Thursday, October 25, 2012

Security Cameras

I just had to share this article from Safe Harbor Security Cameras (written by Jeff).  It's about some less expensive options for security camera equipment - although the drawbacks are also clearly listed, it might be a good option for those of us that need a slightly cheaper solution.

I'm so proud of the work and research he has been doing to grow their business!  It's a great feeling to be able to walk into an establishment, assess their needs, and provide a customized solution for a client. 

Keep up the great work!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Practice Hike + Endurance Trail Running

Lois is here!!!

She arrived late Friday night, and we headed out bright and early on Saturday for a practice hike (4 miles) at FDR State Park in Pine Mountain.

We were just about to pull into the park when guess what we came across?



The North Face Endurance Challenge Atlanta!

What a super cool event!  They were hosting trail running of everything from an ultra marathon (53 miles on backwoods trails) to a 5K.  So, so, so cool - tents up, runners everywhere, gear...it was a cross between outdoorsman athelete and nerd fitness heaven.

But anyway - after oohing and ahhing - it was time to get OUR training on!  We did a pretty nature loop with moderate hills, at a fairly reasonable pace...but we HAD to stop and cheer RUNNERS on as they passed us in both directions.  SOOOO FUN!!!  They had on running gear, trail shoes, and maybe a water bottle hand-thingy.  WE had on full backpacks, poles, hydration packs, etc (granted, we didn't stop at water stations AND we were training for our Hike Inn weekend, so I'm going with that...).

I loved saying..."GOOOO NUMBER 5413A!!!  KEEP IT UP, YOU'RE DOING GREAT!"   It definitely inspired me to hike faster :).

NEXT YEAR...maybe we'll volunteer at a hydration / refueling station...I would LOVE it.  Or maybe I can even try a 5K?  Who knows.  But all I know, is I won't miss it next year - I'll be there in some capacity.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fall Fun

Last weekend we crunched all of our fall fun into one weekend - we went apple picking at our favorite orchard, R&A Orchards in Ellijay, and picked up 2 GIANT pumpkins at Burt's Farm.

We started out leaving nice and early (ok, 9:30AM) for the 2-hour drive up into the mountains.  (But, I made us a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and banana nut muffins, which was the cause for the delay!) 

By the time we arrived, it was lunchtime!  A lunch buffet at Amicalola Falls Lodge was PERFECT...a huge salad bar and some other yummies...and an equally huge dessert bar (hello, first piece of pumpkin pie for the season!!!).

It was even better because there was a big wedding being set-up for the afternoon, and most everyone at the Lodge was part of the wedding.  So we got to see lots of decorations and people all dressed up (no bride though, she must have been getting ready!).  What a beautiful venue - fall colors changing, cool breeze, bright sunny day - reminded me of our wedding almost 8 years ago...What a romantic way to start our date.  :)

Anywho, first stop, WORLD'S LARGEST PUMPKINS.  They had lots of things to look at in the gift shop, and other fun things like hay rides and barn tours...but I am kind of fundamentally opposed to hay rides (they make me itch) and have seen tons of barns.  So we just proceeded to pick out the biggest pumpkins we could find that were less than $30 each.

DONE!  Jeff may or may not have quasi-tore a bicep loading these bad boys into the Acadia. 

Next stop, orchard.  We bypassed all of the uber-commercial operations (petting zoo, pig races, milk-your-own-cow, corn maze, etc) and went to the orchard we found last year. 


R&A Orchards is a family operation, with everyone working on the weekend.  Grandma directs parking, Daughter runs a register by the door, Granddaughter (maybe 12 years old) makes the delicious caramel covered apples and keeps the samples tended.  They also have a fabUlous kitchen, with deep fried pies and sandwiches and BBQ...oh my...(I only had a BITE of Jeff's fried pie but it was seriously delicious).

We also picked our own apples - Stayman Winesaps and Granny Smiths were ready, so we filled a "Peck" of the yummiest ones we could find, and then came back inside to pick up a "Bushel".
I immediately started singing to Jeff, "I love you...a bushel and a peck...a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck..."  Do you guys know that song?  I love catchy nursery songs.

Anywho, FINALLY time to head back home...2 hour drive ahead of us...of COURSE I had to nap...and of COURSE Jeff took a picture (while driving)...Happy Fall Y'all!


Friday, October 5, 2012

BodyPump!

Thursday morning I woke up REALLY EARLY (4:30AM!!!) to meet my friend Megan at her new gym, BodyPlex of Newnan and go to her favorite new class, Body Pump.  It was Bring-A-Friend-For-Free week and I love to try new things, and support my friends, and get free shit...so it was perfect (other than the 4:30 wakeup call).

Wow!  What an experience...a group of folks going for 60 minutes of high-repetition, low-to-medium weights.


Although I have been weight training a little at my Muscle Meltdown classes at work, I was nervous to put too much weight on my bar.  Which was a good thing, since we were going for "MUSCLE ENDURANCE".  Wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but Megan told me, "Put 2.5's on to start."  So I did (thinking I was being a bit wimpy but she knows best).

Enter 800+ repetitions over 60 minutes. 

I couldn't WAIT to get each exercise done because by the end of each set, my muscle (bicep, shoulder, hammie) was completely fatigued and screamin' at me. 

After one million squats, we went down to the step to do chest presses.


I literally could not get back up off the ground.  Due to my shaking legs.  From the previous exercise.  We were about at minute 22 of the workout.

AND I LOVED IT!!!

The music, the vibe, the workout...I WANT MORE!!!  Good thing the Bring-A-Friend-For-Free week goes through the weekend!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

How Do You Think About Money?

Did you see this article last week?  It was on Yahoo Finance: 21 Ways Rich People Think Differently.

Basically - their point was that most middle-class folks approach money from a place of fear, instead of looking at money as an opportunity.

This is maybe for me, the most interesting quote in the article:

"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance." 

Is it really that easy???  I'm not sure.  But it's worth thinking about.

Below I'm copying some of the most thought-provoking points (for me) from the article...what do you all think?

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

"The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider.  "The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it's keeping them poor," he writes.

"If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else. You can't give what you don't have."


3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

"While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes.

"The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away."


6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," he writes.

"The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."


17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they'll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.  "The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities," he writes.

"Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money."


20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company's health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite "boutique medical care" association, Siebold says.

"Some even pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members," he writes.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Fall Clean-Up

If you are lucky (or maybe if you're not), you have a room in your house that is your catch-all.  You know, the room where things "land". 

You're not sure where something goes, or you're not quite ready to get rid of something, or you're holding onto something for someone...it goes in this room.

We have 2 catch-alls: The Pink Room and The Basement.

The Pink Room is one of the extra bedrooms upstairs (painted Pepto-Bismol pink by the previous owners) and has recently been home to 2 beds, a sofa table, books, photos, training guides, instruments, yarn, extra clothes, camping stuff...you get the picture.

The Basement is the basement.  We put up 2 sets of row-shelving, resembling a poorly stocked hardware store.  We had several shelves that were unorganized or stored in un-ideal ways (think boxes instead of Rubbermaid containers)...and also just had stuff we didn't need anymore.  Like a coffee pot, baskets, contemporary flower vases, mismatched pot lids, unusable fish stuff, shoes (where did those come from?), boards...

Guess what - all that stuff is GONE!  Jeff is taking a HUGE load to Goodwill today and we have several folks lined up to take our extra furniture. 

We worked really hard this weekend to get the physical junk and clutter out of our life...and it feels good.