Word on the Street

Five pounds in seven days!

jmccullor — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 03:52:09 +0000

So the journey begins! I took some advice from a friend who’s on the South Beach Diet and is doing very well on it. I think she’s lost 22 pounds so far.

How did I do it you ask? I stopped eating crap. I took out a lot of carbohydrate-rich foods. Goodbye pop, salty snacks, pasta and cereal. I now changed to eating loads of chicken, beef, green leafy lettuce and drinking almost a gallon of water a day.

After changing things up the hardest part to keep going is not snacking. But my pants fit better and that’s made it worth it so far. Oh, one thing worth mentioning is that I haven’t exercised one bit. I plan on doing that once I take off 15.

I’ll report on my progress again next week!

Jeff’s Weight Loss Challenge!

jmccullor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:52:34 +0000

Okay so here’s the deal: I feel fat.

My pants fit oddly, stuff jiggles when I drive over bumps and I’m just generally dissatisfied with my appearance, despite the sweet beard. I think its time to focus on losing some of this extra baggage that I’m carrying around.

I had a rude awakening in December when I talked with a Coastuard recruiter (a whole other story) and he calculated my Body Mass Index, or BMI, for me. Given my age and height I need to lose 20 pounds to even qualify for training. On the BMI scale I’m currently listed as overweight. So, that was definitely my wakeup call.

Here’s the plan – lose one pound per week until I hit the big two-zero. It seems pretty simple right? Ha! I tried this before in a contest with a coworker, lost 11 pounds then promptly gained it right back.

The starting point is 222 pounds. Hopefully in a few months, maybe sooner I’ll be near 200. Its time to become best friends with vegetables!

Post from the Blackberry – Here Goes Nothing

jmccullor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:08:31 +0000

Hello from my blackberry.

This is kind of a test post for me since I’ve never blogged from my crackberry. Its also further reinforcement that mobile is becoming more mainstream than ever. What can’t I do from my phone now? (iPhone users can shut it)

It will be interesting to see how 2010 plays out in mobile-land…and how much stronger my QWERTY thumbs will be by December. I read today that facebook’s massive growth is due in large part to mobile app downloads, that will soon surpass non-mobile users.

So, with my thumbs already a tad sore, adios.

Jeff

Give Daffodils. Give Hope.

jmccullor — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:48:57 +0000

This year I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days campaign. This event is giant fundraiser for the ACS and I was asked to be the online chairperson for the Erie chapter. This involves the management of the event Web site, social media management, e-mail marketing and earning donations through each channel.

With some close family and friends affected by cancer, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to raise money and awareness.

Here’s how you can help:

Donate!
Volunteer!

You can stay in touch with Erie’s Daffodil Days campaign through these types of media:

Our Facebook Group
Follow us on Twitter
See our photos on Flickr

Again, it’s a fantastic cause and definitely worth the couple bucks if you can swing it. Our goal is definitely attainable despite the economic woes of 2009. Give hope. Give daffodils.

Jeff

Blog Recommendation: Young House Love

jmccullor — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:15:06 +0000

http://www.younghouselove.com.

I’ve been following this couple blog about their home improvement adventures for about six months now. I’ve scored some pretty good improvement ideas for my own house too. If you’re into DIY improvement or just want some design ideas for any room, read this blog.

They know what they’re doing too, something always good to hear as a fellow DIYer. Watch their home transform before your eyes here: http://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/. I’m only going to steal SOME of their ideas for my own home.

Turkey brings us all together

jmccullor — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Thanksgiving was awesome, as always. This was the first major holiday without my grandmother, who passed earlier this year. We all gave thanks for our health and the closeness of our family. Grandma’s passing allowed distant parts of my fam to get back together, healing a rift that had existed for almost ten years. My family is now four people larger (seven if you count pets) and happier than ever.

Today is Black Friday, so we all stay away from the retailers to avoid post turkey stress disorder. We all stuffed ourselves pretty well last night with some fantastic turkey that took seven hours to cook and all the normal accompaniments. Next year I’m aiming to cook one of these bad boys:

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Erie government reps listen…and call back

jmccullor — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:36:59 +0000

As Pennsylvanians, we all know about the Pennsylvania state budget impasse. In fact you probably have a friend, family member or neighbor that’s been directly affected by it in some way. Some families are looking to tighten their belts even more in these dangerous economic times.

My wife will soon be affected if there is no resolution in Harrisburg soon. Her agency is funded by state dollars that will stop flowing shortly. At the urging of one of her co-workers, she wrote letters to her government representatives in Harrisburg. Don’t you remember writing a letter to your Congressman or to the President when you were in elementary school? Don’t you also remember not getting a response back? (maybe it was just me)

We were both shocked when House Representative John Hornaman called my wife directly. He said he was working as hard as he could to get the situation resolved and he very much appreciated reading her feedback regarding the whole issue.

Government officials DO listen!

I know we’re not the only ones that are hoping for a speedy decision. I feel if the state government was filled with John Hornamans, we wouldn’t be in this spot in the first place.

A Trip By the Numbers

jmccullor — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:09:19 +0000

Last week my wife and I took a trip to Virginia to visit friends and family.

1. Traveled through four states
2. Traveled through 14 construction zones
3. Traveled a total 645 miles in three days
4. Traveled a total of 12 hours in three days
5. Spent $52.00 on gas
6. Watched five movies
7. Saw zero police cars!

I always enjoy visiting people down near Washington, D.C. and it seems that more and more people are moving down there that are close to us. We’ll be visiting a lot more frequently in the future but I probably won’t be keeping track of things like above. It’s a lot easier to just get in the car and go.

Master Plan

jmccullor — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:32:43 +0000

Take a look at my Flickr gallery (flickr.com/jmccullor) and you’ll see my backyard transformation from plain grass and weeds to a completed patio. Outdoor home improvements have been on my project list for quite a while and I finally had the spare cash and motivation to get some things crossed off the list.

Next on the list is to plant some native grasses I bought from the Tom Ridge Environmental Center and fill in around the patio edges. I don’t think I’m going to purchase any annuals this year except for some hanging baskets. Annuals are a waste of money in my opinion, and if you plan your perennial gardens well enough you won’t need to buy any flowering plants at all. Easier said than done I know!

Six Months

jmccullor — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:50:33 +0000

It’s been SIX months since I’ve written anything by golly. What in the world has happened since then? Here’s some ten:

1. Twilight took over the world.
2. Britain has talent apparently.
3. Yes We Did.
4. King James dethroned.
5. T.O. joins my team.
6. Another Terminator movie.
7. Star Trek was reborn…and is fantastic.
8. YouTube became the #2 search engine in the U.S.
9. Every other word I read is ‘Twitter’.
10. Giant newspapers are chopped.

If you had a time machine, which one would you remove or add to the list? I’d definitely watch this all the time: