The Workout Room Reverse Fly Pec Deck

This is what I try to do when I train Hunter, when I train myself: I get in place, raise the weight and make the movement short and precise. This engages the muscles and keeps them engaged. Focus on that little movement and squeezing the muscles. It makes it harder and more concentrated.


I try for 15 to 25 reps. 3 sets.

I usually superset this with another exercise, like the side raises in the videos posted prior to these.

The Workout Room Reverse Fly Pec Deck OOPS

There are different types of Pec Deck machines. You can see that this one has handles you grab from the front and you fly your arms back, like you are squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades.

Start with a weight that feels comfortable and try to add weight with each set. Some people sit while doing this. I tend to stand; I get my butt just above the seat, my hips back, my head just touching the top of the apparatus and I focus on just using the rear delt muscles.


Keep the elbows high! Think: ballet arms.

Now.. this video was shot to show you what I see a lot of people doing: they get themselves in place and throw their arms way back, getting a big range of motion. That's all well and good but it's just throwing the weight around... not my favourite.

Watch the next video to see what I really like, ok?

Shocking But Not Pink

At dinner last night, one of the guests at the party I attended asked everyone what they thought about the whole Adam Lambert AMA's 'thing'. I can't call it a scandal. It's just a 'thing' to me. I said "I have a blog coming up about that" and the conversation was open to the floor; and everyone had an opinion - even those he hadn't seen it had something to say...

For example, someone pointed out that, years ago, Madonna humped a wedding veil all the way across a stage during a telecast; another guest argued that "it was on cable". True. It was MTV. Also, when she masturbated in her Blonde Ambition concert telecast - it was on HBO. Adam was on network tv, just like Janet was when Nipplegate happened - and she experienced a similar backlash. The furor cost her a gig playing Lena Horne in a biopic. This is not an isolated homophobic incident -- it was a calculated move on Lambert's part that would have received little to no attention, were it on cable, instead of on network tv during the family hour.

Madonna is the perfect example of the kind of shenanigans that Adam Lambert is trying to stir up, doncha know. We have always had rock performers who push the envelope with their sexuality, with androgyny (hell, it goes so far back in annals of history as to include classic film stars -- hello! Marlene Dietrich!). Sometimes those envelopes were pushed with good taste and sexy suggestiveness and others, well, not so much. BUT at least when Madonna was masturbating onstage, the performance had vision, had purpose and, most importantly, had talent to back it up.

I've heard people crying FOUL! I've heard people crying HOMOPHOBIA! I've heard people crying a lot of things in the aftermath of the Adam Lambert AMA's 'thing'.

I watched it.

Do you want to know what I am crying about it? Do you want to know what I found most offensive about it?

It was boring.

I should state, at this point, that I admire Adam Lambert. I respect his talent and I think he is a one of a kind singer who deserves the successes he earns. IF he earns them. I think he should be famous, recording wonderful music and sharing his freak of nature vocal abilities with the world. It would be a shame to be the possessor of such gifts and not share them with the world.

His performance with the world was not, in my humble opinion, based on his ART. It seemed to be something he created to shock everyone and to make a statement -- and it wasn't a statement based on who he is, on sexuality, on acceptance... it wasn't a statement that said anything but "look at me" and "aren't I shocking?" Remember how desperate Sally Bowles was to shock everyone? Remember how disappointed she was when she didn't? Adam Lambert didn't create a song or a performance with his eye on the work, on the art; he created them with his eye on the result. When artists work, they should focus on the art. When you focus on the art, it becomes the most important thing and it can carry the full weight of your vision, the full resonance of your expression. If an artist only has their eye on the prize, the artwork becomes secondary. As an artist, would YOU make your artwork secondary? Or would you have the integrity of the great artists of our world whose stories talk of their suffering for their work, their sacrifice for their art? Why do you think there are so many hack actors and hack singers out there? Why do you think we are forced to sit through the generic musical stylings of people who sound just like the other singers out there whose names we cannot seem to get straight? Why do you think there are so many bad actors on tv, making us wonder how they got this job and that our grandmother could say those lines better and emote with more expression? Because they haven't chosen to be artists. They haven't they frame of mind that they want to be an ACTOR or a MUSICIAN. They want to be famous. At any cost.

And often, that cost is at the expense of the audience.

The song Adam Lambert sang was bad. It was uninteresting and didn't showcase his extraordinary voice. That's already starting in the hole. Then came the overproduced number with its' overblown sexual overtones that don't say anything more than "do I shock you, darlings?". And while he may have offended some, while he may have shocked some, he didn't do either to me. He simply bored me. He simply embarrassed himself and set his rating back, at least three points. Then, in the aftermath of the whole thing, he compared himself to David Bowie - oh, such a mistake. David Bowie is a great artist who earned his stripes by being cutting edge, by being controversial and by backing it up with great music. Just let your mind wander and make the list of people who blazed the trails by balancing out their uniqueness and their artistry.

F. Scott Fitzgerald gave us one of my very favourite quotes: "You've either got to feed people, amuse 'em or shock 'em".

Artists like Annie Lennox and Bowie fed our artistic natures; artists like Bette Midler and Elton John amused our senses of humour; artists like Madonna and Prince shocked us.

Adam Lambert, so far, hasn't done any of them for me.

Thanks

It's Thanksgiving Day. Everyone is blogging, writing, Facebook statusing about all the things for which they are thankful. There is a lot for which to be thankful. So I am going to be extra specific and show youse all ONE of the things for which I am TRULY thankful, this holiday season...

A NEW Chess Pie

What can I bring to Thanksgiving Dinner? That's what I asked when Jennifer and Allan asked us to come to their party tomorrow. We already have a lunch at Liz's but that is at noon; Jen and Allan are having people for dinner in the evening. If we don't fill up on breakfast and lunch, we should be able to, easily, handle a second party. We are both very excited! For years we have been the hosts on Thanksgiving. A couple of years we went home to Texas; a couple of years we just hung out together - but usually Thanksgiving is at Two-A; and we've always been happy about that. This year, though, when Liz asked us, we decided to try something new. Well, this will be new! We chose what we would make and take to Liz's lunch.. something healthy, of course; but it should be fun, too! So we're going to take the cabbage raisin dish and some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (and now that I can make them wheat free, they will be healthier -- don't confuse the issue, though --healthiER; they still have sugar and fat). When Jen and Allan asked us to their dinner, too, though, I asked what we should bring. Jen, a world class baker, asked me to come back into the kitchen and bake something ( I rarely bake anymore, for obvious reasons ).

"Will you make me a chess pie?"

Of course I will make Jen a chess pie. It is one of my specialties. I am known for my chess pie (when it comes to baking). People love my chess pie. Even the Yankees and the Easterners -- even the West Coasters who don't know from chess pie -- they all love my chess pie. There are many, though, who don't know what it is because it is a Southern thing. It's like a buttermilk pie but there are inherent differences in the two. I will include the chess pie recipe that I use -- it is right out of the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook that my mama gave me when I left for college.

The thing about THIS chess pie, though... the thing that makes today's chess pie - the one I am making for Thanksgiving at Jen and Allan's tomorrow is that it is completely and totally wheat free. You see, Jennifer is allergic to wheat. She lives a gluten free life. That is why she is continually inventing new recipes for http://www.thischickbakes.com/ that are gluten free. I couldn't, possibly, make a pie that Jen couldn't eat. So I asked her how one makes a wheat free crust. She gave me a rough framework on it and two days ago I tried it, for the first time. I did a test run of a chess pie that is wheat/gluten free.

And it WORKED!!! Jennifer advised me that I could actually make a pie crust out of nuts. I asked for more details and this is what she told me -- walnuts or almonds are a good place to start. You will need something like a 2/3 cup nuts to 1/3 cup flour ratio. So I put a mixture of these two types of nuts through my Magic Bullet (dudes, we use that thing EVERY day) until they were ground to a fine powder -- and even then there were a few pieces of actual nut, which gives it a more interesting texture and makes it more fun to eat. I poured this nut mixture into a bowl and added the 1/3 cup of flour (Bob's Red Mill Wheat free Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour) and about 1/4 teaspoon of Xantham Gum (you must use it whenever you use this flour - follow the directions on the flour label). Then I added about a half a stick of melted butter and about 1/4 cup brown sugar (it binds it all together). I mix it up into a paste - and if it is not smooth, I add tiny little bits of water until it IS smooth. Once it is, I dust the bottom of my glass pie plate with the Gluten Free Flour and then I put the mixture in bit by bit, patting it down, evenly, across the bottom of the plate and up the sides of the plate. Once it is spread evenly, I bake it for about 15 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees, watching it like a hawk. When it is solid, like a pie crust should be, NOT burned but NOT uncooked, I pull it out and set it aside to cool. When it is cool - and I mean COLD, room temp, not even slightly warm; be patient. I make the normal chess pie recipe (watching it like a hawk!). When that part is done, I set it aside to cool for half an hour and then put it in the fridge for an hour or more. You can see, by the way it cuts in the attached videos that it works better that way.

Now. Here is the recipe for Chess Pie from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book.

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon flour (Bob's is a 1:1 ratio so you don't need to convert anything but you will need to sprinkle in about 1/4 teaspoon of Xantham Gum)

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

5 well beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar; beat in flour and cornmeal. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and beat well. Pour into pie crust. Bake in moderate oven 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Let it sit. Cool. Cut. Serve. Die and go to heaven.

The Famous Muffin Recipe

Recently, in a Facebook exchange, I mentioned a muffin that I have been making at this time of year since the beginning of time. Even though I am a health and fitness fanatic and do not support the consumption of junk food, I also remember, often, the time my friend said to me:

"We live for a very short time. We're dead for a very long time. Eat the fucking cookie."

So, for me, in my life philosophy, I have come to realize that life is too short to do the holiday season without a spicey baked good, now and then. It is ALL about moderation. So, yeah, come the holidays I bake my own baked goods and give them away, saving one (maybe two) for Pat and I to have. Then, we make up for it by training extra special hard.

Yesterday, I had to make some pumpkin bread and some banana bread to give someone. So I bought individual mini loaf pans, made four of each and gave them all away, saving one banana and one pumpkin for Pat and I to share. Moderation, m'dears.

Well, when I mentioned this famous recipe that I have been making for two decades, my friend, Sean and some of his Facebook friends asked me to post the recipe. Never one to disappoint, I have typed it up and posted it below.

Here is the interesting point I MUST share as a health and fitness fanatic. I was making these this week as a test run for Thanksgiving. I am taking them to a dinner being hosted by my girlfriend who is alergic to wheat. So I made them, for the first time, with gluten free flour. Pat and I both agreed: they tasted better than they do with wheat. So even though the recipe below calls for regular flour, I am suggesting that you try it with:

BOB'S RED MILL WHEAT FREE GLUTEN FREE ALL PURPOSE BAKING FLOUR. It can be used with a 1:1 ratio to replace normal flour in your recipes. It does require (for the science of baking) a little assistance in the form of BOB'S RED MILL XANTHAM GUM. There is a chart to tell you how much xantham to use. If you replace your regular all purpose flour with this two ingredients, using the 1:1 ratio and the xantham chart, you will find no difference at all: except you are wheat free (always a good thing, health wise) and that they taste lighter and better.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
Makes 12 Regular or 48 Miniature Muffins.

Miniature muffins go further but regular size are more fun to eat; after all, you can only fit so many chocolate chips and sliced almonds into one mini muffin...

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1/2 cup sliced unblanched almonds on a baking sheet or pie plate and bake about five minutes until they are LIGHTLY toasted. Don't let them burn! It ruins the taste and texture--also the look. Nothing nastier than biting into a muffin and seeing a black almond. Tan to light brown in colour is the goal. Toaster oven will do, too. Remove, slide off and let cool. Grease your muffin cups. Or use baking cups--foil or paper will do. I tend to just use Pam Cooking spray but I, occasionally, lose the chocolate chips on the bottom of the muffin to a greedy muffin pan that won't let go...

Thoroughly mix the following in a large bowl:
1 2/3 (One and two thirds) cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Break 2 large eggs into a different bowl.
Add 1 cup plain pumpkin (half a one pound can--I use Libby's and make sure it is pure pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix. It is possible to grab the wrong can. See: Solid Packed Pumpkin) and
1/2 cup butter (that's one stick--and use butter; if you are going to do calories, might as well go for the real thing--my nutritionist says real butter is ultimately better for you than substitutes, anyway).
Whisk these up until they are well blended.
Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips (I use semi sweet--milk chocolate chips don't have QUITE the RIGHT texture or taste for this muffin) and almonds. By the way--make sure your melted butter has cooled a little before doing this because the heat from the butter can melt your chocolate chips, ruining the ultimate outcome of the muffin.
Once the wet mixture is blended, pour it over the dry mixture and fold just until the dry mixture is moistened. Scoop, spoon or pour the batter into cups.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
The texture, when done, should be puffy and springy to the touch.
Remove and empty the pans onto a rack to cool.

Now. The book in which I found this recipe says you should make these one or two days ahead for best flavour. I have found that I like to let the muffins cool and eat one warm with a glass of cold milk. However, they are just as good at room temperature later in the day. They are also good if stored in plastic and kept for later. I have found that when they are kept for later and everything inside the muffins has reached its natural consistency, the sponginess of the muffins, the crunchiness of the almonds and the soft-yet-firmness of the chocolate chips makes for some great textural fun for the mouth. This is one of my most popular recipes and, while the breakdown of ingredients is true to the book MUFFINS by Elizabeth Alston, I have noted, herein, my own observations over years and years of making this treat.

Enjoy!

Radio Flyer

I've been working at home today. There is always something to work on at home. Two-A is project central anyway; but there is also the buying and cleaning and cutting and preparing and cooking of foods for the week, as well as the other things that come up like unpacking all of Pat's cases and putting away the items from therein -- settling back into our real life now that he is home from his travels. It's also the holiday season and there are Christmas presents to make, gluten free recipes to do test runs of, photos to scan for online albums... there is always work to do at Two-A. So when I am actually home from the gym, not on location for a photo shoot, not out running errands, not out nurturing my relationships with social engagements.. I am working at home.

One of the nice things about working at home is that I can set up the card table and work in the living room while watching my tv shows from the week. That's today. I've been working from home and working my way through Survivor, Flash Forward, Mercy, The Good Wife, NCIS LA, Trauma, Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy (I watch the dance shows and my Sunday night dramas as they air, usually). As I watched this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy (and consider this a spoiler alert - if you are a Grey's watcher and haven't seen this week's show and are even remotely concerned that I am about to ruin it for you, stick a pin in this blog and come back after you have watched it), I was impressed, once more, by how good the writing is this season. Then we came to the ending of the show and the chief was in a bar ordering club soda after club soda. The bartender asked for his keys and, upon taking them, he poured the chief a vodka in a water glass.

Did I know the chief was an alcoholic? I don't remember. Clearly, though, he is an alcoholic. The montage they played as he drank his club soda, the drama they heaped on the scenario, using underscoring and camera angles and looks from Meredith Grey, tells me he is an alcoholic. And I am happy it is the end of the show.

I am happy it is the end of the show because I hate it when I am taken out of a storyline by my own thoughts. And I had plenty of thoughts at this moment. Fortunately, the credits rolled and I could take out a few minutes to think about being an alcoholic.

You see, I am an alcoholic.

On Monday I had lunch with a close friend that I have known for a few years now. When the waiter asked if we wanted drinks, my friend asked if I did, indeed, want a DRINK. I said no. The subject stayed on the table and it came out that my friend knew I didn't drink but thought that it was because I am health and fitness oriented. Whether it is because the alcohol is bad for my body or because the calories (and sugar and everything else) in alcohol are fat-making, he simply thought I did not drink out of a choice I had made. I explained that I do not drink because I cannot drink. I have an allergy to alcohol. If I have alcohol in my system it is totally a Jekyl and Hyde situation: I turn into a monster. I have friends who will back me up on this. My husband will. Brady will. Larry Stillings will. Marci will. Jane will. Lisa-Gabrielle will. Laura Wells will. These people have, definately, seen my Mr Hyde. Some other people have just seen the fun part of my allergy - the party boy - and are stunned to hear that, upon taking a drink, I turn into a one man production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe. The only thing I can say to them and everyone else is this: trust me; I know what I am talking about - you don't want me to drink. When I say Monster, I mean Monster.

I was watching the chief step off the wagon. If the character is an alcoholic (as it seems to be set up for the audience), then he didn't fall off the wagon. He stepped off the wagon. Within the confines of the tv show, he is seen, calmly, drinking; he even has a code worked out with the bartender. He orders club soda, not vodka. The bartender pours the drink WAY below the line of the bar so that nobody can see. It is calculated and premeditated. He didn't fall off the wagon. He stepped off the wagon.

I have a friend who is in the AA program who recently told me that they went back to meetings, after not going for several years. To discuss this any further would be an unwarranted invasion of my friend's privacy, not to mention a violation of the ANONYMOUS part of the AA program. What I can, want to, and will say is that I was so proud of my friend for telling me about their decision to return to meetings ( especially because my friend is actually NOT drinking ). It was a simple case of recognizing the signs and saying to oneself "I'm gonna nip this muthafucka in the bud". THAT is STRENGTH. THAT is POWER. When a person knows their own self, their own demons and their own WORTH and that person says "I'm not going to step off this wagon - I am going to pre emptively go to meetings and self protect from the demon grape." Dudes, that is what I am talkin' about. I have love and respect for that friend -- and it has grown by Herculean leaps and bounds with this recent confidence because I also know people who cannot seem to stay on their wagons. I admire my friend's fortitude.

Frankly, I admire my own fortitude. When I quit drinking (for the tenth and final time) I went to meetings for about two weeks before deciding that I had this NEED to do it all on my own. To that end, I quit drinking cold turkey. When I quit smoking, I quit cold turkey. Even as modest as I am, I feel (often) the right and the justification to give myself a metaphorical pat on the back. Thinking about some of my friends and acquaintances who haven't been so lucky as to quit cold turkey, people who have struggled for years (still struggle in some cases) with whatever addiction they have, I feel my heart going out to them; but I also feel a strong sense of validation and pride for my own triumph over the addictions I have beat. I cannot bring myself to feel remorse for putting aside my usual modesty, so that I may (occasionally) congratulate myself for those triumphs. I quit drinking over ten years ago. I had my last cigarette some two years ago. I changed my addictive eating habits eight years ago. I did it. I took control of my destiny.

When I congratulated the friend I mentioned above by saying "You're in control of your destiny!" the response was a somewhat bemused smile -- but I meant it. We control our destinies, in so many ways. We may as well control the ones we can -- some of our destinies are, firmly, out of our hands. We must control the ones that we can.

A different friend of mine recently went through a self imposed (and public - which was also self imposed due to some well placed Facebook status messages) 60 day stint in rehab for multiple addictions, most notably a decade plus struggle with crystal meth. This friend got out of rehab a week ago and all who feel love for the person are so proud, so optimistic and so happy for this chance at a second chance. That is being in control of your destiny.

I know people who are addicted to any and every thing. Booze. Drugs (of varying names and natures). Food. Cigarettes. Sex. Gambling. Shopping. Hell, I even know someone (ok, I know more than one someones) who is addicted to talking. How does a person beat their own, personal, addiction? Well; sometimes they don't. Sometimes it has such control over them that they never are able to recover and be strong, again. The fact that I know a few people who beat their addictions, the fact that I am one of the people who beat their addictions, is a good sign that it can be done. I am not unsympathetic to the people who continue to struggle; well, not much, I'm not. I DO have sympathy and empathy for them. I just don't understand the choice. And, honestly, I cannot be around it. That's why I have that hard and fast rule about crystal meth addicts. I have seen it destoy at least 8 lives and I have had the drama that comes with crystal meth addicts in my very own living room. It's too much. Ugh. I have held the hands of loved ones while they overcame addiction, been their cheerleader, their friend, their father figure - but those people are moving. They are moving forward and away from a life of pain and self torture. I can always deal with that kind of work and struggle. It is the work and struggle of dealing with a crystal meth addict who keeps getting off the wagon where I draw the line. Get help. Grow up. Open your eyes. Be accountable.

There is always a choice.

Did I ever blog about the reason I quit drinking? This is a true story. There is absolutely no embelishment for the sake of the story, either. Here it is in plainest terms:

Brady was visiting from California. He was living in the Happy Room. AJ and I went to the Tenth Avenue Lounge for happy hour. Sex and the City was all the rage and Cosmopolitans were the drink of the day. The bartender was mixing extremely strong drinks and the special was two for one and AJ and I just kept putting them back and talking and laughing; and by the time I got home, I was loaded. The monster came out and I became verbally abusive and very, very sloppy. Never one to pass out, I had the great good pleasure of being wide awake and sloppy and abusive for a good long time. It was disgusting and humiliating and my poor husband should be canonized for putting up with it. The next day I went to Brady and said "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"That's ok. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe is my favourite movie. I love Martha."

I never had another drink.

I watched the chief drinking his club soda and thought to myself "it has never occured to me to take a drink again". It's the truth. Not under the pressure of stress, not for the pleasure of taste, not for social acceptance or the promise of recreational enjoyment have I ever, once, in the last ten plus years, thought about taking a drink. I am in control of my destiny. I don't ever want to be that out of control again. I don't ever want to inflict that kind of pain on my loved ones again. I don't ever want to begin counting those days again. I am in control of my destiny.

And it would be easy to begin drinking again. There is booze in my home. Many is the time that Marci has asked me how I keep all the liquor in our home that we need for parties. My answer is always (ALWAYS without fail) the same: "it ain't callin' my name". I could go out, tonight, and have a drink in a bar. I defy anyone to tell a glass of vodka from a glass of water at twenty paces... they are identical. For years, while drinking, I could cover up the smell of the hooch on my breath by simply eating a tablespoon of peanut butter or a tunafish sandwich before I had to be with Pat. He has told me he had no idea. I WAS Suellen Ewing and Maggie Gioberti. In fact, Ricky Pope once asked me "when you need a drink really bad and you finally get one, do you sigh and close your eyes and roll your head back and touch your face and lick your lips like Suellen Ewing does?'

"Yes."

We are in control of our destinies.

We don't fall off the wagon. We step off the wagon.

Fortunately, there are people around us to help us get back on if we do. Be it a 12 step group or friend, spouse or family member, there is always someone here to help us look after ourselves. We just have to MAKE the CHOICE. For some of us, the person who helps us back on the wagon, the person who keeps us on the wagon is none other than ourselves. And God. Whatever God a person believes in, that is a big part of the quest to stay on that wagon. That's my story. I keep myself on the wagon. It is my choice. I decided. I have a big faith in God and a great relationship with God (and, again, it is the God that I believe in and that is unique to me) and those two things (my faith and my relationship) help guide me in every area of my life.

But it is ME who keeps me on the wagon.

It is my CHOICE. There is always a choice.

The Picture Down The Hall: The Tony Awards Album 16 - Group Gropes

Team work wins Tonys! Above and below, Pat, Brady and Tom take the Tonys on a walk around the theater disctrict...

Dom and Brian are happy to share the Tony; but Nicky and Bobby didn't want to share and a fight ensued.

These lovely ladies were so happy and excited to get their Tonys - it was something they never even thought could happen!

Tetia and Molly have mother - daughter Tonys and they couldn't be happier about it.

My theater going ladies were THRILLED to hold the Tonys! And why not? They LOVE the theater!

Food For Thought - A Quick and Healthy Hot Afternoon Tea

I have to keep food prepared and in the fridge at all times because my schedule is insane so I need to be able to grab and go. It also makes it easier when I am on the kind of diet that requires the measuring out of 8 ounces. So I have Ziplock (Rubbermaid, Tupperware, etc.) containers filled with pre cooked chicken, pre chopped broccoli, etc. for my grabbing and going pleasure.

One of the things I always have in the fridge is chunks of chicken breast, seasoned with some onion and garlic and red pepper, then grilled. I take 8 ounces of this chicken and sautee it on the stove in a small skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, add some chunks of red bell pepper (others will do – I just happen to like red), some cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes) and when they are warmed through I take my carton of eggwhites (I buy the Food Emporium brand – they are less expensive than Pappetti – and Egg Beaters adds stuff to their “egg product”) and pour some eggwhites over the mixture of meat and vegetables. It makes for a nice little egg (white) scramble; a warm meal to have around four in the afternoon to keep your metabolism up.

You can do this with any combination of vegetables, too. Sometimes I do this with turkey breast, tomato and fresh basil. Sometimes I use asparagus or broccoli (pre steamed) with whichever poultry I am using. It’s like a salad. Mix and Match.

BUT HEALTHY! No cheese! No bacon! Use your head and BE HEALTHY!


Enjoy!

The Picture Down The Hall: The Tony Awards Album 15

There came a time when the Tonys had to leave Two-A. You see, they were only under my care for a short while; when that time came to an end, they had to go where they belonged. We really did have the most fun having them as a part of our little family. They brought such a lovely energy, such an elegance, to our home. They were loved by all our friends and family. They were revered and respected and their presence in our home kept the memory and the legacy of the artist who won them - all six of them - alive. It was a festive, a whimsical, time in all our lives. All of us had the most fun creating this series of photos together. So when the time came to say goodbye, we had a little farewell party to make sure that everyone had had their chance to be photographed with them. These are those photos.At the top, Dennis and Vince demonstrate the proper emotion for winning a Tony. Above, Dennis has a quieter moment with his Tony while, below, Vince waves to all the fans who bestowed his Tony on him.

Look! Dennis and Chris have his and his Tonys!

Tim, Jessica and Mallory demonstrate the way to win a Tony by showing us their comedy and tragedy faces.

Below, Chris gets a Tony just for his high kicks.

Richie balances out a double Tony win with a big grin...

The Nelsons accept their Tonys with reserved dignity and grace.

Liz and her Tony make a little night music together.

Josh reserves his emotions while accepting his Tony but Jonna is a little more demonstrative with hers.

Danielle and Lyman's Tonys only have eyes for each other but Aaron and his Tony are the eligible bachelors for the evening.

The Workout Room DUMBBELL SIDE RAISE

This is the first of TWO videos showing the same exercise. This one was shot from the side, the next one, shot straight on.


I'm using 25 lb weights and, you can see, it's difficult. I tend to go for heavier weights so I can push myself and really stretch and grow.


Start lighter and GET THE FORM. With this heavier weight, I'm having to get a tiny hitch at the top - Ray would bust me for that hitch; but he would also be proud of me for pushing myself.


Start with the weight in front of your thighs and get that ballet arm curve. Raise it out, elbows high, like a bird flying.

Shoot for 15 reps and 3 sets.


If it become difficult, go with lighter weight!

The Workout Room DUMBBELL SIDE RAISE PART TWO

Here is a video shot straight on.


This was my 3rd set of this exercise and you can see - I'm struggling. That weight is getting heavy. I'm getting a little too jerky.

Do as I say..Not as I do.

If you see yourself getting jerky and really having to throw the weight, rather than lift it, lighten the weight. I am loathe to show you a video of myself doing something that isn't perfect -- but I am posting this so you can see what it looks like to do it wrong.

DON'T USE WEIGHT SO HEAVY THAT YOU HAVE TO THROW IT.


Lighten the weight and get the form right.

The Picture Down The Hall: The Tony Awards Album 14

Welcome to the Boys Club! James shows us the proper way to welcome Tony home, while, above, David dreams about the Tonys - a lifelong passtime.

Tim and Tony(s) got so excited to be united that they both blushed a little.

T. shows us all what a little boy does with his Tony - spin it!

Tony and the Tonys take to Times Square (with three bodyguards, I might add).

Zack toasts his Tony.

Michael shows the Tonys what a balancing act it is, being a show biz agent.

Like many writers, Steve prefers the story be put forward, rather than the face.

Steve is at peace with his Tony.

Sean quietly shows off his Tonys.

No fanfare for Shane and his Tony. They like things calm.

Michael and Tony have similar senses of humour.

Mark and the Tonys just need a comfy chair and a back porch down south to be happy.

The Picture Down The Hall: The Tony Awards Album 13

It's Ladies Day with the Tony Awards!

Liz reads a goodnight story to the Little Night Music Tony - it is a story this Tony, particularly, likes.


Lisa-Gabrielle knows exactly who to thank for HER Tony!

Sarah knows that the best way to show up for the Tonys is in a power colour that will get you noticed when you go up to collect your prize(s).

Jane doesn't need awards for validation. Lots of people tell her all the time that she is the best actress.

Trisha and her Tony sure do put the sunshine to shame.

Sandra shows us the sexier side of the Tonys.





Lindsay and her Tony light up the room. That's why they are in the fireplace.

Ashley's going to paint her Tony red and change her name to Elizabeth Arden.