A Fatty loses time

Time Management.

Something I've never been good at. Managers have even sent me to classes to try to get me to learn it but my brain doesn't seem to process time like it should. Anyway today I was going to go for a run but then the phone rang earlier than my alarm clock and one of my employees had overslept so I was up and out the door in a flash to drive a employee shopping trip to Flagstaff. I had plans of getting up this morning, throwing on my running clothes for the first time in a few weeks and taking a wog around the Grand Canyon Village. Plans are the things the universe laughs at.

I've arrived home, exhausted and tired but with a run planned for tomorrow morning. Tonight though I look forward to a letter I know is being typed for me from someone I love and dinner with a movie.

Speaking of dinner, I love cooking. I don't know if I've mentioned that before but food has so many amazing flavors and it is so much fun to bring those flavors out and taste all the amazingness the world has to offer. Tonights dinner is one I have been meaning to make for weeks.

Here's the recipe.
Beef Oxtail
All the veggies you currently have in the fridge
Beer
Special Items needed
Pressure cooker

Heat the pressure cooker up with a bit olive oil, add oxtail and brown. Remove oxtail, set aside. Toss in large chunks of veggies (On hand I had carrots, white onions, red onions, green pepper) and saute slightly. Add oxtail back to pot, pour in a beer (I used a Fireside Honey Nut Ale), add 2-3 cups of water. Put lid on pressure cooker and bring to pressure. Set timer for 45 minutes.

I don't know how it's going to be yet as the timer still has 30 minutes on it. I've read that oxtail is usually best when it is allowed to slow cook for most of the day but pressure cookers are the most amazing kitchen invention ever and from my experience 40-60 minutes in a pressure cooker is equal to 4-6 hours in a crockpot.

Tomorrow I'll let you know if my feet are more tender than the meat is tonight! (eewwwwwwww)

A Fatty loses touch.

It's been a few weeks since I last posted and I feel terrible about it. I guess I've not been posting because, while I am still losing weight, I've not been running or working out as regularly as I was in Phoenix. This shouldn't come as too much of a shock as I think most of us go through a bit of an adjustment period when starting a new job and moving to a new place. I am glad that the healthy eating habits I've been putting in place over the past few months and the muscle mass I've put on has kept things going in the right direction.

Courthouse Butte in Sedona

The last few weeks have seen a few weekend hikes though, one in Sedona around the Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock and then just the other day down South Kaibab trail to Cedar Ridge and back. I thought I was doing pretty good with my cardio and getting adjusted to altitude but dragging 320 pounds up a 2,000ft elevation gain after hiking down it is rough on the lungs! The rest of my body felt pretty good after the hike but I definitely think I need to do a few more minor hikes down into the Grand Canyon before I start trying to do any full trails.

Cedar Ridge Grand Canyon -  That's me way out there!

I brought my bike up with me from Phoenix and I've been told there is some pretty sick singletrack that I need to start bombing. I went for a short ride immediately after hiking South Kaibab and my legs were not up to the challenge. I know that since I can take my bike on the NPS buses, I can catch a ride with them up to the top of Hermit's Way and bike all the way down to outside the park entrance. I'm waiting for a slightly warmer day to tackle that ride but I am pretty excited about it.
 So once again I am super sorry for the delayed updates. I know that when I am updating the blog, this fatty does a way better job of staying on top of things. Still since October 4th I've lost 40 pounds and at the end of the day, that's pretty dang exciting!