Week 21 -- Solid Weight Gain....

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 21 Weight: 213.0
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): (1.9)
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 13.0
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): (.84)
% PTD Loss: 5.75
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9


No excuses.... a 1.9 lb weight gain, worst week on record. I didn't feel like I overdid it, but a little bit of a lot of different offerings sure adds up. And, I only got to the gym once this week, so that side of the ledger didn't help either. Other than that, and with only one week to go, looking at only losing a third of what I set out to do is somewhat disappointing. But, on the brighter side, I'm better off than I would have been... I'm pretty sure of that. No categories this week, it is late, I just got home from a co-workers house where we watched the Celtics whup the Kings. My boss was there and he's a huge Boston fan, he's from that part of the country. So, at every other time out, we listened to him rub it in... then my friends Jerry Reynolds and Grant Napier had one of the Boston Red Sox come in and sit with them for a while.. the guy was from Woodland or somewhere.... so we had to listen to how the Red Sox won the World Series.. on and on... then we had to hear it about the Patriots... what a great year they're having... on and on.... all things New England.... but we had fun. T hey broke out a Nintendo Wii and and I got some good shots in on my boss in the boxing game... in the end though, I went down and couldn't get back up.

Anyhow, it's been great to see Randy, he and Arthur went to the game tonight... Scott and Maran are in town, and they went to the game tonight, I think Tim and some of his family went to the game tonight. Tomorrow we're having our family bowling tourney.. so that will be fun. We had a few get-togethers over here and we had a few over there too... lots of visiting and fun. The phone card to Mexico from the local Quik Stop worked great and we talked to Steven for the full hour he was allotted... worked out to only about 7-8 minutes each for the seven of us. He sounded great, and he dished out a lot of advice to everyone.... sure is great to have him serving a mission. Next year both he and Russell will be gone... a little sad, but more than a great thing.

Christmas was nice... lots of music going... Michael with his drum set and Wendy on the piano and the rest of us on assorted music makers. See if this video turned out...




Here are some pics over the last few days....always something going on. Next week will be it, I've heard from a few of you that you'd like some updates from our family... so I'll change directions a little and maybe post every other week with a new set of goals. It really has been a good year. Many struggles, but many many blessings too. We have been smiled upon.


Til next week..... Brian

Week 20 -- Merry Christmas....

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 20 Weight: 211.1
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): 0.2
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 14.9
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): 0.09
% PTD Loss: 6.59
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

Christmas is here, the new year is almost here, we're going to the airport tonight to get Russell, so this will be very quick. Randy is coming in tomorrow night, so it will be great to be together again for a while. I started out the week with a great resolve, but it slid here near the end. Wendy gave a great performance Monday night here at home with her piano concert and will be doing a few more of them over the next several days. We had her annual Christmas concert at the middle school last night, and Gail and I celebrated 26 years this past week... I'll have to comment on that a little later. My weight is holding steady, just have to see it through the next few weeks.

ROUTINE: Nothing really... just on the go a lot with the many different activities. Food is still everywhere, but I've done some better with it. It will be nice to have a few days off over Christmas. I caught some of the Biggest Loser finale last night.... winner lost 51% of his body weight over the course of the program.... here I am putzin' around at the 7% mark. I don't just don't want to kiss off these last two weeks before I re-assess the whole weight thing at the beginning of the year... so I'll work to close out strong.

ON THE BIKE: Now this was fun and not because of the bike shopping itself.... for our anniversary, we pinned Wendy down to watch Sara for the whole day while Gail and I went out... so we went out to lunch, did some shopping and found Bicycle Planet in Folsom and talked to the owners there and got some good tips.... actually I spoke to Brian DeLucia tonight and he said he could build me a Surly bike for about the price I'm looking at... so it's getting closer, but won't happen before Christmas....

Anyway, we couldn't remember where the bike shop was, so we stopped in a close-by Starbucks to ask directions... we got the directions.... saw a peppermint hot chocolate on the menu and bought one. We'd never been in a Starbucks before ever... but near the back of the store was a long couch and some newspapers folded up.... so we sat down for a while, talked for a while, read the paper for a while, and just enjoyed not having to be anywhere at all.... then, well.. as we were chatting, we got cozy, not too cozy mind you...but we must have drifted off there for a while in the Starbucks lounge. It was great... we got up, straightened ourselves up, said a nice good-bye to all of the baristas and 90 minutes later, we headed off for our next destination hand in hand... very nice. I went back the next day and bought Gail a $5.00 gift card and made her promise me we'd do it again soon....


ODDS N' ENDS: Just cruisin' into the end of the week and still have to do a little more shopping. It is a good time of year. We'll talk to Steven sometime on Christmas day... will update you on that.































FAQs:
Q. Was there a little too much of a PDA going on there in Starbucks? Aren't you two a little too old for all of that?

A. Not over the line at all... and not too old for it either... it was fun...


'Til next week.... have a great Christmas

Brian

Week 19 -- Wrong Direction

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 19 Weight: 211.3
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): (1.6)
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 14.7
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): (.71)
% PTD Loss: 6.50
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

Not a good week on the weight loss front, first time since I started that I put on weight two weeks in a row. And this week was just not good at all... a gain of 1.6 lbs. Discouraging, but not despairing... there has been food everywhere and even though I think I only have a little bit, a little bit of a lot things adds up to a lot. Nice to see I learned something in my logic classes in college. We were over at the McKees to welcome Heather home, and the food was great....had a nice church Christmas dinner and the food was great.. everyday at work, a team of people bring in favorite Christmas recipes, and it was all great. Common theme is the food was great. All that plus other office parties and get-togethers equaled a weight gain for the week. Looking ahead for this week, I see much less of that, and the scales this morning were a reminder of the challenge. But, it's getting closer to Christmas, and it's been a good season so far. Russell comes home next Wednesday night, our anniversary (26 yrs) is next Tuesday night, Wendy's school Christmas concert is next Tuesday, plus a few other get-togethers. I tried to get Stacie to write the blog tonight, but she "respectfully declined". So far, no one has taken me up, maybe because I've offered nothing in return. Only three more postings until the end....if there are any FOBS left, let's hang in there.

ROUTINE: I don't even want to re-cap what I ate, so let's not... suffice to say at least one In-N-Out run, a few pastries from Winco in the AMs, and free lunches at the California ISO. The homemade rolls (courtesy Linda Ruggles) at the church Christmas party were great... I had to do a little quality control in the kitchen beforehand. To top it all off, my exercise routine suffered this week.. some early work meetings, etc. As Wendy told me tonight, and backed up by Gail, I was only giving excuses for the results this week. I told them both the "reasons", Wendy told me excuses and reasons...really the same thing....from the mouth of teenagers.

ON THE BIKE: Performance Bicycles in Folsom looks like they've closed down, I was over there yesterday, and the place is empty. That's too bad, I liked those guys in there, maybe they've just moved. Gail's been after me...that's good.

ODDS N' ENDS: A thanks to Arthur for the invite to the NCAA volleyball finals at ARCO tomorrow, couldn't make it, but I want to hear about of from him. I saw Buster Sano at the church the other day, his one-year anniversary as a member is this month...told me he's going to the temple with Mary in January and invited us to that... Wendy is still playing for us... here's part two...





I'll try and post one more each week until Christmas even though she's not too keen on the idea. Gail and I do wish all of you are having a nice Christmas season. The spirit of Christmas usually doesn't hit me until the day before or so, but this year I'm feeling it a bit sooner. It's nice... Sara wasn't happy with Santa at all, wouldn't even look at him, but she sat with me next to him. I think that makes 6 for 6 in the Santaphobia category for our kids...

Here's some late breaking pics from the YW activity tonight, thanks to Kaci O... um, what's the hammer for exactly?


...and here's what my weight-loss support group is up to on the way home right after our regular goal meetings... nice... very nice...



FAQs:
Q. So, did you bring in anything to the office party(ies)?

A. Yep... Gloria and I made a crockpot full of triple-delight hot chocolate..very nice..Gail made some ham and jalapeno wraps and some toffee.. all good....

'Til next week..

Week 18 -- Another Wednesday Night...

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 18 Weight: 209.7
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): (.05)
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 16.3
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): (.22)
% PTD Loss: 7.21
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

Well... another Wednesday night has come, just flying on by. Very little to report on other than I hope this video clip of Wendy turned out. I'm gonna try. I gained a half a pound this week, still feels like Groundhog Day, some late hours at the office, and just getting along. Stacie asked if she could have her picture with me to show how cold I keep the house to try and save a few pennies, can't quite get synchronized here on all that... now that it's winter, I see family turning off lights and turning up the thermostat, summertime saw lights always on and the thermo way down. Forgot to wish my sister Diane a Happy Birthday Monday...yep I've got a little sister who's 47... what's that do for me? Lots of activities coming up soon, church Christmas dinner this week, Heather McKee home from Taiwan tomorrow, school concerts, etc.... I'll have some good pictures for next week. Not really feelin' too much of it all tonight....

ROUTINE: Still diligent at the gym, but little attention to the diet. My gym buddy Harold at work is talking me into stepping up the weights workout. I've done some, but he's going after it strong. I think I need to do that so I'll be taken seriously... here's a conversation I had with a lady at church the other day. I was asked to be at the church, there was a situation where there was a remote chance of a little trouble, I was asked to show up just to help check on things. So, I get there and happened to be sampling the sampler platter in the kitchen:

Sister WS: Hey Brian, nice to see you... hey I hear there was some muscle supposed to stop by to check on things...

Me: ('lil smokie in my mouth on a toothpick back in the kitchen).... yeah, that's me... I's just asked to stop by to take a look...

Sister WS: (straight as straight-faced can be).... uh huh,.... no really, do you know who's supposed to stop by?

There it is.... can't even pass for someone who might be able to help out in the event..... time to join Harold in some of that heavy lifting.

ON THE BIKE: Gail is picking up the encouragement on this...even offered to go out with me and do some shopping for it... can't figure that all out, but will go with it.

ODDS N' ENDS: Christmas is getting here and that is nice..... went to a concert with the Hamners and friends where David played the clarinet....


Wendy wants me to quit talking about it, but her piano playing has lifted our spirits, been very very nice to hear. We'll have more of it throughout the season....., be sure to listen past the 00:27 mark... I just heard it, I really know now that we need a new camera, this one just doesn't cut it.



No FAQs this week.... still thinking on an exit strategy for the blog and program, not to decide right now.

'Til next week. Brian

Week 17 -- Not Bad for a Thanksgiving Week.....

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 17 Weight: 209.2
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): 0.8
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 16.8
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): .35
% PTD Loss: 7.43
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

All things considered, this was a great week. We had Russell home for the holiday, had family over for Thanksgiving, went to family for feasting on Friday, and had some good time at the temple with the youth in the church tonight and a bit of dinner afterwards with them as well.


Only one slightly down note.... Arthur hooked us up with some tickets for the Kings this past week... we had our choice, vs the Spurs on Monday, vs Golden State tonight, or vs Houston on Saturday. Naturally, still being Spurs fans from our time in San Antonio, and finding not a whole lot to be real excited about the Kings since moving back here, we (Michael, Wendy, and I) jumped at the chance to see the Spurs kill the Kings. We talked about how we'd some of the very few who would walk out of Arco laughing and high-fiving while the other 14,000 faithful would be hanging their heads and muttering about the Kings' troubles.... we got the tables turned, Kings whupped the Spurs 112-99, and it wasn't even that close. We got down to the pre-game shootaround and got some good laughs in with Big-Shot Bob Horry, but the karma never came and we were left with no response to those 14,000 rabid Kings fans. Oh well..... it's a long season.... With all that and a double-double at the Truxel In-N-Out before the game, .8 lbs came off.... I know it's no where near where my goal has been, but it's the lowest I've been in this program.... so a little each week, I will keep at it. It was great to have Tim, Denise, Joel, Bonnie (and husband James , and toddler Sophia) over for Thanksgiving... I had sympathetic ears from James and Bonnie on the whole Gail wedding ring thing, I haven't laughed that hard for some time....

ROUTINE: The exercising is keeping me steady... I stayed away from the annual Turkey Bowl this year, opting for the work gym instead. I've got some sore achillies going, I think due to the treadmill, so I sat out the Turkey Bowl. I hear it was great though... Dean Thomson catching a TD pass for the 28th year in a row.... that man is the man.... that should be a subject of a whole 'nother post.


Anyway, the gym on Thurs, Fri, and Sat even though I was off work, tempered my appetite some as I didn't go too crazy with the feasting. I was up to about 35-37 minutes straight on the treadmill, but my heels are hurting now, so I'm going to back that off a bit. My goal is still to do 60 min straight by the first of the year. December is almost upon us, not too much time left to completely make good on all these goals.

ON THE BIKE: I did not go checkout yet that new Fuji 7100... I'll e-mail the guy from Craigslist again, I had a small window of opp to do it lat Friday, but the guy was out in Elverta and just didn't happen. I do hear my buddies are still out riding, I'm getting along quite well with the JaBen crowd, and the grief has lessened considerably on most of the biking front. Gail has got a great jump on all the Chrtistmas stuff.... and she seems to be sincere about making a bike happen for me.... but we might have to sell a kidney, or..... hey, what about gall bladders? I guess no one needs extras of those... I fear for my kids, Stacie and Wendy too have been having symptoms, guess it could be genetic somehow.... mine's at the bottom of Lake Eire somewhere along with all the other medical waste from our stay in Syracuse, NY. How can I spin that E-Bay auction??? I think I still have those pimento-like stones around here somewhere.

ODDS N' ENDS: I think it's all been said.... the Christmas tree is in the backyard, we're reluctant to bring it in for fear of Sara being all in, around, and on it. There's only one thing she's afraid of and that's the vacuum cleaner.... we've seriously considered going down to Goodwill and buying up all their vacuum cleaners... and place them strategically around the house... in front of the Christmas tree, by the kitchen cabinets, in the fireplace where she prefers to sit and ponder, and by every toilet in the house. Wonder if we can get volume discounts on those vacuums... I'll have to post some video of Wendy's beautiful Christmas piano music, we're trying to get her to agree to do a couple of concerts over here during the holidays...by next post we'll be well into December.....


FAQs:

Q. Have you scheduled your physical yet for the beginning of the new year?

A. I tried that a few weeks ago, but they only take appts up to four weeks out... yeah, that is part of the program goal... to increase my life insurance... see if I can get the best rates... wonder if they're all BMI-based....

Q. Um.... might not be a good idea to discuss life insurance here... some of the FOBS might turn into EOBS, and then into FOGS, if you know what I mean.....

A. Oh yeah.... you're probably right.... but the insurance amount not likely to get too many people excited...but not a bad idea to always watch one's back.


'Til next week... Brian

Week 16 -- Time for a Holiday

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 16 Weight: 210.0
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): (0.3)
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 16.0
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): (.13)
% PTD Loss: 7.08
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

This really will be short, it is time for a holiday.... I have tomorrow and Friday off, that will be a nice break. The grooves of the rut grew a little deeper this week as the scales recorded 210 even. The exercise effort is still there, but I need a mind warp, mind meld, altered mind or something with the eating. I blame Russell for some of it... he was supposed to come in last night from Utah, but as Gail, her sister and brother-in-law, and the rest of us were sitting around chatting last Friday night at around 10:00, in pops Russell as a surprise to all of us. He and his riding partners decided to head home early. It was great to see him, he likes school a lot...he's dropped about 15 lbs...says he's low on funds, not eating much, studying hard, etc.... Gail then (and I'll use our Texan phrase "bless her heart") proceeds to bring on all the Thanksgiving gourmet out about a week early...man, just good stuff. Russell, of course, just plays along and eats it up. It is all good... we'll have Dad over and Tim's family too tomorrow and then be with the Morford crowd on Friday. I'm well aware this is week 16 of the 22 week plan... time to look at contingencies....

ROUTINE: Nothing new here, although after a few early holiday luncheons out, I realized the season is here. I just read the average American gains seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years... I'm determined that's not gonna be me. The gym has saved my bacon so far, I'll be at it in the morning, and it doesn't feel like a chore... just gotta get the brain in a new way of thinking.

ON THE BIKE: I'm going to look at a bike on Friday, this guy on Craigslist won a bike in a raffle and wants to get rid of it... a TREK bike, supposed to be easy on the rear and a comfortable ride, I'll see how it fits...

ODDS N' ENDS: Arthur came by... offered me three Kings tix for this next Monday vs the Spurs, I'll be on those... looks like me, Michael, and Wendy... I saw an article in the paper, another reason why I might live to 100, in addition to the extra 20 lbs I'm carrying, learned that was beneficial from last week's article... this week's article is titled:

Having Lots of Kids Helps Dads Live to 100

the authors said.... "we were surprised that having more than three children is beneficial to longevity..." they couldn't pinpoint why, just there was a very strong correlation. They said it was counterintuitive findings, conventional wisdom says the more kids you have, the sooner you go nuts.... it's conventional wisdom for a reason... now new evidence says otherwise.. go figure.

FAQs: None for the week... I should have some decent pics for next time. Everyone have a great Thanksgiving...when you put it all together...the blessings are overwhelming...

'Til next week..... Brian

(A thanks to Matt and Victoria Arnold for the Sara church pics...)

Week 15 -- A Little Movement....

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 15 Weight: 209.7
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): 0.8
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 16.3
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): .35
% PTD Loss: 7.21
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

The hour is later than ever and I tried to get a ghost blog writer this week which in the end didn't work out... so just me with not a whole lot on the brain. Good news is I'm under 210 even though it is just by a few tenths... still at the gym, I've started to mix in some weights, but I haven't toned down the eating a whole lot. My awareness level kicked up a bit when I decided to put on a smaller size pants and tighten the belt a notch, literally. I am in between pant sizes so, I've got the smaller ones on, and let's say I'm more aware of the fit... I think that helped in not going full on at meal time. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I'll get through it, have a lot of fun and not get too crazy... I say bring it on. No good stories this week, we had a great day at the temple on Monday the holiday, my dad to the rescue on the clothes dryer, and the youth had a great activity at the church tonight.

ROUTINE: Just a little smaller portions this week... and I planned it out a little better. Sweets are still killing me though, but I don't want to get to the point where I say certain foods are definitely off-limits... that seems a little drastic, but the 100-calorie packs aren't working out too well either... so I'm caught in the middle. And I admit... I broke the AM/PM vow... I went in honestly for a refill of my diet Sobe cranberry/grapefruit drink..., my friend the manager comes over and we do a little small talk.... then he goes for it, says he's got a brand new food item that AM/PM has never seen before, he'd personally make me a free sample, he's just looking out for me, etc... I did, in the name of friendship, I took the sample... an Italian baguette stuffed with pepperoni, ham, mozarella cheese, and tomato sauce. It was good, but not great, I bought one from him... good news is I won't buy another one because they weren't that good. And, as the weather gets colder, the 44 oz iced diet Sobe doesn't sound great either...so I really don't have any business there. The exercise routine stayed the same... I am used to that. So, I've decided tight pants are the overall key to sustained weight loss.... who woulda thought?

ON THE BIKE: From now on, I'll just post when there is bike news. If someone out there can assist in getting me through the bike malaise, just speak up.

ODDS N' ENDS: Quite a bit here.... I'll be brief... we had the best letter from Steven, no mention of health issues... just about the contacts he's making and the progress of the investigators, does parents' hearts good. The clothes dryer stopped drying, would run but no heat... you'd figure the son of the best appliance repairman ever could handle that... taking apart is no problem, figured the heating element was bad... got that sucker out (even though when all said and done, didn't have to go to that much trouble), thought I'd call Dad to just confirm, he says he'll come over... he brings his electrical test kit... says the element is fine, thermostat is the problem... Gail goes down the next day buys a new one, we put it all back together and presto, it works. Gail was the engineer on the whole belt/pulley action, Dad got down and dirty with the take down as well... Dad, at 81 is still the man, Gail's always been the fixer-upper... I tear stuff down....We figure Dad's know-how saved us $229, but he got that back in a great home-cooked me from Gail...everyone called it even... what a deal. Kids had a great time at the church tonight... the YW leaders (pictured below... hard to believe two of the three are JaBen wives) came up with the idea of a "service" scavenger hunt....


....they sent the youth off to four different places in search of things, trying to beat other groups back to the church... what the kids didn't know was there were four "plants" (pictured).....


who needed help at these places, one lost a wallet, one had car trouble, one was on crutches, etc... the test was to see if the kids would stop to help... they came through pretty well... the point was that while we're rushing around in life, there will be people in our paths who need help.... we can't just rush on by.... a great activity. That's about all... football season now over.... I'll see if I can stay close to the wrestling and b-ball worlds...


FAQs:
Q. I see the People Magazine sexiest men alive issue is out. You and none of your FOBS made that list. Does that surprise you?

A. No, not really.... then again, I, and I think all of the FOBS, never set out to make the list... I hear it's highly political anyway. We're all pretty much comfortable (maybe too comfortable) in our own skin. As always... (to this anonymous FAQster)... thanks for noticing.

'Til next week..... Brian

Week 14 -- More of the Same....

Start Weight: 226.0
Week 13 Weight: 210.5
Weekly Loss/Gain (+): (0.1)
Program-to-Date (PTD) Loss: 15.5
% Weekly Loss/(Gain): (0.04)
% PTD Loss: 6.86
Program Goal Weight Loss: 36.0
Program Goal % Loss: 15.9

I must've set some sort of record, this is five weeks in a row with only fluctuating .1 or .2 lbs around the 210.5 lb mark. Not much to say tonight, it's getting late and the head is muddied. I did have some encouraging e-mails this week, one from my brother Tim, and one from Steve, my biker buddy, who is in Africa helping to build water filtration systems for the people of Uganda. I'll post a few of his comments below. He volunteered through his church to go..... if you happen to read this Bishop, how 'bout sending me to, say somewhere like.... Tahiti, where there is a need for conversational English teachers? It'd be a hardship, but I'd take one for the world's team. Also, a thanks to Tom Cadle who was in line with me at the Halloween chili and cornbread dinner...he had some encouraging words as well.... just be consistent, tortoise and the hare kind of thing. So, I'll just count my blessings and stick with it... we had Sara's birthday this week to liven things up a bit. Plus, an article in the paper boosted me too... excerpts... "Being 25 pounds overweight doesn't appear to increase your risk of dying from heart disease or cancer... the findings may comfort some who can't seem to lose those last 15 pounds. And they hearten backers of a theory that it is possible to be "fit and fat"... but overweight people have a higher risk of death from a variety of ills, including diabetes and kidney disease".... now I will sleep better tonight.... I don't see myself as fit or fat... wonder how that fits in.


ROUTINE: Not much new.... the gym most every morning and I did stay away from all the AM/PM activities for the week... I don't even know what the November monthly special is... I heard rumors they were throwing in a free two-pack of pop tarts with a purchase of coffee or hot chocolate... may be tempting on those cold mornings... but I have that advice ringing in my ears... "Brian.. you have no business ever of going into an AM/PM".... Looking back on it, I had too much of the birthday cake and ice cream... and other late night snacks. Appears I'm maintaining, albeit at a level 20 lbs higher than desired. A thanks to my buddy Harold at work who checks in on me daily at the gym... then comes by if he doesn't see me there... that does help.


ON THE BIKE: No thought on it this week... even though gas is $3.25 at the local Circle K. We have had some great weather here in Sacramento, mid-70s for most of the week. The bike momentum has slowed to a trickle... need a change of attitude there.... still keep those Craigslist ads coming, I've bought off there before and if I see something that looks good, who knows? If I go long enough, maybe Gail will take pity for Christmas... then again...


ODDS N' ENDS: Great news is Steven is feeling much better and has returned to almost a regular routine in Mexico. A thanks to those who have thought about him and prayed for him... We're (Gail) sending off a package tomorrow, the crown jewel being a 32 oz box of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch... do they have real milk in the villages of the Yucatan?... Russell will be home for Thanksgiving, then Christmas too when Randy, Scott and his family will be here as well. Time to start thinking festive... last football game of the season this week vs Casa... hard to tell what the playoff picture is... BV is 7-2, Casa 9-0 and Del Campo 8-1. Steve, in Africa... "I am at the internet cafe in Gulu, which is like the wild wild west of Uganda. As I walked down the streets of this village this morning, there were kids carrying guns on their shoulders riding bikes down the street... I hope I do not look like anything they want to shoot. Other than that and the presence of some army troops, all is well... been working hard sifting rocks in a rock quarry for the water filters... lot of mosquitos... time to go."

Stacie's our awesome cake decorator and delighted us with these for the celebration.


That's it for this week.... no FAQS that are fit to print.

'Til next week... all the best... Brian