The Hunt for Solar Flare and other nonsense

I remember back when F to da Boy was my favorite person to comment on this blog but as my poker posts went so did he.  My new favorite though is angerisagift and as such he gets a few silent shout outs.

Since my last post in which he commented that there was a new Mt Dew flavor I still have been unable to locate it.  I have, however, seen several past flavors come back to the shelves but I have been avoiding them. I only want new and improved or I'm sticking to the classic and true.

I'm currently about one month away from my year anniversary with my Fitbit and looking back at my numbers it all looks good except for the fact that I have put back on some weight recently.  It all started when I got a bit lazy after visiting some friends and then the holidays hit and Wedding planning then Honeymoon and now pregnancy.  By the way, I now fully understand and will never make fun of the whole hubby gaining weight during pregnancy thing.  I get it, it's real but I'm trying to combat it a bit.

With that in mind I'm really looking forward to reporting my first year totals and work on a plan to increase my daily activity to make the second year that much better.
Currently I'm over 4 million total steps taken and a little under 2 thousand miles walked.

I'm in the process of seriously debating with myself to change my phone and my carrier in order to save money.  At this point I'm pretty tired of shelling out $80+ per month for just my phone.  When you combine my wife's phone the numbers increase and it would be really nice to get both of our phones for that price or less.  So, I'm going to be experimenting for myself and then if everything works out well I'll convince the wife to join me as we save money for our future, for our family.

Work has been hell pretty much since the start of June but everything is about to get easier in the next few weeks and I'm really looking forward to that.  I should not only be full staffed but have extra staffing so that I can focus on doing my actual job better and work on training others to take my position after my head explodes.

Getting back on track with More Yoga Pants

(NOTE: Due to Google determining that this post violated policy because people are sexualizing yoga pants (6 years after it was posted none the less) I have deleted all of the Yoga Pants.  You can thank google for being fucking lame:)


At the beginning of November I had week with a bit over 65k steps.
Two weeks ago I went for over 80k steps.
This past week I ended up with 90,314 total steps.
I am quite happy with my progress and I'm starting to get back on track and get more active again.

I've still got a ways to go before I'll be hitting 100k weeks regularly but I know what it's going to take and I just have to push myself to get there.  The big thing is that I need to make sure that on my work days I get in my 15k steps no matter what.  This will help to make up for the days when I don't work and I know I'm going to be lazy (especially when I don't get to the gym).  So, that is the first thing.

Today I accomplished that go and did over 15k at work.  Tomorrow I hope to do the same and then I have off Weds and Thurs and I'm going to try my hardest to get motivated to get to the gym for an hour each day.

This will be hard because I do have a new Video Game System sitting at home begging me to spend precious time with it.

I finished season 5 of Dexter and will be starting Season 6 within the next few days.
I think I'm going to use Dexter as a way to stay at the gym a bit longer.  Watch a full episode as I'm at the gym which will make me go about 50 minutes and then I just have to get myself to do the last 10 minutes just to hit an hour.  I'll try this a few times and see how well it works for me.

 Now that the new generation of video game systems are here I'm going to need to go through my older games and set aside those that I'm going to actually play and those that are just going to be there to look pretty.  I'm also thinking about getting a binder for each system (older gen only) and putting the discs in the binders and getting rid of the cases so that I can free up some space.  This I haven't talked myself into but it's been something I've been thinking about.  PS1, PS2, Game Cube, xbox, Xbox 360 and PS3.  My game collection does take up a pretty good amount of space.

I'm too distracted by the pictures to continue.... I'll have to follow this up with something else in the near future.

weekly grrouchie recap

Last week I walked 65,633 steps - which is less than 10k per day which is a complete failure if you ask me.
Even if I have some small days the big days need to make up for it.
Ugh, feeling quite disappointed when I opened my email and read that stat.

I only walked 30 miles.
My heaviest was 219.4 pounds and lightest was 216.1.
I really feel like my final weight for the long run is going to fall somewhere between 210 and 220 and I'm cool with that.  I still want to get more trim for the wedding but overall I am quite happy with myself.

The good news is that as of yesterday I have officially walked 500 miles since getting my Fitbit. I do know that I've been more active (in general) because of this little trackings device and because of that I am quite happy with the purchase.
There is a new version of it that just came out and I'm trying to convince someone to buy it for an Xmas present (though really that could be a present to myself).  There are two big improvements from the Flex that I am wearing to the Force (which is the one that just came out).  First big difference is that the Force tells time, it acts as a watch.  I kinda dig that feature so that I don't have to constantly explain to people what that thing on my wrist is.
The second is that the Force counts flights of stairs traveled. That might not sound that cool but it is another metric recorded and will push me to take the stairs more often and to possibly go out of my way to take more flights of stairs for the exercise value.
Every little bit helps right?

As far as Video Games go I only played 3 hours 43 minutes worth of Diablo 3. It's not much but at least I got some time in.
What distracted me from getting more gaming in?  Well I'm glad you asked.
I've been trying to get caught up on comics and TV Shows.

As far as Comics I finished off Hunger which is set in the Marvel Ultimate universe and has turned into something else which I think is going to be universe wide.  So, I probably won't continue reading that as there is too much else that I'm getting.
Next Wednesday the last issue of Dexter is coming out so that drops another item off my monthly pick up list as well.  Then there are only one or two more issues left in Robocop to help make some more room.
All this is good and dandy because I'm sure that there are other things that will come around I'll start collecting.

As far as TV Shows go I finally finished off season 4 of Dexter.  I loved the entire season and thought it was absolutely brilliant.  It rivals season 2 for my favorite right now and even though I had the ending spoiled for me it still ripped my heart out.  WOW.
I've decided that I'm going to finish off Dexter before jumping into anything else that I want to watch like Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

I'm really getting close to pulling the trigger on GTA V at this point but just haven't done it yet.  Also the PS4 comes out next week and even though I have no games for it I've got a tinge of excitement for it.  I'm really going to have to invest in a multiport HDMI adapter and figure out some sort of shelving system to set my systems up in that doesn't look horrible nor take up a lot of space.

One last thing and that is that I really need to stop being lazy and start selling off my digital codes for comics on ebay.  While they don't fetch a whole lot they do help to compensate for the price of comics a bit.
I'm going to have to spend a day off and just go back through the last couple of months and put groups of them up for auction.  Every penny helps.

Finally, my November Fitness Goal - PLANKING.
I can hit a minute every time.  I hit 90 seconds once but it was tough.  Today I hit 80 seconds again.
In 5 days I'm supposed to start hitting 90 seconds as my daily target and then a few days after that 2 minutes.  That is where this challenge really starts to escalate and where I'm going to struggle.  However, I have to look at it as a challenge and while I might not be knocking it out of the park I'm showing improvement and forcing myself to get some exercise every single day which is really what this boils down to.


Now I'm going to go get some reading done and then get some shut-eye.

Nite-Nite

Weekly Updates - slacking

Man oh man have I been slacking off something fierce since I went on Vacation.  I knew it was going to be a difficult 4 days but when I came back home I didn't just jump back into my old routine, nope, I kept on going with my vacation bad habits.  Not walking extra steps, not eating healthy, NOT saying no to those donuts or chips or whatever else I happened to be craving.
Vacation really did a number on me.

With that in mind I'm really going to right this injustice and get back on track during the month of November.
Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

I'm going to try to get motivated to hit the gym today even for just a simple 3 mile walk on the elliptical or treadmill.  However, I am functioning off of less than 4 hours sleep and I'm quite certain that I'll just blow it off.
Tomorrow is Trick or Treating with the family and I just don't see myself making a trip to the gym after work but before the fun.
Friday is First Friday and probably the last I'll be able to go to for a while.  November is a 3 pay month and those months have that extra Friday in them and thus shifts the balance of power towards evil thus making me close every single First Friday until the next 3 pay month.  However, at least this happens during the winter months so that I am not forced to drink beer just to stay warm!!!

So, November it is.
As such I am looking through different fitness Facebook sites and crap my friends post to help find things to motivate me.
I'm also thinking about doing a weight loss challenge at work that will probably end up costing me $10 per week - but it's the motivation that is important.

So far this is what I'll be attempting in November.

I fully expect to fail this somewhere during the month - but I will keep up with it daily and see what kind of progress I get anyways.  Day 9 looks like a hurdle currently but only because I don't think I've ever hit the minute mark before, of course I've never kept up with it so who knows.  Day 30 is probably impossible but that's why they call it a challenge right?
So, who wants to start taking wagers on what day I'll initially fail?

Now, for the weekly upates

Fitbit:
75,025 total steps
10,718 daily average
33.89 miles
Weight 217-221

Even though I've been slacking I'm happy that my daily average is still over 10k.  I'm going to work on getting my weekly number back to 90k and then get back into the habit of getting in those extra steps every single day.
Ideally I want to be hitting at least 40 miles per week and I need to get my weight back down.  My lowest was 213 and I'm up from that so I need to start focusing on getting the exercise in and the weight will take care of itself.

Video Game Update:
11h 24m were played this past week (per raptr).  All of it was Diablo 3.
Yesterday I got my Barbarian to Act 2 and now I will work on progressing my Monk and Demon Hunter to Act 2 as well.  I've now put over 50 hours into Diablo 3 and mostly because I've been toying around with different characters instead of just focusing on one and beating the game for the first time.
I want to pick up GTA V and am getting closer to pulling the trigger but I need to sell some other stuff off first to justify it.  Time Will Tell.

TV Update:
After finishing Breaking Bad I haven't bothered to start sinking my mind into another serious TV Series.  I'm nearing the end of The League Season 4 and then I have to decide what direction to go next.
My currently Choices.
The Walking Dead Season 3
Game of Thrones Season 2
Dexter Season 4

Comic Book Update:
I haven't read a single one in probably 6 weeks.  I've got quite the backlog.  When I slack, I slack at everything!

Fitbit Update Number 6

9/16 - 9/22
Total Steps: 112,085
 - Daily Average 16,012
 - Best Day 20,124

Total Distance - 52.00 Miles
 - Daily Average 7.43 Miles
 - Best Day - 9.14 Miles

Total Calories Burned - 24,101
 - Daily Average - 3,433
 - Best Day - 3,903

Weight change - 3.2 pounds
 - Lightest 213.9 pounds
 - Heaviest 217.7 pounds

Average Sleep 6 hours 34 minutes
I earned my 250 mile badge - since I got my fitbit I have walked over 250 miles!

As you can see I stepped up my game and this was by far my best week.
Finally had a week where I broke that 100k total steps and my average went to over 16k per day.
I think I can keep this up and am pushing hard to do it.

I set my new goals at 15k steps per day and over 7 miles per day.
I'm pushing myself to be more active at work and trying to get in extra time on the elliptical.

This week I need to push myself because I'm off Weds/Thurs and have plans to stay busy those days which means I'll have to wake up early to hit the elliptical or I'll have to do it late before I get some sleep.

Fitbit Update Number 5

And it's that time of the week again to see what my Pedometer said I did.
From 9/9 - 9/15

Total Steps 96,368
Daily Average 13,767
Best day 18,336

Total Distance 44.67 Miles
Daily Average 6.38 miles
Best Day 8.63 Miles

Heaviest Day 219.6
Lightest Day 215.6

Average Sleep 5 hours 53 minutes

This was a good 7 day stretch because there was only one day where I didn't hit my goal, that was Sunday.
My two days off continue to be my true motivational issues and I have to figure out how to allow myself time to still get in some sort of exercise on the days off that I fully spend with my fiance.
I'm sure that taking a day off isn't killing me so it's not that big of a deal and by this time next year when we are living together getting in some gym time during family days won't be an issue like it is now.

This week should be my best week as during the 7 day stretch I only have one day off, Friday.  My lady works early Friday which means I should be able to hit the gym in the morning and get all my goals in before she gets out of work giving me my first 7 day stretch where I hit my goals.
I'm shooting for 100k steps and 45 miles and 20 hours of Dialbo 3!!!
I'm also shooting to make sure that my heaviest days no longer break the 220 barrier and that is a huge achievement!

It's funny to think that I get slightly annoyed when I eat too much and snack too much and weigh in at 219 and am disappointed where as early last year 219 was a dream that would never happen and my heavy day took me over 300 lol.

Life is strange, thanks for taking the journey with me.

Fitbit Update Number 4

For the week from 9/2/13 - 9/8/13

Total Steps: 82,963

Daily Average 11,852

Best Day 21,541

Total Distance 39.05 Miles

Daily Average 5.58 Miles

Best Day 10.27 Miles

Total Calories Burned 22,329

Daily Average 3,190

Best Day 4,085

Lightest Day 217.9

Heaviest 223

Average Sleep 6 hours 19 minutes

It's kind of Funny that I had two 20k days and yet this ended up being my worst week overall.  I was really lazy on my days off which killed my average a good deal.

However - I am close to my wanted daily average of 12,500 and I am going over 5 miles every day.

I'm going to up my goal to 6 miles and see where that takes me.

I'm not sure how many steps it would take to get there so I'll up my goal in steps to 13,500 for now.

Also, I'm inching away towards hitting 215 pounds.  It'll come, it'll come.

Weekly Fitbit Update

This has been sitting in my mailbox for a couple of days - But I'm determined to share to keep myself honest.

Total Steps 88,822
 - Daily average 12,689
 - Best day 17,042
Total distance 40.41 miles
 - Daily Average 5.77 miles
 - Best  Day 7.92 miles
Total Calories burned 23,065
Lightest day - 219 pounds
Heaviest Day - 222.4 pounds
Average Sleep 7 hours 24 minutes


The week I am currently in I have had two days over 20k steps and one day (yesterday) where I reached 10 miles.  I've really been hammering out it out when I hit the gym and I am trying desperately to get into a weight routine as well.

I had two guys I was going with from my last store but 3 guys working retail and trying to figure out when everyone is available to hit the gym at the same time is difficult.  Both of them are working out to get in better shape to join the navy and I'm just trying to lose a few pounds so I'm the odd man out when they are available.  But, I've gone with them a few times and I have the info of what routines they are working so that I can do them on my own.
I have found a routine that I'm going to try out.  It's 3 days a week with only two separate routines.
Routine A and B.
Week 1 goes ABA and week 2 goes BAB.
Yesterday I did Routine A.
Sunday late or Monday I'm going to be doing B.  I'm hoping I can go M/W/F at some point.  I like the way it starts off with light weights and then ramps up.
Day one, with the lightest weights, I was able to complete all my sets and reps.  I hope to say the same on day 10 haha!

Fitbit Update 2

Weekly Progress:
89,564 steps
40.49 miles
22,933 calories burned
average sleep, 6 hours 21 minutes.


Tomorrow I've got some news to report.

Fitbit Status Update

I received an email so I thought I'd share these emails.
It's just more documentation on what kind of improvements I'm making if any over time.

8/12 - 8/18
Most active day was Weds 8/14
Least Active day was Sun 8/18 (I was off from work this day)
Total Steps: 83,503
Average 11,929
Best Day 16,659

Total Distance 38.40 miles
Average 5.49 miles/day
Best 8.04 Miles

Total Calories burned 22,715
Daily Average 3245

Calories in Vs Calories Out (4,796) - Shooting for (7,000)
Weight change -4.6 pounds
Average Sleep 5 hours 15 minutes

50 miles

So near the end of my working day I received a notice that since I have started wearing my Fitbit (August 10th) I have officially walked for 50 miles (August 19th).
50 miles in 9 days, not too shabby.
Looking forward to hitting 100 before the end of the month.

Kind of amazing the amount of walking one does when one works retail.  I knew it was a lot but I really had no idea that it averages out to over 5 per day.

The good news is that come payday I've got at least $50 going into my pocket for spending money.

The next thing I want to buy is a 3 TB hard-drive for my computer and a 64 gig memory chip for my Galaxy Tablet (birthday present).  The hard drive is going to run about $110 and the memory chip probably somewhere around $50.

I believe I typed it before (I've thought it, just might not have made it across my fingers).  I'm going to give myself spending money based on how many miles my Fitbit tracks me as having walked.  One dollar for One mile.   So, the two items above are going to run about $160 which means I have to walk 160 miles to be able to buy them.
After this week my next check is September 6th and I'm going to see if I can manage to get those 160 miles in before that paycheck hits.

My new Fitbit

I've used the Fitbit for one full week and my results were as such.
I get a helluva lot more exercise on days when I'm at work than on days that I have off.  I need to get some gym time in or some jogging to bridge that gap.

I went for a morning walk/Jog 4 days last week and would have made it 5 in a row but I stayed out late playing poker and then only got a 4.5 hour nap and just never had the energy to do it.

Week of August 10th - August 16th
72,102 Steps
32.73 Miles walked
21,695 calories burned

For my first week I'll take it.  There were several instances where I went out of my way to get some extra walking in.
At first I set my goal to be 10,000 steps per day but after seeing how many I got in the 1st day that I worked with it I upped my goal to 12,000.
I will be continuing to increase it as I hit my goal more consistently and start getting more exercise.

I had some other info written up but I think I left it on my work email.  So, once I transfer that to my personal email I'll have a more in depth post on the Fitbit and how it fits into my life currently.

Also, I stole this from an online forum so don't think of me as original or anything.
In order to motivate myself to walk more and get in more exercise I am giving myself one dollar for every mile I put in via my Fitbit.

So, this past week I did 32 miles and now I owe myself $32.  This is purely fun money that I can do whatever I want with.  This will be the money where I earn my video games or movies or whatever.
If I notice that I am doing too much and therefor giving myself too much spending money I'll cut it down to a dollar every 1.5 miles or ever 2 miles, but for August it will be for every mile traveled.

Tomorrow I expect to not only get in my normal half mile walk/jog but I also plan on hitting up the elliptical at Golds Gym for about 30-45 minutes.

My weight loss progress has been good the past week and can be summed up by the following picture:

1st time under 220 in over a decade!

3 in a Row

The last 3 mornings I have gotten up a half hour early to go outside and Jog/Walk half a mile.
I'd really like to get that up to a mile but the natural route by where I live has a lap that brings me back to my house at almost exactly half a mile and as soon as I see my house I give up and decide that 1 lap, half a mile, is good enough.
However, the good news is that I have gone 3 days in a row.

I think I'll be able to keep this up on the mornings where I work early but I don't know what is going to happen on the days when I work late.  For instance, tomorrow I don't go in until 2:30.  Obviously I'm not going to continue with routine for the sake of routine.  I am not getting up at 4 am to take a morning stroll before the sun comes out if I don't have to be to work until well after noon.  That's just mildly retarded.

What I am hoping is that I find the motivation to get to the gym and put some time on the elliptical and maybe hit some weights so that I can continue to get exercise before work.   The gym will give me more of a workout than a once-a-round-the-block so that is the ultimate goal.

Ever since that dreaded trip to the doctor's office I've been more determined to continue my path of weight loss and better fitness, so even though it sucked I'm glad it happened.

I'm using Runtastic to track my daily exercise.  I've got Fitbit to track how active I am during the day and my sleep cycles and I'm using MyFitnessPal to track how many calories I'm taking in per day to make sure I eat enough to sustain life and to lose weight at the same time.

Also, my new phone should be delivered today.  Hopefully while I'm working so I can pick it up after I get out and before heading over to my Fiance's place.  I can charge and activate the new phone and then she can "upgrade" her phone to mine and we can allow our son to have her phone as a video game playing device.

Now, time to get to work!