After my heart attack, the premise was easy, right…stop smoking (check), exercise regularly (check)…and eat healthier – aaaand that’s what’s been missing. My appetite has always been voracious – as far back as I can remember, I’ve always liked to eat. A wise man once said that the secret to a healthy diet is to eat to live, not live to eat. That’s great advise but has always an unattainable goal for me. As my doctor and I discussed this week, my pattern is that I’ll make up my mind and do really well for a period of time but not maintain it and start to slip until I get right back where I started from. My lab results came back this week and they are pretty much near the same levels they were the last two times I was hospitalized. The battle of the bulge is something I deal with every day. It’s not just the type of food I need to avoid but the amount of the food I need to avoid that always gets me into trouble. So, I again find myself at the precipice of another medical issue…a fork in the road, as it was (sorry) – do I continue as I am and gamble with my mortality or do I finally make a change and walk my daughter down the isle? Well this week, I decided to make a change. Along with that plight, I managed to log over 18 miles of walking again this week. Ann got another relief shot in her knees and her headaches seemed to be better as the stress of the new computer system at work has finally begun to level-off. Matt stayed at school one more week as he prepped for finals next week and received online notoriety on social media as one of his witty tweets has received over 4K likes as of this writing and was featured on a couple websites, including Time magazine! Abby danced every day, had 4 performances and still managed to find time for school, work and a relationship. Luke had a pair of basketball games and asked me probably nine or ten times when Matt was coming home. Hello again and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog.
It was back to work and school on Monday. It was a beautiful day – probably our last day of warm weather until spring comes around next year. It was in the mid-sixties but breezy…and that front blew in the coldest weather of the year overnight. Luke had basketball practice after class. Abby had Pirateers practice then worked at Dixon and danced later on with Kuyhlia. Meanwhile, Ann had a doctor appointment to get her cortisone shots for her knees. He had to maneuver the needle around a little to get it just right and she was pretty sore for a couple days because of it. I walked a 5K after work. It was popcorn night as we watched Monday Night Football and got caught up on a few DVR’ed shows. I got the results from my labs…and boy were they awful. Ann & I had a good conversation that night about my dietary intake and the decisions that I have to make. I worked on a WTRE laptop that evening for Sandy. Not sure what’s going on yet, but it’s not good. That night, Ann went out with her friends for dinner and painting. She did a great job with a snowman portrait that we are proudly displaying in our living room as I type this! Here are some random pictures from our recent adventures.
Tuesday was a much cooler day with a strong, cold breeze. It made me question whether I wanted to walk with the brisk temps in the low 30s and a nasty wind chill. I managed to get a 5K in again, despite the rapid change in the weather. I don’t know how I am going to get used to this weather again. I was so cold… Abby worked at Wings & Rings after school then went to Trevin’s until late. Ann & I had long days then stayed in-town to watch Luke & the 8th grade Pirates A basketball team face Central Middle School, which is only about 7 minutes away from work. That evening, we only had six players due to an illness and a family emergency. Luke started at forward for the first time in his career as they came out with at 2-3 zone to help avoid fouls. The boys started slow but took over the game in the 2nd quarter and won big, 44-27. Luke had some early foul trouble despite the zone defense, which limited his playing time and his stats. Luke’s stats – no points on 0-3 shooting from the floor. Defensively, he had 3 rebounds, 2 tip-outs, 2 steals, 2 blocks, a forced TO and 3 fouls. I did better with my diet and made a commitment to actually work on my intake. Instead of saying that I need to eat better, I finally decided to do something about it. By the time I got home I was so hungry I could’ve eaten the steering wheel! I came home and found a few odds and ends that were healthier choices and uploaded the video to Hudl. As I worked on that, I continued looking at Gigi’s laptop from work. It’s going to take a while to get all the bad stuff off, get all the patches on and then get some protection on her. Although we had a super moon last night, the moon tonight on our drive home was amazing. I wish our cameras had been able to capture it because it was something to see…low, bright and HUGE – it was like something out of a science fiction movie.
We had a cold start in the 20’s on Wednesday morning. Abby had to go in early for Pirateers, so Ann & I took Luke to school. I walked about 3 miles after work and felt a little more acclimated to the weather as I put on a second sweatshirt and that helped quite a bit…but I still wore my shorts, dammit! Luke got hurt during basketball practice, biting a large chunk out of his tongue that bled all night. He said he’ll be wearing his mouthpiece at all practices from now on. Abby went shopping in Columbus after school with Trevin’s sister then went on to DDS for her jazz and tap classes. I continued to work on Gigi’s laptop and made some good progress. By the time I went to bed, it was good to go. I continued to eat better today and am already starting to feel a little better with the low-carb / low-fat foods in my body.
Thursday was another cold day with hard frost on the cars in the morning. It was a long day for me, as I went in early to do some month-end stuff and got to the office before sunrise. That afternoon, I walked a little over three miles in a bone-chilling breeze that bit at the tip of my nose to the point I thought I had lost part of it! I left there and travelled to Shelbyville to watch Luke & the 8A basketball team face the Bear Cubs. Ann stayed back in order to go watch Bu dance. However, we ended up playing first (we travelled with the B team for only the 2nd time this year) and I got out early. That, coupled with the JV girls game running long, was enough for me to get back in plenty of time for Abby’s performance. Luke started at forward again due to the Coach sticking with that 2-3 zone because we had two starters benched at the start for missing practice. We started strong and never looked back, winning big again 62-29. Luke played only about half the game as everyone saw a good amount of playing time due to the big lead. Luke’s stats – he was 2-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the stripe for 4 points and a turnover on offense. Defensively, he had 4 rebounds and 2 tip-outs, a steal, 3 blocks and 3 fouls. I left there and ran back to the ‘Burg to meet up with Ann at the girls’ varsity basketball game vs. South Dearborn. Abby & the Pirateers presented the colors before the game and then danced at halftime to Fly By Night, performed by the pep band. While the girls went home, I went to Walmart and spent an hour looking at labels and comparing items to find some healthier choices. I ended up coming home with some new types of foods with lower calories and low/no carb items such as canned fish and kale chips – this could get interesting.
We had another bitter cold start to the day on Friday with temps only in the teens. Abby didn’t have class that morning so she got to sleep in while I ran Luke to school. Luke had basketball practice that afternoon then came home and hung out with his neighborhood pals. I walked a mile & a half after a fast day at work then left early for a doctor appointment to discuss my terrible labs that I had drawn last week. Much like Ann & I this week, we had a frank talk about those embarrassing results. Besides those poor numbers, everything else is great so he challenged me to try a new program known as the ketogenetic diet. He says if I stick to it, that I will be 20 pounds lighter when I come to see him in three months. The more we talked, I saw how I could get used to it – once I figure out all the ins and outs. Ann has been very supportive of it as well, even volunteering to do the life style change with me. That means more to me than she will ever know. He wants me to read a book called the Keto Adaptive Diet by Maria Emmerich to understand the science of this diet. Afterward, I walked another two miles at the park on a chilly afternoon. Ann went to her annual work Christmas party while I went to Abby’s Pirateers performance at the boys’ East Central basketball game. They danced pregame for the first time and then presented the colors before the game. At halftime, they danced to Footloose and looked fabulous that night. We decided to leave at halftime and have a daddy-daughter dinner at ElRep. It was my one cheat meal this week…and to enjoy a cocktail. I’ll need to figure out which cocktails are compliant on my new diet! I’m kind of excited to try new things… We have lots of new social media pictures to share this week.
Ann & Abby were early on Saturday as they picked up Mary and went to help facilitate the SIOBGYN annual Donuts with Santa event. By all accounts, it was a success again as they had nearly 200 families come to see jolly ol’ St. Nick. We’ll have some pictures from that event next week. While the girls were in Columbus, Luke & I stayed home and watched it snow for the first time this year. The dogs loved going out and eating it. We ended up with a little under an inch…but it was really slick. Abby & Mary drove back early to go dance for the 3rd straight day. On the way, Abby slid off the road a few hundred feet from the school and nearly hit a tree and guard rail. Thankfully, they were ok and made it safety to the school with just a scare. It was a valuable lesson that you HAVE to slow down in the winter. I’m actually glad it happened as now she will likely have more respect for the road, which can bite you in the ass quickly. Ann also had an issue in her all-wheel-drive vehicle, skidding while braking and narrowly avoiding another car. Luke & I also had a little trouble finding traction, but we went about 15-20 mph the whole way to the school and were just fine. Luke sat with his buddies and Ann joined me in our usual seats to watch the girls’ varsity basketball team play Rushville. Ann’s boss was in attendance as she has a daughter that cheers for the team and she went over and visited with her. Abby and the Pirateers again presented the colors then danced to Let’s Go at halftime. We left at halftime to come back and get warm and take naps. Abby went in to work later and Luke had Drew over to spend the night. Ann ordered Papa Johns’ pizza for dinner. My new pizza is going to take some getting used to, but I think I can manage. Abs ended up at Trevin’s house after work and fell asleep over them, finally getting home at some God-forsaken hour. Meanwhile, the boys ended up rearranging the family room and were up until dawn – about 7 am – playing Xbox!
We all enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. We slowly got up and began our weekly household chores. The boys slept until about 2 in the afternoon. Abby had to go work a double and Buffalo Wings & Rings. It was another cold day, but we didn’t get any more snow. We took naps and watched football all day. The Colts game was cool as hell. They played in Buffalo where there was a blizzard! They had 6″ of snow on the field by halftime and about 9″ by the end of the game. The wind was howling and it was cold. I would’ve loved to have played on that field today! Coach let the team down today, making three key decisions that sealed their fate as they lost again. Although the Cowboys beat the Giants to stay alive, their path to the playoffs is a long one. They’re going to need some stuff to happen – besides winning-out – for them to even have a shot. There were several good games today and I really enjoyed NFL RedZone again. Even the Sunday night game went right down to the last second. Ann made a keto-style dinner that was delicious. If this is what the diet is all about, I’m going to be just fine! Doc was right, he said I can have sustained success with this style of diet. I worked on the blog all day, doing Luke’s stats, editing and uploading pictures and videos, writing my narrative and then writing out all the html code for the pictures. Normally I do a good job of keeping up with this stuff, but I spent my evenings this week working on that laptop so today was pretty busy. I’ve been having some recent issues with the website as it’s not displaying properly in the feed. The Facebook feed, in particular, keeps pulling the wrong picture and now my security software is gone and I keep getting spammed on the site. I might have to turn off comments to keep the bad guys off of it. Once dinner was over, we watched Purdue win again. After destroying Valpo earlier in the week, they blew out IUPUI tonight to go 10-2 on the year. It was a special win as not only did Tommy Luce get to play and Robbie Hummel commentated the game on TV, but Coach Painter got win #300! They play Butler next week during finals week. Afterward, we watched the mid-season finale of the Walking Dead & Talking Dead. It was a great way to wind down the week. We look forward to a little slower week next week and the return of our eldest son – should be a good one!
Next up is our Waybac section, which continues to feature our young family just after the turn of the century. We lead off this week in June 2001 to see Matt and his teammates on their last day of school, out at the park; next is Matt and Ann riding the Scrambler at the county fair in July 2001; next we head to our Ryle home for Abby’s second birthday party in September 2001; then we head out to the YMCA to see Matt with his award for MVP of the team in December 2001; then up to Lafayette for the annual Scheu family Christmas – this one was at the Parkside Deli in December 2001; next we have more pics of Matt’s sixth birthday party at the bowling alley in March 2002; then we head up to the square where the kids caught up with Memaw, Gigi and the Easter Bunny in April 2002; then up to Rossville to see Mom & Dad B at their 2nd house on the hill in April 2002; Matt playing t-ball with the Marlins in June 2002; Abby & Matt at Phyllis & Dick’s retirement party in June 2002; then we go to Washington Fields for Matt’s final game of the soccer season (and Bryan’s doppelganger), Ann and the kids out at Amy & Rob’s house and a couple shots of Matt at the Ryle home – all in October 2002.
Next up is video section which includes eight new home movies this week as well as several from around the internet.
And that does it for this week’s episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu