Day 94: The Fat Lady Sings

To end the suspense, this morning was the final weigh-in after a summer of eating and drinking. You'll be glad to know I arrived at just below my target weight of 147, having begun the summer at 153.4

Sunday morning weigh-in: 146.6

maybe one of these

In the next day or so I'll do a complete wrap-up. 

I'll say this much now, though — I don't care much for these new digital scales, that give you your weight, body mass, and blah blah blah. I think I'll look for one of those old-fashioned scales with a dial and a needle. I enjoy the thrill of watching the needle slowly creep higher and higher, wondering where it will stop.

Day 93: On the Final Page of the Food Diary. Wait... Stop That Cheering!

Saturday morning weigh-in: 147.2

So today is my final day of writing down all that I consume. Tomorrow morning when I step on the scale, we'll see if I managed to finish the summer at my target weight of 147. Looking down the page here, I'm not sure... but it will be close. Started this rainy, final full day of summer thusly...

coffee, Beaumont Breakfast Blend (2 cups)
rye toast w/butter (2 slices)

Headed over to Keyser Cadillac in Williamsville, and test-drove the new XTS luxury sedan. Sure made my car seem cheap (it is). Came home, paid some bills, did some home office organization (not too much, though), and had a little lunch:


Dannon coffee yogurt (6 oz.)
pepperjack sandwich
     cheese (3 slices)
hard-boiled egg (1)
coffee, Beaumont
     Breakfast Blend
     (1 cup)

and then a snack (see below), as I attempt to design the wall of bookshelves I'll be building in the living room. This is a first; usually I just wing-it and see how it turns out. Had a small snack as I measured and sketched,

red seedless grapes (1 cluster)

By the time dinner time rolled around, The Boy had left for the day, so Tracy and I had an easy dinner (translation: no cooking)...

ham & hard-boiled egg on whole wheat (1 sandwich)
beef-barley soup (1 bowl)
Clancy's Wavy Chips w/French Onion Dip 
     (more than I planned, especially on my last night of keeping track!)

Gable/Loy

Watched the DVR'd Clark Gable/Myrna Loy movie from 1938, Too Hot to Handle. (I think I could have written better dialogue.)

I think we'll end this thing right here.

Day 92: There's No Place Like Hummus

Friday morning weigh-in: 147.8

Well then. Only two more days to go before Autumn begins. So far, I'd say things have been a success. At least in blogsville. Started this fine Friday morning with

coffee, medium black at the s-l-o-w-e-s-t Tim Hortons yet (1 cup)
Paula Red apple (1)

Returned home from the morning drive very early. And for the final time. Decided it was as good a time as any for some

grits & eggs (1 bowl)
coffee, Beaumont caramel (1 cup)

Fiddled around on the computer for a while before leaving for the afternoon drive to Lewiston — also for the final time. Had another 

Paula Red apple (1)

whilst driving. Came home, wasted more time on the computer, and got ready to head downtown. The good old Statler Lobby Bar was beckoning, and it being a Friday, we answered the call.




Sam Adams Octoberfest (2 pints)

Food Network file photo

and at The Old House Downtown,

Yuengling Traditional Lager (1-12 oz. bottle)
cabbage salad
cheese plate
home-made Hot Steaming Loaf®, 
   whole wheat w/butter
store-bought 
   hummus w/pita chips
home-made 
   hummus w/pita chips



home-made 
   salsa w/tortilla chips
ham slices
Shur-Fine Diet White Birch Beer (1-12 oz. can)

And piano music by the one and only Gary Marino!

Day 91: "Mr. Corbran. Come Here. I Need You." — Alexander Graham Cracker

Thursday morning weigh-in: 147.8

Yesterday's "coffee from home" experiment was off, and will remain off until I get a less plasticky cup to drink out of in the car. That being said, it was a predictable morning drive...

coffee, Tim Hortons medium black (1 cup)
caramel/apple bagel, plain, Tim Hortons (1)
Paula Red apple (1)

I've been eyeing those caramel/apple bagels all week, and my resistance finally broke down. Highly recommended. Got home later than expected for lunch, so I grabbed a

Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom strawberry yogurt (8 oz.)
water (12 oz.)

before running out the door again for my penultimate afternoon trip to Lewiston. Ugh. Came home and goofed-off for a while before dinner, which consisted of

from "Under the Dome"

home-made beef-barley soup (2 bowls)

Savoritz Buttery Crisp crackers (about 8 — I wasn't counting) 

while watching what I had supposed was the finale of the "miniseries" Under the Dome.

Seems the dip-wads at CBS have decided to renew the "series" for a second season. Too bad. I might just let it go. (I read the book so the actual ending would have been anti-climactic anyhoo).

Boo! Hiss!

After that it was two episodes of Color Splash, before getting to the newest installment of Project Runway, where this week Karma showed its not-so-ugly head. Had a few

Clancy's Wavy Potato Chips

and a pack — yes, a pack — of 





Benton's Cinnamon Graham crackers. 
     (I like the "serving suggestion" shown on the front of the box: 
     it's a picture of a cracker. Genius.)

Everyone knows that if you open a pack of graham crackers, you have to finish it off or they get stale. Just doin' my part.

Day 90: Alex, I'll Take Stephen King For $800

Wednesday morning weigh-in: 148.0

I can never decide if I should put the decimal in there if the number following it is a zero. But, there it is.

This morning, in a cost-cutting measure, I decided to brew my own coffee for the morning drive. Problem is, I don't like to have it too early, and by the time I was ready for it it was only lukewarm. And I still don't like drinking coffee out of those plastic "thermal" cups. So if I'm really trying to cut costs, I may just cut the driving coffee altogether. Bah.

Anyway...

coffee, Beaumont Dark Roast (1 cup)
everything bagel, plain (also from home — 1)


It was an almost uneventful morning, except for a stupid phone call (which we won't go into right now). Finished up in time to sit and read for a bit, just for a change of pace. A while ago I started Stephen King's novel from the Hard Case Crime series, "Joyland," and now I'm really getting interested. You've gotta love that trashy-looking pulp fiction-like cover.

Had a quick lunch of

Friendly Farms honey-flavored Greek yogurt (6 oz.)
Swiss cheese, sandwich slices (2)
leftover taco beef (about 1 taco's worth)
Wise All-Natural potato chips (a handful or two)
water (12 oz.)

Almost made a huge mistake with the chips. At first glance I thought the bag said "Au Naturel" and I was going to disrobe before eating them. Yikes!

Went back to work for the afternoon drive to Lewiston, then came home and did some house-cleaning. Alone for dinner, which usually means something along the lines of

ham & pepperjack on rye (1 sandwich)
Tops pineapple soda/pop (20 oz.)

A little more clean-up before settling down in front of the telly. Watched the season premiere of "New Girl" — I love Zooey Deschanel, but this show is starting to get weird; then the third installment of the TCM series "The Story of Film: An Odyssey;" and finished up with an episode of "Wheeler Dealers" on Velocity, where a guy sold the boys his Porsche 914, then bought it back after they'd fixed it all up — a first for the show!

The telly-watching wasn't snack-free...

Genny Light (2-12 oz. cans)
Wise All-Natural potato chips 
     (1 handful — the end of the bag)
Clancy's Wavy Potato Chips 
     (1 handful — the beginning of the bag)

That's enough of that for a while. I hope. (Stupid chips!)

Day 89: Doc Sullivan Makes Another Blog Appearance

Tuesday morning weigh-in: 146.2

It didn't seem like a Tuesday, whatever that means. And I was still feeling blah. But went off to the salt mines just the same. And whilst driving around...

coffee, Tim Hortons medium black (1 cup)
everything bagel, Tim Hortons, plain (1)

Somehow I managed to find the time to stop at the gym (it's been so long I almost forgot my padlock combination — almost). Did my four miles, came home for a quick

Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom mixed berry yogurt (8 oz.)
Swiss cheese (2 sandwich-sized slices)
shelled walnuts (a fist-full)
water (12 oz.)

before heading back out to work for a bit. A text on my phone said "You guys interested in wings tonight?" And of course we were, so at dinner-time we were off to South Buffalo for another visit to Doc Sullivan's on Abbott Road. I certainly had my share...

wings, medium w/bleu cheese (10)

French fries (about half-an-order)

Smithwick's (2 pints)

A good night, I'd say.

Day 88: Bah. Just Bah.

Monday morning weigh-in: 148.7

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And some days it just ticks you off. Like today...

But enough of that. Monday. Morning off.

eggs, 2 soft-boiled
toast, Italian, buttered (1)
coffee, Beaumont Dark Roast (1 cup)
coffee, Beaumont Fair Trade Columbian (1 cup)

Spent the morning unburying my desk from an avalanche of papers. You know, the papers that were supposed to be so non-existent now that we all have home computers. Lunch couldn't come quick enough,

Friendly Farms strawberry Greek yogurt, (6 oz.)
Aero bar, milk chocolate (42g)
Moser Roth dark chocolate bar (125g)
water (12 oz.)

You see, when the day's going bad, chocolate tries its darnedest to make things better. Headed off to Lewiston for work, and then home again to a simple dinner. It wasn't even a dinner. It was a sandwich...

ham & Swiss on an everything bagel (1)
cheddar (1 oz — that's all there was)
water (12 oz.)

Not even going to snack tonight. Or watch the telly. Think I'll go read. Good night, Irene.

Day 87: A Day of Rest? Nah!

Sunday morning weigh-in: 149.7

I won't complain, as I fully expected to blast through the 150 mark after last night. I think one more brownie/peanut butter cookie would have sent me over the edge. 

This is the final week of A Season of Eating, and if I want to finish at my target weight, I'd better coast some...

So, today,

coffee, Beaumont Caramel (1 cup)
Italian bread, toasted w/butter (2 slices)

and then it was off to church, where I hoped to find encouragement about my season of eating. I'm not sure the parable of the prodigal son helped, as I was picturing myself at the feast celebrating his return, eating the fatted calf.

Naturally, I came home just at lunch time...

leftover chicken/pasta salad (1-1/2 servings, if we're being honest)
water (12 oz.)

Keira Knightley — Boo!

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Maybe that prodigal son would like to take a turn working in my living room. Did a little in there today, but kept in mind that Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Finished-up early, and Tracy and I watched the DVD of the 2012 version of Anna Karenina. As much as I like Keira Knightley, I felt no sympathy for her character; and I was totally distracted by the actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who played Vronsky — I kept thinking how much he looked like Eric Idle of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

file photo

While watching, had 


ham & Swiss on rye w/Dijon (1 sandwich)
Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom cherry yogurt (8 oz.)
water (12 oz.)

Also, while on the comp,

Aero bar, peppermint (41g)
cheddar (2 oz.)

and after last night's food fest, culinarily called it a night right there.

Day 86: Jazzy Snacks

Saturday morning weigh-in: 147.8

Saturdays are for sleeping-in. And staying in bed until 8 a.m. these days is really sleeping-in. Awoke to

coffee, Beaumont Dark Roast (2 cups)
grits & eggs (1 bowl)

Watched a little telly — Thursday's episode of Project Runway. Why won't they get rid of that arrogant S.O.B. Kenneth? Fer Cripe's sake! Then got to work some on the living room, which will be done soon (so I've been promising).

Had a little lunch...

Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom mixed berry yogurt (8 oz.)
leftover chicken/pasta salad (1 bowl)
Tops Pineapple soda/pop (12 oz.)

back to work, then a quick dinner —

cheese/pepperoni pizza from Pam's (3 slices)
Genny Light (2-12 oz. cans)

Yep, he was there!

and then took a nap. We was goin' out later! What a charmed life we lead; sitting in the living room of some friends we met over a year ago, and from time-to-time, from out of the crowd, step up jazz singers and musicians who take turns playing and singing (because this is what they do!). These folks are professionals, known all over WNY (and even across the country!), whom many have paid good money to listen to over the years, and there we are, sitting next to them on the ottoman while they perform. I tell ya, this is a great bunch of people, and I'm humbled to be counted among their friends! 

Her too!

Oh yeah, and there was food...

pasta salad
butternut squash soup
cheese/pepper-crusted pepperoni/cracker platter
chicken wing dip w/perfect celery
cherry tomatoes/mozzarella/basil on a stick
Italian bread w/fresh pesto
home-made brownies
home-made peanut butter cookies
home-made pumpkin birthday cake

And, yep, you guessed it!

I had plenty of everything (5 of the brownies — which I thing have some kind of addictive ingredient — and 3 of the PB cookies, of which you can't each just one)
Also...

Squirt (12 oz. glass)
Saranac Pale Ale (2-12 oz. bottles)

All-in-all — a very memorable evening!

Day 85: Cars & Art

Friday morning weigh-in: 147.6

A nice Fall morning; too bad it's still summer!
Something warm to start the morning helped...

coffee, Tim Hortons medium black (1 cup)
Life cereal, dry (1 bowl)
Paula Red apple (1)
Coffee Crisp (1 50g bar)

Also, turning the heat on a bit in the car didn't hurt. Not in the house though, where I stopped in for

Friendly Farms strawberry Greek yogurt (6 oz.)
Wise Cheddar & Sour Cream potato chips (a handful)
water (12 oz.)

Then it was off to pick up the YAKmobile from Integrity Auto in Wheatfield, where it was N.Y.S. Inspection time — and new windshield day. Nice and sparkly clean, it is! Friday evening was also the opening of the Auto Art Exhibit at The NACC in Niagara Falls, which I took in before heading to The Old House Downtown for a buffet dinner. The exhibit was small, but entertaining; and I was really enjoying the music, a blues band called The Bravuras. I did manage to force down a nice

brownie (1)

while I was there. And then, dinner...

lentils

lentil stew (1 bowl)
chicken/pasta salad (1 serving)
home-made whole wheat bread, 
     liberally slathered w/butter 
     (1 thick slice)
ham (1 slice)
assorted cheeses (assorted servings)
Yuengling Traditional Lager 
     (1 12 oz. bottle)
ambrosia (1 bowl)

With all the good talk that was going on, I never found time to fill my face with any more food or drink. I call that a success!

Day 84: My First Doughnut

Thursday morning weigh-in: 148.8

And a doughnut sure won't help things. I hadn't given it much thought up to now, but I don't even remember the last doughnut I'd eaten up until today. And this one was by accident, sort of. I had poked my head into the kitchen at Macri's in Lewiston, and they asked if I'd like a doughnut. Who could say no?
So the morning started with

coffee, Tim Hortons medium black (1 cup)
Life cereal, dry (1 bowl)
Paula Red apple (1)
and of course,
doughnut (1 — some sort of peanuty-coated creme-filled affair)

Decided on a light lunch, 

Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom mixed berry yogurt (8 oz.)
water (12 oz.)

two Harold Lloyds for the price of one

Dinner was consumed in front of the telly, where we watched the 1920 Harold Lloyd silent short His Royal Slyness. And that dinner was

roasted pork loin (1 serving)
mashed potatoes (1 huge serving)
steamed asparagus (1 serving)
water (12 oz.)
Cheez-Its (2 handfuls [ugh])




and later


Wise All-Natural 
   Potato Chips 
   (2 handfuls 
   [2 ughs])
Benton's Maple 
   Creme cookies (2)
Moser Roth 
   Premium Dark 
   Chocolate (125g - 1 bar)

'til Friday...

Day 83: Sweatin' to the Oldies

Wednesday morning weigh-in: 147.6

Yeah, it's hot. How hot is it? It's so hot, Batman and Robin are storing their extra tights in the freezer. 

And of course, in my car — you know, the one I spend my working day in — the a/c has gone south. And by "gone south" I mean on a one-way ticket. So perhaps, if this heat keeps up, I won't need to watch what I eat, because I'll be spending five or six hours per day in a sauna, listening to music mostly from the 60s & 70s.

So of course, I started the morning with a hot, steaming cup of 

coffee, Tim Horton's medium, black (1 cup)
along with a Paula Red apple (1)
and a couple of Milky Way bites, snapped-up from yet another customer's candy jar.

Lunch came in the shape of

Dannon coffee-flavored yogurt (6 oz.)
turkey & pepperjack on Italian (1 sandwich)
Benton Maple Creme cookies (5)
Paula Red apple (1)
water (12 oz.)

Dinner was a quick affair —

chicken salad & pepperjack on Italian (1 sandwich)
beef vegetable soup (1 bowl)
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)

Watched the finale of So You Think You Can Dance, and I'm happy to say I chose the two winners a couple of weeks ago. So I Think I'm So Smart.

Finished off the evening with some

Wise salt & vinegar potato chips (about 4 oz.)

See ya tomorra.

Day 82: Dipping Into the Candy Jar

Tuesday morning weigh-in: 146.8

It's not the first day in my life that the first thing I ate was candy. I didn't plan it that way, but when confronted with a large, full jar on an empty stomach... I'm dippin' in. 

Jolly Ranchers 
   (1 grape, 1 cherry)
Kraft caramels 
   (1... really, only 1)

and then

coffee, Tim Horton's   medium black (1 cup)
     (They charged me the "senior price." I must have looked exceptionally crappy today.)
JonaGold apple (1)



and then it was work, work, work... drive, drive, drive...
Until lunch. Actually took a break to eat today before heading up to Lewiston for my afternoon stop. Parked on the parkway (makes sense to me!) along the Upper Rapids — love hearing the sound of the river flowing at this point. Enjoyed a


Jimmy Dean's sausage,   
   egg, & cheese biscuit (1)
Pepsi Zero (20 oz.)

Did a little work around the house upon getting home, nibbling on some

Snyder's of Hanover Hot Buffalo Pretzel Pieces 
     (you know, the stuff they used to throw away before they discovered that people like us would actually buy it!)

before settling down to dinner,

homemade soft tacos — 
   beef, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, cilantro (2)
Sprite Zero — which up to now 
   I didn't even know existed (20 oz.)
Wise cheddar/sour cream potato chips 
   (2 big fistsful)

which we ate while watching the DVR'd 
Under the Dome, which for some stupid reason started recording late, meaning we missed the final 15 minutes. Stupid DirecTV!

Day 81: I Don't Like Mondays

Monday morning weigh-in: 147.0

Boomtown Rats

I used to like Mondays. Now, not so much. Let's take a little musical interlude here.

Okay then. The day started off with a previously-scheduled trip to the chiropractor. Nothing like a little back-cracking to start off the week. But before leaving...

orange juice (12 oz.)
toasted everything bagel w/butter

and upon returning

coffee, Beaumont Caramel (1 cup)

Don't ask why I didn't have the coffee before going to the chiropractor. And then of course, it was more bonding with my living room project, before disturbing my afternoon for a new work contract, which must be seen to daily. Sure breaks up the day. Not in a good way, though. Oh well, we do what we must do.

couldn't find a Tops Root Beer photo

Came home and balanced the check book and savings account. Just one thrill after another. I was soon ready to fire-up the grill again, and throw on dinner...

grilled chicken breasts (1 each)
grilled red potatoes (1 each)
steamed carrots (see above)
Diet Coke (12 oz.)
Tops Root Beer (6 oz.)

Cleaned up after the LR job, and sat down to write this, fueled by the remainder of

Clancy's White Rounds tortilla chips
and a
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)

Now leave me alone while I go to bed and dream of drywall dust.

Day 80: So When Does Football Season Start?

Sunday morning weigh-in: 147.2

If it's a weekend, and I remember, always start the morning with

grits & eggs, the eggs being 2, soft-boiled and mixed in.
coffee, Beaumont Caramel (1 cup)
coffee, Beaumont Fair Trade Columbian (1 cup)

then it was a bit of the Sunday paper before heading off to church, eventually coming home to

coffee, Beaumont Breakfast Blend 
     (1 cup — hey, it was still morning!)

A little more paper, started the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle, and then I was off into the living room. I call it the living room, because lately it seems like I've been living in there. And while hard at work I made a concerted effort to ignore any and all football games which may or may not have been on the telly. Sorry fans, but I couldn't care less. Or could I?

Had a

Genny Light (1 12 oz. can) 

to lighten the load.

It was a long afternoon, finally broken when The Wife returned home from work and I fired up the grill. I may not like football, but I'm still a man, and we all know the man does the grillin'.

New York strip steak
grill-roasted potatoes
steamed corn & peas
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)

Norman Bates

Benton's chocolate chip cookies (6 — they're small)

While eating we watched the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho, which The Boy had never seen. Great for the digestion.

Also pounded down some

Clancy's White Rounds tortilla chips (a fistful)

while doing a little writing, on, as the kids used to call it — the comp. I don't think I'm hungry any more today, so I figured it's safe to type-up this thing.

Oh, how'd that football game turn out?

Day 79: The Butler Did It. So Did I.

Saturday morning weigh-in: 148.4

Boring? Yes. Effective? Yes again. Writing this stuff down, I believe, has kept me from eating a lot of the crap I used to eat (mostly in the evening — the worst time to eat crap. Not that there's a good time to eat crap. There's just bad times, worse times, and the worst times).

So a Saturday morning breakfast was on my agenda...

grits & 2 soft-boiled eggs, stirred to perfection
Beaumont Breakfast Blend coffee (1 cup)
orange juice (7 oz.)

and

Beaumont Caramel coffee (1 cup)

Then it was off to Northtown Fiat to test-drive a new 500L for an up-coming You Auto Know column. And back to the living room project. Cleaning-up a few odds & ends before the taping & mudding begins on Monday morning. Had a quick lunch of

Dannon coffee yogurt (6 oz.)
leftover cracked pepper-coated 
     turkey, naked (3 small chunks)
water (12 oz.)

Living room, blah, blah, blah...



A quick lunch often means a quick dinner also...

turkey w/cranberry relish on 
     Italian bread (1 sandwich)
guacamole w/tortilla chips
JonaGold apple (1)
Benton's chocolate chip cookies (4)
cranberry/raspberry juice cocktail (12 0z.)

and Tracy and I were off to the Regal Elmwood to see The Butler. I'm putting it on my "reccommended" list. While there, nothing more than a

popcorn, small (even though the guy tried up-selling me to a large — "You'll get a free refill!" Why would two large popcorns sound tempting to someone who wanted only one small?)


Came home to a little work on the computer, to the tune of




Benton's chocolate chip cookies (4 more)
Clancy's White Round tortilla chips (a handful)
cranberry/raspberry juice cocktail (12 oz.)

See you Sunday.