tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87388854272278731382024-03-05T06:35:06.338-08:00What's the Matter with Bootblacking?Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-12715486999181796182016-04-10T20:45:00.001-07:002016-04-10T20:45:13.812-07:00It's Been a Long Time...AgainSo, I haven't blogged in...forever.<br />
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Almost two and half years since my last post. Life is relatively the same. A little older. A little balder. A bit beard-ier. Much heavier.<br />
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Let's do an easy return post, a list of things that have been on my mind recently.<br />
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<b>Facebook</b><br />
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Ah...Facebook. The website we love to hate. In the old days, Facebook was a great way to keep up with old friends. Who's doing what? Where did so-and-so go again? What's who's-his-face up to? In the past few years I have noticed a shift in how Facebook is used. It's now mostly reposts of stuff we find on the Internet, pithy sayings, quizzes, click bait, or even worse, reposts from other Facebook pages. I am as big as an offender of this as anyone else in this respect, but I say "No more!"<br />
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From this day forward, I vow to only post personal stuff on Facebook. Pictures of me (like the beauties I posted earlier today), my random thoughts, and links to this blog when I update it. If you see me posting anything that isn't a direct connection to me or something I create, call me on it!<br />
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<b>Beards</b><br />
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I'm a big fan of the beard. I like my beard. I enjoy the length of the beard, but not, as I call it, the "Duck Dynasty" beard. I've had the beard trimmed twice now by a barber and it is quite a nice experience. Having been a baldo for the past 15 years or so, it's nice to go sit in a barber chair and have someone cut your hair. With summer coming, I am not sure if I will be keeping the long beard. I guess we will find out in a few months!<br />
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<b>Beer</b><br />
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Since I last posted, I started brewing beer. It's a fun hobby that incorporates a few of my favorite things: science and beer! I'm still brewing extracts and mostly from kits, but I am enjoying taking a batch of ingredients and putting them all together to make something new. Thanks to Malia for the idea and my brewing mentors Bill, Dan, and Ben for the advice and help. Brewing with friends is way more fun than brewing alone!<br />
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So far, I have only brewed dark beers which are very forgiving to impurities of color. My brew list includes:<br />
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Red Ale<br />
Imperial Stout<br />
Honey Porter (which was really more of a Brown Ale)<br />
Pumpkin Ale<br />
Root Beer Ale<br />
Black Lager<br />
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Next up is my first light beer, an American Cream Ale. The other beer I have brewing in my mind is a Golden Stout. This will be a fun experiment that I will probably do late in the summer so it is ready for the fall. Before that I will probably tweak the Root Beer Ale and make that again. It's a favorite, but the artificial sweetener is a bit too strong for me.<br />
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The other thing about brewing beer is I have saved quite a bit of money on buying beer. It's cheaper to make it than it is to buy it. Plus, when you know people who brew, there are lots of exchanges happening, so I get to try other peoples beer as well!<br />
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However, the money I am saving on not buying beer is being used to buy equipment to make beer, so there is that. The next thing I need to do is build a Keezer so I can switch from bottling to kegging.<br />
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<b>Weight</b><br />
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Sigh...the never ending battle for me. Currently I am up to my highest weight ever, which is very depressing. Before you say it, it has nothing to do with making beer. I give most of what I make away honestly, My beer consumption is one, maybe two a week, so I don't think that is adding too many calories to my diet.<br />
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I've tried a few different "diets" since my last post, and while the idea behind the Paleo/South Beach/ Low Carb diet works for me, it's just way too hard to stick to. I honestly think I might be addicted to sugar. I tried something called "Intuitive Eating" as well. That was a complete and utter disaster! Intuitively, I don't know what to eat. As Malia says, I need rules!<br />
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So here are the rules I will be following:<br />
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1) Low carb breakfast: eggs, some sort of breakfast meat, small glass of juice, and a cup of coffee with cream and Stevia.<br />
2) Fruit or veggie snack<br />
3) Big ol' salad with some sort of protein<br />
4) Fruit and protein snack<br />
5) Big ol' salad before the main course<br />
6) Smaller sized plate for dinner<br />
7) Small dessert treat of some kind (maybe)<br />
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The other thing I need to add is daily walking. I am in really bad shape. I've tried various other exercises, but I am so out of shape that anything I do hurts my body. Riding the bike hurts my torn calf. I pulled my IT band trying to jog. I re-injured my shoulder lifting weights. So for now, it's just walking. Every. Day. The dog will be happier for it as well as getting me a little more active. Once I start feeling better, I will start adding some light weight lifting again, and then maybe the stationary bike. It's going to be a long process. I'm going to try the calorie counting thing using the My Fitness Pal app to help keep track of everything.<br />
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<b>Growing Old </b><br />
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So besides the body falling apart because I haven't taken care of it, I am getting old. My oldest is driving now. He just got his permit a few weeks ago, but already he is doing quite well. It's hard to believe I have a son old enough to drive. Next school year I will be the parent of High Schoolers. That just blows my mind. I can't believe I will have a Junior and a Freshman. Where did the time go?<br />
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<b>Home Remedies</b><br />
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Speaking of growing old...<br />
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As I have gotten older I find I am self medicating some medical problems. Besides the two doctor prescribed medications I already take, I have added a few other items to my daily routine.<br />
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In the morning and evening I take a dose of Saint Johns Wort to counteract depression like symptoms. It is the one thing that the dietitian I was seeing recommended that actually worked. I add it to a small glass of lemonade and it kills two birds with one stone, because I drink the lemonade to help fight the kidney stones I was getting.<br />
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Besides those two, I take Lipo-Flavinoid Plus for Tinnitus. I have a constant ringing in my left ear. Some days it is unbearably loud and drives me to the point of distraction and irritability. Since I started taking this a month ago, the symptoms are not as strong. Sometimes, I don't even hear it at all. Let me tell you, that has been a huge relief.<br />
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The latest thing I have added to my daily routine is Epicor. It's main use is as an antioxidant that helps improve the immune system. It also helps to fight allergies, which for me are kicking into high gear. Thanks, tree pollen! Since I started taking this, my allergy symptoms have minimized.<br />
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<b>Wrap Up</b><br />
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There ya go, a few things that have been bouncing around in my head the past few days/weeks. Trying to think of a format for the blog. The lists I did were fun, but only so many things to list. Maybe I will do some "Geek Culture" posts. Lots of thoughts on movies that have come out recently, maybe some posts on that. Board games. Definitely some board game posts.<br />
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Stay tuned!Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-87249036931548348322013-10-15T11:49:00.001-07:002013-10-15T11:49:45.186-07:00Aloha means Hello and Goodbye!...we were leaving The Big Island and headed to Oahu.<br />
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Crazy times getting out of Kona. Our plane was super late and no way to contact anyone inside the terminal without going back through security, and no one was answering the phones when I called. After looking up the airline, they have a really poor record for on time service.<br />
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After a little crisis involving our rental car, we were finally on the ground in Oahu and headed to our condo in Pulaluu. This was the exact same property Malia had stayed at with her family over 20 years ago, so it was a homecoming of sorts for her. We stayed in a different condo, but it was exactly as she remembered.<br />
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That night we drove to find a place to eat, and ended up at a place we lovingly called Jesus' Burger. It looked like a quaint little drive up burger stand. Horrible food and the atmosphere was...interesting. Eating in a room festooned with Biblical quotes was odd. So, we finished up and headed out quickly.<br />
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Sunday was Father's Day. Kind of a weird day since I wasn't with the boys, and I was feeling kind of blue. So, what do I do when I am feeling blue? Get a Disney fix. But where to get a Disney fix on Oahu?<br />
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Oh yeah, that's right!</div>
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One word describes this place. Wow. The grandeur of this hotel is just mind boggling. Sadly, I can't afford to stay there, but holy cow, just getting to walk around it was impressive as all get out. Disney magic extends all the way to the islands. If I ever do get to stay here, it will be a great experience.</div>
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Looking out at the water park that makes up the middle of the hotel. In the distance you can see the ocean. They have their own private beach and cove here as well. Just crazy!</div>
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Me and my friend Stitch.</div>
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The next day we decided to head over to the Dole Plantation and learn everything we could about pineapples, because, you know, pineapples.</div>
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It was an interesting tour and I did learn quite a bit about pineapples, the pineapple industry, and the history of the islands at the same time.</div>
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This guy wanted to eat lunch with us. We politely declined.</div>
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I didn't know there were more than one type of pineapple, but there are, including this red variety!</div>
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The next day was a lounge around the condo day, so a perfect day for toes in the sand.</div>
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We spent the next day in Honolulu and did some touristy things, including driving up to this vantage point on the Pali Highway. </div>
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Very beautiful view over the island...</div>
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but very windy!</div>
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Our last full day on the island was spent at The Polynesian Cultural Center. It was a really cool place, but you need more than one day to experience it all. Had I known that, I would have scheduled a second day there, especially since you get a free second day admission when you buy a one day ticket with the tour. Disappointing to learn that AFTER we had already scheduled our visit for our last day on the island. Below are just a few of the pictures from there.</div>
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Statutes in front of the PCC.</div>
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A very beautiful sight. And the waterfall is okay as well.</div>
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Full head tattoo.</div>
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Derp faces before the night show at the PCC.</div>
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On our flight home, we had an empty seat between us so we had some room to stretch out, as well as being an emergency exit seat, so we had even more room! Woot!</div>
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Coming home was nice, but I do miss the islands. We had a really nice time and I am looking forward to going back. Noah wants to go there for his high school graduation present. We shall see!</div>
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After coming back from Hawaii, we had a few weeks and then the boys and I were off to Camp Fleischmann for a week of Boy Scout camp.</div>
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It was an okay experience, but didn't quite go the way I had hoped. The boys had a fun time though, and that's what counts.</div>
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Here is Marc during the Polar Bear Swim. He got out there every morning at 6 AM and jumped into the lake. Crazy boy, but the water was warmer than the air temp!</div>
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Here the boys are getting ready for the flag ceremony.</div>
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My (not so) award winning, but pretty darn tasty, chili.</div>
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Noah and his wilderness survival shelter.</div>
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The funniest part of the trip was when we were leaving, the camp director and I were talking about next year and I said something to the effect of "See ya next year!" and his reply was, "Maybe with a different troop?" We both got a laugh out of that, but just 3 months later, we have registered our new troop and will hopefully be at Camp Fleischmann next year with Troop 46.</div>
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The same day I came home from camp, I hopped in the shower, got all the Camp Fleischmann dirt off of me, put on my clean clothes, grabbed my bag, jumped in the car, and drove to the airport to catch a flight to Seattle.</div>
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Sunday morning was the usual music lessons for John and the little druid, while Jean and I watched the guys in the glass blowing shop do their thing.<br />
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John serenading us on the ukulele.</div>
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That night John and I were in the city for the album release show for one of my favorite bands, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a>. on of the greatest providers of nerd rock the world has ever seen. </div>
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Lead singer Kyle Stevens, playing an acoustic version of their song, "Up, Up, Down, Down"</div>
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Opening act <a href="http://mollylewis.bandcamp.com/">Molly Lewis</a>. She was good. I thought she set a good tone to start the show.</div>
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Second act was a band called <a href="http://h2awesomemusic.bandcamp.com/">H2 Awesome</a> (more like H2 Okay). Maybe their are better recorded. I wasn't quite into them.</div>
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Third act was a band from Portland, <a href="http://www.thedoubleclicks.com/">The Doubleclicks</a>. Yes, the girl on the left side of the picture is playing the cello. They have some really fun songs. I liked them a lot.</div>
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The main act was so much fun. I enjoyed their set quite a bit, although if if were me, I would have picked a different selection of songs from the new CD to play as well as a few different older songs. Good stuff, though.</div>
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For the final song of the night, all the bands got on stage and sang "Take on Me" by Ah Ha! It was pretty funny.</div>
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Later in the week John and I visited the EMP to check out the Sci-Fi and Fantasy World exhibit. It was pretty cool.</div>
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Here I am sitting upon The Iron Throne in my House Krackle shirt, with their Narwhal sigil.</div>
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Ex-ter-min-ate.</div>
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Look, up in the sky!</div>
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Simon Pegg's shirt from Shaun of the Dead.</div>
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A cool quote.</div>
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By the time I got home from Seattle, it was time for Malia to go in for her surgery and summer was basically over.</div>
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So, there ya go, Summer-palooza Blog Post. Hope you enjoyed it!</div>
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Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-10513562568347621782013-10-15T08:39:00.000-07:002013-10-15T08:39:02.467-07:00Interruption in serviceHi! I missed a few days. Sorry about that. I got super busy Thursday night. Then Friday and Saturday I was camping at <a href="http://parks.nv.gov/parks/bi/">Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park</a> with the Scouts. Sunday night was World of Warcraft night with friends. Monday night I was hopped up on goofballs because I had an MRI and my shoulder hurt like crazy. Went to bed early and watched a few episodes of Arrow. Pretty good from what I can remember.<br />
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Anyway, I will be posting a massive Summer Vacation Extravaganza post later this morning!<br />
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Until then? Learn something new and post it in the comments.<br />
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-7218706312370541872013-10-09T22:39:00.003-07:002013-10-10T07:31:58.121-07:00Aloha, Places!Okay, so back to Hawaii...Sigh...I wish.<br />
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I talked about <a href="http://www.hawaiiislandretreat.com/">Hawaii Island Retreat</a> a little bit, but let me tell you more about it. It is an amazing little Eco-friendly boutique spa retreat on the north shore of the Big Island. Beautiful building, beautiful grounds, amazing views, and they believe in sustainable living. They grow most of their own food, and what isn't grown on the grounds, is purchased locally (though I did see a few Costco boxes lying around...).<br />
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View from below the hotel, looking down at the ocean.</div>
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This is a picture of a place where King Kamehameha is believed to have held council meetings. </div>
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This is was a really pretty picture that I didn't frame correctly.Their are two full rows of trees that lead down to the big rock. Off to the left there is a three leveled terrace that is where dancers are believed to have performed for the King and his court.</div>
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This little one was one of the many goats that are kept on property to provide milk for the amazing goat cheese and other dairy product. She was a fan of having her chin rubbed and not between her ears like the other goats.</div>
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A view over the meadow where the cows live, looking out at the ocean.</div>
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The shoreline below the cliff from the picture above.</div>
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While on the Big Island we saw two waterfalls. The first was Akaka Falls, a place recommended to us by our chef/guide at the retreat named Mo. Mo gave us really good advice. Most of the time...</div>
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Some of the plants on the way to the falls.</div>
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A wildlife specimen headed towards the falls. Oh...wait...</div>
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Akaka Falls</div>
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More plant life along the trail away from the falls.</div>
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Rainbow Falls</div>
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Crazy staircase and railings headed to the falls.</div>
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Cool tree/trees near the falls.</div>
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More wildlife at the falls. Oh...wait...</div>
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Looking down from the top of the falls. (Yes, I took that picture!)</div>
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Crazy guy at the top of the falls.</div>
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The next day was a snorkeling and volcano day. The snorkeling was a disaster, and the one really bad piece of advice we got from Mo. It took us forever to get to the place where we were supposed to snorkel from. Then, I found that our gear was broken, but we were told we could snorkel a short way out to see dolphins, so we decided to plow through. That was a bad idea. Malia got caught up in the rocks, and I lost my dad's ring all in a matter of minutes.</div>
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A very nice man looked for the ring for like 20 minutes with no luck. He took my number and said he'd call me. He actually did call me in August to say he was sorry, but he hadn't found it yet and was headed back to Oregon, but that he had friends that would keep an eye out for it. Crazy nice guy.</div>
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After that disaster, we stopped at the Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park to see what we could see.</div>
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Fabulous photography job by yours truly.</div>
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Beautiful black sand beach.</div>
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These guys were all over the place. I zoomed in to get a good picture of him. Other people were less able to read the signs apparently, because they got all up in their shells.</div>
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As you can tell from my hair in this picture, it was SUPER windy.</div>
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After we left here we went to the volcano. Sadly when we got there it was raining, so we didn't get to do much exploring or picture taking. This is the one picture I took.</div>
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Kind of cool, but it was not as cool as I'd hoped it would be.</div>
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By the time we were headed to see the lava flow, it was pouring rain and it just wasn't worth it for the long drive to stay in the car. We had had enough of a crappy day that we turned the car around and headed back to the north shore of the island. You'd be surprised how low long it can take to drive around the Big Island. </div>
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This was the day we stopped in <a href="http://www.gohawaii.com/big-island/regions-neighborhoods/north-kohala/waimea">Waimea</a>. I think if I was to live anywhere in Hawaii, it would be here. It is called "Cowboy Country" for a reason. Rolling hills, fields of green grass. You'd never know you were on an island, until you looked into the distance and could see the ocean.</div>
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I think that's why I liked it so much. Truly the best of many worlds. Living in Nevada for so long, I get antsy when I am away from mountains. Not sure why that is, but it's true. I still have Waimea marked as a favorite on my Weather Channel app on my phone, even though I will probably never get back there.</div>
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The next day was our kick around the North Shore Day. Had an early morning couple's massage appointment that turned into two individual appointments due to the rain. It was a weird experience. The young lady who gave me my massage was very good (I guess. I don't really have anyone else to compare her to since I'd never had a professional massage before.). </div>
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After that we went into the nearest town, Haw'i and walked around the shops and ate lunch. Across the street we saw The King, so we had to get our pictures taken with him. In all we saw 3 of the 4 statues of King Kamehameha. The only reason we didn't see the 4th one is because it is in Washington, DC.</div>
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"Thank you, thank you very much!" Oh...wait...wrong King.</div>
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Pineapple plants on the grounds at the retreat.</div>
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More pineapple plants.</div>
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After kicking around the town we went back to the hotel and lounged by the pool. It was a great day.</div>
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Our private pool for the week. It was really relaxing.</div>
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Tomorrow, I'll pick up with our trip on Oahu.</div>
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I've been holding it together food-wise this week. Not over eating, adding back in more veggies, no junk food, etc, and it is showing. Sunday had me clocked in at over 237. Today, I was reading just over 231. I know it's mostly water, but still it's good to see that scale dip down again. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the low 220s, because I want to start wearing more of the shirts I got while in Hawaii! I came home with a new wardrobe! I'll add those shirts in on another days blog.</div>
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I'll wrap it up with the food diary for today. It looks oddly similar to the last few days.</div>
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Food Diary for Wednesday the 9th of October<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 20 oz of Coffee with Mint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 2 Tiki Masala Drumsticks<br />
Big Ol' Salad w//Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: </span>2 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Philly Stuffed Bell Peppers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 60 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 8 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
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Until we meet again, be good to yourself!Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-90061658124181487102013-10-08T22:23:00.000-07:002013-10-08T22:23:01.252-07:00Aloha, Food!So, as promised, here is the Hawaii vacation report. It really was a great trip.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Okay, it all starts with this view. </span><br />
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That was the weirdest part of the trip. I've never been over that much water before, and it was pretty weird.</div>
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Next picture is the strangest airport I've ever been in.</div>
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Seriously. Open air airport. Weird, but cool.</div>
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It was then off to lunch before the long drive to the hotel.</div>
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Chicken Katsu for me at the Pine Tree Cafe near the Kona Airport. Really good, but not the best food I had while in Hawaii.</div>
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The hotel is a little boutique spa resort. Beautiful facility named <a href="http://www.hawaiiislandretreat.com/">Hawaii Island Retreat</a>.</div>
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We had the "Honeymoon Suite" and it was truly the best hotel room I've ever stayed in.The strangest thing about that place was that we were the only people staying at the hotel. So weird, but then again, it was pretty awesome as we had the place to ourselves.</div>
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...Ok, I've totally forgotten the order of things, so here's what I am going to do. I'm going to post a bunch of pictures of food just to show how I gained all that weight back.</div>
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Chicken Parm in Waimea</div>
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Breakfast at the Hawaii Island Retreat</div>
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Pizza in Hawi</div>
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Dessert in Hawi</div>
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Salad at the Retreat</div>
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Soup at the Retreat</div>
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Dinner at the Retreat</div>
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Chicken of some kind, somewhere</div>
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Loco Moco (OMG! I love this stuff!)</div>
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Fried Shrimp from a Shrimp Truck</div>
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Dole Whip (in a cone) at the Dole Plantation.</div>
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Burgers and Fries</div>
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Drinks at Bamboo</div>
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Kalua Stuffed Chicken at Bamboo</div>
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Loco Moco with Shredded Beef at the southern most restaurant in the USA</div>
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Hot Dog Spaghetti w/rice and macaroni salad (not good)</div>
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Duck Fried Rice</div>
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Shave Ice</div>
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BBQ Ribs</div>
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Malasadas from Leonard's (amazingly good)</div>
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Yeah, my mouth is watering and my stomach is growling! It was a pretty amazing gastronomically delightful trip. So good!</div>
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So, that was then...</div>
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Food Diary for Tuesday the 8th of October<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Mint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 3 Tiki Masala Drumsticks<br />
Big Ol' Salad w//Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: </span>2 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Zucchini Lasagna</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 60 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 8 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
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Tomorrow, I'll post the pictures of other things that aren't food!<br />
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Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-83740677993956460922013-10-07T18:46:00.002-07:002013-10-07T18:46:31.624-07:00It's Been a Long Time...since I saw your smiling face.<br />
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Welcome back to "What's the Matter with Bootblacking?", my daily blog about what's new and exciting in my life, my struggle with losing weight, and being a nerd. Not necessarily in that order!<br />
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Today's title comes to you courtesy of the band Cake. They are a fun band, with a really cool sound that I enjoy quite a bit. Check <a href="http://www.cakemusic.com/">them</a> out!<br />
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So, it has indeed been a long time since I updated this page. The last real update was in May, with a mini useless update in June. So, let's get caught up.<br />
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Once school got out in June, Malia and I spent 11 days in Hawaii. Wow. What an amazing trip. We had such a good time. For the most part. 1 bad day, but it was a doozy. Tomorrow I'll fill you in on that 11 days with photos.<br />
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After Hawaii it was home for a few weeks, and then off to Boy Scout Camp with a few of the boys from the old Boy Scout Troop. It was fun, I guess.<br />
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The very same day I got home from camp, I hopped on a plane and spent 5 days hanging out with my best friend, John Feil. We got to see a really good concert, hang out and do nerd things, and eat food that was not good for me.<br />
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After I got home from that trip, it was time to take Malia in for some nasal surgery, and then back to work a few weeks later. Crazy busy, but also crazy fun!<br />
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So, you might be wondering, how has the weight loss been going. Well...when last I weighed in here, I was 222 lbs. Last night I got on the scale and it was at 237, this morning, it was 231, and this afternoon, it was at 232. So I figure I am in the low-mid 230s at this point, but as you will learn over the next week or so, I was obviously not very good about sticking to my diet over the summer. My goal of hitting 170 lbs by Christmas is gone, with the hope now to be at 200 by then, and 170 by next October.<br />
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To help me along this goal, I joined an online weight loss program which should earn me some money. I'll let you know how things are going as I get closer to those goals.<br />
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Speaking of goals, I finally plowed my way through The Song of Ice and Fire book 1 back in June and since then, I have finished books 2-4. I am now about 1/3 of the way through book 5. I am just about up to the point where I need to sing this song:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/j7lp3RhzfgI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Some adult language, viewer advised.</div>
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On that note, it's time for the food diary!</div>
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Food Diary for Monday the 7th of October<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Mint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 3 Tiki Masala Drumsticks<br />
Big Ol' Salad w//Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: </span>1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Mu Shu Pork "Cabbage" Rolls (Used Romaine instead because the cabbage was bad)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 60 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 8 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 30 minute Dog Walk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 45 minutes riding the Stationary Bike</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So there ya go, a blog entry! Tomorrow, get ready for lots of pictures of food from Hawaii so you can see just why I gained 15 lbs over the summer! Off to ride the bike and read more from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Dragons-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553801473">A Dance with Dragons</a>.</span>Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-30691695293988352752013-06-29T07:10:00.002-07:002013-06-29T07:10:34.312-07:00Blogging...the Return!Coming Soon...Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-49965508929088945152013-05-29T20:29:00.001-07:002013-05-29T20:29:18.726-07:00Well, now...We interrupt the silence with the following thoughts.<br />
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So, yeah. Blogging isn't hard, it just takes a few things.<br />
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1) Time<br />
2) Commitment<br />
3) Desire<br />
4) Interesting Topic/Topics<br />
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Let's take a look at that list in order, shall we?<br />
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1) Time. I usually have plenty of time. After dinner and the evening chores are over with, there is not a lot on my plate usually. The last week was no exception. I had plenty of time to write, so that's not what kept me from writing.<br />
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2) Commitment. Even though my blog gets under 30 hits a day on a good day, I have been committed since February to writing something almost everyday, so my commitment to the blog is not based on readership, it's based on...<br />
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3) Desire. I enjoy writing normally. As Malia pointed out to me, just because I don't have a ton of people reading my posts, the goal was to write something and put it out there to keep myself honest about my daily life and struggle to lose weight. Which leads to...<br />
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4) Interesting Topic/Topics. My personal struggle with food and weight loss may be interesting to some, but not all, of my readers. My personal entertainment preferences may be interesting to others, but again, not all of my readers. I've tried to balance things out, but honestly, I'm just not that deep of a person. I have my interests, but there aren't many layers to this onion.<br />
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So, when I put out a call for what I should write about, the subject of Star Trek came up. Now, I'm not a Star Trek fan. I like some aspects of Star Trek, but it's never really been my cup of tea. When it comes to the shows, my favorite was Deep Space Nine. Best captain? Sisko. I liked the first movie by J.J. "More Lens Flare!" Abrams, but haven't seen the second one yet since I rarely get to the theater.<br />
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So, as I planned out my Star Trek blog entries, I went in with high expectations and failed to meet them. Hopefully my legion of readers aren't too upset. Really don't have much else to say on that topic. (Sorry, Matt!)<br />
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Between last post and this one I have found a new Internet distraction; John Green. If you aren't familiar with John Green and his brother Hank, here are a few places you can find them.<br />
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<a href="http://nerdfighters.ning.com/">Nerdfighters</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ5qUqpW4hW4zdfuBxMSJA">Mental Floss</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers">Vlogbrothers</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse">Crash Course</a><br />
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Big fan of these guys. You should check them out, as they are both Nerdy and Cool.<br />
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Being stressed about the end of the school year does not lead to the best eating habits, so I have maintained my 223-224 lbs for the past week. I figure once vacation starts, I will be in better shape. We'll see.<br />
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Anyone, thanks for reading! Take care!<br />
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-19614246274679618592013-05-23T22:38:00.002-07:002013-05-23T22:38:59.810-07:00Star Trek TOSOkay, so I am behind in my blogging on Star Trek already, but that's okay, because honestly, I don't have a whole lot to say about The Original Series.<br />
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To be honest I'm not a big fan of the Original Series TV shows. There were a couple decent things about it.<br />
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1)Mirror Universe Spock<br />
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Seriously. How cool does Spock look here?</div>
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2) Khan</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 37px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ricardo Montalbán as Khan. Cool episode, and I like how the best Star Trek TOS movie picks up on this thread years later.</span></span></div>
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3) Tribbles</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttP0jcz4r3LI4_Eq0_6rEI-N8gmV9iMOOyUJgSxB1twSW2kQbzE412Pur1rtqVzUqEz8kx5w9OvdyJL3_cTXobdUKYayO1cO9IsknBii9VMxJG9yjn2I2T4S0orVyVATu1Gll4ekBB9A/s1600/Tribbles2_1239913319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttP0jcz4r3LI4_Eq0_6rEI-N8gmV9iMOOyUJgSxB1twSW2kQbzE412Pur1rtqVzUqEz8kx5w9OvdyJL3_cTXobdUKYayO1cO9IsknBii9VMxJG9yjn2I2T4S0orVyVATu1Gll4ekBB9A/s320/Tribbles2_1239913319.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Who doesn't like Tribbles?</div>
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So, really, not a huge fan of the show. It was okay, but honestly, I preferred the Next Generation series over the Original.</div>
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Since that was so short, lets hit the movies.</div>
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Anyone who knows the Star Trek TOS movies knows the deal with them. </div>
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I like to refer to the first movie as Star Trek, The Motionless Picture. Gah. So bad. The scene with them flying in the shuttle up to the Enterprise? Terrible.</div>
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Wrath of Khan? Arguably the best Star Trek movie of all time. </div>
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The Search for Spock? Probably the best of the odd numbered movies.</div>
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The Voyage Home was a fun time travel movie. Favorite scene was when Mr. Scott was trying to use a computer. Funny stuff.</div>
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The Final Frontier? Worse than The Motionless Picture. Pains me to even write about it.</div>
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The Undiscovered Country was okay, and a fitting end to the Original Series movies. I was glad that it went out on a better not than Final Frontier.</div>
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Favorite Character from the Original Series? This guy:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYD3DnoS_66MBnBHvcO2uhW8STI_Gr1sr5OtIKfM4p_I1NqJQDMyGAJrhDeCAZcmI9GLixbCNYUT0RjsWePtNIByk7BEG1wkcwcM3hHpNWeMIH6voYq9KsPkwfwvfhRdVBxNimF86O6pA/s1600/mr-spock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYD3DnoS_66MBnBHvcO2uhW8STI_Gr1sr5OtIKfM4p_I1NqJQDMyGAJrhDeCAZcmI9GLixbCNYUT0RjsWePtNIByk7BEG1wkcwcM3hHpNWeMIH6voYq9KsPkwfwvfhRdVBxNimF86O6pA/s1600/mr-spock.jpg" /></a></div>
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Tomorrow, I'll talk about the Next Generation.</div>
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So, work is winding down. Most groups I will only see once more, and then it's a week of planning for next year. May be subbing for one of my colleagues on the last day of school, but not sure yet. It would be cool, but I'll see what the boss says.</div>
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The gardens are looking nice for the most part. Water was an issue. Too much at some schools; not enough at others. Space was also an issue. The kids were pretty excited by it all though, so that's cool. It didn't go exactly as I wanted it to, but it's almost over so I can't complain.</div>
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Weight loss has been at a stand still since I got back from Grizzly Creek Ranch. I've maintained about 222 lbs since returning home.</div>
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I decided, without talking to my doctor, to try a little experiment. I went off my cholesterol meds and tried to control it by diet and exercise alone. Well, that apparently failed, as she wants to see me about my blood work that I just had done. Sigh. Now I get to go explain myself. I was really hoping that would work, but apparently not so much. I'm frustrated because I thought for sure I would be successful. Guess not. Dang.</div>
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Hopefully, I get my results in the mail by Monday so I can start by new journal. Time to get things back under control and start another 90 day plan. Wish me luck!</div>
Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-51332305049912198612013-05-21T22:53:00.002-07:002013-05-21T22:54:49.825-07:00ChoresHey all, hope you've had a great day. Mine was a bit busier than I thought it would be.<br />
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First off, I just want to say that I love my Tuesday school. They are truly a delightful group of teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, students, you name it. My one complaint is that they have too much food around on Tuesdays! Every Tuesday is their big meeting day and someone always brings snacks. Those snacks end up in my teaching space, the Teachers' Lounge.<br />
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Today's treats was Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Oh my. I tried. I really tried. I ignored it for about 30 minutes, but then half a slice became a whole slice, which then became two slices. Then there was the bowl of Hershey's Kisses and the Reese's Peanut Butter things.<br />
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Sigh...needless to say, today was not a great day for eating. Oh, and no sixth graders again today. That's four weeks in a row I haven't seen that group. Two were my fault, but the other two were for a field trip and then testing. Maybe I will get to say goodbye to them next week!<br />
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Oh well! We got a dozen more plants in the ground and another birdhouse in the tree. Overall, I am pretty happy with what we have been able to do at the 4 schools. I know it wasn't much at some of them, but I had several compliments about how nice things look. Apparently, I have created a monster that I will need to take care of every year!<br />
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Got home and decided after the dog had escaped from the backyard again, that it was time to fix the gates. Both the gate to the dog run and the yard were broken, so first I tore apart the gate to the fence and rebuilt it. Honestly, I should have gotten new wood and redone it, but for what it is, it looks okay. The gate to the dog run just needed to be adjusted and put together correctly. Both jobs together took about 3 hours to complete.<br />
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I have neglected the lawn as well, so I decided I better mow it before the HOA complains. So, at about 8:40, I started mowing. I was done by 9:00, but I have no idea how it looks since by the time I was done, it was too dark to see. Luckily, I didn't find any rocks in the yard!<br />
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After that, I got tomorrow nights dinner ready to put in the crockpot tomorrow morning and cleaned the kitchen. Not much time to sit down tonight. Didn't get any of oldest boy's schoolwork checked in, but he only has 7 more assignments to do before the end of the year, so I am not too concerned about it!<br />
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With that, I'll bring up the topic of my next few nights blog posts as suggested by my friend, Matt: Star Trek. First off, I have to say I am not a Trekkie. I enjoy many things about Star Trek, but it is not my go to Sci-Fi show. I thought Babylon 5 was a much better show than any Star Trek series, with maybe the exception for Deep Space 9.<br />
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Anyway, I will share my opinions of the shows and movies in the following manner:<br />
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Wednesday: Star Trek, The Original Series<br />
Thursday: Star Trek, The Original Series Movies<br />
Friday: Star Trek, The Next Generation Series<br />
Saturday: Star Trek, The Next Generation Movies<br />
Sunday: Star Trek, Deep Space Nine<br />
Monday: Star Trek, Voyager<br />
Tuesday: Star Trek, Enterprise<br />
Wednesday: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams Universe<br />
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Food Diary for Tuesday the 21st of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 2 slices of Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 5 Hershey's Kisses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 </span>Reese's<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Peanut Butter candies</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Nothing<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1 oz of Dubliner Cheese</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: </span>Pastrami Salmon (Salmon in a Pastrami like brine)<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
Big Ol' Salad w/Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 60 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Home repair</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Lawn Mowing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, as <a href="http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/judge-john-hodgman">Judge John Hodgma</a>n would say, "That is all!" </span></div>
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Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-51070514706565816822013-05-20T21:27:00.003-07:002013-05-20T21:27:37.406-07:00Monday, MondayAnother Monday in the books.<br />
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Started off we me and the oldest boy in the doctor's office. Me with a wonky elbow and him with a wonky knee. Tennis elbow for me, "tennis knee" for him. Ice and Naproxen for both of us. If his doesn't get better, it's physical therapy. If mine doesn't get better? Cortisone shot.<br />
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Personally, I am a big fan of Cortisone shots. Had one about 5 years ago that drastically changed my health and well being. (Thanks Dr. McClish!) Hopefully, it won't come to that, but if it does, so be it.<br />
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Then it was off to work where I boxed up my classroom. 5 boxes with of books and files. Not much really. Kind of sad and pathetic, really. Oh well. It didn't take long.<br />
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Planted two more butterfly bushes, hung 12 bird feeders, and helped bury 3 terra cotta pots for reptile homes. All in all a good day!<br />
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Meeting after school that didn't get much out of, except hints about what I am doing next year. Looks like probably the same thing as this year. I'm mostly cool with that. It's a lot of kids, but oh well. I've got a sweet job!<br />
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Picked up my new brace for my elbow and the prescriptions and rushed home to make dinner. Zucchini Pizza Boats. Turned out pretty good, actually! Got dinner for tomorrow night started. Pastrami Salmon (Salmon in a pastrami like brine). Should be interesting.<br />
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Schoolwork done with the boy. His school year is just about over. He has about 8 more assignments due by 5/29. I think he'll get them done! Then it's figuring out how to keep him busy until the rest of us are out of school on 6/6.<br />
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Food Diary for Monday the 20th of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Nothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Nothing<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamias</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 squares of Lindt 88% Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Dinner: </span>Zucchini Pizza Boats<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 50 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully you had a great day.</span></div>
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Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-15102462632551318672013-05-19T20:58:00.002-07:002013-05-19T20:58:50.591-07:00Chicken Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Short blog post tonight. I'm too tired to post much.</div>
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I spent the entire day today either shopping for parts or building the chicken run. As with all projects, it seems that giving a blood sacrifice is important to finishing it. So, this picture shows the largest contribution of blood to the project.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lr8nsYt6MrMp-3u5mSmhyphenhyphen2sMPtD7LQzW4anGoIUIyg0eUhueQ_hz7sazAiu4zOaxmQbZYG_NiqZ4bSRnX8HBql0RsZEKPzRo9p9ZU03HdoJ-UPzw59z3lXsEn1kSXsIByofqmm3r74M/s1600/chickens+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lr8nsYt6MrMp-3u5mSmhyphenhyphen2sMPtD7LQzW4anGoIUIyg0eUhueQ_hz7sazAiu4zOaxmQbZYG_NiqZ4bSRnX8HBql0RsZEKPzRo9p9ZU03HdoJ-UPzw59z3lXsEn1kSXsIByofqmm3r74M/s320/chickens+012.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Yeah, it stings.</div>
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I had just cut the final link in the chain and realized a split second too late that it was going to spring back at me. Ouch. I have several smaller scratches on other parts of my body. I'm basically scratched from head to toe. </div>
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However, here is the completed chicken run. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSOx_Cr-VrnoUqoQhxjBS_rF1Iu_H9ss1g-36exaweFP3Mmb7QmVGhHGa-6V5zr3XD_ekrtl1-N40H1KzugobFFfXEMcyDasXL1j1slSVz4_PaAmAMkvIBCRFXoFfdlOeSbGdpPJp7qY/s1600/chickens+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSOx_Cr-VrnoUqoQhxjBS_rF1Iu_H9ss1g-36exaweFP3Mmb7QmVGhHGa-6V5zr3XD_ekrtl1-N40H1KzugobFFfXEMcyDasXL1j1slSVz4_PaAmAMkvIBCRFXoFfdlOeSbGdpPJp7qY/s320/chickens+020.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Made entirely of PVC, hardware cloth, and zip ties.</div>
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Still need to figure out the best way to get the door working. I think we are going to paint it as well. Plus, I still need to cut off the sharp edges. Otherwise, it's good to go!</div>
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Noah and his friend helped snip off the excess on the zip ties, which was a big help, as I was really sore by this point.</div>
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We brought the chickens out to run around for a few minutes. They took a bit of time to get moving around, but once they got the hang of it, they were pecking and scratching away. That is when they weren't roosting on Noah's friend!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdVLKS9vp7_0OABly0qFe4uOPGySRDFSuYv8fHKpyd6tcf7q2dtHSYnIErUOQj5tvQ8pZ5XO2c3_DnMHYJWPLTIHl_jg3LwnQO5AbWs6Zf97GEIHpB5mTQ1V-BefgFF0i3q8y0nNkjLI/s1600/chickens+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdVLKS9vp7_0OABly0qFe4uOPGySRDFSuYv8fHKpyd6tcf7q2dtHSYnIErUOQj5tvQ8pZ5XO2c3_DnMHYJWPLTIHl_jg3LwnQO5AbWs6Zf97GEIHpB5mTQ1V-BefgFF0i3q8y0nNkjLI/s320/chickens+013.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhyphenhyphenU1st-ToqrKlnk_1oXwiNKJ-GTIMIsgBonB2TeaSjfEWs9fZ3Er_LCU8CX4ER4QNvH7gCVYs5k5u2bT4oUay_z4VV3jkSs1DIUrkhlyR5EB-bt3o3UfspVh1nDVqJtsvBlsl2Ew4e0/s1600/chickens+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhyphenhyphenU1st-ToqrKlnk_1oXwiNKJ-GTIMIsgBonB2TeaSjfEWs9fZ3Er_LCU8CX4ER4QNvH7gCVYs5k5u2bT4oUay_z4VV3jkSs1DIUrkhlyR5EB-bt3o3UfspVh1nDVqJtsvBlsl2Ew4e0/s320/chickens+014.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEe4x2iNl0DfI0GHeTZEyNbEQyE3J2kNgXhDYcQK-Bf25LYCbUvLQSm2U02AmqdSeyLA_uahAc7uUzgpsLNMok-EEw_w5JQ_Zvfv1HulwoLYa0NG32pR02oA1XIswcGxSMh8jXt8NG1S0/s1600/chickens+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEe4x2iNl0DfI0GHeTZEyNbEQyE3J2kNgXhDYcQK-Bf25LYCbUvLQSm2U02AmqdSeyLA_uahAc7uUzgpsLNMok-EEw_w5JQ_Zvfv1HulwoLYa0NG32pR02oA1XIswcGxSMh8jXt8NG1S0/s320/chickens+016.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHIzvNlUEULzbT3dLAax-D02BggbgxQRualZKp1etXFSXylhWtc0DoScvUxl3zeoIa7gYFEwHMO2sBk3VRcEulknIFzPBZAtiHTUMhJNlHWSFYOUIxq_Nt_PDaMDhTc6W2Luir9U5euY/s1600/chickens+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHIzvNlUEULzbT3dLAax-D02BggbgxQRualZKp1etXFSXylhWtc0DoScvUxl3zeoIa7gYFEwHMO2sBk3VRcEulknIFzPBZAtiHTUMhJNlHWSFYOUIxq_Nt_PDaMDhTc6W2Luir9U5euY/s320/chickens+017.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Weight still hovering in the 222 lb mark, which I am happy with, especially after yesterday.</div>
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Food Diary for Sunday, May 19th:</div>
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Breakfast: 2 Eggs, Scrambled w/Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash</div>
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12.5 oz of Coffee w/Kal Stevia Sweetener</div>
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Lunch: 4 slices of Canadian Bacon w/ 2 oz of Dubliner Cheese</div>
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Small Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette</div>
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PM Snack: 2 Squares 88% Cacao Bar</div>
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10 Macadamia Nuts</div>
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12.5 oz of Coffee w/Kal Stevia Sweetener</div>
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Dinner: 2 Hamburgers w/ Dubliner Cheese</div>
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Big Ol' Salad w/ Mustard</div>
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Water: About 60 oz</div>
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Sleep: About 8 hours</div>
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Exercise: Building the chicken run</div>
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That's it for tonight! Later!</div>
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-80302806748677175502013-05-18T07:35:00.001-07:002013-05-18T07:35:44.068-07:00On the road blogYesterday was another fun filled day of working in the school garden. This public service project is crazy. The kids are enjoying it. The staff love that the garden is looking better. I feel like I had to dump so much of the academics to get the project done that I've lost a bit of academic integrity. Oh well. The kids are learning a few valuable skills and giving back to the world, so that's good. <div><br></div><div>Food choices were good for the most part this week. I did break down and eat one piece of pizza last night. I was tired and weak. Should have just gone to bed, but tried to get the house cleaned up and it was sitting there calling my name. </div><div><br></div><div>Next week starts a new phase in the lifestyle change. Taking a 90 day challenge via the Primal Blueprint Journal. Need to get blood work done to get a baseline. Talk to the doctor and see if they can order it.</div><div><br></div><div>Need to refocus the efforts over the summer, so this is a good time to mix it up. </div><div><br></div><div>Currently on a bus with a bunch of middle schoolers for a band field trip. Good times. At least I am not in charge. I'm pretty sure the teacher let me come along to just keep an eye on Noah since the only thing I have to do is keep an eye on Noah. </div><div><br></div><div>Going to try a fasting day today. I don't like my food options for today, so I'll just go without. </div><div><br></div><div>Food Diary for Friday 17th of May</div><div><br></div><div>Breakfast: Pork Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash w/ 2 eggs over easy</div><div><br></div><div>Lunch: Big ol' Salad w/yellow mustard</div><div> 2 US Wellness Beef Hot Dogs</div><div><br></div><div>PM Snack: 2 squares of 88% Cacao Dark Chocolate</div><div> 10 Macadamias</div><div><br></div><div>Dinner: 1 "Delmonico" Steak w/caramelized onions and mushrooms </div><div> 1 slice Papa Murphy's cheese pizza with white sauce</div><div><br></div><div>Water: 70 oz or so</div><div><br></div><div>Exercise: walking dog </div><div> Heavy gardening</div><div><br></div><div>Ok, that's it for now. Hope it's a good day for you. </div>Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-14050597571017355382013-05-16T21:04:00.002-07:002013-05-16T21:04:18.636-07:00TiredVery tired today, so another short blog. Still need to ride the bike before bed.<br />
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Phew! Today was a crazy day. Cloudy, windy, and cold. I dug 7 big holes for plants in the garden at school. Helped plant a dozen flowers or more. Watched a group of 5th grade girls play with nightcrawlers. It was fascinating watching them. I'd post pictures, but I don't have permission. Needless to say, some the girls were grossed out and the others were having fun with them. I'm not squeamish, but worms are icky! May explain why I am not the fisherman of the house! (Nah, I don't really mind worms. I'm just kidding!)<br />
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Anyway, good day today, even if I did lose a bunch of my students to a schoolwide activity. We got a lot done, and the new plants really add to the garden, I think. Time will tell of course.<br />
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Another week, another new episode of Tabletop. This is probably my favorite thing about the Internet these days. It's a great show, and while I don't always get every game played on the show, I must admit I own a fair share of them.<br />
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...and I bought this one. Looks awesome, and I know the boys will love it! Really have to get our game nights going again. I've gotten a lot of great games that we need to play, King of Tokyo, Formula D, Forbidden Island, just to name a few. Some I bought that they boys might be getting close to being ready to play include Pandemic and Munchkin. The recommended age is 10 and up for both, but some of the content, especially in Munchkin seems a bit mature of 10 year olds.</div>
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Anyway, as Wil would say, "Play more games!"</div>
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Food Diary for Thursday the 16th of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 fried eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 100% Grass fed beef Polish Sausage Sliders</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener and Organic 1/2 and 1/2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Nothing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 2 pieces (1 thigh and 1 leg) Sweet and Sour Split Roasted Chicken<br />
Big Ol' Salad <span style="font-family: inherit;">w/ Blood Orange and Pomegranate </span>Vinaigrette<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 15 Macadamia Nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 squares of 88% </span>Ghirardelli<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Venti, Triple, Heavy Cream, Sugar Free Mocha</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Fajita seasoned chicken, green peppers and onions served over</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Passilo Roasted Sweet Potatoes</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Walking the dog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 30 minutes of Bike riding</span><br />
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Good night, all!</div>
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Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-21940743223937096292013-05-15T21:09:00.003-07:002013-05-16T20:59:56.713-07:00Back on TrackOkay, going to try to get things back under control, so a short blog post so I can go lift weights and get to bed by 10 PM.<br />
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Life has been chaotic lately. If you have been following my blog you can tell I haven't been my usual self. Time to take control back. That starts with working out again. In the past, I'd always say that exercising didn't really do much for me and that it was a waste of time. I've gotta say, though, now that I look at my body in the mirror, I am seeing muscles that weren't there before.<br />
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I'm not "buff" or "ripped" or "cut" by any definition of the words, but I am seeing some "definition", especially in my biceps. Yesterday in class, I stretched both arms behind my head and one of my students said, "Whoa! Check out Mr. Walter's muscles!" I laughed it off, but later looked in the mirror to see for myself!<br />
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So, time to get back at it. I know at this point, there is no way I will be 200 lbs by June 11th. It's unfortunate, but a reality nonetheless. Maybe 215 if I work at it. That's about 8 lbs in the next 4 weeks. Impossible? Maybe, but it's a goal!<br />
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Current weight as referenced above is 223. Blargh. But it is what it is. That's still 31 pounds lighter than I was in February and 37 from maximum density last year!<br />
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Food Diary for Wednesday the 15th of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 Eggs, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener and Organic 1/2 and 1/2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Nothing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 2 US Wellness Garlic Beef Hot Dogs<br />
Big Ol' Salad w/ Yellow Mustard<br />
1 fun sized Snickers Bar (Grrr! Why do people keep giving me candy?!?! Luckily, I didn't eat the box of M & M's!)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia Nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 squares of 88% </span>Ghirardelli<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Paleo Fish "Sticks" (Chunks of Tilapia rolled in crushed macadamias and coconut and spices)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Big Ol' Salad w/ Blood Orange and Pomegranate </span>Vinaigrette<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Cof</span>fee with Kal Stevia Sweetener and Trader Joe's Organic 1/2 and 1/2<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Walking the dog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
Abs Diet Wednesday Original Circuit<br />
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Night all!Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-88023794486245630932013-05-14T21:34:00.003-07:002013-05-14T21:34:58.139-07:00Some Days the Dragon WinsA long time ago a lady I worked with named Kelly saw I was down in the dumps and gave me a picture that said "Some days, the Dragon Wins" and had a picture of a knight trudging off, looking burnt and dejected. That's pretty much how I've felt for awhile now, as I posted this morning.<br />
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This picture is a bit more modern version of the one Kelly gave me, but it still fits:<br />
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However, I modified that drawing and added the words, "...but not today!" It was my way of fighting the dragon back. The dragon became a metaphor for all the problems in my life, and I still use it from time to time almost 20 years later.</div>
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Why am I talking about this now? Eh...today the Dragon and I tied. We both walked away from the day a bit roughed up, but neither getting a distinct advantage. Still feeling all the same things I was feeling this morning, but work went fairly well and I feel I got a lot accomplished with my morning group. We hung up 2 bird houses and 15 pine cone bird feeders. The afternoon group? Well, lets just say of the 24 kids I have in that group, I started with 3 for the first hour and ended up with about 10 before recess time. We planted about half a dozen flowers for the school today. </div>
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The service project portion of this unit went well. The academic portion, less so. It was hard to squeeze it all in and still get the projects done, so I had to sacrifice some of the academics. Next year's curriculum should be better organized and I will get the best of both worlds.</div>
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Picked up some more olive oil and balsamic vinegar from my favorite Olive Oil place. Today was Blood Orange Fused Olive Oil and Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar. </div>
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Today I got my first pair of Vibram Fivefingers shoes. Malia got them for me for my birthday, but I gave her the wrong size so we had to return them. The new ones came today.</div>
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Gotta say, they are kind of weird. The whole separating the toes thing feels strange. I really like being barefoot, but hate stepping on sharp, pointy things! We shall see how it goes. Should be good once I get used to them.</div>
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Food Diary for Tuesday the 14th of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: Sweet Potato, Canadian Bacon, and Egg Scramble w/Dubliner Cheese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Nothing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 2 US Wellness Garlic Beef Hot Dogs<br />
Big Ol' Salad w/ Yellow Mustard<br />
3 Mint Hershey's Kisses<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 15 slices of </span>Pepperoni<br />
1.5 oz of Dubliner Cheese<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Sweet and Sour Roasted Chicken (<a href="http://www.primalblueprintpublishing.com/books/primal-cravings/">Primal Cravings Cookbook</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Big Ol' Salad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12.5 oz of Cof</span>fee with Kal Stevia Sweetener and Trader Joe's Organic Heavy Cream<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 60 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
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That's all for today! Don't forget to be awesome!Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-88509601880864414442013-05-14T07:40:00.001-07:002013-05-14T07:43:23.831-07:00Blah-gSo, been feeling a bit blah again. Seems like that happens way too often. I like to think of myself as someone who tries to maintain a middle of the road personality, but in reality, I go to extremes with my attitude. Never to high or low? Not so much.<br />
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I hate that this blog has turned into a whine fest at least once a week now. The weight has gone back up again as soon as I got home. 3 days away helped to shed some of that weight I had been stubbornly been holding on to. However, I get home and start cramming my face full of food. It started off with the oldest boy leaving cookie dough in the fridge. In an attempt to avoid eating that, I started eating anything else around the house that I could eat, until I finally broke down and ate some of the cookie dough.<br />
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Then, there was the Bundt Cake Mishap of 2013. I did avoid the Chocolate Chip Cookie of Doom and the Russell Stovers Candy Monster, but then was up late and ate 2 handfuls of macadamias and an entire 88% Cacao bar. Sunday rolled around and breakfast included country potatoes.<br />
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Last night I was feeling uninspired, so I made spaghetti with the Quinoa/Corn Pasta for dinner. Sadly, I tried a new sauce that had zero flavor to it, but was totally organic. I ate more than I should have before going out and working on the chicken run. I was achy by the time it got too dark to keep working so I came in and helped the oldest boy get schoolwork done. By then it was 10 and I hadn't had a chance to unwind from the day, so I stayed up late.<br />
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This triggered the boredom eating response, so I avoided the cookie dough for awhile and ate the rest of the blah-ghetti and washed it down with the last Diet Cream Soda that had been haunting the fridge for 3 months.<br />
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I tried playing some of the new game, Neverwinter Nights. Seems like it could be fun, but not really sure yet.<br />
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Finally hit the sofa to watch a couple episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon before passing out.<br />
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Nervous about what today is going to bring, because today's school is going to be missing a bunch of kids and I haven't seen them in two weeks, so who knows if they have remembered to bring their stuff for the project. Plus, I am not sure exactly where we will be planting, since the water is turned off to the area I had planned on using.<br />
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Lets see. Stress? Check. Lack of sleep? Check. Bad eating choices and times? Check. Needless to say the weight has crept back up to around 224.2 after being down to 220.8.<br />
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Blah.<br />
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Food Diary for Monday 13th of May<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Part of a Large Primal Pac</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> The rest of the Large Primal Pac<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia Nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4 squares of </span>Ghirardelli <span style="font-family: inherit;">88% Cacao Bar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1 US Wellness Beef Stick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 oz Dubliner Cheese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Pinch of mint chocolate cookie dough</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Blah-ghetti (Quinoa/Corn Pasta, ground beef, awful spaghetti sauce)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After dinner boredom eating: Leftover Blah-ghetti</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1 can of Shasta Diet Cream Soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 15 macadamias</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 squares of </span>Ghirardelli <span style="font-family: inherit;">88% Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today is a new day. So hopefully its a better one! Going to pick up some more olive oil and balsamic after work and enjoy (hopefully) a hockey game. Maybe even get the chicken run done tonight!</span>Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-75519706753823184842013-05-11T09:24:00.000-07:002013-05-11T09:24:05.442-07:00Where's the Beef?Howdy, y'all! Welcome back!<br />
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Friday was a busy day. I spent the majority of the day working with my students on rehabilitating the garden. It's looking better, but not done. So far we have taken 18 large outdoor lawn and leaf bags of weeds, brush, branches, sticks, and trash out of there and you can hardly tell. At this point, we have 3 more classes together to finish the project. I can confidently say that it will not be done by the end of the year! I only see them 2 days a week for about 2 hours each session. So much more to do that there is just no way we can do it all. I bit off more than I could chew with this school.<br />
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The other schools are progressing nicely, although I haven't been to most of them in 2 weeks, so it should be interesting. Next week we start adding plants and birdhouses at all 4. Hopefully it goes smoothly!<br />
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After school I met up with our friend Heidi, who hooked us up with 150 pounds of grass fed, locally raised beef. I really had no idea what to expect so it was kind of like Christmas morning when I got it picked up and brought home! I laid it all out on the counter to inventory what was there.<br />
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Top Down view</div>
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Side view</div>
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It all fit in the freezer! Woot!</div>
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All in all I was pleased with the variety, though next time I might ask about certain cuts to see if requests are possible. Lots of ground beef, lots of steaks, a couple roasts, and some organ meat that I will most likely serve up to the dog. I know the Primal Blueprint has recipes for organ meat, but I am so not up for that. That just doesn't appeal to me at all. Plus, I know no one else in the family will even think about eating it! Soup bones are also there, so that's awesome! Good old beef broth!</div>
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On the egg front, we are still buying organic eggs at Costco since our little girls are still a few months out from laying. They are getting big and scruffy looking though. Below are pictures I took at the start of the week.</div>
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All six girls!</div>
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Mary and Goldy.</div>
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And here they are at the end of the week.</div>
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(Clockwise from upper left) Buffy, Midnight, Frittata, Mary, Mara, and Goldy </div>
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Goldy, front and center</div>
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Mara looking at the camera</div>
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Their favorite corner!</div>
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Walls are interesting!</div>
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Mary looking at the camera</div>
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Midnight</div>
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Mara</div>
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Huddle up, girls!</div>
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Yesterday was the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week, so more goodies from the kids. I avoided eating any of it, although I appreciate the gesture. I just can't be around that kind of stuff. Way too tempting. I've already said the cravings don't go away, so I won't belabor the point. Needless to say, the other teachers appreciated the goodies as well!<br />
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Dinner last night was steak with onions and mushrooms. Malia and I both agree that onions and mushrooms caramelized in butter pretty much make the steak dinner even better. When we were younger, I don't think we would have liked it as much.<br />
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Caught up with some TV last night. Just a few episodes to watch, Big Bang, New Girl, and 1.5 episodes of Warehouse 13. Naturally I fell asleep through the last episode of Warehouse 13. Saw most of it, I think. Hopefully, since I deleted it. Nothing against the show, more about me.<br />
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One of the shows I enjoy watching is Community, which is still pretty funny and excitingly enough, has been renewed for a 5th season. Just one more and a movie to go!<br />
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So, the big question. How's the weight loss going? Well, this morning the scale reads 220.8 lbs. That's a total of 33.2 pounds since February 4th. Pretty cool. That's also a total of 39.2 pounds since maximum density last year. Feeling so much better about myself.<br />
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Food Diary for Thursday the 2nd of May:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Nada</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 2 sugar free, 100% grass fed Beef Organic Hot Dogs<br />
Big Ol' Salad w/ Balsamic Vinaigrette<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia Nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4 squares of </span>Ghirardelli <span style="font-family: inherit;">88% Cacao Bar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Tri-Tip Steak w/Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 7 hours of sleep</span><br />
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-28097571903274466422013-05-09T23:38:00.000-07:002013-05-09T23:38:21.314-07:00It's Been One Week...since I last blogged.<br />
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Crazy week. Between Malia's back still hurting, me being gone for three days, and then having to jump back in to getting the house back in order, I've not had time to sit down and write. House is slowly getting there, as is Malia. Getting the boys on track is always an uphill struggle.<br />
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So, with new tunes playing in my ears, I'll fill in the blanks.<br />
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My colleagues and I put together our curriculum for next year. I'm pretty happy with what we put together. I'm looking forward to finishing it up and then moving on to wrapping up this year!<br />
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Speaking of wrapping up this year, the final projects should be done in the next 2 weeks. With kids being absent, me being absent, testing, more testing, and days off, some classes are going to have more time than others. I can't control that, but it is a bit frustrating.<br />
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The weekend came and went with me doing stuff around the house and taking care of Malia. I've given up on doing Intermittent Fasting for the past month. Sundays were a great time to do that, but now it's just impossible. Oldest boy is really getting into cooking and, of course, he makes desserts. Last weekend was banana bread. This recipe is so good! I tried to avoid it, but no dice. I think I ate at least half of one of the three loaves. Sigh...That was on top of Saturday's ditching the diet altogether. I started off with a Venti Cookie Crumble Frappucino (my Starbucks birthday present) after breakfast, a giant slice of pepperoni pizza for lunch, and a Milky Way Dark candy bar for afternoon snack. It wasn't pretty, but it had to be done. I was starting to crack, so better to open up the flood gate myself instead of waiting for the dam to burst. I knew I was going to get it under control come Monday.<br />
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Monday I was at this place with about 140 kids. <a href="http://www.grizzlycreekranch.org/doc.aspx?1">Grizzly Creek Ranch</a>. It's a great facility. I went there last year for one day, so going for 3 days was going to be great. And it was! I had a really good time. One of the best parts was getting to hang out with some of my colleagues in a really relaxing environment. There were a few bumps in the road, but I think we all handled things really well.<br />
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The facility itself is gorgeous. I could sit here all winter long:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWdcC5FgPAxeIIkaUdI3Gz6ERnVCX237ZhrIlG0JHnZXQ8j5FmIoBHTjysL4jD-Lq7K2-q_19BgqVrK_zFYtE32FzGuXRvxCuaH7NREyS9pctr7F-bn9tHcprml6Ww_CEe3U_0-29CL4/s1600/lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWdcC5FgPAxeIIkaUdI3Gz6ERnVCX237ZhrIlG0JHnZXQ8j5FmIoBHTjysL4jD-Lq7K2-q_19BgqVrK_zFYtE32FzGuXRvxCuaH7NREyS9pctr7F-bn9tHcprml6Ww_CEe3U_0-29CL4/s320/lodge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And here throughout the summer:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouflgroU3XysFx4aOJVX6hbs2uJgX8nyMhlHcJHY0pr27UziYiTr5i3PcO6y2kiA1v708Tm-GCJqy7PxLenwiKTTjFTyvanWGrBM5T2ZrW4PWDr4VdoqMEqIUjs4y8hMN8ETXhgqTHgw/s1600/porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouflgroU3XysFx4aOJVX6hbs2uJgX8nyMhlHcJHY0pr27UziYiTr5i3PcO6y2kiA1v708Tm-GCJqy7PxLenwiKTTjFTyvanWGrBM5T2ZrW4PWDr4VdoqMEqIUjs4y8hMN8ETXhgqTHgw/s320/porch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Because I was one of the rovers, I didn't have a cabin group or a trail group, so I just floated back and forth between the three cabins I was closest to and helped out where needed, and picked a trail group to follow, but wandered to others as more rovers came around. I had my own dorm room in the activity center, so no kids to worry about at night, which was pretty cool.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ59iB9LWW28XwjbkdNuJyIo1nLmO4QtxlDZ8NmN26RgfJel0BYWhC_7rULeAY1bv4rrDAM_5620ALxyq2K7wN9EaqSqudm_d_NJ7nU3ALQISrnblqrdGLmTdEcG6VZMA1L5_wTyupTM/s1600/dorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ59iB9LWW28XwjbkdNuJyIo1nLmO4QtxlDZ8NmN26RgfJel0BYWhC_7rULeAY1bv4rrDAM_5620ALxyq2K7wN9EaqSqudm_d_NJ7nU3ALQISrnblqrdGLmTdEcG6VZMA1L5_wTyupTM/s320/dorm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My dorm is the one on the far right. There is a room off to the right of the entrance with a bunk bed and a chest of drawers. Perfect accommodations for one person.</div>
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As part of my job, I had to monitor the showers and the field (where the picture above was taken), but the kids were pretty darn good, so it wasn't a big deal for someone with 20 years teaching experience.</div>
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I got to talk hockey with another Penguins fan while there, so that was pretty cool. Don't know many hockey fans, so it was fun to talk about the game with him. I had the game on my phone for awhile before it died, and then it was just following the score via ESPN. Too bad they lost that game, but they looked good tonight. But I digress.</div>
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The food was really good. I actually had some good choices so I wasn't eating Primal Pacs for every meal. We brought our own lunches for the first day, so it was a large Primal Pac for me. Dinner the first night was lasagna, garlic bread and salad. I skipped the lasagna and bread, and just had a big old salad and a small Primal Pac. It did the trick. Breakfast the next morning was bacon and eggs. Lunch was a small Primal Pac and two lettuce wrap sandwiches (one turkey, one ham). Dinner was roasted chicken and salad. Breakfast was bacon and eggs again. Lunch was sandwiches again, so I had a large Primal Pac on the road back to Reno.</div>
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The Primal Packs really did the trick. 100% organic and very Paleo. Each pack includes a good portion of beef jerky, a few large hunks of dried mango, a handful of cranberries, raw macadamias and raw almonds. They are pretty darn good, and I didn't feel hungry at all during those three days. I really think I could have those be the main part of my diet and it would be okay. It did get a bit boring, but I could live on those and salads if I had to. I actually took one for lunch today because there wasn't anything readily available. Could I live on them for a week? Well, Boy Scout camp is coming up in July, so I think I might buy a bunch more to take with me for that week.</div>
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The best thing about being away from home those days was I didn't have the cravings I get at home. Even the lasagna and bread and desserts each night didn't draw me in. I avoided them all. As soon as I got home though? Sigh...</div>
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Today one of my students gave me a teacher appreciation gift: a mini white chocolate bundt cake. I avoided eating it for about two minutes, and then I could tell she was disappointed that I didn't have any of it, so I took a bite. Well, that one bite turned in to two. Then to three. About 8 bites later, it was all gone. I thought it might make my stomach ache, and it did for about 3 minutes. After that, I was fine.</div>
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So, how is the weight loss going you might be asking? Well, I left on Monday morning weighing in at 224.8 lbs. When I weighed myself this morning, I was down to 221.6 lbs. So, a little more than 3 pounds.</div>
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One thing I am finding out by being back home is I fall into stress and boredom eating habits. Gotta find a way to stop that.</div>
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So, overall, a success. Tomorrow I'm sure to be back over 222 lbs, but that bundt cake was worth it!</div>
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Food Diary for Wednesday the 1st of May:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in bacon grease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: nothing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Large Primal Pac<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 1 mini white chocolate bundt cake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 macadamias</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Roasted chicken seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, sage, and garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Roasted Garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Kale, Macadamia, and </span>Pomegranate<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Salad </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Walking around</span><br />
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-43219178042386376792013-05-02T20:19:00.000-07:002013-05-02T20:19:29.914-07:00Not much going onQuiet day today. Malia's starting to feel a bit better. She's going to try going to work tomorrow. Hopefully she will make it without doing something bad again.<br />
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At work, I was able to, with the help of my co-workers, plan 2 Project Based Learning Units. One on Aerospace Engineering (students will design a landing vehicle that must land safely, perform 2 tasks, and have an antenna attached that survives the landing) and a Bridge Building Unit (students will learn about the forces that affect bridges, study bridge design, research famous bridges, and then create a presentation to build new bridges based on those bridges to replace the bridges on the Truckee River). Thanks go out to Kelly and Lou who provided invaluable resources for the planning session today! WCSD science department rocks!<br />
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Went out to Panda Express for lunch again today. Mixed veggies and variety of chicken dishes. Not bad. The Panda Express at the University must make a killing! The line is crazy long there!<br />
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Tomorrow is the last day of Professional Development, so we need to finalize the Aerospace Unit and hopefully the Bridge Unit as well. That leaves the last unit (I am pushing for a Storytelling unit) for the others to plan. It's about a 7 week unit, so I am confident they can do it! This idea came about before I saw this,<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1vbA7Bk6-pI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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but it reinforced that I think it would be cool! Storytelling could be fun, and the audience could be other classes in the school. I'm going to push for this one big time!<br />
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Food Diary for Thursday the 2nd of May:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 2 US Wellness Beef Sticks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 25 Sugar Snap Peas</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Steamed Vegetables with Chicken<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia Nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Spice Rubbed Slow Cooker Chicken Breast </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 5</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Macadamia nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 Squares of Lindt 90% Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1 serving of Fried Banana Pudding</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 50 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, off to learn more about the dangers of the Faerie Realm! Night all!</span><br />
Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-33661000008577669822013-05-01T21:06:00.003-07:002013-05-01T21:08:36.327-07:00What books you ask?<br />
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Yesterday, I posted that there are about 15 books I would like to read between now and the beginning of August. "What are those books?" asked no one. But since I have not much else to write about, here goes!</div>
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1) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Goblinproofing-Ones-Chicken-Coop-Practical/dp/1573245321">Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop: And Other Practical Advice In Our Campaign Against The Fairy Kingdom by Reginald Bakeley</a></span></div>
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2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Knight-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451458923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367465409&sr=8-1&keywords=summer+knight+jim+butcher">Summer Knight (Book 4 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher</a></div>
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3) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Masks-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451459407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465450&sr=1-1&keywords=death+mask+jim+butcher">Death Masks (Book 5 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher</a></div>
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4) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Rites-Novel-Dresden-Files/dp/0451463358/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465494&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+rites+jim+butcher">Blood Rites (Book 6 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher</a></div>
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5) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Role-Reversal-Achieving-Uncommonly-Student-Centered/dp/1416615067/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465571&sr=1-1&keywords=role+reversal+achieving+uncommonly+excellent+results+in+the+student-centered+classroom">Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom by Mark Barnes</a></span></div>
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6-9) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Books-Thrones-Feast-Crows-Swords/dp/0345529057/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465641&sr=1-1&keywords=song+of+ice+and+fire" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">A Song of Ice and Fire, Books 1-4 (A Game of Thrones / A Feast for Crows / A Storm of Swords / Clash of Kings) by George R.R. Martin</a> </div>
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10) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Dragons-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553801473/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465641&sr=1-5&keywords=song+of+ice+and+fire" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin</a></div>
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11) <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gauntlgrym-Neverwinter-Saga-Book-I/dp/0786958022/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465843&sr=1-1&keywords=gauntlgrym">Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter Saga, Book I by R.A. Salvatore</a> </span></div>
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12) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Neverwinter-Saga-Book-Legend-Drizzt/dp/0786960272/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465843&sr=1-2&keywords=gauntlgrym">Neverwinter: The Neverwinter Saga, Book II by R.A. Salvatore</a></div>
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13) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charons-Claw-Neverwinter-Saga-Book/dp/0786962232/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367465843&sr=1-3&keywords=gauntlgrym" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Charon's Claw: Neverwinter Saga, Book III by R.A. Salvatore</a></div>
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14) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nerd-Do-Well-Journey-Becoming/dp/1592407196/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367466312&sr=1-1&keywords=nerd+do+well" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy's Journey to Becoming a Big Kid</a> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nerd-Do-Well-Journey-Becoming/dp/1592407196/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367466312&sr=1-1&keywords=nerd+do+well">by Simon Pegg</a></span></div>
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15) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Trivia-Vault-Revealed-Questions/dp/1423153707/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367466444&sr=1-1&keywords=disney+trivia+from+the+vault">Disney Trivia from the Vault by Dave Smith</a></div>
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That's a fairly tall order. I doubt I will get much past #7, but we shall see. I am currently about half way through Goblinproofing, Summer Knight and Game of Thrones, so that puts me down 1.5 books to 13.5. Maybe I will get to #8. Who knows? I am taking Game of Thrones and Feast for Crows with me when I take the boys up to Camp Fleischman for a week. If that doesn't help me get those two done, I think I will be putting them away for good!</div>
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Today was a bit stressful. Started off by taking Malia to the doctor because of her back problems. Got that taken care of and dropped off her prescriptions, and got to work about an hour and a half late. We are further behind with the planning than I had hoped, but farther than I was expecting to be. Tomorrow and Friday we really need to buckle down and get some solid work done on this first PBL unit. </div>
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Weight was the same as yesterday, so nothing new to report there. Tomorrow will probably be up a bit. Didn't eat the best today, but given my choices, I think I did pretty well.</div>
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Here is the weight loss chart for the past 90 days:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgc3TQJdtNnu3O70mi55An6GssZMbjqxzCJYxC2csr8oz8uctGaiPAtHp4EVYwi9mVEQwB1nVK-3_tbMi9pfqHbz3ectK_lY2zF8u1UenKAE3hAxsld6KXYqM39XI6mVaMaPhtlBEXMw/s1600/5_1+weight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgc3TQJdtNnu3O70mi55An6GssZMbjqxzCJYxC2csr8oz8uctGaiPAtHp4EVYwi9mVEQwB1nVK-3_tbMi9pfqHbz3ectK_lY2zF8u1UenKAE3hAxsld6KXYqM39XI6mVaMaPhtlBEXMw/s400/5_1+weight.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Food Diary for Wednesday the 1st of May:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: Venti Sugar Free Hazelnut Latte w/heavy cream (free birthday drink from Starbucks)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Steamed Vegetables with Beef and Shrimp<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: <a href="http://www.primalpacs.com/order.php">Small Primal Pack</a> (Really good! I will write more about these next week!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Coconut Beef Soup (Beef, celery, onion, bell pepper, beef stock, tomato sauce, coconut milk,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and spices)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">10 Macadamia nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 Squares of Lindt 90% Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 70 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Walking about a 1/2 mile from my car to the Ed Building at UNR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12 flights of stairs (Several flights, various times of day)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, going to read! Night all!</span>Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-38156118689437723952013-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:002013-04-30T20:59:32.497-07:00Frustrated Blog<br />
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Welcome back! Good to see you all today.</div>
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Today was kind of frustrating. Yesterday I felt like my colleagues and I got a lot of work accomplished. Today? Not so much. As one of them said though, the details take much longer than the outline, and I guess that's true. Tomorrow we have about 8 tasks to complete before I will feel like we are done, so hopefully that happens so we can move on to the next unit.</div>
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Noah is behind in his school work due to the last few weeks of testing and him being so busy outside of school. I know Malia is right that it doesn't matter if he is behind since there are plenty of days built in for him to get his work done, but I hate that he is behind! Going to try to get him caught up before I am gone for 2 nights next week. Should be interesting.</div>
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Chickens are coming along, though to paraphrase Arthur Carlson, "As God is my witness, I didn't think chickens could fly." I'd never seen a chicken fly before, but apparently, our little girls are starting to "jump" really high and we will need to start clipping their wings. Did not know that. Guh.</div>
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Weight loss is what it is. Current weight this morning was 225.2 lbs. Trending downwards again, but I have a feeling tomorrow will be higher. Something about lunch tells me it had sugar or something sweet in it. Guess I should have asked! It was pretty good though, and not something I would have ordered a year ago, that's for sure!</div>
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Food Diary for Tuesday the 30th of April:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 2 US Wellness Beef </span>Sticks<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 25 Sugar Snap Peas</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> Shrimp Ala Diablo (Shrimp, Zucchini, and Yellow Squash in a spicy(?) sauce)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Taco Salad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4 squares of Lindt 90% Cacao Bar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 20 oz of coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 80 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Walking the Dog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Walking about a 1/2 mile from my car to the Ed Building at UNR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12 flights of stairs (Several flights, various times of day)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, calling it a night to go read. Just realized I have about 15 books I would like to read between now and August, so it's time to start my summer reading NOW!</span><br />
Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-90096740946751257052013-04-29T22:05:00.001-07:002013-04-29T22:05:34.461-07:00Post-Birthday blogHello! Welcome back to my small little space on the Internet!<br />
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Yesterday was my birthday! Woot! 43 years old. Don't feel a day over 45! Oh...wait...<br />
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Anyway, it was a good day. Malia let me be lazy all day with the exception of cooking meals and my dessert. I played video games, read, watched some TV, and played with the chickens. It was a nice day all in all.<br />
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The boys were gone and Malia was working in the yard, which I did feel guilty about as I was playing on the computer. At one point I thought I might close the blinds so I didn't have to see her working, but that would have been mean, so I just did my best to ignore the guilt and keep playing. My heart's not really into video games right now. I don't really have a game that I HAVE to play right now. I've tried some of the old favorites (Portal and WoW), some games I own but never got into (DC Universe), and new games (EVE Online and Age of Conan Unchained), but nothing seems to be that great.<br />
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I read from a couple different books, How to Goblin-proof Your Chicken Coop (Not very easy, actually. It involves moving the Ley Lines away from your property by constructing an object of power that is far enough away from, yet close enough to, your property to bend the line. Goblins are notorious for following Ley Lines, apparently!), the 4th book in the Dresden Files series, and a Paleo Cookbook looking for something good to eat.<br />
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Then it dawned on me why I was feeling so out of sorts. <br />
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Saturday Malia kept me busy to keep me from thinking too much about Dad. March through April is a tough time for me because it's when I think about him the most. I love my dad. I wish he had made better choices with his health, but nothing could help him beat his addiction to cigarettes. It was frustrating to watch him deteriorate over the years, knowing what he was doing to himself and the rest of us. I know there was nothing I could do to stop it, but since I am who I am, I always felt I should have at least tried to talk to him about it. It's sad that he left us so young.<br />
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It's been 6 years now, and I miss him all the time. I think about the things he missed with me, the boys, and the rest of the family. I know I would have continued to drive him crazy with my love for a certain sports team from the hated city of Pittsburgh. He would have been disappointed with the Browns season again, but hopeful for the upcoming season. I think he would have been okay with the Ravens winning the Super Bowl. He let go of losing the Browns to Baltimore after the Browns came back, though it was against the Niners and he did have a soft spot for them as well.<br />
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He wasn't the greatest man, but he had some pretty awesome streaks in him. He had a wicked sense of humor. He had a very infectious laugh. I wish my boys would have been able to know him longer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI_7HRpSsMV9xWXc1JE10t9QQ8DRn4oYWu2Zc4lt5gQL1MnoTLyDm69Zng85zRqizSORLtSUq_c70ggZ7RwH4-q4b1Jw7Vf0m5NJ-8-ncPv6kRkXU7o-M1Ox6spQWxfqsMWYKm1W8SLI/s1600/dad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI_7HRpSsMV9xWXc1JE10t9QQ8DRn4oYWu2Zc4lt5gQL1MnoTLyDm69Zng85zRqizSORLtSUq_c70ggZ7RwH4-q4b1Jw7Vf0m5NJ-8-ncPv6kRkXU7o-M1Ox6spQWxfqsMWYKm1W8SLI/s320/dad.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Love ya, Dad!</div>
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Today my weight was back up to 225.2 lbs. I did eat almost a whole 8 x 8 inch pan of Paleo Brownies though, so I'll take the blame for that one! They were pretty darn okay though.Not as good as wheat flour and white sugar brownies, but good enough to make it worth eating them. I have been having food cravings that I can't quite satisfy for the past few days. I think I am back into withdrawals after the last few weeks of eating not so great. That bacon, potato, egg, and cheese dutch oven breakfast was really good, and I think that is what I want more of! Tater tots for the win! GRRRRRR.</div>
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Food diary is pretty boring today, so going to skip it. I ate the usual breakfast, steak and salad for lunch, grilled chicken breast and salad for dinner, and some macadamias, dark chocolate and pepperoni for snack. Not enough veggies today, so tomorrow I will rectify that. Got a good work out today that included walking and climbing a bunch of stairs and up and down hills.</div>
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Good times!</div>
Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-54622954806187215382013-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:002013-04-27T13:34:53.839-07:00Friday Night and Saturday MorningSorry for the lack of a post on Friday night. I spent the evening on the couch with my two favorite ladies, Malia and Zooey. Ok, well Malia was on the couch next to me and Zooey was on the TV, but...<br />
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Got home to a childless home. Malia had gotten the boys off to go on their scouting camping trip, so it's just the two of us until Sunday afternoon. So, it was dinner on the couch in front of the TV. We had 2 episodes of Big Bang Theory. Mom still wonders why we don't let the boys watch that show. I give you Exhibit A:</div>
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and Exhibit B:</div>
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and 4 episodes of New Girl (also not a show for the kids), followed by 1.5(ish) episodes of Game of Thrones. It was a nice evening in.</div>
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Today was yard work and chicken pickin'. Brought home 6 baby chicks this morning. Hopefully they will all survive and begin laying eggs in a few months! If they produce around what they should we should have almost 1000 eggs a year! Woot! Plenty for us, family, friends, and the neighbors.</div>
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Weight was done to 225 this morning! Woot woot! Lowest point in a month, so that's good. Next few weeks will be weird, so getting to 200 by June is looking like less of a possibility now. Bummer, but who knows?</div>
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I'll update the food portion tonight or tomorrow!</div>
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Have a great one!</div>
Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738885427227873138.post-80295914262073412682013-04-25T22:37:00.000-07:002013-04-25T22:37:16.125-07:00This too shall pass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Good advice. Good video. Good memories based off of finding this video. Thanks to Marissa for showing this to me 3 years ago!</div>
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I'm feeling a bit better today. I get in a dive and can't pull myself out. So I hit bottom and start the climb again. It's frustrating, but not sure what to do about it. I get so overwhelmed sometimes that there is just no light in the tunnel.</div>
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Sigh...</div>
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I love going to my Thursday and Friday school. There is a really solid group of people there who are genuinely happy to see me every week. Thanks to Krista, Amanda, Jean, Bre, Jenny, Troy, and everyone else who makes me feel welcome! I couldn't make it through the week without knowing all of you are waiting for me!</div>
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As you know by now, I've been trying to change my eating habits since February. The last few weeks have been rough, as I keep losing the same few pounds over and over. Of course I've gone off the wagon a few too many times these last few weeks: the Disneyland trip, the camping trip, and the Great Chocolate Chip Croissant Incident of 2013. However, looking back over my diary, I can see a couple other places I have slipped up. I've been eating way more meat than veggies in the past few weeks. I've also almost completely stopped working out. I haven't ridden the bike enough and I have only lifted once or twice in the past month as well. I've added too many nuts, and I think I'm going to switch to coconut oil to fry my eggs in instead of butter. Oh, and I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep!</div>
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So, it's time to get back on track. Giving myself a few more days to settle back down, and then hitting the ground running on Monday again. It's my birthday Sunday, so I don't plan on being perfect. Saturday is going to be a tough day as well. Friday I know I will be getting home late after going to the grocery store, so this weekend is going to be shot. That's okay though. Monday will be a good time to re-ignite the fire.</div>
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Yesterday I posted that we were looking at getting 1/2 a side of beef from a friend of ours. Looks like that's coming through, so we have a few weeks to get the freezer in order. There is a bunch of stuff in there right now, but we should be able to get all 150 lbs of it in there in a few weeks. Kind of excited. That should last us a good while, costs a fraction of what I was spending at US Wellness (still a great company with great products I plan on buying, especially their hot dogs, jerky, and snack sticks!), and it's local so supporting the local farmer! Woot!</div>
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Also getting closer to having chickens. Looks like by the weekend we may have them. That means building a chicken coop over the next few weeks as well. Should be fun...</div>
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Found out I will be going on a 3 day trip for work in a few weeks. No control over my food, so I am going to try something out. If this works, it could be interesting. I know I need more veggies, but I think I will be able to only eat the veggies I am served if I bring my own food for the rest of the meal. That's where <a href="http://www.primalpacs.com/order.php">these</a> little beauties come in:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gJRvpBblNckW3LDtq0ni1xu2kn5Wa1dJ2Tpj_XC_bCHxJ9YAi3R8SWh8ZQd5ddRzK5_2DNh7XOfYb7MzcYRhdb9ynC4p-WPmjWOv3bCSOIWR7SMq7c4uQ66lRVYluK0B4nMEwE-ltEk/s1600/primalpacs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gJRvpBblNckW3LDtq0ni1xu2kn5Wa1dJ2Tpj_XC_bCHxJ9YAi3R8SWh8ZQd5ddRzK5_2DNh7XOfYb7MzcYRhdb9ynC4p-WPmjWOv3bCSOIWR7SMq7c4uQ66lRVYluK0B4nMEwE-ltEk/s1600/primalpacs.jpg" /></a></div>
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Primal Pacs are real, unprocessed nuts, jerky, and dried fruit. I figure if I eat these for most of my meals and snacks, along with the fresh veggies and (hopefully) eggs for breakfast, I should be good to go. It's still a few weeks away, so I will update after the experiment. It could be a good thing if I can do this and make it 3 days. Maybe I can make it a week when I go to the Scout Camp in July.</div>
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Food Diary for Tuesday the 23rd of April:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried in Kerrygold Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 slices of Canadian Bacon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AM Snack: 1 stick of US Wellness Spicy Beef Jerky</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 15 Sugar Snap Peas</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch:</span> 1 US Wellness No Sugar Added Hot Dog<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Salad w/Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">PM Snack: 10 Macadamia nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 oz of </span>Pepperoni<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner: Lamb Meatballs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Callaloo soup (Noah made it for a school assignment)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Water: About 80 oz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sleep: about 4 hours of sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exercise: Normal Walking around</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Light Gardening</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for stopping by!</span><br />
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<br />Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547778969534572453noreply@blogger.com2