225.6 - Day 13

Ran 2 miles this morning. First running I've done in two months. First it was my knee and then I developed plantar faciitis, which is still bothering me but is getting better. It was an easy 2 miles that was harder than I anticipated. The good thing is that neither my knee nor my heel bothered me. Surprising how 2 months off sets you back so far. I'll do another 2 miles tomorrow, take a day off and then start a regular schedule. Maybe I will be running Surf City in February. I was starting to wonder if I would.

229.4 - Day 8

Today will be a shake day. I don't care what gets put in front of me, it'll be shake for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack. Dinner will be more substantial. I'll through some vegetables in there as well.

Okay, 3 protein shakes, some baby carrots, 1 piece of cornbread with butter, handful of chips, WW taco and a cupcake. Not too bad over all.

227.6 - Day 7

Still the same. Is something wrong with the scale? Had my oatmeal with raisins and almond milk for breakfast. Back to eating better.

Chinese food for lunch, rice, chow mein, orange chicken and teriyaki chicken. Dinner was 1 piece of KFC chicken, a biscuit and 1 spoonful of mashed potatoes.

Glass of wine right now.

227.6 - Day 6

Today is Halloween. Let's see if I can stay away from the candy. Cupcakes will be a problem. Brought home a dozen from the booth. They're good.

JUNK food is all I ate. Had granola for breakfast and after that it was cupcakes, Kentucky Fried Chicken, biscuits and other junk.

229.0 - Day 5

Okay, what happened? 229, really? Could be the tequila I mixed with the diet cokes, or the double servings of lasagna and garlic bread I had. But really, I notice that my weight usually reflects not what I had the day before but two days before so to go back to Thursday, I thought I did okay. Of course, what's not in any of my logs is water. I don't drink water and I know I need to. So we'll add that to the regimen.

This morning, had 1/2 breakfast burrito and a banana. Ryan ate the other half of the burrito so it's not even around for later, which is good.
Handful of chips and a protein, almond milk, banana, strawberry shake for lunch. Then went to the carnival and had a taco and a cupcake that wasn't really that good but I ate it any way. For dinner we're meeting people at the Macaroni Grill.

Did okay at the Grill. Had 1 beer and then ice tea with dinner. Had a chicken dish that was about 770 calories. Went back to the carnival to break down and had a cupcake.

226.0 - Day 4

Good morning. Okay, today begins the Halloween weekend. That means lots of sweets. Today also is a potluck at work with lots of good food. It's all about portion size, right?

Breakfast again is oatmeal with a small box of raisins and almond milk.
Did fairly well at the potluck. Had a little enchilada, a little mac & cheese, a little lasagna. Small piece of birthday cake. Didn't stuff myself so that was good.  Had some fruit for an afternoon snack. Dinner was lasagna and garlic bread with a few pop chips for snack later.

I think as long as I have small portions of sweets, I still get the satisfaction of having the sweets but not the full blown effects of all the sugar. And, my sweet cravings are diminishing. I'll need that for this weekend. Actually, it's not so much the candy now but the pastries.

226.0 - Day 3

No coffee this morning, had my oatmeal with a small box of raisins and almond milk. Taking the day off of work today to take care of oh so many things around here. Let's see if I can stay out of the snack drawer.

Okay, mowed the lawn, cleaned the pool, cleaned some drains. Had a protein shake with almond milk, frozen strawberries, banana and honey and some pop chips. A bit later, had to go out so picked up a couple of chicken tacos from a little mexican market. Really trying to stay away from the cookies, cakes, candy and such. Doing pretty well with it.

Well, had a couple of lemon cookies at choir tonight and then came home and had 2 tacos. That should be it for the day food-wise.

227.4 - Day 2

Still feeling the effects of last night's dinner & dessert. Had my oatmeal this morning though and I'll make sure that lasts through the morning. I have a lunch scheduled with a friend, not sure where we're going but I'll try to order right.Lunch was good. Had a little bbq chicken, a little kahlua pig, some macaroni salad and grilled vegetables. The portions were a good size so I didn't over-eat. Haven't snacked on anything today. Still have my carrots to eat.Didn't eat the carrots. Got home and had 2 tacos and the rest of the cherry tort (there wasn't that much left). Will probably have some coffee and nothing else, well maybe just a little ice cream. 

Day one - 25 lbs to lose

228.8. Nice round number...Too round for me.
Stayed away from Starbucks this morning. That means I didn't get my tall non-fat peppermint no foam latte nor my reduced fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake. It also means that I didn't take on an extra 450 calories that I didn't need.
Ate a Healthy Choice meal for lunch but had a couple of slices of this pepper bread to sop up the gravy from the lunch. If I'm working off Weight Watcher points, that'd take me up to about 14 points for today so far. That should take me to dinner time. Drive time and volleyball game will allow me to stay away from snacking this afternoon.
Did okay until I got home. Then, 4 tacos and some cherry tort later, I'm sitting here feeling really bloated and uncomfortable.

Sometimes Slowing Down Is Fun

I found out the other day that slowing down and taking time to enjoy your surroundings can be a good thing. I ran the Disneyland 1/2 marathon on Sunday and because of sore knees brought on by running San Francisco hills while trying to create a new PR, I was forced to slow down a bit. What this allowed me to do was to stop and take pictures and have my picture taken and to really enjoy the first 4 miles of the run which took me through both California Adventure and Disneyland.

The Princess and the Me

Because I wasn't worried about my time, I was able to share time with princesses which made the run a bit more bearable.

Of course, when I wasn't Poppin out of the race to take some pictures I was wondering witch characters to pose with next.

As I was trooping along, I figured that would about do it for the park so I began running the long, boring part.

That was, until I was able to see myself as others see me and I began to feel the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

One that you see from start to

After all, it's not always about the medal.

Today was some day

I knew from last night that today was going to be a challenge but I wasn't really that concerned because I thought I knew what I was going to have to deal with, a reporter with a hard drive problem, a meeting with the owners about the state of IT at Hutchings, another reporter who was having some setup issues after an attorney knocked her laptop to the floor, and a client's computer that was rebooting periodically and locking up. All do-able. Well, I started at Fry's Electronics to pick up a new power supply for the client since I figured the reboots were heat related. Found one at a good price with a rebate. Nice. Picked up an external connector for the reporters hard drive figuring I'd be able to plug it into another computer and and copy the files off of it.
Well, when I put the new power supply into the computer, it continued to reboot and lock up. Not good. I'll look at it later. Met with the reporter, took her old drive out of the computer, plugged it into another computer, and it couldn't be found. I plugged it into a 2nd and a 3rd computer and it couldn't be found. There were some jobs on that drive that needed to get to attorneys like today. Really not good. It seemed that the only option at that point was to send the drive to a recovery center at the cost of about $1000. Even worse.
I went to the computer store to pick up a new hard drive for her computer and while I was there, I picked up another external enclosure for the drive. When I got back to the office, I put the old drive in the new enclosure and plugged it into a computer. The computer recognized it but then I found out that it was an empty drive. Somehow, all of the files were gone. I had just the day before read about a recovery program Recuva. Had nothing to lose so I downloaded it and ran it against the drive. After about 3 hours, it showed some files that were recoverable. Fortunately, some of those files were the very job files that were needed. Looking better. I was able to recover those files, the reporter was able to finish editing them and out they went to the attorneys. Feeling better.
Now, back to the pc. I tried another power supply and got the same result. Instant reboots. What was going on....Then I happened to notice that one of the internal cables had become unplugged. I replaced it, turn the computer on, and it booted all the way to the desktop. Feeling good, but a bit tired.
Met with the other reporter, the one with the setup issues, took care of those and rescheduled the meeting with the owners.
Feeling like I need to kick my feet up and have a nice shot of tequila.

Well, the day started like crap and ended up at the top. Came out feeling like I really accomplished some things today. I was some day.

At The End Of The Day

At the end of the day, when the kids have gone to bed, and the dogs have finally quieted down, when I have time to sit down and take some deep, calming breaths...

At the end of the day, after dealing with files and viruses, reports and telephone calls, when I have time to sit down and take some deep, calming breaths...

At the end of the day, after the long drives in heavy traffic, and the rudeness of others when everyone is just trying to get someplace, when I have time to sit down and take some deep calming breaths...

At the end of the day, after getting up before the sun, and getting the kids up and ready for school, and packing lunches and the last minute things before I lock the front door and leave, when I have time to sit down and take some deep, calming breaths...

At the end of the day, after realizing that tomorrow will pretty much be the same routine, with different faces and different troubles, but pretty much the same, when I have time to sit down and take some deep, calming breaths...

At the end of the day, that's when I appreciate all that I have and all that I do. That's when I thank God for providing everything I need. That's when I can sit down and take those deep, calming breaths, in love.

Spring Is In The Air

Spring came this weekend. Not just the feeling of Spring, but the Vernal Equinox, the official calendar start of Spring. So, what did we do? Swam, mowed the lawn, BBQ'd, roasted marshmallows over the fire pit, yard work, clean up. Spring cleaning I think it's called, but outside as much as possible.

The dogs thought it was great, since we were able to spend just about all weekend outside with them. Ryan ran them to exhaustion. We just enjoyed having them lay at our feet in the evening.

The other thing we did was to enjoy our flowers. No, not the flowers growing in the ground, but the ones on the trees. The peach blossoms are pretty as are the birds of paradise but my favorite flower in the yard, is the orange blossom. The smell of orange blossoms reaches you from just about any place in the back yard. Of course, since the ranch, it's one of those smells associated with happiness. I love taking a break from whatever backyard activity I'm doing to go sniff deeply from the orange tree.

I Guess I'm not the only one....

The Quiet Sounds of Nature

I had an opportunity this past weekend to fully be involved in my element - nature. I went up to Idyllwild to participate in a men's retreat. Idyllwild is at a little over 5000 feet elevation, so it's pretty high in the local mountains.
When I got there Friday evening, there were patches of snow here and there and it was crisp, clear and smelled wonderful. I instantly found myself relaxing.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of rain. We were expecting "weather" on Saturday so that wasn't totally unexpected. Te predictions for the weekend were for rain/snow. So far, we had the rain. Soon enough, that rain turned to sleet. It wasn't that windy so it fell softly. I did notice that it was getting colder. Eventually, it did begin to snow. And get colder. And I relaxed more (since I didn't have to be driving in it, I was able to watch and enjoy).

Because of the retreat, we were indoors most of the time, but I was able to get out during breaks and stand in the snow fall. A beautiful coyote passed by outside at one point. Squirrels were scrambling up and down pine trees, and it was quiet. Night came, events were finished and it was late. I walked back to the cabin alone, stopped at the truck to take some pictures. A good 4 inches of snow had fallen throught the day. I couldn't go into the cabin just yet. It wasn't snowing any more, the sky was clearing, it was in the low 30's and it was beautiful. The snow crunched under my boots as I walked. The sound of a creek came from down the hill. There was an occasional crack of a branch, but other than that, not a sound. I walked, I stood, I breathed, I relaxed. Did I mention how beautiful it was?

The next morning dawned clear. I couldn't stay in the cabin any longer than I had to. I had to get out and walk, so I did. The sun was just coming up. Some mountains were in sun, others still in shade.

Animal tracks criss-crossed the fresh snow. Leaves on  trees were covered in white, yet showed the green that they promised would come. There was peace everywhere and the knowledge that all of this beauty; all of this peace; all of this relaxation; came from God.

Some pictures from the weekend

I must admit, having a picture assignment made me think. There are plenty of ways of looking at things, and most of the time we look through fuzzy eyes because even though we look, we don't really see. A lot of what we're looking at is blurry. Sure, we really notice things that stand out for us, but what about what's really important?

What's really important is love. Love can be seen in so many things, if you know where to look. Love can be described as an emotion that is felt, but it's also very visual. It's represented by the heart but shows up all over the place.

Such as happiness. Happiness feeds love and love feeds happiness. Once we open our eyes to really focus on what we're doing, we can experience happiness in every day things. Being happy is a state of mind. Seeing life through the eyes of a child helps as well.

Being happy makes life sweet as well. I was reading a story about someone who's friend was always avoiding the things that would make her happy since they were usually bad for her. Then, one day she found out that she had a terminal illness and thought back to all of the things she had missed out on because they weren't good for her. She decided that from that point on, she wouldn't care whether it was good or bad, she would just do. So, eat sweets when you can. There comes a point when it just won't matter.

But, make sure you don't do anything illegal. For that, you could get in trouble and have to sit our a couple of rounds while others have all the fun. When there are rules to be followed, do so as much as you can because that will keep you in the game longer.

Then, when there is just the two of you, you can get a little crazy and no one will really care, because you've followed the rules, you've played the game you've enjoyed the sweets and you're as happy as your 16 year old life can be because you're in love and are looking at life clearly, well as clearly as a 16 year old can look at life.

It's For The Medals

Ran a half marathon yesterday. In a sense, that's not that big of a deal since there were 20,000 runners for the full/half/5k run that took place. All 50 states were represented as well as 13 other countries. 64% of the runners were female. Still, I was there, and I completed it. I've been running the halfs between 2:20 and 2:30 which is okay but I realized that I'm not really pushing myself in training, I'm just running. There's another run coming up the beginning of May. This is the run where I set my personal best of 2:16 four years ago. It will also be my 10th half marathon so I'd really like to beat that time and accomplish a new personal best. I'm not that far from that time, but I'd have to knock off about 45 seconds a mile to achieve it. Granted, it's not the exact same course but the mileage will be the same. I have 3 months to train for it, and since I know I can do the distance, I need to work up the speed. This past race, I wore out a bit over miles 10 and 11 so that tells me I need to also pick up the training distance. And, I did beat my previous time on that course by 4 minutes.

This whole running thing came about a few years ago. In my 20's I had run a few 10k races but never really thought about doing anything further and as the years went by, I pretty much stopped running. In 2005 I chose to train for and run a half marathon with my sister Maria and that was the start. I just completed my 9th and have a marathon thrown into the mix. After 2007, I thought I was done with the races and didn't run any in 2008 but for some reason, I missed it. I keep telling myself that it's for the medals but I think in a lot of ways, it's for the accomplishment. It requires training and it requires dedication but the early morning runs calm my soul. The completion of the race doesn't bring on emotions like the first couple did but I still feel the satisfaction of completing something that is pretty special. It's difficult at times getting up and getting going, but I'm usually glad I did.

I'm signed up for 2 more runs this year and then I know I'll be doing at least 1 next year in San Francisco. That will give me the California Dreaming medal. And, since the Surf City run changes medals every year, I suppose I'll do that one again, and when you've done 3 of those in a row, you get special benefits. See, I told you it was for the medals....

That's My Only Issue?

Met with some friends last night. During the course of the conversation we began talking about someone known to us who is going through sooooo much. She recently had a double masectomy due to stage 4 cancer that is now in her bones. Just the other day she had a lymph node removed from under her arm for testing. 2 weeks ago her husband died of a heart attack. She's in the process of losing her home. Her family lives out of the country. Oh, and she has three children, ages 5, 4, and 18 months. She has no life insurance and no will.

This morning, I woke up healthy. We are all healthy. We have jobs. What was my biggest issue this morning? Ants. Ants in the bathroom, ants in the kitchen. Streams of ants. Ants into almost everything. On any other morning, that would be a big issue. This morning, not so much.

1-1/2 Hours

1-1/2 hours. Sometimes it can be a very long time. When you're waiting for something that you've wanted for a very long time, it can be forever. When you're reading a great book or watching a wonderful movie, it can seem like it's just minutes. When you're sitting in nature, listening to what nature has to say, it flies by. When you get into Phoenix at 3:30 a.m. and into bed at 4, knowing that you have to be up at 5:30, 1-1/2 hours of sleep just isn't enough, but that's what we dealt with this morning. The nap this afternoon after the tournament was nice though.

When does one stop calling it a new year?

I had this conversation with someone the other day. They wished me a happy new year, even though we were several days into the new year, the question was posed, "when do we stop saying "new year"?" My best response was, "when we stop writing 2009 on things." For me, that usually takes a good 3 weeks into the new year. I caught myself just yesterday writing 09 on a check and had to cross it out, so I guess that means it's still a new year for me. We also just finished our last bit of Christmas. Sunday I took down the rest of the lights on the eves of the house and last night we got together with Bob and Sharon for dinner and gift exchange. I guess that officially closes out 2009, except for when I write it on a check. When that isn't my natural inclination, then 2010 is no longer a new year.

Do You Remember?

Cassandra had some friends stay over last night. They came in after a basketball team dinner and pulled out RockBand and went to it. A while later, Cassie asked if they could all spend the night. Not a problem. Then, she said they had to pick some things up and took off. They were back by 11:30. I got to bed as they were pounding drums, vocalizing and playing guitar. At some time during the night, I heard them come in from outside, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Got up at 4:30 to see the girls all up and about. Figured they hadn't been to sleep but they seemed to be crawling under the covers. I said I heard them come in at some point during the night to which I was greeted with, "which time"? Seems they were in and out of the house quite a bit. Doorbell ditching, TPing a friend, drive by TPing and going to the beach. Two of them are 18 so they figured it was okay if the all went.

I had no problem with it. I remember the times after Foster Freeze when we would go out, sometimes returning just before dawn. There was one time we had gone to a party, then to the beach and then home as the sun was coming up, only to have to get ready to go out to a Mother's Day brunch. I was beat but it was a great night just hanging out with friends.

The girls, especially Cassandra, needed to go out and get a little crazy. The league games officially begin tonight and with all of the volleyball and basketball stress she's been under, let her have her fun. It was harmless and probably will pay dividends in the long run. However, she's got a basketball game tonight and then a volleyball tournament tomorrow early so she won't be getting a whole lot of sleep. But I remember those times as well. And it was still worth it.

There Is Always A Solution

There Is Always A Solution

Had some technical things going on this morning at work. First, we were having 2 videoconferences going at the same time, one to London and the other local. The one to London  created a challenge since with the time difference, we didn't have a chance to test the call, and it was going to be a 2 hour interview. Well, there was a problem with the connection and it appeared that it was on their end, but how do you tell them that without it seeming that you're just pointing fingers? So, I pulled out my phone book, called a company that specializes in videoconferencing and let them connect us. 3 minutes  before the interview was to start, we were up. Then, the interviewee was having problems getting his laptop connected to the internet and he needed to access some things. I took his laptop and in about 3 minutes, had it connected and handed back off to him.

Got back to my desk to be greeted with several e-mails about our antivirus program not updating the definitions. I sent out, or thought I sent out, a message to everyone that it was being looked into, only to find out that my e-mail wasn't being sent. It was all just sitting in my outbox. Tried several things while I was online with tech support for the antivirus thing, none of them working so I totally uninstalled and reinstalled the program. That worked for my e-mail but 2-1/2 hours later I was still on hold with the antivirus company. Come to find out that they are the ones having the problem, not us and that they are working on it. 1/2 hour later I get an e-mail from one of our vendors saying that this particular antivirus company is having a problem with definitions...oh really? Don't need to worry about the definitions because they really are getting updated, it's just not reflecting in the date of the update. We're covered.

Needless to say, it was a pretty crazy, technically challenging morning, but it's all okay because, there is always a solution.

He Keeps On Running

It looms, in the future, coming this way ever quicker. Will I be ready for it? Can't say right now. Need to motivate myself to prepare. It's so hard to crawl out of bed though. Dakotah cries. He wants to go prepare for it. Hush, a little longer. There's no quieting an excited dog. He knows it's coming. He knows what we must do.

When the alarm first goes off at 4:15, it's a wave of the hand and I gain extra minutes of sleep. At 4:30, I know there can be no more delay, since it's coming, and it's coming fast. I throw my legs off the bed, stand and, shaking off a few aches, head downstairs. A few more paces and I'm feeling almost normal. I check the temperature to see what I'm going to be wearing, throw on my shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I strap support bands on my knees and adjust the iPod band on my arm. I tie my shoes and open the door to the garage, letting in the bounding dog. Hook up the leash to his collar and off we go. This morning, just over 5 miles. It needs to be more frequent. It needs to be longer. I need to train harder, because it's coming. February 7 will be here. Will I be ready? Will I be able to cover it all? Will I be able to walk when it's done? Pacific Shoreline 1/2 Marathon. It's coming.

A good night's sleep

Sometimes, it’s just so hard to get a good night’s sleep. If it’s not the dogs barking at something, it’s the kids getting up to go to the bathroom. Or, it’s a cat jumping on the bed, or just life in general staying on the mind. The night before last, Layla cornered an opossum behind the garden shed at 12:30 in the morning. Barking and growling and no way to get her out. Tommy echoed in with his deep and very loud barks, though he’s too old to really participate, and wouldn’t care about an opossum anyway, and Dakotah just ran around enjoying the excitement. The night before that, up until after midnight ‘cause Cassie had a basketball game earlier and just couldn’t wind down, but then had to be up at 6 to get ready to take her to a volleyball tournament.

Last night however, I was able to get to bed before 10:30, put the headphones on, listened to an alpha wave recording with the sound of rain and thunder behind it and fell asleep. I don’t remember anything disturbing me until the alarm went off at 4. For me, that’s a good night’s sleep. People say you need 7 - 8 hours of sleep a night. I get 5 - 6 and function pretty well. I do appreciate the undisturbed sleep when it comes. It makes the day pretty rosey.

Where has the year gone?

4 days into the new year. We've seen the removal of Christmas at the house and the entrance of a new year. We've seen frogs and lizards turned upside down, basketball games and volleyball tournaments. We've seen dogs protecting our yard from beastly creatures at 12:30 in the morning. We've seen the sun come up in the morning to a colorful sky of various shades of purples while the moon continued to show its wonder. In a lot of ways, it's an exciting time of year. There are hopes and expectations of greater things to come. It's like at the beginning of every sports season where there is hope of a championship, even though you know your team probably won't make it, but what if they could? Wouldn't that be wonderful? That's what the beginning of the year is like. There is hope for a fantastic year, even though we know there will be pitfalls along the way. What if we can limit those pitfalls and at the end of the year, instead of looking back and saying, "glad that year is behind me" we say, "what a great year we just had. Let's make this next one even better." That's my goal.