Annoying Squirrel

Annoying Squirrel is a character Lucy created by chirping at us one morning while she was supposed to be getting ready for school.
"what are you doing?" I asked as she hopped around the house making this horrible chirping noise.
"I'm Annoying Squirrel."
This is my cartoon version

What's she looking at?

Nice hair and jack-o-lantern teeth.

Guppies

The green glow is from a light bulb that keeps our guppies warm.

Pumpkin time

I saw a similar Jack-o-Lantern online somewhere and I thought I would give it a try.

Gift from Aunt Sue

Lucy's Aunt Sue sent her this nice outfit to wear to school! Don't you think it makes her look smart?

Our talented kin

Nephew Michael Jock made an impact immediately when he started playing soccer for the Cortland Red Dragons. Click here to read about his latest achievement.

Out in public

I attended a Men's Seminar today. "Esteemed Professionals" met with "Bright Young Men." Not sure how I got invited.

Overheard

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional."
Works for yoga and cycling. Running is all suffering.

Fun with leaves

Once you have done the work to gather up the leaves, you deserve a little fun.



The run up.

The launch.



The layout!

Splash down!

I can run 4 miles

It took me 40 minutes and 29 seconds. But, I did it.

Are you in this picture?

This was a big deal party. They are still talking about it at the Lake Titus Brewery. If you click on it you can see it real big.

Significant Sign

This summer, when we were visiting Plattsbugh, we were shopping at a Sam's Club. I picked up two pairs of pants that had 36 inch waists. I had been wearing 38s and occasionally some 40s. At Sam' you can't try stuff on, but my 38s were getting loose so I thought it was worth a shot. When I got them home, I found they were a little snug. I decided to hang on to them as an incentive to keep going with my training. By August I was wearing the 36 inch waists comfortably.

This week, Mary was in a Sam's in Columbus. She picked up a pair of pants with a 34 inch waist. I was afraid to try them on when she first brought them back. Yesterday, I got up the courage and put them on. They fit! There isn't a ton of room, but they are far from snug.

The bad news is that some of my favorite jeans are now way too big to wear. That's bad news I can deal with.

There's name for this

One night a week or so ago I arrived home to find I had a package from my brother Mike waiting for me. It was a CD. Mike is a prolific collector of music and occasionally he puts together a thematic mix tape (I'm sure that's not what you call it these days) for me. A few years ago he put together a collection of songs that were centered around the North Country of Upstate New York. The disc that arrived recently looked to be another such effort. Take a look at the song list:



I was especially excited to get the disc because I had to travel to to Newark, Ohio the next day to conduct an interview of the candidates for Sate Attorney General. It is about a 90 minute drive.
I left the next morning and tuned into NPR radio for the first 45 minutes. When I got bored with the news, I pulled out the disc and inserted it into the player.
This is what I heard:

Was it only 12 years ago?

It was May 25, 1996. The day was as cold as the beer.

Weigh-in day for week 48

Get your own graph at skinnyr

It is weigh-in day for week 48. I only have four weeks to go to complete my year. To reach my goal I have to lose 12 more pounds. That’s sort of a tall order, but I think I can get close. Today my weight is at 212 pounds, that’s a four pound drop from last week. I think I owe it all to yoga. I did four yoga workouts this week. I also did one bike trainer workout and completed a three-mile run. My body fat reading is at 28.9 percent. That’s down from 29.7 percent last week. My BMI is at an exciting 30.4, that’s down from 31.1 last week. When I break 30 I will move from being obese to overweight – hurray! I am not sure what the weekend holds. I really want to try running more than three miles. We’ll see how that goes. I also might start riding the bike trainer in penance for wearing out the couch watching football. And, no snacks.

exercise slug

I have been a total slug since last Tuesday. I have made excuse after excuse. Although, I have to say that I have had work commitments that have made things difficult. Still, I could do better.
I finally got out for a run this morning and finished my three miles in 29:09. I was really sucking wind when I finished. I don't know that I will ever be able to run more than three miles.

I shouldn't be too disappointed it was two years ago when I was happy to be walking around the perimeter of my yard three times without stopping.

Easy Bake Oven Fun

Also, notice Lucy's new hair cut.

I miss Asheville

Remnants from a simpler, binge drunkier time

I sold some LPs at the Relay For Life garage sale we had at our house last summer. As much as I hated to part with my copy of Joe Jackson's "Mike's Murder" or "Neil Young and the Shocking Pink," I like raising money to fight cancer. While I was reading the liner notes from the Nils and fondly recalling the Hawaiian Pups on vinyl, two slips of paper wafted to the ground. I Laughed when I saw them and then set them aside. They, obviously were not sale. I post them here in an effort to preserve them. I will stick them in a book and then someday donate that book for the library book sale.

From the Cramps Biography page:

Rockabilly -- the sound of southern culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups.

It's True!

A Friend's Cancer: Good For Your Health?

Easy Bake Oven Time

Lucy broke out the Easy Bake Oven the she got for her birthday to bake some sugar cookies!


It's a hands-on job!


In this house we only use star shaped sprinkles! Because dad works at The Marion Star! Get it?


One sprinkle at a time!


The final product!

The cookies aren't done until the wash up is finished!

Race report

Lucy finished toward the back of the pack, but well ahead of last place. It was her first race and she ran with several kids at least a year older than her. She ran the entire course, only slowing down once because she saw something in some weeds that interested her. They turned out to be burdocks which she brought back stuck to her gloves.
I ran my three-mile route this morning and finished with a personal best of 28:47.

Race Day

Lucy is participating in an elementary school cross country race at the Harding Invitational Cross Country Meet today. The race is one half mile. Last night she ran a half mile in 5:15. That was with me running with her. Should be interesting to see how she runs with other kids.

Rick Rolled Debate

This was just before the debate started.

yoga

On the left is me in the downward facing dog position this morning. On the right is me in the downward facing dog position late last winter. I still have a long way to go, but I have made some improvements.

Bike ride story coming

meanwhile here is my latest weight blog entry
What a day! So far. My streak of personal bests continues and despite a few days of illness induced laxity I am back on the weight loss track. I went for a three-mile run this morning and felt awful. While going up a hill about half way through the run I couldn’t fill my lungs completely up. Now, one thing for sure that nine months of yoga has taught me is my lung capacity. I was sucking in and running out of room long before I should have. I figured it was another manifestation of my recent mystery illness. Towards the end of my second mile, when I am usually feeling strongest I felt very weak and I really thought I was slowing down during the third mile. I was incredibly surprised to stop the clock at 30:12. That’s 15 seconds better than my best time. Weight-wise I am back to 215 despite a dinner out last night with the American Cancer Society. Peer pressure kept me from ordering dessert. It was 50 degrees when I hit the street this morning. The first song on the MP3 player was “Barstool Blues” by Soul Asylum from “The Bridge.”