Yeah, this is a partial repost from November 2010. My oldest is now 11 years old, (as of Jan 4), so technically this gag is inaccurate, but it seems that so far, they both still think I’m pretty awesome. Or, at least, they think all my toys are pretty awesome. We tried letting the boys do their homework in my office, at the game table, but they say there are too many distractions in the room.

This “motivational poster” was the inspiration for this t-shirt design:

Bullgrit

I took an online health assessment through my insurance company this weekend. The assessment asks about 20 multiple-choice questions and then returns a breakdown of my health rating in eight areas. Here is my assessment:

I despise such ridiculous judgements based on so limited information. I mean, how can 20 questions really produce a reliable ranking for eight areas of health?

Nutrition 25 — this is apparently based solely on the my answer to the question of, “How many fruits and vegetables do you eat each day?” Sure, I need to eat more fruits and veggies, I admit. But the assessment didn’t ask, and therefore can’t account for my detailed tracking of the protein, carbs, fats, and calories I eat each day. I mean, come on, how can I have my overall high-level of health and fitness if my nutrition is really a 25/100?

Stress 39 — I don’t think of myself as overly stressed. Stressed some, absolutely, and that’s how I answered the questions about my stress levels. But 39/100? Does that imply I need to see a therapist?

Job Satisfaction 71 — Okay, I guess. There were a couple of questions on my job, and this is probably close to what I would rank my job satisfaction at.

Medical Health 86 — based on what? There were a few questions about blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and such, but I had to pass on answer all of those other than blood pressure. I know my blood pressure is right around 120/80, but the rest I don’t know exact numbers. So how, exactly, can the assessment rank my medical health without any actual data?

Sleep 88 — I answered the one sleep question with the estimate that I get around 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Activity 92 — What the hell? Regular readers here probably know my activity level: extreme-level workouts 3-6 nights a week. I guess only professional athletes could reach 100/100 in this area.

Lifestyle 100 — I don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or muss my hair up with stupid hair products, so I guess that how I rate a 100 on this.

Weight 100 — I figure this result comes from simply calculating my height and weight together. Interesting to see I’m apparently dead-on with that equation.

Overall Score 58 — Huh? The average of the eight numbers comes out to 75 on my calculator. How does the assessment come up with 58? Yeah, I’m a bit annoyed by that result. Maybe they figured I’d be irritated and so lowered my overall score to reflect this.

I wonder what the American average overall score is. I mean, if I — a generally very happy and very healthy man — gets only 58, what does the fat guy next to me complaining about his stupid boss while eating a donut get assessed at?

This is baloney.

Oops, I think my overall score just dropped a point.

Bullgrit

By Wifegrit

When I think back to B.K., (before kids), I remember thinking “I will never do that!” as I watched parents, for example, drag their kid out of a store. Then I became a parent. And I now understand and have sympathy for many of those ridiculous situations. In other words, I have been there and I have done that.

As a parent, the situations you can find yourself in, and how you react is sometimes unpredictable. And hilarious…

Yes, I have left a cart of groceries in the store because of an explosive diaper.

Yes, I have laid my baby to sleep in his crib, jumped to the floor and crawled out of the room, and crawled back in to check on him. (This was with my first child.)

Yes, I have crawled out a window, onto the roof of our house to retrieve a “blown away” Pokémon card.

Yes, I have worn a robe in the car to drop off my child at school so we wouldn’t be late.

Yes, we have driven around the beltline for 2 hours to put a child to sleep.

Yes, I have eaten hidden chocolate in my closet. (“What’s that in your mouth mom?” “Ah, oh..nothing.”)

Yes, I have been in the bathroom as my child dialed 911. “Look what we learned in school today!”

Now it is your turn. I would love for you to share your funny stories.

By Wifegrit

Junk emails drive me crazy. I have an Outlook folder for them, so when I receive a junk email most automatically go into the junk folder. But some still get through the filter.

Emails such as Belly Fat Blast, Real Estate Investing, Overstock Auction, Backtoschool (Grant funding maybe available!), Affordable health rates, Pimsleur Approach (Learn a language in 10 short days!) The Spacebag ( Buy 1 get 2 sets free).

And I wonder do people fall for these? Do they actually purchase these products?

The worst type are the scammers. People must fall for these emails, even with their abysmal spelling and poor grammar.

Here is one I just receive from a Maj. Kevin Cochie:

Hello,

We have some funds to move out of the middle east. With 30% gurrantte out for you. Your own part of this deal is to find a safe place where the funds can be sent to.If you are interested i will furnish you with more details”

Sincerely,

U.S. Army Maj. Kevin Cochie

Like the military needs me to move funds. Again I wonder who believes this? These types of emails make me so mad. Such a scam, and so hard to trace these criminals.

Last summer we were trying to sale Bullgrit’s father’s car. I posted it on Craig’s List. I have sold many items on Craig’s List and have never before had a problem. I received a response to our ad from someone that was “working” for the UN and really, really wanted the car but they were out of the country, blah blah blah. He needed me to send him money so he could buy our car? Really?

You have to be so careful and smart and if it is too good to be true, it is.