Bowling for fun

It seems like this congregation is testing my athletic ability (what little remains at least). We went bowling as Loni pointed out on her blog. My first game was a 126 which isn't too bad considering I haven't bowled in 20 plus years. My second game went much better. I found my groove about the third frame and got 3 strikes in a row. The score board above the lane flashed my name and a turkey. I wonder where they got the idea to call three strikes in a row a turkey? I did a Google search and found out that around the turn of the 20th century during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays bowling establishments would offer a turkey to anyone who got three strikes in row. The name stuck. Anyway, I finished with a 160. It was the second highest of the night. One of the guys who used to bowl in league and probably averaged 200 plus bowled a 168. The last game they turned out the lights with blue lights on the pins. It's called Cosmic Bowling. I couldn't line up on my spot and my bowling went south. I was doing really lousy (my forearm was getting tired by now as well) and then they turned off our lane. We were bowling by the hour not the game. We had a lot of fun being with our brothers and sisters from the congregation. It was great to be with adults (no kids allowed!). I think I'll do some weight lifting for about 6 weeks before we go again.

His & Her Spatulas

This post is inspired by Lisa's His & Her Ice Cream Scoops. The spatula on the bottom is a woman's spatula. It is quite useful It flips burger, pancakes, French toast, and all kinds of things. The one on the top is a man's spatula. It has a cover because it has sharp edges (I know because I've cut myself trying to pry apart frozen burgers). It came with directions (directions actually appear to the male spirit because we want to prove that we're not as dumb as those who need directions, so anything with directions is considered a challenge to us), which I've lost. It has a bottle opener, which is good for those bottles of Coke that are sitting in the cooler in lots of ice (yes I know that other men use it for other kinds of bottles). It can do a variety of functions - meat tenderizer, slicing into meat to see if it's cooked properly. Oh yes, it flips burgers as well. So it's a man's spatula because it's dangerous, provides a challenge, and just looks like it takes a man to operate (at least that's what we men think). :-)

Off Kilter

While Pat and I were at Epcot we just happened upon a band playing in the World Showcase area. They were specifically in the Canada area. One of the guys had an electric bag pipe and they all wore kilts. Their name - Off Kilter. They were great! Click here for their site. The guy with the bag pipe did Amazing Grace to close out their session. Fortunately for me they had CDs on sale at a kiosk next door. Unfortunately for me the CDs cost $20.00. I just ordered four CDs from BMG and paid $35 (with shipping). I think I will add them to my Christmas list and let someone else spend the money. But these guys were a hoot.

Paul & Sandie - This one's for you

Thanks for calling Pat on her birthday. Paul told Pat that he goes into work early to read family blogs. So I thought I would say hi. For those reading who may not know Paul and Sandie, they are our daughter's in-laws (Lisa's in-laws). Since being asked to leave Tabernacle they were extremely supportive of us. They started sitting with us up front during services. They called or wrote or dropped by every now and then. During hard times you discover the true nature of those around you. Paul and Sandie are spiritual family and proved to be very good friends. We love you two and appreciate very much your love for us. We are proud that Lisa married into your family. We know that our good relations will continue, we just hope we get to see you a little more in the future. You both know that you are always welcome in our house and we hope that Disney is on your list of places to visit. We are only about 40 minutes away. We can be great tour guides since we know our way around (at least a little bit). Thanks again

Basketball

Last night I played basketball for the first time in at least 20 years. I was sure I would be huffing and puffing during the first game but I didn't. Anyway, in an effort to get the men together and to invite their friends we are playing basketball twice a month after Sunday evening services. Now we can afford to do this because our PM services start at 5:00 PM (yes you read that right!).

10 of us got together last night and played for almost 2 hours. We each shot a free throw and the first five to make a free throw was team one and the others were team two. After each game we shot free throws again so the teams were different each time. We played to 21 (had to win by at least 2). Each basket was 2 points unless shot outside the 3 point line. I was surprise at how well I did considering I'm 53.

The youngest guy was about 25. The oldest was about 62. Three of us were over 50, I think everyone else was under 40. What a blast I had! I'm looking forward to the next game night. It would be nice if our group grew and we got a lot more outsiders to come and play. All for the glory of our God.

The "Bob" Diet

In July 2005 (the month I was asked to leave) I weighed over 240 lbs (probably close to or over 245). This morning I weighed myself and I'm at 217.4 lbs. With the stress I experienced over being asked to leave, I didn't eat much for a couple of months. In September I noticed that I was below 230 lbs. So I determined to keep it up. Here are my principles for the "Bob" diet.

1. I don't eat in the morning until I'm hungry. I'm up at 5:00 AM every morning. I have a sip (yes just a sip) of juice. Just enough to rinse out the morning breath. I put on coffee (about 2 mugs' worth). I used to put 2 or 3 spoons of sugar in as well as creamer. I have weaned myself off the sugar. I switched to light cream instead of creamer (Tom Shuff told me that Dunkin Donuts uses light cream and that's why everyone loves their coffee - including me). However, here in Florida you can't buy light cream in the quart size so I'm using half & half. So I have coffee in the morning and nothing until I'm hungry. I take some 7 grain cereal (or something nutritious) with me to the office. I usually wait until after I do my daily Bible reading and Greek vocabulary stuff to eat. By then I am hungry (usually around 9:00 AM).
2. I try to have a nutritious snack sometime after breakfast. I usually get hungry again a couple hours after breakfast. Fruit or 7 grain bars.
3. I eat lunch when I'm hungry - not until then. Usually around 12:30 or 1:00 PM. I take lunch to the office. Sometimes leftovers, sometimes a sandwich, or whatever I might find in the kitchen.
4. I again have a nutritious snack a couple hours after lunch because usually I'm at least a little hungry then.
5. I can't control dinner time (not complaining, because our schedules are hectic and who knows when it will all come together), but I'm usually blazingly hungry by the time it comes around.
6. I will eat dessert later on in the evening. Usually I'm hungry again by 9:00 PM or so.
7. I try to not eat sweets during the day. By eating fruit or a 7 grain bar I control my sugar intake and my sugar highs. I think this has helped regulate my hunger.
8. I want to eventually make sure that I don't eat anything after 9:00 PM each night.
9. I also drink more water now. But I need to drink even more.
10. I also limit my portions during the three main meals and try not to eat seconds (I saw a sign at a gym one time that read, "It's not the minutes you spend at the table, it's the seconds.").
11. I weigh myself almost every morning. I know that other diet plans say to weigh yourself only a couple times a week but I've found more motivation to keep up with my plans by weighing myself every morning (before breakfast).
12. I've started walking every morning after I put the coffee on. I'm hoping to eventually start riding my bike and maybe even get a Total Gym.

So that's the "Bob" diet. Simple rules, simple plan. I haven't lost loads of weight but I have lost over 25 lbs and kept it off. I hope that the beginning of next year finds me under 200 lbs. I mention my diet because I was reading a planning guru's blog and he talked about his diet. I think I've done a better job than he in losing weight. At least I'm headed in the right direction.