VSG Maintenance Group
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Tired but good this morning. It was a great ****tail party last night and we met the bride's parents and brother. Very nice people. The newly married couple has lots of beautiful friends: Everyone seemed slim, sleek and fashionably dressed. I guess people like that attract one another? Everyone was friendly. DH's ex-wife's boyfriend picked up the dinner tab for the family after the ****tail party. Very nice of him. Some fun pictures were taken with a Photo Booth kind of setup.
We will take a walk shortly then spend the daytime at the beach or pool. Right now we are watching the ocean from our balcony. The room was nice but the lighting in the bathroom is like a nightlight! I called the front desk because I thought something was wrong and they sent a guy up who said that it was supposed to be that way and everyone complains. So why don't they fix it? I asked a woman in the elevator if her lighting was like that too and she said it was and in her experience all W hotels were like that. Weird! Barely enough light for a guy to shave and I am going to have to put my makeup on using a small hand mirror next to the window.
Food intake was so-so last night. I didn't have much but the choices were mostly poor quality. I need to find some good protein today.
Have a stupendous Saturday!
on 5/4/24 7:16 am
That's so weird about the lighting! Bathroom mood lighting, I suppose? You're probably better off by a window for makeup anyway. LED lights put off such a sallow, weird color. I miss incandescents.
Hallelujah, the scale moved in the right direction! 3.4 pounds down from Wednesday's shot day weigh in. 28.2 down overall. Bodies are weird.
Busy day yesterday with dog training and my hair appt. Both the same 35 minutes away but I had to go home in between to drop off Kirby. The trainer fitted Kirby for an eCollar. They have made a lot of improvements since we had them for Fergus and the other dogs. There is a thing that keeps the prongs off their necks so they won't get hotspots if it's on too long and the "shock" part is so mild. He had me hold it against my palm and first set it at what my neighbor's dog, Pez, uses it at. I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel it for 11 more levels! Kirby he set 5 below what I could feel. We practiced at the park with dog and people distractions. He did pretty well for his first time with the collar. The trainer laughed at the end saying he doesn't often see dogs with such "happiness reactivity" to people. Kirby so badly wants to say hello to everyone and he squeals and pulls to them. He said it's a nice change of pace from aggressive reactive rescues. Anyway, we should have our collar next week.
Today I think I'll go to Costco. I wi**** was to pick up my prescription, but alas... In the meantime, I'm down to my last protein shake and no diet coke. The horror.
I happened to catch the propane guy filling me up yesterday and asked about the propane smell that still lingers. He was so nice and got out his soapy water spray bottle and found another big vapor leak. Then he called the office and had the repair guys out within the hour. Such great service! Why they couldn't assign propane a different bad smell than "poopish" I don't know. Hard to know if one has a septic issue, which is right next to the buried propane tank, or a propane one!
I did get a cover made for the pipes to keep the sun off the joints as they suggested, but the repair guy said make sure it had a vent at the top "so the regulator can breathe". Mine doesn't. I was brainstorming how to add vents and not wreck it. What are the chances I can find someone who can put a couple of big grommets in the top of it in this small town area? Hmm. I might ask on NextDoor.
For dinner I attempted to riff off of Eggface's ricotta bake by adding hamburger to my sauce. I didn't remember or bother to lookup the recipe, but it turned out pretty good. Like meaty pasta bake without the pasta. I do wish I'd looked closer at my ricotta ingredients. Three stabilizer gums in there, which gave it a weird texture as I was scooping it out of the container. I thought ricotta was pretty much just milk?
Kirby has decided he doesn't like his dog food anymore. He doesn't get excited and picks at it. Argh. It shouldn't be so hard to find a great food!
I think that's all I know! Hope everyone has a great day!
One of those stabilizers is most probably carrageenan which is made somehow with seaweed and used in lots of commercial products like cheeses of all types, yoghurt, ice creams, etc. Purpose is to keep the water from separating from the milk solids. Nasty side effects are rubbery texture you noticed and it strips the "fresh" taste away.
Make your own! Easy-Peasy:
MILK (whatever % you want- the higher, the greater the yield) for example, 3-4 cups, CREAM at whatever proportion you choose, anywhere's from none to a half the amount of the measure of milk used, and a bit of salt. This goes in a stainless steel pan on stove medium heat to just before boiling. Simmer for a few minutes, TURN off heat, then
Add about 3 TBL of very nice vinegar, stir gently to swirl the vinegar in. You will see curds forming. I put a lid on and let it sit a while, from 10-20 minutes. LINE a mesh sieve with double cheesecloth, dampened, and pour contents of pan into the sieve. Let this set and drain (I have the sieve setting in a bowl in the fridge, pouring off the whey as it collects - side note- this is where most of the carbs are from and why cheese is protein forward- Anyways,
The cheese is ready in the cloth when you say it is- you will know when you see - short drain=creamy and long drain=dryer. Dryer=fewer carbs and calories, and greater ratio of protein to quantity.
This is fresh ricotta. It will stay in the fridge several days. Don't worry about any whey that separates as it sets (That's why the industry uses the carrageenan). This sounds a bit much typed out, but, is very simple- milks and vinegar, simmer, drain, done.
Congrats on 28.2! And I think you and Kirby are going to be great pals once he understands what is expected of him. He just wants to make you happy!
I used to like that recipe too and I like your idea of adding ground meat. I used to put stuff like that over riced cauliflower instead of pasta to get a similar effect. A yummy choice for when I get back to not entertaining.
Wow Miss 150, thanks for the recipe. Something I will try this summer. My cousin's daughter makes her own mozzarella, and swears it isn't difficult. Maybe I'll try that too.
CC, this new training program sounds like a game changer! That's so cute that Kirby's "behavior" is he's so happy to see people. One time I read a description of Golden Retrievers: they think life is one big party, and they're the guest of honor. :)
Liz, glad you are having a good time with family. And also relaxing too. And yeah for a downward trend on the scale. And for CC too.
School is weird. We're all going about our day, trying to stay on track, doing our job for the kids. I'm doing my planning like there will be no interruptions. None the less a looming strike is distracting. There is a mediation meeting Monday, so we continue to hope.
I got a great night's sleep last night, so feeling pretty good. There was a window of sun and warmth yesterday, so we hustled over to our favorite patio. It is now rainy and overcast again.
168.2 - small up tic from yesterday, indicating the end of the initial free fall - the downward slide was exciting; the slow-jerky-scale movement begins. This is where I have to be careful not to judge my progress on what the scale reads, which is only just a number- not the judge and jury of my worth - I am doing this for me not the metal box in the bathroom.
Pep talk to self over.
Yah, I prefer the taste and quality of all such recipes as this to commercial. Way less expensive than store bought- just the cost of the milk. Liz, I made cottage cheese in the crockpot with mixed results (curds very small) so I do that on the stove, however, insta pot is an excellent incubator for yogurt which I prep on stove, then transfer to pot to finish. This same yogurt is my base, and I Greek it down (an almost daily source of protein as well as what can be strained to any consistency and is my sour cream, mayonnaise (with a drop or two of lemon juice) and cream cheese. Kurt uses the discarded whey (very diluted ) for fertilizer.
Lazy day Saturday and looking for some fun, relaxing and satisfying activity...hmmm
Recomondation: Go find your fun!
