Who am I?

Me "What are you doing up?"

Mystery person "My lips hurt!"

Me "You did not just say, my lips hurt, to me."

Mystery person "What?"

Me "Yeah, you just said to me, My lips hurt, and that's why your not in bed"

Mystery "Uhhh, yeah, I did."

Me "Hey Napoleon, go get a big drink of water and get your butt in bed!"

Sammy J 

Hannah's Diary

I heard this out loud so I haven't been reading Hannah's diary.

Hannah "Dear diary today I......  Well.... What did I do today?"

Georgia "I went to Alli's house." 

Hannah "This is about me." 

Georgia "Oh... Well today you..."

Me "Just go to bed."

Hannah "Ok I'll do this tomorrow."

Me "Great!"

Heart Disease- Part Two - Insulin Resistance

Last time I talked about the dangers of body fat, a belly that sticks out, becoming a diabetic, and diabetes in general. I thought I'd try to attempt to explain why this is the case. The above slide explains it on a very simple level, I'm guessing most of you have no idea what it means. HOWEVER, after reading this I'm hoping you well be able to understand this slide, and understand the dangers of insulin resistance. Maybe you won't be able to read it, but you'll know the story behind the slide.

Let me start by saying insulin resistance leads to type 2 diabetes. Many of you who have a belly, elevated blood pressure, and not a regular exerciser (Walk and hour a day and you're and exerciser) most likely have insulin resistance going on. You're headed toward type 2 diabetes that leads to so many other wonderful problems.

So what is insulin resistance? Let start by explaining normal metabolism. After you eat, in a response to your fed state, beta cells in your pancreas release insulin. This signals tissues that use glucose in your body (Fat tissue & Muscle tissue) to absorb glucose. Simple enough right? You eat, and your body recognizes you ate by the increase of glucose in your blood stream, it releases insulin (which is used to move glucose into muscle and fat tissue), and then your blood glucose levels drop to normal again.

In a person who is insulin resistant it requires more insulin than the normal person to get glucose into the muscle and fat tissue after you eat. Let's talk about why that might be.

We in our culture live in a constantly fed state. Our fat and muscle cells are constantly being forced to accept more than they have ability to accept. Part of this problem as well is that every time these cells touch insulin they get worn down a little, and it takes a little more insulin to get the job done. Remember that point last point. We'll talk about how to fix that later. Eventually it requires our pancreas to produce a lot more insulin than normal to get the job done after every time we eat because our tissues are constantly being hammered with more food/glucose than it can handle. This in turn leaves us with a higher blood glucose levels a lot of the time.

Side note- Remember, every time your get your blood labs done you're required to fast. Well this fasting can hide insulin resistance until BAM! Things are way out of control, and now your find out you're a type 2 diabetic. The problem is that it's difficult to get accurate readings on blood labs if you're not fasting.

So let's take the next step. Not only does fat tissue try to stop accepting glucose it also releases free fatty acid into the blood stream which is converted by the liver into triglycerides. So now we have an elevated trig level problem. Well I'm telling you right now it's a big, big problem. This increase in Trigs ruins, wrecks, and breaks normal lipid metabolism problems. Simply stated, it creates a horrible cholesterol problem that MOST doctors and many cardiologist don't take seriously. The reason why is because it's not just an LDL problem. LDL is commonly called "bad cholesterol." The problem is, that there is so much more to the story than just bad cholesterol.

So here is the next step, and I can't explain it completely and keep it simple, so I'm just going to keep it simple and leave out some detail. This increase in triglycerides does two things. One it effects your good cholesterol, and two it changes your bad cholesterol.

In regards to good cholesterol:

1. One it lowers the total number of good cholesterol levels in your blood. That is bad, bad, bad, and many doctors won't treat this problem until it's way out of control. Even then, many doctors won't touch it at all because they aren't convinced it's a problem. TAKE MY WORD FOR IT! Low levels of good cholesterol is a very bad problem.
2. It make the good cholesterol that you have less effective. That is bad new my friends. The good cholesterol is what keeps your arteries from building up plaque that narrows and hardens your arteries. It has been clearly demonstrated that even if you have very, very, low levels of bad cholesterol, if you have low good cholesterol your are at great risk of a heart attack or stroke.

So what is the other part of the problem of high triglyceride problem in regard to bad cholesterol:

1. It makes your LDL "bad cholesterol" even more dangerous by shrinking them in size(smaller and more dense), and increasing the total amount of bad cholesterol particles in your blood stream. This is a big problem. I'm willing to bet none of you have ever had blood test that looks for this problem. The normal blood test that you have done by your doctor does not look for this problem at all. It looks at the total weight of cholesterol being carried by your bad cholesterol in your blood, and not the total number of bad particles. That's tough to explain without a slide and I can't find one.

However, even if you have never had a blood test that looks for small dense LDL particles, you can guess you have them by these signs. You have low HDL, and elevated triglycerides. If your have type 2 diabetes you have this problem, and if you have metabolic syndrome (

Here is another kicker, this elevation of fat floating around in your blood forces your body to eventually store it as fat someplace. Where? In the belly area. Yes, it is stored all over, but predominately in the belly area for some reason. We'll talk more about why this is a problem in another post.

So where the heck is the good news in all of this? This is completely reversible! How? Activity! Movement changes those muscle fibers and makes them hungry again. They stop being insulin resistant. THAT IS THE SECRET! You have to move amigos y Amiga's.

Now listen here, you may think you can trick your body. There are diets, like Atkins, that keep your insulin levels low. Therefore your body looks to your fats stores for those Trigs that they need for fuel, and bingo you start losing weight. However, in my little mind there is a problem with this. We all know people who have done these low insulin diets (self included, I generally live a South Beach diet), they lost the weight, then go off the diet and bam they gain 50 pounds in a month. I wondered why, and in my mind it is because they never changed their insulin resistant muscles tissue through exercise. So, when they went back to a "regular diet", with no activity, their muscle which never were fixed through exercise. So they continue to resist this increase of glucose, there is a Trig problem, and bam it's all stored as fat. The crazy part to me is how quickly it can happen if you're not exercising. If you're not moving, you leave the Atkins diet and eat some pizza, heck yes it was stored as fat. Yes that gain in weight on the scale is for real. If you're running, it doesn't happen. I know this from personal experience.

So as I read this I wonder how clear I made it. If there is a couple of key points I want you to remember it is this:

• Constant eating of foods that are carb loaded eventually beats down your body, and your pancreas can't keep up with the demand of insulin over the course of years and then your pancreas shuts down.
• Your doctor isn't going to tell you that your insulin resistant until you're a diabetic. A few will, but by far the majority won't.
• This whole problem is completely reversible!
• One of the ways to absolutely reverse this problem, and the best method by far is diet and exercise.

The moral to the story for me is this, you must start moving. That belly needs to be eliminated. Don't think for a second that just because you're thin you don't have to exercise. I'll make that case in a later post. Plenty of thin people die of heart disease.

Get your ipod and go for a one hour walk every day.

A Big Day for Sam!

It's a big day for Sammy J. He is leaving boyhood behind, and is officially a young man. He'll be ordained a deacon today by dear ol dad. 

Being a Latter Day Saint, I really enjoy the training young men get through the responsibilities given them through the priesthood. In today's world where young men, and even adult men aren't really sure where they are headed in life, the priesthood gives theses young men a lot of purpose and direction. It all begins today for the goose. 

Heart Disease- Part One

I know you've heard America is getting bigger. This first slide makes it very clear America has changed size over the last 40 years. Regardless of whether you agree the standards are too tight or not, clearly we are getting bigger as a population. 

Part of the justification of standards as tight as they are is the growth of illnesses that are related to weight gain. As we get bigger as a population, there is an increased prevalence of many illnesses. Diabetes is just one of them. As you can see from the second slide, the top two maps are the growth obesity from in a 10 year window of time. The bottom two maps are growth of type two diabetes during the same period of time. Understand this!! Type 2 diabetes has exploded in our country, and it's directly tied to our weight gain. 

Part of this sad story is that type 2 diabetes use to be referred to as adult onset diabetes. It was rare to have this type of diabetes happen in children 40 years ago. Now, 90% percent of the individuals that have diabetes have type 2 diabetes. That statistic scares me a ton! 

What scares me as well is that long before individuals are diagnosed with diabetes they go 10-15 years with elevated blood sugars before diabetes finally kicks in. The truth of the matter is that the heart attack that you're going to have (if you're going to have one, and MOST of you are, MOST OF YOU! It's the number one killer in America) anyhow, the heart attack that your going to have is being built right now with your lack of exercise and the food you're eating. The disease has already started, and plaque is growing. 

I can hear the thoughts of many of you who complain that the scale doesn't accurately reflect health risk. You're just a bigger person, and you come from a long line of bigger people. Certainly BMI (Body Mass Index) doesn't really accurately reflect risk. I agree! So does a bunch of data! However, take no comfort in that belly of yours my friends. It's no friend of yours! 

As you can see from the last slide, BMI doesn't really show you whether you have risk of heart disease or not. Look at the bottom row of BMI tertiles. The bottom row, the risk stays the same from right to left at .05 as BMI goes up. 

However! As that belly starts to poke out a little regardless of the fact whether your skinny or overweight you risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease goes up. That belly is a bomb! It's dangerous, and it's doing horrible things to your insides. It is telling you that something in your lifestyle is screwed up! 

The point I'm hoping to make is that if you are over weight, you're headed type 2 diabetes. And with that joyful disease comes a long list of gifts: Heart disease, Stroke, Eyesight loss, Kidney failure, foot ulcers, nerve damage, loss of limbs due to poor circulation, and so many more! 

A related point, some of you are genetically unlucky (see Jacob family). You have a gift given to you by your ancestors that puts you at risk of heart disease. The good news is it's easily diagnosed and treated with some pretty good natural solutions. It doesn't show up on a standard cholestrol panel, but a good doctor who knows your family history should send you to get an advanced lipid panel and this can identify what actually is wrong and help to identify the correct solution. FYI, most americans being treated for heart disease  don't have the correct solution in place. I'll make that case later, but it's easily proven. 

99 & 1

Gave a talk in church today. I went way too long, but I enjoyed it. Spoke on Luke 15:4-7

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine ^ain the wilderness, and go after that which is ^blost, until he find it?

  5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

  6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

  7 I say unto you, that likewise ^ajoy shall be in heaven over one ^bsinner that ^crepenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

My favorite quote was from Elder Wirthlin:

The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.

Nice

Fasting...Mmmm, makes me hungry.

Talked to my dad a while back about fasting. Saw this article about how it's good for you, and how fasting often may have many health benefits. Makes a ton of sense to me. 

So busy!

I can't believe how my first month of 2009 has flown by! I've been so busy with work, and rarely home. It's been nice to be busy, and I must admit it makes me feel better to be busy when thinking about the economy. 

The house is completely quite. Kind of weird. I stayed home so I can get some work done. 

The boys are out camping, coming back tonight. Left yesterday. 

Georgia is at a pool swim party. Even though it's beautiful outside, still a little too cold to be swimming. It's an indoor party. 

Suzi, and Hannah? I think they are out shopping. Hannah had a soccer game this morning, but she came home early. Hurt her fore arm. I swear if it's broke, I'll brake her arm. Kidding. Hope she's OK, if it keeps bugging her will get her to a doctor.

Me, well I started the day with a run with Georgia. She rode her bike, I did some interval training. Then we grabbed a donut together, went for a walk. We stopped by some friends house because she wanted to say hi. Then she took off for the party, and I went and played church ball. 

I'm a little tapped out, but ready to dive into some work. Obviously I'm not really wanting to "dive into it", if that were the case I wouldn't be posting this blog. 

Oh, one other thing. I think the Volvo has taken it's last breath. I  think. I'm kind of hoping we can save it. I really want the boys to drive that piece of crap in high school. I really want them to have the suckiest car ever. 

We are car shopping, save your opinion on who, what, and where to buy a car. Everyone seems to have one, and none of you seem to have the same opinion. You all tell Suzi, and Suzi tells me what you think we should buy, and where we should buy, and who we should buy from. Don't tell me I don't want to hear about it. You all can tell Suz, cuz she'll listen and value your opinion, and I'm sure I'll hear about it from her. 

Here's a thought that just crossed my mind. None of you suggested a Mercedes. Why is that? What do all of you have against driving a Benz? I remember when I bought that used blue one, "big blue" and you have no idea how many times I heard "they are expensive, and when they break down they are too expensive to fix." It wasn't expensive, it never broke down, and when I sold it it was just a 2K less than when I bought it. How about one or two of you go German, and quit driving Suburbans. FYI I think I'm getting a Suburban, or an Aspen. I swear if  you say anything about gas I'll break you arm. 

Christmas Eve

The Young Men from Lodi 2!

Back: Mike and Sean. Middle: Gary, Ian, Chris, Christian, Greg, Patrick, Jacob, Bishop Brink. Front: James, Clay, Cameron, and Adam.

Georgia Art Work

I told Georgia I would take a picture of her drawing, and stick it on the blog. She kept asking me "did you put it on your blog?" I said "no I still haven't even taken a picture yet, but I will, I promise." Well I never did take a picture of her drawing, but apparently she did, because when I downloaded my recent photos to the computer look what I found! Her picture! This is a drawing of me on my road bike on my trainer in front of the TV. Please note the dripping sweat, and puddle of sweat. Such great detail. The only thing that seems out of place might be the smile. Unless I'm watching something funny, or that's a grimace... I just don't smile that much on the road bike. That thing hurts my butt, and cuts off circulation to.... well it just isn't that fun for 60 minutes.

Heaven is....

Sam might answer:

Sitting around on Saturday afternoon watching college football, and strumming the guitar.

Scary

I don't know, kind of creeped my out. This photo was taken way after bed time. I heard some noise upstairs, and look what was found.

Sam's Super

The Real National College Football Champs!

The best article I've seen written so far. This is great, take a look. 

Pass it along on your blogs! 

"Life changing beans"

Suzi and I think it would be a great thing to add more beans in our diet to replace some other foods we'd like to drop. She happened across a simple recipe that I LOVED! When I tasted them I was blown away, and told her we have to have this more often. These are "life changing beans!" The kids all laughed, but I'm telling you they are great.  The next time you want to add white rice, or potatoes try these. I'm telling you, you'll dig them. Great source of protein without having to eat meat.

cannellini beans

• 1 cup cooked cannellini beans

• 6 tablespoons olive oil

• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 2 tablespoons basil leaves, cut in narrow ribbons (chiffonade)

• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

I thought you might find this interesting.

Low-glycemic-index diet beats high-cereal-fiber diet for glycemic control in diabetics

December 16, 2008

Toronto, ON - Eating a diet rich in low-glycemic foods, such pumpernickel and flaxseed breads, beans, peas, lentils, and nuts, provides greater improvements in glycemic control in diabetic patients compared with a diet rich in cereal fibers, a new study has shown. After six months of eating foods with a low-glycemic index, patients lowered glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and raised HDL-cholesterol levels significantly more than those eating the high-cereal-fiber diet, report researchers.

"There's nothing fancy here," lead investigator Dr David Jenkins (University of Toronto, ON) told heartwire. "Slowly released carbohydrates seem to have a benefit in terms of metabolism in these diabetic patients. If you release carbohydrates into the digestive track slowly, it gets absorbed slowly, and over time the tissues become insulinized, taking up the glucose without much of it appearing in the blood or as a rise in blood sugar."

The study is published in the December 17, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.A nondrug option for patients
In an interview with heartwire, Jenkins said that diabetic patients are typically advised to follow a similar low-fat diet that patients with heart disease follow. Although it is recommended they reduce calories from carbohydrates, many diabetic patients have been influenced by the Atkins diet, reducing their calories from carbohydrates from the recommended 50% to approximately 40%, said Jenkins.

In this study, the researchers studied the effects of a low-glycemic-index diet on diabetes control and cardiovascular risk factors in 210 individuals with diabetes treated with antihyperglycemic medications. Previous studies have suggested the dietary strategy could improve diabetes control, as well as improve various cardiovascular risk factors, such as raising HDL cholesterol and lowering triglyceride and CRP levels.

Patients randomized to the low-glycemic-index diet consumed pumpernickel, rye, and flaxseed breads, large-flake oatmeal or oat-bran cereal, fruits such as apples and pears, pasta, beans, peas, lentils, and nuts. Among those randomized to the high-cereal-fiber diet, participants consumed whole-grain breads and breakfast cereals, brown rice, potatoes with skins, and fruits such as cantaloupe and mango, as well as crackers. Caloric intake did not differ between the two treatment arms.

After six months, HbA1c levels were significantly better in individuals assigned to the low-glycemic-index diet compared with those who consumed the high-cereal-fiber diet. HDL-cholesterol levels were also significantly improved. LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not significantly altered with the dietary strategy.

Jenkins pointed out that a diet based on a low glycemic index differs from a low-glycemic diet. The Atkins diet, an example of a low-glycemic diet, involves the restriction of carbohydrates. A low-glycemic-index diet, on the other hand, does not restrict the consumption of carbohydrates but rather restricts foods that overwhelm the insulin secretion mechanisms and cause spikes in blood glucose levels.

The reduction in HbA1c was modest, said Jenkins, but the diet "is another tool in the toolkit for clinicians" and should help those not wishing to prescribe too many antihyperglycemic medications or who do not wish to significantly increase the dose of existing drugs. Investigators did not observe any appreciable hypoglycemic occurrences, something that is difficult to avoid with medications, said Jenkins.

In case you missed it.

Oakland Temple in December

Scout Outing

Our scout master arranged to have the scout visit the news studio of KCRA. They had a chance to watch a broadcast, get a tour of the studio, and sit and talk about the profession of a metorologist with Dirk Verdorn. We had a great time. Stopped by Leatherby's on the way home and ate an obscence amount of ice cream.

Air Temp of 48F

I believe it started with "Uncle Sean, I brought my swim trunks, can I jump off your roof?"
"Kurt, it's freezing outside and it's raining..... You must have asked your Dad this question what did he say?" Kurt "He said it's fine." Me "What? Really?" Gerry "I don't care, I'm tired of trying to talk him out of doing it." Me (I kind of sound like a Mom here) "You understand if you get hurt, or the water is so cold you inhale underwater, your Dad and I aren't coming in after you right? And if you hurt yourself, you have to wait until after Christmas eve dinner to walk yourself to the ER, because you're not goofing up dinner right?" Kurt "Yeah, sure." Me "Well great, let me go get my camera then!"

The Christmas Card That Wasn't

This was almost the card that was sent out. It's a nice photo, everyone looks nice. We shot about 20 that day. We ordered this picture, and finally I said, "listen, I don't really care that much, if you want to send it fine.....but the top of my head is missing. I know this is the photo that all the kids look good, you like you, I like you too, but again... not that I'm picky... the tippy top of my head... it's gone. If we can send the cards out a little late, I'll shoot a picture after church or something."

Suzi was kind enough to agree, so we did. However, I still like this photo alot.

It's just not right! Where is the loyalty?

Suzi and I came home from shopping and I realized that the boys are out and about. For the first time since Christmas morning they aren't glued to the carpet in front of the TV from morning until midnight either playing new games, or watching a movie. I said to Suzi:

Me- You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go in there play their dumb games and delete all their data while they're out. 

Suz- Why? 

Me- Because anytime I touch that PS3, that's what they do with my stuff. And you know what I'll just say? The same stupid thing they say, I didn't know what I was doing! It was an accident, I swear. Sorry. Watch, they are going to trip! 

Hannah walks by both of us, apparently she was behind me the whole time, I didn't see the little beautiful rat, and she says:

Hannah: Just so you know...... (finger pointing at me, with dramatic pause), I heard the whole thing...... yes I did...... just so you know mister.

Me- What? What's that suppose to mean? (As I'm speaking to her, she continue to walk past me, raises her finger in the air, turns her back to me completely and continues into the house.)

Me- You know those two would never defend you! Why are you sticking up for them?!

She didn't even respond.  Just kept on walking. 

Ugh...10 year old girls, who do they think they are with their whole perfect world ideals? Trying to stop me from creating madness in my own home. 

Ugh! I give up....

Shooting a Christmas card photo in our family is quite an event. A couple of words come to mind to summarise the event: madness, tears, side splitting laughter, anger, persistence, threats, compromise, and good enough.

What a girl wants!

Mom-Hannah Shea what do want for Christmas?
Hannah-Oh, I'd like a starbucks card for hot chocolate.
Mom-Thats it?
Hannah- Yep.

You got what!?

So let me try to paint this picture for you so you can enjoy this, or not enjoy this as much as possible. 

I came home from work, and sat down at the kitchen table where everyone hangs around from the moment they get home, until we eat dinner. It's always noisy with the six of us doing six different things, and all of us trying to talk over the top of one and other. 

The kids and I were sitting/ standing around the table when Suz came into the room and announced "I got the kids grades today." And I responded "oh, good. How did they all do?Everything turn out well?" Suzi does a great job with the kids, they all are brilliant kids, and they all get fantastic grades. 

Suzi say's "yeah, everyone did well." Here's where sometimes it's a little funny to be a member of our family. We tend to talk about everything in front of everybody. Accidentally, we know better, but we do. Suzi continues with kind of a tone of suspect, squinted eyes looking at Hannah, "yeah, everyone did great. However, Hannah got a 2 on "shows respect for others" and a 2 on "using time wisely." 

Two things: First 2 is a baaadd grade on a scale of 1-4. Not good. Second Hannah is beloved by every teacher she's every had, and kind to every living creature. There are times where we are reminded she is human, but generally she's truly an angelic girl. She inspires me. Teachers always comment on how kind she is to everyone. If you can't get along with Hannah, and she's run out of patience with you....... well, my experience has been....... well... you must be a....... let me stop myself and take a page from Hannah's book and just say again that Hannah is just, very nice. 

That is what make me so sad about how the rest of this story plays out. 

So I snap around (possibly a little tired from the day), and say "You got a what!? Are you kidding me Hannah? Is this something new this year? Are you and you're friends trying on some kind of new attitude? A 2? What the heck is that all about?"  I wasn't loud, I wasn't attacking. Well maybe a re-reading that line of questioning, one after another. I guess that can come across as a little attacking. I was baffled, and in my tone probably sounded a bit disappointed. 

(Oh geez , just remembering how this all played out is making me sick to my stomach.) 

Hannah responds, "I don't know?" In a bit of a sheepish tone, with a little disbelief. However, to me, where I'm sitting I'm thinking, how do you get a 2 and not know what's up? And the answer "I don't know" rarely  is a satisfactory answer for a parent. It just isn't an answer that we dig, right? However, in this case, it probably was the right answer. I just didn't like it. 

So I say something along the line of "we need to get this figured out. I need to talk to your teacher, little sister." She's got a little look of being beat down, rightfully so. 

THEN SUZI SAYS........ "well... it could be a typo." Silence..... 

We get a call later that night from a friend who is teacher at the school, who has a daughter in the class, and good friends with Hannah, and said "Hey did Hannah get some 2's?" And Suz said "Ohhhh yeah, I'm talking to Ms. Daniels tomorrow." And the friend responded "Those are typo's, I already talked to the teacher."

Ugh.... Oh so many lessons for me in there. Don't know where to begin. 

Patrick & Sam?

Patrick and Sam walk around the house quoting these  two guys constantly. Driving me a bit nutty.

Armstrong & Getty

Suzi, and I love a certain morning radio show, Armstrong and Getty.LOVE IT. Every morning we listen to it wherever we are, and if I miss it I can pick it up on a pod cast and listen to it on a run. Their humor is fantastic, and the topics for the show are always great. National news, California news, local news. Intelligent topics usually. When I'm running, at times I have to stop and laugh because it hurts too much to try and run and laugh. I must look insane. 

So this is our morning routine: The alarm on our radio goes off in the morning and the radio is tuned to the show. As we lay in bed listening, without yet saying good morning, one of the two on the radio always starts us laughing. Without fail every morning we lay in bed until we start to laugh. It's our favorite way to wake up! I love that often the first sound thing I hear from Suz is her laugh. We love it, it gets the day started on the right side of the bed. 

You can listen to it over the Internet as well, that how Suzi listens in the kitchen every morning. Give it a try regardless of what part of the country you live in. Listen for a week, if you don't enjoy it I'll be surprised. They are live 6am to 10am Monday- Friday PST. 

Ding Dong!

Suzi and I got home from getting something to eat tonight. Went and grabbed a late lunch/ very early dinner. 

As we walked up to the door, Suz was four steps in front of me. I had the keys to get back into the house. She reaches up and rings the door bell, but rings it 7 times quickly. I say "Suzi! Don't do that, I yell at the kids when they do that."

Georgia then opened the door "DAD!! Don't do that! You yell at us every time we do that!!"

Me- "I didn't do it. Mom did."

Georgia- "Well tell her not to do it then."

Hmmph

What does "10" look like?

Off to school!

Lodi Christmas Tree Run

3 out of the 6 Kelly's did the 5k Christmas run. We were all over NorCal as a family that day (Suzi and Sam= soccer, Hannah @ a friend's house). This was Georgia's first big run. She was the only 7 year old to run it. Most of the kids ran the "one miler", she's tough!!! The next oldest to run it was a teenager. Wow! If you ask her she'll tell you her legs are sore, and that she didn't have any fun at all. But when you remind her of the early morning doughnut, the run with the friends, all the people cheering for her, and the Thai food afterward, and then you ask her if she'd do it again, then she might say "mmmm yeah, maybe. I had a great time." Patrick, and I have done two runs together and I look forward to getting my butt kicked regularly by the young whipper snapper. Families represented in the bottom photo: Hazelhofer, Robison, Kelly, Brink, Judd, Gonzalez, and La Viola. Great times!

New Tool

I have a new application on my iphone that I love! The website version is www.livestrong.com  .

The application on my phone is awesome. I set my goal of where I want to be in terms of weight gain, loss, or neutral. From there I add my exercise through out the day, and the food I eat through out the day. The calories I can eat goes up and down according to what I do with my exercise. It tracks thousands and thousands of foods, and exercises. Totally cool, and it syncs with the website automatically. Lots of charts and graphs to track my progress. 

Run To Feed The Hungry

Patrick, Sam, and I went for a 10k run Thanksgiving day morning with 30,000 other people. We had a great time with the Durnall family, and think this will be a fun family tradition going forward. Gerry's family has done this for the past several years, and it really was a fun way to start the day.  I think they said it was something like 800k dollars raised to feed the hungry from this event. 

 

Reindeer Food

Georgia bought some reindeer food to put in the yard Christmas eve to draw Santa's reindeer to our house. We parents thought this was a nice idea.

The brothers on the other hand are pains in the rear.

Patrick - "Georgia, all that's really going to do is attract raccoons to the yard."
Sam - "Yeah, Georgia. We are going to over run by raccoons Christmas eve, great."
Me - "You know you two, when you were little, no one gave you crap. No one gave you any crap for going to barney concert and loving it Patrick. So shut it you two."
Georgia - "Yeah, shut it."

It was all pretty funny. I laughed through the whole thing.

Sam/ Flash

Sam's new mile time is 6:10. Still the fastest in school....

Triglycerides

Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body. They're also present in blood plasma and, in association with cholesterol, form the plasma lipids.

Triglycerides in plasma are derived from fats eaten in foods or made in the body from other energy sources like carbohydrates. Calories ingested in a meal and not used immediately by tissues are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells to be stored. Hormones regulate the release of triglycerides from fat tissue so they meet the body's needs for energy between meals.

No he's not perfect, but he's pretty darn good.