WW Update

Loved ones...

Last Two Weeks: -4.6lbs
Total Weight Loss: -27lbs

I am almost at my 10% goal! I started on 9/20/06 at 280.4lbs (Holy Cow Right, no really, Holy COW{first time I have mentioned my actual weight}) and I am now at 253.4, one more # and I will be at my 10% goal. At that point I will set my overall loss goal. I am guessing somewhere around 190-200lbs for a guy my build. I have not been that light since Jr. High maybe. I am going to do it, it took 12 weeks to loose this much, I suspect it will take two years or so to loose the weight the safe, slow, and permanent way! When you see me at the wedding, I would like to be in 220-230's, a svelt looking dude!

Me Day

So after a crazy 3 week period in which our lives have been flipped upside down, I am talking a "Me Day." I am off of work, I have no appointments, no one coming to the house, no trips to plan or take... just me and my laundry. If you want to come over and hang out, welcome, if you are up to something today, give me a ring.

Evanston Sweet Home

I put in an application on a sweet vintage apartment north of Lincoln Park but south of Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois.

This house hunting trip was a little bit stressful. With the pending sale of our house here in the QC, there was not a "we'll find some place next week." Nope, we were under the gun. After some disappointing places and the realization that it is too expensive to have a car AND live downtown, we headed a little further out in the burbs, but we could not find somewhere we liked. I was actually considering paying $250 a month to park my car and suck it up. We decided to head back to the hotel to regroup (internet access) and look up some new places using good ole google. We went out to Evanston and saw two apartments, though we didn't like the apartments that were shown, we fell in love with Evanston. Everyone closed at 5pm, we left a few messages hoping that someone would call us back on Sunday, we had a 10:00 am appointment with the one person who did answer their phone.

Evanston is like a Dilworth style suburb right to the north of Chicago, the apartment we liked is two blocks from the "L" and is also about 30-45 minutes (traffic varries greatly in this 20 mile jaunt) from my new store.

So as long as everything goes well with the application, I have found me a home.

Notes From The Trip

+++Snow is very cool, especially when it doesn't melt when the sun is out

+++Even though everyone told us we wouldn't make it Friday night because of the blizard, our plane arrived early.

+++Every company outing should be direct billed, talk about no hassle.

+++Nine degrees is very cold, 22 as the high is also very cold

+++Windy city is an accurate descriptor.

+++Pontiacs have big gas tanks

+++Chicago's suburbs are like going from Mooresville to the south side of Rock Hill, then heading to Gastonia, without an interstate.

+++Roads in Chi-Town have only one name, and that is the name that road keeps until it ends. (i.e. Tyvola, Fairview, Rama, Idlewild, Seacrest Shortcut... ALL ONE ROAD)

Happy December

Hi guys, hectic life so just a little recap

Our house is officially under contract today, we actually received a verbal offer on Tuesday but it took us a coule days to work out the details. That is 7 days on the market yo!

The only bad news is that we are closing on December 19th, which means that I will be in Chicago sooner than expected. I expect to be moved up there before Christmas now. I am waiting for the details to see what will happen to Amanda and I's Pittsburgh Travel plans and when I actually will start working / living up there.

Due to the quick closing, I moved our habitat hunt up a weekend, so in 5 minutes A2 and I will be heading to the airport, as you know, there was a midwest blizzard so we might be back here in Matthews later tonight. We will be back late Sunday. If you need me or A2, I will have the trusty cell phone

Keep us, the weather, and the apartment search in your prayers please

Love, JON

p.s. A.M., we won the Mecklenburg County Parks & Rec Softball Championship, the 3rd of the last 4 for my team, and 5 in a row for our church (we have two teams)! {I know you care}

Selling Your House

Selling your house sucks. As Amanda put it well, "Its like you are walking on eggshells." You have to keep your house clean every single day. You have to turn lights on, open blinds, and have your house ready to show before you go to work. I only have about 75 days to sell the house, so the pressure is on to get this thing done. I do not want this house to be the reason I can't move to Chicago. This house has already DQ'd me from going to D.C., they asked me to move before I had even made a mortgage payment and they opted out of buying out my loan ammount. A year and half later with many interior improvements, it looks like I have a good shot, but I just want it to be done and over with. Amanda and I never fight, but this whole relocation thing has caused so much stress that we argue about dumb little things that mean nothing. I feel like when we get to Chicago, we will be fine and all the effort will be absolutely worth it. If this deal falls through, I have no clue how I could possibly walk into my office with a smile on my face.

Finally!!!

Family & Friends,

I would like use this medium in lieu of a bunch of awkward phone calls and people being insulted for the order in which they are told. With three of our four parents in the know, Amanda and I would like everyone to know that we are relocating with Carmax to the gorgeous city of Chicago, Illinois!!!




The direct details are not around yet but I will tell you all that I know

I will be working in a suburb to the north called Glencoe, Illinois, when asked people who live here compare it to the Southpark area of Charlotte. I am going to attempt to live as close to downtown as I can afford and reverse commute (while everyone is coming into town, I will be leaving town.)

I am to be moved and ready to work by January 15th 2007.

Amanda will be staying in Charlotte through June to finish out the school year at McKee road.

This does not in any way affect the wedding date, location, or any details.

This does not change any vacation plans I have made(i.e. Pittsburgh for Xmas, Duquesne v. Charlotte game, Ashley's wedding, New England cruise, and our Wedding / Honeymoon)

If you know me well or have read much of this blog, you know that I have been wanting to get out of Charlotte for a very long time. Also, I have been a very big fan of the city of Chicago since Amanda and I went there in August of 2004. I have wished for an opportunity to leave this place and try something new, like a coward, I allowed the chance to slip by when I first graduated from college, I was not going to slip up again. I am thankful for such a wonderful family and superb friends that I know will support Amanda and I through this exciting, scary, and adventurous time!!!

Love, JON

p.s. I will throw out details as I get them

The Twink / Deck Incident

Yesterday was just another weekday off for this retail working guy. The plan was to sleep in a little and then head to the Charlotte International Car Show at Noon, you know, be the first one in the door kinda thing. Everything was going well until......



I left the house around 9:45 am to go to the local Weight Watchers meeting and get weighed in. I lost a very little bit of weight, but am happy to still be moving in the right direction. It was a warm blustery morning with wind gusts around 30 mph. I open the garage door and leave it open, planned on cleaning some stuff out of it and take inventory of the massive amounts of paint I have laying around. So I walked in the house, went right to the fridge to get the (skim) milk out, I then poured 2 cups of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios followed by 1 cup off skim. The wind whipped up outside, then I heard the door that goes to the garage slam shut.



Fear struck my heart realizing that for the last 90 seconds, the garage access door failed to latch and had been wide open. I immediately began to call for the girls. I called out "Twink-M-Toes" and "Cheeeeeeetoooooo" and ran through the house to their normal hiding spots. No kitties, I knew what had just happened.



I love our cats, but lets not kid around, I was fearing for my life at this point. I knew that there are 4 people in this household. 1 is the Queen, and she has her favorites. In order is Amanda the Queen, Princess Twink, Princess Cheeto, and Serf Jon. I knew I would most certainly be beheaded for this gross offense.



I headed out the front door of the house, I had hoped they would be very scared and would be in the garage, so I would walk in the garage door and spook them back into the house, brilliant plan, horrible research, the curious ones were long gone. A minute of searching and I spotted Twink on the west side of the house( the front of our house faces south) looking stealth. I called to her, shook a can of treats and she walked up to me, well, almost. She must have been spooked by something because she then darted under a bush. I then got on my stomach and reached out, fed her a treat, and while she ate it, I grabbed her and launched.... OH, I mean gently placed her inside the front door and went on looking for the much older, wiser, and curious Twink.



In case you don't know, Twink is black with white feet, not really easy to spot in the fall next to the backdrop of gray. I did two laps around the house, knowing that the other time I accidentally let her out, she stayed right up against the house, even when I had to chase her. I extended my search to the neighbors yards, climbing fences, walking in creek beds in Birkenstock's. I had to find this cat. I was really upset at this juncture and about to make the phone call to the boss. Then, I heard a bunch of dogs barking loudly, so I headed for the noise, splashing through the mud and muck that is our back yard. No Twink. I decided I had missed the most obvious place.



I looked under the deck and there were her frightened little beady eyes. Thank God, I found the cat.... OH SHIT, she's under the deck. Of course she is wedged in where the fireplace comes out, so there is no reaching her from that side of the deck. Also, my deck is only about 18 inches off the ground, which if you include the support beams underneath, leaves just about enough room for a cat. I know I have lost some weight, but I am not getting under that deck without a shovel.



Grabbing Twink's favorite toys and treats, I began my hostage negotiations with the cat. Twink was not feeling my offers of peace and happy resolutions. She would sometimes come closer to me by about six inches, but when the wind would blow hard (every freaking 30 seconds) she would take shelter and back further in. I tried to call Andy to help flush her out, but no answer. I wanted two things, the first was not to die, the second was to go to the car show, one of the highlights of my year. My brilliant rescue plan began to take shape.



First, I grabbed a spot light and would shine it in the corner underneath the deck. I then took my 15 lb pry bar and began to pull one of the deck boards up. It was getting stuck on the siding, so I was going to have to pull the whole 12 foot board up and then slide it out. I did it very slowly without any sudden moves. Twink was a good girl. she stayed put. I reached under the deck and then she decided to flee. I grabbed her hind leg and held on. She was not such a big fan of that move and clawed at my hand. She slipped out before I could pull her up and she took off out the back of the deck. I could not see in which direction she ran after that. I heard a rustle down the creek so I chased after her. Nothing. I was so pissed, frustrated, worried, that I got sick. The few cheerios that I had gotten to eat returned to nature.





After thinking in the "what would I do mode," I hoped that twink ran in the garage. I looked around and there she was behind the garbage can. Without making sudden movements, I opened the door to the house, after a 3 second pause, Twink ran into the house and under our bed for the rest of the afternoon.

I showered, went to the car show, and e-mailed Amanda with the above story. Don't we all love a happy ending.

(p.s. I repaired the deck today, and actually I made some more repairs to the surface. I went to Lowe's and bought some wood so I can replace a few rotting pieces of trim and some paint so I can touch up the house.)

Wait Loss

Crappy Week!!!

This Week: -0.4lbs
Grand Total: -21.6lbs

Why Doesn't Jon Blog Anymore?

I have been thinking about the answer to that question for a while now. Obviously, in the last 6 weeks or so I have not been inspired, motivated, or even thoughtful enough to blog with regularity. During the day, when I get thoughts or ideas, I have full intentions of jotting it down, to no avail. To my loyal fan(s), uh, my bad, if this were a pay service I would gladly refund your money. I have come up with some conclusions on why this is happening.

MySpace / Time Management:

I spend way too much time on myspace and do not allocate enough time to blog. I was spending between 30-60 minutes a night on myspace where I used to spend my valuable Internet time sharing with you fine folks on blogger. My time-management opportunities reach further than just with my myspace. I have noticed a trend in my blog when I am on the Butler Auto Auction schedule, I don't blog nearly as much. I know I only spend one night a week in PA but it throws the rhythm of my life off. My laundry, cleaning, yard, all go to waste because I am away from the house. I also feel like I neglect Amanda during these times, between blogger and Amanda, she wins. (She went to bed at 9pm tonight {Sunday} and will wake up early, I will go to work at 1 {at S. Blvd.} and be home at 9:45 or later, she will be asleep and will wake the next morning before I do, and I fly out to Pittsburgh. My return flight will be back after she goes to bed so even though I am only gone one night, we will go from Sunday night to Thursday night without seeing each other {awake} now isn't that nuts). On top of that, I have Charlotte 49er's Basketball season tickets, I have DUMC softball, and I still like to pretend that I have friends. My dad asked me the other day if I missed college that much, the thing I miss most are my friends. It was nice to have a common locale, goals, focus, and center-of-life to revolve around. I live few miles from Dhara, Sara, and many others, yet see them too seldom.

Jon Management

The second is an internal issue. Even though I am loosing weight, looking better, and physically feeling better, it hasn't really equated to me feeling better about myself. I have found that Weight Watchers helps you focus on yourself a lot, we discuss how weight loss is all about us and no one else. It changes your mindset a bit and I swear I feel a bit more selfish. Not only that, I am much more introspective, critiquing not only my eating habits, but my lifestyle in general. I have felt a slight drop in self-esteem (I guess it is not correlated to self-image because I feel good about the way I look) and though I am not massively depressed or hating life, I don't even hate me, I just don't feel that I have anything to say to anyone. This is the long point I have been trying to get at" I don't feel that I have much to write that you want to read.

Some time ago I put a counter on my blog that I have since removed. I got many more hits than I would have ever expected. The reason I wrote this blog, and now this entry, is to show me that I need to keep a journal of my feelings. My friend Lisa has taught me a lesson (with her marriage) about making sure your feeling are transparent to those you love. I want this journal of my life to be accurate, for me. For a while I was concerned and I would edit based on who I thought was reading my blog. That is nuts!!! Going forward, I will try to write as though I am the only one who will ever read this blog.

Weight Watchers Update

I will most likely be trying to go to my meetings on Thursdays now because I will be in Pittsburgh for most Tuesday nights & Wednesday afternoons. It has been a hard week, I did not track anything all week. I still did good which makes me believe this WW is actually making me change my habits.

This Week : -1.8lbs
Total Lost : -21.2lbs