Sunday, January 30, 2022
Finished Reading News of the World and Watched the Movie Along with Books I am Reading
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Thinking of Warmer Weather and Camping… Lots and Lots of Camping
Sunday, January 16, 2022
Rumor of Apple Possibly Streaming MLB Games for 2022… Yes Please and no Blackouts!
My Book Reading Experience Has Peaks and Valleys… Right Now on a Peak! I am Enjoying Reading for Fun! #books #reading
Sunday, January 09, 2022
Progress Report for December 2021 Working Out... Dipped a Little with Holidays... Reading and Biking
December 2021 working out was a little less than I had expected, but only one day fewer than I had done in November 2021. So, overall, not bad, but I could have used a few more days of working out. When I went back to work on January 3, I noticed some of my work pants fit a little more snug than they had prior to the holiday season. So, I am still working on getting back into the swing of things. I only worked out 9 days during December as indicated to the right. I plan to increase my workout to the three times a week and stick to it moving forward. If I need to adjust my days, that is not an issue, but I need to make sure to stay with my plan of working out three days a week. Taking more than three days off from riding is almost like starting over when I ride again.
My plan for February 2022 is to completely remove alcohol. I know from past experience when I do this removal, I lose all kinds of weight and really feel a lot better. So, come February 1, 2022, I will be going the month not drinking beer or any alcohol. Yes, I know the Super Bowl is in there, but it seems like a good time to go without and try to get my body feeling better. More on this as February approaches and my status.
Overall for December, I did well with working out. I spent 189 minutes working out during December and traveled 43.7 miles as tracked through Peloton. While the calories burned looks really good, it does not help that I also would eat whatever I wanted and have beers. So, I am hoping that February will help get me back into better exercise with better results and also eating better too. Doing so for a month will help me and I am hope that during that month I will get to the point where I like it and continue to eating trend into March.Carrie and I have both done this type monitoring with our food intake and alcohol removed from diet, but it has been a few years. We both plan to eat better and remove fast food from our routine when working. Most of it comes from it being so easy to pick up something to eat instead of spending time to prepare lunch or dinner which is healthier than Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds.
In regards to my bike riding, I am starting to feel better on the bike. I enjoy my rides and look forward to riding the bike. My backside still gets sore, but it is getting better. I am riding regularly 30 minutes on my rides. I will plan to continue 30 minute rides through January and then increase to 45 minute rides for February. I am taking the slow approach and gradually moving back into where I was at back in early July 2021 with riding. I still have issues with sore knees or stiff legs the day after riding, but I do feel much better than I do when I was jogging on a regular basis. Yes, I still have plans to start jogging at least one day a week although at this point, that will likely not occur until probably May or June.
One thing I have started as of about two weeks ago is to read while I bike. I have started reading again and reading a lot. I find it helpful to read while I am biking as it completely takes me out of my head and I can focus on the content of the book instead of my journey of riding. More on this later in another post later this month as I continue my reading journey. I do enjoy reading and riding whether I am doing instructor led or solo bike rides, it has been a good journey and makes the process fun.
Watch for another update on my exercise status in early February. Enjoy your biking, jogging, or whatever exercise you are doing.
Our Trip to the Kansas City Plaza with our Dog for Three Days with Eating, Drinking, and Fun
Carrie and I had a wonderful time in Kansas City on the Plaza following the Christmas Holiday. We had planned it back in November to make for a fun time away from home and since we were not traveling anywhere for the holidays. We wanted to stay in a hotel and because we were taking Oliver, we wanted a dog friendly location.
We selected the InterContinental on the Plaza. We contacted them back in November to schedule the room and stay. We were told it would be $75 additional to have Oliver stay with us. No problem! The rates were really low following the holiday, so we jumped on it and booked the room.
Oliver Watching People |
Overall, he did great! We took him out and did good on walks. He loved it because we took him on walks multiple times each day we were in the hotel. On the way back from walks, he had not figured out that all the rooms look alike, so he would stop at each room on our way back to our room on the second floor. The first night when we went to dinner, we came home to find him on top of the coffee table looking at us when we came in the door... we are still not sure what he was doing, but he looked to be having fun!
Carrie and John at Dinner |
BayCoyKC Sandwiches |
Dinner at McCormick & Schmick's |
The best thing about staying at the InterContinentalwas that we could walk to everywhere. Monday night when we met Tim for dinner, the The Capital Grille was right across from the hotel. For Tuesday nights meal, we were able to walk to meet Tim for drinks and then walk on to McCormick & Schmick's for dinner. It was perfect! Really, the whole three days felt like date night with Carrie, so we had fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
By eating at the bar, we were able to beat the 8:45 reservation so we were not out as late and we could get back to Oliver who was holding down the hotel room for us. When we got back to the hotel room, he was sleeping on the couch and looked up as we came through the door. I think he enjoyed some alone time after being with us for the whole day.
Oliver at Snooze Eatery |
Following our lunch, we stopped by Summer Moon Coffee which is another favorite before we made one last stop and headed home to end our fun in Kansas City.
We did this whole trip while Washburn University was closed between December 25 and January 2. I would certainly do this again as we had a wonderful time. Like I mentioned earlier, it felt like one large date night with our kid along. We both had a lot of fun and look forward to doing something similar next year for the holiday break.
Amazing Kansas Skies in 2021 and Off to a Spectacular Start of Skies in 2022... Be Sure to Watch for the Beauty!
Taken January 5, 2021 |
Sunrise from Washburn Campus |
On Tuesday, January 4 to start the new year I noticed the sky looking incredible as I left the house. My commute from home to work is short (less than 5 minutes), but I was tempted to pull off to take pictures. Instead, I continued my drive and arrived at work to find the sky was still looking amazing. Pictures really do not do it justice as it was the entire eastern sky that was lit up in the pink glorious colors. The picture to the right was taken from Morgan Hall looking over Bennett Computer Center on Washburn University campus as I was preparing to walk into the building to start the day.
Taken by Erin of Jan 4 Sky |
My sister-in-law, Erin, took pictures and we usually get pictures when the skies looking amazing from my brother-in-law, Greg, that we send to the whole group in a family text thread to share what we are seeing. The image to the left was taken by Erin on her way into work that morning. Again, just amazing and awe inspiring.
The question could be asked if I am noticing the beautiful sunrises and sunsets because I am up at those times whereas I was not in past years. I do not believe that to be the case. I have been getting up early for work for years and of course seeing the the sunsets happens throughout the years, but what nature has been showing the past few months have been incredible! If you have not been able to catch one of these events, I encourage you keep an eye out for one when it occurs. Sometimes this can be difficult if you are not outside, but well worth it if you are able to see it with the naked eye on not through a camera.
Photo by Greg of Jan 4 Sky |
Greg took the picture to the right the same morning on January 4 as he was driving to work. This photo is looking over the Washburn University campus from 17th and Macvicar. The photo taken by Greg shows much more of the sky of what we were seeing that morning as it seriously stretched from north to south on the horizon taking up the entire eastern part of the sky in a bright pink. I saw others on social media posting about it too that morning after I got into work.
I look forward to see how the skies of Kansas work to impress for 2022. So far after the January 4 epic skies, the Kansas skies are off to a great start and will have not problem beating out 2021 with impressive skies.
Be sure to keep an eye out on the skies when out and about no matter where you are located especially dawn or dusk to catch those rare views we do not get to see often. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 02, 2022
The Cooldown from Peloton a Year of Stats in Review
This year as the year came to an end, Peloton sent “The Cooldown” showing stats from my use of Peloton over the past year. I stuck with it for many months and then let it slide for a few months before getting back on the bike and working out. It was a little difficult during the Christmas break too only working out a few times, but I am fully committed and expect to be back on the bike for 2022.