But a Big Mac meal, not supersized or anything, and a 99 cent cheeseburger came to almost 8 dollars? Wha-huh?

The drink alone was like a $1.60. And the thing is, I had just gone to the grocery store and bought two twelve packs of Diet Pepsi for $3 each. And I had three two-liters of Diet Pepsi still in the back of my car because they had a buy two get three free sale a couple of weeks ago. Did I wipe out all my savings on this one Diet Coke at McDonald’s? It honestly depressed me a little. Being depressed in a depression, bummer.

Not only was it expensive, it was gross. I can’t believe I used to eat that. I mean seriously, yuck.

The good news is I bought a head of lettuce at the grocery store for under a dollar. I confess, I had been buying that pre-made salad. I finally realized it wasn’t that convenient, and worse, it seemed to go bad a day after you opened it. I cut a wedge off the head of lettuce to eat tonight, and when I cut into it, this aroma of fresh goodness was produced. It was amazing. And the texture of the lettuce was crisp and juicy.

Now, people make fun of me, but I’m very sensitive to these things. The quality of the aroma, texture, and flavor of this lettuce was truly amazing compared to the bagged salad. It’s a little thing, but a little thing that made a very hectic day much better!

Kody is bringing so much learning to my life that I would have not experienced without kids. I relate so much better to people with kids now, and have had a number of very touching conversations with my Mom and sisters about that. We’ve connected on a whole new level. It’s nice to have some greater shared experiences.

Kody has helped me be more patient, above all else. I am so thankful for that and it’s affecting all the other parts of my life. I’m a cleaner person because of Kody. It’s important that the floors are clean, and that there’s nothing potentially dangerous within his reach. I’m better at managing my time. I now cook a meal for me when I cook for him. I schedule new toys and treats around times I need him to be self sufficient. And if I need to work at the desk, Kody is better off if he’s tired or occupied with a toy, so that affects my time management decisions.

At the same time I’m learning to eat like a bodybuilder in a way that’s maintainable and running my business. I’ll tell you, for someone who’s not going to work every day (although I certainly work every day) I am busier than I ever have been in my life. Running a business is at least twice as hard as working at a job. For every hour you work, there’s an hour of administration or sales and marketing. On top of that there are two hours of what could basically be described as technical and design research, reading, and practice. But it’s a blast.

Up until last week I had basically stopped taking my vitamins. I was just tired of taking so many pills. The multivitamin pack I was using had like eight pills alone. But I felt bad about it, but not bad enough to start taking them again. When I was at Costco the other day, I decided to get some chewable vitamins. They are yummy, and it’s better than nothing. It turns out that one chewable is the right amount for an adult. I also got some Vitamin C chewables. And finally I got a really good B vitamin called the B-50 High Energy Complex that has tons of B vitamins in it. B vitamins are believed to create energy, but for me, they also play a key part in protein synthesis. It’s not a chewable, but if it’s just that one pill, I can handle it. Now I look forward to taking my vitamins.

Lately I have been incredibly productive. It’s a nice change, but I seem to be busy 24 hours a day.

The last task of the night was to make some brown rice that cooked while I grilled some chicken and made a salad which I then ate while I watched Jeopardy. I definitely am mastering the art of fitting things in like my time is a puzzle. I bake brown rice because it’s the easiest way and I end up with the best rice. Rice cookers always seem to mess it up, even if they have a brown rice setting.

Rice is too cumbersome to make just for a meal so I make a bunch in advance. The problem with making rice of any kind in advance is that when it’s done cooking it’s a big brick of heat and it takes forever to cool. I never end up eating any when I actually cook it. So I have this problem that the brown rice is so hot and I’m concerned about bacteria. If I put it in the fridge or freezer it heats them up, which is not the goal. Alton Brown says to use a bag of ice and an ice chest for such occasions but that is much to difficult. So tonight I just scooped the rice out of the baking dish onto a cookie sheet and spread it out. By the time I was done cleaning the baking dish a few minutes later the rice was the perfect temperature to put in containers and freeze.

All my work in the kitchen and the rice made Kody think I was cooking him a second lunch, so he was sitting around in the kitchen waiting for it. Poor little guy.

Kody and I are back at Bridle Trails. He can’t take the heat of direct sunlight for more than five minutes really. So that makes Bridle Trails perfect for sunny days. It’s shady and cool and when it’s warm the trails are dry instead of muddy and the horse poop dries faster. He loves it.

Things have been crazy and full of change lately. I think in a good way overall. My diet is better than ever and I don’t have to force myself to do it so much anymore. I had to take a break from the constant eating. It became unmaintainable. I started eating junk and got fat, but started really investigating how to do my diet without crisis. Slowly but surely I found ways to cook foods I like. I make my own burger when I need one, and mine are healthy. I’ve found different ways of dealing with my cravings and my own food personality. Sometimes it means going to Dairy Queen if I have to.

I realized that if I’m going to do this for the rest of my life, it can’t be such a struggle. I’ve found the healthy foods I like, and I’ve learned to find healthy cheat foods as well that I actually prefer. For instance, let’s say I’m having a lazy moment and just want to go through a drive through and get a chicken sandwich. I’ll forgo the fries because I’ve got the Costco pack of Sun Chips at home which I actually like better than fries. I’ve actually thrown fries in the trash! I used to hate Sun Chips, but now I love them. Eating healthy is like drinking Diet Coke. You start and it’s really weird, but after a while you really do prefer it.

I have said it before, and I’ll say it forever. The hardest part of bodybuilding, or any lifelong exercise routine, is eating. I pressed on through for over a year until one day I just could stand the thought of chicken, or beef, or eggs, or any food. I wanted to not eat, anything, at all. I now despise fast food, however it works its way in when I am lazy about cooking.

So that’s what I’m up to now. Sort of being patient while I learn to eat bodybuilding style in a realistic way, that is, in a way where I like food. The progress is slow, but positive. I recently learned that french toast was a breakfast food that I could really love. Just organic wheat bread dipped in scrambled egg mixed with cinnamon. Then a spray of pam and fried. Top with sugar free syrup and yum!

I also like cream of rice, but something happened to all of the cream of rice everywhere. Seriously, it started cooking oddly and tasting bad. Conspiracy? Well actually, it probably is, but I found some organic cream of brown rice at PCC. I haven’t tried it yet but I have high hopes.

Obviously, the set of foods I need to eat isn’t going to change, so food form is a lot of it. The french toast is the same foods I would have eaten, only better. I realized that I’ve always loved chopped salads, but never thought to chop my salads at home. So now I do, and it’s that much better. Now salad isn’t the best vegetable, but at least it’s progress, and it’s certainly not bad.

Recently I’ve been having some workout breakthroughs as well. Having the visibility into the bodybuilding community that I have, I see all sorts of people bodybuild for a year or two, then quit. But I love it, and I firmly believe you have to stick to it. There are going to road blocks and lots of learning. My arm and back workouts have been great lately. I was having a problem because of actually having a spotter. For arms I have to do at least eight reps without a spot. And with back it has to be twelve. The thing is, the first 4 reps or so result in reduced energy. Around 4 to 6 reps I get a second burst of energy and a spot too close to that time will prevent that energy from being released. I don’t want Michal to even move toward the weights until the right time. What a diva.

The thing is, before I figured that out, I was very frustrated. I felt like my workouts just weren’t going well. But I knew I had to fix it, because I knew I wanted to do this. But it just takes time to figure it out.

This is a post about pans. When my dachshund Kody’s brother Flex came to stay with us for the weekend, I wanted to get another small nonstick pan so I could cook his and Kody’s food at the same time. Yes, I could have cooked it all in one big pan, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to get more small nonstick pans because they’re great for pancakes. Making one pancake at a time goes awfully slow, so armed with my 20% off coupons I headed over to Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Upon entering the store, I was greeted with a display of nicely marketed Cuisinart pans. I was drawn to them. They offered a new kind of non-stick coating, not teflon, and could be heated up to 500 degrees, much hotter than my pans would ever get. It was also a green non-stick coating that would not release harmful vapors into your food or anything else for that matter. I had always been concerned about this with teflon. They were called Cuisinart Green Gourmet pans. And after an in-store investigation and product comparison that would make even David Bates weary, I was sold.

The inside coating of the pans is ceramic. It has some name like ceramicon or something, but I’ve thrown out the packaging. But it’s nonstick in a whole different way than teflon. Remember how you were kind of amazed when you first used teflon? It’s like that, but totally different. You have to try it to see. The texture makes you think things are going to stick, but then nothing does. It’s not oily feeling like teflon which gives you the impression the things won’t stick, it just feels like smooth ceramic.

Also, you know how with teflon some things stick a little? Well, nothing sticks to this. But it doesn’t levitate off the pans, or slide around all crazy like mercury, it just doesn’t stick. Also, the heat distribution and retention is better than other pans I’ve used. So much so that I’d notice something like heat distribution and retention. So I went back and got a 12″ frying pan and an 11″ square grill pan. Now these two pans were pretty pricey, even with the 20% off. The 12″ frying pan is the most expensive piece, priced at $70.00 before discount. But it was worth it. In the last couple of years I’ve gone through two expensive Calphalon non-stick grill pans. But after one use I can see this grill pan is different. The teflon still sticks if it gets to hot and when I cook with sticky teriyaki sauce on the chicken. But not the Green Gourmet, I barely had to wash it. Amazing.

Anyway, these pans are worth the price and oddly only seem to be available at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Also, as far as I can tell nobody else makes a pan with this coating. I highly recommend them. Go get the small one just to try it which costs $20 after discount. Everyone can use an extra small frying pan.

I got the “bargain” bed, but the guy said if it didn’t work out I could just bring it back. Very Nordstrom of them. Apparently they also liberally give out samples of the food they sell so you can find out what your dog likes best before committing. At least you get service for your money. I may choose my dogfood there and then order online.

All the brands of dog food there come in beautiful full color glossy (literally) packages. Some brands hint of royalty. It’s all organic. But I had to laugh that one of the brands was Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance. Nice, maybe this will help Kody get a guest appearance on The Love Boat. If you haven’t been, you have to go. You’ll want to move in.

First of all, it’s liquid, not a shake, which makes it very easy to drink. Second, it literally tasted like a fuzzy navel. So I went to The Health Pantry tonight and bought some. I bought Roadside Lemonade. I tried to make a slushie out of it. It tasted good, but there’s no need to make it complicated. Next time I’ll just add water and be done with it. I’m so happy.

Freaky Wheels will be going away soon. I was talking to Michal about how once you get into bodybuilding there isn’t much to talk about anymore. Pro bodybuilders just go into their caves, come out for contests but don’t talk to each other, then go back to their caves. I figured it would be like the gay community and the contests would be like circuit parties, but it’s totally not that. Once you know what you’re doing it’s just more of the same, so there isn’t much new to talk about. But diet is the one thing that has to change from time to time to prevent boredom. So I’ve moved to baking instead of grilling or frying (with just a spray of pam) my chicken. It’s easier and you can make more at once. I just took some garlic hoisin chicken out of the oven and it smells so good.

Michal is pretty well into his diet for the Europa Super Show. It’s a process that’s amazing to watch. I’m glad I’m getting a chance to see him diet before I have to do it. Today he said to me, “When you’re on the bike crying and the only thing keeping you there is sheer willpower, that’s when you’ll be a true bodybuilder.” Um, yikes.

By the way, this is only a bodybuilder thing, this type of work is completely unnecessary, must be accompanied by a perfect diet and the advice of a professional trainer, and would absolutely just get in the way of your goals unless you’re competing. So if you’re reading this don’t go crazy doing cardio because you’re interpreting this as advice, it’s absolutely not. Seeing Michal doing so much, I asked if I should up my cardio and he said absolutely not, and I am actually trying to be a bodybuilder.

We worked back together today and he seemed to be doing pretty well until the very end of the workout when he was pretty tired. He does more a few more sets than me at this point because some of the exercises he does are only for pre-contest preparation.

I’m on a strict diet this week until Sunday. I’m getting kinda huge in a good way, but even though my body fat has gone down, it sticks out more. I told Michal my plans for a strict diet and he said he had been waiting for this. He said he knew it would happen and that it was better to let me figure it out than for him to constantly tell me what I needed to do next which would make it feel more like a burden. I totally agree. It’s more fun to do when it’s my idea. When I first went to him, I didn’t want to lose body fat at all, but now that I have muscle, the body fat doesn’t belong anymore.

I had a sort of weird experience at the hotel Saturday night. I was looking at myself in the mirror before I went to bed and noticed how big I was. My body really looked like a football player’s body which made me happy. But then I had this sort of disconnect in my brain. Like the body I was looking at wasn’t recognized as my own and it felt just a bit weird for a few minutes. Almost like if you were to look into the mirror and see someone else’s face. Even though my body is always changing, I only notice change periodically, but I never had this happened before.

5 gram glutamine “shots”: pre-workout, post-workout, before bed.

Not pictured: Animal Pak in the morning.

Today I made two cookie sheets of baked yam chunks, which is four yams. Cooked yams keep forever, so it’s good to just do them in large batches.

I went to Costco today and the guy in front of me said something like, “Looks like a healthy diet.” to which I replied, “Yes, very high in protein.” I had a package of chicken, steak, 5 dozen eggs, protein bars (for emergencies), 6 romain hearts, and some light salad dressing. I brought the steak home, trimmed it and it’s all in 8oz packages ready to go. It feels so good to get this stuff done and ready to prepare. Rachael Ray is right, again!

It’s all about learning and conditioning. Getting the diet correct takes time. There’s no way I would have been able to eat like this out of the gate. When I started with Ron I barely ate any good protein. I remember when I thought a bowl of cereal was good because of the milk. (It sure was tasty though, Frosted Mini Wheats is like dessert!) I don’t even count milk protein anymore. Or the protein in bread. Or any other random protein that doesn’t come from meat or eggs or protein bars and shakes, obviously.

Tonight I went to Costco and bought $100 worth of food and it was all healthy. I bought five dozen eggs and it was weird thinking to myself, “Should I buy ten dozen? Maybe next time.” One thing I’m looking forward to is some green tea drinks I bought. I am supposed to drink green tea anyway and these are artificially sweetened so it’s as close to a treat as I usually get now.

My daily schedule is literally packed. I get up at six o’clock these days although I’ve done five and would rather do five but don’t feel I get enough sleep. But I do need that extra hour. I make breakfast and get ready for the day packing my gym bag and my meals to take to work. And make and eat all those omelets, of course.

Next, I go to work for a while. I try to get in at eight, but it’s usually between eight and nine. Later I go to the gym, come back home and shower, then back to work until six thirty. Then I come home and eat immediately. Then I cook my meals for the next day and my nine o’clock meal. I watch TV while I eat, have about a half hour of down time if I’m lucky, then it’s off to bed.

Tonight I left work late and really needed to go to Costco. When I got back I was so tired (it was leg day) and I just couldn’t cook. I had a ton of dishes to do and compromised and had two protein bars for dinner. It wasn’t so much about a lack of will power, it was about literally not having time or energy to cook. Tomorrow morning I’ll have to make up for it.

Michal and I talk about food all the time and one of the things that’s true is that you really have to work to be creative and keep it interesting. You also have to be creative on finding food formats you can pack into your body. I would never be able to eat twelve scrambled eggs, but twelve eggs worth of omelets is pretty easy. You have to think, what would make this chicken easy to eat that I can also eat? Hmm… maybe tomatos, and maybe if I put them both in a frying pan? But remember, no oil or anything like that. Thank goodness for nonstick cookware. You really can’t cheat partially because of the calories, and partially because a single mocha will just zap your appetite for the next 4 hours.

Anyway, I’m exhausted and need to sleep. I just wanted to post something. Oh, and The View today had the casts of Le Mis, The Color Purple, and A Chorus Line on singing for Rosie’s birthday. I’m not much of broadway fan, but it was fantastic. Especially the guy from Le Mis, and the two women from The Color Purple. With all the crap music on the radio, I forgot how good talented voices can sound. I’ll definitely be copying that one off my Tivo.