Tag Archives: active

1st Week of NFL Football and I Don’t Care

09/14/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

The 2015 NFL Football season has arrived! This means it’s time to gather round and sit in front of the TV to watch the big game….or a small one if you haven’t upgraded to an 80″ LED 2160p TV. 🙂

Going Mom and I enjoy watching a good game, but we don’t schedule our weekend (or a Thursday / Monday night) around it. For us, a new football season is exciting because of the changing weather and seasonal produce starting to sprout. We still care about football, but we don’t care about all of the excitement from the 1st week of the season. I was involved with sports betting a few years ago, and hated how much it ruled my life, so no more betting or fantasy leagues for me. Although, a lot has changed in the betting world since I dabbled in it. For example, now that sports betting tennessee websites are up and running, this would make it a lot easier for me!

Every year, as the football season approaches, you can feel the excitement all around with stores stocking their aisles with “the essentials”, new TV deals suddenly seem more abundant, and Fantasy Football drafts going on everywhere. And that’s completely cool, but over the years, I’ve found that I’ve lost interest in football hubbub.

Yep, years ago we used to chime in with the excitement, but with each passing season, my wife and I shared the dying of the football flame. Like I said, we enjoy watching football, but most certainly can not sit through an entire game, and will only watch if doesn’t get in the way of whatever else we’re doing.

Take, for example, this past weekend with the first week of the NFL season, we totally forgot because we were focused on cooking, exercise, landscaping projects, and enjoy the outdoors. When we weren’t pinned down by our crazy toddler that is.

Besides, we are more college football fans, and follow our Oklahoma Sooners more than any NFL team. We missed the game against Tennessee (see above reason), but got the highlights, and wow, sorry we didn’t see it! Go Sooners! Although, Avery’s reaction to Mommy’s OU jersey isn’t very promising that she’ll be a fan of our alma mater.

I grew up with a step-dad who sat around watching TV a lot which didn’t leave a good impression. Now, as a father myself, I don’t want Avery to see me staring at a TV when we could be playing together as a family or just sitting and reading to her.

We actually turned on part of a game this weekend and Avery fell silent and just stared at the TV. Our fun, rambunctious little girl turned into a zombie locked in on the bright screen with no awareness of what was going on around her. That was the end of TV for the weekend.

Again, we don’t hate football, and as I said already, enjoy watching a good game, but what I’m saying is that I don’t care that it’s the first week of the season. Probably won’t think much about the second week either. I’ll still root for the Cowboys (just checked and saw that was an awesome win against the Giants) since, by default, they’re our home team, and follow the Sooners a little more, but no matter the outcome, life will go on for us. I was involved with sports betting a few years ago, and hated how much it ruled my life, so more betting or fantasy leagues for me.

What did we do for the 1st week of the NFL season? Well, my wife planned out and started her next backyard landscaping project and I started a new strength routine along with cooking multiple meals including our local, pastured chicken from our CSA. I’m severely deficient with gardening and landscaping, so I helped in the form of manual labor. I see it as an extra workout, Kelley gets my help, it’s a win-win!

In sum, I feel it’s too easy to get wrapped up into the games as I have done in the past, and find it much more rewarding to keep away and be productive around the house. Then, once everything’s done, maybe we can sit down at night to catch the end of a good game.

Did you watch any football this weekend?

Excited about Monday Night Football tonight?

Do you like NFL or College better? Or, like me, don’t get too wrapped up in either?

Challenge, Giveaway, Going Green, Going Healthy

Neighborhood Clean Up with Onya Baby and a Father’s Day Giveaway

06/08/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hey there! How’s your weekend going?

Pretty fan-freakin-tastic here; it helps that it’s my 30th birthday and I’m celebrating with the ones I love so much! Yeah, no more life in the twenties, but I can’t fight it so I might as well embrace it; right? I think those are lyrics to a song….

Luckily, I was able to make use of the last days in my twenties by running a 10k and placing first in my (then) age group, and second overall! I might be a little boastful, but why not, I’m proud!

And then, just yesterday, I ran a 5k with Avery; our first race together and my last race before turning another decade! We came in first overall, but I’ll post more on that later. Today, I want to share an exciting giveaway for a new Onya Baby Outback baby carrier and a set of Chewies!

As a dad, I felt like I had some catching up to do when it came to bonding with my daughter, Avery, when she was born. From the start, Going Mom had a generous head start; around 9 months to be exact! Avery and I had our very important skin to skin time at the hospital and soon after we brought her home, I started wearing her.

I didn’t have an Onya Baby carrier at first, but thankfully I connected with Diana who graciously agreed to send their Outback carrier for review. I haven’t looked back since; Onya Baby is my top choice and fits perfectly into my active lifestyle. Avery seems to enjoy it as well!

There's a smile hidden in there; promise! — There’s a smile hidden in there; promise!

Almost every day, I will go for a walk with Avery around our neighborhood, and when she’s not napping, I’ll describe the things we’re passing. These are mostly ducks or geese from the neighborhood lake, a donkey from a connecting ranch, or just some of our neighbors out and about.

But, since we live in a developing neighborhood, there is a lot of construction going on around us. And with construction, comes trash from building materials and from the workers themselves. Oh, and the port-a-potties don’t help either. Here’s one with a pleasant message; that’s our yard to the right.

I try to find the humor in things and just laugh, but it doesn’t always work. But that’s not the issue, it’s the trash that gets blown down the street and in people’s yards that gets under my skin. Each day I go for a walk or run, I see bits and pieces spread around our otherwise beautiful neighborhood.

Maybe it doesn’t look like much in one spot, but collectively….

….it can add up quickly and….

….turn a peaceful walk into one of disgust.

Most of our neighbors, myself included, take pride in where we live and hate to see so much litter spread across our community, so I want to take action and clean it up!

For the rest of this month, I will be posting photos of the piles of trash I collect while walking, and if it can be recycled, I’ll recycle it. This will be a great activity to do with Avery to show her how to take pride in where you live and how cleaning up even just a little each day can make a huge impact. I know our wildlife friends will appreciate it too!

When I mentioned to Diana at Onya Baby about my latest endeavor, she thought it would be perfect to incorporate into Onya Baby’s Father’s Day giveaway. So I’m thrilled to announce that I have partnered with Onya Baby to offer my readers (that’s you if you’re reading this) a chance to win an Onya Baby Outback and a set of Chewies. If your kid is like Avery, they will love to have these to chew while being carried, and they help soothe teething gums!

How do you take part in this incredible chance to win your own Onya carrier? Simply follow this link and enter their RaffleCopter giveaway.

Complete the action steps as listed to earn entries and you’re all set at having your own Onya Outback to wear your baby in style and comfort!

I’d love for you to also take action and clean up your neighborhood or community with your kids and post a photo (with your Onya carrier if you have one) of the piles you collected. Share these photos on Twitter and tag @OnyaBaby and @Going_Dad with the hashtags #onyalove and #goanywhere. You can also share on my Facebook page or Onya’s page.

If you aren’t sure of just how awesome Onya baby carriers are, Paul from The Outdoor Adventure has an awesome video of it in use during his many….err, outdoor adventures!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKlqbXpFe8U&w=560&h=315]

Make sure to check out Paul’s blog and Amelia from Tales of a Mountain Mama, to see what they are doing with Onya Baby for the Father’s Day giveaway.

I’m looking forward to seeing how much you are able to clean up around where you live and hopefully your kids will see the good you’re doing and even help if they are old enough.

Being one who loves activity, this is a great way to get some extra exercise and bonding time with your children. Have fun setting a good example with your kids and good luck on the giveaway!

How do you feel about the cleanliness in your community? Could it use some cleaning?

Do you have an tips/advice on how to best approach the clean up?

Have you ever worn your child in an Onya Baby carrier?

Challenge, Going Strong

A Going Strong Challenge for Parents: Run a 5k with Your Kids

05/05/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Hi there!

Summer is fast approaching and for those of you with kids in school, that means they’re about to have some extra time. Unless you have a full schedule lined up for them already, but still, work with me here.

For the parents with kids not at school age yet, like Going Mom and myself, summer just means warmer weather with basically the same daily routine you’ve been doing.

Well, I want to challenge all parents to do something healthy and active with their kids this summer; run a 5k! Yes, find one in your area with a date set out long enough for you to prepare and sign up now.

Signing up will help work as motivation to train for your race and deter you from slacking. If your kids are of proper running age, make it a great time to train and run together. If, like me, your kid is a baby who is just now learning to sit up on their own, run with them (safely) in a stroller.

Or, I’d even suggest wearing your child in something like the Onya Baby or Ergobaby Carrier and train to walk a 5k with them. Most days of the week I usually walk about 4.5 miles while wearing Avery, so a 5k wouldn’t be too taxing for either parent or child if you properly prepare yourself.

If you’re already a trained runner, go ahead and sign up for the next race available if your kid is willing and able to go along.

And don’t think I’m only posing this challenge to my readers, it’s a challenge to myself too. I haven’t entered a race with Avery yet but have been wanting to for a while now.

That said, the next race I enter will be a solo run. Next month, I will no longer be in my twenties *gasp* and want to run a least one more race in that age group. It might be a local 5k or even up to a half marathon if I can find one and it doesn’t cost too much.

I’ll make sure to post which one I decide and let you know how it goes. Same for a race with Avery, I will take this challenge and sign us up to finish one together. If it’s a stroller friendly race, I’ll run with her in the B.O.B., but if not, I’ll walk the 5k as fast as I can while keeping it safe!

I want to hear from everyone that is willing to step up to the challenge and let me know what race and when. The deadline is to complete a race by August, but feel free to do more than just one.

Too many kids and parents alike are living a sedentary life which is unhealthy and not fun. So make it a point to get out with your kids and be a great role model by doing something healthy and active together!

Are you a novice runner and not sure how to get started? The website, CoolRunning.com, has a great Couch-to-5k plan that you can even download as an app on your phone. Check it out and stop making excuses!

If you’re a seasoned runner, this challenge should be a ~~walk~~ run in the park; just get out and go!

So, will you accept the challenge?

Please share with your friends and family and see if they will get on board too!