Day 340 - Lilly, Miija and Solomon

While I wait for tomorrow surgical oncologist appointment, allow me to share a few more photos from my recent trip to Albuquerque.

Saturday morning we hit the golf course. Left to right my brother in law Peter and uncle in law Ray debate what b.s. the 'dry-heat' excuse for enjoying desert living really is…

Up top there you see one of the SEVEN sand traps I found myself in!

This is a cactus, behind the cactus is my golf ball. I couldn't rescue my golf ball without risk to needing a rescue squad to rescue me from the cactus, so I left that ball in New Mexico…

The primary reason we went to Albuquerque was to attend the National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show. Here is a poor picture of just how jam-packed the place was. Well over 150 vendors promoted their hot sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce and related products to HotHeads such as me…

I collect hot sauce so I had to bring back some new additions to the collection, here they are…

Yes, here is my favorite; someone has liquefied bacon into Hot Sauce form; genius!...

As we were unwinding before bed that night a baby scorpion helped himself to a stroll across the kitchen floor.
At this point I started to reconsider my decision to take the air-bed on the floor in the den…

Sunday we went to the Unser Racing Museum. Indy car racing is cool, not my favorite, but cool enough to check out one of the most famous Indy car racing families museum. There was a trophy room, if I tried to count them all I would still be standing there counting…

Luck was with us as a Gun Show happened to be going on the same weekend nearby. This 50-caliber machine gun caught my eye.
The price tag did not however so I left it right there on the table…

Monday before we headed back to the airport to come home we checked out The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, very cool exhibits. No, these are not the original atomic bombs dropped to end WWII… these scale-sized replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy were neat, we need an equivalent effort to eradicating cancer that went into making nuclear power reality...

And allow me to finish with cat pictures; top to bottom say HI to Lilly, Miija and Solomon…

Albuquerque was a cool city, a great time; I will return to enjoy it again someday!

Where have you ventured off to and returned home pleasantly surprised at how cool the destination was?

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 288 - Saturday Scrapbook

Saturday is here, and this weekend I am NOT SICK, sweeeet! So looking forward to some fun this weekend, although I have nothing planned at all... what about you, any plans?

Today I have a bunch of photos for you. Ok, not a bunch, just a few. More than 1, less than 10 is what I am thinking; let's see how many I find. Here we go...

Up top there you see a shot of me from yesterday, just decided to pose & shoot in the mirror. That is not a pic to celebrate any milestone being achieved, nope; it is just a pic for the fun of it. Below here is another from the side striking a dopey smile...

I did not eat this apple-fritter for breakfast...

Instead I ate this Chobani with fruit concoction...

A peek into one of my desk drawers at work, Hot Sauce & Excedrin are essential tools of the trade;
also the name of a bad Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute garage-band...

Oh come on, BOIL ALREADY...

source

My truck dashboard is where Eeyore calls home...

Crime is up and as well so is the attitude of this victim...

source



Last but not least, my weights-workout board...

Always a work in progress...
with the addition of free weight equipment you can see I am still noodling routines.
I also have scribbled in a core-routine including planks inspired by Yum Yucky.
Ignore the shopping list there, I was pondering a new creation; the Adult Ho-Ho Smoothie.


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 270 - The ABC's of My Fridge, Come Inside

First, allow me to say WOW - Very inspiring the comments received yesterday. My post spoke of having a daily talk with yourself to maintain momentum and several spoke of a more frequent self talk. Bravo to all I say!

So today I thought I'd give you a peak inside our refrigerator/freezer. I must warn you, its contents really do not look like what you might expect to find in the home of someone trying to lose weight. Keep in mind, I have four teenagers whose idea of eating healthy is having grilled onions on their bacon double cheese burger.

Up top there you see the it in it's most innocent view. It's outside shiny & peaceful, or maybe just shiny. A mess of stuff hangs off of it...
A- Grocery lists, TWO. The one on the left is for Costco on a Happy Bunny note pad; the right for Target or Dominicks on a Curious George note pad. In case you are wondering, the Curious George note pad is MINE!
B- A bunch of refrigerator magnets. The one being pointed out there is Garfield; no doubt trying to get inside in search of lasagna.
C- Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Championship towel, just in case you needed a reminder before your snack.

Ok, let us see what is inside...

Lots of yummy stuff in here. We'll look inside the deli/veg compartments later, inside the main area we find...
A- Greek Yogurt. Nobody eats this but me. This week it is Fage, next week maybe Chobani; whatever is on sale.
B- B is for Beverages. A Brita Water Dispenser keeps me hydrated. When water won't cut it, plenty of adult beverages; left to right Jack Daniels malt something-or-other for my wife, Chili Pepper flavored beer which I received as a gift, and Miller Lite in case John Madden stops by.
C- Leftovers galore! There you see a couple of baked potatoes still in foil, a container with pork chops, another with pasta in sauce, and the little one has pineapple chunks. Wednesday is usually leftover night.

So, what is to be found stored in the doors?

The left door, has less storage space as the ice maker is behind it. But still, some cool goods to be had here...

A- V8 Tomato Juice, I have a 5.5 oz can every day. Good Stuff!

B- Kids eat here, or I mean, kids sauce their food from here. Nasty commercial asian themed sauces which all have enough sugar to send anyone into a coma.

C- I am a man of convenience, hence I buy egg whites in a carton even though separating them by hand is pretty easy.

On to the other door...

Right door, simply just condiments...

A- Cream Cheese in all shapes & sizes of containers. You saw bread & bagels in the main compartment, have to have sour cream for those I hear... neither the bagels or cream cheese is eaten by me; almost never!

B- Amongst the ketchup and mustard what is this rare find highlighted here? Why yes, it is Bacon Flavored Mayo! Heaven in a jar my friends; HEAVEN!

C- Hot Sauce & Buffalo Wing Sauce are more popular in our house than milk or soda pop.

As promised, the deli/veg compartments...

As expected meats & cheeses can be found here...

A- Well also here is some healthy stuff in this veggie compartment; a bag of salad, carrots and green onions. I put this compartment to good use.

B- CHEESE, so many to choose from! We are only 15 minutes from Wisconsin, have to support the neighbors to the north.

C- Left to right, Venison snack-stix and bacon; Ok now I am hungry!

Just one more and we're done...

The Freezer, ours is below the refrigerator. Here is the stuff we use either frequently or will soon. In the basement is a monster-sized upright freezer with a ton of meat inside, oh and frozen waffles too. But back to this freezer...

A- A package of green beans in case someone burns themselves and needs a cold compress.

B- Meat-a-palooza; Pork Shoulder, Pork Chops, Chicken Breasts, Beef Roast

C- Ground meat; beef and venison, have to have variety!

Ok, I am done, your turn; what is in your refrigerator?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 178 - All Questions Answered

Good morning fellow blog fanatics. Great day to do what? Work; yep I gotta do that. Exercise; yep I gotta do that. Eat healthy, yep... Whatever you do today when the day is done & you look back on it, make sure you can do so and say it was a great day.

Today's picture is of my wife & I watching Ryan play soccer a few days ago. Hot day for October, 80F+. But there you see me in a black Chicago Blackhawks championship t-shirt and Cathy in a hockey jersey. What else are we supposed to wear now that hockey season is under way again?

Still getting caught up on every ones blogs from the past several days while I was unable to do so. Why oh why is it that from my blackberry I can't reply to blogspot posts but I can to worldpress? Frustrating.

The mission continues. I feel real good, got in plenty of miles during the hunting weekend. Didn't weigh in from the weekend and as I eluded to on Saturday I won't for a while to see how I do just mentally feeling my way through this. This morning I feel good, feel on track I guess you could say. Next weigh in will be on 10/24. If I weigh in at 257 or less on that day, success :-) ...If not, doom & gloom :-( ...place your bets!

It was brought to my attention that the shout out links from my Sunday post were not working. Not sure why those links went so wrong, but they are now fixed for you to go back and check out Bobbie & Carrie if you missed them Sunday.

Questions. I received a mess of questions via post comments, emails, tweets re: the subjects of my past few posts. Questions are always welcome and definitely enjoyed. Time for me to be sure I am answering them, so here I go...

Hot Sauce, Sunday I shared pictures of my hot sauce collection with you. From that I've been asked...
Q: Do you try them all or are they collector's items?
Q: Now are the hot sauces actually OPEN?
A: Collectors items. When I get duplicates, I will use the dupe. Otherwise if it is not in my collection it goes on a shelf and stays there unopened. I use hot sauce, and allot of it, so I buy as needed for my taste buds too.

Q: I guess now isn't the time to tell you I cant stand hot sauce?
A: Sure, anytime is a good time. All the more for me :-)

Q: Do people give you hot sauce for Christmas and stuff?
A: Absolutely. And birthdays, and just for fun. I would guess at least 1/2 of the collection has been received in gift wrap. When people say, 'he is hard to buy for'; they are not talking about me. Just go to the grocery store.

Hunting, our trip brought in these questions / thoughts...
Q: smoked pork, anyone???
A: Yes is always my answer. I've never hunted hog, but I smok'em and enjoy'em :-)

Q: Are you taking the hide to Hartford (WI) to get it tanned and made into gloves, moccasins, etc.?
A: We allow the meat processor to keep the hides and they donate them. Maybe someday we'll get the urge to see what we can do with the hides, thanks for the tip and referral.

Q: All that just for a dollar?
A: Oh how I wish hunting just cost a buck.

Q: Can deer not see the color orange?
Q: aren't the deer afraid of that hat??
Q: My son wants to go as Mafia for Halloween w/ his buddies. I think this hat is in order, don't you?
A: I sure hope not! And no they cannot as deer are color blind. We wear the blaze orange for our own safety to prevent from being mistaken by other hunters as an animal. And, it is also the law in Wisconsin when deer hunting that you must wear 50% blaze orange above the waist. Not to mention, blaze orange is rather slimming, don't you think? As for the hat & mafia, imagine for a minute Marlon Brando in his $2500 suit and thus blaze orange felt hat? Ok, stop imagining now, moving on...

Q: Please tell me that is not your real hunting hat?
A: It is! I hunt in a blaze orange Fedora because, well, just because I CAN!

Q: Have you seen the movie "Escanaba in da Moonlight"? Good deer camp fun and yooper accents.
A: Nope, have not. It is on the list of ones to watch though.

Q: Enjoy your weekend Patrick. Though I love bambi I will wish you luck getting something since I know you won't waste it.
A: We are a family of hunter's who eat & share what we harvest. We do not kill any animal for any other reason. To do so would be wrong and unethical in our belief.

Q: Imagine if the deer had guns as well, to make it fair.
A: That would definitely be sad as I could not wear my orange hat with confidence any longer.

Q: Cameron's deer, how many points?
A: Five. Sunday morning hunting started at 6:41 a.m.; we had made the 1/2 mile trek up the hillside and were in position just prior to that. It was quite foggy in the pre-dawn light with visibility at most 60-70 yards. At 6:45 a.m. I hear Cameron who is about 20 yards away fire his Savage 7mm; I was sitting next to Ryan. Instantly Ryan & I spin around, we see one doe bounding towards the fog cloaked tree line and stop. Ryan takes aim and fires a split second after the doe leaps into the white curtain, he missed. Looking back at Cameron, he isn't certain if he hit the other doe or not. Yes, other doe; he thought these were both does. Long story this pair of deer was barely visible to Cameron, but he got one in his scope cross-hairs and took a shot. When I walked up to the deer to discover it was a buck, I was thrilled. The fact that it was just 5 point was a bit of a bummer, we generally would not shoot a buck less than 8 points. But during youth season this unwritten rule is less adhered to.

Q: Any pictures of Cameron's deer.
A: I chose not to share a picture of his deer here as it is what it is, a dead deer, and can be graphic. And I respect those that are not interested in photos of animals, fish which have been taken from the land & waters. If you really want to see Cameron's deer, you have that choice; I've found the least graphic picture and to see it just click here. If you choose not to, all is fine.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 176 - Sunday Shout Some

It is weigh in day, however, I am not home today. Today I am some 4 hours north-west of home hunting in Vernon County, Wisconsin. I'll weigh myself tomorrow, or, maybe I won't. The same will be true next weekend too. Perhaps I won't weigh in for these next two weekends and put my mind to the test of not relying on the scale to reinforce that I am making progress. We'll see, what do you think?

What a gorgeous Sunday. Almost too gorgeous for deer hunting really. But I can't complain at gorgeous weather. What I do insist on doing here is sending out some shout outs to a few bloggers I've enjoyed this past week...

Bobbie aka Anonymous Fat Girl is enjoyed by many here and many more who have no clue who I am. Her blog, cool; her posts, cool; and her Fitness Warrior Wear, COOL! She unveiled her wearable site this past Wednesday and I must say, Bobbie and her fellow fitness warriors are looking intense and down right good in her gear. Check out her stuff and check her out if by chance you and Bobbie haven't crossed paths yet.

Carrie from My Healthy Journey Begins wrote a post this past week about trusting oneself which I both enjoyed and connected personally with. She talks of mindful eating which I find value in and am working and putting in mroe and more of my trust in. Carrie & I connected on twitter and she too is participating in the October Go The Distance Challenge which I gave a shout out to last Sunday.

Pictures, I have some more pictures for you. The picture up there is of my wife's shot glass collection. We had that display, and all of the hot sauce shelves you see below, custom made a year or so back. Over the past decade in our travels we've slowly built up our respective collections to the point they needed they out habitats.

I am not sure how many shot glasses she has, I'd guess 75'ish. My hot sauce collection is about 300 bottles...

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 137 - A Happy 101

Eating was excellent on Tuesday and exercise was minimal. Soccer practice in the early morning and a soccer game in the evening stunted my available time, well, I let it stunt it. After work when we got the game the previous game was 25 minutes behind schedule so I went next door and got some cardio in on Stanton Hill. Not my usual event where I do as many laps up & down in 30 minutes, didn't have time for that. But I did have time for about 1/2 of it before our game started. Planning more cardio this evening and more excellent eating today as well. Are you?

Karla was so kind as to honor me with a thank you by giving me a Happy 101 award. Thank you Karla! Nice looking award, look at them cup cakes. I like cup cakes, and they have sprinkles too! Zero calories if you just look, or if you try & lick them off of the monitor screen. Not that I tried, serious, I didn't.

OK, awards are fun, and awards have rules. Rules by definition are not always fun, but remember, these rules came with a picture of cup cakes, so I dig in to them with pleasure; the rules that is..

First, I need to state 10 things I like...

1. Greek Yogurt (recently discovered awesomness)
2. Alternative History author Harry Turtledove 
3. Hunting (just deer hunting now, next year going to turkeys too)
4. NASCAR & Roush Fenway Racing (greatest sport on the planet)
5. Real BBQ'ing (especially ribs & shoulder, if I didn't need money I'd do it at a competitive level)
6. Hockey & the Chicago Blackhawks (2nd greatest sport on the planet)
7. Exercise (Yep, never thought I'd say that, but I have come to like it)
8. Darts (my father played for money, I play with the kids to be a more connected father)
9. Collecting Hot Sauce (collection is almost at 300 bottles now, I'll get some pics of it soon)
10. Franks for the Memories (Best wings on the planet)

Second, I need to pass this award on to 10 other bloggers I wish to share some cup cake happiness with...

1. Dee
2. Amelia
3. Aliana
4. Misunderstood and Admired
5. MandaPanda
6. Deb
7. Jo
8. Tish
9. Clyde
10. Alan (Pounds Off Playoff)

 Thanks again Karla!

Everyone, whatever it is you choose to do today; enjoy!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 103 - Kodak Moments

A quick post with a handful of pictures from vacation. It has been fun a fun trip checking out the colleges and enjoying some family time. The exercise has been there, sure, not as intense as it is when back home but I have gotten it in. The eating on the other hand has been so-so. Not a train wreck as vacations of the old me, but I have taken a few more liberties with food than I had planned this week. When I hit the scale on Sunday I do not expect to be horrified, not at all. But I may see progress has slowed or stalled. We'll see on Sunday.

Ok, on to the pictures and then back to the family fun...

You met 'Altidore' yesterday. Here he is enjoying the ride to Decatur with my wife. Want an big-fluffy racoon? We picked up while in Iowa here in Iowa. I don't see him or the other big-round plush animals like him on their site here. But the have contact info on the site, drop them an email & I bet you could ask about the animal you want & they'd sell/ship it to you. last year my daughter got a big-round chicken. There were a half-dozen other animals there too.

In Decatur we stopped in for lunch at Garcia's Pizza before heading on to Millikin for the college visit. Cool pizza shop. Here is a picture of one of the tables, the top is a bunch of Star Wars cards set into the table. All of the tables there were this way but different cards, one was Simpsons, another Trivia Pursuit cards (which was a bummer as the answer side could not be seen), and so on. The pizza, not bad.

Hot Sauce, if you have followed me for a while here you may recall that I collect hot sauce. These are my recent additions picked up in KC, KS from our stop at the Original Juan factory store. Oh I could have spent all of the kids college fund money there, but stopped spending at what you see here.

Millikin banner nearby where we ate pizza...

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 61 - Beautiful Blogger Award

Whoohooo - I received an award; how cool is that!!!

LISA honored me with an awarded yesterday - Thanks again Lisa!

This is my second blog award and I am very happy to have received it. Certainly credit goes back to all whom I blog back and forth with as together we make this experience called blogging worth our time and truly find it enjoyable.

This award has some rules to follow, so let me get down to business.

Rule #1…When you receive/accept this award you must then pass the award on to 7 other bloggers you consider to be beautiful bloggers. Just 7 huh, well here are 7 bloggers that are certainly deserving. Certainly I could have named many others. In no particular order here are the 7 whom I am honoring...

Amy
Kimmi
Carla
Debbie
Mertle
Vinny
Ron

<< After awarding this to Jody & FiTCETERA they informed me that they have received it already (not surprised) so I saw it only fitting to honor other beautifl bloggers with it >>

I don't think any of them have received this award, I didn't see it posted on their blogs. But if I was wrong and you have it already let me know and I will award to another.

Rule #2… You have to list 7 things about yourself that others did not know. That should be easy, I think. Here are my 7....

1... I collect hot sauce, my collection is just under 300 bottles and growing. I spent ALLOT of $$$$ on custom shelving for them in our kitchen (I'll share some photos soon)

2... I picked at earning my bachelors degree for 19 years (graduated in 2007 w/ a B.S. in Technical Management)

3… I was in line awaiting my omelet at my employer's cafeteria when 9-11-2001 went down. The cafeteria server (who I despised) told me that a plane flew into the WTC and I said, "Yeah, right. Are my eggs done yet?" Imagine my horror when I got back to my desk and everyone around me is dialed into CNN, FOX, etc. websites streaming news and photos of the WTC on fire. I never did eat that omelet.

4... I met the Beast, battled the Beast, and Kicked it's A$$, I am a cancer survivor (colon - 2001)

5… I made a promise to my Grandmother just before she died (1996) that I shall be alive when the Chicago Cubs win their next World Series title. Today I joke about this and tell people that I made a pact with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to be alive when the Cubs win their next World Series title (Harry Potter fans will appreciate that)

6... I ate a 36 ounce steak to celebrate the news that we were pregnant with my son (1993)

7... I am a US Marine (active duty 1983-87 honorably discharged)

Have a Beautiful Day!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!