The Art of Eating

"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." - Author Unknown

I took the weight box off the side of my blog.  

Not because I'm not losing weight, or don't want to be accountable for my weight issues.  

I took it off because, while I don't want to ignore that weight and health are a big part of my life right now, it is not the ONLY thing in my life.  I don't want my weight to be my only focus of my blog.  

It is, of course, ironic that just as I decided to take it down, I've actually started to see my weight dropping.

I guess the adage is true.  "You can't out exercise a bad diet."

I just didn't think my diet was all that bad.  I cut out most soda and sugar.  I didn't eat huge portions.  A restaurant meal usually required a doggie bag for at least half of it.

But when I came home from Atlanta, I became what I call "mostly veg."

My main foods consist of fresh fruits and vegetables and grains.  I still eat eggs, fish and dairy (except cheese) regularly.

What I have all but removed is meat and cheese.  Cheese for obvious reasons.  High fat.  And, like soda, for me it is an addiction.  I haven't completely stopped eating meat.  My goal is to only eat meat occasionally.  Basically, just enough to keep from getting sick when I do eat it.  Dinner at a friend's house, restaurants, the rare Italian deli sandwich.  Treats.

That seems to be what my body needs.  I've lost 7 pounds since I started, and took down my weight box.

I even started using my calorie counter app again.  Not to count calories, per se, but I wanted to see exactly what my new diet looked like.

When I first used the app, my own competitiveness made it a truly unhealthy endeavor.  I ate less and less always trying to "beat" my calories from the day before.

Now, to quiet the competitive voice, I try to get as close to the recommended calories as possible.

What I am actually finding, with my new food choices, is that I am having a hard time eating ENOUGH.  My veggie stir-frys served over rice or barley are so low in calories, I find myself eating handfuls of nuts at the end of the day just to boost the number a little.  It also allows me a few treats.  The occasional piece of chocolate or bit of cheese.

The best part?  I'm dropping weight.  Without feeling hungry or deprived.  I've lost 7 pounds in the last 5 weeks.  A respectable AND healthy weight loss.

Of course, this is not a weight cure-all.  I'm sure I will hit plateaus and find times where it doesn't work.  But for now, I'm going to learn to enjoy fresh, healthy food, loosing weight and feeling successful.  I'll cross other  bridges when I come to them.

Road Trip: Atlanta: Part 3

"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." - Jane Austen

Things have been insanely busy lately so I'm very late in posting the last day of my road trip to Atlanta.

Day 2 in Atlanta, I got to spend all day with Susan.  We started with a hike in Sweetwater Creek State Park.  Or should I say we started with driving back and forth through Sweetwater Creek State Park trying to find the turn off to the trail head?

After several wrong turns, a useless gps and a very friendly park ranger, we finally fount it.  It was not a very long hike to an old ruin of a textile mill destroyed in the civil war.  It was not too hot, but extremely humid as it is wont to be in the summertime South.  I was standing in the shade, leaning on a railing taking pictures, barely moving with sweat running down my face and into my eyes, making it very hard to take pictures.  That didn't stop it from being beautiful.

After the hike, we stopped for burgers at Flip Burgers.  I think it was the fanciest burger joint I have ever seen.  We had lamb burgers, but you could get just about any burger you could possibly think of and several you never would have.  Absolutely delish!

That evening we went to the Gerogia Aquarium.  The lighting, while spectacular for fish tanks, was terrible for photography and they didn't allow any flash which would have just glared off the tanks anyway.  But I still got a few shots with my iPhone.  I just wish they had more turtles.

Then, a long drive back home the next day.  I'm glad I went, even if it was so short.  It was so fantastic to see Susan after such a long time.

Road Trip: Atlanta Part 2

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." - Lin Yutang

I had two days to spend in Atlanta.

After spending all day in the car, I thought I would get up early and run to get all the kinks out.

Unfortunately, my body had other ideas.  No run was going to get these kinks out!   But a nice layabout did no harm either...

Then off to The Buttermilk Kitchen for a lovely fresh, local breakfast with fresh-squeezed orange juice in that staple of the south, the mason jar  Delish.

Then, since Susie was working, I had a day to get myself into trouble.  Of course, I found Atlanta in the summer is just too hot for trouble!

First stop was the Oakland Cemetary recommended by a photographer friend Susie's.  It was interesting, with sections for rich and poor, black and white, christian and jewish, and most interesting, Confederate and Union.  And lots of family plots.  Margaret Mitchell is buried there.

I thought about driving out of Atlanta to some of the surrounding towns because I always wanted to see an antebellum plantation, but the afternoon was progressing so I opted for the Atlanta History Center.  The museum was interesting with several exibits of the town's varied past, but what I went to see were the two historic houses on the 33 acre grounds.

There was the Tullie Smith House a pre-civil war farm house:

And the Swan House, an early 20th century mansion house:

And the grounds were beautiful:

By this time the heat was killing me.  Back to Susie's place for a nice cool shower.

That evening it was dinner at The Atlanta Fish Market, wich was good, but apparently their staff has no idea how to handle food alergies, causing my friend some discomfort.  Then, later on, drinks at a fantastic Irish pub called The Olde Blind Dog.

Road Trip: Atlanta Part 1

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same." - Elbert Hubbard

Remember I remarked before about my physical handicaps?  One of the results is that I cannot spend more than 6 hours in a car without experiencing pain.  Yesterday, I spent 13 hours in my car!  13!

It was bad.  I drove through 4 states to visit an old friend who moved to Atlanta.  I've never been there before.  I just got a new car and a new camera, both of which NEEDED a test drive.  And I haven't seen my friend in several years.

So I hit the road.  The only problem is, I only had a few days off and I wanted to spend as much of it with my friend as possible so...13 hours in a car, no stopping halfway for a hotel room and a rest.

I planned to go running this morning because I didn't have a chance to run all week.  (I was in training class for work all last week so - no time for running)  But I'm in so much pain this morning, I can barely move.  So much for running.

But, despite the pain, it was a beautiful drive.  I miss being on the road.  I got to see the Mississippi River and two states I haven't been to before.  AND, I get to see my friend, which is the best part.

So, I'm off today to go see some Atlanta history and play with my new camera.  I'll share some more later.

Quick pics snapped out the car window with an iPhone:
 

(I'm so bummed I missed getting the Georgia sign)

The Continuing Saga

"If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you." - Les Brown

I wrote about the decision I had to make about my camera.  Put more money into trying to repair it, replacing it with a similar model or replacing it with the professional model I eventually wanted to move into anyway.

I chose option number 3.  An option I instantly regretted the moment I placed the order.  How could I spend so much money I didn't have?  How could I break my debt promise?  What was I thinking?  This is the reason I struggled for so long to get out of debt in the first place.

I got my camera in the mail.  The news was even worse.  Very few of my current accessories fit the new camera.  The lens is too big for my filters, some of which I had barely used yet.  The battery wasn't interchangable.  I even had to upgrade my photo editing software because the camera is a new enough model, the older software couldn't read the raw file format.

Sigh.

Then I went out and shot some pictures.  The new camera is heavier, but I replaced 2 lenses with 1 lens, so less gear to carry.  That worked itself out.  And the results...

Sharp and clear.  I'm so thrilled.  I don't know how I ever lived without this camera!

So, on occasion, questioning your decisions is a good idea, in this case, it was wrong.  Buying the new camera was absolutely the best decision I could have made and I have high hopes of taking my photography to the next level.

Fundamental Dilemma

"Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver." - Ambrose Bierce

So I paid Nikon to fix my camera.  And when I got it back, I was exactly the same as before I sent it.  Cleaner.  Software updated.  But still with problems.

As I wish to become a professional photographer, my next goal after buying a new car is to save for a full frame, professional camera.  So I really don't want to put any more money into a camera that may not ever work properly again.  So, I need to replace it.
But, because I had to buy my new car sooner than I anticipated, it left me without the cash reserves to purchase a new camera outright.

Debt makes me angry. I spent a huge chunk of time digging myself out of a fairly large financial hole and pride myself on "living within my means" and not carrying consumer debt.

Do I replace my camera with the same model I have for a smaller amount of money that I can pay off in a couple months?  Then begin saving for the professional model, having spent several hundreds of dollars on a camera that, for all intents and purposes, is only temporary?

Or

Do I buy the professional camera now, placing myself in greater debt that will take a significant bit longer to pay off, but not "wasting" money on the less expensive (but not cheap) "temporary" camera.

Do I stick closer to my values in the short term, or go against the grain for something that will be of greater benefit in the long run?

Voice From the Past

"I firmly believe that you live and learn, and if you don't learn from past mistakes, then you need to be drug out and shot."  - R. Lee Ermey


Once upon a time, there was a girl, young and foolish, like most girls.  Most of the people in her life, people whom she should have been able to count on, people who claimed she could trust, all let her down, turned their backs, walked away.

One day, she met a guy.  This guy seemed like a good guy.  She was honest about her past, how it was difficult for her to trust.  He swore he would never let her down.  She wanted to believe him, but like the young and foolish girl she was, she tested him.  And tested him.  And he stayed.  He was good to her.  She eventually started to believe that maybe, just maybe, she could trust him.

And then he left.  Without a word.  Just gone.  Like all the others who had let her down.

That young girl doesn't exist anymore. Grew up. Moved on. Put the past and all those people behind her.

But one day, he's back in her life, just as quickly as he left.  An email in her inbox: "Is it you?"
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Does she reply?