Another great day at "The Ranch" as we sometimes refer to our small little house in Arizona. Above are picture taken early this morning. On the left is Lennox, 10, who wants to be a scientist. In the center is Alex, 8, who wants to play for the NBA and then play in a band, and on the right is Julien, 5, who is still thinking about what he wants to be after he plays in a band. Our son, their father actually is a drummer in a band so there is a reason that two out of the three boys have their dad's interest and some musical talent. Having such very different kids in one family is fun and often a challenge, but in general they get along very well - even better once we got a third Wii remote so all three can play Super Mario games together. Surprisingly, the 5 year old often wins.

Even though my weight is up way too much, I feel like I'm winning the battle of self disgust and holding everything steady. My back is giving me new challenges and that is helping to motivate me to get rid of these recently gained pounds. Life is so good and I just want to be as healthy and as good to myself as possible so I'm feeling confident about the future - feeling better, regaining control over how much I eat, and enjoying my life.