The Shrinking Man - A Promise is a Promise

This morning I am going to update my progress on my diet. It is humiliating to admit that I was as overweight as I have been but that is the case.

For the past couple of years I have known that my weight was an obstacle to longevity. I have had excellent, health except for high blood pressure, but I have known there are great health risks associated with obesity. I also understand how difficult it is to change life-long habits.

Last fall I felt that a change was absolutely necessary and also felt that my mind set was in place to follow through. The proof is in the results.

A number of friends have had tremendous success with a diet called the "Dr. Bernstein Diet". It is based on a premise of very limited calories, limited carbohydrates and vitamin and mineral supplements. As I am goal oriented, I needed a diet that would give results and chose to try this. The cost is significant, about $160 a week, so the motivation to lose is enhanced by the out of pocket expense. Three times weekly, I go into the clinic, weigh in and see an LPN who checks my general well-being, occasionally takes my blood pressure and then gives me an injection of vitamins B6 and B12, which supposedly enhances my fat burning. The critical part of the diet is to keep the patients in a state of keetosis, or fat burning. The nurse measures that by checking urine. I am fortunate that I can get myself in to keetosis quickly. I do know of a lady that could not afford the diet, took vitamin supplements, kept herself closely under doctor's care and lost 105 pounds last year.

I started the diet on December 7, (for those of you historians, this is an ominous date). The clinic set my goal for me based on height charts. The weight loss they initially set was very aggressive and we agreed on a 10% margin. I am close to the margin set at this time. Remember that my goal is to enhance my life, to avoid costly health mishaps. As I said earlier it is humiliating to admit that I needed to lose all that I have but as of this morning, it appears that I have lost 80 pounds. I exceeded my own goal when I lost 75 but have adjusted the goals to coincide with Dr. Bernstein's.

Side effects of the diet are the costs of re-wardrobing. I have gone through 6 pant sizes in the process and will likely go through one more. My shirts hang on me. I used to wear size XXL and now a L is the better choice. The other day I had to change pants to go to a meeting and was in a hurry. When I dropped my pants, my underwear dropped along with them.

Many people who haven't seen me in some time have a hard time recognizing me. I no longer take blood pressure medication and my resting heart rate is in the mid 50's. (I think my heart is saying, "I don't know what you did but thanks for the rest.")

Obviously, the next difficult part is going to be keeping the weight off. I do have a different mind set than at other times in my life and feel that I know how to manage it a little better. I haven't allowed myself very much cheating, even through Christmas, a golf trip and a trip to Hawaii, so know that the will power is there.

As a side note, my brother Doug, his wife Nancy and my sister Susan have all had great success on the diet. Gerry has lost 25 - 30 pounds just by shadowing me and is planning on going at it hard. Many people have been very supportive and I thank you all for your support.

So Much To Report

Sorry for the long space between posts but there has been so much happening that it seems we are speeding along at warp 1.

In no particular order, let's review.

1. We sold part of the company. This has been in the works for several months and on February 28, we relinquished the waste and recycling side of Eco-Rite to Stampede Disposal and Recycling. It was time and it was a good thing to do. Unfortunately we also gave up the name as part of the transaction, therefore are now known as Hobble Canyon, Inc. We will continue to do the property management and investments under the new name (it is a new name only, we did not sell our company.)

We have moved the office into our home for the time being.

2. We bought a lot in Raymond. That's really all there is to that comment. We will build a house on the lot and the plan is one that we really like. It is premature to say that we will be moving anytime in the foreseeable future but we will be building a house on the lot. Doug and Nancy bought the lot next to ours and the Cahoons bought the one across the street. I don't think either couple is as committed as we are to building.

3. Most Important News. Gerry and I travelled to Utah to pick Carly up from school. We had a little insight that she was quite smitten with her friend Jesse Smith and it turns out, he, too was smitten with Carly. On Saturday, April 28th, Jesse and I went golfing (somebody needs to fill him in that it isn't cool to beat future father-in-laws when you want something from him.) About the 15th hole, Jesse came directly to the point that he wanted my permission to propose to Carly. (They were already deep in the discussions.) After shedding a number of tears, it became clear that permission was to be granted.

Little did I know that while we were golfing and discussing important things like the how many cows Carly is worth, she and her Mom were out shopping for a wedding dress. Carly is now sporting the largest ring in the family, has stars in her eyes and is planning an August wedding in Salt Lake City. Jesse is an electrical engineering student at BYU. He will graduate next year and is thoughtful and polite.

Carly and Jesse outside Temple Square. I think she is too young,
but who cares what old geezers think.

The week in Utah was spent doing wedding stuff, not golfing and goofing like I had hoped. It turns out that what we did was far more important.

Next post I will report on the Bernstein Diet. It has been a smashing success.

Kauai in Retro

The islands were a fantastic success; not only to us, but, perhaps more importantly, to our children. Andrew came back saying that it was the best week in many and that he loves the island. Brewertons can't understand how people can live anywhere except by the beautiful and warm Pacific Ocean. As to us, we look forward to contemplating life from the bench in 2 short years.

Some quick pics.









A 3 foot tortoise just a few hundred meters off shore at Poipu Beach.
















Lee's catch just minutes before he was visited by.......














the 300 pound Monk Seal who decided that Lee's Catch of the Night was exactly what he was going to have for dinner. Mmmm!!

Ha ele State Park. The end of the road has either a short or long hike that promises difficult hiking and awe-inspiring views. Take the walk, the kids did.




And finally, being a grand-parent is everything it is hyped up to be.

Time Share Vacations

Marriott's Waiohai Resort on Kauai

I want to post my feelings about our time share experiences.

In 2001 I went on a golf trip with some buddies to Palm Springs. We stayed at Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert. Our accomodations were very tight with 3 to 4 guys sharing a room. (I later learned that this was a "lock off"). In spite of the crowded accomodations, one of the guy's very serious apnea and the related incredible nocturnal snorting, snoring and gasping, it was obvious that we were staying in a very deluxe resort, many different swimming pools, 2 first rate golf courses, more later.

Two months later we were invited to spend a week with our friends the Goodrows at their time-share in Kauai. This began our love affair with that beautiful island. Our accomodations were at the Lawai Beach Resort, another spectacular location. Our suite had 2 bedrooms, a fabulous lanai that faces the ocean, a completely equipped kitched, you get the picture.

These 2 trips had been our first vacation in several years as we had been building our business for the past 6 years and it was a little overwhelming. Anyway, we contacted a friend and he arranged for us to use a "getaway week" through Interval International in the fall of that year and I took Gerry to Palm Desert for her to experience the desert. The Princes joined us and we fell in love with the desert.

Like most people we had heard horror stories about time shares, the pushy sales people, the switch and bait tactics, lousy accomodation, etc. We had steered clear of all of those offers to, "have a free vacation and all we had to do was listen to a brief, no pressure presentation". After speaking with our friends, we felt that we were ready to get a little more information.

That year in Palm Springs, we accepted the offer of the Marriott to tour one of their properties and to receive a "free gift" for doing so. Our intention was to get educated and not to buy. When we met with the sales people at Marriotts Shadow Ridge Resort, we told them that regardless of their actions we were not going to buy at that time. We were there to get an education and after some attempts to prove our resolve, they respected our wishes and we had an hour and a half discussion, toured the property and got a $100 gift certificate to be used in a Marriott property.

I began to study time shares and the options. After realizing that most people don't use their time shares very well and very few people understood all the options that they had with a time share, we decided that we would look into buying one.

Now, if you are buying a time share, you need to understand that if you buy from a developer, i.e, the Marriott corporation, you will pay the retail price for the property. In Marriott's case, you receive the option to trade your yearly week for Marriott points as well as the additional options that the trading company offer. You get enough points to have a fabulous vacation, using 2 years worth of points, you can probably travel to Europe and stay in first rate accomodation. We found, however, that the retail price of Shadow Ridge was $25,000 and that the resale value was as much as $8 - $10,000 less.

We decided to buy our first time share and did so by watching prices carefully on the internet. I spoke with several time share resale companies, indicated our choices and limitations and in April 2002 we purchased a "one week" timeshare in the Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert.

We were guided by the following:

1. When you buy a time share in the U.S., you are given a land title to the property you purchase. In Mexico or Canada most time shares are on a lease basis and expire after a number of years. By getting a deed, we have the property forever, can leave to our estate and own a portion of the real property.
2. We decided that the option of getting Marriott points was not worth $10,000, which was what we saved by not buying direct from the developer. We have found that we are treated extremely well and the purchase of a "resale" property has not been a detriment in any way.
3. We decided that we should purchase at a location that we really enjoyed in the event that the opportunity to trade was diminished.
4. Finally we decided that we would buy a Marriott because of the chain of Marriott resorts throughout the world and the trading power of these beautiful resort.

It has been our experience that we have been able to trade and/or use our week in Palm Desert to have as many weeks vacation as we can use each year. When you buy a time share, you generally purchase a membership in an exchange company. The 2 most recognized companies are RCI and Interval International. In year one we joined both exchange companies in order to understand them better. We found that II was an easier company to exchange with and have maintained our membership with them.

We are able to purchase getaway weeks through II, get bonus weeks when we "bank" our week with II, assuming that we have booked our week at a time when there is a bonus week available. Anyway, we use the one week for as much vacation as we can currently take.

Last year, we purchased a 2nd week in Lawai Beach. We did so in order to assure that we can go to Kauai when we want and were able to do so at a bargain price.

If you have read our blog for the past few weeks you will know that we have had a fabulous vacation. There are annual fees to owning a time share; property taxes and annual maintenance fees but you would never be able to get a 1200 square foot, absolutely spectacular apartment, right on the ocean for $1000 a week. We did and we do.

Thought you might appreciate our perspective.

Until later....

We'll Tough it Out!!

This morning I rushed everyone down to the beach to have a look at the pod of whales that was passing through. At least 6 whales were breaching, rolling and spouting a couple of hundred yards away. They are incredible in their size and grace. The morning hadn't yet arrived with enough light to take pictures but, take my word, it was breathtaking.

Each morning Lee has been making his way out to find a "Catch of the Day". This morning he went down to a cove near Lawai Beach Resort and was overwhelmed with the creatures he encountered. He had a seal brush up against him and swam alongside a very large sea turtle (2 1/2 feet in diameter) as well as through bunches of colorful fish.







Andrew loves Hawaii. He told me on the way from the airport that it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. It is a pleasure to hang out with him.













He showed up here with a streak of blonde in his hair, nice young man.

This afternoon we had a knock down grudge match at Puakea Golf Course. He had to give me 12 strokes and I got to hit from the white tees. The match was a see saw battle with Pops winning on the last hole.

Check out his styling shoes. He thinks that golf sandals are a blasphemy to the game of golf.









Andrew loves Lee. He has always had the greatest respect for his brother-in-law and Lee has always spent a great deal of time with Andrew. Lee started calling him Drew when he first met him and today that is the name that Andrew prefers.


Good Guys and good friends.









And lastly, this was the sky at 6:45 this morning.

We are in Paradise.

Call the Coast Guard

R & R

There are 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet, hardly enough to describe how much we are enjoying our vacation. Right at this moment, Gerry is sitting beside me doing a Sudoku, Sam is on the other side, singing, playing race car and hanging out. Kristy is on the lanai taking in a little more sun and the boys, Max, Sol, Lee and Drew are all catching a cat nap.

We checked into the Marriott Waiohai on Sunday afternoon and are all enjoying this beautiful resort. Check it out at the Marriott site when you have a moment. Anyway, it is located right on Poipu Beach, ranked as one of the United State's top beaches. There is a lot of sand and grass, with beautiful cascading pools that cater to all ages.

Yesterday as soon as the sun was up Lee and Andrew were off to do some snorkeling and to scope out an area where it would be reasonable to spear fish. They were out about 1/4 to 1/2 mile and seemed to be out there a long time. After playing life guard for an hour, I went up to the apartment to check in. When I returned Lee was slowly snorkeling his way in but there was no sign of Andrew. Lee reported that Andrew had headed in earlier and wasn't sure what had happened to him. After searching for a few minutes, I made a hasty call up to the room and asked Gerry to find the binoculars and come right down. Within 4 minutes Kristy showed up with my camera and its telephoto lens as they couldn't spot the binoculars. What was I going to do, take pictures of the blue, vacant water. About the same time, I spoke with one of the pool attendants and told him we had lost sight of Drew.

TIME TO CALL OUT THE COAST GUARD the attendant said and the wheels were put in motion with people running hither and thither. Of course it was only about 5 minutes later that Andrew came sauntering down the beach, having been carried about 1/2 mile west to the neighboring Sheraton Hotel. Panic ended!!





Check out Kristy's Blog to see the boys snorkeling and the twins sampling the sand of Poipu Beach. The twins were not impressed with the ocean and pulled their legs up in time with the incoming surf.

We spent the day golfing, swimming, snorkeling, shopping and feasting.







Until later.....

The Perfect Lei

This morning we went on a quest to find the perfect Lei. Somehow it didn't seem to exist, so we compromised and went to the Hawaiian market, known here locally as Costco and purchased what was available there. Gerry wanted leis that featured the plumerias because of their beauty and the scent. There was an abundance of leis but none that had plumerias; beautiful orchids but no plumerias. We then spent time finding plumeria trees, only to find the plumerias either in someone's yard or up high on trees. My task tonight was to search out a plumeria and bring back some flowers.

Phew, wouldn't you know that the perfect leis were right around the corner, literally so. We decided to walk through the Hyatt this evening and there was a little Hawaiian gal setting up a booth to sell leis, plumerias and all. $5.00 each!! So we bought 3; one for Gerry, one for Susan and one for Kristy (used as a prop in the attached pictures.



This is our 4th trip to Kauai with Mike and Susan Goodrow, our good friends. They very kindly have opened their Time Share to us these 4 trips. In fact, after our first trip in 2001 we purchased our time share in California and last year purchased one here at Lawai Beach. We spend much of our time laughing at and with each other. They are the perfect hosts and we love them. Anyone who attends the Spruce Meadows YSA Ward will recognize Mike from their bishopric.

Mike and Susan, March 2007

Andrew and the Brewertons are in the air right now. They will spend the night in Honolulu and then arrive here about 10:30 tomorrow morning. Sam told us tonight on the phone that he is now an "Airport Rat" after spending 7 hours in the airport in Vancouver.

Goodnight.....