Second Hike Done!

Just a quick post to update my hike progress. We got the last one of this period in Sunday. McClain Nature Trail, I think that's what it's called anyway. It's just a 1.1 mile loop but there's some really great things to see. It's pretty close to W.Oly so if you have never been there I'd suggest taking a trip. The walk takes about an hour.

The best pic


So all that's left this month is keeping my weight in check for another week.

~Tow

I'm posting before the end of the month? I know...crazy right?

So I'm only about a week before the end of the month but we've had a busy few weeks. 3 family reunions this month and mine was a 2 day drunken, pig roasting, camping blowout. When I went to upload my pictures yesterday the camera told me I had taken 187 pictures since the last upload. So I figured I'd better break this out into two posts.

So lets start..oddly enough...at the beginning.

While cleaning up after the unknown camper (a mouse) I took a load of stuff into the house to be ran through the dishwasher. A shadow caught my eye and I realized there was something flying in my house. At first I thought it might just be a small bird but I soon realized it was a bat. So I got Susan so we could take some pictures of it and then we spent about 10 minutes trying to get it out of the house. With an umbrella and small house broom I managed to coax it out of the house. Here's a pic..sorry I was too chicken to get any closer to it.



So we got the motor home ready and went camping. It was a great time, lots of laughing, lots of stories, and some sunshine.

Dinner


Susan's Mexican dip tray was a hit.


Got to get a Susan shot in here.


So after dinner was over it was time to start drinking. Of course I was one of the few sober people as usual.


Somehow my motor home became party central...I think it had something to do with the rain and lack of small children in my R.V.


Sunset = time for drinking games. Susan got HAMMERED!


Morning after mess I got to clean up. Well Susan helped :)


However, I did manage to get a hike in during this busy month. We went to walk the 5.5 mile Nisqually loop.


But, they had shut down part of the trail. So halfway in you found this sign.


Time to turn around and head back.

Updated monthly goals.
Current weight 172.6 got a bit to lose in about a week.
Hikes 1 down 1 to go.
Blog done.

So I'll have another post up in about a week.
~Tow

Is it winter yet?

Last post was July 1st and I'm just getting to a new post on the 31st. In other words I've been pretty busy this month. Lets run down the list of things that happened in July. Sister got married, Sister's wedding reception, Bryce and Alex's birthday parties, Family reunions, Several BBQ's, and to top it all off a good old geek weekend for me. After spending 2 full weekends in July doing stuff for my Sister's wedding I needed a break from everything. So I sat in my computer room for 2 days straight playing World of Warcraft, Ikariam, and Gladiatus. Even that cats started bitching at me for not paying attention to them. Susan was doing concessions for the Washugal motocross races so I dodged hearing it from her.

Anyways, I promised some rafting pictures and luckily I have finally got them ready.

Here's my favorite.


Of course all of the pictures can be found on my album.
http://picasaweb.google.com/JamesBentow/20080724

I also have some wedding pictures.

My favorite

Stop looking at my sister's boobs.

Lets see as for the challenge..
Post on the blog..yeah doing that now
Get a hike per month...Nope was too busy I owe ya a July hike, I'll get 2 in for August.
Weight..clocked in at 171.8 this morning. Yep I'm cutting it close, but you spend a 4 days in Reno, a weekend eating with my Mom's side of the family (reception), and several backyard BBQ's and see how you do at maintaining a weight.

I suppose I should get back to work.

I'll try to get another post before the end of next month...but things aren't looking good so far.

~Tow

Sorry no pictures yet.

So I couldn't take my expensive camera down the river with me. That creates a problem with getting my pictures on my web albums for all to enjoy. We did take a disposable waterproof camera with us so there are some pictures. As soon as I finish off the last few pictures and find a place that will put them on a CD for me I'll get them posted.

Highlights from the trip:
Cameron got tossed out on the last rapid we hit. I would have paid double to see that!
Susan got the front seat so every time we hit a major rapid I'd hide behind her and dodge most of the water.
We both laughed and smiled more in the 3 hours on the river then in the last 6 months.
It was a great adventure and I plan to do more of them. Only difference is I'll be trying to recruit 5 or 6 more friends so we can fill a boat.

Diet and Exercise program going well. Getting lots of yard work done and going on a walk or bike ride everyday. Finished the month at 171.6 under my maintenance weight. So another month in the books and one less to go.

July should be interesting, I have trips planned to see my family in Richland, Reno for Ashlee's wedding, Reception the following weekend, and who knows what else Susan has planned for the few spare minutes we have in between.

Oh and I might move...to Richland...more on that later.

About to turn my yard into a driveway.

So it's been awhile since my last post. I've had a hard time finding time to do anything I want to do lately. I should actually be doing some work right now but I also need a break so this is my break. Might turn into 4-5 breaks over the span of the day before it's finished.

Since we last spoke...

Had a BBQ. Invited a few of my friend, a few of Susan's and my parents. I believe it was a success. Oh yeah and it's always good when your house is full of hot girls.



Oh yeah and Cameron was there too.


Then I bought my parent's motor home so I could camp in luxury this year.



We stocked it full of camp wood and hit the road.




Things went pretty good. Susan got some much needed rest and even though it rained we managed to have a good time.

Dinner on the first night (self portrait via the mirror on the bathroom door.



So Saturday morning was a little bit nicer so we packed up some survival supplies and hit a trail at the campground. I was planning on getting in a couple hikes this trip to build up a reserve but we only managed the one due to weather, time, constraints.

Anyway off to the hike.

Right at the start I noticed something above my head that I found very cool. Not often do you see a tree fall yet manage to wedge itself in other trees so that it never actually hits the ground.



Then about half way down the trail I spotted a little critter on the trail. Of course due to Susan's slimy scaley fetish she made friends.



It was a really nice hike, minus the wet feet part. We got to experience some of the true pacific northwest forest. Moss hanging from trees, devil's club taller then me with leaves at least 2.5 feet across, stinging neddles that came up to eye level, birds, chipmunks etc etc.

Then all of a sudden we came around a corner and...



Clear cut../cry the beauty was gone and all that was left was a stripped hillside.

So we went back to the camper and took an afternoon nap.



Looks cozy eh?

So there's my May hike, Hope to get my June hike in while it's still June. OH WAIT! I'm going white water rafting in Wenatchee this weekend, I'll take my camera and try to pawn that off as a trip. I mean it's physical exercise, fresh air, and pics. I think I can actually argue with Bryce to get that to count.

So the diet side...I've been bouncing between 170 and 174 all month long. Still eating the healthier foods but you can't really eat healthy when you go camping. It was burgers and hot dogs for lunch and dinner, and eggs and pancakes for breakfast each morning. I'm sure I can come in at 172 by the end of the month, even if I have to skip a dinner or two to get there. All in all pretty happy with my weight and diet at the moment.

And, yes I'm still doing yard work. Hence the title of this post. Spent every sunny day out there this month and I'm almost to the back yard.

Looking good to me, even if the pic is a bit fuzzy.



I'll try to get a post up about the rafting trip by the end of the month.

As usual if you'd like to see all my pics and not just my selected few http://picasaweb.google.com/JamesBentow

Tow out.

Not much to talk about this month.

So I lost a point last month because I hadn't made 170 yet. So I started trying a little harder to get down to 170 this month. I cut out some of my cheat foods and replaced some of my soda with Gatorade. Sure Gatorade helps you retain water but it's also half the sugar and half the carbs of my soda. Anyway I've been at or below 170 a few times this month already. Even after the weekend BBQ with all the fatty crap food we served, I managed to come in at 170.6 both Sunday and Monday.

Other than the diet I haven't really worked on much for the challenge this month. No hiking trips but I have a camping trip planned for the first week of June and I plan to get at least one if not two hikes in on that trip. I've been out in the yard a few days and worked on my truck a few days to stay active. Trust me scraping 6 years of mold and moss off a full size pick-up truck is one hell of a workout. Oh and the 3.5 hours I spent scrubbing rust off the bumpers with an SOS pad, my hands still won't open up all the way after that.

Nothing else exciting happened this month that I can think of. Something about my sister getting married in July...In Lake Tahoe...which I have to go to... Thanks for blowing my summer camping budget Sis!

Goals met...kinda

So I got my last hike in. I'll post some pictures at the end of the post. It came down to a walk down the trails around Tumwater falls park, an hour before I had to be at my sister's birthday party in Rochester. It was raining, cold, and grey. But flowing water is sooooo easy to photo. No matter what you do it still looks good.

If you read some of the other posts you'll see I also blogged about my diet so that's another goal down. Now on to the big part. When this challenge started my goal was to get down to 165 pounds. That number came from when I was working at Harbor Wholesale Grocery full time in the warehouse. 12-14 hours a day of lifting and carrying cases of Gatorade and Water will get you in awesome physical shape.

Well I don't do that kind of work anymore. I sit behind a desk and type all day long. So chances are I'd have to join a gym and spend 2 hours or so there every night after work to get back to that. And, to be honest that's not me. I'm not into seeing dudes flex in the mirror thinking their hot shit. So that's pretty much out of the picture.

The more i thought about it the more I realized I've always been that skinny kid that everyone tries to fatten up. I've never been an average weight I've always been below that. Well I am sitting around 170 right now. Depending on the day and how much sodium I took in the day before. 170 is a great weight for me. I'm happy when I look in the mirror. Then I read this: Your current weight is within the recommended weight range for people in your age group! Src: http://nutrition.fitnessbody.com/calculators/calculator/ideal-weight If you want to check your own numbers you can easily convert pounds to kg or inches to cm with Google just type: "170 pounds to cm" and click find it does all the work for you. You might want to use your own weight though. Oh and thanks for helping me figure out that Google function Bryce.

So I'm at my ideal weight, I am happy with myself when I look in the mirror, and I'm happy with my current diet. So I talked to Bryce, who talked to Kristy and they both agreed that the point of this challenge is to make yourself healthier and happier. But, they still want to challenge me. So I agreed to maintain a weight within a few pounds of 170 and add some exercises into my daily routine. I pumped up the air in my bike tires, gathered all the gardening tools, and found a couch that sits high enough off the ground that I can slip my toes under it to do sit ups. So if it's sunny outside you'll find me out in the yard weeding, mowing or pruning. I'm going to go for a bike ride every day that it's not raining. If it is raining outside I'll be in the living room doing push ups and sit ups to fulfill my agreement. Bryce said like 50 of each but I think it will end up being more like do enough that I can't lift my arms for an hour or something like that.

Ok so I promised some pictures.

Link the the entire album: http://picasaweb.google.com/JamesBentow/2008_04_27

And a couple favorites





And the what post would be complete without a Susan picture (yes Bryce I know I need to work on my focal points).



~Tow