Charging Elephant Blog

I recently changed the name of this blog from pickleshealth to charging elephant blog, and really nothing else changed but the name. I created a podcast that can be found on iTunes and on anchor.fm - I want to be open and real, and raw on my brutal journey to losing weight. This blog will be the foundation of the podcast and provide behind the scenes to speak to challenges, and the highs of eating a better lifestyle. At this time the plan was to start on June 1st and start eating and living a clean eating lifestyle, search for a life or health coach and a program that I can stay on the rest of my life. However the title to this might give you the sad reality that something went way bad. I had wanted to have this thing, this goal to work towards of loosing weight and the news of having a child was just what the doctor ordered. This would give me the "umph" I need and the WHY to my sail. I supposed doing it for pure health reasons was just not enough. Let me tell you that the...

Well as you can see we have a little one on week 7 here and today we heard it's heart beat for the first time. It was so epic!!! The long road to this monumental day has been one I will never forget, but just in case I have put it down in this blog (hopefully they have blogs in the future when this kid's 16) Linda and I have been going down a hopeless road for the past 14 years wondering if or when we might have a child in our own. Of course the road started way back when we got married and during all the crazy things we have been through we have stuck it out in the hardest of times. Ramen diners, endless phone jobs, wondering where rent will come from and what is going to happen if we can not make the car payment... type of fears. I recently came across a country song titled "We were legends" by Kelsea Ballerini and it is a song that hold certain meanings to us. https://youtu.be/nGa2-kOW810   ... Linda and I have been warriors through it all. It seems just li...

Thanks goodness for those days it is cold, grey and not green and blue. Wait, what... yeah that means you can find me at the pool working out indoors!!! (But seriously, can it be Spring already?) In my last post I stated that we were going to get a gym membership, and I can happily report that we have gone almost every night these past couple of weeks or so. You can see in the image that there is the lanes for those that want to do laps and Linda and I have been doing about 8 laps or so and then they have water aerobics with this fun lady and it has been great! I really have to watch my knees and joints so that I do not damage them more until I get to a healthier weight. So swimming is awesome!! The place we go is about 2 or 3 blocks away from our apartment and it comes with classes, gym, running laps, pool, and all the usual stuff. At the first I was getting so tired and bogged down after we went swimming that I would fall right to sleep. I have noticed that my back is not hurting...

I realized that it has been since September that I have kept up with this blog. From Sept. until now it really has been a fast paced, life changing and very challenging blur. We hit some health issues, some time schedule issues and travel issues. Having one car has made our crazy lives even crazier. I suppose the last thing that I remember around that time is I got sick a lot with MRSA and was dealing with Comcast and trying not to get fired with the little bit I could be there. I remember they sent me home with the fear of God when they found out what MRSA is. I got to go back to work for a little while but the points were adding up fast and trying to work out with HR and filing crazy reports to keep it alive was getting more and more challenging. I do not want to go to much in detail over these long few months, however I really want to touch base on some highlights and lows for you the reader. I left Comcast and was given the option to work part time as contractor for Vutilit...

This will be a quick catch up for all you that follow this blog and sorry for the delay. I was able to hike a huge mountain, and then to saying goodbye at Comcast. I am on a new journey of working on many projects. Some days I wonder if I am doing too much. I currently work as a contracted freelance designer for a Tech Start up and they have stretched my abilities tons and have helped build my confidence that I still have the chops to design in today's tech world climate, doing key presentation graphics and brand management helping the sales team reach out to potential clients, investors on million dollar deals. As for my health and where things stand. We are not following a strict guideline of food regimented. We are on a new discovery path that basically involves more exercise less carbs, and better grocery items and snack ideas. I am maintaining at around 377 and I walk most every day and swim at our pool almost 5 days a week. With one car and my crazy freelance business, ho...

Last entry was on July 2nd and there has been so much that July has brought and so much that has taken away. It has been filled with the joy of watching fireworks, getting out into nature and overcoming hardships both physical, emotional and spiritual. I get word back from Linda that there are some or a lot of you that read this and I am deeply thankful. My sincerest hope is that you find something that can help you in your life as you read about mine. Linda lost her sweet Wanna Mae and as you might or might no know, Linda is my Linda Mae as they share the same purposeful middle name. I would say that a few weeks or so went by and one of my co-workers passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. It was one of the hardest work weeks of my call center career. I sat by him for nearly 7 months or so. He was a fun, caring person. His dedication to Comcast was very impressive. Even in a company that is all dress down he still came dressed nice. Derrick Hall it was a pleasure to have known you. ...

You know that time when you look in the mirror and say to yourself - "Let's do this!" that is what Linda and are doing. We might not say it in the mirror and on rare occasions say it out loud, but we are pushing ourselves for greatness daily. It is a battle, it is a real struggle. We are human, we have weaknesses and yes we eat chocolate when we get overwhelmed. It is the bigger picture, it is something thanks to Darren Hardy has educated me on and I thank him for his book and the chance to have met him. He wrote a book called "The Compound Effect" and in this book it is all about the long term and all the tiny small steps that lead us to greatness. Everybody wants to have the quick fix and instant fame. We took on a 12 week program and in this program we learned a lot. We have adapted new recipe's and a new lifestyle. The program is over, although we still do have some appointments we need to finish with the Doctor and it has been a great journey...