What is this?

I am surprised I remember the login for the blog. Things just seem to get busier and busier around here, which takes away from time I can sit here and write. My wife told me yesterday I wouldn't get back to it today, so naturally here I am.

I figured I would go ahead and update the weight loss challenge. I am currently very happy to be in 2nd place overall. This is the first week that I have not been winning. Our business manager came back from vacation and had rocked some serious weight loss. I am down 13.5 pounds for the first 5 weeks which I am just thrilled about. I have a feeling that when I get to the end of this thing I am going to be in an awkward clothes stage. Right now I wear XL tshirts. I just know that at the end I will be at the point where a large is still too small but an XL is too big and will look like a dress. Let's hope that's not the case.

I have such a busy month of August it isn't even funny. We are either going somewhere or having someone come over every weekend, so that eats up any time to do anything productive. I can't complain though, because I know that August will be a blast. Our nieces are coming over this weekend to stay at the house. Next week is Celebration, week after is our anniversary vacation, then my buddy Jared comes over from Michigan, and then High School football beings and we go North to meet our new niece or nephew that weekend.

I'm exhausted just typing all of that. I WILL see you here back Monday. Be good.

-Lithgow

Booyah

Back after a long blog vacation weekend and feeling really good. I am currently winning the weight loss challenge by fractions of a percentage point. I am currently down 11lbs in the first 3 weeks. My goal is to be down 15 after five so we will see if we can keep it going!

There is a good chance that the blog may have to take a backseat for a week as my boss Tara is on vacation. That means that I have to slide in and take care of alot of the stuff she normally handles. I will do my best, but as I always sing to myself..."and I guess your best wasn't good enough".

I'm doing my best to be positive every day, but today I really could've used a Mountain Dew on my way to work. I have stayed up quite late the past two days, last night watching the home run derby. Tonight, I will probably do the same thing watching the All Star Game. I have avoided the green can so far...it's a struggle! I wonder if it would even taste as good anymore. I had a little bit of Pepsi over the weekend and it didn't do anything for me. It was really strong! I don't remember that being the case! Damn this lifestyle change deal!!!!

-Lithgow

Take the good with the bad

I have to admit that yesterday was a swing in emotions. Some parts were very good, others made you want to just give up and go back to bed. Let me explain. I got invited to go out to the Fireside restaurant inside the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel and try out their new menu before they open tomorrow. I had a pepperoni pizza which was very good. I have to admit here on the blog, that I set aside the lifestyle change (diet) for a day and had a piece of chocolate cake. The thing that got me was that it had white chocolate on top which was AMAZING! I gotta give it up to the people at the DCCH. Doing very good things there.

The bad part of my day comes soon after. I return to my wife's parents' house to see everyone. Bethany was giving Connor a break from his bottle and he was sitting on her knee. I did a couple of things and then went to see him. I picked him up as I always do which means I lift him up in the air just over my head to say hi. As I am opening my mouth to say hi, Connor barfs and wouldn't you know it streams perfectly into my mouth. No joke. I immediately spit it into his bib and ran to brush my teeth.

Later that day, I am holding him once again. One of my other favorite things to do is put him on my shoulders and let him sit there. As soon as he sits down on my shoulders, what do you know pukes right on my head. 2 for 2 for the little boy. So once again I run and jump in the shower. Luckily, those were the ONLY bad moments! It's great to be a dad!

-Lithgow

MJ

I was at home with Connor yesterday after his doctor appointment and decided I would sit down and watch the MJ memorial. I am not a huge Michael Jackson fan. His biggest hits came out when I was an infant so it's hard to say it influenced me greatly or that I really knew a lot about what he had done. Sadly, more of my knowledge of him comes from his legal issues.

Watching the memorial, there were two things that had to at least touch you a little bit. The first was Jermaine singing "Smile". I can't imagine trying to perform at an event like that. I had to have some respect for him. The second was when his daughter Paris got up to talk about her dad. If you are a parent, that hits you. For me, as a father, I just had to think about my son being in that situation. Kudos to them for not making it a circus yesterday. Although, John Mayer I have to say makes the weirdest faces when he plays guitar. Go back and watch it. Weird....

-Lithgow

no blog today

Wouldn't be worth trying today. I'm a bit of a Grumpy Gus today. Better to just leave it alone and come back tomorrow with a smile.

-Lithgow

My job

One of the things that I usually enjoy about my job is searching the internet for the random surveys and things going on in the world that people may find interesting. It's quite a thrill when you stumble on something that people get into. I think I've found one that is going to be the topic of the show for today. I'm going to copy the summary below:

There’s growing evidence that caffeine consumption may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, thanks in large part to two new studies. In one study, Florida researchers discovered that a daily dose of 500 milligrams of caffeine – the equivalent of five 8-ounce cups of coffee – reversed memory loss in mice bred to develop Alzheimer-like symptoms. The Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Tampa, where the studies were done, found that caffeine in early adulthood appeared to prevent memory loss, possibly because of caffeine’s ability to calm the brain inflammation that causes loss of memory. Other experiments have shown that caffeine did not improve memory performance above normal levels. Rather, it appears to benefit those destined to develop Alzheimer’s.

Is this a terrible time to give up Mt. Dew or what? It sounds like complete BS, but since Busboom and I have given up caffiene, it is worth bringing up.

Speaking of the weight loss challenge, I haven't had the official weigh in yet, but I can say I'm down around 8 pounds for the first 2 weeks. I didn't have a very good week of getting out and walking, but I was still able to eat pretty well. I did some major ab stuff yesterday and let me tell you it was hard to get outta bed!

-Lithgow

The Ledge

I have to post this here so you can see it, just in case you haven't heard about it yet. Here is the link to the story in the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/07/skydeck-heights-sears-tower-chicago-tourist.html

The ledge is a glass box built off of the skydeck at the Sears Tower. All I can say is HOLY COW! I must admit that I am a big wuss when it comes to heights. I think I would be sucking my thumb in the fetal position if I stepped out in this thing. The look out isn't so bad...it's that look down. Not gonna happen!!!

-Lithgow

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit

Are we really in the second half of 2009 already? Holy cow this year has gone by quickly. If everything works out right later I will be chatting with Paul Teutel Sr. from American Chopper on TLC. I am very excited about talking to him. I have been watching the show ever since it came on the air, so needless to say I'm a fan. This is one of those interviews where you feel like you know the person well enough before you even talk to them. I don't know what direction I'm going to go with him, but either way it will be a good time.

I stopped at Walmart today to get some more healthy food. I came out with some mini bagels, bananas, and some Gatorade G2. I gotta say the G2 is awesome. I bought the 20 oz bottles and they are only 70 calories a piece. I'll take it! Here's hoping the weight loss continues.

-Lithgow

Update: Just got a call from OCC. Their flight got delayed from South America this morning so we will get him tomorrow morning. They were very nice and said they would wake him up if we wanted, but a grumpy Paul Sr. scares the hell out of me.