celebrating Spain's win

 Yesterday we went to a bar to watch the World Cup final match. I've watched most of the matches on Telemundo so I didn't want to miss the grand finale. The first bar we wanted to go to, a Spanish culture club called La Nacional, was full so we went across the street to a little dive bar. I lucked out and got a seat right in front of a TV and was able to watch in comfort while Rosemary and her friends stood. I had two beers, the first time I've had that much to drink in months. After Spain won the game, I treated myself to a bacon cheeseburger and fries in the sports bar near my house. I was uncomfortably full after but it was fun to have a break from my regime of austerity.

I just ordered some popcorn from Rancho Gordo. It's not cheap but it's very good and I don't know where to find the crummy popcorn in my local grocery store.  

slog

 Checking in with my weight loss timeline: I'm 2-3 lbs behind. I had calculated a straight-up one pound a week loss but I need to be patient. I'm at the beginning of July and I'm down to 172.8 171.7. Drop by drop. I feel as if I've lost weight around my thighs and belly but I still have the basketball tummy when I look in the mirror. I need to focus on my accomplishments: my blood work showed that I am no longer in the pre-diabetic zone with my Ac1 or blood glucose and that my liver markers are back in the normal range. I also showed a reversal of fatty liver with my liver ultrasound. I have an appointment with the liver specialist at the end of the month. I'm making slow progress!

Iris Van Herpen at the Brooklyn Museum

 Yesterday we went to the Brooklyn Museum to see a show of Iris Van Herpen's couture called "Sculpting the Senses."  I especially like the Muses tab because you can see how the gowns look on people who are not models on a catwalk.

Alcohol free

Down 14 lbs  but I still can't see it--my buddha belly still makes it look as if I"m pregnant. Patience! it's coming off, slowly but surely. Yesterday I treated myself to a dinner with Rosemary at the vegetarian Ethiopian place, Bunna Cafe. We get the feast for two which is scoops of nine different vegan dishes. Our favorite is the mushroom but I also like the beets, the collard greens, and the kabocha squash. 

I have not had alcohol since I began my clean living program back in February. Every so often I miss it but it hasn't been hard to live alcohol free. I ordered a beer a Bunna and it turned out to be non-alcoholic. A sign.  I had been drinking a tall beer 4 times a week. Saving money, saving my liver.

 Yesterday I cooked a pot of field peas with goat meat in the crockpot. I had never had them before and looked up recipes. They are not regular peas that have matured and dried but a bean, and are common in the South. They are really good combined with Rao's tomato sauce with sausage and mushroom.

Green Plantains

 My health care clinic advertised that it was giving away free food this afternoon. I had visions of produce laid out on tables. But when I showed up there were grocery bags all packed with the same thing: 3 green plantains, 3 mangos, red grapes and a package of baby kale. I have never cooked green plantains before so I spent the afternoon looking at recipes. I can roast them, peeled and sliced, or I can boil them and mash them up. The grapes are delicious although I haven't been eating them because of the sugar. It was a good long walk go the clinic.

more scans

Today is Saturday and I woke up at 7:30 to go into Manhattan for some scans. I know the way to the radiology clinic of Mount Sinai now: take the L to 14th St and then the 6 going up town to 103rd and Lexington. I don't even need to use Google Maps when I get out of the station because I know what direction to go. Got there for a 9:30 appointment for a thoracic CT scan to follow up on a lung nodule and then had a radioactive injection for a full body PET scan to follow up on the endocrine mutation. I'm anticipating that both of them will be fine. Only paid $30 for one of them. We'll see if I get another bill. 

I'm watching Six Feet Under and I actually stayed up all night to watch it and then lay down most of the day and then watched some more. I lost track of time and went to bed at midnight last night. Still managed to get up in time for a shower and went to the store on the way home. I will cook some brussels sprouts later. I'm a little frustrated that I've plateaued on the scale again; holding steady at 177.