That time of year

A few times a year I put on my "Little Mary Sunshine" act & reaffirm out loud in front of all y'all about how fortunate I am.

I am, in all areas of my life, a lucky bastard.

I may occasionally bitch about things, but my complaints illustrate my privilege - my job may be overly demanding - but I'm working! My house may take a ton of time & effort - but I have a home! I hate going to the gym & eating right (ok, not 'right', but better than I used to!), but not too long ago it wasn't certain I'd still be around. These days, I certainly have better health, and a better life than I deserve!

Complaints are universal, and with creative language, I can enjoy the snarky fun. But it's easy - mentally lazy ... too easy to point out the pebble in shoe that distracts you from the great view.

I'm certainly never going to become insufferably positive, like some door-to-door evangelist, but I sincerly believe negativity & complaining can become a mental habit.

So ... it'll become one of my "Three for '23" ... three self-improvement 'resolutions' I'll be embracing next year.

What else should I think about? Heck, what are all y'all thinking about?

Each & every damn one of you inspires me, or has skills, or attitudes, or experiences I envy.

I figure, no matter what ANY of us want to accomplish, somebody here knows how or has some advice!

So .... FB friends & family ... love you all! Let's help each other become the better versions of ourselves we all know we can achieve. Me? I'll cut back a bit on the coffee, cussing, and complaining. I'm going to re-focus on my health, fitness, and being a better version of myself.

So, if you see me at the liquor store before Noon, looking slovenly with stains on my shirt, shouting at co-workers on speakerphone ... just know that I'm a 'work in progress' ;-)

Saying bad words

Ok, now I'm mad!

Everything with my "reasonable 80/20" plan is working pretty damn well - except my WEIGHT!

I'm up!

No, no, nope, nada, NOT acceptable.

I've got 2.5 weeks before our mini-vacation Columbus Day weekend in Marco Island ... and I need to "kick the tires & light the fires" between now & then.

Not 100% sure what I'll do, but a gross over-reaction with hilarious results is likely, so stay tuned!

Keto Cereal is now a thing?

As I sit on the deck with my coffee, I wanted to take a moment & update y'all

The Keto cereal with Fairlife milk has become my new obsession! 230cal, 20g Protien, and just 24g Carbs!!!

We've been encouraging the kiddos to each cook one dinner a week. "Life Skills", right? [Soon we'll add Laundry & Paying Bills 🙂 ] Sunday night we try to have "family dinner", and everyone brings two ideas - and we collectively decide. Groceries delivered via Instacart / Shipt / Thrive Market. Our two nights w/out kiddos we eat out (Mom needs a break somwhere w/ wine), and the 7th night is "leftover buffet". We aren't going for "healthy", figuring that no fast food / processed food is a HUGE step forward.

Activity ... could be better, but one good thing has been a mind-shift around getting our steps. Rather than stressing on finding an hour block to walk 3 or 4 miles - we just do a couple of 15 minute "around the block" walks. No stress, no huge time commitment, better results.

My weight? Ugh. I put on pants recently for the first time (weeks? Months?) and they were snug. Belt was snug. I know I'm 'up', but I just can't bear to see the number. I'm hoping this weekend I can do an extended Fast, go for a long sweaty pedal ride, maybe take a big poop & get a decent readout on the scale.

The decision I'm dragging my heels on ... getting back to the gym. I liked Crossfit, but it was expensive, class times very tough with this job, and it wasn't very close." Maybe a regular gym with a Bootcamp class? Maybe an online trainer? Anyone try the "Future" app? Also downloaded TRX app and a trail-finder, but as yet have not even opened any of them.

Onwards!

September always feels like a good opportunity for setting "back to school" goals. January is a crisp, clean re-start, but September feels like a perfect time to re-set. Summer is still in the air, and the crush of The Holidays feels deceptively far away...

So, I've been thinking about instituting the 80/20 rule in my life. It feels rationally realistic without going too deeply into crazy Crossfit-type workouts or super-strict Paleo. The 80% solution, 'reasonably applied' should be very livable.

Doing some back-of-the-napkin math ... three meals a day, or 21 per week, 80% is 16.8-ish meals per week - all the weekdays & almost two weekend meals? If I figure a snack a day ... 28/80=22.4 or 5.4 days worth of eating ...

Don't let 'perfect' be the enemy of 'good', right? Ok! Let's call it 'strict weekdays, with reasonable weekends'?

Here is my plan:

Weekdays I will 'move' & 'eat well' without angst over a percieved lack of perfection. I am currently exhausted, unwell, and angry - so I will need to 'fake it till I make it' and these things genuinely turn around on their own. I'm sick & tired of being ... sick & tired!!!

Movement is anything - steps, bike, weights, swim - just MOVE. No minimum requirement.

Eating is just 'no crap' - no processed, boxed food, no refined flour / sugar / artificial sweeteners / artificial dairy / etc. Each weekday I'll do my Fasting until I hit my blood glucose trigger, re-feeding with a low-glycemic 'whole food', protien-forward mindset.

Weekends are not a free for all - movement & good feeding are preferred, but "life" can happen without angst.

My weight has been steady (blue chart) within 10lbs for exactly a year. Havent LOST - dammit - but steady w/in 10lbs is it's own gift. My blood glucose has been pretty damn good as well. Hoping some focus gets these both even better with some good traction as we go into the Halloween to Valentines zone-of-sugar.

Updates to follow ...

80% September

80% September

An asshole in the morning

My Dad would often use a parable to make a point.  Lately I've been thinking of a particular one, and it's made me realize that The Old Man is still taking me to school, even though he's been gone more than 20 years.

The first time I heard this one, I'm pretty sure I was a moody teenager, and Dad was trying to get me to pay attention without simply barking orders.  He said that sometimes when you get up in the morning and head to work, sometimes you bump into an asshole.  You do the best you can, and at the end of the day hopefully you didn't let that one moment affect your whole day.  But sometimes you bump into an Asshole in the morning, and then you continue bumping into asshole after asshole all damn day.  At the end of THAT day, you have to be honest with yourself – were YOU the asshole that day

My fear is that I've been the asshole lately.  While I've had some legit shit going on – I need to be better about not letting external crap affect me.  If I let external crap create a habit of negativity and complaining  – that's a bigger issue.  After all, while we can't control events around us, we CAN control our reactions. 

Strange driving habits of Flatlanders

 Short Stopper – The person who stops one or more car lengths before a stop light, or behind the car in front of them.  Bonus points when you're endlessly stuck behind them because their car isn't on the sensor to trip the light.

Red Light Creeper – A version of the short stopper who constantly inches forward all during the red light

CIA Operative – Doesn't "actually" break any laws, but drives erratically enough to ensure no one could possibly follow or predict where they are going

Oblivious Soccer Mom – Typically a minivan (can also be a luxury SUV), tends to be all over the road as the Mom inside pays more attention to her offspring than those on the road around her.  Bonus points for the "Baby On Board" sticker 

Angry Tradesman – The "worker guy" trucks and vans who bully their way through traffic, clearly offended that the world is in their way

Directionally Impaired – The person who consistently realizes at the last minute that they need to cross three lanes of traffic to turn 

Self Centric Obliviot – The person who will block traffic as they attempt to merge, make a turn, or even a u-turn – because they are more important than everyone else around them.  The rest of us would rather go around the block, or take the next turn – but not this guy.

Turn Signal Zealot – The person who believes their rare use of a turn signal is SO special it grants them immediate authority to grant them right-of-way, rather than the commonly accepted "request" to turn or merge

Neighborhood Speeder – Clearly, they must be Doctors rushing to emergency surgery - cutting through small residential streets with abandon

End Of Lane Fist Shaker – The person who simply cannot believe their lanes ends (regardless of the big yellow "Lane Ends" sign), nor understand why the rest of the world isn't required to yield to their angry gestures.  I saw the sign, I made my decision early, and it's not my job to merge with YOU!

Watchful Motorcycle – the guy lane-splitting and weaving between cars at high speed who has a "Watch For Motorcycles" sticker.  Usually with no helmet or any protective gear whatsoever.  Bonus points to the guy with shorts & flip-flops.

Safety Sam / Cautious Carol – The overly slow driver, the pebble in the stream that everyone has to flow around – ironically causing much more chaos and confusion

Left Lane Camper – creates a rolling roadblock due to complete & total ignorance of "Drive Right, Pass Left", inevitable outrage & anger when called out 

Four Way Stop Cop – The person who waits at the 4 way stop to ensure you also stop – usually who will act outraged (or even yell!) when proceeding without interference because they inevitably believe the rule is "one at a time"

Speakerphone Reality – those who hold the phone in front of their face on speaker (a-la-reality shows), erroneously believing this meets the "hands-free" requirement because they aren't actually holding the phone up to their ear

Overly Solicitous Midwesterner – People who wait & wave you on – regardless of rules or whatever anyone else is doing, inevitably creating confusion & chaos