and this is what i look like now...
nice right?
5.18.2011
cut it all off, again
so this is what i used to look like...
and this is what i look like now...
nice right?
and this is what i look like now...
nice right?
5.16.2011
good night moon
it's amazing how tired i've been this last week. normally when i get home from class i am amped for hours. sometimes staying awake until sunrise, the next day. but this class, plus work, i'm dead by 10pm at the latest. sad but good. god knows this is how it will feel to have a real job and work 40 hours a week. certainly an adjustment. i'm okay with it for now. primarily because it means i have more refreshing sleep, and i wake up reliably on time. i certainly have no energy to do anything else though. i'm looking lovingly at my bed now. oh the sweetness!
good night!
good night!
5.15.2011
under construction
well, it looks like my meal planning for this week will turn out to be quite great. most of it is based on cold foods, which may not suit the weather; but it will suit my schedule. no cooking involved!
truthfully there was some cooking involved, but it has already been completed. yesterday, after making two distinct trips to the grocery store, i assembled my newly adapted chipotle chicken salad recipe. it's hard to imagine slaving over something and then not getting to eat it when it's done, but that's the basic for cooking anything that will be served cold. you have to wait for it to reach maximum coolness.
the recipe turned out well, but it is missing something. i think i will definitely need to add that adobo sauce next time. and maybe some tomato paste to convert the flavor from mayo to chipotle! hahaha otherwise it's good. started with shredded chicken that was boiled in vegetable broth. i use plain old tap water and a tablespoon of vegetable bouillon from a jar. (it's less salty than the cubed stuff.) chopped onion (i used a yellow one, but i think red might be better. wf onion selection was depressing!), chopped bell pepper (for color and crunchiness), and a cup of corn kernels (frozen, thawed, and patted dry) complete the veggie selection. the "sauce" is equals parts sour cream and mayo, with a tablespoon of cajun seasoning thrown in. all of this came out quite nice. i served some for lunch today on a bed of salad greens. but the flavor needs to be more chipotle then cajun. i think the spice mix is good to get overall flavor but it needs some punchiness!
another good trick that turned out better was the "easy" pasta salad. it's pretty much open containers, mix them together, and you've got pasta salad! i boiled two and a quarter cups of pasta, according to the directions. (i went for small shells here, but longer pastas would work better.) stop the cooking right before it's truly al dente, so a couple of minutes shorter than the recommended cooking time. drain and then place in a cold water bath. drain again. this will keep the pasta al dente, even when the pasta absorbs the dressing. for the dressing on this pasta salad, i used a trick i stole from the internet. i bought a jar of quartered and marinated artichoke hearts. now i'm not a super fan of these things, but the trick called for a whole jar of them INCLUDING the marinade. brilliant right? they are often marinaded in olive oil plus awesome seasonings, why not take advantage of that! plus it isn't over-flavored like most salad dressings, and you don't have to make it yourself! oh but make sure you get the olive oil ones, apparently they are jarring these things in water now, and you don't want that. so in a bowl went the pasta, the marinade, and the artichoke hearts (some of which i had to cut down a little more). i also added a small can of sliced black olives (drained), cherry tomatoes (cut in half lengthwise), one zucchini (cut into 1/8 inch slices then quartered), and six thick slices of salami (you can use any dried sausage. i cut it into small bits). i tossed all of that with a decent helping of black pepper and a generous helping of grated parmesan. oh my was this delicious!!!! i had it at dinner tonight. mmhmm good!
other dinner offerings this week will be: bagels with homemade scallion cream cheese, fried pork cutlets (went excellently with the pasta salad tonight), a helping of some chicken tikka masala that i have in the freezer, and that chipotle chicken salad. not bad right? all of which (besides the masala) can be eaten on-the-go, namely at school. go me! i'll need to write this shit down for later.
truthfully there was some cooking involved, but it has already been completed. yesterday, after making two distinct trips to the grocery store, i assembled my newly adapted chipotle chicken salad recipe. it's hard to imagine slaving over something and then not getting to eat it when it's done, but that's the basic for cooking anything that will be served cold. you have to wait for it to reach maximum coolness.
the recipe turned out well, but it is missing something. i think i will definitely need to add that adobo sauce next time. and maybe some tomato paste to convert the flavor from mayo to chipotle! hahaha otherwise it's good. started with shredded chicken that was boiled in vegetable broth. i use plain old tap water and a tablespoon of vegetable bouillon from a jar. (it's less salty than the cubed stuff.) chopped onion (i used a yellow one, but i think red might be better. wf onion selection was depressing!), chopped bell pepper (for color and crunchiness), and a cup of corn kernels (frozen, thawed, and patted dry) complete the veggie selection. the "sauce" is equals parts sour cream and mayo, with a tablespoon of cajun seasoning thrown in. all of this came out quite nice. i served some for lunch today on a bed of salad greens. but the flavor needs to be more chipotle then cajun. i think the spice mix is good to get overall flavor but it needs some punchiness!
another good trick that turned out better was the "easy" pasta salad. it's pretty much open containers, mix them together, and you've got pasta salad! i boiled two and a quarter cups of pasta, according to the directions. (i went for small shells here, but longer pastas would work better.) stop the cooking right before it's truly al dente, so a couple of minutes shorter than the recommended cooking time. drain and then place in a cold water bath. drain again. this will keep the pasta al dente, even when the pasta absorbs the dressing. for the dressing on this pasta salad, i used a trick i stole from the internet. i bought a jar of quartered and marinated artichoke hearts. now i'm not a super fan of these things, but the trick called for a whole jar of them INCLUDING the marinade. brilliant right? they are often marinaded in olive oil plus awesome seasonings, why not take advantage of that! plus it isn't over-flavored like most salad dressings, and you don't have to make it yourself! oh but make sure you get the olive oil ones, apparently they are jarring these things in water now, and you don't want that. so in a bowl went the pasta, the marinade, and the artichoke hearts (some of which i had to cut down a little more). i also added a small can of sliced black olives (drained), cherry tomatoes (cut in half lengthwise), one zucchini (cut into 1/8 inch slices then quartered), and six thick slices of salami (you can use any dried sausage. i cut it into small bits). i tossed all of that with a decent helping of black pepper and a generous helping of grated parmesan. oh my was this delicious!!!! i had it at dinner tonight. mmhmm good!
other dinner offerings this week will be: bagels with homemade scallion cream cheese, fried pork cutlets (went excellently with the pasta salad tonight), a helping of some chicken tikka masala that i have in the freezer, and that chipotle chicken salad. not bad right? all of which (besides the masala) can be eaten on-the-go, namely at school. go me! i'll need to write this shit down for later.
5.13.2011
mistakes occur
not often on my part though. this last week's meal planning was down right awful! this week i've got to step it up and get it right.
i'm going to have two more days of on-the-go dinners. the first day i'll probably eat lunch at home, but the second day i will have to eat lunch at the office. this will be interesting. i'm thinking bagels. i definitely don't mind eating a bagel (not toasted) with a flavorful cream cheese, and i can up the ante by slicing up some tomato. the other meal on those days will have to be something opposite to the simplicity of the bagel. it needs to be protein heavy and have some veggies to balance with the carbs and dairy. maybe some chipotle chicken salad on lettuce greens? that'd work for dinner too. hmmm... interchangeable lunches and dinners. i can do that. and i keep wanting to try out a chipotle chicken salad recipe.
and for the other dinners, i need something cool. i refused to cook this past week; it was so stinking hot here. and i anticipate the same problem this week. pasta always works, like a pasta salad. i could boil extra chicken and do stuff with that. plus there's other lunches to think about. i think i'm going to send the boyfriend to the market while i'm in class next friday to hook us up with some train snacks. so i'll only have to feed myself until thursday night. that's a plus. this might be a good week for food. and mind you that i'll be in new orleans by next saturday, i should eat pretty healthy until then.
i'm going to have two more days of on-the-go dinners. the first day i'll probably eat lunch at home, but the second day i will have to eat lunch at the office. this will be interesting. i'm thinking bagels. i definitely don't mind eating a bagel (not toasted) with a flavorful cream cheese, and i can up the ante by slicing up some tomato. the other meal on those days will have to be something opposite to the simplicity of the bagel. it needs to be protein heavy and have some veggies to balance with the carbs and dairy. maybe some chipotle chicken salad on lettuce greens? that'd work for dinner too. hmmm... interchangeable lunches and dinners. i can do that. and i keep wanting to try out a chipotle chicken salad recipe.
and for the other dinners, i need something cool. i refused to cook this past week; it was so stinking hot here. and i anticipate the same problem this week. pasta always works, like a pasta salad. i could boil extra chicken and do stuff with that. plus there's other lunches to think about. i think i'm going to send the boyfriend to the market while i'm in class next friday to hook us up with some train snacks. so i'll only have to feed myself until thursday night. that's a plus. this might be a good week for food. and mind you that i'll be in new orleans by next saturday, i should eat pretty healthy until then.
5.10.2011
double session
today's class(es) went well. the double session thing wasn't great, but wasn't the worst. one scheduling class was WAY worse than two of these. the only drawback was the food. i am not prepared for eating meals on campus. it was nice hanging out with the girls, but i should have brought a meal instead of snacks. though i wasn't hungry by the end of class, it was fairly awkward for everyone else to be eating something substantial while i just ate a snack. oh well...
horoscope
my horoscope for today. completely dead-on. this could be a problem.
and then to survive through the night.
pisces
your work-related tasks seem more tedious today, which could make you feel unusually restless. your solution might be to shake everything up in order to turn a dull job into a field day for the curious. don't be afraid to assume power on the job. fortunately, you should be able to use your authority effectively to accomplish more at work while in pursuit of your higher purpose.waiting for my afternoon class to begin. duh duh duh....
and then to survive through the night.
5.09.2011
it's only monday
i'm thinking: chicken quesadila for lunch with my usual soda, water and chips for the afternoon, maybe some pasta for dinner, then a izze soda and strawberries for the evening. the thing i'm unsure about is the pasta. i wish that i had picked up a frozen meal at the grocery store; that would be perfect for school. or actually the annie's organic elbows & creamy mild cheddar. i tested it out this weekend and the flavor was good, but they apparently like their pasta super mushy. so if cooked to a point just short of al dente (where i like my pasta) then mixed with the sauce, i think it could make a decent pasta leftover.
i should have also just thought about things i like cold. potato salad for one. that would make an excellent interim dinner. sandwiches in general would have worked. but my brain just wasn't going there. baked beans would have also been nice. i'm really disappointed in my meal planning this week. oh well... now i know for next week. though i have to say that i think that the izze soda will be perfect as a pick-me-up in the evening. soda without being sweet. won't keep me up at night. i'll have to pee like a racehorse though.
i need to make a better plan for next week.
5.08.2011
happy mother's day to one and all!
today is mother's day. the day you finally thank your mother for all of the hard work she puts in year-round. i've been thinking a lot this year about mothers-to-be. are they often wished a happy mother's day? cuz they are technically already mothers. i don't think that hallmark (and other card companies) makes cards for them.
i think the best experience i've had was yesterday at the grocery store. i was moseying along an aisle when two small girls in a cart decided they needed to say hello to me. when i smiled, the oldest asked me if i liked her card. it was actually a mother's day card. as her mother was in tow, i asked the girl what she was going to do for her mother for mother's day. the girl didn't know what to say (i'm sure her father was the organizer), so i told to make sure that it was something special. i think the icing on the cake was that as they walked away, the mother sweetly repeated what i had said. like it was sinking in that she deserved something special. well i hope that she is having a special mother's day, having two little girls she deserves it.
my mother, having children all grown up, deserves it too. any praise my brother and i receive is only because of my mother. she worked really hard at raising us, teaching us self-respect and respect for others, as well as a thirst for knowledge and a vast understanding. at one point we talked very little, specifically during my first few years of college. there were no hard feelings, but it was my time to rebel. i did little things here and there that rubbed my mom the wrong way. and i certainly had no urge to talk to her. i had just recently discovered that you can choose to love your family members, and i was deciding how much i wanted mine in my life. (we aren't horribly dysfunctional, but there are people in my family who do not want the best for me.) as i came into adulthood, my mom has become more and more important to me. she is who i want to be, with slight improvements. she's intelligent, loving (though she isn't quick to show it), and still quite beautiful. who wouldn't want to be her?
all in all i love my mom, and hope that she has a phenomenal mother's day. she certainly deserves it!
i think the best experience i've had was yesterday at the grocery store. i was moseying along an aisle when two small girls in a cart decided they needed to say hello to me. when i smiled, the oldest asked me if i liked her card. it was actually a mother's day card. as her mother was in tow, i asked the girl what she was going to do for her mother for mother's day. the girl didn't know what to say (i'm sure her father was the organizer), so i told to make sure that it was something special. i think the icing on the cake was that as they walked away, the mother sweetly repeated what i had said. like it was sinking in that she deserved something special. well i hope that she is having a special mother's day, having two little girls she deserves it.
my mother, having children all grown up, deserves it too. any praise my brother and i receive is only because of my mother. she worked really hard at raising us, teaching us self-respect and respect for others, as well as a thirst for knowledge and a vast understanding. at one point we talked very little, specifically during my first few years of college. there were no hard feelings, but it was my time to rebel. i did little things here and there that rubbed my mom the wrong way. and i certainly had no urge to talk to her. i had just recently discovered that you can choose to love your family members, and i was deciding how much i wanted mine in my life. (we aren't horribly dysfunctional, but there are people in my family who do not want the best for me.) as i came into adulthood, my mom has become more and more important to me. she is who i want to be, with slight improvements. she's intelligent, loving (though she isn't quick to show it), and still quite beautiful. who wouldn't want to be her?
all in all i love my mom, and hope that she has a phenomenal mother's day. she certainly deserves it!
product placement
but anyways, on the big bang theory they always have fake versions of real things. when in the lunch room they drink 'diet cola' instead of 'diet coke' and another version of 7up. but really caught my eye and kept getting it was a soda can in the background of the guys' kitchen. from the logo i knew it was izze, but i have never seen it in a can.
i've seen bottles of it at my whole foods, and have even picked it up and was tempted to buy it. today i decided to go for it. i've been trying to up my liquid intake and juice was just too sweet and just too much; i kept watering it down. why not buy something already watered down and, in addition, carbonated!?! i decided to go for it. into my cart went a bottle of grapefruit and another of mandarin.
i have to say the grapefruit is delicious. tastes exactly like what a real grapefruit, fresh picked from my grandparents' tree, tastes like. the carbonation is a bonus. i don't think i could drink it every day, but i'll try all the flavors to see there's one in particular i'd want to stock up on. and i can always remember izze when i want to finally give up soda. (izze is technically a 'juice beverage'.)
what this has to do with the big bang theory? well i looked up and down my whole foods for cans of izze and couldn't find any though, now that i think of it, i didn't check the water aisle. so i had to search online. they make it but it's a fortified version with extra vitamin b and whatnot. i don't think i need those, but it's a smart way to get your child to drink a healthy 'soda'. it's mostly fruit juice and vitamins. i'll drink that!
5.06.2011
cinqo de mayo
i didn't celebrate the end of semester on wednesday, so i thought 'it's thursday. it's cinqo de mayo. why don't i call up a friend and booze it up?' great idea right? wrong. we ended up going to this crappy chain mexican place, and they had essentially converted their restaurant into a club. loud annoying dj with people dancing everywhere. but we were there so we elbowed our way through the crowd at the bar and ordered two of their ginormous regular margaritas. the second bad idea of the night. (or third. with the choice of restaurant and the idiotic decision to not eat dinner beforehand coming in second and first, respectively.)
i'd like to point out that when drinking a margarita with salt you always want to drink from the glass not a straw. i am fairly certain that they were topping off their margarita mix with tequila instead of mixing it in. so when you drink from the glass all you're getting is tequila. fun.
within minutes of getting to the restaurant, my friend saw other friends of his and chatted with them a bit. at one point they were at a table and saw him and waved. i suggested that we join them, which was maybe the only smart idea of the night. i'm just going to say that from that point on it just all went downhill. with the low points being that i blacked out walking home down one of the not safest streets and puking in my bathroom sink which barely drains on a good day.
good points: meeting a couple of people who were pretty awesome, sort-of hitting on a random girl, and knowing that even in my worst state i can still make it to the bathroom to puke.
i'd like to point out that when drinking a margarita with salt you always want to drink from the glass not a straw. i am fairly certain that they were topping off their margarita mix with tequila instead of mixing it in. so when you drink from the glass all you're getting is tequila. fun.
within minutes of getting to the restaurant, my friend saw other friends of his and chatted with them a bit. at one point they were at a table and saw him and waved. i suggested that we join them, which was maybe the only smart idea of the night. i'm just going to say that from that point on it just all went downhill. with the low points being that i blacked out walking home down one of the not safest streets and puking in my bathroom sink which barely drains on a good day.
good points: meeting a couple of people who were pretty awesome, sort-of hitting on a random girl, and knowing that even in my worst state i can still make it to the bathroom to puke.
5.04.2011
finals
spring semester is officially over! i turned in my take-home exam for my last class. i am D-O-N-E, done!
now to celebrate. which will entail me microwaving some dinner, cracking open a beer, and watching a movie in bed. because a) i'm poor, b) i have a headache from doing the stupid test, and c) there's no one to celebrate with. if i lived in the same town as my bf, i'd go do something, but with things as they are, nothing.
plus i'm in limbo about a class i'm taking this summer (which starts on monday, boo...) and i'm a little stressed about it. need to get that resolved. the deal is that i'm going to be out of town for a significant part of the class (not hard to do when the class is only 2.5 weeks) and i need the department head's approval for doing so as well as the professor's.
i'm going to try to ignore all that and celebrate (in my little way) the end of the current semester.
now to celebrate. which will entail me microwaving some dinner, cracking open a beer, and watching a movie in bed. because a) i'm poor, b) i have a headache from doing the stupid test, and c) there's no one to celebrate with. if i lived in the same town as my bf, i'd go do something, but with things as they are, nothing.
plus i'm in limbo about a class i'm taking this summer (which starts on monday, boo...) and i'm a little stressed about it. need to get that resolved. the deal is that i'm going to be out of town for a significant part of the class (not hard to do when the class is only 2.5 weeks) and i need the department head's approval for doing so as well as the professor's.
i'm going to try to ignore all that and celebrate (in my little way) the end of the current semester.
5.03.2011
FINALS
finals today! wish me luck! construction equipment management. the test is all-inclusive, even though the last three weeks have been class presentations. the presentations are included as is the first 8 weeks' lectures. oh my!
my saving grace is that my grade thus far is really good, so the final is only so important.
legal issues in real estate is tomorrow. i'll need to work on it all day. but as with today's test it's only so important. i can't fail it but i don't have to get an 'a'. takes a little of the strain off.
i'm more worried about my interim summer class. i'm out of town for the last three days of the class, including the only test. i think i'm SOL. but we'll see. the teacher is known for being fairly lenient. i might just have to write a paper. i can do that. especially since i have two days to kill in nola, while the bf is busy at the conference. if i can get that class out of the way, i'll definitely graduate this summer. woohoo!
back to studying?
my saving grace is that my grade thus far is really good, so the final is only so important.
legal issues in real estate is tomorrow. i'll need to work on it all day. but as with today's test it's only so important. i can't fail it but i don't have to get an 'a'. takes a little of the strain off.
i'm more worried about my interim summer class. i'm out of town for the last three days of the class, including the only test. i think i'm SOL. but we'll see. the teacher is known for being fairly lenient. i might just have to write a paper. i can do that. especially since i have two days to kill in nola, while the bf is busy at the conference. if i can get that class out of the way, i'll definitely graduate this summer. woohoo!
back to studying?
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