Rey of Hope

Several months ago, I planted some lettuce.  It's not "butter" lettuce, it's not spinach....but I don't know what kind it is.  I saved the seed packet, but when I was watering the seed planters in their mini-greenhouse in spring, the packet got all wet and was thrown away.  Now I don't know what kind of lettuce this is, and it's driving me nuts because I want to know what to plant next year. 

Whatever kind of lettuce this is, it's fantasticly green, crunchy, and strong!  It's not on a head, more of a 'stalk' and the leaves are upright and oblong. 

I did some looking today and I'm leaning towards Jericho - but I don't know for sure.  Can anyone help me out?

I've been realizing more an more that I'm not on a diet. I'm changing my entire lifestyle. It's still quite scary to me though - as I tend to shy away from alcohol now because I know it turns to sugar. Also, one person in my life is always telling me not to deprive myself and you have to treat yourself every now and then. Unfortunately she tends to use this excuse to eat whatever she wants and I'll not go down that road, myself. I feel as though if I cave on one thing, I'm going to want more of it, and it's just easier to avoid the temptation - even if just a "treat" in small doses. For example, my cousin and I are taking a road trip this weekend to her hometown - which just happens to have a non-chain burger joint with the best (and most fatteningly disgusting) burgers I've ever had in my life. Read More »

Good morning dear reader! I say 'reader' in the singular form, because I believe I'm the only person reading my blog. Well after the long holiday weekend...the holiday eating...and the gym being closed....I've managed to only gain one pound. As of Tuesday (not my normal weigh day, I know) I weighed 181. All in all, I was pretty happy with that. I ran 3 miles on the elliptical at the gym yesterday, and I did it within a great amount of time too. I made a goal of 2.5 mi, but just kept trucking along. Also yesterday I discovered a great website called http://fitday.com There are a ton of tools where you can input data to measure progress and keep on track - including a food journal. I know most people dread those, but I find it to be an incredibly useful tool. Many dieters seem to be surprised when they're not losing weight as rapidly as they'd like, but they think they're eating healthy. They don't seem to count all the little snacks and beverages that they consume within a day. The food journal forces someone to be honest about what they put into their bodies. I've been using it myself - granted not for long yet but I'm finding it really useful. It even calculates nutritional content and tallies things up so you can track nutritional progress as well. The best part - all these tools are available for free! SCORE! Read More »