Original post blogged on b2evolution.

I didn't want a Letter of Reprimand. Which was on my plate to receive if I didn't get off my duff and do something about it.

To lose the weight I needed to lose quickly, I took this stuff called HCG. It basically makes you not hungry so the associated 500 calorie a day meal plan is pretty doable. It gets boring really quickly, but at least I was able to drop 14 lbs in three weeks. That was just enough to get me a passing score.

I'll be heading to Atlantic City this weekend with my sister and my friend. We're staying at a posh hotel and going to see a concert. All in the name of my upcoming 40th birthday!

Hooray! My birthday is coming!

When I get back from Atlantic City, I'm going to start Weight Watchers so I can continue the downward weight progress. If I don't track my intake and have accountability through a program like that, I'll never stick with it.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty energized, encouraged and ... sore. The soreness will go away in a day or two. The rest... well, I hope that it sticks around a bit longer.

There's one person in particular who smacks his lips with every bite and chews with his mouth open.  Makes me want to hurl.

That's worse even than scraping your teeth along the tines of a fork.

Ugh.  How do you tell someone that their eating habits are offensive?

Eric took Hannah to Michigan this past weekend and picked up Ethan.  Sort of like a hostage swap, only more fun.  Ethan had a good time with his aunt, cousins and grandparents.  Heck, he even got to go to Chicago for a brief visit.  He's glad to be back, though.  Hannah is looking forward to spending the rest of July and most of August with her cousins, etc. out there, too.

Sigh.  Sometimes it sucks being an adult.  I'd love to have the summer off to hang with my friends and family.  Ah well, I'll just make do with weekends.

Speaking of which, we saw Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part II on Friday before Hannah and Eric left.  It was great!  Now I'm looking forward to seeing Captain America and Cowboys and Aliens.  Typically of me, I'm jonesing to see Cowboys and Aliens more than Captain America.  Yep, give me Sci-Fi/Fantasy any day and I'm happy.

We got there before 9 a.m. and I headed into the Ranger's office to pay for the day's entry. The sign said that it didn't open until 9, but the door was unlocked, so I went in. Nobody was around, but I heard voices coming from downstairs. I called down there several times until I got their attention and they came upstairs to help me. They were surprised to see me and asked how I got in there. I told them that the door was open and they were pretty satisfied with that.

So, my sister and I commenced to hiking. We wandered around on some trails and got to the mid-park education center where there were restrooms and water fountains. There, like a beacon of light, was a vending machine. Soda or some other sugary drink sounded EXCELLENT. We rifled through our things but didn't have the change we needed. No problem, I thought to myself, I'll go and see if someone has change for a five dollar bill. There were offices adjacent to the vending machine so I opened the door and popped my head in to see if there was anyone there with change. I heard an ominous beeping noise and realized what would soon be coming. Stepping back outside the office and closing the door, I was unsurprised when the alarm went off. I went and told my sister that we had to stick around for the Rangers to get there since I was the one who set the alarm off.

A few minutes later, he arrived. I went up to the vehicle and explained how the door was unlocked and the alarm set. He wasn't too concerned about me opening the door to the office. I also asked him if he had change for a five. Nope. So, we refilled our water bottles at the water taps and headed out.

It was a great hike. All in all, we spent about three hours out on the trails. I need a better backpack and we definitely need to start carrying emergency supplies (like a small first aid kit) for those "just in cases". I'm definitely feeling lucky that they didn't decide I was a shifty individual. Otherwise, I have a feeling I might be locked up somewere un-plush.

The weight issue has caused me trouble with my reserve job. I've failed the fitness test several times because of my abdominal circumference. If I fail again, I get a letter of reprimand. Oh yeah, no pressure there. I might as well sign a death warrant for my military career if that happens. After that, there's losing a stripe, then outprocessing. None of those are good choices for me.

I've put on 20 lbs since I got home. This week, I've dropped 1.4. I need to keep pressing hard in that general direction. I know I can do it. I just need, as my buddy Eric W. says, "wontpower".

First of all, I didn't have any butter beans in my cupboard. Shocking, I know. I went sifting through the canned goods and found kidney beans, roman beans (what the heck are roman beans?), pinto beans and navy beans. A-ha! The navy beans were the answer I was looking for!

So here's what I combined, and they turned out quite tasty.

15 oz can of navy beans (drained and mashed)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup shredded cheddar

1/3 cup shredded parmesan

1 egg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

I mixed it all together, formed 4 patties and put them in a frying pan with about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. (I'm going to try to bake them next time and see how they come out) I cooked them until they were brown and crispy on each side about 7-8 minutes each. And viola! Eric had his on a bun with all the associated hamburger fixings, but I ate mine plain.

I'll definitely spice it up and experiment with it a bit more, but, they turned out really well!