Water

So I have decided to drink more water. I know, huge step, huh? I have been trying to lose some weight now for a while and nothing seems to be working (okay, I am not trying that hard, but I thought that maybe just the thought in my mind would make some weight melt off, hehe). I came across an article this afternoon that says drinking extra water may help with weight lose.
http://www.inch-aweigh.com/water.html
I am not sure if it is true or not, but I figured why not try. It all started this weekend when I got on the scale and thought I could lose a little weight (don't we all think that). I started drinking the recommended 64 ounces of water starting on Sunday. I am running into a wall seeing that I have to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes when I have anything in my system, but it says in the article that the urination station phase will pass (hopefully soon). I haven't noticed any results (and I guess I'm not really expecting any), but know that even if it doesn't help me lose any weight it will at least help me to be a healthier me. Don't worry, I am still drinking my Diet Mountain Dew (I'm down to about 2 cans a day), but am just adding extra h2o on top of that. Wish me luck on the water quest.

A small amount from the article:
The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It's understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you're running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it's going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.

Do take heed , though. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It's true. This is called the "breakthrough point."

Facelift

So I was pretty bored of my blog (not posting, duh, but the look of it), so I changed it up a little. Your thoughts on it? Hope you like it!

Go Veggie!

So I have been thinking more about myself being a vegetarian the last few days (maybe it is because I just went to the doctor to make sure I am still getting the right amount of everything I need since cutting out meat from my diet, or maybe it is because of the church wide fast that CrossRoads is doing for the first 21 days of lent (check it out - Daniel's fast)). People ask me why I don't eat meat, and really instead, I should be asking people why they DO eat meat. I am not trying to make ANYONE feel guilty, but the statistics are outrageous. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.19 About 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone. With all of the starving people in the world, how could I eat meat? In my heart I cannot justify eating meat that is extremely wasteful when there are thousands of people in the world that have nothing to eat. You can save more water by not eating a pound of beef than not showering for an entire year. Now I am not advocating the reduction of showers, but I am advocating doing everything that we can to help those around us. There are wonderful resources out there if you are thinking about it, or even just want to read up on some of the facts about vegetarian vs. non vegetarian. (http://www.goveg.com/) Again, I hope I am not making anyone feel like I am criticising their lifestyle, I am simply stating why I live my life the way I do. I was asked once what difference I, one person, would make, and I the way I think of it (remember, I graduated with an economic degree) is that if I am not eating meat, then I am not buying meat, and if I am not buying meat then there is a lower demand for meat, and instead of over producing the producers will see a small demand and therefore supply less. Yeah, okay, maybe little ol' me can't make that big of an impact, but ANY impact is better than nothing, RIGHT?! Well, now you have a little more insight into why I don't eat meat. People talk about how much of a sacrifice it is and that they wouldn't be able to do it, but if you think of it in terms of others not being able to eat because of what you are eating it is much easier to say NO THANKS to the meaty things. I comend my other vegetarians and would recommend it to anyone!

Silly Jokes

Q. What did the porcupine say to the cactus?

A. "Is that you mommy?"
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Q. What do you get from a pampered cow?

A. Spoiled milk.
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Q. Where do polar bears vote?

A. The North Poll
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Q. Why do sea-gulls fly over the sea?

A. Because if they flew over the bay they would be bagels!
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Q. What letters are not in the alphabet?

A. The ones in the mail, of course
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Q. Why did the boy eat his homework?

A. Because his teacher said it was a piece of cake!
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Q. What happens if you eat yeast and shoe polish?

A. Every morning you'll rise and shine!
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Q. What do you call a man who rolls in the leaves?

A. Russel
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Q. What do you call someone who is afraid of Santa?

A. A Clausterphobic

Doctors

So I hate going to the doctors, it isn't just because most of the time it is not so fun news, but I HATE the waits. Yesterday I had an appointment at 11:10am. I was told to be there 30 minutes before so that I could fill out paper work. I got there by 10:30 and filled everything out, I then waited, and waited, and waited some more. I finally was called back to the exam room by 11:45 (and hour and 15 minutes after I got there). I then had to wait in the exam room for another 25 minutes before the doctor came in. I wish that appointment times meant the time you would see the doctor. GRRRR. So anywho I had my appointment, and he said that he didn't feel right putting me on any medications because I seem to be handling everything okay and with the risks of side effects he would rather just have me keep on keepin' on until this got worse (hurray for me, right, I would assume he meant they WILL get worse). He also wanted to run a lipid panel and other tests on me, but you need to fast for that blood work. This morning I had to go back in for the lab work and get blood taken. Sadness. I have to OVER hydrate myself every time I need blood taken because my veins are very small and they always have problems locating them. Since I have a bladder problem in the first place making myself drink all that water can lead to BIG problems. Anyway, everything seems to be fine and I will get the results by mail, which is a RELIEF, meaning I won't have to go back in to the doctor's office for a while (THANK GOODNESS)!

Geo Caching

Ryan and I took our first trip out as RC Pirates in our quest for geo caching. We found 2 different caches and looked for another 2. It was pretty fun and I am glad we are finding things to do outside that we enjoy, especially since we have such great weather out here in San Diego. So if you don't know what Geo Caching is, it is sort of like finding buried treasure (which is why we call ourselves pirates, cause we are looking for the 'booty'). There are thousands of hidden 'caches' all over the world. What you do is look up the coordinates of the cache you want to look for (some come with clues and some don't), and then you use a GPS device to go out and look for the hidden treasures. Ryan has a GPS thing for in his car that you can actually use hand held, so we used that for the weekend. It is pretty fun and makes you feel like you are really looking for hidden presents. Then when you find them, there is a log and presents in the cache. In the log you write your name and date and then you leave a gift and take one out. It is super fun and I would recommend everyone trying it at least once (go to geocaching.com to find local caches). Here is a photo with me and one of our caches.



And the cache itself:

iBook for Sale

Hey everyone. I bought this computer after graduating this past spring, but my apartment no longer has Internet so it hasn't been used much. It is an iBook G4. It is the 12" model (so it's small and compact to take places). I have all of the invoices. I bought it refurbished. 1.2GHZ. 256MB. 30/COMBO/-USA. Awesome computer. Light use (photos, music, documents). I went to Apple a couple weeks ago and had it reset so that when you turn it on it will be like new. Let me know if you know of anyone that might be interested (or you yourself are interested).