Just Write

Back to the blog … Now that Fi is well on her way to five months old, she’s decided that formula isn’t going to cut it.  We tried blending some broccoli for her since that’s all we had on hand Tuesday night.  We mixed it with a bit of formula to get what we thought was the right consistency.  She wasn’t having it. While she did eat a fair amount of what we prepared, it wasn’t making her happy.

Come Wednesday night, we were better prepared.  Armed with a few jars of Earth’s Best Organic Baby Food, we decided to give Fi some sweet potatoes for dinner.  While the picture gallery might dispute this, she really enjoyed the sweet potatoes.  It was a messy experience, but Fi’s first solid foods are going over very well thus far.  She ate apples and Sweet Potatoes on Thursday with Grandma Gilligan, and then more Sweet potatoes with us last night.  Cereal first thing in the morning is almost old hat now.

I guess when she weighed in at 16 pounds 3 ounces (90th percentile) and measured 26 inches (95th percentile) on Tuesday, we should’ve known then that solid food, and more of it, was what she wanted.  Check out the gallery to see what fun we had.

Yes, I realize that my left foot looks weird. Thank you ankle surgery.

This post falls under the category of strictly selfish.  While I can use the excuse that everyone uses – we’ve been busy – the time for that nonsense to stop is now.  When I had ankle surgery in January of this year, I weighed about 185 pounds.  That’s a little higher than what I would prefer, especially being as active as we are.  Because I was forced into a sedentary lifestyle for a couple of months, I put on a few extra pounds. Because I neglected the concept of portion control, I put on a few more.

As of yesterday, I’m tipping the scales at 194.6 (see photo above for proof).  It’s not the heaviest I’ve ever been (225 junior year of high school), but it’s 20 pounds over my preferred weight and way too close to 200 pounds.

The intent of this post is to serve as an extra motivator.  I say extra because being around for Amy and Baby B and able to do everything that’s needed of me as a husband and father is the true motivation.  This is merely part of how I plan to track my progress.  Thanks to our trusty cameras, the DailyBurn website and its iPhone-ready counterpart, the iMapMyRun and iMapMyRide iPhone apps and our Tanita scale, I’ll be able to track my weight loss, workouts, and nutrition facts.  Numerous softball teams, yard work, and (of course) our membership at Powerhouse Gym should help with the exercise.

Long story short, I can only blame myself if I’m not successful.  If you’re curious as to how I’m progressing, I’ve created a page on our site to act as a constant reminder of what I’m working to accomplish.  It’s also a one-stop metrics page.  Why?  Because, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Once I get the widgets working properly, that page will contain a readout of everything I’m currently tabulating.  There will be pictures somewhere, but probably only for private use.  I’m not a fan of sharing photographic evidence of my increased girth to anyone and everyone that wants to view it via the web.

Now it’s time to shed some pounds.