Well, since January is almost over, I guess I might as well add a blog entry... This has been a very busy month. We won best overall wine at the Bickford's wine tasting New Year's party... again. I'm getting good at picking out wines. Jenny finished her Goofy challenge and made a personal best time. Ironically, Florida was very cold (record lows for that region) when standing around to catch a glimpse of them trot by. I'm super proud of Jenny for sticking with all the training, getting on the plane, and making it through to the end. The trip overall was very fun especially because we got to vacation with Nick and Andie but it was also nice to have the last couple days to ourselves. Of all the Disney's, World is my favorite. I may have to do a post with more details just about this trip.
After vacation, it was tough to come back to reality. That very next weekend, I got sick, again! Its like the 3rd time in 3 months! This one, the congestion took almost 2 weeks to go away. Being out for vacation and then being sick, really set me back when attempting to return to Defy. I was doing so well, feeling fit and strong, losing weight, etc... but, alas, I put on some weight and have to retrain my muscles/body to get used to Cross-fit all over again.
I am trying to encourage Jenny to join Defy as I think it would be a good way for her to keep in shape that does not exclusively involve pounding her feet into a trail. Just today, Jenny said she misses the training runs and thus, Stomper and I rode along in support, just like good old times. She enjoyed it immensely and I think it helps with her headaches.
This month, I had to replace the cell phone I got my Mom: she simply lost it. I think its good for her to be able to keep in touch from wherever and don't mind helping her understand these new fangled contraptions. I hope she hangs on to this one.
As of lately, I finally called a plumber (that Steve recommended) to have our leaking water heater pipe and water main valve replaced. That meant I had to demo a wall so he could get to the pipes. Demo is fun :) Friday, at the gym, I did 12/15 laps (400 meters) of the assigned walking lunges. My legs and butt are the sorest they've been in months. It's painful to get up from chairs and start walking. I think it will be good for me in the long run though. Also last night, Jenny went to a Silpada party and I invited the guys over for poker night; It was a great time. I got a little drunk and ended up staying up late talking with Andrew till 2:30am. I changed my oil today and the oil in my Mom's car with no ill effects of the night before.
Speaking of drunk, its been a little (a lot) stressful trying to help my parents figure out some things for my brother's predicament. He got ANOTHER (4th) DUI and has been in jail since New Years. His bail is way too high, and trying to afford another lawyer is not monetarily possible. His girlfriend still has a bunch of his stuff and he has left a lot of things unfinished around my parent's house. They cannot afford his truck payment, so I told them I'd try to help them sell it. Since he is a "scrapper" there is literally junk all over the property, not to mention his pit-bull that is being unfairly/barely taken care of by my parents. She needs a good home or to be given to a shelter. I wish my parents would act on that.
I joined a group at work that is kinda like a photo club. The goal is to take a photo every day for one year. The group is call GHX Project 365. Even though I dislike a lot of the user interface with Flickr, I signed up for the Pro version and will display my photostream below. Yes I figured out a way to use Picasa to get my photos loaded (Thank God). We are allowed to post a week's worth at a time, so you may not see photos until my usual Sunday night load.
On the plus side, I did get the payout from an Exceptional Performer award I received at work from 2 years ago. This will be very helpful to our mountain of credit card debt. We used a good portion of this to fill up our HSA. This will give me bigger paychecks and allow us to actually go to the doctor for any reason.
We have arranged to have a local cake designer make a miniature replica of Jenny's parent's wedding cake. they are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend and we hope to surprise them with the cake.
Well, I think I'm done for now. if I forgot something, I'll be sure to include it in my next post.
