Cake Decorating Part 1: the back story

Jenni and I started a tradition when Jackson turned 1.  We decided that we'd like to design and make his birthday cake from scratch.  It probably began out of a need to save $ (I don't quite remember) but now, even though we could afford to buy a cake from a bakery, we've really grown to love creating them.  We've done it for every one of Jack's 5 birthdays and for Jake's 2. 

Here's a sampling of the cakes:



An impromptu cake for Jake's ACTUAL birthday this past year, 2010.  The boys are Spongebob fanatics. 



Jack's cake for his 5th birthday.  He loves soccer and played in two leagues last summer. 



Jake's 2nd birthday cake - the official one.  Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween Birthday Cake.  (the white circle the pumpkin is on is also cake)



Jack's 3rd birthday.  Jack's been a huge Transformers fan ever since he could pick up a toy, pretty much.  This is Optimus Prime. 

So I think we've improved since the beginning on the birthday cakes.  This Christmas, however, I stepped up my game: brought it to the next level.  Fondant.  (more to come...)

WW Update: Mission Accomplished

283.2 - Did it.  Mission accomplished for this week.

Next Goal is 279.5 for next Friday.  So, I need to do what I did this week and then some.  Continue making good food decisions and step-up my game in the exercise department.  I worked out approx 3 times this week. (I'm including shoveling snow with that because WW gives me activity points for it.)

so, here we go!

Filet Mignon, Wine, and a Horse-Dog

The sitting area at the Hotel Marlowe.  This is where Jenni and I sat together by the fire, in comfy chairs sipping wine and reading books (Jenni had her kindle) before enjoying a tasty meal at Bambara - the hotel's restaurant. 

January, 12 2011 marked our 9 year wedding anniversary and to celebrate Jenni and I spent the night at our favorite local gettaway - the Hotel Marlowe, a kimpton hotel in Cambridge, Ma.  Grandee watched the boys - thanks Ma!

We had a blast as usual.  We got a great deal on a king-size room with an extra special package that included $25 towards the restaurant and an in-room movie. 

The hotel offers great perks and always has complimentary offerings for guests to enjoy in the lobby like a wine hour, hot chocolate bar, fruit-infused water, sangria tasting, iced coffee and tea in the summer, etc.  This time we took advantage of the hot chocolate bar with homemade whipped cream and other toppings and of course the wine hour which included some sausage kabobs and mixed nuts that quickly became Jenni's favorite. 

Dinner was excellent - we both had steak and Jenni tried a chocolate martini for dessert. After dinner, we headed to the elevator and rode it with Thor - a bull mastiff.  His owner was there too, of course.  The hotel is pet friendly.  He was very cool.  I think I want a bull mastiff for our next puppy.  We got back to the room, watched a couple of movies, and enjoyed items from the mini-bar. 

It was super-relaxing and reminded me once again how much fun I have with my wife.  She's amazing.  I am one lucky dude. :)

Our next gettaway is already booked.  All four of us are heading to NYC in March!  We're going to visit one of our bestest friends Michelle and try to get into Carlos Bakery in New Jersey.  (We are huge Cake Boss fans.) 

WW Update

Mission accomplished.  maintained my weight @ 287 friday despite going off points last weekend in Cambridge with Jenni. 

And I'm back to working out as of this morning - did 20 min on the elliptical with a sprinkling of weight training before taking Jack to school.  I have an MD appointment on Friday Feb. 18th for a blood pressure check.  I have 4 more weigh-ins before that appointment.  My goal is to be at 272 by that day.  That's a 3.75lb loss each week.  It's a lofty goal but I think I can do it.  I have to just think of it as one week at a time.  So, I just need to focus on 283.25.  That's what I want the scale to say on Friday at weigh-in.  Fingers crossed.

WW Update: Scale Fail

Alrighty then...

It's been a week since I posted anything.  I can explain...

We had a MAJOR snow storm 1 week ago and lost power/heat in our house.  Se we decided to go to a hotel for the night to take advantage of their warmth and Internet connection.  It was a fun little adventure despite Jake dumping my hot coffee on himself at breakfast and the fact our power came on before we even arrived at the front desk.  ;) 

Then Jenni and I went away for our 9 year wedding anniversary to what has become over the past 2-3 years our mini-getaway-destination-of-choice: The Hotel Marlowe, a kimpton hotel located in Cambridge, MA.  Another post about our weekend is forthcoming but where it relates to this WW update is that I pretty much took a 2-day break from my diet while we were there and the day after at home culminating in tasty take out from a new pizza joint in Bridgewater and home-made Ghirardelli chocolate chip cookies.  Excellent!

At any rate, I've been in diet-recovery mode ever since.  I did manage to hit the elliptical before we left which is good.  This Friday's weigh-in should be interesting.  ESPECIALLY since...we had to buy a new scale.  (finally - we've arrived at the blog-topic)  Our scale crapped out.  For the 1st week and a half of our weight loss journey we were both using a faulty scale.  Neither of us are quite sure exactly what this means as far as our results thus far but it certainly puts a cramp in our confidence.  We have a new scale and weighed-in for real on Friday (Saturday morning for me - we didn't buy the scale until Friday afternoon and I weigh-in in the morning) and I was down 3 pounds to 287.  My goal for the rest of the week is to stay on track, work out as much as possible and hopefully be at least where I was before cheesecake, filet mignon, wine, pizza, and cookies.  (sounds like an awesome weekend, right?)


Stay tuned for these and other upcoming post-topics:  Movie Review: The A-Team (2010), Cake Decorating, Anniversary Trip: Hotel Marlowe

Daddy's Karate Blunder

Day 2 for the Boys' Karate. They were very excited, for the most part. Although Jake wanted to just "STAY HOME! Watch Dora, NOW!"


Jackson has been practicing his counting in Japanese - it's very cute. We arrived early to see if the Sensei had any uniforms for the boys; not yet, they'll have to be ordered. So, I put the boys in the warm-ups and sweats I brought for them and took their shoes and socks off. They were ready. Jackson was asked if he wanted to participate in Jacob's class and he said yes! I was pumped. I wanted him to get his feet wet and start to feel more comfortable. And I think it's cool for Jake to have his big brother out there with him.


They did great and had a blast! Jake is so into it! Jack was enjoying himself and I think it was much less intimidating for him than the older class. So, Jake's class ended, they bowed, and ran to Daddy; I greeted them with a big hug and a, "Good job boys!"


Jack was excited for his next class. He kept counting in Japanese over and over and saying, "I'm gonna do the whole class, Daddy." and I said, "Alright!" I took them to the bathroom so Jack could pee. When we got back to the Dojo, I said to Jack, "Ok, go bow at the door and go in. I'm gonna put on Jacob's shoes." So, Jack entered the Dojo; brave, eager, excited, pumped up from his brother's class. Jake was on a high too and a little crazy from all the adrenaline. I sat down on the parents area right next to the studio. From there I could see the whole class - it was a good seat. I know that he would want to see me the whole time. Once Jack was in the Dojo, I turned towards Jake (with my back to Jack) and started tying his shoes.


This karate studio is successful. Which means it gets busy and there's not a lot of space outside the Dojo itself to stand or sit while you wait. There were people everywhere, crowding the space during this transition time and some of those people stepped in front of me while I tied Jake's shoes. They blocked Jack's view and he couldn't see me. He thought I left. This was a bad time to tie Jake's shoes.


I had completely erased his excited, optimistic feelings. He was now hurt, betrayed, scared, sad, insecure, and slightly traumatized. And he was DONE with Karate for the day. DONE.


We want him in Karate to help boost his self-confidence. I just stomped on it with my big old, idiot foot.

It was bad. I still feel horrible. But I'm excited for the next class. We talked about it and I promised him I would not tie Jake's shoes until after his class. A simple fix - don't take my eye off of the Little Dragon!

WW days 5, 6, 7

Alrighty then...

So - I can't access blogger via my work computer so I don't think I am going to be as good at posting on this blog as I thought I would be...I guess we'll just see what happens.

Weight loss progress - as of Friday I was down 2 lbs from where I was prior to christmas and the holiday eating-fest.  I'm not sure how much weight I put on during that time but, I'm sure it was a good amount.  I've been doing well with the Points-Plus plan.  I really like the no-carbs new angle.  I had two burgers sans buns friday night with cheese and sauteed onions, a nice big salad on the side - washed it down with a light beer.  It was very tasty!  I didn't really feel like I was eating a "diet meal". 

I worked out twice over the weekend.  40 min total on the elliptical and a little weight training on the arms.  I'm excited to see what the scale says this friday.  And so far, this has been a very easy plan to maintain and I don't feel hungry.  It helps that Jenni is in it with me.  She's kicking ass as usual.  It's nice to have a partner in crime. 

So, I haven't really taken a "before" picture per se, but here's the 2nd best option.  This is basically what I've looked like for the past 5 or 6 years.  (Give or take 20 or 30 pounds)  This is me at about 290 lbs.  Friday's weigh-in had me at 288 lbs.



"Before"

Mini-goal 

Jenni and I are going away this weekend for our 9 year wedding anniversary.  We have a favorite get away in Cambridge.  The Hotel Marlowe.  Really elegant, contemporary but affordable.  They're next to the Cheesecake Factory - one of our favorite eateries.  So - we created a mini goal for each other.  In order for us to enjoy a piece of cheesecake this weekend, we both have to be down 5 lbs - which for me means 285.  Fingers crossed!  (and of course, we're counting the cheesecake!  gotta save up those banked points all week!) 

WW Day 4

I've been eating since midnight because of my work schedule.  Got 1 point left.  Doin pretty good I think.  I'm gonna check in on my weight tomorrow morning.  Official weigh-in is not until Monday, but I'd like to see where I'm at so far.  I definitely need to get back on the elliptical tomorrow as well.  Every other day for 20 min is my goal for now. 

Time to kick some ass!

Tiny Tigers and Little Dragons

Wax on, wax off.

Both our boys started Karate today!  Jack, who is a Little Dragon (ages 5-8), was very apprehensive and still says he only wants to try it for 2 mos.  He sat on the "sidelines" with me for the 1st half.  But, he is counting in Japanese and practicing his best,"Hi-ya!" after only one day.  Jake, a Tiny Tiger (ages 2-4), was just the opposite.  He jumped right in and listened to everything Sensei said.  The Tigers practiced using a bo today!  Jake did awesome and learned how to block his head and his belly.  :)

Both boys are excited for their next class on Monday!

Movie Review: Splice (2009)

Just watched "Splice" on DVD.  Starring Andrien Brody and Sarah Polley.  1st impressions I would say this movie had a good sci-fi premise/concept.  I don't think the science is that far from reality.  (Human cloning, etc...) But all in all, kind of a weird movie.  Especially the sex scenes....made you feel a little uncomfortable - but maybe that was the point.  The characters were toeing the line of morality throughout the entire 90 min and you were right there with them in emotional conflict. 

I think we could have done without the weird and unclear tragic back story of Elsa's (Polley) ultra-abusive childhood and how it translated to how she treated Dren (the human clone).  It may have worked if we knew a little more about it - if they had developed it more.  But it was ambiguous, so when Elsa starts exhibiting abusive behavior towards Dren - it just pissed me off.  I think the audience was supposed to feel a little more empathy and recognize the tragedy of the situation but, that's wasn't my experience.

So - I guess 2.5 out of 5 stars for me.  Cool concept, great visual effects but still a little too weird and sad - not enough "sci-fi".

WW Day 3

OK...20 min on the elliptical today at home while the boys watched Disney channel.  It the was the 1st time I'd worked out in awhile.  But, it was good.  Earned me 3 activity points according to my online tracker. 

It's been a little tricky counting points thus far because of my crazy work schedule.  (I work ALL nights...) I ended up with a bunch of unused points on Day 2.  My wife helped me figure out that a new WW day should start at midnight - even though my ACTUAL day is not ending...we'll see if that works. 

The new WW program is alot more like Atkins which means I get to eat more protein and less carbs.  Yes Beef Jerky!!!  

Well...

Here we are.  I've started my own blog.  We'll see how it goes.  (Now I won't bug the crap out of my wife with my usually annoying - but sometimes poignant - politcal opinions and rantings on a family forum).  But, it won't be all political. 

First, I'd like to track my weight loss progress here; post pictures, journal about working out, etc.  I'm a 31 year old guy WAY over weight and on hypertension and gastric reflux medication.  That's gotta change.  I'm using Weight Watchers - the new Points Plus plan - Day 3.  Good so far but more to come on that later...

I'm also a music and a movie buff and I'm madly in love with my kids and my wife.  SO...this will be a little of everything - a way to unclog my brain a little...

let's begin