Wandern gets consistent

[Wandern]

Last Challenge was...challenging. And I did not rise to the occasion. Hopefully, the longer and warmer days will help me get out of my slump. That, and getting consistent with my "practice." Some things are best done every day.

 

2014 Goal 1: Deadlift my bodyweight (170lbs/77kg)/do a pull-up. Currently deadlifting 125lbs/56.7kg/hanging 5 seconds

Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Deadlift: January Start: 125 lbs; Challenge Start: 125 lbs
• Squat: January Start: 105 lbs; Challenge Start: 105 lbs
• Bench Press January Start: 75 lbs; Challenge Start: 75 lbs
• Overhead press: January Start: 60 lbs; Challenge Start: 55 lbs (yes, I went backwards. sigh)

Grading: A= 36-42 days (+2STR, +2CON); B= 30-35 days (+2STR, +1CON); C= 24-29 days (+1STR, +1CON); D= 18-23 days (+1STR)

 

2014 Goal 2: Make meditating a habit

Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

Grading: A= 36-42 days (+2WIS, +2CHA); B= 30-35 (+2WIS, +1CHA); C= 24-29 (+1WIS, +1CHA); D= 18-23 (+1WIS)

 

2014 Goal 3: Complete a king-sized quilt. Machine or hand pieced, hand quilted.

Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

Grading: A= 36-42 days (+2DEX, +2STA); B= 30-35 (+2DEX, +1STA); C= 24-29 (+1DEX, +1STA); D= 18-23 (+1DEX)

 

2014 Goal 4: Read one non-fiction book outside of my comfort zone every month.

Challenge Goal: Read a book. I still have to pick one.

Grading: Pass (+1CHA, +1WIS, +1STA)

[Liberator]

Nice Goals. What kind of non-fiction book are you looking for?

[LittleTurtle]

Hello Wandern!  Are you still kicking butt over at the Academy?  I haven't popped into the Community over there in a while, but I've been utilizing the recipes.

 

Your goals and grading system look pretty solid.  Good luck to you!  I know you will do great!  

 

PS - I am needing warmer and sunnier days too... and soon!  It feels like it's been winter for-e-ver!!  

[Wandern]

Nice Goals. What kind of non-fiction book are you looking for?

Thanks, Liberator! I've been practicing . I had been thinking history, but it turns out that my DH has lent the book I've been thinking about reading to my father, so that one'll have to wait. I settled on Plentitude by Juliet Schor at the recommendation of Mr. Money Moustache. It's not as far out of my comfort zone as I was thinking I'd go (I rarely read history), but it'll be due back at the library soon. Do you have any recommendations?

 

Hello Wandern!  Are you still kicking butt over at the Academy?  I haven't popped into the Community over there in a while, but I've been utilizing the recipes.

 

Your goals and grading system look pretty solid.  Good luck to you!  I know you will do great!  

 

PS - I am needing warmer and sunnier days too... and soon!  It feels like it's been winter for-e-ver!!  

 

Hi Little Turtle! I haven't been active on the Academy community at all  . But I have gone over to pick up a couple new workouts. It's been worth it for the workouts for me. I tend to wander around poking aimlessly at different equipment without them.

 

I saw baby leaves on a willow tree this morning! Spring can't be too far off!

[I am Eve]

Oh spring....It was nice here as I went for a short run this afternoon. Then it started snowing...

Welcome back to rise to the occasion. I have so much faith in you. Pull ups!

Are you going to start by meditating 10 minutes or will you start doing a shorter time and then increase?

[LittleTurtle]

Hi Wandern!  How did the first week go for you? 

[Wandern]

Week 1 check-in: 

 

This was probably the busiest week for me this challenge - the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival was going on all weekend, and my mom and I took classes, shopped, drooled over amazing works of art, drank wine till bedtime and talked all things quilty the whole weekend. Such a good time. My poor, suffering husband thinks we're nuts. But, clearing the decks ahead of this as well as the interruption of my schedule made working towards my goals a challenge:

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 1: I did get some exercise every day - Only 2 days were weight-lifting, and one day all I did was walk around a convention hall looking at quilts. Since I was on my feet for at least 6 hours, I'm counting it! +7

 

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

 

• Only 4 days meditating this week. :-/ That was predictable, but I had thought I would slow down for at least 10 minutes a day this past weekend. Not a strong start here, but totally worth it. +4

 

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• Hm. Grading myself on this is a bit tricky. I technically didn't work on a project but 4 days, but three of those days felt like a sewing binge, and the other 3 days were spent getting stuff done so I could enjoy the weekend. I'm giving myself full marks: +7

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. 

• I've started Plentitude by Juliet Schor, but haven't gotten far. Really depressing so far. When it comes to climate change, we humans (esp, in the US) are truly acting like the proverbial frog in a cooking pot.

And, for your viewing pleasure, here's a blog post about the making of the quilt that won in the Best Wallhanging category. 

[Liberator]

WOW! Amazing quilt!!! I can see why it won the award! Beautiful colors and movement along with the intricate details and texture, fantastic!

[vortexofsleep]

Wow, I can't even imagine making a king-sized quilt!  Of course, this is coming from the woman who has started about 9000 cross-stitch projects over the last 30 years and just finished her first one last month.

 

I should read Plenitude.  I'm a big MMM fan...a fan of budgeting in general.  My sister and I get completely dorked out over budgeting.

 

Do you think it will be nice enough weather-wise this challenge to do any strenuous gardening?  I'm a bit north of you, in PA, and I have my doubts.  I did notice that some of the trees and bushes are turning red at the ends, but I haven't seen any buds yet.  And now the grass is all covered again, bah.

[Wandern]

We had such a nice weekend three weeks ago. Surely more warm weather can't be far away? I put in a hugelkultur bed (with brush in the bottom because I don't have logs) and would like to put in a couple more before planting season really gets underway- though I may have to raid the neighbor's leaf pile for the organic material. Last year, I swore I wouldn't even bother with veggies because between the deer and voles - well, my harvest last year was basil, 5 cherry tomatoes, a few Chinese long beans, and a watermelon about the size of a tennis ball. Seriously. That's it. Don't know why I bother.

 

A cross-stitcher, eh? I've never done cross-stitch. I embroider for crazy-patch occasionally, but cross-stitch takes a lot of patience. Congratulations on getting your piece done!

 

Plentitude is interesting - it takes a macro-economics view of life, work, and sustainability. It's kind of refreshing when an economist takes into account the fact that planetary resources are not infinite. But depressing, because when they do, they make the same kind of predictions ecologists have been making since the 70s. 

[Wandern]

Week 2 check-in: 

There were a couple of days this week when everything felt like it went exactly right. "I love it when a plan comes together" kind of days. Having a couple of snow days where I could work from home and get caught up on the laundry really helped   

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 2: I missed one day: One day was weight-lifting, one was on the gym bike, one was burpees (ugh), one was yoga/rolling (after the burpees I couldn't move), and two days were in the garden. I hope to finish raising another garden bed this morning. +6 Challenge total = 13

 

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

• 5 days meditating this week. . At least it's one better than last week. +5 Challenge total = 9

 

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• I missed getting to the fabric a couple of days this week, but on the days I did work on the project, I spent over an hour working instead of just 10 minutes. So, I've put in more time, but on fewer days. Still, the challenge is to make it a daily habit, so: +5 for the week. Challenge total = 12

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. 

• I completed Plentitude by Juliet Schor. It was certainly interesting to read about global / ecological economies, but I found that some of her recommendations for adapting to a economy that must start to contract as we use up the "free" natural resources to be somewhat simplistic. Her thought is that if we cut a lot of people back to part-time work, we can maintain a fairly high level of employment while freeing up time for people to "self-provision." Self-provisioning is when folks do more for themselves: make clothes, garden & preserve food - basically fix or make things that we've become accustomed to paying others to do or start a cottage industry where you can sell or barter the goods you make for those services. It's sort of the way Mr. Money Moustache talks about living, which seems to work well for him. I'm just not sure how such an approach will scale for the majority - and I felt that Plentitude didn't really fully address that. Anyway. Challenge goal is passed, though I still want to look up some of her references for myself.

[Liberator]

I love those days where I meet every goal that day! It sounds like you had a good week. Keep going and those days where everything is going right will keep coming!

 

Gardening! All I have been able to do is shovel…snow! 

 

All the best to you in the upcoming week! Week three the halfway point, it is so amazing how quickly things pass…

[Wandern]

Week 3 check-in: 

What??!! Halfway through already? Geez, time does fly. It was a good week. We had guests again this weekend, and we tend to use guests as an excuse to make all the high-carb dishes we can't justify eating when it's just us. So, I'm glad I don't have a diet challenge going   . Other than that, I did fairly well on the goals:

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 3: I missed one day: Two days weight-lifting, two walking, and two days were in the garden. I raised two garden beds, and cleared two more of top soil and added the bottom layer (rotting logs) to them. One day, I spent 3 hours in the garden and walked 3.5 miles with my beloved. And then winter moved back in. +6 Challenge total = 19

 

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

• 7 days meditating this week.  . +7 Challenge total = 16

 

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• I missed one day this week since a guest was in my sewing space.+6 for the week. Still feel OK about my progress. Challenge total = 18

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. Passed. And April's book is selected: A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich. I might start it early - it's a chunk.

[I am Eve]

Way to go Wandern, that sounds just amazing!

Tell me more about your garden, I miss mine so much.....

[Sunmage]

Awesome.

Meditating every day is a great habit. but hard to achieve.

 

Whenever something in your head says: " I have no time to meditate 10 minutes today" Just do 20 . The voice will disappear quite soon. But it seems you already figured your 10 minutes out.

 

Good work! Continue! And don't forget to show pictures of the first gardening successes

[Wandern]

Week 4 check-in: 

This week did not go as well as last week did. Oh, well

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 4: I missed 3 days: One day weight-lifting, One in the gym, and two days were in the garden. It iced two nights in a row and I simply couldn't face scraping the car in the dark, so I balked and pulled the covers back over my head and postponed facing reality on those days. But yesterday was glorious, so I put in 3 hours of gardening plus 7 miles of walking. Which really ought to count for two days, IMHO.+4 Challenge total = 23

I finished getting the veggie garden ready to plant! Yay, me! There are now 3 hugelkulture beds roughly 1 X 3 meters, and one bed .5 X 3 meters. I put in a few cool weather plants: broccoli, cabbage, etc. But we're supposed to get a hard freeze the next couple of nights, so they'll probably die, in spite of the mulch I put over them. Here's a pic: the darker beds are the ones that I just finished today, the soil is still damp.

 

 

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

• 6 days meditating this week. +6 Challenge total =  22 - already beat last challenge's score.

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• I missed two days this week, but put in way more than 10 minutes when I do it - 2 hours today. +5 Challenge total = 23

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. Passed. And April's book is selected: A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich. I might start it early - it's a chunk.

[I am Eve]

My oh my Wandern!

 

First of all, thank you for being a constant inspirer all over the threads for all of this challenge. You are amazing!!

Second, look at those beds, I am soooo envious. Right now I can't do any gardening (because of my living situation and of the cold weather) and I long for it so much.

 

You are so rocking this challenge with consistency and wisdom!!!

[Wandern]

Week 5 check-in: 

Ugh. I think I was over-enthusiastic in the warm weather last weekend. Low back/hip outta whack all week. Pretty sure it's my quadratus lumborum (Q.L.) - when I do some self-massage over it, it refers pain in just the right places. Sigh. 

 

On the plus side - three nights of heavy frosts last week did not kill my baby broccoli! And there is no frost in the forecast this week at all! Could it be ...spring?

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 5: I only got in 3 days of exercise - one gym aerobic day; one gym day that was supposed to be lifting, but I couldn't maintain even a bodyweight squat in good form even after warm-up so gave it up as a lost cause that day; one good walk this weekend; and I'm going to give myself another +1 for all the stretching, rolling, and self-massage I've been doing this week +4 Challenge total = 27

 

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

• 7 days meditating this week.   . +7 Challenge total = 29

 

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• I didn't miss a day this week! Woot!. I got all the pieces cut out for the central part of the quilt, and am ready to start sewing.(Yup, it's taken 5 weeks to get here) +7 for the week. Challenge total = 30

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. Passed. And April's book is selected: A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich. I'll start it next week.

[Wandern]

Week 6 (final) check-in: 

A good week all-in-all. Took it easy on the exercise front, planted seeds in the garden (if the compost is starting to sprout, it's not too early - right?).

 

2014 Goal 1: Challenge Goal: Exercise every day. Weights 3x/week, gym aerobics 2x/week, yoga or outside walking 2x/week. More than an hour of strenuous gardening can count as a weight work-out. Walking more than 1.5 hours can count as a gym aerobic work-out.

• Week 6: I managed to get in some form of exercise every day this week; mostly walking and stretching, but did garden this weekend: +7 Challenge total = 34: B +1STR, +2CON (I took the point away from strength because I really did not increase strength this challenge)

2014 Goal 2: Challenge Goal: Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

• 7 days meditating this week.    . +7 Challenge total = 36 - That's an A! Woo-hoo! +2WIS, +2CHA

 

2014 Goal 3: Challenge Goal: Work on a sewing project at least 10 minutes every day.

• I didn't miss a day this week! Started hand piecing the central motif. I get a ridiculous amount of pleasure just seeing those little pieces come together.  +7 for the week. Challenge total = 37 Another A! +2DEX, +2STA

2014 Goal 4: Challenge Goal: Read a non-fiction book that's out of my comfort zone. Passed. +1CHA, +1WIS, +1STA

 

And I started April's selection: A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich. I'm only about 20 pages in right now. Constantine had the George Foreman approach to naming children (or is it the other way around?) and trying to keep up with who is who and where is what is challenging. Istanbul was Byzantium before it was Constantinople and that's the easy one.

 

In the interim, I read Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, and it really resonated with me. I liked the whole premise of trying to tweak small things to improve overall, every day happiness. Her resolution charts intrigue me - maybe they're a tool I can use in future challenges?

 

Anyway, when I'm back next challenge, I'll be Level 9 with STR 14 | DEX 17 | STA 16 | CON 14 | WIS 19 | CHA 18

[LittleTurtle]

Can't wait to see what you have in store for the next challenge!  Congrats on this one - looks like you did great!!