What'll I Do?

Heavens to Betsy.  Will ya look at that?  I don't remember temperatures this high--especially so early in our 8-month summer.  :) 

Well, y'all know that I'm not an outdoor boy, but it's still warm.  So here's what's new in my mostly-air-conditioned world lately.

Ummm.  Breaking Bad.  In preparation for the upcoming season, AMC has being running old episodes late at night, starting with the pilot.  About two weeks ago I set my DVR, and the rest is history.  I had never seen the show before, although a teacher friend (shoutout to Lana!) highly recommended it.  The show's about cooking meth, so 'highly' is a bit of a pun.  Now I'm all caught up on it, and it's excellent.  Definitely TV-14 to MA, so no kids!

And I recently visited local restaurants Sloco and The Pharmacy.  Yum.  If you're in town, you should definitely try them out.  Sloco features local and sustainable sandwiches at affordable prices.  The Pharmacy is an old-school soda shop/beer garden.  A group of friends from work met there one Sunday afternoon for lunch and a board game.  What could be better?

On that note, I'm also back to working on my fitness.  It's good for baby.

And I'm continuing to volunteer at Gilda's Club.  This July 19th I'm teaching my third crafty class there.  It's really rewarding and fun.  If you're in town, you should definitely join us! 

How is your summer going?  What's on the agenda?

Dah dah dah dah dahhhh....I'm losin' it!*

I had a request from one of my readers to explain what's going on with my fitness, so I wanted to share.  At the beginning of this year, I stepped on a scale for the first time in a few months, and I did not like what I saw.  I had put on about 25 pounds from this time last year, and I had to regain control.

As luck would have it, a friend at work expressed a similar goal and told me about LoseIt.com.  (That's their logo up top.)  It's a website (and a free app) that allows users to set a weight loss (or maintenance) goal; the site then produces a daily calorie budget.  You input the food you eat and the exercise you do, and it magically keeps you on track.

Y'all know that I love a sweet treat in life, but I've definitely cut those down quite a bit.  It's been a lot of turkey sandwiches, grilled chicken, oatmeal, and cereal.  And Skinny Cow.  Usually I'll have a cheat day on the weekend and indulge in a cupcake or some chocolate.  But I don't keep candy at my desk these days.

I have gotten back to the gym so far this year, too, and about three to four times a week I will power walk on that treadmill (usually 4.5 mph) for about 50 minutes.  Then most days I'll hop over to the elliptical for about 10-12 minutes.   My body has taken on a new, leaner shape, and I have to say that all this dedication has been worth it.  I'm down 16 pounds so far, and I feel stronger than I have in a long time.  In more ways than one.

*sung to the McDonald's theme...a lil' irony for yaz

Get to Steppin'

At work there's this new program called HealthMiles. And I love it.

We got these pedometers, and I'm working mine out. I have found that if you shake your hips Shakira-style, that little counter gets to jumpin', jumpin'.

All the activity that I do, from regular walking to exercising and "weighing in" at HR, gets recorded, and I get points for each thing. After so many points, I will start accumluating money toward gift cards of my choice (to places like Target and Amazon).

Just wait 'til it gets warm outside. This pedometer will be in for the ride of its life.

Quickie Specs

It's late, but I wanted to post a lil' something. This is a picture of the football field, which is surrounded by the track where I walk/attempt to run short distances.

It's at the local high school, and I like the way the sun is going down and the sprinklers indicate that it's back-to-school time.

As always, thanks for reading! I hope that your week is going well.

Lunch and Laps

Well, it was back to the drive thru today, and my 45-minute lunch consisted of some of my favorite things. I made this sandwich with toasted wheat bread, turkey, cheese, and Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard. It is the best. Really. That's one secret. Another is to toast that bread right. Don't just Pop-Tart that mess. You need to toast it. Then immediately put a slice of cheese between the two slices of bread and allow it to melt a little. In the meantime, I run to the TV and pop in a disc of 30 Rock. Then return to the scene of the bite, add some turkey, honey mustard, et voila! Garnish with half a bag of SunChips (Garden Salsa), and lunch is served.

I find this sandwich to be the perfect combination of savory and sweet, crunchy and chewy, and healthy and quick. That's a lot of adjectives for a little meal. Plus, most sitcoms on DVD are around 21 minutes, which is ideal if you work for lunch Nazis. Note: special episodes often run 42 minutes, indicating a possible two-night arc or extended scheduling block during original airing.

After work and some downtime at home, I went to the track for a little cardio session. If you think that time is going too quickly these days, then throw some laps into your life. Time will slow. I promise. But now that I'm home, I feel revitalized, even though my hair looks not unlike this guy's: