It's go time!

We are moving from our house in Overland Park, Kansas to Alpharetta, GA. I can still hardly believe it really. It has happened so fast that my head is spinning. We sold our house in less than a week and picked out another one in the same week. We went from talking about it to trying to close the deals in just a few days. Here is the timeline so far: we sell our house before the end of the year, probably on the 30th or 31st, ad we close on the new house on January 9th.

How about a little extra stress for Christmas? Yes, I'll have some, and please pass the turkey and the wine bottle. I'll definitely be looking forward to a little of both.

More knee...

I saw the orthopedic surgeon last week. He said that there are two courses of action to take for my knee that is still messed up. 

The first thing to do is to give me another good shot of cortisone right into my knee to see if things calm down, then try to run on it after four days. I got a big shot of cortisone (under my kneecap, which was a really weird sensation) waited the requisite four days, went for a run, and it still hurts. So that leaves us to option two...

I am now supposed to call the doc back and get my knee scoped. I am not looking forward to this at all. Yikes!

James Quote

We were trying to decide what to have for dinner while we were in the car. James wanted to go to Cici's pizza, since they have a game room that James loves to play in. I said that I would go to anywhere but there since I am not a big fan of Cici's. James then said "How about we drop you off somewhere else, Daddy?"

Karen's dog, Molly. (It's not my problem, she has issues)

Karen had a post about her dog, and my reply was too funny to leave buried in the comment section, or so I think. Her post was actually quite a positive review of the dog, and it included all of the tricks that the dog knows how to perform. I think Karen omitted a few of the dog's finest tricks that we are still working on.

I really hope she learns my favorite trick. I call it "Don't crap on the rug any more, bonehead."

She also does two other really cool tricks:

1. She eats bugs. If you don't want to kill a spider in the house, al you have to do is show the dog where it is. VOILA! problem solved, nom, nom, nom...

2. She rolls in dead things. She found a deceased animal in our yard that seemed like it was Chanel no. 5 to her, so she applied it to her fur liberally. I really enjoyed giving her a bath at 11PM, and she was all smiles too, evidenced by her constantly running away from me. I think she secretly just wanted to run some wind sprints in the yard with me.  

Molly's special.

Early August fun!

I play softball on Sunday nights, and I actually caught four of the five fly balls in my field last weekend. The one that I missed is the one that is really the best one to talk about. It was a high fly ball that dropped in shallow right field and I happened to be playing in fairly deep right center field. I managed to get to the ball in time, but not quite fast enough to not make a normal overhand basket style catch. I had to lean forward and stretch my arm out forward. The ball bounced off the heel of my glove and nailed me right in the face. Not only did I not catch the ball, but I also managed to make the ball smack me just above my left eye. I am an all-star, and I am a little glad that James was not there to witness my mastery of sports.

Tonight, James and I went to the "far-far away playground" about a half mile away, to play on the swings and the slides. I had a lot of fun but I realized that I am not a kid. I don't fit well on the tiny slides, and if I sit up on the tube slide, I bonk my head really hard. I had a blast, and I now have a headache. I seem to be hurting myself a lot this week.

Our new dog got out of the house on Sunday, mostly because we let him out to see what would happen. He normally follows us around the house all the time and never lets us out of his sight, but as soon as he got outside he forgot who we were altogether. I chased him for about half a mile, doing a lot of running, interrupted by all-out sprinting whenever I got close to him. He managed to easily elude me until he stopped to have an unavoidable diarrhea BM, then I tackled him and slapped on the leash. It is probably the only time I will ever be excited to see the dog making a dook in the neighbors yard.

It has been a little on the toasty side lately, and I have found that the only time I really want the A/C on is when I am at home. I have yet to run the A/C in the car despite the high 90 degree and 100 degree temps lately. Maybe I am nuts, but I really like the heat as long as I am not standing in the sun or trying to work in it. On the other hand, when I am at home, it better be less than 80 degrees, or I get grouchy. I just can't sit on my Lazy Boy recliner and get sweaty.

I have a question, what temperature is your A/C set at? Is 77 at night and 79 during the day really high? (we still sleep with a down comforter on the bed, I am not joking at all)

The part-time mechanic

The list goes on and on. To date, I have also:

changed the front and rear differential fluids - removed and replaced the differential covers and put on new gaskets (rtv sealant)

Drained and replaced the fluid in the transfer case

Replaced the rear brake shoes and installed all new springs

Replaced the rear pinion seal (the seal where the drive shaft enters the rear differential)

Lubed the driveline (I bought my very own mini grease gun!)

Lubed the front suspension (also using the wee grease gun)

Replaced the fuel filter and made a big stinky mess in the garage in the process (note: you will spill a lot of fuel when you replace a large fuel filter, bring a bucket)

replaced the rear shocks

Still to do:

repair a few small rust spots on the body and touch up paint

polish the rims and get rid of a tiny bit of rust

remove and replace valve cover gasket

replace the parking brake cable (I really, really should have done this when I replaced the brake shoes, the springs are very hard to work with...)

drain and replace manual transmission fluid - once I find the right fluid - who knew this would be hard to find? 

Still to pay someone else to do: Replace the main seal on the engine - someday, if I decide it needs to be done and I still really don't want to do it... It looks like a lot of work and I don't think I have that much free time or engine knowledge right now.

Stuff that will wait until Christmas: off road lights for the front bumper and also buy the parts to replace all the bushings on the suspension, sway bar, and body mounts. (quadratec gift cards?)

My Jeep!

I am now the proud owner of an old heap. It's noisy, stinky, it leaks oil, it's not comfortable to drive, and the CD player is dead, but I think it is the coolest thing ever. I love my old Jeep, despite all of the issues I now get to deal with. The next thing I need to get is a shop manual so I can diagnose and repair my new toy.

(There is a picture of it on Karen's blog, if you wanna see it.)

Here is the list of stuff that I have already done:

replaced plugs

replaced plug wires

replaced distributor cap

replaced rotor

aimed headlights

adjusted front-end alignment

changed oil

changed oil filter

changed air filter

I know I am forgetting some stuff...

Jeep, knee, and Father's Day

I might be in the process of buying an old Jeep Wrangler, just to play around with. I have been haggling with the owner about the price for quite a while now and I just might be the new owner of a 1994 Jeep Wrangler with piles of miles and in need of a little TLC. Only time will tell if I am to be the one, maybe I will have more to tell tomorrow?

I know, you're thinking that I am a nutjob for considering buying a gas guzzler when the price of gas is so high. You would be right. I just want to get it to play around with and for when the weather is really terrible in the winter. You know, that one day in Kansas City when the weather is really yucky. Okay, I am being silly about the whole thing, but I have always wanted one. I can always sell it again pretty quick if I decide the I don't want it any more.

Other news - I got the shot. I got a shot of cortisone near the angry tendons in my knee and it works like magic. I ran comfortably on Sunday. I got to run with my wife and my sister, how cool is that!!! I also ran a few miles again on Tuesday. I am much slower than I was in February, but that is A-OK with me. As long as I can still run, I will be a happy guy. Thank you, cortisone and yoga. Yep, I said it. I have been doing yoga for a few weeks now and it works wonders. I feel like a total dork, but I can't argue with success. The yoga enabled me to narrow the inflammation down to two small spots, and the cortisone got rid of one bad spot, so I seem to be on the mend. I only have one sore spot to deal with and that one seems to be getting better all the time. Icing it make the pain go away entirely, but it returns about an hour later, so I have to keep icing it to keep it completely happy.

I got to spend father's day with my parents, Karen's parents, my sister Jay and her husband John (who is a new father!), my adorable new niece Maggie, my brother-in-law Chris, my wife, and my son. It was an excellent Father's day, I must say. It was great to see at least some of the family, and I wish everyone could have joined us to make it even better. We spent the day around the Kugler house in Valpo, and I made a really tasty brisket on our homemade smoker. (our smoker was inspired by Alton Brown - the genius from the TV show "Good Eats") I seem to have figured out the way to reliably make good brisket using my contraption. Last time was only a moderate success. I found out that needed a layer of insulation to keep the direct heat off of the meat so that I did not get a layer of dried out shoe leather on the bottom of the brisket. I had to throw out a bunch of meat last time, but it was all useable this time thanks to a single small aluminum pan. I think I need to try making pulled pork next time.

UPDATE: I just talked to the owner of the Jeep and he has agreed on my price, so I will be buying an old Jeep tomorrow.

Race day wrap-up

I finished the race that I signed up for, sort of. I wanted to do a triathlon. I trained for the swim leg. It was the only part of the race that I was trained for. I knew I could do the rest of the race without any real issues, since it was going to be fairly short and sweet. The race I signed up for was not that race they were going to allow us to do. They decided that all of the rain had stirred up the pond and washed all of the duck feces into the water, causing any unhealthy amount of bacteria to be in the water on race day. The alternate plan was to have everyone do a duathlon, instead of a triathlon. That meant 4.8 miles of running instead of 2.4, and 13.5 miles on the bike instead of 9 miles. I was not ready for that because I was not trained for any of it. I was actually sick to my stomach before the race wondering if my day was going to end up in agony and not be able to finish the race. As it turned out, I was able to finish the race and I finished upright with a smile on my face. I wasn't fast, I never have been, but I finished.

I should have stopped there...

Karen wanted to go for a run later in the day, and since my knee still felt great, I decided to go with her, and push James in the jogging stroller. The legs were willing, but the knee was weak. After another four miles, my knee was a little bit angry again. It's not too bad, but it is still a little sore two days later. I thought I was cured, so I decided to push my luck. I now know that I still have some limitations on my distances until I get everything completely healed up. It's getting better, but I am not ready for a marathon quite yet.  :>) Maybe next weekend...

Triathlon weekend!

Well, it is time for the triathlon this weekend and I still am not sure if I will be able to run the last section or not. I have not run much at all in over a month. I tried it once a week ago, for just a mile or two, and my knee was fairly indifferent. I somehow made my knee sore again the day after by stretching it just a little to much. I am now really trying to get it to calm down again by taking all the anti-inflammatory drugs and icing my knee all the time. Wish me luck, I may need it!

I am also supposed to play softball on Sunday night, long after the triathlon has ended, which may also be interesting since I will probably be in the outfield. (right field, where they put all the terrible players) For those of you who have been witness to the horror of seeing me play softball before, this season is sure to be more of the same. I am really a horrible player.

Back to my knee - has anyone heard good or bad things about getting cortisone shots to get the healing going? I have been semi-broken and fragile for four months and it is really getting old to be in pain all the time.

Missed it...

I missed the mini marathon. My knee is still sore. Total sucko. I am swimming and getting lots of muscles on my chest and arms, spending time at the gym, but I can't run at all. I am in the midst of a running and cycling hiatus to let the healing get started on my knee. I tried to maintain the strength and stamina that I had built up training hard over the winter, but I think it only served to prolong my injury.

I am still going to compete in the triathlon on June 8th that I signed up for, even if I have to walk the last part. The last part (the running section) is only 2.4 miles, which is not even that long of a walk, really.

Quick explanation of the triathlon that I signed up for: 400 yard swim, 9 miles on a bike, 2.4 mile run - in that order. I don't plan on winning, but I will finish the race for certain. Good times, I can't wait!

Not running much, but I can swim now.

I am still not running. I think there is little chance that I will be able to run the half marathon in Indy since I can't complete more than three miles without getting re-injured. Sucko.

I keep trying to test out my knee and finding out that I am still injured. I am not sure how long I should wait to test it out again. I wait until it feels good for a few days, then give it a try. It feels good for a while, and I go at it easy. The knee feels great when I am done. The next day, I am still feeling good, but just to be sure I rest and sit on the couch anyway. Two days later, I try running easy again and I am suddenly back to square one, icing an injured knee and sleeping with pillows under my leg. It's driving me nuts, really. I would be happy just to be able to run five miles three or four times a week, but I can't get past three without walking home to find an ice pack and a pillow.

Other news: I signed up for a triathlon (swim, bike, run) in June since I don't need to run much to do one. I bought a wetsuit from a guy who lives on the north side of town and I mentioned that I was a terrible swimmer. It turns out he is a masters swimmer and used to be a swim coach. He even offered to teach me how to swim for free. He gave me a video and met me at the gym for almost two hours of swim instruction. At least now I know I can complete the swim portion of the triathlon without drowning. (Wetsuits are cool for two reasons: 1. They make you float really well, so it is much harder to drown. 2. They make you sleeker and faster in the water so you swim with much less effort.

Karen might get a road bike to ride with me, too! Sweet!

More running...

I ran a mile in therapy on Thursday, last week. On Sunday, I ran two miles. On Tuesday, I ran three miles. Tomorrow, I am going to try for four miles. Wish me luck!

My knee is not 100%, but it is getting better. It still gets sore the day after I run, but it feels great while I am actually out running.

Diet update: Karen has now lost about ten pounds, and she looks great, but I am gaining ground. I have now lost about two pounds. Whoa! That only took a month and a half of starving! At this rate, I should be able to shed another four pounds just in time for next Christmas! Bring on the holiday salad!

One mile...

I was able to run one mile today while I was doing my physical therapy. It didn't hurt at all for most of it, and my knee only tightened up a little at the end. The best part is that I was not in pain afterward. Progress is good, but it has been slow.

I am really excited that I may be able to run a little more. Maybe I will be back in running shape soon! I have been fairly depressed about the whole thing, so this is a really good day for me. I have not been able to run since February 9th, so today was a real victory. YAY!

Still not running... Maybe tomorrow???

My knee is still messed up. MRI says no issues a few weeks ago, and I have been to physical therapy three times. I go to my last physical therapy session tomorrow, but I still can't run on it. I get to try to run tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes. The therapist figured out that I had a muscle imbalance, which caused the initial problem. I got a brace to enable me to run while I was retraining the weaker muscle, but I made the brace too tight and it hurt my iliotibial band trying to run (the muscle on the outside of our leg) and that injury has been healing for three weeks. I am afraid to try to run on it and find out that it is still messed up. I hope it gets better soon so I can still run the Indianapolis half marathon in May. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Absolute horror story!

CUSTARD'S LAST STAND IS CLOSING IT'S DOORS TOMORROW. LIFE IS JUST NOT FAIR.

Perhaps I am being a little over the top, but Custard's last stand was one of our favorite places in the world, like Greek's Pizzeria in Valparaiso. We went there often and we really enjoyed it. We even made jokes about the fact that if we ever moved away from Kansas City, we would have to come back to visit our friends and buy an entire case of Custard. We are very sad and we will definitely go there tomorrow to get our last round of Custard. So long Custard, we really enjoyed you and we will miss you.

My knee makes me sad...

We all know I like to run. I am currently injured, and I can't run much at all. I can walk fine, but when I run more than half a mile at a time, my knee hurts so badly that I am lunging for the STOP button on the treadmill to avoid falling over. This is after I took a week off from running to let the healing start. I am really bummed, and I have no energy at all since I can't exercise. I can't even ride the bike trainer until this dumb thing heals up. If it does not get better, I will be going to the doctor very soon. This really sucks, and it is quite literally depressing me. Darn.

Big day!!

My sister and her husband are expecting the birth of their first child today! She is a little past due, so she is being induced today. Say a prayer with me for the three of them and and I will post more information as soon as I know it!

Sickos...

James and I are both sick. He has an ear infection, and I have a sinus infection. We played in the basement this evening and I don't think either one of us could sit still for more than ten minutes without needing a tissue to wipe a runny nose. He made me some eggs, french toast, yogurt, and a piece of pizza for breakfast. I must have been very hungry, he made me lots of food.

I actually went to the doctor today to get a prescription so that I could alleviate some of the sinus pressure and hopefully not be sick all weekend. It was a good thing that I went because by the time I was done at the doctor's office and filled my prescription, I felt pretty awful. All I wanted to do was sit and wait for the antibiotics to work their magic. It has been about seven hours since I went took my first pill, and I have yet to feel much better. Decongestants helped with the stuffiness, but my face still really hurts from the sinus pressure. Enough whining...

We are going to the Dana's house tomorrow after we get done at our favorite BBQ joint, Oklahoma Joe's. We are planning to play some Guitar Hero 3 in their basement, and I am really looking forward to it. I have not played GH3 since we got home from Indiana. It's definitely time to get a tired pinkie finger and practice my high-speed strumming skills. I can't wait. I need to get my GH3 set up in the basement so I can be prepared for the next time we have a gaming session.

Tough decision?

My car is old, but it works fine and requires zero maintenance. It has 95K on it, and it is eight years old, but it has never seen the shop. If I sell it, I will probably not get very much out of it. I am, however, very tired of my car. In fact, it is really not even my car at all. The Civic was purchased by Karen, for Karen to drive around. I just got the Civic when James was born and Karen got my little truck, which she then traded in for the minivan we have now.

I want to buy a new car, but there is really no financial justification for it at all. The smart thing to do would be to wait for the old Civic to start giving me problems, and then get rid of it, but I am tired of it. I want to get a new car. We can afford a new car without stressing the budget, but it is definitely not a financially wise decision; it is really a giant waste of money. With the price of cars, it seems silly for me to buy a car right now, but I want to get one.

I drove a 2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE V6 6-speed manual on Saturday. It was really sweet, to say the least. It was quiet, fast, and really comfortable - three things that the Civic is not.

I want one.

Still mulling it over...

Funny stuff?

I found this terribly amusing, take a look and see what you think. It reminds me of riding my bicycle with baseball cards in the spokes. Some dude just spinning his wheels...

Home again, and new year's resolutions?

We are back at the homestead in Kansas again. It was a great vacation holiday, and we had a great time. The only thing that I would have changed about the entire thing was that I would have left a day earlier to avoid the giant snowstorm.

Christmas with the family was wonderful, and it was really awesome to see the little ones (mostly James and Neil) get all excited about opening presents and playing with new toys. We had a great time, but we missed Jay and John terribly around the holiday. (But we get to go see them very soon!)

We drove home in a pretty healthy winter storm. It was so bad that we were going 25 MPH for many miles on I-65 and could still not really see the road in front of us. The
country roads that we went down to try to get out of the storm were so windblown with deep drifts that it stuffed a bunch of snow into the front grill of the van. Everything was white, so we couldn't even tell where the drifts were. We would be driving along and all of a sudden "POOF!" the snow would explode from the front of the van and make a huge white cloud all around us. Not that it wasn't snowing heavily already, it just made an obviously denser cloud around us, and you could feel the van slow down when it hit the drifts. I counted 25 cars in ditches, and one tractor-trailer. No big accidents, just a whole bunch of spin-offs. I was glad not to become one of them. It was a very long drive home; the trip took a few extra hours due to the weather.

The only cool thing about the drive was Karen's new GPS. (remember the commercial - "there's the moose again, give a give a give a give a garmin...") It led us down a bunch of country roads to get from I-65 over to I-57, and there was no traffic on any of them, so we did not have to worry about getting hit by people in a hurry. I love the GPS, it is really a cool toy.


New Year's resolutions:
1. Don't gain weight
2. Don't stop eating fairly healthy
3. Keep exercising as usual
4. Don't start smoking

Any ideas for resolutions for me? I can't think of anything that I need to stop doing, and I am not in need of major weight loss. Is there anything that I need to do or to stop doing? What are you planning to do for the new year?