The Importance of Walking

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old To spend an additional 5 months in a nursing Home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking Five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old And we don't know where he is.

I like long walks, Especially when they are taken By people who annoy me.

The only reason I would take up walking Is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I have to walk early in the morning, Before my brain figures out what I'm doing..

I joined a health club last year, Spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate..

I do have flabby thighs, But fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day Is so when you die, they'll say, 'Well, she looks good doesn't she.'

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, Start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise The last few years, ... Just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older, Because there's a lot more information in our heads That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

AND

Every time I start thinking too much About how I look, I just find a Happy Hour

26 Inches

I am sitting here enjoying a hot cup of coffee. I have finally finished shoveling my driveway and the car is cleaned off and ready for church if they have it. I have shovelled in shifts since Friday night, just doing a little at the time. The schools have already cancelled Monday and Tuesday classes. What would they do if they had a REAL snow? I figured we got 26" here at home. Right now my hips and lower back are reminding me of the last three hours. I am ready for these storms to come on the weekday rather than messing up my weekends. That way I would get out of work instead of losing my play time. Lady and friends headed for the Eastern shore Friday for a Women's Retreat this weekend. They got there safely but now the big question is can they get home tomorrow?

Ok, now I am going to get on my soap box so you can exit the program if you so desire.

After busting my but today, I have moved #1 and #2 into the category of ungrateful and lazy moochers. Did they help with the snow shovelling? Hell, no! One person twice said they were going to help. But when they heard the next door neighbor might come over with his blower, they decided, "well, no since going out if the blower is going to help." The other just plopped his lazy butt in front of a video game only coming out to smoke or feed his face. We ran out of milk so instead of getting some he just let his friend walk several blocks in the snow to bring a gallon of milk. Could he walk up to 7-11? Hell no ... the game comes first. That tops the list for inconsiderate laziness. And what for ... to play his games that cheat every time he loses. I guess my fatal flaw is I give people too many chances and always hope for a change. Well, I am at the point that I feel that all I am doing is blowing in the wind and chasing pipe dreams. Well, I best get off this box before I really get pissed and throw them out into the snow.

February Already!

Winter continues to hold on. The predict snow this evening and this weekend. It would be nice if the snow did not get a chance to changed to that dirty stuff piled up all over the place. Everyone is doing fine with the exception of AJ who is under the weather. Work continues to plod along with Cheng out sick. Last Sunday, Lew started his first bowling league. He did very well rolling a 52-51-51 = 154. Not bad for the first time. It was so much fun watching him. The fist pumps, stomping foot, and pouting lips were all part of the first time. He was unhappy that he did not get one strike, but in time he will. The adult team on Sunday night continue to hang on to that 5th place spot. Lil Princess is talking up a storm but at times it is hard to decipher the words. But it is so much fun listening to her ... especially her facial movements as she talks. She is being more like a lady as she wants to wear the hair bows and dresses. Getting her to wear pants to Church because of the snow was a task not easily done. AJ is just a little dynamo ... into everything. Open our bedroom door and a buzzer goes off calling all the kids to it. Starr is doing fine while managing to cook some. Hmmm, where is our invitation? Peanut is still plodding through the schoolwork as graduation day grows closer. Now is when the computer questions pop up. Wild Mom is fine as she slowly returns to the world of Dr's. appointments, church, and crafts. Church is going well as there are signs of growth and people commit to helping more. #1 and #2 put their heads and muscles together in an effort to unclog a backed up toilet. Talk about a Laurel and Hardy experience.

Looks like the next big adventure is the train ride to Reno NV in March. I will be bowling out there for the National Tournament the 25-27 of March. This will be my 21st consecutive year of bowling in the tournament. Just think, I was a young man when I started! Boy, does bowling wear you out.

What does it mean, then, to be a Christian?

Christianity is Christ! A Christian is one in whom Jesus Christ lives by His Spirit, and one who allows the life and character of Jesus Christ to be lived out through his behavior, in order to function as intended to the glory of God (cf. Isa. 43:7).

The Week After

Can you believe that we have been home a week? Where does the time go. As usual we have been busy since returning ... mainly just catching up. We have booked the next adventure ... 01/09/2011 on the Norwegian Pearl. Now comes the hard part ... waiting till that day. Lady returned to work and is enjoying the start of the tax season for the Company. Everyone wants it yesterday. Wild Mom is settling in and finally got the Christmas stuff down in between appointments. But she did find time to go to the Gospel Sing on Saturday. Some things never change. Maybe we show call her "PowerShopper" instead! #1 has until the end of the month as that is when the contract expires. #2 is a shadow as he moves about with his friends. Peanut made the "President's List" at school. Amazing what happens when you believe in yourself. Now we will focus on the drama. AJ is growing like a weed and is all boy. Nothing is too tall to climb on or too high to jump off of. Lil Princess is talking and conversing now. I can't help laughing sometimes at her sentence structure and choice of words. But she gets her ideas across. Of course, I am drinking from a fire hose as I learn 3-year-old-ese. Lew is ever becoming the young man. Slow down and let us enjoy the child. Next Sunday, he will start his first bowling league. That should prove a very good source of a lot of laughs. Church is fine and growing, work is the same. We watched the movie "2012" last night with Green Giant, HDTech, and TL. It was entertaining but we are glad we didn't have to pay for the experience. The Cherry Pie and coffee helped a lot.

Congrats Colts and Saints ... my choices.

Maybe the Socialism Movement will stop now. Oh, well he will just move to another area and start anew. I guess middle class tax hikes and budget freezes are the next target in his agenda. He can't budge Banks, Big Oil, or Wall Street ... so take on the easy target ... the citizen.

Why not take all the unused FEMA trailers and ship them to Haiti? I bet you they won't turn them down! Hey Obama, while you are doling out all those 100 Millions to Haiti ... what about the homeless and jobless here? We haven't even finished New Orleans after Katrina!

Most Excellent Adventure - Day Fourteen

Well, today is our final travel day. The most excellent adventure comes to a close. The day and drive was beautiful. Leaving Greenville SC, the drive up US-29 was enjoyable and relaxed. Our thoughts were mixed as the idea we had to return to reality on Wednesday. We chatted about future cruises but there were more periods of silence than times of chatting. We stopped in Ruckersville, VA to eat some Mexican food at El Agave. It was good but we prefer our home restaurant in Warrenton. Like the trip so too must this blog end. Until next time ... Be Safe.

Most Excellent Adventure - Day Thirteen

We left Lake City about 10 am and I was bushed from driving all night. I was amazed how our two GPS's couldn't decide on the right route. Toys! This was also a quiet driving day with us finally stopping in Greenville SC. That van doesn't get very good mileage and we only managed 50 mph with all our stops. What we need is a motor home ... hint ... hint. But, we had fun, laughed a lot and just chatted. That is ... when ever Lady and TL allowed us to get a word in edgewise. Despite being off the ship ... the shopping continues. Wild Mom is home, unpacking and planning her next adventure. She has also decided it was time to take down the Christmas decorations. Tomorrow is our last road day and I must sleep to be of any good.

Most Excellent Adventure - Day Twelve

Were do I begin. Sunday morning started out as any other morning this past week. Breakfast at 8 and then an hour waiting to get off the boat. The difference today was we were heading home. Once we disembarked and got all our a luggage into the trailer we headed Northwest to take Wild Mom home. Dragging our bags to the opposite end of the docks is always an adventure. We headed out across Alligator Alley and boy did it live up to its name. There were a lot of them. Sometimes there were a dozen all basking on the shoreline. For some 60+ miles they lined the shore with only brief patches where they didn't lay next to another. They are very black in color and easy to spot. We did not get to see any moving ... guess it was nap time. We kept seeing one black bird that would sit on the branch with it wings out stretched and its mouth wide open. Was he trying to be lazy and let the bugs fly in? I will have to some research on that one. We finally managed to get a few pictures of the gators though we did not get very close. I made sure TL was always between them and me. I know I can out run her. We then turned north on I-75 and headed to our overnight spot in Lake City Fl. We even managed to see a wild pig and her piglets walking along the side of the interstate. Hope she doesn't cross the road or someone will be buying a new car. Green Giant, TL and HDTech remained there while Lady and I took Wild Mom home. That was a long side trip. I-10 is nothing but woods for some 280 miles. Add darkness, wind and rain and it is pretty boring at times. While at Wild Mom's, some 2 hours, we managed to chat, fix the antivirus program and her email working on her desktop and then get about 90 minutes of a power nap before heading back. We finally returned to Lake City 12 hours later after an all night drive. We dodged all the deer and wounded a possum. The trip to Milton Fl was named the Possum Run since I saw plenty of them ... had to be over 2 dozen over that stretch. The deer were also abundant but luckily none of them decided to race across in front of me.