Day 9

AofM
TAKE HER ON A DATE
This is really convenient because I'm going to be out-of-town this weekend, and my poor wife will have no one to tell her bad jokes all weekend! So we treated today (Wednesday. I know I'm a day behind) as our date night of the week. We can't go wrong with that. We went to Scotty Brown's but I'll post what I ate tomorrow for accuracy ;)

It was great. I've been getting passionate about work and she loves to see that "Art" come out. She's so supportive. I told her that I know I work a lot at home (checking e-mails, keeping my eye out for potential opportunities, knowing my competition) and I dont want that to invade our home. To my surprise, she said that she doesn't feel neglected at all! She actually feels very loved. I guess thats because I hug and kiss her and play with the baby as often as I can! Yeah, it makes me sick too.

The change in scenery and change to routine really opened us up. I feel like we haven't connective on that level since we were dating. It was a cool night of telling her my passions, my trials, my successes and my dreams. My favorite saying for a business man is from Zig Ziglar (and forgive me if I'm being repetitive) when he says, "Get the man right, get the salesman right." If you have everything squared away at home and they support you because you want what's best for everyone involved, you'll flourish to your potential. My wife is exactly that, and I'm glad she understand that I want to do my best with her and the family in the forefront.
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Sleep
I feel like it was 6-7 hours... not very rested. I think I was a little sore from yesterday's workout. Basically when I bridge-up and push off my left leg to turn onto my right side, it can wake me up because of a quick sharp pain. Its only a fraction of the intensity that I have experienced, but still pain nonetheless. The other thing about a lack of sleep is that my hamstrings are tight all day. I feel like they never wake up.

WOD
No workout today. Class... yeeeesh.

MWOD

BANDED OVERHEAD STRETCH - CHECK!

This is another one of my favorites. If you have trouble putting things on the refrigerator, for example, because the underside of your shoulder is tight, then you NEED this. You should be able to get a full 180 degrees at the shoulder without any tightness.

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 3 eggs

- 2 small strips of bacon

- 16 oz coffee black

- few apple slices

- enzymes, fish oil, multi, vitamin d, 8 oz water

LUNCH

- Taco Salad w/ extra guacamole... I was in Heaven.

- enzymes, fish oil, arthrogenx, 20 oz water

DINNER

- "Spaghetti" - Spaghetti squash, ground beef (LOTS), and tomato sauce

- Walnuts in class

- enzymes, fish oil, 20 oz water, Cal-Mag when I got home, tried some melatonin to put me down a liiiiittle quicker.

DAY 8

1 Week Progress Report:

I feel awesome! Virtually pain-free, I know I'm still healing up, but pain-free! Best part yet - I've gone from 209 lbs to 203.5 lbs in 7 days. whoa. Paleo is where it's at!

I literally look at foods that I would devour in an instant without a second glance. My secret: Fix your eyes on your commitment. I have goals, and I have temptations from those goals. I would've loved some of the cake at my buddy's going-away party, but what BENEFIT would that have been to me? Put the weight back on? Bring back the inflammation? Carb-crash? Screw it! I've got my eyes on my prize!

AofM
START A JOURNAL

I remember back when I was in grade school and I had to write my first autobiography, I didn't have much to write about. I moved from CA to TN to WA, then I played a lot. That's probably all I wrote about in my autobiography. I told myself that when my children are born, I wanted to journal every moment I can about them so they know that they're not boring. I want to journal my emotions and thoughts about their first steps, first words, first heart-break, and which parent is their favorite (me, of course). I dont know why, I just had the urge to do it.

I'm very glad that Journaling is brought up. I started one when I found out that my wife had gotten pregnant. Man, I stayed up late writing that one. I wrote down my every thought, and there is a lot of unknown thoughts to having a kid when you still feel like a kid yourself. I wrote down my every thought, concern and worry, and finished with a prayer to God.

Its too bad that when we look at our life as a big picture, we may feel like we dont have much going on or accomplish much so it must not be worth journaling. But I think we would be surprised how much really goes on in our worlds when we journal. We have big moments of landing a client that you see as a celebrity. We have Resolutions. There have been times that I thought I would feel very alone in raising my kid (because I don't feel like I have built a support-system good enough for my child, but that's just my thoughts on it) but if I were to think about and journal all of my friends who are expecting or just want to be involved, I could surprise myself in that moment and especially in hindsight.

I'm a firm believer that paper doesn't forget. If you write your goals, they are most likely to happen. If you write your prayers, you are more likely to carry your part of the bargain as well as look for God working in the world around you as He starts to answer your prayers. Most importantly, when kids read your journals and your feelings of that significant event in that moment, there will be a connection and understanding that cannot be replicated. You go from saying "I was in your shoes once" to saying something "I was laid-off once too; did it feel anything like this? I'd love to show you what helped me pull through."

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Sleep
8 hours and some change

WU

No pain at all during the warm-up! I was searching for things that could bother me too! NOTHING!

WOD
"Air Force"

This was one from the CrossFit Games qualifiers last year. Still modified the some really light weights, but still good times.

As Fast As Possible (AFAP):

20 Thrusters

20 Sumo Deadlift High-Pull (SDHP)

20 Push Jerks (PJ)

20 OverHead Squats (OHS)

20 Front Squats (FS)

It starts with 4 burpees, you knock out the list, but you stop on every minute to do 4 burpees. All of this should be done with a 95# barbell, but I scaled to 45# generally, and a 15# OHS.

Time - 8:55

Notes: SDHP wasn't a good idea, because of the quick force demanded from the hip to get the momentum going. It was too much, so I left out the High-Pull itself. aaaaah, much better! You really want to get this one done fast so you don't have to do extra burpees. The longer you take, the more unnecessary burpees you do over time.

MWOD

3D version of the typical Hamstring Stretch

This stretch maybe pure evil especially to my left outer hamstring... or my hamstring is evil. yeah that's probably it.

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 3 eggs over-easy

- 2 chicken sausage

- apple slices

- 16 oz coffee w/ HWC

- the usual enzymes, fish oil, multi, vitamin d, 8 oz water

LUNCH

- leftover pork loin

- 1/3 avocado

- enzymes, fish oil, arthrogenx, 20 oz water with nuun

SNACK

- Chicken caesar salad

- enzymes, fish oil

- 20 oz water

POST-WOD SNACK

- man we had a lot of pork loin

- 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato

- enzymes, fish oil, cal-mag, 20 oz water with nuun

DINNER

- My wife's concoction she calls Cajun Chicken and cauliflower. last minute but not bad.

- enzymes, fish oil

SNACK

- leftover Cajun Chicken and cauliflower

- Cal-mag, arthogenx

DAY 7

AofM
RECONNECT WITH AN OLD FRIEND

This is a great post of friendships (between men) that are so deep that if one were to die, the other would feel as though he couldn't go on nor pursue another friend to protect himself from that kind of hurt again. That's wild stuff! Yet it is so needed especially in this day and age since we are so busy. If we dont make deep friendships a priority, then we are digging our own graves. We assume so much responsibility for ourselves, why not have someone with another point-of-view similar to your own there to help see you through it?

I'm kind of going to cop-out on this one a little. On New Years eve/day, I hung out with a great friend of mine, Cameron. He and I interned at my church back home for about two years, and we were inseparable (we were both single! haha!). If you look at the two of us, you wouldn't put us together as friends I think. He's a scrappy Irish-American young gentleman usually in a collared shirt or sweater weighing about 130 lbs (if I'm generous). I'm weighing about 200 lbs, jeans and a t-shirt, when I dress-up I take my hat off.

Our common ground started at one place and one interest: we would hang out at Starbucks after church to talk and discuss our taste in "fine women". It wasn't anything creepy but we were simply observing the beauty that our small city had to offer similar to enjoying a fine wine or the mountains. "She's has nice long blonde hair" or "Her cheeks really bring out her eyes when she smiles." Things like that. Soon after that, it went on movies and hot tubs with mutual friends, but Cameron is one of the few people that I could tell all of my business at the drop of a dime and vice-versa. We would often grab a coffee or a cigar once in a while to contemplate the wonders of the world - God, girls, parents, college, etc.

He lives in California, but we have a good thing going on so I do EVERYTHING that I can to hang out with him when I get the chance. I'm the type of guy who can make friends anywhere I go, but its friendships like that that are like a diamond in the rough - once you discover it, you never let it go.

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Sleep
8+ hours and woke up to a peaceful beautiful wife... no worries, no hurries. I love Sundays!

WOD

No WOD... Sundays are about filling myself with some Jesus (meditation)! Hallelujah! Sunday is my favorite "rest day" so I can catch my breath after last week, and get ready for the next week. "Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10-

MWOD
PUSH YOUR FEMUR OUT OF YOUR BUTT
Really explore the space! This stretch is to focus on all of muscles and tendons that hold that femur in your hip capsule. You don't realize how sore your hips are until you try this. Just drop on all fours, focus on pivoting on one knee at a time, and let your body-weight sag so its hanging off that hip. aaaaaah!

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 2 eggs

- 16 oz coffee

- enzymes, fish oil, arthogenx, multi, vitamin d

LUNCH (huge meal!)

- Tuna Salad

- Easy Ceviche (sauteed shrimp, marinera, spices)

- enzymes, fish oil

DINNER

- Pork Pot Roast

- enzymes, fish oil

SNACK

- 2 chicken sausages, handful of almonds

- enzymes, fish oil, arthrogenx, cal-mag

DAY 6

AofM
UPDATE YOUR RESUME

I'll be honest. I worked on my resume, but I didn't finish it nor gave it sufficient attention. I love the places that I'm at right with Barlean's and Jogo, so this seems unnecessary for the time being. There are also a couple of things that are still in progress.; I'm in more of a "build my resume" stage. For example, I'm currently going back to school to FINALLY wrap up my Transfer Degree, then I plan to apply for Western's Kinesiology program. There are a couple smaller things here and there but that's the "broad stroke of the paintbrush". I'll wrap this up this week... but you won't get to see it... unless you make me a HUGE offer. ;)

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Sleep

6 hours. I got up early (VERY early for a Saturday) to drive down to Seattle to do a Hydrostatic Body Fat Test. I usually wouldn't do this, but I'm very committed to getting precise numbers for before and after this whole healing experiment. Results below.

WOD
Jogo Bros! - the dudes at the gym got together for a little Mad-Date of Bromance! HOOAH!

WOD 1: 1 Rep Max (1RM) Bench Press - 225#

WOD 2: Max Rep Test @ 70% - 185# x 9

If you do the math, 70% of 225 isn't 185. I got over-zealous because this was finally I workout I could fully participate in. Plus we were grunting and hitting each other, so I got fired up! jk.

MWOD

"Bully Stretch" - CHECK!

The mobility exercises from yesterday and today are a perfect combination for today's WOD. Feels good!

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 3 eggs

- 16 oz coffee w/ HWC

- Multi, enzyme, fish oil, vitamin D, 8 oz water

SECOND BREAKFAST

- Andouille and Crawfish Scramble (minus potatoes) from Bayou On Bay.

- Side of Sweet Potato Fries to share

If you haven't been to Bayou On Bay for Brunch or at all for that matter, do yourself a favor and DO IT!

- arthrogenx, enzyme, fish oil, 8 oz water

LUNCH

- Paleo Turkey stuffing

- a few orange slices

- enzymes, fish oil

DINNER

- Paleo Turkey stuffing

- a few orange slices

- enzymes, fish oil, 20 oz water

SNACK

- leftover duck

- pistachios

- cal-mag, arthrogenx, 16 oz water

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Results from the Body Fat Test:

Weight Lean Body Mass Fat Mass Body Fat

205 165.5 39.5 19.2%

If we assume the weight that I've lost since Monday (4 lbs) is fat, the math would bring the following estimate I started at Day 1:

Weight Lean Body Mass Fat Mass Body Fat

209 165.5 43 20.6%

I could sulk in this and whatever, but I see myself as a work in progress. My goal is to look good for my pics with my first child (and the children thereafter). If there are numbers to put on it, I want to be at 10% by the end of March. Here's what that could look like:

Weight Lean Body Mass Fat Mass Body Fat

195 176 (10# gained) 20 (-23#) 9.74%

OR

Weight Lean Body Mass Fat Mass Body Fat

189 171 (6# gained) 19 (-24#) 9.52%

Without a doubt, I'm going to reach that goal. Flawless nutrition and CrossFit has done this thousands (if not millions) of times. It may end up even better than I thought, but what is REALLY important to me is to be healed up and working out and competing with my friends again!

DAY 5

AofM

GRATITUDE

"The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude." -Zig Ziglar-

Here is a quick list of things I'm grateful for:

1) My beautiful wife that wears her baby-belly so well.

2) A healthy baby that I already love more than life itself.

3) A warm breakfast and hot coffee made by that same beautiful wife.

4) A great job that helps me offer the best product to the best people I've ever worked with.

5) A great parents that showed me how to work hard to earn what you have and be proud of that.

6) Great in-laws that love to see us as often as possible and make it really easy to visit them.

7) Great friends who have my back and put the needs of others before themselves.

8) The Northwest which gives you no excuse to stay indoors.

9) Sports. 'nuff said.

10) My God who has shown me how to forgive and no one is too low to reach out and walk WITH you on the path.

One of my favorite people and quick videos on attitude is from Zig Ziglar. I highly encourage you to read the blog from AofM.com, watch the video and write your own list RIGHT NOW!

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Sleep

7.75 hours

WOD

Timed 800m - 2:50!

then 1 min of work : 2 mins of rest of the following -

Wall Ball (WB) - 25 reps @ 10# (20# rx for men)

Kettlebell Swing (KBS) - switched for Push Press (PP) with 2 x 16kg kettbells - 26 reps

Burpees - 21

Double-Unders (DU) - 78 jumps

Box Jumps - switched for ste-up & step-down @ 20" box - 27 reps

Notes: I shouldn't have done WB. My hip barked at me the whole time because you come down aggressively and drive up aggressively. That's the temptation of getting as many reps in 1 min... I need to squeeze in all the reps I can! My take away - next time WB can be a simple squat, maybe weighted with the weight of the WB.

MWOD

DARTH SHOULDER - CHECK!

This one doesn't quite get me the same way the others do. I've been doing this via partner stretch for years... which is good, because it's ONE area where I'm actually flexible!

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 3 eggs

- 2 sausages

- 16 oz coffee w/ HWC

- arthrogenx, fish oil, multi, 8 oz water

LUNCH

- Chicken Satay. I have a problem. I know.

- fish oil, 20 oz water w/ nuun tab

SNACK

- Chicken caesar salad

- fish oil

POST-WOD SNACK

- 3/4 cup mashed sweet potato

- leftover duck

- LYPO-GOLD! to make my fish oil go further,

DINNER

- Steak Stir-fry salad from Paleo Solution recipe (delicious!)

- 1/2 apple

- 1 oz walnuts

- no supplements! whoa... it was minutes after my snack ;)

"Dessert"

- probably some more duck and carrots. I know, it's a rough life.

- lypo-gold, fish oil, arthrogenx, vitamin d, cal-mag

DAY 4

AofM
INCREASE YOUR TESTOSTERONE

I'm a big fan of testosterone. I'm not a fan of men that would lose a fight with their girlfriends/wives... I often sit in the mall and say "She could beat him up". Its a game I can play for hours! seriously. If you see me at the mall, I AM judging you. Okay, back on track. I'm a fan of a healthy dose of testosterone. It's invigorating, it moves me forward to my goals, it makes me strong, it makes me have chest-hair like Wolverine!

Things I'm committing to from AofM's mentions are:

1) 8 hours of sleep

5) Resistance Training... in my case, trying to get that ability back. my goal is 3+ times per week since I have school and birthing classes now.

8) Eating more cruciferous vegetables.

The rest of that list I do pretty well, but I need to hone in on these. #9... I'll just leave that one alone ;)

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Sleep

6.5 hours (like I said, hone in!)

WOD
I had class tonight so I didn't workout. But we did a lab on testing recovery heart rates in coffee drinkers. Haha! Basically we took a starting heart rate, did 50 jumping jacks, took an immediate heart rate, then again a minute later, another minute later, and another minute later. It was really sloppy the first time we did it, so we did it again for a total of 100 jumping jacks. Come to find out it is said that doing 100 jumping jacks a day can prevent osteoporosis! There you go! I fought osteoporosis in class... what did you do at 730pm? Seriously, I'll be glad for an afternoon off, and hit a workout tomorrow.

MWOD
PSOAS-STRETCH - CHECK! This is another great one for people who sit. ever.

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST

- 3 eggs sunny-side up

- 3 short strips of bacon

- 16 oz coffee

- fish oil, multi-vitamin, vitamin d, arthrogenx, 8 oz water

LUNCH

- leftover grilled salmon and spinach

- 20 oz water, nuun tabs, fish oil, olive leaf complex

SNACK (a friend from work brought my order in as I was finishing my lunch!)

- chicken satay (coconut milk and spices, skewered and grilled. trust me.)

- fish oil

- another 20 oz water to follow

DINNER

- plateful Paleo turkey stuffing/casserole (sauteed onions, peppers, celery, apple, green beans, spices, 2 eggs, chicken broth, shredded turkey)

- 1/2 orange

- fistful of almonds

- fish oil, arthrogenx, cal-mag, 20 oz water

"DESSERT"

- cal-mag, fish oil, and probably more of that stuffing!

DAY 3

AofM
FIND A MENTOR

Whether they know it or not, I have mentors all around me all the time and I keep my eye out for their positive influence.

Home/Fatherhood

I keep my eye out everywhere I go. I forgot how the saying goes but Zig Ziglar, a great author on salesmanship, believes that "If you get the man right, you get the salesman right." Translation: When you care for yourself, you care for your working-self... set things up so your success at home sets you up to be successful at work and vice versa. Anyway, his quote that I was eluding to went something like "When something is going right, take notes." Wherever you go, be a student. Take notes on what someone is doing right (and if you know the person, give them the praise they are due); when something isn't quite right, take notes on how you could do it better. I love everywhere (mostly to tell my wife that if our kids act that way, they're gunna get their @$$ beat... you know what I'm talking about).

I look to my friends who have children, I look to my friends who are someone's children, I look to my pastors on how they love a church and FOUR children, and of course I look to my parents. In a time and age where its the norm to move out of the city/state/country of your parents, I want my children to know their family. I never met my mom's parents in the Philippines. I never met my dad's mom (she passed away when my dad was young). I barely remember meeting his biological dad (who is just like him). We visit his step-dad every few years when we're in California. I want my children to know their parents and grandparents well, and I want my children that we all love them very much. I look forward to my parents (both sides) to mentor my wife and I, and my children as well. THIS is the most important mentorship to me - family.

Work

I read a lot of books on positive attitude and true salesmanship (not selling to sell and make a buck, but to offer someone a product/service that is valuable to THEM and makes THEM better). Zig Ziglar and Jeffrey Gitomer are two of my favorites so far. In terms of people I know, I've never asked them directly to be my mentors (and I should) but my mentors are my boss and my closest co-worker and great friend, Jeff.

My boss is very ambitious and sets the bar high when it comes to serving the customer. Imagine you called Comcast and got a live voice within 15-30 seconds. Our goal is to give the customer a live voice within 30 seconds no less than 90% of the time... and we're good at it! He also teaches us to ask questions to that the customer and I can really discover the heart of every issue. We give him a lot of crap for his new-age/hippie approach to life but his authenticity and enthusiasm is one in a million. Don't tell him that though.

Jeff and I go back-and-forth on mentoring each other (I got him into CrossFit, and my knowledge of CrossFit and nutrition helped me get land the job with his help). The kid is just a little older than me but has the work ethic that makes Puritans blush... that is when he works. haha! Great guy, knows his stuff, isn't pushy, and speak in terms of helping YOU out. The one thing that I wish I could imitate better is his ability to set goals and sprint after them early i.e. Reach out to 5 new contacts before noon. He doesn't mess around and is always keeping an eye out for people that he can offer some help to. He thinks about helping others so much that it can be a fault; when you put others first too much, you neglect yourself. just sayin', Jeff!

Church
If you can't tell already, my spirit is important to me. In fact, its the only thing I'll take with me when its all said and done. My wife and I have been going to a new church for us for a few months and it feels like home or like family. The pastors are great because they genuinely want to be a part of your lives (that is not to say that other pastors aren't). I dont know what it is about meeting up with another dude over some grub, but he invited me out to grab some Thai food with no agenda on his part - just meeting up and getting to know each other. They offer any advice and challenge us to be better people, because that is how God relates to them and they convey it so well to us. I'm very grateful for a small church of the warmest people you'll ever meet. I look forward to being mentored and offering any mentoring that could be of service.

Manliness

Last but not least, I have a couple of buddies who influence me to be a better man. My buddy, Cameron, used to intern with me at our old church in Oak Harbor. We designated a Sunday a month where we would wear our ties to church and look slick (compared to our usual jeans and t-shirt with fewest holes). I still go to his grandpa's house to see how many animal heads he has on the walls and how many guns are in his collection. I think I smoked my first cigar with Cameron. I look forward to picking up some hunting and fishing when he gets his @$$ back up to the NW!

My other buddy, Wayne, is a great guy to help me get out for some adventure. I used to climb everything, camp anywhere, fish for anything, you name it. It's a lost art when you get on your own, so I'm glad that I have someone like Wayne around (even if he bites off more than he can chew... I'll probably tell the story about our hike to summit the north Twin Sister!).

Gym

At the gym, all of our coaches are great springs of knowledge when it comes to giving your all in a workout and moving your self or your weights efficiently. I big reason I'm doing this blog is to keep them involved and to track the advice they have tossed my way. To them, its not about looking good, but how what we do in the gym impacts our lives outside of the gym. Are you hiking more? Are you more competitive? Are you looking for a top-notch quality in all you do? In my case, are you having a day that is pain-free? My favorite piece of mentorship from everyone at the gym has been "When are you going to recovered? Because we'd love to have you up and running again so you can do this WITH us." Camaraderie and teamwork for a common goal of bettering one's self. It makes the world go 'round.

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Sleep
9 glorious hours!

My work schedule has an alternating Wednesday and Friday off. So I have today off, then next Friday, the following Wednesday, and so on. It helps us to clear our heads and be ready for our customers. I really like it because I'll either have a mid-week break or a 3-day weekend. not bad.

WOD
No workout today. I thought I was going to help my parents move into their brand new house so I was going to treat it as an active rest day. We ended up just looking at the house and envisioning what would go where, what they would need to buy, and, my favorite part, where the grandchildren get to stay the night at. Needless to say, I'm going to squeeze in a quick workout tomorrow and 100% of my stretching.

MWOD
CALF-STRETCH - CHECK... I used a "2 by 4" about a foot long angled in a corner to change it up a little bit. SO much better!

Food/Supplement Log
BREAKFAST (late)
- 3 scrambled eggs
- Mango Peach salsa
- 16 oz coffee w/ HWC
- Cod liver oil, multi-vitamin

SNACK (I had a doctor appointment at 130... didn't eat until about 3pm)
- full bag of jerky. whoa.

LUNCH (minutes later)

- Caesar salad from Haggen. tossed out the cheese because I think it stinks. lemon, had the dressing but didn't use it.

- fish oil, Cal-Mag, ArthroGenx (rx'd - glucosamine/MSM/natural anti-inflammatories)

DINNER

At my parent house, and they cooked up some Digiorno pizza and bread sticks... one of my many favorites. but I resistant the grain/gluten with something slightly better - cold friend chicken they had for lunch or dinner before. hey! beggars can't be choosers. I had a good three pieces, limited myself on the crispy skin. so...

- 3 pieces of chicken

- 1/2 mango

- fistful of almonds

"DESSERT"

- fish oil, cal-mag... maybe a little meat or something to put it down. doesn't that sound like a delectable final course?

Notes on the day: Today was my day off, but I still had a lot of running around to do. On anyone's standards this is a monumental week of progress, but I know I can do better yet! New Year, new goals, new schedule and new baby... yeah I pull together quite nicely! Jenene and I plan on doing a 6-week birthing/breast feeding/caring for the newborn class soon. Man, have I got some stuff on my plate, but I'm up for the challenge. I'll be ragged, but I'm up for the challenge.