September 2004 Archives

For the first time since we moved into our house 4 years ago our lights went out at night. About 7:30pm our lights flashed off, then on then off. I was actually outside on the porch when it happened and I got to watch the whole neighborhood loose power and then light up and then loose power. At that moment I could picture someone on the other side of the world flicking on and off a misc. light switch and calling to their spouse, "Honey what does this do?"

Power was off for an hour, the kids were a bit scared we lit candles and hung out. Lights went back on an hour later.

I am playing with Movable Type, the program that makes this blog possible. Well i added a new feature. You can now subscribe at the bottom of my main page(scroll down) to be notified when I add a new entry. So you don't have to waste your time looking when I don't post. But when I do you will get an email. Clever little feature, me thinks.

I have been encouraged on several occasions over the past month. Karen, Stacey & my Aunt Fran have all made there way to Cabela's and have bought me Pork Rinds. (My blog is paying off ;) ) . THANK YOU!

Well I need to admit that after I complete the first week of my low carb diet, I really feel great doing low carbs. And for the record, the first week of low carbing sucks. Denying yourself from the satisfying sugar highs you delight in on a normal diet is no fun, but as soon as you can get over the whole sugar-withdrawl-i-feel-like-crap feeling, things are great.

I have been on and off low carb dieting now several times and I must admit without a shadow of a doubt I feel much better when I am low carbing. I have more energy, a more positive outlook, I feel thinner, etc. So with that said I am back on the low carb band wagon as of Monday morning. I can't wait to feel better, for now, a oatmeal raisin cookie will have to do.

This is not scientifically tested, but here is my discovery. This summer, even though I have been outside a good bit of time I have had 0(zero) mosquito bites. Last night after my sugar binge I ended up with a bunch of bites. Did my low carb diet have anything to due with my lack of bites? I think so. I have no way to prove it, but this is the first summer I have ever lived without mosquito bites.

Well it has almost been a year since I have curbed my appetite and taken back my life. You would think that a year of disciplined eating would have set forth some new habits in my life. Well you and I both thought wrong. Tonight was a night of sheer stress. Dealing with some personal stuff with a friend. Well by the time we were done talking my emotions were at a near all time high. Driving home I told Shelly I hate to do this but I need to stop at Wal-Mart and pick up some comfort food. She encouraged me not too(good wife). However the emotions in my body were definitely controlling me and because I still haven't learned how to deal with the stressful emotions in any better way I bought some ice-cream and some oatmeal raisin cookies. I realized that had I not controlled my stress by eating I would have been miserable and taken my stress out my my relationship with my family.

I know I suck! I don't like that this happens or that it happened again. However I will take it in stride and find hope in the fact that I actually know I do this. In the past I would find myself eating and not have really thought through this at all. So Pray for me, there is still a rough road ahead in me learning to trust God with my emotions and stress and allowing Him to help me through these matters without taking control of them myself.

Congrats to Trish & Linford on the birth of their first son: Jadon Seth Burkholder.

My hair is now 6 months old. It has now been a half a year since my last haircut. So when am I gonna get a trim? I dunno yet. I have this need to get a good haircut and I am not sure where to go and how to get it cut. So if you have any suggestions as to what I should do with my hair let me know.

Well Ivan did his deed and left us all a bit wetter than before. I woke up around 9am and had no clue that Ivan had even passed. Last night I was dead to the world. Shelly said the storm made pretty much noise and she woke up a few times. But I managed to sleep through it all. My mother called soon after I woke, she had some water in her basement so we packed up the kids, my computer and the shop vac and took off to spend the day at her house sucking up water. When we got there about 1/2 the basement was wet and we set out sucking the water out of the carpet. After a few hours of work the carpet was about as dry as it was gonna get so we set up some fans and headed out.

After moms, we drove to my Aunt Linda and Uncle Rick's house, they had it nowhere as easy as my mom. They had tons of water in their basement and their septic system backed up. When we got there they were carrying all the items out of the basement and throwing them on a trash heap at the end of their driveway. Stuff like that always puts life into perspective.

I can not imagine what it must have been like in the cities the hurricanes really hit. These small tragedies in our lives have to be dwarfed a thousand times over by what those people experienced.
I will continue to pray for everyone who has been effected by these storms and I am making a note on my lifetime calendar, "NEVER, plan trips to Florida(and other south eastern states) in September".

exhaustion is starting to take its toll. I have been working late every night so far this month. Trying to get a bunch of jobs done. I think I have not gone to be before 3am since August. And most days I am waking up before 9am. So 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Well tonight I will break my streak. I need sleep and I need sleep bad. So it is off to bed. Hopefully the storm(IVAN) will not bother me.

I apologize for not keeping regular entries going. I have just been extremely busy. Hopefully I will write more soon.

some young punk who doesn't know me said to me this past week-

"Hey speaking of diets you should try my diet, i just eat one meal a day and I have lost 60lbs."

I replied-

"Yeah I did that diet for years, I started my meal at 8am in the morning a completed it about midnight every night. Did wonders for me too."