Joshua Townsend

Blog

  • Fatter than ever

    I am 3 pounds heavier now than when I started running three weeks ago. Muscle mass, anyone?

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    Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

    I am slowly bumping up my distance, running for longer periods of time, and feeling pretty good about it all (although my knees have been screaming at me the past few days).

    Having my BlackBerry Storm with the EveryTrail application for tracking my distance/time/tracks helps, as does music streaming through Pandora on my BlackBerry. And of course, pushing my Everytrail stats to FaceBook, my Blog, and Twitter keeps me accountable to all of you to stick with it.

  • Running

    I have started running again.  Enough of being a fatty.  Today was the 2nd run, and it hurt.  But I’ll probably stick with it – I kinda want to see my boys grow up (despite what my cholesterol says).  Maybe I’ll even throw in some pushups and situps for good measure.

    I’m roughly following the Couch to 5k program found here: . Seeing walking intervals in the program makes me not feel so bad about actually having to stop and walk for a bit during my runs.

    Here is today’s run:
    wednesday run at EveryTrail

    Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

  • Oatmeal Cake and Emerald Sequins

    My sister posted a note on a family breakfast favorite: ‘Oatmeal Cake’.  As she recalls, we first learned of Oatmeal Cake (a wonderful breakfast dish that my wife refuses to serve me because of the high fat content) at a retreat center up in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania.  Maybe the low-fat version that Pamela posted could actually get made in the Townsend household?

    Mount Zion Retreat Center

    The memory of Oatmeal Cake reminds me of the couple times we did go as a family to the retreat center.  It was a beautiful location and a nice change to catch up with a childhood friend, Chip.  I remember climbing the mountain, a tree that grew up between a massive rock, splitting it in two, and the good food.

    sequinsOddly enough, however, the most vibrant memory I have of the place is that of old lady perfume and emerald colored sequins.  During one of our visits to the retreat center there was a group of old ladies also staying there.  They invited us kids in for arts and crafts time where they were making some little contraptions out of emerald colored sequins.  To this day, certain old lady perfume and seeing emerald green sequins in craft stores takes me back in time, as though I am being yanked into an alternate reality, like no other memory trigger I have.

    Isn’t it funny how some things have the power to trigger such seemingly random memories in such a powerful way?

  • Bailout I

    “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not.”

    – Thomas Jefferson

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    Thomas Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale 1791-2

  • Book Study

    My buddy Wade has invited me (and a bunch of other guys) to join in on an interactive book study centered around The Way of the Wild Heart: A Map for the Masculine Journey, by John Eldredge. Basically, we read the book simultaneously and post comments, thoughts, etc. on each chapter on our blogs.  I like the idea and plan to participate.  I have already read Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, as has my wife, Stephanie.  I dare say that Wild at Heart was more influential for Stephanie, helping her understand the often confusion things that I do because of my man-ness (not an excuse, just an explanation).  I am working on The Secrets Men Keep: How Men Make Life and Love Tougher Than It Has to Be now, but will jump right into The Way of the Wild Heart: A Map for the Masculine Journey as soon as I finish up and look forward to a discussion with other guys trying to understand manhood and who we are called to be as mean in the world, nation, with our families as husbands and fathers, and in our own minds.  Wade has always been a source of encouragement for me and I look forward to this experiment with him and the rest of the guys joining in.  Feel free to join in if you want!