Category: Health

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Health

I’m Sick ! I Ate A Cricket !

NO – I didn’t really eat a cricket. That’s actually an inside-joke between me and my brother regarding one of our childhood cats.

I ate no such cricket, but I am sick – AGAIN. I am now dealing with my unprecedented 4TH cold in just a little over 6 months (since the last few days of October 2007). It’s also my 2ND cold in just a little over 6 weeks (since Good Friday / Easter Sunday weekend).

I felt the arrival of the cold via the typical first-stage sore throat this past Tuesday afternoon. The sore throat actually dissipated a bit the next day on Wednesday, but my voice was still a bit on the weak side. I had actually planned to stay in last night in lieu of attending Life Group, but I decided at the last minute to go ahead and get some food inside of me and join my friends (since we were doing it at the Atlanta Bread Company anyway). It was the very first time that we did Life Group in a public gathering place. It was a very unique setting, but I definitely prefer having it in a more private intimate setting.

My cold got worse last night and into this morning, and I had a restless and sleepless night as a result of it. If it weren’t for an urgent weekly meeting that I not only attend but also facilitate I probably would have used 8 out of my 1,300+ hours of sick leave accumulated and called in sick. I managed to stay at work for 6 hours this morning, and then I came home at 12 noon.

And so here I am – at home – sick. Once upon a time I used to get a cold about every 18 months to 2 or even 3 years. Now I’m working on my 4TH cold in just 6 months. Back then my rare colds lasted in excess of two weeks. Nowadays these colds come and go within a matter of several days. That’s thanks to my good buddies Mr. Vitamin C, Dr. Airborne, y Señor Zicam. (I refuse to take any cold medications.)

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Animals Health Home Travel Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Sky: Mostly Cloudy
Temperature: 73°F
Relative Humidity: 77%
Winds: E 5 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.02 Rising

My thoughts:

1.  It’s the first Saturday morning of May, and the walk continues. We’re enjoying an unusually cool Spring here in South Florida. Later this month the rainy season should be kicking-off, and that will pretty much bring an end to these weekly walks for the season.

2.  It was another 2.2-mile walk for me this morning, and I did it in 40 minutes flat. That’s an average of 3.3 MPH. I always feel refreshed and alive during and after the walk. I think that’s the whole point of exercising.

3.  U.S. 1 is known as the ’18-Mile Stretch’ from Florida City to Key Largo. I’ve got the ’18-Minute Stretch’. That’s the middle portion of my walk that takes me from the main gate of my neighbourhood, completely around its southern hemisphere, down the spine, and back to the main gate again.

4.  2 little dogs were out for some early-morning shenanigans without their owner. I think they escaped from their patio. They were having a good ole time running all around in the street and on the grass – until they saw me !  That’s when they ran behind me and straight outta sight – probably back to where they belong. I wonder which one of those little dogs was the trouble-maker ?  Which one said to the other one, ‘Hey, follow me. We’re gonna go out and paint this town. We’re gonna go and get us into some monkey business this morning. Let’s go dog !’

5.  Most neighbourhoods have a lack of parking. My neighbourhood has an over-abundance of parking. I think we may even have one parking space for every man, woman, and child that lives here. At least it seems that way.

Categories
Animals Food God Health Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Sky: Partly Cloudy
Temperature: 72°F
Relative Humidity: 68%
Winds: E 6 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.06 Rising

My thoughts:

1.  God woke me up at around 6:40 this morning, tapped me on the shoulder, told me to get up and take a shower, and then insisted that I get a-steppin’ with my physical walk around my neighbourhood. He wouldn’t let me sleep in this morning and waste away the daylight. I obey Him.

2.  I walked 2.2 miles again this morning – the same as the past two Saturday mornings. I also shaved another minute off of the time that it took me to walk it – just a tad bit more than 40 minutes.

3.  It was quite comfortable outside this morning. It wasn’t really cool (72°F), but it was rather dry (68% relative humidity), so it felt cooler than it really was. In the middle of the Summer South Floridians typically wake up to temperatures right around 80°F with relative humidity readings above 80%. I won’t be walking in that hot and steamy mess !

4.  ‘The cat by the dumpster’ was there again. He looked at me with his sad yellow eyes with no fear. I think if I dropped a few morsels of tasty food by his side then he would have gobbled it all up in a split second and then followed me for the remaining mile-plus of my walk. 10 years later …

5.  Following the walk I eventually ended up at the Dunkin’ Donuts at the northern edge of Florida City for blueberry coffee, a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant breakfast sandwich, and crispier, juicier, tastier oven-toasted hash browns. You just can’t go wrong with that combo. I think that the blueberry coffee (with cream and sugar) is one of the best hot beverages that you can possibly buy for less than two bucks.

Categories
Blogging Food God Health People Travel

Bedtime Stories

Greetings Friends and Bloggers. This is the Friday night edition of ‘Bedtime Stories’ – inspired by my dear friend of the past 13 months or so – Ms. Venus Diaz – one of the greatest trash-talkers in my Life Group !  (I’ll deal with you on Sunday morning.)

It’s fast approaching 11 PM EDT on a Friday night, and I’m really not sleepy at all. Since I don’t really need to be anywhere early tomorrow morning I’m thinking about a rare session of staying up late tonight and then sleeping in and waking up whenever I feel like it tomorrow morning. That’s actually not a good sign for ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’, but I figure that I got plenty of exercise this past week up in Orlando walking all over the place at the Exponential Conference. Would you believe that I actually lost a couple of pounds this past week despite eating MASSIVE quantities of food ?

Incidentally due to the unexpected MASSIVE popularity of the first two entries of the ‘Exponential Conference Orlando Tossed Salad’ (representing the first two days of the conference) I am adding a special bonus 4TH entry to the series !  The next entry will represent the final day of the conference (this past Thursday), and then I’m posting a ‘leftovers’ edition featuring the top items that didn’t quite make it onto the first three editions. Look for both editions to be posted here on the blog during the day tomorrow (Saturday).

Today (Friday) was the biggest Friday in our history as far as unique hits were concerned, and many of you were brand new to this blog. Let me answer two questions here. ‘Tossed Salad’ is simply the unique brand name that is utilized as an identifier to my Sunday morning summaries of what happened at Life Pointe Church. There’s a certain recognizable structure to the series of ‘Tossed Salad’ blog entries, and that same general format is being utilized to summarize my day-to-day experiences from Exponential ’08.

Well there you go with tonight’s ‘Bedtime Stories’. Be sure to check back with this blog at least a few times during the course of the day tomorrow. I’ve got a whole lot more of ‘Tossed Salad’ to share with you.

Until we hang out again here on the blog have yourself a safe, peaceful, and blessed Friday night with your loved ones. Before you retire for the night open your arms and raise them up high for God. Let Him know that’s He is fully in charge of you. Let Him know that you are fully dependent on Him.