NaperVic

The shopping for the new clothes was the bonus of losing weight and getting fit. If you do go shopping, you may want to buy snug fitting clothes as you may lose some more weight. By the time you hit your eventual goal, they'll be well fitting.

The image that I get is of his new biceps & forearms from the wood chopping fineeeeee... I'm happy that Dom seems content too

Congratulations!!!

I think I counted 7 remotes on your desk .

Everyone has to start somewhere . I'd encourage anyone who's interested to just run what you can. Most of the runners I've met are very encouraging and we don't expect newbies to keep up with us. When I first started running earlier this year, I remember running for like 1/10 of a mile before I had to clutch my midsection, breathing too heavily. Over time, I kept increasing my distance..then I increased my speed. Now running 6 miles at an 8min/mile pace is a light run. So strap on your MP3 player of choice, do a few stretches, and get out there!

If the frustration is too much to bear, you could do what some do and only read completed stories. Many of the aspiring authors on GA have finished series.

Unless you're filling out a survey or something, there's no need to define yourself. Just be happy in who you are

Ohhh, sounds like a good thread we can work on, kinda like the ITFB Ch 21 Cooperative. Good hearing from you Dom, hope you're doing well! You probably didn't have to wait upstairs very long...if your friends haven't seen each other in a long time, it was probably fast .

Maddy, I'm sooooo addicted to running outside. There really feels like there's a 'high' when running. On Wednesday, it was 32 degrees out and we still went running. The treadmill....basically it feels like all you are doing is hopping up and down, and it's so easy to wuss out.

Really? That's what you read? wow....wow... Maybe I'm weird, but there has to be some physical attraction to someone who I'd want to date. And I'd gather that my idea of attractive is very different from yours. As far as platonic friendships, I don't use my gaydar to find those. Straight folks make great friends (and great running buddies too).

slightly used, 1968 Model Gaydar for sale $100 (OBO) - serious inquiries only -made in the Philippines -works well for finding gays that owner is not attracted to -has a tendancy to false positive on tall, dark brown haired, pale, thin (skeletal, according to my hags) straight guys with puppy dog eyes Yeah, my gaydar sucks. Or maybe it's just my use of it? They really need to teach a class or hand out instructions on how to use this thing. Mine operates more on the basis of wishdar, where if I find someone attractive I wish them to be gay. Where every little hint or mannerism of a target is construed as leaning gay. Gaydar for Dummies...yeah, they need to publish one of those . Anyway, so I haven't blogged in a while. After my little knee scare, I've built back up my running where I try to go 4-5 times a week, for about 25-30 miles a week. I've run a few races since then, and generally happy with my time (considering I'm not at 100%). It's gotten too cold to go biking outdoors, so now it's just the gym and running. Unfortunately, due to the weather, I've been going to the gym too often. Three days this week I've gone to the gym twice a day. I never used to hate going to the gym, but this week changed that. It can get soooo repetitive in there. And running on a treadmill is nothing like running outdoors. Hopefully the weather eases up and I can spend more time outdoors. Anywho, back to work. Take Care, Vic

At first when I read your blog title, I thought it said "If there are any tops..." Hopefully one day your brother will realize the sacrifices you've made for your(and his) family. I hope your move goes well! Sorry I didn't live closer, I have a pickup truck that could have helped haul stuff. It's cold here too where I can't feel my pinkies. Hopefully the cold front leaves California soon.

OMG! I feel exactly like you do, except substitute California for Texas. I hate coming home in the evening and it's too cool and dark to go biking. I can tell I'm getting more down and depressed because the days are so short. And when I go running at 5am, it's FREEZING, like in the low 40s. I have to wear a hat, gloves, & two long sleeve shirts. Pretty soon I won't even be able to wear shorts . The only time it's sunny is when I'm indoors for work . Let's hope it's a short winter!

Awwww, she's so cute!!!! Mila...hmmm, sounds too close to 'Mina'. My dog might come running when you call yours out

As long as you don't have to pay an annual fee, keeping the card was a good idea for multiple reasons: - Available Credit from credit cards is an important component of your credit score. As a youngster, building a good credit history will help you in the long run get better rates for many future purchases (houses, cars, etc). - Having the available credit for emergencies - Needing a credit card for Car Rentals, purchasing airline tickets, reserving hotel rooms... Not carrying balances on your credit cards is a very worthly goal. It wasn't until I finally paid off my balances at 28 years old was I finally able to really save money and start getting ahead. I haven't carried a credit card balance since then. Good luck on keeping the balances off!

Kurt! You're look all grown up! Nice picture!

It's weird, it almost seems that in Academia people are nice to each other in private, and save the verbal reamings for public or where there's an audience. Your experience is very typical to situations that have happened to friends of mine at this university. In department or senate meetings, or at presentations, people can get nasty professionally, but still expect to be chummy and friendly outside those settings. I never got that...

I love muse too! When I'm in a down mood I blast 'Time is running out' while driving in my car. Especially when I feel like someone's squeezing the life out of me.

Hi Joe, it was good to 'catch up' with you and the goings on in your life. Whenever I go to someone's for Thanksgiving where vegetarians will be attending, I try to bring Baked Mac & Cheese. It's hearty enough for vegetarians (and not gross like tofurkey), but it's also a good side for the meat eaters...and kids love it. Here's my fav recipe (I got it ages ago from the Chicago Tribune)... Real MacCoy Baked Macaroni & Cheese Ingredients 1 stick butter (plus 2 tablespoons) 1/4 cup All-purpose flour 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Paprika 1/2 tsp Dried mustard Black pepper to taste 2 cups Milk 7 oz Elbow macaroni cooked 2 cups Sharp cheddar cheese 3/4 cup crushed crackers (I use panko) Preparation 1. Melt 1 stick of the butter in large saucepan over medium heat. 2. Add flour, salt, paprika, mustard and pepper; stir well. Cook 1 minute. 3. Stir in milk. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. 4. Remove from heat; stir in cooked macaroni and cheese. 5. Stir until cheese is melted. 6. Spoon into 2-quart casserole. Cover; bake 20 minutes. 7. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in small skillet; stir in cracker crumbs. 8. Remove cover from casserole; sprinkle macaroni with cracker crumbs. 9. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and mixture is bubbly, about 20 minutes.

I think the gift probably depends a little on how they perceive you and your relationship with their son. For example, are you: - The little fairy who turned their son gay and will be depriving them of their grandkids? - The nice boy who makes their son happy and you're part of the family? Since this will be your first meeting, it sounds like you want to make a good first impression. Agreed, if you have some skills in the kitchen, you can make a container of homemade english toffee or a batch of cookies. This kinda gift shows effort (unless they're diabetic). Good Luck! Really Drew ? I don't think that's the first impression he wants to make. Does your BF have any younger siblings? I suggest trying to win them over with gifts too .

Happy 50th birthday Sharon!!!! I hope your half century mark brings you lots of good times! As one of the senior alpha females of GA, you deserve em! Don't worry, we'll be in the same decade again soon (in like 9 years ).

James, you're going to be the gym bunny if you keep working out like that. Way to go!

The 'boystown' area overlaps or is included with other 'named' areas...such as 'Wrigley-ville', LakeView, Halstead, etc. It's never been exclusively gay as there's always been straight folks living in the area. You have some old timers who don't like the changes, yuppies who want to live near the 'happening' areas and traffic, traffic, traffic. I forgot what year they put the rainbow spires up and down Halstead Street, but someone claiming they didn't know it was a gay friendly area would have been blind to miss those.

I haven't lived in the Chicago area for about 7 years now, but there's definitely a lot of non-bar things to do in boys town. All the shops and restaurants around there are gay friendly, you're really close to the lake front (if you just want to walk, bike, rollerblade, or peoplewatch)...just lot's to do and see. You both can definitely make the day of it (but hurry before it gets too cold to walk around outdoors).

I injured my knee last sunday.... . About 8 miles into a 12 mile run, my left knee started hurting real badly. I asked the guy I was running with if we could walk for a bit (I've never done that before), so we walked for about a quarter mile. I was able to start running again and we finished off the 12 miles (had to as we had to get back to our cars), but I was having some serious pain in my knee. Once I got home, I took some advil, iced the knee, elevated it, and parked my butt on the sofa for a few hours. I knew I'd skip running the next day. Well when I tried getting up, I could barely walk and the pain was so bad I almost cried (lol, but I think I was going to cry cause I effed up my knee and was worried about missing the half marathon I was going to race in two weeks). Over the next couple of a days, my knee got better and I was able to walk with less discomfort, but running was definitely out of the question. I was able to bike with little pain and still use the exercise bikes at the gym, but anytime I tested out running, my knee said 'no'. After skipping 4 days, I was luckily able to run again on Friday. I was running gingerly at the start, but after about a mile, my knee started loosening up and I was able to keep up with the guys and finish a nice 4 mile run. Mina and I did a nice casual 6 mile jog on Saturday, and having learned my lesson, I skipped running on Sunday to rest. This morning was really good. I ran with the group for 5.4 miles and we maintained an 8min/mile pace with no pain in my knee at all. I think with the last couple of runs, I'm back to about 75-80% back to where I was before the pain. So I had a nice scare. I think the lesson I learned is that I can't run more than 8 miles without pain in my knee. I'm skipping the 1/2 marathon on the 14th, but I think I'll be okay for a 10k this saturday. Before the injury, I was hoping to maintain a 7min/mile pace, but now I think I'll just be happy to finish. I can't lose running, so I really have to be careful not to push things in the future. Biking is too hard to do when it gets cold and wet out, and with daylight savings time and the shortening days, I won't be able to bike when I get off of work soon.