Out of shape

Ok, I think the time has come to back away from the table a little bit. When I came home from Africa in 2002, I weighed 175 lbs. Now, I'm a whopping 215. The way I see it, I've got about 30-40 lbs I could lose comfortably. I've really become more sedentary since I graduated from nursing school. At graduation I was 190 lbs. I haven't gotten any taller that I'm aware of and I'm not exercising like I was when I was in school, so 2+2=4. Genetics are not in my favor either. I look at pictures from just a year or two ago and think, what have I done to myself?? So, my goal is to be down to 200 by year's end. Hard to do with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. It's no good to have a goal without objectives to accomplish them so here it goes:

1. Absolutely no fast food.
2. Absolutely no sodas. Water, milk, juice only.
3. Smaller portions (Leah, you're gonna have to fix my plate) and healthier choices.
4. Do that exercise video on nights I'm off work (hey, it's a good workout!!) and run early in the morning.
5. Run stairs each night I'm at work.

I think by following these guidelines I can lose 20 lbs by the end of the year. So, y'all encourage me and make sure I'm on track.

ROLL TIDE!!!!!

It's here. Today is the kickoff of Alabama football for the 2007 season. Of course, Western Carolina will be a cakewalk, but after all, this is the first game we will see coached by Nick Saban. We'll get some questions answered, albeit not all of them. I imagine we'll see a lot more against Vanderbilt next weekend. I keep hearing all these analysts talking about Alabama will only win 6 or 7 games this year. They don't think we can handle the likes of Georgia or Auburn and certainly not LSU. Well, we'll see. I know this is a rebuilding year. I know it will not be a perfect year and we will lose some games. Let's be reasonable. But some folks better think again. We will win some games people don't expect us to win. And I'm afraid if LSU thinks they'll come in and have a easy game, they're gonna be a little disappointed. Sure, LSU may win the game, but Alabama will give them a run for their money. Expect Alabama to be in a BCS game in about 2-3 years. Expect us to be in a BCS national title game in 3-4 years. And for all you haters from Miami and everywhere else who think Saban will never win a national championship at Alabama, that's just wishful dreaming, but your nightmare is coming true soon enough. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!

One year wiser...

Well, I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. 27 now. I can't believe how time has gone so quickly. I've been so busy at work and I just started back to school last week. I'm working on my bachelor's degree in nursing and my master's in nursing. I'll have the former next summer and the latter in the spring of 2009. It's all online, so I'll be able to do it on my nights off work. Just gotta be disciplined. Hopefully the next couple of years will go kind of quickly so I can get this over with and move on the bigger and better things. I enjoy my work, but it's certainly not what I want to do my whole life. Nursing is a great career, but I don't want to be at the bedside forever. There are so many other opportunities.

Blog recommendation

I just wanted to encourage everyone to visit Evangelicals for Mitt. It is a blog promoting Mitt Romney for President of the United States of America. Sure, I'm a Latter-day Saint, and I'll vote for him and hope he wins. I believe he is the only man qualified to run the most powerful nation on earth from either party, not just because we're both "Mormons", but because he's the most qualified. If you don't think so, check out what these evangelical christians are saying!! It's not all about theology, which they clearly don't agree with. It's about who has the right values and leadership qualities. Think about it, do we really want Hillary in the White House for another 4 to 8 years?? The Clintons have had their go and caused enough trouble. Let's vote for a President who will bring honor and integrity and yes, good conservative family values to the White House. Check out the blog, I've got a link to it on the side bar with my favorite links.

I Love Harry Potter!!!

It's finally here!! Book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and I could not possibly be more excited. Yes, I'm 27 years old (almost), and I am a huge Harry Potter fan...boy I feel better after getting that out. You know I heard a couple of morning talk show hosts here in B'ham last week and they insinuated that adults who like Harry Potter are immature losers with whom they would have nothing in common and nothing to talk about. To which I say, get over it. You obviously don't have kids, or a life for that matter. Sure, there are those who just never get into stuff like this. It's not their cup of tea, doesn't float their boat, their just interested in other things. But those who go on radio and say things like I heard last week are the same who don't like to read because it might just make them have to use their heads and think. These are the people who don't read anything. Not much of a personality, just rednecks trying to make themselves feel better by trying to seem "above" reading a kids' book. I've already read over half and intend to finish by the middle of the week. Let me tell you, this book is not for 8 year olds. It requires a little more maturity because of the content. Now, I'm not going to give anything away for those who haven't read it yet. Just so I don't come off as someone who only reads books intended for a younger audience, I read a lot of other things too. I've recently read an archaeological book about the tombs around Jerusalem, one about UFO sitings around the world (pretty interesting), a John Grisham novel, my ESPN the Magazines, church magazines, scriptures. I try to read a little of something everyday. Keeps the mind sharp. So for those out there who want to act all big and tough and impress your friends by saying you'd never read a Harry Potter book or go to a Harry Potter movie, I say, "Grow Up!!" Get married and have kids. You'd be surprised what you watch and read. I think you'd find a little more enjoyment in life and find out that Harry Potter and other works of fiction are actually very cool indeed.

Cindy Sheehan is crazy

What the crap is this lady's problem?? Look, I know your son died in the line of duty. He swore an oath to protect this country. He did what he was supposed to be doing. As a cardiac nurse, I deal with death often. I have lost loved ones taken prematurely. I know the pain and the suffering that it brings. But come on... Cindy Sheehan is calling for the immediate removal from office of Pres. Bush and Vice Pres. Cheney. She swears that they are not going to leave office quietly. Who the crap does she think Bush is, Idi Amin?? He's not a dictator planning on squashing any rebellion. He's a President. And when his term is over, he'll go home, probably very relieved that he doesn't have such a great responsibility on his shoulder anymore. And now, to top it all off, she is running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the upcoming election if Pelosi does not move for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. She actually thinks she can win. This is laughable at best. She even made a statement that said, in effect, that the Congress was only concerned about special interest groups and she would eradicate that. Get a clue lady!!! You are a special interest case. You want to be voted into Congress for one purpose and one purpose only - to stop the war in Iraq. You have no other thought or idea or agenda that will benefit American citizens except to bring soldiers home from Iraq. Don't get me wrong. My brother-in-law was there at the start of the war and sustained injuries in battle. My brother is scheduled to go next month. I don't want my little brother to go. I wish my brother-in-law didn't have to go through the experiences he had. But guess what, Cindy, you have no place in politics. Your crusade is not a valid reason to be elected into the United States House of Representatives. You cannot represent your constituents because you have one agenda, and from what I can tell, do not care about anything else. How can you possibly think you can be a leader of a Congressional district with no political experience other than camping outside the President's ranch? You are not the only person to lose a child in this war. I am sorry for your loss, I truly am. I am sorry for every life lost and send my condolences to all their families. But even if elected, the President would be gone, mark my words. There's no need for alarm!! He cannot disregard the Constitution and stay in office after January 20, 2009. That is just about the most unintelligent thing I have ever heard anyone say. But go ahead and run. It is your right to do so. There's no chance of a victory against the Speaker of the House, but go ahead, waste your time and ours. Troop withdrawal is inevitable. It's going to happen. I don't think any Republican can win the Presidency this election. And when a Democrat comes to office, one of the first things to happen will surely be a rapid withdrawal of our military from Iraq. And let it be. Those people cannot live in a democracy. For thousands of years they've had a king or dictator of some sort. It's all they know. It's in their genetic makeup at this point. Let them have a civil war, let some leader emerge victorious and bring peace to the country. We cannot assume to force democracy on every nation. Saddam was a tyrant and needed to be taken out. I support that. But now we need to step back and let them work it out and create a government that will work for them. I can't think of a better way to solve their problems. I'm not sure Americans can come up with a better way. We don't think like they do. We don't experience what they do. We don't have their culture or way of life. But I'm sure they can figure it out.

What's up with the USA?

Something is really wrong in this country. The news in the last couple of weeks has been full of stories about men who go off the deep end and take the lives of their wives/girlfriends and even worse, their innocent children. Then some, like the wrestler, take their own lives. You know, if you're gonna off yourself anyway, just do that and spare the wife and kids and let them live their lives. I had a good friend growing up who was chased down and killed by her husband just before he killed himself. He was stopped by local law enforcement from committing suicide just the day before. Since he was so determined to do himself in, why couldn't he have left her alone and let her go on with her life. She would certainly have been better off. The problem was prophesied a long time ago. Jesus said about the last days, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Isn't this what we have seen? The answer is a return to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Putting God first in this country would go a long way. However, as a whole, this nation will continue to become more sinful. These are the last days and things will get worse before they get better. It would be nice though, to have a break from these horrendous reports in the news.

ROLL TIDE!!!!!