Diy wrist warmers

I have always enjoyed diy projects. I have only recently learned how to sew, which uses still have a long way to go. I have made a few small projects like a razor travel case for my Gillette tech double edge razor and a water bottle carrier for a nalgene bottle.

Tonight's project was a pair of wrist warmers for colder weather. Something to bridge the gap between the long sleeves of a shirt and jacket and the cuff of a pair of gloves. It was also a good project to recycle a pair of old worn out military socks I had from the time I was in army.

I cut the socks right above the ankle area leaving the leg and cuff part of the sock, the rest won't be used. I then hemmed the freshly cut sock with a blanket stitch. For the thumb hole I measured about 1" from the hemmed edge and made a 1.5" cut along the length of the sock following one of the ribs. I hemmed the opening edges and reinforced the two ends of the cut to prevent it from ripping open.

The wrist warmers fit great, I had to redo one of the thumb holes, it was too small and was cutting off circulation to my thumb. Now I have one more piece of gear to take with me when camping out in cold weather or just working around the house.

Workout videos

Ever watched a preview of a workout video set that makes you actually want to try it? I have watched the P90X and was reminded of my time in basic training doing every morning PT. I looks great but one thing I notice is the lack of build up in the beginning of the exercise set. Do they really think that people that are 30 - 40 pounds overweight are able to just jump right it and keep up with what they are doing in the videos? People are going to get frustrated and give up. Tonight I watched a inspirational video about a Gulf war veteran Arthur Boorman. This gentleman had back and knee injures from his time in his service. He was overweight barely able to walk and had given up. Arthur was introduced to DDP Yoga a very low impact workout regiment and stuck too it. Arthur began to loose the weight, he began to gain mobility, by the end of the video after being told he may never walk again, they show Arthur running near the end of the video, he lost 140lbs in less than a year. Arthur's story has really motivated me to start trying to get back into shape. Will be looking more into DDP Yoga, for now I have to save my money, already spent way too much this month.

 

Today marks the second day of my vitamins, noticed a odd taste from them, I ate two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the same time I took my vitamins, about a half a hour later I had a taste of mustard in my mouth, not sure what was the cause, might try taking the various pills throughout the day and see which one was the cause for the odd taste. I actually got out this evening and walked three miles at the local college track. I managed to hurt something on the top of my foot at the ankle, which is tender at the moment. Been having several problems with pain in my ankles and feet. Seems like at least once every two weeks I have a pain here or a strain there. Hopefully my body will get use to build up of more physical activities.

Vitamins and weight loss

So with trying to get back into shape I wandered into GNC today looking for a multi-vitamin that will help get me back towards a healthier state of being. I have mentioned that I have always had a hard time remembering to take my vitamins or any sort of medicines. But now I roughly have 8 various vitamins that come in the Mega Man whole body vitapak box. Guy at the store was really helpful, and tried to find me the best package to suit my needs. I have never tried a vitapak before and the idea of putting that many pills in my body at once still concerns me.

I also picked up Hydroxycut Sk-7 to help start losing weight. With the up coming backpacking trip I rather have the weight on my back instead of my stomach. Also will be starting a exercise regiment of jogging/running two times a week and a weighted pack road march. I'm also going to go with a coworker to the gym hopefully once a week to work out. But that will be determined on if both of us working similar schedules. Currently my goal is to be 190lbs by the time I leave for my trip. that's a total of 37lbs that I need to shed, yes a very high set goal, but I need to optimistic about this right?

The new Doctor

All summer I have had debates with friends on if Peter Capaldi was going to be a good replacement for the new doctor on Doctor Who. Saturday we all got our answer, although I had to wait till today due to me having to work Saturday, thank goodness for DVR. 

He isn't Matt Smith or David Tennant, which is the foundation of my friends argument, yes he isn't the young heart throb that has brought out the hordes of fan girls drooling over the doctor. They even tapped on the forth wall on that subject in the season premier.  Yes it was a cheap marketing idea to place a dashing young man to make millions of young girls tune in to a legendary scifi TV show. No Peter has a different element to him. He is quirky, reminds me of Doc Brown from Back to the Future, his a hint of mad scientist in him. 

Whether or not Peter Capaldi will be staying long as the Doctor, he has brought a fresh breath to the show, which we all knew it needed.

Backpacking kitchen

It has always been a struggle for me to take the right amount of gear for cooking and eating when I go camping or backpacking. I haven't made the step into ultralight backpacking so most of the gear I do bring will make those cringe at the sight of pile of gear that I have at my disposal. I have down sized a lot of my gear and have went to lighter options with other pieces. My current setup includes:

• A Trangia alcohol stove clone made by Esbit, the stove came from the 985ml cook set.
• Evernew titanium alcohol stove pot stand.
• Toaks 750ml titanium pot.
• Sea to Summit titanium long handle spoon.
• Sea to Summit delta mug.
• Sea to Summit x bowl.
• GSI ultralight salt and pepper shaker.
• GSI compact scraper.
• Vargo 8oz fuel bottle.
• Fire steel.
• Pot grabber.

And even though they are just part of my hydration system, two 32oz Nalgene wide mouth bottles, one with a Humangear cap cap. I also have two 16oz narrow mouth bottles and one 14oz wide mouth bottle that has a neoprene bottle cozy but will be only taking the two 32oz and one 14oz to keep the weight down and because of the expected cold temperatures. The 32oz will ride in a condor insulated bottle pouch mounted either side of the bag and the 14oz bottle will be in smaller pouch on my hip belt.

I also have a GSI stainless steel glacier cup and an Kupilka 21 cup but have decided to rotate them out for the other gear, no need in redundancy and extra weight.

For the upcoming trip I have decided to try freezer bag cooking even though I may end up just dumping everything into the Sea to Summit x bowl instead of trying to eat out of the bag. I just recently picked up Freezer Bag Cooking by Sarah Svien Kirkconnell, already found several ideas that I want to try. Never tried making my own meals just relied on mountain house freeze dried food and MRE's. This decision is a result of trying to save weight, cost and trying to eat healthier.

New season Doctor Who

Little excited to see the new season of Doctor Who starting this Saturday. Although I probably will end up having to work, will be making sure the DVR is set and ready to record the show for my watching pleasure at a later date and time. Been recently having problems with the BBC channel to come in on my cable, had to end up calling them to and fix whatever is preventing me from to watch that channel plus a few others. Hopefully everything will be fixed in time.

Future backpacking trip

Been absent for awhile now, I knew I would lose interest in this blogging idea before too long. Have been pretty busy with work, barely even to get simple chores done around the house. This translates to I'm lazy and don't have enough interest in recording my daily doings for strangers to read and analyze.

So yeah we been busy at work and I recently been eligible to take a vacation. Unlike most people I don't want to waste my vacation time sweltering in the heat being miserable with whatever I decide to do. Instead I decided once it cools off this fall I will dust off my backpacking gear and head up to one of the many state parks that Arkansas had to offer. Several years ago while sitting in a office somewhere in a desert in a far away land, I made plans to explore Devils Den state park once I returned home. That trip never happened. It has been over six years since I made those plans and really it's time to just go.

I'm planning to hike the Butterfield Hiking Trail sometime this fall as the weather begins to cool. I'm also planning to do some geocaching while there. Now it has been a long time since I done that much hiking so the next couple months leading up to my trip I'm going to have to get back into shape or at least attempt to. Mainly reconditioning my legs and back to handle the load of a backpack and rough terrain of the trail.

I have been taking inventory over all the gear I own and have made several changes to my load out for the trip. Trying to reduce my pack weight without reducing my bank account has been difficult. Most of my gear has been current military surplus, which make great gear that is bomb proof but sucks in the heavy and bulky department. There is also a lot of gear I have been missing like a pair of decent hiking shoes and proper socks.