Life Without a Cell Phone

About a month ago I ditched my cell phone. I never made many calls and I was tired of paying for it. Not to mention that my carrier didn't have service in many areas I go to daily. Anyway, I really really love the freedom of it.

I ported my phone number over to google voice for a one time 20 dollar fee. I did it mostly because I wanted to keep my same number and my contract with my carrier was up anyway. So basically I check my "phone" online. Its just like checking my email. I get online and listen to voicemails and read texts. They also transcribe my voicemails so I can read them if I'm in class or meetings.

I can make calls and send as many texts as I want without worry of going over because there is no "over." I just plan a little different to make my calls and catch up on work when I have an internet connection(I don't have an internet connection at home right now).

Its amazing, I'm in control of who contacts me and when I want to talk to them. If I want to totally unplug and get away its easy. I realize this wouldn't work for everyone but its perfect for me. Everyone unplug and ditch your cell phones!

Pumpkin Diaper

Yes  its true I put my child in a pumpkin. I did it last year also. I thought it would be a cute idea to take a pic of her in a pumpkin every year. That would of course have us searching for some seriously large pumpkins as the years go by. I think it would be fun!

Claire on the other hand is not a fan this year

For some reason she kept saying she was cold. Really I think she didn't like the sliminess of it. When she got out she kept saying "yucky" and trying to brush off her legs. On the up side I look happy and festive in my overalls. 

Last year she was totally fine with it. 

Maybe she was just too young to be bothered with sliminess. Her birthday is October 19th so I really like the idea of an annual picture in a pumpkin. 

She liked it last year, hated it this year, maybe next year she will like it again. I hope to keep it going and have to search for some huge pumpkins in a few years, or learn to grow my own.

Zuty Out 

A Post About Posting

I set a goal to write in my journal everyday. This isn't exactly a journal but its close enough for me to count it. Some of you may have noticed that I recently redoubled my efforts with online material. I committed to a daily youtube Vlog:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ZachAttackDuty

I restarted an old cooking blog:

averagejoecook.blogspot.com

And I'm doing this blog. The name of the game is accountability. I want videos and memories of my young family recorded, so I committed to a daily youtube vlog. I feel accountable to youtube to do it. It seems silly but on days that I don't want to film I remind myself I committed to it and youtube knows it so I can't stop until I complete my online goals.

I've been meaning to learn some basic kitchen skills for a long time. The budget is a little tight right now and we can't afford to eat out like we usually do. When I say eating out I mean a run to taco bell for some cheap burritos. Anyway it isn't healthy and it could be cheaper if we knew how to cook.

So thats why I'm posting so much right now. I appreciate when people read my stuff and comment because I feel like I'm leaving a legacy or something. Join the conversation. I plan to keep this all up for at least a year. I even have another blog in the works right now.

If you are still reading congratulations. This hasn't been the most interesting blog but I felt I should explain the amount of content I'm putting up right now. If you keep up with it all you may get sick of me, but thank you.

Zuty Out

Just like my Dad

As I get older and hopefully wiser, I realize I'm turning into my old man. He is a pretty good guy to be like so I'm in good shape. I'm already starting to see Claire trying to do things that I do. This is where I'm a little concerned.

Am I a good example for my daughter?

Yesterday we went on a bike ride and she wanted to put on my helmet and wear my cycling shoes.

Its pretty cute right now, but it also has me worried. I don't do everything right and I'm afraid she will pick up some of my bad habits. She repeats everything I say so I've been trying to check myself and stop saying words like "stupid."

In the end I know I'm not going to be perfect and neither is she. I'm just going to enjoy it for now. She may not always want to do everything with me. 

BYOT Bring your own tape

I woke up sore this morning. Crossfit workouts have that effect on me. I grabbed the computer and checked me email as I do most mornings and I found I sold a book on half.com. Marilyn had already left for work with the car, so I put Claire in the baby backpack and headed to the post office. I printed off the shipping label and figured I could do the rest at the post office.

It was a nice day and a nice walk. My sore muscles didn't like the movement so much, they just wanted to lay in bed all day, but I didn't let them. It was good to get out and stretch my legs. We passed a park on the way and Claire let me know she wanted to stop and go play by saying "down," several times. I told here we could stop on the way back and pressed onward. 

The line at the post office was a little long but I made some small talk with other folks waiting their turn. When I finally stepped up to the counter I was informed that the united states post office couldn't spare a few inches of tape to attach my shipping label to the envelope. I considered making a big stink about it but chose the high road and walked home to search for tape. 

"I always encourage people to take the high road. That way there is more room for me on the low road."

-Tom Haverford (Parks and Recreation)

As I write about it I realize it wasn't a big deal, I just needed to vent. I don't have any pictures for this post which makes it a little boring. Instead I'll just link you to my youtube channel. youtube.com/zachattackduty After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, at thirty frames per second, a two minute video is worth 3,600,000 words. 

My two best Girls

It blows my mind every single day that I have a daughter. I never understood how much I would love her until she got here. She is 19 months old now and a perfect little girl. She is seriously adventurous and a little too much like her old man. She can be a terror at times but for some strange reason I like that about her. I'm told I was a terror myself as a wee lad. There is a video floating around somewhere of me getting into a peanut butter jar and using a toothbrush to spoon it out. Just this morning Claire pulled a similar trick with a jar of jelly.

Then there is my other best girl M. She may actually be the most patient woman on the planet. She has to be with a husband like me. She supports me in all my adventures as crazy as they sometimes get. 

Today isn't anything special. No birthdays or anneversiaries in the Duty house today. I just thought I should take a moment to appreciate these two ladies that love me unconditionally. I've got a pretty good life and its mostly because of these two.  They don't care if I'm wearing the coolest clothes and they don't make fun of me if I say something stupid. Thats my shout out to M and Claire.

Zuty Out

New Blog

I enjoy writing and I also enjoy making myself sound awesome in text format. Here is a place that I can do both. Some of you folks may have noticed I started a Vlog. Thats Video log, like blogging but with video. If you haven't noticed then you had better get on that: youtube.com/zachattackduty.

I want to use this space to do my journaling, ranting, and overall updating on my life's progress. So here we go:

Today is Thursday May 23, 2013. I'm currently in the beginning of a 100 day challenge that involves a few things I must complete every day or suffer the consequences of failure. The list includes:

Pray/Study the scriptures
Brush and Floss my teeth(this has always been a struggle)
Go Running
Ride my Bike
Journal
Give M a heartfelt gift
Make a video
Practice ukulele


Thus far I haven't done amazing at this. Its a work in progress and by day 100 I'm sure I'll be great at all these things. Some of these items require an explanation. My wife is affectionately known is "M." Why? Well mostly because her actual name "Marilyn" takes too long for my simple mind to say. I read the book "The 5 Love Languages," and discovered that her love language is gifts. Not just any gifts though, they must be heartfelt or its pointless. I think that is actually the only item on the list that requires explanation. Moving on...

I could use a little encouragement on this so please comment and get on my case about it. I think that may be all I'm good for today. I want to keep these brief so... Signing off

Zuty Out