FitDad or FatDad.

Back when I started this weight loss journey there were really only two options for me.  Continue on the path I was headed down and be a Fat Dad, or change everything and be a Fit Dad.  I chose Fit Dad and am loving every minute of it.

It hasn't been easy at times life has thrown up walls in front of me and challenged me at every turn.

Life always gets in the way but its how you get over those walls that makes you a success.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

-Charles R. Swindoll

I love that quote because it is so true when you think about the direction you take in your life.  My ultimate goal is to lose 60lbs and get comfortable in my skin again.  But I am proud because it's my goal and my life.  My attitude is positive regardless of the outcomes each week because I know that every step I take away from fat dad towards fit dad makes me a better example for my son.

It doesn't hurt to have cheerleaders in life.  I have always made it a priority to surround myself with good positive people.  My family is always there for me and I am blessed with a wife that supports me even when I drive her nuts.  It doesn't hurt to have great friends either, especially friends who will make bright yellow supportive signs during the warrior dash and try to embarrass you in front of 11,000 other people.

It also helps to have a friend (Wendy) who isn't afraid to sling a little mud around!  Because sometimes in life you have to roll up your sleeves and get dirty!

Put in the hard work and put in the time, and you will be rewarded because you will no longer be a fat dad, you will be a fit dad.

The warriordash was a great event to really remind me how much life is about attitude and remembering what its like to be a kid again running in the woods and playing in the mud.  Sure its a corny to say but racing/running in general is in us from the day we take our first steps as a child.  Think about the first time your own child or another young one you know learned to walk...how long did they stay walking?  I bet it wasn't long.  I bet they broke into a run long before they were truly capable to sustain it.  It's in our nature to have fun and love life, it takes alot of energy to be negative and angry all the time.  So change your attitude and get out there and do something fun.  Forget about work for a day, put down the computer, sign off of facebook and get out there and have some fun with your friends or your kids and act like a kid again.

 
When you can keep your exercise and fitness routines fun and enjoyable they feel a lot less like work and a lot more like being a kid again.

Because inside every Fit dad is a fat dad who remembered what it was like to be a kid again...oh yeah, and fit dads get to eat like a caveman with much less guilt.

Holy crap!

Holy CRAP!  In less than 2 months I am going to be a daddy to a baby boy!  It is a very good thing that my wife is so organized and kept on me to get things done.  She kept me on a short leash and gave me a schedule to make sure we were ready for August.  Some people would be intimidated by this, but I need it.  This is why Christine and I thrive together.  She gives me things to do, I get them done.  It's not that I am not organized on my own but my methods are suspect at best.  I also do much better under pressure.  This is something I definitely perfected in pharmacy school because I cram like its my job!  If this nursery planning would have been completely left up to me on my own I would have started the job on August 1st, and probably would have finished it the day the baby came home from the hospital.

But since I had all this extra time I decided to take on some additional projects as well.  Like mulching the yard and planting a whole new landscape bed.  Painting the kitchen and the hallways.  (If I ever offer to do that again someone please remind me about the 3.5 hour edging job I had to do and I will never do it again...I'll hire someone!) Building a sweet closet organizer for the babies room and if time permits one for my closet as well.

This is the closet as it stood probably since the house was built in 1954.

Add some of this:

And you end up with this:

and then add the clothes (and fix that uneven middle bar...was I drinking?)...and you get this.

At this point I don't know if I am going to put the doors back on the closet, because I really like the look of it with the doors off.  Any opinions on that?

I guess this means that now that the nursery is complete I need to do a blog post about the room.  Pictures need to be taken and then I will post them.

In the meantime here are some really adorable kids to pass the time:

Now that I am losing all this weight, I wonder if those sweet overalls will still fit?

My New Store!

Today is a 2 for 1 day on Ron's Blog, I am extra motivated today so you get two daily blogs on this fine Tuesday!  So make sure to check it out if you have time!

Christine and I have been debating and deciding what we are going to do with our schedules whenever the baby is born.  The plan is for her to cut back to 2 days a week (20-24 hours a week) and I of course will remain full time.  We are very blessed that we can afford to take a "paycut" to be there for our son.  We also have the luxury of  "Raycare" as well.  You see, Christine's dad is retired and stays home working around the house and taking care of the dogs.  He has graciously volunteered his time to watch the baby whenever our work schedules make it impossible for Christine and I to stay home with the baby.

After some discussion with my boss I have decided to take over our new store to make my schedule a little more forgiving for child watching but a little less forgiving for myself.  I will be taking over the new store attached to the MedEXPRESS in Brentwood.  This store is open 9-9 Monday through Sunday.  Although I am not 100% keen on working 12 hour days, including saturdays and sundays.  I am looking forward to only working 3.5 days a week and having 3.5 days a week off!

Having that many days off a week will give me time to spend a great deal of quality time with my son.  Hopefully we can do some fishing, some biking, go to the zoo, and all the other fun things there are to do around Pittsburgh!  Since Christine will be working on my days off I am sure there will be some hilarious blogs to come in the future as I work on being the best DAD I can be!

I hope this new schedule doesn't make me go crazy, because I really feel that having the time with my son is going to make it all worth it. 

Without further adieu here is my new home away from home.

Oh, So that's what 7 Yards of mulch looks like.

OOOOOhhhhhhh, so that's what 7 yards of mulch looks like.  Ladies and Gentlemen today's workout consists of taking this pile of mulch and moving it to its new home all over my property.  Ready, Set, GO!

This is the before, after 4 hours of hustle, shoveling, sweating, wheelbarrowing, and raking.  We end up with this:

Since I had the camera out I also decided to take some macro and artsy shots with the cam as well.  Enjoy!

I felt quite productive today, so I am rewarding myself with some quality couch time with a movie or two, then heading back down to the basement to finish poly-ing my next nursery project.  I am in the process of building a closet organizer for the babies room.  Here are the preview pics, the final nursery blog will be posted in the coming weeks!  (Less than 70 days till our son gets here!!

I am feeling incredibly motivated today so make sure you check out my second blog post today as well!  It's a two for one day!

weekly weigh in.

I haven't done a weekly weigh-in for a few weeks.  Well, I have physically weighed-in but I haven't blogged about it because I haven't lost any weight in weeks.  I would be at 209, then 208, then 210, then 209, back to 211, back to 209, then suddenly this week on my Sunday weigh in I was 207.

This was a legit 207 because I weighed myself wed was 207.6.  Weighed myself Friday and was 207.4.  I was very pumped because I was getting to the point where I was going to quit what I was doing and try something else.

This is kind of like fishing, the first time you catch a big fish and land it you are hooked.  Then the next time you go out you catch nothing!  The time after that you catch NOTHING!  Then you go through a period where you try all these new things and you try to get back to the same spot where you caught that lunker before.  Then just when you are about to quit fishing for a while you catch that one big fish that brings you back in to the fold and hooks for for a few more months!

Warrior Dash Recap.

www.warriordash.com
Time: 34:44
Pace: 9:55/mi
Overall (male and female) 2417 out of 9846 (top 24%)
Overall Male 1961 out of 5484 (Top 35%)
Overall age group: 391 out of 1233 (Top 31%)

The race was awesome!! Very well organized and very fluid.  Heats started every 1/2 hour from 8am till 7pm.  Heats could be as large as 550 people.  In the two day event nearly 25,000 people will compete!  We had 14 obstacles and the course was amazingly hilly for rural Ohio!!

My favorite obstacles had to be the cargo net wall (over 30ft high!) and the fire jump at the finish!!  Pictures coming soon!!

Overall I am very happy with my results from the race.  I feel I could have been a little faster had I known about all the hills and prepared accordingly for the race.  But for my first race back I am really excited!! Time to track down another race of similar style again soon.  Maybe even start training for a tough mudder!

Happy Sunday everyone!

What's to come.

We are shaped by many things in our day to day lives...from the place we call home.

To the places we have been along the way.

The beauty that hides in the most obvious places.

The past is remembered because it's what shapes who we are.

In life we wear many hats, hopefully most of them make people smile.

Sometimes its the innocence of a child that makes us realize that our lives are just too busy, just too serious, and much too short.

Many of us want to be famous but most never will.  If only we could be famous for doing all the right things.  But someday all of us will get our 15minutes of fame.

Our lives grow better because we surround ourselves with good friends.

Sometimes its just the fresh air that makes our day complete.

But for me its time spent with my family that matters most.

Especially time with the woman that completes me.

In less than 3 months our family will grow and I can't wait to share this world with him.