Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sarah Palin

Is totally gross. She and McCain are going to make a sick twisted pair.

::gag::

Oh, and I'm eating my little bit of frozen snickers right now.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

ultimate satisfaction

I have not forgotten about the quarter of a snickers bar I left in NRS's freezer door wrapped in its own wrapper.

It better still be there or I'm going to have to sniff out the culprit.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Love Love, Kiss Kiss, Blah Blah Blah

Ooops. Its been a minute.

What can I say?

I know!

I ate 3/4 of a snickers bar today! It was just one of those days--I NEEDED it. I was originally going to go for M&Ms, but then we only had the peanut ones. Those don't satisfy my chocolate cravings at all. Then I was going to get a Twix, but I realized what I really really really wanted was a Snickers bar and anything else would just be a poor substitute. So I did it--I bought it!!! I haven't had a chocolate bar in FOREVER. I mean, I eat chocolate everyday. But, somehow my little chocolate squares I eat seem so much less sinful than buying a Snickers from a vending machine and eating it mid-day. MMMmm. It was delicious. I'm pissed that I left 1/4 of it in the freezer. I meant to eat it, but work got so busy that I forgot. It better still be there waiting for me on Thursday when I get there or heads will ROLL.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Presents Day!

pay day = presents day.

(well it also means paying bills and rent and credit cards and all the other owed money, but I prefer to focus on the positive).

Presents I bought myself today are as follows:

1. The Introvert & Extrovert In Love. I realize that I should probably be embarrassed that I found this in the self-help section, but I could NOT resist this book. I have high hopes and plan to read it with a highlighter or some other sort of marking materials. I have also already notified neill that I will be reading him all relevant passages. (In case you were wondering, he is the outie and I'm the innie).

2. The Modern Girl's Guide to Life. This is another guilty pleasure sort of book, but this has information on EVERYTHING. And 25 dollars isn't really that much money for an encyclopedia . . .. right? Plus, it does have a bibliography . . .so it really is semi reliable . . . .right? :) Whatever. I refuse to justify this -- it is enough that I wanted it.

3. New fancy shower curtain from Restoration Hardware.

4. dress to wear for our upcoming anniversary.

5. random tops (including, but not limited to: super soft t-shirts, white linen shirt, red flowered cami, & deep blue shirt). Obviously, there is no justification needed for these because they were all essential items.


Whew. Its like christmas :) My new lust items are:

New bedding set from Restoration Hardware in a yellow hue.

Yessss. Time for gym, dinner, than more of murdoch's splm. wooo

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Midnight Surprise

+ I went to the library the other day and got 2 books to read--The Awakening and Selected Stories by Kate Chopin and The Sacred And Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch. I read Murdoch's A Fairly Honorable Defeat earlier in the year and loved how dark and twisted it was, so how could I pass up a book with a title like The Sacred and Profane Love Machine. I started reading it immediately and it has not disappointed. Dark. Twisted. Sex. Love. Lies. Kink. Good/Evil. Drama. And thats all in the first 84 pages :)

-Work drama. blah.

+Nice dinner with my mom a few days ago. We went to Francesca's Forno right on the corner of Damen, North, and Milwaukee. I've avoided that restaurant since we've moved here because it looked obnoxious, but I feel kinda salty about that because the food was goooood. It was loud on a Wednesday night and (comfortably) crowded, so I'd imagine it gets pretty packed on the weekends and thus will now only be avoided on Fridays and Saturdays.

-Been eating like crap recently. We had what felt like NO food in the house this past week and so neill and I have been eating out every night. Sunday night was Penny's , Saturday night we ate and Alex's and Gracie's party (think steak, cheese, mini quiches, and more cheese), Friday night was the Silver Cloud, Thursday was Sultan's Market, Wednesday was Francesca's Forno, Tuesday was Usagi Ya, Monday was La Pasadita, Sunday was Carson's. GROSS. I didn't realize how bad it was until writing this all down. While I'm impressed at my memory, I can't believe what we've been eating. Just goes to show you how easy it is to slip into that sort of pattern (and by pattern I mean the pattern of eating totally delicious but maybe not so healthy food every night). Thankfully, we just went grocery shopping yesterday and we got tons of yummy fresh and healthy food. I could probably use some fiber in my diet right about now. haha.

+ Speaking of fiber, James came over last night and we grilled up tons of veggies. They were so good! We made eggplant, zucchini, portabello mushrooms, potatoes, and a red pepper. We also grilled up some shrimp and chicken.








After eating we played Circle of Death and laughed our asses off (++++).

OOOOh and also another +++++++ to the max -- it was my grandfather's birthday yesterday! He turned 93 or, as he says it, he is starting his 94th year. My My My. He is such a trooper! Happy Birthday Zadie!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Thursday, August 7, 2008

articles that have changed my life

Many many moons ago, when I was still in high school, I got the best gift ever--a subscription to BUST magazine (note to self: add this website to my favorite links list). I love/d this magazine and, looking back, I'm so glad that I was reading such an awesome magazine rather than seventeen or glamour. I'm sure I read loads of awesome articles, but the one article that really made an impression on me then and still to this day dutifully remains linked on my myspace as my one and only blog entry was Meet the Whimpster (I couldn't find an archive of the article on bust's website, but this looks like the original piece). I LOVED this article. I read it over and over again and shared it with my friends. We would read it together and glance knowingly at the girls who were guilty of dating whimpsters. In our highschool world, this article unlocked MANY secrets.

Anyways, I had all but forgotten about the whimpster until I stumbled across another spot on article about the Manic Pixie Dream Girls. I pretty much agreed with 90% or more of this article--especially the part about Natalie Portman in Garden State. I hate that bitch. Ugh. And Kirstin Dunst (um Elizabethtown anyone? gag). Anyhoo, before I had even gotten to the end of the article about MPDGs it dawned on me that whimpters + MPDG = true love. Apparently, the writers over at jezebel had the same thought. And even though they dismiss the term as so four years ago, all I can think is as if. I heart that the women over at jezebel remember the whimpster, and I'm so glad that they reminded me of it :)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Simple Strawberry Cake

A week or so ago I was randomly perusing blogs hosted by blogspot and I happened across a delicious looking food blog. I was immediately enticed by her entries and appetizing pictures. Particularly, I've had her recipe for strawberry cake on my mind. So, Matt's birthday provided the perfect excuse to try it out.

Her recipe is vegan and uses ground flax seed as an egg substitute, but we didn't have any of that hippie shit so we decided to just use egg in our version. I used the equation 1 tablespoon flax seed + 3 tablespoons water = 1 egg to figure out how many eggs to use. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons flax seed and 3/4 cup warm water and so we ended up using 2 eggs and then adding a bit of warm water to the batter for good measure. Besides this little switch up, we followed the original recipe. The cake was really easy to put together and was very straight forward.



Voila! The finished product!


I kept it in the fridge overnight and then brought it to work for Matt and everyone else. It was pretty good--although not what I was expecting. In texture and taste it much more closely resembled a coffee cake than a cake cake. Fro actually said it tasted like a special k with strawberries, but I'm not taking that comment to heart because he is a freakaleak (plus, I know he didn't mean that it didn't taste good--he ate half the pan!). I would definitely make this again (maybe with strawberries and another berry or adding some white chocolate chips), but probably for a brunch occasion.

Next on the list? I want to try and make the red currant and plum clafoutis. yum!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Inspiring

At work today I was reading an article on stretch marks from the Huffington Post. The article is very tongue and cheek, but it makes a really important point. Lots of real women have stretch marks (whether from growing tall or wide or lumpy or whatever combination of those), but yet I rarely see any out and about (that is, besides my own). Why is this? Why are stretch marks considered unattractive? I know most women complain about them, but how do men feel? I'm not particularly bothered by my stretch marks (mostly because I feel like I've got bigger body issues to fry...um cellulite anyone?), but I also never felt as though any of my partners were concerned with them either. What is the big deal with them?

Anyways, the huffington post article linked to this great website called The Shape of A Mother. Awesome! The site's owner writes:

"It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I think it would be nothing short of amazing if a few of our hearts are healed, or if we begin to cherish our new bodies which have done so much for the human race. What if the next generation grows up knowing how normal our bodies are? How truly awesome would that be?"
What an inspiring message! I'm sure lots of people might see the women who are featured on this website and think that they are gross or repulsive or fat or whatever, but I think words like amazing and brave are more accurate. I apploud them for accepting and loving their bodies for what they are--strong and natural. Its so rare that we see women like this that it is easy to forget that the majority of women have stretch marks, or lumps, or rolls, or whatever. Looking at stuff like this reminds me to be a little kinder to myself and show my body some love!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

another day another dollar

These past few days have gone by so quickly. After going to Piece last Tuesday with Grace and Alex, I came home to spend some quality time with Neill. We had a great night with each other and it put me in a totally good mood. We had just finished the movie 21 (about the MIT student who counts cards in Vegas and wins a ton of money playing blackjack) and so to continue our theme we watched the movie Rounders. Neill had seen it many years ago, but it was a new one to me. It was funny to see Matt Damon so young, but the movie was good! A lot more heartfelt than 21.

On Wednesday I spent more quality time with Grace. We lounged at her place for a while and then trekked over to Marshall's. I got this awesome black and white casual button down shirt with a tie around the waist (which I wore on Friday and received many compliments on). After shopping, we had dinner at a yummy chinese restaurant I had never been to called New Jeanny's. Egg rolls, veggie tempura, and mongolian beef--oh my! Then , I went home and James came over. I hadn't seen him in what felt like a month so it was awesome to catch up with him. This is one of the first (if not the first time) we have spent time alone and it went swimmingly. I was glad to have someone to vent to about work and what not. Before long, Neill came and picked us up and we down to Union Station so pick Jayson up from his megabus stop. I love riding around downtown when its dark outside. I'm usually never around there at night and its awesome to get a chance to see the city all lit up and people watch. I wish I took pictures :(

After all that activity in one day I was soooooo tired. I usually shy away from filling up my days so much. I would much rather relax and take things slow than rush about from one thing to another. If I had the choice between having a day where I could putter around the house/relax/cuddle with neill/do whatever or having a day where I had back to back activities that were exciting and fun, I would choose the former. Does that make me weird? Maybe. I can't help it though--I'm a unique blend of loner and homebody.

Anyways, Thursday was back to work for me (blah). But after work and gym, Neill and Jayson grilled. Yum! It is crazy how much meat he and jayson can consume. I can't imagine what it was like for their mother at dinner time with 5 boys to feed!

That bring us to yesterday. It was time to hit the pool again, but my heart just wasn't in it. I had worked out hard everyday since Tuesday (with a double workout on Tuesday!) and I think my body just needed a break. But, since I had a swimming date with Grace I tried to suck it up. Note to self: trying to swim laps when I'd much rather be cuddling does not work. I don't think I ended up swimming more than a 500. Most of the time I was horsing around with Grace/trying to get a tan. Oh well. At least it was fun. After swimming, Neill and I went to Piece (again). I got the dark and curvy again (yum) and we ordered a HUGE pizza with spinach, mushroom, anchovies (1/2), and pepperoni (1/2). DELICIOUS!!!!!! Waiting for a seat at that place is a bitch and sort of made me cranky, but in hindsight their pizza is worth. Of course during the wait I wanted to give up and just go to Santullo's where I know I'd be able to have a yummy piece of pizza in 30 seconds, but I'm glad I didn't cave.

After dinner I got to see Kurt and Jayson for a minute. They had just gotten back from Lollapalooza and were tired and stinky. Hearing about how crowded and hot it was made me glad that I didn't buy tickets. I think I would rather be at work (which I am) than be standing around all day feeling hot and gross. I can listen to all the music I want on my ipod :)

Speaking of work, I should probably do some.