I love gifts...

There are some people out there that are real givers. The act of giving to them is just as rewarding, if not more so, than the act of receiving. My wife is one of these people. I believe she really does love to give people gifts. I, however, am not one of these people. There is nothing that gives me true joy like getting something. It doesn't matter how small or large, it is the thought that counts for me. This is why Christmas is so fantastic for me. It is me getting gifts! How fantastic is that?

This Christmas was absolutely fantastic. I got all sorts of gifts that I really wanted. Some of my favorites are the book, "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" which is absolutely fantastic. I also received the DVD of the entire "Firefly" TV-series. I also received some workout equipment that I am excited about. The other highlight would be ramps, and an oil wrench so I can actually change my own oil. I am going to be a MAN! Whooo Hoooo!

Now I have one more Christmas to attend and am looking forward to it. Horray for Gifts!

Christmas Gifts - Take 1

Being it is very close to Christmas, I thought I would write about a couple of my most favorite Christmas gifts ever the next couple days. I guess I will start with the straight razor, badger hair brush, and shaving cream. I received this gift almost 2 years ago, and decided there is really nothing better then shaving "old school". The process I use every other day takes a bit more time, but I think is well worth it. I start by boiling some water, then pouring it into a ceramic cup. I then hang my badger hair brush in to the water to soak up as much as it can while I take a shower. When I'm done showering, I shake out excess water from the brush and begin to create my own shaving cream. (This is one of the best parts, because the different smells from the different shaving creams are excellent. Sandlewood, Citrus, Almond, etc...it's whatever I feel like that day) Then the other part I love so much is putting this nice, warm shaving cream on my face and head. It is amazing the difference between the crap coming out of the can and a nice warm brush. It is then on to shaving. It takes about 3 passes to get all the hair of and my head/face nice and smooth. This isn't a Mach3 where you press as hard as you can and only use one pass. There is only 1 razor (as opposed to 3 per pass) and if you press too hard, there will be blood. When the entire process is complete, I rinse my face/head with cold water, then use a nice Bay Rum aftershave for a good old man smell.

I think the reason this was such an excellent Christmas gift is because it is a gift that I really wanted, but couldn't really justify the up front cost. After receiving the kit, the blades are only about $0.20 ea (which I get 4 shaves with) and the shaving cream is probably $20 a container, but that lasts about 6 months or more. It is also very relaxing to do, and the feel and smell is just fantastic. I have way less ingrown neck hairs and it is just wonderful to have a process to follow in the morning.

Last Night

Not a lot to say today. Last night I took the boys over to a friends house while Karri had his wife over to watch "White Christmas" with the girls. They had homemade hot chocolate, popcorn, and puppy chow and watched the movie. The sad part is, Karri was getting things ready for the evening before the boys left and Dylan asked when we were going to have a "guys night". I told him we were, just at somebody else's house. He said he meant a "real" guys night. I asked if he meant when we would make homemade hot chocolate and such and he said, "yes". I laughed and told him that wasn't what guys did. Guys hang out and eat pizza...not homemade hot chocolate. He was pretty disappointed. I think that makes me the saddest, because his entire life revolves around food. It is the only questions he asks on a regular basis. Anything about, dinner, desert, if he can have more before desert, whatever. Karri and I are trying to teach him to eat healthy and intelligently, but I am afraid he is going to be 300 lbs before he graduates high school. I'm not sure what we are going to do with him, but I need to figure out something before his bad "habit" gets worse.

Weight - I maintained from yesterday which I feel pretty good about. I am also pretty excited to get my weights for Christmas...I hope Karri got them for me. She also made the comment that she is going to start getting up with me in the morning to work-out as well. Not sure how I feel about that...but that is a story for another day.

The Funeral

Last Friday, I sang at a funeral. It was quite a sad affair overall, and even I got emotionally attached for a little while. It was for a 21 yr old man that my family watched grow up, so it was truly a sad day for the entire family. Really, my only issue with the service was the time it took to get over. For a non-catholic service, it was 2.5 hrs long. The first hour was the time it took for each family member to do the eulogy, then the next 45 minutes turned into open mic night at the Apollo. They actually let the audience tell stories as well, even giving them the microphone. When I die, don't EVER do this. EVER! There was then a "message", I sang and then it was over. When talking to Karri about this, she gave me a little insider information (her sister died a couple years ago). She said that the family wants the funeral to last a long time, because it is really the last time the body of the deceased is still with them. After the funeral, it goes it the ground and you will never physically see them again. This is good info to have, but still, lets try to shorten things up next time. The only real advantage to having a super long service is it allowed me to become emotionally detached so I could sing better. I sure hate choking up during a song, so I had that going for me.

Weight - 210.6 Down 2 lbs from yesterday, even though I still ate like an idiot last night. I decided to to care all that much until after Christmas. I may even stop weighing the next couple days, but we shall see.

Nebraska Weekend #1

We just returned from the first of two trips to Nebraska this month. This trip was originally traveled to visit Grandma Joyce and Silent Bob for their Christmas Party. What really happened is we got the first snow of the season and didn't make it to Grandma's house. We could have made it (Mom and Dad were only 20 minutes away) but Karri "can't" drive in any weather condition other than sunny and dry roads. After driving 35 mph for an hour and a half, I told her to turn around. It ended up still being a fun day. The entire family went bowling (Markie brought the hammer and bowled something like a 172 to kill us all) and took all the white elephant gifts and did our own exchange. (Which was nice because we didn't have to worry about what Kim brought). Sunday, we went to the Christmas Cantata at ALC and listened to the choir sing "Night of Miracles". I was actually really impressed. It could have been the best I have ever heard the choir sing. The chorale part was well balanced and on pitch, with each part holding their own. The only downfall was a couple of solos were pretty darn bad. I won't name names, but Mark can if he wants to. The also got to spend time with Mark and Krystal, which was nice. Karri also volunteered to help with wedding details sometime next week, which she is excited about. I don't care, as long as I don't have to help. I didn't help plan our wedding, so I sure don't want to help with someone else's. On the way home, Karri had to drive through fog. Not thick fog, just enough so you could only see about 100 yds ahead. So what should have taken us 6 hours, took about 9. My goal for pretty much the entire way home was to not yell at my wife for driving 40. I spent a good majority of the time reading my Kindle and installing new apps on my phone. No fighting happened and the weather cleared up around Julesburg, CO so we could talk the rest of the way home after that.

Weight - 212.6 Up 5.0 lbs from when I weighed in on Friday. Oops. I not to worried about it, I expect to be down a few lbs next week due to not having to travel, then possibly back up over new years. I am going to try and be more aware of what I eat the next couple weeks, but not fret over it. I'll begin to hit it hard again the first of the year.

Christmas Shopping 2010

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Karri / Adam shopping experience. It was (as always) a very enjoyable trip. Here are some highlights...

1. Karri Christmas Present - So this marks the first year that there will be no major surprise between Karri and myself. She picked out her own gift this year. I am a little disappointed because I like to see the look on her face when I pick out something amazing that she really loves. I am also very glad because I hate the look on her face when I pick out something crappy. The real reason she got her own gift is because it was a pair of running shoes and a work-out outfit. Just to make sure everything fit and she liked the style, she picked it our herself. I will be getting a couple iTunes gift cards and some workout equipment.

2. The Vans Store - While looking for gifts for myself, I decided to go into the Vans store. I LOVE the look of all Vans clothing, shoes, and accessories. I wasn't going to buy any clothes yet, due to my not being down to my goal weight, but I thought that perhaps I could get myself a new pair of shoes. (Because I LOVE shoes). So we walked in and Karri said the look on my face was priceless. I walked from the front of the store to the back, then just turned around and walked out of the store. I was devastated. I pretty much just proved to myself that I am no longer cool. I can't get away with wearing anything in my favorite store anymore (unless I want to look like a 32 year old trying to act like a 20 year old again). I am not exactly sure when this transformation happened, but I am pretty sure kids were involved. It was, truly, a very sad experience for me.

3. Lunch - We ended up going (to my wifes chagrin) to a German brewery called Gordon Biersch. Karri was VERY upset that we didn't continue our 10 year tradition of eating at The Olive Garden because that is one of her favorite restaurants, but she took one for the team and went somewhere else. I, personally, was very excited to eat there because I have wanted to since we moved into the Erie area. Now that we are gone, I thought my chances were slim, but hooray for opportunity. I digress. So we met Jon and Stacy for lunch and had an absolutely wonderful time. The food was good, the beer was 100% German (following the German Purity Law of 1516) so it was amazing. I had a black beer that was as light as a pilsner. It was absolutely amazing. (Side note - the reason we didn't go to Olive Garden is because Stacy hates chain Italian restaurants. I found it entertaining that she ordered a Pizza with water for her lunch. Good thing we skipped the chain Italian place)

All in all, a wonderful trip and I am very excited to do it again next year.

Weight - 207.6 Up 0.4 lbs from yesterday. I could have been the Cajun Boil (I think the sausage is what got me) or the smothered chicken enchiladas for dinner, but I'm not worried about it. Still below my goal weight of 208 for the week, with a few days to go.

Safety Awards

Today the good folks at Colorado Energy Management here in beautiful Brush, CO celebrate 3,000 days at the ManChief facility with no lost time accidents. We are also going to celebrate over 2,000 days at the Brush facility without a lost time accident. As an award, there is going to be a Cajun boil along with a gift ceremony. I have been excited for the Cajun boil for about two weeks now. I don't know what it is, but shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn and a whole lot of seasoning just does something to really make me smile. The issue I ran into today was my office mate doesn't seem to agree with me. She came in complaining about how she was going to McDonald's because she is allergic to seafood. (How she ate the crab legs at the Christmas party is beyond me...this is true because I was sitting right next to her). She also went on to say that "everybody" would rather have steak instead of this stupid Cajun boil. I told her not everybody, because I am tired of steak for every celebration and would rather have this. She then changed her statement to, "only a handful of guys want this". I then told her that everyone I talked to was pretty excited. She just looked at me with the 'ol evil eye, said, "Well, to each their own", and stormed out of the office. It should be a pretty pleasant day today...maybe she will stay in the warehouse? We are also going to be receiving North Face jackets today. Each employee got to select their own jackets from the North Face website (there was a pared down list for CEM folks of about 20 jackets) and that is our safety gift. I chose a $300 coat that I am very excited to receive. There are days that I really love this company.

Weight - 207.2 Down 1 pound from yesterday, but who knows how that is going to turn out tomorrow. Karri made a test recipe of a donut from Dunkin' Donuts that they no longer make, and they were amazing. So I had one of those this morning, then a Cajun boil for lunch and chicken enchiladas for dinner. Lets see how self-control holds out today.

Christmas Ideas

I've decided that we are going to start a new Christmas tradition in my family next year. We are going to pick a different country every year and follow the traditions of that country instead of doing our own thing every year. So it will take a little research on my part, but what a fun experience it would be to "do Christmas" like someone else each year. I go the idea yesterday at my daughters Christmas program. They did different songs from each culture and had a little power point on the differences in each country. For example, in Spain & Mexico, they don't give out presents until January 6th because that is when the three wise men showed up to give gifts to Jesus. So I would like to follow food & gift customs. I also learned in Wales they have a caroling competition. Just beware, I will not be afraid to drop the hammer on some Christmas Carols. I almost have Karri on board, so that is the goal for next year.

Weight - 208.2 Down 3.6 lbs from yesterday. I guess there was a lot of garbage in my system that had to be eradicated. Maybe my goal from yesterday is doable after all?

The Missing iPod

Dylan saved money for a year so he could buy an iPod touch. He finally gathered enough money about 2 months ago, so he bought an 8 GB iPod. This was his prized possession. He took emaculate care of it and played with it all the time. A weekend ago, he had a couple buddies over for a night. When they went home, the iPod was missing. Dylan never suspected them and we tore his room apart looking for the misplaced iPod. It was never found. The last course of action was to ask his "friends" if perhaps it got mixed up with their stuff and somehow made it to their houses. Karri and I felt horrible, but didn't want to drop another $220 for a replacement for Christmas. By the time Christmas shopping came around, we had talked each other into spending the money because D was so devastated and it wasn't his fault it was lost in the first place. This was on Thursday. Friday, Karri took the kids to her parents house so we could go to my company Christmas party that night, then Christmas shopping Saturday. At the company Christmas party, Colorado Energy went BIG with presents. They had 32" TV's, iPods, Projectors, Wii's, and a whole mess of stuff. Karri and I ended the evening with a 32 GB iTouch for Dylan. Needless to say, we were uber excited. Saturday comes and goes and Christmas shopping is complete. Sunday, we head to Elsie to pick up the kids and all we can talk about is how excited the kids are going to be with what they will get for Christmas - especially Dylan. On the way home, Dylan is rummaging through his backpack and we hear him exclaim, "Look what I found!" Yep, he found his iPod. So now Karri and I are at a loss on what we will get him. Needless to say, our excitement has just been squelched and we are stuck with a nice iPod. We have a couple ideas on what we are going to do, but we are still at a loss for Dylan. You have to love kids.

Weight - 211.8 You read that correctly, I have gained about 5 lbs since my lowest last week. This weekend consisted of eating rich foods and not exercising at all. I just hope it comes off pretty fast this week. My only major concerns for this week are a cajun boil for lunch on Wednesday because of a safety lunch-in at work, and Grandma's Christmas this weekend. No way will it be as bad as this weekend, but I am guessing there will still be a struggle. Goal for next week - 208.0

Insurance

I received a letter in the mail yesterday, stating that unless I get a Colorado drivers license, My insurance is going to be cancelled. WHAT! Why is it that I can drive from New York to California with a license issued from any state in the United States, but I have to have a license from the state my residence is? What is the big deal really? If you try and say it is because I need to have an established residence that is a bunch of garbage. I do have an established residence, that is where I sleep every night. That is also where I receive electric bills, trash bills, DirectTV bills, and any other bill I have to pay every month. I am pretty sure I can be tracked pretty easily as long as I don't forge a social security number. I don't understand why I can't just keep my current New Mexico license until it expires. Just a waste of $25.00 if you ask me (which I hope the DMV doesn't, because I may not get my license today)

Weight - 208.0 I have no idea how I gained weight yesterday. I went on a 3+ mile walk yesterday, ate within my points, and did push-ups this morning. Perhaps I am beginning my cycle? That is Karri's excuse when she gains weight for no reason.

Singing at a funeral

I just found out this morning that I am going to sing at a funeral next Friday. It is really quite a sad story, so I am glad that I am basically heartless and don't really feel emotion for other peoples' grief. Chris (or Little Chris as we called him) moved into his Uncles house when he was five. That Uncle was Pastor Ben and Brenda (whom we got to know when we lived in Ft. Morgan) Chris was moved into Ben's home because his father had left, his mom was a junky, and he had been living on the street fending for himself since he was 2ish. (My youngest son's age). Ben & Brenda took custody of Little Chris not really knowing what they were getting into, but taking him because NOBODY else would. Chris had probably seen more at 5 then some people see in 20+ years, so needless to say he hoarded food, didn't like Brenda hugging other guys (because he knew where that led), and didn't trust anyone. Ben and Brenda treated and loved Chris like he was their own, no matter what happened. Fast forward 13 years and Chris graduated high school and wanted to go live with his Mom. Of course that hit a nerve, but they allowed him to go make his own life. He reverted to his old lifestyle, was in an out of jail, and had some health problems. They found him Monday dead. I believe the official cause of death was asthma complications and pneumonia. Of course the people that knew him in Ft. Morgan are devastated and the funeral will be quite full. Nothing like singing to a full house I guess. I am trying not to sound cold and callous, because it is really quite sad, but this is also how I am wired. If I am not directly involved, I normally just don't care enough to become emotionally attached.

Weight - 206.6 I maintained yesterday and am a bit disappointed, but life will go on. I must have had 1 too many chicken nachos last night. I started my new ab routine this morning and it was pretty awesome. I thought it would be too easy at the beginning, but when I got to the end I was breathing hard. So I guess it worked?

No more politics...

I have officially given up on caring about politics at a National level. This latest "throw Obama under the bus" campaign by the Democrats is just too much. Sure he decided to side with the Republicans for the "greater good", and now he is as evil as they are? I am pretty sure, that at the end of the day, both Republicans and Democrats are equally just as crooked. There is really no way my vote can change the steamroller that is National Politics, so I am just not going to care anymore. Does picketing and voicing my option really change anything...no. From now on I am going to care about local politics only. At least at the local level, voicing an opinion will at least be heard.

Weight - 206.6 Down another pound. I did push-ups this morning until I couldn't physically do another, so that was kind of fun. I then waited a minute then knocked out my plank exercises. I also found a great ab program that I am going to try tomorrow. Yeah for not being able to laugh because it hurts.

Relationships

It is absolutely incredible to me how the ebb and flow of a relationship works. How is it that within the span of a month I can go from being so frustrated to absolutely adoring my wife? That was a rhetorical question, but isn't it amazing. I know that 95% of my relationship issues revolve around my focus and selfishness. The minute that I forget why I married Karri is the minute that things start to unravel. I am happier (and of course she is) when I love her unconditionally. I just with there was a button to press to keep my attitude in the right perspective. I can write all of this now because I am in the right place again. I enjoy "serving" my wife and doing little things to make her life easier. Now if I could only keep on keeping on, life could be so easy. For those married folks out there, or the unmarried living together (that was for my 1 reader) remember this...it is all about attitude. The minute you make the relationship all about you and you try to "fix" your partner, you are not where you need to be. The only way to "fix" your significant other is to change yourself first. Easier said than done when actually in that spot, I know.

Weight - 207.6 Down 1.4 lbs yesterday with no real reason. I didn't drink as much water as normal due to going to a buddy's grandmas funeral, so I may be a bit dehydrated. Sit-ups today and I am feeling pretty darn good.

The Weekend

The weekend went pretty well. Karri had three cakes due to some folks (for those who don't know, she bakes cakes and decorates them...really well) and then her folks came down so she and her Mom could finish cookie weekend 2010. Every year Karri and her mom make candies and cookies to give away as gifts along with having about 12 different treys of goodness to set out during the holiday season. Needless to say, Karri spent all weekend in the kitchen, and I spent all weekend trying to get out of helping with cakes or cookies. All three cakes were completed (I even delivered two of them) and the cookies were finished. The total count of candies and cookies were 1,350 pieces. Pretty amazing.

Cole also had his 5th birthday party on Friday. We rented a couple lanes at the bowling alley for two hours and brought in pizza, cake and ice cream. The party went really well and Cole had a bunch of fun. What amazes me is how people just invite themselves to join in the party. Cole invited all of his classmates (3 out of 5 RSVP'd and showed up) along with the Graff family. Cole's classmates showed up, with parents and siblings in tow. They then stayed, bowled, and ate everything we offered. What amazes me is them staying. We didn't invite every sibling in the family, we invited the kid that Cole actually goes to school with. What makes you think it is OK for you to have a night out on the birthday child's parents? When my children are invited to a birthday party, I don't have EVERY FRIGGEN KID IN MY HOUSE SHOW UP expecting to be fed. This seems to happen quite a bit. Last year, it happened in Erie and now in Brush. I don't get that people don't respect what an invitation says, but it also confirms my assumption about people for the umpteenth time. People are idiots.

Weight - 209.0 This is a pound below the goal for this week, so next week the goal is 206.0. I am actually amazed that I lost weight with the cookie weekend happening. There were a lot of cookies fresh out of the oven that I passed up (and ate). With the company "Winter Party" on Friday and Christmas shopping with Karri on Saturday, I may be hard pressed to reach the goal next week...but I'll make the effort.

The Christmas Tree is up

I tweeted yesterday while decorating the Christmas tree that I HATE decorating Christmas trees. I may have tweeted in frustration yesterday, but the fact still holds true this morning. Perhaps hate was a bit strong of a word, but I truly dislike decorating. It may be due to the constant arguing of which child gets to put on the Styrofoam star, covered in sparkles (that makes a giant mess on the floor) that I made 25 years ago, or maybe it is how at least 3 ornaments get broke every year, which is followed by many tears, or it could be that homemade hot chocolate is made and the kids are on such a sugar high they almost tear the house down. I don't know the exact reason why, but I just don't like it. I guess I have the school of thought that maybe Christmas isn't all about decorations and gifts and sending cards to people we don't hear from but once a year. (Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE presents) I also don't think that Christmas is the only time to help out the less fortunate. This should be done during every part of the year. The focus seems to come out around Christmas time, but don't you think that the poor would like a meal during the 4th of July as well? I would like to think of Christmas as a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and just enjoy spending time together as a family when it is really cold outside. I have lots of fond memories of drinking hot chocolate after coming inside from making a snowman (or snowfort), getting done shoveling the walk and coming inside to relax by the Christmas tree, walking into the house after work when it smells of apple cider and Christmas music is playing...wait a minute. I do like decorations, I just don't want to have to help put them up. I guess I am just lazy.

Weight - 208.0 Maintained yesterday. I am starting not notice a difference in my pushups and am halfway through the plan. I am also on the full plank program and feel pretty good about it. I am excited for springtime so I can begin running again and maybe find a swimming pool somewhere.

A Sweeter Me

The highlights of yesterday include donating blood and giving my wife a rose for no reason. I'll start with the donation. I really enjoying giving blood. Not because it saves lives and truth be told I am a bit nervous around needles. The reason I enjoy giving blood is to talk to the nurses. No offense to the one Phlebotomist I know, but these people are usually a bit off. When I say off, I usually mean in a good way. They seem to enjoy life a bit more than the normal Joe. Perhaps it is because they work with blood all day, perhaps because the ones I normally see are on the road more often than not and it takes a special person to do that, but they sure are fun to talk with. Yesterday's conversation consisted of tattoo's, std's, and blacklights. I can't wait until the end of January when I get to do it again.

The other highlight just happened on a whim. I am trying to work on being a less angry father and husband so my marriage lasts and my kids actually like me. Slowly but surely I am discovering why I am the way I am and how I can change for the better. While thinking of this, I decided that since I had a couple extra dollars in my pocket, I was going to buy Karri a rose and deliver it to her after my blood donation. So I did just that. It should be know that this is something I have NEVER done before, because I look at this as a giant waste of money. A flower will die and is it really worth the $7.00 for 3 seconds of joy? Looking back now, I think it was. Karri's face was classic. I am pretty sure she was waiting for me to tell her I got fired, wrecked a car, had an affair, or something like that. Awestruck couldn't describe her face when I walked in the door. To top it off, she posted the event on Facebook and my cousin Clayton wrote, "You are still married to Adam, Right?" I may have to surprise my wife with sudden acts of kindness with no expectation of anything back in return more often. I think I enjoyed it as much as she did.

Weight - 208.0 Down 2.2 lbs since yesterday. I suggest donating blood as an excellent way to drop a couple pounds. It was obviously effective.

"Did I tell you about...."

So I share an office with the Material Control Administrator (MCA). She is nice and we get along pretty well. (This is new...she used to hate me about 5 years ago) That being said, she doesn't ever shut up and tells me stories that I really don't need/want to hear about. I put in headphones and she still talks. I don't want to be super rude, so I usually take out my headphones and turn her direction to listen. This blog may turn into random thoughts by my officemate, but I will try to keep it from going that direction. Today, however, I am going to complain.

Today, the MCA begins to tell me that her daughter is getting her class ring. She then has to explain about every engraving and stone, what it will look like, and what the rest of the class is getting. I tried to express my disinterest by saying I never purchased a class ring and thought it was a bit silly to do so. (Side Note - I really think class rings are a GIANT waste of money. Why commemorate a time period of your life that really is meaningless. If friends are going to be made for a lifetime, they will be made, as a whole, in college. High School was petty, cliquey, and just not a experience I would ever want to cherish...maybe that was just me) Well the officemate didn't understand my lack of interest, she continued on about not only her daughters class ring, but also her class ring when she was in school. Oh well, I will just continue to smile and nod.

Weight - 210.2 Down 0.6 lbs even with fried chicken and German chocolate cake yesterday. Cole got to pick the meal because it was his birthday. Got up this morning and finished push-ups and the entire plant program...so I am feeling pretty good today.