Quit Smoking Update

Again I found myself looking into starting an online journal and ran into this old gem of a site after 8 years!!!

It is so cool to find the exact date I quit smoking all those years ago and looking at the code for the now defunct quitmeter I found just that!

So I ran the numbers at https://www.calculators.org/health/quit-smoking.php and here are my to date stats:

I have now stopped smoking for 15 years, 7 months, 1 week, 3 days, 3 hours, 52 minutes, 27 seconds. That translates into 142,529 cigarettes NOT smoked, for a savings of $58,436.90! At 5 minutes per cigarette I have increased my life expectancy by 1 year, 4 months, 1 week, 4 days, 21 hours, 25 minutes, 10 seconds.

I can't believe it has been so long, of course there were small relapses here or there but thankfully the habit didn't take hold. My last relapse has to be about 8 years ago? But I'll always consider myself a smoker especially since the craving still hits me sometimes and catches me off guard.

Day -10

As far as tracking my progress, I will count down to the start of my program and then up from there. This will allow me to get eased into the healthier lifestyle while finishing up the home gym area.

Day -11 & -12
Both of these days were similar, I counted my calories and ate approx 2200, drank 8 8oz waters, and did a '30 day shred' routine.

I am working out in the evenings about 9pm because of my work schedule and the kids. For twenty minutes it's tougher than I thought, but I am pushing through it just to get accustomed to moving.

To get the water in I have an alarm on my iPhone every 2 hours, or else I'll just nurse coffee all day instead. This is working really well for me!

Food however, I really need to get the three meals and snacks as right now I am still missing breakfast. I have cut back to regular coffee, but really need to cut the cream and sugar.

I am debating over the use of supplements, whether or not they are needed or worth it. I'll let you know what I decide.

Um, I think I'll blog a day behind going forward, so you'll see day -10 tomorrow ;)

Oh and if you are reading this let me know so I don't have any excuses to stop!

My goal.

So here it is, my goal in writing.

Where I am right now:
-no endurance (out of breath jogging for 2 minutes)
-waist 37inches
-weight 185 pounds
-no muscles

What I want physically:
- good endurance (jog for 30min)
- waist 32 inches
- weight 170 pounds
- muscles (I'd be happy with some and definition)

The plan:
Really it's just watching what I eat, and exercising every other day. In two weeks I am going to go o. A strict diet and a 6 day/week workout routine for 90 days to see if the infomercial DVD's really can do what they advertise...

I would ask for you to wish me luck, but I feel I really have to do this all before I turn 30. So I'm just going to have to bring it ;)

PS. Bonus points for anyone who can guess the program I'll be doing.

Time for a change...

Looking at where I (still) am after all these years, it is time for a change.

In all areas of my life, home, work, health, and family, I am not where I wanted to be. I had a ton of dreams and goals that remain unachieved as I have compromised too many of my morals and beliefs. I feel that if I work really hard at getting the balance back in my life that I can begin to grow and live how I want to live.

Starting off with my health, I had quit smoking, and then quit trying to better my health any further shortly thereafter. So that being said, I have begun to exercise 3-5 times per week and reduce the junk in my diet. No more chips, fastfood, or lattes. For exercise, I am doing video programs to get used to the activity and clear the dust off; however, Monday February 15, 2010 the real challenge begins.

Again this is really only the first step in many. I hope I can keep the strenght, it's in there somewhere, I did quit smoking before!

Testing

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Karma

So did I mention that, after months of begging, we finally go office coffee.

Well karma has set in and the machine just ate my coffee money... I wouldn't have tasted good anyways...

Is there a Barista in the house!?

So.. With shaking hands and a clouded mind I write you on day 1 of my
coffee/caffeine fast.

Over late my coffee addictions have been taking over and several
people have asked what would happen if I just quit. I joked that it
would be like the airline attendant that quit smoking on the
commercial. Now I realize that may not be far off...

Wish me luck! My last coffee was @ 4:30pm on Nov. 03, 08 and So far
it's been 16 hours.

At the moment I don't feel like I'm firing on all cylinders.

Sent from my iPhone

Things are looking up...

So as time has passed the home life has taken a turn... While life is
busier than ever, it is good.

My wife and I are much closer, the boy is growing and learning so
fast! I can't beleive how proud I am of him. In fact a second baby is
on the way due in November! I may not sleep for the next 8 years - but
they will be the richest years of my life.

Oh and I got the new iPhone, waited in line in Canada for it and it is
solo worth it!

More on that tomorrow!

Sent from my iPhone

Dad 2.0

So some time has passed and I feel more comfortable with my new roll as dad. Coffee isn't always as relaxing as they once were; however, they are just as amazing. While at work you can imagine my surprise when my wife calls and asks me to pick up a 'test' on the way home. Apparently she has not been feeling well and is late.

Fast forward to the evening. So the boy is fast asleep, and it's time for the test. After some brief confusion... we find out she is only enceinte which means shes pregnant!! So I got to be there for the results which was very exciting for me to see her reaction. She is absolutely breathtaking when she smiles.

Home, Work, and the Commute...

All the days lately are the same...
I get told to get out of the bed before the alarm wakes the baby, then I stumble downstairs and snooze on the couch until the last possible moment. I awaken to rush out the door and drive my 30 minutes to the office. Eight hours blur by as I work. Then I drive the 60 minutes home (I love rush hour!) to the wife whose every word drip with anger and hatred. I then proceed to make dinner, jam whatever chores I have time to do. My favorite time of the day is the hour I get to spend with my son. Then I go to bed and try to sleep, waking frequently to the wifes angry tirades and/or insultes. Thank god I only have about 6 hours of sleep to get through each night.
I don't know what happened, I promise it wasn't always like this. We once showed that we loved each other. Now it feels like I am alone. There's no physical or emotional connection between us two. I know I love her.... but does she love me.

She loves me,
She loves me not,
She loves me...
...I hope.

Well it's been another while...

Just about a billion things have happened in the past couple of months, but have been two busy to write about it so... with no further ado I must say that I will be picking right up as of now. No long boring lists of what I missed and if I wish to remember what happened in this time later in life I will just have to rely on what braincells I have left.

However, I should note:
After going about 3 for 72 in this years Roll Up the Rim season. I've stopped buying the coffee. I still drink the stuff and will drink at the Tim Horton's still, I just won't be going out of my way just to compete in this years RUTR games.

This weather we're having here is crazy... I'm looking forward to spring when it finally arrives probably sometime around August!

The belly monster attacks!

So after a long night and day the belly monster was born into this world at 3:16pm 1/31/07. This picture shows my beautiful wife showing off her handsome new son about ten minutes after his birth. It was an exciting yet tiring day as she perservered without an epidural so the experience was louder than most! This is because he suprised us weighing in at 8lbs even and measuring 21 1/2 inches long/tall? (I noticed he has inherited his moms lungs).

A note from Mommy: I was convinced that I was having a little girl so when he came out I was really surprised, not that it mattered, all I wanted was a healthy baby and he was. I was completely overwhelmed with happiness. He is truly a little miracle, my precious little man. I didn't know I could love somebody so much. I loved you before I even met you, my belly monster!

New hobby?

I just got an old broken computer given to me, as I said I would take it after helping The Greeds dad shop for a new one. So I spent a day going through some old boxes from the move and found my old broken computer pre-laptop you see. So armed with nothing but the internet and a screwdriver I cannibalized the two old computers and built one that works! So... I think that I'm going to try to build computers and maybe sell them or fix peoples computers for them! I enjoy playing with them but maybe I can even make a couple of dollars doing it!

I'm Back...

Wow, this week has been cold! Cold enough for someone that has been climatized to our winters, but I just got off a plane from the Dominican Republic! If you were wondering only about a 70 degree difference in weather. The grass, palm trees, sand and ocean... all beautiful but I would have traded it all just to have my wife with me. She, with the baby was trapped here at home whilst I flew to be the best man for my friends wedding. It was an amazing experience but felt lacking without my best friend there to share it with me. So here's to make the most of it.

Now I'm off to make a snowman.

Procrastination...The sequel

So I've given up fighting it! Yes it has won. After another few weeks of procrastinating everything and getting it all done in the crunch (my crunch is best 48 hours from the due date). I now realize to get almost anything done I have to be in the 'crunch' zone. So I'm starting to set due dates for things I'd like to get accomplished. This may not work though as it's just me and I can always change these dates. We'll see.

Procrastination...

So it has hit again... Finished school, the house is pretty much set up and nothing huge is going on. (Finally) But now it's just hard to get motivated to do anything lately. So going to set some small goals and attempt to push through with them. I'm not going to say what these goals are otherwise I may feel bad about pushing those back!

Cool video...

So as my coffee addiction spins out of control, I was searching for another banner pic when I came across this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU-76j8eUOo

A guy on http://blog.theyearofcoffee.com actually made this from taking a picture of every single cup of coffee he drank for a year. This blew me away and maybe, just maybe sometime in the future I would be able to come up with some creative way to showcase my addiction to my love of caffeine!

Cell phone epic...

For the past couple of months the charger for my cell phone had gone on the fritz. It reminded me of the old TV antennae that you had to maneuver just right to get reception, just to get the thing to charge.

So I went to the original Bell Mobility dealer that I had purchased the thing at and was told I would need to buy a new phone or get it repaired somewhere, there was nothing they could do.

I went to the suggested repair place, who told me it was a waste of my time to get the pin fixed as it would break in a couple of months again, it would cost "a lot", and the strip of pins on the base of the phone was a connector for a different charger, a better one. But I would have to find it somewhere.

Again, I talked to Bell, Telus, Verizon, Future Shop, Bestbuy, London Drugs and no compatible charger could be found. So after a week I called Bell directly and spoke with a 'manager' who said they wanted my continued business, as it was cheaper to cancel my account rather than finish the term by about $300.00 and said he would mail the charger right away, I would only have to pay the shipping fees. (I was not looking for anything for free, just to be able to use the phone I had and was happy with that). Two days later a charger for the busted pin was mailed to me and I was pissed. With no phone, I couldn't complain.

Yesterday I stopped at Rogers, a place I didn't have much hope as nobody I knew went through them. I asked for the guys help to find a charger for my year old, but discontinued phone, and he said no problem. The charger tip (from igo.com), that was recommended for my phone was the broken tip, but he opened several of the packages until he found one that not only fit, but charged the phone.

Just the service alone has gained them a customer, I'm stuck until my contract is up; however, my company never helped me like that, and Roger's Wireless helped me with no hesitation and no requirement.

Two weeks later and I finally have it fully charged and texting!!!

Quick update!!!

1. No more school... finished my last exam.

2. Finally out of the apartment and moved into the house. It's nice.

But I still have no internet at home!!!!

Back to ... Normal?

So this week I'm wrapping up a couple of huge steps in my life. My house (besides some finishing touches) is finished and were set to move in on Tuesday, as well as I am done school this week after my last two National CIP exams!

I can't wait but somehow feel a little down about it all. I feel that the whole experience coming to an end is a little anti-climactic. So much has changed in the 2006 that I missed. When I 'left' for school I was a newlywed, just off vacation to Mexico, renting an apartment and kind of fell into the whole going to school thing. I was nowhere prepared for what life in an accelerated program would be like. It was a year of juggling everything all at once and unfortunately that meant my personal life came to a halt. There was no time for me, my wife, or family and friends. I lost a lot of time that should have been spent with The Greeds in general. No coming out of school I own a house, I have a baby on the way and besides the people I went to school with I haven't talked to anyone.

Spending time with The Greeds is my biggest priority. I would love to get to know her again, I miss her so much. She's made several comments that I've changed a lot over the past year and I know that was true of her when she went to school. I just hope that I have not changed or grew in another path from her. At least I have a job to lean on for the next year at least while getting back to living; however, I need to catch up with everybody I put on hold.

I just can't believe a year went like that (snap of the fingers). Like waking from hibernation, it's back to business.