Fun with facial hair

So, the boss and I have an annual tussle about my growing a beard during hunting season. She basically hates any sort of facial hair, while I like to grow a beard as sort of an homage to my wild and crazy misspent youth. Of course, in a close one to one vote, I eventually lose; mainly because of the threat of the witholding of certain comforts of a physical nature in the event of my continued insistence on cultivating the distinguished look. So in a display of monumental boredom following the ecstasy of Christmas, #1 son and I captured the dismantling of the VGFATBEARD. Enjoy. Or not.

In exercise and fitness news, I took the kids on a good hike along the river yesterday. With temps in the forties, it was ideal. Found the skeletal remains of three deer within 300 yards of our house. Somewhere west of VG there are apparently some VERY well fed coyotes.

Happy Holidays!!

Here is the Princess, carrying baby Jesus to the manger at Church last night. She was so poised, being in front of 200 people! Merry Christmas & Happy New year to all, from the VGFATFAMILY!!

New adventures in fitness, diet & exercise to come in 2008!

pondering

So, tomorrow I go to pick up the firstborn. This is the first time I've mentioned her in my blog, for a great number of reasons. First, there's the fact that we've not communicated much since she got the F outta dodge soon after she realized that VG's finest wouldn't fetch her back at my call once she turned 17.

The second reason, the one I've been pondering, is that until recently I never really considered her to be a part of the purpose of me starting this little slice of blog heaven, my continuing battle with fitness. It's only since I found out that she was to be released from the place she has been for these past few months that I began to see that she does in fact play a role in my mostly futile attempts to stay on track. I'm finding that my progress is a fragile thing, and any number of things can and do usurp control from me. Worrying about her well being is one of them. This Holiday season has taken a toll on my will power. It's been a constant litany of cookies and candy for the past ten days, and who am I to refuse and take a chance on hurting a colleagues' feelings, right? The incessant rain of the past week has certainly been a factor, along with the short days. Nothing like it being dark on the way to work and on the way home as well.

I really need to find a way to not let distractions interfere, but so far I'm failing.

A parable....

There once was a great lion. This lion had gotten married and had a cub, but sadly the marriage ended when the cub was very young. Despite sometimes infrequent visits, the cub grew to idolize the lion, and would listen enraptured for hours as the lion and his cronies would reflect on the lions' many conquests, both afield and with other lionesses. In fact, the cub vowed to grow up to be just like the lion.

As time passed, the cub did grow up, but he found that the lion whom he had worshiped was in fact not always worthy of such idolatry. The lion himself discouraged the cub from following his path too closely, urging him to use his mind rather than his hands to make a career, and to wait for the right lioness to come along instead of settling for just any old kitty.

Still further time passed, and the lion began to grow old. Refusing to bow to the passage of time, the lion lived life on his own terms. He did nothing to moderate sometimes outrageous behaviors, even when faced with irrefutable evidence of the deleterious effects on his health that these habits inflicted.

Finally, it came to pass that the lion became so weak that he couldn't care for himself any longer. The Cub, now a lion with his own young pride to care for, would be expected to care for the old lion, though the old lion never tried to care for himself until it was too late. Faced with this responsibility, the cub began sometimes to despise the old lion's weakness, where before there had stood strength. He also despised himself for feeling this way, having known plenty of other lions who would gladly spend their time caring for parents taken away too early, regardless of their degree of curmudgeonliness.

The Old Lion had not imparted much wisdom onto his cub when he was young, preferring to be his friend when he needed a dad, and vice versa. However, in later years, he did in fact hold great influence over the cubs' decision making processes, simply because the cub was able to discern cause and effect, and make his own decisions accordingly. The cub loved the old lion dearly, but became determined not to put his own cubs into similar situations as he grew old.

The End, sort of.

Some times. All I need is the air that I breath.

Hat tip to the Hollies....

I am now on an 1800 calorie per day diet, courtesy of a rather stern Pulmonary doc. Apparently, I have severe sleep apnea, and I'm about to be fitted with a c/pap machine for the better to rest, my pretties. I am also expected to lose 2 1/2 inches off my neck, and I can no longer lift weights that exercise my delts, as apparently my manly man weight routine adds to the small problem of my starving for oxygen in the night. During my sleep test, I slept for a total of 413 minutes and had 348 waking episodes. in other words, I am awakened from REM sleep about once every minute and a half trying to catch my breath. At one point, I went 41 seconds without breathing. Scary stuff. Especially when the good dr. points out that this makes it imminently likely that I will die in my sleep without treatment, and pleasant dreams to ye.

#1 son and I had a good 30 minute session this morning. he was able to build on the scant sit up total from last week, mainly because I cajoled him into putting forth a little more effort.