Blog: Top 7 = Cancelled concert, new car, updated planner!

This past week we returned from an out of town trip, I started a new fitness challenge, and pulled together a few work projects…

This is the Top 7 for last week. Every Sunday afternoon I sit down for 45 minutes or so, map out the upcoming week, and look back at the previous. As I do, I make a few notes in my “weekly review” about the highlights from the previous 7 days…

I record them here— just the highlight reel— from the “three things I’m thankful for today" that I complete every evening…

(BTW, you can download the UPDATED version of the planner at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF — I created the “old” version a few years ago when I was leading the Advance events. Then, we published it in hardback form with a company I was working with.

As I am literally being forced to sue them to demand they stop printing— and selling— items under my copyright, I’ve updated and re-tooled the planner. The new version is on my website.

That said, here’s the top 7…

🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌

Fitness = The pull-up challenge.

I don’t know that this is an actual “thing,” but I’m working on increasing my load.

I’ve been doing sets of 10 after returning from my run (or as part of a weight-lifting workout). I’d like to see if I can increase this to 30… in a row… then, perhaps… 50.

Who knows?

I’ve never done more than 18 in a row… and that was back when I was in college.

🚌

Finance = Beth and & I bought a car this weekend. We looked for SEVERAL weeks before finally jumping in…

Back in August, our Jetta wagon (aka, the “tiny car”) was totaled. Rather than rushing out and replacing it, we opted to take our time, just Uber as needed, and then finally settle on something.

We’ve looked at several cars— mostly online— and finally found one we like.

(Still arguing with All State about the insurance settlement— they want to pay HALF of the Blue Book on the previous car!)

I also saved some money this week by doing MORE things around the house myself….

* Fixing a gutter….

* Tweaking some plumbing issues on the Tiny House

* Repairing the grill (the Traegar motor broke WHILE the extended family was over here for a cookout— see below!)

* Cutting some limbs

* Stretching the carpet in the den to knock the waves out (yeah, that's a thing-- look up "carpet stretcher" online

And, I cut down the out door Ping Pong table into two longer, narrower tables we can use for outside dining… yet, still push together for playing games.

Back to the car…

Notice the cool seats in this one (has great wheels, too!).

🚌

Family = About the grill…

Beth’s parent’s came up last week for some appointments on Monday, just as we were in Huntsville for a concert which got cancelled (we decided to keep the trip, as one of our goals is to take an out of town getaway once a quarter). We all decided we would grill out at our house Monday evening…

So, Beth’s brother and sister-in-law… nephews… others… all came over…

And then we discovered that the Traeger grill STOPPED working!

We took everything inside, George (her brother) began running things from stove-top to oven, shuffling everything for the entire crew like a mad-scientist in the kitchen.

It worked well— not as good as the grill would have worked, but he made it happen.

I ordered replacement parts for the grill immediately…

… and repaired it Friday evening, after the parts arrived.

Now, we’re back up and running for the 3rd Tuesday of the month #HilltopHangout cookout— a monthly staple around here.

🚌

Field = This week I pulled together a few projects I’ll talk about over the next few weeks…

So, putting a pin in this one for now :-)

🚌

Faith = I once again went back to the regimented, page-by-page reading plan like I used during #75Hard…

… and was astounded at how often the pieces I read fit together, timed perfectly, with what I needed to know or see or do in the moment.

🚌

Friends = With a busy week, we didn’t have much time for connecting with friends. But, I DID actually reach out to a few guys and schedule some time for the following week…

Once again, it showed me that the most important things in life are OFTEN overlooked. Placing things like “friends” a to-do list insures they get done, that we block time for them like we would for important appointments like doctors and dentists and other necessities.

🚌

Fun = Last week’s fun included the trip to Hunstville and date night on Wednesday…

About Huntsville…

A few weeks ago we learned that Kari Jobe and her husband were hosting a concert in Birmingham. We looked for tickets online and saw they would ALSO be in Huntsville the following day.

We decided it would be more fun to go out of town, go out to eat, etc… and attend the concert SOMEWHERE ELSE than to just attend at home.

And, since we could “cash out” hotel points, the cost would be the same…

And, since one of our goals is to take a 1:1 getaway once a quarter, this would check multiple boxes…

The night before the trip, I decided to go online and download the tickets to my phone only to discover the concert had been CANCELLED!

OK. No worries. We opted to roll up there anyway.

We ate lunch with my parents, then scooted to our hotel. Took an afternoon break, then went out to eat. Then back. Then whatever…

… we returned to a house of family (Beth’s parent’s stayed at our house while we were away, as they had appointments the following day in BHM).

Wednesday, we kept our “normal” midweek date night. We opted to eat at BrickTop (Mountain Brook). Every time we pass by it’s busy— literally FULL— so we thought we’d check in.

It didn’t disappoint. In fact, it feels like you’re on a high-end cruise ship when you walk in. I’m not sure that’s the vibe they were going for, but it’s there…

… then, I did a quick search to find out other local hangout areas we could check out….

We discovered that Red Lion (pictured above) was a local dive that had been in operation since 1962. We decided to visit.

The manager on call told us it had actually been there since 1960…

🚌

Anyway, that’s the highlight reel for the week.

Download the planner free at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF or grab the hardbacks…