LuckyMe's preparations for a lucky new year

[Wandern]

I’m back again for my second 6-week challenge. This time, the overall goal is to get through the holidays without losing the ground I’ve gained.

Grading Scale: 90+ = A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69 = D

I’m only going to set 3 goals. If I get an A for meeting a goal, I get to apply all 5 experience points earned. A B allows 4 points, a C 3, and a D 2. Complete Failure still grants me one point for learning something.

Goal 1: Weight training 3 times a week. This is going to get harder as it gets colder. I’m going to try something different with points this time: start with 100, every missed workout loses me 5 points. (+2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA)

Goal 2: Primarily paleo eating. As we established last challenge, I do eat dairy. No grains, no sugar, few legumes. Again, I’ll start with 100 points. Every day I stray loses me 2. (+3 CON, +2 STA)

Goal 3: Prepping for a lucky new year. This goal has 2 parts (isn’t that a sneaky way to get in 4 goals for the math of 3?). If I get both completely done, A, one and a half done=B; 1 done = C; half done = D. (+4 CHR, +1 WIS)

1. Good-for-me gifts. I’m not making cookies or candy for friends, neighbors, or co-workers this year.
   
   1. 
      
   2. make quilty bookmarks/ornaments for coworkers
      
   3. put together photobooks for parents/aunt
      
      
   4. A clean house is a lucky house. Deep clean the entire house – organize closets, dust light fixtures, blinds, etc, etc. The goal is to have this done before Solstice. Bonus points for getting to the shed. More bonus points for the attic.
      
      

[thatgirljj]

Welcome! I like your framework for mostly paleo eating, I eat very similar... paleo + dairy + sometimes beans. I tend to think that beans every now and then aren't the worst paleo sin, they're real food and all.

Very good luck on the clean house goal! That's super intimidating. I vote you get yourself an extra special prize if you tackle the shed & the attic.

-jj

[livingroovy]

Ooooohhh clearing out the attic. Ambitious-- I like it! And I love your gift challenge idea-- you still get to be creative and make things without compromising health! Winning.

[Sunmage]

Great idea!!!!

I like your goals.

But I thought we were allowed tro have three fitness plus one lifegoal, so you don't have to split.

Good luck with this!

[Elfin Harvester]

A clean house is a lucky house. Deep clean the entire house – organize closets, dust light fixtures, blinds, etc, etc. The goal is to have this done before Solstice. Bonus points for getting to the shed. More bonus points for the attic.

A clean house is a healthy house too!

Good luck with the weight training / paleo thing. It's true it's harder when it gets cold - love your points system.

[Wandern]

Great idea!!!!

I like your goals.

But I thought we were allowed tro have three fitness plus one lifegoal, so you don't have to split.

Good luck with this!

Glad to see you back Dwarfthrower! Yes, we are allowed the three plus one - but only 15 experience points. It was difficult for me to decide how to award them between 4 goals last time. This way, I get 5 points per goal, which makes the math easier at the end.

[Wandern]

November 14 Check-in

Goal 1: Weight Training: Completed the Rebel fitness Rebel Workout #3 yesterday, will do #4 tomorrow and plan on #5 Saturday or Sunday. I still have 100 points.

Goal 2: Primarily Paleo: So far, so good. I even managed to stay on track at a restaurant lunch to say farewell to a coworker. I felt very virtuous when I ignored the bread basket - but the almond ginger soup kept me from feeling deprived. :-) We had the shrimp-n-"grits" from this website tonight, with the "grits" from this one - turned out great!

Goal 3: Part A: Crafting Christmas presents. My supplies have arrived, and I'm picking out fabrics for the bookmarks from my stash.

Part B: Cleaning House: It has begun. One linen closet re-organized, and one closet tidied. One bag of garbage tossed (mostly messed-up kids' craft materials), one bag of donations collected.

[micmac]

Goal 3: Prepping for a lucky new year. This goal has 2 parts (isn’t that a sneaky way to get in 4 goals for the math of 3?). If I get both completely done, A, one and a half done=B; 1 done = C; half done = D. (+4 CHR, +1 WIS)

1. Good-for-me gifts. I’m not making cookies or candy for friends, neighbors, or co-workers this year.

   2. make quilty bookmarks/ornaments for coworkers

   3. put together photobooks for parents/aunt

   4. A clean house is a lucky house. Deep clean the entire house – organize closets, dust light fixtures, blinds, etc, etc. The goal is to have this done before Solstice. Bonus points for getting to the shed. More bonus points for the attic.

      I really like this two-for-one third goal. I'm trying to really clean as I declutter so I can enter the new year feeling relaxed in my own home. The homemade gift idea is fantastic! What a great way to give a meaningful present without setting yourself up for unnecessary temptation!

[Wandern]

November 16 Check-in

Goal 1: Weights: Renegade workout #4 done yesterday, #5 tomorrow. That'll put me in position to do the M,W and Fri or Sat schedule next week. Holding at 100 points.

Goal 2: Practically Paleo: minus 2 points for a sushi lunch with hubby today. 98 points.

Goal 3: Part A: Housecleaning: no further progress, but I hope to get a lot done this weekend.

Part B: DIY gifts: Some progress on the photo books.

[Wandern]

November 19 Check-in

Goal 1: Weights: Renegade Workout #5 Saturday, which wrapped up my 3 for week 1 and #6 today. Wednesday and Friday or Saturday workouts planned. Reading about all of you working towards pull-ups inspired me to try the "jump-up/let down as slowly as I can" exercise on the pull-up bar instead of my usual lat pull-downs every now and then. This morning, I was actually able to completely halt downward progress and hang there for a second or so. For me, that' s a big milestone. 100 points so far

Goal 2: Practically Paleo: I was good all weekend, and today's menu is grain and sugar free as well: 98 points

Goal 3: Part A Housecleaning: HUGE progress over the weekend. My husband organized his electronic stash, the older daughter wiped down baseboards and trim, younger daughter cleaned blinds, and I organized my fabric stash and got the kitchen about 2/3 done. I'm clearing off every shelf, every drawer and wiping them out as part of this, so it's taking a while.

Part B: DIY giving: more progress on the photo book, none on the bookmarks, but I'm going to start pressing the fabric for them tonight.

[Wandern]

The post-Thanksgiving check-in

Goal 1: Weights: I got in all three workouts this week - Renegade #7 Wed, and #8 today. 100 points

Goal 2: Practically paleo eating: I did enjoy a bit of dressing, some sugar-sweetened cranberry relish, and a small piece of pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but I feel good about not overdoing it. -2 points. 96 total.

Goal 3: Part A: Giftmaking: Great progress

Part B: Deep clean the house: I finished cleaning all the shelves and drawers in the kitchen and washed all the windows in the house today. Ceiling fans tomorrow!

[Wandern]

11/26/12 Check-in

Goal 1: Weights: Renegade #9 today. Workouts planned for Wed. and Friday this week. Still holding at 100points

Goal 2: Practically Paleo. I've been good on that since Thursday. Still holding at 96 points.

Goal 3: Part A: DIY non-food gifts: The bookmarks: progress made - I've got a stack ready to start stitching, and the Photobooks are put together and will be ordered tonight, after the hubby double checks 'em for typos for me.

Part B: Deep House cleaning: The hidden corners have been de-cobwebbed. The ceiling fans are dust-free. Bathrooms are soap-scum free.

We've company coming this coming weekend. That will either add impetus to the evening efforts, or it'll slow me down as I turn my attention to the normal tidying up. Funny how REALLY cleaning an area makes a huge mess. Also, I'm planning a non-paleo, multi-family meal Sunday. It'll lose me points, but making, serving and eating a dessert (and rolls, and ...) is a huge part of the fun in doing one of those.

[61stRevolt]

Hi! Sorry it took me so long to poke my head in.

I like your goals. I especially love your lucky new year goal!

It seems like you're doing pretty well, actually! Keep it up!!

I'll say that what I miss most about eating non-paleo is cooking for people. I'm tempted to make pasta dishes or quesadillas sometimes just because I loved making them, not necessarily eating them.

[Wandern]

12/4 check-in

What a week! Younger daughter was in the school play, so it was last-minute costume construction and chauffeuring on top of guest prep. And our best man was unexpectedly in town with his family, so we ended up hosting 2 dinner parties this weekend. The diet went out the window, I missed a weight workout (and the cardio ones, which I don't count for the challenge), and made no progress on the deep housework or gift projects. I made it back to the gym this morning, and am back on the diet wagon, but just now got the house put back together and don't expect much progress on the projects till the weekend. But here's where I stand:

Goal 1, Weight work outs: Missed 1 last week: 95 points

Goal 2: Practically paleo eating. 3 missed days: 90 points

Goal 3, Part A: gifts: the photo books have arrived and look good, no bookmark progress

Part B: A Clean House: no progress, but things look better even when messy with a clean underneath the clutter.

We're halfway through, right?

[Sunmage]

Yes we are! Great job! You will get back on the diet and sports track pretty easy. Just do it.

Did you ever do christmas bakery with your kids? Might be paleo this time...

Im glad to see that even with family it is possible to handle paleo and training.

Go on with this, you do great!

[Wandern]

Yes we are! Great job! You will get back on the diet and sports track pretty easy. Just do it.

Did you ever do christmas bakery with your kids? Might be paleo this time...

Im glad to see that even with family it is possible to handle paleo and training.

Go on with this, you do great!

Thanks, Dwarfthrower! The diet thing would be MUCH harder if my husband hadn't decided to try low-carb/paleoish with me. I don't think I could do it if he insisted on pasta 2-3 times a week like we had been doing. Unfortunately, he's also a big fan of variety, and is already making noises about how he's "bored with this limited palette of food" and wants to start adding in something with flour once a week. We don't make the kids go without bread or cereal, but they're old enough to get their own when they want it :-).

Yes, we have done Christmas baking - usually, we make cookies and candies for teachers, co-workers, and neighbors. But not this year! I figure we'll make some special treats the week between Christmas and New Year, but that'll be it.

[Wandern]

Dec. 7 Update

Goal 1: Weights: I completed the Rebel Fitness Renegade workout #12 yesterday. 95 points. That means I've completed all the Rebel Fitness workouts one time through since I started working with them back in July. We started experimenting with a low-carb/paleoish diet in August. The results:

1) My skinny jeans fit comfortably, my fat jeans are too big, and all my normal clothes fit SO MUCH better. I had been thinking that I needed to go buy a bigger size, but now everything feels great. Total weight loss is only about 10 pounds (4.5kg) - which means I lost the weight I'd gained over the past winter and spring, and am back to the same weight I've maintained for the previous 10 years - but the distribution is so much better. The hubby thinks I look better than I have in 10 years (not that he's complained ;-) )!

2) My deadlift has increased by 40 pounds (18 kg), plank has gone from 20 seconds to 60, lat pull-down has improved by 30 pounds (14kg) and I just started working with the pull-up bar and jumping up and HANGING there - with my arms bent - for a couple of seconds - something I've NEVER been able to do! And I've gone from inclined push-ups to declined with my feet on the Bosu ball. The warm-up exercises I started doing with an 8lb medicine ball, and now do them with a 12.

3) I have bad feet and knees. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do box jumps or jumping jacks - but I found out that I can, at least on most days. I can't use much weight when doing lunges or step-ups, but I'm doing exercises I was avoiding for fear of aggravating things. And, though I did have a tendonitis flare-up in September, I've learned how to adjust the exercises to better protect the joints. So, I have a much greater range in types of exercise that I do and more confidence in my performance.

According to the plan, I should go straight to the Rebel Strength training program for my workout tomorrow but I haven't had time to read it and familiarize myself with the exercises. So, I'll save that for after this challenge is over, and do a few more Rebel and Renegades instead.

Goal 2: Practically Paleo eating: A co-worker I was helping out gave me a cookie. A special cookie made by a bakery in town that makes particularly luscious things. It had nuts, and cranberries, and white chocolate, and lovely spices. It would have been wonderful with my afternoon tea. I took it home, ate one bite, and gave the rest to my kids to share. You must realize that resisting the temptation to inhale it all by myself while hiding alone in my office makes me eligible for some kind of sainthood. Therefore, I will not dock myself the 2 points I ought. Holding at 90. So there.

Goal 3: Preparing for a lucky new year: Part A, gift making: Some progress. With luck, I may finish the bookmark/ornament project this weekend.

Part B, house cleaning: Well, I finally finished putting the house to rights after last weekend. No progress on the deep-clean and organizing. I figure I'm more than half-way done with this. Once I clear out a couple more closets and the kids' rooms, I'll declare victory. Yes, my children are old enough to clean their own rooms. No, they don't. Well - they'll put stuff away, sometimes. But we really need to go through drawers and get rid things they don't use anymore. That, they certainly won't do on their own.

[Wandern]

Ok - I keep trying to upload a picture of my lovely bookmarks/ornaments, but get an error. Is there a size limit on this thing? Do I have to put my images out on a different server? What's the deal with that?

Anyway - checking in for Dec. 10

Goal 1: Weighted workouts: still on track to get my three in this week

Goal 2: Practically Paleo eating: Had another sainted moment: the hubby made pizza margarita for dinner the other night, and I ate leftovers instead.

Goal 3: Good-for-me gifts 25 bookmarks/ornaments done! Photobooks Done! mini-goal complete!

Housecleaning: one more closet sorted, and I spent over 2 hours on one child's room. It's still not done :-(. It's appalling what accumulates in corners and under beds.

[Wandern]

Check-in for Dec 14.

Ugh. I've a cold and have been under the weather since Tuesday. Things are looking up, maybe I'll make it to the gym tomorrow.

Goal 1:No weights for me the last couple of days -5, down to 90 points - still an A if I can get in there this weekend and next week.

Goal 2: I've managed to avoid temptations so far this week, holding at 90 points on the diet front - still an A if I can hold out the next 9 days.

Goal 3: One more closet done, massive progress on younger daughter's room, though I still have one corner to excavate. Elder daughter insists that she can do her own, and I would agree, except I know she'll try and just shove things into her closet. Doesn't look like I'll get the bonus points this time around. Still, 1.5 of my 2 sub-goals done, and I think I can finish things up this weekend for a solid A here.

[Wandern]

Check-in Dec. 17 -

Goal 1: weights: Nope. Didn't make it back to the gym this past weekend, but did this morning. -5 points. I started the Rebel Strength dumbbell series, which gives a 4 day a week workout schedule - I plan on doing that this week, if I get them all in, I'll give myself 5 points back. 85 points, for now

Goal 2: Practically paleo. I may not be cooking for gifts, but my elder daughter decided to. There's a batch of buckeyes under construction, with a bunch of M&M clusters to come. There is no possible way I'm letting them out of the house without quality assurance testing ;-) - so I'll go ahead and take away 2 more points: 88 points - down to a B. Oh. well.

Goal 3: I'm declaring victory. Older daughter still needs to go through her bookshelf, but that is really out of my control, so I'm calling it done. An A!

[Wandern]

Dec. 22 - FINAL check-in -

There's just too much going on right now to worry with checking in anymore this challenge. So, I'm considering myself done this round. I might not be back for the next one. Right now, I want to take a round off to regroup. I'm going to have to "detox" after this feast week, and I want to think about my goals and plot out a path for the coming year before committing to anything for 6 weeks. We'll see how things stand Jan 1, but if there's no time to reflect the next week or so, I'll see you all in February.

Goal 1: Weights 3x per week. I got in my 4th lifting workout this week, so I'm adding back those 5 points - which brings me up to a 90. An A! (+2 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA)

Goal 2: Practically paleo: We're all off school and work for the rest of the year, and the indulgences have already started. I'm going to squeak in a B. We're being mindful of what we indulge in this year. We actually made up a list of things that we'd treat ourselves to this season, and are passing up on the things that aren't especially luscious.(+2 CON, +2 STA)

Goal 3: Preparing for the season: The house has been deep-cleaned, gifts made. An A! (+4 CHR, +1 WIS)

So, I know it's early, but the math works out: I declare myself a Level Three Wood Elf Druid STR 6 | DEX 6 | STA 6 | CON 6 | WIS 7 | CHR 8

[Elfin Harvester]

Wow - fantastic, you did it! Not easy at this time of year.

Very sensible, taking time out to think about the next challenge - have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!