Sunday, September 09, 2007
I've taken to sitting on a swiss ball instead of a chair when I'm in my room. If I had to get up extraordinarily early and fall asleep every two or three verses of morning Bible reading, I can sit on this and hurt myself when I give in to sleep and fall over. Very useful, really. I find myself constantly bouncing up and down. Given that fact, I don't know how long it will be before it explodes and I bruise myself by landing on the floor.
The extra exercise provided by the constant bouncing and twitching gives me the
rationale for eating chocolate. I looked for a stock picture of a chocolate bar and found plenty of "free" stock photos. However, "free" things are not always without a price, in this case a membership fee of $199 a month. Thanks to my sister, who always lets me borrow her camera
(even though I once deleted all her pictures accidentally!), I was able to make my own picture. I even took the wrappers out of the trash can I was absentmindedly throwing them into. I had to unwrap three bars for this shoot. Of course, it wouldn't do to wrap those candy bars back up and put them in the bag they came out of. That would just be unhygenic. I think instead I'll do with them as I've done with the rest...unwrap them, set them on their wrapper, and place the wrapper next to the output of my laptop's cooling system. Viola, perfectly warmed, soft chocolate.
According to WIN - Weight-control Infomation Network, nearly two thirds of the population 20 years and older are overweight. Do you fall under that statistic? According to the Census Bureau the population of the US is currently over 302,000,000. According to CBS, 45 million of those each year go on a diet - that's 14%. If you're overweight and are ready to take some action to leave the flab behind, check out this article called 15 Rules For Fat Loss. I've been part of the statistics, weighing in at nearly 20 pounds more than I do now. Click here to see the pudgy faced, 13 year old Bonnie.
I used to hate exercise and complained when my mom asked me to walk with her. My knees "hurt" and I was tired, blah blah blah. Then somehow I started running and I started losing weight. I didn't just start running and become a runner. I must have quit 5 or 6 times, each time losing interest. I'd invariably find a new plan someplace and start running again. I remember running for almost a whole year and thinking that was pretty cool, that was the longest I stuck to ONE running program. I remember somewhere in the middle of that period thinking that I couldn't run a mile, it was just too hard. Then a friend said any able bodied teenager could push themself to run a mile*, so the next time I went out I pushed myself and I finished a mile. After that running continuously instead of running/walking was no big deal. And if I did take a break every mile or so, that was fine with me - I was a real runner!
Now due to an ankle injury caused by pushing too hard too soon (IE 5-6 mile barefoot runs at paces as fast as I could run them without feeling nauseated) I'm not actively running, but I'm pretty sure I could go out there and run a mile without much trouble. I'm still a runner, I'm just not running right now!
So now, through gradual changes to my eating and exercise, I have managed to keep most of the fat off. You can too, just try!
*Don't take this as medical advice, just because a friend of mine said it doesn't mean it applies to you.
The extra exercise provided by the constant bouncing and twitching gives me the
rationale for eating chocolate. I looked for a stock picture of a chocolate bar and found plenty of "free" stock photos. However, "free" things are not always without a price, in this case a membership fee of $199 a month. Thanks to my sister, who always lets me borrow her camera (even though I once deleted all her pictures accidentally!), I was able to make my own picture. I even took the wrappers out of the trash can I was absentmindedly throwing them into. I had to unwrap three bars for this shoot. Of course, it wouldn't do to wrap those candy bars back up and put them in the bag they came out of. That would just be unhygenic. I think instead I'll do with them as I've done with the rest...unwrap them, set them on their wrapper, and place the wrapper next to the output of my laptop's cooling system. Viola, perfectly warmed, soft chocolate.
According to WIN - Weight-control Infomation Network, nearly two thirds of the population 20 years and older are overweight. Do you fall under that statistic? According to the Census Bureau the population of the US is currently over 302,000,000. According to CBS, 45 million of those each year go on a diet - that's 14%. If you're overweight and are ready to take some action to leave the flab behind, check out this article called 15 Rules For Fat Loss. I've been part of the statistics, weighing in at nearly 20 pounds more than I do now. Click here to see the pudgy faced, 13 year old Bonnie.
I used to hate exercise and complained when my mom asked me to walk with her. My knees "hurt" and I was tired, blah blah blah. Then somehow I started running and I started losing weight. I didn't just start running and become a runner. I must have quit 5 or 6 times, each time losing interest. I'd invariably find a new plan someplace and start running again. I remember running for almost a whole year and thinking that was pretty cool, that was the longest I stuck to ONE running program. I remember somewhere in the middle of that period thinking that I couldn't run a mile, it was just too hard. Then a friend said any able bodied teenager could push themself to run a mile*, so the next time I went out I pushed myself and I finished a mile. After that running continuously instead of running/walking was no big deal. And if I did take a break every mile or so, that was fine with me - I was a real runner!
Now due to an ankle injury caused by pushing too hard too soon (IE 5-6 mile barefoot runs at paces as fast as I could run them without feeling nauseated) I'm not actively running, but I'm pretty sure I could go out there and run a mile without much trouble. I'm still a runner, I'm just not running right now!
So now, through gradual changes to my eating and exercise, I have managed to keep most of the fat off. You can too, just try!
*Don't take this as medical advice, just because a friend of mine said it doesn't mean it applies to you.
Labels: chocolate, exercise, food, Running
Friday, April 27, 2007
Today I have a few videos to link to (sorry dialup people!).
I was searching at youtube for videos of people performing pull ups and found this 6 year old girl doing them. Pretty neat!
(and yes, I must include something about physical fitness it seems in EVERY post. Maybe I'll be over this phase soon ;)
__________________________________
I haven't played guitar much the last few months but I really want to get motivated to practice. Just for fun, I made a tutorial for youtube of a few G runs.
I also compiled some funny reactions I got to the camera and put them on youtube.
I know my videos are kinda lame, but it's fun to make them :D
___________________________________
Just an update on the bagel recipe - I'm making a video for youtube of the process of making them! The problem is, I can't bake them till Sunday morning (they sit overnight, up to two nights) so the video won't be done till sometime after then. At that point, I should be putting up the recipe. I hope they don't flop this time. I had to edit the recipe a little because I ran out of white flour and had to use whole wheat (ssshhhh!).
___________________________________
My cold is getting a little better. In fact it's a lot better. I took a ton of garlic one day, but I haven't been loading up on it other than that.
I was searching at youtube for videos of people performing pull ups and found this 6 year old girl doing them. Pretty neat!
(and yes, I must include something about physical fitness it seems in EVERY post. Maybe I'll be over this phase soon ;)
__________________________________
I haven't played guitar much the last few months but I really want to get motivated to practice. Just for fun, I made a tutorial for youtube of a few G runs.
I also compiled some funny reactions I got to the camera and put them on youtube.
I know my videos are kinda lame, but it's fun to make them :D
___________________________________
Just an update on the bagel recipe - I'm making a video for youtube of the process of making them! The problem is, I can't bake them till Sunday morning (they sit overnight, up to two nights) so the video won't be done till sometime after then. At that point, I should be putting up the recipe. I hope they don't flop this time. I had to edit the recipe a little because I ran out of white flour and had to use whole wheat (ssshhhh!).
___________________________________
My cold is getting a little better. In fact it's a lot better. I took a ton of garlic one day, but I haven't been loading up on it other than that.
Labels: exercise, recipes, video
Friday, April 20, 2007
I need to correct one of the things in my list below. James W. Lanning is actually some guy I met randomly out there. It did have something to do with blog hopping (mine) from comments left at various sites of people who knew each other online, but not he is not directly a friend of a friend of Mrs. Lymans. So basically I'm wrong :) I'll try to be less confusing in my future posts, if possible...
__________________________
This morning I was awakened to a principle I've grossly overlooked. How many of you spend time in earnest prayer for your family? How many of you lay your family's burdens on the alter and pray for God's wisdom for another family member's struggles? I must admit that I haven't even given it much thought. Sure I pray that God will bless my family, but rarely do I have specific thoughts on my mind when I do so. Basically it's like a "bless my family and make us a good witness." But there's so much more to it than that. Sometimes I pray for friends and I don't really know what to pray for. But we who live with family members know each other (should know each other) very well. We know what's bothering people, what they're struggling with, what they need - even if sometimes they don't see what they need. Maybe it's just me who forgets about things like this. If you really love your family, pray for them. Intercede in prayer on behalf of those who are struggling and pray that God would bring conviction where it's needed and to comfort those who are in need of comfort.
2 Samuel 12:16
"David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground."
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
And this one is a really good one! (Not that the others aren't.)
Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
If your siblings and parents are Christians, pray for them! If they're not Christians, pray for them!
___________________________________
I'm trying to make bagels. This endeavor is something both my mom and sister have successfully completed. I have yet to see if mine will be a flop or a good batch of bagels. I'm trying to take pictures as I go, maybe when I finish I'll have some pictures to post. The recipe is from a book I got at the library called The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhardt. The first 100 pages of the book are just info on the process of making bread. The 11 steps of making bread, how yeast works, how to figure mathmatical formulas for bread (ratios). It's very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading his first book, Crust and Crumb.
___________________________________
I went for a run yesterday, it was so nice out! After days and days of rain the sunshine is certainly welcome. We swept the front sidewalk and cleaned. I suppose that's what they call spring cleaning. I can't wait till the temperature outside is higher than the temperature inside - that means window opening is in order. Even yesterday with the sun it was still only about 60 degrees out side and it was a few degrees warmer inside. I figured if I opened the window it'd cool my room down too much and be cold at night. I ought to have opened it anyway, because last night it was too warm to sleep under my two sheep skins and big blanket.
__________________________________
I've got a cold. Hooray. I've been looking online and some people who have started weight lifting don't get enough sleep and don't eat enough so they feel like they have a cold all of the time. Amazingly enough, I'm finding that it's easy to get up in the morning as long as I do the same thing every morning. I went to bed at 8:30 the other night because I thought I was going to need the extra sleep - I got up at 5:30am like I planned (9 hours sleep?)and I was really groggy and sleepy. Now if I go to bed at the normal 10:00pm/11:00pm time, I can get up at the normal 6:30 (7 1/2 - 8 1/2 hours sleep) and feel fine in the morning. I'm guessing if I went to bed every night at midnight and got up at 6:30, I'd adjust to it. It might not be good in the long run, but I'd adjust and wouldn't feel super groggy in the morning.
I deadlifted 117 lbs yesterday and I think it was just a little much. It is hard to lift out of your comfort zone; although I can physically lift that much, I don't want to. My mind says don't do it again. It's too hard to muster the mental strength to tell your muscles to work. While deadlifts have been on my list of questionable exercises because of potential risk of back injury, I think I'm going to stick with them for now. When I was concentrating a lot on my abdominals and not as much on my back I was getting unoften occuring but very painful twinges in my lower back (hip). The same thing was happening when we were working on building a house in Kentucky. Since I've been doing deadlifts properly, I've had less pain and I can sleep on my back again without waking up and feeling like something is stabbing me in my joint. At the beginning, deadlifts did seem like an exercise that was aggravating my hip, but I'm convinced it was due to poor form. You can seriously injure yourself deadlifting improperly, so be careful if you're doing it. Research proper form and don't stray from it. Don't lift so much that you can't have good form. Note that that link I just gave does have a drawing of a guy with no clothes on but it looks like a picture you'd look at to see muscles or something and in my opinion, is not immmodest. I didn't even notice it but someone pointed it out so I figured I'd mention it. Also, the links on that page are bound to be dubious. A lot the stuff in the bodybuilding scene is really ungodly. I never want to compete, and I don't want to be a bodybuilder, but some sites that happen to be about bodybuilding have good information on proper form, whether you're lifting to get glory for yourself or if you're lifting to be stronger. And that's not to say there aren't godly people who are also bodybuilders. It just happens to be that a lot of it is not God centered at all. I wonder why, if I had to go through all of this explanation, did I put the link there to begin with? It's not as if someone who reads this is going to randomly start deadlifting!
__________________________
This morning I was awakened to a principle I've grossly overlooked. How many of you spend time in earnest prayer for your family? How many of you lay your family's burdens on the alter and pray for God's wisdom for another family member's struggles? I must admit that I haven't even given it much thought. Sure I pray that God will bless my family, but rarely do I have specific thoughts on my mind when I do so. Basically it's like a "bless my family and make us a good witness." But there's so much more to it than that. Sometimes I pray for friends and I don't really know what to pray for. But we who live with family members know each other (should know each other) very well. We know what's bothering people, what they're struggling with, what they need - even if sometimes they don't see what they need. Maybe it's just me who forgets about things like this. If you really love your family, pray for them. Intercede in prayer on behalf of those who are struggling and pray that God would bring conviction where it's needed and to comfort those who are in need of comfort.
2 Samuel 12:16
"David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground."
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
And this one is a really good one! (Not that the others aren't.)
Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
If your siblings and parents are Christians, pray for them! If they're not Christians, pray for them!
___________________________________
I'm trying to make bagels. This endeavor is something both my mom and sister have successfully completed. I have yet to see if mine will be a flop or a good batch of bagels. I'm trying to take pictures as I go, maybe when I finish I'll have some pictures to post. The recipe is from a book I got at the library called The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhardt. The first 100 pages of the book are just info on the process of making bread. The 11 steps of making bread, how yeast works, how to figure mathmatical formulas for bread (ratios). It's very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading his first book, Crust and Crumb.
___________________________________
I went for a run yesterday, it was so nice out! After days and days of rain the sunshine is certainly welcome. We swept the front sidewalk and cleaned. I suppose that's what they call spring cleaning. I can't wait till the temperature outside is higher than the temperature inside - that means window opening is in order. Even yesterday with the sun it was still only about 60 degrees out side and it was a few degrees warmer inside. I figured if I opened the window it'd cool my room down too much and be cold at night. I ought to have opened it anyway, because last night it was too warm to sleep under my two sheep skins and big blanket.
__________________________________
I've got a cold. Hooray. I've been looking online and some people who have started weight lifting don't get enough sleep and don't eat enough so they feel like they have a cold all of the time. Amazingly enough, I'm finding that it's easy to get up in the morning as long as I do the same thing every morning. I went to bed at 8:30 the other night because I thought I was going to need the extra sleep - I got up at 5:30am like I planned (9 hours sleep?)and I was really groggy and sleepy. Now if I go to bed at the normal 10:00pm/11:00pm time, I can get up at the normal 6:30 (7 1/2 - 8 1/2 hours sleep) and feel fine in the morning. I'm guessing if I went to bed every night at midnight and got up at 6:30, I'd adjust to it. It might not be good in the long run, but I'd adjust and wouldn't feel super groggy in the morning.
I deadlifted 117 lbs yesterday and I think it was just a little much. It is hard to lift out of your comfort zone; although I can physically lift that much, I don't want to. My mind says don't do it again. It's too hard to muster the mental strength to tell your muscles to work. While deadlifts have been on my list of questionable exercises because of potential risk of back injury, I think I'm going to stick with them for now. When I was concentrating a lot on my abdominals and not as much on my back I was getting unoften occuring but very painful twinges in my lower back (hip). The same thing was happening when we were working on building a house in Kentucky. Since I've been doing deadlifts properly, I've had less pain and I can sleep on my back again without waking up and feeling like something is stabbing me in my joint. At the beginning, deadlifts did seem like an exercise that was aggravating my hip, but I'm convinced it was due to poor form. You can seriously injure yourself deadlifting improperly, so be careful if you're doing it. Research proper form and don't stray from it. Don't lift so much that you can't have good form. Note that that link I just gave does have a drawing of a guy with no clothes on but it looks like a picture you'd look at to see muscles or something and in my opinion, is not immmodest. I didn't even notice it but someone pointed it out so I figured I'd mention it. Also, the links on that page are bound to be dubious. A lot the stuff in the bodybuilding scene is really ungodly. I never want to compete, and I don't want to be a bodybuilder, but some sites that happen to be about bodybuilding have good information on proper form, whether you're lifting to get glory for yourself or if you're lifting to be stronger. And that's not to say there aren't godly people who are also bodybuilders. It just happens to be that a lot of it is not God centered at all. I wonder why, if I had to go through all of this explanation, did I put the link there to begin with? It's not as if someone who reads this is going to randomly start deadlifting!
Labels: Christian walk, exercise, food
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Howdy from a Toshiba :D My Gateway laptop went back to Best Buy one last time for a repair and it was deemed to be a lemon (4th repair).
I must say something for Best Buy's lemon policy. Buy a laptop at Best Buy, purchase the warranty (it was $250 extra) and USE your laptop! If it breaks 4 times in 3 years (any combination of hardware repairs, this doesn't mean you have to have 4 repairs on ONE part). They fixed things on my laptop like popped off keys from the keyboard, a cracked hinge, a melted power jack, etc. It's great. I suppose if you never use your laptop it's no really worth the extra but in my case I really really am glad that the person who gave it to me bought the warranty.
For those of you who might be interested, the laptop has got 2 gb of ram (and the text in this window is jumping as I type, it's not going smoothly at all!) a 1.6 ghz processor and 220 gb harddrive. I'm starting to think Vista, the new windows operating system must be as big of a memory hog as it's been told to me that it is. I am transfering files but this lag in the text as I type is most annoying.
Hopefully I will start editing video again and doing cool stuff like that again soon :)
______________________________
Today it's raining and icing and snowing. It's really nasty weather. Thank God we were able to get some trees cut and some wood stacked. It's a blessing because we were starting to run out of wood and it's STILL cold here!
________________________________
I discovered that the entry level of single bench pressing for the VT Police Department for women is .65 x bodyweight. I think that's only 81 lbs for me! I think the max I have ever pressed is 100 and that's still a litle way from my bodyweight (or more like a big way!). I ate sugary cinnamon buns today and they were so yummy. Leftover pizza dough and cinnamon sugar go a long way at tasting good. Am I going to get fatter? Probably. I don't think I'll ever be decided if I'm fat or not. When I eat good I always think I'm too fat and when I eat fatty, disgusting things, I always think I'm fine. Now why's that?
_________________________________
I was nominated by a good friend Izzy Lyman for a Thinking Blogger Award. Hopefully I'm within the rules by waiting to post my five nominees. I just need to think about it some more ;)
Mrs. Lyman, by the way, introduced me to blogging and blogger.com.
I must say something for Best Buy's lemon policy. Buy a laptop at Best Buy, purchase the warranty (it was $250 extra) and USE your laptop! If it breaks 4 times in 3 years (any combination of hardware repairs, this doesn't mean you have to have 4 repairs on ONE part). They fixed things on my laptop like popped off keys from the keyboard, a cracked hinge, a melted power jack, etc. It's great. I suppose if you never use your laptop it's no really worth the extra but in my case I really really am glad that the person who gave it to me bought the warranty.
For those of you who might be interested, the laptop has got 2 gb of ram (and the text in this window is jumping as I type, it's not going smoothly at all!) a 1.6 ghz processor and 220 gb harddrive. I'm starting to think Vista, the new windows operating system must be as big of a memory hog as it's been told to me that it is. I am transfering files but this lag in the text as I type is most annoying.
Hopefully I will start editing video again and doing cool stuff like that again soon :)
______________________________
Today it's raining and icing and snowing. It's really nasty weather. Thank God we were able to get some trees cut and some wood stacked. It's a blessing because we were starting to run out of wood and it's STILL cold here!
________________________________
I discovered that the entry level of single bench pressing for the VT Police Department for women is .65 x bodyweight. I think that's only 81 lbs for me! I think the max I have ever pressed is 100 and that's still a litle way from my bodyweight (or more like a big way!). I ate sugary cinnamon buns today and they were so yummy. Leftover pizza dough and cinnamon sugar go a long way at tasting good. Am I going to get fatter? Probably. I don't think I'll ever be decided if I'm fat or not. When I eat good I always think I'm too fat and when I eat fatty, disgusting things, I always think I'm fine. Now why's that?
_________________________________
I was nominated by a good friend Izzy Lyman for a Thinking Blogger Award. Hopefully I'm within the rules by waiting to post my five nominees. I just need to think about it some more ;)
Mrs. Lyman, by the way, introduced me to blogging and blogger.com.
Labels: exercise
Monday, April 09, 2007
Yesterday we had some company and mom made two apple pies (which were delicious, by the way. No sugar (but honey) and it did have "regular" crust and as a bonus she added crasins.) I decided to make a dessert so I looked up a recipe I had found in a newspaper in VA. I had clipped the article, but who knows where it went! The name is a memorable one - Leigh's Man Catcher Brownies. (linked to recipe).
I was shocked at the proportions of sugar to flour and cocoa powder, but WOW, are they good! This is a make-on-free-day-once-every-long-while brownies. They are gooood.
I decided to take pictures while I cooked so I could post them here with the recipe.
Grease 14x9 pan (I used something slightly bigger, which would just result in slightly shorter cooking time). The recipe says to line it with parchment but I didn't bother. Preheat oven to 350 (I even took a picture of the oven saying 350, but it's on the other computer and I can't upload it now :P) .
First take three sticks butter.
Melt in small saucepan and when melted add two cups baking cocoa. Set aside to cool slightly.
Lightly beat six eggs.
Mix in two cups white sugar...
..and two cups brown sugar!
Add two tablespoons vanilla.
Mix in chocolate-butter mixture from the saucepan.
Add two cups flour and one teaspoon salt.
Mix just until blended, do not over mix. My batter turned out very very stiff. This is mom holding the bowl upside down for me :D
It tastes good raw too so sample it if you're not going to blame me for being poisoned by infectedd eggs :p
Spread it in the pan, making sure it's pushed in the corners. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (I used a knife) and a crust forms on the surface.
Here's the pan of brownies:
And here is a close up of the texture:
__________________________________
And btw, while these brownies may taste good, they're no good for these -
I'm telling you, this morning I flexed and my bicep is getting buried in (more) fat! I think eating sweet things and "bad" things once in a while keeps you motivated to eat better. You know you can always "cheat" once in a while and when you do cheat you feel how sick you get, lol. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with what I'm eating lately but my face has almost completely cleared up. That's good news for me because there are so many things I've tried to make my face stop breaking out and none of them has worked 100%. I'd much rather get my face cleared from the inside rather than just masking it on the outside. And forgive me those of you who don't have to deal with acne and might be feeling uncomfortable by this frank (but not graphic!) discussion of it. As others who have dealt with it know, it can be hard when you're the one who has it!
_____________________________________
So in the next post I will have (Deo Volente!) a comparison of a few drawings I did - some before doing some exercises I found in a book and some after. The after drawings aren't so great, but I was shocked at how the simple exercises in the book improved what I did do. I'll also be giving out the name of this book, so come back ;)
I was shocked at the proportions of sugar to flour and cocoa powder, but WOW, are they good! This is a make-on-free-day-once-every-long-while brownies. They are gooood.
I decided to take pictures while I cooked so I could post them here with the recipe.
Grease 14x9 pan (I used something slightly bigger, which would just result in slightly shorter cooking time). The recipe says to line it with parchment but I didn't bother. Preheat oven to 350 (I even took a picture of the oven saying 350, but it's on the other computer and I can't upload it now :P) .
First take three sticks butter.
Melt in small saucepan and when melted add two cups baking cocoa. Set aside to cool slightly.
Lightly beat six eggs.
Mix in two cups white sugar...
..and two cups brown sugar!
Add two tablespoons vanilla.
Mix in chocolate-butter mixture from the saucepan.
Add two cups flour and one teaspoon salt.
Mix just until blended, do not over mix. My batter turned out very very stiff. This is mom holding the bowl upside down for me :D
It tastes good raw too so sample it if you're not going to blame me for being poisoned by infectedd eggs :p
Spread it in the pan, making sure it's pushed in the corners. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (I used a knife) and a crust forms on the surface.
Here's the pan of brownies:
And here is a close up of the texture:
__________________________________
And btw, while these brownies may taste good, they're no good for these -
I'm telling you, this morning I flexed and my bicep is getting buried in (more) fat! I think eating sweet things and "bad" things once in a while keeps you motivated to eat better. You know you can always "cheat" once in a while and when you do cheat you feel how sick you get, lol. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with what I'm eating lately but my face has almost completely cleared up. That's good news for me because there are so many things I've tried to make my face stop breaking out and none of them has worked 100%. I'd much rather get my face cleared from the inside rather than just masking it on the outside. And forgive me those of you who don't have to deal with acne and might be feeling uncomfortable by this frank (but not graphic!) discussion of it. As others who have dealt with it know, it can be hard when you're the one who has it!
_____________________________________
So in the next post I will have (Deo Volente!) a comparison of a few drawings I did - some before doing some exercises I found in a book and some after. The after drawings aren't so great, but I was shocked at how the simple exercises in the book improved what I did do. I'll also be giving out the name of this book, so come back ;)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Finally, a picture post!
I realized that I have several projects going on that I could take pictures of to blog.
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But before that, what have you found to be helpful when trying to be kinder to people? Lately I have been thinking about how often (way too often!) I reply to a reasonable question in a very unreasonable way. I know that only with God's help I can change, but often I forget and afterwards regret speaking the way I did. It's ridiculous because I would think someone else was being mean if I responded the way I do, yet I don't even think of it when doing it myself.
________________________
I have been quilting again. The bug that bit me at the Myers in Kentucky gave me a virus that will permanently be in my bloodstream. I'll have to deal with irrational urges to buy fabric and probably have to buy a lot of thread to piece things together. I like it :D
Here are the fabrics I'm working with.
Here are the pieces cut out (the stacks at right), and two finished squares (except for ironing).
_______________________
I woke up this morning to snow. We went to the studio last night and drove 3 hours round trip through sleet, rain, and snow.
Out my window:
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My cabbage came up! The zinnia are also up, the basil I THNK are up and the rest remain in their egg cartons, waiting to meet the fluorescent lights above my desk.
_________________________
I heard something on the radio the other day about something that has very much to do with all of life. Pride. Is being humble just downing yourself all of the time? No way! You can say bad things about yourself all of the time but you can still be proud before God and others. If you find bad things to say about yourself, find out what's causing the problem and FIX IT! If it's something unchangeable, why draw attention to it and yourself? When we were playing volleyball in the fall in Kentucky I found that I'd always have something bad to say about my play nearly every time the ball came my way. And you know what, instead of just being humble and trying harder next time I just drew attention to myself (is that humble?) and everyone else had to listen to me rant about myself.
So anyhow, as far as the workout things go, pride can ruin anything. Pride and arrogance make whatever it is you're doing a stench to God, as far as Proverbs says. Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. Physical training is of SOME value but godliness is good for all things.
My weights :) Actually the barbell is my brother's, he's very nicely loaning it to me. Yes, the exercise bike is rusty but it works. It almost works too well. After a few cardio sessions my left knee kind of feels funny. Speaking of pains, yesterday I wore a pair of sneakers I rarely wear and today my achilles was really bad. Yesterday I was getting shin splints while walking to work in those shoes. I think the heel on the shoes has something to do with it.
I realized that I have several projects going on that I could take pictures of to blog.
________________________
But before that, what have you found to be helpful when trying to be kinder to people? Lately I have been thinking about how often (way too often!) I reply to a reasonable question in a very unreasonable way. I know that only with God's help I can change, but often I forget and afterwards regret speaking the way I did. It's ridiculous because I would think someone else was being mean if I responded the way I do, yet I don't even think of it when doing it myself.
________________________
I have been quilting again. The bug that bit me at the Myers in Kentucky gave me a virus that will permanently be in my bloodstream. I'll have to deal with irrational urges to buy fabric and probably have to buy a lot of thread to piece things together. I like it :D
Here are the fabrics I'm working with.
Here are the pieces cut out (the stacks at right), and two finished squares (except for ironing).
_______________________
I woke up this morning to snow. We went to the studio last night and drove 3 hours round trip through sleet, rain, and snow.
Out my window:
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My cabbage came up! The zinnia are also up, the basil I THNK are up and the rest remain in their egg cartons, waiting to meet the fluorescent lights above my desk.
_________________________
I heard something on the radio the other day about something that has very much to do with all of life. Pride. Is being humble just downing yourself all of the time? No way! You can say bad things about yourself all of the time but you can still be proud before God and others. If you find bad things to say about yourself, find out what's causing the problem and FIX IT! If it's something unchangeable, why draw attention to it and yourself? When we were playing volleyball in the fall in Kentucky I found that I'd always have something bad to say about my play nearly every time the ball came my way. And you know what, instead of just being humble and trying harder next time I just drew attention to myself (is that humble?) and everyone else had to listen to me rant about myself.
So anyhow, as far as the workout things go, pride can ruin anything. Pride and arrogance make whatever it is you're doing a stench to God, as far as Proverbs says. Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. Physical training is of SOME value but godliness is good for all things.
My weights :) Actually the barbell is my brother's, he's very nicely loaning it to me. Yes, the exercise bike is rusty but it works. It almost works too well. After a few cardio sessions my left knee kind of feels funny. Speaking of pains, yesterday I wore a pair of sneakers I rarely wear and today my achilles was really bad. Yesterday I was getting shin splints while walking to work in those shoes. I think the heel on the shoes has something to do with it.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Last night we went to the studio; left at quarter to three, got back at quarter to 11 or so. We couldn't bring the bass in the car so we brought my electric bass and Nathan was going to play that for the guide track, then come in later with the upright bass and put his track down over it. All was well, after a few mistakes that caused us to have to restart the recording, until the string on the bass popped! I've never broken a string on it and I've never changed them. They must have been 7-10 years old, so I'm not really that surprised. So we did the rest of the guide track without the bass and Nathan will still have to come in later and record his bass part.
For those of you who may be wondering what a guide track is: We go into the studio with all of our instruments that we'll be using and all of the vocals. Then, playing into one or two mics we play through the entire song at the speed we're going to record at with any cues counted out loud or clapped. Then we go back into the studio one at a time, generally beginning with the rhythm or bass, and record each instrument separately while listening in the headphones to the guide track. Then each individual track is put together and mixed down.
__________________________
I found a bodyfat calculator online. I don't think it can be as accurate as calipers, but seeing as I don't have any calipers I think it might be an acceptable substitute - at least to record changes overall. I won't tell you where I came in ;)
__________________________
Six Hairific Months Without Shampoo (their title, not mine). Basically a woman stopped overwashing her hair :P Really, I think a lot of people over wash. Six months might be a little long, but seriously I know people who wash once a week or so and have beautiful hair. Think of how the body reacts to being dried out. It, being the well designed body it is, tries to compensate for that by producing more oils (unless you have a deficiency). So if you're washing your hair with shampoos (that all pretty much have two cleansers in them, a derivative of lauryl sulfate. Check out the cheap and expensive shampoos, almost every one is based on that) every day, you're going to dry out your scalp which in turn is going to produce more oil to replace what you've been stripping off your hair. I've gone through periods where I washed my hair with conditioner only every 3-4 days and my hair was just fine. Now I'm using shampoo because of the lack of an abundance of water on the bus and I really feel like I have to wash every other day. Ok ok! No more hair talk. For today :D
___________________________________
And today I have two recipes and two pictures!
Whole Wheat Bread
4 - 4 1/3 C whole wheat flour
2 packages yeast (I used 3 teaspoons)
1 3/4 C milk (I used water)
1/3 C brown sugar (I used 3 tablespoons)
2 T. butter
2 tsp salt
Now for this variation I made, I soaked about 1/2 cup of wheat grains overnight in hot water (just pour hot water over them and cover overnight). Then after I kneaded the bread I kneaded in the seeds.
Mix together 2 cups flour with the yeast in a big bowl. Mix together milk (or water), brown sugar, salt, and butter together and heat till just warm. Then mix this mixture in with the flour and yeast, beat for about a minute, then add enough flour by hand to make a moderately stiff dough (not too stiff). If it's sticky add a little flour while you're kneading. Knead it for 10-15 minutes, or until it stretches fairly thin when stretched between your thumbs and index fingers. Let rise until doubled (about an hour and a half). Punch down, let rest 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Form into loaf and place in pan. Bake 30-35 minutes (I tried 32 minutes and it got a little browner than I wanted it.) Remove from pan a cool a little before slicing.
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Muffins! I made up the dry ingredients the night before and then mixed the wet ingredients in the next morning. This recipe makes 24. Don't think I'm stating the obvious, but if you cut it in half it makes 12 :D
Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 C white flour
1 C whole wheat flour (or you can use 100% white flour, or more whole wheat.)
1 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
Mix together dry ingredients and if you want to make this up ahead of time, put in a bag or a container and put a piece of paper in with the following ingredients to add:
2 eggs
2 cups water (or milk)
1 stick butter, melted
1 - 1 1/2 C chocolate chips (I didn't measure, I just chopped up a few leftover bars of dark chocolate and mixed them in, more or less to your taste)
Mix together until just mixed. Spoon into greased muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (I didn't time them, the book I got the recipe from that I altered said 20-25 minutes but I don't want you to burn them either.) Immediately remove from muffin tins and try to eat warm (they're always better warm!).
For those of you who may be wondering what a guide track is: We go into the studio with all of our instruments that we'll be using and all of the vocals. Then, playing into one or two mics we play through the entire song at the speed we're going to record at with any cues counted out loud or clapped. Then we go back into the studio one at a time, generally beginning with the rhythm or bass, and record each instrument separately while listening in the headphones to the guide track. Then each individual track is put together and mixed down.
__________________________
I found a bodyfat calculator online. I don't think it can be as accurate as calipers, but seeing as I don't have any calipers I think it might be an acceptable substitute - at least to record changes overall. I won't tell you where I came in ;)
__________________________
Six Hairific Months Without Shampoo (their title, not mine). Basically a woman stopped overwashing her hair :P Really, I think a lot of people over wash. Six months might be a little long, but seriously I know people who wash once a week or so and have beautiful hair. Think of how the body reacts to being dried out. It, being the well designed body it is, tries to compensate for that by producing more oils (unless you have a deficiency). So if you're washing your hair with shampoos (that all pretty much have two cleansers in them, a derivative of lauryl sulfate. Check out the cheap and expensive shampoos, almost every one is based on that) every day, you're going to dry out your scalp which in turn is going to produce more oil to replace what you've been stripping off your hair. I've gone through periods where I washed my hair with conditioner only every 3-4 days and my hair was just fine. Now I'm using shampoo because of the lack of an abundance of water on the bus and I really feel like I have to wash every other day. Ok ok! No more hair talk. For today :D
___________________________________
And today I have two recipes and two pictures!
Whole Wheat Bread
4 - 4 1/3 C whole wheat flour
2 packages yeast (I used 3 teaspoons)
1 3/4 C milk (I used water)
1/3 C brown sugar (I used 3 tablespoons)
2 T. butter
2 tsp salt
Now for this variation I made, I soaked about 1/2 cup of wheat grains overnight in hot water (just pour hot water over them and cover overnight). Then after I kneaded the bread I kneaded in the seeds.
Mix together 2 cups flour with the yeast in a big bowl. Mix together milk (or water), brown sugar, salt, and butter together and heat till just warm. Then mix this mixture in with the flour and yeast, beat for about a minute, then add enough flour by hand to make a moderately stiff dough (not too stiff). If it's sticky add a little flour while you're kneading. Knead it for 10-15 minutes, or until it stretches fairly thin when stretched between your thumbs and index fingers. Let rise until doubled (about an hour and a half). Punch down, let rest 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Form into loaf and place in pan. Bake 30-35 minutes (I tried 32 minutes and it got a little browner than I wanted it.) Remove from pan a cool a little before slicing.
____________________________
Muffins! I made up the dry ingredients the night before and then mixed the wet ingredients in the next morning. This recipe makes 24. Don't think I'm stating the obvious, but if you cut it in half it makes 12 :D
Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 C white flour
1 C whole wheat flour (or you can use 100% white flour, or more whole wheat.)
1 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
Mix together dry ingredients and if you want to make this up ahead of time, put in a bag or a container and put a piece of paper in with the following ingredients to add:
2 eggs
2 cups water (or milk)
1 stick butter, melted
1 - 1 1/2 C chocolate chips (I didn't measure, I just chopped up a few leftover bars of dark chocolate and mixed them in, more or less to your taste)
Mix together until just mixed. Spoon into greased muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (I didn't time them, the book I got the recipe from that I altered said 20-25 minutes but I don't want you to burn them either.) Immediately remove from muffin tins and try to eat warm (they're always better warm!).
Labels: exercise, music, recipes
Monday, March 12, 2007
Today we are in North Carolina. Lord willing we've got a concert tomorrow and two the next day.
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Today we played some soccer with the family we're with and I was surprised at how demanding it was. Or maybe I'm just shocked at the level to which my athletic ability has diminished to ;) I haven't run "seriously" for over two months, minus a few beach runs that got my heart running pretty good. It's actually kind of nice, despite the fact that I haven't run for a long time, as long as I can go at my own pace, I can run for at least 20 minutes. It's certainly not at the same pace I was before (and even that wasn't great) but it's fun to be able to do it at my own whim. I thought that perhaps I would lose the ability to run completely if I didn't keep up with it. Maybe I will keep up being a "fun runner," instead of a fast runner or a frustrated nauseated runner :D
________________________
I read this article, entitled The Secret Curse of Hollywood 'Stars.' It was very interesting and thought I would pass it along. Every once in a while you come across something that makes you stop and ponder. Hopefully you ponder things often, but some things strike you more than others. You know, when you pick up the magazine someone left open and the article is exactly what you needed to hear. I can't count the number of times this has happened to me. And sometimes, it's something that occurs before I need to hear it - a warning, if you will.
I can remember thinking when I was a few years younger, "I need socks." But I decided not to worry about it. Somehow the next week I found some socks someplace that fit the bill perfectly, and they didn't cost me a thing. That experience in itself may be a small one, but it was one that stuck in my mind. The fact that God really does supply our needs. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes more time than we would like, and sometimes it's not at ALL what we expected. Not too long ago I blogged about God giving me victory in an area of my life (I didn't mention specifically what it was). And no kidding, I found myself asking God to take away the very thing that was bringing me victory, because it was painful. After I realized that it was bringing about repentance in my life it was easier to bear. If you know medicine is working, it doesn't matter if it hurts. Sometimes the answer to your prayers is not what you want. Persevere anyway, and ask for God's will. If you want to be strong you not only endure the sore muscles resulting from working them hard, but you put out the effort to pump the iron. Like Paul said, beat your body and make it submit - submit to God. This is worth far more than running the world's fastest mile, or bench pressing more than the strongest guy in the world. Make it a priority.
Do you eat breakfast every day? Do you eat lunch? Do you eat supper? My brother taught us a great saying - "No read, no feed." I think he got it from Ray Comfort. Some people don't eat breakfast, but most of us eat at least three meals a day at some point during the day. Make it a priority to read your Bible before you eat your first meal of the day. Remember, no read, no feed!
________________________
Today we played some soccer with the family we're with and I was surprised at how demanding it was. Or maybe I'm just shocked at the level to which my athletic ability has diminished to ;) I haven't run "seriously" for over two months, minus a few beach runs that got my heart running pretty good. It's actually kind of nice, despite the fact that I haven't run for a long time, as long as I can go at my own pace, I can run for at least 20 minutes. It's certainly not at the same pace I was before (and even that wasn't great) but it's fun to be able to do it at my own whim. I thought that perhaps I would lose the ability to run completely if I didn't keep up with it. Maybe I will keep up being a "fun runner," instead of a fast runner or a frustrated nauseated runner :D
________________________
I read this article, entitled The Secret Curse of Hollywood 'Stars.' It was very interesting and thought I would pass it along. Every once in a while you come across something that makes you stop and ponder. Hopefully you ponder things often, but some things strike you more than others. You know, when you pick up the magazine someone left open and the article is exactly what you needed to hear. I can't count the number of times this has happened to me. And sometimes, it's something that occurs before I need to hear it - a warning, if you will.
I can remember thinking when I was a few years younger, "I need socks." But I decided not to worry about it. Somehow the next week I found some socks someplace that fit the bill perfectly, and they didn't cost me a thing. That experience in itself may be a small one, but it was one that stuck in my mind. The fact that God really does supply our needs. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes more time than we would like, and sometimes it's not at ALL what we expected. Not too long ago I blogged about God giving me victory in an area of my life (I didn't mention specifically what it was). And no kidding, I found myself asking God to take away the very thing that was bringing me victory, because it was painful. After I realized that it was bringing about repentance in my life it was easier to bear. If you know medicine is working, it doesn't matter if it hurts. Sometimes the answer to your prayers is not what you want. Persevere anyway, and ask for God's will. If you want to be strong you not only endure the sore muscles resulting from working them hard, but you put out the effort to pump the iron. Like Paul said, beat your body and make it submit - submit to God. This is worth far more than running the world's fastest mile, or bench pressing more than the strongest guy in the world. Make it a priority.
Do you eat breakfast every day? Do you eat lunch? Do you eat supper? My brother taught us a great saying - "No read, no feed." I think he got it from Ray Comfort. Some people don't eat breakfast, but most of us eat at least three meals a day at some point during the day. Make it a priority to read your Bible before you eat your first meal of the day. Remember, no read, no feed!
Labels: Christian walk, exercise
Friday, March 09, 2007
Today we did a lot of driving. We're parked at a Walmart across from a Super 8. Our next concert is in Raleigh, NC.
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I discovered I have a seemingly invisible splinter in my pinky finger. It's right where the guitar strings touch it. I put tape on it in an attempt to "sticky it out" but it's definitely still in there. I poked around with a pair of machined tweezers but I didn't get it. It isn't terribly painful but it sure is annoying! I'm hoping if I wrap it in duct tape maybe it'll be out tomorrow morning.
__________________________________
The other day Carol and I went for a walk at a rest stop. We had been stopped for a while, Dad was resting, everyone was just hanging out in the front of the bus. When we came back and walked up to the bus Vincent was carrying a toolbox towards the back of the trailer. Fixing something? Yeah I'm fixing something, he says, with one of those funny half smiles on his face. We followed him back to where he's walking and we realize that our trailer tire is incredibly shredded to pieces, our light on the back is broken, and the little fender that goes over the wheel looks like it's been spray painted silver. Well, it turned out we'd gotten a flat (double axle, thank God!) without knowing it and all of the metal in the tire had been whipped off and had sanded all the paint of the metal fender (making it look dull silver). We were kind of hoping to fix it before Dad woke up and tell him later, but we had to look for some parts and in the process he became alert and figured out what was going on. Carol might have some pictures of this interesting event before long.
________________________
I was sitting at a concert the other day when I caught Vincent's eyes across the audience (we happened to sit on opposite sides) and kinda made faces. They were very restrained, mind you, and no one would have figured out what was going on. But anyhow, I was just struck by how I enjoy my family. We meet so many people in so many situations, some of them quite sad. I am sooo blessed! I'm blessed to have so many friends who I really enjoy spending time with. Sure, there are struggles sometimes, but it's worth every bit of the "stuff" that goes on.
_________________________
Here's a chance for reader partipation!! What's the most ab stressing exercise you know of? I'm trying sincerely to get my abdominals as sore as I can. I'm not doing it very well. I think I need more will power. The problem is, I can actually make myself feel sick, and I hate the thought of doing another crunch because it'll make me feel sicker, but the next day I don't seem to be as sore as I ought to. I'm absolutely sure I'm not pushing myself hard enough, but I'm not sure what to do about it. A pullup bar is definitely on my list of "things to make and install when I get home." I'm not sure how I could make one of those things where you can "stand" in it with your arms supporting you and lift your legs up to work your abs. I suppose with a brother who welds nicely and some scrap steel anything is possible. Who knows, I might even take welding lessons ;)
__________________________________
I discovered I have a seemingly invisible splinter in my pinky finger. It's right where the guitar strings touch it. I put tape on it in an attempt to "sticky it out" but it's definitely still in there. I poked around with a pair of machined tweezers but I didn't get it. It isn't terribly painful but it sure is annoying! I'm hoping if I wrap it in duct tape maybe it'll be out tomorrow morning.
__________________________________
The other day Carol and I went for a walk at a rest stop. We had been stopped for a while, Dad was resting, everyone was just hanging out in the front of the bus. When we came back and walked up to the bus Vincent was carrying a toolbox towards the back of the trailer. Fixing something? Yeah I'm fixing something, he says, with one of those funny half smiles on his face. We followed him back to where he's walking and we realize that our trailer tire is incredibly shredded to pieces, our light on the back is broken, and the little fender that goes over the wheel looks like it's been spray painted silver. Well, it turned out we'd gotten a flat (double axle, thank God!) without knowing it and all of the metal in the tire had been whipped off and had sanded all the paint of the metal fender (making it look dull silver). We were kind of hoping to fix it before Dad woke up and tell him later, but we had to look for some parts and in the process he became alert and figured out what was going on. Carol might have some pictures of this interesting event before long.
________________________
I was sitting at a concert the other day when I caught Vincent's eyes across the audience (we happened to sit on opposite sides) and kinda made faces. They were very restrained, mind you, and no one would have figured out what was going on. But anyhow, I was just struck by how I enjoy my family. We meet so many people in so many situations, some of them quite sad. I am sooo blessed! I'm blessed to have so many friends who I really enjoy spending time with. Sure, there are struggles sometimes, but it's worth every bit of the "stuff" that goes on.
_________________________
Here's a chance for reader partipation!! What's the most ab stressing exercise you know of? I'm trying sincerely to get my abdominals as sore as I can. I'm not doing it very well. I think I need more will power. The problem is, I can actually make myself feel sick, and I hate the thought of doing another crunch because it'll make me feel sicker, but the next day I don't seem to be as sore as I ought to. I'm absolutely sure I'm not pushing myself hard enough, but I'm not sure what to do about it. A pullup bar is definitely on my list of "things to make and install when I get home." I'm not sure how I could make one of those things where you can "stand" in it with your arms supporting you and lift your legs up to work your abs. I suppose with a brother who welds nicely and some scrap steel anything is possible. Who knows, I might even take welding lessons ;)
Monday, February 26, 2007
Yesterday I had something on my mind to blog but the blogger page wouldn't load! Today I can't remember what it was that was so pressing :( Never fear, for the brain of the one writing can churn out a lot of useless writing even on an empty stomach!
_____________________
We are with the Bailey Family in Victoria, Texas. They're great musicians and such nice people. I'm so glad to have good friends. This morning Carol and I got up a little early and made eggs benedict. Mmmmm...I was so happy the hollandaise sauce turned out good! I broke a thermometer on the first batch and had to throw out the butter. But then I did it by eye instead of the thermometer and it turned out fine.
_____________________
The weather has been incredible! The thermometer has been reading around 80 during the day. At night it's pretty cool, and today it feels a little cooler than yesterday, but it's very nice weather.
_____________________
Last night we did a gig in Victoria and a couple came from 75 miles away! Not only that, but the reason they came is because they saw our bus at a Walmart while we were on our way here and they checked out our website. They mentioned they saw me riding on a cart in the Walmart parking lot. Oops! I always figured I can do stuff like that on the road because no one knows me :D
_____________________
I've been thinking about the aspect of being thankful. We ought to really be content with what we have. Yet if I lost my leg, instead of being thankful for all of the time that I had with a leg, I'd get upset because I'd have to live without one. Sometimes it takes an extreme circumstance to get us to wake up and be thankful, but we ought to just try to be as thankful as we can for everything God has given us. Instead of raging because we can't do what we wish we could, we should be humbled and grateful that we have what we do. It's all too easy to say "If only I could do/have x, y, or z, I'd be so happy." But it doesn't work that way. Be thankful for your ears, your eyes, your arms and legs, and your very life. For the fact that while you've been reading this that you've had oxygen going into your body. It doesn't matter how skilled or talented other people are, it just matters what you do with your talent. Use it for God and be thankful for it!
I guess you can tell by now my little writings on here are often lessons I need to learn :p That's what they are mostly anyhow. There's very little that I talk about that I don't need a huge amount of improvement on. It helps to get it all written down though.
______________________
My stomach feels kind of funny and my back aches because of it. The people we're staying with have a cool little training thing, I'm not sure what it's called but it has a bar for pull ups and dips and other stuff. They also have a nice bar with plenty of weights. I think I know what I'm looking for now ;)
Crunches and pushups are pretty simple and pretty good though. The pull up bar is really nice, even though I can't do more than one full pullup from the down position, I can do plenty of reps where I jump up and lower myself slowly (negatives). That gets me plenty sore and I feel like I've done something the next day. It's kind of fun to make the objectives of your workouts to be as sore as reasonably possible the next day. Otherwise it feels like you just wasted the workout.
ETA: Well whadayano, I just remember what I was going to blog about. Yesterday I was doing squats with quite a bit more weight that I usually do. I heard a popping noise but I wasn't too alarmed because my knees usually pop a time or two while I'm doing them. Then I heard a whole series of pops! It sounded really nasty, like there was a lot of fluid popping multiple times and I thought it sounded like it was coming from my hip. So I think oh great, I've worn out my hips and I haven't been able to hear it because I've done my last few workouts in an environment that wasn't quiet enough for me to hear the pops. I figured maybe it didn't hurt because it hadn't worn away everything yet. I figure don't panic, just try to figure out where it's coming from. Definitely my hip. Or hips. Squat again. Same disgusting popping noises. It actually sounded sick. So I went out to the bus bathroom and try it again. Same thing. I was wondering what I was going to do about it when I reached my hand back and felt two LIFE SAVER WRAPPERS IN MY POCKET! They weren't the roll kind, they were the flimsy plastic ones that come in a bag. I was so relieved! Praise God, and serves me right to be eating candy :D
_____________________
We are with the Bailey Family in Victoria, Texas. They're great musicians and such nice people. I'm so glad to have good friends. This morning Carol and I got up a little early and made eggs benedict. Mmmmm...I was so happy the hollandaise sauce turned out good! I broke a thermometer on the first batch and had to throw out the butter. But then I did it by eye instead of the thermometer and it turned out fine.
_____________________
The weather has been incredible! The thermometer has been reading around 80 during the day. At night it's pretty cool, and today it feels a little cooler than yesterday, but it's very nice weather.
_____________________
Last night we did a gig in Victoria and a couple came from 75 miles away! Not only that, but the reason they came is because they saw our bus at a Walmart while we were on our way here and they checked out our website. They mentioned they saw me riding on a cart in the Walmart parking lot. Oops! I always figured I can do stuff like that on the road because no one knows me :D
_____________________
I've been thinking about the aspect of being thankful. We ought to really be content with what we have. Yet if I lost my leg, instead of being thankful for all of the time that I had with a leg, I'd get upset because I'd have to live without one. Sometimes it takes an extreme circumstance to get us to wake up and be thankful, but we ought to just try to be as thankful as we can for everything God has given us. Instead of raging because we can't do what we wish we could, we should be humbled and grateful that we have what we do. It's all too easy to say "If only I could do/have x, y, or z, I'd be so happy." But it doesn't work that way. Be thankful for your ears, your eyes, your arms and legs, and your very life. For the fact that while you've been reading this that you've had oxygen going into your body. It doesn't matter how skilled or talented other people are, it just matters what you do with your talent. Use it for God and be thankful for it!
I guess you can tell by now my little writings on here are often lessons I need to learn :p That's what they are mostly anyhow. There's very little that I talk about that I don't need a huge amount of improvement on. It helps to get it all written down though.
______________________
My stomach feels kind of funny and my back aches because of it. The people we're staying with have a cool little training thing, I'm not sure what it's called but it has a bar for pull ups and dips and other stuff. They also have a nice bar with plenty of weights. I think I know what I'm looking for now ;)
Crunches and pushups are pretty simple and pretty good though. The pull up bar is really nice, even though I can't do more than one full pullup from the down position, I can do plenty of reps where I jump up and lower myself slowly (negatives). That gets me plenty sore and I feel like I've done something the next day. It's kind of fun to make the objectives of your workouts to be as sore as reasonably possible the next day. Otherwise it feels like you just wasted the workout.
ETA: Well whadayano, I just remember what I was going to blog about. Yesterday I was doing squats with quite a bit more weight that I usually do. I heard a popping noise but I wasn't too alarmed because my knees usually pop a time or two while I'm doing them. Then I heard a whole series of pops! It sounded really nasty, like there was a lot of fluid popping multiple times and I thought it sounded like it was coming from my hip. So I think oh great, I've worn out my hips and I haven't been able to hear it because I've done my last few workouts in an environment that wasn't quiet enough for me to hear the pops. I figured maybe it didn't hurt because it hadn't worn away everything yet. I figure don't panic, just try to figure out where it's coming from. Definitely my hip. Or hips. Squat again. Same disgusting popping noises. It actually sounded sick. So I went out to the bus bathroom and try it again. Same thing. I was wondering what I was going to do about it when I reached my hand back and felt two LIFE SAVER WRAPPERS IN MY POCKET! They weren't the roll kind, they were the flimsy plastic ones that come in a bag. I was so relieved! Praise God, and serves me right to be eating candy :D
Friday, February 16, 2007
Ok, for some reason I've been posting things lately that I find humorous. Perfect timing, because I've just run across a video on youtube that fits the theme.
Pat Hetic and the Search for True Love (youtube.com)
That video was made by Daniel Gardner who is a member at Homeschool Alumni.org.
Here is a link to more videos by him and his brothers.
By the way, I think laughing is good for your abdominal muscles :D
A merry heart is good medicine.
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I can never seem to get my arms as sore as my legs the day after I work out. I work both separately, and usually my legs are all shaky when I finish up, but my arms I just don't have the mental willpower to push as hard. I have a feeling I need more weight, because I can do 50 reps or so of some of the exercises I have with the weights I have.
Anybody got an old set of weights they've given up on using? lol.
Pat Hetic and the Search for True Love (youtube.com)
That video was made by Daniel Gardner who is a member at Homeschool Alumni.org.
Here is a link to more videos by him and his brothers.
By the way, I think laughing is good for your abdominal muscles :D
A merry heart is good medicine.
____________________________________
I can never seem to get my arms as sore as my legs the day after I work out. I work both separately, and usually my legs are all shaky when I finish up, but my arms I just don't have the mental willpower to push as hard. I have a feeling I need more weight, because I can do 50 reps or so of some of the exercises I have with the weights I have.
Anybody got an old set of weights they've given up on using? lol.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Since Justin Dortignac and Mandy Dortignac always seem to be blogging about fun places to go, I thought I'd join the club and post some cool pictures :D
Except, did I mention we went in 2004!?? :D The poor quality of the photos is due to the fact that we didn't have a good digital camera back then and all of those pictures were scanned.
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What do you think of the little lines to divide topics in a post?
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Here's something for you all to try. Sit against a wall with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, pressing your back against the wall. I recently rediscovered this exercise and it's kind of a fun family contest thing too. The first few times I did it I didn't push very hard and did two sets of 90 seconds, but my brother (Peter) wanted to have a contest so I did it with him. He made it 3:50 and I made it to 5! However, the next DAY he did it on his own and did it for 7:30. After the first contest some of the younger kids were standing around and Matthew said to me after I finished the 5 minutes, "Ok Bonnie, now you get a 10 second rest and then you do it for 10 minutes!" Lol.
If your muscles shake, by the way, I *think* it's ok. Make sure you give your muscles plenty of time to recover afterwards.
Except, did I mention we went in 2004!?? :D The poor quality of the photos is due to the fact that we didn't have a good digital camera back then and all of those pictures were scanned.
___________________________
What do you think of the little lines to divide topics in a post?
___________________________
Here's something for you all to try. Sit against a wall with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, pressing your back against the wall. I recently rediscovered this exercise and it's kind of a fun family contest thing too. The first few times I did it I didn't push very hard and did two sets of 90 seconds, but my brother (Peter) wanted to have a contest so I did it with him. He made it 3:50 and I made it to 5! However, the next DAY he did it on his own and did it for 7:30. After the first contest some of the younger kids were standing around and Matthew said to me after I finished the 5 minutes, "Ok Bonnie, now you get a 10 second rest and then you do it for 10 minutes!" Lol.
If your muscles shake, by the way, I *think* it's ok. Make sure you give your muscles plenty of time to recover afterwards.
Labels: exercise, tour pictures
