Winter

Well, the winter has officially begun and the new year is here. As most of you know who follow my blog or have read my book, I can't stand the winter. It brings back tough memories and it also reminds me that these are the times when my pulmonary function numbers are their lowest. I see my doctor at the end of January to see how I'm doing. I'm not doing many triathlons at the gym right now basically because it's so cold outside and it's tough to come out of the gym after swimming and dealing with the cold.

I have been working out twice a day. I run in place for 17 minutes, do my strength (anaerobic) workouts for 20 minutes in the morning and do a 1+ mile run and 3+ mile bike ride at the gym. A lot of the 1+ mile run is sprinting and I do the 3 mile bike ride in 10 minutes on the stationary bike. Every now and then, I shoot hoops at the gym just to eliminate the monotony of running and biking.

I just finished my TOBI the other night. I did a lot of traveling this time around while doing it. We went to Knoxville to visit Andrea's dad, we went to visit my grandmother in Jacksonville, on our Disney cruise and visited Andrea's mom in Orlando. I managed not to skip one dose which I'm proud of.

I'm still devastated over the Falcons loss yesterday. I'm frustrated with my sports teams. I'm sick of getting to the playoffs. I want more. Is that too much to ask? Should I be happy my teams are good enough to get to the playoffs? I just am sick of coming up short time and again.

Happy New Year everyone.

Andy

Wish for Wendy Final Numbers!

Thanks to all of you for supporting us in 2011. This year we set lofty expectations.

In 2011, A Wish for Wendy was blessed to have some amazing sponsors, volunteers, donors, players, captains and umpires. All of you played a part in our final number. Our highest gross figure was in 2009 when we raised $174,091.00. Our goal was to beat that in a tough economic year. We didn't beat it. What I meant to say is "Thanks to The Jerry and Anita Zucker Family Foundation, we didn't JUST beat it, we annihilated it!"

Our final gross number for 2011 is $252,710.00 which in 12 years puts us over $1.25 million raised. Thank you to all of you who have given up your time and energy to make this event a success. As a cure moves closer for patients like me, I thank you for not only giving me a longer time to live but also for giving my family a dad, husband, son and brother to spend many more holidays with God willing.

I wish all of you happy holidays and a safe New Year!

Andy

The Blogmaster returns...

Well, I'm back to blogging today. Sorry about the long break. Andrea and I took the kids on a cruise with my cousins and their kids. We had a great time as it was a Disney Cruise. The kids absolutely loved the characters especially Mickey and Minnie. I had a terrific time with Andrea and seeing the kids interact with their cousins. I can however say that I have my Mickey fix for quite a long time.

The Drive at 35 is selling very well but that doesn't mean I'm going to slow down the publicity. I have a PR team that will start up in January but I'm doing all I can prior to that to move the book across the country and around the world. We've had orders from Taiwan, Ireland, England, France and Canada. It's really exciting. The feedback has been wonderful as well. Thanks to all of you who have bought a copy. Please continue to spread the word.

I'm waiting to find out when I am throwing out the first pitch at a Braves game. I can't wait. I have submitted the paperwork and am just waiting for a response from the Braves.

The final numbers for Wish for Wendy should be available at week's end. I will forward them on. Next year's Wish for Wendy will be Saturday November 10th so please mark it down on your calendars.

I hope that everyone had a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanza. I also wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Here is my quick sports update: The Falcons look like the 3rd best team in the NFC. The problem is that they are far below the top 2 teams: GB and NO.

The Braves apparently have no money to spend this offseason. I'm looking forward to someone buying the team and spending money to make this team a true title contender.

The Hawks are...well, does anyone watch the NBA anymore? Here's an update. They are 1-0. Joe Johnson is still a Hawk. We still can't spend money.

The Thrashers are...the Winnipeg Jets and are in 2nd place in their division. Go Jets!

Why is it that whenever I go to the gym and grab a locker, someone always removes their stuff from the locker next to mine? It almost always happens. There could be 5 people in a locker room with 200 lockers but someone is always next to me. Deep thoughts.

Live your dreams and love your life!

Andy

My new book

I am so excited about my new book being published. Even though the “official release” isn’t until after the first of the year, early release copies of The Drive at 35 are available now through my web site www.andylipman.com. The direct link is www.andylipman.com/books.cfm. Some people are ordering them for holiday gifts. If you order a gift copy and would like me to include a personalized autograph, just send an email to andy@andylipman.com when you place your order and I’ll be happy to inscribe it to whomever you name.

A lot of people have asked what The Drive at 35 is about. It is about looking back from the perspective of a 35 year old. It’s my story of what kept me going, having lived with the knowledge for my entire life, that I was just shy of the age I was expected to die of cystic fibrosis. It is about the journey I’ve taken to beat CF, but more importantly about applying what I’ve learned coping with CF to coping with all the things that have happened to me, many of which would seem to have nothing to do with the disease. It’s about where I am as an individual, and how I got here.
A significant portion of The Drive at 35 focuses on battles and triumphs that could be part of anyone’s experiences. The after-effects of childhood trauma, achieving athletic goals, getting married, the trials of In Vitro fertilization, the joys and terrors of becoming a parent, and suffering from clinical depression are a few examples. I also wrote about losing a sister to the same disease I have and deciding to start a foundation in her memory, then about all the wonderful friends who have helped and inspired me to do even more. Finally, I tell about what it was like to lose my dear friend, Rusty Sneiderman, and the ups and downs my wife and I have had dealing with his terrible murder.

I hope everyone who reads this blog will buy a copy of my new book; I’m donating $5 from every purchase to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Plus, it would be so cool if your purchase help put this book on the New York Times best seller list! Once you finish reading it, let me know your thoughts and questions at andy@andylipman.com.
Thank you so much for all your support.

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

Please buy my book and forward it and retweet it to everyone you know. The book is "The Drive at 35" and the link is www.andylipman.com/books.cfm

$5 from every purchase will go to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Thank you for the support.

Andy