My Health

In the winter, I went to the doctor and they wanted to do some blood tests. Everything came back perfect... except my cholesterol. This was of concern because my father has struggled with high blood pressure and had a bypass and my mother died of an an aneurysm.

Dr. Bryant said, "I could put you on medication, but you wouldn't take them would you?" I said he was probably right. So he told me to watch what I eat and try to get it lower. Otherwise, I would have to be on medication.

Last week, I went back for a check up. My cholesterol came down over 60 points. I went from high to normal. My triglycerides dropped considerably. Dr. Bryant was pretty impressed. He asked what I did different. I told him I read labels. I honestly don't feel like I ate much differently than before and told him so. We were both pretty excited though.

In celebration, I swung by KFC today to order the infamous Double Down. It's bacon, two cheeses and a fatty sauce stuck in between two breaded chicken breasts. It has 540 calories (less than a Big Mac), 32 grams of fat, 145 mg of cholesterol and more salt than the Dead Sea. But it was delicious. I know, I'm a glutton.

Below is Styx

I found this photo browsing the news. Amazing. It is a sinkhole in Guatemala, caused by the combination of Tropical Storm Agatha, poor drainage and a long outdated sewage system. It is as if was cut out of the series Lost. Somewhere down that hole is the Smoke Monster, tiny blind people, or Cerberus itself.

Inside Out

To go inside, you go outside because you need to know yourself in context. -Ruth Kirk

I'm watching Ken Burn's National Parks: America's Best Idea and that's where I got this quote. How else can we get to know ourselves unless we know what is around us? We are not autonomous creatures. We are individuals who on a daily basis-- for better or for worse-- affect, impact and influence people around us.

Go outside. It doesn't mean that you have to go to Alaska, Yellowstone or Pisgah. It just means you have to go beyond yourself. Safe travels; I pray that they are challenging and adventurous.

State Track

Track season concluded this past weekend. Wow, what a year it has been. The Knights were very young and we kept getting better as the season progressed. We took 5 to the state track meet in Greensboro. Catie finished 6th in the state in the 800, running a season best. The 4x800 team of Mathis, Hill, Traister and Cutshaw finished 10th and ran their best time of the season. Great stuff.

One fun tradition that we have is that the girls dress up in a theme the night before. I am never allowed to know what they are doing. In the past, it's been Western, hip-hop, injured athlete. This year: Secret Agents: