So, this is terrible

Being sick is bad.  Having a sick child is worse. Having one sick child and one healthy child, while you are sick, is the worst thing ever.

So the chest/head/stomach/mind/body/soul bug that has been going around finally caught up to me.  I was overdue.  I had been around people that had it, I had been around my kids that had it, etc., everybody knows that drill.  Eventually your time comes.

That is not the terrible part.  The terrible part is I wish BOTH of my kids were sick, when I was sick.  While Luke and I wanted to sit and veg out on the couch, Ave was her normal, energetic self (which on a typical day can be cute, but when you are hacking up a lung, it is as cute as a fart in church).  She wanted to drag all her baby dolls out, and she has a lot (I tried to count them one day and I swear they multiplied).  Of course when she was done with one, she did not put the other away.  On a normal healthy day, I would have held my ground and made her put her toys away...not today, she had free reign.

While Luke's diet consisted of toast, juice and Popsicles, Avery decided she wanted eggs...and Lipton soup...and French toast...basically anything that required me to stand or get up a lot.  She also wanted to start about 10 different movies (please note I didn't say watch, but start movies).  Finally she settled on Despicable Me 2, and we watched it, no joke, at least six times over a two-day span.  Luke was out of it, so he did not care, but me, I was just in it enough to want to actually dislike Steve Carrell (and who dislikes him?).

Had Ave been as laid up as Luke and I, we could have all climbed into bed and slept, it almost would have been Rockwell-esque, minus all the coughing and sniffling of course.  So yes, I actually wish my daughter had been sick this last weekend.

That said, she is probably going to get sick next weekend and then pass it back to Luke...then to me...then to her...then to...

So, shamless, shameless plug

I am under the weather and so are my kiddos, so...check out this amazing, truly unique, never duplicated facebook site.

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Oh and here is a great video with Gene Wilder, because...well why not?

So,not knowing what to do

Not knowing what to do is the worst.  When you have anxiety, it can become excruciating. 

I play the "what if" game over and over and over and...a million times.  I will start out with the mindset that everything is great (a really nice starting point), then I will start to pick it apart.  I liken it to the scene in The Shawshank Redemption where the main character has a rock hammer (it is about the size of a dollar) and starts to tunnel thru this cell wall.  It takes him years and years, but eventually he gets to freedom.  The problem is I am using the rock hammer to chisel away at that great starting point until it is nothing but a pathway to 500 yards of crap-smelling foulness.

Now, keep in mind I know what I want.  I even know how to get it.  The problem is when I get close to it.  It is like I need a clone to just make that decision, and if it does not work out, then I get to step in and say "hey, just kidding" and I would start over.

If life was like Crossfit, I would be a very happy person.  You either get the exercise completed correctly, or you do not and you try to correct the issue.  There is no gray (btw, gray with an A is the American spelling, or so I was told when my daughter was given her middle name of Gray). 

The human mind is amazing and maddening.  I would love to know how I can be so sure of some things, and so scared of others.  I have been using the quote "you don't get the courage to do something until after you have done it" lately.  I really hope whoever originally said that was a smart person.

So, two hour delays

Two-hour school delays are the worst (teachers, I know you will disagree).  I seriously thought about ending the entry right there.

I am sitting here eating some eggs after making waffles for my children, which means that Luke will eat half of his waffle, Avery will eat all of her waffle and then come over to eat most of my eggs...ugh. 

I know this two-hour delay routine.  They get up at the same time as usual (hard to blame them for that), they get extremely excited because they think they are staying home with daddy for the day, they get extremely upset* (read as they meltdown) when I start to get them ready for school and the sitter, and finally they get to the quiet anger (because they think it's my fault they have to leave).

I remember loving two-hour delays when I was in school, mainly in high school.  Extra sleep, extra breakfast, extra video games, and most importantly a shorter school day that did not mean a make-up day in the summer.

This started me thinking, what else did I love as a kid that I now can not stand, and vice versa.

Well for one, snow.  As a kid, it was fun to get bundled up and play tackle football, have snowball fights, climb "the hill" and sled ride and finally pile into somebody's house for hot chocolate and Super Mario Brothers.

Now I loathe the cold and snow as much as...well...as much as I loathe Caillou.  I have always said I would never move from Western Pennsylvania, I was lying (I just didn't know it).  Megamillions (Powerball and I still aren't talking) carry me away to Hawaii!

When I was a kid, I remember fighting my parents at bedtime.  I had no desire to go to bed.  I had important things to do, like...ummm...I am sure they were important.  The point is I did not want to sleep.

There are days now that I would give up peanut butter (and I love peanut butter) to sleep after 6:30am.  It does not matter what time I go to bed (or what I have done the night before), I get up at the same time most days.

My kids would eat fast food every day of their lives, if they had the opportunity.  McDonald's Chicken Nuggets are like kiddie crack.  You put those golden brown hunks of something meat in front of them and it is like Pavlov's dog, the drool pools just form.

Now just the thought of eating fast food makes me a little queasy (not to say I haven't had it in years, but I do avoid it).  I would rather make a meal myself than eat the something meat.

My son has gotten into video games, you know the violent games that a six year old should not be playing but I let him anyway (yep, dad of the year right here).  He loves them, and I kinda like watching his hands while he plays, it is really neat.

I use my Xbox as my DVD player and for Netflix.  I do not find any appeal in playing video games anymore, even when my son asks for help in the games, I find it tedious.

Hey look, it is 8:40 am...only two more hours until the kids get back to a "normal" routine...*sigh*.

So, the Crossfit "cult"

I have heard a lot of people refer to Crossfit as a cult.  Personally I think everybody has the right to their opinion, it is one of the things that is nice about this country.

I want to tell you a little about this community (notice I didn't say cult).  Yesterday (or the day before, since I've had kids I forget a lot) I wrote that I had some job interviews lined up for the week.  Well apparently some of my fellow Crossfitters read my blog and were aware of my upcoming interviews.

At the 12:30 class (which I may sadly have to abandon when I find a new gig), there were only around seven of us, including myself.  Of the six other friends that were there, three wished me luck on my interview that I had today (I think it went well).

One crossfitter, a great man named Eric, had left and came back in to wish to me luck.  Now for those of you that do not live near Pittsburgh, yesterday it was NEGATIVE FOUR DEGREES, without the windchill.  I forgot my water bottle in my car and I refused to go out and get it.  This guy was so supportive that he came back in after heading out to his car to give me a little encouragement.  You are a good guy, Eric.

Two others showed interest in my interview, where was it, who was it with, what time was it, would I be able to make crossfit tomorrow, etc.  They also wished me luck. They cared, and it was not lost on me.  Thanks Ben and Pat.

This morning I woke up to a text and received a another from a fellow 'fitter wishing me luck.  It felt good to get that in the morning when the thermometer read -11 degrees.  Thanks Ben and Ryan.

Now keep in mind, I was wished luck from friends and family from outside the box, too.  I just wanted to express how important my crossfit community, Crossfit Latrobe, is to me.  We support each other during workouts, but also in life.

I encourage anybody to be active in their own way, but I really support the Crossfit model that my gym has embraced.

We are not a cult, we are a community.

So, my 10% rule

In sales you usually hear of the 80/20 rule.  For those not in sales (and really aren't we all selling something?), the rule means you get 80% of your sales from 20% of your clients, it also means you should listen 80% of the time and talk 20% of the time (also a really good rule for marriage that I definitely struggle with), it probably means a lot of other things too.  For me I look at a 10% rule, and I am going to do my best to incorporate it into my life.

I believe that you will get a no 90% of the time in sales, leaving the remaining 10% as successes, which is really good.  That is what I am going to focus on in 2014, the 10%. 

Does that seem low, does that seem a little depressing, I do not think so.  Think about it, if you hit the lottery (c'mon Megamillions, I've given up on Powerball) 10% of the time you play, that is a win of epic proportions.  If you can cut 10% of the sugar/fat you consume, you are winning.  Also, if you can increase your exercise/getting off the couch (CROSSFIT!!!!!), that is a heckuva way to get healthier.

If I can get 10 interviews, all I need is 10%, or one (I used a calculator for that number), to get my life completely back on track.  Once I have that job, if I can get 10% of my clients to say yes everyday, that is one helluva foundation.  I stand a better chance of getting that 10% to say yes by making more sales calls, so...

Who would not want 10% more sleep?  Nobody, that is who.  I know I could use that right now.

Lets look at it with my kids (who are still the cutest kids in the history of history, look it up, it's true).  Getting my son to expand his menu by 10% would be amazing (and a miracle).  Having Avery fall asleep 10% quicker would extend my day, and I need my time to watch Shameless (premiering this Sunday on Showtime...Go Gallaghers!).  Most importantly with my kids, if I can give them 10% more hugs and kisses, we will be better people.

Adding or dropping 10% is not a big number, but it can lead to big things.  Do 10% more, do 10% less and lets see what happens!

I wish I drew that in the sand

So, it's been some time

It has been some time since my last post.  I will be honest, I had been struggling mentally, and I had very little desire to write, or do just about anything other than Crossfit.  I did not want to keep up my writing, cooking, very little reading, struggled to finish my classes, etc.

I can not really pinpoint why that is, all I can say is that it was.  I have been able to come out of it (like an odd looking butterfly from a cocoon, ok, very odd looking).  While I can not pinpoint why I fell into my funk, I can give some pretty good reasons why I came out of it.

First and foremost, I have surrounded myself with some amazing people.  When you see positive people, you tend to become more positive (at the very least you fake it until you make it).  I have met a lot of new people over the last month, and for the most part, they have made me smile and laugh.

I have seen my baby sister.  She was in for the holidays, and she (along with her way too advanced 2 year old daughter and husband) make me happy.  How I can not smile when I am around someone like this.  My cousins, the youngest has a great sense of humor and can take verbal shots like a champ, are always fun to be around, and I saw them quite a bit.

I spent time with one of the strongest people I have gotten to know, and I have watched her become stronger. 

Second, I have ventured out into the world of small business ownership (bum, bum, buuuuuummmmm).  It is a small work out apparel company called Sweat Catchers (subliminal messages for you to click/like/order from that site...).  It has been a lot of fun working with my partner forming, designing, screwing up, winning, etc. during the process.  To actually see something come about from nothing is very rewarding.  I have gotten a lot of help from friends on how to set up Sweat Catchers, and a very special shout out to an amazing artist and friend Jason, seriously if you need a graphic artist, he is fast and very good.

So Sweat Catchers has been a lot of fun so far, and it helped me gain a sense of accomplishment.

Along the same lines of small business, I was contacted by an old friend from school to help out with copy writing.  It was great to catch up with her and it was even better to see somebody putting their trust in me, thank you Stonehouse Mixes!

Third, I am finally getting some traction for a full-time gig, again thanks to friends.  I have several interviews in the upcoming week and two of them are because of friends believing in me.  It will be up to me to capitalize on the opportunities.   

Fourth, I had my kids on Christmas morning...'nuff said.

Basically what this blog entry is saying is...I could not have gotten out of my funk without the people in my life.  So a big thank you to everybody that has messaged me, called me, made fun of me, hung out with me, and showed me that picking your head up does not have to be a one-man job.

Oh and I have not seen Caillou in over a month!  Woohoo!

Not so subliminal message above