Happy Monday all!
So you won’t be seeing hearing reading from me over on Simply Shaka anymore.
Sadface, I know.
But not so much sadface as I’ve decided to go self hosted and will now be blogging over at
All of my posts from Simply Shaka have been moved over there and while I’m still going through some tweaking over on the new site, I will be blogging on there from now on.
Please update your Google Reader and email subscriptions and come see me soon 
So if I thought my temp job last week was boring, I was sorely mistaken.
This one is the mother of all boring jobs and it’s all due to two works:
Data entry
Blah.
Sure, I can type and have input data before but I never knew how redundant it can be. Also, I didn’t know how lazy teenagers are these days. I am inputting information from seminars held for high school students who are interested in going into the legal profession. They fill out surveys at the end of their visit and reading their handwriting is impossible and some of their answers, well, how about I just show you.
Exhibit A:
When I first read this, I thought maybe the girl was just being cute.I mean, she interested in being a lawyer so she can’t be serious, right?
But then I read on
Oi vey but props to her for saying she wants better food especially since I could sympathize with her since this was my lunch
Exhibit B:
What’s up with these kids not wanting to walk anywhere? They were on a gorgeous Ivy League campus and a majority of the answers are them complaining about them having to walk everywhere. Really? Killing me softly I tell you. At least some of their answers are entertaining-one of the boys left his twitter name on his survey and I so wanted to log on and follow him but I resisted temptation. Another boy was talking about how he was bummed that he couldn’t get into the girls dorms after 10pm—bad boy there. Other answers were quite heart warming, 99% of the surveys talked about how the best part of the seminar was making new friends from across the country who they would have never met other wise.
I was supposed to work 10 to 5pm but the power went out at 1pm so the other temp and I sat around in the dark with the rest of the office since we didn’t know what to do. Everyone is friendly enough but not going out of their way to be nice and they aren’t too chatty so starting a conversation with them was out of the question. Personally, I wanted to start singing kumbaya but I didn’t want to show off in front of strangers. Plus why not just sit there and play on my phone? I’m getting paid for it right? So that’s what we did until our supervisor told us we might as well go home since the didn’t know when the power would be back on. I got four hours of pay for three hours of work so I really can’t complain.
So I went home and I was completely beat….just after four hours…what is wrong with me?? I came home to a nice surprise though, some Warrior Crunch that I won over on Meals and Moves!
I made pizza last night with the last of my Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix and leftover sausage and peppers.
I decided to spice it up by adding Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper Spread instead of pizza sauce
What a great pizza! I still have a good portion of the spread left and I know what I will be using it for next.
You all remember when I tried Gardein’s Beefless Tips and they were horrid? Apparently, I didn’t learn my lesson because I had this tonight for dinner
Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine Poblano Chick (Pea) Patties. Once again, I got bit by the curiosity bug when I saw this on sale at Winn Dixie. I’ve had chickpeas in the past whether it be in salads, burgers and falafel and love all things hummus so I thought these would be delicious. Plus I loved the irony of the company’s name. You can heat these up in the oven or microwave and being famished from a long day of data entry, microwave it was.
The moment of truth came and I should have known how it was going to pan out by the smell of it. It smelled exactly like a Lean Cuisine entrée, which to me, is one of the most disgusting smells. It reminds me of plastic veggies sprinkled with potpourri for some reason. But I took it out of the microwave and carried it on and placed it on my plate
It didn’t look anything like the picture (shocker) It reminded me of an undercooked, over sized snicker doodle covered in corn chunks. Need I say more? Two bites in, I slide it off my plate and even the dogs didn’t want anything to do with it.
That’s when you know it’s bad. No more vegetarian friendly dishes for me, unless, it’s Morningstar of course but Morningstar never disappoints. I have no real reason to buy these since clearly I am a carnivore but I love all the creative things that companies have in place of meat dishes. I’m a sucker for creativity I tell you.
Thank God my dad made shrimp and scallops.
I guess working for the past week and a half put me into a routine and now I’m thrown off since I really have nothing to do. But that will change tomorrow…..for two days at least. My friend got me a two day gig doing some data entry at an office right near my house so that will get me out of the house for a bit. I pondered riding my bike over there but then I got images of Jim Halpert riding his bike to The Office resulting in a very sweaty (rawr) Jim.
I think I will take the car instead because I’m sure no one wants to see me in spandex. And you sure as hell can’t pay even me to look at myself in spandex. So yes, the car will be the best option for now.
Today, I’ve been keeping busy with lots and lots of tv thanks to the Boca Raton Public Library!
Check out all those titles! I went in there yesterday morning and they have pretty much every show known to man. I like to think of myself as a TV buff but there were tons of shows I’ve never heard of. And they have Alias and Lost, my need for everything JJ Abrams is now complete.
I decided to give veggie products a chance again after my “beefless tip” mishap on Friday night.
Morningstar has never steered me in the wrong direction and I thank them for that. I usually get their black bean burgers but have heard wonderful things about the Tomato & Basil Pizza Burgers. I cooked one patty on the stovetop along with some zucchini stripe then places over a bed of rice and my new favorite hummus.
I found a mustache while making dinner.
Dinner was sausage and peppers and while cutting the peppers, I noticed a few in mustache form ala Mr. Pringles. Nothing wrong with that for I am all for the mustache….on a man that is. I’m Italian so I don’t need any help in that department. And for you other mustache lovers out there, check out some famous mustaches, I love that they have a few of the characters from the Muppets on there. But I gave up the pepper and started to cook instead. I threw the peppers in a pan and let cook with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Took the peppers out, let the sausage cook then added the peppers back in.
I added a jar of sauce to the sausage and pepper mixture and let simmer. I wasn’t a huge fan of this sauce, I found it to be bland. To compensate, I added some minced garlic, oregano and basil in an attempt to give it some kind of kick to the tastebuds.
Threw on top of some spaghetti and voila, dinner was done.
Great meal and there was a lot leftover for more meals this week! I usually only cook sausage to make meatballs so this was a simple and quick alternative to that (and less messy of course because rolling out greasy sausage in your hands is not clean kitchen friendly)
Since we supposedly have a hurricane coming later this week, I wanted to get a bike ride in since I wasn’t sure if I would be able to later this week. I say supposedly because they hype it up so much down here and most of the time it ends up turning or downgrades to a lower category hurricane. When Hurricane Andrew hit, we really weren’t affected too much but Hurricane Wilma did a lot of damage to our house. Thank God FEMA had finally gotten their act together for that one.
Oh yeah, the bike ride. I felt like Forrest frickin Gump tonight! Except that I was biking and I’m not slow (unless I haven’t had any coffee). I wasn’t planning on a long ride but ended up going for almost an hour through both sketchy and nice parts of Boca (yes, Boca Raton has a few sketchy areas)
Now for a daily dose of cute
You’re welcome.
The weekend didn’t start off on the right foot.
Let’s start with my experience at Gizzi’s Coffee Shop during my lunch break on Friday.
I passed by this place a few times while working the past week and decided to stop in for a mid day pick me up. They have a varied selection of coffees and teas and when I saw Vanilla Soy Latte-I knew that’s what I wanted. I ordered it and on the menu it said $3.24. The barista/cashier continued to charge me $.50 extra for the soy although the price was listed on the menu for a vanilla soy latte.
Me: Why is it $4 even when it says $3.24 on the menu?
Barista: Because of the tax
Me: So you’re trying to tell me that it is $.76 tax on a $3.24 drink? That seems a little ridiculous
Barista: That’s what it’s telling me—– I guess “it” was the cash register and not the creepy clown.
Hmmmmm….something about that seems fishy.
Yeah it may be only $.50 but it’s the principle of it. You all have to understand I am part Polish, I am all about pinching my pennies. I finally got my latte and hunkered down by the fireplace where they have books and magazines to read. I am down for any place in South FL that has a fireplace! They have the most comfy leather chairs I have sat my tush in in a while and after sitting in a hard, cold chair at work, it was most welcomed.
The latte was good-not horrible, not orgasmic, just good. I am still a little annoyed about the $.50 but what can you do? Hopefully this wasn’t a prelude to what my weekend was going to be like.
When I got home from work, I was beat. Beat from sitting at a desk all day and scouring the Internet. Even when I was working full time, I never liked Friday nights. I was always so tired by the end of the week all I wanted to do was cook a nice meal and hang out for the night at home and maybe sneak a gym session in. So I decided that was exactly what I would do on my last day of work.
I bought this Gardein Beefless Tips a couple of weeks ago and have been curious about them but also, a little scared to try them. Beefless tips just sounds dirty and as much as I like a meat-free alternative every now and then, something about fake beef skeeves me out.
I chopped up some red onions, mushrooms and let cook along with some of the beefless tips (I really can’t help saying the phrase beefless tips over and over again) along with some red pepper flakes and minced garlic.
I added in some frozen edamame and soy sauce to the mix and let all cook together so I guess I was going the stir fry route?
I despise cooking rice because I always mess it somehow-under cooked or overcooked and sticking to the pan. I would buy a rice cooker but I’m doing the whole saving money thing and don’t eat enough rice to justify buying it. Steamfresh has been my favorite, lazy way to go with “making” rice as of late, just pop it in the microwave for five minutes and done!
Notice that the beefless tips aren’t in the finished product? Yeah, I took one taste of them and spit it out after a few seconds. I can’t put into words how nasty the beefless tips tasted. I imagine a homeless persons shoe that has been soaked for a few days tasted the same as it. It was spongy and tasted like something that could kill me. When it was done cooked, I picked all of them out of the pan and threw them away along with the package. I’ll be sticking with Morningstar from now on.
Ient to the gym shortly after than made my way to Winn Dixie to stock up on some snacks for the weekend
Chobani was sale for $1 but looks like other people were as excited as I was about it being so cheap. Another sign that the weekend wasn’t going to turn out well.
I managed to get a few in my basket and finally tried the Mango flavor. Which is? Awesomness is in a cup. I think it is my new favorite flavor from Chobani! n another note, look at how gross and dingy Winn Dixie’s dairy shelves are. NASTY.
Saturday things finally started to look up. It started with eggs and Al Fresco chicken sausage
The plan was to make an egg scramble of sorts but while cooking, I saw that it has more potential than that. What once was scramble, soon turned omelet!
I am way too excited and proud about this but omelets aren’t my specialty. So when it happens, I want to tell the world.
Yes sir.
My mom declared it a morning of cleaning and once she started Gettysburg the movie blaring on her mini tv in the kitchen, I knew I had to get out. I made my way over to the beach to go do something…..anything. I thought it would be the perfect time to break in my new shoes and get some exercise in early on. I headed over to Deerfield Beach to walk and get some sun. For 9am in the off-season the beach and boardwalk (really a sidewalk but boardwalk sounds more beach-y) was packed. I love how they have a set place to keep track of your mileage when running and walking and it’s always been a preferred spot for me whether it be going to the beach for the day or hanging out on the boardwalk. I put a good two miles in and as soon as I was done, got out of there since the parking prices at the meters are pretty steep.
Scenes like these make me want to never, ever leave Florida.
Elton John was wrong, Saturday night wasn’t meant for fighting, it was meant for Groupon!
Always a sucker for a deal, I bought this Groupon for Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQ. But then I second guessed my purchase, you see, Lucille and I have some history.When I was a teen, I had a bit of an attitude problem (that unfortunately still holds true to this day) I went through a slew of jobs such as working at Walgreens, Papa John’s, Supercuts and our girl, Lucille’s I worked there for a very long two months as a hostess but got canned and I *may* be a little bitter about that still. All I remember is them saying something about how I had an attitude and never smiled therefore, they wanted me out. I guess I didn’t fit the ambience of a bbq joint and haven’t stepped foot in since. However, you give me a 50% off deal and you can bet your butt I’ll be there.
The place looked exactly the same as I remembered it and I was still one of the youngest people in there thanks to the early bird, senior citizens crowd. Some things never change I guess.
I ordered the beef brisket sandwich, which has sweet relish and chopped onions mixed in and a sweet potato on the side.
As you can see, the beef brisket was nothing short of amazing—it was succulent and the relish and onion mixed in gave it a little extra something I wasn’t expecting. I love that you can get a side other than fries there and even though the sweet potato was drenched in butter, I was happy with it. The beach and the bbq were signs that maybe the weekend wasn’t going to be so crappy after all.
Add some free $20 play from Calder Casino in and it turned out to be a pretty swell weekend.
Don’t mock the penny slots, I won $3 off this baby! It’s all slots at this place and I really struggled to find a slot that wasn’t a penny one. I would have killed to have found a nickel slot but they were few and far between. But I did notice a Sex and The City slot machine—when did that happen? I didn’t get a good look at it since the voo doo woman playing it was giving me the stink eye and I didn’t want her to turn me into a chicken. I wonder if the symbols on it are flirtini’s and Jimmy Choo’s?
Have you ever been underwhelmed with a product like I was with Gardein?
Beach or mountains?
So, one of my traits is that I’m snarky. Like really snarky however I do have a nice side and contrary to popular belief, don’t complain about things all the time. I believe in giving props where props are due and this is going to be one of those posts.
I bought Solgar Whey To Go Strawberry Protein Powder on a whim my last weeks in Charlotte. I went to Healthy Home Market and wanted to get a small container of protein powder since I would be on the road soon and planned on bringing my Magic Bullet (which I completely forgot about) I’m a Spiru-Tein girl but when they are charging $40 for a tub of protein powder and $3 per packet, I don’t think so. I saw Solgar and checked out the stats and liked what I saw.
*130 calories per level scoop
*20g protein
*.5g fat
So I was excited to get some and use it in my first smoothie!
and when I opened it up there was no spoon. Hmmm, weird.
I sprinkled a little in my smoothie since I was in the middle of a protein fit and went onto their website to contact them about this. I wrote them a quick email asking if this was standard practice for them to not include measuring spoons.
A representative of theirs emailed me back before end of the business day, apologizing and asking me for my mailing address.
Three days later, I saw a box sitting at my doorstep. I saw that it was from Solgar and was wondering why it was so big if they were only sending me a spoon. I opened up the package
They sent me a completely new tub of protein powder! I wasn’t expecting them to send me a completely new package but hey, I’m not complaining. I thought it was pretty awesome that they responded to me so quickly and took action to resolve the problem.
Recently, I won a $50 gift card for Holabirds Sports over on Sweating Until Happy. Words cannot express how stoked I was to win this since I am in major need of new sneakers. I got my gift card from them in the mail with a personalized note. Can we say brownie points for Holabirds?
I went onto their site and automatically went to the clearance section to see if I could find anything. I found a pair of New Balance True Balance walking sneakers which was perfect since I was looking for some sneakers to wear in Italy. I also got a pair of Under Armour wrist bands for when I go biking. I sweat so much on my rides and hate having to pull over to stop and wipe myself down so there are perfect!
The shoes are exactly what I thought they would be and the fact they are very lightweight is a plus! I only have my bulky pair of Nike running shoes that I wear when working out and didn’t want to have to lug them around with me. I also ordered a pair of socks that didn’t come with the package. However, instead of just sending me an email that the item was on back order, they called me the day after I ordered to let me know. They didn’t email me, they called me. That is pretty much unheard of this day and age. I was taken aback when I saw their number come up on my phone, what could they be calling me about? I thought that said a lot about the personalized service of the company and wish more companies would follow their lead. When I got the package, it noted also that the socks were on back order and I could get them as soon as they came in. Very nice Holabirds, very nice.
Has a company ever WOWed you with their customer service?
Happy almost Friday all! Not a lot going on over here just getting ready to finish up working my temp gig. It will be actually be somewhat bittersweet since I’ve gotten to know the guys there pretty well (well for being there seven days that is) and yes, all guys. There is no other women in the office which is very refreshing. I love my girls but I hate working with women. There tends to be so much drama and backstabbing that comes along with it and guys may bring drama, 95% of the time if they have a problem with you, they will go ahead and tell you and I can respect that.
When I do see the guys in the office, it’s great but that’s usually only for an hour each day since they go out into the field and sales calls. And the rest of the day is lonely. I would like to thank Youtube for helping me kill hours whether it be watching comedy
cute doggie videos
or listening to music
I love the new Trina song but this will always be my favorite
And that’s about it. I went to Bonefish Grill last night and can confidently say it’s my favorite Wednesday night place thanks to their $5 Bang Bang Shrimp special! They call it Bang Wednesday which I think goes along well with the notion of hump day.
I’ve never had the Bang Bang shrimp before but have been told multiple times how wonderful it was. The masses don’t lie, the shrimp was zesty and tasty. I love the bang bang sauce however next time I will get the sauce on the side since it was doused in it. A bonus is that it’s served over a bed of greens so it’s like a little shrimp salad for $5.
$3 glasses of house wine are equally enticing as well
And since sushi one time this week wasn’t enough, I went again for lunch today to Sushi Rock. This place is right near where I’m working for the week. It’s very unassuming in a tiny strip mall but I read online that they have lunch specials with a decent review so why not?
The first thing I noticed was there wasn’t a single soul in the place. Hmmmmm, it was still early so I didn’t want to judge them too early on. The second thing I noticed was their menu
All of their menu covers are record covers which goes with the name Sushi Rock. I absolutely loved that idea and the chance that I got a menu with the album of one of my favorite cd’s of all time made it even better.
Like Bluefin, they had both Japanese and Thai lunch specials that come with either miso soup or ginger dressing
My dad got his food first and I’ll admit it, I was having a case of food envy with his chicken and steak teriyaki. They didn’t do skimp on pieces of meat and it was loaded with tons of veggies!
He doesn’t like broccoli so I stole a few pieces while waiting for my lunch the #4 Special with sushi, sashimi and shrimp tempura
Holy cannoli—so. much. food. And only for $10, the same price for my lunch on Tuesday but with more sushi with substance. Sushi Rock didn’t have the chic, hip atmosphere like Bluefin but more of a quaint, neighborhood feel to it which I actually dig more. I don’t need to feel sexy when I eat sushi, I need to feel like I’m getting a good deal. I definitely got a good deal at Sushi Rock and can’t wait to visit again!
Do you work with more men, women or is it equal? Do you prefer to work with one more than the other?
Anyone else getting their bang on??
The boring days at the office continue. I’m trying to use my time wisely, instead of doing my nails, I’ve been focusing on my trip to Italy.
I’m good with the details on where I want to visit but one thing I’ve been slacking about is learning the language. I know the basics like ciao and buon giorno….ok and chianti. Not wanting to spend a days worth of pay on Rosetta Stone, I logged onto my library’s catalog to see if they had anything to help me out I found this Berlitz Italian Guaranteed when I picked it up at the library, I was taken aback. Had I really requested a VHS?
Turns out it wasn’t a VHS like the case appeared to be, it was a Playaway. It’s a cool contraption. It’s like an ipod but for this segment only and all you have to do is plug in your earphones and you’re all set! No charger and no bulkiness-score!
I’ve done a few lessons and my main complaint originally was that it’s all over the place but now it’s actually coming together. It starts with greetings, how to say your name, ask others theirs and discuss where you’re from. Then it goes on to discuss what you do for a living, how many children you have and if you’re married. I definitely paid attention to the latter so I can ask men this in Italy what they do work wise and if they are involved. I can now count up to 30 , 20-29 is easy because they all start with venti so I can relate that to Starbucks biggest drink!! I can also spell my name out in Italian and tell you my name and where I’m from. The other problem is that I don’t know how to write anything or know how its spelled. Whenever I write down what I’m listening to (because that’s the main way I learn), I spell it out the way it sounds which I know is wrong but works for now while learning it. I’ve never learned a language from tapes before so the process has been interesting and I intend to keep practicing up until I go.
When I was in DC last month, I found this Dorling Kindersley Travel Guide for Italy at a thrift store for $.50.
I love it because I’m a visual person and they are all about the illustrations and pictures. Who needs words when you can look at pictures right? This book has given me great insight on where to go when in Italy but now I fear I have too many places I want to visit, oi vey.
Other that that, I’ve been online reading different blogs about Italy.
Amanda and Andy recently when back to Italy after going for their honeymoon a couple of years ago. I keep going to their blog and not only marveling at the Italian scenery but the food as well. Blueberry ricotta cheesecake, gnocchi, pizza and red wine? Sign me up! Be sure to check out their adventures in Verona and Venice!
But like college, I had to give myself a break from studying and researching. I met up with Natalie for lunch at Bluefin Sushi
I am always down for sushi but even more so when there is a lunch special. Plus I’m kind of over either eating lunch in my car just to get away from the desk or driving around for an hour. Natalie has been before and told me this place gets really busy since it’s located right off I95 near a ton of businesses so we went at noon. That was a smart move on our part since there were only a few tables and parking spaces galore. We went in and sat down and our server came right over to us. I can’t stand when servers take their time at lunch when you have to get back to work so that was appreciated. Bluefin has bento box specials for lunch that come with either soup or salad. Since it feels 100+ degrees outside with the humidity, I got the salad with ginger dressing.
Followed by the Hosomaki lunch special. Both food was out soon after we ordered so no lollygagging at Bluefin-quick service is what I’m talking about!
Hello beautiful bento box full of sushi! This was only $10—not a bad deal at all. My only gripe with Bluefin was that our waiter was a little too attentive with filling up my water. I love my H2O but cmon, give me a chance to just down one full glass of water!
And with that, my brain is fried from all the knowledge it’s taking in. I haven’t sat down and done any kind of studying in god knows how long. But I dig it. It’s nice to give my brain a little workout every now and then, something tells me the normal workout I have of reading TMZ isn’t a beneficial workout for my noggin.
What other languages do you speak?
Have you ever learned a language from a cd or tape?
Happy Monday! There’s not such a thing but one of these days I’m going to convince myself that a happy monday exists out there. I know I shouldn’t complain because I’m working a temp gig that isn’t challenging whatsoever but the sleep fairy was not on my side last night. I went to Barnes & Noble last night after dinner and read some magazines awhile because I’m cheap like that. I caught up on my celebrity gossip thanks to US Weekly —Jennifer Aniston is having a baby—whaaaaaa? And then I picked up an issue of Hello magazine and caught up on my British celebrity gossip. I recognized a few names here and there but others I had no clue about and couldn’t tell you who I read about if you paid me. But for some reason these strangers stuck with me in my dreams last night. I’m not talking some freaky freaky dreams, I’m talking violent-let’s-set-people-on-fire-and-shoot-people kind of dreams. All I recall is one of the rugby players I read about being the head honcho of some renegade hoodlum group. A renegade hoodlum group who would go into banks and restaurants robbing people then murdering them. Pleasant right? The fact that they were all gorgeous, wore cowboy hats and had accents didn’t help either. Just another case of me liking the bad boys. Then I remember Bindi Irwin holding a koala in Outback Steakhouse while reciting a poem about how wonderful the Alice Springs Chicken is.
No, no thumbs up Bindi. What the hell is wrong with me? Why are my own thoughts attacking me in my dreams?
Not an ideal way to start off my Monday but at least I had a pleasing weekend. I took a stab at making green salsa. It’s been forever and a day since I made salsa so it was long overdue plus I’ve never made the green variety before but found a great deal on tomatillo’s at the swap shop. I picked out six of them and removed the husks and cleaned them off. It took a little longer than normal since they were sticky but once I did I chopped into quarters.
I also chopped up some cilantro, three deseeded jalapenos, one plum tomato and red onion. I threw that in my magic bullet along with some minced garlic and water and voila-green salsa!
I’m not sure why it came out so frothy but once it settled it was tasty and something different. I made so much of it I wasn’t sure what to do with it. The original plan was to make chicken tacos but I really wasn’t feeling that. I racked my brain thinking of what I could make and brought back another oldie but goodie-nachos.
Oh cheesy nachos, you make me want to sing to the heavens. Nachos are the sole reason why I can’t keep tortilla chips in the house regularly since I could eat them every day without thinking twice. I attacked that plate as soon as it was done in the microwave, poor thing didn’t even have a chance. The next morning I spiced up my scrambled egg wrap by adding the green salsa to the wraps.
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and ready to take on the day but unfortunately I didn’t have anything to do until the afternoon. I went to the gym and had a nice sweat session on the elliptical and some lower body moves.
I was shortly reunited with an old flame
I got the roasted pork with rice and veggies. I guess they consider the onions on top and peas in the rice veggies? Oh well, works for me. I miss Pollo Tropical so much and its one of the perks being back in FL. When I lived in AZ there was El Pollo Loco which doesn’t hold a candle to Pollo Tropical. Plus, cmon, I do not want to eat a crazy chicken. If I’m eating chicken, I prefer to think that he was a stable chicken with no mental problems.
Afterwards I hung out with the pool and that’s when the attack began. There were these nasty bugs in the pool. I am not completely afraid of bugs but once I see bugs with wings, I get freaked out. Pretty much anything with wings freaks me out and don’t even get me started on birds. When I see pigeons or crows, I cower away afraid that something out of “The Birds” is going to happen to me.
And I’ve never even seen The Birds but I can only imagine when it’s about and have visuals of crows pecking at my gorgeous face. Meh. And once again, ADD has taken over…..back to the story
I was in the pool, minding my own business when this creepy wingy bug swims over to me and jumps on me. I flip out, shriek, splash around and he is still on me. My dad was sitting on the patio reading and threw me a cup to get him out of the pool with. I finally get him in the cup, throw him on the ledge and kill him. I go back to where I was standing, reading my book in the pool. Bliss. No bugs and a good, fun read in my hands.
I’ve read this book twice before but love anything by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. If you haven’t read any of her books, please go out and read one of my favorite books of all time, The Dirty Girls Social Club.
ADD, right……
Soon enough I see another creepy crawly swimming in there but coming right towards me. I didn’t freak out as much this time around but I got him in the cup and had a repeat session of the first victim. And what do you know, again, another ones comes after me. I think it was their dad or something trying to avenge their death because he attached myself to their bathing suit and would not let go. I finally got him into the cup and put him onto the ledge to meet his demise. And the effer was smart because he got away. He played a game of cat and mouse for 10 minutes and then he escaped for good. I thought I was just being dramatic at first about the bugs following me but my dad even admitted it was a bit odd that they were going after me. I don’t know where he is or where he is hiding out but I have a feeling we will meet again. When I walk out onto our patio area, I keep scouring the pool for him. I am afraid of this little bug for some reason and the next meeting, I’m not going to be so nice.
Once the bug drama was done with, Mickey came in the pool to float around for a few minutes. Seriously, how cute is this dog? He’s not as agile as he once was but I’m hoping Mickey hangs in there for another year. He can’t hear or really see anymore but doesn’t appear to be in pain. I feel bad for Lincoln because Mickey is the OB (original baby) and I coddle him like there is no tomorrow. Whenever I walk in, I say hi to Lincoln and give him kisses but quickly pick up Mickey, hold him like a baby and rub his belly and ears. Lincoln has bigger fish to fry though, like avoiding being attacked by grandma. Lincoln goes in her bed every night to cuddle with her. But I walked in the other night and saw him pinned down, not being able to move from the force that is grandma’s thigh.
I guess we are all being attacked over here, physically and mentally.
Do you remember your dreams? I tend to have super weird ones like last night or can’t remember anything at all. One of my favorites was when I came home drunk one night and dreamed that Alec Baldwin was the leader of a cult and tried to kill me. I tried to escape him but he was on the mission to have my murdered and tried to get me via speedboat chase, a run through the jungle and chasing me in a case on a winding road. Thankfully he never caught me but when I woke up the next morning, I turned on the tv and The Hunt For Red October was on. Freaky.
What’s your favorite salsa? Do you buy it or make it? If you make it, please share your recipe!
My sister was in town this past week to finish some registry stuff for her wedding this fall. She came in early on Monday, instead of Tuesday and when she called me to tell me, I was already out of the house at Ikea. My friend texted me to see if I wanted to go and I really didn’t need anything at Ikea since I am without my own place but I am up for anything to get me out of the house. We went to Salad Creations to nourish before the big shopping trip . I was so happy to see they have Salad Creations here because I wasn’t sure if they were just a NC thing. But on the same note, I was also bummed because I had a punch card and threw it out when I moved. I told the cashier this (because she had a look on her face that said “Tell me a story!”) and she ended up giving me double stamps that day because she felt bad for me—score! I got the Thai Crunch salad and was in love with the modern bowl it was served in.
The salad was great and believe it or not, that was the junior portion. I never get the salads on the menu there, I just create my own with whatever I’m feeling that day but I will definitely get this salad next time I go. All about the asian persuasion, even if in salad form. So we went to Ikea and we all know how that goes, walking around, stopping to stare at every single thing and then being duped into thinking I could actually do some of the stuff they have on display such as their gorgeous kitchens. Like Target, Ikea sang its siren song to me and I got a few items I wasn’t planning on but everything was super cheap and I only ended up spending $15!
I got home and my sister said she was craving some lettuce wraps from PF Changs. I’ve only been to PF Chang’s a couple of times before but heard they had a great happy hour deal in the bar area. We made our way in and it was empty but I guess you can expect that for a Monday night. The PF Chang’s in Boca was smaller than any other Chang’s I have been in and kept wondering where the rest of the restaurant was. They do have a little patio area to the side though. Their special runs from 4p to 6p in the bar area alone and includes beer, wine, specialty drinks and appetizers.
I got the hot and spicy wontons and pork tacos while my sister got the chicken lettuce wraps. The service kinda blew considering the place was empty but I can deal with crappy service in exchange for cheap food. Never would I have imagined the pork tacos would be good at asian fusion restaurant but rock on with your bad self Changs!
Afterwards we went to Macy’s to work on my sisters registry. The only thing that displeases me more than a rude salesperson is a rude salesperson who is supposed to be happy for those getting married or having a baby but is bitter instead. The girl we were working with was a complete beezy and seemed inconvenienced that she had to help us. My sister and I are a pretty fun bunch, especially after two beers. so I’m not sure what her beef was. And I’ve officially decided that after helping her pick out items for her registry, I need to get married. I want gifts like waffle makers, cake pans, a nice coffee maker and other goodies. I guess companionship and love would be nice also but I could really clean house with registering for stuff. Or I can just pull a Carrie Bradshaw and instead of shoes, I could register for food processors?
While perusing the different items in the housewares section, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this
Tuesday was going to be a long one so I woke up early and went for a quick bike ride. Once I got presentable and looked like a lady, my sister, mom and I made our way to the Swap Shop. Theknot.com message board recommended going there for flowers on the cheap so that was the main mission….if we could get there that is. The Swap Shop is located in an *ahem* less than desirable part of Fort Lauderdale. When we pulled off I95, we saw multiple intersections barricaded off by the police. Add three helicopters in the air flying around us and I started to have Goodfellas flashbacks. But once I remember I only had Advil PM on me and can be narcissistic at times, I felt relieved that they couldn’t be after me. Turns out that there was a robbery and a shooting at a check cashing business (see, less than desirable part of town) so the SWAT team was called in. After a lovely ride through a quite sketchy neighborhood, we got to the Swap Shop. And if I thought that neighborhood was sketchy, I was wrong. The Swap Shop was sketchy with a capital “S”! Scary Swap Shop Swat—say that three times fast! My dad and I used to go once a month when I was younger and I never remembered it being that sketch. But then again, I was young, naïve and not quite jaded. My mom, sister and I made out way through the outside flea market where all the junk is then went inside through the food court. We made the mistake of not using the restroom before hand so we had to use theirs. It smelled like funk, bad cheese and cabbage. I had to squat, which I very rarely do and was afraid to touch anything in fear that I would develop open sores all over me. And of course there was no soap in there because that would make some sense. Good thing I always have a couple of hand sanitizers on me! We finally found the flower people which we were right next to the produce stands outside.
We looked at a fewer different florists they turned out to be more than half the price that she found online. My favorite was the dyed orchid I found because fuchsia and turquoise are two of my favorite colors.
There was also this interesting, little food stand there.
I feel compelled to try it when I have nothing to do for a few days, just in case I get food poisoning. Something about swap shop seafood just doesn’t sit well with me.I made my way over to the produce stands right after.
I found some interesting stuff and when I went to three different stands to ask what this was, I got three different answers
*Soft and sweet
*Apple
*(Grunt) followed by something said in Haitian
If any of you knows this or wants to grunt at me as well, please hook a sister up, I‘m curious now. I found really cheap buys, like really cheap all of this for $4.25 so I was a happy gal!
With prices like that, they are close to knocking off my beloved Charlotte hippies from their pedestal. We’ll always have produce, dear hippies.
What exotic fruits or produce have you tried?
Where would your dream wedding registry be?
Hola friends! Hope everyone has a fantastic week! I feel so out of the loop with catching up with everyone because of going back to work. I only worked three days but am completely beat. I like to attribute some of my tiredness to my parents who are emotionally draining me by the minute but I digress…..
They do have some good characteristics and habits , like getting two or three newspapers on Sundays. You all can only imagine how elated I get when I wake up, have my coffee and breakfast and get to clipping! I take full advantage of the coupons by clipping them, alphabetizing them and scouring the ads to see if any items are sale that week (that I can use) and have a coupon for.
I combed the ads for CVS and Walgreens and found sales on a few items that I had coupons for which resulted in amazing savings! The best deal I got was at CVS:
All of this for $13.16! I had a BOGO coupon for the Clean & Clear and Dove products. I normally don’t buy men’s products but the coupon was a his and hers kind of coupon and it was free so why not?
At Walgreens I got these two items for $6 plus I received $3 off to use on my next purchase sop I like to think that’s like getting it for $3 something.
After CVS I went to Fresh Market. For those who don’t have FM, it’s like a smaller Whole Foods but without the made to order foods. I rarely buy anything there since it can pretty pricey after two or three items. So the real reason I go?
Free coffee.
Oh yeah.
They have sample cups for you to try and they always have interesting flavors on hand along with organic half and half and raw sugar, The other weekend they have Georgia Pecan and I kinda wished that I had brought along my coffee tumbler to fill up. After I had a few sample cups of coffee, I walked through the chip aisle and saw they have BOGO sale on Kettle Brand chips. I quickly remembered that I had a $1 off coupon for Kettle Brand because I somehow have a photographic memory when it comes to my coupons (I do NOT forget savings) Do I need potato chips? Hell to the no but if I can get a flavorful bag for $1.15, I’m not going to pass that up.
I was sad they didn’t have my favorite flavor, Spicy Thai but picked up two other solid choices instead.
When not working, my mom and I have been checking out thrift stores a couple of times a week. I like to take her with me on Wednesdays since all the Good Wills in the area offer 25% off to seniors. So I shop, give her money, have her purchase and save some dough. I am not looking forward to getting older but discounts at thrift stores and cheap coffee at McDonalds make it seem a little better. At the Goodwill we went to last week, it was not only senior citizens day but I also saw this beautiful sign right when we walked in
The thrift store is the main place I get books and now thanks to reading a post about books over at The Lofty Appetite , I have another avenue to find books. I got three books for $1.23 when at Goodwill and although I could have stayed there for hours looking through the titles, I kept it at a minimum because sometimes I buy too many books and never get to reading them.
Speaking of McDonalds, they have been sending mad coupons as of late. They send us two pamphlets of coupons featuring not only BOGO coupons but also coupons for free coffee, smoothies and sodas.
I tried the pineapple mango smoothie and even though it was free, it was pretty nasty. It was entirely too sweet for me and I winced when taking the three sips that I did because I felt if something tasted that bad, it should get me drunk.
I used this coupon for a free coffee regardless of size, this afternoon at the McDonalds near my temporary work
I found it highly amusing that when ordering, the cashier asked me if it was for there or to go. I tilted my head and stared at her and answered/asked “To go?” Not only free coffee but free entertainment as well. I dig.
What I don’t dig is that I’ve been trying so hard to save any money I can on the daily including not going to Starbucks everyday like I used to. I lived within walking distance of a Starbucks for six years and now the closest one is a few miles away….and nowhere on the way to work. So I’ve been drinking this:
Gag. I’m a coffee snob and feel like anytime I take a sip of this stuff, hair is going to pop up on my chest. It’s a step above car dealership coffee though, when I drink that I react as if I’m taking a shot of hooch. I would love to know who this Maxwell fellow is and why he likes such crappy coffee in his house.
Where do you buy books? If you don’t buy, do you go to the library or borrow from friends or just don’t read literature other than my blog?
What are your tips for making good coffee at home?
Simply Shaka 