Michael & Liz are Bloggable

I recently had a revelation about books. I can't read novels. I just can't do it. The last one I can remember reading all the way through was The Hobbit. I was only able to finish that because I was able to visualize all the characters based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I tried reading "Pillars of the Earth" and I stopped after roughly 100 pages because my desire to save myself 40 hours of time (900 more pages at ~25 pages/hour) was far greater than my desire to know what happens. So I find that novels are (for the most part) pointless and I'll explain why.

Too Much Time Spent

Jerry Seinfeld said it best when he described why he will never make movies. "You go to a bad movie, it's two hours; you're in a bad movie, it's two years." This is how I feel about reading novels. It takes far too long to tell a story that you could probably see on TV in two hours. I average about 2 pages every minute when I read. I know I'm not a super fast reader but a 200 page book would take me almost 7 hours to finish. And that's probably on the short side of most novels. I'm sure they average at least 300 pages. I'm just not willing to spend 7 hours of my life reading a story that would offer me no applicable benefits.

You Don't Learn Anything

I say this in comparison with books in which you do learn something. I'm sure if all you read were novels, you would develop over time a better vocabulary but that's really about it. Now by comparison, lets say that instead of spending 7 hours reading about Harry and Sally and their notebook they made in Rodanthe, you spent 7 hours reading about how our political system works? Or how to install kitchen cabinets? Or how to program in Ruby? Which would honestly be time better spent? I'm not saying a story can't be contained in a book where you are meant to learn something (like "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years"), as long as the book isn't dedicated to the story itself.

Entertainment Factor

A lot of people's response to my post here would be "But you like movies?! Isn't that just as pointless?" Yeah true, it's probably on par with being just as pointless, but why do people scoff when a movie is 3 hours long? It's because 3 hours is far too long to tell a story. But I think there is another difference between movies and novels. Movies entertain you without any effort on your part, but it takes effort in order for a novel to be entertaining. There is a certain amount of concentration that is required in order to digest the words on the page. I can't tell you the number of times my mind has wandered and I entirely missed a whole important page. That doesn't really happen with movies. When you watch a movie, you just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

I have to give a warning, the opinion of this post is *NOT* shared by Liz. She loves novels and reads them constantly and thinks my opinion is ridiculous. But I just can't do it. I'd say from this point forward, after this recent revelation, there is not a lot of novels I'd be willing to read.

The funny thing is about this post, for the longest time, one of my favorite books in the world was "Ender's Game", which is a novel. I can't imagine how amazing it would be as a movie, now THAT would be time well spent!

For the first time this year and I'm guessing for the last time this year, it snowed here in North Carolina. We only got about 5 inches, but the roads are covered in snow and ice and no one is going anywhere. 2 of our friends, John and Allie, who are currently living in Asheville, are in town too and are staying at our house. We were all sitting around playing the awesome Monopoly card game we have when we decided to bundle up and go out in the 18 degree weather to walk to the gas station up the street named "Cruizers". Of course our main objective was to obtain ice cream and beer, but it would be fun just to get out and play. It's only 3/4 of a mile, but in windy/sleety weather, it felt like we were going on a trek through the Andes.


So covered head to toe with layers, we headed down the empty street.


And tried our best not to slip and fall...

We made it there only to find out our trek, through the cold windy weather, was what ruined our quest in the first place.

So on the way back we took out our frustrations on the ice that froze over the little creek that was on the way.


Success! Ice Holes!

They were not big enough...

And then we started throwing them at each other...

We don't take enough advantage of the things we can walk to from our house, and the inability to drive yesterday really motivated us to get up and do something about it. I think walking to the restaurants and different places up the street from our house is something Liz and I are going to try and make a priority this year. I know this summer when the World Cup is on, I'm often going to be glued to the TV to watch those games. It would make it much more awesome instead if we walked up the street to the El Dorado Mexican Restaurant to watch them.

Gotta love a random Saturday walk in the snow.

On Saturday January 16th I did something to my foot that I've never done before. I have sprained both feet many many times in the past but that Saturday, my left foot decided to not only sprain itself but also pop out of it's ankle socket.

I was standing on the stones that surround our mailbox and I stepped back into the street. I didn't anticipate just how far down the street really was and when I planted my foot with the ball of my foot down, my toes stayed still but my leg continued to move forward. I felt it twist and I fell to the ground screaming in pain(nailing my elbow pretty hard I might add). I grabbed the ankle just out of reaction to the situation and when I squeezed it, it popped back into where it should have been. I'm no ankle expert, but I didn't think ankles could "dislocate" like that. One thing is for sure, I'll never forget the feeling of holding my foot and have my bones move inside. The last time that happened was in High School when I broke both bones in my left arm and it looked like I had two elbows. If nothing else, those experiences make you feel real, like all I am is just the sum of my parts.

*SIDE NOTE* - I was hoping two things at that moment when I fell into the street (and Liz wasn't at home by the way). 1. That some neighbors heard me so I could get a little bit of help and 2. No neighbors heard me so I wouldn't have to socialize with them. I feel like such a bad person for saying that, but I'm just introverted, and that's the way I am.

Well after an all day R.I.C.E session and more rest on Sunday, it took about two days before I was walking without a limp. I tried running late last week but I couldn't take the pain of the impact. I tried again today and made it 1.7 miles before abruptly stopping. The run started out with my ankle having a general sore feeling and as I continued to run it got almost to the point of being back to normal before a sudden pain shot up my leg and I even couldn't walk. I limped over to the bike and biked 7 miles instead (no impact workout). After getting up from the biking, the pain was gone.

When I got home tonight I looked down and noticed blood built up on the bottom of my foot. I didn't notice this before, but I never really examined my foot after the incident so who knows how long it's been there. The blood build-up has happened to me in the past with some really bad sprains but it's been a while (maybe since High School actually). I guess it goes to show that I'm still not ready to run yet. I will say, the picture below DOES NOT do the blood justice, it's far more dark in person than it is in the picture. Here's a picture of my gorgeous foot:

I'm really anxious to get rid of this little bump in the road on my way to running the Country Music Half Marathon and losing the 26 pounds. The good news is, you don't need strong ankles to continue to lose weight... I'm really enjoying the biking on the machines at the gym. My weight has been hanging tough at 182 for several days now and I'm so close to the 170's I can almost taste it. Motivation++

If you don't think this is funny, you have no heart =P. I was going through my computer and cleaning out some old files and found this... it's just too hilarious not to post. I don't think I have posted it before, if I did then it's funny enough to watch twice. It's from September 2008.

This past week I read a book in 4 days. It's called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller. There are very few books on earth I am capable of reading in a mere 4 days because, I'll be honest, I'm the slowest reader on earth. It takes something special. I couldn't put this book down because I feel like it was written for me. I read it constantly yelling the words "EXACTLY!" and "HOLY CRAP!" in my head. You ever read something that relays to you exactly how you feel or want to live your life but constructed in such a way you had never even imagined before?

Not too long ago I was directed to Donald Miller's blog by my sister-in-law Hillary. Donald had made a post about how we should all look at New Year's Resolutions differently, and since I myself am obsessed with resolutions, I was intrigued by his post. I will let you read it for yourself. Here is part 2 of the post. He says we should all look at our yearly goals as a part of a story. Don't make it your goal to lose 20 pounds, but instead make it your goal to run a marathon or climb to the top of a mountain. When a goal is a goal contained within itself, with no fantastic climax like a story, you are more likely to fail.

This book dives further into the concept of considering your life as a story. Most people live very boring lives. Lives that are not story-worthy. I will happily (or unhappily, depending on how you look at it) throw myself into the "not story worthy" category. Sitting on the couch every Tuesday to watch The Biggest Loser or occasionally meandering into the garage to work on a wood project isn't exactly riveting. The point I got from Donald's book is throw caution to the wind when it comes to doing daring, challenging, or interesting things. He says "Fear is a manipulative emotion that tricks us into a boring life."

In life, I am constantly striving to do difficult things and I put way too much pressure on myself to accomplish those goals. That's why I run marathons and half-marathons. That's why I make it a goal to build something out of wood every year for the person I drew in Secret Santa. That's why the idea of competing in a full Ironman Competition is constantly on my mind and to be honest, it bothers me that I haven't tried it yet. I can actually visibly remember sitting in front of the TV as a kid, and watching those athletes bike through their 112 miles and think, someday I want to do that. I don't know why I put this unneeded pressure on myself, I kind of feel it's from a fear of being average? I feel like the average person would have trouble losing 26 pounds, so the idea of failure when I put my whole self into it, is a devastating thought (and by the way, I'm down 14 pounds, only 12 pounds to go). But I can say one thing, setting large, significant, and difficult goals is something that is not lacking in my life. I think what I am missing in order to live the way Donald Miller says is a story-worthy life, is being more unpredictable and carefree.

One memorable scene from his book and his life is the time he went to visit some of his friends at their cabin off the ocean or some lake in Oregon. He arrived in a kayak in the morning and when he started to pull away from their dock around midnight, he turned back to wave to his friends and they all ran down the dock and jumped in the water fully clothed as their way to say goodbye. This image is now burned into Donald's mind. Of course this didn't require him to be carefree or unpredictable, but it's those moments that will make the story of your life memorable. Had they waved and turned to go back in their house, he never would have included it in his book.

I don't want a year to go by where I don't at least have several of those moments. While I was reading his book, one memorable scene from Liz and my life popped out at me from this past year. Some people probably already know this, but one thing I love to do is stand or walk in the rain. There's just something about it. Well last Summer it was pouring rain and I said "let's go for a walk". So with the umbrellas staying where they were in the closet, we headed out the door with the dogs. It was the best walk we've ever had. Last year we must have walked around the block 100 times, but which one do I remember most? We both got soaked and couldn't stop laughing at Daisy & Gryffin's fear of getting hit by thick rain drops. That was one of my favorite moments from last year. It was memorable, didn't cost a dime, and would have been a good scene in the book of our life.

I can't wait to read my next Donald Miller book called Blue Like Jazz. If it's anything like the one I just read, I might be blogging about it soon.

Can you think of a memorable moment from your life last year?

The title sounds ridiculous but the concept is simple, treat yourself as if you were a machine and your health and wellness will thrive.

This year I am going to lose 26 pounds. I'm determined to do it. I want to do it but talk is cheap. I have got to put all of the effort I have into accomplishing it. I can't just wander into losing 26 pounds especially when I'm not really all that overweight. But I'm no where near where I want to be as far as running shape. This post is to show my philosophy I am taking over the next few months toward achieving that goal.

What makes a car perform well (or any machine for that matter)? It needs to be well fueled with the proper fluids put in the proper places. You can't pour diesel gas into a car that won't accept it and you can't put washer fluid into the container where anti-freeze belongs. I have gotten into such a rhythm of just eating whatever is delicious no matter how terrible it is for me. If I were to honestly ask myself every single meal "What is the best fuel available for my body?", I think I would be much more likely to make good choices. The quote of the week for Liz and me is "That's not very good fuel". I can't expect to throw down a large Spicy Chicken meal with a coke from Wendy's and then go to the gym and feel great running. I heard this concept back in 2005 when training for my first marathon, you have to look at your food as fuel. I am one of the worst violators of this concept which is why I'm blogging about it. I eat way too much and the wrong foods way too often. But the past few days that has changed, and so far I'm feeling pretty good about it. I hope to keep it up.

Another thing a machine needs is to be used often. It's the old "if you don't use it, you lose it" concept. You can't just put a car in the garage for a year and then start it up and expect it to be running well. I have done this two years in a row with the lawn mower. Every spring I want to just roll it out and start it up, but you just can't do that or you'll ruin it. Our bodies just like the lawn mower, have to be exercised and stretched all the time in order to stay in shape. In between trainings I just ruin myself by taking weeks or months off and then deteriorate the progress I made. Then when I start back up, I have to start over. I wish I could go out and run the way I used to but right now, I'm just not there. Every year near the end of the soccer season, I end up pulling a hamstring or some muscle because at the beginning of the season I'll stretch a lot and then stop caring since the season is coming to an end. I just can't do that to myself. So to aid in my weight loss, I'm going to be running, lifting, biking, doing workout videos, stretching and doing everything I can do keep myself moving every day.

There is one more concept I'm trying to keep in my mind about "becoming a machine". I am going to be running the Country Music Half-marathon at the end of April. Most machines can get going and go for a long time with the proper fuel. Running 13 miles or 26 miles is a lot like driving somewhere that's 8 hours away. Your car won't make it on one tank, but after filling up, most cars should be fine. The only reason it wouldn't is because you overheat your engine or a hose breaks or something. But well maintained cars should have no problem with an 8 hour drive. I keep thinking while running, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to keep going with water and the proper nutrients. Of course there is a limit to every body, but my goal is to stretch the limit and continue to lengthen the amount of time I can keep going. Then over time I want to increase my speed. Running is so mental and if you keep thinking to yourself that you are a machine, it's a lot of motivation to keep on going.

The only reason I'm blogging about this is to give myself motivation to follow through with what I write down. I think if we all looked at our bodies like machines, we'd all be much healthier.

So it's time to make a pledge to accomplish some New Year's Resolutions. I love doing it and if you want to know why, read the 2008 link below. I've done it every year, and in case you care to read them:

• 2009 New Year's Resolutions
• 2008 New Year's Resolutions

Well last year was probably my worst year as far as resolutions go. I only accomplished 1 out of 4 of them and that one wasn't even that great. Just a review from last year:

1. Sell something made of wood. I built some dog platforms and crosses for friends of my Mom. That's really all I sold made of wood. But to be honest, I didn't really try all that hard to sell anything. I did make 10 birdhouses in July but didn't sell any. I still have all 10 of them in the garage.
   
2. Run 1000 miles. I think I made it to about 400 miles. I guess this falls into the category of "setting your goals unrealistically high and falling a bit short is sometimes the best way to succeed."
3. Do not eat a combo meal anywhere. Check out my goals for 2010, and you'll probably be able to tell I missed this one. Big time.
   
4. No TV Mondays. I made it two Mondays with no TV. I fell short by 50 Mondays.
   

So this year, 2010 (in case you didn't know) I think I have the most realistic goals above all other years. I actually believe that I could accomplish all of them:

1. No carbonated sodas. This is a resolution Liz and I made back in 2008 and we actually went the whole year without any. It was awesome. We've decided to make it an every other year resolution. To be honest, I LOVE soda. Liz has more of a love/hate relationship with soda. She hates that she loves it. I think this resolution will be easy for about 3 months and then I'll start wanting the juice (Mountain Dew). I love Mountain Dew. I think Liz will breeze right through this one. 2008 wasn't as tough for her as it was for me.
   
2. Learn everything I possible can about staining and finishing wood. Every time I finish a wood project, I get frustrated that I have to throw some crappy polyurethane on it. I know there are other ways to seal the wood, I just don't know them. So I'm going to do my best to learn about them.
   
3. Lose 26 pounds. I know it's totally cliche to make losing weight a resolution but it's only cliche if I quit by February without anything being accomplished. About a week ago I weighed myself and was 196 pounds. Usually I've hovered around 180ish. I'm so incredibly ashamed of having gone up that much. The most I've ever weighed in my life was 199 pounds back in the Spring of 2004. I just had to put my foot down, I started running for the first time ever, and lost 30ish pounds. That was the least amount I've ever weighed since I stopped growing vertically, I got down to about 168. I can't imagine how easy running would be if I could get back to that. If Gryffin and Daisy can both lose 3 pounds in 3 months, I can certainly lose 26. Watching the "Biggest Loser" on NBC is really going to help as well. I love that show for all the motivation and inspiration it provides. I realize the contestant's situations are much more dire than mine, but motivation is motivation no matter what you're trying to accomplish. This resolution leads me to the next post I'm going to make called "Becoming A Machine".
   

I'm going 3 fo3 this year. No doubt about it.