Some Mixed News

So the last couple of days have been ... interesting. We did get some sad news yesterday when Laura found out that one of the people that she had worked with at PATH had passed away. John Sellors. Laura will tell you that John and Atilla, her former boss, were the people that started CareHPV and it is their legacy that she is carrying forward. Laura had worked with John at the start of the work that she is doing now and always had interesting stories to tell about him. She was always very positive about who he was and what he accomplished. They had a very nice piece in the paper remembering him.

At the same time we had this sad news we also got some good news - my Dad went to the hospital last Friday with pains in his chest. They decided to keep him over the weekend to keep an eye on him but thankfully he was cleared by his cardiologist and went home yesterday. I know my Mom is also happy that he is home - she never sleeps well when he is away.

I also got some uplifting news. As you know I have been running more - and it seems to be paying off. Besides the obvious weight loss my resting pulse and blood pressure are doing great and I am told I am sleeping better - or at least less noisily. According to Laura the plan is to keep me running, keep me eating healthy and cut back on the evening chocolate to make sure I stay around a long time.

So stay healthy and pay attention to the little things so you all will be around a long time as well - and while you are around take note of people like John who did positive things for the world and did it with a positive attitude.

Happy Birthday Sammy!

So I guess I can no longer avoid feeling old. Sammy, or "Spammy" as her big sister calls her, turns 16 today. Sammy is unique in many ways, as each of the girls are. For Sammy she has always been competitive and athletic. I think the competitiveness is why she wanted to be the first of the girls driving. She is also very good with money - especially when she wants something. I expect she will be job hunting soon and will beat her sisters at that too.

 I have always been proud of all my girls and today I am proud that I get to celebrate Sam's 26th birthday with her.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Love Dad & Laura



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

FINALLY!

I am not sure if anyone has noticed but the tag-line "Posted using BlogPress from my iPad" has been missing from posts for the last couple of months. In fact the reason for that is also part of the reason why there has been limited posting on tridentityideas over the last couple of months. The issue has been BlogPress on my iPad has not worked effectively (or at all) since upgrading to IOS 5 until an app upgrade today. I am thankful that it is back but the next time I have to go months without access to an app will likely mean I will be changing my blog site. Hopefully that does not happen as mobile blogging is when I do most of my writing. I guess the new update and renewed access mean that I can now officially kick off the new year with some more serious work on my blogs. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy New Year

So it is the new year and myself and Laura just wanted to wish all of our friends and family a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.

For a quick look back on what 2011 had in store for us just click on the link on the right hand side of our page for our 2011 review.

Be safe and be healthy

Gary & Laura

Finishing off 2011

2011 was an interesting year for running - I started the year with the Cherry Blossom Race but then was derailed by Lyme Disease (again) and a stress fracture. This was a bit frustrating ... to start so well but then to get sidelined. Well August saw me get serious and to focus on my eating and when I restarted running in November I was already a bit lighter and then November-December helped me lose a couple of extra pounds so that from the beginning of August to the end of the year I was able to strip off about 15 lbs.

When the end of the year started to approach I started getting notices about the Ringing in Hope race. This is one that is hard for me to ignore as the start is a couple of hundred yards from our front door. The race is a 3 mile loop around our house - and I mean literally around our house - so again - little excuse to ignore. The coupe de gras is that it supports local charities - so count me in.

Race day was Saturday. It was sunny and warm. The starting line was a bit crowded - about 1500 5K and 10K racers lined up. The 5 K runners would split off after the first 3 miles while the 10K runners would do another loop. The course is relatively flat so it was a nice run.

My results would depend on which electronic device you trust more - my Garmin watch said I ran the 6.35 miles at a 7:55 pace - while the official time said a 8:05 pace over the 6.21 mile course. Either way the official results had me finish 132nd of the 624 finishers of the 10K - well within the top 25%. My 7:55 is also my best 10K pace ever - so I was happy.

Now to take a couple of days off before I start training for the 2012 Cherry Blossom and a fun running year in 2012.

Some pics ....

I promised some pics from Christmas ... so you will find two new albums up on our Picasa site

One from Christmas and one with some of Tika's art.

Let us know if you enjoy them

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to post this yesterday, of course, but if I did I was afraid I would give something away. The picture was one the girls did for Laura as a Christmas gift. Growing up the girls always liked going to see the same Santa so I asked the girls if they would want to go see him one more time and get a picture done for Laura. They were all very enthusiastic and got all dressed up - suspiciously so as Laura was wondering why they looked so nice that night at dinner. I then went out and had a bigger version of the picture made and we framed it and wrapped that as one of Laura's gifts. She loved it - and the tears showed it.

I guess it is a good holiday when there are lots of tears of joy and we had a few occasions of that yesterday. The girls were excited about all their presents, Laura in particular loved the art work she received, originals from Matthew Johnston and Andrea Moore, and I loved the thoughtfulness of the girls and Laura and our families. Laura got a bit sneaky and made one of my presents. We have been keeping corks from wine bottles ever since we knew each other - and yes there are a few corks. So she decided to sneak out of the bag some of the more significant ones from special bottles we had at very memorable times - a sandwich picnic in Switzerland overlooking Lake Zurich, our first New Years Eve dinner that I cooked and many others and made them into a tray. I loved it - it brings back such fond memories.  I will get some of the pictures up on our Picasa site but to give you a flavour - Martika painted this for Laura.

Outside of presents we had a wonderful Christmas holiday. We got to talk to the Bridger's in Sydney twice, the Moore's in Newfoundland and with everyone of the remaining Bell family in Texas we had an opportunity to talk to all of them. The Girls came over for lunch and after we opened presents we headed out to Mala Tang for lunch. It is a Sichuan Hot Pot restaurant. The food and service was great and every one had fun. The girls then had a big dinner with their Mom and their Uncle Keith, Aunt Lynn and cousin Sidney.

We hope all of our friends and families had an equally wonderful holiday - Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah

Love Gary & Laura