Year 2, Day 269: After Four Days Off

No one finds it easy to go back to work after four and half days off, but the teachers at Ruby's school were awarded with yet ANOTHER day off. Unbelievably, they get the Monday after the four and half day holiday off for professional development. As I married to a teacher I respect the need for professional development, but come on! We parents have to work—we need our kids in school. On the plus side, I got to stay at home with both kids in the morning; then Ruby took Magnolia to school with me and got to see her old teachers! They could not believe how big she'd gotten. Then I dropped her off for a play date, and it was nearly 60 degrees out. I myself was glad to delay the inevitable return to work for a few hours.

Breakfast
Kashi/Heritage Flakes
Banana
Blueberries
Coffee (new coffee maker)

Snack
1 Extra Smokey
5 Pieces of Beef Jerky

Lunch: Peter's Kitchen
Chicken Kebab Salad

Dinner:
Bacon Cheeseburger
Broccoli
Pickles

This was the morning we piloted a new coffeemaker. Now usually, one would be considered foolish for undertaking this important a test on so important a morning. But the fact is, it was on our to-do list and we just couldn't get to it until yesterday (Sunday). So, we really didn't have the time (or coffee) to waste by trying it out. It had to be a cold run. And it had to be Monday after Thanksgiving. It was risky, but it paid off in diamonds. It was a Cuisinart and I got it for a song at Linens 'n' Things since the one I went to buy was sold out and the hapless and tired clerk who answered the phone fessed up that she said they had them. So the manager, also hapless and tired (they had opened at 8AM that morning, which necessitated him getting there at 6, but it wasn't advertised so most normal people were sleeping) agreed to sell me the larger (and more extravagant 14-cup coffee maker for the price of the DISCOUNTED 10-cup one. I can count the times on no hands how often I have needed to brew 14 cups of coffee. Of course the cup size is a marketing ploy, but that's another story. It makes great coffee, and for the life of me I can't understand how it could make better coffee than a $28 Mr. Coffee machine since the only ingredients are the same: coffee and water.

Year 2, Day 268- Hardest Workout Ever

After spending all of Saturday feeling achy, I decided not to give in to both the old-ness and the Thanksigiving-to-Christmas inertia. I soldiered on to the gym, which was pretty empty (a telling sign). I did my 60 minutes and just barely completed six miles. It was quite hard, and several times I thought I was going to quit early. It wasn't so much that it was hard as I felt like different parts of me weren't going to make it. I spent most of mile three at 5.4 mph and did a lot of clock watching. Also, I went at an odd time, around 1:30 and hadn't really had a proper lunch so there was that. If you're doing a lot of clock and MPH watching at the gym, you probably aren't getting a good workout. That's not science, it's just something I think about when I'm at the gym. If I can be bored, I'm not working hard enough. But sometimes it's all you can do.

Breakfast
3.5 slices of Turkey Bacon
Two Hard Boiled Eggs
1 Slice Balthazar Bread
Coffee

Pre-Workout/Lunch-Snack
17 Crispy Wheat Thins
12 Cheese Crackers
A few bites of chicken soup
a few slices of chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken

Post-workout/Lunch-snack
6 oz plain yogurt
3 Tablespoons Super Chunky Peanut Butter
1 serving Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs
1 Handful almonds/Cashews
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
2 slices toscano picante

Dinner
Steak Tips
Broccoli
Peppadews

Of course the worst Sunday night is the Sunday night after a week-long vacation, but the very next worst one after that is having to go back to work after five days off for Thanksgiving. One of the great things about kids is that they don't let you stay inside that anxiety-filled adult space for two long, with their calming shrieks and their distracting and charming breaking of your cherished personal belongings. But it's very helpful because sometimes it's the only thing that can get you off of focusing on the problem: you have to go to work tomorrow. Again. And then again after that.

Year 2, Day 266: Day After Thanksgiving

Even for a restrained-at-eating guy, I felt like I ate a lot, and even that was after three sets of tennis. Of course, whenever I work out or exercise I'm nearly always eating right afterwards so there's very often little in the way of saved calories there. But Dr. Oz (Oprah's Doctor, and author of "You on a Diet" says that once you create new muscle, it consumes a lot of calories, so you might just change your metabolism permanently if you can do that. Today, I again played three sets of tennis. I didn't keep track of the scores, but you can assume I lost any singles I played, but I played with Emily's sister Amy and we won in doubles. My brother-in-law helped me conclude that the new tennis racket I am playing with might in fact be the cause of my tennis elbow, so today I played with my old one, which has not been restrung since before Ruby was born (so at least six years, but maybe eight or nine). Last night I was icing and heating my arm so I could get one more day on the courts. Now that's dedication, isn't it? Or something stupider?

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
1 Small Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Pretennis-Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Russo's ($6.05)
Red leaf, romaine, red pepper, mushrooms, olives
broccoli, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar.

Post Tennis Snack:
6 oz plain yogurt
3 Tablespoons Chunky Peanut Butter

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Chinese Greens
Cabbage Salad
1 Glass Red Wine

Dessert
Several squares of dark and milk chocolate.

Because our guests wanted to go to the New Balance outlet, I suggested we all go to Russo's which is nearby. We all had a great time and for the first time in history I got a Russo's salad on Saturday. Interestingly (only to me) the salad bar had a slightly different arrangement on Saturdays, with the chicken on the left hand side (if you're getting your tin & plastic over) instead of the right hand side. It was also in a smaller container (not a double wide, but a single). Though I spent six dollars on the salad, I had a feeling I would be splitting it with someone—and that was true, multiple people ended up eating it with me. At Russo's I also bought some chocolate bars—one 100% dark chocolate, that was nearly inedible at first, but after a while, kind of like the most pleasant tasting burnt-brown crayon. I shan't be buying that again.

Year 2, Day 265: Happy Thanksgiving

Though Emily and I did not venture South this year, like nearly all 20 years we have been together in Boston, instead, her sister and brother in law drove up and they made an organic turkey. Amazingly, we got to play nearly 3 hours of tennis this morning, which is great, because it raises your metabolism so that you might have the space for apple pie (baked for dessert). If only I hadn't been eating all day, that is. The first two sets I played I lost, despite having the advantage 3-0 in the opening set against my brother in-law. Sad to say that my tennis elbow was acting up again and soon I was in some real agony. You might think I'm telling tales, but the final score, 6-3, 6-0 really underlines the injury. Relaxing somewhat, we played a game of doubles against Emily and her sister, which we won handily, 6-2.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean
Heritage Flakes
Banana
Blueberries
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Tennis Snackz
1 Kind Bar/Fruit & Nut
A few cashews/almonds

Lunch: Blue Ribbon
Burnt Ends
Pickles
Green Salad

Other Snack:
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
Assorted tastes of Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner
Turkey
Brussel Sprouts
Leeks
Pearl Onions in Balsamic Vinegar
Bites of: Candied Yam, Stuffing
1 Glass Red Wine

The whole thing about Thanksgiving (or any big holiday meal) is pretty much the same problem with the "All-You-Can-Eat" buffets. First, there is an EXPECTATION that you will eat too much. It's out there—it's an unspoken part of the holiday, right down to being included in advertising copy. I think it says something like "eating too much and falling asleep on the couch shouldn't just be on Thanksgiving." It's about their turkey-stuffing-cranberry sub, which I've never had, but know from experience that it can be delicious. Emily and I used to go to a place in Brookline (sigh) that's long gone called Pugsley's. At Pugsley's they made the best ever turkey-stuffing-cranberry sandwich on a soft bulkie roll. They made their own turkey, their own stuffing, it was heavenly. And something I suppose I'll never eat again, since I'm on the program and Pugsley's is no more. But overall it was a happy Thanksgiving. A splendid time was had by all.

Year 2, Day 264: Pre Thanksgiving

Amazingly, I got up early and got to work out today. This was vital because I missed my workout on Sunday due to a previously-described raking injury. I did six miles on the elliptical, which the woman at the gym insisted was called a cross-trainer. The woman at the gym pointed to the label on the wipe board (yeah, like that proves ANYTHING) and it did in fact say X-TRA. But a brief search on the Internet (like that proves ANYTHING) reveals that all machines with arm and leg movements are generally called ellipticals, not cross-trainers, even if their purpose is cross-training. We really recognize the elliptical for its cardio value, not necessarily any cross-training, but nevertheless she was insistent and I felt silly, as I have never referred it to here in these hundreds of days as a cross-trainer.

Breakfast
Kashi
Heritage
Banana
Blueberries
Coffee

PostworkoutSnack
6 oz. Plain Yogurt
3 Tablespoons SC Peanut Butter

Lunch: Peter's Kitchen
Chicken Kebab with Feta

Dinner:
Salad
Pickles
Peppadews
Amy's Onion-Hamburger
A wee bit of blue ribbon BBQ
2 glasses red wine

Emily's sister and brother-in-law arrived and Emily immediately went out to play tennis. I stayed home with her sister Amy and the kids. It was kind of a nice night, so we all just hung around, trying to cram all of the food they brought, plus the organic turkey and the ice cream into our little refrigerator. It's at times like these that I wish I had a second refrigerator, but that would necessitate having a second house, because we don't have any room as it is. Luckily, the fridge shelves are nearly almost always padded with science projects-in-the-making that are really begging to be thrown away. Sometimes the tupperware has to be sacrificed since Emily and I have become too frail to wash old-chicken containers. With hard work, determination and clothespins-on-noses (a few of my favorite things) we made enough room for everything, and then we went to make dinner and had to do all kinds of acrobatics to reach things that had been unfortunately tucked away.