Oh my gosh! I love my new Zephyr HxM with SportsTrackLive linked via Bluetooth to my Droid.

I listen to music while it tracks my miles, heart rate, speed, time, and lots more.

It announces stats as often as you want through your headphones and uploads all of it to your account. It even overlays the path you've walked over google maps. Apparently I walk in circles when walking Einstein in the neighborhood. That's easy to do in my 'hood.

The good news is that my Droid has a navigation system to help me find my way home if I get lost.

Yes, I've used it during a walk.

Today Einstein and I walked 3.2 miles averaging 4.1 mph! I'm pretty comfortable with 3 miles per day, so I'll hang around that distance.

The OCD side of me can see getting a lot of enjoyment from my new "toy".

I can't even fathom that I am now a parent to a 30 year old. How did that happen? I'm sticking to my story that I was a precocious 12 year old.

I thought I loved having tots, but have to say that having adult kids is the best. I'm so thankful that I have a wonderful relationship with both of my 'boys' and my bonus daughter (a benefit of having great sons!)

We'll be celebrating a couple of times- - Saturday night with their friends and then we're taking them to Disneyland sometime in October. It'll be so fun to take the boys to Disneyland and not have to pay them to be nice to each other.

.....or will I?

I wonder if the price has gone up. It was five dollars back then. With inflation and the economy the way it is, who knows how much it would cost me now to pay them to behave.

Or perhaps I'll get all my money back and they'll be paying ME to behave. You know how I can be.

Hey, this blogging every day stuff is working out great! Two days in a row! Go me!

I have a new client as of today, located in Hawaii! Gee, how awful will it be to go visit them?

Of course, I'll have to take my entourage (my accountant, BJ; my designer, Cameron; and my soon-to-be new writer, Michael.) Michael probably has no idea what he's gotten himself in to, but hopefully he won't notice until after the 4th quarter rush is over. Several companies seem to be waiting for that magical quarter to give me their contracts. It's gonna be crazy if they all follow through with what they're telling me.

I won't even get into what's happening in 2012. Suffice it to say, the train is moving down the track and there is no slowing it down. eeek.

So, rather than make myself crazy with dwelling on the work ahead, I'm going to write about reality TV. BJ wonders why I like reality TV so much, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I need SOMETHING to turn off my brain at night. Reality TV is my drug of choice. Arrest me, sue me, whatever you want to do- - just don't make me THINK! Justin Timberlake uses the wacky tabacky, I watch reality TV. We all have our vices.

With that said, I'm not confirming or denying that I watch Bachelor Pad, but if I did- I'd say that someone ought to create a new drinking game. Every time Vienna says "literally", people need to take a swig of their favorite beverage. Mine happens to be Fresca, so all that will do for me is keep me running to the bathroom all night. Thanks a lot, Vienna.

I hate it that I haven't been writing. I think it's due to a number of things, but I really want to get back into writing again. I love having a record of my life with a search feature, especially with the memory issues that come with getting older.

I'm going to quit worrying about being boring or repetitive. I'm also going to stop writing as if anybody reads this (except me, of course!) I'm not even going to bother catching this thing up. Eventually, I'll get around to the stuff that's happened over the past few months (year, etc.)

So here goes.... Let's hope I stick to it!

My fankle surgeon called me today to see how I was doing. Kinda unusual, right? The last time I saw her was when she told me that the MRI showed a blown tendon and new "stuff" growing back after surgery number 2. I was about four weeks into PRP treatment and still up to a level 5-7 on the pain scale when walking for more than 10 minutes. That was back in June.

Today I was able to tell her that I've been walking an average of 3 miles a day and yesterday walked FOUR miles. Very minimal pain. She was very excited to hear this and wants me to come to her office next Monday so she can document the success of the PRP. I'm her first patient who has had this treatment, and I think she's hoping make a case for using it on other patients. It's still experimental and it was given to me free due to a mix-up at the facility. I've read that the treatment runs between 1200 and 1500, so that was quite a mistake!

I have a lake by the house and I take Einstein with me for laps around the lake. It's a nice walking path and Einstein gets lots of attention and gets to meet new dogs and people. Each trip around the lake is a mile and I started out walking the lake about 3 weeks ago. First one lap, then two and so on. Einstein gives me the stink-eye when it's hot out and I tell him we're going for another lap. Sometimes, he'll lay flat on the ground and refuses to budge. I'll generally give in when he does that because he's typically OK with going a few laps. I'll just go home and finish it on the treadmill, in that case. I'm trying to get in 3 miles a day x 5 days a week. I'll for sure take at least one day off a week.

As you can guess, the weight is starting to fall off rapidly. I haven't changed my diet a bit, because I was not eating much. 1-2 protein shakes a day and Greek yogurt. I think it worked out to under 800 calories a day unless I had something extra, which wasn't often. I'm pretty much on a soft food diet because of my jaw, but that's a story for another day.

I'm so grateful that fanklegate seems to be in my rear-view mirror.

Seriously! I've been working my tookus off on a project for 'Big Fish' for the last couple of weeks. The last week, I worked WAY more hours than I should and really can't bill for them, so I'll have to figure something out to make things right (for me.) This project will blow everyone's socks off. There is NO doubt in my mind. It'll also be something that thousands (millions?) of people will see. That, right there, is pretty darned cool.

Due to this project, I've had to up my antacids and other stuff like that because I've woken up to aspirating acid in my sleep the last three nights and spending a good 30 minutes in the middle of the night trying to cough it out. Now I'm sporting a 102+ fever and feel pretty horrible. I'm going to give it a few more days before I see a doctor. I have a 10 day illness and 3 week pain rule for myself before calling the doctor. Besides... I feel too crappy to even GO to the doctor.

This project isn't something that Cameron can do (yet!) and so it's up to me to finish this by Friday no matter how I feel. This is one of the downsides to being self-employed. There aren't many, so I can deal with this.

I wrote a few posts ago that I'm going to take it easier. I tried, I really did- but that's just not me. I have a 125,000+ employee company I'm in contract negotiations with, as well as a repeat customer that will be giving me some new business. I also am working out a new opportunity to partner with a large infosec company to be their eLearning provider, on top of my contract with 'Big Fish'. I have a feeling that my contract with 'Big Fish' will continue to be extended as long as I want, based on a conversation I had a couple of days ago.

Nope, I don't know how to take it easy. Even when I'm sick (which is probably hard to understand... I know.) I'm trying really hard to keep my company small because i really hate managing people and I don't want to deal with what happens when business is slow (ha... It's yet to be slow.)

Cameron is working out really well, and he's going to be working a lot of hours the next couple of months (maybe more?) I asked Big Fish if I could bring him along to the big summit in July, and they said yes! I'll be paying for his travel, of course, but this will be a fantastic experience for him. Especially since we'll be getting a two bedroom suite at the same hotel I stayed in the presidential suite last year. Fun!!!!! Plus I'll have a helper if i need one for fankle issues in the airport. Lucky Cameron!

Coming up is our annual fireworks and horse races event. This year we're reserving the entire room and plan to fill it. I've never had a party with that many people and am not quite sure how to ensure that everyone (75 +) gets enough "Lori" time. I'll figure it out.

Maybe I should have made this a this and that, because I'm rambling on and on. This is what happens when Lori takes the "good" cough syrup (leftover from who knows when!)

Life is good, people (except the sick part... But this will pass...), and I wake up grateful every day. I'm pretty sure that I'll be even more grateful when I retire, but honestly this ain't bad.....