The making of an action hero pt9

Entry #8 The last week has proven a great test for my heroic powers. When I started this ball rolling, the first thing I did was run down all the local eateries and determine my best option on their menu. Thursday we went to a Mexican place called Don Pablo’s. They are more tex than mex, but have good food and drink. While my companions had the delectable all-you-can-eat-enchiladas, I had a red river salad. I picked from the basket of tortilla chips and salsa with the group, but forwent ordering a second basket for the table. I had the brunette’s beans side order. I drank a ginger ail and several glasses of water. We ordered a plate of pastries soaked in brandy butter sauce for dessert. I had three of the thin confections, leaving 2 on the plate uneaten. It would have been easy to finish them off, but it wouldn’t have felt good afterwards. Friday my mother in law spent the afternoon with us. We ate at my favorite BBQ place. I ordered BBQ turkey instead of chicken and loaded it up with veggies. The brunette got a combo meal and we split the sides. I think going forward my order from there is going to be BBQ turkey with veggies and horse radish, no cheese and no bun. The brunette can have all the sides. That was a lot of food and the cheese was more habit than anything else. I did order their rarely found banana pudding. That was the next day’s breakfast, for which I paid the rest of the weekend with an upset stomach. I can’t tell if certain foods are making my stomach twist in knots because they aren’t healthy or just because they are heavy/greasy…etc. Saturday we had friends over for gaming. At the group’s request I cooked the evening meal. That was scrambled eggs, a tomato basal cucumber salad, and loaded slow cooker grits. I had some of everything, but only went back for seconds for the salad. No harm there, balsamic vinegar does magical things to summer veggies. I had one mixed drink and drank a lot of water. The next day my family came over for dinner. I made slow cooker lasagna with a side of the same tomato basal cucumber salad as the night before. Again, I had a little of everything except the rolls our friends brought and went in for seconds on the salad. My mother brought a low-fat fruit pie which we devoured. I had three glasses of our friend’s sangria (amazing.) Today I had half a container of pasta salad, or I served half a container but could only eat a few forkfuls for breakfast. It was the last of the heavy veggie mix I made last week. Lunch was a turkey and pepper jack wrap with an apple, and a bag of mixed nuts and crasons spread over 8 hours. I got home and had a few handfuls of pretzels from the leftover appetizer, and then had half the lasagna leftovers with a heaping helping of leftover salad. Looking at my record, I’m tempted to say I failed. The reality is that Thursday I stuck to a salad, didn’t drink any alcohol, and moderated my intake. Friday I over ordered, but learned a good lesson. Saturday I ate well but in moderation (again.) Sunday I drank a bit more than I should have, but still managed to stick to moderation. What I take from that is that I learned, I controlled, and I can do better. It’s getting easier to look at menu choices and say to myself “is that really worth $8.99 to you?” For some the answer will be yes, and that’s fine. I’m not going to stop living life just to get thinner. The object now is to figure out the stuff I’m adding on by reflex and cut that out. The Beast cave/weight loss HQ/command center is coming along bit-by-bit. Friday, we cleaned out a bunch of junk and began the reorganization process of the intended location. There’s furniture that has to be moved, posters and art to be framed and hung, a wall mount storage unit that requires installation, and a variety of brickerbrack that we need to sort through to see if it’s really worth keeping. I’ve decided that one way or another, when I have the command center in a usable format, I am going to start exercising. My preference is to do that with a steel mace or club, but I’ll substitute if I have to. I’ve already begun stocking the armory as it were. I grabbed a variety of nurf guns over the weekend (much to the joy of various kids and adult visitors.) The three year old who visited us on Sunday spent over an hour blasting a way with a triad EX while the two year old loved seeing the adults blast darts into random places before retrieving them. Man, toys have come a long way from when I was a kid. I now have a passable training selection to work with. It’s my intention to find a way to display each of these offerings once we finish the lair. Other enhancements under consideration include: • A CB/police scanner. • An electric recliner/loveseat. • A real work bench. • A full sized metal and wood desk. • A display case full of nurf products. • Possibly a ham radio set up if I decide it’s worth it. Life is good.