GoodDoug isn't ready for the frontlines (but he will be)

[JuiceeTarget]

GoodDoug the half ogre finished his report on his last challenge while the grizzled old Ranger guild leader listened. When GoodDoug finished, the guild leader thought for a moment and then said, "You are _not_ ready for a full mission, but you are right that more training isn't going to help you or the Rangers. We have some support missions we'd like to put you on. Nothing on the front lines, just readying supplies for Rangers in the field, crafting items as needed, and delivering orders and retrieving reports from the field." 
The guild leader stood up, beckoning the half ogre to follow, "You need to treat this like training and show up for duties when you are needed. Surprise me by doing well, and we can get you out in the field next cycle. Otherwise, more supply runs next time. Got it?"
GoodDoug nodded. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he knew it was probably what he needed. He needed to be contributing, and this was better than more training. The guild leader showed him to the supply room and the old halfling that ran it.
"Ben? This is GoodDoug. He'll be your go to guy for support here. Make him work hard, okay?"
Ben was old, but spry. He leapt over the counter and stood looking up at the half ogre, sizing him up.
"Don't worry, this one will work hard. Come on GoodDoug, I have some boxes of spears destined for the front lines I need sorted and moved to the staging area."

 

I really want to get back to story based updates. I think this challenge will be a boring story, but I want to get back into the swing of things before we go hunting dinosaurs or fighting hordes of undead again. This challenge I will be riffing off some of the themes from the last challenge as well as adding to it.

 

Goals:
Diet:
It is time to go back to full primal eating. That really means eating whatever I want as long as it doesn't have any grains, legumes or simple sugars. Which really means quite a lot of stuff is off the table. I hate it when people say, "But I can eat what I want on this diet as long as it isn't..." It is better to be honest that you are depriving yourself of something. In this case, I know why I am doing this... it is to get healthier, as well as to feel better. I know that a bowl of ice cream before bed will throw my sleep off. I know that eating that huge batch of cookies will be awesome while I am eating it, but will make me feel terrible (physically and emotionally) for hours afterwards. I am realistic that it is difficult, but I know that it is worth it.
Diet goals:

• Continue tracking, at least 5 days a week
• Eat as primally as I can
• Average under 110g of carbohydrates per day
•  

Story- As I move to and from headquarters to supply drops, I need to live off the land and eat what I can forage or catch.

 

Exercise:
I am getting into a little bit of a groove with exercise. I'd like to keep it up while extending it in a smart way. I know I need to be careful about burnout, while also being careful to not use that as an excuse to slack off. It's a dance, and trust me, you don't want to see this half ogre dance. I want to continue with my current strength program, and find a way to add a little to it.
Exercise goals:

• Go to gym 2 times a week for strength training
• Handstand and rings once a week (I'd like to do more, but I'm going to be reasonable)
• Fill my rings every day
• Walk or run 3 miles every day (average 4 miles per day every week)

Story- Got to move boxes of things and head to the front lines and back to headquarters, sometimes needing to walk, sometimes needing to run, and sometimes needing to climb.

 

Flexibility:
One of the themes from last challenge was flexibility. I'd like to continue that, and add in physical flexibility. I need to be flexible with my eating goals, with my exercise goals and be flexible in mind and body. This will be a weird one, but I am hopeful it will give me what I want. I want o program some flexibility into my goals, not just being okay with "cheating" but doing so with intent and mindfully. So, if I can't get to the gym, I will do another session of handstands/rings, or maybe go running instead. For getting into the woodshop, I need to be okay with just cleaning the space and sharpening the chisels and planes if that is all I have time/energy for.

Flexibility goals:

• Yoga once a week
• Rolling out muscles at least twice a week, especially my foot that is starting to get plantar fascitis
• "Cheating" at least once a week on at least one of my other goals, but do so mindfully
• Go out for coffee once per week

Story- I need to be ready for whatever Ben (or life) throws at me. But I also need to take a coffee break when needed. 

 

Creativity:
I crave creativity in my life, but I find it hard to make time for it with all of the other things calling for my attention, including all of this fitness stuff. But, if I decide to write it here and make it a priority, I will find time for it.

Creativity goals:

• Draw twice a week
• Get into the wood shop 4 times a week
• Do story based updates here twice a week, one of which is my weekly recap

Story- I need to build some shields, shape some bows and staves, and assemble some crossbows for the front lines. Also, this half ogre needs some avenues for creative expression, so some of those shields will be getting anime characters drawn on them.

 

Side notes:
I will continue trawling the forums, as that is a huge indicator of success in the challenge. I'll keep you all accountable if you keep me accountable. Also, it really helped having the post-mortem from the last challenge in front of me while writing this challenge.
Also, I need to go running at least once this challenge. If only to say I did it this challenge. I'm not ready to make it a regular part of my routine yet, but I want to do it for the following challenge, and that means getting at least one run in this challenge so I can assess what I want to do next challenge. If I can run once a week this challenge, then the guild leader will send me on a real mission next time. Otherwise, it will have to be a support mission with some running involved.

And finally, I'm continuing with my stoic studies. Making sure I am honest and perceptive, make sure I am doing the right thing for the right reasons, and persevering to reach the goals I have set. As well, I want to maintain the flexibility to pick myself up when (not if) I screw up. To start again.

 

Are you still reading this? Go home.

[NicTheRugger]

Oh man, there's so much to love about this challenge! Handstands? Amazing. Challenging yourself to go running once a week for the good of the guild? Fantastic. Stoic studies?! Heck yeah. Your challenge is really well-set-up, and I think you're going to do so well with this challenge. I'm going to be cheering for you!

[JuiceeTarget]

Zero week is where we try stuff on to see how it fits, so yesterday I didn't eat 100% primally, maybe 80%. I also went to the gym and lifted, squats were done and I felt pretty good about them. Went into the garage and took some clamps off of the salt cellars I am making, I also thought a little about what I had to do next. I have to be creative with not having the tools or talent to easily do what I want to do with these, so I am trying to get creative... when I should just fix my bandsaw, or sell it and get a new one. Also, walked 3.01 miles, so I know my lower limit I guess.

Today I am on track for eating primally, and did a handstand/rings workout. So it looks like I'm on the right track. Feels good so far, just need to judge how much I can push myself. I'll try and get some drawing in tonight if I can.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Somebody's got to do the support missions, otherwise the front lines crumble.

 

Here to be patient at you  

[KB Girl]

I like how you applied your flexibility to your other goals

 

[JuiceeTarget]

12 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Here to be patient at you  

:hug:

 

[shaar]

WOOD SHOP HECK YES!!!!  That sounds amazing, GONNA CARVE AND SAND ALL THE THINGS

 

Here for hype, natch!~

[TGP]

zero week is such a great week.

what's working? whats not?

 

to maintain some of it... and yet, toss others stuff.

 

I love that your guided by an old guy.  I LOVE that you have him channeling some of own wisdom. 

----

go Doug go!

[JuiceeTarget]

Midweek update for zero week:

Got my second workout in this morning, awesome. It was deadlift day, so that feels good. Also, my arms are noodles now, had that "Oh crap! How am I gonna wash my hair in the shower?" moment, which is appreciated. Now to see how quickly I feel normal again. Longer than a day or two means I am going too hard. Did handstand/rings training one day and some yoga another. Also rolled my foot with a lacrosse ball, but should do more general rolling this week.

Still tracking my foods. Didn't do too well with carbs yesterday, finding that this is hard to do. I need to make sure I am aligning my strategies around that. Today seems to be closer to on track, but it will still be a struggle to keep at it through dinner.

Walking has been good, Over 3 miles every day so far, so I like that goal. I did have to get out during the day for a walk to make sure I hit that, but it all worked out.

Creativity is hard right now, I've had a hard time just sitting down to do some drawing, and it has been hard to get into the wood shop, even to do little things. I need to make sure I get in there tonight.

So, I feel pretty good about my week, I just might need to make an adjustment on the carb goal, but I'll give it a couple of days.

 

[JuiceeTarget]

1 hour ago, TGP said:

I love that your guided by an old guy.  I LOVE that you have him channeling some of own wisdom. 

Thanks, you know that terrible voice in your head that tells you ad things about yourself? Yeah, I also like to imagine there is a wise person in there that props you up and offers sage advice. I also like to imagine that voice won't accept any bullshit from me, and tells it like it is.

 

Also, for this challenge, I tried to make the grizzled old guild leader genderless without calling it out. So anyone can see that same guild leader inside themselves, if that makes sense.

[TGP]

it does.

 

I thought about going on and on about it, but I realized that would soon get tedious.

 

as you say, an "old hand" that gives out good advice and urges us to be our 'best self' is a great mental exercise.

just don't let him/her get mean.

 

sometimes, when we are disappointed we get absolutely viscious with ourselves.   that kind of self-hatred can be really hard.

[NicTheRugger]

*gentle poke* how was your weekend?

[Tesseract]

I like how you fit the story to match your goals, and the goals seem realistic! And I wanna woodshop (as a verb, but also as a noun)!!

[JuiceeTarget]

Quick pop in to update on the weekend:

Friday I worked from home, but managed to get a good walk in and also managed to eat well. That was a problem for me last challenge, so I think I have a bit of a handle on that now. Also worked from home yesterday, and got a really long walk in for the morning and ate pretty well. Over the weekend, Saturday was good, got a bit of work done, even with taking kids to soccer games. Sunday we went to the in-laws for Easter and I did well but for some of my MIL's cake. It was a good and mindful "cheat" and everything else was great even with plenty of terrible choices all around me, so I call it a win.

 

I need to run out to lift at the gym while I can, but hope I can get a good story update in here afterwards.

[JuiceeTarget]

Ben looked up at the half-ogre. GoodDoug had already worked hard, but now was the real challenge. Could he keep up with the demands of supporting the Rebellion? "Hey, I need you to mule these spears to the staging area near Brindlewood. No hurry, but when you get back I need you to stack these supplies for the forge. And try to get some of the shields done."
GoodDoug the half-ogre nodded. It felt good to be useful, plus, he knew there was a cache of eggs and berries between here and Brindlewood, that would be much better than a breakfast of oats and bread.

 

Monday was good, I took a long walk in the morning before I started working. I also got quite a bit of work done, so maybe that walk helped... hard to know for sure. Eating wnet well, cheated just a little by getting a breakfast burrito. But made up for it by waiting until I actually got hungry before eating again. Those burritos are filling and I can mostly skip lunch if I have one of those... I just need to remember to check if I'm hungry before going for lunch. When I work from home, I do a lot of bored eating. So yesterday, I worked hard to assess my hunger before wandwering towards the kitchen absentmindedly.
I was going to do some woodworking yesterday, but just couldn't get into the shop. I'm kinda glad I didn't, as while on my walk this morning I realized what I wanted to do last night should just wait until I have the correct tool. I was getting impatient, I have a better plan now, and hope to get into the shop tonight to do what I can to get ready for the new tool (a bandsaw that I just ordered, my old one just can't keep tension in the blade and it is getting wonky, so it is time to go)
Today I ate a big breakfast of eggs and a banana, so much more primal than I would have a few weeks ago. But then lunch was catered in at work and was rice, pad thai, and pumpkin curry. I ate rice and pad thai, but also filled up on curry. I think I need to be a little more careful about what constitutes cheating versus backsliding. I'm slipping into bad patterns, so hopefully having seen it, I can do something about it.
I also lifted today, and it feels good. I added a little weight from last week, so progress is being made. As well, I've already beaten my 3 miles per day goal for the day.
I need to do some foam rolling tonight, as well as get into the shop. I think I'll have time for both.

 

So, good start, just need to keep on top of things to not fall behind.

[shaar]

What do you wanna make in the woodshop?!!?

 

I am v interested~

[JuiceeTarget]

3 hours ago, shaar said:

What do you wanna make in the woodshop?!!?

A thing I learned from knitting is to not have more than one thing "on the needles" at one time. I found that I was much more disciplined at finishing something when I forbade myself from starting the new shiny project until I had finished the current one. I brought that same mentality to the woodshop, and I think my work has suffered for it. In knitting, you never have to wait for glue to dry, or for a machine to get fixed (or have to wait for a new one). That is a really long way of saying that I am trying to put aside one project and start another, but it is tough. I have a few things I want/need to get done. First, and the project I had started on is a set of salt cellars (one for me, two for gifts), but I realized that without the new bandsaw I ordered, getting it done the way I want will be very tough. I also have been designing and need to start dimensioning the wood for a file cabinet my wife wants. It will match our bedside tables:

 Here's one bedside table without the drawers in it, but you get the idea. It is ash and walnut with dovetail joinery.

But, starting that requires some focussed time in the shop. Another thing I want/need to do is make a light fixture for the kitchen. I want it to be a shoji style fixture, but again. That requires some more time in my head, and then on paper before I bring it to the shop. I also need to make a new monitor stand for the home computer. I have one I made at work, and I love it. That is the thing I should start on next. But those salt cellar blanks are just staring at my soul... 

Here is the monitor stand at work:

That is cherry wood with walnut tusks. So, that is what I will work on next, probably in cherry again, and some slight tweaks. I also want to make a dice rolling tray, but that also needs some time in my head and on the drawing board.

 

I should have gone into the shop last night, but I think I'm just overwhelmed with starting a new project while the previous one waits.

[JuiceeTarget]

Quick update:

Didn't do any foam rolling or getting into the shop last night. Could have gone in early but lazed around and then when I got up to start doing stuff, daughter need help with chemistry homework. So stayed up late trying to remember the properties of galvanic cells and the Nernst equation. I'm amazed any of it is still in my head after over twenty years!

But, got up early this morning and did some quality rolling out of muscles. Also got in some handstand practice. 

Food isn't as good as I had hoped it would be today, but not terrible. I need to figure out how to get out of this... I think I need to start bringing lunch to work.

I might go running tonight, we'll see how I feel.

 

Happy Wednesday!

[Elastigirl]

That monitor stand is so pretty. My husband does woodworking , which I love because then I get lots of gorgeous wood stuff. He usually has a few projects going, a big one and then a few little ones

[KB Girl]

That bedside table looks great! What a great hobby

 

Do you always have lunch catered at work? 

[JuiceeTarget]

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

Do you always have lunch catered at work? 

Haha, no, we have a cafeteria where we can buy food. It is generally good, but unless I get salad it is a grain, veggie, protein meal and I am trying to get away from grain.

 

Got to the gym this morning. Had one of those, "I don't really want to be here doing this right now" moments. But I feel like getting through those moments is what perseverance is all about. So I actually feel good about my complaining and internal whining... I'm getting it done in spite of that. Gym workout was fine, made some progress and so I call it a win.

 

My parents are flying down this afternoon and so the weekend may be a bit weird. I made a large batch of carnitas last night so we can have that in various ways this weekend. Nothing like a large batch of very tasty fat and protein to make you forget all about the sweets

 

[TGP]

DEFINITELY a win!  I think its a very common feeling.  I know I've felt it plenty of times.

what's crazy about exercise is how easy it is to lose it.  start Not going, and it Never fits in your schedule.  so.... you've avoided that fate.

 

[KB Girl]

21 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

Nothing like a large batch of very tasty fat and protein to make you forget all about the sweets

Quoted for truth.

[shaar]

Oh wow thank you for that woodworking update!!!  I've always been super interested in trades like that, like carving and blacksmithing and stuff.  That monitor stand is AWESOME!!!

 

And I know the feel of finishing one project before starting another... ugh.... has its pros and cons for sure. I too have BIG Rangerbrain with projects like that - 47 things in the fire, none of them complete.  

 

Hope your weekend has gone great!!  AND INCLUDED ALL THE CARNITAS, WHAT EVEN IS A CARNITA, ok I Googled it and now I am EDUCATED (and also I now want CARNITAAAAAAAAAAAAAS)

[JuiceeTarget]

For posterity, here is my carnitas recipe:

• 5-7 pound boneless pork shoulder roast, cut into about 6 pieces (roughly, just going for more surface area)
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder (enough to give it a kick, not enough that the kids won't eat it)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion (rough chop or sliced)
• 6 cloves of garlic (roughly minced)

 

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC or thereabouts)

Mix the salt, cumin, and chili powder then coat the pork on all sides with all of the mixture. Layer in the meat, onions, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and garlic into an oven proof pot. I have a big dutch oven (I can't remember, but I think it is 8qt) that fits it almost in one layer, but not quite. I have to smoosh things together.

Add water to almost cover the meat. I mean, just a little bit of the pork should be barely sticking out.

Put it in the oven uncovered, then just walk away...

After 2 hours, I check on it and do a little stir and test to see how it is cooking, it should also smell really good (so don't do this part hungry). After 2 hours it won't be breaking apart, except at big seams. Check again after another hour, again, it probably won't be ready, but you will start to see it barely coming apart. Give it a good stir every half hour until the liquid looks mostly fatty, the meat breaks apart very easily, and you can't find any big chunks of fat. There fat should be mostly melted and lightly frying the pork. I like to not let it get too dried out, but others like for the meat to get really crispy. I think it is best with some crispy bits and some really soft and juicy bits.

At this point, you take it out and serve it as tacos; just in a bowl with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole; ; as the base in an egg scramble with fresh onions, kale, and broccoli; or my favorite, over a big batch of shredded cabbage with sliced avocados and hot sauce. My wife likes to take a baked yam, and mix it together with the carnitas... but I'm not a fan of that.

It stores well in the fridge for a while, and you can either reheat in the microwave or throw it in a skillet and heat and crisp it up that way. 

 

If you aren't feeding 5-6 people like I am, you can easily halve the recipe. Just remember that 3 teaspoons is 1 Tablespoon and you should be golden.