So It's been a while

I am still on the diet. I have been cheating a bit. I take Fri & Sun off so I can feel normal. During those times I don't really feel normal. I really wanna lose the pounds, I just need a slice of pizza now and then. Although I have cheated I have kept the 12 pounds off and I have switched to the regular diet and it is not so bad. Lots of seeds, nuts and avocados(mmm....guac) but I have also realised that I need to play. Yes play like I used to when I was running around and skateboarding and biking and just generally having fun. Does anyone remember when they were at about age 15 and what your day consisted of in the summer? It was running around all day trying to find some fun thing to do. If you didn't find some thing fun you spent about 5 hours looking for it and 5 hours trying to make something up. All I am saying is look to what made you happy back then and try to go do it. --WHO CARES IF YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL!-- I now have a skateboard and an interest in yard work. I can tell you that if I don't lose a pound I will still be a lot happier and that can't hurt. Unless of course I break my hip whilst skateboarding & bruise my ego. I promise to write more in the future (again). I am just at a time in my life where I tend to worry and think too much. Not a midlife crisis but more of a crossroads of sorts.
This week listening to : Guided by Voices-Amusements...: Rush-Show Of Hands & Stephen Curtis Chapman- self titled
I miss my Memphis family- I have realised I don't really miss Memphis as much except for the BBQ, my friends and the music & the funkiness & the low rent, & the black folks ( not a lot around here) & the feeling that something great can happen any time, & the churches that still have a message not derived from a book the pastor read yesterday that I saw on CBN 2 weeks ago. Mostly I miss the closeness of family, cousins, uncles, aunts and all manner of kinfolk---whether I like em or not---whether they like me or not. I sure would love a great big family picnic right about now.
I gotta go to bed but the family vacation might be coming together as I speak. I'll holla at ya later.
XOXO
SF

Flat Belly...So far, Good

So to update the 2 of you out there that have been holding their breath for the results post....I have lost 10 pounds in 4 days. The diet starts off with a anti-bloat diet of 400 calories per meal, 4 meals a day. This is quite a change for me. What I really noticed was the lack of salt on anything. I guess the first bit of weight will be the water weight from the high sodium intake. All I can say is I do fell better & my pants fit better.

With that being said, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend and I have too many cookouts to attend so the diet is in a holding pattern. I won't splurge and go back to the double bacon cheeseburgers, pizza and cheese steak sammiches but I will not turn down some grilled chicken or a grilled brat with peppers and onions this weekend.(mmm...brats)
I hope everyone has a happy & safe Memorial Day and remembers what the holiday means...besides a day off.
Be safe--SF

Great Big Me

Hiya-
Well once again I have decided to go on a diet. I have tried for the last 10 years or so to lose weight only to gain it all back. Originally it was for the mere fact of saving money-my pants didn't fit and I am too cheap to buy new ones when I know I will drop that extra 5 pounds in a week or so. When it didn't come off like it used to, I would try to diet-lack of taste style. I would starve myself during the week and eat whatever I wanted from 5pm Friday until 11pm Sunday night. After that I really put on the pounds to stay. I then went from being in an office job to managing restaurants. I lost 20 pounds because running a restaurant means mostly "running". After I was settled in at the restaurant a.k.a. not the new guy anymore, I had people to run around like idiots and I could just chat with the fine folks at the door, at their seats and at the bar. I gained 25 back. I left restaurants a little over a year ago to sell cars and since that time I have gained around 20 more pounds. The car business is slow and I sit on the computer all day learning car stuff, checking for deals on VRBO, going to soWal.com, ebay.com, yahoo, MSN and trying to see what I can get through the company's web filter. It's like a challenge to me. So I have been sitting around alot and the biggest topic of the day, everyday is what are we gonna eat, when are we gonna eat, how much are we gonna eat and when are we gonna eat again. Well, I am done with that nonsense.
The best shape of my life was when I was too busy having fun to think about eating. I was running, skateboarding, swimming and doing physical labor. Plus, I was poor & had few options for food. I could spend money on groceries or going out. Ramen noodles it was then.
So to make a long story longer-I am on a diet. I have tried southbeach, atkins, xenadrine, ephedra, cabbage soup diet, low carb tons of protein, no junk food, only junk food, only fruits and veggies, only fruits/no veggies, only veggies/no fruit and so on. This time I think I have one that will work. It is called the Flat Belly Diet. You see most of my fat is in my belly and its gotta go. This diet lets you eat some good stuff and you add some monounsaturated fatty acids to your diet. This is supposed to help you lose that spare tire. Monounsaturated fats or MUFA's are in oils such as olive, canola, sesame, sunflower, safflower and soybean oils. they are also in olives (duh), nuts and seeds, avocados and dark chocolate. So they give you a diet and tell you what to substitute & break down what kinda calorie intake you have and when to eat it.
They also have a 4 day anti bloating diet to start. I am in the first day of it an I will track it on these pages. I know what you are thinking, sounds like another unhealthy fad diet. I thought so to until doing some research and from looking at the recipes, this is not only stuff I can live with but stuff I have been wanting to make. So hang with me and I will let you know my progress on at least a weekly basis (can't blog from work).

Dieting is only the first step. I have kicked up my workouts from a handful of times monthly to at least 3 days a week. I live about 2 miles from work, so some days I will ride my bike to work. My goal for the next 30 days is 20 pounds. I think I can do it because most of that fat is new to me anyway, it never got to know the neighborhood and it still has the moving boxes.
When we get to the end of this summer, I will post actual weights and measurements in hopes of inspiring all 2 of you. I will also post things that are slightly more interesting ( hopefully) and a few new pictures.
Right now it's time for some Sassy Water (their words-not mine) :water w/ lemon, cucumber, mint and ginger.
Nobody ever got fat from sweet dreams.
SF

Self Indulgence

I am, at this moment, immersing myself in music. If you didn't already know I am a big fan of music. I like to go see bands from the biggest rock stars & bands to the smallest solo acoustic guy/gal busking on a corner. I don't buy much music just because I don't want to spend the money. I also do not illegally download. It is not a morals thing, but most of the music I wanna buy is by someone who could really use the money and is probably not on limewire or whatever the kids are using these days to pilfer someones art. I also love to play music. I have probably mentioned this before but it is my golf. I'll think nothing of dropping a couple of hundred on a guitar but I cannot see dropping over $20 to go hit a little ball around a huge lawn. I like golf, I just don't love it. I also might have mentioned I have a band. we are called Ohio Briars. For those of you not from Ohio, you should know that a briar is, basically, white trash. It is derived from the fact that at the beginning of the auto manufacturing boom in Detroit, many people from Kentucky started moving north towards that area. A large portion of them broke down in southwest Ohio and some couldn't get hired or did not like the harsh winters on the lake. They were uneducated, uncouth and lived in the sticks-or briars. Hence Ohio Briars. It is kinda the same as any other ethnic slur. They can call themselves briars but you cannot.

So we are called the Ohio Briars and we do not sound like anything I have heard-well...we have some songs that sound like George Jones, some that sound like Sonic Youth. Some of em sound like Def Leppard outtakes and some that sound like audio test patterns over an am radio whilst passing under a bridge. I dig it because I can write anything and usually it gets recorded. We are a self contained band. I play Guitar mostly, some bass, lots of synthesiser, organ and drum machine, I sing some leads and lots of backup vocals.

So right now I am going through our last release called "Punch The Red". It is 101 songs that we are too lazy to finish, mix , master or mess with anymore. If you like Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, the Grifters, Guided by Voices, White Stripes, Neil Young, The Cars, Beck, Beastie Boys Rock albums, Pat Green, Rolling Stones, Byrds, The Kinks, R.E.M., or Pavement. Give us a listen. If you don't like the song you are listening to at the time...wait, it will turn on a dime and be a whole different type of song on the next track. The website is http://www.ohiobriars.com/ .There is almost no cursing in it, most of the words I can't understand anyway & I didn't write. I apologise to anyone who is offended, in advance. So if you get a chance, listen, evaluate and give me a comment back, good , bad or otherwise. We are working on mastering a new one called "Bliss Press". By mastering I mean getting all of the levels generally the same for each song. We are also working with a new rhythm section and recording another more alt/country CD. So far it sounds great. Thanks for your comments in advance. nighty night.

SF

lack of posts

Sorry for the lack of content up in here. We have had a busy beginning to May. H's birthday, citywide yard sales, bulk trash pickup and going to Columbus to race little cars around a little track for work. This is about the time of year I really start missing Memphis. Memphis in may is in full swing with Beale street music festival, World Championship BBQ festival, concerts, warm weather, more BBQ, family & friends for cookouts & overall lots of activities for all ages. Maybe too much activity including, shootings, mosquitoes, being panhandled in nearly every neighborhood, tornadoes, dirty politics, humidity. Where we live is less than an hour to 2 major cities and if you drive 2 1/2 hours you have about 5 major cities to go to and do stuff. We almost never do that. This is a great place to raise kids and own property, not such a great place to work, make good money, find fun activities and just go roaming around in search of things off the beaten path. It's almost all off the beaten path. So's I guess what I am sayin is-the grass is always greener near the fire hydrant. At least I wont see 90 degree days until mid august & that should last about 5 days. I cannot wait to start making lemonade & complaining about the 80 degree weather. I'll have a recap of the last 10 or so days soon. Right now it is (past) time for bed. TTFN

SF

The band-episode two empire strikes back

So here's Adam. Adam is an enigma. He is stubborn and hard to work with and knows that you are an ars*h*le in the first 30 seconds of meeting you. He also is one of the smarter persons I know. He treats his friends extremely well and started this band and has threatened to finish this band on many occasions. When he started getting interested in music he wanted to emulate the rough, raw sound and bring elements of arena rock, pop and pure poetry to the forefront. Even though the forefront he was trying to bring it to was about 3 friends. He does it outta love for playing, creating and throwing a chink in the works. He has learned more from magazines and websites about recording than I learned in 2 years in a recording studio. He is the producer, lead singer, songwriter and much, much more to Ohio Briars.If there is a fire in the guitar parts, he throws jet fuel on it. If there is too much mutual congratulations, he suggests we do something to muck up the works. He is not happy with mundane. It works great for me and I couldn't think about being in a silly cover band.(unless I am making a bundle) His lyrics and placement are the best I have ever seen & I hope he wants to keep doing this until I am old(er) and grey(er). Here's to you Adam...up yr but joe boo!!!!---sf

We need "Earthquake Glue"

In honor of the recent earthquakes-which I've slept through- I have been listening to Guided by Voices-Earthquake Glue. I like to theme my music sometimes, not like listening to Jimmy Buffet when I go to the beach theme, but more on whatever is going on in my world theme. At the start of the Iraq thing-alot of early U2-War & Boy, Lunar eclipse R.E.M.-Feeling Gravity's Pull, when my dog died, Blue Mountain-Dog Days and after my mother was here, The right rev. Al Green-greatest hits. I dunno, music, for me, is more of a feeling than the lyrics. That may be why I don't bow down at the alter of Bob Dylan. Don't get me wrong, Bobby's great but his music does nothing for me. Same for Billy Bragg. I like my angry lyrics with a sense of melody. I'll take Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello over those guys anyday. As for the beach music, well, about 18 years ago I went down to the gulf, on a whim, listening to Steely Dan all the way. My roommate & I crashed at a guys house he barely knew and we saw the best Steely Dan 3 piece cover band in the world, back when Destin was a tiny fishing village with a few overpriced condos. Ahhh...Maybe if I could think more about what needs to be done around here and less about the beach, I could afford to move there. I think a long weekend is in order. See you at the beach-SF