Money Monday$

How’s your sex life? Did you blush a little or spit out your coffee when you read that question? Thought so, but chances are you talk more openly with your friends about your sex life (or lack there-of) than you do about your money (or lack there-of).

Still reading? Great! Because today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite subjects.....me. I mean money, actually me and my money, or is it my money and I (I can never remember. Clearly I was day dreaming during 6th grade grammar class). 

I just finished reading two books related to personal finance.  Nudge, which is actually more of an economics book, discusses the different ways people make decisions about their health, wealth and happiness and how businesses and the government can “nudge” people to make the perceived “best” choice for their 401k, organ donation, eating habits, etc.  Instead of presenting a new employee with 47 confusing choices about their 401K, an employer might have 5 easier to understand options based on the employees predicted retirement year. To encourage participation in a 401K, an employer might have a default system in which the employee will automatically be enrolled in the most conservative 401K investing only a small percentage of their income. The employee can always decide to opt out or to invest more aggressively, if they actively choose.  This same principle can be applied to nutrition in school cafeterias. Put the salads and vegetables first in line instead of the pizza and nachos and students are more inclined to make the healthier choices. Just a couple ways we consumers are "nudged" to make the choices deemed "best" by an authority. Think twice before you pick up that salad! Is that what you REALLY want or is someone else nudging you to eat your veggies besides me?

The other book I just finished, The Millionaire Next Door, is not about how to snag a millionaire spouse unfortunately. Go watch Millionaire Matchmaker for tips about that. The Millionaire Next Door is about the unassuming and not-so-obvious millionaires - the school teachers, firefighters, and small business owner types who live within their means, save, invest and have a net worth of over one million dollars. The authors interviewed many millionaires to find out what they know and what they do that might teach the rest of us a thing or two (or million). The moral of the story is to budget, live within your means, save, invest, and plan. 

Sounds easy, right? Yeah not so much. Dave Ramsey, a personal finance guru, often states that personal money management is "20% knowledge and 80% behavior." I can tell you first hand that this is true. Over the past few years I have developed an interest (some might call it obsession) in personal finance. I am fascinated by people and their money. I cannot seem to read enough about it or have enough conversations about it with willing friends, family and even strangers. Just the mention of money in a conversation will elicit a variety of emotional responses. Some even come across in body language - brows will furrow, arms will cross, shoulders tighten, they might even slap you, or just completely shut down and stop talking. Wow, I don't think people even do that when asked about their sex life.  Which brings me back to my favorite subject.....me. Tune in next week for another edition of Money Monday$ in which I will not talk about sex, but will talk honestly about my struggling, on-going, somewhat abusive relationship with money.

Yours truly,
Po$$
(Pronounced "poe-money-money." It is also my rapper name.)

Weekly Adventure Destination #1: River Road to Canyon Lake

I love winter in Texas. It could be 20 degrees one day and warm and sunny the next. Currently, it is about 72 degrees outside, bright blue sky, no clouds to be seen and well, just plain glorious making today the perfect day for my first weekly adventure. 

Weekly Adventure Destination #1: drive down River Road to Canyon Lake and find a hike, or something, to do. River Road is a winding road that follows the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels to Canyon Lake, a man made reservoir on the Guadalupe, approximately 16 miles away. There are multiple outfitters along the river that rent tubes to float in the spring and summer, all closed for the winter season making the drive easy and traffic free. (Once it warms up, I will be floating the Guadalupe as one of my adventures as I've never done it!) I didn't know exactly where I'd go once I reached Canyon Lake, as the last time I drove through the area, I was approximately 8 years old. Luckily, I found the South River Trail, a nice 2.5 mile nature trail along the Guadalupe River and then went up to an overlook on Canyon Lake and walked across the dam. Got my 100 minutes of hiking and walking in and went somewhere I've never been before. 'Twas a perfect day! Sure beat sitting inside staring a computer all day. Enjoy!

River Road

Houses along the river

The Guadalupe

Stumbled across a nature trail!

Self portrait

The Guadalupe, again

The side of the Canyon Lake dam

On top of the dam overlook

Perfect walking distance!

A beach

Gorgeous view

It says "Canyon" in case you can't see real good

Animal Farm

In addition to that niece of mine I am hanging out with this week, there are a few animals keeping me entertained (and up at night). Meet Bones: the most adorable, cuddly, patient dog in the history of dogs.

He showed up at my sis-in-law's work three years ago, abandoned, starving and the epitome of skin and bones. He was the scrawniest, skinniest dog I had every seen, still alive and still sweet as can be. They nursed him back to health and won the dog lottery, as he is the coolest boxer I've ever met. Evidence below. He didn't even try to eat the cat, at least not while I was looking.

Speaking of cats, this curious and daring cat is Heathcliff, the newest addition to my niece's zoo. He too is a rockin' pet, except when he jumps onto my head in the middle of the night, purring loudly with one of those toy balls with a bell inside. It's my fault, since I bought the noisy toy. Heathcliff doesn't like to just bother Bones, he's also got a knack for teasing the pig. Pig? Yep, meet Tinkerbell, the pot bellied pig who is currently snoring loudly next to me on that warm bed, in front of the heater.

Tinkerbell is a funny one, she loves (or hates) the color pink and will chase you if you happen to be wearing her favorite color. I found this out the hard way when I showed up at the house wearing pink sweatpants and my brother suggested I run as fast as I could across the yard, just to see what Tinkerbell would do. Pigs can't fly, but they can certainly sprint (and grunt). Tink loves carrots, the color pink, lounging in front of the fire and is looking for that special someone so she isn't the only barn-yard animal living in this domestic house.

I almost forgot the reptilian member of this household! Tigers!

Formerly known as "Tiger Lily" until it was determined that she might actually be a he. Tigers is a leopard print gecko, apparently a fairly common house pet as my other niece also has one named Buttercup. They certainly didn't carry these at pet stores when I was a kid!  He eats three crickets a day (bought at the store and kept in a separate container hidden from the cat who likes to eat bugs) and is the quietest, lowest maintenance member of this pack.

Favorite Person At The Gym Awards: Mr. Red Shorts

I am practicing my "act like an adult" skills this week and hanging out with my 8 year old niece while her parents are both out of town for 3 days. You know, get up before sunrise, wake her, make her breakfast, get her to school on time (with shoes, socks, backpack AND homework) and hopefully remember to pick her up. Oh, and then I have to entertain her, feed her, make sure she does her homework AND goes to bed at a reasonable hour. This stuff is hard! Okay, it is not that hard, and it is quite fun to spend some time with her before she realizes how uncool I actually am. This will probably happen around the age of 12 or 13, though her dad (my brother) has been telling her about my uncoolness for 8 years now. (It is true, I am really not that cool. Have you seen what kind of shoes I wear? The same kind of clogs old ladies and uncool hippies wear. What? They are comfortable and practical!). Anyways, so this has allowed me to spend some time at the gym while she is at school, working on the stay at home aunt thing. Which brings me to the actual reason for the post entitled FAVORITE PERSON AT THE GYM AWARDS.

The Gym

You walk in the front doors, take a giant whiff of the sweaty, musty, old, stale gym sock air and check in at the front desk, fumbling for your member card or pass code, dropping your keys, iPod or phone (possibly all three at the same time). You casually take a look around to see who is on what machine, I mean what machines are available, and swiftly walk to the locker room to adjust your too short spandex pants that are clearly so 6 years ago and meant for yoga, which you aren't even doing today. Okay, maybe that is just me. Once I settle on a machine, I try to read or watch one of the 27 TVs tuned to either sports or the Food Network, which somehow seems counterproductive because it just makes me hungry. Out of the corner of my eye, I start people watching. Admit it, you do it too. It's hard not to! So many people in fairly close quarters, lost in their own little workout worlds trying to either get noticed or blend in and hope no one can tell they have no idea what they are actually doing. Clearly, I am the latter. No one looks their best while working up a sweat. I certainly know that my sweaty, beet red face, frizzy hair, huffing and puffing and pained expressions while bench pressing 12 pounds are not so much attractive. Kidding! I can't even bench press 12 pounds, more like 8. Anyways, there are always certain people that catch my eye. And I am not talking about the cocky, cut, good looking dudes. Yesterday, my FAVORITE PERSON AT THE GYM was an older, very fit gentleman. He was short (by my 5'9" standards), say about 5'5" and probably in the 50-60 years old range, though his biceps were that of a 20 year old. Not that I was checking him out, but his homemade tank top practically had giant neon arrows pointing to his "guns," screaming "yep, got a licenses for these bad boys and yes, the gym IS that way." They were huge, like he had cantaloupes duct taped to each arm. Back to his tank top. A "tank top" according to Wikipedia "may refer to a type of sleeveless shirt worn by men and women a sleeveless sweater, also known as a sweater vest; or, the plating forming the inner bottom of a ship hull." In this case, I think the last definition is the most applicable. A mere sleeveless shirt or traditional tank top did not provide enough circulation, I can only assume, so he made his own by cutting the arms and sides off a crew-neck t-shirt, creating something that looked more like a bib in the front and back. When he was standing in profile, he essentially was not wearing a shirt, as the sides were so low cut and you could clearly see his very defined chest. Not to worry, he was wearing a gold chain that hung outside the t-shirt that could be seen from all angles. But this was not my favorite part. My favorite part were the shorts, the long red gym shorts. You know the kind the guys used to wear in gym in high school? Draw string, long, baggy, made of some sort of nylon/mesh combo. His shorts were long, to his knees but again, because I assume his hot muscles needed more cool air, he added his own special flair. The shorts were tucked up into what I imagine were his leopard print manties (man panties in case you are slow), shortening them to the length of running shorts, very, very short, running shorts. But again, this is not my favorite part. His expressions were as serious as his muscles, and I was curious to see what types of exercises he was doing to maintain his 24" waist (it was tiny!) and melon arms. I watched him set up on of those pulley weight machines that you stand in front of and pull down from overhead, waiting to see the entire 200+ pound weight rack go up and down as he pumped iron. It did not. He tucked his shorts up higher, squatted down and proceeded to pull the handle and only one, tiny, little, itty bitty maybe 10 pound weight went up and down as he pulled. I am in big trouble if it only takes 10lbs to get guns like that. Like I need another reason not to lift weights! Clearly, he knows a thing or two about lifting weights and building muscles so I should not judge his workout regime. Next time I see him, I might even ask for a tip or two.

Next edition of FAVORITE PERSON AT THE GYM AWARDS: The Grunter.

Weekly Adventures

Okay, so I am instituting a new challenge within my 100 Day challenge. As much as I love doing 100 minutes of physical activity every day, it gets a little repetitive (run, bike, swim, yoga, stretch, etc). Plus life in this little town can be a little boring at times (no Dad, I'm not talking about you). Plus do you really want to read about me sitting on a stationary bike for another 40 minutes? No, I don't even want to write about it!

So, my mini-challenge is once a week, on any day that works into my "schedule," I have to create my own local outdoor adventure. This could be trying rock climbing or stand up paddling, taking a short road trip to explore a nearby state park, trying a mountain bike trail I've never done before, checking out a new swimming hole once it warms up, etc. Things that will get me out of the house and gym to a place I've never been before, especially ones that are practically in my backyard. However, due to my lack of income, they must be cheap, under $10 or so, not including gas/food and within day-trip distance (no overnight stays). Please send me your suggestions and if you are unemployed or "between opportunities" as I now call it, join me! First adventure will take place at the end of this week, most likely Thursday or Friday. Here are some ideas I've come up with so far, but I'll need more!

• Enchanted Rock (never been there!)
• Bastrop State Park (hike or bike)
• Mountain bike trails at Cayon Lake
• Stand Up paddling at Lady Bird Lake (maybe once it warms up, in case I fall in)
• Kayaking on one of the many bodies of water around here
• Joining in on one of the group Austin Ridge Riders rides at Walnut Creek
• Tennis camp (already signed up for this in early Feb, and it exceeds the $10 limit but it is a special circumstance with some out of town friends!)

Who's in? Just me? Okay great, I'll post pictures and tell tall tales so maybe next week, someone will want to come along. 

Two Weeks Complete!

14 days down, 86 to go...

• Over 1400 pages read (6 books finished so far) and 1400 minutes not sitting on the couch, when I add it up like that I feel pretty darn productive!
• The hardest days were my last 3 days of work and the weekend I went out of town with my family. I managed to get the 100s in, but had to make more of a conscious effort to schedule my time and tried to wake up earlier as needed. Much harder than you might think.
• The best part  of the challenge is, well, I get to read and exercise every single day! This may sound like torture to some, but to me it is the best prescription for happiness and health. My brain is certainly working harder than it has in years and my muscles are enjoying the daily love (that might change as I ramp up my training a bit soon).

Two weeks down, twelve more to go! Here are few photo highlights from the first part of the 100 Days.

Walking with the dogs at a nearby ranch (with permission)

Terrible view on a run

Dogs at the ranch

Walking around the capitol building at dusk

My book "shelf" and reading chair

Back to My Future

I am not a flux capacitor. Unlike Doc’s DeLorean, my body does not run on trash (or plutonium for that matter).  Back to the Future was my favorite movie growing up.  I didn’t have a crush on Marty McFly or anything; I just really liked that movie. (That might also explain my obsession with puffy vests. I own three, one of which is bright red and may or may not be the exact vest worn by Marty McFly.) I particularly loved the end of Part I when Doc returns from the future with the new and improved flying DeLorean and flux capacitor that now runs on trash. He fuels it with leftover beer, banana peels and other random rubbish while Marty and Jennifer stand there with a befuddled expression. A flying car running on trash! How cool is that?! Apparently so cool I thought I could run on trash too. 

For the better part of my life, I did not paid much attention to what I ate or drank, other than making sure the food was delicious (and usually unhealthy) and the drink either caffeinated, full of sugar or of the alcoholic kind (once I was of legal drinking age of course).  In high school, we’d go out for a cheese fries and sodas or chips and slurpees before our basketball and volleyball games. In college, the first two meals I had to have when I returned home were cheese enchiladas and chicken fried steak (with mashed potatoes and fried okra please). Yes y’all, I am a Texan, no doubt about that. I also had a nasty Coke habit. Not that coke, the drinkable, crisp, cool, refreshing Coca-Cola variety. I had to have at least one a day or I might actually die. I didn’t mind salads and vegetables, I just preferred that they were deep fried and covered in ranch and/or cheese.

I’ve never been one for “diets,” I have not struggled too terribly much with my weight other than the freshman 15 (or 25 if we are being honest) and a few fluctuations over the years due to a lack of physical activity. A couple years ago, I started reading more about nutrition, various lifestyles and diets, including but not limited to no meat, all meat, vegan, vegetarian, alkalizing, low-fat, high-fat, grok, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, The Cookie Diet, etc. You name it, I’ve read about it. That does not mean I’ve followed any of them. I want to be knowledgeable about what a truly healthy lifestyle might look like if I were ever to get enough fire in me (or fat on me) to give something a try. I have dabbled with the vegan and vegetarian thing on a few occasions, but never for very long and not that strictly. Cutting out meat and dairy was typically the result of reading a book or seeing a documentary - The China Study and Super Size Me, for example. Frankly, I felt great cutting out both meat and dairy, I just got lazy and let them back in after explaining for the umpteenth time to my grandmother that just because the meat is cooked inside a vegetable, that does not make it vegetarian.  

As I am finishing the latest nutrition/diet books on my bookshelf – The Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr and The pH Miracle by Robert & Sandy Young– I am fully convinced of one thing. If I put trash into my body, I will feel and act like trash as a result. If I “feed” my body with caffeine, sugar, dairy, too much meat, fried something, processed anything, (not to mention too much booze) my poor little body will have to work overtime digesting and processing all the crap I dump into it. This is all while my body is doing everyday housekeeping like mending aching muscles, fighting off cold and flu viruses, stopping bacteria in its dirty little tracks, pumping blood to all the digits, etc. No wonder I am so tired, sluggish and just feel generally awful when I don’t pay attention (or care) what I eat. 

In both books, the authors argue that our bodies (and minds) will thrive on lots of glorious veggies filled with vitamins and minerals, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and whole grains that haven’t been processed beyond recognition – things found in nature and eaten in their natural state. Sure, you can argue that orange juice from a carton is “natural” has lots of vitamin C, but it also has tons of added sugars, preservatives and worse.  Our bodies are not meant to process all the extra additives our “food” has these days. “Food” in our Standard American Diet (SAD) consists of ice cream sandwiches, hot dogs, bologna, instant mac & cheese, or instant anything from a box for that matter. As Kris Carr says, things made in a lab will take a lab to digest. Who wants that? When we get back to whole, nutritious and real foods, we will feel and look our best, prevent many of the diseases we all want to avoid and can potentially reverse any health issues we currently have. Look at Kris Carr, her “incurable” cancer has been stable for the past 7 years since she made a total lifestyle change from the SAD to what she now calls her Crazy, Sexy Diet. 

After reading these books, I am committed to changing my eating and drinking habits for the better. This means focusing on lots of veggies, nuts, seeds, fruits, whole grains, and limiting meats, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Guess it is time to say hasta luego cheese enchiladas and sayonara chicken fried steak! I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and “treating” myself with more caffeine, sugar and unhealthy foods, usually covered in cheese. It is a vicious cycle that is hard to stop and won’t be easy.  I’ve already broken up with coffee (except for a few small indiscretions), sugar is currently packing up and moving out and I haven’t yet told booze that she’s got to go, but really, she’s toxic and has got to go. I don’t have room in my life for toxic, unhealthy habits anymore. I want to make room for health, wealth, light and love. Not to say I won’t dance every now and again with an old, unhealthy friend on occasion, but they will be special occasions, not everyday affairs.  Out with the dead and fried, in with the lean and green!

If you think I am crazy talking about the correlation with what you eat, drink and how you feel and act, here are a variety of books I’ve read on this topic over the past couple years: The China Study, Eat to Live, The UltraMind Solution, Thrive Fitness, Crazy, Sexy Diet, The pH Miracle. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen is on my 100 Days reading list too, another nutrition post will surely follow.  Read a book or two, peruse a few websites, educate yourself, know the effects of what you put into your body and make the best decision you can for yourself and please, please, please tell me that bacon counts as a breakfast vegetable.

It’s taken me over a year of reading and knowing I was making bad choices but doing them anyways before I finally decided to take serious action in hopes of reaching my fullest, healthiest potential. We’ll see how it goes!

How do you feel now? Are you fueling yourself with the right or wrong foods? Do you notice a difference when you make better choices? Why is it so dang hard to make the better choices?

 

Mooning

I was walking out of a restaurant the other day when a man stopped me and told me I was beautiful and that he liked my style. Naturally, I did what I always do when a guy pays me a compliment, I gave him a dollar. Did I mention he was homeless?  My purse was bright orange, my scarf was blue and pink plaid and my shoes were red and clearly his compliment was meant to be ironic. Not hipster “isn’t this mustache hideous, yet I spent months growing it just right” ironic; just good, old fashioned irony that the person complimenting my style happens to be a bum and his outfit clashed less than mine did. I laughed and therefore he got my dollar. I don’t always give beggars/bums/homeless folk money, but when one makes me laugh (purposely or not), change just falls right out of my pocket and into their hands. 

Laughter is pretty darn important to me, and a sense of humor is one of my most cherished traits in myself and others. Laughter is key to my happiness. I think laughter and a good sense of humor go along with that whole argument that a positive attitude/outlook will get you father than finding faults and negativity in everything. Laughter is the best medicine, isn't that how the saying goes?  One person who exhibits this every time I see him is my friend Mike. I wrote about him briefly in this post, but my words cannot do justice to the enthusiasm and gratitude that he meets each day with, not to mention that he is pretty darn funny too. Last night, he hosted his monthly Mike's Moonlight Run, where a group of 20 or so of his friends, teammates, family, etc run by the full moonlight around Lady Bird Lake. This was the first time I attended, but won't be the last. It was chilly and dark, but very fun and I got in a much needed 5 mile run with a great group of fit folks. Photo by Mike....

The Sink Hole

On Sunday, my dad took us on a tour of Sour Lake, which was eerily similar to how most horror movies start. A few adults and kids load up in a suburban and take off, yelling "we'll be right back" to the family members staying behind. We turn off the main road, the trees get taller, the weather turns, it starts raining harder, the back roads all look the same, the tires spin in the mud, the gas gauge teeters towards "E," cell phones don't work...okay I made that last part up, our cell phones totally worked but you get the picture. It was kind of creepy, but totally fun as we didn't lose anyone in the woods nor have to deal with any chainsaw wielding maniacs. The destination of this tour was the sink hole, a former oil field that caved in and filled with water many years ago.  Apparently when you drill too many oil wells too close together and then pump all the oil out, there is nothing left to support the ground and it sinks, filling with water. No one knows how deep it is and if you are my nieces and nephew, you now believe it is also filled with a variety of monsters and creatures that like to catch 8-13 year olds. What? I didn't tell them that! I swear. Okay, I might have encouraged their grandpa to tell them stories about the "wild man" that lives in the woods and maybe threw in a scary detail or two. Might have even tried to "push" my nephew into the sink hole, jokingly of course. This is what aunts are for! Everyone made it back safely and no one was scarred for life, that we are yet aware of anyways. Here are some photos of our excursion...

Abandoned equipment

The decaying house where the "wild man" lives

The wild man! Actually its my niece, wearing a sweet, furry Chia hat

Rotting tree trunks, rising out of the sink hole

Telephone poles, in the middle of the "lake"

A herd of dying pump jacks

Sweet & Sour: Part Deux

I just returned from Sour Lake, to attend a memorial service for my great aunt Fern and to spend some time with my dad's side of the family. I never thought this weekend would be "fun" but it ended up being filled with more hilarious stories and moments than I recall in a very long time. While I sort through and edit some of them, here are a series of photos I took while getting my 100 minutes/7 mile long run in on Saturday. There are barely enough roads in Sour Lake to add up to 7 miles, but I managed by running down a few highways, past some oil tank fields and through a cemetery where most of my family happens to be buried. (All photos were taken on my iPhone and "edited" using the ShakeItPhoto app.)

 

The Park House - the one and only "B&B" in town where we stayed.

Pump jack, more than just yard art, pumps oil 24/7

Payne's Barber Shop, Downtown Sour Lake

The Old Baptist Church, where the memorial service was held

Miscellaneous equipment in a field near downtown

The old swimming hole

 

 

Where my dad grew up swimming, it was much nicer back then

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pump jack & tank fields

tank fields

Rosedale Cemetary, the town's main cemetery

Poss plots, my dad's dad's side of the family

Counce plots, my dad's mom's side of the family

My cousin's truck