Spring Break 08

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Originally uploaded by ToddGruben

Carpe Diem

Look out World

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Originally uploaded by ToddGruben

I was amazed at my 5 year olds eye for color selection. She colored this page with her own imagination. Wow is all I can say.

Day 29

Complete! I did a pretty good job of sticking to the goal. My only lapse was the planned birthday meal and a slight bit just to appease the in laws. I weigh 205 and feel pretty good. I guess we probably were not as creative as we had hoped but it is always nice to achieve a goal. I am planning on getting my blood work pretty soon after I get down below 200.

I started a new cycling program again last monday and it is pretty tough getting back into the swing of things. I really want a some sort of data logger for my rides. I'm debating between the ibike, which is a wind based power meter, and a garmin. The garmin unit has gps and heart data and the ibike has power, windspeed and temperature. I probably don't need any of it, but I like to have the data so that I can discuss achievements with my friends and maybe have something to compare. It kinda gives a purpose to all the painful efforts. Its also nice to relive those moments. I still go back to my HTH06 experience over on motionbased web site. How silly is that to find purpose in silly dots on a graph. But it seems most of my life is about an increasing graph, age, finances and what not.

breakfast:
smoothy
coffee

lunch:
grapefruit
power bar

dinner:
mozzarella, basil, and tomato sandwich
salad with blue cheese dressing
also snacked on french fries, cheese quesadilla, and a slice of cheese pizza.

Day 28

Breakfast:
scrambled eggs
whole wheat toast and butter
coffee

lunch:
asian salad
black tea

dinner:
mashed potatoes
hummus and pita
lemon soup
chocolate

Day 27

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy
coffee

lunch:
wild mushroom curry soup

Dinner:
Asian salad(green peas,broccoli, sprouts,cashews, edame)
macaroni and cheese
black eyed peas
chocolate

Day 26

Happy Birthday Kate!


breakfast:
chocolate smoothy
coffee

Lunch:
romain salad with roasted vegetables
missed the protein today


Dinner:
Spaghetti with tomato sauce
garlic bread
chocolate molten cake

Day 25

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy
coffee

Lunch:
romaine salad with goat cheese and packaged tuna

Dinner:
wild mushroom curry soup
roasted vegetable (egg plant,zuccini, yellow squash, onion, and roasted red pepper)
sandwich
chocolate square.

Day 24

Today we had a scheduled cheat on the month o' veggies. It was the wife's birthday and she requested chicken fried steak back in january, So I simply must abide. It seemed to go over pretty well, I made it for all the grandparents. Quite the production, frying that much meat on our small stove. Visually the meat looked a bit dark, but the flavor and texture turned out quit nice.

My Dad mentioned he was responding very well to niacin, so I thought I might give it a try to help my cholesterol numbers. For some reason, I want to avoid the statins like the plague.

Breakfast:
coffee

Lunch:
Chicken fried steak, mashed potato's and hot rolls


Dinner:
cheese enchiladas, refried beans and rice.

Day 23

Happy birthday Sweetheart! Today we had birthday celebration #1 of the weekend. Had a nice time seeing an ok movie, vantage point Short movie with a bit of action. Not much to write home about, but I'm easy, so I'll say it was entertaining. I weighed in at 206

Breakfast:
Bean and cheese tacos
cinamon roll
coffee

Dinner:
Scallops and green chili mash potatoes (z-tejas)
chocolate pie

Day 22

Breakfast:
coffee

Lunch:
Whole Wheat pasta, feta and roasted vegetables
Dinner:
Artichoke pesto pizza
greek salad

Day 21

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy

Lunch:
tuna and romaine salad

Dinner:
hummus, tzatziki,
broccolli and cauliflower
chocolate pie

Day 20

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy

Lunch:
wheat noodles,roasted vegetables(leeks,artichokes,tomatoes) and goat cheese

Dinner:
Salmon
fingerling potatoes
peas

Day 19

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy

Lunch:
tofu and rice noodles with lettuce

Dinner:
whole grain pasta, goat cheese and roasted vegetables( radiccio,leeks, artichokes)
Chia

Day 18

Breakfast
coffee
Egg frittata

Lunch:
Wendy's Panko fish sandwich

Dinner:
Shrimp brown rice stirfry
Chia tea

Day 17

Breakfast:
bean and cheese taco with salsa
coffee

Snack:
dried strawberries
peanut M&M

Dinner:
Oyster soup(cream, leeks, and carrots)
ice cream

Day 16

I weighed in at 204 this morning.

Brunch:
Egg, broccoli and mushroom frittata
coffee

Dinner:
Shrimp and scallop skillet

Day 15

Breakfast:
scrambled eggs

Lunch:
spring rolls



Dinner:
Ravioli
Garlic bread
romaine salad

Day 14

Happy Valentines day.


Breakfast:
coffee

Lunch:
creamed spinach
sweet potato pie

Dinner:
scallop and shrimp skillet(spinach and white bean)
chocolate

Day 13

I'm feeling much better today. I've seen 2 inspiring videos, one was on the history channel and was about George Washington Carver. His biography was the first I ever read, which happened when i was in 3rd grade. Come to find out it was also the first biography my wife ever read as well at roughly the same time. He as a great man who utilized his genius in such an honorable way. The world would be such a better place if there where more people like him. Great educator, brilliant and humble. That is the kind of person I want to become. I have a long way to go, I'm missing all three qualities, but hey, you have to start sometime.

The second video was by a CMU Computer science professor and is entitled "The Last Lecture"..simply a must see


Breakfast:
blueberry smoothy

Lunch:
strawberry smoothy

Dinner:
Cod with mushroom sauce
sweet potato pie
creamed spinach

Day 12

Still have stomach irritation, but it feels like I have begun recovery. I haven't sleep very well since the onset.

So far I haven't missed the chicken or beef from the diet. I had a few moments on Saturday when I thought of a hamburger but nothing substantial.

Breakfast:
chocolate smoothy

Lunch:
yogurt, cherry and banana smoothy

snack:
chocolate Brownie

Dinner:
battered salmon
broccoli, cauliflower and carrot medley
mac and cheese