Yep, I'm starting up the old sacrifices again. And I'm starting with a heavyweight - video games. I'm not sure if I could say I'm addicted to video games, but I sure play more than my fair share. I probably play a couple of hours each day and would play a lot more if I could. Basically, it's a big time suck, that I can say with certainty got in the way of my other sacrifices. I'm curious, with no other projects/sacrifices going on, what I will do with all this free time.
So ... No Video Games - 1 Month.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sweets... Take Two
I'm giving up sweets in the month of September. I did this last November and by the end of the month I really did feel a lot better. I didn't write much about it last time, so maybe I'll try harder this time.
Admittedly though, and perhaps more significantly, I'm not doing this for the story of it - I'm not doing it for the blog. I'm doing it because I want to feel that good feeling again. My main sacrifice this month will be video games. So... just like before, no sweets, no soda.
Admittedly though, and perhaps more significantly, I'm not doing this for the story of it - I'm not doing it for the blog. I'm doing it because I want to feel that good feeling again. My main sacrifice this month will be video games. So... just like before, no sweets, no soda.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Sacrifice of Sacrifices
By now I'm sure most of you have given up on checking in on this blog to see how our sacrificing is going. We started off the year with high hopes of steering away from the food challenges and on to bigger & better things like exercising and saving the world, but we hit a major road block early on, and we figure you need an explanation! In case you missed it before, John has hives. To be more specific - John has Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (CIU) and Angioedema. The first long name means that he has an autoimmune problem that causes hives, and nobody has any idea why, and therefor no real idea how to treat it. The second thing means he needs to carry an EPI pen all the time so that his throat doesn't close up. I should also mention that outbreaks can last from 6 months to 30 years. Fun times ahead, folks.
After failing the Exercise challenge miserably (who wants to work out when insanely itchy from head to toe?) John finally got the right combination of medicines from the allergist, and we thought we were good to go on a new challenge. Although the Savings challenge went well, it ended around the same time as the medicine. The hives came back slowly and are now almost as bad as 3 months ago.
After numerous doctor visits, one ER trip, 8 weeks of steroids, and a 57 shot allergy test, he's no better off - unless you count being on a first name basis with the pharmacist and finding out he's allergic to cockroaches (the Americans, not the Germans). On top of this, because his immune system is all wacky, he almost always has some form of a cold.
It's a pretty miserable situation with no end in sight... and needless to say, the gusto for blogging has been lost in the mix.
I suggested evolving the blog into a "John Duffy's Mystery Illness- the search for outbreak triggers!" and each month we could limit the prime trigger suspects (of which there are thousands), but he didn't find that quite as funny as I did... SO, the sacrifices are officially over. For now anyway.
But, just to update our green challenge... here is a list of some of the things we've changed this month:
After failing the Exercise challenge miserably (who wants to work out when insanely itchy from head to toe?) John finally got the right combination of medicines from the allergist, and we thought we were good to go on a new challenge. Although the Savings challenge went well, it ended around the same time as the medicine. The hives came back slowly and are now almost as bad as 3 months ago.
After numerous doctor visits, one ER trip, 8 weeks of steroids, and a 57 shot allergy test, he's no better off - unless you count being on a first name basis with the pharmacist and finding out he's allergic to cockroaches (the Americans, not the Germans). On top of this, because his immune system is all wacky, he almost always has some form of a cold.
It's a pretty miserable situation with no end in sight... and needless to say, the gusto for blogging has been lost in the mix.
I suggested evolving the blog into a "John Duffy's Mystery Illness- the search for outbreak triggers!" and each month we could limit the prime trigger suspects (of which there are thousands), but he didn't find that quite as funny as I did... SO, the sacrifices are officially over. For now anyway.
But, just to update our green challenge... here is a list of some of the things we've changed this month:
- We now recycle our cans (shame on us before).
- I always use lids on my pots and pans when cooking (and the correct burner size for the pot). Also I have stopped opening the oven to check on food. tsk tsk
- We've changed all the light bulbs that we can to compact fluorescent (just one keeps half a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air over the course of its lifetime!)
- We don't use the "dry" feature on our dishwasher.
- We buy in bulk when we can to save on packaging, and we refill things like cleaner, dish soap, hand soap, etc.
- We've cut out an hour of t.v. each day this month that we would usually watch.
- We unplug things that aren't needed.
- We've stopped using hot water for laundry except for sheets, and I've cut back on how much detergent I use.
- We signed up for a Page-A-Day email calendar on tips to go green.
- I stopped using liquid fabric softener... mainly b/c our dispenser broke, but that counts. I won't start again. :)
- We've been trying to conserve water use.
- We've looked into "green funerals". (This was going to be a really great blog, but it didn't happen. This is my favorite.)
- And my favorite change... thanks to Carrell we now have the coolest reusable shopping bags ever which hold what would be around 10 bags of groceries. And they are much easier to carry up our four flights of stairs. Thanks, Carrell!
We have lots left to do, including a tree to plant, but that is a good start for the challenge, and you have to start somewhere.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Baby, it's Cold Outside
As part of the green challenge, Tiff and I are trying to conserve electricity, as power production from coal-burning factories is one of the top greenhouse gas emitters. We had vowed not to turn on our heat or our AC as it's April, the first month of spring. We knew not every day would be 70 degrees and sunny, but we told ourselves we could manage any seasonal fluctuation.
Last week, however, had some cold, cold days, notably Thursday, when it got into the 30s outside and 55 inside. 55 is down right cold. It's also the recommended temperature for night time home heating, according to many power-saving lists on the web. (Daytime temperatures aren't suppose to exceed 68. Tiff and I usually keep it at 70, and that usually feels cold in our drafty apartment.) 55 is also the lowest reading on our thermostat, so I should be saying "I think it was 55."
In any event, now, four days later, we are both very sick, with nasty little colds and my body is counteracting the low temps with some high temps of its own. Despite feeling lousy, I still caught a foul ball at an Orioles game this weekend.
Last week, however, had some cold, cold days, notably Thursday, when it got into the 30s outside and 55 inside. 55 is down right cold. It's also the recommended temperature for night time home heating, according to many power-saving lists on the web. (Daytime temperatures aren't suppose to exceed 68. Tiff and I usually keep it at 70, and that usually feels cold in our drafty apartment.) 55 is also the lowest reading on our thermostat, so I should be saying "I think it was 55."
In any event, now, four days later, we are both very sick, with nasty little colds and my body is counteracting the low temps with some high temps of its own. Despite feeling lousy, I still caught a foul ball at an Orioles game this weekend.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
7:00 Hour
More on the 7:00 hour, which I predict will be the topic of several posts. Our sacrificing skills aren't quite top-notch yet as neither of us suggested giving up the 8:00 hour as Sydney did. We wouldn't want to miss American Idol or, hmmm... that's really all we watch.
Yesterday, too, I spent part of the hour on the computer, which I feel guilty about. I understand that we can't turn off the computer for that short time, but I think perhaps we should let the poor machine at least rest for that time.
The second hour is an hour of our choosing, but it has to be during the time that we would normally be using the television, including playing video games like NCAA Football 2005, which I still play all too often. It has been the 6:00 hour both nights so far, but it may change tonight, it being Thursday and there's nothing on TV.
Also, we have turned on the lights as it gets closer to 8:00, but pretty soon the sunlight should allow us not to have to do this.
Yesterday, too, I spent part of the hour on the computer, which I feel guilty about. I understand that we can't turn off the computer for that short time, but I think perhaps we should let the poor machine at least rest for that time.
The second hour is an hour of our choosing, but it has to be during the time that we would normally be using the television, including playing video games like NCAA Football 2005, which I still play all too often. It has been the 6:00 hour both nights so far, but it may change tonight, it being Thursday and there's nothing on TV.
Also, we have turned on the lights as it gets closer to 8:00, but pretty soon the sunlight should allow us not to have to do this.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Exercise Counting
My exercising has all but stopped. This is a problem that I hope I will soon correct, but until then, I've moved the counter to the bottom of the page.
An Hour a Day
The first sacrifice in our Go Green challenge is - drumroll please - the 7:00 hour. That's right, in honor of Earth Hour we are going to turn stuff off for two hours each and every day, with 7pm-8pm being mandatory. Admittedly, this will apply primarily to turning the TV off as we have become regular viewers of the Wheel of Fortune/Jeopardy! hour. Between the two of us we are far superior to the contestants in the former, but we still need to bone up on our random trivia knowledge for the latter.
Some things, however, will not be turned off. The refrigerator for instance, but that's for obvious reasons. Clocks will be left on because that would just be a pain in the ol' keister each and every day. And most notably, our aging and temperamental computer, which with every shutdown, we - meaning usually Tiff - have to take the back off and jiggle a cord while flipping a switch to start it back up... all the while risking electrocution.
We will also be limiting our light usage for these times. I can't say that we won't use the lights ever, because we aren't freaks and if the weather is crummy, I don't want you people out there to think we are sitting around doing nothing. But we will make an effort.
Anyways, while I doubt seriously that this will make a huge splash in our power consumption, let alone the consumption of our community, state, nation, or world, it's more about the principle of the thing. And who knows, maybe we'll find we like the time away from the electric stuff.
Some things, however, will not be turned off. The refrigerator for instance, but that's for obvious reasons. Clocks will be left on because that would just be a pain in the ol' keister each and every day. And most notably, our aging and temperamental computer, which with every shutdown, we - meaning usually Tiff - have to take the back off and jiggle a cord while flipping a switch to start it back up... all the while risking electrocution.
We will also be limiting our light usage for these times. I can't say that we won't use the lights ever, because we aren't freaks and if the weather is crummy, I don't want you people out there to think we are sitting around doing nothing. But we will make an effort.
Anyways, while I doubt seriously that this will make a huge splash in our power consumption, let alone the consumption of our community, state, nation, or world, it's more about the principle of the thing. And who knows, maybe we'll find we like the time away from the electric stuff.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Go Green
Last Saturday, many cities around the world turned out their lights. Inspired by the efforts of Sydney, Australia, who sat around in the dark last year, Earth Hour took place at 8pm local time hoping to reduce the amount of energy used. 
Hmmm... the Opera House kind of loses it's glory without lights. Anyways, the effect of Sydney's 2007 campaign was a reduction of energy by over 10% for that one hour. This translates into a massive reduction of greenhouse emissions - according to their website it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year. That's pretty impressive. So impressive the world took notice and many cities followed suit. Here's the Roman Colosseum last Saturday:
Hmmm... the Opera House kind of loses it's glory without lights. Anyways, the effect of Sydney's 2007 campaign was a reduction of energy by over 10% for that one hour. This translates into a massive reduction of greenhouse emissions - according to their website it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year. That's pretty impressive. So impressive the world took notice and many cities followed suit. Here's the Roman Colosseum last Saturday:So all this I would normally look at and think "Wow! That's really quite something! It's about time somebody started taking action." And then I would go along my merry way. This year, however, as John Duffy's Sacrifices is limping along, I thought it was the right time that I took action. The world has been sacrificing in the name of John Duffy for too long! It is only right hat I start sacrificing for it!
So, for the entire month of April I will go green in many different ways from recycling to conservation. I hope it works out.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Food
It has been a month on the savings challenge and I think I'm carrying it into a second month. The first month went alright. This weekend kind of threw everything out of whack however as we got Chipotle on Friday, along with two (bad) movies from Blockbuster, and on Saturday, we got Subway. I seem to have very little will power towards the end of the month.
Anyways, I have learned a lot from making this sacrifice, particularly in regards to food. I understood that going out to eat cost a lot of money, but I never realized how fast it can add up. This weekend alone, which before February wouldn't be too far out of the norm, cost over $25! ...and that's just for two meals. Quite often, in fact, that $25 pricetag would account for one dining experience, then you could add a trip to Chipotle or Subway on top of that. The thing is, too, I would much rather be eating some of that lentil soup I mentioned a few posts ago.
Moreover, even the food from the store adds up. I know that we have to eat to live, and I eat, but it turns out that I buy a lot more than I eat. Whether it's cooking too much and not eating leftovers, or buying something that I normally eat that I just don't eat, I end up throwing away a lot of food. Throwing away food is like throwing away money. I need to improve on buying only what I am going to eat.
Tiff and I were good for awhile on planning our meals out and sticking to it. Well, Tiff still has the schedule of meals, somewhere along the way, however, we just stopped looking at it. I think it's time to get back to scheduling and good ole fashioned home-cooking. After I eat the second half of my Subway pastrami sandwich, of course.
By the way, this second month, I'm going easy on the blogging. I've got a few things I should have mentioned last month that I hope to write about soon, but then I'm just doing the basics. Savings isn't too interesting.
Chipotle was $11.45. Subway was $14.16. Blockbuster was $9.01
Total cost: $34.62
Anyways, I have learned a lot from making this sacrifice, particularly in regards to food. I understood that going out to eat cost a lot of money, but I never realized how fast it can add up. This weekend alone, which before February wouldn't be too far out of the norm, cost over $25! ...and that's just for two meals. Quite often, in fact, that $25 pricetag would account for one dining experience, then you could add a trip to Chipotle or Subway on top of that. The thing is, too, I would much rather be eating some of that lentil soup I mentioned a few posts ago.
Moreover, even the food from the store adds up. I know that we have to eat to live, and I eat, but it turns out that I buy a lot more than I eat. Whether it's cooking too much and not eating leftovers, or buying something that I normally eat that I just don't eat, I end up throwing away a lot of food. Throwing away food is like throwing away money. I need to improve on buying only what I am going to eat.
Tiff and I were good for awhile on planning our meals out and sticking to it. Well, Tiff still has the schedule of meals, somewhere along the way, however, we just stopped looking at it. I think it's time to get back to scheduling and good ole fashioned home-cooking. After I eat the second half of my Subway pastrami sandwich, of course.
By the way, this second month, I'm going easy on the blogging. I've got a few things I should have mentioned last month that I hope to write about soon, but then I'm just doing the basics. Savings isn't too interesting.
Chipotle was $11.45. Subway was $14.16. Blockbuster was $9.01
Total cost: $34.62
Friday, February 22, 2008
Duffy's Juice
I haven't written about juicing for awhile, so I need to draw my little non-sacrifice to close so there will likely only be a few more posts. I should say though, that I will continue my juicing and in fact, I really think it can change your life and would strongly urge everyone to try it. It might be a little costly, but I honestly don't think I can go back to drinking store-bought juice. The juice just tastes that much better... apple juice that tastes like apples, orange juice that tastes like oranges. The shnozberries taste like shnozberries.
I like it so much, that as I'm confident that I will win the current $270 million, I hope to start a juice bar. Similar to a coffee shop, my juice bar would be a place where folks could come in and sit for a while, talk to friends, read a paper, write a report, surf the internet, or even stand awkwardly in the corner, all the while enjoying the greatness of juice. All-natural juice. The future is not milkbars and weirdos, the future is juicebars and happy, successful, virile winners.
I'm only half kidding here. People are so accustomed to the flavors that they buy in the store that they have no idea what freshly made juice actually tastes like. I think that if people tried it, they would love it. Fresh apple juice, yummers. And then, you can start adding all the weird stuff like carrots, mango, broccoli, and spinach.
I like it so much, that as I'm confident that I will win the current $270 million, I hope to start a juice bar. Similar to a coffee shop, my juice bar would be a place where folks could come in and sit for a while, talk to friends, read a paper, write a report, surf the internet, or even stand awkwardly in the corner, all the while enjoying the greatness of juice. All-natural juice. The future is not milkbars and weirdos, the future is juicebars and happy, successful, virile winners.
I'm only half kidding here. People are so accustomed to the flavors that they buy in the store that they have no idea what freshly made juice actually tastes like. I think that if people tried it, they would love it. Fresh apple juice, yummers. And then, you can start adding all the weird stuff like carrots, mango, broccoli, and spinach.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
My Routine, My Problem
Because I'm slowly turning into an exercise guru, I read an article, from Yahoo's frontpage, about "when workouts don't work." In it, it talks about how too many people go to the gym and just sort of mill about, doing a few reps here, a few reps there, or walking leisurely on a treadmill, therefore they don't see the results.
If you're concerned about results, hopefully your smart enough to see the error in your ways if you are just roaming around the gym, otherwise, good for you for going to the gym. It sure as hell beats sitting around watching reruns of Wings, or whatever you may be rather doing.
While I think I am seeing some results, I am well aware of what's keeping me back. And it is definitely not a lazy exercise. I go thirty minutes on the elliptical, it's therapy approved, on level seven and I go "Around the World," at least that's the setting it's on. I try to hit 4 miles in that thirty minutes and I've been doing it pretty consistently lately. And then I do five minute cool down... and then I break and if it's open, I'll walk backwards, leisurely, on the treadmill for five minutes, it's therapy approved. I am usually dripping with set after about five minutes. It feels great. Perhaps, I should read down the article a bit to "Never Changing Your Workout."
My main problem is getting to the gym. February 19th and I've only been 12 times? I should have been close to 12 for just February by now. Anyways, frequent gym-goers, I salute you and hope to one day join you. I'm going to have to if I'm going to hit my year-end goal of 208.
If you're concerned about results, hopefully your smart enough to see the error in your ways if you are just roaming around the gym, otherwise, good for you for going to the gym. It sure as hell beats sitting around watching reruns of Wings, or whatever you may be rather doing.
While I think I am seeing some results, I am well aware of what's keeping me back. And it is definitely not a lazy exercise. I go thirty minutes on the elliptical, it's therapy approved, on level seven and I go "Around the World," at least that's the setting it's on. I try to hit 4 miles in that thirty minutes and I've been doing it pretty consistently lately. And then I do five minute cool down... and then I break and if it's open, I'll walk backwards, leisurely, on the treadmill for five minutes, it's therapy approved. I am usually dripping with set after about five minutes. It feels great. Perhaps, I should read down the article a bit to "Never Changing Your Workout."
My main problem is getting to the gym. February 19th and I've only been 12 times? I should have been close to 12 for just February by now. Anyways, frequent gym-goers, I salute you and hope to one day join you. I'm going to have to if I'm going to hit my year-end goal of 208.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Winner
Played the lottery again on Friday, $1 for a chance at over $170 million. It might not be good odds but with so many mentions of the lottery, you can see that I can't resist all those zeros. And yes, I'm aware that I've got my finger on a great way to save money.
So I played, and for the first time ever in all the times I've played, I won some money. I got three numbers including the power ball, or whatever it's called, for a winnings of $10! Woo-hoo! And the jackpot carried over again and now is up to $220 million! We'll see how much of the $10 I spend on it, but now I won't feel so guilty about buying tickets.
To be honest, I've never felt guilty... maybe a bit foolish, but never guilty.
So I played, and for the first time ever in all the times I've played, I won some money. I got three numbers including the power ball, or whatever it's called, for a winnings of $10! Woo-hoo! And the jackpot carried over again and now is up to $220 million! We'll see how much of the $10 I spend on it, but now I won't feel so guilty about buying tickets.
To be honest, I've never felt guilty... maybe a bit foolish, but never guilty.
Five Guys
Splurged a bit today. This weekend we were going to go see the new movie Jumper, which I've been strangely anticipating. I couldn't tell you the last movie that I was truly excited about long before it came out, but ever since I saw the previews for the first time for Jumper, I've wanted to see it.
For one reason or another, we didn't go see it. So... today we got lunch out. Five Guys is a favorite, we live right by one of the originals, before they started franchising, and it was just as a delicious as always. I got a Little Cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles, fried onions, ketchup and mayo. Tiff got the same with the addition of fried mushrooms. And we split a thing of fries, just as always.
This is a meal that at times we would eat at least once or twice a week but have sacrificed in the name of savings. Altogether, I think the biggest change we've made in our lives while trying to save money has been not going out to eat. It's hard to add up how much we were spending each week or each month on going out to eat because we would go in waves or spurts, but we are definitely saving a bundle cooking for ourselves.
Today's spending: $12.18
For one reason or another, we didn't go see it. So... today we got lunch out. Five Guys is a favorite, we live right by one of the originals, before they started franchising, and it was just as a delicious as always. I got a Little Cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles, fried onions, ketchup and mayo. Tiff got the same with the addition of fried mushrooms. And we split a thing of fries, just as always.
This is a meal that at times we would eat at least once or twice a week but have sacrificed in the name of savings. Altogether, I think the biggest change we've made in our lives while trying to save money has been not going out to eat. It's hard to add up how much we were spending each week or each month on going out to eat because we would go in waves or spurts, but we are definitely saving a bundle cooking for ourselves.
Today's spending: $12.18
Friday, February 15, 2008
Saving this Valentine's
Yesterday was Valentine's Day, the day above all others to give flowers. I like flowers. I like giving flowers. In fact, I've been accused of giving flowers to others more for me than for the recipient before. I just like flowers.
Flowers, however, don't quite fit into the savings challenge, so I had sworn off buying any and tried to make a substitute. I found what looked like a pretty easy origami-type flower so I started making some flowers.
Isn't that neat? Seven flowers. The culmination of at least eight man-hours of pretty intensive folding and unfolding and refolding and gluing and holding together and lots of throwing away of post-it notes. Total cost: 66 cents for the pipe-cleaners.
I was pretty proud of it. Then there was dinner to worry about. I went to buy what I needed from the store for dinner and dessert. The cook at work had given me the idea for dessert and thank God she did, because it was far and away better than the dinner.
When I walked into the grocery though, I was tempted by a big sign declaring the lottery at $171 million! and I still had one dollar bill floating around in my wallet waiting to be put to good use. It was pretty early in the morning so nobody was at the counter to take my dollar so I stood there a minute, waiting patiently. They of course had there big Valentine's display up with giant balloons and stuffed animals and rows of flowers, bunched by the dozen. My proud thoughts of my seven hand-crafted flowers quickly faded and I regretted not having an even dozen. I kept looking at the beautiful flowers, red and pink and white roses, cursing the savings challenge.
Then, I noticed off to the side, cast aside by the floral department worker as not Valentiney enough, perfect little tulips standing alone, and on sale. I left the lotto counter still holding onto my dollar; those $2 off tulips were pulling me away. I shouldn't have done it, I had spent so much time on not spending any money on flowers, but in the end, we ate our dinner with tulips and not hand-crafted works of art as centerpieces.
I spent $4.99 on flowers. $26.38 altogether. And the sacrifice continues.
Flowers, however, don't quite fit into the savings challenge, so I had sworn off buying any and tried to make a substitute. I found what looked like a pretty easy origami-type flower so I started making some flowers.
Isn't that neat? Seven flowers. The culmination of at least eight man-hours of pretty intensive folding and unfolding and refolding and gluing and holding together and lots of throwing away of post-it notes. Total cost: 66 cents for the pipe-cleaners.I was pretty proud of it. Then there was dinner to worry about. I went to buy what I needed from the store for dinner and dessert. The cook at work had given me the idea for dessert and thank God she did, because it was far and away better than the dinner.
When I walked into the grocery though, I was tempted by a big sign declaring the lottery at $171 million! and I still had one dollar bill floating around in my wallet waiting to be put to good use. It was pretty early in the morning so nobody was at the counter to take my dollar so I stood there a minute, waiting patiently. They of course had there big Valentine's display up with giant balloons and stuffed animals and rows of flowers, bunched by the dozen. My proud thoughts of my seven hand-crafted flowers quickly faded and I regretted not having an even dozen. I kept looking at the beautiful flowers, red and pink and white roses, cursing the savings challenge.
Then, I noticed off to the side, cast aside by the floral department worker as not Valentiney enough, perfect little tulips standing alone, and on sale. I left the lotto counter still holding onto my dollar; those $2 off tulips were pulling me away. I shouldn't have done it, I had spent so much time on not spending any money on flowers, but in the end, we ate our dinner with tulips and not hand-crafted works of art as centerpieces.
I spent $4.99 on flowers. $26.38 altogether. And the sacrifice continues. Monday, February 11, 2008
Free Haircut
Yesterday, I saved money on a haircut. I don't get many haircuts, usually waiting several months before trims. Tiff hates it, but I usually get my haircut far too short and let it grow back to being beautiful hair. It's never my intention to do this, but it always works out this way. Similarly, I let it grow out far past the point where it stops looking good and enters the phase where people start to wonder if I'm trying to go with a new look.
Last week, as my hair was getting in my eyes, I knew it was time for a haircut. I had the thought of playing guinea pig for some local beauty school, but when a quick search of the internet came up empty, I quickly moved to plan B, ask the in-laws.
Tiff's Mom has never been a professional haircutter, but she does cut quite a bit of the family hair. While nobody in the family has bad hair, I was a little concerned about what I was getting into.
I'm not sure if my worries stemmed from the fact that Tiff grew up in a small region between two small Virginia towns called "the Free State" and with just a quick haircut, I could throw on some overalls and say things like, "why that's brown and smells bad" to any nonsense talk. Or if my fear came from my own suburban childhood with my Dad asking me demonically if I want him to go grab The Buzzer. To be honest I don't even know if we had a buzzer, but the way my Dad made it sound, it was a modern marvel that could effortlessly chop through not only hair but ears, heads, brains, as well as I'm sure aluminum cans and probably any recyclables.
So yesterday, I tried not to be scared as I stepped into the barstool and put the official haircut apron on. I was hoping Tiff would direct her saying things like longer here and shorter here, but she didn't even stay in the same room, and I was left just explaining my desired haircut with the all too familiar, "Shorter. Just shorter."
I apologize as I don't have pictures of the cutting process as proof, but I think the final result is pretty good.
It's still a bit long, but it sure does feel good. Looking back, I hope my mother-in-law wasn't more worried than I was, saying more than once, "I never cut anybody's hair short the first time; I'll get braver the more times I cut it." I think I look good though, and hey, you can't beat the price. And I got, not one, but two meals out of the deal!
Total savings (these are all guesses): $17 for haircut, let's say $10 for meals for Tiff and I, well $9, because I also cooked a Pasta-Roni as part of my dinner, -$6 for gas... for a total of, $20! Plus, I got to play some Wii!
Last week, as my hair was getting in my eyes, I knew it was time for a haircut. I had the thought of playing guinea pig for some local beauty school, but when a quick search of the internet came up empty, I quickly moved to plan B, ask the in-laws.
Tiff's Mom has never been a professional haircutter, but she does cut quite a bit of the family hair. While nobody in the family has bad hair, I was a little concerned about what I was getting into.
I'm not sure if my worries stemmed from the fact that Tiff grew up in a small region between two small Virginia towns called "the Free State" and with just a quick haircut, I could throw on some overalls and say things like, "why that's brown and smells bad" to any nonsense talk. Or if my fear came from my own suburban childhood with my Dad asking me demonically if I want him to go grab The Buzzer. To be honest I don't even know if we had a buzzer, but the way my Dad made it sound, it was a modern marvel that could effortlessly chop through not only hair but ears, heads, brains, as well as I'm sure aluminum cans and probably any recyclables.
So yesterday, I tried not to be scared as I stepped into the barstool and put the official haircut apron on. I was hoping Tiff would direct her saying things like longer here and shorter here, but she didn't even stay in the same room, and I was left just explaining my desired haircut with the all too familiar, "Shorter. Just shorter."
I apologize as I don't have pictures of the cutting process as proof, but I think the final result is pretty good.
It's still a bit long, but it sure does feel good. Looking back, I hope my mother-in-law wasn't more worried than I was, saying more than once, "I never cut anybody's hair short the first time; I'll get braver the more times I cut it." I think I look good though, and hey, you can't beat the price. And I got, not one, but two meals out of the deal!Total savings (these are all guesses): $17 for haircut, let's say $10 for meals for Tiff and I, well $9, because I also cooked a Pasta-Roni as part of my dinner, -$6 for gas... for a total of, $20! Plus, I got to play some Wii!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Groceries
Went to the grocery store today. I was looking for deals and got more than I had planned on getting. Pasta-Roni for a buck, so I got three. Soup for a buck, so I got three. The soup unfortunately did not ring up on sale so I wasted $.60. I'm a little upset about it.
All and all, my total came to $56.52. I was shooting for $30, but I didn't calculate some of the stuff when I was adding it up in my head, so I won't complain. Oh, and I spent a dollar on the lottery. It's at $150,000,000, I couldn't resist.
As far as savings go though, I chose to walk instead of drive. I feel like gas is one of those things that I never really take into account when I'm adding up my cost of living. Anyways, it's not too far of a walk, but with $50 worth of groceries, I did break a sweat.
All and all, my total came to $56.52. I was shooting for $30, but I didn't calculate some of the stuff when I was adding it up in my head, so I won't complain. Oh, and I spent a dollar on the lottery. It's at $150,000,000, I couldn't resist.
As far as savings go though, I chose to walk instead of drive. I feel like gas is one of those things that I never really take into account when I'm adding up my cost of living. Anyways, it's not too far of a walk, but with $50 worth of groceries, I did break a sweat.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
First Things First
I finally started doing my homework about how to save money. There is a lot out there on the web about it. Everyone agrees the first step is to eliminate your credit card debt, so I'm going to take that to heart and make my first priority paying off my credit cards.
I stopped my paper statements a while ago in favor of using the internet, which is insanely convenient and I love ebanking or whatever it's called. But I ran into something interesting looking over my statements yesterday, which I admittedly rarely do. They never post the interest charge. It doesn't make it on to the current statement nor the previous statement, but the starting balance is about $50 more for the current statement than the previous statement. They charged me, they just never told me about it. Then, I started looking for it but I couldn't find my APR listed anywhere. I had to search for ten minutes for one, which is %10.49, and the other neither Tiff nor I could find anywhere in my online account. Very strange, and more than a little troubling.
Back to my debt, I should say that for a long time I tried very hard to not carry any credit card debt, but it doesn't take too many big, and not-so-big, purchases before your balance is more than your willing to match at the end of the month. For me, I had several months of semi-large purchases and my credit cards collected numbers far above what I had ever wanted them to be. When one hit the $6,000 mark I took it out of my wallet and started paying it off.
Today, between two cards, I have $4,685.45. Also today, I paid off the smaller of the two, the one I don't know the APR of, in full... all of $286.84 leaving me with a credit card total of $4,398.45.
Question: is it "First things first" or "First thing's first?" I guess it doesn't matter.
I stopped my paper statements a while ago in favor of using the internet, which is insanely convenient and I love ebanking or whatever it's called. But I ran into something interesting looking over my statements yesterday, which I admittedly rarely do. They never post the interest charge. It doesn't make it on to the current statement nor the previous statement, but the starting balance is about $50 more for the current statement than the previous statement. They charged me, they just never told me about it. Then, I started looking for it but I couldn't find my APR listed anywhere. I had to search for ten minutes for one, which is %10.49, and the other neither Tiff nor I could find anywhere in my online account. Very strange, and more than a little troubling.
Back to my debt, I should say that for a long time I tried very hard to not carry any credit card debt, but it doesn't take too many big, and not-so-big, purchases before your balance is more than your willing to match at the end of the month. For me, I had several months of semi-large purchases and my credit cards collected numbers far above what I had ever wanted them to be. When one hit the $6,000 mark I took it out of my wallet and started paying it off.
Today, between two cards, I have $4,685.45. Also today, I paid off the smaller of the two, the one I don't know the APR of, in full... all of $286.84 leaving me with a credit card total of $4,398.45.
Question: is it "First things first" or "First thing's first?" I guess it doesn't matter.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Penny Pick-Up
When I first started blogging, I felt superior to all and took the time to explain why my blog would surely be better than any blog that has ever existed. Then I ran into this guy's blog and I instantly liked it. In fact, it's been linked to my blog from very early on.
It's a blog all about finding and collecting loose change. At the time, him and this other guy were in a race to see who could collect $100 first, but he's long-since past the $100 mark and he's still going. As he says it's offered a new perspective on life. "Keep your head down and always look for silver." I don't read his blog very often, but I do check-in and it's always pretty cool, even if the coolness lies in the fact that he's still going after all this time, with a current total of $236.60.
With my savings challenge, I think it's time for me to start keeping an eye out for loose change, too. Like the other day, as I was getting a lottery ticket, I watched a penny fall to the ground and settle to a stop. I was next in line and planned on picking it up when a little old man went out of his way to go collect it. He beat me to it... you have to move fast with loose change, especially around old people.
Yesterday, I found a penny though that I can now call my own. I found it in the gym.
Oh yeah, with the lottery... the big billboard on my way home now announces a $122 million prize. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't keep playing, but we'll see.
It's a blog all about finding and collecting loose change. At the time, him and this other guy were in a race to see who could collect $100 first, but he's long-since past the $100 mark and he's still going. As he says it's offered a new perspective on life. "Keep your head down and always look for silver." I don't read his blog very often, but I do check-in and it's always pretty cool, even if the coolness lies in the fact that he's still going after all this time, with a current total of $236.60.
With my savings challenge, I think it's time for me to start keeping an eye out for loose change, too. Like the other day, as I was getting a lottery ticket, I watched a penny fall to the ground and settle to a stop. I was next in line and planned on picking it up when a little old man went out of his way to go collect it. He beat me to it... you have to move fast with loose change, especially around old people.
Yesterday, I found a penny though that I can now call my own. I found it in the gym.
Oh yeah, with the lottery... the big billboard on my way home now announces a $122 million prize. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't keep playing, but we'll see.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Lottery
The Mega-Millions Lottery now stands at $102 million. I drive past the big billboard announcing this big number on my way home from work. Going against the savings challenge, I bought a ticket. $1 and I could win $102 million dollars. I'm trying to save money with this challenge, not crush dreams.
So I have all day to dream about what I could do with 102 million dollars. Plus, an influx of cash like that sure would be a nice way to start the savings challenge.
So I have all day to dream about what I could do with 102 million dollars. Plus, an influx of cash like that sure would be a nice way to start the savings challenge.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Day 1b
I'm not quite sure how the posting for this sacrifice will evolve, but Tiff and I just made a CostCo run for fruits and dishwasher detergent. They also had a really nice exercise jacket that I almost got, but for $17 I decided it wasn't necessary.
If you're not familiar with CostCo, it's a great place where you can find a good deal (not everything is) but it's always fun to go because they give out free samples of stuff that you generally wouldn't buy. It makes sense from their perspective that way - trying to get you to buy stuff. Our first trip ever, we tried Bourbon-flavored Chicken and wound up eating the stuff once a week for 6 months.
Today, they free samples were just veiny chicken and fatty lamb. The lamb was good but I would never buy it. Point being though, we didn't eat hardly anything there and were starving leaving. A really good IHOP coupon has been floating around in the car and is talked about quite a bit. After much debate and wishful thinking, we came home and used leftovers to make pizzas on hamburger buns, which are just out of the oven.
CostCo bill: $58.00 even.
If you're not familiar with CostCo, it's a great place where you can find a good deal (not everything is) but it's always fun to go because they give out free samples of stuff that you generally wouldn't buy. It makes sense from their perspective that way - trying to get you to buy stuff. Our first trip ever, we tried Bourbon-flavored Chicken and wound up eating the stuff once a week for 6 months.
Today, they free samples were just veiny chicken and fatty lamb. The lamb was good but I would never buy it. Point being though, we didn't eat hardly anything there and were starving leaving. A really good IHOP coupon has been floating around in the car and is talked about quite a bit. After much debate and wishful thinking, we came home and used leftovers to make pizzas on hamburger buns, which are just out of the oven.
CostCo bill: $58.00 even.
Savings - 1 Month....
A new Sacrifice, and yes I think this one can be called a sacrifice.
With everything that's happening in my life right now, this one comes out of necessity. After a wedding/honeymoon trip, Christmas, birthdays, a few costly sacrifices, nine cavities filled, and other stuff, I need to start saving money.
In January alone, I spent more money on medical stuff than I think I ever have put together. Three trips to the regular doctor's, three trips to the physical therapist's (which no, I haven't mentioned), and a trip to the ER. All-in-all, that's two hundred bucks! On top of that, there have been at least three trips to the pharmacy, and one of my drugs, of course, is over-the-counter now for over thirty bucks! Thank God for medical insurance, I guess.
Now, I'm not saying that I regret those costs, nor would I take them back if I could, but the point is is that I need to start recoupping some of those costs, and right now that's not happening. So starting today - I should have started before this past weekend - I will keep a closer eye on all my spending, with your help Blogland. That's right, if I spend it, you'll know about it.
It may not sound exciting and it probably won't be, but like Jack LaLanne says, if it tastes good, don't eat it. In other words, this should be good for me. I'll get into more detail later. I originally had this pinned as my New Year's Resolution, but Tiff talked me into exercising, so as for time length on this one, we're going to go month-to-month, starting with February. It may just last one month, but ideally it will last until Tiff and I are homeowners.
So, let's get started, this morning, I bought gas: $30.19.
With everything that's happening in my life right now, this one comes out of necessity. After a wedding/honeymoon trip, Christmas, birthdays, a few costly sacrifices, nine cavities filled, and other stuff, I need to start saving money.
In January alone, I spent more money on medical stuff than I think I ever have put together. Three trips to the regular doctor's, three trips to the physical therapist's (which no, I haven't mentioned), and a trip to the ER. All-in-all, that's two hundred bucks! On top of that, there have been at least three trips to the pharmacy, and one of my drugs, of course, is over-the-counter now for over thirty bucks! Thank God for medical insurance, I guess.
Now, I'm not saying that I regret those costs, nor would I take them back if I could, but the point is is that I need to start recoupping some of those costs, and right now that's not happening. So starting today - I should have started before this past weekend - I will keep a closer eye on all my spending, with your help Blogland. That's right, if I spend it, you'll know about it.
It may not sound exciting and it probably won't be, but like Jack LaLanne says, if it tastes good, don't eat it. In other words, this should be good for me. I'll get into more detail later. I originally had this pinned as my New Year's Resolution, but Tiff talked me into exercising, so as for time length on this one, we're going to go month-to-month, starting with February. It may just last one month, but ideally it will last until Tiff and I are homeowners.
So, let's get started, this morning, I bought gas: $30.19.
Back in the Saddle
So I don't like it, but the truth is I'm failing. I've worked-out seven times. This is the fifth week of the year and I've only worked out seven times. I should be nearing twenty. And... I missed almost a week of juicing.
In my defense, I did get sick, and then I got sicker, and I wasn't sure what could have caused it. Juice seemed like a likely suspect to the case of the terrible hives, so I stopped juicing for day after scratching day. The doctor dismissed it quicker than I could explain what we were juicing. He also dismissed exercise, although it is a possibility. Then, he called himself an idiot and admitted that likely he'll never be able to tell me anything about my hives... other than they can be defined as chronic idiosatum something-or-other (Tiff help me out.).
So with the idiot doctor's okay, I plan to restart my challenges - er, um... sacrifices - in full starting today. Juicing and exercising. They almost go hand-in-hand! Wish me luck.
In my defense, I did get sick, and then I got sicker, and I wasn't sure what could have caused it. Juice seemed like a likely suspect to the case of the terrible hives, so I stopped juicing for day after scratching day. The doctor dismissed it quicker than I could explain what we were juicing. He also dismissed exercise, although it is a possibility. Then, he called himself an idiot and admitted that likely he'll never be able to tell me anything about my hives... other than they can be defined as chronic idiosatum something-or-other (Tiff help me out.).
So with the idiot doctor's okay, I plan to restart my challenges - er, um... sacrifices - in full starting today. Juicing and exercising. They almost go hand-in-hand! Wish me luck.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
More Juicing
Here's a video that I meant to post a while ago, but there's not much to say about it.
I'm posting it now because I put it up on youtube along with my previous juicing video on January 25th and it already has 14 views without me doing anything to it, which is a lot for me. I guess juicing is becoming pretty popular.
In fact, Tiff and I were at the doctor's recently and in conversation, Tiff mentioned the juicer. The receptionist got very excited. "Do you have the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer!?!" To which Tiff replied, "We have the Power Juicer Pro." As she told of her friend who has one and loves it, I kept waiting for her to say, "It will change your life!" but she never did. I didn't say anything as I was too focused on the pain in my butt from the giant needle.
Meanwhile, last night, we noticed that our enormous bag of carrots was begining to show signs of age - a few tips started turning brown. So we cranked up the juicer, juiced seven carrots, two apples, and an inch of ginger. Carrots are great because they give quite a bit of juice, as do apples. Ginger doesn't give hardly any juice, in fact, I didn't see any come out when it went in. I sure did smell it though. And the taste is a bit overwhelming. Ginger is powerful stuff.
I enjoyed the taste for a few sips, but an entire glass is asking quite a bit. Thinking of my victory over veggie dogs, I finished my glass. I tried to help Tiff with her last half, but in the end, the ginger got the best of us. I'm sure it has amazing nutritious value, but we will likely veer away from the ginger aisle of the grocery in the future... which is a shame because that inch cost all of 14 cents.
I'm posting it now because I put it up on youtube along with my previous juicing video on January 25th and it already has 14 views without me doing anything to it, which is a lot for me. I guess juicing is becoming pretty popular.
In fact, Tiff and I were at the doctor's recently and in conversation, Tiff mentioned the juicer. The receptionist got very excited. "Do you have the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer!?!" To which Tiff replied, "We have the Power Juicer Pro." As she told of her friend who has one and loves it, I kept waiting for her to say, "It will change your life!" but she never did. I didn't say anything as I was too focused on the pain in my butt from the giant needle.
Meanwhile, last night, we noticed that our enormous bag of carrots was begining to show signs of age - a few tips started turning brown. So we cranked up the juicer, juiced seven carrots, two apples, and an inch of ginger. Carrots are great because they give quite a bit of juice, as do apples. Ginger doesn't give hardly any juice, in fact, I didn't see any come out when it went in. I sure did smell it though. And the taste is a bit overwhelming. Ginger is powerful stuff.
I enjoyed the taste for a few sips, but an entire glass is asking quite a bit. Thinking of my victory over veggie dogs, I finished my glass. I tried to help Tiff with her last half, but in the end, the ginger got the best of us. I'm sure it has amazing nutritious value, but we will likely veer away from the ginger aisle of the grocery in the future... which is a shame because that inch cost all of 14 cents.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Oh Yeah!
As a kid, I don't think I ever had fresh juice. In fact, I grew up on an entirely different kind of juice, Kool-Aid.
Yep, straight from the generation that brought you ADHD. I looked through a bunch of vaguely familiar Kool-Aid commercials on YouTube, and when I found this one it was a sudden flashback of Saturday mornings as a kid. Anyways, I have fond memories of waiting to see what color Kool-Aid was in the brown Kool-Aid pitcher. Would it be red, or would it be purple? I always rooted for purple, even though thinking back on it, I think I liked the red better.
Soon though, new flavors came out and the purple and red lost out to another color... yellow. Of the 28 flavors sold today only one has the iconic "Oh Yeah!" in it's name. Oh Yeah! Orange-Pineapple is by far the best Kool-Aid ever made, hands-down, no contest. It has just the right blend of, well, flavored sugar that makes you say, "Oh, Yeah!" Just to note, I stopped drinking Oh Yeah Orange-Pineapple rather abruptlyafter a friend pointed out that the Yellow #5 at the bottom of the list of ingredients could have some adverse effects on my man parts.
Yep, straight from the generation that brought you ADHD. I looked through a bunch of vaguely familiar Kool-Aid commercials on YouTube, and when I found this one it was a sudden flashback of Saturday mornings as a kid. Anyways, I have fond memories of waiting to see what color Kool-Aid was in the brown Kool-Aid pitcher. Would it be red, or would it be purple? I always rooted for purple, even though thinking back on it, I think I liked the red better.
Soon though, new flavors came out and the purple and red lost out to another color... yellow. Of the 28 flavors sold today only one has the iconic "Oh Yeah!" in it's name. Oh Yeah! Orange-Pineapple is by far the best Kool-Aid ever made, hands-down, no contest. It has just the right blend of, well, flavored sugar that makes you say, "Oh, Yeah!" Just to note, I stopped drinking Oh Yeah Orange-Pineapple rather abruptlyafter a friend pointed out that the Yellow #5 at the bottom of the list of ingredients could have some adverse effects on my man parts.
Today Tiff and I tried our own orange-pineapple juice. We only had two oranges left so we used them and half a pineapple. Oh, yeah, it was good. It was even better than the original! And while I love the idea of stirring water until you can't hear the sugar grinding under the spoon anymore, I think this might be a little better for me. -Yikes, I sound old.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Fresh Fruit
We knew going into it that we were going to go through quite a bit of fruit, so we (re)joined CostCo, the local membership buy-in-bulk store. We bought a box of apples, a box of blood oranges - we chose the blood ones because it has no associations with band fruit - a big ole thing of grapes, and the biggest bag of carrots I've ever seen. I saw the carrots and I said Yes! 
All in all, the four fruit items cost somewhere around $35. Each juicing we use a lot of fruit, so of that original purchase, last Tuesday, we're down to a couple of grapes and a whole bunch of carrots. And that all goes to one glass of juice a day each. Our second trip was to the grocery store for some more exotic fruits and vegetables, adding up close to another $35.
It adds up quick, but as Jack says, "You can change your life!" for about as much as a dinner out a week.
All in all, the four fruit items cost somewhere around $35. Each juicing we use a lot of fruit, so of that original purchase, last Tuesday, we're down to a couple of grapes and a whole bunch of carrots. And that all goes to one glass of juice a day each. Our second trip was to the grocery store for some more exotic fruits and vegetables, adding up close to another $35.It adds up quick, but as Jack says, "You can change your life!" for about as much as a dinner out a week.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Juicing - Take One
So we've been juicing for a little while now, I was slow posting the first one. I'm going to be kind of playing catch-up with the next few days of Juicing posting, so bear with me, and enjoy.
Here's from the first time we used it, we carelessly turned up the TV so we could hear it over the soft hum of the professional juicer and forgot to turn it off for the video, so you can enjoy a bit of the Biggest Loser while you watch it.
Here's from the first time we used it, we carelessly turned up the TV so we could hear it over the soft hum of the professional juicer and forgot to turn it off for the video, so you can enjoy a bit of the Biggest Loser while you watch it.
Ab Work-Out
I've said one too many times that I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks, but it has created a lull in working out. So, I definitely have not been building brain cells recently no matter how many times I get beat in Scrabble.
Unable to go to the gym - Tiff's adamant that I need to be completely healthy before I go back - we looked for ways to work out in the comfort of our own home. While we were surprised how hard it is to find a work-out video nowadays, we decided that our fourth floor living conditions might not be good for jumping, punching, and stomping - as it is we already shake some top shelf stuff just by walking too hard. So, we ended up with an Ab-Roller, only $18 at Wal-Mart.
It is really, really neat.
We decided that it can substitute for a gym work-out every now and then. I was a little hesitant to allow this as it makes sit-ups a cinch, plus can you really work your abs for a half-hour? I decided it was okay after I could barely move my midsection after working out for about 25 minutes. I then spent five minutes thinking about doing push-ups to complete my work-out... number 7 for the year. Yes, I'm aware how far off my goal pace of 4 work-outs a week.
I am really, really far off.
Anyways, the Ab Roller will likely be a substitute used sparingly by me, as I would much rather be on an elliptical. Hopefully, I can restart pretty soon.
Unable to go to the gym - Tiff's adamant that I need to be completely healthy before I go back - we looked for ways to work out in the comfort of our own home. While we were surprised how hard it is to find a work-out video nowadays, we decided that our fourth floor living conditions might not be good for jumping, punching, and stomping - as it is we already shake some top shelf stuff just by walking too hard. So, we ended up with an Ab-Roller, only $18 at Wal-Mart.
It is really, really neat.
We decided that it can substitute for a gym work-out every now and then. I was a little hesitant to allow this as it makes sit-ups a cinch, plus can you really work your abs for a half-hour? I decided it was okay after I could barely move my midsection after working out for about 25 minutes. I then spent five minutes thinking about doing push-ups to complete my work-out... number 7 for the year. Yes, I'm aware how far off my goal pace of 4 work-outs a week.
I am really, really far off.
Anyways, the Ab Roller will likely be a substitute used sparingly by me, as I would much rather be on an elliptical. Hopefully, I can restart pretty soon.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Mighty Jack LaLanne
As Tiff said, I haven't been working out as I've been a little under the weather lately. I just haven't been able to sleep much. I think this only reinforces my theory on exercise "correcting" my sleep pattern. A week later, I'm finally feeling a little better but I'm breaking out in hives for the first time in a couple of years.
So in the meantime, yes, we've begun juicing. We saw an infomercial in Jamaica, if I'm not mistaken, on the night before we got married, that was for Jack LaLanne's PowerJuicer Pro. Maybe it was just the romance in the air, but this infomercial spoke to me and I knew that I must start juicing. As Jack says, "You can change your life!"
It's kind of funny because in the 30 minute TV spot, that's about all he said. Jack LaLanne, the original fitness guru, may have an impressive website, but I think his wife, Elaine LaLanne is the new guru of fitness. She took over the infomercial, sharing all her great recipes, while Jack LaLanne made grand superlatives. "This is the greatest!" "You can't find fresher juice!" "You can change your life!" The clincher for me was, "Take the Juicer Challenge, and you won't regret it!"
Later, in my excitement for the juicer, I looked up Jack LaLanne on Wikipedia and learned that he's also said his two keys to nutrition are "if man made it, don't eat it," which I can somewhat agree with, and "if it tastes good, spit it out." If it tastes good... spit it out. This juicer bearing his name suddenly became much more intriguing.
So Tiff got the sleek new PowerJuicer Pro as a birthday gift from her family. It went well with my gift of Yes to Carrots. Tiff was immediately enchanted by its shiny chrome, while I scoured the material looking for what there was to this Juicer Challenge as defined by Jack LaLanne. I couldn't find anything so the juicer challenge is simply to juice, everyday for ... let's say two months. The recommended four to five servings of fruits and vegetables is a lot of juice, but I would be happy getting three to four.
This may make a dent on my wallet, but on first judgement, I must say that juicing is the miracle I've been looking for.
So in the meantime, yes, we've begun juicing. We saw an infomercial in Jamaica, if I'm not mistaken, on the night before we got married, that was for Jack LaLanne's PowerJuicer Pro. Maybe it was just the romance in the air, but this infomercial spoke to me and I knew that I must start juicing. As Jack says, "You can change your life!"
It's kind of funny because in the 30 minute TV spot, that's about all he said. Jack LaLanne, the original fitness guru, may have an impressive website, but I think his wife, Elaine LaLanne is the new guru of fitness. She took over the infomercial, sharing all her great recipes, while Jack LaLanne made grand superlatives. "This is the greatest!" "You can't find fresher juice!" "You can change your life!" The clincher for me was, "Take the Juicer Challenge, and you won't regret it!"
Later, in my excitement for the juicer, I looked up Jack LaLanne on Wikipedia and learned that he's also said his two keys to nutrition are "if man made it, don't eat it," which I can somewhat agree with, and "if it tastes good, spit it out." If it tastes good... spit it out. This juicer bearing his name suddenly became much more intriguing.
So Tiff got the sleek new PowerJuicer Pro as a birthday gift from her family. It went well with my gift of Yes to Carrots. Tiff was immediately enchanted by its shiny chrome, while I scoured the material looking for what there was to this Juicer Challenge as defined by Jack LaLanne. I couldn't find anything so the juicer challenge is simply to juice, everyday for ... let's say two months. The recommended four to five servings of fruits and vegetables is a lot of juice, but I would be happy getting three to four.This may make a dent on my wallet, but on first judgement, I must say that juicing is the miracle I've been looking for.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Man Down!
Well, we've hit our first speed bump of the challenge - illness. John's been a sniffling mess for months now - we blame it on working the nightshift and never getting any quality sleep. We went to the doc before our Jamaica trip only to be given antibiotics for a sinus infection, which we both knew it was not. And sure enough after finishing the medicine, John was still going through tissues like a madman.
Last weekend he starting feeling a lot worse, fever and all. So we went to the doctor (again) and he was told to take claratin for allergies, which we both know it's not (again) and to come back in 2 weeks (because the last 2 months have not been long enough...) if he's not better.
So, dear readers, while exercising is on hold we have a new and (more) exciting challenge for you! I got ...drumroll.... Jack LeLane's Power Juicer Pro! for my birthday! John will be writing a real blog about it, but in short - it is an amazing juicer and we plan to stay with the health theme of exercising by drinking our daily servings of fruits and veggies. We did our first juicing last night - AppleCarrot Juice - and man was it orange. Details to come... stay tuned.
Last weekend he starting feeling a lot worse, fever and all. So we went to the doctor (again) and he was told to take claratin for allergies, which we both know it's not (again) and to come back in 2 weeks (because the last 2 months have not been long enough...) if he's not better.
So, dear readers, while exercising is on hold we have a new and (more) exciting challenge for you! I got ...drumroll.... Jack LeLane's Power Juicer Pro! for my birthday! John will be writing a real blog about it, but in short - it is an amazing juicer and we plan to stay with the health theme of exercising by drinking our daily servings of fruits and veggies. We did our first juicing last night - AppleCarrot Juice - and man was it orange. Details to come... stay tuned.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
One Day Off
I worked out again yesterday. I did take Tuesday off and probably countered everything that I had done up to then. After just one day off, my enthusiasm towards waking up and working out took a serious blow, and I had to force myself to go. I'm glad I did though, not because my body feels oh-so-good, but because I said I would and I did.
My body does not feel oh-so-good either. If working out gives you energy and makes you stronger, I haven't seen it. I'm tired and my legs and back are sore. It's hard for me to judge being tired though, as I'm always tired from working overnights. While I do feel more tired than normal, I have this theory that basically says people aren't meant to stay awake all night, so maybe the exercise is just trying to help me sleep on a natural sleep cycle. Maybe not, I admit I've got some strange theories. I look forward to the point where it does give me energy and stops wearing me out.
I should note that Tiff and I have altered our requirements slightly. The study that linked exercise to brain development used hour-long workouts. At least, here in the beginning we are going to workout a required 30 minutes each day, and hopefully ratchet it up as we get use to it. As it is, I think my heart keeps racing the other 30 minutes. Secondly, I'm going to hold off on any more weights until after I go to the doctor. I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong and the doctor will say, essentially, stop doing that. So I plan to see somebody to try and even me out a bit muscularly before I push too hard. Safety first.
My body does not feel oh-so-good either. If working out gives you energy and makes you stronger, I haven't seen it. I'm tired and my legs and back are sore. It's hard for me to judge being tired though, as I'm always tired from working overnights. While I do feel more tired than normal, I have this theory that basically says people aren't meant to stay awake all night, so maybe the exercise is just trying to help me sleep on a natural sleep cycle. Maybe not, I admit I've got some strange theories. I look forward to the point where it does give me energy and stops wearing me out.
I should note that Tiff and I have altered our requirements slightly. The study that linked exercise to brain development used hour-long workouts. At least, here in the beginning we are going to workout a required 30 minutes each day, and hopefully ratchet it up as we get use to it. As it is, I think my heart keeps racing the other 30 minutes. Secondly, I'm going to hold off on any more weights until after I go to the doctor. I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong and the doctor will say, essentially, stop doing that. So I plan to see somebody to try and even me out a bit muscularly before I push too hard. Safety first.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Running to Longevity
I feel like this could be a trend, but today on Yahoo's front page, my main source for news, there was an article about a study on exercise, and stop the presses, it's good for you. Actually four things increase one's longevity by 14 years: regular exercise, drink in moderation, quit smoking, and eat five servings of fruits and vegetables.
I can now put a big check by one of those. Now I just have to up my alcohol intake to start drinking in moderation, start smoking in order to quit, and eat fruits and vegetables non-stop all day long. Yesterday I had corn!
Three exercises in and I'm doing well. I stuck around in the gym for awhile despite other patrons yesterday. I did the bicycle for twenty minutes, and I feel it here and here (picture me pointing to my ass) but nowhere else. There were two guys in there, one who was hauling "here and here" on the treadmill and the other was lifting easily twice what I can lift. I don't think "exercise" was their New Year's Resolution this year. I'll bet it was their Resolution from last year.
Anyways, I doubt I'll go today as it's Tiff's birthday!! It technically puts me off track but life comes first. Happy Birthday Wife!
I can now put a big check by one of those. Now I just have to up my alcohol intake to start drinking in moderation, start smoking in order to quit, and eat fruits and vegetables non-stop all day long. Yesterday I had corn!
Three exercises in and I'm doing well. I stuck around in the gym for awhile despite other patrons yesterday. I did the bicycle for twenty minutes, and I feel it here and here (picture me pointing to my ass) but nowhere else. There were two guys in there, one who was hauling "here and here" on the treadmill and the other was lifting easily twice what I can lift. I don't think "exercise" was their New Year's Resolution this year. I'll bet it was their Resolution from last year.
Anyways, I doubt I'll go today as it's Tiff's birthday!! It technically puts me off track but life comes first. Happy Birthday Wife!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Hello my new shoes...
Check out the snazzy new shoes John got me for my birthday! It's going to make working out oh-so-much more stylish!
Day Two
I'm posting back-to-back, so if you have not read about the first day yet, read this first.
This morning I woke up early again, still tired and without enough sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep. So I got going kind of early, wasted some time, kissed Tiff goodbye, and walked through the cold rain to go workout alone by maybe 8:30. That's dedication.
What I failed to mention - I alluded to it - in the last post was that our tiny little gym with its falling apart equipment is run by our apartment complex, home of, I'm guessing 1500 people. It's actually pretty cool that they have anything, I guess, and the price is right too. We gave them a $20 when we moved in to use it, and we get that back when we turn in the exercise room key when we move out. But keep in mind that the place is small and, even if it's just the Tiff and I, we have to pull straws to figure out who's using what machine.
I was hoping for a quiet workout. Go in, do my thing, and leave. Ideally, I would see nobody. Boy, was I wrong. Three people were already in there, probably all with the same idea of avoiding people as me. Not to be deterred I turned around and went back outside, and I started running.
I was running in the cold. I was running in the rain. It felt good I was running again. I used to run for awhile in college. I got to the point where I enjoyed it and looked forward to it, so I liked that I still could run pretty strong. I was confident. I would run through the apartment complex, maybe through the next-door neighborhood, and return to the exercise room to do at least some time on the elliptical, and maybe even some weights. I had it all planned out.
About a hundred yards later, I was huffing and puffing and rethinking my plan. I ran, well, slowly jogged through the apartment, cut out the neighborhood piece, and lapped around to the exercise room in about 15 minutes, still thinking I would try to spend some time in the exercise room, if nothing else to at least warm up. It was about at this point that I realized I had lost my $20 key.
I had put it in my sock to run, which looking back on it, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I hated myself by now. I hated the cold, and the rain. My ear started to hurt like the time Tiff and I climbed Stone Mountain in the rain about this time of year. I was not happy. I slowly plodded along, and maybe a quarter of the way around, I found my key at the bottom of a large puddle.
I'm not sure why, I guess pure determination, I returned to the exercise room which now had a few more people. It was more crowded than I have ever seen it. Needless to say, I came home, wet, sweaty, cold, and with an ear ache. While day one went well, day two went not so well. Oh yeah, I was only out for about 35 minutes, but it counts as a full day. It shouldn't in the future, but today, I'm counting it. Only 206 left.
This morning I woke up early again, still tired and without enough sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep. So I got going kind of early, wasted some time, kissed Tiff goodbye, and walked through the cold rain to go workout alone by maybe 8:30. That's dedication.
What I failed to mention - I alluded to it - in the last post was that our tiny little gym with its falling apart equipment is run by our apartment complex, home of, I'm guessing 1500 people. It's actually pretty cool that they have anything, I guess, and the price is right too. We gave them a $20 when we moved in to use it, and we get that back when we turn in the exercise room key when we move out. But keep in mind that the place is small and, even if it's just the Tiff and I, we have to pull straws to figure out who's using what machine.
I was hoping for a quiet workout. Go in, do my thing, and leave. Ideally, I would see nobody. Boy, was I wrong. Three people were already in there, probably all with the same idea of avoiding people as me. Not to be deterred I turned around and went back outside, and I started running.
I was running in the cold. I was running in the rain. It felt good I was running again. I used to run for awhile in college. I got to the point where I enjoyed it and looked forward to it, so I liked that I still could run pretty strong. I was confident. I would run through the apartment complex, maybe through the next-door neighborhood, and return to the exercise room to do at least some time on the elliptical, and maybe even some weights. I had it all planned out.
About a hundred yards later, I was huffing and puffing and rethinking my plan. I ran, well, slowly jogged through the apartment, cut out the neighborhood piece, and lapped around to the exercise room in about 15 minutes, still thinking I would try to spend some time in the exercise room, if nothing else to at least warm up. It was about at this point that I realized I had lost my $20 key.
I had put it in my sock to run, which looking back on it, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I hated myself by now. I hated the cold, and the rain. My ear started to hurt like the time Tiff and I climbed Stone Mountain in the rain about this time of year. I was not happy. I slowly plodded along, and maybe a quarter of the way around, I found my key at the bottom of a large puddle.
I'm not sure why, I guess pure determination, I returned to the exercise room which now had a few more people. It was more crowded than I have ever seen it. Needless to say, I came home, wet, sweaty, cold, and with an ear ache. While day one went well, day two went not so well. Oh yeah, I was only out for about 35 minutes, but it counts as a full day. It shouldn't in the future, but today, I'm counting it. Only 206 left.
The Workout Begins
So yesterday I finally started the exercise sacrifice, if exercise can be called a sacrifice. We had to start yesterday in order to get the required four workouts each week in, because for some reason our workout week is Wednesday to Tuesday. I'm not really sure why that is and I don't remember any conversations about it, but it's never been in question. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.
God, I look good on camera. I'm like a ...ummm... natural in front of the ...uhhh... camera.
Did you notice our state of the art workout facility? It's a pretty tiny little place with one elliptical machine, one treadmill, two bikes (one of which doesn't work too well), and four different weight machines. It's not too bad if it were all ours, although we still have to trade off on the elliptical, but if there's anyone else in there it's pretty awful.
I didn't want to do too much, being the first day, but I was still shooting for an hour, so I did, I think, 28 minutes on the elliptical and then some weights, which Tiff and I are still deciding if they count towards brain development, but I'm pretty sure it will have to for the sake of the sacrifice. Anyways, Tiff took a break from her workout to take pictures. At some point, she switched her camera to video, so here's a video that begins with me posing waiting for a flash. The surprise, ironically, is natural.
So the challenge begins and as I mentioned, it was a challenge. I'm going to have to remember that getting very little sleep for a few days in a row, staying up late the night before playing Smallville trivia drinking games, and waking up early does not make for ideal workout conditions.
God, I look good on camera. I'm like a ...ummm... natural in front of the ...uhhh... camera.
Did you notice our state of the art workout facility? It's a pretty tiny little place with one elliptical machine, one treadmill, two bikes (one of which doesn't work too well), and four different weight machines. It's not too bad if it were all ours, although we still have to trade off on the elliptical, but if there's anyone else in there it's pretty awful.
I didn't want to do too much, being the first day, but I was still shooting for an hour, so I did, I think, 28 minutes on the elliptical and then some weights, which Tiff and I are still deciding if they count towards brain development, but I'm pretty sure it will have to for the sake of the sacrifice. Anyways, Tiff took a break from her workout to take pictures. At some point, she switched her camera to video, so here's a video that begins with me posing waiting for a flash. The surprise, ironically, is natural.
So the challenge begins and as I mentioned, it was a challenge. I'm going to have to remember that getting very little sleep for a few days in a row, staying up late the night before playing Smallville trivia drinking games, and waking up early does not make for ideal workout conditions.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Wii Have a New Challenge
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here! I’ve missed it! December was a challenge-less mess, I must say. After the no-sweets challenge, we were feeling good. We did a poor job blogging about it, but a month with little-to-no sugar made us both feel great, even if we did have to skip the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. And, what better way to ease back into dessert than by having your first cake be your wedding cake?!
That’s when it all went downhill. Vacation… “It’s all inclusive!” was the motto at our resort in Jamaica, and they weren’t kidding. No sacrificing there, that’s for sure. Twenty four hour buffets and snacks and lazy days at the beach make a girl forget all about sacrificing. We only thought about these challenges once on the whole trip and it was during our newlywed debut on stage playing the Couples Game Show while everyone ate their dinner. There are many great questions and answers that came out of this game, most of which are too embarrassing to have in writing. One of my questions was:
What’s the one thing your husband talks about all the time and you think it’s so boring you stop listening?
John’s answer to this was “My Challenges?” which made everyone laugh but me! I actually love these things, so I’m setting the record straight, here for all three of you readers out there! My real answer was football. Duh.
Anyway, vacation and the holidays flew by and now here it is January and I am more than happy to be back on a challenge, especially this one! I pushed for the exercise challenge with a little help from the Wii. My little sister was one of the lucky ones this Christmas who got the almighty Wii. We spent a lot of time bowling, playing tennis, and throwing our backs out trying to hit a Wii baseball. We also took the Wii Fitness Age Test, which asks you to bowl the best you can, hit as many tennis balls in bounds as you can, and hit as many homeruns as you can, then at the end it reveals your Wii Fitness Age! When I found out I was 66, the exercise challenge was locked in!
Unlike the other challenges, this one has no end in sight, which I hope doesn’t affect my success rate of 100 percent. In the next few days we will be setting up all the details. We’re getting a goal tracker for the blog, taking lots of different tests to track our possible brain improvement, and I’m even getting new tennis shoes which I haven’t done since high school. Yep, I work out so little that my 1995 Adidas are the only pair of tennis shoes I own. We’re also going to track our weight and blood pressure and any other cool stuff we can think of.
It’s a true New Years Resolution, one that I’m sure thousands make each January. And if we can be successful - John working the night shift and having no energy, and me with my old tennis shoes to prove to you that I am only one step away from being completely anti-exercise, then really, anyone can do it!
That’s when it all went downhill. Vacation… “It’s all inclusive!” was the motto at our resort in Jamaica, and they weren’t kidding. No sacrificing there, that’s for sure. Twenty four hour buffets and snacks and lazy days at the beach make a girl forget all about sacrificing. We only thought about these challenges once on the whole trip and it was during our newlywed debut on stage playing the Couples Game Show while everyone ate their dinner. There are many great questions and answers that came out of this game, most of which are too embarrassing to have in writing. One of my questions was:
What’s the one thing your husband talks about all the time and you think it’s so boring you stop listening?
John’s answer to this was “My Challenges?” which made everyone laugh but me! I actually love these things, so I’m setting the record straight, here for all three of you readers out there! My real answer was football. Duh.
Anyway, vacation and the holidays flew by and now here it is January and I am more than happy to be back on a challenge, especially this one! I pushed for the exercise challenge with a little help from the Wii. My little sister was one of the lucky ones this Christmas who got the almighty Wii. We spent a lot of time bowling, playing tennis, and throwing our backs out trying to hit a Wii baseball. We also took the Wii Fitness Age Test, which asks you to bowl the best you can, hit as many tennis balls in bounds as you can, and hit as many homeruns as you can, then at the end it reveals your Wii Fitness Age! When I found out I was 66, the exercise challenge was locked in!
Unlike the other challenges, this one has no end in sight, which I hope doesn’t affect my success rate of 100 percent. In the next few days we will be setting up all the details. We’re getting a goal tracker for the blog, taking lots of different tests to track our possible brain improvement, and I’m even getting new tennis shoes which I haven’t done since high school. Yep, I work out so little that my 1995 Adidas are the only pair of tennis shoes I own. We’re also going to track our weight and blood pressure and any other cool stuff we can think of.
It’s a true New Years Resolution, one that I’m sure thousands make each January. And if we can be successful - John working the night shift and having no energy, and me with my old tennis shoes to prove to you that I am only one step away from being completely anti-exercise, then really, anyone can do it!
Green Christmas Follow-Up
Although Christmas is over, it's still worth talking about. Like how my mom got me a book of pentagames! Thanks mom! And to explain more about the Green Christmas that Carrell celebrated this year... or well, last year. In what could be seen as an attempt to save the world, she simplified her Christmas and did without much of the fuss this year.
Her primary goal was to do something different this year, so she attempted to get stuff out of her house rather than see how much junk she could get to fill her house. She decided early on to extend this to her gift giving this year and raised the amount of thought put into gifts. As she says, "It makes no sense to buy stuff that nobody needs." And she's right. Last year, my mom got me a crystal that you can plug in to change colors. Thanks mom!
My mom made candied pecans for everyone every year. Although we never called them pecandies, I clearly remember her making them and especially the way it made the house smell. As I grew older, and I presume in need of less emotional protection, I also remember my mother's obligatory resentment towards the whole process.
Carrell's house smelled of her obligatory gifts too. While she accepted the fact she would need to have many small gifts, she used it as an opportunity to get rid of some stuff. As a teacher, she has gained a mighty collection of mugs, which have recently moved to be about neck-and-neck with apples as the most cliched gift for a teacher. Mugs with apples on them of course taking the cake and eating it too. Mugs filled with fresh cedar chips that smells like fully decorated Christmas trees is the same idea as both frankincense and myrrh, and those worked out as pretty good gifts. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing exactly how wise Carrell is.
Now for wrapping her presents, she used nothing bought at the store and, much like me and batteries, claims she never will buy wrapping paper again. She used tissue paper and brown bags which they say is at least bio-degradable. Plus, brown bags you can get at the grocery store.
Carrell's decorations consisted of decking the halls with boughs of holly, which to me, makes sense. There aren't too many songs about decking the halls with inflatable light-up snowmen and merry-go-rounds that go on sale in late October. I'm not saying there shouldn't be such songs; in fact, I can think of quite a few things to rhyme with Wal-Mart. She also used pine cones and gourds and other stuff from the great outdoors. This also included cattails, which surprise to both her and me, are filled with white seeds that fall out of it with the wind day after day, like snow! I saw her house and it looked great! Even before the tree!
The tree that I have proudly on display, I got on Saturday, December 22 for $35 even though it was in a bin marked $24. It was a surprise for Tiffany that I was getting a tree, and I was in hurry, so I didn't say anything... plus, I'm me and probably wouldn't have said anything anyway. Carrell got a tree on Sunday, December 23 for free even though it was marked $60.
I guess good things come to those who wait... and go green. It's a pretty nice looking tree too.
Her one concession was lights. Although she fought against it, she worried her house was too drab and un-jolly from the street, much like the Fredianni's of my childhood, so she pulled out the fake candles and set them up in the windows of her house where they've been in Christmases past. She quickly defends herself however, saying that she hopes to find energy-saving ones in the future.
All-in-all, it's pretty impressive feat, and now that Christmas is winding down and trees are being drug out to the curb, she gladly reports that the best part is that there is hardly any clean up and she's got all she needs for next year.
Here's to that! And a final Merry Christmas 2007 everyone, and hello 2008!
Her primary goal was to do something different this year, so she attempted to get stuff out of her house rather than see how much junk she could get to fill her house. She decided early on to extend this to her gift giving this year and raised the amount of thought put into gifts. As she says, "It makes no sense to buy stuff that nobody needs." And she's right. Last year, my mom got me a crystal that you can plug in to change colors. Thanks mom!
My mom made candied pecans for everyone every year. Although we never called them pecandies, I clearly remember her making them and especially the way it made the house smell. As I grew older, and I presume in need of less emotional protection, I also remember my mother's obligatory resentment towards the whole process.
Carrell's house smelled of her obligatory gifts too. While she accepted the fact she would need to have many small gifts, she used it as an opportunity to get rid of some stuff. As a teacher, she has gained a mighty collection of mugs, which have recently moved to be about neck-and-neck with apples as the most cliched gift for a teacher. Mugs with apples on them of course taking the cake and eating it too. Mugs filled with fresh cedar chips that smells like fully decorated Christmas trees is the same idea as both frankincense and myrrh, and those worked out as pretty good gifts. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing exactly how wise Carrell is.
Now for wrapping her presents, she used nothing bought at the store and, much like me and batteries, claims she never will buy wrapping paper again. She used tissue paper and brown bags which they say is at least bio-degradable. Plus, brown bags you can get at the grocery store.
Carrell's decorations consisted of decking the halls with boughs of holly, which to me, makes sense. There aren't too many songs about decking the halls with inflatable light-up snowmen and merry-go-rounds that go on sale in late October. I'm not saying there shouldn't be such songs; in fact, I can think of quite a few things to rhyme with Wal-Mart. She also used pine cones and gourds and other stuff from the great outdoors. This also included cattails, which surprise to both her and me, are filled with white seeds that fall out of it with the wind day after day, like snow! I saw her house and it looked great! Even before the tree!The tree that I have proudly on display, I got on Saturday, December 22 for $35 even though it was in a bin marked $24. It was a surprise for Tiffany that I was getting a tree, and I was in hurry, so I didn't say anything... plus, I'm me and probably wouldn't have said anything anyway. Carrell got a tree on Sunday, December 23 for free even though it was marked $60.
I guess good things come to those who wait... and go green. It's a pretty nice looking tree too.Her one concession was lights. Although she fought against it, she worried her house was too drab and un-jolly from the street, much like the Fredianni's of my childhood, so she pulled out the fake candles and set them up in the windows of her house where they've been in Christmases past. She quickly defends herself however, saying that she hopes to find energy-saving ones in the future.All-in-all, it's pretty impressive feat, and now that Christmas is winding down and trees are being drug out to the curb, she gladly reports that the best part is that there is hardly any clean up and she's got all she needs for next year.
Here's to that! And a final Merry Christmas 2007 everyone, and hello 2008!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Exercise
I have quite a few challenges in mind, and I'm having trouble deciding which to dub my official New Year's Resolution. It might not be all too exciting to write about, but I'm going with one that fell to the wayside during my makeover challenge. Exercise.
Exercise won out as it's the most common of my planned sacrifices, and I feel I should try to make these challenges somewhat relateable. And while I'm sure the world is all clamoring about which they'll try first, a no meat diet or a no sweet diet, I predict exercise finally will be my ticket to mass popularity and my own paparazzi detail.
Maybe not. But hopefully, I'll at least feel better. I should say, though, that while I'm excited by the possibility of feeling better, that's not my focus here. And I'm also not too concerned about my weight, although I will be keeping an eye on that. My goal is to get smarter.
Recently, smart people have done studies proving that exercise not only causes people to do better on tests, it actually rebuilds brain cells. I like the idea of rebuilding my brain. It's something that, after five years out of school and two years working overnights, is probably desperately needed... not that I didn't kill off a good amount of brain cells in college.
So... New Year's Resolution: I will exercise four days a week for an hour a day. There is no deadline for this one, it's just a change in life. I've already got a bad feeling about this as night has fallen on New Year's Day and I'm still wearing my pajamas.
Exercise won out as it's the most common of my planned sacrifices, and I feel I should try to make these challenges somewhat relateable. And while I'm sure the world is all clamoring about which they'll try first, a no meat diet or a no sweet diet, I predict exercise finally will be my ticket to mass popularity and my own paparazzi detail.
Maybe not. But hopefully, I'll at least feel better. I should say, though, that while I'm excited by the possibility of feeling better, that's not my focus here. And I'm also not too concerned about my weight, although I will be keeping an eye on that. My goal is to get smarter.
Recently, smart people have done studies proving that exercise not only causes people to do better on tests, it actually rebuilds brain cells. I like the idea of rebuilding my brain. It's something that, after five years out of school and two years working overnights, is probably desperately needed... not that I didn't kill off a good amount of brain cells in college.
So... New Year's Resolution: I will exercise four days a week for an hour a day. There is no deadline for this one, it's just a change in life. I've already got a bad feeling about this as night has fallen on New Year's Day and I'm still wearing my pajamas.
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