Junk Food Withdrawal

So it's been over a week since we got home from Illinois, where I ate like the world was ending. Seriously, I had so much good unhealthy food, I decided that I am going to take a break from my glutenous lifestyle and practice what I always preach about exercise and moderation. A couple years ago, I lost a lot of weight and changed my lifestyle forever. I did it by gradually shifting my diet and way of thinking and making a lot of exercise a part of my life. I even worked on bodybuilding for a year or so. Well, the gym situation got complicated and I got complacent about everything else eventually and managed to maintain my health for the last couple years, but I never regained that serious focus. The time has come (ran out of pants that fit) to take another shot at making myself healthy, strong, and lighter once more. What's great, is that I've retained a lot of the knowledge I gained last time, so I can immediately make progress without spinning my wheels. As part of my diet, I gave up soda and sweet tea, eating out, and will cut back on the chocolate. I have changed my diet to dried fruits, mixed nuts, fat free yogurt, chicken, mixed vegeables, vegetable juice, tuna and anything else I want in steady moderation. Sure, I can still enjoy a small frozen mocha, but I know that it is a slippery slope and those excess calories and fat will take away the progress I made from a nice long run that afternoon. As far as exercise goes, I am going to be running at least 5 days a week and beginning a small weight regimen to build back some of my strength. I can honestly say that after a week, I feel great. I definitely have more energy and my gut has retreated just a smidgeon. With the change in diet, I feel "cleansed." Maybe you can relate to what I mean. Wish me luck, and hopefully in a month, I will have made some serious progress towards my 20 pound goal.


As someone who does not like to drink fruit juice or vegetable juice, I am so blessed to have found V8 V-fusion. It has 1/2 serving of fruit AND vegetables per glass. And it tastes like an unsweetened fruit juice, so it's pretty darn good.


Erin drew a picture of me one day and I thought it was pretty good, so I'll share it with all ya'll.
While working on the Outlook migration at work (yes, it is still going on. Please shoot me.) we worked in the zoo education office for an evening. I was not alone, however, because I was joined by a giant giraffe carcass. He was wearing a necktie, so he seemed friendly, however, I took no chances.
In the main zoo office, I ran across a miniature water fountain. The only reason I thought it interesting was that it was tiny and tucked away into the wall. Almost missed it. Glad I didn't, because I was thirsty.


With all of the rain lately, the Reedy River has been at a pretty high stage. I was walking past the park earlier this week and heard the roar of the falls...I have never really seen it faster than a trickle, so I had to grab a picture for you to see.
Here's a random picture of a Corvette ZO6 from Kentucky. Nice car.

I was sad that I ate all of the buckeyes back in IL. Well, Ron came to the rescue with a full plate of them from Christmas. His timing was awful, though, because I can't resist them. I only had a few, but I am so glad that everyone else ate them up!

Did you know that McDonald's started putting nutrition info on their product packaging? This is to remind me that I shouldn't be eating there in the first place.

Well, at least I can eat a Big Mac in peace. Nope. What are you trying to do to me??
Erin and I met her friends at a local Japanese steakhouse for dinner recently. I had never been to one before, so I thought, in my head, "sure, why not? I could blog about it!" It's called Mimi's.

The cook was very good, quite fast, and very funny. He picked on my the most. Why do people pick on me so much? You don't know.
I even ate my veggies (most of them). I draw the line at onion.

The soup was nice, salad was ok, and the rice and chicken was awesome. We were served everything separateley, so I wasn't able to provide my typical full plate picture for ya'll to drool over. Trust me, it was yummy! I would say it was expensive, but Erin and I shared the main entree and it was more than enough for both of use and we paid a few dollars more to share one dinner.

The weather here has been mild, but mostly rainy. I guess it's not snow! We only have a couple more weeks of Outlook migrations at work and then we can close the book on the most challenging project and job that I have ever been a part of. It all goes towards a good cause though, though, cause I am saving some of the overtime to buy myself a new motorcycle. (wife approved) I said some because our garage door opener broke the other day so I have to fix it. Didn't we just replace the garage door opener? Oh yeah, that was at our last house. It's not even covered by our home warranty. What a racket. Oh well, my poor car will be okay staying outside for a few nights. I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for reading the newest entry.. if I find something interesting this week, I'll be sure to share.