My agent emailed today. He has a publisher who wants a book on lynchings in the Old West and how they reflect the development of law and order on the frontier. Told the publisher he had a writer with a good knowledge of the history of the Old West--that I may have, but lynchings have never been my subject, nor, really, has law and order. I always wrote about women in the American West. Still in the face of an assignment, I can explore new territory, maybe even going at it from a woman's point of view, because women banded together in anti-lynching societies, and it's always said women brought law, order, and community to the American West. Lots of research ahead, but if the publisher and I like each other and settle on a contract, it should be fun. Till it's settled, I'm going to continue working on the Texas food book. The novel is going on the back burner for the time being, though it was going well, and I was excited about it.
Jacob arrived about five-thirty tonight, so it's not a night for serious research on any of my projects. I'll have him all day tomorrow--our big adventure is a trip to the grocery store. He measures time in "after nap," so night-time and nap time are the same in his mind. "After nap" tomorrow, Mom will come, we'll all have dinner, and she'll take him home. I'm so grateful he still takes good afternoon naps. Sunday I'm a working girl.
Fort Worth has one of the ten best new restaurants in the country, according to Bon Appetit. It's Ellerbee's where I've been several times for lunch and once for dinner. The article included a recipe for heirloom tomato salad, which I'm going to make for Jordan tomorrow night. I never buy heirloom tomatoes--they're so expensive, and I can't tell the difference, but I bought two today, made the dressing, and baked chicken breasts for a chicken salad I once made. Jordan loved it, but I don't remember what was in it, except that I added blue cheese. With blue cheese in both the chicken salad and the tomato salad, she'll be a happy camper.
Tonight I cooked gluten free spaghetti (which essentially means it's rice spaghetti). The instructions said to boil 4-6 minutes, so since I was only cooking a small amount I settled on four minutes plus a few seconds. Underdone. Not sure if that's why Jacob didn't like it or if the sauce was too spicy for him. But he definitely didn't like it. My gluten free phase was probably one of the shortest of all my experimental lifestyles. Definitely not for me. I couldn't eat blue cheese!
Jacob has gone through his bedtime routine peacefully and is watching TV. The test will come when I tell him it's time to turn it off. But we are ahead of our usual schedule, and I'm feeling optmistic.
Showing posts with label Ellerbee's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ellerbee's. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Weight Loss and Retirement
Wow! There are two big subjects for you!
Today I had lunch with a friend at a new restaurant, Ellerbee's. When the waiter explained that the burger was a special low-fat kind of venison (I thought it all was) I ordered it and ate half--with a bit of mayo, lettuce and tomato and on a sesame seed bun. Venison may be low fat, but Weight Watchers still counts it as 1 pt. per oz. Then I ate six--count them, six!--French fries. They were seasoned, thin, and crispy golden brown, almost like French frites. There went three points, throw in a little wine, my breakfast, and I was down to 5 pts. left for dinner, which wasn't going to do it at all. The chicken loaf I ate is worth 5 pts., but the spinach is free. A glass of wine (or two) is not. I don't even want to talk about my point total. Jeannie tells me that exercise points balance out food points, but I haven't seen that they've made any difference, and I earn 1 exercise point (riding 4.5 miles on a stationary bike at a good resisitance and speed ought to be worth more than that!) at least four and usually five times a week. Yet I know that today I ate differently than I would have before I joined Weight Watchers--I would have eaten the whole burger (it was really good!) and more of the fries. And tonight I would have put butter on my spinach. So I guess it's a good thing. It puzzles me how all the people who eat normal meals but eat the whole thing--fries, etc.--don't weigh 450 lbs. I have this superstitious feeling that every little transgression will add a lb.
I'm deep into the process of retirement and never realized it could be so complicated. I have consolidated all the files on the C drive of my computer and a tech is coming tomorrow to save them for me and show me how to access our common office drive from home, since I will be doing contract work. I began cleaning out my junk drawer in my desk today--amazing how many rubber bands a person can throw in a drawer over the years. I have already taken home pictures, etc., though I have two still to take. And tonight I got in an email a "separation" form--sounds fatalistically final to me, but it includes most things I don't think I have to give up since I'll still be working--phone card, i.d. card, office key, etc. Then, on the heels of that, came a request to fill out a proposal for contract work--something I'll need a little guidance on. Who knew that retiring was so comlicated? Certainly not me.
Today I had lunch with a friend at a new restaurant, Ellerbee's. When the waiter explained that the burger was a special low-fat kind of venison (I thought it all was) I ordered it and ate half--with a bit of mayo, lettuce and tomato and on a sesame seed bun. Venison may be low fat, but Weight Watchers still counts it as 1 pt. per oz. Then I ate six--count them, six!--French fries. They were seasoned, thin, and crispy golden brown, almost like French frites. There went three points, throw in a little wine, my breakfast, and I was down to 5 pts. left for dinner, which wasn't going to do it at all. The chicken loaf I ate is worth 5 pts., but the spinach is free. A glass of wine (or two) is not. I don't even want to talk about my point total. Jeannie tells me that exercise points balance out food points, but I haven't seen that they've made any difference, and I earn 1 exercise point (riding 4.5 miles on a stationary bike at a good resisitance and speed ought to be worth more than that!) at least four and usually five times a week. Yet I know that today I ate differently than I would have before I joined Weight Watchers--I would have eaten the whole burger (it was really good!) and more of the fries. And tonight I would have put butter on my spinach. So I guess it's a good thing. It puzzles me how all the people who eat normal meals but eat the whole thing--fries, etc.--don't weigh 450 lbs. I have this superstitious feeling that every little transgression will add a lb.
I'm deep into the process of retirement and never realized it could be so complicated. I have consolidated all the files on the C drive of my computer and a tech is coming tomorrow to save them for me and show me how to access our common office drive from home, since I will be doing contract work. I began cleaning out my junk drawer in my desk today--amazing how many rubber bands a person can throw in a drawer over the years. I have already taken home pictures, etc., though I have two still to take. And tonight I got in an email a "separation" form--sounds fatalistically final to me, but it includes most things I don't think I have to give up since I'll still be working--phone card, i.d. card, office key, etc. Then, on the heels of that, came a request to fill out a proposal for contract work--something I'll need a little guidance on. Who knew that retiring was so comlicated? Certainly not me.
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