I'm one big ball of stress

Work has been so busy lately, I've barely had a moment to breathe. I'm also having to deal with some injuries that are still on the mend and lastly, I'm having some issues with close friends of mine. Oh did I mention that I gained 2 pounds from my lowest weight? Two pounds isn't much, but they can add up if you are not careful. Thus I have been exercising everyday and watching my food intake. For the most part, I have been swimming. However yesturday after Master swim class my shoulder was sore...this adds a bit more stress as now I have another injury to worry about.

Gosh, I really need a vacation!

99 Ballons

This video was shown on Oprah last night and it brought me to tears. A boy who touched the hearts of so many, and he didn't even utter a word. A life doesn't have to live long for it to be meaningful.

Family in town

So my parents have come and gone - I am still recovering. Although I was off for 1 week, I really wasn't getting any rest as I was driving them all over the place. I have come to realize that spending a lot of time with my family can be really mentally draining and stressful. At times, it can get really emotional as well. My dad and my 15 year old brother got into a fight because he had deleted all the Grand Canyon vacation pictures and didn't tell my dad. So all the photos he took are gone - my dad was furious. Another time I got into a discussion about Alex's weight. He's 15 and weights 186 pounds! Very obese for his age and no one is taking any accountability for this. My mom enables him by constantly feeding him late at night. "He's a growing boy" is what she would tell me, and I would reply "he's growing the wrong way!" This weight puts him at risk to develop diabetes. I told them that if Alex were to develop diabetes that it would be their fault because they were responsible for him. Sometimes I feel that my dad is too exhausted after a days work to spend the time teaching him the tools to become a confident young man. It's like he went into parental retirement after I graduated from college. The sad thing is, I don't see things changing.

Cervelo P2C

My search for a tri bike has ended. I am now the proud owner of a brand new Cervelo P2C! This bike won Kona the last two years thanks to Chrissie Wellington. I didn't think I could fit into this bike, but it had a short top tube so after shortening the stem to 65 mm and pushing the saddle forward I was able to ride it. Eric Moen (my bike fitter) thought that this bike would work for me. I just need to take it in to have him fit me on this bike now. I also got a chance to try the Adamo road saddle. It works really well for me - no pain in the groin area however, I have a little soreness on the sides instead. Still a lot better than before.

Times are tough

So as you all know, there as been a lot of noise on the news about our tanking stock market. Times are tough and people are seeing their capital gains disappear. I recently took another look at my monthly expenses and I found that I had over $1700 in fixed costs (not including food). These costs include my mortgage, home owner dues, Internet, cable, cell, energy, gas and car insurance. This is an insane amount of money if you think about it, because after I include my food (I buy lunch every day) - Thus I can easily spent over $2000 a month on basic necessities.

My friend says that's really cheap but I just watched a family of 6 live on $58K a year and have $70K in savings with little credit card debt. That's amazing!

All this financial chaos has made me be a little more aware of how I spend my money. What are you all spending a month?