Weight loss

Well I didnt do so well when I stepped on the scale Monday morning. Not that it was a huge setback, but I gained .8 I know I know its not really noticeable in the grand scheme of things but it still sucks. I just made bad decisions plain and simple last week. This week has started off a bit beeter. We shall see how things go. The true test will be this weekend as we are going camping in northern Arizona.

Things I need to focus on are drinking my daily amount of water, limiting the soda intake and just in general make better choices with what goes in my mouth.

While on the subject of weight loss I want to say how proud I am of Debbie. This was the last week of her 10 week session of WW at work. SHe fell just shy of losing ten pounds in that ten weeks but I am proud of her none the less. She gave up soda, cut out the sweets and was very dilligent with the plan. Im proud of you hon, keep up the great work.

Thanks for reading

PSA

Just a quick post tonight. I spend 2 hours of my day driving. Ive noticed two things here in the valley of the sun. We have alot of customized license plates and alot of people driving around with a brake light and/or tailight out. Friends and family, take the time to check to make sure your brake lights and tailights are working properly. First off, if a cop notices, you might get a ticket. Second. it could an accident. So please, take 5 mknutes, grab a friend or family member and double check those brake and tailights please.

This Public Service Announcement brought to you by Blogger and a friend who cares!

RandomCam

75 posts already? wow

Weight Loss

It was that time again, to hit the scale again. At least I dont dread it anymore. I kinda look foward to it, especialy when it shows a loss. Well it showed a loss today. Granted it was only .2 lbs, but as I tell Debbie all the time, its still a loss.

I thought I did ok last week although I did some stress eating as our contract at work was about to expire on Sautrday and there was ( and still is ) some uncertainty that goes along with it. Its not like I hit the couch with a quart of ice cream but I probably ate some things that I havent been eating much of lately.

There have been many positives that have come with the dropping of tonnage as Voodoo Joe likes to say on the board. While we were at Target last night I mentioned to Debbie that I wanted to pick up a new pair of running/workout shorts and a new shirt. I asked her if I should just stick with the xl stuff I am accustomed to. She said no, go with the large. So I reluctantly did. When I got home I tried the stuff on. Surprisingly they were comfy. Ive always been the type that likes my clothes loose fitting and baggy. The new shirt and shorts were just about right. Not too tight and has a bit of looseness to it. Right on. Guess if I keep up the keep this up, I might have to go buy smaller clothes.

Thanks for reading!

RandomCam

MoeMotion

STIFF

By definition the word stiff ( or tight ) can mean several things

1. Difficult to bend; rigid.
2. Not moving or operating easily or freely; resistant: a stiff hinge.
3. Lacking ease or comfort of movement; not limber: a stiff neck.
4. Drawn tightly; taut.
5. Rigidly formal.
6. Lacking ease or grace.

After going to an ortho today for a follow up on my feet, I once again heard those two words out of a medical professional. My feet mechanicaly and structuraly are fine. I am having the on again off again pains in my feet due to either my calves/soleus or lower back being stiff or tight. My physical therapist early this year told me I would never be Gumby. That I would have to work at my flexibiltiy pretty much daily. There are some people that are naturaly flexible and Im not one of them. Just to prove the point to myself I attempted a 15 minute beginner Yoga workout dvd. Boy did that kick my ass. I definately need to keep working at that stuff.

Like I told Debbie after my Dr's appt, I guess I just have to take a part of my day and devote it to stretching and flexibilty exercises. Wether it be getting up earlier or like tonight do stuff after she and the kids go to bed. Especialy if I plan on returning to running, I need to more flexible and stronger in my core at the same time.

Ay yi yi!

Thanks for reading

Weight loss

I completely forgot to give an update last week on my ongoing journey to losing 25 lbs by my birthday in December.

The week prior to last I kinda fell off the eating and drinking right bus and got run over by said bus. When I stepped on the scale on Monday Aug 4th, I was surprised at what was looking up at me. Even with the bad choices I made ( and the tire tracks from the bus =) ) I still lost 1 lb from the previous week.

This past week I was a bit more focused, ate better and upped my water intake. The result when I stepped on the scale yesterday morning? 1.4 lbs lost.

I kinda questioned the scale even though it is a 100 dollar unit. So I asked Debbie to weigh in this a.m as I knew she was going to her Weight Watchers meeting at lunch and would weigh there. Only a .2 lb difference between what she weighed this morning and at lunch on a different scale. Ok so the scale isnt full of shit and im losing that much weight. Much to Debbies dismay cuz Im not as dilligent but im losing more weight weekly.

She shouldnt get discouraged though as she is still losing weight weekly. Im very proud of her for sticking with this. I know she has mentioned that boredom with only drinking water ( she's gone over a month not drinking soda ) and with eating alot of the same foods all the time. We have got some recipes from a WW book or two and are going to try some of them.

So as it stands now, since Jan 1st I have lost 18 lbs. That puts me at 186 lbs. Hell since I saw several of you in Madison over Memorial Day weekend I know I have dropped at least 10 lbs since then. I am the lightest I have been in years. Im not sure the last time I weighed this little as I didnt step on many scales in my 20s. I am trying to get motivated to get going on regular exercise as I know this weight wont drop just by continuing to eat right, I need exercise too.

Wish me ( and Debbie ) continued success on this journey, and as always thanks for stopping by and reading.

I got nuthin today

For some reason I decided at the beginning of the month I was going to do an entry a day. Well today I couldnt think of much to say.

Here's the thought of the day....

"If opportunity doesnt come knocking, build a door!" Milton Berle

4 years ago

I was just thinking that it was 4 years ago this month that we moved into our current house out in Surprise. My how time flys when you are having .....

This is what the house looked like from the outside when we bought it. Things have changed quite a bit since we bought it. If I remember Ill have to take a picture so you can see how much the front yard has changed.

08-08-08

Im not quite sure what the facination is when the date is like that but it does look kinda cool. Im supposed to finally meet Staci ( aka Kini ) from the board today. Funny how she lives the closest to me yet Ive never met her. And of all places to meet her, at a tattoo shop. Shes going to get inked once again and following her traditon. She got a tattoo on 6/6/06 and 7/7/07 so why not continue. I brought my camera so I hope to get a shot of her and I.

L8R SK8RS! =)

How's This For Justice?

Suspect steals truck, then gets carjacked

A Salinas man who had stolen a Chevy pickup truck earlier on Saturday was later carjacked at gunpoint in the vehicle.

Then on Sunday, the carjacking suspect nearly drove the truck into Salinas Fire Station II, at 10 W. Laurel Street, as he was pursued by police.

"You couldn't make up something stranger than this," said police Cmdr. Kelly McMillin, when explaining the incident.

Edward Bishop, 33, told police he stole a Chevy Silverado in north Salinas at around 1 a.m. Saturday.

While sitting in the truck at the 7-Eleven on South Main Street later that day, Jomo Sexton, 34, entered the truck pointing a gun at Bishop, ordering him to drive around Salinas.

The truck ran out of gas near Kern and East Market streets and Sexton ordered Bishop to push the truck, but Bishop ran away and called police. Bishop was arrested for suspicion of vehicle theft and booked at the Monterey County Jail.

On Sunday, officers saw the Chevy driving recklessly on East Laurel Drive toward North Main Street. The truck ran a red light and struck another car as Sexton fled from authorities, police said. The truck struck a fire hydrant and knocked down a flag pole in front of Salinas Fire Station II.

Sexton was ejected from the vehicle at impact and landed in front of the American Legion. He was taken by helicopter to a Bay Area hospital, then released to Salinas police.
Sexton was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, carjacking, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlicensed driving, hit and run and violation of parole.

These two idiots are definatley canidates for America's Dumbest Criminals

RandomCam

Happy running anniversary to me

It was 3 years ago today that I started running.

There really was no cause for celebration as I have run a total of 5 miles this year.

I took time off after I ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon with several of my friends from Kickrunners. I was having back and hip problems and I wanted to give myself time to heal. I did 3 months of PT for my back earlier this year. My back and hip were starting to feel better then I wound up with a protruding disc in my neck. On top of that I was beginning to have knee problems. Gee the whole point of taking time off from running was to heal. Ive felt worse since I stopped running. My neck is feeling better after the previously talked about epidural shots. Today I go for a follow up on my left knee. Im sure the Dr will have me get a brace for my right knee now. Another 8 weeks of wearing that and hopefully if this old jallopy doesnt have another break down, I will start C25k.

Im looking foward to a new start with my running. Im nervous, anxious, scared, excited its all there. Im confident things will go well once I return to running. Hopefully next year Ill have a lot more to celebrate on my 4th anniversary of running

Thanks for reading

Another August birthday

Happy Birthday Kris!

Sounds like you had a good time with Nick over the weekend. I dont know if you have anything special planned for today but even if you dont, I hope your day is a special one!

Debbie is home

After dropping the kids off at different sets of grandparents houses, I made the trip down to Sky Harbor to pick up Debbie. Geez I make it sound like it was a long journey, it was a whole 20 minute drive from my mom and dad's lol. She was in Salt Lake City for the annual Stampin' Up convention from Tuesday until yesterday. It was nice to have her home. No comments about any Gatorade sessions though ;) Today we are heading southeast for a bit of a drive. We are heading to Chandler for my nieces' 13th birthday party. Should be fun.

Happy Birthday Megan!

Today is Debbie's niece Megan's 13th birthday. I cant believe she is 13 already. She was the first newborn I ever held. Debbie laughs still to this day as I didint move or do anything when I held Megan. I just sat there stiff armed and looked at her. Im a guy, give me credit, we dont hold many babies. I got better as time went on. By the time my kids came along I was an old pro at holding them.

So Happy Thirteenth Birthday Megan!

In other news, Im gonna try to log at least an entry a day in this month. Might not be very long entries but im gonna try regardless

I do have one question for my few readers out there. WHo is reading both mine and Debbies blog thats from the San Antonio, TX area, I have that little deal on the side of my blog that tracks were people are from that stop in to the blog and I see San Antonio, TX fairly often. Leave me a comment as to who you are, id like to know =)

I Dont Have A Six-Pack

With the ongoing dieting/looking a certain way craze thats going on in our country, I came across an interesting blog entry from one of the fitness experts on SparkPeople.com. Im going to post Nicole's blog entry here, I think its an unusual position for a fitness expert to take, but I agree with it. Its a bit long, but worth the read.

"I Don't Have A Six-Pack"

Last week, I was leading a group of my SparkPeople co-workers through a 10-minute core workout. Since I teach fitness classes (including Pilates) regularly, most of the exercises we do as a group are pretty easy for me since I’m used to doing them (and usually for much longer than 10 minutes). But they’re new and challenging for the group, who like to complain about their soreness during the workout (and the day afterwards). Anyway, the next day my co-worker Rachel, after telling me how she was sore from some of the moves, said, “Your core is so strong! I can’t believe you don’t have a 6 pack!” I immediately responded, “Who says I don’t?!” “You’ve told me before that you don’t.” “Oh…You’re right. I don’t.” (haha) Anyway, it got the pair of us talking and it kept me thinking. I explained how, having strong abs doesn’t mean you’ll have defined abs. After all, it’s the layer of fat on top of the abs that determines how much of them that you’ll see. The more I thought about her comment over the next few days, the more I decided I should share it. I don’t have a six pack. I don’t have anywhere near a perfect body. I have stretch marks on my hips (that I’ve had since I was a teenager, even though I was a fit and healthy athlete). I have the all-too-common cellulite on the back of my thighs (show me a woman that doesn’t!). My butt sticks out way further than I think it should. And my belly, while mostly flat and definitely strong, does have a pinchable inch or so that turns into a belly roll when I sit down. I’m not ashamed to admit it! I told Rachel that I could have a 6 pack if I wanted. Heck, I think almost anyone could. But what it takes to get to that point is serious, almost obsessive exercise and calorie counting for most people. I’ve been there before, but what it took to get there (and stay there!) was mentally and physically exhausting. I’d rather be “okay” with how I look and have a normal life where I can eat ice cream when I want to and exercise moderately…not obsessively. I think that most people would expect that fitness instructors, trainers, and experts who seem to know it all about working out and eating right would have perfectly toned bodies. And you’re not wrong to think that’s the case. After all, gracing the cover of every fitness video and magazine are the bodies of super toned fitness models and trainers. They’re not shy about showing off their ripped abs and muscular legs in their skimpy workout clothes either. Is that the true picture of fitness? No wonder we all think we need to change our bodies. I think these people are the exception to the rule. And not only that, but they make all of us regular people think that being fit and healthy means looking like a model on a fitness magazine cover. That couldn’t be further from the truth. More and more research is showing that fitness and fatness don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Overweight people who exercise regularly are healthier than thin and “normal” weight people who don’t exercise. By eating right most of the time and exercising to focus on your health and fitness level (and not for the sole purpose of looking perfect, losing weight or burning calories), I think you’re more likely to reach the point where you like the way your body looks and feels just enough...or maybe more. And no matter what it looks like at that point, you’ll be healthier as a result. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Like I said, an interesting position from a fitness expert. I like it though. Defiantley makes me feel better about myself.

If you made it this far, you get a huge kudo for reading that much. Thank you!

RandomCam

And this makes 60!





I am noticing a trend, I dont have many random pics of Sarah on my phone. Mental note to self, must remember to start taking more pics of Sarah

Weight loss

It seems as though the weight loss thread on the board has lost some steam and nobody is interested currently in posting on it. So I figured Id discuss my weight loss journey here.

I decided at the first of the year that I was going to set a goal of losing weight. I weighed in at 204 lbs to start the year. I want to weigh 175 lbs by my 37th birthday which is December 18th. In order to do that some things had to change and I needed to break down my goal into smaller attainable goals. First off I, I needed to cut down or cut out the soda intake. Second I needed to make better food decisions and include more fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet. Third by breaking my weight loss goal into two segments I thought it would be easier to attain.

With a starting weight of 204 and a goal of 175, thats 29 lbs to lose. Well Im not ocd but I needed a round number. So I opted to go with 30 lbs. The first small goal was to lose 15 of those lbs by June 18th. Well with some of the things that transpired in the early part of the year ( primarily my grandfather being diagnosed and dying of cancer ) eating and drinking right werent a priority. Still I managed to lose 7 lbs by June 18th. Not quite the 15 I wanted to its better than none. Since June 18th I have proceeded to get back on track and lose an additional 9 lbs ( 8 of it coming off since June 30th ) Im a little behind but I am remaining optmisitic.

Ive seen some major changes with the loss of these 16 lbs. Im needing to wear a belt in order to keep my shorts from falling off. The belt is on its last notch were as just 6-9 months ago it was on the second notch in from the end. My tool belt at work had to be cinched up as it was trying to fall off and my wedding band wants to fall off my finger now. Of course im too cheap and bit apprehensive to go buy new clothes because there it always the lingering fear of if I gain the weight back my clothes wont fit anymore. But at this rate im going to need to do something . Plus as Debbie says, I need to wear stuff that shows the weight loss off. We shall see.

I also know that I need to start doing some cardio work because at some point ( as it has in the past ) without exercise the weight loss will plateau. Plus if I want to return to running at the first of the year, I need to get my cardio back up.

So tune in next week, same bat time, same bat channel for the next update on my weight loss journey.

Thanks for reading

Welcome Home!

My long time friend ( and more recently my biggest heckler on my blog :) ) Merry, her husband Mitch and kids R.J. and Sara are returning home today from the year long adventure in Japan. I know by reading both Merry and Mitch's blogs that they both had an enjoyable and memorable time while living and working in Himeji, Japan. Im sure it was hard to leave the friends that they made over in Japan but I know some of the sadness will go away once they see their family and friends here in the States. I know Debbie and I are looking foward to seeing them all at some point here soon. Itll be good to see them and hear some of the stories they have to share about their time over there.

Welcome Home Mitch, Merry, R.J. and Sara!

This Week On Surprise Ink

Well after much thought and deliberation I finally went and got my first tattoo. Its something I had been thinking about for sometime. I honestly didnt know if I would be able to deal with the whole process. As it is I dont claim to have a huge tolerance for pain and I hate needles. Well I went Friday night to a shop recommned to me by Stacy ( Dankinia on the 30s ) and got it done. It took three hours with a couple of breaks thrown in. I dont know what hurt worse the tatooing or my hip after having my leg twisted for 3 hours. It actualy wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. The outlining of the tattoo was the worst part of it. I got it on my right calf. There were some exrta tender spots as Warlock ( the artist ) got near my shin bone and near the middle of my calf. Well here it is.

The tattoo is my two kids astrological signs combined. Sarahs's sign is Pieces and Tyler's is Aries. When I came up with the idea and the design of the tattoo I thought I had better do something for both kids at the same time in case I really hated the process and wouldnt go back.

Im sure the question I will get asked for a while is did it hurt and will you get another one. As the homepage of Sketches Tattoos says ( the shop I went to ) Fuck Yeah It Hurt. As for will I get another one? Right after I got my tattoo, I wouldve said no. 48 hours later, yes I will get another one. I already have some ideas of what I want. Just got to sit down with pencil and paper and put down a good design. Although I have to come up with a design for Debbies second one first.

Speaking of Debbie, I know some of you have been checking out her blog. She has a request, if you check her blog out, she asks that you leave a comment of some kind please. Even if its just every once in a while.SHed like to know who is stopping by.

Reminiscing and things that me make...

While on my way back from a late lunch yesterday I happened to glance down at the clock on the dash and noticed it was around 2:35. I was driving north on 43 rd ave. It dawned on me that I used to make that drive on that same street around that same time every day for a year working at my part time job while a senior in HS. I shoulda turned off the a/c, rolled down the windows and had a smoke and a coke going and it woulda completed the whole memory. Uh not. I gave up the occasional smoking more than 10 years ago and I got a/c in my car, im using it =)

Between my hour long commute each way every day and random observations, there are many times when the things I see remind me of people I know

Crane plumbing products
Litchfield Road
Wachovia Banking Centers
Loop 101 North
OSU license plates and frames
Minnesota license plates
Parrothead license plates
Parker and Sons Air Conditioning
Chipotle

Those are just some things that come to mind that I see on a regular basis that reminds me of friends. Want the asnwers? Leave a comment =)

Thanks for reading!

I Try To Hard

I cant help but think latley that I try to hard to be a friend or more specificaly remind people that I am there for them. Not so much my friends here in town but my out of state friends. I need to remind myself at times that I have only known some of then for short periods of time. The majority of them have life long friends, friends that are close to them location wise or just dont have someone who smothers them.

I cant put my finger on it as to why I get like this at times. Maybe its the fear of rejection, or that I didnt have a whole lot of friends growing up. If Im not there for my friends Ill lose them.

None of my friends have ever said anything to me like I need to back off or they dont need me or my advice, I just get this way.

This too shall come to pass.

Sorry for the downer post. Was alone at work and there are times lately that I dont like being alone.

Ill have a much brighter post the next time

RandomCam

Couple more shots I came across while looking at my phone....

Jazz hands you say? Not quite, these are peanut butter hands =)

Storm brewin' sunset for Kris =)

This is Spinal Tap, Finis

I went Tuesday for what I hope will be my last epidural injection for my protruding disc. The first two brought my considerable relief in the pain and symptom department. I hope as time goes on this third one will rid me of the occasional spasms I have in my left arm/hand. About the only other thing I have noticed after the first two shots besides the spasms is a dull ache between my shoulder blades on occasion. I sometimes wonder if thats the actual discomfort of the two verterbraes being at different angles. I have a follow up appt in two weeks. Thats one of the questions Ill have for the Dr.

Im hoping that this will all be just a memory in the not too distant future

As always thanks for stopping in and reading!

Wish they all could be PA girls....

Ok, I got called out on my own blog by a friend from Kick. I wont bring up any names and I doubt anybody will take the time to look for it. I just thought that I would do a little something to make up for it in some way. I guess you could say this is just an extension of Friends and thier blogs.

Alrighty then... To lead things off we have Heather ( sauconRunner ) . Shes been a part of the gang for quite some time. I met Heather, her hubby and their beautiful little girl Avery last year in Philly. I actualy sat next to the three of them at dinner on Saturday night ( well that is until Avery wanted to go across the table to Auntie Alexis =) Heather has been doing real well with her running and took the plunge and will be returning to Philly this year signe dup for the full 26.2. Go Heather!

Next up is Jill ( Off the Couch Gal ) My first recollection of her in the group was her running ( and winning some AG hardware I think ) a race with her dog. Pretty cool deal. We dont have many if at all of those races at all here. Again one of those fine folks from Kick that I got to meet in Philly. The first interaction I had with her at dinner was "Hi Frankie, I have something for you" Jill got all of our matching shirt taken care of for us. ( they are still talked about and used to this day ) Jill is yet another one taking the plunge into the deep end of running by signing up for the full in Philly. You both will rock Philly.

Kate ( Praecipua in Pink ) is my final friend being talked about in this installment. Just recently getting her PhD and accepting a job in Missouri, Kate was a PA girl when I met her last year in Philly. I had a great time meeting her in Philly and spent some time chatting with her at the after party. I am embarrassed to admit I didnt actualy know Kate's real name until I got to Philly. Sometimes for whatever reason you might not catch or know a presons real name from the board. Most of us dont use any part of our name as our user name.

Three great ladies who I enjoyed meeting and getting to spend what time I did with them. Im hoping to get back that way next year for a family vacation and hopefully get to see them again. Only time will tell.

This pic is just prior to the start of the 8k that the some of the gang ran in Philly. Pictured from left are Norah, Maria, Kate, Heather, Tim and Jill

RandomCam

Im going to start a new weekly installment. Some of you used to get my RandomCam pics as I would take them with my cell phone and send them to friends and family. Im not doing that so much anymore. I thought I would just post a weekly pic and go from there.

I took this in Tyler's babysitter's front yard. Even though Ive been a life long desert dweller, Im not sure what kind of cactus this flower is on. Who says there isnt some beauty in the desert =)

Im bummed

Before I start, this is my 50th post woo hoo. I think most of the 50 have come since the first of this year.

Ok back to me being bummed. The group from the 30s got together and pitched in money to buy our friend Joe a gift certificate. Why the gift certificate? Well a week ago Joe did a very noble and heroic act. He donated bone marrow to help a little girl in her fight for life. He'll downplay as it was no big deal and anybody wouldve done it. Well most people might but not everybody is signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program ( I have been since '06 )

I read the thread that Joe started on the board about him not knowing what to say in response to the kind gesutre that the group did. The same day I read the thread, I got the email about donating to Joe's gift. Gee Im so glad I got an email after the fact. Sure the "group" mightve done this but "I" wasnt able to donate so therefore I dont feel that I did my share. I consider Joe a friend and I feel bad that I wasnt able to contribute. Ive always contributed when I could to peoples gifts when I was informend about them before hand. Maybe Ill just do something on my own for Joe. The least I can do is buy my buddy a beer the next time I see him. Ill get over this but it just kinda sucks!

Sorry this was such a downer post but if you read it, thanks for taking the time to read it!

Just a quick random thought...

I had a lot of fun putting together the Friends and Their Blogs segments, I found out a few things while doing them. First I have a few more readers/visitiors than I knew of. Second I really need to not do blog entries after 10 pm. Not that I claim to be a great speller but I did notice that my spelling goes to shit after 10 pm. I definately need to check my spelling before hitting the "publish post" button =)

Oh and after being called out in the comments section, Im coming up with a little something here in the next couple of days....

Until next time, thanks for stopping and reading!

My Friend, my love, my wife ( and her blog =) )

Remember in the 3rd installemt of Friends and BLogs I said one of the last 5 would get their own installment, well here it is....

Were do I begin with this one. At the beginning I guess. I met Debbie ( Thoughts, Rants and Rages ) through some friends of mine over 14 years ago. I was working at a speed shop here in town at the time. I became friends with quite a few of the customers and one of those friends had a cousin. That cousin was Debbie. She also happened to be dating one of my customers that I had known for a long time. I saw Debbie from time to time at the store or at the ceramics store that was next to the shop I worked at. One night I decided to leave her a note under the windshield wiper of her truck. Well unbeknownst to me, her truck had an alarm on it. Out of the ceramics store she came to find out what was up. We wound talking for a while that night. One thing led to another and I wound up dating Debbie later that year ( 1994 )

While dating we were there for each other during some really tough times in our lives ( her grandfather becoming ill and passing away, my brother and all of his stuff etc ) We grew really close during that time and I knew she was the one I wanted to marry. I proposed to her on Christmas Eve 1995. We got married in February of 1997.

Its been an interesting 11 years. Like any couple weve had our share of ups and downs. Definatley topping the ups list was the birth of our two children Sarah in 2001 and Tyler in 2004. The downs, well they were there but we made it through them. Ive known people who have had it worse in their marriages. Im very fortunate that I have the wife that I do. Id be the first to admit im not the easiest person to get along with at times. Im surprised she has stuck around as long as she has =) I do worry though that with her sleep deprivation issues I could be in trouble one night and Id never know ;) This pic was taken last year on our 10th anniversary cruise in the Carribean

In all seriousness, she's the love of my life and I wouldnt trade her for anyone.

Thanks for reading!

Friends and blogs 3

The third installment in this series. Im going to change it up a bit. Two of the last five people on my list arent from Kick. Amazing isnt it. One of these last 5 will get their own installment

Tonya Parker ( Onward and Upward ) is first up. Tonya is the lovely ( and extremely tall ) wife of the previously mentioned Kevin Parker. As with Kevin I met Tonya last year at the Flying Pig marathon. Tonya wasnt running the race, she was there in support of KP. I didnt get to talk to Tonya much at the meetup. She was fairly new to our group at that point so I dont know how many of the gang at the meetup interacted with her. I actualy got to talk to Tonya quite a bit more at the Madison race over Memorial Day weekend. Its kind hard not to talk to someone when you are sharing a room with them. Madison was Tonyas first HM and I was glad I was there to see it. She did a great job! The pic I am putting up I stole off her blog =) Its one of the awesome shots that Chris O'Brien ( HighHeat ) from our group took. It is Tonya about a tenth of amile form the finish line at Madison

Next up is Mitch Hammes ( Our Japanese Experience ) . Mitch is the loving husband of my friend Merry. While I have only been around Mitch a couple of times, he was very genuine and all around a nice guy. Both he and Merry and thier two kids are currently in Japan> Merry has been teaching over there for a year. They are just two weeks away from coming home. I really wish I couldve made it over their for a visit but the finances just wouldnt allow it. They are already talking about possibly take another teaching job in Australia in a couple of years. We might just have to make a trip down under happen.

Third on this list is Mary McDonald ( Running Away/ Traveling Around My Head ) McT or the Mayor as she is known on the board, she is quite the character. She had been lurking while we were still at CR and decided to join us right before we moved to Kick. She fit right in the with the hijinx, comreaderie and the support that we have all grown to love. Somehow amongst all the hijinx it was determined that Mary needed a imaginary poolboy. Well I won out over several other canidates. Still not sure what the job entails but I enjoy the title =) I got to meet Mary and her husband Bob in Madison. As much as we interacted on the board and PMed each other, I was a bit shy and nervous to approach her. All that went away when I got a big hug from her. I enjoyed talking to them both at dinner Saturday night and was glad I got to see them both finish their first HMs. THe pic of Mary and I was taking at the after party in Madison

Melissa Heaton ( To China and Back and Beyond ) is the last in this installment. Yet another member of our group, she's been MIA for quite some time. With good reason though. Last year Melissa traveled to China to complete the adoption process of adopting her daughter Mia. As part of that process, she missed the race the Flying Pig and my best opportunity to meet her. Although in pics she was sending some of us in her travels to China she was wearing the tech shirt from the Flying Pig so she had to at least made it to the expo. Oh well, hopefully there will be a time were I will get to meet Melis and Mia in person down the road.

There is one more blooger on my list but that installment will come tomorrow

Thanks for reading !

My Friends and their blogs part II

Let me give a lttile give an little explanation to those who read my blog that arent familiar with the 30s Somethings from KickRunners. The 30s are a tight knit group of men and women from all across the country and parts of Canada. Our common bond is running. SOme of us are fast, some slow and some are middle of the pakcers While I might not have met them all in person, I feel like I know all of them really well. As a group, weve been there for one another in victory and defeat, sickness and health, babies coming into the world, family and friends leaving this world. We have faced alot together. Lifelong friendships have formed within this group and we all know that if need be, any one of the group will be there for us.

Ok moving along.....

My friend Kris ( Life To The Power of Kris ) is up first here in the second group. All four of the folks in this group are members of the 30s. Kris has been a part of CR/Kick and our group for quite some time. Kris and I seem to do a good job of being supportive of each other at times when its needed. I met Kris ( and her friend Nick ) in person for the first time time last year in Cinncinati at the FlyingPig Marathon. I have since seen Kris at meetups/races in Philly and Madison. Kris is working on expanding my horizons when it comes to beer =). The pic of Kris and I was taken in Madison Memorial Day weekend

Kevin Parker ( Michigan-Yeah Were Staying ) is up next. Kevin ( and his lovely wife Tonya ) is another one who I met for the first time in Cincinnati at the Flying Pig. Even though he doesnt see it, we all think he bears a resemblance to Mark McGuire. Being the shit starter that I am, I walked up to Kevin at the PIg expo and asked him if he was Mark McGuire. I could tell he was a bit bent and I introduced myself to him ( as I could no longer hold a straight face ) Kevins line of work is an athletic trainer and I have asked him on several occasions for help wtih some of my issues. He has always been obliged to help. Seems like every pic I have of Kevin he is in a crowd. This is the only one I could find were he isnt in a crowd. This is Kevin and Melissa ( Cranegirl ) at dinner in Madison. Ironicaly its one of only two pics I have of Melissa were she isnt hiding from the camera.

Next up is the sexy librarian from Boston, Maureen ( Moe, For Better or Worse ) Moe has been a part of the group longer than I have. Moe and I met in Philly last year. Interesting story as neither one of us were prepared for the half marathon we were slated to run. I told her several months before that I would run it with her. She was worried about me getting hurt from slowing down. Nonsense I told her, Ill be fine ( its not like im a whole lot faster than she is anyways ) We decided we would alterante running and walking each mile. Well my buddy Joe decided he was going to join us on our little 13.1 mile journey. The three of us ran and walked every step together from start to finish. It wasnt my fastest HM ( the Pig is still my PR race ) but it was the most unique one out of the 3 I have done. I enjoyed every minute and would gladly do it again with the three of them. Speaking of Philly and the three of us, he we are at the finish

Beth ( My So-Called Running Life ) rounds out the quartet of friends. Beth joined CR sometime after I did. The first time I really remember interacting with her was when I asked her if she wanted to be my virtual training buddy for the Pig. We were both using Hal Higdons plan and I just thought it would be cool to have someone to keep me inline. Neither one of us did quite as well as we wouldve liked during our training but we toed the line in Cinci anyways. We ran together for most of the first 5-6 miles of the race and got separated in Eden Park. Beth finished about 3 minutes ahead of me in her debut HM. Not bad. I have since seen Beth in Philly and the infamous meetup in Madison =) Beth is the first Southener I have ever met and the first person to ever call me a Yankee. Kinda funny seeing as how I have never lived in the north ( her reasoning is my family is from the north, hmmm ok ill give her that ) This shot was taken at the Hoffbrauhaus in Kentucky after the Flying Pig race. She hates this pic but seeing as how I havent got the pic of her and I from Philly, this will have to do.

And this ends the 2nd segment of Frankies Friends and their blogs, hope you liked it. Thanks for reading ( that would include Heather =) )

My friends and their blogs

Well now that I am home I can work on that the one kinda cool idea I had for a blog entry. THe idea came to me sometime last week. Looking at my friends blog list I got the idea to post how I met the person, how long ive known the person and share a pic of that person if I had one. Seeing as how have 13 people listed, im going to split the group into 3. Ill work one the first 1/3 now.

The first blogger on my list is Merry Hammes ( 12 on 12 ). I met her over 20 years ago when we were teenagers bowling in the same league on Saturday mornings. I only have one friendship that goes back even further than Merry's and mine. Merry was also my first girlfriend way back then. Sadly I dont have any pics of us together or even one of her thats scanned.

The second friend on my list is Stephen Andert ( CactusTri ). Stephen and I are part of a group ( 30 Somethings ) on a running message board ( KickRunners ). He and I met for the first time in Janaury '07 at the RnR Marathon expo in downtown Phoenix. This is a pic of me,Robiah and Stephen taken in February of this year in Apache Junciton after a running race we all ran in.


The third blogger on my list is Stacy otheriwse known as Dankinia on Kick. Its rather ironic that she has been a pat of our board for over a year and she is the member of our group that lives closest to me ( 10 miles ) but I have yet to meet here\ WIth her working nights and such its hard to set a time were we can get together anc actualy meet. Im hoping sometime soon

My fourth friend on the list is Joe Arcilla ( Just Squarely Joe ) Yet another memeber of the 30s group from Kick. Joe was actualy the first member of the 30s that I met. I was running a half marathon in San Jose, CA in Oct of '06. Unbeknownst to me Joe had posted on the board that he was planning on coming down from Napa Valley to cheer me on. I was having trouble towards the end of the race when I heard soemone call out my name. I thought who in the hell knows me up here. THen Joe said who he was. Tht was the little bit of a pick me up I needed to get me to the finish line that day. I talked with him briefly after teh race but had to hurry off to catch a plane home. Joe has been there for all 3 of my half marathons in one form or another. I need to plan my retunr to half marathons with him there. I dont want to break the streak :) This pic was taken of Joe, me, Beth and Kris ( both of whom Ill talk about in the next installment ) just prior to the start of the Flying Pig Half Marathon in 07. One of my favorite races!

Well that about wraps it up for this addition, Ill share more tomorrow. As always, thanks for reading

1 garbage entry coming up

Ok, its now July 7th and this is my first blog entry of the month. Im killing my average thus far. Last month I had an average of 1 entry every 3 days. Not looking like that will happen this month. There wont be much to this one. I have things on my mind Id like to blog about but just cant seem to find the right words. I could talk about my improving weight loss, physicaly starting to feel better, friends im not communiucation with as much as I have in recent months, husband responsibilites etc. I do have one cool idea. I need to dig up some photos of some people first though.

Just dont know were to start. Guess Ill give it some more thought and hopefully be able to put together an entry here in the next couple of days. Guess thats why my blog is called Rambling, Ranting, Running, etc. Its one big ramble today.

Thanks for reading and Ill have something better soon!

Last ramble of June

Wow has the time flown, its hard to believe June has come and gone. The 4th of July is on Friday. No big plans for us although Debbie and I both have the holiday off. Cheaper and easier to stay home and avoid being a holiday statistic.

Went for my physical for my NHRA competition license renewal today. Dr. says im good to go. He did send me out for bloodwork too. The typical stuff plus checking for my testosterone level to see how that has changed since my injection in May. Im seeing some improvemet in the way I feel, being able to sleep through the night etc. There are still some things that need improvement. I still have no patience with the kids and I feel bad about it. Im hoping that improves here real soon.

Thats about it for now. THanks for stoppping by and reading!

This is Spinal Tap Part Deaux

Ive now gone for the 2nd of 3 epidural injections in order to bring some relief to my protruding disc between my c6 and c7 verterbrae.

Im not much of a fan of needles but the thought of taking the option either time of sedation seemed like a real waste of time. First you had to bring somebody with you as you arent to drive after being sedated. Then they put in a cathedor and run an iv bag. THeres alot more pain and bullshit to go through for getting sedated than just climbing up on the table and getting the local anesthesia inection then the epidural.

After I got my injection and sat in the recovery chair for a few minutes, I noticed my Dr talking to an older gentleman. Apprently the gentleman wanted the sedation. Well Dr Rubin couldnt find a vein good enough to start the Iv for the sedation. He wound talking the man into just going in, getting the local, then proceeding with the epidural. Not sure how he made out as my 15 minute recovery time was over.

As far as relief. I think the shots are helping quite a bit. Apparenly though they wont make much of a difference with the clicking my neck makes. Oh well, so long as my arms and legs dont feel like they are going to fall off or spasm anymore I can deal with the clicky neck. Dr Rubin said im good to go on amusement park rides, woo hoo!

Thanks for reading!

A different perspective

With this blog entry I have written as many entries in June as I did in all of 2007. Guess Im feeling kinda chatty this month.

As much as you might think you know somebody there are always things that can pop up and surprise you. Reading the blogs of family and friends gives you a different perspective on life. Wether it be their life or even events in your own life, there is always a different view.

Sometimes its eye opening the things you read. Good in some ways, not so good in others. There are times were after you read something you really wish you could be there for that friend or family member instead of miles away. Looking at it that way there are times were it would be nice to have the freind of family member next to you to support you. Just knowing that they are out there and have you in their thoughts makes a huge difference though.

Ive read some good things latley in blogs. Things that maybe I had an idea about but after reading an entry or two solidified what I was thinking.

Ok ive rambled in no apparent direciton on this one so im going to close it out. But I will say im happier in these last few weeks =) Guess that treatment finally started paying off

A New Hope

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...



Star Wars

Episode 4

A New Hope

It is a period of civil war.

Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base,

Have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire

Sorry I got a bit carried away going down memory lane there. Its kinda funny that after my visit with the ortho Dr. that the blog title "A New Hope" came to mind, along with the scroll from the beginning of Star Wars.

The reason A New Hope was chosen is that's what I was given today.

Almost a year ago I was given a diagnosis of degenerative arthritis in my right hip after having some groin, hip and lower back pain after my PR ( personal record fort hose who dont know ) in the Half Marathon distance in Cinncinati last year. I initialy went to my primary Dr who put me on a 'script of prednisone. After the scrip ran out I was still in some discomfort. Given the name of sports med Dr by my podiatrist I went and saw the Dr. He did an exam and then proceeded to send me for x-rays. A week or so later I went for a followup and was given the diagnosis. I found it odd that I had no prior symptoms and found it odd that at 35 I had arthritis. The Dr did tell me I could continue to run but at a reduced rate and wanted me to do more cross training. You mean thats it? I was a bit dumbfounded by this and at the same time refused to accept the diagnosis. Following the advice of my fellow 30s, I decided to go for a second opinion. It just took me 11 months. I kinda dragged my feet, was scared and was going through a lot of other things so it kinda got put on the back burner. I finally went for the second opinion today.

Before I saw the Dr I had two xrays taken. I had brought last years xray with me just in case. The xray tech made a comment to me as she was making sure the film was ok that my left hip looked rough. Gee thanks alot lady. I am a worrier by nature and now I have it in my head that both of my hips are screwed up. I went back to the exam room and not so patiently waited for the Dr. I had to get up off the table cuz I was starting to hurt. The Dr mustve looked at my current xrays before he came in and saw me. He came into the room and asked me why I was there. Uh, well my hip is hurting off and on and im really looking for a second opinion on a diagonosis I was given. "What was the diagnosis?" he asked. Degenerative arthritis I replied. "Where?" he asked. "I was given the diagnosis by Dr Sellers last year". "No were is the arthritis?" "In my right hip" was my reply. "You dont have arthritis in either hip" Dr Duhon said to me. He agreed with the assesment that I have narrow spacing of the joint but there is no signs of degeneration. Woo Hoo I thought!

We talked a little more and then he told me he didnt want me to return to jogging as he referred to it. He said theres plenty of other activities I could do. He didnt flat out tell me no but he'd rather I do something else. Kinda funny how the Dr who told me I had arthritis said I could continue running but yet the Dr who said I dont have arthritis doesnt want me to run Hmmm.

I had taken time off at the first of the year from running to get my lower back healed up and hadnt planned on starting running again until after the summer was over anyways. Ive had some other setbacks with the protruding disc and my knee issue so it probably wont be until after the first of the year anyways at this point.

But the dream is still alive to complete more half marathons. My biggest goal is to complete one here in Arizona as I have yet to run one in my home state. I told Debbie tonight that I want to run PF Changs Rock and Roll Half Marathon with her in 2010. That gives us both a year and half to get up to speed.

The other dream to run with my friends from the 30s is still alive too. Not quite sure how that will pan out but Ill figure it out. I will say that one particular 30 was the first to come to mind today. Her and I have similar PRs in the 5k and HM. ( Or at least we did, not quite sure at this point, she mightve got a bit quicker ) Maybe once I get back up and going I can convince her to slow down a bit and hang with me at a race =)

Thats about it, thanks for reading

Oh, and May the Force be with you!

Im irritated as hell!

I found out an interesting bit of news yesterday... First some background info

I have been a member of a running message board ( fort hose who didnt know ) for 2.5 years now. Its a part of my everyday life checking in, posting, reading etc. I have met a lot of wonderful people from the board. From the board I have formed offline friendships with some of the people. That should be fairly obvious as most of the people who read my blog are from the board. =)

Several months ago one of my female friends from the board was going through some tough times at home. She didnt give many details on the board. We all let her know that we were there for her and that if there was anything we could do, let us know. Well come to find out this person's husband accused her of cheating on him. Wow thats a huge accusation. Again not many details but she was obviously hurt and upset by this accusation. I dont claim to be an expert in her life but I dont think she comes across as one to cheat on her hubby.

Now we get to the interesting news that I got yesterday. I was told by this friend of mine that I was one of the two guys that her husband accused her of having an affair. WTF? Excuse me? Um I dont think so. First off, I have only physicaly been around her once in my life. The closest thing I got was a hug the first night I met her and a hug and kiss on the cheek the night before I left to fly home. Sure I txtd back and forth with her, and talked to her several times on the phone. If thats what he considers having an affair, Id hate to see what he thinks having sex would be.

I just dont get it. I txt alot of my female friends. Many of them are married. Ive never had any of them tell me that their husbands think they are having an affair with me. Debbie knows I txt back and forth or chat with them on instant messenger ( some of my friends are Debbie friends ) Debbie doesnt think that Im having an affair with any of them. Sure she calls some of them my girlfriends but its all in jest. Dont get me wrong my friends are attractive and so are all the ladies on the board. There are alot of lucky men out there to have such great women in their lives. Sure if I were single Id like the chance to date alot of them ( if they wanted to date me is another question :) ) but im not out planning an affair with any of them. Im happily married and I want to keep it that way.

I dont know whats going to become of all this but it sure is irritating to me to be accused of something I didnt do. Guess if I want to keep my head attached I should plan on skipping meetups back east from here on out. Nah screw that. Im not going to let some nucklehead keep me from having a good time with my friends from the board and meeting new ones. He can drag his ass to one of these meetups and talk to me man to man. Ive got nothing to hide

Monday, Monday

I dont know if its so good to me or not, its too early to tell. Work wise its quiet thus far. THey probalby screwed up on loading us our work and will dump a bunch of shit on us late in the afternoon. Weather wise its already teh suck! At 8 am this morning it was 96 degrees on its way up to who knows what. Yesterday it was over 110. Yep summer is officialy here.

We might be escaping the heat this weekend though. My aunt ( dad's only sister ) is coming out from New Jersey on her way to Oregon and is going to spend a few days here. We might take her up to Flagstaff for the day. That way she wont completely melt =) This will be twice in 7 months that Ive seen Connie. I stayed with her for a few nights when I traveled back to Philly last year for the half marathon that I ran. Ive seen her more in the last year than I have in the previous 11.

Father's Day came and went without much fanfare. We didnt make it to church as Sarah didnt want to sing as part of the group so we opted to stay home. It was too hot to go check out the car show near another church by the house. So we lounged around the house ( or I should say I did as Deb was busy doing things around the house ) I wound up taking the kids to the community pool for a short time and then it was time for bed.

Had an IM conversation with a good friend of mine who I dont get to talk to near enough last night. She had some interesting news about my ex-girlfriend. Apparently she's getting divorced. Come to find out that her husband had cheated on her. How ironic is that. My ex-girlfriend cheated on me twice ( that I know of ). Now its happened to her. I dont care what Jen says about Shayla growing up, being a different person and taking marriage seriously. Thats just kharma, whats comes around goes around and I dont feel a bit sorry for her. I wouldnt wish a cheating spouse on anybody, I just dont feel sorry for someone who hurt me like they did.

Oh well enough of that. Not much else to talk about, although I must say Go Celtics! Oh and Geaux Tigers!

Some people

I got this email today from a friend of the family...

A Revelation

This will make you re-think : A Trivia question in Sunday School : How
long is the beast allowed to have authority in Revelations ? Guess the
Answer? Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months, and you know
what that is. Almost a four-year term to a Presidency. All I can say
is Lord Have Mercy on us.

According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is: The
anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will
deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE
Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him
and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in
power, will destroy everything ..

Who is it? Any ideas? Is it? I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to
repost this as many times as you can! Each opportunity that you have
to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it! I refuse to take a
chance on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere.


Now Ill be the first to admit, I dont like either canidate Republican or Democrat ( my canidate dropped out of the Democratic race a few months ago ) but not enough to come up with something like this and send it out to everybody I know. I know times arent the greatest but lighten up people and or get a life.

This Song....

was the song we danced to at our wedding 11 years ago. This was the song that after a large Long Island Iced Tea on our 10th wedding anniversary, I got up a little buzzed and sang this at a karaoke bar on the cruise ship we were on. I figured what the hell, it was a special day and nobody will ever know. Meh, unbeknownst to me, Debbie filmed it with our camera. Im sure for a small fee, Debbie would probably share it with folks :)

I Swear by John Michael Montgomery

I see the questions in your eyes
I know whats weighing on your mind
But you can be sure I know my part
cause Ill stand beside you through the years
Youll only cry those happy tears
And though Ill make mistakes
Ill never break your heart

I swear
By the moon and stars in the sky
Ill be there
I swear
Like the shadow thats by your side
Ill be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
Ill love you with every beat of my heart
I swear

Ill give you everything I can
Ill build your dreams with these two hands
Well hang some memories on the wall
And when theres silver in your hair
You wont have to ask if I still care
cause as time turns the page
My love wont age at all

I swear
By the moon and stars in the sky
Ill be there
I swear
Like the shadow thats by your side
Ill be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
Ill love you with every beat of my heart
I swear

I swear
By the moon and stars in the sky
Ill be there
I swear
Like the shadow thats by your side
Ill be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
Ill love you with every beat of my heart
I swear
I swear

I dont know what it is, but its been playing on continous loop in my head for quite some time now. I cant reach the damn pause or skip button =)

Im a bit puzzled...

In a conversation with my father yesterday an interesting question came up. We were discussing the mission team that my church sent to Peru this week. This next little blurb is directly from my church's website about the mission and then Ill get to my point

The Purpose
As Americans, we live in the wealthiest country in the most prosperous time in the history of the world. We have gobs of resources, an abundance of opportunity, and hope for a bright future. Not only are we physically wealthy, but we have free access to the hope of the gospel through the many churches all around us. While we enjoy all of these benefits, all around the world there are people in great physical and spiritual need. When we see this need there is something that wells up inside of us that urges us to take action! Therefore, we at Journey Church are compelled by God’s great mercy and the example of Christ to leave our comfort behind and sacrifice for others who are in need!

The Work
While we are in Trujillo we will be helping families and children that live and work in the dump outside of the city. These families spend their days digging through the trash for food, clothing, and recyclables. They sell the recyclables for profit, but it is not much of a life. Through a partnership with Inca Link, we will be helping with a construction project to benefit the men, women, and children living in the dump. We will not only be helping in construction, but we will be ministering to the people, playing with the children, and sharing God’s words of grace.

Our Mission
We will travel to Trujillo, Peru this summer to join the missionary work of Inca Link. Here is some of the work we will be doing:
Activities with children
Construction project
Ministry to families in the church and city

This trip will be a physical and spiritual challenge for every member of our team. This is not a vacation, but rather a ministry designed to stretch your faith and allow God to use you to make an eternal difference in people whose lives are very different from your own.

Now for my confusion

I get the need to want to reach out and help the less fortunate people. I understand that this is God's calling and this is what he wants done.

What I dont understand is why my church ( or any relief/misson type of group ) travels to such far off places to help folks. Correct me if I am wrong but arent there people right here in the United States in need? Dont we have unemployment issues, education problems, people living on the street etc? There are so many issues in this country that need to be a priority before any other countries issues but yet we choose to ignore them or put them on a back burner. WTF? I think we need to take a strong internal look at our own country and fix our issues before helping all these other countries. Dont get me worng its nice that my church and other groups want to help, but come on folks lets fix this country first.

As always, thanks for reading

This is Spinal Tap Pt. 1

Well here it is 3 days post epidural injection on my protruding disc between C6-C7. It wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be. The anticipation was worse than the procedure itself. As somebody so eloquently compared the anticipation of my procedure to sex. The buildup was worse than the experience. Guess that persons sexual experiences werent so great =)

Anyways. Im experiencing some relief. My side to side movements are getting better. Even the clicks and grinding noise are getting better. Im thinking that Ill be even better after my second injection in 2 1/2 weeks. Now if the twitching and spasms will subside entirely, Ill be a happy camper. Nothing like being sound asleep ( when I do sleep, but thats another issue ) and having your left arm or leg twitch and jerk amd wake you up. Oh well, its bound to get better.

Thats about it for now. Figured seeing as how I'm 6 days into June, I needed to write a blog. Apparently Ive picked up a few more readers. Thanks for stopping by and reading

Does it make sense?

A question came to mind on my way home this evening. When a friend is in need of support, love, caring or even a shoulder to lean on, do you offer it knowing you have issues in your own life? Ive always tried to be there for my friends through thick and thin in their lives. Its not always easy as everybody has issues come up in there lives from time to time.

One of the members of the board is having a tough go right now and I checked on him on my way home. I didnt get very specific with him and he didnt elaborate many details but I just wanted him to know that I was there if he needed someone to talk to and that some of us are struggling too. Thats when the quesiton of does it make sense came to mind. Im personaly going through probably the top 1 or 2 hardest times of my life. Physicaly, mentaly, emotionaly this is probalby the hardest I have ever had it. But yet im right there trying to be there for a friend knowing full well I have things in my life that need fixing. I look at it from the point of view that its easier to offer a friend advice and that friend can take it or leave it. They dont have to use the advice if they dont want. When a friend comes to you in eed, you cant tell them sorry, come back in 3-6 months when Ive got my life straightened out. That friend would probalby never come back to you.

When it comes to my issues, unless I ask a friend for help, I only have Debbie or myself to try to work on them. When it comes to my own life, im a half empty type. When it comes to my friends I try to find that silver lining in things for them. Wish I had an easier time of finding the silver lining in my life at times.

So the question still remains, does it make sense?

Thanks for reading

Friends in higher places

Im not quite sure were I am going with us so bare with me. In the last year or so I have become friends with a few folks that have lost close friends who made significant impacts in their lives. Significant enough that it has made them who they are today. I consider myself lucky in that I have great friends in my life and fortunately have never lost of any of them. Did my friends have a signficant impact on my life? Maybe yes, maybe no. I might not have been able to experience some things in life with out them, got into some of the situations that I have without them and I even maybe even learned a thing or two from them. But to say they help shape me into the person I am today, not directly.

I can only imagine what that mustve been like. To have some one to encourage you, make you believe in yourself when you couldnt and even love you so much it hurt. Then tragicaly have that person torn away from you. I dont know what those of you out there believe happens after death. As the pastor said at my grandpa's funeral, its not goodbye, its see you later. Pause here as I start to get a bit teary eyed.... I'd like to think those friends of mine will one day see those special people from their lives again. Pausing again... Id wouldve liked the chance to shake those special friend's hands. If not for those people, I wouldnt have met a few really great people in the last year and been able to call them friends.

Dude, were'd the time go

I cant believe its the second week of May and the last time I blogged was April 16th. Man time has just gotten away from me. Then again, I havent been much in the mood to say much ( surprise, surprise )

Speaking of time going by, its hard to believe that its been a year since The Flying Pig Marathon. I was thinking about it the other day. Thinking it was just a year ago that I was in Cincinnati. Meeting up with such a wonderful group of my fellow 30s from Kick. Getting ready to set a PR in the HM. Having most excellent food and beer afterward. Not wanting that feeling to go away. A year later, many things have changed and some things have stayed the same. On the staying the same part, Im excited. I get to travel yet again more than half way across the country to see my friends from Kick. Some for the 2nd or 3rd time, and some for the very first time. Itll be a blast, even if Im not running ( not running being one of the many things that have changed ) Only two weeks from Friday I board a big ol jet airliner bound for the Windy City. Then a 2.5 hour drive with Nettie to Madison.

While on the subject of time going by, it blows me away that my little girl is just two weeks away from finishing 1st grade. Its not possible that shes 7 years old and almost 4 ft tall. Stop growing kid! Tyler is now 4 and just a little over a year away from starting Kindergarten. That will be nice as itll save us about 250 bucks a month by not paying full time daycare.

Well ive runout of things to say while im a half way good mood.

Fort those who read this, thanks for stopping by and looking foward to seeing a few of you in Madison!

What A Difference A Year Makes

On a daily basis these last few weeks, I have been reminded that its just xx amount of days away from the Flying Pig Marathon.

About this time last year, I was counting those days down in anxious anticipation of the Flying Pig. You see I was just a few short weeks away from flying to Cinncinati, OH to run the Flying Pig Half Marathon. It was also going to be the biggest meetup to date with my fellow 30 Somethings from CoolRunning. I was nervous, anxious and hopeful. I had only met two of the 30s prior so this would be a whole new experience for me. Sure I talked to these folks over the internet everyday for over a year, but now Id be face to face with them. Id get the voices, mannerisms, accents and the opportunity to have real conversations with them.

My training for the actual race had gone fairly well ( but it couldve been better ) I knew that if nothing flared up on me that my previous HM time of 2:35 in San Jose should get eclipsed. I was nervous in that the course in Cinci was hilly and me being from the bottom of a valley, hills just arent something I can easily prepare for. I just had it in my mind that I would do the best I could, get through the hills and see what happens.

Race day started out nice and cool. Original plan was to run with Kris, Beth, Joe and Nick. Those plans kinda got screwed up as Beth and I went out a bit fast and got separated for a while from the three of them. It was too long before Joe and Kris caught up with us. It was a great time running and shooting the breeze with them. We all pretty much stayed together until about the top of Eden Park. The hilly section of the course. I flat out ran out of gas just before the top of the hills and that was about the last time I saw any of them until near the finish line. I continued on. I wound up making up some time on the large down hill portion and wound up finishing pretty strong with a PR of 2:28. Sadly that my remain my pr for a long time. I wound up hurting my hip on that run and I havent been the same since. Some back issues have also crept up on me too. I managed to run a few more races after the Flying Pig and even completed another HM in Philly late last year. But since then I have taken some time off indefinately from running to try to heal up. Im hoping for a return to running after the summer lets up. I guess we shall see how it goes.

Ill always have fond memories of the Flying Pig 07. I definately had "my feet revvin on 5-6-7"

I dont know of anybody thats running the Flying Pig this year. I know I wont be. Theres a Gnormous meet up of 30's in Madison, WI on Memorial Day weekend for the full and half marathon, maybe Ill go crash the party :)

The first quarter in review

Wow its hard to believe its been almost a month since my last entry and that the first quarter of 08 is in the books.

What can I say about the first quarter? It definately had its ups and downs.

I set out after the first of the year to try to accomplish some things. The first was to get on a weight loss program to get me down the 25 pounds I want to lose. Second was to be more consistent on getting to the guy at least 3 days a week. Another gola was to try to stop drinking as much soda.

Well like all good intentions, things went well in January. I was hitting the gym 3 days a week. I was doing a better job of watching and journaling what I was eating. All in all I was feeling pretty good in January.

February came and it wasnt much fun. My grandpa's health took a turn for the worse and he spent most of the month in a hospital and eventualy hospice. I started physical therapy for my back. That went pretty well ( but I need to get back to being diligent about my stretches and exercises as im feeling it now ) and I was still going to the Y on a regular basis. A few of the brighter moments were going to Flagstaff again to play in the snow with the kids, beginning a friendship with Tiffanie and seeing my cousin Lynn ( although I was seeing her for the wrong reasons, she being my granpa's neice came out to see him one more time )

March sucked! My grandpa passed away on March 2nd. It was the hardest death Ive had to deal with. I was fortunate enough to have him in my life for 36 years. Death is inevitable but I wasnt ready to let him go. My trips to the Y dwindled after grandpa passed and my food choices and habits werent good at all. I gained 4 lbs during the month. I guess with all that was going on in my life it shouldnt have come unexpected. Plus I havent felt well physicaly during this time. Various aches and pains havent helped at all. Gee I thought by taking a break from running I would feel better. I feel worse now than at any time prior to me stopping running. Some highlights of the month were Sarah and Tyler turning 7 and 4, the kids taking on new sports ( sarah soccer and tyler t-ball ) and me quitting Coke and Pepsi.

As they say things can always be worse, this I know. Heres hoping the second quarter of the year is much better than the first. I am in a new office much closer to home, Ive dropped 6 lbs since quitting drinking Coke and my eating choices have improved. Its gotta get better from here. Thanks for reading!

See ya later Grandpa

As the pastor said today during my grandpa's funeral service today, its not goodbye, its see you later. We will see each other again. It was a beautiful and moving service. As expected their wasnt a dry eye at times and others we had a laugh or two. Itll be hard the next time I hear Taps again as they played it at the graveside portion of the service. It was especialy hard as the two members of the honor gaurd folded the flag and then presented it to my mom. It was somewhat fitting as two WWII era fighter planes took off from the local airport and passed within eyesight of the cemetary. Im sure my grandpa saw many of those during his time in Europe over 60 yearas ago. Thats about all for now. Thanks for reading.

He's Gone

My apologies to those who actualy might check into my blog as I havent written anything in 10 days or more.

My grandfather passed away this morning. He has been battling lung and bone cancer for some time now but took a turn for the worse while in a Hospice of the Valley center over this weekend. He was visited by family members from near and far before he passed away. It seemed like he was desparately holding on last night. Even with mom, Debbie and I at his bedside urging him to let go, he wouldnt. Debbie and I left the hopsice shortly after 1 am. I told my mom that I would stop in on my way to work today. The phone rang at 6 am and I knew it couldnt be good. Mom told me that grandpa had passed away just a few minutes before. She was out of the room when he had passed. Guess he wanted to go alone.

After showering I headed up to the hospice and said my goodbyes to grandpa. After that it was off to work for me. Like my dad said there really wasnt anything to do today so I must as well go to work.

We have an appt with the mortuary tomorrow to finalize everything. Being that grandpa was a WW II vet, he will get a full military honors funeral. Im sure he wouldve liked that.

Thats about it for now, more later

Its been a while

I just havent been in the mood to write anything. Not that I am in much better of a mood or spirits, it just felt like the time to write.

My grandfather is not doing well at all. He has been staying with my parents since last week. He had been in a rehabilitation type of place to try to get his strength back. The place sucked. The staff were few and far between, the place wasnt very pleasing to the eye and he just wasnt happy being there. My mom and dad brought him to there house thinking he would be better off and that we could rotate keeping an eye on him.

I stayed with him Saturday and he slept the majority of the day. About the only time he woke up was when his older sister, her daughter and a friend of my grandpa's came to visit. It was the first time in 11 years that I had seen my great aunt Helen and even longer than that since I saw her daughter. Kinda sad that it takes my grandpa dying to see some of the family.

Sunday morning grandpa fell in the bathroom and it was ll my dad and brother could do to get him up off the floor. He's exteremly week from not eating or drinking. Yesterday apparently he started complaining about not being able to breath so my dad called 911. They said he was severly dehydrated and his O2 level was low so they took him to the hospital. I havent talked to my dad today to see what is going on. My mom comes home today so I know she will go see him once she gets in.

Thats about it for now, ill try to write something more often

Fort hose who are reading, thanks for reading!

Ive been tagged! Ten Random things about me

I was tagged by Kris.

Here goes:
1. Due to my left eye being lazy as a kid, my head tilts slighty when watching t.v.

2. My left thumb is about 1/4 shorter than my right due to the growth plate being broken at age 14

3. My sense of smell is terrible ( maybe thats why I got to change so many diapers )

4. It took me two tries to pass the parallel parking portion of my driver license test.

5. Ive never been one to keep up with the current fashions

6. Purple is my favorite color.

7. The sound of emory boards is like fingernails on a chalk board to me

8. I was very shy around girls until I was in my early twenties

9. My wife is a much better cook than I am

10. When drinking, I love to sing ( thats the only way youll get me to sing =) )

Seeing as how I dont know who actualy reads my blog, consider yourself tagged if you are reading this =)

Afraid? Apprehensive?

Judging by the title one might think I am talking about my feelings about my grandpa. Not this time.

Nope.

Afraid. Im not sure if thats the most accurate word to describe what im feeling. I keep putting off trying to pursue a second opinion on my hip and I have yet to schedule my physical therapy n which the back doctor told me to go to two months ago. Im not sure if I am afraid of what the hip doctor might say when I go. Ive already been told by one Dr. that I have degenerative arthritis in my right hip. At 36? Seems a bit odd and unusual. Even Dr. Chris on my running board seems to think its a bit unusual. So what am I afraid of?

Afraid. Going to physical therapy doesnt scare me. I went through a round of it for my ITBS almost two years ago. I think the biggest thing I am afraid of is Debbie bitching at me. She said to me not to long ago that some of this stuff might be in my head. Not sure what she meant about it but who knows, she could be on to something. Yeah right, the constant discomfort I am is just a figment of my imagination.

Afraid. Last year while I was supposed to be training for the Philadelphia Half Marathon, I was afraid of going out and running. I was in discomfort at points after the Pig and before Philly. Would it have hurt me more to go out and run? Maybe yes, maybe no. But I didnt even try. I just convinced myself that I would be hurting more so after my runs than prior to so I didnt make an attempt. The month or so prior to Philly I was so worried that I might do more damage to myself and be screwed up from doing Philly that I couldnt sleep.

Gee here it is two months after Philly and I am no worse than I was prior. Hmmmm, maybe I should get off my dead ass, do my physical therapy and then get back out there and run.

What a concept!

How 'bout them Giants

Wow! Thats the easiest way to describe how I feel about the outcome of yesterday's NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and my New York Giants.

Nobody expected much out of the Giants this year, especially after their 0-2 start. Not to mention all the Eli Manning haters out their. I think both the team and Eli earned the respect of their critics as the season and the playoffs wore on. Now its off to my old city of residence Glendale, AZ for Super Bowl 42. Ill definately be tuning into that one. When the Giants last made the Super Bowl in 2000 I was unable to watch the game as I was at a drag race. My how things have changed. I no longer own a race car and the Giants are in back in the Super Bowl for the 4th time.

Its too bad the tickets for the SB are so far out of reach price wise for the everday joe. Id love to go see them game but alas ill be watching it on the tube. Maybe Ill go down to the stadium and try to do some tailgating.

A beginning to an end

Well my grandfather went for his first radiation treatment yesterday. Apparently it went as well as it should. My grandfather had some quesitons for the radiologist. My grandfather's biggest concerns are will he bed ridden in the end and will be in pain. The radiologist told my grandpa that if he could answet the questions with 100% accuracy, he'd be a millionaire. He did explain to grandpa that so long as the cancer doenst spread into his spine, he shouldnt be in much pain. Being that the cancer is in his lung, he will probably see more breathing issues more than anything.

My mom ( who was with grandpa at the appt ) said my grandpa started to cry after he was dont talking to the radiologist. The realization that this is just going to prolong his life and that he will succumb to this terrible disease hit him hard. It was all I could do at the dinner table to avoid starting to cry as my mom told me this.

This is alot different than when my maternal grandmother died when i was a kid. It was sudden and unexpected. With grandpa, its just a waiting game. You know its going to happen, its just when and will it be peaceful.

JUst because you know something like this is coming, it doesnt make it any easier. Ill probalby be an emotional mess when he does leave.

Slacker

Wow, its been a week since my last entry. I didnt realize it had been that long. Were to start, what to say.

I got on the scale Monday and it showed exactly what it did the week prior, 204 lbs. I guess I figured out how to maintain my weight, I just need to get to losing it. There are several things I need to improve on for this to occur. I need to up my water intake and drop the soda and crap intake. This week hasnt gone as well as I would liked. I seem to be eating crap that I shouldnt and drinking more soda than I shouldve. I definately need to improve on this the rest of the week.

My grandfather was admitted to the hospital with chest pains and shortness of breath. They admitted him and kept him overnight. Not sure whats up as I havent talked to him or my mom today. He has yet to start his radiation treaments. Not sure when that will happen.

Maybe one of these days my blog might sound as articlulate and well thought out like Kris or some of my other friends blogs =)

Snow

After the rather depressing blog from yesterday I thought Id post a pic of something that I generaly dont see much of. SNOW!! Yes in Arizona and a lot of it. We traveled up to Flagstaff and Williams over the weekend to take the kids on the Polar Express train on Saturday night. A fun time was had by all. Ill try to get more pics of the train activities later. On our way home Sunday was stopped in Flagstaff to let the kids play and experience snow for the first time. They loved it until they got cold and wet. Next time we will plan things a bit better.

Cancer sucks

Well here it is, the newest installment of my blog. This week it isnt about weight loss/gains, eating right or any of that nature. Its about my grandfather and his recent diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer.

Cancer isnt new to grandpa, as he has battled prostate cancer previously. After battling prostate cancer we all thought cancer was behind us. Well obviously his body had other ideas. He recently had a fall and hurt his ribs in the process. He kept complaining about how his ribs hurt so he went to his Dr and had x-rays taken. Well there wasnt anything broken but they did see a spot on his ribcage and his lung.

A cat scan was scheduled. Well just a few days prior to his scheduled cat scan, he started having chest pains and shortness of breath. This was on Sunday Dec 16th. He finally went to the hospital on Tuesday ( my birthday naturaly ) They kept him over night for observation and then the next day he had his scan done.

Fast foward to the week of January 7th. He went for his results from his cat scan. As it turns out the spot on his lung is cancer along with the spot on his rib. Surgery isnt an option. Grandpa said no to Chemo. He has elected to do radiation. He goes to the chest Dr and the radiologist with my mom today. I guess they will schedule the start of his treatment.

Im nervous, worried and scared. Im trying to think positive. The thought keeps entering my head that I am going to lose my grandpa. Im very fortunate that at 36 years of age I still have him in my life. Eventualy he will leave us for a better place. Im just not sure Im ready for him to go.

I really feel fortuntate that I have some family and friends that are strong and are there for me. I cant thank those people enough

Happy New Year

Well here it is, the start of a brand new year. All those resolutions, plans and ideas. Im doing it a bit different this year. Im not resolving to do anything. They always fall through anyways.

I have some fitness/health goals in mind

1. Lose 25 lbs by December 18th ( my 37th birthday )
How am I going to do that you may ask? First by quitting or severly cutting back on my Coke/Pepsi and sweets intake. Smaller portions, more water and healthier snacking are up there too.

2. Hitting the gym 3-4x a week. Concentrating on core strength/conditioning. ALso getting in 2 Pilates/Yoga classes a week and come cross training.

3 Get my back and hip/groin as close to 100% healthy as I can.

4. Return to running by sometime this summer

Thats about it for the fitness/health goals

I have some plans on trying to reduce our debt but havent discussed them with Debbie yet.

Two blogs in one week

Well here we are, the day after Christmas. I didnt gorge myself too much yesterday as I only gained a pound from last Monday.

A good time was had by all. Santa brought Sarah the hamster she asked and a new Barbie. Tyler is too young yet to understand the hub-bub about Christmas. He walked right by the tree and all the presents yesterday to wake Debbie and I up so he could watch TV :)

Our first stop of two yesterday was to my mom and dad's. Originally we werent going to eat there. It was just going to be spend some time with my folks and my grandfather then head out to Chandler to my brother in law's mom's house for dinner. Well mom and dad had places set out for us at the dinner table so how could we tell them no. We ate, opened presents, visited for a while then headed to Chandler.

Once we arrived in Chandler we ate dinner there ( again ) and then opened up more presents. My mother in law's husband came in from Florida the night before. Its been about 6 months since we saw him last. He's not looking so well. Come to find out he has recently had a stroke. We headed home not too long after dessert as Debbie had to leave for work at 445 this morning.

Thats about it for now. Maybe a new blog after Brandens party on Saturday.

Its Christmas time

Lookie here, its December 23rd. I am now a year older as of the 18th and Christmas is just two days away. Its finally feeling like winter ( for us ) here in the valley. Looks like Christmas dinner will be at mom and dads this year. Unfortunately it might be the last one with my grandpa. Debbie's nephew Branden comes home from Germany on the 24th as does my MIL's husband ( he's coming in from Florida ) . Will be nice to see them both. Branden ( Deb's nephew ) will be getting deployed for the second time to Iraq sometime in January. Thats about all I have for now. Need to find time to get Debbie's Christmas presents out of my trunk and wrapped =)

Well I survived my surgery to remove the cyst from my jaw bone. Dr. said everything went well and that I will make a full recovery. Need to schedule a follow up with him next week.

In other news I havent run a step since the Philly HM. Part of my time off to heal up. Next week Ill head back to the Y and do some more Pilates and Ypga classes. All part of the big plan to get stornger, more flexilbe and to return to running next year a better runner.

Wow, its December

Well, its been a while since I typed a blog. Sometimes I wonder why in the hell I bother, seeing as how nobody knows I have a blog.

Phily came and went. What a blast. Met so many new people from my KR running group. The race itself went far better than I thought. Very rewarding experience for me, one that I would gladly do again.

Have surgery to remove a cyst from my lower left jaw bone next Wednesday. So not looking foward to that. We shall see how it goes

Wow leave it up to my wife to let me know the problem wasnt with Blogger but our home computer. Apparently we cant get to Blogger very easily from our home PC. Guess Ill just have to start updating the blog from here at work.

Training starts next week for the Philadelphia Half Marathon. Im really looking foward to this trip. Get to meet a whole bunch of my fellow 30 Somethings, do some sightseeing in Philly and visit with family too. Should be a great time.

Crikey, what a PITA to get to this point. Had all kinds of problems loggin in, sheesh. Well the 4th of July has come and gone and now before too long itll be Labor Day. I cant wait for this heat to go away, it sucks.