d actually be paying the balance down. I want to look more into option 2, as interest is the real killer here. I’m going to do some research to see if that’s a possibility for me, and what options I have if it is. In the meantime, I’m going to work on option 1. Once these cards are done, I’ll go back to paying a larger sum each month towards my car until that’s gone too. Sell: Part of my self care goal is to declutter via almost-spring cleaning. In addition to throwing away and donating, I want to post any eligible items for resale online in order to make a little extra cash. Another thing I can try is to dig into my surplus of unused crafting supplies and make stuff to sell on etsy or wherever. Not sure how much luck I’ll have with that, but worse come to worst I’ll donate them. Health Dragon Diet: I’ll be continuing to cut down on soda this challenge as well. I’m not totally cutting it out yet, but that will come. Fitness: Workout 3x per week, though with less specificity as to what kind of routine I need to do. Last time around I wanted to stick with beginner bodyweight and/or kettlebell workouts, buuuut I don’t like to confine myself to a box. As long as I’m purposefully getting exercise one way or another, it counts. Misc. Dragon(s) There are a number of things I want to do outside of my main goals that I may not be able to do consistently every week or are only one-time events. Reading, photography, crafty stuff, updates, etc. They’re going here. Crafting: My mom asked me to crochet her some dish cloths, and I want to get those done before this challenge is out so I can ship them to her. Included in this category will be crafting things for an etsy shop or something of the like. Reading: I recently started a book called The Joy of Less, which is about minimalism and decluttering. I thought it would be a good thing to read while I go through my cleaning process. Photography: A continuation from last challenge, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with it regularly as I’d previously planned. I still need to find new editing software, but otherwise I’d like to get a few shoots in. Updates: Aiming for 2 per week overall, preferably on Mondays and Thursdays. I’ll try to be better about following other challenges as well; I know I wasn’t super on top of that last time.

I still have to close out week 3 and 4 of last challenge. But wanted to get something up since as soon as work week starts back up I will have no time or energy to post. Been working minimum 12 hour days the past few weeks. Which is starting to effect general wellness since I went to urgent care yesterday and have either shingles or a staph infection according to the doctor on duty. I'm in my late 20s and might have shingles (booo). On the plus side I won't drink while taking medication so guaranteed 7 days without alcohol? Challenge is going to be super basic this time around. Life is insanity so I want to reward myself for doing a lot of little good things. This isn't full list, I might add to it as I think of things. Some stuff probably overlaps through multiple categories. When I do the thing, I get a point. Work to be a little better each day... Physical (Exercise) Cardio 10+ Minutes (bike or run) Walk 2+ miles in a day (doesn't have to be a single walk) Nutrition (Food & Drink) Bring Lunch to Work Cook homemade dinner (to get this I must participate in the cooking/prep work) 5 servings of vegetables in a day Avoid the candy jar at work Drink 0 Alcohol in a day Drink 2+ Liters of Water in a day Emotional / General Wellness Take a Shower 10+ mins of Yoga Take a walk during lunch at work (5+ minutes) Spend 5+ minutes cleaning

Oh heeeeyyy guys! Only been, like, FOREVER since the last time I showed my face around here. A year and a half if I remember correctly. I'll catch you guys up a little bit before getting to my respawn challenge. 2018 was a fucking year - there was a lot of growing up and self acceptance. Certain events earlier in the year forced me to do some serious introspection: figuring out who the fuck I am, who I want to be, what I’m willing to accept in my life, what I absolutely will not put up with, and where I want to go from here. For the most part I think I’ve figured it out, and things have been a lot better since doing so. Summer and fall went smoothly and everything was going well, but as we all know, life likes to take us by surprise. In November I got laid off, but thankfully I was only unemployed for a month and a half. I love my new job - it’s definitely one of the better ones that I’ve had, even if I had to accept a bit of a pay cut. It’s also way closer to me. I had an 80mi round trip commute at my last job, and this one is only 12mi. Literally the next town over from where I live. It’s super convenient. As far as fitness goes, when I left you at the end of 2017 I was at my heaviest - almost 180lb. I put myself on an intermittent fasting plan, and over the the course of 6-8mo I lost ~30lb. I did gain back a few pounds over this past holiday season (so much delicious, delicious food), but it doesn’t bother me. When I started my journey with NF in Oct 2014, I was 152lb. I was miserable about it and the goal was to get back to my high school weight (139lb). While getting back to that weight would be pretty cool, it's definitely not my goal any more and I can honestly say that I have no problem being in the low 150s. In fact, I’m pretty fuckin comfortable in/with my body right now. Seeing how my mindset and views have changed over the last 4.5yrs is mind blowing; I never thought I’d get to the point where I actually kind of love myself and my body. That just about catches you all up on my absence, so on to my respawn challenge! Usually I like to have a theme or something, but I’m going to be keeping it pretty simple so I don’t get distracted.. 2018 involved a lot of mental growth, so I'm dedicating 2019 to physical growth - fitness, hard skills, and putting plans into place. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Self care: Journaling There were a lot of anxiety attacks and depressive episodes over the course of last year. I get overwhelmed with my own thoughts very easily, and it consumes me. I used to journal regularly back in the day, and that’s something I want to make a habit again. Getting stuff out on paper just makes everything that much more manageable for me. Frees my mind up a little bit. Usually I find a blank sheet in one of the many random journals I have, but I bought myself a new notebook so that I can start this habit fresh. *Goal: Write in journal at least 4x/wk. Can be anything from a few words to a few pages and everything in between. I just need to get something out in order to manage my stress level. Diet: Water No soda I’ve managed to cut down my energy drink intake a lot (oh Redbull, how I miss you), and some of my soda intake. Now I need to work on increasing my water intake. I joke that I’m a cactus and don’t need much water, but I know I really should be better about it. Now I need to cut out that soda habit completely - end of story. *Goal: Drink 60oz of water 3x/wk (Mon, Wed, Fri) *Goal: Stop. Drinking. Soda. C'mon Ruth, it's not that fuckin hard. Use that stubbornness for something good for you. Fitness: Routine While I spent a lot of time reigning in my diet and getting the weight off, I never got back to working out. Other than urban exploring (which, to be fair, does involve a lot of walking, stairs, and climbing of stuff), I haven’t done shit. I’ve been feeling really weak and easily winded lately and it’s driving me nuts, so fitness is going to be a big focus. *Goal: Full body routine 3x/wk (Beginner bodyweight or NF kettlebell) Skills: Photography Since getting back into the afore mentioned urban exploring a few years ago, I have taken up photography a fair bit as well. They kind of go hand in hand. Christmas 2017 I was gifted a lightly used Nikon D3300 and kit lens so that I could take my photos up a notch (I had been using my phone). I bought a guidebook so that I could learn to use it, and eventually learn to use the manual settings. While I did figure out how to use the camera in auto mode, I never got around to learning manual. For the last few months I haven’t even touched the camera, if I’m totally honest. I just haven’t been out and about, but I want to get back to using it and picking up the skills to use it properly even when not exploring. *Goal: Each week learn a new step/skill and perform 3 practice sessions (at least). At end of 4 weeks, review each skill/technique. (Zero week will be used to break down the guidebook into weekly skills/techniques.) Week 1, Chapters 1&2 - A.) Back to basics: reset camera to factory settings, then update to book recommended settings. B.) Back to Basics 2: Get a feel for the camera in it's 'out of the box' form to use as a control. Can compare photos down the road as I learn more. Week 2, Chapter 3 - Auto Modes: take some time to try out the auto modes available on the camera. Week 3, Chapter 4 - Professional Modes A: begin practicing using the manual settings and adjustments Week 4, Chapter 4 - Professional Modes B: continue practicing using the manual settings and adjustments Zero Week - Review Other: Updates Keeping up with my challenges in the past has always been difficult for me for whatever reason. So, I’m going to try and correct that by setting aside specific times each week that I will use to update. You may or may not see me update outside of these times, I can’t promise anything. In addition, I’m going to set aside tentative times during the week to try to catch up with everyone else. *Goal: Challenge updates on Mondays and Thursdays @ 7pm (I will start typing up my updates at 7, so expect posts after 7:30pm) *Soft goal: Catch up with others on Sundays and Wednesdays xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I still have a bit of finalizing to do on the side, so I will not be counting zero week towards the challenge. Anything that I do end up doing this week is a bonus. Down the road I would like to count zero weeks as part of the challenge, but I find that it's a good time for me to do planning. I try to start while the current challenge is going on, but then I get distracted/excited and Ranger BrainTM kicks in. So, at least for the first few challenges that I'm back for, zero week will be a planning week and continuation of the last challenge.

I Am Awesome My name is Jonathan and I am awesome I cannot even express how hard that statement is for me to write, let alone mean. This is going to be a departure from my normal challenges because I don't think they are useful to me at the moment. Fair warning, some of this stuff might get a little deep. One thing that those people that know me really well will already know is that I find it really hard to take a compliment. Indeed I find it impossible to take a compliment. Even harder still I find it impossible to give myself any worth or to believe that I am worth anything to anyone else. It may or may not have come to anyone's attention that I tend to deflect compliments. I'll disagree or manuviour my way around them. Those of you who have followed me for any period of time will also know that I'm really freaking confident in my own abilities. My ability to push myself and my ability to set myself a huge monumental goal and hit it. I often find it very hard to reconcile these two viewpoints of myself. It boils down to this. I have a lot of confidence in what I can do. I have a very low view of myself as a person. This challenge idea came to be after something really horrible happened. During a conversation with @Mr_Willes and @Charlie_Quinn some really, really nice things were said about me. Enough to make me well, if I'm honest. Rather than simply accepting the compliment my brain had an absolute melt down with it. Perpetuating my own feeling that I am simply a terrible person for having that reaction to them. I've spent a lot of the last few days thinking and talking this out with various people. With some very frank and open discussions about it along the way. I don't like myself very much. The purpose of this challenge is to challenge that perception of myself. That isn't a S.M.A.R.T goal or anything that is easily measured so I'm going to formalise this ever so slightly. Say Something Positive Say something positive about myself. Thanks to some very very good friends of mine I have been inundated with nice comments recently and I've got a lot to go with. The goal is as stated. Just say something nice about myself every single day. If I can qualify it all the better. Challenge the Negative. Identify and and challenge a negative thought about myself once per week of the challenge. I don't expect this to be easy. Life Habits I'm struggling with keeping my head above water in my life right now but there are a couple of small changes in habit that I want to make. Organise: I've got a daily planner. I want to get into a habit of using the planner to keep myself in check. Meditate: 5 minutes a day. Read: A little every day for no other purpose than entertainment. I started The Hobbit this morning. It is old familiar and easy to read. This is my challenge. I'm tempted to add the other things that I will be continuing with. Weight loss and exercise but I'm just not going to. Those things will be happening and I will probably talk about them but they are not what I need to work on right now.

hey guys, it's been awhile, huh? 2018 was a really tumultuous year for me. i graduated from university! finally! but it was overshadowed when my father unexpectedly passed away a week before the ceremony. i'm doing the best i can, and i'd like to get my life moving in a better direction. but simple and achievable is what i want so: -1 minute of daily meditation -weekly reflection -1 thing that's solely self indulgent per week. this is a way to help me find a happier equilibrium, i'll see how i'm doing at the end of the challenge and either find new goals or repeat these ones if i feel like it's the best call. simple, small, sustainable self care. that's the goal

Hello everybody. My name is Shannon, and I've been a rebel for many years and an adventurer for quite a while. Feel free to look through my battle log if you'd like more backstory. I go by Annyshay around these parts as well as at 4thewords,com, which is a website that gameifies writing using a typical hero's journey RPG with monster battles in the world of Oge Mai. I stumbled across this website a little less than a year ago, and it has been a great addition to my routine. I figured that it would be a good time to play around with a challenge theme from it because I'm going to attempt my first real NaNoWriMo come November. That means that I'm going to be battling quite a few monsters. So, I figure that I will update with my writing progress as well as the mental health goals that I keep going. I may put more structure into the challenge going forward or I may not because it's my challenge and I do what I want.

Life has been really busy now school has started again, and I'm having trouble keeping up and getting the stuff done that I want. To top that off, I got a nasty cold. It's getting better though My challenge this round will hopefully give me the structure I need to get everything running smoothly again. I love structure and schedules and lists. These things give me piece of mind, and help me "allow" myself to do things just for me. Update: I don't like my first challenge draft, and I'm going to completely change it. Quest 1: Eat healthy I've been logging all of my food in My Fitness Pal for over 5 months now. It has been good to get a sense of what I'm eating and how much I should be eating to create a deficit. But I'm starting to get obsessed by kcal and I'm not paying enough attention to food quality. Besides that: the binges have returned. I've been binge free for so long, and this feels like a real setback. I think the cause is that I don't eat enough nutrients and my body wants more. Stressing about staying within my kcal limit doesn't help either. So new plan: I'm going to eat 3 meals a day, one, maybe two snacks if I'm really hungry in between. But there are some rules: - The food has to be healthy (not heavily processed, made from scratch as much as possible, whole grains, fruit and veggies, that kind of stuff.) - I stop eating when I'm satisfied, not overly full, but not still hungry either - I can have a treat on special occasions like birthdays, parties etc. Quest 2: move Zumba and dancehall are still my workouts of choice. I want to get back to body weight training, but it has been proven hard to schedule that in. I've been making excuses not to have to workout. By the end of the challenge I want to have at least 1 body weight workout a week. But preferably 3 I was doing workouts in the morning, but my mornings are kind of full nowadays. So I'm thinking of doing them in the evening, see how that makes me feel. Quest 3: Adulting Back to lists! Lists make me feel in control and give me piece of mind. So I'm going to make lists with everything I need to do each day.

"Almost all of the common people and other folk that one might encounter along the Sword Coast or in the North have one thing in common: they live out their lives without ever traveling more than a few miles from where they were born. You aren't one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are good that even if some people you meet have heard of your homeland, they know merely the name and perhaps a few outrageous stories." Starpuck Prepares for Traveling and Does Good Things Well! And apparently creates a title that will make grammar hounds twitch and Zoolander proud, lol! Keeping it super simple this time around folks. I may be recovering from a mild concussion brought on by one heck of a collision in my last hockey game. The professionals that checked me out weren't overly concerned but said to err on the side of a positive diagnosis and give my brain some chill time. I'm also a few weeks away from my first vacation of the year and would like to get myself prepared for that. Since walking is still on the allowed chart, and since I need to avoid the more strenuous activities and sports for a few weeks, I will tailor this challenge to doing what I can with what I've got. That is going to look like this: Eating of the Foods Continue to read and follow Intuitive Eating. This is not an easily tracked goal, so for the sake of accountability, I am going with a sort of negative points system. I will tally up points whenever I eat past my hunger, by as many points as I feel I've passed a good spot on the hunger scale. Ate just a bit past full because of reasons, that's a point. Go absolutely ape poop on food, that's three points. Cook things at home, eat tasty stuff that does good things to the body. I've slacked on the cooking of things due to timing, schedules and a feeling of being burnt out. Now that I am having more 'down' time to recover, it allows me the chance to expand on this area of exploration. Walking the Path Walk. Outside, inside, whatever- but do it daily. This is going to be hard because if it's at all cold, or cloudy or meh, I tend to not want to walk. The weather SHOULD be starting to break here in Chicagoville, so the goal is to get 20 minutes of consecutive walking a day for right now. Adjust as able. Cultures of Other Lands Art. Keep up the art habit. I've been on a better upswing of art. So keep at it. Get at least four days in a week, sketching and tablet time. D&D stuff. Keep slowly organizing the D&D notes onto Google Docs. Engage in prep work and creative minded projects for it, but don't obsess. Journal in the BuJo I do better when I keep up with my Bujo. The key to this is having the next week set up by the Sat/Sun prior, and making sure I think to open it during the weekend. Odds and Ends Set new budget and freaking stick to it. Plan out the trip details for vacation. Make plans with besties. Clean Closet? *wince* Create weekly time sheet. That's it folks! Simple and stress free. Keeping the focus on doing what I can, and doing it well.

This is kind of an oxymoron theme for a challenge, buuuuut... allow me to explain. I have determined over the past couple of months that I am badly overextended in my day-to-day life. My work responsibilities keep growing (as they say, the reward for good work is more work), I have the potential to attend a Kung Fu or Tai Chi class 4 out of 5 nights per week, I have a weekly game night on my only off-day from the kwoon, and I've recently managed to pack in at least one online gaming session on both Saturday and Sunday, and sometimes more. Add that to the time I want to spend with my wife and dog, and I've pretty much managed to forget that I am, in fact, an INTROVERT. It's no wonder that I've been so exhausted, even after my recovery from the flu was mostly complete. So here's the thing. With part of my yearly bonus, I finally bought a Playstation 4. It's my gift to me for being me. I bought the PS4 pretty much only because I want to experience Bloodborne, a game directly related by blood (haha) to the Dark Souls series. In fact, I suspect it may be a direct successor to Demon's Souls, given that both DeS and BB are Sony exclusives and separate from the rest of the Souls games (but that's a discussion for another time). I've played it for a few hours already, and it's quickly earning a place among my favorite games. For those of you who don't know or haven't played it, Bloodborne is a Gothic/Victorian/Lovecraftian take on the Souls formula. The main character is the Hunter, tasked with cleansing the land of the great Beasts. Not a lot of the story is clear yet to me (and, knowing FROMSoft, it probably won't ever be) but atmospherically and gameplay-wise, tis a beautiful thing. During this challenge I'm going to be focusing on making time for myself. Quiet time. Resting time. Some of which will be spent slaughtering horrible Lovecraftian beasts. Because, frankly, I find it pretty relaxing. I have come to a place of understanding with the Souls games in that death/failure no longer frustrates me nearly as much as it should, because it just means another go and that I need to learn something. I do intend to go back to my Dark Souls 3 challenge at some point, but I can still only use a controller for short periods with my thumb/hand recovering, and so I don't want to commit back to the streaming until it's feeling better. I'll be practicing my Tai Chi. I now have the first 35 movements of the Yang 108 long form, which constitutes the entirety of what my Sifu has decided is a good 'short form'. It is a very good flow and I like it a lot. It makes me feel great to do it. I've found that deep meditation can either help or hurt, depending on the circumstances (some days it's actually more taxing on my brain than it is relaxing) so I'll be doing it sparingly with an eye on improving my concentration, rather than trying to consider it as a form of recovery. It also sounds like I may be joining in a monk's kettlebell challenge...? So that'll add some additional activity as well. Going to class is not part of the challenge, as it should be the default thing that I do when I'm not trying to conserve my sanity or being shanghai'd by work or other responsibilities. =============================== Primary Goal 1: Self-Care One night/week with no outside obligations. This will probably mean skipping a Kung Fu night or one of my weekend games, but if I don't do it I'm going to go crazy, so what can you do. Primary Goal 2: Tai Chi Practice 30 minutes Tai Chi practice, two days/week outside of Tuesday night class. I don't know how feasible this will end up being, but I'm going to try. It shouldn't be too hard. Even if it's just on the weekends it would be more than I'm doing now. Secondary Goal: Meditation A 15-minute meditation session now and then never hurt anybody. Count these when I do them. Any number greater than zero is a success.

where's the lie though? actual goal of this challenge: treat myself like my cats. when my cats do something wrong or make a mistake i don't judge them. i treat them with kindness and deal with the results of whatever just happened. so...the same goes for me. also, taking things one at a time. cats aren't stressing about things that may or may not happen. they just do whatever is in front of them I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THIS CHALLENGE AS IT IS 12:40 AM. but i think the sentiment is right. measurable ways of doing this...is one of tomorrow's goals. gotta do a 2017 reflection in my last challenge and then, 2018 i'm so ready for you.

Tiggs86 Zion Spark Hello all! It's been a LONG time since I've done a 4 week challenge. I recently came back from a camping trip in Zion, am all full of motivation, and figured I'd try the challenges again. Vacation Stats: Sunday: Angels Landing and Emerald pools- 12.06 miles, 92 floors Monday: Narrows- approximately 15miles, unknown floors* Tuesday: Subway- approximately 12.9 miles, unknown floors* Wednesday: Hidden Canyon, Weeping Rock, Court of the Patriarchs- 7.28 miles, 89 floors Thursday: Canyon Overlook, Paru's Trail- 8.86 miles, 16 floors Friday: Observation Point- 13.42 miles, 184 floors. *Monday and Tuesday based off a friend's watch as there were hikes involving water and my tracker doesn't play well with water. Totals: 69.52miles, minimum of 381 floors up (likely closer to 500). My Goals this challenge: (edited 10/29) #1 Yoga 3x per week Dirty Yoga for beginners (not so much a workout, but tutorial) #2 Stairs 3x per week I work at three different buildings one with 10 floors, one with 7, and one with 22 floors. I don't currently have a specific plan. Go up until I huff and puff then go back down for now, I can comfortably do 3 floors (as in I can catch my breath decently quickly after quickly going up 3 flights of stairs.) #3 Eat supper at home four times per week. Before vacation I fell into a bad habit of eating out ALL the time. #4 Wash face in the morning 4x per week. I've switched up my skin care routine so now I am going to be washing my face twice per day. (Angels on Bare Skin in the AM, Fresh Farmacy in the PM). I've never really washed my face in the morning. #5 Spend 5 hours per week working on Christmas stocking. I realize 4 challenges is recommended but I also need to get my 2nd cousins Christmas stocking done before Thanksgiving and thought this may help. Both images are the view of The Watchman from our campsite. I'm the one on the right.

Howdy, guys! I’m back for challenge #2 of my respawn! Last challenge went all right, but needed some tweaking for the second round. Goals are staying roughly the same, or within the same vein, and I’ve made things a bit more interesting. Not only do I have an actual theme this time around, but I’ve also done some gamifying! This challenge is wholly inspired by Cowboy Bebop, which is one of my all time favourite animes (right along side Ghost in the Shell). This show came about in the late 90’s (early 2000’s for the US), and was quite progressive for it’s time. I used to stay up until ridiculous hours just to watch it in my early high school years. As I never got around to watching every episode back then, the BF and I have been going through the series over the last week. I’ve grown a new appreciation for it, and it saddens me that I haven’t found anything modern that even comes close to being on par as it (if anyone knows of any, let me know!!). Well, without much ado, lets get this thing started! Cowboy Bebop Intro