lemon water

This is how I have been drinking more water lately. So far it's been working and I have started to get other people in the office to inquire about it. Maybe I'll start a trend?

pick me up- a sweet salty morning

I was lacking motivation this morning. WAY LACKING! I was blaming it on two things. 1. the lack of sleep last night and 2. that trickster of a dog Briggs totally had his paw on the scale when I weighed myself this morning. What the heck? I've been going to damn gym and everything. (invokes mantra...its just a number...its just a number).

Sitting at my desk at about 9:30 I was feeling down and out. I was down even for a Monday. I turned to the folder in my google reader appropriately named "good reads". This post from SweetSalty made me LOL- which was very much appreciated on a blah morning such as this.

Post highlights included this line"How do vegetarian strippers get through life without going batshit crazy?" and a commenter who used the term "Birkenstockist".

It gets better though. How? Well, because SweetSalty made my morning and then sweet & salty made my afternoon.


I picked up a little packet of these caramels yesterday and holy crap these are good. Wow! I have not been so impressed with a piece of caramel ever in my whole life. Not that I am some kind of caramel expert, but these are delicious, sweet, soft, with a touch of salt, basically wonderful and made in Montana. Montana? Yes. You can live off the grid, ride a horse, and apparently eat amazing caramel.

not so whorey

before the big wedding this weekend, the bride to be and i went to get our nails done. we decided to experiment with the "french manicure". why? i have no idea. we were totally called out later that night by a gay antique dealer who likened us to girls from north jersey. nene thought it looked whorey from the beginning. i guess i dropped the ball by not having her get them repainted at the nail salon (d'oh). she was getting married so she changed her polish to something more subtle. not me. i totally owned it.

look at me here...totally owning my whorey nails and eating a chocolate cupcake:













i don't know. i didn't think it was that bad, and i enjoyed the cupcake. of course i did change the polish when i got home because i don't need the work ladies talkin' smack.

totally worth it

so yesterday i let you all in on a secret about how sometimes i eat things that are not only bad for you but are gross, too. so today i will lift everyone's spirits a bit by sharing something that is totally worth eating.....

these minneolas.... i assume these are pretty much the last of the citrus fruit for the year but they were delicious, sweet and juicy. it was like eating candy... candy that is actually real food with real vitamins and nutrients.

i gave one to my co-worker who was lamenting over the fact that there was so little fruit to chose from right now in the store. i believe i made her day with this little orange gem. she said it was the best little orange she had all year. so i think she can happily move into spring now.

100 calories but not worth it

i was fooled. duped if you will. for some reason i let a coworker confuse me into thinking that a 100 pack of hostess cupcakes would be good. i must have been having a weak moment and i know i have no one but myself to blame here, but i don't even like regular calorie hostess cupcakes. why would i think they would be better tasting with LESS FAT?

anyway while at target the other day i had a very weak moment and a serious chocolate craving and when i walked by these right before the checkout i purchased a box. then i tried to eat them. i realized immediately that they are gross, but i ate several of them anyway. so i suppose i am gross too. ah diss.

well, now i will be sure to remember not to take the advice of this coworker concerning food fashion or anything else.

"it's cookie time"...those little boxes have delivered

they deliver them every year- those wacky girl scouts and their moms. every year when the boxes show up i smile with delight when i see my green box of thin mints. i always open the box with the best intentions thinking "take two cookies, that is all you need" and i am fine with that. ok, i am fine with that...until i bite into the first one and then immediately devour the 2nd one and dive back into the box thinking "two more will do it" and then " just 3 more". basically i come up for air when the first sleeve is gone. yup, my love of mint-chocolate extends far beyond york peppermint patties and it is heavily entrenched in the girl scout cookie market.

i basically love these things and i obviously loose all power and self control when they come into my life. i shouldn't even order them, but i do every year. its good that they aren't really available year round because then instead of being just bit over my ideal weight i would be in serious trouble if i could get these any old day. well maybe thats not true. maybe if i could them when ever i wanted i wouldn't have to binge so carelessly every march.

whatever. i just admitted to eating half a box of cookies in one sitting. i should probably stop writing and go for a run. except that i generally only run away from danger and this ankle isn't really back in shape yet. maybe i'll just watch tv instead. where is that other sleeve of cookies?

tonight we bake - tomorrow we frost

so i am told that valentine's day was created as an excuse for people to buy greeting cards, but now i'm pretty sure that the valentine's day has been taken over by the chocolate industry. is there any other holiday so devoted to chocolate? i mean halloween is devoted to candy in general, and for the most part crap candy that comes in bite-sized pieces. but valentine's day seems to be a THE day for chocolate lovers. so in honor of that feeling i am baking some cupcakes for a dessert pot-luck at work. here's how it went....

i prepared by practicing some poses for my myspace page. ok not really- but sort of. my aim was to show you my awesome apron made by my sister.















the dry ingredients were assembled.













i try to always make vegan baked goods as it lets me practice substituting things like banana for eggs.










combine wet and dry in a large bowl thus creating a chocolate masterpiece that you consider swiping and pretending that it was actually meant to be eaten as chocolate soup.










this is my assistant, tuckertino. he keeps the floors clean.
















almost final product. and these stand alone foil wrappers seems to do an excellent job.






did i mention that tomorrow involves frosting.....chocolate frosting.

resolution

ok so i might have a problem. but i doubt it. i can stop any time i want....i swear.

basically these are my favorite candy. i love eating them. i mean i've never been able to understand that commercial where you could hear the sound they make but whatever. thing is that lately i have been buying them too many days a week during lunch time. this should really stop. there is no need to consume this much sugar. so yesterday i decided that this was it. no more peppermint patty buying at lunch. i would go cold turkey and give them up until after christmas.

and wouldn't you know.... today i went out for lunch and when i returned someone had placed a peppermint patty on my desk! a secret gift if you will! i figured it would be bad luck no to eat it so i did...so um starting tomorrow....no mor peppermint pattys until after christmas.

fall fun day

sometimes you just need some good old fashioned new england fall fun. sam was clamoring for some sweet autumn memories so we made some today at her request.


it began with breakfast. we had baked apple -crnaberry french toast with the fam....

off to idylwilde farm because some wanted a pumkin. we found some....
smaller but not small enough for a dorm room.....
these suited her fancy.....

we also picked up a couple cookies and headed to the trader to stock up on dorm snacks. this was the big "guess what it weighs attraction" in the doorway. any know how they do this?
good times were had by all. i love the fall.

directions

have you ever been asked to give driving directions to a place you know really well, but when put on the spot you kind of forget how to get there? it happens to me. someone stops me on the street, asks me how to get to the Baptist church down the road and I stare at them blankly wishing I could remember. eventually I recall how to do it, but I'm sure my hesitation makes the lost driver wary of my directions.

so I hit up the trader today at lunch in anticipation of our camping trip this weekend. I wheeled my cart through picking up essentials like cliff bars, peppered cashews, and goats do roam. I reached the checkout and the cashier, who is guy in his 50's says, "hi, how are you today?" i I responded with a courteous "good, how are you?". he says, "spiritually I'm in a good place but..."

he then went on to tell me that he was up all night working on his studio and had to drive to worcester to see his daughter's soccer game, and did I know worcester college was? after we determined that he meant Worcester State College- he asked me for directions. so here begins me giving the blank look just short of drooling as I wrack my brain trying to remember how to get to my alma mater. how embarrassing. suddenly I devised route for him and started rattling off directions. his high spiritual state must have given him the courage to trust me because before I knew it I was holding up the line as I wrote the directions for him on a piece of paper. we then went over land marks, the school buildings, ect.

then he bagged my groceries, taking care to protect the wine and the avocados, thanked me and I left. he seemed like a nice guy and a good dad. when I got in my car I was suddenly hit with a new feeling...the worried feeling that he might misunderstand my directions. that he might take a wrong turn. that he might not make it to chandler street. I swallowed my fears, reassured myself that I did know how to get to my school and gave him the proper directions. I decided he would just have to navigate the big city of worcester like a big boy. and now it's hours later and I am wondering if he is driving aimlessly around worcester looking for the college on the edge of town.

does this happen to anyone else?

a month in review

after a little slacking on my part I thought I would give a little month in review...there have been changes- some big, some small- there have been ups and downs, and there have been days that I did not have the camera...let's take a look.....

I no longer drive a WV...I love the new car, but there are things that the subaru just doesn't have...like that roll up the windows from the outside feature....but hey minor, right?

some days i go out to my car at lunch and snap a picture of what's going on .... last week I was it! no seriously the parking lot was mysteriously quiet...I was the only one out there.

it's fall now- you can get a pumpkin (or a watermelon?) to get in the spirit. also, learned, as I drove by this farm stand, that middle-aged Moms should not wear short-shorts with writing on the butt to pick out pumpkins (you can thank me for sparing you the picture) it's just looks wrong.

this is what I picked out for my birthday...my mom offered to buy me something "pretty", but I picked out this cast iron pot...am I nuts? no way!

no more VW....no more stick shift...weird. actually most of the time I am VERY ok with this- but sometimes I still grab the shifter and push the imaginary clutch. (most of the time it's accidental)this would be the reason I am VERY ok with not driving stick anymore. my drive to work one morning took over an hour...that's over an hour to travel 10 miles. fortunately I was able to send myself some text messages.....
I lost my sunglasses for two days.....found 'em... I won't tell you where....

sometimes at lunch I don't just go out an take a random picture. no, sometimes I go to starbucks...for a iced soy latte, or an iced tea, or to visit my cousin because now she works at the one near my office. (no hook up though-damn)

as for the parts that I didn't have the camera...the only one I really regret is missing the snap shot of Ann wearing this really sweet victorian era hat while in a vintage textile shop sturbridge this weekend....and I also saw an animal medium which was a bit wild but not great for photographs.

yes I should get back to every day blog posts- I keep reading that the best way to make something a habit and to get through any creativity blocks is to do it every day- no matter what.

happiness

who wouldn't be excited about a car ride and a popcorn machine?

last weekend's family fun included watching a movie set up outdoors sort of drive in style. it was my job to make sure everyone had popcorn for the movie. I borrowed the popcorn machine from work and was able to make about 15 cups with butter and salt. I have no pictures of it working its magic because I was so busy popping and pouring butter all over everything but here are the dogs helping me bring it over to Ann's house before the party began. they were psyched to help. they were more psyched the next day when they got to eat the leftovers in the yard!

low point, high snack

I can't lie- I hit a very low point today while at work. I was so frustrated, so annoyed , so crazed that I had to answer yet another DUMB question that I almost cried. It was bad because they were not tears of anger peaking over my eyelids...they were tears asking me to abandon ship. I felt like giving up. I wanted desperately for about 30 long seconds to throw in the towel, rip my insurance license to shreds, cross the CIC off my business card and put my email on "out of office"- permanently. Of course I pulled it together, took a deep breath and got up from my chair. I drank some water and answered the poor fool who didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. I ate my lunch soon after and then I left the office without a destination in mind. My little car must have felt my disgruntled mind and steered me toward the coffee shop- for a nice, cold refreshing iced soy latte. it was good. it lifted my spirits and seems to have pumped me with enough caffeine to have made dinner, walk the dog, do a yoga work out, wash the floor and change the sheets on the bed. thank goodness for ability to get out at lunch and refresh with a simple cold beverage.

see Ann drive

this is Ann. see Ann drive. where does she drive? anywhere there are donuts. even McDonalds.



"yes, McDonalds has donuts!", Ann says as she drives.

Ann will drive many places to sample donuts. this is good when you want to eat a donut. Ann will always go with you. she may even drive. she will probably buy you one of your choosing. this is bad when you don't want to eat donuts, as you would rather shed a few pounds, but she brings one to you...and you eat it... even though it is lime green and has no chocolate.

Ann drives other places as well (like to get ice cream) but I will save that post for another day.

organized ride

insider secret #1....I tend to start organized and end up a mess while on long rides. I have been trying to squelch this nasty habit as I entertain the idea of becoming a professional organizer. my research indicates that I am not alone in my car trip disorganization. with such limited and awkward space coupled with frequent stops, eating in the car and the need to get to everything at some point or another...well it can get out of control quickly.

However, I think I did fairly well on the camping trip a few weeks ago. we unpacked with ease in a matter of an hour or so, so I must have done an ok job. household items were easily placed from their home in the car to their home in the house. dishes were washed and the bins were stored neatly in the garage. the bins were still in good shape and I even thought to have a separate bag to keep dirty laundry. of course I am guessing that this still looks like true chaos:
















packing for camp tips:
1. make a list of everything you need- think big (tent) and small (can opener)
2. make a kitchen bin. keep everything you need for your camp kitchen in this bin. It makes it so much easier to find knives, pots, plasticware, matches, ect when they are all in the same place.
3. check the weather
4. have each camper pack their own clothes. be careful not to over pack but make sure to bring extra footwear.
5. make use of extra space (those sleeping bag duffles also hold the pillow and a sheet)
6. assemble everything from your list in the driveway or the yard before you pack the car.
7. play tetris like a pro and pack the car so you have easy access to the things you may need along the way (cooler)
8. keep it neat while you are there- put things away in their home in the car- don't get lazy it will only bite you in the end.

insider secret #2: yes that is a .99 package of Famous Amos cookies in my messy purse. I have been known to buy them at highway rest areas and eat the whole bag with out sharing. yes I know they are made with the evil hydrogenated oils and yes I know that Amos doesn't make them anymore. I don't care.