I hit a milestone, yesterday – for about 5 minutes, anyway. I made it to 189 pounds. I have not weighed under 190 for 30 years. Alas, when I did my weigh-in at the gym, today, I was at a solid 190. I’m going to blame it on the oatmeal I had for breakfast.

The goal, now, is to be no higher than 189 next Friday – and never be above it, again. Seeing that little dip on the scale showed that all of this is worthwhile – and getting to a livable weight is totally doable.

It’s not always happening as quickly as either of us would like – but it is happening. And that is something I need to keep in perspective.

Our trainer has turned things up another notch and he has me sweating bullets. One would think the amount of liquid pouring off of me would lower my weight. One would think…

Another milestone was squatting and actually touching the floor with my fingertips. It’s the little victories. It is happening.

Dinner is happening, as well.

Tonight’s dinner was a quick little mash-up of chicken, andouille sausage, and beans – the last of the beans I canned back in September. I vaguely remember September. It was warm. There’s been a light snow falling all day with a high of about 12°F – downright balmy.

Our balmy weather definitely called for something to keep us warmed up, so andouille sausage came to mind – you just can’t go wrong with it. From there, the rest of the dinner just fell into place.

A quick sauté of chicken and andouille sausage with shallots, garlic, beans, and a hefty sprinkling of cayenne pepper for the center of the plate, and an equally simple sauté of some arugula with roasted red pepper, garlic, and shallots.

Dinner was served.

Great textures, lots of flavors, and just enough heat…

Speaking of heat… we’re supposed to be close to 60°F by Tuesday.

We may be barbecuing…