Chronicles: Alan B. Rowley II - Success Warrior - ECoach - P90X

This was not in my plans for this morning

If you could read my unfinished post about my P90X training for the last couple of days, you would know that I had no intention on getting up this morning any earlier than Trey.  I was going to sleep as much as he would allow.  He's got a cold and I don't want a cold so I'm trying to get some extra rest.

That was *my* plan.

What actually happened was slightly different.

There I was sleeping quite contently when my wife jumped up on the bed and started bouncing up and down screaming that there was an intruder in the house tyring to kill her.  I should have told her to call 911 but instead I asked her what time it was.  7:30.  I'm pretty sure that Trey was going to sleep past 7:30 but not if my wife was making all that racket.  Obviously the best plan is to deal with the intruder as quietly as possible so that she will stop screaming and then I can go back to bed.

I stop listening to the voices in my head long enough to catch the word "scorpion" from my wife.  Okay, the intruder has been identified.  They seem to like our kitchen.  I'm not sure why that is.  The lizards and beetles like the kitchen too.  I keep vowing (read today's Success Warrior Blog) to throw out the left over Purina Scorpion Food but just haven't gotten around to it.  I'll bet that's why they come in our kitchen.

Family, Finance, and Fitness - A Free Coaching Offer

Long time readers of both my blogs know that there are three areas of life that I really focus on: Family, Finance, and Fitness.  I have written extensively in these public blogs on Family  and Finance over the last year (and even longer in my private blogs).  I have only mentioned Fitness every once in a while but that obviously changed when I came across P90X last month.

I believe that people who aren't taking some control of their Finance and Fitness are going to lead limited lives.  For some people this may be okay but I know there are plenty of people out there like me who will be yelling, "Frrreeeeedommmmm!" until there isn't any more air in their lungs.

I haven't achieved the level of freedom that I want yet but I'm not going to give up without a fight.  I see too much of the trapped life and I have too much that I still want to do and that keeps me from just giving up.

Hill AFB Air Museum

Trey loves trains, planes, and firetrucks so we took him and his cousins to see the planes at the Hill AFB Air Museum in Ogden Utah.  He had a great time and keeps asking to go back.

If we move where we want, he'll be able to go often.  The Thunderbirds should be perforning here next year.  We'll make sure we go see them.

I did up another photo album and put it at the top on the right.

I Make My Wife Laugh - Part 2

Last week, I decided to clean off my desks.  I do this every couple of weeks.  Okay, I mean to do it every couple of weeks.  Sometimes, it's every couple of months.  Sometimes it doesn't happen until I can't find something important.

Not much really accumulates here.  A bit of mail sometimes, a couple of magazines, notes for writing, and a few empty water glasses.  Why I can't take one out when I bring one in, I don't know.  Probably something to do with my routine where I get to the kitchen before I get to the office.

We had been talking about moving so it was on my mind.  Originally we had planned on moving in 2009.  With the job opportunity that has presented itself, we've decided to move as soon as I get a job that pays more than I'm getting here.

We have no idea when that will be and that's what made my wife laugh.  For the most part, she has gotten used to the fact that she's married to a quirky kinda guy that will do stuff out of the blue. 

"What are you thinking?" is a question that could bring any sort of answer, some that don't really have any base in reality.

I Got To Play a Wii Yesterday

As part of yesterday's adventures (the first post of which is HERE), we had dinner with my mom and two brothers.  Mark's wife, Heather, was there and all the kids were present.  Cory's wife, Risa, was at work because they do a similar things as my wife and I, working opposite shifts to tag-team on the kid.

Cory has a son that's about a month younger than Trey and Mark has 3 boys and a girl.  The youngest of the boys is about a year older than Trey and the daughter is a couple years younger.  We put all the boys at one end of the table so that the adults could visit.  5 boys, ages 3-9, all sitting together with an amount of freedom that was roughly the equivalent of "do what you want as long as a parent doesn't have to step in."

Heather is a stay at home mom with the 4 kids and I have to say that my brother has got the easy job.  It wouldn't matter what his job was, he would have the easy side.  She's like supermom and makes it all look very easy.  We asked her if she would help us with Trey if we ended up moving into town and my wife and I ended up on same or similar shifts.  She said that she would be happy to do that.  My wife asked if she was sure and if it wouldn't be too much work.

I looked down at the boys' end of the table.  Trey was at the very end, sitting there quietly watching the other boys.  Jaxon, Cory's son, was sitting even more quietly if that's possible.  He wasn't really paying attention to what the other boys were doing.  My wife said that she thought it would be good for Trey to play with other boys and that it would be good if it was with a family with similar standards.

I laughed.

Did You Know That Today Is Father's Day

I had forgotten that it was Father's Day until I saw it on the yahoo page.  It's not that being a father isn't special, it's just that every day is a father's day as far as I'm concerned. 

Trey is learning to ride a bicycle and he completely surprised me earlier this week.  He's learning how to pedal.  He can press down but has a hard time rolling the pedals over for the next stroke.  This week he figured it out but it's not because he's catching on that made it special.  It's because when we got done and were walking in the house, he thanked me for teaching him.  How many 3 year olds do that?  I was totally caught off guard on that one. 

That was a father's day.

The day after that, he was in his room after we had put him to bed.  He wasn't particularly tired but it was bedtime and it was time for his mom and dad to catch up on the week.  We tag-team on him so doesn't go to a sitter so there are nights when we have hours worth of things to talk about.  We could hear him talking to himself in his room but weren't paying particular attention to him.  Then he sang the ABC song just for fun and did a pretty good job at it.  From the living room, I called down the hall and told him he had done a great job.  So he sang it again.  I just listened from the living room smiling. 

That was a father's day.

A couple of days ago, I called my wife from work.  We were talking and I could hear Trey just jabbering on in the background.  He was telling some kind of happy story.  He wasn't telling it to me or my wife and I have no idea what the story was about.  It didn't matter.  If you aren't a parent, I can't explain what it sounds like when you can hear absolute joy in your child's voice.  If you are a parent, I don't have to explain it.  I talked to my wife, all the time smiling from Trey's story in the background. 

That was a father's day.

The day after that, I came home from work early because I wasn't feeling well.  It was early for me but after bedtime for Trey.  Tia was sitting on the couch reading one of her college books when I came in.  I heard his feet hit the ground before I had even shut the door and Trey came running down the hall with a big smile.  I picked him as he arrived and we hugged.  I put him back down and he ran down the hall and got back in bed. 

That was a father's day.

I came home from work this morning around 3am.  I have a routine when I get home and part of that is checking on him to make sure he's okay and covered.  He wasn't in his bed.  I went into my room and there he was sleeping on my pillow.  I kissed my wife and let her know that I was home.  I went around to the other side of the bed and scooped Trey up and started carrying him to his room. 

I kissed his forehead and whispered, "I love you." 

He whispered back, "I love you too." 

That's Father's Day.

Tada! Captions are complete.

I have completed the captions for the photos and loaded the current photo album in the upper right side bar.  The previous album has been moved to the bottom of the right side bar.

There were lots of pictures taken that day, not just by me.  It should be a rule that everyone in a group activity should create online phot albums.  Doncha think?

For those of you that would like to accumulate some easy Sword Points, check out today's post at the Success Warrior Blog.

Everyone else, enjoy the pictures!

The Ghost of the Bayou

It was dark in the bayou and my camera doesn't have a flash but I think you can see the ghost.  Here's the official blurb:

"From May 5th through the end of September, Utah’s Hogle Zoo is home to a rare white alligator from New Orleans. This alligator isn’t albino; he’s leucistic, and purely white in color with dazzling blue eyes. Eastern mythology says these creatures are symbols of extremely good luck. Legend has it that anyone gazing into the blue eyes of the rare white alligator will be blessed with good luck for the coming year, and prosperity will surely follow. There are only ten of these white gators in the entire world, so don’t miss your chance to see this amazing wonder of nature!"

I didn't know about the good luck thing but I did look at his eyes.  He just didn't look real and he wasn't moving so I was watching his eyes.  He blinked or the animatronics program had him blink.  Anyway, the thing blinked.  Slowly.  He has white eye lids too. 

Ty, the conservationist of our group, said, "That would make a cool pair of boots."

The blurb says that the Ghost is pure white but he actually has a bit of green tint to him.  He's white though and just looks really odd.  I'll bet he has a hard time getting people to believe that he's just another log in the river.

"Look G, yer a nice guy and all," the other gators in Louisiana probably said.  "But, looky here, you gotta go hunt somewherez else man.  You just ain't right and even a blind redneck can see you ain't no log.  We're gittin' hungry so you gots to leave.  Nothing personal."

"Fine, I'll got to Utah," the Ghost replied.  "There's lots of white folk in Utah."

So the Ghost of the Bayou moved on out to Utah for the summer and we got to see him. 

You can't see it in this picture but just to the left is his trailer and a car up on blocks.  The still is a little further to the left but it's there.  I heard that ain't no one can make shine like the Ghost of the Bayou.

***

I have the pictures from the zoo uploaded finally and maybe I can zip out some captions and put the photo album up tomorrow.

A Helpful Husband Is A Good Husband

  We took water, cookies, and brownies to the zoo with us in our cooler.  We bought a 24 pack of Dasani water at the grocery store for a couple of bucks on sale to share with everyone.  Last time we were at the zoo, that amount would buy one bottle of water.  It's like going to a movie theater except we didn't have to sneak the cooler in by stuffing into my wife's purse.

We put the cooler in Trey's Jeep stroller and wheeled it in.  We paid for everyone and headed for the place that my wife had picked for lunch.  It was as far away from the entrance as you could go and still be in the zoo.  I think we were actually starting to get close to the San Diego zoo when we got there.

Not that it really mattered since we would have walked all the way down there if we were looking at animals.  Now we would just look at them on our way back. 

I Want Another Birthday

After the day we had yesterday, you couldn't blame Trey for asking for another birthday.  We got up and had a breakfast of French toast as a family.  Yes, I said, as a family.  Breakfast.  Us.  That's a great way to start the day.  He loves it when he gets both his parents at the same time.  We tag-team on him so that he doesn't get raised by the babysitter but that has its own price.  Nothing is free but we felt this was the way to go.

We went to the zoo where we had lunch and brownies with some of his friends.  We chose brownies since he doesn't like frosting.  It seemed like a good cake substitute and resilient to summer weather as well.  The brownies were a hit.

We walked around and looked at every animal they had.  It's a small zoo but we were tired when we got done.

Trey had gone the whole day without a nap.  As soon as he got in the car, it was over.  Briefly.

We drove downtown to meet with Ninja and his wife and daughter for dinner.  We hadn't seen them in a while and may not see them for another while.  He's the one that is going to do the illustrations for my book.  He's slammed with college right now so it might take him a while.

We parked away from where we were going to eat because we had promised Trey another train ride and what better way to celebrate his birthday then with a train ride.

I had my camera with me this time.  This smile explains more about what he thinks about train rides than I can explain with words.

I haven't created the new photo album yet.  I'll try to have that up tomorrow with captions.  I took about 100 pictures.  I don't know how many I'll put up but don't expect the captions to be all that witty as I hurry to get them where people can see them.  Feel free to offer suggestions for captions.