I wrote a blog entry on Friday — at work, and e-mailed it to myself at home for posting later — about my shitty morning commute and how people pissed me off and how I reacted.
After sitting and stewing all Friday morning, then recovering all afternoon and getting back to normal, I came to realize that I was just being an asshole. The story really isn’t worth posting. Although I’m saving it in my Gmail for posterity. 🙂
I guess I never realized that I’m one of only 5% of dieters who have kept off the weight long-term. (Does three to four years count as long-term?) Sure, I gained back 10 of my 50; but I lost it again, plus more.
Check out the article 5 Secrets of the 5% at SparkPeople to find out how I did it. Apparently.
Actually, they’re not far off the mark. I just hadn’t thought about it.
P.S. – If anyone’s interested, I’m down to 197 lbs.
Furniture was delivered Saturday afternoon. Only major downside was that the old couch didn’t fit through the basement door, so the entire point of buying a new couch (so we could put the old one in the basement) was nullified. On the upside: we have a giant, nine-foot pillow-back sofa on which to lounge; a new, smaller dining room table with non-80’s chairs and a bench; and after our return from Nihon, we will have a new massagey recliner.
In other news, Aaron has determined the status of his passport. Due to our change in departure date, it hasn’t yet been processed, even though he applied for it back in February. It has now been expedited, and should be on its way by week’s end. Which is still calling it close, and may mean that we’ll need to obtain our Ghibli Museum vouchers after we arrive in Nihon instead of in advance.
Weight has stabilized at 198 pounds. I’m OK with that for now. Slow and steady weight loss means it’s more likely to stay off. I won’t make my goal of 190 by Japan, but so be it. I still intend to eat heartily while we’re on vacation.
I am SO almost done with my freelance project. I’m hitting some snags with programming the content management system, and I’m going to just have to set some strictures on what it can and can’t do. I can’t make it account for every possible instance of weirdness. Hopefully, the client will be accepting of that. Honestly, though, I’m really just glad to have it done. I don’t know if I’ll get the remainder of my pay by the time we leave for Japan, which is unfortunate… but, again, I’m OK with that. Between Aaron and myself, we have enough money saved up to have a sufficiently good time.
Yes, indeed… life is good.
Somehow, I really like this picture. I think the blur adds to the photo, rather than detracting from it.
I don’t remember where I got it in my head that I wanted to try to make my own mayonnaise. Might have been Alton Brown. Might have been my Cooking Club magazine. At any rate, it seemed pretty simple.
Tonight was the night I decided to go for it.
Attempt #1 began with two egg yolks, a cup and a half of olive oil, hot water, lemon juice, and seasonings. These items were poorly combined in my food processor, with oil poured in entirely too quickly, and the mayo never set up for a myriad variety of reasons. I even tried pouring it into the blender instead, to no avail. Batch #1 was a miserable failure, and went straight down the kitchen sink.
Attempt #2 began with a different recipe, from the book my Memaw bought me about a year before she died. Every time I have a stupid, basic cooking question, I crack open my copy of How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, and I say aloud, “OK, Memaw, how do you make _____?” as I flip through the index. This time, Memaw and Mr. Bittman taught me how to make a basic mayonnaise — including the proper technique.
One whole egg, ¼ cup of peanut oil (as a basic neutral oil), 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, and identical seasonings went into the blender. Then I slowly, s – l – o – w – l – y added another 3/4 cup of oil as the blender blended.
And, holy shit, I had mayonnaise.
It’s a little excessively lemony, and a little runny, so I think I know which ingredient to back off next time. That’s OK, because I’d intended this batch mainly as a base for tartar sauce; but I do want to perfect the method and the recipe before I move on to something a little different. After I get the basic thick mayo downpat, my next version will use diluted vinegar instead of lemon juice, and will include some Splenda, for a more Miracle-Whippy type of mayo.
My homemade mayo will never be like Hellmann’s, but it’s fun to make — and maybe I can stretch out our “real” mayo just a little and spice things up by having something a little different in the fridge.