My Bucket list- more than a pail of empty dreams

So the other day I saw this movie called The Bucket List.  I enjoyed the comedic banter back and forth between the main characters and for a comedy it had quick a positive message.  But it got me thinking..."Should I have a bucket list?" I mean I'm not that old but the idea of making a list of things I need to complete before I die seem a little morbid but yet satisfying.  Writing down a goal also gives it credence and as we will soon find out, the ability for others to help and motivate you to accomplish them too.

So why am I telling you this?  I am on the verge of crossing the first thing off my list, that's why.  I was having a man-date with a buddy of mine and we were chatting about things, I agreed that it would be cool to do it and that it was already on my Bucket list.  He was integued and asked to see what else was on it.  As he looked through the list his eyes lit up and asked if he could help me cross something off the list.  I said, "of course".  I mean it's a list of things to do before I'm dead and since I'm still alive now seems like a good time to start.  So in a couple of weeks we will be going to get a straight edge shave at this place he knows that does it up right.  I'm pretty excited 1- to hang out with my buddy in a man's man type setting and 2- start crossing things off the list.

Like I said the act of posting a goal increases its chances of it being accomplished by almost 50% so I have decided to post the whole list and as I accomplish things I will come back and cross them off.  I don't see these as impossible (Matthew 19:26) just something worth accomplishing

David's Bucket List:
Play golf at TPC-Sawgrass
Play golf at Pebble Beach
Skydive
Bungee jump
See Duke play UNC basketball- Either location for now
Watch Vikes play at Lambeau
See soccer game in England
See soccer game in Ireland
Go to a Red River Classic game OK vs Texas
Attend comic-con
Attend comic con in costume
Get a straight edge shave
Play golf at the old course (St. Andrews)
Go down a hill in bubble
Richard Petty Racing
NYE at times square
Attend the Super Bowl


I think this is a pretty good list.  Some things like Skydiving and Bungee-Jumping have been assigned to my daughter for when she turns 18 (we would be doing these together) but could be difficult to accomplish (6'6" 280lbs is a lot of everything for a tandem jump) unless I can make some major life changes. I have left some space as to add things to the list from time to time as well as cross off items that I manage to complete.  But its not a race, I plan to live a long time and if I can accomplish some now, then I can share that experience with you, the other day.

Shave and a haircut- WHAT????

So the other day me and my mom were going in to get my hair cut. I wanted the style of the day the ol' side spike. You know, kind of short on top but long enough that the side part could stick up and look cool.
 Well my mom and I were arguing about how long the top could be.
 I wanted to be sure that the spike would be right. Well the barber had heard her say, "well if it's too long I'll just have him cut it again", so without hesitation and really not listening to anything else, he took an electric razor and went up and over the top of my head.(Judges 16:17)  Seriously, imagine a reverse mohawk, so where do you go from there? Yeah, basically, bald. Go ahead, laugh it up...

Why am I telling you this? I am currently sitting here in the waiting room of my local Fantastic Sams I think back to that day and am so glad I found Toni. She's awesome. She doesn't sit there and talk the whole time and more importantly I have had no issues when she has cut my hair. I call ahead, make sure she is here and then come in. And as a side note for $15 can you argue with a great cut and a shampoo??? Didn't think so.

Well I think Toni's about to call my name so I'll catch up with you all later. I look forward to telling you more, hopefully less embarrassing, storys about the other day.

It's the most horrible time, of the year! (you know the tune)

The other day my dad came to me and said, "We just got a family membership to the local golf course, you can play unlimited rounds"  The course was our city's executive nine course.  "Executive" courses are typically a 9 hole course where it's not full size but it progressively gets harder, I think this one is a par 27.  I was super excited and so I decided I needed to learn how to play.  I used mismatched clubs and garage sale drivers until about 7 years ago when I had borrowed my dad's clubs for a work tournament.  I called him to return his clubs and he informed me that I didn't have his clubs.  After I waived the thought of early Alzheimer's from my mind, I humored his request to swing by to let him prove that I was wrong.

Foot Joy rain jacket

I arrived at his house, and sure enough, he had gone out and bought a new set and bag, and informed me that the ones that I was in possession of must be mine.  Over the years I have continued to play, less at first, but have really picked up the # of rounds I play each year, last year I even joined a league.  I have never taken lessons but after upgrading my clubs about 4 years ago, I'm starting to feel like I know how to hit them and which club goes with each distance.  I don't think I could hit 5 balls close to each other on purpose but if someone told me I could never golf again...well, let's not talk about it

Arrived Wednesday

So why am I telling you this, well, simply, I WANT TO PLAY GOLF!  I desire to swing my clubs and walk the fairways, hear the flags snap, plopping of balls in water and the sounds of "fore" coming from my mouth.  To be honest, I love that you can step out on a course and see God's beauty.  The ability to see the sun rise on a dew covered green, or a deer cross a fairway in silence as you stand on the tee box. (Song of Solomon 2:11-13)   It truly is the best way for me to connect to the peace that God offers.

Free? Yes please

I know that many have loved the mild winter that we are having, and I admit that it has been nice to not have to shovel 200 ft of snow from my long driveway or worry about someone sliding into me on the road.  The issue is that I have been able to see grass for most of this winter but I haven't been able create a huge divots.  Then there are the e-mails and Facebook posts of courses opening, always when I have mountains of work to do, and then temperatures reach a balmy 40 degrees in January in Minnesota, just to taunt me..

Thanks baby!

So I have done what any well minded golfer would do, fill the void and frustration of this winter with golf purchases.  It started when my bride blessed me with a new golf suitcase for Christmas.  I have since filled it with a new jacket won off Ebay that I have wanted for 2 years(half price of retail).  Followed by new golf shoes that I have been drooling over for about 6 months.  This after managing to get my hands on a new set just 3 months ago from a free gift card.
They haven't even seen a blade of grass yet  So next season starts with; 2 new pairs of shoes, a new jacket and a new suitcase...
WOW but wait...there's more.  I am going to pick up my clubs from getting re-gripped today too, I had won a gift card at work so the final bill was $5.85!

So I think I can now get by the next 6-8 weeks of winter we are scheduled to have, as said by Punxsutawney Phil, the other day.  

Dare to Care

So the other day my family and I sat down to watch a movie. I had traveled to my local Redbox and picked up Courageous, which is brought to you by the same people as Fireproof and Facing the Giants. (By the way, if you haven't seen any off these and you want to see a movie with characters trying to be true authentic Christians, you now have a whole weekend of movies to watch. These movies are all written by the same guys (brothers, in life and Christ) and it is released through their church. I'm off track at this point so I will return from my bunny trail.) Seeing as I have seen all the movies, I knew I was in for a God glorifying, tears running, nose sniffling 2 hours of enjoyment. BUT it’s not the 2 hours that makes the difference; it's what happens after the credits roll...

So, why am I telling you this…I want to show you what can happen when you realize that you may have a bowl on your head (Matthew 5:14-16). When you realize that you are in his presence but not participating in it.  I have been able to go months and months with reading His word and praying but it was during the movie I realized that I have recently stopped and have been absent in the conversations with God...this left me with a couple of questions for myself to answer...

Am I being the father that the kids would like, should have, need? Am I letting them see through actions that they are Loved by me, and God? Am I being a good example to my kids everyone of how their Heavenly Father loves them?

I took inventory of my life since then, and here is what I have (re-)learned in the last couple of days.

1. When you pray, you are rewarded with answered prayers.  I have been praying the last couple of days before work.  We have all been under a lot of stress so I have been praying for peace, breaks, calm clients and a joyful environment.  I think it's been working, nothings gonna be perfect but it's better than it was.
2. After watching the movie I asked God to remind me to stay focused on my family.  Help them to be reminded of the answers to the questions above.  Asked that he remind me of what I am to do and how I can do it.  He answered, they way He does best, through giving me a song.  This is now on my ipod like so many other songs God has used to remind me of my role, His love, or simply to slow down.  I can take stock in His reminders by simply hitting "shuffle".
3. Lunch with a friend can be so amazing when there is no itinerary.  I got the change (once a month) to hang with a newer friend this week for lunch and it truly was amazing.  I again started my day with prayer and remembered the lunch and asked God to "help make our time together good.  Help our friendship to grow" were my words.  Thank you God for helping that happen.
4. You don't need to meet someone to be a role model.  I had clients that taught me that.  They were so calm and patient.  So loving and kind.  He called her his queen, and they finished each other's sentences on the phone. Well when I was talking to some support people, in an angry tone, about these client's file and how it's not fair that this loan cannot get done because of things out of the client's control, I was reminded of their patience and God asked me "is this how they would respond?  They are a light, are you acting how my light should act?"  I then paused, and apologized to the support people for raising my voice and that they were doing their job and thanked them for that.  I then thanked my clients for being the example they are.  I hope pray that I can be as bright of a light as they were for me this week.  Thanks to them I have a new verse to memorize (Col 3:17)

Be present in the conversation that God wants to have with you...Simply put, he's always willing to talk with you, Call your Father, He'd like to hear from you, and He will have the right answer.  I didn't say the easy one or the one you want, but banging your head against a wall hurts too...why not try His way this time.

So needless to say, I will continue trying to show my family the right way to live. Being an example of God's love, helping my daughter see the way that a husband should love her, and teaching my son the ways to honor his wife.  Which in turn, is honoring to my wife.  That way, I know that I have raised them up in the ways of the Lord instead of my worrying about my actions, the other day.

What's Beautiful to you?

So the other day I was coming back from a meeting that I had attended in Brainard.  As I was driving a song came on the radio I sat there listening to it, smiling and shaking my head on how perfect this song matched my marriage.  There are songs that you hear that fit your mood, give you encouragement, fit the situation, or will just always spark that memory that you hope you never forget.  So this day, before I had a cell phone with cool features that could find a song and download it for me, I had to scrounge for a piece of paper and pen, yes while driving, listening to the words to see if there was any hint to what the song would be called in case the DJ failed to tell me afterwards all while driving down a dark country road...and they say texting while driving is dangerous.  I was successful in discovering the song was "That's Beautiful to Me" by Jason and the Long Road to Love.

Why am I telling you this, as I was driving in to work this morning it came on again, this time from my personal playlist, and I teared up was sentimental reminded of the first time I heard it and I though I would share it with you.  This song is not our song by the way, Savage Garden gets that claim to fame.

Really the enjoyment of a song like "...beautiful..." is that you see things that are "special" to you but as I re-listened to it, and thought outside myself, I realize that its probably pretty common.  I mean what man doesn't like seeing lines on his wife face from her sleeping on his chest or enjoy her singing the wrong words to his favorite song.  These are the things that make your relationship special but the same as everyone else's.  I'm sure I don't have the only wife in the world who gets tired of red roses.  She wants variety, so as soon as she says "you know, I wouldn't mind other colors too" you can connect to this song as being special.  Add your wife's decision to drink coffee on a weekend without putting on make-up and you can almost tie it all together.  See when I hear this song, all those moments that this song writes about come to my mind and even if I need to reach to tie meaning together like "I drove you down the boulevard" and it's obviously he's talking about our first date when, after going out to eat, I drove us down "Kirby Puckett Boulevard" on the day it was re-named or the fact that he wrote "What you doin' with a guy like me?...I don't deserve to have a girl as beautiful as you" and I smile cause he is so right.

So men, if you Truly, Madly, and Deeply love your wife; take this moment to tell her about that special something that is Beautiful to You.(Song of Songs1:15)  She'd appreciate knowing what it is that she did, the other day.

Working my way back

So the other day I blogged about the needed to get back to my losing weight. I planned on the idea that if I gained it quick I can lose it quick, something I picked up from all my weight loss adventures.  Well it's not coming off as fast as it went on.  I'm seeing this as a opportunity to learn that this weight battle will always be a slippery(sometimes bacon fat slippery) slope.  I cannot, even after hitting my goals, assume that the weight will stabilize and stay flat.  It will need to be a focused effort to stay at any weight I want to be at simply because I LOVE food.

So, why am I telling you this, because in the last 3 weeks I have learned a couple of things that I want to pass on... as well as the results so far.

1. If you want to drop weight that you already lost once, it is OK to go the same route as the last time...
1. Last time I was successful in losing these pounds I had worked out 1-2 times a week (in addition to volleyball).  So far, I have not hit the gym even once, funny I haven't lost the weight as fast...
2. If you are thirsty, drink-if you are thirsty don't drink pop, drink water. If you don't have water don't just sit there, go get some water.
1. One of my hangups till this week would be my desire to drink carbonated beverages (specifically Diet Dr. Pepper, cause it tastes more like the original).  I enjoy my pop, no not soda but pop (maybe I can go on a rant some other time about this and "duck duck grey duck" not goose)  So anyway, I would drink 1-2 bottles a day.
2. I told myself that I needed to stop/minimize the amount of pop I drink in a day.  Unfortunately this usually meant I would sit at my desk with nothing to drink...not useful in flushing the fat from my system...Funny I haven't lost the weight
3. Working more than 40 hours can be a hazard to your health.  
1. I (my wonderful wife) packs a lunch to get me from lunch to dinner, typically dinner is at 6:00
2. If you leave work at 8:00pm, it's hard on your body and mind to not eat.
3. People in offices have candy at their desks and they are happy to let you eat as much as you want if you give them money in appreciation...Working more than 40 hours can be a hazard to your petty cash too.
4. Buffalo Wild Wings is not part of a balanced diet.
1. Unless your diet is Beer and Wings
2. oh and Onion Rings
3. 3 times in a week may be too much
4. or then again maybe not...

Tomorrow's blog, why I'm happy being fat.  Brought to you by, and written from, my local BW3.  No, not really...I think my progress has been acceptable considering all of the above hang ups.(Psalm 37:24)

For those of you keeping track at home, I am down 4.4 year to date. that means I have 23.6lbs left to go. At this point, I see that I may need to work even harder than I thought I would have to the other day. 

Google- I love you - "The only workout I truly enjoy"-refound

So the other day I posted this, lost it, and it was found again,(Luke 15:32) so for those who didn't read it before...Here it is...

So the other day I was finishing my first semester of college, yes it was my last but that's another story. I was very proud of my GPA with all the distractions going on like having a pregnant girlfriend and my impending academic probation. Yes, I was sitting with a nice 3.8 GPA but apparently if you drop 2/3 of your credits on the last day before it counts as an incomplete (Psychology, Math and English) they frown on that. So what was the 1/3 I kept? Glad you asked.

I kept Band, Band Technique, and Volleyball. How I survived, I'll never know. So why am I telling you all this, simple I still play volleyball...And I love it. I would play every day, unless I was playing golf- you'll read more about that this spring as the itch to play starts growing. But Seriously I love it, I find it weird though that as tall as I am my favorite position is often Setter. I take pure joy out of putting the ball exactly where it needs to be to have someone crush it. Honestly, I think I enjoy that more than killing a ball myself. I find it interesting that at 6'6" that I have a desire to do what is not my "bread and butter" position. I prefer being guard on the basketball court, and, well, ok, that's the only example I can come up with.

Lately volleyball has been the only exercise I can fit in. I have a gym membership but it's only open till 6:00 and I've been working past that too much lately, so my old church's open volleyball night on Sunday is just the ticket. Typically we have 10-14 people and for the most part it’s a high level pickup game. Last night, as my team got beat a lot so I found myself running a lot, and I LOVED IT. I know you shouldn't need to "run" that much when playing volleyball but some new people were there and it was nice to be able to encourage them while shagging errand balls. It also felt good to know that 30lbs ago I wouldn't have been able to get to those balls in the first place (imagine a freight train; Long time to get started, long time to slow down).

I'm hoping in the coming weeks to maybe make it to this new place I recently found out about that has a open gym night and then the weight will really be lost, not this post like the other day...See what I am setting up for you to spike down? huh? HUH? Nevermind....