Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Still organizing …

and walking and eating within my calorie limits and feeling gggggggreat!

Tomorrow is when the elliptical is supposed to be available for pick-up. I kept thinking it would be, um, later. When you don't work a 9-to-5 job, the days sort of run together. (Notice I didn't say I don't work, because it feels like I'm doing something – whether it feels like work or not – all day!)

What that means is that today is the day to complete the office organization, and figure out what, if anything, I need to buy to make it work efficiently. I already know I want some wall pockets, but there might be something else that would make things look or feel or work better. And since I'm going to be in a large town with shopping opportunities a Staples, well, I need to take advantage, right?

I moved the computer to a different desk, which is a little higher than the old surface and I further screwed things up by elevating the monitor atop a box. (Covered in white paper, because a plain brown cardboard box just doesn't get it.) How is that screwing things up, you might ask? I can no longer sit comfortably in front of the monitor on my Swiss ball. I have to – sob – use a chair. Guess I'll have to figure out something to do with the Swiss ball. Like … oh … crunches, maybe? Heh.

If I'm going to do strength training twice weekly, which is one of the New Year's goals I set, I need to do it today and again Friday. The best thing I could do for myself in this regard is to put in a DVD and pick up the dumbbells as soon as I publish this post. Before I start the organizing project, before I eat breakfast, before I do anything else. It's so tempting to push it back again, but I'm running out of week!

Will I or won't I? Film at 11.

For Anne, who requested the butternut squash recipe:

Two medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup honey
1 Tblsp. grated fresh ginger

To facilitate the peeling/cutting of the squash, pop them in the microwave for five minutes and then let them cool a bit.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with the water. Add the squash cubes, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook over medium heat for 12 minutes.

Add the honey and grated ginger (and I added some cinnamon at this point, probably a couple teaspoons) and cook a few minutes longer, glazing the squash. Transfer to serving bowl and serve warm.

My guess is that this comes out to about 230 calories per one-cup serving. Sounds like a lot if you're on a very-low-calorie diet, but it fits perfectly in my 1800-calorie/day plan. I have trouble eating that much, after literally years of eating 1200 or less, so vegetable sides like this are a good addition to my plan.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe, Debbi! It looks easy and definitely yummy (I love ginger and root vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes).

I'm excited that you're getting an elliptical. Having something like that right in house would make such a difference on nasty weather days and/or otherwise "wasted" time. You love your walks and being outside, though, and you'll still get that in if I know you!

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