Saturday, April 13th, 2013

Namaste,


It's been a very busy week. We had several patients discharge so we had to refill the building. It has been quite difficult to maintain our momentum due to the fact that we have had to deny several patients in the past couple of months secondary to our building being full. I have been eating right and taking my supplements everyday. In addition to that I have been getting plenty of exercise, either running, doing ab work, spending hours at the gym and getting good sleep. I have assembled an awesome team for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. There are five members to our team. We may not win the race, but we are going to look awesome running. I have all of my chores done for the weekend already. Grocery store done, laundry done, floors done, dishes done..... I'm takin the weekend off!!!!! Other than getting a couple good work outs! Tonight there is the Rumble at Remington. I have a guy from my new gym, fighting a kid that Giroux and I started in combat sports about five years ago. Most everyone from Western Ave Boxing will be there. If you want to go, let me know. I can get tickets at the advance purchase price of $25.00.

Love you all!

Mat

Monday, April 8th, 2013

Namaste,

Well it has been well over a month since I have written. I have been quite busy with work, and getting my act together. I made a conscience decision about three weeks ago to go hardcore and get my butt back in shape! I started eating right with no exceptions, and getting some sort of exercise EVERYDAY! I don't care what it is but getting active is the key to success. In addition to getting active you MUST find an accountability partner. I am Thai boxing/Jui Jit Su on Tuesdays and Thursdays and running at least twice a week. In the last three weeks I am down 35 pounds and I am wearing clothes that have not been out of the closet in well over a year. I have a little swagger back. In addition to that I have been taking supplements and I have more definition and lean muscle mass than ever. I have been contemplating another trip to Nepal, but I am afraid that if I go again, I may never come back! Work has been crazy. We have had record census and revenue for five straight months. I have two new admission coordinators and two new liaisons. Training is on-going and I can't wait until everyone is well versed and able to handle the show on their own. A couple weeks ago I took a couple days off and spent one day shopping in Tulsa and one day at the lake. It was nice to get away for a couple days and I am looking at doing something this weekend. Either Dallas, Tulsa, or Mount Scott. I ran in the Redbud Classic yesterday with a good friend of mine. We did not set any records, but we had a blast! I was playing air drums the whole way! The Memorial Marathon is just a couple weeks away! Gonna continue training!

Love you all!

Mat

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Namaste,


How's everybody doing? I've been well, for the most part. Feeling a little beat up this morning, but love the pain. I am now helping my buddy Mike Giroux teach MMA twice a week. Last night we had one of our ex-pro fighters come in and teach some ground game... He tore me up! I loved every minute of it. Work has been good. I promoted my assistant, and have been looking at bringing someone in. I interviewed one young lady so far, but I have 25 more resumes to go through. Jordan came up for dinner Sunday night... I guess she is moving to Seattle in May. Everyone I tell, ask me how I feel about that??? Frankly I think it's gonna suck, but I am excited for her, and now I have somewhere to stay in the northwest! It will be a good spot to go into Alaska or up into Canada for some big boy play! (McKinley, Rainier and Hood) Trey has been busy with school. He has hours, and hours of homework every night. When he complains about it I tell him it was his choice to take FOUR AP classes, Spanish two and Orchestra! Sherrie only has a couple more months of school. She just finished rotations at Children's Hospital, and is at Deaconess again in the Cardiac Cath Lab. It looks like her final rotation will be at Spine Hospital. That is where she would really like to work, and that would be the best for our family. It is just a couple miles away, and they have a very liberal schedule. I have been ask to participate in the Edmond Fine Arts Spring Sampler again this year.... I feel honored when I am ask. I will print and frame two images and they will go in the show and auction to raise funds for the arts here in Edmond. I sent four images for them to choose from... I will post them above.


Love you all!

Mat

Sunday, February 17th, 2013

Namaste,

Well it has been a couple busy weeks. Work, work, and more work. I know.... Blah, Blah, Blah! I have done several shoots, and working really hard in the gym. I have a goal to get back in my skinny jeans by summer! Muay Thai is going great. Our classes are getting bigger every week. I usually work on the basics with the new students, and let Mike do the technical teaching. I did spar him a couple times in the last couple of weeks. I feel good about it! One night he knocked me out, and the next I busted his mouth open! Tit for tat!!! I bought some new equipment for the house as well! I bought a new heavy bag for the garage. So a big bag for punches and kicks and a small bag for knees and elbows. I also got a mag trainer for my bike, so I can ride in the comfort of my living room. For those of you who don't know what a mag trainer is.... It is a device that my road bike sits in. The rear tire is elevated and has a magnetic resistance wheel on the back, so it's just like riding outside, only not! I also got a body rack. I can do standing crunches, pull-ups, upside down crunches and anything else I invent! For Valentines Day.... Sherrie got a new exercise bike too... We're all getting our act together! This last weekend, Sherrie and I had our 23rd anniversary. My good friend Clark let me have the run of his estate at Lake Tenkiller. It is by far the most beautiful lake in the state. Just about 20 miles south of the lake is Sequoya Wildlife Reserve. This time of year there are four Bald Eagles that winter there. Well.... We found them! They are truly beautiful! We went back to the house for a bit before heading up to Tahlequah for lunch and a movie. We saw the new Die Hard movie and it was awesome. We drove around the lake for a couple of hours before grabbing dinner and going back to the house. I was really under the weather so no big hikes or climbing cliffs. That's OK.... There's always next time! This week is going to be busy! The images I am posting are from the Baylor University Women's Alumni Association Dinner at Vast in the Devon Building, and pictures from the Lake this weekend.

Love you all!

Mat

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Namaste,

Good morning..... It's been about three weeks since I've been here. Life sometimes gets really busy! I generally get up at 5:10 and get cleaned up, before opening email and responding. Between getting that started, fixing Trey's lunch and taking care of the dog...... It's already time for work. I take a different way to work everyday... I usually don't take my camera this time of year, because everything is just kinda blah. I have been helping my buddy Mike Giroux teach Muay Thai on Tuesday nights. I have really enjoyed getting back in the gym, and getting kicked in the head. It makes me smile. I can tell you that in all of the different exercise programs I have done, fighting is by far the best workout. I don't know what endorphins are released while fighting, but what I do know, is if you want to get your cardio up in a short period call me and I will help with that. I started riding my bike again. Saturday when I rode it was 22 degrees..... Yeah.... My fingernails were navy blue when I got back. I was wearing gloves but they didn't help much. Good thing was there was no wind! I ran Sunday evening.... It sucked!!!!! I hate running! I don't know how anyone derives pleasure out of it, and it always causes great pain in my low back. I may find a gym to join so I would have access to an elliptical trainer. I have been shopping for a spin bike. I have found a couple that I really like, but I just haven't pulled the trigger.

Work has been GREAT! My building is full, and has been for three months. Does it have anything to do with me????? NOPE! It's the team we have put together! We are small but awesome! Two record months of revenue, and January will be the third!

I will start writing more often! Love you all!

Mat 

Saturday, January 5th, 2013

Namaste,

Well.... I'm home and rested. I did leave Durango at the buttcrack of dawn on the 31st of December. Overnight it had snowed almost a foot and although I knew the roads were going to be challenging I wanted to get over the pass before it was closed. I started out and it was a little more stressful than I expected. Once the sun came up and I made it to Cortez I felt a lot better. As you head north through Dove Creek, things started getting a little better. I crossed into Utah and the sun started to poke out. I turned into Canyonlands Needles district. I was the first person to take that exit.... I knew this because no one had driven on the fresh snow. I stopped at Newspaper rock, and then on into the Needles. Most of the roads were closed; As well as, the visitors center.I took a few pictures but nothing spectacular. I was starving and one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Moab was for Miguel's fish tacos. Well..... Miguel's was closed! So I went to the Moab Brewery..... And dang if it wasn't closed too! I found a little Mexican restaurant and had a burrito. I headed up to Arches and climbed Delicate. I have done it in winter before, but never on a 4" sheet of ice. It was beautiful. I came down and worked my way over to Turret Arch... The sun was starting to set and it was amazing.... The biggest problem was the park was filled with people who had no idea that they were on sacred, living soil. There were people going off trail, people standing inside the arches, kids banging rocks on the arches...I was livid!!!!!! I made sure people knew that they were off trail, but it didn't matter. I went to the hotel and checked in and then cleaned up for dinner. I went to Zax.... It is a landmark in Moab! I sat there for a long time editing pictures and just being there. It was packed out for New Years eve. About 10:00, I went back to my room and crashed out! I woke up at 4:00am when some drunk butt pulled the fire alarm! I didn't go back to sleep, so I got up and dressed and headed for Island in the Sky. The roads were frozen and the truck said it was -7! I went to Grand View Overlook and watched the sun come up. There were not any clouds in the sky so there was no contrast. I headed over to Mesa and though I would have a peaceful hike but when I was 1/2 a mile away I could hear people. Once I got to Mesa I was PISSED! There were 30 people standing inside the arch. How in the heck can you shoot the arch if you are standing inside. No one cared that I was standing back waiting for them to clear. I got a few shots and then headed back to the truck. I contemplated what to do next. There was not much I could get to in the conditions. The LaSal pass was closed, so I couldn't get to Peal..... I went to the hotel and got my stuff, and headed south. I though I may make it back to Albuquerque or even Santa Fe, but once I got on the road, I knew I was headed home. It was 918 miles and according to my Google Maps 15 hours and 46 minutes. I made it to Farmington, New Mexico and got on 550. The roads were solid ice, so I had to really slow it down. Once into Albuquerque I was able to kick it up and it was a straight shot into OKC. I made it in just under 13 hours. Wednesday I just kinda hung out playing with pictures and sleeping on and off. Thursday my girls from work wanted to go to lunch so I met them.... We had a good laugh at my expense and then I came back home to chill with Trey. I was going to rent a stump grinder for the three trees I need to remove from the yard, but it wouldn't fit in the Yukon. Trey and I went and got a new game, and he tried to teach me how to play. Not a big gamer!!!!! We ended up going to Louie's and grabbing some wings. Friday was my birthday and Jordan was going to come for dinner, but she got called into work so we went to Norman and met her for lunch. She had to go after lunch, but Sherrie, Trey and I went to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. We walked around for a couple of hours before going by Jordan's salon to get Trey's hair cut. We came back to Edmond and went to the store. I wanted home made chicken salad for dinner. It came out really great, and we just kinda chilled for the rest of the evening. It is freezing cold outside. 28 degrees and windy. I am suppose to spar Mike Giroux at noon today. I wanted to go for a jog this morning, but it's not gonna happen! I may just have to relax for a minute! :-)


Love you all!

Mat