Moving, the love hate.

So my wife and I recently moved. We didn't make it to the country but we are slowly creeping back there. One days soon I hope. Anyway, one thing I really love is a change of scenery. I love moving to a new place and taking it in. It's a blast to see and feel new things. I like checking out the local places to eat and it's fun to see how each neighborhood has a different feel to it. But with that being said, there is a dark side to that. Visiting and living and two completely different things. Moving takes so much work you wonder why you even move! We moved over the course of a week. We took our time but it's dragging out even more. I think for me it's all about junk. I hate moving junk. We collect junk along the way but when it comes time to move it it just seems easier to just throw it away. I seriously look at everything I have and all of the crap I've accumulated over the years and it's unbelievable. I'm whittling away at it slowly and have a ways to go still.

I say this because it is a love hate thing. I love moving, seeing the new places and doing the new things, I hate the work that's involved with it. As a country boy I'm used to just making due with what I have. We don't generally have a lot of stuff and a transient lifestyle would be easy. We do tend to settle down in small towns or places we want to call home. How much easier is life when you have a few things that actually mean something to you than a whole bunch of junk? I've learned alot about myself through this move and how I want to be. I want to get rid of the garbage. I want to be able to load up my truck with my few precious items, things that have real importance to me and be able to take off.

Some people say if you have the space fill it. I say if you have the space enjoy it. The less you fill it the happier you will be. You won't spend as much money and you'll have less options which equals less decisions which equals happiness. I'm telling you, moving can tell you alot about yourself. Learn who you are and peel away the crap in your life.

Country nutrition

I got into a discussion with my mother in law the other day about nutrition. First of all I am a firm believer that if you take care of your body it will take care of you. I believe in exercise, good food, and good rest. Every good country boy knows this especially when daily life calls for your best. The question is what's good nutrition? My mother in law has been on this kick of drinking green shakes. She blends kale with fruits and other ingredients... she's kind of a hippie in a way. We got into the organic discussion and she said that she didn't want to take anything into her body that wasn't natural. The pesticides and fertilizers naturally came up a and I made an argument that there is no scientific evidence that the supplements do anything harmful to the plants and crops... she was adamant that I was wrong. I told her it comes down to surviving. She would do the same thing to get a higher yield for her crop if she were the one growing it.

Regardless of that I took a look at my life and what I eat. I think the biggest point that we all need to consider is moderation. You can eat basically whatever you want, just know that the little morsel of chocolate has as many calories as two apples. It comes down to what you are willing to trade. I know that when I'm working hard I need food that has more calories. I really do need the energy. Most country boys burn a lot of calories. This is not an excuse to overeat, but being country boys, we do enjoy some good food. A nice biscuit, some tasty bbq, there is a place for it all. That's the beauty of being a country boy, we have a pallet for good food, we know how to eat it and we also know how to burn it off.

So here's to country boy nutrition. It's important to treat our bodies well, but sometimes it's nice to just let go and get some good viddles!

Fall days = College football

I absolutely love college football, I love the pagentry, the emotions, the plays, and the hype for the year. It happens every time, we come into the season thinking our team has a chance, we really think that. One loss into the season we are salvaging the season by rationalizing that next year will be great because we have so many returning starters and young players. The next week starts the battle all over again, depending on a win or a loss we start talking how this will impact the next season and what it all means.

It's kind of ironic that we always are looking forward to that next season thinking about what may be. In a world that is so big on perfection and getting everything right it's hard not to. There are very few teams and fans that can live in the now. Alabama was and is a now team. Ohio State (for as much as I think they are overrated) is a now team. Boise State, this is it, it's now or never. And maybe Oregon and TCU. The rest of the other 119 Divsion 1-A football teams are all thinking about next year... and what it could be.

You know what though, we love it and we come back for more... just like Kenny Chesney says in his new album Hemingway's Whiskey:


In little towns like mine that's all they got/
Newspaper clippings fill the coffee shops/
The old men will always think they know it all/
Young girls will dream about the boys of fall/

Sometimes it's good to just live in the now and enjoy what it's all about.

In sickness and in health

My dad always said to us growing up that getting sick was a sign of weakness. I still don't know how to take that, on one hand I know you have to power through some things, you know rally a bit. On the other hand there are times when enough is enough. I recently come down with some kind of nastified bug that is really giving me a hard time. I don't know what to make of it. Which leads me to my point, when do you throw in the towel and when do you power through? From personal experience I know in the past that I've always taken the latter approach, really just saying that nothing can touch me and I'll be fine. I drink a lot of water and try to sleep it off while continuing with my normal activities. I would go to the gym, go to work etc... Now that I'm a bit older I see the wisdom in not doing too much. I think the hardest part of it all is wanting to do things but physically not being able to do them. I want to be outside, climbing hills, looking for game, working on the yard. I can't do it, I'm just too sick.

Here is my rule that I follow now. If I'm not feeling well, I sit down and really listen to my body. If I think it's not too serious or I'm just tired I give it a day and try to sleep it off. If it continues I really slow it down, drink a ton of fluids and try to rest as much as possible. The thought on this is that you'll get back to doing the things you love quicker if you take the time to recover. There is no sense in dragging it out and never really being healthy. I didn't take my own advice and came down with what I have now. If I wouldn't have pushed it and really tried to get better I would be in a better place right now.

Country Boys are as tough as nails but sometimes we need to take a step back and not worry about what people think and listen to a smarter source than ourselves (in my case, it's my wife).

Walking away from it all

I guess this is a nastolgic post. I think sometimes about what I really want in life and why I want it. A good friend of mine works as a CFO for a large real estate development group in town. He is very successful, has a beautiful wife and two amazing kids. He has a nice house and travels all the time. But last month he walked away from it all. I have to admire my friend and what he said. He said that he just had enough, he was involved in everything and wanted to have everthing right and didn't trust anyone else to get it that way. He was burnt out at 29, imagine him at 50! He did what he thought he had to, he just walked away from it all. My admiration for him comes from his ability to say enough is enough. The next day he unquit but for him that was all it took, one day just saying enough was enough. He said that by demonstrating to himself that he could just walk away and be okay with it and the sun would rise the next day, was enough. He since then has cut down on the hours, hasn't taken it too serious and even better has dreams of a simpler life. He talks of owning some land, teaching school, farming in the summer and coaching football in the fall. Good for him... as he said to me "what's money anyway at the end of the day?"

I guess we all need to take a look at our lives and be okay with walking away from everything if it gets to be too much. If we're not in positions in our lives' to be able to do that and move to a simpler way of life... well, something needs to change. For me it's going to that country boy lifestyle. Walk away from it all but gain everything.

A country boy's best friend

It's a subject that I could write about forever. Think Marley and me. I came home from work today and my dog was right there, waiting for me with all the love in the world. There are many reasons why a dog is a country boy's best friend. I like to think that we both suffer from many of the same things. We don't like fences or borders, we roam and when we are on leash we become bored and start looking for the end of the walk. We are both fiercly loyal and are quick to accept someone new but never forget when you've hurt us or disrespected us. We both look forward to exploring and figuring things out but sometimes just know that if someone says it's bad at least we listen for a minute. We'll eat just about anything. We both love the outdoors and can't wait to chase after a big buck. We just want to please the ones we love. I think the biggest things that we have in common is we really do just live life and take it one day at a time. It's no wonder that we love each other so much and are best friends.

Hats off to Jimmie Johnson and NASCAR

#48 Took home the checkered flag on Sunday in Dover. Jimmie my boy won! Honestly, I'm not a big NASCAR fan but I challenge you to tell me what NASCAR stands for....? Stumped? I saw a special on Appalachian Americans and NASCAR was a big thing about it. It stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Basically back in the days of Prohibition some rowdy country boys that were transporting bootlegged moonshine souped up their cars and made them untouchable from the police. They were faster and responded better. Ultimately they were great drivers and passed other cars along the way down country roads. This lead to races being established between the best drivers and finally a true governing body was formed. So you can see how this sport has some deep roots in the country. Country boys have been driving fast and running from the law for a long time. Think the Dukes of Hazard but real. So on this day when Jimmie Johnson won, I thought I'd throw something out there that many country boys love.