Day 17 of 365 days of adventure - friends

Sometimes we have someone in our life that truly makes a difference. Over 10 years ago Karen hired me on to be a contract trainer for GM. Although I did not have the experience needed for the job she gave me a chance to come on board. That opportunity turned into a long standing friendship that I cherish to this day. Every couple of Months Karen and I get back together to catch up on old times. Sometimes it is nice to sit back and reflect on all of the changes in my life and all of the new discoveries to come.

I am still working on my daily commitment factor! So far I failed to keep up with the blog or daily pictures and I have totally fallen off of my diet!!! Time to regroup and refocus.

Fail to plan and you plan to fail.

I have learned that I am incredibly productive when I have a set schedule, time constraints or deadlines. On the flip side I can waist time better than anyone I know when I don't have somewhere I need to go or something that has to be done. So I am working on a new plan, a new structure that will help me stay on task. The blog and adventures in this blog are a part of the plan.

I resolve to do three things starting tomorrow:
1) Continue updating blog daily
2) Plan food, exercise and daily activities
3) Have fun!

Day 16 of 365 days of adventure - More rest

After two days of rest I finally feel like I am coming out of the hazy cloud of congestion. I spent the majority of the day catching up on studying. In between studying I managed to catch a little bit of NFL playoff action with Pittsburgh rolling over the Baltimore Ravens. The game changed with a few chance moments of opportunity that were taken advantage of. Just like life, opportunities come and go and are only realized if they are pursued. I made a decision to update this blog daily all year and in only 17 days I have already fallen behind, let myself down and realized how difficult it is to change a habit. The good news is I know that I fell down and I know that I have not met my expectations and this realization gives me the opportunity to make adjustments.

Day 15 of 365 days of adventure - Tx Rollergirls

After two days of not feeling well and spending the majority of my time sound asleep it was good to get a break from the house and get out for a couple of hours tonight. We were invited to the TX Rollergirls annual awards event tonight at the Elks Lodge in South Austin. We will kick off our season with the Rollergirls in February as we provide medical support for the TX Rollergirls and the Rollergirls recreation league. Over the last few days one of my friends on Facebook announced that she is joining the recreation league and she was working on her roller derby name. If you have never seen a roller derby match before it is part sport, part fantasy and all tough. The girls all have unique roller derby names and that name becomes a part of their persona as they whiz by you! We are excited to see what the new season and new venue holds for the TX rollergirls this year!

Day 14 of 365 days of adventure - much needed rest

Today is officially labeled as a "sick" day. My friends sent me a text at 9:00 AM saying they were going to the Greenbelt for a trail run at 9:45 AM. I needed some motivation so I took the bait and jumped out of bed, threw on a lot of warm clothes and headed to the trail despite my draining sinuses. After the run I decided I would take some allergy medicine and see if I could sleep during the day in preparation for an overnight ambulance ride out. When I got home I could tell that my allergies and congestion were getting worse and I decided to call of the overnight ride out. I ended up taking the medicine and sleeping most of the day and then turning around and sleeping all night. In between naps I completed my worksheets and workbook for my EMT course. Taking the time to take care of myself helped.

Day 13 of 365 days of Adventure - Paddling adventures

The day started with a meeting at TPWD talking about paddling. This meeting brought together many of the key players in Texas in regards to recreation and sport paddling. The intent was to introduce paddling instructors, educators and water and boat safety practitioners in order to better align resources. We have instructors but are often missing the needed participants while school programs often have students who need to get on the water but are lacking skilled instructors. It is great to be part of meetings like this that are focused on getting students and community members on the water.

Day 12 of 365 days of adventure - CPR Class

We finished up our CPR class today with the students from "No Kidding." The students were great to work with and we hope that the messages that we shared today will positively impact their ability to make sound decisions should a cardiac emergency or respiratory emergency arise. All of the participants in this group are young parents who understand the importance of caring for another being. We had many great questions come from this group based on their experience of having to care for their babies and other family members. As we progressed in the class we moved on to using an AED. The AED is designed to deliver a shock to the patient in order to disrupt an abnormal heart rhythm and help the body to re-establish a normal heart rhythm. As I was explaining how the AED works and that it is similar to re-booting a computer to reset the computer operations one of my students asked if you could use a "tazer" to do the same thing? We have to give him credit for thinking out of the box and for recognizing that the tazer much like the AED sends a shock to the body. Perhaps he will have better luck getting on with the police force versus working on an ambulance.

Day 11 of 365 days of adventure - CPR

Today I had the opportunity to share life saving information with a group of young parents. We taught 33 young adults how to do a scene size up, initial assessment,and rescue breathing. Tomorrow we will complete training on CPR and AED for the professional rescuer. It feels good knowing that we are imparting information to individuals that could save a life. The students in the class were very attentive today and they asked a lot of questions to ensure their understanding. It was apparent that they knew the importance of properly learning the skills and applying them to help save a life. We operate under the American Red Cross of Central Texas and it is wonderful to have such great curriculum to work with. I am so blessed to work with Kimery and The Expedition School and to have the opportunity to continually grow and learn!

Day 10 of 365 days of adventure - Go Ducks!

Today is the National Championship game between the Auburn Tigers and University of Oregon Ducks. Growing up in Oregon of course I am a Duck fan! My parents raised me around sports and I can remember ball games on the tv on Sunday mornings all through out my childhood. My brother and I both played team sports in high school and as a family some of our best memories are from backyard practice sessions and pick-up games at the local park. The Ducks were ranked #2 going into the game and they knew they were up for quite a challenge with Auburn's defensive line weighing on average 45 lbs more than the players on Oregon's offensive line. Despite the size difference Oregon game Auburn a run for their money by tying the game with just 2 minutes left. It was heartbreaking to see the game winning field goal fly through the uprights with just 2 seconds on the clock but it was nice to see a true battle come down the final moment of the game. This is what championships are made of! The Ducks gave it their all and came up a little short but they can fly back home to Oregon with their heads held high knowing they did their best and they proved that they were in the same league competitively as their opponents.

Day 9 of 365 days of adventure - Making money

Today was about putting money in the bank. I work part-time at REI to add a little cash to my checking account on a Monthly basis. It is funny how my perspective on money has changed over the last year and a half. When I worked my corporate middle management positions I was compensated well for the positions. As I made more money I also spent more money. A lot more money! It seems that it is possible to adjust your lifestyle to just about any income. When my position was eliminated I did not believe it was possible to still maintain my house payments and live my lifestyle without a similar monthly income. The truth is that we can live with a lot less and we can make adjustments to our spending if we choose to. Over the last year my life has been rich with experiences. The impact that we make on a daily basis can feed our souls for a lifetime. Simply going to work to get a paycheck does not always enrich our lives. I am so thankful for the challenge of living with less commercial items and appreciative for the wonderful experiences that have come along with my new lifestyle.

Day 8 of 365 days of Adventure - Learning and adventure

Today was a class day at Oak Hill Fire Academy for my EMT Basic certification. We spent 8 hours learning about soft tissue trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, burns and head injuries. On Tuesday we will complete a lab for splinting and applying traction to wounds. The class is going well and I am preparing for another ambulance ride out next Friday. When I started volunteering with The Expedition School in April of '08 I could never have imagined how far this adventure was going to take me. I have a journal from about 4 years ago that has a page in it with a goal of becoming an outdoor educator and guide. I have always had an interest in exploring outdoors and sharing the experience with others but I had no idea that I would follow a path of learning medical and safety practices along the way. It is amazing how the path simply unfolds as we move forward in our lives. Tonight I came home and was exhausted from all of the activities this week. I decided to relax and watch a moving so I opened up Netflix and found the movie "UP". In Up a young boy dreams of being an adventurer as he learns about a famous man who travels the world. The boy wants to be just like him when he grows up. The boy meets a girl named Ellie and they marry. Ellie also wants to have adventure in her life and she dreams of having her house at the top of a waterfall in South America. They establish their house and one thing leads to another and day to day life happens and they end up living their entire life in the original house. But the boy remembers that he made a promise to have a house in South America by the waterfall and as an old man he devises a way to float the house "Up" and fly it to South America. Of course the plan does not go exactly as planned and he gets a chance to fully reflect on his life with Ellie and the dream that they had together. The truth was that the dream was realized all along because they were in love and they had all of their daily adventures together. The movie reminded me of two important things. First, don't delay and waist time waiting for your dreams to happen and second, enjoy what you do have while you have it. Each day is a new adventure and each day brings us closer to our dreams.

Day 3 of biggest loser challenge

Breakfast: egg and two slices of bacon, apple juice and coffee
Lunch: Chicken wrap with avocado and lettuce, two cookies
Dinner: chips and salsa, Chicken enchilada with green chili sauce, queso and guacamole

Exercise: today was a rest day

Day 7 of 365 days of adventure - diet and exercise

Yesterday I read an article that said to start the day with a full breakfast with a little fat to kick start your metabolism. So I started out with two eggs, two slices of bacon and a flaky biscuit. The same article actually gave props to a little caffeine so I kept with my routine of a cup of coffee and I mixed up a little bit of apple juice and apple cider vinegar to add a little bit of kick to the start of the day. The exercise plan for the day is to ride 10 miles on the road bikes this afternoon.

Day 2 Biggest loser challenge:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 1 biscuit, 6oz Apple juice with apple cider vinegar, 16 oz of coffee with 1/2 and 1/2

Lunch: nothing

Dinner: salad with pears, feta cheese, carrots, almond slices and a little bit of homemade vinaigrette dressing. Rotisserie chicken.

Snacks: 4 small butter cookies, cup of hot cocoa

Exercise:
Flat chest press - 4 sets 10,8,10,8 with 10lb dumbbells
Chest fly on stability ball - 3 sets of 10 with 8lb dumbbells
Seated shoulder press - 3 sets of 10 with 8lb
Upright rows - 3 sets of 10 with 8lb
Concentration curls - 2 sets of 15 each arm with 10lb
elbow plank - 3 sets of 30 seconds
weighted sit ups - 3 sets of 10

10.48 miles on road bike

We finished the bike ride and hung out with a couple of friends enjoying dinner and playing games. LSU whomped up on A&M! Great bowl game for the Tigers!

Day 6 of 365 days of adventure - walk/jog in the park

I started the day off with a class at Red Cross of Central Texas to learn how to use the new online system for class submissions. The class was from 10am to about 11:30 am so I decided to get my outdoor adventure in with a walk/jog on the trail around the Mueller development. Starting at Kimery's house I jogged to the trail closest to Airport drive and headed East. The sign at that point in the trail says .75 and I knew that the end point of the trail was at 1.5 miles from the start. I walked down to the 1.0 mark and then decided to jog for half a mile. Now for most people this would be a piece of cake but I have an aversion to any type of jogging or running. Over the years I have found that jogging has not really agreed with my body type. I tend to slam my feet down when I jog and it tends to create a jarring effect throughout my body. With that said why on earth am I trying to jog? Well I have embarked on a new challenge. As of today I am part of a "biggest loser" group that has a two month challenge to see who loses the largest % of body weight.

Day 1 of biggest loser challenge:

Breakfast - oatmeal with nuts and cranberry and 1 cup of coffee
Lunch - salad with pear, carrots, tomatoes, almond slices and feta cheese (no dressing)
Dinner - flour tortilla with two chicken slices, green chili and black beans
Snacks - banana, 10 grapes, 3 chocolate chip cookies (I gave the rest away today!)
Drinks - 1 cup of green tea and 4 glasses of water

The first day of the challenge was good for me. It is really keeping me focused on my activity level versus my food intake. I know I have some work to do on my diet and I plan to come up with some creative ways to get all of my exercise in. I am excited for the challenge and looking forward to the results.

It is now 11:00 PM and I am lying in bed updating my blog. An owl is hooting somewhere nearby. This is the first time I have heard an owl in my backyard and it is wonderful! Last night when we were paddling I heard an owl up in the tree and it reminded me of the night sounds we would hear when paddling on the Texas Water Safari.

Day 5 of 365 days of adventure - hiking and canoeing

My day began at 6:30 AM with a call from a friend who is not feeling well. She had a high fever and flu like symptoms and was looking for someone to drive her to the doctor. I agreed to help her out and was glad that I could be there for her. It is miserable to be sick and not have anyone around to help take care of you. I hope that she starts to feel better soon. After the trip to the doctor office I was able to resume my regularly scheduled activity and meet my friend Nancy for a walk on the Greenbelt. Today we entered the trail near 360 and Mopac at our normal meeting spot and we hiked to Sculpture falls and back. Nancy goes to the Greenbelt daily with her two dogs, Mala and Jax. For years she has been coming down her as a part of her daily ritual. The Greenbelt is a sort of sanctuary for the many hikers, bikers and climbers that visit it on a regular basis. The central location and amazing wilderness feel make the greenbelt one of the more popular places to visit in Austin.

This afternoon it was time to dust off the canoe and complete the first paddle of the year. My friend Linette has expressed interest in getting in the canoe and learning about canoe racing. We started with a nice paddle up to TRC to see the black swan that has been hanging out and then we turned West and headed toward Red Bud Island. We put in around 5:30 and paddled down around the island finishing around 6:40 at the Rowing dock. It is always a pleasure to spend time on the water and tonight was no exception. The lake was like glass and the temperature was perfect for paddling. All in all it was a great day.

It is two minutes to midnight and I finally figured out how to get the old editor back up so I could type in my blog. For the last 30 minutes I have watched the hour glass circle around on my computer wondering if I was going to make my deadline of updating the blog daily. It may be a totally unrealistic goal yet I am bound and determined to make it happen. I have decided that if I am unable to physically type the blog into the computer on the appropriate day I will manually document the information in a notebook and then type when I have access to the blog. In my line of work there will be times this year that I will not be able to make it to the computer or even have access to the computer to make the updates. For example, in April we are scheduled to go to Costa Rica to lead a trip. During the trip we will not always have access to the internet or to a computer.

Day 4 of 365 days of adventure - Urban Hike with fun sculptures

Today I ventured over to East Austin to drop off some paperwork and I decided to stop in the Mueller development to get in a quick walk/jog with Chloe. I have walked around the West side of the park many times but I have never explored the East side. I was pleasantly surprised to find fun sculptures, a beautifully designed pond and landscaping that incorporated the native plants and grasses. The developers made great decisions when they designed this area. After about 45 minutes of walking and jogging I truly felt as if I escaped and found time to relax.

The pond had a group of American Coots swimming around and I was pleasantly surprised to see a belted Kingfisher fly by. I love being able to explore nature in the middle of our city. Often times people think they need to go a long ways to escape and experience nature and I say sometimes we simply need to look a little closer and explore what is right outside our doors. Working with The Expedition School has taught me to take time to appreciate the simple things in life. Instead of walking through the park just to get some exercise I find a walk in the park to be a way to connect, slow down and appreciate all the world has to offer.

As I update this blog I will seek out small and large adventures and hope that somewhere along the way I will inspire someone else to explore and find adventures of their own. Tomorrow morning I will find a new path and enjoy nature with a friend. I am excited about the possibilities and thankful for the opportunity to spend time with a wonderful friend.

Day 3 of 365 days of adventure - relaxing massage by Rochelle Poulson

As we travel through life sometimes someone enters into our existence and has a lasting impact on how we live day to day. I met Rochelle a little over two years ago as a referral for a massage from a good friend of mine. Little did I know that a simple appointment would grow into such a lasting friendship. There is a light in Ro that shines in everyone that she comes in contact with. Despite an incredibly challenging year dealing with breast cancer, Ro has not only found a way to heal internally but she has shared her growth and healing with everyone around her. Most people would have felt defeat faced with the struggles that Ro has had to endure over the last year and Ro took on the challenge head on. She gathered her clan of friends for support and led the troops to a victory in beating the heck out of her cancer. Now cancer free Ro continues to share her light challenging her friends to be alcohol and sugar free for 30 days starting mid January. She also touts the importance of relationships in our lives and strives to encourage her loving friends to focus on the beauty that surrounds us by taking time to make moments count. So today's adventure is one of body, mind and soul. We can exercise our physical bodies to improve our fitness but we often forget to exercise our minds and to search deeply into our souls. I challenge everyone to take time to search inside, find peace, experience true love and to find a way to share your love with others. Ro I love you and all that you believe in! Much peace and happiness to all in the coming days and Months that make up this glorious year.

On a side note my security job at Texas School for the Blind turns out to be quite a workout. I spent about 5 hours riding around on the bike "patrolling" the campus. It was fun turning the shift into an interval workout. I would ride for 30 minutes without stopping and then take a break. I love having different jobs all of the time, it definitely keeps things interesting.