A Man Among Mommies

My Little Vampire

2013-02-06T23:53:00.001-06:00

Well the little one is all about classic monsters. We have a vampire costume so tonight he wanted to wear it.

More Stuff... Less Time... LOL

2013-02-06T11:13:00.001-06:00

It seems as if the more I get done the more I have to try to do. Of course school is taking its toll on my time and that makes things complicated. Then drop in typical routine stuff and it makes for some interesting planning, which I do poorly.

Weight Loss and Work Outs...

Well I am going to start to pay more attention to blogging about my struggles and successes in the weight loss arena.

Currently down still a little over 20 pounds. I am actually seeing more and more of the effects on my face and the extremities. Diet was the big key for the first month of this year and this past Monday I began adding a exercise regiment. Since I dropped 20 I went back and am now working on P90x and am on day 3. My arms are sore, but it has been good. Adding the exercise to the diet should yeild some good results. By the time I get comfortable with that routine I can add my Trike to the mix and hopefully by the end of summer I will be down to a really manageable weight. After that I can focus on really sculpting those troubled areas.

Flatbread Pizza

Here is a low CARB pizza I made that really hit the spot. I have since found a few great crust alternatives and hope to work with those more. That is one vice down, just wish I could find a Coca-Cola alternative that was no calorie and no artificial sweetener. Currently carbonated water is the option.

"Take it One Day At A Time"

When a day is not enough.

2013-01-31T15:24:00.001-06:00

As always trying to balance school, work, the kids and my desire to get healthy it seems each day is shorter and shorter. Throw in the better half on a business trip and you have the makings for a major chemical reaction.

School.

Second week of first semester comes to an end tonight. It has taken a little to readjust but I will hopefully be back in a groove soon.

Hamster Wheel

Dropped in a movie and hit the treadmill for 60 minutes. Felt good to be moving. Can't wait for slightly better weather so I can ride my trike!!!!

"Take it one day at a time"

Goofy Boy at Five Year Checkup

2013-01-22T22:08:00.001-06:00

The little guy is becoming such a ham. He had a great checkup and was awesome at the visit. Wish his brothers were as patient at the Dr.

Happy Birthday to my Littlest Guy!

2013-01-21T23:24:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Little Man!

5 Years ago today our 3rd boy was born. I can not believe that he is 5 already. I guess time flies! Today he had his little cake with just the family and this weekend he gets the big friend party and even more cake. More Legos were the order of the day and he was so excited to get more of his favorite "Monster Fighters"

"Take It One Day At A Time!"

Playing with the look of the Blog

2013-01-17T19:27:00.000-06:00

Look of the Blog

Well I have decided to look into changing the look of my blog. I am not sure how much I like the "Dynamic Views" but at least they are interesting. Not sure if I like how it looks going mobile. We shall see. Will probably spend some time blogging from my iPhone.

The Dog and the Duck.

Gandalf and his new Duck.

Gandalf our crazy Border Collie loves toy ducks. So for Christmas he got a couple ducks and had a blast chewing them to pieces.

Work Out Week.

This week I picked up the workouts a bit and I am feeling pretty good overall. Working out or walking in the morning and walking in the evening. Need to keep focus and get in shape other than ROUND!

5yo Hijacking my iPhone.

My little guy has had a blast playing a lego mini game on my iPhone. He plays to the point where my battery runs out. LOL Today I made him sit with it while it was plugged in so as not to wear out the battery too much. He loves the iPhone.

"Take It One Day At a Time"

A New Year and a New Me

2013-01-16T09:47:00.000-06:00

The Road To A New Me!

On November 1st 2012 I began the long road to make changes in my life to improve my health. I had ballooned up to an astounding 289 pounds on my little over 6'2" frame. My ideal weight for my size and frame is about 215-220 pounds and that was the goal I decided on. Slowly but surely I have improved the way I eat and am now at a point where I am eating healthy 99% of the time and no longer require the garbage I used to eat. Last week I was really sick so my weight dropped a little extra, but after all is said and done I am currently down over 20 pounds! None of my cloths fit and I feel much better. With school starting next week I really need to get healthy to help get me through the semester.

At Home Dad to RN

The 3rd semester of 4 starts on Tuesday and I am at the halfway point of getting my RN. Another semester of stress and no time is leading me one step closer to my final goal. This semester is Peds, OB and Mental Health. Hopefully it will be a little less stressful. Last semester we lost 4 people in our night group which is rather sad. Each semester we get closer to each other and closer to our goal. Hopefully we call all make it through this semester.

Lego Christmas

Lego Christmas.

The boys received more than 4000 Lego bricks for Christmas. Monster Fighters and Ninjago were the two big hits. Soon to be 5 year old loves the Monsters and 8 year old is all about Ninjago.

A New Beginning

With my weight loss I plan on blogging about my progress alone with what I am doing to assist in my weight loss. It has been a long time since I did this regularly, but it is about time I get back at it.

"Take It One Day At a Time!"

A Blog Out Of Time

2012-12-19T09:00:00.001-06:00

It has been way to long since I posted anything. Sometimes life can get a little too busy an some things have to go.

I just finished my second semester of Nursing and am half way to the end. The semester was frustrating, difficult and a total time suck. Worked way to hard to just get by so to speak. We lost about 20% of our class this semester.

Hopefully I can find the time to start blogging again and it should be a release. However due to the sensitive nature of Nursing school those posts my be infrequent.

"Take it one day at a time"

Lakemoor Parade

2012-07-04T10:38:00.001-05:00

My oldest and I rode in the local 4th of July parade. Was nearly 100 at 9:00 in the morning. We had a good time riding the route. We even got a picture of the two little guys waving at us!

New barrel adjustments on my trike

2012-06-21T15:58:00.001-05:00

Local shop put some minor work into my trike. Best thing adding a second barrel adjustment to the shifting cable.

Creating a Light Bar for my Terra Trike Rambler

2012-06-12T15:16:00.001-05:00

I tend to ride a whole lot at dusk and after dark due to my schedule and the kids schedules. After the wife and I get the younger two settled for the night I then take off on my Trike for some much needed exercise and alone time. I have a Headlight, Flag Pole with lights and two red rear flashing lights, but I still find people do not pay attention to me riding along at night. The big danger zone is passing driveways and people backing out without looking. I could get some heavy duty super bright super expensive light, but it would still be 18 inches off the ground. So I decided it was a good idea to make light bar similar to what you see on Jeeps and big Pickup trucks.

The Challenge:

Make it CHEAP
Make it look NICE
Have enough light at a good height.
Make it REMOVABLE!

Trike without Light Bar

The List

10' x 3/4" PVC Pipe
2 x 3/4" PVC Elbow Joints
2 x 3/4" PVC "T" Sections (bought 4 just in case)
2 x 3/4" PVC End Caps
2 x 3/4" PVC Extender adaptors
2 x 4' Fiberglass Reflective Driveway Markers (Come in Orange, Yellow and White)
1 Can of Primer/Spray Paint for Plastics (Matte Black)
2 Metal Hose Clamps (Left over from old pool pump)

The PVC Parts)

First I created the top part of the light bar which would consist of the 2 Elbow Joints and the PVC pipe cut into three pieces and the two "T" sections. Along with two sections of PVC pipe cut to the height for me sitting. The top bar is about 15 inches across and each support pole is about 20 inches long.

Top Bar

I sanded the ends and then put all the pieces together using a rubber mallet to make sure the pieces were secure. I did not use and cement or glues since I do not need it waterproof.

The completed top bar

I drilled holes in the center of the end caps to allow the reflective driveway pole to slid through. I made matching drill holes at the top or f the light bar in the elbow joints. This would allow the poles to slide through the top of the bar through the tubes and out the bottom. The reflective poles fit into the top of the seat mounts where the flags can be put in.

End Caps

Top View of end cap

Reflective pole

I then added two 30" pieces of pipe to the bottoms of the "T" section giving a nice angled support system. Since I did not use cement or glue I was able to move the pieces (with effort) to the angle I needed.

Completed Bar with holes drilled in the elbows

The Final Mock Up before Paint. Note the two Orange Reflective poles.

Final Before Paint

The Mounts on the Trek Rack. I used the hose clamps to secure the PVC Extenders to the Trek Rack. I then put a screw through the hose clamp into the PVC securing it even more. I sanded the ends really well so I can pull the pipes out of the extenders.

The Matte Black Paint Job

The Final Mounting

After adding the two Bell Lights.

With the Trunk Rack

Lights Out!

The Final Look

In the end I am extremely happy with the look and how functional it is. If I decided to upgrade the lights I have the perfect removable mounting system. The whole thing comes off in just a few seconds yet is secure. The big test will be some really riding to see how the lights work and if the system will not shake apart. I had been toying with the idea of cutting the reflective poles to length, but I think the additional length with the reflective surface will just make me that much more visible.

Total Cost Less than $33.00

Time a few hours.

Rack: $15.00 (With paint and PVC tubing to spare!)

Lights $18.00

NOTES

I had thought about making another cross bar so I purchased a couple extra "T" sections. The additional cross bar at this point does not seem to be needed. Something I could change later.
Going to add a red flasher to the light bar as well. Not sure how I want to mount it yet.
Purchased an additional 3/4" x 10 foot PVC pipe just in case.
Time will tell if the Paint will stay. If not I have plenty for touch ups.
The reflective poles are fantastic. Couple bucks at any Home Improvement store. They come in 4' and 6' lengths and a few colors.
Might add some reflective tape in a design on the backside of the pole. Maybe some reflective stickers.

New Scooter and the Honey Do list.

2012-06-01T08:09:00.002-05:00

New Scooter In action!

My middle guy really likes the push scooters and he has gotten pretty good at it. He has been using the one scooter we have which was actually given to his brother. So for his upcoming birthday his Grandpa "Jim" bought him the Razor Cruiser Scooter early so he would have it for the summer. Bigger deck and much bigger wheels makes for a great ride. It came yesterday and of course it was raining all day so I let him ride it inside before he took outside. Once outside he can't ride in the house. The wheels were perfect and he was beaming! Now he has an awesome scooter and he can let his brother ride his own.

"Honey Do List"

With school being done for the semester now I have been able to get a whole lot of work around the house done. the is the first summer in a few years I have not had class or worked overnight. Having a whole lot more time to focus on the things I need to catch up on around the house. Paint touch ups, yard work, organization and of course clearing out some unwanted clutter. Yesterday I redid the kitchen cabinets while cleaning them well. Took a bunch of stuff out and made more room for the things I use daily! On Wednesday it was paint touch ups in the finished basement.

Ceiling Fans

How is it ceiling fans collect so much dust when their many function is to SPIN! Cleaned two of them yesterday and was surprised at the amount of dust up there.

Trike Light!

My new light for my Trike came the other day. I got a great deal from Amazon Prime. I created a custom mount that is adjustable from a few other mounting brackets. Now I have a very bright headlight when I ride at dusk and after dark. I find that after we get the kids to bed it is easy to leave the wife behind with the boys as I literally ride off into the sunset...For about an hour...

Take it One Day At A Time!

The Trike in all its Glory

2012-05-24T13:33:00.003-05:00

Well I have my trike set up for the most part the way I want. Going to add a headlight tomorrow. I rode just over 20 miles yesterday and it was a blast. Nothing like burning off a days worth of calories in one ride. LOL!

Bike in the Sun

Hydration Pack and Magnetic mount.

Hydration Pack, Rack and Trunk

iPhone Mount and Bottle cage

Morning ride while little guy at Preschool... Part II

2012-05-17T12:46:00.001-05:00

Well this morning I took a nice long ride on the local trail system. I rode 16.10 miles which timed out at 1:34:59! According to my little computer that translates to 1370 Calories (give or take) Nothing like starting the day with a nice ride. 16.10 is my longest ride to date on the trike. Slowly working my way up to a Century! Honestly I think I could do one on the trike much easier than on my Trek.

On the down side the trail is across a whole lot of open fields and I did not put sunscreen on my legs. I have sunburn on the tops of my legs. (LOL)

Great Ride!

2012-05-16T21:49:00.002-05:00

Went out and rode with a friend with another Trike. We had a blast riding through a local trail in a Savannah. More than an hour of riding and chatting!!! What a good time and burned 1000 calories to boot. (you can see the actual map in my twitter feed above.!)

The 5

Recumbent Trike - Why oh why would you want to ride a diamond frame bike.
Surveys and Such - Signed up for some surveys and reviews. Looking forward to getting some of those done.
Summer Schedule - Kids are almost done with school so a summer schedule is coming. Going to be really interesting since this is my first relatively free summer in a couple years.
XBOX Live - I have to say one of the best ways to keep in touch with friends and have a good time playing games of all kinds.
Sleep - Still looking and getting better sleep. Probably will never happen. LOL

The PERFECT after ride meal. 6oz grilled chicken and a whole bunch of veggies cooked in a spicy sauce.

"Take it One Day At A Time"

Trike N Trail this Morning.

2012-05-15T17:03:00.002-05:00

This morning while my little guy was at Preschool I went for a ride on the local trail system. What a great way to start the day, spend an hour riding my trike in the sun and wonderful weather. The wind was a bit strong, but still an enjoyable Trike Ride!

Terra Trike Rambling!

2012-05-14T19:00:00.003-05:00

Today is my first week off for the summer!

Meijer Pilgrimage

Was a typical Monday with my youngest and I making our pilgrimage to the local Meijer. Mondays are shopping days. Was awesome since I had a 20% off coupon for all my food purchases (Meijer Perk) and I had a bunch of coupons. I wish I could get the insane amount of coupons the Extreme Coupon'rs get.

Terra Trike Rambling!

Took my Trike out twice today! According to Cyclemeter I did a 6.98 miles and 6.25 miles both times pulling my 4yo in the trailer! Time were 40:54 and 37:34 through my neighborhood! I plan on riding EVERY day there is no rain. I wont ride in the rain...

Travelling... I am tempted to take my Trike with me tomorrow when I drop my 4yo off at preschool and go to a trail for a couple hours. I think this is a PLAN!!

The Unsolvable Problem.

I have an unsolvable problem I wish I could take care of. There is actually a couple of solutions, but those solutions are not options so this mysterious problem will not have a solution anytime soon!

Product Reviews.

Looking to do some product reviews and have signed up in a few places. Anyone have suggestions let me know.

Book Review

I am doing a book review as soon as I get the PDF. Should be interesting. I have done one for this company before so we shall see.

Today, Especially!

"Take it one day at a TIME!"

Every step you take.

2012-05-12T13:43:00.001-05:00

Well another day at the hospital and what better thing to do while on break than to blog.

Stair master.

"I'll find those stairs. I'll whip their butt, too. Those stairs won't know which way they're going... take drastic steps, kick it to the curb. Don't mess wit' me. I'm the Stair Master. I've mastered the stairs. I wish I had a step right here, right now, I'd step all over it..." - Donkey

At work I now take the stairs rather than the elevator. Every step you take!

Adding every little in the end should help.

Blogger for iPhone

2012-05-11T08:15:00.001-05:00

I have been asked what I app I am using for my iphone to blog. I use BLOGGER so I downloaded the BLOGGER free app.

iPhone blogging tonight.

2012-05-10T23:23:00.001-05:00

Well I am trying this and seeing if this will work ok using the tiny keyboard of the iPhone.

Some new blogging sections I plan to add.
•The Adventures of Trikeman. Logging and talking about all things Trike. Pictures, Trips and of course exercise benefits.
• More Lego pictures. This of course with the help of the boys.
• Nursing school weekly roundup
• Video Game chat. With input from the kids.

"Take it one day at a time"

Hagrid Lego

2012-05-09T09:17:00.001-05:00

Playing with my iPhone camera and of course Lego minis.

The Nursing Final

2012-05-09T08:49:00.002-05:00

My Oldest with his new braces.

Well today marks the FINAL day of my first semester or Nursing school. It has been an interesting time and I am looking forward to my first summer off in a few years. The last couple years I had school 4 nights a week and also worked overnights at the hospital so I was not much of a person those long months. I now only work weekend days and I have no summer school!

The LIST

This summer I will be focusing on "The List" of things I want to get done. Everything from yard work to working out. I have already tackled a few of the items on the list so I already feel accomplished. The number 1 item on the list is my blog! With my new iPhone I plan on doing some mobile blogging as well as adding a ton more pictures. My middle guy even wants to help me do more lego pictures. One other thing I want to do for the blog is add a little $$ making. Not much, just enough to pay for the domain. :-)

Now more than ever I need to "Take It One Day At A Time!"

My Three Monkeys

2012-05-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

With my wonderful iPhone I have been able to do some amazing things quickly with photos. All the free apps make it such a great tool for the fun time photographer. I have no desire to be a photographer and these simple apps make taking pictures and posting them online so simple.

The Return of A Man Among Mommies.

2012-05-08T10:18:00.000-05:00

It has been way too long since I have been able to spend time on my blog. With NURSING school in full swing I was rather overwhelmed with stuff to do. Class, Clinicals and Lab all made my schedule a bit crazy. Throw in working from 7:00am-7:30pm at the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays and life seemed to move by way too fast. I have found however that I have really missed blogging and need to get it back up and going. I did make some changes to the format and I plan on utilizing some more technology to make things go smoother. My iphone 4s is a true part of me now and I plan to use it a whole lot for blogging.

Some plans starting now.

Find some advertising options to help pay for the cost of the domain and maybe eventually upgrade my technology.

Work with a few other bloggers to stretch out our reach and have some fun.

Create some valuable articles about what I have found being a parent.

Revisit some old posts and update the results.

So I guess I need to welcome myself back to the world of AMAM!

Truly

Todd

The New Ride

2012-03-14T18:46:00.000-05:00


Whats in the box???

The Trike... Terra Trike Rambler. (Custom)


Well Hung Trike


Trike and Trailer