[MaeradCase]

Hello my fello nerds, and welcome to the final challenge of the year! I'm excited to say that I have managed to get my exercise routine in place from when I started, and that I've maintained a good waking schedule through November for writing. Now it's time to fuse the two skills together into a major accomplishment of exercising in the mornings when I wake up, and enjoying that experience. 

I still have cantrip candles I can light, and I have music I can turn on, and I have plenty of preparation to use the tools I've practiced in order to stay on top of the tasks. It's gonna be good I think.

I'm writing this in a sprint mode at my last write-in since I accomplished finishing my book over the weekend. ❤️

Now I'm going to take the next month letting myself feel human again before I delve into the world of reading and modifying a story into an improved form that can be shared with friends and developed further into better quality still.

 

Sounds like the hard work of improving my physical health. 😛 I'm well on track for establishing my morning habits, and I'm looking forward to the coming months when I finally purchase a bike and start establishing the necessary strengths needed to use it for my commute. I'm glad I have my boss's approval prior to switching over since my safety and security is to be taken in regard prior to making that change.

 

I also think there'll be a point at which I challenge myself to DDR because there's a cool set-up at the mall nearby, that in conjunction with biking to the mall, I can get in some hard-core cardio. But that'll probably be after Daylight Savings Time is back to bright mornings and evenings, and obviously after the bike because it's too far to walk and too near to drive. 😆

 

Regardless, the challenge for December is to be human again after a month of being a writing machine. I got to a total of 69k words before I was done composing my first draft. Cidran has seen me, but has also done his best not to interfere with my writing, so he's very due the opportunity to see me in the morning and the evening and know that he has my company, and not just my cohabitant presence. 😂

 

1. I will be doing the bodyweight exercises three times a week - preferably Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 

2. I will be recording the exercises on the cool layout I've still got hanging on the wall, and that I finally dry-erased as a diversion from writing at some point during this month.

3. I will challenge myself to have a minimum higher than 5 reps to increase my strength throughout this month - even if it's 7, not 10, it's an improvement from baseline 5.

4. For my off-days, I don't have to walk, but I should do something active, even if it's warm-up, dancing, stretching, and/or GMB hip mobility or GMB movement exercises. I have plenty of options, so I should go ahead and make Tuesday and Thursday fun.

 

That's about it! Thanks for your companionship, support, and enthusiasm this year! Let's finish big!!!

Sincerely,

Maerad 

[Everstorm]

Finishing the year strong 💪 🥳

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Here to support you as you emerge from the writing cave.

 

[starpuck]

9 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

challenge myself to DDR

The first time in my life I tried (and succeeded) to lose weight, was back in 2009.   I lost 60lbs  with weight watchers and DDR.   I've obviously moved on from WW (which works for some, but was not my best fit) but holy crow -- DDR is amazing for exercise!    I still engage in dance video games and Beat Saber will burn me a crap ton of calories.   I super encourage you to do this plan!!!

 

[MaeradCase]

16 minutes ago, starpuck said:

The first time in my life I tried (and succeeded) to lose weight, was back in 2009.   I lost 60lbs  with weight watchers and DDR.   I've obviously moved on from WW (which works for some, but was not my best fit) but holy crow -- DDR is amazing for exercise!    I still engage in dance video games and Beat Saber will burn me a crap ton of calories.   I super encourage you to do this plan!!!

 

I used to play Just Dance games when my sister got me the games and a Wii, but I stopped playing them when I got too busy in college, and didn't play them often when I moved in with my parents, and never set it up to play when I got married because there's no space.

 

From my few experiences of DDR, it will hurt my ankles and make it hard for me to breathe, but I think it'd be a lot of fun to make it an exercise challenge. 😂 Like I said, after bike is obtained and after daylight is normal, but it's a goal for next year.

 

(I've also done zumba in different classes, and love the fun of aerobic exercise by dancing, but hate going to things alone and Cid is not comfortable dancing and my gym buddy has not been active for the last few years)

 

DDR will be a good challenge when it's time. 😎 Thanks for backing the plan. 😉

[deftona]

Hey there! Following along

[Salinger]

Hey !!!!! Following ofc

 

Your goals are brill  good luck xx

[MaeradCase]

 

17 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Finishing the year strong 💪 🥳

Yeah! 💪

 

16 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Here to support you as you emerge from the writing cave.

Successfully, too! 🎊🎉

 

6 hours ago, deftona said:

Hey there! Following along

Thanks, deftona!

 

56 minutes ago, Salinger said:

Hey !!!!! Following ofc

 

Your goals are brill  good luck xx

Thank you, thank you.

 

Good morning, nerds! 😉

I slept awful thanks to watching a mildly scary movie and then having no reprieve before bed because Cid ran got excited about showing some of the funnier meme plays of Dead By Daylight to me. 😥

Spoiler

The Menu was great, and 100% went kind of how I expected based on the trailer. My guess is that the people giving it 1 star weren't watching with their brains turned on, and thus didn't like it because it requires thinking. I thought it was really well made and cynical in an excellent way. 🤔

Despite awful dreams of fleeing and fighting murderers, I woke up to my alarm, refrained from snoozing it (it's already set half an hour later since the writing is done), and got up after a little time spent with Zemi. I did my exercises so that I'll get four weeks in by the end of the year. 😉

 

 

I decided to push at the second set of my squats and rows. 😃 The push-ups gave me the most trouble, but I was proud to get my shaky 14 at the end.

Don't know how this is gonna go, but I bet my body will need to stretch out tomorrow or else there'll be hell to pay on Wednesday when I go for my next circuit of the week. 😅

 

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

1. I will be doing the bodyweight exercises three times a week - preferably Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 

👟

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

2. I will be recording the exercises on the cool layout I've still got hanging on the wall, and that I finally dry-erased as a diversion from writing at some point during this month.

👞

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

3. I will challenge myself to have a minimum higher than 5 reps to increase my strength throughout this month - even if it's 7, not 10, it's an improvement from baseline 5.

👠

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

4. For my off-days, I don't have to walk, but I should do something active, even if it's warm-up, dancing, stretching, and/or GMB hip mobility or GMB movement exercises. I have plenty of options, so I should go ahead and make Tuesday and Thursday fun.

N/A

 

Will I use the shoes emojis? Maybe. 😂 Why not, right?

 

Anyway, hungry for breakfast and all.

Will peek around at posts while I eat.

Have a good day!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Artemis Prime]

Congrats on a successful NaNoWriMo and a very strong start to the new challenge!

[Salinger]

GREAT START !!!!! XX

[Sovalis]

Fabulous start, Maerad! Looking forward to watching you thrive in this challenge too! 

[MaeradCase]

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Congrats on a successful NaNoWriMo and a very strong start to the new challenge!

Thank you, Artemis! 😃

 

21 hours ago, Salinger said:

GREAT START !!!!! XX

Yay! Thanks! 😃

 

17 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Fabulous start, Maerad! Looking forward to watching you thrive in this challenge too! 

Thanks for the support, Sovalis! 😁

 

23 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Don't know how this is gonna go, but I bet my body will need to stretch out tomorrow or else there'll be hell to pay on Wednesday when I go for my next circuit of the week. 😅

Good morning, fellow nerds!

 

I decided to do the GMB movements I could remember (knee-to-elbow in two forms, frog press, and monkey swing). I might check if I missed any, but it was a decent warm up, exercise, and stretch regardless of perfection.

 

My abs hurt (either from good mornings or the planks... maybe both), as do my neck, shoulders, and back. Hopefully my workout this morning and the hot shower to come work in tandem to loosen up what's tight.

 

MWF bodyweight exercise: 👟

Track numbers on chart: 👞

Seven rep minimum: 👠

Exercise on the off-days:👢

 

I could've earned another tally on the rep minimum doing the movement exercises, but I didn't aim for it today. I'll keep it in mind, and see about applying that minimum, but it's okay if I don't since they're still rather new to me, whereas I've had some consistent success with the bodyweight exercises.

 

Yesterday was pretty laid back. I played Pikmin challenges since I finished another round of the game. I'll be spending this week finishing up with my town in Animal Crossing New Leaf because I got the final fish, and have donated everything to the museum. Once I like the look of the town, I can go ahead and put it aside to play New Horizons, which Cidran bought for me. 😍😍 It showed up sometime last week, and I've been ignoring it because I wanted to finish writing with no distractions from any Animal Crossing. 

 

I did mention SAD lamps to Cidran, but he's not too interested. He did listen to different people discussing them, but he chose not to get one.

 

I'm gonna go assemble some breakfast and peruse the threads.

Have a good morning!

Maerad

[Artemis Prime]

43 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

I decided to do the GMB movements I could remember (knee-to-elbow in two forms, frog press, and monkey swing). I might check if I missed any, but it was a decent warm up, exercise, and stretch regardless of perfection.

Progress not perfection is an excellent mindset to have. 

[Sovalis]

I am so excited for you to play New Horizons. It's a wonderful, calming time sink. 😅 Good work resisting it until your writing was done! 

[MaeradCase]

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Progress not perfection is an excellent mindset to have. 

😃 Nerd Fitness helped me get into that mindset. The small incremental gains through consistency are better than the overwhelming pursuit of perfection. 

 

21 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am so excited for you to play New Horizons. It's a wonderful, calming time sink. 😅 Good work resisting it until your writing was done! 

I'm looking forward to it, too! I'm still resisting it and using it as a lure to wrap up some other games (finish stylizing my town in ACNL, and try to finish my playthrough of Link's Awakening) and as a reason to put Pikmin 3 aside. 😆 

 

Good morning!

 

Last night was game night, but one person had a cold, and the rest of us just sat and talked about games, movies, and such... But didn't play anything. Weird. I'm gonna make a suggestion for a Christmas one-shot, but maybe we'll do something festive like decorate cookies (unlikely), or watch a movie (far more likely).

 

I'm off from work today to meet up with my mom for a day out: eat burgers, peruse craft stores, and decorate a Christmas tree at their house (Zemi is unlikely to share holiday feelings with us in regard to a Christmas tree being put up, so I very much miss having decor).

 

I still got up around 6:30 and got fully warmed up (thanks, Carmen, for having good beats for dancing 💃) before starting because my body was achy as expected. Did similar numbers to Tuesday, except I didn't push anything to 21, and I kept the planks at 7 beats because my abs are still achy. Still glad to get 7-10-14 on my push-ups. They're still my weakest point... Well, the good mornings are weak, too, but I don't mind that as much. 😅 The jumping jacks are still going well. I'm ever amazed at being able to do them because I resorted to step jacks for so long. Since DDR is in my future, I'll be needing the jumping strength.

 

23 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

MWF bodyweight exercise: 👟👟

Track numbers on chart: 👞👞

Seven rep minimum: 👠👠

Exercise on the off-days: 👢

That puts me at three pairs of shoes. Not bad. 😉

 

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Salinger]

Have a lovely day with your mum 😍

[Sovalis]

Good stuff! I hope you have a great time with your Mom!  

[starpuck]

What kind of games is game night usually?  Board games or RPG stuff?   I see you mention a One-Shot sooo...

 

[MaeradCase]

8 hours ago, starpuck said:

What kind of games is game night usually?  Board games or RPG stuff?   I see you mention a One-Shot sooo...

 

Used to be weekly D&D night. We went about two and a half years for a steady campaign, but interpersonal drama interfered several times until we had to bring it to a hard stop. Since then we have half as often, and play table top board games instead.

I miss the D&D, so the one-shots have been fun. I don't really trust a long haul game to be good in a lasting way at that table anymore.

[starpuck]

2 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Used to be weekly D&D night. We went about two and a half years for a steady campaign, but interpersonal drama interfered several times until we had to bring it to a hard stop. Since then we have meet half as often, and play table top board games instead.

I miss the D&D, so the one-shots have been fun. I don't really trust a long haul game to be good in a lasting way at that table anymore.

Ooooh I am so so sorry to hear that.   My weekly games are my lifesblood, but I have been very blessed with the group/friends that go with them.   (I have to remind myself that when things tick in ways that aren't my favorite... but still.)   I hope someday an opportunity to try again opens and you have a really great experience with it!

 

[MaeradCase]

13 hours ago, Salinger said:

Have a lovely day with your mum 😍

Thanks!

12 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Good stuff! I hope you have a great time with your Mom!  

Thanks!

 

We had fun! We set up the tree before we left for lunch. After lunch, we went to the craft store and Mardel's, where I spent more than I meant to... But I'll have fun making a rainbow scarf. 😉

 

We grabbed frozen custard, stopped at my home (I shared my custard with Cid because he'd wanted to get some the other day, but we did not), and then we went back to her house to finish the tree.

 

 

🤩 shinyyyy

 

I stopped at WM on my way home because my car is showing a maintenance alert, and the only thing noticeably low is coolant. So I'll try refilling that tomorrow... 😥

 

7 hours ago, starpuck said:

Ooooh I am so so sorry to hear that.   My weekly games are my lifesblood, but I have been very blessed with the group/friends that go with them.   (I have to remind myself that when things tick in ways that aren't my favorite... but still.)   I hope someday an opportunity to try again opens and you have a really great experience with it!

 

Honestly, it's amazing that we had a game last that long in the first place. The primary trouble was that our arcs just kept getting more risk and less reward, with very little fun and very little relief. I prefer D&D to be fun and games, so I tend to prefer one shots for approving of gimmicks and tropes. However, I'm considering setting aside a weeknight for running D&D sessions more locally/publicly to form a new group... Cidran is less inclined and his reluctance has delayed my decision for over a year.

 

I need to head to bed now that I've caught up with most threads. I'll be back tomorrow to report further progress on Week 0 exercises.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Sovalis]

The tree is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing a picture! 🎄

[Artemis Prime]

Beautiful tree! I just started playing D&D again after about a 10 year break and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Shout out to @starpuck for getting me hooked on Critical Role which precipitated my return.

[MaeradCase]

8 hours ago, Sovalis said:

The tree is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing a picture! 🎄

🥰

 

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

Beautiful tree! I just started playing D&D again after about a 10 year break and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Shout out to @starpuck for getting me hooked on Critical Role which precipitated my return.

😍 I love Critical Role. Cidran introduced it to me when he was teaching me how to play. He also introduced me to Matt Colville, who has had a big impact on how I run the game as a DM. 😃

 

23 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

MWF bodyweight exercise: 👟👟

Track numbers on chart: 👞👞

Seven rep minimum: 👠👠👠

Exercise on the off-days: 👢👢

 

I did the GMB hip exercises. I did 10 reps of all eight exercises. My body is lethargic as some form of revenge, and my shoulders need more stretching. I might use a shower to improve both. 

 

I already want a nap. 😥

Oof

Maerad

[Artemis Prime]

A hot shower sounds like a good plan. For shoulders, I like wall slides and if you have an exercise band I like...not sure what you call them, but these things: