Sender: Dustin and Lindsay

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A rainbow over Tallahassee

A nice reward after a little bit of rain!

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Detox

So, as of late, I've been pretty bad about watching what I consume.  It's especially hard while traveling, but I've just let some bad habits creep in (fast food, lots of caffeine, etc.).  To jump-start getting things back on track, I thought I would try out a detox program that MC has done in the past.  It takes a lot of work to prepare, but I figure a week-long detox can't hurt!  MC has always felt better after doing it so hopefully it will work well for me too!  Instead of posting every day or every other day, I decided to just add to the draft each day so here's the account of the entire process! That's also why I've hardly had any updates the last week :-) I'm also going to do a couple of weigh-ins throughout the process.  This is meant more as a "body cleanse" or "detox" and not a weight loss plan, but since it is pretty restrictive compared to what I have been eating, I figure that I should see at least a little weight change during the process. :-) You can see the whole plan for the detox at http://goop.com/newsletter/15/ so I won't itemize my consumption as I talk about each day. Also, things didn't really work out exactly as I originally planned. I had originally decided to start on Thursday because MC said days 2-4 were the hardest as your body gets used to things.  So Thursday I started things out, but had a hiccup.  From looking online, it is a fairly common practice to throw some lemon rinds in the disposal to help keep it smelling fresh.  Well apparently our disposal doesn't really like to chew things up before pushing them through so after a few lemon rinds, the drain wasn't working so well.  It ended up clogging the pipes pretty far up because it blocked off both sinks and the dishwasher and the maintenance guy wasn't able to reach it with any of his tools.  So instead of taking all the dishes to the bathtub to hand wash, I decided to just postpone and I restart ed everything on Saturday.  I guess a little extra detox shouldn't hurt! ;-) The other thing that kinda stunk about the drain snafu was that I have to travel this friday and something tells me taking miso soup on the road is not a good idea. ;-) So while the plan is a 7 day detox, I'm pretty much reducing it to 6. I am still going to eat as healthily as I can on the road, but driving 9.5 hours and trying to keep up with this by myself would be a little too much.  I'm sure that seventh day doesn't detox me too much more ;-) Day 1 - Saturday I weigh-in at 185.0 lbs (damn I'm fat!) and start out this (like every subsequent morning) with a lemon water. Since I tend to be an evening eater (I can easily go without eating for the first half of the day) it really wasn't that bad.  I had eaten a good amount of food the day before, so I think my body was still processing all of that, which helped. It was definitely a big shift in eating and I had some bad food cravings, but I really didn't feel unsatisfied, especially given that I went for a 2 mile run in the morning. I did develop a bit of a headache this day, but I'm not sure if it was caffeine related since I hadn't had caffeine since Thursday.  Who knows. Day 2 - Sunday Woke up Sunday still having the headache, but otherwise felt ok. Day 2 is a nice "ease you into it" day because you get chicken!  And when MC did this, I joined her a few of the recipes and I thought the chicken was actually pretty darn good.  My muscles were a tad sore from the run yesterday, but I felt pretty good and wasn't too hungry for most of the day. Day 3 - Monday This is supposed to be one of the harder days, and it was going to be especially interesting since I had to be in the office most of the day.  I woke up with my muscles (mostly calves and hamstrings) feeling kinda "crampy."  I don't really know a better way to explain it.  Kinda like there are three stages that a muscle goes through to be fully cramped and they were stuck in stage 1.  Made it kinda hard to be comfortable in about any position, but it was not-so-much painful as it was annoying. I can definitely see why this is supposed to be one of the harder days given that oatmeal is the closest thing I get to solid food.  Luckily, I was pretty busy at the office, and that tends to help distract me from being hungry.  Unfortunately that effect dwindles after I've come home.  I was pretty starving in the evening and with only miso soup and a juice on the horizon I decided I needed to supplement.  I steamed a bag of green beans and gobbled them down as a "snack" before dinner.  Exactly what I needed!  MC said her cravings for bad food dwindled as she progressed through this, but I can't say that mine really changed much yet.  I still would LOVE to sit down with a big hamburger or cookie or Red Bull and indulge!  But, I'm sticking to this :-) With my green bean bonus, my tummy felt pretty good the rest of the evening, regardless of how much my mouth wanted much much more! Officially halfway done! Day 4 - Tuesday Weighed in today at 180.1! I was hoping for a little bit of weight change, but nothing like that!  Here's hoping this trend continues.  Talk about a jumpstart! :-) Still have a bit of that crampy feeling in my legs.  I'll probably try to go for a run on Wednesday to try running it out and seeing how they feel.  It ended up being a really busy day so that helped.  When I can, I think it is better for me to push things back a little since my body likes eating later in the day so much better. A great thing about today was the dinner was like a real meal!  Steamed salmon with steamed spinach.  It was delicious, though I probably should have put a little more spinach in there.  At least I felt pretty satisfied afterwards.  4 of 6 days complete! Hopefully my muscles will continue to feel better and won't feel so odd in the morning. Day 5 - Wednesday Again, I think I'm pretty lucky that this week is a crazy busy one.  Muscles still aren't 100%, but they are pretty close! I decided that the diet was enough and I'm gonna postpone getting back into running until after this detox is over.  It's a pretty big caloric restriction for me, so I don't want to push it too much by exercising during it.  Overall, I felt pretty good today and have been craving bad food a little less.  Only complaint was my dinner.  The cucumber and avocado soup was less than appealing.  It was not only a little salty, but the texture was kind of like a mildly chunky and the flavors really didn't seem to go well together.  I choked it down, but it was the first thing I have encountered that I really found unappealing.  Tomorrow is looking good though with chicken AND salmon!  Almost like real meals! :-) Day 6 - Thursday Yay for waking up with virtually no muscle weirdness!  The feeling wasn't completely gone, but pretty darn close.  Today was even busier than previous days and I actually forgot about a couple of my morning components until after lunch.  I guess that just goes to show how much my body adjusted to this diet.  Today was probably the easiest day of the detox (and the best since it is my LAST day!) because I got salmon for lunch then chicken with rice and veggies for dinner.  Almost like eating normal meals again!  I haven't noticed a huge difference in how I feel, but I do feel like my body has been getting used to the regimen. It has been a long 6 days, but hopefully my body is all detoxified to justify it! Woot! Day 7 - Friday Not continuing the diet, but just wanted to cap things off.  Did my final weigh-in and came in at 176.8.  That's a whopping 8.2 pounds in one week!  Pretty darn nuts!  While I didn't have a huge change in cravings (a big cheeseburger still sounds delightful), one of the really cool things about this detox was just seeing how much more I was consuming than I needed to.  It is true that I got pretty hungry a couple of days, most of the time I really didn't feel too bad (not exercising this week probably helped).  I think all the prep time involved would keep me from adopting something similar to this more often in my diet, but it does really show that many times I eat what my mouth wants more than what my body needs.  I think it will definitely be a good kick-off to eating healthier, and, at the very least, now I know what my sweetie went through when she did this :-) (even if I had to cut off the last day).  It has been quite the experience!

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A Small Contemplation

A Small Contemplation, originally uploaded by fincher69.

In the same photoshoot as the last couple of flower pictures, I took this shot of a statue in my sister's apartment. With the other things in the apartment the background looked too busy so I went with a tighter crop, which I actually ended up liking.

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My Sister's Flower (Shot 2)

My Sister's Flower (Shot 2), originally uploaded by fincher69.

While I was hanging out in my sister's apartment, I decided to take some random snapshots. After shooting the flowers she had on her balcony, I narrowed it down to two shots (basically same subject, different angles). I couldn't really decide between them so I'm just gonna end up posting them both. Here's #2 of 2.

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My Sister's Flowers (shot 1)

My Sister's Flowers (shot 1), originally uploaded by fincher69.

While I was hanging out in my sister's apartment, I decided to take some random snapshots. After shooting the flowers she had on her balcony, I narrowed it down to two shots (basically same subject, different angles). I couldn't really decide between them so I'm just gonna end up posting them both. Here's #1 of 2.

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Barenaked Ladies in Nashville!

As an early birthday present, MC decided to take me to see Barenaked Ladies, one of my favorite bands, in concert! It took a while to figure out a good place to coordinate seeing them since they weren't coming anywhere too close to Tallahasee, but we eventually decided we could make it work for their Nashville tour date.  Little did we know the deluge Nashville would receive last week!! We didn't actually get to see any of the flood devastation, but we saw tons of photos of what had gone on.  It was definitely some craziness and we were glad that all of our Nashville friends were ok, though there is still much work to be done to get back on track. So we decided to head up to Nashville on Sunday.  The VW GPS decided to take us a different route and, unfortunately, I didn't really look it over before deciding we should try it out.  It ended up adding about an hour and a half to our 8 hour drive up to Nashville.  Not cool Debbie! Anyhoo, we got in fairly late, caught up with my sister for a bit, played with her snazzy iPad, then hit the sack. Lauren had to work on Monday, so she was up and out early.  MC and I enjoyed not having to wake up early for anything so we took our time.  I went down the street to Star Bagel to grab us some breakfast while MC was getting ready (nothing fancy, just a couple bagels and coffee). I had talked to J.D. earlier and we decided to meet up at Jackson's Bar and Bistro.  It had come highly recommended, and with good reason! You can check out my Yelp! Review for further description. :-) After lunch we got to doing some some shopping to try to find a snazzy outfit for MC for our upcoming engagement photos. Even fueled by a snack from Whole Foods, we were unable to find exactly wha t we needed and moseyed back to Lauren's apartment. Lauren got back from work then we got everything together and headed over to dinner.  We met friends Jenny and Neil at Suzy Wong's House of Yum for a very awesome dinner.  A lot of the meals were "family style" so we basically ordered a bunch of different dishes that proceeded to float around the table so everyone could partake.  I did keep my beer to myself though! ;-) From there it was on to Ryman Auditorium! When we booked the tickets, we were in the way back right of the balcony, so we didn't have the highest expectations about how good our view would be.  Little did we know how small and awesome this place is!!  Our view was pretty darn good (though we couldn't really see the drummer because of the way they were situated) and we weren't far at all.  I HIGHLY recommend this venue for any concerts! We got there just a little bit after the opener, Ingrid Michaelson, had begun.  I had not recognized her by na me, but I was familiar with a few of her songs. She was very entertaining and quirky and her final song was a cool vocal solo using a looper.  Cool way to start things off! Luckily it didn't take them too long to get things set up for BNL, but we still had enough time to try to snag a quick pic of my sweetie who made all this possible! Then it was concert time!  I forgot to mention that, as a bonus for buying tickets to their concert, BNL provided the mp3s of their new album for download.  So MC and I utilized some of our 9.5 hour drive up to Nashville to familiarize ourself with the new stuff too.  :-) Anyhoo, back to the view! It was so cool that I could still get ok pics, just with my cell phone!  If I had known this venue was so camera friendly, I would have brought my D90! They did a really good job of providing a mix of their older and newer songs.  They played about all of my favorite songs, which made the present even better! :-) They put on a great show and the small venue made it easy to understand them when they had banter with the audience.  Initially, I was confused because there were only 4 people on stage and I remember the band having 5.  Well, apparently, I've been out of the BNL loop and in 2009 Steven Page (one of the lead vocalists) left the band.  I haven't been able to find much information about him leaving, but it is described and being mutual, but sp ed up by a cocaine possession charge against Steven.  The band still did a good job, but since he provided a lot of the main vocals, had a distinctive voice, and the bassist isn't near as talented a singer, there was definitely a difference in the sound of the band.  Some songs sounded pretty similar, but ones in which Steven was featured sounded more like a talented BNL cover band than BNL themselves.  It was still and awesome show, but I missed Steven!  Anyhoo, as I mentioned, the playlist was pretty varied and they even had a few guests!  One was Erin McCarley, who sang on one of their newest tracks (though not on the latest CD I don't believe).  MC was a big fan of her voice, and we'll likely be checking more of her music out!  The other was a complete surprise.  Apparently, some of the BNL guys had see Cadillac Sky perform the night before and saw o ne of their band members (David) in the audience.  Ed (the lead singer) said he had never done it, but would regret not asking him to come up and play guitar with them for a song.  He accepted and boy did he tear it up!  I believe we saw Cadillac Sky one year at Rhythm and Roots in Bristol, and I remember them being pretty good.  I will definitely be checking them out now! Overall it was an awesome show and I'm super thankful to MC for organizing everything for a very special birthday present from someone I love. :-) After the show, we headed back to Lauren's and promptly crashed after a long and awesome day! Tuesday we got up and hit the road early to get back to Tally.  It was a short trip to Nashville, but it was worth it to see friends and my sister and, of course, the concert! Thanks to MC for coordinating it and Lauren for putting us up and providing transportation! Now it's back to the grind for a very busy week!

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Barenaked Ladies in Nashville!

As an early birthday present, MC decided to take me to see Barenaked Ladies, one of my favorite bands, in concert! It took a while to figure out a good place to coordinate seeing them since they weren't coming anywhere too close to Tallahasee, but we eventually decided we could make it work for their Nashville tour date.  Little did we know the deluge Nashville would receive last week!! We didn't actually get to see any of the flood devastation, but we saw tons of photos of what had gone on.  It was definitely some craziness and we were glad that all of our Nashville friends were ok, though there is still much work to be done to get back on track. So we decided to head up to Nashville on Sunday.  The VW GPS decided to take us a different route and, unfortunately, I didn't really look it over before deciding we should try it out.  It ended up adding about an hour and a half to our 8 hour drive up to Nashville.  Not cool Debbie! Anyhoo, we got in fairly late, caught up with my sister for a bit, played with her snazzy iPad, then hit the sack. Lauren had to work on Monday, so she was up and out early.  MC and I enjoyed not having to wake up early for anything so we took our time.  I went down the street to Star Bagel to grab us some breakfast while MC was getting ready (nothing fancy, just a couple bagels and coffee). I had talked to J.D. earlier and we decided to meet up at Jackson's Bar and Bistro.  It had come highly recommended, and with good reason! You can check out my Yelp! Review for further description. :-) After lunch we got to doing some some shopping to try to find a snazzy outfit for MC for our upcoming engagement photos. Even fueled by a snack from Whole Foods, we were unable to find exactly wha t we needed and moseyed back to Lauren's apartment. Lauren got back from work then we got everything together and headed over to dinner.  We met friends Jenny and Neil at Suzy Wong's House of Yum for a very awesome dinner.  A lot of the meals were "family style" so we basically ordered a bunch of different dishes that proceeded to float around the table so everyone could partake.  I did keep my beer to myself though! ;-) From there it was on to Ryman Auditorium! When we booked the tickets, we were in the way back right of the balcony, so we didn't have the highest expectations about how good our view would be.  Little did we know how small and awesome this place is!!  Our view was pretty darn good (though we couldn't really see the drummer because of the way they were situated) and we weren't far at all.  I HIGHLY recommend this venue for any concerts! We got there just a little bit after the opener, Ingrid Michaelson, had begun.  I had not recognized her by name, but I was familiar with a few of her songs. She was very entertaining and quirky and her final song was a cool vocal solo using a looper.  Cool way to start things off! Luckily it didn't take them too long to get things set up for BNL, but we still had enough time to try to snag a quick pic of my sweetie who made all this possible! Then it was concert time!  I forgot to mention that, as a bonus for buying tickets to their concert, BNL provided the mp3s of their new album for download.  So MC and I utilized some of our 9.5 hour drive up to Nashville to familiarize ourself with the new stuff too.  :-) Anyhoo, back to the view! It was so cool that I could still get ok pics, just with my cell phone!  If I had known this venue was so camera friendly, I would have brought my D90! They did a really good job of providing a mix of their older and newer songs.  They played about all of my favorite songs, which made the present even better! :-) They put on a great show and the small venue made it easy to understand them when they had banter with the audience.  Initially, I was confused because there were only 4 people on stage and I remember the band having 5.  Well, apparently, I've been out of the BNL loop and in 2009 Steven Page (one of the lead vocalists) left the band.  I haven't been able to find much information about him leaving, b ut it is described and being mutual, but sped up by a cocaine possession charge against Steven.  The band still did a good job, but since he provided a lot of the main vocals, had a distinctive voice, and the bassist isn't near as talented a singer, there was definitely a difference in the sound of the band.  Some songs sounded pretty similar, but ones in which Steven was featured sounded more like a talented BNL cover band than BNL themselves.  It was still and awesome show, but I missed Steven!  Anyhoo, as I mentioned, the playlist was pretty varied and they even had a few guests!  One was Erin McCarley, who sang on one of their newest tracks (though not on the latest CD I don't believe).  MC was a big fan of her voice, and we'll likely be checking more of her music out!  The other was a complete surprise.  Apparently, some of the BNL guys had see Cadillac Sky perform the night before and saw one of their band members (David) in the audience.  Ed (the lead singer) said he had never done it, but would regret not asking him to come up and play guitar with them for a song.  He accepted and boy did he tear it up!  I believe we saw Cadillac Sky one year at Rhythm and Roots in Bristol, and I remember them being pretty good.  I will definitely be checking them out now! Overall it was an awesome show and I'm super thankful to MC for organizing everything for a very special birthday present from someone I love. :-) After the show, we headed back to Lauren's and promptly crashed after a long and awesome day! Tuesday we got up and hit the road early to get back to Tally.  It was a short trip to Nashville, but it was worth it to see friends and my sister and, of course, the concert! Thanks to MC for coordinating it and Lauren for putting us up and providing transportation! Now it's back to the grind for a very busy week!

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The Sun Shines Through

The Sun Shines Through, originally uploaded by fincher69.

The third and final pic from my trip home to Bristol. Again, nothing too fancy, but I really liked the way the shadows played out through all the leaves.

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A Sea of Texture

A Sea of Texture, originally uploaded by fincher69.

Another shot from Bristol. Nothing too fancy, but I really liked all the texture, especially when viewed at original size.

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My first beer from Nicaragua!

Found at a local Cuban restaurant.


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Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers, originally uploaded by fincher69.

Had a quick photo session the last time I was up at my parent's house in Bristol. All the flowers are in full bloom and I felt I had to document it at least a little bit.

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