My afternoon with Ella

First we played at the park.
Then we looked at all the fish...


At the Nature Center.








What a great afternoon for a walk!

Life Lessons

Last night Amber had made us a fantastic dinner of roast, potatoes, and a fruit salad. I was so excited that I did not have to cook dinner after working a long day at work. I really appreciated all her hard work.

I sat down with my dinner and started watching American Idol and became distracted. There is a reason why all the nutritionists say to never eat in front of a TV. Why?? Because I started to eat my fruit salad and thought. Hmmm. This tastes a little strange. I took another bite and thought the bananas must be a little old but I was not about to complain after all of Ambers hard work. So I take another bite. Something was defiantly not right with the salad. I spit it out and told everyone. "Do not eat the salad!! The bananas are bad!!"

Amber thought I was being weird since the bananas were fine. She took a bite of her salad and said that it might be the whipped cream she used. She leaves and comes back with bowl of whipped cream. Laughing she asked me to smell it. It was so sour I about lost my dinner!! Didn't you smell it before you used it? I asked!! Apparently not everyone does this.

The lesson to learn for this is always smell dairy before you use it. And if you watch TV while you eat, you might end up eating several bites of sour whipped cream before you notice.

Top Ten

As some of you know my training has hit a snag. I have discovered that I have exercise induced asthma. This isn't new for me, I have just always equated not being able to breathe with being out of shape. The other day I decided to get out of the gym and run outside. Within minutes my lungs shut down and my body responded with shutting down as well. I ran only a 1/2 a mile and was so disappointed. At that moment I knew I wouldnt be able to race outside.

I have an appointment with my doctor in two weeks and I am very hopeful that with his help this will not interfer with training any longer. I will most likely be given an inhauler that I will use before I run.

The other thing that I discovered about myself, that is also not new but is a little annoying, is how low I became at the idea of another snag in my quest for completing a triathlon. Not only did I feel low for that day but that low feeling has hung around for awhile. I did some research and I have discovered that what you eat can significantly affect your mood.

So here are the top ten foods that promote a feeling of overall happiness:

1.Omega 3 fatty acids found in Tuna, salmon, walnuts, canola oil....
2. Zinc found in wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, high protein foods....
3. Vitamin b-3 found in chicken/turkey, pork, dried beans, salmon/tuna, peanuts....
4.WATER
5.Vitamin E found in wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, blueberries, papaya, olives....
6. Calcium
7.Folic Acid found in leafy greens, beans, peanuts, some orange juice
8. Stevia-this is a natural sweetner from a leafy plant. You should be using this instead of sugar
9. Vitamin C found in citrus fruits
10. Iron found in peas, beans, nuts....

I have made the commitment to add these foods to my diet and continue working towards my goals. No I am not going to become a vegan but I do believe in the word of wisdom and that the more organic the food is the better it will be for you. And if paying attention to what I eat can help with my over all well being then it is worth the sacrifice of my beloved twinkies.

Simple Mathematics

Last night Caitlin and I were talking about the events that led up to her meeting, falling in love and marrying Ryan. She had said that it wasn't at all how she pictured her life at the time, but how she can't imagine choosing anyone more perfect for her. I think it is amazing how two people are brought together.

So think about this...if two people create one. And four people create two, who create one. And eight people create four, who create two, who create one.

Think about it if you go back to the time of Abraham Lincoln 16,000 people came together to create you. If you go back to the time of Socrates it would take trillions of people coming together to create you. Because trillions of people have not lived on this earth it means one thing. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all connected. Simple mathematics. Amazing!!

David Copperfield

Clay, Kylene and I went to see David Copperfield this week. It was really fun. He was very entertaining. We saw members of the audience disappear and reappear on the upper balcony. We saw him take a member of the audience to Hawaii along with a photo proving that the trick was not staged.

I am sure most of the people who came onto the stage were plants but it isn't the mechanics, it was the magic that made it so fun.