January 1st, Time To Start Over

This title has so many meaning it isn't funny. I am and have started over in a lot of things since my last post.

I Lost my Job last year as many of you know and then started a new one(Starting Over). I went from being a COBOL Programmer to being a tech support person. I really like the people at my new job and the job it's self is ok. It can get a little annoying at times dealing with people but over all I have a good time at work.

I also started taking classes again at night to learn some more updated programming languages(Starting Over). I am hoping to parlay these classes into a new job programming again in 2012(Starting Over). I have found that I really miss programming since I lost my Job in February of 2011. I didn't realize how much until I started taking the programming classes again. I found that I was enjoying my homework I was doing at lunch more then I was my job I was doing the rest of the day. Also the extra money programmers make over tech Support people would be nice as well.

My wife and I also decided in July to sell our house and move in to something smaller(Starting Over). This was because of two thing When we bought the house we have now we thought we would be having kids. As tings turned out the kids thing did not work out for reasons out side of our control. The other reason was that I am making less money at my new job and things are tight so a smaller mortgage payment would really be nice. We spent almost 4 months cleaning the basement out, having garage sales and redecorating the house before we put it on the market. We got it on the market in mid-November. We have not had any offers but we have had a good number of people come look at the house. We have also spent a lot of time looking at houses to buy so if someone does make an offer we are ready to move on a new house as soon as it happens.

Lastly I am Starting Over on my weight lose goals. Before I lost my job I had been doing a great job of eating good and exercising to lose weight. I am going to do that again this year. Unfortunately I d not have a nice exercise facility at this new job so I am still working out how I am going to get in good exercise but I will let you know what I do to help with that. My wife and I are also going to focus very heavily on staying at home to eat as much as we can.

So you can expect to see a lot of stuff on here. I will be posting my daily exercise and food diary for you. Also I will have my weekly weigh ins on Sunday. I will also sprinkle in some stuff about selling our house, and going back to school and maybe even looking for and starting a new job if I am lucky.

March 3rd Food Diary

I didn't have an interview today but instead I laid in bed watching Sports Center on ESPN until I had to get ready to go to my meeting at 10 a.m.

For lunch I made some scrambled eggs and sprinkled them with the last of the ground sausage I had from last night. I used six eggs and it really hit the spot. Then in the afternoon I had a cup of yogurt.

March 3rd Exercise Diary

Walked outside for thirty minutes today. I walked up to the school and back and did three light jogs while I was walking. When I got back I did 4 sets of six sit ups and six push ups. That made four days walking this week so I am very proud of my self. Now to keep it going.

I also went to the grocery store and got some food for the next week this afternoon. I know it isn't intense walking but it is still walking. :o)

March 2nd Food Diary

I had another interview this morning so I didn't eat any breakfast again. I don;t have an interview tomorrow morning so I will get some breakfast and a cup of coffee in tomorrow morning I hope.

For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again today and a glass of water. Then in the afternoon I had a cup of yogurt.

For supper I tried to make a pizza but things didn't go as planned. The pizza crust was suppose to spread in a pan then you put on our sauce and toppings but for some reason my crust wouldn't stretch right and kept tearing. Finally after it was well beyond mutilated I gave up on the crust. That was when my wife had the idea to use the four hamburger buns we had to make eight mini pizzas. It worked out well, we placed the buns on a baking sheet and put pizza sauce on the top and the bottom of the buns. Then we added pork sausage (The pork browned in the microwave),pepperoni (we bought turkey pepperoni at the store this week so it is a little healthier) and cheese. Then we put them in the oven for about 5 minutes then turned on the broiler for another minute or two. They came out tasting great. After supper I had a bit of a binge attack and ate two bags of microwave popcorn while we watched TV. Take out the late night popcorn binge and I was really happy with my day.

March 2nd Exercise Diary

Today I did a 30 minute walk up to the school and back. I did three jogging stints on the walk. It was a little cool today (30 degrees) especially when I was walking into the wind but it was sunny so I couldn't resist getting outside. When I got back I did four sets of six sit ups and six push ups. I didn't do much house work today other then dishes because I had some paper work to fill out for a meeting I have tomorrow. I am meeting with a lady about taking some classes to brush up on some of my programming skills I haven't used in awhile at the local community college.

March 1st Food Diary

I skipped breakfast today because I had an interview this morning and I didn't want to foul my breath up. The interview went good, i don;t know if I was exactly what they were looking for but I feel that I can learn it and I think they liked me and what experience i did have to offer. Being my first interview I was very pleased with it and I am even more ready for the next one tomorrow.

For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again. It tasted great and I love the crunch of the crunchy peanut butter. I also had some tortilla chips and salsa after my sandwich.

This afternoon I had a cup of yogurt after I did some cleaning.

For supper I made Runza casserole with ground turkey instead of hamburger. It was so good that I broke down and had two plates of it. Unfortunately that means no left overs for lunch.

Runza Casserole

1lb Hamburger
1/3 of head of cabbage (finely chopped) or 1 bag of shredded green cabbage from store
minced onion (to taste)
Lawry's seasoning salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
little garlic Powder- I just shake some in
2 tubes of croissant rolls
sliced or shredded cheese

Brown the hamburger w/ the seasonings. Add in the cabbage when hamburger is basically browned (I usually drain it first) and cover the skillet to let it steam. Stir occasionally because the cabbage sticks to the pan. I usually add a little more seasoning salt and pepper. Spread one tube of crossiant rolls flat in the bottom of the pan 9x13 pour in the cabbage/meat mix - cover with cheese then put the other tube of croissant rolls on top. Bake 350 for about 15-20 minutes - until top is browned.

Note: One thing that I have started doing since I had trouble getting the bottom crust cooked through is to put the first tube of crossiant rolls in and then stick it in the oven for about 4-5 minutes to start it baking and then put the meat/cabbage mix on it.

March 1st Exercise Diary

I went on a 30 minute walk again today. I walked by the school near our house again, this time making sure it was earlier so all the parents weren't sitting around watching. I added a few light jogs into the mix today. They winded me a little but it felt good. When I got back I did four sets of six sit ups and six total push ups. I know it seems like a small amount of sit ups and push ups but I am trying to work myself into them. I also did some dishes, folded blankets and sheets and picked up the living room. Now I am going to relaxe and get ready to make some supper in a couple of hours.