Morning Yoga Day 8

This morning I got up to do Yoga- I felt like crap. Lately I have been having nightmares, last week I had to kill someone with a knife that was attacking a friend. I forced the knife into his heart and the sound of the blade hitting bone, and the way the knife felt in my hand was so real- it scared the bejesus out of me.

Last night I dreamt that I was with my family at on a camping trip. A few cabins down there was this crazy man and he kept laughing wickedly. Then, as things happen in dreams my dad had caught the guy and had locked him in the bathroom and he was in a small cage and he was bleeding. For some reason in the dream I was terrified of this dude- I kept thinking that he was a cannibal- like the guy in that movie- Ravenous.

So, this morning when I got up I was even more tired than when I went to bed. 5:30 comes ridiculously early, but I didn’t want to keep dreaming anymore so I went ahead and got up. Yoga went fine, but I was T-I-R-E-D and my body kept screaming- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!!! The hardest part is the Sun Salutations which is this series of bending over and touching your toes. My word I never knew toe touching could be such a pain. Ugh.

The weekend was a total blur, I spent it helping Girja move which took up all of Friday night and most of Saturday. Saturday evening Alan Meadows from OKC came down for a visit. We met up with Cribby and Jenni, Matt and Wendy for the Ryan High v. Highland Park football game. It was really, really enjoyable. It was nice seeing all my friends and watching some good football. Ryan won 21-18.

Sunday I went to Girja’s house for a house warming Puja. I am not sure if that is spelled correctly, but that’s how it sounds. A Puja is like a blessing of sorts- a priest comes and blesses the house. I am not Hindu, but I enjoy seeing other cultural rituals and this one was very interesting. Being a Christian we don’t really have a lot of ritualistic actions, or dances, or anything that is set in stone as to what you need to do to appease God. We give offerings, but they go to the church and they are intended for that purpose. We don’t offer any sacrifices because Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, and we don’t do anything special to get into heaven, just a simple prayer- John 3:16 and your in. People tend to think that once you become a Christian you have to give up so much, but you don’t- you actually get so much- mostly freedom and security and understanding. It’s hard to explain how it feels, but it’s simple to get!

Morning Yoga Day 4- Ice Ice Maybe

My feet hurt and so I have taken to icing them to see if that will help. I realize that 340 pounds is a lot of weight for a size 13 foot to carry. So last night at 10pm after running, I sat on my living room floor with a bag of ice on each knee and an ice pack behind my back watching the Olympics. Will the ice help? Maybe. And yes, I am starting to feel like a champion. Each night that I run I can run farther and faster. My breath is no longer short just from walking to the car, I feel more alert, less sluggish, and I am proud of myself for committing to make some changes in my life- once again. As in 1997 I lost 113 pounds in 9 months. This time I plan to take it slower and to lose about 80.

The plan is to run every evening and to do Yoga three out of the 5 mornings. Breaking it up like that seems to really work for me. I don’t want to over do it by trying to do Yoga 5 mornings and to run 5 evenings.

I decided on Tuesday that I was only going to get up at 5:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Now getting to “Sleep In” till 6:30 is really nice. My goal is to do this for 90 days.

When I was a senior at Liberty Christian I wrote a poem for our football team- now it seems cheesy, but kids do that, and surprisingly I still remember the beginning two lines and the last two lines and it is fitting still today.

In the quiet, in the deep, I climb the hill that is so steep.
This mountain, is but a test, to see if I will stop and rest…

An in that final vault I will be free,
From the climb inside of me.

Morning Yoga Day 3

5:30 is really early, Wednesday morning- I actually got up and did Yoga- I also did it the night before since I didn’t get up Tuesday morning until it was time to get ready for work.

For those of you who don’t know me well, I am a morning person, but 5:30 is early to start bending and stretching. I notice how big my stomach has gotten when it gets in the way of touching my toes, it is like a pillow has been placed on my lap and then I try to lean over to tie my shoes, the pillow squeezes my lungs and it is hard to breathe.

After about 15 minutes of bending and lunging I am finally awake. Beads of perspiration start to form on my forehead and I realize that each time I watch this Yoga DVD it feels longer than the last time. Every time I think that it is about to be over, I have to get out of a stretching position and go back to downward dog- which is a position where your feet and hands touch the floor and your but is really high in the air- arms straight, legs straight, hamstrings taught to a near muscle snapping point.

Tonight I plan to go for another run. Hopefully I avoid falling on my face again in front of the world.

I have many mental pictures that have helped me to stay focused this time. One of them being the picture of a snooty principal that looked at me like I would never be anything more than a fat couch potato- it wasn’t my principal, but a principal I worked for at a school a long time ago- she looked down on me like I was nothing more than a house maid- yes, I was the janitor, but janitors are people too.

Then last week Albert’s little girl told me when I asked if I could jump on the pogo stick that her brother was pogo-ing on- She said- “No, your too fat!” She was so cute when she said it, but I still smacked her little face and said, “Shut up you skinny little Turd!!” Not really, but part of me wanted to.

Last night I ended up stress eating a large piece of homemade lasagna and 4 pieces of bread. I had already decided to eat a light dinner, but my neighbor asked me to take him to get his car. My neighbor is a crazed loon, but I acquiesced and took him to his car- he brought the wrong keys- who does that? Who grabs the wrong keys when they are asking a favor of someone else? As we were coming back to get the right keys I get pulled over by a cop. Ugh. The cop said it was for a missing tail light, but in truth I think it was because I was in my old truck wearing a bandana on my head with the windows down and a shady character in my passenger seat. That whole ordeal took about 10 minutes, but it felt like an ETERNITY. My stupid neighbor kept laughing and I said, “I really don’t think this is funny.” I was torn because I felt like I was with a special Ed person, but at the same time I knew that he wasn’t so I wanted to punch him in the face for being so stupid. He kept asking me questions like, “You don’t have any warrants do you?”

When being stopped the black part of me always thinks that I am going to get “Rodney Kinged” The white part of me thinks that I am going to get off with a warning and the Native American part of me thinks that the officer is going to take my car away, my apartment, give me a blanket full of malaria and stick me on a reservation.

All of that stress built up to an unbelievable hunger and I actually did better than I normally would have- but I still wasn’t as good as I had planned.

Say a prayer for me. Being 340 and trying to run is always hard on the body, my feet hurt, and my back has still been hurting, but pain is part of life isn’t it?

Morning Yoga Day 2

The alarm went off this morning at 5:30- I did not get up.

Last night I decided to go for a walk/run. I always start out walking with some slow jamz playing in my headphones, and then as the music speeds up, so do I. Yesterday I was just feeling good, getting my run on, and all of the sudden my feet get caught in this chicken wire crap and I go sprawling end over end in front of God and everybody. Thankfully my MP3 player/phone was not hurt, and neither was I- save for a little pride, and I got back up and walked it off. I then started running again- fast. For me running fast looks like a slow jog to most people, but when you weigh 345 pounds, then trust me, it was fast.

So to make a looong story short- this morning when I woke up my body was really sore- from head to toe. I decided to give myself a morning off. Normally I would go ahead and get up and push myself, and then by Thursday of this week I would be burnt out- we ain’t doing that anymore, this time we’re in it for the long haul.

Right now I am STARVING so I need to get some food.

Loves it.

Morning Yoga

Looks like I am going through one of my “Get in Shape” phases. The Olympics have inspired me….

Last night I set the alarm for 5:30. I have done this numerous times before, but normally I just wake up and say, “Yeah Right, that ain’t gonna happen!” and then I go back to sleep in my ultra comfy bed. Today I actually got up- which I think is one of the most important steps to starting a morning workout routine.

Step 2.

After getting up I normally hem-haw around in my underwear, walking to the fridge, yawning and pacing around like a drugged monkey- this morning I went straight to the DVD player and pressed PLAY on my Yoga DVD. Another important step- remove the dilly-dallying.

Step 3

Once the Yoga began I thought to myself, “Dear God in Heaven, what was I thinking?” I actually paused the DVD for a couple of seconds and contemplated getting back into the bed- I hadn’t started sweating yet, and Lord knows I was not fully awake, but darn-it- I was already up! The two hardest steps were over, now all I needed to do was press on for 45 minutes!!! I CAN DO IT! So I did- I did the Yoga- Downard Dog, Upward Dog, and Half Moon pose, Warrior One, Two, and Three, Sphinx Pose…. And on and on…

The very best part of Yoga is that you feel like you are getting your stretching, cardio and strength training all done at the same time.

After the Yoga I read my Bible- another check box filled in on the list of priorities. A quick shower, two bottles of water- then I am off to work- naked. Just kidding, I got dressed after the shower.

We’ll see how long this “Phase” lasts, but I want to run the 8 mile Turkey Trot- I have run the 3 mile for the past 3 years and every year I have said, “Next year I am going to run the 8 mile” so, barring injuries and rapture, I plan to run the 8 this year- then I am going to eat a whole Turkey….

Getting Lost

My cousin’s apparently figured out that I have a website and so you may see comments from them and think- Who are these crazy people?

Well- first of all- they are from Oklahoma, and secondly they are related to me, so that makes them double-crazy. If you think I am nuts… well, we won’t go there.

My cousin Chanc posted that I needed to post a story about the time we went to Colorado to go skiing- and got lost. This happened before I started blogging so I can’t just pull this from the archives and repost it, however, I feel like I have told this story in pieces here before.

The year was 1999. Let me take you back to that year for a moment. My dad was stockpiling groceries for the Year 2000 fallout. Being a child that lived through The Great Depression, he always prepares for a crisis- I mean really prepares. We had enough canned vegetables and toothpaste and toilet paper to last us- and when I say us, I mean our entire family of 5. I could write a book just about this alone, but I won’t.

So, being the rebel that I am- I thought- well, since this may be my last year on earth why not go Skiing!

Loading up my 10 year old pickup truck- (which had at the time a transmission that would not allow me to put the truck into 4th gear about 80% of the time) I drove through Oklahoma and picked up my two cousins- Chanc and Tony and we made the 18 hour drive to Colorado. We followed some friends of mine- Steve Hildebrand and Adam Watkins- to make a really long story short- Steve and Adam, my cousins and I, and another group of friends all met up at Winter Park Ski Resort where we were supposed to go skiing all day and then go to Adam and Steve’s friend’s cabin. Did you get all that? Yeah, it’s hard for me to follow as well.

Skiing was great, Tony and Chanc were quick studies on the snowboards- I remember telling them on the way up the ski lift that getting off the lift the first time was the hardest part- not for them- I was the only one that fell.

After a great day of learning and snowboarding, we met up with some friends for Dinner at an Amazing Pizza place. The thing was, Adam and Steve left a note on my truck with directions to the Cabin, since I was teaching my cousin’s how to snowboard, we didn’t ski as a group- Adam and Steve left way before us and so we decided to go and eat Pizza with a group of my friends that live in Colorado and skied with us some that day.

So we go and eat Pizza- Tony was feeling sick so he stayed in the truck, but Chanc and I ate, and ate, and had a great time. The problem was that it was pretty late and very dark and my directions to the Cabin were a little shady and so as we started trying to find the place my truck started to overheat, my windows fogged up, at one point I went up this steep hill thinking that our Cabin was at the top of the hill- it wasn’t- and I had to back down and I couldn’t see! I was Furious- no- LIVID, literally in a rage- to this day I have never been so mad in my life. I remember yelling out F%$K!! And I never cuss- at least not out loud, especially not in front of my cousins who have known me to be a good Christian my whole life. But in my defense, I was stuck up a hill, in the freezing cold, with an overheating truck, two friends that had left me a crappy map, and two cousins that I was responsible for, with very little money to be spending on a hotel- but that is what we did, we got a hotel that night and I got up early the next morning and started trying to find Adam and Steve while Tony and Chanc stayed in the hotel- that way if I got mad again, I could get mad by myself.

The truck overheated again, but this time I knew I was close- the sun had come out and so I could see some stuff- and so I walked about 2 miles in the cold and found Adam and Steve. Unfortunately, I needed to stay in their cabin with their friends and so I didn’t berate them, or kill them, which is what I wanted to do.

All in all it was a great learning experience. Chanc and Tony and I got to ski for 3 days instead of four. We didn’t get free lift tickets like we thought we were going to get, we had to pay for that hotel, but when it was all said and done, we had a great time.

We even got stopped by a cop once with 4 people in the front seat of my truck and we didn’t get a ticket!

When I dropped my cousin’s off at my Aunt Jan’s house she had made a big pan of her famous fudge and she let me have it all! Let’s just say it kept me awake all the way home.

The year 2000 came while in Colorado and the world didn’t end. The old blue truck made it- up and down those mountains even without 4th gear. And I was proud of myself for being able to drive to Colorado and find things- as from this story you can tell- I have a habit of getting lost.

My Cousin Kidd Gomez- A Future Olympian

Here is a cool video too!

Hey, I got a note from my cousin Kidd and I was shocked to find that he is a little Jr. Olympian and he has a website! It's weird when you have family memebers that are really good at everything. Our family, my sisters and I, are all good at singing and being creative, my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jimmy's kids are all good at having babies (and their babies are really, really cute, especially Della's little girl, I want to steal that kid and keep her, and Andie and Avery are worth stealing as well- cute, cute, cute).

My Aunt Jan's kids are all good at sports- it don't matter what sport- Judo, Wrestling, Basketball, Football, Baseball- they are good at all of them- and I mean really good. And Kidd, the youngest of all sent me his website link- http://www.kidssportsnet.com/wrestling/gomezlucky13/ which has more pictures of him with 2004 Olympians. Kidd did some modeling when he was really young- he was born with very little baby fat, so he had that grown up look even as a little kid- I have some more pics somewhere I will have to post them.

Kidd has two older brothers- Chance and Tony- they are both really good at Baseball- Chance is Married- his wife is beautiful and older- and I still can't believe that he is married because I remember when he was born! Well, I remember when Tony was born too- My aunt Jan had one of those white people afros and a really round stomach- and she had to have Winchells Ice all the time- Winchells is a donut place in OKC.

Well, Kidd, it was really good to hear from you- and I am really proud of you- we all are. Send me some more pictures.

Jenny Finch

I've never been a big fan of girls softball- but if all the girls looked like this... then I could be.

Today is Friday the 13th, and the beginning of the Olympics... I LOVE the Olympics- nothing jazzes me more than seeing people that are so dedicated to one thing that they sacrifice everything for a medal... and a whole lot of bragging rights.

I am the best in the City of Plano at... nothing. And to be the very best in the entire world at something- that's pretty amazing.

So, this Jenny Finch plays girls softball and she has been turning quite a few heads with her 71 MPH Fastball- that's pretty darned fast...

Oh, and check out this New Olympic Sport (Picture is big so may take a minute to load)- it's called Hyena and Baboon Fighting- the first Animals to compete in the Olympics... WHO will get the Gold?!

Cheap People

I don't like Cheap People. People that hold on to their money and wait for other people to spend theirs, or people who complain about spending a few dollars as if it is going to be the end of the world if they spend a couple dollars on this or that. There is a difference between being a good steward of your money, and just being plain CHEAP.

I don't appreciate people who assume that just because you make a lot of money that you should pay for things. Never assume that just because someone makes a lot of money that they have a lot of money to spend on you.

Never hint around that someone should pay for something...

Never say, "Are you paying for this?" Followed with a laugh that implies that you were just joking, when in reality you weren't.

Offer to pay for something every now and then. It won’t hurt you. Even when I made pennies I still offered to pay because it is good to give.

Countless stories have been told of miserly men, in the end their stingy-ness only hurts them in the long run. Their money becomes their only friend.

So friends and acquaintances- if you wonder why I don’t call, if you wonder why I don’t invite, if you wonder why I don’t accept invitations, then you are probably a stuffy, cheap person that has gotten on my last nerve- especially if I have already given you everything that I have… I have no more to give, so why is it so hard for you to give back?

The Walmart Fire Engine Fiasco

Last night I had to go to Walmart to pick up some groceries and some Aviator
sunglasses for my Michael Jackson impersonation.

I NEVER go to Walmart unless it is a must, and if I do go, I try to go around 9 at
night when there are fewer screaming children and crazy Americans. I love America,
but we seem to have a lot of bizarre people running around this country.
Another reason I NEVER go to Walmart is because it takes at least an hour to get all
the supplies that you need. Say you need something from grocery, and from hardware,
well, depending on where you start you will be in for at least a half-mile walk.

So, after spending an hour inside of Walmart, getting my shopping done and my
cardio, I am heading out the door and I hear, "Edward Renz, Please Return to your
vehicle" I stopped and listened again thinking, "Am I going crazy or did they just
say EDWARD RENZ?" And in case you don't know- that is ME!!

At this point thoughts start swirling through my head, "Did someone break into my
car? Did I leave it in neutral like that time I left my truck in neutral at Kroger
and it rolled down the hill backwards?" "Did a drug dog mistake that bag of flour in
the front seat for a large sack of cocaine?"

NO- my car was simply on fire...

I walk outside and since I went to Walmart so late they closed the doors nearest to
my car so I get to extend my workout by another half-mile. By the time I see the
fire trucks my heart is racing full speed. There is a really large silver-bullet
shaped fire extinguisher, a fire-truck, 5 firemen, and two policeman all outside by
my car. Fortunately, the car was not a black crispy piece of metal carnage, rather,
it looked just fine.

"Hello, yes, this is my car" I said, sort of sheepishly."Well, we got a call that this car was smoking... do you mind popping the hood."

Fireman #1 said in his really large fireman pants and suspenders over a blue t-
shirt. The pants almost looked like clown pants since they made his lower half
appear so much bigger than his upper torso.

"Smoking? SMOKING? My car is a CHRISTIAN and we do not SMOKE!!!" I almost said, but
then decided this was not the time to joke.

What I really said was, "Smoking?" And I immediatly opened the door and let them
pop the hood. And then, like crazed Papparazzi everyone gathered around including
myself to see what would be revealed. One of the fireman looked at me like, "Why are
you getting so close, it could be dangerous, it could be a scorching, burning,
blaze!!" But then I think he realized that there was obviously no imminent threat,
so he just looked at the engine quickly with the rest of us.

After a little poking and prodding, they determined that it was possibly the
radiator as it appeared that the reservoir was dry. I happened to have a gallon of
anti-freeze in the trunk so I filled the reservoir, started the car, let everyone
give their blessing, I made my apologies- and then I was on my way.

One more reason to NEVER go to Walmart, a.k.a WALL-HELL!!

The Manchurian Candidate

This movie is still BLOWING MY MIND!!!! It's like a movie... on SHROOMS and I can't
get it out of my head!!!

Denzel Washington and Leiv Shreiber are paired up in this diabolical thriller that apparently is a remake- but who cares?! I never saw the first one and this one was AMAZING!!! I was on the edge of my seat- mostly because I had to go to the bathroom really bad, but also because I couldn't miss a thing, I HAD TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!! I was intrigued to the last second.

Once a friend of mine and I thought we would watch Oceans Eleven- the original
before we watched the remake. The original had big name actors- lots of them, but man it was a beat down. We were really looking forward to an interesting story line and some great action, but what we got was a bunch of famous people thrown into a movie without much of a story and
no action. When it was over I wanted those two hours of my life back.

So, I didn't even know that Manchurian was a remake, but who cares- it kicked the
camels ass!

What Goes Around...

I don't believe in Karma- And here is the definition of it in case you are wondering-

In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.'

But I do believe that doing good things for other people will result in good things happening to you. I call it being Blessed since I am a Christian and not a Buddhist.

Recently I have been called upon to do a series of tasks- all of which I should be paid for, but I didn't expect anything for them- that is what friends are for right? My friend Joe's father is a Mechanic- and a good one, and he fixed my truck steering column and only charged me for the parts. I call that being blessed. I have a myriad of examples of how doing something nice for someone has resulted in an even greater blessing down the road.

So what happens when you start expecting the blessing? I just like to do nice things for people now and I sit back and watch the blessings come in. It is almost like I can just time it out to a couple of weeks before something really nice and amazing happens.

Sometimes I don't get paid right away- but if I don't get paid here on earth- then I know I get paid in heaven.

So- take a look at some new graphics I tried out for a Yoga Studio in Denton...

Hut 1
Hut 2
Hut 3

They are all basically the same with some slight variations. I can't draw worth a flip- I used Word Art to make these with the help of a photo editor, but most of it is just Word Art. I don't know if they will use these or not, but it was sure fun trying. And I don't mind doing it for free because it stretches me creatively.

When it's more than just "A Phase"

The other day I told someone that I was looking at houses to buy and they said, "Oh, so you are going through one of those phases again..." I didn't appreciate the comment. It implied that I am always going through phases-and maybe I am. But isn't everyone?

I know that I have goals and dreams- lots of them. And I like to share them with people, but now I realize that I am going to have to just keep them to myself if every time I share I get a patronizing look, or a condescending, "Oh, you are going through one of those phases again?"

I don't know why that statement has eaten at me so much, but it has. It has nibbled away at my insides like a cancer and left a raw spot that is sore to the touch. HOW DARE ANYONE SUGGEST THAT I AM WISHY WASHY- that is what the spot screams when I touch it. HOW DARE ANYONE SUGGEST THAT I DON'T FOLLOW THROUGH!!! I AM LIVID.

I have not been historical in quite some time- I have had no reason to be. I thought that I had grown out of being petty and holding on to things- but I guess not- I have regressed since my move to Plano- not much, but perhaps a little.

So now when you read my website and it is not about my dream to write a second novel, my plans to redesign each bedroom in my new house after a season and then to call it the Four Seasons. When I am not mentioning the new girls that I am interested in, the one I met in person- not online- you'll know why.

I won't tell tales about love gained and lost, I won't mention any ailments like possibly needing back surgery, or kidney problems, or toothaches. Rather, I will keep it on the shallow glossy side talking only about trips and people and places and politics and things that aren't really about me- cause if it's not about me then you can ridicule it all you like.

But who knows how long that will last? It seems that right now I am just going through a "Bitchy" phase.

Big Cedar, Chateau on the Lake... Two Reasons to Make More Money

Whoever said money can't buy happiness is a big liar- It can, and it did. It might not be long term happiness, but I don't mind happiness in little bursts here and there.

Friday I left for Branson, MO. I know what you're thinking- what is a Tall Dark and Handsome guy like myself going to a place filled with elderly octegenarians of the mostly caucasian persuasian? Well, like P. Diddy, I like to be pampered and spoiled and massaged and treated like I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth when in reality I wasn't born with so much as a copper penny.
Chateau on the Lake is a beautiful Resort. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous- it isn't just that the hotel is so nice, but it is how you are treated and where this place is located- it's gorgeous. And while the Chateau was nice, it doesn't hold a candle to Big Cedar.

Big Cedar is a Lodge, and it is not like those lodges you go to in Colorado where they look like they have been around since Adam and Eve were booted from the garden. Old furniture, greasy cafeterias, huge dusty fireplaces... No, this place looks brand new even though it has been around since 1921. There is amazing landscaping, waterfalls, restaurants, all right on Table Rock Lake- it's simply the best hotel/lodge I have ever stayed in. They even bring cookies to your room every night! This was not my first time at Big Cedar, and hopefully it won't be my last.

People keep asking me, "Why did you go up to Branson?"

Well, my buddy Braun had some work to do in Springfield and both of us have friends that work at Kanakuk Kamps so we decided to make a weekend of it.
Braun is a great guy, but let me tell you, that first night he snored so loud that I had to move out on to the balcony. I knew that if he woke up he would feel bad, so I tried to be sneeky, but he woke up and told me to come back in and I did because I knew he already felt bad about the whole situation. I really didn't mind sleeping on the balcony, it was nice and quiet out there.

The next night I wore Braun's headphones that cancel out noise, it was a much more restful night... I still love ya Braun- I heard a saying once, "You like people for their qualities, you love them for their imperfections."

Saturday we visited Bruce Morgan who is one of the coolest guys I know. He has worked for Kamp for years and he is just so laid back and nice that you can't help but love him.
Sunday we went to Kanakuk and I was surprised at how many people I knew were still there. I saw Senator, Faith, Cribby and Jenny, AMA, Ellen, Cameron and Callie- man there were so many to say hi too and so little time. It was a short visit, but a nice one.

The food is probably one of my favorite things at Big Cedar. There are 4 restaurants, we only ate at one of them but it was great. The Buzzard Bar- which sounds like it would be a Bar, but it is really a nice restaurant- two stories, overlooking a pool. I will only tell you about the brunch that we had that was 20 bucks a person. I personally had, Eggs, Biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, chicken wrapped with bacon, barbecued pork tenderloin, grilled chicken mango salad, pineapple, german chocolate cake, orange mousse, peanut butter pie, new potatoes in a dill sauce, grilled squash and zucchini, apple-raisin coleslaw, and twice baked potatoes. It was a smorgasboard of deliciousness and I had to get my money's worth.

Sunday morning at Big Cedar Braun and I signed up for massages. I got the deep tissue massage which is painful and feels good at the same time. I really could get used to massages- they are incredible. After the massage Braun was getting his massage and I went back to the room and got in the jacuzzi tub. It was really nice to just relax and to get all that oil off of me that they use in the massage- (a little side note- if you get a massage, wear clothes that you don't mind getting oily)

Unfortunately the end of the trip had come and I had to drive the 8 hours back home to Plano. I made it in 7 hours and 15 minutes and I didn't get lost or turned around once- I think that is a record for me when it comes to coming back or going to Branson. There are so many winding roads and although it is beautiful up there- it is a pain in the butt to drive anywhere.