Insight: Selective Perception

Last night a number of recent conversations culminated in some very reflective dreams. originally, I was going to write a long blog post about family, and may yet do that, just not today. It was going to be about the different kinds of family, with a portion dedicated to "the family we choose" and how, over the years, most of my family of this type has dwindled to nothing before I realized what they were.

Frugal Living 2: Extreme Couponing

At the grocery store tonight I got stuck behind a Couponer. I was reminded of what it is I dislike about the whole "Extreme Couponing" phenomenon. It perpetuates the illusion(delusion?) that how much you are saving is more important than how much you are spending.

Milestones

In just under four dozen days, I will have been on this earth two and a half dozen years.

Somewhere in those 0z40 days I'm going to have to write a post as to why I prefer dozenal over decimal, but for now, just understand that dozenal ages make for great milestones.

• At a half-dozen years, I started the first grade, and, more importantly IMO, Cub Scouts.
• At a dozen years of age, I was given my first [pellet] rifle and taught to shoot.
• At a dozen and a half years of age, I graduated High School, became recognised as a legal adult and eligible to vote in elections.
• [Incidentally, the legal drinking age in this state is one and three-quarter dozen years old.]

You can see why this makes for great milestones; well, as stated above, I will be two and a half dozen years old fairly soon, so it's time to assess where I am, and, more importantly, where I want to be in six years.

Here's where I am:

• The Good:
• I'm married to the love of my life
• I have a smart, handsome son
• The Bad:
• I'm broke
• Over $40k (decimal, not dozenal) in debt
• No House
• Currently living with / renting from my mother
• Car that constantly needs fixing
• The Ugly:
• I'm obese (I weigh well over two gross pounds, and I consider two gross too gross)

So, where do I want to be in six years? 

Well, I want the parts that are currently good to stay that way, if not improved upon (growing the family would be nice).

 I want to be in shape, 0z160lbs would suit me just fine if it was muscle instead of fat.  I want to be able to do all the things a human should be able to do (pull myself up onto a ledge, walk around Stone Mountain at a decent clip without getting winded, etc).  Barring injury, I want to have participated in a few Highland Games.

As for the improving my financial state, I need to be in my own house. I don't want to be in any more debt than I am now (including any mortgage). I want a new vehicle, one that I can do some of the maintenance on myself (I'm currently too fat to change my own oil).

I've got a long way to go, but I'm constantly working towards becoming debt free, self-reliant, and fit; while maintaining honour & integrity, improving happiness, and decreasing negative stress.

KUpdate!

I tried to start back to my paleo/primal diet at the beginning of the year, and it lasted for a little over half the month of January before we hit a snag with the finances. So, I was eating grains and other such foods I should be staying away from for the later half of the month as they were already in the pantry. As of this morning, I am officially back to the low-carb lifestyle. Also, as of yesterday morning, I am back to taking my multi-vitamin of choice.

Baked Scotch Eggs [Paleo Friendly]

Time for another recipe post, this time for baked scotch eggs, one of my favourite paleo-friendly foods. I was initially taught how to make them by Pam Kohler-Camp of And Sarah Laughed Pottery, who is like a second mother to me. They are dead simple to make and can be altered to fit your dietary requirements… maybe… as long as you can still eat eggs, I'm pretty sure you can find vegan sausage out there, but I'm going to stick to meat.

Electoral College – The Last Bastion of State Power

The Electoral College is probably the most debated aspect of our election process by those who are aware of its existence. You will find many articles and arguments on the internet calling for it's removal; I say most of these are by people who either a) don't understand why it exists or b) understand why it exists but believe in having a powerful central government rather than a limited one. Here you will find my views on the subject and some of my arguments on why we should keep the Electoral College, and perhaps strengthen it with a repeal of the 23rd Amendment, which, I am proud to say, was never ratified by my home state of Georgia.

2012 Goals

Okay, stealing the idea for this post from Shawn Stratton's Blog and his post of the same title, I am posting a list of my major goals for the year (along with some of the minor ones). Like Shawn, I don't really do New Year Resolutions all that often, but I do set goals and swear oaths.

As the below goals get completed, they may be replaced with newer goals. This is especially true of the Health & Fitness and Professional goals.

What's Cooking: Steak & Onions

Evening, folks. I'm going to try a new segment called What's Cooking, where I will share what I'm cooking, and how I'm doing it. I will also try to post pictures to a web album, so you visual people can get a better idea of what's going on.

Tonight's dish is Steak & Onions which is one of the things we do with the London Broil(Top Round) that comes as part of our package from the meat market. This is about as simple as we make it, as we always have onions in the house. Feel free to add mushrooms or strips of peppers to this dish, we do. This dish is a low-carb dish and is suitable for paleo/primal diets/lifestyles.

Cast Iron Skillets

As I get back into my paleo/primal/low-carb diet/lifestyle after a break of a few months, which I realise now was a huge mistake, I realise I should do an article on cast iron cookware, specifically, the skillets that I use to prepare so much of my food. This morning, the small skillet was finally re-seasoned to the point that not a bit of egg stuck. So, I feel now is the perfect time to go over the care and use of cast iron skillets.

Spaghetti Meat-Sauce [Paleo Friendly]

Greetings folks, I know it's been a while, so I thought I would post a recipe of mine. My famous Cheap & Easy Spaghetti Meat-Sauce recipe. It's not quite ‘from scratch’ as it uses sauce packets, making it easy for those of you getting started in your adventures in cooking. Keep in mind, this is a thick meat sauce (almost like a chili), and is hearty enough to be eaten alone for those of you on low-carb diets, such as Paleo or Primal.