22 Before and After

2010-06-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here is my breakfast veggies freash out of the garden.

Here are the same veggies slowly cooking in some olive oil.

Here is the recipe:
Grow some yellow squash, zuccini squash, white acorn squash, bell pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Cut all the ingredients up into small cubes.
Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a skillet with low heat and add all the veggies in to the skillet.
Cover and allow to simmer over low heat until squash is as soft as you like. I like them a little crunchy.
Stir them often so none stick to the skillet.
Serve with turkey bacon and eggs and avocado.
Burp and smile!
Enjoy!

Cherry Tomatos

2010-06-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my Cherry Tomato plants and my girlfriend. These plants are loaded with tomatos. I hope yours are too!
Have a great day!

Tomato Plants Are Taller Than I Am!

2010-06-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the garden now. I am getting squash and peppers everyday. Tomatos should be along soon! Hope you are finding the time to do the things you enjoy!

It ain't as easy as you think.

2010-05-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

The garden is coming along. It is a very slow process though, planting the seed in the ground is just the beginning of the process and then you still don't know if the seeds are even going to germinate.
I talk about current issues all the time, and two things really suprise me. 1. Most people are at best clueless about what is really happening in the world around them and they don't want to hear about it, and 2. People are so behind in the concept of self reliance.
I perosonally have moved on from chasing widgets, now it is just trying to make up the learning curve on how to grow food. I heard just this past week that Wal-Mart is going to close, Super S already did. What if fuel prices goo so high that Sisco and Ben E Keith can't deliver tacos to you?
I promise if you wait until you need a garden it will be to late. I have been growing this one for 2 months and it still hasn't given a bean, squash, pepper, or tomato, but it is getting close and the plants are blooming.
Wake up guys, the hour is late. The curve is steep and most of you are way behind.

What's News At FTS

2010-05-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, are we closed or not?
Well, no not really. The gym is still running 2 classes a day 4 days a week and I am doing some limited personal training. However, there is no way I am ever going back to the kind of schedule that I had a year ago. If I haven't ever told the various people that have paid me to workout thank you, then here I am saying it loud and clear...Thank you for giving it a try. But I also want to thank you all for showing me that working my days away trying to re-educate people is not something I am cut out to do. I can do it with a small group of people but not with dozens, it's too hard and people have way to many personal issues and problems that begin to become mine.
Now, if you want to work out with us then it has to be evenings or you can do personal training. Just give me a call, we will talk.
I am proud of what I have accomplished with my program.
Let see what the the next year holds, I can't wait.

What's Been Happening?

2010-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted a blog but I promise I have been busy.
Life is good and it is an amazing time to be alive. From the volcanos and earthquakes to the economic disaster on the horizon, life is getting interesting. I do not think a lot of you out there realize how late the hour is. That's ok. I would just recommend opening your eyes and looking around cause you don't want to wake up to late.
Anyways what have I been up to? Working out of course. Hanging with my girlfriend as usual. But more importantly I have been planting a garden and some fruit trees. I suggest you do the same. A seed won't grow over night and it is ultimately your responsibility to take care of yourself.
Some easy things to grow are squash and beans.
Anyways, get to it. Of course you can make excuses why you don't want to or need to and then blame somebody else because you can't eat your iPhone or your flat screen T.V. Or better yet you can blame me.
Happy gardening!

New Links

2010-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here are few more websites that have some interesting material.
www.thestrengthshopvb.com
www.cresseyperformance.com
Enjoy!
Stop eating TACOS!!!!!

The Hardest Things....

2010-03-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

Yeah, those.. you know the ones....the things that you think you can't live without. The things that keep up at night, the little things that fracture your very lives but you insist that you can't live without. You know the ones and you know what...if you let go you will be happier and most likely healthier. I mean that's what this is all about right? Living better, healthier?
If you have ever had something in your life that frustrated you or caused you so many problems that you wondered why you had it in your life to begin with, but at the same time you work just as hard to convince yourself and everyone else that you just possibly can't live without it, you know what I am talking about.
My advice (and yes I need to listen to my own advice from time to time) is to get rid of it or if possible let it get rid of itself. There may be a short time to detox from the attachment but when you sleep better and have fewer worries you see the point.
I think that most people today, especially those yuppy types, want everything there is. That there is this belief that money and more shit can solve all of your emotional needs. I believe it is this spoiled brat mentality that has our very way of life in such an uproar. How can a person live well if there are to many things going on?
Ok, some examples, and these are some of the things that my household has given up over the last year.
1.Cable-this was hard, and it isn't that expensive, but it is a mind numbing waste of time. The funny thing is that the kids play together, read books and draw, since they can't sit in front of the TV. When given the chance to watch TV we hardly do. Probably the best decision we made!
2. One vehicle- again not easy at times, but keeps the overall expenses down and I don't mind riding my bike. There was a time when I wanted 2 or 3 vehicles but man was that a silly notion. Thank God it didn't work out that way.
3.iPhones-a year ago my phone bill/internet bill was in excess of $250/month. It was all so I could have a toy. We made the change to basic phones and after a short detox period, we find we are ok. Plus we are under $75/month for two phones and once the AT&T contract expires we will go to Cricket phones for even less.
4.Resturants-I think I have had resturant meals a total of 5 times since July 09. Not to mention the incredible savings we have in our budget we are leaner and healthier than ever. I figure for the two of us to go to a resturant like Applebees or Luby's it cost $30-$40 dollars a meal. I know people that would confess to me that they ate every meal out...for a family of 4. Add it up ...Crazy!
5.Facebook/Myspace-initially sounds like a cool thing. I even did this for awhile but eventually I found that I was just being a nosy person and it was all about other people stroking my ego. I have a few people in my life that I enjoy and want to spend time with in person. I don't really care what everyone else is doing and my disconnection from these artificial worlds was very liberating.
The point is that you have to realize the more things you have going on the more toxic your life will be.
Most people are going to seek out places that will allow them to live in a reckless manner and pat them on the back and say it's ok. The problem is that after the new wears off and the emotion is replace by the realization that you are still stuck in a deadend lifestyle, you have to make the changes. When that day finally comes I hope your detox is fast.
I challenge you to examine your life and get rid of all the things that weigh you down. Be honest with yourself and I think you will get my point.

June 28, 2050

2010-03-02T06:53:00.001-08:00

That's the day I am going to die. I know it sounds crazy but if you take the average lifespan for your demographic and add it to your birthday, you have it. Now, you may be asking yourself why on earth would anyone want to know that? But, trust me it is a little liberating. The idea is that if you know how long you have to live how would you spend your time? What would your priorities be? What battles would you fight? 2009 was a very challenging year on many levels and I can only hope to apply the lessons learned to keep from having to repeat the same things over and over again.
By my calculation I have just over 40 years left to live my best. I can see the world changing around me at breath taking pace and I struggle to keep up at times. I want to spend the short time I have enjoying my time, doing the things I love and interacting with people I enjoy.
I know that I have very little to complain about and even when I face an unexpected twist in the road it usually is for my best interest. I have learned tons about my tolerances this past year, and I have realized that I cannot help a majority of people even if I want to. If I divide my time up into three categories I would classify them as bad, good, and great.
An example of spending my time in a bad way would be fighting with someone over what's right or wrong, trying to get people to eat better when they don't want to, or questioning people's decision making processes. I know that these things are a waste of my time so it's up to me to quit doing it.
Good time is spent doing the little things in life that you can't dismiss. Taking out the trash, paying the bills, cleaning the gym/house, you get the picture. These things are not terrible in and of themselves and besides being necessary there can be a measure of reward in doing them.
The best of all is the things that you love to do, aka great time. Great time is really all about the things you love. For me that is helping someone who really wants it and seeing the happiness and sense of accomplishment they feel. Examples are spending time with my daughter, fixing someone's plumbing when nobody else will, teaching a person how to lift weights, working with new people in the gym and making the experience first class no matter what their limitations are. Other examples of great time for me are working with Avie, regardless of where or what we are doing, the time we are together is great because we are best friends and most of the time we are laughing. Life is truly an adventure when we are together. I also love to sleep, on most nights I get 8-10 hours of sleep and I am extremely proud that my lifestyle will allow me that. There are countless other things that I absolutely love to do and it is so important to do these things the bulk of the time.
I have found that if I allow the bad time to get out of control it really affects my great time. Now that I have faced the limits of my lifespan I intend to spend as much time as I can doing great things, the things I love.
I would ask you if you knew how much time you had left to live, what would you do? How would you spend your time? And what would be important to you?
Don't waste your time it's the one thing you can't get back.

Remember Your First Love.

2010-02-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

When your life turns upside down it is easy to forget what made you great in the first place. Don't ever lose hope, earthquakes are gonna happen and even though some buildings are poorly built, there are many instances of engineering marvels.
Never be afraid to start again because it is on the journey that all the new and exciting discoveries are made.
My prayers are to those who lost everything in Chile. I pray you don't lose site of where you get to live and all it's wonders.