A mid-week update

Well Jude is in kindergarten now and the rest of us are settling into our new routine. We have been walking to school it is .9 miles one way. You have to live 1 mile from the school to get bused. Jude was kind of bummed out about not riding the bus to school. So, since Monday I have been walking 2.7 miles just taking Jude back and forth to school. Avery has been in the stroller or in the backpack on my back. Elise has been either on her little bike or in the stroller. I let Jude ride his bike to school and back from school to the house. According to the district rules, kids are not suppose to ride bikes to school because of the risk of getting hit by a car. I figured since I am with him I would let him ride his bike. But here's the catch, I have to bring the bike back home with me and take it back to the school for him to ride it. They don't have bike racks at the school. I was able to put it on the the handle bars of the stroller, I'll have to get a picture of it for you to see what it looks like.

I weighed in at 214 this morning and ran almost a mile also this morning. My left foot/ankle has been hurting like crazy. I think I twisted or sprained it on Sunday. The left side of my foot below my ankle is red and tender. It also it is a little puffy. I told Delilah that I have to work out through the pain. I've started and I don't want to quit, it will be that much harder to start back up again.

I guess I could get a hold of a Chicago personal injury lawyers and say that the city sidewalk caused my injury.

Workout Day 1

The potential to work with the APD has turned into a motivator to get back into shape. Last week I told Delilah that today August 25th was going to be the start of my workout program. I have decided to begin my work out program with 30 minutes of running/walking and then sit ups and push ups five days a week. Eventually I will work towards running three miles, when that takes place I will run three miles, three days a week and do some weight training the other two days at the Y. My goal is to drop from 217 pounds to 190 pounds for a total loss of 27 pounds almost 12.4% of my current weight.
Let's recap day one of my new workout plan.

• Man I am more out of shape than I realized
• Ran for 2 minutes
• Walked for 28 minutes

After the run/walk I did 20 sit ups and 13 push ups. It's much tougher to do those when your body is already a little tired.


Acne Cream

First Step

I have decided to apply for the written test to become an Akron Police Officer. Delilah and I discussed it at length and decided it would be a good idea to take the initial first step in the process. Akron seems to have a good program. Once you are in the academy you receive full pay. The down side about this is I pass everything we would have to move to Akron within 12 months. But there are some nice neighborhoods in Akron. I need to start getting my body in shape for the testing. If anything this will be a good motivator to get in shape. Maybe I should look into some promotional products.

The Story Behind the Pictures

Yesterday morning I looked outside the front window to see all these fire trucks. I was curious to see what was going on. I observed the guys in action. Or lack of action. My first clue that there was nothing serious going on was the lack of the fire trucks lights being on and the guys leisurely walking about. The firemen were doing a training exercise in the local metro park. Come to think of it. I've seen fire trucks lined up down the street before, but never thought more about it until now.

As anyone had a colon cleanser before?


See you on the flip side.

WW Views from the Front Porch

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

Delilah and I watched a movie over the course of a couple days. (Because we were so tired we had to turn it off and go to bed). WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price is a thought provoking movie. I suggest that everyone watch this movie. Take a look at the following:

Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed

• The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]
• One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
  • $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
  • $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
  • $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
  • $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
  • $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
  • $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
  [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]

Health care subsidies compared to executive compensation

• Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004.
• This $22 million could reimburse taxpayers in 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents. [Wal-Mart Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT, AL].

Your tax dollars subsidize Wal-Mart's growth

• The first ever national report on Wal-Mart subsidies documented at least $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments.
• A Wal-Mart official stated that "it is common" for the company to request subsidies "in about one-third of all [retail] projects." This would suggest that over a thousand Wal-Mart stores have been subsidized. ["Shopping For Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth," Good Job First, May 2004]

The above was taken from http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/#taxpayers

Please watch the following clips.







I don't think I'll be buying indoor lighting from Wal-Mart.

More Busy-ness

We've had another busy weekend/end of last week. My mom and dad came up late Wednesday and stayed through until Sunday afternoon. It was a good visit. Thursday we were able to get the mulching done around the house. Well, at least the large front flower bed and the 2 flower beds in the side yard. It looks soooo much better. It was full of weeds. Friday we had a semi-relaxing day. We went for a 1.8 mile hike in the Gorge Metro Park. It really is a beautiful park, it's just a shame that in certain spots that it really smells like sewer. Something needs to be done about it. Friday evening we headed to Ron's house for a cook out and a boat ride. The kids loved being on the boat. Avery even enjoyed it for the first little while, then I think she was tired of wearing her life jacket. On Saturday we headed to Amish World, as Jude called it. We visited some extended family and had a good meal in Mt Hope. Delilah and I with the kids headed back early because we had a ton of stuff to do for Sunday. We had Avery's birthday party on Sunday. It was fun. It's amazing how comfortable it was here at the house with all the people here. At the pink house it would have been cramped and you would probably needed to have tactical gear to get around all the people and kids running wildly. I think everyone had a good time. At least I hope they did.

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Madness

It always seems that Monday is turns into madness. Maybe I should check out the wine of the month to make things seem better for me on Monday's. Things seem to get done at a little bit of a slower pace. This is how would like my typical day to flow.

1. Get a shower and dressed before the kids get up
2. Eat a bowl of cereal before the kids get up
3. Read through the paper while sipping on my coffee before the kids get
4. Get the kids breakfast and dressed
5. Put Avery done for her morning Siesta usually around 8:30 or 9:00
6. Do a little school lesson with Jude while Avery is asleep
7. When Avery wakes up, get her dressed
8. Feed the kids lunch
9. Do an outside activity with the kids, usually go to the wading pool
10. Back for naps
11. While the kids are napping do some of my own school work from Upper Iowa University
12. Get the house picked up
13. Wait for momma to get home

I guess that is how my typical day would flow, except on Monday's of course. Because things always seem to get done a slower pace because of the weekend. Well, it's about that time. Time for lunch. PB&J sounds great today.

See you on the flip side.