Trippin' to the Jetties...

Looking for something different....

Like a new perspective...

Seagulls in the Sun....

Why not?

Boat in the Sun.

Ok.

A Flock of Pelicans lead the Salty Dawg....

Yes....

That was the name of the boat.  

Continuing with this Saturday's plan...

Spaghetti.... The conclusion!!!

Before I forget, one of the pics in the prior post shows me adding some brown sugar (2 tbsp total)....

I forgot to put that in the ingredient list and the instructions. 

As far as I'm concerned, that's the secret to good chili and spaghetti. 

You have to add a little brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and tomato sauce. 

Now back to the build. 

You'll notice I didn't mention the pasta....

That's cause I'm not making any. 

While I will have a couple of thin slices of Artisan type bread a day, I have tried to keep away from pasta, rice and potatoes because I have found that it plays havoc with my blood sugar. 

I swear.... I can eat any of those things and in 30 minutes I will be fighting to stay awake. 

Just like all the Cave Man diet proponents say, the bad carbs cause spikes in your insulin levels and this causes those temporary dips in your blood sugar. 

Since I've cut these out, I don't feel tired, sleepy or lethargic after eating....

So I'm gonna use grilled zucchini as the "bed" for my spaghetti sauce. 

Drizzle with EVOO and dust with S & P. 

Oh, by the way.... the spaghetti sauce has been simmering for 5 minutes and it's still only 20 minutes since I took the first picture showing the ingredients. 

Who said a good spaghetti sauce takes hours?

So when you're ready to eat, grill the zucchini....

And then ladle the spaghetti sauce over it!!!

Top with a little fresh shredded Parmesan Cheese....

And enjoy a wonderful tasting and deceptively healthy plate of spaghetti on the back patio...

Yard looks nice. 

Now what's next....

Oh yeah....

A walk on the Surfside jetties!!!

Let's go!!!

So.... What's the difference between Chili and Spaghetti?

As far as I'm concerned, the only difference is the....

Spices....

Chili Powder, Cumin and Cayenne....

vs

Italian Seasoning, Basil and Oregano...

Seriously, this is the same stuff I put in my chili except the canned tomatoes are seasoned with oregano and basil and the spices are switched as noted above...

JD Hot Pork Sausage (I use this for everything), bell pepper, poblano pepper, sweet banana pepper, onion, garlic, summer squash, zucchini,  baby Bella mushrooms and bay leaves....

Rough cut the peppers and onions, drizzle with EVOO and dust with S&P...

Cut up the rest of the veggies and start the sauté of the peppers and onions...

After 5 minutes, add the sausage... I only used about 2/3 of the 2# roll. 

Then add the rough cut squash and zucchini and finely diced garlic....

Throw in all the seasonings....

Then the mushrooms and the bay leaves....

Let the meat and veggies do their thing for a few minutes and add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. 

Bring the whole mix to a gentle simmer.....

And stir a bit....

Wrapping it up next!!!

So how's the Saturday plan coming together?

Pretty good....

Thank you very much!

Rode my bike to Family Fitness on this cool Saturday morning....

Knocked out the 8:45 Body Pump class....

Doing overhead Tricep Extensions here. 

Yes. I want to play....

But there's work to do first!

But not until we have a Post Workout Recovery meal. 

JD Hot Pork Sausage with grilled Kalamata Olive bread and a trail of Honey Dijon mustard flanked by cottage cheese, tomato, avocado and boiled egg. 

Talking about a plate of sunshine and good cheer!

Finished a Louis Lamour iBook and then knocked out the yard in 1 hour....

A new Willy World Record!!

Ahhhhh.... 

The Thrill of Victory!

Spaghetti's up next!!!

If You were Waiting for the End....

Of the week....

You're done...

Cause it's Saturday!

Getting it started right with JD Hot Pork Sausage on Grilled Poblano Peppers and Baby Bella mushrooms with fresh tomatoes, a boiled egg and a cup of Strawberry Kefir. 

Headed to the 8:30 Body Pump....

Then weedeat and mow the yard....

Make a pot of spaghetti...

And then a walk on the Surfside jetties...

That'll do Pig....

That'll do. 

Do You Have a Personal Jesus?

What a title huh?

I can already tell you.... this one will probably get me in trouble.... if anybody read my blog. 

Ok.... I mean besides the 7.5 ..... check that.... I think it's back down to 5.5 regular readers.

That's one of the beauties of being completely unknown is that you can write some stuff that people who actually write for a living.... would never write.... or something like that.

In spit of my limited fan base, I'm still gonna make some qualifications on this post:

1. I realize with all the Bible Banging Southerners I have reading the blog (I think there's 3 out of the 5.5) that they probably think I'm gonna talk about having a personal relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Nope.... I'm not gonna do that.  I'm not going there.  No further comment required.
2. In light of #1, I want everyone to understand that I have no desire or intent to be irreverent or insensitive or blasphemous about a post with content that could be interpreted that way.
3. It's a hook.... OK?  Take it for that and run with it.

First of all, there's a song called "Personal Jesus".

As far as I can tell, it has been done by 3 acts:

Depeche Mode (who wrote it)
Marilyn Manson (you have to love that) and
Johnny Cash (God Rest his Soul).

I've listened to / watched YouTube videos of all 3 versions....

I'd have to give a slight edge to JC's version of it.... here's the YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyvFhrDzLfY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I really liked Marilyn Manson's version but would still give it a close second:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl6fyhZ0G5E  

That leaves the original version by Depeche Mode in my 3rd selection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1xrNaTO1bI

Here's the lyrics to the song:

Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there
Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer

Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Jesus

Reach out and touch faith



So what was the point of this post?

I believe God puts People in your life for a reason.

And everybody needs their Own Personal Jesus....

Like the song says "Flesh and Bone".

Someone you can reach out and touch, someone you can talk to, someone who will listen and who has your best interest in mind.....

Someone who has your back and not as a place to stick a knife.

Someone here on Earth.

Find that Person for Yourself.

Be that Person for Someone Else.

It will enrich your life in more ways than you can imagine.

Now see.... That wasn't so bad after all.... Was it?

This is what happens when you change your routine!

Did the 7:40 pm TRX Power Circuit workout yesterday and ate a late supper... 

Was in bed by 10....

And slept till 7:45 this morning!!!

2 hours past my normal wake up time. 

Got up flying...

Threw together a quick breakfast...

Showered and then on to the 8:45 Body Pump class. 

Oh well.... I guess it could be worse...

My parents could've named me....

Sue. 

On my workouts.... I tried something...

Different....

Like a late evening 7:40 pm TRX class. 

11 stations.... 45 seconds per station.... 3 rotations....
45 minutes of kick ass workout. 

First time I've ever done it and I loved it. 

Workouts are going great!

On other areas of life...

I've worked so hard...

For so long...

With no progress...

I've basically....

Wake in a sweat again
Another day's been laid to waste
In my disgrace

Stuck in my head again
Feels like I'll never leave this place
There's no escape

I'm my own worst enemy

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all away
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

I don't know what to take
Thought I was focused but I'm scared
I'm not prepared

I hyperventilate
Looking for help somehow somewhere
And no one cares

I'm my own worst enemy

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all away
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

[bridge]
Goddddddd!!!!

Put me out of my misery
Put me out of my misery
Put me out of my
Put me out of my fucking misery
[end bridge]

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all away
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

But that's OK. You can't be good at everything. 

It's been a long time since I heard this song and I forgot how much I loved it. 

Dealing with the Hurt...

It's part of the Game of Fitness at 50...

Or at any age. 

You have to know yourself and your body well enough to push hard enough to make gains.... 

To see improvement...

And yet not sustain an injury that would limit or stop your ability to train effectively. 

Only you can determine that limit. 

I've reached my limit and skipped my standard Fat Burner and Zumba classes this morning for a less dynamic 30 minute workout of stretching, abs, calves and wide grip chinups.

And even that hurt....

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of shit
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

So I quit....

And went home and fixed a nice meal of....

Pork loin, grilled onions and Poblano pepper, fresh tomatoes and a sweet banana pepper....

And something different....

Grilled Eggplant!!!

Here's the Vegetarian version. 

Delicious!!!

What is Your Drug of Choice?

I went to 2 classes at Family Fitness this morning.... Cardio Blast and Body Pump.

The last few days I've felt the consequences of pushing my body to the point of failure in every workout on every rep every day of the week.

While I've been eating right and sleeping more and more regularly than my historical standard, my body just isn't recovering adequately between workouts to make good progress.

That's one of the disadvantages of working out and testing physical limits at 50 years old vs 20 years old.

You just can't recover as quickly....

And as a result, you hurt more.

After finishing Cardio Blast - a fast paced aerobic based workout with a lot of kick boxing moves in it, I was so drenched with sweat, I had to change my workout shirt.  Yes, I've begun bringing an extra workout shirt when I do 2 or more classes in a row, because, frankly, I'm getting to the point where I'm disgusting myself with how much I sweat..... Enough said on that.

So, I'm into the Body Pump workout and we just finished another one of those 5+ minute squat tracks, followed by a 120 rep bench press set.... and I'm about done already because I just finished 30 minutes of skipping around like a freakin' fairy and must've punched out about a dozen would be assailants in my Cardio Blast class.  I'm serious, you oughta listen to the instructors in the class hollering "Ok, upper cut to the gut, hook to the ribs, jab to the nose, right cross to the jaw, kick to the groin".....

I mean by the time I'm done kicking and punching, I feel like my arms are about to fall out of my shoulder sockets and my legs are separated from my hips and I'm ready to fall in the swimming pool and call me "Bob".

So's anyway, I'm out of breath, dripping with sweat (Yes - 10 minutes into the 2nd class, you can't tell I put on a clean, dry shirt 10 minutes earlier) and in pain after the 2nd track of Body Pump.

I step back to the ballet bar at the back of the studio to grab a slug of cold water and look over at one of the regulars that comes to the Wednesday classes.... this lady from England named Lorraine.  Lorraine has this beautiful British accent, must be in her late 40's / early 50's and has a body like a Gazelle..... she's a professed runner.... one of those tall, slim, athletic types that actually works out at these classes instead of just going through the motions like most do.

Lorraine looked over at me and I said "I'm not sure it's worth the pain" to which Lorraine replied "Well, it beats the alternative".

So I quickly quipped, "Yeah, I guess the pain of working out is less than the pain I feel when I'm not working out".

To which Lorraine beautifully lilted "Yes, it's my Drug of Choice".

To which I said "Wow!.... So Exercise is Your Drug of Choice....That's very cool.... You just gave me my inspiration for the day! I can write a blog post on this".

And I just did.

So what'll it be.....

You gonna embrace the discomfort and pain and soreness of intense exercise and the sacrifice of a disciplined diet?

Or You gonna succumb to society's beckoning and brainwashing of masking the pain of an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle with drugs and medications?

So once again, I ask you....

What is your Drug of Choice?