Organized Chaos

I live in a state of organized chaos. 

Whether it comes to my kitchen with my limited counter and cabinet space

The contents of my fridge

And yes, when I am feeling uninspired and too lazy to look through hundreds of recipes that I have at my fingertips, I simply pull up a stool to the fridge and stare until I come up with meals to make.

How I organize my cookbooks

Hell, even my magnets on my fridge are organized chaos

And especially at work, this is my desktop on a day where I have 95% of my work done and I’m feeling good about it

My thoughts are  in a state of organized chaos. ALL. THE. TIME.

But I’m cool with that since that is how I am used to things being and living. Some may not understand that but that’s how I am and operate. I have so much going through my brain on the daily, it’s difficult to keep things straight but somehow I manage. I thank my Blackberry memo pad that lets me jot down random thoughts and things I need to get done and of course, Post It notes. I can’t live without Post It notes.

(source)

Even living with Lincoln is a state of organized chaos since he is the dog who like to rest with a pillow on top of him, not under him

My workouts are in a state of organized chaos. I go to the gym with no idea what I’m going to do but knowing I want a killer workout. I do this because the gym I go to gets busy which means that finding a machine can be difficult. I try to find any kind of machine I can whether it be elliptical, treadmill or bike and go to town on it. Afterwards, I usually do some kind of strength training but again, unplanned. since that is how I roll.

Meals are sometimes in a state of organized chaos and unplanned….like on Monday.

I had off on Monday but since I have been so overloaded with work, I went in for a few hours to knock some stuff out without distraction. I was there for two hours and really didn’t get that much done nor did it give me the peace of mind I was hoping for.

I made a tuna, green onion and avocado salad with tomato on top of a sandwich thin with a side of Kashi Mediterranean Bruschetta crackers

This was such a fantastic and flavorful combination! I didn’t use any mayo and it was still rich and creamy.

Dinner was a bit unorganized as well and the brainchild of sitting in front of the fridge for a few minutes.

I chopped up some tofu then pressed for few hours

Mixed with taco seasoning

Then fried those little suckers up

I added some black beans and corn that was looking for a home

Then I remembered I had cooked mushrooms that were also in need of a home

While that was cooking, I chopped up a few springs of green onion and two jalapenos (with gloves of course!)

Then added everything together….plus some tomato, cheese, avocado and salsa

I already have enough organized chaos in my life, why not add some more to the mix with food?

This was such a terrific meal but I got too ambitious with my toppings and they were difficult to eat. I love that since most of the ingredients were fresh I didn’t have to add alot of seasonings to the mix except for the taco seasoning.

And it left wonderful leftovers such as a naked burrito bowl.

Dinner on Tuesday night was a completely random one….. brown purple pink green monster!

Instead of using baby spinach like I always do, I used kale instead after reading about a kale smoothie on Thorns Have Roses. I love me some kale but never thought to use it in a smoothie before so I was a tad apprehensive. I mixed with almond milk, strawberries, flax-seed and Spiru-tein Blueberries and Cream protein powder

I would never really crave a green monster for dinner but I had my permanent crown put on Tuesday afternoon and was supposed to stick to soft foods for 24 hours.

Do you live your life in a state of organized chaos?

How do you keep your thoughts and life organized? Paper, phone, calendar, planner?

PS–Win a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate!

Dude……sweet.

(source)

Sigh, I want to go bowling.

What’s a single girl to do on Valentine’s Day weekend?

Eat a ridiculous amount of sweets of course.

The madness started on Friday night.

I made mushroom pizza for dinner

It wasn’t huge or anything (that’s what she said) but it was enough to put me to sleep soon after. I woke up at 9pm and wanted to do something but wasn’t in the mood to drink or spend a lot of cash. Enter Amelie’s French Bakery. Amelie’s is a wonderful yep-you guessed it- french bakery and coffee-house here in Charlotte. Not only is that concept itself fabulous but it’s also open 24 hours so that itself makes it one of my favorite spots to go to. Seeing something open 24 hours in this city that isn’t named Waffle House is quite rare. I went there and ordered a Chai Latte and a salted caramel brownie.

I’ve never had one before and it was good but I think it would’ve been better if it was warmed up a bit. The Chai was one of the best I’ve ever had and it was nice to relax with some sweet stuff and a hot beverage while catching up on blogs. I felt like such a hipster but hipster sans fedora.

On Saturday, I was driving through downtown Fort Mill. When I heard Fort Mill had a downtown, I was surprised to hear since I’ve never heard anything going on there. I stumbled upon Krystal’s Eat’s & Sweets

When I saw the name Eats & Sweets, I was instantly intrigued since I like eats and I like sweets. I was in the mood for a drink so I went in and found a cozy, local establishment. Krystal’s has breakfast and lunch items that are the eats and then delectable goodies such as truffles, cupcakes, cakes, cookies, etc that complete the sweets end of the name.

When I walked in I saw Oreo and peanut butter truffles, rice krispie treats and chocolate covered strawberries along with trays of cookies and cupcakes behind the counter. I grabbed a hot tea (various Celestial Seasonings bags) for only $1.25 and decided I should try some truffles since I like to support local establishments and didn’t want to be cheap and only buy a drink. And then I grabbed a rice krispie treat because you know…..supporting local business! The truffles were absolutely amazing and pretty cheap—3 for $2. My bill came to just over three bones, can’t beat that!

The rice krispie treat sucked–it was hard as a rock (that’s what she said again–cmon too good to pass up) but the truffles were out of this world! I even liked the peanut butter ones and if you know, you know am not a huge pb fan.

Another thing adding to the sweet factor? A cute Valentine’s Day package from my sister.

Fannie May’s—my favorite!!!

Some Nutella–since I’ve never owned a jar I’m looking forward to experimenting with it. I love the note on the container…..

Seriously, how sweet of a package is that?

I made some cupcakes for my assistant and a thank you for all the hard work she does.

The frosting ended up in here

Frosting is my kryptonite so it was absolutely necessary that it went in the trash instead of lurking in my fridge because one of these days I will come home stressed from work, grab a spoon and go to town on that can.

 I had other things to do after that, like fixing my bed…again.

This bed is really starting to get on my last nerve. Even Lincoln doesn’t want to jump on the bed, he knows something is up and that it’s faulty.

And since it’s Valentine’s Day and all, I serenaded my bed with a little Al Green

Seriously, can you please stay together shitty Ikea bed??

So I think it’s sturdy for now but I guess we will see how long that lasts. I am not wanting to fix this on a weekly basis.

Afterwards, I went to Panera to get some lunch and free wi-fi. I always order the same thing at Panera but switched it up today–I got the french onion soup and mediterranean veggie sandwich since it’s meatless Monday and all.

I really enjoyed this combo! The sandwich was fresh and fantastic with a good amount of basil and feta. If you have both of those, you win my heart. I really enjoyed the french onion soup as well, instead of having the entire cup covered with a piece of bread and cheese, it was covered with bits of cheese and croutons.

I went to the gym afterwards and a very productive workout. I did 45 minutes on the Precor AMT then did lower body sets (leg press, seated leg curls, hip adduction/abduction, leg extension)

Then I came home and hung out with my Valentine

It was such a gorgeous day out—65 and sunny, just like spring! It was nice to have the windows open and get some fresh air in the house, it reminded me that spring is near. I don’t mind spring at all–if it was 65 and sunny year round I would be happy girl but when it gets into the 80’s and 90’s is when I get irritable.

I made baked spaghetti for dinner.

I started off cooking spinach and leftover mushrooms from yesterday in extra virgin olive oil with garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes

I cooked four servings os thin spaghetti earlier today and microwaved that with vodka sauce for a few minutes in the microwave

Added half a can of tomatoes and chopped parsleyand 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella to the spinach and mushrooms

The only measuring cup I had, was not trying to be cute with the hearts...

Why hello colors of the Italian flag!

Added the spaghetti to the spinach mix

Then transfer into a casserole dish

Top with more mozzarella cheese (about 1/3 cup) and   bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees

This was enough for dinner tonight plus three other meals this week and it freezes well-holla.

Great Harvest Rosemary Garlic bread

And apparently, I need to get my booty up to Boston–it’s the top city for single women-go Boston, it’s your birthday! Pittsburgh is also on the list which is positive since that’s one of the front-runners for cities I am going to next.

What’s your kryptonite?
Any creative ideas of what to do with Nutella? Recipe wise, not kinky wise…..

Green+Googling+Gaffigan=Great

Maybe my company isn’t that bad of a place.

Seeing they gave me a pretty sweet bonus and all.

That’s right, I’m raising the frickin roof (and well aware no one has used that term seriously since the early 2000’s) I changed roles late last year and thought my yearly bonus would be in jeopardy because of that but I guess not since my old manager decided to give me the bonus. Thanks boss!

I still can’t believe it. They put out a notice saying they were having  quick touch base meetings with everyone individually and automatically, the number one thing that went through my head was “I wonder if we’re getting laid off?” then I started doing the math in my head about how much severance I would get (it would be a pretty sweet severance given my length of time with the company) When I stepped into the meeting, they handed me a sheet of paper and there it was–the number. They told me I did a wonderful job last year and that I will be seeing the bonus in my paycheck shortly. I probably won’t see a good deal of the bonus due to 401K, taxes, etc. but who cares—it’s a bonus! And a bonus that I worked my ass off for this past year so I am going to enjoy it. Who am I kidding–I am going to put some into my travel savings account, put some aside to get my hair did and buy some pajama jeans!  I just had to share since it was a complete surprise to me and just what I neede given my attitude towards work lately.

There’s going to be a couple of meatless Monday options up in this piece…..

 I was craving something warm and carbalicious the other night.I cooked spinach and mushrooms in extra virgin olive oil, oregano and red pepper flakes and cooked a couple servings of penne while that was cooking.

I added both together then added shredded mozzarella cheese and mixed

I transferred to a baking dish then since the penne wasn’t enough carbs for me, I topped with torn up pieces of Great Harvest Rosemary Garlic bread then poured a little extra virgin olive oil on it and let back at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Success  with that meal. Next time I make it, I think clam sauce or some kind of seafood would be a nice addition!

When I got home from work tonight, I seriously had no idea what to make for dinner. So when that happens, I do what any rational person does: I take almost every item out of the fridge, place on the counter and stare until something comes to mind.

Don’t laugh, it works.

I thought of a  black bean quesadillas but was too lazy to reach up to get the can opener. Add baking chicken tonight for Lincoln as treats because I was too lazy to drive to Target to the list of things I do because I am lazy. I can’t help it.

So no go on the quesadillas. But I guess I wasn’t too lazy because I mustered up the energy to whip up stuffed mushrooms and kale chips.

I started with cream cheese and parsley. I microwaved it for about 30 seconds to soften up then mixed together.

Added black pepper and mozzarella cheese to the mix

I took some extra virgin olive oil and let the  mushroom caps swim around

Then stuff!

I also prepared a sheet of kale chips, brushed with extra virgin olive oil and Spike seasoning then let the shrooms and kale cook at 350 for 13-15 minutes

I love meals that taste great. I love meals that taste great that don’t require utensils even more! A great end to meatless Monday!

Something amusing: I was looking at my site stats and one person found my blog by googling “bj jokes” and another found it by searching “Bj’s”. Immediately, I found this funny since I have the sense of humor of a 14-year-old boy. Then it made me think of this old school jam (um, disclaimer, please do not click on this at work, if easily offended, a prude, holy roller, etc.)

Which of course I sang “Put it in my bin” last week  when one of co-workers asked me where he should put some files for me to the tune of that song. I can’t help it–why must I turn everything into a song??

While on youtube, I had to search for this skit, one of my favorite comedy bits:

I love the Gaffigan.

And my other favorite Gaffigan bit

My ex boyfriend and I used to think of outrageously gross Hot Pocket creations and try to top each other. I thought Fish n Chips Hot Pocket with malt vinegar dipping sauce would always be a winner but I still haven’t seen it happen yet. I shall write them one of these days.

What’s the nastiest Hot Pocket creation you can think of or what would your dream Hot Pocket consist of?

What’s the most random phrase that someone entered to get to your blog?

If you want to show off your dog, head to Carrots N Cake and submit a picture of your four legged friend to be featured on Blog Dogs!

One down, 11 to go

Well, it’s the end of the month and that means time to check in on how I am doing with my goals for 2011:

*Pay off one credit card by 2/15/11.  

 Success! I paid off one credit card this past Friday so that’s one under my belt and now just one more with a larger balance I need to take care of. Luckily, it has a 0% interest rate until June so I don’t have to worry about the extra interest I’ll be paying but I am going to start paying down more on that.

*Quit my job. 

Oi. Ok, I am still not loving my job….it’s getting busier, I’m getting more accounts in my portfolio and I had to go in this weekend to play catch up. I want to quit and say eff it but the biggest reason I don’t want to is because I don’t want to dip into my 401K money to live off of. In the six years I’ve been with the bank, I’ve saved up a nice chunk of cash and I would hate to take out some of that. There is a potential 10% early withdrawal penalty and if I were to withdraw, there is a 20% federal income tax withholding. Eek. I’ve worked really hard to save up that money so I won’t have to work so hard when I’m older and would hate to see it go away so I could live off of but at the same, if it means I’m happier, who cares? Who knows if I will be around in 35 years, months, days, hours. I c0uld die tomorrow for all I know. Also along with that, I work for a good company (as much as I bitch about it). Alot of people are trying to get their foot in the door at the company that I work for since they offer amazing benefits, vacation time, compensations, etc. I’ve been there six years and in that I have more than doubled my salary and get hooked up with four weeks of vacation plus eight sick days and two personal days not to mention tuition reimbursement, 5% matching on 401K contributions, etc. I would really hate to leave the company but I think I am going to look at other cities still where my company is located.

I had a one on one with my manager last week and told him how I feel about this job…..but in a diplomatic way. When talking about subjects that I am passionate about (such as my life), I get emotional. I start to talk fast, turn red and usually end up crying. The last thing I needed was for my manager to see that so when he asked me how things were going, I kept my cool. I smiled and told him I was going to be honest and laud it out on the table…..

I told him I wasn’t a good fit for this job

I don’t like it

 I don’t want to be in this position long-term

 I’m looking at other fields and possibly leaving the industry/company

I really don’t sleep that much as night since I’m so stressed and that I have to take Valium just to be able to sleep (ok a little fib about taking Valium to sleep, I’m saving those suckers up for when I really need them but a little dramatic effect never hurt. I wasn’t lying about the sleep though, I have major sleep issues due to stress)

He thanked me letting him know all this and seemed to be a bit overwhelmed with all the information I just laid out to him. He asked if there was anything he could do to change my opinion about the place and I just said no, it’s just not the job that I thought it was. I almost threw in there how I wished I would have stayed in my old position since they did major lay offs the other week but didn’t want to get overly dramatic. I felt really good after I said all of this and have been in talks with people in other departments who are trying to help me out come April, when I can apply for other positions within the bank. So quitting is still a possibility but it just may not be as soon as I originally thought.

As for culinary school, I am still going to look into it a little more but don’t think it’s going to be a real option for me. Mostly due to cost and what my schedule would be like. I worked in restaurants for seven years between high school and college and I somehow seemed to forget that it was night-time hours for the most part. While I hate being stuck in a cube, I want to work when it’s light outside and be able to enjoy weekends and holidays with friends and family. So much to think about!

*Check out cities that could potentially be my new home.

 On the list to do still….this time of year is tough. I usually like cold weather but get a little sick of it by February so I’m trying to figure out if I want to move somewhere that is alot cooler than here or stay somewhere warm. Plus there is always the possibility of moving back to Phoenix. I wish I could find a company that will take my personality, goals, location desires, etc. and just tell me where to go, that would make things so much easier for me!

*Pay a little more on my car payment each month so I can pay it off quicker

Success! I’ve been paying $20-$30 more each payment, hoping it will add up over time and pay off the car a few months ahead of time.

*Cut down on  Starbucks and eating out.

I’m proud to say I’ve only been going to Starbucks two-three times a week, which is a drastic reduction for me. I used to go five-six times so this is definitely helping me keep some cash in my pocket. I’ve been eating out less as well and trying to use Groupons, Living Social deals and BOGO coupons whenever I do.

*No new clothes until March.

Still on track with this one! I haven’t bought any new articles of clothing but I have been hitting up the thrift stores and found some awesome finds this past Friday. Come back this Friday for a series on Thrifting!

*Plan a stay-cation instead of jetsetting all around the country.

I haven’t even had a chance to think about this one really but have trips to Arizona and Colorado in the works. Plus, it would be nice to go to Indiana to see my sister and nieces and to Florida to see my parents. My sister is going to Florida for a week to visit her timeshare so I may try to kill two birds with one stone there and knock out visiting both Indiana and Florida. I don’t think this goal is going to be attainable this year.

*Sell what I don’t need.

I haven’t sold anything yet but I am in the works of putting together everything I want to sell, take pics, put on Craigslist, etc. If anyone in the Charlotte area is looking for a Wine Refrigerator, let me know 🙂

*Try out new ethnic recipes.

Doing alright so far with this although I could vary it up some more. I made falafel for the first time, tried pupusas and am looking forward to more ethnic variety in my life.

*Be more consistent with taking my vitamins.

I suck at this. I give myself a C- since I haven’t been on the ball with this. I remember to take them every now and then at work—they are sitting right next to my phone so I can’t believe I forgot to take them! I also have a bottle at home to take some on the weekends and that hasn’t been happening at all. I like to think since I’ve been eating more veggies, it cancels out the multi vitamin but I still want to get into a consistent routine of taking them daily.

*Cut down on my meat intake.

Huge success! I’ve been toying with tofu, tempeh, even ordering veggie meals when I get Chinese take out and making meatless Monday a regular thing! With replacing meat with everything mentioned above plus various beans, quinoa, etc. it’s been a lot easier than I originally thought it would be.

*Use skim milk or almond milk in my coffee instead of half and half.

 Success! I am still not a huge fan of it but it’s been a success. When I do go to Starbucks, I will use skim milk plus a tablespoon or two of half and half to fatten it up (i.e. make it more tasty) but I haven’t bought any half and half for my house since the new year. This is big.

Day 5-a time you thought about ending your own life

I haven’t-sorry?! I like to think that life will never be so bad that I would consider suicide as an option. Plus, I have a little fear of death which is ridiculous since it all comes to us at some point or another.

How are you doing with your goals thus far?

What made me smile today…..and some bad dates

This post is going to be all over the place so hang on!

Today was actually a great day for a Monday, who knew that could happen??

For breakfast I tried a new greek yogurt snack—Athenos Greek Yogurt

It’s separated into the greek yogurt portion and then the “fruit” portion which was more like a strawberry jam. It was just enough to hold me over until my mid morning snack and provided some protein (11g) so clicks to that.

I met up with one of my former co-workers for coffee at Caribou Coffee. She recently got laid off (for the second time) and has a few more days on the job and is actively looking for other positions within our company. If my company told me I was being laid off then expected me to work after that, I would think they were out of their minds. But then again, I probably wouldn’t be able to get any severance so would comply. We have some openings in our department so I wanted to give her a background on what we do to see if she was interested. My job isn’t horrible (for as much as I complain about it), I just don’t think it’s a good fit for my personality.
Can I just say how happy Caribou’s cups make me?

 Starbucks should start writing inspirational sayings on their cups just to play the game.

They were also giving out free samples of Somersaults Sea Salt nuggets. I grabbed a few for the road as I love me some free samples.

It was cute, when the cashier told me about the free samples they had both the Sea Salt flavor along with the salt & pepper flavor. I grabbed a salt & pepper one but he said “Oh, the salt & pepper ones aren’t free however they’re coming out with a Destiny’s Child one soon” I tilted my head then nodded and finally laughed, it took a few seconds for me to get especially since I only had one cup of coffee in my system but I thought it was a witty remark. Witty remarks plus free samples on a Monday is guaranteed to plaster a smile on my face for a full 10 minutes.

We had a huge company wide call we had to be on a bit later. I was thinking that they were going to talk about lay offs or something negative but it turns out they were going over 2010 performance. We also found out we are getting a bonus! My company has an incentive plan each year where if the whole company does well with profits and stock price, they award out a nice bonus to eligible employees. And this girl is so eligible. It’s going to be $500, which is nice but isn’t as high as it used to be. When I first started with the company, it was around $2,000 but then the economy went down the crapper and here we are. I like that you can defer to entire amount to your 401K (plus they will match up to 5%) or you can defer just a portion and then keep the rest. I aways try to defer half of it to my 401K then get a little to play with since they tax the hell out of it.  Hooray for money!

Last night, I made whole wheat spaghetti with mushroom and onion sauce and topped with fresh parsley. I had a little for a late dinner as well. I was sooooo full from Growler’s and the smorgasbord of food but needed to get a little something in my tummy before going to bed. I had for lunch today as well along with a piece of Great Harvest Bread Rosemary Garlic bread. The bread was absolute perfection-I dipped into the spaghetti sauce but it was moist and didn’t need any extras such as butter or extra virgin olive oil. Their bread has no preservatives and no artificial ingredients so I don’t mind paying a little more for it (around $5 a loaf).

Another thing that makes me smile? When celebrities open up restaurants. I’m not ashamed to admit that I kinda want to visit Iowa to check out Flavor Flav’s “Flav’s Fried Chicken”

For dinner, I had no idea what I was going to make. It’s Monday, so I wanted to stick with Meatless Monday so I began to heat up some red onions, jalapenos and black beans on the stove top.

Why do black beans seem more like purple beans most of the time?

While that was cooking, I nuked a baked potato while jamming to the Rolling Stones. I simply cannot cook to silence anymore, I must have my Pandora on. When that was done, I topped the potato with the black bean mixture. I think sub consciously I was inspired from The Auspicious Squirrels baked potato goodness

Then topped with salsa

And no tater is complete without cheese

Yes, a cheese-tastic, meatless meal made in minutes made me smile.

And we can’t forget about this little guy

Lincoln always makes me smile. Even if he does do the thug pose with lifting up his chin in the air like he is all tough and stuff. Rock on you little eight pound poohuahua!

Another thing that made me smile?

New challenges!

I saw this 30 Day Challenge on Janetha’s blog  the other night and was instantly intrigued.

Yeah, I like talking about my day, random things, food, workouts, etc. but sometimes it’s fun to mix it up a bit so here we go!

Day 1-Your current relationship,  if single, discuss how single life is.

I am single. Which I am fine with for now. I would love to be in a relationship however the main thing that is holding me back at this time is me. I am not happy with my weight. I’ve lost a lot of weight in the grand scheme of things but have gained about 15 lbs back this year due to me not consistently going to the gym anymore, stopped running and eating out too much. I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin at the moment, which is really sad. I don’t care at the moment what I dress like or how my makeup or hair looks when I go to work since I am not looking for a relationship (plus every guy is either married or too preppy for me). Along with that, I am kind of over drinking at the moment. I love a drink more than anyone else but I am not going to sit at home and have drinks by myself, that’s just sad and a bit unhealthy. So while friends have been inviting me to go out to drink at night and meet guys, I’m really just not interested since I don’t like how I look at the moment. But that’s why I am going to the Y again, consistently working out so I can change this and get back to my old regime and get this weight off.

Not only with my weight, I am not at a point in my life where I think I should be in a relationship due to my work situation and not knowing what I want out of life. This is something that is on my mind almost every minute, every day….which is a bit exhausting. I need to figure out what I am doing with my life, where do I want to be, etc. before jumping into a relationship.

That being said, I thought I would share some of my interesting dates in the past :

*Nips guy-his nipples wouldn’t go soft throughout the whole date. Absolutely disgusting. And it wasn’t like it was cold out—it was May….in North Carolina….that means hot!

*Young Rush Limbaugh-One guy took me out to a local sushi bar. I had been to that sushi bar twice previously that month on two other dates and had the same waiter each time! So by the third time, he came up and greeted us and shook his head when he saw me there with yet another gentleman. When he asked what we wanted to drink I smiled and said Captain and Ginger (like the previous two times) and winked. I am so not a winker but felt quite sassy doing it. The date ended up being a right-wing nut whereas I am a liberal kind of chick. He started spouting off why I should own a gun and shoot at anyone that invades my property and how all gays should be deported. Yeah. So I drank….and drank….and drank some more trying to drown him out. Oh, I forgot about the edamame. We were chowing on edamame as the appetizer and his tooth kept falling out into the bowl. Beautiful. And then he ended up getting so drunk, he stumbled into the womens restroom thinking it was the mens. Some old lady who was in there started to  shoo him out of there and I believe that was the only part of the date that I smiled. That and when I saw he picked up the tab.

*The Ex Convict-this could be my worst date ever. For starters-we were walking around Uptown Charlotte and decided to go into Starbucks. I was wearing a white and black top (along with a new Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy bra) and felt cute. My hair was kicking, the conversation was flowing and we were going to get java. How could this not end well? I order a raspberry soy mocha and the lid wasn’t on all the way, so yes, it spilled down my new white and black top and seeped into my bra so I smelled like a lovely raspberry soy mocha. I laughed it off (I had to or else I would cry) and we continued walking around Uptown since he wasn’t familiar with the area. While walking, I walked smack dab in the middle of a pole. I was sober. So embarrassing occurrence #2 out-of-the-way. We finally settled on dinner and went to a local sports bar/restaurant and sat in the patio area so we could people watch and be able to actually hear each other. We ordered an appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip and whatdoyou know, while going to take a bite of it, it spilled down my cleavage. At this point, I smelled like a sour raspberry soy mocha and spinach and artichoke dip-who wouldn’t want a piece of this?? The first date conversation was there, asking questions, answering, etc. when he casually said “Yeah, when I was in prison” Exsqueeze me? Huh? And he snuck it in there by saying it all casually, that’s what killed me! He said it in the tone of “Yeah, when I go to the supermarket,  I like to buy bananas” You don’t say something about your time in prison with that inflection. So I smiled, put down my napkin and just said “Spill” and he told me the story of how he went to prison for statutory rape with a 16-year-old when he was 20 years old and was there for four years. At this point, I wanted to get out of there but dumbass me let him pick me up at my place so he had to get me home. Grrrrrr. I wished I was smarter. We finished dinner and on the way back to my place to drop me off, he stopped at the gas station and told me he wanted to pick up a surprise for me. I hoped he didn’t mean condoms b/c yeah, not happening. While he was in there, I texted a friend to tell her what happened and to call me in a few hours to make sure I was alive. When he got back to the car, he wouldn’t tell me what he got and then drove me home. He asked me to come up to my place and I let him because why not let an ex-convict who’s a lot bigger than me and could rape me into my home? Lincoln didn’t like him one bit so that should’ve been my sign right there and he wouldn’t stop barking his balls off when we got in. So I finally asked him what the surprise was and he told me he was going to make me a clink meal. A) Didn’t we just have dinner? B) What the f*** is a clink meal?? Being a curious girl with an insatiable appetite, I let him make said clink meal.

 The contents

*Beef Ramen

*Cheetos

*Ketchup

*Mustard

Crush the cheetos until they are a fine texture. Make the ramen noodles as normal, mix in the flavoring then drain the water out. Mix all ingredients together and voila-a clink meal. I’m ashamed to admit but it was actually a good meal and liked it. Until he told me that they made it in the trash cans in prison. Eww.

*Red Coat Guy-a guy who I dated back in college. Really nice guy however when it was time for my sorority’s spring formal to roll around he brought some suits over to my apartment to get my opinion on. He brought two-a red one and a purple one. And no, he was not a King of Comedy. He was just a white boy from Jersey who really liked the colorful suits. I was wearing a simple red dress with spaghetti straps so I told him red would be the best option since we would color coordinate well together. That we did. My sorority sisters still talk about Red Coat Guy.

*Tow Truck Driver. This one is a long story but I’ll keep it short and simple since it was a long time ago. He took me to Denny’s one night, which is oh so classy, I know. And you know, on a date you ask each other what you’re thinking about getting, etc. He asked me what I was going to get and I said “The roast beef sounds good” he slowly put down his menu and said to me with a straight face “That’s too expensive” I’m sorry? Denny’s roast beef is too expensive?? So being a girl who holds a grudge, when our waiter came over to take our order, I order the roast beef, plus an appetizer….and a shake. Eff that. If you want to enjoy my company, you will buy me the damn roast beef. When I went home a couple of summers after that, I saw him on the front page of the local paper and that was wanted for aggravated stalking. Beautiful.

With a track record like that, maybe you all can see why I don’t want anything at the time.The sad thing is that these are just a glimpse of my bad dates and not all of them. I clearly do not pick the right men and need some help in that department. If you know of someone who I would like and vice versa along with nipples that go soft, not a right-wing nut, hasn’t been in prison and will buy me roast beef- holla atcha girl!

What made you happy today?
What’s your relationship status?

Playing with aubergine

 The rest of snow day turned out to be a nice, relaxing day-just what I needed! My manager called me around noon to let me know the entire office may be shut down today since we have more snow and freezing rain coming our way so I had to call in today to see if I would have to go in or not.

The verdict?

We are on a delay but supposed to go in at 10AM but that may change.

I have to stay up (since there’s no way I am going back to bed now) and call back at 8AM to see if that still holds true. I am watching the news and they are saying how the Department of Transportation is recommending everyone stay off the road but I guess the bank wants us to risk our lives and go in. Yay.

Blah.

As for yesterday–I was starting to get a little cabin fever around lunch time. I’ve stayed in the house for that long before it’s just when I feel confined that I start to go crazy and what to do something. What better to do than a strength training session to get some blood pumping?

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 3 sets)

Bentover Row (13 reps, 3 sets)

Lateral Bench Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

One Armed Swings (12 reps, 3 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 4 sets)

Around the worlds (25 reps, 3 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

Reverse Fly (13 reps, 3 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shoulder Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Misc.

Push Ups (15 reps, 2 sets)

I haven’t used my heart rate monitor in awhile since it was acting funky on me this summer. But since I am started to track my calories again, I put it on and turns out I had a fabulous workout!

I refueled with leftover pad thai afterwards.

I could seriously eat pad thai every single day. And what is it about pad thai that makes it even better leftover?

The official plate cleaner was on hand to assist with little scraps that I didn’t get to.

Target was so kind as to send me this lovely gift card in the mail. I thought the Postal Service would’ve been shut down but they really hold up to their neither rain nor sleet nor snow creedo.

You’re so sweet Target. Even though I am in your demographic of people who should be having kids, the only way one’s popping out of me is if it’s an immaculate conception. If anyone is preggers or is planning on it in the near future -let me know, I’ll send this over to you. The mailman also brought me over the latest issue of Food Network to redeem themselves for the baby registry gift card

Then,  I baked. As many of you know, I am not a baker but felt the urge to bake with it being cold and snowy out. It just seemed right. I have a surplus of coconut on hand and went to Allrecipes.com to look up recipes. I love that they have a page that allows you to put in items you want or don’t want in your recipe and generates recipes for you! I came upon this recipe for Chewy Coconut Cookies and figured it seemed quick and easy and got to baking!

I halved the measurements since I only wanted a few cookies so I made six then froze the rest (thanks Mo for the tip!). I am sure they were supposed to look prettier but let’s be honest, I really don’t care what a cookie looks like–I only care about how they taste. These were soft, chewy and full of coconut. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was dipped in chocolate. Hooray for cookie success!

For dinner, I wanted to get my eggplant on.

(source)

When I get an eggplant, I usually make lasagne, mix in with pasta, use as a topping on pizza or eggplant parmesan but I wanted to try something different. I remembered a recipe for stuffed eggplant one of my former co-workers told me about some time ago. I didn’t write it down but made my own little creation of stuffed eggplant with mushrooms, onions, pepper and quinoa.

I gutted out the eggplant then chopped the inner into pieces

Then chopped 1/4 onion, one cup mushrooms and orange pepper, sprinkled Spike seasoning on the veggies then cooked with extra virgin olive oil until soft (had 1/2 cup quinoa cooking at the same time)

Once both were done, I mixed together then scooped into the eggplant pieces.

 I thought it looked a little lonely so I sprinkled  shredded mozzarella on top

Then placed in a casserole dish coated with extra virgin olive oil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees

Up close and personal baby

Chowed that sucker down! A nice veggie alternative for another round of meatless Monday.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday. At least I got yesterday after work, you can’t beat two four-day work weeks in ar ow! Any time I can not be off at work is a good time!

Ps–I  added a new page for Frugal Friday! Please check it out if you have missed my Frugal Friday posts in the past, it offers some tips and finds that I have found in the past month.