Top o' the morning to you

This morning, as I drove west on Highway 34 from I-5 towards Corvallis (the longest 10 mile stretch of road in the nation, narrowly edging out the drive into the Denver Airport), I was treated to a spectacular view. The sun was just starting to peek up over the peaks of the Cascades in my rear view mirror (Read that sentence again...I'm proud of it). I realized as I watched the sun start its ascent that I'd never actually taken the time to watch this daily miracle. Well, maybe I've sat and watched it once. Perhaps it's because in my younger days I was never up early enough. Maybe, just maybe, I've always been too self absorbed to fully grasp all this world has to offer. I was actually surprised at how fast the sun emerged. Probably took no more than a minute or two to show its full-figured roundliness. Then, as quickly and spectacularly as it appeared, the sun began to disappear behind the cloud cover that seemed to be hovering just a few feet above the mountains. So I got to watch the sun appear and disappear in my rear view mirror in a matter of minutes. I'll chalk this up as a good way to start the day.

In other news, I'm going to start using this blog as a sort of weight loss journal. Last year, I was training for Hood to Coast, and the fear of collapsing somewhere in the middle of nowhere coupled with the fact that my competitive nature wouldn't allow me to be the only family member to sit it out kept me motivated. I lost roughly 15-20 lbs and felt great. However, with nothing to push me, I've gained back almost all of it. I fear I'm going to be featured in the next Subway commercial if I don't watch it. Hopefully, talking openly and honestly about my love of terrible foods and my love-hate relationship with exercise will keep me working towards a goal of a healthy weight. However, the Wii can suck it if they think I'm getting down to 166.

Finally, a shout out to Garth Appanaitis for suggesting that I have Jonah fill out a bracket. This involved me printing out pictures of every team's logo or mascot and asking him questions like "Smokey Dog or the Aztec?" I thought for sure Bucky Badger would dominate his bracket, seeing how his likeness is plastered all over our home and clothing. Bucky did make the Final Four, but he was ousted by Jonah's eventual champion, the Purdue Choo-Choo Trains. Never underestimate a toddler's love for choo choo trains.