Just Living the Life...

I'm Back...

2009-06-05T08:25:00.001-07:00

Not a single post since December?? Ouch! I'm back though with plenty to share. We've had an exciting year (good but also tough) that I'll get up to date on.

In the meantime, our biggest news is that we are expecting another baby at the end of July! This one is a little boy and we are going to name him Austin. With the girls out of town this weekend, looks like I'm doing nursery work!

I'll be sure to post more current pics up soon. Stay in touch!

MD

All is good...

2008-12-02T17:19:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Be looking for a Halloween and Thansgiving recap this week with new pics of Riley. Until then...

Post Ike

2008-09-30T11:22:00.001-07:00

Hurricaine Ike has come and gone and things around Houston are almost back to normal. It's crazy how a storm that drives through in about 4 or 5 hours can bring the 4th largest city in the country to it's knees for a short time. September turned into a wild month to say the least.

I'll start with the most important things...Leigh, Riley, the animals, and myself were fine. We spent part of the night in our "storm room", which was our utility room. The storm room was pretty quiet, but whenever we stepped out, we were reminded how big this storm really was. It was a little scary seeing the trees behind the house bending over like rubber. Our house was definitely making noises I had never heard before. Luckily, after it all had past, the extent of our damage was a bent over fence. I'd say the majority of the damage in our neighborhood was fences down and lots and lots of trees!

Unfortunately, Leigh's office didn't fare so well. Her company's office is on the top floor of an 11 story building and the roof was severly damaged. Basically, water poured in all night leaving the entire office with standing water. All desks, computers, and everthing else you can imagine was completely ruined! The gym on the other hand came out ok. We had a couple minor leaks in the roof, but nothing major thankfully.

Of course the biggest inconvenience for the entire city was the lack of electricity. We lost power around midnight on the night of the storm...just about the time the winds were starting to pick up and the house was starting to creak. I decided to go ahead and wake Leigh up and move us all into the storm room at that time. Luckily the TV stations were being broadcasted on local radio stations, so we were able to listen to what was happening and knew when the worst was about to hit. Like I mentioned before, it was pretty impressive to hear mother nature, but I'm not sure I want to ride out a much stronger of a storm. That was a high 2/low 3 level storm...I can't even imagine what a 5 could do!

About 7:30am, my neighbor Mike and I decided to take a drive around and check out the damage. Again, it was mostly fences and trees, but you would have thought a bomb went off in some of the more wooded parts of Sienna...trees down everywhere, blocking roads and sidewalks. Luckily though, there wasn't a lot of home damage.

So without power, what do you do all day?? Pretty easy answer...if you are a kid you play ALL day, and if you are an adult you eat and drink heavily almost ALL day! I may be in the minority on this, but we actually had a really good time for the 6 days we were without power. The first couple days was like an outdoor bbq that wouldn't end with all the neighbors. Anything that was in the process of thawing got grilled and consumed. It was a lot of fun getting to know some of the neighbors better and just relaxing a little. Nobody could work so you tried not to really worry about that for a few days and not being a slave to the Tivo was very refreshing. Luckily though, what made all of this bearable was the fact that a nice cool front came through the day after the storm...which dropped the temps down below 60 at night and really dried out the humidity in the air! Without that, the nights would have been brutal, but with the windows open it was cooler than what we typically keep our AC. We even camped out in the neighbors back yard one night. It was probably a little alcohol induced and the wives loved it I'm sure, but Mike and I thought it was a great idea....which it was!! We all got a good night's sleep.

One of the worst things initially was the lack of cell phone service. We couldn't text or call out unless you stood in one little spot in the driveway and got very lucky for about a minute. However, in our neighborhood, there is an overpass that goes over the railroad tracks and it quickly got the name "cell phone hill"...and for good reason. It was the highest point in the area and you could get a signal up there. So for 24 hours a day there were cars on the hill making calls. I never experienced it, but Leigh and Adria frequented the hill.

After a couple trips into town for ice and groceries, I quickly realized that I would just rather stay in our bubble in Sienna Plantation. There was way too much chaos and panic out there...stressed me out. A few of the resteraunts opened in the first few days after the storm but they were only serving limited menus, and fast food places were only open through the drive-up. Although we never needed to refuel during that week, gas did become an issue for many and the lines at the stations were LONG! I'm glad we never sat through that.

So for about 5 days, we really did have a good time in the neighborhood. It's a little sad sometimes to think that it takes a storm like that to bring everyone out of their homes to get to know each other better. I wouldn't wish a hurricaine on anyone, but I'm happy that we were able to pull some good from a bad situation. By day 6, the lack of electricity was starting to get very old. Mike even commented as we began to grill out back that night that he thought the group was at our lowest point. Then less than an hour later, the lights came back on!!! There was cheering in the streets...literally! So what did we do to celebrate...sat outside and got through a few more bottles of wine. Who needs the indoors and electricity???

6 Week Update

2008-08-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but the gym has already been open for 6 full weeks. In a nutshell, it's been a pretty good month and a half. The more I learn from reading and talking with others in the industry, the more I understand that's it's just hard to sell a lot of health and fitness club memberships in the summer time...especially July. Familes are on vacation, parents are taking care of kids, and in most of the country the outdoor activity level of course rises in the summer. One franchisee said selling memberships in the summer is like selling ice to eskimos.

So given that, I'd still say it's been successfull to date. At a high level, the number of memberships is a little less that what I was hoping for, but revenues exceeded my early goals. So at the end of the day, business is good. I didn't have that big rush of people as soon as the doors opened or anything like that, but it's been nice and steady. I think there's only been 1 or 2 days total when we didn't sign a single person up.

Following summer, sales usually pick up in this industry beginning in September. Fall is the second busiest part of the year. Once kids are back at school, memberships typically increase quite a bit, but it's January and February when sales are the highest. So many people want to get the new year off to a good start and they set new year's resolutions.

Other than the gym, we're all good. Leigh and Riley were able to take a week trip to Colorado to visit her parents. Unfortunately, I stayed and worked the whole time. Running the business has taken a lot of my time, but it's been fun...doesn't feel so much like work. Riley is growing up so fast it seems! She'll be going to Kid's Academy a couple days a week starting soon. We hated pulling her out of daycare last summer, so we're looking forward to her being able to meet and play with more kids in the neighborhood again. I'll get some updated pics up here soon...

Until next time...

Doors Open & Another Closes

2008-07-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been an eventful few weeks to say the very least. As I posted before, the first of three fitness clubs is now open for business and that's consumed a lot of my time as of late. Thankfully, Leigh has been amazing during this time and supporting this experiment 100%. I know it's put a burden on her having to take care of Riley by herself a lot lately, but she rarely complains, and I couldn't even come close to doing this without her.

Another part of all this that has been difficult has been maintaining my consulting job. In the planning stages, I was able to do all the paperwork and communications in the evening...rarely taking me away from my day job. However, once the club opened, I felt a little overwhelmed. Luckily I had vacation scheduled for a few weeks to help get things up and running.

Unfortunatley, a couple weeks ago we got word that Capital H Group had decided to close down the Houston office. We're based out of Chicago with office is NY, LA, Boston, Millwaukee, London, and a few more across the globe. Capital H has been fortunate to have over $75 million in venture capital, but that also puts certain pressures on companies. We've grown at least 20% in each of the last few years, but the rate of growth hasn't been quite where they'd like to see it. We purchased a leadership development company out of London last year for a large sum of money which helps us from a growth perspective, but it also eats up a lot of capital. So anyway, it appears that they are trying to position the company to be sold, and to do that have trimmed up by reducing a lot of the consulting offerings we currently help clients with. In doing so, it really eliminated a lot of what we do in LA, Boston, and unfortunately Houston. So as of now, I'm not a full time employee, but I am finishing a couple things on a contract basis...which isn't a bad deal.

I really do have mixed emotions about it. On one hand, it's a good salary that was taken away, but on the other hand, it gives me an opportunity to focus on making the gym successful....which is what I want to do. The hard part is the financial aspects of it. Because I'm opening 3, I wasn't planning on taking a salary for quite a while...keeping the money in the business.

With that said, I'm in a decent spot right now. Two of my co-workers at Capital H Group already hooked up with a new company and are responsible for making a presence and building up a business in Houston. It's same type of work we do now, but with a slightly different business model creating a great opportunity to get the business going in Houston...in a hurry. While they do that, I'm going to help out on a contract basis which will allow me to continue to focus on the gym, but have some income coming in...which is fine with me because there's some good money in contract work. If they are able to get things going in Houston, there's a chance I could join them full-time if it makes sense on both sides. That would be down the road a ways so I'm not thinking too much about it right now. Either way, I feel pretty good with where I am at the moment. A little nervous for sure, but confident and excited at the same time.

It's weird how the doors in life open and close. You just have to hope the timing is right, and believe me, that's what I'm praying for right now. Thanks for all the support I've already gotten from a lot of you already!

Our New Adventure

2008-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I've intentionally held off on blogging about this, but I think it's finally time. As of last February, Leigh and I are now small business owners. We bought the franchise rights to open 3 fitness facilities in Houston area, and the gym is called Snap Fitness. As many of you know, the fitness industry has always been one of my passions. That doesn't mean I've always kept myself in the greatest shape, but I've always enjoyed working out and studying about health and nutrition.

Back in the early 90's, a new fitness center opened up in my hometown of Lufkin...it was and is still called LiveWell. Since that gym opened, I've always been intrigued by the idea of owning one myself one day. My Mom even remembers me talking about that in high school. However, until now, I had absolutely no idea how to even begin down that career path. Gyms are big, they are expensive, and typically it takes a lot of people to make decent money. Combine that with the fact that I'm moderately risk averse, it just seemed like something that sounded cool, but not very realistic. Since college, I knew that it some point I wanted to something on my own, but I wasn't exactly sure what that would be, or when I would do it. As each year went by I always decided it just wasn't the right time. It took me a while to figure out that there will never be the perfect time to take a risk and do something for myself.

So back in December, you may remember that I won a trip out to California with a supplement company I had been doing business with since their inception....Isatori is the name of the company. Leigh and I flew out to Santa Monica, CA, stayed a couple nights on the beach, , spent some time with the CEO of the company, and worked out with a very successful trainer at Gold Gym - Venice Beach (The Mecca). For whatever reason, that trip sort of lit a fire under me and got me thinking about gyms again. The holidays were shortly after that trip and I spent some time researching different gyms and types of gyms. The one that kept popping up was Snap Fitness. After a couple of months of research, talking with other franchisees, and lots of prayer, we decided to pull the trigger and take a chance.

So here we are 5 months later and gym #1 is open for business!! Snap is a little different concept than the big box gyms. The entire model is based on research regarding what it is that customers value most in a fitness club. The top 3 things are convenience, quality equipment, and a clean club. So what Snap does is try to put these smaller clubs as close and deep into neighborhoods as we can get. 90% of the members will come from within 2 miles of the club, so convenience is definitely one the biggest selling points. We stock the gyms with Cybex equipment, which is as good as you can buy in my opinion. Research also shows that more than 80% of members strictly use strength and cardio equipment...not the pool, the rock wall, etc.. So that's what we offer, phenominal strength and cardio equipment. Another differentiator is that we are open 24/7 allowing people to work out when they want. That doesn't mean there is someone working 24/7, but the club is open to the members all day and every day. We also don't lock members into contracts...pay as you go month-to-month. You have an option of pre-paying for discounted rates, but no long-term contracts.

We've been open a few days now and signed up a few members already. The grand opening isn't for another couple weeks when the mass marketing goes out, so this is a good start. Anyway, check us out at www.snapfitness.com/houstontx

Here's a few more pics...

My Civic Duty

2008-05-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well, between work and our other project (I'll explain later), it's been really busy for us lately. Hence the lack of posts on the blog. I promise we'll get back to some consistency soon. So with that said, when I got a jury summons in the mail a few weeks back, I sort of looked at it like an inconvenience with my schedule. Too much going on already, now I have to spend a few h0urs down at the Fort Bend County Courthouse (Tues 5/6). I moved some meeting schedues around for that Tuesday, but it never occurred to me that I could actually get chosen to serve on a jury. It seems like most people I know get called down and then released.

So I show up that morning to a room full of over 500 people...including former Rocket great Moses Malone. After some words from a judge and a short video, they then call about 50 people, including mysef at #13. They walk us over to the courthouse, take us into the courtroom, and prepare us for questioning from the attorneys. I had never gotten this far in the process, so it was all new to me. Basically they ask some questions, the lawyers make their "strikes" of who they do not want, then take the first 12 remaining to make up the jury for the case. As #13 in the line of 50, I realized that my chances of getting selected were pretty high....and that's exactly how it played out. The judge explains the process and a brief description of the case and tells us it will probably last 4 days!!! So their went the rest of my week.

While highly inconvenient, the case and the experience turned out to be pretty interesting. In a nutshell, the Missouri City Little League was hosting their annual fund raiser gala at the Quail Valley Country Club (very close to Sienna actually) back in May of 2003. It's an adult only event which includes dinner, drinks, silent auction, etc... In addition, they always have a theme to the party, and this year it happened to be Urban Cowboy. Of course, you can't have an Urban Cowboy theme without a mechanical bull right? So they hired Bull Power, Inc from Dallas to come down and operate a bull for the party. About 5 hours in, a man rides the bull, gets thrown off, and the bull comes down (or spun back around), and hit the guy it the head. This causes his neck to bend downward and left him paralyzed on the mat. After 4 days without much movement, he did have surgery and eventually regained movement in all parts of his body. This was a civil suit in which the man that was injured was suing the Bull Power, Inc company as well as the Quail Valley Country Club for a total of $1.7 million. The reason the club was included in the suit is because people allegedly saw the bull operator drinking beer, which was being supplied by the club.

I'll save you all the details of the testimony and drastic differences that we heard from each side throughout the 4 day trial. In the end, there just wasn't enough evidence to hold anyone accountable for what happened that night. Basically, we decided it was an unfortunate accident that occurred. Like I mentioned, it was inconvenient, but I actually enjoyed the experience and seeing the justice system in action.

Ski Trip 2008

2008-03-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

A post by Leigh: An adult only vacation - finally!! While we missed Miss Riley Paige - we were pumped to hit the slopes with our good friends & neighbors who were soon to be moving to Chicago - Brad & Dana. They flew to Denver from Dallas after they dropped the boys off with the grandparents in Dallas while Matt and I dropped Ri Ri off in Lufkin and flew out of Houston. We met in the mountains and were so excited for our vacation to start. While we were waiting for our shuttle to take us to Winter Park - Dana & I decide to go get coffee - after all, based on our calculations we had a good 25 min until the shuttle got there. We leisurely make our way over to the coffee stand - then decide to hit the ladies room - then cheer on some soldiers coming back from Iraq and all the sudden our cell phones are ringing. It's the guys "the shuttle is here - where are you?"....we were at where we thought we had left the guys...outside baggage claim looking at the street. Matt says "cross over and you should see us"....due to the fact Matt messes with me all the time I say "Matt - there is no way the shuttle is already there, we just left, we don't see you. I have crossed the street...where are you?"...so just for all of you who haven't been to the Denver airport - there are two identical sides of baggage claims and sure enough,Dana & I had managed to get to the opposite side and the shuttle driver had threatened to leave b/c we were so late. Sweating and laughing we finally race to the other side of the airport and make it to the shuttle - after which Dana & I decide we would not make a good pair on the "Amazing Race" and settle in for the 2 hour shuttle ride. After that fiasco - the rest of the vacation was cake. We had so much fun cruising the slopes. The weather could not have been better - we had beat the Spring Break crowds - just awesome all the way around! And we went tubing one night also - a bit of a shady place, "cash only", no waivers, so if we happened to crash and burn on the tube - no record of us ever being there - but it was so much fun - felt like a kid again! We also ventured into the town of Winter Park a few nights for some good eats. One night the restaurant was so crowded with a long wait - Dana and I sweet talked the waiter into serving us at the pool tables where no one else was getting served. We'd like to think it was our good looks that got us the special service - but we also slipped him some cash - so maybe it was a combination :-) All and all - a wonderful ski vacation - full of fun, good times, good food/drinks and actually some rest too - and a good parting trip with our friends.

Riley's Shrek Party

2008-03-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

So here's the first of the catch-up posts. I'll get some more up this week for sure...lots been happening as of late. On February 8th, Riley turned 2 years old, and we celebrated on the 10th with a Shrek themed birthday party! We ended up just hosting it at the house and had friends and family over for a couple hours. I have to give Leigh ALL the credit for throwing a really good party! Who knew you could get so much Shrek party stuff?? Leigh even ordered Shrek t-shirts for her and I, and an outfit for Riley that had Shrek on it. The decorations were all Shrek related and there was some green "swamp juice" for the kids refreshments. Riley was still a little more interested in playing than opening presents, but it looked like she had a really good time. It's still hard for me to believe that she is now 2 years old! Here's a few pics...

Blogger be slacking

2008-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

Not sure if anyone actually reads this blog (leave a comment if you do), but we've definitely been slacking as of late...sorry about that. We're actually going skiing in Colorado this week, and I'll be sure to add pics from the trip and from Riley's birthday party earlier this month. Until then...

Riley turns 2!!!

2008-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Seriously, time is really flying by now. I can't believe Riley turns 2 years old today. It's just doesn't seem like that long ago we were in the hospital delivering her. It truly amazes me how much a child develops in such a short time. Especially right now...it's something new every day!

We're having a Shrek birthday party tomorrow evening, so I'll be sure to post some pics afterwards. I'm not sure she understands Shrek movies, but she LOVES to watch them, and loves the characters.

Have a good weekend!

It's Been Awhile...

2008-01-27T18:58:00.001-08:00

since we've updated our blog! It's Leigh again - taking over the keyboard. While we haven't been up to much - seems like we've still been busy. A couple weekends ago we had a night on the town to celebrate Dana's birthday. 3 couples in total - us, brad/dana & adria & mike went to the hip part of our side of town - sugarland town square. We dined at an italian restaurant and went through our fair share of wine which made our story telling more animated and loud and we are definitely sure the people around us wish they sat further away. We ended the dinner with a round of shots - which I smartly didn't take mine and matt went against better judgement and took both :-). We ended the night with loud music listening to soulja boy on brad's patio - which we actually got a call from the neighbor to turn it down - I guess we are still trying to act like we are in college.

My folks came to visit last weekend and we had a great time. Riley loved seeing her Gigi and Deks and it is always entertaining to see Dad and Matt challenge each other to the wii. Mom and i lunched and shopped and just really enjoyed being together.

I am still sad I can't run the marathon - I went back to the doctor for a follow up visit and my fracture is healing - albeit i tried to run yesterday and it was a mess. I am still in pain and the dr said that the moment I feel it - i should back off as it will only make it that much longer to heal. I reckon i will be cycling away on the stationary bike for quite sometime while my leg continues to heal. We are going skiing with brad and dana at the end of February and I am hoping my leg doesn't give me trouble. But hey - if it does, dana and I can hang out at the warming hut while the guys tackel the mountain :-)

We are preparing for Riley's 2nd birthday - we can't believe our little angel is already 2!! We are planning a Shrek themed party as that seems to be Riley's favorite character. She is constantly asking "where's shrek? donkey? princess?"...let's hope i can pull it off and get all the party supplies in time!

This past weekend I was due to go to Arlington for my sister-in-law's baby shower. I was SO disappointed i couldn't go - i came down with a cold and I took riley to the dr the day before our travels and we decided it was best not to risk us all being too sick and getting my folks sick as a party favor for our visit.

Not sure of our superbowl plans but we'll be sure to update the blog after the weekend.

Leigh's Promotion

2008-01-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that last week Leigh got promoted to Director at her company, Sirius Solutions! She insists it isn't a big deal, but it is! Director is a high-level position in her firm and they have recognized all her hard work over the last few years. I'm extremely proud of her! In addition to Leigh, her good friend and co-worker, Ashley, got promoted to Director as well!!

Christmas '07

2008-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Another holiday season came and then flew by yet again! For whatever reason, this year more than ever seemed really fast...does this mean I'm getting old?? Regardless, it was a great time. We spent the holidays up in Arlington with Leigh's parents. On the way up, we went right through the cold front pushing south, and it ended up a 35 degree difference from when we left Houston..and 0f course I was wearing flip flops and shorts. It ended up being perfect cold weather for the season and made it feel like Christmas! I did some traditional Christmas Eve shopping and then we shared the day with Leigh's parents, Rob (Leigh's brother), Erin (Rob's wife), Hanah (Rob and Erin's daughter), and Leigh's Uncle Traci. We fried a couple turkeys, ate a wonderful meal, and ended opening presents later that evening. Riley seemed to understand Christmas a little more this year, but watching Shrek and Barney was still more exciting that opening presents :-) Here's the pics from the holiday:

Daddy reading The Night Before Christmas

Stealing Santa's cookies!

Baby Shrek

Mommy and Riley

Bubbles, bubbles, and then more bubbles!!!

Riley and Gigi

Preparing the bird!

Leigh and Ri-ri

Rob and Erin

Deks and Gigi

Hanah and Riley...dancing machines!

Shirts?? Who needs shirts??

"Check out my new skirt"

The Chefs!

Injury Update

2007-12-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

Leigh decided to get a second opinion on her leg injury by an orthopedic doctor last Friday. As I suspected early on, she does in fact have a small stress fracture. Unfortunately, she won't be able to run the Marathon in February. She's suppose to avoid running for at least six weeks and then see how it feels. She's pretty bummed out about it, but she'll keep supporting Dana and Adria throughout their training.

Leigh had done a great job in her training up to the point she got injured, and I think she learned a lot of lessons about taking her of her body both pre and post-training. I suspect she'll give it another go soon.

Trip to LA!

2007-12-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, I made it back from California, and wanted to share the details with you guys. First off, I'd like to just say it was an awesome trip, and we had a fantastic time! My wife and I weren't exactly sure what to expect, but it definitely exceeded our expectations! In my opinion, these are the type of things that separate Isatori from other companies...and not just supplement companies. Customer appreciation and the personal outreach are things they don't HAVE to do, but they choose to because they want to....and it means a lot to me and to a lot of you I assume.

So Leigh and I drove over to the airport last Thursday for our 5:50pm flight to LAX, and as soon as we walked in, our flight was delayed until 8:45pm...hate that. All the weather in the northeast had all of the flight crew schedules messed up, so that caused the delay. Shortly after that, they delayed until 9:30pm!! It's not even 5pm yet, so we have a 4+ hour delay...not fun! Leigh and I both used to travel extensively for work, so we knew there was only one thing to do...hand over a little extra $$ and go wait out the delay in Continental's President's Club. While I would have still rather been on a plane heading to LA, at least we had a "comfortable" delay. Unfortunately, we didn't get in until almost midnight and missed dinner that night with Stephen and Mike. The hotel we stayed at is in Santa Monica and it was great...right on the beach!!

Alarm went off pretty early, but I met Stephen down in the lobby of the hotel about 7am. The hotel actually has a really nice fitness center, so did some cardio on the bikes for about 45 minutes. It's funny because I had never met Stephen before, but I've been using his products, reading his magazines, and participating on the board for so many years, that I felt like I already knew him in a way. We ended up talking the entire time about the company, the business, the industry, and a host of other things. I really enjoyed learning some of the history behind the company and the products. I even got the skinny on Eat Smart, and he let me try a new supplement they are about to roll out. I won't say anything until they do, but the new supplement isn't even for adults...it's for kids, and it's cool!!!

Later that morning, Leigh and I met Stephen and Sean (head of Operations at Isatori) for some breakfast. While we waited for them in the lobby, I see the coach of the San Antonio Spurs walk by...which was cool for me because I'm a huge basketball fan. After him, we see each player come down one at a time to check out of the hotel...Tim Duncan, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, etc... Of course my wife was hoping to see Tony Parker and Eva Longoria, but they must have stayed elsewhere. Anyway, breakfast was good and we headed out to the beach to walk down Santa Monica/Venice Beach. The weather out there was so nice...clear and 60s. We walked all the way down to the Venice Boardwalk which is a big tourist attraction in and of itself...real ecclectic stuff for sale, and some very interesting people to say the least. Along that way is the Venice Muscle Beach, an outdoor gym...which Stephen says is pretty popular during the summer time and weekends. So we decide to head back up to the street and take a cab back, and as we're walking down a residential alley, we here someone yell "hey"! We look over and it's Mike Ryan sitting in his house. Pure chance that we walked down his street and he saw us walking by. So we hung out there for a bit before he had to leave for a training session. We grabbed some smoothies and got ready for my workout with Mike at 1pm.

We head over to the Mecca, Gold's Gym Venice at 1pm to train with Mike, and do the photoshoot. First of all, Gold's is MASSIVE! It has equipment everywhere!! Nothing too fancy, just weights and machines filling up every space...true body building going on there! We saw some pro body builders, a few minor celebrities, and just a lot of others working out. Mike, Stephen, and I trained for about an hour or so, and they snapped photos throughout. It was a great learning experience training with those guys! What I liked about Mike is, he's keeps it to the basics....but trains extremely hard. He pushed me for sure! We did this one exercise, that I'll just call the "death rope". You sit down on a seat and just reach up for this rope, hand over hand, pulling down as hard as you can. You set the rope to a certain resistance, then do it for a minute...the longest minute in the gym for sure!! I'm telling you, it will work every part of your arm, your back, and will test your cardio/muscular endurance. We each did 2 sets of 1 minute. When you get done, it shows how high you climbed, and I have to brag, I clipped Stephen by a few feet!!! After that, we did some curls, pull-ups, shoulder presses, tricep-pull downs, hanging eb exercise, and a couple more. Leigh even got in on the action and got some sets of abs in...and got photographed! All in all, great workout, I had a blast! I'd love to be able to train with Mike for a few months and see what I could do. Turns out the photoshoot will be in 2 magazine, Real Solutions and Planet Muscle!

After Gold's, Stephen, Sean, Leigh and I did some shopping on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade...which is a very nice outdoor mall. There's a lot of street acts and musicians performing up and down the street, so it's a cool atmosphere. About 8pm we met up with Mike again, and his buddy Chris...hometown friend who is a sportscaster back in Boston. We went to eat at The Ivy in Santa Monica. As soon as we walk in, the first person I see right in front of me is Bill Murray. He makes me laugh just looking at him! Caddyshack is still one my favorite movies of all-time, which we all know he is classic in! He's talking with someone that acts on ER...a red-head guy, not sure his name though. Anyway, we have a fantastic meal and had some hilarious conversation...most of which can't be repeated :-) It was honestly like hanging out with a bunch of buddies on a Friday...really laid back and easy guys to get along with. After dinner, Mike took us over to an outdoor bar called Hidden, where we all had some drinks and hung out until about 1:00am. Very cool bar, good atmosphere. Only celeb there was a guy from CSI Miami...I think his character name on the show is Eric.

We got up the next morning and rode to the airport with Stephen and Sean, and flew home. All in all, it was a great trip! I thouroughly enjoyed myself and learned a lot from Stephen and Mike! I'm lucky to have won the trip and tried to take full advantage of it!

-MD

Benched - temporarily

2007-12-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's me again - taking over the keyboard from Matt. Turns out maybe I wasn't meant to be a marathoner afterall - perhaps shopping is truly the only sport I am cut out for :-). After my long run a couple of weeks ago, I started having some sharps pains in my left leg and right ankle. I tried a few more days of running only to make things worse. I could hardly walk and had to resort to wearing flip flops to work as my 3 inch heels just weren't very comfortable! My friend Jill referred me to a chiropractor that she went to while training for a marathon and I had my first visit this Monday. Turns out I have sprained my left fibula and have torn some ligaments in my right ankle - nice. He still thinks I can run the marathon -so I have taken this week off of running with hopes to resume on Monday. Let's hope I can keep up with Dana and Adria and I don't drag anyone down!

Matt and I leave for LA on Thursday - and we both just have no clue what to expect on this big adventure! Matt did get an itinerary and he has his "photoshoot" on Friday afternoon along with his workout. Of course, we all know my major concern is what do I need to bring to wear for this little journey! I will definitely be sure to document everything and share with everyone.

Until next time....

What an Opportunity!

2007-12-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

Like I've mentioned before, if you know me at all, you know I've always been interested in fitness in nutrition. Whether playing sports, completing body-for-life, or other types of programs, I've always enjoyed the challenges of pushing myself and seeing the results I can achieve. For me, it's all about living and feeling better.

As part of my health and nutrition, I really believe in supplementation. It's extremely difficult to get everything you need in just your whole foods each day. So supplementing with various things can help get the levels I need. One of the supplement companies I've been with for about 5 years now is called Isatori. Not only do they make great products, but they run a great organization. They have always been upfront and honest about the products they manufacture and provide plenty of education behind them. In a booming and somewhat unregulated industry, Isatori is one of the few companies I've felt comfortable dealing with over the years.

With that said, Isatori recently released a new product to the market called Morph. It's a very scientific and revolutionary type of product that I was definitely intrigued with. So I bought a bottle of it, and in doing so, entered myself into a contest (unknowingly). Well, the week of Thanksgiving, I recieved a call from one of the guys at Isatori, and he informed that I had actually been chosen as the winner of the contest! I was shocked obviously, and initially, I couldn't really remember what the winner recieved. Well, the prize is a paid for 2-night trip (12/13-12/15) out to LA, where Leigh and I will stay at a nice resort on the beach in Santa Monica. On Friday, I get the opportunity to head over to the Gold's Gym on Venice Beach...probably the most famous gym in the world. That's where the true body builders work out....guys like the Governator! While I'm there, I get to workout with the CEO of Isatori Steven Adele, and a guy named Mike Ryan, a professional trainer who has worked with a lot of pro athletes and celebrities...guys like The Rock and Terrel Davis. I think they are suppose to take some pics of the workout and might ask me a few questions, which will be published in Real Solutions magazine. After that, Leigh I will go to dinner with those guys.

Needless to say, I'm pretty nervous about working out with those guys...they're huge and ripped! Beyond the training, I'm looking forward to talking with them about business and the industry in general. I'm really excited about this opportunity to meet and train with such successful leaders of the industry, and Leigh and I will be able to enjoy a quick trip out to California. Afterwards, I'll post some pics of the festivities...hopefully I don't embarass myself!

Thanksgiving!

2007-12-03T07:39:00.001-08:00

This post is a little late, but oh well. Thanksgiving was great! We spent the holiday up in Lufkin with my family this year. We drove up on Wednesday and Dad and I were able to play 18 holes before the cold got there. Golf was pretty good...we both played pretty well on the back 9 and had a good time hanging out. The cold front did blow through later that night, so we woke up to a chilly Thanksgiving morning, but it was a clear day thankfully. In my opinion, from Thanksgiving to New Years, it should be cold outside...so I actually enjoyed the weather! It was perfect for frying a turkey while drinking some cold beer outside. My Uncle and his wife drove up from Beaumont and my cousin flew in from Illinois with her 3 month old baby girl. We haven't seen them in quite a while, so it was fun to catch up with them and enjoy Thanksgiving together. My sister, Lindsey, ended up driving over later that afternoon, and my grandmother Mimi lives in Lufkin, too, so she came over as well. Everybody brought over some great food and Dad and I fried a our best turkey yet. In keeping tradition, Thanksgiving evening included drinks and game night...lots of fun!! Dad and I played some more golf Friday, which may not have been our best decision...it was really cold that morning! Saturday was more of the same but with more rain. Unfortunately, Leigh had to do a 10 mile run for her marathon training in that weather. I wasn't sure she would actually go through with it, but she did awesome and completed all 10 miles...very impressive!! We headed back Saturday afternoon and got the house ready for Christmas. All in all, it was another great Thanksgiving...always is! Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Weekend in the big "A"

2007-11-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

Since Matt's done all of the blogging up to this point, I thought I'd take over the keyboard for this one. Since I hadn't seen my parents since September due to them cruising the Greek Isles and vacationing across Europe in October, I thought I'd take a few days off of work for a visit in Arlington with Matt and Lexi to join us on Friday. Riley and I flew up on Wednesday and enjoyed some time with Gigi and Deks. Mom and I attempted to do some old school (aka pre-baby days) leisurely shopping at North Park with Riley - but my sweet angel decided to join the terrible 2's a few months early and wanted nothing to do with strolling around the mall for a few hours while mommy shopped. She was only happy when we occasionally let her out of the stroller to run around. Note to self - I guess all my Christmas shopping will be done online this year! But all in all Riley enjoyed her visit and loved to explore Gigi's house and play. We had the whole family over Saturday night for an early birthday celebration and Riley and Hannah were thick as thieves and had a great time chasing each other and sitting next to each other reading and eating cake. And we also got great news that Rob and Erin are for sure having a boy (the last ultrasound wasn't conclusive) and we are excited about having another nephew in the mix!

I still managed to keep up with my marathon training despite being solo. I typically train with my two friends who live across the street and really needed them on the long run on Saturday. Somehow I managed with the help of my hip hop tunes on the nano. I did take a stroll down memory lane and ran up to my old elementary school, Pope. While I remember my school being a long ways away from the house and just knew it was atleast five miles - sadly it was only 2 short ones. My elementary school clan and I are still a tight group of sisters and it is fun to remember all the good times. It was funny to see the playground and all of the upgraded, safer equipment - not the tin slide that could give you a 3rd degree burn on a hot Texas day - or the monkey bars - we all remember what happened to Jason Cunningham :-). Then Meredith, I ran by your mom's house and just knew if I knocked on the door the smell of hot breakfast would greet me! And as it has been on the last couple of my long runs, Matt and Riley were there waiting to cheer me on at the end. Riley in her cute footy PJ's squealing "mommy!" with a big grin on her face running towards me - kind of like a Chariots of Fire moment :-) Just the motivation I needed to keep putting one tired foot in front of the other!
Matt told me not to ramble - and it looks like I'm headed in that direction - so I guess I will sign off until the next time I take over the keyboard! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Point Guard anyone??

2007-11-14T21:56:00.001-08:00

You know, over the last couple seasons, I've defended Rafer Alston as the Rocket's point guard. I've always thought with T-Mac and Yao, we didn't need the rest of the team to be great shooters...just decent shooters. And I feel like Rafer has given us that. He's not going to score a lot, but he can give you some assists and maybe 2 or 3 from behind the arc. However, after watching him last night against Memphis, then tonight against LA, I don't know what to think anymore. I mean, his shots don't really seem to be even close right now...and it's painful to watch. With the new offense, it seems like he's getting more looks, but he is struggling terribly right now. Mike James has been streaky at best, and Stevie has yet to get off the bench. It's going to be trouble if these guys don't start knocking them down. Aaron Brooks may get a chance sooner than expected.

The other bad part about tonight's 3-point loss to LA, was T-Mac hurting his elbow. He left the game, then left for the hospital! I guess we'll hear how bad the damage is in the morning...

Dancing Machine

2007-11-13T16:24:00.001-08:00

One thing about Riley, she loves to dance. Here's a couple samples...

Good Times

2007-11-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

Considering I've been out of town the last few weekends and we have the holidays coming up, I was really looking forward to hanging out at home this weekend. It's funny how the older I get, the more I enjoy the lazy weekend around the house.

So on Friday, I was able to cut out of work early and get a round of golf in with Brad and Zack. I don't think it was our best round by any means, but the beer was cold and it was absolutely perfect golf weather. For whatever reason, I couldn't get off the tee box all day...really felt uncomfortable with the driver. Luckily my irons and short game were good enough to salvage a 40-46. We met the wives and kids at the grill afterwards for dinner & drinks.

On Saturday, we went over to the soccer fields and caught Blake's last game of the season. He was once again a man among boys and the Green Machine rolled to another victory. Later that night, Leigh and I went out with Brad and Dana and grabbed some sushi...excellent sushi. Afterwards, we walked over to wine bar and had a few glasses of vino. Despite Brad and I's best efforts, "Fun Sponge I and II" joined the party around 10pm claiming it was getting late. What is the deal with that??? Regardless, it was good night for sure!

Sunday was pretty lazy...church, lunch, and a little football of course. I have a pretty busy week ahead but planning to take off Thanksgiving week...so I'm looking forward to that. Until later....

Change Happens

2007-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately for us, our neighbors of the last few years and very close friends, the Zettlers (Brad, Dana, Blake, & Brayden), found out that they will be relocating to Chicago soon. Brad works for a pharmaceutical company based out of Chicago, and to continue progression in the company, he has to take a 2 yr assignment from the home office. While we are very happy for Brad and the opportunity he has, it's a pretty bitter sweet time for us. We've known they would be making this move at some point, but I don't think it makes it any easier now that it's actually happening. Leigh and I were commenting how lucky we have felt to have friends like them AND to have them as our neighbors. We think the world of them and even asked that they be Riley's Godparents. They will be missed in a big way. It's too bad when really good things come to an end.

Halloween Recap

2007-11-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Halloween '07 was another success. Riley was a year older and I think Leigh had more fun this year dressing her up. A lot of the neighbor's boys were going in Star Wars costumes, so we thought about making Riley Princess Leia, but couldn't get the costume delivered in time. Instead, we went with a cat costume...one of her favorite animals. I don't think Riley could have cared less, but you gotta do it, right? Instead of handing out candy from each of our houses, all the neighbors met out in one driveway and hung out for a few hours, handed out candy, and had some drinks. Seemed like a good time enjoyed by all!

Time to Blog

2007-11-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems like blogs are the new big thing on the web these days. I've seen personal blogs, professional blogs, and even blogs for fantasy football. I'm still curious where the word "blog" came from, but whatever. Leigh was interested in starting a blog for her marathon training with Dana and Adria, so I was doing a little research for her...we'll see if they actually get one up :-) I was suprised how easy it was to start a blog, so I decided what the hell, I'll give it a try.

I'm pretty sure my blog will be pretty random, but my intent is to use it as a way for our family and friends to keep up with what's going on with the Dunn's on a regular basis. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pics of Riley up here...that's what our family is most interested in anyway...right?? Luckily Leigh does a good job with the camera...around 1300 pics during Riley's first year!!!

If you know me, you know I love my sports teams, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of takes on what's happening in the sports world. Another passion of mine is exercise and nutrition, so I'll be posting on those topics occasionally as well. I'm also hoping Leigh will spread some of her wise knowledge on this blog as well. Anyway, more to come soon, including some pics....