Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Nerdiness
I love this time of year. The weather isn’t too hot, the day starts off really sunny, then clouds up in the afternoon, and everything is green. I couldn’t help but snap this picture on my way to work.
One day, I'm going to go for a walk through that open space.
I have a hard time focusing on one thing. That means, I can’t just watch television, I have to be doing something at the same time. I get this from my mother. Obviously, though, the television program and the activity have to balance each other. If I’m watching a baseball game, I can easily work on a website project, write blogs, or knit from complicated patterns since I don’t need to concentrate as much. But let’s say I’m watching Law & Order SVU. I need to focus on the show a lot more. So I pair it with an activity that doesn’t require nearly as much concentration. And so lately, when I’ve been watching more serious programs or movies, I’ve been collecting all of my recipes and typing them up for one big recipe book. It’s mindless really and I feel like I’m accomplishing something.
I can't wait to have one recipe book to go to.
It’s actually been a very normal spring in Colorado. Plenty of rainy afternoons has actually made plant life green around these parts, which is so much better than the dull brown landscape that surrounds us here.
This was taken in the Computing Center parking lot, at work.
I live right next to a great huge mall. Yet, every time I go there, I drive. Well, because I’m trying to incorporate more exercise into my life, I woke up today deciding that I was going to walk to Borders, and that’s exactly what I did. It took a little trial and error to figure out the best way to get there through my gigantic apartment complex, but I finally got it worked out. Now there’s no reason to not do that more often. Borders itself was actually really unpleasant. It was much too crowded and muggy in there, but, of course that didn’t stop me from buying a book.
My local Borders, which is not nearly as cool as my local independent bookstore.
One of the things I forgot about Weight Watchers is how much better I eat when I’m on plan. I don’t mean how healthy I’m eating, but how much better the food is, taste-wise. I mean, seriously, I feel like I’ve been spoiled. I enjoy nearly every meal I have and most times I exclaim stuff like, “that was ridiculously good.”
I’ve been having a lot of those meals and treats lately. I know that it’s partly due to the fact that I’m not constantly cramming horrible junk food into my mouth at all waking hours and that I have reclaimed the elegance of eating. But I also feel like I’ve reclaimed my taste buds. I’ve been eating so much processed food that when I think of it now all that food seems bland and boring. To make my points work for me, and not pass out from hunger, I obviously have to steer toward healthier foods, so I can get more bang for my buck. Healthier foods tend to be fresh. And when prepared well (which almost always happens on plan because you have to do just that – plan), it opens up a world of flavors and delight.
Tonight was a perfect example of just loving my food. I got a grill last week, after spending the past year and a half without one, and I knew this would open up a world of possibilities. Sure enough I’ve used it five times already. Before grocery shopping on Friday, I wanted to find a good recipe for grilled chicken. To me, grilled chicken is one of the most boring foods, but I know if done right it can be one of the best options in terms of points and health in general. So I found Lager and Lemon Chicken from Cooking Light, which basically entails making a delicious marinade for the chicken and then grilling it up. Instead of lemons, I used limes, and for the lager portion of it, I used Bud Light Lime. I let it marinade for five hours and then grilled it, along with some vegetable kebobs. The result was fantastic and delicious. The chicken was so juicy and flavorful. It was amazingly good and after I was done eating, you would have had to convince me that I was even on a “diet”.
A couple of hours after dinner, it got even better. Lately, I’ve been having strawberries almost everyday, usually with a little Cool Whip. It’s the favorite part of my day. Tonight I decided to dress it up a little more and make a parfait. I used one of my sugar-free vanilla pudding cups as the bottom layer, some cut up strawberries lightly tossed in Truvia in the middle, and a Cool Whip topping. This little treat got tonight’s, out loud, “This is ridiculously good.”
So do I miss my old eating habits? Not really. I mostly miss the convenience, and that is a huge thing that shouldn’t be dismissed. But I am trying my hardest to make it as easy on myself as possible, especially during the week. Not everything is solved, and there are still times when I feel deprived, but it’s getting better. And all that yummy food is certainly helping to make it easier.
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Never Nude, Tobias Fünke
