Ones

Lost one pound, .1 BMI, one inch on the waist and one inch on each leg.

Not as great as last week, but it's something.

I did win the Biggest Winner week last week. So, I got that going for me.

AND, the Rockies won (see one!) their first game last night.

Re-do

Yesterday was Opening Day for baseball.
And then it rained.
And now today is.
And then on Friday we have our Opening Day in Denver.
Woo-hoo!

It's official

Had my official weigh-in this morning. I'm down 9 pounds from two weeks ago (had to skip last week because of Aims Spring Break). Also I'm down another inch in the belly and 1.1 in BMI (still don't know what that is, but apparently that's a pretty big drop).

So, what this means is that my bathroom scale was correct. I am now down 23 pounds since the Biggest Winner thing started and I was down 20 pounds before I started it. So, a little bit of simple math puts my total at 43 pounds (my bathroom scale says 44 but who cares?) since Jan. 1.

I am obviously on Cloud 9 right now. Everyone keeps telling me I should get new pants, but I just can't believe it (although I did buy some jeans the other day that were two sizes smaller than what I was wearing and now they are a little loose!).

Still have a long way to go, but I can't tell you how good this feels now. I really appreciate everyone's words of encouragement. It means a lot.

Stuff

So, now I'm coaching Andy's soccer team. Our first game is Saturday. I'm just hoping the other team doesn't score more than the Nuggets the other night (168).

Alex and Andy and getting ready for a one-time performance in a school play called The North Star. Tracy is doing the costumes (silly girl).

Saw Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell a couple weeks ago. Silly fun. Not his best, but worth a DVD rental.

Saw Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day also. Thought it would be a chick-flick but I really liked it. Felt a lot like an old Carey Grant movie with acting way over the top but still believable. Fun story. Not great, but worth it.

Took the kids to Horton Hears a Who and really loved it. Fun flick. Good adult stuff in it also.

Thanks to NetFlix, I have hooked the boys in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I had them watch the two-part Borg episodes and they are loving it. It makes me so proud to hear them playing with each other and saying, "I'm loading my photon torpedoes." Small things in life make me happy.

Got a new cell phone. I switched to AT&T. Love the phone but the service stinks in my office. Everywhere else it's great. The phone is great because I can get e-mail and check the web and play games. I think it makes phone calls too.

The weight? Well, I am currently leading all of the Aims Biggest Winner contestants as we enter the seventh week. Since Jan. 1, according to my home scale, I'm down 40 pounds. I'm not sure I buy that, but it sounds good. With Spring Break this week we aren't weighing in at Aims this week, so I don't know what they have me at right now. I am down two pant sizes and added five notches to my belt. Just want to keep it going (long way to go still).

Can't believe this Sunday is Easter. It's strange having it so early this year.

Been busy

Sorry for no updates.

Was in Georgia for a conference.

How about a quiz? What famous movie featured this steeple in the opening scene?

(tilt your head)

Answer below ... (no cheating)...

Forrest Gump ... the feather flew past this steeple and landed at his foot as he was sitting on a bench in a nearby "square."

Crock

I always knew Daylight Savings was a crock.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120406767043794825-UOLcfJA8x9Gw9ozbCz77MiLmtaE_20080327.html

Why can't we just keep one time all year like Arizona (Spring Training and the clock are the only things I like from there).

Fun

So, last weekend I saw a couple flicks -- one in the theater and one on DVD.

"Vantage Point" was a decent action flick. The concept was interesting but it completely abandoned it in the last act. If you are going to do something funky, write it so you can stick with it. In the end, it became totally unbelievable, but if you removed your brain, it was OK.

Got "Mr. Brooks" on DVD based on a recommendation from my friend Dan. I was completely surprised how much I liked it. Excellent acting. Great storyline. I have no idea why they tacked on the last 30 seconds of the movie (if you've seen it, you know).

Took the boys to see the Colorado Eagles hockey game last night. Had a blast. Good game. Almost had a couple fights.

33

Yes, this was Larry Walker's number with the Rockies and it is now how much I've lost since Jan. 1.
Lost about 3-4 inches in the belly and a couple more in the chest. My BMI is down a couple points.
I have lots still to go, but I'm feeling good.
And to top it all off, my team in the "Biggest Winner" thing at Aims took first place this week. We won by two points which is pretty darn close.
Anyway, I'm happy and that means I can have popcorn at the movies Saturday.

Buckle up

This weekend, a friend died. Shane Stewart and his wife Cyndee have been good friends for as long as our kids have been around. Tracy knew Cyndee from Aims and then their two boys went to the same daycare as our two boys. We went to birthday parties together, t-ball games, even had a couple parents-only nights out dancing (Shane was the only one of the guys who actually liked dancing).

Shane was also a firefighter. On Saturday, he was driving to help out on a medical call when the truck he was driving went off the road and flipped over, throwing him out. The cops say he wasn't wearing a seat belt. That's actually pretty hard for me to believe because he was a very conscientious guy. But in the heat of a call, who knows what happens.

I've been in a haze since I heard the news. Shane was only 33. His kids were each just a little younger than my two boys. I can't imagine what they are going through right now. Logan is the youngest (7 or 8) and he is just adorable kid. Blake is the older brother (9) and is the spitting image of Shane (actually both boys are). Alex and Andy always enjoyed playing with them even though we don't see them as often since they live in Pierce and go to a different school. But we see them every year at Relay For Life and at various events around town and when they get together, it's like no time has been lost.

Cyndee has a great support system in her community with family (lots) and friends. But my heart breaks at thinking what they will be missing out on without Shane.

So, just as a reminder, for Shane's sake and the people you love ... buckle up.

Weekend

Mom visited this weekend. Had a great time.
Ate more than I should. Hoping to at least break even for the week by weigh-in day on Wednesday. (I was tied for second place after the first week in our work Biggest Loser thing!)

Other than eating, saw a lot of movies this weekend, too:
Jumper ... saw it with Mom which was cool because it's probably the first movie since "Karate Kid" that we saw together ... just us. The movie was pretty good, too. Good effects. Good story.

Definitely, maybe ... saw with Tracy (ah!). Pretty good chick flick. Had a unique story-telling style and the little girl (from Little Miss Sunshine) was outstanding.

Spiderwyck Chronicles ... saw with the whole fam damily. Actually a very good flick. Surprising actually. I usually got to kid movies as a chance to catch up on my sleep. But I liked this one a lot.

Weight

So, I don't want to obsess on all this stuff, but I figured I should update.
Based on my official hi-tech scale at home, I am down 25 pounds since Jan. 1 and 30 pounds from my all-time ugly weight.
I had my second weigh-in at work for the "Biggest Winner" thing we're doing and I lost 8 pounds from last week and 1.5 body fat (I have no idea what that means, but the medical assistant, Jen, who is doing my measurements seemed all excited about that.
So far, it hasn't been difficult. I have popcorn at the movies. I had queso at poker the other night. I even had creme brule when we went to Bent Fork for Tracy's mom's birthday dinner. But mostly I'm eating right, I completely cut out pop (not coffee because I need caffeine!), and I'm working out daily at racquetball or on the stationary bike at home.
I know it will get tougher, but I certainly feel better and I'm kicking ass in racquetball right now.

Brilliant

Click here. Then click on play on the movie.
Spongebob Squarepants actors dub scenes (perfectly) from Casablanca, Singing in the Rain and The Godfather.
This is why Al Gore created the Internets.

Mob

Strange headline, but it fit two of the things I wanted to chat about ...

First, go here. Type in your name and you'll get your new mob nickname. Mine was "The Quill." I kinda like that. Got the whole writer thing going on. Very cool.

Second, got "Eastern Promises" on NetFlix this weekend. Very cool flick. Great acting. Kinda like a Russian Sopranos and The Departed put together. I could have done without the naked fight scene (followed by the stupidest move in movies ever ... mental note (moderate spoiler), if I'm ever fighting two guys and I stab one and then go fight the other and kill him, DO NOT crawl away by crawling over the body of the first guy.)

In non-mob related news, Tracy and Big Andy and Christy and I went to see "The Bucket List" this weekend. I really liked it. Some good dialogue and great acting. Actually I think Nicholson was better in this than "About Schmidt" that he was nominated for.

Other news ... Alex had basketball this weekend and he got a bucket (nice how that ties to the previous note, huh?). Normally two points wouldn't be a big deal, but it was two of maybe six points his team scored against a team that looked like a pale version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Andy didn't play this weekend because that morning he was playing with a friend who had slept over in the kitchen with a fake medieval axe (don't ask) and Andy got hit in the eye. I didn't think it was a big deal, but Tracy took him to the Urgent Care and they super glued the wound on his eyelid shut. What do I know?

And on the weightloss front, I'm down about 23 pounds so far since January 1 ... actually about nearly 30 pounds from mid-December. It's going well so far. Had to make two new notches for my belt and I'm fitting into pants I couldn't before.

Mom's coming to visit on Wednesday and the boys are super excited. Should be fun. So, we're trying to clean up the house enough so she won't call Social Services on us. Might take a bit.

Catch up

Crazy work days lately. Seems like everyone's that way right now. Post holiday freak-out? Amazing how it hits everyone.

Saturday, Dono and I took the boys to the Friends of Baseball Breakfast. Tracy Ringolsby and Nolan Ryan were the featured speakers. Ringolsby tried to be a philosopher instead of a baseball insider and bombed. Ryan, however, made up for it with what seemed like an off-the-cuff speech filled with great baseball stories and great lines.

This weekend, my NetFlix brought me two cool flix and the boys and I rented another on OnDemand:
Sleeper Cell Season 2 (disc 1) ... Season 1 was awesome (all terrorist activity should be at Dodger and Yankee Stadiums!) and Season 2 starts off great. Can't wait to see where it goes. Bummer there was no Season 3.

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters ... Absolutely fantastic documentary on a group of people who are obsessed with 1980s video games. Obviously the movies centers on Donkey Kong (not my fav game of that era but certainly great) and one man's goal to unseat the champ who has held the high score on the game since 1982. Better than any scripted movie.

Ratatouile (spell?) ... Heard a lot about this one and it ceetainly lives up to the hype. Great story. Fun characters. Great kid flick that adults will like, too.

Ready for the week?

Well, the weekend was a whirlwind with basketball games, team photos, playdates for the boys and on Sunday we went to Denver for the Denver Kids Expo to promo the book. Long day. Not many sales, but the boys had a good time getting crap from the other booths.

But I did get to see two movies:

Juno -- Excellent flick. Great dialogue (kinda like a female Kevin Smith wrote it ... quite a compliment to Diablo Cody). Really liked it.

There Will Be Blood -- Amazing acting. Brilliant look of the movie. Some have complained it is slow. I don't agree. I was pulled along the whole way but I don't really know for what purpose. As I have mentioned before I have come to accept the fact I enjoy superficial entertainment. I really don't want to think too deeply about metaphors and symbols and all that crap. I just want a good story. And this one had a good story for most of the movie. I don't really get the point of the movie based on the ending. But Daniel Day-Lewis is spectaculor.

Also, on NetFlix I have recently been watching Season 1 of Sleeper Cell which was a Showtime series that lasted 2 seasons. This was base don a recommendation on NetFlix because I like the show 24. And I have got to say it is a GREAT show. I don't know why it only lasted 2 seasons. Maybe the second one sucks (but based on the reviews in NetFlix, I don't think so). Anyway, rent it. It rocks.

Movie-going experience

So, my friend Andy and I went to see "Cloverfield" on Saturday night.

The movie, itself, was very good, I thought (Andy didn't think so because the moving camera thing made him sick).

But the worst part about it was the audience. I realize it was probably a mistake to see a big movie at an evening showing on opening weekend. I don't often get to do that, so I took advantage.

Anyway, the scene in the Greeley Mall Cinemark was horrible. There were 6 teens behind us who talked (not about the movie) throughout and kicked our seats. Andy and I both talked to them and then got the manager who had ushers (are they still called that?) walk up and down the aisles. When they would walk by, the teens would shut up and then they'd start it up 20 seconds later.

Remember when teens used to at least have respect for adults (at least to their faces). These little bastards just kept mouthing off ("I didn't say nothing, man!"). I wanted to go kick their parents' asses.

Going out to a movie is a treat for me. I love seeing a big movie on a big screen (and this one definitely qualified ... although a smaller screen would have made Andy less sick, probably). But because people feel they have a right to ruin everyone else's enjoyment of a movie, I won't be going to any opening night flicks again.

Flicks

Couple quick reviews
DVDs
Fu** -- A documentary on my favorite cuss word. Very funny. Interesting interviews from supporters and detractors.
Superbad -- I loved this movie. So damn funny. This generation's Porky's.
Scoop -- Interesting Woody Allen movie. Ending I saw coming from a mile away but worth a rental.
Wild Hogs -- WAY better than I expected. Not brilliant, but has some funny parts.
The Hitcher -- Not as good as the original (no finger in the fries ... that ain't right) but it does show the gore of the ending that the first one pussed out on.
Balls of Fury -- Just for Christopher Walken and bad hair metal ... dumb fun
The Heartbreak Kid -- Surprised this

Theater
I Am Legend -- Very good. Great effects. Interesting ending.
National Treasure -- Eh.
Probably seeing Atonement or Cloverfield this weekend. Guess which one I want to see?

Shocker

So, this whole weight thing is kinda strange. I've been eating good and working out a little every day. Step on the scale this morning. I've lost 16 pounds since New Year's! Holy crap! I know these are the "easy" pounds but that is so awesome.

I actually had to go and add notches to my belt the other day.

Bizarre, but I'll take it.

Still not 100%

Got hit with a bad bug last week. Could barely move, breathe or anything else for several days.

It's still lingering but I'm back at work now.

The good news: I lost five pounds. So, I'm using this as my un-official kickoff to my annual feeble attempt at losing weight. They are doing a competition ("The Biggest Winner" ... gotta avoid getting sued by NBC) at work and I'm going to do it. It runs from February to May. I'm starting early (only because of the cold).

I'll be much better when I have enough energy to actually work out also.

Back

OK, so obviously I didn't get much blogging done over the break.

It was a nice vacation. Spent time with friends (poker) and family (eating ... first pic below is Tracy's Uncle George and her mom in the kitchen). Saw a couple movies on DVD and one in the theater (National Treasure ... eh.) Saw a dinner theater production in Boulder (2nd pic below is boys with their fav actor from the show) and had a great going-away party for my former editor Bill Spencer from the Fort Morgan Times.

Tracy and I actually got to spend the night away from the kiddos in FM and had a good time checking out the old haunts (our old house, the Times building, etc.). The last picture is Tracy at the gravesite of her grandma and grandpa. She tromped a cute heart in the snow.

Hope everyone has a great 2008.