Skittles

What are Skittles anyway? They are delicious, but what are they made of? Other than sugar and artificial flavor, or course.

Have you ever tried to describe a Skittle to someone who has never had one? I asked a few people to do so, and I got a variety of answers.

I would describe a Skittle (original flavor only - the variations are abominations) as a small, chewy, slightly tart, fruit-flavored candy. They are about the size of plain M&Ms. The inside is chewy, and they have a more solid outer coating. They come in yellow (lemon), orange (duh), green (lime), purple (grape?), and red (who knows?). Red can be cherry, strawberry, raspberry, tropical punch, or any number of other flavors. I think that red Skittles are just generic red flavored.

Others described Skittles as being like jelly beans. Huh? Jelly beans are nasty. And their innards are much softer than Skittles centers.

As I have always been on a diet, I try to avoid candy of any kind. If I do indulge, I want dark chocolate. But a few years ago I heard Homer Simpson drool over Skittlebrau. "Uuuummmhhh, Skittles and beer. Skittlebrau." It is a nice combination because the beer cuts the sweetness of the Skittles. This is a typical basketball game snack for me.

The Rockets cannot win a game. I paid my season ticket money last summer, so I have to go to the games. The highlight of each game is getting out my bag of Skittles. I pour some into my hand and eat them two at a time in this order (least to most favorite): orange, yellow, green, purple, red. The bags that I have bought lately seem to be low on red. That's the story of my life.

Observations on Weight

I believe that there is a finite amount of weight in the universe. When one person loses weight, another person gains same said weight.

I have been walking on this stupid treadmill for seven months now, and I have lost about 8 pounds. This is just not right! I walk for 40 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week, at about 3.2 miles per hour. I sweat like a pig. I breathe hard. My heart rate is WAY up. So what is the problem?

I'll keep trying, but I need to take a few days off. I have a new pair of Adidas, and I have blisters on the backs of both ankles. I'll enjoy my rest.

The Beatles and East Texas

Today I made progress on a project that I started last month - listening to all of the Beatles albums in the order in which they were recorded. I'm a nerd like that.

I started my most recent edition of this project on the drive to Dallas for Christmas. Today I drove to East Texas to meet my sister and nephew for some shopping and Mexican food. Only in Texas would I drive 200 miles in a day for shopping and Mexican food. But I digress.

The Beatles recorded only about 10 hours of music. I have listened to all of the proper albums (British versions), and I'm now working on the "Past Masters," which were songs that were never included on the British albums. And by listening to them in recording order, rather than release order, I listened to "Let it Be" before "Abbey Road."

By listening to the albums in order, it is easy to hear the phases of the Beatles' musical development. For example, in what I call the "middle period" ("Rubber Soul" and "Revolver"), virtually every song has a tambourine. And they all have one of those shaker things that sounds like an empty can with a few dried beans. It's not a maraca, but it's the thing that you would hold in an upraised hand in front of you and genty shake back and forth. You know what I mean.

I need to remember that listening to the Beatles and singing along in my car can drastically improve my mood. If anyone else were in the car, their mood would not improve and would probably darken because if I'm singing no one else needs to hear it. I have been down all week because I spend most of my daytime hours around soul-sucking individuals. Most times, I can shake it when I get home, but this week I could not. But today's combination of retail therapy, Mexican food, and the Beatles has made a dramatic improvement in my outlook.

Tomorrow's goal: get back on track with the diet and treadmill.

TV and Annoying Laugh Tracks

I haven't posted in a while because I have been busy watching "24." What a great show! The first episode was so intense that I couldn't stand it. Now I have something to look forward to each Monday. That may be what gets me through each week.

So much TV is just plain crap. For example, a show called "Crumbs" debuted recently. I read two glowing reviews, so I decided to watch it. It was horrible. Same old sitcom crap. Maybe I'm weird because I don't like what everyone else likes, but I found no humor in the show. This episode even featured two grown brothers, with one holding a stinky show over the other one's nose and mouth. How enlightening! And this show had a laugh track, which drives me up the wall. Are people who watch sitcoms so ignorant that they don't know when to laugh? That's what I think the producers are thinking when they add one.

"My Name is Earl," "The Simpsons," and "The Office" don't have laugh tracks, and they are light years funnier than the mainstream sitcoms.

Went to the Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks game last night. It was a beautiful thing - if you are a Mavs fan. They killed the Rockets. The people behind us said that they were leaving when the Mavs got a 35 point lead. They left in the third quarter. It is a real challenge to make it to the Rockets games this year, and it's getting worse. Time for a new coach.

Treadmill Woes

Another day, another 45 minutes on the treadmill.

I have been walking on it for 6 months. I have lost only about 8 pounds. This is truly depressing. However, some of my fat seems to be solidifying. I'm adding a short time with dumbbells after each walk. All that has done is make my upper arms sore. My friend the trainer told me that I need to do squats if I want to shape my butt. Yeah, right. But I'm trying (a little).

The only way I can endure exercise is to watch DVDs while I'm walking. I've been through several seasons of "The Simpsons," season 1 of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and various movies and concert DVDs.

I'm wrapping up season 5 of "The Sopranos" now. What a great show! I have seen all of the episodes multiple times, but I never get tired of it. The problem with watching "The Sopranos" is that I have a terrible craving for Italian food and the urge to open a bottle of win. Watch the show and pay attention to how often they eat. It's all the time!

No treadmill tomorrow. We have a Rockets game, which we are pretty much guaranteed to lose.

Another rejection to come?

Today I sent my cookbook to yet another publisher. I took a different approach to this one, so we will see. Keep your fingers crossed.

Basketball is in full swing. The Dallas Mavericks are winning. The Houston Rockets are losing. This means that the games I see in person are all losses. At least they still sell beer. I have bought beer at sporting events in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston - and it costs the most in Houston. Go figure.

I'm Baaaaaack!!!

OK - so I missed November and December. What are you gonna do - spank me?

Seriously, I was traveling and getting ready for Christmas - my favorite time of the year. Everything is colorful, it's OK to eat non-stop, and EVERY STORE HAS A SALE.

Now it's January, and what is there to look forward to? Over three months with no days off work.

Normally, the weather in January is dreary and cold, which is OK. That's what it's supposed to be like in January. But this year in Houston, our endless summer continues. It's in the 80s every day. This would be nice, but I feel like I'm being cheated out of the three months of winter we normally have. For the first time ever, I had to run my air conditioner in the house on New Year's Day! The other nice part of a normal winter is that we get a break from the crazy electricity bills. I guess that won't happen this year.

Another depressing thing about January is that almost everyone goes on a diet. How dismal! I have been on a diet, more or less, since I was about 7 years old, so January is no different for me. But if I get a jones for some Mexican food, it's harder to find someone to go with me. They all whine about their holiday weight - as if they will stay on this "diet" past Valentine's Day. And who in their right mind can give up Mexican food anyway?

I am trying to get more serious about getting some weight off. I have been walking on a treadmill for 6 months, but the weight hasn't gone anywhere. My resting heart rate is down significantly, but no one can see my heart! Everyone can see my gut! Wish me luck on sticking with a regimen.