Slipknot's Slope

[Slipknot]

So DD is taking her bath and DW is making dinner (read: randomly re-heating things) on Tuesday and I hear a panicked shout from the kitchen. It's raining, you see, which is wrong in a number of ways. Come to find out, the upstairs tub is leaking. Oh, and we had just parked DW's car at the shop due to the Check Engine light having shown itself. Can you say "so long, tax refund?" I can!

B: Two egg scramble with onion, poblano, and fresh coriander; Candian bacon; refried pintos with a dollop of lf sour cream, 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Taco Bell Chicken ranch salad (yes, I ate some of the tortilla bits and a bit or two of the non-beachy shell); diet coke
S: An apple and string cheese
D: Ham and bean soup; ww quesidilla with chicken; 1% milk
S: Babybel

I got DD out of the tub and found a hairline crack along the bottom. Who knows how long it's been leaking there, and the only way to figure out the damage is to pull the tub. I had planned on taking vacation Wednesday since one car is in the shop, so now I'll have a little more to do. I caulked up the crack and we all found ways to wash our hair in the sink while the caulk cures.

[Slipknot]

First things first - file an insurance claim against the homeowners' policy and see what they say. What they said was something to the effect of "we're sending you a check. Call back if it's not enough". Yeah, I know. I had them repeat it, too. So that's something. Oh, and DW's expensively repaired car lit up on the way home! I am not lying. I was not about to take it back last night, so my adventures continue today. Yesterday's food was a little whacked out:

B: Two egg scramble with Canadian bacon and Mrs. Dash; refried pintos with lf sour cream; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Santa Fe salad (chicken, jack cheese; black bean salsa; cumin vinegrette; guacamole) diet coke
S: String cheese
D: Stroganoff with basmati; salad with Goddess; 1% milk
S: Stella Artois (a beer!)

I was home all day and took DW to our favorite cafe where I had an awesome salad and we stared blankly at each other. We'll be okay with these financial setbacks, but it means not doing projects we wanted to do. Such is life, I suppose. Last night I practiced with a new cover band that's getting together. They called me back next week, so we'll see where this goes.

[Chris55]

I've had weeks like that. I'm very surprised the insurance company will give you something, although years ago when my parents lived in our inlaw apartment and left the window open during a storm, ours gave us money to patch the ceiling. I never would have called but my mom was pretty brazen. We have an old house and shtuff happens! We have a leaky toilet, again, which ruined the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom about a year ago. DH had fixed it, the plumber had fixed it, we have crazy old pipes that don't mesh with the new materials, so after reading more online this week, DH will be doing plumbing again on Saturday - not his favorite activity. There's a great movie called "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long about house repairs that is hysterically funny - you might want to cheer yourselves up and Netflix it!

I'm already expecting our tax return to get sucked into the vortex of home repair bills. Or college tuition for kid #3. In any event, it will only stay in the bank long enough for the check to clear.

[lakegran72]

What's this ? I think I missed something! More about the band please !

[Slipknot]

Thanks, Chris! I am not about the pull this tub and do the drywall and all - those days are over. I know my limits with plumbing and carpentry and this one is out of my reach. The plumber we had in yesterday seemed to think the subfloor damage was limited and that's good news. By now, after replacing the roof, the hot water heater, the heat pump and the water main line, you'd think I'd be prepared for an annual homeowner tax!

Lake, I've sung in bands on and off for years. I quit the last one due to musical differences almost a year ago and the bass player - who ended up quitting later - found a new project and invited me to 'audition'. I have a second interview, so we'll see how it goes. It's more party music that the usual hard rock I end up doing, but I'm up for it.

[Slipknot]

After a lovely half-day of work, I ran home to meet with a plumber and start the whole repair process. A poorly-timed 12:00 meeting before I left had me eating lunch very late, so I skipped my afternoon snack entirely. That's just how it goes sometimes...

B: Two egg scramble with Mrs. Dash and Canadian bacon; refired pintos with lf sour cream; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Chicken enchillada in ww tortilla; salad with ranch; 1% milk
D: Chicken stir-fry with brocolli, mushrooms, red peppers, and onions; basmati rice; diet coke
S: Babybel

DW cooked up two extra chicken breast halves for her famous enchilladas (which I am still faithfully devouring as leftovers), and I just knew I was going to do something with them. Throw away good protein while cars and tubs are eating up my tax refund?!? Not on my watch, yo. With all the craziness going on with the plumber and having to take DW's car back to the shop (loose connection, engine light finally off, coupon for free oil change ) I needed something quick, so frozen stir fry veggies it was. Two bags went into the "wok" (actually a stainless cook pot, shhhh) with some sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame ginger dressing, and the chicken. I didn't time it very well with the basmati, but I still got it at the end of the crispy/tender phase. Yum.

[Slipknot]

Remember that Little Caesar's cartoon guy that would show up with the spear and say "Pizza pizza"? Well, he showed up yesterday in a figurative and irritating way, but I did my best. Pizza #1 was the new boss spontaneously rewarding everyone with a pizza lunch. Huzzah! See, I always find it tempting, but I also want to go chocolate-cake-offplan if you know what I mean. If I'm gonna do the time, I want to enjoy the crime. Luckily, there was some leftover salad in the fridge, so I went for that and ate one piece of sausage pie so as to partake in the esprit de corps. Pizza #2 was the annual Pizza Bingo night at the DK's elementary school. I dodged that bullet my chowing down leftover stir fry before we left and sticking with an evening of diet coke and broken dreams. Although we won a couple small raffle prizes, the big BINGO escaped us for yet another year. We really need to work on our luck in the offseason.

B: Two egg scramble with Mrs. Dash and Canadian bacon; refried pintos with lf sour cream; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Caesar salad; a piece of pizza; diet coke
D: Chicken stir-fry with broccoli, mushrooms, and red peppers; 1% milk
S: Diet coke
S: Babybel and an apple and maybe some red wine...it's all a little fuzzy...

DW doesn't suspect anything, but there's a new woman in my life - Mrs. Dash. Kalyn mentions Spike seasoning over on her blog but I've never seen it in a store around here. I tried Mrs. Dash garlic and herb and I gotta tell ya - it's a nice twist if you're looking for some, well, dash in your eggs or soups.

[Slipknot]

The ultimate comfort food for me is probably a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. It's about as non-beachy as you can get, what with the lard-soaked starchy white bread, the full fat cheese and milk, and the sugary chocolaty syrup or powder involved. So as I went through the small list of them in my mind, I had to settle for something a little lower - the Sloppy Joe. I don't know who Joe was, but he's up there with General Tso as far as I'm concerned in the pantheon of folks-who-we-named-good-food-after.

As I cast my eye about for a beach-friendly recipe for Joe-ness, I found two decent candidates right here and sort of combined parts of them. I mostly followed devon25's Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe found here (viewtopic.php?t=17867&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75), but I used fresh green pepper and onion instead of frozen and went skillet not crock pot. Oh, and I didn't have any Splenda around, so I used this Splenda substitute called sugar, but I halved it. I calculated that 1T = ~12g = ~3g/serving (prolly more with what's in the tomato sauce and paste, shhhh) and I was okay with those odds. I also added 1/4t paprika, 1/4t ground mustard, and 1T Worcestershire from ami's recipe here (viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17761&start=15). With fresh green beans in the fridge threatening to expire on me, I had to move fast and find a yummy veg recipe. This board to the rescue again with recipelover's Pepper Parmesan Beans (viewtopic.php?t=38948). Yum.

B: Egg scramble with green pepper, Canadian Bacon, and Mrs. Dash; refried pintos with lf sour cream; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Chicken stir fry with veggies on basmati; diet coke
D: Sloppy Joe on a ww English muffin; Parmesan Pepper Green Beans; 1% milk
S: Green Tea
S: An apple and Babybel

[Chris55]

I've been enjoying some decent hot chocolate made with ff Lactaid, a small amount of semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a bit of cinnamon. Not sickeningly sweet, but definitely chocolatey and with only a small amount of dark chocolate it's P2 friendly.

[Slipknot]

I am definitely going to try some P2-friendly hot chocolate. That's too good to pass up!

[Slipknot]

That's right, kids - it's a sign of spring: the Phillies' aces and catchers reported to Clearwater, FL for the start of spring training. Soon the nights will be full of me screaming at the t.v. about the dimensions and general placement of the strike zone. Good times ahead. Sunday's food was mostly clean with an aside for chicken skin and dark meat - two vices of mine that will not go gently into that good night.

B: Egg scramble with Canadian bacon, onions, and Mrs. Dash; refried pintos with lf sour cream; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Stir fried chicken and veggies over basmati; diet coke
D: Baked chicken; roasted squash, carrots, and brussel sprouts; 1% milk
S: Babybel

Wow, not only did I blow off my apple and string cheese (which I knew), but I spaced on a grain with dinner. Looks like I need to remind myself that his is P2 or something. That might explain my hunger this morning and my distraction at lunch today, but that's a tale for another entry..

[lakegran2]

Just saying Hi and to say thanks for the chilpotle suggestions........I had forgotten how much I like them....
tomorrow black beans peppers for me........yum

[Slipknot]

It was a day of hearts and flowers and not reading the same menu I see at least twice a week. At lunch I ordered a Buffalo chicken salad and I should have remembered that it's breaded and fried on the menu and you have to asked for grilled chicken. I'd like to say that I won't make that mistake again, but I'm not so sure - I was hungry enough that by the time I got it, I ate it. And I ordered tomato bisque that probably had some cream in it. Neither transgression will kill me, but chocolate cake would have been more fun.

B: Two egg scramble with onion, Canadian bacon, and Mrs. Dash; refried black beans with jalapenos; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Cup of tomato basil bisque; Buffalo chicken salad with bleu cheese; diet coke
S: String cheese and an apple
D: Sloppy joe redux on ww english muffin; parmesan green bean redux; 1% milk
S: Babybel

As it would turn out, it would not be my unique "breaded and fried" experience for the week...

[Slipknot]

I forgot to mention the chocolate-covered strawberries that DW bought for Valentine's Day. I appreciate her effort to provide just a leeetle chocolate with a beachy fruit. I ended up doubling on breaded chicken and chocolate for two days in a row. Lunch Tuesday was a catered affair again and I had a couple of options: Chicken cordon bleu, shrimp in an alfredo over pasta, or a pesto and veggie grilled sanwich on rye. In hindsight, I think the chicken was baked rather than fried, but it just had that fried look with a dark even coating of crumbs. Once again, I'm not irritated with myself since I did the best I could as a captive audience. I just wish it was chocolate mousse. Oh, and I ordered chocolate pudding for dessert and had one spoonful. Yum.

B: Two eggs sunny side; refried black beans; Canadian bacon; 1% milk
L: Chicken cordon bleu; salad with Russian; chicken soup minus pasta; spoonful of chocolate pudding; diet coke
S: Peanuts
D: Chicken soup with basmati; ham; salad with Goddess; ww english muffin; 1% milk
S: Babybel

I was at a training session all day and didn't bother bringing an apple in. DW made a nice hearty soup with lots of chicken and veggies. I munched a slice of deli ham on the side to finish off a package and get a little more protein in. We'll be out of leftovers after tonight and DW want to shop tomorrow, so I need to start meal planning with a bit of urgency.

[Slipknot]

Am I really eating Phase 2? No, not really. I'm sort of in Phase 1.5. I miss eating fruit in the afternoon probably three to four days a week and I'm still not always getting a second grain in. I don't think am afraid as much as I'm undisciplined. I need to just eat my apple whether I want it or not, and not let my commute get in the way - take the five minutes to have a snack before I leave work. I also need to do what I did last night more often - go hummus and ww pita for the midnight snack before bed. It's not like I don't work in enough cheese elsewhere...

B: Two eggs sunny side; Canadian bacon; refried black beans; 1% milk
S: Peanuts
L: Chicken Ceasar Salad; cream of crab soup; diet coke
S: String cheese
D: Sloppy joe on a ww english muffin; salad with Goddess; 1% milk
S: Hummus with ww pita

Oh, I ate fatty offplan crab soup but it was really really good. I have no regrets. Well, not about the soup at least. I have been hungry this morning and couldn't wait to get to my snack; I wonder if it was the grain before bed, or the lack of veggies in my eggs, or just random beachy variation. I'll have to keep an eye on this.