Tuesday, July 29, 2008

These boots were made for walking...

and now I've got my bootstraps thanks to a dear friend who was hanging on to them for me. Thanks luv! So off I go.

There's this exam. And the exam and I have had a tense relationship at best. See, I love this exam. The exam doesn't necessarily love me though. I mean I really, really love this exam. I profess my undying love to this exam about once every two years or so. This past June I professed my undying love yet again and yet again, I was denied. Seems the exam has other people courting it too that are better than me in some way. I think they take the exam more seriously and pay more attention to the details that the exam talks about. Crap.

But what the exam doesn't know is that I'm not a quitter. I will prove that this is not some silly infatuation. That I am committed.

And we will fall in love and live happily ever after.And I confess. I've been distracted. I don't spend as much time as I should thinking about the exam and courting the exam. I go out with other people, I sleep in, I watch TV, yadda yadda. I'm a commitment phobe. But that was all before.

Ok I've rambled on enough...so thing is, I have this professional exam which I just haven't been able to lock up. And before when I took it and didn't pass I would get really frustrated and upset and start feeling sorry for myself but funny thing happened today. I found out today that I didn't pass and I was fine. I am fine. I mean, I was sad for a bit. And some insecurities from way back (high school) that I thought I had gotten past came rushing back. But I'm ok now. More than anything I'm just irritated because 1. I studied my butt off and 2. now I have to take it again in December.

I love my friends - they have perfect timing. My girl found my bootstraps. I lost them some time ago. I have them back. I've put them on. And I'm back on that horse.

This time we're going all the way.

I'm back!

I've been gone for a while...did you guys miss me? :)

So this past weekend I was at the awesomest bachelorette party in the entire world held for a dear, dear friend. She was a good sport. She wore the tiara and the pink feather boa all weekend long. In daylight even. Much respect.

The weekend definitely wore me out. And because I'm a scheduler extraordinaire I scheduled my first personal training appointment for last night. As in the day after I got back from the weekend. As in the day my body was screaming at me about the weekend. I'm so smart! Despite the massive amount of pain my butt and thighs are experiencing right now, it was a great session. Next appointment is in two weeks. Plenty of time for me to recuperate from the first session. Or chicken out. ;)

That's a brief synopsis of the trouble I've been getting into the past few days. Will be posting more on the bachelorette party - no, nothing kinky. Get your mind out of the gutter. It will be on all the food that was consumed from street fairs and restaurants alike.

And the personal trainer deserves a post because really he's that awesome.

Not much else to report guys. Didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you guys! My 29 and 1 month birthday is fast approaching and I'm slowly starting to formulate ideas of how I will be spending it. More on that soon!

I feel like I do all the talking here...please feel free to leave comments or suggest post ideas if you so desire. I'm more than happy to oblige. :)

p.s. my coffee resolution is going very, very poorly. I just can't break up with it. I keep crawling back for more. Sigh.

Today's Horoscope

A real friend will understand why you need space, so don't feel guilty if you need to cancel plans today.

Amazing. Seriously....these Facebook horoscopes are more often on point than not. This application comes highly recommended. Unlike the flying sheep app. Ha! :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Today's Horoscope

Do not let someone reenter your life this week. Think about why they left your life in the first place.

hm...

Moving Forward, Looking Back

I arrived at my writing workshop a little early today so was able to flip through my writing notebook which has my writing in there from years ago - 2005. (Yes I know it's only three years...but it feels like much, much longer.) I found an interesting blurb that made me laugh and I knew I had to share.

In my management class in college one of the exercises we did regularly was to imagine ourselves a few years into the future. Imagine where we were, what we were wearing, who was in the room with us, what everyone would say about us, etc. Basically it was a way to get us to think about things that we wanted to accomplish and the steps we'd need to take to get there.

Apparently, back in the fall of 2005, I sketched out this exercise in my writing notebook and the opening line is:

'Start from the end (30) and work backwards. '

Interesting 30 is what came to mind for me as 'end'. Sigh.

The rest of it is the same stuff that's important to me now: travel, microfinance, writing. Same projects, same values. I haven't changed much in terms of the things I want from when I was 26. In some ways that is reassuring and in other ways it's depressing in that I have accomplished maybe 5% of the list. Granted, I took a bit of a detour and was preoccupied with other things - which coincidentally are nowhere to be seen on that sheet - but still.

I've got a little over 11 months before 30. So a little over 11 months to cross everything off that list. I've got the writing part down. So far so good! :-)

Funny Billboard

As seen on Billboard today for a bar:

Come in and drink your date pretty

How rude! But very funny. :)

Monday, July 21, 2008

Monday Blues

I had one of those days today. Nothing triggered it. I actually got quite a bit accomplished. I was organized and responded to all my emails. And yet, it was a blah day. But I have so much to be grateful for and I know that and realize that. I think it's ok to take a step back from it all and look at things from the outside. Detach a bit. Just go through the motions.

Believe it or not, it helps. I might realize something is off and go about fixing it. Or I may realize that, in fact, nothing is wrong. Everything is fine. Either way, at least I take the time to take stock of my life and adjust as necessary.

Coffee Count: 1 Cappuccino. I was good today. :-)

Rachael Ray for a Day

It’s Sunday! That means work tomorrow. Boo. And a new recipe. Yay!

I stuck with Tilapia today. But I did switch up the couscous for quinoa. Following are two recipes: 1 for the Tilapia and 1 for the Quinoa Salad. The Tilapia was juicy and fresh. And the Quinoa Salad was perfect for a hot summer day. The grapes make all the difference. Enjoy!

As always, this is based on my taste so be sure to adjust based on your taste and let me know what you did and how it turned out!

Serves 4

Tilapia Recipe

4 Tilapia filets
1 tsp garlic powder*
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper**
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lime cut into 4 wedges and then halved – 8 pieces

Preheat oven to 450

Use 1 tbsp of olive oil to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Clean the filets with cold water and pat dry. Place filets in baking dish. Combine dry ingredients in bowl. Rub half of the dry rub on one side of filets. Flip filets in dish and rub the other half of the dry ingredients on the filets. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of oil over the fish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Squeeze two pieces of lime over fish as soon as they come out of oven. Serve filets with remaining pieces of lime.

*I prefer fresh garlic. I went ahead and used the dry garlic powder but, as expected, didn’t really taste it. So I recommend using fresh garlic. Either cut garlic in wedges and tuck into fish or mince and combine with dry ingredients and rub into fish. I will try it this way next time.

**I didn’t have cayenne pepper so could not use it. But I wanted to include it for you because it was in the original recipe and I know that it has such a distinct flavor that I didn’t want you to miss out!


Quinoa Recipe

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
4 jalapenos
3 stalks of green onion – thinly sliced
Queso Fresco – crumbled*
2 cups red seedless grapes – halved
Juice of 1 lime – about ¼ cup
Salt
1/8 cup and 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven (or small toaster oven) to 400

Cut stems of jalapenos and slice jalapeno in half lengthwise. Remove seeds (or keep based on your heat preference). Place on aluminum foil that has been coated with 1 tbsp oil. Sprinkle jalapenos with salt and roast in oven (I used a small toaster oven) for 15-20 minutes.
While jalapenos are roasting, bring 2 cups water and 1 cup quinoa to boil. When it starts to boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes or until quinoa absorbs all the water and fluffs with fork.

While jalapenos are roasting and quinoa is boiling, slice green onions, halve grapes, crumble cheese and prepare lime dressing for quinoa salad. Combine ¼ cup of lime juice and 1 tsp salt. Slowly whisk in 1/8 cup of olive oil. At this point, the jalapenos should be ready. Remove from oven and let cool. Once quinoa is ready, pour lime dressing into quinoa. Slice jalapenos into small chunks and sprinkle into quinoa along with green onions.

Sprinkle Queso Fresco and red grapes on salad right before serving.

*The store did not have Queso Fresco so I substituted Queso Blanco and it worked just as well. It was salty and stood up well to the heat from the quinoa – as in, it didn’t melt when I sprinkled the chunks onto it. So don’t worry too much about your quinoa turning into a weird version of mac and cheese.

_____________________________________________________________

This meal was amazing! I was blown away by the flavor combo between the grapes, cheese and jalapeno in the quinoa salad. Very unexpected and very, very good. Love it when that happens!

I loved preparing this meal not just for the yummy result but also because it was SO easy. The order in which things are prepared makes a difference so the following is how I went about it. The meal was ready in under 30 minutes. Eat your heart out Rachael Ray!

I preheated big oven to 450 and small toaster oven to 400.
Prepped the jalapenos and placed in toaster oven.
Prepped quinoa and placed on stove to boil.
Cleaned fish and placed in baking dish.
Prepared dry rub, prepped fish and placed in oven.
Cut green onions, halved grapes and crumbled cheese and prepare lime dressing.
Removed jalapenos from toaster oven.
Removed quinoa from heat and poured lime dressing in and sprinkled in green onions.
Cut jalapenos and sprinkled into quinoa.
Removed fish from oven.

Served fish and quinoa salad along side bowl of cheese, bowl of grapes and remaining wedges of lime.

I hope you have a chance to try this out - especially the Quinoa Salad. You will not be disappointed!

Coffee Count

1 medium from Seattle's Best. I tried..I really did!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

In Defense of Country Music

I confess. I love country music. Why you ask? Why not?? Don’t get me wrong. I love shaking my booty to old school hip hop/R&B but not so much to the new stuff. I’m really not interested in hearing about hoes, grills and how you’re gonna make love in the club. Yeah. I don’t think so. And it’s even worse when the song is being sung by a 16 year old. Those aren’t grills. They’re braces. Ew.

I like country music because it makes me move, feel, think, laugh, fly away, etc. The music through the years has gotten a little less twangy, and the guys have gotten a whole lot hotter. Dierks Bentley. Swoon.

The classics will always remain – Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson. Some big singers who didn’t start out as country are trying it out – Jessica Simpson, Norah Jones, even Jewel. It’s worth a listen.

I crossed over a few years back. Rascal Flatts held my hand as I made the transition. I fell in love with their album Melt and there was no looking back after that. CMT became a regular fixture in my channel surfing. I programmed one of the two country stations in my area into my car radio. Now when I make playlists on Youtube, Kenney Chesney gets just as much airtime as Kirk Franklin and Leona Lewis. Oh yeah, it’s like that.

The following are a few of my favorite songs by country singers or that involves a collaboration with a country singer:

Norah Jones and Willie Nelson – Wurlitzer Prize
Kenney Chesney – Better as a Memory
Jewel – Stronger Woman
Lady Antebellum – Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Rascal Flatts – Movin’ On
Leann Rimes – Something’s Gotta Give
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5

These are just a few that come to mind. There are tons more. I’ll post more as I remember. I know you’re at the edge of your seats in anticipation. ;-)

Withdrawal

I haven't written for an entire week almost. It feels like forever. I blame it on the caffeine, or lack thereof. :-(

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Randomness

My mind is a little all over the place so please pardon the randomness of this particular post.



Tonight I saw my lovely ladies. I do heart them so. I was at a networking event. I've been forcing myself to go to these because in reality I am an awful networker. But it is a skill I need to learn hence the forcing. I did meet some cool people and got some direction on how to go about starting a project I've been thinking about for some time.

Books I ordered from Amazon arrived today. I love seeing that cardboard box when I get home.



Coffee Count: 1 Cappuccino. I'm instituting a new rule. Cappies don't count. :-)

Monday, July 14, 2008

C is for Cookie

I love Cookie Monster. He's my favorite of all time.

So how happy was I when my friend walked into my office today with a heaping plate (blue of course) of the most gorgeous homemade chocolate chip cookies ever. They were big and chocolatey and warm and heavenly. And they were all for me! For my birthday!!!

I devoured 2 on the spot and saved 1 for later. And then I shared the rest with the office.

I really need to make her some samosas.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fishies

The following is a recipe for Tilapia. My refusal to try seafood is well documented so this post may come as a surprise to most. Recently I have become more open to trying new things - fish and otherwise.

Today we discuss fish. More on the 'otherwise' later.

Sunday is my day to unwind. I relax and rest up for the week ahead. Cooking is one of my favoritest (yes that's a word) ways to relax. I tried a Tilapia recipe and it turned out so well that I had to share. The recipe is a combo of various recipes I found online, what was available in my kitchen and what I like. The amounts for spices and other ingredients listed are based on my taste and serve just as a guideline. Use as much or as little as you like....especially when it comes to the green chilli and red chilli powder!

Enjoy!

4 Tilapia filets
2 large red onions - slice thinly
1 green chilli - dice
4 tomatoes - cut into small chunks
1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp garam masala
salt and lime/lemon to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F

Clean Tilapia filets. Pat dry and place in baking dish. Salt and pepper both sides.
Heat oil in medium saute pan. Over medium high heat, saute red onions and green chilli until onions are soft - approximately 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and spices and ginger/garlic paste. Saute until tomatoes have reduced - approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add lime or lemon (or both!) and salt to taste. Spread mixture over filets and cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Fish should be flaky when pricked with fork.

I served this dish with couscous and peas. Basmati rice, orzo, or a simple salad would work as well.

If anyone tries it, let me know how it worked out and what variations you made to it!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Coffee Count

For Friday - 2 grandes from SBUX. It was a rough day.

Fridays

The parking lot attendant was beyond chipper Friday morning (yesterday). In fairness to him it may very well have been me. I hadn't had my caffeine yet, I was running late, and I knew that I'd have to work during the weekend. My Fridays are not like everyone else's Fridays. I don't enjoy it as much as I used to because I know it's not the end of my work week. You know it's bad when you look forward to Jury Duty. The office can't touch you that day. Ah bliss.

Hopefully this working on the weekend situation won't last much longer because it is seriously cutting in to my summer fun.

Typically I wouldn't complain. I'm the type of person who eats, breathes, sleeps work. I like it that way. But lately work has become 'less than'. The only way to get through the week, I have found, is to take up other things.

Once a week I have my writers workshop (I found out last week that she had a spot for me after all!). I took a knitting class a few months back and am working on yet another scarf because that is the only thing I remember how to make. I'm organizing an event for the nonprofit I volunteer for. And I'm reading a ton. Mostly chick lit. Don't hate. It balances out the very serious reading I have to do for work. I heart chick lit.

I should write one:

Geeky, heartbroken, corporate, undercover hottie stumbles upon corporate espionage scheme while toiling away at the office on weekends. Confides in hunky heart throb boss who she secretly is crushing on. Realizes later that he already knew about said scheme because he was in on it. Other teammate who she despises is actually the good guy and undercover FBI agent. In uncovering the scheme, boy falls for girl. Girl still despises boy. By end of ordeal, girl falls madly in love with boy after he saves her from the clutches of heart throb boss. Boss gets banished to office in Alaska. FBI boy returns to FBI land. Girl quits job and goes from geeky, heartbroken, corporate, undercover hottie to no longer heartbroken, major CNBC corporate communicator, and in your face hottie.

FBI boy and CNBC girl live happily ever after.

Sigh. If only life were so.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Blast from the Past - the good kind

I love reconnecting with old friends. Yesterday late afternoon I received an email from my sophomore year college roommate. We learned a lot from one another and I am so excited that she tracked me down.

What's weirder is that I was thinking of her just the other day. I was having one of those 'I wonder where person X is now' moments while sitting in traffic. I was going through my mental rolodex of faces and she was one of the people I thought of. And then she emailed! In the age of Facebook it's easy to track most anyone down. Call me old fashioned but I prefer my roomie's method.

She Googled me.
Then tracked down my email.

Ok so that sounds a bit stalker-ish.

In all seriousness though, she cared in college and she still cares to go through the effort to find me and get in touch. I love it. And I'd much rather get a friendly email in my inbox than get a sheep thrown at me. Really now.

Can't wait to catch up with her!

Coffee count for today - 1 medium from Au Bon Pain. 1 less than yesterday and given that it wasn't SBUX probably a hell of a lot less caffeine.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Resolutions

For me, my New Year is my birthday. As such, that is when I make my resolutions. But before we get to that, let's take a step back and reflect on the trials and tribulations of 28, shall we?

28 was a rollercoaster ride - this may very well be an understatement.

I am grateful for all the experiences I had last year. Good and bad. I learned humility, the meaning of friendship, the importance of family, what it means to truly love yourself, strength of prayer, when and how to ask for help, and that you can love someone with everything you have and still not have it work. And that's ok. It hurts like hell. But it does get better.
And if I ever doubted it before, I never will again: I absolutely believe in miracles and guardian angels and that greater power, whoever/whatever it is.

So with 28 safely tucked away I welcome 29.

The resolutions for my 29th year are as follows:

1. Be present for family and friends.
2. Laugh a little more. Not worry so much about wrinkles. ;-)
3. Exercise at least 3 times a week.
4. Limit the caffeine - now that Starbucks has started their free refill program this could be trickier than originally anticipated.
5. Start the projects I have been talking about for years now.
6. Travel. Reclaim old places. Discover new ones.
7. Eat my veggies.
8. Save enough to buy a place soon.
9. Get organized - from closets to checkbooks to important contact information.
10. Quit my addiction to bottled water. Go aluminum.
11. Follow through. In every sense.

I write this as I sip on my second grande coffee from SBUX. We'll start on that resolution tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

29 - Day 4

I didn't think I'd be back so soon. But seems this blogging is quite addictive.

I spoke with a dear, dear friend today. She called and instantly my day was brighter. I was happy to hear her voice. I hope I get to see her soon.

Today I got to sit in on a writer's workshop. It all happened by chance. One of the regular participants was unable to attend so I was asked if I'd like to take the spot just for today. I did. And it was brilliant. For 3 glorious hours I was surrounded by talented people discussing every aspect of writing from getting the idea, to writing it, to publishing it and everything else in between. I feel my creativity coming out of hibernation. And it feels good.

Current quote floating through my head:

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin

Monday, July 7, 2008

I'm 29!

Technically I turned 29 on the 5th...but was engaged in birthday revelry so was unable to get to the blog until today. The inspiration for this blog comes from an article I read some time ago regarding a young 29 year old who took it upon herself to do something interesting each day leading up to her 30th birthday. Very carpe diem. Very fun.

My idea is slightly different. Instead of every day, I am planning on doing something on the 5th of every month leading up to the big 3-0.

For July 5th, my best girls were in town. I spent the weekend barbecuing with my family, shopping, and watching fireworks. My sisters made me a fantastic chocolate cake that I devoured. And I started this blog! Blogging is something I've been meaning to get involved with. 29 began with lots of laughter, lots of great food, and lots of love. Here's hoping there's more to come of each and then some.

Sunday, July 6, 2008