Boo

I've worked around the achilles situation this week. Gradually doing more leg work until I feel comfortable getting back to squatting and deadlifting. I did a few laps up and down a steep hill behind my house every morning. Just walked it early in the week and have now added a weighted backpack for resistance. I got into rucking a few years ago and, for whatever reason, just kind of forgot about it. I'm definitely going to make it a part of my routine again. Looking at spending some time this weekend with a pick axe, pole saw, and fire rake cleaning up new foot trails on the hill. During my upper body strength work, I rediscovered the barbell pullover. Again, an exercise I've done in the past that I shelved along the way. It's a great lift that works the upper back, shoulders, and chest. Also gives a nice bit of thoracic extension and scapular retraction. Two things that most, if not all of us, could use more of in our life. If there's an upside to injury, it would be that it forces us to scramble a bit and get creative.

Great job Paul. Congratulations. Thanks for being one of the quitters who showed the way to those of us that followed your path.

Toorah, Loorah, Toorah, Loorah, Ay!

I'm not typically the sensitive type. However, I was a bit offended when a friend of mine said: "Boo's the kind of guy that buys his clothes at the hardware store." That hit a little close to home. I did buy my favorite jacket at Ace Hardware. It keeps me warm on cold days. It keeps me dry on rainy days. It fits like a glove...What more could you want from a jacket? The catwalks of Milan and Paris will just have to wait.

Yep.

Feeling more trendy and hip than usual. I've reached that point in life where by the time I hear about a trend, it's already falling out of fashion. However, with lumber supplies low and prices rising folks on the interwebs are looking into "recycled wood." Hip urbanites are figuring out how to build furniture using old pallets. I've been using old pallets to build things for a couple of years now. And I have access to a bunch of pallets. While I recognize it is a fleeting thing, I'm enjoying temporarily feeling like a cool guy.

Good job Kris. Congratulations. Commence with the celebration.

Welcome aboard the Train John. Taking your life back is always a good call. You've dealt with adversity. You committed to a goal of losing weight and been successful with that. You can absolutely quit smoking. We know you can, it's important that you know you can. Looking ahead at quitting smoking can be more stressful than the quit itself. It's like a hiker standing at the base of a mountain. The mountain looks imposing, perhaps even insurmountable from a distance. Then he starts the journey and finds it to be a series of smaller challenges: a climb here, a scramble there. He keeps moving, putting challenges behind him, and eventually he reaches the summit. The view from the top makes the climb worth it. The process of quitting will challenge you, but it will reward you many times over.

I'll gladly chuck 60,950 coffin nails on the pyre.

Good job Dianne.

They're really rockin' in Ogden...

The Gus Bus is really rolling now. Drive on!

Dealing with a slight flare up of achilles tendinitis. Ever since I tore my left achilles tendon about twenty years ago, this happens from time-to-time. Took yesterday off. Did a gym bro workout this morning. No legs. No conditioning. Just upper body work. I did the bench press, seated overhead presses, and bench rows. Finished up with bicep curls to really complete the whole bro life theme of my workout. If I owned one of those "Suns Out, Guns Out" tank-tops, today would have been a perfect day to wear it.

I like The Monkees. Unironically. They had some good songs.

I'm a sucker for those over-the-top, some might say cheesy, ballads.

There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright... Guilty pleasure or not, when that chorus kicks in I'm belting it out...much to the chagrin of everyone within earshot.

And since Jo already suggested that liking this song meant I needed to turn in my "man card", might as well post it again.

I don't think I'm alone here...some of us have those songs that we like in spite of not wanting to admit that we like them. For me personally, many of these songs are tunes that were popular in the eighties. They were songs that my sister liked, so me being the pesky little brother that I was spoke often of how terrible those songs were. It was a pointless debate, but I would say things like: "Duran Duran sucks! Van Halen rules!" Heard one of those songs while I was eating lunch this afternoon. Now, I can confess that I looked this song up and listened to it again.

Top-shelf quit. Congratulations Babs.

That old head rush was what pulled me into being a full-fledged smoker. I was doing a bit of underage drinking with my friends. One of my buddies told me: "if you smoke while you drink, it will make you buzz harder." Smoked about ten cigarettes that night. Woke up the next day wanting more nicotine. And an addiction was born. Fortunately, most of the stupid decisions I made as a teenager were easily left in the past. Those cigarettes I smoked that night represented a bad decision that would continue to be repeated for the next twenty-five years.

I heard this song on a commercial last night. I don't remember what they were trying to sell...good song though.