eudaemonic- (adj.) producing happiness and well-being

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

It's the little things:

- I went to the grocery store and grapes were on sale!
- I only painted one coat of deep red on my nails... and they have yet to chip.
- I didn't go for a run today, but I can feel my knee healing.
- I made a tomato sauce dip for a "bring your own dish" work luncheon tomorrow. I'm going to serve it in a little baby crockpot. It doesn't get much better than that!
- I have a shrimp smell in my house, but it reminds me of gal pals Tam, Kat and Chelsea because we ate it together.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Efficacy of Chocolate Milk as a Recovery Aid
[Annual Meeting Abstracts: C-34 - Free Communication/Poster: Post-Exercise Nutrition]
Karp, Jason R.; Johnston, Jeanne D.; Tecklenburg, Sandy; Mickleborough, Tim; Fly, Alyce; Stager, Joel M. FACSM

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.

Email: runman@indiana.edu

0850

Sport nutritionists recommend that endurance athletes performing two workouts a day ingest carbohydrates immediately following the first training session to rapidly replenish muscle glycogen. To meet this need, many nutritional products have been marketed as carbohydrate replacement drinks (CR) or fluid replacement drinks (FR) containing less carbohydrate. Since chocolate milk has a similar carbohydrate content to that of many CR, it may be an effective means of recovery from exhausting exercise. PURPOSE: To test the efficacy of chocolate milk (CM) as a recovery aid following exhausting exercise. METHODS: Nine male, endurance-trained cyclists (22.1 ± 2.0 yrs, VO2max 65.0 ± 9.0 mL.kg-1.min-1) performed an interval workout to deplete muscle glycogen (Kuipers et al., 1987), followed by four hours of recovery, and an endurance performance trial to exhaustion at 70% VO2max (Fallowfield & Williams, 1997), on each of three days. Immediately after the first exercise and at two hours of recovery, subjects were given isovolumic amounts (based on body mass) of CM, FR, or CR, in a single-blind, randomized design. The carbohydrate content (1 g.kg-1 body mass) was equivalent for CM and CR. Blood lactate concentration, body mass, and total body water (TBW) were measured pre- and post-exercise. Time to exhaustion (TTE), average heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and total work (WT) for the endurance exercise were compared between trials using a oneway, repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: TTE (40.0 ± 14.7 min; 41.3 ± 15.0 min; 26.8 ± 10.3 min) and WT (626.5 ± 262.7 kJ; 590.5 ± 218.7 kJ; 398.6 ± 185.0 kJ) were different (p<0.05) (CM, FR, and CR trials, resp). There were no differences in exercise HR (169 ± 13 bts.min-1; 172 ± 5 bts.min-1;172 ± 13 bts.min-1), end-exercise RPE (16.2 ± 2.3; 16.8 ± 1.4; 17.2 ± 1.5), or post-exercise blood lactate (3.9 ± 3.3 mmol.L-1; 2.9 ± 1.3 mmol.L-1; 2.6 ± 0.7 mmol.L-1) (CM, FR, and CR trials, resp). TBW did not differ across treatments or within trials. CONCLUSION: As compared to the commercial products tested, chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid following exhausting exercise.



Drinking chocolate milk instead of Gatorade

Can you beleive it?

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

It's thundering... this is when I wish I had a roommate. It kind of scares me.

Apparently, I'm 12.

I'm also reading a scary book... the anticipation never goes down and it's full of twists and turns. I can't decide if I like it or not. I don't know if the writer is a really good story teller for keeping the adrenaline pumping for hundreds of pages, or if he's lazy and can't take a story through natural progression. Throwing crazy stuff on a page is good for a little while, but I'd like some down time. :)

So says the lazy reader :0)

Monday, May 14, 2007




I got this in my e-mail last week. Senator Cornyn visited the Gregg County Courthouse for a press conference. It wasn't an explosive story (or really even an interesting one) but, it's a memory, I suppose.

:)

Hi.

I made a quick trip home this weekend. My mom had a $100 card to Target, and while I was home, we blew it.

We got a few needed things:
aerosol sunscreen
knee vitamins
deodorant
body wash

And a few un-needed things:
A season of Monk, the TV show
A birthday card
CDs
Dream Girls DVD
An Ipod arm band for running
Soundtrack to Wicked

That Wicked soundtrack is tre good. I went running today (with the new arm band) and listened to Wicked the whole time-- until it started thundering big juicy booms that ran me indoors.

It's a really fun CD.
The trip home was really fun too.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

I watched Everybody Loves Raymond tonight. It was the one where Robert made friends with his partner at the police department. Remember, she's the short black lady with a quick wit and limited patience for idiots?

Other than the show where Robert danced at his wedding, I think this one is my favorite.

He picks up words like "dawg", "yo yo yo" and my favorite, "That's whack (or wak or wack... I'm not so sure)."

And Raymond responds...

"Robert, we're Italian. Whack means something entirely different to us.

ba hahahahaha.

Monday, May 07, 2007

I had a weird week.

It wasn't bad... just kerflunked. I felt like every story I wrote evoked an "eehhh, so-so" from my imaginary peanut gallery. No one ever said anything, but you (the writer or teacher or engineer or whatever) can always feel the dichotomy between the good and not so good work.

I have a big story coming up in a week... and have yet to start -- Well, I guess that's not completely true. I have made several phone calls, but they all hit the wall... and then slid down hitting the trash can.

If the writing referee can't call the play the way I want him to, at least the trashcan ref can still yell AND IT'S GOOD

:)

I'm working with another reporter on this piece, which is not my favorite way to write, but I think it will be a good thing. Two reasons: I really like the other reporter (she's nice) and enjoy reading her stuff (she's good). We've also written another story together and it turned out ok. So, hey!! That's not too awful! But, still... my independent flesh likes to do things on my own :)

That side of me - that prideful, self-sufficient SJ - has been a topic of self-talk for a few months. Either it's getting worse, or my God has chosen that particular area of my life to show me what life could be if only I would take the hand being offered. Either way, it's a personal attribute that gets the Vegas-glitter treatment...

Meaning, when I have that gut reaction to close a heart door so I don't get hurt, or when I have the urge to not ask for help, or when I just itch to abandon ship and captain my own raft... I know what I'm doing. It's not a second nature thing where I don't realize that I'm doing it (like popping gum or clicking a pen). It's as clear as if the neon signs and feathered show girls moved into the barn down the road. Quite noticeable.

Ooooh, yes. I know that I am actively making the decision to keep my title of President of the deserted island.

All hail me... All? Ummm... you forgot, Sparky... you're alone here :)

Hahahaha.

I've been really drawn to the study of the Holy Spirit. For the past week it's been my thang'. And there's one verse that I really think you would enjoy too. It's in 2 Cor. 5. I'll just write the whole thing here. It's not that long.

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

Nice, aye? So that mortal may be swallowed up by life. Humm... and right after that Paul said that God made us for that (hummm...our forever purpose, could he mean Heaven???) and that God gave us the Holy Spirit now as deposit for what's 'round the bend.

So, if I understand this correctly (no promises), then doesn't that mean that although our insides groan for heaven (no pain, no hurt, no hunger, no fights)... with the arrival of the Holy Spirit, we can experience a little of that here on Earth?

I think it does. That if we quiet ourselves and recognize what sits inside of us (Eternity) instead of filling out my stupid hour by hour day-planner... we can tap into that life.

That the removal of that pain and suffering could be closer than we think. Good example... with the last big story I wrote, I was so beyond frazzled. It was bad because I forgot what I have in my chest. I totally don't have it figured out, but after that horrible experience I remembered the sanctuary of the soul, a place where God can speak and actually be heard over the cell phone.

So, verrrrrrrry long story short, with this upcoming big story, I've not gone crazy! That's good! I'm still worried, but it hasn't taken that life.

The Holy Spirit swallowed up the mortal.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

I put a few new pictures here