It is the day before 2015 and I am doing what many people do on this day, reflecting. It has been a year of change for me. I started outnthe year much heavier than I am now. I have also begun the process of changing my job, after twelve years as a middle school teacher I am transferring to an elementary position.
A change was imminent, this summer I interviewed for a high-school position and as the school year began I kept up the routine of the jovial light-hearted teacher. However, after finding myself trying to meet more and more of the demands that my profession called for, I began to lose my jovial demeanor. It was then I began to truly think about changing jobs. In my mind I really thought I would wait until the end of the school year and make a clean break but I was approached in December about a possibility to take an aide position mid-year. I prayed over this decision and discussed it with Jule (my wife) and I made the decision to do it.
My biggest change this year however must be my drop in weight. I at one time this past
year was pushing 260 pounds, if not heavier. I weighed in today at 205 pounds. It all started with me in the summer trying to remedy the problem myself. I began to walk regularly and watch what I ate. However, it wasn't until my doctor warned me I was on the wrong path. My blood sugar was high, my blood pressure was high, my weight was obese (scales cringed when I came near) and my cholestaral levels although not that bad (215) my bad cholestaral heavily outweighed any good. This was in early August and now on the last dy of 2014 my weight is down, my blood pressure is down, my blood sugars are down, and although my doctor didn't medicate my cholestaral it is down because of diet and exercise. My diet is a low card high protein diet. I can eat all the eggs, meat, cheese and fruits and veggies I want. Potatoes, pasta, bread, rice and cereal are out. My goal or resolution for the new year is to lose another 15-20 pounds by the time I write my last post in 2015.
As I look ahead ro 2015 I am looking forward to my trip to Disney World. This year we are leaving on Good Friday and arrive on Saturday and leave WDW the following Friday. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside this year and it is the first time we will stay at the same place for a second time. As the days get closer (we are at 95 right now as I sit here) I begin thinking more and more about the experiences we'll have and the photos I'll take. I will be taking a"fisheye" lens with me this trip and plan on getting some interesting shots with it.
My children are another year older, I have two teenagers and a ten year old now. My oldest is sixteen and is taking drivers ed, by this time next month he'll have his permit. My daughter is in eighth grade and next year she'll be in high school. Wyatt my youngest is beginning to say new things and is always learning. For those of you who do not know Wyatt has what is called Lyssenselphia which affects the brain and he is developmentally delayed. He is ten years old but he is more like a four year old. One of my favorite things I get to do every night is snuggle with him as he gets sleepy from his medicine that he takes to control seizures, which can be caused by his disorder. Ironically when at Disney it is Wyatt who is my ride daredevil.
My wife, Jule, is still the love of my life and after 22 years of marriage I can truthfully say I am more in love with her today than when I married her. She teaches piano and now is working as a travel agent for a company that specializes in wait for it, wait for it, Disney vacations. This is also one reason I changed jobs so I could help her when needed.
I wish all a Happy New Year and if we never meet or if you see me daily let me thank you for listening to the ramblings of this fifty year old man. May the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you and your family today and forever. If He is not or if you do not know whom I speak of comment below and let me introduce you to my bestest friend.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Weight Loss
The day was August 7, 2014 when my doctor told me the harsh truth. If I was to keep living the way I was, obese, high sugar, high blood pressure and cholesteral I would end up in a diabetic coma before my sixtieth birthday. He also said it was curable or controllable. On that day I weighed in at about 250 pounds. I had a cholesteral count of 215, which he didn't give me medicine for but anticipated that he would introduce it at a later date because he didn't want to shock my system with too many meds and he was putting me on a blood pressure pill, a pill to reduce sugar, and a thyroid pill. This was to be introduced to a guy who only took an occasional ibuprofen and a more than occasional fat pill better known as Krispy Kreme. He also stabbed me in my proverbial heart when he "suggested" that I give up a few things in my diet. Those things happened to be my staples; bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereal and of course my fat pills.
I was to see him again in three weeks and then three months for new labs. In three weeks I had followed doc's advice and cut my diet drastically and cut off almost fifteen pounds. In three months I had gone from about 250 to 209 pounds and all of my levels had decreased as my cholesteral went down to 188 by just diet and exercise. So no new meds for me and I thought doc was going to faint when he compared the two sets of results. How did I do it? I went on what I call a "caveman" diet. I eat meat, eggs, fruits, cheese, and some vegetables. I do NOT eat any of the "suggested" things doc wanted me to cut. However, I also walk 30-45 minutes a day five days a week. Do I cheat? yes BUT I find myself when I do eat a cookie I can stop at just one small one. This is important around the holidays. I recently weighed in at under 205 for the first time since high school and doc and I thought I need to get down to 215 so I feel I can cheat just a little.
It does get tough when I go out to eat or whenever I am at home. With three children and a wife who do not need to lose weight like me the low carb thing is distracting yet I survive. Last night my wife made smoked sausage with sourkraut and mashed potatoes, I had to skip the potatoes, but I did get extra meat :) Whenever I order my meal out I am usually looked at like I have two heads when I tell them to hold the potatoes or replace it with another side of green beans or asparugus (which is actually not bad if grilled).
As this entry comes to a close I am going upatairs to fix my wife a cup of coffee and then go to the local mall and get my 45 minutes in.
I was to see him again in three weeks and then three months for new labs. In three weeks I had followed doc's advice and cut my diet drastically and cut off almost fifteen pounds. In three months I had gone from about 250 to 209 pounds and all of my levels had decreased as my cholesteral went down to 188 by just diet and exercise. So no new meds for me and I thought doc was going to faint when he compared the two sets of results. How did I do it? I went on what I call a "caveman" diet. I eat meat, eggs, fruits, cheese, and some vegetables. I do NOT eat any of the "suggested" things doc wanted me to cut. However, I also walk 30-45 minutes a day five days a week. Do I cheat? yes BUT I find myself when I do eat a cookie I can stop at just one small one. This is important around the holidays. I recently weighed in at under 205 for the first time since high school and doc and I thought I need to get down to 215 so I feel I can cheat just a little.
It does get tough when I go out to eat or whenever I am at home. With three children and a wife who do not need to lose weight like me the low carb thing is distracting yet I survive. Last night my wife made smoked sausage with sourkraut and mashed potatoes, I had to skip the potatoes, but I did get extra meat :) Whenever I order my meal out I am usually looked at like I have two heads when I tell them to hold the potatoes or replace it with another side of green beans or asparugus (which is actually not bad if grilled).
As this entry comes to a close I am going upatairs to fix my wife a cup of coffee and then go to the local mall and get my 45 minutes in.
Do You Wanna Go to Disney?
I mentioned in my previous entry to this blog I have five obsessions, the Lord, my family, photography, Christmas and then there is Disney. I wrote about one of my obsessions in Christmas and now today I tackle another, Disney.
I have anothere blog called Confessions of a Disney World Addict and I have multiple posts there about this part of my life. With the risk of repeating myself in two different blogs I will make this post short.
It all started in 1994, my obsession that is. I always liked Disney and my parents even took me to Disney World once when I was young and so was Walt Disney World. In 1994 my mother-in-law took her family to WDW and we spent about a week in central Florida during June and in my wife and my early marriage we got to experience WDW as a couple without kids. Fast forward to 2008 and we took our three kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The two days wet our appetite for another trip and it happened in August of the next year right before we headed back to school.
Since then we have travelled back to Disney in 2012, 2013, and again in 2014. Each time we have gone we tried a new resort. First it was the Contemporary, then the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, Port Orleans Riverside, the Polynesian and this past year was spent at the Art of Animation. Our next rip which will be in April of 2015 we are going back to Port Orleans Riverside. I have aswered the most obvious question a few time in my previous blog.
One thing I like to do at WDW is to take pics and I am always trying to come up with new angles and subjects. My next trip will be a first with a "fisheye" lens, I cannot wait to try out the possibilities. Disney is best in the details and each of those details can be a photo subject. From the castle to the statues to the smallest decoration on the attractions.
However, the most anticipated thing about Walt Disney World is the feeling you get whenever you come into sight with the castle at the end of Main Street USA. I always have to catch my breath whenever I see it. Here is hoping that you get to feel the same sometime this year.
I have anothere blog called Confessions of a Disney World Addict and I have multiple posts there about this part of my life. With the risk of repeating myself in two different blogs I will make this post short.
It all started in 1994, my obsession that is. I always liked Disney and my parents even took me to Disney World once when I was young and so was Walt Disney World. In 1994 my mother-in-law took her family to WDW and we spent about a week in central Florida during June and in my wife and my early marriage we got to experience WDW as a couple without kids. Fast forward to 2008 and we took our three kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The two days wet our appetite for another trip and it happened in August of the next year right before we headed back to school.
Since then we have travelled back to Disney in 2012, 2013, and again in 2014. Each time we have gone we tried a new resort. First it was the Contemporary, then the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, Port Orleans Riverside, the Polynesian and this past year was spent at the Art of Animation. Our next rip which will be in April of 2015 we are going back to Port Orleans Riverside. I have aswered the most obvious question a few time in my previous blog.
One thing I like to do at WDW is to take pics and I am always trying to come up with new angles and subjects. My next trip will be a first with a "fisheye" lens, I cannot wait to try out the possibilities. Disney is best in the details and each of those details can be a photo subject. From the castle to the statues to the smallest decoration on the attractions.
However, the most anticipated thing about Walt Disney World is the feeling you get whenever you come into sight with the castle at the end of Main Street USA. I always have to catch my breath whenever I see it. Here is hoping that you get to feel the same sometime this year.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Christmas is a Coming!
When I began this latest blogging adventure I was in a rut. I am in the process of changing jobs within the same school district that I have been with since moving to North Carolina and many ideas have been splashing around in the void in my head. I am always reminded that I should write what I know about so here it goes.
If you are a friend of mine on Facebook you would know that I love the following things; the Lord, my family, Disney, photography and Christmas. Depending on the order I can truthfully say the bottom three (Disney, photography, and Christmas) change places in the order of importance. My Lord and my family are always one and two on the list. When I can incorporate all three of them I am estatic. Finally, I am about to get to the subject of my title. I cannot pinpoint the time and place that Christmas became an obsession with me but I knew it was early.
With every holiday there were/are traditions that make it special. For me it was going to my aunt and uncle's house on Christmas Eve. For as long as my Uncle Pete was around we trekked in the car and headed to Illiopolis, Illinois for our holiday tradition. There was of course, grandparents at least until 1981 and a white flocked tree (that my Uncle would flock) and a cute stuffed Santa Claus sitting somewhere in the house. The food was good and it got better when we (my brothers and I) aged but it was unlike what mom made. It was "fancy" food not "home" food. Personally I preferred "home" food, still do. However, it was gourmet caliber.
As we got older Christmas traditions changed. My brother John and his family kind of dictated what we would do for Christmas because he had the magical ingrediant for it all, he had babies, which later turned into toddlers, and you know the rest. They had to travel for Christmas so whenever they could make it to Decatur we would have Christmas. Whether or not that fell on December 25 or not. My mom always made you feel guilty if you couldn't make it on December 25 but, she trully understood.
One summer time event I remember that may have contributed to my obsession was tiny at the time but the memory of it strikes me as funny. We had moved to a new home the previous year and one day I decided to listen to music on the big console stereo. I plugged in the huge headphones and I slipped the LP out of it's sleeve and proceeded to play the Andy Williams Christmas album. To this day Christmas is not complete without "Happy Holidays" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing on my iPod as I walk in the mall.
Santa, of course, was a big part of my early memories of Christmas. He used to show up at Brettwood Village shopping area by helicopter on the day after Thanksgiving and have a little gingerbread looking house where he would greet you along with a candy cane (one Christmas "tradition" I could do without...). I can remember I was petrified of him. It took me a long time to get over the fear. I am over that fear now, and have actually got the chance to play Santa at our school and have seen the same fear from little ones as they have sat on my lap. Today, of course, Santa shows up at malls across the nation as early as November 1 and this week in particular will be busy taking orders from pint-sized kids.
Speaking of kids, I have worked in the education field since 1991 when I began subbing at my old high-school. I then began working at a day-care facility and it was during a summer at a day-care in Normal, Illinois that I began my infamous countdown to Christmas on the fence slats of the playground when some school age students and I did a math problem to figure out how many more days it was until Christmas. We ended up marking each day with sidewalk chalk on the slats and I have used the strategy ever since. Today I mark it on Facebook and on my board at school.
My kids of course love Christmas, my oldest one Nick, was born on December, 21, 1998. My youngest boy, Wyatt has a brain disorder and he cannot say many things BUT he knows "Anta Caw" ho ho ho! My daughter loves to bake and ride in the car and look at lights at night in her PJs. I love that radio stations play continuous holiday favorites from Thanksgiving on, actually on my XM radio it started on November 11 this year.
Movies are a big part of my holiday cheer. I have must watches which include Holiday Inn, The Santa Clause trilogy, and White Christmas. My wife MUST watch It's a Wonderful Life or the holiday is not complete. However, the thing is I like these movies year round and with my iTunes and Apple TV it is easy to do. On the same subject telvision shows are important also. Two of them in particular, Rudolph and a Charlie Brown Christmas. I like the latter more now then I did when I was a kid because it reminds us through the lips of Linus the true meaning of Christmas.
This leads me to the real reason for the season. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior was born and it is celebrated during this time of year. Hence the name "Christ"mas! I am aware that the chances of Him being born in December are not good. However, we cannot deny the angels shouting to the shepherds about a baby born in Bethlehem. The truth is He was BORN and he did die for us BUT He lives today because He defeated death's hold on us and we too can reap His sacrifice as our reward by accepting His grace into our heart.
If you are a friend of mine on Facebook you would know that I love the following things; the Lord, my family, Disney, photography and Christmas. Depending on the order I can truthfully say the bottom three (Disney, photography, and Christmas) change places in the order of importance. My Lord and my family are always one and two on the list. When I can incorporate all three of them I am estatic. Finally, I am about to get to the subject of my title. I cannot pinpoint the time and place that Christmas became an obsession with me but I knew it was early.
With every holiday there were/are traditions that make it special. For me it was going to my aunt and uncle's house on Christmas Eve. For as long as my Uncle Pete was around we trekked in the car and headed to Illiopolis, Illinois for our holiday tradition. There was of course, grandparents at least until 1981 and a white flocked tree (that my Uncle would flock) and a cute stuffed Santa Claus sitting somewhere in the house. The food was good and it got better when we (my brothers and I) aged but it was unlike what mom made. It was "fancy" food not "home" food. Personally I preferred "home" food, still do. However, it was gourmet caliber.
As we got older Christmas traditions changed. My brother John and his family kind of dictated what we would do for Christmas because he had the magical ingrediant for it all, he had babies, which later turned into toddlers, and you know the rest. They had to travel for Christmas so whenever they could make it to Decatur we would have Christmas. Whether or not that fell on December 25 or not. My mom always made you feel guilty if you couldn't make it on December 25 but, she trully understood.
One summer time event I remember that may have contributed to my obsession was tiny at the time but the memory of it strikes me as funny. We had moved to a new home the previous year and one day I decided to listen to music on the big console stereo. I plugged in the huge headphones and I slipped the LP out of it's sleeve and proceeded to play the Andy Williams Christmas album. To this day Christmas is not complete without "Happy Holidays" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing on my iPod as I walk in the mall.
Santa, of course, was a big part of my early memories of Christmas. He used to show up at Brettwood Village shopping area by helicopter on the day after Thanksgiving and have a little gingerbread looking house where he would greet you along with a candy cane (one Christmas "tradition" I could do without...). I can remember I was petrified of him. It took me a long time to get over the fear. I am over that fear now, and have actually got the chance to play Santa at our school and have seen the same fear from little ones as they have sat on my lap. Today, of course, Santa shows up at malls across the nation as early as November 1 and this week in particular will be busy taking orders from pint-sized kids.
Speaking of kids, I have worked in the education field since 1991 when I began subbing at my old high-school. I then began working at a day-care facility and it was during a summer at a day-care in Normal, Illinois that I began my infamous countdown to Christmas on the fence slats of the playground when some school age students and I did a math problem to figure out how many more days it was until Christmas. We ended up marking each day with sidewalk chalk on the slats and I have used the strategy ever since. Today I mark it on Facebook and on my board at school.
My kids of course love Christmas, my oldest one Nick, was born on December, 21, 1998. My youngest boy, Wyatt has a brain disorder and he cannot say many things BUT he knows "Anta Caw" ho ho ho! My daughter loves to bake and ride in the car and look at lights at night in her PJs. I love that radio stations play continuous holiday favorites from Thanksgiving on, actually on my XM radio it started on November 11 this year.
Movies are a big part of my holiday cheer. I have must watches which include Holiday Inn, The Santa Clause trilogy, and White Christmas. My wife MUST watch It's a Wonderful Life or the holiday is not complete. However, the thing is I like these movies year round and with my iTunes and Apple TV it is easy to do. On the same subject telvision shows are important also. Two of them in particular, Rudolph and a Charlie Brown Christmas. I like the latter more now then I did when I was a kid because it reminds us through the lips of Linus the true meaning of Christmas.
This leads me to the real reason for the season. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior was born and it is celebrated during this time of year. Hence the name "Christ"mas! I am aware that the chances of Him being born in December are not good. However, we cannot deny the angels shouting to the shepherds about a baby born in Bethlehem. The truth is He was BORN and he did die for us BUT He lives today because He defeated death's hold on us and we too can reap His sacrifice as our reward by accepting His grace into our heart.
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