Tom's Diary

I recently baked some   spaghetti squash   for supper as a tasty alternative to an easy pasta recipe.  In fact, though this easy spaghetti squash recipe takes a bit longer to prepare than pasta, its dietary benefits make this little bit of extra wait time worthwhile.  The spaghetti squash recipe I used is as follows:

1. Start with a whole spaghetti squash.
2. Poke lots of holes in it with a fork or sharp knife.  Do not cut the spaghetti squash apart yet.
3. Microwave on high power for approximately two minutes and thirty seconds per pound. My spaghetti squash was 2.5 pounds.  So I microwaved it for about five minutes.
4. While microwaving the spaghetti squash, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. Once microwaving is finished, place the whole spaghetti squash into a shallow baking dish.
6. Put the spaghetti squash in the oven, uncovered, and bake for one hour.
7. Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven.
8. Cut the spaghetti squash in half.  Be careful, as it’s quite hot.
9.  Scoop out and discard the seeds from the center of each half.
10. Then, using a fork, scoop out the stringy yellow fleshy part of the spaghetti squash and put it in a large bowl.
11. Add your favorite pasta sauce or seasonings.  I used spaghetti sauce on mine, but olive oil creates a wonderful flavor as well.
12. Finally, eat and enjoy your spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash is not a refined carb.  So, it makes a nutritious low-calorie alternative to grain pasta, it’s simple to make, and seems just as filling as the grain-based pastas.  So consider adding this dish to your repertoire of low-fat, low-calorie substitutes for grain, to get more vegetables into your diet.

Tom Hesley

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I’m feeling a cold coming on.  My nose, though not running is burning and my throat feels a bit dry and scratchy. 

This is my second cold of 2011.  The first one lasted several days, and I got that one in early January.  At that time, I was not getting as much sleep as I need, and with all the celebrating going on to ring in the new year, I probably wasn’t completely nourishing myself either.  But this cold, I’m at a loss to explain.  I have on the whole been eating better — lots more fruits, vegetables and lean meats.  Further, I’ve scaled back my intake of refined carbs with much less sugars in my diet.  But on the other hand, I’ve been spending time at Mom’s nursing facility, and the last time I visited, I heard numerous sniffles, coughs, nose-blowing toots, and hawking.  So it’s probably that I got it up there. 

But then, I’m one who believes that you cannot avoid a cold by applying all those hand sanitizers, masks, rubber gloves, smocks, and so on.  I mean, it will get you eventually because it’s impossible to create an environment that is totally free of the rhino-virus (the cause of the common cold).  Indeed, if you make your environment  too sterile, you may delay the onset of the cold for a time.  But by avoiding exposure, in my opinion, the immune system eventually forgets how to fight a cold.  So, when you finally do get the cold you’ve been attempting to outrun, it catches up with you, with a vengeance.  Its symptoms are nasty, it seems to last forever, and it takes longer to completely get back to full strength.  So, I don’t run away from colds.

But I do try to strengthen my immune system as much as I can.  Thus, my strategy to minimize the severity and duration of this cold is this: Drink lots of orange juice, eat beef, get lots of rest, avoid all possible stress, and try to remain at home until it’s all better.  By staying at home, my goal is not to avoid exposure to more germs, but rather to reduce the energy consumption of my body.  By utilizing the skeletal muscles less I theorize, the more energy there is for the immune system to fight off the illness.  Well, we’ll see how that works this time.  Look for comments below that will detail my progress through this cold. 

Tom Hesley

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I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 181.0 pounds.  That’s up 2.5 pounds from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight: 184.0 pounds.

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 11:45 AM: Chicken-crusted pecan salad from TGI Friday’s.  750 calories.
• 01:00 PM: 1 small container of rice pudding.   100 calories.
• 02:00 PM: 1/2 of a Ghirardelli chocolate bar.  230 calories.
• 03:15 PM: 1 cup of pomegranate coconut juice.  80 calories.
• 12:30 AM: 3 tablespoons of peanut butter.  300 calories.

Total calories: 1460.

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty. DONE.
• Visit Mom at hospital.  DONE.
• Do all (3) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.  26 loads done in the new washer so far.

Log

08:45 AM: I’m up. Warm and windy this morning here, with temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s.  Perhaps that groundhog was right after all, about spring being just around the corner.  If he is, then he just got lucky I suspect.  Yea, that’s it. 

09:45 AM: Left message with my lawyer, asking if I should just pay the water heater bill (including the disputed charges), or fight it, or perhaps just pay the undisputed portion.  I’ll probably hear from him tomorrow or Wednesday. 

11:05 AM: Leaving now to visit Mom at the hospital. 

11:40 AM: Arrived at hospital to find Mom sitting in her wheelchair, lodging a complaint with the head nurse about another nurse that was rather rude to her over the weekend. 

01:00 PM: I took Mom the fifteen get-well and Valentine’s Day cards she’s received at home over the past couple weeks, and I think she opened each and every one in front of me, and read many of them aloud.  That seemed to make her happy that so many folks thought to send a card. 

02:00 PM: Headed down to the Subway shop to get some lunch and to wait for my ride back home.

03:05 PM: My ride arrived.

03:45 PM: I’m home again.  No calls from the water heater vendor in regards to the message I left them over the weekend about the charges I disputed.  Looks like the money guy there is still ignoring me. 

04:00 PM: Started the laundry.

04:30 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

05:30 PM: I’m awake again.

07:10 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR. 

08:00 PM: Talked with sister Christine to update her on Mom’s condition.  Mom is set to move to her new permanent long-term care facility  tomorrow.

09:00 PM: Made a batch of those Jiffy corn muffins again, but was a bit unnerved when, upon reading the box closely, I discovered that they contain small amounts of hydrogenated fats.  Man, I must be skeptical of any food that’s too easy and convenient to make.  Plus, they also carry some added sugar.  Hmmm.  That’s why they’re rather addictive.  I think I’ll look into buying some Indian Head corn meal next time and make a truly homemade batch of my own recipe of corn muffins or cornbread, to get away from all this other stuff that I wish not to appear in my foods.  I love corn but not all the additives they put in the various mixes.  Grrrrr. Perhaps I’ll get a stone and coarse-grind my own corn meal. 

10:00 PM: We’ve finished folding all the clothes washed earlier, and [Emmy] is almost completely packed for her return to her Pittsburgh home later this week. 

11:00 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   Hawaii Five-0. 

11:30 PM: Gave [Emmy]   all the other Valentine’s Day gifts I bought for her.  She was exceptionally thrilled with the heart-shaped tin of Ghirardelli chocolate. But the red stuff animal with the heart-shaped nose and the puffy and soft heart in its paw that said ‘Kiss Me’ almost made her cry with joy.  It felt nice to brighten her February 14th. 

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More later.  Good night. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today. 

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• Today’s Diet: 2011-02-14

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.
• Do all (4) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.
• Process at least ten grocery and other store receipts.  IN PROGRESS.

Log

05:00 AM: I’m up, temporarily.   Mom requires assistance.

05:20 AM: All is taken care of, and I’m headed back to bed for a while more.

10:00 AM: I’m up, and feeling a smidge sore after all the ladder-climbing I’ve done the past couple days to get the blue Christmas lights into those high places here on the property.  I find that I talk to myself more when climbing ladders. At five Ft. above ground, I might say 25 words a minute. At ten, where the ladder wobbles a little, I say a hundred per minute. At fifteen Ft., where the wind blows and the ladder really starts shaking, I can’t understand myself anymore, ’cause I’m talking way too fast. Must be a nervous thing, ‘eh? |-) Good morning!

10:20 While in the shower, I  heard noises in the kitchen and elsewhere on the first floor.  It sounds like sister Jojo and her daughter.  Investigating…  Yep, it’s them.  They’re here to bake cookies.  Neat.

10:30 AM: The article about the Christmas lights here and me, who put them up appeared in the Altoona Mirror newspaper this morning, and sister Jojo just loved it.

12:00 PM: Forgot to memtion that today is my 50th birthday!  Happy birthday to me.  

01:30 PM: Hung out with sister Jojo and daughter while they finished up their cookie baking.  When they left, I dispensed Mom’s lunch time meds.

02:15 PM: Well, the washer officially died today during the spin cycle. It went with a loud hiss, a pungent smell, and then, in spite of the motor still running, the tub inside no longer spins. Now, I have an unspun load of laundry to contend with. Grrrrrr. I guess life just never lets up; not even on one’s birthday. Good afternoon!

02:45 PM: Subscribed for a year to Consumer Reports magazine so I can find out, online, what new washing machines they recommend this year.  We’ll probably have to buy one this week.

03:10 PM: Vacuumed my bedroom, and started the bedding a washing.

03:10 PM: My ride to pick   [Emmy]   up at the train station just arrived.  So we’re leaving now.  Back later.

03:55 PM: [Emmy's]   train was precisely on time.  Now, we’re headed back home.  Sister Mary Ann and family should be there by now.  They’re taking me out for dinner to celebrate my birthday.

04:15 PM: We noticed upon arrival back home several cars parked in the lot adjacent to the house.  Unusual.  Hmmmm.

04:15 PM: On the way in, we ran into nephew Garrett, also heading for the door.  Apparently he’d come to visit Mom.

04:17 PM: When I opened the kitchen door, all the mystery dissipated.  All the family was here to throw me a surprise birthday party!  Wow.  I don’t think I’ve had one of these since my 12th birthday some thirty-eight years ago. Sweet!   So, I wrote on Facebook: Wow, I just got surprised with a surprise birthday party! We got cake. We got pizza. And, we got lots of love. Thanks so much, family. You’re great!

05:00 PM: They served square pizza, blue corn chips, dip, assorted candies, and ice cream cake.  Well, this will cost me a couple pounds.  But it’s worth it.

06:00 PM: All my sister’s daughters chipped in and decorated our Christmas tree.  Mom had not wanted to do this, this year, but changed her mind when the girls offered to do it for her.  It really looks nice too; just like when Mom used to place all the balls and bells on it herself.

07:30 PM: After we ate, or while we ate in some cases, folks moved into the living room to watch the Steelers on TV.  They lost the game however, but still managed to make the playoffs this year.

11:30 PM: Got Mom prepared for bed, started another load of clothes in the washer, and kicked off a load of dishes from the surprise party in the dishwasher.

12:00 AM: Watched the remainder of some movie on the Hallmark Channel; called   First Christmas.  Not bad but it seemed to move along more slowly than I prefer.  But my words on this only bear just so much credibility, as I did not see it from the beginning.  [Emmy]   and Mom however did view this movie in its entirety, and they really enjoyed it.

12:05 AM: I was pleased to see that over fifty people wished me a happy birthday on Facebook.  Guess I’m more popular there than I imagined. Even heard from   [Lynn],  [Olga],  and [First Love's] girlfriend.  This really was a day full of surprises.  So with the party and all those good wishes from family and friends, today really couldn’t have been any better for me.  Yes, the washer went on the blink.  But all that warmth made this a non issue.  It’s just laughable really.

12:10 AM: Headed for bed now.  I’m sure I’ll have more to say tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No deliveries on Sundays.

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I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 09:15 AM: 1 extra large Dunkin’ Donuts decaffeinated coffee with hazelnut flavoring and half & half.  150 calories.
• 11:00 AM: 1/2 bag of Milky Way candy bars; the fun size.  500 calories.
• 06:20 PM: 4 sloppy Joes on whole grain flat bread.  1200 calories.
• 06:30 PM: 2 cups of pomegranit and blueberry juice.  200 calories.
• 09:30 PM: 1/2 bag of Milky Way candy bars; the fun size.  500 calories.

Total calories: 2550.

Tom Hesley

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 03:20 PM: One of my numerous generous drivers took me to Martin’s grocery store this afternoon for the following items:

• Diet Pepsi, caffeine-free (10 liters).
• Cap’n Crunch cereal (1 box).
• Bananas (1 bunch).
• Clementines (1 box).
• Gala apples (1 bag).
• Kraft Singles American cheese slices (2 bags of 24 slices each).
• Minute Maid orange juice (1 gallon).
• Sargento Swiss cheese slices (1 bag).
• Trop50 pomegranate blueberry juice (108 Oz).
• 2% milk for Mom (1 gallon).
• Eggs (1 dozen).

Total cost: $56.07

We also stopped at our vet’s office to pick up the following items:

• Flea medicine (4 doses).

Total cost: $60.00

Grand total: $116.07

Tom Hesley

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My brother-in-law, Tom (yes, his name is Tom too), and I drove to Martin’s grocery store to buy the following items for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow:

• Clementines (1 box).
• Potatoes (5 pound bag).
• Breyers all natural vanilla ice cream (1 box).
• Kraft American cheese slices (1 bag).
• Cool Whip (1 canister).

Total cost: $18.47

Grand total: $18.47

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.
• Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
• Pay all pending bills.
• Clean roof gutters and downspouts.  DONE.
• Repair roof heaters on south roof, just above Mom’s bedroom.  They’ve come undone and are hanging.  DONE.
• Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.

Log

07:30 AM: I’m up.

10:00 AM: Facebooked, and added my part of the resulting content of that session to the   Tom’s Views –> Thoughts On Bigotry   piece.

11:00 AM: Talked to our financial planner guy to strategize about how to safely invest our funds in the months to come.

11:15 AM: Worked the   Water Heater Replacement: 2010    project.  Called the contractor to speak highly and truthfully about the plumbers that performed this job this past Tuesday.

12:45 PM: Posted the    Mom’s Status: 2010-09-23   piece.

12:55 PM: I’m pondering and mouth-watering over a big bowl of Cocoa Wheats with organic “raw” sugar and half & half. Mmmmm. Sounds like a great lunch; except for the 2:30 PM doldrums that all those carbs would surely induce if consumed. So, will I actually eat a bowl in spite of all that? Of course! If that seems crazy, don’t blame me, for it runs in the family. Just kidding, sisters! Well…  :-)

02:45 PM: Worked the   Gutter Maintenance: 2010   project.  The annual gutter cleaning is finished.

05:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

08:30 PM: Watched the 2010-09-21 episode of   Dr. Phil,   this week’s installment of the   Dr. Phil Housewives Get Real Tuesday   series.

10:30 PM: Talked to sisters Mary Ann and Christine, and [Emmy] tonight on the phone.  I love these cordless phones because I can take them out on the back porch.  It’s beautiful out tonight.  The moon is out and nearly full.  So it’s quite bright, and I enjoy phone chatting in the moon light.

12:00 AM: iPodded on the same porch with the moon, and let the cats out there with me to bask in the fresh air and chase each other around.  But it’s bed time again.  Boy, the days zip by so quickly these days.  So good night.  I hope to visit Mom tomorrow.  More then.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• Offer from Unison Advantage Plus (HMO).  Not at this time, thanks.

Related Posts

• Gutter Maintenance: 2010
• Mom’s Status: 2010-09-23
• Today’s Diet: 2010-09-22
• Tom’s Views –> Thoughts On Bigotry
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11:44 AM: I spent $180 for fifteen flasks of stevia on Friday, to sweeten my daily tea and yogurt for a whole year. I prefer spending extra now to avoid sugar’s poisonous effects, over paying much more later to fight them once they surface and become permanent. After all, the cost of one heart bypass surgery would buy a lifetime supply of stevia for several people (at least). My motto: The earlier we solve a problem, the cheaper the solving of it is.

12:00 PM: I started chewing snuff as a boy to gain peer acceptance. But then, twelve years later, I had to quit, also, to get more acceptance. Ironic, isn’t it?

12:05 PM: Did   [Jack] ever tell you that he and I walked one time from his place to the Ritz diner just north of the Palace?  15.4 miles I believe it was.    What a wonderful Philadelphia memory that was.

Tom Hesley

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