I never liked red beans and rice when I was a kid. Thought it tasted icky. I still can’t put my finger on why; it was something about the way the starch from the rice combined with the beans, I think, but–who knows. So when I was looking for tasty bean dishes, I was initially a little bit uncomfy with this one:

Dressed Up Red Beans and Rice

It looked so damned healthy, though, that I couldn’t let it pass without at least giving it a try. I did remove the meat (I put 1-2 Tbsp of oil in the pan to sautee the veggies in, since removing the meat also removed the fat these things should have been frying in, plus it’s cheaper that way), and left out the salt because we’re watching our sodium intake, but otherwise pretty much stuck to the recipe. And… I was surprised. It turned out to be delicious, and with the kale and the beans, like I said, very nutritious. Tim had much the same reaction; I think he tried it because I asked him to, but didn’t expect to like it, and was surprised when he did.

You know, I wonder what else I’d like now if it were made right that I didn’t like before. Maybe I should try asparagus again?

This morning I was doing an online survey on food products, and part of it involved giving reactions to advertising for a Morningstar Farms product–I think they just called it Mexican Snacks or something, but basically taquitos made with meat substitute. I find myself wondering if these things are on the market or just in development/testing–because they kind of sound good. I’m a little wary of the soy protein thing, though, because I’ve never had it and I don’t know what it tastes like. And also I find the idea of giving up meat, but then wanting something that makes you think you’re eating meat a little weird, but one isolated exception in my diet wouldn’t be a horrible tragedy. I’m curious enough to try them, anyway, if they actually exist. I’ll have to remember to look next time I’m at the grocery.

No Comments »

My brain’s not working today. I think it knows it’s Friday. Can’t focus. There are things I should be doing, but I can’t seem to concentrate on them. So I must content myself with doing what I can–mostly, making lists and doing searches. Maybe I’ll be inspired later.

Random question: Why do people insist on doing such awful, tacky things to amber and carnelian when making them into jewelry? Just because it’s not an expensive precious gem doesn’t mean you have to use the biggest, most prominent chunk of it possible.

Tonight is one of the few nights I actually have plans to watch TV, and probably real-time rather than watching something on the TiVo. Why? Because it’s the Joan of Arcadia season finale. Which seems a bit early. I hear the show’s future is uncertain… It’s had its bad moments, but I do hope it continues. I like it. Also… What with Tim not being home to make fun of me for watching it (or object to watching it), I’m going to indulge in a guilty pleasure after Joan is over and watch America’s Next Top Model. I know, I know. Reality shows are stupid. Think of it as junk food for the brain–every once in a while I just get a taste for something like that. Usually I just follow it through snarky recaps, but sometimes I just want to see an episode.

No Comments »

I got a raise. Yay me! Not a big one, when you look at it as a percentage of my previous income, but a raise nonetheless. I just realized that at the beginning of next month it will be three years I’ve been here. Wow. Tim acted put out when I told him over the phone, because I was already making more than he does and this just bumped me up even further, but he’s happy about it.

Instead of having a celebratory dinner as we often would, I think I’m going to get a new necklace. Nothing expensive, but there’s something specific I’m looking for. I’ve been wearing this one for almost five years now, and it’s time for a change.

No Comments »

I was skimming through my previous blog entries, checking links and removing a few references to things that shouldn’t be discussed here, when I found my list of New Year’s Resolutions for this year. Essentially, I was going to quit caffeine, write more, and start exercising.

Quitting Caffeine: Mixed results so far. Mostly I’ve been fine, but there have been a couple of times where life has just spiraled so far out of control that I’ve had to have caffeine to keep up with it. (We did roughly four days without sleep when Tim’s dad was dying. That’s not happening without coffee.) However, after these brief lapses, I haven’t had too much of a problem quitting again. So largely, I count this one as a success so far.

Writing More: Ugh. This one has been awful. I haven’t done it. No excuses, no explanations even–I just haven’t done it.

Exercising: It’s taken me a few months, but right now I’m actually doing very well on this one. Dad and I are walking three times a week, around half an hour each time, and I’m doing some walking and such on my own as well. Between this and the diet I’ve lost several pounds already, and I think I’m starting to get in a little better shape. Maybe. Hopefully.

So I’ve more or less got two out of three. I think I’m doing pretty well! Better than I have in previous years, certainly.

No Comments »

OK… I apologize for any weirdness in my blog’s appearance today. Heck, I just hope y’all can read this. The new version of the template seemed fine when I was previewing it, but when I actually implemented it the whole thing went screwy!

Edit: OK, I think I got it back to normal. The code is a freaking mess, thank you very much to the guy who designed the Scribe template I’ve been adapting all this time, and I don’t dare mess with it because that’s what got me into the mess. But hey, at least the end result looks the way I intended it to.

No Comments »

I don’t know if I like this new scheme. In particular, some of the details of the titles and dividers didn’t come out the way I wanted. I’ll leave it up for a day or so, at least, just to see if it works or not. What do you think?

No Comments »

I’m getting tired of this template. It feels old and tired now… I’m not sure what I want to change it to, though.

No Comments »

It’s this time of year that I really love living here. Winter is just over, and the transition from spring to summer is underway. There are some icky rainy days, but in between we get absolutely gorgeous weather. The sun shines brightly in a clear blue sky. The air is warm but not usually hot. The humidity level has not yet risen to the point of stickiness that it will reach in a couple of months. Most of the bugs haven’t come out yet. It’s perfect weather for going to the park, or walking around the neighborhood, or throwing open all the windows and airing out the house, or napping outside in a hammock. Or all of the above! It’s beautiful.

No Comments »

This whole dieting thing has been… A learning experience, already, and I’ve not been on it for that long. I’ve been trying not to ramble about it *too* much here, since I know you probably don’t want to hear it all day, everyday, but I thought I’d share this tidbit.

Today really threw me for a loop. Now, looking at these two menu plans, which sounds more balanced? (Bearing in mind that tonight’s leftover night; I wouldn’t necessarily always be eating cheese fries and breadsticks…)

Breakfast–Nonfat organic yogurt with wheat bran stirred in, green tea
Morning snack–Hard-boiled egg
Lunch–Meatloaf, approx. 6.5oz; fresh spinach; milk
Afternoon snack–1/2 large grapefruit
Dinner–Poached chicken thigh, cheese fries, salad w/ lemon juice dressing, banana
Evening snack–One breadstick with hummus
(And water to drink throughout the day, of course. And a multivitamin.)

Or…

Breakfast–Nonfat organic yogurt with wheat bran stirred in, green tea
Morning snack–Hard-boiled egg
Lunch–Meatloaf, approx. 3.25oz; fresh spinach; milk
Afternoon snack–1/2 large grapefruit
Dinner–Cheese fries, salad w/ lemon juice dressing, banana
Evening snack–Three breadsticks with hummus
(And water to drink throughout the day, of course. And a multivitamin.)

Both plans add up to around 1500 calories.

I thought the former, as lunch and dinner both seemed like pretty balanced meals, but then I noticed that it contained way too much protein. I was also low on a couple of vitamins or minerals or something, and of course way low on carbs. (I’m not doing Atkins, after all.) So I started messing around with it. The first startling discovery was that what I was thinking of as a single serving of meatloaf contained 76% of my daily protein allowance. Wow. So I cut that in half and took out the chicken at dinner, and increased the breadstick count. And the most amazing thing happened.

Not only did that bring my protein down to just slightly over my daily allowance, but it also pushed up most of the vitamins and minerals I’d been low on. And carbs, of course, but I’m still low there… But it’s better. So the second plan, even though it looks weird to my eyes, turns out to be better.

I think I’m going to make some adjustments… Switch the egg out for some kind of whole-grain bread, for starters. Maybe cut down on the number of times each week I bring meat for lunch, and increase the veggies and breads and such instead. This is taking some getting used to.

Also, side note: Fruit is my new best friend. It actually does satisfy my sweet tooth without adding empty calories to my diet. Guess Mom and Dad knew what they were talking about after all. Who’d've thunk it?

No Comments »

CNN.com – When a hit show falls off the cliff – Apr 11, 2005

Apparently, the folks at TLC are in a bit of a tight spot. It seems that their hit show Trading Spaces, which in point of fact they are most famous for, and is the means by which I think most viewers probably became acquainted with them, is not such a hit anymore. In fact, viewership is down 46% in their target audience.

I’m almost tempted to try to catch an episode or two now–apparently they’ve debuted a new format for it, one… without Paige. I’m kind of curious. But that’s beside the point.

I think that, in its speculation about why this has happened, this article misses the real reason. Or maybe it’s just the elephant in the living room that no one wants to talk about. Because I think the real reason for the decline isn’t overexposure of the show or the genre, and it’s not that there are just so many imitators out there.

The fact is, when the show hit the peak of its popularity, it really started to suck.

It started out as a fun designing show. There were a couple of disasters–Crying Pam, anyone?–but largely the focus was on the design, and on the execution of that design. As seasons went by, though, and its popularity rose, that started to change. There was Drama! every week. Something broke, the designer wanted to paint something that was specified untouchable in the contract, whatever. And the focus was not on the design anymore. The focus turned to the drama, and the whole concept of redesigning rooms became just a way to generate conflict and drama.

I think the producers or whoever thought that increasing the drama of the show would hold people’s attention better or whatever. The thing is, though… That’s not what a lot of us who watched it early on tuned in for. We tuned in to watch the design process. We did not tune in to watch a woman actually physically take her neighbor down because she hated the color her walls had been painted. And when the focus of the show changed… We lost interest.

And I think that’s the show’s whole problem.

No Comments »