Like the background?  I title its "Your blue is showing through."

Picture of a flowering bush in my neighborhood.  I've wandered my way into the "HDR" road of photography.  That is, I take 3 pictures of an object, all with different exposure times, to get different levels of light, then I combine the 3 images into in, to make a really detailed picture encompassing all its lightened glory.  Then I mess around with the tones in the image.  So, while that flower was originally purple/blue, its now mostly black and white with blue/purple highlights.

I'll probably display some examples of it later on this week.  I've been spending a lot of time doing it lately, and Tina is complaining that i'm never around lately....so maybe i'll just spend some time teaching you folk about it instead running around queens taking pictures.

- Z

Time on Atkins:  24 days
Status:  Moderate Ketosis - 40

Weight as of 7/2/08:  277.8 lbs.

Today's Meals: 

Lunch:  Roast Chicken - 1/2

Dinner:  Herbed chicken served with alfredo sauce over "low-carb" pasta.
Stir-fried broccoli with garlic powder.

Comments:

I attribute my weakening ketosis to the low-carb pasta that Morgan insisted was safe for me to eat.  My philosophy on Atkins at the moment is "the lower the carb, the better." and "If i'm going to have carbs, put it in my vegetables."  The herb chicken was made with my own blend of spices and seasonings.

---

Recipe:

Hamilton's Herb Chicken

Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs or breasts, thinned out
1 tsp Tarragon
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil Leaves
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 lemon juice

Pour the olive oil onto the chicken, then add spices, and lemon juice.  Massage the spices into the chicken in a bowl and evenly distribute, then let sit for 10-20 minutes.  Pan-fry evenly on both sides in olive oil.

---

For last night's dinner, the sauce came out of the bottle, I simply let it simmer for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Prepped chicken, and while frying, started on the broccoli, which were dusted liberally with kosher salt and garlic powder.  When done frying the chicken, sliced, placed over bed of pasta, then covered in sauce.  Added a slice of provolone cheese on top for some extra cheesiness.

I have lunch down pretty good.  Usually its salad, or some form of low-carb altered meal.  I think I will stay out of the Chinese place for a while as its hard to control what they put into the food, but salad does get boring after a while.  I must attempt to ignore Morgan's temptations, his belief in low-carb substitutes in foods that one would normally avoid.  My weight loss thus far is ok, but I really feel I could be making better progress.  I will be moving at the end of this month to an area with a Bally's gym.  I believe I will join the gym and go on a daily basis to facilitate the weight loss.  Morgan never combined his low-carb diet with regular exercise according to him, and he's interested in seeing what kind of results that nets, I am too.

Hopeful Observations:
My jewelry is hanging loose on me.  Rings are sliding around my fingers, and my pendant is hanging lower than it ever used to.

- Z