Julia's first trip

I took Julia for her first ride in the Miata the other day. I happened to take this picture of her with my phone. A couple days later, I (sort-of) let her drive it. We have a circle driveway that winds around the camp. I set her on my lap and let her steer while I worked the pedals.

If she gets good enough behind the wheel, I'm considering letting her take a turn when we drive to Florida in February.

Big fat update 8

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07
Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.
Goal weight: 158-162 lbs.
Current weight: 172 lbs.
Total pounds lost so far: 33 lbs.

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I usually wait until I have lost at least two pounds or so before I post a "Big Fat Update," but I'm noticing that it is taking a lot more work to lose each pound than it was a month or two ago.

It takes an expenditure/deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. I think my body is getting used to this process and is beginning to resist my efforts to get fit.

So I'm stepping it up. Instead of exercising three times a week, I'm bumping it up to five times per week. I WILL be victorious.

Worst thing on the menu: The Triple Whopper

I'm not an anti-fast-food person. I like fast food. I like its taste. I like its convenience. I usually like its price. I like the dollar menu. I like not leaving a tip.

But fast food will sabotage your efforts to lose weight and get in shape. I have learned this lesson over and over throughout my adult life.

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting to see what fast-food menu items could ruin my diet the quickest.

I grew up with a Burger King within walking distance of my house. Consequently, I developed a taste for their menu. Using their online nutrition guide, I believe I have pinpointed the worst single option they offer ... the Triple Whopper.

According to their website, the Triple Whopper w/ cheese has a total of 1,230 calories and 82 grams of fat. If you order the Triple Whopper w/ cheese value meal, the total rises to 1,790 calories and 102 grams of fat.

Mmmmmm, have it your way.

When I was in high school, my favorite meal at BK was a barbecue bacon double cheeseburger, onion rings and a medium strawberry shake. I ordered that meal frequently.... sometimes more than once a week. Using BK's nutrition guide, that meal blessed me with 1,510 calories and 66 grams of fat.

Back to life

Picture taken October 18, 2007

If you have been a reader of this blog over the past few years, you will remember how excited I was to buy my 1990 Mazda Miata, almost 3 years ago. The car is practically a classic. It has low miles for its age and is definitely worth much more than what I paid for it. I bought it off a guy in Baltimore, MD who was just married and was consolidating his life and possessions with the earthly goods of his new wife. I paid cash for it and brought it back to its new home in Pennsylvania.

This past year was a strange year for me. I felt like I was in a state of constant limbo - living between my old and new realities. One casualty of my state of limbo was the Miata. The last time I drove it was about a year ago. How ridiculous is that?!

The Miata had a few problems that I needed to rectify. First of all, I couldn't get it to start. And second, the front left tire was flat. In the midst of being busy with too many things at once, I just let it sit there, cold and lonely, until I took some time to figure out what was wrong.

Apparently, when I had my stereo installed at Best Buy, the amplifier was wired directly to the battery and it quickly drained. About a year ago, I had to buy a new battery. I assumed it was because the original battery was old. Now I know that wasn't the case. I took the battery out of the Miata this past Tuesday and brought it to Auto Zone where they charged it and tested it. The battery had been completely drained, but they were able to re-charge it and make it useful again. Once I reinstalled the battery, the Miata started on the first try. I was then able to hook up my tire pump to the lighter outlet and fix my flat.

I have to take the car back to Best Buy. They guarantee their work for the life of your vehicle. Now that I had to disconnect the amplifier from the battery, the stereo gets no sound, so I want them to correct that.

I spent some time yesterday cleaning and waxing the Miata. I even found an unopened peach air-freshener in the trunk (my favorite). Once the car was waxed, I masked the tires and re-painted the rims with some metallic silver spray paint. Now they look brand new.

All this to say, I have re-discovered my love for this car. It has a little rust near the bottom corners of both doors. I plan to address that issue next (possibly in the Spring).

The Miata has been re-born and I'm looking for excuses to drive it.

Side note: I thought it would be a good idea to put some fresh gas in it since it has been sitting for about a year. It needed about half a tank of gas to top it off. I stopped at my local Lukoil and amused myself with the fact that "topping it off" amounted to a total of 3.9 gallons.

Big fat update 7

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07
Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.
Goal weight: 158-162 lbs.
Current weight: 173 lbs.
Total pounds lost so far: 32 lbs.

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I was going to wait until Sunday to weigh-in, but I have been very disciplined the past few days and I couldn't resist.

I keep telling my wife that my hope is to be at 170 (or less) by the end of October. If I can stay disciplined, I think that's a strong possibility.

Nifty Fifty's

When I was in college, my friends and I would, from time to time, go to a restaurant called Nifty Fifty's. I haven't been back there since then, but for the past couple months I have wanted to make a pilgrimage to that place.

Nifty Fifty's is a 1950's style diner that makes delicious, fresh food. They have great burgers, soups, onion rings, fries and shakes. They also have over 100 different flavors of soda, mixed fresh from their fountain.

Frequently we would pay a visit on Friday nights. If we didn't get there early enough, we waited in a long line that sometimes stretched around the building. I don't know if I would have that much patience now, but I was willing to wait for over an hour back then.

I'm going back there. I'm loading my wife and kids in the car and we're making the drive. I don't know when this will happen, but you can bet it will be soon.

Big fat update 6

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07
Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.
Goal weight: 158-162 lbs.
Current weight: 175 lbs.
Total pounds lost so far: 30 lbs.

I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale earlier today and realized that I had lost a total of 30 lbs. That number feels big to me. Even though I still have nearly 20 lbs. left to lose, I'm quite pleased to pass this milestone.

By the end of October, I hope to lose at least 5 more pounds. I'm still on target to reach my goal weight before the end of the year.

I recently bought an elliptical machine. I enjoy using it more than the stationary bike. Let's just say that the bike can be a "pain in the butt."

I'm also spending a fair amount of time lifting weights. Everything I read says that this will help condition my body to burn fat and build muscle. That would be a nice end result.

Meatball

Earlier today, my family attended a friend's wedding ceremony and reception. The weather was summer-like, even though this is the first weekend in October. The ceremony was held on the beach and the reception was held outdoors. It was very nice. I actually have a pretty healthy sunburn right now.

The meal was absolutely excellent. I ate way more than I should have, but it was hard to pass up on so much good food.

While the bridal party was having their pictures taken, the guests were served a large variety of hors d'oeuvres. We ate some delicious cheeses, grilled chicken skewers, fried sweet potatoes, fresh fruit, pasta, and a variety of other options.

Three of our four children played a part in the wedding. Hannah was the flower girl and Daniel and Jay passed out programs and bird seed. Seated with my family at the reception were two friends, Brandon & Shelly.

Daniel was having a very difficult time sitting on his chair. It was a folding chair and it kept folding in on him.

At one point, a server offered us some meatballs which were served on very long tooth-picks. I had one and so did Daniel.

While my head was turned, Daniel tried to change the way he was sitting on his chair. I think he was trying to get closer to the table so he could eat his meatball over his plate. I didn't see what happened next, but apparently his chair folded on him while he was holding the tooth-pick with the meatball on the end.

All I heard was the sound of the chair. I quickly turned my head toward Daniel and ........... the rest seemed to happen in slow motion.

As my head was turning I saw Daniel's meatball flying toward me at a very fast rate of speed. Apparently, it had flown off the tooth-pick when Daniel's chair jerked. I was wearing a white shirt and light beige pants. The meatball landed on the corner of the table and bounced toward me. My eyes bugged out of my head and for a brief second I thought, "Oh no! A flying meatball! It's going to land on my pants!"

At the very moment that I realized what was occurring, my left hand swiftly swept in front of me and lunged for the meatball with the same force as a frog's tongue swiping a fly out of the air.

I caught it.

When I realized the catastrophe had been averted, I paused for a second and stared at the warm meatball steaming in the center of my left hand. I would have been a mess if I hadn't grabbed it. Shelly was the only other adult still sitting at the table to witness this event. Both of us immediately broke out into laughter as we played back the events of the past 5 seconds in our minds. Neither of us could believe that I wasn't covered in sauce.

While this was going on, Daniel managed to get comfortable in his chair again. As he prepared to eat, he realized that his meatball was gone. He said, "Hey, where's my meatball? Dad, where's my meatball?"

I really wanted to answer him and let him know what happened, but I couldn't stop laughing long enough to catch my breath.

Nice t-shirt

The other day, I talked about my new iPod and how much I enjoy it. This was my wife's comment...

I find it interesting that you have found a "legitimate" way to "not be able to hear" me...hmmm... just kidding...I'm glad you like it so much.

I was at Sears the other day and found the shirt that is pictured above. I e-mailed a picture of it to Andrea from my phone.