Upcoming Birthday-Girl! or alternatively, "Our Wii is smart!"

So, Melissa will soon be having her birthday. I think she's rather stoked about it let me tell you! ;-) Anyway, apparently our wii is clued in on the action! Check it out!!!!

Yes. Yes I have. Thanks Wii Fit! This thing is awesome! :-)

... or scary. I haven't quite yet decided how big-brother-ish it really is just yet.

Indian Summer

An "Indian summer" is defined on wikipedia as a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn, not long before winter. It is also the title of one of Dave Brubeck's recent solo releases.

I had the rare privilege of seeing Dave Brubeck in concert and it will always be a shining memory in my lifetime.

I welled up a bit in pondering about the idea that Dave's "winter" could be around the corner. I hope that when my winter comes I will have made such an impact in this world and inspired as many people with my music as he has.

My heart is so full of music right now that it could burst and at the same time... it is guarded and doesn't know how to let any out. The paradox of speechless exuberance I suppose.

This blog is my feeble attempt at writing more. If you have a moment give Indian Summer a listen it may not do much for you at all... but you will have at least had the opportunity to meet me where I am at tonight. In particular "Summer Song."

Perhaps I'll write again sooner than later... bear with me ;-)

Until then,
Adieu

Spelling Counts...

I must say... I've never had my named spelled this way before. I'm not sure quite what to make of it. My feeling is that the cashier doesn't have any friends name Greg or Gregg, or even... Craig. Maybe they just were hoping for a conglomerate friend? Anyway I submit this for proof and for your own humorous commentary.

:-)

My (Community) Christmas List!

So, my Christmas wish is community. I was challenged when I asked a friend of mine what was on his Christmas list. Code for "What kinda STUFF do you want this year?!?" His response? "Clean Water Wells"

So, I pass on the challenge... as a gift to me you can donate to Hydrate Hope which does just that. Or likewise you could donate some to Hydrate Hope and possibly collaborate with one or a few other gift givers in getting a gift for me. Thus... echoing my heart for community not only in a global sense with Hydrate Hope, but also as a community pitching-in, as one, to give a gift to me.

I hope this makes sense. Melissa and I have been challenged at church to spend less and give more this year. I'd love knowing the fact that we can make a real difference.

Sincerely,
Greg

Okay, here it is! I've done my best to list items in order of preference:

Hydrate Hope Donation ($10, $25, $50, or other)

or $$$$ for the following...


Garmin Forerunner 405 w/ H.R. Monitor

Fiskars Garden Rake

Asics GT-2140 (or GT-2130, last yr's model) size 9, 4E


Wii Fit
Runner's World Calendar



Runner's World Subscription


Listed below are in no order of preference:

Trumcor Trombone Super Stealth Mute


Clothes - (athletic apparel, Blazer, Dress Jeans....
or simply gift cards to Luke's Locker, or Kohls ;-)


Cooking Light Subscription

Backpacker Magazine Subscription

The Blogosphere....

Is it wierd that since I haven't blogged in a while that it makes me feel less popular? I'll have to work on that ;-) Be on the look out for my Christmas list soon.

GLUTENous... you know.

I'll do my best to keep the tirade to a minimum in this blog but be forewarned.

I love food. LOVE IT! In fact, I won't be ashamed to admit that I sort of have this irrational fear of starving and tend to overfill my tank far too often than not. I'm not exactly sure where that stems from... but that'll have to be another post.

As you can see above, a delectable morsel of Key Lime Pie remains from The Fredericksburg Pie Co. Melissa and I went there recently to stay at a lovely B&B while we escaped from Hurricane Ike.

You may have thought that I did, but I assure I did NOT misspell the title of this blog entry ;-) Gluten (not glutton) is a protein found in the endosperm of wheat, rye, and barley.

I've decided to try my hand at eating a gluten free diet... to no avail. So, a "gluten-light" diet (dubbed, by my beautiful bride) is what I'm striving for at the moment. You see, gluten is in EVERYTHING. Much like corn. I've known about corn syrup, and corn syrup solids being in most commercially available products for a while. I try to avoid them whenever possible. I'd much rather have something with the real deal of sugar rather than some government subsidized grain crop. (100% juice please! :-)But I digress...

As I was saying, wheat is in everything! Or at least that is the way that I feel. Trying to eat gluten-light/free is a VERY daunting task. Wheat is even in beef jerky!!!! How is that possible? Well, it's an ingredient in Soy Sauce which is usually used in the jerky process. No more pizza dough that I am famous for... (at least not the traditional kind). No more baked goods... no more pasta... no more fun. Well.... not entirely true, but it feels limiting.

All of this started by reading about eating right for your blood type. For the most part it seems pretty spot on. So, I thought I'd give it a try.

The Key Lime pie was a splurge for me in this new diet because Melissa and I tried to get pie at the Fredericksburg Pie Co. the last time we were there, but they ran out of pie!!!!!

I'm still eating gluten, but not necessarily outright. It's definitely been severely minimized. For example wheat is in soup (flour), taco seasoning(flour), the previously mentioned beef jerky, and countless other foods as a hidden component. In addition to minimizing gluten intake, I am also taking probiotics to aid digestion. Why go to all this trouble you may ask? Well... just to see. I like to research things to the best of my ability... so I'm researching how this affects me. Gluten is supposedly supposed to slow down my metabolism, and I just want to keep that from happening.

The best shape I've ever been in my life was when I was doing "brick" workouts and sticking to a triathlon training schedule. Maybe I should just get back to doing that and eat whatever the heck I want to. :-)

All the best to you. I'd love to hear any nutrition thoughts you may have.

~G

God's gifting...

First of all, let me say how much of a gift my wife is to me. God has blessed me BIG time with her! :-) She's is my number one fan, my supporter, my partner (in everything), my cheerleader, my friend, my sister-in-Christ, my encourager, my iron to sharpen me, and lately... my teacher.

Melissa is a pro at laughter. It was one of the VERY first things that I noticed about her- her laugh. She knows how to seize the moment for spontaneous silliness. In a lot of ways I need to learn how to lighten up and if I could sit back and just observe her joy.... well, it'd help me let go of life's weighty-ness for just long enough to want to join in the dance with her. One of my favorite things and when she just throws her hands in the air and says "Pick me up!" Although, most of the time... there doesn't even need to be a word exchanged for us to both know what is said. If there is one thing in common that we have, it is how to have fun.... Okay, two things- also, our unspoken language that is ours alone. *smile*

I don't get to laugh with her nearly as much as I would like to, and I think that if there was more time for playtime we'd both be all the richer for it.

She makes me laugh. What better gift could I receive? Well, maybe making her laugh :-)

~Greg