tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61963402024-03-07T03:55:36.175-06:00Do One Thing BetterI'm reviving this old space for a new project: Each day I focus on doing one thing better than usual in an effort to live a healthier, happier life. Most (or some) days I write about them here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger520125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-12003468123963924732012-08-14T18:28:00.002-05:002012-08-14T18:28:45.844-05:00August 14: Pay Your DebtsIt's been a few weeks since I've posted here. I'm not dead and I haven't fallen off the wagon, it's just my busy time of year. I've also been reusing ideas from previous days a lot, and that wouldn't exactly be compelling reading.
Laura went back to work yesterday after three weeks off, leaving me to make up for some of the work I've missed while spending time with her. As such, it was a busy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-40216937347802111542012-07-24T18:44:00.000-05:002012-07-24T18:44:24.790-05:00July 23: Best Meatless Monday YetMeatless Mondays have been something of a struggle over the last few weeks, but yesterday might have been my best one.
For lunch I made stuffed shells. Here's the basic recipe (apologies for vague measurements, I eyeballed it):
12-16 large pasta shells, cooked to al dente and rinsed with cold water.
Half of a medium zucchini, diced.
Half of a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
Salt and pepper
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-64909788900924230112012-07-22T09:41:00.000-05:002012-07-22T09:41:18.739-05:00Saturday, July 21: Push ThroughI didn't sleep much at all Friday night. Something I ate during the day must have disagreed with me, as I had pretty significant stomach pain and couldn't really get comfortable.
I was tired and still in some pain yesterday morning, but I managed to find a way to work through it. We still went to the Farmers Market (picture later if I get around to it), and when we got home I recognized the bestUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-80712780751610425802012-07-20T18:50:00.002-05:002012-07-20T18:50:56.881-05:00July 20: Sneaking In Some Vegetables (And A Weigh In)The Brewers are in Cincinnati and Philadelphia for the next six days, which creates some awkward schedule issues. They play at 6 pm tonight, tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday and at 11 am Sunday and Wednesday.
Brewer games that encroach on meal times make it a challenge to eat healthy: All of a sudden I'm losing an hour or two I could have spent making sure I'm eating better.
I didn't get a chance Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-61601528188085168462012-07-16T16:59:00.002-05:002012-07-16T16:59:50.601-05:00July 13-16: Recapping A Weekend Away And Falling Back Into The FireI'm several days behind here, so let's do the quick version"
Friday was a fail. I had to rush through my morning stuff to make it to Milwaukee in time for an afternoon meeting and a Brewer game, didn't find time for exercise and didn't really improve much in terms of food.
Saturday we went to the Wauwatosa Farmers Market (forgot to take a picture of our purchases, sorry), a sporting goods storeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-16756118386264690752012-07-12T22:14:00.000-05:002012-07-12T22:14:20.506-05:00July 12: Make Up For ItI'll start with an admission: Yesterday was something of a fail. Every year a few members of my family and I go on a day trip adventure to someplace we haven't been before. This year we went to Jefferson County, WI to visit three places:
An old archeological dig (perfectly healthy)
A local history museum (also healthy, even if it did feature a "dairy shrine")
...and a county fair.
As you Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-45645903594361505492012-07-10T15:47:00.000-05:002012-07-10T15:47:58.859-05:00July 10: Personal BestsBefore I start looking at today I'd like to tell the rest of yesterday's story, because I didn't get around to updating the post last night.
After dinner, frustrated with a less than stellar day, I decided to go out for a run. The timing wasn't perfect: I was still full and wasn't sure I'd be able to do all of the 1.6 mile route I'd planned out without stopping. I figured I'd give it a shot and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-60421373996400590092012-07-09T20:02:00.001-05:002012-07-09T20:02:33.665-05:00July 9: A Meatless SetbackI had a challenging day today. It was Meatless Monday, as it's been for three weeks now. I worked pretty hard to make it work despite a challenging schedule, but the meals I made were somewhat underwhelming and were not well received.
Not everything goes like you think it should. I guess. I'm going to go for a run now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-35197751825098503972012-07-08T14:14:00.001-05:002012-07-08T14:14:51.843-05:00July 8: Make It A Little HealthierMac and cheese is one of my biggest weaknesses. I run a site full of recipes for it. I buy boxes of it from Amazon by the case. If I could just give up mac and cheese it'd probably knock pounds off my waistline and add years to my life. But that would be a drastic change and, as we've discussed before, I'm not convinced of my ability to maintain drastic change over the long haul.
What I can do, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-39790883691487996012012-07-08T13:55:00.001-05:002012-07-08T14:27:24.959-05:00July 7: Behave YourselfAfter five straight days of temperatures in the mid 90's or above, yesterday was beautiful. Temperatures dropped back into the mid 70's in the morning with a nice breeze and finally, I could go outside again.
As usual I spent yesterday morning at the farmers market, then came home and tried to take the dog for a long walk. Gorman, however, wanted none of it. After about half a mile he laid down Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-6741181036101339162012-07-06T16:13:00.001-05:002012-07-20T18:51:36.627-05:00July 6: Doubling UpAfter a few days of relatively light exercise, today I carved some time out of my schedule to make sure I made up for it a bit. So, once my morning work was wrapped up I headed to the gym (it's still too hot to run outside) for a 1.4 mile run followed by half an hour of swimming.
The pool, unfortunately, brought an unwelcome surprise. I had thought my sore knee was feeling better, but apparentlyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-39272409737176993582012-07-05T14:10:00.002-05:002012-07-05T14:10:20.255-05:00July 5: Battling Through SorenessI've been complaining about being sore from this week's raspberry picking for a few days now, and today is no exception. I'm still not able to bend either leg without pain, and I must look ridiculous when I try to walk right now.
With that said, I wasn't going to skip out on exercise two days in a row. So today I busted the DDR back out and decided to see what I could do.
I was actually Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-85152258498474114482012-07-05T14:03:00.002-05:002012-07-05T14:03:57.567-05:00July 4: Staying HydratedAs I've mentioned a couple of other times, it's really hot in Wisconsin this week. I just burned my feet walking out to get the mail. So I've been maximizing my time inside.
With that said, I couldn't stay inside all week. Yesterday we had tickets to the Brewer game and stayed through ten innings and 3:33 (plus time walking in and out and some time inside before the game) despite the fact that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-23327964916594426542012-07-03T22:41:00.000-05:002012-07-03T22:41:25.314-05:00July 3: Not All Exercise Is FruitlessThe title of this post is a terrible play on words, and for that I refuse to apologize.
Last week I mentioned that Laura and I tried unsuccessfully to go raspberry picking. Today, however, a rainy morning and 90+ degree temps during the day meant the farm didn't get picked out so early and I was able to go by myself.
I headed out around 11 this morning thinking I'd pick for an hour or so. 2 1/2Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-4785240537913671072012-07-02T21:42:00.000-05:002012-07-02T21:42:34.919-05:00July 2: A Little ModerationExercise is going to be a little bit difficult this week. My knee is feeling better but as of 4 pm today we're under a heat advisory that literally extends through five days. So daylight hour running is more or less out, and last week I learned that late-night running makes a mess of my sleep cycle. I'm probably going to have to get to the gym this week and run inside, as much as I dislike doing Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-78490670783219640522012-07-01T22:53:00.001-05:002012-07-02T21:42:19.907-05:00July 1: Do What You CanI woke up this morning to an unpleasant but not unexpected discovery: The knee I twisted yesterday felt even worse after stiffening up overnight. I was able to walk on it without too much difficulty, but really struggled to go up and down stairs or do any other bending. I'd like this knee to get better, so I decided not to pound on it by running.
Knowing that my workout level would be down a bitUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-52285334291426928002012-07-01T10:55:00.004-05:002012-07-01T10:55:33.489-05:00June 30: Facing A FearI'm 29 years old and a terrible swimmer. I might as well start with that. For a variety of reasons I never really learned how as a kid. The concept of being underwater is about as scary to me as anything I can imagine. I've gotten better at swimming over the last few years but I still do everything I can to keep my head above water.
I'm also not great with heights. It's not nearly as bad as my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-86638059111570901432012-06-30T09:16:00.000-05:002012-06-30T09:17:23.092-05:00June 28 and 29: A Step Forward, A Step BackDoubling up on an update here because it's been a busy week.
It's been so busy, in fact, that twice this week I had to do my running after my normal bedtime (I like to be asleep by 11:30). Running that late just doesn't work out well for me: I'm usually tired when I start but by the time I get home, shower and get to bed it's typically an hour later and I'm wide awake.
Earlier this week I had aUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-48563362306837794582012-06-28T12:28:00.004-05:002012-06-30T09:20:21.656-05:00June 27: Extra Unexpected ExerciseI had the morning free yesterday and Laura and I were supposed to go pick raspberries. Our normal place was picked out, though, and another "shot in the dark" didn't work out. With options 1 and 2 out of the picture, we decided to go get breakfast. Then I followed a detoured road in the wrong direction and got lost.
While trying to figure out the way back, though, I stumbled across something Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-82743682185134325862012-06-26T16:43:00.000-05:002012-06-26T18:25:12.567-05:00June 26: Make It FunI'd guess that I'm like most people when I say that I rate most of my exercise options on a scale ranging from "completely unbearable" to "a necessary chore." It's pretty rare that I actually enjoy getting sweaty and uncomfortable. That makes it something of a challenge to commit to significant workout time each day.
I don't recall what made me think of it, but about a week ago I got the urge Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-7093428420652605032012-06-26T11:27:00.001-05:002012-06-26T18:25:30.048-05:00June 25: A Meatless Game DayThe Timber Rattlers are on a homestand this week and the Brewers come home for the weekend, so Laura and I are spending much of the week at the ballpark. Monday night I covered a T-Rats game as media, we're going to T-Rats games Wednesday and Thursday nights and heading down to Milwaukee on Friday.
Spending that much time at the ballpark is going to make eating reasonably this week an Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-69656938344723089162012-06-24T21:23:00.000-05:002012-06-26T18:25:48.116-05:00June 24: Eating Out A Little BetterEvery other Sunday is the last day of Laura's week of work, and we have a routine where I deliver dinner for Laura and her co-workers that night. We almost always do takeout (it makes it easier to get something everyone will like), but our options are somewhat limited. We seem to rotate pretty steadily between pizza, Chinese and subs. As you might imagine, I don't typically pursue the healthy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-7184772355299367452012-06-23T18:37:00.001-05:002012-06-26T18:26:02.894-05:00June 23: Eating FreshToday, as I do every summer Saturday, I woke up and my first stop was the farmers' market. Here's what I brought home this week:
From left to right that's asparagus, blueberries, zucchini, goat cheese, sourdough bread, red potatoes, tomatoes, salad greens and peaches.
By itself this haul is not a monumental accomplishment. Having these things in the house, though, will hopefully help Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-54053286258412541562012-06-22T10:42:00.001-05:002012-06-26T18:26:20.103-05:00June 22: Working Out TogetherAs I mentioned yesterday, I used a rare in-season off day to get ahead of schedule and buy myself some extra time today. I used that time this morning to take my wife on an hour-long hike in a nature preserve near our house.
It was nice to get a chance to spend some time together this morning, because our early schedules typically don't line up. Laura starts work at 11 am, and 6:30-noon or so isUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196340.post-43998679041469580872012-06-21T20:16:00.004-05:002012-06-26T18:26:40.751-05:00June 21: Taking Advantage Of OpportunitiesToday is kind of an unusual day schedule-wise, but the opposite of the way yesterday was. Yesterday I had to pare down my responsibilities in order to find time to prioritize getting a run in. Today I had lots of time.
The Brewers are off today, the Timber Rattlers are out of town and, as such, I had a rare in-season day without baseball to watch or cover. I finished most of today's immediate Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0