August 10, 2008: Last Tune Up

Today was our last practice before the softball season officially starts. Our first game is Tuesday evening. My shoulder felt much better today. I was able to warm up with the heavy tennis ball, it really loosened up my shoulder. The heavy tennis ball is simply a normal tennis ball with a slit cut into it in order to fill it with pennies. It makes the ball much heavier than a softball so when you actually throw the softball it feels as light as a balloon. I also found out that I am the youngest male on the team. At 37 was surprised. What is worse, I feel the least in shape compared to the other men. I guess that is why I am going to the gym nearly everyday.

Michelle donated the day bed today. She gave it to a coworker. It isn't really sad, but it was Evan's first bed, and had been for such a long time. I remember tying the day bed and trundle together to make a gigantic sized bed for Evan early on. We thought that since he was so restless at night the huge bed would make it easier for him. I think we were mistaken. Eventually we shrunk the bed back down to size. I am really glad Evan likes his new bed. He loves the loft and plays up there whenever he can. He loves to show it off whenever someone new comes over. If he didn't like his new bed, I am sure we would hear about how he misses his old bed.

This is my last week of the summer coming up, and no, I am not looking for sympathy. I doubt I would get it from anyone who hasn't been off for the last eight weeks! I am not as disappointed as I have been with my summers in the past. In years past I have felt like I have not done enough with Evan, but this year it is different, I feel we did plenty. So I do not go back with any regrets. I hope that will make me better prepared, mentally to start the semester.

August 9, 2008: Just Another Saturday

Nothing all that spectacular today. Michelle had an appointment this morning with her trainer at the gym, Evan and I caught up with her about 11:30 at the pool. I proceeded to work out while they hung out poolside. For some reason, I feel as though it is taking me way too long to get through my routine. I probably shouldn't feel that way when you consider I spend about 20 minutes stretching to start, 25 minutes on the elliptical to wrap up, and about 20 minutes showering and getting dressed after. That is over an hour right there. Add in about an hour on the weights and such, and that adds up to 2 hours or more. If I am even contemplating going to the gym in the mornings before school (which means I'd have to be at the gym between 5 and 5:15 in the morning) I better make sure I speed things up and find a more efficient use of my time.

Next Evan had soccer practice from 3 until 4. The humidity wasn't too bad today so sitting in the sun was bearable. Evan is getting a little better I think. He is definitely showing signs of more strength in his kicks, but he is still a bit timid. That is OK, when the time comes he will step it up. Until then, as long as he is having fun. His first game is a week from today, he plays the Lizards, Chris' team.

This evening, we watch Chris and Brendan while Peter and Katie went out to dinner for their anniversary. Evan was very excited, and has been all week. Everyday he was counting down the days until Saturday. While they were here they spent a good amount of time playing in Evan's room. Now that he has his new bed, his room has become infinitely cooler!

August 5, 2008: Did I Need that Wall?

Yay! Evan's bed came today. The same delivery men brought the bed and again, they did not want to bring the big section (the stairs) up the stairs. The odd turn on the stairs makes it difficult to bring large objects/furniture upstairs. So I told them to leave that piece downstairs and I will get it up there. Dan, myself, and my neighbor Josh gave it a good effort but with the same result. It would not fit. And now we were stuck with the bed since it was out of the box. Basically, come hell or high water, that stair section was making it upstairs. So logically, we did what any clear thinking individual would do and knocked down a wall. Now we would have a straight shot up the stairs. It was no problem whatsoever. Just add another project to the long list - who ever said it is better to own a house?

As a result of this new project, I did not have time to get to the gym today. In reality, I could go now, but after all that today, I think it will wait until tomorrow morning after I drop Evan off at school. Believe it or not, after those seven straight day, I am already seeing a difference. I am very excited, by the time we go to Disney in October I will need all new shorts! Other than that, well, wasn't that enough for one day?

Wasn't there a wall here?

Who is crooked, Evan or the house?

Evan likes his new bed!

I would swear that just this morning there was a wall there.

Did I need that wall?

August 4, 2008: Time Out!

I took a time out today from the gym. My shoulder was really hurting me this morning when I woke up, and my quads are feeling tired. So I decided to skip a day. So if I hit the gym 7 out of 8 days, it is pretty good track record. In fact, I even took a time out from softball today. I decided that I just needed a day of rest and hopefully tomorrow I will be back up and ready to go.

I watched The Good Shepherd on HBO this afternoon. It is a long movie, and sad too. I won't get into it in case you want to see it, but I got fixated on the whole family aspect of the film. I felt that it earned 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Tomorrow Evan's bed will be delivered, again. This time we will keep it. In fact, I think I will sign for it to be out of the box and then still have the delivery men take it upstairs and assemble it.

July 9, 2008: No Bed

The big event for today was the delivery of Evan's new bed. It was going to be REALLY cool, with a loft, a desk, a twin bed below, and stairs. Evan was even excited to get it, more excited than upset to be losing his old bed. The delivery from Rooms to Go was scheduled for somewhere between 2-4pm. And I know that you must be thinking that they never showed up, but you would be wrong. What happened was even worse. The solid stairs section of the bed set would not fit up the stairs in the box and I was a little worried to take it out of the box and still not be able to get it up the stairs and then be stuck with a piece of furniture I could not use. So here we are, Evan's old bed dismantled and downstairs in the playroom, and him sleeping on the two mattresses set on the floor in his room. Bummer. Tomorrow he and I will head back up to Rooms to Go to measure the piece out of the box and then come home and figure out if it would be able to fit up the stairs. I have a feeling it will, but we'll see.

Picture of the bed set from Rooms to Go