Only 15 Hours Left of 2004...!

Wow... I can't believe this year is almost over.

Today I'll log on through out the day and chronicle the last moments of 2004 from Coach Sam's perspective.

Here's today's slate of activities:

I'm about to take Monica's car to Forestone for an oil change. I was going to do it myself to save some money but they have a special today for $12.99. You can't beat that...!

Next we're going to take my jeep to a transmission place. It's leaking a little fluid. Then we're going to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

I'm not sure what's up after that. But I think later we're going to have dinner at Taste of Texas.

That's the morning report here on New Year's Eve at 8:32 AM

Bye for Now... Coach Sam

Getting close to the end of the year...!

I'm giving my last tennis lessons of 2004 this afternoon...! It's just going to be a short trip to League City and a four hour stint. Tomorrow Monica and I are going to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls. After that, we'll have dinner at our favorite Thai Restaurant. That is if it's open. We're worried the owners might have been caught up in the tsunami. They usually go to Thailand every year during the holidays. We've been praying for them, their friends and family.

We don't have New Year's Day planned out yet, but hey, that's not until next year anyway, so what's the rush...?

It's a little rainy here this morning, but I'll bet it will dry up this afternoon. I've got about 3 hours before I have to head to Clear Lake... I'll probably clean out Monica's car... ( I made it kinda messy.) Then I may try to do something with the garage. It's a bit messy, too.

I want to start spending at least 30-45 minutes every morning on some kind of home improvement project. I used to do that every day when we first moved in, but once we made the place fairly livable I got out of the routine. Well, I'm back in my fix it up mode again...!

I've been good with my crunches. And I'm starting to see a little flatter tummy. I'm up to about 30 minutes every morning now and have been pretty good with my diet for about a week. God is helping me. I'm no longer trying to do anything under my own power. I know that all I have and accomplish is through He who strengthens me!

Hey, here's a return to an old favorite column... Things Coach Sam Likes: Does anyone remember that...? Well, today I want to feature a favorite restaurant of mine: Sweet Tomatoes. It's the ultimate salad, soup and bakery bar. They have an unbelievable selection. You could eat there just about every day and not get bored with the variety...! It's healthy, and reasonably priced, too.

OK, well... I need to get to work here at the house. I've been online reading email and journaling for about 2 hours. Time to get something accomplished...!

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Long day today...!

I had difficulty sleeping last night. I'm just restless about a lot of things. But i spent most of my sleepless time in prayer and I feel good today. I spent a good deal of time in my prayer journal this morning writing about the events in southeast asia and I invite you read that if you have a chance.

I'm about to do some exercises and watch a sermon from College of Biblical studies on TV. That's my new 6 AM routine. I do crunches for 30 minutes in front of the TV...

Today I need to leave by 7 AM to go to Columbia Lakes. I have lessons there almost all day.

I hope my feet hold up. And I hope they've fixed the heat in the proshop...!

Well, it's 5:59 AM I need to close here so i don't miss my sermon.

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Tournament Tuesday

Today I'm hosting a 1/2 day tournament for my tennis students in The Clear Lake Area. This should be a good and fun day. The weather's supposed to be beautiful...! I could use a few extra participants, but maybe I'll be surprised and some extra people will show up...

I have a little gap after my camp then I'm going to Lake Cove for one more lesson to round out the evening.

This morning I've got a few errands to run before my tourny so I'd better get cracking...!

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Short Week...

I'm heading in to Columbia Lakes this morning but I don't have any lessons scheduled today. I
'm going to try to call some people and arrange a lesson or two if I can. Monica is going to join me and work on some art while we're there.

I desperately need to organize my office today. It's a shambles from my last trip. I went a little over board cleaning last week and left right in the middle of a big mess simply because we ran out of time.

If I have time I'll write some more this afternoon, but don't hold me to that...!

Bye for now... Coach Sam

It was a Great Christmas...!

I had a good Christmas... It was relaxing. Monica and I spent the whole day today. We cooked, had an awesome meal, and generally just hung out all day and evening.

We watched a couple of rental movies: The Count of Monte Christo... it was very good. And Mona Lisa Smile... it was a girl movie, but I enjoyed it ok... This morning I've been working on my website and sending out a few emails for next week's lesson programs.

We're going to have lunch at Bennigan's today. We're hungry for guess what...? Monte Christo sandwiches.

I'm going to have to get some exercise today. If I don't I won't be able to fit in to any of my clothes...! It's beautiful out today. I think Monica and I will play a little tennis and then go for a walk...!

That's about it...! Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Snow Flakes Falling on My Head...!

It snowed in Houston for the first time in 15 years...! I was cooking a brisket in my smoker when I noticed the snow flakes falling in the back yard. What a treat...!

The Christmas Feast

Yesterday I smoked briskett for 12 hours and it came out really good... This morning I'm smoking a turkey. The bird went in at 5:30 AM so it should be ready between Noon and 1 PM if I can keep the smoker temperature steady.

I awakened this morning hoping to see some snow accumulated on the ground but there was none. Oh well. It was fun to see snow yesterday while it lasted. In fact yesterday was a very nice relaxing day... Much like I hope today will be. Merry Christmas to all...!

Coach Sam @ 5:32 AM

)()()()()()()()()()()()(

The Smoker is looking good... I heard that Victoria had nearly a foot of snow yesterday. Bay City got eight inches... I'll bet my brother John is making a snow man this morning... Monica and I are channel surfing. With basic cable I think we only get about 20 channels but that's plenty for me. We used to get about 200 channels but found that to be a waste of money because we can go many days without ever even turning the TV on...

Uh Oh.... Monica found the giblets from the turkey and it kinda of grossed her out. I was planning on making some giblet gravey. Being from California Monica's not used to these Southern traditions. Oh well... I'd better get to work helping get lunch ready... Bye for now....

Coach Sam @ 7:38 AM

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Monica just made some rice krispie treats to tide me over until the good stuff is ready. And that should just be a couple more hours. Maybe 2 and a half hours...

I've been working on updating my tennis photo album. This new computer has some great photo editing programs.... I'll be working on my websites pretty much all day today....

The Turkey is cooking nicely. I think Monica is making an apple pie, too... Also on the menu is briskett from last night, green bean casserole, corn bread dressing, and maybe sweet potatoe casserole... I need to go to the store and get some cranberry sauce.... I can't believe we forgot that...!

More later...

Coach Sam @ 10:00 AM

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Another snow report... One of my tennis students Kathryn Rice reported that Angleton got 5 inches of snow last night. She said that she stayed up nearly all night playing in the snow...! What a nice Christmas this has been for everyone...!

And Monica just found some cranberry sauce so that saves me a trip to the store...

Now I may just go to Blockbuster and get some movies... I need to return some, too.

Coach Sam@ 10:20 AM

Merry Christmas -Eve...!

Here's Coach Sam's Blow by Blow Rockin' Christmas Eve...!
(last updated at 8:56 PM -scroll down)

I got up this morning at 8 AM -very late for me. I built another fire in the fireplace. We'll probably keep it going all day...! I just started the smoker up... I'm smoking a briskett today. Unfortunately it won't be ready until tonight.

Then, tomorrow I am getting up early to smoke the Christmas Turkey. We brined it for Thanksgiving and it was so good we were hungry for it again. I brined the briskett too. I read some articles that said brining was the only way to go... So we'll see. I'll give you a report tonight.

More later through out the day....

Coach Sam 8:55 AM


Hello, just thought I'd check in again... I really haven't been very productive so far... I just spent the last two hours browsing blogs and posting comments. I need to get to work on something here at the house... Like organizing my office... Or contacting students for lessons the rest of the month... Monica's been moving slow too... I think she's about to work on an art project for a little while... She just asked me if I'd like to go walking later... Now that's a good idea...! I've got to exercize a little bit over the next few days or it really will look like I'm the pregnant one... Not Monica!

I guess I'll dive in to the office for an hour and see how much I get done... Bye for now...

Coach Sam 10:59 AM


OK... another update: We're having some little snow flakes falling... That's kinda neat...! Now I'm really getting in the Christmas spirit...! Monica and I are about to run to the store to get some more charcoal for the grill... This briskett's going to take more than 20 lbs...! Plus I need charcoal for the turkey tomorrow!

We'll probably grab a quick bite to eat at CC's Pizza... That's a very inexpensive salad bar and pizza buffet. Don't worry, I'll fill up on more salad than pizza...!

Thats' it for now...

Coach Sam 12:30 PM


Back at the casa... I'm about to start planning my activities for News Years and the then the first quarter of 2005. After that I'm going to update my website... That ought to take a little while... In between I'll be sending email messages and keeping an eye on the briskett...

We're listening to Christmas music and enjoying the cozyness of the fireplace. Sigh... This is a Christmas to remember. The only way it could be better is if we had some relatives hanging around. But next year will be the baby's first Christmas and that will be pretty neat... Hmmm... That will be very different! OK, I'm signing off again...

Coach Sam 2:58 PM

Wow... it really started snowing alot in the past couple of hours. I can't remember the last time it snowed here... I took some neat pictures to post later...

I've gone through 20 lbs of charcoal on this briskett and we still have aboyt 3 hours left so I'm going to wimp out and finish it off in the oven... The fireplace is going great. Here I am nearly 40 years old and this is the first time in my life that I've really enjoyed a fireplace in the winter. Most of the houses we lived in growing up did not have a fireplace. Grandmaw's old house had a fireplace but it was a gas log fire. Not a real wood fire. I like the real thing. And I'm finally getting to deplete the wood pile I've been accumulating all year. That's been very satisfying.

OK... Monica want's me to make her something to eat. She can't move from the couch because of her condition. No, not because she's pregnant. She has a kitty sleeping in her lap...!

Coach Sam -6:04 PM


The Briskett's almost ready. We trimmed a little piece and it was good, but I think it could use a little more cook time. Monica's cleaning in the kitchen. I'm watching a Christmas Story. And I'm thinking about making some hot Cocoa or something chocolatey.... My sis called a few minutes ago... And I called my yoiunger brother John and we spoke for a while. So it's been a good Christmas Eve... I've got to get to bed early tonight so I can get up early and cook the turkey...! That's it for today... See you tomorrow...

Coach Sam -8:56 PM

We've Got a Gummy Bear!

Monica had her first Doctor's appointment this afternoon. It was determined by the sonogram that the baby is about 9 weeks old. We can't tell the gender yet, but we could hear the Baby's heart beat. It was 176 beats per minute. One the sonogram we could see the heart beating, too... It was amazing.

The sonogram tech told us the baby was the size of a large gummy bear. We have pictures, too. I'll see if I can scan them in tomorrow.

Everything looks good so far. Monica feels healthy. She still has a bit of nausea every now and then but not as bad as a few weeks ago. That's the baby report...

We built a fire in our fireplace tonight. It was our first fire in the new house. The kitties were very curious... Especially Gabriel... Things have kinda slowed down. Monica just went to bed. I'll go to bed in a few minutes. I want to get to sleep early because I'm going to smoke a briskett tomorrow. I need to leave it on for about twelve hours so I'm going to start at about 5 AM.

Christmas Day I'm going to smoke a Turkey, too. What can I say...? I love my smoker!

Well that's about all the news.... More musings tomorrow.

Thanks for reading my journal. Bye for now. Coach Sam

Holiday Schedule...

Hello...

I was rained out yesterday. I spent a few hours in West Columbia and then went to Bay City to drop off presents at my brother John's store and my grandmother's house. We left the house early in the morning and didn't return until late so I wasn't able to write in the journal at all. I hope you guys didn't miss me too much.

I'll try to get caught up on my journaling more over my little break.

I'm taking off from tennis until next Monday. And it looks like the weather is going to be too cold until Monday anyway...! So, being on my 'holiday schedule' I probably won't be posting journal entries at 4:30 or 5 AM the next few days... I'm liable to log on anytime of the day.

Monica and I are about to go to the Doctor for her first check up. Hopefully we'll be able to determine how far along she is.... I'm very excited...! I normally don't look forward to going to the doctor but today's an exception.

I'll probablylog on again this afternoon when we get back. More later... Bye for now...!

Tennis Camp...!

5:00 PM Tuesday... Reporting in from Diedrich's Coffee Shop in Clear Lake:

Wow... I barely made it today... It rained all morning right up until my tennis camp started. But the rain went away at 1 PM and we were able to get it all in. I'd say it was nothing short of a miracle...! And I had 17 students today so I didn't want to cancel it. But it all went great.

Now, if the weather will hold out for tomorrow, too that will be another miracle! I've got a camp in West Columbia but the forecast is for rain all day. And cold....! And wind...! But I guess if I can't teach tomorrow I'll still be ok. Monica and I are going to go in to Columbia Lakes rain or shine because I have some office work to do there. And she's going to do some artwork. We're setting up a little studio for her in my tennis shop so she can start to come to work with me on Monday and Wednesday. I'm really psyched about that...!

I also need to go to Bay City tomorrow afternoon and do some work for my grandmother... And then I've promised Monica a meal at her favorite Thai restaurant on our way home in Houston.

Tomorrow should be a good and fun day...!

Well that's it. I'm pleased to report that my tennis camp went well. After tomorrow I'll be on Holiday vacation for a few days..! Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Getting More Sleep

I read two different articles yesterday that said that sleep deprivation leads to obesity. I've been having a lot of trouble keeping my weight down for some time and I definitely have been sleep deprived for some time so perhaps there's something to that theory.

Any way, in my war on fat and weight gain, I've started adding more sleep to my routine. Last night I went to bed at 8:45 PM and was asleep by 9 PM. I did wake up a few times throughout the night but over all, I enjoyed more sleep than I have in a long time. And I do feel better this morning...

Let's see if that makes a significant difference. I'm all for feeling better, any time!

Yesterday my camp in West Columbia went well. And today I have a camp in Nassau Bay. That will be a big one... I think I should have at least 18-20 participants!

The weather's supposed to turn colder on Wednesday... And probably wetter, too. So today might be the last bit of coaching I do before Christmas. Monica and I are going to stay home for Christmas. I tried to invite my brothers over for the holiday but they all declined. Oh well...

Monica and I are still going to prepare a big traditional Holiday feast and we'll deliver dinners to homeless people in the Montrose area. Depending on how long the cold weather lasts I'll definitely be able to get caught up with all my house projects... And website projects, too!

That's about it for now.... Stay safe out there on the road today. Talk to you later...!

Coach Sam

Back to the Rock Quarry...

That's my favorite line from the Flintsones. Good old Fred Flintsone. He sure had a lot to say about life.

Monica and I enjoyed a wonderfully elegant dinner with friends last night. It was simply delightful. We haven't done that in a long time. Today is a special day, too. Monica's coming to work with me today. She'll help me with my camp this morning and then she's going to work on an art project this afternoon while I teach private lessons.

I love it when Monica comes to work with me. I miss her terribly on those days when I'm away sometimes 12 plus hours...

Hmmmmm... She's having a hard time waking up this morning. That's not surprising... She went to bed a little after 11 PM last night so she's only had about six hours sleep. I had some coffee after dinner last night and it was super strong. I slept very lightly last night. I awakened quite frequently every hour or so. In fact, I don't know why I'm not so tired right now... I'm sure it will hit me this afternoon.

Oh well... I'd better go in there and try to wake Monica up again...!

Ok... I was successful that time, but she's not too talkative, yet...

So, let's see... Here's a quick recap of my weekend.

Friday was a full day with lessons in Clear Lake, then lunch in Sugarland, then more lessons in Clear Lake... Then the annual church Christmas party.... Saturday I taught in West Columbia all morning and then went to Bay City in the afternoon.... Sunday Monica and I slept in and then went shopping at Costco, then we went to Texas Art supply to buy her a drafting table she can use at Columbia Lakes. We still had a few extra minutes so we went to a chocolate candy store to pick up a few gifts, then we went to half price books -One of my favorite stores. I got a copy of a tennis book that I loaned out a few years ago and never had it returned to me. I also got a book on how to make my own sushi at home. And Monica got a pregnancy video or something... I hope she doesn't make me watch it with her... After our little Half Price Books shopping spree we went to dinner at a friend's house in Baytown.

So, it was a very full weekend. This week won't be so bad... I've got a busy day today and tomorrow. and I have a lot of lessons scheduled for Wednesday but the weather is supposed to be bad... We'll just have to wait and see....

That's the scoop. Thanks for reading my journal. I'll try to update tomorrow morning...!

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Saturday...

Today won't be so bad... I am running a bit late this morning, though so I'll have to be brief again. Last night Monica went to our Church Christmas party for the arts departments.

Between Instrumentalists, choir, drama, and technical arts their were easily 80 people there. We had an awesome time. That was a great way to end my day. We got home a little after 11 PM and I was so sleepy that I was out just as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Today I have lessons in West Columbia from 8 to 11:30 AM so I need to get on the road in a few seconds... I'm going to Bay City afterwards. I'll look in on my Grandmother and play tennis with a Dr Brown. I've got to work off my desserts from last night...!

That's it for now. I need to update my website and get on the road..!

Talk to you later...

Coach Sam

Todsy's liner up

I've got a big day today. I need to leave in a few seconds to get to Nassau Bay for my morning lessons. Then I've got to head straight to Sugar Land for a lunch meeting. Then back to Seabrook for more lessons. Then to League City for a Christmas Party. Then back home to North Houston. That's it. Sigh....

It's nearly 2005...!

It just dawned on me yesterday that in just a little over 2 weeks it will be next year...! Well, another year of me not dropping under 200 lbs is about to happen. I came within one pound earlier this year but ballooned out towards the end... Sigh... At least I'm back on a downward trend. In the next few days I'll start musing about the year in review and looking ahead to what's in store for next year....!

Meanwhile, I need to take care of business here at home. I've got a little more marketing to do for my holiday camps and certainly plenty of lessons to teach if the weather holds out.

Today's going to be a bit cold and damp but I think I should be able to get all my classes in...

I'm in League City this afternoon and teach from 2 to 6 PM...

That's about it... Sorry I'm a little boring this morning...

More tonight... Bye for now... Coach Sam

No More Late Fees...!

I'm having a great day...! I read in my news headlines this morning that Blockbuster has announced it is doing away with late fees starting January 1st...!

That's awesome. Wwe live a little over a mile from our local blockbuster and we nearly always have a late fee and that drives me absolutely nuts...! But anyway, competition from other video and dvd companies that don't have late fees made this possible. Thank God that we live in a country that has competitive markets like that, because when there is healthy competition, the consumer wins...!

Today I'll be in West Columbia all day. My first lesson is at 8:30 AM this morning and I want to head out by 6 AM so I can beat traffic. I have a relatively lite day so far, but I'll use my extra time to market for my Christmas programs. There's a 50-50 chance of rain tonight, so I might get to go to church for a change. If not, I look forward to my men's drill. Tonight is the first night in a long time I'll be able to hit in without sore feet...! My New Balance shoes are working like a charm...!

That's about it for now... It's 5:04 AM and I still need to jot a few notes in my prayer journal.

Bye for now...! Coach Sam

Chilly Tuesday

It was cold in the living room this morning. Because of our vaulted ceiling, and that room is by far the largest room in the house it is the most difficult to heat and cool. I definitely need to see about starting a fire in the fire place soon. (Tonight might just be a good night...)

I was just writing a commentary about the Christmas Spirit in my prayer journal. How's your Christmas going....? We're shipping presents off to loved ones today. We only have a little more shopping left to do. We haven't decorated our house yet. We debated about whether to decorate at all, and had decided to not do anything, but I think I'm changing my mind about that.

Today I have lessons this afternoon until 8 PM... Although I may cancel my 7 PM lesson if it's very windy out there tonight. The rest of the day I'm working on marketing lessons for the holidays. I have camps, tournaments, and private lesson slots to fill... If the weather holds out, business is still pretty good through out the holiday season.

I think I'll make some hot chocolate...! Doesn't that sound good on a cold morning...?

Talk to you later... Coach Sam out.

Up and at it bright and early...!

I got up early this morning and spent time writing my daily devotional, now I'm just collecting a few thoughts here before I dive in to the rest of my day.

I still need to update my website. That's a daily activity, now... And I want to spend another 30 minutes straightening my desk... Then I think I'll send some emails and make some contact phone calls about lessons this week.

I also need to clean out the cars, make a bank deposit, get Monica's car inspected and registered, and still head to Columbia Lakes by 2 PM...

It will be a full, busy day. But I'm up for it.

I have lessons in Columbia Lakes today from 4:30 to 8 PM. I canceled my morning lesson to get caught up on stuff here at home.

My weight is back up to 227 lbs accodring to the scales we have which I don't trust too much any way. That's ok... I'm going to work out a bunch this week. And my feet feel fine now so that won't be an issue...!

More later... Coach Sam out...!

Coach Sam's Sunday... A Day of Rest...?

Late For Church

It's 7:39 AM... We need to be on the road by 7:30 to comfortably get to church on time... But We're not ready. Well, one of us is... But the other one is still working on it...! Sigh...

I'LL POST AN UPDATE THIS AFTERNOON WHEN WE GET BACK FROM CLEAR LAKE...!

Coach Sam 7:40 AM


Back at Home

We were only a few minutes late thanks to Monica's skillful driving...! The service was awesome...! It was done by the childrens groups age K thru 5th grade.

I'm very glad we made it....! I'll be hanging out here at home the rest of the day...

Coach Sam 11:36 AM


House Boy or Yardman, Coach Sam is a Multi Purpose Husband...!

Monica's not feeling well. We were going to go out to Taste of Texas for dinner, but I doubt that will happen now. I've been writing a few Christmas Cards and now I'm going to start straightening up the house. It's a gorgeous day outside. Perhaps I'll rake a few leaves in the yard, too.

Coach Sam 2:37 PM

Never made it outside...

I've been cleaning the Kitchen and livingroom this entire time. Well, I did get sidetracked a little bit. I found a bag of marshmellows on the counter and decided that instead of placing them back in the pantry, that I'd just go ahead and make some Rice Krispie treats. I know that will be good for my diet becaue I put some almonds in them... (Just kidding, Dr Brown...) Seriously, I thought Monica might like some treat when she awakened from her nap. Poor Thing, She's still feeling poorly today. Her stomach has been queezy all day. Well, I'm almost done with the living room. After that I just may clean out my car while it's still daylite outside...

Coach Sam 4:21 PM

Costco Trip....

Monica and I just got back from Costo. That's a wholesale store like Sam's. There are only 2 Costco stores here in Houston. We have one very close to our house and we love it. We've just about got all our Christmas shopping done. YEA...! I'm about to put some steaks on the grill and Monica is steaming some vegetables.... The rest of the evening we'll probably just hang out and watch a dvd. Tonight we'll see Mel Gibson's 'Signs'... And I may just write a little more this evening... We'll see how it goes...!

Thanks for tuning in to Coach Sam's Blow by Blow description of my Sunday Day of Rest...

Coach Sam 7:02 PM

The Remains of the Day...

Does anybody remember this movie...? It starred Anthony Hopkins. Well no one at the Blockbuster video by my house had ever heard of it...! Sigh... Another sure sign of a generation gap....

Monica and I returned form Columbia Lakes a little later than we expected. I had a 12 noon meeting that was delayed and then it ran longer than I expected. We stopped and ate at Johnny Carinos in Pearland on the way home. Johnny Carinos is 'Country Italian' whatever that is... Anyway, It was good.

We came home and took a nap... We're relaxing watching a movie right now... 'The Terminal' with Tom Hanks....

More later... SC

The Cruchman's Saturday...

I really don't deserve to call myself the Crunchman just yet. I've done all but 250 crunches so far in my quest to trim away this rubber from around my middle. I really wanted to see how I'd feel today from my exertion yesterday. This morning I can just barely feel that I worked out. I'm not sore at all. I'm going to more than double it today. I'm going to do 300 this morning and 300 this afternoon. Then we'll see how that feels tomorrow morning.

I only have a few minutes to write this morning. I can come back and post some more this afternoon or evening. I have a bit of a deadline this morning because my first lesson in West Columbia is this morning at 9 AM and I need to get there a little early and string a racquet for someone before the 9 AM appointment.

Monica is riding down with me this morning so that's a nice treat. She's going to deliver a portait she just completed.

I actually got all my errands run yesterday afternoon and ended up having nearly 30 minutes to relax on the couch at Diedrich's yesterday. I was going to make a post to that effect but the blogger website was down at that time. That frustrated me. It was right then that I realized that I'm a blogger a holic...!

Oh well... I need to close here and pack up stuff for today's trip. Thanks for reading my journal. I'll try to post some more humorous stuff this evening...!

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Weekend...!

OK... So far, I'm right on schedule...! I just finished my first set of crunches. I started off with 250...! Let's see how my stomach feels the rest of the day. If I'm not too sore in the morning I'll try for 300 tomorrow. And maybe I'll shoot for two sets tomorrow... A morning set and an afternoon set...!

I forgot that I have a bunch of loading and unloading of my car to do. At the moment my vehicle is filled with HPTA stuff that I got from Pam White yesterday. Oh that reminds me, I need to check my post office box today, too...

Peepers and Gabriel are playing really hard this morning. I've had to break them up several times already...

I need to close here because my day is going to get away from me otherwise...

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Captain Crunch

That's going to be my new nick name for the next six months...! Starting in about 5 hours I'll be doing crunches, pilates, all kinds of abdomen exercise every day, sometimes twice or three times a day.

Right now my belly is so big you'd think I was the pregnant one, not Monica. Well,I can't stand it any longer...! I'm going into serious training...! Don't worry, I won't hurt myself, I'm just talking big to pump myself up...! I've got to have the correct mental framework, right...?

My feet are finally feeling better from last weekend's weekend warrior antics. I bought some very comfortable New Balance shoes. I even got two pair: One for tennis and one for walking and running.

I can't wait to get started...!

The car report: I had the hoses on my jeep repaired and my radiator flushed out. OK, I'm ready to move on to the next repair job...

It's 1:12 AM right now... A little late for me. I'll jump in the bed in a second, but I thought I'd just write a little first since I wasn't very sleepy.. Although I must admit I'm getting a little drowsy now. I'm going to set my alarm for 5 AM and get up and write in my prayer journal, then I have to head to Clear Lake for lessons in Nassau Bay from 8 to 11:30 AM. After that I have to get Monica's jeep inspected and the license plates renewed. I also need to make a run to Clarke's, a tennis wholesale supplier. I've got two lessons in the afternoon form 4:30 to 6:30 PM then I'm done for the day.

Well, I'd better head to bed... Bye for now... -Coach Sam Out....!

The Ol' Jeep...

I had to tape up a leaky radiator hose last night before I could drive home from Columbia Lakes last night. But I made it home ok. So this morning I'm dropping it off at the Firestone Garage for service. Honestly, the Jeeps hanging in ther pretty good for 162,000 miles....! It's been a good vehicle over the years and I'm going to try to keep it on the road.

I got to bed a lot later than normal so I slept in a little this morning. I've got a full day today. I've got a meeting regarding the HPTA this morning, then lessons all afternoon until 7 PM.

There's Not much time this morning to muse about anything else so I'll close here.

Have an awesome day...! Coach Sam

The Life and Personalities of my Cats...

My cats are really interesting. They all have unique personalities and to observe their interaction is really quite amazing. Here's a quick over view:

Jack... He's the oldest. 7 years old. He's overweight and acts grumpy much of the time towards the other cats. But he's normally very loving to Monica and I... I wonder if he eats a lot because he's unhappy with his life, or Monica and I just spoil him with too much food...?

Hobbes is next in line. He was born in December 2001 and we adopted him in January when he was still a baby. When he was a kitten he was very mischievous and that's why we named hum Hobbes. He is the sweetest of all the kitties. He hates to fight, and allows Peepers to think she's in charge even though he could easily kick her butt if he wanted too. He's very loving and patient and is acting as a cool big brother to Gabriel.

Peepers moved in when we moved to North Houston. She had been a stray living in the Montrose area and we adopted her after we bought a bigger house. We think she's about 2 years old. She is a sweet loving kitty and loves us very much but she hates Hobbes for some reason and doesn't care for Gabriel, either. She seems indifferent to Jack. She's always hungry and loves to hang in the the kitchen and dining room when we're cooking or eating. I think of Peepers as being from another country, like France. And she only speaks French. She can't communicate with the American kitties and she's always in an uproar about something and hisses and growls at the American cats, Jack, Hobbes, and Gabriel. She's a proud, stubborn, French kitty stuck in America with out a passport. Or maybe she just hates living in house full of male cats.. I haven't really figured out the source of her hostility, yet. Perhaps it's emotional scars from her early childhood.

Gabriel is a baby who we rescued a few months ago when he was only weeks old. He was just skin and bones when he wound up on our back patio. We immediately fell in love with him... He plays all the time and sees the world through a child's eyes.

I'll start posting pictures again in the next few days. I haven't loaded my picture programs onto this new computer yet...

That's it... Just A brief introduction into the life and perspective of my cats.

Today I have to try to be at Columbia Lakes by noon. I have a lesson at 1 PM... Then some office time for a few hours and then several hours of lessons later in the afternoon and evening. That's about it for now...

Have an awesome day...

Coach Sam

Bright Sunny Day...!

Finally...! We're going to have sunshine all day! It's about time. It may just be for one day but I'll take it.

I had a bit of a scare last night coming home from Columbia Lakes. I had just pulled out of the guard gate and driven about 50 yards and my battery light came on. It was about 8:30 PM and I was not in the mood for a car break down 7o miles from home...!

I called Monica and wnet back to the tennis shop so I could look under the hood. I didn't want to tuen off the engine on the road at night in the middle of no where. As it turned out the water level in my battery was low. That's unusual because it's a relatively new battery that we put in towards the end of the summer. But sure enough, adding water to the battery did the trick. The light never came on again and I made it home without any further incident.

When I got home Monica was hard at work on her latest art project. We watched the movie 'Luther'. it's the story about Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer. It was a little difficult to follow, but I was very tired... I fell asleep out of fatiguue, not boredom. I'm going to watch it again this morning and I'll publish a movie review later.

This morning I need to plan my Christmas and new years events. That's tops on my list.

My first lesson today is at 2 PM in Nassau Bay... And I'm on court the rest of the day until 8 PM tonight. If I'm not too tired tonight I'll write some more... Maybe even post some photos...!

Anyway... That's it for today. Oh... The weigh in... I was down to 224 when I came home last night, but when I weighed in this morning I was 226. That seems a bit crazy... I haven't fully trusted those scales for a long time. Hmmm... New scales would be a great family Christmas present...! (hint, hint...)

Off to a Rough Start

11:15 AM... My day is off to a rough start. It rained me out this morning so I wasn't able to teach any lessons.

But when I tried to get in my office inside the Pro Shop I discovered that someone had tried to break into my inner office. The lock was blocked and I couldn't get my key to go all the way in.

I had to go and get the maintenance department to drill out the lock. It took them over an hour and I'm in my office at last. But now I need to go and buy a new dead bolt for my office..!

Sigh...

I'm about to go head out and do that now. Then I'll come back and string a few racquets and work on some office projects here for a while and hang out and see what the weather is going to do...

The good news is that my feet don't feel so bad this morning...!

Anyway, that's it for now... -Coach Sam

Avocados...?

Avocadoes are nutritional powerhouses! The American Diabetic Association even touts them as nutrition superstars and America’s answer to the Mediterranean diet’s olive oil. Avocado is one of the best sources of monounsaturated fat, known to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol, raise heart-healthy HDL cholesterol and help stabilize blood sugar levels.

This is the headline on my e-diet tip of the day...! That's good news because I love avocados...! I need to learn to eat avocados and not all the chips that I normally consume with them...! Hmmm... I may run to HEB later today and get an avocado supplement...! I haven't had my cholesterol in a while and last time I did check it, it was a little high...!

I weighed in today at 225.5 lbs... I added half a pound from yesterday. Although I ate very nutritious food yesterday, I didn't exercise at all. Today my foot feels better. So I will get some new insoles and I'll be back in business!

Monica is going to ride up to work with me today. We left one of our Jeeps there at Columbia Lakes on Saturday so we could ride back together in one car.

So far the weather looks good. It's going to be 70 degrees today...! That's very un-December-like weather. But later on a cold front is supposed to move in and cool things down a little bit. I guess I'll bring both shorts and warm up pants today!

I have a lesson at 9 AM this morning, then not again until 4:30 PM. But I'm hoping to get a 3:30 lesson, too. I'm on the court until 8:00 PM tonight if all goes well with the weather. All in all, it's a full day!

That's it for now... Talk to you later...

Coach Sam

The Sunday Report

Today my feet hurt so bad from my tennis exploits yesterday that I was pretty much was incapacitated for the day.

I've been transferring files from my old Toshiba to this machine. I grilled some salmon and scallops for dinner. I've been faithful to my diet. No Junk Food. No over eating. And I weighed in this morning at 225 lbs... I'm still as big as Kirstie Allie but at least I'm heading in the right direction.

I'm going to see about getting some new shoes tomorrow. Or at least some more insoles. I've definitely got to take care of my feet...!

The weather forecast is a little shaky for tomorrow. But The forecasters have been wrong a lot lately. I hope that's the case tomorrow.

Monica and I went to two grocery stores this afternoon and the checkers at both stores were down right rude. They would not even have eye contact with us.

What's up with customer service...? It's been getting worse and worse for years.

Sigh... I could go on a tangent here but I won't. I'd better close now and get on some other projects.

I'll be back in the morning. Bye for now...

Coach Sam

The Weekend

Monica had a rough night last night. She hasn't been sleeping well lately. The pregnancy has got her stomach messed up all the time. And she has turned into an incredibly lite sleeper, now.

As a consequence, she's tired much of the time. I'm hoping and praying that she is able to rest up this weekend.

I've got an adult drill this morning at Columbia Lakes Country Club starting at 10 AM. I'll probably leave here at 8 AM... That gives me about 3 hours to write. I need to catch up on my devotional in my prayer journal...

This afternoon if it doesn't rain I'm going to play tennis with some friends at the Country Club. I've really got to start losing some weight...! Monica bought me some almonds to snack on as per Dr Brown's commentary. (Thanks Doc)

Then Monica is driving down to join me for a Choir concert that some of my tennis students are participating in... I'm looking forward to that...!

Tomorrow I've got church in the morning then more tennis lined up in the afternoon. More rain is forcasted. I hope the weather holds out for me...!

That's about it this morning. I weighed in at 229 at 5:15 AM so I guess I officially lost 1.5 lbs yesterday. An afternoon of tennis ought to be good for at least another pound. -We'll see...!

I'll spend some time this afternoon transfering data over to my new computer... That will be fun...!

OK, I'll probably check in again tomorrow. Bye for now... Sam

First Post from the Dell Inspiron 1000

This new machine works like a charm...! It only took me a few minutes to configure... Now I need to start moving files over from my old machine.

Ah, the old Toshiba... I'm not going to miss her very much...!

So, to quickly close out my day today, I got rained out of my last lesson this evening. I came home and weighed.

I weighed in at 228. lbs. This morning was 230.5... That means either I lost 2.5 lbs today or there's that much variation in weight throughout the day. -I think that's the case. But I've never fully trusted these scales we have, any way.

I definitely freaked out today when the read out showed 230.5, though. Now, I was a good boy all day nutritionally. And we had a very nutritious dinner of which I didn't eat too much of... So I'm feeling good about the first 24 hours of rededicating my life to losing weight.

I can't wait to get up tomorrow morning and exercise...!

This is coachsam signing off...!

The New Computer is In...!

I just got a call from Monica that my new Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop computer just arrived...!

So this will probably be my last post from the old Toshiba satellite...! It has had a good service record and faithfully done it's duty since April 13, 2001 but I'll definitely be happy to retire this old warhorse.

It's running the Microsoft Windows millennium operating system and that's starting to be incompatible with many programs I like to use... Plus, I've some kind of video card issue and am finding it impossible to adjust the picture on my screen. Either that or the monitor is just going out... Or possibly my cat Peepers did something to it one night when I left the screen up all night and she slept on the keyboard...!

I'll probably eventually take the Toshiba in to a repair shop but not anytime soon.

So... That's cool news... I can't wait to get home this evening and try out the new machine...!

As of 2:30 PM... I've had a good day so far. My lessons went fine this morning. And I've managed to get a good bit of work done here at Diedrich's... I go back on the court in another 90 minutes...

The weather is supposed to be rainy tomorrow. That's too bad... Because I have a full day of tennis lined up. But if it does rain I've got plenty of work I can stay busy with in the office...!

I've eaten very little so far today... I had a sausage and egg biscuit for breakfast at 6 AM, then at lunch I had some sliced turkey and a few pieces of string cheese. Tonight I'll be sure to eat lite. Maybe I'll grill some chicken and have a tossed salad.

One thing's for sure... No junk food is going into my mouth...! That's a promise...!

I'll weigh in again this evening before dinner and then again before I head out tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be back down below 230 lbs to start the new week. -That's my goal!

Bye for now...

Coach Sam...

Help...!

Call me Kirstie Allie...!

I stepped on the scales this morning and I'm at the heaviest weight of my life ever....

230.5 lbs... That's a 30 pound swing from this summer...! All I can say is AAAAuuugghhh!

Man, what a way to start my weekend. I'm turning into my Dad. This can't be happening...!

Well... It's time to get to work physically...! I'm going out and getting me some good running/walking shoes and plan to seriously get to work...!

Starting today!

I will definitely ring in the new year under this Ungodly 230.5 mark... And keep right on going until I'm back to my skinny pants...!

Nothing else to report today. Here's my schedule... I'm in Nassau Bay this morning until 11:30 AM... Then I'll probably go buy some shoes and go for a walk...

Then I have lessons in Lake Cove from 4:30 to 7:30 PM...!

That's my day today... And I'm eating nothing but nuts and twigs...!

Bye for now...!

Coach Sam

December Is Upon Us...!

Hello…

Sorry I took yesterday off from my journal… I was running late in the morning and just had a really busy day .

I was looking forward to having my new Dell inspiron laptop delivered yesterday but instead I received a delay notice that it would be another week…! That’s too bad. I’m ready to retire the old Toshiba…!

I had three private lessons yesterday and then a men’s drill group. In between lessons I strung racquets. I had 5 to string… My fingers are tired and sore this morning. I didn’t get home until 10:30 PM… So I slept in a little today, too.

I have an easier schedule today. My first lesson isn’t until 2 PM in League City. Later this morning I need to take Glenn to pick up his car… It’s had some work done on it at a high performance auto shop. –Glenn has a souped up mustang camaro for those of you wondering…

Well… I’m still getting used to the idea of becoming a Father… I’m excited… And a little scared at the same time… I’ll write more about that later… It will be neat for my child to go back and read how I was feeling and what I was thinking about before he or she was born…

I wish I had more of my own family history. But my parents weren’t really into taking very many pictures and definitely not into writing like I am…

So… That’s about it for now… Thanks for checking in… More later… -Coach Sam