I’m not irish but kiss me anyways!

Happy St. Patricks Day party people! I love how a majority of people I saw today were wearing green. I think we as a society should incorporate that more…like on Earth Day, wear green. Memorial Day, yellow (like the ribbons), Valentine’s, red or pink and so on. But not mandatory because if something is mandatory, I don’t want to do it because authority and I don’t mesh well.

Of course the people I work with weren’t wearing green because they are festive and lame. Suffice to say, I wasn’t surprised.

Every wonder why people who don’t wear green on St. Patricks Day get pinched? It started in the early 1700s in the Boston area—They thought if you wore green  it made you invisible to the leprechauns because leprechauns would pinch anyone they could see. So the pinching is to warn peeps about the leprechauns out there.

I love learning new things but personally the only leprechaun that freaks me out is this one

I would have loved a GREEN monster this morning but unfortunately it came out more of a brown hue.

Ok so the picture is a lie because there it looks quite green but for real, it was not. I was hesitant about trying it and wanted to mix it up a bit so decided to make a fruit based green monster instead of my am iced coffee one. It was just alright but I definitely think there is some potential! I mixed baby spinach, V8 Light Fusion, Soy Milk, ice, frozen strawberries and some splenda. The flavor didn’t pop out too much so maybe will add more juice or something protein powder next time around. I am almost out of my chocolate whey and debating whether to try vanilla or strawberry flavored protein next.

If anyone has any suggestions on brands and flavors-hook a sister up please let me know what kinds you like best!

I got my gold card from Starbucks in the mail today and now have a coupon for a free drink. I think I will save this for Friday or this wknd for a special drink. I never get the frou-frou drinks at Starbucks, just regular coffee so I think this will be a frou frou drink. Maybe an iced Carmel Macchiato or Skinny Cinnamon Dolce latte? The possibilities are endless! I love that Starbucks has this rewards program now. I always thought they should have this especially for what they are charging for their coffee.

I had avocado that I wanted to use so I made a breakfast wrap with one scrambled egg, mushroom, shredded cheese and half an avocado on a whole wheat wrap-delish!

We were super busy today so again, another day flies by and I am happy. Lunch was leftovers of Barilla whole wheat pasta, onions, mushrooms, artichokes and turkey sausage tossed in evoo.

I came home and wanted chinese, so I decided to make my own! Mushrooms, asparagus, onions and bamboo shoots cooking in soy sauce with ginger and black pepper.

I cooked Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken in the oven while that was cooking and served over a bed of rice.

Holy close up!

Tonight, I’m just hanging in.

Now, for my drama. As you all know, I hate my job. I don’t like waking up in the morning, cry when I am at work (most days), am not “myself” when I am there and feel like I am at a dead-end. I transferred to Charlotte with my company and that was three in a half years ago. In that time, I have gotten title promotions and pay raises but still in the same position. That is the part I get depressed about. I cannot do the same function I have been doing for three and a half years anymore and seriously feel like a trained monkey can do my job. So the past two weeks, I have been looking for jobs in other cities where I have friends because I have made none here. I was starting to accept the idea of taking a job I would enjoy more but as much as it would suck, probably pay less. Yay, so that’s worked out and I can explore something that suits me better right? Wrong.

My parents have been helping me with one of my student loans while I pay the other one. They have really taken a hit with the economy and other financial issues and can’t afford to pay it anymore. So that’s another bill to worry about each month. I can budget my money just fine (I was actually in the USA Today two summers ago in an article about saving money and living frugally) and have cut many corners in the past. But now with this payment, I am not sure how many more corners I can cut. I don’t have cable tv, rarely go out and drink or party like I used to, shop at thrift stores for the most part,  go longer without getting my hair done among other things. I make good money for a single girl my age and all but it is just frustrating the amount I see go into my checking after 401K, health care, taxes, savings acct and bills. I just don’t know what more I can do.

I also wish I was more financially secure to help my parents out because that’s the least I owe them for everything. It’s out of my hands and is frustrating. That paired up with me being so unhappy with my job and location, I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is just bringing me down so much I don’t know what to do. All of friends are in different cities so it’s not like I can talk to them in person or go out and have fun. ARRRRRGH! I just need to vent and need to figure something out because I am not an unhappy person and cannot do this much longer.

Anyways, I need to get a full night’s sleep so I am attempting to take some nyquil and pass out. For your partiers out there—be safe tonight!