Project 365: Day 102

It snowed a couple of inches today starting around 10 this morning as I was getting to work.  I bailed early today since no one was around and I finished my work.  I came back at 1:15 and finished shoveling my driveway at 2:45.  For those who know, it's a long ass driveway and I did it old school with a snow shovel.  It would've gone faster, but there is some ice leftover from the previous snowstorm.  I learned my lesson then not to just drive over the fresh snow and leave it.  I also need to rake leaves during the fall to keep the driveway clear.

Picture dump from Portland's Xmas day victory over the Nuggests

I shelled out for great seats. We were just five rows from the court in the center section.

Project 365: Day 101

I got this cool Oregon belt buckle for Xmas:

Project 365: Day 100

Mullet check:

Jet lagged

Any time I head west to east, I get jet lagged. The clock says 8:30, but my body thinks it's some other time. I'm not sure if I should go to bed in a couple of hours to get on a good schedule or if I should stay up until I get tired.

I've got some movies and TV shows I can watch, but I'm not sure I feel like heading down to the basement to fire up the home theater system. I could play some CoV as well. Hmmm...maybe I should play for an hour and see how I feel.

Project 365: Day 99

My Jesus gum:

Project 365: Day 98

My mom's brother, Lawrence, won The Oregonian's pun contest.

Project 365: Day 97

I got my brother an LG LCD HDTV for Xmas and my dad and I helped him set it up in his place this morning.

It was easy to set up and the picture looks great. He doesn't have any Blu-Ray movies, but we threw in Bad Santa just to make sure everything is working. The picture is awesome: crisp and clear with a large viewing angle.

Project 365: Day 96

Merry Xmas to those who celebrate it.

I was able to roust the family early this morning so we could start opening presents. I got a lot of cool stuff from my family as shown below:

I was lucky to get the following:

• Pendleton merino wool blanket
• Small, seasoned 8" cast iron skillet
• Three piece Kobalt screwdriver set
• Garden trowel
• Bananagrams
• Bananagrams puzzle book
• Jesus gum
• Swiss army knife
• One pair of Smart Wool socks
• One box of Frango mint chocolates
• Leather belt with State of Oregon belt buckle
• Nike DriFit shirt
• Nike DriFit shorts
• The Turnaround by George Pelecanos
• Four organic seed packets: basil, parsley, dill and chives
• Ingenious
• Cuban dinner
  

My brother and I gave our parents a new HP AMD-based computer and I gave my brother a 42" LG LCD HDTV.

Project 365: Day 95

My family went out for breakfast this morning to Muddy's Coffeehouse, a food and coffee joint on Mississippi in the heart of hipster-ville in N. Portland.  The food was just ok, but was certainly filling.  I had a breakfast burrito and a milkshake.
 
It's never to early for sugar.

As you can see, the place is in an old house. We sat by one of the drafty windows.

I'd go back if someone else were paying, but it's not a place I would recommend.

Done got sick

I've been fairly quiet on the bloggin' front because I got pretty darn sick early Sunday morning.  I felt great when I got in to Portland on Friday through Saturday night.  I woke up at 3 AM on Sunday with a pain in my gut.  I hit the bathroom and threw up for a few minutes straight.  I then threw up and crapped about once an hour for the next five or six hours.  I'm not talking about easy puking, but the kind where you're scraping the inside of your stomach.  Definitely painful.  I've also had really bad gas.  I don't just mean farting, but my digestive system has been gurglin'.

I haven't thrown up since Sunday night, but I've felt like it since then. Super weak since it has killed one-third of my vacation so far.  I missed the Seahawks' game on Sunday and haven't been able to get out and about like I hoped.

I've kept down everything I've eaten recently, but still feel like death warmed over.  I'm feeling better this morning, but I don't want to jinx myself.

I think I either got hit by what my family had about a week ago or I picked up something in one of the four airports I went through on Friday.  Probably all of the above.

This year has not been a healthy one for me.

Project 365: Day 94

Here is where I sleep when I visit my parents:

I actually sleep on the mattress I had as a kid.  Sleeping on the bottom bunk can induce some claustrophobia, but I've gotten used to it.  When I was growing up, my brother had the other bunk down in his room, but my parents moved in their old bed down there to make more of a guest room.  I feel more comfortable in my old room so I sleep up here when I visit.

Project 365: Day 93

Toby had to go to the vet to get a wart checked out.  He had chewed on it so it was bloody.  It turns out it's a viral wart and they froze it off.  While it heals, he needs to leave it alone so he has to wear a soft cone. 

Cone Head Toby:

He looks pretty funny and it bugs him a bit because it makes it tougher for him to jack stuff.  At least the cone is soft.

Project 365: Day 92

The holiday cribbage season started off with a loss to my dad.  Not cool.

Project 365: Day 91

I made it safe and sound to Portland.  My flights went smoothly.  I made my 29 minute connection in Cleveland without any trouble and so did my bags.  United used a 767 instead of a 757 for my Chicago to Portland flight so I got to sit in international business class with the pods and everything.  I watched some TV, ate some food and took a nap lying down completely flat.  It would've been awesome except for the annoying little crotchfruit in the nearby pod.  She didn't fall asleep until about 30 minutes before we landed.

Here's a shot of my parents' Xmas tree:

Small video dump

Portland vs Chicago in the Rose Garden:


Wind turbines on Gordon Ridge near Wasco, OR:


Short video on the top of Hurricane Mountain in the Adirondacks:

Project 365: Day 90

I'm heading off to Portland tomorrow for Xmas vacation. Nearly everything I'm taking is shown in the picture above. Not shown: clothes I'll wear on the plane and toiletries. It's great going to a place with laundry so I only need to take half as many clothes.

I'm taking two bags, but I'm hoping for a big Xmas haul. Yeah, I still get Xmas presents from my folks. I'm 33? So what? Heh. It's all good.

Project 365: Day 89

On Sunday I made meatloaf in my crockpot using a recipe I found online.  I used raisins since Wikipedia said sultanas were dried Thompson grapes.  It turned out alright and made a ton of meatloaf. 

Look upon yon mighty mound and despair:

I've probably eaten about a fifth of it since Sunday and will be eating it for many more meals after I get back from my Xmas vacation.

Project 365: Day 88

Dinner tonight: baked pasta, cajun fries and natural ginger ale.  Good times.

This too shall pass.

Project 365: Day 87

Over the weekend, I finished cleaning up from painting my spare room.  I think the green looks much better than the urine yellow.

You be the judge:

Project 365: Day 86

My neighbors across the street put up some kind of white trash inflatable snowman. My camera doesn't have great night time capabilities, but you get the idea:

Project 365: Day 85

I made baked pasta for dinner tonight though I used a different recipe from usual. This time, I used one from my mom since she made it when I was back in P-town over the Thanksgiving break. My oven is old and the button for starting it up has been touchy. Well, tonight it stopped working altogether and the part the button connected to came unattached. Super weak. The stove top still works and I've got my toaster oven, but it's a bit small.

I divided up the recipe and cooked half of it in the toaster oven. It was definitely tasty.

I'm trying to decide if I should get a cheap oven or if I should save up some scratch to redo part of my kitchen. I think I can get by with the toaster oven, the stove top and my crockpot.

Environmentalism

Since moving back to NY and buying a house, I've been more conscious of how my decisions and purchases affect the environment.

I help the environment by:

• Recycling as much as I can
• Composting as much as I can
  
• Buying products in minimal packaging or in glass
• Bringing a silicone hot pad to work so I don't need to use 8 million paper towels after heating my lunch up
  
• Bringing a hand towel to work so I don't need to use 8 million paper towels in the bathroom
  
• Using a programmable thermostat
  
• Buying products that are organic, natural or chemical free whenever possible
• Unplugging major electronics when not in use
• Using compact fluorescent or LED bulbs
• Shopping at the farmer's market when it's open
• Using a Brita pitcher at home and at work instead of drinking bottled water
• Buying energy efficient electronics
• Layering instead of turning up the heat
• Driving defensively to improve fuel economy
• Bringing my lunch to work in a cooler instead of a plastic bag or container
• Using paper or cloth bags at the grocery store
• Using baking soda + water for shampoo and cider vinegar + water for conditioner
• Using solar powered lights for the end of my driveway
  

However, I can still do much, much more by:

• Biking more including to work
• Eating less meat
• Eating less processed food
• Buying less stuff
• Taking shorter showers
• Increasing the insulation in my house
• Replacing older appliances
• Watching less TV and/or fewer movies

Any other suggestions?

Fitness update

I didn't eat well nor exercise much this week so I'm not surprised my weight went up.  However, my body fat percentage seemed to hold steady around 26%.  Sweet.

I'll start eating better today and exercising in preparation for another holiday trip back to Portland.  I want to avoid chunkin' out during the gluttony season.  I'll start by going out in the cold to shovel my driveway this morning after breakfast.

Project 365: Day 84

Mullety goodness for you on a cold Friday.

It's growing in nicely and is nearly down to my collar. The baking soda I use for shampoo is also lightening my hair quite a bit. You can also see some gray hairs chillin', but I'm gettin' older so I guess they're expected.

You can also see part of a scar in my right eyebrow.

Project 365: Day 83

I got an early Xmas present of fireplace tools. Sweet. I put them to good use over the past weekend.

The joys of homeownership.

I just spent nearly an hour after work shoveling my driveway so that I could get my car into the garage.  I had little problem getting out this morning because the driveway slopes down.  The pressure from the tires melted the snow which froze into ice which made it slippery.  It was stupid of me to not try to shovel some of it this morning, but I was in a hurry.

Nothing like a little nighttime exercise in the cold to help heal a head cold.  Heh.

After work tomorrow, I'll hit Lowe's to get a proper snow shovel and some deicing pellets.  My driveway is pretty big so I need all the help I can get.

Portland 102, Indiana 91

A road game usually means a 7 PM start which means I can watch the whole game. League Pass Broadband was borked, but I was able to watch nearly the whole game. Portland had a good first quarter, but played relatively poorly the rest of the game. Steve Blake was given 39 minutes at the expense of Bayless. Blake's a nice guy, but hasn't played well this season. Neither has Webster, but he has been starting lately anyhow.

Portland is lucky Roy knows how to take over a fourth quarter and lucky that Granny Danger is hurt.

Sick...again

I stayed home sick...again today. This year hasn't been kind to me illness-wise because I'm usually pretty healthy. Something funky must be circling the globe and caught up with me last week. I thought I had fought it off, but I woke up this morning in no shape to go to work. The half foot of snow didn't help either.

I spent most of today bumming around and slept for nearly the whole afternoon. I woke up about 20 minutes ago and my brain is still asleep - a strange feeling for sure.

I no longer have allergies so I can have indoor plants. I'm thinking of getting some known for purifying air.

Project 365: Day 82

It is deathly quiet right now.  I can't hear any traffic or other man-made noises because it snowed quite a bit last night and is still going:

I thought they would have plowed the streets by now, but I guess not.

Project 365: Day 81

It snowed a bit this morning:

On being greedy

I realized over the weekend that I am becoming a greedy dude. There are many things that I want or improvements that I want to make to my house, but I'm not content to wait until I save up money. I want them right now. Somehow I've tied my happiness to my stuff and that situation is a terrible way to live because you'll never be happy. I think I'm the happiest when I'm exercising so I should just join a tennis club or a gym or something.

I definitely need to draw the line on how much stuff I have. I think it's ok for me to improve upon what I have - upgrading my stove for instance, but I shouldn't covet more stuff.

Project 365: Day 80

Here is my work at night:

Project 365: Day 79

It's cold out and I had a ham bone in the freezer so I made split pea and ham soup.  It's one of favorite dishes and always turns out well. 

Project 365: Day 78

It's snowing here in upstate NY for the first time since I've been out here. I haven't lived in a location that gets snow for a couple of years so I'm going to need to adjust.

Fitness update

It has been a while since I've posted a picture of my fitness progress due to Thanksgiving. I weighed myself this morning and was happy to see that my weight is more or less holding steady while my body fat percentage is dropping. Sweet.

Over the past two weeks I've lost nearly one pound of fat. One pound doesn't sound like much until you factor in the food orgy that is Thanksgiving.

Project 365: Day 77

Project 365: Day 76

I have crooked fingers.

As you can tell, I've run out of ideas for Project 365. It would help if I were more social or more interesting.

I'll take picture suggestions.

Project 365: Day 75

Project 365: Day 74

Jet lagged

It's nearly 11:30, but I'm not tired. I just popped a melatonin pill because I need to get up early enough to get my ass to work by 9.

Maybe I'm overstimulated from being on the computer for most of the evening.

Project 365: Day 73

Mullet check:

My hair looks light because of the baking soda shampoo and the flash.

Project 365: Day 72

I didn't have any thawed food in my place so I hit up Five Guys Burgers for dinner. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and it was definitely tasty. I wanted a milkshake, but they don't sell those there. Weak.

I'm not sure which timezone I'm in, but I'll probably hit the hay in a couple of hours.

Portland Thanksgiving trip picture dump

I went to Portland for Thanksgiving.  It was my mom's sister's turn to host Thanksgiving so we trucked over to their wheat farm near Wasco, OR.  I took a bunch of pictures: