As you may have been able to tell based on the recent onslaught of food related posts that I have made, I am becoming more and more interested (read: obsessed) with healthy living, good cooking, and fun calorie burning exercise. This interest lead me to seek out various personal trainers in the area and do a little research on what they offer.


I took a look at the type of personal trainer one would meet at a Gold's or Bally's gym. Then I looked at the kind who work in separate smaller gyms or studios. Finally, I searched personal trainers in the area who would come to you. In the latter group, I found Thomas Jensen, founder of Elect Wellness. Last week, Christopher and I met with Thomas to talk about his program and to go over basic lifestyle assessment type stuff. True to the ad on his website, this assessment was free with no obligation to sign up for anything. He did give his service list and pricing information at the end of our session; however, it was not a "hard sell" and we did not feel like he was pressuring us nor was he upset that we didn't sign up right away.

Overall, his program seems well thought out based on eating right (whole foods, lots of fruits and veggies, no soda, that kind of thing) and working out with resistance training being the key to fat burning. There's probably some cardio in there as well. He's also very personable and professional, and he let us know about his own journey to eat right and find the best way to work out and maintain a healthy body. He seems like the kind of guy you'd play some half-court with, not intimidating or condescending at all.

The price tag, for us, was too high to be able to sign up for a program. Thomas does offer smaller monitoring programs and body composition assessment sessions that might be worthwhile as we both continue to eat well and become more fit. Whether or not we decide to do that later, I'll continue to subscribe to his weekly fitness e-newsletter (which has only come with one additional sales email in the entire time I've been signed up for it) and enjoy what he has to say about dairy, testosterone, flax seed, or whatever other topic he picks on any given week.

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Perhaps it is the spirit of Memorial Day weekend that is putting all the store clerks in a good mood. Having no intention of actually shopping this weekend, but then needing to anyway, I found that spirit at each place we went.


First - the mechanic. After a quick stop at Kroger to get an anniversary card, Christopher noticed a coupon for NTB on the back of the receipt. We needed an oil change anyway, and since it was Friday and I was off of work, we decided to get it taken care of asap. The coupon was for your basic run-o-the-mill oil change. We wanted to make the switch to synthetic, something our coupon didn't cover. Not deterred by silly sheets of paper, the clerk offered us $10 off our oil change anyway. We took it.

Following the mechanic, we wanted to go to JinBeh for sushi for lunch. Their lunch specials can sometimes be really worthwhile. We went in and sat at the sushi bar and looked at the specials menu. Unfortunately, what we wanted wasn't on it. It was on the regular (and full price) menu that we could order if we wanted. Rather than waste an opportunity to watch our wallets, we decided to leave and come back another time when we could catch a different special. On the way out the door, we were stopped by the manager who wanted to know what was wrong. This is a restaurant we love, and the only reason we were leaving was because the rolls we wanted weren't on the Friday lunch special menu. The manager, Ali, took care of it. He said he'd be happy to put the rolls that we wanted on special and there was no reason to leave. So, we stayed, and lunch was delicious (and inexpensive!).

A trip to Half Price Books today (Saturday) was also a good stop. They were having a store wide 20% off sale. Not too shabby. And our final errand of the day was to go to Ulta for some shampoo and what not for myself. I took my 20% off one item coupon in with me. My most expensive item wasn't very expensive at all earning me about $1.30 in savings. The clerk saw my total (about 20 bucks), and said "hang on just a sec." She disappeared under the counter for about 20 seconds and came back and scanned a $5 dollar off store coupon dropping my total down to $15. Pretty sweet. I hadn't asked her about any additional sales or specials going on. I guess she just felt it in her heart to use a coupon for me (or maybe her manager told her to do that for everyone, no idea).

Here's hoping stores clerks continue their wave of kindness after the holiday weekend.

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The tree man from Scarborough Faire 2009 has been occupying the right side of our home page for a while now. He's pretty cool - so I guess he deserves it. We decided to hit the road again this year down to Scarborough Faire with my brother-in-law, Christopher's brother, along for the ride.

Getting to Scarborough Faire was a breeze, perhaps there was some traffic getting out of town in the first place. But if there was, it wasn't bad enough for me to remember it now that I'm writing about it some weeks later.

Last year, we mostly people-watched and walked around the vendors' booths. So this year, we wanted to take in a few more shows and exhibitions. We started at the potter's place.
His set up was very cool, all foot powered and rustic.

From there we went to the glass blower's exhibition. He started out with a long thin string, which he turned into a very pretty pitcher with handle, which had clear glass with orange polka dots. He was a good speaker, too. Therefore, I think his presentation was even better since he was able to tell the audience exactly what he was doing and why as he was doing it.

I think from there, we may have gone to lunch - I can't remember the exact order. But sometime between the glass blower and the end of the day, we managed to see belly dancers, a bird of prey show (or part of it anyway), fencing games, and the rope trick/whip trick show. We also watched the mid-day parade, checked out the elephants, and browsed many of the stores. A very good day of family fun.

The day was made extra special when, while at the belly dancing show, the girls called up two men from the audience and one of them was Christopher. From that point on, he had the best seat in the house - on stage being fanned by one of the troupe members. They even made Christopher and the other audience member attempt to dance. Christopher's skills were much better than the other guy. However, neither of them has a career in belly dancing just yet. Maybe next year.

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It's been another week of conscientious eating. I'd like to think that the choices are getting easier. Those calories get spent so quickly! Summer fruit and veggies certainly make it easier to eat healthy foods. I love the avocados that are out now, along with my usual bananas and apples (I also pick up clementines occasionally, but not usually in summer). Just so you know, I doubt I'll continue to blog the food that I eat, just because it's not all that exciting. However, know that I'm continuing to keep my food diary personally and will let you know what I eat if you ask.

Monday
Breakfast -> Oatmeal with 2% milk and a banana, tropical citrus juice
Lunch -> Cucumber,tomato,avocado salad with Ritz crackers
Dinner -> Mac and Cheese
Other -> Blueberry Greek Yogurt, Skinny Cappucino
Total Calorie count = 1334, Total Fat = 26.5g

Tuesday
Breakfast -> Oatmeal with 2% milk and a banana, tropical citrus juice
Lunch -> Cucumber,tomato,avocado salad with Ritz crackers
Dinner -> Grilled chicken with leafy salad
Other -> Plain Greek Yogurt
Total Calorie count = 1145, Total Fat = 28.3g

Wednesday
Breakfast -> 2 Cherry pop tarts, 2% milk
Lunch -> Chicken and avocado sandwich and a banana
Dinner -> Grilled chicken with herb pasta and peas, blueberry greek yogurt for dessert
Other -> Skinny cappucino
Total Calorie count = 1675, Total Fat = 46.2g

Thursday
Breakfast -> Oatmeal with 2% milk and a banana
Lunch -> Cucumber,tomato,avocado salad with Ritz crackers
Dinner -> Cheeseburger (Christopher grilled, yummy!) with portabello mushrooms, leafy green salad
Total Calorie count = 1119, Total Fat = 55.5g

Friday
Breakfast -> Oatmeal with 2% milk and a banana
Lunch -> leftover leafy green salad with cucumber,tomato, and avocado; Ritz crackers
Dinner -> Chicken n' Dumplins
Total Calorie count = 1252, Total Fat = 51.5

So there you have it. I got a little excited at the grocery store last weekend and bought a LOT of avocados, and you can see I've put them to good use. Although my calorie count was a bit too low (women should get 1200 or more I've read to provide appropriate nutrition) on Tuesday and Thursday, I wasn't any hungrier thanks to high fiber foods and Christopher's excellent grilling skills! The next blog won't be a food blog, but I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!

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As you know from my previous post, I feel the food selection out there is treacherous at times. Although my food choices do leave a bit to be desired on occasion. I am holding myself accountable by publicizing what I eat. Perhaps this won't be interesting at all; if not, stop reading now. If you enjoy it, let me know and maybe I'll do it again in the future.


Monday
Breakfast -> cheerios with 2% milk
Lunch -> ham and cheese sandwich, peanut butter wheat crackers, strawberry apple sauce
Dinner -> spaghetti with Pilsbury reduced fat crescent rolls
Drinks -> two cups of black tea, one minute maid, about 56 oz H20
Total Calorie count = 1622 with 44.9 grams of fat

Tuesday
Breakfast -> cheerios with 2% milk
Lunch -> spaghetti leftovers, strawberry apple sauce
Dinner -> personal frozen pizza, blue bell ice cream (it's the best ice cream in the country)
Drinks -> two cups of black tea, minute maid, about 56 oz H20
Total Calorie count = 1921 with 47.8 grams of fat

Wednesday
Breakfast -> oatmeal with 2% milk
Lunch -> ham and cheese sandwich, strawberry apple sauce
Dinner -> salmon croquettes with white rice and spinach
Drinks -> skinny cappucino, about 56 oz H2O
Total Calorie count = 1265 with 38.3 grams of fat

Thursday
Breakfast -> oatmeal with 2% milk
Lunch -> spaghetti leftovers, strawberry apple sauce
Dinner -> two chicken fajita tacos with jalepeno refried beans
Drinks -> skinny cappucino, one Dr. Pepper, about 72 oz H2O
Total Calorie count = 1750 with 31.5 grams of fat

Friday
Breakfast -> oatmeal with 2% milk
Lunch -> ham and cheese sandwich, strawberry apple sauce
Dinner -> Chick-Fil-A original chicken sandwich and yogurt parfait with granola, late dessert of angel food cake
Drinks -> skinny cappucino, about 56 oz H2O
Total Calorie count = 1628 with 41.8 grams of fat

There you have it. And to top it off, Christopher and I went grocery shopping this evening and some really good produce was on sale (Haas avocados 4 for $1!), so I expect to have some delicious salad and sandwiches next week, woohoo!

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When you're in the mood for a sandwich but not in the mood for bread - try the KFC Double Down! With this sandwich, there's no room for bread with its untold meatiness. I hope I'm never so hungry that I actually try this. I see the ad for this chicken pile, and I imagine grease splashing all over someone's face. Ew.


This non-sandwich is over 500 calories with 32 grams of fat. In fact, this new item on the KFC menu grosses me out so much that I have decided to write down what I eat every day for your reading pleasure. By Friday or Saturday, I'll have about a week's worth of meal and drink choices to share. Why does this sandwich disgust me so? To be honest, I'm not sure... there are other choices at chain restaurants that are potentially worse. The Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries are 400 calories and 29 grams of fat per serving (there are 3 servings in a small order; so says their menu). So if you eat it all to yourself, you've just had 1200 calories and way too much fat. Chili's Quesadilla Explosion Salad has 1400 calories and 88 grams of fat. Uhm - yeah, a salad. I can probably find dozens upon dozens of examples. But for some reason, none make me want to lose my lunch quite like the Double Down. In fact, I don't even want to think about it anymore.

So with that, I felt like transparency would help me feel better about food choices that people make in general. And, you can see that my choices aren't perfect - but perhaps you'll agree with me that there are other things out there to choose than the KFC Double Down. See you at the end of the week with food diary in hand.

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After over 30 minutes of discussing what to have for lunch while dilly dallying around the apartment, Christopher and I decided to take our indecision on the road. We summarily rejected all the usual places as we passed them and turned into a shopping center to see what was available. The first restaurant on the corner was Dodie's Cajun Diner.


We parked and took a look at the menu before deciding to go for it and take a seat. The weather this past week really can't be beat. We took advantage by sitting outside on their patio. After some deliberation Christopher ordered the shrimp combo and I ordered the "Toulouse pasta." My lunch came with a house salad. As far as salads go, I'd give this one a 3 out of 5. The lettuce was fresh but there were only two types (romaine and iceberg, it seemed anyway). It came with one slice of tomato, one salad pepper, and one pickled okra. I love all of those, so it was a pity to only get one of each. Also, the house dressing was a parmesan italian that was quite tasty; however, there was a bit too much of it. Tasty - but it could have been better.

My Toulouse pasta was very good. If we go back to this restaurant, I would order it again. It was corkscrew pasta noodles with a green onion and red pepper cream sauce. I'm not sure how much was on my plate; it seemed like a lot, and I had to ask for a take-home box at the end of the meal.

Christopher's shrimp was good as well, he said. It wasn't overcooked like shrimp can easily be. The tartar sauce was no good, because it was very thick compared to average tartar sauce and was overly mayonnaise-y. On the other hand, they had a "Dodie's Sauce" that was a decent replacement, basically Tabasco plus Louisiana sauces with blended pepper and garlic. And, his shrimp came with hush puppies (never a bad thing).

The prices were a bit high for what we like to pay for a Saturday lunch out. Because of that, we probably won't go to this restaurant again soon; however, I'm pretty sure we will go again at some point. I guess that means it's not a glowing review, but we did enjoy ourselves while trying out this new (to us) restaurant.

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Every day, with few exceptions, Renn gets a nice long walk around the neighborhood, park nearby, and walking trail. Total walk time in one circuit is 30 to 40 minutes depending on how long he stops to sniff and how many other doggies he meets. This walk is one of the best parts of my day because it is relaxing, healthy, and I just like being outside. Interestingly enough, although we walk the same circuit, it does not get boring. We can generally find fun things to keep us occupied. One thing that Renn is especially good at is attracting lost doggies.



Our first lost dog encounter was quite some time ago. We walked past an apartment complex off the trail and two dogs came running up. One was an adult chihuahua, and the other was a young medium sized mix of some kind. I was a little annoyed because I saw two people standing about 50 yards off, and I thought the two dogs belonged to them. It's not cool to just let your dogs run around without leashes around here. However, the two individuals looked my direction and then turned and went inside an apartment. Apparently these two little guys did not belong to them. I continued on my walk thinking that the dogs would go back to their home; however, they just kept following me and Renn. Renn was perfect during this time. A true pack leader! We couldn't take them home with us, so I had Renn follow me to the office of the apartment complex, and the doggies followed him. The office workers had been watching us and were already ready to take the dogs into the office.

Lost dog encounter number two was not too long after that. Again, two little ones came running up. Fortunately, this time both had collars and tags. I took Renn's leash off of him and put it on the more skiddish of the two strangers so she wouldn't run farther away. Then I called the number on their tags on my cell. Turns out, their home was in the neighborhood, but their family was moving and leaving all the doors open in order to take things out of the house easily. I walked one of the lost dogs while Renn and the other followed us back to their house. The owner seemed really embarrassed and thanked us (well, he really only thanked me, but I'm sure he meant Renn as well) for bringing his dogs back.

Those two encounters happened in 2009. This year has been about the same for finding lost animals.

Last month, on the street behind us an older dog came up to Renn and I. We were very lucky that a father and his son were out in the schoolyard next to where we were walking, because they recognized the dog and said it belonged to a family a few houses down. That was easy enough to resolve. I just put the leash on the other dog instead of Renn, and we walked to the house in question. The family was home and took the dog back in.

Two weeks ago, a lost dog came running up to Renn and I. It was a male mix of some kind and yellow/white in color. It looked pretty healthy, but it didn't have a collar or tags. I saw a young kid (maybe 17 or so) running up to us, and I assumed it was his dog. But, he told me that he had been chasing it for a few hours in order to rescue it and take it home. By that time, the dog had already trotted a few paces away, so I wished the kid good luck, and Renn and I went about our walk.

Then yesterday, we were once again on our familiar path. A female Shepherd mix came sprinting up to us out of nowhere to say hello. She had a collar, but no tags. As there were no people out, I called Christopher to bring the car to pick us up so we could find her owners. She was super sweet and a really good back seat passenger. The first thing we did was take her to our vet to see if they knew where we could drop her off. Our vet (who is extraordinarily nice) first brought out his pet microchip finder to see if the dog had one. Unfortunately, she did not. So, he gave us a few numbers to call to have her picked up. The Animal Control rep was out, so I left a message while we drove back over to the street where we found her to see if we could locate her family on our own. We didn't have any luck there, but the employee called us back so we could meet her to drop off the sweetie. A few minutes later, we met with the employee behind City Hall where they keep their trucks. Our city doesn't have an animal shelter, so she was going to drive her to the next city to drop her off. By the looks of her collar and face, she was definitely someone's pet. Hopefully she didn't have to spend the night away from home, and the family called the local shelters quickly.

All these little adventures are fun but also a little sad. In the 7 lost dogs that we encountered, only 3 had any form of identification. Keep collars, tags, and microchips people! That way, the lost dogs can get home swiftly! In the meantime, Renn and I will still be walking our normal route corralling strays.

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