Project 365, Week 5

A few of my pictures this week are food-oriented since I am starting to eat again and still testing out new and different stuff that I've never eaten before or was convinced I didn't like (cauliflower!  I like cauliflower!  AAAAACKKKKK!!!)

Celeriac (celery root) salad with red onions, shredded romaine, arugula and a lemon juice/olive oil dressing.  Celeriac - knobby looking thing kind of like a deformed jicama.  Not bad. Definitely needs something to dress it up.  It is the tofu of the vegetable world.

For the past two weeks, I have been able to add protein to my lunch.  Meat!  The Spousal Unit deemed this "quite the salad".  Two cups of veg, basil, mint, cilantro and six ounces of flat iron steak!  Ah, chewing.  How I have missed thee.

In regards to a particular co-worker...

My oldest granddaughter, Rylie, wearing the ballerina princess outfit we got her for Christmas.  Her expression is exactly the one her mom would have at that age.

Breakfast!  I am now in Phase 3 which means I get to eat breakfast again.  It's a specific type of breakfast with a certain amount of carbs or calories in the protein, grain, dairy and fruit categories that I need to hit every morning.  I have to eat it all at one sitting.  If I can't finish it, I need to throw the rest away.  Today's breakfast was four egg whites, one apple, four ounces quinoa with one Splenda and 8 oz almond milk.  Couldn't finish it all and had to throw some of the apple away.

So there you have it.  I hope those of you that are watching the Superbowl for the games or commercials have a good time :).

Project 365: Week 2

It has been a good week which as all last weeks before the start of a new semester should be :).  All the work of the weekend (grocery shopping, etc) has been done and I can now dedicate the rest of the weekend to sloth!  Yay, sloth!  And now?  Pictures:


My favorite munchkins next to my granddaughters sent me a new picture of themselves:

Not pictured is their big brother but I have known all three of these guys since they were hanging out in a nine months, rental free state :).  I miss them.


Obligatory Cat Photo.  We had a printer box in the corner of the office for a few weeks and the cats loved it.  They slept in it, slept on top of it, rolled around on the plastic bag the printer was in...and then we were horribly mean people and threw it out.  Now they comfort themselves with the memory of better times:

Food note:  I like edamame!  Who knew?  Going to try roasting them later this week:

Best machine ever!  I love not having to tromp to the campus Sbux in the morning for a cup of burned tasting coffee.  And I get to choose different flavors too:

The new semester starts on Monday.  On the good side?  I'm on the downhill slope to finishing my Master's with an expected graduation this fall.  On the downside:  this is the size of print for one of my texts this semester...and there's no pictures:

Post New Year's Goals Post/P365 - Week 1 (sort of)

Progress!  In keeping with my previous New Year's Goals post, I have cleaned out my closet of clothes that just don't fit/I haven't worn in forever and I've also cleaned every room of this apartment minus the master bathroom (which will hopefully happen this weekend).

I also took four pairs of pants (I have more but I'm going to have to do this piecemeal) down to the tailor to be taken in.  That was an experience.  I put them on and literally had to hold them up so they wouldn't just drop down to my ankles while I was playing mannequin on the tailor's stand.  There were pins everywhere!  On my hips, down the legs, in the posterior...which made it really fun to try to take each pair off when the time came :).  Hopefully, I can get one or two pairs down each payday and get them taken care of.  All the pants are Lane Bryant and they are of very good quality.  Since there is a decent delta between getting them altered versus buying new ones, I'd much rather get them altered and continue to be able to use them!

I've also been trying to keep a small visual "diary" re: the weight loss thing.  Since I am close to reaching my goal, I'm now going to bore you all with pictures.  Actually, they are behind the cut so you can choose to be bored or not :).

Project 365 - Week 47

Have a few pictures from this week:

Not sure if this was a personal commentary re: her owner or just a candid shot...

This was a personal commentary.  Whenever I sit down in my chair, one or both of the cats jump up with this look in their eye that says, "Make the lap!".  When I don't (because my lap is full of knitting, for example), they get bent out of shape.

Not the Tax Time Pig but I saw it when walking to Burge's with one of my knitting friends on a break so I thought I would take a pic.

Project 365: Week 46

 

Well, it's been about three weeks since I last managed to post any pictures.  Had a lot going on schoolwise, healthwise, jobwise, marriagewise...actually it's been so "wise" around here that I'd really like to crawl under a rock!  More on that in another post should my brain decide it wants to come back online...

Here are some pictures:

On the good side, the diet has continued to work.  I hit 40 pounds gone this week (20 more to go).  In the interest of trying new things, this is tonight's vegetable of choice:

I am attempting to roast (and eat!) Brussels sprouts.  I have never had them before and seriously Googled "how do Brussels sprouts taste?".  Who knows?  Roasted Brussels sprouts could be my new best friend or they may be a disaster.  Tune in and find out!

Something that I know *has* to taste worse than Brussels sprouts ever could:

Yuck!  How may years has this stuff been around?  And why has no one ever thought to make it taste any better??  I have something trying to gain a foothold and I can't afford to miss work or class so I have been downing this stuff along with a steroid shot from my doc and a Z-pak.  All hail medicinal chemistry!!

Finally, I have new (smaller size!) sleep pants.  The SU bought them.  Think he was trying to make a commentary?

Update:  Roasted Brussels sprouts are...actually pretty good!

Project 365: Week 43

I only have one picture this week and it's a repeat of last week:



Yup.  We ended up here AGAIN.  He was resting over the weekend, played in church Sunday against my better judgment, and then kept telling me how tired he was on the ride home.  He called me at work on Monday and told me he was having the same symptoms again and we needed to go to the ER.  So I took him there, he was re-admitted and had another stent put in on Tuesday.  This makes six in all (collect the set!).  He is back home and resting again.  Had one bad low blood pressure episode where he literally FELL ON HIS FACE but he seems to be doing much better now.  Ever seen a 275 lb man drop like a stone?  That'll get your heart rate going...

(He had the first two stents in 2000 and 2002 on our anniversary.  Now, it's my birthday.  I gave him the hairy eyeball and told him if there was a message in there, I'd really just prefer if he said it rather than trying to make me guess through charades :P.  Seriously, dude, let me teach you how to knit or something instead, okay?)

Now that we are hopefully past the medical version of Groundhog Day, I'm back at work and concentrating on school assignments.  I will hopefully be able to take more pictures and, you know, COMMENT on other people's pics since y'all have been kind enough to comment on mine.  Ah, normality (or as close as I can get)!  How I crave thee!

Oh...and proof that Munchkin is still alive despite dropping the SU's Bluetooth into the kitty water bowl last week:

Project 365 - Week 42

Well, I was going to post last week but the Cyber Hermit household had a bit of an emergency so I am posting more of a highlights reel:

Background:  one of the instructors where the SU works knows the bass player for Journey.  The SU let him and several of the crew come in and fly the simulators last Monday.  As a thank you, we got tickets and backstage meet and greet passes for the Journey/Pat Benatar/Loverboy concert.  The seats were very good - 5 rows up from the stage.

Loverboy was the opening act and, wow, they suck.  You know if a band is doing their big song 30 minutes after they hit the stage that there is a reason they are the opening act.  If any of y'all remember Mike Reno, he still wears the stupid bandanna on his head.  He also has gained some weight and came out wearing something that I *swear* was jeggings.  The whole half-hour was like watching Spinal Tap: The Live Show! The only thing they needed was a "Hello, Cleveland!"  At the end of their set, Reno dramatically whipped off his bandanna, *wrung out the sweat* and then tossed into the audience.  Ewwwwwwww...

Pat Benatar can still sing like nobody's business.  Unlike Loverboy and their "never met an 80's cliche I didn't like" ethos, she has aged very gracefully but still puts on a great show.  She did a lot of her big hits and also tossed in some others such as an interesting rendition of "Ring of Fire" which I liked a lot.  Her husband and guitar player is extremely talented and has a wonderful sense of what is just right for a song.  Unlike...

Neal Schon - also known as Captain Meedley  Holy crap, that guy never met an overdone guitar solo he didn't like and he had a lot of them.  The guy who took over from Steve Perry (Arnel Pineda) is very good.  Close your eyes and you'd think it was Steve Perry.  But, man, the dude is snack-size!  Seriously, if he tops out much over five feet, I'd be surprised.  He's got a lot of energy, though, and really works the crowd.  It was fun to watch him.

So that was the good in our week.



This was the not-so-good (and how sad is it that I found this pic under a website of things to do in my town!).  The Spousal Unit looked at me Saturday night and said, "I think we need to go to the hospital."  Long story short, the man had new blockages that were about eighty percent closed and added three shiny new stents to his previous collection of two.  Way to be an overachiever, hon! :P

He is home and has been resting since Tuesday.  He's supposed to go back to work on Monday but has cautioned people he is not feeling like he can just jump in and arm wrestle the government the way he usually does.  (I've told him to tell people I will hurt them if they try to push him.  Grrr...).

Small notes:  diet is still going well.  I'm just shy of 30 pounds down as of Friday.  The only bummer is that I seem to be having some weird acne issues that I haven't had in a long time.  Bleah.  I have some stuff from the doctor that I am hoping will clear it up.  I did also get to buy some new clothes (the SU's birthday present to me) which I hope to post some pictures of soon.  I have gone from 18/20 or 20/22 to 16's and 14/16.  So, yay me :).

Now, back to writing the draft of my policy paper...

Oh, wait!

Cat!  Sleeping cat!  Snoring cat!  Soon-to-be-dead cat because:

Can't tell what this is?  Move in a little closer:

It's the Spousal Unit's bluetooth headset that he has been searching for - and now playing the part of a submarine at the bottom of the cats' water bowl.  Yeah...someone is a dead cat.

Project 365 - Week 40

Well, unfortunately, I only have one day's worth of pictures this week.  However, when you look at them, you may understand why:

As part of my new and improved job duties, I am now the proud owner of 250 advisees with more to follow in the future.  Between *that*, the blast e-mail that went out telling all these folk to contact me to set up advising appointments, trying to write a comprehensive (and *good*) analytical essay on the failing economy of Detroit, and now working on a lit review and a policy paper, I think I'm pretty lucky I've remembered my name by today!

(and I didn't get any chance to knit, either!  Suuuuuuuck!)

Project 365: Week 38

Thank you to everyone who commented on the pictures or said it was nice to see me again :).  Getting comments in my inbox really helps alleviate the work/school mix I find myself in (I still say it's a circle of Hell that Dante didn't write about...). 

So, this week I have some more pictures:

Monday

The hallway I wish I was walking down since it leads to the parking lot and my car.  Alas, it was a school night.

Tuesday

Because what I need is a *new* knitting project.  This is a cowl being knitted in the round.  I think the yarn is something like Heritage Silk?  (Have to check my Ravelry account).

This, believe it or not, is my jury summons (first one I've ever gotten in my life).  It was so mangled and torn that I couldn't even tell when I was supposed to report - hence the multiple pictures I took in case I'd already missed my date!  The clerk at the court was most helpful...after she stopped laughing.

Wednesday

On this diet, I get no dairy so...*sniff*...no more lattes.  They did tell me, however, I can use a minimal amount of sugar-free syrups which is great since I'm not too much of a fan of just black coffee.  Note my new best friends :).

Thursday

The evening's vegetable selection waiting to be roasted in the oven:  mushroom, bell pepper, asparagus tips and Anaheim chile pepper.

Friday

OK...these are some before and after shots (well, during, since I'm not done yet).  I had taken some pictures of myself in the gym previously while at my heaviest and thought I would take more pics wearing the same clothes to see if I noticed a change.  As of this day, after a month on this diet, I weigh 17.5 pounds less than I did.

Before:

During:

And there you have it.  Please excuse the hair.  I just run a brush through it before I head down to the gym so the "Yeah, I slept on it" hills and valleys are still present :).

Project 365: Week 37

So, to recap:  not participating as much because...well, I work, I go to school at night to finish my Master's.  I work, I go to school at night to finish my Master's.  I work, I go to school at night to finish my Master's...ad nauseum.  I just can't really find many pictures that would be anything different other than the view from my desk or a page out of a textbook.  And believe you me, I don't want to inflict a tome on tax policy on anyone else!

(Bug, I have your book.  Life has been a little insane.  I will try to get it in the mail this week.  I think I still have the address...)

However, I have a few pics that I thought I would put up and share:

I finished a scarf I was working on and blocked it this week.  It's four colors of yarn and a combination of garter and stockinette stitch.  It was the first time I'd worked on circular needles with two balls of yarn at the same time.  Scarf is almost 6' long.

My youngest granddaughter, Emery.  Way too cute :).

 

I was on my way into Drug Emporium when I saw this license plate and had to take a picture.  I swear, the first voice in my head was Apu from The Simpsons:  "Mr. Simpson, please to not be feeding my god a peanut."

 

 

While waiting to check out in Drug Emporium, I saw this by the register.  The cashier looked at me a little oddly for putting down my purchases and grabbing my phone but, seriously, how could I resist?  It's LIP BALM, people!  Doesn't the name just make you want to grab up a couple?  (please note, they swear at the bottom that chicken poop is not an ingredient....uh huh.)

 

 

 

Otherwise, just trying to work my way through this semester.  The amount of weekly reading for this semester's courses is astonishing.  I'm studying again tomorrow so I can try to maintain being a week ahead.  That means I'm not cramming to finish the reading so I can write the homework memos on the weekend.  Really wanting some time to knit but not getting much.  I have in progress:

 

1.  Dress for Rylie

2.  Cowl

3.  Linen stitch scarf (I *swear* I am going to get that finished)

4.  Hat for Monkey

 

Maybe tomorrow.  I will go study for a few hours, go with the Spousal Unit to take his rental back to Hertz, and hopefully get some time to just sit without having to do anything after that except knit...read...maybe take a nap.  Ohhhhhhh, a nap.

 

The diet progresses.  I have lost 14 pounds in three weeks at last check-in.  And although I have been ordered to not let dairy cross my lips minus the one ounce of milk I can have in coffee (there went my lattes, too. Grrrrr...), I have been given permission to use - within reason (darn!) - sugar free DaVinci syrups.  Yay!  'Cause I hate black coffee. 

 

I'm really not missing much else, though.  The supplements are pretty decent tasting and I haven't had any desire to run screaming through a store and cramming carbs in my mouth like there was no tomorrow.  The only thing I really want is a nice, big bowl of buttered popcorn.  Oh well, maybe in three months or so...

 

Project 365: Week 6

OK...once again, in no particular order:

Lunch.  I was part of a Graduate School fair where we put on our bright shiny faces and answered questions about the programs we run.  They were nice enough to feed us :).

Studying!  I have two projects this semester (one requiring a Powerpoint presentation in addition to the paper itself) so I'm back spending several hours of Saturday and/or Sunday mornings at the local coffee shop as I work to create something out of many stats and journal articles (and try to remember again why I thought this was a good idea!)

Cat picture!  Gracie was lying in the Spousal Unit's chair and watching me knit.  She doesn't ever go for the yarn.  She just seems to like to watch it move.

It was my 20th wedding anniversary this week and the SU sent me flowers.  Since we were being dorks with each other on our iPhones, I was going for an especially cheesy grin.