This weekend the movie The Avengers is coming out, and as big fans of Marvel Comics, Russ and I are of course planning to go see it. In preparation for the big event, we decided to have a mini movie marathon leading up to the new film, so we’ve been watching one of the films feeding into The Avengers each night. There are five in total, and so far we’ve watched three. We should be good and ready by the time the new movie comes out on Friday.
Tonight we watched Thor, which I think is the best of the bunch. This movie is so visually beautiful, and so epic! The scenes in Asgard, in particular, are almost Shakespearian. I can’t wait to write all about it more fully in my movie review. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I wish I had the energy to stay up all night, but right now it’s getting late now, and time for bed!
Applebee’s is another one of those nice chain restaurants that is trying to jump on board the Health Train by offering some low-cal/low-fat/healthy options. In fact, not only do they have a menu for “Under 550 Calories,” but they also have a “Weight Watchers” menu! So, if you’re trying to watch your weight, there’s no reason to avoid Applebee’s. I’ve ordered healthy items off their menu a couple of times, and the food is extremely passable. Well…they don’t really give you a tremendous amount of food, but what do you expect for under 550 calories?
For my money, though, I think I’d rather have a nice salad! So I decided to find out what the house salad at Applebee’s would be like, and in many ways, I was not disappointed. The salad is of a truly acceptable size, and is garnished with croutons, cheese and bacon. Not real bacon, but not hard “bacon bits,” either. Chewy bacon pieces, I guess you could say, which lend an interesting flavor to the salad.
And that’s a good thing, because the one complaint I had about this salad was that I did not find the lettuce to be very tasty. On the plus side, it was not iceberg lettuce—or at least it was mostly not iceberg lettuce (there might have been a little iceberg in there, I’m not sure), but you know how sometimes lettuce can have this “not ripe yet” flavor? Sort of TOO green. Like you went out in your front yard and picked some leaves off the trees? That’s how this lettuce tasted.
I think I would like to try this salad again, though, as it was only $2.99, and I enjoyed the toppings. Maybe next time the lettuce will be “in season” and taste better. If not, then I might have to discount the Applebee’s house salad. And that would be too bad, because other than the lettuce, I thought this was a fine salad, and a good deal. But really: what is a salad but lettuce? If you don’t have that right, you might as well give up.
But I’m not giving up yet. I’ll check in on Applebee’s again, maybe later in the summer, when lettuce is in full bloom. And I’d like to go back to Applebee’s again because, in addition to this salad, I also decided to try their side of rice and beans, which, at $1.49, was a great price, and very tasty! I certainly wouldn’t mind some more of that!
In honor of Joey working at Chili’s, this is where I begin my quest for the perfect side salad. I called Joey yesterday to ask about the menu, and he told me the side salad/house salad is a good size, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, cheese, all served on a square plate. And that is exactly what I got at my local Chili’s.
I know there is a school of thought that the worst thing about a salad is that you tend to smother it in high calorie/high fat dressing, and that may be true. But since I am not eating flour or sugar, I’m going to allow myself to indulge in dressing on my salad. I am such a fan of salad dressing, and it’s a longheld belief of mine that “Salad is a good excuse for dressing.” However, I found the ranch dressing at Chili’s to be a little on the thin side. But our waitress was kind enough to bring additional dressing to the table, and that helped.
For $3.99, I thought this salad got the job done. However, I was not impressed with the cole slaw. Joey told me it was “not the best cole slaw in the world” and that, I think, is a good description. Not the worst, but certainly not the best. I wouldn’t order it again. Next time, I would probably try, for the same price, an ear of corn. Or the steamed broccoli.
The bowl of chili you see in the background of this picture was part of Russ’ order, and I had a taste. Just for the record, I would say it was more of a “Chili Soup” than a true chili. Kind of odd, for a restaurant named Chili’s, to have a weak chili. For my money, Wendy’s does a much better chili, much thicker.
I found the combination of this salad with the side of cole slaw, and an unsweetened tea, to be plenty to eat for a light, healthy dinner. Chili’s is one place where I feel I can go to eat out and not have to worry that french fries and fatty burgers will be my only choice. Also, as Joey pointed out, Chili’s has also implemented a “Lighter Choices” menu, where the offerings are not more than 750 calories, and not more than 25 grams of fat. The 25 grams of fat still sounds high to me, but if you do the math, that comes out to about 30% fat, which is probably pretty good for a restaurant meal, if you’re concerned about fat.
As for me, though, at least for the moment, I’m not counting fat, but instead I’m trying to avoid sugar and flour, which is working well—at least for me, at least for the moment. Some day I may try the “Lighter Choices” at Chili’s, but for right now, I’ll be sticking with their salads and vegetables.
Recently I have begun to lose a little weight, mostly by avoiding sugar and flour, and I feel good. Russ and I are also trying to go to the gym, but more often than not something happens that prevents it. Either there is some other more pressing matter that must be dealt with first, or one or the other of us has a hurt foot, or a sore throat, or has forgotten to bring our headphones, or sneakers, or it’s thunderstorming, or something of that nature. There are always a thousand excuses not to go to the gym. Most of them I will need to learn to overcome. But not this one:
Today is Friday! And Friday is traditionally the one day of the week we go out to eat. Date Night! On Friday, Date Night always takes precedence over exercise. Life demands balance. A little exercise, a little work, a little fun: for everything there is a time and a season…
But just because we are going out to eat, doesn’t mean I have to “go off my diet.” Not that I’m “on” a diet. I’m just on a healthy eating plan. But being in a restaurant doesn’t mean I can’t eat healthy!
I’m trying to re-create some of the behaviors that helped me to lose weight last time, and as I recall, I had a very particular strategy for restaurants. So I’ve decided to use this strategy once again, and not only that, but I’m going to document my experiences here in this journal.
Here’s the strategy: I start the meal with a side salad, or a “house salad,” or whatever they call the small, simple salad. Most good restaurants will have one. Some are better than others. Some are more expensive than others. Some don’t need anything additional added, but in some cases—and years ago, this was my standard—it helps to make a request for additional cheese. There will probably be an additional charge, but in most cases it is worth it, turning that simple salad into an actual meal.
In addition to this, another new strategy, if not requesting additional cheese, is that I’m going to check out the offering of other “side” items. For instance, Joey tells me that Chili’s offers a nice presentation of cole slaw, another one of my favorite foods. Last week, I found that Applebee’s has a tasty little bowl of rice and beans. And nowadays, there are plenty of restaurants that offer a side of steamed vegetables.
So eating out does not have to be a diet disaster. And it doesn’t have to be expensive either!
I want to go around to all the local restaurants and see what they offer, what’s good, what’s not so good, and write about it. I think by committing to write about my dining experiences I will not only provide a valuable record for myself (and anyone else who might come to Tuscaloosa and wish to eat healthy), but having this “project” will help me stay on track, help me not succumb when the Reuben or the Double Cheeseburger and Chili Fries calls my name.
So. I start tonight! Well, actually, I have already collected notes for a couple of entries for the past couple of weeks, but tonight we go to Chili’s, so later tonight or tomorrow, I’ll write about my food choices there.
I hope that this “Side Salad” project will prove to be an inspiration. I hope this can be another part of some of the inventive things I do to get healthy.
Today is Joey’s birthday, and he has also recently moved into a new place, so over the last couple of weeks we’ve sent him a few gifts. One of the things we got him was a set of Pyrex bowls with lids, because we have them, and they are so great! You can do everything in these bowls! They go in the freezer, in the microwave, in the oven, in the fridge—you can even eat out of them! And since food is stored in glass instead of plastic, it’s a bit healthier for you overall.
It was my Mom that first turned me on to these Pyrex bowls, a couple of years ago. And as I was recently thinking about sending Joey some of these bowls, it occurred to me that I ought to take a moment to thank Mom for telling me about them in the first place. S0… “Thanks, Mom!” for turning me on to Pyrex!
Also, “Thanks, Mom!” for turning me on to Correlle dishware! It’s the best! We have the “Winter White,” which is plain and simple, and looks great. Corelle is lightweight, attractive, easy to keep clean, and best of all, hardly takes up any room at all in the cabinet, because it’s so thin. I love my Correlle so much, I can’t imagine having any other kind of big clunky dishware (unless it was clear glass plates, which I also love.)
One more shout out of “Thanks!” to Mom. I recently took a book from the library called “No Sugar, No Flour,” and really didn’t read much past the title, but I’ve been setting the principles in motion and have begun to lose a little weight, and also feel better. But it wasn’t this book that first turned me on to the idea of avoiding sugar and flour. It was Mom! About six years ago, just before I moved to Alabama, I went through a time where I lost about twenty five pounds, and I remember that the way I got started was by having a conversation with Mom in which she extolled the virtues of avoiding white sugar and white flour as a way to lose weight. That conversation put the idea in my head, and once I ran with it…the weight started coming off! Even as it is now! So, thanks again, Mom, for having all the good ideas that really work.
But I’m not going to stop here. Sure, Mom has given me some good ideas, but she’s not the only one. I started to think about it, and realized that all the important people in my life have at one time or another told me about something that I didn’t know about before, but which is now important to me.
So, since it’s Joey’s birthday today, let’s start with him. Joey is my Music Man. I can always count on him to find me a great new band to listen to, and the one I’ll mention here has become one of my very favorites, Blue October.
I remember the day Joey called me and told me “Hey, Mom, you should check out this band Blue October!” He thought of me because he knows I play violin (at least I used to) and there is some awesome fiddling in Blue October. I immediately took a listen to their song “Ugly Side,” and fell in love with their music. So, “Thanks, Joey!” for all the music!
Now, Mary and I have similar tastes in a lot of things, and she is always recommending books to me. One of the book series she recommended has become one of my favorites: Bloody Jack!
In this series, an orphan girl poses as a boy and joins the British Royal Navy, and later becomes somewhat of a pirate. From the first page, you can’t help but be captivated by the main character. Come to think of it, Mary also told me about Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events, another fun read. So “Thanks Mary!” for all the books!
Oh, and thanks for some music as well. Because of a shared interest in Steampunk, Mary turned me on to the music of Abney Park (again with the great fiddling!) And she also knows that I like music that is “big and dark,” so recently, when she happened to run across Placebo, she texted me that I might want to check them out. I did, and now have ANOTHER favorite band. How many favorite bands can you have? I don’t know. I guess it all depends on what kind of mood you’re in. But “Thanks, Mary!” for the Placebo!
When we get to Russ, there are a couple of really big, really major interests I need to thank him for: football and comics!
I sometimes feel that some of the people who knew me before I knew Russ, and therefore knew I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in football or sports of any kind, must now be looking at my sudden interest in football and thinking that I’m only “pretending” to be interested in football because that’s what all “good wives” do. Look. I don’t play those kinds of games. And football is just too time-consuming an interest for someone who isn’t really into it. But I have to tell you, Russ knows TONS about football, all the ins and outs, all the backstories, all the SOAP OPERA, and his enthusiasm is utterly contagious. Not only that, but I think it must be living in this town, where our University has won the National Championship for two of the last three years…well, it’s kind of hard NOT to catch Football Fever! So “Thanks, Russ!” for getting me interested in football!
Now, as for comics, I’ve always been one who enjoys stories, and to a large degree, the more fantastic the better. And the Marvel Comics of the 1960’s (which I’m going through now) are quite fantastic on so many levels! Again, Russ’ knowledge of Marvel Comics is encyclopedic, and his enthusiasm is contagious, so it’s great having our own little “book club” where we can talk about what we’re reading. And not only that, but I’m also very much enjoying putting down my thoughts about these stories in my other blog, Adventures in the Marvelous Zone.
These are the most important people in my life, who have given me so many good ideas. But there is one more, and I have not forgotten…no, I’m just saving the best for last. My Dad has always been a big advocate of saving money and being financially responsible. For many many years, his mantra has been “Save! Save! Save!” Well, I guess some of it must have finally sunk in (and I also think it helps being married to someone like Russ who, while not as fanatical about savings as my Dad is, still very much believes in being financially responsible). And so, with the encouragement and support of two of the three most important men in my life, for the first time in my life, I can say that I have no personal debt, Russ and I do have some money in the bank, and what’s more, I am part-owner of a comfy little house! (Russ and the bank are the other part-owners, of course.) So “Thanks Dad!” for being diligent about trying to instill in us a responsible attitude towards money. It’s paid off! (And by the grace of God, our house will be paid off in the next 12 years!)
I know there are a lot more things I could mention in thanking a lot more people. But these are the highlights. By the grace of God, I have people in my life who know stuff, and share stuff, that helps to make my life better.
Had a busy and productive day! Returned my library book before going into work, then finished up my portion of the quarterly reports this morning. At lunch I bought and mailed a birthday card for Ken, and after work Russ and I did some exercise at the gym. Now we’re getting ready for dinner, and after that we have a short bit of podcast recording to do. I love days like this, when you can just keep knocking items off your “to do” list.
In other news, I’m starting to lose some weight! About four or five pounds so far. When I was in the library about about a week ago, I took out a book called “No Sugar, No Flour.” I didn’t actually read much of the book besides the title, but the title was all I needed. I know from past experience that no sugar no flour is a tried and true method to shed pounds. So I’ve been cutting back dramatically, and eating a lot of salads, and drinking a lot of water, and not only am I losing weight, but I would also say I am “feeling better.” I think I have more energy. So it’s all good. And I’m encouraged to continue!
I’m always looking for ways to save money, so recently we’ve begun hanging clothes on the line in the backyard, to see if that might reduce our the electric bill. This past month, the bill was $6 lower than last year at this time. Is that because we’re not using the dryer? Or might it have more to do with how much the air conditioner or heater might be running? I’m not sure, and I don’t know if there’s any way we ever really can be sure, but I have come to really enjoy hanging the laundry on the line. It always smells so fresh when you bring it in! The only thing we’re not drying on the line is the bed sheets. Towels are okay if they’re a little rough, it makes them more absorbent. And the clothes are fine. But we still want the sheets to feel soft and silky.
Another idea we recently came up with was to cut our own lawn, so we can save the $35 we used to pay for someone else to do it for us. Over the summer, the grass needs cutting at least twice a month, so that’s $70 a month for the next several months. We figure the lawnmower and edger/trimmer will pay for themselves the first summer. After that, it’s all money in the bank.
So we got the lawn equipment and have cut the lawn ourselves a couple of times now. Today was the first time we used the edging mode, and it came out quite nice! I’m glad that we decided to do this. Of course, we haven’t gotten to the heat of summer yet. It might not be so much fun then. But we’ll have our routine better figured out by that time. Today it took an hour and fifteen minutes to do the back and front lawn, and the sides of the house as well. I’m hoping we get so good at this we can eventually get it all done in one hour flat.
Now, one more thing. When we went to Lowe’s to get the lawn equipment, we could get it all on a line of credit with no interest for six months IF we charged at least $300. We didn’t quite get to $300 with the lawn equpment, and we saw a great deal on a backyard grill, so we decided to get one. We’ve been grilling a couple of times a week now. Tonight we had hamburgers and corn on the cob. Last week we did salmon. I’m looking forward to cooking some baked potatoes some time in the near future. AND a steak. Yum!
It’s nice to sit out on the porch and smell the food cooking. We have a very small backyard, but up till now we haven’t used it much at all. Now we’re hanging laundry, mowing grass, cooking dinner! Getting a lot of use out of our yard lately. It feels good.
Oh yes! And one more thing: the hummingbirds. I like looking for them as well. We’ve only had a few sightings so far, but I think we’ll see a lot more of them before the summer’s over.
I’ve just finished mopping the kitchen floor and waiting for it to dry before going back in the kitchen to prepare lunch, so I thought I’d post here, and I got the idea to pull some recent photos. These are very random.
This is a picture of the artwork I bought a while back for our bedroom. I love the look of the peacocks. The idea is to get several pieces of very classic looking artwork depicting pairs of animals. I thought that would be appropriate for a master bedroom, and quite in keeping with the look of our bedroom furniture. Of course art is expensive (even when it’s not original oil paintings, it’s still expensive! Sometimes, in fact, the frames cost more than the art itself!) so that project is coming along slowly. But I do enjoy these peacocks.
Soemtimes I make a meal that I find so visually appealing that I just have to run and get my camera and take a picture of it before it disappears. One of my favorite creations, which I started making back when I was in college, is homemade pizzas, which of roommate of mine at the time nicknamed “poison pizzas.” A TRUE poison pizza is a piece of American cheese on ketchup on a slice of white bread, toasted. The pizzas pictured here somewhat more sophisticated than that. But I can’t get that term “poison pizzas” out of my head.
Here’s a trip back in time! When Mary was in high school, she went through a “goth” phase. I actually like this look for her, I think the haircut is very cute. She always looks best with bangs. And got to love those socks! Here she’s sitting with Cookie, who is one of the very best dogs of all time. Very well behaved, and very smart. You could take Cookie outside without a leash and she would never run away. I miss that dog.
One day I was coming home from work and snapped this picture of oncoming rain, because it reminded me so much of the kind of rain I used to see in Florida all the time. We don’t get rain like this all the time, but it’s impressive when we do.
Here’s a shot of one of my favorite relaxing restaurants in town, the Arby’s in Tuscaloosa on McFarland. You can see there is a tree inside the restaurant. I guess the kid in me looks at that and says “Cool!” I like to go there sometimes, because of the tree.
I think I may have mentioned here before that Russ and I have been watching this show on Animal Planet, My Cat From Hell. I have begun following the “cat behaviorist” from that show, Jackson Galaxy, on Twitter, and he recently posted this picture of his own cats in his own home. I love the little window shelves! What a great idea! All our windows are low to the ground, so we don’t need shelves under windows, but we’re thinking of getting some shelves and putting them along the walls, so Boogie and Squee can have a sort of indoor playground.
And what pictorial post could be complete without a nod to Boogie and Squee, enjoying some down time on the couch, under the heat of the lamp.
This morning we were out in the backyard hanging a load of laundry and got swooped and buzzed by a hummingbird! I put out the feeder a little over a week ago and have only seen one bird feeding so far, but apparently they are around, and at least one of them is quite interested in our laundry!
Also this morning, looked up in the sky and saw one of the Blue Angels! Actually, HEARD it first, then saw it. There’s going to be a show this weekend originating out of the Tuscaloosa Airport, and we’re close enough that any time something happens at the airport, we hear it and see it. Two years ago there was a show, and our driveway provided an excellent view. Only saw one plane this morning, but there will be lots this weekend. Looking forward to it. Just hope to avoid the sunburn, if possible.
I took this picture at a restaurant recently, because the message baffled me. Apparently the top part says, in Spanish, that Spanish menus are available upon request. Then the next section repeats that information in English.
Here’s my issue: if you need a Spanish menu, then you already got the message…in Spanish. You don’t need the English equivalent. And if you don’t speak Spanish, then you don’t need to be told, in English, that that they have Spanish menus.
Basically, there is no reason to say “Spanish menus available upon request”….IN ENGLISH.
Tonight we watched Thor, which I think is the best of the bunch. This movie is so visually beautiful, and so epic! The scenes in Asgard, in particular, are almost Shakespearian. I can’t wait to write all about it more fully in my movie review. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I wish I had the energy to stay up all night, but right now it’s getting late now, and time for bed!
It always smells so fresh when you bring it in! The only thing we’re not drying on the line is the bed sheets. Towels are okay if they’re a little rough, it makes them more absorbent. And the clothes are fine. But we still want the sheets to feel soft and silky.
Also this morning, looked up in the sky and saw one of the Blue Angels! Actually, HEARD it first, then saw it. There’s going to be a show this weekend originating out of the Tuscaloosa Airport, and we’re close enough that any time something happens at the airport, we hear it and see it. Two years ago there was a show, and our driveway provided an excellent view. Only saw one plane this morning, but there will be lots this weekend. Looking forward to it. Just hope to avoid the sunburn, if possible.
