Mommy Wars?

So, after a series of random and confusing events which were ultimately fatal to my (dot) com connectivity, my last ONLY blog is no more, and I am reverting back to this one as my main landing page. Call me a hypocrite.

Anyhoo, I hope everyone's weekend was great! I know mine was eventful, to say the least.

I will spare you all the daily details of our family adventures, but there is one thing bugging me from this past Saturday that I wanted to get some feedback on. I just need to know if I am the only one noticing this...

We took our little dude to the park for some playtime to get out of the house, and it was great! He always has fun, and we enjoy watching him run around being a boy. No complaints there.

There were other kids there as well, and they were all having a great time as well. Then I noticed something - disturbing.

It probably doesn't really strike anyone right away - I didn't notice it myself until we were about to leave. But, I did notice it. And it kind of shocked me.

Here I was, at the playground with my 1 1/2 year old son, just out having some fun, when I realized we were surrounded by some stunning young women, all of them dressed up and decked out more than some dates I've been on! Enter the young mommy wars.

Now, in case any of you are wondering at this point, I am not making note of these ladies in a good way.

In fact, it frustrates me to see this growing trend more and more as I have become a young Dad.

Here we are, at a local family park, just out getting some sunshine, and lining the benches are a bunch of starved, polished, decorated fashion dolls all competing with each other for whoever's attention they can get.

Now, let me remind you, these kids are around my son's age - 1 1/2 to 3 or 4 yrs.

This tells me that these gals probably still have a man at home currently, or if they're that bad off then he must have left real recently. I don't think I have to explain my meaning here.

And yet, here they are, dressed to kill at the playground. C'mon, really?

For starters, I am disappointed knowing that these are the type of people raising the kids my son is going to have to grow up around. There are some high standards being set already, let me tell you!

Aother issue I have is why, if women nowadays are so concerned with being treated like nothing more than targets or objects, would you present yourself to the world as exactly that?! You think low-cut tops and skirts that cover nothing when you sit down are gonna have a man thinking about what a great person you are, or that you might have ambitions and dreams beyond the bedroom?

Here's another one: why do these women have to compare themselves among these other women? Aren't you here at the park with your kids? Doesn't that (obviously) mean you've at least impressed someone enough to have a kid or two? Are you planning on having a horrible marriage, filled with lies and unfaithfulness and chaos? Are you so unhappy that you have to "prove" you've still got it? (Whatever IT is.)

How about this: what about your kids? Yeah, them. What about your kids, barbie? You know, the ones who are looking to you as a role model in life. The ones who, depending on gender, will either seek to emulate you in their own life and morals, or learn what sort of woman to look for in a future partner. Oh right, it was never about them. They just come with the real estate now.

I could go on, but I realize I am bringing a hard case here, and I don't totally know quite what to think of all this yet. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions? Perhaps I am not understanding a woman's point of view? Are they not even aware? (Highly doubtful...)

I know that this is obviously a man's opinion, and I welcome any futher discussion on the topic, negative or positive. I am just trying to understand what in the world I am supposed to take this as - as a guy.

Thanks for reading gang, feel free to comment below!

Levi

posted from Bloggeroid

A Good Day to be Alive

Today was a good day to be alive.

Nothing really exceptional happened. I didn't set any world records, or claim any titles or medals, or write a novel or anything of note. I was just glad to enjoy my day.

That's something I haven't felt in a long time.

It's sad, in a way. It's so easy to get caught up in the race of life, you totally forget who you are and what you want to do. Not that it's deadly or anything. But boy, it can sure get boring.

That's what today was not. Boring. I am closing out the day with a smile on my face, just because today was a good day.

I played with my son. I watched movies. I talked with my wife, who will be home tomorrow, thank God! I chilled because I wanted to. I watched Youtube videos, cooked a little, did some laundry, I just enjoyed existing today!

I know that may not mean anythig to anyone else reading this, but it was a nice shift for me. And I know for me, when I experience these shifts, it is generally a new direction I will find myself going. And for the first time in a long time, I am happy about it.

Cheers,

Levi

posted from Bloggeroid

#snapshot

What happenin' gang, yours truly comin' at ya with another quick update. :)

Been a few weeks since last post, work is going well as usual. Busy as ever! We had been running the long haul trip via rental truck and trailer, but just yesterday Hanson's International here in town called and delivered our old rig back in mint condition! Still waiting on a new trailer until May, but at least the tractor will have a much shorter wheel base than the rental (Almost 5 feet shorter!). I get to take the maiden voyage tomorrow at 4:30 am, here's hopin'!

Family is doing well, we are getting a dog!! She is a super sweet black lab/??? mix. Only 2 yrs old, so old enough to be house broken, but young enough to be exited about everything, lol.

Baby Benjamin is growing like a weed, 15 months old and hungry ALL the time! Smarter than his old man already, I swear. Lord, gimme strength! Ha!

Allie is getting much better with the pregnancy, we think the morning sickness is finally gone. Found out the gender at the end of the month!! We are hoping for a baby girl. ;)

Got a new podcast coming out soon, will be sharing the links with that once it goes live on iTunes. For now, Random Talk Radio is still our only show. Failed on and forgot to pay the internet bill last month, so new episode won't be up until next Tuesday. You can still find us on iTunes though, Random Talk Radio under "podcasts."

That about wraps up my lunch hour. Hope everyone is doing well, hit me up on twitter, @levispann, if you want. I will be trying to update this blog once a week now, but we'll see.

Until next post,
Don't forget to be AWESOME!!

Levi

posted from Bloggeroid

Out of Town

It's another Wednesday on the south truck. Staying at the hotel in Ignacio, and I am wondering how much longer I will driving these same routes.

Got a lot of things planned, really. Sometimes it sure is tough to know when to act though.

Weather has been clear all day today, and supposed to continue through the night into tomorrow. Good news with an open bed.

Ugh. I really don't even like having to mention it in my personal life. I would much rather be working for myself.

Been looking into some more equipment, pricing is of course a large issue. I am beginning to understand why loans are so large now. Upfront costs can be daunting.

But not to worry, I am not swayed in my feelings about opening shop in the near future. It just takes so much darn time! Lol

Had dinner tonight listening to "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkley (Cee Lo Green). An odd choice for dining music, I thought. Couldn't help but ponder how that guy got his start in the music industry.

Listening to some smooth jams back in the room, trying to avoid going to sleep. Pretty bad when you avoid sleep just to postpone waking up any sooner than you have to for a new day of work. That's why I need a new job.

Had some podcast ideas today, since I forgot my headphones again. Guess the drive time is good for thinking those kinds of things through. If I can still remember them later, lol. Gotta start writing things down!

Anyhoo, that's about it for tonight. No weather yet, so I think it's safe to crash. Thanking the Lord for at least providing me a good trip, even if I don't want to be here.

Until next post, be excellent to each other!
Levi

#snapshot

Hey gang! Hope everyone is doing well this Saturday! Been a crazy few weeks at work, trying to catch up from the accident and train the new guy. :)

Here are a few photos from driving around Colorado that I have been taken these past few weeks:



Here are a few from Glenwood Canyon

Here are a few from a week ago in Crested Butte. Chained-up all day!

These photos are from yesterday, again headed to Crested Butte. They've had over 48" in the last two weeks!

Here's a shot headed over Blue Mesa Pass:

Just another day in CO:

This one starts out rough - I had to grab some gears to keep from getting stuck! Lol, chained-up all the way, and you can STILL see the truck sliding around ha ha. Oh, and those fence posts are 8 feet tall. The snow drift was as high as the windows - IN A SEMI!! :)

One more from Glenwood Canyon.

Until next time gang,

Levi

F.O.C.U.S.

Today's post is a bit more difficult for me to write than previous posts. 

In the past, I've been told that I am a bit of an extreme individual. A bit hardcore, if you will. You see, I have struggled and always will struggle with a place known as the "middle ground." I've never been able to find a happy medium among all the things I do. I know that it is very difficult for many people to understand, but more and more I am starting to realize that this is simply who I am.

I am an all or nothing individual. I function at my core by giving everything I have to a task/project/relationship/etc. Because of this, however, I am a terrible multi-tasker.

I'll admit it - I cannot DO more than a couple things at once. Not long term, anyways. I've tried. In fact, I've been trying. I've been trying really hard. But I have been failing miserably, and I am getting burnt out. 

So what does this have to do with anything, Levi?

Well, at a distance, it probably won't mean much to anyone really. But for myself personally, I am drastically going to be cutting back on almost everything I have been doing over the past year, and I will be going "hardcore" after one thing: working for myself. 

Let me explain. My brain is hardwired to think in t-shirt slogans. I can't help that. If it's not a one-line philosophy or a four point goal plan that fits on a shirt, forget about it. It will be gone in about a month. 

But the title of this post (F.O.C.U.S.) is what I NEED to do and WILL be doing for the foreseeable future. And, of course, it is broken down into an acronym so my one-track-mind can easily remember it. 

Follow One Course Until Success. 

And that is what I intend to do, friends. 

I have over-committed myself recently, and I can't stand living my own life everyday. I feel as though I am cheating myself and everyone I am supposed to be helping, simply because I cannot perform to the best of my ability because I've spread myself to thin. I know what I am capable of, and as much I absolutely love being involved with so much that's going on around me, in the end it is not moving me toward reaching the goal of working for myself. 

Don't get me wrong. I am more than willing to help out where I can. But long term commitments are just that - commitments. They require time, energy, often money, and other precious commodities that I have simply been throwing around far to carelessly. 

So starting today, I will be taking my life "under the knife" and cutting back what is not moving me in the direction of starting my own business. If I have committed to reaching a certain stage in a project, I will see that through. But by next month, I plan on completely "F.O.C.U.S.ing" my efforts on getting out of the workforce and launching my t-shirt business. 

I hope that it is understood that I do not mean to harm anyone in anyway by making these changes, but I absolutely will not live another day beyond today where I wake up and my first thought is not having enough time to do X, Y, Z. I plan to start living and loving life again. It will genuinely be a journey of a thousand miles, and this is my first step in that direction. 

In closing, one of the things that has personally been dragging me down is Facebook. It consumes far too much of my time and benefits me nothing (at the moment) except for the ability to stay connected with friends. 

"Learn to control your Facebook time, then!" 

Yes, this is a true argument. I recognize I need to grow in this area, and will be working on it diligently. However, for now I will be using Twitter only as my social sharing site of choice. I will continue posting to FBOOK via this blog from time to time, but if you want to keep in touch please follow my twitter @levispann. 

Finally, I want to thank all of you for being an amazing part of my life. I want you all to know that I am who I am today because of each and every one of you. And I want THAT person to be someone all of you can be proud of. Someone you are glad to know. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the incredible experiences I've had up to this point in my journey. I look forward to many, many more. Let's make this year the best year any of us has ever known! 

All the best, 

Levi

New Year, New Horizons

As 2013 is quickly drawing to a close, I am excited for both the close of the year and the start of a new one!

For the first time in a very long time, I can say that I am holding my head high closing out another year. I have made several major lifestyle changes in 2013, and am proud to say that I have stuck by them! I've started training again, re-branded my business models (coming 2014!), made more time for myself and my family to do the things we want to do, and re-connected with some old friends to rebuild relationships and patch up others that have been broken for years. :)

My son turned one year old in 2013, and I finally know the pride of being a Father watching his son grow so quickly. Everything from his first smile to his first steps, 2013 will always hold special memories for this daddy!

In a time of unstable work and economy, our family has been blessed working for Intermountain Wood Products. We are only 1 year out from buying our car, we bought a house (FINALLY!), purchased new appliances, and this coming year we will be making our epic trek to FL to pick our other house-full of goods to fill our new home! To top it all off, 2014 promises to be twice as busy! Up, up, up!!

2013 was also the year of my quarter-life crisis... just kidding. But as I have started looking ahead at what I want out of life, I realize now more than ever how important people and relationships are, even on a day to day basis. Because in the end, they're all we're going to have. I have begun getting back in touch with friends who have made me who I am today, in big and small ways, and I can genuinely say I am thankful for each and every one of them being a part of my journey. It has been the best decision I've made in years, and my spirits are lifted as I look to 2014.

I'm not sure what next year holds, but I have determined to make it one of the best I've ever had! I want to love deeper, speak more truth, help more, give more, and go more than I ever have before! I want to look back another year from now and see explosive growth in all areas of my life - relationships, business, family, personal/physical development, friendships, etc. I want to know at the end of 2014 I woke up every day and gave 110% of myself to every moment I was given! I want others to be built-up and better because they know me! I want to live for God and my family more than ever, and love them both with a fierceness that will shine out to others. I want to cross the finish line into 2015 and look back with a smile and say "That was epic!"

Happy New Year everybody! Thanks to all of you for being there for me through thick and thin, let's make it happen in 2014!!