Entry for February 26, 2007

Last week I started a new exercise routine that has re-motivated me mentally and physically. It is mostly common sense advice that I had probably seen before but did not put all the pieces together. There is a lot of good information in books and internet sites regarding weight/fat loss and strength conditioning. I have finally found a way to tie in the best advice from all, or at least it appears that way. No magic pills, secret exercises or boring routines. It is all hard work and I already feel the difference more that any other system I have tried. For the last year I have been hanging around the 205 lb. range. I realize I appear to be in good shape, but I still carry fat around my stomach that I can’t seam to get rid of. I have cleaned up my diet and gone back to recording all my food intake to make sure I’m getting a quality diet.

Saturday Gin and I rode out to Greenville looking for some more weights and a bench with a bench press rack. We hit the Play It Again Sports store for their used equipment bargains. I also had a copy of the local classified ads with me, which had a bench and weight set for a very reasonable price. After shopping the store for the best bargain, I decided to wait and see what else is available. We left the store and finally were able to get in touch with the person advertising the used set. We picked up the weights and bench from a family that just finished a yard sale saving us about $175 from the store prices. We did go back to the store and picked up an extra weight bar and dumb bell bars.

When we finally made it home, I cleaned up the weights and applied a fresh coat of primer and paint to all the plates. Gin removed the bench covering material and treated the foam with bleach and an odor remover.

Sunday we picked up the groceries which required hitting several different stores. I installed the last drawer on the second drawing cabinet for the engineers at work. Gin was nice enough to take Stetson in the office for some computer games while I took a brief nap on the couch with Shelby and Fluff.

We drove over to Patrick and Jessica’s to drop off the chocolate bars we are selling for the March of Dimes. We had a nice little visit with them and went home for a quick chicken wrap dinner.

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Entry for February 19, 2007

Monday Gin finished the last coat of poly on the drawing cabinet. I installed the dowel pins for the angled storage rack at the top and delivered the cabinet Thursday morning. The engineers and designers were pleased with the end product and can’t wait for the other three. The old plastic pipe rack they used before was emptied and put aside and the new cabinet was filled about one third of its capacity. Overall, I am pleased with the design and how it works.

Friday night Gin and I had dinner at Connolly’s Irish Pub in Spartanburg. After dinner we attended the “Green Cards” show at the new Hub-Bub venue two blocks from Connolly’s. Hub-Bub is an arts center located in an old shoe warehouse. We first saw the Green Cards at the Handlebar in Greenville last fall. They are a bluegrass band from Australia and England. It’s funny hearing their native accents when they talk and their Americanized twang when they sing.

Saturday we switched cell phone plans for Gin. She picked up one of those thin camera phones that also has an MP3 music player. Technology just gets more compact every day. Once we made it back home, I worked on the second drawing cabinet.

Sunday I continued working on the second drawing cabinet while Gin prepared a new turkey sausage burger from a Rachael Ray recipe she saw on one of the shows. The recipe called for steak and pork chop, but we opted for the healthier turkey. Patrick and Jessica were over for dinner and were also in on the new dish. The meal was great and I think everyone enjoyed the new recipe. Gin sautéed some mixed peppers and onions to add to the burgers.

After dinner we played Rummy. Patrick had a book of card games and had told us how he and Jessica started playing different games together. I think Jessica ended up with the most points to win. I came up with the least points at 9 for a final total.

If you haven’t done so yet, please visit the link below and give what you can to support my walk in the March of Dimes Walk America campaign. Thank you to those who have already donated. The picture for this blog is from the foot prints of Beau and Haley which was given to Jessica.

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Entry for February 11, 2007

We celebrated Jessica's birthday Friday night at our house. I intended on preparing my grilled pork chops, but the local grocers decided to stop carrying Papa Demos marinade. We opted for pizza and garlic knots from The Brick in Columbus, NC. After dinner and some tasty cinnamon cake from Gin. Caris had been home most of the day Friday. We played two rounds of Blokus while waiting for Stephanie and Chris to arrive later. Patrick managed to win both games of Blokus. The Honeycutt siblings arrived and we set up for a long game of Aggravation Rummy. I managed to pull out another victory despite Chris' effort to catch me.

Caris and Gin prepared an egg breakfast for Summer's birthday which is Monday. We had scrambled eggs, home-made hash browns, maple sausage and toast. Summer hung out with Gin and Caris for a while and I started working on the drawing cabinet project for the engineers I work with. Later Saturday afternoon, Gin stained first cabinet, while I worked on the assembly of the second. Caris headed back to Albemarle shortly before lunch.

Sunday was just another day of cabinet work for me. Gin applied the first coat of poly on the finished cabinet.

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Entry for February 09, 2007

It’s been a hard week to get through. Having witnessed Jessica and Patrick losing Beau and Haley, their twin babies, last week due to complications with her pregnancy was heartbreaking for all of us. I can not begin to imagine what Jessica is feeling. As Patrick’s father, I have never felt so helpless in my life.

I want to do so much to prevent this from ever happening again. Then I read and hear about this situation happening more and more every day. Gin talked with someone this week whose best friend just lost her baby at 19 weeks of the pregnancy. We tend to believe that when a woman is pregnant that they just need to eat right and see the doctor. I have learned that there is a lot more information and monitoring of health necessary to sustain a full term pregnancy.

I joined the March of Dimes “Walk America” campaign and will do all I can to help more babies survive the 9 month journey to life.
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