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THE THREADS ARE UP ALREADY?! Dang it! That means it's time to get to work-Oh wait this doesn’t start until June 8th…Oh well! I’m posting this anyways! Ya’ll probably know who I am already. If not WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I'm BlackTezca, a generally loud, gif addicted, game addicted, movie addicted, anime-addicted, whatever addicted big old NERD. I already have my fourth challenge ready to go, though thanks to the longer break, I have some time to think on this challenge and tweak it before it starts. However, pretty sure this is how it’ll go! Just in case some of you are crazy enough to forget about me; I have several lovely links of my exploits, including my introductory From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, the interim and still awesome BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and of course the latest platinum selling hit BlackTezcas' 3rd Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Must FIGHT...In STYLE! Of course, all of these challenge are just working up to the final goal. The award that is nearing ever so closer to me, the glowing light at the end of the tunnel… My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman So now that have that out of the way, let’s get down to business and check out my planned Side Quests!! This time I’m getting creative with names . You know...actually using my theme instead of having an excuse for more gifs! Fight Like Kamui: Do a kickboxing workout twice a week, preferably with Easton. Details: It’s time to get a bit more serious about kickboxing! Since I have a school, I need to utilize it as well as practice what I learn! Now, just in case something happens (class is CANCELLED for instance, basement renovation takes over EVERYTHING, etc), I will also do kickboxing workout at home to make up for it. I do aim for two classes a week, but I’ll keep myself sane and flexible for this instead. Contingencies: No Contigencies: Since I am counting the kickboxing workouts I do at home, this gives me a little more flexibility if I miss one of the two days I want to give myself for kickboxing in class. I should be able to make at least one class per week as well. Tracking: I'll be tracking the workouts using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for Kickboxing Workouts twice a week (one must be a class) ( 3 Dex 2 Str ) B for Kickboxing Workouts once a week (must be a class) ( 2 Dex 1 Str ) F for all else Don’t Eat like Gintoki: Don’t binge! Don’t eat a crap ton of sweets! CHEAT LESS! Details: Ugh…so… I guess it’s’ time to be mindful ALL days of the week. I have been a bit more lenient on myself last challenge since I didn’t have a food quest, but that has slowed down progress and since I already workout 5 to 6 times a week, an hour each workout (or more) and I now do kickboxing, that means watching my fooding and drinking. Both of which I love but need to be kept in check. Using a combo of MFP and this handy calculator with this IIFYM calculator, I have calculated that I need to eat about 1467 (aggressive weight loss) to 1834 (maintaining) calories a day to lose a pound of week as someone in between moderately active to very active. That is quite doable. Throwing more from IIFYM, I need to eat 148 - 239 carb grams, 103 protein grams, 52 fat grams, and 26 - 32 fiber grams a day. I'll keep those values in mind while I’ll again aim for eating below the carb and sugar limit on MFP (ESPECIALLY YOU SUGAR) while not caring if I go above my fat (even the 52 fat limit) and protein limit (which I hardly do, thus I need more protein). The hard part is…I will aim to do this EVERY DAY OF THIS CHALLENGE, giving myself a few days where realistically I may bingecheat (Top Taco Denver Festival. Tacos. Tequila. I’m screwed that day). Contingencies: This always has contingencies. I need to be flexible in how much calories I allow. To maintain, I calculated that I need about 1936 calories a day as a moderate to very active short woman, which is a fair amount of calories. If I eat to that amount or slightly over (2100) and I’m not like crazy over my sugar, I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. However, I know I tend to eat sweets and drink more during the ‘cheat’ days I give myself and thus I go WAY over that. Therefore, I need to be quite mindful when I’m out and about. A lot more than I have been. Tracking: I'll be tracking the food and cheats using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated with my diet changes and plans. Grading: A for <= 6 Cheat days this challenge ( 2 Con 1 Wis) B for <= 8 Cheat days this challenge ( 1 Con 1 Wis) C for <= 10 Cheat days this challenge ( 1 Con ) F for all else Sleep like Sogo: ENFORCE THE SLEEP POLICY Details: So a while back, I enforced a sleep policy: My alarm for the morning starts at 6 am. If I’m not in bed by 11:15 pm, the alarm is set to 6:15 am. If I am still not in bed by 11:30 pm, the alarm is set to 6:30 am, etc. For each 15 minute chunk I am not in bed, the alarm is moved later to the morning by a 15 minutes. Thus I have a moving, flexible sleep policy which is working better than trying to enforce a bedtime. I still want to get up earlier, but this is flexible and thus better than a bedtime. Contingencies: No contingencies. I need the bloody sleep. It must be enforced. Tracking: This thread only. Not sure how to track it elsewhere for accountability Grading: A for 28 to 31 days of enforcement ( 2 Con 1 Cha) B for 25 to 27 days of enforcement ( 2 Con ) C for 22 to 24 days of enforcement ( 1 Con ) F for all else Don’t be like Housen: GO OUTSIDE! SMELL THE ROSES! Details: Housen is not a fun of the sun, being a Yato, and is kinda dick for it. I work out a lot inside and I don’t really do a ton of outdoor activities. I’m not taking about just fitness, but even fun stuff like check out festivals, or explore a park, take a hike, etc. So I’m making this my life quest for the challenge. I would like to do some kind of activity (short walk, visit an outdoor event, etc) at least three times a week in the outdoors. Contingencies: THE WEATHER! If it’s down pouring every day of the week, of course I won’t go outside cause I won’t have the sun. This is unfortunate and out of my control. I hope that I have most days that are beautiful to really enjoy this life quest. Tracking: I'll be tracking the outdoor activities using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread! Grading: A for 3 days a week of SUNSHINE ( 1 Con 1 Sta ) B for 2 days a week of SUNSHINE ( 1 Sta ) F for all else Practice like Shinpachi: Shinpachi practices his sword art (sometimes. He’s still a weak fighter) and I need to practice on some artsy stuff! Identify five items to improve upon when it comes to art. Practice (sketch, full painting, etc) on those items! Details: There are a few things I noticed in my art that need some work. HANDS! I HATE HANDS! I HATE EM! But I need to work on them Poses! Sometime I use the same boring static poses. I want to work on dynamism in my characters. Perspective. Ugh…this sucks. I need to work on this though. Along with adding dynamism in poses, I need to practice some perspective in backgrounds and sizes, and etc. Varying character designs. I have a lot of SAME face going on in my work. Need to work on this. Speed. I’m slow. I simply take too long with some of my pieces. I need to speed up on my work. So this would be a good time to do some 15 to 30 minute prompt work.Contingencies: Well this time I’ll be practicing on some of my weaknesses, so I’ll be doing more sketching work than actual painting which should take up less time. This will be more than just weekly practice depending on the topic of the week. Hopefully nothing blocks me or brings me down so I can keep at it. Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Though for this challenge, considering it’s sketch work, maybe more often than weekly. Grading: A for 5 items practiced, denoted by at least 1 sketch piece per item ( 2 Wis, 1 Cha ) B for 4 items practiced, denoted by at least 1 sketch piece per item ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 items practiced, denoted by at least 1 sketch piece per item ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Here are my beginning measurements for this challenge! This may change by June 8th, but hey, that might a mean a bigger loss in some inches or partial inches! I’m down for that! Starting Measurements: Date: 05/23/2015 @ 11am Weight: 130.6 ***Body Fat***: 24.91 Waist: 23.5 Waist @ Navel: 24 Hips: 35.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 10 Right Thigh: 16.5 Wrist: 6 Forearm: 9 This is a jam packed challenge! I’m back to five side quests! The art challenge is a little lighter this time around, which is good, cause once again that was one of the tougher quests! However despite how ‘easy’ the art quest seems, I make up for it in that food quest…UGH!! I must fight back everyday against my urges to binge on sugar and decrease the cheat days. That will be quite hard considering several factors (Top Taco Denver, MIL’s birthday along that same week), but as long I can be mindful of my eating, I should be fine). I’m a little bit scared though. Just a tad. … WISH ME LUCK!!!!

Well, my nerdy friends, it has been quite a year. This challenge marks my “Nerdiversary†as my very first NF challenge began in January of 2013, and I am so grateful for the community here that has helped me level up in the past twelve months. While I know better now than to make grand, sweeping resolutions, I do appreciate the tradition of using this time to reflect upon the last year; here are some highlights from 2013: I lost some weight. This is my primary goal at the moment, and while I felt like I wasn't making a whole ton of progress in this, the accumulated effort of the year resulted in 10 lbs of weight loss. Furthermore, I have indubitably gained some muscle, suggesting that total fat loss is even higher. I feel better, look better, and am encouraged to keep it up. I began an exercise routine that I've actually stuck with for more than a couple weeks, which is to say that I started taking kettlebell classes (which would be where the aforementioned muscle gain came from). I started in September with once a week, and moved up to a more intense class twice a week in November. I absolutely love it! And I feel like such a BAMF afterwards. It is so cool being able to do something you know for a fact you couldn't have just a few months prior. I have become a tidier person. Occasionally something along these lines has made it into my challenge goals, honestly without a lot of success. However, it has been one of those things I have had in the back of my head, and have slowly been building good habits around. I still have a long ways to go, but I'm happy that my house is, on average, cleaner than it used to be, and that the public spaces do not get nearly as bad between full cleanings. I'm sure there are other things that have improved, which I haven't even realized because it's been so gradual. And all these things I've just mentioned are areas that I still intend to improve upon. All in all, though, it has been a successful year, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished. Naturally, there is quite a laundry list of things I'm hoping to work on in 2014. BUT I shall tackle these things at a reasonable, sustainable pace. Thus, my first challenge of the year incorporates some things I'm already in the midst of pursuing, which I really want to cement into my routine, and a few new things to introduce. Without further ado, I give you: The Chronicles of Fonzico the Dragon Tamer Speaking of dragons, you know who loves those guys? Hagrid. I have a feeling he'll be more than happy to assist me on my quest. Something else I admire about Hagrid is his strength. It enables him to live his not-so-cushy-as-living-in-the-castle gameskeeper lifestyle – something I also aspire to. While, at 27, I think it's fair to say that I'll never achieve semi-giant proportions, I can definitely get stronger for my size. And muscles are sexy, amiright? Attend Kettlebell classes 2x per week (+3STR, +1DEX, +1STA): Although this has already started to become a habit, I wanted to make it a goal to ensure I continue, particularly because I think my sister, who has been going with me since I started, is bowing out now. We'll see, she may yet join me again, but I am doing it with or without her. 12 classes: A 10 classes: B 8 classes: C 6 classes: D <6 classes: Fail Something that I need to remain ever-vigilante about is my diet. While I think my general tendencies have improved overall, I am still all too susceptible to those slippery slopes – what is a “just this once†treat one day sneaks its way back into regular food choices too easily. In light of this, I will be revisiting a goal I've used more than once in the past ( I often struggle with whatever diet goal I set, and I think this has been the most successful iteration so far). For this one, I will channel Dobby the House Elf. He LOVES his new job in the Hogwarts kitchens, and is very willing to whip up whatever is required. What I require is good, clean food that will fuel my workouts and help me on my continued quest for litheness. Since I love to cook, I just need to plan appropriately in order to set myself up for success. Create a weekly meal plan (and shop for it) for dinners (+1CON, +1CHA): 5 points per week Bring lunch to work (5 days per week) (+1CON, +1CHA): 1 point per day 60 pts: A 55 pts: B 50 pts: C 45 pts: D <45 pts: Fail Well, we've taken care of food and exercise.. what's left? The mind. Having a well-organized and calm mind will help me in every single aspect of my life, and the truth is that I do not handle stress nor emotional situations well. This needs to change – mental strength is just as important as physical, especially considering the life I ultimately want to live – self-sufficient, off-the-grid living is not easy. I aspire to aquire the cool calm of Firenze – centaurs are known for their impressive intellect and for spending a great deal of time in reflection (plus they have bows, it's only too appropriate for a ranger, eh?). I think that beginning a meditation practice will be the best way to begin going about this. While I have meditated before (mostly in yoga classes), right now I do not have a meditation practice at all, so I am starting off simply – I just want to DO it, period. For any length of time. I'll give myself one day a week for “forgettingâ€, but I'd really like to make it a daily habit. Meditate for at least 3 minutes, 6 days per week (+3 WIS) 36x: A 30x: B 24x: C 18x: D <18x: Fail Fitness Side Quest: Like many people, especially in the Great White North, I struggle to get a sufficient amount of sunlight in the winter. Sirius will be my mentor here – not only does he understand the pain of being cooped up (and I don't have the excuse of being hunted by dark wizards!) but he is also most at home in the outdoors, and capable of surviving inclement weather. I'm thinking of trying to get some lunch-time walks in, plus I'd like to do something on the weekends, weather permitting – such as skating (there are two outdoor rinks within a BLOCK of my house) or tobogganing (same goes for sledding hills) or whatever. I'll let myself get ahead/make up time on this one, to account for the variables of weather. Spend a minimum of 60 minutes per week outside in the sunlight (+1CON, +1CHA, +1STA) 360 mins: A 300 mins: B 240 mins: C 180 mins: D <180 mins: Fail Life Side Quest: There is an interesting opportunity that has come up (Oooh, stay tuned to find out what it is!) I need to talk to the person in charge of it to see if it's something that my husband and I can pursue. Let's just say that if it works out, it will literally be life-changing. It might not work out, but I'll never know if I don't ask! Whether or not anything comes of it, this is a simple pass/fail for having the necessary conversation. No stat points awarded. So, there we have it, the focus of my next 6 weeks. Especially considering I took the last challenge session off (which was a much needed and well-appreciated break) I am so very ready to get back into it. And as utterly cliched as it may be, I do so love the fresh start a new year brings. Plus a fresh challenge start? Pure heaven, baby.