Archive for the ‘Supportive Partner Woman’ Category

Upcoming cooking endeavours

Posted: November 5, 2012 in Cooking, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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I’ve posted a lot about cooking over the span of time I’ve worked on this blog. I’ve shared some of my recipes, I’ve shared some dishes that I really liked. I was thinking that a post about some stuff I’m planning on trying to make might be a good idea. Ideally, I would make a vlog of it… I still might.

I hope mine will look this good.

The big one I want to tackle is jambalaya. I’ve liked Cajun cooking for some time… especially since we have a well-regarded Cajun restaurant within shouting distance of us. I like alligator and blackened catfish and the unique spice blends in that style of cooking. Ironically, I never tried to make jambalaya. That will change. I’d like to make it with shrimp and chicken, since alligator is a little hard to come by around here. I’d also like to find where I can get the best andouille sausage.

It’s also time to make some of my halfway famous clam chowder and beer chili. Dishes like these go well in the colder months… it’s hard to appreciate a good, thick soup when it’s 90 degrees outside.

Cookies!

I also need to do some baking. My coworkers usually appreciate when I do a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I tend to make mine on the soft side and they get very puffy. I work with a Nestle Toll House recipe that I tweaked… use 2 1/2 cups of flour and instead of butter, I use Imperial margarine. The butter does add a slightly richer taste, but I like the way the margarine helps the dough rise. The extra flour stiffens the cookies enough that they don’t get limp. I also make sure I whisk the dry ingredients together and add slowly to the wet. That’s mainly due to the fact I don’t like to clean up the flour spillage afterward.

The other key ingredient is the chocolate chips themselves. I only use semi-sweet chips. I find the milk chocolate chips to be too sweet and the white ones just look freaky. As for brand, you can’t go wrong with Nestle and I’ve also had success with Trader Joe’s brand and Wegman’s brand chips. Not a huge fan of the Hershey branded chips and using M&Ms is like using milk chocolate chips.

Supportive Partner Woman (Excellent baker!) also likes to make her granny’s cut out cookies. These are really thin, very crispy and very omnomnom. There’s something like 8 cups of flour in them, it’s carb central, but damn. I like that they are not too overtly sweet, but just crazy good. SPW (Crafter of yummy soups!) has also announced plans for a batch of her cream of chicken orzo soup. Yay!

So, yes, autumn usually brings a cooking frenzy to the Nerd Lair kitchens. Pictures will accompany these delectable noms, and maybe some video on how we make them. It would certainly be something different. Granted, they say the camera adds 10 pounds. Better get my tubby ass to the gym more often. I know these might not be the healthiest things ever (cookies? seriously?) but the jambalaya can be made healthier by substituting turkey sausage and brown rice, as well as no salt broth. I make the clam chowder with fat-free half and half as well. As for the chili, well, the beef gets drained of excess fat before it even gets added to the chili. I suppose I could use a bottle of light beer, but, naaah. Recipe calls for beer, not swill.

Most recipes can be adapted to be healthier without giving away a huge amount of taste. Remember… spices are your friends.

 

Thursday musings…

Posted: November 1, 2012 in Exercise, Foot issues, Gratuitously Naked Guy, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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It’s Thursday. Or Thor’s Day if you prefer.

I survived Halloween and Supportive Partner Woman (Enlightened!)’s birthday. I mainly did this by sitting in the basement and watching disaster miniseries on Netflix. The quantity of recognizable names that wind up in these epics is staggering. The one I was watching last night, Category 7, was like a Who’s who of B-listers, has-beens and never will bes. You had Gina Gershon (as the director of FEMA… seriously), James Brolin, Robert Wagner, Tom Skerritt (basically channeling his character from Top Gun), Shannen Doherty, and Randy Quaid. The cheese factor alone is epic.

SPW and I have a bunch of work to do to get the Nerd Lair back into full commission. I started by reconnecting all the AV equipment. Luckily everything works, and I didn’t need to rebalance the speakers. Tonight’s project will be to reseal the sump pump hole and start the dehumidifier again. SPW has returned the LPs to their storage spot, and we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing until it’s all back where it belongs.

This would seem to be what Gratuitously Naked Guy is looking for…

The food challenges continue. Working an opposite shift from SPW is a challenge. I’m taking my first step tonight. I have an exercise session in the afternoon rather than the morning and that will should keep me from overdoing it at dinner. Since Wayne is healed up, I should be able to go back to the rec and get serious again. I should just go every day after work and get it over with. As to why I haven’t? I’m think I am a little afraid that Gratuitously Naked Guy will want to strike up a conversation with his junk dangling uncomfortably close to my face as I’m tying my shoes.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Just need to recommit to the path I was on. It’s way too easy to go off track without the support being so close at hand.

Song of the Day: Fire and Rain – James Taylor

Currently Reading: The Panther – Nelson DeMille

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.  – Mark Twain

 

Back on track…

Posted: October 31, 2012 in hurricane, Supportive Partner Woman, Weather
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Happy Halloween!

Roller coaster at Seaside Heights was inundated

I’m trying to get the blog back on track after a couple days of storm-related posts. It’s still nasty out there, especially for those folks in New York and on the Jersey shore… basically anyone without power. Supportive Partner Woman (Birthday girl!) and I went to Lowe’s to return the extra sump pump yesterday and they had signs up saying that their generator stock had been shipped to New York. Kudos to them for getting units to where they are needed.

In honor of the wedding anniversary and SPW’s burfday, we opted to go to Red Lobster for crab legs. We behaved… no soup, and I had salad, broccoli and a pound of crab legs. The caloric impact of the crab legs is only 180, 40g of protein, but there’s 1,500 mg of sodium. Yikes. I have to think that some of that’s in the drawn butter that I don’t use. The broccoli isn’t bad and actually is steamed perfectly. I also get the salad with the dressing on the side and I just dip the tines of the fork in the dressing. Taste, and not a lot of calories and fat.

As an aside, one of the great benefits of my job is that we get CNN shoved down our throats in all the break rooms. The highlight is that sandwiched between hack “journalists” like Anderson Cooper and general sleazebags like Piers Morgan, you get to see the advertisements. Saw one yesterday that totally cracked me up:

I guess it’s better than the early morning ads for onlinebootycall.com.

Anyways, folks… I hope to return to a more focused approach over the next few days. In the meantime, if you are in the areas still impacted by that tropical bitch, Sandy, stay safe. We’re thinking of you.

Song of the Day: We Go On – Kellie Coffey

Currently Reading: The Panther – Nelson DeMille

Bad things do happen in the world, like war, natural disasters, disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. – Daryn Kagan

Stormageddon revisited.

Posted: October 30, 2012 in hurricane, Stress, Supportive Partner Woman, Weather
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Hoboken, NJ PATH station being inundated with flood water from Sandy

First of all, I’d like to say that my heart goes out to those impacted by the superstorm known as Sandy. To see the devastation wrought along the coastlines and in New York has been sobering indeed. My sympathies to those who suffered personal injury or property damage, and my thoughts are with fire/rescue and police personnel tasked with leading the rescue and cleanup efforts. The visuals splashed across the screen by the media were chilling enough. We had tunnels under the East River being flooded, a construction crane collapse, and an explosion at a ConEd facility.

We were fortunate at MOASTBFFG HQ in that we suffered no real damage. Yes, the wind did manage to drive water in around the garage door and the storm door, but as of this morning, no flooding or structural damage to report. In the immediate area, there were some 5,000 homes without power and the local river cresting a few feet over flood stage. Fortunately, the Susquehanna did not flood, as it did last year.

Leads to the point that you never know what will happen. Meteorological events can be notoriously hard to predict and we are often faced with making choices based on the data we have. For SPW and I, well, we saw the predictions and remembered last year’s flooding and opted to take the time and prepare. Luckily, our worst fears did not come to fruition. The next time, we will take similar precautions, even though we didn’t need to do all that we did.

In the weight loss front, I cancelled my exercise session yesterday. I didn’t want to, but I felt I needed to be home, just in case. Other than that, not the greatest food week I ever had. I was nervous about the storm and just lacking focus in general. SPW and I managed to come up with a nice dinner option on Sunday evening. I made the mushroom risotto I described the other week (with no-salt stock) and made oven-roasted horseradish crusted beef tenderloin. It’s so easy to make… slather horseradish on a hunk of beef and throw it in the oven at 350 until it’s done.

At any rate, I’d just like to mention that today, SPW and I are celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary. I’m lucky in that I married someone who had become my best friend. I look forward to many more years together.

I might also add that she deserves a medal for putting up with me.

Just sayin.

Song of the Day: Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke? – The Alarm

Stormageddon, Frankenstorm or the Super Cyclon-nami Hurri-blizzard of Terror 2012

Posted: October 29, 2012 in hurricane, Supportive Partner Woman, Weather
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I have to think that sociologists would have a field day studying the behaviors of people who are in the path of a severe storm. Maybe they could finally answer the question of why, when there’s going to be a major snowstorm, people rush to the store to buy bread, eggs and milk. I’m pretty sure that everyone is not making French toast. Besides, without cinnamon and sugar, I’m pretty sure the French toast would suck.

Not the best place to be

Seriously, though… we here at Chez T are directly in the path of Hurricane Sandy (that bitch) and we are doing our best to prepare and stay safe. I usually dismiss storm warnings as oversensationalism from the media, but in this case I’m taking it seriously. Why my change of heart? Tropical storm Lee in 2011.

There had been all sorts of hype the week before Lee about Hurricane Irene. Irene came and went and other than a lot of rain, no real impact. Lee came along and that was just a little too much. Our trusty sump pump gave up the ghost after pretty much running non-stop for three days and just like that, the Nerd Lair was under three inches of water. It was funny… I had taken a half day vacation to keep an eye on things and it had seemed that everything was OK, so I went to work. I received a call from Supportive Partner Woman (Mermaid?) 45 minutes later informing me that the SS Nerd Lair was in danger of sinking. I rushed home, stopping at Home Depot to buy whatever I could find that resembled a pump. I wound up with a submersible pool cover pump… but it was a pump. I arrived home, fully expecting to deploy Commodore Furious (SPW’s name for me when I get pissed is usually Captain Furious)… since it was flooding, I elected to go with a nautical theme. Instead, I only had to commission Ensign Furious.

Point is, a slight tap to the float switch started the sump pump right up and the water was pretty much cleared within a couple hours. We ran fans and blowers for about two weeks and damage was minimal. This time around, I’m not so sure we will escape so easily. To make a long story short… if the power stays on, we should be OK. If not, we’re pretty much hosed.

So, if you are in the path of Sandy, please take precautions. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Keep flashlights and batteries handy. Make sure you have non-perishable food and a supply of potable water. Keep water in the tub to flush the toilet. Keep you electronics charged. If you are fortunate enough to have a generator, don’t run it indoors.

In short, be smart and protect yourself. Your life is worth more than your possessions.

Song of the Day: Rock You Like a Hurricane – Scorpions

Currently Reading: Isaac’s Storm – Erik Larson

Weather-related quote of the day:

Anyone who says they’re not afraid at the time of a hurricane is either a fool or a liar, or a little bit of both. – Anderson Cooper

 

Busy weekend…

Posted: October 21, 2012 in Bariatric surgery, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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So, as I sit here typing away on a Sunday morning, I thought I might take a few minutes and reflect up on the weekend. Supportive Partner Woman (newly promoted!) travelled to State College for a Daily Collegian reunion in honor of the publication’s 125th anniversary. Sadly, whilst she was out making merry, I had to stay home and actually go to work yesterday.

Harumph!

I always like “harumph” as is brings to mind a scene from a favorite movie:

The good news, though, came from my doctor’s visit. See, Friday was the 6th and final program visit. It’s good and bad, because while I still don’t like going to the doctor’s office, I’ll miss my monthly visits and support sessions with Rachel Ho, my favorite East Coast health care professional and second-favorite overall. Anyway, I managed to drop the five pounds I gained AND two more pounds to boot. Guess the no snacking at the vending area AT ALL is a good thing.

The big news, though, concerns Supportive Partner Woman (finally being recognized for her mad editing skillz!). Seems that her current employers have recognized her general awesomeness and decided to name her sports editor. She’s the first woman to hold that post in the history of the paper and one of only 6% nationwide. She’s got a lot of big ideas, but if anyone can get them implemented, it would be SPW. Also, I might add that I don’t feel threatened as a dude because my wife knows more about sports than I do. It’s cool in that I have someone to go to a game with who can discuss the game knowledgeably and enjoy the on field action. After all, we had to make sure that there was a television in the bar at our wedding reception showing the Penn State – Ohio State game.

So, moving on, I have a big decision to make regarding my surgical options. The only decision I’ve made so far is to not have any operation until the new year. With the holidays and upcoming vacation, it would be too difficult to deal with the recovery and liquid diet phases. I’ll keep you all posted,

Hope that you all have a great day and I’ll be back soon!

Confessions of a newly converted Whovian

Posted: October 17, 2012 in Doctor Who, Supportive Partner Woman
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Hi everyone. My name is Brian and I am a Whovian.

Hi Brian!

Looks like someone who auditioned for the role of annoying robot in Buck Rogers

I didn’t intend to be a Whovian. My original impression of the cult British television series was one of disdain. The effects were cheesy, and for some reason everyone reminded me of David Bowie in the Ziggy Stardust years. It was basically stuff I saw while channel surfing my way over to something else. Something where you couldn’t see the wires holding up the pie plate that was doubling as an alien spacecraft.

Tell us more, Brian

Anyway, I met Supportive Partner Woman (not quite SPW at that time!) and over the years we’ve been together, she’s always been keen on the Doctor. That was one of the first shows to be added to the Netflix queue. I’ve normally left her to her devices to watch it, but she really got into about the time of the most recent reboot. She would tell me how well done it was and I’d let it go by, never quite able to dispel the image of the bad 70’s effects.

Go on…

Anyway, we get to 2012 and SPW (woman of eclectic taste!) was telling me the tale of the Doctor Who-themed bar in New York called The Way Station. For whatever reason, maybe it’s my love of Disney, I appreciate theming. I like when a place goes the extra mile to really immerse you in the environment… not just hang a bunch of crap on the wall and call it flair. So, I looked up the bar and was reading about it and thought, well, maybe it’s not that bad of a show. I’ll give it a try one of these days.

And?

I finally started to watch the new series about the time of the season premiere. I’m currently almost all the way through the fourth season. Watching it on Netflix has been great, as I can stream it on a computer or Apple TV or Roku or iPad. I’ve even been known to stream to the phone (screen is small, Retina display is nice). I have a few observations… Through two Doctors and three Companions, my favorites are David Tennant as the Doctor and a toss-up between Rose Tyler and Martha Jones as the Companion. I’m not a huge Donna Noble fan… she grates on me and I find Catherine Tate’s portrayal to be very shrill. That being said, it’s well-acted, just not my favorite.

So, Brian… anything else to add?

Cute little creatures made of fat

Well, after watching 55 episodes (or 56… not 100% sure), I can say that this is a far cry from the cheese I remember growing up. I look forward to watching the rest of the episodes and waiting for more. See, I’m thoroughly hooked now. I look forward to getting a dose every day… to seeing when the Daleks or Cybermen or Weeping Angels turn up next (as an aside, the Weeping Angels freak me out the most). The effects are amazing, the writing is mostly sharp, and the acting is first-rate. There’s lighthearted moments, such as the Adipose episode, and some of the interplay between the Doctor and his Companion is hysterical. As SPW (lover of film and television!) says, “It’s about time I hooked you on a show rather than vice-versa.”

That’s all I have… but I’m determined to cope with my condition. Thanks for listening.

Exterminate!

Song of the Day: Nights are Forever Without You – England Dan & John Ford Coley

Currently reading: Zoo – James Patterson

 

Serious cooking

Posted: October 15, 2012 in Cooking, Food porn, recipes, Supportive Partner Woman, Wegman's
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Supportive Partner Woman (Mistress of the Twittergraph!) and I did some cooking this weekend, trying to jump-start back to our healthier lifestyle. With everything going on, healthy eating wasn’t quite at the forefront, convenience was.

We made an excursion to Wegman’s on Saturday. This was our regular Wegman’s… in Mechanicsburg, PA. It’s in the ideal retail complex. You have Wegman’s, Best Buy, Target, Office Max and Chick-Fil-A all in one complex. It’s like Christmas. We found a really nice beef roast and decided we’d throw that in the slow cooker and I’d make some other stuff, since SPW (Slave to the Voter’s Guide!) had to work. Sunday morning, we cooperated on getting the roast ready, although SPW (Eater of tasty beef!) did the lion’s share of the prep. I just measured out broth and chopped carrots and potatoes. Once it was cooking away, I made lunch… tomato soup and grilled ham & cheese sandwiches. Used a boxed Trader Joe’s soup that was pretty tasty, but it was in the pantry.

Dinner!

After SPW (Queen of the slow cooker!) left for work, I got down to business. I started by opting to make from-scratch risotto for the first time. I used mushrooms, garlic, shallots, white wine and chicken stock, along with arborio rice and, well, I thought it turned out to be pretty good. Had the right level of stickiness, and it was the right texture. I had been dreading it, but the actual making process wasn’t that bad. I was amazed with the quantity of risotto 1.5 cups of arborio rice actually makes. It sucked up around 6.5 cups of liquid! I’m going to add the recipe to this post… I will be using it again, although probably not until I manage to eat the rest of this batch 🙂

Brings me to the next topic… leftovers. This is one place where Supportive Partner Woman and I disagree. She detests leftovers… I think they are the greatest thing ever. I like variety in my meals, but if I can have a nice, balanced meal without spending a ton of time to make it, well, I’m all for it.

In other changes, I start a long period of day shift this week. It will seem strange, but it also gives me more time to cook a fresh meal. Hopefully, Supportive Partner Woman will be able to come home for dinner on a regular basis once her job situation settles down. We shall see.

Here’s the risotto recipe. All measurements are not exact 🙂

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth – divided
3 tablespoons olive oil – divided
8 oz. white mushrooms thinly sliced
2 diced shallots (I had some in a jar, so I used those)
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Little Penguin pinot grigio)
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives (I omitted)
sea salt to taste
coarse ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1) In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.

2) Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

3) Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 20-30 minutes.

4) Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

There you have it. Just remember to be patient and keep stirring.

More tomorrow!

Song of the Day: The Forecast (Calls for Pain) – Robert Cray Band
Currently Reading: First Family – David Baldacci

Quote of the Day:

I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting. – Andy Rooney

What’s coming…

Posted: October 12, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, Lego, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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So, I ended the last post saying that I would keep moving forward. Here’s what’s happening.

I got to day work next week. I’ve been working evenings since the beginning of May, and there’s some upside there. Namely getting to see more of Supportive Partner Woman (Sportschick extraordinaire!) and not having to worry about appointment scheduling. The downside is that you miss out on a lot of stuff in the evening and it also really messes with my natural circadian rhythm.

I’m also looking forward to the change in that it gives me more opportunity to cook fish. I love fish, but my co-workers aren’t exactly enthralled when you heat it up in the microwave. Even a plank roasted salmon that primarily smells like wood smoke brings out the great wailing and gnashing of teeth. The challenge, though, will be to not succumb to boredom eating. I’ll either need a second job or some kind of hobby to keep me busy. Sadly, the hobby can’t just be building Legos. That gets to be somewhat expensive.

B-Wing

Speaking of Lego, my most recent project was the B-Wing starfighter from the Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Series. I love the UCS sets… they are usually a more challenging build with lots of pieces and the attention to detail is astounding. They also come with a handy display stand and aren’t plagued with tons of stickers like other lower-end sets. This marks my third UCS set, and while not as challenging as the Imperial shuttle, it still took me a few days to get it together.

One of my main projects will be to adapt to meal planning. All too often, I’m throwing something together with what I have on hand, rather than having what I would really like to have. This will hopefully eliminate the discovery of four year old shrimp in the freezer.

I also have to adjust my workout schedule. My two sanctioned workouts this week are going to be at 7 AM, followed by full shifts. We will see how that winds up going. If it doesn’t fly too well, I can always go after work. I can also walk the neighborhood after work as the temperatures have cooled considerably. It was tough to do in mid afternoon when temperatures and humidity hovered around “boiling”.

All I can promise is that I’ll be making changes. Whether they work remains to be seen. Hopefully it will get the scale moving in the right direction.

Have a great weekend!

Is a complete and utter hate-on for an inanimate object healthy?

Posted: October 11, 2012 in Futility, Supportive Partner Woman, The Beetus, Weight loss
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Or is it a sign of me starting to crack up?

I say this because I had another appointment with the dietitian today only to find that I gained five pounds. I hate the scale like nothing else. I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. I want to beat every scale I see with a large sledgehammer. I feel that the scale exists to completely destroy any sense of accomplishment I may have.

I know… there are all sorts of theories why one scale weighs differently. and maybe that’s part of the problem. I don’t think that a five pound swing is likely.

I think the problem is plain and simple.

Stress.

It hasn’t been a good food week. I know that. Supportive Partner Woman (Liker of Mexican food!) and I have been eating out at a rapid clip, which is not good. There’s been so much going on that it’s hard to know which end is up, and sometimes, the best option is to grab something on the run. So, we wind up eating lunch out. I’m still eating my breakfasts at home and I take dinner with me, but according to the dietitian, I’m eating out too much. Couple with the reduced activity thanks to Wayne, well, I’m not getting as much exercise as I should. It all adds up… it’s not just because we’ve been to Chipotle multiple times in the course of a week.

See, the only part that doesn’t show results are the weigh-ins. I’ve been able to steadily increase the weights and workouts and my clothes fit better. In fact, I’m wearing a pair of jeans I haven’t been able to wear since the winter before last and they are actually a little baggy.  I can’t believe that the bariatric center didn’t take measurements when I started. I’d really like to know how many inches I’ve lost.

The other stressor for the week is thanks to my wonderful employer. It’s annual enrollment time again and that’s never any fun. Not only because of the hoops they make you jump through, but because every year they find yet another way to nickel and dime you. This year’s big surprise is not only are my premiums going up 12%, they are cutting the amount they pay by 5%. That’s really a 17% increase. And because it’s not complete without one more thing, they are also doubling the deductible. Basically, it seems that if you have a chronic condition, like the Beetus, you should just save everyone the trouble and off yourself before your next doctor’s visit. Couple that with the federal legislation that limits FSAs to $2,500 a year, well, it’s a complete shit sandwich.

As my late father would always say, “I don’t mind getting screwed, but at least kiss me first.”

I hope the next post will be free of the negativity… it’s just so frustrating to put in the time and the sweat and see that you gained five pounds. Makes me want to go and eat. A lot.

I’m not going to, though.

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