Ten Grand

Baaah. I just wrote a crazy-long entry and hit some crazy combination of keys and the lost the window. The gist:

- Love the sun

- Love the heat

- Love Frisbee Golf. The Girl’s brother took me out to the course for the first time yesterday and I am absolutely addicted. The object of the game is similar to that of golf, but instead of balls and clubs, it involves frisbees and baskets. It’s GREAT. Lots of walking and bending and throwing of objects. Mike and I went twice today — before and after dinner. We played until dark. And I plan on playing again before we leave and practicing when we get home.

- Hate Hesperia/Apple Valley aka Fast Food Wasteland. There are at least (at least) thirty fast food places in a 2 mile radius. I do not miss this crap (it was like this in Washington). Back home, there’s one McDonald’s in town and I’m not even sure if it’s in town. Reason being? The City of Newton does not allow it. Smart bastards. I love it.

- Upgraded to First Class and loved every minute of it (p.s. FLY VIRGIN AMERICA! They have mood lighting and amazingly happy and awesome customer service. Plus, they have in-flight WiFi.)

- The Girl’s parents and brother are well

- Been doing well with eating. I could be doing better, but I’ve made some good, critical choices and will (hopefully) continue to do so until we leave. These people (mainly The Girl’s father, brother, and nephew) live off soda, chips, and Twinkies (really? people still buy those?). I haven’t had so much as a bite or sip of that bullshit (I did, however, have two pieces of coconut cream pie over the course of the last two days). We made a dinner run last night and stopped at Taco Bell, Del Taco, Wienerschnitzel, and Carl’s JR to pick up everyone’s meals (not hard since they are basically in the same parking lot — unreal!). I picked the lowest-cal item on the menu at Del Taco and made it my dinner. Yes, it was high in sodium, but drinking a lot of water and being out in the heat should fix that right up. The family had biscuits, gravy, and bacon for breakfast this morning and I had one biscuit, 1/4 cup of gravy, and fruit, etc. Small choices make a big difference. Moderation is key!

- Been counting my calories for the most part with a bit of guess-work intertwined. It looks like I’ve managed to create a deficit each day even though we haven’t been moving a great deal. Thursday was the only day I didn’t calculate. I am sure I could do some detective work if I was going to be hardcore about it, but ehhhh. I ate the following (posting for archival purposes):
Fruit cup
Quiche (mushroom and onion)
2 quarter-sized piece of sausage
1 piece grilled asparagus

2 oz cheddar cheese
1 oz brie
2 oz havarti
5 wheat crackers
5 grapes

Cheeseburger (In & Out)

1/2 cup Spanish rice (made with butter — ugh!)
4 oz steak
1 cup lettuce
1 T BBQ sauce
1/8 avocado

2 oz spongecake
1/4 cup whipped cream
1/4 cup strawberries
1 t sugar

Would have liked to do better, but I don’t think it’s too bad considering the six-hour plane ride (aka Snack Hell) and being up for twenty-one hours.

- Got bitten by a fire ant and HOLY HELL DID IT HURT. It happened over four hours ago and it still freakin’ hurts!

- Went to Palm Springs today and had a great time walking around in the heat. It was 89 degrees when we pulled up at 10:30a and by the time we left at 12:00p, it was 99 degrees. Amazing. Had Mexican food and consumed far too much guacamole, but man, was it good. Made a better choice for the main course — a single tamale with no cheese, 1/2 cup pinto beans, and 1/2 cup rice. Oh, and a watermelon margarita.

- Going to Las Vegas tomorrow (even though I would much rather spend the whole entire day playing frisbee golf!) and will be back on Monday.

- Going to the water park on Tuesday

- Flying back home on Wednesday

More later.