Well the rain delay of Wednesday nights game 6 and the subsequent miraculous win of last nights game has put me in a pickle. Given my new found love of baseball and the inexplicable dedication I have shown to this post season, I absolutely MUST watch the final game. I have to show my support. Here is where the problem lies. Several months ago I purchased tickets to go see the musical "Wicked" in Peoria. My mom is travelling all the way up here to come and see it with me so I certainly cannot cancel those plans. But what is a guy to do? Do I follow the game during the show, via my Iphone? I'm sure my friends will keep me up to date with copious amounts of play by play action on Twitter and Facebook. Or, do I record the game and somehow avoid all human/Internet contact until I can watch the game.
I probably would not be able to even watch the game until tomorrow evening. That is, unless I just don't sleep tonight and I watch the game after I get home at midnight! I'm so conflicted!
I think I am leaning towards the plan of making a valiant attempt at avoiding all contact with others and trying to watch the game for myself. I just can't handle the thought of watching nearly every post season game and then missing the final game. So here is the plan.
- I am first going to disable all notifications on my phone. This way if someone posts on my wall on Facebook, I wont accidentally see what happened.
- Actually, I should probably just turn my phone off all together. If you need me after 7pm tonight, you had better just call Breanne.
- I will not sign into any social media of any kind after 7 pm this evening until I have watched the game.
- During intermission and while leaving the theater tonight I will have my fingers firmly placed into my ear canals as to avoid overhearing any passing conversations concerning the outcome of the game.
- I will not listen to the radio or television at all tonight or tomorrow!
- We are going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow with my mom and also briefly visiting friends. They will be under STRICT advisement to NOT tell me what happened! This means you Wheelers!
If anyone texts or calls to tell me what happened I will be SOOOO upset, so don't anyone ruin it for me! Seriously... I will learn a deadly form hand to hand contact and bring to your face! Don't tempt me!
I really think I may just end up staying up tonight because I don't think I could handle the stress of the day tomorrow not knowing and worrying that someone was going to tell me. All it would take is one person saying "How bout them Cardinals!" and all will be ruined. I can see myself observing everyone at the pumpkin patch wearing Cardinals gear and analyzing what it all means! Are they wearing their shirts in celebration or as an act of solidarity supporting the incredible season? I'm already stressed about this and it hasn't even happened yet!
Wish me luck! And seriously... bodily harm will ensue if you ruin it for me!
Go CARDS!!!!!!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Fever Pitch
Many who know me, know that I am not huge sports fan. I get interested in the occasional Hockey game, but for the most part, you couldn't really describe me as a regular sports fan. I will watch the super bowl every year, but other than that, I am just not interested in football. The main problem with football is that its primary coverage directly conflicts with Sunday afternoon naps. This is a problem.
Basketball is completely lost on me altogether and I have absolutely zero interest in watching it. I might show a mild amount of interest during March madness but that is only because I filled out a tournament bracket. My methods of doing so are such that any real sports fan would cringe. Last year I decided the winner by who I thought would win in a fight between their mascots. I did not do well. The year before that, I flipped a coin. Again, my results were less than stellar.
In spite of my overall lack of interest in sports in general, I somehow have been swept up in post season baseball. The rest of the year, I just don't care. Unless I am actually at a game, I just find baseball to be really boring a majority of the time. Maybe its because the baseball season lasts an eternity and I don't feel like there is as much on the line if your team loses a game in June. But now, if you lose in post season, its a huge deal! This year, I have watched nearly every Cardinals game. It has been an incredible post season to watch. I will personally take offense to anyone who calls me a "bandwagon fan" though. While I can't say that I have been involved in their season this year, I have had a St. Louis Cardinals allegiance since I was a little boy watching Ozzie Smith doing back flips on the field. I am really surprised how much I have cared about it this year. I am on the edge of my seat yelling at the inexplicable decisions made by Tony LaRussa. Losing my mind over the amazingness of Albert Pujols' three home runs in a single game! I've even been getting ticked off after a tough loss. My wife contends that I am not fun to watch games with when they are losing, but I think I have been perfectly fine to deal with. It's been so fun to watch and I just can't help to wonder what has happened to me. Who is this guy that screams at the TV over a double play? I'm sure that this is only a temporary set back in my otherwise flawless record in not caring. When next April comes around I will be as equally uninvested in baseball as I was the prior year. That is, unless the Cardinals make it to postseason. Maybe I'm not so much a "bandwagon fan" as I am a "fair weather fan". Is that worse?
Basketball is completely lost on me altogether and I have absolutely zero interest in watching it. I might show a mild amount of interest during March madness but that is only because I filled out a tournament bracket. My methods of doing so are such that any real sports fan would cringe. Last year I decided the winner by who I thought would win in a fight between their mascots. I did not do well. The year before that, I flipped a coin. Again, my results were less than stellar.
In spite of my overall lack of interest in sports in general, I somehow have been swept up in post season baseball. The rest of the year, I just don't care. Unless I am actually at a game, I just find baseball to be really boring a majority of the time. Maybe its because the baseball season lasts an eternity and I don't feel like there is as much on the line if your team loses a game in June. But now, if you lose in post season, its a huge deal! This year, I have watched nearly every Cardinals game. It has been an incredible post season to watch. I will personally take offense to anyone who calls me a "bandwagon fan" though. While I can't say that I have been involved in their season this year, I have had a St. Louis Cardinals allegiance since I was a little boy watching Ozzie Smith doing back flips on the field. I am really surprised how much I have cared about it this year. I am on the edge of my seat yelling at the inexplicable decisions made by Tony LaRussa. Losing my mind over the amazingness of Albert Pujols' three home runs in a single game! I've even been getting ticked off after a tough loss. My wife contends that I am not fun to watch games with when they are losing, but I think I have been perfectly fine to deal with. It's been so fun to watch and I just can't help to wonder what has happened to me. Who is this guy that screams at the TV over a double play? I'm sure that this is only a temporary set back in my otherwise flawless record in not caring. When next April comes around I will be as equally uninvested in baseball as I was the prior year. That is, unless the Cardinals make it to postseason. Maybe I'm not so much a "bandwagon fan" as I am a "fair weather fan". Is that worse?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Late Night Working
So I go to bed tonight, totally prepared for a blissful nights sleep. Unfortunately, my body had other plans. For some unknown reason I woke up after an hour. I was wide awake. I tossed and turned and tossed and turned but could not seem to get myself to fall back asleep. So I figured that if I wasn't going to be sleeping, I may as well get up and try and accomplish something. So I get myself out of bed and get to work. I pull out my laptop and for the last hour and a half I have been doing my church work. I've been emailing various people that I need to connect with and doing a little bit of writing. I'm trying to do some recruiting for some open volunteer positions that I need to fill so I have been writing up a "job description" to give to a few people. It's just too hard to give someone all of the details they need in a two minute conversation on a Sunday, when all they are thinking about is what is for lunch, so I thought a description would help. We will just have to see.
This whole second job thing is kind of weird for me. I'm still trying to get the hang of things. It's completely different than any other job I have ever had. I don't necessarily have regular tasks each week. It's not like my State Farm job where I have people calling me all day wanting stuff. Everything for South Side is pretty much self started. Especially since this is a fairly new position. I decide what I need to do, and I go do it. I'm also trying to transition from being a volunteer to being staff. Before, if I wanted to do something, I had to go through the proper leadership channels to get it done. Now, I have the authority (at least a little) to go and do it. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that. The other weird part about this transition is that I don't really feel like I am "working". At least not yet. Maybe I will later, although I kind of hope not. So far I just feel like a really involved volunteer. I'm sure that will change eventually though. Overall, I'm loving this change in life at the moment.
Anyway, that is enough. I'm kind of rambling at this point. I should try going back to bed, but I still can't say that I am really tired. It's 4:08 AM so I really should be. It's going to be a really sad morning tomorrow I can already tell. The coffee pot will be my best friend.
This whole second job thing is kind of weird for me. I'm still trying to get the hang of things. It's completely different than any other job I have ever had. I don't necessarily have regular tasks each week. It's not like my State Farm job where I have people calling me all day wanting stuff. Everything for South Side is pretty much self started. Especially since this is a fairly new position. I decide what I need to do, and I go do it. I'm also trying to transition from being a volunteer to being staff. Before, if I wanted to do something, I had to go through the proper leadership channels to get it done. Now, I have the authority (at least a little) to go and do it. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that. The other weird part about this transition is that I don't really feel like I am "working". At least not yet. Maybe I will later, although I kind of hope not. So far I just feel like a really involved volunteer. I'm sure that will change eventually though. Overall, I'm loving this change in life at the moment.
Anyway, that is enough. I'm kind of rambling at this point. I should try going back to bed, but I still can't say that I am really tired. It's 4:08 AM so I really should be. It's going to be a really sad morning tomorrow I can already tell. The coffee pot will be my best friend.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wedding Connoisseur
This weekend I had the pleasure of witnessing a great friend of mine get married. I had the even greater pleasure of standing up with him as his Best Man. I have been in a ton of weddings in my life. I could easily own my own tuxedo by this point. I hear bridesmaids always complain that it's worse buying the bridesmaid dresses because you never wear them again, but I still say that renting the tux is worse. You actually get to keep your ugly dress, therefore making it slightly better. Anytime I start to argue this point I am flooded with complaints from angry women who want to include all of the accessories such as jewelry, hair, nails, blah blah blah, etc, etc, into the argument as well. It finally gets to the point where you just want to concede defeat just to not hear about it anymore. Fine, being a woman is always worse than being a man. You win! But anyway, I digress...
If my memory serves me correctly, I have the following wedding credits to my name. I have been the usher for at least 1 wedding. I have sang in 3. I have been a groomsman for 3, the best man for 3, and the groom for 1. I believe that this makes me an expert, does it not? So here are a few observations that I am able to make about weddings in general.
- Everyone hates pictures. I don't think I have ever been to a wedding in which people were happy to be getting their picture taken. It's just such an arduous task to get everyone together, not blinking, and smiling for a single moment. The pictures at my wedding were particularly annoying. I don't think we got a single good picture of the entire family. We had one of everyone present and that was good enough for me. The photographer wanted another one, but we flat out refused. "We are done!" I said.
- I think the best moment of a wedding is when the doors open up and the groom sees the bride for the first time. Call me old fashioned, but I like it when the Bride and Groom don't see each other before the wedding. Of course this only adds to the frustration of taking longer to get pictures done after the ceremony, but it is totally worth it.
- There needs to be entertainment for all of the guests at the reception as they wait for the wedding party to arrive. It feels like an eternity when you are hungry and waiting for the wedding party! Why not have something going on. Hire a band or a comedian to entertain guests. Better yet, have a play! I might be on to something here!
- Awesome Best Man skills are required! Ok, not really, but when a caterer knocked over a table in the middle of the dance floor during my best man speech, I totally recovered and kept things moving. I kept it light and drew everyone's attention back at me. Mainly because I like attention, but whatever.
- Nothing gets a group of white folk dancing quicker than an open bar and "The YMCA". I don't know what magical powers the village people possess but for some reason whenever this song plays, the dance floor gets flooded with people who are ready to dance!
- Sweet dance skills are NOT required! In fact, it totally helps. It was a blast attempting to dance the night away, especially because I had nothing to feel self conscious about because no one else could dance either. There were definitely many points in the night in which my "dance fingers" came out. You know, the pointer fingers that emerge whenever you start to bust a move. Many people opt for "dance thumbs" instead. it's the same principle.
- One lone dancer can enthusiastically keep the party going for the entire night! Thanks to Alaina, the dancing at the wedding this weekend did not die. She totally kept the party going! I think she could totally sell her services at other weddings as the "designated dance party captain". The title is still a work in progress.
I was doing some thinking this weekend and I think this might be the final wedding that I am a part of for a very long time. I can't think of any other friends who are still single who may have me as part of their wedding. If this was to be the last one, I'm glad it was for the Logues. It was a wonderful wedding and I am so happy for Jason and Heather. I wish them a lifetime of happiness!
If my memory serves me correctly, I have the following wedding credits to my name. I have been the usher for at least 1 wedding. I have sang in 3. I have been a groomsman for 3, the best man for 3, and the groom for 1. I believe that this makes me an expert, does it not? So here are a few observations that I am able to make about weddings in general.
- Everyone hates pictures. I don't think I have ever been to a wedding in which people were happy to be getting their picture taken. It's just such an arduous task to get everyone together, not blinking, and smiling for a single moment. The pictures at my wedding were particularly annoying. I don't think we got a single good picture of the entire family. We had one of everyone present and that was good enough for me. The photographer wanted another one, but we flat out refused. "We are done!" I said.
- I think the best moment of a wedding is when the doors open up and the groom sees the bride for the first time. Call me old fashioned, but I like it when the Bride and Groom don't see each other before the wedding. Of course this only adds to the frustration of taking longer to get pictures done after the ceremony, but it is totally worth it.
- There needs to be entertainment for all of the guests at the reception as they wait for the wedding party to arrive. It feels like an eternity when you are hungry and waiting for the wedding party! Why not have something going on. Hire a band or a comedian to entertain guests. Better yet, have a play! I might be on to something here!
- Awesome Best Man skills are required! Ok, not really, but when a caterer knocked over a table in the middle of the dance floor during my best man speech, I totally recovered and kept things moving. I kept it light and drew everyone's attention back at me. Mainly because I like attention, but whatever.
- Nothing gets a group of white folk dancing quicker than an open bar and "The YMCA". I don't know what magical powers the village people possess but for some reason whenever this song plays, the dance floor gets flooded with people who are ready to dance!
- Sweet dance skills are NOT required! In fact, it totally helps. It was a blast attempting to dance the night away, especially because I had nothing to feel self conscious about because no one else could dance either. There were definitely many points in the night in which my "dance fingers" came out. You know, the pointer fingers that emerge whenever you start to bust a move. Many people opt for "dance thumbs" instead. it's the same principle.
- One lone dancer can enthusiastically keep the party going for the entire night! Thanks to Alaina, the dancing at the wedding this weekend did not die. She totally kept the party going! I think she could totally sell her services at other weddings as the "designated dance party captain". The title is still a work in progress.
I was doing some thinking this weekend and I think this might be the final wedding that I am a part of for a very long time. I can't think of any other friends who are still single who may have me as part of their wedding. If this was to be the last one, I'm glad it was for the Logues. It was a wonderful wedding and I am so happy for Jason and Heather. I wish them a lifetime of happiness!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Potpourri
So I haven't blogged in quite some time. You can call it writer's block, but that's just a fancy word for lazy. You could also call it busyness, which is really just the nice word for lazy. The fact is, I haven't been writing lately and I should. I've had ideas for blogs, but just haven't taken the time to do so. My DVR isn't going to watch itself now is it? So here is a round up of a few things that have been going on lately. Thus the name, potpourri because there is no general theme to what is to follow. Just a little bit of everything and really nothing of any consequence or importance. I honestly don't even know why you are reading this. But if you are reading this then you get a gold star.
Hot Dogs
My daughter has recently become obsessed with Hot Dogs. For the longest time, Julia was the best little eater. It didn't matter what we gave her, she ate it without a problem. Broccoli, Green beans, potatoes, chicken, it didn't matter. She would eat most anything. Lately, things have not been so easy. She will politely decline whatever you try to give her. She just pushes away the fork and ever so sweetly says "no". How can you argue with that? She will then request one of her favorites, which is "crackers". Crackers is more of a universal word for her and encompasses all things in bread, wafer, or chip format. We are trying so hard to raise a child that knows they have to eat what you give them and that you don't get to order something different just because you don't like the choices laid before you. We do a fairly good job, but sometimes you just have to give in. The other night, she started loving Hot Dogs. It's a little out of nowhere, because she used to not like them. As we were making dinner Julia followed us around the kitchen saying "hot dog hot dog hot dog please please hot dog please hot dog please hot dog hot dog please please hot dog hot dog hot dog please please please hot dog...." and on and on it went. FINE!! She didn't have what we were making for dinner that night. She had 2 hot dogs and was very happy girl. At least she was being polite about it. And again, who can resist that sweet little voice of hers. This girl is totally going to get whatever she wants in life. it's bad news.
Whats in a Name?
My sister-in-law suggested I write about a crazy name that I came across at work the other day. As I have discussed in the past, I work in an area of town that is borderline shady. It's not horrible location, but I do have a very interesting clientele that I come into contact with. Several of which have very interesting names. Some of my favorites were sisters names Sparkle and Starlet. They were all sorts of fantastic. I'm just not sure how I am supposed to take anyone named Sparkle seriously. Do you think this girl ever has a chance of becoming a doctor or a judge with a name like that? Can you hear someone saying "Please rise, the honorable judge Sparkle presiding". I just don't see it. The most recent name I came across was a girl named "Miracle Roach". This poor girl. It's bad enough that her last name is roach, but for her parents to put a descriptive word before it as her first name is just outright child abuse. If I were her I would be getting a name change STAT!
Occupy What?
I will preface the following with fully acknowledging that I am totally uninformed on this subject. So apparently, there have been all of these "Occupy" protests going on all over the country. I keep hearing the words "Occupy Wall Street" in the news and I have no idea what they are talking about. It's just a bunch of people who are protesting outside of Wall Street, but I have no idea what they are protesting. These protests have spread all over the country and there was even an "Occupy Springfield" rally just last week. Again, despite all of the news coverage I have heard about it, I can't really tell what it is all about. Is it a political movement? Its a big group of load angry people so it sure does look like a political movement. I can pretty much guarantee that I don't have the desire or the time to figure out what it is all about let alone join them. Call me a bad American if you want, but I just don't have time for such shenanigans. Just because you are the loudest doesn't necessarily make you right.
Phlebotomist In Training
As part of having a chunk of metal in my heart I am required to take coumadin on a daily basis. As part of taking coumadin on a daily basis, I am forced to get my blood checked regularly. I suppose its a fair trade. I take medicine and get my blood monitored in exchange for not dying. Living good. Strokes bad. I guess I can suck it up and deal with it. When everything in life is going great, I only have to get my blood checked once a month. I show up at the clinic and let them poke me with a needle and then I go on my merry way. It only takes a few minutes of my time. For about a year or so, this was my routine. Everything was going great and I made my once a month visits like a good boy. For some weird reason, my blood has not wanted to cooperate as of late. It seems like every time I go, my blood is not at the correct thinness or thickness and they have to adjust my dosage amount and see me again in a week. Currently I am taking a 4 mg pill on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then I take a 5 mg pill the rest of the week. I have had this dosage and schedule changed about 6 times now. It is extremely difficult for me to remember anymore. Today when I went to get my blood drawn, I got stuck with the phlebotomist in training. I was worried when the lady called me back and she had someone else standing over her shoulder making sure she did everything correctly. She started by debating which arm to poke and then having her helper determine where the vein was. I was not filled with confidence! She then tried to perform the blood draw. She poked me with the needle but nothing was happening. No blood was filling the tube. She tried to wiggle it around a little bit (which felt awesome by the way) and had no luck. Her helper then took over and proceeded to poke me in the other arm. Cause that's the best plan. Let's poke the bleeder with more holes! So I left the office with both arms bandaged up. I understand that people have got to learn somewhere but I think the next time they need to find a different guinea pig. I've had my turn. Lets hope that today's blood results are good and I don't have to go back for a while because this is getting really old!
Crazy October
All of a sudden this month has exploded into all sorts of craziness. Every single weekend has an event planned and most evenings in this month already have something planned. Nights to relax on the couch are very few and far between. These are all good things that are happening, but we will just be a little nuts for a while. We also have a guest coming to stay with us next week. (Can't wait to see you next week Reagen!) Along with this we can also add in the fact that Breanne is still doing Pampered Chef stuff and I have started my second job at the church! Holy cow! We are forced to become more organized than usual, but we can totally do it. As we like to say, "We are going to kick this months... lets say hind end". So if I fail to blog any more this month, lets just blame it on the busyness. That's a good excuse.
Well, that's enough for today. If you made it through this whole thing, you will receive your gold star in 6-8 weeks. Gold Stars are of no monetary value and may not be redeemed for cash.
Hot Dogs
My daughter has recently become obsessed with Hot Dogs. For the longest time, Julia was the best little eater. It didn't matter what we gave her, she ate it without a problem. Broccoli, Green beans, potatoes, chicken, it didn't matter. She would eat most anything. Lately, things have not been so easy. She will politely decline whatever you try to give her. She just pushes away the fork and ever so sweetly says "no". How can you argue with that? She will then request one of her favorites, which is "crackers". Crackers is more of a universal word for her and encompasses all things in bread, wafer, or chip format. We are trying so hard to raise a child that knows they have to eat what you give them and that you don't get to order something different just because you don't like the choices laid before you. We do a fairly good job, but sometimes you just have to give in. The other night, she started loving Hot Dogs. It's a little out of nowhere, because she used to not like them. As we were making dinner Julia followed us around the kitchen saying "hot dog hot dog hot dog please please hot dog please hot dog please hot dog hot dog please please hot dog hot dog hot dog please please please hot dog...." and on and on it went. FINE!! She didn't have what we were making for dinner that night. She had 2 hot dogs and was very happy girl. At least she was being polite about it. And again, who can resist that sweet little voice of hers. This girl is totally going to get whatever she wants in life. it's bad news.
Whats in a Name?
My sister-in-law suggested I write about a crazy name that I came across at work the other day. As I have discussed in the past, I work in an area of town that is borderline shady. It's not horrible location, but I do have a very interesting clientele that I come into contact with. Several of which have very interesting names. Some of my favorites were sisters names Sparkle and Starlet. They were all sorts of fantastic. I'm just not sure how I am supposed to take anyone named Sparkle seriously. Do you think this girl ever has a chance of becoming a doctor or a judge with a name like that? Can you hear someone saying "Please rise, the honorable judge Sparkle presiding". I just don't see it. The most recent name I came across was a girl named "Miracle Roach". This poor girl. It's bad enough that her last name is roach, but for her parents to put a descriptive word before it as her first name is just outright child abuse. If I were her I would be getting a name change STAT!
Occupy What?
I will preface the following with fully acknowledging that I am totally uninformed on this subject. So apparently, there have been all of these "Occupy" protests going on all over the country. I keep hearing the words "Occupy Wall Street" in the news and I have no idea what they are talking about. It's just a bunch of people who are protesting outside of Wall Street, but I have no idea what they are protesting. These protests have spread all over the country and there was even an "Occupy Springfield" rally just last week. Again, despite all of the news coverage I have heard about it, I can't really tell what it is all about. Is it a political movement? Its a big group of load angry people so it sure does look like a political movement. I can pretty much guarantee that I don't have the desire or the time to figure out what it is all about let alone join them. Call me a bad American if you want, but I just don't have time for such shenanigans. Just because you are the loudest doesn't necessarily make you right.
Phlebotomist In Training
As part of having a chunk of metal in my heart I am required to take coumadin on a daily basis. As part of taking coumadin on a daily basis, I am forced to get my blood checked regularly. I suppose its a fair trade. I take medicine and get my blood monitored in exchange for not dying. Living good. Strokes bad. I guess I can suck it up and deal with it. When everything in life is going great, I only have to get my blood checked once a month. I show up at the clinic and let them poke me with a needle and then I go on my merry way. It only takes a few minutes of my time. For about a year or so, this was my routine. Everything was going great and I made my once a month visits like a good boy. For some weird reason, my blood has not wanted to cooperate as of late. It seems like every time I go, my blood is not at the correct thinness or thickness and they have to adjust my dosage amount and see me again in a week. Currently I am taking a 4 mg pill on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then I take a 5 mg pill the rest of the week. I have had this dosage and schedule changed about 6 times now. It is extremely difficult for me to remember anymore. Today when I went to get my blood drawn, I got stuck with the phlebotomist in training. I was worried when the lady called me back and she had someone else standing over her shoulder making sure she did everything correctly. She started by debating which arm to poke and then having her helper determine where the vein was. I was not filled with confidence! She then tried to perform the blood draw. She poked me with the needle but nothing was happening. No blood was filling the tube. She tried to wiggle it around a little bit (which felt awesome by the way) and had no luck. Her helper then took over and proceeded to poke me in the other arm. Cause that's the best plan. Let's poke the bleeder with more holes! So I left the office with both arms bandaged up. I understand that people have got to learn somewhere but I think the next time they need to find a different guinea pig. I've had my turn. Lets hope that today's blood results are good and I don't have to go back for a while because this is getting really old!
Crazy October
All of a sudden this month has exploded into all sorts of craziness. Every single weekend has an event planned and most evenings in this month already have something planned. Nights to relax on the couch are very few and far between. These are all good things that are happening, but we will just be a little nuts for a while. We also have a guest coming to stay with us next week. (Can't wait to see you next week Reagen!) Along with this we can also add in the fact that Breanne is still doing Pampered Chef stuff and I have started my second job at the church! Holy cow! We are forced to become more organized than usual, but we can totally do it. As we like to say, "We are going to kick this months... lets say hind end". So if I fail to blog any more this month, lets just blame it on the busyness. That's a good excuse.
Well, that's enough for today. If you made it through this whole thing, you will receive your gold star in 6-8 weeks. Gold Stars are of no monetary value and may not be redeemed for cash.
Friday, October 7, 2011
INSANITY Completed
As some of you know, I have been on this kick to try and get healthier for about a year and a half now. It all started shortly after my daughter was born. It was also around this time that I had my annual physical. Turns out that I had super high cholesterol and was becoming a fatty. There is no nice way of putting it. I had gained 30 pounds over the past few years. My doctor gave me a stern talking to about my current state of affairs. Especially considering that I had open heart surgery in 2004, I needed to take better care of myself. I think I have used my heart surgery in the past as an excuse to not over do it and not push myself. That was the wrong way to look at it. It's because of my heart surgery, that I need to push myself and exercise. After seeing my beautiful daughter come into this world, I decided that I wanted to be here for here many many years to come. I can't control the things I was born with, like a stupid heard that doesn't work right, but I could control the way I ate and how much exercise I did. So I purchased P90X and started regularly working out. If you have ever been awake at 2AM and watching television, then you probably are aware of what P90X is. Change your life in 90 days, get muscles in places you didn't know existed, blah blah blah. I was skeptical of my ability to do it, but decided to give it a try anyway. So I put myself through 90 days of getting up early and working out. I certainly couldn't workout with the intensity that they do on the videos, but I did pretty well. I didn't get 6 pack abs or anything crazy like that, but I felt way better about myself and managed to lose some weight in the process. So I continued the P90X program in one form or another for a little over a year. By the beginning of August of this year I was getting very sick of it. I love Tony Horton and all, but after a year, he was getting a little on my nerves. So I was ready to try something new. I purchased another product by the Beach Body company called INSANITY. It's all capitalized because it is insane! This program promises to change your life in 60 days. Again, if you are up late at night, you have probably seen this infomercial as well. Its pretty much a ridiculous amount of jumping, squatting, push-upping craziness that is non stop! Holy crap this program sucks!!! Not in a bad way, but in the "I hate my life, why am I doing this" sort of way. Every morning when my alarm went off at 6am, I dreaded what was to come. However, after each workout, I managed to feel much better about myself and could definitely see some results happening. It was with this workout, that I finally got my weight to start with a 1 again! That hasn't happened for years! Thanks Shaun T and the rest of the Insanity crew!
One way that this program measures your progress is through a fit test. There are 8 different exercises that you do for a minute each and then you record your results. You do the fit test 5 times throughout the program. The first time I did the fit test, I thought I was going to die! What in the world had I gotten myself into? At the end I felt dizzy and definitely debated whether or not I was going to throw up. Luckily I didn't. Today, after finishing my final fit test, I still felt like I wanted to die, but there was no urge to turn myself inside out. Plus, I did way better and got a lot more reps on each move, so go me! Here are my results.
Switch Kicks: Day 1 - 100 Day 60 - 116
Power Jacks: Day 1- 40 Day 60- 53
Power Knees: Day 1- 80 Day 60-101
Power Jumps: Day 1- 25 Day 60- 41
Globe Jumps: Day 1- 7 Day 60- 9
Suicide Jumps: Day 1- 10 Day 60- 15
Push-up Jacks: Day 1- 10 Day 60- 20
Low Plank Oblique: Day 1- 35 Day 60- 60
I love seeing that I can do more on day 60 than when I started! For those that may be interested, here are my photo results as well. My starting weight was 206 and I ended up at 196.
Huge thanks goes out to my wife for putting up with my morning schedule and also to Darrin Miller, my workout buddy. It's only because I knew he was waiting for me to show up at his house bright and early that I even continued to do it!
One way that this program measures your progress is through a fit test. There are 8 different exercises that you do for a minute each and then you record your results. You do the fit test 5 times throughout the program. The first time I did the fit test, I thought I was going to die! What in the world had I gotten myself into? At the end I felt dizzy and definitely debated whether or not I was going to throw up. Luckily I didn't. Today, after finishing my final fit test, I still felt like I wanted to die, but there was no urge to turn myself inside out. Plus, I did way better and got a lot more reps on each move, so go me! Here are my results.
Switch Kicks: Day 1 - 100 Day 60 - 116
Power Jacks: Day 1- 40 Day 60- 53
Power Knees: Day 1- 80 Day 60-101
Power Jumps: Day 1- 25 Day 60- 41
Globe Jumps: Day 1- 7 Day 60- 9
Suicide Jumps: Day 1- 10 Day 60- 15
Push-up Jacks: Day 1- 10 Day 60- 20
Low Plank Oblique: Day 1- 35 Day 60- 60
I love seeing that I can do more on day 60 than when I started! For those that may be interested, here are my photo results as well. My starting weight was 206 and I ended up at 196.
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| Day 1 |
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| Day 1 |
 |
| Day 60 |
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| Day 60 |
Huge thanks goes out to my wife for putting up with my morning schedule and also to Darrin Miller, my workout buddy. It's only because I knew he was waiting for me to show up at his house bright and early that I even continued to do it!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Third Most Violent
According to Forbes Magazine, Springfield IL. has been named the third most violent city in the United States. Really? Of ALL the cities in the country, we are third most violent? This is completely ridiculous. Certainly the city has it's problem areas but by no means do I think we are the third most violent city in the country. My work is located right next to the bad side of Springfield and we insured many homes and vehicles that are located in these bad neighborhoods. And while we do have our occasional drive by shooting homeowners claims I still don't think we are the third worst! What about places like Chicago or East St. Louis? Both of these cities are in IL and are well known for their violence. You couldn't pay me to go to East St. Louis simply because I know that it is a dangerous city. Was this place not even included in the survey? What about LA or NYC? I just don't think the people at Forbes are trying hard enough.
Here is my other beef with this list. Anchorage Alaska is on it. Really? How violent could Anchorage really be? Sure it's cold there and maybe that makes people more irritable, therefore causing more violence but I just don't see it. It's more likely to me that people would stay inside where it is warm instead of being outside committing crimes. Maybe people are just mad that Sarah Palin has become the state mascot and they are taking it out on their own citizens. Or, maybe the survey is also taking into account violent crimes committed by animals too. Bear attacks and Moose home invasions are surly a staple up there right?
All in all, this survey is ridiculous and I refuse to believe that Springfield is the third most dangerous city in the country. I rather like Springfield and can vouch for the fact that it is just fine to live in. Just make sure you are not spending your nights walking up and down any streets numbered 9-24 and you won't have any problems.
Here is my other beef with this list. Anchorage Alaska is on it. Really? How violent could Anchorage really be? Sure it's cold there and maybe that makes people more irritable, therefore causing more violence but I just don't see it. It's more likely to me that people would stay inside where it is warm instead of being outside committing crimes. Maybe people are just mad that Sarah Palin has become the state mascot and they are taking it out on their own citizens. Or, maybe the survey is also taking into account violent crimes committed by animals too. Bear attacks and Moose home invasions are surly a staple up there right?
All in all, this survey is ridiculous and I refuse to believe that Springfield is the third most dangerous city in the country. I rather like Springfield and can vouch for the fact that it is just fine to live in. Just make sure you are not spending your nights walking up and down any streets numbered 9-24 and you won't have any problems.
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