Chablis & Her Custom Rod

As many of you know, Chablis graduated from college last weekend.  We wanted to give her a special gift, something a little out of the ordinary that would fit her personality and passion.  Louie hit upon the perfect idea, and the only thing we had to do was find someone to make it.

Enter The Outdoor Blogger Network.

I knew that with their extensive database of outdoor minded bloggers, I would find somebody to help us fulfill our dream.  And I found the perfect person - Ed from over at The Four Season Angler.

I shot an email off and told him what I was looking for.  We wrote back and forth, throwing some ideas around and then finalized everything over the phone.  Ed was very easy to work with, had some great input and assured me that our gift would be in hand well before Chablis' graduation date.  Ed is a man of his word and we could not have been more pleased with the final product.

Here's Chablis opening her brand new, custom made, pink fishing rod!

She absolutely loved it!  I have to mention that I had a rod made for Louie about 25 years ago.  It's his favorite bluegill rod and has held up very well over the years.  In fact, Chablis usually tries to grab it and fish with it.  So now she won't have to, as she has her own little bluegill catcher of her own.  Her favorite color is pink, so that was an important feature to us.  It's ultra light weight and 6'6" long.

Ed even found a pink reel to round out the set.

Look at the beautiful eyes and the colored thread wrapping....

Take a closer look at the cork handle and the adorable little bluegill photo embedded in the cork.

The final touch tho is this.......

This rod is beautifully made, from top to bottom.  Ed did an excellent job on it and we couldn't be more pleased.  Chablis was genuinely surprised and has a special gift that she can cherish for years to come.  I can't wait to get her out on the lake and see how many bluegill she catches with it.  I'm sure she'll catch a bunch.

If you're interested in having one of these beauties made for yourself, I highly recommend Ed.  You can contact him through his blog, The Four Season Angler or through his FB page.

Ed, thank you so much for making our vision a reality.  Chablis loves it!

Congratulations Chablis!

On Saturday my daughter graduated from college!

And she graduated Magna cum laude, of which I am so extremely proud of her.  School has never been easy for her.  In fact, when she was in grammar school I occasionally had my doubts on whether she'd finish high school.  She had a hard time with math - every single year.  She did poorly on any kind of test.  It took her hours to do her homework.  There was often crying and screaming and meltdowns involved.  I'm embarrassed to say that on more than one occasion I threw her math book across the kitchen in frustration.  School was never easy for her.

In high school she learned how to study.  She learned how to write really good papers.  She still suffered through math.  But she gained confidence. She studied for hours on end.  After the first semester of her freshman year, she managed to make the honor roll every time.

When she started college, she earned a scholarship to help pay for some of her tuition.  In order for her to keep the scholarship, she had to maintain a B average.  The pressure was on.  Again, math was a thorn in her side.  She studied, she cried, she had at least one melt down per semester.  "It's too hard, I hate school, I'll never finish," were all words that flew from her mouth multiple times.  She had a tutor, she went to math and science labs, she talked to her teachers, she learned to ask the right people for help.  And she did it!  She graduated with honors.  Because she believed in herself and she worked really hard.  She earned that Magna cum laude.

And along the way she learned to believe in herself and that she is smarter than she thinks.  She learned that nothing in life is going to be given to her and if she wants something, she is going to have to work for it.  Sometimes she has to work really hard.  But doesn't that make the victory that much sweeter?

Afterwards we had an awesome party with lots of family and friends.

Doesn't she look happy?  Congratulations Chablis - we are so proud of you!

A Life Changing Experience

This is my son, Tony.....

If you had to guess, what do you think he has in common with this kid?

The correct answer is EVERYTHING because they are the same person.  I am going to share a very personal story with you today, one that makes me choke back tears of emotion.  I am doing this with Tony's permission because it was a journey of discovery, perserverance and dedication.  It is Tony's story of TRIUMPH and VICTORY!

This is Tony in March of 2009, on his 16th birthday. 

Tony wasn't always overweight.  When he was born he only weighed 6 and a half pounds.  He was a small and thin kid until 5th grade.  That was not an easy year.  He changed grammar schools, his best friend moved away, and his older brother had cancer.  Tony's response to all the turmoil in his life was to sit on his computer and play Runescape, sit alone in his room and play his playstation and eat a lot.  He drank several cokes per day.  He loved pizza, and nachos and chicken McNuggets.  And cookies.  And chips.  But not fruit or salad - ever.  You get the picture.

As Tony's mom I was frustrated and a nag.  I was constantly after him to stop eating, eat less, eat right, drink water, eat an apple, don't eat after 7 at night, eat a proper breakfast.  Ugh.  I tried everything to help him lose weight.  He tried baseball and basketball, I made him exercise and go bike riding.  But to tell you the truth, Tony was a grazer and every time he walked through the kitchen he was eating.  And the more I bugged him about it, the more he would sneak food into his room and eat in solitude.  It was a vicious and frustrating cycle.  Tony would occasionally try a diet but after a week of starving himself he would step on the scale and see that he hadn't lost a pound for his efforts and it would send him reeling back to the kitchen and back to his bad eating habits. 

This is Tony on his 17th birthday and this is the one picture that totally breaks my heart.  Does this look like a happy kid to you? 

About 2 months later Tony came to me and told me he wanted to go back on a diet.  He said he wanted to do it HIS way with no interference from me and he said he was determined to lose some weight this time.   Frankly, I was at the end of my rope and I was ready for him to try just about anything.  Honestly, he had tried losing weight so many times that I wasn't holding out much hope for this attempt either.  I told him to do what he had to do as long as he didn't starve himself.  Silently I said a prayer to God to PLEASE just let this kid lose some damn weight this time.

Day 1  Middle of May 2010  Weight 215 lbs

When Tony started this diet he was close to wearing XXL shirts and size 40 pants.  He was wearing larger clothes than his father.  At this time he had about 2 weeks left of his Junior year in high school. 

At first his diet consisted of cutting out ALL junk food like candy, cookies, chips, coke and fast food. He mainly ate fruit for breakfast, small lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and dinner was pasta, steak, chicken or pork chops.

At the end of 2 weeks he had lost 11 pounds.  He went to his Junior Prom with a girl "friend" but this was actually the girl he really wanted to date.  Remember this because we'll come back to this later.  This is Tony in his first tux.  Nobody had noticed yet that he had lost any weight.

By the end of June 2010 he was starting to see some small results.  His tee shirts were actually starting to sag on him a little.  I also noticed that he was beginning to get out of the house more and doing things like fishing  and going for long walks.

Fourth of July weekend found him out on a jet ski with a smile on his face and down to size large shirts and 36 pants.

His meals by now were consisting of basically the same as before, no junk food at all, but he was doing a lot more exercise.  Any time he wanted a snack he ate an apple.  He ate a LOT of apples.

I think the real turning point for Tony came when he started his Senior year of high school.  When school started back up at the end of August kids were coming up to him and asking him how much weight he had lost.  One teacher actually asked him if he was sick.  Tony started going to the gym every day after school and working out for an hour to an hour and a half.  By this time he weighed 175 pounds and his old jeans no longer stayed up around his waist.



Around this time I started to notice a huge difference in Tony's outlook and attitude.  He started researching nutritional values of the food he was eating, looking at protein powders and taking vitamins.  He expanded his workout methods to include a punching bag and doing sit ups.   And suddenly he started dating.  Remember that girl I told you about?  The one he took to the prom as a friend?  The 2 of them were starting to spend more time together.

By Christmas Tony had lost 70 pounds and weighed 145 pounds.

Slowly, but surely, Tony was taking control of his life.  And he was smiling a whole lot more.  Kids at school were asking his advice in the gym and telling him how good he looked.  By January 2011 he had lost a total of 80 pounds and weighed 135.  By his 18th birthday in March 2011, he was wearing a size small shirt and size 32 pants.  By then Tony and Alex had been dating 6 months.

Tony's diet consisted of oatmeal, egg whites and natural peanut butter for breakfast.  Lunch is whole grain bread with turkey and fresh spinach OR a peanut butter sandwich, some almonds, veggies like broccoli, celery or a salad.  And dinner is usually chicken, pork chops, steak, tilapia or salmon with whole wheat tortilla's, whole wheat pasta or oatmeal.  This diet new eating habits for life really works for him.

By the beginning of April 2011, Tony had maintained his weight of 135 for over 3 months and had started building up some muscle mass.  Here's Tony in a pair of his old jeans.... No shit - can you believe this kid????

Remember last year when Tony went to his Junior Prom?  He weighed 215.  This year, for his Senior Prom, he weighed 135 pounds and went with the girl he always wanted! 

Now doesn't that smile on his face just sum it all up?

So here he is at his graduation, 80 pounds lighter and so much happier.

He and Alex have been dating for 11 months.  He has maintained his current weight successfully for 7 months.  He has learned how to eat properly and how to incorperate exercise into his life.  He lives by a few basic rules..... Be active every day.  Eat healthy when possible.  Have an occassional cheat meal on a day when you are overly active.  Find a strong motive to keep you on course.  Always believe in yourself.

I can't begin to tell you how proud of him I am.  He did it all himself.  He is happier and healthier than he has ever been.