Beware, the Ides of March...

Motivation:

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold."~Maurice Seitter

Another Motivation: From one of my cheerleaders, Memphis: "The progress I read about on this blog - the goal setting especially, is part of the inspiration for getting around to finishing the GUH covers CD."

Yes, that is a great Motivation. Thanks Memphis! I find that I am using the goal-setting part of this Challenge to benefit me in work (creating timelines for documents and deliverables) and also in paying of debts, and keeping up with professional reading. (I wish I would do this for my accordion practice, but I have not gotten that disciplined yet.) The concepts are similar, just breaking things down to bite-size portions and getting them done. Part of the reason for a "Diary" section of the blog is for tracking the bite-size portions. They really are boring for most readers, and somewhat considered 'fly-over land' portion of this blog, but I am glad that it is there, not for accountability, but for reminder that the little steps make the difference. Did I already post the story of the stone carver? If so, it wouldn't hurt to post it again:

The stonecarver finds a block of marble or other hard stone (maybe limestone, in Minnesota) and starts pounding on it to split it into a size that she can use. The first hit and nothing moves, the same with the second, third, fourth and subsequent hits. She hits the stone for hours and hours and days and days. After many days of pounding on the stone, the rock splits, and the carving may continue.

The question is, what caused the stone to split? Was it the last hit that was greater than the others, or was it a combination of all the small hits on the rock that finally gave way.

I think we need to think like the stonecarver, and continue to pound on the rock. The rest of the world doesn't see the results of our work until after the last hit, but WE recognize that it was the constant working on the stone that made all the difference. Each effort of pounding on the rock combined to achieve the end result.

Celebrate the Small Steps!

For more information about the CD in reference to that comment, look here: http://www.geocities.com/memphis1971/GUH/covercdindex.html



Diary:

D: pizza (at sister's)
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B: bagel and peanut butter (men's group). Note: Panera decided to change their prices. My breakfast ALWAYS cost $2.75, which is a perfect number. I hand them $3, and get back a quarter. Perfect. It starts the day off right. NOW PANERA CHARGES $3.07 for the same food! 32 cent increase - that is over 10% increase, PLUS it is a stupid amount that requires odd pieces of change. This is going to screw up my entire day.
On top of it all, Andrea wasn't behind the counter, and some new girl was taking my order, who was having problems with math. I wanted to say "Andrea knows my order, can I just deal with Andrea!", but then I got flashes of Jack Nicholson in "As Good as It Gets", who couldn't eat out unless Helen Hunt was serving him. I snapped back to reallity quickly and just kept going. My complaints fell on deaf ears, as no-one cares about the fact that $2.75 was a perfect number for my schedule, and $3.07 is an akward, annoying number that causes pain and anguish for everyone involved.
Maybe someone should do a study on how much time is saved by cashiers who don't have to deal with bizzare change and dealing with numerous coins. I think we could save MILLIONS of $$$ of commerce by pricing items so that they come out to even amounts.
Maybe i am just off my rocker and am coming across like a bitter old hermit.

S: protien bar
L: homemade chicken, tomato, and pea mixture
S: chicken cubed with mayo
G: eliptical 1.82 miles, 374+ calories, walk 1 mile, sauna (well, my headset finally died. It was holding on to a string of speaker cord for many months now, but today the sound stopped in the left ear. Time to buy a new headset.)

Notes:

I was wanting to mention an article that I have been reading in Men's Health magazine, but I couldn't find the article online, so I will have to postpone the writeup on this article. It is a good story, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I got an email from Men's Health, inviting me to get a newsletter about health and fitness via email. I noticed the first article in the newsletter is about "Energy management", by Nancy Clark. It is about how to keep your energy levels stoked all day.

Guess what - basically her suggestions are EXACTLY what I have been doing for the 2006 Challenge. Here is a short synopsis.

7 A.M.: Jump-Start Your Body
fat, protein, and long-burning fiber, plus a little sugar to help wake you up.

10:30 A.M.: Prevent Midmorning Malaise
It takes your body 2 to 3 hours to break down the sugars in the food you eat, release them into your bloodstream, and convert them into energy. Go longer than that without eating again and your energy levels will start to fade. Skip the doughnuts and pastries and grab a handful of fresh berries instead.

Noon: Eat a Power Lunch
protein and carbs in the salad, stabilizing blood-sugar levels and keeping energy levels high
Omega-3s found in fish are one of the primary building blocks of brain tissue, so they're vital for keeping your mind sharp. (I take an omega-3 oil every day as part of my vitamin regime. It is very good.)

3:30 P.M.: Beat the Afternoon Slump
crackers and peanut butter provide quick carb energy plus long-burning protein and fat.


TADA! I think that Men's Health editors have been reading my blog, and gleaning suggestions for thier readers.

To that end, I have been considering upgarding my Blog. I am testing a Stat Counter from http://www.statcounter.com/. It tells me how many unique visitors I have had each day and what pages they look at. (Don't worry about privacy. It doesn't tell me who you are, but what you are looking at.)

What I have found is the following stats:


Date Unique Visitors First Time Visitors Returning Visitors
15th March 8 5 3
14th March 4 4 0

Sweet!


Also, I have found a cool website simply called "Traffic" http://www.traffic.com/ that lets me look at my commute and even email or call me if the traffic jams are so bad that I should make a detour of my regular home - work - home routine. I am going to customize my route and see how this works.

Another of my weird hobbies (along with reading recipe books and diet pamphlets) is searching the internet for new cool ideas. I try to remember them and put them on the link-list on the right... sometimes I forget the ones I like.



Countdown:

2 days - St. Patrick's Day celebration (celebrate the loss of 60+ pounds)
24 days - Next measurement and weigh-in
27 days - Twins home opener
32 days - Easter


more later..

Chazz