Aloha, Food!

So, as promised, here is the Hawaii vacation report. It really was a great trip.

Okay, it all starts with this view. 

That was the weirdest part of the trip. I've never been over that much water before, and it was pretty weird.

Next picture is the strangest airport I've ever been in.

Seriously. Open air airport. Weird, but cool.

It was then off to lunch before the long drive to the hotel.

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.

The hotel is a little boutique spa resort. Beautiful facility named Hawaii Island Retreat.

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.

...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.

Chicken Parm in Waimea

Breakfast at the Hawaii Island Retreat

Pizza in Hawi

Dessert in Hawi

Salad at the Retreat

Soup at the Retreat

Dinner at the Retreat

Chicken of some kind, somewhere

Loco Moco (OMG! I love this stuff!)

Fried Shrimp from a Shrimp Truck

Dole Whip (in a cone) at the Dole Plantation.

Burgers and Fries

Drinks at Bamboo

Kalua Stuffed Chicken at Bamboo

Loco Moco with Shredded Beef at the southern most restaurant in the USA

Hot Dog Spaghetti w/rice and macaroni salad (not good)

Duck Fried Rice

Shave Ice

BBQ Ribs

Malasadas from Leonard's (amazingly good)

Yeah, my mouth is watering and my stomach is growling! It was a pretty amazing gastronomically delightful trip. So good!

So, that was then...

Food Diary for Tuesday the 8th of October

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in bacon grease
                 2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                12.5 oz of Coffee with Mint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia Sweetener

AM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum
                 
Lunch: 3 Tiki Masala Drumsticks
           Big Ol' Salad w//Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette

PM Snack: 2 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum
                  
Dinner:  Zucchini Lasagna

Water: About 60 oz

Sleep: about 8 hours of sleep

Exercise: Normal walking around

Tomorrow, I'll post the pictures of other things that aren't food!

It's Been a Long Time...

since I saw your smiling face.

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!

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 them out!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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:

Some adult language, viewer advised.

On that note, it's time for the food diary!

Food Diary for Monday the 7th of October

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in bacon grease
                 2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                12.5 oz of Coffee with Mint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia Sweetener

AM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum
                 
Lunch: 3 Tiki Masala Drumsticks
           Big Ol' Salad w//Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette

PM Snack: 1 stick of Solstice Sugar Free Gum
                  
Dinner:  Mu Shu Pork "Cabbage" Rolls (Used Romaine instead because the cabbage was bad)

Water: About 60 oz

Sleep: about 8 hours of sleep

Exercise: Normal walking around
              30 minute Dog Walk
              45 minutes riding the Stationary Bike

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 Dance with Dragons.

Blogging...the Return!

Coming Soon...

Well, now...

We interrupt the silence with the following thoughts.

So, yeah. Blogging isn't hard, it just takes a few things.

1) Time
2) Commitment
3) Desire
4) Interesting Topic/Topics

Let's take a look at that list in order, shall we?

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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!)

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.

Nerdfighters
Mental Floss
Vlogbrothers
Crash Course

Big fan of these guys. You should check them out, as they are both Nerdy and Cool.

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.

Anyone, thanks for reading! Take care!

Star Trek TOS

Okay, 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.

To be honest I'm not a big fan of the Original Series TV shows. There were a couple decent things about it.

1)Mirror Universe Spock

Seriously. How cool does Spock look here?

2) Khan

Ricardo Montalbán as Khan. Cool episode, and I like how the best Star Trek TOS movie picks up on this thread years later.

3) Tribbles

Who doesn't like Tribbles?

So, really, not a huge fan of the show. It was okay, but honestly, I preferred the Next Generation series over the Original.

Since that was so short, lets hit the movies.

Anyone who knows the Star Trek TOS movies knows the deal with them. 

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.

Wrath of Khan? Arguably the best Star Trek movie of all time. 

The Search for Spock? Probably the best of the odd numbered movies.

The Voyage Home was a fun time travel movie. Favorite scene was when Mr. Scott was trying to use a computer. Funny stuff.

The Final Frontier? Worse than The Motionless Picture. Pains me to even write about it.

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.

Favorite Character from the Original Series? This guy:

Tomorrow, I'll talk about the Next Generation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Chores

Hey all, hope you've had a great day. Mine was a bit busier than I thought it would be.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

Anyway, I will share my opinions of the shows and movies in the following manner:

Wednesday: Star Trek, The Original Series
Thursday: Star Trek, The Original Series Movies
Friday: Star Trek, The Next Generation Series
Saturday: Star Trek, The Next Generation Movies
Sunday: Star Trek, Deep Space Nine
Monday: Star Trek, Voyager
Tuesday: Star Trek, Enterprise
Wednesday: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams Universe


Food Diary for Tuesday the 21st of May

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in Kerrygold Butter
                 2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener

AM Snack: 2 slices of Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
                  5 Hershey's Kisses
                  2 Reese's Peanut Butter candies
                 
Lunch: Nothing

PM Snack: 2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                  1 oz of Dubliner Cheese
                  
Dinner:  Pastrami Salmon (Salmon in a Pastrami like brine)
             Big Ol' Salad w/Blood Orange and Black Currant Balsamic Vinaigrette

Water: About 60 oz

Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep

Exercise: Normal walking around
               Light Gardening
               Home repair
               Lawn Mowing

Ok, as Judge John Hodgman would say, "That is all!" 

Monday, Monday

Another Monday in the books.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.


Food Diary for Monday the 20th of May

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in Kerrygold Butter
                 2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener

AM Snack: Nothing
                 
Lunch: Nothing

PM Snack: 10 Macadamias
                  2 squares of Lindt 88% Cacao Bar

Dinner:  Zucchini Pizza Boats 

Water: About 50 oz

Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep

Exercise: Normal walking around
               Light Gardening

Hopefully you had a great day.

Chicken Run

Short blog post tonight. I'm too tired to post much.

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.

Yeah, it stings.

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. 

However, here is the completed chicken run. 

Made entirely of PVC, hardware cloth, and zip ties.

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!

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.

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!

Weight still hovering in the 222 lb mark, which I am happy with, especially after yesterday.

Food Diary for Sunday, May 19th:

Breakfast: 2 Eggs, Scrambled w/Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

                12.5 oz of Coffee w/Kal Stevia Sweetener

Lunch: 4 slices of Canadian Bacon w/ 2 oz of Dubliner Cheese

           Small Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette

PM Snack: 2 Squares 88% Cacao Bar

                  10 Macadamia Nuts

                  12.5 oz of Coffee w/Kal Stevia Sweetener

Dinner: 2 Hamburgers w/ Dubliner Cheese

           Big Ol' Salad w/ Mustard

Water: About 60 oz

Sleep: About 8 hours

Exercise: Building the chicken run

            

That's it for tonight! Later!

On the road blog

Yesterday 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. 

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. 

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.

Need to refocus the efforts over the summer, so this is a good time to mix it up. 

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. 

Going to try a fasting day today. I don't like my food options for today, so I'll just go without. 

Food Diary for Friday 17th of May

Breakfast: Pork Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash w/ 2 eggs over easy

Lunch: Big ol' Salad w/yellow mustard

            2 US Wellness Beef Hot Dogs

PM Snack: 2 squares of 88% Cacao Dark Chocolate

                 10 Macadamias

Dinner: 1 "Delmonico" Steak w/caramelized onions and mushrooms 

             1 slice Papa Murphy's cheese pizza with white sauce

Water: 70 oz or so

Exercise: walking dog 

               Heavy gardening

Ok, that's it for now. Hope it's a good day for you.  

Tired

Very tired today, so another short blog. Still need to ride the bike before bed.

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!)

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.

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.

...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.

Anyway, as Wil would say, "Play more games!"

Food Diary for Thursday the 16th of May

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs
                2 100% Grass fed beef Polish Sausage Sliders
                12.5 oz of Coffee with Kal Stevia Sweetener and Organic 1/2 and 1/2

AM Snack: Nothing
                 
Lunch: 2 pieces (1 thigh and 1 leg) Sweet and Sour Split Roasted Chicken
           Big Ol' Salad w/ Blood Orange and Pomegranate Vinaigrette 

PM Snack: 15 Macadamia Nuts
                  2 squares of 88% Ghirardelli Cacao Bar
                  Venti, Triple, Heavy Cream, Sugar Free Mocha

Dinner: Fajita seasoned chicken, green peppers and onions served over
            Passilo Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Water: About 70 oz

Sleep: about 6 hours of sleep

Exercise: Normal walking around
               Walking the dog
               Light Gardening
               30 minutes of Bike riding

Good night, all!