Best thing

Now that I am back from vacation, and brimming with energy, I have made a few changes in my time management that are really paying off.  One of these is that I have decided that I will not open my google reader during the day.  This has really cut down on the time suck that thing has become.  I've been doing this for about a week, and it has really helped to make my downtime more effective and keep me productive during the day.  Hooray for getting more time back in the day!

No drinking problems

Just to clarify, 'oddly large' in the previous post is comparative, not absolute.  I have 1-2 protein shakes a day.  I am not on a liquid diet by any means.

Odd

Having recent done some sleep sitting for my friend's 4 month old, I am reminded that an oddly large percentage of my diet consists of warm drinks made from various powders.

At least I get chocolate flavor =)

Pacing

I did a 250ish meter open-ocean (sea) swim this week (it is hard to judge distance in open water (I rely on wikimapia's measurement tool)).  This gave me a happiness boost because I am getting my pacing, form and breathing rhythm better balanced.  Plus, the visibility was great so I had entertaining fish to look at.

In other news, here is the legally-required comment on family life:

Summer Media Buy

Given the horrible taxes here, we generally make a major purchase of DVDs, books, etc. in the summer.  This also helps with making the long drives easier on the kids.  So far, I've spent less than last year, which I consider a good thing.  Of course, the relaunch of the DC universe and Daughter #1's affinity for comic books makes this a difficult goal.

Schizo updates

Again, another mashedup post, rattled off days after the events.  You're welcome.

First, as it required, the incredibly trite stuff:  My new fitness routine has been producing decent results.  I've lost middle fat, while retaining my previous strength levels, so hooray.  My approach consists of alternating days of weights and interval training, with practice sessions for my micro-triathlon thrown in.  I need to learn to pace myself on the swim.

Second,  I had episode one of 'the talk' with the girls.  Supplemented by the very helpful book It's Amazing.  Thanks to the activity box precedent, this was extreemly easy to pull off.  The kiddos were used to the idea of hanging out with Dad to learn cool new stuff, so it wasn't much of a stretch.  There was none of the stereotypical freaked-outishness that tradition calls for.  I believe it was a success.  As as side point, I find the book to be a little text heavy for the age, but still give it 5 stars.

Third, we had to cancel our weekend excursion plans because of recent events, which was simultaneously very natural and super weird.  The dialog went something like this:

Me:  Sorry kids, we can't go to Tyre because there was a bomb in Sidon so we have to stay home.

#1:  Well, why is that a problem, can't we just go around?

Me:  Not really, we would have to go through Sidon to get to Tyre.  We can still do fun things though, like go to the beach.

#2:  Did someone drop the bomb out of a plane?

Me:  No, they built it on the ground and then blew it up there.

#2:  Oh, that's interesting.

On the one hand, this is waaaay easier to deal with than the bombs of 2005 or the war of 2006 (which #1 does not really remember being close to).  Still, I half of me finds it totally normal to be changing my weekend plans because of bombs, and part of me still finds that very foreign.

In the end, we compromised by going to a beach that was half-way to Sidon and had a wonderful time.

Healthy

Today, I introduced my oldest daughter to strawberry custard pies from McDonalds.  It was well received.