An Average Feat I don't want to be!
by Chris Ruggles on 06/18/12
After taking the two years to finish up my Masters in Education, it was finally time to address another nagging situation that makes me more average than I would like. With about 34% of adults over weight, I fit right in. If you look around, it seems like 34% is a good number. So, with some friendly encouragement/persuasion from my wife, I decided to make a run for it before I chickened out. I found a good plan that works for me and started on May 18th, 1 month ago exactly. To this point, I have lost 21 lbs. Not bad for 30 days. I am posting my progress on the right hand column from this point forward until I reach my goal of about 80 lbs. I should be able to reach that sometime in the fall.
How am I doing it? Simple, eating less and burning more calories than I take in. I use the “Myfitnesspal” app on my phone to keep track of my daily calories (intake) and exercise. Input everything I eat and the app keeps track of where I should be. You can find the app at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/mobile. It’s pretty helpful.
21 down, 59 to go!
Put me in Coach! Time for more Baseball!
by Chris Ruggles on 06/18/12
After an entire Spring of baseball, our regular season has come to an end. Coaching 2 teams from the AAA and Single A divisions was very fun this year. Going between a bunch of 6 year olds and changing gears to work with my 9-11 year olds worked out very well this year. The key to a successful Little League team is to get enough parent support and volunteers to help out. My goal each season is to help each player improve on their skills and put a competitive team on the field. Mission Accomplished. My Single A Pirates were awesome and My AAA Nationals were 1 win away from forcing a Championship series.
We are now on to All Stars. I am coaching the 10-11 year old team this year. I am excited to have my 11 year old on the team as well. He worked really hard this year, as well as the other 11 players to make this team. We start practice tonight, in hopes of preparing for a run through the California District 28 tournament! Can’t wait. Play Ball!
Feed the World Donation Drive
by Chris Ruggles on 12/06/11
We are collecting $10 donations to help people out in our communities during this holiday season. So many people are hurting with our current economic struggles, I figured I would campaign to ask people to simply donate an easy $10. I promise, you won't miss it, but it will make a huge difference to some who needs it. Please click on the link to the right or click here http://www.theaveragedad.com/Feed-The-World.html.
DON'T BE STINGY!
It cost me $35,000 to get my child on the honor roll
by Chris Ruggles on 12/06/11
When I started the course work that would lead to earning my teaching credential, I had no idea what I would soon find out about my children and what factors influence them in their learning. I always thought about teaching and finally decided to go back to school to earn my credential. What I never imagined was that there are side effects from learning how children (and Adults) work.
One of my first courses was Educational Psychology, learning all types of factors and influences that go into a child’s development and how it relates to leaning. We learned that social factors, economics, home life and family customs play huge rolls in the development process of a young person. If you have children, you also know that each child is wired completely different.
With that information fresh on my mind, I set my sights on finding reasons and solutions that would help my children that tend to struggle, especially in their school work. I have one particular child that I had in mind. He tries really hard, he is very creative and has the biggest heart, but when it comes to buckling down to do work, it’s like pulling teeth. In school, he has a hard time completing work in class and getting him to do homework is nearly a nightly battle.
Having learned just enough to peak my curiosity, my wife and I began searching for help. I am not a real big ADD or ADHD kind of guy, but I do/did believe that people are different and individual. (For better or worse.) One of the first things I learned and starting doing was feeding my kids better. Sugar and carbs in the morning just don’t do it. I learned that protein was essential to get the brain firing on all cylinders. We made sure the kids got a good start in the morning, and yes, we could tell a difference almost immediately.
Through the course of the last twelve months, my wife and I continued to search and learn. I saw a news piece on ABC (http://abcn.ws/gFBUHE) that opened my eyes about me, but that sparked even more desire to continue learning how our brains work. We have recently found information from Dr. Aman (http://www.amenclinics.com/) that has recently made huge changes for our family.
To make this longer than needed story short, going back to school to earn my Master’s Degree and at the cost of about $35,000, our eyes were opened and it encouraged us to find solutions that are out there. Not that everything is perfect, (but who has it perfect?) but our student who always struggled in school is suddenly on the Honor Roll. It’s just going to take a while to pay off those student loans.
Entrepreneur project in process
by Chris Ruggles on 10/12/11
I am currently working on a new project that involves building and developing a new interactive website. Starting from the ground up, I am looking for someone who 1) has an in depth knowledge of computer/web programming, and 2) is fairly creative in the graphic design department. A social media/networking background would be helpful too. (Let’s throw in a sense of humor too!)
Being built from the ground up, I am working to assemble a team to pull off this project. This will be a venture capital project, where as a team, we will put our time and energy into the development in order to sell it off to a larger company for a profit.
Keep in mind that I am looking for an individual or possibly a few people who have worked together, but not a company and this is not for hire. If, after learning the details and you want to proceed, we will work as a team to build an interactive website in the hopes to make it profitable and eventually sell it off. My goal is for a profit of $386,000,000. I may settle for a little less! J You would be given a set percentage of ownership of the project. Whatever we make, you would get.
If you are interested in taking a closer look at the project, you can email me at mrchrisruggles@gmail.com. I will ask for a non-disclosure form to be filled out prior to any real information will be released. Also, if you have anything good to show off of your creation, include a link to that.
Happy Programming!
Chris R.
