Me and Evie Just Out and About

Yesterday was quite a fun day. Evie and I got to play most of the day, even without worrying about Mama or what she was up to.

The day started out interesting enough with a quick trip to Duvall to drop Mama off to watch Nana. Then off we dashed to run a few quick errands when Evie decided it was nap time.

So, instead of a quick trip to the drug store, we drove from Duvall to Everett. Then from Everett to Redmond... Then from Redmond to Duvall and back again. We stopped at a few stores along the way, but Evie really enjoyed Sammamish Cycle the best. She picked out a nice 12" bike, but she can't quite reach the pdeals yet.

Overall, we had a great day, and enjoyed our little adventure together. Hopefully I can steal her away for another Daddy day soon!

Rental Cars, Hospitals and Getting Better...

This week has been amazing. When I say amazing, I mean in both good and bad ways. I always like to start with the bad, simply because it lets me spend more time with the positive stuff at the end.

So the week started off crazy enough with 3 days at the ICU wing of Overlake Hospital. Nana was admitted last Wednesday and got progressively worse until a breakthrough on Sunday evening. Finally by Tuesday evening she was looking and feeling much better.

We then got hit with a nice February snowstorm that crippled my ability to ride into work for the entire week.

The week continued to get more exciting with Ara getting in a fender squisher with a Jersey barrier during a freak ice storm. So the rest of the evening was spent dealing with insurance phone calls, a panicked wife and texts from everyone wanting to know what was going on.

Well fast forward to today.... The truck is in the shop, Ara is doing fine and even more amazing was the fact that Nana came home today.

Its times like this that make me realize how amazing life is and what is really important... I'm sitting here at home, while outside is cold and wintery. My amazing wife is sitting with me watching TV and I am content.

I'm greatful today. Nothing more can be said. I'm greatful for family, health, safety and most of all, faith. The faith that tomorrow will be better than today and no matter what, life is great.

Snow, Cold and Riding

So missing a few rides over the weekend with Nana being in the hospital wasn't a horrible thing, but with the icy roads and cold temperatures, I am really feeling the exercise drop off.

The bad part is that we have a gym about 25 feet from our back door. The issue with the gym is the hours of non-availability. We never know when it will close or if it's even open.
But in reality, spring is right around the corner and rides will become longer and faster soon enough. I just need to clamp down on the diet until I get better weather to burn off the extra.

At The Hospital...

Days like this are hard. When someone you love has to be in the ICU for a few days, life becomes amazingly short.

Today, we spent the day at Overlake with Nana. Nana was admitted on Wednesday and has been here since. She was checked in with pneumonia and breathing issues. She showed signs of getting better on day two, but hasn't done well since.

It's now day 5 and things are still escaping the doctors. They aren't sure what is casuing things and aren't sure how to fix them. My wife is being amazing through it all and is keeping the entire family caught up on the prognosis.

Overall, its been a very trying day. But tomorrow will be better.

The First HD Flick From the New Evo

I have to love the HD video function on the EVO. First off, I don't miss the important moments, so they will live forever. Second, you never are prepared for what will happen to make those special moments hilarious!

Enjoy the 30 seconds of fun and share in the humor of life.

Chinese Food

I love Chinese food. Fortunately, we have a pretty good place in Monroe called Saigon Kitchen. The food is good and the service is usually decent or better. Tonight we were so hungry we didn't have a clue that the wrong food was delivered to our table.

Needless to say, it was still a fantastic dinner and they only checked about 5 times to make sure we were OK. Love good food and good service!

Rain Impedes Training

So the last few days have been super cold and wet. Tomorrow will be my first day out on the bike this week. Its been pretty much an indoor training week so far, but hopefully I can shoot for at least 2.5 miles in the morning.

Otherwise, it will be the standard 1.9 miles straight in and home in the afternoon. It will be nice to have CardioTrainer back for the rides though!

And We Are Back...

Yes, its a minor miracle, the EVO is back in hand already. My amazing wife ran up to the Marysville InTouch Wireless store this morning and grabbed it for me.

So, this is going to be a bit of a short post tonight, but I wanted to get back and keep everyone updated on the status of my experience and the amazing service that I got with my EVO issue.

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Missing The Evo - Day One...

Well it didn't take long for the Evo to be missed. Today, just doing a basic weekend fun activity, I noticed the amazingly poor image quality of the BlackBerry 8330 camera that I have substituting for my Evo at the moment. The images were blurry, the camera had an incredible lag and it was horrid in low light conditions. While the Evo isn't a DSLR hiding in a cellphone, it is so light years ahead of the Curve that it was almost sad to even take images with this outdated beast.

To make matters worse, I tried to shoot a video of Evie's first real pony ride to save in the memory books and, while it looks good on phone itself, it's quality is so terrible, you can't even use it for anything like the DVD's I create from the Evo's videos.

So with that said, I am patiently waiting for my new Evo to arrive - thanks to the Marysville, WA InTouch Wireless location that is swapping my damaged LCD device for a newbie (or refurb) - but I really can't wait for it to be back in my hands!

The Evo Has Died...

So, in a rare post from the computer, I have to say that my 'perfect' Evo has taken a tumble and is awaiting replacement. Unfortunately, the replacement is a few days out, so I won't be posting very much until then. For now, we are off to the backup BlackBerry Curve and the pleasant, although too long, wait to return to the best Smartphone experience on Sprint. I know, all you Epic users will argue that, but too bad, the Evo was first, and is still better.

The Amazing Evo...

So no photos of this one since I can't shoot my own screen, but today on the way home, my good old EVO fell from the holder on my bike and hit the ground HARD!

Amazingly, only the outer casing and the glass screen cracked. The LCD survived just fine and the touch screen is still fully functioning.

The new screen should be here Saturday from Amazon and I should have it installed later in the day. Until then, I'll be posting through some less than perfect glass.

A quick PS to this also... The $1 screen protector, the one that we put on there to keep from scratching the screen, is what saved it from complete destruction! So, get those screen protectors and new cases on there asap people!

Day 3...

Today was brutally cold for riding. I made the additional mile and a half loop around the lake, but at that point I noticed the ice build up on my brakes, deraileur and my jacket.

Unfortunately, the poor EVO was frozen up too, so no images on that one. So instead I am doing a shameless plug for what has gotten me here... Slimfast... Bananas... Water...

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a bit more heat and less fog.

Way Too Cold...

So I planned on making today a 5 mile ride in to work. Unfortunately, the 20 degree weather thought that coming straight in after 2 miles was a much better idea.

All in all it wasn't a bad ride in. The new pants were plenty warm, the gloves did fine, and the bike is fantastic. The ears however froze in 3 seconds. I guess I know why they wear those goofy ear covers now...

Seattle To Portland Training: Day 1

So for those that haven't heard on Facebook or twitter yet, I am attempting to drop 80 pounds and ride the Seattle to Portland bike race this summer.

Currently, I'm 15 lbs in and losing quickly. The rides in to work have been easier and easier. Now its time to really get started. July is coming on quickly and there is a ton of prep work to get done. Fortunately, I had an amazing deal on a Trek road bike fall into my lap last week and today was day #1 on the new wheels.

This morning was pretty cold, but I still somehow made record time getting into work in about 7 minutes. While most won't find a 2 mile ride in 7 minutes much to boast about, keep in mind that's almost 1/3 of what the ride took me the first time.

My EVO is a complete asset during this training as I am using My Tracks and Google Navigator to trace riding routes and using CardioTrainer as my training program. I'm also using Calorific to watch what I eat at the aggressive goal of losing 4 lbs a week over the 20 weeks up until race prep time.

The beauty of this thing is that it is tracking my moves, sharing my progress and letting me post all about it. So, even though the EVO might be a bit outdated now, its still the perfect device for training for my monstrous task ahead.

Tomorrow is the Big Day...

So, anyone that has been reading this knows that I am prepping for a very long summer bike ride. The Seattle to Portland ride is in July this year and I am going to do it. The final piece of the puzzle for me should be in place tomorrow.

I was fortunate enough to find my amazing bike deal on my EVO. I know it seems weird to think about shopping from a phone, but I test rode a few bikes at a few places and found the deal of the year on a gorgeous Trek road bike at www.redmondcycle.com and emailed them from my phone immediately.

Shortly after that, I got an email back saying they did have it in my size and I could reserve the last one they had for a 10% down payment.

Luckily, I was able to look up the site in our way to the grocery store and call to reserve it. I say luckily, because upon arriving to have it fit, the sales person told me she had someone else come in looking for it and it was a good thing I put it on reserve.

Of course, there will be plenty of stories and fun to come, but for now, here's the image I downloaded from Trek's website on my new mode of transportation.