Last week, I cooked for myself since my sons weren’t at home. Unstuffed peppers. This consists of–duh!–peppers (the recipe called for green bell peppers, and while I don’t dislike the green ones, I prefer the sweeter and less bitter orange and yellow), wild rice, mushrooms, Polish sausage and a red onion. I also threw in a hodgepodge of seasonings.

I prefer to cook from scratch whenever possible but ended up tossing in the flavor packet from the discounted Rice-A-Roni wild rice. And, the mushrooms were packaged already sliced.

I will definitely have to make it a habit of cooking with wild rice. Even in leftover mode, it has an excellent texture and doesn’t clump together. I can’t say the same about brown rice. Maybe I’m just not enough of a rice-ologist yet.

Yep, Richard LOVES rice!

So, as I cooked, I seasoned and followed the directions, I cooked the rice first, then uncased and cooked the sausage, put that in with the rice when done and then sauteed the mushrooms, peppers and onions together. I also learned from this dish that when mushrooms are sauteed and seasoned the right way, they’re delicious.

Sauteeing the veggies–wait, are mushrooms technically considered vegetables?

And, of course, slicing the onions was a very emotional experience. Perhaps Whitney Houston and her longtime producer Clive Davis will give me their blessing to parody her song “So Emotional” and sing these lyrics: “I get so emotional baby, everytiiiiiiiiiiime I slice onions for you”.

As usual, I was my worst critic, but overall, I thought it turned out pretty well. I’ll definitely have to make it again sometime, although I wasn’t really impressed with the Polish sausage and might either try chorizo or something else.

The end product

Finding the right flavor is not like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but rather a needle in a needle stack. There are countless flavors…but you’re looking for the perfect one that makes you say Zowie!

And, today, I tried my hand at making an omelet. I fried bacon, sauteed yellow bell peppers and first melted margarine in the pan to help the egg not stick to it. It worked well except I was hungry and decided to put in three eggs.

A nice, big omelet, yes, but it was too big to turn over (I have only one spatula and I don’t have the dexterity to flip it the way Meryl Streep’s Julia Child character did it in Julie & Julia), so I, um, sort of tried to use the spatula and sort of failed. Some of the egg turned over while the rest tore away. I ended up chopping up the omelet and mixing it with the peppers, bacon and cheese.

The good news is, the eggs didn’t stick to the pan!

So now, I continue eating in moderation, drinking lots of water and cooking dishes with appeal.

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In two weeks, I have dropped three pounds.

The last time I exercised was last Monday, and I doubt I’ll do that today since I have to pay my rent this evening and have housework to do.

This past week, I have remained good at eating in moderation, drinking water and doing something different: when I need a snack, I drink grape juice or eat grapes or bananas. I have eaten far less fast food and candy.

I intend to get in some intense exercise this week in the form of housework. No more excuses.

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On October 3 in the morning I weighed myself again.

259.8 pounds.

That means I lost 2.2 pounds. Or, in the metric system, that would be a kilogram.

Today I had some sugary stuff on my way in to work and then went to lunch with my co-worker. We ate at a Chinese fast food restaurant, one with all the handwritten signs that strongly suggest the sign writer’s first language definitely is not English. It wasn’t too bad (the food, that is). I’m glad it wasn’t a buffet, or I may have gorged myself.

After work, I stopped at Snap Fitness to exercise and try out a setting on the treadmill. I hit the wrong button, apparently, but still walked about 2.2 miles. The 45 minutes went by fast as I watched the Tampa Bay Rays/Texas Rangers game. Then I spent a few minutes on a stair climber and decided to try that again once I better understood how the machine worked.

Last night I finished off the beef and mushroom tacos. Good stuff. I ate more than planned but thankfully didn’t overindulge.

Later today, fixing another dish and going on a long walk and doing housecleaning. 

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The beef-and-mushroom mixture is on top, the avocado salad on bottom

I have learned that if I follow a recipe carefully, cooking is nowhere near the daunting task it used to be.

So, I began with the prep work: slicing the onions and garlic, dicing the avocados and dicing the jalapeños (after painstakingly removing the seeds) and squeezed lime juice from the limes.

Originally, I had considered buying whole mushrooms and slicing them, but I chickened out and bought mushrooms that were already sliced.

Then I fried the hamburger with onions and chopped up jalapeños, browned it and set it aside and fried up the mushrooms and garlic, then combined it with the hamburger. Prior to this, I combined the avocado and more onions into a bowl with salt and pepper.

I also sprinkled friendly amounts of Cavender’s Sodium-Free seasoning.

My two youngest sons ate and enjoyed it thoroughly. One put in shredded cheese and salsa, which I tried also.

It wasn’t bad. As I cooked I tasted and despite the seasonings I put in it never seemed to have that blow-my-socks-off flavor. Maybe it’s just me. Interestingly enough, while I’ve never been a huge fan of mushrooms, I found the mushrooms this time to be not bad. Not bad at all.

I had two helpings and stopped. My youngest, who is thin, stopped after one and said he wants to maintain his weight. It sounds like he is excellent at moderation.

No exercise today, unless you count walking around taking pictures.

Monday I plan to exercise after work and will probably that morning weigh myself.

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So Long For Now, Ink!
My flirtation with you
Was brief but acute.
I considered
On my arms,
My inner forearm,
Even on my back,
But two questions stopped me cold.
Is it really me?
Is it a reflection of me?
To both, no.
Instead, I will consider rings on my fingers.
They can be removed.
Easily.
Often.

8-25-2011 — Time to Get Busy

Time to get busy
Off my butt
Idleness, the Devil’s Workshop.
I was 18 yesterday
Am 38 now.
Double my life
And I’ll be 76
If I’m still alive.
Life is a short, brief, wispy vapor
So much to do
So little time
No more mourning
Self-pity sucks
I remember that Des’ree song:
You gotta be…

9-3-2011 — Life, World, Universe

Life, the world, the universe
An endless, ever-changing
Matrix of information
To know it all
Frustratingly impossible
Today’s knowledge
Tomorrow’s relic of non-sense.

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When I graduated from voice interceptor school at Goodfellow Air Force Base in April 1998, I was down to 158 pounds. Still, I’ll shoot for 162 and see where it goes from there.

I have not been able to exercise as much lately as I’d like partly due to having some congestion and feeling a little under the weather. Add that to 54 hours per week working and your body tends to tell you to spend your off time recuperating. Still, I’m hoping this week to hit the gym at least once and get back into walking.

I had wanted to exercise at Snap Fitness yesterday for my trial week, but they were running behind schedule and didn’t get there in time to unlock it. No worries once I received their explanation. I have looked around and even though Snap is small and doesn’t have a shower room, it looks to be my best bet for a fitness center.

My eating habits aren’t perfect yet, but lately I’ve been much better about practicing moderation. One helping and that’s it. It’s also beneficial to drink more water and more fruit juice (I love grape juice). And in the past week, I’ve had fast food twice. Yes, it would be better to say none, but that’s much better than what it normally is. This weekend I made guacamole from scratch and a Mexican dish called Chilaquile. I ate both in controlled portions, thankfully.

I offered some of each to my future ex-wife when she came over to pack up some of her possessions and asked for honest assessments. She told me the guacamole was a little bland (which, frankly, I agreed with that) and she liked the Chilaquile so much she asked for the recipe. (Jennifer’s an excellent cook, so her culinary opinions are important to me).

Where did I get the recipe from? From the back of a Kroger shredded cheese package. Same place I got the rice dish I tried. And the guacamole recipe came from All Recipes.

The nice thing about having leftover Chilaquile is it means I won’t be stopping at McDonald’s on the way in to Kroger.

Again, let’s remember: while there are exceptions here and there, losing weight and even maintaining it is straightforward: 1) drink a lot of water, 2) make healthy, moderate food choices and 3) get lots of exercise. Knowing is easy; applying is a different story.

If I can get done what I need to quickly enough, I plan to leave for Frankenmuth early so I can park at Kroger and go on a walk to get some exercise.

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I had intended to go exercise once work was over, but I didn’t want to use gas to drive down to Clio and by the time I drove home I felt too exhausted to walk. I took a nap but kept getting woken up by texts and the cell phone. I felt like pulling a Jack Bauer from 24 and going dark.

Should I have walked? Yep.

Maybe I can still walk this evening. Don’t know. We’ll see.

When I got home, I had two egg sandwiches with a slice of cheese on top. Then this evening I had three slices of toast with butter and strawberry jam. Drank some grape juice, milk and now am drinking water.

I told myself that the chest congestion meant I should take it easy, but now i wish I’d pushed myself. Once I get some work done for the newspaper, I just might go for a walk.

It is safe to say that I like eating food for the same reason alcoholics like to drink and sexaholics like to sleep with anyone who’s willing. I keep telling myself I’m hungry, and there’s this urge to eat something that tastes good. The trick is to take your time eating, enjoy it, and give your stomach ample time to send your brain the “I’M FULL!!!! STOP EATING!!!” signal.

So, for now, I slowly work to quit looking like one of the infamous McGuire Twins.

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And then complacency sat in.

I didn’t walk as much and I didn’t practice moderation. Too often I treated myself to Chinese food buffets (a gargantuan vice for me).

About a week ago, I weighed myself and saw I was at 265 again.

Absolutely unacceptable.

A few days ago, I weighed myself at 262 and have decided to use that as a reference point. My goal is to lose 100 pounds and go from 262 all the way down to my ideal weight of 162 pounds. This was the weight I was in the service, although at one time I exercised so much I was down to 158 pounds.

So now, I begin again.

My approach is simple: exercise regularly and fervently, drink lots of water, exercise moderation and avoid snacking on things that are very surgary or fat. My Mom tells me to eliminate sodas, and perhaps someday I will. Practice weekly weigh-ins instead of daily, as per a suggestion from my wiser-than-her-years friend Stephania.

And blog as a way to hold myself accountable.

Today was mixed. I got up at 4:45 a.m. and on my way to work bought a Double Gulp and two double chocolate chip cookies from 7-11. I drank two 20-ounce bottles of Diet Coke and almost a liter of water but didn’t exercise due to feeling worn down and tired. I do plan to get some exercise tomorrow after work. I ate some leftover rotini with spaghetti sauce and kept it at one portion. When I got home I had tortilla chips, cheese and salsa. It is now 8:33 p.m. as I write this, and I am going to see if I can either eat nothing else tonight or have perhaps a single egg sandwich.

Richard Zowie is a Christian, father and writer who is sick of being overweight. Post comments here or e-mail them to fromatozowie@gmail.com.

So, I would like to review two of the most recent types of Paper Mates I have purchased. You know the drill: I will summarize the pen, tell you what I liked and didn’t like and then tell you overall what I think.

Paper Mate Silhouette Elite

I actually bought this several months ago. Paper Mate had gone about a year without issuing a new pen. Or, at the very least, there were none in my area. I was indeed in misery as I do not like the Profiles (the 1.6-mm ballpoint is far too wide and creates thicker lines), and I already had enough Profits. I had purchased a few Zebra pens. Some I liked and others I didn’t really like.

The Silhouette Elite comes in white and is offered in black, blue and red. It’s a 1.0-mm ballpoint.

What I like about it: It has a very sturdy construction (unlike the 1.2′s and the Profiles) with a metal clasp that stays securely in a shirt pocket. Once the initial waxy newness wears off, the rubberized grip is very comfortable and helps you settle down and do some decent writing. And, it’s very aesthetically pleasing and has a practical, but elegant look.

What I don’t like about it: The black-ink SE’s tend to leak ink–not into your pocket, but when you write with one, the initial lines have a tiny extra glob on them and smear easily. The ink tube itself is white, meaning you can’t see through it to see how much remains.

Overall, I’m more than willing to tolerate what little I don’t like. I give the Paper Mate Silhouette Elite 4 out of 5 stars.

Paper Mate 300 RT

Wow.

I bought a pack of these about a month ago at a Davison, Mich., Kroger. When I saw it was a new Paper Mate pen, I gave in and decided to try it.

What I like about it: I loved the old-style Paper Mate BP Silk Writers (which have been discontinued), and this seems to be a modern version of it. The barrel is a little thinner but still a comfortable rubbery grip. The clasp is secure and when I write with this, my handwriting is very good. And despite being a new pen, it’s not that expensive.

What I don’t like about it: It has the same annoying white ink tube that you can’t see through.

Overall, I like the 300 RT a lot. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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…Some have picked the Dallas Cowboys to go 9-7. I like Dallas’ offense but even with Rex Ryan heading up Dallas’ defense, I remember how bad it was last year and am not sure Ryan can turn it around so quickly. (Ironically, Ryan is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy “Bounty Bowl” Ryan)…

…Many believe the Philadelphia Eagles will finish first in the NFC East. I think it will all come down to Michael Vick and whether he has matured and if he can really step back and quarterback instead of just scrambling around…

…Will the Dallas Cowboys finally get corporate sponsorship for Cowboys Stadium? All I know is it won’t be Philadelphia Cream Cheese Stadium…

…Frustrated with their lack of getting their own stadiums, the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders will discuss doing what the New York Giants and New York Jets do–share a stadium. It’s either that or you have the San Jose 49ers or Los Angeles Raiders…

…And speaking of Tinsel Town, I would not be surprised if San Diego, St. Louis or Jacksonville relocates to L.A. All three want new stadiums, but the Rams would be the sentimental, “prodigal home” choice. One has to wonder, with Atlanta to the not-so-distant north and in a state with the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will Jacksonville ever truly be an NFL town?…

…I would not be shocked if the Detroit Lions made it to the playoffs. At all. And if they do, head coach Jim Schwartz should be named NFL Coach of the Year…

…Pittsburgh Steelers headhunter/linebacker James Harrison will receive yet another fine for a vicious hit and will probably receive another fine when he responds by saying NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell is softening up the NFL defenses so much they’ll all be auditioning for the Austrian Boys Choir…

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