Another Suzaqu Points Challenge

[Suzaqu]

Hello all!

 

This is going to be a stressful challenge for me work-wise, because I'm going to be taking on quite a bit of work from a coworker who's leaving, at least for the next month or so, so I'm sticking with a format that has worked for me last time, points! I'm going to do a Monday start for this challenge and run for (almost) 5 weeks, starting today.

 

This time, I want to earn 150 points and have switched up my goals a bit. 

 

Things that can earn me points:

• Doing a workout (S&S, yoga, long walk/hike, exercise bike, etc) +2
• Doing my evening mobility routine (focused on hips, shoulders, and spine currently) +1
• Logging into NF and posting on my thread and one other) +1
• Sweeping the kitchen floor  +1
• No alcohol day  +1
• Spending 15min reading (and understanding) math (I'm working on a new project with an old mentor and I want some motivation) +1
• Doing an adult thing I don't want to do (can earn one per week, last time this got me to get a lot of stuff done!) +5
• Finishing a color stripe of knitting +3

 

Things that will lose me points:

• going over my calorie goal for the day -1
• spending money -1 per $1, rounded as one can expect, but min 1 point lost if any money spent (other than exceptions below)

 

The ones that probably need explanation are my knitting goal and my $ goal. The no-spend goal is inspired by KJ and I'm excited! I'm not going to spend any of my "personal" money during this challenge. So expenses with my husband like groceries, eating out, etc are fine, this is really just to reign in my own spending. The one exception is that I have a work trip the first full week of April that is extending to a trip home as well, as it a conference in my hometown. So I'm allowed to spend then, especially because it's also my mom's birthday (perfect timing!). Other exception is the weekend when my sister-in-law is here, the first weekend in April, as something may come up then as well. Also, full disclosure: there is about $25 on my starbucks gift card that I'll be allowed to spend

 

The knitting goal is to get me to finish my baby blanket I'm working on. I have a friend who's due in the first week in April, and i'm nowhere done! It has a grey to yellow ombre, and I have 6 colors to create the ombre. I currently only have 1.5 colors done. So every time I finish a color, I get 3 points.

 

I haven't quite picked out my reward for this challenge yet, or a theme, but I'm here! 

[ixaera]

I'm here! Good luck! <3

[Suzaqu]

1 minute ago, ixaera said:

I'm here! Good luck! <3

Hiiiiiiiii! Thanks! 

[Suzaqu]

Tuesday check in!

Happy challenge start! Today was a snow day thanks to Stella, so I had a great day marathoning GBBO and cleaning (which really needed to be done) and other household chores, including sweeping. I also drank a rose (dry of course ) and made bread (thanks to GBBO) and ate half of it (thanks to carbs). I spent about an hour shoveling snow today all together, because it was so heavy that I did a few rounds throughout the day as it was coming down, and I'm calling that a workout. My shoulders/shoulder blades are sore, so I'm going to do mobility tonight with some extra shoulder work. I figure that's a good sign that I was shoveling well, since my back feels great. 

 

Math: 1+1+2+1=5

Total: 5

 

 

[karinajean]

awesome goals! and I'm glad you gave yourself exceptions on the no spend. the most important thing is that you're not just RANDOMLY spending.

[Suzaqu]

Just now, karinajean said:

awesome goals! and I'm glad you gave yourself exceptions on the no spend. the most important thing is that you're not just RANDOMLY spending.

Thanks! I figure that if they are planned, they are probably good spending. It's those random vending machine trips and sparkly eyeshadows that I want to avoid. It's also my birthday at the end of this month, which always tempts me to "treat myself" and all the special deals in my email don't help either.

 

^^had to include this gif

[Elastigirl]

Baking bread seems like a good idea after snow shoveling.

Good challenge set-up

[Suzaqu]

53 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

Baking bread seems like a good idea after snow shoveling.

Good challenge set-up

Thanks! I think it served the warmth need post shoveling even better than making hot chocolate would (though I did have some of that tonight as well)

[raptron]

I also watched GBBO during the snow day, hah! I love that you are keeping the point structure.

[Suzaqu]

2 hours ago, raptron said:

I also watched GBBO during the snow day, hah! I love that you are keeping the point structure.

Yes! I was so happy when I discovered the two new seasons on Netflix! It's such a cozy show, perfect for snow day lounging and cleaning. I'm a big fan of the points structure, at least until things calm down (which honestly never happens )

[Grayspeed]

That focaccia looks great! Following 

[Suzaqu]

7 hours ago, Grayspeed said:

That focaccia looks great! Following 

Thanks! It's all been eaten now, and I don't even feel guilty  

[Suzaqu]

Wednesday:

Ended up being another snowy day. I left work 1.5 hrs early and worked at home for the last bit of the day. I also thus had to do more shoveling and called that my workout. Everyone at work was sore from shoveling and no one used their standing desks today, so I feel justified in calling shoveling my activity for the day. I also did my mobility in an effort to help my shoulders be more happy, swept the floor, and I didn't drink today. Also I spent no money, though the cheez-its in the vending machine were sooo tempting.

 

Math:1+2+1+1+1=6

Total: 11

[Suzaqu]

Thursday:

Ooops, didn't update yesterday. I had a haircut in the evening and got home later than planned. I didn't drink and swept, and that's about it.

Math: 1+1=2

Total: 13

 

Friday:

I'm actually here! I did my S&S Scramble for the first time, which is what I'm calling the swing sandwich inspired S&S thing I made up on @Elastigirl's challenge.  (10 swings (L) TGU (L) 10 swings (R) TGU (R)) x5. I went with my standard weights, since I was trying something new. Overall I really enjoyed it.  It broke up the 10 TGUs really well, so I think I'll keep doing it intermittently, even if only for that reason. It also kept my heart rate higher throughout which along with the "swing" mentality made me do my TGUs faster, which has pros and cons. I did the whole thing in about 14 minutes, without putting thought into pacing, and my fastest S&S with these weights was 12min, when I was pushing for speed. I usually take a minute to breathe between the swings and TGUs which I didn't do in the S&S scramble. I think the extra time probably went to figuring out the logistics of how to switch bells efficiently within a confined area, and in having to get up and down between the swings and TGUs. I think I'll try it again in a bit and hopefully have some more coherent thoughts on it

 

Other than S&S, I also did my mobility, and swept. I did drink because St. Patrick's day+Friday after a looooong week.

 

I also found out that the friend who I'm knitting the blanket for had her baby on Monday, so now I really got to crank on that.

Math:2+1+1+1=5

Total: 18

 

Also, my tea maker reward from the last challenge came today, with bonus tea towl! (darn those snowstorm delays). I haven't used it yet, but I'm in love with how it nests.

[Elastigirl]

The Swing Scramble sounds fun. I like the name too!

[Mad Hatter]

If the challenge ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

That bread looks yummy! I love focaccia, the only problem is that it goes stale really quickly so I pretty much end up eating bread all day whenever I make it. #sorrynotsorry 

[LouCarJo]

Like the reward!  What will this challenge get you?

[Suzaqu]

On 3/17/2017 at 8:41 PM, Elastigirl said:

The Swing Scramble sounds fun. I like the name too!

I really liked it! And I'm not ashamed to admit that I came up with it while making eggs for breakfast and trying to convince myself to workout. Fun names definitely help the self-persuasuion process 

[Suzaqu]

3 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

Like the reward!  What will this challenge get you?

I'm not sure yet actually. I'm thinking some form of fancy lunchbox/bento box. I'm currently using a reusable grocery bag to transport my tupperware to/from work, but for a while I've been thinking that a bento style box might be fun, and could encourage better lunch packing with more variety. The problem is that I can't find the "perfect" one, partially because idk what a perfect one would look like for me. So I just keep reading reviews and being dissuaded from buying/committing to any.

[Suzaqu]

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

If the challenge ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

That bread looks yummy! I love focaccia, the only problem is that it goes stale really quickly so I pretty much end up eating bread all day whenever I make it. #sorrynotsorry 

I have the same issue, so I make a "half" batch, ie a 9x13 instead of a half sheet pan, still a large amount of bread. I usually reserve it for days when I accept that I will eat all the bread, or when I have a potluck event.

[Suzaqu]

Saturday:

Most importantly, I made my first two batches of tea in my tea maker, and I love it! It definitely took some figuring out, but by the end of the second batch, I was not spilling, nor burning my fingers. I really like how it makes the tea into a process/moment of appreciation. I swept the floor, primarily because I spilled thyme on the floor while making etouffee (I know there's a good pun in there, but I'm too tired to make it, I guess you could say I don't want to take the thyme to think about it.....I apologize, it had to be done). I did my mobility, and S&S, the non-scramble variety. I did what's become my standard, 60 swings and 6TGUs at my new, higher weight, the rest at my usual. To break myself out of this rut, I'm setting the goal to be at the higher weights for all reps in both swings and TGUs by the end of the challenge. No points, just a fun side quest. I think it's mostly a mental barrier, and I'm hoping this will help.

 

I resisted the temptation today to buy anything, and instead actually worked 2 hours, so I made some good overtime money, instead of spending

 

Math:1+1+1+2=5

Total: 23

[Suzaqu]

Sunday:

This was a lazy, yet productive day  I swept (actually vaccumed) the kitchen, did my mobility, and hung out here on the forums  I didn't feel like doing S&S, so I went to my old trainer's insta and took a workout from her. I did the following (20sec on, 10 sec off) a few time through, and then threw on some swing training at the end.

1. Suitcase Lift "Out-Ins" Right 
2. Suitcase Lift "Out-Ins" Left
3. Right Arm Swing Step-Ins
4. Left Arm Swing Step-Ins
5. Single Leg Military Press Right 
6. Single Leg Military Press Left
7. Lateral Swing Walks R
8. Lateral Swing Walks L

It was a really fun challenge, because it took things that I felt pretty confident in, and threw in a twist to make it challenging. My favorite were the single leg military presses, it definitely worked my stabilization skills.

 

I also did an adult thing. I was looking for something to do that was adult-y, and I realized that every night when I look at my super cluttered night stand (I mean layers upon layers of books, hair stuff, empty lotion bottles and samples, etc, it makes me sad. So I took the 20-30 minutes to clean it, both the drawer and the top, and I feel so much better! Now all that's there is a book on top and stuff I actually need (and can get to!) in the drawer.

 

I think I've almost come to a conclusion on my "reward" for this challenge, I just want to sleep on it, since I came up with it while falling asleep yesterday.

 

Math: 1+1+1+2+5=10

Total: 33

[Elastigirl]

I like that how you decided what to do was by what made you sad to look at, that's good motivation

[LouCarJo]

Cleaning like that can be so satisfying!

 

I'd never heard of one leg military presses.  I guess it just removes part of your base of support?

[Suzaqu]

8 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

I like that how you decided what to do was by what made you sad to look at, that's good motivation

And it worked! I looked at it when I got up this morning and I was happy!