Day 71: "Under the Dome" Takes On A New Meaning

Friday morning weigh-in: 148.8

Can't believe that's all after last night's eat-a-thon. I guess it's not how much you eat as it's what you eat. Looking back at it, except for the beer (and the brownies) it was all pretty good fare.

Now today... ever since starting this new work schedule on Monday, my eating and going to the gym have been thrown in turmoil. I need to get my game back on track.

The morning started innocently enough, with

coffee, Tim Hortons medium black (1 cup)
   (tonight I noticed that there's no apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" — bah!)
Tops chewy trail mix bar, fruit & nut variety (1)
Paula Red apple (1)
red plums (2)

pre-remodeling photo

I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the gym before having to head up to Lewiston (again!), and came home for a quick snack of

white cheddar (about 4 oz.)

did a little work on the computer, and then we headed over to Tonawanda's Dome Stadium for dinner:

fish fry, w/french fries, cole slaw, 
     and bread w/butter
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer (1 pint)


We later watched the previous night's episode of Project Runway while enjoying

Fit & Active Mint Ice Cream Sandwich (1)
Benton's Best Raspberry Swirl 
     Creme Sandwich Cookies (4)

and I think that oughtta wrap it up for the night!

Day 70: Party 'Til Your Pants Don't Fit

Thursday morning weigh-in: 148.0

Let's cut right to the chase here, because most of the eating action happens in the evening...

early morning drive,


coffee, Tim Horton's medium black (1 cup)
Nestlé Coffee Crisp, 50 g (1 yummy bar)

Chocolate for breakfast? Don't like it? Sue me.


lunch,

Friendly Farms black cherry Greek yogurt (6 oz.)
Tim Horton's cheese bagel (1 — plain)
water (12 oz.)

and then there was dinner. A buffet-type dinner with some friends, where everything was brought from home,

vintage can

blueberry cheese & crackers 

     appetizer (a Few. Yes, with a Capital "F".)

Genesee Twelve Horse Ale (1 12 oz. bottle)
beef chili (1 bowl)
beef & pork chili (1 bowl)
Genesee Beer (1 12 oz. can)
loaded potato salad (1 serving)
crab salad (1 serving)
ham slices (2 or 3, small)
cheddar cheese & pepperoni (another Few)
Labatt Blue Light beer (1 12 oz. can)
Wegman's black cherry pop (1 12 oz. can)
addictive brownies (3 — would have been more, 
     but we left at that point)

The scale should be groanin' in the mornin'.

Day 69: Can't Say No to Free Chocolate

Wednesday morning weigh-in: 147.8

It was a sweet morning; one of those days where people were throwing candy at me. Well, maybe not throwing it, but it was right there on their desks, daring me to take some. I obliged.

Started out with

coffee, Tim Horton's, medium black (1 cup)
Tops Chewy Granola Trail Mix Bar, fruit & nut variety (1)
Paula Red Apple (1)
Starlight Spinners peppermint candy (2 disks)
Milky Way minis (2 — 1 Midnight, 1 regular)

Got home too late for lunch. I'll have to figure something out here, what with the new work schedule. Ugh.

Did manage to stuff these into my face, though:

Benton's Best Raspberry Swirl Creme Sandwich Cookies (3)

And then, after taking care of the sale and delivery of Katie's car (she won't be needing it now that she's in NYC), it was dinner time,

leftover chicken cacciatore (1 big serving)
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)
pepperjack cheese (about 2 oz.)

Had a bit of cerebral work to finish up (well, not finish, but work on) with our friend, Phil before settling down with Tracy to watch the previous night's (disappointing) episode of So You Think You Can Dance, while enjoying 

Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)
Dr. Pepper (12 oz.)
Clancy's Big Dipper Corn chips 
     w/French onion dip (again, too many/too much)

I think that'll do. Yes, that'll do for the day.

Day 68:Whose Blog Is It Anyway?

Tuesday morning weigh-in: 148.2

It would appear that if you need to lose one pound in one day, you need to eat a lot of crap. And throw some pasta and a couple of beers into the mix. Go figure.

Today (Tuesday) was different. We'll see how that works.

coffee, Tim Horton's medium black (1 cup)
dry-roasted, slightly-salted edamame (1 22.5 gram bag)
Tops chewy trail mix bar, fruit & nut variety (1)
Paula Red apple (1)
red plum (1)

and, due to a scheduling mix-up it was home for a store-bought lunch,

Tops Deli turkey roll-up (1, cut into four because it looks smaller that way)
water (20 oz.)
Paula Red apple (1)
marshmallows (the last 3 — finally!)

and then, OMG it was almost dinner time by the time I got back. Not liking this new schedule so far...

grilled pork chop (1)
steamed veg (1 serving)
mashed potatoes (1 heap)
Pepsi (12 oz.)

Went for a haircut — actually, as my Dad would always say — I got them all cut. Came home and watched last night's installment of Under the Dome, and then a couple of episodes of the new Whose Line Is It Anyway on the CW channel. Of course, not without putting something into my face...

WLIIA cast

Genny Light 
    (1 12 oz. can)
white cheddar (about 2 oz.)
Fit & Active Vanilla 
     Ice Cream Sandwich (1)



And I think that about wraps 'er up. 
Not only that, but now I'm caught up after our weekend away.

Day 67: What a Bunch of Crap! (No, Dearest, I Meant Everything BUT the Dinner!)

Monday morning weigh-in: 149.2

Creeping dangerously close to the 150 mark again. Hmmph.

A Monday morning at home, and a quick breakfast of

Beaumont Morning Blend coffee (1 cup)
rye toast w/butter (2 slices)

And then really got sidetracked working in the living room. Had to go out early in the afternoon for work, and missed lunch. Completely. Ugh.

But at least Tracy made a great dinner...

lemon-garlic shrimp w/spaghetti (a manly-sized portion)
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can — seemed like the perfect accompaniment)

It was a terribly boring evening. Paperwork. Writing. Yawning and scratching. Thanks goodness for the fridge...



Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)
Fit & Active Vanilla Ice 
   Cream Sandwich (1)

and then there was the 




Benton's Best Raspberry Swirl Creme Sandwich Cookies 
   (3 — it took longer to type the name 
   than to eat the cookies)
Clancy's Big Dip Corn Chips w/French Onion dip 
   (too many/too much)

Looking back at it, it all seems pretty bad except for the dinner. 

Sigh.

Day 66: Wow, That's Really Dull

Sunday morning weigh-in: 148.4

Nobody ever promised this would be interesting every day. And today's one of them, if you get my drift.

Started out okay, with a traditional week-end breakfast of

grits & eggs, 2 soft-boiled and mixed in
Café Escapes café caramel coffee (2 cups)

Living room project. Blah, blah, blah. (I'm as tired of it as you are.)
Lunch...

Tops Fruit-on-the-bottom strawberry yogurt (8 oz.)
Clancy's Wavy potato chips (just a few; a big few, but a few just the same)
water (12 oz.)
Paula Red apple (1)

Living room project. See above.

Dinner. Dinner?

ham & American cheese on rye (1 sandwich)
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)
red plum (1)


And then we watched the DVD of the Tina Fey movie Admission. 

Munched on





Snyder's Hot Buffalo Wing-flavored pretzel pieces 
     (whoever came up with this idea is a genius — selling the scraps which fell to the floor and which probably used to be thrown away!)

Later had

3 marshmallows 

before going to bed. They reminded me of my pillow.

Day 65: A Real, Live Leprechaun (Sort Of)

Saturday morning weigh-in: 148.4

Not too bad for the morning after a Friday evening.

It's about time I had my favorite weekend breakfast...

grits & two soft-boiled eggs (all in 1 bowl)
Beaumont Breakfast Blend coffee (2 cups)

before heading out to the — you guessed it — living room project. Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an on-coming train, it's the end. Well, at least it's in sight.

Lunch consisted of the remainder of yesterday's

leftover loaded potato salad (the rest, just like I said)
peanut butter wafers (2)
Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom cherry yogurt (8 oz.)
water (20 oz.)

Time went quickly. So quickly that there wasn't time for a real dinner before heading downtown to the Irish Festival. So I had a quick

ham & American cheese on rye (1 sandwich)
Clancy's Wavy Potato Chips ( a handful) 
water (12 oz.)

Thought about eating at the Fest, but passed. Didn't pass, however, on the 

Smithwick's (2 pints)

Daniel Colt Collins

while passing the time with Pat & Norm (my sister and brother-in-law) and meeting up with old friends (you all know who you are). Also met Daniel Colt Collins, who was selling his book about the time he spent as the Notre Dame Leprechaun. Nice guy; can't wait to get at the book: Life As the Notre Dame Leprechaun — Behind the Face of the Fighting Irish.

Got home around 10 p.m., and had another

ham & American cheese on rye (1 sandwich — this time toasted)
along with those wavy chips again (another handful or so)
cheddar cheese (about 2 oz.)

And that's it for another day. 

Go Irish!

Day 64: Gym Workout + Overhead Television Screen = New Potato Salad Recipe

Friday morning weigh-in: 147.6

And it being a Friday, you know that won't hold for long. It's not so much the morning nosh —

for reference only

coffee, Tim Horton's medium, black (1)

Tops Chewy Trail Mix bar, fruit & nut variety (1)

It's the evening dinner that's coming down the road which is often a problem. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Back before I started this blog, I was a Trail Mix Baraholic. Not always strictly the trail mix variety — for a while I seemed to be hooked on the Millville (Aldi brand) Sweet & Salty Granola Bars, both the almond and the peanut. The supermarkets all seem to sell these sweet, sugary, yummy-flavored granola bars in the aisle with the actual granola to make them look healthy. A daily dose of these things is not good for weight-watching — unless you just want to watch the weight go up.


Anyway... a quick lunch of

Yoplait Light blackberry yogurt (6 oz.)
Paula Red apple (1)
chocolate-covered peanut butter wafer (1 bar)
water (12 oz.)

The Chew cast

before making the Loaded Potato Salad. This was a recipe I saw the day before while watching The Chew at the gym. Potatoes, a 50/50 combo of mayo/sour cream, bacon bits — what's not to like? It was a big hit at The Old House Downtown Friday Night Three-Foot Buffet! Here's this week's menu (which was preceded by a stop at The Statler lobby bar, and 

Great Lakes Brewing Co., The Wright Pils 
     (2 pints - hey, they're still 2-for-1!)

Oh yeah, the dinner menu (which was possibly even better than whatever they were serving to the wedding party next to us at The Statler):

tilapia

loaded potato salad (2 servings)
tilapia soup (1 serving)
chicken walnut apple salad (2 servings)
hot, steaming whole wheat bread w/butter (1 1/2 slices)
cheddar cheese (about 3 oz.)
homemade ambrosia (2 servings)
Genesee Beer (1 12 oz. can)

After dinner, we really needed a walk, so along the way stopped in at Spot Coffee on Delaware and Chippewa for a

coffee, small w/milk (1 cup, to go)

to sip on. Eventually came home. More eventually, went to bed.

Day 63: Other Than Dinner, Nothing Much Write Home About. Or Anywhere Else for That Matter.

Thursday morning weigh-in: 148.0

The other day, a Facebook friend mentioned how she's sick of losing the same two pounds over and over again. What she needs to focus on is not gaining the same two pounds over and over again. (I'm not a professional dietician; I only play one on television.) I'm in a similar groove, but I'm okay with it because this is pretty much where I want to be. Maintaining it is the challenge; and so far so good.

This morning started out with

coffee, Tim Horton's medium black, bought at the Lewiston Tops (1 cup)
Tops Multi-Grain Crunchy Oats bar, fruit & nut variety (1)
dry-roasted edamame (1 22.5 gram bag)
Paula Red apple (1)
red plum (1)

Followed by

file photo

water (20 oz.)

at the gym, along with 4.5 miles walked on the treadmill. At the gym, I was watching the ABC program The Chew, where I saw a great recipe for a new potato salad. I'll give it a try tomorrow for the weekly downtown buffet. Lunch was eventually squeezed in —




Tops Fruit-on-the-Bottom raspberry yogurt
Baker's Treat peanut butter wafers (2)
Tostito crispy rounds (1 fistful)
water (12 oz.)

Harold Lloyd

Dinnertime was spent watching an old Harold Lloyd silent movie, Hot Water, while dining on

chicken cacciatore (1 serving)
Genny Light (1 12 oz. can)

After which Tracy, Andy, and I were off to help out at the food pantry. Came home and watched Project Runway. A snack? Don't mind if I do...







Clancy's wavy potato chips (a manly-sized serving)
Friendly's black raspberry ice cream (1 scoop)

A little writing, then off to dreamland.

Day 62: Whose Idea Was It to Clean Out the Fridge?

Wednesday morning weigh-in: 148.0

Sharp readers will remember how we spent last week eating whatever was in the fridge so it wouldn't go bad while we were away. And yes, that worked out fine. Until today, when we went to make dinner, but hadn't time to shop yet since we've been back. But, life goes on. As does breakfast, on the road for work,

coffee, Tim Horton's medium black (1 cup)
the Aldi brand of Life cereal (whose name escapes me, 
     and of course the box is long gone), dry (1 bowl)
dry roasted edamame (22.5 gram bag)

Went to the gym after work, and did 4.5 miles on the treadmill (with 20 oz. water) before heading home for a late lunch...


leftover strawberry applesauce (about 1/2 cup)
green seedless grapes (1 cluster)
Tostitos Crispy Rounds (1 handful)
marshmallows (2; which is 2 too many)
water (12 oz.)

Dinner? Yes, we found something to throw together.

ham & scrambled eggs w/American cheese 
     (2 eggs each)
everything bagel w/butter (1/2 — the top half)
Beaumont Breakfast Blend coffee (1 cup)

SYTYCD's Fik-Shun & Amy

Did some insulating in the living room. Watched some television (So You Think You Can Dance) while enjoying

Genny Light (2 12 oz. cans)
popcorn, stove-top made
     (many, many handfuls)

And then, I danced up to bed.

Day 61: Scaling the Scale After a Weekend in NYC; Should I Look, Or Not?

Tuesday morning weigh-in: 148.8

Good grief! After eating all that crap, I gained only 2/10ths of a pound. If weight was age, I've discovered the Fountain of Youth.

And that would be: Eat what you want (well, to a point, of course; let's not get silly), but just keep moving. I wish I'd had a pedometer in New York, as it seems we walked for miles. And miles. It's the first time the tops of my feet ever hurt (maybe because the bottoms had already checked out). 

So on the first day back to work, which I also call "Eat, Drink, and Be Driving," I had

coffee, medium Tim Horton's, black (1 cup)
Tim Horton's fruit explosion muffin (1)
dry-roasted edamame, lightly salted (22.5g bag)




Seemed like a long day. Also seemed like I'd walked enough already, so I skipped past the gym and came home for lunch —

ham & American cheese on 
     whole wheat (1 sandwich)
green seedless grapes (1 cluster)
water (16 oz.)

Caught up on a little paper work — okay, a lot of paperwork; and suddenly it was dinner time...





Southern-style chicken fillet (2)
tater tots (1 heapin' serving)
steamed green beans (I believe there were 21 1/2
     beans on my plate — give-or-take)
Diet Orange Crush (12 oz.)

Later on we watched the continuing saga of Under the Dome on the DVR, while I enjoyed

Friendly's black raspberry ice cream (2 scoops)
3 of those creepy marshmallows which seem to be multiplying in our cupboard

Finally got up out of my chair and took one more walk. Up to bed.

Day 60: NYC, It Was Great Seeing You Again!

Monday morning weigh-in: NA (or actually, NS — No Scale!)

Time to head back up the Thruway, But not before one last 

hotel coffee w/cream (1 cup)

which I took with me as we headed into Midtown Manhattan traffic... at 9 a.m.! It only took about 45 minutes to get to the Lincoln Tunnel (about 16 blocks). 
I don't want to hear anymore stories about how you sat at The Big Blue Water Tower for five minutes while nothing moved. Once into Jersey, we stopped in Clifton for breakfast at... wait for it — Dunkin' Donuts! Wasn't what we had in mind, but it was there when we needed it. Of course, after pulling out of the parking lot, 30 seconds down the street was an old 1950s-style diner. Maybe next time. At least at DD there are no surprises. Like my

file photo

sausage/egg flatbread sandwich (1)
orange juice (8 0z.)

Seeing that we were in the Richfield Shopping Center, we stopped in at the grocery store to stock up on some munchies for the ride home (which the three of us shared),




green seedless grapes
Honest Ade orange mango juice
Tate's Bake Shop white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies

This all got us through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. And most of New York. Finally made a pit stop on the NYS Thruway, at the rest area just east of exit 47, where they have a great deli that makes sandwiches to order. 
Mine was a

ham & Swiss on rye, w/ lettuce, tomato, & mustard
potato salad (1 pint)
Snapple peach tea (16. oz)

Turned in the rental car at 6 p.m. and headed home. Where I needed one more snack (okay, two, technically)

Triscuits, original (6. Just 6)
Friendly's caramel ice cream, w/caramel sauce (2 scoops)

Vacation over!!!! Ugh!!!

Day 59: Give Me Liberty, or Give Me... Lunch.

Sunday morning weigh-in: Nope, still no scale in the hotel room

Our last full day in NYC had us heading to the subway for the trip to Battery park and the ferry to Liberty Island. But not before breakfast...

hotel coffee w/cream (1 cup)

and then we walked three doors down to the New York Luncheonette, where Sen. Barack Obama had breakfast with Mayor Michael Bloomberg during his first presidential campaign in 2007. News coverage of our meal was nil, but it was a great breakfast...


fried egg, over easy (1)
white toast w/butter (2 slices)
sausage links (2)
orange juice (12 oz. — and it was FRESH SQUEEZED!)
coffee w/cream (1 cup)

5 train

From there it was the 6 train to City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge, where we transferred to the 5 to Bowling Green and Battery Park. Luckily we had prepaid for our Statue of Liberty ferry/pedestal tickets and by-passed the long line. It was a great day for the tour — plenty of walking, for sure; but worth it.

Upon departing the return ferry, I bought a

pretzel (1)

from a sidewalk vendor as we headed to the F train for Chelsea. There we stopped at one of Aaron's favorite haunts, the Grey Dog, located on 14th Street, for a late lunch/early dinner. 

sharp cheddar mac and cheese (1 crock)
fries (shared with the table)
Dogfish Head IPA 60 (1.5 pints — we shared a pitcher)

More walking as we headed over to The High Line, an abandoned elevated rail line which has been turned into a city park. What a great idea! This entailed even more walking. 



Afterwards took another train back towards the neighborhood of our hotel, where I eventually settled in with 

Coke Zero (20 oz.)
"Dirty" brand kettle chips (2 oz. bag)

At this point my dogs were barking.

Day 58: It's a Touristy Kind of a Day

Saturday morning weigh-in: NA

If you'd been paying attention you wouldn't have been expecting a weight update. Ain't nobody got time for that when you're away!

So I started the morning with a 

hotel coffee (1) 

Might as well, I paid for it. (While I'm at it, a plug for the hotel: the Affinia 50 on E 50th Street at 3rd Avenue. We (again) managed to pick a hotel which is undergoing a renovation, but it didn't affect our stay at all. Very friendly staff, and centrally located for much of what we wanted to do.) Then we headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for the breakfast buffet. Funny, at the rest stop on the way to NYC I refused to pay $2 for a bottle of water from the vending machine... but $17 for the breakfast buffet? Sign me up! At least I ate something; the Australian dad next to me had a banana and a bowl of corn flakes — also $17. I went a bit further

orange juice (7 oz., and, disappointingly, in a plastic bottle)
scrambled eggs (about three)
home fries
sausage links (2)
white toast w/butter (2 slices)
coffee (1 cup)

Spent a lovely morning and part of the afternoon in Central Park. It's amazing how quiet it can be, right in the middle of the city. Eventually Katie, Andy, Aaron, and I headed over to Rockefeller Center, and bought tickets for the NBC Studio Tour. Had some time to kill, so we headed down to the ice rink, which in summer is converted to a beer garden-ish type place known as the Summer Garden & Bar. Who looks at prices at times like this? Three beers (Andy's still under-aged and merely watched) cost us $43. I should have brought Dave Ramsey along. At least it tasted good. And cold.

Sam Adams Lager (1 pint — although I think I paid for the whole keg)

So I'll go on record as recommending the NBC Studio Tour, but not the Summer Garden & Bar — unless you're just watching.

Dinner was really neat. We stopped in at the Pig & Whistle on 3rd Avenue. Where of course I had the

Shepherd's Pie
Smithwick's (1 pint)
coffee (1 cup — really good coffee)

And after a day of walking, we headed back to the Affinia. But... I hadn't had enough walking I guess, because after Katie and Aaron departed for the evening, I headed back to Times Square to do some people-watching. In the process, stopped in at Connolly's Pub on W 45th Street — voted (by someone) Best Irish Pub in New York — for 

one more Smithwick's (pint)

then headed back, calling it a night.

Day 57: Start of a Road Trip

Friday morning weigh-in: 148.6

You should know that Friday morning we climbed into the rental vehicle and headed southeast to New York City. You may have heard that The Oldest (daughter Katie) is beginning Chapter Three of her life (Chapter Two was the U.S. Army), heading off to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan to study photography. Maybe I'll get some better pics for this blog out of the deal! She and her boyfriend Aaron are off and running — best wishes, Sweetie!

You should also know that we're not taking a scale, so they'll be no weight updates until we return. And I'm writing these next few days-worth of blog entries after we return, as I (correctly) anticipated a computer-free trip.

So before leaving I had a light breakfast,

Beaumont Breakfast Blend coffee (1 cup)
everything bagel, toasted, w/butter (1)

Would have loved another coffee, but seven hours or so in the car would just be asking for trouble!

Of course we took munchies along for the ride. And I had my share. I certainly didn't count each morsel, but you get the idea:

hard-boiled eggs
Swiss cheese
smoked gouda w/bacon
cheddar
milk chocolate
cucumber slices



Doesn't sound like much, but it held us over until we were all starving in New Jersey. Saw a sign for a Red Robin, so we pulled in for burgers,

guacamole-bacon burger (1)
french fries (1 serving)
Sprite (20 oz.)

file photo

The remainder of the trip was truly exciting, driving-wise. We crossed through the Holland Tunnel around 7 p.m., and headed into Brooklyn. After unloading, and saying our good-byes (for the night) to Katie and Aaron, we somehow navigated that huge Ford Explorer into Manhattan at 9:30 on a Friday night — incident-free. Needless to say, we left it parked for the next few days.

Made it through unscathed!

We did take a walk to Times Square after checking in to the hotel. Got a

Tim Horton's iced raspberry lemonade

across from Bryant Park, shuffled back to the hotel, and went to bed.