Day 16 --- Officially half way there

Day 16  ---  More than half way there

I weighed myself this morning.  If you have been following this blog, you might remember that on day zero, I weighed 180 pounds, give or take a few ounces.  Today I stepped on the scale to find that my weight has dropped to 162.  Well, 162.4 to be exact.  I was pretty stoked.  That was a loss of about 18 pounds in 15 full days.  Not bad I thought.

So, I dressed in my "skinny jeans" or jeans cut to be a bit form fitting around the legs (the latest style that my wife likes).  I put on my black button up shirt with thin pin striped white lines and tucked it in.  I went over to the school where my wife works and walked into the short morning meeting and devotional that the staff has every morning before school starts.  After the day was ready and started, Suzy gave me a big hug, told me that I looked great and said that she liked how I feel in her arms.  Wow, not a bad way to start the day.

I ran off to a meeting at a local coffee shop and spent the day taking care of things related to the motorhome.  All day it seemed, I ran back and forth to the store to buy little bits and pieces that I needed.

The great reward was at the end of the day.  We were to visit our dear friends Alex and Oz and their sweet new baby daughter.  It was a lovely time, as always with them.  They served us tea with mine being fennel tea.  I had never heard of such a thing but knew that it was a safe choice.  They assured me that it was delicious and of course they were right.  These two friends are so especially dear to us.  I always feel completely comfortable around them.  We all realized that it had been far too long since we hung out and made plans for meals together when I have finished this fast. It was motivational for me.

The tea was great, but not substantially satisfying.  I should have had more broth before I arrived.  That is two days in a row that I made the same mistake.  You'd think I'd learn.  Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.

Well, for you foodies, I made two more soups, both new to the list.  One was a tri-tip AKA bottom sirloin.  It is delicious and a hugely popular meat here in Santa Barbara.  Perhaps one of our most famous dishes served here typically at barbecues.  It's very reasonably priced in the rest of the country, and world, but here they tend to jack the price up to meet the demand.  I added onion, carrots, spices, salt, tomatoes, and celery.  Should be yummy.  The second cock pot that we started is cooked chicken, leeks, basil, cilantro, and celery.  

I'm looking forward to both of these.  I might add some coconut oil to the chicken soup broth in each mug.  It doesn't stay mixed to I stir the heck out of it and drink quickly.  Pause and then repeat until finished.  A bit of effort but tasty.

That's all for now.  I would love to hear from some of you.   

Here is the latest count.  In total over 1000

United States	786
United Kingdom	163
Australia	15
Hong Kong	12
South Korea	11
Germany	7
Russia	5
Netherlands	4
Canada	3
Denmark Mexico	3 1

It's funny to read this post again.  I had 1000 views at this time...as of today June 1, 2016 it's over 44,000!!!
Here's part 1 of 2 posts for tomorrow...I guess there's a bonus post coming up.

Go here to read it  >>>>>>

http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013/09/beginning-of-day-17-morning-post.html

Day 15 --- Pretty normal day

Day 15 --  A pretty normal day

Today day 15 came and went without much fan fare.

I was up early after a good night sleep.  I spent the day working on different things, emails, some mild car stuff, and working on the motorhome.

As much as we love our motorhome, or caravan for our UK friends, it has been treated badly at the mechanic who was supposed to fix it.  They truly did much more harm than good.  I've been fighting with the water pump that they either put 24 volts through, or tried to run on 6 volts.  Neither is correct. I need to look at the pictures to calculate the voltage to know for sure.

I felt fine, albeit a bit tired yesterday.  I had some decaf espresso in the morning and my BLT (bacon, leek, and tomato) soup broth.  A great combination.

I noticed that I wasn't particularly hungry during the day, so I turned to water for most of the day.  That seemed to be just fine.  But in the latter part of the day, about 5:30 or 6:00 PM, I left to do a bit of parts finding at the store and also to do some grocery shopping as well.  I was doing pretty well and then all of a sudden, I started getting really hungry.  I was in the hardware store and bought a bottle of water to tide me over until I got home.  That seem to quench it pretty well.

But then came the grocery store.  Perhaps I should have seen it coming but I didn't.  Much of the food looked fascinating to me.  I looked at much of it a bit perplexed, like seeing a picture of an old friend.  I found myself remembering the flavors and textures of each item as one would remember experiences from days gone by with an old roommate.

Then it hit.  Wow, did it ever.  I was really crazy hungry.  I was feeling a bit light headed too.  I decided to treat myself to a cold sparkling mineral water.  But there was none.  What were they thinking not stocking this is the refrigerated section?  UK friends, you have to remember that I was raised in a country where every beverage is hot or cold, with the only exception being red wine, and perhaps some whiskeys and tequilas.  I found what seemed like the most exotic cold water that I could find.  It sounded amazing.  From the Big Island of Hawaii, where we have spent some good times.  Rain water rushing down the slopes of Maunaloa by the town of Hilo.  It sounded splendid.  I remembered the sweet smell of plumeria and the smiling, tan faces of locals.  I opened the square shaped, extra large bottle and was ready to feel it satisfy my hunger.  But sadly, it didn't taste like Hawaii.  It tasted like water.  Regular water.  I drank heartily to fill my stomach be assured that I would be fine.  But I wasn't.

I drove home, at least 20 minutes, perhaps more, famished.  I walked in super light headed.  My sweet bride was there to greet me and she quickly served me some broth that I had warm and ready to serve.  It was "red hot" sausages, (not really red hot at all), cooked with rainbow chard, onions, and carrots.  I didn't really matter what it was.  It was warm sustenance.  I drank it down and still did not feel well.  Suzy served another mug to me and finally after about 30 minutes, the nutrients hit my blood stream.  I was finally feeling better.  Thanks be to God.

I went to bed early and slept well throughout the night.

HEY!! This is the half-way mark!!
Here's tomorrow's post...
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013/09/day-16-officially-half-way-there.html