Body Measurements

As part of my journey, I thought it would also be a good idea to take those "Biggest Loser" type pictures.  I haven't decided if I should post those pictures yet, but maybe by the time I finish typing this I will.  I also took measurements of my various body parts.  I took my first measurements on December 5, 2011.
Here they are:

• Weight: 281
• Chest: 51"
• Right Arm: 15.5"
• Left Arm: 15.5"
• Waist: 51.5" (I don't really know where my waist is, I followed the picture)
• Hips: 47"
• Right Thigh: 29"
• Left Thigh: 28.5"

Ok, so there you have it. My measurements forever documented in cyberspace.

Ok, and here I go, at the risk of total humiliation, here are my pictures of day 1. View at your own risk. 

Sad really, that I let myself get like this.  First off, I'm sooooo hairy. I need to do something about that.  Second, I'm using these pics as motivation to keep me going, especially on those days I really don't want to do anything!

Project: 365

As part of my journey during my 37th year, I wanted to document how my face changes throughout the year, much like this person did here.  But mine would be for the full year!  I won't show anything again about this, and am going to do my very best not to post any pictures of me over the next year...  so, here's the very first picture in my 365 day picture book!  (ok, I have already missed a few days, so there won't be exactly 365 pictures.)

What does "Lean to" mean?

So what does it mean to "lean to" a plant based diet?  Good question.  The likelihood of me, a person who absolutely loves all things meat, of becoming a 100% vegetarian or vegan is not likely.


I've been reading about the health benefits of plant based diets.  In fact, I've even practiced a vegetarian diet twice before, for 3 weeks each.  I must say that when I don't eat meat, I do feel more full of energy, and less "sluggish."


So, I thought that if I could eat a plant based diet 80% of the time, and still enjoy an occasional steak, grilled salmon, or hot dog at the game, I would still see many of the health benefits plant based diets provide.


Some friends of mine are doing the 21 day vegan kickstart to start the year. I decided I would join, and am starting the year off practicing a vegan diet for a minimum of 21 days.  The program is great, and provides weekly menu's and recipes.  So far so good!  I feel great and I'm still working it!

My 37th year.

On November 19, 2011 I turned 36 years old. It was a quiet birthday for me, as it was snowy and icy, and no one wanted to venture out to do anything, as it was the first snow of the season and that tends to be a bad one for accidents because people forget how to drive in the stuff.  So, I spent a quiet evening at home.

This gave me time to reflect on my life, and in fact on this blog, which I seem to have lost at some point along the way in the day to day business of life.

In a nut shell, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a healthier person by my 37th birthday. What this means has been an evolving list of tasks and ideas, but what I've narrowed it down to is the following:

1.  Complete a 10k race - without walking.

2.  Lean to a plant based diet.

Easy enough. No big long list of things I need to achieve this year. No specific weight loss goals. My health will naturally improve as I work through the next year to achieve these 2 simply put goals.

I will write about this journey over the next year. I'm playing catch-up at the moment, so I'll write a few back to back blogs.

Here's to the 37th year of my life - my best yet! 

What to do?

So, I've worked a ton on these 2 bedrooms since March (ok, it was more on and off, but still a lot of work). Now, I'm not sure how to finish off the rooms - what kind of curtains/blinds/and closet doors or fabric screens?
What do you think?  I think I've settled on fabric panels for the closet doors, but what kind?  print or solid?  white or colored?  should I match the curtains or contrast?

Hmmm... 

Ceiling fan

After the 103 day last week, my bedroom was quite warm (southwest exposure) and the air conditioner just couldn't cool it enough.  I decided a ceiling fan was in order. I've been looking for some time and haven't found just what I wanted, but finally found it... bought it... and got an in-the-wall transmitter that controls the fan and light so I don't have to use the chains or add additional switch and wiring in the wall and ceiling.  Sounds great, right?  I start my project very excited on Saturday morning.  By Saturday night, I was finally complete.  With some over the phone help and email pictures to my dad, I was able to get it done.


What I've learned in working with an older home, especially with this project, is that no matter what you think a project is, it will ALWAYS be more difficult, and take longer than you would ever expect.


I start by taking down the light fixture.  Hoping to find at least an electrical box secured to a joist, but I found this:

Well, how exactly am I supposed to attach a ceiling fan to that, or even work with that wiring?  I take a closer inspection, and come to this:

There is old wire, and new wire. The light was attached to both.  I continue to dig around, cutting away plaster - which by the way is very dirty and has a very distinct smell...one that is very familiar to me these days.

I wanted to see what wiring there was in the wall switch.. again, an old wire and a new wire, but this time the new wire was blue.  Hmm, what to do?  Keep going! The power is turned off and I can't possibly get shocked!  I continue to dig out the ceiling to see what I'm working with:

Ok, the wire is drilled straight through whatever joist or support that is, and there was no electrical box.  Back to Menard's to get a "pancake style" (thin) electrical box to secure directly into that wood. After some more cutting away plaster and lathe to make it fit (and making an even bigger mess) here it is secured in place:

I quickly realize through a test fit before I get too far that the canopy for the fan won't be able to secure to the bracket for the fan because it is below ceiling level, and I kind of made a mess with all that cutting I had to do.  Hmm, what would be a good resolution? After some quick reference to This Old House website (I've become very fond of this and the magazine) I determined a ceiling medallion would do the trick.  Back to Menards.. Nope, I didn't like those, so off to Lowe's. After that trip and a quick dinner, I put the medallion up:

Yay! It solved two problems for me at the same time.  That white box up there is the transmitter that will allow me to control the fan and light, which I installed the switch into the wall:

The switch will give me 3 speeds on the fan, and allow me to dim the lights. Just a little minor patch job to repair the damage from removing the electrical box.  I will get to that in due time.  I put up the fan motor, then the blades, then the lights.  All would appear good to go...time to flip the power back on.

But first:  Dear Lord Baby Jesus, please keep this fan where it is and don't let it come crashing down on me. As I flip on the electricity, let it flow smoothly and safely as it is supposed to do.  Amen. (PS, I can sleep on the couch tonight if you need me to.)

With that complete, off to the basement to turn the electricity back on.  Let there be light!

Woo hoo! There's light. But wait, it doesn't dim, and the fan doesn't work either. Well now what?  After another conversation with dad to try to problem solve, I start taking the light down, then the fan. I check the wiring, then ta-da! The transmitter for the switch wasn't set to the same code as the actual switch in the wall (kind of like a garage door opener needs to be programmed correctly. I put the pieces back together and turn the power on again. Woop, there it is!

The dimmer switch works for the light, and the multi-speed fan switch works too! May this stay in place for millenia (or at least until I sell the house) and give me cooling in the summer, and warmth in the winter. Amen, thank you baby Jesus. 

**Please note, no animals were injured during the duration of this project. This content has been edited to remove the large amounts of vulgarity that took place during this project.

Meatless Monday

So...there's this movement sweeping the country called Meatless Monday. Click here for their website. The basis is to help everyone improve our health by cutting out meat one day per week. It's been highly recommended by nutritionists..even hospitals are signing up to follow it!
So, I signed the pledge a while back and watched some recipes.  After my 18 miles of bike riding this weekend (more on that another time) I have the urge to eat a bit better.  Isn't that weird...exercise makes you want to eat better? Anyway, I've made it through my first Meatless Monday!  Here's what I had for dinner tonight:

It's a grilled portabella mushroom "burger." I ate it on a toasted whole wheat bun, with a roasted red pepper, cilantro mayo (fresh cilantro from my herb garden) and chevre goat cheese (it's so creamy and yummy).  I served all of this with grilled sweet potato fries...it was too hot to heat up the oven, so I made them on the grill.

My first Monday was successful. I just love meat too much to give it up all the time (although I was a vegetarian for 3 weeks in college) but I may be able to do this once per week.

What say you, do you want to try out Meatless Monday?