Day 201 A Long Friday and Slowing Down To Catch Up

Day 201

A Long Friday and Slowing Down To Catch Up

This weekend is “little sisters” weekend at SWOSU. I spent most of the day driving to and from Amber's campus. Amber and Courtney are planning to have a blast! Courtney is so excited about staying in the dorm. Our snack choices on the way down ended up being some cheese and Funyuns. We love the Funyuns, and since we very rarely have them, it seemed OK to share a bag for 160 calories each. We also snacked on some cheese. By the way, Funyuns are lower in calories than any potato chip or Doritos product you'll find. Compare the labels and see for yourself. Courtney gave me the best compliment during a stop on the way out of town. She said, “Dad, you're no longer fat-fat, you're just a tall chubby guy now.” I totally get what she's saying, I can see the reflection, it's much different from before. She made my day by saying that. I'm so proud of her and Amber both.

This self-image stuff can be hard to shake. I've heard of people who have lost a bunch of weight, but still they see themselves as they were, not what they've become. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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That's as far as I could get last night before falling asleep sitting up at the computer. I woke up drooling on myself at nearly 3am and decided to go get some bed rest. I was a tired young man: My day started at 4:45am Friday morning, I did my morning show and a bunch of production without taking a lunch break, so by 1pm we were headed out on the highway for Stillwater and the eye doctor, then to OKC for an hour and a half wait at The Department of Health Vital Statistics for an official birth certificate (beats a few weeks waiting by mail-Courtney needs it for her driving permit—we can't find the original!), We knew that we had to be at the state health department by 4pm to get what we were after and since we didn't get out of the eye doctor until 2:55pm, it was going to be tough to get there. Thank goodness the speed limit is 70 on I-35, still the flow of traffic was about 75, and that speed got us within a few city streets of our destination with six minutes to spare. Once we arrived in the parking garage, we had exactly three minutes to get through the doors of the vital statistics office. So we jogged. We would have never made it if I were still over 500 pounds, no way! We jogged into the building, and then instead of taking the elevator, we jogged up two flights of stairs! Stairs! That was hard, but by golly we did it! We barely made it with just seconds to spare, then we realized there were still about 80 people in front of us, so we settled in and talked a good long talk, people watched, talked some more, joked around, laughed a little, and an hour and a half later we had an official birth certificate for Courtney! Then it was back to the highway and on to Weatherford. We arrived on the campus of SWOSU shortly before 7pm. Amber was waiting at the front doors of her dorm, and we all helped carry Courtney's stuff up to the room. It may be just a weekend, but Courtney packed like she was moving in! I gave hugs and kisses, then I quickly departed no less than 10 minutes later to head home. I decided to head north out of Weatherford and hit Highway 33 for the trip back through Watonga and Kingfisher, getting back on I-35 at Guthrie. While driving I started to think about what kind of a workout I could do when I arrived home. I was feeling kind of adventurous apparently, because I decided on a 10K. That's right, 6.2 miles worth of walking! Originally I had planned on doing a 10K on the 4th, but that organized 10K was canceled due to “lack of interest.” So I was going to do my own little private late night 10K at the walking trail. I figured it would only take about an hour and forty minutes, maybe a few minutes more, but I could handle it I'm sure. I was listening to music loud and driving on that nearly empty highway when I looked down and realized I was speeding a little bit. Not enough to get pulled over I thought, but enough to make a little better time back to Ponca City. It wasn't long before my speeding mini-van was spotted by Officer Cagle of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Their new light bars are so pretty, but not so much when they're coming up fast behind you. I knew better! I honestly thought I was only speeding “a little bit,” but I guess it was a little bit too much. I immediately thought about my clean driving record getting a blemish and I was upset with my decision to “make some time.” I knew better, and that's exactly what I told the trooper. He told me that he planned on giving me a warning, then he took my license and headed back to his sweet patrol car. I was relieved! When he returned we started talking about Ponca City, he mentioned my KLOR window sticker, and I told him I did mornings on that station. Then, and I don't remember what turned the conversation to this, but then we started talking about weight loss. Maybe it was the dramatic difference in my appearance, compared to my drivers license photo, I don't know. And of course I can't talk about my weight loss without mentioning this daily blog. He talked to me about his weight training, and I mentioned mine, and then he wrote down this blog address on the back of his ticket book. It was a very nice, short, unexpected conversation. I also told him about how I use to not be able to wear a seatbelt, he was impressed with the results, and of course all the while my seatbelt was fastened perfectly. Hats off to Trooper Cagle, not for giving me a warning, or sharing a short conversation, but because he's out there doing a job that requires fierce bravery. He puts his life on the line everyday to protect others (sometimes protecting us from ourselves!), I have the utmost respect and admiration for him and any who wear the badge and serve in that profession. It takes a special person to do what he does.

Where were we? Oh yeah...So I knew that I wasn't getting back home until at least 10pm, and I still had a workout to get in and write Fridays edition of this blog before going to bed. I stopped on my way into town to pick-up and give a friend a ride home, we then started visiting, and before long it was pushing 11pm. Had I been wearing my walking shoes I could've just headed straight for the trail, but I was wearing casual boat shoes, so off to the house! I really wasn't too fair to my metabolism today, oh by the way, I did stop outside of Guthrie for a turkey and swiss sandwich. But I was still a little hungry, and with about 250 calories remaining for the day, I decided to have some eggs before heading out to the trail. I changed shoes, fixed eggs, sat down checked my e-mail and other messages while I enjoyed the eggs, then I headed back out to the trail. I pulled into the trail at 11:50pm. I thought about my crazy plan to do a 10K, then decided tonight just wasn't the night. I really wanted to, but at a certain point your intentions meet reality, and a clearer idea of what can be done at that moment appears. I was tired already, so I power walked through a nice two miles, not 6.2, but still a good cardio workout. And I was home to settle into my nightly blog by 12:30am. You see how far I made it above. I must have slept for nearly two hours slumped into my chair, sitting up! When I woke up at nearly 3am, I decided my best move was to the bedroom. And I slept! Slept good and long. I needed that. As my schedule gets busier, I must manage my time better. This blog is extremely important to me, I credit most of my success to these writings, so it's something I dearly value and will continue writing until after I heal from the full body tuck I know I'll someday need. Courtney and I talked about that day while we waited at the health department, What will the last blog entry say? We have plenty of time and plenty more blog pages to go before then, so I'll think about that when the time comes! I sincerely appreciate your readership! Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean