i had a great vacation weekend this past week. as you know it was the 4th of july weekend so i made it extra long and took monday off giving me 4 days of vacation. our family decided to go up to northern michigan, hale to be exact. we rented a cabin for the week and we all piled in there for some relaxation and fun outdoors. ellis, christina, me, mike, lori, and andrea ended up going up there for 4 days and my father and kelly ended up taking the cabin for the rest of the week after we came back on tuesday night. my roommate rob also ended up coming up to the cabin, he arrived on sunday and stayed the whole rest of the time we were there.


as for what we did this weekend, well we had a blast. we started by driving up on saturday, which took forever and a day with all of the traffic. that day we just kind of checked out the area, relaxed, messed around, drank, and got ready for the next few days. on sunday mike, lori, and me went fishing for most of the day. we ended up catching 2 perch and 1 bass. i came to find out later that the bass was actually undersized and we shouldn’t have taken it in the first place but you live and learn. anyhow, christina and andrea met up with us later in the day and we all fished together … that was fun, and eventful. with mike getting out of the boat to retreive a bobber in the reeds and sinking over his head in mud and then being unable to get back into the boat … lets just say we had a few laughs and have stories to tell our children about uncle mikey. that night we were all burnt and had a few fish so we retired to the cabin for some food, drinks, and some sleep. on monday mike, lori, and me attempted the fishing thing again, this time trying a local river. needless to say, after about 4 hours, more sun, and lots of bugs we caught nothing except a few measly small fish that were inedible. later in the afternoon mike and i tried to do some more fishing on the lake but we didn’t even get a bite. disappointed, more burnt, and tired we retired to the cabin for more food, drink, and some sleep. on tuesday we tried yet again at the river, this time a different area and were even more disappointed. we didn’t even get a damn bite all afternoon. so at around 3 we went back to the cabin and ate lunch. after that mike and lori left to go home and ellis, christina, and i stayed for the evening fireworks and then returned home late that night. the fireworks were spectacular as usual. a small show by city standards but large in taste, variety, and explosiveness. it always feels some personal having a small show with family and friends instead of in a huge place like chicago or detroit.


anyhow, after 4 days of vacation bliss i learned a few things. i enjoy fishing which is actually a big learning experience since i thought i hated it. i think as i grow up and mature i appreciate more diverse things which is good. fishing is a great bonding experience between friends. you can just sit back with your pole, some drinks, and the environment. enjoy conversation and the environment and just relax. pretty damn cool and i think we are going to do it a bit more often then once every 10 years. mike and i talked about fixing up my dads boat and getting a motor for it. we shall see … i also learned how much i miss camping in general. just getting out of the city, into nature or damn close in a cabin and just getting away from the concrete, steel, computers, and other technology and just relaxing. it puts my mind at ease and just lets me relax and rest.


as for my fitness … well i got a lot of walking, rowing, and swimming done over the weekend. so the cardio and general activity was there but the nutrition was not. i knew this was going to happen and i prepared as best as possible for it. right no i feel like i cheated all 4 days and basically failed my goals. but i also realize that it may have been good for my body and mind to just turn off all of the worries and stuff for a few days. so when i got back is started back up full force eating the meals and working out. these past few days have been hard getting into the groove. i have not cheated on the food but on the exercises instead of killing myself i just am slowly getting back on track. starting on sunday i will be back in the full regiment but the end of this week i am on a shortened program.


i updated my goals for the next 4 weeks and updated my status on my last 4 weeks worth of goals. i also weighed myself after i got back … i think i gained a few pounds but no biggie. it may have been the time of day that i weighed myself and i had just ate. anyhow, i vowed to not weight myself any more until my goal day at the end of the month when i report on my progress these past 4 weeks. weighing myself all the time is to deterring to my progress and i don’t want to put myself through that mental game. i think it is just a fad now using my new scale and all.


that about covers everything that has happened this past week …