Random and Happy...

I am so glad that the long weekend is almost here. I guarantee that work is going to be bo-ring tonight. I am bringing a stack of magazines along. E and I are going to grab a late dinner after I am done and tomorrow we have a list of chores to get done around the house. The list will probably carry into Sunday as well. I am also going to whip up a bunch of WW friendly recipes this weekend that I can freeze or keep in the fridge for quick lunches/dinners. On the list are Chicken Marsala, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Kung Pao Shrimp, Fish Tacos, Fajitas and Greek Salad. Obviously I eat a lot of chicken.

I went grocery shopping this morning and got a really strong craving for Macaroni and Cheese and Spaghetti-O's. I bought both. I always get the Kraft Spirals since they are lower in fat and calories. Then I cut back on the butter and milk to make it even less. Yum. I am totally taking the Spaghetti-O's for lunch today. I am also taking a salad.

Also on this weekends agenda is getting some quality BBQ time in. We are also going to be making some margaritas, some Miami Vices, and some mojitos. Can't wait!

I have been listening to a really random bunch of music lately. In my current rotation I have Rage, Audioslave, Lily Allen, Spoon, Beck, Radiohead and Miley Cyrus. See? Strange.

I also went on an online shopping bender this week. Work has been boring which leads to me browsing online which leads to me buying stuff. I got a cute pair of shoes for work from Nine West, a couple of tops and a dress from J Crew, a few sweaters and some tanks from American Eagle and 3 tops from Urban Outfitters (seriously didn't know how cute their stuff is) the best part? Everything was clearance. SCORE! (I will post pics later)

I really need to get my hair cut and colored. I don't want to spend the money though. Maybe I will let the cut go a few more weeks and just do a home color.

Have a good holiday everyone. Sorry I haven't posted very often. That should change soon though since I think I am going to do the NaBloPoMo again in September. They have a 21 day thing that sounds fun. Hopefully I do better than I did in July.

Whip It Up Week 8...

Omelets Sous-vide

I found this recipe at thebittenword. It sounded really interesting and I just had to try it. I took pictures of the recipe, but my pictures looked really bad. Check out thebittenword to see a beautiful picture.

Serves: 2Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
4 strips of bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced (I subbed mushrooms instead)
6 eggs
1/4 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large stove pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a low simmer.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is slightly crisp. Place a paper towel on a plate and use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain. Reserve the grease in the saucepan.
3. Saute any vegetables the peppers and onions in the grease until softened, about 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the pan. Discard the grease.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk in the cream, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the eggs into a sealable, heavy-duty gallon-size plastic bag. Add the bacon and the vegetables and seal the bag.
6. Submerge the bag in the simmering water and cook until the omelet is firm enough to hold its own shape, about 10-12 minutes. Be careful that the bag doesn't touch the sides of the pot and melt. If you need to, remove the bag, add some more water and let it come back to a simmer before re-submerging the bag.
7. Remove from the bag and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Whip It Up Questions

Was the recipe easy to make? It took a lot of time, but it was simple. I cooked up all the ingredients and mixed them up in a ziplock.

Did the dish taste good? It was a little heavy on the ingredients but it was ok.

Would you make it again? Honestly? Probably not. I am not a huge egg fan and I think that the picture made it look so tasty that I wanted to try it.

State Fair Part 2...

I forgot to mention yesterday that I did not eat those fried peppers or that bacon. I had a bite of the batter that was on the peppers and that was it. I also didn't eat the hot dogs and only ate half of those cheese curds.

I was also pretty upset that I didn't get to see Dierks Bentley or Miranda Lambert perform at the Grandstand as well. I was kind of mopey toward the end of the day there since E refused to go to the concert, we happened to be walking past the Grandstand and lo and behold, Dierks was doing a sound check. I got to hear him sing Lot of Leaving Left to Do. It was awesome.

State Fair...

E and I spent the afternoon at the State Fair. We wandered around, ate way too much food got a lovely sunburn, saw the world's largest pig (he weighed like 1260 lbs or something crazy) saw some sheep get sheared, saw lots of rednecks and had an all around blast. H*dizz requested that I take some pictures because she is on some exotic vacation and would have to miss the Great Minnesota Get Together. Here they are. (Most of them are of food) I was going to post them as the day progressed, but I didn't do a great job getting the pictures uploaded, so there is no specific order.


Deep Fried Pepperoncinis

Pickle Dog (dill pickle slathered in cream cheese and then wrapped in Pastrami)

Sign at the foot long bacon stand. Too funny.

Foot long bacon coated in maple syrup and then fried, on a stick.

Gyro from Dinos.

My favorite food at the Fair. I managed to stop at one this year though.

A Minnesota favorite. Peter's Wieners (now called Peter's hot dogs since wiener is too dirty I guess)

Jumbo pickle on a stick. (We were going to get deep fried pickle chips but went the healthier route)

Cheese curds.

A view of the Fair from the Space Tower.

View of downtown Minneapolis from the Space Tower.

More of the Fair.

More Fair.

More of the city/Fair.

We also had Buffalo Shrimp, some Black Currant iced tea, and a Frappe. There may have been additional food items as well, but I can't remember. I do know that we put a pretty big dent in E's wallet.

I Wanted, I Got...

I have been loving these boots for weeks and I couldn't decide if I wanted to buy them or not. Well, I WANTED to buy them, I should say I was trying to decide if I should. I finally made up my mind last night. I figured that they aren't very flashy so I can wear them for multiple years without them going out of style. They also have a low heel so they will be nice for fall and winter. Besides, like a male co-worker of mine said last night. When has a woman ever passed buying a pair of shoes?

I know I have been pretty absent on the blogging scene lately, but I have been pretty absent everywhere except work. I do have some good stories that I will share soon. Promise!

Whip It Up Week 7...

This past weekend we had friends over to grill (just like every other weekend) I decided instead of the same old side dishes I would whip up a cucumber salad that my mom used to make in the summertime. I didn't make my mom's exact recipe because she always uses cream in hers and I was attempting to lighten it up a bit. I search Epicurious and found a recipe that sounded perfect.

Sweet and Sour Cucumbers with Fresh Dill

Ingredients

2 English cucumbers unpeeled, very thinly sliced
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place cucumber slices in a colander. Sprinkle with salt; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For dressing, stir vinegar, sugar, dill and pepper in large bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Drain cucumbers well; pat dry. Add to dressing and stir to blend. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours; serve cold.

Note (I could not find fresh dill anywhere so I didn't use it in the recipe. It still turned out really well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The salad was gone before I could snap my picture.)

Whip It Up Questions

Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes it was. There weren't a lot of ingredients and the preparation was simple.

Did the dish taste good. It did. It was light, fresh and reminded me of fresh pickles. I actually used some to top my burger.

Would you make it again. Absolutely. It reminds me of summertime when I was little, and it was delicious.

Cars Suck...

My VW was making lots of strange noises lately so Saturday E and I took it in to get it looked at. Since we weren't sure how long it would take and since the service station we took it to was quite a ways from our house we also rented a car.

The rental car was a Chevy Cobalt sedan and let me tell you, (sorry to anyone that may own one) this car was the biggest piece of crap ever. They actually asked me when I returned it how I liked it and when I told them I didn't the guy said that almost everyone says that when he asks.

My car had a major problem with the air compressor for the air conditioner. A major problem that cost me $1100.00 to repair. Thank God for credit cards.

I now have my car back which makes me really happy. Driving that Cobalt this weekend made me realize just how much fun driving a stick shift actually is. I actually missed it.

I gave E a ride to work since he helped me return the rental this morning. He drove to work, I got in to drive away and started freaking out because I couldn't get the car to start. I went inside to tell him that I couldn't get the car to start, he got in, turned the key and voila. Halfway home I realized it was because I had my foot on the brake and I wasn't engaging the clutch. Oops. I felt so stupid.

In other random news, someone in our neighborhood is raising chickens. E said that when he opened the garage door this morning two large chickens ran into the garage. He said he had to chase them out into the alley before he could leave. He was telling me this story while we were at Enterprise. I have never felt so redneck.

I hope that this week goes by fast. I have a short week next week and I am really looking forward to next Monday. E and I are heading to the Fair. Should be some fun times.

TJ/Dobby...

When TJ gets scared or he thinks he is in trouble he puts his ears back and it reminds me of this

I have tried to take a picture of him a bunch of times with his ears back like this, but I am never able to catch it. When he sees the camera he stops doing it. Boo.

Happy Friday...

Whip It Up Week Six...

I really love the quesadilla explosion salad from Chili's, but since I am trying to lose weight eating a salad like that isn't really the best choice. I decided to try and recreate the salad at home using lighter ingredients.

Quesadilla Salad

1 bag of salad mix (I used a blend of lettuce, cabbage, carrots and radishes)

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp light ranch dressing

2 tbsp salsa

1 tsp taco seasoning

1/3 cup tortilla strips (found in the produce section near the salad mix)

2 low cal tortillas

1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend (1/4 for the quesadilla, the other for the salad)

2 tbsp light Sour Cream

Mix the salad mix, tomatoes, tortilla strips and cheese in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine ranch dressing, salsa and taco seasoning.

Set aside.

Spread cheese over 1 tortilla, cover with 2nd tortilla. Microwave for 40-60 seconds. Cut into 8 pieces.

Combine salad and dressing. Top with Quesadilla and sour cream. Enjoy.

I know the instructions are pretty poorly written, but I am not a recipe writer. (Hopefully they make sense, if not, Sorry!)

Whip It Up Questions:

1. Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes, but it was my own recipe. Hopefully it is easy for everyone else to follow.

2. Did the dish taste good? Yes. Not as good as the Chili's recipe, but close enough to satisfy the craving.

3. Would you make it again? Probably.

Just Call Me The Bat Whisperer...

Earlier this week I had a dream that there was a bat in our house. I could not shake the dream either. Have you ever had that happen? Even though you wake up when you go back to sleep you fall right back into that same dream? That is how this dream was. I could not stop thinking about the freaking bat. In case you all don't know, I am very afraid of bats. I start to shake, I start to have trouble breathing and have an all out panic attack.

Anyway, tonight E and I were in our family room watching TV and I could hear something scratching around in the attic (which is off the family room.) I knew right away what it was. I begged E to open the attic door and see if he could locate the freaking thing and the a-hole wouldn't do it. I went downstairs, put on my rain jacket, pulled up the hood and tied it tight, grabbed the broom and headed back upstairs. I opened the door, looked around and couldn't see anything. E decided that he was going to help then so he got the flashlight and actually went into the room to look around. He spotted the bat dangling from the rafters. We prepped a shoebox and E went in and trapped the freaky little thing in the box. I stood back holding the flashlight. I also operated all of the doors to the house while E carried the box with the squealing bat in it.

Now before anyone laughs at me for not really doing anything, let me tell you that the last time I was home and there was a bat in the house I screamed louder than I ever had before, ran outside and hid while having an all out asthma attack. I would like to think that actually helping is a major improvement. Yes I looked like a weirdo wearing a rain jacket indoors, but I felt safer knowing the thing couldn't swoop at me and LAND on me like the last one did. Yes, I still had the panic attack, but I didn't let it get the best of me.

How weird is it that I dreamed about it before hand? Hopefully it wasn't because the thing was circling me while I slept. Creepy.

I also have to say that E was kind of an a-hole at the start of the whole event, but by the end he became my hero. I now have to buy him dinner tomorrow night. Fine by me.

Milestone...

As I have mentioned multiple times before I joined Weight Watchers a little over a month ago.
I have lost 9 lbs so far, which isn't a huge weight loss by any means but it is progress and it is better than nothing. I have started to notice that my jeans and my work pants are starting to look a little saggy and some actually look quite bad because they are so huge. I don't want to buy new pants though so I am just going to wear baggy pants for the time being. Anyway, I have a few pairs of pants around that were too small so they were put away so I wouldn't have to be reminded they didn't fit. I decided today to bust them out to see if they fit and they did. Perfectly. Not too tight, not to loose, just perfect. So for the time being I will be happy with my 9 pound loss and keep working hard at it. Weight Watchers did lower my points last week so now I am down to 1300 calories a day. Surprisingly I don't feel hungry. Fast food that I used to love tastes like crap and I am actually craving salads, fruit and other healthy food. I am excited all over again.

Experian Sucks...

All of you that read my blog on a regular basis know that I give props to companies that I love and companies that treat me well. Examples are C and B (not using their full name or the stalkers will come back) and Home Depot. I am so unhappy with this company that I need to do a little bashing. Last night I was shopping online for cars and since I am getting further into the process I wanted to know what my credit score was. For some reason it is getting harder and harder to get an actual score. Instead you get a Vantage score or a PLUS score and a bunch of other BS. Anyway, I went to Experian's website, filled out the info required, put in a credit card number to see my score and all of a sudden I realized that I was no longer on Experian's site, I was at freecreditreport.com. The stupid site tricked me into enrolling in Triple Advantage. Sure, I got 7 free days to use the service, but if I hadn't been paying attention I would have closed the browser when I was done and went on my way all the while they would be charging my credit card over and over again. I talked to them today to cancel the service and service rep promised me it was cancelled even though she couldn't send me a letter or email verifying that fact. I told her that if I was charged anything for that service that I would be calling back to file a claim and I would be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. (I am seriously turning into my dad) I am guessing that I am not the only customer upset by their bait and switch tactics since the first option on their automated menu is to cancel their service. What a joke. Oh well, at least I got my score and it is better than I thought. Sweet.

Should Have Stayed In Bed...

Yesterday was one of the worst days ever.

I had to work and was supposed to be at work by 8 am. I woke up around 9:15. I am not really sure what happened. I may have been in a really deep sleep and E got up, turned the alarm off and went back to sleep, or the alarm may not have gone off at all. I got up, got dressed as fast as I could and hauled ass out the door. I forgot to grab something for lunch, I didn't look the best and I was in just a crappy mood.

I got to work, checked some messages etc and all of a sudden my stomach started to cramp. Awesome. Seriously, after 16 years one would think that I would be able to figure out when my period was going to show up. I of course was not prepared and my being late for work I forgot to swap my Coach swingpack that I used when we went to the zoo for my work purse so of course I had nothing with me. I also didn't have any change. I finally found a dollar, changed it in a vending machine and got one of the cheapie tampons from the bathroom vending machine. Gross.

Since I forgot my lunch I ended up eating one of those Maruchan Instant Lunch soups. Also gross.

When I got home E and I decided to grill so I went to the store, got some chicken wings, wing sauce, corn on the cob and some other junk. I wanted Mojitos but didn't want to mix them up so I got some Bacardi Silver Mojitos. Our friend A came over, we ordered the UFC fight and I proceeded to watch all of the fighters I picked to win lose. Every. Single. One. Crappy Crap Crap Crap. I now owe E dinner.

Today E and I slept in, made breakfast burritos, watched some TV, sat outside in the sun, and then cooked up some chicken, and made a yummy Caesar salad.

Friday...

E and I went to the zoo this afternoon. A bunch of the stuff we wanted to see was closed though. We did get to see the new Russian exhibit which was cool. The place was packed to the brim with kids though. Don't get me wrong, kids are great, but in situations like this I find them highly annoying. They run loose everywhere and don't pay attention to where they are going. I got my feet stepped on more times than I can count, I had them cutting in front of me while I was attempting to see an animal or read something about them, some little twerp dumped food on me and I quickly wanted to leave. The worst part a lot of the adults were just as bad. While looking at the leopard exhibit this one girl who had to be about 14 or 15 kept calling it a cheetah. I can see where one might come to that conclusion considering that they are both large cats with spots, but we were in an exhibit of animals from Russia. Why the eff would there be cheetahs in Russia? Also, why didn't she read the giant effing sign right next to her that said leopards?

After the zoo we went out for sushi. The waitress was the same one that we had last time. She spent more time talking to her co-workers and on the phone than she did paying attention to us. She didn't bring us some of the stuff we ordered and then charged us for it. E pointed it out to her and she ended up comping two of the things we ordered, which was pretty cool.

Tonight we are more than likely going to do some grocery shopping, make a run to Petco and then watch a movie. I am not really interested in going to see one at the theatre though so we will more than likely just watch one at home. I have had enough of crowds today.

I am really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. I do have a stack of magazines that I stockpiled this week for the occasion. The best part about working tomorrow is no one that sits close to me is working so I can slack off a bit if I want. I also won't have to talk to anyone if I don't want to.

One More Day...

The other night I got to witness this.

Yes, that is a disgusting Cicada hatching from its shell. It was fascinating and disgusting at the same time. The picture isn't actually one I took, I found it online, but I think it demonstrates my point quite well.

At this very moment there is an unmarked squad car sitting in front of my house. Not really sure why the dude is there, but he is still wearing a police uniform so he isn't very undercover.

New Updates...

I have a few updates to post about so I am going to use everyone's favorite BULLETS!

• I have been so blah and out of it lately. Work sucks, what else is new though right?
• I got a new computer at work though which is pretty sweet.
• I successfully avoided temptation this week. Some co-workers got Taco Bell and I was oh so tempted to order Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito. I checked the calories before hand though and realized that it was not worth it.
• E and I are going to have a date day/night on Friday. We have plans to go to the MN Zoo, to Sushi Tango and then to see Step Brothers. It should be a fun day.
• I have to work on Saturday which kinda sucks.
• I have been slacking on house cleaning, cooking, etc.
• I have been eating a ton of turkey sandwiches and salads. Fresh, summery tasting food. YUM!
• I need to get some new friends.
• I am really excited for the UFC fight on Saturday night. E and I came really close to getting tickets to go see it live since it is in Minneapolis, but we decided to order it on Pay-Per-View and grill wings and stuff instead. It should be fun times.
• My previous weekend plans fell through all around except my grilling plans and my Vinho Verde. That stuff is pretty delicious : )
• I downloaded some new music so hopefully it should be enough to entertain me for awhile.
• I finished another book. The Washingtonienne. It was ok.
• I am SOOOOOOO happy that Brett Farve got traded to the Jets and not to the Vikings.
• I obviously don't have anything to exciting to post about.

Whip It Up Week 5...

Homemade BBQ Sauce and BBQ Pork Loin

Homemade BBQ Sauce

2 tbsp butter
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard powder

Melt butter. Saute onion until soft. Add remaining 9 ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes. Makes about 2 cups of BBQ sauce.

BBQ Pork Loin

2 medium sized pork loins thawed. Marinate pork in BBQ sauce for 3-24 hours. (I did about 5 hours and it was fine) Grill for 30-45 minutes until cooked through. Baste with additional sauce while grilling (if you like)

Whip It Up Questions

1. Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes. Simple.

2. Did the dish taste good? It was good, I would have liked a little more spice to the sauce. Next time I might add some jalapenos or something.

3. Would you make it again? I would make the pork again, but not sure about the sauce.

*Recipe for BBQ sauce courtesy of cooks.com

** Sorry I don't have pictures again this week. We made this on Saturday night and I had a little too much wine and forgot.

Faves and One Major Annoyance...

I recently discovered this website. It is amazing. I really want that leather jacket the girl is wearing on the main page. Oh, and the scarf. How cute are they? I also really want the Foldover clutch. I did end up purchasing the slinky shirred cami, the tie-front soiree shirt, and the Osa flower print tank and the stripe U-neck cardigan from the sale items. I seriously considered getting the shawl collar sweater from the sale too. I might end up making a second purchase soon. I guess they are a fairly new store owned by American Eagle Outfitters. Evidently there is a store at the Mall of America. I will definitely be checking that when AP and I make our trip there. : )

I am also loving Yoplait Light's new flavor. It is strawberry shortcake and it really tastes like strawberry shortcake.

I lost another 2 lbs for a total of 9. I am super pumped!!! Hopefully I can keep it up. I am a little surprised since I didn't eat the best on Saturday and I drank quite a bit on Saturday as well.

E and I decided not to go to Spoonriver tomorrow and we are more than likely not going to go to the farmer's market either. We are going to make breakfast burritos at home. I will still be going to get my Vinho Verde and gin at some point though : )

I am majorly annoyed with my co-worker right now. This is the conspiracy theory guy I mentioned earlier. Now on top of his super weird theories he keeps lecturing me on the new mortgage bill that was passed, he sent me a video of Ron Paul talking about the mortgage bill and keeps telling how bad of an idea it is. I really don't care what he thinks. At. all. He has also become some religious fanatic. He and his wife decided to stop celebrating Christmas because evidently it started as a Pagan holiday and the Bible actually tells "us" that it is idol worship. His wife told him that her family would have a hard time accepting that so she was going to still give them gifts. I guess he flipped out on her and told her she couldn't. They aren't even going to use the word Christmas because it is disgraceful. What a freaking weirdo. Anyway, it seems he decided not to work anymore either. He comes to work, talks about sports, politics, religion, his conspiracy theories and what not but does very little work. I am ready to just flip out on him. Today he and one of his friends sat at his desk for TWO FREAKING HOURS and had a Bible study. On company time. I almost sent an e-mail to my boss to complain. I am not anti-religion, but work is not the place to discuss it. It is also not appropriate in anyway to preach to people or have a Bible study where others have to listen.

Also, the co-worker I mentioned the other day was back at work, so it looks like he didn't quit. Shucks. My life would be so much easier if the two of them quit. It would make my year. I am so sick of hearing them complain about work and how much their jobs suck all the time. If they quit, hell, if one of them quit I wouldn't complain about anything for a year.

I really love someecards. They seem to have the perfect card for every situation. I would love to send the one above to my two beautiful co-workers.