The cat seems to have my tongue lately

I can blame it on the holidays I guess. Having a little time off for Thanksgiving was so nice. Karen and I started our Christmas shopping and that was fun too. Getting to see the family was the best of all. But the point is I don't have much to post here right now. I may take a break in fact through the holidays but if something comes to mind I'll be sure and write about it.

I will continue with the weekly weigh-ins as that is, after all, what this blog was started for in the first place. I managed Thanksgiving well. I ate a lot of food but I stuck to the more healthy meats and vegetables and less of the breads and desserts. I should be able to post a weight that makes me happy this Wednesday. I'm back then.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Wednesday weigh in for 11/25/09

DONNY OSMOND WON DANCING WITH THE STARS!!! YESSSSSSSSS

I have already had one Thanksgiving. Monday we did pot luck Thanksgiving at work. It was wonderful and it was huge. Turkey, Ham, stuffing, and all the fancy vegetable dishes, desserts, etc. I had a plate at noon and a plate at 5:30. I had good plates too. Larger meals than I have been eating but not too bad. I had about 6 oz. of turkey/ham for the day and a spoon of everything on the vegetable dishes. Some of the veggie things I didn't even know what I was eating but I must admit they were all wonderful. I had one bite of dessert. Not a serving, just one bite. It was a chocolate/cool whip/nut pie that was maybe the most seductive piece of food I have ever seen but I just had the single bite. I am happy to report that if you choose the right foods to eat, then eat right the rest of the week, a Thanksgiving day of eating will not blow up the old scales.

I weighed in at 242.0 for a 2 lb. loss for the week. I am not allowing Thanksgiving to be an excuse for me. I plan to lose 2 pounds this week too. If I don't I won't be discouraged but I still intend to accomplish this objective.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

The Computer Virus

I got put through the wringer at work this week. I somehow put a virus on my work computer. First let me state that if something pops ups telling you that your antivirus is not working and it looks like a microsoft notice IT IS NOT A MICROSOFT NOTICE. Do not click on it. I know better but I did it anyway. It was a nasty virus. It took a couple of different programs scanned several times each to finally clear it up. I strongly recommend that you go to these websites and download these programs to your computer so you will have them in case you need them. There are free versions of each program. If you download them open them up at least weekly and "update" them to keep them current.

www.malwarebytes.com ... the program is called malwarebytes. It does not run in the background and won't use up memory. It is a powerful tool.

www.lavasoft.com ... the program is called ad-aware. another powerful anti virus program.

May we all stay computer virus free!

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Wednesday weigh in for 11/18

This was a good week. I weighed in this morning at 244.0 for a 2.8 pound loss for the week. I am down almost 40 pounds from August 1st. That's the good news. I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be but I have a lot of time to get there.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Thought for the day...or lifetime...whichever applies

I have a core group that are "my people". I imagine that we all have such a group. For me it my family and my closest friends. In other words it is the people that read this blog regularly. What I am about to say does not apply to you people (most of the time).

PEOPLE DRIVE ME CRAZY!

I have lost nearly 40 pounds in three months. I don't need some tape worm skinny goofy twit telling me how I could be doing better. I don't need to listen to two nincompoops discussing social security and Canadian health care and yada yada yada blah blah blah. I don't need to hear someone who does not do my job and knows nothing about my job tell me how I should do it. I could go on and on but I know you all feel my pain. Well during all the rambling on and on that I was surrounded by at work Saturday I reached a point where I just had to go outside and find solitude. I love solitude. I ask all the questions and I give the most brilliant answers. To borrow an old famous saying, "Sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit." It was during one of the sit and think moments that a specific thought came to me. I give you all permission to use this thought as a quote in the future. If it truly applies to you then I don't even want credit. Use it as if you own it.

The thought... "I don't know if I was born a loner or if people just drove me to it".

If you happen to be in the presence of the responsible/guilty parties it is okay to add "you" in front of "people".

After further revue, this may be one of my most brilliant thoughts ever.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

It's time for some TV TALK

1. Glee - This just gets better and better. Originally we thought that a show about a high school glee club could have musical numbers in it without considering the show to be a musical. We have decided that this show is a musical after all. Like all musicals there are some extremely unbelievable story lines going on but it still a cute campy show. The cheer leading coach, Sue Sylvester, is becoming one of my favorite TV characters right now. This past week showed her in a new light though. She has been 100% pure evil till now but her interaction with the downs syndrome little girl and then finding out she has a sister with DS was waaaaaay touching. I loved it.

2. Dancing with the Stars- We have loved this season. The real bad and unlikeables went early. Michael Irvin started horribly but he improved so much and came across as a good strong person and leader. He went out in 7th place. The last 5 were the 5 that should have been there. It appears Mya will win and deserves to win but we are rooting for Donny Osmond anyway. He is just so likable and is over 50 so that counts with us. The host Tom Burgeron may be the funniest ad libber I have ever seen. He alone makes the show worth watching.

3. Survivor - We have liked this year. I can't believe how Russell controlled his original tribe but he botched the merge completely. He may go tonight but we'll see. The show may become much less entertaining if he leaves I'm afraid.

4. Grey's Anatomy- Best writing they have ever had. They introduced some new characters and they have been good. I have REALLY enjoyed Izzie being gone but she is back tonight and that scares me. I wish she would leave the show.

5. A new entry to my must see list...Dinner Impossible. This comes on Wednesday at 9pm on the food channel. Chef Robert Irvine is told to show up somewhere and he is given a time limit to prepare a special feast for usually 200 people that must center around a certain theme each week. It is dramatic and entertaining.

6. Saved the best for last... AMAZING RACE!!!! Thank heaven for the Harlem Globetrotters. Flight Time and Big Easy ( pair of real current day Globetrotters) have been a hoot! This is just the best show on TV. If you are not watching it give it a try.

I'm back next week...I'm off and pedaling for now

Wednesday weigh in for 11/11/09

I had hoped to wait until Christmas before I had to buy clothes. I had reached the point though where I was starting to look like a little sad sack because my clothes had become so baggy. I bought me a few shirts and pairs of slacks last week. I was wearing 3XL/19.5 neck shirts and I am happy to say that XL/17.5 neck now fits me comfortably. I was wearing 44 inch waist with elastic stretch sides and I now wear 38-40 inch depending on the brand and style of pant. I feel better in regards to my health and I also feel better about my overall appearance.

I weighed in at 246.8 pounds for a 2 lb. loss for the week. Total loss is approximately 33.5 pounds. I still hope to be 210ish by Memorial Day 2010.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

The Ft. Worth Teen Fair

My fathers' family was in show business. Once it is in your blood they say it never leaves and based on my remembrances of his family I would have to say that is true. I am glad that this is true because their past led me to one of the best experiences of my preteen life. But before I get to that let me share a little Holland family history. My Dad was born in 1919 and grew up between WWI and WWII. His parents were traveling vaudeville stars and they incorporated their children into the act. The Holland Players were quite an act in their day. They were also acrobats. My Dad's father, Harvey, never really lost his health until he was well past age 90. I recall reading a newspaper article where he was interviewed on his 84th birthday. He celebrated (or showed off) his birthday by walking on his hands 84 steps for the reporter. Through the years at family gatherings my Grandparents would get up do routines for the entire family. Vaudeville died out and they found other means of support through the years but they were always entertainers. They also had some "carny" in them too. In the late sixties my Dad's sister Maxine and her husband Gene had a hand writing analysis machine. They also made paper mache boutonnieres. They would rent booths at carnivals and fairs and that is how they made their living at that time. They booked themselves into an event in the summer of 1966 that turned into two very special weeks for me. This was the summer between my fourth and fifth grade years. The event was the Teen Fair which was held at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth.

My Mom offered to help them work the booths and since it was all day every day for two weeks leaving my brother and I at home was not an option. We got to work with them. And we did work. We manned the booths, sold the flowers, and fed the handwriting analysis machine. There was a real nice and funny guy named Johnny who sold autographed reprint photos of the top teen idol music acts of the day and we helped him in his booth too. But that was maybe 1/3 of the time. Most of our time was spent roaming around with a place full of "real" teens. Is there anything cooler for a preteen than to hang around "real" teens? Nothing could have come close. I know there were boys there too but all I remember caring about was all the beautiful teen age girls. I made a game of seeing how many couples I could catch kissing. There were bands there too. They had the Box Tops and that was when their smash hit "The Letter" was number one on the charts. I saw them do that song live. I was on cloud nine. There were several local bands too and they did a battle of the bands, elimination style, to see who the top local band was. It was all very dramatic to me at the time. I was rooting for a group called "Those Guys" but they came in second place. But the real highlight of each day to me was the fashion show. Every three hours they held this show and models would come out wearing the latest fashions. At the end a cute little girl would dance down the aisle throwing bags of Morton's corn chips out to the crowd and I would scramble to see how many I could get. But that was not the real high point of the fashion show. The highlight for me was the last model. She would come out in a dress and would do a quick twirl to reveal it was BACKLESS! People just did not show that much skin in those days. It made my day every time I saw her though.

There were two cute little girls our age that were at their Dads booth. One was a blond and one was a brunette. It was some kind of car dealership and there were adults showing the new cars. The girls were dressed up like go go dancers and would just dance in front of the booth. I had a huge crush but was too afraid to speak to them. We finally did speak to them on the very last day of the fair. We were outside in front of Will Rogers coliseum . Using typical 10 year old interaction we somehow decided to race. I remember racing the brunette and she beat me. Then I remember falling off the steps and really hurting myself. I pretended it did not hurt but I was in such pain. Needless to say I did not do too well with the ladies....again.

All in all it was just a great two weeks for a 10 year old little boy.

I'm back Wednesday with the weigh in. I'm off and pedaling for now.

Wednesday weigh in for 11/04/09

Some of the things I used to eat a lot I do not miss at all. I am not missing french fries. I don't miss oreos. I don't miss candy bars. I can do without those things. The one thing I can't do without though is chips. Fritos, potato chips, tostitos, etc. are foods I can't (or choose not to) give up. But here is what I have learned to do. I read the back and it tells me what a recommended serving is. It even tells you how many chips it takes to reach the recommended serving. I count out my serving, eat it with my sandwich or whatever, and then put the bag away. If I can do it, any one can do it.

I weighed in at 248.8 this morning for a 1.8 pound loss for the week. I am now under 250 and have lost around 32 pounds since I started my program. My new adjusted goal is to be at 235 by New Years Day. I still have my long term goal of being at 210 by Memorial Day 2010.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

The issue of daily exercise

First let me say that a daily exercise routine is hard. It doesn't matter if I am riding my bike or jogging on the mini trampoline. Once I get going I enjoy it. But most days I leave for work early and get home between 9:30 to 10 o' clock. It just gets harder and harder to find the desire. I do not believe that I have to exercise every day but I know that the more I exercise the more calories I burn and the more weight I lose. I do want to exercise daily. I had a revelation today regarding the daily exercise. It is so simple and so obvious that I am dissappointed that it took me so long to think of this.

It occurred to me that I have an opportunity while at work to get some exercise. I have the type of job where I can get a lot dumped on me at once and not be able to look up for hours. But it also the type of job where there may be hours where I have nothing to do as well. I had a down time moment this morning. I went out side and just decided to walk around our main building. I counted my steps and the first lap was 207 steps. The second lap I found a way to add 13 more steps to make it 220 steps. I consider one step to be one yard. 220 yards is 1/8 of a mile. I know this because I used to run track and that was in the 60's before the democrats convinced the US Track and Field Association to go metric. 8 laps is one mile and I did it in 15 minutes. The charts at Livestrong.com say that I actually burn a few more calories walking 1 mile in 15 minutes than I did in 20 minutes on the mini trampoline.

The good news is that my exercise issue is resolved. The bad news is I can no longer use "I don't have time" as an excuse.

I'm back Wednesday with the weigh in. I'm off and pedaling for now.