Rome...

Well, today was a BIG day in the life of Jeff Day. I have always had a fascination with Roman history and have wanted to go to Rome for a long time. One day is definitely NOT enough. We just brushed the surface and we were going for 10 hours SOLID! We went by the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum ruins, the Roman Colusseum, St. Peter's Square, the Vatican, St. Peter's Bascilica.....oh it was INCREDIBLE.

We are dead dog tired and still need to get ready for bed, but I will leave you with some more pictures.

Tired....and OUT!

Jeff

Nice, Monacco and a Tour of the French Riviera

Well, today was an AWESOME day. I got up @ 3:30 am to check on the Tech/Texas game and again @ 5:00am to find out WE WON!!! WOW! I guess I need to leave more often when we have a big game.

After sleeping LATE, we got on a tender (a boat that takes you from ship to shore) and went to the dock. From there we walked around the town a bit going into an OLD church and seeing some incredibly beautiful paintings and statues.

Once it was time to board the bus for the scenic tour we got on only to sit down in a seat that was wet....or at least I did. Thank goodness it was only water.....

We toured in the bus only getting out a couple of times, but saw some really cool stuff like the palace in Monacco and an old French town way up on the mountain. Nice was really nice as well. We wish we would have had more time to spend there.

Attached are a few pictures of our travels today.

See you guys tomorrow!

Jeff

First Stop

Well, we finally arrived in Barcelona yesterday after being in airports or on a plane for 15 or so hours.....ugh. Once we arrived at Barcelona, we took a bus tour to some very interesting places. we went by the 1992 Olympic Stadium and saw all of the associated structures there.

From there we got onto the boat and crashed for a little while and then went to supper.....we were BEAT!

We got up early and went on our first excursion this morning in Marrseilles, France. We basically went to some little quaint French towns with a couple of castles...but mostly just to see the "quaintness" of the structures and history of the region. Above are a few pics of our travels today. I will post some more as we get into some more interesting scenery.

Tomorrow we are going to Nice, France and are going on a scenic tour of the "scenic" French Riviera, so the pics should be good...

Out.

Jeff

Test blog using video

This is a test to make sure the video works.

Vacation Time Is @ Hand

As Cristi and I get prepared to leave on Thursday, I am anticipating posting regularly while we are gone if everything works out. I borrowed my mom's flip video camera and will be posting video as well as pics in abundance (if the internet connection on the ship is worth anything).

I am hopefull that more than one person will read and view the pics/video, but even if just one person sees it, it will be a success in that I will have posted it at all.

This flip video camera is really cool. It allows you to take video from a camera the size of our digital camera and IMMEDIATELY post it online or to your computer without any conversion or editing process. Check it out at www.theflip.com.

Anyway, I guess we will check in later this week as we travel to Barcelona, then on to 3 stops in France, 3 in Italy, Malta and Tunisia. It will be AWESOME!!! See ya soon!

Out.

Jeff

Review Time

It's this time of year that makes me the most stressed. I have my yearly review on Monday morning. I know in the back of my mind that I will do well (we have had a reasonably good year) I am still nervous. It is probably some kind of insecurity thing working in the back of my mind.

Anyway, if the 1 or 2 of you that read this thing could be in prayer, I would appreciate it. I will post the results Monday evening. I hope to get a little bit of bonus to help pay the enormous college bill I owe for my kids this year.

Yes, I have TWO in college now. I am so proud of both of them. The are each different and amazing in their own unique way. Cristi and I are so blessed to have children that have exceeded our wildest expectations and prayers. But it is expensive........and the best investment a father could make.

Out!

Jeff

in the mountains...

Just to wrap up the cleanse thing, i made it 5 days...which disappointed me a bit. Traveling and doing the cleanse DO NOT mix. It is too hard...and since I travel alot, well let's just say I need to do it when i am in one place.

Speaking of, I am 4 days into the cleanse AGAIN...and it is going pretty well. I am at camp with our youth group in Pine Springs, NM. Camp food is ok, but it makes the cleanse go well when that is all you miss...lol. I go home tomorrow and I am going to try and keep it together until at least through Sunday. I leave to go to a sales meeting in DFW on Sunday, so keeping it together through Monday might be a little difficult. However, if I can make it the 9 days, I am sure I can hold out for a 10th.

Being up here in the mountains with little distraction really makes me realize how much I miss being involved with God in various activities. I used to help organize many things at our church including men's retreats, trips to PK conferences, help with the youth group etc. But, after a tremendous hurt we experienced while being involved with our youth, I have really pulled back from being involved in anything church-related.

I think after this time in the mountains, I may seek to ask God to change that. Not that I want to take anything more time-consuming into my life with my travel sched and all, but maybe HE can move things around a bit to allow me to do more and renew connections with people that I miss working with in "church stuff". We will see how it goes.

The weather has been AWESOME. Normally this time of year I am praying for 100 degree temps to break air conditioners so business will go well...and I guess that is fine for where I live. But, being up here with cool nights (55-56) and moderate days (75 or so) has been incredibly relaxing. There is not much to do other than spend time with the kids and rest. AWESOME INDEED!

out!

Jeff

Day 3

This is the 3rd entry in the "Master Cleanse" series...hope it hasn't been too overbearing in that department, but probably no one reads this anyway so who cares!

Day 3 has been OK so far. I still want to actually eat food for the taste of it, but I don't feel overwhelmed with hunger like I thought I would. That may change later on, but for now that part of this whole thing is manageable.

Weight loss has not been significant yet, although I expect that to change over the course of the 10 days. I am scheduled to be off of this thing by next Sunday at noon. That will be a fitting time! I can't wait for that meal!

Anyway, not too much more to report at this point. It is much easier than I thought so far, but we will see as we get into the week and combining all of this with a work week and travel. That will be the ultimate test.......TRAVEL. I have to be on the road 3 nights this week. It will be interesting to see how the stress of that and this Cleanse thing get along.

Out!

Jeff

Mastering Day 2 of the Master Cleanse

Well, I had a few small carrots and pistachios to get me through the night last night, but that with the pickle is all I had to eat yesterday. Everything went pretty well all things considered.

Today I have not eaten a thing so far and it is about 1:30pm. I anticipate that I might have something very small tonight with the intentions of going totally food free tomorrow which is Sunday and will be day 3. Once you get through day three the hard part is over as far as hunger pains (or so the manual says). We shall see.

I am taking some of the wheat grass juice (powdered) and the psyllium powder (a fiber filler basically) and mixing it into the "drink". This helps with extra fiber intake and some additional cleansing (the wheat grass juice). Both are recommended on the plan.

So far I am not feeling bad particularly. I am feeling a little hungry, but not so bad. I don't really feel weak or have any headaches currently. All in all things are going pretty well.

I will update later tonight or tomorrow.

Out.

Jeff

To Master Cleanse or NOT to Master Cleanse....

Well, as I have told many of you, I have started my 10 Day "Master Cleanse" today. It has been almost 24 hours since I have eaten anything (except for one rather large pickle) and I don't feel that badly....yet.

The reason I wanted to do this is 2 fold: I wanted to actually detoxify my body and kind of do a "reset" on things. Being on the road does not lend itself to eating very well and I definitely am no exception to that rule. So, with this reset of sorts, I am hopeful that I will be better once this is over at making my food choices and not settling for the McDonald's on the way to the hotel because it is convenient.

Anyway, I am going to try and update once per day or so as I go through this process. By the way, I am not supposed to eat ANYTHING for 10 days! The other part is drinking 6-10 servings of the following:

10 oz. water
2 Tbl Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tbl Grade B Maple Syrup (not pancake syrup)
1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

Doesn't that sound GREAT??

Also, I can drink all the water I want, and probably will. It will be an adventure to say the least. Wish me luck!

Out!

Jeff

I've got to get with this blogging thing

Being new to the "blogosphere" means that sometimes I forget to actually enter something. It has been a while since I posted, but here are a few things on my mind right now.

Running on a regular schedule has been a problem lately with my hectic work situation. Heck, I haven't even been able to see my family that much. I really feel guilty when I am not able to get out and enjoy a good run. I love it so much, but finding the time and energy is a problem sometimes. I am going to post a schedule and hopefully the one or two of you that may read this will ask me about it and that will keep me more on track.

Also, I am looking for a good book to read that is Christian based, but not your "normal" Christian reading. I have heard quite a few good things about "Velvet Elvis" and "Blue Like Jazz". Does anyone have any other suggestions? If so, please comment those here for me.

Other than that, the only thing on my mind right now is stressful expenses. We have had some unusual expenses this summer and with 2 in college this fall, it is really a burden. Don't get me wrong, investment in my children's future is the best money I could spend, but MAN is it expensive.

I guess in 5-10 years it won't matter...but right now it can consume me if I let it.

That is all for now.

OUT!

Scattershooting...

Well, as I write this for a SECOND time after losing it the first time, here goes.

I have 2 main things on my mind:

1) I sent my only son to Kansas City to be an intern this weekend. He said he wanted to go there all on his own and not have us "follow" him up there. I was proud of that decision, but in the back of my mind, I worried about all that could happen without us there.

Well, something did happen on his way to Dallas for a wedding the day before. He had a single car accident on 820 and spun across more than one lane of traffic at 4:00pm traffic.....amazingly, he did not hit another car and only did minor damage to the truck.

I think, even though we were distraught in the beginning, this is a lesson for both us and Jeffrey. God will take care of us when we don't have anyone right there to rely on. Cristi's brother lives in Arlington, and he was able to make it over to help Jeffrey out. Jeffrey was able to stay with Lloyd and Lloyd helped him out removing the bumper so that he could go on to Kansas City today (Sunday).

2) I am FAT, not blubbery fat, but 20-30 lbs overweight, and at my age, I cannot continue to live this way. I eat WAY to much, and I just feel bloated all the time. I have resolved, for my general health, to lose about 20-25 lbs this summer. I am not going on a diet per se, I am just going to watch what and HOW MUCH I weat, and get on a more regimented excercsie schedule.

So, that's it.

Out.

Jeff

Life Changes

Well, as I sit here doing this new blog thing (I don't think anyone actually reads it, it is just good therapy), I just sent one kid off to SoCal this morning and have another graduating. As of this Fall, we will have no more kids at home!! Wooohoo!.....well not so fast.

Yes, it will be nice to have the house a little quieter, but I will miss my kids. I don't admit that to other folks alot, but they have been awesome kids...with a few little hitches of course. A quiet house will be fun for awhile, but I am sure will grow to be boring.

It will be a change that will be hard for both Cristi and I, but at some point in time I am sure we will grow used to it. Our pace of life will slow a bit, but with Cristi getting a job @ LCU, we will still maintain contact with the kids.

At some point we knew this would come, it is just hard to believe that our kids are grown. It seems like just yesterday....no, not gonna go there. This is just a part of life. Life is endings and beginnings and this is one of those times. We will miss having the kids at home, but I am hopeful that our relationships will grow and good times that we have had will get even better.

Out.

Jeff

Electronic Connectivity and Social Networking

As I get further and further into my "geek hobby" of the internet, I feel the need to be more connected to people that I know. Unfortunately, there are SO MANY programs out there that you can use to be "connected".

Of course there is the old standard: My Space, Facebook, and now Orkut from Google. But there are many other tools that are blog related or "micro" blog related as well. One thing I have started to use a little bit is twitter www.twitter.com.

The concept is for you to post your status on a regular basis to your "followers" and they get a text as to what you are doing. You can also use twitter to post informational "tweets" for your followers that will give them interesting articles to read on a blog or website or a picture or video to view. You actually post the link in the tweet.

There are also some sites like friendfeed that aggregate the things you are doing on various websites like ilike, filckr, picasa, and 30some odd other sites and post all of that activity on one site. Facebook and Myspace do this to some degree now.

I am not sure how all of this will play out, but some kind of social networking is definitely the future of the internet and how we communicate.

Well, that is it for now.

out.

Jeff

Ninja Cinema Trailer

This is a fantastic video by some friends of mine. IT has some elements of the old "Kung Fu" movies that are absolutely hilarious.

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