I think retirement has suited me well. Both of us, actually. Neither of us had the drive or ambition to claw our way up the corporate ladder or fight the roadblocks placed in our way. Early in my hotel career, at Department Head level, I was told I wouldn’t go any further because I wasn’t married. Gee – I wonder what they meant? By 1989, I was done with hotels. 2001 was goodbye to nutrition and dietetics, and 2018 was goodbye to putting little pieces of food on little paper plates or asking if someone found everything they were looking for. It’s now been a full year since I retired and my once Type-A personality has quickly moved through the alphabet.

I get a laugh out of folks who say they would be too bored not working. Boredom has never been a word in my vocabulary. Of course, I never lived to go to work. I went to work to live.

And now, that I don’t have to, living has gotten so much better – especially after fifty-one weeks with a personal trainer and losing fifty pounds! Fifty-one weeks. I guess it’s like childbirth – you forget the pain when you see the result.

And we can see – and feel – the results. One more week with our trainer, and then a month off. We need a bit of a hiatus.

We also need to see how we’ll maintain the weight loss. We’re not looking to lose more – just not gain any back – and that will take some discipline. Not something I usually have a lot of…

With all the fresh produce of Summer, we should be okay. Keep it light and keep it healthy. A bit like tonight’s dinner – grilled tri-tip and braised cauliflower.

I did a dry rub of chipotle powder, garlic, salt, amd pepper, and when it was mostly done, I poured some BBQ sauce on top and let it brown.

The braised cauliflower started with chopped mushrooms, green onions, garlic, and green beans in a skillet. I then added a can of whole peeled tomatoes – our fresh tomatoes aren’t ready, yet – along with a can of water. Then some berbere, cumin, salt, and pepper. Finally, I added the cauliflower, covered the skillet, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Easy-Peasy.

One more week and we do our final weigh-in – the official weigh-in – and compare it all to Day One.

I’m pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished.