Category Archives: Driving

Day 110: The Tale of Two Exercises

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It’s been a pretty tiring day, but the lack of homework makes it okay. (The lack of homework actually means the lack of doing any.)

Breakfast: I was going to play basketball at noon so I bulked up with some peanut butter and waffles. It’s such a great breakfast before any kind of exercise. Hooray for 8 points.

Exercise: Basketball was great. It was a heckuva lot better than the last time we played when it was 20 degrees outside. We played 4 on 4 half court and I made a few decent shots. Overall, basketball is a lot easier than it use to be (a lot less wheezing and begging for death.) That was 13 exercise points.

Lunch: After bball, my friend Kyle wanted me to try his favorite salad at Chick-Fil-A really bad so we picked up Megan and went over there (I’ve never seen a guy so ecstatic about a salad.) We all had the Chicken Tender Salad and I went with Fat Free Honey Mustard. The salad definitely lived up to the hype. It was 15 points so a little high but really filling.

Exercise Round 2: Megan really wanted to go for a run but I was pretty tired. I went anyways :). We decided to start up Couch to 5K since there is a 5K at Disney during ESPN The Weekend that’s 8 weeks away that I really want to do. The first workout wasn’t too bad (and would have been a piece of cake if I hadn’t had played basketball earlier in the day.) I’m really excited to see how it affects my time. We’ll see how it goes. Anyways, I went 2.2 miles and burned 4 exercise points.

 

Dinner: We had chili and watched the Seahawks defy the odds and whip up on the Saints. It was fantastic and 8 points. A lot of food for not a lot of points.

So I had another good food day in my effort to finally get down below 300. (I’m so close!!!!) Anyways, I got to 31 points and with the exercise points I was well under. Other than my snafu on Thursday, it’s been a pretty good week. I’ll definitely have to keep it up! Before I go, I just want to give a shout out to my Parents and my Sister who tore up their 5k today! My parents shaved off more than 10 minutes on their times from the Turkey Trot and my Dad even won a prize for his age category! I’m so proud of y’all!!!!

Weigh in on Sunday. Bring it. See ya tomorrow

Day 88: The Tale of the Anytime Fitness Shaman and Our Quest to Abilene

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So I am a day behind in the posting and for that I apologize.

Yesterday morning, we went and worked out again with my folks at Anytime Fitness (which I am falling in love with.) There were only about 4 or 5 of us in there and 1 of them was this older Pakistani man who was just minding his own business and doing his thing. Then, I got on to the machine next to me and he just started to randomly talking to me. I guess since I still look like I am pretty out of shape (because… I am) he starts going Tony Robbins on me. “A few months ago I went to the doctor and my blood sugar was at 350 and he told me that I could go home and die or start working out” he said. “You have to get off the chair, stop watching tv and come here and work out. You have to do these things. I work out here 4-5 hours a day because I am 75 years old and retired so I have nothing else to do.” (This exchange went on for about 10 minutes and then my dad and Megan came over and he repeated this whole diatribe.) Usually I’m not a big fan of people telling me that I need to lose weight. It just really gets under my skin (like the time in high school when I delivered perscriptions to older people and the first thing this women said to me was “You need to go on a diet kid”) but this man was pretty inspirational. I can only imagine how easy it would be at 75 to just say “I’ve had a good run” and just eat what you want and let nature take his course, but this guy is being proactive and doing something about his life! It was quite the way to start my morning.

Breakfast: 2 eggs and 2 1/2 pieces of bacon 6.5 points

Lunch: After breakfast, Megan and I made our way to Abilene where we went to undergrad and where I had lived when I was very young. It felt weird to go back even though it had only been 5 months since we had left. Anyways, I called up a few people from my old job at Zachry Associates, an ad agency in Abilene, and we went to lunch at Abuelos (which is one of the best non-whole-in-the-wall mexican joints you will ever go to.) It was great to see everyone again. It was really hard not to get my old favorite meal which was a shredded beef burrito covered in queso with beans and these refried mashed potatoes. Instead, I got the tortilla soup (which was awesome) and salad which had shredded chicken, queso (which I got on the side) and beans. It was a really good lunch and I didn’t feel weighed down like I usually do after eating there. They don’t have their nutritional info online (#socialresponsibilityfail) so we had to do some invsetigating on this one. We figured out that it was about 12 points which wasn’t bad. Thanks to Christi (of the awesome blog The Frugal Novice) for the sick action shot.

Dinner: So after running a few errands, visiting old haunts, and finding out I got accepted as a full time graduate student at FSU (oh.. did I forget to mention that? :)) we went to dinner at Jason’s Deli with a lot of our college friends. We just made a Facebook event and invited everyone we could think of and it was a blast! If you haven’t been to Jason’s, they have a killer salad bar that could even make the Hamburgelur a vegetarian. (Jason of Jason’s Deli, if you are reading this, please come to Tallahassee!!!!!!) Anyways, I made an amazing salad with lettuce, baby spinach, broccoli, bell peppers, sunflower seeds, artichoke hearts, other awesome stuff, and low fat ranch. Oh yeah, and this red pepper hummus which made me cry it was so delicious. Dinner was about 10 points. Sadly, we thought about taking an action shot after some people had left (sorry: Greg, Whitney, Sean and Amy!) Thanks: (starting front to back Martin, Shannon, Melanie, Cole (the one who looks like Jesus,) Kyle, Jeff (who thought of taking the picture,) Steph (of Rufus vs. The Farm) and last but certainly not least Evan (ya nasty!) Megan was a good sport and took the pic. It was so great to see all of our friends and it’s even better when the conversation just picks back up when you left. It’s good to have friends.

On the way home (we left Abilene around 8:30) we stopped in the big city of Hico and grabbed some Dublin Dr. Pepper which is made in Dublin, TX where Dr. Pepper was born (they still have this awesome bottling plant downtown) and is made with pure cane sugar. I don’t usually drink regular soda, but I had to have just 1. For a 12 oz can it was 3 points and it was very sugary but delicious. (To put some things in context, I used to get a 44 oz fountain Dublin DP every time I went home and came back to Abilene. That’s like 11 points a soda twice in a weekend. How I was not  diabetic I will never know. Anyways, on Thursday I got to about 31.5 points but I had exercise points so overall it was a great day. See ya tomorrow… or…. something.

Day 48

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Watching Silence of the Lambs right now. Such an awesome movie. So many awkward direct-on shots. Imagine if the Coen Brothers would have directed it. Have you seen the trailer for the Coen Brothers True Grit remake? SO STOKED!!! I didn’t bring up Silence of the Lambs because I ate someone’s liver fava beans and a nice Chianti [insert weird sucking noise here] I just think everyone should see it at least once (maybe on TV.)

 

Breakfast: I had a group project meeting in the library this morning so I went up early and hit up the Starbucks in the library. (I think I am developing an addiction.) I had my Venti Iced Chai Latte (6 points) but there wasn’t enough ice  in it so it was lukewarm the whole time. We bought these Cascadain Farms chewy granola bars since they were BOGO at Publix so I brought one to thwart the temptation of a pastry. The Chocolate Mocha Almond ones are only 2 points but I quit eating it in like 2 bites. I was feeling it and it was a weird consistency.

 

 

 

Lunch: Megan got a text message from Pita Pit for a but one get one for a buck so us, being the frugal frankies that we are, we went there. I tried the Chicken Crave with: spinach, cucumber, onions, and hot mustard. It was really good, but the service is always mediocre which puts a bad taste in my mouth. Anyways the Pita was 9 points which was good for how filling it was.

 

 

 

Exercise: Got back to the Wednesday routine of playing Matt in racquetball. How did it go you ask? Let’s just say he read my goal list. The first two games I was doing well and then I got dominated. It was a blast and 16 exercise points of awesomeness. Matt: this is not over yet!

 

Dinner: We bought some Morning Star Veggie Tomato and Basil Pizza burgers to try something new and to have a easy-to-make dinner around. I’m not really sure how to describe how they taste (think pizza rolls in patty form with no meat) but they were great and really hit the spot. Two burgers with buns were only 8 points and I had a 6 point serving of tortilla chips. Also, Megan thinks that these patties would be good as a substitute for chicken parmigiana. We will definitely have to try that soon. (Has anyone ever tried that?)

 

 

After dinner, I wasn’t feeling well, so I had a 1 point orange, took a bath and drank a lot of water. During Modern Family, I think my continuous laughter kicked whatever was going on. I think it also helped that I had half of a waffle which (4 points.) Between the running and racquetballing, I really need to get my water intake up and probably avoid soda. Does that sound about right?

So anyways, I’m at 34 points and with the exercise points I’m doing alright. With all this Fall weather, I think it’s time to break out the teapot. I love fall. Oh yeah, this morning, when it was a mere 61 degrees, I saw a guy in a hard shell North Face jacket like he was about to go climb Everest or something. Hooray for overkill. Silly Floridians. See ya tomorrow.

Day 35!

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Fogyás sziklák!

So my Rangers didn’t clinch their trip to the World Series last night, but this way they’ll clinch it in Arlington instead in front of those lame Yankee fans.

Anywho, so this morning I was going to wear this old gray cardigan that I haven’t worn since last winter, but it was too big! Like really too big! And then I tried on this other shirt and it was really loose too! (So this is what happens when you lose weight!) Granted, they were XXXL (I generally wear XXL but some things I had to buy certain things a little bigger) but getting out of the XXXL ranks is a win within itself. I’m pretty stoked. Also, my pants are getting looser, but it will still be a little while before I go down a pant size. So not too bad of a morning.

Breakfast: This morning we went to Starbucks before class. I ordered my new found favorite Iced Nonfat Chai Tea Latte (4 points.) When I went up there to get it, I noticed a ridiculous amount of caramel in it so I asked the guy about it and he said “You wanted a Caramel Macchiato right?” So he made my real drink and gave me the other one (score.) The Macchiato was also 4 points but I drank a quarter of it so pretty much 1 point. Then I went home and had waffles which were 3 points.

Lunch: I just warmed up the Campbells Chicken and Sausage gumbo which, if you haven’t tried, is awesome. The can of it is 5 points. I also had a 1 point orange. (I don’t know why I keep changing the color to orange. Maybe because it looks Halloweenish.)

Dinner: We went on our Chick-Fil-A college night date and after this week, a little greasy comfort food sounded so good! We usually split fries but we were both so hungry so we got our own fries. Big mistake. Medium fries were 9 points. Ouch. The nuggets were 6 points and the sauces were 2 points. It was a high point dinner and frankly my 3 points of chili last night more filling which is depressing.

Snack: Megan and I made some 94% ff kettle popcorn while watching The Office. I ate about 3 points worth.

So today I came out to 34 points so 1 point in to the flex points isn’t too bad. See ya tomorrow.

OH YEAH: I almost forgot! I need an costume idea for a Halloween costume for a Halloween party on Saturday. Any suggestions? The best idea will get a shout out in Sunday’s post. GO!

Day 17 Weigh in Day!!!!

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Eläköön punnita päivä!

(That’s “Hooray for Weigh in Day!” in Finnish)

I can’t believe it’s been 17 days since this blog started. So far, it’s been awesome thanks to you dear reader (give yourself a pat on the back.) Well as you recall from yesterday, I was cautiously optimistic about the results from Señor Scale. This morning when I got on the scale, I was still pretty nervous, but then I knew it was going to be good when Megan was like “Oh Snap!” I lost 3.8 pounds this week! I was so happy! It’s awesome because it felt like I was cheating with how well we ate this week lol. I know that working out really helped too but even that felt like cheating because I was doing activities with friends. Megan lost 1.8 pounds and I’m so stoked for her because she’s back down to her weight from when we were working out a ton in March! Good times!

Breakfast: So how do you celebrate a successful weigh in? Bacon and eggs of course! (I don’t think I ever ate this much bacon when I wasn’t dieting.) I had 2 eggs over medium for 4 points and 3 slices of bacon for 2 points. I was awesome. I do miss not having toast, but I’d rather have the points for later.

Lunch: We had planned on just eating leftovers at home, but we decided to look around town for something healthy (which has been an issue wherever we have lived.) We decided to go to Olive Garden to just do soup, salad and bread sticks. That always seems like a good idea on the way there, but then you look at the menu and everything else sounds so much better than just salad (even though their salad is amazing!) Anywho, as we were looking at the menu, we saw that Olive Garden has their nutritional information available upon request so we asked for it and they brought out a pamphlet. Also, their menus have a symbol that indicates their lighter meals. After some investigating, we decided on splitting the Shrimp Primavera which is one of my favorite dishes anyway. Instead of salad (which isn’t bad points wise without the dressing, but the dressing is the best part!) I got the Zuppa Toscana which was 3 points. Instead of eating like 5 bread sticks, I just broke one (3 points a bread stick, yep they are that bad but that delicious) in half and ate it with the soup and then with the Shrimp Primavera. Anyways when they brought out our entree they had already split it in half for us! It was awesome because it’s hard to evenly split an entree yourself (and frankly you’re sad/angry the whole time you are splitting it) so it’s nice to have them accommodate to their customers who are trying to be health conscious. I think another thing about having them split it is that I didn’t miss that other half at all. We have become so conditioned to eat what is in front of us that if even half of it isn’t visible, we don’t miss it. So our servings of the Shrimp Primavera was only 5 points! Even though the service was okay, I was really impressed with Olive Garden and it was exciting to find another place that we could go to and not have to worry about getting killed with points. Oh yeah, their Andes mints are 1 point. SO WORTH IT!!!! (Next time I blog about Olive Garden, remind me to tell you about the time my Uncle Ken accidentally burned my arm with candle wax at an Olive Garden when I was 5. Actually, that’s all there is to that story so nevermind.)

Dinner: Well, you can never fight off leftovers no matter how hard you try, but it’s okay because chili is my favorite leftovers except for maybe pizza. I had 2 cups of chili for 5 points and 9 chips for 3 points. That is the best 8 point dinner in the universe.

So today I’ve eaten a total of 26 points so I’ll eat something a little later when I’m working on a paper (but I promise it will be healthy!)

Goal Time! So yesterday I mentioned that I have planned on a goal for my weight loss. I think setting goals are a good way to give yourself some direction especially with weight loss. Every time I’ve set pretty much unattainable (unless I was on Biggest Loser) goals for myself, and I know the one I have in mind might even be pretty lofty, but this journey needs a finish line. So here it is: I want to lose 100 pounds before I graduate from grad school in May 2012. I have figured it out and that’s 83 weeks from today. In order to do that, I have to lose 1.2 pounds per week from here on in to achieve this goal. I know this is not going to be a cake walk (or since I’m dieting: a low fat ice cream walk) but I know that this is going to be the best way to get rid of my fat once and for all. I also want to prove to people that you can successfully lose a significant amount of weight without having to go on Biggest Loser, I want to prove that you control your own destiny (and density.) I’m excited for the challenges that lay ahead, because I know that the reward will be great not only for me, but for my wife, my family, and for my future children. However, most of all I’m doing this for the glory of God as it says to in 1 Corinthians “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” So here’s what I need from you: please pray for me for patience and discipline during this journey. If I look down (or hungry,) just give me a thumbs up and if you need someone to exercise with, give me a call and we will figure something out. Thanks again for reading and the encouragements you have already sent my way.  See ya tomorrow.

Dr. Baddriving: How I Learned to Hate the Two Lane Turn

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Abilene drivers… suck. I guess I could just call it good right there, but I love the sound of my voice in my head.

Before I really get in to it, when I suggested this blog idea to some of my friends, one of them said “College Station drivers are the worst.” Although I would have to agree that Dallas drivers are terrible, Houston drivers are terrible, Austin drivers are terrible and San Antonio drivers are terrible; Abilene has there own special breed of illiterate motorists. The healthy mix of octogenarians and college students who just got their freedom is like combining vinegar and hydrogen peroxide with the same result: a nasty accident that pisses off you mother.

To me Abilene, for a town that is definitely in favor of creationism, needs to realize that they have Social Darwinism at work on the Winters Freeway. You have these younger drivers that are so bored with Abilene, they feel the need to re-create scenes of The Fast and The Furious amongst the gargantuan F-350s. I have sad news for you townie: it wasn’t cool when Vin Diesel did it and just because you put a Nos sticker on your ’94 Taurus doesn’t magically give it extra juice. You also have people in their Lincoln Towncars that are so closed minded that they are even against the invention of the turn signal so they just weave in and out of traffic, scaring the tar out of anyone within 5 car links around them.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love people of all age demographics in Abilene, however sometimes you just wonder where they learned some of these unwritten rules of driving. (The Driving Code of the Prairie perhaps?) Like I’ll be going down the street and I go through a green light which, last time I checked, was still kosher according the to the National Transportation Safety Board; but sometimes there are people who slow down at a green light. WHY!!!!!! Even if it turns yellow, you will still have enough time to get through it. I’ve never seen a cop pull someone for running a yellow (come to think of it, I haven’t seen anyone pulled for running a red. Knock on wood.)

You also have people, when stopped at a red light, sit and wait a good 10-15 seconds to actually go when it turns green. Didn’t everyone play red light/green light when they were kids? Green means go and red means stop. I guess when we played that when we were little we weren’t on our iPhones or yelling at the kids behind us, well if you had Turrets as a child the latter applies to you. But anyways, if your general driving reaction time is 10-15 seconds then I don’t want to be behind you because if I have to make a sudden stop then you would be 10-15 seconds up my bumper.

At this point you are probably thinking that I couldn’t gripe anymore about traffic, but if you have ever been in my car you know that I’m not even close to being done. Heck, I haven’t even covered the two lane turn yet. One other thing is the turning lane, especially on Judge Ely Blvd. It’s really used on Ely because of Sonic so when it’s Happy Hour, the idiots come out of the woodwork. One time I was driving down Ely and I went to turn into the designated turning lane like a good driver and all of the sudden a white car comes blitzin’ from behind, nearly demolishing my then new car. Abilene, I hate to tell you that you’re not hip enough to have a H.O.V. lane. This isn’t Dallas for crying out loud. That’s not what it’s there for.

When I lived Abilene when I was in elementary, I have some great memories and some bad memories; but the dominating memory is listening to my Dad complain about people who made two lane turns. I used to think that he must have been overreacting but during that first week of college when I almost got T-Boned via a two lane turn, I knew it was no hyperbole. It seems like people know when you don’t want them to two lane turn like if you are going down the road and they turn correctly right in front of you and insist on going 15 instead of the posted 40. They will correctly turn then of course but if you are there are two turning lanes lanes and you are in the right and they are in the left, they will feel the need to try to cut you off. Make up your minds people! This is you opportunity to be a good driver simply by turning correctly. To quote Captain Planet “The power is yours!” but like pollution, we have the power but still dump toxic waste into lakes.

I know that people probably think that I have been too harsh on Abilene drivers, but the fact of the matter is that this is a challenge for them to not suck as much at driving. Recently, the City of Abilene made a challenge to their drivers called “No Wreck Wednesday.” It lasted a total of 6 hours when a lady flipped her Explorer in an one car accident that morning. For a town this size it’s pretty sad how many accidents there are. I’m sure the way some of these people drive was acceptable in the ’70s when every car had as much metal as a tank. I’m sure back then driving in Abilene was like one big demolition derby. Unfortunately, with the invention of the SUV, the cellphone and the Soccer Mom, driving in Abilene has never been more hazardous. I’m sure the high rate of DWI’s in Taylor county hasn’t helped but that’s beside the point. So when you go out for your Saturday stroll, play some defense while your driving and for the love of all things holy don’t read this on your iPhone while you’re driving. That would be too ironic.