Fried Chicken vs. Liver and Onions

Last night, Dale and I joined his family visiting from Oregon for dinner at White Fence Farm in Lakewood, CO, which is famous for their family-style fried chicken dinners and country-style sides. For me, this meant one thing – calories.

Although delicious, I knew I could not eat the fried chicken, which believe me was not easy, but it is important I learn to find healthy choices – anywhere. This proved to be an easier test than I expected and I am proud to report, that instead of the fried chicken,  I opted for the low-cal liver and onions, which was delicious. I know most people hate liver and onions, but fortunately they are a favorite of mine, so for me it was more of a treat, since I rarely have liver and onions in restaurants.

I did indulge a bit though and treated myself to 2 of the deep friend corn fritters, but thanks to a very light lunch I was still under my 1,600 calorie goal, even with the fried goodness.

Happy dieting!

The in-laws are coming

Dale’s family from Oregon is coming to visit this weekend and should be arriving soon. Dale’s brother Tom, sister-in-law Wanda, niece Sally and brother Dean are coming to town for Dale’s sister, Donna’s wedding. Dean and Sally are staying with us. It is always nice to ses Dale’s family. I have only met them a few times, since they live in Oregon, so this weekend will be more of a chance to get to know them.

It seems my body is protesting my weight loss

This will definitely not be a record weight loss week for me. It seems even through I am walking and keeping my calorie count at 1,600 daily, my body is refusing to budge. So far this week, I am at the exact same weight as last week. It is a little disappointing, but I need to not let it get to me and stay focused.

In other diet related news, there is some good news (of sorts). I am now hitting that phase where some of my clothes are just too large to wear anymore. I have a few pair of jeans that just look ridiculous on me and I swim in them. That is great, but the hard side is I do not want to buy new clothes until I hit my target weight. It is going to be tough to wait that long.

Galactic Empire State of Mind

Galactic Empire State of Mind

I wonder how this guy does with this sign?

25 pounds down, 20 pounds to go!

I am officially in my fifth week of my diet and I have to say the last four weeks have flown by. They were mostly a blur of cucumbers, lean cuisine meals and walking but they sure went by fast. I am just kidding, the past four weeks have actually been very manageable (surprisingly) and a lot easier than I originally expected when I started this diet. Have there been struggles? Yes. But has it a lot better than expected? Hell, yes!

The best part is after four weeks of dieting and increased activity, I am proud to report that as of today, I have lost 25 pounds and I am more than halfway to my 45 pound weight loss goal.
The last four weeks has taught me a lot about myself, dieting and even other people too:

• I have rarely been hungry on my 1,600 calories per day diet, which tells me I was not over-eating out of hunger but mostly out of boredom and laziness.
• The thinking required to make healthy choices is the most work of any diet. It is a lot easier to eat a bag of chips than make a salad.
• Eating smaller portions of healthy food is more expensive than eating larger portions of junk food, which seems unfair.
• People are amazing. The support from Dale and my friends has truly kept me motivated. My thanks to you all.
• Finding the time to walk remains a constant struggle and probably always will. Life is tough and always busy. However, it is important to realize the walking and exercise are important too.
• The temptations do not stop. I still see a piece of cake and my mind goes crazy. This will probably never stop, so I must learn to eat high quality sweets in smaller portions rather than just high quantities of sweets. I cannot deprive myself, so I need to find this balance.
• Walking has proved be just as good for me mentally as it has been physically. Sometimes the best way to reduce stress is to just walk it away.

There has even been a surprise from this diet I did not expect and that was the number of emails and Facebook messages I received not only from people supporting me, but also several friends, who told me that my own diet success has inspired them to start their own diet. I know how hard it can be to make that decision. I know how hard it is to say out loud for the first time that either “I am fat” or even worse, “I am obese.”  Making the decision to change your life and stop making or accepting excuses is very hard. Knowing that I helped others see that they could make a change was truly something I did not expect. It warms my heart to know I have helped others and only makes me push harder. I know that if I could lose 25 pounds then anyone can.


I like the fact that I am not trying to lose the weight with some expensive, gimmick diet, but rather just by decreasing my calories and increasing my activity – nothing more, nothing less. It is just simple math and it is proving to be successful. I think so many people want that quick, easy fix and success can only come by tracking what you are eating, understanding what that food does to your body and then trying to make better choices.
I am also proud to say that for the first time in my life, I know that I will meet my weight loss goal. It is not an “if”, but a “when”. That is a very nice feeling as I know my goal is achievable.

Happy dieting!

National Velvet

Last week, I was walking in Denver, near the pedestrian bridge over I-25 and came across  this sculpture. It is called National Velvet, which seemed odd to me as it looks to be a huge pile of red-colored sausages.
The odd part to me was National Velvet was the name of the horse in that Elizabeth Taylor 1944 movie of the same name. Maybe this is what became of National Velvet once filming was done. I guess you are a movie star one day and a pile of sausage the next.

No matter what it is supposed to represent, the sculpture is very striking as the red stands out and it is my understanding the sculpture even lights up at night and all the red portions glow. I hope to one day get to check it out at night.

Who says construction sites cannot be pretty?

I was walking in downtown Denver last week, near Union Station and came across a construction site that took an interesting spin on trying to make their construction fence look a little less unattractive. I love what they came up with. Who would ever think to use yarn. The entire length of fence is all woven with yarn to look like flowers, birds and clouds. Fun.

Painted Sky

I snapped this with my iPhone Friday night on my way home from dinner. The sky was so incredible that evening. It was as if the sky was painted and almost not real. Incredible.

Udi’s Pizza Cafe & Bar in Olde Town Arvada

Last night, Dale and I joined our friends Sam and Anjanette in Olde Town Arvada for dinner at Udi’s Pizza Cafe & Bar. I have to say, I was very impressed. The pizza was incredible. We had the  margherita pizza with mozzarella and basil. It was yum, yum, yummy. Plus, since it was thin crust and smaller pieces, it worked much better with my diet. I would probably rate their pizza as the best I have had in Colorado. It was light and fresh. Dale had a burger and fries, which he also enjoyed.

I took the bus from downtown Denver to Olde Town Arvada to meet everyone, so since I was a little early I wondered around a bit and snapped this photo of the water tower. It looked beautiful against the sky.

After dinner, we had a real treat and headed to Little Man Ice Cream in Denver for a little snack. I had the kiddie cup of the vanilla chocolate malt ice cream, which was incredible. I stuck to the kiddie cup to stay within my diet and did break my no eating after 7 PM rule, but I believe you have to still enjoy life and it is okay to break my rules on occasion.

Our harvest

On Wednesday, Dale and I picked our first two ripe tomatoes from our plant in the backyard. It was very exciting to enjoy our home grown tomatoes in a salad. As you can see, our tomatoes are impressive.

Well maybe they are not as impressive as I make them seem. Camera zooms can be fairly interesting.

This photo makes my nose itchy

While walking around Standley Lake in Arvada, CO this past weekend, I came across part of the trail covered in these taller weeds. Zoe, my dog of course plowed on through so I did too, but the whole time I kept thinking my allergies are not going to like this. On the way back, I snapped this photo to capture the allergic moment.

A cookie is not just a cookie

You know you are on a diet, when you start to view all food not by calories alone, but by how many minutes of exercise you need to do in order to burn off the food.

For me, my current exercise of choice is walking, so everything is compared to minutes walking.The other day I was in a bakery with Dale and our friends. I wanted to buy a cookie, but I told myself I would need to walk an two extra hours, if I ate that cookie. Based on that, I passed on it and stuck with my diet commitment. I was very proud I resisted the temptation.

I feel so aware of the food I put in my body now and with everything bite, I have an internal debate on whether or not the calories are worth it. Most of the time, the excess calories are not worth the extra exercise.

I feel like I am 16 again!

It is not because of my recent 20 pound weight loss. No, I feel like I am a teenager again because of the pimple that has taken up residence on the side of my nose.




Come on! I am 38 years old for goodness sake. I think it is pretty damn unfair to be dealing with pimples at my age.

It is amazing how a blemish on your face though can race you back to the insecurity of childhood. I have to wonder every time I talk to someone if they are looking at me or my Rhode Island-sized zit. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating and it is not that big, but it sure feels that way. Plus, there is nothing worse than having it planted right on my nose. It is so front and center for the world to see.

The sad part is I rarely had any acne as a teen when everyone else did and to make matters a bit more ironic (Alanis Morrissette ironic, not real ironic) I have barely had any sweets the past 4 weeks. For all those Moms that say that candy bar will make your face break out, I guess the same can be said about cucumbers too.

Maybe I should just wear a bandage and tell people I recently got a nose job.

Standley Lake

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I took these shots of Standley Lake, here in Arvada by my house this past Saturday while hiking. I think with the backdrop of the mountains it is a beautiful space.

Aren't you starving?

I get that question a lot lately since I am in week 4 of a diet, where I am only eating up to 1,600 calories per day. The honest answer is no, I am not starving. I am hungry from time to time, but it is usually around 9 or 10 PM, when I should not be eating anyhow (I have a no eating after 7 PM rule too) and am bored (one of the reasons for my current weight).

You may be thinking that you would die on only 1,600 calories, but it is really not that bad, if you select healthy choices for those calories.




For example, here is what I ate today:

Breakfast - Special K cereal, fat-free milk & a banana.

Morning snacks - yogurt & a granola bar.

Lunch - Lean Cuisine Linguine Carbonara frozen meal.

Afternoon Snack - cucumber slices, snap peas & jello.

Dinner - 3 pieces of Flash-Fried Finger Lickin' Chicken (from Rocco DiSpirito's cookbook Now Eat This!: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories) and broccoli.

Plus, 9 glasses of water throughout the day.

All of this was 1,587 calories and the low-cal chicken that Dale made was only 204 calories per piece. It was delicious. I highly recommend Rocco DiSpirito's cookbook. I am a huge comfort food fan and it was great to discover I did not need to give up comfort foods just because I am on a diet. Dale and I just had to learn how to cook our comfort foods healthier.

I can honestly say this fried chicken recipe tasks as good, if not better than KFC (my apologies to the Colonel). It was recently featured on the Rachel Ray Show and Good Morning America. Here is the link, http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/rocco-dispiritos-flash-fried-finger-lickin-chicken, in case you are interested.

All it really comes down to for me is making better choices, portion control and eating healthy snacks. I have already lost 19 pounds and I am doing well on the road to my goal of losing 45 pounds.

Now ask whether or not I miss donuts and you will get a very different answer. Yes, I miss them but I also know I do not miss the 19 pounds I worked so hard to lose. But still a man can dream of a day of fat free, zero calorie donuts, right.

Happy dieting!

Week 3 of my diet…thank goodness that is over!

I will not lie, week three of my diet was a lot tougher than the first two weeks. It was partially due to the fact that I had to break my new routine since I travelled three days to Boston for work meetings. Travelling, exercise and diet are never easy, but I did the best I could with the options presented to me and overall I am proud of myself. I still wish I had more opportunity to exercise last week, but I need to focus on the future and beating my week 4 goals. Plus, I still lost 4 pounds and I feel great, so that is nothing to be disappointed in, right?

Here is how I did this past week against my ten individual goals: 

1. Lose at least 2 pounds per week - I lost 4.0 pounds this past week and a total of 19 pounds so far
2. Eat 11,200 calories or less per week (1,600 calories daily) - I ate 10,723 calories last week (averaged 1,531daily); however, I unfortunately had one day where I exceeded the daily goal by 27 calories
3. Control my portions - I think I did an okay job with this, but definitely better the previous two weeks
4. Try to eat smaller meals, more often - I think I did a fair job with this; it was hard to eat lots of smaller meals while in all-day work meetings, but I did try to snack on fruit when I could
5. Limit my fat intake to 392 grams or less per week (56 grams daily) - I had 468 grams of fat last week (averaged 66 grams daily); I had two days where I missed my goal by quite a bit and it was my two travel days
6. Limit my cholesterol intake to 2,100 mg or less per week (300 mg daily) - I had 1,940 mg of cholesterol last week (averaged 277 mg daily)
7. Limit my sodium intake to 17,500 mg or less per week (2,500 mg daily) - I had 20,424 mg of sodium last week (averaged 2,917 mg daily); as you can see with travelling I ate out a lot more than normal, so with eating out came lots of sodium
8. Do not eat after 7 PM – I had food after 7 PM one night due to a work event; I tried to keep it light, but it was still eating later than I prefer
9. Drink 56 glasses of water or more per week (8 glass daily) - I had 71 glasses of water last week (averaged 10 glass daily); the good sign of sitting in meetings all day is you get to drink a lot of water
10. Walk at least 420 minutes per week (60 minutes daily) - I walked 520 minutes last week (averaged 74 minutes daily); however, I had two days where I complete missed my goal and did not walk at all; I tried to make up for it over the weekend though

Looking west

I snapped this from the east side of Standley Lake in Arvada, CO west toward the Flatiron Mountains. I just think it is a great shot between the trees of the lake, mountains and sky. I feel it captures the beauty of Colorado so well.

Zoe and the waves

I took this photo of our dog, Zoe at Standley Lake this past Saturday morning. She has never spent too much time around water and always finds the waves interesting.

Zoe is 1/2 Old English Sheep Dog and 1/2 Chinese Shar-Pei, which I guess makes her an Ol’ Eng-Chin Shar, since everyone likes to abbreviate mix breeds these days. Most people think she looks like an Irish Wolf Hound. Who knew dogs had such ethnicity identity issues, huh? No matter what, she is an incredible dog and will be 7-years old soon. My little baby is growing up so fast.

Free range dog

Yesterday morning, my dog, Zoe and I braved the heat and headed out for a two-hour walk around Standley Lake.  The lake is minutes from the house and has a fair amount of surrounding open space, which is perfect for walking. Most of all, Zoe can go off leash a bit and it is nice to be on trails instead of concrete sidewalks for a change. Zoe does great off leash and loves the opportunity to be a free range dog. She usually only walks a few yards ahead before turning around to make sure I am keeping up. We had a great morning together.

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The 7-year gift

For our 7th year anniversary, Dale and I decided to purchase a gift for each other. We decided to buy a metal sculpture for our yard. The sculpture is rusted metal with 7 intertwined loops and is 7 feet tall. The loops are smaller on the bottom and grow as they reach the top. I think it will be a beautiful addition to a yard and it a great symbol of how our lives have become intertwined these past 7 years.  I snapped a few photos.

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Jamie Cullum at the Denver Botanic Gardens

Last night, Dale and I joined our friends Sam and Anjanette to see Jamie Cullum in concert at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Oer the years, I have seen Chris Isaak, Natalie Cole, Marc Cohen and a few others at the Gardens, but I have to say Jamie Cullum was my favorite to date. He was fun, lively, charming and has a wicked, sexy quality to his jazz music. I did not know a lot of his music and only had a few songs on my iPod, but plan to download a lot more. An excellent show at a stunningly beautiful venue. In case you do not know Jamie, here are some videos to help get you familiar.

The one remaining positive about air travel

There are very few things I like about airplane travel these days. Air travel is by no means the luxurious and relaxing experience it once was, perhaps with the exception of those fortunate enough to travel exclusively in first class, which is not usually me outside the occasional free upgrade.

In economy, the seats are crowded, the baggage space even more crowded and the days of free nuts have come and gone. Even with all those frustrations, there is still one thing the increased security, decreased service and cutbacks have not ruined - the view.

For me, there is nothing as peaceful and special as the view from an airplane window. That little 18 inch by 12 inch square opening still remains a gift. When you look down through the soft, scattered clouds and peak onto a small, unknown town, it feels magical. I know it sounds a bit corny, but I do not know any other way to describe that view or feeling it invokes. It feels like a gift you would think would belong to someone or something outside our world and not an ordinary human, as it feels too special. Again, I know this sounds corny, but it is how it makes me feel.




I sometimes spend hours on a flight looking down on winding rivers, squared-off farm grids, rolling hills, crowded highways, empty country roads, little planned neighborhoods and houses in awe. I wonder who is in the tiny car driving down the road so far below. Or I ponder why someone built a house that seems so isolated from the rest of the world.

Most of all I sit and for a few hours, I am reminded just how small I am and how big our world is. Yet as big as our world is, it oddly feels so connected as one road leads to the next and a creek expands to a stream and again to a river.

I just hope the next airline cutback is not the windows on the plane, as I think the view from an airplane window at 30,000 feet is something everyone needs to experience at least once in their life.

And yes, for those of you wondering, this post was written high in the skies from United Airlines flight 593 in window seat 28A, somewhere between Boston, Massachusetts and Denver, Colorado by a man in love with the sight of the glow of the sunset beaming onto the clouds. It was magical.

Are people really that clueless?

I am flying to Boston this morning for a work meeting. The woman in front of me at airport security was stopped and asked to open her bag because they suspected she had not removed her liquids. Of course, she claimed she did not know she had to remove her liquids.

Has she not flown in the past 10 years? Has she not read a newspaper? Has she not watched the news? Did she miss the 10 signs while waiting in the line? I can only assume she has been in a coma for 10 years, woke up yesterday and decided to hop a flight somewhere to catch up with long lost friends and celebrate her new found consciousness.

But it gets better. Not only did she not take out her liquids but when they opened her bag it was full of a ton of liquids over the required size. Her two cans of hairspray were giant. She had full-sized shampoos, gels, body lotion and even two bottles of water. The TSA Agent explained the rule and told the woman she would either need to throw away the over-sized liquids or go back to ticketing to check her bag. Her response was of course that of shock and frustration. She asked how was she expected to go on vacation for a week and NOT have hairspray. The TSA Agent explained she could bring hairspray but it had to be less than 3.5 ounces. The woman then countered how she uses that much hairspray a day. From looking at her big hair, I personally think that was a low estimate.

Again, more back and forth on checking in bags versus not, which lead to the woman explaining how they now charge to check bags. Apparently when she came out of the coma she learned the airlines now charge for baggage but missed the memo on liquids. Finally, they took the woman and the bag aside, so I could get my shoes, laptop and suitcase that she was blocking along with the whole damn line.

So the bad news is I expect a lot of frizzy hair in her future since I saw her tossing all her stuff in the trash before I left security. The good news is she missed several years of war and a recession while in that coma.

Sadly, this was not the funniest encounter I have seen at security. There was the woman who accused TSA of being in a conspiracy with the bottled water companies to make more money by forcing everyone to buy water at the airport. The best was the guy at JFK who had a mini flamethrower and could not understand why that was not an appropriate carry-on.

Look at the sunset tonight

 

Beautiful. I really need to stop taking photos of the sunset and sky, huh? I just can’t help myself. Every night it is just a little different and just as stunning. Zoe and I went for a 45-minute walk and when we reached Beeman Park, the sun was just about to dip behind the mountains.

The next temptation

Some days I feel like I am on a bad reality show. In my case, it is a dieting reality show and they keep giving temptation after temptation. One week it is dinner out. Another week you find a candy bar in your bag. Does he eat it or not. Stay tuned for next week. It is sort of like Biggest Loser without all the exercise.

This week’s temptation is for me is traveling. I leave on a three-day trip to Boston tomorrow for work. It will be interesting to see how I do dieting while away from home, in airports, at hotels and at work dinners. My opportunity to eat many small meals will definitely be hindered, but I need to focus on making the best choice possible when eating out, right? That is all I can do…not to mention trying to get in some time walking in the morning and evening.

Wish me luck!

Skies over the Flatiron Mountains

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I am very fortunate that our neighborhood, the Village of Five Parks, is so close to the Flatiron Mountains. The skies over the mountains are glorious. I know I have posted photos like these in the past, but I cannot help but stop and take pictures of this beauty. I have been walking a lot the past few weeks as part of my diet and with amazing views like these, it makes it so much easier.

A look back at my diet week 2

Overall, last week was good. I have lost a total of 15 pounds, which is great. I walked a ton last week (almost 12 hours), which I have really enjoyed. It is nice to be outdoors and listening to my iPod.

Last week had a lot of temptations, in that we ate out a few times, but I think I did a good job and developing good habits when dining out. We went to Bonefish Grille for our anniversary dinner and I opted for the smaller portion of the sea bass. While out for breakfast at Hotcakes, I chose for the yogurt and sliced banana as my side over hash browns. It made me proud that I did not fall back into bad habits when it was easy to do this. I think it helps to be so open about my diet, as it makes giving into temptations that much more difficult. Plus, Dale continues to be a tremendous support (thanks Dale).

However, it does not mean I am not craving Olive Garden. However, I have resisted and I am determined to stick through this diet for 60 days before I give myself a treat like that.  So for now, it will be snacks like the picture I took on the left of peppers, grapes and cucumbers for me. This was my snack on last Saturday afternoon. I think it tastes better when you put it on a festive plate.

Here is how I did this past week against my ten individual goals:

1. Lose at least 2 pounds per week - I lost 4.5 pounds this past week and a total of 15 pounds so far
2. Eat 11,620 calories or less per week (1,660calories daily) - I ate 10,258 calories last week (averaged 1,465 daily)
3. Control my portions - I think I did a good job with this
4. Try to eat smaller meals, more often - I think I did a good job with the small meals throughout the day. I do much better on days I am working than days off, but it is all about developing habits
5. Limit my fat intake to 392 grams or less per week (56 grams daily) - I had 343 grams of fat last week (averaged 49 grams daily)
6. Limit my cholesterol intake to 2,100 mg or less per week (300 mg daily) - I had 1,590 mg of cholesterol last week (averaged 227 mg daily)
7. Limit my sodium intake to 17,500 mg or less per week (2,500 mg daily) - I had 14,838 mg of sodium last week (averaged 2,120 mg daily)
8. Do not eat after 7 PM – I accidentally ate a tortilla chip (only one) while at a concert Friday night; it was there and some reason I just picked it up and ate it; I immediately said, what the hell and stopped
9. Drink 56 glasses of water or more per week (8 glass daily) - I had 60 glasses of water last week (averaged 8.5 glass daily)
10. Walk at least 420 minutes per week (60 minutes daily) - I walked 700 minutes last week (averaged 100 minutes daily); however, I had two days where I only walked 45 minutes, but made up for it today, but walking 3 1/2 hours

This made me laugh out loud. Hysterical.

Clueless Secretary Prompts Hilarious Office Email Thread

No, seriously. Just read this in its entirety, from the top. Because if you haven't yet seen this brilliant exchange from David Thorne*, you need to. Right now.
Story goes : Shannon (the secretary) has lost her cat and has asked David (the graphic designer) to help with a lost poster. This is their email correspondence. Read from top to bottom.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster
Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.


This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.


From:David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news.
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.
From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Poster
yeah ok thanks. I know you don't like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.



From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
yeah that's not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
That's just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in color please. Thanks.
From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.



From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.
From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Awww
Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Awww
Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.
From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Awww
I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
I didn't say there was a reward. I don't have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.



From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.
From: David Thorne Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm To: Shannon Walkley Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww


From: Shannon Walkley Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm To: David Thorne Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Fine. That will have to do.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

This afternoon while I was walking around our neighborhood a huge snake slithered right in front of me and under someone’s porch. It was probably close to 4 feet long. I tried to snap a photo with my iPhone as quickly as I could, but it was moving fast. I only caught the back half of it.

 

I will not not lie, it freaked me out. Firstly, it was huge and secondly it was moving so damn quick. Yuck. I do not like large bugs, bats (Michelle & Matt Spidell will attest to this) or snakes. All these things are just creepy to me and if I lived in the house this snake slithered under, there would be a for sale sign tomorrow. Who the hell would think something this large would be living in a residential neighborhood.

Farmer’s Market & Friends

Today Dale and I went to the Famer’s Market at Belmar and met up with our friends, Sara Pacheco and Matt Henkel. We had a wonderful time walking around with them and shared amazing tacos for lunch, that were incredible. It was great to see them and catch up. Dale and I bought some green onions and squash at the Farmer’s Market, which I cooked up with some skinless chicken for dinner. It was yum, yum, yummy!  My thanks to Sara, Matt and Dale for a wonderful afternoon.

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We have a new addition

Don’t get too excited. We haven’t adopted a child or a new puppy, but we did add a bookcase to our kitchen last week. We had a large overhang on our island, which is there is accommodate two more stools (which we do not have or want). So basically, we had dead space under our island for the past seven years. Finally last year, Dale came up with the idea of adding a bookshelf for cookbooks and other kitchen items. It is finally done, thanks to a carpenter friend name Charlie. I think it came out wonderful. Kudos to Charlie for a great job building this and Dale for having the great idea. I snapped a few photos (because that is what I do).

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Millie Marie Whittaker-Gloude

This is our 6 year old basset hound/lhasa apso mix. Her eyes can melt the coldest heart.

How can you not love an ice cream joint that is…

…a giant milk canister. This is Little Man Ice Cream in Denver. Dale and I stopped here on last Friday. I was good, don’t worry. I only had the kiddie cup of vanilla ice cream, which is only 140 calories. I just love the look of this place. I love when people build places and think outside the box. It is so much fun.

Lily

This is the new lily that recently bloomed in our front yard near the driveway. Beautiful. I love lilies. They are one of my favorite flowers.

I never promised you a rose garden

But Dale did promise me a raised vegetable garden and look he delivered.

We had limited space, so Dale was brilliant and created a 2 foot wide and 25 foot long raised vegetable garden for us to grow our own delicious veggies along our northern fence.

Since it was completed late in the growing season, we only planted a few items like squash, cucumbers, strawberries and peppers. Next year, expect a enough food to feed a small village.

My thanks to Dale for his hard and brilliant work!

Happy Anniversary, Dale!

Today is mine and Dale’s 7th anniversary. It has been a wonderful seven years and I could not imagine my life without him.

Dale,
I love you not only for who you are, but for who I am when I am with you. You are the love of my life and are in my heart, always and forever. I cannot wait for the next seven years!
Tom

In case anyone has not heard the story of how Dale and I first met, I blogged about it a few years back and you can find it here. It is a touching story, but you need to read the entire story.

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The dreaded week 2

I am in week two of my diet and a little nervous. This is usually the week, while on past diets, where my body fights back and tries to protect the layers of fat from leaving me. It is like my body says, “Hey, wait a minute. This is different. I hate different. The fat stays.”  However, that does not mean I can stray from the course. I need to stay focused and not let the weight loss define my success. The calorie count and other goals will be my success, not the weight loss (or lack there of).

Now Eat This! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories

How sweet is Dale? He went out and bought a cookbook to help us in making more low calorie dinners so we stay within my diet. Do I have an incredible partner or what? He is so supportive and such a great guy!
I looked through the book and love it. The recipes look amazing. The concept is amazing. Basically, chef Rocco DiSpirito takes 150 comfort foods like shepherd’s pie, fried chicken, lasagna and brownies and shows how to cook them with the same great taste, but much lower calories. In some meals, he takes recipes that are normally 1,200 calories to just 300 calories.

I cannot wait until we try our first meal and will let you know how some of the recipes go.

Here are some recipes from the book:

No Cream-No Cry Penne Alla Vodka (serves 4)
The dirty little secret about Penne alla Vodka is not the vodka but the hefty amount of heavy cream. Vodka is colorless, odorless, and without much flavor—not really attributes of a superstar ingredient. It’s the combination of cream and tomato sauce that gives this dish its signature flavor. The traditional cream is swapped here for low-fat Greek yogurt. --Rocco DiSpirito
Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole- wheat penne
• 2 cups Rocco’s How Low Can You Go Low-Fat Marinara Sauce (page 206 of Now Eat This!) or store-bought low- fat marinara sauce
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• One 7-ounce container 2% Greek yogurt
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, about 9 minutes; drain. While the pasta is cooking, bring the marinara sauce and crushed red pepper to a simmer in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat.
2. Cook the sauce, stirring it occasionally with a heat-resistant rubber spatula, until it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the sauté pan from the heat.
3. Stir about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the yogurt until smooth (this tempers it and prevents the yogurt from curdling). Then whisk the yogurt mixture back into the marinara sauce.
4. In a large serving bowl, toss the sauce with the drained penne and the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and serve.

Healthy Tips
Whole-wheat pasta has a dense texture that makes it a little tougher than regular pasta. Some people like that chewiness; some don’t. If you’re in the latter category, overcook it a bit. Toward the end of the cooking time, keep testing it until it’s as tender as you like it.
Nutrition
Fat: 4.8 g
Calories: 320
Protein: 18 g
Carbohydrates: 55 g
Cholesterol: 11 mg
Fiber: 6 g
Sodium: 416 mg
Seared Tuna With Green Beans, Lemon, And Wasabi (serves 4)
This dish isn’t a makeover, per se. But there are so many beloved--and believe it or not, unhealthy--seared tuna dishes out there in the restaurant world that I thought I should offer at least one healthy version. The tuna is never the problem. Tuna is rich in nutrients, low in fat, delicious, and just a good bet all around. It’s the stuff that’s put on top that’s the problem--anything from seared foie gras to deep-fried tempura crispies. Sure, it tastes great, but those additions turn a healthful dish into an artery-clogging one. --Rocco DiSpirito
Ingredients

• 4 sushi-grade tuna steaks (3 ounces each)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 12 ounces haricots verts or slim green beans, trimmed
• Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons wasabi paste
• 4 scallions (white and green parts), sliced thin on the diagonal
• 3 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.
2. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper to taste, and spray them lightly with cooking spray. When the grill is hot, add the tuna and cook for 1 1/2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the tuna to a platter and allow it to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the haricots verts in the boiling water until they are just tender, about 3 minutes; drain.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, garlic, and wasabi paste. Add the haricots verts, scallions, and sesame seeds. Toss to coat, adding salt and pepper to taste.
5. Thinly slice the tuna. Fan each portion onto each of 4 plates. Pile a mound of dressed haricots verts on top of the tuna, and serve.

Nutrition
Fat: 3.8 g
Calories: 166
Protein: 23 g
Carbohydrates: 11 g
Cholesterol: 38 mg
Fiber: 5 g
Sodium: 211 mg

This is my morning goal

No, I do not want his ass. Perverts!

He does have a nice butt though but having a nice ass is not my goal (although I would not object to a nicer ass) or the topic of this blog post. My goal is to walk as fast as this guy.

This guy rides my bus. He gets off at Union Station and walks south on the 16th Street Mall, just like me each workday. However, he walks very fast. The first few days since I started my diet and walking more, I could barely keep up with him. By the time we got close to where I turn for my office, he would be almost two blocks ahead of me.

I am now finding my walking pace has improved and I can keep up with him. Today, I actually was in front of him and faster than him (he must be having an off day) for the first six or so blocks before he passed me.

My goal is to one day beat him the whole way along the 16th Street Mall. Is it crazy I am walking/stalking this guy each morning? Is it weird I set a goal to beat this guy in getting to our offices? It is funny the things we do for diet and exercise, huh?

I love so many things about Colorado

But one of my favorite things is the beauty. Even on an ordinary day like today, where we were just driving home from lunch, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of Colorado, the mountains and the sky. Simply amazing. I of course snapped a photo since Dale was driving.

So what are you doing?

I have received that question a lot lately when it comes to my diet, especially after I reported the 10 pound weight loss. I think everyone is expecting a really cool answer, but I am just reducing my calories per day to 1660 (or less) and increasing my daily activity. It is just basic math. Let me explain how my diet/exercise program works.

I am using www.myfitnesspal.com to track the food I eat (including calories and nutritional data) and the exercise I am involved. The website and their very cool iPhone application (which I use 90% of the time for tracking) are 100% free. Best of all, the site will help you in setting fitness goals.

For example, here is how I set my goals (this is the math part):

1. First the website helped me determine how many calories I burn already each day. This required me to enter my weight, height, age, gender and my current activity level. For me, since I had a very sedentary life, I burned 2,630 calories per day without doing much of anything.  This means, that all calories over 2,630 mean I gain weight (damn you math).

2. Next the website asked me my goal weight, how many minutes/days I planned to workout and how many pounds I want to lose per week. It was quick and easy. For me, I wanted to lose at least 2 pounds a week. The site showed me in order to do this, I must limit my calorie intake to 1,660 calories per day.  This would mean, just from dieting, I would burn 970 calories from my body daily or 6,790 calories per week. Everyone must burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound, so in order to lose two pounds each week, then I must burn 7,000 calories each week outside of my food intake. Just from dieting alone, I should be losing 1.9 pounds per week if I just limited my calorie intake to 1,660 daily (again simple math).

3. Now, for me the increased exercise was just gravy (yum, gravy). I planned on walking at least 60 minutes per day, which at a slow pace would mean, I would be burning an additional 294 calories per day at my weight. If I did this 7 days a week, it would mean I would be burning an additional 2,058 calories weekly. This would be another a loss of 0.6 pounds per week.

4. Combining the loss of of calories from dieting and the increased activity, I should lose 2 1/2 pounds per week just by limiting my daily calorie intake to 1,660 and walking 60 minutes per day. I figured these were goals I could meet.

Here is the math:

  2,630 calories burned per day naturally (what my fat ass requires daily just to be fat)
- 1,660 calories to be consumed per day
=   970 calories additionally burned per day from diet

-   294 calories burned through exercise
= 1,264 calories burned total per day

X     7 days in the week
= 8,848 calories burned total per week

/ 3,500 calories in a pound

=   2.5 pounds lost

So that is my diet - it is just math. There are also a few other goals I am following:

• I am trying to stick with foods low in fat, sodium and cholesterol as these are all items that lead to heart disease and other sickness. These are also tracked through www.myfitnesspal.com.
• I am trying to drink 8 glasses of water per day.
• I am trying to eat smaller meals, more often (within my calorie count) as I feel this will help with my metabolism.
• I am trying to not eat after 7:00 PM.

That is it. That is the Tom Whittaker Diet (trademark pending) and so far it is working. This weight I was lower in my calorie count and higher in exercise, so that is why I lost more then 2.5 pounds. Also, as I move through these goals, I plan to add new goals around exercise, but this is the core program. Let me know if you have questions or if you plan to try it. I would love some fellow dieters to cheer on.

Looking for the perfect gift? Check out Ms. Pottery.

Check out my friend Michelle Spidell’s pottery. It is beautiful. We have several pieces throughout our house, like the one pictured left, which is on our kitchen island.

Michelle recently set up a Facebook page, Ms.Pottery dedicated to her pottery. It features pictures of her pottery, where her work is displayed and how to contact her.

Best of all, Michelle can do custom pieces in the colors or shapes you want, so they make a wonderful gift. Plan ahead for that someone special’s birthday or for Christmas. You will not be disappointed. She offers shipping anywhere at cost and even free shipping within the Denver Metro area.
Mention my name as I may get a free gift out of it!

I must have missed this episode of Scooby Doo

Velma has been asking for this to happen to her for years now.