Thanksgiving Blobby Feeling

I have the blobby feeling this weekend.  Blobby is very similar to feeling fat.  It is like all the food you ate on Thanksgiving Day is sitting in just bouncing around because it has no where to go.  Blobby.  Plus I did not go and work out the day after Thanksgiving so I let the blobby feeling really form.

I do not rank this Thanksgiving meal high on the good list.  I still ate a lot but not as much as in year's past.  I was not in a good mood all week and it continues.

I love food

I don't know if I have either mentioned this but I love food. Bad food is the best. I like it fried and juicy. Yum. Today I had the best lunch: french fries and a cheese burger from Five Guys. Loved it. The burger was juicy with cheese, lettuce, grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, green peppers, and mayo. I love Five Guys french fries. I got a small which is really like a large and ate the whole thing by myself. I need this big lunch because I ran 8 miles this morning and did some serious retail therapy. I was craving Five Guys big time.

I needed to add a little blue and white because I just watched Penn State defeat Wisconsin in basketball. The basketball team is doing very well this year. I hope the team keeps it up and we see Penn State at the NCAA tournament.

There is another snowstorm headed this way about mid-week. Not excited about another storm. I am ready for the weather to warm up. My heating bill is out of control because it has been at or belown freezing since the beginning of December. I need a break. I need a warm spell and no snow.

I have been watching a lot of golf on television. So jealous of the golfers. I am ready to see the green grass and have the warm temperatures. I will get to hit golf balls tomorrow. I am going to an indoor range on the northwest side of Pittsburgh. This could be very interesting. I know I am a little stiff from all the running. However, I am ready to get back in the "swing of things."

Life's Goods and Bads

Christmas season is upon us. Unforunately, I am not really into the season. Between work and wishing my Mom was here for the season, I am not really in the mood. Work still sucks. This program called Fit For Life where we provide PE teachers for private and parochial schools just plain sucks. Teachers are calling off like crazy, and there are no subs. A sub I did have quit because the travel was tough. Oh come on...you live in Pittsburgh. Travel always sucks because you are old roads that never were changed to modern travel. Tomorrow I have to get some more subs. I just plain hate my job still.

I did a job interview today. I am not the best at interviews. I can talk your ear off and sometimes questions just through me. I should know now because I have done enough interviews. The job is not that great and the pay even worse. I have applied to so many jobs I can't even remember what half of them were.

This past weekend I went to New York City. I bright spot in a yucky season. New York at Christmas time is magical. All the people and decorations are amazing. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is amazing. It brought tears to my eyes. I loved every minute. I did lunch at the Plaza, explored 5th avenue, hung out at Rockefeller Center, danced through Broadway, ate in all the Villages, and explored all modes of transportation. I saw Addams Family and Chicago. Both were great performance. I saw Nathan Lane for the second time, and he still could be one of the best Broadway performers ever. I spent a lot of money on food and drinks but that is fine. Saturday night was a good night with food, drinks, and friends. Loved seeing all my wonderful friends. I hope to go back soon.

I hope Christmas season brings something good for me like a good job in a position I want away from a gym.

The Next Top Chef

I love the show Top Chef. The challenges combined with crazy contestants leads to great food. Whenever I go to a town with a Top Chef contestant's restaurant I try to go. I have not been too successful in getting into the restaurants. Some of these places are real ritzy or require a significant reservation period. However, I have been to a great Top Chef restaurant in Washington D.C. called Good Stuff.

Good Stuff is brainchild of Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef. He was one of my favorite contestants because he was overly confident, loud, and he loved his red meat. Good Stuff is best explained a a high end fast food restaurant. The menu consists of All-American classic hamburgers and french fries. However, like all great chefs Spike adds twists to his food with great burgers such as the Prez Obama, Good Stuff Melt, Michele Burg (a great turkey burger), and many many more. He has several different types of french fries. The sauces that are available are incredible. Dip your fries into them or add them to your burger. The mango mayonnaise and the chipotle mayonnaise are my favorites. However, a great splurge is the shakes. My first shake was the black and white which has chocolate sauce dripped all along the sides of the cup. It is so good I cannot give it up to try another.

I have been to Good Stuff three times. On one of my trips I was lucky enough to see Spike. Since it is like a fast food restaurant you pick up your food at the container within 5 minutes after ordering. The place is always bustling and good luck finding a seat. This is a great time to make new friends. My Spike meeting occurred with my good friend Katey. Her and I love a deep love for Top Chef and Spike. When we walked in that day, I was so excited to see Spike handing out the food. I ordered my burger (I do not remember which one, I like to try something new every time. Plus the burgers are always changing.) and fries, and waited patiently for my order number to be called. I was so excited. How could I be so lucky to be handed my food by Spike? My number was called and I walked up very confidently and Spikes, "Please enjoy your food and have a great day." My response: "Is this all for me? I can't wait to eat." I did this all while giggling like a school girl. Such a great response. I made such a impression. So proud of myself. Katey and I could not stop laughing or stop eating. The food is good. (The pictures at the top are a sign with Spike at Good Stuff and Spike serving the great great Good Stuff.)

This now leads me to how I am going to be the next Top Chef. Katey gave me for my birthday the cookbook: The Good Stuff Cookbook by Spike Mendelsohn. How exciting. I could not wait to jump right in and good. But what to try first? I needed to make Spike proud with my first recipe. I chose the Good Stuff Melt with Village Fries. Let me tell you: this was tough work. I did everything from scratch. I pureed the sauces, cut the fries, caramelized the onions, sauteed the mushrooms, chopped the herbs, grill the burgers, and in the end ate everything. The Good Stuff restaurant makes it look so easy. Your food is out in five minutes at most and nice and steamy. It took me almost two hours. I am not complaining. Good food takes time. However, I learned Good Stuff takes a lot of good people. I will continue to cook Good Stuff but not all the time. Not the healthiest recipes but everyone deserves a good/saturated meal every once in awhile.

Because I want you to go and buy Spike's cookbook, I will not be posting these recipes on my blog. However, I am willing to cook you a Good Stuff meal. Reservations are required at least 7-10 days in advance. The restaurant is casual dress. Bring a big appetite and lots of napkins (Good Stuff is only good if is messy). See you soon :)

A little delay

It has been a little over a month since my last post. A lot has happened since my last post. I have left my old job but glad to announce I have a new job. I will be the Health and Wellness Director of the Penn Hills YMCA just outside of Pittsburgh. I am very excited. I do not start until June so I am enjoying an extended vacation. I have been able to travel a little. I have been to Boston, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. A lot of fun. I have also been playing lots of golf. I am a golf girl, and it is hard to keep me off the links.

I am continuing the cooking trend. Tonight I was a grill master. It was very simple but delicious. I love mushrooms so I grill portabello mushrooms and added some Swiss cheese on top. I then lightly grill the buns for a wonderful portabello sandwich. In addition, I grill asparagus. I just placed the asparagus right no the grill. The whole meal took about 15 minutes. Quick and easy. Something for everyone there.

Crazy week

For someone who is only working two or three days a week, I feel exhausted. I am so glad I am leaving my current place of employment. Everyday the place gets more and more ridiculous. It is actually very sad at how upper management works. I really just want to scream at the General Manager and use all the bad words I can think of. He is just a terrible person. The worse part is that the members will be the one's to suffer in the long run. F*** you Mr. Stedman. Hahaha...that feels good to say.

Today I had the day off and work still is recking havoc on me. At about 8:45 am I get a call to see if I can teach cycling class at 9:00am. I was at home enjoying the morning off reading a book. In less than five minutes I brushed my teeth and put some workout clothes on. I get there and the tense is crazy. The worse part about everything is that some people in this ordeal cannot stand up for themselves. The complain all day long and when push comes to shove they back away. Do not act like you care...you had your chance.

I started moving stuff out of my apartment. I moved a whole car load to Johnstown on Monday. I cannot believe I am moving back to my parents house. I definitely need to but it is still crazy. I am currently sending out resume and cover letters like crazy. I wish in a cover letter you could just beg. I really want to write: "Please hire me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hire me!" Do you think that will work?

I have not tried any new recipes this week. I have been eating out a lot this week. Not a great idea but I think that is going to be happening a lot the next week and half. I have a lot more to move and so much to clean. I do not mind cooking or doing laundry but cleaning is not for me.

I am going to Boston in little over two weeks. I am very excited. I have never been to Boston before. I am also going to a formal for MIT. My brother has his grad school formal and I will be attending. I think this should be scope out all the smart boys and make one my husband. (Just kinding....I am still holding out for a PGA tour professsional.) Like a boy he tells me to wear something a little nicer than what I wear everyday. What I am thinking is I get to go get a new dress. Shopping time.

I love that it is March. The weather has been wonderful this week. I feel like the sun has not shown all year. This week the sun has been out and the weather has been warm. It just makes you feel better. Another great part about March is all the basketball. Again my sleep is off. During the Olympics I was up all hours watching the events. Today has not been as exciting as day one but still good games.

another good meal

Today was so beautiful outside. The temperature was about 40 degrees and sunshine. The best part was the sunshine. I went shopping and bought a nice spring outfit. A skirt and shirt to match. I also bought a white demin jacket. I was so excited because I lost my other one a trip. I like that I can wear this coat with almost anything.

I made a new meal tonight. It is called farfalle with mushrooms. Another simple recipe. I have so much leftover though. This is a good thing because I will not have to cook for awhile.

life

Hello all. Can you believe this winter? Never ending. I was suppose to go to Baltimore this past weekend, and unfortunately mother nature had other plans. I drove to Johnstown on Thursday evening just to say hello but ended up being there till Monday morning. The city got about 12 inches while I was there leaving me snowed in. Not a lot of fun. Everything in Johnstown closed which does not happen often. The movies even closed on Friday. I watched a lot of television. On Saturday evening, I finally got out for a little to see Up In The Air. This is a must see movie, dark comedy, George Clooney, you can't ask for more. However, I did not get to go to Baltimore. I hope to get down there soon, and spend some time with friends.

I tried a new recipe for leftovers. I have a lot of extra ham I had frozen and I used it a chicken cordon blue wrap. Another easy recipe and not that hard. Great way to use the ham. Nothing exciting with the food.

A bad thing in my life is my right foot. I have a collapsed cuboid bone. I have to get it popped back into place every morning at the physical therapy office. Not much fun, and it is pretty painful to walk right now. The bone being collapsed it putting extra pressure on tendons and my foot is upset because the bone is in the wrong place. Also, I hate this problem because I can not workout. I have to rest my foot. I hate not working out. I want to exercise, and I hate sitting around. The physical therapist says hopefully it will feel better in 3-5 days. I want it better today but I will have to behave.

A New Post, Again

I hate to admit this but I forgot I have a blog. My life has hit a lot of speed bumps in the past three months. Like I have stated many times before my job is terrible. Well, that will not be the case for long. I put my resignation letter in last Thursday. I will be at my current position for about another month. After that point who knows. A lot of factors went into my decision. The biggest thing is...I am unhappy. I need something more from my job, and I am going to figure out what that is. I do not have a job lined up but I am meeting with a career counselor to hopefully figure that out.

A huge reason I am taking this leap is my mom passed away at the end of January. The whole thing came as a shock to me and my family. I miss my mom terribly. I talked to her everyday. My mom definitely was able to help me get through this job. I could call her at anytime to talk, bitch, cry, or just whatever. Adding the sadness of my mom's passing with my distaste of my job has made a really tough month. I do not need to feel this way. So with all of those factors, I am going to try a new chapter in my life. I have a lot of support here in West Virginia and especially all of those at home and everywhere in between.

A new aspect I am going to add to my blog is my new recipe of the week. I like to cook but I always seem to be cooking the same recipes. So, I decided to pull a Julie and Julia and start cooking. I am pulling recipes from everywhere. If you have a suggestion pass it along.

My first recipe was lemon shrimp with white bean and couscous. Not a good recipe. I loved the shrimp and couscous but not the beans. I was trying something new with the beans. I typically do not like white beans but I thought with the lemon flavoring I would like it more but no such luck. The recipe tonight was Black Bean Enchiladas with spinach. This was an A+++ recipe. I made 8 enchiladas and ate three tonight. I can not wait to eat some more tomorrow for dinner. No idea what I am going to try next week but I will let you know.

I hate my Job. i had a busy weekend.

I am having a day where I need to stay...I hate my job. It is such a degrading job and I want out. That is it for now.

I had a busy weekend. I went to Pittsburgh on Friday night to Fright Night at Kennywood. It was such a beautiful night. I rode some roller coasters and visited some haunted houses. I learned that I am a true weeny. I screamed and yelled in all the right places. It was a lot of fun. I also got to eat some P.F. Chang's. Can't beat some good food.

Last night was Halloween. I went out for the first time in a long time. I dressed up as a devil in a blue dress. I had two drinks and got to visit with some great friends. It was a nice night. I love seeing all the crazy costume ideas and how little some girls where out. Just because you can wear next to nothing does not mean you should wear next to nothing. Finally, I enjoyed some Eat n' Park at the end of the night. I love food.

Today was a long day. I had to work at a job I hate. I also am very worn out from my whole weekend. I need to get through this week because I get to go visit Penn State weekend. We are...Penn State. I am going to the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game. I also get to visit and see some friends I have not seen in a while.

cloudy with a chance of meatballs

I love food. There have been some great movies this year about food. First, Julie and Julia and now Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. The movie was very good. It put me in a food coma. The very beginning of the movie starts with a shower of hamburgers, and all I wanted was a hamburger. I should have not been hungry because I had a wonderful dinner of homemade pasta in pesto with two great friends. I could not asked for a better night of food.

Speaking of food, I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow. Even though I love food, I hate going to the grocery store. I never get everything I need and always leave with more than I need. However, I currently have on yogurt, leftover pesto, one slice of bread in my fridge. That is not a good sign. My cupboards are not much better. Tomorrow I have to stop at the grocery store. Plus, I do not want to get scurvy so some fresh fruit is in order.