Now you’re just some Bonnie that I used to know.

February was a month I decided to challenge myself. My challenge was to not go out to eat for the entire month. Today is March 1st and my challenge is officially over. It went faster than I thought it would and actually, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Some of the main goals I had were to lose some weight and see how it affected my blood pressure and cholesterol and to see just how much I could save while only eating in.

Although I don’t have all the numbers and data I want at the time of writing this, I do have the amount of weight that I lost. Disclaimer: My weight seems to fluctuate almost daily, it’s very strange. After 1 month of not going out to eat, I have lost a total of 13 pounds as of this morning. I took a couple of readings during certain days of the challenge, and have worked out some, not a lot, during my challenge.

The other readings will have to come once I can crunch some numbers and get my cholesterol checked. Once I do have those numbers, I’ll post them here. Overall my thoughts of the challenge are that it is VERY easy to not go out to eat. Cynthia and I have decided to start making it more of a routine to stay in and not go out. I’m sure once we see how much money we’ve saved, it will be a lot easier to make that decision.

The guys in my band and my podcast also decided to challenge themselves during the month of February. Greg decided he was going to wake up before 6 am every day except on the weekend. He made himself email David and I every day so we knew he was awake. Every morning I would kinda smile a little when I saw the notification on my phone with the simple phrase “I’m up.” Greg was successful all except 1 day. He added his $20 to our Ruby Alexander band fund.

David decided to challenge himself and not cuss for the month of February. I am pleased to say David did a lot better than I thought he would. He even had a couple of days where he didn’t cuss a single time! The total cuss words spoken by David was only 47. That is “freakin’” amazing. Good job! David said he would add in a quarter for each time he cussed, so our band bank account has a little more added to it from his challenge. I’m not sure what were going to do with the money, maybe get us some type of lessons to help us for our future gigs.

Today is my wife Cynthia’s Birthday! She is a wonder woman and I love her very much. I can’t wait for her bday party this weekend, it is going to be a blast. Happy Birthday babe! Tonight we will celebrate by going out to eat. :)

It’s the fiiiinalllll counnnttddooowwwnnnnn! Remember that song? If you don’t, watch the video below. Such a catchy tune. I am almost as excited about the Asian man crossing the finish line in the feature post picture. He’s happy, I’m happy and I’m sure if we knew each other, we’d be singing the final countdown together. At the end of the day I think I should put up some tape and run through it. I might have to have my wife set that up for me tonight.

http://youtu.be/AyggY_R3jU8

Today is the last day of the Elective Eat In Endeavor. I will have a full write up tomorrow about how the challenge went. I am struggling to think of something to challenge myself with next month. People have suggested I attempt to only go out to eat. That would be a terrible idea. Not only would I probably gain a ton of weight, but my wallet would diminish in size as well. So no, I will not be attempting the opposite of the E3 challenge. Overall I feel good about this challenge, it was the appropriate length of time and it was something that was simply a choice I had to make. It was challenging, and I’ve saved money and lost weight. Personal goals were made and I’m glad I am stubborn enough to keep my word.

My counterparts in my Ruby Room Podcast, Greg and David, were also committed to challenging themselves during the month of February. I’ll have their final results written up tomorrow as well. Today I will have my final countdown theme song playing in my head. As the graphic below states, I’m sure you’ll be singing along with me.

Two more days of my E3 challenge. I can’t imagine how mad I would be if I broke down and went out to eat. It’s just not going to happen.

Although I am promoting the “Not going out to eat” lifestyle, I will admit, sometimes you just want to go out to eat. There is nothing wrong with that, so to help my readers who have not seen the news this morning, today is NATIONAL PANCAKE DAY at IHOP. Everyone needs to get out every now and then, so follow this link and go have breakfast for dinner. Enjoy their syrupy goodness. http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/

The last week of the E3 challenge is here. Four days left. It has been progressively easier each week, yet the hardest time I have not going out to eat is on the weekends, especially lunch. It seems as most of the time I am making a sandwich and those are getting pretty old. Although that is the toughest part, I really think the lifestyle change I have made is going to stick with me. I can see going out for my usually Friday lunches and celebrating out with friends, but I think I will still continue to not go out to eat. I’ve lost weight (total to be revealed on my last post), I feel better, feel healthier and generally think my health has improved. Not that I was in poor health, just that I haven’t had much processed, over-salted, giant portioned foods that you receive at a restaurant.

Also, I have been trying to think of another challenge to issue myself, so if you have any suggestions, send them my way. My goal my be to challenge myself each month for the rest of the year, completing tasks month by month. We’ll see, I’m still thinking about that.

With only 6 days left of my E3 challenge, I have been contemplating what I can do to continue this trend. Obviously not going out to eat at all is a little extreme, but I feel pretty good about my accomplishment so far. Not once have I slipped up. There have been times that I have craved things. Jason’s Deli French Onion Soup for example. I love that stuff, and can’t wait to get a bowl of it next month. With my challenge ending on the 1st of March and that coinciding with my wife’s bday, I have a feeling we’ll be going out to eat to celebrate. I guess I can celebrate going a whole month without going out to eat by going out to eat. I’ll just make healthy decisions when I do go out.

At the end of my challenge I’ll post my thoughts about this whole month. There were a couple of ups and downs, and I’m convinced my migraine had something to do with not going out to eat. (I kid… or do I?) Also, I have been contemplating what I can do to challenge myself next month. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Once again congrats to our great friends Niki and David on their wonderful little boy. We had the chance to hang out with them and the whole family is doing well. It’s going to be fun seeing y’all on this adventure. Don’t worry, I’m be sure to spoil him too.

So apparently I have suffered from my first migrane. It started Monday night when I felt a real dull headache that didn’t seem to go away when I took advil. Yesterday on the way to work my eyes were itching and my headache was still there. By Noon my entire head felt like it was going to explode. I had never felt that sensation before and had no idea what was going on. I came home from work and managed to work the rest of the day. By 6 pm I was in bed, with all the lights off, laying completely still as that is all I could manage to do. Cynthia didn’t get home from work until about 7:45 pm, so I laid there like a big baby. My wife is great, she tried all she could to help me feel better. Thanks babe. Now I know how people feel when they have a migraine and will be waaaay more sympathetic to them because on a pain scale of 1-10, I was at a 45.

Today I’m feeling much better but still have pain, especially behind my right eye. I am working from home, so I can still get my work done, but I am writing this in complete darkness and have yet to test my ability to move around. I think I’ll just take it easy today and work on some projects  for work.

On an unrelated note, Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring training today. It is a glorious day if you are a baseball fan. Today the season starts and you get to hear all the rumors about how well your team is going to do. My favorite team is the Houston Astros. My favorite team has done nothing to get their team ready to compete this year. It saddens me that my favorite franchise seemingly took this winter off and decided they will wait and do something when 2013 rolls around when they move to the AL West. Which brings me to my dilemma. Since moving to Dallas, I have attended many Rangers games and adopted them as my “Home town team”. It worked out because my favorite team (Astros) was in the National League Central Division, and the Rangers were in the American League West Division. My dream world series would have been for the Astros and Rangers to play each other and for the Astros to win it all. Fast forward to today. Next year the Astros will be moving to the AL West… the same division my Rangers are in. Conflict of interest rooting for both teams, but I don’t think I’ll ever shed my allegiance to the ‘Stros. It will be tough on me going forward, but I think I can find enough room in my sports heart to allow the Rangers to have a cozy spot. Rangers are looking stout again this year with the addition of Yu Darvish, the Japanese/Iranian fireballer. Don’t sleep on my boy Nelly Cruz though. He might not have had the best World Series, but he’ll come back strong. The Boomstick knows how to play, and I predict an MVP type season out of him. He, along with my wife’s favorite player, Napoli are set to carry this team into the post season. Let’s hope they can get back to the World Series for a 3rd straight time.

Oh, and I only have 7 days left of my challenge. It’s pretty easy now, and I’m way too stubborn to come this far and screw it up now. :)

[caption id=”attachment_1423” align=”alignleft” width=”150” caption=”Will Ferrell took the reign as King of the Bacchus Parade.”][/caption]

Mardi Gras season is here! Being a fan of everything New Orleans, I’ve always wanted to get down to Bourbon street and experience Mardi Gras. I have been to Bourbon Street a couple of times, but have yet to get there for Mardi Gras, but I will soon. The culture, the food, the parties and the spirit of this great festival is not only abundant in the Crescent City, but it stretches outward to neighboring states. I’ve celebrated Mardi Gras for years now, and am surprised a lot of people don’t know what it is. As usual, if you want any knowledge, you know where to turn. Wikipedia :) Today is Fat Tuesday, so it’s time to celebrate as much as you can before Lent starts. Here is a little description about Fat Tuesday.

“Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the festival New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous for. “Gras” is French for fat and “Mardi” is French for Tuesday.

The annual festivities start on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ Child, and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. The parties and parades will continue until Lent begins at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday.

Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in New Orleans. It is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date Easter occurs on changes yearly, Mardi Gras can happen on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.

For two centuries it has been an annual event in New Orleans, except during the two World Wars.”

Professional funnyman Will Ferrell was chosen to reign as King of the Parade this year and supposedly he did an awesome job. Wonder how hard it is to get that gig… hmm. Check out this link for more info on the King!

Normally you can find your local Cajun food restaurant celebrating all this week with beads, daiquiris and jambalaya. Get out and celebrate, and have some crawfish for me!

Yesterday David and I started a new category on Revude.com, it is called Snapped. On a daily basis (hopefully), we’ll be snapping pictures of things that we like. It can be something that inspires us, something funny, something that has an emotional attachment or just something weird. Both of us enjoy taking pictures so we thought it would give our readers a fun way to get a glimpse of what we see throughout the day. I am actually going to take a picture of my screen right now… You can find that picture in the Snapped category of our website, or just click here. That is a picture of my desk. How exciting… :\ I’d rather be in standing on the parade route below.

It seems so long ago that I started The Elective Eat-in Endeavor, but the end is almost near. When I started I thought it was going to be a lot easier than it has been. There were some tough times earlier in the challenge, but now, it is a piece of cake. I do have to admit though, sandwiches are becoming less and less appealing, and they are one of my favorite foods. When in a hurry, a sandwich is a fast and easy way to get a decent meal, but that has happened a lot lately so I have been eating quite a few sandwiches. With only 10 days left, I think the challenge be over before I know it. My thoughts have always been that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. 30 days is a long time to do anything, but I’ve read that after 21 days of doing something it becomes a habit. Let’s hope I can make a habit of not going out to eat.

Recently, my wife and I started the Dave Ramsey program to help us with our finances. We’re not in any trouble and are doing very well compared to some of the stats Dave Ramsey gives about the American population in general. One of the main reasons we chose to start his program was to learn how to make our money work for us. In starting the program, we had to take a closer look into our finances.  The one thing we did notice was we were spending a lot of money on “Food and Entertainment.” In doing the E3 challenge, one of my goals was to save money. I am excited to learn how much money we actually saved by not going out to eat. Once we realize the money we’ve saved, I know we’ll be more hesitant to go out to eat and probably save it more for special occasions than anything. Who would have thought saving money would be so addictive.

Quick sports note: My San Antonio Spurs have won their 10th straight game and are flying so far under the radar because of all the Linsanity news coming out of New York that I like our chances of contending for a title this season. I was able to watch the Mavs vs Knicks game and smiled as the Mavs were “Lin”ched by the Knicks. Even if he is a flash in the pan, Jeremy Lin is a balla. If things don’t work out for him in New York, I know a certain Frisco rec league basketball team in the Men’s 30-39 division that could use him. (We might have to alter his birth certificate.) Jeremy Lin, give the Frisco Throwbacks a call if need be. We’ll give you a signing bonus in the form of a $10 Target gift card and a couple of passes to Main Event.

For those of you that have been reading the blog, you will notice I usually write my blog posts early in the morning. I like to have it up for people to read before they ever even get to work. I like to think my readers make it part of their morning routine, like checking their email or reading their favorite websites. This morning was difficult for me because I had an early morning dentist appointment that stretched out until later in the day. As of right now I finally have time to write a little bit, so I wanted to point out some awesome news that I just found out.

St. Patricks Day Parade in Dallas on Lower Greenville has been part of my life ever since I’ve moved to Dallas. I love this day. My wife even states “This is Sammy’s day” when people are talking about it. This is the one day that it seems everyone in Dallas gets together to celebrate the time honored tradition of everything green. The city allows you to gather as early as you want along Greenville ave to celebrate St. Patty’s day and watch the parade mosey down the road. Green beer, green shirts, green hair, green pants, green shoes and well you get the point, green is abundant on this day. The city actually allows people to have open containers and most people are wise enough to not get out of control. This is probably the only day of the year everyone in Dallas, regardless of “class or clique” gets along and all hangs out. As soon as the parade is finished, everyone follows the parade route walking down Greenville ave with their drinks to head to the “Official” party that is fenced off on Upper Greenville. Before the party, there are hundreds of house parties with huge groups of people out in the yards or streets all mingling together. The Migration, as I like to call it, is thousands of people all walking down to get to the after party. Along the way you can stop and buy food from vendors or grab some more beverages to hold you over until the party.

[caption id=”attachment_1365” align=”alignnone” width=”150” caption=”The Migration”][/caption]

This year, the parade was going to finally come to and end. Funding for the parade is usually taken care of by the Dallas Observer, a local entertainment newspaper. This year, they could not pay for it all. A last second plea went out to seemingly everyone to donate money. To no avail, the money was not raised. That was the case, until Mark Cuban stepped in. Mark Cuban, after being interviewed simply stated, “I didn’t want to see it go away.” He wrote a check to the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association, and basically yelled “GAME ON!” A huge shout-out to Mark Cuban for stepping up for the city and everyone who has been a fan of the parade for years. Cubes, if I happen to see you out on the parade route, I’m buying you a drink. It’s the least I can do. Here is the story from the Observer.

If you have never been to the parade, it is an event you must attend. People of all ages are out celebrating. If you want to meet up with my group, let me know. The party has grown from about 20 people to probably over 200 once everyone shows up. Comment or find me on facebook for details, everyone is welcome!

[caption id=”attachment_1364” align=”alignnone” width=”150” caption=”Greenville Ave Parade 2006.”][/caption]