With the new year right around the corner, I find myself struggling with my fitness. Truth be told, this last month has been pretty hard. I knew all along that things would get harder the more weight I lost - I expected that, but that doesn't make it any easier when you see your weight creep back up simply because you eat a "little" extra. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a little. Christmas was pretty bad with all the treats, and since then it's been a constant struggle. Let's review...
Ate one half of a 480 calorie cookie. (yes, a SINGLE cookie at 480). Box of chocolate covered cherries - Garbage. Egg nog... damn you egg nog. Tastes so good! 3, 4 glasses? Box of left over assorted chocolates... okay so I ate like 9 of them probably (180 calories per 3!) Ugh. The rest made it to the garbage. Pez... don't even get me started about Pez! At least its only 35 calories per pez package. And of course, a big bowl of ice cream last night. Uuuugggghh.
Out of the last 4 weeks, my weight has actually gone up twice, to where I'm basically at the same point I was at the start of December. I know this might sound hard to believe, but this is the first time that has happened since I started losing weight 6 months ago. (I had 2 weeks of zero weight loss, but never any actual gain).
I'm pretty sure I know what I need to do to stop this silly up and down weight gain and get back on track. I need to get more workouts in (hell, I'd like to go every day but that's not realistic) and I need to keep my calorie intake lower. The times I've been most successful is keeping my calories per day down below 1500. But as anyone that has ever counted calories knows, that is not that easy. Especially when you get to the end of the day.
I know I should probably just relax. Weight isn't the only measure of health. In fact, I'm pretty damn sure my heart is the strongest it's ever been in my whole life right now. Cardio workouts that used to push my heart rate to 160-170 bpm now get up to a steady 150. Did I hit my weight goal for the end of the year? Yes. Am I consistently getting exercise? Yes. Am I eating right, controlling portion sizes and avoiding high calorie snacks? Somewhat... but there is room for improvement. Should I stop obsessing over a few pounds up and down here and there? Yes, as long I don't lose sight of the long term goal.
Probably the best thing I could do right now for my motivation would be to get my ass into the doctor and get some more blood tests so I can compare my current numbers to last year and see what sort of changes have occurred inside my body as well as outside. Besides, that's what is more important anyway.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Christmas through photos
Enjoy!
My brother Scott, Megan, Mom and Me.
The evil part of Christmas. I wasn't able to resist!
Grandma Ruby, Scott & Megan
Family chilling downstairs.
Family chilling upstairs.
My cousin Chloe and Andrea.
Papa and Megan.
Megan's cousin Brenden and Megan.
The Bieraugel Clan.
The McMorrow Clan.
Scott and Megan (again!).
Mom and John talking to Megan. She seems interested!
Couple cousins playing some gamecube (Mario Kart).
It's a long time christmas tradition to play some Ping Pong. Check out that awesome action shot.
My brother Scott, Megan, Mom and Me.
The evil part of Christmas. I wasn't able to resist!
Grandma Ruby, Scott & Megan
Family chilling downstairs.
Family chilling upstairs.
My cousin Chloe and Andrea.
Papa and Megan.
Megan's cousin Brenden and Megan.
The Bieraugel Clan.
The McMorrow Clan.
Scott and Megan (again!).
Mom and John talking to Megan. She seems interested!
Couple cousins playing some gamecube (Mario Kart).
It's a long time christmas tradition to play some Ping Pong. Check out that awesome action shot.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas!
3 hours of Christmas left and I thought I'd get a quick post out. I'm beat, it's been a long two days. As I mentioned, last night we hosted Christmas Eve at our house. It was nice and WOW crazy, but in a good way. This morning we started out early at 10am, heading to Lafayette (small town north of New Ulm). Megan slept the whole way for that first trip, so that was great. From there we headed east over to Cannon Falls, once again Megan slept the entire way except for the last 6 miles. We really lucked out! Then back home by 8pm tonight. I'm exhausted and all I did was eat and drive it seems like.
I got my usual set of Best Buy gift cards and I'm thinking I might break down and buy an MP3 player. Yes, I know, your probably wondering why I don't own one yet. Truth is, I'm not a huge music person. I mean, I like music but mainly I just like to listen to it while I'm at work. Recently, I've kinda been thinking it would be fun/nice to have music to listen to while I work out. You can only handle so much Back Street Boys and Britney Spears over the gyms loud speakers.
Lastly, I lost my Fantasy Football game this weekend. It was a close game (within a few points) up until a very crucial game for both me and my opponent. That was the Seattle-Indianapolis game. I had Hasselbeck as QB and my opponent had Shaun Alexander as RB. Although Hasselbeck had a good game, Alexander had an even better game. In fact, one of Hasselbeck's TD throws was to Alexander (thus negating the TD). I made a good run and overall, I'm pretty happy to get second place in my first ever attempt at Fantasy Football.
Tomorrow I'll post a purely photo diary of the entire Christmas weekend. Check back for that!
I got my usual set of Best Buy gift cards and I'm thinking I might break down and buy an MP3 player. Yes, I know, your probably wondering why I don't own one yet. Truth is, I'm not a huge music person. I mean, I like music but mainly I just like to listen to it while I'm at work. Recently, I've kinda been thinking it would be fun/nice to have music to listen to while I work out. You can only handle so much Back Street Boys and Britney Spears over the gyms loud speakers.
Lastly, I lost my Fantasy Football game this weekend. It was a close game (within a few points) up until a very crucial game for both me and my opponent. That was the Seattle-Indianapolis game. I had Hasselbeck as QB and my opponent had Shaun Alexander as RB. Although Hasselbeck had a good game, Alexander had an even better game. In fact, one of Hasselbeck's TD throws was to Alexander (thus negating the TD). I made a good run and overall, I'm pretty happy to get second place in my first ever attempt at Fantasy Football.
Tomorrow I'll post a purely photo diary of the entire Christmas weekend. Check back for that!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Heading into Christmas
Had a quiet week this week, Monday I called in sick due to my cold. It was at the peak and I just didn't feel like going into work. It seems that Megan has still not got any cold. Pretty happy about that, she is sleeping good this week. One night she even slept as many as 8 hours over night. Then 3 quick days at work before heading into the 4 day Christmas weekend.
I've been doing pretty good with my fitness the last week, even though I ate way to much food at my company dinner on Thursday, I've managed to drop a few more pounds. I can smell my first goal just barely around the corner. The goal of going from "Obese" to "Overweight" on the BMI scale. So close! I bet it will happen sometime towards the end of January or early Feb.
A new development in my fitness is that my brother has decided to join Lifetime, and we've already gone together once. I like to think that a small part of his motivation is my change in health, and he told me that it was (in not so many words). To think that my lifestyle changes could reverberate out and have an effect on more then just myself, well that's pretty cool.
Tomorrow Andrea and I are hosting Christmas eve at our house. It will be the first time a lot of my relatives have been to our house, so that will be really cool. I think our house is big enough for the amount of guests we are having. I'll take some pictures and post them up later this weekend.
And last, this weekend I head into the Championship game of our Fantasy Football league. Is there a chance I could actually win the whole thing? Maybe... stranger things have happened. The end of the football season gets all messed up as teams don't play starters or switch things around because the last few games don't matter. (for some teams). I'll post an update on Sunday on how it looks!
I've been doing pretty good with my fitness the last week, even though I ate way to much food at my company dinner on Thursday, I've managed to drop a few more pounds. I can smell my first goal just barely around the corner. The goal of going from "Obese" to "Overweight" on the BMI scale. So close! I bet it will happen sometime towards the end of January or early Feb.
A new development in my fitness is that my brother has decided to join Lifetime, and we've already gone together once. I like to think that a small part of his motivation is my change in health, and he told me that it was (in not so many words). To think that my lifestyle changes could reverberate out and have an effect on more then just myself, well that's pretty cool.
Tomorrow Andrea and I are hosting Christmas eve at our house. It will be the first time a lot of my relatives have been to our house, so that will be really cool. I think our house is big enough for the amount of guests we are having. I'll take some pictures and post them up later this weekend.
And last, this weekend I head into the Championship game of our Fantasy Football league. Is there a chance I could actually win the whole thing? Maybe... stranger things have happened. The end of the football season gets all messed up as teams don't play starters or switch things around because the last few games don't matter. (for some teams). I'll post an update on Sunday on how it looks!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Self Control
I really should be posting about how I won fantasy football this weekend, and will now be in the championship game this week. Perhaps I will post about that later in the week. Instead, I want to post about something else. Maybe I'll call this my year in review post. Andrea commented about how my posts are always "me, me, me" and "I, I, I". Well too bad, this is my blog! You don't have to read it!
When I look at my life in terms of changes that I have gone through or experienced, this year has probably contained the highest number/most significant ones ever. The big one of course, becoming a father. Aside from that, lets look at some of the other things that happened this year:
This year, I have:
There have been many times this year where a Friday night rolls around and I get a hankering for a screwdriver. Or the many times the opportunity for "all you can eat" has come up. Not to mention free alcohol at various functions. Even tomorrow night will be open bar night at my company's Christmas dinner. Sure, I'll have no problem not drinking because I'm still in my year of no booze. But what about when that ends?
I think that is what scares me. My inability to enjoy things in moderation. I'd like to think that all the changes and things I've accomplished this year will give me sufficient motivation to not fall back into my old habits. I honestly won't know until the time comes. I'm going to try and enjoy all the things I like in the coming year in moderation, whatever it might be. Video games, alcohol, food, what have you. But if I find that "moderation in all things" once again doesn't work for me, I'll have to stick to my all or nothing attitude and just cut those things out for good.
When I look at my life in terms of changes that I have gone through or experienced, this year has probably contained the highest number/most significant ones ever. The big one of course, becoming a father. Aside from that, lets look at some of the other things that happened this year:
This year, I have:
- Had no alcohol for the whole year
- Given up my main past time of the last 5 years (Everquest)
- Stopped eating fast food (cept for Subway 6 inch turkeys!)
- Started exercising in a very serious way
- Completely changed my eating habits, including tons of calorie counting
- Managed to lose enough weight that people actually notice!
There have been many times this year where a Friday night rolls around and I get a hankering for a screwdriver. Or the many times the opportunity for "all you can eat" has come up. Not to mention free alcohol at various functions. Even tomorrow night will be open bar night at my company's Christmas dinner. Sure, I'll have no problem not drinking because I'm still in my year of no booze. But what about when that ends?
I think that is what scares me. My inability to enjoy things in moderation. I'd like to think that all the changes and things I've accomplished this year will give me sufficient motivation to not fall back into my old habits. I honestly won't know until the time comes. I'm going to try and enjoy all the things I like in the coming year in moderation, whatever it might be. Video games, alcohol, food, what have you. But if I find that "moderation in all things" once again doesn't work for me, I'll have to stick to my all or nothing attitude and just cut those things out for good.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Fantasy Football, Playoff style
The playoffs have begun! With some last minute changes to my team, I honestly wasn't expecting to win any games during the play-offs. I just don't have enough of those "key" players that have consistent solid performance. Most of my wins have come off of flukes like, a Defense player getting an fumble recover for a TD or one particular receiver getting 3 TDs.
Going into Sunday, the same thing is happening, but I honestly feel like I might have a chance to pull out a win. The reason? Tiki Barber. He must have had the game of his life last night. 220 yards, 2 TDs. The guy was worth 40 points!! But then I have E. Kennison for a WR - he was worth 0 points due to a lost fumble. Still, with a 40 point head start from one player, I definitely have a shot.
And as a side note, Megan's first visit with Santa:
Going into Sunday, the same thing is happening, but I honestly feel like I might have a chance to pull out a win. The reason? Tiki Barber. He must have had the game of his life last night. 220 yards, 2 TDs. The guy was worth 40 points!! But then I have E. Kennison for a WR - he was worth 0 points due to a lost fumble. Still, with a 40 point head start from one player, I definitely have a shot.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| QB | M. Hasselbeck |
| WR | D. Driver |
| WR | E. Kennison |
| WR | B. Engram |
| RB | D. Foster |
| RB | T. Barber |
| TE | L. Smith |
| WR/RB | Ke. Johnson |
| K | S. Graham |
| DEF | Carolina |
| D | D. Sharper |
| D | Do. Edwards |
And as a side note, Megan's first visit with Santa:
Monday, December 12, 2005
Oh crap, COLDS!
Tonight I had a horrible work out experience. And at the same time, the best. I was doing treadmill, which I only do about once every 4th or 5th work out. After my 5 minute warm up, I went to start my running pace and instead hit the wrong buttons and cleared out my display. Okay, no big deal, I'll just start running and go for 5 minutes less. So I start running and got into the "zone". That place where you feel great and you think your body can go forever. Well apparently I was a little too deep into the zone, because I wasn't paying attention to where my body was. All of a sudden, my hand swings up and slams the emergency stop button. Before I realized what happened, I looked down and all my stats had disappeared! I had no clue how far/long I had run. Bleh. SUCK!
So I did the only thing I could, I ran. And I just kept running. I ran until my body didn't think it could run anymore. And then I reminded it who's boss, and kept running. When I finally had to stop, I jacked the speed up and sprinted out the last 2 minutes. It was GREAT! Sure, I might have hurt myself but damnit, it felt too good to stop.
Back to the topic of todays post, Andrea has a cold. I might also have caught it, I'm not 100% sure yet. You know what that means! There is a chance Megan might get it. UUUUGGGGHHH. With how healthy she has been the last 2 months, I'm really not looking forward to her first cold. Obviously we can't protect her from germs forever, but I really wanted to delay as long as possible. Speaking of protecting her from germs, today was her 2 month check up and she got 3 vaccination shots. They weren't as bad as we thought they might be. Megan cried, but only a little. She didn't seem to notice too much.
Aside from my fitness achievements, I've also made a few other achievements this week. First off, it looks like I'm going to be in my Fantasy Football playoffs. How? I have no clue. I had Culpepper for half the season! Trust me, it's not like I had a strong place. I barely pulled out a 4th place spot. My record is tied with 3 other people, and I only just barely have a few more points then my brother for the 4th place spot. I feel kind of bad beating my brother out for the playoffs when he is the one that invited me to the league in the first place.
In addition, and probably the most impressive achievement this week... I finished Ninja Gaiden Black on MASTER NINJA MODE. Fear my ninja skillz. For they are great. Too bad most people will never understand just how hard Master Ninja is, but I will always know. Here is a quote that I originally read about it: (Team Ninja refers to the creators of the Game)
So I did the only thing I could, I ran. And I just kept running. I ran until my body didn't think it could run anymore. And then I reminded it who's boss, and kept running. When I finally had to stop, I jacked the speed up and sprinted out the last 2 minutes. It was GREAT! Sure, I might have hurt myself but damnit, it felt too good to stop.
Back to the topic of todays post, Andrea has a cold. I might also have caught it, I'm not 100% sure yet. You know what that means! There is a chance Megan might get it. UUUUGGGGHHH. With how healthy she has been the last 2 months, I'm really not looking forward to her first cold. Obviously we can't protect her from germs forever, but I really wanted to delay as long as possible. Speaking of protecting her from germs, today was her 2 month check up and she got 3 vaccination shots. They weren't as bad as we thought they might be. Megan cried, but only a little. She didn't seem to notice too much.
Aside from my fitness achievements, I've also made a few other achievements this week. First off, it looks like I'm going to be in my Fantasy Football playoffs. How? I have no clue. I had Culpepper for half the season! Trust me, it's not like I had a strong place. I barely pulled out a 4th place spot. My record is tied with 3 other people, and I only just barely have a few more points then my brother for the 4th place spot. I feel kind of bad beating my brother out for the playoffs when he is the one that invited me to the league in the first place.
In addition, and probably the most impressive achievement this week... I finished Ninja Gaiden Black on MASTER NINJA MODE. Fear my ninja skillz. For they are great. Too bad most people will never understand just how hard Master Ninja is, but I will always know. Here is a quote that I originally read about it: (Team Ninja refers to the creators of the Game)
... the game also allows you to try the "Master Ninja" difficulty setting, which will be nearly impossible for most players. According to Tecmo, only one member of Team Ninja has been able to beat the game at this difficulty level, and they figure that there will only be about 1,000 people worldwide who can pull it off.Could I be the only person in Minnesota to rule the Master Ninja? Quite possibly!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Happy Baby
It occurred to me I haven't updated on our attempts to put Megan in the crib over night, so I thought I would report on that. Basically, it has gone very well. Andrea started her on a "routine" that we do every night. It involves a changing, a feeding and a swaddling. I was resistant of the swaddling at first, but after seeing how well Megan seems to sleep when swaddled, I've changed my mind. Sometimes we play a little baby music in the background to help put her to sleep, she seems to like that. Twice this week, Megan has slept for up to 5 hours a night. (rare, but it does happen) According to Andrea, that was long enough to declare her first "sleep through the night".
I keep thinking I will come home some night and Megan will have somehow changed, gotten to some new "phase" of baby-ness. Like all of a sudden she will be grabbing objects more or she will know that her hands exist. I realized today it's not like that. It's all so gradual that you don't even notice it. I keep expecting her to "look different" as she grows up, but it's not like that. She looks like Megan, and will always look like Megan. Whether she is 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years, she will always look just like she is supposed to.
It sounds dumb, I know but when your only experience watching a baby grow up is through your friends children, you have this notion in your mind that as they grow up they change. Because that's what your perception of it is, when you see a child every 3-4 months, each time you see them they have changed. But it's totally different from the parents perspective. Whatever the case, I just can't get enough of her smiles, that's for damn sure.
I keep thinking I will come home some night and Megan will have somehow changed, gotten to some new "phase" of baby-ness. Like all of a sudden she will be grabbing objects more or she will know that her hands exist. I realized today it's not like that. It's all so gradual that you don't even notice it. I keep expecting her to "look different" as she grows up, but it's not like that. She looks like Megan, and will always look like Megan. Whether she is 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years, she will always look just like she is supposed to.
It sounds dumb, I know but when your only experience watching a baby grow up is through your friends children, you have this notion in your mind that as they grow up they change. Because that's what your perception of it is, when you see a child every 3-4 months, each time you see them they have changed. But it's totally different from the parents perspective. Whatever the case, I just can't get enough of her smiles, that's for damn sure.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Where is all my time?
I know, I know, I should really post more. Not just for everyone that wants to see pictures of Megan, but for myself too. One of the whole reasons I started a blog was to post all those crazy thoughts I have during a typical day. Right now I'm still getting used to the work schedule. With only 4 or 5 hours a night free when I get home, blogging is pretty far from my mind. I'm not about to start blogging at work, thats for sure.
Right now I'm just struggling trying to find balance. Balance of where and how I spend those few precious hours each week day night. I personally don't want to live for the weekends. I don't want Saturday/Sunday to be the only days I actually enjoy life. Thankfully Andi is encouraging my workout time during the week, even though I'm sure she'd love to have me home as early as possible every night.
I think I'm going to cut this post short and try to organize some thoughts for tomorrow. Maybe I'll post about how I'm going to be in my Fantasy Football playoffs or how I'm almost done with Ninja Gaiden on MASTER NINJA!
Right now I'm just struggling trying to find balance. Balance of where and how I spend those few precious hours each week day night. I personally don't want to live for the weekends. I don't want Saturday/Sunday to be the only days I actually enjoy life. Thankfully Andi is encouraging my workout time during the week, even though I'm sure she'd love to have me home as early as possible every night.
I think I'm going to cut this post short and try to organize some thoughts for tomorrow. Maybe I'll post about how I'm going to be in my Fantasy Football playoffs or how I'm almost done with Ninja Gaiden on MASTER NINJA!
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Triple X
In roman numerals, that's 30! Couple of my good friends turned 30 this past weekend. That means one thing - I must be turning 30 soon! I was always the youngest of my friends in school, that happens with a June birthday. When most of my friends were driving their junior year, I didn't get my license until my senior year. Same thing happened in college - when all my friends were going out to the bars their junior year, I couldn't join until my senior year!
I'm glad we were all able to get together. I wish we had more time to just sit around and reminisce. It made me once again think about one of my favorite songs, which I have quoted before on my blog:
I hope that I can take another picture like this one, 30 years from now.
On the Megan front, we survived the first week of me at work and Andrea handling Megan over nights and days. A saving grace for Andrea was the Baby Bjorn infant carrier. I guess walking around the house with Megan in the carrier keeps her happy. Andi says the house is going to be very clean because of it.
Andrea is working very hard on studying Megans habits, eating and sleeping habits. She has kept a journal most of the week, writing down all the ins and outs. Eventually, the idea is to start putting her in the crib for a little bit at a time. Up until now, we haven't used the crib at all, so this will be a hard switch over but we realize it has to be done. More to report on that as it unfolds!
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
I hope that I can take another picture like this one, 30 years from now. On the Megan front, we survived the first week of me at work and Andrea handling Megan over nights and days. A saving grace for Andrea was the Baby Bjorn infant carrier. I guess walking around the house with Megan in the carrier keeps her happy. Andi says the house is going to be very clean because of it.
Andrea is working very hard on studying Megans habits, eating and sleeping habits. She has kept a journal most of the week, writing down all the ins and outs. Eventually, the idea is to start putting her in the crib for a little bit at a time. Up until now, we haven't used the crib at all, so this will be a hard switch over but we realize it has to be done. More to report on that as it unfolds!
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Where to begin
This first week going back to work was much harder then I thought it would be. And the sad part is, I had the easy job. No matter how much I try to rationalize the concept of working, I can't shake that feeling... that life is so much more then work. I think Office Space said it best:
I daydream sometimes about what life will be like for the "average" person in 100 years. 200 years? 500 years? At what point will the human race evolve beyond the mindless drones that we are today, beyond the concepts of consumerism and materialism. Will we even make it that far?
If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on No. If there is one thing I am sure of, its that the human race has a finite amount of time left. Only question is when. Maybe a few thousand years or maybe we'll last long enough to watch the sun engulf us. Whether we're destroyed by the environment like the dinosaurs or we find a way to destroy ourselves, our time will come.
So how far will we get? Will we last long enough to look back at today as "ancient history"? 20,000 years from now, when every thing that exists today is gone, built over hundreds of times, will archaeologists dig through our remains to try and uncover how we lived? Will they find some buried keyboard and wonder what it was used for?
During lunch at work one day, I posed a question to my fellow coworkers. If you could choose to live forever, as your current self, would you? They all immediately responded with a resounding, "No way!" So why was I the only one to say, "Hell yes!" To see the life and death of humanity would be well worth it in my book. Maybe living forever would actually allow someone to get a better perspective on the whole human experience.
Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to 8 different bosses drone on about mission statements.
I daydream sometimes about what life will be like for the "average" person in 100 years. 200 years? 500 years? At what point will the human race evolve beyond the mindless drones that we are today, beyond the concepts of consumerism and materialism. Will we even make it that far?
If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on No. If there is one thing I am sure of, its that the human race has a finite amount of time left. Only question is when. Maybe a few thousand years or maybe we'll last long enough to watch the sun engulf us. Whether we're destroyed by the environment like the dinosaurs or we find a way to destroy ourselves, our time will come.
So how far will we get? Will we last long enough to look back at today as "ancient history"? 20,000 years from now, when every thing that exists today is gone, built over hundreds of times, will archaeologists dig through our remains to try and uncover how we lived? Will they find some buried keyboard and wonder what it was used for?
During lunch at work one day, I posed a question to my fellow coworkers. If you could choose to live forever, as your current self, would you? They all immediately responded with a resounding, "No way!" So why was I the only one to say, "Hell yes!" To see the life and death of humanity would be well worth it in my book. Maybe living forever would actually allow someone to get a better perspective on the whole human experience.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Regularly Scheduled Blog
Time to get back on topic with more posts about Megan! This morning we had a ceremony for Megan called a Child Dedication. This was performed at the Unitarian Universalist church that Andrea attends. (she also does the web site!) It was a very nice service for such a small church. It was actually my first time being at the church, it had a warm atmosphere. The event was open to any families wanting to do a child dedication, but it was Megan who prompted the event.
This last week has had a few tough days with Megan. We've heard or read multiple times now that a new borns fussy time peaks at 6 weeks, which was just last week for us - so maybe there is a connection. Tomorrow I head back to work for real. I know Andrea will be okay, but I still worry. Why? Because that's what I do, I worry.
I know what we are experiencing is pretty easy still in comparison, and its pretty much what I would have expected going into this. But that doesn't make it any easier when Megan is just crying for long periods of times, and nothing you do seems to help. It invokes all sorts of negative emotions, and just makes for a very hard day. You start to second guess yourself, doubt your parenting skills and all sorts of stupid things. Logically I know that Megan has to be awake sometimes, but it just sucks when that time is filled with crying.
I think I just have to focus on getting through this period and repeat the new parent mantra: "She won't be a baby forever." (Even if it feels like that sometimes) For some reason the idea of Megan crying because she doesn't get her way seems so much easier then her crying for reasons unknown.
This last week has had a few tough days with Megan. We've heard or read multiple times now that a new borns fussy time peaks at 6 weeks, which was just last week for us - so maybe there is a connection. Tomorrow I head back to work for real. I know Andrea will be okay, but I still worry. Why? Because that's what I do, I worry.
I know what we are experiencing is pretty easy still in comparison, and its pretty much what I would have expected going into this. But that doesn't make it any easier when Megan is just crying for long periods of times, and nothing you do seems to help. It invokes all sorts of negative emotions, and just makes for a very hard day. You start to second guess yourself, doubt your parenting skills and all sorts of stupid things. Logically I know that Megan has to be awake sometimes, but it just sucks when that time is filled with crying.
I think I just have to focus on getting through this period and repeat the new parent mantra: "She won't be a baby forever." (Even if it feels like that sometimes) For some reason the idea of Megan crying because she doesn't get her way seems so much easier then her crying for reasons unknown.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Where the beef!
WARNING: The following post is about video games. Don't like them? Stop reading now damnit!
Holy crap, I haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks. In the words of Fat Bastard, "That's long enough to declare, LEGALLY DEEEAD!" I honestly don't have much of an excuse for not posting. Not that anyone actually READS my posts, being as they are so completely devoid of anything remotely interesting. The truth is, as the prospect of actually going back to work neared, I buried myself in a few video games.
Game: Ninja Gaiden: Black
Total Playtime: 80 hours
Finished? 3 times
I even got the sweet Ninja t-shirt! This game is hands down, the best X-box game ever. Ninjas are cool; and by cool, I mean totally sweet. I finished the game 3 times, first on "Normal", then on "Hard" and then one last time on "Very Hard". The "Very Hard" difficulty on this game makes all other games look like child's play. Finishing this game on Very Hard was a culmination, nay... the pinnacle of my overall hand eye coordination skills.
Game: Quake 4
Total Playtime: 10-12 hours
Finished? Yes
What a let down this game was! Using the Doom 3 graphics engine, I had read some pretty bad reviews of this game, and they all turned out to be right. But seeing as how Quake was one of the founding games for me, I had to buy this one. The gameplay was crap, monster AI was non-existent. I basically just ran through the game as fast as possible to get it over with.
Game: Serious Sam 2
Total Playtime: 15 hours
Finished? Not yet
Great game for what it sets out to do. This is a different type of first person shooter, basically I call it "arcade style" first person shooter. It's a fun game and it even manages to make fun of itself during the game. (cracking jokes about video game budgets, etc) I just didn't have time to finish it, but I will.
Game: Matrix: Path of Neo
Total Playtime: 20 hours
Finished? Yes, but I regret it.
I had been looking forward to this game for some time... to be able to play as "Neo", aka "Mr. Anderson" (yes, people call me that at work a lot). To be able to do the massive agent smith battle, fighting Morpheus and all the other great battles from the movies. The game turned out to be a bunch of random levels with a few playable scenes from the movies thrown in here and there. Overall, I'd say only about 20% of the game was taken from the movies. I won't even get into the graphics and sound glitches. The kicker of all this? The ending of this stupid game. If you are a Matrix fan, watch this ending. Yes, this is directly from the game.
Game: Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King
Total Playtime: 74 hours
Finished? Yes, just tonight!
My experience with roleplaying games started in the early 90's with a game called "Dragon Warrior" on the original Nintendo. This was followed up with a few sequels, all of which I loved. Unfortunately, the series died off in the US but it continued on in Japan. Finally, after 15+ years, they decide to bring one of the "Dragon Warrior" games back over to the US. They are called "Dragon Quest" in Japan. Well, this game was awesome. Simple RPG with ALL sorts of throw backs to the classic days. I felt 14 all over again while playing this game. Good times!
In between all these video games I managed to attend 2 family Thanksgiving gatherings, see the new Harry Potter movie, work out a few times and even take care of Megan here and there. Right now, I feel like I just won the lottery - Megan has been sleeping since 5:30! (almost 3 hours!!) All I know is that Andrea definitely has the harder job when I go back to work.
Holy crap, I haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks. In the words of Fat Bastard, "That's long enough to declare, LEGALLY DEEEAD!" I honestly don't have much of an excuse for not posting. Not that anyone actually READS my posts, being as they are so completely devoid of anything remotely interesting. The truth is, as the prospect of actually going back to work neared, I buried myself in a few video games.
Game: Ninja Gaiden: Black
Total Playtime: 80 hours
Finished? 3 times
I even got the sweet Ninja t-shirt! This game is hands down, the best X-box game ever. Ninjas are cool; and by cool, I mean totally sweet. I finished the game 3 times, first on "Normal", then on "Hard" and then one last time on "Very Hard". The "Very Hard" difficulty on this game makes all other games look like child's play. Finishing this game on Very Hard was a culmination, nay... the pinnacle of my overall hand eye coordination skills.
Game: Quake 4
Total Playtime: 10-12 hours
Finished? Yes
What a let down this game was! Using the Doom 3 graphics engine, I had read some pretty bad reviews of this game, and they all turned out to be right. But seeing as how Quake was one of the founding games for me, I had to buy this one. The gameplay was crap, monster AI was non-existent. I basically just ran through the game as fast as possible to get it over with.
Game: Serious Sam 2
Total Playtime: 15 hours
Finished? Not yet
Great game for what it sets out to do. This is a different type of first person shooter, basically I call it "arcade style" first person shooter. It's a fun game and it even manages to make fun of itself during the game. (cracking jokes about video game budgets, etc) I just didn't have time to finish it, but I will.
Game: Matrix: Path of Neo
Total Playtime: 20 hours
Finished? Yes, but I regret it.
I had been looking forward to this game for some time... to be able to play as "Neo", aka "Mr. Anderson" (yes, people call me that at work a lot). To be able to do the massive agent smith battle, fighting Morpheus and all the other great battles from the movies. The game turned out to be a bunch of random levels with a few playable scenes from the movies thrown in here and there. Overall, I'd say only about 20% of the game was taken from the movies. I won't even get into the graphics and sound glitches. The kicker of all this? The ending of this stupid game. If you are a Matrix fan, watch this ending. Yes, this is directly from the game.
Game: Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King
Total Playtime: 74 hours
Finished? Yes, just tonight!
My experience with roleplaying games started in the early 90's with a game called "Dragon Warrior" on the original Nintendo. This was followed up with a few sequels, all of which I loved. Unfortunately, the series died off in the US but it continued on in Japan. Finally, after 15+ years, they decide to bring one of the "Dragon Warrior" games back over to the US. They are called "Dragon Quest" in Japan. Well, this game was awesome. Simple RPG with ALL sorts of throw backs to the classic days. I felt 14 all over again while playing this game. Good times!
In between all these video games I managed to attend 2 family Thanksgiving gatherings, see the new Harry Potter movie, work out a few times and even take care of Megan here and there. Right now, I feel like I just won the lottery - Megan has been sleeping since 5:30! (almost 3 hours!!) All I know is that Andrea definitely has the harder job when I go back to work.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
No Gnews is Good Gnews
Not much new to report since my last post. Andrea's parents visited this weekend and told us Megan is definitely getting bigger. It's harder for us to tell because we spend every day with her.
Work coming up soon, just another week and half off. Tomorrow we are going to start the "practice" week for me going back to work. Both for myself (I need to get on a normal sleep schedule) and for Andrea. So tonight, I'll probably goto bed around midnight and set my alarm for 6am just like I was going to work. Then I'm going to be "at work" (i.e. not help with anything) until 5pm. After that I'll probably go work out like I would on a normal week day. Gonna repeat that all week and see how things go. I'm not sure what Andrea is planning for Megan. If she will try to keep her in the bedroom most of the night or sleep with her downstairs, etc.
Luckily, my first day back to work is actually just one day (Wed) before Thanksgiving. So it's one day before a 4 day weekend. I guess technically I go back on Nov 28th, considering my first day back will be cleaning out my email box of over 400 emails. Good times!
Work coming up soon, just another week and half off. Tomorrow we are going to start the "practice" week for me going back to work. Both for myself (I need to get on a normal sleep schedule) and for Andrea. So tonight, I'll probably goto bed around midnight and set my alarm for 6am just like I was going to work. Then I'm going to be "at work" (i.e. not help with anything) until 5pm. After that I'll probably go work out like I would on a normal week day. Gonna repeat that all week and see how things go. I'm not sure what Andrea is planning for Megan. If she will try to keep her in the bedroom most of the night or sleep with her downstairs, etc.
Luckily, my first day back to work is actually just one day (Wed) before Thanksgiving. So it's one day before a 4 day weekend. I guess technically I go back on Nov 28th, considering my first day back will be cleaning out my email box of over 400 emails. Good times!
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Graphic Content
WARNING! The following links contain pictures of me without a shirt on! This has been known to have the same effects as Medusa. Yes, there have been cases of petrification. You have been warned!
July to November to Aug 06 progress - Front
July to November to Aug 06 progress - Side
I like where I've made it to, but I definitely don't feel done yet. I'm really feel that I could be close to my goals before my next birthday. That would be nice since I will be turning the big Three Oh. My two close friends from highschool are both turning 30 this year, at the end of this month. (3 days apart!) Hopefully I'll get to spend some time with both of them.
Megan turned 1-month yesterday! I honestly can't say that Megan has gotten any easier or harder, although Andrea tells me her fussy time will peak around 6 weeks. Just in time for me to go back to work! I'm not sure how hard things will be once I go back to work. If I goto bed at 11pm every night, at most I'll be home for 6 hours a night, only 4 hours if I want to work out. What can I do with such little time?
I guess I shouldn't worry about it, Time will march on and we can't live on our savings forever. I will just never get over the fact that work takes up the largest percentage of your life. It shouldn't be that way! Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets?
July to November to Aug 06 progress - Front
July to November to Aug 06 progress - Side
I like where I've made it to, but I definitely don't feel done yet. I'm really feel that I could be close to my goals before my next birthday. That would be nice since I will be turning the big Three Oh. My two close friends from highschool are both turning 30 this year, at the end of this month. (3 days apart!) Hopefully I'll get to spend some time with both of them.
Megan turned 1-month yesterday! I honestly can't say that Megan has gotten any easier or harder, although Andrea tells me her fussy time will peak around 6 weeks. Just in time for me to go back to work! I'm not sure how hard things will be once I go back to work. If I goto bed at 11pm every night, at most I'll be home for 6 hours a night, only 4 hours if I want to work out. What can I do with such little time?
I guess I shouldn't worry about it, Time will march on and we can't live on our savings forever. I will just never get over the fact that work takes up the largest percentage of your life. It shouldn't be that way! Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets?
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Misc Megan Madness
Thought I would just post some more pictures of Megan. Since my last post was all sleeping pictures, I picked out a bunch of awake pictures. Enjoy!
SOOO BIG! Megan all stretched out.
Megan trying to roll over. She has rolled over once before from her stomach to her back, but I missed it. Hopefully I'll catch the next one!
Megan focuses on an object (rattle) that is shaken in front of her.
Megan holds her first object, although she isn't too happy about it.
Mom & Megan
Megan on her swing. Most of the time she likes the swing, but her head still flops around sometimes.
We saw this ad in the paper recently and just had to laugh... A frog wiping his ass. Priceless!
SOOO BIG! Megan all stretched out.
Megan trying to roll over. She has rolled over once before from her stomach to her back, but I missed it. Hopefully I'll catch the next one!
Megan focuses on an object (rattle) that is shaken in front of her.
Megan holds her first object, although she isn't too happy about it.
Mom & Megan
Megan on her swing. Most of the time she likes the swing, but her head still flops around sometimes.
We saw this ad in the paper recently and just had to laugh... A frog wiping his ass. Priceless!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Observations of a Fitness Center
I've been going to Lifetime fitness now for about 3 weeks. I haven't done much more then cardio workouts, i.e. 60 minutes on an elliptical machine each time I go. The whole point of joining the gym was to add in new things to my fitness such as weight training. I haven't managed to do that yet, but hopefully something will come together in the next few weeks. Needless to say, here are some of my observations about my time at the gym:
1) Naked Men in the locker room - What is with the guys that feel they need to walk around nude in the locker room? And I'm not just talking to and from the shower, I'm talking standing around, having conversations. Walking up to the mirror / sink area, checking themselves out, etc. For the love of all things holy, put a damn towel on please. I've asked Andrea if women walk around the locker room totally nude and she assures me that they don't.
2) People on there cell phones and stairmaster at the same time - Seriously, we all know you are so important you have to talk to the whole world while you are working out. But you are annoying the rest of us. I know I should get some headphones, but I don't like sweaty ear pieces so I normally don't listen to music while working out. Speaking of music, right up there with annoying people on their cell phones, is women with headphones on who feel the need to sing along with their music... outloud.
3) Personal trainers don't really give a rats ass about you - Unless you are a single hot girl working out alone or paying them very well. In my 2 "free" sessions that I've had since I've joined, I've more or less decided that PT's aren't worth it. The second PT I spent time with for equipment orientation kept saying, "Here's some free advice..." Like his advice was a precious commodity with a huge dollar value.
I can see how PT's might be valuable to someone already in shape that is looking to do more. But for me, what I need to do is so simple, that they wouldn't be worth the cost. Maybe in a year or two when I want to start strengthening different body parts. For now, I'm going to do what has been working for me and just see where it takes me.
As for where it has taken me, well as a quick update, I'm down to 245. That's a solid loss of 55 pounds. That's like a whole 7 year old! I haven't been eating as good as I was before - being home all the time makes it easy to snack. Plus, we have had a lot of free dinners brought to us from various groups Andrea is a part of. These meals have usually consisted in high calorie meals but hey - they are free, good tasting, and so we eat them! I'm going to make a better effort in the next few weeks to get back on track there and continue figuring out what I can do at the gym to help me out. I will also probably be visiting the doctor to see if other things have improved such as my cholesterol levels and other stuff of that nature. I had a full blood work done up last November, so its time to see what a full year and all this exercise and healthy living has done to my insides as well as my outsides.
1) Naked Men in the locker room - What is with the guys that feel they need to walk around nude in the locker room? And I'm not just talking to and from the shower, I'm talking standing around, having conversations. Walking up to the mirror / sink area, checking themselves out, etc. For the love of all things holy, put a damn towel on please. I've asked Andrea if women walk around the locker room totally nude and she assures me that they don't.
2) People on there cell phones and stairmaster at the same time - Seriously, we all know you are so important you have to talk to the whole world while you are working out. But you are annoying the rest of us. I know I should get some headphones, but I don't like sweaty ear pieces so I normally don't listen to music while working out. Speaking of music, right up there with annoying people on their cell phones, is women with headphones on who feel the need to sing along with their music... outloud.
3) Personal trainers don't really give a rats ass about you - Unless you are a single hot girl working out alone or paying them very well. In my 2 "free" sessions that I've had since I've joined, I've more or less decided that PT's aren't worth it. The second PT I spent time with for equipment orientation kept saying, "Here's some free advice..." Like his advice was a precious commodity with a huge dollar value.
I can see how PT's might be valuable to someone already in shape that is looking to do more. But for me, what I need to do is so simple, that they wouldn't be worth the cost. Maybe in a year or two when I want to start strengthening different body parts. For now, I'm going to do what has been working for me and just see where it takes me.
As for where it has taken me, well as a quick update, I'm down to 245. That's a solid loss of 55 pounds. That's like a whole 7 year old! I haven't been eating as good as I was before - being home all the time makes it easy to snack. Plus, we have had a lot of free dinners brought to us from various groups Andrea is a part of. These meals have usually consisted in high calorie meals but hey - they are free, good tasting, and so we eat them! I'm going to make a better effort in the next few weeks to get back on track there and continue figuring out what I can do at the gym to help me out. I will also probably be visiting the doctor to see if other things have improved such as my cholesterol levels and other stuff of that nature. I had a full blood work done up last November, so its time to see what a full year and all this exercise and healthy living has done to my insides as well as my outsides.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
4th and Ounces
Damn, a whole week since my last post. I know I promised lots of posts and pictures of this time with Megan, but she just keeps us so busy! The initial excitement has definitely faded and we are getting worn out. It sucks how during this first phase Megan doesn't really interact much. Yes, she looks around. Yes, she cries and eats and sleeps. But that's really about it. She won't even actually react to us with a smile for another 2 months! It's one of those things, where deep down inside, you know that before you can blink she will be crawling, walking, talking and all those fun things. But it's just like Dark Helmet said in Spaceballs, "When will then, be now?"
Here are some pictures of Megan doing what she does best, sleeping. If I've learned anything in the last 3 weeks, it's that a half an ounce of food can make ALL the difference between a crying baby and a content happy baby.
Saturday night we went to a small Halloween party over at our friends who recently moved really close to us. (within 5 miles) This made for an easy Megan trip, and we stayed just long enough between feedings. The kids were very cute in their costumes, and we also made them bob for apples.
I've basically come to embrace my night owl self. I think about how my brother is constantly up until 2, 3, or even 4am every night and I realize we are probably more alike in that respect. When you have to get up at 6am every morning, you basically force yourself into a "normal" schedule. But the truth is, for some reason, my body likes to stay up late and sleep in all morning. The benefit of this, is that I can take care of Megan from 11pm-3am every night, and Andrea can get a good solid 4 hours of sleep. Then I can goto bed and we can trade off. It works out okay, but obviously it's going to be very hard to get back on a normal schedule once I start work again.
I'll probably post again later this week with an update on my health goals. I've been struggling for the last 3 weeks, although I have made it to the gym 8 times. I plan on keeping that going with at least 4 visits a week. It's just a matter of figuring out what to do while I'm there to be most effective.
Here are some pictures of Megan doing what she does best, sleeping. If I've learned anything in the last 3 weeks, it's that a half an ounce of food can make ALL the difference between a crying baby and a content happy baby.
Saturday night we went to a small Halloween party over at our friends who recently moved really close to us. (within 5 miles) This made for an easy Megan trip, and we stayed just long enough between feedings. The kids were very cute in their costumes, and we also made them bob for apples.
I've basically come to embrace my night owl self. I think about how my brother is constantly up until 2, 3, or even 4am every night and I realize we are probably more alike in that respect. When you have to get up at 6am every morning, you basically force yourself into a "normal" schedule. But the truth is, for some reason, my body likes to stay up late and sleep in all morning. The benefit of this, is that I can take care of Megan from 11pm-3am every night, and Andrea can get a good solid 4 hours of sleep. Then I can goto bed and we can trade off. It works out okay, but obviously it's going to be very hard to get back on a normal schedule once I start work again.
I'll probably post again later this week with an update on my health goals. I've been struggling for the last 3 weeks, although I have made it to the gym 8 times. I plan on keeping that going with at least 4 visits a week. It's just a matter of figuring out what to do while I'm there to be most effective.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Fantasy Football & More
I haven't posted in 5 days! Where is the time going? If I could quote one of my current favorite movies, "Time is an illusion. Lunch time, doubly so." Friday we took Megan on her first stroller ride. Just up and down the block, but it was fun! She slept through it, but hey - we've got that memory at least!
Saturday we took our first road trip. We drove all the way down to Lafayette to visit Andreas grand parents. Megan actually has 3 great grandmas and 2 great grandfathers! I really hope she gets to know them all the way I was able to get to know my great grandmother Ella. She was one remarkable person. The trip itself was great, takes an hour and a half to get down there, Megan slept the whole way. After some time with the great grandparents, we headed over to Andreas brothers place so Megan could meet her other Aunt and Uncle. On the way home she slept again, waking up just 5 miles before we arrived. Almost flawless!
Sunday Megan and I watched football... I almost turned the Vikings game off when it was 17-0 going into halftime, but Megan told me I should stick it out. Sure enough, she was right. That was a hell of a victory, but perhaps my faith in Daunte has been restored. I won Fantasy Football this weekend without having Daunte in, and I'm hesitant to put him in against Carolina on the road.
Other then that, things have been going pretty well. I've made it to the health club a few times, although I skipped today simply because I was too tired. I will go tomorrow and Thursday/Friday I think. It's been REALLY hard to try and think about exercise when I am already so exhausted by taking care of Megan. Today Andreas comment was "How can someone so small wear out 2 grown adults?" Damn good question! Before I know it, I'll be going back to work and Andrea will have some really tough nights. Hopefully she will be ready for it.
Speaking of Andrea, I will leave you with this picture. Yes, Andrea is weird. I think that's why I married her. The best part is the expression on Megans face, she seems to be thinking, "What the hell are you doing Mommy?". Enjoy!
Saturday we took our first road trip. We drove all the way down to Lafayette to visit Andreas grand parents. Megan actually has 3 great grandmas and 2 great grandfathers! I really hope she gets to know them all the way I was able to get to know my great grandmother Ella. She was one remarkable person. The trip itself was great, takes an hour and a half to get down there, Megan slept the whole way. After some time with the great grandparents, we headed over to Andreas brothers place so Megan could meet her other Aunt and Uncle. On the way home she slept again, waking up just 5 miles before we arrived. Almost flawless!
Sunday Megan and I watched football... I almost turned the Vikings game off when it was 17-0 going into halftime, but Megan told me I should stick it out. Sure enough, she was right. That was a hell of a victory, but perhaps my faith in Daunte has been restored. I won Fantasy Football this weekend without having Daunte in, and I'm hesitant to put him in against Carolina on the road.
Other then that, things have been going pretty well. I've made it to the health club a few times, although I skipped today simply because I was too tired. I will go tomorrow and Thursday/Friday I think. It's been REALLY hard to try and think about exercise when I am already so exhausted by taking care of Megan. Today Andreas comment was "How can someone so small wear out 2 grown adults?" Damn good question! Before I know it, I'll be going back to work and Andrea will have some really tough nights. Hopefully she will be ready for it.
Speaking of Andrea, I will leave you with this picture. Yes, Andrea is weird. I think that's why I married her. The best part is the expression on Megans face, she seems to be thinking, "What the hell are you doing Mommy?". Enjoy!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
4 hour naps rule
Not much new to report on Megan, so I haven't posted much in the last week. Megan is a very easy going baby so far. She has her fussy periods, and sometimes at night she isn't happy unless she is sleeping next to one of us. We bought a Snuggle Nest so that Megan could sleep in our bed with us at night. I had heard that it could end up being a bad thing, because every little sound or snort she makes might wake you up. But for me, it ends up being more of a soothing thing. I know Megan is right there, and it's comforting to me to hear her sounds. We like to call her Squeaker because she is quite the noise maker sometimes!
On Monday this week I got my membership to Lifetime Fitness. I've gone three times so far, just doing 60 minutes on an elliptical machine. Eventually I will add in some other things, but I'm not sure when/how. I need to come up with some type of plan but I'm not sure where to start. I'm actually thinking of buying this starter package available to new members that would include 3 sessions with a personal trainer. It just seems like they focus on things I don't really care about. I mean, I realize flexibility is important, but do I really need to do Yoga to achieve my overall fitness goals? I had a Body Age Assessment done on my second visit. I was told my body is actually that of a 37 year old. Awesome. Okay, so I'm still out of shape, I realize that! But I know that what I am doing is working for me, and for now that's more important.
I wanted to get a picture of Megan awake, so I took the following picture with no flash, in a dark room. I've heavily enhanced the photo so it looks brighter. As you can see, Megan does in fact open her eyes every now and then.
On Monday this week I got my membership to Lifetime Fitness. I've gone three times so far, just doing 60 minutes on an elliptical machine. Eventually I will add in some other things, but I'm not sure when/how. I need to come up with some type of plan but I'm not sure where to start. I'm actually thinking of buying this starter package available to new members that would include 3 sessions with a personal trainer. It just seems like they focus on things I don't really care about. I mean, I realize flexibility is important, but do I really need to do Yoga to achieve my overall fitness goals? I had a Body Age Assessment done on my second visit. I was told my body is actually that of a 37 year old. Awesome. Okay, so I'm still out of shape, I realize that! But I know that what I am doing is working for me, and for now that's more important.
I wanted to get a picture of Megan awake, so I took the following picture with no flash, in a dark room. I've heavily enhanced the photo so it looks brighter. As you can see, Megan does in fact open her eyes every now and then.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Fantasy Football, week 6
I've reworked a decent amount of my squad. First off, I'm starting Culpepper again for the first time since week 3. Why? I figure if there is any chance he will have a good game, it will be coming off a bye week and a sex filled boat trip. I've also moved around some RBs since it didn't make much sense to have 2 RBs from the same team.
I love how the media is portraying the Vikings right now. "The mess that the Vikings have become." Friday night, Andrea and I went out to Champs restaurant for dinner. Some DJ was talking about the weekend specials and mentioned the Vikings. The entire restaurant boo'ed. Damn... oh well, I guess we can say goodbye to Tice next year? Because obviously, the players having crazy sex parties is all his fault.
I love how the media is portraying the Vikings right now. "The mess that the Vikings have become." Friday night, Andrea and I went out to Champs restaurant for dinner. Some DJ was talking about the weekend specials and mentioned the Vikings. The entire restaurant boo'ed. Damn... oh well, I guess we can say goodbye to Tice next year? Because obviously, the players having crazy sex parties is all his fault.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| QB | D. Culpepper |
| WR | Ke. Johnson |
| WR | K. Curtis |
| WR | E. Kennison |
| RB | S. Jackson |
| RB | T. Barber |
| TE | J. Wiggins |
| WR/RB | C. Perry |
| K | S. Graham |
| DEF | Carolina |
| D | A. Wilson |
| D | Do. Edwards |
Friday, October 14, 2005
Sleep Deprivation
Andrea and I are dealing with the lack of sleep pretty well. We had a small scare Thursday night. Andreas feet were swelling a little more then normal, and when one started to swell more then the other, she called the Nurse hotline. They said she should goto the Emergency room because it could be a blood clot that could be very bad. So, 1 am we packed up and headed to the ER. 4 hours later, it was nothing to worry about and we were back home. Just made for a REALLY long night.
Today, Andrea forced me out of the house. I haven't been away from Megan since we brought her home. It was 70 degrees and sunny outside, so I figured it would be a perfect day for a bike ride. I got a good 25 miles in, it was very relaxing. What weird weather for October!
This weekend Grandma Joleen is going to be staying with us and help around the house a take care of Megan for an hour so Andrea and I can have a quick date night. Should be fun. It is really nice to have so much support from friends and family. I'll have to post later about Andreas crazy networking skills.
Daddy and Megan were able to grab a very much needed 3 hour nap.
Today, Andrea forced me out of the house. I haven't been away from Megan since we brought her home. It was 70 degrees and sunny outside, so I figured it would be a perfect day for a bike ride. I got a good 25 miles in, it was very relaxing. What weird weather for October!
This weekend Grandma Joleen is going to be staying with us and help around the house a take care of Megan for an hour so Andrea and I can have a quick date night. Should be fun. It is really nice to have so much support from friends and family. I'll have to post later about Andreas crazy networking skills.
Daddy and Megan were able to grab a very much needed 3 hour nap.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Hour 42
Pictures at the bottom for those in a hurry!
The answer to life, the universe, and everything! We've been home now for 42 hours, and everything seems to be going okay. We are slowing learning the pattern of change, feed, rest, change, feed, rest, repeat. Still in the process of figuring out the overnight part, right now we are leaning towards splitting the night in half where each person gets to sleep for 4 hours.
Today we had our at home care visit, where a nurse comes to the house to check on things and answer any questions we might have. It was a nice visit, and we got some useful information. Megan has very slight jaundice, when we left the hospital she was a level 8. But today, it had dropped to a level 6.1. They really don't worry about it or do any treatment unless it's level 20 or so. Her discharge weight was 8 lbs 3 oz and her weight today was 8 lbs 2 oz, so she has not lost any weight and will probably be back up to birth weight within a week. They like to see a baby return to birth weight within 2 weeks usually.
Andrea and I are doing good, we've already had our first break down! Glad to get that over and done with. On the plus side, my Mom was over at our house during the incident, and her comforting and helping with the baby was exactly what we needed. THANKS GRANDMA!
In the near future, I will probably shift my posts to more of my perspective of this whole experience. It is my blog after all. :-) But I want to share details about Andrea for all my friends and family as well. Probably the only real big development for Andrea in the last 42 hours is that her milk came in yesterday! That was a very exciting thing for us, and Andrea as well. We've actually got through a few feedings that were exclusively breast milk. Prior to that, we've been adding in formula feedings to keep Megan well fed and happy as a clam. And she is a very happy baby... so far. (fingers crossed)
I'm personally doing okay - it's been harder then I thought it would be. I think it's tougher for Dads to figure out their role in these early phases. Add to that my all or nothing personality, and it can get even worse. It's probably why so many Dads go back to work right away. That way they don't have to think about it. It's also been very hard dealing with all these new emotions. Yes, I'm a guy, but believe it or not, I'm human too. I've always been the type of person to keep my emotions in check simply because it's easier. Now they are coming on so strong and fast, it's pretty impossible to do that. Andrea is a little worried about me, and probably rightly so. I haven't really been eating right (enough) and I've dropped almost 4 lbs since Megan was born. (that's 4 pounds in 3 days) Obviously this is not very healthy and I need to get back on a regular schedule. For some reason my appetite is just not there. Or I will go to make something and lose interest in eating it by the time it's ready.
I think the key for me is slowly integrating aspects of my "pre-Daddy" life into my "post-Daddy" life until I find a healthy medium. I should take breaks to blog, play an hour of video games here and there. And I've decided that next Monday I will follow up with my Lifetime fitness plans and hit the gym starting next week.
Last but not least, I thought I would include some close-up shots of Megan so people can pick apart who she looks like. (I'm no good at that game, I think Megan looks like Megan!) I apologize for the quality, but these were taken with no flash.
The answer to life, the universe, and everything! We've been home now for 42 hours, and everything seems to be going okay. We are slowing learning the pattern of change, feed, rest, change, feed, rest, repeat. Still in the process of figuring out the overnight part, right now we are leaning towards splitting the night in half where each person gets to sleep for 4 hours.
Today we had our at home care visit, where a nurse comes to the house to check on things and answer any questions we might have. It was a nice visit, and we got some useful information. Megan has very slight jaundice, when we left the hospital she was a level 8. But today, it had dropped to a level 6.1. They really don't worry about it or do any treatment unless it's level 20 or so. Her discharge weight was 8 lbs 3 oz and her weight today was 8 lbs 2 oz, so she has not lost any weight and will probably be back up to birth weight within a week. They like to see a baby return to birth weight within 2 weeks usually.
Andrea and I are doing good, we've already had our first break down! Glad to get that over and done with. On the plus side, my Mom was over at our house during the incident, and her comforting and helping with the baby was exactly what we needed. THANKS GRANDMA!
In the near future, I will probably shift my posts to more of my perspective of this whole experience. It is my blog after all. :-) But I want to share details about Andrea for all my friends and family as well. Probably the only real big development for Andrea in the last 42 hours is that her milk came in yesterday! That was a very exciting thing for us, and Andrea as well. We've actually got through a few feedings that were exclusively breast milk. Prior to that, we've been adding in formula feedings to keep Megan well fed and happy as a clam. And she is a very happy baby... so far. (fingers crossed)
I'm personally doing okay - it's been harder then I thought it would be. I think it's tougher for Dads to figure out their role in these early phases. Add to that my all or nothing personality, and it can get even worse. It's probably why so many Dads go back to work right away. That way they don't have to think about it. It's also been very hard dealing with all these new emotions. Yes, I'm a guy, but believe it or not, I'm human too. I've always been the type of person to keep my emotions in check simply because it's easier. Now they are coming on so strong and fast, it's pretty impossible to do that. Andrea is a little worried about me, and probably rightly so. I haven't really been eating right (enough) and I've dropped almost 4 lbs since Megan was born. (that's 4 pounds in 3 days) Obviously this is not very healthy and I need to get back on a regular schedule. For some reason my appetite is just not there. Or I will go to make something and lose interest in eating it by the time it's ready.
I think the key for me is slowly integrating aspects of my "pre-Daddy" life into my "post-Daddy" life until I find a healthy medium. I should take breaks to blog, play an hour of video games here and there. And I've decided that next Monday I will follow up with my Lifetime fitness plans and hit the gym starting next week.
Last but not least, I thought I would include some close-up shots of Megan so people can pick apart who she looks like. (I'm no good at that game, I think Megan looks like Megan!) I apologize for the quality, but these were taken with no flash.
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