Category Archives: football

Super Sunday!

The last football game of the year (at least until preseason :mrgreen:  ).  We were up early and actually able to get the car down the driveway without having to shovel the icy crap that came down last night.

Panera Bread was quiet and empty.  Settled in with coffee and a blueberry bagel!

It was so nice to relax.  We did our grocery shopping yesterday, so there was no hurry to get home.  Once we did get home, there was much shoveling to do.  Couldn’t use the snow blower on this stuff as it was too icy.  I was dripping sweat.  Now I don’t need to ride the trainer today!  We normally push the snow off our back porch.  We can’t do that anymore!

It’s actually falling back onto the porch LOL!

For the SuperBowl party, our duty was to make some homemade pretzels.  We used Alton Brown’s recipe (which we have before), except make pretzel bites since there were more people eating them.

I had a quick lunch of a pork burger with laughing cow before setting to making the pretzels.

Pretzel are so easy!  The ingredients are only flour, water, yeast, butter, salt and sugar.  Mix and get the dough ready for proofing:

I turn the oven on for 1 minute, then turn it off.  Then I put this bowl in the oven with the oven light on to keep the temp warm enough. After an hour, the dough has risen and it is ready for rolling and parboiling.  Instead doing pretzels like normal, we did smaller pieces just to be different.

This water has baking soda in it, which helps give the pretzels their shiny, chewy crust.

They boil for 30 seconds, then are placed on parchment, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with flavor.  Bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes. We did half with smoked sea salt and half with cinnamon sugar:

Taste test approved!

Afternoon snack time!  Latte and some yummy blueberries.

I can’t even begin to express my joy at these winter berries this year! 😆

Off to the game party!  Everybody brought something to share.

No one is leaving hungry tonight!

Loving some of the commercials so far!

Go Packers!

Biking and bagels and health watch news.

The rain finally ended overnight with the low at 47 when we woke up.  That is within the bike riding threshold, so we hit the road.  Decided on street route only, as the path probably would have eaten us alive like quicksand!  I don’t mind the road riding on an early weekend morning when the traffic is very light.  We actually go a little faster since the road is smoother.   Interesting how much the gravel path slows you down.

Panera bread for a chocolate chip bagel and 3 cups of coffee!  :O

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The ride home was a little slower.  John just wasn’t feeling fast today, so I let him go ahead.  I tend to really push the pace, but didn’t want to leave him behind (aren’t I the good wife??).

Sigh… back to work today.  It is nice working at home and can have the football on in the background.  I just pay attention when the good stuff happens LOL!

Speaking of work in the medical field, I was contacted by the Healthcare Association Watch about preventing health-care associated infections.  Here is a link to more information on that where you can watch some videos and read more about what can be done.  While it is important for those of you that are health care workers to follow these guidelines, it is also extremely important for all of us to take our own protective measures.  When you see your physician – don’t be afraid to ask him/her to wash their hands before examining you!  There is no reason for you to leave the office with an illness you didn’t come in with.

Regarding my camera – it does not have a viewfinder hole, just the LCD screen.  I can actually buy the same camera refurbished for $85, which is less than it would be to actually get mine repaired.  What is up with that?  So, I am going to do that.

Here is what my camera looks like turned on:

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Isn’t that lovely???  This will also be my pink item of the day!

Snackage today:

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I really miss the macro function on my camera.  All of my pictures look so ordinary on the old camera (Okay, done whining!).

Candy corn has entered the house, but it is under lock and key.  I have allowed myself to have 1/2 a serving (which is 10 kernels) at a time, which John dutifully doles out to me.

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I am making an internet confession here that I eat candy corn in a strange way.  I love to bite off the bottoms and save the white tips for last.

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I don’t know why, but I think the tips taste the best.  Or maybe I am just weird.

On a great note – I won the football picks today!  I’m on a roll thanks to the Steelers and the Bills.  Now I just need to decide where to have my football dinner this week heehee!

Question:  Do you have any strange food mannerisms?

Out with the old, in with the new.

Yeah!  Football!  We grocery shopped yesterday.That meant we didn’t need to go after bagels, so we could bike there.  It was nice weather for biking, a little foggy, but not cold.  I was hungry by the time we got to Panera Bread!  It’s about 8 miles each way.

French toast bagel and coffee.  So good!

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Fueled by carbs, we started to push the ride on the way home.  I decided to really go for it for the last 1.5 miles or so.  John was following me with the bike computer and he said we topped out around 18 miles an hour.  I was breathing really hard by the time I careened into the driveway LOL!  Felt awesome, though.  I just kept thinking about how fast I could go if I had a road bike.

After showering – I am all set up for football!

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I do have to work, but I can do that with the game on in the background.

Lunch before the game:

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Chicken wrap with a Flatout wrap.  Cedar’s lemon hummus and lettuce tucked in there.  Tasty.   Plus a super juicy red pear.

I am so concentrating on eating well today.  Sundays are really challenging for me, for whatever reason.

Those Broncos, I tell you – cardiac team for sure.  They won in the last 20 seconds!  Unbelieveable.

winnersGo team!!   Looks like I will lose my weekly picks, though, and have to take John out for dinner 🙁

Latte snack  – woohoo!

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Out with the old and in with the new:

I am embarrassed to show the wear and tear on these running shoes!  I desperately needed new shoes.

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Used my Dick’s gift certificate to purchase these new Sauconys.

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They are so comfy.  I was looking at a pair of Asics, but the Sauconys have a wider toebox, which is wonderful for wide feet.  Plus the heel is a little lower, so no rubbing.  Took them for a 1 mile spin tonight and I loved them!!  I had a real bounce in my step and my feet felt very cushioned.  I am a Saucony convert now!

Yummy dinner and one of my favorites!

dinner

Seawatch clam strips.  These were baked in the toaster oven and come out all crispy.  So good.

Question:  Do you change out your workout shoes on a regular basis?

Good on plan day.

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Ate perfectly on plan today. Feels pretty good! Eating clean just makes a big difference in my attitude and how I feel.

My Broncos are on tonight, hopefully they will win! It’s a late game, though. Starts at 10:15PM! I’ll be up really late, which means my early morning jog might not be so early LOL. Have to get it done in the morning, though, as it is supposed to rain in the afternoon.

I am thinking about starting a separate blog with a food log. I get a lot of questions about what I am eating. I used to post my foods, but that is pretty boring on a day-to-day basis to read, I think.

I just joined this challenge:

Hot for the Holidays

It is good for me, because it doesn’t pit me against anyone, it is mostly a community challenge. Hopefully this will push me to goal by the holidays!

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First weekend of the New Year

Happy weekend!
Wildcard weekend for the NFL. I love football, and the season is winding down. Too bad the Broncos pooed all over the field this season.

Getting some good exercise with my rehab house. Grouted tile yesterday, and the only water source now is the upstairs, so I had to go up and down a flight of stairs dozens of times for water changes. Phew….

You know, I am really liking the NS foods now. I look forward to the meals, and it really helps me stay on track. Now that I have had time to try everything, this last auto delivery order included only the things that I really liked. Kind of like personal shopping!
Got a bunch of bears from NS in my last order, one for each 10 pounds:

Are you ready for some football??

Sundays are so great this time of year. I love football! Go Broncos!

I also love bagels. Sunday is traditionally bagel day for us. We go out for bagels for breakfast. Sometimes I bring an NS entree, sometimes I have a bagel. Today I had a multigrain bagel toasted with plain cream cheese. It was sooooooooooooo good!

Still not sure if I am going to see any damage from Thanksgiving on the scale or not next week. I see too many people freaking out over weight gain. Most of it is water, and when you eat off plan and eat too much – you are going to gain…..

Had the thin crust pizza with turkey pepperoni for dinner. This is pretty yummy, with a side of steamed broccoli.