Back on the Horse

January 9th, 2007

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It sounds pretty cliche doesn’t it? My new year’s resolution is to lose weight and get into shape (again).

Many of you know already that I’ve tried it before last year, but after about 3 months, I fell off the horse. I let temptation get the best of me and I just lost my focus. So this time around I plan to have more willpower, determination, and focus. I won’t let peer pressure get to me and I plan to stick to my guns.

What will make this even easier is if I actually put together a real plan and stick to it. Brian (my roommate) likes to do things more on a whim, when he feels like it. While I think we’re all that way to some extent, I have to do things my way and plan things out; it’s the only way I can stick to it.

So how am I going to do it? Well, each morning, I take just 15 minutes (or less) to plan my meals and snacks for the day. That way I get no surprises throughout the day. I know what I’m eating, how many calories, and I am able to keep my meals balanced and spread out. This way, it’s much easier for me to keep calories in tact. And the fewer calories I eat, the more weight I’ll lose.

I use a great website called My Food Diary to track all my food and exercise each day. It would be very difficult for me to succinctly explain how My Food Diary has benefitted me. I’m just going to tell you to check it out for yourself and see all the services and information they offer.

The best part of My Food Diary is that they think of it as just a “diet,” it’s actually a lifestyle change and learning to make better choices in your life and stick to it forever, not just until you lose the weight. It has been a great website for me to get lots of information on eating and exercising properly. I’ve learned that a lot of what I thought was fact has turned out to be incredible myths.

Speaking of exercise, I also now have adopted a running plan, appropriately called “The Couch-to-5K Running Plan“. I got the information from Cool Running and I was also able to get some more invaluable information with regards to running and taking care of my body before, during and after each run. So I’ve put each day I need to run in my calendar, and am nagged politely reminded that I need to run and what I need to run that day. If I stick to my plan and progress as I should, I should be able to run a 5K by early March, which really isn’t all that far off.

So, I have some ambitious goals here. I’m sure I have a good start here by having a definite plan in place, both for eating better and exercising.

New Websites

January 8th, 2007

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Hey everyone (all two of you that still read this thing). Just wanted to get the word out and let you know that I’ve been busy lately making websites for family and friends.

Mike Tuck Fishing
The first one I did recently is for my brother-in-law’s fishing career. Mike came to me in early September and we immediately got to working on a website for him. Within just a couple weeks, we put together a rather nice website that he is happy to promote and share with others. He has even been able to land some sponsorships because of the website.

Always Clear San Diego
The next website I just completed a couple of weeks ago. It is a site for a friend of mine’s window cleaning business. I am very pleased with the outcome of the site as it is one of the cleanest and nicest-looking websites I have ever done (in my opinion). My main goal was to keep the site clean and straight-forward. I was going for a “glassy” look with the design, using transparent and glossy elements. I feel like I pulled it off very well. Feel free to check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Mike and Mary Tuck
Finally, I just finished putting together a new website for my sister and brother-in-law just last week. I had created their website before, using code I built myself from scratch. Just like with my own site, I had gotten tired of trying to keep up with all the features available out there already. So I just replaced everything I had built on their site with WordPress. Mary had found a them for WordPress that she had really liked but it had its limitations. So, me being me, I tweaked the theme to better suit her styles and I think I improved it greatly and the site looks great. Again, check it out for yourselves and let me know what you think.

I’ve got some new websites in the pipeline so keep an eye out for future announcements.

Minnesota Trip

January 7th, 2007

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As you may have already read, in early November, our entire family came together in Minnesota to attend my Uncle Jamie’s funeral. It was quite the trip, and one I was glad I could make to pay my last respects and help support my family.

I flew out with my brother and sister-in-law and my niece Keira on Wednesday, November 1. We left San Diego around 6:30AM, had a layover in Phoenix, and got to Minneapolis around 3:30PM (Central Time). We got our rental car, checked into the hotel, changed, and headed to the memorial.

When we arrived at the memorial, I was absolutely blown away. The best way I could describe the scene is basically it was like people were lined up for a ride at a theme park. There people were lined up all around the mortuary. There was even a rope line set up that people in line would work their way through to see the family and to pay their respects. People were waiting for over an hour at times just to see the family. I have never seen that kind of community outpouring. It was extremely touching to see so much support and so many people there for Jamie.

On Thursday was his actual funeral. It was held at a local church and it was a wonderful ceremony and celebration of Jamie’s life. His brother gave a touching reflection of Jamie’s life. There was a slideshow that he had put together that was very moving. There was one part of the slideshow where a picture of Jamie then faded into a video from the same moment and it just came alive. The entire church lost it at that point, myself included.

After the funeral, the local VFW held a 21-Gun Salute in the parking lot of the church. It was a very somber and touching moment as well.

From there we headed to the local VFW post and had a great BBQ lunch. After lunch we headed back to my aunt Sheila’s and just hung out and kept her company throughout the night. From there we headed back to the hotel and crashed again.

Friday the family came together again down at Sheila’s to help her around the house. We cleaned out the garage and moved things around and basically got the house ready for winter. We actually had a good time getting everything together and done. With about 8 guys working, we were able to get things done rather quickly.

We got the whole family together for a big group photo in front of Jamie’s bar as we figured it would be quite a while before the whole family is together again. Not to mention the fact that Sheila is selling the bar, so it won’t be Jamie’s Pemberton Pub anymore. Because we knew it would be one of the last times we’d be at the bar, Mary and I went back that night to spend some time in the bar.

We left the bar and headed up to the hotel. The next morning, we got together one last time down at Sheila’s to say good bye. We then headed up to the airport and came home. Obviously we made it home safe and sound. ;)

In spite of the circumstances, it was really great to see the family again and spend some time with them. Another benefit that came from the trip was that since I flew with Michael and Gaile, and stayed in their hotel room, I was able to get some quality bonding time with Keira. It was such a great feeling to be able to play with her and make her laugh and just have a good time with her. I love that kid.

So there you go, that was our trip to Minnesota. Be sure to read on of my earlier posts for my tribute to Jamie.

I’ve also posted some photos taken by Michael and Gaile during the trip. Be sure to check them out in the Minnesota 2006 Photo Album.