Still Going Strong

One of my favorite albums of all time: Heartwork by Carcass

Our minds can be amazing.  It's funny how people can have so much discipline in one area, and next to zero in another.  Many times, I've heard that this or that is "90% mental."  I think there's a lot of truth to that.  If you're mentally motivated to do something, then you will.  If not, then you won't.  The brain commands the body.
I'm surprised, but I'm doing very well eliminating processed foods and refined sugars from my diet.  I said to myself, at first, this is crazy, it's unrealistic, but I'll give it a try.  It helps that I bought a food processor: a ninja.  I've made my own hummus twice now.  It's come out pretty well.  I ate some today with carrot sticks, which is how I always eat it.  I can buy a pound of chick peas for $1.37.  The cheapest I can buy hummus for around here is $3 a pound.  But then I'm limited to 3 flavors.  I can now make any flavor I want.  The last batch I made was garlic.  I don't care if it gives me bad breath.  I can't help thinking I'd be better off with a cat or dog than a girlfriend.  Now I want to add a hot pepper or 2 and make spicy hummus.   
I can't help plugging the book I wrote, so here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO
I haven't seen many squirrels around here lately.  The last time I went to the store, I bought some more whole walnuts for them, which they love.  It's been bitterly cold around here, and I worry about all the animals who live outside wherever it has been very cold. 

Split Pea Soup

Do yourself a favor and make some split pea soup from scratch.  It's very easy and inexpensive: even when you make it with organic celery and carrots, like I do.  Buy a 1-lb package of dried split peas and dump them in a pot.  Put enough water in (It's easy to find out exactly how much online, etc., but I never measure.), and put the burner on high to boil.  Then chop up 3 stalks of celery and 3 carrots while waiting for the water to boil.  Put them in with the peas.  Once they boil, turn them down to a simmer, and put a lid on the pot, and leave it ajar so steam can escape.  Simmer it for at least an hour.  I have never overcooked it, and I have cooked it for 3 or more hours.  After all, you probably want the peas to disintegrate and turn into mush, I know I do.  Anyway, it's cheap, filling, great to eat during winter, and, most importantly, it is comprised of  healthy whole foods.
I can't help thinking about my book, so I can't help blogging about it either.  I think it is good.  Go ahead and buy it for 5 American dollars and read it on Kindle, a smartphone, or tablet.  Here, again, is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO There's a lot of interesting stuff in the book.  It's funny, entertaining, yet it also deals with the recession and how I've had a hard time since then: as have a lot of people.
I continue to feed whole walnuts to my squirrel neighbors.  At least one of them recognizes me and pretty much chases me.  I believe she sees me as a walnut dispenser, but that's fine with me.  It's great to see a squirrel hopping toward me. 

I Wrote a Book

This is the cover of my book.

I recently published a book called American Loser: A Memoir of Not Even Coming Close to Achieving the American Dream on Amazon.com for Kindle.  Although, according to a link on the page where this e-book is sold, Amazon offers a free app that allows smartphone and tablet users to read Kindle books.  Please check it out.  It only costs 3 dollars American.  If you click on the cover photo, it takes you into the beginning of the book, and a good chunk of it can be read for free.  Here is the link to it  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO  That's American Amazon.  Apparently, it's also available on other countries' Amazon websites. 
I've worked very hard on it, and I think it's worth reading.  I believe it's funny and entertaining.  But it also goes to show that not all middle-aged Americans are successful.  In America, there is a very wide gap between the haves and the have nots.  I have been laid off from jobs a number of times.  Aside from when I've had to move to another city, I haven't quit a job in over 20 years.  It was a horrible soul-stealing job in a dreary machine shop.  I don't know how people can work 40 hours a week, every week, drilling the same hole into the same item over and over again.  Anyway, that happened over 20 years ago.
I certainly need the money.  I'm broke.  I'm going deeper into credit card debt.  It's looking like I'll have to take out a cash advance from one of my credit cards in order to pay next month's rent.
By the way, it's a very good thing that I've been eliminating refined sugars and processed foods from my diet.  I highly recommend everyone eats this way.  I feel much better since I haven't been eating pasta, bread, cake, cookies, etc: both physically and when it comes to my mood.  I really believe this is the way we were meant to eat.  Read books about nutrition written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
So please check out the book.  My 2 most important philosophies, that I meditate on every single day, are both stated fully and explained there.  I know that I am a loser in this capitalist American society, but I believe that life, any life, is worth more than all the money in the world.  I believe that animals should be protected from violence by the law as much as people are.  I believe, if you want to be a parent, it makes more sense to adopt someone who's already here that needs a home, as opposed to bringing another person into an overcrowded world.         
  

Poor Cat

It's a cold world for stray cats

She's homeless.  She seems to not trust people; maybe she's been abused.  She's a stray cat who lives around here.  Last night, the temperature here hit a record low of 6 degrees below zero.   I've seen her trotting around in the snow.  I've seen her tracks, and I know she's been around.  It breaks my heart to think of all the stray cats out there.  They have to deal with horrible, sometimes deadly, weather.  There are people out there who would torture and kill them.  Please spay and neuter your pets.  There are so many unwanted dogs and cats.  They're either homeless, or they're languishing in cages at shelters.  If you want to make a commitment to a dog or cat for the rest of your (or their) life, and you're committed to treating the pet well, then please adopt.  Breeders piss me off because they play God and bring dogs into a world in which there are already more than people want.  
My diet is going well.  I've recently gotten into soups big time.  For a while, I considered myself to be the sort of person that doesn't like soup.  Now that I'm trying to not eat any processed foods, I've rethought that position.  I've been eating split pea and lentil soups.  A one-pound bag of them costs a little over a dollar.  I cook it with carrots and celery.  I've really been enjoying it: especially since it's been so cold.  I think of veggie soup as a hot winter salad.  Instead of eating a bunch of cold vegetables, it makes sense to throw them into a soup and heat them up.  I'm not much of a cook, but it's very easy to make, doesn't require much effort at all, and it's done pretty quickly.  It's very filling too.