Been one of those days....

Do you ever just have one of those days?

I do and today is one of them. That would probably be why it has taken me so long to get this post up as my thoughts are a bit jumbled and I can't seem to decide what is going to be put in print. It's more like one of those weeks, but I'm not really complaining because I know it could be worse.

Funny thing is that it isn't a bad week per se, just a rather scattered week. So in the spirit of all things goofy and off the wall I thought I would share with you a little bit of child like logic. When my daughter was a few years younger her class had a big board where they could write their thoughts or about their day. Actually, the teacher would ask them if they had anything to share with the class and then write what they decided to share with the class. Here are a couple of my favorites.

"My mom yelled at me for NO REASON" Griffin
(as most 5yr olds, of course there was no reason...little boys, especially this one, are not mischevious at all)

"I went to visit Jesus so my brother could love on him." Hunter
(visit jesus huh? Some days I wish Jesus would visit me)

"I went to the doctor so he could check on the penny. He took and x-ray and pulled down my pants.) Caleb
(money is such a yummy snack....even better on the way out.)

What's your funny?

I can't have a Big Mac?

Everywhere we look there is something new pointing to the dangers of being overweight. Now laws are being passed banning this or enforcing that in an effort to make consumers aware of what we eat.

Yesterday a headline read: "L.A. wants to clamp yearlong ban on fast food" in which

"The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity."

We are now going to have our choice of food restricted by the city and/or state because they are grouping all of us as obese? What about those of us who are not? I know McDonalds might not be the healthiest choice for dinner, but on occasion I like to go and eat a Quarterpounder and fries.

A few weeks ago this article was released "New York City Resturants post calorie information but others lag behind."

The new rules are part of an anti-obesity campaign that has also included a recent citywide ban on artificial trans fats in restaurant food.

Calorie information has long been made available to the public via websites and pamphlets in the eateries, however in many instances (as made public by the movie SuperSize Me) many times this nutritional information is not properly posted or is unavailable at locations. With the ruling in New York, the calorie information will be posted next to the food item in the same size font as the price. Talk about a shocker.

As an avid eater food conossour I am always interested in food trends and health. In early July, the latest results of of the 'fattest states' were released. My state ranks #3 on this list, so perhaps I should care less about the regulations, but I think perhaps there is more to blame than just the food.

1. Activity -It is a well known fact that we, as americans, are not the most active group of people. If you think about it, most of us spend 8-10 hours in an office, typically behind a computer. The only real workout we get is our fingers going type-type-type on the keyboard. Technology affords us the luxury of not having to get out of our chairs by enabling us to email documents instead of hand walk them, google information instead of manually searching thru stacks of books. Just for giggles wear a pedometer to work one day and see how many steps you actually take from the time you leave your house to the time you leave work - if I don't make a conscious effort at work to get up and move, I don't get very many at all
2. Cost - Along with health news there is massive information floating around drawing our attention to the economic turmoil all around. Recession, depression, economic downslide, fall of the dollar-these are all terms that have been spouted at some point in time. Fall out of this...higher grocery prices. Milk is right at $4 a gallon. Come on - seriously, a cow's milk cost that much and we're not even talking organic. Fresh vegetables have gone up, fresh meat has gone up...what items are cheaper in the stores??? Frozen, prepacked goods and canned items. The larger your family, the harder it is to buy all fresh all organic.
   

It's a sad thing when I can go to the grocery store and buy 2lbs of lean ground hamburger meat, a package of buns, lettuce, tomatos, pickles and cheese and spend $20 when for the same $20 I could have gotten 2 value meals and 2 kids meals for the same price - which included fries and a drink. Bottom line, fast food is cheap.

I thought it only fair to mention this article "Heavy? It might be your neighborhood"

A new study found that the year your neighborhood was built may be just as important as diet and exercise for shedding pounds. Those who live in neighborhoods built before 1950 are trimmer than their counterparts who reside in more modern communities, the study reported.

I agree with the take away message of the study:

“The take away message is that we’ve got to start building communities the way we used to. Prior to World War II, we basically built walkable communities, but for last 60 years we’ve been building sprawl and people don’t have to be physically active as part of their daily lives.”

I like having things within walking distance and am more apt to walk there as opposed to drive across town for the same thing (especially with the rise in gas prices.) But even still, food is only part of the problem, activity levels are another part.

Don't get me wrong - I'm an advocate of healthy eating, teach our children and ourselves how to eat properly and it will go along way. I'm also a fan of being busy. We do not sit in front of the computer/Wii all day, we get out and take bike rides or walks in the neighborhood and play sports. I just don't think that rules and regulations should be imposed on me and my family's choice of foods.


What are your thoughts on National Obesity and the changes taking place?

Forgiveness

I came across this article by Amy Bloom called "Life Lessons." Obviously I am not of the age where wisdom comes with hindsight and lessons learned through time, but I found it comforting in relation to an instance that took place not long ago in my life.

By the time I was ten, I had really learned quite a bit: (1) Being lost is only temporary; (2) there are mean people everywhere (but fewer in the library); (3) knowledge is power, but make sure you know what you need to know (e.g., I may have had vast knowledge of Charles Dickens’s books, but socially this was no substitute for my failure to grasp the nuances of The Barbie Game); and (4) the gap between what people say and what they feel is like the rain forest: fascinating and uncomfortable.

The article is written about her perspective on forgiveness and how things/memories change over time. Bully's forget how cruel they were and people placate others for the sake of "polite social interaction." I fall into the latter of the two categories. I am notorious for saying things are just "peachy" when things are anything but. Just a few weeks ago I initiated a conversation with a person I hadn't spoken to in years because I wanted to be 'polite' and say hello. Pass on a complement or two and convey a sense of "no hard feelings." In the end, I was discarded by the wayside and have spent many days agonizing over why this happened.

What stood out for me was the fact that I am kind of like that bully in her story. I am focused on making peace with myself for any wrong I think I did that I don't see/I don't understand when someone else responds coldly. In the instance of being discarded - I had done nothing wrong to begin with, I was not her bully or foe from the past, but still I was trying to make amends.

Forgiveness is a two way street. You can seek forgiveness from others for what you've done (or think you've done) but if you do not forgive yourself then the guilt will remain. I am an advocate of telling it like it is and being as 'real' as it gets except with myself. I'd much rather live in a world where everyone things I'm OK than have them all know I've been hurt. Which usually leads to silent agony on my part while I plot your demise. (ok, not really the demise part)

Truth is time flies by in the blink of an eye and before we know it we are looking back on when instead of looking forward to what will be. I don't want to get there and then be filled with guilt - perhaps I should take the forgiveness lesson to heart.


What life lesson have you learned?

Monday Madness - Traffic

Summer is quickly coming to an end which means back to school time! As I ventured out this past weekend I encountered some early signs of what is to come and boy am I dreading it (as I do every year.) I do not shrink away from the shopping because of the people in the stores...NO...the people in the cars are much worse - as they think their car is some sort of protective bubble and they can do whatever they like. So in the spirit of all things driving...

Monday Madness - 9 Traffic Circles of Hell


1. You buy an insanely hot and expensive car. But this pearl has been cast before swine: Rather than honor thy automotive fortune, you thumbeth your Blackberry and peek at its profane texts, all whilst straying from the path and coveting your neighbor's lane.

2. Three freeway lanes are shrinking to two, as signs brighter than burning bushes have been suggesting for miles.You finally stop within inches of the flashing merge arrow. Only then do you try to squeeze in line—while feigning utter surprise that your lane has disappeared.

3. You drive a Camaro.

4. I walk through the valley of the shopping mall, yet I shall fear no evil. Until you zipped in front of me into that parking space, even though freakin' Lazarus could have seen that I was there first, meekly waiting to inherit that patch of earth.

5. You worship at the black altar of Harley-Davidson, but you're no biker. You're a normal, suburban guy hiding behind leather Village-People outfits and a wall of assaultive noise.

6. That new BMW or Benz is virginal and pure. Yet you make of it a cheap prostitute, adorning it with 22-inch golden rims, smoky-eyed windows, and a glittering wing on its back.

7. You've spent an eternity in the fast lane, doing 59 mph, holding up charitable souls with an actual destination. Finally, cars attempt to pass on the right—and you respond by flooring the gas to cut off their opening.

8. You're a committed Greenie, a tireless apostle against global warming, evil corporations and any SUV. Your mode of transport? A decrepit, Woodstock-era VW bus that spews more pollution than a dealership full of Hummers.

9. You buy an SUV of Ark-like proportions, insisting you need room for all the world's species, off-road capability for the coming flood, and the towing capacity and mighty V8 to tear down the very walls of Jericho. Yet your household has begat a single toddler, plus a toy poodle. The biggest burden you've ever pulled is potting soil from Home Depot.

What actions do you think deserve banishment to the traffic circles of hell?

Do you know?

What do you want?

Simple, yet very effective, as far as questions go. Do you have an answer?

I was left to ponder this question, not long ago, after a conversation about my future. I did not have an answer. What did I want?

I want it all.

"Not a good enough answer" I was told. This answer requires focus and more specifics - I did not (do not) have them. The difference between then and now...I know what I want, at least part of what I want and the answer came to me like a light being switched on in the dark.

I run each week. I run 3 days a week and try faithfully to reach my goals when training for my marathon in December. I have always run. Looking back thru my life, I have been running for a very long time. I have never run these distances before, but then again I spent most of that time running FROM something as opposed to running TOWARDS something. I have run so far and so fast that I missed many things along the way.

When I started this process, when I was desperately searching for something, some part of me to cling to, I found running. What I didn't realize until today is that I am running towards something and no longer running away. It takes a lot of dedication, determination and drive to set out to run a marathon. The training and time put into it is work and the reward is personal - very few of us will have a reward other than personal accomplishment.

But for me, while this will be an accomplishment, it will be much more than that. I want to break out of my self imposed limits. The rules I've set that say what I can and cannot do. The labels I've put on myself because this is the mold I want to fit in...this is how I've chosen to define myself. At this moment - the one where I ran 6 miles of hills in the suffocating heat, covered in sweat and sore all over - this moment, I want more than anything else to achieve this goal. Everything it takes to get to the end, seems small in comparison to what will be once I get there, almost as if anything is possible, if I just do this first.

Perhaps this sounds a little halmarkish, but I'm not talking just about running a marathon. Each of us are different, each have different desires and wants and needs. Where is our drive to achieving what it is we want? Have you already found yours - achieved yours?

If the world was an endless possibility - what would you want?