A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Can of Corn 1 – Play Ball!

The two words that baseball fans clamor for as the spring nears. 

Those words that many professional teams select a kid or two to say before the start of a game. 

The words an umpire will often say before the first pitch. 

Just two words that mean so much at a baseball game. 

Can of Corn Challenge logo

“Play ball!” 

And just like that, it’s time once again for the Can of Corn Challenge, after taking a two-year hiatus. Enough of that, though as you can read about the challenge, how to get involved, and all the themes by checking out the original post.

Before I get into the main part of this post, though, let me explain the name of the challenge as a few people have asked me. Can of corn is a term used in baseball for an easy/routine pop up/fly out. As the story goes, the term came about in the early 19th century because clerks at grocery/general stores used sticks to hook canned goods off higher shelves, and then use their aprons to catch the can – somewhat like a fly ball.  

Anyway, on to the post.

For me, the season is upon us. And for those who know me, you know I’m a baseball junkie. It’s gotten worse the past two summers after I gave up playing softball. That gave me, to a point, more time for games. 

To me, baseball is the perfect sport. Though it can run long at times, it’s a well-paced game with a lot going on. There’s a lot of thought and a lot of action, though it’s not going 100 miles an hour the whole time. 

I’m also a bit of a baseball nerd. At games, I keep a scorebook. I watch and try and dissect things that are going on. I question decisions and think about what I would want to do in situations. 

Overall, it’s a wonderful experience for me. 

I know many people who think differently. They can’t understand why I’d want to spend time at a baseball game. And that’s fine – fair and legit at that – but I always say it’s my peaceful place. 

Baseball isn’t just a game to me. It’s the whole experience. When I watch, it’s easy to just drift off into the game and not think about everything else going on in the world or my life. 

And I like that. 

For 2-3 hours, I can disappear into the stands and just watch. Or grab a hot dog and just bask in the day. 

I mostly attend minor league games, though I am still on my quest to see all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. Minor league baseball, in my eyes, still has some purity. That’s something missing at the majors (see the latest Astros junk going on), though the trickle-down effect likely will be there. 

The powers that be at MLB have worked to change the game a bit over the past few years and I’m not a fan of much of it. 

Baseball isn’t a game made for television. It’s made to be in-person, or on the radio. There are nuances about the game that aren’t easily brushed aside, as much as the powers at MLB would like to think so. While I do agree with several of the changes (fewer mound visits, instant replay), there are some that boggle my mind. Not having to throw for an intentional walk, for example, That takes away some strategy. 

And automated balls and strikes being talked about. Really? I have a better idea – what about making the umpires be accountable if they are garbage? If a player fails, they get sent to the minors. It should be the same for umpires. If you stink, down you go and somebody from the minors can come up and try and show they are better. 

Baseball has survived time. And it’s done so without some of these idiotic changes being proposed. 

Leave the game alone and let it evolve naturally. 

And while you’re at it, play ball!

Can of Corn Challenge 1: Play Ball! linkup

The Can of Corn Challenge is a monthly blogging challenge that runs from February-October. You can see all information, as well as themes for 2020 by visiting this blog post. Feel free to join us for any and all themes! The linkup will remain live each month for about seven days.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Walking with a purpose: Looking back at 2019

As I continue to try and get my health on track, one thing I have done way more of is walking. This is something most medical people stress people should do as it’s one of the easiest forms of exercise. 

And I’ve been doing it more for a while. 

Of course, just because you walk isn’t a foolproof way to get your health back on track. You still have to eat better and watch all other aspects in your life. But walking, by and large, is something we can all do more of. 

Me included. 

This feature, which I mentioned doing a few months ago, will be a monthly log about walking in life. I plan to do this monthly, and it will cover a lot of different things – be it just about walking or about other aspects (apps, technology, shoes, random observations/stories etc.), but more or less a way to talk about walking and how beneficial it has been for me. 

For this first one, however, I’d like to cover 2019. This was the year where I really started to push more at walking. And even though I didn’t do as much as I hoped (there were a few drop off times), I think I stayed pretty focused, especially toward the end of the year. 

It was also the year where I started tracking things when it came to walking, such as a Google spreadsheet to keep track of my miles and different walks. 

Also, as part of my Day Zero Project, I wanted to get 10 million steps over those 1,001 days. I tend to track a bunch of other things as well, though they don’t always work out in a way that makes sense. 

Midway through 2019, I also swapped out my Fitbit for an Apple Watch. I’m glad I made this switch and I will eventually have a post about this and the reasons I switched and stuck it out. 

Anyway … 

In 2019, I logged 1,808.93 miles. Now, take into account, this is everyday life. So this is any dedicated walks, work, travel – any time I am walking. That came down to 4,028,006 steps. That’s a pretty good start to my 10 million goal, I’d say. 

That being said, the year was up and down. My best months were March (171.37 miles) and April  (380,000 steps) in regard to steps and mileage. From there, it started to go down a bit. The lowest point came in October (298,795 steps), though September had been my fourth-best month of the year in regard to steps. The mileage, overall, took a dip when I switched from the Fitbit to the Apple Watch, which I am not sure if it’s because I never got it calibrated right, or if it was because of how I was using it. I think I finally have it set right, and this is a topic I’ll cover down the road. 

All of this is in correlation with my diabetes battle and watching my numbers go all over the place. Up and up, before I finally started paying attention to get them to come down. October wasn’t a good month and I knew it – so November and December were vastly improved when it came to steps. 

I also kept track of my actual walks. These are the ones where I go out with the specific reason to walk or do something in an exercise vantage point – ie hiking, or even shoveling snow. Though a side note, I figured a better way to track exercise such as shoveling snow, so in late 2019 and 2020 so far, they are not registered as walks anymore. 

All in all, I logged 414 walks in 2019, which came out to 824.81 miles. My best month for walks came in January (44) and November (41), which the top mileage coming in September (79.67), March (76.63), and April (76.16). 

So far, in 2020, I’m really pushing myself and am averaging easily two walks per day as I am doing my best to get in a walk in the morning and at night. Those morning ones can be pretty tough at times!

That all in mind, I’ve pushed. And it’s not even February 20th yet, and I’ve already logged nearly 35 walks for the month. If I don’t falter, this month will easily be my best since I started tracking what I am doing with myself. 

I can dig that. 

And when I tackle the Apple Watch in the future, I’ll get way more in-depth about closing the rings and earning badges, but I’d be lying if I said that hasn’t helped me. They are small things, but they motivate. And any type of motivation is good if it gets you out walking and such. There are a few apps, too, that I’ve been using that help me along the way. One of them (Relive), I need to use more, especially in conjunction with some blog posts. 

In 2019, I also took part in my first real 5K. Though I walked it (which, I found out, a lot of people do), I was pretty stoked with myself in doing that. My goal is by the end of 2020 to actually run a 5K, if I can get my feet feeling better (more on that in the future, too) and get myself into the kind of shape where I can at least jog a 5K in the 40 minute range, On a good pace, I can do a 5K in about 50-52 minutes when walking. There’s no reason to think I can’t shave 10-12 minutes or more off that if I’m actually jogging/running. I am actually signed up for two 5Ks in Philadelphia – the Phillies one in March (which I did last year and walkers were aplenty), and the Rocky Run in November (which I will need to run as they have certain time criteria). 

Goal set and I am focused. 

When all came to an end in 2019, I learned a lot. Mainly, I learned about myself and what I was trying to do. Reality is, I haven’t always been the most healthy. Hell, I’m still not. But I’m doing everything I can to move more and to become a better me. I’m trying to do more things that get me moving. This year, my hope is to ride my bike more and get out and kayak. 

Hopefully by the time I do a post like this next year, I’ll have even better results and different aspects to cover. 

How about any of you reading? Are you big walkers? Something more? Or what kinds of things do you do for exercise? I’m always looking to expand!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Podcast review: Overview

I’ve gotten into podcasts quite heavily as of late. 

Over the past several months as I’ve started walking more and trying to get the health under control, podcasts have been what I use. As much as I love music, sometimes the tunes aren’t enough for me. Insert podcasts, which I’ve always liked but I’ve always kept just a few. 

There’s one or two geocaching ones; a board games one; and a couple of professional wrestling ones. 

Some of them are just too long, though. As much as I like listening to them, I’m not into it taking me 3-4 days worth of walking to get through a podcast (and my walks, for the record, are usually in the 30-50 minute range). That made me search for others – ones that I could finish over the course of a day (I usually take two walks a day). 

Podcasts are definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, so to speak. Some people love them, some hate them. The big part is having to download them, or remember to. I don’t like everything on my phone, for example, so all of mine go to my iPod. 

This series is basically going to be my thoughts on podcasts I listen to. These reviews could be monthly, or a little more often, all depending. There won’t be any set days, so basically when I can sit down with my thoughts. I’ll give my positives, negatives, and anything else about the ones I’ve listened to, or tried to listen to. Most of them will be positive reviews, however, being if I am going to listen to something, I need to like it at least a little!

Currently, I’m deep into some true crime ones. I love true crime stories, especially when they are cases and such you might not know a lot about. There’s a few other “real life” ones I’ve been into as well, which have made my walks a bit more fun.

I also have been listening in the car to and from work, though once baseball season really takes over, that won’t happen as often. 

But with this, I’m interested in what some of you might listen to when it comes to podcasts. Despite not having a ton of extra time to add podcasts, I am interested in what might be out there that might draw me in. I’m not into the ones that are very current event-like, if not just for the fact that I tend to like to be able to get to them when I can. 

I’ve also learned a lot from these podcasts, which has been good as well. The world is a crazy place, as I’m sure most of us would agree. So, it’s nice that we can kind of see a different slice of it in other areas. 

I always wanted to start my own podcast. I thought it would be cool as I had friends who did them, but didn’t garner huge followings. I now realize, though, the amount of work podcasters put into these things. From the research to the recording, to editing and everything else, it’s crazy. There’s no way I would have the time or drive to do a podcast. Truthfully told, I likely wouldn’t have enough to say about one subject to get people interested in it anyway. 

Instead, I’ll keep listening. There are some great ones out there and I love the ones I’m subscribed to, and I can’t wait to find more that interest me. 

How about you? Do you listen to podcasts? And what are your favorites?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

On the Trail: Wapta Falls

As I start to work on a few of these newer features on my blog, one thing I’ll be doing is occasionally going back in time, so to speak. 

This feature is one that will have that regularly. 

My thought process for this feature will likely be once a month. If I can get into a rhythm and have enough spots for it, then I might go twice. But for now, it’s a once-monthly feature, so I’ll be bringing back past trips and hikes. 

Today it was from the geocaching trip this past fall, which took me throughout the Pacific Northwest – in the United States and Canada. 

One hike I looked into was Wapta Falls, as there was an Earthcache there. Mix that with a waterfall that was supposed to be simply amazing, and it was put on the “must do” list. 

The thing about geocaching trips where there are so many things to see and do, some things get skipped. This trip was no different. While in this part of Canada, we had to skip several things to make sure other things were done. I don’t regret it, but it definitely makes me want to return to explore more. 

Anyway, Wapta Falls. 

Wapta Falls in her glory. Simply amazing!

This hike followed a long day of travel and other stops. This day began in Kamloops, British Columbia and brought us closer to Banff National Park. Several things had to be skipped to give us a remote chance to get into this area, make the hike and see the falls. As we pulled into a drive up spot to get a pass to the park, we asked the girl working if we stood a chance at doing this before dark. 

Absolutely, she said. But bring flashlights – the odds of making it back out in the light would be slim. Excellent advice. 

The hike out was only supposed to be a bit more than a mile (though add more in the winter when the gates on the road are apparent;y closed). And, that’s probably about right. For the most part, the terrain isn’t too bad. But on normal walking, I can do about an 18-minute mile if I am pushing it, but usually I’m in the 20-minute range. 

This took a bit more. 

One thing I realized though, that despite going into a different time zone from where we started the day, there were no issues with daylight. I was actually shocked. Being from upstate New York, when the sun sets at a certain time, it doesn’t take too awful long after to get dark. And despite being in part of the Canadian Rockies, when the sun went down, it remained light for quite a while. 

The hike out wasn’t too bad, with a little incline. When you get to the end and are near the falls, you have a couple of options – stay up top and view the falls in all their glory and call it good, or head down the hill with a few switchbacks to get up close and personal. 

Well, we didn’t come all this way to stay up top and head back. Down we went. There were three others down there and they were indulging in some herbal enjoyment. They waved, but weren’t too close, basically giving us the run of the falls. These were impressive. 

Wapta Falls from above. Really amazing to watch that water flow.

Wapta Falls is situated inside Yoho National Park. Part of the Kicking Horse River, these falls are nearly 100-feet high, and almost 500-feet wide. 

From the top, the falls were amazing. But from the bottom – despite the hill that sits in front of them – they are simply breathtaking. The sound and rush of the water is incredible. The mist that comes off of the falls, too, is powerful. We were going to attempt to get to the left side of the hill as I wanted to try and get a wild photo, but with as slippery as things were, we stayed to the right side. Still, it was pretty amazing to be up that close to these falls. 

The hike back was a bit more difficult. Getting back up to the trail took some work (remember, I’m not in perfect shape), but it wasn’t a bad hike back. And the girl at the booth was fully correct – a flashlight coming back out was smart. In the end, we did about 3.5 miles and it was definitely a good workout.

Final thoughts: 

Positives: The trail isn’t too bad, and it’s quite easy to follow. Hearing the falls as you approach is impressive, though when you get to the end, it’s even more amazing. This is a very remote area, so you likely won’t find a lot of casual onlookers – it’s likely people who really want to see the fall. 

Cons: Depending what you consider a con – but once you get out there, no bathrooms and you are in nature. I find this to be a positive – but some might avoid it because it’s remote. Finding the road in wasn’t easy. 

Overall: If you like a hike in the woods with an amazing payoff at the end… and you are in this area? Make this a must stop. 

Geocaching note: There is one geocache out here – an Earthcache (GC7W35A) with a rating of 1/3.5. This can be your goal as well, but what it brings you to is even more amazing. No traditionals or anything along the trail out or in the parking area. 

To watch a Relive video of this hike, please see below!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Living with Diabetes: Medications and the ups and downs of it all

There are days when I want to scream when it comes to diabetes.

Like, top of my lungs, off the mountain tops, and filled with profanity sort of screaming. You know, the type that makes zero sense, but at the same time makes you feel a whole heap better. 

I mean, if it’s just for you, it’s not often a few cuss words won’t make you feel better … right?

Let me back this up a little to explain. 

At my last A1C test in November, my numbers had come down. I was happy about that, but the unfortunate part is that the past two tests had gone up … so I hadn’t been doing well. This made my primary and my diabetes educator each have a chat with me about kind of looking at what I was doing etc. I made a lot of changes since then and things are going well.

Living with Diabetes logo

They also suggested I might want to look into an injectable medicine – not insulin, but one of the weekly ones. I agreed to do my research and that I’d let them know. 

So I kind of went headfirst. I read about these medicines, such as Trulicity and Ozempic. I read reviews. I looked at all the possible side effects. I looked at the positives and negatives. I watched videos on how they worked and how I would have to use them. I emailed the diabetes educator with questions. 

I did my homework. 

In the end, I was actually highly interested. Knowing at least one of my medications would be cut in half and the hopes it would eventually be taken away because of using this medicine, I decided to give it a try. 

I chose Ozempic. 

I liked some of the studies and things to go with this medicine a bit more than the others. It just seemed like the right fit. I took the first dose in late December, and have done it weekly ever since. 

And I like the direction it’s going. 

My numbers as I check throughout the day have noticeably gone down. One app I use – mySugr – gives an estimation of your current A1C, based on the numbers you have in there. If this is remotely close, then I’m going to be stoked next time I go, which will be in about 2.5 weeks. 

And I can’t say if it’s Ozempic, but things are going in the right direction. That leads me to believe the medicine is working and working in a positive way. It’s easy to use and I’ve not felt a negative side to it. I also like that it’s easily stores.

One thing the medication is supposed to help with – suppressing appetite. I know this much – over the past few months, I haven’t been eating as much. I get full much easier, which is a good thing. I’m not usually one that gets excited about a new medicine. I’d rather subtract than add, but this has been really good for me so far. Here’s hoping it keeps going in the right direction and allows me to fully drop one other.

I’ve also been walking a ton more than I used to. I always made sure to walk, but I’ve been really good about getting up and doing the 5 am walk (during the main work week), and then one at night. 

Add all that up, and things are going very well in the right direction. 

Let’s go back to the screaming part, though. 

My one issue is the morning. Recently, my overnight readings have been awesome for my standards. It’s always been my hard area. But it’s been good. I get up, check my numbers and go for a walk. I can’t eat beforehand, as I have a medicine I take that needs to be in me for 30 minutes before I eat. So I go take a walk, come home and get ready for work and then eat. 

Now, I realize because there’s nothing in my body, my numbers could rise (they usually do a little), but there are days where it goes way up. I don’t understand how one day it pops way up, other days it goes up a little, and other days it stays the same or goes down a little. 

It makes no sense. 

If there was a small bit of fluctuation one way or another, I get it. Or if it always went flying up. But it’s so random how things go. 

I’ve tried getting up earlier, taking the medicine, going back to bed and then eating before my morning walk. That didn’t work out well. For one, there’s no time for the food to digest, so walking isn’t the best. But my numbers never improved all that much from it, and oftentimes – again – got worse. 

So I am at a standstill. I’m not sure how to approach this or what to do. I have appointments March 3, so this will be on my question list. 

I know this is an endless fight. I know there are times I’m going to want to scream and there are times I pump my fist knowing I am going in the right direction. But I also realize there will always be frustrations with this battle. 

For anybody reading this … do these things happen to you? And if so, what do you do about it? I’m open for ideas and suggestions!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!