a little overdue...

yep, I'm posting. The baseball season has come and gone for the Rangers. We can still enjoy post-season baseball and the excitement that it brings.

Nicole and I made another kid...due in May

Still in the mortgage business.

Got a chance last night to relive some precious memories...one of my all time favorite bands, Sunny Day Real Estate, played in Dallas. The first band I was in, Reality Club, had a reunion dinner before the show. It was so great seeing the guys and telling stories. Then at the show, the Glisten guys were there and it was great to experience the show with them too. There were also several old Keller High boys there whom I had not seen in over 10 years. Lastly, my friend Josh was there too. He used to play in Between Thieves and we toured together when I was running sound. All in all, it was a wonderful night.

Oh, ya...the band was freakin awesome. They played all of their early stuff and they were spot on. The mix was perfect. I really hope they come back soon. Nicole didn't get to go as she, and our baby, were sick.

Ok...done posting for a while.

baseball season is here

Well, the best time of the year is taking place right now. The great Summer classic is upon us and I'm lovin it. Our kids started playing too. We have 2 on a T-Ball team and our oldest is playing softball. I've probably eaten 10 orders of ballpark nachos and a few hot dogs too. The weather has been really nice for the games and the kids are having a blast. They really don't know what they are doing which is hilarous. The Rangers have a chance to win every game if they can get their pitching together. I'll never give up on them but sometimes it is frustrating to watch. I really wish the Mean Green had a baseball team. Maybe someday.

first customer

Last night I did my first job as Green Daddy. Yea!!

break from training

I've been sick for about a month straight with Strep Throat at least 3 times since December. As soon as my drugs from the doctor are gone, I'm sick again. Anyway, this has caused a delay in my training. I haven't totally given up on the race yet but I'm definitely looking forward to getting back in the gym...as soon as I get better as I'm sick now.

So far, I have about 9 clients lined up for the lawn business. Hopefully as I start cutting, I'll get a few more referrals to get a total of around 15. This would be a great side income to help us work our debt snowball.

In the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts..."Good work, rest well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning"

holy hell I'm old

I just went with my wife to see a friend's band play at a bar here in Denton and they didn't go on until 10:30. I should have been in bed for like an hour already but instead, I'm surrounded by college kids 10 years younger and completely out of place. My good friend, Adam, was there too... he and I used to be in a band together. We were watching our old bass player's new band, Constant Seas, at a dive in Denton. It was a great show but we are not built to stay awake longer than 10:00. After a few Shiners and Camels, we were doing alright but I'm so freakin tired, I can't stand it. The show was great and it was good to have a break from the 5 kids but couldn't Emo-kids do their shows like at 7 instead of midnight?

Oh ya, it was too loud which means I'm officially too old. Bring on the Viagra and a pillow...I'm good.

day whatever

Today's schedule was 4 miles. I ran/walked for 50 minutes covering 3.5 miles...suck it.

day 23

For some reason I'm fat. I haven't quite figured it out yet. Maybe I shouldn't eat popcorn at 10:30 at night or perhaps I shouldn't eat 10 Oreo cookies right after dinner either. It seems like these examples are hindering my ability to lose weight.

today's schedule was 3.5 miles. I did run 7 laps without stopping and then my left leg almost exploded on the treadmill. To avoid any carnage, I decided to do the last distance on the elliptical.

I'm going to continue to ponder other possible reasons that I'm not losing weight...

day 21

Today's run was scheduled to be 5 miles. I don't think I have ever run 5 miles at one time in my life. I am still recovering from strep throat so my body doens't have as much energy as usual. I still decided to go to the gym and give it what I had. I went 4.5 miles by walking a lap and running a lap. I ran the first 2 miles at 6.0 and the 2nd 2 at 5.4. I ran one lap at 7.0 and half of a lap at 9.0. I thought I was going to die. It was still a great work out. So far, I'm down 5 pounds from when I started.

GREEN DADDY IS ON!!!

After this past year's layoff, I have become a big believer in the multiple streams of income philosophy. My new job is going well but I can tell it may take some time to ramp up. I'm also still doing mortgages by referral and due to rates being down, I have had some good business in January and February. Hopefully this will continue to be a good stream.

For the last few years I have thought about the idea of starting a lawn care business on the side. I never took any steps to doing it until this past December. There is never a great time to start anything that will take up time away from your family, but wife and I talked it over and this Spring, I'm going to give it a shot. This will be a weekend affair and I'm buying into some existing accounts. If I don't like it, then I'm not going to be out much. My goal is to start this business and get it running without any debt. I have enough of that on a personal level and the last thing I need to do is run a business that way. As cash comes in from the business, I'll replace my garage equipment with commercial grade stuff. It's very exciting to think of the possibilities but it is also scary and stressful because I'll be working 7 days a week and not seeing my family as much this summer.

My ultimate goal with my lawn care business is to be the stream of income that gets our family out of debt more quickly. If I can turn this into a full-time gig and hire some crews, then that would be awesome. We'll see...

sick again

I get strep throat at least 4-5 times per year. On Thursday night I started feeling that old familiar sting in my throat. I went to the doctor early Friday morning to verify that I did indeed have strep. So I'm now on medication and hopefully it won't last too long. The good news about being so familiar with it is that I detect it early before the flu symptoms kick in. I end up having a sore throat for a couple of days. This may slow down the training a little this week. I'm going to try and do my long run tomorrow but we'll see how I feel.

day 18

Today's scheduled run was 3.5 miles. I overslept a little this morning so I only had time for 3 miles. Again, I've hit my block and can't seem to run all the way. It seems that after 3 songs, my body quits and wants to walk. I'm hoping that Sunday's run will have different results...

day 17

For the last 2 days we have been socked in with bad icy weather. I did not make it to the gym on Monday or Tuesday. I did however today at around 5:30PM. Today's schedule was a 2 mile run or cross training. I decided to do 30 minutes of the elliptical. It was a good workout and tomorrow brings another long run.

day 14

Well today was the hated Sunday long run. I was scheduled for 4 miles. I ran over 2 and walked up to lap 13. My left leg was throbbing so I quit the treadmill and went to the elliptical. I did a mile there to wrap up the workout. All in all, it was painful. I did get new shoes so hopefully after they are broken in, it will help with some of the pain.

Day 11

woke up at 5:07 to get ready to be at the gym before 6. I ran/walked 3 miles again and my left shin started hurting again. The good news is that it doesn't hurt as bad as it did on Tuesday so I think it's getting used to the abuse. I'm going to get new shoes this weekend and that should help with the pain.

Day 9

Well, today's workout was the first 'run' of the week. I was supposed to do strength/stretch stuff yesterday but decided to play golf instead. It was windy and my game stunk...that's another story.

Today's run was some of the worst pain I have ever felt. I am developing shin splints in both legs so every step is like a knife digging deeper and deeper. I have been limping all day long.

Tomorrow I'm going with the elliptical so there won't be any impact.

Day 7 Sunday

Holy Balls!!

Today's scheduled run was 4 miles. I went to the gym around 9 and realized it was closed (doesn't open until later on Sunday's). So I decided to go to a park that has a track broken up in 1/8 mile segments. It was about 43 degrees and a little windy. They say it's harder to run outside vs. a treadmill and they are right. I ended up running about 3 miles and walking one. I have since had Advil for breakfast...

It was nice during mile 2 when I started focusing on the music I was listening to (mostly Christian)and the positive messages. It was easier to run when I stopped dwelling on my pain and being out of shape to enjoying the outside, praising God and thanking Him for my blessings. This lasted until my side began to split and it felt like the gates of Hell were bursting through my entire body due to pain. Oh well, hopefully it will get easier.

day 4 training

holy BEEP!!
I was scheduled to stretch/strength training and then run 3 miles. Remind you that I'm 'a' shape...not in shape. So naturally, it hurt and hurt badly. I picked 4 machines (bench, curls, lat pull down thingy, and a sit up machine) and did 3 sets on each. I then ran and walked 3 miles. It hurts but slowly I think it will get easier.

day 3 training

Was supposed to do 2 miles of cross training (bike or elliptical). Didn't make it to the gym due to wrestling with some mortgage business. Will make up on Friday which is supposed to be a day off.

half marathon training

Day 1...didn't do anything

Day 2...scheduled to run 3 miles...ran 2 and walked 1. hurts like hell.