Backyard Baseball

As much of a baseball fan as I am I've always wished that I lived close enough to a professional baseball stadium that I could spontaneously decide to go see a game whenever I wanted to.

This past Sunday night, for the first time, I went to see the new minor league baseball team, the Hot Rods, play at their new stadium in town. Let me tell you my wish has come true. The Hot Rods are the "A" minor league affiliate of the MLB's Tampa Ray. Of course I would liked the team to have been a Yankees affiliate but you can't have everything. But in this case this team and ballpark location offer me most things.

It only took me 30 minutes to get there and after a short walk to the front gate easily I found my seat. I went as part of a group from our church.

I had such a great time that I decided to go back tonight (Tuesday). I got a Joe Blanton bobblehead doll they gave away as a promotion. Blanton is a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies who grew up in this area. That's why the gave the souvenir away.

I really love the two experiences I had at the ballpark this week. I plan on going back again at least once maybe twice before the middle of August. Because when I go back to work I won't be able to go anymore this year.

It was really great to be able to enjoy sitting and watching live baseball again; and it was only about 30 miles from my house. The other great thing about it is that with the weight I've lost since my surgery I can once again fit into a stadium seat somewhat comfortably. It's not a perfect fit yet but it's do able.

After tomorrow the team is on the road for a week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get tickets to the August 8 game. That night they are giving a way a replica model of the new stadium. I would love to have one.

Do I sound excited? Well I am. I am so happy that I now have live professional baseball practically in my own backyard. Thanks Hot Rods!

Pretty Paula

This is a picture of my wife as she looked when she went to church yesterday. With her new hair color, clothes, and make-up she's absolutely beautiful. She's officially lost 40 pounds now and is well on her way to reaching her goal.

Today is her first day back at work after a 6 week medical leave. From the way she presented herself yesterday it looks like she's more than ready to show "the world" that there's a new Paula in town and she's only gonna be getting better. I love her with all my heart and I'm so proud of her!

New Living (Room) Arrangements

My apologies for not publishing a post since last Monday. It's been a pretty busy week here at my house. My wife and I have been busy rearranging our living room.

This is something we've wanted to do for a long time. With our time off from work we now have room in our schedules to focus on this "first step" project. It is the initial change in making our now "empty nest" a home for 2 and not 4.

Our living room is the place we spend most of our time. The reason we set up our living room the way we did back in 2003 was to make it a nice place for our family to sit and enjoy watching movies and being together. Now that our residence is down to just two, the first goal of our newly arranged living room was to make for an intimate and better entertainment experience. This meant moving our sofa and our love seat so that they were in a better position to view the television and get the full effect of the surround sound.

The second priority was to declutter the room. It was too crowded and some things like DVD and video game storage cabinets had to be taken out and put back in our new storage room.

Third, we wanted make a place for our dogs to lay down and relax other than the furniture. We put a couple of big fluffy pillows in a corner beside the TV, out of the way, so they can enjoy the floor as much as they did the love seat. Dory has already adapted to her new resting place as you can see in the picture at the top of this post. Angel prefers to relax on the area rug somewhere near us when we're sitting on the couch. Although it may not seem like such a big deal to some making our pets happy makes us happy too.

There are still some things to be moved around, displayed or set up in our "new" living room before I post any pictures of it. But as soon as it's finished I'll post one.

This is the first of many changes in our home on the way to making it the place where Paula and I plan on spending the rest of our lives together. While it's only a simple rearrangement of one room in a house; for us it's a step of faith and anticipation as we look toward our future in the place we call home.

A Noteable Monday

Today was a day full of milestones for me. It included getting to eat real food again, receiving a special gift, and helping my son, James, move some of his belongings out of our house.

The gift I'm referring to is a custom made stain glass replica of the NY emblem the New York Yankees wear on their baseball caps. It was designed and handmade for me by my sister in law, Theresa.

She gave it to me this morning when I went over to her house. It's one of the nicest things anyone has ever made for me. I will hang it up in a window in my house soon so I can enjoy it. That's a picture of it at the start of this post.

After nearly 3 weeks on liquids, today I started eating "real food". I started out with eggs for breakfast, had some turkey with cheese for lunch and a very delicious chicken with tomato sauce dish for dinner. It all totaled up to about 600 calories and 67 grams of protein. Both of which meet the daily requirements of "phase 3" of my new diet.

Finally this afternoon our youngest son, James, came over to our house with a pick up truck and with the help of his aunt, Theresa, and his friend, Chris, moved the rest of his belongings over to his house. What was once his bedroom is now our spare utility room. So now he's "officially" moved out.

While the rest of the world stopped to observe the 40th anniversary of astronauts from the United States landing on the moon (an observation I took part in myself by watching several programs on TV about it) I was having somewhat of a "one small step for me" moment by being back on "solid" food. To make it even better I got an early birthday present from my sister in law. It really was a Notable Monday.

The Last Day Of My Liquid Diet

After 19 days, today is the last day of my liquid diet. I just finished drinking the last of my protein shakes. I probably won't even think about having another for a while. I'm not saying I'll never drink one again because they will probably prove to be convenient but I'm done with them for now.

Tomorrow morning I will have a couple of scrambled eggs with some melted cheese on top as my first real "meal" in nearly 3 weeks. Because I don't like fish and it's a big part of the food list I will be allowed I'm a little apprehensive about what I'm going to eat on this 3rd stage of my new diet.

But God has gotten me through the last 3 weeks so now I've confidence that He will help me through the rest.

Making some progress with my exercise (aka walking). Tonight I walked a little less than halfway from my house to the Flavor Isle. (a local ice cream/fast food stand exactly 1/2 mile from my house) Round trip that's about 1/2 a mile. It's the farthest I've been able to walk in a long time even before my surgery.

Things are progressing and starting tomorrow Paula and I will once again be able to eat the same things. We can actually start preparing meals for both of us again.

The Orson Wells Syndrome

Orson Welles, star and director of the 1941 classic film Citizen Kane (the American Film Institutes's #1 film of all time) gained a lot of weight during the last half of his life.

One time in an interview he was asked why he had gained some much weight. Welles answered that even when he was thin there was always a fat man trying to get out.

I can identify with that. No matter how much weight I lose I will always be drawn to the sin of gluttony. Over the next year to 18 months I will work hard to develop new and proper eating habits. But I know that I will still have the temptation of returning back to being a slave to the sin desire in regard to food.

I must turn my heart away from that desire and look more toward filling it with what God says is right and His desires for my life. I must look to Him as my source for fulfillment and not to other things. Putting my desire for food ahead of God is not only gluttony but also a form of idolatry. Two sins for one behavior.

My goal is, with God's help, to change my heart so that everything in my life is subsequent to my desire to follow and obey Him and His will for my life.

My prayer to God is that he helps me become free of "the Orson Welles Syndrome." I ask Him to redeem me from that "fat man" who is been my life for many years, who corrupts my soul, leads me to sinful behavior which devastatingly effects my relationship with Him. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I know that He will answer my prayer.

32 is a Good Start

Paula and I went to Nashville today for our check up with our surgeon. For me it was my 1 week visit and for her it was 4 weeks.

We both stepped on the scale in the surgeon's office for the first time since our initial consultation back on March 20. We have lost 32 pounds each.

Although it's still a relatively short time since our surgeries we're both very encouraged by the results we've seen so far. We still have a long road ahead of us. But the initial success is encouraging and confirms for both of us that our journey toward becoming healthier and meeting our loss goals is much closer now than it was 4 weeks ago. We've just got to keep up the good work.