Top Ten Great Things About This Weekend

This past weekend we had a bunch of good stuff happen to us. So much stuff in fact that I figured I would put it all down in a list of the top ten cool things about this weekend. These are in no particular order except for the last one - it's definitely #1 on the list:

Grilled pineapple with cinnamon and sugar - Nancy (mom-in-law) made some excellent side dishes to our dinner on Friday night. I don't know how she managed to pull it off, but after flying for 24 hours, she still had the energy to whip up dinner. That woman has some serious skills in the kitchen, and the grilled pineapple did nothing but bolster my opinion.

People watching at Starbucks - I like people watching period. People watching with Eric (pop-in-law) just brings it to a whole new level. His comments are entertaining and it's always a pleasure to join him at one of his favorite spots back in the states - good ol' Starbuckaroo's.

Breakfast at the Post Office - Before church on Sunday we all went to one of my favorite breakfast spots in Scottsdale. It's called the Post Office and pretty much everything they make is good. I got a create your own omelet with one of my favorite combinations: ham, american cheese, tomatoes, spinach and green chilies. Mmmmmm, mouth is water just thinking about it. As a bonus, we were a couple of tables away from Jared Allen, defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings. Big dude.

Movie watching - I love sitting down and watching movies. I actually prefer to watch movies at home rather than go to the theaters. Not only is it cheaper, but I can stretch out as I please and pause when necessary. We ended up getting a very "manly" movie which, cussing aside, was pretty good. And by good of course I mean entertaining. Just a lot of fight scenes, shootings and things blowing up. What's not to like?

Pool lounging - I've never claimed to be a "sit in the sun and fry" kind of a guy, but hanging out in the pool is one of my favorites. We always end up coming up with whacky games or challenges that make it even more enjoyable. This time it was seeing who could throw a ball across the pool and make it land (and stay) on a raft as well as going back and forth across the pool without swimming and only pushing ourselves off against the wall. I guess you had to be there :)

Watching Nancy adjust to the new timezone - So you can probably imagine that it may be a bit tough adjusting to a country that is 15 hours behind the country that you just left. One of my favorite things about the in-laws being back in the states is watching Nancy fight to keep normal wake and sleeping hours. Sometimes she adjusts rather "quickly" and sometimes she doesn't adjust at all. You can bet your bottom dollar however that you will catch her napping on the couch every single day at various times. Maybe we should start making bets?

Picking the folks up at the airport - It's always very exciting seeing Eric and Nancy for the first time in a long time. Granted, Mandi and her mom webcam almost every single day, but it's obviously just not the same. Seeing the smile on my wife's face as her parents make their way to our truck is a particularly special moment for me.

Coming home to a painted house - I know that Mandi touched on this yesterday, but I have to reiterate how good it feels to come home to a painted house. It's amazing how a single coat of paint can seemingly transform a room. We know have every single room in our entire house painted to our satisfaction with the exception of our master bathroom toilet room. Now that the painting is done, here comes the fun part: Mandi coming home with furniture to fill the newly painted rooms. First up, the nursery.

Hiking - We all set out on a hike Saturday morning to the mountain where Mandi and I got engaged. The entire loop is 4 miles and Mandi and I did 3 miles of it. Eric and Nancy were considerably faster on the way up and we didn't want to make them wait for us to make it to the top, so we stopped at the second check point. I'm proud to report however that I hiked all 1.2 miles to the first check point without ever stopping - that's the first time that has ever happened.

Time with Family - Do I really need to say anything else about this?

Made a Turn During a Hiking Blog

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done for quite a long time. Hiking. In fact, I haven't been on a hike since Mandi and I got engaged. We actually hiked the same trail yesterday, but didn't quite make it to the top. It was a very leisurely hike, but still challenged me quite a bit. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I had just gotten into a nice groove with work, when Mandi came into the office and said, "Get your shoes on, we're going for a hike!". Uh, ok.

I don't know what I would do without that girl. Well, besides work more but work out less :) She does her best to keep me from working 10 hour days 7 days a week and for that, I am grateful. The problem is, once I get rolling and focused, it's hard for me to snap out of it. Mandi has figured out a good way to work through that, it's called "leaving me with no other choice by using my own words against me". She will literally quote to me things she has heard me say to other people to motivate them or to get the message of exercise and lung function out there. I mean, I can't really argue with that. And let me tell you, I love her for it.

During yesterday's hike, Mandi continued to push me all the way to the end. She's a great coach. She's a great motivator. She's a great fiancee. I've really found something special in her. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I'm at today without her and she's the motivating factor for me to get to where I want to be.

It's funny, this blog was going to be a blog about switching up your exercise routine to keep your body guessing. Hiking is a great way to switch it up. Somewhere in paragraph two I made a turn and never recovered. Oh well, I'll just have to cover that topic another day!

Rondi Engaged: My Perspective

We decided (upon Ronnie’s suggestion) to hike McDowell Mountain, a mountain which boasts a 2.2 mile trail, one way, to Sunrise Peak. Under the guise of taking many pictures for his blog post Friday, which would be about our first hike together (McDowell Mountain) after he got out of the hospital in March. We made our way up the trail, stopping every so often to take in the sights and allow Ronnie to catch his breath. We stopped briefly at a lower city overlook and I thought to myself, “ooo maybe Ronnie will want to stop here,” as I was a little chilly and my legs were tired because I had run that morning. But Ronnie wanted to go to the peak, so to the peak we went.

When we got to the top, Ronnie seemed to be in NO hurry to go back down. He said how tired he was and how much he wanted to enjoy the view since he made it up there. As we sat on the rocks, Ronnie below me a few stones, with his back against my knees, we relished in how beautiful it was up there. We were not alone however, as we looked around we noticed another couple sitting about 50 ft away from us...making out HARD CORE. Talk about awkward. I joked about how in love they looked as I sat and picked at Ronnie’s face. (Which by the way, is why in the video I said, “Hey babe, where do you think that plane is going”...as I picked his face he kept trying to distract me by asking where I thought certain planes were headed). Ronnie kept saying that he wanted to stay longer...I, on the other hand, was FREEZING and hoping he would be done taking in all the sights soon.

After 30 minutes or so at the top, it appeared Ronnie had his fill and he got up saying, “Lets just take a few more photos.” I got up and stood where you all saw the video shot. You can see the rest of what actually happened on the video...but I will give you a little bit of my thoughts since those you can’t see. As Ronnie “tried to figure out the self timer” I did think to myself, “hm, that’s weird...is something up?” But I quickly dismissed my hopeful thoughts because earlier in the week he “managed my expectations” (as he said) by telling me that he had looked at some rings but that he wanted to get one custom made so it would be at least 3 weeks from the time he found a diamond. When he said, “Hey honey...” after his “third picture attempt” I instantly got a rush through my whole body of, “OH MY GOODNESS, maybe this is it.” I was careful to get to excited at first however, as Ronnie has acted like he was about to pop the question or had a ring in his pocket many times before. Once he was down on one knee, before I really saw his face, I thought, “if he’s messing with me I’m going to be so ticked” and then I saw his face, tears welling up in his eyes, and I knew he wasn’t messing with me this time. A lump came to my throat instantly as I realized this was the moment that I’d wanted for so long. A moment that would start a chain reaction of many more wonder moments together. I wanted to cry and scream all at the same time. I must say, I totally blacked out. I heard every other word because I was on overload as I was trying to take in everything...study his face, remember the smell, hear the words, bookmark the feeling (I was thrilled to find out that it was all on film, that way I had something better than my own memory to remember it all by). As he paused before speaking the words I waited to hear since the day I met him, I thought to myself, “shoot, did he forget to actually ask?? Should I just say yes??” My legs where shaking, I wanted to jump up and down...I waited. It felt like an eternity! But then he spoke the words and they sounded even better than I imagined. “YES!!” (or I think I actually said “yeah”)

You saw the rest...I wanted the moment to last forever. I no longer felt cold. I didn’t want to walk back down the mountain as we stood up on top of the world just the two of us. We hugged. We kissed. I screamed, A LOT. It was the best feeling I’ve ever felt. A feeling that I could never put into words. One of relief, that I had found my soulmate, and he felt the same. A feeling of excitement, for the adventure we were beginning together. A feeling of thankfulness, that God had brought this special man into my life, and would bless me so much to make him my fiance, and ultimately, my husband. My heart felt so full with love for a man that has changed my whole perspective on life and love.

As we made our way back down the mountain, trying to find our way in the dark a woman came towards us yelling, “are you the last ones?” She was in charge of making sure the last on the mountain got back down safely each night. And as we shuffled down in the dark I thought about what Ronnie had said when we were up there. He said he proposed on the top of a mountain because I help him climb mountains everyday...help him through the challenges he faces...and it was so true. Our relationship will be much like that mountain that we got engaged on top of. It would be a descent at times, easy and smooth. Other times it will be an incline, tough and tiring. But there will be awesome views from the top, a hand to hold, and a guide to show us the way when we can’t see the path on our own in the dark.

I Threw Up a Banana Waterfall

6:20am: So I hit the old snooze button a couple of times this morning before rolling out of bed. When I first attempted in open my eyes to see what time it was they felt like they had been super glued together. I managed to open them after what seemed like a couple of hours but then I was seeing everything as a triple or quadruple image. When I looked at the clock, I couldn't tell if it was 6:20, 6:28, 6:50, or 6:58. I also didn't know exactly where to look since there were so many images floating around. After blinking my eyes repeatedly for about 30 seconds, I finally saw that it was in fact 6:20. I needed to get the ball rolling so I could get out the door and start the hike while it was still cool out. I decided to bring Jezzabel with me as well since she hasn't had a good long walk for a little while. Before I left, I wolfed down a banana which was incredibly soft and probably near the end of it's shelf life (If you've been reading this blog for a while than you know that I only mention food before walks/hikes because it will come up again in the story...pun intended).

We headed off on the trail which is 1.2 miles to the first outlook point and then another .7 to the peak. Starting out I hadn't decided how long we would go. Anyways, as usual, the first 200 yards or so were pretty tough in terms of locking in to a good breathing pattern and getting my coughs out of the way. I was able to move out a lot of mucus which was either clear or light yellow in color and got my lungs cleared out rather quickly. Problem was I had a slight tickle in my throat that was triggering more coughs than necessary. I tried my best, but eventually that banana I mentioned ended up on the side of the trail. I was able to throw it up right on a rock face though so it kind of looked like a banana waterfall. Hopefully my fellow hikers enjoyed that nice piece of nature that I left them.

After I got that banana out of my stomach the hike got a lot easier. I don't know about you, but when I feel sick to my stomach, I feel like it's harder to breath. I was also coughing a lot before I threw up and after my "great heave" my coughs subsided quite a bit. The rest of the hike went well and I only took about 4 or 5 breaks on the way up to catch my breath. I kept J Bell off of her leash for the whole way up, but then she wouldn't stop barking at these poor guys on the way down, so on the leash she went. She's definitely getting better though, we passed by 3 0r 4 people on the way up and she just walked by them like they weren't there. Maybe she sensed evil in those two dudes or something :)

I'll leave you with this thought: If you live in an area with hiking trails, I REALLY encourage you to take advantage of them. For me, they work better than a treatment in terms of making me cough and getting the mucus out. It also serves as a great set-up for my actual treatments. After hiking, or doing any sort of cardio, I feel more open to receive all of the meds into my lungs. Just a thought, but I a thought that I hope you seriously consider.

Total Distance: 2.4 miles

2:30pm: Headed to the gym with Mandi to work on our guns. We had a day full of Internet problems which certainly slowed work down, but we managed to work through it and crank out some much needed things. It did feel good to step away from the computer today and get to the gym. Although I work really hard in the gym and at times it is painful, it still serves as a sort of "restful" period in my day. I never thought I would view the gym in that way, but I guess that's what I get for being so busy. The workout went well, but my body felt tired overall. I was able to lift all of the same weight, but it definitely felt heavier than it did 3 days ago. I'm thinking I'll sleep in a little bit tomorrow to hopefully be a little more refreshed and energetic. Current Weight: 185 lbs

Total Distance for Day: 2.4 miles

The Morning After...

6:45am: I'll tell you what, the morning after conquering your goal for the month feels great...mentally at least. I woke up fresh and ready to go and looking forward to my walk. My legs? Ehhhhhhhh, no. It felt like a professional soccer team spent the night kicking up and down my legs. My left hip hurt, along with my right ankle, left knee, right foot, and left calf. Maybe I'm just getting to old for this? I'm falling apart here.

Nevertheless, I rolled out of bed to gather my clothing and shoes for the walk. Jezzabel was of course all over my stuff and following me around my room and panting. She has a crazy internal alarm clock. I don't know if she actually walks to my door at 6 every morning or if she just wanders over in the middle of the night. It would be interesting to know. One thing that I do know, is that she starts to whine at 6 on the dot.

As for the walk, after working out all of the kinks in my legs, it went well. I was coughing quite a bit in the beginning and getting a decent amount of stuff up. It was mostly clear with a bit of light yellow streaks some of the time. It was a very cool morning out which always feels so refreshing to walk in. There were quite of few dogs out walking their masters this morning and J Bell wanted to say hello to every one of them (plus the cat that hid under a car). I think after church today Mandi and I are going to go for a little hike. I'm looking forward to it.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 35'28" (includes dog sniffing time)

1:00pm: Mandi and I set off to do Sunset Trail today after church (and Dunkin Donuts of course). What I love about Sunset Trail is it is not straight up and down. It kind of zig-zags back and forth on the steep areas to provide a more gradual climb. Don't get me wrong, it feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest and I get incredibly winded, but it certainly isn't as bad as let's say a Squaw Peak.

I always get the most winded and tired right in the beginning of the hike. I'm not quite sure why this is, but I'm guessing that it is just my body adjusting to the hills. Up until today, I had never quite made it to Sunset Point. There is a check point of sorts about 1.8 miles in, that my previous two times doing this hike, I turned around and headed back at. Well, today was a different story. From that 1.8 mile marker it's only another .2 miles to Sunset Point. Let me just tell you, the last .2 miles are BY FAR the toughest. It's almost as if the trail makers just wanted to tease you and get you all worked up to get to the peak, before pulling the rug out from under you and really making you work for it.

I think I took double the breaks on the last .2 miles than I did the first 1.8. One thing I'll say though, is my breaks aren't nearly as long as they used to be. I just stop for about 30 seconds to catch my breath and wet my whistle. Getting a little taste for the face is always important for me cause I have had quite a few cramping episodes from not staying hydrated. I also had to stop a couple of times to rest my legs. They were really feeling it today and were super tired. I think overall, my legs had a worse performance than my lungs. I'm just not sure if that's a good or bad thing...

The view from the peak was absolutely worth it, and I was so glad that I got to share my first time there with Mandi. She's been pushing me hard for the last 3 weeks and I know it encourages her to see the progress that I'm making. The first time we ever did the trail together, I couldn't make it to the top and I took about 47 breaks. The breaks are way down and this time we finished it out strong. I took some pictures that I don't have time to post right now, but I will get to it as soon as possible. If you don't see pictures now, make sure to check back later.

Total Distance: 4.0 miles Time: 1h 45m (approx)

Total Distance Walk/Hike for Day: 6.1 miles

Remember to always wear sunscreen...whoops