diets
Day 10: Still Dancingly Serious
Okay, who am I fooling. I absolutely hate working out. Monday, as I kicked off this week 2, I went and grabbed my hula hoop and started doing some wiggling. Yes, that is what it was, wiggling. Who knew hula hopping could be so hard. It was worst when my back fat started to itch and I could not reach it to scratch.
Okay, start smaller.
Dance. I love to dance. I will start by dancing.
I took out my Wii and put in the Zumba workout.
Fifteen minutes in, I turned that shit off and went looking for some cake. No cake. Dang! It is just nine, too early for wine. (Hey I rhymed).
There has to be another way to ease my way into this working out stuff.
Then I spotted my iPod.
I played the first that came on.
Initially, I tried to do the routine. Nope. Just dance to the song, fool! I burned 300 calories! SAY WHAT NOW?
Okay fine.
I put on Dark Horse by Katy Perry.
Whew! I danced all the way through.
What else is in this iPod. I have some Kevin Lyttle, with Turn Me On.
Shucks now I am tired. Need some cool down with Chaka Demus & Pliers – Murder She Wrote.
I am inspired. I can do this!
You can too! Let’s rock it!
Book Review: World’s Craziest Recipes
Okay, so it was a free download, but I am looking for some new recipes.
This ish right here is off the chair, the rail, the hook and even Andrew Zimmerman would by pass some of this.
Deep Fried Pork Brains
Blood Pancakes
Grilled Sweetbreads
Curry Fish Head
Here is the recipe for Mexican Beef Tongue Tacos
Ingredients 1 3/ 4 lb beef tongue 2 large onions, peeled The bulb of garlic, peeled and crushed 6 to 7 bay leaves 1 Tbsp. of peppercorns 2 Tbsps. salt Vegetable oil Corn tortillas (2 to 3 per person) Bottled or canned salsa verde
Other recipes include.
Callos Madrilenos
Thai Water Beetle and Fish Dip
Ant Egg Soup
Stuffed Rat ( say what now?
Here is the Recipe for Bosintang (Dog Soup)
Ingredients
100g of boiled dog meat
500g of gravy
20g of green onion
10g of a leek
10g of perilla leaves
100g of taro stalk soaked in water
Yes, it said a 100g of dog meat. I think I just vomited a little in my mouth. However, the crazy recipes don’t stop here. Other gems in this book are:
Steamed Sea Cucumber
Banana Worm Bread
Adobong Balut
Fried Beef Penis (Uh Garcon, how is the Penis today?)
Cuy Picante (Guinea Pig)
Huanuqueno Style Squirrel Pot Pie
Mealworm Fried Rice
Crispy Tarantula
Pickled Pigs Feet
If Chef Ban ever invites you to dinner, say hell nawwww!
Ban, Chef (2012-10-25). World’s Craziest Recipes (Chef Ban’s International Recipe Series) (Kindle Locations 344-357).
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- Want to know where the best place to find the best recipes in the world? (calcmenu.wordpress.com)
- Google Interviews’ Craziest Questions! (seekmore.wordpress.com)
- Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushroom Cream Sauce (dadwhats4dinner.wordpress.com)
Read the Label!
As we head into the second week of the New Year, many are finding that the weight loss battle is really just beginning. The gyms are now over crowded with people who have no idea of what they are doing and coworkers are walking about with gallon jugs of water. All of the cleansing and sweat beds in the world will not wash away the poundage of bad food choices.
Poor dietary habits are not only detrimental to the health of those who carry a few extra pounds; it can also be harmful for those who do 
not weigh enough. The BBC hosts a reality series of Supersize vs. Superskinny . This show contrasts the extreme relationships that people have with food. One of these shows showcased an 85 pound young lady who spent 3 hours in the grocery store, and no, she was not an extreme couponer. She was reading the labels on the food containers. Three hours in a grocery store just reading labels and she left the store with six items. Well, hell, I’d weigh 85 pounds too if I could be that discriminating. I then put it to the test, which things did I buy on a regular that I just did not bother to read the label.
Starting at the top of my day, I looked at my cereal. My whole grain partner that boasts 51 grams of colon happy fiber filling was labeled at 160 calories without milk. Adding skim milk takes my whole grain goodness to 200 calories. Not bad to start, but I also have coffee in the morning and orange juice. I will do 2% milk because skim milk looks like white water and is gross. The 2% milk weighs in at 160 calories alone and I am suddenly feeling fat.
There are so many calories and so little time, and even though we each try to watch what we eat, it is the portions that can really throw you. I never measure out a cup of the 
cereal; I pour a good measure into the bowl. I stop when it looks like the bowl is overflowing and I feel like I am being greedy.
The same concept applies to bag of chips. Even eating baked Ruffles, it is nice to know that the label says it is only 120 calories. Yes, only 120 calories for 10 chips. Who’s going to eat 10 when the company motto is “you can’t eat just one?” Or is that Lay’s? It doesn’t matter because I have never counted out and ate just 10 chips. But there is the rub; you have to read the label. Those labels will drive you nucking futty! I can now see why 85 Pound Lady she spent 3 hours in the store! I read the label on a boxed version of macaroni and cheese and nearly had an aneurism. I am not going to even discuss what I read because I don’t want you to panic. However, I was just thinking, if the caloric count is that high on the box, what is it when we make it at home from scratch and use four different cheeses? Again, I am feeling fat.
I am going to play this smart and work my way into my weight loss plan. First, I will make sure I understand what fuel I am putting into my Über sexy vehicle. I am going to register on my calorie counter. Next, I am going to get a gallon jug like my coworkers and start pumping in some pure water. Last but not least, as discussed earlier, I am going to get out into my yard and work on making my backyard a haven.
This only leaves one label left to read. If I may be so trite with the perfect label and quote Fred, “Right”.
Related articles
- Counting Calories? Add In Fiber (everydayhealth.com)
- Calories and the Weight Loss Formula (fitsugar.com)
- What Nutrition Labels Should Look Like (friendseat.com)
- Extra Tastes Can Turn Into a Pound of Weight Gain in a Week (fitsugar.com)
- 3 Calorie-Counting Rules for Weight Loss (everydayhealth.com)
- Do You Read Nutrition Labels? (fitsugar.com)
- How to Be Calorie-Conscious Without Counting Calories (fitsugar.com)
That’s what friends are for……
I have been running hard and eating poorly these past three weeks. New quarter, new classes, new students and a new 
schedule added up to a recipe for disaster. My body rebelled and told me to stop the nonsense and when I refused to listen, it shut down. We are not talking about a head cold, I am talking a full blown system purging.
I was laid out. Flat on my back is where I ended up after a night of personal conversations from several perspectives with the King of the Lavatory.
I couldn’t be sick. Tomorrow was my scrapbooking day with my friend, Saturday I was hitting the Oktoberfest with another friend and the flea market, plus I had to get the Quilt Show, and the Fair to get a turkey leg. I can’t do any of these things sick! The fever I had said otherwise and I called it quits.
My friend called my cell at 10 am on Friday. When I did not respond she called me at 11:15 and this time left a voice message. At noon she sent a text and at 12:30 she called my house. I had not responded which, she stated, was not like me. And yes, we have a land line. No, I am not a dinosaur. On with the story about friends…stay focused please. At 1:30 she was at my front door with a bag of peppermint tea for my upset tummy and although my son had placed a chair on the opposite side of the bed of sickness, she opted not to use it. Instead, she brought me a hot cup of bitter ass peppermint tea, fluffed up the pillows on hubby’s side of the bed and climbed in beside me.
She climbed on beside “Oh, my gosh, I have a fever” breath. She climbed on beside I smell like I’m sick, fever soaked sweaty tee shirt. She climbed on beside my matted afro and crusted nose that had started to drip from being so hot all night from fever, that now resembled a 5 year old with hayfever. She did so with a smile and simultaneously grabbed the remote and began to ask me why I was laid out like I was on a crucifix.
I started to laugh. She then commented on my smelling like I had been riding a horse and my desperate need of a shower and washing my face. She stayed for 2.5 hours and when she left I felt better. Not cured, but better and ready to get well.
Ironically, my friend that I was supposed to meet on Saturday, called while she was there as well, and she too called my house because I had not answered my cell; she too figured something must have been wrong. Something was wrong; I had made some poor choices on rest, exercise and food. I did not, however, make poor choices in my friends. They know me well enough to know when I am up and sharp enough to know to call my house when I am down. They also know my home number.
Don’t be confused, any friend can be at your side when you are the life of the party. It takes a special friend to climb on your sickbed and hold your feverish hand. Friends are there to make you feel better when you are down, help you celebrate your accomplishments and cry when you need it. Remember, a friend is someone to also thank for putting up with you…..
How Committed Are You?
As I left campus yesterday, I grumbled at the heat; turning up the AC in my little Ford, I began to think of the new car I should buy next year. Pulling away from my parking space, I began to rehash in my mind, my conversation with my boss. Feeling unappreciated, over worked and a little sorry for myself, I started making a mental list of local institutes of higher education. Yes, in my mind, I thought, if they can’t appreciate everything I do for them and the students, I should just look for greener pastures. I looked up as I began to cross the intersection and that is when I saw her….
Based on the appearance of her sweat soaked uniform and the roundness of her tummy, I estimated that the young lady was at last five months pregnant. It was easily 100 degrees outside and she was walking to school. She was not walking from the bus stop. Instead of a water bottle in her hand, there was a stick, I assume to fend off any dogs. She had a backpack that loosely fell from her heavily weighted shoulder and a squint that adorned her face. I noticed the squint because I had to pull down my sunglasses to really see her face. She was hot. She was aggravated. She was walking to school in 100 degree weather. She was pregnant. She was going to get to class. She was committed.
She is committed to her dream.
I felt envious.
I cannot remember the last time I felt that type of commitment to anything other than something short-term that I wanted.
Please note that I did say that I wanted.
This says nothing about the insane semi-commitments to things that I want; again, not the things that I need.
I can say that I am blessed to need so little.
I almost feel greedy for believing that I want so much.
My thoughts go back to the look of determination on her face. She knows that finishing her degree means a new job. A new job means a new way of life. A new job can mean benefits for her and her children. A new job can mean a car and no longer having to walk in inclement or outrageous weather. A new car means independence.
I now felt selfish.
I have not taught this student.
I felt I needed a break from “giving” so much, so I am not teaching a full load this summer and have not had the pleasure of meeting or working with someone so committed to their dreams. How many other truly committed students am I missing out on this summer while I lounge on my couch watching Maury? I had been whining and whimpering because my passion for my chosen occupation was waning or on the downturn as I made the mental transition to what….
I am supposed to be writing.
I am supposed to be authoring a textbook.
I am supposed to be spending quality time with family and friends.
The latter I have a hold on.
My commitment to my dreams…. not so much.
I began to look around my home office for my list of New Year’s Resolutions. After 30 minutes I located the list that I was committed to in January. I reviewed the handwriting to make sure it was my own. I then sadly realized I hadn’t done any of that crap. I don’t even use my Wii on a regular basis. I can’t even make a commitment to Dance Revolution.
I was now quickly approaching some form of sadness or even maybe depression.
When did I stop believing in my dream?
Have I stopped reviewing my place in life and become complacent?
How committed am I to my dreams?
As I near another birthday, maybe it’s time to reevaluate where I am going in the next five years and what should my goals be at this point? What are 50 things that I want to do in the next five years?
I think there is an APP for that.
No kidding.
Just in case you are in need of an infusion into your commitment sphere, here is a list of APPs that can help you recommit to your goals.
(These have not been downloaded are rated.)
Goaltracker
GOALS ToDo Free
Goal Happy
How committed are you to hanging onto your dreams?
Olivia Gaines Author 
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