Snow Primer

This is for all you jackrods out there who only have to drive in the snow twice a year.


If you are unfortunate enough to have to park outside: clear off your hood, trunk, and top of your car too, that shit is flying in other people's faces, not doing this is just as rude as pissing in a drinking supply and thinking it's ok because you are upstream of everyone else

Do not accelerate or decelerate when going through the heavier snow/slush between lanes.

Stop hammering on your brakes/gas like a 16 year old's first time in bed, that will only cause pain. Slow and steady, if you aren't getting traction lay off the gas a bit then try again.

If you are sliding take your foot of the gas, sliding slower>sliding fast. If you have anti lock breaks stomp on the brake like it's a spider and steer. If you don't have them pump pump pump
!
Be able to see! If you are getting frost inside your car run the air conditioner. Likewise, clean off all your windows, not just the windshield. If it's icy turn on your car and blast the defrosts while you scrape.

Just because you have a large vehicle does not mean you can just 'drive like normal' no matter how much you paid.

If all else fails, stay home.


I did get off my street and all my errands run, but as you can assume from the above it was at the cost of my goodwill towards the community. On a happier note I <3 Olathe, they are doing an awesome job keeping the major roads clear, even with the snow still coming down!

Well Lookie Here

Something new! Me posting.

I have been holding steady weight wise in the high-mid 150s. So that's really nice as I have not at all considered myself to be dieting, watching or anything. In fact I have been just living, drinking more than is probably necessary, and eating out with friends and family frequently. But now the high-mid 150s are feeling chunky to me and I yearn for single digit pants (besides my work pants, which are worn at my belly button, so I feel it doesn't quite count). I did buy a stop gap size 10 jeans.

So last week I went back on Wave 1, but with Ryan's Bday (2 dinners out) and Mother's Day it was a no go. But try, try and try again. Or there is no try only do. So I am trying to recommit myself to the Wave 1 hardcore-ness. To that end I have made the fun, exciting calendar below! FYI, since the last time I did Wave 1 I have been promoted to Managing a Brand New Studio, and it is v e r y s l o w . Therefore lost of free time! Well I can't seem to get a readable copy of my calendar in here, but you can see it's prettiness at least.



So hopefully I can take some of my learnings from last Wave 1 and do it happier, easier, cheaper. Said learnings: don't halve and third recipes, just eat it multiple times. It is not the end of the world when I take a diversion, every day is a clean slate. Buy Minced Garlic! And most importantly, if it is evening time and I am cranky and hungry, just take a Advil PM and get in bed with a book.

Yesterday was good...

Bfast: Glass of FF milk

Lunch: Black Bean Wrap with 2 slices of turkey, 1c of romaine on a whole wheat pita

Snacks: 28 peanuts, 1.5c of roasted veg medley (a little too much portion wise, but meh)

Dinner: Easy Balsamic Chicken, roasted veg medley

Snack: 3 weird crackers-Wheat Thin's new product (I was depressed bc I just paid for the groceries-meh)

Helpers: Advil PM and Sigrid Unsdet's Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife. Zito in bed cuddling with me (I so got busted by Ryan)

Exercise: I did not, had Left knee Pain though, puzzling.


As you can see by the schedule, today is Sibling Day, so there will be some alcohol consumption. I will enjoy this and just try not to eat because of it.

Weekend Warrioress

Dear Junkies,

I should have gone shopping on Thursday or Friday, because by Friday evening there was not meat or leafy greens in my house. You just can't do Sonoma without one or the other. Long story short I had a Sonoma in the morning and afternoon, crazy funness in the evening on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday night we went over to hotel Newsome for drinks and tv. As often happens at the hotel, we ended up drinking, ordering a midnight pizza and spending the night. SO that was fun, they have a very comfortable guest bed.
Saturday had lots of eating excitement, from gelato to softball players!
There's a great gelato place at my mall and I have heard rumors of a Cracked Black Pepper and Olive Oil flavor. So whenever I am out and about in the mall I stop by to see if they have it. Finally, last Thursday the nice man working there said, come back on Saturday and I will make it for you. This was very exciting as it is apparently a flavor everyone likes to taste and no one likes to eat. So I got a small of it and it was so good! I also got a small take home size to share with Ryan. It is my new number two favorite, Mediterranean Sea Salt and Carmel still trumps. But that was exciting.
Saturday evening we went to a fundraiser for a and 18U highly competitive, country traveling girls' softball league. It was a poker tournament with an hour of open bar, open chex mix, baked chicken fingers and meatballs (there was other stuff but this is what I ate). It was so much fun! I won a couple hands and had 3 free glasses of wine! Woot Woot. After that we went to the Nickle and I sung two Karaoke songs!
Ryan and I had Sunday off together! The special occasion was getting registered for the wedding and picking out wedding bands. This was tough work, but worked out ok once we got some good guidance. Food-wise I was pretty much Sonoma friendly. Kashi cereal and FF for milk for bfast, and 9oz sirloin with steamed veggies and two pieces of 7 grain bread with butter for dinner. Of course there was the 1/2c Pepper and olive oil gelato.
It's now Monday morning and I am planning my grocery list, hopefully I can get going quickly because Ryan is "Basically positive I have an appendicitis". Sheesh.
~The PABJ

Weekend (Grocery Shopping) Warrior

Dear Junkies,

Sunday morning greets me and we are at our lowest refridgerator level since Sonoma started. It used to be that every two weeks we would get down to eating really random things like me taking a packets of tuna to work with carrots and a slice of cheese. So it obviously wasn't nearly that bad. But it was a weirdo eating day. And I did my grocery shopping on a Sunday, all three places. Sometimes crowds make me hate people, even babies, especially when I am hungry (lets be honest I even hate skinny and money when I am hungry), so that was L A M E. Aldi's was terribly busy, Wal-Mart was CRAMMED with idiots who think it's necessary to bring their husband and 4-6 small children with them grocery shopping, and Hen House was empty, it usually is in my neighborhood.

Menu Wave 2

1/2c egg whites & 1 piece of toast

Leftover Asian Vegetable Medley

CiopinnoSeafood en Papilotte-this was so good, but bland. the scallops were excellent

I have been feeling that bland thing more and more lately. I am also going through my spice rack at about 20x my normal amount! It's crazy to me. So back to the bland thing, pre-sonoma Jess liked bland food & spicy food, but it was good because of the yummy butter/salt/creamy combos. Now the butter/salt/creamy is gone baby gone. So now I'm left with spicy. Which is fine, but a little limiting in terms of a YAY meal.

~The PABJ

Dreaming Night 7 & Day 8

Sorry Folks, no picture today!
The night's dream's were basically event less food wise. I was in High School taking pics for the school yearbook of the Plaza lights and the lights were already off and Ruth pricked her finger on a needle. So a little of your basic school struggle dream with Sleeping Beauty thrown in there. Don't worry I warned Ruth.

Today was my first day of Wave 1 where I had a pretty active day at work, 6 sessions in three hours, all 24 months or younger subjects, so lots of chasing, and I only worked a half day. So I was definitely hungry when I got off work, even though I had had my lunch and snack already. I added in some extra peanuts to tide me over. But around 10pm I realized I never ate dinner, so that explains a bit.

I shopped at Whole Foods for the first time for tonight's dinner, mainly to get my meat there and they were out of Pork Tenderloin! Then I went to the Wal Mart grocery across the street and they were out too! Then I called 2 other grocery stores and found a place with it. Who knew it would be so hard. At any rate, I didn't totally buy into Whole Foods in any new way. I think it's a good store for the 'weird stuff' and prepared foods and loose tea, but that's about it.

Then I tried on wedding dresses and had a great time. It was probably a combo of being 7lbs less and at a nice store with better gowns, but what fun!

We also had a little dinner get together with the parents tonight. I had a Margarita and it was delicious. What's that you say? Not on Wave 1? Well very true, but I made the decision at the beginning to go for a lifestyle change, and there is no lifestyle where I'm not having A drink when family comes over, at least not one I want to live. So I feel good about that decision.

Wave 1 day 8 Menu

Whoops! Forgot Bfast

Asparagus Salad-I skipped the lemon this time and liked it better

Pork Tenderloin w Vegetables Ratatouille-really delicious, wasn't very pretty looking though
1/2c Barilla Plus rotini-Yay for pasta, and for my for only having that amount cooked!

11 almonds
1 Babybel cheese round
28 peanuts

My Eating MO

1. I think Pasta is the perfect food. I can walk away from it while it cooks (that's right folks I'm not a stirrer), it's delicious to me with the most basic fridge ingredients (garlic & spray butter/margarine) AND it's so filling.
2. After pasta; bread, cheese and butter are my loves. In an effort to downsize me I only use low fat cheeses & fake butters (Smart Balance, I Can't Believe It's not butter)
3. In an effort to downsize spending on food I do all of my shopping at the Wal-Mart grocery (read: she buys the low fake WM brand singles and off brand No Fat parm).
4. In an effort to downsize time spent on food I go grocery shopping once every two weeks, so everything I buy needs to last that long or longer.
5. I never start cooking until after I am hungry, which is weird because I think about food ALL THE TIME.
6. I don't enjoy cooking (possibly see #5), I enjoy eating.
7. Besides knowing I will have breakfast sometime before 11amish, there's nothing remotely regular about when I might be able to get a meal in at work.
8. The main way I reward and comfort myself is through food. I also tend towards the fridge when I'm bored. So we;ve got good times-check, bad times-check, in between-check.

So I think we can see possibility for positive change in most of these areas. Clearly there's no way that anything could be better than spending the least amount of $ possible on food #3; and the only thing possibly better than shopping 2x a month would be shopping less than 2x a month #4; but alas I can admit the shadow of a doubt in my ways in this area too.

OH YEAH!
9. I enjoy wine on every level. Besides your basic S's which any sommelier can tell you about, I enjoy just a glass, just a few glasses, just one glass more, just one glass before we get there, just one more before we leave, just one since we're back home, and too frequently just one too many.