Here is a screen capture of my daily weight for the last 20+ days.  I’m down over 10 pounds from the first day’s weigh-in.  I’d love to shed 5 more though!

On Sunday we did our salvage trip to the dump. We were warned that there
were slim pickings because of the weather from the previous week. Pepper
ended up scoring quite a few bottles and I found among the burn pile a lot
of red cedar that I can use for siding either inside or outside of the sauna
I plan on building. We actually had to bring the car back for a second load
because we didn’t bring the trailer!

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Here is some detail of Joran’s winning cake.

Jordan competed in the cake decorating contest at tonight’s Cub Scout pack meeting.  He got first place for "Best Cub Scout Theme" for the design he picked and I helped make.  Jordan mixed and baked the cake himself and we both decorated it with the design he picked out.

Pepper brought home a fun book from the Salvation Army today. It is “Favorite Recipes of Famous Outdoorsmen” published by the American Gas Machine Company in 1949. It seems to be a recipe book with ads for the various outdoor equipment that the company sells. The book is sorted by the “famous outdoorsmen” and here are a few from page 66 and 67 by Jimmy Stuber.

Jimmy Stuber is corresponding secretary of the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America, and special outdoor writer for the Dayton, Ohio “Daily News.” He is a big game hunter, fresh water and salt water fisherman, duck hunter and upland game hunter. He obtained the habitat moose group for the Ohio State Museum. Few men have had a more versatile experience with rod, gun, and dog than Stuber.

We have it on good authority the the four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie were not blackbirds at all… they were English starlings – this dainty dish set before the King in nursery rhyme.
There’s a lot of good food going to waste when we don’t shoot and eat starlings with an all year around open season. And you don’t need champagne with starlings like you do with quail or canvasback. starlings and beer go together.

Broiled starlings on toast
Cut the breasts in half. Lay inner side down on butter-greased broiler. Tie strip of bacon about each breast with a thread. Broil to a golden brown. Rub with oil or butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a bit of parsley. Serve on buttered toast.

Roast starling
Dress starlings same as you would quail. Cover with bacon strips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a slice of onion. Place in roasting pan. Roast to a light brown. Baste with drippings to which a touch of vegetable oil has been added. Green parsley and water cress make a suitable garnish. Serve with mushroom soup. A dash of red wine won’t hurt. Serve two starlings to a person. they go good with beer.

Starling stew
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fry in butter lightly. Dust with flour and add three slices of onion, 1 bay leaf, add a half glass of wine and water to cover. Stew slowly. When tender, set aside in a warm dish and let the stew-broth simmer to thicken. Then strain and serve.

In the late fall of 2007 I went to Vietnam for Seth’s wedding. We only got to see the southern part of the country (and Cambodia) though. It was really cool to have dinner in one of Khan’s relative’s home the first night. And after our stint through Cambodia we were back in the My Tho area having more meals with Khan’s family. While there, I got to know Khan’s little sister and she is planning on getting married in about a year.

If we manage to get our finances in order and are able to go it would be great to see the northern part of Vietnam. I want to see Halong Bay and Hanoi. The wedding would be near Ho Chi Minh though (in the south). I missed a few things to see there on my first trip – it was hard trying to coordinate so many tourists! My wife says I have to see Thailand too. The nice thing about these places is that it is quite inexpensive once you’re there!

Before my first trip, thinking about Vietnam holidays didn’t really conjure normal vacation imagery. And I wonder if vacationers to Iraq 30 years from now will get the same sort of reaction from me.

I always love having a trip on the horizon to think about. Although lately I have really wanted to add new locations to my list which is why a trip to Europe might be even more tempting!

Next month is already looking busy… I’ll fly to Juneau on the first for a SEAtrails meeting and fly back the next day. Which we all know is Groundhog’s Day. Which is a HUGE party in Petersburg. (Just kidding.) Then on Sunday the 6th we’ll be celebrating three things. The end of 4 weeks of playing the Game On Diet. The Superbowl. And my birthday!

The past two years I have spent the majority of my birthday in an airport and airplanes. This one I hope to not do that!

But the big question is – what will I do for valentines day? I’m trying to be frugal so flowers are not too likely. (sorry Pepper, I know you love them!) So it will probably be something home made. A card? Jewelry? Skivvies? All of them? I better get my act together and start making something so it isn’t a last-minute rush. My project from last year never was completed because I waited too long. If I finish that it will just feel like I’m a year late on the gift!

Why can’t valentine’s day be celebrated when flowers could be bought that could be planted? It turns out that the earliest reference to a “Volantynys day” was made by Chaucer in 1382. And researchers seem to believe that it was on May 2nd that he was referring to. I have a hunch that a gift given on May 2nd wouldn’t get much recognition as a Valentine’s Day gift – even to a history teacher!

I have never done a proper tutorial on the building block table that I made quite a few years ago.  Yesterday at the Salvation Army there was a good sized bag of wooden bloocks so we grabbed them and this afternoon I glued them to a piece of plywood.  It is a bit larger than the other table!

We’ve done a lot of stuff with Rachel and her kids (Courtney, Ruby, and Gage) over the past six months. They have played in Jordan’s tree fort, come over for tacos, home made pizzas, and many other meals, played plenty of wii games, gone sledding, had snowball fights, and played games and with Lego.

Last summer, Rachel heard that there was a weekly group that got together and played paintball and it was open to kids to try. You paid something like $20 and didn’t have even think about paintball guns for sale (or the CO2 or paint balls, or protective gear). It was all included!

We never made it out there but we’ve watched movies and even done some crafting together. There just never seems to be enough time in the week to get all the work done that we have to do and all the socializing done that we want to do!

I have tried using an exercise ball to improve my posture at work in the past.  I still slouch.  I’ve tried all the tips that ergonomic experts put out there but still revert to a hunched posture.  So I whipped up a standing desk for less than $30.  I also brought my gym shoes to wear while working so I should have less discomfort in the first few days on my feet.