The Biggest Loser: Week Two

The results are in for the weigh-in from the second week of the Biggest Loser challenge, and once again, JayDoug came out on top with 3.024% lost! This puts JayDoug's overall percentage lost at 5.832% at the close of week two. Congrats to JayDoug on all of the hard work!

For week two, I came in third place with 2.244% lost and an overall percentage lost of 3.188%. At this rate, I am well within reach of meeting my goals over the remaining ten weeks. Best of luck to everyone!

Favorite Photos

The number of digital photo files on my computer had become so large that I finally sat down to organize the other day. I get so nostalgic every time I look at some of my favorite photos because they remind me of such important and special events in my life. It is amazing to see how much The Fred and StickyBun-Scotti have grown. I compiled a file folder with some of my favorite pics and decided to showcase them in a slideshow for all to enjoy!

The Biggest Loser: Week One

Some of us have gotten together to participate in a Biggest Loser challenge over the next twelve weeks, and we just completed the first week of our challenge. Our group is made up of men and women of varying ages, fitness levels, and starting weights, and of course, we are all competing for a cash prize.

After the first week, I had lost two pounds, but our top dog, JayDoug, was down six and a half pounds at the close of week one. I have factored in a heavier cardio load for this week, and I am almost down by another four and a half pounds. The official weigh-ins will be every Saturday with the results figured as the percentage of weight lost, so I will update for each week once the results are posted with the winner for that week (nicknames only).

Time To Revamp

Well, I decided that it was time to customize my cookie-cutter Blogger layout, and with a few tips from BloggerBuster, it was relatively quick and painless. After a few creations in Photoshop, things are looking a bit more my style, and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve...

I have been in awe of some of the great designs that I have seen from my fellow bloggers, so I decided to follow their lead and make some necessary design updates. Also, a big thank you to Squidfingers for my beautiful background pattern. For all of you that arrive here, I hope that you enjoy the new scenery!

Fishin' Time

You Could Have Left That Part Out

Ifinally made an appointment with a family medicine physician here in town and met with him yesterday afternoon. "Doc AM" has been telling The Husby and I since we moved here that we really needed to find a family doctor and quit using the "doc-in-the-box" for all of our ailments. Well, since I needed a physical examination and several immunizations for my medical clearance at the hospital, I figured that there was no time like the present.

Upon my arrival at the physician's office, I filled out and signed all of the necessary paperwork before following the nurse back to my exam room. The nurse was friendly and did a thorough background history before asking me the reason for my visit. I gave her the forms that needed to be filled out and signed for the medical clearance with a list of the immunizations that I needed. She told me that the doctor would be in soon and left the exam room.

I was pleased to meet the doctor, and he reminded very much of my OB/Gyn at the hospital where StickyBun-Scotti was born. Since I loved my OB/Gyn, I was pretty sure that this doctor would be someone that I would want to see again in the future. After some discussion, the doctor exited the room and let me know that the nurse would be back to give me my immunizations as well as draw blood for a titer test.

Normally, I am not fearful of having blood drawn or getting a shot, but I don't look forward to it. I also don't like to watch it happen to me...if it is someone else, I enjoying watching...I just would rather not watch when I am the patient.

As the nurse walks back into the room, she says something that I wish she had just left out, "I haven't done this many times before. I am still in school, so you may have to be patient with me. I haven't gotten really good at it yet."

WHAT!!!???

Now, I know that this could be me one day, but I also know that there are some times when it is better to keep your mouth closed. With those words, I had to try as hard as possible not to have an anxiety attack. I was just happy that I was the patient and not The Husby. If he had been the patient in that situation, he would have gotten up and walked out...or maybe he would run...and never gone back.

I wasn't too worried about her lack of experience when it came to the immunizations, but the blood draw had me a bit worried. I became even more worried when the nurse said, "Well, I want to make sure that I can find the vein before I start." You think?! After three sticks with the needle, she was successful, and I left there feeling like a pin cushion.

The moral of this story is..."Some things are better left unsaid."

Favorite Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Roll

If there is one food that I crave more than anything else, it would probably be sushi. The only problem with sushi is the effect that it tends to have on my wallet. The Husby and I have really enjoyed the sushi at a popular Thai restaurant in Five Points, and we always order the Spicy Shrimp Roll which was recommended by our waitress the first time we had sushi there.

I mentioned to The Husby that I would love to be able to make sushi at home, but I did not think that I would be able to pull it off. The Husby told me that the key to making sushi was to use a rice cooker, so I decided to invest in one and give it a try. I found a rice cooker for $15 at Wal-Mart and did some research online regarding sushi preparation. After watching some animations at Sushi University, I was confident enough to give it a try.

The endeavor was a complete success, and we may be eating sushi at home quite frequently now! Enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp Roll

Ingredients:
nori, one sheet
cooked sushi rice, handful
3-4 tempura shrimp, tails removed
avocado, 2-3 thin slices
cucumber, 2-3 thin sticks
imitation crab meat
spicy mayo (1/4 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce, 1 drop sesame oil)

Directions:
1) Lay nori sheet on bamboo rolling mat with the rough side facing up.
2) Get your hands wet, and grab a handful of rice. Place the rice in the middle of the nori sheet, and spread it into an even layer on the nori, covering all but the top inch of the sheet.
3) Place your shrimp on the bottom edge of the nori sheet and arrange avocado and cucumber snugly against top edge of shrimp. Mix crab meat with spicy mayo and spread on top of shrimp.
4) Roll sushi tightly with the bamboo mat and cut with a sharp knife into 6-8 pieces.
5) Optional step: Lay the pieces on a plate facing up and drizzle with a small amount of spicy mayo.
6) Serve with wasabi and soy sauce for dipping.