Playing Golf In The Snow And Live Broadcasting it? Sure!

As the practice season kicks into full gear and the weather begins to get a bit better in the Pacific Northwest, getting out on the course is usually more fun. Of course, there are those days where the weather is less than stellar and I'm lucky enough to be out on the course alone. This is the type of round that happened Sunday at Echo Falls. Out on the course with a good shot at getting in 18 holes in some brisk, but nice enough weather. Unfortunately, by the 15th hole, the weather had changed a bit and things got a bit crazy.

Anyways, as you can see from the video above, I managed to play that 15th hole pretty well and I can't wait for the snow to melt off long enough to get back out there. From the sounds of the weather forecast, that's not going to be very soon, but maybe by the end of the month. Either way, Playing in crazy weather is definitely fun, just remember to keep it that way and not stress about scores at the end of a day like this.

This video was live streamed to the Back In The Fairway YouTube channel. Make sure to follow and subscribe to the channel to keep up with my golfing adventures!

It Was Revealing To Say The Least...

The first dance event of the year is in the books. The Reveal is the yearly display that our studio puts on to showcase the competition dances for the upcoming season. While this year's Reveal was a bit different in a few ways. Still, it was a weekend that will not soon be forgotten on many different levels. I won't go into great detail too much since it was just the start of the year and you'll hopefully be seeing a ton in the future about the different dances, but let''s just say that the weekend started off rough but got way better from there.

So, to all the dancers, Amazing Job! To all the parents, We Survived! And to all the readers.... Until next time!

Becoming A Bit Less Me

So, this is me. What you see here is a gradual progression of the last 12 months of my "face". Starting with the top left corner, which was just over a year ago, when I was near my heaviest. Then on the bottom left, you have a snap of a slightly smaller me that was taken in August of 2018. The top right is from October of 2018 and finally the bottom right is from January of 2019. This is the first part of the crazy journey that has been on going for years, but is finally starting to stick in the last 4 months.

Just 4 short months ago, I began eating differently than I ever have before. See, normally I start looking like the guy on the upper left. Then I crash diet until I look somewhere between the guy on the lower left and upper right. After dropping down about 30-40 pounds in a few months, I start to repeat the process of getting to look like the guy in the upper left again. It's my life cycle and it's just how it's been for a number of years now. What happened differently this time was a completely new way of looking at food and what I ate - and it seems to be working for me much better.

So before you freak out when I say the word - KETO - hear me out. I know that the Ketogenic Diet gets ripped apart in mainstream media and fitness people site all sorts of studies and give opinions on why it is awful for people, but quite a bit of what they say isn't exactly correct. If I listened to what people say about Keto, there's no way I would do it either, but, as I said, that's only half the story. Keto isn't a license to eat all the bacon you want nor does it say to consume all the calories you can eat in one day. Keto also has various versions, all with different requirements and ways of doing things that sometimes cross over and sometimes don't. Keto has become a generic pop term that people like to dismantle before actually hearing out the people that are trying to stick to it.

With that in mind, here's what "My Keto" looks like to the outside observer:

 - No processed sugars - no candy, soda, etc... 

 - Keeping carbohydrates to a minimum at meals - usually around 7g.

 - Consuming higher amounts of natural fats - both animal and plants.

 - No excess snacking.

Now, you may look at this and wonder, what guru wound't agree with a diet that limits sugar intake, cuts down on snacking and increases natural food intake, but there are plenty of people that think that Keto simply means wrapping all your food in bacon and covering it in mayo. Some people see it that way and others are actually changing how they view food and how they eat daily. That's where my change happened, even though it's completely backwards from everything I've ever thought before.

First, I'm eating a bit more at meals (instead of more, smaller meals), snacking less (instead of having more smaller snacks), skipping meals when not hungry (instead of forcing food to keep from getting too hungry) and staying away from anything processed (instead of liquid meals or shakes of some kind.) It's really strange and different, but my body is reacting well, I feel better, my blood pressure is down and I'm consuming far less sodium, cholesterol and, for lack of a better term, crap, than I did before.

So, since August, I'm down 62.8 pounds and I'm going to keep on keeping on with this way of eating, even after I hit my goal weight. At some point, the losses will slow, my body will find it's natural weight and I will be happy with that. Until then, I look forward to becoming less of a man than I am today and keeping myself that way into the future. 

It's Been Far Too Long...

October 8, 2010… It’s been a long time. In fact, over 8 years has passed since my first post on this blog and this year, this year is going to be different. Life changes are happening, my daughter is growing up fast and I’m finding myself once again. I’m not sure what exactly this year will bring, but I know that I want to get back to keeping this up so that someday, when I’m not here anymore, my little kiddo and her children can look back on this and see more of me than just a few photos and such. I’ll think of it as a digital diary that will last as long as they need it to and hopefully help her remember the good times, the not so good times and even the moments that we wish had lasted forever. This is going to be a big year…

Starting off, it’s another season of competition dance! Yes, the first few months of the year will be spent soloing, tapping, group dancing and competing against other dancers trying to be the best. There’s four dates already set, plus the reveal and the showcase, then a trip to Disneyland to take part in their Dance The Magic summer event. It’s going to be awesome!

Next up, I get to get back into golf a bit more serious this year. I’ve signed up for a tournament series that will run from March to October (with some good breaks in the middle) that will get my competitive juices going again. Not only a great thing for me, but also a great thing for everyone that knows me and has to deal with me. I can’t wait to get going with that one.

On a more somber note, we lost my father-in-law in August of last year. While he had become more distant after moving from Duvall, it was still shocking. In his passing, we are taking on one of the loves of his life, a 1946 Studebaker “franken”pickup that we will try to do justice to and get back on the road this summer. It’s going to be a crazy huge project, but when it’s done, hopefully it will be a part of him that Evie will be able to remember for as long as possible.

From there, it’s hard to say what else is going to happen this year. Sure, we have plans, but let’s see where the year takes us. Hopefully I will be better about updating this, at lease monthly, so I can keep this record going for everyone else. Anyways, that’s my first update for 2019 and hopefully I’ll write more soon!