BIRTHDAY 59

Yesterday was my 59th Birthday. I received an email from a childhood friend that I have known since 9th Grade, and whose birthdays we share. He wrote that I should enjoy this birthday as it is the last one that will have a '5' in front of it, as in 59.  Good advice. However, birthdays no longer send me spinning into a small depression.  I have never felt better in my life, I know I have never been fitter, and I have never enjoyed waking up to a new day as much as I do now. This is what a 59 year old man looks like, or at least what I look like. .

I started my day yesterday with an urban hike. By the time I returned home, I had logged 13 miles. The weather is getting colder each day, and I set out with gloves and a warm hat.

I ran into these stone foxes when I passed Columbia College on Wabash Street.

The 'Field Museum' has a replica dinosaur guarding it day and night. In celebration of the World Series appearance (and ultimate victory) by the Cubs, this dinosaur is wearing a Chicago Cubs Jersey.  The thing is, the last World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs prior to last week was so long ago, that this skeleton might actually be one of the players from the 1908 team.

My family celebrated my birthday at BD's Mongolian Grill out in the suburbs - Bolingbrook. This is a restaurant where you select your food, place it in a bowl and watch it get grilled. BD's Mongolian Grill has a birthday promotion which made my meal free, and also included this snazzy Viking Hat seen in the photo below and a super duper high calorie delicious dessert of Fried OREOS.

The is what my food looked like before and after it was grilled. This was a plate of noodles, calamari, shrimp and scallops.  I don't want to publicly admit how many times I filled a similar plate, as we chose the all-you-can-eat option.  (OK, three times - but it was mostly low calories and low carb)

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After returning home from the Mongolian Grill in Bolingbrook, I was stuffed and I was tired. I could have easily planted myself on the couch and relaxed and read a book. Somehow, my daughter wanted to take an evening walk with me. I think I almost never turn down an invitation from my daughter to take a walk. We did not set out with a particular destination in mind. We did finally walk over to Target on State Street and my daughter was gifted a small 'Finding Nemo' Tsum-Tsum plush which she enjoyed. When this evening urban hike was completed, we had logged 7.5 miles.

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And finally, we ran into Abe Lincoln on Michigan Avenue. Look carefully at the feet of these two characters... that is where you will see my daughter standing.

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Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, November 12, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal	520	108	6	12	640	36
	520	108	6	12	640	36
L U N C H
Mongolian Bbq - Scallops	168	0	2	32	404	0
Mongolian Bbq - Brown Rice	150	32	1	3	0	0
Mongolian Bbq - Shrimp	130	0	0	28	1,100	0
Bd's Mongolian Grill - Calamari	156	6	6	30	260	0
Mongolian Bbq -Perciatelli Noodles	300	59	1	9	0	3
Bd's Mongolian Barbeque - Strip Steak	237	3	3	48	816	3
Bd's Mongolian - Chicken	102	0	3	18	68	0
Mongolian Bbq - Teriyaki Sauce	144	36	0	9	3,240	18
Bd's Mongolian Grill - Fried Oreos	380	51	18	5	460	27
	1,767	187	34	182	6,348	51
D I N N E R
Volpi - Mozzarella and Prosciutto Roltini	120	1	8	12	790	0
Costco Chocolate Cake	700	97	46	9	731	61
	820	98	54	21	1,521	61
S N A C K S
Chinrose - Crystallized Ginger	200	44	0	0	38	42
Kameda - Ginger Baked Frosted Rice Snacks	300	54	9	6	300	12
	500	98	9	6	338	54
Totals	3,607	491	103	221	8,847	202
Your Daily Goal	5,249	656	175	263	2,300	196
Remaining	1,642	165	72	42	-6,547	-6
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,319 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 195.7 lbs in 5 weeks 

(I did my best to try to estimate my caloric intake for the day... I actually think that 3607 calories might be overstated, still, it would be hard to walk 20 miles every day - so it is unlikely that 'every day would be like today.')

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
13 MILE MORNING URBAN HIKE	175	2,482
7.5 MILE EVENING URBAN HIKE	126	1,151
Daily Total / Goal	301 / 30	3,633 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1162 / 210	15,424 / 4,130

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I had a wonderful 59th birthday. I spent the day with my family. I walked more than 20 miles. I had a delicious meal. As I get ready to enjoy being 59 years old for the next 365 days, I know that the upcoming year will be filled with hope and promise as my fellow Americans chose wisely in the election that ended just a few days ago. Thank you, America!

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Giant Abe Lincoln sculpture stands up downtown in time for Election Day

POSTED 12:35 PM, NOVEMBER 1, 2016, BY WGN WEB DESK

CHICAGO -- A giant Abraham Lincoln is standing up in downtown Chicago just in time for election day.

The enormous, lifelike sculpture "Return Visit" by artist Seward Johnson depicts Abraham Lincoln discussing the Gettysburg Address with what's described as a "contemporary man." Johnson produced the original human-scale sculpture to stand in the Gettysburg Plaza in Pennsylvania, and the version in Chicago is an enlarged replica.  Chicagoans may remember the artist's early work, like "Forever Marilyn," which previously stood in the same location at 401 N. Michigan downtown.

"President Lincoln's character and accomplishments are imprinted forever on the nation he loved and served so well. He has been a hero to millions of people and certainly has inspired me throughout my life," Johnson said in a statement.

Paul M. Zeller, CEO of Zeller Realty Group, which brought the sculpture and Johnson's other works to Chicago, said they chose the work "to reinforce an emphasis on Honesty, not just here in Illinois but across the US, in the closing days of the Presidential election 2016."