Happy Memorial Day

Well, whether the weather is consistently in agreement or not, summer is officially underway. Sitting next the freshly cleaned pool at my cousins house, all the younger kids are off at the park leaving for some peace and quiet for the rest of us, finally.

The weather today isn't that bad, although there is a threat of storms later in the evening. Probably the nicest day and the most sun we've been able to enjoy since coming back from Maui last month. The weather for the rest of the week isn't supposed to be as nice, but the weekend (still far a way) is going to be better.

Its not going to matter as much for me this next few weeks since I'll be traveling for business. This week it's down to Austin for a few days to visit our company's headquarters, and the following week is for Microsoft's TechEd convention in Orlando. Both are first times each for me, and I haven't traveled on business for about two years now.

Aside from that, still working on updates from our trip to Maui in April. We had dinner with Cindy's aunt and uncle last week, so we relived our trip with them as well. By now, it seems like it's been more than just a month since we've been back, but it's always like that. :)

Too soon to be counting down to our next trip in February. We certainly don't want to rush through these summer months, assuming we get the sunshine and warmth we're looking for.

Aloha for now.

Overdue for an Update

Not surprising, a lot can happen in a month when you're not keeping your blog updated (not this one, anyway). Since my last post here, we've already gone back to Maui for our third trip, and as it feels now, it's like we never left. If you're interested, you can read all of our vacation blog posts here.

Mother's day was last Sunday, as sure sign that summer is coming. My brothers and I got her an iPod after she had borrowed one from my cousins for our vacation. One of them helped put her list of music on it for her, and she's starting to get the hang of it pretty quick.

Speaking of signs of summer, Cindy and I just got back from our first Schaumburg Flyers game of the season. It was a good game, but I forgot how many obnoxious kids there are at those things. Sheesh. Did a few shots with my camera early on in the game and near then end when it was darker and the lights were on. Also tried taking a few shots of the fireworks show afterwards. I'll see how they came out, but it could just be practice for the 4th.

A few other notable items. I'm munching on grapes as I type this, and over the last few months I've been trying to cut back on most of the garbage I've been eating for the last few years and work off some of the extra pounds. It started actually on March 1st after the dentist. I had three cavities filled all at once, and after that miserable hour in the dentist chair, I swore of soda for good, cold turkey. Considering the amount of Mountain Dew I consumed at the time, it was no small feat.

But actually, it wasn't that bad after about the first week. By the second week, I was giving up things like french fries and crap like that. Now, more than two months later, I'm off of things like chips, deserts, chocolate, cookies, you name it. I'm probably down to about 1,400 calories a day, which has been helping me shed a few pounds. This morning, I was at 240 lbs, which is impressive since I can't remember the last time I was below 240. Shooting for 220 lbs would be pretty nice, 200 lbs would be absolutely amazing, considering my "fighting weight" back in my senior year was 180 lbs. That was when I was playing hockey 5 times a week.

The easiest part is probably not having a timeline to accomplish it by. Just taking it a day at the time, trying to stay energized and on the right path. It's been a good test of will power and self control.

I'm also going to try and get in the habit of contributing more often to this blog, even if it's just a few notes each day. It could happen. :)