So I don’t blog enough. Sorry… Let’s start with a quick update.

Carley ran ten miles yesterday. yeah… ten. She made it look easy. Bella may have run nine… we’ve no way of tracking her and she is in constant motion… marathon training seems to be going well.

The weight tracker over there actually hasn’t been ignored… I’ve hit homeostasis. I tested this by eating super healthy and upping my exercise… I lost 1 lb in 3 weeks. I then spent 3 weeks being a total sloth… I gained that same 1 lb… So I stopped updating it because I stopped changing. This changes today. I’ve started tracking my food intake much more seriously (I’m going to find a way to link my food journal to this site) and I’m going to be doing different types of workouts to increase lean muscle mass and reduce my body fat. I’ll be keeping you guys posted on my body fat percentage, my pounds, and I may even start measuring my waistline and posting that as well. I’ll try to update about my workouts and what I’m trying as well as the results I’m seeing from each change.

Addendum-
At my gym at work, they had us do new years resolutions. I usually eschew these but I decided to go ahead with it this year because it will keep me accountable. My fitness resolutions this year:
1- Be down to 215 by Carley’s marathon (may 3)
2- Do a century (ride my bike 100 miles in a single day. I’ve done this once or twice before but never with actual hills)
3- Be able to do a set of 5 pull-ups by June 30
4- Ride my bike to the coast (this is only about a 50 mile ride but it crosses the coastal mountain range so I’d have a few hundred feet of hills to climb)
5- STILL be at 215 at Christmas.

Jake and I have been more successful than I could have hoped with our little business venture. We won’t be quitting our day jobs or anything, but we’re in the black and have stayed there. It’s a beautiful thing and we’re both learning a lot while polishing our resumes. pwnage.

Now a little rant. At least I hope it’s little… Actually I don’t.

We (as Americans) are big fans of ourselves. We are pretty sure we rock. And in a great many senses, we do. The problem is that we have stopped earning it. Previous generations of Americans have earned that legacy through civil rights progress, educational rights progress, scientific research, technological advancement and sundry other forms of hard friggin work. My generation (and to an extent the generation preceding mine) has this sense of entitlement handed down to us. The problem is, we got that sense of entitlement without the work to earn it. To put it bluntly, America did not become the greatest nation on Earth by saying, “Hey! We’re the greatest nation on Earthy.” We got it by working for it. By earning it. By proving it every day. We led the world on innovation after innovation. We earned our freedoms and understood that with those freedoms came responsibilities. In the past fifty years, we’ve forgotten the second half of that equation. We want our freedoms but we don’t want the work that comes with them. We want to drive what we want, when we want… but when it’s time to build new roads, we don’t want to pay for it- neither monetarily nor by giving up three feet of our front yard. We want the best schools in the world but we don’t want to pay an extra 100 bucks a year on our property taxes and there’s no way we’re going to march into the living room, turn off the TV and say, “Let’s look at your homework.”
When did it become ok to get what we want without earning it? If your parents leave you a huge inheritance, good for you. But what do you do when that cash runs out? You go get a job and start earning your own way. As a culture, we’ve been riding on the inheritance our grandparents and beyond spent their lives building for us. The problem is, we’ve been drawing on that currency for fifty years without putting enough back into it. The deficit spending is not just a governmental and monetary thing. We have been functioning on a moral deficit and on an ethical deficit for far too long now. We can either start earning our keep and trying to replenish the coffers, or we can go completely bankrupt and give up.
I’ve never been a fan of the easy way out.

Happy 2009 everyone!

: x <—-Cyber ball-drop kiss from Geoff & Carley

So I woke up yesterday morning and while still in jammies and bed I proclaimed it french toast and coast day.

Maybe I should explain.

Number 1: Geoff makes the best french toast. Need I say more?

Number 2: We’ve been sitting on this coast package that we won at a school auction for awhile now. I felt it was time to use it. The whole package included an opportunity to hop aboard the Discovery ship in Newport and enjoy a Marine Discovery Tour for a chance to see whales, sea lions, porpoise, harbor seals and sea birds. We also received two gift certificates to the Chinook Winds Casino resort in Lincoln City to be redeemed in the Rogue River Room for dinner for two and to be redeemed for two free show tickets.

Well the Marine Discovery Tour is out of season right now, not to mention that the certificate is expired. However, I feel pretty confident that I can talk my way into using it later this spring. We shall see….

So we had a free show and a free dinner (75 dollars worth!) in the uber-fancy, dimly lit complete with candles Rogue River Room upstairs above the casino last night. The casino is located literally right on the beach, and the Rough River Room is located upstairs and facing the ocean with a panoramic view of the pacific with gigantic windows all along the west side of the room giving a breathtaking view. I was able to enjoy my caesar salad and fettuccine watching the tumultuous December waves crashing in on themselves through a rain spattered window pane. It really was quite…dare I say, romantic? Of course it was romantic Geoff & Carley style, meaning never taking ourselves too seriously. I mean to say, Geoff definitely still opened doors for me, and there was pleasant talk exchanged with our waiter, please and thank yous But there were a few snickers & giggles exchanged between us sprinkled throughout the evening as well.

Though we gave it a valiant effort we were unable to spend the entire 75 dollars at dinner. Then we were off to try our luck at the whole gambling thing. 10 dollars and approximately 2 minutes later, and we were ready to call it quits to that.

It was still pretty early in the evening, 2 hours until the show and yet we thought about Bella sitting on our back patio two and half hours away. She would be hungry, and our cats no doubt at that very minute were congregating on top of our dryer above which we keep the containers of pet food strategizing about how best to knock them off the shelf and therefore get at the dinner that their errant parents had so obviously neglected. We decided to call it a night.

We walked past the dizzying sea of slots with their blinking and whirling, with their spinning and beeping. I looked into the vacant eyes of those sitting in front of each machine as we walked past, and contemplated the powerful pull of these machines. Cigarettes held lifelessly in one hand, as the other reaches out to feed more money into the plinking machine. There was a single trail of smoke slowly snaking it’s way up to the ceiling just ahead of us as we neared the exit, and with my breath held, I reached for Geoff’s hand as we briskly walked past disrupting it’s path as it swirled angrily in our wake.

We stopped by the box office on the way out and made arrangements to come back another time for a different show. Kellie Pickler anyone? I know, I know…but you should have seen our other options.

The ride home was just what driving home along hwy 101 should be like: comfortable, a little rainy, and full of twists and turns as we crawled along the edge of the western United States looking out onto the ocean. The highlight of the entire day? When we neared Heceta Head Lighthouse. The beam of light reliably rotating from it’s perch high up on it’s cliff, where it always is. In the night and with all of the coastal rain pouring, I’ve never seen the light look quite like it. The way a car’s headlights in the rain light up each drop of rain in your path? Well the lighthouse did the same exact thing, except on such a larger scale. Seeing each drop of rain spotlighted for miles out into the ocean was stunning.

Geoff pulled the Rav onto a pull out along the side of the road and turned the engine and lights off. With the hazard lights blinking quietly behind us and no cars for miles, we just sat there side by side looking out, allowing the beam to light up the inside of the car consistently every 360 degrees. The only two sounds, the blinking of the hazard lights and the rain spattering our car.

The moment might very well become one of those highlights of my life.

Geoff and I were trying to add up the years the other day and figure out how many Christmasas we’ve shared together. We’ve figured this is number five for us. Not long really in the grand scheme of things, but quite a while if you ask me. I’m beginning to really look forward to our little traditions.

We spent Christmas Eve last night just bumming around the house. It was pouring rain outside all evening, and I was curled up on the couch for the majority of the day listening to the rain hit the skylight right above our kitchen. It makes such a satisfying noise. Today we woke up to some light snow instead of rain. Geoff was pestering me to get up so that we could open presents, and so I stumbled out of bed and did my morning shuffle to the glorious coffee maker. We began the present routine by first bestowing upon Bella the largest “bully stick” (read, giant dried cow bit) she has seen in her tiny little life. With her occupied for hours, we settled in to distributing the presents we had picked up for each other, and which my mom had sent to us the week before in a giant box. Surprisingly, 1,200 miles doesn’t seem to cause a dent in her spoiling us rotten for Christmas.

Geoff is almost done tinkering in the living room with the various tools that I got him for Christmas, Bella is reaching the end of her cow stick, and my coffee mug is sadly now empty. I guess it’s time to go back to celebrating. We’re off to what I’m calling my Christmas present, seeing Marley and Me at the theatre. Then, we will come back home and chef Geoff will whirl up some holiday yumminess in the kitchen. I’ve been told there will be green bean casserole!

Happy Holidays everyone!

From Random Pictures from 2004-2008

I am in the third week of my official marathon training, and in an attempt to keep myself accountable to continue, I’ve decided to post an update. So far, I have run 139 miles since the beginning of October and I have many more to go. My longest run so far has only been 7 miles. Obviously, I have a long way to go to work up to 26. Mostly the marathon training has been my thing, my goal…something that I work on in the wee hours of the morning between 4:45 am to around 6(depending upon how long it takes me to finally pull myself out of bed and hop on the treadmill in the other room.) Basically, it’s an individual effort. However, once a week on Sundays around 10 or 11 a.m. it becomes a group effort as I gather up what I’ve dubbed my extra training partners, Geoff & Bella, and we all pile into the Rav for a quick jaunt down to the high school track for my once a week long run. Geoff brings along various items to keep him busy on the bleachers while Bella & I go round and round the field. Last Sunday to be specific, we went around and around 28 times. Bella probably did an extra 6 laps or so being the Border Collie that she is. Anyway, it’s been great having the distractions of Bella bolting this way and that in the monotony of all those laps. Meanwhile, having Geoff there at each lap to help keep count, hydrate me as well as keep the motivation up has also been fantastically helpful.

I will try to post more updates as I, or I should say we, go along.

No really- Living out here where 3 inches of snow constitutes a snow day or a work from home day has made me laugh a little.
First off- the Rav is awesome. C-monkey has the day off school so I drove to work in her car and WOW. I am glad I did. That thing is probably the best snow car I’ve ever been in.

Anyway- I know we have a lot more PacNW readers than we used to and many folks up here don’t drive in snow much- so here are a few pointers.
1- Get familiar with your ABS. If you’ve never experienced your antilock braking system, it can be WEIRD when you do. It can even be scary- it’s a pulsing and even a thumping from the brakes and your pedal will actually vibrate or kick against your foot. Go find yourself a parking lot, get up to about 10 mph, then push your brake as hard as you can and just experience it. Much better to get freaked out by it when there’s nothing to hit.
2- AWD/4WD is not that great. If you need to accelerate, they are useful. If you need to steer or slow down, it actually doesn’t help much if at all. Again, go to a parking lot and get familiar with how your car stops, turns, starts, etc. In Colorado, most of the cars I saw in ditches were four wheel drive rigs and subarus. the engine pushing all four tires does not mean it will stop you any faster or help you turn any better. It ONLY helps you go forward better.
3- Slow down. Everything takes longer when it’s slick. If the person in front of you hits the brakes, you need time to react and time to slow down. You’ll need more time to do that slowing down when things are gross outside and, more importantly, you don’t actually know how much time you’ll need until your tires start slipping.
4- Look Behind You. Now that you’ve found a slippery parking lot, gotten silly with your traction control and ABS, skidded around a few times, and have a good grasp of how you and your car react in lousy weather, realize that most people are terrible drivers. As you approach intersections, hills, and curves, check your mirrors frequently. If the guy behind you is getting too close, react accordingly. You may want to slow down a little early to give him some warning or simply be aware that if you react quickly to something, he may not be able to do the same.

Cliffs: Drive slowly, pay more attention to other drivers around you than usual, AWD is not invincible, and most importantly, take some time to go drive around a parking lot and see how you and your car react to slippery weather. Knowledge is power, right? Get some.

Happy Birthday Dad.

I miss you.

By now you’ve heard all about the Big Three (an increasing misnomer) returning to Washington to beg the government for a bailout. You’ve probably heard them say that if they go under, the economy will fail. You may have heard about their last visit to Washington in which each of the execs flew private jets to their first meeting begging for money. That’s about 20 grand each round trip on a $25+ million plane. Yes… they spent at least 60 grand to travel in $75 Million dollars worth of jet to beg for money.
Let that sink in…
Here is part one of my complaint against this. I’ve long said that I’d love to buy a high-quality, well-made, intelligently-designed and fun to drive American car. As soon as one of the Shrinking Three starts making one, I’ll buy it. Sadly, between all three companies, their 30+ brands, and their hundreds of models there are exactly four cars I would even consider. We now own two Toyotas and I’m eyeballing another Toyota or a Honda for car number three. I’m not the only person out there like that. Their sales are dropping and all three are losing money faster than most cities can make money. So I see this bailout like this- “Your business is failing miserably and you’ve proven to be terrible at handling your money. Because Americans stopped buying your lousy products, you want to force them to pay you anyway by funding your failed business with their tax dollars.”
I won’t buy American cars because I don’t want to support a failed business model but there’s a very real chance I’ll be forced to support them anyway through taxes. So now my money will be going to Toyota because they build something I want and to Ford because… they don’t?

With all the mud that got thrown at Obama calling him a socialist, isn’t this truly socialist behavior coming from across the entire board? Failed companies don’t get supported by the state in a truly capitalist society and nor should they. Government control of currency and bailing out of failing companies is a throwback to failed Keynesian economic policy. Let them burn and the UAW can go with them. Trade unions are a beautiful thing. Labor unions need to go the way of the dinosaurs and fax machines. They’re an archaic throwback to a vastly different era and it’s time we moved beyond them. Thousands of workers getting paid to do nothing. Companies being required to take care of people who don’t work for them any more. Pensions. etc etc etc… When Toyota closed their two truck facilities for three months, they kept their “no layoff” policy alive by paying their workers but the catch was… they had to work! WHAT??? Work for your money? There were no trucks to be built but they went to work on community cleanup and development. The UAW has been forcing their companies to pay union members to literally do nothing. What possible justification could there be for that? How can forcing a company to pay for income and health benefits for employees it doesn’t need provide a benefit for the company?

Honest question here. Why is the UAW still around? What do they offer to the Failing Three that makes them worth keeping? Why can’t those companies grow up, say “This is your pay. This is your benefits package. If you don’t like it, walk.” With unemployment on the rise and the economy on the way out, this is how these companies could survive. Offer competitive wages and competitive benefits and say flat out that it’s take it or leave it. If the Unions want to force their members not to work there, cool. Go for it. How long will the United Auto Workers continue to exist if they force their members to chose between union membership and a decent job that may only be 90% of what the Union wants?
I honestly don’t understand it. Each of the big three is losing money at an astonishing rate. Ford is losing a billion dollars a month and GM is losing almost three times that. How much worse would it be for them to end their contractual obligations with the UAW and start running like a modern business? Why is the UAW still around?

In an effort to keep myself responsible for my marathon training, I am finding that the more people I tell the more accountable I feel for training. It’s definitely keeping me on track. Keep me motivated! We’ve added a marathon meter to the right, so cheer me on! I’m going to need it.

http://www.eugenemarathon.com/

Roughly one year ago at our friendly local veterinarian’s office, Geoff and I sat waiting patiently. The assistant had just met with us, and had left momentarily ago in a blur of animal print scrubs and squeaky white Crocs saying that the vet would be right with us. We were there for the annual exam. Our two cats, Booger and Milo moved with catlike caution around the tiny examination room while Geoff and I poked through pet friendly magazines, tinkered with the plastic animal anatomy demonstration tools lined along the shelves, and stared at the various posters pined to the walls warning against fleas, ticks and pet obesity. I remember the pet obesity poster vividly. It was a chart depicting the various stages of overweight pets with computer generated images of various rotund cats and dogs.

A cat yowled from the next room over.

After becoming bored with the plastic animal parts, and daring each other to touch one of the unidentifiable objects in the jar in the corner, we couldn’t ignore the fat pet poster any longer. Normally, this is something Geoff and I would have been all over right from the start. From the minute we spotted it, we should have been pointing and snickering. I know it’s probably not nice, but really, it is kinda irresistible those balloon like pictures of pets with legs and tails poking out of them. The reason we hadn’t been drawn to the poster right away? Our recently weighed in 15 pounder, Booger, and close runner up, Milo. We both stood before that poster each speculating about what level our cats ranked on the fat scale.

As if on cue, the veterinarian arrived, took one look at poor Booger and stated matter-of-factly, “So…she’s about a 9.”

Not good on the fat scale.

A couple of vaccinations later and a mild scolding from the doctor we packed our fat cats back into their carrier and guiltily walked outside. I was slowly formulating a new mission in my mind. Operation? Ditch the extra kitty pounds. How? Drastically change current kitty eating habits. Deadline? Annual exam 2008.

A puppy was yipping in the car next to ours.

Fast forward a year.

Eh…well rewind back a little bit…uhhh..okay, there.

See responsible pet owners remove giant tower of kitty food which had always spewed food 24/7. Replace with nice, tastefully decorated ceramic kitty dish to be filled twice a day at scheduled feeding times.

Pause. Zoom in on angry Booger face. Insert lol cat voice: “Y thez tehks mah kibbelz?”

Okay fast forward just a little bit. Not much! Okay, right there, play.

See intimidated pet owners stand stupefied before giant wall of pet food as they consider which new brand of weight-control to purchase.

Fast forward a little to dinner time.

See look of disdain on feline faces as they tenderly taste the the new grub. Being a fat cat at heart, Booger accepts her fate and settles in to her dinner quietly munching away. Meanwhile, Milo sits back and glaringly stares at her people with vengeance. Insert Milo lol cat voice: “u iz ded…i kilz you both in ur sleps.”

Okay. Lay on fast forward button for a while. Keep goin. Keep goin, goin…Oh! There’s our new puppy Bella….no, don’t stop. Keep fast forwarding. Isn’t she cute though? Best frisbee dog ever!

Keep fast forwarding…..almost there….November! Okay stop. Play:

Annual exam 2008: (Today)

Geoff and I sit waiting patiently. The assistant had just met with us, “The vet will be right in.” Booger and Milo sit stewing angrily in the corner. (We had a cat carrier incident earlier this morning. Another blog, another day.) There were new pet magazines to look through, a plastic model of a cat jaw complete with teeth and tartar, and of course, there it was: the fat chart. We immediately went to the poster glancing back and forth from it to our cats. Although, I do have to admit, that cat jaw model was pretty interesting looking too. As we were trying to determine what rating our cats would get this year after so much work, the vet walked in.

There was no immediate reference to the fat chart. In fact there was no reference to the fat chart at all. He was very pleased with the weight loss.

A couple of vaccinations later, we packed our cats back in the carrier and walked proudly outside. I began biting my lower lip though remembering that tartar control cat mouth model and slowly began formulating a new mission in my mind…

A Pug began barking wildly at Geoff from the next car over.