Bowling Shoes

Hubby and I went bowling Friday night and it was a lot of fun. Although I was fairly grossed out by the pair of shoes I got. And when I asked for the Lysol, the woman thought I was joking. I was NOT joking. Give me the Lysol dammit! I got the oldest, rankest shoes ever. Hubby got a new-looking pair of shoes but they were still warm from the previous wearer! Gross! He asked for the Lysol too:D

I will not post our scores because they are very sad, but we both got two strikes in a row during one game:) I love spending cheesy fun with my hubby, it's the best:)

Tahoe Trip

We took the Tahoe on its inaugural trip to the snow. This is the road that we chose to drive on....it was like being in Narnia...seriously! It was fun in the beginning when this photo was taken...but 5000 foot elevation later the soft powder ate us alive. We bought the Tahoe specifically so it didn't need chains for our snowboarding trips. Apparently not folks...not when you decide to drive down a road that is not maintained in the winter. That's right non maintained in the winter! What this really means is the locals use this road as their playground and wait for stupid city folks to get themselves stuck in the snow. This is what they live for...thankfully they do live for this because we would have been stuck for hours.

So, after the mountain men yanked us out of the snow, we headed back the way we came to get to the normal road - the one that the snow plows drive on - to South Lake Tahoe for a night of gambling and a *bit* of drinking:) Early to rise the in the morning for a long day of snowboarding with our friends. This is only my third time snowboarding and I'm severely addicted to it. Can't get enough of it, want it all the time! We've got our next trip planned for next weekend:D Here are some pics of the trip:)

Beer for Lunch

Took a break from some shopping (probably at snobby Santana Row) and had myself a Corona Light:) I've decided that I'm not going to be a slave to eating, training and having no fun at all. Say it with me..."it's OK to have a beer for lunch if I want to" :D

Beef Roll-Ups

There is one Japanese Steakhouse that Les and I go to that makes the most amazing Teppanyaki. From Wikipedia: Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き) is a type of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word "teppanyaki" is derived from "teppan (鉄板)" which means "iron plate" and "yaki (焼き)" which means "grilled."

Whenever we go to Kingswood or Gengi Teppan Steakhouse, we order the beef roll-ups. It's very thinly salted and sliced sirloin flashed on the grill with clover sprouts and enoki mushrooms rolled up. Let me tell you...t-a-s-t-y! I've made them at home a couple of times and it's very easy. Big taste payoff:) I served mine with thai peanut noodles. They were very easy as well. I just cooked the noodles and stirred in peanut butter and orange juice. You should all try this, it's super fast and super yummy!

Weekend Cat and Dog Blogging:)

You know....I must take about a billion pictures of my furry children....it's very hard to decide which ones to use. I want to inundate you with fluffy cuteness, but I will resist the urge. It could get out of hand.

Here we have Buddy and Stella venturing outside. It's a rare occasion that this happens. And when they do, they only stay out for a few minutes. They are total fraid-y cats. Any sudden noise from a neighbor dog or squak of a bird and they run in the house as fast as possible. They rolled in the grass, scratched on the trees and came back inside when a squirrel jumped the fence:D

And because this photo is just too cute to pass up, I have to share with you this one last photo of Stella inside my Sports Basement bag:)


There is a story behind this photo of Huggy and the giant bone. Huggy hates baths...absolutely H-A-T-E-S them. If she is ever in trouble for toppling the trash...the first thing she does is run to the bathtub because it's the worst punishment she could ever imagine. Nothing traumatizing has ever happened with her in the bath, I think she's just a big baby. Anyway. The other day I took her to Petco (where the pets go!) for a self-service bath. Apparently their hot water heaters were broken so she had to suffer through a freezing cold bath. She was a trooper. I know the only thing getting her through it was the thought of the reward at the end. It's tradition that whenever Huggy gets a bath, she is allowed to pick out *one* bone from the bone aisle. She sniffs all of them and then licks the one she decides she wants. Then we buy it and she eats it. Well today, since she had to endure so much horribleness that was frigid water, she picked out every single bone she could...she picked 10 bones! Including the giant beef-basted bone. She managed to lick off all the basting - got it all over her clean paws and face as well as the carpet. She finished it in one day!

Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

You guys are in for a lot of make-up blogging...

....I really hope you're up fer it!

Eggs...the necessary evil

I want to talk about eggs. I only like eggs marginally. They don't really excite me at all. But I find myself making them quite often. Not sure how it happens, but they find their way into my skillet more often than I'd like. Hubby likes the eggs and I like to make him breakfast in bed on the weekends. Here are two weekends worth of breakfastses. In order to lighten them up though, I am not above using egg subsitute and I've also been known to rid the plate of all yolks.

This was actually a nice tasting wrap that I used some leftover pork tenderloin to complete it. Whole wheat tortilla, scrambled eggs and sour cream all wrapped up nice and tight. I love oranges for breakfast....love them:)







Egg substitute scrambled with minced onions and dried chile flakes. Tucked into a whole wheat pita pocket and topped with some yummy bacon.

Stella and Buddy are also on the guest list for breakfast in bed and they get their own little plate. I am such a good/weird mommy:)

Weekend Cat Blogging #32

This is Stella's attempt at warning me that if I don't back off with the camera, I would end up like her precious little rat baby.....


She's just so damn cute, I can't keep the camera away from her. I understand that Poor Cracklins WCB is completely Stella-centric...I'll get Buddy in the action next weekend:)

Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

TOO Much Information Meme - Tagged

Amy - one of the insprirations for The Poor Cracklins has deemed it necesary for all of you to know more about me. I'll give you ten more things that weren't already part of this post - Weird KT.

1) I have zero tolerance for bad customer service. Which means that I am often disappointed while shopping or eating out. Today is a fine example. Hubby and I went to Hobee's (our usual weekend breakfast place) and ordered a tuna sandwich with NO mayo. What I got was an avocado, cheese and tomato sandwich WITH mayo. I sent it back and the second thing I got was a tuna sandwich with EXTRA mayo. Geeeeeeeez...people...pay attention...it's not that difficult to make a little sandwich and keep something off of it. I didn't attempt a third time, I just finished my side of black bean chili and cup of coffee and went about my day.

2) I don't like to waste time. I zone out when people try to make small talk with me. I'm all about getting down to business.

3) I LOVE Kraft Macaroni 'n cheese in the blue box! I hear you gasping, but I can't help it....it's true comfort food for me. I takes me back to when I lived in Georgia and my dad was in the Air Force. He was often gone on TDY (Temporary Duty) to far away places like Guam and Diego Garcia. My mom lived in California at the same time and I mostly lived on Mac 'n Cheese and Steak-Ums (r)!

4) I am extremely happy that I met my husband, Les. He is truly the best man on this planet and I'm so proud of the life we live together. Happy all the time, that's what I wish for everyone to have for themselves:)

5) I have a secret desire to have a podium spot at least once in my triathlon adventures. The very first 5K I ever did, I got first place...but I think there was only one other person in my category! I want to beat people!

6) I am very handy around the house and with the vehicles. I like to fix things. I have installed our new kitchen faucet as well as a garbage disposal once. I know how to change the oil in the cars, but prefer not to get icky like that anymore so always rely on Jiffy Lube to take care of it from now on:)

7) I am very selfish. Hence the reason I'll never have children...they are a bit too needy for me. My clock has never ticked, I hit the snooze a LONG time ago...I've always felt this way and happy with my decision not to breed. It's a sucky world to grow up in now anyway.

8) I always have the best intentions when I go to bed at night. I plan out my entire next day - including the getting up early part.....but it never goes to plan. I always end up sleeping in and taking all day to motivate....but I do get my things done, just in a rush!

9) I was closer to my dad growing up, but now I'm closer to my mom. She has been the stable rock in my life through the hardest times in my young adult life. I love her now more than ever. Dad moved to Indiana after I graduated high school and kinda forgot about me. Yes...I have told him what I think about that. I love him too, but it's just not the same anymore.

10) I am estranged from my half brother and half sister because they are two of the biggest fuckwads alive in this world. My brother has been working really hard to change his life around for his family...props. But my sister is still the same manipulating bitch she always has been and I feel sorry for her kids that she never should have had. Yes....I've told them both what I think about this....thus the reason we're estranged:D

There ya go, hey, it was titled "TOO much information"! I'm tagging all that truly want to carry out this meme. I know who you are, I can see you on my stat counter...go on, post!

Drill, Swim, Excellent

Last night I headed down to the San Jose State pool for a much needed swim. I gotta tell ya it was so great it was good:D Starting off with drills is definitely the way to go for me. Ever since I took the TI clinic and learned to swim the right way, it's always easier to get back into the groove after a long hiatus.

So, drills....I know some of you think they're worthless, but I have to disagree. I'm not suggesting to spend half of your workout on the drills, but at least a 10 minute warmup with them has many benefits. The thing I get the most out of it is that they put me right into the correct balance and form right away when I start my workout. If I don't do the drills, it takes about 15 minutes for me to get into the "groove" and on form.

I did my workout and it felt so good to be back in the water. Yay for me:) I think my training for the '06 season has officially started!

Marz was in our house

We had dinner tonight with Marz...poor thing wasn't feeling well...thought about not letting his germs in...but after all, it is Marz:)

Ever since I read Amy's post on how to make a salmon steak look pretty, I just had to do it myself. The end result looked the same but the process was not as clean as hers was! I found that my husband had hijacked my kitchen twine for some half-done project around the house. I had salmon slime all over my hands. It was fun and gross:)

Salmon steaks seared in the grill pan and finished off in the oven. I made a reduction of orange juice, dijon mustard, honey and dill to drizzle atop the salmon. YUM! Hubby said it tasted like marmalade - he didn't even know it was an OJ base either...he's so smart! Roast potatoes and garlic as well as a creamed sweet corn and sage veggie served alongside a salad. This is what Marz and Hubby ate...I had a huge salad with a can of tuna on top!

Dessert was a healthed-up cake mix using applesauce and egg whites instead of oil and whole eggs. I had a container of espresso buttercream frosting that I made from a previous time, so that saved me some effort. I just let it de"frost" and spread it over the cooled cake. I've never made a cake like that before. I liked the guilt it took away, but it wasn't moist and delicious like it should have been.

Let's talk about portion control

I'm going to make a HUGE effort to pay attention to my portion sizes at meals. I'm not going to try and trick myself into eating less, I'm actually going to weigh my food and not pile it on as I normally would. Hubby bought me a food scale for xmas ( I asked for it!) and I used it last night for the first time.

Naturally, this will affect the husband as well, so I can imagine he'll be sneaking into the fridge for the leftovers after I've gone to bed. That's 100% okay with me....because I'd probably do it if he didn't:D

I've read sooooooooooo many books, magazines and web articles on this subject...but never felt the motivation to take charge of it. If something tastes yummy, I just want to eat A LOT of it...but no more. No way.

I have taken on a 12 week challenge to drop 15 pounds and I know I can do the work. The food is what's next:
* Woman's fist or baseball - a serving of vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist
* A rounded handful - about one half cup cooked or raw veggies or cut fruit, a piece of fruit, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta - this is a good measure for a snack serving, such as chips or pretzels
* Deck of cards - a serving of meat, fish or poultry or the palm of your hand (don't count your fingers!) - for example, one chicken breast, ¼ pound hamburger patty or a medium pork chop
* Golf ball or large egg - one quarter cup of dried fruit or nuts
* Tennis ball - about one half cup of ice cream
* Computer mouse - about the size of a small baked potato
* Compact disc - about the size of one serving of pancake or small waffle
* Thumb tip - about one teaspoon of peanut butter
* Six dice - a serving of cheese
* Check book - a serving of fish (approximately 3 oz.)
* Eyeball it! - Take a look at the recommended serving sizes on the new USDA MyPyramid Food Guidance System. Get out a measuring cup or a food scale and practice measuring some of your favorite foods onto a plate, so that you can see how much (or how little!) a ½ cup or 3-ounce serving is. This will help you "eyeball" a reasonable serving!

This was our dinner last night - perfect portion sizes and it looks like so much food! It was 4 oz baked sweet potato, 3 oz lean pork tenderloin, 1 cup of spinach and 1/4 cup each of tomatoes and mushrooms. I drizzled just a *touch* of olive oil and white balsamic vinegar over the top. It was enough and it was yummy:)

I'm baaaaaack...... Here's a long post for ya:)

A week in England is definitely long enough time away from the California sunshine. It was a great trip, we got lots of photos...unfortunately I was too lazy to change any of my camera settings so some of them turned out a bit spazzy. If you'd like to see all of the lovely photos plesae visit my smugmug gallery:
Pictures of the England trip

While there, I was only able to run twice. Hyde Park in London was an amazingly surreal early morning run. I ran alongside The Serpentine...where - I'm told by my hubby - some crazies break the ice in the middle of winter and swim the distance of it! Now, I've done some cold water swimming in my life....but frozen river water? I don't think so! The second run I got in was in my hubby's hometown of St. Helens, the perimeter of Sherdley Park. This is always a nice and easy run. Every other day was just too cold, wet and dark for me to motivate.

Although we ate semi-badly in the UK, I didn't gain any weight....but I was completly bloated the entire time....thanks to the beer. That's all gone now, thank god. I can see my waist again:D They just don't have a salad mentality over there. You're pretty much stuck with boiled meat packed in pastry dough...or chips with everything. His family loves leaving chocolate and chips out to eat and they graze on it all while watching tv. It's very dangerous. It's a good thing we had things to do away from home all week.

We toured London - Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Soho and Kensington.

The rest of the trip we went shopping at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, walked around Liverpool to see the birthplace of the Beatles' music, and drove to Wales and stopped at Caernarfon Castle.

Mom and I also spent a day at the Haydock Park horse races while Les finished up his shopping. We won on two out of the three races we bet on!

I have to tell you that we were totally raped by the exchange rate. Every $100 was only worth 54 GBP. That hurt a lot, so we didn't spent a whole lot of money. I wish our president would get his head out of his ass and stop weakening our dollar with this war - and people need to stop using credit cards. We're a country in debt and our currency is worthless.

I got right back on track as soon as I came home. Mom and I went on a bike ride, here she is about to pass me:
I've been to track practice with my tri club (Silicon Valley Triathlon Club)...which was an amazing workout. I'd never push myself that hard on my own, so I've decided to show up every week - to get the most out of the $65 I've paid for the past three years for the dues! I've also been to the gym for strength training and can definitely notice some muscle definition in my arms, quads and bottom. YAY!

I've not touched any of the chocolate that is in this house right now because I took some pictures of myself in a bikini - it's just wrong, I shouldn't have this much fat on my body. So, I look at the pictures when I want to snack....that keeps the bad habits at bay for now. I'm going to take weekly pitures so I can quantify my progress. I've given myself a 12 week goal to get from 165 to 150. Then the next 12 weeks will get me from 150-135. I'll stop around 140 if I think I look too thin. Then I will be happy:)

There you have it, KT all caught up. Go forth and conquer the world my friends, it's the start of the new year and you can do anything!

I'm off to England folks! And WCB #30

First I want to let you all know that I've been really good about working out the past few days. I have gotten some kind of weight lifing bug and have really stepped my gym workouts a bit. I stumbled across this site and realize that I think I'm just not lifting enough. Now, I don't want to be super cut like the woman on this site, but I do want to have my lean muscle increased by A LOT. So, I've joined their email list and am absorbing all the information I can;)

Hubby and I are taking my mom to England for a week, we leave tomorrow. It's hubby's mom's 50th birthday and we're surprising her with this visit. It's going to be a great trip. I have my running shoes and cold weather gear with me, so there's no excuse not to get fit while on vacation! No SLACKING off for this girl:D

Happy New Year everyone, thank you so much for all of your support! I leave you now with a photo of our little Stella...whom I will miss sooooooooooo much. I'll especially miss her slashing me in the middle of the night. Damn wild kitten!


Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!