Wii Fit Arrives

The long anticipated arrival of Wii Fit has finally come. It arrived at our house yesterday around 2 p.m.

Erika was able to dive into the game while I was on my way home, and gave me a bit of a rundown of the game. She was also able to explain a few things to me when I got to try it out.

The Wii Fit game comes with what is called as a balancing board that is recognized by your Wii (minus the cords). When you first sign on, you will select a Mii that you have created for yourself. Then it asks you a series of questions - like your height and birth date.

Then you go through a series of tests to determine just how out of shape you are, which can be a bit disheartening.

I found out that I am, according to the game, an obese human being. I am about 28 BMI's over where I should be at. Then you get to select a goal for yourself. I selected that I would like to lose 15 pounds in two months - or about when we are leaving for the Outer Banks.

Once inside the actual game, you select a trainer (male or female) then can navigate through four different exercise types (strength, balance, aerobics, yoga). So far, I have only tried the balance and aerobics games that are available - depending how you do during these 'games' you get a certain amount of points. The more points you get opens up more 'games' in the game itself.

I hula-hooped, walked a tightrope, stopped soccer balls, did the step-up, had a brisk run, skiied downhill, skiied off a jump and tried to get balls into a hole. It was actually pretty fun - and it was exercise.

I will definitely be trying the rest of the game sometime this weekend. And I will try and keep you updated with how I am doing with my goals.

Last night, Kasey and I also got our haircut. It has been a chore in the past with Kasey, and it looked to be heading that way again. Even before Chas started last night, he saw her and started crying. Thankfully he did calm down enough to get his hair done.

Before we left I stopped in GameStop and picked up a copy of We Ski, which uses the Wii Fit balancing board. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like it should be pretty fun.

Finally, last night Erika and I played online with Mario Kart - and were joined by Cyle later on. I have become pretty decent at the game, and when we have gone online have more than held my own against people throughout the world.

Last night, though, it appeared that everyone was out to get me. I would get near the top, and get smacked back down to the back of the pack - then work my way back, only to get smacked again. It was getting kind of annoying really. I did manage a few top three finishes, but not as many as I have been getting of late.

The bad part about that is, you gain points with how well you do. As you get more and more points, they expect you to do better. So even though I was getting near the top, I was actually losing points because the game expected better.

Oh well. Possibly could have another blog later today to get you through the long weekend. If not, please remember to vote on the poll to the right. And have a nice Memorial Day Weekend.

Walking Weekend

Well, another weekend has come and gone. This weekend was more of an extended weekend for me as I took Friday off - my first day off in a long time.

So Friday I spent the day at home with Kasey. We had a pretty good time, and I managed to get a few things done at the house.

On Saturday, Erika, Kasey and I went down to the Base Oval to 'Race for Stace'. This was setup for a schoolmate of mine, Stacey Frechette, who was killed last year in a car accident. It was a pretty good turn out - and the weather, despite being windy, was pretty decent. The 'Race' raised money for a scholarship being raised in Stacey's honor for high school gymnasts.

Sunday we did it all again. This time it was the 'March for Babies' also at the Base Oval. The walk was a little different, but still a few miles long. Our group managed to raise over $1,300 this year, surpassing our goal. Mark, Dee, Jack and Katy joined us for the walk - as well as Erika's friend Lorie and her mother. Afterwards, we went over to Mark & Dee's for pizza ad to hang out.

Also, Mario Kart Wii came out on Sunday (we picked that up before heading to Mark & Dee's), but we didn't get a chance to play until late last night. We went through the starting characters and stages - and it's pretty fun - I know Erika seemed to like it too.

Finally, the NFL Draft also occurred this weekend. The Steelers, in my opinion, had a pretty strong draft, despite not really filling their needs for offensive line help. They first drafted Rashard Mendenhall, a running back from Illinois. The Steelers are pretty strong with Willie Parker, but when he got hurt last year the drop off was pretty significant. Nowadays you basically need to have two talented running backs, so this fits the bill. In the second round, the Steelers drafted the player I have had my eye on for a few years now. I was a huge Plaxico Burress fan when he played in Pittsburgh, due to his height and speed, and thought the Steelers had been missing that big receiver since he left. So I really like the selection of Texas' Limas Sweed (right). I will probably be picking up his jersey when it comes out.

All-in-all a pretty productive and busy weekend. Hopefully things will slow down, but I doubt it. It's nice to have things to do - and next weekend looks to be pretty busy with work around the house. Oh well, it has to be done.

Walk Before You Can Run

Well, it has started.

I have slowly started to try to get myself back into shape. Last night after dinner at Erika's parents, I headed into their basement and ran a mile on their treadmill. The funny thing was, I probably could have run longer, but the shoes I was wearing were not ideal for running in, surprisingly. So, I was forced to call it quits before I really needed it - but I felt pretty good afterwards, and had a nice sweat going.

My main hurdle in finding my way back to a normal weight and basketball playing shape is, and probably always will be, time. Most of my day is pretty much planned, thanks to work, the commute to and from work, dinner, time with Kasey and Erika, and sleeping. Taking away any of that (although I wouldn't mind losing the work part) is not going to happen - so I need to try and find a way to at least get out for 30 minutes, and allow Erika to do the same.

As of this moment, if it started tonight, I would probably have to withdraw my name from playing summer basketball this year. I am in nowhere near the shape I need to be in to compete with 18 year olds. Do I enjoy it? Absolutely. But, when you were once the best player on your team, to players thinking twice about passing you the ball, it loses that certain appeal.

My goal is to be in playing shape by the time the summer basketball season rolls around - so that give me about a month and a half, which I believe is feasible. There are also two vacations on the horizon for the Kane family, both of which will be in warm climates (THANK GOD), so the goal after getting in shape is to lose the belly, and get as toned as I can. I know it's under there somewhere - I just have to find it.