Grandgirls spent the night Friday, so I’m doing my admin duties on Saturday. FYI.

Brain Training!

Resting heart rate and O2 sats.

Powerful thunderstorms rolled through our area Thursday evening, giving us almost 4″ of rain. Whoa.

Español!

Recorded “Penultimate Goal” at Evergreen Lake. It was full!

Saw this car in the parking lot when I went for lunch.

And this on the side of a van. Isn’t that like step #1?

Went to Lowe’s to pick up some paving stones to keep Jesse from tromping in the mud when he parks his car.

I’m sending an email to our supporters (over 900) every week. Two weeks I have our newsletter (one with mine, the other with Ashley) the other two weeks I’m sending a link to one of my podcasts and the other a chapter from Story Tim. They also have an opportunity to donate to our ministry. Please!

Mailchimp is a new program to learn for me. There are always pieces that you have to figure out. I’m getting better every week.

One of my new disciplines is to keep a dream journal. I bought a small digital recorder so I can record what happened, rather than try and write them down. That was waking me up too much. The next day, I listen to the entries and title each dream so I can remember what it was about.

Cleaned my fish tank. Harder than normal, because the light got messed up and I had to unplug and get needle nose pliers after it. All working now!

The grand girls came over around 5:30 pm. I took them to Goodwill and the Dollar Tree. Highly recommend both locations to grandparents!

Penelope said she was putting the cones out “for safety.”


She cracks me up the things she says. This morning, I asked if she wanted milk in her cup. She said, “water.” I asked, “why?” She said, “Because it’s better to hydrate.” What?!

Friday, April 20th

I ran Sleep Cycle last night when the girls had the sleep over. Said I got a 51% sleep quality. I think that was optimistic. It’s just part of the gig! Still a blessing!

The next morning we did cereal.

Penelope had a really big supper. Wan’t very hungry this morning.

After Ashley, picked them up, I started on my normal disciplines.

Listened to Spanish radio.

Roads are still too wet to ride. I’m really careful about that since my last near fatal crash.

Admin duties.

Sleep!

Brain Training.

Español.

Recorded “OUTrest.” Talked with my buddy Anthony in the UK.

Memorizing verses 10/11.

My new favorite place to eat out is Moes for their salad. I tell them what to put on it. Excellent. I got a kick out of this license plate while I was there.

I’m also memorizing these short verses by a Christian named Angelus Silesius.


Wonder how they got so famous?

Helped Kathy get some keys made. It was way more hassle than I thought it’d be.

Got groceries.

Ashley is making a presentation to some possible donors for her horse therapy ministry. Went by the church to get the projector and to the Buford Highway Farmers Market to pick up some treats.

Helped the kids at the mission. Not much homework since they are having the Milestone test this week and next week.

We had another of our mission kids get the “Tiger of the Month” award today!

Listened to Spanish radio on the way home.

I keep trying to make body measurements. Still not sure how accurate they are.

Went for a 10.40 mile bike ride.

Transported squirrel #52 this evening.

Beautiful evening.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -654- “Raise Praise!”

How you talk to yourself and others makes a HUGE difference! Click on the title and GROOVE!

Uploaded to server

Link on Facebook.

Admin duties now.

Good night’s sleep.

Brain Training!

Español! Continued progress!

Had a fun chat with my friend Anthony today. His wife is on a horse riding trip, so he had a little extra time.

I put Ashley’s vacuum cleaner back together after I’d cleaned all the parts.

New Bible memory verse I’m working on.

Went for a 11.82 mile bike ride.

Glorious weather. I’m still not convinced this pulse oximeter is working very well. Though this seemed pretty accurate.

Incredible flowers.


And trees!

Enjoyed my buddy Anthony Jacquin’s webinar today. Fun! The Zoom app seems to do a really good job.

Went to see Shazam this evening. I really enjoyed it.

Admin duties now.

My face feels slightly sunburned after my ride today.

I got a great night’s sleep. Wrote down five separate dreams. That’s a lot for me.

Early morning to be wide awake for me. But always delightful when it involves the grandgirls!

Gassed up my car on the way to McDonalds for breakfast.

Then went to the “Doggie Park” near our house. We are so lucky to have such a variety of parks in our area within just a few miles.

After the park for a couple of hours, we went to another favorite: Dollar Tree!

I put Everly to sleep and Penelope and I had a good talk while we watched Super Why.

Ashley has been cleaning people’s houses. I’ve very proud of her for having the hustle and initiative to do what it takes. I help with watching the girls, so it’s a team effort. I have the fun part!

I also go into “Dad Mode” and try to keep the vacuum cleaner she’s using running properly. There are a lot of pieces that need to be taken out and cleaned regularly, or the machine just really doesn’t do the job. Obviously, you can’t wet down the machine part, but the blower works great.

All the filtration stuff has to be completely cleaned. It’s SO much easier to do it at my house because I have all the hoses and equipment to do it thoroughly and quickly. They don’t have garden hoses with spray attachments at Ashley’s house.

Having all the stuff air and sun dried also keeps it from smelling bad.

I brought two of my four baby banana plants out to the front to get sun. The last banana plant I had outside, the stupid squirrels ate. There are a LOT less of them in my yard and area now. Although it’s a constant battle to keep the population down.

The other two I’ll keep inside under lights. At least for now.

The Wisteria project was a failure as far as the cuttings go. However, the plants that I got that had some roots on them seem to be doing well.

I also brought out the Fasciata bromeliads out front along with the plastic flowers.

Worked on Duolingo this afternoon after the girls had left.

I did one session with the Muse. I’ll do more after I finish my admin duties this evening.

I’m still learning how to use this pulse oximeter. Sometimes it works great, other times not so much.

I am giving up on the fitness tracker I bought. Just hasn’t been working correctly. The last time I worked out it had my heart rate at about 65! There’s no way my heart rate was that low when I was pumping that bike up my hills! Today, I biked 21.31 miles. The tracker said I only went about 1.6 miles. What?! So I’m giving up on it. For $30 what did I expect? There weren’t even any reviews! So talk about a shot in the dark. I really do a lot of research on these devices but didn’t want to spend $150 on one! Especially when even the really good ones have a significant number of bad reviews!

I hadn’t eaten hardly anything today. To ride that far without enough nutrition and hydration beforehand is a bad plan. After my ride, I didn’t feel too bueno.

It was a beautiful day! I just wanted to keep on going!

Full Sun Moon! My Indian name.

Admin duties now.

I’ll probably try to go to sleep early. I’m pretty tired.

100% sleep quality. That sounds great! I also find it interesting how long I snore.

Today, I reached the longest streak I had previously had with Brain Training using the Muse. 28 days. Glad to see a consistency of effort. That’s where the long term progress comes. Best ever result. It’s funny how I see everything as a type of video game. “High Score!”

Studied HORSE Spanish today. I sent Ashley a few of these.

Enjoyed having the grandgirls with me today!

We played with Playdoh at home after hanging out at Chic-Fil-A.

I put Everly to bed but Penelope preferred to watch Super Why and draw with a marker. This is a hotdog in a bun.

But you knew that!
Went for a 12.07 mile bike ride.

I did wear my fitness device, but it wasn’t working properly. It gave me super low numbers. No way I had a resting heart rate with as hard as I was going! Normally, I try to push myself hard enough that I can’t really talk that well between breaths. I quote scripture and poetry for over an hour now. Out loud mostly.
I have a calendar now with a set of email release dates. Today, I sent an email blast to the nearly 700 youth directors who have yet to work with us. About 170 plus open the email.


I have nearly 900 on that list. 680 have subscribed to continue to see things. I think that is great seeing that it was a completely cold call generated list from their web sites.

I’m getting WAY more adept at using the Mailchimp platform. It takes some getting used to!

Admin duties now.

I have an edition of Verbal Surgery that I recorded that I need to put on my computer. I’ll probably release and edition of VS this evening, since the grandgirls are coming over early tomorrow.

I also will add a few more dreams that I had early this morning to my dream journal. That’s been a fun addition to my day. I record the dreams with a small recorder after they happen. Then go back to sleep. I average about three different dreams every night. Usually in the early morning when the REM states are longer.

For the last three days I’ve had what the Brits would call, “ditchy tummy.” Feels burning and nauseous. Especially when I wake up.

I still try to accomplish my tasks, but wasn’t up to going to church.

I slept pretty well.

Brain Training

Español.

Had a fun chat with my buddy Anthony.

We haven’t talked in a while. He invited me to the conference that he and his Dad are doing in Toronto. Since I couldn’t do the Burning Man trip, this was a nice substitute and WAY cheaper. I thought $335 to Toronto was pretty cheap.

And I got an Air BNB for $35/night! Yeah, baby!

I’ve really been enjoying these! WAY better than a t-shirt over my head.

After talking to Anthony, I recorded a new podcast. That always makes me feel better!

Then got groceries.

Got home and worked on booking flight and housing.

Got about 1.25″ of rain.

The Wisteria that I planted that were more mature and had some roots are doing well. The other little plants I was trying to root, not so much.

I saw a male and a female hummingbird this afternoon. I cleaned and refilled my feeders to make them happy.

I remember years ago I had as many as 14 at one time. Now I’m lucky to see a couple. Sad face. But I’m glad at least a couple are back!
Watered my indoor garden.

I’ll be working on a project for Kathy soon.

Admin duties now.

I caught up on Duolingo last night. Did more this morning.

Released Verbal Surgery -652- “Fine Denial” late last night. Learn how to deny the wrong things and feel good, NOW! Just click on the title and GROOVE!

Brain Training this morning.

Español.

Sent a new email to our supporters! Ashley’s part of the newsletter!

I like the sound of both of these.

While I was at the park, I saw these water/pollen trails. Beauty is all around us!

Kathy and I took the girls to Chic-fil-a. We saw Tommy and Katie and their kids there! I think that makes them Penelope’s and Everly’s cousins.

Neither of the girls are feeling too great. Right before Ash and Miles came over to pick them up, Everly threw up all over us. So sad. Ashley said she’s feeling better now.

I trapped and released squirrel #51 today.

Went for a 13.87 mile bike ride.

I’m mostly in the fat burn speed. Perfect really. While staying above 110 BPM.

Kathy scraped the side of Jesse’s car when she was pulling out. Worked on repairing as best I can the side mirror she clobbered and buffing out the slight scrapes on the side. I’ll be able to see it better in the stronger daylight.

Admin duties now. I hope to go to sleep early today since I only got about 5.5 hours last night. Worth it!

Friday was another super fun day!

Slept ok. I always feel great, even when my sleep isn’t terrific.

I still find the science of tracking it interesting.

Continue to practice Brain Training.

Went to the mission to watch the grand girls!

Everly still wasn’t feeling well. Teething is a bitch. But she wasn’t!

I took them to the park near their house. The swing made E feel better.

After an hour or so, I took them home, gave them baths and put Everly to bed.

Ashley came home after working out and I took a nap with Everly. That helped!

Went to the church to check on mail.

Watered my ficus tree. She really took a hit with that cold snap that one night, but she’s ok! One side took the brunt of the cold it seemed. I’m hoping that the leaves will come back on that part.

Went to see Bad Suns Friday night. Todd Rundgren is 72. Most of the people at that concert were my age or older. Could not have been more different with the Bad Sun crowd. I’d say there were ten women to every dude and age was around mid 20s! After getting in this huge line and seeing all these youngsters, I felt pretty out of place. For a moment I actually thought, “Maybe I’ll blow this off.” Then I came to my senses and said, “I can out rock all these kids.” Which turned out to pretty much be true!

I have to say that it was one of the BEST concerts I’ve ever been to.


Incredible energy. And like me, the crowd knew pretty much all the words. Light show was phenomenal.

Here’s what they sang. Their new album Mystic Sun is also super good.

This was the analysis of my work out at the concert!

I waited for about two hours after the show and got to meet Christo Bowden who is the lead singer. He was a super nice guy and a real talent.

I got him to sign my shirt.

Wow! What an amazing three days this has been. Especially since I haven’t been to a show in nearly a year. Awesome.

Still catching up on admin duties. Nearly finished. My discipline is almost an obsession. In fact, I actually broke my Duolingo streak because I got home after 1AM! But Duolingo cut me some slack. As well they should, since it was still the same day to me! LOL.

This has been a whirlwind of musical activity! Thursday night I stayed up late and the same with Friday! So I’m catching up on admin duties now!

Slept ok.

Brain Training

After practicing the Wim Hof method of breathing plus the brain training.

Studied. You guessed it!

Went to the Todd Rundgren book signing for his new book The Individualist. I really liked it. While I was waiting in line I met Alan Meero who is a famous botanist. Of course, you know my love for flowers!

This one is named after him!

Todd and I had a fun conversation.

There was a long line of folks. I went to eat and came back and finished my conversation with him. I ate here. The FIRST Moes! I thought that was cool! Delicious salad.

After the book signing, I went by the church to pick up mail.

Went to the mission to help with homework, but the girls weren’t feeling well. Penelope had a stomach ache and Everly was teething. She still flashed me a smile for the picture!

Went by the bank to deposit checks. Amen!

I liked this sticker. I do.

Enjoyed night #2 of Todd’s show “The Individualist!” He was great!

His wife, Michelle, invited me to a get together after the show. I had another fun talk with Todd. He’s a cool guy who likes many of the same things I do, in particular foreign cultures.

Another late night! But one of the best!

Had a late night on Wednesday watching Todd Rundgren! Catching up on admin duties Thursday morning!

Brain Training to start off my morning.

Then Español!

Sent out a mass email to the Youth Directors who worked with us.

Went to record, but instead spent time coming up with new titles for podcasts! Part of the work!

Then deposited checks.

They trimmed branches in my yard. It’s to keep branches from bringing down power lines during ice storms. Which we didn’t have any of last winter. AMEN!

Glad they didn’t hurt any of my plants!

Went for a 13.81 mile bike ride. Glorious outside!

While riding, I practice my scripture and poetry. I now have over a hour of material completely memorized. That seems like a lot. And it also seems to be getting easier to commit things to memory. Just learned a big chunk from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Listened to Spanish radio on the ride into Chamblee.

Tried to call my Mom. Keep missing her. Bahd luck.

Helped the kids at the mission. And always enjoy the Grandgirls! What a blast of oxytocin they are!

One of the kids at the mission brought ice cream treats.

Always fun with the kids!

After the mission, got some huevos rancheros at Taco Veloz then went into Buckhead to see Todd Rundgren. I’d say he’s my favorite artist of all time.

Interesting reflections on the mirror buildings in Buckhead. I always wonder which one Elton John lives in

I’ve really been looking forward to this. In a moment, I’ll be going to see him at a book signing near Perimeter Mall.

I sat right behind Michelle Rundgren, Todd’s wife. We had a fun conversation. The lady on the right is Candy, she and her husband sat next to me. She was nearly as enthusiastic at the show as I was. And that’s saying something.

He was super good.

I got home around 11:30pm.

It’s funny how almost everyone in the audience was my age or older. Friday, I’ll be going back to Buckhead Theatre to see Bad Suns, another of my favorite bands. I listen to their stuff while I’m biking all the time. I’m sure I’ll be the oldest one there by far that night!

And probably rocking the hardest.

Welcome to me, baby!

I look forward to concert #2 with Todd this evening!