sparky_wulf

baby steps indeed. All my progress gone in an instant of the stress compounded of a 10 month old and wife in her third trimester. That was a month ago… I was back up to my starting weight (175 lb 5’6” with a light frame) by riding along on pregnant cravings of fast food – ice creame – fatty meals… then I said enough was enough. I started working out again – started eating better – cut down on alcohol (weekends only) and got back to sneaking-in activity into down-time. And am back down to my it’s-starting-to-get-really-tough-to-loose-anymore weight of 159-161. Tomorrow I begin shifting focus and will convert half of my pure-cardio workout to strength training. I expect to loose no more pounds but continue seeing a significant decrease in BMI and try and work toward “chiseled.”

Getting out from the shackles of debt is a long trip. It’s really easy to be discouraged – this is why it’s important to keep a record of your accomplishments. I may be a bit obsessed with spreadsheets; however -as long as I have access to it I can tell you which accounts are paid off, what percentage I am complete with each account, how much LESS interest I pay now versus a year ago, where I should be after next payday, the next and next – or around forty other metrics. The most important thing to keep track of: How much less interest you pay month to month – and try to make that number grow.

When discouraged looking forward – take the time to look backwards – you’ll feel better unless you’ve been moving backwards – then you really need to look back at your errors.

Screw the buzzwords: snowball, snowflake, avalanche, calving or whatever – just remember this: Every dollar you send at your debts will decrease them.

I dare you to find $100 bucks to trim from your expenses this month and send that at a debt – next month find fifty more… then you’ll be hooked on trimming expenses.

I feel like adding this to the accomplished list – but this should be an ongoing life-goal.

Last entry was about how I can and will be remembered as a great father to my new little girl. She is my inspiration to be ‘better.’ And now she has a little brother on the way. [that will be two kids before our second anniversary and my wife was not pregnant at our wedding – yeah, this guy is getting snipped!]

Right now my little girl and her brother-on-the-way are at a mostly just growing stage… she’s starting to stand supported, feeding herself, and laughing at “funny” things like spatulas or other things the rest of us adults find mundane.

I just lost a grandfather who was my first employer (farmer) and my best childhood friend. I’ll remember him with the warmest of memories for as long as I live. Here’s some of the lessons we can learn on being remembered from him: 1) Life throws some tough curve-balls, but we can only hit them if we first get up to bat and then swing. At a young age the car his entire family was in was hit by a train in their own driveway – he was the only survivor. After bouncing from estranged relative’s homes to foster homes to shelters he found his wife – had three daughters, 8 grandchildren (7/8 married 8/8 college graduates) and 8 great-grandchildren (number 8 and soon number 9 will be my kids)... and built a successful farm from scratch. 2) Even though there is an entire field of beans to walk (cut the weeds from) – there’s always time to stop for cookies. Atleast every 30 minutes we would stop for some reason or another – it’s amazing he paid me. But not just for water and cookies – we would take breaks to visit family members, stop at the next town over where we knew half of the people at the diner for lunch – go to the fair – go to a museum – do anything but the work we had to do; yet somehow manage to finish every summer. 3) Never waste time on something that you don’t love. He did this by surrounding himself with things he loved – his farm and his yard were his playground – his family was always included – National Geographic always waiting on the table. 4) Never miss an opportunity to help. If he was done with his stuff he always knew a neighbor or family member that could use a hand.

He wasn’t just close to my heart – but countless others. Even though he only met my daughter once and my son never – I will make sure that they know about him, my grandfather and one of my best friends ever.