OK, folks, I give you fair warning up front. This one ain't gonna come out smelling like roses.
I keep wondering who is getting rich off of the current gas prices. I am thinking that the majority of us are going broke just trying to keep a half a tank. And since hurricane season is right around the corner, it is pretty much an extremely good idea to make that a habit in case of last minute evacuations. And that makes for this coming summer to be very, very, expensive.
As we look for alternatives to gas guzzling cars, we are all beginning to realize that those so-called solutions are priced way out of reach for most people, and impossible to attain on a retired salary. I think I have a solution, but I am totally unable to figure out how to make it work.
You see, those cows are on to something. They eat an awful lot of green leafy things. And they produce an awful lot of gas. So we need to figure out how to harness all that gas and put it into our gas tanks. And since we should not depend on just one solution/aspect of alternative fuels, I think this is where I can help. After all, I am a full fledged member of the 4-F club!
I eat green leafy things. I get gas. Why can't we figure out how to put it to good use? It is already useful as bathroom humor. Let's get creative and devise a plan to convert it into a usable fuel source. Think about it. It is plentiful. It is certainly a renewable resource, and it costs very little to produce. I should know, I now consider myself a walking fuel rod for gas.
I do not know why it has gotten so bad, but it is a good thing that I am alone most of the time in the house. And that I have lots of windows...
It happens so frequently the last few weeks that I make sure that when I drop something in a class in which I am substituting, I plead old age as to the reason why they have to help and pick it up for me. Because, if I bend over, the conversation in the younger classes will be something along this line:
"Toooot."
"Miss! Miss! You just farted!" Lots of giggling.
"No, it wasn't me, Susie. Jimmy was it you?"
Whereupon, several students simultaneously yell, "No, Miss, it was YOU!" Hilarious laughing.
Being a dignified person, I straighten my shoulders and explain that flatulence is a natural process, yadda, yadda, and that you ALL do it, and many of you do it all night long, yadda, yadda, and it happens because, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the idea. Circle the wagons and divert the attention by using big words that they don't understand, then remind them that it is math time and please get out your pencils.
In high school, you just get a "wasn't me" comment as work just continues. But it is an invitation to a slow death by embarrassment if you toot in a middle school classroom. Because they will ALWAYS comment on the smell and what you possibly ate to give that particular odour du jour.
I am at that stage in my financial life, that if I am going to do it, I had better enjoy it or make money off it. So come on, people, let's get with the program, here! We are Americans! We can solve this problem and find a way to make it profitable.
I am 4-F and my gas is free. Come and get it!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Get Your Energy Boosts
This past weekend was the free Air Show at the Naval Air Station here in town. We were lucky to have the famed Blue Angels come to town and bring their precise flying abilities for all of us to see. Fun times! I can hardly imagine what it takes for the pilots to keep up their strength. It must really zap them at times if they have not fueled up thier bodies the right way to take all the "g's" thrown their way as they are flying upside down, wing tip to wing tip. And those loop-the-loops? No wonder they all look so good in their uniforms! The Navy does it right!
One of the big, and I mean that literally as well as figuratively, draws in the show is the support carrier for the Blue Angels and their maintenance crew. The support personnel and equipment are toted around the country and the world in one of those big Hercules aircrafts, fondly referred to as "Fat Albert."
Fat Albert is a humongous piece of metal that makes you wonder if it could ever get off the ground high enough to be considered as "flying." Indeed, in order to get enough speed to lift its heavy load, the runways need to be as long as some of the test grounds in Desert Sands! Normal jet runways are not nearly long enough.
So how do they do it? They get an energy boost. They have, I think, four extra fuel boosters attached to the plane that when ignited, acts just like a dragster. They get going pretty fast and make a steep takeoff, allowing them to quickly get out of the area (in case of enemy fire) and back to safe air space.
As they were demonstrating their takeoffs, I thought about the energy boosts we all need, some of us more often than others. When you are overweight, you look for the quick fix of energy, mostly in all the wrong places. The Snickers bar to go with your Coke. The extra piece of pizza because you want just one more bite. These things may be good, but are definitely not good for you.
As you lose weight after your lap-band, it is especially important to opt for the right kind of energy boosters. At the beginning, it is critical that you drink your protein drinks, as it not only gives you energy but also helps to build lean muscles. As you progress and begin experimenting with what you can eat, you really need to watch your quick fixes. If it goes down easily the first time, it is very easy to reach for it a second time, heading you back into the same old habits you had before your surgery.
I know I need to look elsewhere for my energy boosts. Fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meat protein is best for me. I also sometimes forget the importance of plain water and how it helps fuel your entire body.
But I have also noticed something else that gives me energy. Feeling useful.
As I get more active because it is easier to move, I am finding out that while I love the freedom of retirement, it makes me inactive without a goal. Going back to work part time has made me feel like I am being productive again, and that gives me mental energy. Mental energy fuels my physical energy, along with smart food choices, which makes me want to be more active. That connected circle thing again.
So, just like Fat Albert and the pilots flying those jets, I need my energy boosts. I may get it from the food I eat, the work that I am doing, or it may even come from just standing still and silent and taking in all of God's wonders around me. I think those are the best one!
Get your body boosts, stay busy. But don't forget to take time for yourself. Stop and smell the roses or the fresh sea air. It will invigorate your soul.
One of the big, and I mean that literally as well as figuratively, draws in the show is the support carrier for the Blue Angels and their maintenance crew. The support personnel and equipment are toted around the country and the world in one of those big Hercules aircrafts, fondly referred to as "Fat Albert."
Fat Albert is a humongous piece of metal that makes you wonder if it could ever get off the ground high enough to be considered as "flying." Indeed, in order to get enough speed to lift its heavy load, the runways need to be as long as some of the test grounds in Desert Sands! Normal jet runways are not nearly long enough.
So how do they do it? They get an energy boost. They have, I think, four extra fuel boosters attached to the plane that when ignited, acts just like a dragster. They get going pretty fast and make a steep takeoff, allowing them to quickly get out of the area (in case of enemy fire) and back to safe air space.
As they were demonstrating their takeoffs, I thought about the energy boosts we all need, some of us more often than others. When you are overweight, you look for the quick fix of energy, mostly in all the wrong places. The Snickers bar to go with your Coke. The extra piece of pizza because you want just one more bite. These things may be good, but are definitely not good for you.
As you lose weight after your lap-band, it is especially important to opt for the right kind of energy boosters. At the beginning, it is critical that you drink your protein drinks, as it not only gives you energy but also helps to build lean muscles. As you progress and begin experimenting with what you can eat, you really need to watch your quick fixes. If it goes down easily the first time, it is very easy to reach for it a second time, heading you back into the same old habits you had before your surgery.
I know I need to look elsewhere for my energy boosts. Fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meat protein is best for me. I also sometimes forget the importance of plain water and how it helps fuel your entire body.
But I have also noticed something else that gives me energy. Feeling useful.
As I get more active because it is easier to move, I am finding out that while I love the freedom of retirement, it makes me inactive without a goal. Going back to work part time has made me feel like I am being productive again, and that gives me mental energy. Mental energy fuels my physical energy, along with smart food choices, which makes me want to be more active. That connected circle thing again.
So, just like Fat Albert and the pilots flying those jets, I need my energy boosts. I may get it from the food I eat, the work that I am doing, or it may even come from just standing still and silent and taking in all of God's wonders around me. I think those are the best one!
Get your body boosts, stay busy. But don't forget to take time for yourself. Stop and smell the roses or the fresh sea air. It will invigorate your soul.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
It's Contagious!
I love kids. I really do. But sometimes when you are subbing, 22 all at once is a little much. ESPECIALLY when they are preK kids. Sweet, but very germy. They can't help themselves, but darn, it took me one trip to their classroom and 3 days until I got their germs. All they want to do is hug and be hugged. Germ City! And every one of them itty bitty germs were willing to pass themselves off to new victims. God Bless the Teachers of the World. They really need good health care!
There are lots of contagious things out there. We know about them. Measles, chicken pox, colds, flu. But as I sat in my lounger thinking about how miserable I was feeling, it occurred to me that it doesn't have to be a physical germ that creeps into you for you to be "contagious."
Negative thoughts are contagious. One bad thought often begets another bad one. Negative people seem to attract other less than positive people to hang out with. If you believe you cannot do something, then chances are much better than 50-50 that you won't be able to do it.
I say let's turn that around. We have enough negatives that we cannot always control. We can't immediately do anything about our negative political or market climate. We can't change the minds of people by willing it to happen. But we CAN and SHOULD change our reactions to that which is negative around us.
Did you happen to see the "twins talking" that hit the news last week? Their enthusiasm is contagious. The baby that won't stop laughing and giggling? If you don't laugh at that, you need to seriously think about the way your life is heading. Even the laughing gulls that perch on my light post every morning and who laugh at me with their awful cackle every time I bend over to get the paper, they more often than not make me laugh right back.
I was at a book signing the other day at our First Friday Art Walk in downtown Corpus Christi. I not only got to sell some books, but I got to meet and greet a lot of interesting people and listen to some great music. What I realized was that all those people were there because they chose to be, and that made them happy. And their happiness made it easy to talk to them. It was contagious. And the more confidence I got, the more books I actually sold. It was with confidence that I looked for and found something personal to write in each of their newly purchased books, and each one blew my "ego" balloon up just a little more.
I noticed something else. I had sold a book to a friend of a friend in December. She was there with several of her friends that night. I caught a side conversation about a "really good book." Thinking that I might have an easy sell, I turned around to entice them over my way, only to realize it was the lady who had bought mine in December, and she was telling them about MY very book. I was stunned. She told me that she had been passing it around to all her friends, and that they all had positive things to say about it. One of her friends stopped back by toward the end of the evening and began to talk to me about the book. Her compliments grew, and because I realized they were not empty compliments, I began to more easily accept them into my thinking and even into my soul.
I was very timid about posting pics of me online, never having learned to like the way I looked on film. But the compliments I received about the progress I had made in weight loss were genuine. I had to accept them at face value for what they were...recognition of a job well done. Why is that so hard for so many of us?
So, my fellow weight lossers (notice I didn't say losers!), take those compliments. Turn them into positive experiences for you, and run with joy for how good it makes you feel. I am working very hard to make that my new mantra.
And even if you didn't mean that compliment, I take joy in the fact that I made you look!
There are lots of contagious things out there. We know about them. Measles, chicken pox, colds, flu. But as I sat in my lounger thinking about how miserable I was feeling, it occurred to me that it doesn't have to be a physical germ that creeps into you for you to be "contagious."
Negative thoughts are contagious. One bad thought often begets another bad one. Negative people seem to attract other less than positive people to hang out with. If you believe you cannot do something, then chances are much better than 50-50 that you won't be able to do it.
I say let's turn that around. We have enough negatives that we cannot always control. We can't immediately do anything about our negative political or market climate. We can't change the minds of people by willing it to happen. But we CAN and SHOULD change our reactions to that which is negative around us.
Did you happen to see the "twins talking" that hit the news last week? Their enthusiasm is contagious. The baby that won't stop laughing and giggling? If you don't laugh at that, you need to seriously think about the way your life is heading. Even the laughing gulls that perch on my light post every morning and who laugh at me with their awful cackle every time I bend over to get the paper, they more often than not make me laugh right back.
I was at a book signing the other day at our First Friday Art Walk in downtown Corpus Christi. I not only got to sell some books, but I got to meet and greet a lot of interesting people and listen to some great music. What I realized was that all those people were there because they chose to be, and that made them happy. And their happiness made it easy to talk to them. It was contagious. And the more confidence I got, the more books I actually sold. It was with confidence that I looked for and found something personal to write in each of their newly purchased books, and each one blew my "ego" balloon up just a little more.
I noticed something else. I had sold a book to a friend of a friend in December. She was there with several of her friends that night. I caught a side conversation about a "really good book." Thinking that I might have an easy sell, I turned around to entice them over my way, only to realize it was the lady who had bought mine in December, and she was telling them about MY very book. I was stunned. She told me that she had been passing it around to all her friends, and that they all had positive things to say about it. One of her friends stopped back by toward the end of the evening and began to talk to me about the book. Her compliments grew, and because I realized they were not empty compliments, I began to more easily accept them into my thinking and even into my soul.
I was very timid about posting pics of me online, never having learned to like the way I looked on film. But the compliments I received about the progress I had made in weight loss were genuine. I had to accept them at face value for what they were...recognition of a job well done. Why is that so hard for so many of us?
So, my fellow weight lossers (notice I didn't say losers!), take those compliments. Turn them into positive experiences for you, and run with joy for how good it makes you feel. I am working very hard to make that my new mantra.
And even if you didn't mean that compliment, I take joy in the fact that I made you look!
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