[Rhovaniel]

Welcome, friends. To the third volume in these Chronicles that tell the tale still being written, the tale of a bold ranger and her journeys across the perilous landscape of life. Winter has ended, and with the harshness of the weather mostly behind her, her eyes now look outward, to the adventures that lay further afield. Many goals went unmet in that harsh clime. But what shall the Spring time reveal?

 

 Winter's Goals - The Recap

Read by candlelight 10 times (9/10): I missed this by one, mainly because after narrowly avoiding disaster with a candle left burning, I didn't light any for a while till I was less in a brain fog. But the main purpose of the goal was met. I was soothed and relaxed by reading my candlelight, learned that some candles flicker more than others but it definitely adds to the experience of reading. This was an extended goal, too, so I'm not too mad about not hitting it. Can't complain about the length of the pitch if I keep moving the goalposts, right?  

Re-read The Fellowship of the Ring (I did finish this one!), The Two Towers (almost, I'm 2/3rd of the way through) and The Return of the King (not yet) - Ambitious with all I had going on. But I'll carry on reading through them, just not as the goal. 

Watch all 3 Hobbit films (1/3), Watch all 3 LOTR films (1/3)

See doc about leg pain (complete)

see doc about sinuses (uh.. so should probably not have been put off. It'll be part of the Spring Goals)

Be able to run 1 mile without pain - not up to a mile yet, but working on it!

Finish Masters chapter 2 - I mean, in very rough, not edited form, yes!

Read stock book - no. 

Plan Spring/Summer Adventures 2023 (sort of, a circumstance outside my control isn't helping too much here, and once the Easter walk is done, they often give us a discount code, I might use that to book another later in Summer)

Reach at least 77kg by March 20 (ha, no)

 

 

 

 

Spring/Summer Goals – Until the Summer Equinox

 

These are going to be pared down from the Winter Goals. There was too much on the list, I was trying to take on too much. Even when I pared it down from the original list. There were several for ‘for fun’ goals, but I underestimated the mental energy the things like my thesis would need from me. So, as we head into Spring and hopefully into the warmth of early summer (the Summer Equinox is June 21^st, and I am hoping against hope that we will already be experiencing summer weather by then!)

 

-          Be running consistently and without pain

-          Complete the StrongViking with @Jarric in Willes’ honour

-          Lose 3kg (this is a very conservative goal tbh, but I am also aware that I have a lot going on still)

-          Read stock book – yup, still gotta read that

-          Get consistent with meal prepping

-          Finish writing my thesis (being in the overall edit stage is fine, but I’d like to have the actual content completed)

-          Complete 100km canoe trip across Scotland??? (goal pending)

-          Actually try to see someone about the nosebleeds

And that is it. The challenge goals will reflect the main goals above, but also allow for some flexibility when life gets busy or something just isn’t working for me.

 

Challenge Goals:

The Chronicles of Rhovaniel, Vol III: Reborn into Spring

 

I am feeling good about this challenge start and eager to begin. A favourable omen, I hope. We are currently in a cold spell here in the UK, but patches of daffodils are bursting from the grass, there are sweet crocus flowering near my work. I am feeling like the start of my journey. Time to shake off the winter dark and assemble my kit as I prepare to load my pack onto my shoulders and set off for adventures. And boy, do I have some planned. I kick things off with a 50km walk at the start of April, then I WAS supposed to go on this canoe trip in Scotland in next challenge’s zero week. But the company emailed to cancel as they had too many drop outs, so I am currently in the process of seeing if I can rearrange that. I am in the frustrating limbo of needing to train for something I am not 100% is going to happen, and if it does might be a while longer than this Spring. But there we are.

More than that, I am finally able to start running again, and training has therefore begun for Strong Viking in June, finally. My goal for that is quite modest, and yet I’ll be running with a bunch of fit humans. I just… don’t want to be laughably behind the pack, ya know? 

 

The goals:

Run 2 – 3 times a week: Right now, I’m starting with twice a week, but by the end of the challenge, I am hopeful that I will have safely progressed to 3 times a week. Mileage will build naturally, but not something I am going to monitor for now. The goal is just to get back out there and without undoing any of the rehab work with my calf. Exception will be made for the week leading up to Easter, because I am signed up for a 50km walk on April 1^ST. They typically take me around 12 hours to complete and 3 days to recover enough to be contemplating signing up to another 😉

 

Gym 2 – 3 times a week: It is supposed to be 3, the aim is for 3. BUT I am also adding in rowing at the end of my strength training session because, well, that’s when I am at the gym and they have a rower and because as much as I like to dive into crazy challenges with much enthusiasm but sometimes not as prepared as I ought to be, this time I figured making rowing part of my workouts might mean I won’t be completely out of my depth when it comes to the 100km row in Scotland, if it happens. My physio asked if I was going to practice in an actual kayak before the event…. Ha. I don’t even know where you could hire one from. Anyway, gym can drop to 2 sessions ONLY if it’s obvious that I’m overdoing it re: my calf or general wellness levels.

No more than 1 takeout and 1 buying a coffee a week: This is quite generous, I was tempted to put a complete self-ban in place. But this means if I slip up, once is within the net and I’m less likely to let it turn from a bit of slick ice to an avalanche of poor choices. It will also help push me to meal prep and eat properly, which in turn will reduce my waistline. The good news (in a bad news turned to my gain kinda way) is that my favourite coffee chain have changed the way they roast their coffee to be roasted longer for ‘more intense flavour’. It tastes burnt and too bitter for me, so now they’ve ruined my ‘treat coffee’, staying away should be that much easier, at least.

 

A little cleaning goes a long way: This one is simple. One daily ‘cleaning’ action. This could be doing a laundry load (only if I wash AND take it out to dry without needing to do the refresh cycle because I forgot), emptying/filling the dishwasher (again, only if I put it on), or a quick tidy of my study. It won’t solve the problem of my messy habits overnight, but it might at least help me manage them.

 

 

 

Taking a fair bit of inspiration from the wonderful nerds on here, I utilised a page at the back of my planner for tracking it all:

  

 

 

Okay, that's the intro. Let's get stuck in. Tomorrow. I do not start Challenges on a Sunday.  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following! 

[Sovalis]

I’m here for this! You have lovely writing. 

[Gemma]

Love the tracker, nice writing and great stickers too! 

[TimovieMan]

[Elastigirl]

Here to cheer you on!

[Jarric]

On 3/19/2023 at 7:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

Get consistent with meal prepping

 

Do you have an idea of how consistent qualifies for this goal? Is it prepping once per month, once per week, every day? It might be that you still need to work that out depending on what kind of meal prep fits for you, but I'm just curious.

 

On 3/19/2023 at 7:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

 

-          Complete 100km canoe trip across Scotland??? (goal pending)

 

This sounds absolutely rad; I hope you get to do it.

 

On 3/19/2023 at 7:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

Taking a fair bit of inspiration from the wonderful nerds on here, I utilised a page at the back of my planner for tracking it all:

  

 

This is beautiful! I need to re-think my challenge trackers.

[Salinger]

Wow a gorgeous tracking page there Rho!!!!!

 

Following along of course ❤️ xx

[Wild Wolf]

On 3/19/2023 at 2:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

Complete the StrongViking with @Jarric in Willes’ honour

 

I love this goal. Wish I could do it with you guys.

 

On 3/19/2023 at 2:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

Complete 100km canoe trip across Scotland??? (goal pending)

 

This sounds super awesome! Make sure and take lots of pics when this happens  

 

On 3/19/2023 at 2:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

I do not start Challenges on a Sunday.

 

LOL! I was too excited to wait and post my new challenge today...HOWEVER, the challenge officially started for me today because I don't believe in "starting" a challenge on Sunday's either.

 

FOLLOWING! 

 

Wolf

[Rurik Harrgath]

On 3/19/2023 at 3:48 AM, Rhovaniel said:

 

 

 

hi fren

 

[shaar]

I love your tracker page!!!
 

Also I have a kayak and would totally let you borrow it if you were close by!! *flings it across the ocean instead* 🤣

[Rhovaniel]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:56 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following! 

Great to see you as always Tank!

 

On 3/19/2023 at 2:42 PM, Sovalis said:

I’m here for this! You have lovely writing. 

Aww, thank you. I tinker with a few lines of narrative is all, at the moment. But I'm glad you like it. I miss proper narrative challenges

 

On 3/19/2023 at 6:40 PM, Gemma said:

Love the tracker, nice writing and great stickers too! 

Ah, thank you!

 

21 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

 

19 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Here to cheer you on!

EG! Thanks for being here  

 

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

 

Do you have an idea of how consistent qualifies for this goal? Is it prepping once per month, once per week, every day? It might be that you still need to work that out depending on what kind of meal prep fits for you, but I'm just curious.

This is a very good point, actually. I do need to refine it, but essentially, where meal prep is my default. Meal prep is what gets done because it has to, and the idea of just grabbing a ready meal in tesco or worse, takeout on the way home, is something past me did. Once a month is actually an interesting idea. I want to look into if that's something that could work for me, just making a giant batch of things and freezing them 

 

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

This sounds absolutely rad; I hope you get to do it.

It looks like it MIGHT happen, just a few days later than planned! Woo!

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

This is beautiful! I need to re-think my challenge trackers.

Thank you! I see it as a very simple thing, since there's no drawing or such like. But it makes me happy. 

 

6 hours ago, Salinger said:

Wow a gorgeous tracking page there Rho!!!!!

 

Following along of course ❤️ xx

Thanks Sal! Glad to have you. 

 

5 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

I love this goal. Wish I could do it with you guys.

 

 

This sounds super awesome! Make sure and take lots of pics when this happens  

 

 

LOL! I was too excited to wait and post my new challenge today...HOWEVER, the challenge officially started for me today because I don't believe in "starting" a challenge on Sunday's either.

 

FOLLOWING! 

 

Wolf

Me too, that would be beyond awesome. 

 

I will absolutely be taking photos, don't worry. SO GLAD TO SEE YOU BTW WOLF!

 

 

4 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

hi fren

 

Hey Rurik! Cheers!

 

 

2 hours ago, shaar said:

I love your tracker page!!!
 

Also I have a kayak and would totally let you borrow it if you were close by!! *flings it across the ocean instead* 🤣

Thank you! It's very functional, rather than pretty, but we shall see!

 

 

Ha, thank you! Yeeeeeaaaah, it's just a little bit far 😅 

[Rhovaniel]

It is the Vernal Equinox! HELLO SPRING YOU HAVE BEEN MISSED!!

 

  

 

Today was a good day, to borrow the wisdom of Tank. I got to the gym today (with only one 'doh!' moment of going back into the house for my gym bag, luckily I hadn't actually left the driveway before I realised) and decided I wanted to keep it simple, so I took my time and I lifted the things. Workout  below

Spoiler

Back Squats 3 x 5 (after warm up sets) @ 32.5kg, 32.kg and 35kg 

 

Barbell Cleans 1 x 5 @ 35kg, then I decided I was feeling in a 'LIFT THE HEAVY SHIT' mood and figured what the heck:

Singles (cleans) @ 45kg, 45kg (Forgot to increase), 47.5kg, 2 attempts at 50kg but missed, then 1 single @ 47.5 kg 

 

Deadlifts 3 x 5: 45kg, 50kg, 50kg 

 

I was going to row, but they were in use, so I just did my physio exercises and called it good. 

 

Work was a little frustrating. My boss is going on annual leave next week and I think he thinks the building will collapse without him. He's been very repetitive in 'we need to do this, we need to do that'. Reminders that it is on my list go unheard. So, I sigh and try to be patient. He is used to being a department of one. Having someone to manage is a learning curve. He just happens to be a slight pain in the rear end during said curve. Still, a far better work environment than where I was working upstairs, and for that I remain very grateful. 

 

Other than that, a day of wins. I gymed, put the bathroom bin out before I left this morning and I have just put the dishwasher on, so that's my cleaning task done. I didn't buy coffee OR takeout, woo!

 

   

 

The gel pen colours aren't showing up so well here. The darker circles are supposed to be purple, but the pen is very dark. Tomorrow, I shall use a different colour. Tbf, the pens in general are darker than I expected. But ah well. The silver circles are for 'Not today'. SO, takeout and coffee didn't happen, and today was not a run day. When both runs are done, or 3 gym days, the circle will be gold, for Goal Complete. 

 

 

 

[sarakingdom]

Since meal prepping is still an exploration, an unconventional take on it:

 

 

Electric rice cookers are also amazing for fast meals and partially prepped meals. If I ate carbs, they would be my top used kitchen item. Putting the rice on autopilot so you have rice in fifteen minutes makes the rest of the meal easy. Even better if it has a steamer basket. There is absolute magic in cooking that you don't need to babysit, and can walk away from. And the question of "what on earth will I make for dinner" is a lot easier to answer when it's "what on earth can I put on the rice that's gonna be ready in ten minutes?"

 

Your base case is: make some rice, get too tired to do anything else, and fry an egg to put on top. Then there's: Make some rice, dump some frozen veg in the steamer basket, and throw some leftover or quickly stir fried protein on top. (Some proteins can even go in the steamer basket, but that's not always much fun. Pretty utilitarian cooking. A fast option, though, and easily improved with a bottle of sauce in the cupboard.) It goes well with big batches of chili or curry or or bolognese or stir fry that are frozen in individual servings.

 

Then there's the world of fancy rices. Some diced carrot and onion and peas in with the rice, or some chicken broth, or a diced onion and some raisins, or a can of chickpeas and some spices. Paprika and garlic powder. Not a lot more effort, but suddenly a fancier meal. A lot of that stuff can be frozen or powders or cans, and require no prep time on the actual night. (Tomato sauce is the only thing I've found isn't great for this; the natural sugars often burn a little faster than the rice cooks. But some tomato paste resting on top to be stirred in at the end should be fine, or chopped actual tomato. You just don't want tomato sauce, or something with similar sugar content, on the bottom on the pot.)

 

And then there's the more advanced world of cooking pasta in the rice cooker while you do other things.

 

Anyway, they cut the prepping or cooking down to about a third to a half of the meal that needs to be done ahead of time, and they also help save on freezer space, if you're trying to prep a lot at once. They are the future, only they exist now. Machines doing your lab for you.

[sarakingdom]

And I forgot to add, for me, hydration has a huge impact on nosebleeds. Are you drinking enough?

 

[MaeradCase]

Rho, you've got a lot on your plate, but sounds like you've found a good balancing point for what your ranger goals are versus your general list of things to get done. Here to cheer you on.

[WhiteGhost]

Here and following

[WolfDreamer]

Great looking goals! Following and here for support.

[Jarric]

17 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

Once a month is actually an interesting idea. I want to look into if that's something that could work for me, just making a giant batch of things and freezing them 

 

I don't know where you are with it now, but if you don't meal prep at all now then once a month would be a big jump. If you manage to do a massive batch of 10 meals, that's half the working days of the month. Sure, it's only half, but it's infinitely more than none.

 

17 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

It looks like it MIGHT happen, just a few days later than planned! Woo!

 

 

[Salinger]

Sending love today Rho, hope the weather is nicer than up here xx

[Jarric]

17 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Since meal prepping is still an exploration, an unconventional take on it:

 

 

 

This is similar to what I do actually. We usually have a roast dinner on Sundays (as is the law in England), so we just get about 1kg of meat for 2 of us and then chuck it in curries/chillis/sanwiches/pasta stuff/whatever during the week. It's arguably even lazier than his method, because we don't even seal the meat, it just goes in an oven dish and goes in the oven for a while.

 

You could do a similar thing with a slow cooker too - you don't even need to add liquid to a slow cooker, you can literally put the meat in, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours.

 

@Rhovaniel if you're looking at this method I would also mention that Tesco do massive turkey thighs for £3.50, which I think is ludicrous value. We had turkey roast on Sunday, turkey noodle soup yesterday, and I've just made 4 sandwiches out of the remaining meal (probably could have stretched to 5 if I'm honest).

[Maggie-Miau]

*sends hugs and waves pompoms*

[Rhovaniel]

17 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Since meal prepping is still an exploration, an unconventional take on it:

 

 

Electric rice cookers are also amazing for fast meals and partially prepped meals. If I ate carbs, they would be my top used kitchen item. Putting the rice on autopilot so you have rice in fifteen minutes makes the eat of the meal easy. Even better if it has a steamer basket. There is absolute magic in cooking that you don't need to babysit, and can walk away from. And the question of "what on earth will I make for dinner" is a lot easier to answer when it's "what on earth can I put on the rice that's gonna be ready in ten minutes?"

 

Your base case is: make some rice, get too tired to do anything else, and fry an egg to put on top. Then there's: Make some rice, dump some frozen veg in the steamer basket, and throw some leftover or quickly stir fried protein on top. (Some proteins can even go in the steamer basket, but that's not always much fun. Pretty utilitarian cooking. A fast option, though, and easily improved with a bottle of sauce in the cupboard.) It goes well with big batches of chili or curry or or bolognese or stir fry that are frozen in individual servings.

 

Then there's the world of fancy rices. Some diced carrot and onion and peas in with the rice, or some chicken broth, or a diced onion and some raisins, or a can of chickpeas and some spices. Paprika and garlic powder. Not a lot more effort, but suddenly a fancier meal. A lot of that stuff can be frozen or powders or cans, and require no prep time on the actual night. (Tomato sauce is the only thing I've found isn't great for this; the natural sugars often burn a little faster than the rice cooks. But some tomato paste resting on top to be stirred in at the end should be fine, or chopped actual tomato. You just don't want tomato sauce, or something with similar sugar content, on the bottom on the pot.)

 

And then there's the more advanced world of cooking pasta in the rice cooker while you do other things.

 

Anyway, they cut the prepping or cooking down to about a third to a half of the meal that needs to be done ahead of time, and they also help save on freezer space, if you're trying to prep a lot at once. They are the future, only they exist now. Machines doing your lab for you.

I like the concept. For me, the thing is that I DON'T like to cook. I need the path of least resistance between me and a healthy meal. If I can grab a container, throw it in the microwave and be eating within 5 minutes, I will do that. THAT SAID, using that idea of cooking a big bit of meat on Sunday and making that into several meals is worth exploring. 

 

I figured out WHY it feels like cooking is too much effort - it does not fit well into my evenings. My walks tend to be an hour long, and three nights a week I play D&D... that's three nights I can either walk OR I can cook and I will almost never choose cooking lol. The rest of the time.. by the time I get back from my walk, I am in no mood to wait for food to cook and I have stuff to do... thus the cycle repeats. 

 

16 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

And I forgot to add, for me, hydration has a huge impact on nosebleeds. Are you drinking enough?

 

It's a good point. Generally, I am very good with hydration, I drink alot. At least two water bottles during work, a little less when I'm home. 

 

15 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Rho, you've got a lot on your plate, but sounds like you've found a good balancing point for what your ranger goals are versus your general list of things to get done. Here to cheer you on.

Thanks Maerad. I hope so, but time will tell I guess!

 

4 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Here and following

WG! Good to see you  

 

3 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

Great looking goals! Following and here for support.

Hey WolfDreamer! Thanks for being here  

 

40 minutes ago, Jarric said:

 

I don't know where you are with it now, but if you don't meal prep at all now then once a month would be a big jump. If you manage to do a massive batch of 10 meals, that's half the working days of the month. Sure, it's only half, but it's infinitely more than none.

 

 

 

I am a little hit and miss right now, which is kinda the issue. IF I plan ahead and summon the energy, I can prep 10 meals just fine. If not... well, I'm scrambling to make the 'not terrible' food choice all week. 

 

36 minutes ago, Salinger said:

Sending love today Rho, hope the weather is nicer than up here xx

Thanks Sal  

 

23 minutes ago, Jarric said:

 

This is similar to what I do actually. We usually have a roast dinner on Sundays (as is the law in England), so we just get about 1kg of meat for 2 of us and then chuck it in curries/chillis/sanwiches/pasta stuff/whatever during the week. It's arguably even lazier than his method, because we don't even seal the meat, it just goes in an oven dish and goes in the oven for a while.

 

You could do a similar thing with a slow cooker too - you don't even need to add liquid to a slow cooker, you can literally put the meat in, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours.

 

@Rhovaniel if you're looking at this method I would also mention that Tesco do massive turkey thighs for £3.50, which I think is ludicrous value. We had turkey roast on Sunday, turkey noodle soup yesterday, and I've just made 4 sandwiches out of the remaining meal (probably could have stretched to 5 if I'm honest).

Oooh, good shout! I'll see if I can pick one up. That is extremely good value tbh. You got a recipe for that there turkey noodle soup by any chance?  

 

20 minutes ago, Maggie-Miau said:

*sends hugs and waves pompoms*

MAGGIE!!! HI!!!!

 

 

[sarakingdom]

28 minutes ago, Jarric said:

This is similar to what I do actually. We usually have a roast dinner on Sundays (as is the law in England), so we just get about 1kg of meat for 2 of us and then chuck it in curries/chillis/sanwiches/pasta stuff/whatever during the week. It's arguably even lazier than his method, because we don't even seal the meat, it just goes in an oven dish and goes in the oven for a while.

 

You could do a similar thing with a slow cooker too - you don't even need to add liquid to a slow cooker, you can literally put the meat in, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours.

 

I'm also a fan of the massive batch of chili or stew that I can make in the Instant Pot and walk away from. It takes a while to build up variety at one or two of those a week, but it's pretty efficient for zero effort meals later. They also address the issue of not having any ideas for meals, which can be a thing. No thinking required.

 

Just now, Rhovaniel said:

I figured out WHY it feels like cooking is too much effort - it does not fit well into my evenings. My walks tend to be an hour long, and three nights a week I play D&D... that's three nights I can either walk OR I can cook and I will almost never choose cooking lol. The rest of the time.. by the time I get back from my walk, I am in no mood to wait for food to cook and I have stuff to do... thus the cycle repeats. 

 

I totally get it, that's largely why I dabbled in it, too. Spending an hour every night cooking after work is a lot of time.

 

I think I'd recommend the Instant Pot and rice cooker method. (The Instant Pot will cook rice, so in theory this could just be the Instant Pot method, but there's a lot to be said for being able to make the rice at the same time your meal is cooking sometimes. It is possible, with some thought, to cook two things at once in the Instant Pot, but I wouldn't say it's always convenient.) The two biggest labor savers in the kitchen. The "large batch of chili or tagine or stew" method is going to be the most efficient to store in limited fridge and freezer space for microwaving later.

 

And also, the worst case if you have nothing prepped is, you can safely start them going and go out for your walk, and come home to a cooked dinner they've been keeping warm for you after shutting themselves off. That is an unbelievably useful improvement over cooking you have to babysit manually. It's very freeing to walk away and do what you need to do, and come back when it's convenient to come back. The low end of low effort becomes very low indeed. And, okay, many of those meals would be nicer if things were lovingly browned till golden or chopped attractively, but there's nothing wrong with just dumping things in to cook.

 

13 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

If I can grab a container, throw it in the microwave and be eating within 5 minutes, I will do that. THAT SAID, using that idea of cooking a big bit of meat on Sunday and making that into several meals is worth exploring. 

 

It's also not a mutually exclusive thing. One of the biggest issues with meal prep is variety. Having a few cooked ingredients that are not preplanned can be good when you're tired of what you have in the freezer, and want a fast turkey and bacon sandwich and an apple. And also, just making sure every time you cook has tons of leftovers on principle. Doesn't even matter what they are now, maybe they'll be next weekend's big batch of soup. Maybe you just freeze it as slices until you're inspired to put together some roast turkey batch meals some day. It all brings down the net effort per meal.

[Rhovaniel]

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

You could do a similar thing with a slow cooker too - you don't even need to add liquid to a slow cooker, you can literally put the meat in, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours.

I... what? like, literally throw a lump o' meat in the slow cooker with nothing else and it'll just... cook? And be cool with it? What sorcery is this?!