Hybrids to the Front of the Line
We saw this sign, “Reserved Parking Hybrid Vehicles,” at the Ikea off of I-10 the other day. How green.
You don’t have to hate working out.
At a church retreat a few months ago, I competed in a fifty-yard quick race. And I got second-to-last place. Wake up call! How embarrassing.
It was another reminder that the agility of my youth was fading. That my laziness, my lack of exercise in the past year had taken a toll. In 2009, I regularly get on our elliptical. I started by at least making myself get on that thing for 200 strides or five minutes. Then it went up to 10 minutes. Then 20 minutes. And now, I’m up to 45 and increasing resistance and speed. I know that’s not much for some people, but it’s a breakthrough for me! At the beginning, what really mattered was consistently working out, even if only for five minutes.
Before, I would get turned off because working out can be boring depending on your environment. But by taking baby steps and making a plan, I’ve found it’s grown on me.
Plan:
- Eat up to 1500 calories a day.
- Burn 500 calories at least three days a week.
- Avoid carbs after lunch.
- Eat a big serving of vegetables and some meat for dinner.
- Snack on an apple, nuts and Multigrain Cheerios to avoid hunger pangs.
- Eat cereal or oatmeal for breakfast.
- Drink lots of water.
- Keep a food journal.
- Make a list of what motivates me to get healthy, e.g. avoid diabetes and other diseases in my genes, fit into my clothes, etc.
- Focus on long-term change and good habits.
- Be influenced by friends working to live a healthy lifestyle.
I started setting small goals and sticking to them instead of worrying so much about the big picture. Mayo Clinic articles and calorie calculators are useful, too.
What motivates you to exercise? What are your tips and goals?
My Top Blog Posts of 2008
Back in April when I started this blog, it was a symbolic move. It represented getting off my butt and actually doing something instead of just talking about it. Now I’m reviewing and figuring out how to improve in blogging/writing and connecting with people like you.
Keep sharing your feedback!
Here are some of the top posts from 2008:
Things We’ve Learned About Marriage – No. 6
How to Survive An Interstate Wedding Weekend
Abstinence: Not Just for Sex Anymore
Kerala – God’s Own Country (And Mine)
Your True Love is a Keystroke Away
Five Things We’ve Learned About Marriage
Christmas Ain’t So Bad
If you look past the pitfalls of the holidays, you’ll find they are laden with value. My other personality has come out of the closet and can appreciate a few important lessons the season brings.
Lessons of giving. The holidays allow many of us to step outside our me-centered routine and do good for others.
Lessons of gratitude. Christmas is a time to be blessed and be thankful. What a feeling to experience the sincerity of those who go out of their way to make you happy, even when you feel undeserving.
Lessons of forgiveness. Many loved ones take this time to reunite and move on from their prickly past.
Lessons of growing relationships. You may find yourself arranging ornaments on the tree with loved ones, swapping stories at the office holiday party or preparing food for family. The desire to make someone else happy through your words, your food or your love is a gift.
What lessons and bright moments do you encounter through the holidays? Does the cheese factor of this post make you want to hurl?
Trip to Brazos Valley
Last Friday, Cortney Martin and I traveled to Brazos Valley again to do some outreach for The Blood Center of Brazos Valley. These small towns had some real character.
Favorite find: Square One Bistro in downtown Bryan.
WordPress has a rule that the only slideshows you can embed are lame ones from slide.com, so please forgive me. If you know of better ways to embed slideshows that WordPress will allow, please do tell.
Contaminated Lemons and Lame PR Responses
Unless you don’t mind consuming fecal matter, step away from the lemons.
According to an ABC news report:
Good Morning America tested lemon wedges from six popular family restaurants. What they found was more frightening than refreshing. At four restaurants, GMA found the lemons were contaminated with fecal matter, including one sample that was contaminated with E. coli.
Not too surprising, as you can’t expect a lemon rind to be any cleaner than a door knob.
I got a good laugh out of the responses from Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s, whose restaurants were tested. Read the rest of this entry »
Links Extravaganza 5.16.08
- Nat Nelson Photography | Nat posted snapshots of our wedding on his blog
- You won’t believe your eyes | A new optical illusion appears every day at the Illusion Sciences blog
- This woman knows how to write | Mary Schmich, a Chicago Tribune columnist you’ll enjoy reading
- Brazen Careerist | Read Penelope Trunk’s interesting saga of marriage and divorce and dating again
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
I got this in an e-mail at work today. Couldn’t stop laughing! There’s a special addendum at the bottom of this post.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!
JOHN MCCAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to
engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me… Read the rest of this entry »
Links Extravaganza 05.13.08
- Brooke Fraser – Shadowfeet | Our cousin Sherry sang this during our wedding ceremony
- How pure is your altruism? | Why we’re skimping out on giving money to Myanmar
- When you don’t have cable: Get TV and movies online at Graboid | Our friend Jim Varghese recommended this site to use, since we don’t have cable at the new house
- Randy Pausch’s last lecture | Stricken with pancreatic cancer, Pausch is dying. Watch his final, incredibly inspiring lecture
- Is India to blame for our rising food prices? | From the New York Times
Foul-Weather Friends
You’ve heard the news about the crippling cyclone in Myanmar. I wish I could go over there and help ameliorate the crisis. Handing out food, making deliveries, cleaning up, sending money.
Other people had the same feeling after the 2004 tsunami hit India, Indonesia and a host of other places. They wanted to help in some way after 9/11, too.
I think of the dismal state of parts of those tsunami-devastated countries before the disaster. I think of the deluge of blood donations that came right after 9/11 and then dwindled back.
The thing is – sending money, donating blood, taking an interest – it’s all desperately needed before a disaster strikes. It’s easy to be concerned to the point of tears when you hear horrific news. But what about years before or years later, when people are struggling to build their lives, and to the rest of the world it’s a faded memory of images on TV and momentary empathy?
The rest of the world and foul-weather friends like me.
