Ransom Workouts

Like many people, I'm constantly trying to find ways to motivate myself to do some sort of physical activity. I recently started to walk with someone from my Meetup game group, which has helped me do more walking (and the fact that she walks a bit faster than I would on my own doesn't hurt.)

I've been thinking about why I don't workout regularly. I have a gym membership at LA Fitness, but it's pretty darned cheap. I pay about $120 for an entire year. This only "hurts" my pocketbook when I make the payment and it's an average of about $10/month. Not a huge financial hit to pay for and not use. I've been thinking that if I was paying, say $50 each month for a gym membership (about what it would cost me to join a new club like 24 Hour Fitness), I would probably go more often because I'd feel the need to get my money's worth.

This lead me to my idea -- Ransom Workouts.

I will give an amount of money to my walking buddy to hold for me and I only get the money back if I do my workouts. My initial thought is that I will shoot for three times per week and each workout earns $5 of my money back. I would give her $60 at the beginning of the month and to get my money back, I have to workout and prove that I did the workout. My initial idea is to take of photo of myself with the days paper at the club at the end of my workout.

Then I started thinking that, well, my friend isn't necessarily motivated to get me to workout if she gets to keep my money (not that she wanted to) but I thought, what if any money I don't earn back has to go to a charity I don't support. (I know Donald isn't desperate for my $5, but I certainly don't want him to have it anyway.) I bring the money thing up to my friend and tell her my idea. She likes it -- she was thinking that any money I didn't earn back would be donated to charity anyway. She just wasn't doing the evil twist.

I think she is going to do this, too. So starting by February 1, I will have to workout or give money to someone I don't want to have my money.

Updates, photos and progress to follow.

My May Freebies

I've been trying to save money with coupons and other free deals that I learn about. Since I've moved to San Diego, I don't have regular access to a store that double coupons -- at least that I'm aware of at this time.

Mostly, I've been taking advantage of free samples that I hear about. In May, I got four samples for free:
1. L'Oreal EverPUre Shampoo and Conditioner sample

2. Zone Perfect Cashew Pretzel Bar (full-size bar)

3. Folgers Special Roast sample (enough to make one pot)

4. Free Blockbuster Express DVD rental for one night (I watched The King's Speech)

Not a lot -- but I figure the more I catch the more I'll get.

The Specialness of June

Apparently there is something special about every day and every week in June -- some are even doubly special because they have more than one thing to celebrate.

Here is the specialness of June, starting with the weeks:
In sequence, we have National Fishing Week, National Clay Week, National Hermit Week, and National Camping Week
Take a Kid Fishing Weekend is June 11-13. Ask a Boy Scout for help if you need it. Please
National Nursing Assistants Week is June 11-18
National Flag Week is June 14-20. (Your attention is called to June 14th, below.)
National Mosquito Control Awareness Week is June 20-27.
June 1st is National Trails Day
June 2nd is Colleen Day
June 3rd is Chimborazo Day
June 4th is Old Maid's Day
June 6th is the 66th anniversary of D-Day
June 8th is Best Friends Day
June 9th is Senior Citizens Day
June 10th is Ball Point Pen Day and Little Brother Bill's Birthday
June 12th is Magic Day
Kitchen Klutzes of America Day, the 13th, shares Weed Your Garden Day — the second Sunday in June
June 14th is 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and Flag Day. Stand and salute her when she passes on 7/4...
June 15th is Fly a Kite Day — to commemorate Franklin's kite experiment in 1752
June 16th is National Fudge Day
June 17th is Eat Your Vegetables Day
June 18th is National Splurge Day
June 20th is Bald Eagle Day and Father's Day. This may be a coincidence. The third Sunday of June is designated Ice Cream Soda Day and falls on the 20th this year
June 21st Cuckoo Warning Day. Hear a cuckoo and have a wet summer
June 22nd is Auto Race Day and Stupid Guy Thing Day. TURN LEFT!
June 23rd is Bullwhacker Day
June 24th is Log Cabin Day. Good syrup
June 25th is LEON Day. LEON is NOEL spelled backwards. It is six months until Christmas
June 27th is National Columnists Day. Some are better than others
June 28th is World War I Day
June 29th is Library Advocacy Day
June 30th is Leap Second Time Adjustment Day

Information plucked from the Pioneer Press Bulletin Board on June 1, 2010.

The Vision Thing

The end of the year is coming and if you have some Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) money sitting out there, you surely don’t want to lose it.

I’m not going to suggest that you get sick between now and midnight on December 31,2009, but I will suggest that perhaps some new glasses are in order. Even if all you’ve got left in your HSA account is less than $20, I know where you can get at least one pair of glasses (and maybe even two – if you’re willing to toss in a couple bucks after-tax.)

Go to Zenni Optical (www.zennioptical.com) and you can get prescription glasses starting at $8.00 – yes, starting at less than $10 and they are indeed prescription lenses. You will need to get your eye glasses prescription from you optometrist (be sure that the PD distance is completed because you’ll need that to get your prescription filled properly.)

If you need bi-focals, you will pay a bit more for your lenses. You can get the lenses tinted for about $5.00 extra dollars, as well.

I recently ordered six pairs of glasses for about $70 – total. I got five pairs of regular glasses and paid to have the lenses tinted on one pair to use as sunglasses. I got some pretty funky glasses.

I really like them and get compliments on them all the time.

In fact, I like them so much, that I hardly ever wear my contact lenses any more.

Miracle in St Paul

I celebrated my birthday on Saturday, December 12. Nothing big -- just went to dinner with a friend and then out to listen to Tim Sigler with another friend.

My friend, Kia, came over to my house around 5:00. When I answered the door, I also got my mail and saw a card from my mom. Knowing my mom, I figure it’s my birthday card and there’s probably a $20 bill in there. I open the card and I was right. (Thanks Mom!)

Since she had to pick her daughter up at 7:00, we drove separately and we decided to go to Don Pablo’s. The other thing about this birthday dinner is that it’s Kia’s birthday dinner, too. Her birthday is the 16th, mine’s the 13th and we’ve been taking each other out for our birthdays for the last few years.

We had a nice dinner (love the Queso Blanco) and shared a fried ice cream for dessert. We opted out of the free dessert – mostly because it requires wearing a sombrero and getting your picture taken and posted by the entrance to the restaurant. I mean, what if the person who wore that hat last had lice? Just doesn’t seem sanitary to me.

My friend Cassie called me when she got off work around 10:00 and I headed over to Half Time Rec to meet her there and listen to Tim Sigler. I decided to just bring my ID, some cash ($50) and my cell phone in my jeans pockets so I wouldn’t have to carry a purse around. Cassie was driving over from Eden Prairie (Half Time Rec is in St Paul) so I was there well before her.

I paid my $5 cover and found a place at the bar and ordered a Guinness while I waited for her. The place was pretty crowded, but not as crowded as the last time I was there. I could see the door from the bar – but I couldn’t see the band – but I figured we’d move to the other side of the place once she got there.

Once she got there, I told her I wanted to take my coat out to my car, so I didn’t have to carry it around with me. I offered to take hers out with me and headed out the door.

I was parked on the street about a half block away and as I was walking to my car there was a school bus painted green filling up with people that were at Half Time Rec getting ready to go to another bar. I had my keys hooked to my belt loop with a carabineer and my keys tucked in my pocket. I pulled my keys out as I headed to my car. I put the coats in my trunk and headed back to the bar.

As I was approaching the bar and got near the front of the bus, I noticed two quarters on the sidewalk, so I stopped to pick them up. I gave the people on the bus a lovely view of my butt and picked the two quarters up. I thought I’d give them to the bar tender (an extra two bits to go with the tip I’d given her for the Guinness – aren’t I generous?) As I was standing up, I looked to my right and noticed a five with some ones folded and sitting on the sidewalk.

I’m thinking, wow, this is my lucky day. I only find money like this in my dreams. There’s a small moment of feeling sad for the person who lost the money – but it’s only $8 or 9 dollars. I’m putting the money in my pocket and this is when I first realize that the money that was previously in my pocket is not there. Now I realized that the money I’d just found was mine. And, I take a quick look around, and realize that there’s another $30 missing.

Damn.

I double-check and the only other thing in my pocket is my driver’s license and the $9 I’ve recovered.

I’m pretty bummed, but decide not to say anything to Cassie and to try not dwell on it.

The dwelling thing is hard. I keep thinking about how stupid it was for me to tuck the keys in my pocket. I kicked myself for not putting at least some of the money in the other pocket. I told myself to stop beating myself up. I even channeled my mother and said a little prayer that the person who found my money needed it more than my unemployed and broke butt did. I also said a little prayer to St. Anthony that I find my money. (Like that would ever happen.)

I did have a fun evening. We danced for an entire set and then found a place near the stage and dance floor to talk, people watch and listen to the next set.

When Tim announced he was getting ready to be done for the evening (around 12:30) – I asked Cassie if she wanted me to go get her coat. She said yeah and I headed out to get her coat.

I decided that just for the hell of it, I’d look for my $30. It wasn’t sitting anywhere near where I’d found the $9. I was walking along the cars parked along the street and looking down. By the driver’s side door three cars in front of my car, sitting on the ground is my $10 bill. Cool. I look further up the street, and by the driver’s side door of the next car is my $20 bill. Amazing.

So I said a little prayer of thanks. (Seriously.) I mean God heard my prayers and made sure that the person who found my money needed it at least as much as me.

The Dish

This past week, I’ve been focused on eating the food I have in my freezer. Not necessarily to save money or anything like that but because today I went back to Let’s Dish for the first time in over 10 months. I needed to open up space in that freezer for my meals.

In the past, I’d go to Let’s Dish roughly every other month, but I haven’t been there since January of this year. If you aren’t familiar with Let’s Dish, it’s a meal preparation store. You can sign up to make 4, 8 or 12 meals that serve 4-6 people each. The average cost of each entre (assuming you get 6 meals) is about $3.95 – which is a pretty good price for a good meal in my book. And, you can split each meal that you make so that the prepared meals serve 2-3 and this is what I do.

I think I’ve made one item that I didn’t really like and it’s not that the item was bad, it just wasn’t to my taste. Today I made Baked Pork Chops with Cranberry Almond Wild Rice, Chicken Piccata with Linguine, Sirloin Tips in Merlot and Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken. Plus, I picked up a Vegetables Au Gratin.

Of course, while I was there, I took advantage of the special that you get if you sign up for your next session while you’re there. The special this time was two free sides if you sign up for a 4-meal package. (It’s three sides if you signed up for an 8- or 12-meal package.) I picked up Three-Cheese Potatoes and Panko Roasted Asparagus with Almonds. Don’t they both sound good? (I know the asparagus is good – I’ve had it before.)

My menu plan at the end of December will be:
• Lemon Herb Chicken and Parmesan Green Beans (never had this before – doesn’t it sound good?)
• Risotto-Style Chicken and Asparagus (this is so good!)
• Ranch Steak Wraps (another new item – but I love me some steak)
• Bake Ravioli Lasagna with Garlic Toast (this is simple and so good)

I’m going in for the afternoon session on Wednesday, December 23 and if you’d like to join me at the St Paul Highland Park location, feel free to go to the Let’s Dish website (www.letsdish.com) and sign up for a session. Be sure to let them know I sent you.

The LoJ Apologia: Kinda Smart and Kinda Dumb

In my last post, I wrote about my disappointment that Kevyn Burger is no longer at FM107. Since that happened there’s been quite a bit of outcry from the listeners on the FM107 Facebook fan page and on the Gabster site on FM107s website. Besides the comments about Kevyn, the other theme from people seems to be why Lori and Julia still have a show.

I have listened to FM107 from shortly after it went on the air. I won’t say day one, because it wasn’t probably a few weeks or maybe even a couple months after they went on the air before I started listening. I’ve listened to Lori and Julia consistently during this time.

There’s one thing I can say with confidence, their show has shown the most improvement of all the shows on the station. All of the other on-air personnel at the station have backgrounds in broadcast journalism or some other sort of public performance experience. Neither Lori nor Julia had that background before they started their program. And, the last I knew, they have the highest rated program on the station.

I think that says a lot about two women who started doing a radio program with very little experience.

Have they made mistakes doing their show? Yes. I challenge you to find me one person who has never made a mistake on their job. And, if you do find that someone, you will find someone who has never stepped out on the proverbial limb in their job. At the same time Lori and Julia have done many things right – or they wouldn’t be the top rated show on the station.

One of the big complaints about them is their voices, but I think that’s one of the good things about them. Neither of them has spent time working on creating a “media” voice. One of my college roommates has a brother who works in broadcast media. When he started out, he worked in radio. One day my roommate asked him to use his “old” voice. He gave her this funny look and she said, “You know that voice you used before you worked in radio.” He’d spent time working on developing a different voice for his work on radio. It’s obvious Lori and Julia have not done this. I kind of like this about them.

Is the majority of what Lori and Julia discuss on their show relevant or important? Probably not – but it’s entertaining. Everything in life doesn’t need to be serious and important. Levity is fun and good for the soul. In fact, it’s obvious they listen to their audience and have learned when it’s important to respond the criticism and when to let it roll of their backs. And, much of the recent commentary has made me see that they have very strong backs.

I saw posts complaining about Lori pouncing on Julia – especially if she was telling a story about her kids. Even I was getting a bit annoyed by this. A few days later, something like that happens and Julia’s says this is how they communicate – it doesn’t really bother her. I would be willing to suggest that this is part of the show. The focus of their show is not parenting and Lori’s job is to keep Julia from taking the show too far down the parenthood road.

In fact, I think there are many things to admire about Lori and Julia.

It’s obvious that Julia cares deeply about being a mom and raising good sons. We always hear her telling us about how she’s spent the weekend doing things with her kids and supporting their activities. And, although her husband seems to give her gifts that he likes, such as the kayak, she doesn’t piss and moan (at least not in the traditional sense) about it. She knows he isn’t going to give her jewelry, flowers and chocolates, but things that allow them to share activities and time with each other. The message she’s gets from him is “I want to spend time with you.” I don’t know about you, but this single chic would love a husband who wants to be with me over one who gives me diamonds and flowers and is never around. She also respects her family member’s wishes to not be constant fodder for the show.

Does she screw up words on a regular basis? Yes. She knows she does and handles all the feedback very well. I don’t know anyone who could handle the constant, public corrections of their malapropisms in the manner that Julia does. She knows she does this and she’s able to laugh at herself. I think more of us would be happier if we could laugh more easily at ourselves.

Although, Lori projects this party-girl image, it’s obvious to me that she loves her husband deeply. I remember when her husband was laid up from a motorcycle accident and had to sleep in a hospital bed in the living room and her name for the brace that he wore that she called his “Frankenhips.” I think this is something that would have broken up many marriages these days – especially since I’m sure that sexual relations were made very difficult and challenging by the medical issues. And, if you’ve ever listened to the show, it’s obvious that Lori understands the importance of a sex life in a marriage. She admits she hasn’t been the best person she could have been in the past and has made some bad choices. She’s learned from her mistakes and is striving not to make the same mistakes again.

Is she opinionated? Yes. But, she’s also respectful (well most of the time.) Perhaps I like this about her because I feel that I’m opinionated as well – and my opinion does tend to lean that same direction as hers. Too many times, we sit back and don’t share our opinion because of what someone else might think. But I think we need to be willing to express our opinions (appropriately) and be open to realizing that not everyone shares our opinion.

Another complaint I hear is how superficial so much of what they talk about is. Well, it does play into what many of their advertisers do – botox, designer glasses, upscale salons, etc. Plus, it’s obvious to me that people are doing these things – or the businesses wouldn’t exist. And, I think they both have very good points on looks and fashion: just because you’re getting older does not mean you should stop caring about how you look and looking your best. (Ladies – your husbands agree with this one.)

While the Lori and Julia Show is not my favorite show on FM107, I do enjoy it and listen to it pretty much every day. I look forward to Friday’s at 5:58 and being rocked gently and slowly.