Embracing Dragon Age

I won't be spittin' nerdy health truths today. I'm actually going to be sharing some progress on my current cosplay project! I've been sharing it on the Project Reroll facebook fan page, so go like it if you want geeky updates on health, fitness, and my latest cosplay projects. 

I never would have imagined that I would be creating an elf costume a year ago because I never would have thought I could pull one of the long, lithe creatures off. I'm in no way in perfect shape, but I'm close enough to my goal that I wanted to enjoy my new body and start to embody some of my favorite video game characters.

My favorite game series of all time is Dragon Age. I also loved Felicia Day's webseries "Dragon Age: Redemption" which focused on Tallis, an elf assassin serving the Qun. The costume was designed for the webseries by Greg Aranowitz and then Felicia and the costume were put into the game in the DLC Mark of the Assassin. He chronicled the whole process on his blog. She's a passionate, feisty, redheaded elf rogue with witty quips and flirtations galore. She was made for me! Plus, when I found out that Felicia was going to be attending NYCC, I figured it was the perfect kick in the pants to get started. Plus, maybe I can get her to sign a part of the costume! That would be pretty epic, I think!

Luckily they released a detailed picture of the costume pieces a while back so I've been using that, screen grabs of Felicia from the series, and screen caps from the game to create the costume. This is by far the most complicated thing I've ever attempted. The only things I'm not making from scratch are the leggings, the boots I put my boot covers over, my money purse, and the gloves. The main materials are some dark green wool/cashmere cloth for the hood and some details, leather cords, some fake leather for the boot covers, and a lot of worbla painted with gesso and acrylic paint. There are also a lot of sundry detail stuff like studs and rhinestones and grommets, etc. Everything is being hand sewn and/or hot glued. 

To start out I had to make a mold. Correction, I had to get my friend Steven to wrap me in saran wrap and then carefully apply duct tape to create a mold of my body. 

Then I used that to make my pattern and mold my worbla over it. Worbla is a thermoplastic substance that you can use a heat gun to shape. When it cools, it holds the shape. I had to make the back and front of the armor, the leg guards, the daggers, and the hand guards out of it. 

Then I added the details like buckles for the straps and grommets for corset strings to be threaded through.

Then the long arduous process of gesso, sanding, and acrylic (making it look like green leather) began. My kingdom for an electric sander. I was more sore from that than I've been from push-ups in a LONG time. 

Then came the leather work! This included some sewing and hot gluing. I'm pretty proud of the belt and the boot covers didn't come out half bad! I still need to so some dry brushing with light brown paint on the boots and the shoulder guards, which are still being broken in.

As I complete pieces, my house is turning into an armor wrack. I'm sort of fine with that!

There are still some details left to do and of course the hood, but as you can see, it's really coming together! I'll certainly need help getting in an out of it, but I'm totally on schedule to finish on time. For a while there I was so frustrated with simply molding the front of the chest plate and the back that I considered throwing in the towel and waiting to make this for PAX East this year, but after a while, I just went balls deep and got to work. I've had a lot of help from friends. Mainly Chris (who sold me his extra worbla), Steven who's helped with the mold, and my room mate Joey who's not only had to put up with a string of obscenities flowing from the living room as I burn myself, cut myself, chase the cat away from the gesso, and discover problems, but also helped out with a lot of operations that required more than two hands to pull off. It was also cool to get some support from the @dragonage twitter account when I first posted my progress photos!

Soon, I'll be given all of NYCC the full on Tallis, but for now, it's grocery shopping, my weekly Paleo cook-a-thon, and then back to my workshop to continue work on this costume (aka, my living room)! This has taken countless hours to pull off and will take more than a few more before I'm ready to premiere it  October 11th. Focusing on this project has kept me away from snacks and totally focused on Whole30, partially because I don't have time for anything else and also because I want to look good! Obviously I fit this to my body mold EXACTLY. There's no room for weight gain here! That's like, trial by fire! 

If there's anyone out there planning to attend NYCC, let me know! I'd love to meet up with any Slayers out there who want to chat! I'll be tweeting from the @projectreroll and @annerichmond twitter accounts while I'm there so come find me!

Motivated Monday: September Goals Check-In

Hey Slayers, it's Simone again! Sorry for the delay from my normal Friday post; I left work early with one of my rare migraine+aura combos, and while I'm lucky that my migraines are incredibly infrequent and far less severe than many, they're still not very conducive to writing, thinking, or really doing anything other than taking a nap. However, I'm rested up and back from a productive weekend, so let's dive in!

My September goals are going fairly well overall, though certainly far from perfect. (How does the quote go? "No plan survives initial contact"?) As far as tracking my spending goes, I have diligently kept up my check register in addition to checking in on my budget on Mint.com. Hooray! The snags: My part-time job is at an outdoor retailer with insanely good deals for its employees; I just ordered a brand-new $200 winter jacket for $40. I mean, with a deal that obscenely good, how can you not? (I think I spend more money at that job than I actually earn....) And, living in a northern state, you can never have too much cold weather gear. You remember the Stark words, yes?

Where I live, this meme will never die.

Because fully half of my fun/miscellaneous budget was eaten up by my contribution to our garage's new C2 "Imperial" rower (cue Darth Vader theme), I'm making a few allowances to stretch that this month since technically we bought it in August. Next month I'll have to be extra diligent, though, since our kung fu instructors' weekend retreat is coming up around Halloween, and my paycheck will be a bit slimmer since I had to go home early on Friday with that migraine. Oh, do I dream of a day where I'll have paid time off!

If you've ever rowed for part of your workout, you know that they really do belong to the Dark Side.

I am now firmly in the midst of my Zone kitchen experiment as well. It's tough to balance all the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) at each meal! I had a successful weekend of meal planning and food preparation this weekend, though, so I'm excited to see how this week goes now that I have a better idea of what to expect.

It's easy to get discouraged when you're handling normal life stresses (job satisfaction, daily commute, messy house, busy calendar...) and trying to work towards a healthier lifestyle on top of that. Being a recent grad, I've definitely been dealing with some grass-is-greener moods myself. After 5 years, I couldn't wait to graduate and have a steady paycheck. Now I do, but it's still a temporary position (cue stress!), and the 19-mile work commute downtown takes longer than my previous 45-mile commute to school. Gotta love that downtown traffic! I guess I was naive last year at this time, in the midst of battling with my thesis, to think that my life would be less stressful without homework; these paychecks are only bringing me closer to student loan bills and "Wait, this isn't what I want to do with my life" concerns.

Anyway, all we can do is continue to take small steps towards where we'd like to be, and remember to appreciate the things we do have now. For the past few weeks, I've been posting quotes I enjoy each Monday on Twitter with the hashtag #MotivatedMondays to try to start the week off strong. And though my Asian Studies degree no longer reflects my desired career path, it did supply me with a wealth of philosophical Chinese quotes. Here's one for today:

"It does not matter how slow you go -- so long as you do not stop." 

~Confucius

-Simone

Setting the stage for success

Hi all! Just a brief check-in this week, but there are some exciting things on the horizon!

My goal-oriented September has started strong. After a trip to the North woods over Labor Day weekend -- in which blueberry pancakes and white toast were allowed to creep into my diet, but eggs and bacon were prioritized (mmm, bacon) -- I am off to a great start!

I'm tracking all of my spending so far, and I started measuring my food intake with my new kitchen scale and myfitnesspal.com. I also took some measurements with both measuring tape and calipers; even though it might not be the most accurate method out there, I can at least check back each month and see which way the numbers are headed. To top it off, I took some "before" pics too!

I'm definitely finding that it's easier to stay motivated when my goals seem "doable." All I have to do is write everything down; no changes yet! And I have easily visible rewards on the way: a "green" month in my Mint finance calendar (no scary red "overspent" categories!) and those workout shorts for my success in the kitchen. I can hardly wait!

I'm still overwhelmed with my work commute and various obligations (some chosen, some not), but I've got an exciting event this weekend and plan on spending Sunday prioritizing "me" and getting some house chores and meal planning accomplished.

For this week, I also have a bonus goal: really push hydration to prepare for my weekend endeavor. I even made myself a reminder note at work:

EXTERMINATE DEHYDRATION!

What is this adventure, you ask? Well, along with a large group of friends and friends-of-friends and about a gazillion strangers... I'm doing the Tough Mudder on Saturday!

For those of you who aren't familiar, the Tough Mudder is a 12 mile obstacle course that calls itself "probably the toughest event on the planet." It's designed to encourage teamwork and camaraderie while forcing gently encouraging you to face your fears and have a great time. (Awhile ago, I wrote about a few different obstacle courses over here, if you're interested in more background information!) I'm totally terrified and psyched at the same time. It should be a blast!

As nervous as I am about it, it's pretty exciting -- I would never have dreamed of doing something like this a few short years ago. I know I'll struggle both mentally and physically with a lot of the obstacles, but I'll have a team of tough companions with me, and we'll all get through it together. As an introverted gal only 5'3" tall, when I face down those obstacles, I'll try to keep the inspirational words of Shakespeare in mind: "Though she be but little, she is fierce!"

Or as one of my favorite authors, Jim Butcher, puts it in The Dresden Files: "Tiny, but fierce!"

Wish me luck!

-Simone

Kowalski! Progress Report!

Sadly, my plans do not involve lemurs. (Maybe they should.)

So, after the turmoil of the past week, I sat down and really looked at my goals to try to calm the classic goal-frenzy that I usually succumb to. I'm quite sure I haven't recorded them all, but I got a pretty good working list of all the goals, dreams, and desires tumbling around in my head. Everything from grand ideas of travel plans and career aspirations to specific goals like "organize the basement" or "learn how to utilize explosive hip power to improve thrusters and 'wall balls'" (both of which require moving weight efficiently overhead from a squat to a standing position) made the list. I even, reluctantly, wrote down "figure out student loan repayment plan." (Ugh.)

I've scratched out giant lists like this one before, but I get so enthusiastic/overwhelmed that I rarely get anywhere. This time, after setting some bigger, longer-term goals to keep in mind for the future, I also settled on ONE thing to work on for September that I will then practice in two areas of my life: track everything.

The first aspect of this goal will deal with my finances. I recently started a new job, so this week I redesigned my budget into something I will actually stick to. I use Mint to track my finances, but for September, I'm going to track them on my own, too, with the intention of sticking to my new budget categories and funneling the extra money towards paying down some student-accumulated debt.

The second aspect of this goal deals with my diet. I eat fairly well, but I have terrible self-control when I'm not eating at home. Donuts at work? Please! Friends going out for ice cream after the movie? Sign me up! I may have a relatively healthy number on the scale, but my half-healthy, half-whatever diet doesn't often make me feel healthy, strong, or energetic, and that's what's important to me. However, just as I'm relatively new to fitness, I'm also pretty new to nutrition. I know I feel better after some meals than others, but without data, I can rarely remember enough details to make significant changes. The solution? Take detailed notes on how I regularly eat for the first two weeks to accumulate some "baseline" data for reference. Then I'm going to experiment with Zone* eating for six weeks, until Halloween!

I think the biggest key to succeeding is believing in yourself, and that's absolutely one of the things I struggle with the most. Despite the progress I've made in the past year, I still see myself as the mildly asthmatic shy girl who brought books to parties and was terrified of throwing a frisbee. It's exciting to see myself developing some muscle, but I still don't think of myself as athletic -- and I think that self-doubt is really holding me back.

That's why I tried really hard to make these goals seem doable. I drew up a sheet to record all purchases instead of logging into Mint at the end of the month and going "Oh no, why is everything red?" I also ordered a kitchen scale this week so I can better analyze my food intake instead of writing "I had some yogurt this morning" and not knowing what that means. I'll also need it when I start trying Zone to make sure I'm getting the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in each meal.

I've never successfully attempted something like this in the past. However, this time I've gathered the tools I need to succeed, and unlike before, I haven't picked twelve new things to do daily. I'm just going to start writing everything down, which sounds much better than "Work out every day, go full Paleo, stop spending money, and re-paint the house." I'm feeling more motivated than ever and -- dare I say it? -- I really do believe that I can accomplish these goals by September 30th.

To add to my optimism, enthusiasm, and self-belief, I've got some extra motivation going on where food tracking is concerned. For some reason, I have a hard time finding comfortable (and, alright, flattering) shorts for working out, and lately a number of my fitness idols have all popped up wearing the same kind. They're a little super pricey, but if I fulfill the goal of sticking to my budget and of tracking my food for the month, I've resolved to finally pick up a pair!

Bonus motivation: I'm not a very crafty person and have never made a costume, but I really, really want to do my first cosplay as the newest rendition of Lara Croft for Halloween this year. You'll notice that my 6-week Zone timeframe lines up with Halloween... As I work out and prepare my meals, I'll keep her in mind for some kick-@$$ inspiration to stick to my goals!

-Simone

What are your goals for September?

*Questions on Zone? I'm new to it too, so here's what I know so far:
--I first found out about Zone eating from Claire over at The Ascent Blog. Check out her tips, experiences, and inspiring before/after pics!
--The 2004 article in the CrossFit Journal (issue 21) also has some great insight on Zone eating.
--I also have "Enter the Zone" by Barry Sears in my Amazon wishlist, but I have yet to read it!
(Please note that I am not a doctor, professional nutritionist, etc. Claire's pics are inspiring, but be sure to check with professionals before attempting anything drastic. Feel free to ask questions about my experiences with Zone/Paleo/CrossFit/Whole30, though, and I'll do my best. Just be safe! :) )

Engage!

One of the fitness tips I really struggle to accept is "Focus on one goal at a time." Sure, it makes perfect sense: if we have a limited amount of willpower, focusing on changing one small habit before you move to the next is wise, right? Aye aye, Captain Tightpants!

Shiny.

But no matter how logical this is, I haven't figured out how to do it yet. I want to adopt a cleaner diet. I want to get stronger. I want to get faster. I want to learn all sorts of new things that are outside my comfort zone. And on top of all of that, I also want to help others accomplish similar goals, too.

10-4, good buddy!

Slow down there, Bandit! This isn't a mad dash across state lines in a Trans-Am (sadly). Unfortunately, I've been having trouble prioritizing lately. I'm trying to increase my performance at CrossFit (including working towards my first pull up); I want to add krav maga, kung fu, yoga, and parkour classes back into my schedule; I want to get even a little better at both distance running and sprinting; I want to start attending a CrossFit "box" in addition to working out in my garage; I want to do more outdoor activities; I want to pursue coaching certifications and experiences; I want to continue learning how to autocross like the Stig; I want to learn Morse code, Ham radio, and how to tie sailing knots . . . and there are two jobs to go to, house projects to do, trips to plan, meals to cook, adventures to be had, and oh yeah, eight hours of sleep to catch each night. I'm exhausted just thinking about it, and I can guarantee you that I'm not any closer to 90% of these things now than I was last week. It kind of makes me want to check out and not attempt, well, anything.

Some say he read A Storm of Swords in forty minutes and didn't bat an eye at chapter 51.

I don't have an answer on how to balance all that crazy yet. I'm not even ready to say "_____ is my one priority right now, and I'll move on to ________ after that." (I'd tell you that my one priority is to be less stressed, but figuring out how to de-stress is stressful.) I'll try to work on prioritizing and focusing my scattered goals for next week's post. Hopefully.

Until then, I'd love to engage with the Project Reroll community a little bit and hear your stories. Maybe we can inspire each other! I'm new to PR, so, tell me about yourselves. :)

Engage!!

If you want to share your life story, let's hear it! Otherwise, if you don't have the time to write a memoir, I'd love to hear your answers to a few of the following questions . . . (I swear #4&5 aren't me selfishly looking for new suggestions!)

1. What brought you here? How did you find Anne's amazing story?
2. Who aren't you? What are you overcoming? What are you leaving in your past to become the new you?
3. What's your current goal? Cleaner diet? Paying down debt? Strength training? Planning a trip? All of the above?!
4. What are some of your favorite, motivating songs when you're running/driving/waking up on Mondays?
5. What's your (current or all-time) favorite video game or novel?

Here, I'll go first:

1. I found Anne through her interview on Nerd Fitness. She replied to one of my comments about trying the "Zombies, Run!" app, and was super awesome, so I came over to the blog and started devouring the archives. :)
2. I really struggle with believing in myself. As I work on that, I'm slowly leaving behind the timid, overly cautious girl in my past and becoming stronger and more confident.
3. Yes. All of the above, and so much more! I swear I'll pick just one. Maybe. I hope.
4. Titanium (David Guetta ft. Sia) always gets me to run faster; I just discovered Hall of Fame (The Script ft. Will.i.am) from a suggestion on PaleOMG and am digging it; We Own It (2 Chainz ft. Wiz Khalifa) rocked the intro of Fast 6 and makes me want to go out and be a badass. BONUS: They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!! sort of makes me want to run, too, even though I'm with Gimli on the whole distance running thing.
5. I'm currently loving my first taste of the Lara Croft empire with Tomb Raider Reborn. I'm told I should try Uncharted, but I have no PS3. (I'll save my immense archive of favorite reading material for later!)

Your turn! Let's hear your stories below. Make it so!

-Simone

Nerd Fitness 6 Week Challenge Review!

Today marks the end of my first Nerd Fitness 6 week challenge. Since I posted my initial challenge goals on the blog at the beginning, I thought I'd share my final progress report here so you can see just how much can be accomplished in six short weeks of work!

Challenge Starting Weight: 162.4 lbs

Challenge Ending Weight: 153.4 lbs

Total Loss: -9.4 lbs (I was hoping for more, but considering my struggles with food/con-going during the course of the challenge I'm pretty happy with this!) 

Final Measurements: 

Bust: (Starting 38") 36.25"

Waist: (Starting 41") 36.5"

Hips: (Starting 44") 42"

Thigh: (Starting 22.25") 20.75"

Calves: (Starting 16.5") 15.5"

Bicep: (Starting 12.5") 12.25"

Total Inches lost during challenge: -11 inches (That's pretty BANANAS!)

Before Photos: (NOTE: I wasn't going to post these photos on the blog, but I feel like the progress really shows and hopefully it inspires you guys to start taking photos to mark the changes in your body!)

After Photos:

Fitness/Nutrition goals:

• Take at least one Yoga class a week.
  • I aced this 100% and even took an extra class one week.
  • I made some great progress with The Wheel and the Crow that I intend to continue with a more rigorous focus in the next challenge.
    • Reward: +2 STR
• Complete "Zombies, Run 5k Training"  3x/week.
  • I never missed a run, not even at PAX East! I found a hotel with a gym and made sure I got my training in at 6AM so I could enjoy the con guilt free for the rest of the day! I'm loving my runs more and more each time and I'm getting ready to do my final mission for the app on Friday of the week! I can't wait to see my first 5k time so I can make some PR goals for the next challenge!
    • Reward: +5 STA
• Complete at least two 45 minute training sessions on the elliptical per week.
  • Passed with flying colors! Never missed a session and got in plenty of Xena: Warrior Princess episodes while I trained. Win win! AYIYIYIYIYI!
    • Reward: +2 DEX
• Learn to cook three Paleo meals by the end of the challenge.
  • I made:
    • Stay on Target Chicken Stirfry
    • Sokka's Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Potato Meatza 
    • Targeryen Dragonfire Hash!
    • I learned a lot more about Paleo, but I also discovered that I'm a much better and much more inventive cook than I give myself credit for. 
    • Reward: +3 CON

Life Goal:

• Write at least 2 new blog posts a week and create a logo for the header. 
  • I posted retro blog entries here every day and wrote my two new posts without fail every week. 
  • Having the deadline was really crucial for me. I find that having a back log of drafts is very useful and I will definitely continue to do that as time goes on. 
  • Very soon I'll be moving to a 2 post per week publishing format. Readers, feel free to vote in the poll on the left sidebar.
  • Added bonus: My reader base blossomed from under one thousand to over ten thousand unique views in just 6 short weeks! 
  • Sadly, while I did make progress on the logo with my graphic designer, the incredible Annie Stoll, she's been busy with some pretty amazing new clients! I'm so happy for her success and I'm honestly just blessed to have her volunteering to help me with the site. She's the real deal, people! Soon you'll see her amazing work at the top of the blog every time you stop by! The lesson I learned here was that I shouldn't make a challenge goal that depends on anyone's actions but my own in the future, but I know the finished product will be worth the wait!
    • Reward: + 2 WIS
      • I subtracted 1 point from the original proposed reward for not finishing the logo.

Final "Level Up Your Life" Stats for my forum signature:

Hearthsinger the Wandering Bard

Level 2 Halfling Ranger

STR 4 | DEX 3 | STA 7 | CON 5 | WIS 6 | CHA 4

The next challenge starts on Monday April 15th, so if this looks like something you want to try, check out their forums and start preparing your goals so you can participate!

In closing I want to thank the Nerd Fitness community for welcoming me with open arms, commenting on my progress during the challenge, and encouraging me through the rough patches. Your reactions to my results have been so overwhelming and supportive. I'm proud of myself, but I'm lucky to have found you guys and honored to have shared this challenge journey with you!

Cosplay Progress and Halloween Hullabaloo

My Appa cosplay for New York Comic Con is coming along pretty well and I've also started preparing for Halloween too. Lot's of sewing, which I didn't know how to do before so hooray for learning how to do new things. Just need to attach the false arms to the bracers and run an invisible line between them so they'll move along with my regular arms, remake the horns a lot smaller, and then maybe sew an elbow joint into the arms to make them move more naturally. Lots of work but it will all be worth it! As far as Halloween goes, I'm lucky enough to be relying on the immeasurable skills of my friend Agatha who makes our group of friends themed costumes every year. This year's theme: Mortal Kombat. I wish I could say that I'm super into it. I love video games, but I'm not really a huge fighting game fan. I'm going to be Sindel, the banshee! She wears purple, which is my favorite color, so I was willing to capitulate to the overall desire of the group to do that theme. I know Agatha will alter the more naked aspects of my costume that make me nervous so that I'll be comfortable. It's not that I don't like nakedness. There are just still parts of my body that I'm really uncomfortable with exposing to the world! This is mostly about having fun with everyone and taking awesome pictures and I didn't want to be the thorn in anyone's side just because I was afraid of not looking like the character and not being able to show enough skin to do her justice. When we're all dressed up, I know we're going to look amazing. Agatha always makes sure of that! 

25 lbs Lost: The Suck-It-Corset-Saga

I already wrote about last weekend's trip, but I wanted to post again because as of yesterday, my corset laced all the way up this week! How bananas is that?! I'm actually sort of nervous it won't fit next year since I fully intend on seeing this journey all the way to the end. Anyways! I just wanted to share this "yippee" moment. Only 5 more lbs till my next goal of 30 lbs lost for New York Comic Con in October. I'm gonna kill it! :)

My newest skill set is eating responsibly when I'm straying from the Nutrisystem plan during outings. I definitely spend time preparing myself for the choices I'll have to make. Planning everything ahead of time is really key to being responsible. It means that I make everything from a healthy frame of mind rather than being easily swayed by temptation in the moment.