Congrats Pats

16-0. pretty cool since no other team has done that ever except for the old school dolphins but back then the seasons didnt go to 16 games. the last game was especially cool because it was definitely close. right after the start of the 2nd half, the pats were down pretty bad but came back up. it was almost as exciting as the ravens game a few weeks back.

One of Newsweeks Top Seven Health Myths

6. Shaved hair grows back faster and coarser. Wax, shave or cut—no matter how you choose to remove your hair, you won't change the texture or speed at which it grows back. Leg hair will, however, appear coarser right as it starts to grow back. "The hair that initially grows back is blunt, hasn't had time to taper off, so it might look darker," says Carroll. But as it gets a bit longer and is exposed to the sun, it will look exactly like the hair you started with.

Not that i wax my legs or face, but i thought it was interesting.

Car Maintenance

I love Kragen Auto Parts. Their deals on regular car maintenance stuff are amazing. Quality oil changes with good oil and a good filter can be done for under 8 dollars. theres also something about doing it yourself that makes you feel so good about it. so here i bought two fram oil filters that were on sale and lucas fuel treatment. the total was $10.36 and then i used a coupon i got from them in the mail, because im a kragen auto club member, haha, to make the total out to 36 cents. granted, i need motor oil now but ill wait to get it until im actually gonna do it to get it. btw for those who change their own oil, you can bring your old oil and filters to any kragen to recycle it. for a little effort you'll be doing a big part in saving the environment for everyone.

Song of the Moment

Have you seen...

Have you seen my zip up sweater? I am pictured wearing it above. This is one of my most favorities. Since i couldnt find it, ive been running around stores trying to find the exact sweater. i love the fit and the style. and since im so particular about clothing, there is no substitute. The sweater is from GAP and can be recognized by the white thingies on the hood string.

If i've left it with you or you've seen it plllleeeaaasssseeee let me know. I'm willing to offer a dinner of choice as a reward. =)

almost but not

So pictured above is the chicken breast and wheat spaghetti combo. pretty good. even the next day. so as noted before i was traveling this week and i got to the security check point and the lady wouldnt let me pass because my peanut butter/jelly sandwich and spaghetti sauce is considered a liquid and could be materials to create a bomb. i tried to charm the security lady to let me pass through but she wasnt having it. which is totally understandable in the post 9/11 world. but i didnt think it would hurt to try.

Instead of throwing the food away i stood to the side and opened my sandwich bag and ate it. then afterwards i opened my tupperware of spaghetti and ate that too. those in line at the security check point doing the shoe dance looked at me with curiosity. the food didnt taste that great esp at 8:30 in the morning either but i was sure that this was my only chance at survival as i pretty much depleted all of the 21 dollars. moments later i was on my way.

After a rigorous day, i became pretty hungry. no food stamp money was left and i was unable to go home as i was still traveling. i met up with a real good friend and we proceeded to eat at a place called Kincaid's. and happy hour was just too hard to refuse. had some wine, scallops, sliders, and wings; all while sitting with a sunset view of the bay. would have been a perfect way to celebrate a conquering of the food stamp challenege but it felt just as good after a failure.

So in wrap up, the food stamp program is tough. i lasted 5 days on the program. 21 dollars isnt very much at all for one week. very difficult. even before i started, i felt i had plenty of food but not too much variety. i had to sacrafice some of the everyday commodies i would enjoy. careful planning would play a big role in making sure the 21 dollars would carry one through the week. many variables could pop up and 21 dollars isnt too much to play with. i think maybe ill try this program again but definitely not anytime soon.

Running and Hungry.

Today during the workday i went for some running. right after the run i didnt initially feel hungry but about 30 minutes afterwards it really hit me. good thing i choose to eat the peanut butter sandwich after i ran. however, unlike the other days, the sandwich didnt fill me up. looks like im gonna break into the pasta tonight since i think itll really give me the pick me up i need. i found out today that i may be traveling thursday so that poses new challenges.

Lunch

Peanut Butter and Wheat Bread. I find that Peanut Butter really fills you up and tastes good. esp with bread. haha. It's packed with protein and mostly good sources of fat. it's also very cheap and has a very long shelf life. for those on food stamps this would probably be a great choice. since its only day 2, it doesn't seem so bad. perhaps after my sandwich i did feel a bit lacking but dinner time is around the corner.

Breakfast of Champions

Cherrios and milk for breakfast. went to the store yesterday and got the chicken, cherrios, milk, and a bag of pre made salad and the total for all groceries was 20.90. hopefully i wont be lusting for any great food. friday, me and a few friends gathered at chilis for thier happy hour and plenty of greasy-flavorful food and yesterday had a bbq at my place. so ive had my fill. i suppose people who are on food stamps cant do what i did to prepare for the weeks. something to think about maybe.

Food Stamp Challenge

I read an interesting article a while ago about a congressman trying to survive on the food stamp privilege of $21 dollars a week and i thought id try it out. $21 dollars a week is $3 dollars a day and $1 dollar a meal. the article can be found here: http://foodstampchallenge.typepad.com/ i looked more deeply into the article and found the the things some of the congressman bought were items that werent on sale. i think i could do a much better job at finding sale items and making my $21 dollars go further.

I can remember at a time, i was eating mostly cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and chicken breasts and some veggies for dinner so i think thatll be my gameplan. I will be trying to keep the same standard of living of exercise/work and socializing with still only the $21 dollar food stamp allotted. ill be shopping this weekend but i already know i have some of those supplies at home that are unopened and recently bought on sale of course. they are as followed:

1.99 - 1 jar of skippy all natural peanut butter
1.99 - 1 package of sara lee 100 percent whole wheat bread
1.99 - 1 package of whole wheat pasta (thats gonna last me a long way)
1.49 - 1 jar of tomatoe pasta sauce (id usually go for more sauce but budget doesnt allow)
1.50 - campbells chicken/sausage gumbo
1.49 - 12 0z hieneken beer

haha just wrote all of that and it seems like a big piece of the pie from my 21 dollars. but im very confident i'll be able to make it. i left room for nice commodities like a can of soup and also a beer. the total on the products i have at home is $10.45 so that leaves me with $10.55 to get chicken breasts, a salad of sort, cereal and milk. darn, thinking again, this might not work out. estimates on those items are 6 dollars for chicken, 2.50 for salad, 2.50 for cereal and 2.75 for milk. im already over by 2.75. looks like i will have to sacrafice the beer and soup for milk which leaves me at $20.74 for the week.

I will get my supplies on Saturday Dec. 8th and Day 1 will start on Sunday and last until next Saturday. in the meantime, let me know if you have suggestions or comments.