Is It Monday Already?

Dangen. All attempts at working this weekend were pathetic. Maybe I can get back into the swing of working now that it is the actual workweek again.

These one-day weekends are really starting to stink again as well.

Today’s Personal Project
Cook and eat the pork ribs that I prepared and placed into the crockpot this morning. I’m using the crockpot ribs technique (minus the sauce) found on Eat, Live, Run. Come to think of it, I believe it was my Googling for “crockpot ribs” which introduced me to this site.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Eat one plant-based protein, such as black beans, whole grain bread, quinoa, oatmeal, or almonds.

Although many of us may think of protein as a nutrient that comes from meat or eggs, a lot of plant-based foods pack a protein punch! Not only that, plant-based protein doesn’t contain the unhealthy saturated fat that meat can. Better still, foods like beans, lentils, and whole grains are full of fiber.

I suppose the “Whole Wheat Oat Grain” bread on which I spread my cashew/almond/peanut butter on this morning for breakfast would count.

Saturday, A Waste, And I Can’t Even Blame Football
I went into the office for a while on Saturday. After upgrading my iMac to Mountain Lion I joined a coworker for lunch a Taco Mac. Two beers and a black bean burger later I was whooped. All afternoon work attempts failed, so I finally cashed in my chips around 3:00pm.

Upon arriving home I quickly decided to lounge around, catching up on some podcasts and crosswords, all in the name of not doing work. I considered sitting and watching football, or even a movie for that matter, but in the end none of those happened. I was asleep early, so that I could arise again on Sunday, with biking on my mind.

Roll It All Into One Day
After accomplishing little more than relaxing on Saturday I attempted to make Sunday count. I met up with ITP-Readers Barb and Steve at the Carter Rd parking lot of the Silver Comet Trail and we, along with a group of hashers and my coworker Duke set out for a ride. Of the group the four of us managed fifty miles of riding while others (some might say “wiser”) turned around and headed back at their discretion.

The ride was really good, the weather was perfect and we all rode fairly well, though I did tweak my right knee in the process. I’ll need to investigate the foot position of my right foot to see if that is the culprit. Fifty miles was (just a little more than) the perfect distance for me yesterday (considering I’ve not been on my bicycle since July). At ride’s end my legs were spent and my nether-regions reminded me that it has been too long since I sat on a bike saddle.

After the ride the four fifty-milers sat and enjoyed an adult beverage in the shade before Barb, Duke and I headed off to grab lunch.

Turn Me Off, Turn Me On
Last night I picked up my Garmin Forerunner 305 and realized that I had failed to turn it off after the morning’s bike ride; not surprisingly its battery had all-but run out. I plugged the watch into my computer and let it charge back up overnight.

This morning I grabbed the watch and put it on to record my morning walk (no run, need to give the knee a break). After turning it on and letting it acquire satellites I got sidetracked momentarily. It wasn’t until about an hour into the walk that, upon looking at the watch and seeing nothing but zeros for the time, that I realized that I forgot to start the timer. Of course I also decided that I wasn’t going to run down my phone’s battery by not using the MapMyRide+ app, so that didn’t capture the walk either. Dangen!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fat, but otherwise alright
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – After a short post-ride rest ITP-Reader Barb, my coworker Duke, and I headed to Siracusa’s Pizza in Smyrna (picked by Barb) where we had a beer and some really tasty pizza.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Friday = walking, ~5.2 miles; Saturday = nothing; Sunday = biking, ~50 miles
Morning Weigh-In – Dangen! I forgot to check this morning

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~25.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~50.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 13
Carnivorous Meals – 11
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

September Goals
– Wear “nice” clothes to work at least twice a week, if for no other reason than to have people wonder why I am dressing up. New!
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 100 miles
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 100 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups
– Read a non-techincal book

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]