Project Dean--Days 4 & 5

So this weekend I went to the gym both days and it felt good. Well, Sunday it didn't feel as good, but I did what Planet Fitness calls their 30 minute Express Workout--which is a minute of steps, followed by 12 reps on a machine, then back to the steps. 20 stations in all. One of the leg machines wasn't working, so I did one of them twice. The steps always are a struggle for me after I haven't been working out for awhile. The very first time I tried the express workout I think I only got through 4 of the steps, this time I did all 10. Since Planet Fitness is partnered with The Biggest Loser they had some new workouts to do with the steps so I tried a few of those. My thighs were definitely talking to me about it when I got home, but I'm glad I did it. Saturday I did the treadmill for a mile and then did 5 miles on the bike. That felt good too. I had to push a bit on the bike to get through that last mile but I kept picturing me standing next to Dean and that helped push me. This week should be more normal at work and I'm going to try to get to the gym a couple of days after work. I took the steps today at Union Station and can almost get my breath back by the time I'm ready to cross the street now, rather than huffing and puffing all the way to my desk.

This weekend was also very good for my new recipe a week plan. I actually cooked 3 new recipes and tried a couple new things to old favorites! Friday I was off of work because it was Eric's birthday, and I wanted to spend it with him. I also had time to watch The Chew on ABC. I really like that show. Fabio Viviani, one of my favorite chef's from "Top Chef" was on and he made a recipe called "Lazy Meatballs." I thought that it looked good and easy so we picked up the ingredients for that from the store. Also on Friday, we saw an ad for a grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwich which was right up Eric's alley. Originally, we were going to go out to dinner for Eric's birthday, but he woke up on Friday morning and asked if I would cook him a steak instead. He said that would be better than any meal he could get at a restaurant. I thought that was very sweet of him to say. So I went to the grocery store and got the ingredients for the grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwiches, ingredients for the Pillsbury "Unsloppy Joe's" that we also saw a commercial for, and the ingredients for the Lazy Meatballs.

I decided to make the grilled cheese with cheddar and put it on sourdough bread. I made Eric's with thick slices of bread and had sliced the jalapeno so that each bite he took had a bite of pepper in it. He LOVED it.  I know that grilled cheese really isn't a new recipe, but it was a new way to do it for me, so I'm thinking that counts.

Friday night, I made Eric his steak, and I sauteed some shallots and mushrooms in worcestershire sauce to put on top of the steak. We also had baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese. It was quite tasty.

Then Saturday morning, after my workout, I came home and made scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries. I cut up some red pepper and some onions and diced the potatoes for the home fries and seasoned it all with Lawry's seasoned salt. It was the first time I had made my own home fries and Eric said it may have been the best breakfast I had ever served him. I loved how easy it was and will definitely do it again.

Saturday night we made the Unsloppy Joe's. Now, you're supposed to brown some ground beef, add some sloppy joe sauce to it and then put that mixture, along with some shredded cheese onto biscuits that you've stretched out a bit. They were messy, but not too bad. I never really liked sloppy joes when I was younger, and still don't really care for them (I think the meat tastes too sweet in the sauce), but it was an acceptable, easy dinner, and yet another new recipe.

Finally, on Sunday night I made the Lazy Meatballs.  Here's a picture of them. The base of sauce is really easy, just onions, garlic and fennel seed, then you add some chicken stock, some pureed tomatoes and some Italian sausage that has been cut into meatball size pieces. You let that all cook together until the sauce thickens, then you add some fresh basil and some parmesan cheese and serve it with some warm crusty bread and you're good to go. I thought that the sauce would develop more flavors overnight and I was right. I took some to work today for lunch and the sauce was flavorful, but also way too salty. I think the salt from the sausages and the salt I added just sat there too long. I don't know, but next time I think I'll add just a little less salt.  The sauce is a good basic sauce that I think I could use on pasta, or even chicken. I'll experiment some more with it.

I considered it a very good weekend.

It's Like They Knew!

As fans of drum corps know, and for those of you who don't know...one of the ways we spend the cold winter months is to anxiously check our email, Facebook, corps websites and Drum Corps Planet every day in the hopes that we will be one of the first to find out what each corps is planning for the upcoming year. Once the show is announced we download the music, hope the t-shirts will be designed and put in the online store quickly and dream of how it's going to sound when we see our favorite corps during the summer. Some corps announce early...in fact, the Madison Scouts announced their 2013 show the Sunday night after DCI Finals in August, probably the earliest announcement ever. Some corps announce late...I think the Blue Devils are ALWAYS the last corps to announce their show. I was happy to see that Santa Clara Vanguard is doing "Les Miserables" and Spirit of Atlanta who did a great "Vegas" themed show last year is doing a "Speakeasy" this year.

Since you know I'm a big "Phan" then you'll know that I was very excited to get the announcement from Phantom Regiment (via e-mail), that their show this year would be called "Triumphant Journey." I think this fits in PERFECTLY with my goals for the year. Even the description is perfect - a tale of a young woman's epic transformation from innocence. In a storybook land where grimm forces lie threatening outside the castle walls, her ultimate destiny lies well beyond a fairy tale ending. Now I will be the first to admit that I'm not exactly young, and probably not all that innocent either, but I do hope that 2013 will be a transformation for me. This has motivated me even more to continue to go to the gym, and walk the stairs at the train station instead of the escalators, and write in my blog more and go on a Triumphant Journey of my own. I knew I loved this corps for a reason!

And for those of you wondering what the music will be:

Music to be taken from:

• Elizabeth: The Golden Age, by Craig Armstrong and A. R. Rahman
• Cape Fear, by Bernard Herrmann
• Four Sea Interludes, by Benjamin Britten
• Enigma Variations, by Edward Elgar
• Symphony No. 11, by Dmitri Shostakovich

Don't know what the exact selections will be, but I'm sure they will not disappoint.

Now, for a quick Project Dean update...I didn't get to the gym over the weekend and have another weird schedule at work this week, but I did spend 20 minutes on Sunday scraping an inch of ice off of my car which was good arm work, and I have been taking the stairs at the train station instead of the escalators. There are 43 stairs (not including the stairs on the train and the stairs up to the train platform or the stairs to our apartment) so I'm almost able to do those now without losing my breath too badly. Another week or so and I should be good on that.

I also cooked new meal number 2 for the new year. I made sage pork chops with apples and red onions with some garlic mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were made with buttermilk and the garlic was boiled with the potatoes and then mashed. It was quite tasty, although I could have browned the onions and apples just a tad bit more. Here's a picture.

This week I hope to try a new restaurant, but I'm up for a new recipe too.

Project Dean--Day 2 (and a half)

The workout on Saturday went well. It had been about 3 months since I had been to the gym, so I was proud of myself for being able to do a mile and a half on the treadmill in about 40 minutes. My ankle started to twinge just a little bit (not an excuse, just the truth) so I didn't want to push it and stopped at that point. I wasn't too sore afterwords, except walking back up the stairs to our apartment when my knee protested that it hadn't moved that much in awhile.

Then came Sunday. I was planning on going grocery shopping and then hitting the gym, but ended up only going grocery shopping. But, in my defense, I did walk around the grocery store, then loaded all the groceries in the car (lifting), and also helped Eric carry the groceries upstairs so that was a mini-workout. Then, I made beef stew so I was lifting my rather heavy cast iron skillet a couple of times to clean it, brown the meat and then clean it again. I also stood to peel potatoes and carrots (arm exercise) and to chop the vegetables.  So I'm going to give myself half a workout for that. I figure that ANYTHING that gets me off the couch is something that's worth doing.

Yesterday I went back to work, where, as promised, I took the stairs at the train station. I was surprised at how out of breath I was when I walked out of the station, but figure that by the end of the week I'll be better at it, and by the end of the month, the stairs will be an afterthought and I'll be able to breathe normally.  I also ate better at work yesterday. I had a yogurt for breakfast, a granola bar for a snack and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread for lunch. I also danced do the beginning of the BCS Championship Game, so that was a little workout at well.

I'm getting there. Slowly, but again, movement is better than no movement.

Project Dean--Day 1

Okay, as I mentioned in my first post of the year, I'm ready to lose weight in order to take a picture with Dean Patterson, Phantom Regiment Drum Major, at dress rehearsal and at the end of the summer. Here are pictures of me as I look today. I'll probably only post these pictures once a month so that I can truly see progress in my goals.

I'm a little embarrassed by this pictures...I mean, I've always been a big girl, and don't think I'll ever get down to a size that would make me "thin" but I'm going to get down to a weight that makes me feel good about myself and makes me more healthy.

My goals are to get rid of the belly fat as much as I can, and to tone my arms and my thighs so they don't flap around. I'm also going to make it a goal to run in the Race To Wrigley 5K in May. A couple of years ago, Eric and I were heading out to breakfast and we ran into the throngs of people involved in the race, streets blocked everywhere so it took us about 45 minutes to get through it all. But it looks like fun and I'm a diehard Cubs fan, so figured that would be my first 5K.  I originally was going to run a couple of 5K's last November and December, but I trained stupidly and managed to mess up my ankle the first weekend of training and never really went back. I also gave myself too short a time to train. I figure with the Race To Wrigley being 5 months away, that's plenty of time to train properly and be able to handle a 3 mile run.

I have a membership at Planet Fitness and the gym is only a mile from my house and is open 24 hours a day. This past October, when the dog would get me up at 4:30am or so to go outside, I would do that, put on my workout clothes and head to the gym. It was quiet and I could catch up on the sports games of the night.

Now the goal is to be consistent in actually going to the gym. My work schedule has been off since the holidays (I'm a contractor, don't get paid holidays or vacation time) so I've been working long hours and after 10 hours of looking at spreadsheets, I really didn't feel like working out. So, I'm starting on January 5th, will work out both weekend days and will try to get to the gym at least 2 other days during the week. I figure 4 days a week is a good way to start. I'm also going to take the stairs at Union Station instead of the escalators which will help a little as well. I might go to the gym on the nights the Biggest Loser is on so I can be inspired by others.

I named this "Project Dean" so I could have motivation. I have a little iPod Nano that Eric gave me for my birthday and I have pictures of Dean on there so I can look at his face while I'm struggling to make it that extra 5 minutes on the treadmill. I'm also wearing a Phantom Regiment t-shirt while I work out for more inspiration. I'm hoping that by August, the 3X Turandot tour shirt I bought last year, can be replaced by an XL or even L tour shirt.

So here we go. I'll let you know tomorrow how the first workout went. I figure my fingers won't be sore, but the rest of me might be.

P.S. I know I didn't post anything for the past 2 days, which breaks my rule of writing or posting something every day, but I've been READING...a lot...with the gift of my Kindle, I'm reading all the time, which I consider a good thing.

Reading in the 21st Century

I just got a Kindle Paperwhite as a late Christmas gift from Eric and his Mom. Now, I know all you naysayers and purists may say that I'm putting my local bookstore out of business, but really, are there local bookstores anymore? I honestly miss going to bookstores, smelling the books, wandering in between the shelves and finding a new author or a a favorite classic that I can spend a few hours with. But I have to admit that the first 20 minutes I've spent with the Kindle have been quite nice. The screen actually feels like pages of a book, less smooth than the iPad I was using to read, and definitely less bulky. The pages look like pages from a book, and yes, although I am not going to physically turn the pages, or smell the fresh ink, I think I'm going to have a good time with this. What's nice about the Kindle, and I know others have said this, is that I can stick in in my backpack, or in my purse, and then pull it out on the train, or during my lunch at work, and it's not taking up any more space on my shelves. The last book I read was the Steve Jobs book and I got the physical book. It was big, and bulky and believe me, there were times it was awkward to place on my lap when sharing a seat on a crowded train. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, the past 3 or 4 times I have moved I have paid to have 3,000 POUNDS of books moved. Now, each one is a memory, a look into my past, or a new beginning or outlook, but if I can buy new books from my couch and have it in a second, I am all for that.

I was an English major in college and was always writing in the margins and highlighting my favorite passages or quotes. Now, I can do that electronically and then share them with others almost instantly, and have them arranged in a somewhat orderly fashion. I can also look at what others wrote. Back in college, I could only get other's comments by buying a used book and sometimes, although the notes were funny, they were not relevant.

I do truly believe that this will also help me keep my resolution of reading more. I've already downloaded samples of 5 books and a book by one of my favorite author's who's hardcover book that came out in October of last year, I couldn't afford. I like that it's right here and I can start reading it tonight. Also, I like the "sample" idea. That way I can get a feel for the book. Believe me if I had owned a Kindle when I bought "A Million Little Pieces"by James Frey, I would have know how awful the book was before I dished out the money for it. It's a book that's so bad I can't even GIVE it away.

I will still buy physical books, I can't help it. I will still search for local bookstores and go to my local library. But for right now, I'm going to try them the eBook way.

So don't hate me for turning to the 21st Century and embracing it.

Here We Go Again

Today is January 1, 2013 and it's the time most people make resolutions for the upcoming year. I have done this in previous years in this blog and am doing it again, in some hopes, that if I write them down, then maybe I'll stick to them this year. 2012 was not the best year and I am hoping to make changes in 2013 that will definitely be permanent. Of course, the only way to make a change is to do it and to keep up with the new behavior or pattern so that it becomes routine, therefore it's not as much of a challenge.  So, here we go, in no specific order, my resolutions for 2013.

WRITE MORE
This is the start of doing that. Back in high school, I used to have an English teacher that would have us start each class by journaling for 5 minutes. Sometimes he would give us a topic, sometimes he would just let us write what was on our minds. If we had nothing, or got stuck while we were journaling, we would have to just keep writing the same word over and over again until we "unstuck." It was a good practice and this year I vow to keep that tradition going. Now 365 blog posts might be a tall order if I look at it like I HAVE to write every day. However, I enjoy writing and I don't think it should be that big a deal. I mean, I post something on Facebook or Twitter everyday, so why should writing a blog post be any different. I also won't get to hard on myself if I don't post something every day. I am allowing myself now to miss a day or two depending on what is going on, but the goal is to write every day. Keep checking back and we'll see how far I have gotten by December 31, 2013.

EAT LESS
Now this is the ultimate resolution that most people make on January 1st. I guarantee that when I go to the gym this weekend, it will be crowded with people who are doing exactly what I am doing and vowing to get healthier. I would assume that by the end of January and definitely by Mid-March, us diehards will still be at the gym, while more machines will be available as people fall out. I really do want to lose weight and get into better shape.  I do have specific goals in mind with dieting or actually, I'm going to call it, getting healthier.

This picture is of Dean Patterson. Dean is 21 and is the Conductior (Drum Major) for my favorite Drum Corps Phantom Regiment.  Every year Eric and I travel up to NW Illinois each May and watch Dean lead the Regiment in their dress rehearsal for the season. This year, I want to be able to take a picture with Dean and I don't want to look like the fat old lady standing next to him. I want to be thinner. Then, if the fates allow, I want to go to DCI Finals in Indianapolis in August, where hopefully I can get another picture with Dean. This will show how much weight I've lost during the summer. I wanted to do that in 2012, but things changed, and now it's a definite goal for 2013.

TRY A NEW RECIPE OR A NEW RESTAURANT EVERY WEEK
I tried this resolution when I first moved back to Chicago from Florida 5 years ago. It was a good idea and I figure with all the cookbooks I have and with the all the amazing restaurants in Chicago, that this will not be a challenge at all. I just have to stick with it. I'm all set this week as tonight for dinner I am making a spicy shrimp linguine in cream sauce that I haven't made before. Only 51 more to go! See, this resolution thing is easy.

READ MORE
I have moved more times than I'd like to remember in my life and the past 3 moves, I have moved over 3,000 pounds of books with me. I LOVE to read and unfortunately, in this "digital" age, I tend to read more updates on Facebook than I do actual books. I want to change that. I have a commute to work every day on the train, I can read at my lunch hour, and during the quiet times at home when I'm just mindlessly watching another Harry Potter movie I've already seen 15 times, I could pick up a book instead. Now, I'm not going to be bold and say I'm going to read 100 books or all the books on the New York Times bestseller list, but I am going to read more. I also figure that will give me more to write about so that will help with that resolution. Now if I could only figure out how to read while working out on the treadmill I'd be set.

TRAVEL MORE
I also love to travel, but with the economy still in the shitter and me still having a "temporary" job, I haven't traveled as much as I'd like. But I need to look at that in smaller steps too. A trip doesn't have to be out of the state or to an exotic location or overseas. A trip can be anywhere I haven't been before or somewhere I have been before but where I am doing something I WANT to do. As already mentioned, I'd love to go to Indianapolis for DCI Finals in August so that would be a trip. I'd also like to go to the Wisconsin State Fair, where I haven't been in 2 years. It's the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary in Wisconsin at the end of August and I'd like to go up there for that as well.  But there are many places in Illinois, not far from Chicago that I haven't discovered. Maybe a trip to Springfield, or back to Starved Rock where Eric and I spent one of our first weekends together. I don't care, just as long as I get out of the apartment from time to time.

So those are my resolutions for 2013. At least the ones I think I have some control over and that should make me healthier, happier, more productive, and more fulfilled. Come back tomorrow and see how I'm doing.