I'm back

Goodness, I have been completely out of contact recently. I've been averaging
72-86 hrs a week at work for about the last month. Originally it was because my
wife was on maternity leave & I needed to make up her income. But a couple weeks
ago she went back to work. That didn't go very well. She cried every morning as
she was getting ready for work, she also cried allot while @ work. After about a
week of that she asked me if she could be a stay @ home Mom. To be honest, when
I heard this I became elated! When she & I were both working we were working
opposite days. I already explained in a recent post the nightmare it was trying
to fit in the time to train for triathlon with that sched. I was always working
out @ odd hours, usually in the dark. During the time she was on her maternity
leave I worked a 12 hr shift @ night, slept, woke up at about noon, trained.
Spent a little time with the family, then back to work. It was so easy even
though I had to work at least 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks to make up her pay. Well, tomarro, Oct 11th is her official last day of work.

My wife and I figured it out & with 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks on my part we
can have the exact same lifestyle as when she was working.That would give me 3
days off every 2 weeks. But she & I have decided to go a step farther. We just
finished reading a book called "The Total Money Make Over" by Dave Ramsey. WOW.
What an amazing book!!! Already that book has changed our lives! We were, like
most people living pay check to pay check. We decided we didn't want to live
like that anymore. After reading this book we realized we don't have to. We are
now on our way to being debt free. Imagine that people, no debt at all. No car
payments, not even a house payment. Wonder how? Buy the book, you won't regret
it I promise you!

So to make a long story only slightly shorter, starting this week my wife will
be a full time Mom, I'll be working 7 twelve hr shifts a week unless I have a
race that weekend, and I'll be able to train at normal hrs of the day.
A few side notes. Most people are unable to train allot during the winter
because by the time they get off work it gets dark to soon to get any
substantial training done. Since I work at night that won't be an issue w/ me.

I had been steadily gaining weight for the last 8 months. I ballooned up from 211 to 250lbs a few weeks ago. The times I tend to have problems with my diet are when I get stressed, or life starts getting too rushed & chaotic. Well since I've started working this much I have been on this perfect schedule. I've been getting more than enough sleep, time to work out,
time with my beautiful wife, & time to train. When I am on a good schedule I
rarely splurge on food for comfort, which is a problem w/ me. So for the last
3-4 weeks I've been doing great on my diet. I've lost 8 lbs so far. The only
negative about me working so much has been I don't get as much time w/ my
daughter as I'm used too. But I've found that I'm replacing quantity w/ quality.

& the last side note is that since my wife & I have decided to pinch pennies I
have decided that I won't do another Ironman next year. They cost too much, &
it's even more costly to travel to them because there aren't any nearby. I feel
badly about that decision because a good friend of mine S Baboo really bent over
backwards on The NM Outlaws web site to inform/include me on what Iron races the
team will be doing as a team next year. Sorry S Baboo. I really appreciate you
making that effort on my behalf though.

I'm out. And until next time, PEACE!