I've been boning up on portions of tax law that are either new, changing, or of fresh relevance to me this year, and thought I'd post up some of my findings, in case they can help any of you.
Let's talk about the child tax credit.
Clearly, I've used this in the past for Catherine, and will use it this year for Jeffrey as well.
But the focus of my research was claiming someone other than my son or daughter; namely, my nephew, who lived with us from May 2010 through January 2011.
Here's what I've found:
To claim the child tax credit, the child in question has to pass six tests: age, support, relationship, dependent, citizenship, residence.
In detail:
Age - The child must be under 17
Support - The child can provide no more than 50% of his own support
Relationship - Son, daughter, foster child, brother, sister, grandson, granddaugher, niece, nephew and step-children of all of the preceding varieties
Dependent - The child must be claimed as a dependent on the filer's taxes during the year where the child tax credit is claimed for them (does this seem like a no-brainer to anyone else?)
Citizenship - The child must be a legal US citizen, resident, or resident alien
Residence - The child must reside with the filer for greater than 50% of the year for which the child tax credit is claimed
Let's recap and see if we qualify:
Age? 15...check!
Support Himself? On video games. But seriously, no. Check!
Relationship? Nephew...check!
Dependent? Executed temporary guardianship documentation, enrolled in school here...check!
Citizenship? Mars. Nevermind. USA-USA-USA! Check!
Residence? May-December = 8 months. 8/12 = 75%. 75% > 50%. Check!
Looks like we're good to go...hope this info is helpful to you as well!
And remember: even if the child qualifies to be claimed on your taxes, always make sure no one else is claiming him as well; a child can be claimed only once, no matter how many people have a valid claim.
For more details: IRS.gov: Child Tax Credit (PDF)
Showing posts with label Advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advice. Show all posts
How Well Do You Know Your Car?
in:
Advice
How well do you know your car? Do you just strap yourself into it every day and drive off to work or school and not know anything about it's value or about what different types of repairs may cost you when it breaks down? Instead of guessing and being caught off guard when something happens, there's a web site that can log all of the important information about your car and offer you the data you need to make wise decisions about your vehicle. Visit DriverSide and start a free profile to enter all of your car's information and begin taking advantage of the valuable advice. I paid off my XTerra about two years ago and ever since, I've just been crossing my fingers that nothing major happens to this car, since I have no intention of buying a new one for another few years. I think this web is a great resource that you can use to get to know your car better.
What is your car really worth? It's helpful to know this information so that you can manage your car's financing sensibly. It's also great information to have when you're looking to sell your car in the future. Values can change rapidly and hinge on a number of different factors, and the DriverSide web site can help you to get up to date value information when you need it.
You can also find accessories and parts specific to your car at the DriverSide web site. If your car is more than a couple years old, the parts you need to keep it up and running can be hard to find. Instead of going from store to store, this is a one-stop shopping opportunity that will ensure that you aren't left scrambling when something breaks.
If you are looking for someone else to make repairs to your vehicle, you can find mechanics in your area and get an idea of what fair charges may be by using DriverSide. If you go to the first repair shop you see, you may end up spending a lot more money than your repair should cost. If you have a great idea ahead of time what to expect, you can expertly deal with mechanical situation you may encounter.
If you're anything like me, you probably drive your car for thousands of miles a year. For the past 10 years, I've averaged 25k! I can't take chances with my vehicles, and you shouldn't either. Go check out DriverSide today to start getting to know your car better!
What is your car really worth? It's helpful to know this information so that you can manage your car's financing sensibly. It's also great information to have when you're looking to sell your car in the future. Values can change rapidly and hinge on a number of different factors, and the DriverSide web site can help you to get up to date value information when you need it.
You can also find accessories and parts specific to your car at the DriverSide web site. If your car is more than a couple years old, the parts you need to keep it up and running can be hard to find. Instead of going from store to store, this is a one-stop shopping opportunity that will ensure that you aren't left scrambling when something breaks.
If you are looking for someone else to make repairs to your vehicle, you can find mechanics in your area and get an idea of what fair charges may be by using DriverSide. If you go to the first repair shop you see, you may end up spending a lot more money than your repair should cost. If you have a great idea ahead of time what to expect, you can expertly deal with mechanical situation you may encounter.
If you're anything like me, you probably drive your car for thousands of miles a year. For the past 10 years, I've averaged 25k! I can't take chances with my vehicles, and you shouldn't either. Go check out DriverSide today to start getting to know your car better!
Finding the Right Host
in:
Advice
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Other Blogs
I've been talking quite a lot recently about my current blogs, my new efforts, and the work I've done in the past with maintaining web sites/blogs purely for revenue. Obviously, one of my biggest concerns, as someone who enjoys making money online, is the hosting plans I set up for my sites. For my "free" blogs here at Blogspot, not an issue. But for the sites where I own the domain (currently a half dozen or so), having the right combination of fair pricing, consistent uptime, and ease of use is so important to me when I look at hosting. I've been burned in the past...cheapest ain't always the best option!
In any case, I wanted to share a comparison web site with you that I found - it takes a look at various hosting options and gives web hosting rating metrics to help you make decisions. (This site is to web hosting as "PowerToChoose" is to electric providers.) Beyond simply comparing the many, many hosting companies out there, the site also has a great directory of advice articles to help make decision-making easy. The best I found so far was "The Advantages and Disadvantages of Shared Hosting."
If you have some decisions coming up, or are just curious, go check out this site. It makes comparison shopping for great hosting services a cinch!
In any case, I wanted to share a comparison web site with you that I found - it takes a look at various hosting options and gives web hosting rating metrics to help you make decisions. (This site is to web hosting as "PowerToChoose" is to electric providers.) Beyond simply comparing the many, many hosting companies out there, the site also has a great directory of advice articles to help make decision-making easy. The best I found so far was "The Advantages and Disadvantages of Shared Hosting."
If you have some decisions coming up, or are just curious, go check out this site. It makes comparison shopping for great hosting services a cinch!
Baby's First Halloween Costume
Believe it or not, we've already been discussing how we should dress up Catherine for her first Halloween this year. Come Halloween, she'll be between two and four weeks old - not old enough to trick-or-treat, but definitely old enough that we have to find something super cute to put her in!
Baby has had several nicknames so far, including Bunny, Alien, Skeletor and Monkey. Any of those could potentially turn into Halloween Costumes...although Chris doesn't like the last three since he thinks we're picking on her to call her names. He especially hate when I call her Skeletor, but in her earlier ultrasounds, that's really what she looked like!
I've been trolling the internet for ideas, and found a few that I like on the incostume.com web site - take a look (especially if you're looking for costumes for your own little ones) and come back to let me know which you like best!
Aren't they just so stinkin' cute?
Baby has had several nicknames so far, including Bunny, Alien, Skeletor and Monkey. Any of those could potentially turn into Halloween Costumes...although Chris doesn't like the last three since he thinks we're picking on her to call her names. He especially hate when I call her Skeletor, but in her earlier ultrasounds, that's really what she looked like!
I've been trolling the internet for ideas, and found a few that I like on the incostume.com web site - take a look (especially if you're looking for costumes for your own little ones) and come back to let me know which you like best!
Aren't they just so stinkin' cute?
Making My House Complete
in:
Advice
I've talked quite a bit about my house on this blog in the past, and especially about all of the work we've done here to make it uniquely ours, between actual physical work and the special items we've found to add to our collection. One item I've long considered and that I think would make a perfect addition to our Victorian-styled home is a Grandfather clock.
In my travels around the web, I came across a really neat store that sells beautiful grandfather clocks. Called 1-800-4Clocks, the offer all sorts of great incentives including free shipping for orders over $100, free in-home set-up, and no tax outside of New York state. All that on top of selling beautiful Grandfather clocks!
They have a good selection of brands, but the one I spent the most amount of time checking out was Howard Miller Grandfather clocks. Take a look at this clock - wouldn't it look fabulous in my house, especially next to my fireplace? Too bad the price is, uh, a wee bit out of my range!
In addition to running their store, this organization also runs a neat blog dedicated to Grandfather clocks. After browsing for awhile, I found a post about using Grandfather clocks to fill space in large homes. Perfect - gives me more justification for wanting one, right, since our home is fairly large? They make reference to needing to fill space...but we'll just ignore the fact that our house is already quite full. Besides, for a Grandfather clock, I'll create space.
If you've ever considered adding a Grandfather clock to your home, I'd recommend checking out their website and blog - I was quite impressed!
In my travels around the web, I came across a really neat store that sells beautiful grandfather clocks. Called 1-800-4Clocks, the offer all sorts of great incentives including free shipping for orders over $100, free in-home set-up, and no tax outside of New York state. All that on top of selling beautiful Grandfather clocks!
They have a good selection of brands, but the one I spent the most amount of time checking out was Howard Miller Grandfather clocks. Take a look at this clock - wouldn't it look fabulous in my house, especially next to my fireplace? Too bad the price is, uh, a wee bit out of my range!
In addition to running their store, this organization also runs a neat blog dedicated to Grandfather clocks. After browsing for awhile, I found a post about using Grandfather clocks to fill space in large homes. Perfect - gives me more justification for wanting one, right, since our home is fairly large? They make reference to needing to fill space...but we'll just ignore the fact that our house is already quite full. Besides, for a Grandfather clock, I'll create space.
If you've ever considered adding a Grandfather clock to your home, I'd recommend checking out their website and blog - I was quite impressed!
Come Argue With Me
in:
Advice
,
Politics
,
Tiffany Takes On
I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my rants over the past few months since I started my Tiffany Takes On posts...I know that I've enjoyed your comments, whether you're on my side or on the wrong side. (Haha!) I love arguing about current events and politics and I just found a great web site that I wanted to share with all of you. Called "Argue with Everyone", it's a great place to talk about politics. And of course, by "talk", I mean fight for all you're worth.
No matter the issue - the upcoming Presidential election, illegal immigration, the War on Terror...or just about anything that could be politically charged, there's a chance for you to argue your side through the anonymity of the internet. LOVE IT!
Hurry on over and check it out - see you there!
No matter the issue - the upcoming Presidential election, illegal immigration, the War on Terror...or just about anything that could be politically charged, there's a chance for you to argue your side through the anonymity of the internet. LOVE IT!
Hurry on over and check it out - see you there!
Choices, Choices
in:
Advice
My husband had his first dental appointment today in two years. Two years! (Ok, I can't really crab at him, because I'm behind, too...I've had a temporary crown for, er, two years. It just never seems to be the right time to get my wisdom teeth out so I can get my permanent crown. Hangs head.)
In any case, while he was getting ready to go, I was printing out the info he'd need for my dental insurance. While I was sorting through my company's intranet to find the info I needed, he asked if I'd already looked into what it would cost to insure the baby once she's here...because my benefits are way cheaper than his job offers, so I'll be taking her on as a dependent. I replied, with some frustration, that my company was going to begin offering three choices of insurers this next year instead of one, with all new plans...but even though open enrollment begins in like a month, I hadn't seen any info yet on what those choices were. Argh!
Since I love to research everything (haha...you already knew that, dear reader), I hopped on the internet to start looking at what options may be out there, so I'm knowledgeable on other carriers when the time comes to make my decisions. One of the sites I came across was eKaiserInsurance, which I immediately recognized as a great name for healthcare and health insurance. When I'd looked at the possibility of relocating to NoCal a few years ago, Kaiser Permanente California was a potential plan I'd come across then as I investigated potential jobs and their coverages.
What I found out in my research today is that Kaiser Permanente is not just based in California - myth busted! - but actually offers insurance coverage in several other states as well - for instance, Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Kaiser Permanente Georgia. Unfortunately, they're not yet in Texas, so they won't be an option for me to choose come open enrollment, but I was pleased to see that in the states where they do offer coverage, there are a ton of plan options. Perhaps they'll make their way to my state one of these days and I can try them out myself!
For now, I'm back to researching potential health plans, trying to guess what next year's choices (and prices!) might bring!
In any case, while he was getting ready to go, I was printing out the info he'd need for my dental insurance. While I was sorting through my company's intranet to find the info I needed, he asked if I'd already looked into what it would cost to insure the baby once she's here...because my benefits are way cheaper than his job offers, so I'll be taking her on as a dependent. I replied, with some frustration, that my company was going to begin offering three choices of insurers this next year instead of one, with all new plans...but even though open enrollment begins in like a month, I hadn't seen any info yet on what those choices were. Argh!
Since I love to research everything (haha...you already knew that, dear reader), I hopped on the internet to start looking at what options may be out there, so I'm knowledgeable on other carriers when the time comes to make my decisions. One of the sites I came across was eKaiserInsurance, which I immediately recognized as a great name for healthcare and health insurance. When I'd looked at the possibility of relocating to NoCal a few years ago, Kaiser Permanente California was a potential plan I'd come across then as I investigated potential jobs and their coverages.
What I found out in my research today is that Kaiser Permanente is not just based in California - myth busted! - but actually offers insurance coverage in several other states as well - for instance, Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Kaiser Permanente Georgia. Unfortunately, they're not yet in Texas, so they won't be an option for me to choose come open enrollment, but I was pleased to see that in the states where they do offer coverage, there are a ton of plan options. Perhaps they'll make their way to my state one of these days and I can try them out myself!
For now, I'm back to researching potential health plans, trying to guess what next year's choices (and prices!) might bring!
How Financially Fit Are You?
in:
Advice
With baby on her way - and, if my hunch plays out, somewhat sooner than she's expected - we're doing everything we can to get our house, our lives and our finances in shape.
I want to share a great site with you that I've discovered, called BillsIQ. Now, if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm fanatical about my bills. I have an enormous excel spreadsheet that contains our budget information going back to 2005 and forward to 2010. I have every possible metric measured and updated the file religiously.
A visit to BillsIQ and a walk through their free quiz still managed to open my eyes however, asking questions I hadn't actually given thought to. And as well as I think I manage both my individual finances as well as our household budget, I was shocked to only score a B! Jeez! A B wasn't good enough for me back when I was in school, so it certainly isn't now. I definitely have some catching up to do to make our finances healthier...with only 3 months to go before baby!
What I liked about this web site is that after scoring the test, point by point advice is given on each question asked. The most important thing I learned is that we're not saving nearly enough money. Sure, our individual jobs help us to contribute towards retirement, and our monthly budget has us putting away money towards taxes and household projects, but we need to bulk WAY up to have an emergency fund available that wouldn't require tapping into savings meant for other occasions.
Check it out - it's a great site, easy to use, and you can spend as much or as little time there as possible. Remember - it's called BillsIQ.
I want to share a great site with you that I've discovered, called BillsIQ. Now, if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm fanatical about my bills. I have an enormous excel spreadsheet that contains our budget information going back to 2005 and forward to 2010. I have every possible metric measured and updated the file religiously.
A visit to BillsIQ and a walk through their free quiz still managed to open my eyes however, asking questions I hadn't actually given thought to. And as well as I think I manage both my individual finances as well as our household budget, I was shocked to only score a B! Jeez! A B wasn't good enough for me back when I was in school, so it certainly isn't now. I definitely have some catching up to do to make our finances healthier...with only 3 months to go before baby!
What I liked about this web site is that after scoring the test, point by point advice is given on each question asked. The most important thing I learned is that we're not saving nearly enough money. Sure, our individual jobs help us to contribute towards retirement, and our monthly budget has us putting away money towards taxes and household projects, but we need to bulk WAY up to have an emergency fund available that wouldn't require tapping into savings meant for other occasions.
Check it out - it's a great site, easy to use, and you can spend as much or as little time there as possible. Remember - it's called BillsIQ.
Great Police Supplier
in:
Advice
Hey, Readers!
Do you remember when I blogged back in late May about these really nifty tactical police pants that I thought my husband had just bought? I'm not sure if I ever came back to tell you, but after checking with Chris, I did confirm that those exact pants that I blogged about - 5.11 tactical pants - are what he had just bought.
I'm in the midst of doing laundry, and those very same pants just found their way into the washer. Chris is already talking about getting more! Between their comfy padded knees and zillions of pockets, they are the perfect tactical gear for any cop.
Just wanted to share before I forget about them again until our next wash day. Check it out!
Do you remember when I blogged back in late May about these really nifty tactical police pants that I thought my husband had just bought? I'm not sure if I ever came back to tell you, but after checking with Chris, I did confirm that those exact pants that I blogged about - 5.11 tactical pants - are what he had just bought.
I'm in the midst of doing laundry, and those very same pants just found their way into the washer. Chris is already talking about getting more! Between their comfy padded knees and zillions of pockets, they are the perfect tactical gear for any cop.
Just wanted to share before I forget about them again until our next wash day. Check it out!
Project Connectivity
in:
Advice
After my last post, you may be asking yourself why in the world I didn't just post when I was out of town over the past week - after all, anywhere I go, my laptop follows.
Unfortunately, it's not always as simple as desiring to get online. At Mom's house, it took a full day of monkeying with her connection to get it working again - it had been apparently down for over a month and Mom just figured she'd leave it go until I was there to fix it. Once she was back up and running, I had barely enough time between household projects to hop on long enough to address work emails and getting hubby and I booked on our return flight.
But at least my Mom has high speed internet! While I was toying with her connection, I was reminded of our springtime visit to my mother-in-law's house in 2007. Ah, yes...beautiful northern Idaho. Home to dial-up connectivity. Have you ever tried getting a VPN connection through dial-up? OH MY GOD.
I knew there had to be other options, even in such a small area, than a dial-up that had about the same connection speed as I enjoyed 15 years ago. Cruising around the internet, I discovered that there certainly is: broadband satellite internet that is available anywhere that has a clear view available of the southern sky. What a perfect idea - after all, satellite television has been around for several decades now. So why not utilize the same technology to get high speed internet capabilities?
When I looked into this option further, I realized that I'd actually heard of Hughes Net before - I ghost-wrote an article touting satellite internet quite awhile ago! Apparently, because I've ghostwritten hundreds of web content articles, the idea totally fell out of my head afterwards!
In any case, if you're in the same boat as my mother-in-law and are looking for a great internet solution, I'd definitely suggest checking out HughesNet and see what their plans can do for you. I'm just sorry I haven't recommended this solution sooner!!
Unfortunately, it's not always as simple as desiring to get online. At Mom's house, it took a full day of monkeying with her connection to get it working again - it had been apparently down for over a month and Mom just figured she'd leave it go until I was there to fix it. Once she was back up and running, I had barely enough time between household projects to hop on long enough to address work emails and getting hubby and I booked on our return flight.
But at least my Mom has high speed internet! While I was toying with her connection, I was reminded of our springtime visit to my mother-in-law's house in 2007. Ah, yes...beautiful northern Idaho. Home to dial-up connectivity. Have you ever tried getting a VPN connection through dial-up? OH MY GOD.
I knew there had to be other options, even in such a small area, than a dial-up that had about the same connection speed as I enjoyed 15 years ago. Cruising around the internet, I discovered that there certainly is: broadband satellite internet that is available anywhere that has a clear view available of the southern sky. What a perfect idea - after all, satellite television has been around for several decades now. So why not utilize the same technology to get high speed internet capabilities?
When I looked into this option further, I realized that I'd actually heard of Hughes Net before - I ghost-wrote an article touting satellite internet quite awhile ago! Apparently, because I've ghostwritten hundreds of web content articles, the idea totally fell out of my head afterwards!
In any case, if you're in the same boat as my mother-in-law and are looking for a great internet solution, I'd definitely suggest checking out HughesNet and see what their plans can do for you. I'm just sorry I haven't recommended this solution sooner!!
Getting Over Shopping Phobia
in:
Advice
I'm not really much of a shopper. I'm a cheapskate, going to multiple stores just to get what I need is tiring, I hate battling crowds, malls make me nauseous because the people there are irritating and disgusting, and well, it's inconvenient. Shopping online is a cure to some of those issues, but it's still a pain in the butt to be bop from store to store to store in order to actually get what I want.
I found a cure to my shopping phobia, however! The perfect cross between the searching power of Google and the information available from Wikipedia, it's called ShopWiki. After I found it, I decided to test it out with something that I've been putting off buying: additional memory for my laptop. I used the link from the main page to go to the laptop computers page and promptly learned more about laptops than I ever would have known to even seek out!
So after joyriding through a few other wiki pages - which are fabulous and informative and, just like Wikipedia, allow users to provide updates as necessary - I tried out the Google-like search function to see if I could actually find the perfect place to buy new memory. Voila! A zillion different types of memory, plus information on which online stores to go to, in order to buy it. Fast, easy and fabulous. Addictive, too...I've been stuck on this site looking up wiki pages for hours now!
Anyone remember our funny story about lamps (lampshades) and our wedding? I even ended up searching for lamps and, in particular, reading lamps. Turns out that when I find a site that makes shopping easy, I start expanding on the list of what I need - and since there's not a great lamp next to the loveseat in our new living room configuration, guess what's next on my list to buy??
Go give ShopWiki a look - maybe you'll get sucked in like I was! Fun site!
I found a cure to my shopping phobia, however! The perfect cross between the searching power of Google and the information available from Wikipedia, it's called ShopWiki. After I found it, I decided to test it out with something that I've been putting off buying: additional memory for my laptop. I used the link from the main page to go to the laptop computers page and promptly learned more about laptops than I ever would have known to even seek out!
So after joyriding through a few other wiki pages - which are fabulous and informative and, just like Wikipedia, allow users to provide updates as necessary - I tried out the Google-like search function to see if I could actually find the perfect place to buy new memory. Voila! A zillion different types of memory, plus information on which online stores to go to, in order to buy it. Fast, easy and fabulous. Addictive, too...I've been stuck on this site looking up wiki pages for hours now!
Anyone remember our funny story about lamps (lampshades) and our wedding? I even ended up searching for lamps and, in particular, reading lamps. Turns out that when I find a site that makes shopping easy, I start expanding on the list of what I need - and since there's not a great lamp next to the loveseat in our new living room configuration, guess what's next on my list to buy??
Go give ShopWiki a look - maybe you'll get sucked in like I was! Fun site!
You Can Never Be Too Careful...
in:
Advice
Writing that post earlier tonight about my police officer husband and his love for buying gadgets for his work put me in an oddly sentimental mood. I've spent the last half hour or so remembering how I first met my husband (online!) and what it was like getting to know him through email and phone calls before I finally agreed to our first date, six weeks after we first made contact.
I'd done the whole blind date thing before. I'd done the pick up a random guy in a bar or a restaurant and then go on a spur-of-the-moment 10-day vacation with them to California thing before. (I'm not kidding.) I done the met a guy in the elevator at work and then endure two miserable meals before escaping thing. What I'm trying to say is that up to and including Chris, I've had interesting adventures in dating.
But even though my friends still believe that I'm nuts and God only knows what my family things of me - they're still scandalized that I moved to Texas SIX years ago! - I've always played it very safe while dating.
How's that, you say, when I was obviously crazy enough to pack up and spend 10 days in San Diego with a guy who I'd spent a grand total of 6 hours with, two weeks before that trip? How's that, you say, when I was so willing to jet off to Daytona (it's Daytona, for God's sake, and it was bike week) with a guy more than twice my age?
Easy. With each and every one of those guys, I got online and ran complete background checks before I committed to anything wild and crazy. With the power of the internet today, it's possible to know more about someone else than they may even know about themselves within a very short amount of time, and for less than what it costs to fill your car with gas! Now, you could spend all of your time over countless days and weeks trying to track down everywhere someone else had lived, worked, and played...or you could work with a terrific organization that is certified by the Better Business Bureau, whose only focus is to run criminal background checks in order to gather the information that you need to make informed decisions about the guys you date, the employees you hire, or the people you hire to take care of your home or children.
With SentryLink's National Criminal Background Check program, you get results in around a minute, tapping into millions of databases in that time. Whether it's crime reports or sex offender listings, you can find out what someone else may be trying to hide. All you need is less than twenty bucks, the name of the person you're investigating, and their date of birth. How easy of that? Twenty dollars is a pittance to pay to ensure your own piece of mind - and that's why I've run checks on so many of the guys I've dated. There just isn't a price I'd put on my own security.
I was lucky - when I ran criminal checks on potential beaus, I never had information pop up that was negative. One of my oldest friends in the world was not so fortunate. She got involved with a guy a few years back who lived in Texas - she lives in Pennsylvania. Things got all hot and heavy with their sporadic visits, and she finally spilled the beans and told me all about him. What she was saying didn't exactly add up in my head, so without her knowledge, I went ahead and decided to run a background check on the guy. It was with a very heavy heart that I had to take information back to her that he was already married and had a murky past. If she'd only done a check at the get go, she could have avoided a lot of heartache in the long run.
I've been accused of being crazy; some have called me paranoid; but I just like to think that I'm safe. That's why I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would have nothing to fear when Chris picked me up for our first date...and I'm ever so glad that he did!
I'd done the whole blind date thing before. I'd done the pick up a random guy in a bar or a restaurant and then go on a spur-of-the-moment 10-day vacation with them to California thing before. (I'm not kidding.) I done the met a guy in the elevator at work and then endure two miserable meals before escaping thing. What I'm trying to say is that up to and including Chris, I've had interesting adventures in dating.
But even though my friends still believe that I'm nuts and God only knows what my family things of me - they're still scandalized that I moved to Texas SIX years ago! - I've always played it very safe while dating.
How's that, you say, when I was obviously crazy enough to pack up and spend 10 days in San Diego with a guy who I'd spent a grand total of 6 hours with, two weeks before that trip? How's that, you say, when I was so willing to jet off to Daytona (it's Daytona, for God's sake, and it was bike week) with a guy more than twice my age?
Easy. With each and every one of those guys, I got online and ran complete background checks before I committed to anything wild and crazy. With the power of the internet today, it's possible to know more about someone else than they may even know about themselves within a very short amount of time, and for less than what it costs to fill your car with gas! Now, you could spend all of your time over countless days and weeks trying to track down everywhere someone else had lived, worked, and played...or you could work with a terrific organization that is certified by the Better Business Bureau, whose only focus is to run criminal background checks in order to gather the information that you need to make informed decisions about the guys you date, the employees you hire, or the people you hire to take care of your home or children.
With SentryLink's National Criminal Background Check program, you get results in around a minute, tapping into millions of databases in that time. Whether it's crime reports or sex offender listings, you can find out what someone else may be trying to hide. All you need is less than twenty bucks, the name of the person you're investigating, and their date of birth. How easy of that? Twenty dollars is a pittance to pay to ensure your own piece of mind - and that's why I've run checks on so many of the guys I've dated. There just isn't a price I'd put on my own security.
I was lucky - when I ran criminal checks on potential beaus, I never had information pop up that was negative. One of my oldest friends in the world was not so fortunate. She got involved with a guy a few years back who lived in Texas - she lives in Pennsylvania. Things got all hot and heavy with their sporadic visits, and she finally spilled the beans and told me all about him. What she was saying didn't exactly add up in my head, so without her knowledge, I went ahead and decided to run a background check on the guy. It was with a very heavy heart that I had to take information back to her that he was already married and had a murky past. If she'd only done a check at the get go, she could have avoided a lot of heartache in the long run.
I've been accused of being crazy; some have called me paranoid; but I just like to think that I'm safe. That's why I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would have nothing to fear when Chris picked me up for our first date...and I'm ever so glad that he did!
Calling All Officers!
in:
Advice
Police officers, that is - not to slight military officers, but this post is meant for our men (and women!) with badges, not BDUs!
Ya'll know that my husband is a state police officer...but what you probably wouldn't know about him is that he can sometimes be a bit of an impulse buyer. And he looooooves buying police gear - anything from pants that have more gadgets than a Swiss Army knife to miniature cars from jurisdictions around the country. If something catches his eye, he usually gets it!
So that means that I, as a good little police wife, often keep my eye out for places that he can find police gear, both useful and decorative. (Have I mentioned that he also collects police patches?)
In any case, Chris just bought this quite nifty pair of pants that can do just about anything except the laundry, and he's looking into getting a few more pairs to use for work. His agency doesn't have a uniform, but they do get a bit of an allowance to buy their own clothes to suit the operations that they are assigned to.
I'm not sure where he got those last pair of pants, but I just came across a web site for 5.11 tactical pants that I'm quite sure are quite similar to what he already has. Needless to say, I'm going to share this site with him as soon as he gets back from his week of training in Austin!
In the meantime, I thought I'd share it with ya'll, since I do believe I have a few officers or police wives among my readers! Go, seek, and enjoy!
Ya'll know that my husband is a state police officer...but what you probably wouldn't know about him is that he can sometimes be a bit of an impulse buyer. And he looooooves buying police gear - anything from pants that have more gadgets than a Swiss Army knife to miniature cars from jurisdictions around the country. If something catches his eye, he usually gets it!
So that means that I, as a good little police wife, often keep my eye out for places that he can find police gear, both useful and decorative. (Have I mentioned that he also collects police patches?)
In any case, Chris just bought this quite nifty pair of pants that can do just about anything except the laundry, and he's looking into getting a few more pairs to use for work. His agency doesn't have a uniform, but they do get a bit of an allowance to buy their own clothes to suit the operations that they are assigned to.
I'm not sure where he got those last pair of pants, but I just came across a web site for 5.11 tactical pants that I'm quite sure are quite similar to what he already has. Needless to say, I'm going to share this site with him as soon as he gets back from his week of training in Austin!
In the meantime, I thought I'd share it with ya'll, since I do believe I have a few officers or police wives among my readers! Go, seek, and enjoy!
Stop Calling Me - Part 2!
in:
Advice
Thanks for keeping me honest, Gabriel!
Gabriel checked out the web site I wrote about last night when I was venting my frustrations about the many phone calls my household receives that are just plain not meant for us. He thought the link was cool, but pointed out that it's for US exchanges only - not Canadian!
Since my traffic has been telling me that I have quite a few Canadian readers, I thought I'd do a bit of research and post some resources for my neighbors to the north to utilize!
If you're in Canada, you're in luck! It turns out that a Do Not Call format was just finalized this past December. Read all about it here. Unfortunately, it's not required to be operational until September 30, 2008. Keep your eyes open for more information on how to register - I couldn't find a registration site, but with September only 4 months away, I'm sure one is coming soon!
For reverse lookups on Canadian phone exchanges, try these two resources: 411.ca and Find a Person. I went ahead and gave both web sites a shot with a relative's number that lives outside of Calgary, and it seems to work just fine!
Have a great Tuesday, ya'll!
Gabriel checked out the web site I wrote about last night when I was venting my frustrations about the many phone calls my household receives that are just plain not meant for us. He thought the link was cool, but pointed out that it's for US exchanges only - not Canadian!
Since my traffic has been telling me that I have quite a few Canadian readers, I thought I'd do a bit of research and post some resources for my neighbors to the north to utilize!
If you're in Canada, you're in luck! It turns out that a Do Not Call format was just finalized this past December. Read all about it here. Unfortunately, it's not required to be operational until September 30, 2008. Keep your eyes open for more information on how to register - I couldn't find a registration site, but with September only 4 months away, I'm sure one is coming soon!
For reverse lookups on Canadian phone exchanges, try these two resources: 411.ca and Find a Person. I went ahead and gave both web sites a shot with a relative's number that lives outside of Calgary, and it seems to work just fine!
Have a great Tuesday, ya'll!
Stop Calling Me!
in:
Advice
We bought and moved into our house 13+ months ago, and along with that move came a new home phone number.
Ever since we've had our phone number, it's been a hassle and a half. For the first 6 or 7 months, 1 out of every 3 calls was meant for the previous owner of the phone number. My most common gripe when the phone rang was "who's number is this - ours or his?" Apparently, he was a real scumbag and owed lots of people (some of them not very nice) lots of money (some of them, lots of money). We got calls all hours of the day and night.
Halfway through those first few months, we also started receiving phone calls trying to collect money from a relative who put us down as a reference/contact but didn't tell us (ask us!) first.
Now, for the past 6 or 7 months, we've been getting survey and telemarketer phone calls. I'm thoroughly annoyed. After doing some research to get no call list information, I've put our number both on the national and Texas do not call lists, and we're still getting calls. Hopefully, those'll end soon - I think they're supposed to stop within 3 months.
There's also another breed of calls that also annoy me. It's the random numbers (without names) that call us at random times when we're not home (or when I refuse to answer, because I don't recognize the number). These people don't leave messages. But yet...they call. Sometimes, repeatedly!
I found a web site that's allowed me to alleviate some of my frustration, and wanted to share it with you, dear readers. They offer no call list information, but also give you a way to look up those annoying numbers that are calling you!
Who's Number Is This
Ever since we've had our phone number, it's been a hassle and a half. For the first 6 or 7 months, 1 out of every 3 calls was meant for the previous owner of the phone number. My most common gripe when the phone rang was "who's number is this - ours or his?" Apparently, he was a real scumbag and owed lots of people (some of them not very nice) lots of money (some of them, lots of money). We got calls all hours of the day and night.
Halfway through those first few months, we also started receiving phone calls trying to collect money from a relative who put us down as a reference/contact but didn't tell us (ask us!) first.
Now, for the past 6 or 7 months, we've been getting survey and telemarketer phone calls. I'm thoroughly annoyed. After doing some research to get no call list information, I've put our number both on the national and Texas do not call lists, and we're still getting calls. Hopefully, those'll end soon - I think they're supposed to stop within 3 months.
There's also another breed of calls that also annoy me. It's the random numbers (without names) that call us at random times when we're not home (or when I refuse to answer, because I don't recognize the number). These people don't leave messages. But yet...they call. Sometimes, repeatedly!
I found a web site that's allowed me to alleviate some of my frustration, and wanted to share it with you, dear readers. They offer no call list information, but also give you a way to look up those annoying numbers that are calling you!
Who's Number Is This
I'm a Big Baby!
in:
Advice
Almost a year ago, my husband got Lasik surgery done on his eyes.
This was a tremendous deal for him. The man is more skittish about having people near his eyes than I can even describe.
Oh, but let me try!
He had an eye infection a few months before his Lasik where his tear ducts basically became clogged. For treatment, he had to rub baby shampoo into his eyes to release the oils in his tear ducts, and then use eye drops. He couldn't handle the eye drop part. At all. Now...picture this.
My husband is twice my size. Big tough guy - he's a cop, in fact. But to get the eye drops in, he had to lay down on the bed and I would straddle his shoulders to try to pin them down and then pry open in eye in turn to get in a drop of the medicated liquid.
When you saw the word "straddle", you probably thought "kinky." Trust me, it wasn't!
In any case, the big baby sucked it up and saved his pennies (and got cheap financing on the rest that's almost paid off) and had his surgery done at the end of last July. And he thinks it's the best thing he's ever done.
And then there's me.
Turns out I'm an even bigger baby. Now, I've worn contacts for like 15 years. I even wore hard contacts briefly. I have NO PROBLEM putting in my contacts every morning. Doesn't freak me out at all. Makes my husband want to puke. If I go to the eye doctor, I'm okay with him manipulating my eyes.
But ever since I saw a brochure with a picture of knife-blade Lasik in it years ago, the very thought of the surgery just makes me shudder. And yes, I know that it's all laser-based now. But there used to be a knife!! Near your eye!!! That cut it!!!!
But yet, I still am trying to work myself up to taking the plunge. So in my scattered wanderings throughout the internet, I came across LasikVue. Unfortunately, they're not located here in Texas where I am (they're in the Bay Area of CA) but they had great information on their site.
I was most interested in their write up on Custom Wavefront Lasik, because the described procedure says that it not only corrects your vision to 20/20 but gives more clarity as well. Specifically, it mentions reducing halos - which is my bane in life! I've all but stopped driving after dark unless absolutely necessary because the halos I see around lights just make me feel like I'm out of control. So if there's a procedure that can make that go away, I need to give it some serious thought!
I still have to do some serious thinking before I go through with my own Lasik surgery - and my FSA monies are spoken for this year already anyways - but I think you'll be seeing me come to the decision to have this done sometime in 2009. With the way the technology is progressed, it's almost silly not to!
If any of you are located out in the Bay Area, check out these doctors and their web site!
Lasik in Walnut Creek
This was a tremendous deal for him. The man is more skittish about having people near his eyes than I can even describe.
Oh, but let me try!
He had an eye infection a few months before his Lasik where his tear ducts basically became clogged. For treatment, he had to rub baby shampoo into his eyes to release the oils in his tear ducts, and then use eye drops. He couldn't handle the eye drop part. At all. Now...picture this.
My husband is twice my size. Big tough guy - he's a cop, in fact. But to get the eye drops in, he had to lay down on the bed and I would straddle his shoulders to try to pin them down and then pry open in eye in turn to get in a drop of the medicated liquid.
When you saw the word "straddle", you probably thought "kinky." Trust me, it wasn't!
In any case, the big baby sucked it up and saved his pennies (and got cheap financing on the rest that's almost paid off) and had his surgery done at the end of last July. And he thinks it's the best thing he's ever done.
And then there's me.
Turns out I'm an even bigger baby. Now, I've worn contacts for like 15 years. I even wore hard contacts briefly. I have NO PROBLEM putting in my contacts every morning. Doesn't freak me out at all. Makes my husband want to puke. If I go to the eye doctor, I'm okay with him manipulating my eyes.
But ever since I saw a brochure with a picture of knife-blade Lasik in it years ago, the very thought of the surgery just makes me shudder. And yes, I know that it's all laser-based now. But there used to be a knife!! Near your eye!!! That cut it!!!!
But yet, I still am trying to work myself up to taking the plunge. So in my scattered wanderings throughout the internet, I came across LasikVue. Unfortunately, they're not located here in Texas where I am (they're in the Bay Area of CA) but they had great information on their site.
I was most interested in their write up on Custom Wavefront Lasik, because the described procedure says that it not only corrects your vision to 20/20 but gives more clarity as well. Specifically, it mentions reducing halos - which is my bane in life! I've all but stopped driving after dark unless absolutely necessary because the halos I see around lights just make me feel like I'm out of control. So if there's a procedure that can make that go away, I need to give it some serious thought!
I still have to do some serious thinking before I go through with my own Lasik surgery - and my FSA monies are spoken for this year already anyways - but I think you'll be seeing me come to the decision to have this done sometime in 2009. With the way the technology is progressed, it's almost silly not to!
If any of you are located out in the Bay Area, check out these doctors and their web site!
Lasik in Walnut Creek
Weight Loss Advice from a Skinny Girl
in:
Advice
This is going to seem like an EXTREMELY strange post to follow the one below that talks about buying several hundred pounds of meat. But in my writing circle, the discussion question was posed this week for ideas on weight loss. Here is how I responded:
Well, I'm not exactly your target audience for a discussion on weight loss...my Grave's caused me to lose about 10 pounds in '07, which I'm still trying to regain. But here's the kind of advice I usually give to my girlfriends who are looking to lose weight...apparently, they believe the skinny girl is the authority, and I'm always happy to spout my .02 worth. (My background: I studied weight training and cardio in college - not enough credits to be a minor, but enough to learn quite a bit. On the nutrition side, I've always been a bit fanatical about counting various items like calories and fat grams and such...all in attempts to gain, not lose, weight, but still good knowledge to have and extensive reading under my belt.)
The best way to control weight isn't to enroll in any fancy or expensive programs or follow fanatical diets. The best way is through careful moderation of diet and exercise.
The best kind of exercise for actual weight loss is cardio. Weight training does not equal weight loss - instead, it sheds fat weight in exchange for building muscle weight, which actually means that you could end up gaining weight instead of losing. Muscle weighs more than fat. And while gaining muscle is never a bad thing, it's not the best thing to strive for when you're really just trying to lose a few pounds. It's actually easier to start toning your body after you hit your target weight than before...so concentrate on loss first, tone second.
Now...what kinds of cardio exercises are best? Many magazines give the advice to just walk for 30 minutes per day. In reality, this is bad advice. For cardio to actually burn enough calories for you lose weight, you have to increase your heart rate substantially above it's resting beats per minute. And regularly paced walking just doesn't elevate your heart rate enough to do much good. (See below for faster paced walking and its benefits.) Swimming doesn't do a lot either, unfortunately. Swimming is GREAT for toning, but unless you swim long laps at brisk paces, your heart rate just doesn't increase enough to actually burn pounds very quickly.
So what are good cardio exercises? Stationary bikes work wonders, especially if you're looking for a low-impact exercise. 30 minutes per day at a mid-level range that gets your heart rate up into the ideal cardio zone will do wonders for your waistline. If you're up for higher impact exercise, consider jogging or running on a treadmill. Back in the lower-impact zone is using an elliptical machine. I love my elliptical machine - it was the best purchase I ever made - but unfortunately, my high blood pressure (a symptom of my Grave's) makes it hard for me to use it for very long because of the motion of my arms and that impact on my heart. Aerobics tapes and classes are ok, but honestly won't burn as many calories as dedicated machine usage. The problem with aerobics classes is the downtime between routines - to effectively burn calories, you really need to have a set span of time where your heart rate is consistently elevated. Since aerobics classes have high times mixed with low
times, they aren't as effective as 30 minutes straight on a machine.
Now, on to diet. Low fat is a pretty good myth. Low fat does not equate to weight loss. Neither does no fat. Neither does no protein, no carbs, or any other diet that deprives your food regimen of any major food group or nutrient. The key to a great diet is moderation. Last year, my husband gained quite a few pounds while he was on day shift and as a consequence, ate bigger and more meals consistently. When he went back to night shift, and consequently, smaller meals and usually cutting one meal per day, he lost weight pretty quickly and easily.
Many food products base their serving allowances on a 2000 calorie per day diet. In reality, for the average 5'5" woman who is between 25 and 50 years of age and weighs about 150 pounds, only 1500 calories are really necessary per day to maintain that weight at a fairly sedentary lifestyle. To find out how many calories you need just to maintain your current weight, use this website: http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/bmr.html.
Start a food diet and keep track of what you eat for one week - don't change your habits yet, just keep track. There's lot of great websites that you can look up calories per serving on. I use CalorieKing.com. After that week, look back and evaluate. Need 2000 calories but consuming 2250 and not exercising? You're on track to gain a pound every two weeks.
That's right - one pound equals 3500 calories! So think about that in reverse: need 2000 calories to maintain your current weight - why not cut your portions and intake down to 1750 per day instead? That's a guaranteed way to lose one pound over a two week span of time. Forget cutting certain foods - moderation is more important than deprivation. Even fat is a necessary part of your diet! And moderation doesn't mean you have to cut munchies, either! As long as you take the number of calories in munchies that you want to eat per day and subtract it from other meals, you're fine! It does NOT hurt to eat more often than 2 or 3 times a day - in fact, it can help to keep your metabolism constantly chewing on something.
Of course, one pound in two weeks isn't much. So add your exercise back in. Use a stationary bike for 30 minutes five days per week for two weeks at moderate exertion with the body stats listed above - and you'll burn about 2386 calories. Add in 30 minutes of an elliptical five days per week for two weeks at moderate exertion: about 2454 more calories. Finally, make time to walk around the neighborhood, the park, or wherever, fairly briskly, for 60 minutes per day. What do I mean by brisk? In that 60 minutes, you should walk 3 miles. That's another 2250 calories per two weeks.
Ok, so let's add that up. So the average diet is 2000 calories. You cut it down to 1750. That saves 3500 calories over two weeks. You then add in an additional 7090 or so calories burned through various activities. 7090+3500=3 pounds burned per two weeks.
Still doesn't seem like a lot? Consider that your activity burner may only tell you that you need 1500 calories to maintain, not 2000. So if you've been eating 2000 a day and cut to 1500, that's 7000 calories saved through diet instead of 3500 - an extra pound per two week period.
Four pounds per two weeks isn't really a bad schedule of weight loss - remember that you really do need a minimum of calories to function every day - starvation doesn't equal weight loss either. But if you moderate portions and add in 120 minutes of activity per day, you can lose weight healthily and steadily. Two hours seem like a long time? Buy a book on tape and listen to it while you walk for an hour. Watch your favorite TV show on while biking or using the elliptical - while at the gym or at home. Re-read one of your WIPs while on the bike - biking doesn't take any mental function, so you can can easily re-read and make edits while burning calories.
Want to know the "recommended" weight for your height? Go to this website: http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm.
Want to know how many calories you'll burn per activity? Go here: http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm.
Ok, so say you've lost your targeted amount of weight. Now what? It's time to maintain, maintain, maintain. Gradually move your portions to slightly higher calorie levels. Gradually decrease your cardio. No cold turkey on anything.
Remember that the easiest way to get sidetracked on your targeted weight loss is eating one extra dessert or missing one day of exercise. One day of exercise lost plus one extra dessert per week is 900 calories added back on to your diet. That's 1/4 pound! Perhaps not a big deal if it's only once per two week period, but if it's once a week, that's a half pound you could have lost - but didn't. Twice a week, and you've lost the ability to lose one pound. The time for indulging a bit come when you meet your target weight, not when you're trying to get to it. Then, you have more calories you can play with and more opportunity to cut an exercise or two. Until then...strict is the word.
Hope that helps!!
Tiffany
Well, I'm not exactly your target audience for a discussion on weight loss...my Grave's caused me to lose about 10 pounds in '07, which I'm still trying to regain. But here's the kind of advice I usually give to my girlfriends who are looking to lose weight...apparently, they believe the skinny girl is the authority, and I'm always happy to spout my .02 worth. (My background: I studied weight training and cardio in college - not enough credits to be a minor, but enough to learn quite a bit. On the nutrition side, I've always been a bit fanatical about counting various items like calories and fat grams and such...all in attempts to gain, not lose, weight, but still good knowledge to have and extensive reading under my belt.)
The best way to control weight isn't to enroll in any fancy or expensive programs or follow fanatical diets. The best way is through careful moderation of diet and exercise.
The best kind of exercise for actual weight loss is cardio. Weight training does not equal weight loss - instead, it sheds fat weight in exchange for building muscle weight, which actually means that you could end up gaining weight instead of losing. Muscle weighs more than fat. And while gaining muscle is never a bad thing, it's not the best thing to strive for when you're really just trying to lose a few pounds. It's actually easier to start toning your body after you hit your target weight than before...so concentrate on loss first, tone second.
Now...what kinds of cardio exercises are best? Many magazines give the advice to just walk for 30 minutes per day. In reality, this is bad advice. For cardio to actually burn enough calories for you lose weight, you have to increase your heart rate substantially above it's resting beats per minute. And regularly paced walking just doesn't elevate your heart rate enough to do much good. (See below for faster paced walking and its benefits.) Swimming doesn't do a lot either, unfortunately. Swimming is GREAT for toning, but unless you swim long laps at brisk paces, your heart rate just doesn't increase enough to actually burn pounds very quickly.
So what are good cardio exercises? Stationary bikes work wonders, especially if you're looking for a low-impact exercise. 30 minutes per day at a mid-level range that gets your heart rate up into the ideal cardio zone will do wonders for your waistline. If you're up for higher impact exercise, consider jogging or running on a treadmill. Back in the lower-impact zone is using an elliptical machine. I love my elliptical machine - it was the best purchase I ever made - but unfortunately, my high blood pressure (a symptom of my Grave's) makes it hard for me to use it for very long because of the motion of my arms and that impact on my heart. Aerobics tapes and classes are ok, but honestly won't burn as many calories as dedicated machine usage. The problem with aerobics classes is the downtime between routines - to effectively burn calories, you really need to have a set span of time where your heart rate is consistently elevated. Since aerobics classes have high times mixed with low
times, they aren't as effective as 30 minutes straight on a machine.
Now, on to diet. Low fat is a pretty good myth. Low fat does not equate to weight loss. Neither does no fat. Neither does no protein, no carbs, or any other diet that deprives your food regimen of any major food group or nutrient. The key to a great diet is moderation. Last year, my husband gained quite a few pounds while he was on day shift and as a consequence, ate bigger and more meals consistently. When he went back to night shift, and consequently, smaller meals and usually cutting one meal per day, he lost weight pretty quickly and easily.
Many food products base their serving allowances on a 2000 calorie per day diet. In reality, for the average 5'5" woman who is between 25 and 50 years of age and weighs about 150 pounds, only 1500 calories are really necessary per day to maintain that weight at a fairly sedentary lifestyle. To find out how many calories you need just to maintain your current weight, use this website: http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/bmr.html.
Start a food diet and keep track of what you eat for one week - don't change your habits yet, just keep track. There's lot of great websites that you can look up calories per serving on. I use CalorieKing.com. After that week, look back and evaluate. Need 2000 calories but consuming 2250 and not exercising? You're on track to gain a pound every two weeks.
That's right - one pound equals 3500 calories! So think about that in reverse: need 2000 calories to maintain your current weight - why not cut your portions and intake down to 1750 per day instead? That's a guaranteed way to lose one pound over a two week span of time. Forget cutting certain foods - moderation is more important than deprivation. Even fat is a necessary part of your diet! And moderation doesn't mean you have to cut munchies, either! As long as you take the number of calories in munchies that you want to eat per day and subtract it from other meals, you're fine! It does NOT hurt to eat more often than 2 or 3 times a day - in fact, it can help to keep your metabolism constantly chewing on something.
Of course, one pound in two weeks isn't much. So add your exercise back in. Use a stationary bike for 30 minutes five days per week for two weeks at moderate exertion with the body stats listed above - and you'll burn about 2386 calories. Add in 30 minutes of an elliptical five days per week for two weeks at moderate exertion: about 2454 more calories. Finally, make time to walk around the neighborhood, the park, or wherever, fairly briskly, for 60 minutes per day. What do I mean by brisk? In that 60 minutes, you should walk 3 miles. That's another 2250 calories per two weeks.
Ok, so let's add that up. So the average diet is 2000 calories. You cut it down to 1750. That saves 3500 calories over two weeks. You then add in an additional 7090 or so calories burned through various activities. 7090+3500=3 pounds burned per two weeks.
Still doesn't seem like a lot? Consider that your activity burner may only tell you that you need 1500 calories to maintain, not 2000. So if you've been eating 2000 a day and cut to 1500, that's 7000 calories saved through diet instead of 3500 - an extra pound per two week period.
Four pounds per two weeks isn't really a bad schedule of weight loss - remember that you really do need a minimum of calories to function every day - starvation doesn't equal weight loss either. But if you moderate portions and add in 120 minutes of activity per day, you can lose weight healthily and steadily. Two hours seem like a long time? Buy a book on tape and listen to it while you walk for an hour. Watch your favorite TV show on while biking or using the elliptical - while at the gym or at home. Re-read one of your WIPs while on the bike - biking doesn't take any mental function, so you can can easily re-read and make edits while burning calories.
Want to know the "recommended" weight for your height? Go to this website: http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm.
Want to know how many calories you'll burn per activity? Go here: http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm.
Ok, so say you've lost your targeted amount of weight. Now what? It's time to maintain, maintain, maintain. Gradually move your portions to slightly higher calorie levels. Gradually decrease your cardio. No cold turkey on anything.
Remember that the easiest way to get sidetracked on your targeted weight loss is eating one extra dessert or missing one day of exercise. One day of exercise lost plus one extra dessert per week is 900 calories added back on to your diet. That's 1/4 pound! Perhaps not a big deal if it's only once per two week period, but if it's once a week, that's a half pound you could have lost - but didn't. Twice a week, and you've lost the ability to lose one pound. The time for indulging a bit come when you meet your target weight, not when you're trying to get to it. Then, you have more calories you can play with and more opportunity to cut an exercise or two. Until then...strict is the word.
Hope that helps!!
Tiffany
