Reffup - A Mirror image of me - reffup's Blog - Tehachapi News

That Dam Liberal Media

Alright the last couple of days Republicans have been complaining about the liberal media bias. The Daily show has once again brought their hypocrisy to the forefront. Go here to hear their own words. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/jon-stewart-hits-karl-rov_n_123852.html

Taking control of my health

Last month, I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure and Diabetes. It came as a shock. It shouldn't have happened to me. Anger, frustration, and even despair, were all emotions that I dealt with. But out of it, determination became the most dominate emotion. I am not going to end up on dialysis like my Mom. I am going to get healthy. Weight has always been a battle for me. I have always had a belly. with the exception of about 2 years when I was in the air force. My weight had crept up to a high of 320 at one point. I lost weight and got down to 260 about 3 years ago. My weight slowly crept up to 285-290 lbs. I was 286 lhs at the beginning of this year. When I was dealing with my medical issues in July I had already lost 10 lbs and had settled in at 276 lbs.

In the month since my diagnosis, I was determined to change my life style. No more days without exercise. I needed to change my eating habits, not only eat less, but watch fat content, and stay away from processed food. I have walked 3.4 miles almost every day. And for you flat landers, it is 3.4 miles of hills. It is paying off. To date I have lost and additional 24 lbs. I am down to 252. My ultimate goal is to get to 200 lbs. I will be successful. Failure is not an option.

I switched from drinking coffee, to green tea. I have almost eliminated all soda from my diet. I started drinking water with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar is unfiltered and has mother in it. You can read more about the health benefits here.

My doctor said I could not ever be cured. I am going to make it so that my blood sugar is controlled by diet alone, hopefully. My blood sugars have not been above 140 even after eating bread. I am not going to let someone tell me what I cannot do. Rather I am going to believe in me. I will keep you all updated.

I don't want to be reactive in my health care any longer. Everything is my control. I control what goes in my body and how I care for my body. I encourage anyone who is carrying that little extra weight, to make a choice, and take control of your life. I know the benefits, I feel so much better than I have in 3 years. I want to be the example for my kids, that they need to be proactive. Watch out 200 here I come!!!!

Elk

Took this the other day. There were five of them in the field across the street.

I met Gube!!!

Last night I was at Open Mic night. I met Gube!!! It is amazing we all didn't recognize him in the crowd, because he looks just like his avatar.

Who??

Who decides feature blogs? And what criteria do they use?

what are we putting into our bodies?

I was at the Farmer's Market today. I ran into a couple of my new blogging friends. I began to tell them about an Organic source for produce. For the last year my family has been getting the majority of our fruits and vegetables from a CSA (community supported Agriculture.) What started out as 10 families meeting every Saturday in the Kmart parking lot to pick up our basket of goodies, has turned into 100 + Tehachapi families picking up vegetables.

I was raised in Iowa, and have fond memories of going out to our two huge gardens and eating fresh veggies straight from the garden. Whether it was eating a green pepper like an apple or eating fresh peas straight out of the pod (i am able to do this right now in my own garden), I enjoyed the freshness and the quality.

Except for my own garden, I had never found fresh produce that met my standards. Until my wife suggested we try this CSA. The vegetables and fruit are grown in the central valley and are harvested within 72 hours of delivery. Every week you get a box of organic fruits and vegetables. The CSA has two choices of boxes, a small that feeds 1-2 folks for 16.80 and a large box that feeds a family of four for 28.80 . They have available add-ons such as organic grains, nuts, eggs and organic chicken.

I can say that I have never felt cheated, and it has allowed my family to try all sorts of new veggies and expand our diet. Who knew turnips could be so good.

I make not a penny, but tell you only so that you can experience locally grown , organic fruits and veggies. So go to www.abundantharvestorganics.com and check them out.

You will be supporting farmers who have made the choice to grow food responsibly without chemicals and pesticides.

The joy of living in the mountains

I work at a job that has noise. Conflict alerts going off, other controllers coming out through speakers, while pilots talk into your ears. By the end of the day I am on sensory overload. It is nice to come home to my space on the mountain.

Quiet reigns. No sound of cars, trains, or sonic booms. But quiet from mankind's noises doesn't mean total quiet. There is the sound of the wind as it passes through the trees. The raucous woodpeckers and jays. The loud chirp of the ground squirrels. A quail calling to its young. Noises that are soothing and calm the tattered nerves of this controller.

I love waking up just before dawn and listening, listening as the owls whoo- whoo for the last time before they go to bed, and the woodpeckers take over. Enjoying the cool morning and the stillness it brings as the forest around me wakes up. The dark blue sky changes to a brilliant pink and orange, before becoming a vivid blue hue.

To look out your window and see a deer wander through, its ears twitch as it swats at invisible gnats. Or to watch as a bobcat passes by, blending in with the brown vegetation.

To observe the day old baby quail as they race to keep up with their parents. You can hear the mom and dad quail nervously reminding their chicks to heed.

I love where i live. I love the fact that in my yard I have seen bull elk fight one another. I have heard the crashing of their antlers. National Geographic in my back yard! I have heard the elk bugle to one another, and found their beds where they have laid down to rest.