Such a nice Easter!

Today was a very busy day. We got up incredibly early (for me on a work weekend) at 7am to start the drive to Ville Platte.  I mean it had to be early because the drive is long and I have to be at work before the bad weather hits. 
The good news was that as long as we left the family Easter festivities just as it started raining there, I would be able to make it back to Baton Rouge in time for the storms.

So we left a very foggy EBR at 8 am and got to grandma and grandpa's by 9:30 - 10:00.  Obviously the first to arrive we got to see the garden and the HUGE tomato plants and hang with them for a while before the rest of the family began to arrive.  All the food!

I am a little upset with myself though that I didn't Skype with my family back in NY as I usually do, but I was engaged in conversion and my phone was starving for battery life in rural Louisiana while simultaneously connected to the work computers to watch the progress of the weather and what watches and warnings the NWS was considering.

Steak was on the grill and chicken. Rice dressing... (still don't understand the term dressing instead of stuffing, but that's a nor'easter thing I'm sure) potato salad, and of course eggs. Lots of eggs. We pocked them, a fun game, *if* you get an unbreakable egg.  Fyi pocking eggs is the process of hitting the "pointy" end of one egg against another.  A winner is determined by the person who holds the unbroken hard boiled Easter egg.  I was pretty much undefeated with my acquisition of the dyed egg which was laid freshly out back by the chickens they keep.  Apparently, fresh is better.  ;-)

Not having a regular grandparent hosted holiday in over a decade I've forgotten how nice it is.  Grandma made us our own amazing white cake layered with strawberries and whipped cream. I loved it last year for the first holiday I spent with them and she made us our own to take home for that reason alone.  It was awesome.

Then just like Christmas the holiday was turned upside down by impending severe weather.  Hmm severe weather events on Christmas and Easter. I'm beginning to wonder if the deity in charge of weather is not christian... Then again not being up North on Long Island, I forget when many of the holidays of the Jewish faith are.  Oy vey.

I was excited though that the weather moved in exactly the time I said it would. - small victories.  Thankfully no widespread hail and no tornadoes.  But 60 mph wind gusts suck too and can really put a damper on the holiday if it happens to snap a tree over your power lines. Thankfully we didn't lose power at all on Easter Sunday, which is funny, because we have power bumps here when an ant farts.

Ok, well I am going to finish this beer and go catatonic in bed until tomorrow mid morning. Maybe I will be able to do something with my day off.

Its been just over 2 weeks...

Just before the beginning of lent (like a day), I decided that I finally wanted to seriously pony up and do a paleo challenge with a huge group of people at my gym.  Quick breakdown on what paleo is for those who don't know:
        Eat anything you want until you are full...except:
                      Legumes, dairy, wheat, grains, anything preserved with nitrites and no added sugar.

Seems simple enough right?  Let's have some jambalaya, nope can't have rice. Damn.  How about some mac and cheese?  Uh, no. grains and dairy. Crap. OK well at least I get to have my morning coffee with my non dairy creamer and splenda. Oh no splenda? Ok, I can get by that...let me put in this non-dairy creamer. Oh. Its made from soy and some other things that are on the no-no list.  Ok, so I get to have caffeine but no sugar.  This is going to suck. 

And halfway done now, I have gotten used to having spaghetti squash instead of pasta...but a word to the wise, have it with a strong sauce, because spaghetti squash has NO taste. 

Why?  Why would you put yourself through something like this??  I have no idea.  I have always wanted to, mostly because I already eat fairly healthy but I saw no significant changes to my body fat percentage after the last year I have been going to Red Stick CrossFit.  Have I gotten stronger?  Absolutely.  No question. I can do 20 pushups without a break (couldn't do 3 when I started) and I can do 10-20 pull-ups and 3-4 pull-ups weighted with 13 pounds and at least one with 26lbs (had to use a resistance band when I started to knock off 75 pounds).  So my body and metabolism needed a push.  So I am giving it one.  No sugar sucks...which means no alcohol either save for a glass of red wine (which I'm not a fan of) and paleo margaritas or 2 shots of tequila with lime juice. (I just opt for the tequila shots).

Have I noticed anything different?  Maybe?  Its really hard to tell on your own when subtle changes happen daily and you get used to them.   Perhaps when this is over my before and after pictures will tell the real story.  Although friends from the gym have told me that my stomach looks flatter so that's a plus.  Numbers-wise.  I have actually lost 4 pounds eating nothing but veggies and proteins and I am still as strong, so that must be 4 pounds of fat right?  We'll see.  Prior to the challenge we had to weigh in and get body fat percentages measured which we have no idea what the calculations were, those will be revealed when it is all over in the before and after stuff.

Its not all bad. We've made some pretty good food at home and been able to keep the menu varied and interesting, but damn.  Some nights you just REALLY want a beer.

2 more weeks.

Steak with mashed cauliflower and green beans

Spaghetti squash and tilapia with a mango salsa

Spaghetti squash with meat sauce and mashed cauliflower

Banana pancakes