Cool New Poster and Top 25 Songs

A couple weeks ago I was on a bike ride with ems and we stopped by her boys place of employment so she could visit and so I could use the lavatory. There was a most awesome poster in the bathroom and I immediately LOVED it. When I came out I asked ems boy if anyone would notice if it went missing? I received an quick response that an APB would be called out to locate any missing poster. I guess that means that they love it too. When I went home I did a quick google search and found one on Amazon for $4.49 plus shipping. I quickly purchased it and it arrived at my house on Friday.

Isn't it AWESOME! It is the only wall decoration in my bedroom. As I was admiring my new purchase I began to think of music. As many of you know I have a great love of music. I enjoy listening to it live, in my car, on my bike and at work. As a matter of fact I usually listen to my IPOD an average of six hours a day during the week.

I looked at my ITUNES account to view my top 25 played songs. I thought it was an interesting list and I should share it with you. So here goes:

1. Lucky by Jason Mraz

2. Busted by Johnny Cash

3. The Bitch of Living by Spring Awakening Cast

4. Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash

5. Dark as the Dungeon by Johnny Cash

6. I Still Miss Someone by Johnny Cash

7. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

8. Cocaine Blues by Johnny Cash

9. Jackson by Johnny Cash

10. All that's Known by Spring Awakening Cast

11. Mama who Bore Me by Spring Awakening Cast

12. Mama who Bore Me (Reprise) by Spring Awakening Cast

13. My Junk by Spring Awakening Cast

14. 25 Minutes to Go by Johnny Cash

15. Make it Mine by Jason Mraz

16. Orange Blossom Special by Johnny Cash

17. Touch Me by Spring Awakening Cast

18. Party Hard by Bennie Man

19. Laura by Scissor Sisters

20. The Long Black Veil by Johnny Cash

21. The Wall by Johnny Cash

22. The Word of Your Body by Spring Awakening Cast

23. Rehab by Amy Winehouse

24. I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick

25. Live High by Jason Mraz

I find it interesting that they are few artists represented. I am not sure I would have said that Johnny Cash is my favorite singer, but after I see that 10 of the 25 songs (40%) are by him I think that the math speaks for its self. So the next time that someone asks me who my favorite artist is I will have to sheepishly reply, Johnny Cash with the disclaimer that I don't like Country music. I find that to be somewhat of a conundrum.

I am glad that Cheap Trick had a place on the list as well. Who couldn't love the classic 70's song. I remember having the Cheap Trick at Budokan album on cassette and listening to it in my early college years.

As many of my friends will remember I dragged them on a trip to Columbus, Ohio to see a performance of Spring Awakening in early 2009. I was immediately enamored with this musical and music when I saw it on Broadway in 2009. It still rates at the top of my list of Broadway musicals. BTW...the traveling show is coming to Cincinnati later this year or early 2010 if anyone is interested in seeing it for the first time or a second go around.

I would like to get responses back from my friends, and I guess any strangers who read my blog, of their top songs. Was there any surprises from what you though of as your favorite and what was the most played? Did we have any music in common? I am going to mark my calender to do this same blog next August and see how my playlist has changed.

BTW...as I was writing this I was listening to my newly downloaded Amy Winehouse album Frank. I had no idea until this week that she had recorded anything other than Back in Black. It is a great collection of music and she has a great voice. Perhaps she could layoff a bit of the heroin to record a new album.

Throw Caution to the Wind!

Did you read my last post? If so, you must remember that my #2 Weakness was:



Strength#23 (AKA Weakness #2)

Caution, prudence, and discretion



You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.



Well it became evident that I was lacking this strength when I recount tonight's biking adventure. It all started innocently enough. Moorewrites and I decided we wanted to go biking this week and we chose to go today. We decided to meet at the 96th Street Monon parking area at 6:00pm. All went according to plan and we were on the trail riding north at 6:10. This was due to me needing to do some bike maintenance and not either of us being late ;)



We were riding and having great conversation when we hit the first obstacle, a bridge. I was aware that she doesn't like heights, but I didn't think much of that when I decided upon our route. I should have thought about it! We get to the bridge and I speed up to get some momentum and I quickly go over to the other side. I stop at the bottom of the hill and turn around and look for her. She is no where to be seen. I wait about five minutes hoping she will come, but she doesn't. I call her and when she answers I ask if she is coming. She said she was not going to go over the bridge. So I think that I said something like "Get the Fu*k over the bridge!" in an exasperated tone of voice. I have to say that cursing at her didn't help the situation.



I ask her to get off of the monon and cross the street, but she doesn't see an exit. I said wait there and I will come and find her. I get off of the trail, cross W. Carmel Drive and look for an entrance to the Monon. Guess What...there isn't an access point on both sides, just the North side. I ride my bike through a parking lot and then through a dry ditch until I finally find her. But we have an obstacle. There is a 4.5 foot wooden railing that is preventing her from getting off of the trail. I think for a moment, and I tell her to lift her bike and I will lift it to the other side. I figured if I got her bike over, I could somehow manage to get her over too. I want you to picture this. Both of us have very little upper arm strength and the fence reaches my shoulder area, so I have to reach very high to get the bike over the fence. Somehow we manage it.



Next we need to get Moorewrites to the other side. I suggest that she walk through the brush but she doesn't think that is a great idea. I then suggest she climbs under the railing and scoot on her bottom. She hedges a bit, but then decides that looks like the best option. Did I mention that she is wearing a white T-Shirt? The back of the shirt was no longer so bright when she was done.



After our 15 minute obstacle we continue on our ride North and we made it to the end and past 146th Street. It was a beautiful ride and the weather was very nice. As we were riding I began to get hungry and I suggest that we stop for dinner at Bubs. Moorewrites agrees and we stop on our way back South. We have a fabulous dinner and when we were paying I look up and discover that it is getting pretty dark outside. I look at my watch and to my astonishment it is 8:30. The time just gets away from me when I am biking.



We begin to hurry as we are quickly loosing daylight and we know that we need to take a detour to skip the bridge in Carmel. I ask the server and she suggests that we take Rangeline road down to 116th Street and access the Monon there. That worked out great and there were nice sidewalks for us to ride on the entire time. As we reenter the Monon it was now completely dark. The darkness is doubled by the large quantity of trees that line the Monon as well as a large cloud cover in the sky. We begin to get a bit scared as we cannot see very far in front of ourselves. I have never rode in such a dark scenario. It was not pleasant. You cold hear the frogs croaking and the grasshoppers making their nighttime sound.



We began to ride faster and the bugs were entering our area in droves. I kept feeling them hit various parts of my body as I was riding. I really don't like the bugs and it was kind of gross. I imagine that there are dead bug carcases on my various body parts. YUCK!



We make it back to our cars safely and without incident. But you can see I was missing a bit of caution on this ride. Perhaps we shouldn't have tried to break off of the Monon and lift the bike over the railing. Perhaps we shouldn't have stopped for dinner. Perhaps we should have had lights for our bikes.



Even though I make fun of you....this is why I need to hang out with my cautious friends. We balance each other out. I get you to spread your wings and you get me to close mine a bit. Thanks for that even though I roll my eyes a bit.

Authentic Happiness

The auxiliary book club that I belong to read the book, "Authentic Happiness" by Martin E.P. Seligman. This was not the type of book that I would ordinarily read but Nicole really wanted us to read and then discuss it. I am glad that I stuck with it and finished the book and I learned a couple new thing about myself in the process.

We had to take a quiz that evaluated our strengths and weaknesses. His theorized that the utilization of your strengths will make you a happier person and give you a more fulfilling life. The following list details out my greatest strengths an weakness.


Your Top Strength
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

Your Second Strength
Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Your Third Strength
Humor and playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

Your Fourth Strength
Industry, diligence, and perseverance
You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project, you "get it out the door" in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks.

Your Fifth Strength
Zest, enthusiasm, and energy
Regardless of what you do, you approach it with excitement and energy. You never do anything halfway or halfheartedly. For you, life is an adventure.

Strength#6
Leadership
You excel at the tasks of leadership: encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by making everyone feel included. You do a good job organizing activities and seeing that they happen.

Strength#7
Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness
You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.

Strength#8
Kindness and generosity
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Strength#9
Bravery and valor
You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Strength#10
Forgiveness and mercy
You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge.

Strength#11
Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind.

Strength#12
Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty
You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate, you always do your share, and you work hard for the success of your group.

Strength#13
Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.

Strength#14
Creativity, ingenuity, and originality
Thinking of new ways to do things is a crucial part of who you are. You are never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible.

Strength#15
Fairness, equity, and justice
Treating all people fairly is one of your abiding principles. You do not let your personal feelings bias your decisions about other people. You give everyone a chance.

Strength#16
Modesty and humility
You do not seek the spotlight, preferring to let your accomplishments speak for themselves. You do not regard yourself as special, and others recognize and value your modesty.

Strength#17
Perspective (wisdom)
Although you may not think of yourself as wise, your friends hold this view of you. They value your perspective on matters and turn to you for advice. You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and to yourself.

Strength#18
Social intelligence
You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to fit in to different social situations, and you know what to do to put others at ease.

Strength#19
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Strength#20
Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Strength#21
Capacity to love and be loved
You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Strength#22
Self-control and self-regulation
You self-consciously regulate what you feel and what you do. You are a disciplined person. You are in control of your appetites and your emotions, not vice versa.

Strength#23
Caution, prudence, and discretion
You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.

Strength#24
Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith
You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you.


Lets start with the unpleasant first:

Strength#21 (AKA Weakness)
Capacity to love and be loved

I was very shocked to learn that this was so low on the list at number 21. The reason that this is so low has to do with the second portion of the description. The capacity to be loved. This kind of sucks for me, but I do think that it is true. I do tend to avoid relationships. I don't think that I really like this about myself, but I am also not sure what I need to change to fix it. In our group "therapy" session we have determined that it is associated with my childhood and subsequent upbringing. I don't think that I like that this was pointed out.

Strength#18 Social intelligence

I find it interesting that this category was very low. I am a very social person, but I realize that isn't what makes this one of my weaknesses. I think that I have made significant strides in this area but I still have a hard time communicating with people. We spoke about how hard it is for me to tell people about things that are upsetting me. I usually bottle them up and then let the pressure build until I explode. I don't think that this is the best way to handle my various relationships but it is what I do.

An example would be when I was in NY with AL and I was upset that she was always walking faster than me and often three steps in front of me. I chose to keep the anger and hurt feelings to myself and I did not tell her on the first day and I would like her to walk next to me. If I had done that I wouldn't have been as mad on the third day and said it in a negative way. I will try to learn from this situation, but I know I like to avoid uncomfortable situations. I also realize that I get the same results when I avoid them.

I feel like the items listed as strengths are spot on and are very telling of who "Candace" is. I was just taking to moorewrites tonight about school, and if it was paid for I would definitely go back for my doctorate. However, I also know that I do not need school in order to learn. I seek those things out every day. I guess this explains why the History Channel is my favorite TV station.

I challenge you to go to this website and take the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. If you do, please report to me your findings. I am very interested.

I Won….I Won…I Won

I participated in a weight loss and activity challenge that my company sponsored over the last ten weeks and I WON second place. I am so very excited about my accomplishment. Yes, I am bragging!

The program was designed to incorporate more activity into your daily life, while also being rewarded for weight loss. Every activity had to be converted into steps via a standardized chart I obtained from a website. There was a maximum amount of 70,000 steps that each person could earn each week, but there was two opportunities for bonus steps. The first way was to attend a Wednesday lunch time 30 minute walk. The leader of the walk wore a pedometer and the final tally of steps were allowed above your maximum steps each week. Secondly, there was a designated activity each week that you could participate in that would allow you steps above your maximum. Each week it was different as to try to reach a variety of people and interests. Some examples were house cleaning, tennis (I asked a friend to play tennis this week, but she ignored my text), walking, swimming and bike riding. I cleaned up on the bike riding week. That week gave me an opportunity to even the playing field for the walkers/runners who got tons of steps that week.

There were two sets of winners for this challenge, Jackpot and Wellness. The Jackpot participants paid a $10 entrance fee and were allocated a larger percentage of the company funds. The wellness participants did not pay a fee and were allocated a smaller percentage of the pot.

The weight loss component of the challenge stated that every pound lost would gain you 20,000 extra steps. There was only two weigh in’s during this challenge, one the first week and one at the end. I lost a total of 9.5 lbs in this ten week period and it allotted me an extra 190,000 steps.

I have been on the wellness committed for the last year and a half at work, I have participated in every quarterly challenge, and this was the first time that I have ever placed. I am so proud of myself. The second thing is I beat one of the most athletic people in our company. There was a possibility that I might have gloating a bit today ;) I am not sure he was too happy about that. In the ten week challenge I accumulated a total of 1,031,267 steps.

1,187,250 1st Jackpot
1,031,267 2nd Jackpot
822,884 3rd Jackpot
769,442
516,376
426,656
103,205
26,343
16,192

1,019,645 1st Wellness
398,453 2nd Wellness
203,807 3rd Wellness
120,000
79,690
75,703
19,902

This is how the steps worked out for the participants of the challenge. I am so glad that I worked so hard toward this challenge this summer.

Yea to Biking….that is what helped me win the $138.

PS…I did take my brother out to lunch to celebrate today. Ok…I might have owed him a lunch….but still…I did pay for his.

My Obsession with Broadway

I had an excellent time in NYC this past weekend. I enjoyed spending time with AL as well as seeing new things. So this is the Good the Bad and the Ugly of my trip.

The hotel had feather pillows. I DETEST feather pillows. I can never get comfortable using them and I don’t think that they are very supportive. I always feel like my big giant head falls through the layer of feathers and ends up flat on the bed. I couldn’t get rid of them. I called the desk people to request non feather pillows and they said sure no problem. But, that is not what was delivered to our room. I just decided to live with it…and by live with it I mean complain about it every day until we left.

When we checked in our hotel they only had rooms with 1 King bed so we had to share. That ended up being fine but at first we considered getting a roll away bed for our tiny room and I thought that was just going to be way too crowded. One King bed is plenty big enough for two people.

When both were starving when we arrived at the hotel so as soon as we were settled in, we headed out to the closest café to enjoy a delicious lunch. I didn’t anticipate how costly this lunch was going to be. The place was called Lindy’s and the food was fine enough but seriously overpriced. A fountain Diet Coke was $4.95. How could they charge that. It seemed outrageous. I ordered a Cheeseburger and fries and that was $16.95. Let me tell you this was not the kind of place you would expect to pay $16.95 for a cheeseburger. It was simply a casual diner that was vastly overpriced. My food was good and played a large part in elevating my mood but we never went back to the diner. If we had just walked a bit more we could have found a much better place. O well…that is what we get for being tourists.

The Plays:

This is the main focus of our trip to NYC. AL and I both love musicals and especially the Broadway musical. We both spent large quantities of time pouring over the Broadway.com website trying to decide what plays we should see. It took some time but these were our final choices:

Hair (2)
Next to Normal (1)
Rock of Ages (4)
West Side Story (3)

They are listed in the order in which we saw them and the number next to the name indicates my order of favorites. We saw Hair first and it was a good way to start off our weekend. I enjoyed the music, costumes as well as the energy in the room. The actors used the entire theatre and were often mingling with the audience. During the first act the main character heckled the latecomers as they were arriving. I am very glad that I arrived on time. I am probably going to download this musical to my IPOD and might at some point be found singing to the songs. AL and I decided that we wanted to make this trip as cheap as possible so we decided to purchase the lowest price tickets. I regretted it in this instance as it was a gigantic theatre and we were in the very back row. I felt that the acoustics were not very good in the back of the room and I often had a hard time understanding what the actors were saying and singing. The next time I would choose a middle of the road ticket..

Next to Normal was next and this was a new musical. The lead female character had just won this year’s Tony for best singer. She was dynamite. This musical was very dark and delved into tough topics. It was about a women who was manic depressive and how she related to her husband and child(ren). The musical took her through the many phases of her disease and had a fairly surprise ending. I thought all of the music fit the story and all of the actors did a fabulous job. This was my favorite show while we were there. This was AL least favorite show as she didn’t really like the subject matter.

Rock of Ages was our Saturday afternoon show. When we arrived the theatre had a party atmosphere and the audience was very lively. It was like being at a 1980’s rock concert. This musical showcased Constantine Maroulis from American Idol as the lead male character. This musical utilized the songs from 1980’s hair bands to tell the simple love story. The whole thing was kind of cheesy but I did smile throughout the entire performance. I am glad that I went but I cannot imagine ever seeing this show again.

Our final show on Saturday night was West Side Story. This was the show that AL was the most excited to see. The dancing was terrific but I found that the singing was just OK. I expected more from a Broadway performance. The other thing that annoyed me was that the Hispanic characters spoke in Spanish in the play. I found this very aggravating since I don’t understand Spanish. They even sang some of the songs in Spanish and that included my favorite WSS song "I Feel Pretty". I was very disappointed. I think that the men were cast to look tough and to dance but they were not necessarily the best actors or singers. I guess it is hard to find that perfect combination of traits.

Due to our extravagant Broadway habit we tried to make the rest of our time in NYC very low key and cheap. On Friday we took a cab to the lower East side Tenement Museum. This was a very excellent and interactive tour. They took us through two typical Tenement apartments and told us stories of the people who lived there and how there life was back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They have six different tours and I would like to go on more of them upon later visits.

After the museum visit we had planned to eat at a famous NY Pizza place in Little Italy. I was very excited to try some “special” pizza but I was very disappointed. I just didn’t find it very good or tasty as well as the restaurant was very bossy. My $3 fountain Diet Coke didn’t include free refills and they didn’t take any credit cards. I just don’t like it when restaurants have so many rules. I am the customer after all….shouldn’t they be trying to please me and not the other way around.

Next we walked through some shops and then over to China town. I didn’t really find China town that interesting and it was kind of smelly. But they were selling fake purses on the street. They had this laminated card that had photos of their stock and you could choose the one you liked, negotiate the price and then they would be back in five minutes with your new purse. I didn’t buy one as I didn’t find anything that was appealing to me.

We then took a cab the gigantic Macy’s store. I have never been in one store that is so big. The store took up two 8 floor buildings with a gamut of merchandise. I looked through the purse section and I decided I wasn’t willing to part with so much of my money for a purse. I also looked in the bedding section for new sheets to the same result. I just hate overpaying for stuff. I ended up purchasing a three pack of athletic socks and sitting in the starbuck’s texting my friends as I waited for AL to finish her shopping.

I decided to go to the Guggenheim museum on Saturday morning before our first play and AL apparently didn’t get enough of Macy’s on Friday so she headed back to make some additional purchases. I enjoyed seeing this Frank Lloyd Wright building and it's beautiful architecture. They had a display of his drawing's to a variety of his famous houses and buildings as well as some models. They also had some 1800 and 1900 paintings and that ended up being my favorite part of the museum. I wouldn’t like to go to museum's every day, but being in such a smaller place is much less overwhelming than large colossus museums like the Louver.

I was on my own on Sunday prior to my flight as AL had to leave the hotel at 9:30am to go to the airport. I decided to rent a bike and tour central park. I wasn’t disappointed. I found it very beautiful and full of life and interesting characters. I ended up on a horrible and cheap mountain bike that wouldn’t change gears. But it gave me a great appreciation for my beautiful bike at home. The park has a 4.5 paved road around the outside of the park with various paths that cut through the middle. There are only certain places that you could ride the bikes in the park as most of it is designated for walkers and runners. The park included several ball fields as wells as a gigantic public pool. I also discovered a trio of Jazz musicians giving a free concert so I took a seat and absorbed the atmosphere for several minutes.

This was a good visit and loads of great things to see. I am so very glad that I had the opportunity to go back this year. I hope AL and I can make this an annual pilgrimage to see great Musicals.

Purple Rain

While I was at work today I decided to listen to Princes breakthrough album Purple Rain. It is funny how you can listen to music from your past and it brings back so many memories. This was the first "Album" (An actual album...not a CD or Cassette tape) that I ever owned. I actually acquired it at the same time as a Twisted Sister's album that included "Smoking in the Boys Room". I believe that I was in the fifth grade when I learned to love music.

I listened to this album allot. Seriously...everyone in my family was sick of it. I have owned multiple copies of this through the years. I know I owed it several times on cassette tape and later on CD. I would ware them out.

I usually listen to music in album form and very rarely use the shuffle feature. So I was very familiar to this album while I was listening and the progression of songs it included. When it got to the song "Darling Nikki", I had a special smile come to my face as I remembered how my friends and I knew (ummm...I still know) all of the words to this song and how BAD ASS we felt by singing these controversial lyrics. BTW...this was one of the songs that spurred the movement to create the parental advisory labels we now see on CD's

As I finished listening to this song I expected the album to be over and I was a bit surprised when the next tune started. Then it hit me. Duh...when I owned the album it did end and you had to flip it over to side two. Such a revelation, I couldn't imagine having to flip my IPOD over. Most of the music that is currently on my IPOD I never owned in album form. I wouldn't think that it is over until I had listened to all of the songs. I have only had the classic album experience a few times in my life when I was fairly young.

So thank you Prince for giving me so many great childhood memories and happy 25th anniversary on the release of Purple Rain. BTW...the anniversary was June 25, 2009 the day of Farrah and Michael's tragic demise.

Please reminisce with me over these classic songs:

Side one
"Let's Go Crazy" – 4:39
"Take Me with U" – 3:54
"The Beautiful Ones" – 5:13
"Computer Blue" – 3:59
"Darling Nikki" – 4:14


Side two
"When Doves Cry" – 5:54
"I Would Die 4 U" – 2:49
"Baby I'm a Star" – 4:24
"Purple Rain" – 8:41

Zing Restaurant

I went out to dinner with two friends and a new acquaintance on Friday night to a newish restaurant in Indianapolis called Zing. It was divine. As most of you are aware I LOVE food and especially good food.

This was a modern restaurant that serves tapas type dishes with an infusion influence. Interestingly they change their menu every two weeks but my favorite dish has been on their menu since they opened.

Three of us shared the following dishes while we sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful Friday evening:

warmed goat cheese served with tomato

This was OK but it lacked a bit of flavor...I liked this option at Barcelona Tapas much better. They also didn't serve nearly enough bread with this item.

fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and peas

Divine, mouth watering and a delight to eat. The sauce was very tasty and even though it was fried it appeared to be very light.

stuffed medjool dates with chorizosausage and bacon

This is my new FAVORITE food. I loved it and I could have eaten a second order of this myself. As it was there was four of them served and three of us eating...I was sure to grab the extra portion. I have thought about this all weekend. I would go back to the restaurant just to eat this again.

bombay turkey mini burgers withcurried onion, sliced jicama

This had tons of flavor and a nice spicy kick. I didn't even think about it being turkey as I was eating it. Who doesn't love a good mini burger.

grilled mahi mahi tacos with avocadocream, jicama slaw, cilantro pesto

This was good but in comparison to some of the other dishes it lacked a bit of a punch.

For dessert we shared bread pudding with fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream.

I don't normally like bread pudding but I sure cleaned my plate. It had loads of flavor and I enjoyed every mouthful. This was the right portion for the three of us to share. I like the Tapas restaurant concept because I always like to try so many different foods.

My total bill for these shared items including fountain diet Coke and tip was $27. I feel that was a fair price to pay for this up scale dining establishment.

Nutrition

Sorry for the delay in this post, since I didn't do very well the last week I avoided this post. So now I have two weeks worth of information. As usual...my biggest challenge was staying withing my daily calories.

BTW....Do not track is a euphemism for overeating.

.8 lb loss in the last two weeks

Monday 7/20

2183 Calories

Personal Training
50 Min
325 Calories
HR Zone 5 Min

Tuesday 7/21

2113 Calories

Biking 1 Hour 40 Minutes
906 Calories
53 Minutes in HR Zone

Wednesday 7/22

2593 Calories

Thursday 07/23

2715 Calories

Biking 1 Hour 20 Minutes
605 Calories
12 Min HR Zone

Friday 07/24

Did not Track

Saturday 07/25

3054 Calories

Biking 2 Hours 57 Minutes
1582 Calories
HR Zone 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Sunday 07/26

Did not Track

Monday 07/27

2130 Calories

Tuesday 07/28

3110 Calories
I ate out every meal this day.

Wednesday 07/29

2005 Calories

Walked 42 Minutes
284 Calories burned
HR Zone 4 Minutes

Thursday 07/30

1975 Calories

Personal Training 45 Minutes
310 Calories Burned
HR Zone 5 Minutes

Friday 07/31

2425 Calories

Saturday 08/01

2200 Calories

Biking 4 Hours 59 Minutes (I swear that I am not making this up)
I biked 42 miles this day! I feel that this was a great accomplishment. My legs are still sore.

2765 Calories Burned
2 Hours 56 Minutes in HR Zone

Sunday 08/02

I am at 1593 Calories but I am going to have another small snack in a few minutes.

Biking 1 Hour 44 Minutes
Calories Burned 817
HR Zone 20 Minutes
I was dragging a bit today as my quads were like jello.

I am going to to on a trip next week for four days to NYC so my diet will be a challenge. Not impossible but a challenge.