Captain's Log

Breakfast: Noodleless Lasagna (last serving)
Lunch: Skipped
Dinner: Smoked Sausage & Turkey

Gym: None, 20.2 Miles Total

Clean: 45/15 x1, 20/10 x1

Watching 3 kids for the day instead of just one kid is kind of exhausting! But at least Molly had fun :)

I've been watching some "classic" films late at night this summer. So far I've watched Bill Murray in "Meatballs" (which is a favorite of mine even though I had never actually seen it from beginning to end till the other night), and "Re-Animator" (which was such a fun H.P. Lovecraft movie).

This summer I hope to watch the entire "Phantasm" series, "Battle Beyond The Stars", "Dark Star", the three "Road Warrior" movies and then whatever cheesy little corners of 70's/80's cult loveliness I can find from there :)

Breakfast: Skipped
Lunch: Pastaless Spinach Lasagna (my own recipe)
Dinner: Pastaless Spinach Lasagna, Trader Joe's Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips

Gym: None, 20.2 miles total

Clean: Minimal, just enough to cook some real food in the kitchen


Yesterday was a very full day of feeling like crap. Trader Joe's Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips are the closest thing to crackers that I can eat on a low-carb diet, and once I held some of those down in my tummy it gave me confidence to try making and eating something with nutritional worthiness. My Noodleless Lasagna, a recipe from the way-back of 1999, involves ground turkey, cream cheese and greek yogurt surrounded by tons of spinach, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and a minimal amount of tomato sauce to keep it all wet. Instead of noodle, I use layers of fresh parmesan cheese. Could also use eggplant and/or zucchini, but I couldn't find any to use.

My first plate of the stuff felt good going down, then sent me wave after wave of nausea. Had to cancel going up to Mount Vernon to see my Dad on his birthday, it was THAT BAD :(

Yesterday was Molly's last day of school, and the ONLY thing she wanted to do as a celebration was to stay up all night watching cartoons with me, "Like we always did" (Molly and I have had a history of staying up late watching cartoons together). She only made it till 11pm, but that was enough time for me to try another small slice of lasagna and HEY! I'm okay!

Breakfast: Pork Rinds, Cream Cheese and Salsa
Lunch: String Cheese
Dinner: Spinach and aged white cheddar chicken patties

Gym: None, 20.2 miles total

Clean: None

Blame the lack of cleaning and work-out on DOCTOR DOOMS!!!

My allergist, Dr. Kevin Dooms (I kid you not) has set me up with getting a series of shots to clear up my severe allergies. His VERY SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS are to avoid chores that could irritate any of my allergies (anything to do with dust or pollen), and to avoid any major physical exertion for the entire day. "Plan on doing a lot of reading on the days you get shots" he said.

And so I did :)

Breakfast: Sausage links
Lunch: Taco Salad
Dinner: Beanless chili (my own low-carb recipe that's 98% meat)

Gym: None, 20.2 miles total

Clean: None, busy day

Yesterday was a day full of Kent. One niece graduated at 9 in the morning (on a SATURDAY?!?!), and her younger sister was in a dance recital performance of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe that afternoon. All in all, we were in the south end for some 9 hours leaving NO TIME for Gym or Cleaning. I'm totally okay with this, I love those girls SO MUCH :)

Haley is the one who graduated, and she's a perfect mix of cookie-cutter Geek Girl. She binge-watches all the genre shows, goes to the conventions, does art... the perfect little modern Geek. She throws Doctor Who watching parties, loves Game Nights and even makes viewing recommendations to *me* that I'll listen to! I DID THAT TO HER :)

Hannah is the younger one, and she's the perfect *authentic* Geek Girl (for lack of a better term). So hard to explain... she's wildly artistic in an organic way, like the "Oooh that doll head would make an excellent flower pot if I just put fangs on it" kind of creative artistry that can often be copied but never duplicated. She was the first of my nieces to go to an official "Geek Camp" with me over the summer where I gently nudged her towards nerdy pursuits. She was the first to play Dungeons & Dragons with me, she was the first to play Magic The Gathering with me... she's got that "I don't care what the rest of you think, I love/hate that thing" attitude that's important for a passionate Geek to have :)

Breakfast: 3oz Turkey Bacon (finally all gone)
Lunch: Crockpot Beef
Dinner: Crockpot Pork Ribs

Gym: 2.4 miles, 17.5 miles total

Clean: 20/10 x1

I was lucky to get as much stuff done yesterday a I did! It was a busy day full of awesome finds and experiences!

Drove to Bellevue to finally get my first Allergy shot, stopped by Half Price Books where I picked up a promising looking game called "Skyline 3000" for $10 (retail price $60), and went to Value Village where I found this weird Mickey Mouse House playset that I still have to research (more on that in another post I'm sure) and a GREAT new game called RUN FOR YOUR LIFE CANDYMAN which is a parody of Candyland with combat and death and detruction. Simple enough to play with kids of any age as long a they can read at least a little bit :)

Today is Thursday, my fullest day of the week. Hope I can still get everything done like normal today!

Breakfast: Skipped
Lunch: 15 Buffalo Hot Wings
Dinner: Boiled chicken leg and thigh

Gym: 3.1 Miles, 12.6 miles total (I've made it to the 8th St SE Exit off of I-405 in Bellevue WOO!)

Clean: 45/15 x1, 20/10 x2

See??? What'd I tell ya! Carb Withdrawls are now *gone*, and I have ENERGY ONCE AGAIN! Not only did I get in a TON of much-needed cleaning AND do my longest/fastest Gym session I've ever had, but I ALSO was able to do quite a bit of blogging today - the type of blogging that makes me very happy :)

Breakfast: None.
Lunch: Boiled Chicken thigh and leg
Dinner: Boiled chicken thigh and leg

Gym: None, 9.5 Miles total

Clean: None

Carbohydrate withdrawal sucks a lot. No energy. Achy body. Sooooooo tired. Hopefully that will break today and I'll accomplish something, but yesterday? Yesterday was a complete and total wash :(

Breakfast: Pork Steak
Lunch: Pork Chop and Chicken Leg
Dinner: 2 grilled turkey patties with cheese, 2 grilled Bratwurst

Gym: 2.6 Miles, 9.5 Miles total

Clean: Nothing official, but accomplished 90% of my giant To Do List for yesterday which included a bunch of BIG projects like mowing the lawn, plus we let a Kirby Vacuum Sales Person clean the carpet in our living room for free so I feel pretty accomplished :)

Speaking of that fine young woman who cleaned our carpet last night, I had to break down and use Facebook to notify a friend that I wa living his fantasy! From Facebook:

"...should be very jealous of me right now... there is a punk-rock beauty queen covered in tasteful tattoos, rippin' body, shaved head (except for the front), looks like she jumped out of one of the pictures he's always posting on Facebook... and she's vacuuming our carpet for free. Kirby Vacuum Saleslady in training, a new thing for The Internet to fetishize!"

"Some of her ink is covered with large bandages, I'm guessing that they're quite risque' >;)"

"She keeps on WANTING to swear SO BAD, but she knows she can't because it's her first day... this is ADORABLE"

"She moves like a stripper... I can't even bring myself to look directly at her, feels like cheating on Crystal! Must avoid starring... must concentrate on INTERNET!"

"You know how hard it i to CASUALLY take a picture of somebody who' trying to sell you a vacuum? "WOW, that carpet is REALLY CLEAN! Mind if I take a picture of it? Also, could you, like, turn a bit so you're looking at me over your shoulder and *pout* for me? I mean for the carpet? Thanks!"

"There' a part in the demonstration where they use the vacuum on your mattress to show you how much dust is in there... I was outside at the moment (avoiding her beauty) but according to Crystal she didn't say what I *thought* would be the sexiest thing ("For this next part of the demonstration I'll need you to show me your bedroom")... no, she just said "Where's your nearest Mattress" WHICH IS SOMEHOW EVEN SEXIER!!!"

I'm sure that this story will become more epic each time I tell it as I add embellishments and creativity, plus the fog of time softening the hard facts, and I'm glad I took the time to write stuff down about it :) Need to remember the humbling aspects, too... she's got three kids, she's ex-military, just trying to earn a living but her heart just wasn't in to this job.

Breakfast: Bacon and Scrambled Eggs
Lunch: Skipped (breakfast was late)
Dinner: Broiled Pork Blade Steak, dehydrated Kale

Gym: None (More about that later), 4.6 miles total

Clean: 20/10 x2, kind of (the first one was just cleaning the kitchen while I made breakfast for everyone, so it was more like 10 minutes of cleaning)

Another busy weekend day! Slept in, made a very pretty breakfast, then we all went bowling at the Brunswick Lanes in Lynnwood. I feel that I need to be specific about it having been the Brunswick Lane in Lynnwood because it was SO MUCH BETTER than all our previous bowling experiences!

Most bowling alleys we have been to recently (I'm lookin' at YOU, Kenmore Lanes) have had three things in common - Broke-down, dirty and smells like a half-empty glass of beer poured over a dirty ashtray from 1992. Y'know, the way a Bowling Alley is SUPPOSED to be! It's basically a 1970's tavern that has never been cleaned.

Ahh, but The Majestic Brunswick Lanes in Lynnwood - WOW! It still had the basic layout of a classic bowling alley, but somehow they had gotten rid of the stale-beer-and-stale-cigarette smell! And that was just the start! Instead of being an angry man behind the counter, it was a very nice lady who was eager to help us get started! The Snack Bar looked *slick*, too... not the type of place I'd be tempted to try just because I know that Bowling Alley Food is the best/worst food on the planet - the kitchen was super-clean and brightly lit! There was even a young lady who worked there who was in charge of running the Bowling Birthday Parties - SO CRAZY!!! Remember when a Bowling Birthday Party was just your parents trying to wrangle a bunch of kids while bringing 3 pitchers of rootbeer to a table near where you and your friend were bowling?

This place wa clean, inviting and a pleasure to bowl at :) OOH I ALMOST FORGOT THE VIDEOS!!! Non-stop 1980's music video playing on every other overhead monitor! And tables with attached, swiveling, swing-out chairs like on Star Trek!

We will be returning for more bowling all Summer long, I'm sure :)

After bowling, we went to the Goodwill Outlet where I found a bag of heads and some other awesome stuff, then we came home and Molly discovered the Reading Rainbow app on my Kindle, so we spent the rest of the evening watching TV and listening to her read :)

Great day!

Today will be my first attempt to get "back to the grind", going to the gym and doing some serious cleaning :)

Breakfast: Ground Turkey Taco Meat, 2 Eggs, 1oz cheese, 2 cups baby spinach. Scrambled.
Lunch: Boiled chicken hind-quarter (tastier than it sounds)
Dinner: Broiled pork steak, 1/2 acorn squash.

Gym: 1.6 mile, 3.3 miles total

Clean: 20/10 x2

Oh yeah, spinach... two cups uncooked = 1/4 Tablespoon cooked. Forgot about that...

"The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago. The second best time is RIGHT NOW".