Tuesday, get moving...

I weigh 207.5 pounds, blood pressure of 138/89 and heart rate of 31 bpm. I had strange dreams, military, I was a Major, had a jeep, was in Europe and trying to stop a female suicide bomber, getting her not to blow herself up wasn't the tough part, but getting the vest off of her without setting it off, and doing this all before her controller set the vest off by electric signal. And I have NO training in any of this so I woke without resolution. Lucky that it is only a dream.

Monday morning blues...

I weigh 206.0 pounds (better), blood pressure is 141/76 with a heart rate of 51 bpm, seems my wife woke at three and was determined to flip the mattress for better sleep in her future and so we did, then remade the bed. Breakfast of blueberry pancakes and syrup, slice tomato and coffee. I check on the rain - yes, rain. No motorcycling today, get the new post stickers tomorrow and so I sit and go through the procrastination pile, paying the bills and recording the ATM and Debit card payments, I also check the Lotto, Hit 5 and Mega Millions, none hit this time, sigh. Our recycle can is on the curb and it rains. Did I mention that it rains?

Sunday, start of good and for goodness intentions

I weigh 207.5 pounds (same as yesterday) blood pressure is 124/83 and heart rate is 40 bpm. I do too much on the blog, watching the wrong television (no television is the right kind). I have two bacon, egg and green stuff on toast sandwiches with my coffee. I then get dressed and go for the heart jog, gently. I burn 410 calories, 40% from fats, average heart rate was 121 bpm, in Zone 30 minutes 40 seconds, Exercise time 39 minutes. Rapid heart rate during first mile 167 bpm, fluke or real, settled back down when warmed up.

I clean up for church, and then return home after stopping for an American Iron magazine for June, wanted to see what they reported on the Cross Bones from HD. I picked up some food for the pot luck and then choir members and off to spent the afternoon working the lungs and vocal chords for a performance at seven in the evening. It went better than we had practiced, the evening was worthy, small rural churches and small choirs but uplifting. Home to wife and King Sejong.

Sunshine on my shoulder, makes me happy...

Friday weight 209.5 pounds, blood pressure of 137/84 with a heart rate of 36 bpm. Today I have a weigh-in of 207.5 pounds, blood pressure of 126/78 with a heart rate of 33 bpm. I don't worry about the very slow heart rate, I just pretend that my large heart is pushing lots of blood through my body at a rate needed - since I haven't fainted nor passed away. We plan to go to Range Control to re-new the Koh-sa-ri hunting permit (taking very young wood fern sprouts) and then walk around Spanaway Lake, which we haven't for awhile. I will save all my good intentions to work out until later tonight, I have a lot of work to do on the yard and grounds, ironing and such and there is a home owners meeting today to attend with good ideas a so... it will be a good day to lose some more weight. I did get the majority of the knives out of the storage shed - it is too damp there for maintaining them, I will have much work to do to bring them back up.

No pain in my foot, swelling is continuing to go down, color is getting better, old damage needs kneading and encouragement to move to the body recycling stations. I make French toast for our breakfast, with Sweet Oatmeal bread, my wife cuts and mixes blueberries and stawberries for the fruit portion, good breakfast. Lunch will be steak burger, fish for her, french fries and Coke. Motorcycles on trucks and trailers, but the real riders are on their bikes, rubber on the road, great day now to work so I can ride!

Well, I did get fifty miles in on the motorcycle, and noticed that those women riding without a sissy bar behind them are over exposed and almost leaving the ride for the road burn - I will put a sissy bar on for my wife and all my girl friends. If they want to hug me tight anyway I won't object - as long as they don't pull on my one arm like Mrs. Henry did when I gave her a ride back from her mail box, in 1966.

Heal thyself, physician...

Well, I am not a physician but working on me anyway. Wednesday I weigh 210.0 pounds, blood pressure is 127/88 with a heart rate of 43. Today I weigh 210.0 pounds, blood pressure of 129/96 or 147/91 and heart rates of 68 or 33 bpm respectively. I haven't been exercising, but yesterday woke up to no pain in the right foot/ankle and the swelling much reduced. Managed to walk faily normal - except for the limp from memory response in my legs, but still I sat at the reference desk another day as we worked. I probably can start working on walking and other exercises tonight, don't think I have choir rehearsal tonight.

Piles of Procrastination, papers placed perfectly...

I weigh 210.0 pounds!!!! and am so wrong. Blood pressure is 138/84 with a heart rate of 33 beats per minute. I am in pain on the right foot, it seems to be better, but it hurts and I don't know why. I will blame it on the reaction from taking my medications, not healing completely, and adding the hormones for the thyroid function just tipped the entire body into failure. I was only going to die of heart problems or stroke and now will just melt into a quivering mass of medium pain and sluggish fat. Now the blame has been properly assigned I will start to heal by cutting back on the blood pressure and cholesterol medications. Well, the shoulder holster has been adjusted, pistol, bullets and magazines in place and tested with jacket worn over. It is much better than belt carry, humans do better with back and shoulders lifting loads than trying to sling something around their waist.

Among symptoms of my failing physique is the swelling discoloration on the right ankle and above the heel, and the sudden sensitivity of the moles along the neck - they are always placed where the collars bother them. Keep remembering to think healing! and pray for better and miracles for those that truly need.

Disrespect of self, no tattoos but globs of fat...

Sunday I weigh 207.0 pounds, blood pressure is 115/77 with a heart rate of 42 bpm, so I did well on the YMCA visit on Saturday. I then eat at church, not a problem, and take home two loaves of bread, which will become a problem, I am only one man eating for three or more when I consume one of the loaves. And I am not exercising during the day - for no good reason. So today I weigh 209.5 pounds, blood pressure is 124/91 and heart rate of 40 bpm. I read about tattoos on beautifyl women that don't understand they didn't need it. Well, tomorrow I could be a better person, or I could start as soon as I turn this computer off and start my life.

Patriots' Day, 1775 remembered

The shot heard round the world. And President Clinton orders the attack on the Branch Davidians, to protect the children. No sense of History. I weigh 208.5 pounds, blood pressure is 128/72 and my heart rate is 38 beats per minute. My ankle feels better, my sinus problem remains and SNOW is falling on our home, yard and road - is Al Gore in hiding yet? This will be the hottest Summer on record, just you watch.

My wife cooks me oatmeal with and egg under it, and we decide to visit the YMCA for exercise after answering the telephone and calling my mother in West Virginia. The snow has melted and there are Sun patches in the gray quilted sky. I try walking on the outside edge of my right foot, no pain and I begin to think I will need to see a pediatrist for orthodonic inserts or funny shoes. At the Y I hit the rowing machine, first for five thousand meters then for another two thousand. I wear my heart rate monitor strap, 288 calories and 25% fat, average heart rate 127 bpm, in zone 8 minutes 8 seconds, exercise time is 38 minutes 25 seconds. I think the exercise was confusing my watch - at times I was 143 to 175 bpm and that doesn't sound like me, does it? I went and did eight more minutes on a bicycle machine just for the exercise. Back home for dinner and rest and reading.

Missed BAG day, sigh, I have enough already...

So we woke late, I have a doctor's appointment at 10:45 AM, I weigh 208.5 pounds, blood pressure is 130/78 with a heart rate of 37 bpm, resting waiting for the rev'n up. I knock out 3 half chin ups, and do the fifty reps of the basic three. Then I wander the internet, looking for shoulder holsters and current blog thoughts.

At the doctor's I get the big American nurse, she isn't gentle and the needle gets the blood anyway - when I really hurt I will be asking for my favorite nurse. The doctor comes, chats checks my blood pressure twice, his nurse has already done it once. Wonders if there have been any reactions to the medication - I tell him I am blaming everything on it - especially the weight gain, but he knows I am kidding. He does expect it will make my heart rate faster, and he expected the night sweats that first week - but he never told me.

I stop and look at shoulder holsters at the gun shop, find something that would work well, but don't buy it this time. Measurements are very important, and I want to be a skinny kid again but a slimmer old fellow is about all my future holds. Home to watch Marvin and Bronson in "Death Hunt" which makes me want to take my old body out on the road. Since the Sun has broken through I could overdose on Vitamin D!!! Yeah! 454 calories 35% fat ones, Heart rate 128 bpm, Zone 19 minutes 38 seconds, Exercise 40 minutes 33 seconds. Seems my heart was racing or the monitor was hearing echoes when I started jogging. But the forty minutes is more important than the Zone. My foot was limping for a bit, but settled well and painlessly into the jog about the time my heart got right in rhythm...

I had an interesting 'hot' spot yesterday on the way to work, thought I had been lased on my left arm/elbow. I ignored it, but later in the Library I had that warm feeling same spot again - nothing I could see nor understand - just another mystery in my universe - like women, I won't ignore them but will never understand them either.

You're limping... Yes, and I am OLD...

Yesterday a corrections officer noticed my limp and commented on it. I figure I am lucky, still not having had that first heart attack or stroke - or mine are so minor I wouldn't notice. I was 209.5 pounds in weight, blood pressure 157/89 and a heart rate of 40 bpm. I knocked out my fifty reps of the basic three, did some chin up moves on the bar - couldn't call them chin ups, cause they didn't get that high - but I was hanging and struggling. I went jogging 393 calories burned 45% of the fat, average heart rate was 118, in Zone for 37 minutes and 20 seconds, exercising for 39 minutes and 45 seconds. I went to the Credit Union and then walked to the dock, and to work. I was caught limping, and I like to think I limp because of my motorcycle accident last August (NOT!), the medicines my doctor gives me cause my muscles and bones to fall apart, or that I am old and I am falling apart with or without medication.

Today my wife has had problems sleeping, but I didn't, and I knock out my fifty reps after breakfast gruel, then go and do a real chin up and several well intentioned struggles and hangs for more pressure on those good looking upper body muscles. I do notice that the whole core gets to flex and tense along with the working muscles while hanging. I dress for a jog outside, start and then think it is too cold, windy and my right foot is still foolish from the bicycle riding on Saturday - need to do it more. I return home and get on the treadmill and it doesn't feel any better than the road except for the lack of wind. I stop 42 calories, 50% of them fat, average heart rate 99 bpm, in Zone 3 minutes, 8 seconds, exercised (????) 9 minutes and 15 seconds - will have to work on that later today.

So I forgot to give you my weight 208.0 pounds, blood pressure 132/78 and heart rate of 43 bpm. I took the time not spent on exercise and printed out a long letter of my blogs for the week for my mother and my aunt - adding the extra parade pictures and such - the links don't work with print on paper and some of the writing depends on those links but they will ask if they need to. Off to work and walk to the dock, dropping the mail at the post office. Slow train blocking the track but no problem in the long run. Work well all day come home and go to sleep early after dinner - seems my wife had an opportunity to back her car into a truck = damage to her car slight, she says she really hurt the truck, so that is on her mind and she isn't happy. I laugh at her, because she moved the car because she thought it was in a bad parking space and her break was earlier than normal and she knew something was going to happen and hadn't slept well and I can't make it right immediately - but it will happen.

What is the Sunday for...

I wake too early, weigh 208.5 pounds, blood pressure is 137/84 and heart rate of 40 bpm. Take my medications, drink coffee and get on the motorcycle to go to the Methodist Men's Breakfast, where the best part is making, then eating the breakfast - get to tell stories and today we had Chris, just turned eighteen, and we honored (?) him with our attention and gave him a bit of the lore of being a man they don't give you in high school (all tall tales and lies, of course). He took it all in good humor and he told about his recent motorcycle accident, his grandfather mentioned that Chris's father was against his interest in firearms (although there are lots of shooters in the Men's group; hunters and fishermen, too). He helped clean up after - I always seem to get the washing of the dishes and he dried.

I rode the motorcycle home after, it was turning cloudy and cold, and yesterday's wonderful weather is History, sigh, this is the Great Northwest, nine months of rain, three months of Sunshine. I put the clean machine away and take the bicycle down and get it ready to ride, and I ride it back the two miles to church, relearning the gear pattern and such - it has been a long time. I sing with the choir, pay attention to the Sermon story and have coffee with Hal after, I get a truly wonderful beautiful smile from a mother that thinks I am watching her little girl - I was actually staring into space but the smile brought me back and I am so undeserving of that, but WOW! you don't forget beautiful deep smiles into one's tomorrows. I ride the bicycle back home and laugh at trying to keep the pace on the hills up and down - and although similar, leaning on a bicycle isn't half as much fun as it is on a motorcycle - but that may be the pumping action - different muscles.

The rains return, scattered and light, but enough to slow me down, I do work more on getting lights working on the bicycle again, and I will have to find my bicycle helmet if I am going to cruise around. All one's exercises should be fun and frolic.

Fooled Again! or is that "Foiled Again, curses..."

I wake from a dream of riding my motorcycle through a red light and it all went black. End of ride, end of dream. I wake and take medication, weigh 206.5 pounds, blood pressure is 124/78 with a heart rate of 46 bpm. I start my devotions and my wife thinks I am cheating on her on the computer when she has a hot breakfast ready - she calls three times, each getting louder before I answer asking if I could just finish praying... silence from the kitchen. Scrambled eggs and toast wait for me. Seems I am adding to her stress, my girl friend is on the computer or my wife doesn't know I am waiting for her to be my girl friend again.

We putter around and then dress for the Daffodil Parade in Tacoma, perfect timing, parking and watching area by the Museum and UW. It was a good parade, three more towns to go for the marchers, but the day is perfect for sunburns and smiles. I watched carefully for pretty girls, but too many of them are still straightening their teeth, but they will be lovely later... I watch the drummers, very few of them are girls, boys seem to like the drums more. Finally one perfect teenage girl, beautiful and beating on a drum, if I were only forty-five years younger. Then I remember that at that age I didn't speak the same language as the girls, didn't have a clue that I was doing better than I knew and they were never going to tell me either. Having been a teen once, is enough. I wish them all well but I know it will be hard to figure themselves and the world out. The parade was good, and I loved the BMX bike boys bunny hopping over their adult coach sponsor laying on the ground in front of us, every eighty feet he would lay down again and they would start hopping over him - what are they going to do when someone gives them engines? Pirates abounded, and shot a cannon off for thrills and noise and just because they was pirates == my wife said they looked like motorcycle riders and I said the motorcycle riders try to look and act like pirates. Pirates was first, ar-r-rghh!.

After the parade lunch on me at A&W, new management lack of crew and customers. Then stopped at the Market for fruits and vegetables, and my wife reminded me to buy Lotto tickets. Then home to work, washing the cars, my motorcycle, inflating the tires on the bicycle and cleaning it up, then my wife started on cleaning the porch and the garage, I moved into the garage and took all gardening stuff out - it will go in the shed in the back. I moved the chin up bar and the health rider, moved tools and hung the bicycle up on the wall. Rolled the motorcycle back into its place in the garage. Closed and locked the door and was called to dinner. I mentioned to my wife on my test rides on the bicycle I had hurt my ankle because pedalling is an up and down motion that lumbering along isn't. After a quick look to see that there aren't any new candidates for President, Bush is still hiding in Texas, and that tax time is almost up I go back outside to cut the lawn. Which I did so well, I am just amazed and amazing.

I put everything away for the day, close the garage and my wife says I have done a good job and worked hard, she wanted a kiss and got one for acting like my mother all day. I get a hot shower, a chance to find out that no one emailed me, now coffee and sleep.

Good Morning, what a slug!

I wake to news not wanted but it had to be shared, God has called another to Him. Reminding me that I have little time and must make better use of it. I turned off the television last night for dinner with my wife, and we talked. It is good not to be dominated by electronic noise, to have a conversation at a pace my mind will work with. Very nice. I also got on my motorcycle and rode off to the ATM to check cash flow and then church for choir practice. The practice went well - says the almost tone deaf fellow that may be missing his mark, as many times as I had to go over it again.

Wednesday 209.5 pounds, blood pressure 132/85 with heart rate of 39.
Thursday 208.0 pounds, blood pressure 129/86 with heart rate of 44.
Friday 206.5 pounds, blood pressure of 133/73 with heart rate of 38. Devotions and then prayers, email check and start the blog wandering, I am a slug - the electronic static of television only differs from the blog sphere by commercial content. I never see the commercials on the internet.

tuesday, garbage day and it goes out...

I wake from dreams of being a Command Sergeant Major at a major parade function where I know none of the officers, my wife is there and then ignored and off as I move out to give commands to the Division (pretty impressive), I stop and look at my weapons, I seem to have two - an M16 and some super black and plastic almost spaceage rifle with slim silver colored cartridges. I am cleaning it and the ammunition. I find nothing strange about having weapons and ammunition at a parade - I had it when I was younger, old man's dreams feel the same.

I wake and take my medications, resupplied on the run to Fort Lewis yesterday, I was 210 pounds then, blood pressure was 138/78 and heart rate of 42 bpm. Today I am 208.5 pounds with a blood pressure of 155/132 and a heart rate of 28 bpm, so I take it again and get 149/91 with a heart rate of 39 bpm. I am alive. The garbage is gathered and put out and I have devotions, there are many people in nursing and hospitals that need God's touch and support for the families, every prayer helps. I have gruel and my wife has rice soup with her half of the banana and English muffin. We aren't cutting costs by halving the food, just sharing it for the space it will leave in the bellies, stuffed is for teddy bears. I write three checks and put them and the bills into envelopes and delay just a bit my exercises for the morning and the treadmill, the constant rain is going to keep me off the motorcycle today and the jogging joyously on the road... but I must adapt or become a fatter old man.

I found last night that my left foot is developing a mirror pain to the one in my right foot, which to me means it probably isn't due to the motorcycle crushing it, but could be aging badly - only whiskey and cheese seems to improve with age. I am not either... nor improving I knock out forty repetitions of the basic three, because I can and am determined to be less than I should be. One is hardest on oneself when being critical. So I go to jog on the treadmill looking about the wall, unfinished, for fifteen minutes for my heart and the children. 152 calories, 40% fat ones, average heart rate 122 bpm, in Zone 12 minutes 55 seconds, Exercised 15minutes 3 seconds. I am a little better man for that, thank the Lord.

Sunday Sharpening... not a Sunday Smith but

So sorry about ripping off Tam's good works but I needed a start for today. I weigh 208.0 pounds, thanks to work and jogging yesterday, and blood pressure is 140/80 with a heart rate of 44 bpm. I found my favorite boot knife, and did sharpen it this morning, and cut myself on its edge - oh, doesn't that make me feel like a young fool again? I need to get a new sheath to put it behind me, like a gaucho, I don't need a foot long blade but it is a great place to put a knife. My blade is four and a third inches with four and a little more of razor sharp blade - not only cut my thumb but shaved some hair from my arm.

I did go to church and then off to Range 16 to try and shoot the postal match, nine points was the best I did, too many repeated hits on targets, I am that bad. So I amused myself with shooting the hole in the target. Twice, big hole but it was only seven yards - hardly fair to the target that wasn't even armed. No exercise, rain and hail in the afternoon and lazy struck and I want to blame it on the hormone medicines, but it was just a Sunday to rest well by.

Stop and analyze, ponder, recover & repair...

I read the update of my friend's mother and think about her and my own, they are being nursed back into health. Their families do worry, prayers are needed and are so prayed. How is it that such important people in our lives, gave so much of themselves in love of family and children that they didn't take better care of themselves? So in my guilt I want to blame them? Of course, it couldn't be my fault that I didn't tell them what is better and healthier - but it was, I have always been the little boy that needed a hug and attention with my parents, even when I grew up and tough and went off to wars, I came home and blurted out the F*** word and went into personal shock at my lapse of manners. I needed a hug, and didn't know how to give one. I read Isaiah 44, and prayed and thought.

Personally, my care of self stinks and I could do so much better. Thursday I weigh 211.5 pounds, 163/84 blood pressure, heart rate 39bpm. I walk to dock. Friday I weigh 210.5 pounds, 140/88 blood pressure with heart rate of 38 bpm, I did walk to the dock. Today I weigh 212.0 pounds, blood pressure is 135/97 and my heart rate is 41 bpm. I must start exercising instead of excusing my indolence. Goal, 180 pounds of bone, muscle and a little fat for the famine...

I take my wife around, then get to pushing the lawn mower around the yard, and that should count for exercise of some kind. I lend the mower to my neighbor and he cuts his, since he is trying to sell his home and his mower is at his parents home. I rake up the clippings, the grass being too damp to bag well when cut and that does count for exercise - working the arms, shoulders and core (ha, ha). Then feeling like a real slug after a nice dinner from my wife and some fresh baked carrot cake, I do go jog - thank goodness. 359 calories, 50% from fat in my blood, average heart rate 116 bpm, in Zone for 33 minutes 11 seconds, exercise timed is 37 minutes and 53 seconds. I did find a penny on the road after having a great idea about getting my favorite boot knife out to sharpen and carry for cutting things. So I have approval for the thought, as long as I remember it later. I did get the boot knife and will clean it up and sharpen it a bit, it still has the edge I put on it years ago.

From Dreams of Greatness I awake

I was in a military dream with large brick barracks complexes, and I had won the Best Soldier/Paratrooper/Sergeant of the Moment, was going to be put on the unit's memorial trophy and was going to give up some of my uniform parts to make it happen. Same Command Sergeant Major McBride in charge of the details, then the alarm went off and I wonder if that means I am going to win the Lotto, have to buy the winning ticket don't I?

I weigh 210.0 pounds, blood pressure is 121/86 with a heart rate of 40 bpm. Take my meds, have devotions and pray for the rest of the world, only the LORD can help, I am reading Isaiah 42.

April Fool, isn't he always? Not if he tries harder.

31st of March, going out like a lion, a lying lion? Weight 211.0 pounds, blood pressuer 144/85 and heart rate 40 bpm. I knock out the fifty reps of the basic three exercises and go off to jog, 560 calories burned, 50% of them real fat ones, average heart rate 114 bpm, in Zone 52 minutes 31 seconds, exercise time total 1 hour 36 seconds. I did walk to the dock, and in the evening worked a little with ten pound dumb bells to work the muscles more - they complained most of the day.

Today I weigh 210.5 pounds, blood pressure is 137/74 with a heart rate of 44 bpm. I spend my exercise time delaying until my wife awakes then we attack the bill paying, check writing and financial truths that I haven't shared so well. It was a good session - health is more than just sweat and circulation, mental and emotional harmony is very important and we must spend the time working on Love, Life and (can't find another L can I? time to go to work).