travis' brain dump

So somewhere in between all of the work I’ve been doing lately, the workout routines and the random stuff I’ve been posting up lately I’ve neglected to just post for no other reason than to just say hello to the world and give a little status to my friends/family out there who swing by here on occasion.

Most of the happenings in my life have been followed through the previously mentioned categories but there is one thing worth mentioning which has not been covered. For some of you who have kept up with the private posts, this is old news… heck you’ve even seen some pictures, hehe. But for those who don’t, then this will be news for you. Come this November, our family will be increasing by +1, a little boy. Terrifying thought, I know. I personally find a balance between absolute joy and complete fear, hehe. I mean c`mon, another me running around? *gasp*

Well, if life wasn’t busy enough, here it goes again right? 🙂 We’re really excited though and there will be plenty of pictures up for those relatives who wish to “follow the baby”. I’ll be setting up a photo gallery when I get a chance this weekend if all goes well. That is if I can fit it in, LOL. 

Other than that things are going well otherwise. We finally got a pretty good garden off the ground. Some slight failures in the brocolli, peppers and melons but the cucumbers, pumpkins, corn, carrots and beans are definitely taking off. Amanda seems well please with it’s progress although she’s a little irritated at the weeds and the squirrels who keep stealing her strawberries right now. We definitely need to come up with a solution which doesn’t involve me poisoning the entire batch or sitting out back with a high powered pellet rifle. 🙂 Maybe some small chicken wire or something, who knows.

I also took a little break from remodeling the downstairs last weekend to upgrade Arwen’s playhouse which was a lot of fun. It was a nice switch up from other projects going on around the house. I was able to remove the rotting out wood porch and replace it with brick and replace her shake roof with a nice modern asphalt shingle one. She’s quite pleased to say the least and waiting impatiently for me to finish up the inside and clean it out. After that it’s up to Amanda to get some paint picked out for it and finish the job. I’ve been informed I have terrible taste in color picking for a little girl’s playhouse. *shrug* I think that’s a good thing though, lol.  

Back in the house, I’m hoping if all goes well to have the downstairs finished up and waiting on carpet and a fireplace by the middle of August. If I can just make that goal then I’ll feel pretty comfortable about getting the upstairs room done in time for the baby. Like I said, it’s definitely going to be busy for the next 4 1/2 months but I’m confident I’ll be able to get it done.

Well, that’s about it for the public/personal update. 🙂 Hope all is well with everyone.

Go watch the video first:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/06/23/kyung.fat.busters.cnn

Japan is definitely taking the fight against obesity to a new level. New laws out there are now making it mandatory for citizens to be measured and monitored. So much for those plus sizes, now your waistline has a limit and being over that has some consequences to not only you, but your employer as well!

While most American’s see this as a mandatory waistline as infringing on personal rights and privacy, taking steps to ensure the health of it’s citizens seems to be  necessary step for Japan. Think about the savings on their health care costs…  By focusing efforts on getting healthy and prevention of health issues, it’s far more cost-effective and practical in the long-run than our current system of ‘treating’ the symptoms of poor health and weight related health problems.

Take the risk of acquiring type-2 diabetes for example. A MAJORITY of the people who suffer from this disease suffer because the onset was directly related to being overweight. How about heart disease? Again, being overweight DRASTICALLY increases risks for the onset of this health issue.

I’m not saying everyone has to run out and get rail skinny as that’s just nasty. (not to mention extremely unhealthy as well) Being more aware of ones health and making a solid effort to improve upon that is incredibly vital to a long, healthy life.  Even if you’re not able to exercise due to a medical condition, there is always the choice to eat healthy. And yes, there are those who do eat healthy and do have a little extra weight… at least you’re trying. 🙂

What absolutely escapes me is how people can be consciously aware of their overweight conditions, do nothing about and instead complain about it while scarfing down a bucket of Ben and Jerry’s or some KFC. C`mon people.

While I don’t see the extreme’s the Japanese government is taking as a solution to our problems I do think there should be some type of greater encouragement and motivational techniques employed to get American’s to be a little healther. According to the CDC in 2006, only four states had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Twenty-two states had a prevalence equal or greater than 25%; two of these states (Mississippi and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.

WOW PEOPLE!!!

BRISBANE, Australia – A man found asleep in a motorized wheelchair on a highway in northern Australia was charged with drunk driving, police said Monday. Officers in a patrol car noticed the man slumped in the stationary chair about 10 a.m. Friday on an exit lane near the tourist city of Cairns, regional traffic Inspector Bob Waters said. Cars were swerving to get around him, Waters said.

The officers breath-tested the 64-year-old man, who registered a blood alcohol reading of 0.301 — more than six times the legal driving limit. He was charged with operating a vehicle while drunk and ordered to report to court on July 7, where he faces a stiff fine if convicted.

“The vehicles that we normally hear about with drink driving are the family car, the truck, the motorbike,” Waters said. “But there are also other classes of vehicles that are subject to drink-driving laws,” including horses, bicycles, and motorized wheelchairs.

The man, whose name was not released, told police he was making a nine-mile trip from his home to a friend’s place, Waters said.

“He placed himself in a very dangerous situation,” he said.

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I’m not sure what to say about that. Myke and I saw this article in the elevator coming back from lunch and nearly died laughing. Shouldn’t someone have taken his ke…. err… battery pack? 🙂

Well, this is a little late since (as I stated in my previous post) I shunned technology for a few days.

Word to the wise. DO NOT SKIP DAYS OF EXERCISING.

I haven’t gained a boatload of weight or anything. I haven’t really changed stats much other than I gained a couple pounds over where I was at the end of week three… But what hurts was how I felt this morning. I haven’t felt this way since the morning after Andy’s birthday party two years ago. In fact, I think I felt better then than I do now.

So last week was one of those weeks where it was just too busy to get time in. Monday was a Yoga day so me being crappy at it only got in half the workout. *shrug* *sticks tounge out* Tuesday I skipped because, well I was lame. Wednesday we had a wedding rehearsal to go to which took up 4:45pm (right after work) until 9:30pm and included dinner, so naturally that got left out. Thursday morning I tried to be good… I did one of the sessions and figured that made up for Wednesday. Only problem is, I missed Thursday night as well due to a dinner out that night which followed up a busy day and I never got a chance to do my Thursday session. Friday… well we had a wedding to go to so the morning was crammed with stuff to get done and Friday night was the wedding so we didn’t get home until almost 11 from that. SO that leaves me with Saturday… I promised Arwen I’d finish the porch and the roof to her playhouse so that’s what I did… I was way too tired to workout Saturday night, especially it being another Yoga night… ugh… And then only having Sunday left, I wasn’t about to break the losing streak and workout then! 🙂

Now, granted this was a cool-down week so most of it was all stretching but holy crap I feel horrible today. I promise, I will never slack off this bad again. I somehow think I’ll just be repeating this workout routine over and over every three months as it rotates out. I’m terrified to stop again. LOL

SO, all in all this report is a failure report on my part but a huge learning experience none the less. I have also made a pact with myself to suck it up and complete the Yoga sessions in their entirety… even if I have to cry through it like a little girl.