Masters Week: Favorite Golfing Movies

There is a time in April where the golf tournament in Augusta, GA takes center stage and I always think about playing golf. The Masters, as it is called, is the first major PGA event of the year. 120 of the world's best golfers square off to fight it out to be the best in the world for that weekend. Once it is over though, I start to think about golfing and all the movies that I loved to watch when I was playing... Without further ado, here are my top 5...

Tin Cup - The story of the down and out almost tour pro making an unbelievable run at a US Open title. Kevin Costner is at his best in this one and the one liners with the entire cast are just fun. If you haven't seen it, it's worth the watch.

Legend of Bagger Vance - Will Smith and Matt Damon take an otherwise slow and painful story line and add a bit of fun an interest to this epic film. As much as it isn't about golf, the lessons it teaches are very much a part of the game, and life.

Caddyshack - This is the classic, well, I can't say that anymore since most places have had caddies replaced by electric carts, but in the 70's and 80's, kids were caddies. The golf course hired them for the summer and they would tote bags for all the golfers and take care of the course for the greens keeper. It was a great life. Caddyshack captures the eventful summer from beginning to end with amazing humor and amazing performances from Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield. 

The Greatest Game Ever Played - Disney didn't spare much on this one. You probably missed the 2 weeks that it was in theaters a while back, but it is a great flick for the family. Not only do you have golfing fun, but it's a great story line for kids too. Definitely worth the trip to a Redbox or adding it to your Netflix watch list. 

Dead Solid Perfect - This Randy Quaid film is not one that got much in the way of press or a chance in theaters. Face it, golf is boring enough to watch on TV, why would anyone want to watch 2 hours of it on the big screen? Well, a stellar acting performance should be enough to get most dramatic fans involved. Quaid is more like Dennis in this one that Randy, and that is a great thing! Dead Solid Perfect may be tough to find, unless you watch TBS on weekends when they show golf tournaments or you happen to snag it in the $1 DVD bin at a Wal-Mart near you.

So, if you are jonesing for a good golf flick, check these out. If you would rather come out and play, send me an email and we can hit the course soon!

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Dropping Fast Enough...

So today was day three of my weight loss plan, if you want to call it that. So far, I've dropped 8 pounds in those 3 days. I'm down to 297.2 and probably looking at another 3 pound drop today. The gym seems to be the best way of dropping quickly, so I need to keep that as a priority.

Today I destroyed the elliptical and the recumbent cycle. Between the two, I should have burned 600-700 calories. That should be about what I took in so far today.

Right now, I want to highlight the fact that I am blogging from my Nokia Lumia 810 while working out. This thing is great. The front facing camera snapped the facial image above and the music player is keeping the tunes going in my Bluetooth earphones without fail. The expandable storage is great for loading an extended amount of music for longer workouts and Nokia Music can be played offline for even more sounds.

Using Apps like MyFitnessPal extends the Lumia to being a calorie counter and exercise tracker as well. If anyone has any tips on using other fitness apps, feel free to fire off recommendations below.

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Lose With Lumia: 100 Pounds, 100 Days

I have to admit to loving the idea of blogging about my new diet this year. So far this blog has been filled with loss so what better way to keep that theme going than blogging about a GOOD loss! Yes, I am back into a frame of mind that makes this possible and if I can just figure out a few more things, I stand a chance at making it.

For the last few weeks, I've felt terrible, looked worse and kept getting angry about being so badly overweight. I told myself that I was going to start this before tax day and after the memorial on Saturday, I was ready to go.

Day One was Monday, April 8th, when I weighed in at 305.2 lbs. It is the heaviest I've ever been in my life. Yesterday, the scale read a lovely 301. Today, however, is the first major milestone... 297.0... Yep... Back under 300 lbs for good.

So with day two in the books, I am at 8.2 pounds of my 100 pound goal. I've done this with still eating normal foods, except for the Slimfast breakfast shake. All I've done is cut out the fast food, soda and as much crap as possible. I've also started back at the gym this week, which is obviously going to help out quite a bit as well.

For now though, it's one day at a time. You can follow my progress on Twitter which will be updated more frequently than the My Life From My Phone posts about the diet. You can follow me at @waazzupppp on Twitter or follow the #LoseWithLumia or #100lbsin100days hashtags.

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Where Home Is, Is Where The Heart Is...

No, I did that on purpose. It is just how I feel at the moment. Years ago, I didn't need anyone telling me where I needed to be or where I was headed. I just went. Sure, having a family of my own slowed down that process, but direction is still a must have in life. As you know if you've been reading this blog, it's been a tough year for our little family. First the horrible start to the year with Jan being taken to the hospital and passing days later. Then with Evie and her blindness, for lack of a better term, and her need for vision therapy. Finally wrapping up with my Mom's passing days after entering the hospital as well. Cancer has done a number on us this year and stress isn't doing anything better for us now.

I'm not sure how I am starting to process everything, but I know where I want to start. I want to take over the farm. I've never said it point blank, and I know that Ara will read this and be a bit surprised. I'm not scared of the fight about it, and I know it is what is best for everyone. By taking this leap, sure, living arrangements will be weird, but it will give Ara a chance to heal, Nana someone to lean on and Alan the help he needs. It will also start giving us a sense of purpose again. Not a gimmicky plan of what we could do, or might do, or should do... But what we are DOING.

I look around when I am there and realize how much I love the land, the peace, the feel of my mind when I am there. Not that I want the extra workload, but that at the end of the day, taking care of that place brings joy to those that know it and love it. It gives me solace to know that Evie will be raised in a good place, with kind people and a community that supports each other. It peaceful knowing that the stresses of money, time and doubt could be replaced with feelings of hope, joy and accomplishment. It could be the place that one day, Evalyn returns to, as the next generation of the Darst/Gerard/Lunsford family takes over the land to feel the same.

Like I said, I'm sure this will be a conversation to be had soon, but I'm finally ready for it. It might be time to sit down with those that live there now and actually talk about what would need to be done and how we can get it done. Like I said, I am done with the should-a, would-a, could-a talk and I'm ready to get to doing.

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April 6, 2013

Normally I have some kind of witty headline for my silly stories, but today I am just going to tell you about yesterday. It was my Mom's memorial. It was beautiful, and some of her friends were able to make it, though more could not.

There were Bible verses read, music played and food eaten. It was everything she would have wanted. It was her day, and it was just right. Now I have to move on.

I guess today I'm sad... I don't know what else to feel. I'm tired of being sad and struggling. I'm tired of the little things being big things. It is time for me to move on from the beginning of 2013.

It is time to get back in shape so I can be around long enough to take care of my family. It is time for me to make the tough financial calls, even if it isn't what we want to do. It is time to make plans for my family instead of planning around everyone else. It's our time.

So, Mom, I love you and will miss you. I know that you wouldn't want me sitting around any longer though. It is time to make some dreams happen, we just need to build them one step at a time.

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Happy Easter!

Easter Sunday... The most important day to me as a Christian. The day that Jesus gave the devil a nice big "up yours" and rose from the dead. Sure, it has become retailized like every other holiday, but this one was sort of special. It was the first time that Dad joined us for lunch and dinner with the "other" part of the family.

The day started off with a relaxing morning rather than a running around crazy one. We relaxed at home until 11:00 and headed south to Bellevue to have breakfast at Ara's Aunt's. Then after a bit, Dad made it down from Arlington. We visited for a bit and had the little Egg Hunt for the kids. Then, it was off to the other half for dinner.

The Vangstaad side of the family is a hoot. So many amazing personalities crammed into such a small place just makes the time fly! Peder and John playing some silly game. Leslie and Nana arguing over some ingredient that was used 20 years ago in something. Even the kids just being kids in the back yard... It is priceless spending time with them.

I guess what I am trying to say is, today was a good day... Happy Easter everyone!

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Saturday Night's Alright For Egg Coloring

You know what? I'm not a fan of hard boils eggs anymore. I'm not sure why, but I just don't love them. The wife and child however, love them. So, Saturday night became the evening to get some colors on those things.

There were pink ones, blue ones, yellow ones and even a shade that called itself purple... Yeah, the blue and red double dipped ones were more purple than the purple ones, but they were all still pretty cool though.

Other than that, Saturday was actually back to a normal day. With the truck fixed, we were able to head down to Woodinville to check out Target for a few needs. After 2 weeks "stuck" in Monroe it was nice to see somewhere else and not have to worry about making it home.

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