Archive for the ‘Supportive Partner Woman’ Category

Archnemesis Scale

Posted: February 26, 2013 in Bariatric surgery, Cooking, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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Have I mentioned how much I loathe the scale?

It sits there, silently taunting me. Daring me to step on and try my luck.

“C’mon, big boy… you know you want to see how awesome you did.”

Then, without warning, the scale kicks you in the cojones. It’s like Charlie Brown and the football. Good grief.

So, as you can probably tell, I had a weigh-in today. There was good and bad news. The good news is I lost around 3 pounds. The bad news is that I thought I lost a lot more than that. I certainly feel like I did.

All that being said, things are finally progressing to the next step. I’ll need to get a pre-op physical and attend pre-op class. In the meantime, I need to keep a downward weight trend going on. I planned on that, regardless.

They told me I can expect a call from the coordinator sometime this week to get things rolling.

Shit just got real.

In other news, Supportive Partner Woman (fine cook in her own right!) collaborated on a yummy low-carb dinner last night. I made roasted buffalo sirloin and she made portobello mushroom caps stuffed with crab imperial. Topped off with some tasty veg. The nutrition facts on buffalo are crazy. One sirloin has 40 grams of protein! Coupled with low fat and plenty of taste, well, you can’t go wrong. I added a photo of the label. It’s a smidge cut off, but you can see it.

I’ll keep you posted on dates and whatnot.

Have a great day!

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My best food behavior

Posted: February 19, 2013 in Exercise, Goals, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, The Rec, Walking, Weight loss
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It was a good day, after a bad one. Although, when you’re dealing with a family member with medical problems, that can be the norm. After Supportive Partner Woman (Worker of crazy hours!)’s mother fell and had to go to the emergency room on Sunday, we did manage to get a bit of a date night in on Monday. I won’t say much regarding the fall, just that she wasn’t hurt and we did actually meet an ER doc with a sense of humor. This guy, an osteopath, was wearing a button that said, “Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

We managed to get away from the ER for a few minutes to snag some dinner. We did our typical Sunday run to Chipotle. I had my usual burrito bowl and I’, proud to note that I only wind up eating about 1/3 of the meal. I don’t know how I used to managed to eat a whole bowl, along with a half a bag of chips AND two sodas.

After mom was released, we did head home with a detour to the grocery store. I needed to pick up distilled water for my CPAP machine. Yes, along with the diabetes and obesity, I suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. This thing has done wonders for my sleep habits, but it’s still a colossal pain in the ass, especially for travel. You have to make sure you leave enough room in your luggage for the machine, the mask, the hoses, etc. I usually leave the water tank at home, just to save space. It does require distilled water to operate the humidification, so if you want to have that, you need to bring the water with you or locate it, and since it usually only comes in a gallon, there’s transport involved or you just waste it. The point of the whole story is that we did some grocery shopping, headed home and I looked at SPW and said, “Oh, damn… we forgot the distilled water.”

Sigh… a senior moment.

Anyway, SPW wasn’t working yesterday, so we were going to consider going to a movie. You know, kind of a date night sort of thing. Timing got screwed up, so we wound up taking advantage of a free burger at Red Robin coupon that I had gotten for my birthday. I ordered my usual, a bacon cheeseburger with provolone on a ciabatta roll. I also opted for a cup of chili. I did get fries with my burger, so not the healthiest choice, but when all was said and done, I left about half the fries on the plate, as well as ¾ of the bun. Again… this is usually a place where I’d scarf the burger AND fries, then order more fries. I am making some progress.

After that, we paid a visit to the pet store, just to look at the bunnies. I know it chips away at my manly cred, but I do have a weakness for cute animals, and, well, there was one that I just wanted to take home. He (she?) had an on hold tag on the pen, though, but his little lop ears were just begging to be snorgled. There was also a dwarf bunny that reminded me of a pic I had seen on Cute Overload. I’ll post it along with this entry.

So, moving on into today, I had a really good workout. 47 minutes, averaging 3.00 mph. I did the first five minutes at 2.5, then the rest at 3.1. It was my best average speed yet. I would like to get to a point where I can do the 3.1 for an entire hour. This will make the 5K more palatable, if I can get it done in under an hour. I hope that once I’m free of the 160 pounds of excess weight, I will be able to walk faster and have that much less pain in my joints.

One of the cool features of the treadmills at the rec is that they have a USB port on them. You can attach a thumb drive and store your workouts and results. Supportive Partner Woman went to a conference last year and came home with a really cool promo flash drive that she gave to me. It’s from Dole, and it’s shaped like a banana. There’s also a keychain attached to it, so I can keep it attached to my gym bag. It works perfectly and allows me to track all my workouts at the LifeFitness website. This should make it easy to see how much progress I’ve made.

Technology win? I think so.

So, all in all, a good couple of days on the workout front. I gained a notch in my belt as well and I think I’m getting closer to the first goal shirt. I might even fit in smaller jeans soon. I’m also pleased to report that I’m now a week without soda and I’m trying to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners. This will be an interesting process to say the least. But, if I can get off of soda, I can beat anything.

Until next time…

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Day four, or I want pizza, dammit!

Posted: February 15, 2013 in Bariatric surgery, diabetes, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, The Beetus, Walking, Weight loss
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Day four of no caffeine.

I won’t lie… it’s been very hard. I actually dropped a coin in the vending machine yesterday, but got it back. The headaches have pretty much subsided. The worst day was Wednesday. It felt like there was a little man jackhammering away inside my skull. I’ve found that the best way to get through is to drink so much water that you wind up irrigating yourself like a personalized Tennessee Valley Authority.

I did take precautions against water intoxication. I’ve discovered the joys of PowerAde Zero. This stuff is like liquid crack. It really helps quench the thirst after a workout, and it doesn’t have any sugar or carbs. Highly recommend the orange flavor. Just a warning… it doesn’t mix well with protein powder.

Today started out on a down note. I managed to sleep through my alarm, so I didn’t make it to the gym. I brought my workout clothes, so I can go after work. I’m breaking in my new trainers that arrived the other day. So far, pretty comfy, but not suitable for gym use until broken in. I’ve made the mistake of being too eager with new sneakers… the blister on Wayne was not too much fun, nor was the time I had to spend wearing the Boot of Shame.

I’m pretty proud of myself, though… I managed to start working my way through the DVR backlog and didn’t eat any snacks whilst parked in front of the tube. I went to bed, my sugar was 83, so I had a little snack (a carb balance wheat tortilla, some shaved ham and a piece of cheese), I also succumbed and took some cough syrup, as I’ve been suffering from a nagging cold these last few days. Well, I woke up with a sugar reading of 204, all from a dose of really nasty tasting cough medicine. Sigh.

Today is a Friday, which means no meat. I have to wonder, though… why are eggs allowed, but chicken is not? What are eggs, other than unfertilized chickens? Regardless, I have some of my yummy clam chowder. I’m really pleased with how well it turned out. Supportive Partner Woman (also trying to quit caffeine!) liked it as well. Always glad when a recipe is a crowd pleaser.

Not sure what I will do for dinner. I guess we’ll see how I feel after my workout. I’m really craving pizza for whatever reason, but that would not be a smart move. It would be fine with one slice, but I’m sure there would be a whole pie in my future and that is not cool. I’d like to think I could control myself, but probably not.

Anyway, that about does it for the day. Hopefully I have a good workout tonight, and can get a couple in over the weekend.

Hope you have a great weekend, everyone!

Been a bit

Posted: January 31, 2013 in cold weather, diabetes, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Lego, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Supportive Partner Woman
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Here we are… end of January and the weather’s been freaky. There’s a surprise. It was ice storm fun on Monday, then it was 60 degrees, then it was biblical rainstorms last night. Go figure.

So, had to order what will hopefully be my last batch of test strips and insulin. Ordered from Caremark (I’m too young to get them from Liberty Medical) and jumped through the hoops, including them arbitrarily canceling the order. So, they send me a tracking number yesterday and, of course, it’s signature required. That would be at the time when Supportive Partner Woman and I aren’t home. So, I arranged to have the package held at the local UPS office. All good. I get a phone message from them after I get home letting me know that my order will be shipped on the next business day. Guess the left and right hands never met.

Other fun in the medical department was my podiatrist appointment on Tuesday. As he’s working on my toes, the dialogue went something like this:

Dr. Miller: “You know, Brian, I don’t think that you’ll ever win any awards for good looking feet.”

Me: <blink>

Stubby the Wonder Toe: “Oh no you di’ent! Imma bust a cap in yo ass!”

I can’t say that I’ve ever been told that before. Sigh. The consequences of diabetic feet.

I’ve continued to be more active, even though the workload has picked up at the office. Looks like I even get to do a little bit of a woodworking project for the boss, building read boards. This should be fun… I haven’t built anything in some time and I’ve kind of missed it.

At any rate, SPW is on her way home so that we’ll actually get to spend some time together while both of us are conscious. Yay!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.

 

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Chicken Man

Pretzel Guy

Pretzel Guy

P.S. I did managed to come up with some cool new Lego minifigs over the last couple of weeks. The coolest one is the guy in the chicken suit. He’s this set’s equivalent of the pretzel guy from Series 8.

 

Day 2 Redux

Posted: January 25, 2013 in Exercise, music, Physical activity, rants, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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So, we’re back at Day 2. I took Wednesday off from the gym due to a creaky back and a creakier ankle. I was in a session yesterday and dragged my ass out of bed and got there this morning.

What a morning it was. Because it’s still freakin’ cold, I opted to take Supportive Partner Woman (Going to see Rick Springfield!)’s ride. XM First Wave was on the stereo and they were playing Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And no, not the one hit that everyone actually knows. No, of course not.

First Wave was playing Two Tribes, yo.

And not the harmless, generally sucky, 3 minute radio edit.

Of course not.

They opted for the 9 minute remix.

Yikes.

So, I figure I’ll switch stations… it’s gotta be better, right?

Let’s just say that all depends. Because, playing on other channels at the same time were Shalamar’s Dancing in the Sheets and the Village People’s In the Navy. At that point, I arrived at the gym and thankfully was no longer suffering from ear bleed.

Anyway… I did treadmill for a half-hour on a random hill setting. It felt pretty good. The ankle and back seemed to be behaving themselves and it kind of woke me up. Either that or the fact that it was cold enough to freeze my sweaty hair did the job for me.

So, today’s rant… WTF is up with people wearing pajamas all over the place? OK… I get if you’re walking out to the curb for the newspaper or maybe even going to the local convenience store for coffee. I expect it at Walmart. What I don’t get is going to the mall or a restaurant while wearing PJs. I don’t get wearing PJs to take a one hour train trip. The thing is, I’m usually someone who makes my fashion choices based on whatever doesn’t itch. Maybe someone can explain this phenomenon to me.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

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11 down… a lifetime to go

Posted: January 12, 2013 in AllEars.net, Exercise, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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IMG_1808Well, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it to the gym today. I had to work at 8 AM and the gym only opens at 7 on the weekends. So, I just went after work. It wasn’t as long as I would’ve liked it to be… they were closing early today due to a staff function. However, I did what I could and felt pretty good afterward.

Tomorrow will be a weight lifting day, as well as cardio. On the advice of the trainers, I only lift every other day. That gives the muscles some time to recuperate. I do the majority of my lifting at the bariatric center, because they have me doing free weights and the free weight area at the rec is a little intimidating. It’s not loaded up with the hardcore juicers like it was when we went to Gold’s Gym, but there are enough that it makes me feel like an interloper. So, on the days when I lift at the rec, I use the machines. I guess it’s not a bad thing, because they are always telling me to change it up.

So, my consecutive day streak stands at 11. Tomorrow will be 12 and yes, Supportive Partner Woman (bestest wife ever!) is planning on joining me. I hope that she will keep up with it, although the likelihood of her getting up at 4:45 AM during the week is slim to none.

In other news, the second Blu-Ray player I got my sister is actually working. The first one had a defective remote control. It just seems that these players are very persnickety. I know we have a Samsung that likes to make all sorts of noises and stop, especially if the disk has a speck of dust on it. If it’s a Redbox movie, you’re screwed.

So, I have to start thinking of what I can do to keep me busy. I keep thinking I should consider a second job… twenty hours a week or so. Enough money to fund the Disney travel habit, It would serve a twofold purpose, though. Extra money and keeping me from being bored. It’s when I’m bored that I tend to graze and grazing is not a good thing.

I realize this post is all over the place. Just have a lot of thoughts bouncing around the noggin. One last topic to cover. This is Disney Marathon weekend and I’m so proud of our friends who ran the half marathon today and/or will be running the full marathon tomorrow. You are an inspiration to me. I’m also pleased to announce that Team All Ears managed to raise almost $79,000 for Avon breast cancer charities. It’s a special group of people and I’m thrilled to know many of them. A special shoutout to team co-captains Mike Scopa and Michelle Scribner-MacLean, and to AllEars.net founder Deb Wills, without whom none of this would happen. She’s an inspiration to the team and to so many others in the community. We are proud to call her our friend.

Hope that everyone has a great Sunday!

Song of the Day: Fields of Athenry – Dropkick Murphys

Currently reading: Nano – Robin Cook

8 going on 9

Posted: January 9, 2013 in Bariatric surgery, Disney, Goals, Physical activity, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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Made it another day… was not an easy one, but I set a record for 2013 with over 47 minutes and 2.23 miles walked. I had to back off speed a bit, due to achy ankles, but I’m still proud of myself for getting that far. My average speed was 2.84 mph. The rest will come as the weight decreases.

I worry, though… I just feel that due to Stubby I can’t walk with the grace I used to walk. Surprised no one ever made a replacement toe bone. Maybe that could be my great contribution to science. Hmmm.

I’ve  been thinking long and hard, though, and I need to set a post-surgical goal. I realize that with my toe and other issues, I’ll never be physically able to run long distances, so a marathon is out.

I’m going to set my goal to participate in the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 5K.

There, I said it. I know it won’t be easy, especially for someone who would struggle to run the mile in high school (when I was in better shape), but I think it’s a reachable goal. Plus, I’ve gotten so much encouragement from the Disney fan community as I go through this process that I feel it’s a great way to pay it back and forward. To reward myself with a feeling of accomplishment and to pay back everyone who has supported me and encouraged me. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but they are my family as much as any blood relation. Logistics will be forthcoming, but I will keep you apprised and this will be the place to post the picture after I finish it.

twitterSo, yesterday was pretty cool, though. Not only did I find an error in a CNN.com story (yeah, not like they’re a reputable news source), I actually got to have a Twitter exchange with one of my favorite sportswriters. I just tweeted out that the CNN flunkie had gotten his name wrong (guess checking that fact would be a little too much effort) and sure enough, a reply. It was actually kind of cool. I’m not a huge Twitter fan, unlike SPW (lover of the hashtag!), but this might make me like it a little more.

At any rate, gotta go for day 9 in the morning. And I’m going to do it. Does that make me a probie gym rat?

Guess there are worse things.

Feeling that blah feeling

Posted: January 6, 2013 in Exercise, friends, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, The Management, Weight loss
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Had a great day yesterday. Got a decent workout in, went to State College, saw a cool flick (went with Skyfall), had a good dinner, and a visit to Wegman’s. I can never complain about that.

So I woke up this morning with a little bit of gastrointestinal urpiness but I know I still need to go to the gym. I know I’ll feel better if I do, but it’s very hard to summon up the energy to go when I just kind of want to sit around until it goes away. I normally would do that, but if I do, I probably won’t make it to the gym.

Helluva bind.

I guess I need to just do it (even though I prefer New Balance to Nike) and I know that when I get there and get started, I’ll wind up feeling that much better. Funny how that works out.

Ok… More in a bit.

So I made it to the gym. Decent session… Started a little slow, but had worked up to 3.5 mph by the end of my treadmill time. Wanted to do 45 minutes, but cut short after 35 minutes by an extremely chirpy young woman jawing on her cell phone. Talking (apparently) with her boyfriend. Talking about their time together last night. When I heard the phrase “you made me come alive” (I am not making this up) I figured it was time to bail. The worst part is that I had my ear pods in, volume cranked, and I could still hear her. How loudly must she have been talking?

I love being able to yammer about my gym. It’s a really place, but some of the people who go there are well, eccentric. I have not seen Gratuitously Naked Guy in a while, but I think he has a cohort… Mostly Naked Guy. This is another wrinkly old guy who actually works out, but then wanders around the locker room wearing nothing but a jockstrap. As far as I can tell he doesn’t have mostly naked conversations with complete strangers like GNG, but who knows what mischief lurks in the heart of MNG.

It has been a decent sugar day. Went to bed reading a 128 last night, woke up with a 113. I took my insulin shot, ate a banana and about half of a pretzel roll, then headed to the gym. Took another reading when I got home and stuck an 84. Figured I could do with some protein, so I beat some eggs and threw together a tasty ham and cheese omelet. That should keep things nice and stable until lunch.

Not sure what’s on the agenda for today. Do we take down the Christmas decorations or do we say “the heck with it” and do something else? Guess I’ll have to wait and hear from The Management (aka Supportive Partner Woman).

tumblr_memp653uuS1rhvr5io1_500So, yesterday, SPW (love of Hugh Jackman!) and her friend went to see Les Miserables. They were, predictably, gushing about it. It dawns on me that maybe it’s a gender thing. I mean no disrespect to either gender, and I have never seen the stage production, but it seems that women love the movie and men, well, not so much. This review was located online and is well worth the read.

Hope you all have a great day!

Song of the Day: Gimme Your Love – McAuley Schenker Group

Currently Reading: The Black Box – Michael Connelly

Quality time with the family

Posted: December 16, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Baseball, diabetes, family, music, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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So, since Supportive Partner Woman (Editor extraordinaire!) had to work tonight, I headed off to the hinterlands of South Jersey to join in a family Christmas tradition at my cousin Kurt’s home.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but Kurt is a bit of an expert on ballparks. He’s written a series of e-books called Ballpark E-Guides, in which he tells you the best way to get to the park, best way to score low-price tickets, even the best concession deals. He puts a lot of time into the books and they are meticulously researched. I know because I went to a Brewers – Nationals game with him at Nationals Park and barely saw him… he was so busy checking sight lines and chatting up ballpark employees.

Anyway, Kurt and his lovely wife and daughter opened their home to a large contingent of the family. I drove down, survived the traffic at King of Prussia and the cattle chutes on the Walt Whitman Bridge, and spent an enjoyable afternoon with my favorite branch of the family.

Far_Side ©Gary Larson

Well, it’s a family tree.

Sadly, we don’t see each other enough. Usually of late, it’s been at a funeral, and that’s gotta stop. We have so much fun… my cousins are intelligent and able to hold a conversation on multiple topics at the same time. For example, when I arrived, there was a big discussion going on regarding the best double albums ever recorded and whether or not they would be OK as a single album.

This is the kind of stuff we talk about at family gatherings. For the record, we figured that there’s no way Tommy or Quadrophenia could e trimmed, however, my cousin Doug feels that The Wall could be trimmed. There was not much agreement on that one.

They can be loud and boisterous, but better people are hard to find. A few weeks ago, when I was feeling pretty down in the dumps, my cousin sent me a lovely e-mail that brought tears to my ears, reassuring me that the family had my back. Not only that, he called my mom to make sure I was doing OK.

That’s what I love about this particular branch of the family tree. Not only do they care, they can laugh at the antics of some other branches of said tree. During our Giant Catholic Wedding Circus©, one of my cousins from Pittsburgh got exceedingly trashed and pretty much surgically attached herself to SPW’s arm, slurring all the way. This is always good for some chuckles at family gatherings.

Speaking of family, I finally told my mother that I intend to have the gastric bypass surgery. She took it a lot better than I expected. She said that she respects the fact I didn’t rush right into it and I took the time to talk to people who have had the operation with varying degrees of success. That was one of the major hurdles, because I fully expected a load of objections about the risks and all that. I told her that in my mind, the rewards outweigh the risks. Yes, it’s major abdominal surgery. Yes, it’s general anesthesia. Yes, there are risks. The chance to live a life free of the syringe makes all the risk worthwhile. It’s not going to be an easy journey, but after a year, I want to be patient of the month at support group, telling how I managed to make my decision and get off the fence and how it helped me lead a normal, non-diabetic life.

Plus, not looking like a whale in a chair is a great incentive.

Have a great rest of the weekend, folks!

Song of the Day: I Believe in Father Christmas – Greg Lake
Currently reading: A Blaze of Glory – Jeff Shaara

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. – Mother Teresa

It’s a wonder of nature

Posted: December 1, 2012 in Disney, Exercise, Foot issues, Holidays, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel, Walking
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So, I’m writing this from Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter resort. As I sit here in the half light, the gentle sounds of Supportive Partner Woman’s breathing providing a quiet counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of families getting ready to hit the parks, I realize just how lucky I am.

I spent a lot of time the past few posts basically whining about life in general. I have it pretty good. I have a job, a loving wife, a roof over my head… Ad yes, I do have a few friends. It’s funny how things work out. That united by a common interest I am closer to people I’ve known for a relatively short time than I am to people I’ve known my entire life. I’ve met people in this community who aren’t in it for the right reason, but I’ve also met people who simply ooze character and class from every pore. They give back unflinchingly and always put others first, without fail. I’m proud to call these folks my friends and their friendship is something that I treasure.

So, on to the meat of the post.

Supportive Partner Woman (World’s Most Beautiful Pack Mule!) and I come to Walt Disney World around the same time every year. Not only to meet up with the aforementioned friends, but to get ourselves into the holiday spirit. There are many special events going on with a holiday theme, each of which serve to increase our excitement. There’s the Candlelight Processional, in which an orchestra and massed choir perform while a celebrity narrator recounts the tale of Christmas. SPW and I were fortunate enough to see it on Wednesday evening, and it does not disappoint. Our celebrity narrator was Neil Patrick Harris for the second year in a row… However, this year was actually dry, as opposed to the biblical rains of last December. The orchestra and choir was wonderful, as always, and well, here’s a video clip:

I hope that works… Using the WordPress iPad app is not something I do often. I usually write it in Pages, then just copy and paste it into WordPress.

One of the other points of the Disney holiday trident is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This event has some five million lights dancing to well known Christmas songs and is probably the one event that really gets me in the mood. SPW (Osborne fan!) and I had the opportunity, thanks to MEI and Mouse Fan Travel, to take in a private viewing of the lights last evening that was just amazing. I took a lot of video, none of which I’ve gotten uploaded yet, but here’s an example from last year’s Osborne Lights:

The third point of the trident is EPCOT’s nightly show called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Every year, the holiday season adds an extra five minutes of pyrotechnics accompanied by the Boys Choir of Harlem and a narration from the late Walter Cronkite. This really finalizes the prep for me. Just hearing the soaring music of the whole show as the lasers and fire and fireworks burst over the lagoon, topped off with the extra tag just never fails to send shivers up and down my back. I know that one day, the current IllumiNations will go away in the name of change, but believe you me, that will be a sad sad day.

At any rate, I have much more to tell, but suffice it to say that as of now, the feet have shown no blistering. This makes me very happy, especially considering the amount of walking we have done. The only wound is from the first day, when removing the protective moleskin also removed a tiny chunk of Wayne. A little NuSkin and gauze padding has worked wonders.

Well, I’m going to grad a shower and wake up SPW (Sleeps like the dead!) and we’re off to EPCOT for another day of fun and camaraderie.

More in the next few days!

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