I totally suck at counting calories, points, carbs or any other thing. I simply don't want to be bothered with having to keep track of it. Maybe I'm just lazy but it is what it is. So for 2012 I decided to try something different.....eat less. I worked hard at learning to stop eating really before I hit that "full" feeling. It worked pretty well, I lost 42 pounds last year just by doing this and it wasn't all that difficult. Not to say I still don't over eat at times but it's not the norm now.
This year I'm going to continue down this path since it is working for me. But I'd like to up the amount I lose this year and I still need to work on getting in better physical shape. So Don and I have joined a gym. We met with a personal trainer yesterday and got workout programs put together. I have a few sore muscles today but really nothing that bad so I'm happy there. For the next three months I'll be going three days a week to work out. I'm contemplating going a couple additional days just for a cardio workout, we'll see.
The only new goal I'm working towards this year is regular and consistent gym workouts. I'll continue to work on the portion control thing. I'm kinda excited to see how this year goes.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Cliff Hanging - Part 2
Since the only input I got from Part 1 was from my cousin Mike then I'm going to go with his position as far as sacred cows go....nothing is off limits. Now it's time for the next part of the experiment to see if ordinary citizens can come to a compromise on a budget. Anyone else feel free to jump in at any point during this exercise and start playing.
Here's our first official list of agencies we're going to be working with. I also included descriptions of a couple of the agencies I was unfamiliar with.
**National Infrastructure Bank - The bank identifies transportation, energy, and water infrastructure projects that lack funding, offer a clear benefit for taxpayers, and are worth at least $100 million or $25 million for rural projects. Loans made by the bank are matched by private sector investments or money from local governments -- so that the infrastructure bank provides half or less than half the total funding. Each project generates its own revenues to help ensure repayment of the loan. Decisions are made by a seven-person board of governors -- of whom, no more than four could be from the same political party -- and a CEO chosen by the President.
For our next step you are each going to:
Here's my list.
Eliminate:
Would still love to see more people taking part in this.
Here's our first official list of agencies we're going to be working with. I also included descriptions of a couple of the agencies I was unfamiliar with.
- Social Security Administration
- Department of Defense
- Unemployment/Welfare/Medicaid
- Medicare
- Health and Human Services
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of State
- HUD
- Department of Education
- Homeland Security
- Department of Energy
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Justice
- NASA
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Labour
- Department of Treasury
- Department of Interior
- EPA
- IRS
- National Science Foundation*
- Corps of Engineers
- National Infrastructure Bank**
- Small Business Administration
- GSA
- Other (Identify)
**National Infrastructure Bank - The bank identifies transportation, energy, and water infrastructure projects that lack funding, offer a clear benefit for taxpayers, and are worth at least $100 million or $25 million for rural projects. Loans made by the bank are matched by private sector investments or money from local governments -- so that the infrastructure bank provides half or less than half the total funding. Each project generates its own revenues to help ensure repayment of the loan. Decisions are made by a seven-person board of governors -- of whom, no more than four could be from the same political party -- and a CEO chosen by the President.
For our next step you are each going to:
- Identify any agencies you feel should be eliminated all-together.
- Identify any agencies you feel need to be completely overhauled as in the agency needs restructured/refocused but not necessarily a major budget cut....let's say less than 50% of the agency budget.
- Identify any agencies you feel should be reduced in a significant amount...over 50% of the agency budget.
Here's my list.
Eliminate:
- Department of Education
- Homeland Security
- Department of Energy
- National Science Foundation
- National Endowment for the Arts
- SSA
- HHS
- IRS
- Unemployment/Welfare/Medicaid
- Everything else on the list.
Would still love to see more people taking part in this.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
December - It's just a month
The last few years I've noticed a trend that really bothers me. In fact, I find it appalling. It's the idea that people seem to have that December is some kind of sacred month and it belongs to them....and only them.
So at this time of year I see a whole lot of people who somehow find it offensive when people say Happy Holidays to them instead of Merry Christmas. I'm confused, when did Christmas stop being a holiday?? Exactly what is offensive about someone wishing you happiness during the holiday you celebrate? And if the person is a stranger how are they to know you celebrate Christmas anyway? And what's up with the whole "Don't let them take Christ out of Christmas" thing? Since Christianity is based on a personal relationship with Christ seems to me the only person who can take Christ out of Christmas for you is yourself. Then there is the basic fact, whether you like it or not, there are a lot of people who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.
I hate to break it to you but Christians don't own the month of December. I can name three other holidays that occur in December.
Hanukkah is a celebration of an historical event....a history shared by Christians.
Yule is a celebration of the sun's "rebirth" as we pass through the longest night into gaining back daylight. A lot of our "sacred" Christmas symbols come from this.
I'll be honest, I have no clue where Kwanza came from or what it's about, but that really doesn't matter. Just because I don't believe in something doesn't make it any less holy or important to someone else.
Here's the thing. It shouldn't matter if someone wishes you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule or Happy Kwanza. You should take it in the manner intended....a wish for happiness for you. There's nothing there to be offended about.
So to my friends and family, whatever you celebrate and find scared this time of year I hope it's a time of joy and happiness for you and yours.
Happy Holidays.
So at this time of year I see a whole lot of people who somehow find it offensive when people say Happy Holidays to them instead of Merry Christmas. I'm confused, when did Christmas stop being a holiday?? Exactly what is offensive about someone wishing you happiness during the holiday you celebrate? And if the person is a stranger how are they to know you celebrate Christmas anyway? And what's up with the whole "Don't let them take Christ out of Christmas" thing? Since Christianity is based on a personal relationship with Christ seems to me the only person who can take Christ out of Christmas for you is yourself. Then there is the basic fact, whether you like it or not, there are a lot of people who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.
I hate to break it to you but Christians don't own the month of December. I can name three other holidays that occur in December.
Hanukkah is a celebration of an historical event....a history shared by Christians.
Yule is a celebration of the sun's "rebirth" as we pass through the longest night into gaining back daylight. A lot of our "sacred" Christmas symbols come from this.
I'll be honest, I have no clue where Kwanza came from or what it's about, but that really doesn't matter. Just because I don't believe in something doesn't make it any less holy or important to someone else.
Here's the thing. It shouldn't matter if someone wishes you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule or Happy Kwanza. You should take it in the manner intended....a wish for happiness for you. There's nothing there to be offended about.
So to my friends and family, whatever you celebrate and find scared this time of year I hope it's a time of joy and happiness for you and yours.
Happy Holidays.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Cliff Hanging
I'd like to try a social
experiment. Everyone is talking about our federal budget, our debt, our
spending, cuts, taxes, etc. And everyone likes to point the finger at
the other guy for not playing.....which translates into "they won't do
what I want". I understand no one wants to see programs that are
important to them get budget cuts. Heck, I'd be crying buckets if the
Department for Middle Class, Single and Childless Assistance got it's
funding cut. Oh...wait......
Anyway, I have a very eclectic group of friends, with emphasis on the VERY. (I was going to say whacked-out group of friends but very eclectic sounded much more PC. See, I CAN be PC.....I just generally choose not to be.) I have friends who are far left, far right, atheists, Christians, Wiccans, Pagans, moderate liberals, moderate conservatives and those who politically are all over the place...like me. Not always an easy group to come to consensus with about anything. Just picking a place to eat can be tough between the vegans, vegetarians and omnivores! So I got to wondering, could a group of my friends come to an agreement on a federal budget. Can such a diverse group of people realistically come to a compromise that everyone is comfortable with? Which led me to think why not find out.
I want to keep it simple though. So we're not going to deal with any numbers...at least not yet. Let's start with a broader picture....the various Departments and Programs. I found a pie chart and list of the 2010 budget that I'm going use as the base for this little experiment.
First thing I'd like people to do is look through the list and identify your "untouchables"; those Departments/Programs you would be absolutely unwilling to compromise on their funding. Once we take those off the table we'll see what we have left and go from there.
I want this to be something that get's people talking and thinking yet be fun but not time consuming. Every few days we'll adjust our budget by looking at and considering different things. There are a couple rules.
1. There are no right or wrong opinions. If you don't agree with someone, that's ok.
2. You may try to convince others of the validity of your viewpoint. You may NOT tell someone why their's is wrong. Get the difference?
Would love to have lot's of people to join in. Doesn't matter if you are an accounting wizard or your eyes roll back in your head when people start talking about the budget. Your views don't have to be based on any sort of numbers. You won't be asked to "prove" your choices in any way.
Let's face it, if a group of friends can't come to a compromise then how can we expect Congress to? Most of them don't even like each other!
So, to kick things off here's my list of "untouchables":
Department of Veterans Affairs
What are yours?
Anyway, I have a very eclectic group of friends, with emphasis on the VERY. (I was going to say whacked-out group of friends but very eclectic sounded much more PC. See, I CAN be PC.....I just generally choose not to be.) I have friends who are far left, far right, atheists, Christians, Wiccans, Pagans, moderate liberals, moderate conservatives and those who politically are all over the place...like me. Not always an easy group to come to consensus with about anything. Just picking a place to eat can be tough between the vegans, vegetarians and omnivores! So I got to wondering, could a group of my friends come to an agreement on a federal budget. Can such a diverse group of people realistically come to a compromise that everyone is comfortable with? Which led me to think why not find out.
I want to keep it simple though. So we're not going to deal with any numbers...at least not yet. Let's start with a broader picture....the various Departments and Programs. I found a pie chart and list of the 2010 budget that I'm going use as the base for this little experiment.
First thing I'd like people to do is look through the list and identify your "untouchables"; those Departments/Programs you would be absolutely unwilling to compromise on their funding. Once we take those off the table we'll see what we have left and go from there.
I want this to be something that get's people talking and thinking yet be fun but not time consuming. Every few days we'll adjust our budget by looking at and considering different things. There are a couple rules.
1. There are no right or wrong opinions. If you don't agree with someone, that's ok.
2. You may try to convince others of the validity of your viewpoint. You may NOT tell someone why their's is wrong. Get the difference?
Would love to have lot's of people to join in. Doesn't matter if you are an accounting wizard or your eyes roll back in your head when people start talking about the budget. Your views don't have to be based on any sort of numbers. You won't be asked to "prove" your choices in any way.
Let's face it, if a group of friends can't come to a compromise then how can we expect Congress to? Most of them don't even like each other!
So, to kick things off here's my list of "untouchables":
Department of Veterans Affairs
What are yours?
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Oh bah humbug!
I'm not really bah humbug...mostly. But at this time every year there is something that I can't stand. I'm talking about stupid Christmas songs. I don't mean singing Chipmunks or rein-deers running over grandmas. Those are fun, silly holiday songs. But there are some songs that fall in to a couple categories that make me want to stuff a Christmas ornament in the singer's mouth.
1. Just because a song has the word "Christmas" in it, doesn't automatically make it a Christmas song. The best example of this is a song called "Last Christmas". The lyrics have nothing to do with anything holiday related. It doesn't help that the current version of it is sung by Taylor Swift who I don't like as a singer to begin with.
2. Then there are the songs that have ridiculous lyrics seemingly based on the premise that 'why of course, everyone in the world must celebrate Christmas since I do'. Wow...ego anyone? The primary culprit I hear is the song "Do They Know It's Christmas". Let me help you with this one.....if they celebrate Christmas, they know when it is. If they don't know then they probably don't care.
Yeah, I know, minor stuff in the grand scheme of things but I feel better now that I've gotten this off my chest.
Oh yeah...one more thing. Why is the Peanuts theme song considered Christmas music?????
2. Then there are the songs that have ridiculous lyrics seemingly based on the premise that 'why of course, everyone in the world must celebrate Christmas since I do'. Wow...ego anyone? The primary culprit I hear is the song "Do They Know It's Christmas". Let me help you with this one.....if they celebrate Christmas, they know when it is. If they don't know then they probably don't care.
Yeah, I know, minor stuff in the grand scheme of things but I feel better now that I've gotten this off my chest.
Oh yeah...one more thing. Why is the Peanuts theme song considered Christmas music?????
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Graciousness....a lost art
I'm sure I speak for a whole lot of people when I say I'm so very happy this election is over. I just wish the nasty, hatefulness were over as well. Sadly, by the looks of my FB feed it's not.
People have forgotten how to be gracious. Years of listening to politicians badmouth, deride and make fun of their competition seems to have rubbed off on us. We can't happily accept our candidate won or sadly accept they lost. Instead we focus on ridiculing the other person. And we wonder why we've become such a nation divided.
If you read my blog it's no secret I didn't vote for either Obama or Romney. I knew when I voted yesterday I wasn't going to like the news this morning regardless of which one won. I have tremendous fears for the future of this country....just depended on who won as to what those fears are. But you know, after scrolling through some of my FB this morning (I finally quit because I couldn't stomach any more of it) and seeing all the hateful comments people left about Obama or Romney, often in the guise of a joke, I'm beginning to think my fear is misplaced. Maybe American citizens are the ones who should be feared for closed-minded pettiness. Maybe it's not our government that's dividing us.
How can we ever hope to come together as a country, to make ourselves better than what we are now if our first response is to ridicule and hate?
Who else remembers being taught as a child to be gracious in victory, gracious in defeat?
People have forgotten how to be gracious. Years of listening to politicians badmouth, deride and make fun of their competition seems to have rubbed off on us. We can't happily accept our candidate won or sadly accept they lost. Instead we focus on ridiculing the other person. And we wonder why we've become such a nation divided.
If you read my blog it's no secret I didn't vote for either Obama or Romney. I knew when I voted yesterday I wasn't going to like the news this morning regardless of which one won. I have tremendous fears for the future of this country....just depended on who won as to what those fears are. But you know, after scrolling through some of my FB this morning (I finally quit because I couldn't stomach any more of it) and seeing all the hateful comments people left about Obama or Romney, often in the guise of a joke, I'm beginning to think my fear is misplaced. Maybe American citizens are the ones who should be feared for closed-minded pettiness. Maybe it's not our government that's dividing us.
How can we ever hope to come together as a country, to make ourselves better than what we are now if our first response is to ridicule and hate?
Who else remembers being taught as a child to be gracious in victory, gracious in defeat?
Thursday, October 4, 2012
And I heard....
We have a dog named Shepherd and he is obsessed with tennis balls. I mean seriously obsessed. You almost never see him without one in his mouth or lying next to him. "Ball" is one word he definitely knows. So Don and I were having a discussion one day about what Shepherd actually heard when we talk to him. Different ideas were tossed about but we finally decided that what he really heard was "waa waa waa waa waa waa BALL! waa waa waa BALL! waa waa".
That evolved into a joke around our house and has come to mean "I see your lips moving but I'm just hearing noise." When one of us starts ranting or whining about something stupid the other one will typically respond with "BALL!" and then we'll both crack up and rant/whine is ended.
I didn't watch the debate last night because seriously, all I would have heard was "BALL!".
That evolved into a joke around our house and has come to mean "I see your lips moving but I'm just hearing noise." When one of us starts ranting or whining about something stupid the other one will typically respond with "BALL!" and then we'll both crack up and rant/whine is ended.
I didn't watch the debate last night because seriously, all I would have heard was "BALL!".
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