Today, August 23rd, is 1 year from when we closed and moved in to our new home. It is bittersweet since that means our one year warranty on everything is up, so we’ll have to depend on ourselves to fix any other problems that happen.

But the house feels solid and well built! My sincere thanks goes out to the Kenny at Legend Builders in Wilmington and to his great foreman, Jeff who ensured that our concerns were taken care of.

We still love our new home, and we love that it’s within a short driving distance to the beaches of Topsail Island.

By the way, this is an earlier photo taken after hurricane Ophelia came through shortly after the landscaper’s sodded the front yard. Ophelia washed it away quite promptly. But since then it’s been repaired and the grass looks great.

- Tim

So Thursday night (around 9:30pm) I’m feeling kind of handy so I grab a screwdriver, tighten the loose toilet bowl seat in the Master Bath, and then I recall that the sink in the kitchen is sticking. You try to move the spout from one water basin to the other and it sticks. So I go in there to try and fix ….

It’s 11:00pm and I’ve taken the sink fixture apart and put it back together several times … and it’s not sticking anymore, but now sink is leaking. The majority of the water is coming out at the base, rather than the spout. I visit Moen’s website, look at pics of how the o-rings supposed to sit, but I’m telling you nothing would get it to stop leaking.

So anyways … today the plumbers come by and replace the entire fixture. My wife is delighted to have a kitchen sink again after not having one for 3 days.

Perhaps I should just stick to fixing computers.

- Tim

I’ve been using Calorie King Software to track my calorie intake, exercise, number of steps recorded from my pedometer, and my weight. I just subscribed to the Calorie King’s community so that I can utilize a number of other tools they have, get advice from their online community, and publish my ongoing efforts from the desktop software. Something about sharing the information gives the sharing individual a realm of accountability. So now you can track my results and even my meal plan day to day. Here’s the link, plus it’s listed on the right under my links.

I’ve looked at a number of different online diet communities … South Beach, Ediet, Spark People, etc. But so far I like Calorie King’s simplicity and how it interacts seamlessly with their own software.

Also, if you’re curious about almost any food item’s(lots of specific Restaurant content as well)calorie and nutritional content you can probably find it for free at Calorie King without subscribing to their service.

- Tim

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Haven’t posted since July 4th … I know. But then again, I don’t believe I have a huge audience just craving to read my postings anyways.

On July 24th I began the South Beach Diet, and as of 8/14 I’ve lost 10lbs so far. Now I’m in Phase 2 of the diet, so I can have low glycemic fruit and whole grain breads again… but still I’m introducing them sparingly.

I have an OMRON “Walking Style” Pedometer that is great. It kind of puts me in competition with myself and ensures that I take enough steps.

I’m also using Calorie King Desktop software to track calories. Yes, I know on South Beach you really don’t have to do that, but I feel it helps me.

And last, but definately not least is the constant encouragement and gentle pushing from my beautiful wife to stay on course.

Perhaps when I’m closer to my Target weight I’ll post some ‘after pics’ for all of my non-audience.

- Tim