dutiful spouse

I am always trying to plan ahead and make sure Mary has all the things she needs. Who knows when a pre-dug shallow grave might come in handy.

What the judges said

The Marion Star received an honorable mention in the General Excellence category in the Ohio State Associated Press contest this weekend. It's our first General Excellence placing since I became editor in Dec. of 2004.
Here is what the judges said:

The Marion Star certainly deserves a pat on the
back for the excellent job it does for the
community and readers. Like the other winners
in this category, the judging panel felt this was
a paper all of us would be glad to pick up and
read even if we weren't judging it. Its local
content was strong, nicely written and generally
well presented. The design is clean and employs
a number of layering techniques which help
drive the reader inside and to the paper's
Website. We found it to be extremely well
organized and easy to navigate. Its presentation
of the Virginia Tech shooting was solid,
enhanced by a good local sidebar. One of the
things we particularly liked was the Blue
Ribbons special section showing the winners of
the All Junior Fair. This is the sort of community
journalism that breeds reader loyalty in an era
when far too many papers have lost touch with
their readers. It should be noted that from first
place to honorable mention, the judging panel
felt all four finalist papers in this category were
separated in quality by little more than a hair's
breadth and we hope all of the communities
these papers serve realize how lucky they are.

What was most gratifying is that all of the things the judges mentioned are things were are working hard to do... Hurray for us!

Art imitates life

Crazy week

Get your own graph at skinnyr

It has been a crazy week. I have been very busy at work, my knee has been killing me and my weight is bouncing all over the place. Still I ended up with a one pound loss from Friday to Friday...phew!

motivated?

Usually, I wake up in the morning and I feel great. My knee will be a little stiff and have a little pain, but it is normally the best I feel all day. Today, my knee woke me up. This is the worst pain since I injured it one week ago. I rode the bike trainer last night for 30 minutes, but I kept the resistance low. I worked out with the dumbbells last night, but I have eliminated lunges from my routine and still the pain in my knee gets worse. The doctor didn’t say it when it would start to feel better but did say I could run again, a little bit, in 10 days. My 10 days would be up on Saturday and I don’t see me running then. I have to be at a couple of places today that require walking and I am dreading those. Anyway, injury is inevitable. The question is: How do you cope with injury? How do you keep on your fitness plan? What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Those are the things I am going to have to figure out over the next few weeks.

Deck Destruction

We pulled a lot of nails this weekend

deck demo

We spent the weekend demolishing the deck in our back yard. Now we have to figure out how to replace it. The current plan is for a patio... if only I had some Grove Arcade Marble.

"A damn 15-year-old punk can do it"

Thanks Ash

wrong direction

Get your own graph at skinnyr

Today is weigh-in day for week 22. It has been a bit of a roller-coaster this week. My weight is a bit of a disappointment but that is not the worst news. ... Let’s get the facts out of the way first. The scale reads 227 this morning. That’s up two pounds from last week. My body fat percentage reading this morning is 30.2 percent. Last week I was at 30.7. My BMI is 32.6. Last week the BMI was 32.4. ... I started a running program over the weekend and started working out with dumbbells early in the week. I guess I overdid the running because by Wednesday I was a hobbling mess with pain in my right knee. I ended up in the doctor’s office on Thursday and was told not to run for the next ten days. When I return to running. I am supposed to take it very easy with at least two days rest between each session. My weight seemed to be heading in the right direction. I started a food diary, but it hasn’t helped me curb my late night snacking. I am making better choices about my snacking, but I really shouldn’t be doing it at all. I know there are going to be setback weeks like this. I refuse to let them discourage me. At least not too much. My next running day will be Saturday, April 26. Until then I can still ride the bike trainer if I keep the resistance low. I did yoga last night and didn’t feel any pain, although today I seem to be having a bit more than yesterday.

knee still sore

There will be no running today. I overslept and when I rose to get out of bed I felt like I could barely walk. The pain has subsided some, but there was no way to complete the Couch-to-5K workout today or even do my regular walking route. ... I did do a little bit of yard work last night and while I could feel the pain in my knee it was not debilitating. ... I rode a hard 60 minutes on the bike trainer because it felt good. My knee was a no more sore after the workout. This morning, is a different story. ... I have yoga tonight and I know I can get through that. Walking around the office should be an adventure. I think I will be OK if I keep moving. My job, however, has me sitting in one place for long periods. It takes a few minutes for the knee pain to diminish enough for me to walk normally or maybe I just get used to the pain. ... The plan right now is to continue on the bike trainer, do yoga tonight and keep working the dumbbells. I guess how it feels through the weekend will have oodles to do with my plans for next week.

sore knee

I fell asleep on the couch waiting for the new season of “Deadliest Catch” to start. My big plan was to ride my bike during the first hour of the show. That never happened. This morning, when I got out of bed the pain in my knee was diminished considerably. I started taking ibuprofen shortly after coming in from my Couch-to-5K workout yesterday. I had trouble walking throughout the day, but it did get better towards evening. Today is supposed to be an off day from the 5K workouts but I was going to walk anyway, just to see what would happen with my knee. Instead of satisfying that curiosity and possibly making things worse, I did a dumbbell workout while watching “Sportscenter”. I am still looking for a good workout that does not require a bench. I have glommed together a bunch of exercises for a sort of routine, but I would like to have something scientific to follow. If anyone knows of a good one let me know. Hopefully the knee will continue to feel better today. I had my knees checked last fall because of things that happened during my cancer treatment and the doctor said they looked about right for someone my age, so I am thinking it is a matter of getting used to the running and the new shoes. I guess we will see.

more video coming

hilarious, seriously

what a classic!

Our traveling kin

Lucy's cousin Bill enjoying himself in Costa Rica.

Mayhem fun

Lucy attempts a two-fingered whistle at the Marion Mayhem indoor football game Saturday night.

Marion Mayhem quarterback Stanley Jackson goes back to pass on his way to a 52 to 12 loss to the Rochester Raiders.

Some mascots get the girl.

Some just get each other.

Of course The Marion Star is a big sponsor

Vultures return

The turkey vultures have returned to our neighborhood. I spotted this guy while walking Lucy to school.
You have to click on the photos to really appreciate them.

Finally, something useful on the Internet

How to order a beer in fifty languages.

How I spent my sprink break

Note the sandy, white beaches.