Lake Hennessy

Tonight was the second time in a week that Dieter and I went for a hike up at Lake Hennessy. The evenings could not have been more peaceful and beautiful. The first night ( Wednesday ) we gave ourselves about a half-hour out and a half- hour back, which amounted to around 3.5 miles total. We did not make it as far as the dam the first night, but about ten minutes shy before we headed back. We saw a few ducks and geese and blackbirds who made a host of natural sounds that made the whole gestalt quite lovely. Thursday evening we went all the way to the dam which took us about twenty minutes to a half-hour longer to complete.We talked about work, food and our travels. He is quite the world traveller. The only person I know who has probably travelled more than he has was my dad. My dad visited every country on the planet and brought back many items from many exotic places just to prove it. I forgot just how much my dad flew throughout his life, but boy did he log those miles. After tonight's hike, Dieter invited me to have an incredible abalone dinner at his house. Man, who could refuse that ! What a great way to end the day.

Baaaaaah !

This past week has been challenging. I have worked out every day in some form or another. One day I will ride my bike, the next day I will run a couple of miles with three pound weights in each hand, then the next day I will go for a swim. The Calistoga Community Pool has not opened yet, and won't until the 16th of June so swimming won't be something I will be doing on a daily basis for a little while longer. My muscles are sore an tired, but some have mentioned that I am slimming down a little bit. I think that is most noticeable in my face rather than my gut ( which is the last to go and the first to show back up again ). Last post I talked about my before picture which is on my home computer and you won't be able to see until I get a suitable "after" picture. I may go for a long walk when I get home tonight, but have not decided as of yet. I still feel spent from the extensive exercise I have been doing most every day this past week. I did not even get up in time to go to mass this morning. The rest I get will be on my days off.

Before and After

Okay, so I am not the Mona Lisa but I am going to be a work of art I tell you.Yesterday, I went to the St. Helena high school track to run laps. This morning I rode my bike about four miles. I have been eating right and getting enough sleep. It is day four of my summer routine. My friend Joe wants to sell me some nutritional products to help me along the way and I just may go for it. So far I am a stout 183lbs. at 5'8" and to my way of thinking that is around 30 lbs. overweight. So my goal is to get down to 150lbs. by my birthday in December.I am NOT going to TRY... I am going to DO IT. I put a before picture of me that I am afraid to look at... just because it disgusts me. Enough about that. You will see me looking lean and mean come this Fall I am sure. Any of you reading this are welcome and encouraged to ask me about my progress. If I start to slack off, you have my permission to give me a swift kick in the Keester. But beware, I will be a force to be reckoned with because I don't intend to be a slacker.

Marisella

 
Marisella is out in the garden picking flowers for the campus store. It pleased me to see her smiling face in this natural setting. She is so friendly and personable when you go by the campus store to pay a visit.This has been a rather slow week here. No weddings are planned for this weekend. The weather has been spectacular and yet people haven't yet shown up here as a part of thier vacation.

Amuse Bouche

This term represents and item that a chef will present to a guest to tantalize thier taste buds. It is usually a one-bite hors d'ourve that will keep one intriqued enough to ask for more. I have been picking up a few French culinary terms this week just for giggles. Today is the third day I have gone out and run a mile after returning home from work. I intend to loose a lot of belly fat this summer if I can just get back into a steady routine of exercise and diet restriction. I guess I will be limiting myself to quite a few "Amuse Bouche's" as opposed to having full-on meals this summer. The latest about the chefs hats are that I have submitted a bid to Bob Coyle from the Peanut Board. I hope he can accept it, because it would help me establish an account with the company that makes the chefs hats. I can then further my creative pursuit by making a whole assortment of graphic images to be displayed inside the toques. Tonight I was watching a video podcast about a festival down in Santa Monica that has theme called "Glow". I think these lighted toques will be a good fit for this event. Hmmm... I 've got my work cut out for me.

Fingers crossed, Hopes high

Okay, so now I know a couple of things about disposable chef's hats. They CAN be printed on, but not on a laser, offset, or other traditional type of printer. They can be silkscreened. The material is almost like a coffee filter type of substrate. It absorbs the sweat from the brow of a chef toiling away over a hot stove. I still don't know if the manufacturer ALSO prints anything on them, or if I will have to purchase the hats outright and have them sent to the Printers who say that they can apply the logo right on them. ( Worse case scenario is that I would run these through Epson Inkjets, but that would be impractical at this point.) The hat vendor may be a one-stop shop. I am still waiting on the artwork from the buyer, and the people that actually manufacture the hats. Once I can get a price breakdown, I can figure out how much I will charge for each. Phew ! So much is contingent upon each entity, each step of the way. I hope and pray that this deal doesn't fall through the cracks. Besides, I have a lot of cool ideas for chefs' hats that I may be able to market once I have a little capital to build on... We shall see.

May Day, May day !

The rain has been pleasant and a nice surprise to have around here this first weekend in May. Lately, I've been going through an attitude adjustment around my work and social life. Most of the time I come home, have something to eat, play on my computer awhile and then into the sack ( this is usually around midnight ) Then I wake up around 3 am with this restless feeling (probably because I've gobbled up a snack before I went bed in the first place ). Well I get up, go to the bathroom, get a drink of something sweet from the fridge and then back into bed. fortunately, I will usually be back to sleep in ten or fifteen minutes then right on through to 7:30 am when I get up to shower and prepare myself for work. Do you have this pattern going on? Lack of exercise, motivation and general laziness are the culprits. I'm looking for positive change in my life but haven't yet taken the initiative to get something going. Some good news however, I am working on a contract gig where I hope to make some extra $$$ jing to put a little spring in my Spring. I will keep you posted.