30 Days of Paleo...or as close as I can get to it...and I love bacon.

Yep.  It's another 30 Day Experiment for me.

Yesterday a friend of mine brought me a piece (only one, the tease..) of local bacon.  I don't usually say this but...O....M....G.  I t   w a s   g o o d.

If you know me at all, you know health is a big issue for me.  Losing 140 pounds didn't happen by remaining ignorant of my body, and the stuff I put into it!

For the past 4 years I have been faithfully (well, mostly) following a low-carb diet.  At first, this meant cutting out breads, pasta, and sugars.  I allowed sweeteners (think Splenda, Maltitol - bad choices) and ate commercially available "sugar-free" diet foods, along with traditional "low-carb" fare.  And eventually I started moving towards whole foods, but not completely.  I love bacon.

And I got obsessed, a little.  I have, in the past year, gotten to the point where if I go over a certain amount of "net carbs" (I limited myself to 20 net a day, which is pretty low) I start getting depressed, simply because I feel like I have failed.  So, needless to say, I have been eating some junk lately, and put a few pounds back on.  And I know it's not entirely about the weight, but it's a big part of it.

So I have decided to start thinking more about what I'm putting into my tummy, and less about how much I am putting into it.  Now, that's not to say that I am going to not care at all about how much, but I am going to try to be more lenient in that area, while increasing the strictness in another.  I love bacon.

So, I'm going Paleo.  Or as close as I can get.

This means eating:

- whole, local foods
- minimally processed foods
- organically or traditionally grown foods
- I love bacon.
- cutting out or reducing a lot of foods that might seem natural, but should be taken in moderation

That last one is going to be tough - a lot of the experts recommend cutting out coffee (whaaaatttt?) and most dairy products (again, whaaaaaatttt?) unless they are raw (which has it's own legal issues).  I think cutting out coffee isn't going to happen.  But I think I can handle the dairy, because the only dairy I ever really use is cheese and cream, so for those, I will definitely be going organic, and raw if I can.

It's going to be tough - eating better will seem more expensive, but in the long run it will be better, because hopefully I will be buying less junk.   I live in an area where buying local is pretty easy, but buying organic (for the stuff that I can't get locally) means driving at least 30 minutes, or ordering online.

I am going to try to phase out the stuff in the house that is not organic, or locally grown, simply because I can't force my family to do this with me, though I hope that they will willingly join in, and since I do most of the cooking, it will happen naturally, and everyone will be better because of it.  Yesterday a friend of mine brought me a piece (only one, the tease..) of local bacon.  I don't usually say this but...O....M....G.  I t   w a s   g o o d.

So, I'm asking you to help hold me accountable, friends who read this.  I will be posting as many meals as I can, even if it's only a picture, via this blog or Facebook, or Twitter.   I love bacon.

Speaking of...here's today's Paleo oriented breakfast...eggs, peppers, and turkey sausage*, with some Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper*.  (*=not organic/local/paleo - see what I mean?)  Are you surprised there is no bacon?

Paleo(ish) egg scramble.

And my last tidbit of the day, for all of you folks who like to eat "Whole Grain" foods - you realize that most foods billed as "Whole Grain"are still refined foods?  A true "whole grain" is one you go pick yourself, and eat.  On the spot.

I love bacon.

Crusts are for wimps.

Yup. I said it. I don't need no stinkin' crust!

Yesterday we celebrated my birthday (which is tomorrow), along with my sister-in-law's (which was a few days ago). When Lisa asked me what I wanted for dessert, I came up with "Crustless Pumpkin Pie." It was something I had made before, but she took the reigns, with a little help from me, to make it.

Eating the way I do (or should be, when I am a good boy), is tough. I exercise my right to say no to bread, sugar, pasta, candy, and the like. It 's easy to cave in and eat a bag of candy corn, or a big bag of trail mix, (belive me I've done both - sometimes on the same day) but hard to feel good later when my body goes into a carb crash.

So, yes, crusts are for wimps. I don't need some over-processed wheat product to hold in all that sugar-free pumpkin goodness!

Ya know what else is for wimps? Ignoring the fact that sometimes you need help; creating this crusty outside to the world, holding in what's really inside. It's the coward that doesn't share his heart, because he is afraid of what people will think. That's not to say that a man shouldn't be strong. It's not to say that we shouldn't be the guiding force in our families. But if its hard to speak the truth, admit our sins, and ask for help when we need it, doesn't it take a stronger man to do all that, than it does to hold it in?

I ask God for strength every day. He is my father, and is MY guiding hand, as I am for my son. I don't need no crusty outside to hold me in and make me feel strong. It's having the good stuff inside, Jesus, that makes me strong.

And...I said no to candy corn this morning. How's that for strong?

NWMM Day 17-30.

So.  Here I sit on the on the morning of the eve of the last day of no-Walmart-month. We have done pretty well so far, only going to Wegmans, Sav-a-lot, Tops, and a lot of local establishments.  We have had a trip or two to Target, and a couple of trips to the Savers Thrift store in Henrietta.  All in all, and interesting month.  Here are some little things I (we) learned...

- Tops doesn't (regularly) carry prepackaged balloons.  If they do, no one in the store knew where, and so I ended up buying them (un-blown up) from the flower station.

- It is possible to get most of what you need with out going to Wal-Mart.  You may end up spending the same when it comes to gas driving to different places, but I think if it had been summer, we would have biked a bit more, and saved there too.

- Sav-a-lot on a Friday night is just as bad as Wal-Mart, in terms of crowd and attitude.  I did the shameful "excuse me, sorry..." when I almost bumped into someone's cart coming around a corner, and I got a death look.  Scary.

- I see different people,  a different clientele, at other places.

- I take different routes, obviously, but that I also means I notice other things, and get to know my town better.

- There is no "right" place to shop.  We started frequenting Felt Frish Amish store, and it's funny - some  stuff is definitely more "natural," but some items I assume are just bought in bulk and repackaged.  It's funny to see 100 packets of Splenda (not that I buy it) in little plastic containers instead of a box.  I don't presume to know much about the Amish way, but it's...interesting.

Conclusions?  I don't know if I have any.  Will we go back to Wal-Mart?  Probably.  There are some things you just can't get somewhere else, and it doesn't make sense to.  I mean - if I need paper, I'm not necessarily going to expect to see it at the farmers market, but if I want truly fresh produce and meat, I am going to look locally first.

From left: Tom, Tom, Mickey, Melanie, Matt, Sheryl, Brian, Me, and Randy (I mean Jack...)

In other news - the Mighty Niagara Half Marathon went well.  I took it easy, and had a good time, and enjoyed myself.  I still went faster than I originally intended, but I felt good.  Everyone in our group finished, and finished well (That's me in the bright orange calf sleeves.  I am told that you can't miss 'em.).  I am very proud of them, even though I know that it wasn't necessarily me that got them through it.  Our Run for God ministry is doing some great things for people, and God has put us in a great place to keep going!

The finishers medal.  It took someone else saying
it to make me realize it's a guitar pick.  The bands
on the course were GREAT!

Adam and Mrs. Wadhams

Personally, I am thinking about where to race next, now that I a not doing the Empire State Marathon.  Where can I put my training to use?  I am looking at the Dirt Cheap Stage Race, a 2-day event with 3 different race lengths, and exclusive goodies for people who register and do all 3 parts - a time trial 3 miler, a 5.5 run with an "infamous" stair climb, and an 11 mile trail race.  Should be interesting...

AND...on Tuesday I will be 35.  Halfway to 70, Lord willing.  Today, we are celebrating jointly with my sister in law, whose special day was a few days ago, and is NOT turning 35.




Lastly - ADAM LOVES KINDERGARTEN!  Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Wadhams.  Last night we were "reminiscing" about when he was born, and the heartache I had for him in the hospital, and I am sitting here thinking of how far he has come, and how he has grown into a God-loving, responsible, young man.  I love him more than just about anything on earth.  Wow.

No Wal-Mart Month, Days 11-16; GOD IS GOOD!

Seeing as I haven't posted any new entries, I'll give try to give you a quick run down, without using too many words...so some events may be out of order!

It was a pretty busy week.

Tuesday - Beginner Band First Lesson night.  Spent 45 minutes at home between work and coming back to school.  Good news, though - I have more beginners this year!  After First Lesson Night, it was off to "Crawlers" - a bible study with some friends (but not before stopping at Tops (semi-local) for some snacks, seeing as dinner was quick).  Home by 11.  Fell asleep in a chair, then stumbled into bed.

Wednesday - First Day of Band and lessons for my 5th Graders (or, in the Harry Potter universe, "Second Years").  Went well, but busy day.  Felt my voice getting hoarse, and my back started to ache a little.  After school, I had coffee with a good friend, and we chatted about my decision to NOT do a marathon this year, and about lives, and wives, and everything in between!  It's nice to have a man-friend that I can open up to.  Thanks, BK.

Thursday - "normal" day at school except for my voice got a little better, but my back started hurting more.  Stopped at Sav-A-Lot on the way home for some little things.

Friday - My back is starting to hurt more by now.  Like, hard to bend over kind of pain.  I had intended to run a few times this week, but life, and back pain, and rain (was that Thursday?) got in the way.  Also meant to mow the lawn, but put it off as I started to feel worse.

Saturday - Saturday morning I was feeling okay - the back pain had abated a little, so I decided to join the half-marathon crew of Run For God for a 7 mile run.  I took it easy (as in, 10-minute-ish average pace.).  Then we were off to Adam's first Tae Kwan Do class of the season.  By this time, my back actually felt pretty good, but I knew it was going to hurt later. So I scheduled a massage with my LMT Darlene, and she tore my muscles off!  It definitely did not feel better right away, and by the time bedtime rolled around, the pain was worse.  But in between, we took off to Wegmans for organic goods, dinner (freshfreshfresh), and stopped at goodwill to both explore (we'd never been in there) and to find Adam a pink shirt for school.  When we got home, and everybody was settled, I fell asleep in the chair, and stayed there, cause it was less pain than getting up!

Sunday - Woke up sore, but kind of limber.  Took it easy with the standing and sitting at church.  But while praying, I realized that I could pray for my own healing, so I did.  Flat out asked God to heal me, my back, and to forgive me for my selfishness over the last few months.  Within an hour, I felt like I could move 10 times better than the previous day.  By the time lunch was over, I was ready to get out and mow the lawn (Which I had put off since who knows when...), and do some chores, and play wii with adam, and put laundry away and...well, you get the picture!

GOD IS SO GOOD.  I know that I can chalk a lot of my healing to Darlene, but God (and Lisa) were telling to me to go to her.  God puts people in our lives to guide us, but it is still our choice to follow through or not.

So, I felt good enough to take the family out and do some "shopping" we had been meaning to do since before school was back in.  We went to Kirby's farm market, and Rockin R Ranch, an brought home some great local produce and meat.  For dinner, we had BLT's, and mine really was a true BLT.  Just bacon (from Wegmans) lettuce (from Sav-A-Lot) and orange tomatoes (from Kirby's)!  Oh, and a little mayo, too!  What an awesome meal.

My REAL B-L-T...

By the way - stuff we got today:

Kirby's (total of approx $20)

2 Onions

2 Green Peppers

1 Half-Gallon Cider

3 Hot peppers

1 Italian Frying Pepper

1 Hungarian Pepper

1 HUGE head of fresh cauliflower (want a recipe?  Just ask...)

A Chrysanthemum

2 Orange Tomatoes

Rockin R Ranch (about $80 - that seems high, but this is natural, organic, and HIGH quality, and not that much fdifference price wise from what you would pay for premium cuts in a WM).

2 pkgs delmonico steaks (2 in each)

2 medium size roasts

5.5 pounds ground beef (which, BTW, all their beef is Black Angus)

2 pkgs Pork Chops (2 in each)

There is nothing like buying local - you know where it's coming from.  I trust the people I buy from, and they can tell me about where their food comes from, if not from them.  I firmly believe that we can head off, slow down, and fight back against, most of the common afflictions if we just cut the junk out of our diets.

So, thanks for joining me for No Wal-Mart month, or at least reading about it!

No Wal-Mart Month, 8-10.

September 8th - Took Lisa and Adam out to Mendon for the SummerFest Races put on by YellowJacket and FleetFeet.  Lisa won her age group...again!  Adam ran a 1/4 mile kids race, and ran the whole time!  We stopped at Wegmans on the way home (yay Wegmans!) and picked up some fresh fruit (ever had Kiwi Berries?  Cool little guys...).  Then I went to a parade in Hamburg, played sousaphone, and came home.

September 9th - Had a great time at church.  Quick trip to the local Sav-A-Lot, then came home, and put in a lot of work around the house, garage, and shed.  Took about 5 hours!  

September 10th - First Monday back to school.  Adam LOVES kindergarten.  Did I say that already?  Today he had art class, and came home with a blue dot on his nose, and a masterpiece on his paper!  Just before leaving school, I got a call saying that mine and LIsa's new glasses were in, so we traveled to LeRoy (we don't give up good practitioners, no matter the distance) to pick them up.  

The New Specs...

We stopped at Arby's on the way home (way better than other fast food...I always get salads, and theirs always taste good).

So 10 days, and we are doing fine.  Really enjoying trying to find other ways around getting what we need.

In other news, yesterday was supposed to be my first day back running.  I was going to go after school, but we went and got our glasses.  I was then going to go when we got back, after Adam was bathed and dressed (it was my turn), but on the way to get our glasses I started getting a SERIOUS tickle in my throat.  By the time we got to the eye doctors, I was sneezing, my nose was running, and my throat hurt.  That would make for quite an uncomfortable run...

So....I canned it.  And I have come to the realization, that maybe I shouldn't do a marathon this year.  All these little things, pointing me to that conclusion.  I kept thinking I needed to do a marathon, because people were expecting me to.  But that was my own pride and ego talking.  It's not like I needed to prove I could do one.  I just wanted (and still do, really) to do a faster one.  But I think God is leading me elsewhere at this point.

My mates and I have been facilitating a Run for God program at our church.  We have been training up some others to do a half-marathon, and they have been doing really well.  I have been asked by a local pastor (not my pastor) to see if I could come up with a program for a conference.  So, ya know, maybe this running thing has never been about me.  (Isn't that what I've been saying to others all along?  I guess I just never told myself that).

So, no marathon this year for me.  There.  It's official.  I am just going to concentrate on the half marathon, supporting my fellow trainees, and maybe do some other short races and work on speed for the rest of the fall.  Then I need to make sure I maintain a base over the winter (that was my downfall this year I think).  Then who knows what next season will bring...(?)

NWMM day 6 and 7.

Walmart free for 7 days!

Though yesterday (day 6) I did need to get some stuff for my classroom/office that I didn't have any budget money for, so I ended up going to RiteAid, which is on the way to school, instead of going the opposite direction to WM.

Today is day 7, and after school we will be going out to dinner (a first-friday-after-getting-back-to-school tradition since we've been out of college and working) and picking up Lisa and Adam's race materials for the Fleet Feet SummerFest races. Adam gets to pick this year, and he picked Longhorn Steakhouse. Kid's got taste!

The last few mornings we have been trying to use up some store-bought eggs so we can get to the farm raised, but we have been using the fresh tomatoes and peppers (from Adam's "other" mom) for breakfast and dinner.

As for running - I'm taking the week off, and I might try to get a long run in this weekend, but if I don't, I am going to try not to stress about it. Overtraining is a real thing, and I did it. So - time to back off, enjoy my family, and get back into it next week. If a marathon doesn't happen this year, I'll have to be okay with that. Thankfully I haven't registered yet - we'll have to see what the next few weeks bring.

Adam LOVES kindergarten, and his teacher Mrs. Wadhams. He is so excited about everything. I hope he keeps that enthusiasm.

Lastly, my God stuff for the day. God is our coach. He is my trainer. I saw a FB meme about "when all else fails, do what your trainer told you to do in the first place." I think God was telling me to slow down. I ran. Then he sent friends to tell me to slow down. I ran. Then he brought it on my heart and body in a big way, to slow down. This time I listened. God takes care of us, if we let him. It's not always some big revelation, or epiphany, or "Come to Jesus" moment. Sometimes he just wants to take our hand, pull us back, and tell us to rest. Just. Rest.

Thank you, God. I'm all ears...

NWMM DAY 4 (yesterday) and 5 (today).

Nothing too major yesterday. The friend who watches Adam (actually Adam says that she is his mom when we aren't there!) gave us some tomatoes, peppers, and a watermelon from theirs and a neighbor's gardens. We were back at work without students yesterday, so Adam played with one of his best friends all day.

Today was back to work with students, and no plans to hit any big retailers today. We are still surviving on food and household stuff bought previously to September 1, from various sources, including Walmart. My hope is that we can continue this through September. It's funny though - I find myself saying quite often "I can just run down to WalMart and grab (insert needed item here). But now I have to think and plan a little more.

***UPDATE:  Since coming home today, I learned that a fellow teacher in Lisa's building gave us EGGS!  Home raised, cage free eggs.  She does this regularly, and we missed it during the summer!***

You know, another great resource here in Albion (and any community) is the closest library system. Since August, I have not bought any books. I have been borrowing from our newly built library building (and the library institution has been in Albion for a long time, but now it's so much more accessible) and have even "borrowed" ebooks through it as well. What a great local resource for families. They have been having regular programs for kids and Adults, concerts, and contests, too.

Please feel free (if you live in the vicinity of Albion - it doesn't really make sense otherwise...) to join the Albion Area Locavores group on Facebook! There has already been great discussion and help!

NWMM day 3...(yesterday, Sep 3)

The day started off as a "rest" day for me. After a little bit of a leisurely morning, we all set off for the ROC for some activities. I played Sousa for the Mark Time Marchers in the ROC labor day parade as we were the band for the union my brother in law is president of.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Adam went to the National Museum of Play, and I met them there after the parade for
Lunch. On the way home we did stop at Wegmans, and here is my rationale.

Wegmans is locally owned and based. They try to carry local brands, and they carry a wide selection of organic items. We know some folks who work at Wegmans, and they really enjoy working for the company. I know Walmart employees, and they don't. I don't mean that to be generalizing, because there will always be unhappy workers in any company.

That being said, we also are making an effort to foster and promote local buying, trading, and services. I started a Facebook group (Albion Area Locavores). Already folks around here are sharing their resources and knowledge. It's great!

Keep checking back for info on how it's going...

No Wal-Mart Month, day 2!

(Right now I am in day 3, so this post is about YESTERDAY!)

The day started out nice - went for an 18 mile run!  

As much as I love my running group, it was nice to be by myself.  There is a certain glory in being by yourself, early in the morning, with hardly any traffic, running on backroads.  The world is waking up at the time that I run, and it is very cool to watch the sun rise, birds start chirping, and the environment just come alive.  I was surrounded by God's glorious creation yesterday morning (as I am all the time every day, but like I said, there is something special about early morning...).

After that, we went to church, and what a wonderful church family we have.  I felt very moved (perhaps it started on my run) and very emotional during the worship service yesterday.  I can't describe in words how it feels to know that God is in ALL things - and works through ALL things, for the good of those who love him.

After church we zoomed down to Arcade to redeem a voucher (Groupon, or something) for our annual Arcade/Attice Railroad Train ride.  In a few years, Adam probably won't be as excited to go, but for now, he still loves it!

Adam practices balancing on the railroad track.

On the way home, I started thinking about dinner.  I wanted some roasted cauliflower with parmesan and bacon.  I knew I had all the ingredients for it...except cauliflower.  So I was watching the farm stands on the way, but didn't see cualiflower, or see it advertised.  So when I got home I went to our local Sav-A-Lot and got some fresh (not frozen) cauliflower.  Now granted, it was Dole brand, but it was the best I could do on short notice, and I didn't go to Wal-Mart!

No Wal-Mart month, day 1...

No problem today! Went to a race with Lisa in ROC, and then to Olcott Beach, where we were lucky to get a parking spot, and Adam went on some of the old-tyme rides. On the way back we stopped at our new place of the summer, Feltfrish Amish Market. Picked up some soup mixes, cheese, bacon, and other little assorted goods...

So today was nice. We enjoy the market. Tomorrow includes more "local attractions" after church, and perhaps some nice home time!

Our little experiment...

So, I had this idea, albeit I'm sure a pretty unoriginal one. Our family is going to try to avoid Walmart (and big box/department stores) for the month of September. This is by no means an attack on the big-box giant, nor is it an attack on its employees. I just think there is a better way.

We are going to shop more locally, and this includes everything from groceries to garments. I'm not sure how this is going to look, but perhaps...

Groceries: Shop at our local Sav-A-Lot (yes corporate, but more local
Control), farmers markets, roadside stands, and meat markets.

Clothes: tough one, but we don't generally shop at WM for clothes anyway. But there is a new thrift chain called Savers (Henrietta, Webster,...?) and local thrift and consignment shops where I am sure we can find clothes suitable to our style, price, and professions.

Other items: Well, wherever we can find it. There is eBay, Craigslist, thrift stores, and local businesses that could really use the business and give us great service.

And of course, there are some things that you just can't find locally, or even as far as ROC or BUF. For that, I go to the web. Buying through Amazon might be close to buying at Walmart, but I'll deal with that if we get through September.

Until then, if I can't find it locally, maybe we don't need it....

Stay tuned!!!

Why God is like an iPhone...

Bear with me here.  I am about to submerge you into my tech-geekiness and relate it to Christ, if I can.

On my earthly to-do list, my iPhone is my lifeline.  I have my calendar (which synchronizes with my wife's), my email, my "checkbook" and banking info, passwords, reminders and notes, navigation, my food journal, grocery lists (also sync's with my wife's), my kindle app, and my bible.  There are also various and assorted other less "important" apps.  But if I were to be truthful, I depend on my phone a lot.  It's with me wherever I go, even if it's on silent mode (and no, I have no alarms set to go off in a concert).  It keeps me in touch with the people I love, and the people I loathe.  It helps me record special moments (camera), and find quick answers to those pressing questions (like who is that guy playing that character in that show? - I recognize him...).


And very importantly, all of this information is backed up, sometimes even when I am not thinking about it.  Some of it goes through "the cloud" and is synced with other computers (I use a service called Dropbox to be able to access work files from anywhere I can get internet access), and some of it is backed up whenever I am on my home wireless network.  A friend of mine recently (I won't mention names) damaged his iPhone (he decided it was dirty, and threw it in the washing machine....).



But he hadn't connected to anything to backup his pictures, info, etc. in MONTHS.  I know, it doesn't seem like a big deal until something happens, then you regret it.  And don't get me wrong, despite the good natured ribbing he took, I felt for him, because I depend on my phone A LOT. Since I back mine up, if anything were to ever happen to it, I would be able to restore the info to it, or if I had to get a new phone, restore the old info to the new phone.

Okay, now the God part.

We depend on God, every day.  One of the younger folk at the church in Batavia would have used an acronym for that one (DOG).  Anyway, God takes care of us, reminds us that we are loved, and gives us crucial information when we most need it.  And if anything ever happens to us, we are "backed up" in several ways.  The first of course is through Jesus Christ.  He is our backup.  We know, that at some point WE WILL FAIL at whatever we have set out to do.  But Jesus has it covered.  He is "in the cloud".  (You knew that was coming.)  If we have need to access that info, that wonderful good news, we have only to restore from a source of backup.  A simple connection, through reading the bible, or offering a simple prayer to God, is all we need to restore our broken self.  Unfortunately, that doesn't makes us perfect, and we need to have that backup in place already.  For most of the world, that is the hardest part - getting that belief (backup) in place before anything happens.  I know I am still working at it, and backup regularly.

So - being Sunday, I am going to go to a different Network (church) in a few hours, and I will have another way to access that backup - worship, fellowship, and discipleship.  What are you doing today to keep your information secure "in the cloud"?

Yes. Yes I did.

I lost five pounds.  Between yesterday and today.  The caveat is that I won't tell you what the actual numbers are...

I am a self-proclaimed over-eater.  There is no doubt.  I can eat a whole bag (the big ones) of the Wal-Mart Great Value Mountain Trail Mix in a sitting.

Sometimes, my wife will notice things are gone in the morning.

"Did you eat [insert something I shouldn't eat here] last night?"

Rather than make something up (lie), rationalize (lie) or offer some explanation (lie), I just say...

"Yes.  Yes I did."

The easiest way for me to not do something (over-eat) is to not have the materials available to me.  Sometimes that's unavoidable - between October and January, there are 6 events which bring other foods into this house, between birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Ugh.  It's tough, and I'm weak.

God calls on us to do the same thing, within reason.   He does not want us to fall into sin, but we are around sin, and he calls us to show the love of his Son to others.  He knows that we will sin, no matter what.  To paraphrase, if I may, a pastor at AFMC, "We will do our best not to let you down, but someday, we will fail you."  That is how it is with God (us failing him, not the other way around).  Thankfully he provided us a way out.

"Did you [insert something you should have done but didn't, or did but shouldn't have done] today?"

"Yes.  Yes I did.  I'm sorry.  Can you forgive me?"

"Yes.  It's already taken care of."

Coming soon..."Why God is like an iPhone..."

I'm back....mostly.

I think if you look through previous posts in this blog you will see a lot of "let's try again" type posts.  That's me, I guess.  I guess I am an example of "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."

The new title for the blog is "the things i do..." and I should hope that the double meaning is evident.  There is the comical side of it (notice the subtitle) as well as the informational side.

I was most successful "at life" when I first started blogging about my lifestyle changes, my eating habits, and my family.  Now, I'm not saying that all those things have gone down the tubes, but I think that I can continue to positively effect myself and those around me if I "reboot" so to speak, my blogging.

So enjoy (if you can - hopefully...) the new blog, and I will see you around.  In the meantime, here's a question....

What have you done in your life that has made you feel "successful"?  There is nothing wrong with using the talents and gifts you have been given to their highest potential.  That is what I consider being a good steward of the good things you have been given.