Not Rocky but im trying

So, as I have said in previous posts I am boxing as a form of cardio now. I ordered some gloves and hand wraps, to ensure i dont break my hands on the heavy bag. Well i have a set of hand wraps and i was working out today, just hitting the heavy bag and doing some shadow boxing. Well there is a KBR guy that works out by boxing and he just so happens to work out the same time I do. Well today he was showing me a few things. It was great he took me threw a couple of jump rope drills to improve my heavy feet. I feel like Rocky in Rocky II. I have heavy slow feet. The guys says i have great punches and power but i plant my feet to long and i dont dance enough. The drills he put me threw were very difficult but mainly due to my lack of rythm and coordination. I got better by the workouts end but i was spent. We agreed to do more drills the next time we both were in the gym. Its fun to actually have someone who used to do Gold Gloves boxing training me. I feel good knowing im getting better each day. Now im no Lennox Lewis or Tyson but I will work till i feel i could step in the ring for real. I wont ever do it but i want to know i can. Wish me luck, im gonna need it.

Nothing stays nice

So, im very angry, and well happy also. Angry because i went to the gym today to workout, i planned to run and do some light boxing work. I hit the heavy bag most days and do a little shadow boxing. Its great cardio and fighters are some of the best athletes in the world so why not take something from them. Well two weeks ago the gym had two heavy bags. That was great, no waiting and i didnt feel like i was hogging the equipment when i was using it. Then this past week, one of the bags was taken away. I dont know why, it just disappeared. I assume it got busted and they removed it, but who friggen knows. Well back to today, i walk in and i start my run and i look over to see if anyone is using the heavy bag, and guess what? The lone heavy bag is missing. SO i finish my run and ask the attendant. Well first the attendants are FN's or dudes from other countries. Yup not americans, most are Indian or Thai, or some weird cant speak a lick of english group. Well I ask and he says it got busted. That prompted me to ask"will it be fixed or replaced?" He just smiled and put his hands up. Big thanks dude.

So nothing ever stays nice here. its always miss used and overused and no one cares because its not theirs.
Well im HAPPY today because i spoke with Jessica and that was awesome. I love you Jessica.

More answers

Well Mel here goes

1, Most about my older sister, is that she is very creative
2, Best thing about having an older sister is just that,"older" yup your old, at least older than me
3, Im looking forward to eating Jolly's the most, big ol chili dog
4, My fav thing to eat here is the mozzarella sticks and hot lunch meat sandwhichs/least is MRE's
5, I can wait to go camping with the kids, they love it and i can let them run all over
6, I wish i could watch Reservior Dogs ( I had Mr.Blonde and Mr. Pink special editions last time)
7, I wish Dad was on face book, it would be awesome to see how he is feeling
8, Cardio? Well i jog and eliptical but i try to everyday do 30-40 min of boxing(heavy bag, shadow box)
9, Well first choice is easy... my wife Jessica, if she cant JFK, then Dennis Leary, George Carlin, Dennis Miller, and if possible The Big Red Machine. I have a lot of questions.
10,I think if baseball ever gets a baseball fan as a comissioner he will, if not then sadly no, PPITH

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad, thank you both for your packages! I got them today and loved them both.
Dad the coffee cup is spot on! I needed a good one for my TOC duty, the memory stick will stay with me for a long time, the tuna is huge, i mean huge thanks.
Mom, tuna, awesome, the coffee is great and the tooth brush, i was just changing mine and i wished i had a powered toothbrush. thanks
I guess parents do know best. It may seems odd but i will be sporting my Samsung coffee mug for the rest of the deployment. It even matchs the Starbucks thermos i got from Bob Castellini. Yes thats the owner of the Reds and my father the biggest Pete Rose fan, on the same page.

Thanks Mom and Dad

Edit

Okay, so on the ornaments its really a top five, sorry. Also i need to add that number two is really a two parter, 2a is the party animal(dad) 2b is the spiderman (Ryan) forgot to add spidey. its the coolest looking ornament as it hangs down as if spider man is on one of his webs, pretty cool.
Also Since my sister feels left out she needs to know that she is older and thus out of the running for being chosen. Sorry but your old so tough.

Answers

Okay so i know i should wait for more questions, but i will answer my fathers 10 and keep on giving answers as the questions come in.

1, We have laundry service on post, they even fold it.
2, Doesnt matter on tuna, no oil, packets are easier(no extra water to drain)
3, Jessica sent me sticky tack for the postcards,
4, 8X20 about 8 foot tall
5, have a calendar, not marking days,
6, No prison break, they dont show everything on AFN, no need to call in that favor yet
7, "We got the money, we got the rings, we got everything!"
8, I have a top three: 5-Pictures(Mel) 4-Bengals ornament(Jon Mark) 3-Elvis(Jon Shearer)2-Party animal(Dad) 1-Hand made ornaments ( Jessica and kids)
9, Yes to the fourth of July but its just another day for the Iraqi's(no camping)
10, Evan or Neal? I pick ....... Lauren!

Ground hog day

So in the middle of all the Holidays fun this year has been pretty much the same for me. I have a quiet job here in the TOC. Kinda boring but it passes the time. By no means is this awesome but its safe. So life is getting into a routine here. I try to workout everyday, i have been doing boxing workouts to change things up. I love it but im very sore. So not much to report, Soap just had a birthday, actually its today. I am trying to read my Peter Rose book. I have been eating a lot of tune lately, i might take the tree down sometime next week. It will be sad but i want to make sure i can send all the ornaments home to save them for next year.

I love the post cards! Keep them coming. SFC Withrow and I got some great packages from work. Thanks PLANES! Its cold here, actually it has been freezing the past week, warmed up today but i sense another cold spell soon. Sorry there isnt much to report but without going on missions I kinda dont see much of anything new.
Jessica and I are going to buy a dog. Dont know if it gonna be while im away or right when i come home. Its going to be an Irish Wolfhound. They are huge dogs, they were bred to hunt wolfes in Ireland. They are great with kids and love to run but arent very dangerous so im excited. It should give me someone to run with when i come home.
If anyone has questions they want to ask, about anything Iraq, the weather here, needs, wants, plans when i come home, just leave a comment and i will answer them all in a big post. Nows your chance.

thanks again to everyone.

2009, Its our time to shine

Well happy new year everyone! Thank you all who supported me during 2008. I know God has been watching over me. I had a pretty boring new years eve, I worked out, and went to bed. I work in the TOC now so for the next month I will be in operations doing..... well lets just say operations stuff. It will be very much like my job at home, up at 4am in work at 6am and dealing with truck problems all day. Trust me I am the guy that likes that stuff. Anyway as with most people i made a resolution. I have three kids growing at an alarming rate and I want to be the best dad I can be for them. A part of that means being in shape so i dont kick the bucket early before they do all the wonderful things i know they will accomplish in their lifetimes. Well, hell i want to live to see the day they get out of the house. No wonder Bill couldnt wait till i went to college. hahaha. Mom you will have to read that to Bill. Well Jessica has made the same resolution. We have gym memberships at home which Jessica tries to get to but has difficulty. Well i have plenty of time here to get to the gym but Jessica not so much. That is where the John Updaters and family and friends come in. Well if anyone hasnt made a resolution yet, here is one I think would give you the most satisfaction. Make your resolution... to help Jessica out as much as you can till i get home. Now i know this sounds crazy but think about it. Everyone wants to give to charity or volunteer to help people in need. Well she is in need... not in the homeless or no food sense of in need but in need nonthless. She needs your time, time to give her a chance to improve herself, to get a break from the nonstop stress of being both MOM and DAD to three wonderful, full of energy kids. I know not everyone has tons of time, but there is easily 25 people out there that are able to give an afternoon one day a month to Jessica. Well if each person donated one afternoon, doesnt have to be just weekends or weekdays but both, well she could work out 25 out of 30-31 days a month and no one has to be driving to hamilton more than once. Now if you all think long and hard im sure you have one afternoon to spend with two/three wonderful kids. We have all the tools to keep the kids happy and entertained. We have a play room, we have toys, a playground in the backyard, we even have parks only a 5 min walk away.
Now i wont beg, i wont stoop to that level, but i do hope everyone answers my request. Jessica and I are checking email everyday so dont say you cant get ahold of us. If you have a day in your calendar, drop us an email and please dont back out. This 2009 should be amazing for me, i get to get in shape, finish my tour of duty and come home to the best family in the world. I cant wait for the day i get to see everyone again. Please make that day everything i think it can be. If you want to send packages aftert the holiday season has subsided, a few items we use everyday here are;
Tuna / Squeeze Mircale whip / almonds / tortillas / NO candy!
Now Im gonna be depending on my family and friends to come through on this one so dont let me down, you havent yet. Again if you want to help others more during this 2009 year, make your resolution to help Jessica. Roman, Shamus and Marissa will love having you around to play with.

Thank you all. I hope to see you all again only 10 pounds of fat lighter. haha who knows.