Jarric

If you're doing kettlebell snatches there is a technique to make the bruises better. Basically it involves really punching through at the top, which stops it slamming hard into the back of your wrists. If you're doing snatches let me know and I'll try and dig out a technique video to explain it better.

Tuesday - Week 5 Day 2 Yesterday was a good day. In the morning I went for a 4 mile run with some 0.25 mile intervals, and then did some handstand practice when I got back. I'm in the office 3 days this week, so I walked in and back with WW, which is always nice. At lunchtime I also walked to see my future house, and worked out I can get there from work in 10 minutes which is excellent. Food was good, normal high-protein breakfast, leftover parsnip and butternut squash risotto for lunch, and homemade enchiladas for dinner. I was starving when I got home, so also had some bovril on toast when I walked in the door. Calories wound up pretty low with plenty of protein. In the evening I did some drawing in front of High Rollers and the Bake Off final. No foam rolling yesterday, but I did some money and will do some Wednesday so I'm well on track.

Yeah, you had me for a moment there! And not gonna lie, I'm excited for where things are headed (or, at least, where I think things are headed - who knows where you guys will actually end up going!)

So great to see you pushing forward on your journey Sky, and proud of you for shouting your anxiety down. Also, I'm with you on the cat toys - why buy them when Baheera will chase a ball of tin foil around the house for hours?

Sound plan mate - consistency is key.

Good to see you back here @Rhovaniel, you were missed. Don't mind me, just adding 'Oath of the Bartender Paladin' to the list of D&D content I'll never get round to creating...

What happened last week? Who knows! Pretty sure I got 6/7 workouts in. I subbed a couple of strength workouts for yoga because I couldn't be bothered to lift (mostly, I did also ping my shoulder doing a handstand press up). So not ideal, but better than nothing. I think food was ok, but I haven't been tracking so who knows really? Stretching and foam rolling were entirely neglected, and teeth brushing has taken a step backwards too. About the only thing I really nailed last week was drawing. After my D&D group decided they wanted to go sailing last week I spent most of the week drawing a boat for them, so they had somewhere to annihilate some pirates. And at the end of the week I finished off this guy: https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5-GeGAD79/?igshid=1uxpzboxc0e6b I'm really proud of how he came out actually. So, looking forward to this week. Yesterday wasn't ideal, but I'm confident that I can nail today and finish week 5 strong!

I know the feeling! I've not been around nearly as much as I'd like. Thank you, pictures will certainly follow once we've moved in (that'll probably be a couple of months yet, but they're coming!). And thank you! I've not been 100% consistent in the past week, but I'm working out most days at the very least.

Yeah, the overlap sounds like a good idea. I might actually have the opposite problem - we hope to complete on the new place in January, but we've got the tenancy on the current one until May. Hoping that I can persuade the landlord to let us out early, because 5 months of paying rent and a mortgage will get expensive!

Well, it's been a while since I last updated, and apparently it's now week 4. Things are going ok. Work has got crazy busy, so I'm pulling back on some of my goals and putting that mental energy into work time for the time being. Here's how that looks: I'm still exercising daily I'm still focussing on protein and making sure I at least get my protein shake in, but I'm not tracking my food I'm still stretching and foam rolling where I can If I get a break and can do some drawing then great, but no pressure Teeth are going ok, although when I get stressed this tends to be the first thing to slip - it's a real mental block I'm blaming this stress on work, but to be fair it's more than that. Moving house is taking up a lot of my mental space, and even playing, preparing, and running D&D games is taking up a fair chunk of my time. I've got the week after next off to catch up and recharge, just need to power through until then.

Ah, I see, well that makes sense when you put it like that.

For some reason my phone reversed the quotes, so I'll respond to this first! I think one of the things the bullet journal method suggests is putting a key to all of your symbols in the front of the book - definitely do that. That way you don't need to learn the system too quickly, you can just double check while you're doing it. 1. Definitely give it a go - different people use it differently but it can be really useful. Mine is just a workout log and a challenge tracker these days, but I still find it helpful. It's also somewhere for me to list stuff that I might one day need to refer back to without losing it. In replying to this I realised that a bullet journal for work could make my life drastically easier, so I've just bought a bigger one for work. Thanks for making me think of it! 2. I think it's good to explore different guilds and different places. You may find that you have less people following your challenge when you step outside the Rangers, because we're probably the most active guild, but it's still a good experience.

^actual footage of me when I realised Thank you! I sort of try not to believe in fate, but in reality I can't deny how perfectly this has worked out. And no worries, it's been a mad few weeks! I'm glad it helps; I sometimes worry that I come off as flippant, so it's good to hear that it's welcome. Haha, that's amazing . I wouldn't have associated the accordion with Scotland though, maybe I've missed something there.

Oof, caffeine withdrawal sucks! Hope it gets better soon.

Wednesday - W3D3 Yesterday was a good day. Morning work was a circuit of weighted pistol squats at 5.8kg - 4 x 3 each side - toes to bar - 4.5 reps on the first set, then 2 sets of 7 - and single arm single leg planks - 3 x 25 seconds each side. As with Monday it was supposed to be 5-7 rounds and I hit my time cap in round 4; gonna stick with it and see if I can get through these quicker. After that I did a workout that my gym had put up on Facebook - for time: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-6-7 reps of dumbbell snatch left, dumbbell snatch right, burpees. I finished in 14:56, and man that was a sweaty old workout! ...it was only that afternoon that I noticed there was supposed to be a 10 minute time cap *facepalm* Work was good, fairly busy. In the evening I watched Dragony Aunt, WW cooked a sausage and egg hash, and then we watched some Crit Role. Ialso started working on a drawing, which is being challenging so I hope I can pull it off, and I did some very brief foam rolling to tick that goal off. Teeth were done, and protein was just about over 150kcal.

Cold soup might be the way to go. Maybe a meal replacement shake (though I don't know if it's worth buying that if it's only for a couple of days)? Glad the extraction went well anyway.

Sorry to hear things keep piling on at the moment - finger crossed you get to have a break soon.

That would be amazing, I love that idea! Also, I suggest you look into the kenku race for D&D - they can only speak by mimicry. I think it's really hard to pull off, but if you can do it well it's a great concept.

Hope all went well at the dentist yesterday!

Week 3 update Monday was a good day. Morning workout was a circuit of 3 x 5 weighted pullups at bodyweight+23# (~10.5kg, about 14% on top of bodyweight), 3 x 4+4 single leg elevated ring rows, 3 x 5 half bridges. Was supposed to be 5-7 rounds, but I was slow setting up and ran out of time. I also worked out when I'd finished that rather than setting up my rings from scratch every time and weaving them round my pullup bar, I can set them up once and loop them over some other rungs on the bar *facepalm*. Followed that with some hangboarding - 3 sets of 6 x 5 seconds on the 25mm holds - and rounded out with 5 minutes of crow pose practice and 10 minutes stretching. Work was ok, though I worked a bit later than planned. In the evening I did my split stretches and some foam rolling in front of Crit Role. Protein was good (not least because WW cooked turkey pasta for dinner) and teeth were done. Tuesday was a good day. In the morning I ran 4 miles (~6.4km) with 2 x 1 mile (~1.6km) intervals. The intervals weren't as far as I would like, but that's ok. Followed that with a 10 minute AMRAP: 3 handstand pushups (to a thin pillow), 5 pullups, 15 air squats - I scored 6 rounds and 6 reps. I'd spent a bit of time faffing between the run and the workout, so ran out of time here and missed my handstand practice and cut my stretching short. Work was busy, and I plowed all my time into one project that's well overdue - nearly finished it and it's now out of the way. In the evening I cooked mushroom parmentier - was ok but I wasn't wowed by it. While it was in the oven I did a bit of D&D prep; lots of things to get ready for that at the moment. Then chilled out in front of Taskmaster and Bake Off. No other goals complete, but I did take some notes for something I want to draw. Teeth were done and protein was good (thanks to leftover turkey pasta for lunch).

I was always terrible at accents (except Irish, growing up around my Irish family), until someone pointed out to mean that it's a thing you can learn. I just go on YouTube now and search "how to do a ___ accent", and it's been working surprisingly well. The other tip I have for DMing, you're never doing an accent, you're doing a voice. I'm not doing a dodgy Welsh accent, this is exactly how the character sounds! See now that sounds like fun - I'd like to hear a few of those other voices. Obligatory: so you started pronouncing it correctly? Now that I'd like to hear! That picture won't load for me . Glad someone approves though! Yeah, there's definitely a stereotypical Dutch accent. See Austin Powers: Goldmember for the (obvious caracature of) the stereotype. I love Dunglish as a word - sounds like it would be hilarious to listen to too. The only thing more sinister in a Hollywood film than a British person, is a British person doing a German or Russian accent (see Alan Rickman in Diehard). And thank you man! I'm glad you enjoy them - I have a lot of fun choosing and learning them! And agreed, all three of those nationalities, and particularly the Dutch, have a reputation for speaking English better than most English people.

Thank you! You'll get there though - you already do a lot more walking than me, I just have the odd long run. Ah, good to know. Definitely! To be fair, the door was only a real obstacle if you had time pressure. When Scoria and Osric blew up the magmins in one round of combat you had all the time in the world to smash a door. (For some meta knowledge, that trap would be much more effective if the tower was still in use, and there was a very high level wizard in the next room to come running when the trap was triggered.) Ah ok, that makes some more sense then. Here employers have to continue paying their employees at least 80% of their wages, and then the government reimburse the employer that money. There was quite a few weeks delay between businesses paying wages and getting their money back from the government though, so I know a lot of small businesses struggle with that. I've no idea how many businesses went under here - there's been a few government grants and loans, but I don't know if they were adequate. That is lucky. We're in a similar place where I can still work, and if worst came to worst we could scrape by on my income if WW wasn't working (though so far it looks like her job is safe). Hope your husband finds something soon. Yeah, Google Meet has been a lifesaver, and it's allowed me to play long distance/international D&D games that I never would have done before this all started. Thank you man! It most certainly is. Good to have you! Definitely! I'd offer for the game I run, but in all honesty the party is as big as I can handle right now! (Particularly when Xan returns.) yeah, I definitely never had this problem when I was younger. I'd eat and keep eating when I was full. I don't really know why that doesn't happen any more. Thank you - I'm very excited! I can imagine - I've met a fair few people with Scottish accents that I outright cannot understand. Is this a good time to mention that I've been playing all of my dwarfs with a vaguely Russian/Eastern European accent? . Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll get to hear my dreadful attempts at Scottish soon enough.

If it makes you feel any better, I had 2 teeth pulled out in my 20s. They were both wisdom teeth, but they had to come out because they were rotten to the core. Exactly the same as you I didn't take care of my teeth and had a ton of sugary drinks. I seem to have turned a corner with it now though, and my dentist has been very complimentary of my teeth of late, so it's never too late to turn it around. It all sounds pretty creative to me - certainly a lot more involved than something I could come up with! It is most fun when players take the initiative and decide what they want to do though.

Good luck with tomorrow. I've had 2 teeth pulled and I think it's perfectly reasonable to feel anxious about it. At the end of the day though, your dentist is a trained professional who has likely done this procedure hundreds of times, so it will be fine. Glad the depression is subsiding, capitalise on it this week while you're in a position to set yourself up for success. I love the sound of your World of Darkness campaign - who doesn't want the ghost of a creepy eldritch hound thing as a pet? Sounds like you had a lot of fun with your players.

It was a good weekend! Saturday was a good day. I went for a 3 hour run in the morning. I say a run; I was feeling a bit sick and a bit tired, so there was a lot of walking. Covered just under 12 miles, which is better than nothing - at least I put the hours in. In the afternoon I had D&D, DM'd by @jonfirestar, along with @WhiteGhost, @Red1263, and @Mr_Willes. We're off to rescue a caravan transporting (smuggling?) magical beasts from some kobolds that have decided to trap it in the underdark. We have no real idea why the kobolds are doing this, or what the shadowy hooded figure travelling with them is, but I imagine we'll eventually find out! In the evening I watched Questing Time and drank beer. I don't think I drank that much, but somehow I ended up pretty drunk. Calories were about 4k, so far too high, but protein was at least also very high. I failed my teeth goal for the first time in a long time, purely because I forgot to brush them first thing. I usually brush them when I have my morning shower, but because of the long run my shower was in the afternoon, and so that's when teeth were done. Sunday was a good day. I had a lie in (with a bit of a hangover), and then chilled in front of the TV for the morning. I also did some drawing so that there would be some work on that goal: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVBFhkADTg/ (I don't know why Instagram links won't embed for me recently) In the afternoon I ran my D&D game for @jonfirestar, @Mr_Willes, @DarK_RaideR, @Rhovaniel, @iatetheyeti, and WW. The party were in a nice puzzle dungeon, with lots of elemental themes and more than a few traps. They thought they had figured out the main puzzle which involved singing praises to elemental gods whilst walking through walls of light, until they discovered that they'd come to a different solution which worked for some walls and not others . It was great fun though, and they were able to very quickly smash up all of the combat encounters the dungeon could throw at them. Next session they get to figure out how to carry a lot of books home; yay logistics! In the evening I watched some High Rollers and Critical Role, and did some foam rolling to tick off that goal for the day. Week 1 Scores Muscle - 10XP Track food and hit 150g protein per day. 4/7 - I tracked food every day, but was a bit hit and miss with the protein requirement. Something to work on. Wizard - 10XP Have a workout plan and stick to it. I've written a plan which basically boils down to 4/5 Crossfit sessions per week, and 3/4 runs per week, alternating between which one I do more of. There's a plan for the types of runs as well, to keep it interesting. Every workout needs to be followed by stretching to count, even if it's just 30 seconds to get me into the habit. 6/7 - I missed my run on Sunday again, this time with a hangover and a general lack of inclination. Home workouts in lockdown went well though. Athletics - 10XP Foam rolling three times per week. 2/3 - did nothing in the first half of the week, which made this difficult to catch up with at the end. Acrobatics - 5XP Split stretches once per week. 0/1 - Should have done this earlier in the week. Spellbook - 5XP Draw three times per week. 2/3 - did nothing in the first half of the week, which made this difficult to catch up with at the end. Prestidigitation - 5XP Teeth brushing 2 x per day, and use the electric brush and interdental sticks in the evening. 5/7 - Need to remember those weekend mornings! Otherwise good.