Improv to Improve!

 

Hello All,

 

It’s the start of the real cold season and lots of people have already started to give up on their resolutions for this new year. It only takes a few bad thoughts to sabotage your plans.

A friend of mine is just now starting the Primal Blue print by Mark Sisson and asked me for a quick tip for a meal on the run. Great question, always try to plan ahead for the times you run short of time. I told him to start keeping hard boiled eggs on hand. Taste great,full of protein and it will get you through your busy day. If you have been eating Primal for awhile you will find its also easy to fast for awhile without much effort. Here’s some other tips I use.

I like to eat a big breakfast, I can go all day on that alone if need be.

Apples, I rarely go to work without a granny smith apple in my briefcase.

Dried fruit and almonds.

I also buy some standards things to have on hand like cans of tuna,avocados,peppers,onions,and bags of salad mix.

I can always make a good meal out of these.

This weekend I was looking forward to get a good day of hiking in,plans changed and I had to go to my office and work. When I got off it was pouring rain. The old me would have tossed in the towel but I decided a walk is a walk so off I went with my wife as she shopped for deals for her site (please stop by). I must have walked for two hours. That’s an easy workout and I got to help spend some fun time with my wife.

We found a coffee table that needed to be refurbished but the problem is its so cold in our garage where we work we may have to wait months to this project finished. Solution: I grab some sheets and hung them from a rafter,borrowed a space heater and got busy.

If you want to do anything you just can’t let things get in your way. Any problem that comes my way is a challenge for me to solve. Bring it on, I feel so good whenever I can get anything done.

 

I read a very good tip this week I would like to leave you with. Do not follow anything 100% or you will fail. You need to be able to adapt to the moment. Don’t paint yourself into a corner, I missed a meal so its all over, I ate one candy bar now I’m fat forever etc.. Think on your feet, stay sharp and have fun along the way. 

Peace and Love all.

 

Prisoner of Pain

Hello readers your humble storyteller is back after the holidays and ready for a new year of goals to be achieved ..when my old pal tooth pain came back on the scene.

The two types of pain I can not deal with is being on the verge of throwing up all the time,dizzy, nauseous (you get the idea) and any type of tooth pain!!! On Christmas day I had filling fall out and soon after that the pain set in. At long last I could stand no longer and went and saw my dentist, and in short I need to have root canal and start some gum treatment as well. This year just got a lot more expensive.

 

My past life of not having any type of plan for 40 plus years has been rapidly catching up with me. So its never a surprise to me when something goes wrong, like other idiots I should have seen it coming and often in the way of the idiot I watched it come while I ate crap food.

 

The good news is I am now a man with a plan for just about everything. I set my goals last year to lose weight and did it, how nice to start the new year and not worry about that. So now I have two struggles left that out weigh the others. (went for the pun there) Getting my financials in order and the mess that is my mouth.  The money side is actually been worked on for some time, but now my family has discussions on what we want to achieve in the year,swimming pool , new giant TV in the Man Cave, vacations..all of it needs a plan of action.

My mouth is a lesson in ignore this and it will come back to destroy all you hold dear. Simple plan brush and floss everyday and have great Donny Osmond DNA. I fell short of this and now I am in a new level of pain,which I can only describe as a never ending Mike Tyson punch in the jaw at irregular timing. I would do just about anything to stop this pain that so easily could have been avoided,but now like some fellow from Dante’s path through Hell I sit on a lower level and repeat this agony of not a care in the world to Just shoot me now!

So time to step up to the plate and make a change, I am taking this year to correct everything that I can to fix my teeth. The difference now is, when I leave the dentist this week and the pain has gone away, I know I have just started on my journey to oral health. I have a very hard year ahead of me but that’s OK. I am choosing to confront my fears of the dentist (Marathon Man) and along with our family money meetings we will be able to figure out the best way to pay for it all and still enjoy the new year.

The lesson I keep in mind is after the pain has gone away..the problem is still there, do not ignore it because its not present at the moment. Trust me no matter what the problem is the pain is much worse! “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves!”

Peace and Love

Resolution’s in the air

Hello all time for some blather from your humble narrator.

If you want to achieve anything in the next year then you better start with a plan. First things first what is it you want to do this year? Make your list out and once you have it the fun begins.

Last year my goal was to loose a lot of weight and I was able to reach my goal because of the plans I had made prior to starting.

I have become very good at projecting in my mind the end game of my goals. If your goal is weight loss like mine,then imagine your life after you have reached your goal. I thought of all the people I run into everyday and what they might say to me, I thought about the clothes I could wear or what I would have to go buy because nothing would fit. I thought of what my doctor would say after telling me it’s very hard to keep weight off. I thought of how my family would be proud of me and most of all how I could be proud of myself.

I also took the time to think of failure and how I would respond to it,everyone on a diet will hit a plateau or stumble. I thought about Thanksgiving meals and parties and BBQ’s…I researched these problems before they came up so I would be ready.

I’m happy to say that I only had one surprise I was not prepared for, and in weight loss its pretty important. Once I switched to healthy food choices and removed sugar and grains from my life about a week or so into it I started to feel great! I was still very fat, but I felt really good. Every project that I tried just got easier with each week. If your too tired to even think about going for a walk imagine your surprise when the day comes its one of the highlights of your week.

It does not matter what your goal is, quit smoking, go to Europe, tour the baseball stadiums for the national league,learn an instrument, write that great novel. Start your plan. “If you fail to plan,plan to fail”. No shit its that simple. Get on the internet and start your research.

1. Google several different sites and forums. Challenge their advice and question everything.

2.Tell people, say it out loud.

3.Tell no one and see if they stop and tell you.

4.Document your journey, you will fail and go down some wrong turns,so what, its about what you want to do. Just get back on the path.

5. Take your victories as they come, maybe you got your passport which makes that trip just a little closer,you managed to save a bit extra one month for that new car. Enjoy the wins!

6. The only way you can not reach your goal is if you give up and that is your choice.

7. Check out the people that reached your goal,how did they do it? Learn from them and put it to  use for you.

8. This is not a race, it’s a marathon a test of endurance in a run up a long steep hill.

I’m very vocal on what I like to achieve,perhaps it’s a small thing to have people poke at me and say “How’s that --------- coming along?” You need to know what will drive you to reach your goal.

One important thing in weight loss I projected early on before I started, reaching my goal weight would not solve all of life’s problems. It would make me fitter and look better but I still have to work and pay taxes ,be a Dad and a husband etc..There is no free ride on a good life,its about work and planning,loving and under standing ourselves and each other.

So here’s my list for the new year and I will post my success and failures as they come.

1. I want to firm up my body now as I have a lot of flabby skin after losing 100lbs plus.

2. I want to write a novel in 2013 and try and publish it. Why not? I know tons of reasons to not even try,but I don’t want to look back at my and not even had tried..

3. Rhythm guitar playing, if you know me at all my passion is guitar and  yet I have dreadful rhythm, I am the guy they are speaking about when they say things like “dances like a white boy”. I have all but given up on singing (your welcome) but I know with some effort I can improve on my timing.

Look out for the energy Vampires this time of year who say things such as “ My resolution is not to have any” or “ What’s the point” Wow what a joy their life must be. Ignore them and move on to your true North! Set those goals and feel good about yourself along the way. You will be happier,and feel a sense of pride at the end of the day when you have made progress on your goals.

I chose last year to think before I speak (as often as I can) , to keep my politics to myself(very hard this year) and I no longer try to change everyone’s way of thinking . I was told by my daughter “please no lectures!!” so I will hold my thoughts for this page unless someone asks me.

 

The rest of my goals are private to myself and my family and I will be 50 in 2013 and this excites me to know end. Bring it on Life, I have planned and now I am ready.

 

Peace and Love all! Oh and Happy New Year!!

Take a second attempt

Hello readers,

I drive my kids nuts when I use my favorite expression “everything is the same”.but it’s the approach  that is the same I am really speaking about.

Its funny to me now my Dad use to always use soccer in any teaching he did with me(sometimes he would sub the Battle of Bannockburn or the Alamo) and I would get pissed off and think Robert the Bruce had fuck all to do with my bad grades! He was correct though and I was just a kid who had bad grades. I have never been in battle against the heavy horses of proud Edward’s army let alone angry Mexicans surrounding and old mission, but I have had to go against the odds…and won(unlike the poor men of the Alamo).

If you have an obstacle to tackle and here you sub in anything you like smoking,weight loss,rival soccer team(thanks Dad),bullies, bosses,homework,meetings…no matter they are all the same. You need to have your plan. I use the same approach to everything with my weary time tested plan of action. It still works for me every time as long as I remember the most important part of my plan is before I quit,surrender,lose,..you get the idea “all the same” I stop check all of my data I can get my hands on and then I take a second attempt or a second shot at the goals (Dad’s voice is always with me).

My latest example( and yet another chance to share my Facebook music page)is the song Scarborough Fair. If you have seen the film The Graduate, then you know the song very well. As  a kid I loved this song and as a guitar player it just frustrated me. I had nothing to go on for the longest time and then I saw Paul Simon on TV playing it and I made a note (pun) of what he was doing. I t was just a clue but I wrote it down. This allowed me to ignore any sheet music that did not have it written from what I saw Mr. Simon playing, my plan of action had begun.

 

I will spare you all the details of capos and key changes the main thing is the fingerpicking  pattern, master that and the song is yours.Well I saw that clip on TV when I was 16 or so and it has bothered me every since. Now we have guitar tabs, instruction videos everywhere and its really up to how bad you want to learn a song. Well I tried with all the proper sheet music,tabs,and video and my finger picking style is very weak.

Add to the mix for a perfect storm I severed the tendons on my index finger of my right (picking)hand. So I chose (always about choice!) to try one more time. This time I caught a mistake I had made years ago, I mean right when I had had enough a breakthrough.

 

This I find happens a lot to me, I still get frustrated on projects, but I can’t remember the last time I gave up. I look at the wall that is stopping me now as a challenge,any problem that comes up and I feel like stopping, I now think I’m just that much closer to getting the job done.

So in short before you throw in the towel on whatever it is you want or need to do, give it another shot. My finger is a mess,but I do have a thumb and three other fingers it was very tough for me and the crippled finger tends to burn every now and then, but I figured it out.

I dedicate this post to my Dad,unknown to me at the time but he gave me my favorite philosophy..you see it just like soccer!

Peace and Love

Shona Skye Creations: Support - Pumpkin Pie Style

 Hello all,

Making the right choice makes all the difference in weight loss. I am always looking for a way to get to eat my favorite foods without breaking my Primal rules. So I spoke to my wife about it and she backed me on pleanty of stuff and does her best to work with me. At the holidays I planned on missing out on her famous pumpkin pie, I did last year and I was not a happy boy. So please check out her post below about how she found a way for me to get my pie and eat it too! Very nice treat once in awhile!!!


Shona Skye Creations: Support - Pumpkin Pie Style: Hi, y'all!! I'm so glad you are here! This is the post I shared on Sugar Bee Crafts last week, but I wanted to share it here, too, in case y...

Muscle up

Hello all. hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! My wife made a great meal and we had lots of family and friends over. Perfect storm for an excellent day. I even enjoyed some of her  Pumpkin pie over the weekend Not part of my primal diet but I shoot for 80% or more towards staying on my plan. When I have something like a slice of pie or over due it with drink, then I go a little harder for the next few days.

 

So last year I started my plan and a lot of people asked how long until I revert back to my old ways. It’s a fair point to bring up, lots of people lose weight for a few months. The trick is the long game. I  remind myself of how bad I felt and how disgusting I looked. I remember the shame of not being able to wear any clothes in my closet. It took me a long time to learn about food and as for as working out I went for very simple this year,walking and bike riding. So now I’m very close to my goal of being under 200lbs, I have been as low as 205 and as high as 215 the past few months. It does not seem to matter what I do. So time to change it up and shock my body.

Lifting weights is a very good way to burn fat and tone your body. I have to admit I have been lazy about this over all this year so now I’m pushing myself. I think its very good to change up your work out plans on a regular basis. You will be less likely to become bored and it keeps your body working different sets of muscles.

When you hear about muscle builders being ripped, they actually mean they are “ripping” and expending their muscles. You need to have some time in between to let your body heal. I would recommend something easy you can follow three days a week. Again don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to over do it. You don’t need to join a gym, get some dumbbells and a sturdy chair and your on your way.

I’m not an expert and would not feel right telling people the correct forms for weight lifting,you can find all you need online. I will be checking in from time to time to see how my weight lifting is coming along for me and I will be happy to share my thoughts and tips I can offer.

 

Thanks for stopping by, peace and love all!

Time to Give Thanks

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday; I love the autumn and the crisp morning air and I feel the change is everywhere at this time of year. People tend to huddle more around the table at my house and great conversations rise up over many topics. Favorite films are watched again and a good book to read with a glass of wine nearby makes for a wonderful night. It is also the holiday that I decided to take responsibility for my health.

I chose Thanksgiving for many reasons but above all people over eat more and move less. Now a year later and I am about 25lbs or so from my goal weight. It took about as much as effort as just saying No every time I wanted  to eat something bad and Yes every time I had the chance to move.   It really is just that simple,make up your mind that enough is enough.

Just some of  small things that happened throughout the year I really enjoyed.

Helping find a home for a couple of Pit bulls was a real blast I was glad to help out with.

Going to the Rene fair  where my daughter worked and hanging out drinking rum with Celtic music playing.

I went to my first Gay Pride day in the park and met a lot of very cool people there.

My wife got a group of family and friends together and did a home makeover for my Mothers kitchen.

Got in a lot of bike riding and hiking in through out the year.

Wearing my Kilt at the Highland games was great day of Scottish Pride.

Spending a couple days swimming with “Lucy & Ethel” during the heat blast we all went through.

Friends showing up with a bottle of wine and hanging out on our deck.

Seeing some great local bands and talking shop.

 

These are small things over all but they were all good times I had because of the people I got to spend time with. I count my blessings and treasure my children and wife and family and friends alike.

As it gets colder and those comfort foods surround you, keep in mind the summer is not that far off and all the things you missed out on because you were not in good enough shape will soon be here again. Make some smart choices this week,eat a little less and move a little more. Please don’t wait for the New Year to make a move, when giving thanks this year don’t forget to reward yourself and take better care of your health !

Peace and Love All!