Oh, the Open...!

The US Open Starts today. I won't be there. I haven't gone to the Open since 2003. I miss it. It always used to be something I greatly looked forward to every year.

But I greatly enjoy being married and having children, too. And now that I am married and with kids my priorities and responsibilities have changed. Elijah's still too young to go to the Open right now but when he's old enough to appreciate it we'll start going again.

That's something to look forward too...!

Today I'm starting many new home schoolers in tennis. I'm excited about that...! And it's also Connor's first day as a sophomore in high school. I'm excited about that, too...!

It's a BIG Day...!

My Buddies...

Here's a photo of myself (center) and two very good friends of mine. In fact, these guys are two of the nicest men you'll ever meet. I really can't say enough positive things about them. They always go out of their way to help me and they always consider the needs of others around them. They are true gentlemen in every sense of the word!




Brad, to the left of the photo is a local avid player whom I have just begun to know better in the past few years. He is a super nice guy who loves tennis and often volunteers to help with programs here in the local community. Jim, to the far right has stood by me through thick and thin. He has been a great ambassador of tennis and has volunteered literally hundreds of hours over the past decade and a half helping to promote the great sport of tennis that we both love so much...

I am humbled and greatly blessed to have two good friends like Brad and Jim.

Coach Sam's New Weight Loss Journal

Here's a photo of Elijah and I back in January 2008. Look how large I am... I've lost a little weight since that photo was taken, but nothing of great significance. This morning the scales said 228 pounds. I'm sure I'm in the 230's in that photo. Wow...!

Of course, it has been difficult exercising with my knee injured, but praise the Lord my knee has been feeling better this month and I'm finally playing tennis more frequently.

I'm really working hard on my diet these days and plan to enroll in a Weight Watcher's program this week...! Elijah is really starting to enjoy tennis more now that he is older. Connor is showing a renewed interest, too. I want to be in good shape so I can enjoy tennis with them for years to come.

I desperately want to get back to a normal shape. That's going to involve me losing at least fifty pounds...! I know that goal is possible and attainable. I just have to take my time and stay the course... Right now I would just love to get below 200 before the new year...

Oh how I would love to get below 200 and stay there.

Starting today I plan to use this blog as a record of my efforts to lose weight.

Let's call it:

Coach Sam's Weight Loss Journal

Yes, that sounds good...

OK, Day One... August 13, 2008

I weighed in this morning at 228 lbs. Now, I'm not going to be a slave to the scales, weighing in every day. I'm just going to do my best to lose weight every day, be patient, and give it to God.

I acknowledge going in to this thing that my chief concern is honoring God. I know God wants to use me for greater things and if I don't get in better shape, my health will hinder me. I used to be as conditioned as any world class athlete, now to say that I am a shadow of my former self is the understatement of the year.

I've got a long way to go, but I have my family and many others encouraging me. And of course, most importantly, my Lord and Savior is right by my side every step of the way...

Losing weight for me is a spiritual battle first and foremost. And it's one that I am going win because I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me...!

Super Boy

I'm sitting in a big chair with a lap top on my lap this morning watching the news coverage of the big storm just northeast of us. We had braced ourselves over night for a hurricane but awakened to relatively mild weather.

As it turns out, we may not get very much rain at all today. I'm not complaining, but I wouldn't mind if my yard, the golf course and tennis center got a good soaking today..

So far Galveston, League City, Kemah have all had pretty stormy weather. But West Columbia is on the dryer side of the storm.

Now when I blog on Tuesdays my on going topic is child hood memories.

This photo of Elijah in his superman suit with his wagon of books and toys reminded me that I didn't have very many toys growing up. I had an imagination, though. My superman costume was just a bath towel clipped or tied around my neck. I liked to pretend to be superman. I also liked to pretend to be batman. My brother John and I loved to make fortresses and space ships out of big cardboard boxes... Oh those were the days...!

Already at age three Elijah has many more toys and books than I had my entire childhood...!

Elijah's Big Boy Bed

A few days ago we moved Elijah's Baby bed out and gave him a 'big boy' bed... Oh how he loves it! it's obviously decorated with a 'Car's' motif... It's definitely a boy's room...! Check out more photos of Elijah at his own website: http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com/

We had a nice day today. We traveled to Clear Lake and visited a church where I used to be a member when I first moved to Nassau Bay. Afterwards we had an excellent lunch at Pappasitos. When we got home Elijah and I went to the tennis center for awhile. We relaxed at home after that....

Tomorrow will be a busy week. I may not post every day... But thanks for reading my journal... Until next time.... Bye for now... -Coach Sam

Friday... Family Day...! More Photos From Elijah's Birthday

Wow... That tower goes up pretty high... I stayed on the ground where it was safe...

Here's the observation deck about to land.... Monica, Connor, and Elijah are waiting for it to land.

Here's the family about to board the observation tower at the Kemah Boardwalk. Elijah got distracted at the last second....

On Fridays I like to write about family. This has been a busy summer. And wow... July has been a blur... The first part of the month I'd just like to forget about.

But we recently celebrated both Connor and Elijah's birthdays and they were both very memorable. Connor and Elijah are both growing like crazy...

My favorite Friday activity is to prepare some kind of Mexican food (usually fajitas, tacos, or nachos) Then enjoy watching Sci-Fi Friday with Monica and Connor. Sometimes it's too scary for Elijah so we usually wait for him to go to bed, first...

Our favorite show to watch is Stargate Atlantis...! There's a new episode on tonight... Yea

Something Political: Let's Pray for this Country!

On Thursdays I'm supposed to write about something political... OK, today's blog will be short but these are my thoughts on the upcoming election:

Sigh... Sadly the only thing I can report is that I'm not thrilled with either presidential candidates this election season.

Obama's views and values just simply don't line up with my own. McCain is in full 'politician mode' and I don't think he can be trusted, either.

Seriously, is this the BEST that America has to offer? I think we are in big trouble no matter who the next president is...

It's really time for men and women of Faith to get on our knees and Pray for this Country....!

Favorite Thing.... Storytelling

Hmmm.... One of my favorite things to do is tell stories. I love when something comes up or is said in a tennis class that reminds me of a story or something that happened to me in my childhood. Telling stories is a great way to drive a point home. It's one of my favorite teaching methods. I really love it when a young person comes up to me days, weeks, months, even years later and asks me to tell a certain story again. When that happens I know I've made a connection and have impacted their lives...

Elijah's Birthday Video

This Blog only allows videos up to 100 MB in size... The one you are viewing is 75 MB We have another video of Elijah unveiling his present that is 172 MB. I'll have to try to figure out how to post in a different forum...

Oh this was a very happy day...! Elijah loves his Fire Truck...!

Today is Wednesday and my Blog Topic is something that is a favorite of mine...

Fireman Elijah to the Rescue...!

Yesterday was Elijah's Birthday...! One of his favorite gifts was a fire truch pedal car... Oh how he loved it. I don't know if I've ever seen him so excited before...! More photos and stories to come... Please check back...!

Happy Birthday Elijah...!

Guess who is three years old today...? Not the guy with the beard... No, we are celebrating Elijah's birthday today...! YEA...! It's my precious little boy's birthday...!

We have a very special day planned for the Boo Boo...! Look for a full report in the next blog post tomorrow on Elijah's Blog.

One of My Favorites...Riker of Star Trek The Next Generation

I'm relaxing this evening watching some Star Trek TNG episodes on our DVR. I'm a huge science fiction buff. One of my favorite characters on the 'Next Generation' was first officer William T Riker. One thing I liked about him was that he played the trombone.

If I were a TNG character I would most likely be Commander Riker. After all, he had a beard, too...!

I hope to start posting a little more regularly on my blog now. Tomorrow I will be talking politics.... You don't want to miss that...!

4th of July...! Twilight Zone Marathon

It's been a tradition for the past five years for the Sci Fi Channel to air twenty four hours of Twilight Zone episodes. I'm looking forward to taking in a few episodes this afternoon...

Although, I must confess that my wife and I are pretty burned out on television. We hardly watch anything on TV any more. Not only is it difficult to find any show that is 'decent' to watch anymore, but many times not even the commercials are 'safe' to watch. We are very concerned about what images our sweet little Elijah is exposed too. Praise the Lord for DVR's and TiVo where we can pause live television.

Oh, how our society has really decayed morally over my life time...

What ever happened to shows like the Twilight Zone...? For it's time, the Twilight Zone really pushed the moral compass and often times made bold political statements in it's little vignettes.

Granted, there were many episodes that just 'bombed', but there is a certain charm to those old black and white re-runs that just keeps me coming back. I suppose it's the hope that I'll come across an episode that I've never seen before...

One day, when we have some extra discretionary resources, we'll just purchase a dvd collection of the entire Twilight Zone series. Then we'll be able to view them at our leisure without the annoyance of Viagra or Maxoderm commercials. Until then it's remote control time...

Side Note to Last Night's Blog:

The brisket turned out fantastic...! I ended up going to bed about midnight and finished it off in the oven instead of waking up throughout the night tending the fire... I know that true BBQ 'purists' turn their nose up to that, but they probably don't have a soon to be three year old at home...!

I'm still working on publishing a video on the web... I'll get that figured out later today... It's 5:30 AM and I can't sleep. Am I on some kind of weird schedule or what...?

I think I'm going to close here for now, but I'm sure I'll be back to post some photos and more commentary later...

Thanks for reading my blog... (You've got to have better things to do than this...!) :)

The Brisket Vigil...

8:23 PM.... OK... Still having trouble uploading a movie...

The learning curve is getting 'curvey-er'....


7:47 PM... The Brisket Vigil and Home Movie Update

OK, Let's see if I can upload the first goofy video Elijah and I made together... Remember, we are not professional actors...!


Oh Too Bad...... It wouldn't publish because the file was too large... No Problem... This is the learning curve... I'll try it again after a quick trip to the grocery store...

Coach Sam... 7:50 PM Texas Time...


6:52 PM Update on the Brisket Vigil...

The Brisket is looking good. I've had steady smoke and temperature for close to seven hours. I'm smoking with mesquite and pecan wood. I like to mix the two for longer smokes because 19 hours of mesquite smoke can be overpowering to the meat in my humble opinion. The milder pecan smoke helps balance out the taste....

I got my web cam installed. The installation took a long time. But I've already made some goofy home videos. It's pretty fun. Now I'm going to see what I have to do to publish them to the web or send a video post card... - Coach Sam 6:58 PM Texas Time!


5:30 PM -The Brisket Vigil...

It's the 3rd of July and I'm making my traditional brisket. This one was 15 lbs so and I put it on at about 12 Noon. It needs to smoke for about 22 hours. I've got 14 hours to go...

I've stayed busy so far this afternoon working in the back yard trimming and weeding.

Right now I'm installing a new web cam on my lap top so I can create videos and post them on my website....

More later.... -Coach Sam 5:58 PM Texas Time....

Another Soap Box... HEINZ Deli Mayo AD

I don't want this to seem like it's turning into an 'Angry' Blog... But I just learned about an advertising campaign from Heinz that features two gay men kissing. It's airing in the UK now but how long will it be before commercials like this are airing in America...?

Some people have the perspective that it is a 'funny spoof' on Gay marriage. I say there is nothing funny about Gay marriage and I don't want this type of advertising on American television.

I contacted Heinz that my family is now boycotting Heinz because of their advertising content.

I'm afraid we'll probably just have to turn our television off completely in the near future because it's difficult enough to find a decent television show to watch anyway, and now we have to worry about the content of almost every commercial...

Here's a link to the ad... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl0bkv0jCCM

You decide if you want your children poisoned by this kind of media.

This Makes Me Sick...!

Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Texas purchased a 7 story, 78,000 square foot building at 4600 Gulf Freeway (I-45 and Elgin ) in Houston. This building, after being remodelled, will be the largest free-standing abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere where unborn babies through all 9 months of pregnancy can be aborted according to the State of Texas.

This headline was brought to my attention by the mom of one of my home school tennis students. Abortion is one of the most disgusting acts I can think of.

It's murder, plain and simple. -And it's Wrong. Abortion is most certanly an abomination in the eyes of God.

Sadly, after visiting the Houston Coalition for Life website, I did some research and discovered that this project has been in the works for some time.

And now there's not much time left to effect change. -I plan to use my time and resources in the upcoming weeks to speak out and educate everyone within my sphere of influence about this issue. I plan to stand in the gap for unborn children in Houston and around the world..!

You know, I don't think that the average person really takes much time to consider what a sinister, evil act abortion is. I think it's something that is sort of 'out of sight, out of mind'...

Well, it's not out of my mind... And after going through Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, I've been more attuned to the many things that are wrong with our country and how it seems to be in a continuous, downward spiral. Legalized Abortion is definitely one of the things that is wrong with our country, and the world.

I urge everyone reading this blog post to prayerfully consider what You can do regarding the issue of abortion.

You're either for Abortion or against Abortion.

If you are against it then I urge you to take a public stand!

If You oppose the idea of abortion and don't do anything in opposition to it then you are just standing around while innocent babies are being murdered right here in Houston and across the US and around the world...!

What can one person do...? -Me, I'm not wealthy or powerful but I do have a voice. -And I do have a degree of influence in some small circles... So this is not the last you've heard from me on this topic...!

To be continued....

My Sweet Bride's Birthday...!

Today is Monica's Birthday...! Yea...! We don't have any specific plans just yet but I'm looking forward to honoring my sweet bride today...!

There's no one on this planet who is more deserving of a special day than my precious Monica!

I love you very much, Sweetie...! -HAPPY BIRTHDAY...!

Getting Ready For Father's Day...!

Well, it's Father's Day weekend... I'm not sure what we're going to do yet. It won't be anything expensive, that's for sure. We're a little 'strapped' financially these days just like just about everyone else, it seems.

But for me that's ok... Father's Day is about 'Being a Daddy. I don't need any 'Thing'. I am just happy to be able to spend a relaxing day with my family.

We'll figure out something to do...

Our Country is in Crises...!

The morality of our country has sunk to an all time low... I'm referring to CBS' airing of the pilot episode: Swingtown. It's nothing but pornography and it's being aired on a major network during prime time. Is this what the majority of television viewers in our country want to see...?

Aaugh... I'm not a big fan of television anyway, but this is ridiculous.

Of course, same sex marriage is also legal in some states. Abortion is legal. And it is against the law to pray in school or display the ten commandments in public.

What is going on here...? What kind of world am I raising my children up in...?

What can I do...? As a Christian I am called to do something. First and foremost I am called to pray. Secondly, I have to let others know how I feel. I can't be shy, quiet, or politically correct any more. Who am I trying to please, God or man...?

'Swingtown' is an abomination. It weakens our country. CBS is no friend of mine. I'm going to take time to write the major advertisers of CBS and tell them exactly how I feel and that my family and I am prepared to take action with our wallet in the form of boycotting the products of CBS sponsors until this filth is removed from the air.

Speed...

Hello Everyone...! I'm back...! Here I am checking the speed of some one's serve with a radar gun at my recent USPTA Tennis Across America Event...

Wow, I haven't posted since April. I completely missed the entire month of May. Life has been crazy, that's for sure. I'm into my busy summer season. But I'm going to try real hard to update this blog at least once a week...

The fastest serve at the TAA event was 100 mph... My life feels like it's moving way faster than that...!

The big news is that Monica and I are expecting another child...! We're going for an ultra sound tomorrow to find out more details. Stay tuned for more news soon!