Good times…

02 Jun

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Good times…

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Just hanging out in front of the Gaming Parlour at Elitch Gardens. Never been here before and I enjoyed the visit. It’s a bit more cramped than I expected, but that’s what happens when you’ve lived most of your life as a hermit.

I am looking forward to my next visit as I’ll be hitting the water park portion of Elitch Gardens.

Trader Joe’s Honey Walnut Shrimp and Chicken Fried Rice, 310 calories.

02 Mar

Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp and Chicken Fried Rice, 310 calories.

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This is one of the many dishes I love to whip up from Trader Joe’s. It’s honey walnut shrimp with chicken fried rice. As I cut the suggested portions in half for both of these, it turns out to be 310 calories.

It’s pretty close to some of the Lean Cuisines and Progresso soups I usually have in terms of both nutrition as well as price. The only down side is that crusted shrimp often doesn’t keep for very long without going a bit soggy.

To make sure everything is always properly portioned, I cook the bags of shrimp and rice and place them into large Tupperware containers. Then, I measure out a half serving of both in to smaller sealable Tupperware so I can put them in the freezer.

Essentially, I am making my own frozen dinners and lunches. Later, when I want to eat, I simply toss the frozen foods into the microwave for about two minutes. Although it’s not as good as when I cook it fresh, it’s still an incredible meal throughout the week.

Don’t Always Trust Labels

I only wish companies would stay more true to what they print on the label. In this case, it’s the “Number of Servings” portion. The manufacture may say “About 4” when in reality you have three or maybe two and a half.

I understand that it is impractical to hire someone to measure out every single portion of every product on your assembly line. But can’t you at least calibrate your bots and sensors a bit better? Or is it because you want to save money by short-changing the consumer?

Where was this two months ago?!?

20 Feb

Where was this two months ago?!?

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It’s a Beautiful Sight

It’s nice to wake up to a decent amount of snow for a change. Yes, I am one of those people who love the winter. It was one of the things I missed most when living in Los Angeles. However, where was this snow fall back before Christmas?

In reality, February is often one of the more wettest months in Colorado. As least, it has been in the areas I lived since 2001. I doubt this will be the last snow fall of the year, but it’s nice to see this morning.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spring and summer too. I guess I just miss the elegance of the snow and how it brightens everything, even at night. I suppose I have a lot of romantic fantasies about a beautiful snow fall that I will probably never realize. And I try to realize these fantasies when I can.

Although I would love to golf or perhaps ride my bike, I’m glad to awake to this. It’s almost as good as being in the middle of a nice, hard rain.

Anyway, enjoy your snow, Colorado. Who knows how long it’s going to last. Because of where we live, it’s likely to melt before lunch.

My girls going downhill

17 Feb

My girls going downhill

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Proof there are fun things to do in Colorado during the winter.

My girls were complaining how they couldn’t find anything to do when it’s cold outside and how they wish it was summer. Granted, the cold does put a damper on some things, like jumping in the lake or camping on a beach. But winter in Colorado is often just as fun.

As soon as we explained what tubing was, they were exceptionally excited. In fact, my oldest was more focused on grabbing her tube and going down the hill than any one of us. And it’s not often to see her attack an activity with such gusto.

Awesome day of tubing!

17 Feb

Awesome day of tubing!

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The sun was working its way through the sky and about 10 or 15 minutes away from slipping down the mountain in Faser, Colorado. I was a bit skeptical about going tubing, and I caught myself almost saying no on this trip. After all, it’s four hours in a vehicle for 90 minutes of tubing down a hill in the cold.

However, I found the experience to be incredible – especially since it involved my family. I want the girls to have good memories of doing stuff, which means I need to be less of a hermit. Which is my plan, anyway.

I suppose I will keep looking around for more fun stuff we can all do together. Not to mention how many calories I burned while tubing!

Super Bowl snacks…so don’t have the calories for this!

04 Feb

Super Bowl snacks…so don't have the calories for this!

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For the Super Bowl, we decided to throw caution to the wind and do a bit of snack binge eating. We accomplished our goal, and made ourselves incredibly sick in the process. Not only am I currently plagued with rotten egg burps, but there is a ton of gas coming out of every orifice. Probably something you don’t want to know about, but it’s often a side effect of eating too much.

On the up side, there was very little in terms of heavy sugary goodies. No cookies, cupcakes or sweets of any kind. Our binge snacks consisted mostly of meats, crackers, chips and dips. In fact, we didn’t have dairy products of any kind as well.

What does this mean for this week’s weigh in? It means it’s not going to happen. I am still digesting probably five pounds or so worth of food from yesterday. Which means I’ll be working it off for the rest of this week…that is if I stay true to my diet plan.

Fila Fail. Ripped seams only after 28 days of use…sigh.

02 Feb

Fila Fail. Ripped seems only after 28 days of use…sigh.

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I only had the gloves for less than a month and the seam across the wrist already popped. I suppose it’s better than having the whole glove fall apart and shred like the cheap brand at Target did. Luckily, I can easily sew the seam back into place and keep going.

Aside from the threading coming apart, these gloves haven’t been too bad. Although I think the $10 Gold’s Gym weighted gloves are of better quality, I do like how these feel. I’m just not convinced they are worth double the price.

Still, the Fila weighted gloves have helped me burn through a lot of calories this month. I also like how my upper body feels and looks thanks to the added weights on my hands during game play of the Xbox Kinect.

As soon as I can afford to buy another pair of the Gold’s Gym gloves, I’ll do a side-by-side comparison of how many calories I burn. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference a one-pound glove has compared to a 1.5-pound glove.

Finally…that’s what it’s supposed to look like.

21 Jan

Finally…that’s what it’s supposed to look like.

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While it snowed a decent amount the day before Christmas, today looks much more like the Colorado I moved to in 2001…and it’s still coming down. I just hope it sticks around for longer than a day and a half. Lately, the snow has been melting shortly after falling.

I love that my office is surrounded by windows. I can look over my shoulder and out into the world to see the brilliance of the now-four-inch deep snow. It’s a bit hypnotic when you look out and watch the flakes fall.

The only real bad thing for me is that this cuts into the ability to walk long distances. Which is OK since I focus more on calorie burn than steps. So, an extra 20 minutes in front of the Xbox Kinect will work just as well.

Now, if I only had some wood for my fireplace…