| Truly, Madly, Deeply ... | Week 4 of 12, Day 22 of 84
I went to lunch with an old pal from my last job. He knew me when I was "big J". We've been through lots of great times together. His son was born around the same time as my daughter. After that, his wife was ready to relax and kick back. Heh. God had other plans. He called me to let me know, "Kim's pregnant - again!" not more than a few months after the first one. So then they were in it for another 9 months and had a beautiful girl. During this time, inspired by what he had seen Body-for-LIFE do for my wife and me, my friend lost about 30 - 40 pounds and was in terrific shape. He did a lot of running and could easily hit a 7 mile run in 50 minutes ... this is over hills ... guy was amazing and a true inspiration. I had lost touch with him from moving to the new job, etc, so when I finally called him, he told me ... "You won't BELIEVE this .. Kim is pregnant AGAIN!" So now that our daughter is 3 years and 3 months old, they have a 3 year old, a 2-year old, and a 1-year old - 1 boy and 2 girls. What a busy family!
I arrived at the restaurant a little before him (Max and Erma's, cool place - I ordered a big New York Strip with steamed veggies and a tossed salad). While I was sitting, waiting, I sank back into the bench and was really just ... relaxed. A large crowd of obviously single people came milling into the place, and I smiled with wry amusement. I remembered my days being single and the trivial things I thought were so important - looks, status, car, job, money, etc - and then I wondered for a brief moment, "Do I miss it?" The answer came back immediately - "NOT AT ALL!" I love having a wonderful family ... it is the stable rock on the even firmer foundation of Christ that my life is based upon. My wife looks younger every year I am with her. What was the most pleasant thought was knowing that now, when I come home from work, no matter how stressed out I am or how crazy the day was, it all melts away when my little girl comes running into the garage screaming "DADDY! DADDY!! YOU'RE HOME! YOU'RE HOME!" and then bounces on the tips of her toes waiting for me to step out of the car so she can give me a hug and a kiss. Of course, even when she is grown and gone, then I'll still have something amazing to come home to - my own wife's arms. You know, we're coming up on our 5 year anniversary, and I know that is beans compared to some people, but even after 5 years (that's 7 years together) I can't stop staring at her as she moves around the house - she is just so incredibly beautiful - and there's nothing I enjoy more than the warmth and closeness of her touch.
Of course, just as I was thinking these thoughts, our wedding song began playing in the restaurant! I just closed my eyes and in the depths of my heart said a prayer of thanks, because I know this was arranged by God - that I would sit and reflect upon how blessed I am in my marriage, and then my wedding song would start to play on cue.
So, without further ado, this was the song that meant everything to us on that wedding day ... and still means everything, because it IS everything my wife and I are together:
Truly Madly Deeply© Savage Garden
I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong, I will be faithful
'Cause I'm counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me.
And when the stars are shining
Brightly in the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish to send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the
Pleasure in the certainty
That we're surrounded by the
Comfort and protection of
The highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
Oh can you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cause it's standing right here before you
All that you need will surely come
I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Under the sky falls down on me
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to live like this forever
Under the sky falls down on me
posted by Jeremy on 4/21/2003 1:30:51 PM | | Whew!! What a weekend! | Week 4 of 12, Day 22 of 84 cont...
...it was terrific. I've got a TON of work today, so this blog is going to be brief. But just wanted to say I had a fantastic Easter Sunday. Breakfast was some seasame whole grain waffles with 100% natural maple syrup. For lunch, we went to an Indian restaurant and I had a nice vegeterian, SPICY dish. Dinner was a sprouted grain bagel with some soy milk. And of course some lovely Easter chocolate. This was organic, and unlike a lot of candy bars, the chocolate I got has only three ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter, and beet sugar. It rocks!
Have a wonderful Monday, everyone.
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/21/2003 7:01:14 AM | | EASTER and STROLLER RUNS and MAKING RED GREEN! | Week 3 of 12, Day 20 of 84
Today was a very interesting day!
Last night, I was feeling rather nauseous after work and decided that I was not going to workout. This would mean potentially missing a great back and biceps workout, something that I did NOT want to do ... plus, it would have made my Friday another yellow day, and the Lord knows I have plenty of those! Nutrition-wise, it was a good day. We went out to Red Lobster for lunch and I had Aztec grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and a garden salad. For dinner, I had a bowl of lentil soup with rice wrapped in grape leaves, pita bread, hummus, and fetoosh. I was feeling much better after dinner, and my wife and I settled down to watch the film about Revelations called "Left Behind."
I woke up this morning knowing I had a daunting task: not only was I due for a 40 minute run, but I had missed my workout the night before and if I didn't make it up, it would mean a yellow square. I woke up nice and early, but my daughter woke up, too. She was VERY upset that I would be leaving to run. She said she wanted to spend the entire day with me, and wanted to have breakfast with me. So I decided to not run right away, and instead cooked some scrambled eggs for her. Breakfast for me was pan-seared bananas on sprouted grain toast (YUM!).
We headed to church for their Easter Egg hunt. She got to search for eggs in the playground. Then we wrote prayers on post-it notes and affixed them to a big wooden cross. There was also a huge tapestry we traced our hands on and put the names of people inside we want to remember in our prayers and for others to pray for. It was a great experience, and we even ran into the Easter Bunny - here's my girls with the ole bunny:
We came home and my wife left for a book show she was holding (she sells children's books as a part time, self-employed venture). I decided to get my training done. It was great because my daughter was very excited about coming downstairs and training with me! While I was curling heavy weights, she was holding my PlateMates (very light magnets - 1.25 lbs) and curling as well! So we "trained together" and I made up my workout.
We then went back upstairs. I watched "Cinderella" with her, and then we went outside. We had a great time exploring the yard. We looked at large bumblebees, we saw furry caterpillars, we even saw some centipedes and black slugs. She reminds me of me when I was younger, because she just loves to explore the yard and look at bugs and plants. We grabbed some lunch at "Mellow Mushroom" - Alyssa had a little pizza, and I had a double portion of jerk grilled chicken on a Cesar (no croutons, no cheese, no dressing - so basically a bunch of grilled chicken on a bed of romaine lettuce!).
My wife called and was going to be a little late from her show. I mentioned that I had hoped to run, and she said, "Why not take Alyssa in the stroller?". Great idea!!! Once again, for the second time today, I was able to get in my workout and spend time with my daughter at the same time. I got out the sport stroller, and she sat in while I ran the neighborhood. We have some pretty killers hills, so it was a struggle getting up them, but I managed to run for my planned 40 minutes and only stopped for 1 1/2 of those minutes!!!! It was great and definitely a personal record. She had a blast - it was sunny, breezy, and all in all a wonderful day.
We came home and took a nice, cool bath and then my wife arrived ... what a spectacular day! Managed to get all of my training in, and spend the entire day with my daughter (my son was over with a friend all day).
Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter .... glory to Christ the Risen King!
Yours in Christ,
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/19/2003 6:24:53 PM | | DOH - shout out to Nicole! | Week 3 of 12, Day 19 of 84
The First post I read and wanted to respond to, and had it in my mind, then totally left it out!
Nicole & Tony GREAT big shout out to you!!!! SO good to see you on here again. I hope you aren't planning on becoming total strangers. You know the doors in our Atlanta home are still open whenever you come into town. HOW ARE THINGS? I've got a lot of updates from you, Nicole, through your blog ... how is Tony? He is by and far my greatest inspiration ... I still have his photos up in my gym as motivation every time I train, knowing that working HARD and perservering for YEARS is how a physique like that is built. I probably still don't come close to par with his intensity but I'm steadily building up to it, and I know my little girl still remembers his visit ... so tell him we all say hello!
Love & peace,
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/18/2003 4:27:30 PM | | Shout outs and what-nots | Week 3 of 12, Day 19 of 84 cont...
Yesterday was yellow. It was actually a great day. My wife, children, and my son's good friend went to celebrate the holy day with a nice dinner. I had an INCREDIBLE dish. The Macaroni Grill has an optoin where you can design your own dish. My wife and I always share the garlic sauteéd spinach, and then my main dish was this: bow-tie pasta in a spicy olive oil & garlic sauce with spinach, broccoli, and roasted red peppers. Can you say YUM?! But the downfall was after the meal, when I shared a dessert with my wife along with a double-shot espresso. It really didn't bother me - it wasn't a question of my willpower crumbling or having incredible cravings, I was just simply enjoying the special occassion. However, my calendar is the honest assessment of what I've done versus what I think I would ideally do, so the day is yellow (hey, after 4 weeks, if I don't like the results, it will be VERY easy to look back to find where I've fallen short!)
Now for some shout-outs.
Michael Wallace - this is one of the things that curses our profession. At my last job I used to manage multi-million dollar projects that could span several years, and in this job I manage the entire IT department. There really are only two things you'll need to start getting those estimates more accurate: scope and metrics. You need metrics to measure what you've done in the past - some system that says doing x task typically takes me y hours. Then, you define the scope of the project - this is the hardest part. If you say you're going to make a single web page and you've spec'd out the page, then you have the scope for the page. If you stick to that scope, and use your metrics, you'll have a good estimate. If you fall out of scope, and start writing that cool auto-upload parsing utility or a marquee that wasn't in the original plan, that's when the scope stretches and the metrics fail. I highly recommend a bok by Steve McConnell called "Software Project Survival Guide" - it is a pantheon for IT project managers.
Kristen - I just wanted to congratulate you because you've done an incredible job and look absolutely fantastic. WAY TO GO! That is a gorgeous dress to go with the beautiful figure I know you've worked hard to create. "Short and stout"?! I think not! You look amazing.
Leann - what incredible progress!!! Not just the weight, but also your spiritual and emotional journey. You have been very strong and it is so compassionate of you to share your powerful story with the rest of us. Thank you for coming here to inspire and, most importantly, for not giving up.
Noreen - I only do 1 20MAS cardio per week. The other is a Guerilla Cardio sprint session, and Saturday is when I go for my long runs. I'm with you ... I just LOVE to run, it's something I'll always do. I'm comforted knowing that, with a little bit of leg training, at least I can protect my knee and hip joints to enjoy those runs! Do you run on streets, or are you blessed with some nice nature trails? I love Atlanta because I live 15 minutes away from 3 or 4 different "mountain" trails that are challenging, beautiful, and less tough on the legs than pavement.
Olivia - Thanks again for balancing the view that I presented. If I'm guilty of anything, it's often of not taking a step back and looking at the broader, more general picture. I have to admit, after 4 years of living this lifestyle, sometimes I take certain habits for granted and forget the true struggles I had to undergo in order to transform my older, bad habits.
Clarissa - It is such a joy to see you again. I know it has been ages since I've seen the "Myoplexlite" title on posts (granted, I can't remember the last time I saw a "BFLUser" post from myself anywhere) but I know you have been through quite a bit. It is so generous to share your struggles and triumphs with us, I think it really helps inspire many to truly realize the potential they may not have realized they had. Your girl is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
Zach - give our love and condolences to María - we hope she heals quickly. Having lunch with you in February last year for the IronAngels lifting event transformed me in a very positive way - the entire group energized me and got me "out of a funk" that led to the picture shoot that is second from the right on my blog. Having you back in my life now has done the same thing - I'm recharged and really starting to gain momentum again. Again, I'm always putting balance with my family first, but I do see myself taking this to the next level and pursuing a competition in the near future. I'm going through a transition phase right now, but you have my wheels turning once again. Thanks for being the super-energizer you are - I know you've been the spark that has ignited several explosions in this bodyblog community.
Nehilia - congratulations for not beating yourself up for it. I have a ton of yellow but if I beat myself up, I'd be in the red by now. I'm just picking myself back up - it's been awhile since I've seen a full "challenge" start to finish, so this time I'm focused on crossing the finish line. Next time is when I'll worry about speed. Stay in the race, you'll do great. CONGRATULATIONS because 52 pounds is no small feat! That's a small person!
The Sarge and the Iranian Beauty - so nice to see you two, I can't wait for us to be able to meet both of you together. Your stories continue to inspire - Sanieh, all I can say is .... something my daughter always says when she puts her sunglasses on ... "Supahstah" ... and Pete ... good grief, what a physique you've sculpted ... keep it real, I can't wait until I can claim single digits body fat over 200.
Maria - the dress is now her favorite. No matter when or where we're going, she always asks if she can wear it! I think that it's AWESOME you are pursuing a competition. I can't wait ... I don't know if I'll be able to make it but you know I'll try my hardest, and I will always be supporting you in my heart ... but that's evident, because we can feel the ties even at this great distance! Can't wait to see ya again, love! {{{hugs}}}
Erin - it really wasn't your post that prompted the whole foods discussion. I had seen several meals along the same vein. Keep up the great work ... and hopefully you'll be able to post some progress pictures in a while, as *cough* that logo is somewhat, er, distracting ... LOL just kidding great inspiration and keep it real!
Rob - man, you're a tank. My wife was SO excited when I told her about your bodyblog and training. We have both been just incredibly inspired by you ... not the fact that you've overcome so much and built such an incredible physique, but just the compassion and generosity you so freely give, always. I really hope when you're in this area, we'll have the opportunity to meet up with you ... it's been too long, friend, since I sat next to you in Evansville while you were chomping on a Subway sandwich, LOL. Take care and keep training.
Ed - glad the whole foods advice stuck with you, and glad to see you still sticking with it. My e-mail is always open if you need anything, so just let me know. I enjoy your outtakes, you bring some much needed smiles to the daily readings with your own unique form of humor!
Jeff and Wendy - glory to Christ the Risen King! What a joy to see a couple working so hard, spreading so much inspiration, and filling the world with the light of the Gospel at the same time!!!! God bless you!
Tim - great to see your posts again, old friend. I see you are training just as hard as ever, and to be honest, many of your posts remind me of David Greenwalt. I haven't chatted with him in AGES, since I left the club, but I do miss his mentorship, he is who took me to the next level. I love the attitude, though - no fluffly, sugar-coatings, just direct advice - you want, do this, get it, stop messing around, go for it .... it's the type of attitude we sometimes need to get things done. Glad to hear your situation is improving ... and I may have missed it, but have you competed yet or are you planning to? I'd love to follow that!
Buzz - glad that the advice is helping you!!! I think you're making stellar progress and want to share what I can to help. There is no doubt in my mind with your drive, focus, and accountability by coming here, that you will achieve your goals. Great work so far!
Alex - YEAHHHHHH *high five* you're doing great, girl!!! So glad to see you sticking with it ... we're almost three weeks into this thing, we'll have to celebrate when we reach the finish line! What do you think, how about I post a GIF of a dessert? LOL. Keep it up, you are a large part of my inspiration to keep going day after day, and I appreciate ALL you share. God's peace to you.
Everyone - I apologize if I missed any personal shout outs. You all are an inspiration and I truly hope you have a wonderful, blessed weekend.
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/18/2003 7:30:19 AM |
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Strength and Muscle — Weight-lifting and iron game articles.