So I smile

Wow, we have some ball lovers up in this piece huh? I love it. As Monique commented, all I could think about while making the balls was the Schweddy balls skit from SNL

(source)

Today was a great day. Mostly because they announced my resignation at work so I am free and clear to tell people I am leaving. Some people on my team already knew about my departure but there were some who were kept in the dark about it since I’m not too close to them. I also found out that there are two other people on our team leaving so there is going to be a lot of work spread across the remainder of the team. I am trying to do as much as I can before I leave because I don’t want some of my friends to get my accounts that I did absolutely nothing on and have them do all the work that I should have. I’m good like that.

I was sitting at my desk after lunch and started to get a flutter in my stomach. I thought it was a bit off since I had a huge lunch of leftover stir fry

But then I sat back and thought why was my stomach feeling that way? I got up from my desk and took a walk outside and I was so happy I decided to do so since it was absolutely gorgeous out. And then something odd happened, I smiled. It’s been a long time since I smiled for no reason and it’s all because of the possibilities that are coming my way from leaving my job. No longer will I feel restrained by my job and feel like I am going nowhere. No longer will I not want to get out of bed in the morning. No longer will I dread each and every day and that I am slowly wasting my life away. No longer will I have huge bags under my eyes and people telling me how tired I look like the past month or two (I hope at least!) I am starting to feel good about everything that is going on, even if it means instability and not knowing where I am going to be in three months. A few of the guys on my team told me they are envious of me picking up and leaving since they have other obligations such as family, mortgage, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that but I have felt stuck at company and in this city for too long. For some reason, I felt obligated to just go in and out every day to work, bust my hump and repeat and be unhappy. I’m happy something inside of me finally awoke and gave me a message that it’s time to live and not just exist! At first I wasn’t so sure about my decision but I starting to feel more and more confident about my decision and myself as the days pass. So I smiled…..and I smiled the rest of the day!

Hell, my dinner even made me smile. I didn’t have a meal planned so went to my standby of Mexican food and made quesadillas. I didn’t have any cooked chicken on hand and was so lazy I didn’t feel like opening a can of beans but soon I found my secret ingredient.

Steak.

I went to BLT Steak at the Ritz Carlton on Monday night, which that night deserves a post of its own since it involved beers, peach mojitos, a $300 bottle of wine and yeah, The Ritz Carlton. For a girl who does Frugal Friday every week, going to the Ritz is major! I got the Hanger steak and had a few bites leftover and when a steak goes for $26 , you can bet your bottom dollar I am taking those last few bites home! I cut up the steak and placed on top of the jalapeno, onion and cheese mixture

I had the quesadillas with a side of blue corn tortilla chips sprinkled with Tabasco sauce.

Apparently I either need to A) Go to the Ritz more often for steak or B) Add steak to my quesadillas because these were ammmmmazing! I think option B) will be more feasible for me in the future. Unless I find a sugar daddy and with the way the dating scene is looking lately, that is not happening.

I had a stellar dessert soon after-a smoothie with blackberries, almond milk, flax-seed, Spiru-tein Blueberries & Cream protein powder and *finally* chia seeds!

Totally feel like I’m supporting the Lakers with that smoothie! I was stoked to get a package of chia seeds in the mail today. I’ve seen much hype about them in the blog world and there was a post on Carrots N Cake about them today so I felt compelled to try them at once. I added them while blending the smoothie in my Magic Bullet so that weren’t whole but a seedy texture afterwards. The smoothie didn’t taste gritty or seed-like yet it was still tasty and packed with benefits-score!

What made you smile today? Thoughts of leaving my job definitely did along with this guy

Crouching tweaker, hidden weirdo

So, I think I have a sign that is invisible to me but reads loud and clear to freaks to come talk to me or be near me.

Example 2,484–the gym on Tuesday night.

I got on one of the few Precor ellipticals that were open and was on my merry, ellipticaling way. I was taking it easy because my knee was still hurting quite a bit so I did a lower speed with a higher resistance. Don’t know if that’s a good system or not but it was the least pressure and pain on my knee. The elliptical next to me was soon free and enter the weirdo.

The guy who got on seemed normal. Around my age with heart rate monitor and iPod in tow. He started his workout slow and soon he was moving right along quicker than me, which was fine. But then he starting leaning towards my machine, overlooking to see how fast I was going and when he saw that, he started going quicker. Then he grabbed the elliptical handles (we were on the ellipticals with moveable arms) and started to crouch down and whooshing like he was skiing….all the meanwhile he kept peering over at my machine and how fast I was going. I don’t go to the gym to race, I go to the gym to get a workout and mind my own business. Then I looked over to see what he was doing and he was still crouching down and ellipticaling his little heart out and scratching himself profusely. His neck, his arms, his legs, you name. Tweaker, weirdo or someone with a strange medical condition? I have no clue but when my 30 minutes were up, I was happy to hop off and do some upper body strength training.

I made the purplest of purple green monsters afterwards with coconut milk, strawberries and Spirutein Blueberries N Cream protein powder

Not only was it purple and delicious, it was Lincoln approved!

Speaking of Lincoln, he had a relaxing day at the spa today and got pretty!

When I picked him up, I barely recognized him! Maybe because once again he looks like Mr. Bigglesworth?

For dinner, I enjoyed a taco salad, second one in the past two days. I love taco salad since they are so easy to make and I generally have all the ingredients on hand.

Oh, I love the irony of having Mexican food on St. Patrick’s Day. And I will probably have corned beef and has on Cinco de Mayo because I’m spicy like that. At least I read up a bit on why we celebrate St. Patrick, get I got a holla for history!

Instead of going out tonight, I went to the gym. My 21-year-old self would be looking at me like I was a nutcase for going to the gym on one of the party nights of the year but I got up early today, was tired and didn’t feel like drinking much less dealing with the cops that are going to be on the prowl tonight. And of course, I picked an elliptical with another weirdo…..one who was singing Rod Stewart….the entire time I was on mine. I cannot stand Rod Stewart. I respect his music and all but my dad used to listen to his music all the time and a girl can only handle so much Rod Stewart in a lifetime. Along with that, I had uncomfortable underwear on. I hate when I don’t switch from work underwear to comfy underwear when I go to the gym. Um, does anyone else do this or am I the only person with work underwear….besides a hooker?

All in all, it was a good workout, I was shocked to see that the gym was packed! I thought everyone would be boozing it up or getting their last Shamrock Shake of the season but I had it all wrong.

Gym freaks-how do you handle them? Can you ignore them or do they drive you crazy?

Also, I’m looking for people to guest post for a few days next week when Lincoln and I go up to Pittsburgh. If you want to guest post, please let me know, it’s a great way to get exposure for your blog 🙂

Comfort me, hold me

A few things gave me great comfort today after a horrible day at work

* Pringles coated fried chicken bit dinner

I remember seeing this recipe in the Hungry Girl cookbook and was too lazy to look the recipe (much less find where the cookbook is in my house) but it turned out fantastic. I coated them in BBQ Pringles, fried those bad boys up and paired with Steamfresh veggies for a simple dinner

The best part was the cheese sauce seeped over to the chicken–cheese covered fried chicken? Can we say bring it??

*New additions to the workout playlist

(this is my favorite Strokes song of all time-why was it not on my playlist?)

*A great workout

I did 40 minutes on the Precor elliptical doing an interval session. What didn’t comfort me? While watching Sex and The City on E! the very young girl on the machine next to me asked if I was watching Gossip Girl. I shit you not, a little piece of my heart died when she asked me that. Afterwards I did the leg press (240 lbs), hip abduction (110 lbs), hip adduction (140 lbs) and leg extensions (80 lbs)

*Beautiful green monster with kale, coconut milk and Spirutein Blueberries N Cream protein powder

*Lincoln

Seriously, how could someone NOT love this dog?

*You guys

Yeah you. Thanks for everyone on the props on yesterday’s post regarding my goals. I can’t say how much I appreciate the kind words and support. Checking my email every day and  seeing supportive and funny comments is one of the highlights of my day– you all rock!

What gave you comfort  today?

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!

Winner Winner And Yes, Chicken Dinner

 Meh, Sunday. I stayed up until 3A last night watching tv and once again, it felt so good to sleep in. I don’t know what it is about Tyler Perry movies that get me but once it starts, I can’t look away. After three of them in a row, I was ready to hit the hay. Having no plans today, I wasn’t sure how today was going to turn out.

This morning was nothing unordinary–breakfast, errands, park, football, yay. When I went to the park. I walked a bit but also got a few sets of running in! I haven’t run since April so it will be nice to attempt to hit the pavement again running but I’m sure my legs won’t be thanking me come tomorrow. After having lunch, I was feeling blah and wanted to move so I fit in a strength training session.

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (15 reps, 2 sets)

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 2 sets)

Step Ups (25 reps, 1 set)

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Reverse Fly (13 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shoulder press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 3 sets)

Tricep Extensions (13 reps, 2 sets)

Misc.

Crunches

Planks

Random yoga poses

This took about 35 minutes with misc. jumping and bopping around in between sets. I didn’t wear my heart rate monitor because I feel like I haven’t been getting a good workout lately when I wear mine. If it doesn’t work, I get fixated on that and lose focus on my movements which could eventually hurt me in the long run. I feel like I had an awesome workout this time and my heart rate was was consistently up there. I made a green monster with half a packet of SpiruTein Smore flavored protein powdered

I forgot a fabulous recipe that I made this past week! I saw a recipe for Stuffed Poblanos in Martha Stewart Food that I just had to try. They were super tasty and spicy but I think they needed some more substance in them.

For dinner tonight, I had Chicken and Spinach Casserole that I froze

With a baby spinach salad topped with cucumbers, zucchini, avocado, tomato and feta

And now for the dinners of the Fresh Express Coupon Giveaway!

Jessica from Truly Simply Happy

Amy from Second City Randomness

Lily from Lily’s Health Pad

Amanda from Two Boos Who Eat

Ladies-please email me your addresses so I can get those puppies over to you! Thanks to all who participated and told me your favorite salads!

So yeah, that’s that. Nothing too exciting going on over here today but the day just dragged on. I took a nap and am anxious to see what work is going to be like tomorrow. We are in training for the next couple of weeks so I really don’t know what to expect but we shall see. I am just waiting to find out who my manager is so I can’t set up my vacation time. Out of ten people on my team, three of us were bank associates before this job so I am hoping I have some seniority with picking my vacation time.

Weekend Recap

 On Saturday, I was up and at em at 5A. WTF is that all about? Let’s just say I was not a happy camper about the situation but couldn’t go back to bed so I laced up my shoes and got to walking. Ok, well not quite…..it still a bit dark so I watched some infomercials then walking I went. It was so peaceful out and I only saw a couple other people out running and walking, I absolutely love desert early mornings.

Not bad for almost an hour of walking. I stopped at Starbucks on the way back and got a grande coffee and then made a breakfast smoothie with blueberries, half a packet of Spiru-Tein Banana Protein Powder, Almond Milk and Xanthan Gum

 As many of you know, I am not a nut butter fan at all. I will eat it every now and then (especially when covered in chocolate) and have read many rave reviews of Peanut Butter & Co. Bloom had it on special for $3 a jar this week and I bought a jar to see if I would like it.

Success! I haven’t had oats since it was cooler outside and decided to bring it back on Sunday morning. I sliced a banana then sprinkled the slices with cinnamon, laid rolled oats over that and then topped with a dollop of the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl. Yummy. I think if I bought the White Chocolate Peanut Butter they had I would be done (thankfully they were sold out when I bought this jar)

 After seeing this recipe on Tamara’s site, I was in the mood to bake. I still have a supply of POM Wonderful on my hands and haven’t baked in a while so I bought the few ingredients I didn’t have on hand and got to baking! I don’t have a cake pan but have muffin pans on hand so I made cupcakes with this recipe and bought Fun-Fetti cake mix instead of vanilla cake mix.

I love playing with food dye

 These were great but I was expecting more pomegranate flavor so I would use more next time.

After seeing the cooking demonstration on pesto at Carrabba’s on Saturday, I decided to make my own.

 

Lincoln was even eating good. I had to either use or throw away the last turkey burger I gave the other night and knew he would appreciate it

I made home-made pizza with Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough topped with mushrooms, olives and fresh basil and scallions.

I met up with some girlfriends for lunch at Fox and Hound It was Sunday at noon and  hot outside. Why not have a drink? I tried the Fruit Loopy-Three Olives Grape and Cherry vodka, Triple Sec, hurricane and sour mix with a splash of Sprite.

OH

MY

GAWD

Can I just drink this forever? Ok, maybe not forever because I would go into sugar shock but I could seriously down this in a few sips since it was so good!

I kept flip-flopping between wings, a burger, sliders or a sandwich. I love bar food so much but everything else looked good. I finally had to just close the menu and decide on something because if I didn’t I would have never made a decision. I hate that. I wish more restaur ants would have Choose Two options because sometimes I want to try something new but then what if it disappoints?

Anywho, I got the Black Forest Sandwich—grilled turkey, applewood bacon, Monterrey jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and honey mustard on a Bavarian pretzel roll.

I stopped at Earth Fare after that to look around and ended up getting a Magenta Magic Smoothie

It was great but this alone reminded me that I can make my own smoothies at home and save $4 or $5 a pop. Damn you smoothie cravings!

I went to Ross and got some great deals—two dresses and a Nike Fit Dry shirt (for only $5—holla!!)

I went on a two-mile walk and then did some yoga poses when I got back home. I even ran a bit on my walk and it didn’t hurt too bad and my knee isn’t hurting any more from when I don’t run so I may start incorporate more running into my program again. Well, when it gets cooler at least, I am so not a hot weather runner.

I really had no clue what to make for dinner. I have lunch for the next couple of days courtesy of Carrabba’s but then I remember my beautiful white eggplant I bought the other day

Eggplant Parmesan it was!

I cut the eggplant and dipped in eggwash then in seasoned breadcrumbs and baked for 17 mins at 400 degrees. I flipped half way through and sprinkled with marinara sauce, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese a few minutes before it was finished then placed on noodles. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out since I wasn’t frying it but it was delicious and the texture was similar to meat.

Oh, Lincoln got pretty! I almost forgot about his day of beauty.

Dirty Dog

Clean Dog

I am really confused where this weekend went. I feel like I just got off work on Friday and once again, back to the grind. This needs to change soon.

A Pom Kind Of Day

The friendly people at POM Wonderful contacted me a couple of weeks ago in regards to trying their pomegranate juice. I was so excited because I love all things pomegranate but have only tried the actual juice a couple of times before (I prefer to get my pomegranate from pom flavored beer thank you very much! 🙂 )

A little about POM Wonderful from their site

contain no added sugars, preservatives or colors

are a good source of potassium

are gluten-free

are flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients

are certified kosher

Plus they have different flavors of Pom juice that I never knew about-such as mango, kiwi, blueberry, cherry and nectarine with a myriad of different products like tea, bars, iced coffee (say whaaaaa??!!?!), shots, pills and more.

I got their package on Friday and have been brainstorming what I could make with it. Yes, I could make a cocktail or green monster but I wanted to try cooking with it.

With that, I decided to make Feta, Walnut and Parsley stuffed pork chops with a creamy pomegranate sauce and a side salad with pomegranate balsamic dressing

I finally bit the bullet and bought some xanthan gum. I’ve been wanting to get these to use in my green monsters since they turn out soupy a lot of the time and to use in sauced instead of corn starch. Most recipes only call for one to two tablespoons of cornstarch so this bag is going to last me awhile!

For the stuffing, I threw in 1/3 cup walnuts, 3 tbsp of feta and a few tbsp of parsley in the food processor and pulsed on low for about 10 seconds.

I butterflied two pork chips and stuffed with the filling then secured with toothpicks. I rubbed a little extra virgin olive oil and black pepper on them and then cooked at 350 for 25-30 minutes

For the creamy sauce, I threw  1/4 cup half and half with 3/4 of a POM Wonderful bottle on the stovetop with one tbsp xanthan gum and let cook on a low setting for 10 minutes until thick and bubbly. I know it kinda looks like the River of Slime from Ghostbusters 2 but don’t fear, it was tasty!

Side salad with carrots, tomato, extra stuffing mix, quinoa topped with homemade  pomegranate balsamic vinegar. I liked the dressing a lot and never knew how easy it was to make your own dressing!

 This was such a fabulous, filling meal. It was nice to experiment with the POM Wonderful for a different flavor for my meals and I cannot wait to try it with more stuff—thanks POM Wonderful for sending me and giving me the opportunity to try your juice, I am loving it!

I also found the mythical Chobani Pomegrante Greek Yogurt I’ve been seeing all over the blogs lately. I’ve never seen this flavor in the store before so when I saw it this past week, I practically screamed and started doing my happy dance right in the middle of Harris Teeter!

And I got to use the free Chobani coupons I won over at Nutrition Nut on The Run so free Chobani is always nice. It was terrific! I am a bit skeptical with new flavors ever since trying Chobani’s Pineapple flavor but this did not disappoint. Thus being said, I may just turn into a pomegranate by end of day.

 Fail to plan, plan to fail….yep that’s what I would say about my lunch today

Microwave popcorn-yum! I love the stuff but it is not filling at all. Oh, I didn’t mention I had this at work did I? Yeah. Another so busy week that I went in for five hours today just to catch up on my emails so I could get some peace of mind. I was annoyed by having to go in to do that but I kept repeating to myself “time and a half-pay, time and a half-pay, time and a half-pay” to make it bearable.

Oh and I know how I was singing praises to Jackie Warner and her workout dvd yesterday but today? I curse the day she was born. My everything hurts and each time I step up or sit down today, I whimper a bit. It’s sad. No pain no gain right??

I made a yummy plate of eggs topped with avocado and tabasco for breakfast.

Hey healthy fats!! Just wanted to say that I heart you.

I got a Magic Bullet for my birthday this past December and finally opened the box today to try it out with a green monster with blueberries, almond milk, baby spinach, Spiru-Tein Blueberries & Cream protein powder (half a packet), one Splenda and 1/2 tbsp of xanthan gum

Holy crap-why did I wait so long to use this? I absolutely loved how easy it was to use, quick it was and way more quiet than my blender. And xanthan gum, I just love it. It came out like sludge (which is a good thing!) this was more like an ice cream treat than a smoothie.

Happy August to everyone as well, I completely forgot its first of the month!

Things to work on for this month

*Drink less beer. I was out of control the month of July. Ok, not alcoholic out of control but drinking way more beer than I normally do due to the ridiculously hot weather out.

*Have a more consistent workout schedule each week. With moving and going on vacation twice in July, I didn’t get much workout time in. Again, add the nasty weather and it was a recipe for laziness on my part.

*Cook more at home, eat out less. Now that my kitchen is all squared away and I am somewhat getting used to cooking in a smaller kitchen, I need to get back into the swing of things.

All in all, today was a great day with work, new recipes, etc. Hope everyones August is off to an equally fabulous start!

PS—Check out Eat, Move, Love for a fun giveaway!

PPS-Anyone else have Blogger issues? I keep trying to comment on Blogger blogs and can’t, it’s a tad frustrating!

Thanks to Jackie’s Workout Plan

Happy Saturday? Did you know today was National Dance Day? I totally need to celebrate. And how is July already over with? I really don’t like how fast time goes by when you are older but I remember when I was younger time just seemed to drag on.

My latest addiction has been crackers and Laughing Cow Cheese. I get Garlic and Herb most of the time but took a chance on French Onion this last time and absolutely love it!

I’m not really a cereal person unless it is mixed with greek yogurt or on top of fro yo but for some reason this morning was all about a big, cold bowl of cereal with almond milk. I had Kashi Go Lean Crunch Toasted Berry Crumble with bananas

I have to go into work tomorrow so planned on running of my errands this morning,a breve iced coffee is a must on my weekends. I like to think of it as an indulgence since I usually have mine either fat-free half and half or soy milk during the week.

I tried a new workout DVD this morning–Jackie Warners Workout One on One Training. I am not into workout DVDs as I get bored really easily and just quit in the middle most of the time. I’ve had this sitting around the past few weeks from Netflix and finally decided to give it a try. It has three different 20 minute segments and you can pre-set it on your dvd player to include which ones you want to do. There is one for upper body, lower body and core/abs. I did the upper and lower body segments and I only have two words—-HOLY CRAP! It was an amazing workout and my body is not happy with me right now. Both the upper and lower body workouts were great and worked me out but the lower was my favorite since it had different variations of squats and lunges that I’ve never done before.  And it wasn’t a class setting per se, she would have her crew warm up altogether but then when doing each exercise, have just one person doing it so it was a bit more focused.

I didn’t get the calorie burn or heart rate I was looking for but I really enjoyed the DVD and felt like I got a good workout. Two thumbs up!

I was famished after that and it conveniently was lunch time. I had leftover pork from the other night with cole slaw and tomato wedges.

I picked up some new protein powders this afternoon. I’ve tried Spiru-Tein’s Cookies & Cream before and loved it (it tasted like a milkshake!) but unfortunately, I can’t find it in a tub anywhere. I looked on their website and you can’t even order it off there-wtf? They have a tub of the Blueberries & Cream though so I thought it would be smart to try it out beforehand.

Dinner was home-made veggie pizza using Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. I cooked up some artichokes, eggplant, sweet peppers and onions on the stove top with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and oregano while the oven was pre-heating.

Delicious! I made the crust a little thicker than I normally do and used more sauce (despite not digging alot of sauce) and I really enjoyed this.

I am supposed to go out tonight and meet a friend up for drinks but it will not stop coming down outside. Rain is a justifiable reason not to go outside right?