“National Respawn Day”

[EDITOR’S NOTE:  I found this blog post just hanging out in ‘draftland’ from December 2nd.  I’m sure I had more to say, but I’ve got a new post in mind, so please enjoy this snippet.]

I just had an email pop through from Nerd Fitness, and it is exactly what I needed to hear.  We cleaned out our refrigerator last night and threw away too much food that was allowed to spoil. It was better than we used to be, but not as good as we wanted, especially when groceries can be so expensive.

This morning, a Facebook friend posted that he’s gone a whole year and a half without a cheat meal. His goals are current than mine, but I think the dedication needs to be the same.
(Pic)

I was thinking about this when Respawn Day was delivered to my inbox:

” In video games, we die when facing a particularly tough bad guy or challenge, and so we respawn – coming back to life and rejoining the battle from just a short distance away.

When we hit a terrible shot in golf when playing amongst friends, we shake it off, make fun of ourselves, and use a ‘mulligan’ to hit another one.

But in life, when we try to get fit and struggle…we call ourselves losers and give up. We’re ashamed that we tried and failed.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve sometimes died in the first goomba in Mario. I’ve died so many times playing Guild Wars 2 that I know the respawn soundtrack as well as the environmental ones.. maybe even better.  It’s the same with weight loss–each time I go through it, I get a little better.

Sh-Boom! Life Could Be a Dream

 

The title is inspired by the track that is playing in the background as I write this post.  I am such a lucky person.  Gainfully employed, completing my degree, happily in love and married, and about to buy my own home…. what’s not to love?  Life really could be a dream.

This morning when I came to work, my mom was approaching my desk with a gift for me:  It’s a binder with copies of execises that she’s collected from her experience at the gym.  There are BOSU workouts, bootcamp style interval workouts, etc.  And on the cover: a Post-it note that says “Because you are loved!!”

I told Mom how I’m getting back into fitness and ready to really hit it hard, and this is her way to encourage me.  🙂 I definitely have the warm fuzzies at this point.

Yesterday, I signed up for The Academy with Nerd Fitness:

 

The premise seems to be that it will guide me back into the fitness lifestyle by enticing me with the opportunity to level up my real life person instead of a digital character.  It plays like an RPG, except you get experience by doing things in real life.  The quest lines that you see there (General, Academy, Warrior, etc.) correlate to the type of training that you want to be doing.  I want to get started with the basics, so I’ll pursue the general quests first, then progress to The Academy and eventually start tackling some of the Ranger class quests.

I got 25 exp points for taking my ‘before’ photos, and I’ll get 25 more for taking my measurements.  The general quests start with small, easily accomplished goals and then work up to more challenging ones.  It’s just the inspiration that I need to get going without diving into the deep end and getting injured again.

We move in 2 weeks (if I’m lucky) and I have been dreaming about setting up a basement gym.  I’ve got images of rubberized flooring, inspirational posters, and blaring music dancing in my head.  Jeff wants to burst my bubble by reminding me that we have low ceilings, but then I remember that I’m short and go back to dreaming 😉

Can I have it? Pretty please?

So that’s what we’re up to 🙂 I’ll be sure to keep you posted.  Stay classy!

Summer TV and Exercise

Per my previous post, I am taking a break from Facebook.  Did you also know that I’m taking a break from gaming?  The two are not related.  I sort of quit my guid took a hiatus from my guild when I decided to focus on fitness instead.  It’s been a couple months, now, and I’ve only logged in a time or two.

I *have* spent more time working out, but it’s not nearly the amount of time that I anticipated.  I’ve gotten a lot more walking in, some mild strength training, and a whole lot of excuse-making.  Oh what? Excuses??  Pssh.

I like to think of it less as excuses and more like some quality TV watching time.  I completely blitzed through Orange Is The New Black  and now I’m watching How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and Baby Daddy.

I would probably actually get more home-gym workouts done if Netflix had commercials, but as it stands, I try to do calisthenics while watching the episodes 🙂

The plan seems to be working, though, I’ve lost 8 pounds so far 🙂

The paleo plan is still at about 60% and going strong.  I crave more veggies these days and I don’t miss bread much at all.  Some days I just want a slice of buttery toast, but I think that might just be because I like butter 😉

So how are you spending your summer?  What are your favorite shows to watch?

 

 

Weekend update

Unfortunately, I didn’t get my strength training in as I had hoped.

Organized accessories using a shower caddy

I did, however, complete 2 written assignments for college, get started on a third, cleaned the whole house (including 5 loads of laundry, excluding the kitchen, which Jeff cleaned), got new glasses,

Taz approved

did the meal planning, grocery shopping, modeled a bridesmaid dress for my long distance bestie, picked up our bikes from the repair shop, and finally got off my feet to play guild wars 2 for a couple hours over the course of the weekend.

Yes, I could’ve worked out instead of spending time on the computer, but I’m a big fan of balance and after so much work, it was time for a recharge.  It was a fantastic weekend and I’ve done enough of the prep work to be ready for Monday when it comes swinging. 😀

Bring it on.

Things and stuff and words

What’s up, bloggy-type people? I haven’t written any entries recently because I’ve been letting my standing station entry sort of sink in. I shared it with people at work, so I kind of wanted a gap between that and my normal content.

Here’s a few things and stuff and words that matter to me today (get out of my head, Phillip DeFranco!):

1. Eating is (mostly) on par, but I still eat too much sugar.

2. Jeff got a new desk and it’s REALLY COOL. It’s an Obutto Revolution cockpit built for a range of PC activity, but specializing in flight sims, racing games, and other stuff. His friend came over on Monday and helped with the assembly.

It’s wicked.

Before:

After:

3. When I went to Ikea recently, I happened upon a set of perler plates and a bucket of beads. My first creation…?

Well, I have had a week of static. To the point that I shocked my computer mouse the other day and killed it (thereby leaving me stuck with a mini mouse that only fits one and a half fingers):

Because of this, Jeff proudly proclaimed via Facebook that he married a pikachu. My first creation then, was a pikachu.

Step by step guide to building a standing station

Last year, I posted a very high level overview about building an Ikea standing station conversion. This year, I’m showing you:

1: Read this guide
2: go to Ikea

3: Daydream about making some of the rooms yours:

4: Find and purchase the following:
~Lack side table (21×21″)
~Antonius shelf (31×11″)
~brackets of your choice

5. Gather your materials.  You will need

– side table
– shelf
– brackets
– power drill with 1/16″ bit and Phillips had screw driver bit
– screws of appropriate dimensions.( I raided our junk drawer to find some. You want at least two that are just under 1/2″, and about four more that are about 1″)
– a pencil
– a buddy

6. Assemble the table according to the included instructions (recruiting a buddy helps save fatigue in your forearms)

7. Figure out where you want your keyboard to be by putting the table on your existing desk. Bend your elbows to mimic typing comfortably at a keyboard (usually around 90°) and mark off this height discretely with a pencil on the inside of the table leg.

8. Measure and mark the holes for the brackets on the bottom of the shelf

I couldn’t find my measuring tape, so I just eyeballed it.
9. Drill a shallow pilot hole for each of the screws using a 1/16″ bit. Only go deep enough to get through the veneer

10. Line the brackets up as planned, then screw them down. Your screw should just fit:

11. Referencing your pencil marks from step 7, mark where you’ll be attaching the other side of the bracket to the table

12. Drill pilot holes *just* through the veneer, and use the smallest bit (1/16″ is what I used).  Get your buddy to brace the table so it doesn’t fall over on you. He or she can hang out and lend some leverage through the next steps.

13. Mount the shelf to the table using 1″ screws.

14. Place standing station conversion on your existing desk, move your monitor, keyboard, and mouse as needed and Ta da: standing station

* if you use too big of a bit, drill too far, or use screws that are too short, you might experience the painful conclusion of your shelf falling off when you place your table upright

Don’t worry, if plan “A” fails, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet. Plan “B” for me was to spin the table around and correct for my mistakes. The damaged part faces the wall anyway, so no one will see.

My trip to Ikea included the parts shown above, crafting beads, and lint roller refills. My bill came to $33.  The table itself should be around $7-9, the shelf around $6-7, and the brackets around $6-7.  Not a bad deal for $20!

I talked to someone there who had already made his version and he was helping a friend build one. This was #2 for me. Are you going to tackle it? Comment below with your thoughts.

Breakfast: Quaker Oats Medley’s with Strawberries

This is actually a pretty hearty cereal.  It generally keeps me sated until lunch time.

I know I haven’t posted fitness in a bit… I didn’t take pictures, but I wanted to share one of my fitness exploits from the weekend: minute to win it One minute intervals.  I set a 1-minute timer (really 1:05 so that I could get back to position) and then just did whatever I wanted for a full minute.  Then I reset the time and did another minute.  And another.  Soon I had a 20 minute work out in, where otherwise I wasn’t doing any.  I did high knees, bosu cross-overs, push ups, crunches, squats, punches–etc.  It was a great way to blast just a handful of calories and wake up before going back to work.

Tonight, I have a fitness assessment and personal training session at the gym.  Once my loan is paid off, I’m investing in personal training.

Party Rock – on a rock – in game

This weekend was 100% enjoyable.  a majority of it was spent gaming, hanging out with the family (Jeff, and our two fur-balls, Taz and Toby).  A LOT of it was spent studying because I had two exams to post for.

Breakfast this morning was Quaker Real Medleys with blueberry and banana, with a side of research.  See, I’m still dealing with chronic back pain.  Turns out, I’m doing it wrong.  When my back hurts, I feel like I can’t  exercise because of the pain.  It’s like, I can’t twist or bend, so why try?

Well, I was reading some peer reviewed articles on www.spine-health.com and one of them said that for Chronic Intractable Benign Pain (CIBP) one of the best things you can do is to exercise.

 A typical response to experiencing back pain is to take it easy – either staying in bed or at least stopping any activity that is at all strenuous. While this approach is understandable and may even be recommended in the short term, when done for more than a day or two it can actually undermine healing. Instead, active forms of back exercises are almost always necessary to rehabilitate the spine and help alleviate back pain.

Guess who’s going to the gym after work?

 

“I will tickle you all back to health”

“Klonex: Oh my.. I will tickle you all back to health.
Corrderio: Thanks.”

Gamer culture is weird, but that’s probably why I like it. Yesterday, I put in a 14 hour day at work followed by an hour or two of gaming.  I was having back spasms yesterday and that really put a damper on my mood.  Our guild had an event night last night, though, so it was fun to just give in to the distraction.

Warning: neurotoxins can alter reality and produce harmful hallucinations

Yesterday wasn’t all bad, though.  I made it to and from work without incident, had a marginally healthy day, and got to talk to my friend Lyz for about an hour on the phone.  It was really actually pretty good.

Today, I’m hitting the books, writing an essay, taking an exam, and hitting the gym.

Scarlet has Destroyed Lion’s Arch (GW2)

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Scarlet_Briar

Scarlet Briar, born Ceara, is the sylvari responsible for much of the mayhem that has wracked Tyria for the last year. She has facilitated a number of unlikely alliances, such as the Molten Alliance of the Flame Legion and dredge, the Aetherblade pirates and the Inquest, and the Toxic Alliance of the Nightmare Court and krait. With the help of these seemingly disparate groups she has threatened the northern continent time and again, culminating with the building of a massive Tower of Nightmares in the middle of Viathan Lake. All her schemes so far have been seemingly foiled, but she is not deterred by setback and occasionally seems to revel in her defeat.

Her other actions throughout the year include the plotting of Theo Ashford’s assassination and Mai Trin’s subsequent attempt to ascend to the Captain’s Council; hijacking the humans’ Watchknights; and an attempt on the life of Queen Jennah. Scarlet was intentionally failed to prevent the accidental destruction of the Thaumanova Reactor, and took a strong interest in the discovery of magical ley lines criss-crossing the globe. She has also been seen using steam creatures and their technology, though the nature of her ties to them is currently unclear.

Recently, Scarlet seems to have begun preparation for her biggest attack yet. After the destruction of the Tower of Nightmares and the death of the Toxic Hybrid, Energy Probes have been placed throughout Tyria and the Mists themselves in search for something – the constant thudding of which have unintentionally attracted a great three-headed jungle wurm to the surface in Bloodtide Coast. In early 1327 AE, her Twisted Watchwork minions were recalled to Lornar’s Pass, where she proclaims to be testing her her most powerful weapon seen so far, though she detonates the weapon instead of utilizing it if powered up. Adventurers who have found their way into her secret lair have reported schematics for her Marionette, some huge drill (that appears to be the complete form of the device floating above Marionette’s Landing, and maps marking Vigil Keep, the Chantry of Secrets, the Durmand Priory, and Lion’s Arch. And on the ceiling of her lair, there is said to be a painting of a dragon.

A new patch advanced the live story in Guild Wars 2 today and man oh man… it’s rather upsetting!  Good ‘ol Lion’s arch is in tatters, her people scattered.  Heroes have been summoned from all over the realm to help rescue refugees and evacuate the city.  So, if you need me… that’s where I’ll be.

Aminarra Westin rushes in to fight Scarlet’s minions and rescue the citizens of Lion’s Arch

The city is burning…

everyone died of toxic fumes while trying to evacuate the city. Good thing it’s a game and you get res experience…