A Stumbling Upon

I'm struggling to find the words to create an introduction to the reason for this instant sharing I'm wanting to do with this song. While listening to Pandora, I came across this very song that stopped me in my tracks and it struck a chord within me. I'll be having an actual update soon. One is in the works, and I should have it out by tomorrow. Till, then.

Sea/Space Creatures- Art

   Last week, I finally took some time to sketch. I allowed myself an hour to just come up with something and draw it. I've been in a space mood with all the DS9 I've been watching (going through the whole series on Netflicks.) Here are two pages of sketches I did. I hope to make more time for my art, and in turn, share more with the world. Balancing all my loves is hard, but I'm willing to work on it. Hey, blogging two weeks in a row should show how I'm trying to achieve my goal. ;) 



This was where I first wandered into, aquatic alien territory. o.O
I tried using my imagination a bit, then started thinking about
 all the crazy creatures in the deep. I wanted to incorporate more
of a strange oceanic creature feel to the guy,
so I went to studying the very creatures I wanted to present.
 I still need to finish the guy, but here's where I'm at so far.  



Here are some of my little studies. My favorite has to be the vipor fish on the bottom right. I think when I finish the concept for the space creature, he'll have more characteristics of the realy strange sea slug above the aformentioned fish.



Snow Falling In Longview

As the snow falls gently cascading down to join it's already fallen bretheren, I stand outside absorbing the scene that lays before my eyes. The forecasters said it would arrive around 4pm yesterday. Apparently, the snow wanted to make a glitzy entrance to suprise the sleepy eyes now waking this cold February morning. Here are a few glimpses into what I witnessed a few hours earlier.

Kyle entering work as the snow keeps coming down.

It's hard to see, but it started falling real fast for a bit.

The big fountain on the lake.

Walking about past the pavillion.

The statue of a man playing fetch with his dog.

The iconic remake of an old relic of Longview in times past.

One of my favorite photos of the day.

What happens when one stands in place for too long in the snow!

Reminds me of Odo off DS9. 

Mother nature playing games with us.

A little blurry, but I wanted to show it anyway.

The state flower.

Breakfast time for the birds!!!!

New News for Those Who Love News

"So the science gets done and we make a neat gun for the people who are still alive." Here is a little reference to my last post. If you don't get it,click here. Good song and a great game.  Hey everyone.  Longtime no type, I know.  Even after I promised to write soon, I broke it. It's been a busy one, but it's time for an update and perhaps a little cake.

Since mid-October, I started working for another company called Lifeworks. Lifeworks is all about helping people with developmental disabilities. For more info, click here.  It's totally different from anything I've ever done, but I really enjoy it. After being hired as relief at Lifeworks, I tried working both there and my old job at Burgerville. It was really intense not having a life for the first few weeks. I'd go from one job to the next, then sleep, and get up and do it all over again.

After those initial weeks,  Lifeworks offered me a full time position in which I gladly accepted .  Upon receiving my new schedule from them, I realised I was not able to work both places and said fair well to a job I've worked for over 2 years. Since then, I've not looked back really. I miss my friends at Burgerville, but who says I can't hang out with them now? It's been 2 months, and I can not believe how happy I am doing what I am.  I see this as my career and would like to go back to school to help me improve my abilities in this field.

Since October, I've slowly been losing weight still. I'm down to 215.8lbs. That's a loss of about 12lbs!  Altogether, I've lost over 12inches off my midsection and have about 3 more inches I'd like to see gone! My new goal exercise wise is to focus on doing more weight training so I can put on more muscle while losing the bit of chunk that I still have. I've also started doing this as well when I run. It's helped a lot already and I've been doing it for only a few weeks.

I find a lot of my information on exercise and nutrition for free off websites like Youtube. Here are some of my favorite people so far, Yuri, Scooby (although I think he's a little corny), Scott Herman (again, a little corny, but has great information), and Mode Athletes.  Men's Health has a few good books I personally like also. the Abs Diet, Weight free Workouts, and The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises are all great.

I hope to make more time to blog. I was doing so well for quite some time, but then again, life does happen and we all get busy at times. My reading has suffered as well, but I still do keep a book with me almost all the time to open up now and then. I'm currently finishing up a short tale from J.R.R. Tolkien called, "Leaf by Niggle." Just a few more pages and I'll be done. In my next blog, I'd like to post highlights of my year in photos, so look for that after Christmas. I may blog before then though, we shall see! I'll leave you with this video for now.  The song has been in my head, and it's been a theme in my heart lately as I reflect upon this past year or two.  If you have anything to ask, want to say, or suggest please leave a comment or msg me!

I'm Still Alive!

I've been such a busy person lately that I've not had time to catch everyone up on here.  I know, it's a well worn excuse, but it's true.  I've been so busy with 2 jobs that I've not taken the time for much lately, but I wanted to let everyone know that I will be giving a total update soon on how my life is going.  So, within the next few days I promise to post something of greater substance than what I am posting right now.  Take care and I hope your fall is going great!


Mark

4,536 Hours Later,

In the beginning of April 2010, I would had never thought I would be embarking on a journey that would eventually lead me to start changing so much about my life.  It was on the eve of my 27th birthday that my car died. I blogged about the experience with my car earlier and you can find that blog here.  Facing a gloomy future without a car, the only option available to me at the time was to find an alternative means of transportation to travel back and forth to work.  My choice was utilizing my bike.

After a few weeks of riding 6 miles round trip almost every day, I started noticing that my clothes started fitting better. My situation with the car was still looking bleak, so I decided to start using the situation to my own benefit and began to run and lift weights.  At first, I couldn't do a lot. It took me over 30 minutes to run 2 miles! I stuck with the program and set small goals that I could reach.  I can now run 2 miles in around 21 minutes.

It's been 6 months and I have waited to post a full picture of myself online. I wanted to wait until I felt like I had something to show. I still have a little ways to go, but I'm so glad with what I've accomplished already. Before I started exercising, my weight would fluctuate from 280 to 290lbs. Below, is my before picture. I look at this every morning when I wake up and get ready for my day to remind myself where I started and where I don't want to go back to.

And now, here is a picture of myself today. I've lost over 60lbs and weigh 227lbs!

I know I have a little longer to go, but I'm so happy for what I've achieved so far! I've reached all my initial goals. I'm fitting into sizes of clothing I didn't think was possible for me, I've hit the 220's when I thought a healthy weight may be 230, and my fitness level is far greater than I would have ever thought imaginable. . In the next 6 months, my main goals are to just increase my fitness level and maintain a stable healthy weight. We'll see where I stand in April! 

Along My Deck

Fall is upon us here in the Northwest.  I can tell because it has rained everyday for the past 2 weeks it seems.  Thankfully, the sun did come out a little bit this afternoon so I took the time to look out at my garden on the deck and take a few shots. 

The ever thriving Hens and Chicks.

One of several succulents I rescued from Lowes' clearance section this summer.  I got some great deals! 

A group of local succulents I bought at a yard sale a while back.

Rockspray Cotoneaster. This is one of my favorite plants I own. I've thought about making into a bonsai plant sometime.

My thyme is starting to grow like crazy all over again! The rain has been good for something I guess. Ha!

Dianthus. It always makes me think of mom and how amazed we were that hers flowered through most of a really harsh winter we had. These plants are hardy!  

Another hardy plant,the pansy. It has just finished its round of flowering.

I love this stuff. It's purple sage.

Alyssum smells so good! A true mark of summer for me, but it likes the cool fall weather as well.

My ever-thriving mint.

My tomatoes didn't do so well this year. This lil guy is one of only a handful.

Snapdragon!