Day 285 I Like The Hair and A Confident Irene Lands a Wonderful Promotion

Day 285

I Like The Hair and A Confident Irene Lands a Wonderful Promotion

Now that I'm giving this goatee thingy a try, I'm noticing goatees everywhere. I must have noticed thirty different guys today all sporting goatees. Some were neat and trim, others messy, and some rather creative. I feel like I'm in the goatee club. I made eye contact a couple of times, as if to say, “hey...nice goatee, ya know I have one too!” It's funny, I never really noticed the goatee abundance before now. I'm not guaranteeing I'll keep this one on my face, but I will give it a chance to develop a little more. And I promise to post a better-brighter picture by Sunday evening. We'll call it “Goatee Watch 2009.” It's kind of fun to mess around with my appearance now that I sort of like what I see in the mirror, ya know? The people that cut my hair...OK, that sounds like I have a team of hair people. Only one person at a time cuts my hair, but depending on who's available, it might be someone else. I have my favorite and I'm pretty sure she knows who she is! She just knows how I like it cut. I don't have to say a word. I just sit down and snippity snip snip...she's done. Anyway...She suggested that once I get below 300, I should allow her to just do whatever she thinks will look good. I don't know about that! That might be scary. I don't know if I can trust her that much! My hair has always been something I like about myself. My hair and my eyes. That's it. So I'm pretty much over protective of my hair. But I'm also hooked on a certain style that has been with me for years. Maybe I should throw caution to the wind and see what happens. I don't want a buzz cut, I know that for sure! I like my thick hair. I'll see what happens. I'll tell you one thing, the only way I'm even able to contemplate changing my hair is because of this new kind of confidence I'm carrying these days. I also need a brow wax again. Yep, the “brow bird” grew a new head! I can make him fly!

Irene called earlier with amazing news! She was just given a huge promotion at her job! She interviewed for the open position the other day, in what she described as the most intense thorough interview she's ever experienced. She really stressed over who she knew was also applying and interviewing. And today, out of all the candidates, she was the one chosen! My baby rocks! She works really hard and deserves this promotion. The weight she's lost has really given her an awesome confidence that surely showed in front of the big wigs where she works. Now she gets the responsibility and benefits reserved for “upper management!” I like the way that sounds! She'll do an amazing job, she's a real no nonsense kind of person. She doesn't subscribe to drama in the workplace, nor does she tolerate it. She's there to do a great job, get it done right, take pride in it, and feel good about it. Certainly qualities that her superiors have noticed. I'm so proud of her, it's hard to put into words. I've always believed in her like she believes in me, I feel like she really needed this to give her that extra boost to really believe in herself. I'm a very lucky man.

Food and calorie budgeting were really good today. I found some all beef fat free hot dogs that check in at only 40 calories each! Now just to be clear, my philosophy has been clearly explained before in these writings, about how I feel when it comes to fat free products: I'd rather have a little of the full fat version than a bunch of the fat free version. Let's be honest, fat taste great! But when it comes to grilling dogs and burgers, the less fat the lower the calories, and that works better for our calorie budgets. The leanest hamburger still taste great off the grill, but hot dogs---well, I just didn't know. But I was willing to give them a fair shake. A regular hot dog with bun, depending on brands, can have anywhere from 230 to a whopping 320 calories! But a fat free dog on a bun with mustard checks in at a very nice 150. Big difference. I had a lean burger with onions and mustard and a hot dog with mustard and stayed within my calorie budget easily. It was a whole lot more bread than I normally eat, but hey, we were cooking out dogs and burgers, there's going to be buns! We have cut down tremendously on bread. Of course, with our philosophy, nothing is off limits...however, we decide on our choices based on calorie values, if it's not a good value, we choose something else, or a lighter version, or a considerably smaller portion. With this way of thinking and deciding, we've naturally cut out most breads, sweets, and a variety of empty calories that we always consumed before without a care. We also consume much less cheese. I've split one cheese slice four ways before...yep, 15 calorie squares of American, and nobody complained. I even had enough calories remaining to enjoy a junior frozen yogurt soft serve from Braums Ice Cream and Dairy Store. It was a wonderful day!

It has been a busy day and that's why we've pushed our workout back until now. We also had a forecast high of 104 today, and we're not working out in the heat. We allowed scheduling circumstances to keep us from the YMCA this evening, so the trail, a Sweatin' DVD, and jump rope are the options we have tonight. I think Courtney is insisting we hit the trail. I'll go see. Good thing she's insistent, because on nights like these---I think I would decide to sleep instead, if not for her constant “let's go!” You talk about a teenage girl that is taking charge! Thanks for reading, goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean