What a Year It's Been!

The 30 Days Challenge presented quite a lot of opportunity for personal growth in 2009. I set quite a few challenging goals for myself. I think it's time to reflect on how I did. While each challenge was only for one month, the goal was to make all of these things part of the daily or weekly routines long term. Here's how I did both during the month and for sticking with it long-term.

January - Drink Enough Water

I did fairly well with this one during January. Since then, I haven't been as strict about keeping track, but I'm certainly drinking more water than I used to drink, and I feel better for it. I'm more conscious about how much water I'm drinking, and as a result it has ended up being a substitute for soda.

What did I learn? I wasn't getting enough water. I feel better now that I am. And I pee more.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: A-

February - Get Enough Exercise

I thought this one would be fairly easy for me, but it turns out it has been quite a challenge to meet the minimum requirements. Technically, I met them during the month, but barely. I did fine during the summer, but to be honest, I'm a bit disappointed with my overall performance in this area throughout the year. One thing that has picked up, though, is if I don't have time for an actual workout during the day, I'll try to walk to lunch. Also, the August challenge, which I'll get to later, really helped this one out.

What did I learn? It's easy to exercise in the summer. It's tougher in the winter, especially once we had kids. In order to get enough, I will need to set a schedule I can stick to rather than try to fit exercise in the cracks.

In-month grade: B+

Long-term grade: C+

March - No soda

This is an easy one to grade since I didn't have any soda during the month of March. I've slipped up for a few weeks at a time during the rest of the year, but overall I've done pretty well. I'm OK with having one once in awhile, but I don't want to start getting one every day. It's tough since it is free at work, but drinking enough water helps.

What did I learn? Drink enough water, and you don't crave soda anymore.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: B

April - No more than one alcoholic drink a day

I decided that this one was not a fun one to do. I should have said only one drink Sunday-Thursday and a higher limit on the weekends. Technically, I succeeded on this challenge, but I had to consider a 22 oz bottle of beer or a very full glass of wine to be one drink. What did come out of it though, is I make a conscious effort to not grab that second beer if I have to go to work the next day, and it does make me feel better.

What did I learn? I like beer.

In-month grade: B+

Long-term grade: C-

May - Floss every day

I did this every day in May, but I've had a hard time making it a habit. It seems to go in spurts. We have, however, actually purchased dental floss for the first time after using up what the dentist gives out for free.

What did I learn? It didn't take long to get my gums nice and healthy, but for some reason it's hard to make flossing as much of a routine as brushing teeth.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: C

June - Minimize your environmental impact

Trash - I think we've really well in this arena, but there is still more we can do. The original challenge was to minimize your trash, but we stepped it up to include a lot of other things. On trash, we did very well and are keeping it up. We compost all vegetable and grain kitchen scraps, we sort out all metal, plastic, paper, and glass for recycling. If it isn't recycled curbside, we store it up until I have a full load to take to the recycling center. We've started using cloth napkins...sometimes. Once we get rid of diapers, we'll average less than one kitchen-sized bag of trash a week. Not too shabby!

Water Usage - We don't let the water run when it isn't being used (like soaping up hands or brushing teeth), and we didn't water the lawn all summer with the exception of when it was 100 degrees for four days. I stopped putting grass clippings in the yard waste bin and leave them on the lawn now. The next step is to install some rain barrels for use in watering the lawn and putting water in the pond to keep the fish alive. I' also plan to investigate a point-of-use hot water heater for our master-bath shower. It's the farthest point in the house you can get from the hot water heater, and it takes a long time to get the water hot for a shower. I think we can cut down a lot of wasted water by doing this.

Electricity and Natural Gas - To be honest, I didn't do much here other than check the electrical usage of all the things we plug in. I did learn a bit about what we SHOULD do, but I didn't put much effort into doing it other than trying to turn off lights in rooms that are unoccupied and shutting down the computer each night when we go to bed. I simply don't want to get rid of my keg fridge. (Having beer in a keg rather than in bottles cuts down on having to recycle bottles.) We did replace every burned out bulb with a CFL, though. As for gas, we turned down our thermostat a few degrees, I fixed some air leaks in our house, and I hung up a sleeping bag in the entryway to our living room, which is converted from a garage and I'm pretty sure is not insulated. The next step here is to investigate having solar panels installed on the roof and see what the return on investment would be. There are a lot of state and federal tax benefits I'd like to take advantage of. I also need to hire a contractor to make sure all my heating ducts aren't leaking. I know there are a few.

What did I learn? There is a lot to learn.

In-month grade: A-

Long-term grade: B+

July - Don't watch any television all month

Easy. Done. I do watch TV now, but if I'm not enjoying it, I turn it off. I don't just watch it to watch it. Also, I give a new show 2-3 episodes and decide to dump it or keep watching. Sometimes it's obvious after 1 show.

What did I learn? Watching TV for enjoyment is fine, but there is a lot of crap on. If you're not enjoying yourself, do something else. TV shows don't deserve loyalty.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: B+

August - Don't drive alone in your car to work

I did fairly well on this one. I rode my bike most days, which was great! I got my exercise and my commute done at the same time. I tried various public transportation routes using the bus and the train, but I didn't like it. It took longer than biking. And, it took me 4 times as long as driving and cost me twice as much. I never actually found a carpool buddy. The only two days I drove were one day when I had to go to Lake Oswego for work and one day when Janell and I had to get somebody from the airport.

What did I learn? Taking public transportation from my house to my work simply isn't worth it because due to scheduling it takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to 65 minutes to get to work. I can drive it in about 12 minutes. It adds over an hour of commuting time to my day. Carpooling requires compromise on somebody's part, and that's hard to do. Driving alone is easy and costs half as much as riding public transportation, but it's not very environmentally friendly. Biking is easily the best way to get to work. I am, however, a fair weather rider, so as soon as it started raining the biking stopped.

In-month grade: A-

Long-term grade: C

September - 5 servings of fruits and vegetables

I consider myself to be a meat eater, but this was actually easier than I thought it would be. I grabbed a natural juice (Naked, Odwalla, etc.) for breakfast, picked something with vegetables for lunch, ate a piece of fruit for a snack, and made sure to get vegetables for dinner. And I still got my meat.

What did I learn? Eating vegetables wasn't too tough after all.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: A-

October - Eat one of the 14 top "superfoods"

This one was actually easier than I thought it would be, so I bumped it up to two a day. And I even tried several recipes using pumpkin!

What did I learn? Eating the "superfoods" isn't that hard. It just takes a little effort.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: B+

November - No fast food

This was another easy one. Simply avoid those places. Although, I think once in awhile is OK as long as it isn't a major source of your meals.

What did I learn? It's not that hard to avoid fast food. And you feel better when you eat better.

In-month grade: A

Long-term grade: A-

December - Write down something you are grateful for

I'll admit that while I had something written down for every day in the month, I didn't actually write it down on that specific day. I noticed that this exercise helped me feel better about some work-related issues. They suddenly seemed to be less important.

What did I learn? It's good to remind yourself of the positive aspects in your life. It makes the negative stuff seem like not as big of a deal.

In-month grade: B

Long-term grade: D+

Things to be grateful for - Dec 27-31

December 27 - I'm grateful that we were able to collect 232 books to donate to the Children's Book Bank in Portland as my Christmas present to Janell.

December 28 - I read an article in the paper today about the football team at one of the Portland high schools. The article described how some people have started a pasta feed for the team every Wednesday because some of the players were going days without eating due to financial hardship. I'm grateful that I don't have to worry about how I'm going to feed my kids.

December 29 - I'm grateful that Austin's little mishap yesterday only resulted in three stitches. He's in good spirits today, and it's like it didn't happen! I'm also grateful it didn't happen today since we had several inches of snow and couldn't really go anywhere due to slick roads and complete gridlock everywhere.

December 30 - I'm grateful that my parents are watching the boys tonight so Janell and I can have an overnight at Edgefield!

December 31 - I'm grateful for the 30 Days Challenge this year! I was able to make many of the items habits and I lost a few pounds in the process!

Things to be grateful for - Dec 21-26

December 21 - I'm grateful that the craft beer industry took off in the United States at just the right time! I remember hearing lots of jokes about American beer (how is American beer like a canoe...they're both f'ing close to water). But who's laughing now? The beer here is among the best in the world, and there is lots of it. I'm particularly lucky to live in Portland, where we have more breweries than any other city in the world! 31 and counting! Competition breeds excellence.

December 22 - This one may sound weird, but I'm grateful for all of my ex-girlfriends. I believe that every one of them contributed to the person I am today. I learned something from each relationship. I learned who I am. I learned how to appreciate people who have different opinions than I do. And, I learned different outlooks on life. Thank you for helping me find me way. Most importantly, I learned what I wanted in a woman and in a partner, and I was able to recognize that when I met my wife.

December 23 - I grew up an only child. Yet, I have a huge family. 41 first cousins. Over 200 second cousins. I'm part of a huge, loving family. I consider many of my cousins to be sisters and brothers, and I'm grateful for that.

December 24 - I'm grateful that today is Christmas Eve, and my kids are old enough to sort of get it. I get to play Santa tonight!

December 25 - I'm grateful that my parents were able to make it to Portland safely and relatively on time, even though there was an ice storm brewing in the midwest today and yesterday. Merry Christmas to all!

December 26 - In light of the attempted terrorist attack yesterday (somebody tried to blow up a Northwest flight bound for Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas day), I feel this one is timely and fairly important. I'm grateful for all the men and women who are brave enough to fight for our freedom and our safety as part of the U.S. military. Salute to the armed forces! I appreciate all you do!

Things to be grateful for - Dec 13-20

December 13 - Today is my birthday. I'm grateful that my mother thought of me as a child and not as a choice.

December 14 - I'm grateful that we got our Christmas presents for the grandparents all ready to go.

December 15 - I'm grateful that all my vocal and instrumental parts are done for Spontaneous Woo's second album! Only a few bass fixes and mixing left! Hopefully only a few more months...

December 16 - I'm grateful for the funny things my kids say. For example. "Mama hair brown. Owen hair yellow. Austin hair yellow. Mama teeth yellow."

December 17 - I'm grateful that it was announced that we're getting an extra bonus at work, and we have a budget for raises this year. Last year we didn't have raises at all, but considering what was going on with the economy, we were all just grateful to be employed at the time.

December 18 - I'm grateful that the class I taught at the local plumbers and steamfitters union (UA290) went well. Who knows? They may even ask me back!

December 19 - I'm grateful that we got to hang out with Mark and Katie to bake cookies and then got the bonus of seeing Katie's brother Patrick!

December 20 - I'm grateful Ted invited me and the boys over to watch football this morning to give Janell a morning off!

Things to be grateful for - Dec 11-12

December 11 - I'm grateful I grew up in Aplington, Iowa. There I learned the value of community and the value of hard work. In fact, we had a survey in my department at work here in Oregon, and one of the questions was "Where would you have liked to have grown up?" The two of us from Iowa both listed Iowa. Here are two fantastic examples why.

When I was a freshman at Iowa State University, my dad sustained a head injury in a farm accident that put him in the hospital for nine days and out of farming shape for a bit longer. All this happened in the middle of harvest. After driving to Iowa City to visit my dad in the hospital after the accident, I headed to the farm outside of Aplington to take care of the 500 hogs he raised and figure out how to deal with the 220 acres of crops that needed to be combined soon. When I got there, I found dozens of friends, neighbors, and family members there. Three of them were out in the field with their combines, and there were so many tractors and wagons there that they had to wait in line for the three combines to give them a half a load to take to town. This all continued for the next few days while my uncle Paul and I took care of the livestock. There were also several ladies there cooking for all the men and keeping everybody full. By the time my dad got home from the hospital, all the crops were out of the field, which was a very good thing since he obviously needed to rest and recover. I'll never forget the sense of community I felt in those few days. Keep in mind that when all this started, my dad was in the hospital, my mom was with him, and I was away at school. Nobody asked for any help. Nobody asked for any praise. Everybody just knew what to do, and they showed up and got it done.

The next story has to do with Parkersburg, which is only four miles from Aplington. Parkersburg is where I went to church, I wrestled on their wrestling team (Aplington didn't have a team), and Parkersburg merged schools with Aplington shortly after I graduated. It's sort of a surrogate hometown for me. Last May a category 5 tornado ripped through Parkersburg and neighboring New Hartford. It destroyed 1/3 of the Parkersburg, including about 220 houses, the high school, and 2/3 of the businesses. The devastation was unbelievable. What happened next was even more unbelievable. The rest of the town of Parkersburg and surrounding communities wasted no time coming in to help pick up the pieces. People cam from all over the state to rake debris from the lawns of people they had never met. Students from rival high schools arrived by the busload from as far as 100 miles away and crawled on their hands and knees to pick up glass, wood, and metal shards that had been embedded into the football field. Football players from both Iowa and Iowa State came to help. The sense of community and hard work spread from the immediate area to the entire state. I was never more proud to be from Iowa as I was in the aftermath of that tornado.

December 12 - I'm grateful that I get to go back to a friends' party tonight after the kids go to bed. Thanks Janell! I'm also grateful that it's close enough to walk. :)

Things to be grateful for - Dec 10

I'm grateful to have several great groups of friends. I am blessed with many good friends here in Portland. I am also blessed with many friends I made in Aplington, Iowa State, Penn State, Saipan, Japan, and many other places that I don't get to see as often as I'd like. I really do treasure every one of you, and I'm proud of the way everybody looks out for each other.

Things to be grateful for - Dec 7-9

December 7 - I'm grateful that I have a good job to get up and to go today. It may frustrate me at times, but I really do get to work on things that interest me, and I have first-rate co-workers. It also does a good job of paying my bills.

December 8 - I'm grateful that we are getting together for band practice tonight. Never grow up!

December 9 - When I woke up this morning it was 7 degrees outside. I'm grateful that we have a warm house to wake up in. I'm grateful that our furnace is working so far this winter. I'm grateful that we don't have to worry about how we're going to pay our utility bills. I'm grateful that my family members all have warm clothes to wear.

Things to be grateful for - Dec 3-6

December 3 - I'm sitting here at the Autodesk University conference in Las Vegas. I'm really grateful that I could be here. It has been a great experience. I'm grateful that my boss saw the importance of it both for Intel and as a personal growth experience for me. He put himself out there and fought for me to be able to attend, and I'm grateful for that.

December 4 - I'm grateful that my parents let me grow and develop into the person I am today. They were always very encouraging of whatever I wanted to do. Thank you for letting me be myself.

December 5 - I'm grateful that I picked a job in Portland, Oregon rather than a job in Vermont. Regardless of the job itself, coming to Oregon over 11 years ago was a good decision. I knew when I got here that this is a place where I belonged. Besides, if I hadn't come here I wouldn't have met my wife!

December 6 - I'm grateful for college football at 9am.

Things to be grateful for - Dec 1 and Dec 2

Dec 1: First and foremost, I'll start with the obvious one. I'm grateful that I was lucky enough to meet Janell, fall in love with her, and convince her to marry me. We've been together now for a total of nine years, and it has been a fantastic journey so far. When people say relationships are hard work, I think perhaps they haven't tried it with the right person for them. My relationship with Janell isn't hard work at all. It's actually quite easy, and I think that is because we are peers and partners in every sense of the word. So, I'm grateful for a having fantastic relationship with my best friend.

Dec 2: The next obvious one. I'm grateful to have two wonderful, healthy, curious, funny, loving, caring little boys. It's very exciting to be able to help them learn, well basically everything. The first time that truly dawned on me was when I showed them how to hold an apple so that they didn't eat the end and chew through the core. Simple things you never think about. I absolutely love it when I can share little private moments with them where we both laugh at something silly without really talking about why it's silly. I don't have to write this down to know I'm grateful for it, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

December Challenge - Write Down Something You are Grateful for Every Day

It's time for the final challenge of the year. This one is a mental health activity. The idea is that if you write down something that you are grateful for everyday, it helps keep you focused on the positive aspects of your life and improve your overall attitude. It doesn't need much explanation, so good luck!

Jason

Pumpkin Recipes

Well, I did manage to find a few pumpkin recipes that were pretty good. Some I'll just post a link, but a few I'll have to type out. Note that the big carving pumpkins aren't really the ones you would use for these recipes. I found that there are actually several different varieties of pumpkins, many of which look more like a winter squash. Not coincidentally, winter squash can be used as a substitute in most of these recipes. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, so ask your local produce supplier for recommendations on what pumpkins to use.

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup - The soup turned out to be fantastic! It was pretty easy to make, too.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad - This was close to one of the prettiest dishes ever served on our table. It tasted pretty good, too. I'd pay particular attention to what type of pumpkin or squash you use, though.

Pumpkin and Beef Stew - I followed an actual recipe for this one, but I'd just say, "Make your favorite beef stew recipe and add cubed pumpkin." The pumpkins turned out tasting similar to the potatoes but with a much different texture. Basically, both soaked up the flavors of the stew quite nicely.

Pumpkin Puree (compliments of Plumper Pumpkin Patch) - To be used with other recipes

1-2 Sugar Pie Pumpkins (or other good tasting pumpkins)

1/2 c. Water

Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place pumkin halves upside down on a cookie sheet with water in the bottom. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool. Remove pulp form skin and puree in blender or food processor. Pumpkin is now ready for use in your recipes.

Pumpkin Bread (compliments of Plumper Pumpkin Patch)

5 Eggs

1 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 packages Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding (3 oz)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs in mixing bowl. Add oil and pumpkin. Beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into five greased 5-in x 2 1/2-in x 2-in loaf pans (or whatever you use to make banana bread). Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. NOTE: Can use two greased 8-in x 4-in x 2-in loaf pans for 75-80 minutes.

When I made this one I only had one package of instant vanilla pudding, so I used that. Also, I actually made the pudding first. I think you're supposed to put it in dry, but putting in he made pudding turned out quite well!

Try it! You might like it!

Jason

November Challenge - No Fast Food

This month it's no fast food. If you order your food at a counter and pay for it at the counter, it's fast food. If it has a drive-through, it's a definite no-no. The last few challenges should have set everybody up for this one. It's hard to find a super food at a fast food place unless it's covered in cheese or mayonnaise.

Good luck!

On a related note, I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries last night (since I wouldn't be able to go there for a month), and they followed through on their promise and they aren't using styrofoam cups for fries anymore! Yeah, Five Guys!

Jason

Pumpkins

OK. Pumpkins are on the superfood list, but does anybody know of a way to cook them other than pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread? I've not found much out there...

Jason

Up the Ante

So far I have not found this challenge to be much of a challenge at all. I eat a bowl of oatmeal nearly every day for breakfast, and I'm done. I'm going to up the ante on this one to two superfoods every day. Just do it! Get 'er done! What are you waiting for? Insert company slogan here!

Jason

October Challenge - Eat at least one of the "Superfoods" every day

Did you know there are "superfoods?" These foods can help lower your cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. And, they can help put you in a better mood!

Work these foods into your diet this month, and see how you feel!

• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Pumpkin
• Salmon
• Soy
• Spinach
• Tea (green or black)
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt

For more details on each, see this article.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/superfoods-everyone-needs

Enjoy!

Jason

September Challenge - Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day

This one seems pretty straight-forward, right? Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Well, how much is a serving? I just had a salad at lunch that included two large cherry tomatos, two cucumber slices, and a pile of lettuce. Is that one serving? Two? I checked the following website to find out. Basically, one serving is about a half-cup.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/f/servingfruit.htm

Here are some examples:

Fruits

• one banana
• six strawberries
• two plums
• fifteen grapes
• one apple
• one peach
• one half cup of orange or other fruit juice

Vegetables

• five broccoli florets
• ten baby carrots
• one roma tomato
• 3/4 cup tomato juice
• half of a baked sweet potato
• one ear of corn
• four slices of an onion

Good luck!

Jason

Commuting Options

Well, after three and a half weeks of not driving to work by myself, I've come to a few conclusions. Driving is definitely the fastest option by far. Biking is probably my favorite, because I can exercise and commute at the same time. Public transportation is my least favorite. It takes longer than biking from my house to work, and it takes 3 to 4 times as long as driving. I am stuck with their time-tables, so I usually end up getting places 20 minutes early to avoid being late. And the fare actually costs me about three times as much as the gas it takes to drive there. If I worked downtown, it may be a different story, but I don't.

The only thing I haven't really tried, yet, is carpooling. I'll need to work on that one.

Jason

First week of commuting down!

This one hasn't been too bad so far, but I was lucky that the 100 degree week hit in July and not August! Here's a quick rundown.

• Monday - I rode my bike both to and from work. It took about 35-40 minutes from my door to my desk and vice versa.
• Tuesday - I rode my bike to work, and Janell picked me up on the way to the Hillsboro Farmers Market after work.
• Wednesday - I rode my bike to work, and then I unexpectedly caught a ride home with Trent after work.
• Thursday - I took the bus to work. It took about 45 minutes, and I had to leave home at 6:30 (and arrive at 7:15) to avoid an extra 20 minutes of waiting time for the one that gets me there closer to 8:00. I took the bus home and stopped for a chiropractor appointment on the way. It took about 45 minutes to get to the chiropractor's office. Afterwards, I waited about 15 minutes for the next bus and took a 5 minute ride home.
• Friday - I rode my bike both directions.

So far I've learned that my options to get to work are a 15 minute drive costing about $1 in gas each way, a 35 minute bike ride for free, or a 45-65 minute bus ride costing $2 each way where I can't control the time. Public transportation from my house to my work is a hard sell. There are a few other options I'll explore.

Jason

August Challenge - Don't ride to work in a car by yourself

Before we get to the August challenge, I have a few notes on the July challenge. First, I had the opportunity to watch television yesterday! It sucked. I surfed channels for about 20 minutes and realized that I wasn't having any fun and I wasn't enjoying myself, so I turned it off. Second, about halfway into the challenge, Janell caught me watching YouTube videos of old baseball players. Does that count as watching TV?

Now for August. This month's challenge is to not ride in a car by yourself to work. There are several options available.

1. Ride your bike. If you live within 10 miles of work, this is actually a pretty good option. I live 8 miles from work, and it takes me 35 minutes to ride there. Considering that my drive home is 25 minutes due to traffic, this is a pretty nice way to get my exercise (see the February challenge) and my commute in at the same time. It also helps that there is a gym with showers at my workplace. One thing I've learned from doing this in the past is that it helps to leave clean clothes and shower supplies at work so you don't have to carry them all on your bike or on your back.
2. Walk. This isn't an option for most people, but if it is take advantage of it!
3. Carpool. This is a very underutilized option. The two biggest gates for carpooling are not being willing to compromise with somebody else on a schedule and not being able to find somebody to carpool with. As for the schedule, all it takes is a bit of communication and a bit of effort. As for finding somebody, try carpool postings. There are plenty of them out there.
4. Public transportation. We are quite lucky to have a good public transportation system in Portland. Although I know that it will take me quite a bit longer to ride public transportation than to drive, or even to ride my bike for that matter, I'll give it a try this month and report my results.

As always, this will be easy for some, challenging for others, and impossible for a few. For those of you who don't work (retirees and stay-at-home parents) and those of you who simply can't carpool (real estate agents), I suggest you revisit one of the previous months you'd like to improve upon or pick something of your own!

January - Drink enough water

February - Exercise!

March - No Soda

April - No more than one alcoholic beverage a day

May - Floss every day

June - Minimize your impact (there is a lot of information in various posts)

July - No television

Good luck!

Jason

No TV...

Not having the TV on is much more difficult when you're staying at somebody else's house for a week. I may need to extend this challenge into August a little bit.

Jason