Month: April 2012

Tim Ferris and Chad Mureta Contest Entry

Save My Rainy Day App Idea

My app idea comes from many days with my kids where we were at the park and it started to rain- and we needed something to do, close by- right away. There still is no app available to do this. Here is my idea:

Save My Rainy Day

The initial search screen would allow you to enter your zip code or location and choose from a drop down menu of:
Play Inside
Play Outside
Watch Something
Make Something
Relax
Eat

You can then enter how many people you have:
2

Choose a Budget
Free
$10-$30
$30-$50
$50-$200

Enter ages of participants
Kids under 10
Kids older than 10
Adults

The result would be a list of the top 5 activities happening closest to you, soonest.

Ideally it would produce, as an example from a local park near me,

A library story time
A kid friendly restaurant with a kids eat free lunch special
A gymnastics establishment with an open gym time in 1 hour
A family friendly coffee shop
A movie theater option

The closest apps I can find to this all offer a calendaring function- so are not what I am seeking. I don’t want to put it on my calendar, I need it solved NOW.
The closest thing available online to this app is the Yelp site- but it does not offer the time or location option on your phone that I can find.

Also, Yelp is limited in its offerings for kids and families. This app would ideally sync (in my local area) with www.SeattlesChild.com and www.parentmap.com to provide family friendly activity ideas in real time.

This app is one which could help a family stranded at a soccer tournament for a weekend in need of something to do for 2 hours between games, it can help parents with kids on vacation stuck inside because of rain, it can help parents of teens who are bored find something to do, NOW.

I have been working on this app idea for some time and am still looking for a good one to use as start material, however, I read your contest and thought it was a good time to chime in and see what happens.

I will be researching this app with your guide from this email, but would love the opportunity to see it become reality. I believe it will help many parents and kids have happier days and connect them with great activities just around the corner they might be missing!

Tried to load a sketch of my app, but it wouldn’t go in this screen. Please go to my blog to see the image at:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=pirates+of+the+caribbean+jack+sinking+boat&hl=en&biw=1200&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=A2-u1n_xdmOlKM:&imgrefurl=http://pirates.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jack_and_Sinking_Jolly_Mon_COTBP.jpg&docid=rZyUMaebmssF_M&imgurl=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110317222324/pirates/images/archive/5/56/20110428164502!Jack_and_Sinking_Jolly_Mon_COTBP.jpg&w=1017&h=431&ei=tsl7T-aOFMmUiQKx9_hi&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=419&sig=112215829806165423212&page=1&tbnh=81&tbnw=192&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&tx=108&ty=41

Dancing with the Devil

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=pirates+of+the+caribbean+jack+sinking+boat&hl=en&biw=1200&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=A2-u1n_xdmOlKM:&imgrefurl=http://pirates.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jack_and_Sinking_Jolly_Mon_COTBP.jpg&docid=rZyUMaebmssF_M&imgurl=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110317222324/pirates/images/archive/5/56/20110428164502!Jack_and_Sinking_Jolly_Mon_COTBP.jpg&w=1017&h=431&ei=tsl7T-aOFMmUiQKx9_hi&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=419&sig=112215829806165423212&page=1&tbnh=81&tbnw=192&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&tx=108&ty=41

Seeking this kind of grace in ditching my leaky ship

There are moments in life when you realize you just danced with the devil. Now don’t worry I haven’t been doing anything truly scary. This is the kind of stuff we look at every day and often fail to see as that dance… Losing our temper, laying down a guilt trip, struggling to re-write a deeply ingrained script.

You know those scripts, the ones which were laid down for you, time and time again by someone you love, trying to teach you….something. Whatever it was and whatever that voice in your head says or what comes out of your mouth on occasion- this is what I call dancing with the devil. You see he is sneaky, he breaks things, a crack at a time. Rarely does he show up in such a way that we can see for what he is.

When we do recognize it, it’s usually on the news or is in the form of the person who sets off every alarm bell in your head, every hair on your neck and every flag your senses can throw at you to get away…. But those times are fleeting and it is that every day dance I fight with most.

Working on rewriting some OLD scripts, and it is hard. Trying to see the pattern before it comes out of my mouth…sigh.

And so, my quote for today comes from Warren Buffet- “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”

Working on ditching my leaky boat!

Imperfect Paleo and other thoughts

So this week for Tough Mudder was fun and had great highlights!

Here is the concept of Paleo in a nutshell

I ran one day and decided to spice it up this week with a Hot Yoga class on Saturday. That class was amazing. My run on Sunday my body felt totally different. My shoulders were loose and my stride was much smoother. I ran 8 strong miles instead of the 7 I planned. It was a great workout and many thanks go to Terra Yoga in Issaquah, WA for that class. I will now be adding Hot Yoga to my routine on a regular basis.

This week will have 4 runs in it and the Mud & Chocolate race on Saturday. Looking for another good time and this one in the mud. Should be great fun.

Just fyi I stink at the Paleo diet- so I am doing what I refer to as modified Paleo- which equals Paleo all day with one “cheat” per day. So I can eat one thing a day which is off the Paleo diet. This has kept me sane, not made much difference in my weight- not that I expected it to, but it has made it easier to improve what I am eating without constantly saying No to all the bad stuff. I get to say “Yes” once a day and that seems to be fitting just great.

This image was taken from http://www.paleoplanrecipes.com/paleo-food-list/