I hit my first 7-day streak of getting 7+ hours of sleep or more though I did wake up with lower back pain, likely from the bed. I will be interested to see if my lower back pain corrects itself after a couple of days being back home.

There was some scheduling craziness this morning so going to the gym was out of the cards for the day. Instead I did my resistance band workout in the TV room followed by stretching out my shoulders using both the Theraband and the doorways. 

I can feel myself getting stronger with every workout. I haven’t increased the resistance band weight in a couple weeks and am still using the 4-6 pound band but am noticing improvements in individual exercises. 

While I have been able to get in a few workouts this week I am looking forward to getting back home to hit cardio hard. I’ve knocked out the treadmill twice this week but that’s nothing compared to running on the track or running along the water. 

Using the doorways to stretch my shoulders close to 180 degrees of rotation continues to feel good. When I take my arms down I can feel a bit of pain in my arms as if they’re stuck in that position but I can quickly shake that off. 

My father-in-law had to head in to the hospital this morning to see a few patients. Once he came home we left to pick out the Christmas tree.  

In years past we would go to a tree farm, pick out our tree, cut it down and take it with us. Starting last year we started going to a local tree lot since they have high quality trees. 

It was a tad bit cold out even wearing a ski jacket, warm hat and thick gloves. As soon as we found the tree we hopped into my mother-in-law’s car and came back to the house while we waited for others to bring the tree back. 

Usually I help with lifting the tree and carrying it into the house but this year I had to hang out and read while the other guys set everything up. 

We spent the later afternoon playing pool, hanging out downstairs and relaxing. I also spent time reading, enjoying a bit of quiet time. 

While waiting for dinner to be finished, my sister-in-law gave me my birthday gift early. The birthday card played Superman music when you opened it and the gift was wrapped with Avengers wrapping paper. It was really sweet of them to put the gift together.

As is tradition, tonight we had a spoon roast dinner with everyone (a group of 12 people) over including my mother-in-law’s coconut cake as an early birthday cake for those of us with upcoming birthdays. 

After dinner the family is spending time decorating the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music and enjoying time with each other. 

I am thankful to be here with everyone even if I’m not able to do as much as usual.