I thought I would share this URL with people who love pizza as much as I do and who haven’t quite lost that extra winter weight YET! Seems there was a fellow who lost a sizable chunk of fat by eating a slice of pizza several times a day, read more;
http://www.tampabay.com/features/fitness/life-of-pie-losing-weight-by-eating-nothing-but-pizza/1029472
Don’t know much about local politics right now, but I am calling for a Northfield tea party
where all the local stars and the quiet waiting in the background people can
step up to the podium for 5 minutes, hand out whatever materials they want,
and do that for a couple of hours each week at some large venue in the winter
and outdoors in the summertime, where everyone can attend. I’m calling
for it and hope that I am not stepping on a similar plan already in place.
1. I won’t eat mindlessly. If I am watching tv or listening to my fav music or texting my friend, I am not paying attention to my food intake and will forget all about it later on and will want to eat again and again until I satisfy my senses. I resolve to smell my food. Savor the flavors in my mouth. And use the important digestive juices in my mouth to begin the break down of my food. If it doesn’t smell or taste or feel good, chances are it’s Cheetos and I might want to drop it off the grocery list.
2. I will not eat after 6PM unless a very special occassion calls for it. Eating only a few hours before bed means I will be awake half the night digesting and churning out the calories at a time when I need them the least. Don’t Eat after 6PM I reiterate to myself daily. I do like a handful of grapes at 7 or 8PM and will allow for that as they do metabolize quickly and keep me from going to sleep too early.
3. Instead of eating half junk, half organic veggies, grains and fruits like I now do, I will step up my game to 25% junk, 75 % good for me food. See how that goes. It means I will have to pay even more attention to my food at first, but once I get the hang of it, it will go better. See, just as I was typing this I thought, let me put it into calores. I can do 400 calories of junk per day, which is pretty good. 
4. Take another close look at the food I am eating and what is out there and how can I prepare food differently to keep the old tried and trues more interesting. Where can I substitute, what can I keep on the menu and what’s new at the grocery store???
5. Note to self: Indulge in a egg (yolk for oily skin and whites for dry)and honey with lemon facial. Blend one yolk or egg white with a teaspoon of honey and a squirt of lemon and place on areas of the face that need exfoliating and drawing out of impurities. Leave the mixture on for 12-24 minutes, depending on how strong the texture of your skin. Rinse off gently with slightly warm water, then cool water until all the traces of the mixture is gone. Do this once a week.
Yesterday, the Saturday of Kwaanza, we celebrated at the Northfield Golf Club Restaurant. They have a pretty decorated tree in the front lobby, next to a nice gas fire place. Once inside you can see the tree lights from the decorated trees outside dance all along the open window walls. It’s quite magical.
The dinner was set for 5PM to 9PM and we were practically the first ones there, as I like to eat early, believing that the later you eat, the more you will retain. Then when you get up, you are not that hungry, so you skip breakfast, and that really is the most important time of day for humans to absorb and utilize vitamins and minerals and then burn calories throughout the active cycle of the 24 hour period. Ah, but I digress. Sorry.
Anyway, I ordered the Shrimp Tempura, Caesar salad, baked potato and mushrooms. D had the filet mignon and mashed potatoes and asparagas plus buffet salad bar. It was all good. When you come in early, the chefs have time to pay attention to your food and only your food. Super. I must rave about the Caesar salad though because it was one of if not the best I ever had. A bit of mustard was present and the rest was light as air. So, too, about the mushrooms. Ah, just plain ol’ button mushrooms, whole and fried up in the pan. Delicious. I didn’t want them to end, so I had every other bit a mushroom and ended with a mushroom.
Now the shrimp was good, too. It wasn’t covered with all the oil and batter one usually gets. It was so underdressed, I barely noticed it in the dim but flattering lights of the restaurant. The shrimp were firm, but not rubbery, not soft, not mushy. They were like you dream shrimp would be, but never are except for when one of your fav chefs makes them on Kwaanza.
I am not raving about the baked potato. I think it was an attempt to keep it from drying out too much.but it was slightly underdone for me, but that made me not eat all of it, and that’s a good thing. My respiratory meds make me hungry and even ravenous at times, and I really have to watch my weight even over the holidays. I am hearing a lot of heads shaking up and down right now. I know you are with me as sighs of failure drift by this page. Oh, don’t feel bad, pretty soon, you’ll be up and running off all those extra calories, when you actually take back the things you don’t want and get something you do want.
Here comes the best part, while we were waiting for dinner, we ordered a Sazarac. Some of you may know, a Sazarac is the first official cocktail of the United States, originating in New Orleans. Now, I am not a drinker, can’t do it, won’t do it, but once or twice a year, I will imbibe with a half drink of something. I get all warm and bubbly and then I get a cup of coffee before I pass out for the night from it. Haha.
The Sazara reminds me of days in New Orleans with friends on a Public Chemical Advisory Panel. We’d all go out to dinner after each meeting and swap food stories. My closest buddy, an elder named Doc usually had something to do with whiskey , maybe cuz he is from Kentucky where they make quite a bit of it well, but he told the Sazarac story and I went with it and tried it and always liked it. Any bartender worth his salt (did I just say that?) knows how to make a Sazarac, but if yours doesn’t…here you go;
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/SazeracCocktail.htm
Happy Holidays to YOU!
My painting, “Battlefield” is at the Northfield Arts Guild, in the second or Other Room, where it can not be viewed easily. In this painting I look at good vs evil, heaven vs hell, and all the thoughts that go through the minds of those involved in the battle. Well, at least some of the thoughts and some of the feelings.
So I am asking people to have a look at it as best as you can and look for the sublayer of images that came in upon their own volition, more or less. Please let me know what you think at you know my name @beautywood.com, except fill in my name, Bright at the beginning of the email address. This arrangement will keep me from getting too much spamola. Thanks!
My holiday present to my readers is this music link where you can hear streaming music, whatever you choose just about for free with ads and $3. per month without ads. The first one I searched for was “Jam” by Michael Jackson and then “Skylark” by Cleo Laine. Two amazing artists and two wonderful tunes. Enjoy!
http://listen.grooveshark.com/
During this hustle bustle time of the year, we sometimes forget our best friends!
Farmer’s Almanac has some great recipes for homemade cookies for our furry
four legged darlings, including one for a microwave dog cookie that cooks for
ten minutes or less! Your pet will thank you this holiday season.
http://www.almanac.com/content/pet-food-recipes-cats-and-dogs
Look to the Northeast all night December 13-14 for 75 meteors per hour, the year’s largest meteor shower!
http://www.almanac.com/content/meteor-showers-guide-2009
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/media/videos/must-be-santa
A little holiday joy and pick me up for you!
Even I can offer a good bargain during these soon to be over but not soon enough tough economic times. As of late, dh and I have been again to La Eskina where I had a deliciousio Tortas, which is a Mexican sandwich on a squarish bun that has been purposely burnt, kinda of like the grill marks on the inside of bread sandwiches that people are so fond of these days. The tortas have the grill marks on the crusted part of the bun. It’s more for the eye than the tastebuds. Charcoal is pretty tasteless really, once you get over the black pebbly part of it, it’s not all that. But the chicken, avocado, tomato, lettuce and onion sandwich I requested was so good and so big, I didn’t eat for a day and a half after that. It was about 5 dollars and worth every penny of it. The folks over there don’t skimp on any ingredient and I like that about them. Dh had his usual already. Once he likes something that’s all he’ll order for decades. How could I girl like me be married to such a stick in the mud, I just don’t know. Right now, he is flying back an airplane from the OshKosh Air Show that got left there by someone who had to leave early. So maybe he’s not that much of a stick in the mud. Really, he and my puppy are the loves of my life and they alternate and jockey for position number one constantly. No, I’m kidding. Anyway….
We went over to Mill Street Tavern yesterday and also visited the nearby newly built up Cannon Falls Waterfalls and wan pond that enhance the new hiking and biking path. We noticed the Cannon Falls bike and boat rental shop and looked at their website when we got back. Wow, you can rent a bicycle built for two there, too. (Notice how I wove a reference to the title into this blog?) We also delighted at the sight of a lovely family of swans with a few teenager swanlets or whatever they are called these days, and two lovely adult heart halves swans behaving in particularly swannish manner. Picture perfect, except we didn’t have our camera, so we go back next week.
Cob = Male Swan, Pen = Female Swan, Cygent = Baby Swan, Flock = Group of Swans
I am not blogging Mill Street Tavern because I did not enjoy the leathery wild caught salmon and so on sandwich I forced down as everything else was very good including dh’s chicken and bacon wrap.
Thanks for reading my blog and allowing for my silliness. It’s just that kind of day for me.
2009
Northfield Garden Club
Garden Tour
Flowers and Fine Art
June 27th from 10AM-4PM
June 28th from Noon to 3PM
Purchase
Tickets – $10
at
Present Perfect
Hodge Podge Que
Knecht’s Nursery
There are six beautiful gardens to tour and you can also see the Art in Bloom show on Sunday from noon to three, where garden club members and others have created floral arrangements to compliment paintings. Bring your out of town friends, and the kids will love it, too!