Mar 23
2010

I’ve finally had a bit of a breakthrough in my weight loss goals. A friend of mine suggested the Lose It! app for iPhones/iTouchs, which is a free calorie tracker with goal setting functionality as well. I like it because it’s simple, and if I can’t find something on the list, it’s easy to add the item with the caloric amount. I can also add exercise information easily. I’ve programmed it for a weight loss goal of 2lbs a week and over the past 2 weeks I’ve lost 5lbs.

Perhaps, it’s just writing down my food intake. But I find myself making healthier choices, etc. I’m also loving the fact that the app actually lets you type in your goal weight and then depending on how many pounds a week you’re trying to lose tells you a date you can expect to be at that weight. I think that may be the best thing. Because when I start feeling like chucking it in, I realize that I will be the weight I want to be by September if I can stick to it.

I’ve tried some of the other apps and websites to perform this same functionality (like the livestrong site and app, and also the pyramid.gov (but that one’s just a website and I wanted something more mobile), but I found it hard to just had exercises and new foods in easily. I use a heart rate monitor when exercising to determine calories burned, but often i’m stuck with incorrect amounts when using other peoples averages, etc for an activity. Another good thing about Lose it! is that I can use while disconnected from the internet, since I own an iTouch and wifi isn’t everywhere and isn’t free everywhere either.

Lose it! is a simple, but flexible enough app to help me keep track without having to make too many edits, etc. And even better, it’s free.

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Mar 23
2010

I’ve a new addition to my biking quiver and a new blogging goal to write up trail reviews. I found a Ladies Trek Mountain Bike (the Skye SL) in the last couple of weeks, so I headed out to the local trails around Flatwoods this past Friday. I was busy attempting to zip around the trails for a quick ride and was headed back to the car, when I took a turn and another guy was coming around the corner from the opposite direction and then boom. The crash felt rather inevitable. My cheek smashed into his shoulder and then I bounced off and lost my balance, hitting the ground. Fortunately, neither of us were actually injured and the bikes were fine as well. I am now sporting some nice purple bruises on my left thigh and buttock, but nothing more serious.

Florida mountain bike trails tend towards not particularly mountainous, but they also tend to have lots of tight turns and plenty of thick root systems from the palmettos. The trails around Flatwoods are in low lying areas and can get a bit mucky after a good thunderstorm. I almost always see at least an armadillo when out riding, but frequently see deer, turkey, and snakes (small, black king snakes that often look like exposed roots until they move) as well. I had forgotten how much I enjoy riding off road and am really liking this new trek. It’s a women’s specific hardtail (I figured full suspension wasn’t that key to enjoying the trails around here), and I love that the cockpit is smaller than on some of the other rides I tried. I also feel pretty quick on it, flying around the turns and trees, sometimes maybe a little too fast.

If you haven’t tried riding off road out and around Flatwoods, I’d strongly recommend it. There’s 15 some odd miles of trails that create a loop connecting into the paved 7 mile Flatwoods loop. The trails aren’t overly hard, but some of the root systems can make the path a little more technical. And honestly if you’re living in North Tampa get outside and enjoy this ride.

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Mar 1
2010

Katie the Cat ?-2010

She had been sick for awhile (although I didn’t realize how badly until Thursday), but my cat, Katie, who’s lived with me for the past few years had to be put to sleep. I never intended to own a cat, in fact I don’t think anyone in my immediate family had intended to own a cat, but Katie found us. Katie wandered into our yard back in Texas, starving and in need of a place to stay. Kim and I were in college at the time. We’d never been allowed to have a pet any more exciting than a rabbits and the occasional hamster (not terribly loving pets), but then while we were in college the family got 2 puppies, Chiquita and Snuggles and Katie showed up not long after.

My mom began feeding Katie left over soft puppy food, she was so starved and let her move into the garage. Dad had never been particularly fond of cats. There was a bully of a cat down the street, though that kept stealing Kate’s food and terrorizes her. And then one day, Katie disappeared. She didn’t come out for her food, etc. We found her holed up under our wooden back porch. She’d been attacked by the other cat and her belly had a wound that had abscessed. We had to tear the porch apart to get her out and to the vet. It turned out to be a positive, since she moved into the house and Mom got a concrete back porch out of it. And the rest of us had a great time tearing apart the old porch. Swinging a sledge hammer of destruction is fun.

Kate remained in the house, chasing the dogs and keeping to herself mostly. She was always shy of strangers and men. And since the dogs were good at jealously guarding the laps from Katie, she didn’t really get overly close to anyone. She did enjoy playing though with bouncing balls and feathers and attacked Mom’s plants with regularity. She pretty much had the run of the house and enjoyed her space, and then Mom died and 10 months later Dad was moving to London.

Kim and Matt took in the dogs, since they had no pet restrictions where they were living, and I took in Kate. Traveling from Houston to Tampa with a cat is a strange experience, particularly since if left in a crate in the car she would yowl the entire drive. So I had to let her have the ability to stretch her legs and curl up where she wanted on the drive, or I was going to be driven to murder her on the drive.

I never had a pet on my own till Katie moved in, and now I no longer have a pet. It’s strange. The house is much quieter. I’d gotten used to having this creature jump on my lap to nap, and interrupt my Skype phone calls with the family. I’d gotten used to having someone to say goodbye to in the morning and hello when I got home again.

So my favorite memories of Katie:

  1. Hiding inside my old couch.
  2. Hiding under the tub when she first moved in. (She was incredibly talented at finding strange places to disappear into.)
  3. Curling up on my belly, purring.
  4. Using her paws to pull my hand into the correct position for scratching under her chin.
  5. The way she’d meow her demands.

So Katie, you’ll be missed.

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