Photos from the Game

And I use the word "game" loosely, the 'Cats defense is terrible and I think things are going to get worse before they get better. But the kids didn't seem to mind that Tech was running up and down the field with very little resistance.



Natalie was much, much happier BEFORE I tried to take her picture. Gabriel was content to eat Rainbow Goldfish off the ground. Three kids has changed Jana -- she would have NEVER let Tyler eat food off the floor in a stadium...

Allissa and Lucas had already left with mom so I didn't get pictures of them (Sorry Linda L.).

D

Happy Birthday to Me!

For the first time in 38 years, Grandma Harris didn't call me on my birthday, she didn't send me a card,she didn't visit... but I know she's with me.

I got a Wii Fit from Kim. I spent 30 minutes on it this evening. It doesn't seem like you're doing much, but right now, 15 minutes after putting it away, my abs are burning, my legs feel like I've worked out, and I've worked up a sweat. I think it will be a nice addition to my work out routine to get my "cruise" body.

Both kids lost their games this weekend, so did K-State, and the Chiefs. The only good thing about the weekend was a Cowboy victory over the Bengals. We sat with Darrel, Jana, Matthew, Steff, and all the kids yesterday at the game. I'll post some photos of four of them tomorrow. (No Allissa or Lucas, they went home before I started snapping photos!)

D

The cost of gas...

I just got back in the office from a trip to Wichita. I did not fill up before I left because gas is always cheaper outside the city limits of Salina. Even though the price is Salina dropped yesterday to $3.29, I gambled that it would be significantly lower elsewhere. Sure enough -- $3.15 in Wichita. How is it that the same gas can be .14/gallon cheaper in Wichita? I saved almost $2 by waiting...

D

I DID IT!

No, not that! I beat "Through the Fire and Flames" on Guitar Hero. (YouTube Video, not me...) To keep from sitting on my butt at lunch I have been playing Guitar Hero for 30 - 45 minutes. Today I beat the hardest song on GH3 -- albiet on the easiest setting and I only got 79% of the notes, but hey, it still said "You Rock!" JD will be so proud of his soon-to-be-39-year-old dad!



I am sure that I'm not burning a mountain of calories, but I'm burning some atleast! According to the Wii website, you can burn 77 calories in 15 minutes playing bowling, maybe I should bowl. Or I can box and burn 125 calories in 15 minutes. I think Wii Fit would be a better workout...

By the way... I've only had 720 calories today. I think I'm dropping about a pound-and-a-half a day. My exercise program burns about 475 calories a day. So 189 lbs can't be too far off!

D

N-I-N-E

9 pounds. That's what I lost in the first week of the Pound Plunge. I've been working hard, watching what I eat and exercising as I can. Kim and I rode the bikes outside today. We actually rode to the YMCA for our weigh in. Kim is doing well too. She lost 5 lbs.

The weekend was good. Except a disgruntled former employee of mine e-mailed my boss advocating my firing. Said I was lazy and a bad leader. My boss told me not to worry about it, but it still bothers me. I work HARD to be the best employee I can and it wears on me when someone tries to undermine that hard work with lies and half-truths. All I have is my name (and a Harley) and this is this persons' way of trying to get me.

The 'Cats won, Kaylee's soccer team and the Cowboys did not. But the Chiefs did... how did that happen?

Later
D

Did you know...

A banana has 175 calories? I might as well eat a Snickers bar!

D

Wedensday

I think I managed to stay under 1800 calories today, but not sure as we ate supper at church. It was taco salad and I had 1000 calories to spare, but it was loaded with canned cheese and I added sour cream.

The biggest change I make is what I drink. The last time I had a very successful weight loss program my doctor told me: "No liquid calories". So basically I drink water. And start the morning with a cup of coffee.

More later.

D

Today

Today I've had an apple (120 calories), a yogurt smoothie (70 calories), a roast beef sandwich (360 calories), and a Orchard Harvest Salad with cherry vinagerette dressing (340 calories). Total calories through 5:00 PM -- 890. I am trying to stay under 1800 calories a day... so far so good.

D

Time to Exercise

I am going to track my exercise on the right column plus the weight I lose. Like I said, I would like to lose 25 lbs in 12 weeks. It's ambitious, but I need a goal. The hard part will be not gaining it back over Christmas.

Today I ate three apples, a yogurt smoothie, some pita chips (5 grams of fat per serving), and a grill cheese sandwich. I've reduced my calorie intake and increased the calories burned. That's the key to weight loss for me, burn more that I take in...

D

It's about time...

Wow...over two weeks since I did this...I've been slacking.

Pound Plunge Salina -- Kimmie says she really wants to see me in a Speedo on the cruise so I signed up for the Pound Plunge. Hopefully I can lose 25 lbs in 12 weeks. We'll see. Kim and I got up this morning at 5:50 and went on a walk (Dee) and run (Kim). For breakfast I had yogurt and an apple. Well on my way.

JD's team lost this weekend. 28 - 0. I thought they would be better than they are. It turns out that we are a little undersized, even with 6 players over 120 lbs. Most teams don't have that many, but it turns out that we have NONE between 100 and 120 lbs, but other teams have a lot of players in that catagory. Our 75 lb linebackers can't tackle 110 lb running backs.

Kaylee's soccer team also lost. 5 - 0. That game was a lot closer than I thought it would be. I have 14 little girls and only about 4 want to play. I thought that when it was a coed team in first grade that the boys were too aggressive and intimidated the girls. It turns out that most girls just aren't aggressive.

More later. I promise.

D

More Nothing...

Today is Friday, it's been a slow week...

JD has his first football game tomorrow at 10:00 at Salina Stadium. He'll be the starting guard on the left side of the offensive line. According to one of the coaches that scouted the Cardinals, JD should get a confidence booster the first game. The guy that he will be blocking is short and thin... JD already has an advantage -- he's only thin!

I found the next great tailgate must-have item. It's a two-stroke, gas-powered, 85 oz, stainless-steel party blender. You too can own one for only $240 from J.C. Whitney.

On Tuesday, Kaylee's soccer practice started. I am coaching. Not sure how this is going to work with 12 little girls, but I'll geive it a shot. One informed me that she was "very good at soccer". And that "it would probably show in the games". I'm hoping all of them will be a little better this year since they are now in a girls-only league. The boys can be aggressive and somewhat intimidating.

One Wednesday, because I don't have enough to do, I attended the Vote Yes on the Pool organizational meeting at the Chamber. I am chairman of the publicity committee. At least it will end in 60 days... not sure what I was thinking, other than it is good PR for MarketAide.

D

What a weekend.

We went to Manhattan, saw K-State, camped, fished, then came home cleaned house, had great bar-b-que, and watched JD scrimmage.

First... K-State manhandled North Texas, as they should. We took the kids. They had a good time. We watched the second half with Alyssa and Matthew. Alyssa did not enjoy sitting with us because "these are not our seats". She eventually gave in and sat with Kaylee. The 'Cats looked good, but it was an inferior opponent. I thought the first test would come at Louisville on Thursday, September 17. But Louisville lost to Kentucky 27-2.

After the game we camped at Tuttle Creek. That made for a short drive after the game. Sunday morning we went fishing in the River Pond area below the dam. I caught two fish that combined were not as long as my hand! I caught a catfish that might have been 4" long and a blue gill that was about 2". Not great, but better than getting skunked.

Last night we got in a bike ride and I did some more genealogy research.

This morning we cleaned house. What an exciting way to spend a holiday. After I finished my chores, I cooked some pork ribs. They were fabulous! Then this eveing we watched JD's football team scrimmage. Each team ran 20 plays with the first team offense and each team ran 20 with the second team. JD's team scored three touchdowns and held the opponent scoreless. JD starts at left guard and had some good blocks. On the defensive side of the ball, he had two tackles -- one of them he ran down a running back and tackled him just shy of the goal line. Yeah, I know... how slow is that kid if JD ran him down!

Later

D