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10:00 am in the big city.

Woke up this morning and went for my daily walk. I'm determined not to have heart surgery some day. Of course, that fear will be with me until the day they wheel me into surgery. So, I guess I should say that I'm determined to have as strong a heart as Dad did when he had his surgery. That, and I would love to shed that jiggling around my waistline. For those of you in the know... it's my gut. I even began lifting weights this morning.

I don't have a weight bench, so I took an old plank of wood, sawed it in half and placed it between two chairs on the patio. It is a total Dave Lamb construction, but it works. I decided I'd take the late train this morning since I was unsure whether I'd make the early one after all of my activities. Turns out I could have made it. Who knew?

With the extra time, I decided to do something fun. I balanced the checkbook. I'm surprised I didn't wake up Julie and Jake with my heavy sighing. My stressed out sighing has become such second nature that I don't even know I'm doing it anymore... or I'm mid way through a sigh and I can't stop myself. Frustrating.

Luckily, Sophie was up and already playing her new "Wheel of Fortune" video game. She loves that show! So, when it came time to get her a present this weekend, she immediately wanted it. Oh, I didn't explain why the kids got gifts, did I. See, Jake just began taking new enzymes. The dosage is higher in these pills, so he has to take fewer of them at meals. We decided to bribe him with a gift if he reached 21 pills. He got a sticker for each pill and when he reached 21, he got to choose a present for himself. Obviously he has to continue taking the pills in the capsule form, but it was a way to get him started.

The kid's a pro, man. I was taking Flintstones chewables until I was 13.

Anyway, Sophie was up playing her video game and she asked me to play a doubles round with her. I'll tell you, it's the inane little things in life that bring you the most pleasure. Just playing a stupid video game with my girl put me in the best spirits.

Thank you Sophie. And thank you Merv Griffin, for inventing Wheel of Fortune.

Aloha

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