Somethin' 'Bout A Truck

There's something about a truck.  I have fond memories of riding in the back of Michael Barrett's truck with a few friends on Saturday nights in high school.  Of course, that's frowned upon now.  I also remember when my father dug me out of a hole I created for myself.  I was living with friends after my car broke down and I had lost my job.  So, that VW bug had to be sold.  It was a very basic 1988 Toyota pick-up but it took a beating.  It got abused, wrecked and dealt with overheating issues after I cracked the weld where the hose going to the radiator was.  I still remember a few times where it died from abuse (let's face it, I wasn't really a responsible person at this point in my life) and I would be sitting in the truck with my friend Tracy on the way to Barley's to watch Monday Night Football.  Getting rid of that truck was really a transition to adulthood for me.

Between then, I had a Rodeo and a Tucson.  Ok, still have the Tucson but someone else in the family will be driving it more in the near future.  But we had some serious conversations about what to get next.  I really wanted to have something I could put our mountain bikes in the back of and go off riding.  Something dependable but depreciated (which really is like wanting a dog without fur... they are out there but seldom found) and maybe not even a truck.  It could have been a beater for David to use.  But after talking about different options and we said, "If it is meant to happen soon, it will just pop up."  A few weeks later, this truck was sitting outside our door with a 'for sale' sign on it.  We eyed it over curiously and a friend of the owner (a neighbor) came and told us about it.  Well, it's done.  It's now a new member of our family.  All we can hope for is the dependability but I can say that my responsibility level now will allow me to appreciate it a lot more than that little '88 Toyota.

Putting The Socks In The Right Drawer

Yes, you know that I can take on more than I should sometimes.  But someone once told me that "if you want to get a project done, put it in the hands of the busiest person you know."  It's time for me to start getting busier once again.  So, I should be announcing a new project later this year.  That is... after I announce this one.

Things can get cluttered.  Heck, ask any parent of a teenage boy that stares at his bedroom in frustration.  Once I started posting about my progress in taking back my health, I did a good job of confusing myself on the future of my own writings here.  As my physical changes began, my enthusiasm increased and I stopped babbling about about music, personal musings and technological advances.  It didn't mean there weren't any but I lost focus.  Let's just say that the socks started getting into the shirts drawer and after awhile there were more socks than shirts.  To fix that, I've decided to corral future posts in the health, fitness and nutrition areas off into a new site called My Fitness Future where I will talk about and hope to inspire others to making a change for the better.  There is a lot of design work left to do but it launched today and I feel it's worth letting you know about the change.

80s music fans should enjoy my upcoming project.  I am in the early planning stages and will give you an early preview when possible.  Stay tuned.

Photo Update 041413

I take a lot of photos but none of myself.  I tend to lean towards more interesting subjects.  hahaha  So, after taking a very bad one (that had more of a problem with posing), I had to put up something more recent... with clothes on.  (Ok, that sounds so wrong.)  So, 31 pounds later...

New Numbers For A New Martin

I stopped in to the doctor's office today to get my latest blood test.  So, I thought that I'd do a little side-by-side comparison.  I'm on this journey, as I've said, and it's nice to have a little science to back up the changes.  (Ok, 31 lbs. is still a scientific measurement but let's look internally.)

                                 18 mos. ago             Now

Cholesterol                   218                       130
Triglycerides                  285                       89
LDL                              123                       73
HDL                              38                        39



So, amazing drop in triglycerides, isn't it?  Weird to think that you can be proud of your blood.  All positive numbers.  Even the least positive, my HDL went a point in the right direction (up.)  Still need to work on adding a few different things to my diet to try to bring that higher.

Post Cleanse 2 Check-In

Figured that I'd keep my shirt on and do as close of a full body shot as I could.  Today is the first day after a second round of the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse.  I started this journey after Thanksgiving with a cleanse and was urged to do another one as someone wanted to do it with me.  (No, not that, the cleanse.)  Anyhow, I started this voyage at 222 lbs.  Over the course of time, I worked my way down to 196 lbs.  26 pounds is pretty good when you aren't really focused on just the numbers but how your clothes fit and how you feel.

This morning, I weighed in at... 191 lbs.  Cleanses like this can yield varied results.  I also added Yoga Flex (from 10 Minute Trainer... which I'm now wearing the shirt from) to the daily routine.  Why?  Well, I had 2 of the next 3 days of it listed on my monthly program.  I don't like quitting and I'm almost halfway through the month.  Which is why you get a new photo.  It also looks like I'm hovering below a size 34 waist now... after I changed out all those 40s, 38s and 36s.  Can't see myself going lower than that, though.

I also talked with my chiropractor about my ankle and a shoulder issue that I've been dealing with.  Looks like I have a little work to do to rehab those muscles and ligaments but hard to believe that I'm not 100% most of the time... because I'm starting to feel it.

(The wife thought the self-photo looked a little strange... so we'll take another one later.)