Tiny's Tantalizing Text

Granted, I never was officially on a diet, but I have been consciously reducing my intake of food. The injury started today by not being able to get out of the business place I was visiting in time to head to the other town I visit on my sales call, thereby severely limiting my available lunch choices. I had planned on hitting Subway for a footlong Chicken Bacon Ranch sub, but since I was late, had to choose between a) the bar and restaurant in the town I was in, b) the bar and restaurant next door to my place of business, and c) the convenience store/pizza place in the town I work and live in. I realized it had been awhile since I'd had Pizza, so I chose option C, which was a mistake because when I have pizza, it's best not to get between me and it until it is all gone.

This puts me in a quandry...I have some Iowa chops that really need to be used (today marks 1 week that they've been in my refrigerator), and I don't want to freeze them. I'm thinking I'll just throw today away and try to be good again tomorrow. I still think I need to punish myself tho, so I'll probably forego the chips and dip while watching TV tonight.

Still haven't heard from the Dish Network guy...may have to call or stop by tomorrow again. I really want it hooked up by this weekend so I can start playing with it and figure out how to run it so I can teach Dad, as well as know what I'm doing with the DVR option.

Don't really have much to say, but I'd like to get a streak of consecutive days of posting going. I decided this past weekend to have Dish Network activated in our new house...it's been pre-wired for almost a year now, and it's getting close to the first Nextel Cup race of the year that's being shown on FX. Our local cable company doesn't offer FX and I've now been without for almost 2 years since dropping DirecTV. Anyway, I stopped at the Dish guy's store to let him know he could come up and finish installing the system, but he was out on another install. This really didn't surprise me...disappointed tho, since I wanted to discuss programming with him before he showed up. Secretary said she'd have him give me a call tho, so that should work.

It'll be nice to have TV in the basement too. Sometimes when Dad goes to bed, I'm not quite ready to head down to the dungeon to my bed, but I don't want to keep watching TV upstairs and possibly prevent him from sleeping, as his headboard abuts the wall that the living room TV is on. It'll also be nice to have more programming options, especially on Tuesday nights. I have a hard time finding anything interesting from 7-9 on that night.

Well, I guess I survived another post.

Well, it's getting to be that time of year here in the great state of Iowa...even tho we just had some light snow flurries this morning. One of my favorite summer meals consists of grilled/marinated chicken hindquarters. I buy the hindquarters by the 10# bag and break them down into single meal bags to put in the freezer. On the rare occasion that I know I'm going to be alone for supper the following day, I'll take a bag out of the freezer, dump enough Kraft Zesty Italian dressing in it to cover the pieces of bird, and set it in the fridge until the next evening. What works best for me for grilling them is to get the grill (in my case it's a Coleman 2000 series, stainless burner with additional side burner gas grill) nice and hot by setting the burners on high and letting it be for about 10 minutes. Once heated, I'll put the pieces of chicken on the grill, skin side down, and let them sear for about 3-5 minutes, then flip and let sear for the same, 3-5 minutes. Once this is done, I'll shut one burner completely off, move the meat to that side of the grill, turn the other burner down to low or medium low, close the lid and leave it alone for about a half hour to 45 minutes. The last time I made this, my mouth thought it died and went to heaven, even tho the skin got black. Somehow it wasn't crispy black, just colored that way.

Another favorite is a nice Ribeye steak cut from a corn fed, Iowa raised, bovine creature. I like to pre-season it with some Lawry's seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper before grilling it. I do have to admit, my Dad does a lot better job of grilling Ribeyes than I do...I guess I just don't have the patience. I see it laying there, pretty soon it calls out to me, and my mouth starts watering, next thing you know, it's on a plate headed to the table and I cuss myself out because it's still just a little too rare to be awesome. It doesn't stop me, but, man, I wish I could control myself a litte better.

An indoor favorite that I only recently learned how to make, is fried center cut, bone in, tenderloin pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy. Always knew how to do the taters, but finally figured out how to get the chops done correctly and make gravy. I never used to dredge anything in flour, or fry with butter in the pan. That, combined with covering the pan over low heat while you peel, boil, and mash the potatoes makes for an unbelievably tender and tasty piece of meat. Also, the gravy seems to come out better if you can use some of the water that the potatoes were boiled in...don't know why.

I don't want to give away all of my secrets in a single post, but I do have several more indoor meals. Stay tuned.

Gotta make a post about my favorite sport here. I was watching Wind Tunnel on Speed Sunday night. Dave DeSpain was hosting with guest Ed Hinton and Robin Miller tossed in his 2 cents via satellite or something like that. Now, granted, I couldn't care less what these guys say, but their words are heard/read far and wide and may sway the thinking of the people that hear/read them. The main issue I have trouble with is their bashing of Kurt Busch doing his "Snow Angel" celebration after the Bristol race that was affected by snow, and the following Busch race (can't remember where) that wasn't. I've got 2 requests when it comes to celebrations following a victory. Do something original, or act like you've won before. The Angel was original. Burnouts (first one I remember is Ron Hornaday following the November ARCA race at Atlanta in 1999), the Polish Victory Lap (Alan Kulwicki), Fence Climb (Helio Castroneves at Indy a few years ago), etc. are getting old. Although, I do enjoy the PVL when it is in tribute to a fallen racer, as when Rusty did it at Bristol in '93, Dale Earnhardt at Pocono or Talladega in '93, and Steve Park at Rockingham in '01.

2 Entries in 2 days? Oh my God. For those interested, my leg is coming along nicely. Still can't put a shoe on correctly (probably could, but not while the leg is wrapped), but if past moves on the swelling are any indication, it's getting ready to make another move in the right direction that could provide the breakthrough needed to finally wear 2 shoes at once. Also on the health front, I've been taking antibiotics on and off since January because of a re-curring infection, and now have a new sleeping partner....a CPAP machine due to the onset of Sleep Apnea, I believe stemming from my "Beta Blocker" blood pressure meds that I've been taking since December or so.

Also, like the cool kids that I've been copying by having a blog and posting on message boards, I've been trying to lose some weight. Granted, I haven't been near as successful at it. My present goal is to weigh one-half (1/3 would be perfect) of what I do today, but I think I'm going to need some help getting there. I have cut back on the food intake ALOT, and really don't miss it...almost skipped supper last night even. Lately, I've been researching weight loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery). The one in particular that I think would best suit me is the "Duodenal Switch", where a good portion of the stomach is actually removed instead of stapled or banded off, and the intestines are re-routed so that the food doesn't stay in them as long and the fat does not have a chance to be retained in the body.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I was ready to pop anybody in the nose that mentioned weight loss surgery, and now I'm actually considering it. The biggest obstacle in my way is the cost. I don't have insurance, nor do I have any substantial savings, and the price ranges anywhere from $15000 to $60000, depending on the doctor and how long of a hospital stay is involved, among other things.

I know this could be arranged better, but I'm typing this as I think of it instead of going back and editing. I think I am losing a little bit of weight...this morning's trip up from my bedroom in the basement didn't seem to leave me as winded as in the recent past, and I just checked my "resting" pulse rate...72. Hard to believe since I'm sitting on a chair that doesn't have a back on it, and with my size I usually need a backrest.

Well, thanks for reading.

..I think I will create a post with an idea stolen from several of my friends that have blogs out here, and hopefully will be thought of as one of the "cool kids".

I am: the biggest Teddy Bear you'll ever find.
I miss: feeling almost invincible.
I want: that feeling back.
I have: patience.
I loathe: being late.
I fear: not even close to as much as I used to.
I play: at every opportunity.
I hear: usually just what I want to.
I care: about people I've never met.
I smile: probably not as much as I should.
I wonder: if I'll ever get back into as good of shape as I was 5 years ago.
I poke: my cat (Sherman) in the belly and do the Pillsbury Dough Boy's "hoo hoooo".
I love: my family, cats included.
I mess: with too much stuff.
I ache: to have a girlfriend.
I think: about way too much stuff that'll probably never happen.
I always: believe that one day I will win the Powerball jackpot.
I am not: phony.
I sing: all the time when nobody (human) is around.
I cry: very little.
I talk: alot once I'm comfortable with the people I'm with.
I spill: not much.
I wish: I would hurry up and win the Powerball jackpot.
I keep: everything.
I am not always: as neat as I should be.
I can: usually brighten somebody's day.
I can’t: run.
I write: sloppily.
I win: or I don't play. lol
I lose: sleep over the wierdest things.
I smell: meat to make sure it's good.
I confuse: people on purpose.
I need: a girlfriend.
I should: do something about that.