Sinus Headaches Suck

I woke up one morning in Illinois with a sinus headache and it has persisted for the past 4-5 days. I finally did break down though and start eating decongestant and ibuprofen like it's candy. That's helping a lot. Having a constant headache can really make you feel out of it. It makes you do wierd things, like running around the neighborhood in your undies, and singing "God Bless America" to your cats. 

Anyway, I have been feeling much better the past day or so. Just in time to put back a few beers tonight. 

Have a safe holiday, and I'll blog at you next year. 

The Beard Test

So, I never would have guessed the kinds of reactions people have had to my growing the beard this time. I have grown it out before, but I have always kept it trimmed short and shaped up. This time I have decided to grow out the full-on Grizzly Adams. I am about 2 1/2 months in and it's starting to really take shape. I'll post new pictures as soon as I can. 

Anyway, Audra has been very patient with me this time and although she does not prefer the Bearded Brant, she hasn't said too many negative things. I think she just figures it's a stage and bitching about it won't change or speed up anything. Now, the family at Christmas was a different story. I don't think anyone was trying to be mean, but there were several comments made that were actually a little hurtful. I can take it though, you know, I know deep down they love me and are just confused by me sometimes. No need to be cruel though. 

I am really enjoying having the beard and don't really care what other people think of it. As far as I'm concerned, growing a beard is the most uniquely manly thing a guy can do. It certainly does make you feel like a real outdoors man. I don't have any intention of taking it off in the near future. In fact, I'd like to see it even longer and fuller. So sorry family, for now, you'll just have to live with it. I guess it's a good test to find out how much people value "you" as opposed to "how you look".

How was your Christmas?

Well, we had a very nice, relaxing, drama free Christmas this year. This was going to be the first time in my life that I would celebrate a Christmas without seeing Dad. He said that he was not going to be able to get off of work in time to come to Illinois and see everyone. So we were all blown away when he showed up at the Zurliene Christmas in Albers dressed as Santa. Apparently, the care package that we put together and the letter that I wrote him had quite an impact on him. He told his boss that he had to get home somehow, and his boss let him. I think we were all really glad that he was able to make it, and that it didn't create too much drama.

The girls had a really good time with the family, and as of this morning at 7am when I left the house, everyone (including the wife) was still out like a light. Travelling is always so exhausting, but it is almost always worth it. Anyway, everything will be back to normal in a couple of days, we just need to rest and recover. 

I still have no idea how I seem to be able to fit everything into the car from year to year. It's almost like that magic carpet bag that Mary Poppins has. 

Lonely in Tennessee

So I took the wife and kids up to Paducah to meet her Dad. They wanted to spend a couple of more days with her Aunt Nancy, so I get to be here by myself for a couple of days.  I will be driving up Christmas Eve morning to meet them and then we'll do the usual rounds. 

I am excited that it looks like we'll get to join the Zurliene Christmas this year for the first time in a very long time. I haven't seen some of those cousins in years. I am a little sad that we will not see Dad at all this year though. He was not able to get away and will be spending his holiday alone in New Mexico. 

Elisa had the idea to put together a care package for him, so I wrote him a letter, the girls made him a video and we also sent some pictures along. Then Rick put it all together into a DVD for him. I can't wait to see how that all turned out. 

I don't sleep very well when I 'm home alone. Just one more night of that and I'll be with the family again.

The burn feels good

I started the weight routines back up last week and damn does it feel good. I have been back at the rope for about 2 weeks now, and was surprised that my endurance levels haven't really diminished much at all. I was able to go right back to 30+ minute sessions. 

Also, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to pick right up where I left off on the weights. I guess keeping up with push ups religiously everyday has helped to maintain some of that strength.  

I do have to say, it is really nice having someone to workout with. At this point he is starting  a level or two below me on weights and endurance, but I'll have him there within the next couple of months. Right now we are both concentrating on shedding some of the fat so that the results from lifting are easier to see. 

Tonight is cardio, which means rope and speed bag. The rope has been feeling much more natural this time. I am not sure why that is, but it feels more like dancing and much less like effort. I guess my body is finally feeling the rhythm. I think the key has been to just not force it, and to concentrate on being as smooth as possible. The speed and tricks will all come with experience.

What's happened to our school systems...

Last night we attended the CHES 2nd grade Christmas Program to watch our youngest one sing her little heart out. The 2nd grade class has been practicing their songs for weeks now and Miri really worked hard on them. I guess I was kind of  looking forward to hearing all those little kids voices, crooning out some of the classics. 

However, I was quite disappointed when we were instead treated to a barrage of pre-recorded music blasting over a PA system that completely drowned out the children. At one point (during Boyz 2 Mens rendition of Silent Night, I know...) I turned to Audra and said "I hope next time we actually get to hear the children sing!"

Whatever happened to making the Christmas Program about the kids? When did it become acceptable to just play a bunch of pre-recorded crap at functions instead of actually having someone with some musical talent play the background music? Are music teachers no longer expected to be able to play an instrument? 

When I was a kid the music teacher would break out a piano and go to town. The audience was actually able to hear the kids sing, even if they were not all on key. What has happened to our Schools?

Those little 2nd graders worked so hard on something to make their parents proud, only to be outdone by an overpowering PA system and washed-up Pop star recordings. Where is the justice? 

I'm not really that upset about all of this, I mean I have gotten to hear my share of Christmas classics fom Miri the past couple of weeks. I am just trying to point out how lazy we have become as a society, allowing things like this to happen right under our noses.   

This weekends movies

Here is a list of the movies I watched this weekend and my thoughts about each one. 

Babylon A.D. - This movie has Vin Diesel transporting a package (girl) to New York City. It happens in the future and is really pretty horrible. Try to make it all of the way through the movie. I dare you...

Death Race - This update of the classic Death Race 2000, establishes new acting lows for Jason Statham. This guy started off real good with the first Transporter movie, but how is he still getting roles. Seriously, is there amore one-sided actor. Oh, maybe Vin Diesel. Some really cool special effects almost make it worthwhile. I said almost.

Moving McAllister - This comedy stars Mila Kunis and Jon Heder and made me laugh almost three times throughout. I mean Rutger Hauer plays her hard-ass uncle and the main character is some noname I have never seen before or since. However, getting to watch Mila Kunis for an hour and a half is almost worth it, Plus Jon Heder is always fun. 

Michael Clayton - Very good. My wife is not a Tilda Swinton fan, however, she was excellent. This film was a joy to watch and held my attention very well. I would definitely recommend it. 

The Assasination of Jesse James -  20 Minutes into this film you completely forget that Brad Pitt is playing Jesse James. Casey Affleck is fantastic. Sam Rockwell is superb, as always. I highly recommend this one, for anyone who wants to watch a very well done piece of movie art.

Friday Night Blues

Roped last night for 30 minutes. Then I sat down to watch the Friday night TV. I have to say that I have been so disappointed with the Atlantis wrap-up. These last few stories have been horrible. It just seems a shame that a show like Sanctuary will make it and Atlantis is being forces to go away. Bad move SciFi Channel. I know I'm a geek. I accepted that a long time ago.

The Great Tennessee Icestorm of 08'

So last night the temperature started dropping at about 3:30pm and it started to sleet. I had to meet the wife and kids at the YMCA, which is about 4 miles away, after work. Left the office at 5pm ( it had started snowing by then also) and didn't arrive at the Y until almost 6pm. We stayed at the Y for about 20-30 minutes and decided that due to the weather we needed to get the hell out of dodge. 

So after a short stop to top off the tank we jumped on the interstate with the wife and kids in the lead in her 2002 Mazda Millenia. This was approximately 6:15pm. At 8pm, and after seeing something like 20+ cars in the ditch, our 20MPH road trip was over. It's is only 28 miles, and usually takes about 30 minutes. All I could think of was getting a hot-ass fire going in the fireplace and sitting down in front of it with a huge bowl of steaming hot chili. 

Anyway, did I mention that we were in seperate cars and my car hasn't had heat or defrost for years? She's a 1993 Ford Tempo GL 2.3 5-speed with 285,000 miles on her and she's still kicking so I don't complain. However, I had to ride the entire way with the windows down to keep the windshield defrosted. Yeah, I know your crying for me right now. Whatever, it's my car and it's been paid for since like 1999, so haha!!!

So everything froze last night and needless to say the ride into work this morning was fairly treacherous also. If only Tennessee had some plows and salt trucks, it wouldn't be so bad. 

Let the Roping begin...again.

OK, so i have just started to rope again. I think I have finally found someone close to home to workout with and between the 2 of us we have free weights (mine), jump ropes (mine), and he is providing a speed bag and a garage to rope in. Anway, right now I am starting around 206lbs and I think my eventual goal is somewhere around 190lbs. So I think a very effective routine for accomplishing this is going to be roping every other day for 30-45 minutes, and filling in the other days with weight lifting routines. The roping will help to shed fat, while the weight lifting will build lean muscle (which will also burn fat). 

Using this combo in the past I have been able to easily drop 5lbs of fat and gain 2-3lbs of muscle per week. It is VERY effective. No wonder most athletes that are really serious will work the rope into their workouts several times a week. 

Also, did I mention that I'm too poor at the moment to afford beer. Yeah, that helps big time. I would imagine that cuts out at least 3600 calories a week from my diet. Holy shit that's a lot of beer. I know!!! But it's sooooo good!!! 

Christmas is coming fast...

So, only 2 weeks til Christmas and I have no clue how we are going to pull it off this year. The wife has been without a job since August and the money is getting tight. I think our entire budget is going to be $200 or less, and that has to cover a lot of people. Really, neither of us minds much, we both grew up with lean Christmases, however, the girls are now 7 and 11 and we wish we could make a little bigger deal of it this year. Never the less, the spirits will be high and we'll be travelling to Illinois to see the rest of the family for 5 full days. It really doesn't get better than that. Presents are a load of shit anyway. 

Today is The Day...

Alright, so I finally started a blog. Big deal. Everybody has a blog. But mine will be special. Why, because it will be read by noone but me. 

Put up the Christmas tree last night with the family. More like watched as they did all the work. I am such a bad Dad. Anyway, hoping to skate by on that one unnoticed until the kids are out of the house. Maybe they'll never realize.