weight-Loss-A-Thon-week 11

Mr. Joshua is just about to figure out how to get his arms, leg and brain to work together for crawling.. once that happens, we are in trouble!


Weight losing is good... still at 245 though. My exercise routine has been limited, so it figures. Still, I'm happy that the downward trend is sticking.

weight-Loss-A-Thon-week 10

10 weeks in, 14 pounds down. Good stuff. Probably could be going faster, but I'm trying to make habit and lifestyle changes, not quick weight loss gimmicks. So anyway... life is good.

On another note, if you want to donate to the Weight-Loss-A-Thon ($1 per pound as of Dec. 2 for those who haven't been playing along) and be in the drawing for a free photo shoot and Christmas cards, I'm going to cut that off on Nov. 1. Come one, come all. Money goes to the Kaufman Genesis Center.

Buying a used running stroller

Once Upon a Child had a coupon in Kaufman County Life this quarter, so I dropped by there to see what they had going on.

First impressions... lots of clothes and not much else. Renee did not find anything she wanted to buy for Joshua, which says a lot since she is an ace bargain shopper. She tends to buy similarly priced (but new) stuff at Ross or similar stores. Have I mentioned that I love my wife. She was sad to admit last weekend that she had spent a whole $16 on a shirt.

OK, one thing I did spot to use my coupon on was a nice looking, low mileage fixed-wheel jogging stroller. At $65 after the coupon, it was a bargain compared to some of the cheapie $150 new ones.

Voila, the used Baby Trend Expedition LX. It rolled smooth, has a nice hand brake and seemed fine in the store. It is a discontinued model, but has some nice features. Wheels are all quick-release, and it folds up well for having three large wheels.

The down side (and words of warning)...

It is a used stroller after all, and some closer inspection at the store might have changed my mind about the purchase.

First, an axle stud on the back is bent. Doesn't seem to affect rolling very much, but I do wish I had seen it on the first look.

And the biggest nuisance (which may be fixable) is that it constantly turns slightly left.

That should be something fixable with some tweaking, twisting or violence. But it is really annoying when you are trying to cruise down the road. Fixed-wheel strollers are the way to go for jogging, but not if you have to constantly correct course.

OK, so final summary... there are good deals to be had on everything.. craigslist, resale shops, garage sales etc.

But if you are buying a stroller, test drive it like a car. Kick the tires, push it a good long way, check the alignment and make sure everything works well.

Our first trip out in this thing was a nice 1.5 mile walk to see how Joshua liked it. He didn't make a sound, just watched the world go by. It is a lot different than riding backward in a car seat I imagine.

Have a great week,

Don J.

Weight-Loss-A-Thon-week 9

As I suspected, last week's dramatic drops were an illusion..

Normal variations are normal. Right? Right?

So, we march on.

On a positive note, it is just less than a month until the CASA Speak Up for Kids 5K Nov. 5 in Rockwall. My fastest timed 5K distance is just over 38 minutes. I think I can do 35 minutes on race day.. we shall see. Taking a minute off of the pace for three miles seems like a lot though..

Next post... a review of buying a used jogging stroller. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

Don J.