2009 sees me trying to be a good example for my children ( in earnest) with respect to overall health--in particular nutrition and exercise. It's no secret I am training for the San Diego Rock n Roll marathon in May; it's also no secret I am a recovering Diet Dr. Pepper addict. At my worst, I probably was five or six cans a day. And, it wasn't just diet stuff in the house. I'd have real Coke sometimes, too. So, the kids (and especially Wylie) had access to soda more than was probably optimal.
I gave it up in January.
I'm not completely caffeine free (I will take a drag off a coke or coffee occasionally and buy one when out for a meal), but I have ceased buying diet sodafor myself or any soda with caffiene for the house. Only 7 UP and root beer for Campbell.
This met with some unhappy protests, but has basically been adapted to by everyone at the Harris Ranch.
Today, though, here comes Wylie:
"Boy, this living without caffeine stuff is really driving me crazy".
My (now) 11 year old boy is coping with his withdrawls just fine. I'll continue to update on our quest for the best in 2009....stay tuned!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
He Said He Said
Everyone in the Yucaipa Valley experienced the fairly extreme weather on Monday. Today's clear skies were a sharp contrast to yesterday's damp, grey, wet, winter, rain-sleet-snow-mix. The differences were not lost on both my sons.
We did not swim yesterday due to the weather. With all the combined family activities last week, the boys were only at the pool one afternoon (as opposed to 3 workouts generally).
Today, we were on our way up to the pool. I'll leave it to you to figure out which he said what en route:
He said: "Boy, I hope we do breast stroke today".
The other he said: "Boy, I hope I don't freeze my butt off today".
I laughed all the way up the hill...
We did not swim yesterday due to the weather. With all the combined family activities last week, the boys were only at the pool one afternoon (as opposed to 3 workouts generally).
Today, we were on our way up to the pool. I'll leave it to you to figure out which he said what en route:
He said: "Boy, I hope we do breast stroke today".
The other he said: "Boy, I hope I don't freeze my butt off today".
I laughed all the way up the hill...
Monday, February 9, 2009
Rain Running
Southern Californians are generally ill-prepared for inclement weather of any kind. Take rain for example...
This weekend, I drove down to San Diego with some of our brilliant team from SGCF to attend a Children's Ministry Conference. It had been raining off-an-on the day we went down. We counted six accidents on the 15 South. Then, on the way home, two more accidents.
I have a cautious streak that's pretty wide, so I slow down in the rain. And, I'm not inclined to run in the serious rain. 1) I don't have sufficient rain gear and 2) I really don't want to slip, fall, pull something, twist something or otherwise injure myself.
So, today I ran on the treadmill at Reps For Life (a local gym I joined in January to help compliment my marathon training). My workout assignment was just 45 minutes of running at about 60% of my maximum heart rate. In other words, an easy run where I could "theoretically" hold a conversation.
This "rain running" caused me to think about a few things...
1) since I was in control of the incline and speed on the treadmill, I had a sense of command over my environment and my body--that was cool for the first 15 minutes, and very boring for the last 30 minutes
2) even though I was running a good pace for me, the extremely fit gal 4 treadmills over was totally going for some kind of record and I couldn't help but occasionally see her in my peripheral vision and get that jealousy vibe
3) just when I imagined I was finishing mile 26 in my race and the endorphins were pumping and Paul Coleman Trio was singing me to victory...I hit my ear-buds with my hand and dropped my entire ipod on the floor which resulted in me having to do the "straddle" on the machine--it completely broke my rhythm and gave gold-medal gal a big advantage
4) all-in-all, I prefer running outside. I think we are made to enjoy a little bit of uncertainty, to travel while we exert ourselves (versus "standing still" on the mill), to feel the wind in your face and wonder whether you can make it home instead of plodding along...knowing you can hit the stop button anytime
Rain, rain...go away.
This weekend, I drove down to San Diego with some of our brilliant team from SGCF to attend a Children's Ministry Conference. It had been raining off-an-on the day we went down. We counted six accidents on the 15 South. Then, on the way home, two more accidents.
I have a cautious streak that's pretty wide, so I slow down in the rain. And, I'm not inclined to run in the serious rain. 1) I don't have sufficient rain gear and 2) I really don't want to slip, fall, pull something, twist something or otherwise injure myself.
So, today I ran on the treadmill at Reps For Life (a local gym I joined in January to help compliment my marathon training). My workout assignment was just 45 minutes of running at about 60% of my maximum heart rate. In other words, an easy run where I could "theoretically" hold a conversation.
This "rain running" caused me to think about a few things...
1) since I was in control of the incline and speed on the treadmill, I had a sense of command over my environment and my body--that was cool for the first 15 minutes, and very boring for the last 30 minutes
2) even though I was running a good pace for me, the extremely fit gal 4 treadmills over was totally going for some kind of record and I couldn't help but occasionally see her in my peripheral vision and get that jealousy vibe
3) just when I imagined I was finishing mile 26 in my race and the endorphins were pumping and Paul Coleman Trio was singing me to victory...I hit my ear-buds with my hand and dropped my entire ipod on the floor which resulted in me having to do the "straddle" on the machine--it completely broke my rhythm and gave gold-medal gal a big advantage
4) all-in-all, I prefer running outside. I think we are made to enjoy a little bit of uncertainty, to travel while we exert ourselves (versus "standing still" on the mill), to feel the wind in your face and wonder whether you can make it home instead of plodding along...knowing you can hit the stop button anytime
Rain, rain...go away.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Evidence of Excellence
My daughter has skills:
This is just one illustration she has done for an honors english project. It's a short story about an 30 gig ipod that reads people's thoughts...very entertaining.
You read it here first.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Some Super Bowl Fun Without the Game
Thanks to a tweet friend, you can watch the commercials here without wading through the entire game! Pretty cool. Let me know what your favorite was by commenting on this post! Go Steelers ( I guess....not really a fan but The Brownings would never forgive me if I didn't give them some love today).
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