Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Paul

I have thought about my brother many times since he passed in October 2008. Many times is probably an understatement. It is interesting how the new "normal" comes to be after you lose someone. Things seem to evolve in different ways. The void is clearly still there but like the changing seasons.....things keep growing and changing.

I miss my brother most when I am with my parents. I miss being able to reach out and talk to him about what's going on with my parents lives. I am still trying to get a handle on what an only child feels like now. Oh I think I am understanding the stress. No problem there. Sometimes the loss of my brother feels like my left arm is gone but somehow its still there.  That probably doesn't make much sense I know.

I see how his friends - who I thought were pretty good guys - simply not call or check-in on my mother anymore. They seemed so attentive at first but now.....the silence from them disturbs even her. Maybe it's the difference between Mars and Venus.......women are a bit more sensitive in that way. Maybe it is simply life evolving and people moving on from a sad experience.

Anyway, my two cents on a hot and humid evening. Summer is here, the Reds are struggling, time to take a vacation, mow the lawn, walk the dog........life slowly moves on in the new normal.

Casey Anthony Trial

Has anybody else been following this circus over the last three years? I gotta say that I have been watching this drama since day one and I have never doubted that Casey Anthony is guilty of the death of her two year old daughter. This is some crazy stuff!

Let's start with the first revelation - she doesn't tell anyone that her child is missing for 31 days. I mean....who does that?? And then.....her parents have to hunt her down to find out where their granddaughter is just to find out that her mother has no clue where she is! Oh wait.....Zanny the Nanny took her. That's right. This was revelation #2. The nanny had her last and she ran off with her. Uhh yeah.....that turned out to be a lie. She then took the police on a wild goose chase all over town with her lies - all of which were found out by the police. Then came the party photos, the boyfriends, etc etc. Her home computer had been used to search for recipes for chlorophyll. I do not have children but I have to ask those who have children.........would you sedate your child to that extreme if you thought you could get away with a few hours of peace?  I mean.....I can understand pressures of raising a child but what type of person goes to that extreme?

I've been watching Nancy Grace every evening to catch up on the testimonies during the trial. I have to say I have been pretty irritated with the grandparents as they stood by Casey Anthony all of this time. Today.....my heart breaks for them because they are really really suffering. Clearly, the jury has to see that something doesn't make sense here. As the trial goes on, Casey Anthony sits there watching it like an obstinate, spoiled little child. Oh yeah.....she's crying....but I think her tears are just an overflow of the frustration of all of the lies she has perpetrated. She is in so deep she can't dig herself out now.

I hope that the jury can see the honest raw emotions coming from the grandparents and send this girl away for a good long time. Does anyone else have any thoughts about this trial?

Monday, May 30, 2011

So what's next for Ohio State?

I hated to hear about Jim Tressel resigning from Ohio State this morning. With NCAA violations hanging over the team's head, he decided to vamoose before he was fired. The "crime" itself was really minor in grand scheme of things - players selling trophies & awards to raise money for tattoos, etc etc. It was the cover up on the part of Tressel (to protect his idiot players) that killed him. He knew what was going on and instead of answering truthfully to the NCAA when he was asked directly about it........he denied knowing anything of what was going on. It looks like this wasn't the first year that his players were selling stuff and the more those stories were leaked........he had no other recourse.

OSU loses a good coach and I am not so sure that someone from his coaching staff can do a better job. I'd like to see them go outside and bring in a heavier hitter. The team has a lot of talent that has yet to be exploited under Tressel's conservative game play. I hear Urban Meyer is available. I wonder what it would take to get him to Columbus?

Either way.....this team has some housecleaning to do in regards to integrity. The star players were selling off sacred trophies just to gain a few bucks for whatever. Oh yeah.....some claimed early they were trying to help their families but that was squashed after we heard about the tattoo purchases. I have no respect for those players and I am glad that some of them are in their last year of play.

I will continue to support the Bucks and look forward to the beginning of football season however bittersweet that will be. The whole mess smells bad and the foul odor will unfortunately cover this team for the first five games of the season. I hope it is something that the Bucks put behind them so they can salvage a half way decent season.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Children on bicycles

Dangerous and unsteady. That's all I can say.

When I was a child, my mom and dad were pretty close by on my first few trips around the neighborhood on my bike. I guess it was more out of my own welfare than anyone elses. Too bad that parents don't watch their kids as closely these days.

I was in the middle of my W3D2 of c25k yesterday afternoon when I was "taken out" by an eight year old boy on his bike. Seriously. I was hit from behind without any warning that the little devil was creeping up behind me! I went down pretty hard but then....so did the kid on his bike. Hmmpf. At least he was wearing a helmet. I received a beautiful ostrich egg size lump on my upper thigh. No skinned or scraped up skin....just a painful lump that will likely turn into the ugliest bruise known to man.

The child's father.....yes...he was jogging some ways behind his son and witnessed the whole sorry scene.....was apologetic and asked if I was ok. Of course I said yes and I told the boy to yell loudly when he intends to pass me the next time. I continued my run despite the fact that I was a bit shaken up. They both steered clear of me on the walking path for the rest of my 30 minute run.

So....no pain no gain? This experience gives that new meaning. Beware of children on bikes my friends. They are quiet, stealth-like and deadly!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Get along little doggy

This seems to be a theme for the last two weekends for me and my dog. Kip has had an on and off week with some digestive issues and I have been moving forward with c25k. For both of us it has been a slow week. Kip took in some rice this morning at 7am.....and at 8:45 has managed to keep it down and in without an issue. I started my W3D1 in the c25k program. I didn't think I would be able to run 3 minutes straight but I did.....not once but twice. Yay!

So it is measured success at this point but we are still moving forward. Hopefully, Kip will continue to progress during the day so he can get a bit more of a meal this afternoon. Kip likes to eat things outside so at some point he got a hold of something that has his digestive tract doing flip flops. Some days I think I own a goat instead of a dog.

I have managed to turn few more folks on to the benefits of the Couch to 5k program. I am down 27 pounds so far. Not all of that is due to c25k but I can attribute 16 pounds to it. My goal is to lose an additional 13 pounds by August 6th. It is much needed weight that needs to go away. I think that I am losing more inches than pounds at this point. It is obvious in my clothes. Unfortunately, I work at a company that still clings to the "business professional" attire (my company is more concerned about "presentation" while the rest of the world is more concerned about how well you provide your services and how much your services cost) so shopping for new work clothes could be expensive if I buy every time the waist in my pants loosens. In the end, this is all about me and my clothes will catch up once I get close to a good maintenance weight.

As for today.....time for me and Kip to move forward and continue our progress. Tomorrow is another day.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Oprah

What comes to mind when you think of Oprah Winfrey? Some key words that come to my mind - powerful, strong, confident, leader and communicator. I must say that the world is a different place since Oprah first took to the airways. I mean.....Phil Donahue was still on the air! With her last show coming up very soon, I don't think there is anyone in the wings who has the kahunas to take her place.

I can't remember the early years of Oprah very well. I was 20 when she aired her first show. I was in college at that point and just didn't have much time to sit down at 4pm in the afternoon and watch a talk show. I was busy with other things. Over the years, I have managed to catch a few shows here and there but again....by the time I got home from work, she was off the air.

I guess this is why I have enjoyed watching the OWN network. The variety of shows have been interesting and I actually have had time to sit down and enjoy a few of them. She's gotten some bad press lately about the ratings of her new network, but I think that once she has her daily shows completed she will be able to grow OWN and prove that it can be successful. I mean.....she's got the golden touch. Look how many books she has managed to race up the best seller's list. I am guilty of buying at least one just because she recommended it. I figured if she had time to read it so did I.


Here's to Oprah and her life after the Oprah Winfrey Show. Methinks she has more to come......

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Just another rainy Sunday

It has been quite the week. I am busy with a big project at work, still running the c25k and now I am sitting in my garage with my ailing dog. He came down with a serious case of the "pukes" this morning so until his stomach seems to be better. He is not going back into the house. Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. Right? I must say that blogging in the garage is a unique experience.

So what can I say about the Couch to 5K program?! I am into week five. I have had to repeat Week 1 twice and I am repeating Week 2 three times just to get myself acclimated to this whole program. While I am running, my body is still fighting the whole idea. It is telling my brain to not come up with any more bright ideas! On the upside though....I have lost 14 pounds in four weeks! Isn't that crazy? So all of the aches and pains of running are really paying off huge in inches and pounds. I am actually looking forward to doing the program on Sun/Tues/Thur. It is crazy but I will keep it up because I am seeing fantastic results! 

This is my last week at Week 2 (five min warm up followed by 6 reps of 90 secs jogging and two mins walking ending with a five minute cool down). I have to push myself into Week 3 which will really stress and test my abilities and my body. It's something ungodly like two reps each of 90 secs jogging/90 secs walking and 3 mins jogging and 3 mins walking. Yeah. Jog for three minutes? So soon? Eeeeeek!

Anyway.....I will look and feel good for my vacation in June. Lyn and I are heading to Boston Pride weekend to catch the parade and then its off to the Cape for some seafood and R&R.

Sooooo looking forward to June!

Sunday, May 08, 2011

Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother's Day to any mothers who may read my humble little blog. I have found readership to be down since I stopped blogging last year. Ahhh well....it is what it is.

It is a blah day here in the Cincinnati area. After a fairly nice day on Friday.....the clouds crept back in yesterday and have hunkered down this morning. Luckily, there are no plans for grilling out dinner for Mom. We are heading out to the restaurant of her choice. We are keeping it fairly simple and avoiding the showers.

I ran the c25k program again this morning. I am still jogging slow but steady. I am into my fourth week of this interval jog/walk program and I must say I look forward to it on Sun/Tue & Thurs. I had to repeat the second week of the program - as I did with the first week - but I think once I lose more weight I will find that I am repeating less. In the last three weeks I have lost eight pounds so something is working.

I am going to have a complete physical this coming Wednesday to ensure I am on track with my new healthy living. I've been having some interesting pains starting in my upper chest and I want to have that checked out as well. They are not sharp.....dull and only last about 10 seconds. The best part is that it doesn't occur during my exercise routines and I don't have one family member who has ever fallen over with a heart attack! It's a "come and go" type of thing. I just want to eliminate it as a serious issue so I can pick up my jogging routine. Got to keep my eyes on the target dammit!  Life is good.

Make it a great day with your Moms, Mother-in-Laws, etc!

Friday, May 06, 2011

Rain

Ok.....I have tried to not complain about all of this rain that we have gotten so far this Spring because I knew that it would stop eventually. Now I am not so sure.

In April....we had about five sunny days free of rain and clouds. The other days......cloudy and lots of rain. I now can rest easy knowing that I do indeed have a dry basement. With this much rain.....if it was coming in it would have by now.

Has anyone else experienced it by the buckets this year? I have heard the East Coast has had a nice Spring. I am hoping that it continues to be nice up there when I head to Boston next month. It will be nice to spend some days with the sun shining on my face instead of all of this rain!

Ahhh well.....today it was partly sunny and tomorrow we are back to showers. That's ok......tomorrow I am treating myself to Fried Chicken at the Old Brick. It can rain all it likes tomorrow afternoon.....I will be happy.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Third week of Couch to 5K

I can't believe that I am beginning my third week of the C25K program. For those of you that need to be caught up on all this, I decided that to accelerate my weight loss program and road to healthy living, I would begin to run. The C25K program (iPhone or Droid) walks you through a 9 week interval program of jogging and walking so that you can actually run 3.1 miles afterward in 30 minutes.

I had to repeat week one for my second week. I just was not ready to move ahead. I have run on the sunny days (1), cloudy days and two rainy days to move forward with my goal. This morning, I started on W2D1 (week 2 day one) part of the program. I was amazed that it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Am I getting used to this?

My scale at home says that this is working. My clothes are saying this is working. My body after the run says it is working. Wait.....my body screams a lot too during and after the run! It is not easy for me, but I am pushing through it. There is one thing that you have to know about me........once I am fully engaged in something, there is no one who can stop me but me.

So I am happy with the progress thus far. I am pushing forward with the program and my eating habits. I have lost 20 pounds so far and I am confident that I will drop a few more this week since I have two more days to hit the pavement.

Am I a runner now? Only time will tell.