Flamingo on a Stick

Great slide into 2nd base! I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday weekend, I know we are. I also hope we all take time to remember those that have fought so that we can enjoy this country we live in. Their sacrifice is what has made it possible to live in a free nation. To all who have served, to all who have fought, to all who have given their lives for our country, we give you our thanks, which seems hardly enough for all you have done. Walt and John enjoy the game. We had a few rain showers come through late in the week which was good as it was getting a little dry, nothing like out West but too dry for this agricultural area. Some severe thunderstorm warnings but no tornado warnings for which we give a sigh of relief. John’s brother called and decided to visit Thursday to Sunday so we have had company and that has kept us busy. We went to dinner in Iowa City Thursday night. Walt(John’s brother) went to medical school in Iowa City (also my alma mater) so it was fun ...

I know I have written before about the resistance training John and I are doing is from a guy named Mark Lauren and his book "You are Your Own Gym".  On Sparkpeople today I blogged about trying to track my progress with some fitness testing they recommend and I thought since I really don't have much to talk about otherwise I'd share what I wrote in that blog, so here it is. After about 10 weeks on Mark Lauren's basic program, I knew I could not pass the test to move on to the First Class program so I was looking for a way to measure my progress other than just his test. I know I have gained strength but his programs are very challenging and it may take awhile yet before I move up. So in looking around Sparkpeople I found the fitness testing article and decided to do the fitness tests and use them to chart my progress. So today I did the 1 mile walk test, pushup test and crunch test. I don't have a very good way to do the step up test so for me my aero...

From their website I discovered a new online site in my quest for a healthier life. I have been looking for a online site that would help me track my progress. A few years ago I used Weight Watchers Online and was considering it again. It has many great tools including a recipe builder and online support but I am not a fan of the point system. I know lots of people find that easier but for me if I am going to journal my meals I want numbers. Before RVing when I worked with a trainer I used the Bodybugg system. You actually wear a devise on your arm that monitors the calories you burn, you then upload that info the their site (techies would love this ) and you have those numbers I like, you also track your food and if you do the math right you loose weight. There is no cheating or fooling yourself on this system. If you aren’t loosing weight you are overestimating your food intake because the calorie in/calorie out equation doesn’t lie. John will tell you it follows the basic ru...

Emily and Mitch This first week back in Iowa has been a time of reconnecting with my boys. We did see Mitch on Mother’s day for a short time but he called and wanted to go to dinner on Wednesday evening as his girlfriend Emily was in town. Emily is from NE Iowa and goes to school near here in Iowa City. Classes are over so she is spending some time at home and some time here with Mitch but soon will be off for a semester abroad in Spain.  We went to dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant: Haciendas Las Glorias. In all the time we have spent in the southwest we have seldom come across food as good and have never come across margaritas as good as this restaurant has. I will say John now makes a margarita to rival theirs but it might be a toss up. It was excellent as usual and the time with Mitch and Emily was great. John and Gabe at Kernels game Thursday Gabe came to town to talk to his insurance agent. He can no longer be on our insurance in June and they wer...

Bridge on the trail at Morgan Creek Our intention when we set out on Sunday was to drive to a reservoir north of DesMoines IA, the Saylorville Reservoir and stay there for maybe 3 days to a week but that was not to be. The traffic wasn’t bad as it was Mother’s day but to Des Moines is about 5+ hours. We got there just fine only to find out they only had one non-reservable site left. We checked that out but it had a low hanging branch that made it unusable. I didn’t make reservations because I really thought this early in the season there would be spots available after the weekend groups started leaving.  I usually always have a plan B but I was so certain it wouldn’t be a problem that I skipped plan B. Murphy’s law at work. We decided to drive on to Cedar Rapids and the county parks there, another 2+ hours away. I did text my friend Trudy and they checked Morgan Creek Campground near them and said there were plenty of spots open so it was back on the road. It turned out fin...

Welcome to the prairie! Go Audra! After a great week in Loveland it was time to move on. My youngest brother lives in Grand Island Nebraska so we decided to make that trip in one hop. We don’t usually travel that far in a day but there really wasn’t anywhere along the way we were interested in staying. It was about a 7 hour drive and then we lost an hour with a time zone change, so about 5pm we arrived at Hall county park just south of Grand Island. We stayed here last fall and it is a gem a park. It is a small park with only a little over 20 RV sites, 50 amp electric only but it costs just $15 a night. Originally we were going to stay just 3 nights but with Mother’s day this weekend we opted for 6. We will actually be taking off tomorrow on Mother’s Day for Des Moines. We are hoping for less traffic that way and with Mother’s day over we shouldn’t have trouble getting a site at the Saylorville Reservoir. Our week here with family has been fun. John got to put his ha...

It has been a really fun week. Monday we moved to Loveland Colorado and Boyd Lake State Park. Friends Dixie and Dan live here and we have been spending time with them, lots of stories and laughs. National Institute for Atmospheric Research Boulder Mall Dan & John On Wednesday they took us to Boulder. Dixie and Dan both have moms that live there. Dixie’s mom is having health issues and we dropped her off at her mom’s for a few hours. Dan gave us a tour of the area he grew up in and up to the National Institute of Atmospheric Research. Coffee in the Boulder pedestrian mall (reminds me so much of Iowa City) and then we stopped by and met Dan’s mom, she is a delight.  It was then off to pick Dixie up. All our samples, he added one more later Dan, Dixie, Janie, & John Dixie decided that for lunch we should go to a little sandwich shop she likes. What a surprise when we pulled up and saw a grain bin. This was not just a sandwich shop it was ...