I'm getting a bunch of people together for a Biggest Loser challenge at work. The goal, to lose the biggest PERCENTAGE of weight. Winner gets a cash prize. I didn't want it to be all about the money though, and wanted to create a community of accountability, and so instead of just starting the competition and letting them go their own way, I'm scheduling weekly lunches to get together and talk, share ideas, tips, etc. Afterwards I send out an email to the group with notes I prepared and additional information gathered from the meeting. Here is email #1, in hopes it can help some of you:
There are many tools to connect with and help you on your journey. A site I showed the group today, and that I personally use is called www.DailyBurn.com. It’s a GREAT and FREE site (with a paid “Pro” added content version as well if you choose), that has MANY amazing things to help you with your goals, meal planner, daily intake, calorie counter, etc.
Tips:
1. We all know that watching your caloric intake is the biggest part to losing weight, but you also need to REALLY pay attention to your salt/sodium intake! A trainer once told me to focus on keeping it around 600-ish mg’s of sodium per meal…so around 1800-ish mg’s a day.
2. Healthy snacks, and snacks to curb your appetite are hard to find, as we all like and don’t like various things. Try unsalted almonds. Just 12 of those will curb hunger. Also, for late night snacking, if you absolutely need something, drink a large glass of milk! It gives you nutrients, healthy calories, and coats your stomach and thus tames down the stomach acid that may be churning and making you feel hungry. Protein Bars are good once in a while too.
3. Make sure you are drinking enough water. Dehydration feels the same as hunger pangs, so make sure you take assessment of how much water you’ve had, before going for your healthy snack.
4. Chew gum or ice if you are wanting food but know you don’t need it. The act of chewing may help curb your desire to eat something.
5. “Healthy shakes” (ie: Smoothie King) are actually not very good for you. Sure, they give you lots of vitamins, etc, but they are almost always LOADED with sugar.
6. Sugar is OKAY…not sugar in the form of packets of sugar, etc…but natural sugar in foods (ie: fruit, etc) is OKAY right now in your diet, because again, caloric intake is the highest thing to be aware of (followed by sodium/salt).
7. Do whatever you can to workout. Just by changing how you eat you will drop weight, but adding any sort of workout at all, will DRASTICALLY help! We all have favorite shows we watch at night (*cough* Biggest Loser is on tonight…GREAT motivation! *cough*), so try walking/jogging in place, or doing jumping jacks, etc, during commercials.
8. You’ve heard to not eat after a certain hour at night, well that’s kind of true. You should not eat four hours before you go to bed…or better yet, don’t eat bad if you know you are going to do nothing the rest of the night.
9. Try eating reverse sized meals…instead of eating a small breakfast, larger lunch, and then big dinner, eat the reverse…big breakfast, normal lunch, smaller dinner. That way you have a better chance at burning more calories that you’ve eaten throughout the day.
10. Focus on having at least 5-6 meals a day…your normal meals, and then a small snack between meals (maybe a hard-boiled egg, unsalted almonds, etc…something more protein based…or some fruit). A protein shake is a great meal-replacement, or snack. You can get the ready-made stuff you just pour, or can save money and buy the large bags of powder you just mix with water/milk. Great over ice!
11. KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL!!! How can you TRULY tell how well you’ve been eating if you can’t sit down and look at actual numbers. Sure that meal may have been small, but how many calories was in that steak…those fries…etc. There are many paper/online methods.
12. I subscribe to Runner’s World’s, “Daily Motivation” emails. It’s a daily quick sentence or two to help motivate. There are many sites like this, and many apps I’ve seen on the iPhone for this type of thing as well.
Software:
iPod Touch/iPhone users: There is a free app for the DailyBurn site, as well as a cheap app called “FoodScanner”, where you can scan the barcode on the food you’re eating and it automatically adds it to food journal for the day. This then syncs to your DailyBurn.com account, for an easy one-stop-shop website to track how you’re doing. If the food you’re eating doesn’t come up, you can input the information manually on the app, and then when you save it, it’s there for you and anyone else who comes across that food in the future!
Windows Mobile/Palm/Blackberry users: Sorry, I didn’t have enough time to find something for you, but I do know that DailyBurn was at least in the process of getting apps for your platform as well! If you know of any kind of app, let us know!
So there you have it. That was what we talked about this first meeting, and we didn’t even get to the real parts I wanted to. Each Tuesday we’ll meet and go over our victories/struggles we had for the week (if you so choose to), discuss things we’ve found that could help others (using Ms Dash spices vs salt – they have 10+ kinds of Ms Dash…Garlic, Onion, Chipotle, Lemon, etc), and other things that might help us. Even though this is a competition to find the Biggest Loser of the company, "we’re all in this together" (thank you High School Musical), and I want to see us ALL succeed! I have things planned for individual/team competitions throughout these three months, so I hope you’re excited and ready to lose with me.
And lastly, please spend time with the Father, as well as keep all of us in prayer. Being totally honest here…food has always been my “drug”, and for those like me, we all know that food is just as addictive as smoking, drugs, etc. So, let’s cover each other, and keep Satan at bay, so that we can give ALL the glory to the Father and show the world what He’s done through us, and how He’s broken these chains!
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Not my proudest moment by far.
Gonna be real with the people who read my blog. I've hit rock bottom with my weight again. I knew it was time to turn things around, but I just lost all motivation. Well, the motivation is back, but I can't really hit it hard due to Dr's orders to not push myself other than on a stationary bike, because of the inflammation in my chest. I'm praying that I can get back on track and drop the weight just by eating better and doing the bike most days until I can really step it up and start running again soon.
I upgraded to a Pro account on the DailyBurn site. I had been using the free version, and some iPhone apps they have for a while, and I was deciding on signing back up on the Biggest Loser account again, but this DailyBurn site is about 1/12th the price, and with the economy and us trying to save money, I went that route. I'm done with this weight. I let myself gain almost all of my weight back, even though I know I gained about 10 lbs of the weight enjoying food and making myself sick of the bad stuff the past couple weeks, since I knew I'd be starting it all back up today.
I told myself in the past that it was okay to enjoy the holiday foods, and it is, but I let myself enjoy them TOO much, and it started my eventual slide back to gaining weight. This year, I am purposely starting my eating healthier during the holidays because I need this change, and this was a sure fire way to test my resolve. I know I have it in me to do this. I just need to use/find some people around me who can support me when I get down, and not turn to all the junk in my house. I want to be a spark for my family again, to start turning to healthier alternatives, and not the junk that we turn to. It will be hardest for me during sporting events, and family gatherings, when the food is just sitting there, or when I normally would turn to food for stuff to pass the time (like during sporting events).
Food is like a drug to me. It's my comfort when all else is going crazy. Unfortunately, it's that way for most of my mother's side of the family as well, so maybe I can inspire others. Who knows. I just know that it's possible, and I want it!
I thought about creating a personal blog to jot this journey down for myself, but I decided not to. If you care to read about this journey, read my entries. If not, skip over them. I'll share my struggles, my triumps, and anything else like I was doing initially a year ago. Thank you all for being there for me.
Here I go again! Thanks for coming along with me on this weight loss journey.
I upgraded to a Pro account on the DailyBurn site. I had been using the free version, and some iPhone apps they have for a while, and I was deciding on signing back up on the Biggest Loser account again, but this DailyBurn site is about 1/12th the price, and with the economy and us trying to save money, I went that route. I'm done with this weight. I let myself gain almost all of my weight back, even though I know I gained about 10 lbs of the weight enjoying food and making myself sick of the bad stuff the past couple weeks, since I knew I'd be starting it all back up today.
I told myself in the past that it was okay to enjoy the holiday foods, and it is, but I let myself enjoy them TOO much, and it started my eventual slide back to gaining weight. This year, I am purposely starting my eating healthier during the holidays because I need this change, and this was a sure fire way to test my resolve. I know I have it in me to do this. I just need to use/find some people around me who can support me when I get down, and not turn to all the junk in my house. I want to be a spark for my family again, to start turning to healthier alternatives, and not the junk that we turn to. It will be hardest for me during sporting events, and family gatherings, when the food is just sitting there, or when I normally would turn to food for stuff to pass the time (like during sporting events).
Food is like a drug to me. It's my comfort when all else is going crazy. Unfortunately, it's that way for most of my mother's side of the family as well, so maybe I can inspire others. Who knows. I just know that it's possible, and I want it!
I thought about creating a personal blog to jot this journey down for myself, but I decided not to. If you care to read about this journey, read my entries. If not, skip over them. I'll share my struggles, my triumps, and anything else like I was doing initially a year ago. Thank you all for being there for me.
Here I go again! Thanks for coming along with me on this weight loss journey.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Easy like Saturday morning
Wakin' up on a Saturday morning and not having to immediately run somewhere to do something is such a beautiful thing. Now, couple that with waking up and getting to take a shower, wake up a little, pay some bills, have money leftover, then sit down to blog, finding College Gameday is in Austin at UT broadcasting, and then to top it off, finding that my internet provider now offers ESPN360 online...WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY!!! UGH! I don't know how it can get any better! Seriously! I am in such a great mood right now! Today will be a good day. Here's what my day will consist of:
Head to get B's iPhone and take our phones to get the Invisible Shield put on them.
Head to said kiosk and while our phones are getting the I.S. put on them, will hav some lunch with friends Don & Mercy.
Head to a birthday party for one of Braden's friends, and hang out with our friends Lance & Jennifer while the party goes on.
Come home, and hope the Iowa game isn't blacked out, so that I can watch it on earlier mentioned ESPN360 online.
Hang out with the Mrs when she gets home from work, and maybe watch "Rocketman", one of Avery's favorite movies.
Good times all...good times.
So, what's new with me lately?
Picked up the new iPhone 3GS this past week. To go from the original 2G, to the 3GS is an insane upgrade. For those of you that have a 3G, and are deciding on upgrading to the 3GS, the only real difference is the added video camera option, just a slightly better camera, and a slightly faster processor (and more ram). So it's not such a huge upgrade like going from the old 2G. I went with the 32GB version, as it just made sense for me, since I wanted to have most of my music collection on it as well as having room for the many apps I plan to add throughout it's lifetime.
Next weekend, I'm heading up to Minnesota, to go on the annual Roos Men Fishing Trip. I haven't been able to go in four years since we moved down here, but B decided to give me one of the best birthday gifts ever (and one I wouldn't mind every year, ha!), and bought me a plane ticket so I could go this year. It's such a fun trip and one that creates many memories for us guys. All we do is fish, play poker, and have some beers, but we get to just "guy out" and hang out for a few days. GO LAKE! GO FISH!
The boys started their official baseball season this past week, and both played two games. Avery's team (the Pirates) is 2-0, and Braden's (the Rangers) is 1-1. This is Braden's first year playing any sport, and while he was apprehensive at first, he's starting to feel comfortable and opening up when it's time to play. He's really liking it, and it's so much fun watching them learn how to play. He usually plays right field, 3B or Catcher. Avery played 3B all year last year, but the coach really likes him anywhere he can get him to play, since he feels comfortable in his skills at any position. He mostly plays SS, but has played CF a lot this season as well. Even a little catcher also. It's so much fun watching him play, because he just gets it. He seems to barely need any real coaching. The other kids are too young to tell how they could be in sports, but Avery has a real chance and playing far, so I pray he keeps his mind on the straight and narrow, God in his heart, out of trouble, and listens to his parents and coaches.
J is taking the season off, so she's really helping us watch Evan while we watch the boys play sports. She likes to watch them too, but really only when they're batting, since it's just too slow of a sport for her to sit and watch. And if it's hard for her to watch, then you KNOW it's hard for Evan to watch. ;) So, she'll take him to the nearby playground, or an open baseball field next to the one we're usually on, and let him run. We can keep an eye on them, but she can be the hands on close by.
Other than that, we're just trying to work as much as we can, to save up for B's surgery in January, relax as hard as we can when we have down time, and enjoy each other's company as much as we can, since we're on the go most of the time during the baseball seasons.
One last update, two weekends ago, I was having some really bad chest pains. I figured I just had some muscle pull, but planned to see the Dr on Monday if it still hurt. By then, the pain went away. Then this past weekend the pain came back. I went to the Dr and he said it was some inflammation called "Pleurisy", which was in the muscle to the right of my sternum. He gave me some anti-inflammatories and told me to come back in a couple weeks if it's still there. Fast forward two days later, and five uses of said medicine, and it was worse to the point where it felt I was being stabbed in the chest. I couldn't move to get comfortable, was getting worried something else was wrong, and so I drove myself to the ER. I never had any physical pain where I could push on my chest and it would hurt, but I had a few spots where I could push and it would lessen the pain when I would have the flare-ups or when I coughed. However, the nurse was pushing on my chest and hit a spot where I did have some pain that I must not have known about, and it sent me through the roof, screaming in pain. They then ran bloodwork, got chest x-rays, and found that all tests were negative for heart issues, white blood cell counts, etc. He found that it's ANOTHER inflammation called "Costeochondritis", which is inflammation of the upper sternum and cartilage. So, they gave me an IV, pumped me full of steroids, high-dose anti-inflammatory, and some pain meds. After an hour, my pain which was at a 10, was down to a manageable 7. By the time I woke up in the morning, it was down to a 5, and has been better since. I'm still tender on my chest, and the pain shoots up once in a while, but it's way better than it was, and I feel I'm almost done with this now that it's been another couple days. Whew. Crazy stuff our bodies can do, the pain it can give us, but how awesome our bodies are when they heal.
Thank you all for who prayed for me this past week.
It's time to get moving, and go get some Invisible Shields put on! GIDDYUP!
Have a blessed week, y'all!
Head to get B's iPhone and take our phones to get the Invisible Shield put on them.
Head to said kiosk and while our phones are getting the I.S. put on them, will hav some lunch with friends Don & Mercy.
Head to a birthday party for one of Braden's friends, and hang out with our friends Lance & Jennifer while the party goes on.
Come home, and hope the Iowa game isn't blacked out, so that I can watch it on earlier mentioned ESPN360 online.
Hang out with the Mrs when she gets home from work, and maybe watch "Rocketman", one of Avery's favorite movies.
Good times all...good times.
So, what's new with me lately?
Picked up the new iPhone 3GS this past week. To go from the original 2G, to the 3GS is an insane upgrade. For those of you that have a 3G, and are deciding on upgrading to the 3GS, the only real difference is the added video camera option, just a slightly better camera, and a slightly faster processor (and more ram). So it's not such a huge upgrade like going from the old 2G. I went with the 32GB version, as it just made sense for me, since I wanted to have most of my music collection on it as well as having room for the many apps I plan to add throughout it's lifetime.
Next weekend, I'm heading up to Minnesota, to go on the annual Roos Men Fishing Trip. I haven't been able to go in four years since we moved down here, but B decided to give me one of the best birthday gifts ever (and one I wouldn't mind every year, ha!), and bought me a plane ticket so I could go this year. It's such a fun trip and one that creates many memories for us guys. All we do is fish, play poker, and have some beers, but we get to just "guy out" and hang out for a few days. GO LAKE! GO FISH!
The boys started their official baseball season this past week, and both played two games. Avery's team (the Pirates) is 2-0, and Braden's (the Rangers) is 1-1. This is Braden's first year playing any sport, and while he was apprehensive at first, he's starting to feel comfortable and opening up when it's time to play. He's really liking it, and it's so much fun watching them learn how to play. He usually plays right field, 3B or Catcher. Avery played 3B all year last year, but the coach really likes him anywhere he can get him to play, since he feels comfortable in his skills at any position. He mostly plays SS, but has played CF a lot this season as well. Even a little catcher also. It's so much fun watching him play, because he just gets it. He seems to barely need any real coaching. The other kids are too young to tell how they could be in sports, but Avery has a real chance and playing far, so I pray he keeps his mind on the straight and narrow, God in his heart, out of trouble, and listens to his parents and coaches.
J is taking the season off, so she's really helping us watch Evan while we watch the boys play sports. She likes to watch them too, but really only when they're batting, since it's just too slow of a sport for her to sit and watch. And if it's hard for her to watch, then you KNOW it's hard for Evan to watch. ;) So, she'll take him to the nearby playground, or an open baseball field next to the one we're usually on, and let him run. We can keep an eye on them, but she can be the hands on close by.
Other than that, we're just trying to work as much as we can, to save up for B's surgery in January, relax as hard as we can when we have down time, and enjoy each other's company as much as we can, since we're on the go most of the time during the baseball seasons.
One last update, two weekends ago, I was having some really bad chest pains. I figured I just had some muscle pull, but planned to see the Dr on Monday if it still hurt. By then, the pain went away. Then this past weekend the pain came back. I went to the Dr and he said it was some inflammation called "Pleurisy", which was in the muscle to the right of my sternum. He gave me some anti-inflammatories and told me to come back in a couple weeks if it's still there. Fast forward two days later, and five uses of said medicine, and it was worse to the point where it felt I was being stabbed in the chest. I couldn't move to get comfortable, was getting worried something else was wrong, and so I drove myself to the ER. I never had any physical pain where I could push on my chest and it would hurt, but I had a few spots where I could push and it would lessen the pain when I would have the flare-ups or when I coughed. However, the nurse was pushing on my chest and hit a spot where I did have some pain that I must not have known about, and it sent me through the roof, screaming in pain. They then ran bloodwork, got chest x-rays, and found that all tests were negative for heart issues, white blood cell counts, etc. He found that it's ANOTHER inflammation called "Costeochondritis", which is inflammation of the upper sternum and cartilage. So, they gave me an IV, pumped me full of steroids, high-dose anti-inflammatory, and some pain meds. After an hour, my pain which was at a 10, was down to a manageable 7. By the time I woke up in the morning, it was down to a 5, and has been better since. I'm still tender on my chest, and the pain shoots up once in a while, but it's way better than it was, and I feel I'm almost done with this now that it's been another couple days. Whew. Crazy stuff our bodies can do, the pain it can give us, but how awesome our bodies are when they heal.
Thank you all for who prayed for me this past week.
It's time to get moving, and go get some Invisible Shields put on! GIDDYUP!
Have a blessed week, y'all!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
It's been a minute...
I know I know I know..."Erik, why do you even have a blog, since you never post?!" It's how I are. That's all I can say. I get hooked on something for a bit, and then the next thing takes over and my attention is gone. I don't have that many readers that come here to my little corner of the world any way, so I don't feel too concerned that I've alienated many of you. A bit of advice, if you don't already, you should use an RSS reader and just add my blog to it. Then you'll only have to come to my blog when you see I've updated. The rest of the time you just not worry about if I'm posting or not, because you'll be notified when I am. If you truly care to see me post more on here, feel free to let me know. If I know I have people who actually give a rip about me posting on my blog, I'll actually put more on here!
What's been going on lately in my world? It's been crazy, but crazy perfect most of the time.
We had some friends, Nick & Mary, and their son, Nate, move down here from Iowa. They lived with us for a month. THAT was some crazy times right there! We were glad to have been able to help them during their transition to H-town by offering up a room for them to live in. It was nice, but after living with anyone for a month, you long to have some normalcy back, and to not feel like you should be entertaining them. They never asked us, or made us feel like we should be, but you know how it is...we're good people and we just wanted to make sure they were doing alright. They moved out a few weeks ago, and things are going well for them. The Sheldon household has returned to normal, and now we're just getting ready for school to start.
Speaking of school starting, this year, we'll have three kids in the same school at the same time! That will be nice in the morning, as I'll only have to go to one place, instead of when I had to take Braden to his preschool. Of course, that'll change in two years when Evan starts that up. This year though, Avery will be a fifth grader...the head honcho in the school...runnin' the show! He says he can't wait for school to start. Who can blame him, since he'll be in the highest grade? It's sad though, since kids don't really pick on other kids in grade school, and all that will change for him next year. I don't see it happening too much to him though. He's got friends of all shapes, sizes and colors now, and he's pretty popular, with friends already in middle school, so I'm sure he'll fit right in. J will be a third grader, and she's ready to get to it as well, although she'll have the hardest time, since she likes to sleep a little later than the rest of the kids. Like mother, like daughter! And lastly, Braden starts Kindergarten! He's not really said much, but I'm sure he's really excited. He's a little shy normally, so it'll take him a second to get going, but he will. He's the strong, silent type. Evan will be the only one at home now, and will get lots of attention from his mother and grandmother.
Baseball tryouts are this week for A & Braden. J is skipping sports this season, which will give us one more break, meaning we'll only have to go to two different practices/game schedules like we did last season. So we're used to that. When she picks back up with softball or volleyball (she was hinting at this last week), adding that to our schedule will be crazy! We have options of people to help us with the kids and taking them to/from practice, but you just hate to have to ask for that, or rely on people like that, ya know? Any way, this is Braden's first real time going out for a sport, but I don't know of a better sport to sign him up for. He loves to hit the ball in the backyard, and he actually CRUSHES it! Aaaand, he's a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate! It'll be fun watching him this season. I plan to be an assistant coach most of the time, so I'm praying B can get time off during the days he has practice/games. A has always been amazing at baseball, and in the offseason he upgraded his bats with his birthday money, so we're excited to see how he does against pitchers 1-2 years older than him. We've hit the batting cages, and have picked up the ball for some catch lately, to try and get him in the "swing" of things. I LOVE WATCHING MY KIDS PLAY BASEBALL!
Saw some movies lately..."17 Again", good flick with a couple parts that barely make it a PG-13 rating, but it had a lot of great life lessons for us all..."Transformers 2", I thought was better than the original! Being able to actually see them fight and being able to tell what you're seeing was a nice bonus..."G-Force", was much cuter than I thought it would be, but still, just a decent movie. There are too many other movies I want to see that are out now, or will be. "District 9" is a MUST see for me, and I plan on catching that this week if possible! Gotta do it before the baseball season starts for the kids! Won't have time after!
Fire ants suck, m'kay? Seriously, they piss me off royally! I put fire ant killing stuff on my lawn like I always do, but I JUST did it two weeks ago, so I shouldn't have any issues like we had this weekend. It usually takes around 6 months or more before you start to see ant hills popping up. The pouring of rain we've had lately must be the issue. We've had a ton of it in the past week or so. All the directions say that as long as it doesn't pour for 24 hours after you put it on your lawn, you should be fine. Over the weekend though, about five minutes apart, B and I got attacked by those damn things. I have about eight stings on my feet, and B has a few as well. They just itch like freaking crazy! So, today saw me spending an hour putting more ant poison on the four mounds I found. Stupid ants! ANTS...I AM THE DEATHBRINGER!!!
I gave B an iPhone for an early Mother's Day/Anniversary present back in late May, and she's loved the thing as much as she and I hoped she would. My BlackJack2 phone died a couple months ago, and since I couldn't get a discount on a new phone until my contract renews in September, I was freaking out on what to do for a phone until then. With me needing one primarily for work, let alone as my home phone since we don't have a land line, I was trying to think of any and everything I could to replace my lost little friend. Enter a coworker of mine who had upgraded her old 2G iPhone for a new 3G one. She said she'd sell her old 2G model to me, and I didn't think twice about it! I've had it for two months now and freaking LOVE this thing! It's all of my devices rolled into one! Phone...internet...iPod...mobile applications...gaming...etc! It's amazing! Back to B, she turned her head one minute yesterday and Evan dropped it in the kiddie pool we have in the backyard. It turned on, but the touchscreen wouldn't work. So, good but bad news. I took it to the Apple store, and they showed me the "alarms" that went off because of it being wet and said they couldn't do anything for me. It violates the warranty, so barring a miracle, B was up a creek. We put it next to the AC vent in the car and turned it up to full blast. Thirty minutes later, things started working again! HALLELUAH, thank you Jesus! All I kept doing was praying, because if it didn't work, she wouldn't have a phone for weeks until I could get a new one, and then she'd have to use my old 2G one, instead of her new, nice & shiny 3G one. So, with all of that working, that then leaves me with the ability to upgrade my phone on September 10th or later, to a 3GS one! Can't wait to have the iPhone and actually have it run as fast as I am! That's the only downside with the 2G, is that it's two years old, and so the technology was just slower then. And with me being an IT guy, and proficient with button-mashing, me be needing the fast as I can get phone! ;)
Tonight, B and I were feening for some ice cream, so B went and got some. She got a chocolate cookie kind, a peanut butter cup kind, and caramel chunk kind. It's ice cream...they're all good. My favorite ice cream nowadays is the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Why does ice cream have to be so dang fattening? For real?
On this past Thursday, we had a Social Networking "expert" come and talk to the staff about how we need to be more involved with it, how to be "in" it, and how "not" to do the wrong things while using it. It's all common sense here people. If you're going to put your company in the Social Networking scene, you use the main things that everyone uses to reach the most people...you use the Facebooks, the YouTubes, the Twitters, etc. It was hilarious how he'd throw out buzz words, and how all these other people who used it on the staff all talked like they were the pros. It was KILLING me. I'm a social network pro, and I didn't even know it. Seriously, I don't know how companies need to pay someone to come in and tell them this stuff. It's not hard, and in fact, it's pretty basic. GET OUT THERE AND USE IT! Don't be afraid of new "avenues" like the social networking world. Get your company out there! Make sure to use common sense...update your information, events, "status", etc, when common sense would tell you to do it. Only give access to your account to the people who NEED it. Don't put anything out there that you don't want spread across the internet. And lock down your privacy on the account, so you only show what you want to show, and only give people access to what you want them to have access to. Do you want only your followers to see what you put on there, or do you want any and everyone to have the ability to see what you have on there. Common sense people. Don't be afraid of the social networking scene. The internet, just like the world, changes everyday, so just keep your eye out for the next Facebook, the next YouTube, the next Twitter, and follow where your audience is. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.
So, that's my update for now. Alot of posting since it's been awhile. Again, if you care to see more on here, let me know. I update my Twitter all the time, every day, so you can follow me on there. I tend to be a little "loud" on there though, so be prepared. I am on Facebook as well, but I don't really get on there much any more. Twitter's 140 character updates are about all I need. Sometimes I need 380, though. ;)
Peace and chicken grease,
E
What's been going on lately in my world? It's been crazy, but crazy perfect most of the time.
We had some friends, Nick & Mary, and their son, Nate, move down here from Iowa. They lived with us for a month. THAT was some crazy times right there! We were glad to have been able to help them during their transition to H-town by offering up a room for them to live in. It was nice, but after living with anyone for a month, you long to have some normalcy back, and to not feel like you should be entertaining them. They never asked us, or made us feel like we should be, but you know how it is...we're good people and we just wanted to make sure they were doing alright. They moved out a few weeks ago, and things are going well for them. The Sheldon household has returned to normal, and now we're just getting ready for school to start.
Speaking of school starting, this year, we'll have three kids in the same school at the same time! That will be nice in the morning, as I'll only have to go to one place, instead of when I had to take Braden to his preschool. Of course, that'll change in two years when Evan starts that up. This year though, Avery will be a fifth grader...the head honcho in the school...runnin' the show! He says he can't wait for school to start. Who can blame him, since he'll be in the highest grade? It's sad though, since kids don't really pick on other kids in grade school, and all that will change for him next year. I don't see it happening too much to him though. He's got friends of all shapes, sizes and colors now, and he's pretty popular, with friends already in middle school, so I'm sure he'll fit right in. J will be a third grader, and she's ready to get to it as well, although she'll have the hardest time, since she likes to sleep a little later than the rest of the kids. Like mother, like daughter! And lastly, Braden starts Kindergarten! He's not really said much, but I'm sure he's really excited. He's a little shy normally, so it'll take him a second to get going, but he will. He's the strong, silent type. Evan will be the only one at home now, and will get lots of attention from his mother and grandmother.
Baseball tryouts are this week for A & Braden. J is skipping sports this season, which will give us one more break, meaning we'll only have to go to two different practices/game schedules like we did last season. So we're used to that. When she picks back up with softball or volleyball (she was hinting at this last week), adding that to our schedule will be crazy! We have options of people to help us with the kids and taking them to/from practice, but you just hate to have to ask for that, or rely on people like that, ya know? Any way, this is Braden's first real time going out for a sport, but I don't know of a better sport to sign him up for. He loves to hit the ball in the backyard, and he actually CRUSHES it! Aaaand, he's a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate! It'll be fun watching him this season. I plan to be an assistant coach most of the time, so I'm praying B can get time off during the days he has practice/games. A has always been amazing at baseball, and in the offseason he upgraded his bats with his birthday money, so we're excited to see how he does against pitchers 1-2 years older than him. We've hit the batting cages, and have picked up the ball for some catch lately, to try and get him in the "swing" of things. I LOVE WATCHING MY KIDS PLAY BASEBALL!
Saw some movies lately..."17 Again", good flick with a couple parts that barely make it a PG-13 rating, but it had a lot of great life lessons for us all..."Transformers 2", I thought was better than the original! Being able to actually see them fight and being able to tell what you're seeing was a nice bonus..."G-Force", was much cuter than I thought it would be, but still, just a decent movie. There are too many other movies I want to see that are out now, or will be. "District 9" is a MUST see for me, and I plan on catching that this week if possible! Gotta do it before the baseball season starts for the kids! Won't have time after!
Fire ants suck, m'kay? Seriously, they piss me off royally! I put fire ant killing stuff on my lawn like I always do, but I JUST did it two weeks ago, so I shouldn't have any issues like we had this weekend. It usually takes around 6 months or more before you start to see ant hills popping up. The pouring of rain we've had lately must be the issue. We've had a ton of it in the past week or so. All the directions say that as long as it doesn't pour for 24 hours after you put it on your lawn, you should be fine. Over the weekend though, about five minutes apart, B and I got attacked by those damn things. I have about eight stings on my feet, and B has a few as well. They just itch like freaking crazy! So, today saw me spending an hour putting more ant poison on the four mounds I found. Stupid ants! ANTS...I AM THE DEATHBRINGER!!!
I gave B an iPhone for an early Mother's Day/Anniversary present back in late May, and she's loved the thing as much as she and I hoped she would. My BlackJack2 phone died a couple months ago, and since I couldn't get a discount on a new phone until my contract renews in September, I was freaking out on what to do for a phone until then. With me needing one primarily for work, let alone as my home phone since we don't have a land line, I was trying to think of any and everything I could to replace my lost little friend. Enter a coworker of mine who had upgraded her old 2G iPhone for a new 3G one. She said she'd sell her old 2G model to me, and I didn't think twice about it! I've had it for two months now and freaking LOVE this thing! It's all of my devices rolled into one! Phone...internet...iPod...mobile applications...gaming...etc! It's amazing! Back to B, she turned her head one minute yesterday and Evan dropped it in the kiddie pool we have in the backyard. It turned on, but the touchscreen wouldn't work. So, good but bad news. I took it to the Apple store, and they showed me the "alarms" that went off because of it being wet and said they couldn't do anything for me. It violates the warranty, so barring a miracle, B was up a creek. We put it next to the AC vent in the car and turned it up to full blast. Thirty minutes later, things started working again! HALLELUAH, thank you Jesus! All I kept doing was praying, because if it didn't work, she wouldn't have a phone for weeks until I could get a new one, and then she'd have to use my old 2G one, instead of her new, nice & shiny 3G one. So, with all of that working, that then leaves me with the ability to upgrade my phone on September 10th or later, to a 3GS one! Can't wait to have the iPhone and actually have it run as fast as I am! That's the only downside with the 2G, is that it's two years old, and so the technology was just slower then. And with me being an IT guy, and proficient with button-mashing, me be needing the fast as I can get phone! ;)
Tonight, B and I were feening for some ice cream, so B went and got some. She got a chocolate cookie kind, a peanut butter cup kind, and caramel chunk kind. It's ice cream...they're all good. My favorite ice cream nowadays is the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Why does ice cream have to be so dang fattening? For real?
On this past Thursday, we had a Social Networking "expert" come and talk to the staff about how we need to be more involved with it, how to be "in" it, and how "not" to do the wrong things while using it. It's all common sense here people. If you're going to put your company in the Social Networking scene, you use the main things that everyone uses to reach the most people...you use the Facebooks, the YouTubes, the Twitters, etc. It was hilarious how he'd throw out buzz words, and how all these other people who used it on the staff all talked like they were the pros. It was KILLING me. I'm a social network pro, and I didn't even know it. Seriously, I don't know how companies need to pay someone to come in and tell them this stuff. It's not hard, and in fact, it's pretty basic. GET OUT THERE AND USE IT! Don't be afraid of new "avenues" like the social networking world. Get your company out there! Make sure to use common sense...update your information, events, "status", etc, when common sense would tell you to do it. Only give access to your account to the people who NEED it. Don't put anything out there that you don't want spread across the internet. And lock down your privacy on the account, so you only show what you want to show, and only give people access to what you want them to have access to. Do you want only your followers to see what you put on there, or do you want any and everyone to have the ability to see what you have on there. Common sense people. Don't be afraid of the social networking scene. The internet, just like the world, changes everyday, so just keep your eye out for the next Facebook, the next YouTube, the next Twitter, and follow where your audience is. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.
So, that's my update for now. Alot of posting since it's been awhile. Again, if you care to see more on here, let me know. I update my Twitter all the time, every day, so you can follow me on there. I tend to be a little "loud" on there though, so be prepared. I am on Facebook as well, but I don't really get on there much any more. Twitter's 140 character updates are about all I need. Sometimes I need 380, though. ;)
Peace and chicken grease,
E
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