Broba Fett publishes a book.

[Broba Fett]

 

Not yet anyway.  Since June my life has consisted of the following:

1. Full time employee.
2. Full time online student at WGU.  (I've finished 52 Credit Hours since October 1st!)
3. Full time husband and father.  (Married in June, she has a 9 year old.)
4. Part time author.

 

So... pretty busy.

 

Last you all had heard from me I had made good progress after my wedding to just before I started school.  (Weighed 435 on wedding day June 10th, had gotten below 400 by September.)

With school I done fell off a bit and got back up to 416 by the end of the year.

 

Wife and I joined Weight Watchers on 1/1 and have stuck with it.  I'm not here to pimp WW but it's been the most consistent eating plan I've used, and actually feels like a lifestyle change.

I've also been swimming, which has been great on my knees and ankles.

 

We've consistently lost between 2-3.5lbs per week.  (Both of us, even though I've got twice as many points.  WW has that shit dialed in.)  This morning I was 398.2

 

This challenge isn't designed to add anything more to my plate.  It's more to ask you guys to help keep me accountable with all the shit I've already got going on.  Based on my current goals this month should include:

 

1. Launch my book!  (And do all the stuff my marketing guys want me to do for it.)  Ebook hits 2/15, paperback a week or so after that. 
2. Work out at least 30mins 5 days/week. Swimming or running is most likely but wife and I may make it back into the weight room.
3. Track WW points every single day.  I've found that when I do it is very difficult for me to let myself go over my daily points, let alone weekly and fit points.
4. Finish at least 3 college classes.  I'm shooting for Microeconomics, Quantitative Analysis, and Project Management.
5. All the dad things and all the husband things.
6. Take "me" time so I don't lose my mind.  Could consist of Zelda, shooting at the range, even fishing if we get a day above freezing. 
7. Try to check in here at least weekly. 

 

[Broba Fett]

Oh I forgot starting weight:

 

Weight at start of challenge: 398.2

Down 36.8 since wedding (6/10/17), 102.3 overall (10/12/12)

 

Also, considering goal weights:  I had long considered 275 my long term goal.  This week I am reconsidering.

 

One of my employees is 6'0" (4 inches shorter than me), has a more slender build, and hasn't done a bunch of lifting in his life and weighs 275.  His body type is what I'd be happy with long term.

 

So I may need to readjust my expectations for the long run.  Right now I'm sticking with under 350 by my birthday 9/1, which would allow me to safely use a treestand in October. 

 

Thus I am 48.2lbs from birthday goal as of this morning. 

[Stronkey Kong]

Glad you're back and you're into something that's working.

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome back and congrats on the book.

[jonfirestar]

Hey Broba! It's great to see you back! Congrats on the weight loss and your book! Amazing. 

[deftona]

Congrats on the book, that's awesome! I've never followed you before so you may have mentioned this before, but what is the book about?

[Broba Fett]

On 2/10/2018 at 10:36 AM, Vincent Van Bro said:

Glad you're back and you're into something that's working.

 

On 2/10/2018 at 12:27 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Welcome back and congrats on the book.

 

On 2/10/2018 at 1:48 PM, jonfirestar said:

Hey Broba! It's great to see you back! Congrats on the weight loss and your book! Amazing. 

 

10 hours ago, deftona said:

Congrats on the book, that's awesome! I've never followed you before so you may have mentioned this before, but what is the book about?

 

Thanks y'all.  I'm super excited to have so much stuff going well at the same time.  I've figured out that the best way to keep happy is to keep busy.  No down time equals no time for being bummed and such.

 

@deftona Thanks!  It's an urban fantasy novella about a guy who gets recruited into a group of Paladins that protect the earth from evil.  Lots of things get shot and/or blown up.  Check out the author fb page link in my sig for more details.  Super excited to get it out there.

 

I filmed four short little Q&A style videos about the book for the guys helping me market it, including a fun one where I tried to make a wendigo call from my voice and an elk call.  Getting them uploaded to the fb page at various times today. 

 

Tomorrow I'm off work but have the kid at home because one of the priests from her school passed away last week and services are tomorrow.   So tomorrow will likely consist of some schoolwork and some time hanging with her.   

 

I also have a meeting at the local parish tomorrow with a lady who is going to help me learn more about Catholicism and possibly converting.  I have a bunch of questions that need to be addressed before I could commit to such a thing, having been brought up Baptist.  At the very least we will be seeing about having our previous marriages annulled in the eyes of the church and having our marriage blessed so my wife can take communion again.

[Wild Wolf]

Very proud of you, sir! You're a HUGE inspiration for me when it comes to writing!

 

Wolf

[jonfirestar]

11 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

 

@deftona Thanks!  It's an urban fantasy novella about a guy who gets recruited into a group of Paladins that protect the earth from evil

I saw your post on IG a while ago about it. I'm super impressed with you! 

[Salinger]

Hey Mark!! Good to see you back here. 

 

Congrats on the book, and the weight loss. Keep going, you will hit your goals i know it x

[Mr_Willes]

On 10-2-2018 at 4:28 PM, Broba Fett said:

It's more to ask you guys to help keep me accountable with all the shit I've already got going on. 

 

We've got your back, and not in a creepy way like @Wolfpool would have!

 

(Though never lost sites through the means of FB )

[Broba Fett]

On 2/11/2018 at 4:44 PM, Wolfpool said:

Very proud of you, sir! You're a HUGE inspiration for me when it comes to writing!

 

Wolf

 

On 2/12/2018 at 3:41 AM, jonfirestar said:

I saw your post on IG a while ago about it. I'm super impressed with you! 

 

On 2/12/2018 at 4:21 AM, Salinger said:

Congrats on the book, and the weight loss. Keep going, you will hit your goals i know it x

 

Thanks all.  It's totally crazy that people will be paying to read my imaginings the day after tomorrow.  

 

I feel really good about it though.  The Q&A videos went over well and ended up being really fun to shoot.  Check out the author fb page if you want to check them out. 

 

On 2/12/2018 at 9:46 AM, Mr_Willes said:

(Though never lost sites through the means of FB )

 

Likewise good buddy.  

 

That brings up a good point.  Several of you are fb friends but anyone on here can feel free to add me.  I'm going to do my best to stay current on here but fb is definitely the best way to stay in touch.  If you do add me just shoot me a message letting me know you're from NF.

 

-------------------------------------

 

Monday:

Took and aced not one but two, count em, two finals.  Microeconomics and Quantitative Analysis.  Brings my total credit hours completed since October to 58.  If I can finish one more class I'll own my Student Mentor's record for most credit hours completed in one six month term. 

 

Spent time with the kid playing Switch.  Mario Odyssey two player is hard.

 

Went to the parish to talk with the lady about annulling my first marriage in the eyes of the church so my current marriage could be blessed and my wife could resume communion.   It was not easy.  Very intimate details were discussed.  I had to answer questions as to why I felt it was permissible to divorce and such and really examine my decision to do so for the first time in a couple years.  Not fun.  I don't regret my decision but it's not a good time to discuss bad times. 

 

I didn't let it ruin my day though.  Had a good night with the wife and kid.

 

Was under my daily points.

 

Today:

 

Went and swam for a full hour this morning, followed by a good soak in the whirlpool.

 

Walked on a break and lunch for a total of 75 mins. 

 

Got my mid-year review:  Exceeds Expectations

 

Nailed my daily points. 

 

Tomorrow:

Wife has an interview first thing in the morning that she's super worried about.  So I'll spend most of the morning soothing and encouraging.  Hopefully I can get a walk in on lunch again. 

 

Thurs:

BOOK LAUNCH!!!!

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, Broba Fett said:

Went to the parish to talk with the lady about annulling my first marriage in the eyes of the church so my current marriage could be blessed and my wife could resume communion.   It was not easy.  Very intimate details were discussed.  I had to answer questions as to why I felt it was permissible to divorce and such and really examine my decision to do so for the first time in a couple years.  Not fun.  I don't regret my decision but it's not a good time to discuss bad times. 

 

I'm confused, if your first marriage wasn't a catholic marriage the church wouldn't recognize it in the first place. Annullling it would be to give legitimacy to a non-church wedding. Then again, I'm not Catholic, but I have spent a lot of time around them (Lay and clergy).

[Mr_Willes]

7 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

Spent time with the kid playing Switch.  Mario Odyssey two player is hard.

 

Truth, it frustrates me immensely. But i like playing Minecraft with them coop.

7 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

Was under my daily points.

 

I'm not a big fan of WW, but the strength of doing something like this as a couple is undeniable! You got this, keep each other motivated and i'm pretty great things will come of it!

 

Just be cautious when one of you is having trouble. Doing things together could also easily mean taking the wrong turn together.

 

7 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

Got my mid-year review:  Exceeds Expectations

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Wow. I grew up Catholic, but in the 70’s/80’s it was surprisingly liberal. It amazes me at how quickly it went back to its old-school conservative stances.

Tank - I suspect they were trying to get at what kind of person Broba is. They wouldn’t want give his wife the sacrament of marriage only to have her get divorced, they’d rather have her live in sin until such time as they were ready for a proper union.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Broba Fett]

I'm confused, if your first marriage wasn't a catholic marriage the church wouldn't recognize it in the first place. Annullling it would be to give legitimacy to a non-church wedding. Then again, I'm not Catholic, but I have spent a lot of time around them (Lay and clergy).

This is all secondhand understanding via how it's been explained to me by the lady who runs the program for prospective Catholics, a priest, and the lady I talked to Monday who helps with the annulments and such so I apologize if it is off:

Our first marriages were not Catholic so they would not have been blessed BUT the divorces still count in that Tammy cannot take the Eucharist once we married.

The annulments we are looking into now is the church looking to see if there was a reason both of our previous marriages were not actually considered a marriage in the eyes of the church and could be annuled. So basically they want to anull something they already consider illegitimate. (I know, contradictory, but stick with me)

From my understanding nearly every marriage could be annuled if you look hard enough. And they do. Everything from finances to sex to abuse to family history to unwillingness to have children/more children. Gotta pop out more Catholics.

It could even come out that they announce them annuled solely because both of us were married by protestant ministers.

I'm not a big fan of the process or the fact that they believe anyone can be cut off from communion due to making a decision to marry and divorce BEFORE joining the church. It's just one of the many things they will have to explain to me in order for me to consider converting later. At one point I was planning on attending seminary as a Baptist so I have some preconceived notions and such that need to be addressed.

Oh well. It's worth it to me to explore the possibility, if only so my kid doesn't have to explain to her friends in Catholic school why her stepdad doesn't take communion.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Broba Fett]

Tank - I suspect they were trying to get at what kind of person Broba is. They wouldn’t want give his wife the sacrament of marriage only to have her get divorced, they’d rather have her live in sin until such time as they were ready for a proper union.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is exactly how the first priest explained it to us before we married. That explanation is why we didn't pursue this prior to marriage and why my wife contemplated leaving the church. It is absurd to us that they were saying they'd rather her stay divorced and living in sin than marry me.

That priest was sent on "administrative leave" shortly thereafter, so take that FWIW. The ladies at the parish explained it in a much more palatable light: that marriage is a sacrament between man and wife and is meant to be for life. Annulment is checking to see if you actually were qualified to give that sacrament in your first marriage in the eyes of the church.

Regarding conservative nature of the church, I was surprised as well considering how liberal and revoltuonary Pope Francis is. However, I guess such things take time to trickle down, especially to churches in rural Illinois under an older conservative Bishop.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Broba Fett]

 

Thanks sir. It felt really good. If I can keep racking up good reviews and finish my degree I think I'll be in a really good position for promotion whenever my director retires in a few years.

RE: Minecraft: I have never been able to get into it but I bet the kid would love it. I think our next purchase will be Mario kart as I know we both will enjoy that but I'll have to put Minecraft on the list.

RE: WW: I was super skeptical but it's working so I won't question it. I think paying for it adds a level of accountability. Also the flexibility helps. The weekly flex points and fitness points help me to keep my "cheats" from running wild. I know that if I stay within my total points for the week plus fitness points I'll lose at least 2lbs. So a meal of weakness doesn't become "eff it, I'll start again on Monday"

I agree with you though on succeeding and failing together. That has happened to us on several other eating plans. So we will see how long we can keep WW going. If we can go all year the wife should be at her goal and I should be down 100lbs and the lightest ive been since junior high.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Mr_Willes]

1 hour ago, Broba Fett said:

If we can go all year the wife should be at her goal and I should be down 100lbs and the lightest ive been since junior high.

 

Seems like a solid goal! Let's do that  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Wow. I grew up Catholic, but in the 70’s/80’s it was surprisingly liberal. It amazes me at how quickly it went back to its old-school conservative stances.

Tank - I suspect they were trying to get at what kind of person Broba is. They wouldn’t want give his wife the sacrament of marriage only to have her get divorced, they’d rather have her live in sin until such time as they were ready for a proper union.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

2 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

This is all secondhand understanding via how it's been explained to me by the lady who runs the program for prospective Catholics, a priest, and the lady I talked to Monday who helps with the annulments and such so I apologize if it is off:

Our first marriages were not Catholic so they would not have been blessed BUT the divorces still count in that Tammy cannot take the Eucharist once we married.

The annulments we are looking into now is the church looking to see if there was a reason both of our previous marriages were not actually considered a marriage in the eyes of the church and could be annuled. So basically they want to anull something they already consider illegitimate. (I know, contradictory, but stick with me)

From my understanding nearly every marriage could be annuled if you look hard enough. And they do. Everything from finances to sex to abuse to family history to unwillingness to have children/more children. Gotta pop out more Catholics.

It could even come out that they announce them annuled solely because both of us were married by protestant ministers.

I'm not a big fan of the process or the fact that they believe anyone can be cut off from communion due to making a decision to marry and divorce BEFORE joining the church. It's just one of the many things they will have to explain to me in order for me to consider converting later. At one point I was planning on attending seminary as a Baptist so I have some preconceived notions and such that need to be addressed.

Oh well. It's worth it to me to explore the possibility, if only so my kid doesn't have to explain to her friends in Catholic school why her stepdad doesn't take communion.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

 

1 hour ago, Broba Fett said:

 

 

That is exactly how the first priest explained it to us before we married. That explanation is why we didn't pursue this prior to marriage and why my wife contemplated leaving the church. It is absurd to us that they were saying they'd rather her stay divorced and living in sin than marry me.

That priest was sent on "administrative leave" shortly thereafter, so take that FWIW. The ladies at the parish explained it in a much more palatable light: that marriage is a sacrament between man and wife and is meant to be for life. Annulment is checking to see if you actually were qualified to give that sacrament in your first marriage in the eyes of the church.

Regarding conservative nature of the church, I was surprised as well considering how liberal and revoltuonary Pope Francis is. However, I guess such things take time to trickle down, especially to churches in rural Illinois under an older conservative Bishop.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

 

 

FWIW you may simply have some conservative people at that parish. There's church doctrine and then there's how the people at a particular parish think things ought to be.

[Broba Fett]

6 hours ago, Mr_Willes said:

 

Seems like a solid goal! Let's do that  

 

Sounds like a plan.  I'm  all in on it. 

 

6 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

 

 

 

FWIW you may simply have some conservative people at that parish. There's church doctrine and then there's how the people at a particular parish think things ought to be.

 

I'm sure that's part of it.  We're a pretty liberal town, having two college campuses, but college kids don't generally show up to Mass en masse. (Heh.)  So it's definitely an older conservative congregation. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

 
FWIW you may simply have some conservative people at that parish. There's church doctrine and then there's how the people at a particular parish think things ought to be.

That may be, but I think as a whole the American Catholic Church has done a 180 here even as the European version has gotten a lot more liberal.

There’s a lot of regional variation. My south Minneapolis church is still very hippy dippy and they get in trouble with the local bishop. They didn’t have a problem with my marriage being secular, but my home church would aim to have me excommunicated if I had tried to have my kids baptized there.

[Broba Fett]

I'm super excited to see what happens if/when the church were to find out I'm selling a fantasy book featuring a cameo from the pope.

Speaking of, the book is on sale! People are epaying money to read something I wrote and it feels awesome.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Stronkey Kong]

I just ordered a paperback copy.

 

LOL. I read the summary and noticed it mentioned Filipino stick fighting... I remember when that was Broba's thing.

 

I like the cover.

[Broba Fett]

4 hours ago, Vincent Van Bro said:

I just ordered a paperback copy.

 

LOL. I read the summary and noticed it mentioned Filipino stick fighting... I remember when that was Broba's thing.

 

I like the cover.

 

Thanks man!  I appreciate it.  I hope you enjoy it.  

 

And yes, my face remembers the arnis as well.  If I get a minute later I'll try to find a picture of the time I caught a stick to the eye.