Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Week 28: Eat 2 cups of spinach/lettuce each day this week.
Good evening. Luke and I just got back from the airport where we went along with Larry to pick up Mimi. I thought it would be cool if I took Luke to see some planes come in and take off, but to be honest with you. we didn’t get to see any. For some reason there just wasn’t much air traffic. Thank goodness the place had an escalator because Luke and I rode that sucker at least twenty times. He was excited to see his Mimi come home, and she was happy to see her grandson.
I’m pretty tired, so I’m going to cut it short. I did all my exercises and weight lifting before we went to the Allentown Airport, so all I have to do is go for a long walk with Luke tomorrow and I’ll be on track.
We did have lunch with Dave, Jen, and Leo before we took off today, and if you don’t know, Dave is the one who usually takes my photo’s for the blog to show my progression. Unfortunately, his daughter, Nika, took his digital camera with her to college so I’m going to have to find somebody else to do it. It’s too bad to — I’m pretty comfortable with Dave taking pictures of me, but anybody else might freak me out a little. Whatever.
I hope everybody has a good day and their daughters are taking good pictures with their cameras.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family
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Monday, 6 September 2010
Week 28: Eat 2 cups spinach/lettuce each day this week.
Good afternoon. I just got off the phone with my mother and sister, Carol, out in Washington, and it seems that everybody is having a great visit with Mom. I sent a copy of “The Days of Luke” out west with Mom so that my sisters, brother-in-laws, nieces, and nephews could check out a couple of minutes of Luke’s life. For those of you new to the blog, I’ve been videotaping my son, Luke, every day for at least a couple of seconds since the day he was born, and I’ve titled it “The Days of Luke”. Obviously, it’s a work in progress and since his Mom and I are no longer together, I now only tape him on the days I have him, but it all works out. I didn’t think the kids out on the west coast would want to watch “home movies”, but to my surprise I guess Luke is a big hit. Cool. The truth of the matter is, I do the taping for Luke so that when he’s older he’ll be able to go back to almost any day in his life. I just think that the concept is pretty far out, and if I could do it, there are some days I would go back to for some type of recall.
A women I work with grabbed hold of my arm last night and said, “Lord, Barry, are you working out?” and then proceeded to poke my chest and back. Normally this would be considered some type of harassment in a work environment, but I was in seventh heaven for two reasons. The first being that the woman who was doing the prodding is absolutely a wonderful, heavenly person. The second being the recognition of me working out and getting in shape. Yeah, I’ll take the harassment and the compliment.
I hope everybody has a great day and gets squeezed like Charmin.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family, kids, Weight Loss
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Monday, 2 August 2010
Week 23: Eat 5 oz of lean protein each day this week.
Good afternoon, and what a good one it is. It seems a little after 1 PM E.S.T. My cousin Joe’s girlfriend, Lindsey, gave birth to a healthy beautiful baby girl. Can I get an Amen? Can I get a what what? Her name is Adison Jane Davis, and the picture I received via multi-media text shows that she is absolutely beautiful. I just love babies. There is nothing like them in the world. It’s the only miracle I have ever witnessed, but I’m sure I miss a lot of them every day or should I say, take them for granted every day.
I went for my walk / jog and then did my exercises. After that I mowed the lawn, showered, went and and donated blood, and now I’m heading off to work again.
Carol gave me my new goal for the week which is to eat five ounces of lean protein every day this week. Man, I can handle that with no problem. The E.D.R always has some type of chicken breast up for grabs. Wow, that’s kind of risky to say.
I hope everybody has a great day and looks out for miracles.
Later,
Barry J.
Tags: Family, Nutrition
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Sunday, 1 August 2010
Week 21: Walk/Run 30 minutes, 4 days this week – Walk 10 minutes, (run 1 minute / walk 1 minute) x5, Walk 10 minutes
Good morning. I just woke up and got done with my crunches, push-ups and healthy breakfast (which consisted of oatmeal and blueberries). I’m going to pick up Luke at his Grandmother’s, and then from there I have no idea what we’re going to go get into. It’s raining here so Knoebels isn’t going to be part of the plan. Maybe we’ll do the visit thing and start knocking on some doors. Friends and family love it when Luke shows up on their front stoop unannounced. Me, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about, but I’m a part of the package so hah.
I hope everybody has a great day, and if you hear a knock on your door, you might want to check first.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: breakfast, Family, friends
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Sunday, 18 July 2010
Week 20: Do at least 10 crunches each day this week.
Good morning. I got awakened by Luke running into my room yelling, “Dado Dado Dado” when Mimi brought him home from staying at her house last night, and I’ve got to admit it was one of the best ways I have ever been brought out of slumber. I had to work overtime last night so I didn’t get much sleep, and I’m still not used to not having my boy sleeping under the same roof as me, but these are things that I will have to adjust to.
I filled up yet another tip box again on my blackjack game last night, but tonight I go back to craps and I’m not going to lie to you, reader, I can’t wait to go back to dealing dice. You see, I’m a firm believer that you can take a gorilla out of the jungle and teach him how to deal the game of blackjack, then return him back to his natural habitat, and then five years later go and find that same gorilla and place him behind a blackjack table and he will know exactly what to do as if a day hasn’t gone by. To me, there is no challenge in the game. Now craps, on the other hand, is a whole different entity altogether. If there are extra terrestrials watching us out there, I believe two things: 1) is that they think line dancing is some type of strange ritual, and 2) a craps game is very confusing. Anybody can figure it out eventually, but to deal properly, well that’s a different thing altogether.
I ate very healthy last night and right now as I type this I’m eating a healthy homemade fruit salad breakfast that it quite cooling on this warm July morning. Luke and I are going to head out for our walk and spend some quality time together.
I hope everybody has a great day and gets an awesome wakeup call.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family, work
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Sunday, 27 June 2010
Week 17: Eat 1/2 cup beans each day this week.
Barry J.
Good morning. Well Luke and I didn’t go to the shore, nor did we go swimming at Teddy’s. Instead we went to the emergency room because Luke had a 103.7 fever, and after his last brain boiler episode Dado doesn’t mess around. The doctors ran a bunch of blood work tests to figure out why he keeps getting high fevers and the results will be in by Tuesday. I can’t tell you what it’s like to see Luke get stuck with a needle. He’s such a strong little dude. When they came in for the first and what I thought was going to be the only drawing of blood I suck it up and didn’t shed one tear. I held him as they did what they had to do and whispered in his ear that I loved him. But when the doctors came in and said they wanted to run more tests and needed to draw more blood well… I tried to console him as much as I could but when the same phlebotomist walked through the door he started crying and screaming, “No Dado No!” a little piece me just melted away in tears. I didn’t let him see me cry. There’s nothing wrong with crying – don’t let anybody tell you any differently. I just didn’t want him to see me worried or fearful. Am I? I’ve learned from past experiences that worrying does no good. And fear well…if you’re going to panic, be quick about it because you have to get your head on straight to deal with what’s coming at you. But I won’t lie to you, some of the things the doctors said they were checking for caught my breath and are holding it for ransom until we get the results back. No news is good news, I believe that to be true. But I’m like a quick draw every time my phone rings.
Plus Luke has to be O.K. — I’m not eating all these baby carrots just for my health. Well I am, but it’s kind of like when you board an airplane and the stewardess gives you instructions of what to do in case of an emergency. The one thing is if the oxygen mask fall down and you’re with your child, place the mask on yourself before placing it on your kid. Now I know what some of you are thinking because I use to think the same way – “Are you mad? I’m going to take care of my baby before myself because that’s what a good parent does.” But if you don’t put it on you first and you blank out, who’s going to be there for your loved one?” Go Fit School Go!
I hope everybody has a great day and I’m not bumming you out too much.
Later,
Barry J.
Tags: Family
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Thursday, 24 June 2010
Week 17: Eat 1/2 cup beans each day this week.
Barry J.
Good afternoon. I just got back from mowing my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim’s yard. Along with the yard work, I moved a tree chipper, a snow blower, a plow, and the mower itself around the garage so that my Aunt Ellen would be happy with their placement. Not an easy chore, let me tell you. The only thing that saved me was the nurse who was checking in on my Uncle Jim. She came out to the garage and had a question for my Aunt. I saw my opening and put everything back where I thought my Uncle Jim would want it and escaped into the street like a boy on the last day of school. Hey, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do in this world where there is only twenty-four hours in a day.
I have a work party to go to today, so I’m going to cut the blog short. It’s going to be sweet because there will be a lot of supervisors, administrators, and V.I.P.s there, and I love that sort of stuff. Schmoozing. Yeah, I’m a schmoozer. Plus I get to do the art of uncomfortably with people. You know, mess with them a little bit to see who has a sense of humor and who doesn’t.
There will be food there – all different sorts of goodies so I’ve got to make sure I stay in line with that. I think it’s funny that I’m more concerned about over-eating cocktail weenies than making a complete weenie out of myself in front of the Director of Table Games.
I hope everybody has a great day and lets things be where they should be. (Because when Uncle Jim gets better he’s gonna be mad as…..)
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family
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Sunday, 20 June 2010
Week 16: Walk 30 minutes, 4 days this week.
Barry J.
Good morning. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there. I hope you have a great day and spend it well. Luke and I are going to go to Knoebels and have as much fun as humanly possible.
I woke up, did my crunches and push-ups and I’m about ready to wake the boy (Simpson’s reference) up to eat some breakfast, but first I figured I would blog out and let you know what’s up. What can I tell you – I feel great. I believe I’ve lost a little more weight. I can tell my muscles are getting tighter and every day I think I’m becoming more focused on what is important and what is garbage. I’ve been taking out a lot of trash lately and it feels good.
Luke and I had a lot of fun at the River Fest yesterday. If you ever get a chance to go to Wilkes Barre, PA in mid June, I highly recommend it. The best part of the whole trip was Luke running through this awesome squirting water fountain they have near the Kingston Bridge. It’s the type of fountain that shoots up streams of water in random patterns and you can walk directly into it. On hot summer afternoons there will be twenty or more kids getting soaked all day long and Luke was one of them yesterday. I got at least eight minutes of video footage of him running and yelling “SHOWE SHOWE, SHOWE SHOWE.” It was great.
Well the kettle’s boiling and oatmeal waits for no man.
I hope everybody has a great day and plays in a fountain.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: breakfast, Family
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Friday, 18 June 2010
Week 16: Walk at least 30 minutes, 4 days this week.
Barry J.
Good morning. I woke up today and just felt like a million dollars. I’m eating oatmeal with Jif and a cup of coffee, but before I made that up I did thirty crunches and twenty-eight push-ups. I just can’t get to thirty on those bad boys but that day’s coming. After I got done getting pumped up and I put the water on to boil I thought to myself, “today I’m going to drink all my fruits and vegetables.” So I broke out the Montel, threw in everything Carol told me I’m suppose to eat during a day plus some blueberries for good measure and good color, and then hit puree. It’s in the fridge as I type and after I get back from my walk I’m gonna get my chug on. I figure, why not break it up every now and then? Mom, Luke, or I haven’t made juice in a while, so before it ends up in the laundry gym and is being used as a mini washing machine to get tough juice stains out, I figured I should save it from its purgatory.
Readers, I know you read the blog and if you see where it says “no comment” that means no one has left a comment on that day’s blog. If it says “1 comment” or “2 comments” obviously there are that many comments left on that blog. If you would like to leave a comment all you have to do is click on the “no comment” wording and it will take you to the page to do so. If there is already a comment just click on “1 comment” and so on. Now don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not trying to solicit comments – the reason I’m telling you this is that if you go back and read some of the comments my sisters have left for me, they are full of love, support, and humor, and this is what you, reader, get to read. But I’ll tell you what, If you could read the e-mails they send me on my personal address, I feel like I have an entire platoon behind me. The support, love, compassion, strength, and hope they give to me is unbelievable. I can’t thank them enough. When I got home last night and read my e-mails, I just couldn’t stop smiling. I truly believe that’s why I woke up feeling like a million bucks.
I hope everybody has a great day and if you have a brother or a sister, give them a call or a HUGE hug today.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family, food
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Thursday, 17 June 2010
Week 16: Walk for at least 30 minutes, 4 days this week.
Barry J.
Good morning. I’m eating whole wheat toast with Jif while I’m wearing “I Love Jif” socks. That’s right, I said I’m wearing socks that have “I Love Jif” written on them. My sister, Barb, sent me another package from our friends at Smuckers. This time it was a six pack of 18oz. Jif, a travel coffee mug with Jif on it, and socks. She said it was an early Father’s Day gift. Did I ever mention how much I love my sister? Yeah, I think I did. Both of them are just the best.
Scott the 310 pound dude on my couch left last night. I mean he’s gone. Poof. I got home from dealer school last night, and I found my back door open so I entered with extreme percussion. Not because I was worried about an intruder – not where I live. It’s those raccoons that had my nerves on end. Everything was fine in my abode, but there was no Scott. No note. All his stuff was gone. Well that’s not true, in the fridge he left six jumbo hot dogs, a quarter box of buffalo wings, blue cheese dressing, a half bag of chips, some Pepsi and, of course, breakfast sausage. I tried his cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. When I woke up I tried his number again and he answered. I asked what’s up? “Man, I just really didn’t feel like I was going to fit in up there.” He said to me in a disappointed voice. I tried to explain to him that it was only three days into the orientation and that it takes time to meet people. Also that it’s hard to tread into unknown territory, but the adventure starts with a single foot step. Picture if you will a brick wall holding a cell phone driving south on the PA turnpike after it got done telling the rest of the building it didn’t want to be part of the structure. I wish him the best of luck with whatever he does. Also, that he learns how to close doors – all different types.
I’m heading out for my walk and shutting and locking the door behind me.
I hope everybody has a great day and in the words of Kurt Cobain, “Get away, get away, get away, way, way from your home.” If not for an adventure just to let you know how good you’ve got it at home.
Later,
Barry J
Tags: Family, friends
Posted in Fitness Goals | No Comments »
