More Vegemite Adventures

The Vegemite madness continues!

I've decided that Vegemite is good for me and The Professor. It's loaded with B vitamins, has virtually no calories and (surprisingly) the sodium content is pretty low.

So I'm looking for ways to incorporate it into our regular diet. I'm still not sold on spreading it on toast, though. I like my toast plain with butter.

I'm a toast purist.

But this stuff must have something going for it if an entire continent goes gaga for it. So last night I made a marinade for chicken chests using a tablespoon of VM, lime juice, garlic, onion and fresh jalapenos.

It was yum!

And today I brought my trusty little jar to the office and got my co-workers involved in a little Vegemite Taste Test:

Following Fiona's advice, I offered it up two ways: on buttered white bread toast and on wheat crackers with a slice of cheese.

I sent the email to everyone in the office and about half of them showed up. Surprise!

That isn't everyone (the kitchen is small), but the general consensus was that the VM was pretty tasty with the crackers and cheese:

I'm not sure if I convinced anyone to run out and buy a jar (probably not). I think most agreed with me that brown goo in a jar should be chocolate.

But at least now they can cross "Try Vegemite" off their personal bucket lists.

Afterwards, I was informed that if my current position in the company doesn't work out then I'd make a good food sampler at Costco. Or Sam's.

Hmm.

Leggypoo

Occasionally there are moments when I am surprised at how far I've come on this journey, and I had one of those moments today.

Dillypoo went rock climbing again with friends, one of whom snapped this picture of me:

The fact that a formerly devoted couch potato is clinging to a wall 30 feet in the air is remarkable in itself, but that isn't what surprised me.

The fact that I am clinging to that wall 30 feet in the air in Spandex shorts isn't the surprising element, either.

No, you have to look a little closer to see it:

Dillypoo has CALF MUSCLES!

I repeat.

I. Have. Muscles. IN MY LEGS:

Words escape me.

How Unprofessional

I heard a news story on the radio this morning that having a messy office is unprofessional.

Whoops. Dillypoo may have an image problem:

Normally, I pride myself in keeping a tidy work space. I'm a filer, not a piler and I like to keep the clutter to a  minimum when possible. But lately, I've become a bit lax:

Yeah, that's a bit embarrassing. These are samples of recent projects that should be on shelves instead of in a pile on my floor.

And these binders:

Should be clearly labeled and filled with numerically coded tabbed dividers, which are in that tall pile on my desk waiting to be coded:

I'll spare you the horror that is my four file cabinets. They're filled with two years of closed job jackets that need to be thinned out and sent into storage.

According to the news story, there are seven tips for identifying a cluttered space (I've summarized them here):

1. Check the view from your guest chair. If a visitor can't see over the top of any crap on your desk, you need to put some things away.
2. Create an organization system that works best for you (i.e. blue trash bins for stuff to ignore, green bins for recycling and brown for lunch and snack crumbs).
3. File, don't pile. Put it away if you're not using it!
4. File, trash or pass that to do item on to someone else.
5. If you don't need it, aren't using it or just finished with it, put it away! 
6. Go digital whenever possible. Save a tree and don't print unless it's absolutely necessary.
7. Tidy things up after lunch and before leaving for the day.

I like number 4, passing it along to the next person. Or tip number 8 (which the article forgot to include): 

8. Light a fire and start over.

Airmail!

Guess what Dillypoo received today?

Squee! Presents from Down Under! Fiona sent them to me for participating in her Beautiful Bloggers Australian Adventure House Swap vlog challenge (say that five times really fast!).

Inside the package were some fun Australian mementos:

I think the little koala bear with a boomerang is my favorite, though:

Love! This little guy is going to my office to live. I think he'll get along very will with the gnome I brought back from Germany.

Fiona also sent me this:

What is it with Australians and this stuff? Feeding Vegemite to Americans is like a child giving Grandpa a sour gummy bear. You pretty much get the same reaction:

Photo found here.

Candy should be sweet and brown goo in a jar should be chocolate.

Just sayin!

Just kidding, Fiona! I've tried Vegemite once before and declared I could possibly acquire a taste for this savory, salty spread given the right circumstances. Seems circumstances have presented themselves once again, so I tried it one more time.

But this time I took Fiona's advice and added a bit of cheese:

Looks like cream cheese and apple butter. Looks are deceiving.

I have to admit that the addition of the cheese was an improvement, although I think a milder cheese (like a Havarti or gouda) would be even better. The blue cheese Laughing Cow wedge I used was a little too salty paired with the Vegemite.

I'm going to try it on some crackers tomorrow. Or maybe "Americanize" it and spread it on a toasted wheat tortilla with some cream cheese.

Mmmmm! Now that sounds tasty!

Thank you for the awesome goodies, Fiona! Your package definitely brightened my day today.

Moonstruck

The moon is bright tonight:

Brighter than usual because tonight it's closer to the earth than it has been since 1993:

The Professor and I went to the park to take pictures of this Supermoon:

Because it won't be this close again until 2016:

Exercise Fail

Dillypoo's new dedication to being active hit a brick wall this week.

I'm blaming Daylight Savings Time. It's DARK at 7:00 a.m.! That's just not right.

I can't get my fanny out of bed in the morning to do anything more than race the clock and get to work on time.

I also had to work late last night which means I missed my group run.

The only thing I've done this week is a two mile run on Monday with my running group. That's it.

No Nordic. No weights. No stretching. No core exercises. No lunges.

And Dillypoo is beginning to feel it. My back is achy today and my legs feel like they're going to curl up from inactivity.

I had issues with maintaining a workout schedule this time last year, too. Maybe it's the slowdown after my busy fall schedule at work. I go from 80 hour work weeks to a paltry 40. Keeping myself motivated is a chore.

I'm one of those folks who is more productive with too much to do than too little. I can drag one tiny little project out for days if it's the only thing on my list, but give me 35 things to do and I can knock them out in record time.

Which leads me back to exercise. I need to set myself a more formal schedule for working out. I'm relying too much on my three weekly group runs.

It's not enough.

I'm going to take a cue from Jen over at PriorFatGirl and print out a chart for me to cross off daily. I want to get back to adding an extra run or long walk in the park in addition to the group training. And I want to get back into the habit of rising early at least three mornings a week to do my core exercises and strength training.

Because I didn't come all this way to just turn around and go back.

This post was inspired by Brandy over at You Don't Know.

Anger Management

Tonight was Club WW night. I like going to my weekly meetings even though I'm at goal and technically only need to check in once a month. They help keep me focused on a healthy lifestyle and I learn new things, especially with the new Points Plus plan. I like the people there, too. My leader is awesome and I've made friends with some of the members.

Tonight one of the newer folks - a "repeat offender" returning after almost a year - said something that made me think about my weight loss journey. When asked how this time was different from last, she said she wasn't angry anymore.

Angry? My leader asked her to explain, and she said last year she was angry when she joined because "skinny people can eat what they want."

Whoa! Been there! Felt that.

It used to really piss me off that I couldn't eat whatever I wanted and not get fat. I saw skinny people at all of my favorite places, like fast food restaurants and greasy diners. How come they could eat there and not be fat like me?

I was jealous and sometimes tried to prove a point by stuffing myself stupid. Not sure what point I was trying to prove, but it was an excuse to eat anything that was in reach or passing by on the server's tray.

When I re-joined Weight Watchers in January 2009 (I'm also a repeat offender), I wasn't so much angry as I was defeated. Stuffing myself stupid wasn't working and I was the heaviest I'd ever been.

It continued to irk me, though, whenever I saw an obviously fit person eating places and things that made me fat.

That is, it bugged me until I started paying attention to what those skinny folks were actually eating. Because the truth is, skinny people can eat what they want because they don't want what a fat person does!

Skinny people don't want to eat a quart of ice cream or an entire pizza or box of chocolates in one sitting. They don't obsess about food. They eat a nibble for taste and are satisfied. They may order the same hamburger and fries that I do, but they don't eat the entire thing and part of their companion's.

Skinny people leave food on their plates! What a concept.

It took me a long time to realize that I need to eat like a skinny person to be one, and not be angry or jealous that "they" could eat what they wanted.

Because what I really wanted, but didn't realize, was to learn to eat and want what they did. I wanted making healthy choices to be routine and my crazy obsessions with unhealthy foods to go away.

It took a long time, but I'm finally on the path to making eating healthy a natural part of my life.

Which allows me to focus on new obsessions. Like running.

Dillypoo Chatters

Fiona, who speaks with an adorable Australian accent (appropriate as she IS Australian), wants to hear my accent and know what language I speak.

I live in Texas, so I speak Texan. It's very similar to English except most of the words have extra syllables:

daw-ug = dog

cay-ut = cat

tay-un = ten

"I have tay-un cay-uts and daw-ugs runnin' tha-rough ma yard."

Of course, Dillypoo didn't always talk this way. I grew up in California, so I had to learn Texan. When I moved here at the tender age of 15, my West Coast "you guys" was a neon sign flashing "New Girl." It was soon replaced with a proper Southern "ya'll."

I filmed that snippet during a construction break. The Professor and I are tackling a home improvement project:

Oh, yeah! I'll be blogging about that in more detail soon!

Battle Cookie

These are mocking me from the office lunchroom today:

Freshly baked, made from scratch with real butter and brown sugar, chocolate chunk and pecan cookies. The score so far:

Dillypoo: 0

Cookies: 2

It's going to be a loooong day!

Feeling Fit

Time for a fitness update!

Dillypoo is maintaining her weight after reaching goal five months ago. In fact, this past Tuesday I weighed in .8 pounds under goal. I'd like to lose another three pounds so I'm really under goal, but I'm not pushing myself for it.

I'm relying on my new healthy habits to get me there gradually.

What are those healthy habits? 

• keeping my daily food journal
• following the Club WW points plus program
• making healthy food choices
• exercise

Eating sensibly is so much easier now than when I first started this journey. I eat more fruits and vegetables than ever, especially since getting my Magic Bullet.

I've become a fruit smoothie fiend!

My current favorite is a blend of frozen raspberries, frozen mango, fresh blueberries, a banana, vanilla yogurt and a tablespoon of flaxseed. Frozen pineapple, cherries (of course) and peaches are also tasty.

Frozen fruits are Dillypoo's new best friend.

And I'm happy to say that I've completely eliminated fast food from my diet. I can't even remember the last time I drove through a drive-thru.

But the biggest change I've made, the one that has been the most life altering, was learning to move. Running has truly changed my life, how I treat my body and the way I see myself.

I signed up for another running group and I'm training to run a 5K and a 10K in April. I'm learning how to tone my body with weights and core strengthening exercises.

I continue to surprise myself with what my body can do. Tonight Coach Molly had us run 1.6 miles. Since the group is new, we're starting at the beginning with short runs and building towards the 10K.

So I decided to see how fast I could run. I did it in 15:34, an average of 9 minutes and 58 seconds per mile!

This by the same Dillypoo who took 45 minutes to walk two miles the first time she went to the park.

And so my fitness journey continues to evolve. I started by focusing on The Diet, moved gradually towards an understanding about the difference between feeding and fueling my body, and eventually realized the importance of moving.

Dillypoo's chatter will continue to document the victories and stumbles as I face new challenges on this journey, along with all of the distractions.

This post was inspired by Brandy over at You Don't Know. Check her out!

My Angolphilia is Showing

Dillypoo is taking a vacation day from work on April 29:

It's the royal wedding of Prince William and his princess-to-be Catherine! My mother and I are planning a girl's weekend with my best friend to watch the festivities on tee vee.

I found our invitation on the interwebs:

And I'm already planning my attire for the occasion as specified on the invite: Dress Uniform, Morning Coat or Lounge Suit. As I have no uniform to wear (dress or otherwise), Dillypoo is shopping for a new pair of pajamas Lounge Suit (preferably with little hearts or English tea cups printed on them) and a matching bathrobe Morning Coat.

I'm also searching for a hat, because the English always wear hats to royal weddings. I don't want to be underdressed.

We'll have to get up obscenely early that Friday morning to catch everything live, so we're making it a sleep over event. I'm planning a very English breakfast to keep us from nodding off: hot tea with cream, eggs and bacon with tomatoes and baked beans, and scones with fresh marmalade.

I'm not sure why Brits eat baked beans for breakfast. We eat them with hot dogs and hamburgers in the U.S.

And in the spirit of all things royal wedding, a friend brought me back souvenirs from his business trip to London last week:

Aren't they fabulous? I squeed almost as loudly as when my work buddy brought me gifts from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Think Wills and Kate will mind if I serve the scones and marmalade on their faces?

Lunch

Inner-Child Dillypoo got what she wanted for lunch today:

Grown-Up Dillypoo was afraid to even look up the WW points: 17 for almost a whole frog! "Almost whole" because I've been nibbling on him for a week. His feet and lips have been missing since last Tuesday.

Looks like I'll be eating a bag of steamed vegetables for dinner.

Inner-Child Dillypoo: "It sure was tasty, though!"

Grown-Up Dillypoo: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go to your room!"

My Town

My Australian blog mate, Fiona, wants to know a little bit about my home town. She wants to know a bit about yours, too, as she's got this crazy idea for a house swap. I'm pretty certain she'd board the first plane home after stepping foot in my house, though, but I'm happy to share a bit about where I live.

Dillypoo is going to wing this one, which means if you want facts and accuracy, you'd better check elsewhere.

Fort Worth is known as Cowtown. Back in the frontier days, cattle came through on a railroad stop to slaughterhouses in Kansas City. The city still maintains a small herd of longhorn cattle (and cowboys to herd them):

We're pretty proud of our Western heritage, although the closest I ever get to cattle and horses is the Stock Show and Rodeo held every January:

It's a good excuse to get nachos.

Dillypoo spends most of her time in the cultural district of the city. Fort Worth has a thriving arts scene. We're home to not one, not two, but three world class art museums: The Kimbell, the Amon Carter and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

We also have an active community of art galleries, a wonderful symphony, ballet corps and theater scene.

And have I ever mentioned that The Professor and I run an art gallery? It's something we do in all of our copious spare time.

Most recently, though, Dillypoo has been getting to know my city's parks and trails. The biking and jogging trails run throughout the city along the many branches of the Trinity River, including near my house, past the zoo and around downtown.

As a city girl, I like that Fort Worth has all of the amenities of big city but with the feel of a small town. People here are friendly, our traffic isn't a nightmare (most of the time) and there's a lot to see and do.

The weather, however, leaves a bit to be desired. I always tell out of town guests to avoid visiting from August to mid-October when the thermometers soar into the triple digits.

Take note, Fiona!

Moving Day

Dillypoo is moving to a new address!

www.dillypoochatter.com

Blogger assures me the trip will be painless, but there may be some technical glitches for a day or two.

So if you see something goofier than usual, it may just be the dust settling as my links, blog rolls and other nerdilicious elements find their way home.

Life Lesson No. 9

Don't leave your eyeglasses on granite countertops in an unfamiliar hotel room:

I spent a good 10 minutes looking for my glasses after showering this morning. Can you see them?

It was a stupid morning as I crawled around searching with my hands on the floor, in the bed and through all of the clutter scattered around my room.

Granite. It's camouflage for the visually challenged.

Shower Time

Dillypoo is away from home tonight, enjoying the comforts of a hotel less than 20 miles away. It's time for my employer's annual company meeting/retreat.

We used to go to Hawaii for a week:

Now we go to a Hampton Inn near the office:

Yes, the economy sucks.

But I do like staying in hotels, so when The Bosses offered to let everyone have a room, I took one. My favorite thing about hotels? Showers!

The Professor and I don't have a shower. We have a vintage, claw foot tub. I love our tub. It's longer than the average old bathtub and I can soak in it for hours. Baths are wonderfully relaxing ways to start a morning.

But I miss showers. I took one as soon as I was able to excuse myself from dinner tonight and I'm looking forward to taking another in the morning. I may stay a second night (it's optional) if for no other reason than I'll get to take more showers.

It makes the temporary separation from The Professor, Stella and the cats much more bearable.

My official Cowtown photos are available, and of course I had to buy some!

I only paid for one digital download but I bought three prints. I'm such a newbie runner I couldn't not buy them!