Day 56--Eight Weeks of Work

I'm having a bit of a wardrobe problem.  Shirts that I couldn't tastefully wear eight weeks ago now fit relatively well, but the pants I've had (my jeans, old pairs of khakis, etc) are starting to sag a bit. And by a bit, I mean a lot.  Not going to lie though...wonderful problem to have.


Breakfast--It was imperative that we started the day correctly, so we went with the Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats.  I added brown sugar and almonds to mine, although after loading it up I remembered my peanut butter trick. So that sucked. The oatmeal, however, was incredible and very filling.  I also threw down a mango.  I love mangos...no frills, just cut it in half and enjoy. Best fruit by my estimation...maybe even more than cherries (probably not though). That's saying a LOT.

Lunch--PF Changs after church.  However, it was really an absolute disaster.  We went for the wonton soup, but ended up that everything BUT the wonton soup was really good.  I had a side of Sichuan Asparagus, half of an order of Chicken Fried Rice and one bowl of the soup.  We ate all the wontons, but the broth...there was funk in the broth. It's fitting that we're talking about Elisha in my OT class tomorrow, because a bunch of his miracles involve him fixing either water or soup.  Could have used him today.

Snack--My last plum and a 100 calorie sandwich thin with some Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut butter.  It was wonderful, and gave me the energy for working out.  I will say though...for chocolate hazelnut, Nutella is better and the caloric difference is worth the better taste.

Exercise--I walked/ran on an incline for 20 minutes, then lifted some weights to try to work some soreness out and balance out yesterday.  It felt goooood. And, I got to listen to some of Mark Goodacre's podcasts.  He's incredible, and has some pretty cool ideas about NT theology.  You should check him out--NTPod Podcast. Do it.

Dinner--I made whole wheat rotini pasta with roasted broccoli and pasta sauce.  The sauce was comprised of tomatoes, garlic, a diced fresno chili, some salt, pepper, and sugar.  The whole meal was amazing!

Dessert--I think I'm going to have 1/2 cup mango sorbet with another one of my mangoes...they're just so good!

Last week before Spring Break starts tomorrow.  The good news is that Abby might bring me lunch some this week.  The bad news? I still have to go to work.  Oh well...can't win them all!

Day 55--Freaking Robert Burns

So I had planned to head to the Farmers' Market this morning to grab some Fusion Taco and some produce.  Of course, Fusion Taco informed me last night that they wouldn't be at the Farmers' Market, and then this morning it was randomly cold and rainy.  Plans aborted. The best laid plans of mice and men...

I will say though, the day wasn't a total waste. In fact, I'm a big fan of three day weekends, if only because I eat REALLY well.  Evidence of this is forthcoming.

Breakfast--Dunkin' Donuts baby!  I had one chocolate kreme (yeah...that's how they spell it. I think it adds 200 calories with the "k" but whatever) donut.  Originally I bought two, but I couldn't actually eat more than one. My stomach is shrinking to normal proportions! Huzzah!

First Lunch--Yeah, its one of those days.  I made a VERY successful and therapeutic trip to Central Market, where I sadly used the last of my gift card from my birthday. It made it three whole weeks...c'est la vie.  While there, I picked up some amazing quinoa salad and some sushi for lunch, as well as some other goodies.  My lunch was a shrimp fusion roll that involved rice paper, shrimp, imitation crab (I know...), lettuce, celery, and carrot. They were delicious.  The quinoa salad involved black quinoa, mango, mandarin oranges, cabbage, carrot, orange juice, rice wine vinegar, and some ginger.  It was AMAZING, and its not the last time we see that particular food product today.

Second Lunch--The problem with sushi is that it just isn't that filling.  When Abby got home from studying, we went to Chick Fila, and I had an 8-count nugget, fries, and a lemonade.  I think it was decently justified because...

Exercise--We hit the gym. Oh yeah.  I walked/ran for 15 minutes, then lifted a bunch of weights.  I'd say my heart rate was properly elevated for at least 45 minutes, which felt great.  I need to do that way more often.

Dinner--Here's the good stuff.  While walking around CM, I ran into the most amazing tuna steak.  I just couldn't resist.  So we had a salad of locally grown spinach on which I put more of the quinoa salad, blood orange segments (I freaking LOVE blood oranges, look how amazing they are with the multi-colored goodness), and seared tuna seasoned with salt, pepper, and sesame seeds.  To dress it, I took the juice of two blood oranges, about a quarter cup of soy sauce, some salt, pepper, and a quarter cup of mango-peach jam I bought today.  Reduced it down, and BAM--deliciousness in salad dressing form.  The entire meal was incredible...so incredible that I ripped off Nathan MacDonald and took a picture of it. Enjoy the sensory delight, although I'm sorry you couldn't taste it.

Dessert--The second one of my kreme donuts from earlier.  They're probably horrible for me, but they're fantastic donuts. I love them very much, and wish they were low-cal. Oh well.

Tomorrow, we've got church and then prepping for the last week before Spring Break. Friday, come soon!

Day 54--Happy State Basketball Finals Day

So apparently a couple of years ago at Westbury, after a two year hiatus, the basketball teams (boys and girls) made it to state.  The semifinal games are always on Friday and the championship game on Saturday. When the teams made it to the Final Four, there was a mass exodus from school: teachers, coaches, players, cheerleaders, students, EVERYONE.  Made it a ghost town.  Since then, they've made sure that the Friday of state has been a day off from school.  Due to this lovely fortune, I didn't have work today.  Unfortunately, I used that opportunity to go to the doctor, just like when I was in elementary school.

My visit to the optometrist went well.  New glasses, new contacts, a tongue-lashing from the attending...a pleasant day at the office, even if it was Abby's office.

Breakfast--Cinnamon swirl oatmeal.  No fruit.  Last time was a mess.

Lunch--Chili's!  My wonderful grandparents gave me a gift card for my birthday, so Abby and I celebrated a Friday where we could actually spend time together.  We did the two for twenty deal, so we split the crispy onion and jalapeno stack for an appetizer (only ate a third of it) and then I had the Margarita Chicken. It was still 600 calories, but it could have been much, much worse.

Dinner--Jimmy John's.  I went with the turkey and ham instead of bacon, lettuce, cucumber, oregano, and I only ate one slice of bread.  I had some jalapeno and some sweet potato chips to go with it.

Dessert--Gummy Bears.  I had a really unhealthy fascination with Gummy Bears, especially the Haribo kind. Four mini packs equals 150 calories of fruity, sugary deliciousness.

Farmers' Market in the morning, to grab (hopefully) some strawberries, some mint, and some butter lettuce to make myself an incredible salad with the blood oranges I got last weekend.  Of course, I've made plans before that haven't exactly come to fruition. Check back tomorrow for updates!

Day 53--Mismanagement

Today was one of my favorite days at school--Pep Rally Day.  The reason I appreciate these far too infrequent celebrations actually has nothing to with the pep or the rally...I have more school spirit for Westbury than I did for Plano West (my alma mater) but that's not saying much. I have more school spirit for San Dimas High School Football (word on the street is that they rule!) than either. Probably.

No, the reason I love me some Pep Rally Day is that its also Schedule D, or as I like to call it, proof that things could be done better.  I have the period after lunch off on Schedule D days, so I get to have an extra long lunch, AND it shows that we can get all 8 classes in by 2:45 without losing much instruction time or having huge schedule issues.  Win/win!

Breakfast--High Fiber Cinnamon Swirl oatmeal with freeze dried mangoes.  The oatmeal was a winner, the freeze dried mangoes...not so good in the oatmeal. In fact, it was really bad. Mistake!

Snack--Fiber One bar...my last one for this box. RIP Fiber One bars...we hardly knew ye.

Lunch--Cafe Express with the awesomeness that is Megan Gilbert.  We had a great time...definitely one of my favorite teachers at WCS.  I had a burger with lettuce, onion, pickle, bacon, a small amount of ketchup, and sweet potato fries.  It was amazing...I miss good burgers.

Dinner--The moment we've all been waiting for...the Dinner of Awesomeness!  I baked a chipotle-lime chicken breast from Central Market, then made smashed potatoes with roasted garlic, and topped it off with sauteed kale.  The potatoes were smashed and not mashed because I didn't add any dairy (butter, cream, milk, etc) to the mix, just a whole head of roasted garlic and some salt.  They were really good, but even better with the kale mixed in.  I crisped up the last of my Farmers' Market bacon, then wilted the kale in the bacon fat, added a splash of cider vinegar and a teaspoon of honey, threw the bacon back in, and stirred to deliciousness.  Kale is one of the healthiest greens (or any food for that matter) you can eat, although I'm sure I dampened that a bit with the bacon.  It was an amazing meal, and 2 hours later I'm still VERY full.  Success, and well worth the wait. Now I just need to buy some more bacon at the Farmers' Market on Saturday!

Three day weekend starts tomorrow...I look forward to having cooked, thought-out meals that I can control and dictate what goes in my body.  Access to the gym without migraines will be nice too.

One week until Spring Break! Woohoo!

Day 52--Derailed

I agree with Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, about weird sports cliches.  Why do we say a player needs to get himself "untracked?"  Isn't that bad?  Don't we want to be on track, on the path, not careening wildly out of control? Isn't this what we are attempting to avoid as athletes? These are the things that preoccupied my mind today because I spent a lot of it in total darkness.

Apparently I'm prone to migraines.  This is a recent development, something I'm sure I can chalk up to the crap place that is Houston (add it to the list) and definitely the most debilitating of them all.  The kidney stone sucked, and really hurt, but it ultimately avoidable.  The sinus infections can be treated.  Migraines just cripple me, and with increasing frequency.  I ended up teaching three classes today with my eyes closed, spent all of my free time in the darkened faculty bathroom, and then quit a period early because opening my eyes made me want to vomit.  Needless to say, I went home, turned off all the lights and took a long, darkened nap.  I'm sure it will come back to bite me tonight if/when I can't sleep, but I wouldn't be functioning now if I hadn't done it.  My head still hurts, and we're approaching 10 hours. Yippee.

Breakfast--One piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter (the normal kind) and one of Carman's granola bars.  Or as I've discovered, they're called muesli bars.  Silly Aussies.

Lunch--Hot dog day. Yay...  I had a bun with two franks, some steamed cauliflower, and a banana.

Snack--Because I felt I deserved it (a recurring trend...I'm sick and gaining weight as the day goes on) I had some mini gummi bears.  I found these awesome little Haribo packages that are like less than 40 calories a pop.  I mean, pure sugar, but two or three of them won't kill you, and they made my headache feel slightly better.

Dinner--Here's where it gets depressing.  Abby was hungry and I didn't start cooking in time, so my excellent dinner got put on the back burner.  We had Wendy's instead, which isn't a horrid consolation prize, but still...  I had a spicy chicken sandwich, lettuce only, a large fries, and a large Frosty (again, because I felt I earned it).

Dessert--You are probably saying to yourself, "Wait, dessert?  Isn't the Frosty dessert?" And you'd be right. But since I've had such a crap day, I ate the ears off my marshmallow bunny.  Vengeful? Probably. Delicious? Certainly.

I'm also eating jellybeans. Not many, but enough. I'm gaining weight as I type. Dangit.

Here's to no head pain, good dinner, and the end of a short week tomorrow.  Wish me a better Thursday.

Day 51--Raging Cajun

I am EXHAUSTED.  I can't tell if its because we've watched more movies this week, so I've been sitting more, or if its because in OT we've had some long, detailed stories so I've been talking more.  One way or the other, I am worn out, even with naps and decent nights of sleep.  I really need to workout tomorrow AND I'm going to be rocking a wonderfully healthy meal for dinner.  I like planning meals out early...takes the stress out and it gives me something to look forward to. Double bonus.

Breakfast--One slice of whole wheat toast with Justin's All Natural Chocolate Peanut Butter spread.  Two tablespoons is 170 calories and it's amazingly delicious. So delicious, in fact, its not the last time today I ate it. Also threw down some cherry yogurt to really fill out the meal.

Lunch--A sweet potato, some sauteed green beans, and a piece of whole wheat naan with--you guessed it--Justin's spread. Great, great lunch.

Snack--1/3 cup of jellybeans.  It was a long time between lunch and dinner...and they're really good. Don't judge!

Dinner--We tried out Boudreaux's, a cajun place near our apartment with our friend Lindsey Willis.  It's probably the closest restaurant, as the crow flies, to our humble abode and yet we'd never been there before.  I had 12 blackened shrimp, which was way too much but I wasn't sure about portion sizes, and then some really good fries.  It wasn't a good meal health-wise, or price-wise, but it was still quality food.  However, that's our second new restaurant in three days that we spent too much money on only to figure out that there is a cheaper, and probably better, way to eat there.  We live and learn.

Keep your excitement levels down for tomorrow's meal...it's going to be a doozy!

Theory of Relativity

This is another non-foodie post. Sue me.

Today in my Acts class we discussed Acts 21:1-16.  During this particular passage, Paul learns that when he gets to Jerusalem, he's going to be bound hand and foot and taken into custody by the Romans, who frankly don't like him very much.  His response to this prophecy is to basically say "Bring it on!"  To me though, that's not even the most amazing part of the story.

Paul receives this prophecy while in Tyre, a church he didn't help start.  Our class is very Paul-centric (It's called Acts and the Pauline Epistles...) so its really easy to forget he's not the only Christian in the joint.  When he greets the brothers in Tyre, my first reaction is always to say "Oh yeah...there are other people telling the world about Christ."  It, in essence, breaks down the fourth wall of our reading and we become aware that we are seeing a very, very narrow thread of history.

The most incredible thing that happens to me every time this passage comes up is that not only am I aware of Paul's contemporaries, but I become aware of God's story.  He called Paul to this mission, called him to his final show in Rome, and unbelievably calls us to continue the story.  It's so easy, so tempting, to read the Bible and think idealistically about how things were, how amazing these heroes of our faith are, and to long for the good ole days, but the story isn't over!

Even though the Bible, as a book, ends in Revelation, God's story and mission keeps trucking along.  We are called just as Paul was called.  The decisions and actions Paul lived with dictate what we can do today...through very loose logic I could even say that Paul going to Tyre was necessary for me believing in God.  God's story predates us, it will outlast us, and it is the eternal, never-ending idea of love.  We just get to play a small part in the passion play, exactly like Paul did.

Amazing what a small church in Tyre can make you think about, eh?

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."  1 Timothy 1:17