Yup – I scribble and then I babble. The clean-up happens later . . .
Friday Eve!
No cargo shorts. Back to my jeans. I don’t have cargo pants anymore because you know – style and fashion. Earlier in the year, I mentioned about holes in my pants – well, it got worse, so they’re gone. Jeans – and I had a couple older women, like grandmothers take note that I was wearing jeans. Reminded me of my days when I was a midday host for a country station. I couldn’t go by Brent Evans because I was still on the air elsewhere. In turn, I was told to say I was “Kid Country”. Anyway, I had to go to events and such. Several times I hosted country line dances and the older women. Telling me to wear my jeans tighter and stuff.
126 runs / 126 vlogs!
Dave Chang podcast – Microwave Blue Balls / Stops it at :02 to keep it quiet / Microwave needs mute button / yukgaejang /
Meal Challenge #15 was inspired by Dave Change / Yukgaejang (Spicy Beef Soup with Vegetables)
Balls of Meat was next – #16 Meal Challenge
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – by Pablo Picasso
Rao’s is my wife’s favorite sauce, so this is the reason for the recipe choice. During this meal making my beloved birds (Eagles) were playing in the background AND they were actually winning. BUT – I remained meatball focused. In addition, the local radio station (99.5 WJBR) was playing “mis-mis” tunes because Christmas was 12 days away.
Like all previous recipes done here, simply click on the above title for the link of what was borrowed (adapted?). As always, I’ll lay out what we followed as well as any of the changes that were made along the way.
(The dinner’s beverage of choice – of course, it’s red)
The Line-up (Ingredients)
1 lb Ground Pork
2 eggs
1 cup of freshly grated parmesan
1 1/2 TBSP, Chopped Parsley
1/2 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 cups Breadcrumbs
2 cups Water
1 cup Olive Oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 garlic clove, lightly smashed
Game Plan (Instructions)
1) Combine ground beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients together.
(Yup – those are my hands – I dug into that meaty mess – gross)
2) Add the bread crumbs into meat mixture and combine. Slowly add water until the mixture is quite moist.
3) Shape the meat mixture into balls (2 1/2 to 3 inch balls)
(We made some good looking balls of meat)
4) Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and saute the smashed garlic clove until lightly brown to flavor the oil, and remove with a slotted spoon and discard
5) Fry the meatballs in batches
(First batch was 6 a little too many / smaller batches!)
6) When the bottom half of the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp, turn and cook the other half
9) Serve over pasta, within a hoagie roll, or all on their own.
(We threw the balls over some farfalle pasta and some extra sauce)
They were great! However, I still want to do something different with meatballs. I would like to make a softball size meatball at some point. Cut that open and it just oozes with goodness. I’ll work on that. In the meantime, this recipe certainly did the trick for homemade meatballs. Double win because the kids enjoyed them as well!
This is the scribble that helps with the babble . . .
Cinco De Mayo! Big drinking day – back in the day. Radio days – lots of events. Whew. Anyway – be sure you know what Cinco de Mayo is – not their Independence Day. It’s the holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. And now you can have a Corona, but instead of a lime, add a shot of Absolut Lime Flavored Vodka into the top of the bottle. Get you there a little faster . . . if that’s what you want.
Spanish class – pick a name – if you could, match it up to a Spanish name. Peter to Pedro. They didn’t have Brent, so I was allowed to just pick. I like Peter Gabriel. So, I picked Gabriel thinking that it was pronounced the same way – it’s not. My final was the teacher, another student, and me – all in the teacher’s office. I thought I nailed. After the other student and I left. I remember him saying do you know what you said in there? At that point I was crushed because he was really baffled. Apparently, I said how much I like to eat dog food with spaghetti sauce on top of it.
Coca-Cola Coffee? I want a Cherry Coke instead.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Life tough; and if you have the ability to laugh at it, you have the ability to enjoy it.” – by Salma Hayek
Happy Star Wars Day! Tuesday is actually a good one – yes, May the Fourth Be With You!
Mark Hamill did the entire month last year – May the Calendar Be With You. Just came up with all different ones like: May the Fifth Defeat Sith; May the 25th be the day to get cocky, fly casual, & soar high with Solo; it goes on & on. He did it last year for the entire month. Here’s the links on Instagram and Twitter.
If you don’t follow Mark Hamill, you simply should. He brings me pure joy seeing his posts.
Couple quick relevant facts for the day:
1 – The word “Ewoks” is never spoken once in “Return of the Jedi”
2 – Star Wars . . . originally titled, “The Adventures of Luke Starkiller”
3 – On day 3 of my Vlog this year, I passed this along – if you type “pew pew” in a text (and as long as you have an iPhone), it is received with the Star Wars “pew pew” sound.
Couple quick updates:
1 – I ran – 124 runs / 124 vlogs
2 – 3 Day Fast is next week / Sets up my June and July fasts better
3 – I’ve got new soap coming / Battle of the soaps / Cold Shower Therapy? That’s one of the things that I wanted to dig into. It’s a little easier trying it in the warmer months. The real trick is winter – like January. Anyway, it’s something that I’ve tried before and there’s all kinds of philosophies. Gotta dig into it.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view.” – by Obi Wan Kenobi
After I left you all yesterday, I ended up helping my wife plant on the flowers that she bought on Saturday. My job involved a shovel and lots of digging. I also wasn’t smart and didn’t put on any sun protective. I got burnt. It’s the kind of burn where when you blow your nose, it feels like your skin is going to pop off.
Happy Monday! I ran – 123 runs / 123 vlogs
Oh, and if you follow me on Untappd – that’s an app which tracks different beers that try. I think I had 4 new entries yesterday. Don’t worry – I was splitting them with a friend. Otherwise, well . . . today would have been extra tough to go along with the sunburn.
Read from the Daily Stoic, p. 136: So yes, spend some time – real, uninterrupted time – thinking about what’s important to you, what your priorities are. Then, work toward that and forsake all the others. It’s not enough to wish and hope. One must act – and act right.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Ask yourself: Am I climbing the right mountain?” – by someone
Whew – I’m beat and it’s not because of the two beers that I had last night. Yup – only two. My son had a Friday night baseball game – they lost – so, yesterday, we went to the nearby ball field to hit, catch, and pitch & pitch & pitch. His choice. But – I played the role of his catcher and – wow – am I feeling it. I did run today – outside and slowly. 122 runs.
If you missed the Instagram post, Hopalanche by Big Oyster Brewery officially broke the April Alcohol Drought. AND – I enjoyed it.
It’s Sunday – so, let’s talk books . . . or in this case, a comic book, too.
Books!
I get to pick up my BRZRKR Issue #2 today from Captain Blue Hen Comics. Today, they have a “Spring Comic Day Fest” from 11am to 2pm. With Special Guest John Gallagher of Max Meow books fame. If you got a kid that likes Dog Man . . . this guy’s Max Meow series is being compared to that.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho – I had planned on talking about this one in depth today, but 3 weekday little league baseball games last week squashed any hopes of reading being done.
Lack of time led me to pull these books from Cal Newport. I read his Deep Work book and it was a very good one. Explains how you should time block areas of the day for deep work when you can truly “knock out” some specific work. This led me to watching a seminar of his and getting his planner – The Time-Block Planner. Unfortunately, I have not done the planner and maybe that has led to the lack of time.
I’ve got some new goals that I really want to push towards, but I’m hesitating slightly. I need to plan accordingly. I don’t want to half ass anything. My 52 Meal Challenge within a year already looks like its in jeopardy, but instead of beating myself up, I think I’ll just extend it towards the end of the year. When I started it last June . . . I wasn’t running every day and vlogging, so it’s that time thing again. Announcements coming . . .
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When someone says – But I don’t have time! – what I hear is: I’m choosing to not make it a priority!” – by Mark Manson
It’s May! AND – I made it official by flipping to the next month on the family calendar, which is appropriately located on the fridge. In turn, the April Alcohol Drought is over! However, I haven’t had a drink yet. Like I said yesterday, it will probably be later this afternoon since I’ve got too many kid things happening during the day and it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Before we get into the beer fun, let’s see what did I learned from this alcohol drought.
First, let’s talk about weight. I thought I would see a drop, but I really didn’t. This year, I have lost 10.6 lbs so far – see I was “puffy.” For January, I lost 3 lbs. In February – the winning month – I lost 3.4 lbs. Last month, March, I lost 2.6 lbs. And finally, the April Alcohol Drought month, I only lost 1.6 lbs. So – I really didn’t see anything there and I know I have more weight that I can lose since I am definitely not at my jiu-jitsu playing weight.
Next, let’s talk about sleep. This was the biggest reason why I wanted to do the drought in the first place. Via Mathew Walker’s book,Why We Sleep, I learned that gaining more REM sleep is ideal. So, not only do I want to sleep more, I want more REM. I only looked at March and April. In March, I took in some beverage. It was the 3rd highest month of drinks in the past year. For this beverage induced month, I slept on average 6 hours and 27 minutes every night. Within that time period, I had 1 hour and 52 minutes of REM sleep. For April, the drink challenged month, I averaged 6 hours and 24 minutesof sleep every night. The REM sleep was 1 hour and 51 minutes average. March won! I totally didn’t see that coming.
Last, I mentioned this before, but I thought about having a drink a lot and that bothered me. Listening to a record – I want some whiskey, walking out on my deck with the sun beating down – I want an IPA, pasta dinner – where’s the red wine with pasta? At least it wasn’t: we’re going to my son’s little league game – let’s tailgate! OR – my daughter just finished her handwriting homework – let’s do a shot. It wasn’t like that.
Track all the alcohol drinking through my “LESS” app – thank you Kevin Rose.
All my sleep monitoring was done through my Garmin watch. Now, I’ve heard the Oura ring tracks sleep better. Listening to his podcast, I have learned from Dr. Peter Attia how he’s always amazed at how his sleeping patterns are way off the charts after a night of a simple glass of wine or beer. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that with the Garmin watch breakdown. I believe both Dr. Attia and Kevin Rose are associated with the Oura ring. I’ll reach out to them and if they send me an Oura ring, I’ll do another month long alcohol drought and see what’s different this go round. We’ll see.
By the way, I ran. 121 days of 5k Runs / 121 vlogs of Morning Babble – the streak continues!
And finally, the beers of choice that might officially break the drought:
Hopalanche (Hazy IPA) by Big Oyster Brewery Lewes, DE / Hazy IPA with hints of vanilla bean and peppermint. This was a favorite of mine around the holidays and probably why December was the biggest drinking month over the past year.
Tiny Tickle (NE Pale Ale) by Levante Brewing Company West Chester & Downingtown / Their beer – Tickle Parts – I really liked. In turn, I was hoping this one is just as good and as a bonus, it has less alcohol when compared to the Hopalance – probably a good thing to slowly break me back into the swing of things. I did see on their website – a new Cloudy and Cumbersome beer with Pineapple – N.E. IPA. I need to get that!
Sun-day Feels (Sour) by Dogfish Head Brewing Company Milton, DE / They call this one “a laid-back beermosa sour brewed with peaches, grapes & citrus.” I really think I’ll do an IPA to break the drought, but we’ll see. I have to admit, I thought I still had a can of their Hazy-O and that was just going to be the one that would break it, I don’t have any more in the fridge, so I must have drank it within those final March days of beverage intake.
By the way, my final beer before the drought was Tempest by the Cushwa Brewing Company (Williamsport, MD). This is a delicious beer and I’ve said that it’s an excellent dessert beer. I’ve got one more in the fridge and plan on ending the night with it. I actually wanted to try some of their other beers, but the two places I visited did not have any of their beers in stock. I know where I can get them . . . I just couldn’t get there yet. I’ve seen Half Scoop IPA – Smoothie Style Session as well as Landmine and Hopscotch IPA – Double New England – gummy candy and citrus rind – must try those soon!
I’ll be posting what beer breaks the drought later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You know what wine and liqueur tastes like. It makes no difference whether a hundred or a thousand bottles pass through your bladder – you are nothing more than a filter.” – Seneca
We did it . . . made it to another Friday! I was up a little later last night, watching that NFL Draft. One year ago – that was a huge thing to occur because no other sporting event was on TV at the time. No baseball, basketball, hockey, nothing. So, we got a virtual draft a year ago and today – people are starting to hug again. Get your shots people – I want to give out some hugs – well, to most of you.
120 runs / 120 vlogs – 4 months are done! April Alcohol Drought is ending, too!!
New Music Friday:
I believe the big album drop is from DJ Kahled – called Kahled Kahled. The single being pushed is “I Did It” featuring Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, and others. But – the rest of the album – it’s a just a superstar selection of artists: Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Meek Mill, Cardi B, Drake, Justin Bieber, Big Sean, Puff Daddy, Nas, Migos, H.E.R. – it goes on & on.
Billie Eilish has revealed that her second album is called Happier Than Ever and that it’s coming out on July 30. New song came out yesterday – Your Power. Of course, recently her movie An intimate look at the singer-songwriter’s journey, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home, while creating her debut album. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry – released back in February.
The song “Choker” by Twenty One Pilots is out today. Reminder that the whole album – Scaled and Icy – drops May 21st.
Alessandro Cortini—longtime Nine Inch Nails member—has shared a new song that’s set to appear on his forthcoming album SCURO CHIARO. It’s called “LO SPECCHIO.”
girl in red – If I Could Make It Go Quiet – it’s her debut album. I had heard her song “Serotonin” – and really liked the sound on that one. She’s edgy, a little angry . . . and that’s okay. I like it. Looking forward to hearing the rest of this album today.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Texting – it lacks the music of speech” – by someone
Wednesday the 28th. Saturday is May 1st. April Alcohol Drought is almost over. Like I said before, I honestly haven’t felt all that different. I mean – the only thing that bummed me out was how many times I thought of having a beverage.
Listening to the Dave Chang podcast again – it really is a good show. Love the different types that they have. Tasting different snacks shows. Dad episodes. And then just learning about cooking or ingredients like Black Pepper. He explained how there are different strands like marijuana or coffee. This show that it was on is called My Opinion is Fact – where they overrate or underrate certain things – black pepper, brunch, etc.
Warm day – shorts – no more jeans. Funny story about jeans and compliments from Nanas – I’ll talk about that tomorrow.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Busy is a decision. We decide what we want to do based what we think are the priorities in our lives” – by Debbie Millman
