12/12/12 Concert for Sandy Relief: Initial Reactions

I did not watch all of the 12/12/12 Concert for Sandy relief last night, but I did watch some.  Regrettably, I fell asleep before being able to see Sir Paul McCartney perform (there’s a reason they put him last, people.)  I did record it though, so, sometime this weekend I can watch the musical acts and skip through the stuff I don’t want to see.

Here are my first impressions, and thoughts on what I did see.

• Bon Jovi is losing his oomph.  I love Bon Jovi as much as the next girl, but if you have to tune down your songs because you can’t hit the high notes anymore, tune them down enough so that you’re still not straining.  Don’t believe me?  I was looking for youtube clips, but, I can’t seem to find any yet.  I’ll get some, and get them up for your review.
• Eric Clapton rocked it as always, and, didn’t tune down a single note.
• Alicia Keys is an amazing performer and musician.  Even my dad commented on it.
• I was going to comment when I saw Mick Jagger unbuttoning his shirt.  I stopped short when I saw he was wearing a shirt underneath.  Well done, Mick.  No one wants to see your 69 year old “abs.”  Unfortunately, Roger Daltrey did not get that memo.
• Why was Kanye West wearing a skirt?

What are your guys’ initial thoughts?  I’m sure I’ll have more to say after watching the rest.

Tasty Tuesday: Freezer Favorites

Sometimes, I just don't feel like cooking a whole meal from scratch.  I would love to, at every opportunity, but sometimes, I'm just tired, or crabby, or too darn hungry to go through all of the prep and cooking when I can just grab something out of the freezer.

Lately, a lot of those something's have been from Trader Joe's.  Their frozen meals are not so bad, in fact, some are quite good.  (I've heard recently about a recall on Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice, so maybe pass on that one, yeah?)  However, a lot of their frozen pasta dishes are pretty tasty.

Confession:  I get crabby when I'm too hungry.  Like, seriously crabby.  This usually results in me yelling or getting cranky with someone (mom, boyfriend, sister, cat...) or crying.  It also inhibits my ability to find food to eat.  I can be standing in front of a  stocked fridge and find absolutely nothing.

This was my conundrum last week.  I wanted to make linguine with clam sauce (which I'll do a recipe for another day, because it's super easy and super delicious,) but my mom said the clams in the house were off limits.  *Sad trombone*  So, I started hunting in the fridge and freezer.  After about three trips back and forth, I settled on a bag of Trader Joe's fettuccine with mushrooms.  At 150 calories a serving, I didn't feel bad eating more than one serving (there are 3 in the bag.)  This frozen delight takes six minutes total, with one stir halfway through.

Trader Joe's Fettuccine with Mushrooms

I tend to find that sometimes, (okay, most times) frozen or prepared meals are over-salted.  The bag suggests garnishing with grated parmesan cheese.  After a quick taste, I decided that no extra salt was needed, but did give the bowl a healthy grind of fresh cracked black pepper.  I also tossed in two large handfuls of fresh baby spinach.  The baby spinach wilted down to almost nothing, but gave the dish a fresh-not-frozen taste, as well as some color.

While it wasn't something fresh and homemade, it stopped the crabbies.  What are your favorite Trader Joe's or frozen meals?

Word.

Tasty Tuesday: leftovers.

I’m going to try something new today, and maybe, every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.  As my blog blurb suggests, I cook at home.  Not as much as I should, but I do.  Sometimes, what I make is pretty darn tasty.

A lot of times, what I have to work with is leftovers from various meals as well as a vast array of condiments in the pantry and fridge (and I do mean vast.  The last time we did a full fridge cleanout, we found seven different types of mustard.  Seven.  And that was just mustard.  Don’t even get me started on the hot sauce.)

So.  Leftovers.  Love them, or hate them, we have to cook with them, because, well, it’s wasteful not to.

Awhile back, my fridge was packed with leftover steamed white rice, sugar snap peas, and steak.  I certainly could’ve reheated everything separately, but why stop there?  We also (always) have garlic, onions, s&p, hot sauce (as I mentioned earlier.)  We also had that day Korean short rib sauce/marinade (found here.  We purchase it from our local Asian market.)

I grabbed my heavy duty pan.  Using canola oil, I sautéed one medium onion, sliced.  When they were almost done, I added the snap peas and steak (which I cubed) to get the chill off.  The steak and snap’s were already seasoned, so a little bit of additional garlic, s&p went a long way.  Then I removed everything from the pan and put it aside in the bowl I’d later use for serving (let’s conserve dishes, yeah?)

A bit more canola oil in the pan, and in goes the white rice.  I let my rice get nice and brown, picking up all of the flavors left behind from the onions, peas, and meat.  After a few minutes, when it started to look like fried rice, I added the veggies back in, and stirred everything together to combine.  The rice should be popping and sizzling a little.

Once it’s determined that everything is heated through, I added the short rib sauce.  This turned the dry rice into a rich, decadent, sticky, delicious meal (think of rice from a teppanyaki or hibachi restaurant, when they add a little bit of teriyaki to hold everything together.)  I let the sauce cook out for a few minutes, stirring often, so the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch.

This is my take on beef fried rice.  It took a lot of leftovers off my hands, was good not only for dinner, but reheated well as lunch the next day at work.

Fried rice with steak, sugar snaps, onion, and short rib sauce.

Variations:  

• Scramble an egg and mix in, Chinese style.
• Fry an egg, top your bowl of rice with it, Korean style. (My personal favorite.  Egg + Sriracha = happiness.)
• Any mixture of vegetables and protein would work.  I don't recommend fish, as it would fall apart into the rice mixture.
• Sub brown rice, if you enjoy it!

70* in Chicago in December =/= Christmas

It’s no secret that I still live with my mom.  I’m not ashamed.  I just do.  Hopefully, within the next 6-12 months, that will change.  But for now, I do.

I want a Christmas tree.  I want to decorate for Christmas.  Not because I am Christian, because I’m not, but because I find it festive and fun.  I’ve never had a Christmas tree.  I’ve never decorated a Christmas tree.  We’ve never had twinkling lights.  My mom did put a string of lights on the mantel this year, but let’s not get crazy!

When I have my own place, Christmas will throw up in it every year.  Christmas will be from the Friday after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.  There will be music and lights and a tree with gorgeous ornaments and a star on top.

I’ve been grinchy lately because the weather has been unseasonably warm.  No one else is complaining that yesterday, December 3, 2012, the registered temperature at O’Hare hit 70 degrees.  I want snowflakes and icicles (but NOT black ice, right, Chrissy?)

I started a list of things I want to do this Christmas season the other day.  Including:

• See A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre (a tradition of my Graham’s family – we are going this Saturday.)
• Visit the Christkindlmart at Daley Plaza (my hope is to go Saturday after the matinee.)
• See the Great Tree at the Walnut Room (but not eat there… the food suffers at this time of year.)
• Decorate a Christmas tree*
• Go ice skating
• Be kissed under mistletoe*
• Make Christmas cookies with my family (This will happen Sunday the 23^rd.)

*These would be firsts.  No, I’m not kidding.

TGIF

Things that have made today better than any other day of the week so far:

•        Free coffee with a fuel purchase this morning.  I bought $12 worth of gas, and saw a little itty bitty sign informing me that I was privy to free coffee.  Thank you, Shell gasoline!
•       It’s payday.  Thank goodness for that.
•       NYE plans have been finalized, see point 2, it’s time to buy the tickets.
•       In addition to point 2, it is FRIDAY.  We have a double date this evening.  We never have double dates.  We’re both pretty excited.
•       Making plans to catch up with a friend and former co-worker whom I haven’t seen since she had a baby in August.
•       A cute chuckle from a blog I follow.  Kate at The Small Things Blog gave us a tutorial this morning on how to add patches to the elbows of a sweater.  Hers happen to be cat patches.  They’re super cute.  Also, all of her tutorials and posts are awesome.  I feel like maybe we could be friends, because she grew up in Illinois, and I grew up in Illinois. (yeah, yeah, Illinois is huge and we probably never lived within 200 miles of each other, but still.)

Black Friday

There are three types of people in this world:  those who love Black Friday, those who loathe Black Friday, and those like me, who love looking at the ads (which I do every Sunday, not just the Black Friday ads) but loathe and would not be caught dead taking part in a doorbuster sale.  (There is one exception to this, which I will get to later.)

I know people who begin planning for Black Friday the second the ads and sales are announced.  They have very early Thanksgiving dinners.  They set multiple alarms.  Some even camp out for sales, you know, like at Best Buy where you can get a $600 camera for $10, but there’s only ONE in the entire store.)

To me, this is craziness.  Why would you forfeit SLEEP AND SANITY to not even guarantee yourself such a deal?  No thank you!  I do have to give them mad props though.  Last year, I did go to Wal-Mart for a midnight doorbuster, but I was not the one purchasing it, and I was mainly there to keep the other person (Graham, this was right before we were dating) company.  We were lucky in that the item he wanted was one that they were giving numbers out for, so there was no pushing/shoving/clawing, rather just sitting in line and waiting.  I heard the rest of the store was mayhem.  Adults shoving children out of the way for items.  People fighting over everything from comforters to toaster ovens.  Not.my.thing.

Most of the time, the sale items are big ticket things I just don’t need yet, and don’t have a place to store them in until I do have need for them.  What I do enjoy, is the online shopping, and this is mostly for clothes.  Last year, I was lucky enough to get a lot of things from The Limited drastically reduced, albeit, most of it has the tags still on because by the time I got around to wearing it, it didn’t fit anymore.  Before this weekend, I hadn’t bought new work clothes since that time (approximately.)  My mom and I stopped at Francesca’s Collections and LOFT, where I was able to get some new, versatile wardrobe options on sale (bonus!)

So, to all of you Black Friday shoppers… good luck to you.  I’ll be thinking of you from my couch, in my sweats, with my laptop.

Apology

It has been brought to my attention that a previous blog post, which has since been deleted, has been viewed as offensive to my family.

This hurts me more than I can put into words. I love my family dearly, and it was NEVER my intention to hurt any of them in any way, shape, or form. The post was meant to express the simple fact that Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. My family, however, are my favorite people on earth, and I cherish and appreciate then more than I can verbally express.

I clearly did not think my words through as I wrote them that day. I believe in sincere, heartfelt apologies, and admitting when you are wrong.

My post was about thanksgiving, and not my family. I was wrong to express my feelings on this upcoming holiday in such a way that could have painted my family in a negative light. It was in no way my intention and I sincerely apologize to all of my family.

I hope that they can understand that if I would have thought that anyone would be hurt by my post that I would not have ever written it. I hope that they can accept my apology.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It snowed last night for the first time this season.  It wasn’t a lot, there was no serious accumulation (I did have to dust off my car, but nothing more than a sprinkling,) but, it snowed.

I know I’m not alone when I say that the first snow is magical.  There’s something about it.  The air is crisp and clean, and all is quiet, and the snowflakes are falling.

I happened to be in Highland Park yesterday evening, where the snow seems that much more beautiful than it does at home.  Maybe because Graham lives on a quiet street, his house is tucked back into the woods, and it’s just… serene.

I felt like a little kid, standing in the middle of the street, watching the snowflakes fall, illuminated by the one streetlight.  I tried to take a photo, but it of course did not come out.

I will confess, I listened to the holiday lite on my way home.  If the lite wasn’t already playing Christmas music, I wouldn’t be listening to it yet.  However, the lite makes its own rules on when Christmas music starts… so, I listened, and I loved it.  I also saw my first set of Christmas lights up on a house.  We’re close enough to Thanksgiving… right?  (of course, this morning, I went back to my mentality that Christmas lights can be put up before Thanksgiving, but should not be illuminated until Black Friday.  I know my pal Chrissy disagrees… but I don’t even get one Christmas tree, let alone one in every room.)

I hope it actually snows a little bit this winter.  Last winter, we barely got anything.  The winter before was Snowmageddon.  A healthy medium would be okay with me.

Snowmageddon 2011.

give thanks

November is a time to give thanks.  Many of my facebook friends do a daily list of things they are thankful for, one for each day in November, until Thanksgiving.  I know myself, and know that I would never remember to do this on a daily basis.  This month, Thanksgiving is the 22^nd.  So, here are 22 things I am thankful for, in no particular order:

1.  My family.  Last year at this time, my family was spread across the world.  This year, we’re all in the Chicago area.  I’m happy that we are all safe, home, happy, and healthy.

This photo is really old... but it's family.

2.  My friends.  Friends are the family you choose.  I have the best friends in the world, and would not survive life without them.  Well, maybe I’d survive, but it’d be really freaking boring.

3.  My health.  Not everyone is so lucky to have their health.  Could Should I be healthier?  Yes.  But for the most part, I’m doing good.

4.  Thai food.  I’m not kidding.  Thai food is my newest obsession.  I crave it regularly (no, I’m not knocked up.)

5.  My relationship.  My relationship is seriously the tops.  I am so lucky.  It really doesn’t get much better than this.

honest to goodness... this is how weird we are.

6.  Graham’s family.  Graham’s family, immediate and extended, is awesome.  Everyone has welcomed me with open arms. 

7.  My job career.  My job isn’t a job, it’s a career, and I’m thankful for that in itself.  I’m thankful to have a flexible employer, who is compassionate and understanding, and values family time (let’s not talk about how much time off I get for the holidays.  You’ll hate me and stop reading my blog.)

8.  My college degree.  It took almost exactly 10 years, but I did it!

The proof is in the pudding.

9.  The Food Network/Cooking Channel.  Graham doesn’t like to watch TV at my house because he can never hear it, and besides, it’s always the food channel.  Both of these things are true.  For someone who has bionic hearing, he has trouble hearing TV below arena level volumes, and I don’t like watching TV that loud.  I am also always watching the food network or cooking channel.  I like watching people cook.  I like watching people visit restaurants I’ve visited or want to visit.

10.  Democratic process.  We just had the presidential election.  Whether your candidate won or lost, you should be thankful for the simple fact that we have this process.

11.  Sleep.  I don’t get enough of it, but when I do, it is just the best.  I value every.single.second I can manage.

12.  Daylight Savings Time.  Now that it’s over, I realize, I am thankful for it.  I hate the fact that when I leave work at 4:30, it’s already dark.

13.  Lazy Sunday Afternoons.  Sitting in my comfy sweats on a Sunday afternoon under a blanket sipping coffee is the definition of love for me.

14.  Pinterest.  You know how many cute things and ideas I find there?  See for yourself: http://pinterest.com/valerierae84/

15.  My mother.  I can’t even dive into the thousands of reasons I am thankful for my mother.  There will be a post at some point, I’m sure.

My momma.

16.  No-chip manicures.  2 weeks without a chip?  Hell yes.

17.  Music.  I can’t get through my days without it.  I love a broad spectrum of music (I’m listening to the West Side Story movie soundtrack right now.)

18.  Vacation time.  Yeah, I know, I said I love my career, but who doesn’t need a mental health day now and then?

19.  Books.  I like to read.  I have a small collection of books which I am slowly expanding upon.  The books I read in college that I liked I kept instead of selling back, and I’ve purchased a lot of books I borrowed from the library (at the half price bookstore) so that I can have copies for my kids one day (like Harry Potter.)  I have also been making a list of the books I don’t own but want to, so I can check half price books for them.

20. Good food.  I know people say “eat to live, don’t live to eat” and “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”  I don’t believe in either of those statements.  Well, eat to live don’t live to eat, that’s a good one to live by most of the time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be eating good food in the process. 

21. Luna.  Our kitten, who is almost a full fledged cat now.  She’s so much bigger than when we first got her.  She likes to snuggle up next to me or by my feet at night, and wake me up at 5am by sticking her butt or paws in my face.  I don’t even care, she’s such a cutie.  Except for when she climbs onto the table or countertops.

baby.

22.  Last, but certainly not least, Graham.  Yes, I said “my relationship” earlier, which is, that I’m thankful that my relationship is a good great one.  Beyond that, I am thankful for Graham, who is my friend, my love, my confidant, my rock, my personal cheerer-upper, and a trillion things beyond that. 

Really, who wouldn't love someone who can make you smile like this?

rock the vote!

Yesterday, I said I wasn’t going to go off on a political rant.  Yesterday wasn’t Election Day.

Now, I’m not going to go out and tell you who to vote for.  That, my friends, is up to you.  All I am asking, is that you go out and rock the vote.  Do a little bit of research, and cast a ballot.  I’m not asking you to research every single candidate present on your ballot (mine had four pages of judges and others running unopposed.)  I’m asking you, for those who mean something to your future, like your Senators, and the President of the United States, do some research, decide which candidate you like, and go vote.

Should you choose not to exercise your legal right to vote, in my eyes, you are also choosing to give up your right to complain about anything political in nature that has to do with this country.  Things like, Obamacare.  The economy.  Taxes.  Welfare.  Gun Laws.  Abortion.  The Supreme Court.  The War on Terror.  Foreign Policy.  If you vote, you can bitch about that stuff as much as you want… that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to you, but you have the right to complain.  If you sit on your couch today, watching the polls come in, and you don’t like what happens,  but you didn’t cast your vote, I don’t want to hear it.

That being said, I’m going to be really happy when this election is over.  I’m really sick and tired of the campaign ads, smears, and crap all over facebook.  That is why, I’ve kept my comments completely non-partisan by saying, I don’t care who it’s for, just go out and vote!

holiday time!

Halloween is officially over.  Tomorrow is Election Day.  You all know what that means…

No, I’m not going on a political rant.  I don’t care what your political views are.  I do care though, that you exercise your civic right to vote.  If you voted, you can complain and be as political as you want.  If you didn’t vote, you have no right to bitch about one single little thing that has anything to do with politics.

Seriously, I said no rant… Halloween is over, tomorrow is Election day… that means, it’s officially the Holiday Season.  I love the holiday season!  I especially love the holiday season because I have amazingly wonderful friends and family to spend time with!  In going through my calendar for the next several weeks, through the end of the year, and as usual, November and December are JAM PACKED:

This week is Graham’s mom’s birthday.

Next weekend is Camdin’s Friendsgiving, and also the Chicago Food & Wine Festival, which I won tickets to through Yelp!  (After that, I’ll have an AMAZING blog post, I’m sure.)  That weekend Graham is also out of town for Deer Hunting season.

The following week is Thanksgiving.  Immediately following Thanksgiving is both the HPHS and BGHS 10 year reunions, which I mentioned earlier.

The weekend after that, Graham is gone again for deer hunting, and my buddy Jim is having a wine tasting party (yummy!)

The following week is my mom’s birthday.

The following weekend I’m hosting an Ugly Sweater holiday party for my pals.  More on that in a soon-to-be post.

The following weekend another of my friends is hosting their annual Twelve Drinks of Christmas party. 

The following week is Christmas, and the week after that is New Years.

If you’ve followed me this far, you realize, as I do, that we have just over 8 weeks until 2012 comes to a close.  That’s ridiculous.  2012 has probably been the fastest year OF MY LIFE.

Anyway, I love holiday time.  When I grow up, I’m having a Christmas tree.  And I’m going to decorate my abode in holiday things.  Like these:

Free printables.  Found here.

yarn, burlap, buttons, and foam balls.  Found here.

Found here.

Books

As you all pretty well know by now, (those of you who are reading, or reading regularly, I should say) I read my girl Chrissy’s blog daily.  It’s a part of my daily routine.  Get to work, log into computer, pour coffee, read Quirky Chrissy, carry on.  Usually, a new post for the day has arrived by the time I sit down at my desk at 7:30am.

Today, we had a guest post from Katie, which inspired me to hop on over to her blog.  After reading the first entry, I started to think about what my favorite book is.  To be honest, I don’t really know that people a) ask that question anymore or b) read anymore.  Some of my friends are readers, my family is full of readers, but a lot of people I don’t think read anymore.  One of my best pal’s who lives out West hasn’t read a book in years.  He listens to them on tape.  My boyfriend doesn’t have the patience for reading, because he reads to slow and his brain gets ahead of what he’s reading.  This lead to a very embarrassing moment for me, when my sister asked if I was going to have Graham read XYZ book, and my response was “no, he can’t read.”  It’s not that he can’t read, it’s that it’s difficult for him.

So, back on track.  Katie brings up an interesting point that many people may not be entirely honest about what their favorite book is, and I can’t say I disagree.  In my opinion, people do this because they want to seem smart, educated, or well-rounded, by stating that a classic like Jane Eyre, Catcher in the Rye, or To Kill a Mockingbird is their favorite book.

I’ve read several books in my day, several genre’s, themes, what have you.  I have many favorites.  I have one favorite of all time, which I’ll get to later.

We’ll start off with the obvious.  Favorite children’s literature:  Harry Potter.  All of them.  Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book of the series.  (The Hunger Games is second… I didn’t like the Mockingjay all that much at all.)

Favorite Modern American Literature: Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger.  This is the first novel I recall being assigned to me that 1) I actually read, 2) read ahead, and 3) enjoyed.

Favorite Modern non-American Literature: We the Living, Ayn Rand.   I was assigned this my senior year of high school in AP European History, and fell in love with it instantly.

Now, my favorite book of all time.  My third year at Illinois State, I took a course on war.  It was an interdisciplinary course.  We read books on war and wrote papers about them.  We discussed war tactics.  It was part history, part literature.  We also formed “armies” within our class and had “battles” on the quad some days.  One of the books we read in this class was On the Home Front, Mary Jo Clark, as told to Jack Clark.  It is a compilation of short stories from Mary Jo’s adolescence and adulthood, reaching from Prohibition through the end of World War II.  Mary Jo grew up in Chicago, so a lot of the stories resonated with me and sounded familiar to the ones I heard from my grandparents and great grandparents growing up.  I took this course in 2004.

Fast forward to January, 2012.  I’m downtown in Chicago for a work-related conference.  I have to go from the conference to my hotel, which is a 10 minute walk.  Except that it’s snowing.  It’s snowing A LOT.  Mini-blizzard if you will.  There was no walking.  Especially not in a suit and heels.  Graham hails a cab.  We get in.  The driver (a white, English speaking gentleman, you don’t get that a lot in Chicago) made small talk on our much longer than would be normal cab ride just a few blocks.  At one point, he hands us each a postcard and says “I’m a writer.  You should check out my new book.  It’s a mystery.”  I glance at the card and immediately do a double take.  My cab driver… the man who is taking me through the snow to my destination, is Jack Clark.  I turned into a babbling idiot.

Me: “You’re Jack Clark?”

Him: “Yeah, that’s me.”

Me: “You wrote On the Home Front?”

Him: “you’ve read it?”

Me: “It is my favorite book.  Literally my favorite book.  I read it for this war class I took in college.  I recommend it to everyone.  It’s fantastic!”

Him: **flabbergasted**

We bantered back and forth for a few more minutes, about the book, his mother, and what prompted him to write it.

We got back to the hotel, Graham, who was in awe of this entire conversation, tipped him extremely well, and we went upstairs.  I called my dad, because I had just given him the book to read.  I called my mom.  Graham couldn’t get over how giddy and excited I was about this.

Call me a geek, nerd, whatever… this was one of the highlights of my life to date.

Halloweenie!

Halloween is, has been, and will always be, the equivalent of Christmas at my house.  Call us heathens… we love Halloween.

When I was a kid, my mom used to hand-make our costumes.  Once we became old enough to decide what we wanted to be, she would take us to the fabric store to look through the pattern books, choose the patterns and fabrics.  This usually started in early September.  I’ve been everything under the sun, from a rabbit, to Snow White, a clown, an Indian (Native American) several hippies, etc.

We decorate for Halloween similar to how normal folks decorate for Christmas.  We have lights, and all sorts of fun decorations for the house, like witches potion bottles, gargoyles, and skulls.  Maybe I’ll take some pictures tonight.

When I was at Illinois State, I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed national service fraternity.  Part of my service to the community was to volunteer at a local haunted house, which was MEGA fun.

And now… gratuitous recent (or not so recent) Halloween costumes!

1988ish.  

Jackie Kennedy - 2009

Marilyn Monroe - 2004

Volunteering at the Haunted House - 2004

Mimi & Roger from RENT - 2004

1993.  I was so PC.  ugh.

Audrey Hepburn - 2008

Flo, the Progessive Insurance Girl, 2011

frankenstorm

Frankenstorm.  It’s already done the worst, (I think?) and now, it’s heading toward Chicago as a whole lot of wind, and probably rain. 

All of the talk of Frankenstorm has me thinking about Snowmageddon 2011 (or SnOMG as some called it?)  The one (I think there’s only been one) blizzard I’ve lived through, so far.

We knew it was going to snow.  We knew it was going to snow a lot.  I went to work that day, and was annoyed to find that no one in top management came in.  They were all working from home.  I didn’t have the option to work from home (I still don’t.)  Instead, I knew the snow was coming, as did the others in our office, but we were still there.

A lot of places closed that day, similar to most of NYC being shut down in preparation of Sandy.  On the day the blizzard was set to hit, we were open.  Not a lot of other places were.  The office was quiet.  We all complained about how long our commutes home would be, that we were “stranded” with no management, how were we going to know if we could go home?  We spent a lot of time looking out the windows, waiting for the snow to start, and looking at the news, and weather.com, and talking to friends, to see where it had already begun to snow.

We were finally ‘released’ from the office at 3pm that day, after the snow had begun to fall heavily.  It took me two hours to get home, my normal commute 45 minutes.  I got home, and there wasn’t much to do.  I had dinner (I think?) with my family, and was invited to escape to a friend’s house for the evening, which I promptly declined, because, while it would’ve been much more fun and entertaining, the six mile drive would’ve taken hours, and could’ve been fatal.

So, I went to bed early.  I snuggled in with some hot chocolate.  I thanked the lord that I don’t normally pray to that we didn’t have a dog to walk.

The next morning, I woke up and had some serious work to do.  My dad had stayed the night, and we started shoveling/plowing around 10am.  It took several hours to clear everything away, but it was fun to watch our neighbors with snowmobiles zipping up and down the street.

Luckily, we didn’t lose power, heat, or running water through this whole ordeal.  I’m thinking of my friends on the East coast who haven’t been so lucky.

a word on relationships.

My dear friend Chrissy writes a blog, and her posts often inspire mine.  You can check her out here.  She’s fun, and quirky, and lovely.  Seriously, go check her shit out.

This week, she wrote about a past relationship.  I’ve had a lot of those.  I generally don’t like to bring them up too much into bloggy land, because, well, there’s a lot of word vomit there.  I think too much, and I remember too much, so then I analyze too much and then I talk (or write) too much.  I’m already doing it, and I haven’t even mentioned any past relationships yet.

Habitually, I also don’t blog about my current relationship.  I’ve found that blogging about the new guy in my life leads to a break-up soon after.  I’m serious.  I kept a livejournal in college, and every single time I wrote about a new guy, *poof* he was gone, within a matter of days or weeks.  I’m not running that risk.  No way.  Call it ju-ju… I’m not writing about everything wonderful that is my G.

 
Without trying to get too wordy… a few things I’ve learned from past relationships… my own personal list.  You can take this as you will… advice, good for a laugh, whatever.

• The smaller the penis, the less of an ability to keep it in his pants when he’s not around you.  (I don’t understand this one at all.  Why did all the girls want to sleep with the unattractive teeny weenie?)

• A man will do and say anything to sleep with you.  Once he does, the real test becomes, is he the same man he was before?

• If a guy insists on going Dutch on your second date, excuse yourself to the bathroom to powder your nose, and sneak out the window.  If he picked you up, call a friend, call a cab, I don’t care who.  If you agree, you will spend the next 4 months buying his beer and cigarettes for him.

• The older you get, the easier it is to figure out that he’s really just not that into you.  And that’s okay.  At some point, you’ll be able to stand up and say that to a guy.  I did, and it was the most liberating thing EVER.

• Have one girlfriend you can talk to about this stuff.  Just one.  Have an understanding with her, that you are each other’s people.  The other girls will get sick of hearing about it.  Trust me.

• If the guy you’re dating starts telling you about all of the drugs he ‘used to’ do, bolt, as fast as you can.  Drug problems always come with other problems, like money problems, alcohol problems, gambling problems, and baby-mama problems.

• Don’t think you can fix a guy.  I’m a fixer.  I always find the broken ones.  You can’t fix them.  They’re going to walk into your life fucked up, and then, they’re going to walk out of your life fucked up.  And that’ll make you a little fucked up.

• Don’t date or sleep with someone one of your friends has already dated or slept with.  Even if she tells you its okay, it’s not okay.

• Things not to do on a first date:  Swear or curse, drink yourself into oblivion, give it up.

• Know how to be one of the guys, but also one of the girls.  A guy will think it’s awesome that you love hockey and football and can hold your own at a game.  But, know when to slap on some makeup and hit the town with the ladies for the night.

I know I have so many more snippets… so, possibly, to be continued…

Feel free to add your snippets too.

Yia Yia

My Yia Yia (Greek for grandma, and no, I’m not Greek… long story…) turned 83 earlier this year.  For 83, she’s feisty and fun.  She don’t take no shit from nobody, and I’m not kidding.  This makes me really happy, because I hope to be just like her one day, for several reasons.

1.      She doesn’t look like she’s 83.  She doesn’t even look like she’s 73.  Legit story:  I showed a picture of her to my academic advisor, who responded by saying “oh, we must be about the same age, I’ll be 68.”  Yeah, I’m not kidding.

2.      She’s spirited.  She doesn’t care what people think of her, and says what she wants.  One of my favorite Yia quotes: “If someone doesn’t like you, piss on them.”

3.      She’s independent.  Well, right now, her cardiologist told her not to drive as she is getting used to new BP medication, and it’s KILLING HER.  She doesn’t like depending on other people, and neither do I.

4.      She’s stylish.  The lady used to work at Neiman Marcus, okay?  She’s been carrying the same Bottega handbag for longer than I’ve been alive, and has Neiman Marcus sweaters older than I am too.

5.      She refuses to be anything but stylish.  When she first moved into her apartment, she had me over to show me where everything was.  The important things, like her will and other important documents.  Then, she says, “come here, there’s something else important.”  She opens the bottom drawer of her dresser.  “This is where I keep my cashmere robe and silk pajamas.  If I ever have to go to the hospital, you have to bring them for me.”  Seriously.

6.      She just says funny shit.  She’s spunky.  Some of my favorite Yia-isms:

“There is nothing better than a good roll in the hay.”

“Don’t put all of your emotional eggs into one bastard.”

She calls her Italian Greyhound, Romeo, “Putzkalie” which is Yiddish for “little penis.”

She brought bottled water from Neiman’s to my college graduation.

reminisce-r extraordinaire

Part of my blog title explains that I am a reminisce-r extraordinaire.  What does this mean?  I think it is a glorified way of saying, I like to talk about shit that's already happened to me.  Relive.  Rethink. What-if?

I've mostly moved past thinking back to high school, probably because a good chunk of my close knit group is people I went to high school with.  Some of them, I was friends with back then, others, maybe not as close.  But high school is our common bond, so we don't really have to re-do it.  Right?

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up next month.  I still have to buy tickets.  Yeah, yeah, I'm going to go.  G's is the same weekend, so we're going to make a whole downtown weekend out of it.

I always told myself I wouldn't go unless I had a big accomplishment.  If I was skinnier (which I'm working on), if I got my college degree (which I just finished), if I was engaged or married (no dice there.)

There are a lot of people I'm looking forward to seeing at my high school reunion, some that I don't care either way, and some, that if I ever saw again, I'd need to be restrained.  Luckily, I'm a little bit older and wiser than my 18 year old self, and plan to go into my high school reunion with poise and grace, looking fabulous, and above all else, being the better person.  I'm going to be f*cking Emily Post.

i heart fall

The last few years, I’ve generally had a love/hate relationship with the fall.  I used to love fall with my whole heart and soul.  Crisp air, leaves changing and crunching under my feet, warm sweaters, riding boots, hot coffee on a brisk Sunday morning, football.

My love affair with fall ended a few years back when my fall was spent tearfully trying to make it through one day at a time.  At that time, I had no capacity to appreciate anything that was happening around me, and became a pretty dull individual.  I went to work and came home.  I didn’t notice the beauty of the changing leaves or the way the clean cool air felt in my lungs.

I’m back to noticing these things.  I love wearing my skinny jeans, riding boots, and a large sweater to run errands on a weekend morning, as seen here:

Does anyone know where I can find boot socks like these?

Or decorating for fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving:

This would be beautiful as a Thanksgiving centerpiece.

If I were to have a Halloween party...

Or cooking up fall comfort foods:

I love all things mushroom.

I'm on a very strict diet, yes, but I could definitely make this with ground turkey and lots of veggies, and mashed cauliflower on top instead of mashed potatoes.

You can't tell me this pot roast doesn't look amazing.

I have an unnatural obsession with popovers.

Again, all things mushroom.  This sauce would be perfect on pasta or polenta.

These brussels sprouts just look delicious.

Mostly, I am back in love with fall.  I love that it is now socially acceptable for my nails to be so dark they’re almost black.  I love reminiscing about the fall.  I love getting decked out in my Bears apparel to either go to a game or go to the bar for a game.

I’m going to ISU for homecoming this year.  I’m going to walk the quad, and into the buildings I lived and worked in (the ones that are still there, anyway.)  I’m hoping to run into friends.  The last time I was down there for homecoming was in 2009, and I am very much looking forward to going back.  I was there in May for a wedding, but it's not the same when the campus is a ghost town, and also when it's hotter than Hades.  I much prefer crunching through the leaves on the quad in a big comfy hoodie, and maybe a hot chocolate in hand.

My home, 2003-2005.

Tailgating. Homecoming 2009.

Lastly, I got the new Mumford & Sons album, Babel (pronounced BABE-el, not BAB-el, like the Brad Pitt movie) and it is freaking fantastic.  This will definitely be my fall go-to album.  Expect a post about Mumford, as well as indie/folk music in general in the near future, as it screams fall.

Clothes:
Brown outfit here.
Black outfit here.

Decor:
halloween candy: here.
pumpkin centerpiece: here

Food:
Mushroom Crostini:
Shepherd's Pie:  here.
Pot Roast:  here.
Popovers: here.
Mushroom sauce: here.
Brussels sprouts: here.

six week body makeover

In 2010, I lost 30 lbs.

In 2012, I gained 30 lbs.

Today, I started the Six Week Body Makeover in an attempt to take this 30 lbs off.

This diet consists of: no sugar, no simple carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, etc.), no dairy, no alcohol, no pop or juice.

This diet includes: lean proteins (some fish [tuna, whitefish, halibut, cod, shrimp, scallops, crab], chicken and turkey breast), most vegetables (excluding corn, peas, carrots, beans), complex carbs (parsnips/turnips, potato, sweet potato, oatmeal, rice, brown rice, and rice noodles), and some fruits (grapefruit, berries, peaches, and strawberries.)

Yesterday I went to the grocery store, and spent about $50 on the majority of my food for the week.  I did not buy enough vegetables, so my plan is to make those for dinner fresh.  Everything else, I prepped, cooked, and packaged yesterday.

Here is what my meal plan looks like for this week.  Please keep in mind that this is in fact, a DIET, so yes, the portions are small and controlled:

Breakfast: 2 oz egg beaters and 1/2 cup spinach.  I made an egg beater "mug scramble" which is something I stole from the Skinny Girl, and omitted the cheese.  Next time, I'll add hot sauce prior to nuking for extra flavor.

Morning Snack:  2 egg whites (which I will nuke and douse in Frank's Red Hot) 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (from our garden, and thank God I LOVE tomatoes now.)

Lunch:  1 turkey Italian sausage (which is roughly 2 oz), 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup spinach and/or watercress (depending on which container I grabbed today.)

Afternoon snack:  1 chicken tender (seasoned with hot paprika), 1/2 cup brown rice.

Dinner:  1 chicken tender (seasoned with hot paprika), 1/2 cup brown rice, and there is baby bok choy in the house right now, so 1-2 cups of that.

Dessert (if I want it) 1/2 cup strawberries.

I am also taking a Yoga class with my mom, tonight is the second one of the 4 class session.  In addition, I hope to make it to the gym on a regular and consistent basis, 3 to 4 times per week.

we remember

Today, is a day for reflection.  It’s Tuesday, September 11, 2012.  Today, we reflect on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

Today reminds me a lot of that day.  Sunny, warm, blue sky.  Calm.  Except today is probably going to remain calm.  Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was chaos.

I remember where I was.  2^nd hour. Choir.  Linda McEachran.  Buffalo Grove High School.  Mac always had the TV on as students entered the classroom.  Another teacher came running in telling us to switch over to CNN.  Judging by the look on this other woman’s face, Mac wasn’t going to say no.

Smoke.  That’s what I remember seeing first.  Lots of thick black smoke.  We sat and wondered what happened?  Never once thinking it was a terrorist attack, until we watch the second plane, live.  That’s when idle chatter in the classroom stopped.  We all sat down.

Mac didn’t turn the TV off.  Instead, the fire alarm went off.  We all had to evacuate.  2^nd hour choir consisted of Freshman through Seniors.  We were all thinking like children.  We are being bombed.  I remember thinking we’d never been prepared for a bombing.  Not like our parents had, with nuclear bomb drills.  We were evacuated, and brought around the back of the building, which was even more unusual.  I remember having a conversation with still to this day one of my best friends, about what was happening.  Something had to be happening in our area for them to evacuate us in this weird way.

We weren’t outside for too long, less than an hour, because it was still 2^nd hour when we got back inside.  As it turned out, someone had burned something in a chemistry lab.

The halls were practically silent in between 2^nd and 3^rd hour.  When I got to 3^rd hour, Dassonville, the quirky humanities teacher who made his own clothes, was wearing the pants with lobsters on them, frantically pacing, on his cell phone, trying to reach family and friends in New York.  His normally frantic, sporadic attitude was exaggerated that day, almost to the point of scary.

After 3^rd hour, teachers were instructed to continue with class as usual, which was bullshit.  Some teachers complied, other’s didn’t.  The rest of the day after that point is a blur.

I remember wanting to go home.  I remember getting home and being glued to the TV.  I don’t think we ate dinner that night.  I remember my boyfriend at the time had to work.  I remember calling him after work in tears, terrified that the draft would be reinstated and instead of college, he’d be going to war.  He assured me he’d find some way around it.

The days and weeks following held constant reminders.  All air travel was grounded.  My dad traveled a lot for business (and still does.)  I was very thankful that he was not out of town that day.  I worried for his safety for a long time after that, every time he got on an airplane.  A few years ago, a friend of mine’s mom told her story to me over dinner.  I don’t recall how we got on the topic, but her and her husband had been overseas, and were stuck in Europe for days.  They were on a cruise ship and could not get in touch with their daughters.  As she told me the story, about how they were routed through Europe to get home, her husband’s company getting them special accommodations and transportation, I just began to cry.  She said when they descended into Chicago, the pilot made an announcement that they’d be flying past the Sears Tower, and she remembered looking out the window at it.  She said when they landed, the customs officers just let them go.  They were all so happy to be home.

Air traffic was grounded in the US for four days.  On the fifth day, we had marching band practice.  I remember a plane flying overhead… the first plane we’d seen in days.  We all stopped, and looked up to the sky.  We had been rehearsing “God Bless America.”  To this day, that song still makes me cry.

Last year, I spent 9/11 at the Bears home opener.  I’ll never forget, people in the stands complaining that we didn’t “get” a flyover during the national anthem.  I couldn’t have disagreed more.  A flyover is not entertainment.  A flyover is a tribute.  We are constantly on high alert, and never in the green with terror threats.  I in no way shape or form wanted our service men and women leaving their military duties to fly over a football stadium.  Not that day.