I hope you all had a terrific holiday season. Mine was pretty enjoyable, considering I’m still feeling post-surgical pain in the shoulder and am limited in my activities. I can tie my own shoes and button my own shirts now, so at least I don’t feel like an overgrown toddler.
Now that Chareva’s parents live here instead of just outside Chicago, we stayed home for the holidays. We used to make a triangle trip every year; first to central Illinois to visit my family, then on Chicago visit hers. I won’t miss making those drives.
Perhaps the best present we received was the surprise news that Chareva’s younger brother Alex bought a house in Franklin. He has a baby daughter who’s as adorable as adorable gets. Now we know we’ll get to see her grow up. My girls are already lining up for future baby-sitting duties.
Last we’d heard, Alex and his wife were planning to live in either Portland or the Chicago area. The whole time he was looking at and bidding on a house about 10 miles from us, he managed to keep it a secret. Fortunately, his wife had a video camera running when he broke the news by giving keys to the new house to Chareva and her mom. Their reactions were priceless. You can bet that scene made it into the DVD I create at the end of each year.
Speaking of which, I just managed to finish all the video editing and get the DVD done before my vacation ended. Here’s a sample, the video I put together to commemorate the low-carb cruise to Alaska:
Jimmy and Christine Moore arrived a few days before Christmas and left on Christmas day. The weather is certainly better around Thanksgiving, but it was nice to spend a Christmas with them for a change. As far as my girls are concerned, Jimmy and Christine are Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Christine. The more family around on Christmas, the better.
We managed to squeeze in a few rounds of disc golf, but agreed not to make them part of the official record. It was cold outside, and we played after rains had soaked the pastures. Between the slippin’ and slidin’ and my post-surgery weakness, I didn’t exactly rack up impressive scores. Jimmy whooped me quite convincingly in the last two rounds, but he’s such a good friend, he only mentioned it a couple dozen times. (Just kidding, Bro.)
I finally got around to writing down plans for the new year yesterday. I’m not against New Year’s resolutions, but as I’ve mentioned before, I think too many people go about them in a way that sets them up to fail – that is, they make promises in terms of results (I’m going to lose 30 pounds by June) instead of actions (I’m going to follow this-or-that diet and exercise plan). Take it from an old guy: you can control your actions, but you can’t control the results.
I know what my diet plans are, but of course the exercise plans at this point boil down to Whatever the surgeon and physical therapist say I can do. If I had my way, I’d be at lifting at the gym tomorrow, since the atrophy on my left side is already becoming obvious. I made the mistake of flexing both arms in front of a mirror over the weekend to see what they’d tell me. The right arm said Adult Male. The left arm said Probably Hasn’t Started Shaving Yet.
I had a follow-up visit with the surgeon today and asked what I can do for upper-body exercise. The short answer is: almost nothing outside of physical therapy. The physical therapist told me I’ll start working out with weights in another couple of weeks. The “workout” will consist of curling two-pound dumbbells. I saw the two-pound dumbbells sitting in a rack nearby. They’re pink.
Pink?! Seriously? Am I required to wear a skirt as well? Next thing you know, I’ll start crying during the she’s-going-to-lose-him scene in chick-flicks and stopping to ask directions if I’m lost. I may need to watch a Schwarzenegger film or two every weekend just to maintain a sense of balance.
My main goal in the upcoming months is, of course, to finish the film version of Fat Head Kids. That one’s very much under my control, and I know I can get it done … even with a left bicep that looks like it belongs to an adolescent.
Happy 2018, everyone.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
When I had an accident a few years ago, I couldn’t fix my hair very well or put on makeup for a while. I bought myself a cute pink shirt and a necklace. Have a happy new year!
Thank you. I’d try the pink shirt and necklace, but it would be a bit much with the upcoming workouts with pink dumbbells.
Pink is a colour that destresses. Do not disdain the Power of the Pink!
And a very happy 2018 to you and yours. BTW, love that tee shirt in the last frame of the video. I’d be tempted to buy one for my cardiologist, but she probably wouldn’t wear it. She made another attempt to promote statins for me today (my chiropractor says my cholesterol is fine), but it was pretty feeble — I think she has gotten the idea that “no statins” means NO STATINS. My question is that if statins can cause muscle pain and damage (supposedly rare but you sure hear a lot of complaints about it), and the heart is a muscle, isn’t prescribing statins for heart patients kinda counterintuitive?
You would think, yes.
When I had an accident a few years ago, I couldn’t fix my hair very well or put on makeup for a while. I bought myself a cute pink shirt and a necklace. Have a happy new year!
Thank you. I’d try the pink shirt and necklace, but it would be a bit much with the upcoming workouts with pink dumbbells.
Pink is a colour that destresses. Do not disdain the Power of the Pink!
Oops, forgot – Happy New Year, Tom! 🙂
And to you.
And a very happy 2018 to you and yours. BTW, love that tee shirt in the last frame of the video. I’d be tempted to buy one for my cardiologist, but she probably wouldn’t wear it. She made another attempt to promote statins for me today (my chiropractor says my cholesterol is fine), but it was pretty feeble — I think she has gotten the idea that “no statins” means NO STATINS. My question is that if statins can cause muscle pain and damage (supposedly rare but you sure hear a lot of complaints about it), and the heart is a muscle, isn’t prescribing statins for heart patients kinda counterintuitive?
You would think, yes.
https://startingstrength.com/training/post-surgery-shoulder-rehabilitation
https://youtu.be/xFt0IECBwdo
Some good resources for your rehab
Wishing you a Happy New Year and a speedier than expected recovery.
Thank you.
https://startingstrength.com/training/post-surgery-shoulder-rehabilitation
https://youtu.be/xFt0IECBwdo
Some good resources for your rehab
Thank for the links.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and a speedier than expected recovery.
Thank you.
You’ve forsaken Da Bears for the Titans?
Not forsaken, no. I root for both teams and only have an emotional conflict when they play each other.
I have kind of a mental hierarchy of teams I root for or against based on my likes and dislikes of players, coaches and home cities. If the Bears can’t win their division, I root for Green Bay to do well (don’t tell people in Chicago) because I think it’s awesome that the team is owned by hundreds of local citizens. I root for the Saints because I think Drew Brees is a fine example of an athlete/great person/role model. Same goes for Eli Manning and Russell Wilson. (Wilson spends his days off visiting kids in cancer wards, signing autographs and offering encouragement.) I’m of course rooting for the Titans today, but if they lose I’ll be cheering for Kansas City next week because I want to see Andy Reid win a Super Bowl.
I’ve rooted against the Cowboys ever since they declared themselves “America’s Team,” and I always root against San Francisco because I want the people who voted Nancy Pelosi into office to suffer as much as possible.
Yeah, it gets complicated, but I always manage to figure it out before kickoff.
Being from Philly, I cannot root for Andy Reid. Working in sportscasting while he was here, he was the bane of my existence. The Eagles were like a circus at that time.
There are players that I like a well, and hope they go out on a high note. I actually rooted for the Chicago Blackhawks a couple of years ago to win the Stanley Cup because my Flyers traded an aging player named Kimmo Timonen to Chicago so he’d have the best chance to win, and he did. I thought it was classy that not only did Jonathan Toews hand him the Cup first, but pushed him into skating around the ice with it.
I felt the same way when John Elway finally won as well as Peyton Manning retiring with a Super Bowl win. His brother, Eli, being a NY Giant…not so much.
I get why someone from Philly would find it difficult to root for the Giants.
I was delighted to see Elway win two consecutive Super Bowls before retiring. The guy was a class act his whole career.
You’ve forsaken Da Bears for the Titans?
Not forsaken, no. I root for both teams and only have an emotional conflict when they play each other.
I have kind of a mental hierarchy of teams I root for or against based on my likes and dislikes of players, coaches and home cities. If the Bears can’t win their division, I root for Green Bay to do well (don’t tell people in Chicago) because I think it’s awesome that the team is owned by hundreds of local citizens. I root for the Saints because I think Drew Brees is a fine example of an athlete/great person/role model. Same goes for Eli Manning and Russell Wilson. (Wilson spends his days off visiting kids in cancer wards, signing autographs and offering encouragement.) I’m of course rooting for the Titans today, but if they lose I’ll be cheering for Kansas City next week because I want to see Andy Reid win a Super Bowl.
I’ve rooted against the Cowboys ever since they declared themselves “America’s Team,” and I always root against San Francisco because I want the people who voted Nancy Pelosi into office to suffer as much as possible.
Yeah, it gets complicated, but I always manage to figure it out before kickoff.
Being from Philly, I cannot root for Andy Reid. Working in sportscasting while he was here, he was the bane of my existence. The Eagles were like a circus at that time.
There are players that I like a well, and hope they go out on a high note. I actually rooted for the Chicago Blackhawks a couple of years ago to win the Stanley Cup because my Flyers traded an aging player named Kimmo Timonen to Chicago so he’d have the best chance to win, and he did. I thought it was classy that not only did Jonathan Toews hand him the Cup first, but pushed him into skating around the ice with it.
I felt the same way when John Elway finally won as well as Peyton Manning retiring with a Super Bowl win. His brother, Eli, being a NY Giant…not so much.
I get why someone from Philly would find it difficult to root for the Giants.
I was delighted to see Elway win two consecutive Super Bowls before retiring. The guy was a class act his whole career.
It looks like Andy will have to wait another year (unless the Chiefs fire him).
Indeed. I have to admit feeling sorry for Chiefs fans. They’ve seen their team go to the playoffs and lose in the first round so many times now.
Dear Tom, Happy new year and pray you’re back to the heavy-lifting farm projects in the nearest future! Thank you for continuing to share your clear thoughts and humor. We didn’t watch the Golden Globes either. The sheer hypocrisy is just at the “you couldn’t make this stuff up” stage. However, I did watch Monica Lewinski’s TED Talk at some point during 2017. Remarkable! And still, crickets. Thank you again! ⭕️ Ann
Happy New Year to you as well. Didn’t know Lewinski had a TED talk. Now I have to look it up.
I watched that TED talk with Lewinski, it was very good. What she went through was brutal, but she has come out the other side doing reasonably well.
Dear Tom, Happy new year and pray you’re back to the heavy-lifting farm projects in the nearest future! Thank you for continuing to share your clear thoughts and humor. We didn’t watch the Golden Globes either. The sheer hypocrisy is just at the “you couldn’t make this stuff up” stage. However, I did watch Monica Lewinski’s TED Talk at some point during 2017. Remarkable! And still, crickets. Thank you again! ⭕️ Ann
Happy New Year to you as well. Didn’t know Lewinski had a TED talk. Now I have to look it up.
I watched that TED talk with Lewinski, it was very good. What she went through was brutal, but she has come out the other side doing reasonably well.