Let's hear it for the medical profession

Yes, I'm being sarcastic. I do believe there are good doctors out there and I know they are human and make mistakes but when it comes to medicine dosage, especially for a child, wouldn't something like 7 teaspoonfulls a day raise a question? My son was given Tamiflu and the doctor ordered 3 1/2 tsp twice a day. Yes I questioned her in the office and thought immediately it was too much, but she said it's a new formula and that is what he should be given. Ok, he's 40lbs, it seemed like an awful lot but hey, I'm no doctor. When I went to the pharmacy to pick it up they wrote down 7 teaspoonfulls twice a day. WOW. Luckily I knew better, but really? Not only to make a mistake by doubling a dosage, but to not question whether 7 tsp a day seemed a bit high to begin with? They should have known better. Now fast forward 2 days later when the doctor calls me 8am on a Saturday to tell me the dosage should only be 2 tsp a day. 2. Fortunately he only had 1 day of major overdose and it did no harm. But jesus christ, what if it had done something? I'm horrified, and when CVS calls to tell me they have the other half of his meds they still owe me, I'm going to let them have it. That is a job ending mistake and they could have killed someone. I already have a hard time trusting doctors and pharmacists as it is because I feel like all they do is push drugs for profit, but this whole thing just puts the cherry on the top for me.

The only good that came out of this is the fact that my little guy had a complete turnaround in 24 hours. He's feeling back to normal. My daughter had to be picked up from school yesterday with the same symptoms and a 101 fever but fortunately, when I spoke with the doc she said I could just give her some of Bud's meds and don't bother bringing her in. She was also a tad overdosed as well and is feeling much better 12 hours later. So, we are all on the mend and trying to get back to normal. Let that be a warning. Double check everything and don't be afraid to question a doc.

Got a nice light jog and walk in today. Trying to build my run endurance back up a little at a time. Not that I'm really getting the running bug back yet, but with spring around the corner, I like to get out there and get some fresh air.

Made another good recipe from The Domestic Man last night. Seared scallops with pork sausage, bacon and kale. Pretty easy to make and only slightly different than the shrimp, sausage collard green recipe I make all the time. Oh and I was able to find some sugar free fish sauce at a gourmet grocery store a few miles from me. It's Asian Gourmet. Pretty common name among the Asian product aisle but I've never seen the fish sauce before. I've been on the lookout ever since I started making Nom Nom Paleo's recipes since she uses it all the time in just about everything. With that being said, I'm making those Asian meatballs again tonight. Love them.

Not much else to do today. May make another trip to the basement to get some junk cleared out then, maybe a nice afternoon nap if I'm lucky.

Good workout meatballs

It's been a good week of wods so far. I can't remember the last time I had a solid week of hard work. Sunday started with thruster and pull ups. The other day was pull ups, burpee over the box jumps and heavy deadlifts. And today was clean and jerks, 150 kbs @35# and 75 push ups. The clean and jerks went pretty well and was surprised how easy 100 went up when I slowed and focused on hips and not arming it. Definite progress being made in that department. Good week.

Last night I made Nom Nom Paleo's Asian meatballs. They were pretty darn good. I love meatballs and love that I'm finding so many new recipes since they are so easy to make and make pretty good cold leftover protein snacks the next day. As long as we have some left that is. I served them with some roasted brussels sprouts.

So unfortunately my little guy has the flu. After spending 1 1/2 hours at the doctors and a half hour at the pharmacy last night listening to them tell me there is no more Tamiflu left and my doctors office now closed so they can't do anything, I was toast. Needless to say my kids were burnt toast. Tired, hungry, bored, you name it. Luckily I had my meatballs already made when I got home or dinner would have been a can of tuna and Cherrios. We did get the call this morning from another pharmacy that they still had some and to head over there to pick it up. After another 45 minutes, Bud got 1/2 his meds and I got a flu shot. Better late than never I guess.

Not much else to say, taking care of my little guy and keeping my fingers crossed he feels better soon and the rest of us don't get it.

Recipe: Paleo parsley pesto

Try saying that 3 times. I'm sure most of us know how to make pesto and that it usually includes parm and extra virgin olive oil. Personally I don't think it's that bad for you in moderation but, if you're like me and still need to detox after the holidays, here is a clean version.

1 large bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley, stalks trimmed (you can use basil or cilantro as well)
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 c pine nuts - toasted
1/3 cup *approx almond oil (or favorite nut oil)

Toast pine nuts in skillet on low for about 5 minutes or until they start to brown. Throw parsley, garlic and nuts in the food processor. Chop until everything is.... chopped. Small and sticking to the sides is usually a good clue. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and with machine running slowly add in the oil until it all starts to come together and sounds 'slooshly'. You'll know it when you hear it. *It may take less or more than the 1/3 cup. Use your judgement. Then scrape down the sides again, add lemon juice a little at a time, salt and pepper, blend and adjust to taste. I like a little more lemon so it's not so oily tasting. Although I noticed the almond oil is very light compared to olive. Done. You can serve it over basically anything, steak, chicken, seafood, zucchini noodles. It's pretty versatile if you like pesto.


As you can tell, pesto was part of what I had for dinner last night. With some fake pasta, sauteed shrimp and grape tomatoes. Quick, easy and I didn't have to go to the store. Always a plus. My noodles did fall apart into a gloppy mess but it was still tasty.

No wod for me today but I did get a lot accomplished. My little guy woke up with a fever and cold again so no school for him and a doctors appointment later. Gah. Anyway, it gave me a chance to start cleaning and removing a ton of old crap from the basement. For 13 years our basement has been the black hole of unwanted junk. Not anymore! I put the word out to the family to come and get it or it's going to be on the curb. So with that I did a lot of heavy lifting, moving, squatting, carrying stuff up the stairs and out to the trash. Much like a wod, no fun but very satisfying.

Oh and one other thing. My mom called to tell me I curse too fucking much on my blog. And no, she didn't want me to mention it. But, I wouldn't be me if I didn't.

If you've ever been afraid of Shepherd's Pie

don't be. For whatever reason, I was. Maybe a bad past experience as a kid, maybe because it was named after a dog that I owned, or maybe because it looked disgusting, don't know but I have always kept my distance. Until yesterday. The Domestic Man has done it again. Bob saw the recipe and said lets try this. It was delicious. Now, if you are against white potatoes and dairy, you'll have to sub but, if you're like us and a starchy tuber and a little heavy cream won't ruin your life, go for it. I swear you'll be thanking me. Well, not me, thank Domestic Man. I'm just a follower willing to test for those of you who aren't very internet savvy or just don't have the time to really research recipes. Trust me, it can be a part time job. Thankfully the more I research, the more sites I'm finding. There are a TON of paleo/primal sites out there. Some better than others of course but so far I think Bob hit the jackpot on this guy. We also made his sausage and sauerkraut on Saturday night. It does call for kielbasa or smoked sausage but I had regular pork sausage in the fridge so that's what I used. It was great and super easy to make if you like kraut. The benefits of fermented foods are positive though you would have to visit MDA's site to find the geeked out version of why.

So moving on. Two things, well, more than that but these two things first. Saturday I went to Central Bucks Crossfit to cheer on some fellow Crossfitters in a charity event for the kids of Newtown CT. What a turnout. And what an overwhelming feeling of just pure sacrifice and effort. Honestly, there were some people there who you wouldn't ever believe they could do a single pull up or throw a 75lb snatch over their head with ease. I was impressed, and I don't impress easily. And then there were the people like my friend and her crew who are just plain studs, driving down from an hour away to suffer for a good cause. The Crossfit community at it's best. Another reason why I love it. Hopefully once my little dude is in kindergarten and I have some free cash and more time (yeah right) I'll be able to join a box. Yeah, I know I just got done adding equipment to my home gym and I love it, but I'm thinking I may like that push of someone yelling at me. Or maybe I can just record Jillian Michaels yelling and cursing on The Biggest Loser to motivate me. She is quite scary.

Speaking of TBL, I saw some Crossfitters are going to be on tonights show. The contestants will probably be scared to death. Shit, I was when I first started and I was already in semi pretty decent but not really shape.

Oh and another thing that has nothing to do with anything. What is it with people wearing pajamas out in public? No, I'm not talking about little kids. I'm talking adults... parents. And no, not yoga pants, I mean flannel pajamas. Come on! If you are that freaking lazy to put on a pair of pants, or at the very least sweats, you need to revisit your priorities.

No barbell for me today. Went out for a 1.5 mile walk/easy jog and finished it off with 3 minutes on the torture machine Air dyne. The weather is pretty nice today, nice for January in the Northeast anyway so I took advantage. Besides, I'm still crying on the inside from my thrusters yesterday. WOD #2 with no cursing or complaining. Out loud anyway. Baby steps.

Too much meat

And not enough recipes you say? Well, have no fear your recipe tester is here. I know. Rhyming. Ugh. Anyway, made another new recipe last night this time from Balanced Bites. Thanksgiving stuffed meatballs. If you're anything like me when you go food shopping it's an automatic reaction to throw ground turkey, beef or pork in the cart even if you don't have a specific recipe in mind or already have a cows worth in the freezer. In my house it's one of those staple go to foods. I can always make sliders, meatballs, meatloaf or eggs. And 90% of the time I have celery, onions and carrots. So when I was cruising thru FB yesterday I came across a post from PaleOMG about Balanced Bites' meatball recipe. Looked good and hell, I already had everything. Even the cranberries. Which reminds me, I need to stock up. Apparently you can freeze the little suckers so during the off season when they are harder to find, bingo. The meatballs were great with the addition of fennel and walnuts and the cranberry sauce as a dip. I made some roasted broccoli rabe along with them and probably wouldn't do so in the future only because the cranberry sauce was really tart and the broccoli rabe was bitter... which I love, but I  probably should have gone with a sweet potato or squash side dish instead. Even a cold garden salad would work. Something not so strong in flavor. But, they were great and super easy so try them.

Got in a decent wod today. Heavy back squats and double unders, clean and jerks, push ups and sit ups. Did pretty well with the back squat and managed to attempt 200lbs. Luckily for me we have the cage and the safety pins. Ah well, next time. The clean and jerks gave me some issues which I've noticed in the past, a shooting pain in the fat part of my thumb that radiates into my palm and wrist. It's only for a split second and stops as soon as the bar is jerked. Kinda pissed me off and slowed me down.  Points for me though, I did not drop the f bomb once. Miracle that.

Have to say I've been feeling great lately. Back to eating well, little to no sugar, getting sleep, drinking the bone broth and kombucha and getting my workouts back on schedule. Ahh.

Going to try to head out to tomorrow to Central Bucks Crossfit to cheer my friend on during the "Newtown 26" memorial wod. Looks pretty brutal. Should be a great turnout considering all slots are filled from 7am - 3pm. Other than that, I'll be taking the tree down and probably making another new recipe from The Domestic Man, sausage and sauerkraut. Looks yummy.

Dem bones dem bones

So one thing Bob and I have been wanting to do for quite a while now was already accomplished in 2013. Making bone broth. I've been noticing an increase in unusual animal parts for sale at my local grocery store and thought, have I never noticed packaged chicken feet, tongue and cow bones before? Huh. After that my thought was, yay lucky me now I can try some new recipes. No I would NEVER eat cow tongue. I just like to tease the kids with it. Since I've been a fan of Nom Nom Paleo and Primal Palate for some time I know they rave about the good qualities of bone broth when you're a little under the weather. MDA of course nerds out on the scientific explanations of why you should drink it. So from what I can understand, it's good for you and contains a lot of stuff you need. Good enough. With that, we made 2 batches of it. We used a combo of MDA and Nom Nom Paleo and let it sit in the slow cooker for 24 hours. And the verdict is.... the first batch was a little strong and fatty but delicious once it's cooled and the fat is strained. The second batch (using the same bones and veggies) is great too. Not as fatty since that cooked off the first round, but deeper and richer in color. We already finished the first few containers over the past few days. It's extremely satisfying on a cold yucky day. It really doesn't take much effort with the slow cooker either. Put the stuff in and let it cook. Easy as broth.

Got in a good workout today. Long though. Couldn't make all 5 rounds and have enough time to eat and pick up the dude at school. 10 minutes of walking like a duck was interesting. Wasn't terribly difficult and my legs felt pretty good afterwards. 10 minutes high hang snatch practice and I actually got 70# today. Surprising since I haven't done them in weeks and normally fall apart around 65. The metcon was a tad stinky. 25 kbs, 10 burpees, 25 double unders. I managed to go unbroken the first round including the double unders! Next 2 rounds the du's effed me up, but still a good one.

Time to pack up the Christmas decorations and get some stuff done.

Resolutions schmesolutions

I think I proclaimed last year that I don't do New Year's resolutions anymore. I mean really, just because I'm drunk and it's midnight isn't going to change anything. Honestly, that happens every Friday night and I don't go promising myself anything but to sleep in the next day. So instead I thought of a few things I will try to possibly consider working on for 2013. Way to make a commitment.

1. Stop complaining when my fill in the body part hurts.
2. Try not to cry or moan when I see the words 'squat clean thrusters'.
3. No screaming 'you stupid mother f**ker' when I miss a lift I know I should have had. (this will be very hard)
4. Stop spending money on stupid crap.
5. Stop trying to explain why I'm gluten free.
6. Be better at reducing, reusing and recycling.

That's all I can think of but it basically covers most of what I need to work on. And no, there are no promises of "increase my deadlift weight" or "work on muscle ups". And you know why because as a Crossfitter, those are goals and achievements I go into the garage with every day. Every day I think "I can do 5 more pounds" or "a few more reps than last time" or "I can eeek out 1 more pull up". They aren't goals or resolutions to be made because the calendar says January 1st. They are goals I work towards every single time I workout. So as long as I keep on the path I've been on for 2 1/2 years, I'm good. Sure I could use a tweak here and there, but who can't? I know what I suck at and I'm working on it...errr... them. As far as diet, hell, I could use a 21 day sugar detox, but in all honesty, I just need to re focus and that can happen now that the holidays are over. No more temptations, no more "it's a special occasion" eat up.

Nothing much else going on. Kids are back to school, thank god. My house is clean... well, cleaner. My schedule is getting back on track slowly but surely. I was finally able to workout 3 days in a row. It's all falling back into place. Finally.