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| Too much Caffeine! |
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tournament Season
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Putting Money Where Ones Mouth Is...
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Well, my students really are quite a bit more observant than I thought. I received the following direct message on Facebook from a student of mine over the weekend. This student is a great singer and a really good kid. He's got a rare voice type, and has overcome so much already. I asked his permission before posting this.
So I've been reading your blog. I have seen your transformation from what u were and what u are now. I see that your happy and fit. There has been a big difference in you since you have lost weight, a good difference. I can honestly say that your class is the only class that I smile without trying, can be myself, and feel confident in all I do. But outside that room it is all a different story. A recent event happened that let reality hit me square in the face. Like I said I went to the doctor. Sat down, flipped through a magazine and heard my name. Got up walked down the hall, and was told to do the one thing I fear more then anything, step on the scale. I stood sideways, so I wouldn't have to see it, but the nurse said it out loud. "two-thirty one point six." like a sharp knife to my ears, I held back the tears. Thankfully I was facing away from the nurse as she ushered me back to a room. The only problem I have, I suffer in silence. My weight. fatty, upa-lupa, chubby- buddy, fatso-lot, mooby man, flab abs. Kids are real creative nowadays huh. The only thing that has ever held me back is my weight and I know this. I don't go out with friends cause most the time involves physical activity, and I sweat like a dog anyway, and get out of breathe just walking. Hate shopping cause I know that we don't look for the normal sizes but things with a big X on them, just knowing that they need extra fabric for me, I hate it. The sweater what a neat invention, something big, comfortable, and looks the same on everyone my safety zone. I envy you Aaron, seeing your success, wanting to be like you. Really don't know what I'm trying to say I just needed to tell someone. Someone who might be able to help. Just maybe.
Idk what I am doing sending this, but guess all insecurities go out the window when you have noone to talk to and nowhere to go.
Wow! I was surprised, and then incredibly sad for a really great kid. I hate that stories like this, and they are probably way more common than they should be. While I'm flattered that students have noticed my own weight loss, I'm humbled that even one student would seek me out for advice. Here was my initial response to his message.
Wow thank you. I'm so very glad you stayed in choir. I'm truly humbled that you feel like you can be yourself in my classroom. That means more too me than you know. As far as everything else you said, I'll comment on that later when I'm not so tired. But I will say this, weight loss is work, and you really have to dedicate yourself to it to make it happen, and really, that's the hardest part. Have a good weekend.
I haven't followed up on that response yet simply because I'm not sure what to tell him. The ironic thing is that this is exactly what I hoped would eventually happen, now I'm at a loss as to what to do to really help him. I need to put my money where my mouth is, but how do I help him without blurring the teacher/student line? Perhaps simply sharing with him what I did is the best idea. I don't know, I've never been in this situation before. And frankly, it's kinda scary.
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By Danielle Moler |
Well, my students really are quite a bit more observant than I thought. I received the following direct message on Facebook from a student of mine over the weekend. This student is a great singer and a really good kid. He's got a rare voice type, and has overcome so much already. I asked his permission before posting this.
So I've been reading your blog. I have seen your transformation from what u were and what u are now. I see that your happy and fit. There has been a big difference in you since you have lost weight, a good difference. I can honestly say that your class is the only class that I smile without trying, can be myself, and feel confident in all I do. But outside that room it is all a different story. A recent event happened that let reality hit me square in the face. Like I said I went to the doctor. Sat down, flipped through a magazine and heard my name. Got up walked down the hall, and was told to do the one thing I fear more then anything, step on the scale. I stood sideways, so I wouldn't have to see it, but the nurse said it out loud. "two-thirty one point six." like a sharp knife to my ears, I held back the tears. Thankfully I was facing away from the nurse as she ushered me back to a room. The only problem I have, I suffer in silence. My weight. fatty, upa-lupa, chubby- buddy, fatso-lot, mooby man, flab abs. Kids are real creative nowadays huh. The only thing that has ever held me back is my weight and I know this. I don't go out with friends cause most the time involves physical activity, and I sweat like a dog anyway, and get out of breathe just walking. Hate shopping cause I know that we don't look for the normal sizes but things with a big X on them, just knowing that they need extra fabric for me, I hate it. The sweater what a neat invention, something big, comfortable, and looks the same on everyone my safety zone. I envy you Aaron, seeing your success, wanting to be like you. Really don't know what I'm trying to say I just needed to tell someone. Someone who might be able to help. Just maybe.
Idk what I am doing sending this, but guess all insecurities go out the window when you have noone to talk to and nowhere to go.
Wow! I was surprised, and then incredibly sad for a really great kid. I hate that stories like this, and they are probably way more common than they should be. While I'm flattered that students have noticed my own weight loss, I'm humbled that even one student would seek me out for advice. Here was my initial response to his message.
Wow thank you. I'm so very glad you stayed in choir. I'm truly humbled that you feel like you can be yourself in my classroom. That means more too me than you know. As far as everything else you said, I'll comment on that later when I'm not so tired. But I will say this, weight loss is work, and you really have to dedicate yourself to it to make it happen, and really, that's the hardest part. Have a good weekend.
I haven't followed up on that response yet simply because I'm not sure what to tell him. The ironic thing is that this is exactly what I hoped would eventually happen, now I'm at a loss as to what to do to really help him. I need to put my money where my mouth is, but how do I help him without blurring the teacher/student line? Perhaps simply sharing with him what I did is the best idea. I don't know, I've never been in this situation before. And frankly, it's kinda scary.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Push ups, Oh yeah!
This is going to be short, but yesterday I was finally able to do all the pushups my fitness routine requires without having to do any on my knees. For me this has been a big accomplishment.
Here is what is was able to do
15 decline pushups, legs up on my couch
15 fly pushups
An exercise called Wide/Tri/Die
7 fly pushups, 7 tri-pushups arms close to the body, and then as many normal pushups as you can. I was able to do 10.
So all told 54 pushups, none on my knees. Oh yeah! Life is good.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Translating Goals into Action
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Through several epic fails and subsequent hard won successes, I’m finding that wanting to lose weight isn’t enough. The whole feel-better-look-better-live-better thing is great, but translating those goals into success took more than motivation.
I lost weight because I wanted to be active and not hurt, and to get healthy for my son. I spent the better part of this evening playing with my precious Elliot. (IT’SSSS MINE! MY PRECIOUSSSSSS!) Both Janet and I have parents and other relatives who’ve struggled with their weight, and I’ve seen myself heading that direction over the last few years. I want my son to find out that your own lifestyle influences others. It cleared up my priorities really quickly, but doing it for your kids isn’t enough by itself, otherwise we wouldn’t have overweight moms and dads.
Through several epic fails and subsequent hard won successes, I’m finding that wanting to lose weight isn’t enough. The whole feel-better-look-better-live-better thing is great, but translating those goals into success took more than motivation.
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| Photo by robertsinnett |
Having an overall all goal means nothing if you can’t meet daily goals. I just started another round of P90, which requires workouts 6 days a week. I love it. It’s fun, but it takes serious dedication and usually requires working out at night. I don’t really like working out late at night, since I have a hard time getting to sleep afterwards, but it’s sometimes the only time I have. Between playing in a rock band, a Celtic band, doing my school’s pep band, and chaperoning Tri-County Honor Band rehearsals and the tour, I often don’t make it home until 10 or 11 pm. I’m busy, everyone is. So, I’m not going to stress out over a couple missed workouts so long as a couple doesn't turn into a lot, but it’s very easy to let one or two missed workouts turn into a week, then into a month, etc.
I’ve basically decided this time around to exercise when I can, and I’m not going to stress out about having to miss a few workouts when I get home late. On those nights it’s more important to me to get sleep than try to work out late at night. This might slow down my overall progress a bit, but if I’m still making progress and not grinding to a halt, I’m happy. Health is a lifetime goal, not a short term one. I’m much further along health wise than I was a year ago.
I want to be healthy, not only for me but also for my son. I had to figure out a consistent workout schedule that jives with being a band director and weekly evening commitments. I have all the motivation I need. I simply have to keep putting into action. What are your motivations? What do you do to keep yourself going and accountable?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
I Already Did This? Holy Crap!
So I'm just starting my second round of Power 90. OMG! I can't believe that at the end of the first round I thought this was easy! Just finished the circuit and it's tougher than I remember it being. I haven't really done a P90 routine since mid November and I'm feeling it. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow. It's OK though, it will get easier. I've done this once I can do it again. Especially if I'm wanting to do P90X this summer! Yikes! Lots of work to do. Though it feels good to being doing it again. Tomorrow is aerobics. Sweating time!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Starting the Year With A Round Of Power 90
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I have always made a point not to make New Year's resolutions. Mostly because I've never been able to keep them. In fact the only resolution I was able to keep was a resolution not to make a New Year's resolution. I was in college, thought I was being clever. Anyway, I thought this year it might be good to start the year off with another round of Power 90. I have already done one round last summer and lost a good chunk of weight doing it. This time round I hope to lose the last 10 pounds or and gain some muscle mass and tone. I am planning on upgrading to P90X this next summer but I can't afford to buy it right now, though I think another round of Power 90 will work just fine. Last time a flamed out a bit the last month so hopefully this time I will not miss any workouts. If anyone is interested in joining me in a round of Power 90 let me know. It is a lot easier doing any workout if you have someone to do it with and keep each other accountable! I would love to have some buddies to go through the program with. Just leave me a comment if you're interested. I'm starting this round of Power 90 tomorrow. Hope everyone is off to a great start in 2011. Happy year!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Eating Healthy Can Like Totally Kill You, and Stuff!
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Aaron:
No, really! It can!
Yesterday, we were getting ready to cook some wild rice. My wife had taken out some turkey to thaw. We were going to mix them together in a wrap. So, my wife put the rice on to boil and we went downstairs to work on some home improvement projects in our bedroom. The wild rice mix we like usually takes about an hour to cook, so we weren't really in any big hurry.
After being in our basement for about twenty minutes we smelled something burning. Janet went up stairs to check, thinking the heat was on too high and it had boiled over. Suddenly, she yells for me to come upstairs. I stepped upstairs and entered a cloud of smoke. It was strong enough to make it very difficult to breath and caused my eyes to burn. I entered the kitchen to see the wild rice burning and sending out a ton of smoke.
Janet:
Woah! Wait a minute! The Editor here. I need to interject that I'm not a complete ignoramus in the kitchen. So what if boiling rice continues to defeat me? This time, it wasn't my fault.
A couple of weeks ago, our little darling dropped my favorite thermal mug on the floor and broke the inner sleeve out of it. I glued it back together and waited an hour or so before I put it in the dishwasher. Apparently a pocket of glue hadn't dried, which surprised me, as it usually dries before I have a chance to get my finger off of the mug. The dishwasher spread the glue on several items that were washing with the mug.
Some of it had gotten on our $300 Carico pot. I soaked everything in vinegar, which seemed to do the trick. I thought Aaron had used the pot since my little boo-boo, but he apparently hadn't. So, in an accident worthy of a Pinky and the Brain episode, the glue reacted to the heat, somehow all of the water boiled out immediately, and smoked enough for a Cheech and Chong movie.
Aaron:
Luckily, we didn't burn our house down, but now we had a whole house full of toxic smoke. We opened up every window in the house and grabbed a couple of fans to push the smoke out. The smell, however, is still here. I don't think anything is permanently smoked damaged, but the smell is going to be around for a few days. We forced our young son to stay downstairs where the smoke wasn't as thick, which really didn't make him that happy, as his Thomas choo-choos were upstairs. And since the kitchen smelled bad and was smokey, we ordered pizza and had a makeshift picnic on the floor of our bedroom downstairs. It turned out to be kinda fun! And the smoke made it smell like we were camping. Good times.
The most disturbing part about this little accident is that our smoke detectors didn't go off, both of which are brand-new and are supposed to have a ten-year battery. I guess will be getting new detectors very soon.
So, while an exciting way to bring the year to a close, I guess the lesson to all of this is to always be careful and attentive while cooking. Nothing really bad actually happened, but if we had waited a few minutes longer who knows what could have happened. And, in retrospect, we probably should have left the house while it was airing out because I'm sure the smoke was toxic. So eating healthy can kill you, if you're not careful.
You know what sucks? I really wanted turkey wraps. Even though I've noted in the past I love pizza.
Janet:
I know, dear. There, there.
Aaron:
No, really! It can!
Yesterday, we were getting ready to cook some wild rice. My wife had taken out some turkey to thaw. We were going to mix them together in a wrap. So, my wife put the rice on to boil and we went downstairs to work on some home improvement projects in our bedroom. The wild rice mix we like usually takes about an hour to cook, so we weren't really in any big hurry.
After being in our basement for about twenty minutes we smelled something burning. Janet went up stairs to check, thinking the heat was on too high and it had boiled over. Suddenly, she yells for me to come upstairs. I stepped upstairs and entered a cloud of smoke. It was strong enough to make it very difficult to breath and caused my eyes to burn. I entered the kitchen to see the wild rice burning and sending out a ton of smoke.
Janet:
Woah! Wait a minute! The Editor here. I need to interject that I'm not a complete ignoramus in the kitchen. So what if boiling rice continues to defeat me? This time, it wasn't my fault.
A couple of weeks ago, our little darling dropped my favorite thermal mug on the floor and broke the inner sleeve out of it. I glued it back together and waited an hour or so before I put it in the dishwasher. Apparently a pocket of glue hadn't dried, which surprised me, as it usually dries before I have a chance to get my finger off of the mug. The dishwasher spread the glue on several items that were washing with the mug.
Some of it had gotten on our $300 Carico pot. I soaked everything in vinegar, which seemed to do the trick. I thought Aaron had used the pot since my little boo-boo, but he apparently hadn't. So, in an accident worthy of a Pinky and the Brain episode, the glue reacted to the heat, somehow all of the water boiled out immediately, and smoked enough for a Cheech and Chong movie.
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| Actual Photo of Epic Rice Fail |
Luckily, we didn't burn our house down, but now we had a whole house full of toxic smoke. We opened up every window in the house and grabbed a couple of fans to push the smoke out. The smell, however, is still here. I don't think anything is permanently smoked damaged, but the smell is going to be around for a few days. We forced our young son to stay downstairs where the smoke wasn't as thick, which really didn't make him that happy, as his Thomas choo-choos were upstairs. And since the kitchen smelled bad and was smokey, we ordered pizza and had a makeshift picnic on the floor of our bedroom downstairs. It turned out to be kinda fun! And the smoke made it smell like we were camping. Good times.
The most disturbing part about this little accident is that our smoke detectors didn't go off, both of which are brand-new and are supposed to have a ten-year battery. I guess will be getting new detectors very soon.
So, while an exciting way to bring the year to a close, I guess the lesson to all of this is to always be careful and attentive while cooking. Nothing really bad actually happened, but if we had waited a few minutes longer who knows what could have happened. And, in retrospect, we probably should have left the house while it was airing out because I'm sure the smoke was toxic. So eating healthy can kill you, if you're not careful.
You know what sucks? I really wanted turkey wraps. Even though I've noted in the past I love pizza.
Janet:
I know, dear. There, there.
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