Oh no, it was not a very good week.  I weighed in at 175.4 this morning, that is up a couple.  Some would say about time but for me and where I have been that is not what I wanted to see this morning.  I know my problem is the grazing I have been doing at night.  I have been doing a little more than normal.  I will need to dig deep this week and work on my mental attitude towards eating. 

I find that eating is a huge mental game.  I am not hungry mainly because I still do not get hungry due to my surgery.  So with that in mind it is all in my mind that I feel I need to eat something.  Sometimes I think I graze because of boredom it only happens at night when I am home.  This would be a good one for Dr. Phil don’t you think?

I will work through the issues and do better this week I need to be around the 170 mark for my 2 year annual checkup.  No reason other than I want to be at that weight.

Have a good week all and if you have bad eating habits let me know what they are.

Later
JB

I had been wanting to get a compact digital camera to carry with me at all times.  I have a larger Kodak and it is not convenient to carry on a regular basis.  So I finally decided to purchase a Canon Powershot SD800 IS digital camera.  Received it in the mail a few days ago and wanted to post about my initial thoughts on the overall feel of the camera.

Canon Powershot SD800 IS

Here is what came in the box (plus a lot of manuals).  To see a virtual tour of the camera go to Canon Virtual Tour.

First and foremost I like the compact size.  It has a nice shinny body and does not feel cheap and all plastic. 

Pros and Cons so far.

Pros:
Compact size
SD Memory (2GB for under $20)
Fast on/off speed (important for quick pics)
3.8 x Optical zoom not all digital

Cons:
Two access doors are flimsy
Mode dial button a little cumbersome
Shinny case get’s smudged easy
Does not offer full manual mode (which is okay at this point)

Here are just some of the specifications of the camera, you can click on specifications below to see the complete list.

Specifications

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Type of Camera
Compact digital still camera with built-in flash and the lens shift-type image stabilizer (IS) system, 3.8x Optical / 4x Digital / 15x Combined Zoom

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Image Capture Device

Type
7.1 Megapixel, 1/ 2.5 inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD)

Total Pixels
Approx. 7.4 Megapixels

Effective Pixels
Approx. 7.1 Megapixels

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Lens

Focal Length
4.6-17.3mm f/2.8-5.8 (35mm film equivalent: 28-105mm)

Digital Zoom
4x

Focusing Range
Normal: 1.5 ft./45cm-infinity
Macro: 1.2 in.-2.0 ft./3-60cm (WIDE), 1-2.0 ft./30-60cm (TELE)
Digital Macro: 1.2 in.-2.0 ft./3-60cm (WIDE)

Autofocus System
TTL Autofocus

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Viewfinder & Monitor

Viewfinder
Real-image optical zoom viewfinder

LCD Monitor
2.5 inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD
Brightness adjustment: 15 levels

LCD Pixels
Approx. 207,000 pixels

LCD Coverage
100%

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Aperture and Shutter

Maximum Aperture
f/2.8 (W) - f/5.8 (T)

Shutter Speed
15-1/1600 sec.;
Long Shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3-15 sec.

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Exposure Control

ISO Sensitivity
Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 (Standard Output Sensitivity/Recommended Exposure Index)

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I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting a nice compact digital camera that packs a lot of punch.

Enjoy

JB

Shot:
3/4 oz Cabo Wabo Tequila Anejo
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 1/2 oz Sweet and Sour
Splash of Chambord

In a shaker half full of ice.  Mix tequila, cointreau, and sweet and sour.  Shake and strain into low ball glass then float chambord on top.  Cheers!

Cocktail:

1 oz Cabo Wabo Tequila Anejo
1/2 oz Chambord
1/2 oz Cointreau
2 oz sweet and sour

Blended: Combine ingredients in a blender with a glass full of ice and blend.  Garnish: Some like salt on rim others like sugar.  A raspberry on the straw is a nice touch.  Serve in a hurricane or margarita glass.

On the rocks:  In a shaker half filled with ice combine tequila, cointreau, and sweet and sour and shake three good times.  Strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice.  Float Chambord on top for curb appeal.  You can salt or sugar the rim if you wish.  Garnish with a raspberry for good measures.

Chambord

 Its full name is Chambord Liqueur Royale De France, and it is produced by Charles Jacquin Et Cie.

Chambord is inspired by a unique raspberry liqueur produced in the Laire Valley of France during the late 17th Century. The liqueur was said to have been introduced to King Louis XIV during one of his visits to the Chateau de Chambord during his reign. It was common during that time for liqueurs and cognacs to be consumed with elegant meals.

Today, Chambord is enjoyed throughout the world. Embraced for its velvety rich taste and versatility, it is delicious neat, on the rocks, as a flavorful ingredient in cocktails or with champagne. Chambord is crafted from the world’s finest raspberries and blackberries, authentic Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac to create a delicious all-natural raspberry liqueur.

Don’t tell my boss I am enjoy this Friday.

TGIF everyone.

I awoke this morning at 0600 and jumped out of bed to weigh-in.  This morning I am showing 173.2 pounds.  Once again I go up 2-3 pounds and then back 2-3 pounds.  I seem to be hovering between 170 - 175.

I would say the cause of this is the grazing I tend to do over the weekends.  Most of my grazing tends to be Sunday evening and Monday evenings.  If I were to get away from that I bet my weight would stay about the 170 mark.

I am still sticking to the protein drink in the morning.  Sometimes I have a half a bagel with peanut butter.  Then take my meds and get around.  Right before I leave I tend to make my protein drink for the road.

I can tell you what I need to do it’s just actually doing it that tends to be the issue.  I need to have a protein drink in the morning and no other food.  Then eat at lunch and then again at dinner.  No grazing from the 5 pm (dinner) to 10 pm time I go to bed.  If I do need a snack I need to stick to popcorn only. 

I have my annual checkup and speaking engagement coming up in San Francisco in a few weeks (Aug 8th).

Have a great week.
JB

Shot:

3/4 oz Rum
1/4 oz Blue Curacao
1/4 oz Creme de Coconut
Splash of Pineapple Juice

Build in a shaker over ice, shake well and strain into a lowball glass.

Cocktail:

1oz Light Rum
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Creme de Coconut
1 slice of Pineapple
1 Cherry

Blended: Blend rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice and cream de coconut with one cup of ice in a blender on high.  Pour into a hurricane glass and garnish/decorate with a slice of pineapple and cherry.

Straight up: Build in a shaker filled with ice.  Shake well and pour into a highball glass and garnish.

Blue Curacao:

Blue Curacao is a sweet blue liqueur, distilled and flavored from the dried peel of bitter oranges. It can also contain distillates of lemons and curacao fruit, sugar and wine. The Caribbean island of Cura硯 is host to much of the fruit used in these liqueurs.  Blue Curacao is often used to induce color into cocktails and other mixed drinks.

Last night in Shasta Lake City we had a storm like no other.  The clouds built up over the day and by the afternoon we were having showers.  At about 7 pm we started to here the thunder at a distance.  Over the next hour the thunder became increasingly louder and closer.  It rained off an on during that hour and then the show started.  Lighting shot across the sky from every direction.  Then shortly after we would hear the crackling.  The family sat at our back sliding glass door watching all this enjoying Mother Nature’s show.  My 2 year old thought it was GREAT she would say WOW when the lighting hit and was amazed.  A couple of time the thunder hit hard and she climbed all over me.  We lit candles and gathered flashlights just in case the power went out.  Amazingly it never did flicker or go out the whole time.

I found myself reminiscing about the days as a kid watching the lighting at our Butte Street home in Corning.  We had a large window in the dining room that we use to sit at watching and listening to the thunder and lightening.  This storm we had last night reminded of those times.  It seems these days we do not have storms as elaborate as those.  Needless to say this storm was a welcome sight in my eyes.

Taken by Mike Greener/Record Searchlight. 

This is a shot he took at about 9:15 pm last night.  This shows some of what we saw from our house.  To read more about the storm see Record Searchlights ‘Rain cools hot July‘.

Today so far is crystal clear and going to be in the upper 80’s.  They say in the 100’s by Sunday, we shall wait and see.

If you saw some of the storm last night or have experiences with Mother’s Nature please leave me a comment.

Have a great day everyone.
JB