Dreaming of a Life Less Ordinary

  Read ME.... In case you can't read Angela Stanford, my RD sent me the following message: "Saw you new socks on the blog.  You have passion and ferocity like Jaws! 🦈  It's what helps you move through obstacles and carry on with perseverance I admire.  Have a fantastic day! 💪" All I could answer back with was "This is the coolest things I've heard in a long time 💛💛" because it was and it is.  Of course what I meant to say was "This is one of the coolest things I've heard in a long time 💛💛". However typos and missed words is one of the charms of reading Billy b.  I am a train wreck when it comes to grammar.   This message meant the world to me.  It made me feel so much pride.  When I stop and think about it I am like Jaws.  I do attack things with passion and ferocity.  I don't think I would every say that on my own.  I don't think of myself that way.  Sometimes, you get things and hear things when you need to.  I have a couple

  After II Before After I I had known it was time for a change for a while.  It had been three+ years since I had really cut my hair.  Yes, I kept the sides shaved and the top pulled back, and kept a nice warrior style hair thing going on, but my hair had become ratty, unhealthy and stringy.  I really didn't like the way it looked when it wasn't pulled back into a man bun.  I almost pulled the trigger last time I went to see Ivan at the Livermore Barbershop Emporium but I didn't.  I figured maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.   However, my sister Heidi and her girls let me know it was every bit as stringy and damaged as I thought it was.  Allie and I even sat outside a barbershop in the Haute as I debated getting it cut off.  However, at the end of the day I didn't feel like I could do that to Ivan.  He had become my go to for beard and hair trims over the last year.  So, I decided that I would wait until I got back to California and get back in to see him b

Just when you thought it was safe to get your mail.... duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn...   The socks are awesome!  Aren't they cool?  I love them.  Thank you very much Angela Stanford.  It’s really an awesome way of wishing me a healthy recovery!  For those of you who don't know, Angela is my dietician and has been instrumental in my success so far getting my life bak on the healthy side.  I am sure the socks will get plenty of comments when I get back out on the bike.  Yesterday was a great day.  Very relaxing day.  How can it not be when you day consists of two episodes of Justice League Unlimited, two episodes of Star Wars Rebels, and a few Family Guy episodes.  Then we capped it off with Batman Forever.  I loved Val Kilmer as Batman.  The movie held up ok.  I have always had issues with the Joel Schumacher's take on the Gotham Bat.  It is a little too campy for me.  I think they ruined Harvey Two F

  If you had told me 7 years ago when I moved into this house I’d be able to fit into this bath tub, I would have told you that you were nuts.  I barely fit into the thing to shower.  However, 7 years and over 200 pounds can have quite the impact on you.  So, when I got into the tub to today to take a sitz bath I was amazed that I not only fit but I could move around freely and sit and stand without any assistance or great effort.  My the world for me certainly has changed.   It makes me really happy and proud that I can do things I never thought I’d be able to do  again.  Taking a bath in this tub is just one of those things.    Overall the stomach portion of surgery seems to be fine as of today.  The soreness is really gone.  Although I still have significant bruising on one of the four little areas they made incisions for the gallbladder surgery.  However getting in and out of bed the pain is primarily gone.  So long as I follow the doctors orders I expect that the recovery from gal

Pre-op Photo   On the mend! Well I can’t say that Friday was enjoyable:  getting up at 4:30, being at the hospital by six.   Having my gallbladder taken out and a polyp take from a very personal place all before 10 a.m.  Other than feeling like I’ve don’t to many crunches, feeling like I have to go potty all the time, and feeling tired I actually feel pretty good.   Apparently going into surgery with a beard is not the way to go into surgery.  The Anesthesiologist gave me the business about having a beard. Apparently, they can't get a good seal if things go wrong.  So, I should have listened to my sister Heidi and shaved prior to the surgery.  I could have sworn after my las procedure they said I didn't have to shave, but oh well.  Another funny was in the OR they were trying to put some tabs on me.  The anesthesiologist said try to find a place without any hair and the RN said well that is no where.  I guess I am a hairy beastie.  I always knew I was part yeti.    I have to sa

  The Last Goodbye I Swear:  A Cafe Ride I got my wires crossed and I misspoke last time.  When I said it was my last ride, I meant it was my last ride outside until July 15.  So, my ride got canceled in the app today.  So, I took this as an opportunity to get outside and ride just one more time before surgery :)  I promise this is the last time I say this is my last ride.  Pinky promise.   It’s the last goodbye I swear! I couldn’t help it, I double checked the training app.  I texted my coach.  I wanted to make sure today was really open.  It was.  I looked at my work calendar and I said fuck it!  I’m riding.  I had the time open.  I had the desire.  So out I went.   It was a cafe ride.  An easy ride through the neighborhood.  However some jackass had got me all worked up in my last meeting so, it was hard for me to keep my tempo low.  I wanted to rage.  I wanted to ride hard.  I wanted to go hit a hill.  However, I did my best to keep it light and keep my HR down.  I tried to ride lo

The out pouring of support I got after my last post was remarkable.  I’m so happy to know that I have so many people who support me.  I’m blessed with good people in my life. I am healthy and beautiful was the positive ritual that I read this morning.  I like it you know I do.  I like to spend time in the mornings focusing on health both mental and fiscal before I start the day:  So, I got a book with positive mantras in it and I read it just about every morning.  I am healthy and beautiful. The next to last ride : Saturday was supposed to be my last ride outside until after surgery.  So David came up and we set out at 9:30.  The photo from above is from that ride.  I kept meaning to take a photo on the ride but I kept forgetting.  So we took one when we got home.  Better late than never as they say.   The ride Saturday was great!  It was supposed to be a hilly ride.  I honestly thought I had put together one for us.  However,  either I am a much better ride than a year ago or the firs

I road last Sunday.     By myself.     I headed out after doing a workout and walk with Clayton, my personal trainer.     I have one hour and forty-seven minutes of riding to do.     It was great to be back outside on my bike. I had been out on Friday, doing a nice and relaxing recovery ride for an hour.       Sunday’s ride was a little different because on Sunday I knew 100% for sure that all my summer plans were in jeopardy.  Last week I found out that my gallbladder had to come out, that was Wednesday.  I guess I had known for a long time it needed to come out, but it became official on June 7 th .  If that wasn’t bad enough, on June 9 th  I found out that a polyp had to come out as well.  The good news with that is that I can get that done at the same time as the gallbladder, so I was getting twopher.  Like the two for one special, instead we are talking about only being off my blood thinner and under anesthesia one time.     The surgeries come with three weeks without riding, swim