February In Review, March Check-In

“Check this out — BAM”

Katie and I were laying in bed in our room at Nashville’s Renaissance Hotel. Our curtains were open to reveal our 13th-floor view from two sides because I had sprung for the corner room with windows that wrapped around on two sides. We had slept in after our first night in Music City (we had gone to see Adam Sandler play Bridgestone Arena as a Valentine’s Day trip) and were casually scrolling through our phones to find a cool place to grab brunch. I reiterated, “BAM: Big Ass Mimosas!” It appeared as though Von Elrod’s — a restaurant in Nashville’s Germantown borough — specialized in serving enormous mimosas in glass steins the size of your head.

“Uhh, hell yes, that’s where we’re going!” was Katie’s response, and so it was decided.

Our Uber ride was entertaining as our driver learned that we were in town for a show, which led to us sharing stories about random other concerts we’d all attended over the years. Metallica was mentioned, Elton John came up and a memorable trip he took with his mother to see the great Bette Midler. I normally don’t care much for it when an Uber driver is super chatty but he was nice, though he didn’t want to stop talking even as we were climbing out of his backseat and onto the sidewalk that surrounded Von Elrod’s.

We were surprised there wasn’t a wait considering it was almost noon straight-up and they were pretty busy. We graciously sat down at the picnic-style table and began perusing the menu to confirm the existence of BAMs. Upon finding their listing on the menu we realized a Big Ass Mimosa was $20 and contained an entire bottle of champagne. Since we were going to be bar hopping all afternoon, we figured starting with 750ml of champagne was a bad idea so we just got regular-sized mimosas and ate lunch.

We didn’t order the one thing we went to that restaurant to get. Life is weird and sometimes goals change, I guess, which brings me to this month’s check-in.

Goals I’ve Kept Up With:

Get Blood Pressure in Order
This may be cheating but … I went in to get my yearly physical last week and when they checked my vitals, the nurse said in a casual, low voice, “Alrighty, 120/80.” Excuse me? My last recorded number was 187/121 and I have historically shown signs of White Coat Syndrome — a condition where blood pressure readings are higher at doctor’s offices than any other place — since I was a teenager. I had expressed a need to have my blood pressure meds re-upped and she said I basically didn’t have to be on them but I could continue taking a smaller dose just for kidney protection. I’ll call it a win, I guess, even though I didn’t really mean for that to happen.

Continue Learning Italian
I’ve maybe had to freeze my streak in DuoLingo a time or two over the last month but I’m staying steady. Doing my daily challenges 98% of the time, so I think I’m winning here as well.

3-Month Goal — Read 3 New Books (12 Books 12-Month Goal)
I am dominating this one. In the month of February I finished reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, Smash!: Green Day, the Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX and the ’90s Punk Explosion by Ian Winwood, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. That brings my total for the year to five books! Currently reading Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis.

Goals That Need Revision:

3-Month Goal — Bathroom, Front Door and Back Deck Complete
Since the last update we installed the new shelf and TP holder in the bathroom, finished painting and installed the new fixture on the vanity sink. We still lack the storage shelf in the bathtub, a new curtain rod for the shower and I need to replace the cold-water valve under the sink. We haven’t touched the front door or the back deck. This may be a five-month goal.

New Goals:

Cholesterol in Order
While my blood pressure seemed to be in working order, my total cholesterol was about five times higher than what would be considered normal. It seems like this is not uncommon among folks who have elevated liver enzymes, etc., so I’m hoping that medication for one will help with the other. I go back in a couple of months to check out my progress.

Clean Eating, Treat Meals and Dad Bod 2.0
Katie and I have restructured our nutrition a bit and leaning more toward a whole-foods eating philosophy. My week to cook was pretty good with a couple of fishy fails but her week has been absolute fire! Not counting calories yet but enjoying the new philosophy so far. I’m also reintroducing the concept of treat meals/days (Note: Treat, not Cheat. Using phrases like Cheat Day or Cheat Meal messes with your subconscious and makes you think you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing. I’m not into that type of self-hatred and negativity, y’all!). These treat meals are usually going to consist of pounding some Marco’s Pizza, burgers from Aubrey’s, take out from the Party House or anything else that’s processed and heavy. It’s a good balance and makes the disciplined week more palatable. I’m also introducing Dad Bod 2.0 which is a completely different style of training that consists of six days of cardio, five days of strength training and six days of mobility work.

Goals I’m Letting Go:

3-Month Goal 15 Pounds Down, 12-month Goal 30 Pounds Down
This was a goal I wasn’t really into anyway. Losing weight will probably lead me to fixing some of my other outstanding health issues, but I’m fit and hardly fat. I’m going to continue trying to get more muscular but dial in my nutrition in a way that helps me stay lean in the process.

Rad Things From February:

Katie conquered one of her greatest fears by presenting a variety of interior design trends before a crowd of 30 people at Knoxville’s Dogwood Arts House and Garden Show, I made a bad-ass (and healthy!) Super Bowl dinner that was mad-high in protein, Katie organized a super-rad sushi dinner for Valentine’s Day at home, we celebrated V-Day weekend in Nashville with the aforementioned Adam Sandler show, went bar hopping on Broadway, enjoyed some rock-and-roll at a place called Bowie’s, had a sexy dinner at Bourbon Steak, enjoyed Lobster Fries from Dock Local, heard live opera singers at the Parthenon museum, and finally, we enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather perfect for playing ball with the dogs outside and going for the year’s first motorcycle ride.