I’m not totally sure why but I have a hard time blogging these days! It’s so much easier on facebook with my quick status updates. Are you friends with me? Make sure you are, I update there all of the time! http://www.facebook.com/ScottDaMan
Just remember to block farmville if you don’t play that game, I have a lot of those posts on my wall. I’m addicted to that damn game!

Anyway, what I wanted to post today is all about my health. It’s been the focus of ALL of my attention (other than maybe farmville on facebook, LOL) for the last 5 months now. When I meet up with people I haven’t seen in a while, it’s nice to see them do a double take! Seeing Gary recently has only inspired me to keep going, their entire family had nothing but kind words to say. Gary was most impressed at how well I’ve done. Of course, meeting the family in Mesquite for Aunt Peggy’s birthday was even more motivation to keep going strong.

In September I saw an infomercial for Beachbody’s P90X system. It’s the first infomercial that I felt wasn’t a scam. The people on there have busted their asses and worked hard and got great results. It triggered me to go downstairs to the office and search more, and more, and more! I looked at people on youtube and ordinary people were RAVING about the system.

At the time, I wanted to start doing something after seeing a picture Tammy took of me at the river last year in a life vest. I looked like a damned booey! I was disgusted. I wanted to change but wasn’t quite sure how, I’ve tried many diets that have all failed. After doing all of the research, I knew P90X was my answer. Hard work, no miracle pills, no fads, just hard work, exercise and a complete overhaul of my diet.

The downfall, I was 278 pounds, around 80 pounds overweight, and was in no shape to pass their “fit test” for P90X. I found out they released a system about ten years back called “Power 90″ and many people recommended it to start with. So, I went for it and brought Tammy along for the ride. We’ve been our own  motivation the entire time. Some days I felt like skipping out and she got me up and going and other days, the opposite. A great support system!

Here’s some basic stats for everyone:

Every 30 days Tammy and I took pictures to see our own progress.
09/19/2009 – 278 pounds – Start of Beachbody’s Power 90 program (2 pounds from morbid obesity)
10/14/2009 – 266 pounds – 30 Days of Power 90 Completed
11/16/2009 – 252 pounds – 60 Days of Power 90 Completed
12/17/2009 – 243 pounds – 90 Days of Power 90 Completed – We graduated Power 90!
(We added a few days of workouts here and took an entire week off for Christmas)
12/28/2009 – Start of Beachbody’s P90X system as seen on TV infomercials
01/10/2010 – 239 pounds – No longer obese by BMI (no pics)
01/26/2010 – 234 pounds – 30 Days of P90X completed
02/17/2010 – 228 pounds – 51 Days  of P90X completed (no pics)

50 POUNDS LOST AS OF YESTERDAY!!!

I had to share this occasion with the world. My goal is still to get below 200 with muscle. Then I’ll go and get my loose-fitting wedding ring adjusted. Under 200 pounds is my “normal weight” by BMI standard that doesn’t consider athletic build in its formula. I *still* want to get below 200 just to say I’m 190 something. Oh yes!! Heck, I’m only 28 pounds away!

Of course, the bad part, I’ve been so focused on my health and well being that I’ve put my business on the back burner. The downside of course, we’re broke but happy. LOL. I need to start working after my birthday tomorrow. Hopefully I can get back into working mode. Maybe we can get back out of debt and pay off our huge dental bills too.

Either way, I finish by saying this: Losing 50 pounds 2 days before my birthday is the best birthday present I could ever ask for. Thanks for reading!

This evening I added a new SATA 640GB hard drive to Tammy’s new Dell SX8000 (commonly known as XPS 8000 ) machine and the drive appeared fine in BIOS.

However, when I booted into Windows 7, the normal process of formatting the drive wasn’t working. That is, going into Computer Management then Disk Management. Usually, the unpartitioned drive will appear here. It didn’t! After several reboots, complete shutdowns, nothing worked.

So, taking the advice of others who suggested using a Linux CD to partition the drive, I instead used a Windows 7 setup CD and booted from that. From there I went ahead and partitioned and formatted the drive without issue.

Great! Well, I thought. I booted back into Windows 7 exiting Windows 7 setup CD and discovered the drive still would not appear. Ugh. So the troubleshooting began.

The answer:

Start -> Right Click Computer -> Properties
Device Manager (on left side)
Click the Disk Drives arrow to show the list
Find Your Drive You Installed Here
Right Click on the Drive -> Uninstall
After the SATA HDD disappears, click the Action menu -> Scan For Hardware Changes

This will rescan your system and reinstall your SATA HDD drivers.

After I did this, the formatted drive letters appeared for me under “Computer” because I had already partitioned and formatted the drive in the Windows 7 setup CD. For most others, you’ll just need to go back into Disk Management where you SHOULD discover the drive now where you can partition and setup the drive like normal.

Let me know if this helps.

I want you to try something next time you feel the early signs of a cold or flu.

Using a dropper, fill your ear canals, one at a time for a 10 minutes each side, with Hydrogen Peroxide. It isn’t a pleasant filling, the bubbling feels funny, but I’ve done a trial run and it has worked to kill off my colds symptoms twice now.

Doctors have done research on this and found that humans catch the cold or flu and spread it through their bodies via the ear canals. Everyone thinks you catch them through the eyes, nose, and mouth, but it may not be the case. Think about it, your ear canal is warm, moist, and the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria.

Every time I tell people about this, they look at me with skeptic eyes. But all of my research finds more and more people having excellent results doing it.

Give it a try, just for the sake of giving me results, and leave a comment on this post. I want to see how it works for others.

I don’t want you to go at this blind, I’m providing several resources below. I WISH people would spread this around, you know the government won’t, the pharma companies won’t, the doctor’s won’t. When it comes to the mighty dollar, they won’t tell you about the easy $1 cure.

Instead, they want you to take the flu shots which are KNOWN to have MERCURY, ALUMINUM, and FORMALDEYDE.  Too much MERCURY in combination with the other two is becomming linked to  Alzheimer’s disease  and autoimmune issues. Do your research:

There is some evidence that flu shots cause Alzheimer’s disease. This most likely is a result of combining mercury with aluminum and formaldehyde, which renders them much more toxic together through a synergistic effect than each would be alone. One investigator has reported that people who received the flu vaccine each year for 3 to 5 years had a ten-fold greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease than people who did not have any flu shots (Int J Clin Invest 2005;1:1–4). Source Link

Anyway, about Hydrogen Peroxide in the ear, I’m providing some reading resources below. Educate yourself and like I said, report back.

Forum – Does It Really Work?

Hydogen Peroxide in the ears for flu and cold remedy?

Hydrogen Peroxide Kills Bacteria

Hydrogen Peroxide Cure – Common in Germany and India!

Can Hydrogen Peroxide Prevent the Flu? Check out the quote below:

How many pandemics have been predicted in the last ten years? There was bird flu, SARS and now swine flu. How many never made it beyond sensationalist headlines? Why do they keep popping up? The latest estimate I read was, there’s more than four billion dollars in pure profit to be made on swine flu vaccine and injections. Has anyone else noticed that it’s not human suffering that’s front and center, but lost time and profits that are used as the benchmark?

Is there more to contracting colds and flu than keeping your hands away from your eyes, mouth and nose. An ongoing strong immune system and frequently washing the hands are good places to start. There’s also a lot of research indicating the inner ear is where viruses, flu and colds have the easiest access to the inner workings of the human body.

There are SO MANY RESOURCES out there saying the same thing over and over. Use a search engine, type hydrogen peroxide cure or hydrogen peroxide flu and you’ll see what I mean.

Remember, leave me comments. I want to know your results.

After discovering P90X via a commercial a couple nights ago, we decided to try the “easier” version called Power 90. Today, we started our first day of a 90 day cycle of diet and exercise.

From what I can tell about the program, it does everything that I have done in the past to successfully lose weight. Everything in the program makes absolute sense and it isn’t a lame “lose 7 pounds in 7 days” scam that forces you to lose 1 pound of fat and 6 pounds of water weight.

This program focuses on getting you leaner to gear you for P90X which is a much more extreme workout regimen. Since it focuses on removing fat and building muscle, I decided not to weigh myself often. I will weigh myself every month or so when the program has us taking pictures to see results.

As for updates, if you really want to keep up with us, we do a lot of posting on facebook.
Scott: ScottDaMan
Tammy: tammy.buehler

Send a friend request. We use facebook daily to keep up to date with David & Eric Gross, Elizabeth, Destiny, Jennifer, etc.=

That’s it for now. I’m exhausted. Power 90 is rough going at first, but I knew that going in.

SUSEF Junior Fair is a regional science competition sponsored by Southern Utah University for students in grades 5-8.  It was open to all students in about 20 different school districts from around our area.

Brittany with her Science Fair Project at the Regional SUU Science Fair.

It started out as an early morning since she had to have her project set up by 8:30 in the morning.  After picking up her packet, we set up her project, and then looked around at some of the other projects as they were getting set up.  At 9 am, they kicked out all the students, so they could check for safety violations.  Brittany and I decided to go to the library and work on some homework.

Brittany presenting to one of the science fair judges.

At 10:00, we could go back in, and the students needed to sit with their projects and be ready to present their projects to the judges.  In the next 2 hours, Brittany presented her project about 4 times.  I had lots of time to look at all the other projects in the room, and found them quite interesting.  12:00, all the junior fair projects came down, and it was time for lunch.  The University provided lunch for all the Science Fair participants, but Brittany wanted KFC instead, so there we went.  We were happy that Scott and Thomas were able to join us for lunch.

At 1:30, you could go to the Science building for some science activities, or head to the Sharwan Smith Theatre for a movie.  Brittany wanted to see the movie, and it was Back To The Future!  Boy, did that throw me back to 1985!

After the movie, it was time to go to the Great Hall for the Awards Ceremony.  Brittany didn’t expect to win anything, but we wanted to go anyways.  She was pretty happy when she got a package of pens that were being thrown out to the crowd.  They had raffle tickets as well, and although she came very close to having her number called…no such luck.

Brittany (and about 20 other students) received an invitation to participate in the 3M national science fair competition.

We were quite surprised when Brittany’s name got called among 20 other students to participate in The 2009 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.  She had to go on stage to get her invitation.  There were lots more awards given out, and then they got to the Category Awards.  I thought that Brittany might have had a chance here, for 3rd or maybe even 2nd.  They started out with 3rd place, and when they got to her category, her name wasn’t called.  2nd place came, and her fellow classmate won a silver medal in her category!  We were so thrilled!

After the awards ceremony, Brittany in front of the Science and Engineering Fair sign with her gold medal and invitation.

1st place announcements came, and we were shocked when Brittany’s name was called for her category!  We both just looked at each other, like, “Did they really just call your name?”  But it was true!!  Brittany won a 1st place gold medal for her project in Physics and Astronomy! She also received a 4GB flash drive.  Even when she came to sit back down, it didn’t seem real that she was wearing a gold medal!  She had the biggest smile in the world!

Gold Medal she received for her Science Fair project in the Regional Fair.

It was a very long day since we didn’t get back home until 6:30 from the awards ceremony, but it was well worth it for Brittany in the end!  We are so proud of her!!!  Way to go, Brittany!!

To see all the pictures from the SUU Regional Science Fair, please click here!

Mayor Sherratt and City Council turning the handle to start the flow of water to fill the Leigh Hill Reservoir

Mayor Sherratt was there, and shared information about the reservoir.  Little did I know, that there was a reservoir in that same spot during the 1970’s, however it leaked, and was not able to hold water.  They have electronically tested this reservoir, and are confident this reservoir will hold water.

Leigh Hill Reservoir and beautiful Cedar Mountains in the background

The main purpose of the reservoir is for irrigation for the cemeteries, public schools and SUU.  They’re planning on stocking it with fish so it may be a hatchery as well.  There is a boat dock and a large area for a beach and a park.  There will also be a walking trail to go around the reservoir.  The aquatic center got voted through last week, so that will be on one side of the reservoir.  On another side will be soccer and baseball fields.  This is going to be an exciting and fun area of town.

Cole, Jennifer and Brittany at the Leigh Hill Reservoir Opening Ceremony

The kids are very thrilled to have this reservoir, and they were happy to go to this little ceremony to see it start getting filled with water.  It is going to take 35 days to fill this reservoir up.

Jennifer is to the far left, and Brittany is right next to her in this photo in the local paper.

We got an early phone call this morning from Scott’s mom that said that Jennifer and Brittany were in the picture in the paper!  Jennifer is to the far left, and Brittany is right next to her.  Brittany was so excited to be in the paper!  She said she’s famous! 

To see all the pictures from the Leigh Hill Reservoir opening ceremony, click here!!

Kids with their decorated pumpkins.

The kids had been counting down to Halloween for a couple of weeks. Costumes had been picked out for weeks, it was just waiting for THE day! A couple of days before Halloween, the kids gutted their pumpkins and decorated them. They had fun doing that, but they really wanted to get into their costumes. Brittany chose to be a Bat Princess. Cole was a Ninja.

Loved the kids costumes this year!

On Friday, when they got home from school, the first question was, “When are we going out trick-or-treating?” We decided to give the kids a choice this year… trick-or-treating, or going to the Hallelujah Night Festival.

We had good laughs watching the kids trying to get bites of the donuts!

The Hallelujah Night Festival takes place at the SUU Eccles Coliseum parking lot Halloween night and is sponsored by Calvary Chapel. Free candy is given away at each booth for participating. Booths include Cow-a-bunga, Simon’s Cents, Plinko, Feed My Sheep, Start Your Donuts!, Cliff Jumpers, Cotton Candy, Jonah’s Treasures (Fish Pond), Stand Up 4 Jesus, Double Bounce, Mountain Bowl, Face Painting, Tic Tac Toe and Carousel of Faith (Cake Walk).

Hallelujah Night Festival – Playing the games – Love Cole’s Ninja backpack.

Cole immediately decided that he wanted to go to the Festival. Brittany really wanted to do both…but then eventually decided to do the festival, reluctantly. We got down to the festival and there were lots of game booths, and both kids quickly got into lines, and did every game. There were also 2 bounce houses, and a big slide. There was a fire truck and a police car there to explore as well. The kids had a blast! They were so happy to do all the games, and to bounce and slide. We ended up spending 2 hours there, and they have already said they want to go back next year.

Halloween Quickpage – Closeup of Brittany’s face as a Bat Princess

Halloween Quickpage – Cole as a Ninja

Halloween Quickpage – I love how this turned out!

To see all the pictures from pumpkin carving, to their costumes, to the festival, CLICK HERE!!!

Cole – 1st Grade – Fall 2008

Brittany – 5th Grade – Fall 2008

The kids have gotten their school pictures for this year. And I think they came out great, but of course, I’m a little biased!

A "Great Stuff" volcano.

Today was Volcano Eruption day at Brittany’s school. She wanted to have a reusable volcano, so Scott cut a piece of wood, and jig sawed out a hole big enough for the soda bottle to fit through it. She made a volcano out of “Great Stuff”, which is an insulation foam sealant. We had to let it set overnight, with a coke bottle inside of it to form the shape of the volcano.

She saved painting the lava of her volcano for last.

After it was completely dry, Brittany was able to paint it. It took several hours for her to paint it just the way she wanted it. I think she did a great job on it. Then she had to wait for today to set it off at school. She had her diet coke and her mentos ready.

Brittany’s volcano erupting! She didn’t quite get out of the way, so she got a small shower

She took a small diet coke shower, and was able to get Scott a little bit too! She had fun though, and that is all that matters!  Out of all the volcanos today, Brittany’s volcano explosion was one of 6 pictures that made it on the school blog!

This is the schools’ blog picture of Brittany’s volcano erupting!

To see pictures of the volcano, click here!