Wow, oh wow. On Tuesday morning I did a number of exercises to help improve my health. As a person who has always been lucky to have strong calves I believe that I pushed myself too hard and have overdone it a bit because since last night my calves have been tight and killing me (yes, I stretched after exercising). This morning my calves could barely support my weight (well, keep me balanced at least). The memories of pain and incapacitation from the beginning of March are far too fresh to be dealing with this today.
It’s not even 6am and I’ve already attempted self-massage and have taken a hot epsom salt bath, neither of which have proven to do much good.
When Electronics Lose Their Minds
Last night I stopped at Publix (not many attractive ladies last night) to pick up a couple of breasts of chicken to bake. My first mistake was getting breasts so large (there’s a joke there somewhere) that I was unable to cook them in my small toaster oven — so I resorted to heating up the big old gas oven. Not convinced with my oven’s ability to accurately maintain constant heat (it’s gas, but still) I plunged the probe of my (once) trusty Polder thermometer into one of the breasts (again, there’s a joke there somewhere) and was astonished to read that the breasts were at 172º F — this after being out of the refrigerator for no more than fifteen minutes. “Huh, that can’t be right!” I thought, so I replaced the battery. No help. I tried looking for a reset button. Not found. I tried placing the probe into ice water to force the temperature to a reasonable starting point. No luck.
If you know me then you know that I am prepared. At one point in my history I planned for such a day and had a new Polder thermometer at the ready. Plunging its probe into a breast (I can’t take it) it read 44º F, a far more reasonable temperature reading.
With the new equipment in place I cooked up the two breasts to an internal temperature of 160º F (’cause that’s how I cook) and let them rest thereafter. I now have dinner for tonight.
ITP Flickr Pic
Wow, there was almost something here today. I took a couple of shots of my whacked out Polder thermometer reading 158º F while immersed in a glass of ice water, but I’ve not had the time to see how the photos turned out. Unfortunately I’m none too optimistic.
Who Are Some Of These Masters?
Last night ITP-Reader Betsy came over to watch Top Chef Masters with me. Far more sensible than I she brought skinless, boneless chicken breasts to cook on the stovetop. She was generous enough to share her chicken with me and I steamed up a bag of mixed vegetables along with some of the bag of broccoli that she also brought over. The meal was freaking delicious, and it allowed me to bake my chicken breasts completely without fear of them taking forever or relying on the tastiness of the mystery rub that I spread all over the breasts.
The two of us sat and watched both episodes of Top Chef Masters, having the same question — “Who are these people?” Of the contestants I have only heard of two before — Mary Sue Milliken who many moons ago had a show called “Two Hot Tamales” on Food Network, and Hugh Acheson who is a chef at Five and Ten in Athens, GA. The rest of the lot is a complete mystery to me.
Top Chef Masters has already had an interesting turn of events. On the first episode the only two chefs I recognized were up for elimination, with Acheson being asked to pack his knives and leave. However, at the beginning of the second episode we’re told that one of the other cheftestants had a family emergency and had to leave the show, opening the door for Acheson’s return. It would have been strange to see Acheson eliminated two weeks in a row, but he righted his ship and avoided elimination. New Orleans’ Sue Zemanick was not so lucky (unless another cheftestant has to abandon between now and next week) and packed up her knives last night.
It’s All Greek To Me
In an attempt to eat better I’ve started eating yogurt for breakfast, specifically Stoneyfield’s Oiskos Greek Yogurt. Everyone says that yogurt is great for you, but I wonder if they really mean the yogurt itself, or the type that has “fruit” on the bottom. And what the hell is “Greek” yogurt, anyway?
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – in pain and feeling stupid about that
Current Music – listening to this week’s “The Social Hour” podcast
Website Of The Day – I love Photographer’s Forum magazine. Wait, I think I have a digital subscription to it? Huh, something else I need to investigate.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – not checking
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 2
Carnivorous Days – 11
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
April Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least once
– Lose two pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Read an entire book, specifically The Mole People: Life In The Tunnels Beneath New York City
2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two one half-marathon
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Like most things yogurt is good for you in moderation. It has calcium, vitamin D and protein. There is also evidence it is good for your GI system (if it contains live cultures).
Greek yogurt is really just strained yogurt where much of the whey (the liquid you see on the top when you open a tub) has been removed. It’s thicker than regular yogurt and has more protein per serving than regular yogurt. It can also be higher in calories.
Your best bet is to buy plain, low-fat yogurt (non-fat is just gross) and add your own fruit. The ‘fruit on the bottom’ is full of extra sugar. Frozen berries are great for this!!
I have a phone interview in an hour…I’m already getting jumpy just sitting around waiting.
Martha, is this just part of your normal job life or a change? I thought you’d be in jepardy if the Gub’ment ran out of money…
Paulie, how about some easy walking to warm your calves up?
-FP
Thanks for the info, Martha. I’ve been too lazy to “make my own fruit-filled yogurt” but perhaps will change my attitude toward that soon.
Steve, my plan is to do some walking to warm them up. My problem is that I have a sedentary job so I am seated most of the day. Like an old engine once my calves are primed and warmed up they work better today, but sitting for as little as ten minutes allows them to stiffen again. Harumph! I also fear tomorrow as I make a return for PT in the morning and don’t know how much I will be able to, or should do.
It’s for a new position. My current position isn’t going to be funded past May. I still don’t have an end date, but I’m not sitting around waiting. The new job is still at CDC, but the Clifton Road campus, which would be great for me. I’d probably start biking to work. So fingers crossed!
Paulie, they make these portable ‘pedals’, you could place it under your desk and just pedal every so often … might help to keep things loose.
Something like this???
http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Resistive-Pedal-Exerciser-Stationary/dp/B003JO23I6
actually – with Martha’s suggestion on the yogurt (a long time ago), we’ve been making our own fruit filled snacks. It really does work well, I bought some smaller plastic containers that work perfect, but Allan likes the vanilla yogurt much better than the plain.
We had to go to Mango’s last night with some parts, the warranty replacement of his Santa Cruz Blur is finally over. Now we can talk about the atrociously bad customer service provided by Peachtree Bikes. I’m sure it is partially because Allan has worked in many bike shops & they didn’t like being told how to go about it (they had no idea what they were doing), but Just Damn is all I have to say about them. I guess if you aren’t spending a bunch of money at their store you aren’t worth their time & they let you know that.
My old boss here can/doesn’t like sitting all day so she has set up her PC on a high table and stands up to use it… might be worthwhile in your case.
Martha, fingers crossed…
That’s a great idea Steve, one of my co-workers is a type I diabetic, standing at a work station helps to keep her diabetes under control, more than sitting all day. There’s been quiet a bit of research on the positive effects of standing vs. sitting. Regardless you should try to get up at least once an hour, get some water, take a look out the window…as the day goes on it will hurt less and less each time.
A little honey is also really good with yogurt.
Frozen fruits and veggies get a bad rap but they can be better for you than ‘fresh’, especially in the off season. They are picked when ripe and frozen within 24 hours (usually much less), strawberries in December? They were probably picked a week ago, artificially ripened and shipped half way across the world.
I have no problem with frozen fruit, vegetables, or shrimp because they are flash frozen “at their peak.”
The standing idea is interesting, but I’m not sure I could pull it off. For now I’ll just keep setting a timer and forcing myself to get up and stretch / exercise / walk when it goes off.
Another yogurt possibility: my morning sustenance lately has taken the form of Stonyfield Farms fat-free vanilla yogurt with cinnamon cheerios (for fiber) and fresh strawberries. Tasty, good for you, and only two minutes to prepare.
As for your calves, you could always call your PT and ask for advice on stretching at work. Or, you could go for a pedicure at lunchtime – Lisa says they always give you a calf massage…
I’m eating plain yogurt with (formerly) frozen blueberries and fresh strawberries with a touch of honey right now. It’s become a routine. paulie–it’s not much work at all to make your own fruit filled yogurt. And the stuff that comes with fruit usually has HFCS (martha, if you’re reading omnivore’s dilemma you know what this is!) IT’s the DEVIL!!!! And it creeps into everything……
Good luck, Martha!
take it to the next level with a treadmill desk!
http://inhabitat.com/sit-to-walkstation-desk-treadmill-burn-calories-while-you-work/
HFCS is in EVERYTHING! That’s another great reason to keep things simple and as close to ‘nature’ as you can.
The interview went well (I think), they want me to come in for a face to face next week.
Yeah, I can’t believe how much we use “corn sugar” (formerly known as high fructose corn syrup). I just hope it never finds its way into beer. 😉
Ugh, now either allergies or the onset of a cold are kicking my ass. I can barely breathe through my nose.
Can I get a do-over for today?
I feel like we’ve had this conversation before, do you take anything during allergy season? Jerry’s been taking Claritain every day for the last two weeks and his symptoms are getting better. Even my Dr. has suggested I take it (or allegra) daily to help control my urticaria.
Your wish about the beer (unless its German) is too late.
Yeah, I took a Tavist-D after lunch and I feel much better. It might also help that our office finally warmed up to a reasonable temperature as well. This morning the temps hovered below 70º F, which for me is too chilly for an office.