Michael & Liz are Bloggable

On Saturday January 16th I did something to my foot that I've never done before. I have sprained both feet many many times in the past but that Saturday, my left foot decided to not only sprain itself but also pop out of it's ankle socket.

I was standing on the stones that surround our mailbox and I stepped back into the street. I didn't anticipate just how far down the street really was and when I planted my foot with the ball of my foot down, my toes stayed still but my leg continued to move forward. I felt it twist and I fell to the ground screaming in pain(nailing my elbow pretty hard I might add). I grabbed the ankle just out of reaction to the situation and when I squeezed it, it popped back into where it should have been. I'm no ankle expert, but I didn't think ankles could "dislocate" like that. One thing is for sure, I'll never forget the feeling of holding my foot and have my bones move inside. The last time that happened was in High School when I broke both bones in my left arm and it looked like I had two elbows. If nothing else, those experiences make you feel real, like all I am is just the sum of my parts.

*SIDE NOTE* - I was hoping two things at that moment when I fell into the street (and Liz wasn't at home by the way). 1. That some neighbors heard me so I could get a little bit of help and 2. No neighbors heard me so I wouldn't have to socialize with them. I feel like such a bad person for saying that, but I'm just introverted, and that's the way I am.

Well after an all day R.I.C.E session and more rest on Sunday, it took about two days before I was walking without a limp. I tried running late last week but I couldn't take the pain of the impact. I tried again today and made it 1.7 miles before abruptly stopping. The run started out with my ankle having a general sore feeling and as I continued to run it got almost to the point of being back to normal before a sudden pain shot up my leg and I even couldn't walk. I limped over to the bike and biked 7 miles instead (no impact workout). After getting up from the biking, the pain was gone.

When I got home tonight I looked down and noticed blood built up on the bottom of my foot. I didn't notice this before, but I never really examined my foot after the incident so who knows how long it's been there. The blood build-up has happened to me in the past with some really bad sprains but it's been a while (maybe since High School actually). I guess it goes to show that I'm still not ready to run yet. I will say, the picture below DOES NOT do the blood justice, it's far more dark in person than it is in the picture. Here's a picture of my gorgeous foot:

I'm really anxious to get rid of this little bump in the road on my way to running the Country Music Half Marathon and losing the 26 pounds. The good news is, you don't need strong ankles to continue to lose weight... I'm really enjoying the biking on the machines at the gym. My weight has been hanging tough at 182 for several days now and I'm so close to the 170's I can almost taste it. Motivation++

If you don't think this is funny, you have no heart =P. I was going through my computer and cleaning out some old files and found this... it's just too hilarious not to post. I don't think I have posted it before, if I did then it's funny enough to watch twice. It's from September 2008.

This past week I read a book in 4 days. It's called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller. There are very few books on earth I am capable of reading in a mere 4 days because, I'll be honest, I'm the slowest reader on earth. It takes something special. I couldn't put this book down because I feel like it was written for me. I read it constantly yelling the words "EXACTLY!" and "HOLY CRAP!" in my head. You ever read something that relays to you exactly how you feel or want to live your life but constructed in such a way you had never even imagined before?

Not too long ago I was directed to Donald Miller's blog by my sister-in-law Hillary. Donald had made a post about how we should all look at New Year's Resolutions differently, and since I myself am obsessed with resolutions, I was intrigued by his post. I will let you read it for yourself. Here is part 2 of the post. He says we should all look at our yearly goals as a part of a story. Don't make it your goal to lose 20 pounds, but instead make it your goal to run a marathon or climb to the top of a mountain. When a goal is a goal contained within itself, with no fantastic climax like a story, you are more likely to fail.

This book dives further into the concept of considering your life as a story. Most people live very boring lives. Lives that are not story-worthy. I will happily (or unhappily, depending on how you look at it) throw myself into the "not story worthy" category. Sitting on the couch every Tuesday to watch The Biggest Loser or occasionally meandering into the garage to work on a wood project isn't exactly riveting. The point I got from Donald's book is throw caution to the wind when it comes to doing daring, challenging, or interesting things. He says "Fear is a manipulative emotion that tricks us into a boring life."

In life, I am constantly striving to do difficult things and I put way too much pressure on myself to accomplish those goals. That's why I run marathons and half-marathons. That's why I make it a goal to build something out of wood every year for the person I drew in Secret Santa. That's why the idea of competing in a full Ironman Competition is constantly on my mind and to be honest, it bothers me that I haven't tried it yet. I can actually visibly remember sitting in front of the TV as a kid, and watching those athletes bike through their 112 miles and think, someday I want to do that. I don't know why I put this unneeded pressure on myself, I kind of feel it's from a fear of being average? I feel like the average person would have trouble losing 26 pounds, so the idea of failure when I put my whole self into it, is a devastating thought (and by the way, I'm down 14 pounds, only 12 pounds to go). But I can say one thing, setting large, significant, and difficult goals is something that is not lacking in my life. I think what I am missing in order to live the way Donald Miller says is a story-worthy life, is being more unpredictable and carefree.

One memorable scene from his book and his life is the time he went to visit some of his friends at their cabin off the ocean or some lake in Oregon. He arrived in a kayak in the morning and when he started to pull away from their dock around midnight, he turned back to wave to his friends and they all ran down the dock and jumped in the water fully clothed as their way to say goodbye. This image is now burned into Donald's mind. Of course this didn't require him to be carefree or unpredictable, but it's those moments that will make the story of your life memorable. Had they waved and turned to go back in their house, he never would have included it in his book.

I don't want a year to go by where I don't at least have several of those moments. While I was reading his book, one memorable scene from Liz and my life popped out at me from this past year. Some people probably already know this, but one thing I love to do is stand or walk in the rain. There's just something about it. Well last Summer it was pouring rain and I said "let's go for a walk". So with the umbrellas staying where they were in the closet, we headed out the door with the dogs. It was the best walk we've ever had. Last year we must have walked around the block 100 times, but which one do I remember most? We both got soaked and couldn't stop laughing at Daisy & Gryffin's fear of getting hit by thick rain drops. That was one of my favorite moments from last year. It was memorable, didn't cost a dime, and would have been a good scene in the book of our life.

I can't wait to read my next Donald Miller book called Blue Like Jazz. If it's anything like the one I just read, I might be blogging about it soon.

Can you think of a memorable moment from your life last year?

The title sounds ridiculous but the concept is simple, treat yourself as if you were a machine and your health and wellness will thrive.

This year I am going to lose 26 pounds. I'm determined to do it. I want to do it but talk is cheap. I have got to put all of the effort I have into accomplishing it. I can't just wander into losing 26 pounds especially when I'm not really all that overweight. But I'm no where near where I want to be as far as running shape. This post is to show my philosophy I am taking over the next few months toward achieving that goal.

What makes a car perform well (or any machine for that matter)? It needs to be well fueled with the proper fluids put in the proper places. You can't pour diesel gas into a car that won't accept it and you can't put washer fluid into the container where anti-freeze belongs. I have gotten into such a rhythm of just eating whatever is delicious no matter how terrible it is for me. If I were to honestly ask myself every single meal "What is the best fuel available for my body?", I think I would be much more likely to make good choices. The quote of the week for Liz and me is "That's not very good fuel". I can't expect to throw down a large Spicy Chicken meal with a coke from Wendy's and then go to the gym and feel great running. I heard this concept back in 2005 when training for my first marathon, you have to look at your food as fuel. I am one of the worst violators of this concept which is why I'm blogging about it. I eat way too much and the wrong foods way too often. But the past few days that has changed, and so far I'm feeling pretty good about it. I hope to keep it up.

Another thing a machine needs is to be used often. It's the old "if you don't use it, you lose it" concept. You can't just put a car in the garage for a year and then start it up and expect it to be running well. I have done this two years in a row with the lawn mower. Every spring I want to just roll it out and start it up, but you just can't do that or you'll ruin it. Our bodies just like the lawn mower, have to be exercised and stretched all the time in order to stay in shape. In between trainings I just ruin myself by taking weeks or months off and then deteriorate the progress I made. Then when I start back up, I have to start over. I wish I could go out and run the way I used to but right now, I'm just not there. Every year near the end of the soccer season, I end up pulling a hamstring or some muscle because at the beginning of the season I'll stretch a lot and then stop caring since the season is coming to an end. I just can't do that to myself. So to aid in my weight loss, I'm going to be running, lifting, biking, doing workout videos, stretching and doing everything I can do keep myself moving every day.

There is one more concept I'm trying to keep in my mind about "becoming a machine". I am going to be running the Country Music Half-marathon at the end of April. Most machines can get going and go for a long time with the proper fuel. Running 13 miles or 26 miles is a lot like driving somewhere that's 8 hours away. Your car won't make it on one tank, but after filling up, most cars should be fine. The only reason it wouldn't is because you overheat your engine or a hose breaks or something. But well maintained cars should have no problem with an 8 hour drive. I keep thinking while running, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to keep going with water and the proper nutrients. Of course there is a limit to every body, but my goal is to stretch the limit and continue to lengthen the amount of time I can keep going. Then over time I want to increase my speed. Running is so mental and if you keep thinking to yourself that you are a machine, it's a lot of motivation to keep on going.

The only reason I'm blogging about this is to give myself motivation to follow through with what I write down. I think if we all looked at our bodies like machines, we'd all be much healthier.

So it's time to make a pledge to accomplish some New Year's Resolutions. I love doing it and if you want to know why, read the 2008 link below. I've done it every year, and in case you care to read them:

• 2009 New Year's Resolutions
• 2008 New Year's Resolutions

Well last year was probably my worst year as far as resolutions go. I only accomplished 1 out of 4 of them and that one wasn't even that great. Just a review from last year:

1. Sell something made of wood. I built some dog platforms and crosses for friends of my Mom. That's really all I sold made of wood. But to be honest, I didn't really try all that hard to sell anything. I did make 10 birdhouses in July but didn't sell any. I still have all 10 of them in the garage.
   
2. Run 1000 miles. I think I made it to about 400 miles. I guess this falls into the category of "setting your goals unrealistically high and falling a bit short is sometimes the best way to succeed."
3. Do not eat a combo meal anywhere. Check out my goals for 2010, and you'll probably be able to tell I missed this one. Big time.
   
4. No TV Mondays. I made it two Mondays with no TV. I fell short by 50 Mondays.
   

So this year, 2010 (in case you didn't know) I think I have the most realistic goals above all other years. I actually believe that I could accomplish all of them:

1. No carbonated sodas. This is a resolution Liz and I made back in 2008 and we actually went the whole year without any. It was awesome. We've decided to make it an every other year resolution. To be honest, I LOVE soda. Liz has more of a love/hate relationship with soda. She hates that she loves it. I think this resolution will be easy for about 3 months and then I'll start wanting the juice (Mountain Dew). I love Mountain Dew. I think Liz will breeze right through this one. 2008 wasn't as tough for her as it was for me.
   
2. Learn everything I possible can about staining and finishing wood. Every time I finish a wood project, I get frustrated that I have to throw some crappy polyurethane on it. I know there are other ways to seal the wood, I just don't know them. So I'm going to do my best to learn about them.
   
3. Lose 26 pounds. I know it's totally cliche to make losing weight a resolution but it's only cliche if I quit by February without anything being accomplished. About a week ago I weighed myself and was 196 pounds. Usually I've hovered around 180ish. I'm so incredibly ashamed of having gone up that much. The most I've ever weighed in my life was 199 pounds back in the Spring of 2004. I just had to put my foot down, I started running for the first time ever, and lost 30ish pounds. That was the least amount I've ever weighed since I stopped growing vertically, I got down to about 168. I can't imagine how easy running would be if I could get back to that. If Gryffin and Daisy can both lose 3 pounds in 3 months, I can certainly lose 26. Watching the "Biggest Loser" on NBC is really going to help as well. I love that show for all the motivation and inspiration it provides. I realize the contestant's situations are much more dire than mine, but motivation is motivation no matter what you're trying to accomplish. This resolution leads me to the next post I'm going to make called "Becoming A Machine".
   

I'm going 3 fo3 this year. No doubt about it.

We only got a limited number of Christmas cards this year and weren't able to send them to all the people we wanted to. So here is the picture and text we sent in our card this year. Oh and Merry Christmas:


Dear Family & Friends,

Liz and I did something this year that we haven’t done since we’ve been together. And that something is nothing. Every year in the past has been marked by graduation, moving states, marriage, new house, new car, or getting a new puppy. All of these are significant changes in lifestyle and we are happy to report that we finally had a year of enjoying things just the way they are.

That’s not to say we haven’t had a wonderful year though. Liz enjoyed another year of singing in our church’s choir and was once again a soloist in the Christmas Cantata. She also pursued a new passion of hers in photography by buying a camera and taking classes. We also ran a half marathon together in Cincinnati. I have continued to advance my woodworking skills by creating 25 pieces from things as simple as crosses all the way to a nightstand. This is a passion of mine I plan to continue to improve upon in 2010. I have also continued hosting Kidstuf in our church, which is a weekly stage production put on for the Sunday school children.

And as for our little puppies Daisy & Gryffin, it is such a blessing to have two dogs that love each other so much. They really are best friends and it is such a joy to have them run around and play as much as they do. We couldn’t imagine our lives without them.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

Michael, Liz, Daisy, & Gryffin
http://www.familyfulton.blogspot.com/

About two months ago we were at Petco and were browsing the toy section for Daisy & Gryffin. We've tried making them toys and we've tried buying them toys. No matter what we do, those toys get destroyed and inevitably get thrown away. It was an endless struggle. Until we found the item we call "Gryffin's Ball".

We bought this round rubber ball for $5 and at the time we thought "that is way too expensive for a silly little ball". It has two little holes on either side to allow for it to be squeezed easily. Ever since we got that ball, Gryffin has been attached to it and very protective of it. Turns out we would have paid $20 had we known how much he'd love it.

His favorite game is for us to throw it around the house and for him to go chase. Imagine that, a dog that likes the game of "fetch". Coincidentally, Daisy's favorite game is to attempt to bite and block Gryffin while he runs around the house. So it's a win-win. They will play this game for hours or at least as long as we aren't tired of it. We also call him a punk cuz he *REALLY* enjoys squeezing it in Daisy's face as if to entice her or to rub in the fact that he has it and she doesn't. Another nickname for him derived from "punk" is "punksopotamus". He really enjoys just sitting and squeezing it. We don't understand why. The great thing is, it hasn't shown an ounce of wear and tear and we really don't think it ever will. It's like a gobstopper... for dogs.


Since we got the ball, we loved it so much, we got a second. Turns out, one is really all we needed because they are only ever entertained by one. It's ok, this way if we somehow lose it, his happiness doesn't end. That is a picture of Gryffin waiting for his ball to be thrown. I took this with my camera phone since I was lazy and didn't want to get the real camera. I tried to take a picture of him chewing the ball, but he wouldn't stay still and again, I'm lazy.

By the way, throughout this entire post, he has not stopped chewing his ball. Victory.