The last few days have been pretty challenging, with the IRS, the heart fluttering, lack of money and personal challenges, well it just was really heavy last night and I had an awful night, was awake many times but learned a long time ago to just lie still and wait and the next time you are awake is much later in the night or early morning so I made it through the night but I felt incredible stress in my chest, the night was not pleasant at all. Yet when I would check the heart rate from time to time it was in the 50s and OK.
I know that in spite of how you feel one needs to move forward and do the right habits so I climbed out of bed, dressed in my trust sweats and we went to the park and did an extra circle for more time walking rapidly. Then shower, no weight loss, bummer and then breakfast which is always so good, if there is a better tasting breakfast than Oatmeal I don't know what it is.
Then I started into the day without knowing what I was going to do, I was caught up with the work but that soon changed. Before the day would end I would have 6 new orders 3 of which I was able to inspect this afternoon but quick calling when the orders appeared. So before long the day made more sense. I was to inspect two properties for a client but once I was there and we hit it off she said she had a third that she wanted me to inspect so I did. Of course I'll have to go back for comp photos later but still it was a very good day. In fact I've only been home for a short time, traffic is always fun on the Sunol grade and I'm kidding, NOT fun at all. At the moment I'm hungry but I had peanuts on the way home and a V8 so that is going to be it for dinner tonight. I'm obsessed with reaching 200 pounds and soon. At the moment my shirts and pants fit totally different, I've lost some inches already and walking and living is much easier. Due to the high volume of water I drink finding a bathroom is often challenging.
So for the month I've had 32 orders so far, while that is not real good it is better than it could have been. This morning I chased down a couple lenders who used to order and managed to get both back on line again. That is good news, orders are the key.
So that is the news from my corner of the world, I'm feeling great physically but shaky emotionally at times and it won't really get settled for a few months I'm afraid.
As always I appreciate your prayers for God's guidance in my life.
Tim
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Another day of normal
You know normal is not so bad, when its your heart rate that is. Since it came down yesterday its stayed there and not bounced around at all, I am so grateful.
Woke early this morning and climbed out at 6. Came down and wrote an appraisal first, then took Pooka to the park, then showered and learned I had lost 17 pounds, its now 209.5 and it used to be 226.5. I'll take the good news.
I wrote up appraisals today until I was caught up, then prepared for a dumper in Vallejo and drove there this afternoon. On the way I stopped at Starbucks and purchased a protein lunch they have, little pieces of cheese, grapes, a really healthy biscuit sort of thing with peanut butter and apple slices. It is just a great lunch and I put a decaf with it and it makes my day. In between I drink an amazing amount of water now, in fact I had to go by Costco to purchase more cases of water along with bananas and a case of green beans, one of my staples now.
The little house in Vallejo was rough, the back door had been kicked in but the house was not trashed to badly. It took awhile to list all the problems as this is an FHA loan and they want to know everything that needs to be fixed. Of course this is one of those things where all the comparable sales look much better. Once I was finally through I hit the highway to come home, well traffic was backed up a lot on Highway 4 and it took awhile. So the Costco visit and then Olive Garden for salad and soup but no bread and only water to drink. Tasted great.
Once I got home I set to work, having already eaten all I had to do was unload the car and work. Now I'm almost completed with another report. You see the faster I get the report in the faster the money comes in the mail. Its a totally selfish motive really.
So far I have no work to do tomorrow. I do have an appointment for the afternoon on Friday that involves cash, that will be nice.
Life is good with ups and downs but its still good.
Love to all
Tim
Woke early this morning and climbed out at 6. Came down and wrote an appraisal first, then took Pooka to the park, then showered and learned I had lost 17 pounds, its now 209.5 and it used to be 226.5. I'll take the good news.
I wrote up appraisals today until I was caught up, then prepared for a dumper in Vallejo and drove there this afternoon. On the way I stopped at Starbucks and purchased a protein lunch they have, little pieces of cheese, grapes, a really healthy biscuit sort of thing with peanut butter and apple slices. It is just a great lunch and I put a decaf with it and it makes my day. In between I drink an amazing amount of water now, in fact I had to go by Costco to purchase more cases of water along with bananas and a case of green beans, one of my staples now.
The little house in Vallejo was rough, the back door had been kicked in but the house was not trashed to badly. It took awhile to list all the problems as this is an FHA loan and they want to know everything that needs to be fixed. Of course this is one of those things where all the comparable sales look much better. Once I was finally through I hit the highway to come home, well traffic was backed up a lot on Highway 4 and it took awhile. So the Costco visit and then Olive Garden for salad and soup but no bread and only water to drink. Tasted great.
Once I got home I set to work, having already eaten all I had to do was unload the car and work. Now I'm almost completed with another report. You see the faster I get the report in the faster the money comes in the mail. Its a totally selfish motive really.
So far I have no work to do tomorrow. I do have an appointment for the afternoon on Friday that involves cash, that will be nice.
Life is good with ups and downs but its still good.
Love to all
Tim
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Very scary last 24 hours.
I went to bed quite upset but ready to sleep. Over and over during the night I was awake and since the room was warm I felt damp. When I rolled out this morning I nearly kept rolling, the world spun around. I used the iPhone to check my resting heart rate. It was 136! Not good, I knew my emotions had been on a roller coaster emotionally during the night but the normal I had enjoyed since the hospital was gone. It was a scary moment.
So I dressed for a walk, drank my bottle of water and headed out with Pooka. I put on the heart monitor that reads out on a watch and started walking but it was no good, I was just too worried about the heart rate that was bouncing all over the place so I came back.
I emailed the cardiologist, Dr. Hanna and he called me a bit later. He said he thought it would come back down to normal by evening, that I should take an extra 1/2 pill of one of the heart meds at noon and relax. So I did by inspecting two homes, one in Antioch and the other in San Pablo. In Antioch I went to Starbucks and got a tea I can't spell but its sleep time Herbal.
When I was bending down to unlock the coded lock box to retrieve the key I noticed the monitor. It said 70, I could not believe it and its been in the 60s or 70s ever since, 74 right now. So I got my two houses inspected, all the comps shot, a new tank of diesel at $3.89 in Martinez and 43 miles per gallon.
On the way home I stopped at the post office to pick up the 5 letters from the IRS telling me that I no longer had an agreement since I have a new higher amount due. It was alarming but I expected it, now just have to deal with it.
This evening I made a dinner with a small baked potato topped with a few pinto beans and a few green beans, a sliced tomato on the side. It tasted good. Just before I ate my blood sugar was 104, another low point and great news.
This has been a very scary day, IRS, heart and other added ingredients have all added to make it a challenging day. I did what I know how to do, face it and get to work and tonight I'm relaxed and doing well. I hope to wake tomorrow with a normal resting heart rate.
Sending love to all,
Tim
So I dressed for a walk, drank my bottle of water and headed out with Pooka. I put on the heart monitor that reads out on a watch and started walking but it was no good, I was just too worried about the heart rate that was bouncing all over the place so I came back.
I emailed the cardiologist, Dr. Hanna and he called me a bit later. He said he thought it would come back down to normal by evening, that I should take an extra 1/2 pill of one of the heart meds at noon and relax. So I did by inspecting two homes, one in Antioch and the other in San Pablo. In Antioch I went to Starbucks and got a tea I can't spell but its sleep time Herbal.
When I was bending down to unlock the coded lock box to retrieve the key I noticed the monitor. It said 70, I could not believe it and its been in the 60s or 70s ever since, 74 right now. So I got my two houses inspected, all the comps shot, a new tank of diesel at $3.89 in Martinez and 43 miles per gallon.
On the way home I stopped at the post office to pick up the 5 letters from the IRS telling me that I no longer had an agreement since I have a new higher amount due. It was alarming but I expected it, now just have to deal with it.
This evening I made a dinner with a small baked potato topped with a few pinto beans and a few green beans, a sliced tomato on the side. It tasted good. Just before I ate my blood sugar was 104, another low point and great news.
This has been a very scary day, IRS, heart and other added ingredients have all added to make it a challenging day. I did what I know how to do, face it and get to work and tonight I'm relaxed and doing well. I hope to wake tomorrow with a normal resting heart rate.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Monday, January 27, 2014
A Good Day
Dear Family and Friends,
Last night my body did not want to stay asleep, perhaps it was due to added clorine in the spa and then I feel asleep without taking a shower to wash it off, anyway it was a strange night. I stayed in bed and just endured the times of being away.
7 seemed to come early but after our walk to the park and a shower I was down to 211, that is 16 pounds gone and I was very thankful for that news.
I worked in for a while and then headed out to conduct an appraisal in Concord and then went to a legal appointment which turned out good. Later I was able to connect with a friend and that was good too.
These are always challenging times as this is a slow time of year for the business. With rates up a bit fewer people are doing refinances or making purchases and that results in a lot less work to get done. Oh to never have to worry about money again but alas that is not going to happen. It will help when Social Security kicks in in August, that will bring some much appreciated new dollars to the mix.
Today the dreaded IRS letters arrived. I knew they would but its a hard hit. Going to have to do some scrambling to get a new agreement with them this time.
Life is so much better without the pounds. Today was a suit day and the shirt fit perfectly and even though I still have quite a tummy the neck fit perfectly as well. It seemed even the tie went on easier. And of course I wore black shoes and needed a black belt, the one that was never long enough is now plenty long so some inches are going as well. I am so thankful for the new habits and intend to keep them. Funny thing is, I'm not eating very much food and the food I have seems to last forever. Its going to be way less expensive to eat this way and much more simple.
Well its bed time around here, due to lack of sleep last night I think I'll sleep well tonight.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Last night my body did not want to stay asleep, perhaps it was due to added clorine in the spa and then I feel asleep without taking a shower to wash it off, anyway it was a strange night. I stayed in bed and just endured the times of being away.
7 seemed to come early but after our walk to the park and a shower I was down to 211, that is 16 pounds gone and I was very thankful for that news.
I worked in for a while and then headed out to conduct an appraisal in Concord and then went to a legal appointment which turned out good. Later I was able to connect with a friend and that was good too.
These are always challenging times as this is a slow time of year for the business. With rates up a bit fewer people are doing refinances or making purchases and that results in a lot less work to get done. Oh to never have to worry about money again but alas that is not going to happen. It will help when Social Security kicks in in August, that will bring some much appreciated new dollars to the mix.
Today the dreaded IRS letters arrived. I knew they would but its a hard hit. Going to have to do some scrambling to get a new agreement with them this time.
Life is so much better without the pounds. Today was a suit day and the shirt fit perfectly and even though I still have quite a tummy the neck fit perfectly as well. It seemed even the tie went on easier. And of course I wore black shoes and needed a black belt, the one that was never long enough is now plenty long so some inches are going as well. I am so thankful for the new habits and intend to keep them. Funny thing is, I'm not eating very much food and the food I have seems to last forever. Its going to be way less expensive to eat this way and much more simple.
Well its bed time around here, due to lack of sleep last night I think I'll sleep well tonight.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Production day
Kallie was my guest last night and she was a blast. She (we) watched Netflix children's movies, we went to pizza, we played with the kitty cats, we watched the fire burn and we had fun. She went to bed without a whimper surrounded by dozens of her little creatures that she brought from home. She woke about 7 this morning and as I was awake she knocked and said good morning, we made Belgium Waffles and she had two, I had two and then the rest went home with her for future breakfasts. Her mom came at about 9:45 and collected Kallies three suitcases and two American Girl dolls. Kallie told me this morning that it was a very special experience to get to do things with me, just the two of us, then she recounted all the times we have driven to see the cousins after church, gone to UNO's and other things where it was just her and me. I had no idea she remembered those events so well and its sobering to realize how much time spent can mean to little ones.
Once Kallie left I was really low mentally, it was sad to see her leave and go back to a silent house, always the same, no fun, just me. But I was determined to not let the day pass. This was a rare day when I had no appraisals to write, nothing pressing work wise as my first appointment tomorrow is noon in Concord. For months, many months part of the deck by the spa has been torn out, I mean just a gaping hole which is very dangerous and very ugly. I've purchased the new 2 x 6s that were needed, pressure treated, expensive but just sitting and twisting on the main deck. So I forced myself to go out, find the power tools that would be needed, cords, screws, hammers, pry bars etc, load the wheel barrow and start to work. First I had to unload the wheel barrow as it was piled high with wood scraps that Steve had brought for firewood, well that took some time and got me limbered up a bit. Then with a free wheel barrow I loaded it with the tools, took a quick trip to town for some metal pieces that Ken said I needed to do the job around the spa right and then started working. I had to tear the old rotted pieces of wood out and dispose of them, that took a long time, then with the way cleared I put the last supporting piece of wood under the spa and added a 2 x 4 by the spa. Then I started installing the new 2 x 6 which the deck pieces would attach to. It took an amazing amount of time to measure, screw in place, then measure the next one and put it into place. Somewhere in the afternoon Ray came over and got stuck helping until dark. Bet he will think twice about coming over again, his help was great and saved me a lot of steps. I have good tools and the chop saw, a safe saw and a very accurate one, really came in handy.
As the sun set we had the foundational pieces all in place, the cross blocks too and begin to lay the prior redwood deck pieces into place. Well darkness fell and I was so very tired that I finally put away the tools and quit but the hard part is over. I'll have to purchase a few pieces of redwood 2 x 6 lumber to complete the deck but the whole process is now nearly done. Yes I have a huge mess to clean up but huge progress was made today and right now the spa is heating, waiting for me to come jump in and let the water sooth the aching spots, oh for a massage tonight, but oh can't do that as I'm alone! Bummer.
During the day at one point my blood sugar was 106, another time 116, for me those are amazing numbers and in spite of the hard hard work and I mean getting up and down, reaching for boards, using the drill screw driver to put in screws, its all hard work and especially when I don't ever do anything like this.
But an amazing things has happened. In spite of eating much less food and drinking lots of water I have energy on a level that I've not had for many years. I do have a personal inspiration that I might be able to share later but having the weight loss of 15.5 pounds, eating so much less and almost no dairy, learning to say yes to the right choice no matter where I do, pizza parlor, just have salad, piles of salad, Red Robin, have the garden burger in a wrap of lettuce and a side salad, Burger King, throw the buns away, have a side salad, drink water. Right now I'm eating very carefully and with little variety, a lesson I learned at Weight Watchers, they mentioned that if you find something that works and satisfies without adding fat then stick with it. That's why I have Oatmeal in the mornings, its great, carries me through lunch time and my high fiber tortillas, I just have one and put a few Pinto beans and some non fat cheese and heat it in a pan. Tastes great and has very little carbs and great taste and is satisfying due to the high fiber content.
I'm thrilled with my new life, my shirts don't hang open at the buttons now, the neck is not too tight, my pants fit well and soon I'll be in the 36s that I almost gave to good will. I've cut back on my long acting insulin and my morning numbers are the best in years. I've replaced the mocha that my brother and I like so much with herbal tea, not quite as tasty but pretty good and it helps the blood sugar, does not explode it super high.
It took a night in ER to get my attention and the love of my kids to help me realize that I needed to get ahold of this body or die early. I never eat during the evening now, I only drink water and I don't miss it, I no longer go to bed feeling guilty and trapped in the out of control ways.
I'm not preaching as I have nothing to urge other than to find a reason to get control, listen to the reason, be inspired by the reason and then act on the urging. You will not be sorry.
Sending love to all, thinking of Bernice and the family as they begin the adjustments needed to the new reality without Lloyd. Take a guy like that out of the picture and it is never quite the same. It can be good again but different. He added humor and genuine love to those around him. When I heard his long time neighbors talk about him, first the wife and then the husband, Hispanic people and what they remember, the woodcraft things Lloyd did for their kids, treasures they still hold onto, the genuine friendship that lasted over the years. Now that is a testimony of a life.
Tim
Once Kallie left I was really low mentally, it was sad to see her leave and go back to a silent house, always the same, no fun, just me. But I was determined to not let the day pass. This was a rare day when I had no appraisals to write, nothing pressing work wise as my first appointment tomorrow is noon in Concord. For months, many months part of the deck by the spa has been torn out, I mean just a gaping hole which is very dangerous and very ugly. I've purchased the new 2 x 6s that were needed, pressure treated, expensive but just sitting and twisting on the main deck. So I forced myself to go out, find the power tools that would be needed, cords, screws, hammers, pry bars etc, load the wheel barrow and start to work. First I had to unload the wheel barrow as it was piled high with wood scraps that Steve had brought for firewood, well that took some time and got me limbered up a bit. Then with a free wheel barrow I loaded it with the tools, took a quick trip to town for some metal pieces that Ken said I needed to do the job around the spa right and then started working. I had to tear the old rotted pieces of wood out and dispose of them, that took a long time, then with the way cleared I put the last supporting piece of wood under the spa and added a 2 x 4 by the spa. Then I started installing the new 2 x 6 which the deck pieces would attach to. It took an amazing amount of time to measure, screw in place, then measure the next one and put it into place. Somewhere in the afternoon Ray came over and got stuck helping until dark. Bet he will think twice about coming over again, his help was great and saved me a lot of steps. I have good tools and the chop saw, a safe saw and a very accurate one, really came in handy.
As the sun set we had the foundational pieces all in place, the cross blocks too and begin to lay the prior redwood deck pieces into place. Well darkness fell and I was so very tired that I finally put away the tools and quit but the hard part is over. I'll have to purchase a few pieces of redwood 2 x 6 lumber to complete the deck but the whole process is now nearly done. Yes I have a huge mess to clean up but huge progress was made today and right now the spa is heating, waiting for me to come jump in and let the water sooth the aching spots, oh for a massage tonight, but oh can't do that as I'm alone! Bummer.
During the day at one point my blood sugar was 106, another time 116, for me those are amazing numbers and in spite of the hard hard work and I mean getting up and down, reaching for boards, using the drill screw driver to put in screws, its all hard work and especially when I don't ever do anything like this.
But an amazing things has happened. In spite of eating much less food and drinking lots of water I have energy on a level that I've not had for many years. I do have a personal inspiration that I might be able to share later but having the weight loss of 15.5 pounds, eating so much less and almost no dairy, learning to say yes to the right choice no matter where I do, pizza parlor, just have salad, piles of salad, Red Robin, have the garden burger in a wrap of lettuce and a side salad, Burger King, throw the buns away, have a side salad, drink water. Right now I'm eating very carefully and with little variety, a lesson I learned at Weight Watchers, they mentioned that if you find something that works and satisfies without adding fat then stick with it. That's why I have Oatmeal in the mornings, its great, carries me through lunch time and my high fiber tortillas, I just have one and put a few Pinto beans and some non fat cheese and heat it in a pan. Tastes great and has very little carbs and great taste and is satisfying due to the high fiber content.
I'm thrilled with my new life, my shirts don't hang open at the buttons now, the neck is not too tight, my pants fit well and soon I'll be in the 36s that I almost gave to good will. I've cut back on my long acting insulin and my morning numbers are the best in years. I've replaced the mocha that my brother and I like so much with herbal tea, not quite as tasty but pretty good and it helps the blood sugar, does not explode it super high.
It took a night in ER to get my attention and the love of my kids to help me realize that I needed to get ahold of this body or die early. I never eat during the evening now, I only drink water and I don't miss it, I no longer go to bed feeling guilty and trapped in the out of control ways.
I'm not preaching as I have nothing to urge other than to find a reason to get control, listen to the reason, be inspired by the reason and then act on the urging. You will not be sorry.
Sending love to all, thinking of Bernice and the family as they begin the adjustments needed to the new reality without Lloyd. Take a guy like that out of the picture and it is never quite the same. It can be good again but different. He added humor and genuine love to those around him. When I heard his long time neighbors talk about him, first the wife and then the husband, Hispanic people and what they remember, the woodcraft things Lloyd did for their kids, treasures they still hold onto, the genuine friendship that lasted over the years. Now that is a testimony of a life.
Tim
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Good bye Lloyd White
Dear Family and Friends,
This has been a day to remember for me. Up at 7 this morning bursting with energy I summoned Pooka and we walked around the lake but first I drank my bottle of water and stuck myself for the sugar level in my blood. It was low, 129 which for me is very very good. Then with enough time to spare we walked around the lake, about 3 miles and did it without feeling faint or tired. There was a time a few weeks ago that a walk around the lake was a very big deal, no more.
Once we were back and after a hot shower I did the big event, I stepped on the scales. Wow it said I was down 15.5 pounds so far, now that is great news and I'm well on my way to the 200 mark, something I've longed for for a very long time. I can see it happening in the next two to three weeks and I plan to have a celebration when it happens, just not by eating.
Since the girls were with their parents this morning I went to the worship hour. The pastor was sharp as usual and the message was just right for me. I had the chance to sit with the Ahns in the back row, church was that full, it was fun to sing the hymns and be a part of the worship hour. Once church was over there was a potluck but the Better Living Center was so filled with wonderful people that I skipped out, went to Safeway, had a rye with cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich and water. Then I came back and napped in the shade by the church until it was time for the memorial service.
The service was handled so well with Dr. George having the first remarks and they were spot on perfect. The pastor led out in the service with plenty of help from family and friends. A powerpoint presentation showed photos of the White family from early days till the present. It started with Lloyd doing a solo and that great bass voice filled the church once more. I was very surprised to suddenly hear my name spoken, something I had written about losing Lloyd the other day had been given to the pastor and she read it, it brought me to tears to have it read and to hear the words out loud. I was humbled by the reading. A very special part of the service was having Dolly drive over from Napa. Dolly and Howard taught us the appraisal business years ago and I've stayed friends with Dolly ever since. This is one of the most respected women I know, she is deep, faithful and can pray in such a way that you know she is a frequent visitor to the courts of heaven. So we sat together and sang the hymns together and it helped the service be even more special.
After the service I got to speak to many of my friends from the Adoration Singers who had gathered to attend the service. Then it was race back to Discovery Bay to pick up the girls and take Keanna to an all night birthday party and Kallie to my house for the night. They filled the car with their things and it was fun to deliver Keanna to her party. Kallie and I came home and she unloaded her things and is all set to sleep in the pink room tonight. Soon discovering that we were both hungry I suggested we go to UNO's but Kallie said lets go to the new Round Table Pizza right here in Discovery Bay. Well we did but so did most everyone else in town. Our mini cheese pizza for Kallie took 1 hour and 10 minutes. Meanwhile I had the salad bar and enjoyed it a lot.
When we got home I built a fire to take the chill off and Kallie is watching Netflix children's programming. Soon she will head to bed and not long after I'll head that way myself. Its been a good day and I'm thankful to be alive to experience the things that took place today.
Sending love to all,
Tim
This has been a day to remember for me. Up at 7 this morning bursting with energy I summoned Pooka and we walked around the lake but first I drank my bottle of water and stuck myself for the sugar level in my blood. It was low, 129 which for me is very very good. Then with enough time to spare we walked around the lake, about 3 miles and did it without feeling faint or tired. There was a time a few weeks ago that a walk around the lake was a very big deal, no more.
Once we were back and after a hot shower I did the big event, I stepped on the scales. Wow it said I was down 15.5 pounds so far, now that is great news and I'm well on my way to the 200 mark, something I've longed for for a very long time. I can see it happening in the next two to three weeks and I plan to have a celebration when it happens, just not by eating.
Since the girls were with their parents this morning I went to the worship hour. The pastor was sharp as usual and the message was just right for me. I had the chance to sit with the Ahns in the back row, church was that full, it was fun to sing the hymns and be a part of the worship hour. Once church was over there was a potluck but the Better Living Center was so filled with wonderful people that I skipped out, went to Safeway, had a rye with cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich and water. Then I came back and napped in the shade by the church until it was time for the memorial service.
The service was handled so well with Dr. George having the first remarks and they were spot on perfect. The pastor led out in the service with plenty of help from family and friends. A powerpoint presentation showed photos of the White family from early days till the present. It started with Lloyd doing a solo and that great bass voice filled the church once more. I was very surprised to suddenly hear my name spoken, something I had written about losing Lloyd the other day had been given to the pastor and she read it, it brought me to tears to have it read and to hear the words out loud. I was humbled by the reading. A very special part of the service was having Dolly drive over from Napa. Dolly and Howard taught us the appraisal business years ago and I've stayed friends with Dolly ever since. This is one of the most respected women I know, she is deep, faithful and can pray in such a way that you know she is a frequent visitor to the courts of heaven. So we sat together and sang the hymns together and it helped the service be even more special.
After the service I got to speak to many of my friends from the Adoration Singers who had gathered to attend the service. Then it was race back to Discovery Bay to pick up the girls and take Keanna to an all night birthday party and Kallie to my house for the night. They filled the car with their things and it was fun to deliver Keanna to her party. Kallie and I came home and she unloaded her things and is all set to sleep in the pink room tonight. Soon discovering that we were both hungry I suggested we go to UNO's but Kallie said lets go to the new Round Table Pizza right here in Discovery Bay. Well we did but so did most everyone else in town. Our mini cheese pizza for Kallie took 1 hour and 10 minutes. Meanwhile I had the salad bar and enjoyed it a lot.
When we got home I built a fire to take the chill off and Kallie is watching Netflix children's programming. Soon she will head to bed and not long after I'll head that way myself. Its been a good day and I'm thankful to be alive to experience the things that took place today.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Friday, January 24, 2014
So it ends once again and we rest
How do you know what God wants? Its not always crystal clear is it! Sometimes we know without asking since we know quite a bit about God and what He stands for, pure love, honesty, caring, kindness but how that applies in the many situations of life is a little less clear.
We did our routine today, Pooka and me, to the park and an extra circle of the park, then home to build a little fire and unthaw the room. A hot shower always helps and then it was time to weigh but today did not result in more weight loss. I've stayed put at my 14 pounds down and I'm not complaining.
So I wrote reports as fast as I could today and then picked up the kiddos at 3:30. At 4:45 I took them home to their loving parents. Then it was on to see a local place that came in today, why the rush because it was COD and I wanted the money in the bank before the weekend and it all worked out. What a horrible property, gray water was running out of both of the little houses on the property, they looked like they should be torn down, they were bad yet they have renters in them, renters who refuse to pay any rent so they are about to be evicted, the process takes 3 months which is a bummer for the owner.
Nikki called to ask if I wanted to eat with her at Red Robin, that is a big step as I've not been eating at high calorie places in the past two weeks. I said yes and had a wrap, lettuce surrounding the vegeburger and a side salad. It was really great and I felt I did not blow what I'm working towards by going. Had two big glasses of water. When one tries to think of healthy ways they can be found. I had to pick up a few things, bananas, tomatoes, oatmeal and a good quality double fiber bread. Felt good to shop smart instead of letting hunger guide. Also found the fruit bars that the kids enjoy and of course I was out of them.
Right now I'm sipping sleepy time tea, no calories but just warm pleasure.
I guess the girls will not be coming with me to Sabbath School in the morning so that sort of frees me to attend church which I think I'll do. After this week of ups and downs I think a strong dose of church would be good medicine.
Friend Lloyd White is being remembered in the afternoon at 2 with a memorial service. I am just starting to get my mind around the fact that he is gone. He was a guy that was always pleasant, helpful and super talented with the best bass voice I've heard in a very long time. He will always be missed.
Then I'll drive back to take the girls under my wing, deliver Keanna at 4 to a slumber party and then Kallie and I are on our own for the rest of the day. Nikki and Steve are getting away to a special sports event that involves motorcycles, they try to do it every year and I'm glad they are getting away to enjoy something else than the usual.
So soon I'll head to bed, had a lousy night last night with some personal stuff causing some wakeful times during the night but God blessed with peace and gave me the rest I needed.
Sending love to all,
Tim
We did our routine today, Pooka and me, to the park and an extra circle of the park, then home to build a little fire and unthaw the room. A hot shower always helps and then it was time to weigh but today did not result in more weight loss. I've stayed put at my 14 pounds down and I'm not complaining.
So I wrote reports as fast as I could today and then picked up the kiddos at 3:30. At 4:45 I took them home to their loving parents. Then it was on to see a local place that came in today, why the rush because it was COD and I wanted the money in the bank before the weekend and it all worked out. What a horrible property, gray water was running out of both of the little houses on the property, they looked like they should be torn down, they were bad yet they have renters in them, renters who refuse to pay any rent so they are about to be evicted, the process takes 3 months which is a bummer for the owner.
Nikki called to ask if I wanted to eat with her at Red Robin, that is a big step as I've not been eating at high calorie places in the past two weeks. I said yes and had a wrap, lettuce surrounding the vegeburger and a side salad. It was really great and I felt I did not blow what I'm working towards by going. Had two big glasses of water. When one tries to think of healthy ways they can be found. I had to pick up a few things, bananas, tomatoes, oatmeal and a good quality double fiber bread. Felt good to shop smart instead of letting hunger guide. Also found the fruit bars that the kids enjoy and of course I was out of them.
Right now I'm sipping sleepy time tea, no calories but just warm pleasure.
I guess the girls will not be coming with me to Sabbath School in the morning so that sort of frees me to attend church which I think I'll do. After this week of ups and downs I think a strong dose of church would be good medicine.
Friend Lloyd White is being remembered in the afternoon at 2 with a memorial service. I am just starting to get my mind around the fact that he is gone. He was a guy that was always pleasant, helpful and super talented with the best bass voice I've heard in a very long time. He will always be missed.
Then I'll drive back to take the girls under my wing, deliver Keanna at 4 to a slumber party and then Kallie and I are on our own for the rest of the day. Nikki and Steve are getting away to a special sports event that involves motorcycles, they try to do it every year and I'm glad they are getting away to enjoy something else than the usual.
So soon I'll head to bed, had a lousy night last night with some personal stuff causing some wakeful times during the night but God blessed with peace and gave me the rest I needed.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Thursday, January 23, 2014
A day of sadness and remembering
So this was Nan's birthday so long ago. I remember we always tried to do something special and she usually had a bunch of ideas. The last few years I made sure we had a party each year where friends and family could come celebrate with her and she really loved the time together. I'm very glad we did that for her.
Today for me was interesting, a friend who is in the mortgage business and who used to give me tons of work but can't anymore due to the government laws now called today to say she had one to order so I did a driveby appraisal for her and got it to her by noon today. It was fun to see a place locally and get it done so quickly afterwards.
At 9:30 today I went over to Rick and Roxanna's new home they just purchased here in Discovery Bay. It is a fixer and very out of date so they are starting the process of fixing it up. It was great to see them and Jody and Wayne, their kids. Its a new start for them as Rick just sold the company and is retired now, a new experience for him after all these years. He is still in the early stages of adjusting and its tough to work through.
I went ahead today and wrote two more reports and fixed others as well. Steve came with firewood this afternoon and we got it to the back deck, the wheel barrow is filled with it, makes great fires.
This has been a challenging day for personal reasons and my inspiration my be flickering away. Some things are a great challenge than we know when we get into them and only time will work things out I guess.
Pooka and I went to the park today and took an extra circle around trying to get a few more exercise minutes in. She certainly did not mind, she loves to go walk and smell every scent as she walks.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Today for me was interesting, a friend who is in the mortgage business and who used to give me tons of work but can't anymore due to the government laws now called today to say she had one to order so I did a driveby appraisal for her and got it to her by noon today. It was fun to see a place locally and get it done so quickly afterwards.
At 9:30 today I went over to Rick and Roxanna's new home they just purchased here in Discovery Bay. It is a fixer and very out of date so they are starting the process of fixing it up. It was great to see them and Jody and Wayne, their kids. Its a new start for them as Rick just sold the company and is retired now, a new experience for him after all these years. He is still in the early stages of adjusting and its tough to work through.
I went ahead today and wrote two more reports and fixed others as well. Steve came with firewood this afternoon and we got it to the back deck, the wheel barrow is filled with it, makes great fires.
This has been a challenging day for personal reasons and my inspiration my be flickering away. Some things are a great challenge than we know when we get into them and only time will work things out I guess.
Pooka and I went to the park today and took an extra circle around trying to get a few more exercise minutes in. She certainly did not mind, she loves to go walk and smell every scent as she walks.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Good evening
I'm really liking this new way of living, while I have some special inspiration and of course that helps my habits are changing. As of this morning I'm down 14 pounds and feeling great. I almost never cough now, my heart rate is consistently correct, I've dropped my long acting insulin to almost nothing yet I wake to good numbers, it was 145 this morning which is pretty good.
Today at about 3:35 I was getting hungry, the oatmeal had finally worn out in my system and so I found a Burger King. Once again I asked for a vegeburger meal but today I had a huge cup of water, no ice, easier to drink with no ice and I threw the pathetic buns away, just had the patty and I've found if I put a tiny bit of the dressing for the salad on the patty that helps it go down easier. I walked out feeling great, full and satisfied. This evening I nuked a little potato and covered it with green beans and pinto beans, a tiny bit of non fat cheese and had a great meal. Its so easy and of course I don't eat at night or between meals at all and weight is dropping, dropping. Not sure what I'll do when I hit 200 but I'm sure looking forward to it. That will be down 26.5 pounds and well on my way to the 155 that I want to be at. Clothes fit better now, I feel strong, can walk easily as far as I want, can carry firewood and am ready to tackle new projects. Work is going well, I saw a condo in Milpitas today and was able to stop by and see Jo and Timothy, Mia might have been still asleep so I did not disturb her.
The little condo was owned by a young couple, the guy went to Japan and ended up with a very nice girl from there. They worked through immigration and are now married and very happy together.
Well its bedtime here. Rick and Roxanna have moved to Discovery Bay from Conn. and I'll see them in the morning at their new place, just a block from where they used to live so long ago. It will be nice to have them back, very hard to see Rick not at the helm of a company, he has done it for so long but now he is retired.
Love to all,
Tim
Today at about 3:35 I was getting hungry, the oatmeal had finally worn out in my system and so I found a Burger King. Once again I asked for a vegeburger meal but today I had a huge cup of water, no ice, easier to drink with no ice and I threw the pathetic buns away, just had the patty and I've found if I put a tiny bit of the dressing for the salad on the patty that helps it go down easier. I walked out feeling great, full and satisfied. This evening I nuked a little potato and covered it with green beans and pinto beans, a tiny bit of non fat cheese and had a great meal. Its so easy and of course I don't eat at night or between meals at all and weight is dropping, dropping. Not sure what I'll do when I hit 200 but I'm sure looking forward to it. That will be down 26.5 pounds and well on my way to the 155 that I want to be at. Clothes fit better now, I feel strong, can walk easily as far as I want, can carry firewood and am ready to tackle new projects. Work is going well, I saw a condo in Milpitas today and was able to stop by and see Jo and Timothy, Mia might have been still asleep so I did not disturb her.
The little condo was owned by a young couple, the guy went to Japan and ended up with a very nice girl from there. They worked through immigration and are now married and very happy together.
Well its bedtime here. Rick and Roxanna have moved to Discovery Bay from Conn. and I'll see them in the morning at their new place, just a block from where they used to live so long ago. It will be nice to have them back, very hard to see Rick not at the helm of a company, he has done it for so long but now he is retired.
Love to all,
Tim
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Plugging along
Dear Family and Friends,
How different life has become without the hold of constant eating or thinking about eating over me no more. As of this morning it was down about 12.5 pounds and I can tell it, almost no coughing, wake rested and in shorter time of sleep.
Today I went to Brentwood and measured a very large 3700 sf home that was a single story, really a great home, lovely pool, inside was perfect with high ceilings, great kitchen, wow. Then I drove up to Oakley to take a look at some plans for a very strange shaped home that I had measured but could not pull together on the computer. Then I went on to Kaiser where Dr. Hanna, the cardiologist had prepared me a letter explaining why I needed to be released from the weight plan I had signed up for at a rate of $44 a month. I had been told on the phone that I just had to come in and give them the letter and that would be it. Well of course now there is a $100 fee to quit, they kicked it up the line to see if management would have mercy on me. While I was there I also put the regular club dues on hold as well so in one visit I saved another $100 a month. This saving money is a kick and I'm only getting started. Will I have the courage to dump the motorhome? Stay tuned, perhaps.
Once I was through saving money I came home to write things up and that has gone well this afternoon and evening. Now its bed time and I really look forward to getting some sleep again.
As always I'm hoping for more money in the mail tomorrow. A house payment and the huge payment to Citi bank for the card we used for our medical travel and used to have $40,000 on it. Now its less than $10,000 but the monthly payment of $526 comes out faithfully. I could sure use that money elsewhere.
Well life is OK with some exciting spots here and there right now. How I long to not be alone all the time and that's the real reason for dumping the weight. The women who seem to pop up on the dating sites never seem to want a guy that looks like Santa Claus, they are looking for fit and trip guys, the same as I'm looking for in a woman so if I want one I need to be one. I think I can be at 200 pounds in 2 or 3 weeks at this rate. I would love it.
Love to all
Tim
How different life has become without the hold of constant eating or thinking about eating over me no more. As of this morning it was down about 12.5 pounds and I can tell it, almost no coughing, wake rested and in shorter time of sleep.
Today I went to Brentwood and measured a very large 3700 sf home that was a single story, really a great home, lovely pool, inside was perfect with high ceilings, great kitchen, wow. Then I drove up to Oakley to take a look at some plans for a very strange shaped home that I had measured but could not pull together on the computer. Then I went on to Kaiser where Dr. Hanna, the cardiologist had prepared me a letter explaining why I needed to be released from the weight plan I had signed up for at a rate of $44 a month. I had been told on the phone that I just had to come in and give them the letter and that would be it. Well of course now there is a $100 fee to quit, they kicked it up the line to see if management would have mercy on me. While I was there I also put the regular club dues on hold as well so in one visit I saved another $100 a month. This saving money is a kick and I'm only getting started. Will I have the courage to dump the motorhome? Stay tuned, perhaps.
Once I was through saving money I came home to write things up and that has gone well this afternoon and evening. Now its bed time and I really look forward to getting some sleep again.
As always I'm hoping for more money in the mail tomorrow. A house payment and the huge payment to Citi bank for the card we used for our medical travel and used to have $40,000 on it. Now its less than $10,000 but the monthly payment of $526 comes out faithfully. I could sure use that money elsewhere.
Well life is OK with some exciting spots here and there right now. How I long to not be alone all the time and that's the real reason for dumping the weight. The women who seem to pop up on the dating sites never seem to want a guy that looks like Santa Claus, they are looking for fit and trip guys, the same as I'm looking for in a woman so if I want one I need to be one. I think I can be at 200 pounds in 2 or 3 weeks at this rate. I would love it.
Love to all
Tim
Monday, January 20, 2014
A Good Day
This evening my body is winding down after a very long and successful day.
After a cold walk at 34 degrees and a hot shower I had my usual Oatmeal breakfast, felt fortified and left for Martinez. I found a cute little house, a nice young couple with a husband who is a general contractor so the house was very fixed up, still old but nice. A little 2 year old shy girl finally was saying good bye to me when I left and the baby slept on. Mom was French and dad was Italian so the house was interesting.
Once that one was put away I turned to Oakland never knowing what going there will bring. Today the home was up the hill a bit and nice though very old. The people were just great, the mom works from home selling furniture and was busy the entire time I was there answering people's questions and helping them order bar stools, tables etc. The property had a lot going for it and the comps will be helpful I think. I found a Burger King and did something I have long contemplated. I did the vege burger meal, a side salad with some low fat dressing and I threw the buns away and just ate the burger and the tomatoes with the lettuce. It worked out perfectly, low calorie, lots of protein and a salad. One more demon put away, that one can't eat out without pigging out. I hope to be 214 in the morning and I'm so looking forward to being down to 200 and in size 36 pants soon. Already the shirts fit easily and the belt is a couple more notches tighter now. I have a hard time staying asleep and even without the long acting insulin the morning numbers have been pretty good. I am on such a roll and there may come a day when I can fully explain why but lets just say I like this new approach to life with lots of water, salads, protein bars instead of dinner tonight, I just realized that, wow no wonder my gut is growling. If things get to bad I'll have a cutie, the little orange which seems to settle things down but I'd rather not.
After Oakland I was Antioch bound, took it slow since I was well ahead of schedule. I arrived early but the sellers were in residence and didn't mind at all. The place was beautiful, huge pool and 10 person spa, all in perfect condition. The interior of the home was unusually attractive and well maintained. Nice to see such a property.
After finishing work I went back to Costco and found dog food for Pooka, brown eggs to boil, sweetener for the decaf coffee and the morning Oatmeal. I also found some chips they were hyping as I walked in that are pretty full of fiber and have very few carbs, sound good, are vegan and actually taste good too. I got the sea salt version. Then it was get home, unload the car before I forgot to do so and then start working. I've been working on a ranchette with an acre up in Oakley. The guy is doing the work himself. Bought the house out of foreclosure and is making it a new home and doing such a super job of it.
Well I'm close to going to sleep. Have a Brentwood home to see at 9 in the morning, a big one that will take a bit to measure.
I love having work and I'm able to focus on work in a way that is new for me, I have energy and the heart is behaving well even when I carried in the dog food or the ladder today, I do have some heart sensations which are new, not sure what I should do about them.
Sending love to all,
Tim
After a cold walk at 34 degrees and a hot shower I had my usual Oatmeal breakfast, felt fortified and left for Martinez. I found a cute little house, a nice young couple with a husband who is a general contractor so the house was very fixed up, still old but nice. A little 2 year old shy girl finally was saying good bye to me when I left and the baby slept on. Mom was French and dad was Italian so the house was interesting.
Once that one was put away I turned to Oakland never knowing what going there will bring. Today the home was up the hill a bit and nice though very old. The people were just great, the mom works from home selling furniture and was busy the entire time I was there answering people's questions and helping them order bar stools, tables etc. The property had a lot going for it and the comps will be helpful I think. I found a Burger King and did something I have long contemplated. I did the vege burger meal, a side salad with some low fat dressing and I threw the buns away and just ate the burger and the tomatoes with the lettuce. It worked out perfectly, low calorie, lots of protein and a salad. One more demon put away, that one can't eat out without pigging out. I hope to be 214 in the morning and I'm so looking forward to being down to 200 and in size 36 pants soon. Already the shirts fit easily and the belt is a couple more notches tighter now. I have a hard time staying asleep and even without the long acting insulin the morning numbers have been pretty good. I am on such a roll and there may come a day when I can fully explain why but lets just say I like this new approach to life with lots of water, salads, protein bars instead of dinner tonight, I just realized that, wow no wonder my gut is growling. If things get to bad I'll have a cutie, the little orange which seems to settle things down but I'd rather not.
After Oakland I was Antioch bound, took it slow since I was well ahead of schedule. I arrived early but the sellers were in residence and didn't mind at all. The place was beautiful, huge pool and 10 person spa, all in perfect condition. The interior of the home was unusually attractive and well maintained. Nice to see such a property.
After finishing work I went back to Costco and found dog food for Pooka, brown eggs to boil, sweetener for the decaf coffee and the morning Oatmeal. I also found some chips they were hyping as I walked in that are pretty full of fiber and have very few carbs, sound good, are vegan and actually taste good too. I got the sea salt version. Then it was get home, unload the car before I forgot to do so and then start working. I've been working on a ranchette with an acre up in Oakley. The guy is doing the work himself. Bought the house out of foreclosure and is making it a new home and doing such a super job of it.
Well I'm close to going to sleep. Have a Brentwood home to see at 9 in the morning, a big one that will take a bit to measure.
I love having work and I'm able to focus on work in a way that is new for me, I have energy and the heart is behaving well even when I carried in the dog food or the ladder today, I do have some heart sensations which are new, not sure what I should do about them.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Eventful Sunday
Lets just say this has been a pretty good day in spite of the 49 loss. Somehow Seattle does not have much class even in victory. Its a super bowl that I'll pass on and I hope Denver brings its game and sends the sorry Seahawks home early.
I can't actually watch a football game like this one so I just catch highlights on the Yahoo site once in a while. And even that stirs me up, not sure why, probably mentally unbalanced by a fall at some point.
I continue to feel great and I'm on such a roll weight wise right now. I no longer eat at all in the evening, nothing and yes I often wake at night very hungry as I eat a lot of salads and very light on anything else.
For breakfast I have 1/2 cup oatmeal with a tiny bit of Soy Milk, a slice of solid toast with very light butter and a banana or orange. That is it until about 2 when I might have a protein bar or a salad if I'm out working. Around 5 I'm pretty hungry so I have a salad or a small Subway vege sandwich. That's what I did tonight and ate with Lois and Ray, it was a nice break. Oh and I made an excellent deposit while I was out. The bank thanked me.
I am so grateful when checks come in, it seems I never stop thanking the Good Lord for His help.
I finally pulled in the last of the Christmas stuff out front, the globe which snows on snowmen is back in its box for another year. I still have the little tree in the front window with its colored lights. Its on a timer and I love to see it when I come home. I miss the porch light being on and knowing that someone who loves me is inside. I've never got so jaded that I miss homecomings. Perhaps that will change one of these days.
Thanks to new orders I have work for Monday all set up, 11 in Martinez, 1 in Oakland and 4 back in Antioch, what a huge blessing those orders are to me.
So enjoy your holiday tomorrow, I'll enjoy mine on the road but its my choice top do so.
Love to all,
Tim
I can't actually watch a football game like this one so I just catch highlights on the Yahoo site once in a while. And even that stirs me up, not sure why, probably mentally unbalanced by a fall at some point.
I continue to feel great and I'm on such a roll weight wise right now. I no longer eat at all in the evening, nothing and yes I often wake at night very hungry as I eat a lot of salads and very light on anything else.
For breakfast I have 1/2 cup oatmeal with a tiny bit of Soy Milk, a slice of solid toast with very light butter and a banana or orange. That is it until about 2 when I might have a protein bar or a salad if I'm out working. Around 5 I'm pretty hungry so I have a salad or a small Subway vege sandwich. That's what I did tonight and ate with Lois and Ray, it was a nice break. Oh and I made an excellent deposit while I was out. The bank thanked me.
I am so grateful when checks come in, it seems I never stop thanking the Good Lord for His help.
I finally pulled in the last of the Christmas stuff out front, the globe which snows on snowmen is back in its box for another year. I still have the little tree in the front window with its colored lights. Its on a timer and I love to see it when I come home. I miss the porch light being on and knowing that someone who loves me is inside. I've never got so jaded that I miss homecomings. Perhaps that will change one of these days.
Thanks to new orders I have work for Monday all set up, 11 in Martinez, 1 in Oakland and 4 back in Antioch, what a huge blessing those orders are to me.
So enjoy your holiday tomorrow, I'll enjoy mine on the road but its my choice top do so.
Love to all,
Tim
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Super day
Good evening,
Though last night was terrible, I just had a hard time going to and then staying asleep. Recounting my time at McDonalds I think they gave me real coffee instead of decaf which I ordered. I was jittery all night and spend hours looking into the darkness.
This morning Jo texted to see if I'd like to join them at the Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park. It sounded great so I got up and went downstairs, what greeted me was pretty bad. Pooka did not have a good night either and she had made three messes on the tile which were awful. An hour later I finally had the room restored to it normal clean floor. She will not be staying inside again at night. Due to the Raccoons I have to keep the back dog door locked at night and when I spend a longer time before coming down she can't hold it any more. Bummer.
I drove to SF and the park and arrived a few minutes before the family did. Jo had brought a lunch and it was perfect, all the right things and nothing bad. Once lunch was over the kiddos enjoyed the park including a strange concrete slide down the hillside. The kiddos take a piece of cardboard along with some sand up the hillside. Then they put the sand on the slide made of concrete and sit on the cardboard. The results are wild and Timothy raced down the mountain over and over. Mia enjoyed riding the Farris wheel with Jo and Jason and I had a chance to catch up on our lives.
Once we were through with the park we drove down to the beach, found parking and the children played on the sand for a long time. It was a warm day and I even picked up a bit of sunburn, not a usual January day for San Francisco let me tell you, not at all.
Now I'm home with traffic light on the way, its off to bed for me to try to catch up on last nights lack of sleep.
I am now down to 11 pounds gone and soon the 200 mark I hope. I've dreamed of this for a long time but could not find the will to make it happen. With a number of different reasons this time it just makes great sense. I'm loving the energy and the feel of being in control once again. I stopped and had soup and salad at Olive Garden, I had water to drink and skipped the bread and I enjoyed the water and did not miss the bread sticks at all.
So I'm sending love to all,
Tim
The family watching Frisbee
Though last night was terrible, I just had a hard time going to and then staying asleep. Recounting my time at McDonalds I think they gave me real coffee instead of decaf which I ordered. I was jittery all night and spend hours looking into the darkness.
This morning Jo texted to see if I'd like to join them at the Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park. It sounded great so I got up and went downstairs, what greeted me was pretty bad. Pooka did not have a good night either and she had made three messes on the tile which were awful. An hour later I finally had the room restored to it normal clean floor. She will not be staying inside again at night. Due to the Raccoons I have to keep the back dog door locked at night and when I spend a longer time before coming down she can't hold it any more. Bummer.
I drove to SF and the park and arrived a few minutes before the family did. Jo had brought a lunch and it was perfect, all the right things and nothing bad. Once lunch was over the kiddos enjoyed the park including a strange concrete slide down the hillside. The kiddos take a piece of cardboard along with some sand up the hillside. Then they put the sand on the slide made of concrete and sit on the cardboard. The results are wild and Timothy raced down the mountain over and over. Mia enjoyed riding the Farris wheel with Jo and Jason and I had a chance to catch up on our lives.
Once we were through with the park we drove down to the beach, found parking and the children played on the sand for a long time. It was a warm day and I even picked up a bit of sunburn, not a usual January day for San Francisco let me tell you, not at all.
Now I'm home with traffic light on the way, its off to bed for me to try to catch up on last nights lack of sleep.
I am now down to 11 pounds gone and soon the 200 mark I hope. I've dreamed of this for a long time but could not find the will to make it happen. With a number of different reasons this time it just makes great sense. I'm loving the energy and the feel of being in control once again. I stopped and had soup and salad at Olive Garden, I had water to drink and skipped the bread and I enjoyed the water and did not miss the bread sticks at all.
So I'm sending love to all,
Tim
The family watching Frisbee
Friday, January 17, 2014
Friday comes once again, world loses a great guy, Lloyd White.
Good evening
Loren White called this evening as I was on my way to McDonalds to get a salad. He had sad news, his dad had died this week.
Some context. When I arrived in Tracy in 1976 to be the pastor of the Tracy SDA Church some of the most accepting people to us as a young pastor's family were Lloyd and Bernice White. Both outstanding musicians we quickly identified with each other. Lloyd had one of the best bass voices I've ever heard in my entire life. Solid, expressive and with near perfect pitch he could just lay down the foundation for any music he was performing. He was in the Roger Peden Choral and also the Adoration Singers as well as in many choirs and groups around the church. He and Bernice were always there for us during the 13 years we lived in Tracy, great and special friends. It has hit me hard to have him gone. I did not know he was ill and it all happened very rapidly but tonight I feel deeply saddened by our loss. I feel a great man has died and we will never be quite the same again for his loss. Bernice is such a talented musician and can play the organ to make the angels weep. She played for Nan's memorial service a little over 6 years ago. She made it very special and all through the years the White's could always be counted on to lend their musical talents freely and lovingly.
So I am in shock and feel the loss so deeply. I am so thankful I knew him and he knew I cared about him, never a question about that. What a guy!
This has been a day of contrasts, on a personal level I'm heavy hearted, can't explain more but let me assure you I'm feeling some loss there as well. On a professional level this has been a banner day, you know I have learned to just walk forward and do what has to be done whether your heart is in it or not. So many times with Nan and her many trials we just had to walk forward and face whatever even though our hearts were broken with fears and dread. So today in spite of the way I was feeling on a personal level I did my first inspection in Pittsburg at 10 am. It was a little house and filled with the smells of smoke inside. The home was OK and the guy is being transferred to San Diego. It was a relocation appraisal so the fee is nice at $500. From there I drove to Costco for water, I've been going through it so fast that I was out. I also grabbed bananas and salad and then raced to the next appointment. It was a house on an acre in Oakley. The young family bought it practically in ruins and have rebuilt it in an amazing and professional way. It is now nearly completed and has the best of everything. It was tough to measure but I finally managed to get through it.
Then I drove to an interesting situation. A 10 acre property which had a nice manufactured home on it. The home had never been mounted on concrete foundation so is considered personal property. The elderly couple lived there for years and finally have died. Now a value must be determined for the property for the complicated estate. They paid me on the spot and I so enjoyed spending time with them as they walked me through a still fully furnished home, nothing has been removed yet. You could just tell that some really terrific people lived there and it was sort of sad to walk the rooms, now quiet and still.
Once that inspection was over my blood sugar had dropped through the floor so I considered what to eat without destroying the weight loss and progress I've been making. I am determined not to return to my former ways, they did not work and as long as I'm out of shape the chances of my finding the person of my dreams will probably not happen. This new phase of new habits started the night Jason brought me home from the hospital. After the shock and scare of finding a resting heart rate of 136 in the middle of the night and a night spend in ER and then a day in the hospital it seemed like a wake up call. With the two most precious people in my life visiting, Nikki in the morning and Jason in the afternoon my attention was drawn to the choices I've gradually slipped into, mostly bad, Starbucks too often, eating the entire evening even thought I was never hungry, coming home from a nice meal and then eating a couple more just to pass the lonely time by, then coping all night with restless sleep with all the food inside. I knew better but no matter what the best intentions were I ended up eating. I could easily do it tonight if I just let down my guard.
Jason brought me home from the hospital and built a fire for some heat and then went to the kitchen, soon I had some really good tasting food, full of fiber and very tasty. It was whole wheat tortilla and some slices of cheese warmed inside. It was so good and Jason had created this meal so just determined that I would not eat the rest of the evening. I didn't and felt great in the morning and I've not had a bite to eat in the evening since. The other major change has been the addition of many bottles of water, I take it everywhere I go and now I'm used to it. Dolly Vogel got me into drinking a bottle of water when I first wake and now I can't do otherwise. Then Jason was talking about getting up at 5 in the morning to go to the gym so he could get his miles in before school. I decided that if Jason could do that I could certainly go for a walk when I got up and I've not missed a day, sometimes to the park and sometimes around the lake. And you know the outcome, so far I've moved from 226.5 to 116 as of this morning. I am beginning to consider trying on the 36 size pants of which I have many pairs, kind of exciting to move on from bad habits and see results. As I'm changing the blood sugar numbers are quickly responding, they are dropping and I'm actually looking forward to the next A1C which is April 14.
At this point of course I'm feeling much more energetic in spite of the very low heart rate the meds impose. They backed off the Coreg in an attempt to get the rate slightly increased and it seems to have moved up a couple numbers. I think its a bit too low, the primary concern is to keep the heart from doing its fluttering and so far its not done it at all and I check it many times each day with the iphone app.
This afternoon the phone kept letting me know emails were coming in. While I waited for the last appointment contact to get home from work I found 4 new orders waiting. I grabbed each one using the iphone and then printed them out when I got home to set up as files. What a huge blessing it is to get 4 new orders and I have called all of them seeking early appointments.
This evening knowing the Ray is in San Jose I asked Lois if she wanted to go someplace where I could get a salad so we went to McDonalds, they have a good cheap side salad and I had that along with decaf. It did the trick.
So I'm once again home on Friday night alone, can't tell you how much I hate that, I'm tired of being alone but at least now I have a plan to change that, get in shape and find someone who can stand me, even enjoy my humor and strange ways.
I'm not sure if I get the girls for Sabbath School in the morning or not. Hope so as I like to keep them connected to the bible stories, the songs, the memory verses. Its my little mission project, to take them if its allowed. They have busy lives and sometimes they have things scheduled that prevent them from going with me to Sabbath School. I understand that.
At this point I've adjusted to my cold house. I hardly notice the temperature anymore. I build a fire in the morning to take the chill off and then just let it be for the rest of the day. This morning was cold and our walk at 7 was with frost all around but the day warmed up, too much for this time of year. How we need rain.
Sending love to all of you, for those of you who are with loved ones reach out and let them know you care, There just might be a day when you can no longer reach them so I urge you to do it now. Its just a good way to live, to care and be kind.
Tim
Loren White called this evening as I was on my way to McDonalds to get a salad. He had sad news, his dad had died this week.
Some context. When I arrived in Tracy in 1976 to be the pastor of the Tracy SDA Church some of the most accepting people to us as a young pastor's family were Lloyd and Bernice White. Both outstanding musicians we quickly identified with each other. Lloyd had one of the best bass voices I've ever heard in my entire life. Solid, expressive and with near perfect pitch he could just lay down the foundation for any music he was performing. He was in the Roger Peden Choral and also the Adoration Singers as well as in many choirs and groups around the church. He and Bernice were always there for us during the 13 years we lived in Tracy, great and special friends. It has hit me hard to have him gone. I did not know he was ill and it all happened very rapidly but tonight I feel deeply saddened by our loss. I feel a great man has died and we will never be quite the same again for his loss. Bernice is such a talented musician and can play the organ to make the angels weep. She played for Nan's memorial service a little over 6 years ago. She made it very special and all through the years the White's could always be counted on to lend their musical talents freely and lovingly.
So I am in shock and feel the loss so deeply. I am so thankful I knew him and he knew I cared about him, never a question about that. What a guy!
This has been a day of contrasts, on a personal level I'm heavy hearted, can't explain more but let me assure you I'm feeling some loss there as well. On a professional level this has been a banner day, you know I have learned to just walk forward and do what has to be done whether your heart is in it or not. So many times with Nan and her many trials we just had to walk forward and face whatever even though our hearts were broken with fears and dread. So today in spite of the way I was feeling on a personal level I did my first inspection in Pittsburg at 10 am. It was a little house and filled with the smells of smoke inside. The home was OK and the guy is being transferred to San Diego. It was a relocation appraisal so the fee is nice at $500. From there I drove to Costco for water, I've been going through it so fast that I was out. I also grabbed bananas and salad and then raced to the next appointment. It was a house on an acre in Oakley. The young family bought it practically in ruins and have rebuilt it in an amazing and professional way. It is now nearly completed and has the best of everything. It was tough to measure but I finally managed to get through it.
Then I drove to an interesting situation. A 10 acre property which had a nice manufactured home on it. The home had never been mounted on concrete foundation so is considered personal property. The elderly couple lived there for years and finally have died. Now a value must be determined for the property for the complicated estate. They paid me on the spot and I so enjoyed spending time with them as they walked me through a still fully furnished home, nothing has been removed yet. You could just tell that some really terrific people lived there and it was sort of sad to walk the rooms, now quiet and still.
Once that inspection was over my blood sugar had dropped through the floor so I considered what to eat without destroying the weight loss and progress I've been making. I am determined not to return to my former ways, they did not work and as long as I'm out of shape the chances of my finding the person of my dreams will probably not happen. This new phase of new habits started the night Jason brought me home from the hospital. After the shock and scare of finding a resting heart rate of 136 in the middle of the night and a night spend in ER and then a day in the hospital it seemed like a wake up call. With the two most precious people in my life visiting, Nikki in the morning and Jason in the afternoon my attention was drawn to the choices I've gradually slipped into, mostly bad, Starbucks too often, eating the entire evening even thought I was never hungry, coming home from a nice meal and then eating a couple more just to pass the lonely time by, then coping all night with restless sleep with all the food inside. I knew better but no matter what the best intentions were I ended up eating. I could easily do it tonight if I just let down my guard.
Jason brought me home from the hospital and built a fire for some heat and then went to the kitchen, soon I had some really good tasting food, full of fiber and very tasty. It was whole wheat tortilla and some slices of cheese warmed inside. It was so good and Jason had created this meal so just determined that I would not eat the rest of the evening. I didn't and felt great in the morning and I've not had a bite to eat in the evening since. The other major change has been the addition of many bottles of water, I take it everywhere I go and now I'm used to it. Dolly Vogel got me into drinking a bottle of water when I first wake and now I can't do otherwise. Then Jason was talking about getting up at 5 in the morning to go to the gym so he could get his miles in before school. I decided that if Jason could do that I could certainly go for a walk when I got up and I've not missed a day, sometimes to the park and sometimes around the lake. And you know the outcome, so far I've moved from 226.5 to 116 as of this morning. I am beginning to consider trying on the 36 size pants of which I have many pairs, kind of exciting to move on from bad habits and see results. As I'm changing the blood sugar numbers are quickly responding, they are dropping and I'm actually looking forward to the next A1C which is April 14.
At this point of course I'm feeling much more energetic in spite of the very low heart rate the meds impose. They backed off the Coreg in an attempt to get the rate slightly increased and it seems to have moved up a couple numbers. I think its a bit too low, the primary concern is to keep the heart from doing its fluttering and so far its not done it at all and I check it many times each day with the iphone app.
This afternoon the phone kept letting me know emails were coming in. While I waited for the last appointment contact to get home from work I found 4 new orders waiting. I grabbed each one using the iphone and then printed them out when I got home to set up as files. What a huge blessing it is to get 4 new orders and I have called all of them seeking early appointments.
This evening knowing the Ray is in San Jose I asked Lois if she wanted to go someplace where I could get a salad so we went to McDonalds, they have a good cheap side salad and I had that along with decaf. It did the trick.
So I'm once again home on Friday night alone, can't tell you how much I hate that, I'm tired of being alone but at least now I have a plan to change that, get in shape and find someone who can stand me, even enjoy my humor and strange ways.
I'm not sure if I get the girls for Sabbath School in the morning or not. Hope so as I like to keep them connected to the bible stories, the songs, the memory verses. Its my little mission project, to take them if its allowed. They have busy lives and sometimes they have things scheduled that prevent them from going with me to Sabbath School. I understand that.
At this point I've adjusted to my cold house. I hardly notice the temperature anymore. I build a fire in the morning to take the chill off and then just let it be for the rest of the day. This morning was cold and our walk at 7 was with frost all around but the day warmed up, too much for this time of year. How we need rain.
Sending love to all of you, for those of you who are with loved ones reach out and let them know you care, There just might be a day when you can no longer reach them so I urge you to do it now. Its just a good way to live, to care and be kind.
Tim
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Good evening
Talk about winter, as I was working in San Jose today the temperature was 75, could not believe we were having 75 degree weather in January. We need some rain and soon.
Typical work day here, do research, set up new orders, thank you Lord, drive to AT&T store as the internet was not working, of course the young wiz fixed in by a hard reboot and all the emails came pouring in. I need it to work as some orders come through the internet and if you don't claim them in two hours they go away to be given to someone else. I hate to think how many orders I've lost that way. Other companies send them by text and I hear texts as they make a different sound than the internet which has a soft beep and beeps all the time.
The drive to San Jose was uneventful and I managed to complete listening to a book that was long and very interesting. Always hate to have a book come to its end, then what do I do while I'm driving afterwards.
The San Jose property was a townhome in a nice complex, the owner was great and met me and showed me through his home. I think he may live there without a spouse, just guessing but his 22 year old college daughter lives there too and her room looked more like a young ladies room, tidy.
In our business tidy does not matter, called cosmetics, we look at the structure, the upgrades, the condition, the features, not the house keeping.
This evening I met Kallie and Keanna at the tumbling class room, took them both to the other side of town where I delivered Keanna to a dance studio, she is taking musical drama and is both learning to sing with vocal lessons but also how to act, both things she loves to do so this is great. While Keanna was in class Kallie and I found Wendy's and she had her children's meal and I had a baked potato. Since I had skipped lunch having only some peanut butter crackers and lots of water, bottle of it to be honest I was ready for some food.
You see this morning it was official, I have lost 10 pounds and now weigh 216, best in a very long time. I'm planning to do something special when I get down to 200, not sure what yet but it won't involve food. My heart continues to beat correctly and with the slight adjustment in dosage of the Coreg its now running about 60 during the day. I'm feeling great but not sleeping very well at all. I think my body was used to having fresh food dumped in just before I went to bed every night and is now wondering what happened, why it is so empty.
Well right now its time to rest, got to hear from Gerry Lammerding today and he sounded great. He was talking about trading cars so I know he is doing OK. He loves to trade cars, always has.
Love to all
Tim
Typical work day here, do research, set up new orders, thank you Lord, drive to AT&T store as the internet was not working, of course the young wiz fixed in by a hard reboot and all the emails came pouring in. I need it to work as some orders come through the internet and if you don't claim them in two hours they go away to be given to someone else. I hate to think how many orders I've lost that way. Other companies send them by text and I hear texts as they make a different sound than the internet which has a soft beep and beeps all the time.
The drive to San Jose was uneventful and I managed to complete listening to a book that was long and very interesting. Always hate to have a book come to its end, then what do I do while I'm driving afterwards.
The San Jose property was a townhome in a nice complex, the owner was great and met me and showed me through his home. I think he may live there without a spouse, just guessing but his 22 year old college daughter lives there too and her room looked more like a young ladies room, tidy.
In our business tidy does not matter, called cosmetics, we look at the structure, the upgrades, the condition, the features, not the house keeping.
This evening I met Kallie and Keanna at the tumbling class room, took them both to the other side of town where I delivered Keanna to a dance studio, she is taking musical drama and is both learning to sing with vocal lessons but also how to act, both things she loves to do so this is great. While Keanna was in class Kallie and I found Wendy's and she had her children's meal and I had a baked potato. Since I had skipped lunch having only some peanut butter crackers and lots of water, bottle of it to be honest I was ready for some food.
You see this morning it was official, I have lost 10 pounds and now weigh 216, best in a very long time. I'm planning to do something special when I get down to 200, not sure what yet but it won't involve food. My heart continues to beat correctly and with the slight adjustment in dosage of the Coreg its now running about 60 during the day. I'm feeling great but not sleeping very well at all. I think my body was used to having fresh food dumped in just before I went to bed every night and is now wondering what happened, why it is so empty.
Well right now its time to rest, got to hear from Gerry Lammerding today and he sounded great. He was talking about trading cars so I know he is doing OK. He loves to trade cars, always has.
Love to all
Tim
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Good evening
I am just so happy these days and there will be a time when I can explain why. But for now lets just say life has interesting twists with huge rewards.
I've worked in after taking a walk this morning. I've now lost 8.5 pounds and I'm starting to feel the difference, not pronounced yet but I do feel it and I can see it in my face.
Breakfast is usually Oatmeal, 1/2 cup in the microwave for 3 minutes, then a touch of soy milk and its perfect. One slice of good quality bread and a piece of fruit. That carries me... well today it carried me all day.
After driving to Kaiser to pick up a med to cut the rash on my tongue from using Dulera but not rinsing my mouth afterwards, they warmed me but I forgot so now I have a very painful mouth. Dr. had send a prescription down so I drove over to pick it up. Mind you its about 30 minutes away. Well I waited and finally picked it up and it was the wrong thing, not the right meds at all so they dug and found his message so I had to wait even longer.
I got back to pick up the girls right at 1:15 and today we had an extra girl Stacy, neighbor of Steve and Nikki's and that added fun to the afternoon. They played and ate three packages of popcorn, drank water, did their homework and played with devices including Minecraft through Netflix.
Nikki collected them at 4:20 and by then they had undecorated my Christmas tree and left the house is sort of OK condition.
I worked all day at writing reports and fixing other ones.
I see there is one to resubmit yet tonight.
Well love to all,
Tim
I've worked in after taking a walk this morning. I've now lost 8.5 pounds and I'm starting to feel the difference, not pronounced yet but I do feel it and I can see it in my face.
Breakfast is usually Oatmeal, 1/2 cup in the microwave for 3 minutes, then a touch of soy milk and its perfect. One slice of good quality bread and a piece of fruit. That carries me... well today it carried me all day.
After driving to Kaiser to pick up a med to cut the rash on my tongue from using Dulera but not rinsing my mouth afterwards, they warmed me but I forgot so now I have a very painful mouth. Dr. had send a prescription down so I drove over to pick it up. Mind you its about 30 minutes away. Well I waited and finally picked it up and it was the wrong thing, not the right meds at all so they dug and found his message so I had to wait even longer.
I got back to pick up the girls right at 1:15 and today we had an extra girl Stacy, neighbor of Steve and Nikki's and that added fun to the afternoon. They played and ate three packages of popcorn, drank water, did their homework and played with devices including Minecraft through Netflix.
Nikki collected them at 4:20 and by then they had undecorated my Christmas tree and left the house is sort of OK condition.
I worked all day at writing reports and fixing other ones.
I see there is one to resubmit yet tonight.
Well love to all,
Tim
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Interesting days
Dear Family and Friends,
Another winter day that seemed more like late spring. When I got up and took Pooka to the park it was about 34 degrees but felt great with the sunshine and gentle breezes. There were lots of people out and about and some little dogs too.
I worked in for hours and then had a call back from Dr. Hanna, my cardiologist who suggested he would like another EKG. I've not heard back yet the results. He tweaked my meds to meet my needs better, the low resting heart rate at 52 is really borderline too low. While I was at Kaiser I went ahead and picked up supplies, new needles for the insulin pens I use, more test strips for blood tests etc.
By the way the blood numbers have been nothing short of great, so much better than they have been when I ate all night and went to bed bloated with food. Now I sleep restfully and I'm ready for Oatmeal in the morning when I get up along with a single piece of toast and a piece of fruit. Great breakfast.
For lunch today picking up on Jason's idea of the meal he made me after the hospital I took one of my high fiber tortilla's and warmed it in a pan with non fat cheese inside. Then I filled it with ripe tomatoes, what a great meal. For dinner tonight as I was on the road I just ate a snack bar with 160 calories and drank water. As of this morning I had dropped 6 pounds moving down below the 220s for the first time in many months. Eventually I'll be able to tell you more about the motivation for these changes but lets just say for now its all good.
This evening at 5:30 I inspected a townhome in Hayward, so cute, nice granite kitchen, hardwood floors, updated baths and the young people who owned it had a new puppy, what a nice way to end the work day.
Well that's about it for tonight. Sending love to all,
Tim
Another winter day that seemed more like late spring. When I got up and took Pooka to the park it was about 34 degrees but felt great with the sunshine and gentle breezes. There were lots of people out and about and some little dogs too.
I worked in for hours and then had a call back from Dr. Hanna, my cardiologist who suggested he would like another EKG. I've not heard back yet the results. He tweaked my meds to meet my needs better, the low resting heart rate at 52 is really borderline too low. While I was at Kaiser I went ahead and picked up supplies, new needles for the insulin pens I use, more test strips for blood tests etc.
By the way the blood numbers have been nothing short of great, so much better than they have been when I ate all night and went to bed bloated with food. Now I sleep restfully and I'm ready for Oatmeal in the morning when I get up along with a single piece of toast and a piece of fruit. Great breakfast.
For lunch today picking up on Jason's idea of the meal he made me after the hospital I took one of my high fiber tortilla's and warmed it in a pan with non fat cheese inside. Then I filled it with ripe tomatoes, what a great meal. For dinner tonight as I was on the road I just ate a snack bar with 160 calories and drank water. As of this morning I had dropped 6 pounds moving down below the 220s for the first time in many months. Eventually I'll be able to tell you more about the motivation for these changes but lets just say for now its all good.
This evening at 5:30 I inspected a townhome in Hayward, so cute, nice granite kitchen, hardwood floors, updated baths and the young people who owned it had a new puppy, what a nice way to end the work day.
Well that's about it for tonight. Sending love to all,
Tim
Very successful day
I'm feeling pretty good right now. Its been a long day but I've managed to get quite a bit of work accomplished.
This morning I woke up and took Pooka to the park. She loved the walk and when we got back I happened to notice the temperature. It was 34 but I must be getting used to being in the cold as it felt just fine.
I worked on the report for a very big house in Pleasanton but did not quite did done before I had to leave for Fremont. I enjoyed meeting the people there and the house was just what they said it would be, very full of personal possessions. Their mom was a QVC addict and there were many things unopened in the rooms.
After shooting the comps I drove back to Pleasanton and shot photos there also for the big one I was working on. Once I got home I worked on getting the report completed and finally out. What a feeling of relief when the report was finally on its way via email.
On a personal level today is a much better day and I am feeling pretty good with a steady heart beat but toward the low end of the scale. I have now lost a full 5 pounds and expect to have more gone by morning. I've stopped eating in the evening and I'm trying to be more careful about what I eat the rest of the time too. Jason has been texting me in the morning reminding me to go for a walk and I text him encouragement too as he is trying to get up at 5 and go to the gym before taking BART to his school in the city.
For now I'm sending love to all,
Tim
This morning I woke up and took Pooka to the park. She loved the walk and when we got back I happened to notice the temperature. It was 34 but I must be getting used to being in the cold as it felt just fine.
I worked on the report for a very big house in Pleasanton but did not quite did done before I had to leave for Fremont. I enjoyed meeting the people there and the house was just what they said it would be, very full of personal possessions. Their mom was a QVC addict and there were many things unopened in the rooms.
After shooting the comps I drove back to Pleasanton and shot photos there also for the big one I was working on. Once I got home I worked on getting the report completed and finally out. What a feeling of relief when the report was finally on its way via email.
On a personal level today is a much better day and I am feeling pretty good with a steady heart beat but toward the low end of the scale. I have now lost a full 5 pounds and expect to have more gone by morning. I've stopped eating in the evening and I'm trying to be more careful about what I eat the rest of the time too. Jason has been texting me in the morning reminding me to go for a walk and I text him encouragement too as he is trying to get up at 5 and go to the gym before taking BART to his school in the city.
For now I'm sending love to all,
Tim
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Low key day
Yesterday was so exciting, I felt more alive than I've felt in a very long time, not so much today. All of the hope and energy of yesterday has pretty much been blown away. Its so personal I can't explain but tonight I'm hurting.
This morning while still riding a high I jumped up and told Pooka prepare for a walk. I strapped on the heart monitor, put on the watch that reads it and we headed out. The three miles took less time than normal and I finally got up to 90 beats per minute just as I turned the corner for home. Breakfast had to be fast as I was taking Kallie to a birthday party for Kristin in Tracy. What a well planned party, very enjoyable with food for adults as well as children, a jumpy house and a craft table. Angel did a super job on everything and I think Kristin had a great day. Once we were through I returned Kallie to her parents and then came back home to work. I had a really hard time getting myself into a work mode with the depressing nature of the afternoon. I built a fire after bringing in 5 loads of wood. I decided that no one else was going to do it. I would just be careful and not carry loads as heavy as I usually do and it all worked out fine. Then I built a nice fire, had a mocha hot drink and watched an episode of Blue Bloods while sitting in the recliner and under the Alaska blanket, one I dearly love for all the memories it brings flooding back from our cruise in the inside passage, of little villages with smoke curling up from brick chimneys as we passed. I would sit on the private balcony of our room wrapped in the blanket and just enjoy the beauty of it all.
That blanket speaks to me whenever I'm under it. Its hard to move on from that kind of memory, I thought I had last night but then this morning the fleeting dream slipped away. It always happens and I don't know why I even let myself be hopeful, I should learn to just accept that I'm destined to be alone for ever.
Now its bed time and what difference between this night and last night.
I was glad that Kallie had fun at the party, that was the high point of the day.
Good night to all
Tim
This morning while still riding a high I jumped up and told Pooka prepare for a walk. I strapped on the heart monitor, put on the watch that reads it and we headed out. The three miles took less time than normal and I finally got up to 90 beats per minute just as I turned the corner for home. Breakfast had to be fast as I was taking Kallie to a birthday party for Kristin in Tracy. What a well planned party, very enjoyable with food for adults as well as children, a jumpy house and a craft table. Angel did a super job on everything and I think Kristin had a great day. Once we were through I returned Kallie to her parents and then came back home to work. I had a really hard time getting myself into a work mode with the depressing nature of the afternoon. I built a fire after bringing in 5 loads of wood. I decided that no one else was going to do it. I would just be careful and not carry loads as heavy as I usually do and it all worked out fine. Then I built a nice fire, had a mocha hot drink and watched an episode of Blue Bloods while sitting in the recliner and under the Alaska blanket, one I dearly love for all the memories it brings flooding back from our cruise in the inside passage, of little villages with smoke curling up from brick chimneys as we passed. I would sit on the private balcony of our room wrapped in the blanket and just enjoy the beauty of it all.
That blanket speaks to me whenever I'm under it. Its hard to move on from that kind of memory, I thought I had last night but then this morning the fleeting dream slipped away. It always happens and I don't know why I even let myself be hopeful, I should learn to just accept that I'm destined to be alone for ever.
Now its bed time and what difference between this night and last night.
I was glad that Kallie had fun at the party, that was the high point of the day.
Good night to all
Tim
Saturday, January 11, 2014
An incredible day
Good evening,
Sabbath is an interesting concept and reality in my life. Got to say I certainly see the Sabbath hours differently now than the way I was raised. I would say that the hours are much happier now and tend to create less guilt than in my early years.
This morning I actually woke before 5, my body is still adjusting to the fact that I no longer eat all evening, for some very important reasons I really want to get my life in order and eating all evening is just stupid, I know better, I'm not hungry its just a bad habit that I've slipped into over the years. Well now for 4 nights in a row I've not eaten anything after dinner. And it is starting to take hold. However my body is wondering why it is not filled to the brim with food so this morning at 5 I was actually feeling hungry and it woke me. I'm pretty sensitive to waking up after the other night when I woke feeling so strange. So I checked the heart rate and it was 52 so that was OK. I stayed in bed until nearly 7 and slept most of the time, the sleepless night in ER did not help the rhythm either.
Pooka and I headed out for our walk to the park, I've not felt up to taking the long walk yet due to the heart situation. It was cool, lots of people and dogs were out and it was a nice exercise. Heat rate was 66 when I got back home.
I picked up the girls for Sabbath School and we arrived on time, nice for a change. Kim was in charge of the Sabbath School class where Kallie is and sure has her hands full with the interesting behaviors of our kids. The story is Noah and the flood so there are lots of interesting songs and activities to do plus the wonderful snacks afterwards. Today Kim had some vegan cookies that were great.
After Sabbath School I had a chance to catch up with Dr. George and he told me his resting heart rate is normally 45, that was encouraging news because since the new meds are added I'm right about 52 to 53 and it seemed pretty low. Yet I do not have dizzy spells when I get up or move about so I think I'm getting enough blood to the right places.
Keanna came in with two hot chocolates that she had made. She can't have any due to allergies but she makes them for Kallie and me. Nice gesture indeed.
The girls could not agree on lunch so we first drove to Sonic where Keanna ordered her meal, then to Burger King where Kallie and I ordered our meals. Eventually we made it home where I turned the little angels over to their mom who I'm sure had things they needed to do this afternoon.
I had a restful afternoon and ended up having dinner with a special friend I've met. It was a perfect way to bring the day to a close.
Tomorrow Kallie and I go to the Tracy SDA School gym for a nice birthday party for one of the little ones from Sabbath School. Turning 4 is a very big deal and we will have fun.
I'm feeling pretty well, I have no evidence that the heart flutter has returned and now I have an app on my IPHONE that lets me quickly check the heart rate in just a few seconds. That is nice so when I have any doubts I can take it and look at the rhythm is displays and can quickly see if the heart waves are the same or not. So far they have been uniform, good news. I'm still very leery about the whole heart problem so I'm more careful than usual.
Well its getting late and time to sign off,
love to all,
Tim
Sabbath is an interesting concept and reality in my life. Got to say I certainly see the Sabbath hours differently now than the way I was raised. I would say that the hours are much happier now and tend to create less guilt than in my early years.
This morning I actually woke before 5, my body is still adjusting to the fact that I no longer eat all evening, for some very important reasons I really want to get my life in order and eating all evening is just stupid, I know better, I'm not hungry its just a bad habit that I've slipped into over the years. Well now for 4 nights in a row I've not eaten anything after dinner. And it is starting to take hold. However my body is wondering why it is not filled to the brim with food so this morning at 5 I was actually feeling hungry and it woke me. I'm pretty sensitive to waking up after the other night when I woke feeling so strange. So I checked the heart rate and it was 52 so that was OK. I stayed in bed until nearly 7 and slept most of the time, the sleepless night in ER did not help the rhythm either.
Pooka and I headed out for our walk to the park, I've not felt up to taking the long walk yet due to the heart situation. It was cool, lots of people and dogs were out and it was a nice exercise. Heat rate was 66 when I got back home.
I picked up the girls for Sabbath School and we arrived on time, nice for a change. Kim was in charge of the Sabbath School class where Kallie is and sure has her hands full with the interesting behaviors of our kids. The story is Noah and the flood so there are lots of interesting songs and activities to do plus the wonderful snacks afterwards. Today Kim had some vegan cookies that were great.
After Sabbath School I had a chance to catch up with Dr. George and he told me his resting heart rate is normally 45, that was encouraging news because since the new meds are added I'm right about 52 to 53 and it seemed pretty low. Yet I do not have dizzy spells when I get up or move about so I think I'm getting enough blood to the right places.
Keanna came in with two hot chocolates that she had made. She can't have any due to allergies but she makes them for Kallie and me. Nice gesture indeed.
The girls could not agree on lunch so we first drove to Sonic where Keanna ordered her meal, then to Burger King where Kallie and I ordered our meals. Eventually we made it home where I turned the little angels over to their mom who I'm sure had things they needed to do this afternoon.
I had a restful afternoon and ended up having dinner with a special friend I've met. It was a perfect way to bring the day to a close.
Tomorrow Kallie and I go to the Tracy SDA School gym for a nice birthday party for one of the little ones from Sabbath School. Turning 4 is a very big deal and we will have fun.
I'm feeling pretty well, I have no evidence that the heart flutter has returned and now I have an app on my IPHONE that lets me quickly check the heart rate in just a few seconds. That is nice so when I have any doubts I can take it and look at the rhythm is displays and can quickly see if the heart waves are the same or not. So far they have been uniform, good news. I'm still very leery about the whole heart problem so I'm more careful than usual.
Well its getting late and time to sign off,
love to all,
Tim
Friday, January 10, 2014
Interesting week
Good evening,
Finally this week winds down. While there has not been a lot of work I've managed to conduct some business. I lose Thursday due to being in the hospital. As a follow up to that I went to Kaiser today mid day and had a follow up EKG. Another $45 fee, boy that makes my heart surge! But after the 2 minute process the tech told me that there was no sign of any Afib, that the heart pattern was totally normal, then a cardiologist came as a favor and confirmed that there is not problem with the hearts pattern and he said I would not need to have a follow up EKG tomorrow. Good thing since there is no place in the facility that is open tomorrow to do one other than the hospital or ER.
This morning my resting heart rate was 52 and after a walk to the park with Pooka it was 62. That is way too low but right now I guess they are just trying to get the heart rate down and they have succeeded very well. This morning I tried to make the heart monitor function before I went to the park. I was unsuccessful in making it work so I decided that it needed a new battery. I doubt that was true. Ray and eventually Lois tried to help make it work but we were not able to achieve that goal.
Later, after going to the hospital for the EKG I went to Staple and got a new battery but still no luck. So when I go up to bed I'm going to try to read up on the instructions to see what I'm doing wrong. I think it is only set to read above 103 heart rate and of course at 52 or 62 it won't read. So its a matter of figuring it out.
This evening I had dinner at Subway and it was so tasty, they even had a little bit of soup left.
In the morning I'm bringing the girls to Sabbath School in Tracy and then I suppose we might do lunch, depends on what their plans are for the rest of the day. Keanna is enjoying her new musical theater class and the girls are signing up tomorrow for their next swimming sessions. None of this comes cheap but what a well rounded experience they are getting as they grow up.
Well good night one and all,
At this point there is no evidence that my heart has returned to its irregular heart beat and I hope the good news holds. Yes I do have some reservations and concerns but I plan to move forward and dump weight. This is the second night that I've not had anything to eat after dinner, for me that is a huge step forward, I appreciate the encouragement I've received from the family. If I could get down to 200 everything would be better, much better for my poor body and might even perk up the social life too.
Love to each of you,
Tim
Finally this week winds down. While there has not been a lot of work I've managed to conduct some business. I lose Thursday due to being in the hospital. As a follow up to that I went to Kaiser today mid day and had a follow up EKG. Another $45 fee, boy that makes my heart surge! But after the 2 minute process the tech told me that there was no sign of any Afib, that the heart pattern was totally normal, then a cardiologist came as a favor and confirmed that there is not problem with the hearts pattern and he said I would not need to have a follow up EKG tomorrow. Good thing since there is no place in the facility that is open tomorrow to do one other than the hospital or ER.
This morning my resting heart rate was 52 and after a walk to the park with Pooka it was 62. That is way too low but right now I guess they are just trying to get the heart rate down and they have succeeded very well. This morning I tried to make the heart monitor function before I went to the park. I was unsuccessful in making it work so I decided that it needed a new battery. I doubt that was true. Ray and eventually Lois tried to help make it work but we were not able to achieve that goal.
Later, after going to the hospital for the EKG I went to Staple and got a new battery but still no luck. So when I go up to bed I'm going to try to read up on the instructions to see what I'm doing wrong. I think it is only set to read above 103 heart rate and of course at 52 or 62 it won't read. So its a matter of figuring it out.
This evening I had dinner at Subway and it was so tasty, they even had a little bit of soup left.
In the morning I'm bringing the girls to Sabbath School in Tracy and then I suppose we might do lunch, depends on what their plans are for the rest of the day. Keanna is enjoying her new musical theater class and the girls are signing up tomorrow for their next swimming sessions. None of this comes cheap but what a well rounded experience they are getting as they grow up.
Well good night one and all,
At this point there is no evidence that my heart has returned to its irregular heart beat and I hope the good news holds. Yes I do have some reservations and concerns but I plan to move forward and dump weight. This is the second night that I've not had anything to eat after dinner, for me that is a huge step forward, I appreciate the encouragement I've received from the family. If I could get down to 200 everything would be better, much better for my poor body and might even perk up the social life too.
Love to each of you,
Tim
Thursday, January 9, 2014
A rough night
After I wrote the blog entry last night I went to bed. At about 11:30 I woke and did not feel right, I rolled out and took my vitals on a pretty reliable blood pressure meter. While the blood pressure numbers were OK the resting heart rate was not. It was 136 and no matter how many times I kept taking it it remained the same.
I noticed that Ray's light was still on next door so I texted him and he replied. He ended up driving me to Kaiser ER in Antioch where I spent the night. The ER people could not be nicer and very good at what they do. Soon I had an IV in my arm and an EKG with its many wires stuck to my body. The EKG confirmed that my heart rate was very erratic, and was beating far too fast. They used blockers both by pill and injection and gradually the heart rate started to decline. After many blood draws to check heart muscle and other related items I was finally allowed to try to go to sleep, the bed or a gurney was pretty awful. Ray stayed with me until about 3 am when he finally agreed to go home.
At about 7 this morning the decision was made to admit me to room 218, a beautiful room with a view and a good bed. Soon I was eating a nice oatmeal breakfast and having more EKGs. Eventually the main hospital doctor, a Doctor Sidhu, came and I told him of my desire to leave for home. He consulted with cardiologists and since the heart rate was now down to 62 consented to allow me to be discharged. Of course you know how long that takes, hours.
Early this morning while I was still in the ER Nikki arrived. I was so very glad to see her and her coming helped a lot in calming me down. She stayed as long as she could and then Jason arrived. It was simply great to see them both. Since Jason had this week free he was able to stay with me until I was discharged and drove me home, even made a delicious dinner for me and built a fire. He has gone home now but the kids and Ray really helped me get through this day. I also enjoyed talking to Sylvia and Marilyn. Friends matter!
I go back tomorrow for another EKG and then again on Saturday if I can find any lab open. I'll be consulting with the cardiologist soon and perhaps get a cardioversion, a zapping of the heart in a few days. It worked for over a year and perhaps would work again.
I'm thankful to be home tonight but I've got to admit I feel very tired with very little sleep last night or today and I also feel uneasy after this has happened.
The medical people at Kaiser were amazing, kind, competent, funny at times, gentle and understanding. I loved them all.
So I'm sending love to each one of you tonight.
Tim
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
3 mile walk
Sometimes you just have to do things, this morning from the moment I woke I knew I needed to walk. Not swamped with work, have the time, have the desire, have the gloves and warm hat. Pooka ready to go.
So we set out in the cold and walked the 3 miles at a rapid clip. Sure it seems like you are never going to make it round but before long the end is in sight and then it feels like you've done something right.
Once home I decided to bring in some loads of wood and did so. The fire which I had lit earlier had lifted the temperature from 61 to 69 and the fire burned brightly.
I showered and was ready for the day. On the breakfast menu was oatmeal, skinny toast (45 calories per slice) and a banana. Then I settled in to work and did so until 1:15 when I picked up the girls. After a quick McDonalds snack the girls settled into doing homework, munching popcorn and watching some TV. I continued to work trying to get a place in Hayward completed and submitted.
At 4:05 we left only to find the main Highway 4 blocked by police, Nikki and I talked, she was blocked on the other side so after some minutes we met at a mutual point on the detour route. I went on to my appointment in Oakley and she worked her way back home. What was the cause? Some nitwit 16 year old in his new Challenger burned out at the stop light by the Safeway Fuel Station, lost total control and rammed a power pole. Would you believe the roads are still shut down now as first they needed to figure out whose pole it was, PG&E or AT&T. After a couple hours the AT&T crew got there but for some reason the roads are still closed now at 8 pm. I know because I just had to figure out a way to get through the maze.
After the appointment in Oakley, a cute little town located north of Brentwood I decided to have dinner at Carpaccio Ristorante Italiano. At first I was nearly the only person in this elegant place but eventually others came in for dinner. My food could not have been better from the bread to the salad and then the main course, a pasta with steamed veggies, a super sauce. And of course a nice desert. I've included photos so you can know I did not suffer this evening. Every bite was outstanding. Great way to diet!
So good.
Desert
So we set out in the cold and walked the 3 miles at a rapid clip. Sure it seems like you are never going to make it round but before long the end is in sight and then it feels like you've done something right.
Once home I decided to bring in some loads of wood and did so. The fire which I had lit earlier had lifted the temperature from 61 to 69 and the fire burned brightly.
I showered and was ready for the day. On the breakfast menu was oatmeal, skinny toast (45 calories per slice) and a banana. Then I settled in to work and did so until 1:15 when I picked up the girls. After a quick McDonalds snack the girls settled into doing homework, munching popcorn and watching some TV. I continued to work trying to get a place in Hayward completed and submitted.
At 4:05 we left only to find the main Highway 4 blocked by police, Nikki and I talked, she was blocked on the other side so after some minutes we met at a mutual point on the detour route. I went on to my appointment in Oakley and she worked her way back home. What was the cause? Some nitwit 16 year old in his new Challenger burned out at the stop light by the Safeway Fuel Station, lost total control and rammed a power pole. Would you believe the roads are still shut down now as first they needed to figure out whose pole it was, PG&E or AT&T. After a couple hours the AT&T crew got there but for some reason the roads are still closed now at 8 pm. I know because I just had to figure out a way to get through the maze.
After the appointment in Oakley, a cute little town located north of Brentwood I decided to have dinner at Carpaccio Ristorante Italiano. At first I was nearly the only person in this elegant place but eventually others came in for dinner. My food could not have been better from the bread to the salad and then the main course, a pasta with steamed veggies, a super sauce. And of course a nice desert. I've included photos so you can know I did not suffer this evening. Every bite was outstanding. Great way to diet!
So good.Desert
The new fountain outside.
Life is tough.
Love
Tim
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
A Very Good Evening
Dear Family and Friends,
Today has been a day of errands, errands which included getting the Civic washed, going to Kaiser for a blood draw, copay is now $45, ouch as I have to have this done often. Quick stop at Starbucks this morning for a multi grain bagel, short visit to confirm that a water pump is now working properly for a little house where the young tenant complained that the water pump often popped a breaker when she was in the shower. So how do you confirm that the problem is now fixed. I shot a photo of the breaker box that has a new line which goes directly to the pump and the pump itself. Hope that is enough to satisfy the lender! Then shoot a new photo of the side of a house, sure the report already had a photo of the side of the house but they wanted another one, no use fighting back, just go back and shoot another photo.
After coming back to the office and discovering a check in the mail I made a trip to the bank to deposit it. Orders came in today so there was the opportunity to set up new files and as of tonight 2 of the 3 have appointments made.
I spend some time this evening with a good friend and now I'm really to get to bed early. I've promised Pooka a walk around the lake in the morning and she will hold me to my word.
This morning when I climbed out and came downstairs it was 59 and an hour later due to a nice fire it was 68. Not bad, who needs a furnace?
Life is interesting as a single person, you have to make your own funny moments, your own quiet times, your own memories and just treasure those moments when you get to see family. Its been a joy to see Steve the last couple mornings for a few minutes as we discuss the day. It was fun to see Jason and Jo with kiddos yesterday afternoon and to have dinner with them. It will be fun to see the girls tomorrow afternoon at 1:15 when I pick them up from their "short day" at school. Then I have a 4:30 appointment in Oakley to see a house after they leave.
I won't be alone forever, I know that and I look forward to being able to enhance someone's life with my support and listening ear. I've got a lot of love to share!
Love to all
Tim
Today has been a day of errands, errands which included getting the Civic washed, going to Kaiser for a blood draw, copay is now $45, ouch as I have to have this done often. Quick stop at Starbucks this morning for a multi grain bagel, short visit to confirm that a water pump is now working properly for a little house where the young tenant complained that the water pump often popped a breaker when she was in the shower. So how do you confirm that the problem is now fixed. I shot a photo of the breaker box that has a new line which goes directly to the pump and the pump itself. Hope that is enough to satisfy the lender! Then shoot a new photo of the side of a house, sure the report already had a photo of the side of the house but they wanted another one, no use fighting back, just go back and shoot another photo.
After coming back to the office and discovering a check in the mail I made a trip to the bank to deposit it. Orders came in today so there was the opportunity to set up new files and as of tonight 2 of the 3 have appointments made.
I spend some time this evening with a good friend and now I'm really to get to bed early. I've promised Pooka a walk around the lake in the morning and she will hold me to my word.
This morning when I climbed out and came downstairs it was 59 and an hour later due to a nice fire it was 68. Not bad, who needs a furnace?
Life is interesting as a single person, you have to make your own funny moments, your own quiet times, your own memories and just treasure those moments when you get to see family. Its been a joy to see Steve the last couple mornings for a few minutes as we discuss the day. It was fun to see Jason and Jo with kiddos yesterday afternoon and to have dinner with them. It will be fun to see the girls tomorrow afternoon at 1:15 when I pick them up from their "short day" at school. Then I have a 4:30 appointment in Oakley to see a house after they leave.
I won't be alone forever, I know that and I look forward to being able to enhance someone's life with my support and listening ear. I've got a lot of love to share!
Love to all
Tim
Monday, January 6, 2014
Great day
Good evening
For some reasons that I'll share and others that are more personal just want to say this has been a very good day.
Rolled out this morning, built a nice fire, took Pooka to the park for a walk, set up orders and inspected a beautiful home in Pleasanton at 1 today. What a property. The owners are very capable and have remodeled the home to perfection, a huge tile faced PebbleTec pool with spa, firepit, outdoor kitchen with roof, stainless steel appliances, TV etc.
The interior had the most beautiful Brazilian hardwood floors, huge kitchen with everything anyone would want including a mixer that is mounted in a cabinets below the granite slab counter and swings up and into place when needed. Same with the blender. All through the home there are built-ins, custom surfaces, marble, jetted tub, view balcony. Just an amazing home and the owners are moving to Dallas for AT&T so I'm there to determine a price that AT&T should pay for the house if it does not sell directly. Wow what a challenge. I found no property on the market in a 2 mile radius, I found everything has sold quickly and above list price. Wow, what a challenge.
Once I was completed with inspecting the home I left without shooting comps, I want to do more research, and drove down to Milpitas where Jo works. Jason met me there and together we quickly installed the new liftgate struts. They work great and the lift gate is now more safe than it was. We all drove to their home and Jason whipped up a great meal with salad, soup and corn bread, wonderful. It was so fun to see precious Mia and handsome Timothy.
Then I headed home but found the traffic was really awful on 880 going north. I had to stop by a home that I saw yesterday as they owners wanted me to have another piece of evidence to help me make a value determination. So being the nice guy that I am I stopped by and thanked them for it.
Now I'm home and the Civic is back in the garage, Jason has his Subaru once again. I am so thankful that it was repairable and that it seems good now.
Well its time for me to turn in. Picked up two more orders today for which I'm very thankful and my heart is full tonight.
Love
Tim
For some reasons that I'll share and others that are more personal just want to say this has been a very good day.
Rolled out this morning, built a nice fire, took Pooka to the park for a walk, set up orders and inspected a beautiful home in Pleasanton at 1 today. What a property. The owners are very capable and have remodeled the home to perfection, a huge tile faced PebbleTec pool with spa, firepit, outdoor kitchen with roof, stainless steel appliances, TV etc.
The interior had the most beautiful Brazilian hardwood floors, huge kitchen with everything anyone would want including a mixer that is mounted in a cabinets below the granite slab counter and swings up and into place when needed. Same with the blender. All through the home there are built-ins, custom surfaces, marble, jetted tub, view balcony. Just an amazing home and the owners are moving to Dallas for AT&T so I'm there to determine a price that AT&T should pay for the house if it does not sell directly. Wow what a challenge. I found no property on the market in a 2 mile radius, I found everything has sold quickly and above list price. Wow, what a challenge.
Once I was completed with inspecting the home I left without shooting comps, I want to do more research, and drove down to Milpitas where Jo works. Jason met me there and together we quickly installed the new liftgate struts. They work great and the lift gate is now more safe than it was. We all drove to their home and Jason whipped up a great meal with salad, soup and corn bread, wonderful. It was so fun to see precious Mia and handsome Timothy.
Then I headed home but found the traffic was really awful on 880 going north. I had to stop by a home that I saw yesterday as they owners wanted me to have another piece of evidence to help me make a value determination. So being the nice guy that I am I stopped by and thanked them for it.
Now I'm home and the Civic is back in the garage, Jason has his Subaru once again. I am so thankful that it was repairable and that it seems good now.
Well its time for me to turn in. Picked up two more orders today for which I'm very thankful and my heart is full tonight.
Love
Tim
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Relaxed day
Good evening,
This has been a relaxed day. This morning I picked up Kallie from her home which is located on the other side of Discovery Bay. Steve has already removed his Christmas lights and the house looks so different without them.
Kallie played on my phone as we drove to Tracy. Kim was teaching and Sidney, her daughter was helping. I've probably spelled her name wrong as names these days usually have special spellings. The program has changed to Noahs ark and its a good one. The girls and boy enjoyed the program and especially the snacks.
Then Kallie and I headed home via Burger King where she had her lunch. Today she was hungry and devoured most everything leaving me the apple slices, how thoughtful.
Once I dropped her off I headed home and took it easy. This evening I had dinner in San Ramon at Fuddruckers, they make the best vegeburgers.
Now I'm home and have just completed an appraisal that is due today. It is a huge home in Brentwood, nearly 4,000 sf and now the report is emailed to the lender.
I see a property tomorrow afternoon in Hayward and then I'm caught up, no new work to do at all.
Wishing you all a good night,
Tim
This has been a relaxed day. This morning I picked up Kallie from her home which is located on the other side of Discovery Bay. Steve has already removed his Christmas lights and the house looks so different without them.
Kallie played on my phone as we drove to Tracy. Kim was teaching and Sidney, her daughter was helping. I've probably spelled her name wrong as names these days usually have special spellings. The program has changed to Noahs ark and its a good one. The girls and boy enjoyed the program and especially the snacks.
Then Kallie and I headed home via Burger King where she had her lunch. Today she was hungry and devoured most everything leaving me the apple slices, how thoughtful.
Once I dropped her off I headed home and took it easy. This evening I had dinner in San Ramon at Fuddruckers, they make the best vegeburgers.
Now I'm home and have just completed an appraisal that is due today. It is a huge home in Brentwood, nearly 4,000 sf and now the report is emailed to the lender.
I see a property tomorrow afternoon in Hayward and then I'm caught up, no new work to do at all.
Wishing you all a good night,
Tim
Good evening / morning
Hi, I happen to still be up so a quick message I'm sending.
Going to take Kallie to Sabbath School in the morning.
Got some great photos from Marilyn tonight, I'll share them, they are about 3 degrees and snowed in. Plus some wind to make it interesting.
Going to take Kallie to Sabbath School in the morning.
Got some great photos from Marilyn tonight, I'll share them, they are about 3 degrees and snowed in. Plus some wind to make it interesting.
Wow it sure looks cold there.
have a great weekend and love that special one you are with.
Tim
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Keeping it warm
For those of us living in California we never really get hit with the weather like the east coast. When I texted Marilyn earlier this evening it was already 9 degrees and the wind was increasing, the snow was blowing and they were in for a blizzard. Now it is true that my house was 59 this morning when I came down but after an hour of a busy fire it was up to 70. Kallie was coming to visit as Steve had some errands to run.
She arrived and it was warm and she read books, she enjoyed some snacks and watched TV on my phone and soon her Daddy came to pick her up. It is really fun to have kiddos visit. It gave me a reason to get up and get the house warm.
Today I worked in on getting conditions and appraisals shipped out. The mails were good and some money came so just before 4 I made a deposit. Then I drove to Brentwood for a hair cut, it was time, then it was onto the health club for a session in which we learned some basic exercises to do on a regular basis. They are great and it was nice to be in the club enjoying my investment again.
After the workout I met Lois who was hungry so we ate at Subway. Was it just the timing or what, the food tasted so good. Ray is gone to San Jose to work on pools so its nice for Lois to get out and get some air.
This evening since I've come home I've been working on conditions, little things that underwriters have found that need explaining or correcting. I have one right now, a condo located in Mountain House, clearly in the middle of Mountain House, a nearly new community. Problem is the Post Office lists the address for this Mountain House condo as being in Tracy. It is not, MLS and the agents know it is not in Tracy, but the underwriter wanted me to change the town to Tracy. Well I could not do so since that would be hugely misleading. It is NOT located in Tracy. So we are at a stand off right now. Someone just wants the problem to go away so they tell me to change it to Tracy no matter what the truth is. I won't do it because I know its wrong. Will be interesting to see the outcome.
So while the east coast is pummeled by a big storm we suffer from 70 degree days. Its rough to take.
Well its bed time, I'm going to bed on time tonight, tired of being tired.
Love to all,
Tim
She arrived and it was warm and she read books, she enjoyed some snacks and watched TV on my phone and soon her Daddy came to pick her up. It is really fun to have kiddos visit. It gave me a reason to get up and get the house warm.
Today I worked in on getting conditions and appraisals shipped out. The mails were good and some money came so just before 4 I made a deposit. Then I drove to Brentwood for a hair cut, it was time, then it was onto the health club for a session in which we learned some basic exercises to do on a regular basis. They are great and it was nice to be in the club enjoying my investment again.
After the workout I met Lois who was hungry so we ate at Subway. Was it just the timing or what, the food tasted so good. Ray is gone to San Jose to work on pools so its nice for Lois to get out and get some air.
This evening since I've come home I've been working on conditions, little things that underwriters have found that need explaining or correcting. I have one right now, a condo located in Mountain House, clearly in the middle of Mountain House, a nearly new community. Problem is the Post Office lists the address for this Mountain House condo as being in Tracy. It is not, MLS and the agents know it is not in Tracy, but the underwriter wanted me to change the town to Tracy. Well I could not do so since that would be hugely misleading. It is NOT located in Tracy. So we are at a stand off right now. Someone just wants the problem to go away so they tell me to change it to Tracy no matter what the truth is. I won't do it because I know its wrong. Will be interesting to see the outcome.
So while the east coast is pummeled by a big storm we suffer from 70 degree days. Its rough to take.
Well its bed time, I'm going to bed on time tonight, tired of being tired.
Love to all,
Tim
The New Year
Good evening,
So the holidays are over and life resumes in this new year. During this year we will all have birthdays, we will work, play, sleep and try to make sense out of a world that seems to be more crazy every week. Perhaps its just my age but there are so many changes I don't even want to hear about any more. How I worry about the little ones growing up in a very different world than I knew when I was growing up.
Today I rolled out late having stayed up late last night, then came down to a house that was 56 degrees. After making some decaf and making oatmeal I knelt down before the wood stove, loaded it up with wood from Steve and Jerry and some that I purchased a year ago. Soon the fire was roaring and in an hour I had the house up to about 69, much better and it held most of the day.
Having received an order during the night I discovered that it had a Supra Key lock box, was vacant and ready to be appraised. So I drove to Pittsburg, inspected a very ordinary property, shot the comps and then drove to IHOP for lunch, I drove right back out as every parking place was filled. This is an IHOP that has only average service when its not busy, I could only imagine how long one would have to wait today. I then drove to Costco but found only an empty parking lot. The company has graciously given their workers the day off. No problem, all I needed was water. So I headed home to work. This afternoon Nikki made contact to see if I wanted to eat, well of course. We drove over to Stockton to the Old Spaghetti Factory and had a really decent meal, nice to have a quiet time with family.
So its been a good day, this first day in the new year.
Sending love to all,
Tim
So the holidays are over and life resumes in this new year. During this year we will all have birthdays, we will work, play, sleep and try to make sense out of a world that seems to be more crazy every week. Perhaps its just my age but there are so many changes I don't even want to hear about any more. How I worry about the little ones growing up in a very different world than I knew when I was growing up.
Today I rolled out late having stayed up late last night, then came down to a house that was 56 degrees. After making some decaf and making oatmeal I knelt down before the wood stove, loaded it up with wood from Steve and Jerry and some that I purchased a year ago. Soon the fire was roaring and in an hour I had the house up to about 69, much better and it held most of the day.
Having received an order during the night I discovered that it had a Supra Key lock box, was vacant and ready to be appraised. So I drove to Pittsburg, inspected a very ordinary property, shot the comps and then drove to IHOP for lunch, I drove right back out as every parking place was filled. This is an IHOP that has only average service when its not busy, I could only imagine how long one would have to wait today. I then drove to Costco but found only an empty parking lot. The company has graciously given their workers the day off. No problem, all I needed was water. So I headed home to work. This afternoon Nikki made contact to see if I wanted to eat, well of course. We drove over to Stockton to the Old Spaghetti Factory and had a really decent meal, nice to have a quiet time with family.
So its been a good day, this first day in the new year.
Sending love to all,
Tim
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