RagamuffinTop Challenge week 14

This week was a pretty normal week.  Thursday night, I think I ate my weight in chips and salsa (with also a little wueso queso), so I was weak there.  But everything else was pretty good.  On to the weigh-in:

So I lost .6 pounds.  Hey, a loss is a loss.  I’m only 3.4 away from my goal, I will try and knock that out his week.

  • Starting weight: 289.0
  • Last’s week’s weight: 263.0
  • Today’s weigh-in weight:  262.4
  • Today’s weight loss/gain: -.6 pounds
  • TOTAL +/-: -26.6 pounds

Remember, if you want to take part in the RagamuffinTop Challenge, go here to read all about the details.  Basically, you set a goal and post the results weekly.  The best part is that the entire world is your accountability partner!

God Bless the Child

Something about this song just makes me “reflect”.  I know that sounds weird, but give it a listen. (Press the play button next to the link below):

God Bless the Child (by Michelle Featherstone)

God bless the child
Who can find the way home
God bless the child
Who is weary in soul
Oh, beware to take care of yourself
Or you’ll lack the strength to help somebody else

God bless the child
Who is broken and bruised
God bless the child
Who just wants to be good
Oh, beware to take care of yourself
Or you’ll lack the strength to help somebody else

So take care
So take care
Of yourself

Oh, beware to take care of yourself
Or you’ll lack the strength to help somebody else
So take care, take care
Of yourself

A great way to get out of a boring meeting

…or a bad date!

There is a website called Get Me Out of Here that will call you at a specified time and give you an “out” to whatever scenario you are in at the time.  You give it the date and time, your phone number, and then you choose from a list of different conversations you can have.

When I tested it, I did the “Burglar alarm” call.  When you answer the phone, it tells you what to say to make it sound authentic.  There are several options, but if you have a meeting coming up, this might be a great way to escape the clutches of boredom.

Get Me Out of Here!

Guilty Pleasures – Movies That Make Me Cry (every time)

I admit it, when it comes to movies, I am a bit of a softy at times.  Below are 5 movies that no matter how many times I watch them, the will bring tears to my eyes.  Maybe not a full-blown “cry, but at least watery eyes.  A word of warning, some of these will contain some spoilers, but I will try and keep them to a minimum.

In no particular order, here we go:

John Q

Denzel Washington plays a dad who holds the emergency room of a hospital hostage because his son needs a new heart.  The only thing is, they don’t have insurance, so his son is at the bottom of the list for a donor.  Denzel decides to take his own life so his son can have his heart.  There are a lot of spiritual overtones here, but what really gets me is the scene right before Denzel tries to go through with it.  He is sitting in the ER right next to his son, and he is telling him some last-minute fatherly advice.  He mentions not to cuss to much, and to always be a gentlemen to females (among other tidbits).

I think it’s the fact that he is willing to give up his life for his son, and how he is spending his last minutes on earth giving his son advice that he will carry with him for the rest of his life, and telling him that he loves him, that brings me to tears.  That’s love!  Make sure you see the movie if you haven’t to see what happens…

Lion King

The scene where Mufasa dies.  Right after it, Simba cuddles up under his daddy’s paw, not knowing he’s dead.  Heartbreaking.  I haven’t seen this movie in several years, but I have a feeling the effect would be the same now!

Passion of the Christ

I don’t think this one needs too much explanation, but the scene in particular is where Jesus is getting whipped with the Cat of Nine Tails, and his mother is right there, watching in horror.  That was for us, folks.

City of Angels

Nicholas Cage is an angel who falls in love with a human, and the only way he can be with her is for himself to become human.  As soon as he makes the sacrifice, she ends up getting killed, and it absolutely destroys him.  We humans will do quite a bit for love, and it is heartbreaking when it ends like that.  As soon as he is able to feel pain, he feels the worse kind.

Signs

This isn’t a sad movie, but the part at the end where you realize why everything happened always chokes me up: Why Merril was told to “swing away” by his dying mom.  Why the little girl left water everywhere.  And finally,why the younger son had asthma.  All of it comes together at the end, and Mel Gibson’s character regains his faith because of all of it.  Everything happens for a reason, despite how odd and sometimes painful it can be.

So there you have it.  5 movies that, for some reason or another, can make me choke up no matter how many times I see it.

Anyone else care to share their choices?

RagamuffinTop Challenge week 13

This week started off a little slow since I was coming off of a heel injury, but overall, it was a pretty healthy week.  And, I think the results show that!

  • Starting weight: 289.0
  • Last’s week’s weight: 268.0
  • Today’s weigh-in weight:  263.0
  • Today’s weight loss/gain: -5  pounds!
  • TOTAL +/-: -26 pounds

Remember, if you want to take part in the RagamuffinTop Challenge, go here to read all about the details.  Basically, you set a goal and post the results weekly.  The best part is that the entire world is your accountability partner!

Possibly the grossest story you will read today

Are you sure you want to read it?  Ok, you’ve been warned:

Man Sues Chicago Seafood Restaurant for Giving Him 9-Foot Tapeworm

CHICAGO — A man who contends he got a 9-foot tapeworm after eating undercooked fish is suing a Chicago restaurant.

In a lawsuit filed Monday, Anthony Franz says he ordered salmon salad for lunch from Shaw’s Crab House in 2006 and fell violently ill. He later passed the giant parasite, which a pathologist determined came from undercooked fish, such as salmon.

Franz’s lawsuit seeks $100,000 from Shaw’s and its parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.

Franz claims the restaurant’s staff was negligent in serving him improperly cooked fish.

But Carrol Symank, president of food safety for Lettuce Entertain You, says the tapeworm didn’t come from Shaw’s Crab House.

“We have done a thorough investigation and we’re confident the restaurant is not the source,” he said.

According to the Web site mayoclinic.com, tapeworms can measure up to 50 feet long.

Now I don’t know about you, but the thought of “passing” anything 9 feet long is a little upsetting.

Fox News (via my friend Paul)