Okay, I quit. Around 8pm tonight I decided that today would be my last day on the PB&J diet. I've felt run down all day (which could be attributed to the lack of caffeine but it felt like more than that). I can't be sub-par for work on Monday, so I decided to call it.
A bit before 10pm, I realized that since I was already quitting, there was no point in waiting until morning. So, I had some leftover pasta that Arial had made for herself. It was so very good.
I can now say, with real understanding, that the PB&J diet sucks. I can see why they fight so hard during the food competitions. Although, I found out tonight that they get condiments and spices, too. Maybe with condiments and spices I could have made it.
But tonight, I get to dream about the big bowl of cereal that I'm going to have in the morning.
mwz
217
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Peanut Butter and Jelly: Day 2
Today was the second day on the PB&J diet. It went a lot better. I think that was because I have figured out what to expect. PB&J sandwiches are pretty good but that's the best you can do. It's not going to magically turn into chocolate or ham... mmmm... ham.
Anyway here is a list of food that I ate today (if you care)
I'm going to let you know right now that you don't have to worry about me disclosing that information.
You can stop thinking about that now.
mwz
219
Really, stop it.
Anyway here is a list of food that I ate today (if you care)
- Breakfast: 2 pieces of white bread toast with grape jelly
- Lunch: 2 PB&J sandwiches on whole grain (what I'll call "wheat") bread
- Supper: 2 PB&J sandwiches on wheat bread
- Snack: 2 pieces of white bread (not toasted) with jelly
- Snack: 2 PB&J sandwiches on white bread
I'm going to let you know right now that you don't have to worry about me disclosing that information.
You can stop thinking about that now.
mwz
219
Really, stop it.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Peanut Butter and Jelly: Day 1
So yesterday I posted that in order to enhance my appreciation for Big Brother, I would go on the peanut butter and jelly diet that they go through. I forgot to mention that I was doing it for a week.
Anyway, that means I only get peanut butter, jelly, bread and water for the whole weak. (Due to me accidentally re-addicting myself to caffeine, I am having a pop at lunch to stave off the headaches. I'll deal with the headaches on the weekend.)
I've only been through one day of it and I hate it. I like to drink milk with my PB&J sandwiches but now I just get water. I get hungry and wander toward the kitchen but I stop realize that the only thing I get is something that I can concoct from peanut butter, jelly and bread. It really has cut down on my snacking. That has to be why they lose weight.
Oh yeah, and I can't get the smell of peanut butter off of me.
mwz
220
Anyway, that means I only get peanut butter, jelly, bread and water for the whole weak. (Due to me accidentally re-addicting myself to caffeine, I am having a pop at lunch to stave off the headaches. I'll deal with the headaches on the weekend.)
- Here is what I had today
- Breakfast: 2 pieces of wheat bread toast with jelly
- Lunch: peanut butter on a toasted bagel (we were out of bread, I had to eat something and a bagel isn't too far out of line).
- Snack: 1 piece of white bread microwaved with peanut butter (not as good as I had hoped, plus runny peanut butter is hard to keep on a piece of toast. Also, it's still peanut butter.)
- Supper: 2 PB&J sandwiches on white bread
- Late Night Snack: 1 PB&J sandwich on white bread
I've only been through one day of it and I hate it. I like to drink milk with my PB&J sandwiches but now I just get water. I get hungry and wander toward the kitchen but I stop realize that the only thing I get is something that I can concoct from peanut butter, jelly and bread. It really has cut down on my snacking. That has to be why they lose weight.
Oh yeah, and I can't get the smell of peanut butter off of me.
mwz
220
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
BB
I'm going to make a confession. We are really into Big Brother. Not the one that watches me even though I think I'm alone, the reality show on CBS.
Quick description of Big Brother:
If you are unfamiliar with it, the premise is that 14 or so people start off in this house. They are cut off from the outside world, no tv, no internet. There is not much entertainment in the house (this year they have chess and foosball). They have no pre-determined teams. Each week someone wins "Head of Household" (HoH). That person nominates two people for eviction and then the rest vote one of them out.
It started the same summer that Survivor did (what a great summer of reality tv that was) but I like it a lot more. I don't even watch Survivor any more but we haven't missed a season of BB.
For one thing, it is currently going on right now. There is no worrying about anyone spoiling who wins because it is still happening. Oh, and it's on three times a week, so get a little closer to the people. (The first season it was on like five times a week which was cool if you were into it but they figured out that there was only so much television generated in a day.)
The producers also like to mix it up a quite a bit, they call it "the twist" (even though there are usually a bunch of different "twists" throughout the season, everyone likes to declare "This is The Twist"). As an example, this year, everyone started out knowing one other person in the house but thinking that they were the only pair. This really puts a different spin to the game unlike Survivors twist of having gender specific tribes.
The strategy is interesting because a lot of power is held by the HoH but that power switches week to week. Plus, the only thing they really have to do is plot and gossip. They are really stuck in this house (well, there is a back yard area, too).
That is another part of watching BB, the people really wind up suffering from cabin fever. They literally only get to see the other people in the house. They don't see the camera men, all the cameras are build into the house. The host does talk to them during the live show but that's it. They start going a little nuts (although if they get too nuts, they kick them off the show).
To top it all off, once a week they have to compete for food. Sometimes, only half the house gets good food, and sometimes the whole house competes as a group but if they lose or fail, they only get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the week.
You might say "on Survivor they have to live on rice and the gunk they find under their toe nails". Well BB isn't a show about starving people. It is all about the strategy.
Anyway, they certainly hate being on the PB&J diet. Some have claimed that they lost weight on it. I'm not sure if it is because PB&J is good for you or because there is only so much of it that you can stand to eat.
Either way, I've decided to try out the PB&J diet. Partly because I want to find out if it really is as bad as they make it out to be and partly because I want to lose a little weight. I'm thinking about it as a television supplement to enhance my understanding of what I'm watching.
I'll let you know how it goes.
mwz
220
Quick description of Big Brother:
If you are unfamiliar with it, the premise is that 14 or so people start off in this house. They are cut off from the outside world, no tv, no internet. There is not much entertainment in the house (this year they have chess and foosball). They have no pre-determined teams. Each week someone wins "Head of Household" (HoH). That person nominates two people for eviction and then the rest vote one of them out.
It started the same summer that Survivor did (what a great summer of reality tv that was) but I like it a lot more. I don't even watch Survivor any more but we haven't missed a season of BB.
For one thing, it is currently going on right now. There is no worrying about anyone spoiling who wins because it is still happening. Oh, and it's on three times a week, so get a little closer to the people. (The first season it was on like five times a week which was cool if you were into it but they figured out that there was only so much television generated in a day.)
The producers also like to mix it up a quite a bit, they call it "the twist" (even though there are usually a bunch of different "twists" throughout the season, everyone likes to declare "This is The Twist"). As an example, this year, everyone started out knowing one other person in the house but thinking that they were the only pair. This really puts a different spin to the game unlike Survivors twist of having gender specific tribes.
The strategy is interesting because a lot of power is held by the HoH but that power switches week to week. Plus, the only thing they really have to do is plot and gossip. They are really stuck in this house (well, there is a back yard area, too).
That is another part of watching BB, the people really wind up suffering from cabin fever. They literally only get to see the other people in the house. They don't see the camera men, all the cameras are build into the house. The host does talk to them during the live show but that's it. They start going a little nuts (although if they get too nuts, they kick them off the show).
To top it all off, once a week they have to compete for food. Sometimes, only half the house gets good food, and sometimes the whole house competes as a group but if they lose or fail, they only get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the week.
You might say "on Survivor they have to live on rice and the gunk they find under their toe nails". Well BB isn't a show about starving people. It is all about the strategy.
Anyway, they certainly hate being on the PB&J diet. Some have claimed that they lost weight on it. I'm not sure if it is because PB&J is good for you or because there is only so much of it that you can stand to eat.
Either way, I've decided to try out the PB&J diet. Partly because I want to find out if it really is as bad as they make it out to be and partly because I want to lose a little weight. I'm thinking about it as a television supplement to enhance my understanding of what I'm watching.
I'll let you know how it goes.
mwz
220
Monday, July 25, 2005
Why I Blog
So CTG over at Auxiliary Clinton (currently dead link) has deleted her blog again. This got me thinking about why I blog. So I thought I would do a little naval gazing and post about it.
When I started this, I just wanted to place to vent my (mostly political) thoughts and maybe coalesce some of my opinions into a coherent argument. Meaning I have a huge head and wanted people to know what I'm thinking about... because it's really important... or something.
But slowly I started writing about my daughter. At first, I just wanted to talk about her. Then, I decided that blogging about her was better than writing in her baby book. But now I've started feeling like most people don't care about my political views as much and are probably more interested in Frances.
So this blog has slowly turned into the Frances blog. I'm still going to write political stuff when the mood strikes me but most of my posts will probably be about the family. But I could change my mind.
That said, in the comments section of my last post, CTG gave one of her reasons for deleting her blog. She said, "I like to not be bound to previous stated opinions". I can certainly understand that. Blogging can feel a lot like talking and it is pretty easy to just let something slip that you don't necessarily mean just to prove a point. But there is a permanent record for people to read through and play "gotcha".
So, let me just say that there may come a time when I contradict something that I've previously written. I may have changed my mind or not really thought something through. If that comes, please point it out. I will do my best to either explain my logic or fess up to the inconsistency.
Just for the record, I think that we are all hypocritical at some point or another. I know I am even though I try not to be. So, if you catch me being a hypocrite, I'm sorry.
mwz
220
When I started this, I just wanted to place to vent my (mostly political) thoughts and maybe coalesce some of my opinions into a coherent argument. Meaning I have a huge head and wanted people to know what I'm thinking about... because it's really important... or something.
But slowly I started writing about my daughter. At first, I just wanted to talk about her. Then, I decided that blogging about her was better than writing in her baby book. But now I've started feeling like most people don't care about my political views as much and are probably more interested in Frances.
So this blog has slowly turned into the Frances blog. I'm still going to write political stuff when the mood strikes me but most of my posts will probably be about the family. But I could change my mind.
That said, in the comments section of my last post, CTG gave one of her reasons for deleting her blog. She said, "I like to not be bound to previous stated opinions". I can certainly understand that. Blogging can feel a lot like talking and it is pretty easy to just let something slip that you don't necessarily mean just to prove a point. But there is a permanent record for people to read through and play "gotcha".
So, let me just say that there may come a time when I contradict something that I've previously written. I may have changed my mind or not really thought something through. If that comes, please point it out. I will do my best to either explain my logic or fess up to the inconsistency.
Just for the record, I think that we are all hypocritical at some point or another. I know I am even though I try not to be. So, if you catch me being a hypocrite, I'm sorry.
mwz
220
Sunday, July 24, 2005
A New First
Yesterday, we went on a picnic. We went to a pretty nice park that we think they made on top of an old quarry. It was a nice day and Arial had packed sandwiches and strawberries. There was a picnic table under some tries by a big grassy open space. It was nice.
Frances seemed to have a good time. She was running around on the grass, falling occasionally. She does a pretty good job of picking herself up and continuing. Then she did a face plant on the ground. I'm not really sure how she managed to do it but her face was the first thing that hit. She was upset by that but after we picked the grass and dirt from her mouth, she seemed better.
We decided to wipe off the rest of the dirt and the strawberries with a baby wipe. It worked (as it always does, I don't know how we lived before we carried baby wipes around with us all of the time). But then there was more strawberry on her lip. Arial wiped that off but then it returned. It was then that Arial realized that it wasn't strawberry but blood.
That's right. My little girl had her first bloody lip. I am so proud.
mwz
220
Oh, and don't worry she's fine. It was only a little cut.
Frances seemed to have a good time. She was running around on the grass, falling occasionally. She does a pretty good job of picking herself up and continuing. Then she did a face plant on the ground. I'm not really sure how she managed to do it but her face was the first thing that hit. She was upset by that but after we picked the grass and dirt from her mouth, she seemed better.
We decided to wipe off the rest of the dirt and the strawberries with a baby wipe. It worked (as it always does, I don't know how we lived before we carried baby wipes around with us all of the time). But then there was more strawberry on her lip. Arial wiped that off but then it returned. It was then that Arial realized that it wasn't strawberry but blood.
That's right. My little girl had her first bloody lip. I am so proud.
mwz
220
Oh, and don't worry she's fine. It was only a little cut.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
So Far Behind
[Oops, Arial wanted to use the computer when I was in the middle of this post and I forgot to come back to it, well here it is.]
Cleveland is apparently part of the third world. I'm pretty sure that first world cities get continuous power. Over starting last Friday, we have been having periodic power outages that last from a half an hour to many hours. So basically that puts me quit a bit behind in my baby blogging (or should I say toddler blogging).
Frances had her first birthday. It was a lot of fun. We didn't invite anyone over or anything but we had fun anyway.
We let Frances open her presents... well, we more coerced her into ripping off some of the paper. She was pretty good at that. She even opened up one of her own cards, pulled it out of the envelope and everything.
She started getting tired and irritated that we wanted her to keep opening presents. She wanted to play with some of the presents that were already opened, which actually seems quite logical. A toy in the hand is worth two in the box... or something.
After the presents, we gave her cake (of course we sang to her but she didn't care). She got a whole piece to herself and she loved it. She would mush it into her hand, shove it into her mouth, bite off the large chunks stuck to her hand and repeat. It was actually a little disturbing how much she was into the cake. Birthdays are special so we let her eat the whole piece but she didn't get any more of her birthday cake.
I'm sure that she had quite a sugar rush but since we had kept her up well past her bed time, she had no problems sleeping.
I think it was a good birthday (for her and us, both).
mwz
219
Cleveland is apparently part of the third world. I'm pretty sure that first world cities get continuous power. Over starting last Friday, we have been having periodic power outages that last from a half an hour to many hours. So basically that puts me quit a bit behind in my baby blogging (or should I say toddler blogging).
Frances had her first birthday. It was a lot of fun. We didn't invite anyone over or anything but we had fun anyway.
We let Frances open her presents... well, we more coerced her into ripping off some of the paper. She was pretty good at that. She even opened up one of her own cards, pulled it out of the envelope and everything.
She started getting tired and irritated that we wanted her to keep opening presents. She wanted to play with some of the presents that were already opened, which actually seems quite logical. A toy in the hand is worth two in the box... or something.
After the presents, we gave her cake (of course we sang to her but she didn't care). She got a whole piece to herself and she loved it. She would mush it into her hand, shove it into her mouth, bite off the large chunks stuck to her hand and repeat. It was actually a little disturbing how much she was into the cake. Birthdays are special so we let her eat the whole piece but she didn't get any more of her birthday cake.
I'm sure that she had quite a sugar rush but since we had kept her up well past her bed time, she had no problems sleeping.
I think it was a good birthday (for her and us, both).
mwz
219
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Slinky
After multiple years of marriage I’m still learning new things about Arial. I have recently found out that she is a genius at untangle a Slinky. She is masterful.
A couple weeks ago (on the same trip that took us to the old style playground), we bought Frances a Slinky. Technically, it’s a Slinky Jr because it is smaller and made of plastic. Frances is still to young to play with it like older people do but she still enjoys flailing it around. That, of course, leads to it getting tangled.
When I look at a tangled slinky, it makes my head spin. For some reason, I just can’t work out how it could possibly end up the way it is. I think it is the same mental block that keeps me from being good at a Rubix cube.
But Arial seems to understand the Slinky geometry in a way that I will never fully comprehend. Given a hopelessly tangled slinky and a few minutes, she will return an untangled slinky with only the damage that was done to it during the tangling.
She’s amazing.
mwz
218
A couple weeks ago (on the same trip that took us to the old style playground), we bought Frances a Slinky. Technically, it’s a Slinky Jr because it is smaller and made of plastic. Frances is still to young to play with it like older people do but she still enjoys flailing it around. That, of course, leads to it getting tangled.
When I look at a tangled slinky, it makes my head spin. For some reason, I just can’t work out how it could possibly end up the way it is. I think it is the same mental block that keeps me from being good at a Rubix cube.
But Arial seems to understand the Slinky geometry in a way that I will never fully comprehend. Given a hopelessly tangled slinky and a few minutes, she will return an untangled slinky with only the damage that was done to it during the tangling.
She’s amazing.
mwz
218
Monday, July 11, 2005
Toddling
My babies is now a toddler. I know this because she toddles. Any time she is standing up and wants to move she prefers to toddle and she can toddle quite well.
Toddling isn’t all benefits though. She has discovered the ugly truth about tripping. Things on the floor that she normally would crawl right over have the potential to trip her. She doesn’t trip to much and when she does she doesn’t make a big deal about it but it is her new danger.
Her other new danger is the doctor, at least from her prospective. We went to her 1 year appointment today. She got two vaccinations and blood drawn. They drew the blood just like with adults. Although, it isn’t as much fun watching the vacuum tubes fill up when you’re holding your crying daughter still.
She was a trouper, though. She didn’t cry terribly long after the shots or the blood draw. Poor thing.
On a side note, we decided to give her the VZV (chickenpox) vaccine. I was strongly against the vaccine when it was only supposed to last 10 years but I’ve heard that it is now believed to last much longer. The doctor said it was good for lifetime but I don’t trust her. Our real doctor moved away…
mwz
218
Toddling isn’t all benefits though. She has discovered the ugly truth about tripping. Things on the floor that she normally would crawl right over have the potential to trip her. She doesn’t trip to much and when she does she doesn’t make a big deal about it but it is her new danger.
Her other new danger is the doctor, at least from her prospective. We went to her 1 year appointment today. She got two vaccinations and blood drawn. They drew the blood just like with adults. Although, it isn’t as much fun watching the vacuum tubes fill up when you’re holding your crying daughter still.
She was a trouper, though. She didn’t cry terribly long after the shots or the blood draw. Poor thing.
On a side note, we decided to give her the VZV (chickenpox) vaccine. I was strongly against the vaccine when it was only supposed to last 10 years but I’ve heard that it is now believed to last much longer. The doctor said it was good for lifetime but I don’t trust her. Our real doctor moved away…
mwz
218
Friday, July 08, 2005
Deja Vu
You know the saying “speak of the devil, and the devil appeared”? What do you say if just after exclaiming that, the devil actually appeared. You would be in bind. You can’t simply repeat what you just said, even though it would be the most appropriate thing to say.
I would suggest running.
mwz
220
I would suggest running.
mwz
220
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
4th of July Weekend
This weekend was quite nice. I had Friday off, so it made for a four day weekend.
Last night we took Frances to the fireworks. We decided to make the trek into the city and see the big fireworks show. It was supposed to be the largest in the state. I wanted Frances' first fireworks to be good.
Some babies cry when they see fireworks, but not Frances. She thought they were neat. After watching them for a little while though, she seemed to get bored and turned her attention to scarfing down some Cheerios (I don't use a word like "scarfing" lightly. She ate more Cheerios at a faster pace than I've ever seen her eat). Sometimes she would glance at the fireworks but mostly she ate.
While Frances liked the fireworks, I was disappointed. I didn't think there were near enough to claim the title of largest show in the state. The finale was short and didn't have a lot of fireworks in it. When people started getting up, I thought it was silly of them to leave in the middle of the show. Oh well...
Most of the weekend was spent doing landscaping. A tree (a little taller than a large bush) in front of our house was dieing so I dug it out and replaced it with a different short tree. We also dug out some dieing, ground cover bushes.
Digging out those large plants taught me an important lesson. A blister really hurts in the shower. I don't know why but it's true. But more importantly, a blister hurts more if you aggravate it the next day by doing the same thing that caused the blister in the first place.
...and then taking a shower.
mwz
218
Last night we took Frances to the fireworks. We decided to make the trek into the city and see the big fireworks show. It was supposed to be the largest in the state. I wanted Frances' first fireworks to be good.
Some babies cry when they see fireworks, but not Frances. She thought they were neat. After watching them for a little while though, she seemed to get bored and turned her attention to scarfing down some Cheerios (I don't use a word like "scarfing" lightly. She ate more Cheerios at a faster pace than I've ever seen her eat). Sometimes she would glance at the fireworks but mostly she ate.
While Frances liked the fireworks, I was disappointed. I didn't think there were near enough to claim the title of largest show in the state. The finale was short and didn't have a lot of fireworks in it. When people started getting up, I thought it was silly of them to leave in the middle of the show. Oh well...
Most of the weekend was spent doing landscaping. A tree (a little taller than a large bush) in front of our house was dieing so I dug it out and replaced it with a different short tree. We also dug out some dieing, ground cover bushes.
Digging out those large plants taught me an important lesson. A blister really hurts in the shower. I don't know why but it's true. But more importantly, a blister hurts more if you aggravate it the next day by doing the same thing that caused the blister in the first place.
...and then taking a shower.
mwz
218
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Famous People
I had a dream the other night. I was with some friends at the bar in a restaurant (this is just part of a larger dream with a lot more context but let's just keep it simple). Also sitting at the bar was John Stewart. That made me feel quite awkward.
I've liked John Stewart since the John Stewart Show on MTV. We still catch a lot of the Daily Show. So when I saw him, it felt the same as if I had seen a friend, there was that sense of recognition.
That is what made me feel awkward. I didn't really know him and he definitely didn't know me but it felt like I was ignoring a friend. That's a really weird situation. I don't think we are built for the one sided relationships that we have with people on TV and in movies. It's too easy to get attached to those people.
Once, (in real life) while on a business trip, I was in the security line at the airport and I saw the guy who plays Grissom on CSI. I'm pretty sure it was him (although, I'll never actually know). He saw me looking at him (I was probably staring because I was trying to figure out if it was him and because I'm a dork with no social skills). He gave me a look like "please don't make a scene". I smiled and looked away and didn't talk to him or stare anymore. It was just nice to see a familiar face while on the road.
In the dream I wound up say hello to John Stewart and feeling stupid. I'm glad it was a dream because it saved me the embarrassment.
I've liked John Stewart since the John Stewart Show on MTV. We still catch a lot of the Daily Show. So when I saw him, it felt the same as if I had seen a friend, there was that sense of recognition.
That is what made me feel awkward. I didn't really know him and he definitely didn't know me but it felt like I was ignoring a friend. That's a really weird situation. I don't think we are built for the one sided relationships that we have with people on TV and in movies. It's too easy to get attached to those people.
Once, (in real life) while on a business trip, I was in the security line at the airport and I saw the guy who plays Grissom on CSI. I'm pretty sure it was him (although, I'll never actually know). He saw me looking at him (I was probably staring because I was trying to figure out if it was him and because I'm a dork with no social skills). He gave me a look like "please don't make a scene". I smiled and looked away and didn't talk to him or stare anymore. It was just nice to see a familiar face while on the road.
In the dream I wound up say hello to John Stewart and feeling stupid. I'm glad it was a dream because it saved me the embarrassment.
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