Gas Price Creep in Portland

I was shocked when I saw the gas price at our local gas station...over $4.00 a gallon! For regular!

Usually when the gas prices go up, I've already prepared myself due to the numerous news articles. I must not have been paying much attention this time, because I haven't read any recent news on the rise!

Are we so use to the never-ending increase that we didn't notice?  Or do we just not care?

Hey, I care! This costs money!

Portlanders have seen these same prices before, last summer. Maybe we're in a time warp and nobody thought we'd notice. But I've been accustomed to the winter prices for so long, that this is going to hurt!

 

In our house, we're very strict with our gas budget - with only one car and only one of us taking it to work, we can get away with $20 a week on gas! (I feel like this is ridiculously low, but I have no idea what anyone else spends.)

This doesn't count weekend activities or planned trips, but it's really nice on our weekly budget. More money for restaurants!

With prices near $4, we may have to make some adjustments! Everyone may have to make some adjustments! (Driving plans for Memorial Day?)

Something I've always wondered, at what price of gas will those large SUV drivers park the car? When will it hurt the wallet enough to say, "hey, maybe a medium sized SUV will be better."

Before drastic changes though, do some additional sleuthing. I went online and found a list of the cheapest prices in Portland.

At $0.35 less a gallon, I may change my route before I change my budget!

(I'm not sure if these are cash only, be warned...)

P.S. My favorite gas stations are Shell - not sure why I'm partial to them, but the ones I've been to have amazingly nice employees - but with prices starting at $3.89, they may lose me. Or that might be the cost of great customer service.

Do you factor in gas when budgeting?  How much do you spend a week?

Yours in exploiting life!
Quinn

This Skinny Guy's Exercise Goals - Another Challenge

I'm on a mission for health!

Eating better is a good start, but I need to add some muscle...

In my thirties, I'm a little disappointed that I've never made this happen before now!

My Challenge.

My wife and I challenged each other to some physical goals.

The winners get some great prizes, and the loser (if there is one) has to be the driver while we're in Iceland. (An upcoming trip! Yay!)

I want to win!

My Stats.

Below are my current measurements (as of April 20th):

Chest - 36.5"
Belly - 34.5"
Arm - 13.75"
Mid-thigh - 19.5"

Below is what my goal is by September 1st!

Chest - 39.5"
Belly - an 8 pack
Arm - 15.25"
Mid-thigh - 21"

My Thoughts.

I have no idea what is realistic when it comes to exercise. How much can a guy naturally add in size? Is this goal achievable?

Regardless, this is what I'm striving for.

My Plan.

I'm going to start out light, as I'm in terrible shape right now.

For the first couple of weeks, I plan to perform a full body band workout. I'd also better add in some abs - as this goal is going to be tough!!

Depending on how I feel, and the amount of time I can find, I'm going to start P90X (again). Three days a week, then gradually adding in more. I do not think I can reach this goal without some serious commitment!

I have also adjusted my diet slightly.  I've added a few calories (trying to use a calorie app for tracking), lots of protein, and plenty of water!

This is all on top of our backpacking regime (training for a summer backpacking trip). The weekend hikes will not stop!

For fun, we're also in the middle of a 100 day burpee challenge. Ten burpees a day for 100 days! Any extra workouts are good!

I have about 108 days to see where I land...any suggestions?

Yours in exploiting life!
Quinn

Mini Goal - 100 Days, 10 Burpees a Day

New challenge accepted.

After friends read about an individual who completed 10 push-ups a day for 100 days, we decided we needed a similar challenge.  But of course we changed it up a little...

Our challenge: 100 days, 10 burpees a day!

An interesting mini goal, considering I don't think any of us really knew what a burpee was before accepting the new routine. But after some research and a video, we were ready to go!

We are all in different physical shape, so we've left completing the burpees to the imagination.  We have burpees where the push-ups are separate from the rest of the exercise, we have double push-ups, and (hopefully starting this week) we'll have push-ups with a clap!

Adding some of the variation and fun in the burpee style may not be completely acceptable by CrossFit aficionados, but it's probably the only way I'll make it through the full 100 days!!

Just completed day 23, only 77 days to go!

Any new mini goals in your life?

Yours in exploiting life!
Quinn

Weekend Hike - The Allusive Cedar Flats, Oregon

There's a reason the saying is not "second time's the charm".

Defeated Again!

Our second attempt to find Ceder Flats has, again, resulted in a failure!

(First attempt.)

But no hike is a complete failure...

We had a great day, explored a new path, and realized that we will one day make it to Cedar Flats (though that day will probably not come until late-summer).

After a late start and a coffee from a roadside stand, we arrived back at the Jawbone Flats Trail-head.  Determined not to get lost again, we reread the hiking instructions and studied the trail-head map.

To change things up, we decided to take the Kopetski Trail for part of the journey.  This took us off of the flat and well-maintained road, to a crazy-wet obstacle course!

The recent rain had filled the trail with water.  As it continued to rain (yes, we hiked in the rain again - hurry up summer!), parts of the path became a running stream.  Wanting to have fun, but not get our feet completely soaked, we hopped from side-to-side, climbed over tree trunks, and jumped over puddles to traverse the hilly, rocky course.

(I'm guessing the trail is much easier in the dry season.)

Reaching Opal Pool (which is less of a pool right now and more of a roaring rapid!), things turned less fun...

There are absolutely no signs for Cedar Flats.  There are signs for Opal Pool, there are signs for Kopetski and Bear Trails, and Jawbone Flats is obvious.  Where is Cedar Flats?!

We asked a couple other hikers, but they didn't know either.

We wandered up the trail both directions and discussed our options. We could either go back (we weren't lost, we just didn't know how to get to our destination - I also use this excuse for not asking for driving directions), we could take a couple of trails in a trial-and-error effort, or...we could sit down and cry!

Crying was out (seemed like a waste of a good Saturday), we didn't want to go back because we were not going to be defeated by Cedar Flats twice, so we picked a trail.

Luckily, one more group passed by before we set off!  They actually knew where Cedar Flats was! They even told us what trail to take! We were going to find it after all!

Then...

They said the walking bridge was out! You have to ford the river. With the high water levels and fast currents, this wasn't recommended until late summer!

Beaten again!!

Third times the charm, right?

The allusive Cedar Flats.  I believe you exist.  I will see you...one day.

Yours in exploiting life!
Quinn