Boo

The temperature here had already reached 90 degrees at 11:30 a.m. Then a co-worker says to me: "It's supposed to get really hot by the end of the week." Tennessee is home, but I here Alaska is nice this time of year.

Good job Amy. Congratulations.

Bingo. You captured the essence of addiction with that one sentence. You're doing great Steven. Good job.

I've worked around the achilles situation this week. Gradually doing more leg work until I feel comfortable getting back to squatting and deadlifting. I did a few laps up and down a steep hill behind my house every morning. Just walked it early in the week and have now added a weighted backpack for resistance. I got into rucking a few years ago and, for whatever reason, just kind of forgot about it. I'm definitely going to make it a part of my routine again. Looking at spending some time this weekend with a pick axe, pole saw, and fire rake cleaning up new foot trails on the hill. During my upper body strength work, I rediscovered the barbell pullover. Again, an exercise I've done in the past that I shelved along the way. It's a great lift that works the upper back, shoulders, and chest. Also gives a nice bit of thoracic extension and scapular retraction. Two things that most, if not all of us, could use more of in our life. If there's an upside to injury, it would be that it forces us to scramble a bit and get creative.

Great job Paul. Congratulations. Thanks for being one of the quitters who showed the way to those of us that followed your path.

Toorah, Loorah, Toorah, Loorah, Ay!

I'm not typically the sensitive type. However, I was a bit offended when a friend of mine said: "Boo's the kind of guy that buys his clothes at the hardware store." That hit a little close to home. I did buy my favorite jacket at Ace Hardware. It keeps me warm on cold days. It keeps me dry on rainy days. It fits like a glove...What more could you want from a jacket? The catwalks of Milan and Paris will just have to wait.

Yep.

Feeling more trendy and hip than usual. I've reached that point in life where by the time I hear about a trend, it's already falling out of fashion. However, with lumber supplies low and prices rising folks on the interwebs are looking into "recycled wood." Hip urbanites are figuring out how to build furniture using old pallets. I've been using old pallets to build things for a couple of years now. And I have access to a bunch of pallets. While I recognize it is a fleeting thing, I'm enjoying temporarily feeling like a cool guy.

Good job Kris. Congratulations. Commence with the celebration.

Welcome aboard the Train John. Taking your life back is always a good call. You've dealt with adversity. You committed to a goal of losing weight and been successful with that. You can absolutely quit smoking. We know you can, it's important that you know you can. Looking ahead at quitting smoking can be more stressful than the quit itself. It's like a hiker standing at the base of a mountain. The mountain looks imposing, perhaps even insurmountable from a distance. Then he starts the journey and finds it to be a series of smaller challenges: a climb here, a scramble there. He keeps moving, putting challenges behind him, and eventually he reaches the summit. The view from the top makes the climb worth it. The process of quitting will challenge you, but it will reward you many times over.

I'll gladly chuck 60,950 coffin nails on the pyre.