Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My break up letter to fast food...

Hey

How's it goin'? I know we haven't seen much of each other lately, things have been busy ya know? We (Kristin and I) have been trying to eat healthier. I know you think its just a fad, but lately, we've been kind of ENJOYING it. It seemed like fun at first and maybe just a "go with the crowd" mentality but lately, well, we have been finding it HARDER to not be healthier. I have just noticed that you haven't been giving me the same thrill you used to. Late night grub fests, the simple pleasure of greasy foods, we had some great times. But our last few encounters have left me wanting something else. Do you remember that night a few weeks ago at Jade East (which isn't technically fast food, but is the Chinese food equivalent of fast food I am pretty sure)??? It just wasn't the same. I left your place feeling bad and unsatisfied. Then just a couple of days ago, at Taco Bell it was the same thing. I used to remember the unhealthy goodness of that delicious 30% "beef." But after I finished I didn't feel the same joy. I would use the "its not you its me" line but honestly its you. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy some fast food once in a while but even then we try to make a healthier choice. I can eat at Chick-Fil-A and feel good about myself. I think this break has been good for us. At least I know its been good for me. We could still have a future but I just don't think your willing to make the necessary changes to make it work. I guess what I'm saying it, this isn't a divorce but our temporary break-up has been a good thing and I want it to continue. I NEED it to continue. If you love me you will understand fast food. I'll still see ya around and visit once in a while but our relationship is changing and you need to come to terms with that. I have.

Love

John

Sunday, January 30, 2011

New Years Resolution v. 2.0

Well it is January 30th, and I am revising my resolutions. Before you starting thinking me a quitter, let me give a few reasons for the changes, and then I'll let you call me a quitter, or maybe you will see my side of things. Resolutions, you see, can be tricky things to set for yourself. Some people love them, some people avoid them altogether. I have learned to embrace the resolution, but I have had pretty much the same resolutions every year. Be a better person, be more thoughtful of others, find ways to give a little throughout the year, lose weight (ha!). These worked for a while, but this year has been different. I realize that for me, at that time, those reminders were necessary, not that I was a bad guy, I just wanted to be more mindful of others and more appreciative of what I have. Now that I have worked on these for a few years, they are a bigger part of who I am than in the past, and now, its time to move forward. I still plan on doing all of those things I listed above, I believe they are still relevant, its just time to take a new direction.

For this year, I have decided to put my goals into a weekly assignment. For me, as busy as my life is, asking to do something everyday is unrealistic. But to put a weekly range fits right in. I can choose when I want to do certain things, and it provides some flexibility, especially when weeks or even months get hectic. This year, my New Years Resolutions vol 2.0 are as follows:


1. Work out 4-5 times a week. This is important to me because I believe it is important to be healthy. I want to be a good example for my son to follow, and I want to look good for myself and my wife.

2. Read the Bible 5 times a week. This has always been a struggle for me. Kristin has recently inspired me to be a more knowledgeable Christian. I have always believed, and I have a strong faith in God and that he is always with us, even when sometimes we don't feel him, but I have never, ever, EVER read the Bible all the way through. Jesus talks about getting to know HIM and making our walk PERSONAL. How can I really know my faith, if I have never read the book created by my faith?

3. Practice the banjo 2-3 times a week. This is a minimum, but hopefully I can push this up to 3-4 by years end. I have been REALLY wanted to learn how to play it, but never really put forth the time or effort to do so. This will be difficult because finding extra time to learn an instrument is not easy. And it will absolutely KILL Kristin and Drew's eardrums. Sorry baby doll.

4. Straighten/organize the house 5 times a week. This goal, if I can really keep on it, will help me achieve the others, and will greatly help Kristin. I hope that if I can be diligent, and work on the house for about 30 minutes for 5 times a week, it will make big cleaning projects much easier. And, as I said, it will greatly help Kristin. She is such a hard worker, and she busts her rump (which is a nice one) to work, take care/raise our awesome son Drew, and clean the house. And I tend to really let her down in this area. I don't want to do that, and I hope this will help.

Well, there we are. I have listed my objectives, and I am ready to take them on. I have even created a code in my daily planner to help me keep track. I can now honestly say, that I am ready for 2011 to start now.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Date Blogging

Tonight, I bring to you, the "Blogcast" of one of the few dates my wife and I have had since the birth of our son, Drew. Drew will turn one this year, and it has been an amazing year. We are constantly amazed and awestruck at the miracle that Drew is. Everyday he grows smarter, funnier, stronger and slowly more independent. It has been a blessing bringing him into this world. We do not go out often, because we love being around him, but like any human being, we need time out of the house. This, is one of those precious times that we spend together. And, I must brag just a bit, this is one of the creative ideas that I HAD!! I don't brag too much, because, as my wife will tell you, I am not the most creative and romantic person in the world. So, when I do have a good idea, I hold on to it, and I tell people about it. For this date that I have put together, we are sitting at the Mud House, drinking coffee, in front of our laptops. Some would say, that's not much of a date, kinda lame there chub-o. Well, once you understand the thought behind the date premise, then you will see the romance blossom. My wife and I have taken up blogging as of late, she is much better at it than me, as she is in most things. But usually this time is reserved for late at night, before we go to bed, and we don't really share much together. Usually I am doing something else, and because I am impatient, I get distracted and sometimes "huffy" by her wanting to show me things. So I said, hey, why don't we go out and do this, and we can talk, not talk, she can help me out getting my blog set up, and we will actually enjoy ourselves. ROMANCE ACHIEVED!!!

We have sat here for, about an hour and a half, and I have enjoyed every minute next to her. She shows me things that are funny and laughs. She is stress free and smiling, and that makes me smile. I love that we can enjoy something so simple, and it mean so much.

Monday, January 3, 2011

A New Year's Blog (Creative, huh?)

Well we are on our way into a new year, and with new year's, come new resolutions. Now I know a New Year's Resolution blog isn't exactly creative or mind blowing, but I think it is an unwritten rule you have to write SOMETHING to address the new year. As for my resolutions, they don't change much, but only because they are important to me, and they are things that I WANT to get better at. To spare you the wordiness and blabbing, I will try and put this in a quick read format for you. Your welcome.
1. Be healthier - This replaces my traditional lose weight resolution. Doing the right thing, cutting down unhealthy foods, exercising more, drinking more water will all lead to weight loss. In reality, my goal is to be sub 265.
2. Journal more - My wife got me started journaling, and I have done a fairly good job for myself, but I need to make more time of it, the past few months I have lagged quite a bit.
3. Read the Bible more/go to church more - This is a goal for my wife and I pretty much every year. I want to become more immersed in my religious pursuit, now its times for me to DO IT.
4. Be a better husband (and now father) - There are many ways to do this. Do a better job of listening to Kristin, be more helpful around the house, make sure I am spending QUALITY time with them, not just in the same house as them.
5. Have a garage sale/clean out the garage/set up my football office - We have a lot of crap, it needs to be sold or disposed of. And I want to set up a football office for all of my football crap, film, white board and what not.

There are many other things I want to do and work on, and I still do throughout the year. I would add them, but I like to keep my resolutions around 3-5, its a doable amount of tasks, but not overwhelming. So far, we are in day 3, and I am off to a good start. As for the next 3 months, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Monday, November 29, 2010

To be thankful...

Thanksgiving always provides us a time to step out of our normal stresses and reflect on what we are thankful for. Leading up to and immediately after Thanksgiving I am sure many people blogged about what they were thankful for. I didn't really want to do it during the Thanksgiving week, mainly because, well, everyone else was doing it. Clever huh? But the more I have been thinking about it, and the more I realized I haven't blogged since my first but have been looking for something to talk about, this would be the topic. So, briefly, as not to bore you, here are some things I am thankful for. These are not in order, except for the last one, because it deserves special attention.

I must start this list by saying that I am thankful for God. With him, there is nothing. I do not give him enough credit, but lets be honest, he is amazing. I am thankful everyday for the gifts I have been given, but all too often I forget to tell him.

I am thankful for coffee. It is a passion of mine, and not many days go by that I don't miss being a barista at Starbucks, even though it was my corporate sell out. I also put this first, because it is usually what starts my day, outside of a nice hot shower.

I am thankful for my job. I love working in education. It stresses me out to no end, but I love it. It is a wonderful occupation, and like many of colleagues have said, "its about the kids, its not about you." I hope I can remember this more often, relax some, and not let the stress get to me. I also love coaching football. Football has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. It was how my dad, brother and I bonded, it has taught me many life lessons and I am thankful that I get to pass on my knowledge to a younger generation. I hope they get the same love and pain from the game that I have. And even though, like education, coaching can be stressful and frustrating, I still love it, even the worst parts of it.

I am thankful for my family and friends. They have influenced and shaped me in so many ways, too many to count. I have a rich and full life because of them. There are too many to name, and if I left anyone out I would be doing someone a major injustice. It is not the names that always carry on, it is the memories and bonds that are shared.

I am thankful for Andy's. It is delicious, and usually when I am eating it, it means a certain couple that we love are in town!

I am thankful for tobacco and scotch. Probably my two major vices. Although I am not addicted to either, when combined, they make a tempting mistress.

There are many other things that make my life rich, but for time, (for it is getting late)  I will wrap this up with the two best things in my life. My wife Kristin and my son Drew. I have been blessed to know Kristin for almost 9 years now. She is an amazing source of comfort, joy and love. I could not have asked for a better person. to share my life with. She is beautiful, she is incredibly smart (much smarter than I am), and much better than I am. I think Kristin shares my sentiment when I say, Drew is the best thing we could ever have hoped for. He is a beautiful boy, who is very smart and dare I say already developing quite a mischievous streak. We love him with all that we have, and even when he does make us frustrated, its impossible to stay frustrated at him (which he gets from his mother). He is cleaver, beautiful and funny, (once again, gets that from his mother).

Needless to say, my life is very full. There are plenty of things I can ask for, but the things that I NEED are all right here. 

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Whats a person like you doing in a blog like this...

Why hello there. Welcome to my piece of the blogosphere. I blog. I am a blogger. I blog therefore I am? This is my first attempt at blogging. It's not that I think I am an incredible writer, or that anyone will actually read this except for maybe Manni and Ginnie and my wife, but I love the idea of blogging. Sharing a little piece of yourself for everyone else to drink in. Delicious. I started journaling about a year ago thanks to my wife. It was something that I wanted to do, but lacked the ability to stick with it before. I enjoy writing my thoughts, or working out my problem and what not. This seemed like a fun alternative to writing on pen a paper, you see, I have terrible handwriting which makes writing less fun and almost impossible to really look back on what I wrote. But I don't want this to just be a journal, in fact, I probably don't want it to be an online journal. I hope to make it more full of posting about my life which is very busy and can be amusing from time to time. It will also be a place for social commentary, reflections on life, talking about my jobs and observations of everything else. Needless to say, I don't really know what this will evolve into, I just hope you find it worth your while.