Wow, I've been so busy lately. At work, a proposal has led long hours and weekends. As a Toastmasters Area Governor, I have been visiting clubs and attending evening planning meetings. Fall speech contests are starting, so Debbie will see even less of me. :0(

I just think that if I can just hold on until mid-October, then things will slow down. I hope!

This is short, but I have to get back to work.

Hope everyone has a great day on this Feast of St. Augustine day.

God bless!

Jeff

Happy Monday everyone!! So, far I've had a great day, of course it is only 8:05 a.m.

Ground my coffee this morning and filled my Starbucks travel mug (thanks to my SIL/BIL Charlene and David...great birthday present!). I drank the coffee on the way into work and was so early to work, that I had time to park in my favorite spot and say a Rosary. Man, the Joyful Mysteries just completely ROCK! I've prayed that my anxiety over my career will be lessened and that I will just have faith in my Lord to get me through life.

Had a pretty good weekend. Deb and I went to Outback on Friday for dinner. We waited for over an hour before asking when we would be seated. They were very embarrassed that we had never been added to their list! But dinner was great. My friend Brooks turned me on to the Victoria Crowned Fillet, which is steak with blue cheese on top. AWESOME! I also had a salad and baked sweet potato. Very tasty! And uh (blush) a big slice of Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Ok...this was a mistake since the old diabetes is something I have to deal with. And also, I definitely don't need this anyway since I don't eat sugar, breads, etc on my diet. But I am back on plan today. Honest!

Debbie and I went to Books-a-Million Saturday and picked up our pre-paid Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book. Then we went yet again to Outback and had hamburgers! Ok, this weekend was a wash for eating properly. Which is bad, since I could easily find something at Outback that I could eat guilt-free.

So, anyway, we bought the book and I have READ the book. No spoilers here, don't worry! I just want to say that some parts of the book made me a little sad, but for the most part I was very happy with it. And I think it ended just the way it should have.

After 7:30 Mass on Sunday, I went home and made waffles with Tyler. Lot's of fun! She can be such a good kid, except when she is not. I worked on school work the rest of the day and finished the evening by watching Psych with Debbie.

That's all for now. I am doing a fast today...not health related, but a spiritual fast. So, although I can have two light meals and a regular dinner, I think I am going to just skip breakfast and lunch and eat dinner. I will check my blood sugar today, just to make sure that it is ok.

If you read this post and feel like including me in your prayers, I would be very grateful. Drop me a comment and I will include you in my mine.

Cheers and God Bless!

Jeff

Had a good weekend. Tyler and I made a sugar-free cheesecake Saturday morning and it turned out GREAT. See the pictures below:

Later on Saturday, Debbie and I actually had a good amount of time by ourselves, which was nice. Of course, we didn't go and do anything, since we were both tired. Just watched a move and chilled out.

Sunday was my work day. I had to finish up schoolwork for my MBA class and submit Part 1 of a project to my professor. Hopefully, she will be happy with it. Sunday night I grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to make S'Mores with Tyler, so we will do that tonight. I won't be able to eat one, but she can. Perhaps Thea will join her sister for a toasted marshmallow.

Hope you all have a great week. God bless.

Jeff

It has been a fairly boring week and I have been very unmotivated. I have to snap out of it.

I didn't get to relax very much on the 4th, but cleaned my kitchen and grilled/cooked most of the afternoon. Still, it was nice to have some good food. I grilled bbq chicken and steak. Then made potatoes/onions, baked beans, and devilled eggs. Everyone seemed to like them.

My doctor's office called this week. Evidently my blood is at a level where I can stop giving myself shots of Lovenox. This is good news!

When I went to the doctor this week, I had gained 10 pounds from the last time I went. Too much fast food and not enough exercising. My goal is to lose 20 pounds between now and my next appointment. And the good folks on StellaStyle.com have been very supportive of my goals. I told them of my dream that I had where I was skinny and strong. I can't wait to make this dream a reality. I want to get to the point where the diabetes and blood clots are no longer big issues in my live, just something to keep an eye on.

I have lots of school work to do this weekend, but hopefully I can get it out of the way quickly and actually have some fun.

Hope you all have a great weekend. God bless.

Jeff

What a busy weekend! Saturday morning Tyler and I made waffles, which was fun. Tyler wants to do everything, which is great, but it does slow things down a bit. I try to be patient with her and she is getting pretty good at measuring out ingredients. Not bad for a 4-year old. She even knows how to use a knife to level off the flour in the 1 cup measuring cup and is pretty good at breaking eggs without getting shells in the food. She insisted on trying to separate an egg yolk from the whites, but that was pretty much a disaster. Tyler lacks the the manual dexterity to do that. But she will develop this.

Debbie and I went to a District 27 Toastmasters Hail & Farewell Saturday night at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. We had a good time at what is a very fancy resort. Good food and entertaining presentations made the night fun, ending with a great fireworks show with patriotic music. Very cool!

Sunday, Debbie and I drove to Alexandria for my Area Governor training, another Toastmasters event. That was 4 hours of learning how to be a good governor for the clubs I have been called upon to serve. Very interesting, but a bit tiring. I have a lot of work to do this year!

That was pretty much my weekend. This morning (Monday) I woke up extra early to get to work to catch up on some projects. So, I'm pretty tired. At least I have Wednesday off and I told Debbie I am not doing anything!!! Maybe a little grilling, but that is it.

Hope you all have a GREAT day! God bless.

Jeff

Gosh! I've been so busy lately. Work, Toastmasters, church, pulmonary embolism...Hey, wait a minute!

Pulmonary embolism?!?! That's right. Had a little bit of a health crisis on June 8th. On the way home from work, late on a Friday, I suddenly had trouble breathing out of my right lung and it started hurting. Turns out that pain in my left leg that I had ignored was a blood clot...or clots. A clot broke off and travelled to my right lung. Actually, I have a few small clots there now.

After three days in a hospital and much poking/prodding, I was allowed to go home. I will be on blood thinners for at least six months. Currently I'm taking oral medicine Coumadin, which has to build up in my body to a level where my blood is thinned. Until that happens, I give myself injections of Lovenox twice a day to my stomach. Actually, it doesn't really hurt that much and I've surprised myself since I always thought I would have a hard time giving myself a shot. But, it was a condition of me getting out of the hospital and that was a great motivation. Surprisingly, I don't look nearly as good in a hospital gown as one might think.

All of this medicine, plus Lipitor for cholesterol and Metformin for my diabetes. Hmmm...I may actually have to get in shape so I have a chance of getting off some of this medicine.

So, life is good, for the most part. I'm still alive...a definite plus.

Take care everyone and God bless.

Jeff

Just under the wire!!!!!!

I said in my last post that I hoped to post more often, but if not...have a Happy Easter.

Well, it is Holy Week and so I almost missed it. It's been a very chaotic Lent, with my attempting to go to daily Mass and at first succeeding, but then work with 12 hour days/weekends working caused me to get off track. And of course, when you off track, it is hard to get back on.

I'm going to noon Mass today at St. Timothy's, just a few miles from work. I'll try to get to Mass every day during this week as we approach Good Friday and of course, Easter.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Jeff

Ok, dang it! I guess I better update since I have heard there are actually a few people out there reading this thing.

What has happened since my last post....well, Theadora is growing and smiling and laughing. She was a bit standoffish with me at first, but now seems to enjoy seeing her old grandpa. I kind of like seeing her to. Her mom and dad continue to live with us, although both are working now and I think (hope) that will change in the NEAR future. Not saying this in a mean way, it is only that our house is VERY small. As long as I can see them all regularly, then I will be happy. Especially the kids.

Tyler is now 4 and precocious, as always. She is in pre-school and goes to ballet once a week. She is a real pain in the butt, but I love her. What a willful child!

Debbie is doing well and is working our business. She operates our home business from the house and does a great job. She is even earning a little money.

My weight loss took a hit over the holidays. I didn't gain weight, but I sure as heck didn't lose any! I'm working on that now. Got me one of them fancy iPods for Christmas, so I have no excuse for not jumping on a treadmill!

Well, I will try to post more soon. But if I don't...uh, Happy Easter!!

Jeff