Recipe - Egg Beaters Omelet With Spicy-Sweet Peppers & Onions

This is one of the healthy dinners I have been eating featuring the same Peppers & Onions from my Hot Dog recipe which I will post later. It's about 200 calories for a very tasty omelet. Slow cooking the peppers & onions as described below is key to bringing out all the flavors this recipe has to offer.

If you can't find a mix of frozen peppers & onions which around here is called a stir fry mix, use 4 ounces sliced tri-color peppers and 2 ounces sliced onions, plus a 1/4 cup of water.

For those not counting calories, substitute three large eggs, whisked with 3 tbs milk, for the cup of Eggbeaters and an ounce of shredded sharp cheddar for the fat free variety.

Ingredients:
1 cup Eggbeaters
1 slice Kraft Sharp Cheddar Fat Free Cheese
6 ounces frozen tri-color peppers & onions
3 tbs hot buffalo wing sauce
2 tbs Conimex Sambal Oelek (you may substitute Tabasco sauce)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt substitute
1 tbs Splenda
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray
Freshly ground black peppers to taste

Optional: For an additional 70 calories serve with 2 slices (35 calories each) toasted Aunt Millie's high fiber low calorie bread sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray.

Preparation:
Lightly spray the bottom of a small 8 inch frying pan with PAM spray. Evenly distribute peppers and onions in bottom of pan and add Sambal Oelek, buffalo wing sauce, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt substitute, and paprika distributing evenly over pan contents. Cover pan with glass lid and place over very low heat. The idea is for this to cook very slowly.

Cook for 20 minutes, then stir peppers and onions. Sprinkle the Splenda on top of the peppers and onions, cover, and cook under low heat for another 10 minutes.

Using the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Pump Spray coat pan contents, increase heat, and stir peppers and onions until any remaining liquid is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Again making sure pan contents are evenly distributed, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, increase heat slightly, and add Eggbeaters. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until surface is mostly solid, then flip. Cook an additional 2 minutes, turn off heat, break the slice of cheese into four parts and place on top of pan contents. Leave covered for an additional two minutes then serve and enjoy.

Mark: 17 weeks on the Lifestyle Modification Plan

Me before The Diet - One of my typical afternoon snacks!

It marks 17 weeks today I've been on my Lifestyle Modification Plan! Mentally I am fixated on food, though physically most times it's really not too bad. There are moments though, like last Tuesday which was my night to have the kids for dinner since it was their Mom's week. Danielle asked if she could bring her friend over with her, and I ordered Italian Food from Vitale's of Ada, our favorite place for Italian Food Delivery. The smell of assorted pasta dinners and garlic bread sticks with butter made my usually tasty spicy pepper omelet taste like ashes in my mouth.....but...mostly I can deal with it.

My kids have been pretty good about it. Maybe not asking how I am doing, but at least not complaining that I won't take them anywhere for a nice sit down dinner. I do take them out for fast food which can also be rough, surrounded by people eating Burger King may not sound all that delicious to you....but trust me.....you really know what Pavlov's dog must have been going through whenever he heard that danged bell......

So for 121 days (I started riding the bike 2 days before the diet) I've exercised every day and stayed within my caloric guidelines. Losing 84 pounds in 17 weeks is not bad at all, that's an average just about 5 pounds a week. It's been ever so much fun, and I'm past the half way point of 70 pounds. I realize though that the road before me is still long and full of challenges. I am truly eager to continue on the path I have set myself upon.

Different things motivate me such as the following. Danielle and I were just looking at a few pictures and I started up a video clip she had taken of the cat a couple of weeks after I started the diet. Because the the cat was running around she panned over to where I am sitting on the recliner, and I was HUGE! We were both somewhat shocked by my appearance! When you see someone every day you get used to their appearance so to us my change is stature is not that dramatic. She said "Oh my gosh you looked like Santa Claus!" I said I looked like I ate Santa! I was, truly, disgusted with myself though after seeing that clip for letting me get to that point. All the more motivation to succeed.

A Contrast In Exercising

The sacrificial altar of my many lost pounds

For the past month my workout on the exercising bike has been between 80 and 90 minutes. I do a 10 minute warm up on a lower resistance setting, then I go up a setting and do that for 65-70 minutes before taking a one minute 'break' at the lower setting. I then do several minutes at the higher setting, another minute at the lower setting, then the higher setting until I am a minute away from finishing and I go to the lower setting as a bit of a cool down.

It's always somewhat of an effort to get through the workout. Some days it just a physical challenge, others days it's stress from a bad day in the office. Other times it's just boredom. Let's face it; riding a stationary bike for an hour and a half is far from exciting.

I've tried playing video games, the motion of the game on the screen coupled with the pedaling on the bike just makes me too dizzy! So, I watch TV, and as I have mentioned before I typically watch shows from the Food Network. Why, would someone working to lose weight watch shows full of foods they can't eat? For several reasons. First, I like them! They are amusing and educational and often give me ideas to use in my own cuisine. My Pasta with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Shallots in a Saffron Sauce Reduction came from a show I saw. Second, it's a reminder to me of how I got where I was by eating too much of too high calorie recipes. Finally, it's the carrot on a stick, to remind me to keep going, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and one day, down the road, perhaps once a month, I can have a lavish meal with too many calories!

So, as I started saying some days the workout goal seems almost impossible to achieve. Yesterday in fact, I was so worn out when I got about 30 minutes into the higher setting, I did not think I would be able to keep going, so, I took a minute at the lower setting. I ended up interjecting several unscheduled 'breaks' like this which increased the time of my workout by a few minutes since the goal of the workout is a set number of calories burned. The lower resistance setting burns less calories. When I was finished though I had burned the 900 calories, it just took five minutes longer. The workout is rarely this bad, but other days, it just seems to go on forever.

Today was one of those rare workouts though that could almost cause me to enjoy exercising! Don't get me wrong, every day when I climb off that exercise bike, I am elated that I finished the workout. This morning, I was into it mentally and physically. The ride was almost effortless, the time passed reasonably quickly, I did 70 minutes at the higher setting before taking that first minute break. If the workout went like that every day, it would be fantastic!

And it is a workout! The t-shirt I am wearing is completely saturated in sweat as is the golf towel I keep on the exercise bike for wiping my face and head. It is a hearty workout!

However it goes, I don't know how any days I'll go on my streak of continuous days. Without checking I think this Sunday marks 17 weeks. For me, couch potato that I am, exercising every day for 17 weeks is quite an accomplishment.

Oh, and I hate exercise!

Picture Of The Day 08/07/09

A lovely sunrise here in Grand Rapids Michigan!

Today's Weigh In - 08/07/09

Since last Friday I've been exercising 10 minutes more each day and except for Saturday, since I went to see Ice Age 3 with the kids and had some popcorn, I've been eating less. A max of 750 calories a day. So, since the last two week weigh in I lost another 7 pounds for a total of 84 pounds lost since I started this Lifestyle Modification. I plan to eat my normal 1100 or so calories today and tomorrow, my 1500 max Sunday, and then next week since I have half days most of the week I will try and eat less. We'll see about the extra 10 minutes of exercise! Usually I burn 800 calories in a workout, that extra 10 minute push to get to 900 can be somewhat grueling, particularly after a full day at the office!

My blood pressure is the best it has been in a long time. 114/69.

The 140 pound weight loss target I set myself is certainly looking a bit more attainable today. I will be posting three recipes when I get a chance, the first is for a spicy-sweet mix of tri-color peppers and onions, the other two will be recipes incorporating these.

I'm thinking I may actually break my diet on September 7th, which is my birthday. I get a coupon each year for a free burger at Red Robin. I'm giving this serious consideration but it's a weighty issue, and I'll have to see where I am in another month. In spite of all I have lost, frankly, I'm still fat and need to keep going, but on the other hand, your birthday is a special day! Anyway, for now, I'll weight, and weight, and weight before making a final decision.

Once again I'd like to thank all of those who've sent words of encouragement and supported me during these past months, it is much appreciated.

Picture Of The Day 08/03/09

A glorious sunrise in West Michigan though an hour later it was totally overcast and pouring!

Picture Of The Day 07/30/09

A gorgeous shot of the sunrise on the way to the office this morning, It's going to be a gorgeous day here in West Michigan!

It was a cool and comfortable 68 degrees this morning. While the temperatures did get into the 80s yesterday the humidity level was much more comfortable then the previous two days. Tuesday night I flirted with the idea of turning the AC on a bit at bedtime, but, as the kids were not complaining I just left the two windows in my bedroom open. Last night was quite comfortable and the humidity today should be low as well. Looks like by the time the month of July is over I will have only used the central AC once!

Picture Of The Day 07/29/09

The sun, low in the sky on the way back to work at 8 PM.

Picture Of The Day 07/28/09

The sun rises on a new morning in West Michigan.

The Story of the Virgin Mary Statue

The following story is from an e-mail I sent a long time friend in California back in February of this year. It's regarding the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary statue I brought home from New Jersey after my dad passed away a year ago. Originally I never intended to share it publicly, but, on this the first anniversary of my father's passing away it seems suitable I should share it. After all, the majority of visitors here are long time friends and thus my extended family.

She rests now atop my entertainment center, looking down on us.

From an email sent to a friend on February 26th 2009:
On my last visit to my dad in 2007, he was still fairly mobile but I could see he was in much worse shape than the previous year's visit. There was a period where he and I were alone in his bedroom. He said he needed to talk to me and he shut the door. At this point he started crying and asked me if I would do him a favor (I am getting bleary eyed just typing this). I said of course he could ask me anything and between racking sobs he asked if I would look after the statue of the Virgin Mary he had on his dresser.

This statue is in some of my earliest childhood memories. In fact the dresser my Dad kept it on was the same dresser that was in my parents room when I was growing up. My mother, who was a devout Catholic all her life, except near the end of her long illness, had Mary on their dresser in their bedroom as far back as I can remember. Daily, every Sunday for the all the years I lived there, my mom always lit a votive candle and placed it in front of her. Even during the first 10 years of her protracted illness, before she was hospitalized the last time before she passed, though she could barely rise from her chair and walk she lit the candle to the Virgin Mary and, with pain in her voice from her illness said her Rosary. I remember before growing up as a child doing the Stations of the Cross at Scared Heart Church in Bloomfield with her during lent with my own Rosary beads.

Anyway, crying and very distressed my dad told me that this statue was one of his fondest remembrances of my mother, and it was one of her most beloved ties to her Catholic heritage and family. He further went on to state he would be unable to rest, as he knew he would not be around much longer, if he did not know it would be looked after.

He realized that my brother and I were not actively practicing our religious heritage and so was worried about asking one of us to keep a religious article on display. He then mentioned that I was the more emotional or sensitive one, and I was "your mother's baby" as he put it, so he was asking me. I hugged my dad and calmed him down and promised I would look after her. He seemed quite relieved by this. We hugged each other tightly for awhile, both of us stopped crying, and we soon returned to his girlfriend and my kids.

So, my friend, I brought her back 720 miles carefully wrapped in blankets back to Michigan, where she sits today on my dresser, with one of my mom's sets of Rosary beads around her. (Note: I had to move her some time after writing this e-mail. Tails was so intrigued by the statue, in fact she would often use the hands of Mary's outstretched arms to scratch her chin, I feared she would fall, so I moved her high atop the cabinet of my entertainment system.)

Mary is but one remembrance I have displayed. On the hall outside the bedrooms in my house I have three framed pictures of my mom and dad when they were in their 20's. There is one of each separate, and one wedding photo. It is my memorial area so to speak. I enjoy seeing them thus; happy and in the prime of life, just starting out together as man and wife! (Another Note: I recently began keeping my Dad's World War II uniform cap on the wall of kitchen by the front door. Originally when I tried to do this last summer it upset Danielle too much and I put it away. I brought it out last Father's day and she seemed fine with it so I did not pack it back away.)

Every time I see the Virgin Mary statue, I get a tug on the heart strings reminding me of my love of my parents, and that tear filled day my Dad asked me to give her a home. As he did with me, when the time comes, I will pick a suitable child to entrust her care to. In this way I hope Mary will always have a home in my family, and the lineage of the Falco Family and a story, will be passed on from generation to generation.

Perhaps it was that he knew I had kids, and my brother did not, may have also factored into him asking me. Like so many things around my parents, I will never know, because, as I have come to regret, and will undoubtedly do many times down the road, there are so many things I should have asked my Dad but never did.

Damn! I must dry my eyes now before any of my co-workers stumble upon me in this emotional state! This will teach me to type up things like this on my lunch break!

A Blue Day in West Michigan

My Dad and my brother Rick with me and the kids in December 1999

It's hard to believe it has been a year ago today that my dad passed away, I've been in a blue mood since I awoke this morning. I think the reason it's been so hard for me is that we only saw my dad once a year since 2000 when we moved out here, so, in the back of my mind I still expect him to be there in out in New Jersey. I can still hear him saying "Hey Chrissy!" when I would call him on the phone....man oh man, I really, really miss him and my mom too.

For those out there that still have your parent(s), treasure them and your time together, and don't make the mistake I did, of thinking you had plenty of time to talk about all the things you wanted to talk about with them, and asking questions that you might need answered. At least I know my Dad knew of my love for him...so that's some consolation. My Mom and I parted after having words before she passed away, which is spite of the circumstances, I still regret deeply this day over 20 years later.

Today's Weigh In

This is the third time I weighed myself while following my Lifestyle Modification Plan which I've been on for over 100 days. For the first couple of months I never went near the scale, then I did weigh myself, and I decided at that point to do it every two weeks. I used a computerized station at work which is accurate to a 10th of a pound and I do the test twice just to make sure the readings agree. The same station also does blood pressure and some other tests. Soon I hope to be able to use the people-sized scale and free up the livestock one for the cows.....

So, I lost 8 pounds these past two weeks for a total of 77 pounds lost. For the first time I can remember, while on less than half the does of medication I was taking 4 months ago, my blood pressure came in on the green zone of the computerized station we have at work. The reading was 109/74, I've finally hit a new low!

So, the Lifestyle Modification Plan continues, and I am past the halfway point on what I plan on losing. As much as I hate exercise, particularly because I do it every day right after work and I'm up to 80-90 minutes a day, it has become habitual. I feel guilty if I even think of skipping it. It will be interesting to see how many days in a row I can make! I've exercised with a fever, backache, and other ailments that in the past would have sent me cowering to the couch.

My long range plan is to exercise four times a week once I have achieved the desired weight loss. So, for now, until unforeseen circumstances prevent me from my daily toil, I will continue. The biggest problem I see is running out of Food Network shows which I watch while riding my exercise bike! The purpose of this is twofold; penance for being the slovenly bulk I was, and still to a lessor extend, and as a reminder that down the road, once in awhile, I'll be able to indulge in such guilty pleasures.

I am feeling much better than I had been. While my energy levels are still not fantastically high, I am sleeping up to 6 hours straight at a stretch at night where before I was up every 2 or 3 hours. My blood sugar is also markedly improved.

I'm planning, depending on my weight at the time, to perhaps go out to dinner on my birthday in September. Nothing extravagant, just a couple of side-of-beef sandwiches and a quarter keg or two.....

More Musings on Taylor Ham

I was emailing with a friend earlier today and decided, as it touched on one of my favorite foods which I have talked about here in the past, that I would flesh it out a bit and turn it into a post. We all know that these days I am so totally fixed on things I can't eat. Below is a picture of this food in one of it's many forms:

Warning: I tend to ramble on and on during this post. Continue at your own peril.

I grew up eating a New Jersey food called Taylor Ham. We had it for breakfast in any way you would expect bacon or sausage to be used. Sometimes with bacon or sausage in fact! It's definitely a Jersey thing and I've been eating it for most of my life, though admittedly a lot less since we came to Michigan since you can't get it here.

Shortly after we moved to Michigan in August of 2000 I tried with the local grocer, and Meijer which is a big chain of stores asking them to carry it, but, they ain't never heard of it so they had no interest in doing it. In retrospect almost 9 years later that's probably a good thing.

One of my fondest Taylor Ham moments back in New Jersey was having breakfast at a buffet that a friend used to be the chef for. They had Taylor Ham and not many buffets in New Jersey ever did! Oh my goodness I was in heaven. They also had home-made sausage gravy and biscuits! When he knew I was coming he would cook extra Taylor Ham and slice it thick and thin because he knew the various ways I would eat it and combine it with the other buffet items. I would eat way, way too much of this epicurean delight those Sunday Mornings!

On one of my Taylor Ham running trips back from a visit to friends and family on the east coast, I brought back a large quantity as described below, and I had a series of lunch time events where I invited about 6 people from work to come to my place for lunch, and I made Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese sandwiches on a hard roll. The egg and cheese were optional, but, you had to eat the Taylor Ham. So, I turned on about 18 mid-westerners to this delectable treat and they all loved it! I think if Meijer had stocked this, and fried some up and given it out as samples as they often do with new items, they could have made a killing. Their loss!

For those of you reading this that are not in the New Jersey area and want to try Taylor Ham, fear not! If you look on the right side of my blog I have a link to Jersey Pork Roll, a web site run by a Jersey Girl where I used to have Taylor Ham shipped to Michigan from. I even bought a slicer so I could buy the 9 pound one and slice it up! Their service is excellent and I can recommend it personally.

As mentioned previously my consumption has dropped since moving to Michigan. This is not a bad thing considering my Lifestyle Modification. I have not had Taylor Ham since last summer when I went to Jersey for my Dad's funeral.

I won't be having it in the near future either! With my caloric guidelines I could get away with it on a Sunday or even thinly sliced as a dinner meal during the week with some Eggbeaters. But I would not be able to consume enough of it to make the high price of shipping out here worthwhile. Plus, it's one of those rare things I have little willpower with. If it's in da house, I'm eating it!

Willpower is a funny thing! There are so many delectable things I see at the store while shopping. Things that I used to enjoy on a regular basis. Things I miss. Things I want. Things that if they were in my home, I know I would eat them! So, I simply do not buy them. Weird huh? I never bring them home, so they do not tempt me here, but I know if they were here I would not resist their siren call!

Back to the subject of willpower. Perhaps the thoughts of myself falling on top of 20 bags of chips at the store in a veritable feeding frenzy, followed by the panicked screams of children, large muscled security people beating me as they eject me from the store, and the inevitable blitz of media coverage is what keeps me in check while I am out in public. I do not know for sure.

In subsequent trips back to NJ (except for last year) I would take a cooler with me. My brother and I would hit the Pathmark and ShopRite stores by him and I would buy up to 15 3 pound Taylor Hams. We would put them in the freezer for a couple of days before departing back to Michigan, then put them in the cooler and cover them with ice. Of course I would by more than 15! We would have to consume some! Pretty much every morning my brother and I would start the day with Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese on a multi-grain English muffin. One summer, we invented the Taylor Hamburger. This was a 1/4 pound burger, which then had a cooked thick slice of Taylor Ham placed atop it, and this was then covered with cheese! Delicious! And of course oh so bad for you!

Anyway, when running Taylor Ham back from NJ to MI, they made the 11.5 hour trip back to Michigan where they were then consumer over the year. SO MUCH cheaper than having it shipped! And of course the slicer worked fine on the 3 pound ones as well. Thin sliced or thick, depending on the way it is being served. Back in 2006 I even made Mac Cheese with diced grilled Taylor Ham in it. So, so, good!

Whenever family was coming to visit from New Jersey, or whenever the X's folks (after they moved to Michigan) were going back east, I'd beg them to bring Taylor Ham for me with them. To heck with Pride, Taylor Ham is just that good! It's been a life long affair and one I hope to continue down the road but less aggressively.

I am sure I will be at a point in time where I can enjoy some of my favorite guilty pleasures, such as White Castle cheeseburgers (or rats as we called them) and Taylor Ham, served any way you can think of!

Picture Of The Day - 07/22/09

Storm clouds rolling in....

Recipe:Pasta with Chicken, mushrooms,and shallots with a saffronsauce reduction

I've been on my Lifestyle Modification plan for 99 days now, and Sunday I was just really, really craving some pasta! I've not had any in over three months and being Italian I figured I must be breaking some law somewhere in Italy!

Since on Sundays I get to have 500 calories for my main meal instead of the 300 I do for other days of the week, I decided I must have some pasta. Thanks to a show I saw last week on the Food Network with Bobby Flay, I decided it had to be flavored with saffron. This is also the first time I've used shallots in a recipe. And David, they were Christopher Ranch shallots.

I made the following dish which turned out so good I had to share the recipe. A lot of times when I post a recipe here, it is the second, third, or even fourth attempt because I won't post a recipe unless I think it tastes great enough to share. In this case, I hit "killer!" on the first try.

Note cooking the pasta in water & chicken broth along with saffron adds excellent coloring and flavor to the pasta. Reducing the liquid by cooking off the water, combined with adding the pasta before it is fully cooked, provides enough starch to make a light sauce that clings to the pasta. Figuring most of you have significant others, unlike myself, I adjusted the recipe below to allow two servings instead of the single portion I made yesterday which is pictured below:

Recipe: Pasta with Chicken, mushrooms, and shallots with a saffron sauce reduction
Serves: 2
Calories per serving: about 350
Nutrition info: very low in fat and sodium

Ingredients:
2 large shallots thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
.2 grams Saffron Threads
16 ounces low sodium chicken broth
8 ounces boneless skinless Chicken Breast
4 ounces Dreamfields Rotini pasta
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter No Calorie Pump Spray
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped chives to taste

Preparation:
Combine 1 cup of chicken broth, half of saffron threads, and 3 cups of water in a pot and bring to boil. Once water is boiling add pasta to water and cook for 8 minutes. When completed, drain pasta and return to covered to pot to keep warm. Note pasta should be yellow in color from the saffron.

While water is heating spray bottom of frying pan with PAM and add shallots and chicken, cooking for several minutes while stirring shallots once a minute until chicken is browned on one side. Turn chicken, stir shallots, and add 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms to pan along with remaining 8 ounces of chicken broth and saffron threads. Bring to simmer and cover over low flame until pasta is finished, about 5 minutes.

Remove lid and break apart chicken with spatula. Sprinkle lightly with freshly ground black pepper. Add pasta and stir to combine. Cook covered so mixture simmers for 5 minutes. Remove lid and slightly increase heat until mixture returns to simmering. Stir every minute until liquid has thickened (another 5-10 minutes.)

Lightly spray surface of frying pan contents with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray and stir. Remove from heat and place food on serving platter, sprinkle with chopped chives, serve and enjoy!

Recipe - Chicken with Turkey Bacon, Corn, and Broccoli

I was in a lazy mood and would have been happy with some 97% fat free Hebrew National hot dogs, but, frankly (oh that's a bad pun!) I was too lazy to go to the store.

So, I started rummaging around to see what I could make that was within my calories for the day and here's what I came up with. It was so good I had to share the recipe.

Ingredients:

5 ounces frozen chicken tenders (boneless, skinless, thawed)
6 ounces of frozen Broccoli florets, thawed
1 slice Louis Rich Turkey Bacon
1 single serving Green Giant Niblets corn in butter sauce (80 calories)
3 tbs Falco's Fire Sauce (recipe below this post)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Spray frying pan with PAM spray and heat to medium hot, add chicken, cook 3 minutes on one side, turn, and add slice of turkey bacon. Cook an additional two minutes. Using spatula dice the turkey bacon in the pan.

Heat Niblets Corn in microwave per package directions (about 90 seconds).

Add Broccoli florets and Falco's fire Sauce. Stir, and cook covered over medium low flame for about five minutes. Break up chicken with spatula, add niblets corn, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir and remove from heat.

Delicious! And only 300 calories, with very low fat. I had my doubts about this before making it but as I said it was so enjoyable I decided to share the recipe.

Recipe - Falco's Fire Sauce

It's been quite a while since I posted a recipe here. Using the ingredients shown in the picture below, I actually measured everything today while I whipped up a batch of this, though I've been making this sauce for over a month now.

This zesty sauce can be used as a marinate, barbecue sauce, or condiment. I use it on hot dogs both as a catchup replacement, or brushing the dogs with it before grilling. It's really great with vegetables too. I often toss veggies with it, and fry them on the stove with eggbeaters as a spicy garden omelet. It's as tasty with seafood as it is with any kind of meat. I've even brushed it on corn on the cob and then grilled the corn. While this recipe has heat, cooking mitigates a good portion of this. For those with limited tolerance for hot foods, you probably do not want to use this uncooked as I often do.

WARNING! Use caution when preparing this recipe and handling habenro peppers and other spicy ingredients! Afterward make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Rubbing your eyes after de-seeding a Habenaro pepper can be quite the unforgettable experience! Use caution when removing the lid of the blender after blending. The fumes arising from the blender can be irritating to the eyes and throat (makes your mouth water for some of this, don't it??). No kidding here! Th first time I made this I followed the chef's instinct to take the lid off the blander and smell my creation. BIG mistake! My eyes watered profusely, my throat almost clogged shut, and I coughed for an hour afterward. I also rubbed my tearing eyes with the hands that had been rinsed in water......it...was......memorable!! Ingredients: 1 7 oz jar Conimex Sambal Oelek (It must be this brand) 1 7 oz can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (I use Embassa brand usually) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup Splenda 2 tbs curry powder 2 tbs paprika 2 tbs onion powder 1 tbs cumin 2 Habenaro peppers (seeds in or out; in makes it spicier!) 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (only 1 tsp; don't want to make it too spicy!) 1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves Juice from one lime Note: Those not concerned about sugar or calories can substitute 1/2 to 3/4 cup of honey for the Splenda. Preparation: In a blender add the jar of Sambal Oelek, the habaneros, the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, the red wine vinegar, the Habenaros, and 1/4 cup of water. COVER! Blend on liquefy or puree until smooth. Wait a minute or two before carefully removing cover, as mentioned above the fumes of this first blend can be most powerful! Seriously! Add remaining ingredients and again blend until smooth. Keeps for about 8 days in the fridge, I sometimes split the batch and put half in a freezer storage bag and freeze for up to a month. ENJOY!!

Sunday (Day 91)

Yesterday was 90 days on my diet and exercise or Lifestyle Modification Plan as I have been referring to it, as it is more than a diet and must be a new way of life for me going forward after the mishap that happened 91 days ago when I collapsed and nearly passed out. I had dizzy spells and vertigo for weeks afterward. I was, in sad shape!

I am up to no more than 1100 calories/day during the week, though some days I am in the 900s, and on Sundays I allow myself 1500 calories. The first week I did 600 calories a day, the next week 700, the third week 800, and then I did 900 for a few weeks, then 1000 for a few weeks, and now I will do a max of 1100 calories a day for a few weeks.

I exercise every day, and these days I am up to 75-90 minutes of exercise a day. I have lost 68 pounds as of Friday's weigh-in, which puts me 2 pounds shy of the half way point. My blood pressure and blood sugar are much better! I still have a long way to go, but I am getting there. Fear is a great coach!

They say it takes 90 days for something to become a habit. The whole routine is getting a bit easier so maybe there is some truth in that. I picked up sweet rolls for the kid's breakfast this AM when I shopped, and I had my usual nutrition shake. I did that without a second thought when it used to be very difficult. I have not stepped into a restaurant or had takeout food (other a few Chicken McNuggets one Sunday) in all this time, though I do get Italian food and Chinese takeout for Scott and Danielle. They eat that and I eat my food. It's been a radical departure from my usual eating habits! I do allow myself one guilty pleasure. When I take them to Burger King or McDonalds I allow myself 2 fries from each of them.

My warm thanks to my friends who have encouraged and supported me in this effort. I really appreciate it!

Anyway, enough about my health issues, on to other boring things!

It was a gorgeous day here, it got up into the 80' but it's dropped down into the 70s at the moment. The humidity after starting out around 60% when I awoke this morning is down to about 35%. There has been a fresh breeze blowing all day and the AC was last run Friday evening when the humidity made it too uncomfortable to sleep.

It is certainly not a typical July where I expect it to be hot and humid, and have the AC running from the afternoon on until about 1 AM so the house is OK for sleeping in.

I love weather like this!

Scott went to the lake yesterday and because he rarely burns he passed on my offer of sun tan lotion and is now paying the price. While he is not severely burned he has enough sunburn to be very uncomfortable. Maybe next time he will listen! I remember once at his age I got burned so badly I had blisters filled with yellow fluid all over my chest, arms, and legs....it is an experience you only need to have once and since then I have religiously prepared exposed skin when headed out to the hot sun for extended periods.

So, as today was Sunday I made a nice dinner for us. I picked up a three pack of Delmonico steaks this AM at the store along with some boneless skinless chicken tenders, and some corn on the cob. The chicken I marinated with Sambal Oelek, along with diced garlic and habanero peppers plus some lime juice. I skewered the chicken and chunks of onions, and grilled them along with the corn on the cob and the steaks.

The kids ate the steaks, I ate the chicken, and we enjoyed the grilled onions and corn as well. It was a most excellent dinner and they were pleased to have three steaks to devour between the two of them. The local grocer, Forest Hills Foods features value or family packs of steaks, particularly on the weekends. Its always a crap shoot; luck of the draw as it were. I've learned to go early in the morning and even so today I had to go through all the packs to find the one I procured, but for $10 and change for three Delmonico steaks.....you can't beat that!

Picture Of The Day 07/11/09

As you can see the plants on the side path by the garage are continuing to grow at an impressive rate! Check out the June 5th post which shows the path just over a month ago to get an idea of the difference.

Picture Of The Day 07/09/09

I call this one Surrealistic Sky

Picture Of The Day 07/08/09

It's break time in class which means it is time to post a picture.

I call this shot of Tails 'Wild Thing!'

Class at home

I'm in training this week and taking a class from home via WebEx and a conference call.

Below is a shot of my 'classroom' featuring a comfy couch with my work laptop next to it on two end tables. The cable on the floor goes from the DVI output on the laptop's docking station to my 50" plasma display. I have an external mouse and keyboard connected. It is certainly a comfortable alternative to a conference room at the office and the dress code is very relaxed!

4th of July Weekend

Below is a slide show of Pictures taken Friday night at the fireworks over at Amway in Ada Mi, and Saturday during our annual "Driveway Fireworks Spectacular" we have been doing every year since 2001. You may click the sideshow to see larger versions of the pictures if you wish.

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoy the festivities safely!

On the road again.....

Scott spent the week at the Illinois Institute of Art — Schaumburg which is located in Suburban Chicago. His Mom took him down Monday night as he was on the chaperoned program where they put the students up at a local hotel and their time off campus is closely controlled but fun.

For example, one night they went to one of these large arcade places that features a multitude of games and activities, another night they had the Second City Comedy troupe come in and do an improve session with the kids. There is a very large mall close to the school and one night the kids were all let loose there where they had dinner and shopped. So, in addition to learning, there was lots of fun.

Scott, as those who read my blog know, is major artistically talented and he plans to use this talent in the real world. The Illinois Institute of Art is where he wants to go to school after he graduates high school next year, so, the fact that they were offering the program was a great chance for him to go down and experience the school first hand.

Yesterday was open house, where the parents were invited to attend a presentation at the school, and a showcasing of the kids works. They also wanted us to take our kids home afterward; imagine that!

So, the X and I headed down in our cars as she had business out of state the next day and was going to head that way after the function at the school.

I arose at 5:30 AM (On my Saturday off no less!), did my exercises with my dumbbells, got ready, and was out the door at 6:45. No sooner did I pass the City of Grand Rapids, did I see a familiar vehicle approaching from the rear. I saw this as it came up to pass:


Of course it was the X, or Racer X as I like to call her when she is driving. For those of you not familiar with "Speed Racer", Racer X was a character in the series.....so you can now see my clever turn of the phrase regarding the X! Below are some shots of the road I took while driving.




The X and I chatted on the cell phone for about20 minutes and I decided that the easiest thing to do would be to follow her even though I had a GPS and printed directions. We also chatted a couple of other times as well about Scott, Danielle, and other things. The hands free setup I have in the Mustang is very cool when you need to talk on the phone! If music is playing, either off the radio, or via the iPhone, which can stream music to the car stereo wirelessly, the music is stopped and the call comes over the car stereo speakers. There is a microphone I installed up in the headliner which picks up my voice. After the call, the music resumes.

So, since she knew the way thus began three hours of an exciting real time racing game! The speed limit in Michigan is about 70 and her speed was averaging about 77 while in state; reserved for her, but perhaps it was the vicarious presence of police cars. Her driving experience here paid off, at one point of the journey I had only seen one police car, she had seen three! Chasing her across three states as she weaved in an out of traffic at times was quite challenging!

Friends had advised that even on a weekend the portion of the trip through Chicago itself could be fraught with delays, but the X remarked later that was the first time she ever made it through that area so quickly. We barely took 3 hours and 15 minutes to make it to the school which is about 15 minutes past Chicago itself. We made a brief rest stop about 10 minutes from the school, and then because we had made such good time and were almost an hour early, the X texted Scott who was still at the hotel. We headed over to pick him up and sign him out, collecting his luggage from the room where they had consolidated all the students possessions. This would be a real time saver later when most of the visiting parents would have to go from the campus back to the hotel. I'll bet it was quite crowded and I was glad we did not have to do that.

After visiting and meeting some of his new friends, we left him there and headed over to the school as he wanted to ride the bus from the hotel with his classmates. Below is an exterior shot of the school, a display inside, and some student artwork.




We signed in at the the Illinois Institute of Art, and were ushered upstairs for the torture phase a few minutes after 10 AM. Torture because the room we were in was facing the sun and the AC was failing miserably at keeping the room, which was packed like sardines with the parents of students in the summer program, cool. It has to be at least 90 degrees. A chirpy, high energy admissions person was there and seemed, by the volume and copious amounts of verbage issuing forth from her in a never-ending stream, to be unaffected by the heat. She assured us later in the presentation that no way were the classrooms overcrowded like this for the students.

Finally the presentation started with an overview of the past week's program, which centered around an all girl band at the school. The kids all had to do things around this, such as photography, videos, conception drawings and posters, costume design, etc. Scott's group, and I am not sure how this related, designed levels for the popular Unreal game and also did video capture of the band. After this, we were given an overview of the schools degree programs and costs. The tuition was surprisingly affordable but housing costs were ridiculous! Four students share a two bedroom apartment for $800/month per student. We talked to one of the locals there who said his son and three friends rented a much nicer place for $1700/month, split 4 ways that's less than half the cost of the schools housing which does not include food or transportation to/from campus.

The sales pitch over we did a quick walking tour of the school which also featured the adventure of the elevator that would not work. After again wanting to emulate a tin of sardines with us overheated parents they crammed us into this one elevator that would not work. In fact, it dropped a few inches much to the screaming delight of the passengers! Now they wanted us to march up the stairs to the fifth floor. Fortunately by the time we would have to have headed up another elevator arrived in a different shaft that got us upstairs. I was glad not having to walk up multiple flights of stairs in that heat!

We took a look at some of the other projects and at Scott's work. Some shots of the Unreal levels he worked on are shown below:




Scott began saying goodbye to his friends, exchanging hugs with all of them. Scott explained to me later he had been adopted like 'the little brother' of the summer program, and the girls thought he was cute the way he got flustered when they paid him any attention. This is not a bad thing I explained to him! I have never had that problem in my life, nor could I see it as a problem!!

We started back home. I had him ride with his mom since she would be out of state for several days and we stopped at the same rest place she and I had hit earlier. Scott knew there was a Panda Express there and was coveting noodly Chinese food goodness! I fueled up the car and met them inside, and Scott had to settle for KFC as there were no noodle dishes that day at Panda Express. I bought him and his mom, pictured below, lunch and watched them eat.


It was not until this second visit that I realized that the food court and facilities were actually perched across the highway so it could be accessed from wither the East or West bound highway. This view out the food court window showed me this clever arrangement:


On the way out Scott announced he was still hungry so I got him some Cinnamon sugar coated pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's. The X, Scott, and I said our goodbyes and headed back home. A Taste of Chicago was going on in the city and I missed the express lanes going back through Chicago so I got stuck in some minor traffic but nothing too terrible. The trip back though did take just over three and a half hours. Scott napped most of the way, though we talked a bit. He did like the school and the programs and does want to go there in 2010.

The X, who had zoomed past us at one point, phoned a couple of times with traffic reports and help hints on how to make sure to avoid them and get home which I thought was nice of her. I was happy it was a nice day for driving and bad weather did not impact the journey! The Mustang and I do enjoy a nice cruise, and other than the area going through Chicago it was a nice drive for most of the distance.

One thing that really freaked me about about the trip home was I discovered an interesting fact in Indiana about 25 minutes from the Michigan border. There were a number of pulled over cars (speeders I guess as the speed limit in Indiana and Illinois was 55). At first I thought the police had been on the attack of those owners of Mustang GT cars until I realized they were unmarked police cars! How clever! How evil! How sneaky! Who would suspect a nice looking Mustang GT to be an unmarked police car!!!

We arrived home around 4:30. I unloaded the car, turned on the AC as Danielle had left 5 hours earlier with her grandparents and left the 50" plasma display and receiver on. In a closed room they produce a goodly amount of heat! After about 30 minutes I climbed onto the exercise bike. In the first few minutes I was certain I would never be able to finish my 75 minute work out, but I did and in fact went on to do 90 minutes and 2.5 miles extra! Today, I am also dreading my exercise session which will commence shortly. (A footnote here, I did an bit of an extra workout, but only an extra mile or so.)

Danielle's grandparents dropped her off in the middle of my exercise session, I explained I could not talk too much while exercising as I set a pretty strenuous pace after the first few minutes of warm up. Mom expressed some concern over the extent of my exercising (A session on the exercise bike literally soaks my entire shirt with sweat) and I assured her so long as I stayed in my target heart rate range, I was OK.

Danielle was heading over to a sleep over so I barely got to see her. I ordered Scott a sandwich from Jimmy John's. Just like the last time I ordered they lost the order and claimed a problem with their on-line system. I mentioned to the driver this was the second order in a row this happened to; was this going to be the norm. He stated he could not help me as he was just a driver, so, I went online and wrote a complaint to the home office of Jimmy John's. We'll see if anything comes of that.

Scott's friend Greg came over a bit after 8 so I amused myself largely with TV until I retired around midnight. In spite of my early rising and extra exercise when I got back home, I did not sleep well for some reason. I did get a nice nap though between 6 AM and 9 AM.

Picture Of The Day 06/24/09

Tails in dreamland........

Picture Of The Day 06/23/09

The morning sky on the drive into work this morning.



-- Posted From My iPhone

Happy Father's Day Dad - Part II

Here's a couple of pictures of my Dad from WWII. What a handsome devil he was! Still missing him but doing better than I was earlier. learned a good lesson too; never cry your eyes out before riding the exercise bike; makes for a tough workout!

All three of my kids will be here around 2 PM (wish I could have had them all day for Father's day but what can you do it's the X's week), at least I will get to see them.

And to all the rest of you Dad's out there Happy Father's Day! To those children that still have their Dad, remember.....they won't be around forever. Time wasted is time lost..........

Happy Father's Day Dad - I Really Miss You!

Enrico Micheal Falco and his sons - December 1999

This is such a tough day so far. I've been up just about an hour and been crying while sitting here thinking of my dad. So hard to believe next month will be a year he's been gone......seems like just yesterday I got that call from New Jersey tell me.

I'm sure my brother Rick, pictured above with my Dad in 1999 is having similar thoughts. Anyway, Dad, I miss you, I love you, you were one hell of a father, you were there for us, you taught me the difference of right and wrong, and shared your wisdom and life experience!

You worked two jobs near the end of each year when we were younger so there could be Christmas Presents under the tree, and that's just one of the memories of you I cherish.

Happy Father's Day Dad!!! I'd give anything to have you with me today.

I'm off to exercise Pop; today makes 10 weeks I've been on a diet and exercise, or lifestyle modification. I know how you worried about my weight, and I know you'd be proud of me.

A Busy Saturday

Tomorrow is Father's Day - We will be having it here, so in addition to the work I am doing on my rear sliding doors there are other things to be done today in preparation for tomorrow.

It has stopped raining and the sun is out. It is a Saturday and no work! So, today will be good just tiring. Yesterday I spent over two hours re-screening one of the rear sliding doors. I have never re-screened a large sliding door and it was an adventure! I was more soaked with sweat when done than two days worth of exercise bike riding and after one of those session my shirt is soaked with sweat. The spline tool that came with the screen kit was cheap, so I ended up having to use a screwdriver after the tool to insure the spline was all the way down in the channel on the door.

It was a lot of work, but, it looks great, and the materials cost a fraction of what having someone coming to the house would have charged. And there is that feeling of accomplishment after doing a job one has never done, and doing it well.

The door I did yesterday was the slider for the Living Room and it is always sticking and popping out of the track. This morning I spent the better part of an hour cleaning out the bottom tracks for the Living Room and Kitchen sliding doors. They had all kinds of dirt and debris in them. Once the tracks are dry I will WD40 them. I also readjusted the four rollers on the Living Room slider. I think I finally have it well adjusted (unlike me!). Between the clean tracks and the WD40 perhaps it will stop sticking and jumping out of the track.

After all the bending yesterday working on the first door coupled with the bending this AM to clean out the tracks for both doors my back is not pleased with me but I told it suck it up as I must exercise in about half an hour and cool down. Then I must run out and pick up a better spline tool for kitchen slider awaits me on the dinning room table (I have a big table!). That one was way fun getting out of the frame, it has totally different rollers and tracks but I finally figured it out.

Once the kitchen slider is done I must go shopping for tomorrow and then the meat has to be cut up and marinated today - sigh! It's Father's Day, a day of rest for dads I would think, but because of my diet I must do the cooking . The kids, the X, and her folks will be here. It will be good to have everyone over, plus I can make sure Dad has a great meal for Father's Day. I don't really mind the grilling portion but the prep work is a pain. I have to make two different marinates. For my son Chris and I (and possibly Danielle) the marinate will be very spicy with chipotles in adobo sauce, Sambal Oelek, and fresh habanero, and a milder sauce for those who cannot handle the heat of what I am going to call Falco's Fire Sauce if it comes together as I plan. Both marinates will also feature other spices.

The house also needs some cleaning; yesterday was the end of my week with the kids and they've gone back to their mom's. If you have kids you know how messy the house can get. If you don't, and you are a slob, well, then you know too and you probably only clean when the board of health comes knocking on your door!

Back to dinner tomorrow I figure I will make the grilled chicken, corn on the cob, salad, and if someone wants to bring dessert for the normal eating folks that's fine. Perhaps I will get strawberries and blueberries for me - we shall see. There will also be apple sauce for Dad and perhaps I'll make some baked beans too for everyone else.

The day's tasks would not appear so daunting if I was not so tired. It rained here until around 3 AM so I did not get to sleep until after that and only got four hours of broken sleep.

Perhaps I will feel better once I have exercised! Time to quaff down my morning nutrition shake and then after 30 minutes or so.....we ride! I exercise while watching shows from the Food Network! Yes! I am a glutton for punishment. I consider this my penance for letting myself get to the point I was at. it serves as a reminder of how I got there, and gives me something to look forward to; the occasional meal that goes above my daily caloric limits. It also gives me ideas for cooking, such as using chipotles in adobo sauce. After hearing Bobby Flay talk about it many times on shows like Iron Chef America, Grill It, and Throwdown, I finally bought some last weekend. This will be the second time I use it. It is awesome stuff.

Mr. Chris and the Very Crappy iPhone 3.0 OS Upgrade

Yesterday, for those living in a cave, was the long anticipated day that the new version 3.0 of the iPhone OS (Operating System) was released. I worked a half day, as II have been doing this week since the kids are on summer vacation, and headed home.

After a lovely 75 minutes of exercising I got cleaned up and sat down to upgrade my iPhone. Last year because the Apple download servers were so overloaded it took a long time to download the upgrade file.

So, my upgrade experience spanned from a few minutes after 1 PM when I started the download until around 9 PM last night! The download took less than five minutes, and I was very excited, figuring things were going to be much quicker than last year. This is what undoubtedly summoned Murphy and sent him swooping down upon me!

For whatever reason after the upgrade the phone was stuck in the 'connect me to iTunes so I could authorize state. However I tried this, iTunes would not see the phone, or would see it as an unknown device without a name. When connected like this running iTunes diagnostics showed all was well in the realm of being able to talk over the internet to the Apple servers and communicate via USB to the iPhone. It showed also that the firmware had indeed been upgraded to 3.0. Rebooting the unit multiple times (and the PC a couple of times changed nothing. I tried to restore my old config but of course by the the apply authentication servers were swamped so it could not talk to them and get an OK back. The kids and I went shopping, I dropped Danielle at the mall, all while carrying around my expensive Apple paperweight and my old ugly work cell phone.

So, I got home, printed out Scott directions for where he was going with his girlfriend,and then did a restore on the iPhone. While the name of the iPhone did not come back in iTunes all functionality did except Bluetooth which either showed up in settings as unavailable or off. When off, turning it on caused it to go back off within a second! The thing was running twice as slow as it should. It was painful, though I could use it as a phone...apps were very very slow. I was quite annoyed and ticked off and dreaming of a Palm Pre at this point in time.

So, after fetching my daughter from the mall and having some hot dogs for dinner I tried again....same results. I took a TV break and finally later in the evening I was able to restore the backup taken after the iPhone had been upgraded and lo and behold it authorized, it's name came back and Bluetooth was working and the speed was better than it was under the 2.2 firmware. My icons, except one which was pushed off the home page because of the new voice recorder application remained the same and all I tested was working.

It seems part of the problem was the authentication servers at Apple used to verify and then activate an iPhone, were heavily indeed overloaded. Add this to the fact that the upgrade would pause during an iPhone reboot because I have an unlock code on the device probably complicated matters. At one point I actually removed the code though this may or may not have helped.

However, my reward was soon to be at hand. This morning I got in the Mustang, the iPhone connected via Bluetooth to the Clarion stereo as I have seen it do many times before, and glorious stereo music began playing from the iPhone through the car stereo! It was awesome! This is a new feature that was added. While I could make hands free phone calls on the stereo in the Mustang, I could not listen to music from it without a cable connection going from the phone to the stereo.

Many were the times I wanted this capability for my ride to/from work. It's a pain to have to dig out the iPod cable, plug it into the iPhone, plug that into the USB cable from the Clarion, and position the iPhone in it's travel holder. Considering my ride home can be as short as five minutes, it's just not worth the effort.

With the new OS though, when power is not an issue, and it never is for my around town and to/from work driving, the iPhone remains in my pocket and plays through the radio via Bluetooth. This is VERY sweet and I have been dreaming of this for months! I have some nice Motorola Bluetooth stereo headphones that I will pair with the iPhone later today for stereo music when working around the house!

So, thus ended my iPhone 2.2 OS to 3.0 upgrade. A rocky road full of corruption, greed, violence, sex, drugs, and.....oh wait that was high school! The upgrade was full of disappointment, heartache, and frustration......hmm that could apply to high school as well........

In closing let me say that the pain was worth it. I've often heard what does not kill you makes you stronger....well....the iPhone may have been dead for awhile yesterday, but is is better than It was before....stronger....faster..... Oscar Goldman would have been proud!

Picture Of The Day 06/18/09

Tails relaxing on my dresser. She'll spend hours there looking out the window behind her and will often nap there or on my bed.

Picture Of The Day 06/14/09

The Mustang this morning in the parking lot at Meijer.

As you can see both the car and the day are glorious!

Picture Of The Day 06/13/09

Corner of Cascade & East Paris yesterday on the way to pick up Danielle.

Picture Of The Day 06/10/09

The view out my driver's window this morning. I call this series "Mother Nature's Canvas" as there are multiple shots.

Dreams within Dreams

So I had a pretty mundane dream last night. It was in the evening, and in the dream I knew the kids were at their mom's so I was closing the house for the evening and making sure the doors and such were locked. Note in the dream this house was not my current house or any house I was familiar with though of course in the dream, it was my house.

Now, quite awhile ago, many months or longer I would say, I had a dream I had bought a new house. Note that like the dream I had last night this house was not my current house or any house I was familiar with though of course in this older dream, it was my house.

Note also that the two houses were in no way similar.

Now, in the older dream this house was immense on the inside. Room after room, and floor after floor. At one point I had opened the trap door to the attic and started exploring. It was cavernous! Stairs and ladders leading everywhere, rooms and room all over. Pipes, wiring conduits. While I had not thought of this dream in ages I remember it vividly now because it was one of those very clear dreams and quite detailed.

What really was out of the ordinary in my experience though was in the dream I had last night I had just locked up the house and was contemplating going to bed. Then I thought of the attic and how I had not really had a chance to fully explore it. So, I began looking for a flashlight before going up and opening the trap door. I then awoke without ever going into the attic.

What is not mundane here is my memory in the dream last night of the attic was identical to the attic of the older dream. This really was something new to me as I have never accessed a dream memory from an older dream inside a newer one.

I have been pondering this on and off today. The memory of the attic in last nights dream was exactly what I remember from the older one even though I never opened the door to the attic.

Picture Of The Day 06/08/09

This picture, while taken with my iPhone on the drive into work this AM in very story weather, was sent full sized from my phone to my e-mail and then posted here. The large version should be twice the resolution as other pictures of the day shots. Still have not figured out a way to post to the blog directly wit the full sized images.

I liked this shot though so I wanted to use the higher resolution than what gets posted if I mail directly to the blog.

Picture Of The DayThis Is Who I Am by Scott Falco

Today's Picture Of The Day was not sent via the iPhone. This is artwork done by my son Scott showcasing his major artistic talents. I sent this picture off to a poster maker and had two 18x24" posters made of this epic achievement. The night they arrived Scott and I went out to Target to acquire frames. One hangs in his room, and I plan to hang one in the living room of my house for all visitors to see.

I think it is just amazing the artistic talent he has! Click on the picture below to enjoy a much more glorious larger version in a new browser window.

What's that you say? You're awed by his talent? Well, that does not surprise me in the least! I have been in awe of his ability for years now.

Danielle and the Demonic Furry Feline

Danielle and the Demonic Furry Feline

Note that the picture above is NOT edited in any way (other than a crop for size), and you can click on the picture for a much larger version in a new window. Oh, for all those know-it-alls thinking "This is a fake, I know how he did that!" it was full light out and the camera flash was off.

The explanation is simple really; evidently Tails did not see Danielle's mom taking this picture as she was too busy trying to ensnare Danielle to do her evil bidding with her Demonic Evil Eyes!

Bad Tails Kitty! Bad!! No! NO!!! Run Danielle, RUN!!!!

Mr. Chris and The Fast Internet Connection

If you did not read this morning's post prior to this one, you need to stop reading this post and scroll down and read it! Yes, now, do it now!!

So, Bob the tech from AT&T arrived right on time around noon which was yet another surprise with AT&T service. The first thing he did was replace the Residential Gateway which means all wireless devices in the house have to be reconnected and I had to add my WEP key to it.....a minor pain and one I would not mind if it fixed the problem. It did not, speed was still terrible.

He went about his work for well over an hour and having tested the line was seeing a lot of noise and cross talk on it but could see no reason why. Finally, after installation of a noise filter did nothing to help the situation he called it into his boss and they had to pass it on to the next team.

Oh great, I thought to myself, I may have gotten lucky thus far today, but there is NO WAY the the AT&T SWAT team, the creme de la creme of mobile support, is going to be able to make it here today!!!

YES WAY! I was informed they should be here later today. So, I was able to spend 75 minutes on the exercise bike, do some minor cleaning, and just as I was getting ready to head to the store the bell rang. It was Tim from AT&T. He was going to be testing the line and this would take all my services down.

So with Tim working outside I went and did my shopping, came home, made a batch of my spicy ranch flavored salad dressing (about 25 calories a bottle), and put some chicken in to marinate for tomorrow's grilling. I also put some shredded potato and sliced onion in the oven to bake. Once they were done I made an omelet with them and some eggbeaters, seasoning only with black pepper and smoked Paprika. I then melted some Kraft fat free cheese on top once it was done. It was quite delicious.

I was nearly done with my dinner when Tim reported the line going from the house to the street had been in bad shape and he replaced it. This visit took about two hours, and, I asked him to wait so I could check all was well. I booted up and was pleased to find my 6 mbps service restored to full speed, and I envision the problems I had been having with my HD TV service, such as freezes and drop outs, would surely be fixed as well. As he put it, the signal is now screaming wall to wall into your house.

What an amazing day at the hands of AT&T U-Verse tech support! All positive and not at all like previous encounters I have had with them. Maybe, just maybe mind you, they are actually starting to listen to feedback.

Or maybe the earth is in line with Venus or something today, who knows? Maybe it is all just a dream like the very weird ones I had last night........