w00t

Yeah for me! To all of those who care, or to those who don't but still like creeping - 7lbs this week!Down to 302! Feel great!

Last post I had mentioned my next post being about e-sports. I'll get around to that tonight. To be honest, I have been so bust lately with the success of my wife's second Etsy site and trying to keep myself moving that I haven't really had time to put a lot of time at the keyboard.

Off to work out some more. Leah is at work, Anne is with my mom, Aiden is asleep, Adam is happy as clam watching me look like an idiot and Lyric is out there having fun being a kid.

TTFN&TTYL

Drew

P.S. On a more somber note - A former friend passed away a few days ago. My heart goes out to the Ray family. Jonathan was a good friend when I knew him, and I hope his passing was quick and painless.

Day[6]

cwutididthar?

If you didn't, you don't follow e-sports I guess (specifically SC2) and that's ok.

On to the topic though. It's day six of my attempt at being a healthier me. So what have I done? Let's add it up so far - a shit ton. Yeah, that is a quantitative variable right there. I've done more jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, etc then I think I ever did in all 7 years of high school. I've eaten far less then I know I was eating prior to this week. I've given up chocolate (granted it's only been a day, it's just another in the long list vices I am giving up).

I'm not sure I have more energy right now. I've been eating more protein, but I think my body is still like " f u dude, your sleeping." I find myself crashing at various times during the day. I think part of it is the pain meds and what not I am on, and I think the other part is just I am burning through too quickly. I may take tomorrow off. Sunday, Monday, (part) Thursday and Friday all saw me jumping and bending like a foo. Saturday seems like a good day to take off... that and my stomach actually hurts from crunching it so hard.

Ok, done rambling for now. I am not going to give my offcial weight until Sunday evening. I don't stare at the scale, but last time I did this I made it an obsession to find out what I weighed and I think that's what killed it for me. Anyway, I am off for now. Look for another post later on about what e-sports mean to me and why I think you should not mock it.

Zora's saphire necklace by dweebishdelights on Etsy

Zora's saphire necklace by dweebishdelights on Etsy

One of the wifey's best creations for the her Zelda line! Go and check our her site and what not, and pass along the link!

Museum day!

Wow was that fun!!!!ONEONE!!11!!!1!!!!ELVENTYONE!

Seriously though, that was an awesome museum trip. We started off the day a little late and thought we wouldn't have enough time to explore, but I tell ya... at the end of three hours our whole party was tuckered out.

We went down to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth, VA. Previously we had always gone to the museum in Richmond because it was closer and less traffic, but we had read that this one had just been through some remodeling. So instead of rehashing old content (cough: Blizzard Entertainment) we opted for something new and exciting.

The drive down there was great. The kids were great. Everything went smooth. Rolled into the parking garage and was greeted with a great surprise - FREE PARKING ON SUNDAY! w00t w00t... money saved! Strolled into the actual museum and man were we blown away. Immediately I saw what Aiden was going to scream for... a massive train exhibit. Part of which was hands on. After choking down the $75 admission we headed straight for it. All the kids eyes lit up with excitement. Never before had they seen such a display of trains... and to be honest, I can't remember when I had seen that many before either. Sadly, none were the real thing, but everyone still enjoyed it.

I won't lie. It made me miss the days when me, my dad, and my grandfather built a bug ole mountain and display board for out scale trains. Wish I had kept those trains... the kids would love them just as much as I did.

From there we explored every inch of the place. We saw how grocery stores and banks worked. We saw a runny nose (with simulated dripping snot) and how a burp forms. Explored the awesome world of POWER; Anne made a bottle fly up through the air with 70psi of air pressure behind it. Every time she launched it, it scared the crap out of her.

After a bunch more rooms we made it to the coveted Bubble Room... This my friends was all the rage. They had two areas set up where you could make giant bubbles around yourself. No one we saw (nor we) could make one go fully around. Then you could step over to two other stations where they had vats of bubble solution and you could use various items (including an elbow joint of PVC piping and plastic hangar) to blow bubbles with. Even Adam got a kick out this room. One of the far walls was see through, and on the inside it had clear tubes with bubbles running through them. He just stared with the biggest eyes ever as they floated into oblivion.

All these rooms for the "big" kids, poor Adam though didn't have much to do but stare... That was until we found a corner just for him. A special section for the 3 and under crowd. A gated community, if you will, dedicated to those who are still wobbly. We put him down a in padded circular ?couch? area that had some big giant eggs in it. Talk about one of the happiest babies on earth. He laugh and giggled the whole time, and threw his first real fit on the way out. He was not happy about leaving.

We explored some more through out, made our way to the gift shop and exited promptly thereafter. No purchase was made. The shop was probably my biggest gripe (that and the planetarium not available until September). It had no real merchandise that said "hey I was at this museum." It was filled with over priced stuff I could find at any nick-knack shop or Toys "R" us. But whateves! .. Yeah... I said that. The kids had a blast, the adults had a blast watching the kids (and playing some too!); all-in-all a great experience.

My apologies for the wordiness and horrible back and forth on this one. I am a tired little puppy and ready to hit the hay.

Toodles

Holy crap....

I did it! w00t... first part of the routine done. Never thought I could do it! I feel like a wet noodle, but I completed it.

Apple and cereal for breakfast? Say it isn't so! If you would have talked to me two years ago it would have been "Dr. Pepper and an egg McMuffin"...

TTFN! Off to take a shower and get ready for a day at the museum!

The countdown is on!

Ok everyone. I got on a scale last night and screeched! (In my head of course; guys don't screech) I weigh more now then when at any other time in my life. I laid in bed last night and thought about how my weight is affecting my life and came up with a number of things. No, I am not going to enumerate them here; they are mighty embarrassing. So I made a choice last night to drop a few pounds (and by a few, I mean like... 50 [at least]).

I've done this once before with a good friend of mine, Todd Davenport. We agreed to a "Biggest Loser" type to contest. I'm not sure who won, but man we stuck with it for weeks. I lost a good 40 pounds during those four months, but unfortunately the following month I decided to quit smoking, and then I stopped working, and it all came back with a vengeance and brought some friends :( I have ballooned to the 300+ mark and that is so uncool. Never been this heavy, never thought I could get this heavy.

So here's the challenge, or goal if you will - 50 lbs before Thanksgiving. That's about 18 weeks away and that works out to about 3lbs per week; which is so doable. In fact, the first few weeks of this I anticipate losing a little more then that - closer to the 5lb mark. But this 18 weeks isn't just about losing the 50lbs, it's also about learning how to keep it off, and maintain a healthier life style.

My plan -

* Maintain a 3lb loss per week (anything over is awesome)

* Create a balanced diet that will suit myself, not everyone else

* Create and put into action a simple exercise routine that can fit into my daily life when I am working and when I am home.
* Keep a journal of progress. Although I didn't use one last time, I hear they can really benefit those people who are more visual learners. (I want to see how many calories those cookies really are)

That's it. That's all. I think those four things right there will put me on the right path to weight loss/ energy gain. I am not looking to get a chiseled six pack, or put on huge muscles. I am looking for inner peace :)

Final thoughts: No, I am not going to turn this blog into a weight loss blog. I am not going to brag about anything. I am not going into great depth after this post. I'll post an update every once and awhile, and if anyone has questions I'll respond. However, I am going to continue this blog as a random thought blog. I think that's all for now.

What motivates you?

So I've been thinking... (I know right!)

Why do I have no motivation? I've got months and months off during the year and I can't seem to get a damn thing done. I started my summer break the first week in June, and it will end the last week-ish or so in August. What do I have to show for it so far? Nothing as of yet. I got gold league in a video game I've been playing, and reached level 15 in another.

Here were some of my goals for this break:

!.) Design and publish two websites, and redo a third.

2.) Paint my High Elf army

3.) Start a painting commission service through my local game store.

4.) Build two separate shelving units to maximize every bit of space my family occupies.

That's about it. Four things... Four seemingly small things. I've started on the design process of one website, no figures have been painted (one partially painted though! w00t), and the wood for the shelving units are still sitting at Home Depot (or Lowe's...).

My problem is not time, nor materials, nor money. My problem is a lack of motivation. The websites I will create will generate no income for me. The figures I paint, unless I am really lucky on eBay will net me nothing. The shelves are the only thing that will get me anything. Now granted, the love and appreciation of my wife are extremely welcome during this difficult chapter in our lives, but building those shelves is about a 1 or 2 on the fun-o-meter.

So I ask this; what motivates you? What makes you tackle a project head on? What advice would you give me in my feeble attempts to get this list done? Should I lower my goals a little and put myself in a place where I know I will succeed?

Now I am expecting some responses like "you are the only who knows how to motivate you!" Well, that's poppycock. Something that motivates you could also motivate me, it just works like that. So shoot me anything. I want to get a few things done before I head back to work. I want to feel as though I accomplished enough to justify me not aggressively seeking temporary employment. I say aggressive because I *did* look for work, just not to any great length.

That's all for now. I will anxiously wait by my Gmail waiting for responses. Lol... Llike I have followers. :-p

NASA, Y U NO LIKE SPACE NO MOAR?

I never wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. In fact, I don't remember what I wanted to be. Maybe my mom will drop by and give us some insight. However, just because I didn't want to be one, doesn't mean I don't think flying into space is freaking awesome!

When did we stop wanting to go into space? When did we, as a country, decide that space exploration was not something we want to continue? Are there flaws in the system? Yes. Are there things we need to improve on? Yes. Are there debacles that happen everyone once in awhile that should never happen? Yes. But nothing is perfect!

We should have fought this. We should still fight this. Some how, some way, we need to continue on. I could care less if it is privatized or if NASA starts shuttle flights again; we cannot stop though. The ISS needs to be expanded. We need to continue researching how to make larger space vehicles (read: Star Trek) viable. As cliche as it sounds - space is the final frontier. It needs to be tamed.

Ads on my Blog!!!

Ok, so I put some advertising widgets on my blog. Have no fear, I am not begging for money. I just want to see what it's like to make four cents, while giving you my two cents. :) I want to make Google send me a check every three months for $1.27. So, click through if you see something interesting, otherwise don't feel pressured into doing anything with them.

Drew

Posting from a phone...

Odd experience. Will try again.

Do not judge the content of this post as it is mostly just a testing thing.  :P

Last one... really

Yeah. Posting three times in one night is a bit over doing it, but just wanted to say this last thing.

In addition to my awesome (or not so) thoughts you may read, I may also post pictures of figures I've painted or my kids in their most awesome (or not so) moments or other random pictures. If you want to comment on them, please do, but only if it is relevant. Don't make an ass of yourself on my blog because you can't control your fingers.

Hey Netflix, YOU SUCK!

Yeah, I said it. The streaming is great, at times. The DVD's are awesome, when I got them. Overall I love the service. That was until this was posted - http://blog.netflix.com/ ... If you don't feel like clicking through, it basically says anyone who enjoyed the one DVD at-a-time + streaming service is about to get screwed.

Currently under the streaming plan you pay $7.99 a month for unlimited streaming.

Currently under the one DVD at a time you pay (I'm pretty sure, I'll recheck tomorrow morning) $9.99 a month. This not only gets you the physical DVD, but it also got you unlimited streaming.

Under the new plan the streamers stay the same, but the DVD people get boned. What do you mean, you ask? They are separating the two systems. You'll now have to pay $7.99 for streaming in addition to whatever DVD bundle you may want.

You want 1 DVD + streaming? $15.98

2 DVD's? A cool $20 a month

3 DVD's? $23.98

And last but not least, if you want 4 DVD's out at a time, plus unlimited streaming you'll have to shell out $30 a month.

This is atrocious. The biggest pisser is this - according to the way the article reads - they are saving people money!

Bah, Netflix... just bah...

Random Thoughts Are Random

Thanks for popping in. I needed somewhere to vent my thoughts. My brain starts to hurt as things get bottled up in here. I talk to all sorts of people each day about various things, but now I am going to put them all in one place. Now everyone (or no one ;) ) can read them all at once. You never know, you may learn something.

It is your choice to read. If you don't like what I have to say, tell me... but do it with respect. My thoughts maybe be shallow, deep, long, short, and other various descriptors.

That's all for now - see ya in a bit for my first thought.