Right. Down. The Middle.

Guess what? I haven't written in a while. I do have a reason though. Before I proceed I will warn you that this is going to be lengthy.

OK... here we go! First a few points. In July I rode my scooter to Helen, GA and stayed for a few days. I started writing what would become a 18 page blog entry that I never posted here. I will say that I did learn a few things about myself though and a lot of what I learned is good. Anyway by the time I'd stopped writing I had covered several hundred miles riding from Georgia through Alabama and then onto Mississippi ultimately ending up just shy of the Texas border in the town of Bossier City, Louisiana where I stayed for a few days before heading back to Georgia. Now rather then recap everything I wrote down I'll just pick up with what's going on today.

It's Wednesday evening and the weather is cooling. The leaves are barely starting to turn, but you have to look close to notice them. My grass is growing very slowly, fighting hibernation and my pool is all but useless unless you're brave ( which I was Saturday night... COLD ). I always seem to get so depressed in the fall as the holiday season fast approaches, but this year may be different in some ways. Oh sure there will be the inevitable arguments with my father, the stress of never having enough money to buy everything I want for all the people I want to buy for this Christmas and the painful look in the mirror and seeing that I didn't lose as much weight as I'd planned. You know what? All that ( well sans the arguing with Dad ) looks like it's going to be different this year. I've been blessed!

For starters I'm in the process of slowly but precisely getting my own business(s) off the ground. I'm embarking on a journey to places I've never been and I'm excited. I have very little to lose and so much to gain. I'm using and stretching my brain and the feeling is wonderful. I finally see the light ahead. I no longer feel trapped in my job and know now that it's only a stepping stone. I make just enough to keep the bills paid and put aside a few dollars if I discipline myself, but this is going to change. Soon I will be living a dream of mine. Will I become instantly wealthy? Maybe but I will be self employed!

Secondly I have found a very special friend. "D" from one of my earlier posts. Now I'm not going into a whole lot of detail, but I will say that feeling needed and trusted and loved are so great that there is nothing more a human could strive for. It's the ultimate gift from God other than that of his own son. The only other thing I can say is that I'm glad I have more time to save for Christmas because I hope to give him and his sister a great one.

Now the book: In late 2005 I read a book called The Abs Diet by the editor of MensHealth Magazine and it changed my life. By late 2006 I had went from a weak and obese 280+ pounds to a strong and lean 160+/- body with a nicely defined midsection. I did this by following the rules of the book. I simply ate healthy and I ate a lot! I ate more than I ever did at any other time in my life and lost weight. I exercised 3 days a week and sometimes four. I ran or walked on the treadmill six days a week for 30 minutes. That's it. I ate healthy and exercised no more than an hour a day on average for six days a week. I continued to do this for about two years and during this time I was completely off of any and all depression medication. I felt confident and was proud of my body. I miss that feeling so I'm rereading the book and am starting the journey back this weekend with a trip to the grocery store.
I did it once and I can do it again. This time I'm right at 200 pounds and my goal is to bulk back up and hit the 165 mark on the scale.

Other than that it's business as usual. I only work 3, maybe 4 days a week at my regular job and have dedicated my " off " days to working on my own business projects as well as the usual yard work, etc and the best part of all is I get to spend time with "D".

Well I have a plan, it's in motion. I can sway back to the way things were and get depressed or I can stay right where I am now, at the starting line OR I can take off so the next time I write hopefully I'll get an A on my progress report.