Leading up to Christmas

I had quite an interesting an unexpected week coming back from Chicago. I had a bunch of things that I had to get done at home before I headed back to work. The plan was to be back in the office Monday through Wednesday (we are closed on Thursday and Friday). That was the original plan. Here is what really happened.

We were having some basement work done on Tuesday and Wednesday and I had to remove some drywall and support beams. On two walls, all I had to do was remove about two feet from the bottom so the guys could put in the baseboards to redirect our leaking water. The third wall had to have everything removed since we had some beams going up to help stabilize the wall (the two other walls were already stabilized). I got all the drywall off and took care of the clearing the beams off the two walls. I decided to wait until Monday to take apart the last wall.

Monday was a normal day. I went to the office to get caught up. Unfortunately, knowing what was coming up, I had to fit three days of office work into one day and hope to supplement anything else from home. After work, I went to Boot Camp at the gym and headed home to finish up the basement. Of course, in the string of things that could go wrong, the battery charger for my cordless reciprocating saw took a dump. As luck would have it, no one in Evansville has that particular brand. I bought a new cordless saw, but didn't realize that the battery wasn't included. To save me from doing something stupid out of complete frustration, Leandra went to get the corded version. She came home and finished up the rest.

I stayed home on Tuesday while the guys were working. I was hoping to connect to my work computer and work remotely, but was not having much luck. The most I could do was check e-mail and do some database searching. The guys left at 3:00 and I decided to go out for a run. I got in a nice 4.5 mile run, which is my longest outdoor run as I prep for my half-marathon in April.

Not much was different on Wednesday except that the guys were done by noon. I wanted to hit the gym that night, but I found out that my green biking jacket was at work. In order for me to be visible for the evening ride home, I had to make a quick trip to work before it got dark. I headed over to the gym for Group Kick and another Boot Camp.

I got the car on Thursday so I could finish up my Christmas shopping and run some other errands. I had lunch with a co-worker and headed back home to do some cleaning and fix a strand of Christmas lights (which still aren't working...oh well). I headed back to the gym for Group Power (with Melissa) and Spinning (with Tamara). I happened to be the only one at Group Power that night, and one of two to be in spinning. By the end of classes, I was soaked. Luckily, I brought a shirt to change into.

I woke up this morning and was feeling pretty sore. I was told about another Group Kick being offered this morning and I said I would go. I was having second thoughts. A combination of how I felt, having to ride my bike and uncertainty of the weather were weighing in on my decision. In the end, I guilted myself to go. My rationale? Gym access limited over the weekend; I need to start losing weight for this half-marathon (yeah...I'm still fat for a runner); and I said I would go. Class was fun and the room was packed. My legs were shot by the end of class. Thankfully, I was not in a rush to get home so I took a leisurely pace.

Leandra gets home around 5:00 tonight. We're not going to Wisconsin this year so we're going to take the evening a finally decorate our tree. It's been up for a few weeks (it's a fake tree that is pre-lit), but our conflicting work schedules have never given us enough time to decorate.

That's it for us. Have a great holiday weekend.

The 2010 Midwest Clinic

It's Saturday and I'm just about packed up and ready to head out from the hotel. I have a few minutes before I check out so I thought I would give a quick overview of a long, but fantastic, week.

The Fraternity's booth was in a new spot. A little out of the way, but we had two things going for us:

1. We were on a far row of the exhibit hall and had nothing behind us...no instruments, no speakers...nothing. It was nice.
2. Even better, we had a corner which allowed us to rearrange our tables/materials and open our booth on two sides which gave visitors more space to check out what we brought with us.

Over the course of the three days, I figure we had about 375 Sinfonians stop by to visit. We gave some colony information to a professor working at a school in North Dakota. Coincidentally, we had an alum ask about alumni association information for that same area.

The highlight of the event was our reception where we presented the Fraternity's National Citation to TubaChristmas. We presented the award to Carol Phillips, the widow of the late Harvey Phillips, who founded of the event over 30 years ago. We got to meet a number of Carol's family members who also came in for the award presentation.

The event went very well. She was very appreciative of the award and spoke highly of everything the Harvey was able to accomplish in his lifetime. At the end of the event, the brothers gathered for some singing and serenaded Mrs. Phillips...as well as some of other female guests.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable week. Still, I'm looking forward to get home.

Chicago: Prepping for The Midwest Clinic

I got into Chicago yesterday to visit Tim Cooper and get an early start at prepping the Phi Mu Alpha booth at The Midwest Clinic. After dinner last night, Tim and I watch the original Tron (actually, I watched Tron...he slept) in preparation of seeing the Tron:Legacy sequel on Friday.

I woke up this morning and checked my e-mail and got some cool and interesting news. The Hyatt (which is the hotel connected to McCormick Place) has a new online check-in system. "Sweet."

It also notifies you when you room is ready. I guess mine was ready because I received an immediate e-mail with the notification. "Double sweet."

I left Tim's place as quickly as I could. Once I got to the hotel, I was able to check in quickly and with no problems and started unloading all of the materials for our booth.

The layout of his year's conference is a little different as they have "categorized" the booths into regions. All of the instrument businesses are together; the print music publishers are are together; and all of the music schools, organizations, etc. are in the same area.

We were lucky to get a corner booth this year so we don't have a railing on one side. This allowed us to reconfigure the look of the booth and make it look a little more open. Very cool. I need to request this for next year.

I hope to see my brothers and my "peeps" for UW-W.

So Much for Getting out of Debt

This last five months have been rough. There are a lot of good things that have either happened, or will be happening, but it has come at a price. Let's take a look:

• In vitro fertilization process
• Car repairs (x2 - same problem...damn mouse)
• Home assessment for mortgage refinancing
• Pulled wisdom tooth
• Root canal
• Crown for the root canal
• Leaking basement (and possible foundation stablization)

When all is said and done, we are looking at having dropped about $17,000 since August with money we don't have...but our credit cards do. Frustrating.

When Leandra and I got married, we had about $20,000 in various credit card debt from college, wedding, etc. For many years, we did the 0% credit card game and jumped from promo to promo; consolidating our credit cards and paying off our debt while avoiding the interest.

This worked great for us. It may have affected the credit rating, but it was something I was willing to accept while getting about $14,000 paid off. We sort of plateaued at the $6,000 mark. Sopme of this had to do with the Leandra's emergency surgery in Dec. 2007 and having to redirect funds to get that paid off...which we are still working on.

The good news is that Leandra has been making some good sales at work and we have been able to redirect some of that money towards these credit cards. We pay a good chunk extra already each month so there has been some peace of mind knowing we are making some progress.

Unfortunately, it also means that we are not stashing anything into a "rainy day" fund. Doubly frustrating. Probably the biggest frustration was being able to pay an extra $300 to one of our cards and charging $450 the next day for my root canal.

With neither of our work places providing a family plan for insurance and day care going to come into play very soon, money is going to be an issue in our upcoming future. How we budget our money once the summer rolls around will be challenging. I'm fortunate to have friends who have already felt my pain in one way or another and are doing very well now. So I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to be creative getting there.

Leandra's Doctor Visit

At 14 weeks into the pregnancy, Leandra finally had her first visit with her regular doctor today. Everything looks good...actually it sounds good.

We were led to believe that we would be having an ultrasound today, but that wasn't in the plans. At least it wasn't an imaging ultrasound. The doctor worked around Leandra's belly looking for a heartbeat. It took awhile, but she found it. So if ultrasounds contain audio, then I guess we did have an ultrasound.

So the good news is that everything is going well; the bad news is that we have no pictures. Anyone who thought they would be seeing pics...sorry.

On a couple of side notes:

• For those of who you have known Leandra, she has been given a nice "chest" which tends to get bigger with pregnancy. We were laughing quite a bit when the gown she had put on was not containing her very well.
  
• We got this nice folder with all of the services provided at the hospital for mothers and newborns. It's dressed up very nice and all I could see was $$$$. You virtually get a suite. I'm sure this is the current trend and it gives hospitals a means of jacking their rates. I just want to know how much all of the services are (which is mentioned nowhere) and if the massage is covered by insurance.
• For anyone who has accidenally "butt-dialed" someone, Leandra somehow "butt-dialed" Pandora. As the nurse was talking to us, I kept looing around trying to figure where a Boston song was coming from, only to realize it was coming from her pants.
  

Unplanned Meeting with an Indiana State Trooper

On Friday night, I was heading home from Indianapolis after the Fraternity Communications Association (FCA) mid-year conference. I left at 5:00 pm and headed south in I-65 towards Louisville in my rental car.

I wasn't exactly sure where I was at the time because the sun had gone down. I had set the cruise control at about 74 mph as that was the the flow of traffic at the time, even though a number of cars had been easily flying by me.

I was in the passing lane when I suddenly noticed a set of headlights turn on in the median and a car turn out onto the interstate. I figured it to be a police car, but I didn't think he was coming for me. I was only going about 5 mph over. I was wrong. He pulled up behind and I moved over to the shoulder.

The trooper pulled up behind me and I started to get ready all of the necessary information. He came up on the passenger side and asked me if I knew why I was pulled over. I said that I figured I was going too fast for him. He told me that my driver's side headlight was out. He asked for my license and registration. I gave him my license and offered my car rental agreement. He only took my license.

While he goes back to his vehicle, I start peeking over to see if the headlight is actually out. It looked like it was working, but I couldn't tell because of the "blinder" light that the officer had shining from his driver's side.

So he comes back and gives me a warning. A WARNING!

So I take it and drive off. As I am driving off, I get behind a car and see in the reflection off of its rear fender that I have two working lights. I pulled off at the next rest stop and checked my headlights...both working.

I don't have a problem with being pulled over for something like this. But here are my issues:

• It was a car rental. Why give me a warning? Its not even my car.
• If he took the rental agreement and saw that it was due in three hours, he would have noticed I was heading home to return the car.
• Why didn't he check the front of the car to make sure he got the right guy? It was dark, how can he know that I was the one he was looking for? He could have easily walked to the front of the car to make sure that one of the headlights was out.
  

Instead, he gave me a warning for a headlight that wasn't out on a car that wasn't mine wasting ten minutes of my time. I'm not saying he would have found the right car, but he could have been back on the road looking for the next person to pull over.

Is this Ripping Off?

So I was driving to Indianapolis, Ind. for a conference and I heard an interesting story on the radio. Apparently, there are some people out there who are claiming that "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum is a rip-off of "Eye in the Sky" by the Alan Parsons Project.

Now I am familiar with both songs, but I have a hard time believing that there it is a rip-off. There is almost a 30-year span of time between the two songs being released ("Eye in the Sky" - 1982; "Need You Now" - 2010). The chord progressions are the same, but you can't copyright progression. There are only a finite amount of progressions that work well in pop music...or any music for that matter. If that is the only method of questioning the legitimacy of a song, then there has been A LOT of ripping off. Just think of how much royalty money the creator of V-I progression would have received over the centuries.

So if there were a lawsuit and you were on the jury, what would you say? Here is a video comparing the songs. Two things of note:

• "Need You Now" had a change in tempo and key to match "Eye in the Sky."
• This video was not made by me. I'm not taking credit for it in any way, shape or form.

Last Century of the Year

I am happy to say that I completed my 10th century of the year. We had about 11 people who started out on the ride. Two were only doing about 50 miles, but everyone else had plans to get in 100 miles.

We started out around 8:00 am. The biggest issue with riding this late in the season is temperature change. Today, it was noticeable. When we left, the temperature was in the high 40's. By 11:00, it was in the mid-70's. Not that big of a deal, except determining the right clothing to wear. I opted to wear full leggings today...no shorts...thinking that it would be OK to keep my legs warm and avoid them stiffening when we make a stop . I wore a regular short-sleeved jersey, not being too concerned with the upper body gettting cold. I did bring two sets of gloves; one set of full fingered gloves and another pair wih the fingers cut off.

The day was perfect. Very minor breeze from the southeast, sunny with no clouds, perfect temperature...you couldn't ask for anything more. Starting at Crossroads Church, we rode about 30 miles to our first rest stop at a gas station in Haubstadt. Our second stop was for lunch at a Subway in Wadesville at mile 53. Our last rest stop was a gas station in Evansville at mile 80.

About 20 miles into the ride, I crossed the 16,000 mile mark on my bike. The odometer is still carrying the original battery that I the computer came with. It is due for a new battery very soon. So it's taken me 3.5 years to compile that mileage. I'm very happy.

Outside of a small stretch of rolling hills, I felt pretty strong throughout the ride. Considering I haven't put on a lot of miles this fall and I'm just getting over some sort of illness, I was worried about falling apart halfway through the ride. I finished the day with a 16.4 mph average (which is VERY good for me).

This is the most of centuries I've completed in a year. I met my goal for the year. Pretty happy.

My Problem with Penicillin

For about the last two weeks, I've been sick which is pretty odd for me because I don't get sick easily. I think some of it has to do with going to the gym, and eating decent food; some of it has to do with the old "teacher mentality" that you go into work no matter what. It took my wisdom tooth being pulled to figure out the best way for me to get miserably sick is to overdose on penicillin.

I'm not allergic to penicillin, although I can't say how many times it has been prescribed to me for whatever reasons in the past. When I was experiencing my first bout of pain with my wisdom tooth, my dentist gave me a prescription for a painkiller and penicillin. After I had it pulled (a little over a week later), that dentist gave me the same prescription. The day after the procedure, I had a business trip to Columbus, Ohio (see prior posting) and grabbed what I thought was a one of each bottle.

I went the whole weekend taking one pill from each bottle, not realizing that I was doubling up on the penicillin. It wasn't until I arrived home on Sunday afternoon that I noticed what I had done, but by that time the damage was done. I came down with something fierce.

I ended up taking Monday off and forcing myself into work on Tuesday, but only because I had another trip planned for Wednesday-Friday to Wisconsin. I made it through the weekend (thank you to Dayquil and Nyquil), but ended up missing work for half on Monday and all of Tuesday.

I tried going to Boot Camp this last week and really paid the price. I also tried riding into work one day and that didn't do me much good either. I'm starting to feel better now as I believe the worst has finally passed.

The moral of the story? 1.) Read the labels before popping pills; and 2.) take the prescribed amount or bad things will happen.

Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band

I am really far behind with some of my posts. I've had a busy week, and I got sick after my travel last weekend and then I had another trip. I've been tied up with a lack of time or motivation, but I'm working to get back on track.

Last weekend, I had a unique opportunity on a trip to Columbus, Ohio. I was asked by the national president to represent my Fraternity for an award presentation to the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band. Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia presented its National Citation to the band. The National Citation is given to an individual or group who advances the cause of music in America.

I'm sure some of you are trying to wrap you brain around the concept of a marching band comprised of blind musicians. You have to see it to believe it, but, trust me, it was a very inspiring experience.

The band is comprised of over 30 students playing woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. The students have varying degrees of visual impairment. The director is completely blind and is a great role model for all of the kids. The co-director is not blind, but has considerable experience in adaptive music techniques and practices.

Most of the kids have volunteer marching guides who help the students march their field show and hit their marks. Some of them are parents, some are students, and some are community members who wanted to support the band.

Last year, the band was selected to march in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. The route is five miles and both the band and guides spent considerable time building their endurance to march...and play...that length of the route. In speaking with some of the guides, they commented on how it was a tough workout for both them and the students.

As part of the day's festivities, the award was presented twice. That morning, they were a part of the Skull Session at Ohio State University, which is sort of a pep rally before the OSU football game. They played part of their show and received a standing ovation from the crowd (and there were easily two to three thousand people in attendance...if not more).

After a lunch break, they marched their full show during halftime of the Ohio School for the Deaf football game. The award was presented there as well. Actually, we almost forgot to present it. When we remembered to do it, we rushed out to the field, grabbed the microphone, and I started reading my script not thinking that we needed an interpreter. I got about 1/4 through when someone stopped me. Whoops!

Here is the text from the award:

• Being a program providing an unparalleled experience to musical students;
• And, serving as an example to others by recognizing the value of music even when facing extreme adversity;
• And, bestowing confidence, trust and a musical bond among their peers;
• And, sharing their gift and talents with thousands during the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade;
• And, opening their eyes of their community by creating new standards of excellence for persons with disabilities.

In recognition of these achievements and their significant contributions to the cause of music in America, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity pays respect and tribute this 23rd day of October 2010.

This was an truly amazing day. Being with them all day and watching them perform made it very easy to forget that I had my wisdom tooth pulled two days earlier and forgot my pain pills.

Here is a video of the field show that I recorded at the football game.

We Got a Head!

I'm a couple of days behind on the updates because of some travel, so here is my attempt to catch up.

We got some excellent news of Friday. We had our second ultrasound to make sure everything was progressing as it should. The good news for us is that is.

I'm at a hotel right now so I can't doctor that images at all, but you can see the head and torso and make out some arms. As we were viewing the ultrasound, we could see the heart beating AND there were a couple of time where it moved a little bit.

The doctor put us at about 9 1/2 weeks. We'll be moving over to Leandra's normal doctor for all of our future check-ups. The next one is the week of Thanksgiving. We'll see how many times Leandra pukes between now and then. So far, she has only let loose twice (both within an hour of each other).

When it Rains...

Some of you caught wind on Facebook that I had an unpleasant weekend. On Saturday, I developed a uncomfortable pain in my lower jaw. For the past couple of months, I had experienced some cold sensitivity with a rear molar and I was hoping that it would last me up to my regular cleaning appointment at the end of the month. Nope. This was painful and sleeping was not really an option.

I was able to get in touch with my dentist on Sunday and he squeezed me in for a quick lookover and x-ray on Monda morning. The proof is in in the picture. (No...this is not a baby ultrasound.)

In a nutshell, I have a wisdom tooth that was never taken care of. While I was in college, the dentist was not high on my "to-do list." Even though I brushed regulary, I never bothered with check-ups until I moved to Indiana.

The wisdom tooth is impacted and pressing against my rear molar. Because of its angle and location, it is very difficult to brush and clean, even when I am consciously thinking about it. The tooth is starting to decay and because of its proximity to the molar, the backside of the mloar is decaying as well.

The fix? Extract the wisdom tooth and then do a root canal on the molar. The extraction will be next week; the root canal is two weeks later (with my regularl scheduled claning in between...weird).

They dropped the bomb in the cost of these procedures. Even with the insurance, my part of the cost will total over $1,000. I mean, after $11,000 for the IVF and another $300 to fix my car (twice), this is just a drop in the bucket.

Now I am headd to bed. With two straight night of worthless, or non-existent, sleep, I'm going to see if I can pass out for the night. So much for paying off our debts anytime soon...and we were so close.

An Unexpected Week

By looking at the title and knowing Leandra and I, you might think "unexpected" somehow goes with "pregnancy." Nope. We've known all along what is going on. BUT, there were two things things that happened this week that caught us off guard.

Last week, we had to take our car into the shop because it wasn't acceleratng properly. Technically, it was accelerating, but it wasn't shifting gears. The autoshop guy said the transmission lines were chewed up and needed to be replaced. $160...down the tubes.

While that wasn't an expected cost on our budget, the bigger surprise came a week later when the same thing happened again! We were told that a mouse was the likely culprit as it was trying to find a warm location since the temperatures have been dropping. The little bugger cost us an extra $130 (we got a discount for the second visit). Needless to say, we are now parking in the garage.

Our second surprise came from a family visit as Leandra's aunt and uncle came through town...unannounced. I got a voice mail around 3:00 pm on Thursday from a "Steve Schmidt." I couldn't think of anyone that knew with that name (with a fairly obvious northern Minnesota accent), until I saw the call location as Duluth, MN. Ahhhhh...THAT "Steve Schmidt."

I give them a call and they ask me where Leandra is. I gave what I thought was the obvious answer. "Work." I asked where they were. In our driveway. ("Crap.") So I gave them directions to Opus 1 Music and called Leandra to tell her to get ready for a surprise. She was on a lunch break so I told her to get back to the store quickly.

She made it back. They found the store. And she got an unexpected family visit for about a half an hour. Yep...I'm sneaky.

IVF: Keeping the Results Simple

In case you haven't been able to figure out the "cryptic coding" over the last few weeks on Facebook, the IVF process has worked for us.

thought I would start out the day with another vague status that read "Big Day Today." Again, most people who have known that we have been doing this should have known what that meant. By the 10th (or so) response, anyone who came across my status could figure out what we were talking about, even if they have not been in the loop.

After working in the morning, Leandra and I had lunch with some of my co-workers and then did some stuff in preparation for the big bike ride. At 3:30, we headed over for our ultrasound.

As I have been joking around in preparation for this day, I have been saying that this test was to determine if there were "one or two heads in Leandra's belly." We headed to the back room to see the results.

Even though Leandra's levels implied that there may have been twins, the ultrasound only showed one. Being this early in the process, there wasn't much to see, except for a tiny heartbeat...but there was only one. (The arrow in the picture shows where the heart is. It's not determing gender...which we decided we don't want to know in advance so don't bother asking.)

But that's OK. We still have two more eggs stored away should we want to give it another go. We have another ultrasound scheduled for late October and there should be a little more to see by that time.

Keeping with tradition, my Facebook status only said "One." Seeing the response I got, I think everyone figured it out...except for the couple of "A Chorus Line" references. Funny, I did that show in high school ("I Can Do That").

IVF: The Results

If you've been on Facebook over the last couple of days, you probably caught wind of an unofficial announcement regarding our IVF process. Today was the day for us to find out if the implantation was successful. It has been a long two weeks.

My last post regarding IVF had to do with whether or not we should take a home test before she had everything done at the doctor's office. Almost everyone said to wait, which we did...kind of. We opted to take a home test (we had one sitting around) Friday morning before we went our seperate ways for work. The idea of knowing together was the deciding factor. Leandra "peed on a stick" and got a positive result. At that point, everything else was gravy.

She still went to the doctor who was able to confirm everything we already knew. I guess from Leandra's response over the phone, she was able to tell that we already knew the results.

So here is where we go from here:
1.) She still has to take this drug which is shot into her butt. Yes, this is the one this that will continue to be a "pain in the ass.". She will have another test on Monday to see if we can stop injecting her.
2.) We have an ultrasound appointment in two weeks to see if we have two heads...on two bodies. Of course.

On a personal note, I'm happy that this has worked, but let's not get on the "daddy" train just yet. We are still considered to be in a high-risk zone and I tend to be a realist. Give it a couple months and then go ahead and start dropping "d-bombs."

Reflecting on the People Who Matter

Over the first half of last year's television season, I was a big fan of Glee. After the winter break, I stopped watching it. Not that I lost interest, it just wasn't on at the right time and I forgot to preset my DVR. As a result, I've been trying to catch the summer reruns to get up to speed for the next season.

As it turns out, after watching the finale I deleted it from my DVR and I can't find it online, but there was a point towards the end of the finale where "Mr Shu" is talking to the kids about the choir experience being a distant memory and how over a number of years you will forget people's names. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

It made me reflect on my high school choral experience and how it made me the person that I am today. To be honest, it wasn't the music that we did that I found to be most memorable, but the people who I made the music with. The individuals with whom I was closest were those who were in the Madrigals group.

The 15 of us had numerous rehearsals, shared the high and lows of our lives..., and wore some awesome costumes. I still value the time we spent together in Room 604 at Pius XI High School during my senior year. In no particular order, these people were:
Jimin Kim
Jodi Schwalbach
Kristin Redig
Liz Raven
Katie Neuman
Jill Kramer
Kathy Talsky
Angie Becker
Tricia Simono
Dan Byrne
Peter Parker
Nic Banach
Brian Wroblewski
Nick Denor
Bonnie Scholz (then Bielawski)-Director
(You're going to have to take my word that I remember these names off the top of my head, but I did. My apologies for not getting any married names on here.)

Having graduated in 1993, some of these folks I haven't seen in years, some I have recently connected with on Facebook. They were my best friends in high school and I will never forget that.

IVF: The Waiting Game

We have a couple of more days until Leandra goes in for blood work that will give us the answer to our "investment." I'm not trying to sound impersonal...but we did throw down a good chunk of cash.

We have a friend who is also going through IVF (and reads this blog) who suggested that we could do a home test one week after the eggs were implanted. There is the obvious "need to know right now" reaction that would dictate doing the test.

On the other hand, there is the possibility of getting undesired news before the actual blood test is done. What if there was a false positive...or even a false negative? Is it worth the potential build-up or let down?

With a home test, we could know on the spot and then deal with the aftermath together (positive or negative). With the blood test, Leandra will go to have blood drawn and then wait until the lab produces the results which could be sometime in the afternoon. We'll both be at our respective jobs...not the exact way I would want to share the moment.

We've already waited the majority of the the two-week span. With only three days left, would you take the home test now or wait until the doctor tests your blood?

Self-Inflicted Boot Camp

Boot Camp was cancelled on Labor Day at Bob's Gym. It's a bummer, but you move on. A few class attendees tossed around the idea of meeting up anyways and running it on our own. I connected with a few people on Facebook to spread the word.

As it turns out, most people couldn't make it, but Will Lambert and I were there and did our thing. I put together some music for the hour-long session and figured out the "itinerary" once Will and I got to the gym.

Here's what we did:
Run a lap (outside)
Walking lunges
Run a lap
Walking Lunges
Run a lap
(Come back inside)

Each of the following were in sets and were done individually for a minute each:
Upright rows / Lateral Flys / Mountain Climbers (2x)
Military Press / Burpees (2x)
Bicep Curls / Line Jumps (2x)
Tricep Kick Backs / Wall Sits (2x)
Note: The first wall sit was done for a minute, the second was held for two minutes.

Then we did 7-8 minutes of core work.
Cool down/stretch

YEAH!

IVF: Early Evidence

Today is the day. Perhaps it is better to say "was" because the main purpose has already been completed. At about 9:40 AM, we had two fertilized eggs implanted back into Leandra. Now we play a waiting game.

If you look at the picture, the white ovals where the arrows are pointing are the eggs. The one on the right is harder to see than the one on the left.

Leandra has a bunch of meds to take, which includes some pills and a shot to the butt. (Heh, heh.) These will conitue for at least a month. After two weeks, we will take a pregnancy test and she will have some blood work done to see if we were successful.

And for "fun-sies", if you are feeling a little creative, you can include some other possible picture ideas. Here are the ones that I listed:

• UFO in the night
• Picture of the Milky Way galaxy from 700 light years away

IVF: The Final Chapter

Last Monday, Leandra had her ovaries "cleaned out" as the doctor went through 30+ follicles and found 15 eggs. We were later told that five of them were "really good."

Since that time, we have been waiting for the last stage of the the IVF process which is implanting two of the eggs back into her. It is my understanding that two pf them have already been fertilized and are currently incubating.

After the eggs are implanted, the drugs/hormones she will take will help her body with the transition of thinking its pregnant. This is done because conception didn't happen naturally and her body might few the eggs as foreign bodies and would normally attack them (like a virus).

Our appointment is at 8:30 am tomorrow morning. We'll see what happen.

On a side note, I really hope this works. I don't want to have to pay anymore money.

IVF: Retrieval Complete

We just finished the procedure and I am sitting with Leandra in the recovery room waiting for the drugs to wear off. Everything went well and she is taking a little nap right now.

The process officially started for us at about 12:42 pm when Leandra popped her Xanax pill in advance of the procedure. We arrived at the clinic and found out that there were four scheduled procedures and we were the last to go.

I was in the room with her the entire time as the doctor was working his magic. It was funny talking to him about the NFL, MLB, NBA and NCAA during the process. (Total sports fan.)

I'll skip the details except to say that there was some noticeable discomfort at times. The ultrasound was pretty cool as he was moving around the ovaries and sucking out all of the follicles.

We ended up with 15 eggs. Even though we had around 30 follicles for both ovaries, therie was no guarantee that there would be an egg in each of them. The eggs they did obtain will be looked at to make sure that the healthy ones are used.

Now that she is done and resting, it's "my turn." Don't worry, I won't be writing about it. If you can't figure it out, then talk to your kids. They can fill you in.

IVF: Retrieval Scheduled

Leandra had one last round of bloodwork this morning. The clinic wanted her to come in one more time to determine the retrieval date.

This afternoon, she received a phone call and was told that the egg(s) retrieval will take place Monday afternoon at 1:30 pm. Luckily, we both already took that day off. I was also took off Tuesday...just in case. My work has been pretty flexible under the somewhat uncertainty of the circumstances. Hopefully, Leandra's employers will be just as flexible.

The one downside to our schedules time is that I have to give her a shot...probably the most important shot...36 hours beforehand. Not that big of a deal, except that we have to be awake at 1:30 am this morning to administer it in her butt. (Heh, heh.)

Not Going the Duggar Way

Leandra had her last ultrasound this morning and all is still looking good. In fact, it looks really good. According to the nurse, her left ovary had 19 egg follacles (sorry, no pictures this time). I have no idea how many are on the other side.

I think it is safe to say that we will not be going the route of the Duggar family and put to use every egg that is viable. That said, it would give us our own reality show niche. Where the Duggars had their 19 children "naturally," we could market ourselves as the parents who had 19 children through the help of science.

Regardless of whether or not it would make for good TV, we'll be stopping at two (if I have anything to say about it).

IVF: Bursting at the Seams

Leandra had her second ultasound today and she sent me this picture. This is what one of her ovaries looks like. All of the black circles/ovals (middle of the picture) are egg follacles that will be extracted next week. From this angle, there are apparently eight visible, bit it is a little hard to tell.

When we started the process, the doctor was telling us that her ovaries would get big...and she might even be able to feel the difference in size. She has yet to tell me that she feels "bloated."

While it is not the "happy-happy, joy-joy" picture of an unborn baby in the womb, this is a good sign for us. She has one more ultrasound on Friday and then the weekend comes which is the start of the home stretch.

IVF: $800 Refill Averted

One of the fertility drugs Leandra had been taking is called Follastem. It comes in this little glass vial and provides up to 900 units. When we started taking three shots, her doseage was 150 units which would last six days.

At day four (which was Monday) of taking the triple shots, we were down to 300 units which would last us two more days. That morning, we had an ultrasound and bloodwork done. The bloodwork would tell the doctors if she needed to change her doseage. Without the bloodwork results, we had to plan ahead and order an extra vial of Follastem. I think my neighbors heard my jaw hit the floor when we were told the cost of the vial was $800. YIKES!

We had some relief when the bloodwork results came in. She was able to drop her doseage to 50 units. With 300 units left, this would fit perfectly. We talked about cancelling the order, which made sense, EXCEPT...she has another round of ultrasound and bloodwork tomorrow (Wednesday) and they could re-up the doesage.

As it turns out, a friend of ours (and my former co-worker) just did the IVF process and is "heavy with child." No longer needing the vial that she has (which is around 500 units full), she offered it to us. Leandra immediately called the pharmacy and cancelled the order, although we are still paying for the overnight shipping costs. No worries, I will take a $30 (I'm guessing) over $800 any day!

By the way, if you are interested, here is a picture of all of the drug Leandra is currently taking:

This includes (in no certain order):

• Follanstem (that's the pen looking thing on the case)
• Lupron (which she has been taking from the beginning)
• Menopur (which has two small vials that need to be mixed)
• Some pill that I don't know the name of (and we have to cut it in half)
• Some kind of antibiotic pill (that we are both taking)

The Next Ultrasound + Other Updates

We went in this morning for Leandra's ultrasound to get a look at her ovaries and see make sure they are responding to the fertility drugs. As it turns out, I guess there are about 10 follicles on each ovary that are working towards maturing. I'm just happy that we are doing the drugs correctly.

I apologize that I was unable to get a picture to include here. I'm not sure how mind-blowing the ultrasound would look, but I don't have it so no worries. She will have another ultrasound on Wednesday and if all is clear, they will be harvesting them on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

On another note, we needed to get a "refill" of one of her drugs. The cost? $800! That's right! $800. That means that when we got our "big box" of drugs and needles and other stuff, everything else in the box cost $350. Crazy...

The Next Phase of IVF

We've hit a bit of a turning point for us in the IVF process. Up until this point, Leandra had been taking one shot a day of one of her drugs (it starts with an "L"). This is the drug that makes her body think it is going through menopause. She's been pretty misearble the last couple of days.

She went in for her first of three ultrasounds to make sure everything still looked OK. Along with some bloodwork, this was considered sort of a baseline testing. I guess everything was fine because we didn't receive any altered instructions, but it does mean that we are taking things up a notch.

Along with the first drug that was being injected (by me), she now is adding two additional drug that have to be injected (by me). Additionally, she has a two pills she has to take. One of the pills is an antibiotic that I also have to take...to make sure the swimmers are healthy at "crunch time."

I think the hardest part is that Leandra is somewhat susceptible to headaches and migraines, which is a side effect of the drugs. Of course, she can't take anything so she has to tough it out until it goes away.

Just to show what we are going through, I am going to see if Leandra would be OK to video our routine. I think it would be interesting to share. (This would also give my cousin the chance to turn back because she starts her IVF process soon.)

After next week, we hit our window of time where they extract the eggs, I make my "donation" and then they put it all back into her. Sounds like fun.

IVF: Three Days of Bad Shots

After six days of in vitro shots for Leandra that went off without a hitch, we hit a bit if a bas streak. Or maybe I hit the bad streak since I am the one giving the shots.

Outside of what I believe to be some minor discomfort for Leandra, our first six days were pretty clean. I got the routine down...no problems. Right?

We expereienced a "first" on Friday as Leandra started bleeding a little bt from where I gave her the shot. We didn't think much about it until we woke up the next morning and she had a nice sized bruise on her stomach. I'm not sure what went wrong, but we were told by her mom and sister (who are both nurses) that it can sometimes happen.

As luck would have it, Saturday's shot produced the same result with some blood coming out. Luckily, there was no bruise to show for it. If there was, I'm sure that there would be some law enforcement officer or social worker knocking at my door.

Sunday evening was a bit different, but has me worried a little more than I have been. Everything went well and I was happy to see no blood come out after I removed the needle. The problem was that this show really hurt; more so than usual. As I've said in past postings, Leandra has been a real trooper through all of this and I know she is tough, but there were tears rolling from her eyes after this last shot.

Based on everything we have talked and joked about over the last couple of months about this procedure, I would never question Leandra's determination to see this through. That said, it worries me to know that in three days we will be adding two additional shots to the daily routine.

This brings a different meaning/interpretation to the phrase, "No pain, no gain." Regardless, this will likely be the only time we will go through this part of the process even if the IVF fails the first time through, which is good. I don't know if I would want to continue with these daily injections knowing the potential pain she may experience.

Century #9: A Valiant Attempt

I received a message from one of my Sinfonian brothers from UW-W (Roz Craney) asking if I would be interested in riding the Ironman Wisconsin route with him for his training. I figured that I would take the chance to get in one more century. I got in touch with Roz and explained to him that I may have a lot of miles, but I am not the poster child for a fast rider. He said that he was fine with that so I agreed to go with him.

I drove out to Madison to meet him at the Monona Terrace which is "ground zero" for the race. I haven't seen Roz in at least 6 years, but he looks about the same as I remember him...except for a hint of grey, but it seems we are all adding a bit of that.

The day was overcast with a noticeable wind. The clouds helped keep the temperature at a tolerable level. The plan was to do the route and add a short run at the end (which I anticipated being a bit interesting..but WHY NOT!). As it was described to me, the route started with a 14-mile stick, a 42 mile loop done twice and then ride back to the start point on the stick. It was also told that the Wisconsin route is one of the hardest in the U.S.

No problem, right?

Things started fine. I felt pretty good, but I think that was because the wind was pushing us out. Once we hit the loop, things took a turn. I'm just not sure where to start.

Perhaps it was the fact that the wind seemed to always turn to hit us in the face...
...or maybe the downpour that hit us in the middle of nowhere...
...or maybe the hills...ugh, the hills...
...or maybe the cramping that starting hitting my legs after climbing those hills...
...and this was just the FIRST loop.

We got to the spot where the second loop begins and I decided to head back. Could I have done it again? Yes. Would I have finished? It would have been painfully slow. When it comes down to it, I didn't want to hold back Roz as I was dealing with my "issues." The plan was to ride the bike path the runs alongside Lake Monona and get the final 30 miles to finish up the century and maybe meet Roz afterwards for the run.

I trudged back to the Monona Terrace at a very "leisurely" pace. Unfortunately, my killer pace could not outrace the pending storm and I got nailed a second time. At that point, I threw in the towel.

I drove back to Elkhorn and thought that I could wrap up my 30 miles there. One step out of the car and I knew that I was done. 70 miles would have to do for the day.

So I came up short on the mileage. I can still say that I rode the Ironman Wisconsin route, I was just a loop short.

The First Shot is the Deepest

Last Saturday was the official IVF (in vitro fertilization) start date for us. That evening, I injected her first fertility drug (Lupron) into Leandra's stomach. This was the first of what will be many injections over the next month.

We were in Alexandria for the inaugural shot and it was quite the spectacle. Since we have joked about holding fundraisers to pay for this, we thought about charging an admission price for her family to watch. We also considered auctioning the first shot off to the highest bidder. In the end, we skipped the pomp and circumstance and I just did it myself. (By the way, check out the picture to the right. You'll notice Leandra's cousin covering her ears while I am inserting the needle. Most people would cover their eyes. Very funny!)

We are five days in now and she is being a trooper right now about it. I know it is uncomfortable, but she knows the bigger picture. She actually has it easy right now because Lupron is the only drug she needs to take. In a week and a half, the amount of injections will increase to three daily so this will seem like a piece of cake.

Athelstane, Wis.

My only option to write is to use my iPhone since I have no Internet connection here. My phone connection is pretty weak here as well. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I can get everything posted without any issues.

We got to our cabin just after midnight and took the opportunity to finally sleep in. We woke up, made a late breakfast and took a walk around the property. I haven't been here since August '06 (when I broke my leg) and there are some minor changes, but nothing earth shattering. For the most part, almost everything was as I left it four years ago.

The cabin isn't exactly in Athelstane, but it is the closest intersection of a town where we will go for supplies when they are needed. My dad left us a lot of food so we didn't really need anything, but we did make a run for milk and OJ. This was where one of the larger changes in the area as the general store that has been open for as long as I can remember was out of business. Thankfully someone else took up the torch...but the other place had the best cuts of meat.

In the afternoon, we took a drive to Goodman Park which is one of the larger county parks in the area. The park runs along the Peshtigo River which has a nice little waterfall with some rapids running through it. The river was running pretty strong with a water level higher than I have seen. Leandra and I couldn't really go to far out into he river because of the strong current even being downstream from the falls. We also walked some of the paths in the woods which provided a nice feast for the mosquitos. We suffered a little, but the exercise was nice.

We got back and chilled for the rest of the night. We grilled chicken and corn for dinner (the first time I grilled
corn in the husk) and caught up on some of my comic book reading. That's right...I still collect.

We got one more day up here until we head back to Milwaukee to catch a couple of ballgames.

Century #8: Central Lakes Trail

(Click on the image to see the full route.)

Finished up a great century today. It was actually 130 miles in total so I got 30 bonus miles out of the trip. The plan was to ride from Alexandria, Minn to St. Cloud, Minn which would have been 140, but I'll get to that later.

The Central Lakes Trail is a "Rails to Trails" route that cuts through Minnesota. Because it originally was used for trains, the route is relatively flat. No sudden hills, just a lot of gradual stuff. On the plus side, there were no hills to climb. On the other side, there were no downhills which means I was pedalling the entire time. No coasting on this route.

I was delayed by an hour in the morning due to rain. Once it cleared up I was out the door. The path is fantastic. This is probably one of the best overall routes that I have been on. It's not perfect. There are a few flaws in the path, but you can't argue with a trail that is 14 ft across with plenty of room to share the space with walkers, runners and other bikers.

The majority of the towns that the path passes through has made the immediate area really nice. Picnic tables, benches, garbage cans, bike racks and other simple amenities really make the area look nice. Kudos to everyone who has bought into the concept of a large bike path to make the communities look good.

In case you can't see the map, the towns that I passed through were:
Alexandria (starting point)
Osakis
West Union
Sauk Center
Melrose
Freeport
Albany
Avon
St. Joseph

I had originally planned to finish up in St. Cloud before turning around, but the path came to an abrupt end in the St. Joseph. I could have hopped on the Hwy 75 (which has some nice shoulders for riding), but I was happy with where I was at the time. So I grabbed some lunch at a Subway and turned around to head home.

The most ironic thing when comparing Minnesota to Indiana is that Minnesota has better developed trails than Indiana, but has a riding season that is at least two months shorter in a large part of the state. It is obvious that bike riding has far more support in this state than Indiana, which is pretty disappointing because there is a lot of potential there.

I'll get the pictures up later in the week.

Alexandria, Minnesota

Leandra has a family reunion this weekend in Alexandria, Minnesota. We were here two years ago for a family reunion and I was slightly ticked the way that she sold it to me. I asked where Alexandria was and she told me "west of the (Twin) Cities." Now when someone says that to me, I am thinking Minneapolis suburb...except that we kept going and going. I finally asked again once we were past St. Cloud and that's when she said we were almost there. In her defense, it was west of the Twin Cities, but so is Seattle. I've learned to do my own research before taking trips.

Present Day.

We left early Thursday morning from Evansville and drove up to Milwaukee, Wis. to stay with the Plutas. I thought I was going to have a dinner gathering with Sinfonians...but I found out that it was on Friday. Whoops!

We had a nice and simple BLT dinner (thank you Barb) and a quick visit to Aunt Holly and the kids (Uncle Tom was sleeping). Came back, shot the breeze and headed to bed.

Friday morning was another early wake-up call as we had an eight hour drive ahead of us. Of course, that is assuming the traffic would be perfect, which is wasn't. We had a major construction back-up by the Wisconsin Dells. Once we got past the cities, we had another slow crawl just west of Minneapolis. (Long story...) Right before Monticello, we were held up by an accident that was cleareed out by the time we got there. Boo.

We made one planned stop at St. Cloud State University to see if I could get an updated alumni list from them. Nice campus, but I didn't really get a chance to look around ecause we were in a time crunch. As far the alumni list goes, I didn't have any luck...but I am going to try again.

We are in Alexandria with the fam. Tomorrow morning, I'll be heading out to get a century done on a "Rails to Trails" route. I was told it is pretty flat so it should be nice and easy...and fast. Hopefully the wind is light. I'm not sure what direction I am going, but the path does run through enough civilization with food and supplies when I need it. I can either double back toward St. Cloud or continue going west into some uncharted territory.

With a long day and flat road....who knows how far I will go.

Century #7: Hell on Wheels

While I advanced my goal of completing 10 centuries by the end of the year, today's trip was sheer misery. It was my own fault, but it didn't make the ride any easier.

The main culprit was the I forgot to bring money. No cash or plastic. All I had with me were my water bottles and three of the protein bars that I made up at home. The money issue never even occured to me until we got to our first rest stop. By that point, I just had to hope for the best.

I didn't have too much to worry about for water. I was able to fill my bottles at every rest stop where we took a break. I rationed out my protein bars to last the entire ride. It just wasn't enough. My normal purchase a rest stop normall consists of:

• Two bottles of Gatroade/Powerade for my water bottles
• Some sort of grainy PowerBar
• An occasional can of soda for the caffeine/sugar push
• (LUNCH: 6-inch sub, baked Lay's chips and a soda)

So I had none of that. At about mile 60 (lunch was at mile 52), I started falling behind. I couldn't keep up with the crew. By mile 80, I think I had "bonked"...which is the official bicycling term for being done. I someone grinded out those last 20 miles, but I was miserably slow. It was painful to watch...and likely no better to experience.

Thank you to Bill Johnson for holding back for me when he could have EASILY cruised ahead with the pack.

Moral of the story: 100 miles = BRING MONEY!

House Headaches

Ugh....I feel like my house is falling apart on me. To make it doubly worse, it feels like it is all happening at the same time.

1.) My computer has had a virus for the last two months and I have been running in safe mode trying to figure out the problem. Why do I have a virus? When I went to renew my anti-irus subscription, I inadvertantly purcased a "total security" package that did not auto renew my anti-virus. Of course, I didn't realize this until it was too late and it has been an issue between me and the software company to fix it.

2.) My garbage disposal is broken. Actually, it fell off. Technically, it rusted off and right at the connection joint so now we can't get the sink connection off because there is nothing to grip. Frustrating.

3.) Coupled with a vacation and our fertility issues, my ability to put a dent in my credit cards is taking a major hit. I said that if I could not get the computer fixed by the end of the week, I would take it in to get fixed (credit card charge) and I may need to get a plumber just to get this thing off of my sink (might need to charge that).

Ugh...

Finally Getting Some Down Time

The last three weeks have been busy, fufilling a tiring. Since the Fourth of July weekend, I've had three staright weekend events with not a lot of down time in between since we needed to prep for each one. Outside of the grind of working almost everyday for three staight weeks for the Fraternity, the opportunity to meet new brothers and reconnect with the ones I already know has been great.

But...I'm BEAT!

I'm taking Monday off of this week, as well as Thursday and Friday for a nice little four-day weekend. Then I head back for three days before a long...and deserved...vacation.

As I sit here thinking about the 170+ brothers I got to hang out with at Leadership Institute, I am remembering that I need to go into work tonight to write my last story for our e-newsletter. I worked out a deal with our layout company to have the story ready for them on Monday (it was due last week). I realized we had a great opportunity to share the Leadership Institute story with our alumni, but I needed for the event to happen.

Now that I am awake from my nap, it's time to clean out the car and head back to work. That vacation can't get here too soon.

Pre-In Vitro

Leandra and I had our first meeting regarding the IVF process. Wow! This is definitely a process. There will be a good number of drugs that Leandra will be on for the next month or two. I have to take an antibiotic to make sure my "stuff" is healthy.

The good news is that our planned vacation will not be affected. Because we had very little information when we decided to go this option, we were worried that the schedule of events would interfere with our trip. This process begins with self-administered shots for the first couple of weeks. For us, we will be in Minnesota for her first injection.

Of course, the bad news is the cost. I figured for this to be an expensive venture and I was NOT disappointed. We were shown the amount that needs to be paid and did my best to keep a cool face. Unfortunately, there is no paymet plan and everything needs to be paid upfront. So much for paying off our credit cards.

The nurse asked if we had any questions and I thought it would be funny to inquiry about possible fundraising opportunities. I also asked if we could genetically manufacture our child to meet specifications that would make money for us later in life (baseball player, rock star, genius, etc) and I was given a very jovial "No."

To wrap this up, if you need an instrument, buy it from my wife at Opus 1 Music (she gets commission). Or if you see us hosting a car wash, please stop by to support the cause. I look smokin' hot in a swimsuit.

Adapting to the Times

I was finally able to get a proposal through with the Evansville Bicycle Club at tonight's meeting. The club approved the change in the name of the "Special Needs Bicycle Program" to the "Adaptive Bicycle Fund."

I had made the recommendation stating that the term "special needs" was outdated terminology and that we should use something that is more appropriate and accepted in the present.

This goes all the way back to last year when I first proposed the change. My intention was to have it changed for the registration forms we send out for the Great Pumpkin Metric. Being it was my first year, I brought it to the club too late and it was tabled to a future meeting.

I brought it back at the June meeting, which actually worked out great because we had a guest speaker representing a program with works with children with disabilities. I had verified that my recommended terminology was acceptable and she agreed that it was. So I proposed it. Unfortunately, it was part of a marathon meeting (that probably could have been run a little better), but by the time I made my proposal, everyone was ready to leave.

During this month's meeting, I brought it back up and got it through. Even though there were a few people that were against it (mostly for reasons of general ignorance), I had a few things working in my favor:

1.) The president and past president were not in attendance. The past president, who is now the treasurer, wasn't crazy on the proposal. I'm not sure where the current president stood, but the vice president was in favor and he was residing over the meeting.
2.) Attendnace was low and most of the "old school" members weren't there.
3.) I had two members, who don't normally attend meetings, say a few things which helped support my proposal.
4.) There were a few that stopped caring and just wanted to bring an end to it. By voting for it, they would shut me up.

Additionally, I really made an effort to mention my backgroundin working with individuals with disabilities, which include my sister, the summer program that I worked out for 14 summers and the wheelchair athletic program I volunteered with while in college. I'm not sure if it made a difference with some people, but at least I could say that I had more experience than the rest of the room combined.

So I got what I was asking for. This was nothing personal; I believe it is in the best interest of the club. Welcome to the 21st century.

Goin' In Vitro

Yeah...so after eight years of my parents wondering where the grandkids are, we've decided that nature is no longer a viable option. Science is going to take over (and we are going to pay dearly for it). That's right peeps, we are prepping for the in vitro fertlization option.

I was having a discussion with some co-workers about kids and the cost to actually have one. They all agreed that having a baby is not cheap. I "kindly" reminded them that what they paid will probably look like a Wal-Mart discount because not only will I be paying to have a baby, but I'll also be paying to make one. I don't know how much that costs (considering insurance doesn't cover it), but I know it won't be cheap.

This means a couple of things:
1.) There is a good chance of twins, which is good because I don't think I will want to pay to do this again.
2.) Our child better be perfect.
3.) This better work the first time. I don't want to pay for something that doesn't work.

There is a whole bunch of things that are up in the air right now. We'll know more by the end of the month. Hopefully this won't mess up our plans for a vacation in August. I'd like to be a little optimistic, but the realistic side is casting doubts.

So if you are looking for good birthday gifts for us, please go to one of those gift card stations that are in many retail stores. Last year, it was all about Menards gift cards. This year, you can get us an "In Vitro" gift card...if they have them.

Century #6 for 2010

Great pace, great weather, great people. That about sums up today's century. All in all, we had a total of 16 people in our group. We all left at different times, but we able to meet up in Dale, Ind. We even tried taking a group shot, but the lady from the area never saw an iPhone before and the end result was humorous...at best.

This century took us out to Santa Claus, Ind., the location of a pretty popular amusement park is located called Holiday World. Traffic was pretty hectic leading up to it and it didn't help that we had to go through a pretty hilly section of road. The cars were not overly happy. Oh, well.

The best part of the ride was having yet another "rookie" out for their first century. I've had the luck of having a newbie on my last three century ride. Fellow Bob's Gym Boot Camp classmate Cindy Taylor took on the challenge and KICKED ASS! Even more amazing is that she didn't do it with any clip pedal. Two words: Old...School.

At the end of the ride, both Cindy and I agreed to go to Boot Camp on Monday to rub our century in hr instructor's face and challenge her to come out for a century (considering all the grief she gives us). After we parted ways, I made a stop at the local Cold Stone Creamery for a smoothie and headed home.

Four more to go...

Arriving at 14,000 Miles at Lyrecrest

As I arrived at Lyrecrest (my workplace) on the morning of Wednesday, June 23, I eclipsed the 14,000 mile mark on my odomoeter. After not riding as much as originally planned over the weekend, I thought I could predict when I would hit my mark.

With some careful calculations and a little guessing, I figured I would be arriving at Lyrecrest. Unfortunately, I got to Lyrecrest one mile short. I realized that I had rounded up a few of my mileage runs and that my odometer is running on borrowed time until I get a new battery in it.

I did what any dedicated cyclist would do...ride laps around a short driveway/parking lot to get that last mile in. Now every Sinfonian will know that one lap is about 0.15 miles.

In writing this posting, I realized that posted almost exactly three months ago after I had eclipsed 12,000 miles (actually 12,200 miles).

Working the Yard...Still

I passed up a perfect day for a bike ride on Saturday to give some much needed attention to some projects outside. The goal was to get the garden expansion in the front yard done. Up to this point, I had dug the edging into the ground and pulled up the sod. I had planted three bushes, but that was a far as I got. The next step was to mulch the area.

For me, the biggest issue was getting the mulch here. I knew how much it would cost to purchase, but it's hard to tell how much to get. We've been doing some outdoor work at Lyrecrest and ordered a bunch of mulch and it looked like 2 cubic yards would be enough.

To avoid delivery fees (anywhere from $20-$45), I was able to borrow my neighbors pick-up, which (as I discovered) can hold 2 cubic yards of mulch perfectly. Awesome...no delivery fee! I drove back, got out the wheelbarrow and started hauling mulch back and forth.

About halfway through, I made an unfortunate realization. I was not going to have enough mulch. In fact, I was nowhere close. I tend to put a thick layer of mulch as I had read that it helps to choke of any weeds or grass that is still onthe ground. There was some grass that was starting to grow back from the leftover roots. I had read that three inches of mulch is preferred. I guess we'll see if it works.

I made a second trip to the store to get another load of mulch. Filled up the truck, drove back, and continued the routine. This second load got me to a point where I am about 3/4 done with the front. I'm going to have to make one last trip, but it will likely have to wait a week or two. I wasn't really budgeting for four cubic yards of mulch. Getting two more will need to wait for another paycheck.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to move these big rolls of sod. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

"That Guy"

A few of my co-workers joined me for lunch at a local sandwich shop called The Granola Jar. I usually get a Corned Beef Reuben (no dressing) and a broccoli slaw concoction when we go there... and I did the same today.

After I paid for my order, I sat down but realized I forgot a straw. So I stood up and started walking over to the condiment area. Before I could get there, a gentleman sitting at the next table stopped me and we had the following exchange:

"You're him," he said. I give him a confusing look. "You're the guy."

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"You're 'goatee bike riding guy,'" he responds. Again, I'm a little confused.

"You ride your bike on Oak Hill Road. My kids and I see you every morning and they say "There goes 'goatee bike riding guy,'" he explains. "My kids created a comic strip about you and they call it 'Goatee Bike Riding Guy."

We talk a little longer about the fact that I ride in just about every type of weather and temperature and then I grab my straw and go back to eat my lunch.

Weird...but cool. So I guess that now makes me an icon in the Evansville area. I'll tell you one thing; if the "Goatee Bike Riding Guy" comic strip ever makes it big, make sure to send me my royalty check.

Working the Front Yard

When we moved into our house in August 2004, out front yard was comprised of a HUGE oak tree and a birch tree. We lived on a hill that ran the length of the house and nothing had really been done to make the front of the house look nice. It looked like there was a flower bed closer to the curb by the mailbox that had grown over with grass, but that was about it. Oh yeah...and a random rose bush by the mailbox.

Over time, I took up a couple of projects that make the yard look a little more appealing:
Added a couple of bushes close to the house

• Used retaining wall brinks to rebuild the flower bed by the curb
• Got more retaining wall bricks to create two levels up the hill. The first surrounded the tree (which has some nice stuff planted around it now) and the second will be used for a future walkway to the front door)
• At the bottom of the hill, I extended a brick wall towards the front of the house and got rid of a rock "garden" that ran along the side

Over time, I started realizing the amount of grass that wasn't growing even with watering and fertilizing. Basically, the oak tree is so big that it sucks up all the nutrients and water around it. Last summer, I started work to kill the grass in that area (naturally of course), by choking it our with grass clippings and leaves from the oak tree. I got a fair amount out, but not all of it.

The plan was to extend a garden out from the house and grow some nice shade plants. I already had a garden that ran the length of the house, but this would bring it out to just under the coverage of the tree.

I purchased 60 ft of edging and layed out the area that would be dug up. This took a little trial and error as I wanted to avid an awkward shape. Once that was in place the digging began.

I've been pretty lucky that its been dry recently. The sod comes right up, athough the grass root system is pretty thick in parts, which you wouldn't think if you look at the quality of the lawn. Because it's so dry, I am able to shake off decent chucks of the top soil that would normally clump together if it were wet.

I've been working on this on and off for about two weeks and I'm almost done. I have three plants in the area already that I had to dig around, but I hope to have everything done by today. I found a guy who deliver mulch for dirt cheap (pardon the pun). Next weekend, I may have a completed garden.

Century #3: Flat Tires Get You Wet

I apologize for not getting on here more often. I am dealing with an anti-virus program issue AND a virus. Boo.

Today's century had a group of four that headed out for the 100-mile challenge. Diana Holland, Mark Oliver and Dale McCuiston were the competitors today. This was Dale's first century ever so this was a pretty big deal for him.

We took off around 7:50 am. The wind was coming out of the northwest and that was the first 30 miles of our ride. By the time we got to Cynthiana, I was only averaging a little over 14 mph. That changed once we hit Hwy 68 with a LONG stretch going east.

We took our first official rest top at the 40 mile mark in Haubstadt. It's been awhile since I have been at that gas station, but a 15 minute breather was good chance to stretch and refill my water bottles.

We hopped back on Hwy 68 and went about another 15 miles until another gas station. It was about 12:00 noon when we arrived. My average had jumped up to over 15.5 mph just through this 15-mile stretch. We stopped because a bathroom break was needed, but opted to have lunch in Boonville where there were some better options (ie: Subway). That would end up giving us another 20 miles of saddle time, but we ate some snacks and headed back out.

I was feeling pretty good at this point. I'm not ever going to say that I am a speed demon, but I definitely was not tired. Even while pushing through the second half of the ride, my legs were still feeling decent. Of course, a tailwind always helps with that.

The wind was still pushing us as we turned to the south towards a small town called Folsomville. Once through there, we made the turn west towards Boonville and the wind started playing with our sped again. We were either going south or west. Our speed was determined by which way we were riding. We hit Boonville at mile 76 and had lunch...finally.

The rest of the ride was pretty easy, except for the weather. We saw rain in the distance but we thought we might beat it out. Unfortunately, the wind suddently shifted and hit us from the south which slowed us down, but didn't knock us out. What ended up being the "nail in the coffin" was the flat tire that Diana got about five miles out.

Dale and Mark went back to grab their cars to give us a ride back in case Di couldn't get here tire working (long story there), but we eventually got it back together. I opted to take a cut across to where Leandra works so I could pick up the car and drive home. That is where the sky opened up.

It actually wasn't too bad. I've ridden in much worse weather. The bad part was missing the stop light at a busy intersection and the suddenly getting dumped on. Nowhere to go...just had to take it.

I may have gotten a little wet, but defintely the downpour I got at the intesection. Regardless, century #3 is done.

12 Day Road Trip in Review

Starting back on the very lat day of April (Friday, April 30), I had a pretty interesting span of 12 days. I compare a lot of things to baseball this almost felt like a road trip for me. Here is the breakdown:

Friday, April 30: 18o mile drive (about 3 hours) to Indianapolis for meeting.
Saturday, May 1: Supposed to leave for home that night. Because of bad storms, we stay an extra night.
Sunday, May 2: 180 mile drive back to Evansville. Meet with chapter at Lyrecrest and conduct phone interview. I get back home around 2:00 pm.
Monday, May 3: Normal day
Tuesday, May 4: Normal Day
Wednesday, May 5: Fly to New Orleans (connection in Chicago) for a conference
Thursday, May 6: New Orleans...enjoyed a couple hurricanes at a piano bar.
Friday, May 7: Find out that Leandra's grandmother dies. Trip to Cloquet, Minn. forthcoming.

Saturday, May 8 (this gets its own paragraph): Fly out to Evansville (connection in Dallas). The plan is to rent a car once I get back to Evansville and start driving once Leandra gets out of work. Flight from Dallas to Evansville is overbooked and volunteers get a $300 voucher and rerouted through Chicago. Since Leandra can pick me up in Chicago, I volunteer, but I have to sit at O'Hare for over 5 hours until she can get there. She picks me up and we go to Elkhorn, Wis. to crash at her sister's place. 392 miles for this portion of the trip, but only about 82 miles with me in the car.

Sunday, May 9: 402 mile drive back to Cloquet, Minn. About 6 hours in the car.
Monday, May 10: Cloquet, Minn.
Tuesday, May 11: 780 miles to Evansville, IN (14 hours)
Wednesday, May 12: Normal Day

In total:
Driving miles - 1,624 miles (not including incidental trips between hotel and places)
Driving time - About 14.5-15 hours
Flying Time and Miles - ???
Time spent in O'Hare Airport - about 7 hours

An Interesting Time in Chicago

(Note: This was written the afternoon of Saturday, May 9, but I was unable to post it until later in the evening when I was able to secure internet access.)

Another Saturday night and I’m stuck in Chicago. O’Hare Airport to be exact. How many of you can say that you’ll be at the airport for 5+ hours while NOT waiting for a flight? Well, that’s my situation.

How did I get into this predicament? Read on…

I started my day in New Orleans for the FCA conference. The plan was to fly back to Evansville with a connection in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Once I got back to Evansville, I was renting a car so Leandra could start our drive to Cloquet, Minn. (close to Duluth) for her grandmother’s funeral.

Everything was going smoothly until we got to Dallas. Our flight back to Evansville was overbooked. For a $300 voucher, I could be rerouted through Chicago. By doing so, I would be getting back about 3 hours later…BUT I would be in Chicago which we would have to drive through anyways to get to Minnesota. I even thought that I could give my best friend a call to pick me up and I could hang with him for a couple of hours.

I made a quick call to the wife and we agreed to take the gamble. I took the voucher and the new tickets (even though I was never planning to use the Chicago to Evansville ticket) and took the flight to Chicago.

So I got off the plane and called my buddy. He’s in Janesville, Wis. visiting his wife’s family. (STRIKE ONE!)

Then I thought I might be able to get to find a way to switch my ticket to send me to Milwaukee, Wis. and find a friend who could pick me up from airport up there. Called a booking agent and explained my situation, but the two flights were both booked. (STRIKE TWO!)

THEN…I thought about standby. So I went to an agent to inquire about getting on a standby list. She told me that the “rules have changed” and that I would have to pay a $50 fee to guarantee that I would get a seat, but that might not be until tomorrow. If I didn’t get the flight, I would still be out $50. On top of that, I was told that the remaining two flights to Milwaukee were already overbooked. (STRIKE THREE!)

In two final strokes of bad luck, I am unable to use my cell phone as my battery was dying and I need to save as much juice as I can to make sure Leandra can find me at the airport. Additionally, I’m not using the internet with the laptop from work because I don’t want to pay for it.

So I rolled the dice and lost. I still have a $300 voucher to use sometime in the next year. But Leandra likely won’t be here until 9:30(ish) and I am writing this at 5:00. I suppose I can take my time with dinner and get some exercise by walking some laps through the terminal.

One Night in Indy

I'm in Indianapolis for the night through Saturday while attending the Sinfonia Educational Foundation Board of Directors meeting. This is an annual meeting that is held in various cities. This time around, the meeting is virtually in my backyard...when considering that one meeting was held in Las Vegas.

I'm a little anxious about the morning portion of the meeting as I will be presenting an idea to the SEF board. I'm not going to talk about it right now as I think it would be better for a decision be made about it first. I think it is a decent idea, it all comes down to how well I sell it. This is the first time that I will be presenting in front of this particular board. I'll just have to see what they think.

Most of the group went out for drinks and smoke cigars. i might have gone out with them, but the smoky bar scene is just not of interest to me. Of course, we got back from the meeting a little late and the fitness center at my hotel was closed.

Instead of going out to run in a city that I am not overly familiar with, I did the next best thing...climb the stair in the fire exit. In about 25-30 minutes, I climbed the equivalent of 78 floors with a total of 1,581 steps...and that was both ways since the hotel was only 12 floors high.

I worked up a nice sweat and now I'm hitting the sack. I should sleep good tonight.

Century #2 Completed

Two down, eight more to go. Another 100 miler under the belt and I couldn't be happier...or more miserable. The only thing worse than Century #2 was Century #1. Ugh. Fortunately, I had people to ride with this time around.

We started out with Diana Holland, Collette Loehrlein, Diane Bies, Bill Johnson and Cindy Jones. Diana H., Bill and I were the only ones to wrap ot up together, although Diane B. had plans to finish her mileage up later on.

We had weaved our way towards Elberfeldt. The wind was coming from the southeast so going north was a piece of cake. That was about 18 miles. We made a quick pit stop at the gas station in town and headed east towards Lynnville taking Hwy 64.

We were just under 30 miles at Lynnville. That stretch wasn't overly bad even with a bit of the headwind coming from the SE. Everyone stopped again and it ended up being the point where our group split up.

During the stop, Diana, Bill and I confirmed our route and continued eastward on Hwy 64 towards Folsomville Rd...which would take us south towards a SMALL town (more like an intersection) called Folsomville. From there, we headed towards Boonville where we got lunch at Subway. This was about the 50 mile mark.

Bad news about this stretch. The wind turned around and was coming from the southwest. Needing to head west for the end of the ride meant that we had a head wind for the majority of the ride. Both Diana and I were struggling. This was her longest ride of the year and with a small group, there wasn't an opportunity to rest while someone else pulled. Each of us were pullign ourselves which can really beat you down.

We hit a couple of back roads to get to Chandler, where fellow EBC member Bill Voegel, provided us a bonus pit stop at the pharmacy where he works. (Poor guy had to work.) He provided frozen candy bars, cold Gatorage and some energy bars for us. We even ran into Cindy and Diane B. who doubled back to meet Bill.

At this point, Diana and I were at about 59 miles...Bill had accumulated some extra miles by riding before we met...and we were really close to our starting point. Time to punt. Bill was almost done so he headed towards his home. Diana and I headed south towards Newburgh into the headwind to pick up some extra miles. By the time, we circled back to Chandler, we had added another 22 miles.

I got back to the starting point with 10 miles to go. I had 5 miles to get me home so I had to make up another 5 on the way. The Keystone subdivision gave the just the opportunity. Two laps through there and I was home free.

My final odomoeter reading was 99.82 miles and I know that my computer has been shorting some of my trips this month so I feel confident that I was in the clear. Our average speed was embarrassingly low and I'm not going to bother to post it. The good news is we made it. Even though it took an eternity, it still counts.

I'm going to take a nice nap and retire the bike for the night...and probably tomorrow. Since last Saturday, I've accumulated over 250 miles and I have no desire to even think about the bike until the weekend.