Last Friday’s Ice Breaker was all about Questions For Me.  Many of you chimed in with all kinds of questions.  It you missed out, go over to the post and add your questions (it’s not too late).  As promised, I wanted to start answering some of the questions this week.  Today, I’ll respond to a question (or several questions) from David:

What do you do in your “spare” time? You have your job, it’s got to be at least 40 hours, you’re involved in your church, you have your blog. Do you even have any spare time? What do you do for YOU? If the wife and kids were gone for a few days and you were off work, what kind of things would you do just because you have the free time?

I know, I’ve asked more than my fair share of questions – sorry.

This is a great question!  We are definitely at a stage of life with our kids that it seems like we’re running from one thing to the next to the next.  For example, yesterday after work, I went to Hannah’s track meet.  As soon as that was over, I took her home and picked up Isaac for Scouts.  I finally had dinner and a moment to sit down around 9 PM.  It’s not always like this, but you get the idea.

I like to work in the garden and in the yard.  I have a garden that is roughly 12 feet by 60 feet.  This year, I’m planting lettuce, spinach, radishes, turnips, parsnips, karoubi, potatoes, onions, shallots, peas, beans, zucchini, pumpkins, beats, tomatoes, peppers, garlic.  Working in the garden gives me a chance to work physically.  I also enjoy the opportunity to have think time.  I also like to work on home improvement projects.  This doesn’t happen a lot these days, but it is one thing I enjoy.  Over the last 16+ years of home ownership, I’ve painted, tiled floors and back splashes, installed new electrical fixtures, installed a new bathroom, and finished a basement.  Money and time are the biggest obstacles in doing more of these projects.

I probably watch more television than I should.  I’m guessing I watch about 4 – 5 hours a week.  The DVR helps keep this low, and helps me squeeze my favorite shows in when it suits my schedule.  I’m still a big sports guy, so I enjoy catching a game (or moments of a game) when I get a chance.  I’m also a closet “reality” TV fan.  I watch Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, The Voice, and American Idol when I get a chance.

Bringing me into the finish at The Thanksgiving Day Marathon – November 2012.

I run.  I run to help counter my love for food.  And I run for exercise and for think time.  I’ve run 3 marathons, 5 half marathons, and tons of smaller races.  I’m currently running 30-35 miles per week.  Most of this happens in the morning well before the sun comes up.  Yesterday morning, I ran 5.4 miles through the neighborhoods of my town – I was finished by 5:30AM.  And then last night while Isaac was at Scouts, I ran 5.8 miles on the track at Ursinus College.  I don’t normally run twice a day, but it just worked out this way yesterday.  On a side note, I took a nasty spill with about 1/2 mile to go last night which is probably a story for another blog post.  I was able to get up and finish my run, but I was glad that one of the Scouts was prepared with a First Aid kit when I made it back to the meeting.

I’m sure I have a lot of other interests, but this should give you a tiny glimpse into the “spare” time of Jon Stolpe.  A lot of my spare time is discovered by being intentional with my daily calendar and weekly calendar.

So now it’s your turn, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

I asked a similar Ice Breaker question quite a while ago, and I thought it was a good time to bring out this question as I suspect there will be many new answers this time around.

Who?  What?  When?  How?  Why?

Question:  What question(s) do you have for me?  What do you want to know about me?  This is your chance to ask me anything!

I’ll answer some of them in the comments and in a follow-up post next week.  I look forward to reading your questions.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (As always, feel free to share links.)

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

From time to time, I tap into my family and friends for Ice Breaker ideas.  This week’s Ice Breaker came at the suggestion of my wife, Leanne.  She is in the middle of investigating new job opportunities.

Question:  What was your first job?

My Answer:  I shoveled a lot of snow and cut a lot of grass over my early adolescent years.  This led to a job taking care of 11 acres for an elderly couple in our church.  When I started this job, they paid me $3.15 an hour which was minimum wage at the time.  I earned every single penny of that pay.  After this, I land surveyed for an older gentlemen at my church.  This was a great learning experience.  I think the first job in which I earned an official payroll check was my job at Samuel Miller Christian Retirement Center.  This job involved serving lunch to residents and washing the dishes afterwards.  I don’t remember what I was paid, but I remember talking to the residents as I helped them with their lunch.

I’ve had many other jobs over the years including:  house painter, cafeteria supervisor, babysitter, recreation room host, telemarketer, medical billing technical support staff, high school maintenance summer intern, facilities management intern, project engineer, and project manager.

Today, I’m an operations manager for a building automation company.  I like my job; in fact, I love my job most of the time.  I like the fact that I get to help people succeed.  I like that I can help customers save energy and money.  And I like the team I get to work with every day.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (Feel free to share links.)

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

This week’s Ice Breaker is inspired by a road trip my family took this week.  On our way to our destination, we saw a car with a vanity license plate that read “HWYADOIN”.  I didn’t figure it out right away until someone in the car said “How ya’ doin’!”  I’m not sure if I would ever get a vanity plate.  I don’t think I would spend the money to get one, but it got me thinking.

Question:  What would you get on your vanity license plate?  (If you have a vanity license plate, what does it say?)

My Answer:  STRETCH or STRETCHED.  I think it’s pretty obvious why this would work for me.  I wonder if it’s taken.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (Feel free to share links.)

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

First, it was reading.  Last week, it’s listening.  And this week, it’s watching.

Question:  What are you watching these days?  Movies?  TV Shows?  Sports?  Videos?

My Answer:  I’ve definitely cut my television and movie viewing down over the past several years, but I’m still watching a few things when I get a chance.  This past weekend, I saw Lincoln with my wife at one of our local movie theaters.  I enjoy watching The Biggest Loser when I get a chance.  More than these, I’ve enjoyed watching my son’s basketball games.  His team finished the regular season undefeated, and they won their first playoff game last night.

And here are a couple of videos that I’ve enjoyed recently from YouTube.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (Feel free to share links.)

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

Last week, it was reading.  This week, it’s listening.

Question:  What are you listening to these days?

My Answer:  I listen to a lot of podcasts these days.  I listen to the Daily Audio Bible Podcast and The Dave Ramsey Podcast every day.  I also listen to This Is Your Life Podcast by Michael Hyatt, Blogging Your Passion Podcast, and The Relevant Podcast on a regular basis.  There are a few others that I listen to regularly.  Three that I recently listened to for the first time are Todd Liles Podcast, The DadCast, and WordPress Plug-ins from A to Z.  I enjoy listening to music as well.  The kids in the youth group at our church turned me on to Mumford and Sons, and I’ve enjoyed listening to their newest album, Babel.  Phillip Phillips and All Sons and Daughters have also become recent favorites.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!