Confessions of a Coffee Snob

I admit it, I’m a snob. I've tried not to be. Yet I stand before you a self confirmed coffee snob. How bad am I you might wonder? Every morning at work, there is a fresh pot of coffee made just down the hall from me in my principal’s office. In a new school, the proper thing to do would be to graciously accept this offer, which I've tried. I really did. But Folgers? And then they even had a Kona blend. A blend? I’m sorry. I tried, but I just couldn't. Pretty bad, huh? It gets worse. I can't drink from a styrofoam cup. Why ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee by putting it in sytrofoam? Yuck. I'm even particular about which mug I use. No one or two finger mugs, please. And it's not enough that it's a three or four finger mug; it must also have the right balance. (Keep in mind that the balance changes when it's full.) Here are two of my favorites. The blue one is just perfect. The Bush/Cheney one is fun because I'm the lone conservative in a world of liberal educators! And to top it off, I LOVE our coffee maker (thanks Mom): a Cuisinart Grind & Brew with a thermal carafe. I have it set so that as I walk in from the gym each morning, a fresh pot is waiting. A perfect way to start the day. I just realized that by admitting this none of you that know me will ever offer me coffee again. :(

It’s my father-in-law’s fault (pictured at right). He created this in me. I always enjoyed coffee but he taught me to love it. I can't blame him for the snob part though. Following his death, I inherited his coffee roaster and started buying green coffee online.

I remember when he introduced me to the fine art of roasting coffee beans. He proudly escorted his brother-in-law, Claude, and me outside to give us our first roasting lesson in his mother’s garage. He was still roasting beans with a hot air popcorn popper at the time. More exciting than the lesson itself was his joy in what he was doing; in his sharing this with us. It’s a vivid memory I hold of a wonderful man, and a wonderful time. It obviously had an impact on Claude too as he is a fellow roaster today!

I also have to confess, the snob that I am, I’m not a purist. Try as I have, I cannot drink my coffee black. I must have my Coffee-mate and Splenda. I am so addicted to drinking my coffee that way, I rarely order coffee at restaurants unless I bring my stash bag with me. My mother even keeps a small container of Coffee-mate and packets of Splenda because of my compulsion. I still can’t believe I had gone three months without coffee when first confronted with my health scare because I was avoiding the Coffee-mate. That was definitely the hardest part of my restricted meal plan. Since my condition has greatly improved, I've allowed coffee back in. And it has been wonderful. :)

Just in case I've stimulated any interest in roasting here, are my two favorite sites. You'll find everything you need to get started. The Coffee Project has a great online video section with roasting demos, coffee history, and production. Coffee Bean Corral has a great coffee matrix to use to compare different types of coffee.

Awfully Wonderful

So I started riding again. I brought my ancient bike in the shop to have it tuned up. I replaced accessories which have been misplaced over the years. How could I lose one glove? Where could I have put that pump? What can I expect having not ridden in almost six years. My gosh, has it really been that long?

I brought the bike home and gave it a bath. It's still in incredible shape. Perhaps the low mileage has something to do with it. My 1989 Trek 7000, a mountain bike set up for road riding, was clean and ready to go. So off I went. I've completed two rides so far, a 30 minute and 45 minute ride, both rather light. Everything felt awkward. Nothing felt smooth. My cadence was off, my legs were weak, my breathing was off, my shifting required retraining, and a plethora of other things. Any onlooker would call it an awful ride. But, It. Was. Wonderful! I thoroughly and completely loved being back on my bike. My second ride was a simple eight miles. I only have to build up to another 92 to prepare for my century in March! "Piece a cake, piece a cake." (As stated by Billy Crystal in Forget Paris)


My official training, based on Marla Streb's Century Training Program, will begin in early November. So I have until then to plug fun miles and get comfortable on the bike again. Eventually I'll need to do some group rides to get used to riding in a pack. Those around me in March will be glad I do this prior to the event. I found out the hard way what its like to knock over a fellow rider. (He actually left this incident out of his post. Maybe he forgot? Maybe because it happened while training instead of "the ride"? Maybe grace?)

Finally, please encourage me to NOT listen to those that are telling me that I need a road bike as opposed to my road-ready mountain bike for the century. I went looking yesterday. When did bikes get so expensive? I think the bike I did the San Francisco to Los Angeles ride on cost around $200. Sure it was almost 20 years ago, but still. The bike I was looking at yesterday (which is considered a mid-range bike) was $1499. WHAT??? Julianne suggested that I get a sponsor. She said maybe Subway will sponsor me if I say I've been eating their sandwiches as part of my weight loss program. Not a bad idea. Cause there's no way I can justify spending that kind of money. Not when I have a bike. Maybe I'll start saving. Now there's an idea.

One Life

The question is often asked, "What difference does one life make?" It is typically an introspective question asked about oneself. We all have our George Bailey moments. But I'm not doing that here. Right now I'm thinking about Lily. We still often hear what a wonderful thing we've done for Lily: giving her a home, a family, safety, love, etc. All true. And then there's what she's done for us: Given us the chance to be parents, to greater experience the grace of God, to add to our family, to bring more joy than we ever imagined, etc. Those are all to be expected. But to see how this whole experience, how this one little life has affected those around us is all too incredible to witness.

Having the opportunity to travel to China with our mother's was both a blessing and a joy. And especially now that Lily is adjusting, it's such a joy to see her interact with them and to see how excited they get to be with her.

My sister is just on top of the world every time she sees Lily. She lights up at the sight of her. Another true blessing. And my aunt, oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever seen her so happy as when she gets to be with Lily.

And so many more. We've had the chance to spend time with other family members and many, many friends since we've been back from China, several of whom began weeping at the first sight of Lily. (I won't name names to spare embarrassment.)

So what difference can one life make? I look forward to a lifetime of continuing to see that question answered.

Two Months of Lily Grace

If you follow Julianne's blog also, I know this topic is redundant. And you might see some of the same pictures. But how can I sit and let this pass without saying something? Two months since someone I can't even recall placed Lily into the arms of my wife. TWO MONTHS??? The nearly three year wait for her is completely out of mind now. It seems as if Lily has been part of our lives forever. We can't imagine life without her now. She has so transformed our lives, it is almost indescribable. But isn't that what I'm attempting to do here? All of you long time parents know what I'm talking about and are smiling at what I'm now saying; perhaps recalling a glimpse of when you first experienced what I'm trying to talk about. As she grows, and learns something new each day, she continues to mold me. How God is using this child to transform me (and I admit I have a LONG way to go) is beyond comprehension.

In case any of you missed the video on Julianne's blog of the moment we got Lily (7-9-07), here is another chance to see it.

Enjoy the many faces of Lily.

Change of Plan

As an educator, part of my job is to inspire. To motivate. To challenge. For many students, I have been successful. At least I hope so. I recently received word that one of my former students has been accepted to attend a leadership conference in Washington D.C. this coming spring. Moments such as these make a teacher proud. Getting students to push themselves and apply themselves can be a great challenge. Especially students that lack confidence. I try to put my students at ease to at least try. "The worst that can happen is that you're wrong," I'd tell them. The classroom environment I attempt to establish is one in which everyone feels safe to make mistakes without fear of how others will respond.

I'm such a hypocrite. "The worst that can happen is that you're wrong" has always been a fear for me. Fear of failure has caused me to not pursue dreams/goals in the past. It's also why I had rarely put to writing my goals and plans. Having them stare back at me not achieved would plague me. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday that made me reflect on this quite a bit. Not attempting something I didn't believe I could accomplish in the past has been much easier than making the attempt and failing. That's the attitude that kept me out of shape for so many years at a time.

I know...look at all the successful people that failed many times before achieving tremendous success. That argument never worked for me. But I use it all the time to motivate others. Go figure. Now that I'm finding success in personal goals, I'm better able to continue to reflect and examine myself. And I think I'm not fearing failure quite as much.

For example, I recently decided to train for a marathon. It was a quick, but not a haphazard decision. I researched, consulted my physician, read articles, purchased a book and gear, etc. Having only gone running twice now, I am able to see that completing a full marathon by March 08' is most unlikely. The pressure on my hips, legs, and feet is just too much for my current physical condition. So I'm shifting my goals. Previously I stated that two things I've always wanted to do was run a marathon and ride a century. I'm putting the century first. And it just so happens, I found one that takes place in March 08' as well. Cycling, while physically demanding, exerts far less stress on the body than running.

In the past, giving up a goal, especially after putting it in writing, would have seemed like a failure to me. But now I'm more than comfortable with my decision. Cycling has always been my first love as far as personal exercise is concerned. I'm very excited about getting back on the bike after so many years.

A big "thank you" to my wife for her support in this. Having lost her father five years ago while he was bicycling does not make this easy for her. Thank you, Sweetie!

Who's Out There?

I'm kinda curious here. When I enter new posts I see my hit counter increasing. Since it's over 500 now, it can't be all from my return visits here! Outside of the two or three regulars that post comments, I don't know who's out there. So I'm wondering who's reading. I don't know if you are blog hoppers that happen across my page from time to time or if I have more than a handful of regular readers. How many, I'm wondering, of you know me in person, outside of the blogging community? I'm mostly writing to unload what's in my head as well as to document/journal so I'm not necessarily coveting comments. (Ok, maybe a little.) But I must say that I have enjoyed reading the comments I've received as well as reading the blogs of those who visit. So I promise to not make this a regular request, but if you wouldn't mind leaving a comment on this post telling me who's out there, I'd appreciate it. First name only is fine. And if you have a blog, let me (and my two or three other readers) know. Thanks :)

Preliminary Training: Day 2; The Hallucination

Today's run was going to be put on hold until tomorrow, possibly Monday. During the week I had been called to fill in on a doubles game. Shortly after accepting the offer, the game unfortunately got canceled. I have not played tennis in months so I was disappointed. I did receive a counter-offer to go surfing instead. I have ALWAYS wanted to learn to surf but I don't feel ready to try that. Not yet at least. I told him to keep asking because I WILL say yes one of these days. Anyhow, that lead to today's run.

I couldn't have worked out that hard. I increased my pace to running three minutes, walking two intermittently for half an hour. I'm writing this within minutes of returning home, before the pain sets in, so I can say it was still hard-yet not unbearable. But I couldn't have worked out that hard. Hard enough to hallucinate?

Since the gate to the local high school track has been locked on Saturday mornings I have been running east to west and back upon a gravel lined trail along the wash. With the wash to the north of the trail, there are views into residential backyards to the south. Many birds reside in and around the wash. If having two bird feeders qualifies me as a bird lover, then so I am. I know nothing about them other than they have feathers, wings, and can fly (most at least). Other than that, I can tell you, "There's a pretty bird." So on my return, running west with the sun in my eyes (hoping that's a good enough excuse) I saw it up ahead sitting on the trail. There sitting peacefully was a beautiful red/orange breasted, black beaked bird. A robin? Finch? I have no idea but you get an idea of the size. Huffing, puffing, and stomping closer, I was perplexed yet pleased that this beautiful bird had not panicked and flown away. As I approached and passed what I had ascribed as the handiwork of God, I had to laugh (inside my head because I was too busy huffing and puffing). What I saw was not a bird. Was not a squirrel. Was not even a living creature. Nor was it once living. So what was it? Take a look below.

You Are My Sunshine

Since she is no longer terrified of her bath time, and because it's been hotter than blazes, we decided to get an inflatable pool from Target. She had a blast. Today was her third day straight using it. After she got out she saw the pool through the window she did the sign for more. Sooooo cute!. Here she is listening to Mommy singing her favorite song. After watching this, tell me she's not the cutest thing ever! (Actually, please don't tell me that. I won't believe you.)

Preliminary Training: Day One

I’m glad I made the decision before this past Saturday. Before I made an attempt. Conversing with my doctor last week, he stated that completing a marathon in March ’08 is a reasonable, yet lofty goal. So upon hearing those words, I went out and purchased a new pair of running shoes. I went to a store that specializes in charging exorbitant prices, I mean educating you in-all-things-running. They really know their stuff and we're most helpful. Then I went to Borders and sorted through the wide selection of books addressing marathon training. I found a title most suiting for me, “The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer.” I used to run three miles a day back in high school. Early high school. We're talking twenty five years ago!

So I had all my gear; I had done some reading; I was feeling extremely motivated; I figured all my work in recent months on the treadmill would have me ready to start running...and then Saturday came. My book has a 16-week training program to prepare for the marathon. At the start of the program, a trainee should be able to run continuously for 30 minutes comfortably. Since I'm already walking 60 minutes on the treadmill at a 14% incline, I thought, "How hard could this be?" HA HA HA! Then Saturday came. IT. WAS. HARD. I ended up running (and I use that word loosely hoping to not offend actual runners) two and a half minutes followed by the same time walking, alternating for half an hour. I was humbled. But not discouraged. I have until November 12 to get comfortable running so I can start the 16 weeks of training. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But it won't be for lack of trying. My original idea was to do the L.A. Marathon in 2009 but since my weight loss has been moving along so well, I thought, "Why not try it in 2008?" So even if I work hard and am still not ready for next year, I'll still have made great progress. Lord willing, I'll be ready though.

Even though I've lost 74 pounds so far, I'm still too heavy to really run. But if I continue at this pace, I should be fine by race day. In the section on running shoes in my new book, it discusses the importance of quality shoes. "Running is classified as a "traumatic" type of exercise because of the constant pounding that occurs." And that's for runners at a normal weight! I'll continue using the treadmill and mix in short runs as I'm able. It has been two days since my first attempt and I am still SORE.

I'm anxious to see how this unfolds.

Lily's Big Day

On Sunday we had Lily's dedication service and her 1st birthday party. It was such a wonderful day. She is adjusting so well and seems to love all the attention. She is doing much better going to other people now. I'm going to make up for having two picture-less posts in a row. I can take no credit for the following pictures. Denise (my former student) was our official photographer for the day and she did an amazing job. She really has a good eye and composed her shots nicely.

Below is the video from Lily's dedication service. (Thanks Kevin!)



Enjoy the pictures.

Walking in her birthday dress (one of them)

Lily and me

Mommy and Lily

Carina and a happy birthday girl

Deborah, Charlie, and Ellen having fun

Rania, Yousef, and Ahmed

Denise, with an extended arm took this one of us. (She hated her hair in this one)

Jim and Laura taking a break from all the excitement

Julianne made Lily the cutest cake.

What would be more fitting for our Lilybug than a Ladybug cake?

Lily's first taste of cake. She LOVED it!

Our beautiful, messy girl

Getting a thorough cleaning after her cake

All clean and ready for another new outfit

Am I Crazy for Thinking About This?

It all started with a most inappropriately timed question. Almost twenty years ago, while pedaling up a deceptively difficult hill on the west end of the San Fernando Valley, he asked, "So do you think you'd like to ride from San Francisco back to L.A. next year?" I'm glad I eventually said, "Yes." That summer bike ride of 1988 (wow, that sounds like a long time ago now) was one of my proudest accomplishments. It still makes for a good story.

So did you see how he did it again? Commenting on my last post, while congratulating me on a job well done he snuck in the question, "So, you think you'll be interested in riding x-country in 2010?" It's not the first time he asked. But I think it was the first time I seriously considered it. I ran the idea by my wife and she thought it'd make for a good trip. Lily will be almost four then. They could drive ahead, do lots of sightseeing, and meet up with us after we cycle each day. This would also allow for us to not have to carry all of our gear on our bikes like we did on the San Francisco ride.

Am I crazy for considering this? Bicycling across the United States. I began investigating. It's much more common than I realized. I found quite a few blogs of people that have done it; some more than once. I then looked for routes. Adventure Cycling Association had some good information and several routes from which to choose.

So I know if I do this, lots of training will be required. This leads to some other pretty intense goals. Two things I've always wanted to do but never have done is to run a marathon and ride a century (Not in the same day...I'm not sick!) As I'm already working hard to get in shape, I'm thinking L.A. Marathon in 2008. I'm not sure if I can build up the endurance to run the full marathon in time for next year's race. So for next year I'd probably either jog/walk all 26.2 miles or perhaps do a half marathon and then hopefully run the distance in 2009. I also want to search out local century rides and perhaps complete my first one next year. Putting these goals down in print makes me more likely to carry them out.

Health Update

Back in June I briefly mentioned my "health concerns" and said I would probably blog about it in the future. It's something until recently, and sparingly at that, I have not talked much about. I'm basically journaling this not knowing who is reading my thoughts. Getting it out on "paper" helps me sort my thoughts. Anyhow, here's my story.

On April 30 of this year, I woke up numb. Literally. From my calves to my toes, and from my forearms to my fingertips on the right and left side, I was mildly numb. It was comparable to the feeling when your hands and feet begin to fall asleep. It was not painful, but very noticeable and persistent.

When it was still noticeable the next day, I promptly conducted a search on WebMD.com from work. The fourth result for my search for "tinlgling hands and feet" caused a great pause to occur. I did not want to read any further, but I knew I had to. The title of the article was "The Nerve Damage of Diabetes." Peripheral Neuropathy, a name I had never heard, appeared to be description of what I was experiencing. I immediately made a doctor's appointment for later that same day. This was the same day we got our referral from our adoption agency for Lily so you can imagine what an emotional basket case I was. Since I was experiencing the numbness in all four limbs at once and it appeared suddenly, the doctor thought it might have been related to my thyroid instead of being diabetes related. Blood work taken that day did not support the doctor's initial belief. I did in fact have a high blood sugar reading which suggested I might be diabetic. Any of you that knew my father or know his story would understand my reaction. Scared. Not scared of dying. Scared of dying that way, the way he died. And even scared of living that way.

I'll briefly explain some of the technical details. One of the tests for diabetes is the Hemoglobin A1C test which measures the blood sugar and gives a three month average. The charts say that if you are diabetic, you should keep your score in the 6's. The non-diabetic range is under 6.0. My May 1 result was 7.1.

The doctor said it takes two readings to make a diagnosis of diabetes. I immediately took action. I enrolled in a diabetic information/nutrition class that met on three Tuesday evenings. I was issued a blood meter so I could do my own daily blood sugar readings. I completely changed my diet, began going to the gym, and began praying like I've never prayed. For a few days, I really kicked myself for having put back all the weight I had lost in the previous years. Although discouraged, I did not let that break my new focus. During the past three months, my diet has been perfect, all my blood sugar readings have been normal, and my workout routine has been mostly consistent as far as I have been able to control. The trip to China altered my routine somewhat.

Today, on Lily's birthday and three months after my initial blood work, I got my lab results back from the doctor. My Hemoglobin A1C test returned with a reading of 5.5 and the words "Non-Diabetic" written next to it. I let out a half sigh of relief. I know I can't let my guard down. The doctor told me that for all intents and purposes I should technically see myself as a diabetic but consider it under control. As I continue to eat well and lose weight, which totals 68 pounds thus far as of this morning, I remain 100% determined. The tingling is almost completely gone. I still feel it from time to time but it is far less intense and is no longer persistent.

I have a wife and baby daughter that are depending on me to be around. Although I completely acknowledge God is in control, and He can take me home any time He sees fit, I'm not going to contribute to a lifestyle that would lead to me leaving before I should.

One final note...I returned back to work on Tuesday after having the summer off. Since I've lost a good deal of weight over the summer, a coworker, after commenting on my appearance asked, "Did you have the surgery?" I laughed and said, "No" to which she replied, "Are you sure?" I told her, "If I were going to have the surgery, I would have had them take off a lot more than this!"

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

We just got home from celebrating Lily's first birthday. We went out to Famous Dave's (again) with Juliannes' mom, my mom, and my sister. We mostly were being amused by Lily. She LOVES an audience. She becomes such a ham, especially during meal time. And she is getting very used to the camera, which is such a blessing for me. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves though.

AAAAHHHHH

Fun with Vegetables and Chicken

I swear I'm floating right now. I've got to be the proudest daddy of em all. I am absolutely loving this parenting thing. Of course Lily is making it so easy on us. The fact that she sleeps 12 hours straight through the night, and eats everything we feed her is more than enough to help us not worry about her occasional fussiness.

My words here are not doing justice to all I'm feeling now. Simply said, we are indeed blessed.

Happy Birthday, baby girl.

A Month with Lily Grace

Tomorrow marks one month that we have had Lily. It seems like she has been with us forever and at the same time, I can't believe it's been a month already. She is adjusting incredibly well to us, the house, and our pets-Shayna and Max (Stella has pretty much moved to the neighbors back yard since their house sitter started feeding her). She has grown and changed so much in this short time.

When we got her, she screamed her head off when we put her on her stomach. We assume she spent so much time on her back in the orphanage in her crib that when we set her down on her tummy, she was clueless as to what to do. She now flips herself over quickly and attempts to crawl. She usually gets one knee up which causes her to crawl in a circle instead of moving where she wishes to go.

We have been so blessed by the flow of visitors to come meet Lily. Everyone has been so gracious. I'm sure many have been worried about overwhelming Lily but all three of us are just loving spending time together with everyone. Lily is really turning into such a character with her visitors. She especially turns it on after a good meal. In this picture, she was having a wonderful time at our dinner at Famous Dave's with Hilda and Amber. This is an incredible time of blessing for us. God has been pouring out so much during this time for which we are so thankful.

Hilda and Lily

Lily meets her "sister" Denise (my former student)

Big Girl Walking

Look what our daughter can do! She's walking up a storm. Well, she's holding on to my fingers, but this girl is jamming across the floor. Now that she knows she can do this, she does NOT want to sit on laps much anymore. All this coming from a girl who cannot crawl yet. With her increased leg strength she can get up on a knee now but her arms are stronger and she ends up pushing herself backwards! Too cute.

Sights of China

No, I didn't forget. I purposely skipped the sights from China from my previous post so I could make it a post on it's own. I decided instead of inserting pictures and writing about them, I'd do a slide presentation because I'd just slow you all down with everything I'd have to say about each image. I reduced my almost 700 pictures from China to around 160...still way too many. The following measures thirteen minutes and eighteen seconds. I've already promised Julianne I'll make another version, perhaps one song long instead of the three on this presentation. Also, soon coming will be a slide show all about Lily so don't be disapointed that I kept LOTS of her pictures out of this version. So if you are so inclined, sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy.