BLOGS FOR JANUARY 2010

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Week ending JAN 31st, 2010
Cool week :)

Ok, so I am beat again! This marks a full 3rd week of six workout days per week. The past 21 days, 18 of them I've worked out and I have to say that I am amazed at the difference. I think this is what I was missing. Already lost 6 pounds (yep!) of fat that I had gained using the weight gainer. My trainer says that I'll gain the weight back in muscle if I stick to this diet (no sodas, no pasta, etc) and limit any extra carb intake to workout days. I'm not a big fan of water but I've been drinking a lot of it as well so I've been staying hydrated and not cramping up so much.

One of my personal goals aside from just getting more defined (which I am!) is beating my trainer on sprints. Both of us used to play football but he's 10 years younger than me. This past Saturday I was just a step or two behind him where normally I had been a good 10-15 feet behind. That's at a full sprint too. He said that he's impressed at how well I've been coming along in my training and conditioning. My shoulder, which I separated skiing last month, feels a lot better and I was able to do handstand pushups again!

The week overall has been pretty good. I've been getting a lot done at work and I am on or ahead of schedule with my projects. I got to go out on Friday which I don't normally do and just chill with friends. In fact, I have a Wine and Jazz party to go to this Tuesday and yes, I have a date for that (gasp!) Should be a lot of fun as you know me and music. I like it all as long as it has a good melody/beat to it (except Country Music, haha).

On the house hunting side of things, I'm done. I officially told the real estate agent this week that we're too far behind schedule and I don't like any of the places we've gone to visit. At this point, there's no way I can take advantage of the tax rebate from the Government. It's ok, I really like where I live. It's peaceful, quiet and close to the beach. Granted, it's small and I don't own it but that just means I have the autonomy to go anywhere I want, move anywhere I want, whenever I want to :)

I have to say I've been watching a lot of movies at home, taking full advantage of the new Home Theatre system :) I rented the "Underworld" Trilogy and have to say I really liked it. Especially Kate Beckinsale who I think is extremely beautiful. (I'm not drooling ok? Well maybe a little, haha). The first two were better than the final one though that one was pretty good too. At least this time I turned the system down so I didn't disturb my neighbors.

Bx4 '10 is in full stride and I should have confirmation on the limo this week. Looks like we might have a full car full, not sure. Make sure you confirm with me ASAP if you're going to take the ride downtown to the Gas Lamp or not. I'm sure we can convince the driver to stop by if it's on the way.

Well that is about it for the week. Lots of other things going on but nothing I want to bore you with too much. Hope you have a great rest of your week!

Week ending JAN 24th, 2010
HAPPY PLAYOFFS!

Just watched the Colts beat the Jets with some friends here at home. They just left and I'm feeling just a tad guilty for woofing down pizza (not supposed to be eating it, haha). Right now the Vikings are playing the Saints and I'm pulling for Fah-va-rie! (Something about Mary reference!).

This was a pretty good week. Got a lot done for sure. As always work is good and I have no complaints there. In fact it's going so well I had a little fun time on Friday, getting to relax for the first time in a few months -- other than vacation. I do have a lot to do but I am on target so far so that's good for me, haha.

Church was AWESOME this weekend. Pastor Bob gave us a lot to think about. I also finished the Old Testament again for like the 5th time. It took me a little longer than last year but that's due to other stuff going on. I am now back starting on the New Testament and I hope to be finished by April, then I can start over again.

Work outs are going great. Another week of hard workouts but I missed Thursdays workout and Saturday was still soaked so we did not have a bootcamp. That's OK because my legs needed to recover. Wednesday we worked so hard that my hammies were hurting well into Friday. It's Sunday and they feel much better now. I am looking forward to getting back to the grind tomorrow -- especially since my shoulder is starting to feel a lot better.

Any of you dating extremely an attractive woman or married to one? I have dated many in my life -- even had one ask me to marry her (wasn't quite ready then) but have you ever noticed that when you are out and about in town some rude/arrogant "dude" will actually hit on her while you're on a date (even if you're married)?? Is that not the most classless/retarded thing you've ever seen?? Luckily for me my dates have always laughed in their face but it begs the question: "Does it annoy you enough to date "down" so you don't have to deal with that? My personal belief is date whoever you are attracted to and if another guy has the gall to hit on her while you're out, watch her reaction. It's how SHE handles it that matters more than how YOU handle it ;) The only time I need to stay anything is if he's being rude. Then it's time to politely but firmly put him in his place.

Oh! New toy! I got a new vocal harmonizer for the "Alice in Chains" tribute band that I am working on. Have the bass player and drummer positions set, I just have to find my Jerry Cantrell. This recorder plugs into the guitar and uses the chords you are playing to adjust the harmonies. Really a neat piece of equipment and should help the live shows out a lot.

Couple other things to mention this week since the blog is really getting long.

House Hunting: So far, dead end. One last place to try and then I am going to start looking at opportunities in Europe. No reason to stay here right now other than my family and I have always wanted to be immersed in the European culture. If the band takes off I'll delay my move but I will move provided my status stays "quo" -- haha.

Rain: The rain this week was out of hand and it looks like it's going to rain again on Tuesday. Can you say MAMMOTH AGAIN?! I sure can!

Bx4'10: That's right! Bx4 2010 is coming up next month with a BBQ and a LIMO RIDE to and from Downtown on the books. Those of you who have your invites need to RSVP as soon as possible because there is limited seating. Not kidding there, by the way (lol). Get back to me by next Friday or my friends are going to fill those spots with girls I don't know haha.

That's it for now. There's so much more I could write but you know, it's already long and there's some things that need to remain private :) Hope you had as fantastic a week as I did and talk to you next time!

B.

Week ending JAN 17th, 2010
Great Week!

Well I hope you had as good a week as I did. I've gotten so much done that it's not even funny. I don't know where I have gotten this extra free time from because the clock hasn't added any hours to itself. I think I've just been making better use of the time that I do have.

This week was another week of 6 day workouts and the first time I've noticed some improvement in my cardio performance. I started adding sprints to my runs and so far, so good. Even my trainer noticed it and said "Hey you haven't whined all workout" - LOL! I was just not getting enough oxygen and though I'm not where I need to be yet, seeing a marked improvement gives me encouragement enough to keep it up. Boot camp on Saturday's is tough but worth it. I encourage you to join us in PB on Saturdays!

The other thing we've worked on is diet. I have completely cut out sodas and pastas -- two of my favorite things. I haven't touched a soda in the last two weeks and it directly correlated to a drop in body fat/weight. That, in addition to making sure I eat lean/protein rich foods has also helped. I'm also mixing in a bunch of veggies (filler material) as well as including carrots to snack on with whole, unsalted almonds and no-sugar-added fruit. Good stuff, actually.

Wednesday night I hung out with my friends. I don't do it often because I am just not real big on drinking (there is no alcohol in my house and hasn't been for a long time). Most of the time when I hang around single friends they just want to get plastered and chase girls. I mean, I understand because I've been there myself but that phase of my life was over 10+ years ago. Not criticizing them, I am just saying I probably need to hang out with single people my age, lol.

The whole house-hunting deal is dragging it's feet and I am running out of time. I have to be IN ESCROW by April 30th or I don't qualify for the tax rebate. If that happens, I'm pulling all offers off the table and will re-evaluate where I am at that point. Next month marks a full YEAR since I've been trying to buy a house and I am no farther ahead now than I was then. Disappointing to say the least. I guess if I have been wanting to move to Europe this would be a good sign, huh?

Had a nice little visit from one of my neighbors that I have never met the other day. They live behind me and there are at least two walls between my living rooms and theirs. So I get a knock on the door and answer it. Seems my new home theatre system is louder than I thought. Guess I have to make sure I keep the volume in check because I don't want an angry British woman on my case! lol.

Work is great, as always. Staying busy and keeping my nose to the grind stone. Church was great as well. It's pretty much the same so I won't go into any specific details.

Well it's supposed to rain today but I haven't seen one drop here in Del Mar. We need the rain for sure. For some reason I always feel better when it rains. I don't know if it's a metaphor for something else in my life. It's not like I have dark clouds over my head all the time, haha. Whatever, "it is what it is" as my friends like to say.

With that, I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. We have tomorrow off so I have a few houses to go look at. Let's call this the last hurrah -- for now.

Have fun, be safe and if you have a chance, sign the guest book!

Week ending JAN 10th, 2010
I AM BEAT!!!

Literally! I don't know if I made a "New Years Resolution" subconsciously but I know that I needed to work some of the extra fat off that I have gained by adding in so many calories to my diet. So this was the week I decided to add in intense cardio to my regular work outs on my off days. My week goes something like this now:

Monday: 20 mins cardio, 1 hour on weights for chest/back.
Tuesday: 3+ mile run
Wednesday: 20 mins cardio, 1 hour on weights for legs.
Thursday: 3+ mile run
Friday: 20 mins cardio, 1 hour on weights for shoulders, arms.
Saturday: Boot camp with Charles (1 hour HARD CORE cardio)
Sunday: Rest

Needless to say, that's a lot of work and I am literally beat! The good thing is that I know I worked really hard so I am really motivated that I made it through and plan to continue. On Monday I am meeting with Charles after work to start another 10 personal training lessons to get me back on track. Expensive but yeah, it's worth it. I should be able to see an improvement in fat loss over the next 3 months. That'll be a good gauge.

So I told you about my Christmas present to myself, the new HDTV. I have to say it's awesome. This week I plugged my TV into my home network and not only did the operating system update itself automatically but I can also download movies on demand directly from NetFlix! It was awesome! I think I watched about 7 movies over the week. Yes, lots of Stargate SG-1 (haha, love my SciFi!). The only thing that I am disappointed about so far is the high definition for the NFL. It's blurry at times (sort of pixilated) so I am working with DirecTV to figure out what the problem is. It only happens with NFL games so I am wondering if it's the TV settings, receiver settings OR -- from what I have learned so far, it's the actual broadcast itself.

Work is going great, by the way. I have definitely got my hands full with this new solution that I am working on. I am so busy that before I realize it, it's already time to leave. I think I might start taking work home at night so I can get a few of the minor things off my checklist...

Saturday night we had a guest speaker at Services. It was Dinesh again (the Christian Philosopher/Apologist) and he was yet again amazing. Definitely a very, very intelligent guy who helps you see things from a higher perspective. I really enjoyed having him and hope we have him again. Pastor Bob was off for his birthday!

Got to hang out with friends this week of course and I am planning to host some MotoGP parties when the races start in March. On top of all this I did put in another offer on a town home at the same place that I nearly won the bid on last time. It has one less bedroom and one less garage space but overall the place is really nice. Cross your fingers that this one works out.

Well that's it for now. There's a ton of other things going on but I have to get back to it before I can actually sit down and relax. Hope you had a great week and talk to you again soon.

B.

Week ending JAN 3rd, 2010
WELCOME TO 2010! According to "The Jetsons", aren't we supposed to have our jet cars by now? LOL! Where's mine? Well -- I had written this entire blog and then for some reason Dreamweaver crashed and I lost it so I have to write it all over again. Meh, no biggie. Here goes...

Reviewing my 2009, it was mostly a lot of really good times with only the end of December proving to contain something bad as my Grandmother passed away on December 29th. As she left this earth she said "Where's Irene?" (my mom). That tells me that she was already anticipating seeing my mom. I am sure they are both happily re-united at God's right hand side. Tell mom we love and miss her, and we love and miss you, Nana!

My main goal for 2009 was to buy a home and while that did not happen, it was certainly not due to a lack of effort on my part. I haven't given up hope yet and already in 2010 I am starting off by making an offer in the same complex as the Town Home that I just barely missed out on last June. Keep your fingers crossed that this one works out! No matter what happens, I am definitely carrying this goal over.

2009 also saw me hit my target weight of 180lbs! So that's one goal that I attained through a lot of dedication and hard work. Now in 2010 I will focus more on cardio and less on weights so I can get the definition I want. I definitely feel 25 (and some people still think I am in my 20s, but I can say my age is starting to show to some degree). 2010 will see me continue my hard work in the gym though I may be pushing it to 5 days a week so that I can get at least one hour of cardio a day. If you want to look and feel good, you really have to dedicate yourself to the gym and eat right (another goal of 2010, eat better!)

Career-wise things are going great at the office. Just before I left on vacation I got my year end review which was the best to date. I definitely still have areas of improvement. I am not sure where I'll be in 2010 -- if I'll still be there or perhaps in Europe, something I am hoping will work out eventually. I'm in a good position where I can leave at any time with nothing holding me here in the US. I mean, my family is here but they live on the East Coast so no matter where I go, they'll always be just a flight away.

I did do a lot of dating in 2009. I met some really good people but in the end I have learned that there are a lot of people out there that probably aren't in the best position to date. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means perfect but I do have my stuff together and would expect that everyone should bring something to the table. :) One thing is for sure, I am fast learning that being happy single is the best position to be in. That way, if you meet someone, great. If not, you're still darn happy! And I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. "Better to be single and a little lonely than married and miserable!" - AMEN to that! Live your life, be happy with whatever God's plans are for you and life will always be good!

There's a lot of things I could talk about, but after 5 years of blogging -- and those of you who've been reading every week -- know that you can always go back to whatever month you want to get more detail. So I'll let you do that instead of boring you with the things you already know :) It's been five years of cathartic writing and sometimes I go back and read some of my past blogs so I can measure my own personal progress. If you don't have a blog, I would highly recommend doing it. You learn a lot about yourself in the process, of that I assure you :)

Well, today is my last day of vacation and I am looking forward to getting back to work. After 2.5 weeks off I am starting to get a tad stir crazy. The next time I take this much vacation I am definitely going to go somewhere for longer than a week. Maybe I'll finally take a vacation to some remote area and stay where there is no internet, computers, TVs or phones. That would actually be nice for a change. haha. On the plus side, I did get my pad cleaned up a bit and it's starting to look more respectable.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy how I spent my bonus money! I bought a home entertainment center with a VERY LARGE LCD/HD TV and surround sound system. It's really enjoyable to watch sports and movies on. I can't wait until I can watch MotoGP and WSBK races on this thing :) Hey, it was my own Christmas present to myself. Sure beats that old 19 inch TV I had for sure, LOL!

Have a fantastic rest of your holiday weekend and may God bless you in 2010. I know that He's been very, very, very good to me!

Cheers!