So I have been in Houston since Sunday afternoon, and after some fanfare, I was able to secure a room with a microwave and a fridge. Somehow I keep wondering if the hotel clerk knew that the new room was right outside a street light which never turns off.
Monday was a good day. I went running for my lunch hour and I ran 3.14 miles in 40 minutes. I felt really good because I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it for the entire 5K which is coming in about a week and a half. I can tell my body is getting stronger and stronger by the day....what a gift from God!
Monday afternoon to blow sometime I went to see the new Max Payne movie. It was pretty good....plus I got to see Marky Mark from the Funky Bunch. Later that evening I watched some network TV/Monday night football and read Twilight during the commercials. I only have about 25 pages to go and plan on finishing on Tuesday night. Keep going back and forth on whether I am going to continue reading the saga. I have had the book "Mindset" by Carol Dweck in my car which I have started twice that I want to complete before I start reading anything else.
This afternoon I took my lunch late and went for another run. Today I only ran for 2.25 miles in 25 minutes and then I walked and sprinted the rest of the way back to the office and capped it off with some jumping jacks and push ups.
Things are looking on the positive for my dissertation. I only have a few more changes before I submit to the committee member who put the kibosh on my October defense. Hopefully I will be able to defend sometime in November, but that means that actual graduation will be put off until next May. There may be a silver lining in that thundercloud, but I will address this in a later post.
Later today, I plan on going to see Quarantine and then to the hotel to watch Fringe.
After three hotel stays in the past 30 days I am convinced that the home away from home illusion that a hotel offers just doesn't cut coming home to a loving wife and children who tell daddy that they love him........I can't wait to get home.
Peace Out,
BLM
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Second Chances: Blessings from Above (2 Months)
Yesterday was the 60th day since my surgery and my weight (221.2) was down a total of 35.4 pounds. The size 42 pants that I am wearing are starting to fit big and hopefully in the next few weeks, I will be down to a size 40. Tara reports that the famous Dr. Oz from the Oprah show says that the sign of a healthy male is a size 36 waist. Since I last reported to you, I have lost a total of 5 pounds which is about a pound a week. My current goal was to lose a total of 50 pounds by the end of the year so I have about as many weeks as pounds to lose. During the past four weeks, my weight actually went up a pound or two as I started working out more and eating more. In my mind, I wasn't making the positive gains I wanted even though the dietitian told me that my weight loss would slow down to about a pound a week. On a more positive note, my doctor reported back that my Hb1ac was a 6.0 which is at the upper end of the normal range without any medications, so it seems my diabetes is in check and my blood sugars should decrease with every three month checkup.
In addition to everything else I am normally involved with during the past five weeks the Texas gulf coast was hit with hurricane Ike. During that time I was called up to work with special medical needs persons at the evacuee center at the Austin Convention Center and I also worked several shifts at the State Operations Center. I learned a lot about how the state operates during a disaster, plus it tested my resolve and my eating habits during 12 to 15 shifts. Then three weeks ago my supervisor called me and asked if I would travel to Houston to supervise the Medically Dependent Children's Program unit there like the one that I supervise here in Austin. I have been traveling to Houston every other week from Sunday through Wednesday to supervise 15 nurses and case managers. During those times, I tend to eat a bit more and exercise a little less. Plus I found out last week that my dissertation defense is on hold, so that depressed me a little, which meant I put more food in my mouth than needed. This tells me, I still need my group therapy sessions to work on my eating disorder: emotional eating.
Resolved to get back on a track, when I returned from Houston this past Wednesday, I hit the gym even harder than normal. Then this past Friday I decided to step it up even more in my preparation to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (5k) (http://www.komenaustin.org/site/PageServer) the first weekend in November and the Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes 5k (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=5429&px=4380465) on the 15th of November. Something happened to me this week, and on Friday I took a class a the gym and I felt so good that in the afternoon after work, I ran a mile and a half. Then on Saturday morning, my fraternity brother, Scott Rasmussen and I ran for two miles, walked a mile and then ran/walked for another mile. After our run he gave me a new Nike Sportsband and so I wanted to see how it worked. On Saturday afternoon I ran for a mile and walked another mile. During my run I lost the receiver to the Sportsband and then we promptly went to the store to purchase another because I felt bad to lose a gift not 12 hours after it was given.
Since today is the Sabbath, we will take it easy and go for a walk this morning with the boys to test out the double stroller that my friends Amy Babbs let us borrow. Since I will be in town this week, I plan on increasing the total amount of exercise I do each day and running a little longer and faster with each of my running sessions. Update: we found the receiver to the Nike Sportsband that I lost on my run yesterday afternoon this morning on our family walk.
I cannot go with out reporting that while I have increased my exercise, Tara has also ramped up both physically and mentally. She has been walking daily with the boys and her friend Kate, and on days that I don't have to teach, we have gone over the the middle school track and run with Phoenix and Zion. Tara's weight is down over 18 pounds since I had my surgery. She also received a 71 on her first test in her Elementary Algebra class in college. She wasn't please with her grade, but I told her now she has a goal to improve upon. Her math classes are getting progressivly more difficult and she is going to have to work harder than she did in the spring semester, but most of all she is sticking with it.
Will report again in 30 days.
Hope all well with all of you in the blogisphere.
Much Love and Respect,
Byron Lynn
In addition to everything else I am normally involved with during the past five weeks the Texas gulf coast was hit with hurricane Ike. During that time I was called up to work with special medical needs persons at the evacuee center at the Austin Convention Center and I also worked several shifts at the State Operations Center. I learned a lot about how the state operates during a disaster, plus it tested my resolve and my eating habits during 12 to 15 shifts. Then three weeks ago my supervisor called me and asked if I would travel to Houston to supervise the Medically Dependent Children's Program unit there like the one that I supervise here in Austin. I have been traveling to Houston every other week from Sunday through Wednesday to supervise 15 nurses and case managers. During those times, I tend to eat a bit more and exercise a little less. Plus I found out last week that my dissertation defense is on hold, so that depressed me a little, which meant I put more food in my mouth than needed. This tells me, I still need my group therapy sessions to work on my eating disorder: emotional eating.
Resolved to get back on a track, when I returned from Houston this past Wednesday, I hit the gym even harder than normal. Then this past Friday I decided to step it up even more in my preparation to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (5k) (http://www.komenaustin.org/site/PageServer) the first weekend in November and the Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes 5k (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=5429&px=4380465) on the 15th of November. Something happened to me this week, and on Friday I took a class a the gym and I felt so good that in the afternoon after work, I ran a mile and a half. Then on Saturday morning, my fraternity brother, Scott Rasmussen and I ran for two miles, walked a mile and then ran/walked for another mile. After our run he gave me a new Nike Sportsband and so I wanted to see how it worked. On Saturday afternoon I ran for a mile and walked another mile. During my run I lost the receiver to the Sportsband and then we promptly went to the store to purchase another because I felt bad to lose a gift not 12 hours after it was given.
Since today is the Sabbath, we will take it easy and go for a walk this morning with the boys to test out the double stroller that my friends Amy Babbs let us borrow. Since I will be in town this week, I plan on increasing the total amount of exercise I do each day and running a little longer and faster with each of my running sessions. Update: we found the receiver to the Nike Sportsband that I lost on my run yesterday afternoon this morning on our family walk.
I cannot go with out reporting that while I have increased my exercise, Tara has also ramped up both physically and mentally. She has been walking daily with the boys and her friend Kate, and on days that I don't have to teach, we have gone over the the middle school track and run with Phoenix and Zion. Tara's weight is down over 18 pounds since I had my surgery. She also received a 71 on her first test in her Elementary Algebra class in college. She wasn't please with her grade, but I told her now she has a goal to improve upon. Her math classes are getting progressivly more difficult and she is going to have to work harder than she did in the spring semester, but most of all she is sticking with it.
Will report again in 30 days.
Hope all well with all of you in the blogisphere.
Much Love and Respect,
Byron Lynn
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Handbag
If you are feeling lucky today go to http://www.handbagplanet.com and enter to win a free handbag.
These were a few of my favorite things.....
Here are some random pictures of things we did in the last week....Zion got his first haircut(if you can even call it that.) I cut off the dorky looking three curls he had on the crown of his head. Phoenix work on his sweet moves and took a little R and R time in his train table drawer. Zion took a ride on big brother's bike and LOVED it. Phoenix also has been working on his spoon tricks (he saw some kid doing it on a cartoon) and when he succeded this is what he said...."My name is Phoenix, and this is my COOL trick!" He is one funny kid sometimes.
Preschool
Ok,ok I know it has been a while since my last post. We have been keeping busy...Last week was my week to teach Phoenix's preschool class. Wow what energy six little three year olds can have. We had a fun time with all our projects. We learned about the letter "F", the color Brown and triangles.
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