Day 324

Apology due – Again.

Really, really busy here, but I still need to make time for posting. It’s mid-terms now, so I have a lot of paperwork to get out of the way and a number of students with “F’s” at the moment. My grading structure for that particular class (of which there are two this semester) has 70% of the grade coming from daily one-pagers on previous class reading assignments. If I don’t assign the papers, no one but me tends to read for class, and that not only makes me angry, but it also limits the productivity of the class. Can’t argue a point with myself (well, I really can, but that’s another thing altogether).

Snowing at the moment – big flakes – not something we see in this part of the world very often. It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, and now it is 30 and snow is really coming down right now. I hate it on a day-t-day basis and would never live somewhere, it was an issue – even Alaska, which I dearly loved – but it’s fun one day at a time or whatever. We will be back up to the mid-50’s tomorrow, and hover around freezing for the next few days, so a little snow is okay. Too wet to stick – even to the trees – but kind of cool coming down.

Things seem to be going okay with the slow-weight-loss-program, as the youngest daughter commented on how much better my shirts fit and that she would have to take me shopping for some new ones (with me paying, of course). Glad it is a little noticeable.

Still mostly restricting to eating at home and smaller meals, along with adding in breakfast every single day. It’s really strange that I can add in one entire meal and actually lose weight, but it’s a metabolism thing and it seems to be working just fine. I actually get hungry much earlier if I don’t eat breakfast and in the past, I could never eat right after first getting up (unless on vacation and that was always sort of weird to me. I love breakfast out when we are on vacation). Regardless, more calories is equaling less me, and that is a good thing.

Lunch is often one of the vanilla shake things, but not always. I sometimes eat a regular sandwich or something similar – all depends on how hungry I really am. One thing that is happening is that I seem much more aware of when I am hungry and when I am full. I never really handled that well – Like I said before, I’m part of that the-kids-in-China-are-hungry-so-clean-your-plate generation. I tend to do that, but now I think it through. KL has me eating more veggies, and that is working well, and I can’t remember the last thing I had that didn’t have nuts in it. I am also taking granola with me to the university, and snacking on a few handfuls of it when between classes. Seems to help. I really like the type KL is getting me and then I mess some with it as is starts to empty, adding in some walnuts or almonds, sesame seeds, or whatever.

Doing a little more walking, but having some issues with my left hip. Used to race motorcycles, both road racing (180+) and flat track (125 or so) and crashed and burned several times – two REALLY good. The hip hurt is relatively new as it’s usually the knees that give me trouble, but I also hurt the same hip when I was ten years old, and it might be from that – who really knows? Anyhoo, hurts – a lot – and even keeps me awake at night. I have a Rolfer (a sort of ninja massage technique practioner) and she has helped me a lot, but I hate to see her too often as her help is a barter for a small wellness and green living magazine we own and I don’t want to take advantage of the trade too often. Guess it’s simply “bite the stick” time right now and see if it gets better on its own.

KL and I are cooking dinner most nights, having gone from eating out pretty much all the time (especially when we just had the guest house built and no kitchen) to only very occasionally actually going out to eat. That has certainly helped due to portion sizes. Like I said, “kids and China” and all that, so smaller meals makes it easier to not overeat. Plus, I like to eat. I like good food, and I want to do this right as a forever thing, so less is more, except for me, and then less (food) is less (me).

Trying a bunch of different recipes, and most are working out well. KL makes a good vegetarian chili (a friend who is a MD and a naturopathic guy both) served it at his Super Bowl Party because he and his wife (actually girlfriend, but mostly no one knows) loved it. We had chicken last night, and that is probably my favorite meat of all time. This is cattle country, but I like chicken, especially when cut relatively think and cooked sort of crispy. Butter spray helps with that and minimal calories and some baked potato to go with it and that was last night’s dinner and one of the best in a while. Kl is a pretty darn good cook, though we did have one couple that he would never eat at out house (“What is that? Is that a twig? Is there ANY meat it this? What the heck is this?).

Need to run. Papers to grade and all that. I promise to try and write more often.

-Average Joe
Somewhere, USA