Next Stop: Mount Everest!

This morning at the gym, I climbed the rock wall. It's such an exhilarating workout. I scaled that puppy in no time! I think maybe this summer, I want to do a road trip and go climb some real mountains.



Look! There I am, on the lower left portion of the wall:

Friday Night Friends

My friends Clark and Anne are in Athens this weekend! They're staying with Kate, so I swung by there to hang out for awhile tonight. We hung around, sipped some brews, and then I headed off to a party. It was nice to see them!

Yard Work

It was so gorgeous outside today, I decided to do some yard work. I always find myself with so much energy in the spring! My yard is going to look incredible this year. I really showed those weeds who's boss!

Poker Party!

Poker Party!

Last night was J's birthday! J and Summer threw a poker party. It cost $10 to play. Summer made tons of food, and the booze was flowing freely.



Aaron Burk was there.



There were a lot of players. Here's Summer, Suzanne, Ryan, Rose and Chad.



Here I am, with Aaron and the Birthday Boy behind me!



Since it wasn't just a normal poker night, and it was also a birthday party, the shots came out pretty early. Patron! Ole!



Here's me right before I went all in, and lost. From now on, no tequila on poker nights for me! It's okay, I don't mind that I lost. J won, and it just seems appropriate for the birthday boy to win.



Plus, since I was out of the game, it meant I could go check out the snacks! What man can resist a delicious cupcake?



Or a little good-natured flirtation from a beautiful woman? Mmm, grapes.

Practice Makes Perfect

This Saturday is my buddy J's birthday, and to celebrate, he and his girlfriend Summer are having a Texas Hold 'Em night at their house. I haven't played poker in ages, so I had Carl and Brad over this evening so I could get some practice in before the big game. Turns out I probably didn't even need the practice, everything came back to me so easily! But it was fun to play anyway.

Look! There's me about to win with a flush!

The Olive Garden

This afternoon, I headed over to Parkersburg, West Virginia to shop for some tools. It just so happened that a few of my friends were also in Parkersburg today doing some clothes shopping! We decided to meet up at The Olive Garden for some lunch. Our waitress was totally into me. She kept asking about me! She was really cute, too.

Here I am with Rose!



Across the table, Andrea and Kate.



Now, I know The Olive Garden isn't authentic Italian fare, but I'm not gonna lie. Their minestrone soup is incredible. It's chock full of veggies and is so delicious. I had two bowls full.



I thought about getting some dessert.



But then all that soup and salad caught up with me and I got extremely full. I had to take a little rest in the bread basket until the feeling of fullness passed! At least the soup was healthy!

Getting Back to Normal

I feel SO much better! I was actually able to get up and go to the gym this morning. I'm still taking it easy on my arm, no pumping iron or anything. Instead I did some squats and really focused on my abs! I bet I'll be bench pressing tons of pounds again by early next week.

Thank You For All The Good Thoughts!

I just want to say thank you for the overwhelming flood of support I received over the weekend. So many cards and phone calls! It's an incredible feeling to know that there are this many people out there who care about me, and who are wishing me a speedy recovery. Seriously, I feel like I could heal from anything with friends like all of you!

I'm dying to know who sent the roses...

The Magic of Medicine

Here are some photos from my surgery! It was a very delicate procedure. They let me stay awake for the first part, but knocked me out completely for the more invasive portion. I'm a little sore, but healing so fast. Soon, my arm should be as good as new!