OK that title may seem ominous but in reality it is not.
The whole idea is that so far this year I have been running more and now it is time to start doing other things to improve the quality of life - meaning training as well as relaxing and overall taking better care of myself. Part of this is to try and get ready for my big goal this year which is to run the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October. To get there I have to make sure I am sensible about training, not overdoing it, but also not neglecting things. But there is also the aspect that my doing little things like this will improve how I feel about things in general which should help me relax and I think we all need to relax at least a bit.
It has been fairly timely in that one of the magazines I read monthly, Outside, had an article this month on different things that people have tried to improve their overall quality of life and fitness. These are not all things that I would do but there are elements of each that I can see fitting in to what I do - things like: take it easy on the coffee; have a glass of wine a day; get outside more often (take breaks during the day just to get outside); unplug a bit more and take a day off more frequently to do something fun. Like I said nothing crazy but things that add up so that life is a little less stressful.
And in turn of course these things should help my running, especially as I get ready for some races that are coming up.
I am looking forward to making some of these small changes just to see the overall impact it has on me and then in turn to those around me - maybe a little less coffee will help me be a little less on edge ;-)
OK - off for some water .... enjoy life :-)
ISHI - Japanese for DETERMINATION. Some would say I am stubborn - others opinionated - but in reality it is determined. I believe it is determination that got me through the challenges I have faced and allowed me to start this new and wonderful life. I will stay determined and we will have as much fun as we can along the way. Read along for the wonderful adventure.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Yum
The only way to cook beef stew .. Long and slow in cast iron ..... of course with a beer chaser
Location : 42439 Patrick Wayne, Ashburn, VA 20148,
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Monday, February 21, 2011
In Newfoundland you may call this a rant ....
It is Presidents Day here in not so sunny Northern Virginia. Of course that does not stop me from relaxing in the den reading the paper and enjoying my coffee. I enjoy reading because it gives me the opportunity to see people's different views of things and this morning I saw a view on personal responsibility.
The headline Montgomery homeowner learns back yard is a no-mow zone. The issue is that the homeowner did not know that there was an easement on his property that required him to leave the specific area "natural". Why did he not know this? It is, by his own admission, in the contract under which he bought the house. He stated that in the flurry of paperwork he signed the specific paragraph without reading or inquiring about it.
So how is this news? What I find interesting about this story is the element of the bigger picture. Had this homeowner taken an extra 30 minutes to read what he was signing and ask questions he certainly could have known about this and made the decision to buy and live with it or not to buy.
On the bigger scale - in today's environment of fiscal conservatism I believe we will see a lot of this, let me be blunt, "Oh shit!" moments in the coming weeks, months and years people looking near term and then some time later realizing that more thought was needed. For example - the real possibility that the Federal Government shuts down means unemployment benefits, social security, medicare, visas, etc do not get processed. How will the citizenry feel about this and are the new republicans ready for that? If the plans for budget cuts to border control and EPA go ahead how will the citizenry feel about long lines at the border, less protection at the border when immigration concerns have been top shelf items, or increased cost of goods because it is more expensive to import? What about impacts on the environment? If the EPA is not able to do it's job are we to expect big company CEOs are going to continue to invest in clean technologies or would they rather short cut the process and give a fraction of that money to a political action committee so that more cuts to such programs can happen?
There are lots of very tough questions that need to be answered but I hope that the US public will ask the questions while looking at the big picture and make sure that their representatives look at the effect of their decisions 10 to 20 years down the road and not just looking at how they get a checkmark for the next time they face the people in the polls.
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The headline Montgomery homeowner learns back yard is a no-mow zone. The issue is that the homeowner did not know that there was an easement on his property that required him to leave the specific area "natural". Why did he not know this? It is, by his own admission, in the contract under which he bought the house. He stated that in the flurry of paperwork he signed the specific paragraph without reading or inquiring about it.
So how is this news? What I find interesting about this story is the element of the bigger picture. Had this homeowner taken an extra 30 minutes to read what he was signing and ask questions he certainly could have known about this and made the decision to buy and live with it or not to buy.
On the bigger scale - in today's environment of fiscal conservatism I believe we will see a lot of this, let me be blunt, "Oh shit!" moments in the coming weeks, months and years people looking near term and then some time later realizing that more thought was needed. For example - the real possibility that the Federal Government shuts down means unemployment benefits, social security, medicare, visas, etc do not get processed. How will the citizenry feel about this and are the new republicans ready for that? If the plans for budget cuts to border control and EPA go ahead how will the citizenry feel about long lines at the border, less protection at the border when immigration concerns have been top shelf items, or increased cost of goods because it is more expensive to import? What about impacts on the environment? If the EPA is not able to do it's job are we to expect big company CEOs are going to continue to invest in clean technologies or would they rather short cut the process and give a fraction of that money to a political action committee so that more cuts to such programs can happen?
There are lots of very tough questions that need to be answered but I hope that the US public will ask the questions while looking at the big picture and make sure that their representatives look at the effect of their decisions 10 to 20 years down the road and not just looking at how they get a checkmark for the next time they face the people in the polls.
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Location:Legacy Park Dr,Ashburn,United States
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sam will likely want this removed
I had way too much fun doing this and when Laura saw it she laughed but I know Sam will not be pleased ... but if you cannot have fun then why bother .... Sorry Sam.
Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Another first ....
So technically I am writing this the day before but ... February 14th will be
the first Valentine's Day I get to spend as Mr. Laura Bell. Ok - I am teasing about the Mr. Laura Bell but it is wonderful to think that I will spend this Valentine's Day with Laura as my wife.
Laura decided to get a jump start on things this weekend and surprise me
with a fantastic Saturday - starting with an afternoon at the Virginia Wine Festival, where we tasted a lot of different Virginia wines. The great thing about it was that a lot of them are close enough that we can visit the winery ourselves. After the wine tasting Laura then took me to a wonderful restaurant in Vienna, Bazins. I had never heard of it but she somehow found it and said that it looked to be great - and she was right. The atmosphere was warm, the food good and the wine list extensive. It was great to spend such a wonderful day with my beautiful wife.
So today, on Valentine's Day, I want to make sure that Laura knows how much she means to me.
I love you sweetheart.
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the first Valentine's Day I get to spend as Mr. Laura Bell. Ok - I am teasing about the Mr. Laura Bell but it is wonderful to think that I will spend this Valentine's Day with Laura as my wife.
Laura decided to get a jump start on things this weekend and surprise me
with a fantastic Saturday - starting with an afternoon at the Virginia Wine Festival, where we tasted a lot of different Virginia wines. The great thing about it was that a lot of them are close enough that we can visit the winery ourselves. After the wine tasting Laura then took me to a wonderful restaurant in Vienna, Bazins. I had never heard of it but she somehow found it and said that it looked to be great - and she was right. The atmosphere was warm, the food good and the wine list extensive. It was great to spend such a wonderful day with my beautiful wife.
So today, on Valentine's Day, I want to make sure that Laura knows how much she means to me.
I love you sweetheart.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Few Days Near LA
So as we fly back from LAX I thought it would be a good time to give everyone an update on our trip.
I flew out to LA Monday past for a few days work in Santa Monica. The days were long but informative and enjoyable. I had dinner at Mr Chows on Monday night where our CEO made sure that everyone got to experience
Mr Chows Peking Duck. Tuesday afternoon we spent a couple of hours with one of our customers having fun at their studio making commercials - which was fun but do not ask me about the one I was in.
Thursday Laura flew in to join me in Santa Monica for a night before we headed down to Marina Del Rey for the rest of the weekend. After my meetings finished Thursday we spent a bit of time checking out Santa
Monica and then spent Friday afternoon down the beach in Venice. Venice Beach, what can I say about it? Part carnival sideshow, part "look at me" and very little beach. We did see some great art down there including some metal sculptures. I will be getting some more pics up on Picasa in the next day or so and will put a link to it on the page.
We did have some great meals as well. Friday at the Figtree in Venice Beach and Saturday afternoon we hit Hal's Grill after checking out the Venice Galleries. Both Figtree and Hal's were very good. Saturday night we checked out Cafe Del Rey which had some amazing food including a great veal chop and a duo of lamb which just melted in your mouth.
California is always fun with the sun, interesting people and beautiful cars and it only gets exponentially better when I get to spend some time there with my beautiful wife.
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I flew out to LA Monday past for a few days work in Santa Monica. The days were long but informative and enjoyable. I had dinner at Mr Chows on Monday night where our CEO made sure that everyone got to experience
Mr Chows Peking Duck. Tuesday afternoon we spent a couple of hours with one of our customers having fun at their studio making commercials - which was fun but do not ask me about the one I was in.
Thursday Laura flew in to join me in Santa Monica for a night before we headed down to Marina Del Rey for the rest of the weekend. After my meetings finished Thursday we spent a bit of time checking out Santa
Monica and then spent Friday afternoon down the beach in Venice. Venice Beach, what can I say about it? Part carnival sideshow, part "look at me" and very little beach. We did see some great art down there including some metal sculptures. I will be getting some more pics up on Picasa in the next day or so and will put a link to it on the page.
We did have some great meals as well. Friday at the Figtree in Venice Beach and Saturday afternoon we hit Hal's Grill after checking out the Venice Galleries. Both Figtree and Hal's were very good. Saturday night we checked out Cafe Del Rey which had some amazing food including a great veal chop and a duo of lamb which just melted in your mouth.
California is always fun with the sun, interesting people and beautiful cars and it only gets exponentially better when I get to spend some time there with my beautiful wife.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:in the stratosphere
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