Sunday, July 31, 2011

Two weeks-ish until vacation!! I'm very excited. I plan to lay on the beach, read, and drink margaritas. I can't wait.
=)

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Captain America

I'm visiting with my family this weekend (Hi family!). We decided to beat the heat - along with everybody else in Florida- by heading to the movies earlier this afternoon. We saw Captain America. After the somewhat lame superhero movies from earlier this summer (I'm looking at you Green Lantern), Captain America was a pleasant surprise. It was well cast with lots of cute boys, had a good origins story, a decently evil bad dude, lots of explosions, and a fun trailer for The Avengers movie. I'd give it a solid A-.

Creme Pie in the Sky

One of my officemates is having a birthday (or had a birthday two weeks ago and I’m just getting around to telling you about this). I am not one of those people who is nearly organized enough to remember to bring cards or balloons or other birthday fun stuff. I can however remember to bring dessert! My usual specialty is cupcakes, but when OfficemateJoan asked for oatmeal cookies, I knew I had to take it to the next level and bring her Oatmeal Creme Pies.
As a kid I loved Little Debbie and her sugar-crack snack cakes. I have pretty fond memories of tearing through the crinkly plastic wrappers and gobbling up the squishy-soft sweet goodness. This version far outranks the cookies that live in my memories. The cookies are crispy, buttery and just slightly sweet. They’re flavored with cinnamon and lightly scented with just a hint of nutmeg. The filling is creamy, fluffy, and marshmallow-y.
Seriously try them!

Oatmeal Cookies
Source
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 2/3 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon
baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 ½ cups rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set Aside.
3.  In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat until smooth.
4. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar. Beat on low until well mixed. Add rolled oats, stir in by hand.
5. Scoop into small balls (approximately 1½ -inch) and flatten with glass dipped in sugar.
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Cookie should not get brown. Cool on wire rack.

Filling
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
¼ cup vegetable shortening
¼ cup margarine, slight softened
1½ tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jar (1 1/3 cups) marshmallow fluff
 1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the powdered sugar, butter, shortening, corn syrup, vanilla and salt until well blended and fluffy. Add the marshmallow fluff and beat until well blended and smooth.
2. Place half of the cookies underside up. Scoop about a 1½ tablespoons of filling into the center of each cookie. Sandwich another cookie on top an smoosh the filling towards the edges.
3. Store the cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (but they probably won’t last that long!)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

It's raining...
Or it was raining...
I'm glad I can stay curled up with a book, a blanket, and a cup of tea. It's my favorite way to wait out a rain storm.
=)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Apparently there is a tropical storm somewhere within a 100mile radius of me, because me head has been hurting since I wok up this morning. I'm not really a fan.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tuesday: Weight Watchers Day

I lost 3.2lbs this week! That's what I gained last week plus some. I'm very happy about that. I had really been struggling with loss of motivation and drive, but I feel like I've been doing better recently.

Monday, July 25, 2011

I fell asleep downstairs watching Golden Girls with BFFMandy. Then I came upstairs and fell right back to sleep before 9PM. I'm planning on finishing this, taking out my contacts, and going right back to sleep, when did I become that lame?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

I feel like have been watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for two days straight. I started watching it yesterday afternoon, but didn't finish it before I went to movie night. Now, I'm watching it on TV again today with the same commercials and everything. It sort of feels like the longest Harry Potter movie ever.
=)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

My doctor recently switched one of my medications from a capsule to a tablet. The tablets are absolutely disgusting; they taste gross and stick to my tongue and are just generally unappealing. I'm glad I don't have to take it for very much longer.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Friday Finds

1. National Junk Food Day was yesterday. Did anyone eat anything awesome (or awesomely bad?)
2. I mostly wash my dishes by hand, but this dishwasher magnet is pretty darn cute.
3. I love these tiny chalk boards. Plus they come in a bazillion colors.
4. Holy nostalgia Batman! Nickelodeon is bringing back it's 90's programming! In the midnight-2AM block start 7/25 Nick is going to run old school favorites like All That, Pete & Pete, Clarissa Explains it All, Are You Afraid of The Dark?, Hwy Dude, and Doug. 
5. I heard somewhere they're making Captain Planet into a live action movie...
=)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Back in my Running Shoes

I am a champion excuse maker; for serious. I excuse and rationalize and just plain avoid things I don't want to do. Lately that has been running, but I made it back out for a 2-mile jaunt around my neighborhood tonight. I was feeling pretty stressed before I went, but I feel a lot better now. Just another reason to stop with the avoiding and run more often.
=)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Drag Queen Bingo

I went to Drag Queen Bingo at Hamburger Mary's with some of the girls tonight. The food was excellent and the bingo hostess was fun, quirky, and just the right amount of raunchy. It was a lot of fun. I'd highly recommend it.
=)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Headache tonight. Blech...I'm going back to sleep...

Monday, July 18, 2011

I'm Wednesday tired and it's only Monday. It's going to be a long week. One the plus side, I made oatmeal creme pies from scratch today. They look pretty darn tasty. There will be pictures and a recipe to follow....sometime...eventually...
=)

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Still a Work in Progress...

I have been doing Weight Watchers for seven months now; I've lost 35 pounds, run two 5k races (and multiple Thursday night non-race 5ks), and tried a lot of food I would not have tried otherwise. I was pretty sure I had my food and weight-loss philosophy pretty ironed out. I was that really irritating person who thought I knew more than evvverbody else about "eating in moderation" and I wasn't afraid to tell you about it. To those of you I irritated or offended, I apologize.
I fell off plan this week. Actually that's an understatement, I didn't just deviate slightly; I took a jump off the high dive. It was so incredibly easy to fall back into my old eating habits; making moderately okay choices during the day, but scarfing down everything in sight in the evening. I had some revelations this week though. I want to eat real food! It's that simple; I want real ice cream instead of over churned "diet" ice cream I have to convince myself tastes good, I want read bread not "sandwich-thins" or light English-muffins, and what the heck is so wrong with wanting a real egg?
So maybe my relationship with food and eating is still a work in progress. Maybe I'm actually going to have to practice eating in moderation; not just find ways substitute for what I really want. Because at the end of all this I can't just hide in my own kitchen, I still have to live and eat in the real world.
=)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Classics

I went out with the book club girls tonight. We're celebrating our one year anniversary. We went to Taverna Opa for dinner, drink, and just a little dancing (Ha!). It was a blast!
My only complaint is that they listed the restaurant's "Classic Martini" as being made with vodka. As a martini drinker, this is irritating to me. A true martini is made with gin, vermouth, and in my case lots of olive juice. Anything else just doesn't cut it.
=)

Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Finds

1. I turned 26 this week. Yay me!
2. I finally watched Diane Sawyer's Interview with Jaycee Dugard last night. It was absolutely stunning. I'm pretty sure I'm going to read her book A Stolen Life.
3. This week has been hazardous for my diet...I mean lifestyle...I don't think Taverna Opa tomorrow will make it any better.
4. Having a quiet night tonight. Lots on the agenda for tomorrow.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Can't Believe...

I can't believe the last Harry Potter movie will be officially released in less than 90 minutes. I saw this video online earlier this week and I thought tonight would be an appropriate time to share it:



Also check out the #potterinatweet tweets. It's a contest, but I could pretty much read them all day long.
=)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Today seems like it was a very long day, but overall it was a good day.
=)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 26th birthday! 
I celebrated with my officemates (who we've previously established are ah-may-zing). They brought me cards and a balloon and chocolate and we went out to lunch.
See how fancy my desk looks!
I also brought in the birthday cake my Mom made me (I told you that would come back again). Everyone else in my family pretty much always has the same cake: my Dad always has carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (seriously every year for my whole life), YoungerBrotherGreg generally has some variation of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and my Mom usually has some sort of store bought cake (by choice, because she likes it). Me, I have never been able to settle on one sort of cake. I have had dirt cake, mint chocolate mousse cake, ice cream cake, I think I even had a cookie cake one time. In recent years though I've been on a caramel kick. This years cake is a yellow almond-y cake with caramel frosting. It was very yummy.
Yummy Cake!
The day was topped off with fantastic pizza (well actually laundry, but the pizza was the fun part). Seriously if you haven't been try Woodfired Pizza on Bearss and Bruce B. Downs.
=)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Productivity

I had a productive evening:
- I went to the grocery store.
- Put away the groceries. 
- Made a quinoa salad.
- Made chicken for later in the week.
- Portioned out lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches at lunch.
- Packed lunch for tomorrow

But now I'm falling asleep on the couch. Off to bed for me.
=)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Went to a family BBQ today. It was nice to see some of the people I don't get to see on a regular basis.
=)

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Birthday Celebrations

It's almost my birthday *happy dance*! My actual birthday is on Tuesday, but I celebrated with my family tonight. We have a tradition were the birthday person gets to pick the restaurant and this year I chose to go to Raglan Road. The food here is good, standard pub fare kicked up a notch, but the real reason I wanted to go here was not for regular food. I wanted their bread pudding. These people have the best bread pudding in the effing world. Seriously. Generally I am not a fan of bread pudding or anything else that involves soggy bread of cake (yes, I'm looking at you tres leches cake), but this bread pudding is smooth and creamy and wonderful. And then you smother the whole thing with both vanilla sauce and a whiskey caramel sauce. Fan-freaking-tastic! I do not have picture because the entire dish was devoured before I even considered getting out my camera.
After dinner we came home and watched a movie. Then there were presents! I love presents and I'm very grateful to my family for the thought, time, and effort.
We also had cake and ice cream and my family sang happy birthday to me, but I'm saving all of that for a seperate post on my actual birthday.
=)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday Finds

1. I have a pretty awesome apron collection. This would be an awesome addition!
2. Since I started losing weight, almost all of my shoes are too big. It makes walking sort of difficult. I need to get at least a few pairs of heels that fit for work. I'm lovng these, these, these, and these.
3. The first Ice Cream Sundae was made July 8, 1881. Thanks Ice Cream Sundae pioneers.
4. I recently started the book Discovery of Witches so far it's very good.
=)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The DMV has to be one of the nine circles of hell. I'm pretty DMV employees are the only ones who get to just decide they've seen enough people for one day and they aren't going to work anymore. Ridiculous.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Run on Thoughts

I didn't write about my Weight Watchers meeting last night. That was on purpose. I lost another 2.8 pounds this week, but a new member came to the meeting and it brought up a lot of stuff for me.
I have struggled with food, eating, my  weight, and self-esteem for what seems like my whole life. I've spent years thinking "If only I were thinner..." or "Someday I'll weight less and..." I do in fact still think like this at times, but that's a different story for a different post. What I have been struggling with for the last 24hours or so is that a woman brought her ten-year-old daughter into the meeting last night. Even now typing that makes me want to cry. The little girl was tall (very tall at least five feet...and she's ten) and not thin, but not morbidly overweight either.
Now, I didn't hear the whole story of why the Mom brought her daughter and I pretty much make it a habit of not judging anyone else's weight-loss journey. But I just can't help but feel like this poor kid is being set up for a lifetime of food issues and low self-esteem. Wouldn't it be better to teach a young girl to focus on being healthy and making healthy choices rather than on the number of the scale?
Don't get me wrong, I think Weight Watchers is great. I think they tout a plan that let's you live your life in a healthy and satisfied way. But I'm an adult. I know that a bad week on plan doesn't mean I had a bad week in general (it actually probably means  I had too much fun). Ten-year-olds don't have the ability to think abstractly like that.
I just think even though there is probably a valid medical reason this girl needs to lose weight, it should be up to her parents to teach healthy eating and healthy habits. 

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Daily Grind

Back to work today after a nice looong weekend. I wish all weekends were three days. Today was my first day in my new position at work, it was...interesting and very busy. Also as a side note; I know it isn't very original, but if I ever own a coffee shop/bookstore I'm totally calling it The Daily Grind.
=)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!!

I love Independence Day. I love celebrating the birth of our country and the courage, strength, and bravery of those who fought and still fight for our freedoms. I love listening to Patriotic Music (Hi, John Phillip Sousa!) and wearing red, white, and blue (they're all really good colors for me). I love picnics, fireworks, sparklers, laughter, family time, and I love love love summer picnic food. We're having a new porch/backyard picnic at my parent's today. Brisket, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Homemade Pie (Peach and Triple Berry) and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

Homemade Peach Pie

Homemade Triple Berry Pie
My Mom makes the world's best pie crust. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I know a lot of people claim to have a parent or realitive or friend whose pie crust is the best they've ever had, but they're all big fat liars. I love pie and I've eaten a lot of it in my lifetime and never ever in my whole entire life have I had anyone whose pie crust is as good as my Mom's. Here's her secret: ice cold water and a combination of butter and shortening (ok that's two secrets...whatever)

Mom's Pie Crust
For One Crust- Recipe can be double for a two ceust pie, just keep ratio of fat/flour the same.
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup butter flavor shortening (Crisco!)
Ice water (2-3 Tbsps....and seriously I don't mean cold tap water, I mean put ice in the water)

1. In a large bowl combine flour, butter, and shortening. Using a fork or a pastry cutter blend ingredients until pea size or smaller (no large pieces of butter or shortening should remain unincorporated).
2. Drizzle in water one tablespoon at a time. Toss dough with a fork just until dough is damp enough to hold together.
3. Form into a flat 4-inch disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refridgerate dough at least 30-minutes before rolling.

To roll:
1. Let dough rest at room temperature until still chilled, but not hard. Sprinkle a clean dry surface with flour to coat.
2. Use a rolling pin to roll dough to desired size.
3. Follow your favorite pie recipe baking instructions.



We also made (and my we I mean mostly my Mom, though I did help with the decorating) Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops. We used traditional flat-bottomed cones instead of sugar cones; and the cones are filled with Chocolate Chips and Marshmallow Fluff. Otherwise follow the recipe from Bakerella.com.

I hope everyone has a safe, happy, fun, and good food filled 4th of July!
Happy Independence Day!
=)

Sunday, July 3, 2011

I feel like I didn't really do anything today. Laundry...not much else. I was up early and I did a few random things around the house. I'm just not really sure where today disappeared to...

Family Time

I love three day weekends, just knowing that I have an additional day off makes me feel so much more relaxed. I was up early this morning and ran three miles around my parent's neighborhood, then I spent the rest of the day running errands with Mom and helping get ready for Monday's 4th of July party. Best part: We made Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops, super cute. I promise pictures.
=)

Friday, July 1, 2011

Friday Finds

1. July is National Ice Cream Month. Have a cone this weekend to celebrate Independence Day.
2. Princess Diana would have been 50 today. Newsweek has a 'Diana at 50' article this week; very poor taste Newsweek editors. You should do better.
3. Ryan Reynolds is officially single. Yay!
4. Anyone on the new Google+?
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two Countdown: 13 days.