Miss Marissa

[miss_marissa]

 

Welp I usually start these things in January with a look back at the previous year.

The only goal I made in 2020 was to see live music at least once a month. LOL I also wanted to attempt to reduce the pile of unread books that I own, which I think I did, but not as much as I’d have liked.

 

This is nerd fitness after all so let’s start on the fitness front. I joined a new gym in 2020, which I attended diligently for just over 2 months before it shut down due to safer at home orders. I actually really like this gym and think I’ll be here for a while. They are body positive and deliver a program tailored to my personal goals. They’ve also been great and flexible with moving to online during all of this. Once safer at home and WFH started, I dumped all of my energy into fitness. Luckily I had some dumbells at home and the gym let me take home some heavier kettlbells, so I was working out quite a bit. I did a lot of strength work, some running, and crossfit style workouts. I was also going for walks 1-3x daily (and playing lots of Pokemon Go). In June the gym opened back up for in person by appointment only, which worked well since I was WFH I made my appointments during the middle of the day and was typically the only person there besides staff. I started working with barbells again and was enjoying getting strong again and throwing some weight around. Lots of sled work, sandbags, and kettlebells for good measure!

 

In August I shifted into a test campaign at work, where I went from almost entirely WFH, to working at a remote test site with a 1.5 hr commute (round trip) daily. This on top of the long days, typically 10+ hours, didn’t really leave me time for much else. I put my gym membership on hold and was basically just treading water for a few months – no reading, workouts, basically just work, eat, sleep. (For reference, in September I worked >260 hours).

 

Also, this summer large protests surrounding racial injustice and policing in the US happened. This was a particular struggle for my household as my partner is in law enforcement. He actually suffered a concussion during a night of protests. This escalated again at the end of August with the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI which is my hometown, but not my current location. Still close enough to have an effect on my partner and all of my family, all except my brother who still live in town.

 

In November I became an auntie again! However I have yet to meet her due to everything. December 10^th I lost my grandmother to COVID. The day of the funeral was one of the days of a 2 day design review at work that I’ve been working on all year. While I was home for the funeral and to help my dad, my other grandmother was admitted to the hospital with heart failure over Christmas. Luckily, she is recovering at home now and seems to be doing ok.

 

Here was how I laid out my general 2020 goals in one of my early challenges last year:

• Health - sleeping well, flossing, reasonable alcohol consumption, eating nutritious food in proper amounts when I'm hungry, lifting a heavy thing every once in a while, be flexible and mobile enough to function as the athlete I've tricked myself into thinking I am
• Environment - eliminate clutter, stop buying more clutter, keep the house awesome, get outside 
• Relationships - stay in touch, show love
• Mindfulness - read more books, use less social media, be more present, practice gratitude, "this too shall pass", "dress for the job you want"
• Work & Volunteering - Be on time, be present, ask for help when I need it

I actually think I have done not too bad at them? At least the first 8 months of the year. I reduced my alcohol consumption, cooked at home a lot, got outside, read books, reduced my use of socials. Others were less successful, but understandable given the circumstances.

 

The past few weeks have been full of stress: family, work, holidays, etc. And it clicked for me today, I also seem to be suffering, as usual from Seasonal Affective Disorder. So this first challenge is going to focus on small manageable habits to prevent adding additional stress and to hopefully help with the SAD. At this point with so many unknowns of what 2021 might bring, I am not sure that broad sweeping goals for the year are appropriate. Instead I’ll focus on manageable mid-term goals.

 

1)      Walk outside daily

Sunshine and light are one of the things that help with SAD. Get outside for a 10 minute walk 5x/week. The ideal is daily, but I’m giving myself some grace here to navigate the frozen tundra.

 

2)      Movement

Lately I’ve just not been feeling like intense workouts are serving me well. I’ve noticed a few other rebels are doing Yoga with Adriene 30 day challenge so I will be completing that as well. Goal to complete by the end of the challenge, not necessarily 30 days in a row.

 

3)      Floss and skin care at bedtime

At some point I was very good at flossing and having a nighttime routine. I have since gotten out of that routine, but would desperately like to get back into it. Brush, floss, wash and moisturize before bed.

 

4)      Vitamins

More research is coming out that those who are having the worst symptoms of COVID-19 are deficient in vitamin D. In general I’d like to keep my immune system as healthy as possible until we get through this. I will take a daily multivitamin and vitamin D supplement.

 

Basic, but manageable for where I am at right now.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Awe yisss. 

[KB Girl]

February 12?  

[Rurik Harrgath]

I googled 'placeholder gif' and this came up, so....

 

 

[Mike Wazowski]

[miss_marissa]

18 hours ago, KB Girl said:

February 12?  

idk about February, but maybe January   which I think is what you meant.

 

7 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

I googled 'placeholder gif' and this came up, so....

 

 

He's no bulbasaur, but he's pretty dang cute! And I guess someday he might be a Raichu, which is almost as cool as a Bulbasaur if your name is Rurik.

unless...

 

7 hours ago, Mike Wazowski said:

That makes 2 of us!  

 

21 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Awe yisss. 

 

[Big_Show]

[raptron]

OH HELLOOOO! Happy new year! 

[miss_marissa]

Yesterday I was feeling tired all day. Even after a nap I was still lethargic. So I made the choice to watch the entire Twilight Saga movies, and oh boy what a choice that was.

 

Otherwise I've been spending the past few days catching up on housework and organizing. Today I took the tree down and vacuumed and mopped. I've got some goals I am noodling on, I expect to have them posted tomorrow.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Damn. Even with Rifftrax I couldn't get past the third movie.

[miss_marissa]

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Damn. Even with Rifftrax I couldn't get past the third movie.

Oddly, I found the third film to be the best of the five. Also, in my defense today I was doing other things while watching the last two, such as cleaning and taking down the tree.  I had never seen any of them other than the first and I remember it being awful. It still was awful. I read the books in college and hated them. I remember my sorority sisters squeeing over them so I read the first one and hated it. I was like really y'all?? This is what you're fawning over?! And then they said, well if you didn't like the first one the second one is totally different, you might like that. Which it was totally different, but I still hated it. And then at that point I had already made it halfway through, so I just finished them all. I felt the same way with the movies.

 

No offense to anyone who might like the series. 

[Harriet]

4 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Oddly, I found the third film to be the best of the five. Also, in my defense today I was doing other things while watching the last two, such as cleaning and taking down the tree.  I had never seen any of them other than the first and I remember it being awful. It still was awful. I read the books in college and hated them. I remember my sorority sisters squeeing over them so I read the first one and hated it. I was like really y'all?? This is what you're fawning over?! And then they said, well if you didn't like the first one the second one is totally different, you might like that. Which it was totally different, but I still hated it. And then at that point I had already made it halfway through, so I just finished them all. I felt the same way with the movies.

 

No offense to anyone who might like the series. 

Gosh, I didn't know there were more than three. I watched the first one, expecting some blade-like vampire awesomeness, but alas.

[Stronkey Kong]

6 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Damn. Even with Rifftrax I couldn't get past the third movie.

 

5 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Oddly, I found the third film to be the best of the five. Also, in my defense today I was doing other things while watching the last two, such as cleaning and taking down the tree.  I had never seen any of them other than the first and I remember it being awful. It still was awful. I read the books in college and hated them. I remember my sorority sisters squeeing over them so I read the first one and hated it. I was like really y'all?? This is what you're fawning over?! And then they said, well if you didn't like the first one the second one is totally different, you might like that. Which it was totally different, but I still hated it. And then at that point I had already made it halfway through, so I just finished them all. I felt the same way with the movies.

 

No offense to anyone who might like the series. 

 

 

Just kidding. I haven't read/seen Harry Potter either.

[Big_Show]

I've never seen or read any of them.  I sometimes kinda feel like I should just to see first-hand what all the fuss is about, but then I remember how many books/films I've still got on lists that I actively want to consume and still haven't got round to and turn to one of them instead...

[raptron]

On 1/3/2021 at 4:24 AM, Harriet said:

Gosh, I didn't know there were more than three. I watched the first one, expecting some blade-like vampire awesomeness, but alas.

DID YOU SEE THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE A NEW BLADE?!? With Mahershala Ali!  I am very excited.

[Harriet]

3 minutes ago, raptron said:

DID YOU SEE THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE A NEW BLADE?!? With Mahershala Ali!  I am very excited.

OMG That's the classy dude from Green Book??? He's so compelling!

[Scaly Freak]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:04 PM, miss_marissa said:

Yesterday I was feeling tired all day. Even after a nap I was still lethargic. So I made the choice to watch the entire Twilight Saga movies, and oh boy what a choice that was.

 

On 1/2/2021 at 8:14 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Damn. Even with Rifftrax I couldn't get past the third movie.

 

Cinema Therapy has a couple of videos on the first Twilight movie, that are hilarious and the only way I have found to "watch" Twilight that doesn't hurt my brain. (Content warning that the Cinema Therapy take on the movie is to dissect all the ways Edward is abusive and the relationship is dysfunctional.)

[Rurik Harrgath]

On 12/30/2020 at 5:58 PM, miss_marissa said:

He's no bulbasaur, but he's pretty dang cute! And I guess someday he might be a Raichu, which is almost as cool as a Bulbasaur if your name is Rurik.

unless...

 

There is no shelter FROM THE STORMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

 

[miss_marissa]

I swear I had replied yesterday, yet here it is sitting in my drafts.....

Goals are up now  

 

Sunday 1/3 

I start my challenges on Monday, but tried to get a jump.

I did Day 1 of Yoga with Adriene. 

I did my nighttime routine and took my vitamins

I also did more cleaning/organizing including bagging, boarding, and boxing a backlog of comics. I also organized my jewelry (Side note: does anyone have a good ideas for how to organize a large collection of dangly earrings? Since I've cut my hair short I've amassed quite a collection without a good way to organize them and easily display them visually).

I'm amassing a list of different things that need cleaning/organizing and making a list of different storage methods I must procure to make my space more functional. (ex: a basket to store cleaning supplies under the sink instead of just throwing them all in there.) Today's project I think I want to tackle the Box of Cables.... you know..... THE BOX. I will try to let you all know what the most useless cable I find will be. 

 

Good luck to everyone else who may be heading back to work today after +1 week off. Grateful for WAH today.

 

On 1/3/2021 at 5:11 AM, Big_Show said:

I've never seen or read any of them.  I sometimes kinda feel like I should just to see first-hand what all the fuss is about, but then I remember how many books/films I've still got on lists that I actively want to consume and still haven't got round to and turn to one of them instead...

 

Life's too short to read bad books. 

 

On 1/3/2021 at 4:00 AM, Stronkey Kong said:

 

 

 

Just kidding. I haven't read/seen Harry Potter either.

This surprises me! Just because Harry Potter seems to be ubiquitous amongst those in our age range.  But whatever floats (or doesn't float!) your boat.

 

On 1/3/2021 at 3:24 AM, Harriet said:

Gosh, I didn't know there were more than three. I watched the first one, expecting some blade-like vampire awesomeness, but alas.

Yea, that would have been much cooler IMO. There are 4 books and the 4th book was split into two movies. It did not need to be. Wikipedia says they were 117 and 115 minutes run time respectively. They easily could have been combined, but you gotta milk that cash.

 

46 minutes ago, raptron said:

DID YOU SEE THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE A NEW BLADE?!? With Mahershala Ali!  I am very excited.

He is so great! I haven't seen him in a role that I don't like yet!

 

27 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

Cinema Therapy has a couple of videos on the first Twilight movie, that are hilarious and the only way I have found to "watch" Twilight that doesn't hurt my brain. (Content warning that the Cinema Therapy take on the movie is to dissect all the ways Edward is abusive and the relationship is dysfunctional.)

Yes. I guess I am #teamJacob ?  I think that physically hurt to type that out.

[Scaly Freak]

1 minute ago, miss_marissa said:

Yes. I guess I am #teamJacob ?  I think that physically hurt to type that out.

 

I am #TeamDon'tCare 😛 

[KB Girl]

2 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Goals are up now  

 

Excellent, very good indeed. 

So are you still going to be working those 10+ hour days? 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Good set of goals. 2020 really put you through the wringer.

I'm on an heroic dose of Vit D (12,500 units twice a week) and it's made a huge difference.

[Harriet]

On 12/30/2020 at 4:01 AM, miss_marissa said:

Here was how I laid out my general 2020 goals in one of my early challenges last year:

• Health - sleeping well, flossing, reasonable alcohol consumption, eating nutritious food in proper amounts when I'm hungry, lifting a heavy thing every once in a while, be flexible and mobile enough to function as the athlete I've tricked myself into thinking I am
• Environment - eliminate clutter, stop buying more clutter, keep the house awesome, get outside 
• Relationships - stay in touch, show love
• Mindfulness - read more books, use less social media, be more present, practice gratitude, "this too shall pass", "dress for the job you want"
• Work & Volunteering - Be on time, be present, ask for help when I need it

I actually think I have done not too bad at them? At least the first 8 months of the year. I reduced my alcohol consumption, cooked at home a lot, got outside, read books, reduced my use of socials. Others were less successful, but understandable given the circumstances.

 

The past few weeks have been full of stress: family, work, holidays, etc. And it clicked for me today, I also seem to be suffering, as usual from Seasonal Affective Disorder. So this first challenge is going to focus on small manageable habits to prevent adding additional stress and to hopefully help with the SAD. At this point with so many unknowns of what 2021 might bring, I am not sure that broad sweeping goals for the year are appropriate. Instead I’ll focus on manageable mid-term goals.

 

 

It looks like 2020 had a quadruple dose of ultra stress for you! I'm sorry about your grandmother.

Walking is so important for mood, even when it's dark. I hope it, and the vitamin D, help you out a bit with the winter dark.

[Big_Show]

5 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Life's too short to read bad books

 

 

[miss_marissa]

22 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Excellent, very good indeed. 

So are you still going to be working those 10+ hour days? 

Probably at some point once the test article is returned! However, once that is the case I think it will be for a ~6 week period MAX to finish out the campaign.

 

21 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Good set of goals. 2020 really put you through the wringer.

I'm on an heroic dose of Vit D (12,500 units twice a week) and it's made a huge difference.

Thanks! May I ask why twice a week vs daily? 

 

20 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

It looks like 2020 had a quadruple dose of ultra stress for you! I'm sorry about your grandmother.

Walking is so important for mood, even when it's dark. I hope it, and the vitamin D, help you out a bit with the winter dark.

Thank you!! Yes, walking is definitely something I have been missing.

 

19 hours ago, Big_Show said:

 

 

Great list. 10/10

 

I am so tired today I think I'm going to cry. Obviously with Monday being the first day back to work after holiday break, sleep Sunday night was subpar. ~6.5 hours according to my fitbit. I was tired come the afternoon, but not awful. At about 7pm I felt like I could fall asleep on the couch, but did my yoga and reading and then felt a little more energized. I laid down in bed at around 10:30 and just could notfall asleep. I was SOOOO tired, but my body was just not having it. I tried different positions, blanket combinations, and clothing and it just wasn't happening. Finally after 2 am I moved out to the couch and fell asleep out there around 2:40. 😭 Think I may skip some things tonight to attempt to crash earlyish.

 

Monday 1/4

1)      Walk outside daily - J and I went for a walk in the afternoon and it was CHILLY but we both really enjoyed it and said we should do it more often. It was cloudy and foggy so we actually had some freezing fog which was forming neat crystal structures on the trees and bushes. It was extra white and quite beautiful.

 

2)      Movement- I completed Day 2 of YWA yesterday. Idk if it is just me, but there is no way that people can actually hold proper planks that long. I hold a plank for ~15 seconds and everything is on fire. Either you want me to do a proper plank, or you want me to break form to hold it for longer....

 

3)      Floss and skin care at bedtime - Done

 

4)      Vitamins - Done