On My Time

tea and coffee

2011-05-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

o.k. it can be hard finding places that serve good high quality tea. There's nothing worse than going into a coffee house of cafe that has tea just to find out that they serve Lipton or generic no name brand. Well i a new place just ( JAHO, jaho.com )opened up in the south end right off of mass ave. i was pleasantly surprised when i walked in and discovered a wall of loose teas to choose from that's right i said WALL of teas. They also have mighty leaf tea which is very yummy too. I didn't get anything to eat but the food looked interesting too. I think i will be making another trip there at some point in the future.

mmmmm Sweets

2011-02-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

I have a very pushy sweet tooth, so, to go along with the cooking i have been doing lately i decided to make some sweets too. I have a recipe for Candy Corn that i have been wanting to try for a while now so i decided to make it last Sunday afternoon.

It was time consuming but easy to make. Instead of using the traditional orange white and yellow i used pink and white for valentines day and gave them out to friends. I wanted to put the recipe on here but i can't seem to find it at the moment :( I am sure it is around somewhere so when i find it i will post it.

last night i made "Chewy Nutty Granola Bars" it calls for almond butter and almonds i did not have almond butter so used peanut butter and peanuts. this recipe has a lot of versatility. These bars would be great with almond butter cranberries and coconut or sunflower seed butter, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cranberries. Or oh this one just came to me now, almond butter, dried pineapple and coconut. You could also use maple syrup instead of honey and add walnuts with dries apricots......

Well enough of that here is the recipe:

1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups OLD FASHIONED ROLLED OATS
1 1/3 cups slivered almonds
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup almond butter
1/4 cup Brown sugar

- pre- heat oven 325
- melt butter an 1/4 cup honey in small pot
- pour butter and honey over oats and nuts mix well
- spread oats on baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes stirring half way
- let cool add raisins
- butter 8 inch square pan
- combine 1/2 cup honey, almond butter, and brown sugar in a small pot. cook stirring occasionally until it comes to a boil and sugar is dissolved
- pour over oat mixture mix well and transfer to baking dish, firmly press into dish
- place in refrigerator for 1 hour then cut into squares

comfort food

2011-02-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

as we all know it has been a looooong and cooooold winter. I myself have been feeling a bit cabin feverish. So i have been seeking out things to do to keep my mood up, my mind busy, and my belly full.

I have been doing some cooking, baking, and candy making. ( hey that rhymed lol) Last Saturday i made pasta fagioli and it was easy to make and very very yummy.

The recipe made eight servings there was only three of us eating so i split it in half.

Pasta Fagioli

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 diced onion
1 bunch fresh kale (i used baby spinach)
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 can diced tomato
2 cans white beans
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups small shell pasta
Grated Parmesan for serving

1- heat oil in a large pot, cook onion for 5 minutes add garlic cook 1 minutes.

2- stir in broth tomatoes 3 cups water. bring to simmer. add pasta and Italian seasoning. cook, stirring, 5 minutes.

3- stir in beans, salt and pepper and baby spinach. heat through and serve.

260 calories; 5g fat; 13g protein; 48g carb; 8g fiber

I served it with Italian bread.

hats, hats, and more hats....

2010-12-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

i was going through all of my winter accessories and realized that i have made a lot of hats over the past ten years. below i have put pictures of most of them there are three hats that i can think of that are MIA. Some of these are crocheted but most are knitted. Oh, and this isn't counting hats that i have made for other people there are at least three of them maybe more i cant remember.

With this many hats i shouldn't need anymore... right? well i seem to have an addiction to hats because i have plans and yarn to make two more! See the problem with most hats is they don't keep my ears warm when it is really really cold out. The wind seems to blow right under them. Well, an ear flap hat will prevent this problem. Now, i have two ear flap hats already but neither of them goes with my coat and I WANT A NEW ONE! I found some really cute helmet hats that cover your ears so i haven't decided if that is what i will make or stick to the ear flap one. The other one i want to make will probably be more of a cute hat and not so much a super warm one ( i am not sure i will see ) i have really nice soft yarn and two buttons that match perfectly i just can't decide what hat to make with it. who knows maybe i will break a record for making the most hats.

x-mas 2010

2010-12-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

It is the end of x-mas day and i do have to say that all went well ( there was a little grumpiness is the house but not to bad ). My mom liked the x-mas stocking i made her ( i have to get a picture of it before it gets packed away)i did not finish hers socks in time so i wrapped them still on the needles, i only have a few more inches left to finish. However my mom didn't seem too impressed with the socks, she looked at them laughed and stuffed them back in the bag :( she hasn't been feeling to good so i won't take the reaction too seriously.

I got pj pants, socks ( ankle socks .... in the winter? ), miss matched socks, map for my car, turtle pin, white cocoa, calender, fancy cookies...

Dinner was really really yummy.... we had roast pork tenderloin marinated in a ginger sauce, roasted potatoes, and broccoli MMMM apple pie with ginger snap ice cream for dessert.

holiday season

2010-11-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

hi all. the holiday season is upon us which for me means lots of baking, cooking, and crafting. i have put any knitting that i was doing for myself on hold until i finish knitting socks for my mom for Christmas. I am knitting both socks at once and i am 2 or 3 inch's away from the heel. I should have a problem finishing them in time. Of course now that i have said that out loud...

I enjoy baking, mostly i bake cookies. I have made cupcakes a few times but usually cookies or brownies. Well today for the first time ever i made biscuits from scratch!!!!!

that's right baking powder biscuits from scratch!!! They came out pretty good, i may have over worked the dough just a little. The biscuits had a little more chew to them than i would of liked but all in all they weren't bad.

Tea time

2010-09-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

You have a Picture Mail from Donna Bellew

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Things that r good...                                                                                      Pop overs with jam, loose leaf tea, and knitting on a saturday afternoon :-)                                                      Mmmmmmmmmmmmm pop overs

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Knitting goals for 2010

2010-02-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

well i have several knitting goals for this year, right now it is still just a list. i have not refined or set the exact details for any of these goals. well here goes:

1. knit a pull over sweater ( one that actually fits )
2.there is a circular vest i want to tackle
3.finish the knit picks project bag kit that i got for x-mas
4.complete my ravelrympics ( or however you spell it ) vest in the
two week time allotted
5.i want to complete at least two pairs of socks
6.i would like to make a triangular shawl
7.there is a vest that buttons down the front and has a collar that i want to make it looks like it will be a challenge

well that is it. the goal is to do all of this in a years time i think it is possible. i won't be surprised if this list changes several times over the nest ten months.

hi again

2010-02-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

o.k so i have been pretty lazy about writing on here, sorry.
let's see what have i been up to, well new year new me.
I have decided that this year i need to focus on my personal life. I joined an online dating site chemistry.com it has been three weeks. I have had one date it went well. I had a good time the conversation flowed well. we went for lunch and had hot pot in Chinatown. I had never had it before it was really really good and kind of fun. You have a pot of boiling broth in front of you, they bring out veggies and whatever type of meat you order ( it is sliced very very thin). You put it in the broth to cook, it cooks really quick so if you leave it too long it will get dry.
so anyway, he was nice kind of nerdy (but that's one of my types) if he calls again fine if not that's fine too. There weren't any real sparks or anything. I am talking to two other guys on chemistry right now so we will see what happens.

I also have some knitting goals too. I will list those another time i am kind of tired it has been a loooooooong hard week so i think i will go have some tea, a slice of the applesauce cake that my mama made MMMMMMMMMMMMM that will make me feel better and because the cake has applesauce in it it has half the fat you would find in other cakes ( so i don't have to feel guilty eating it)

chow yall

Pictures of the sweater

2010-01-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

You have a Picture Mail from Donna Bellew

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Here are a couple of pictures of the finished sweater.  While it didn't turn out exactly as planned (due to sizing problems) i do think it came out pretty nice and i really like the color.

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2010-01-03T08:29:00.001-08:00

I finished the sweater before the end of 2009 !! I am trying to post pictures but my computer won't cooperate :( i will keep trying.

October

2009-10-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

well it is October already, this year just seem to be flying by. I don't like October for reasons i won't get into right now, just not in the mood to get into all of that at the moment. I have so many things to take care of i feel like a attach to a tread mill the just keeps going and going..... two more teeth that need work done on the (PPPPPPPPPPPPPP) i need to get to the eye doctor it has been three years and my glass's are on their last legs... i primary care doc just up and left her practice with telling her patients so now i need a new..... i have yet to find an endocrinologist that i like ( thyroid doctor ).. i need to get my brakes checked.... i could go on forever but i won't. I guess it is just Monday. sorry i am not in a better mood.

september

2009-09-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

how can it be September already? where did the summer go? don't get me wrong i love fall weather the only problem is it is followed by winter.

well, any hoo. there is a lot going on with the career front. I have decided that i can't do the job i have anymore mostly i can't put up with other peoples crap, low pay, and poopy diapers. I have been burnt out for a while but up until recently i liked the people ( most of them have left ). A few things have happened at work over the summer that have changed me or at least the way i feel about the childcare field. so i have been thinking and looking and i decided that while i want to leave the childcare field i do still want to work in education. I have sent out 4 resumes and i have four more to send out. I am mostly applying to different public schools not for teacher positions for support staff (instructional aid, the inclusion program.......) i also sent a resume to the children's museum, and two after school programs.

I realize that the school year has already started and that most schools will already be fully staffed, but, i found that some are still looking and a few others have anticipated vacancies that they will need to fill part way through the school year. so now i just have to wait and see what happens ( of course i will keep looking ) and do some follow up.

back to the real world.....

2009-08-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

hi, i just got home from my vacation today and i go back to work Monday. The Berkshires were fabulous, I was surrounded by mountains and had a view of the most beautiful lake. In the morning there was big puffs of fog rising up off the mountain tops and the air was soooooo clean smelling. I went for nature walks, i walked the labyrinth every day, i learned a lot about healthy foods and why they are good for us, i participated in a drumming circle, and i ate some really good food!

I left there on Thursday and went to Albany N.Y. for two days to visit my best friend who had a baby about six months ago. She said i could be auntie Donna whoo hoo i am an auntie! The baby was soooo cute she has red hair and the best smile ever. I will have to visit more often.

I got back today and i go back to work Monday. back to the real world, i don't want to can't i live in my vacation world forever? well i guess if i stayed there forever it wouldn't be much of a vacation would it. so back to the real world i go like it or not.

the berkshires ( don't know how to spell it )

2009-08-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

hi all,

in about a week i will be going to a retreat/spa in the Berkshires!!! i went last august and loved it !!! i can't wait to go back. it was just so calming waking up and seeing the fog rise up out of the mountains. oh, yea did i mention that this place is surrounded by mountains! the food is so yummy and it is all organic and mostly vegetarian...... there's a tea bar..... i can't wait to walk the labyrinth....

There will be a lot of self reflection going on witch i think i need right now. They have lots of interesting workshops and movement classes. It is the best place to sit and knit, oh yea, there will be knitting.

I am going for three nights. Last year i went for two nights and it didn't seem to be long enough, however i think four nights would be too long for me. I had such a good time last year that i hope this year can live up to my expectations.

FOOD

2009-08-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yes i am talking about food again. We all know about the bad for us things that are put in food now a days? Trans-fat ( bad for you ) preservatives ( bad for you ) and let's not forget sodium ( very bad for you ) of course i try to stay away from these things but it is hard especially since i don't like to eat tree bark lol.

There has been a lot of talk about how high fructose corn syrup is really bad for you. did you know that it actually makes you grave more sugary foods and research has suggested that it can affect the brain development of children!

The other night while eating dinner with my family i said " i wonder how hard it would be to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from my diet" my mom said " oh, that should be too hard to do " I took a look at the ingredients of the food in my house. Well half of the food in my house contains it. I went to the super market and looked at labels and this stuff seems to be in everything! If it is soooo bad for you why is it in everything? now of course i could shop at a whole foods market and pay double the price for my groceries but my retired mother and I can't really afford to do that. I am still going to try and cut back on my intake of high fructose corn syrup. I will let you know how that goes.

what to write????

2009-07-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

let's see.... well it has been a very quick work week for me it seems to have zipped by. That is always a good thing and tomorrow is PJ day at my school that means i get to where my PJ's to work, yup that's right i get to work in my PJ's and i get to see all of the children in their PJ's whoo hoo and it is a Friday whoo hoo!
sometimes i really do like my job :)

It is supposed to be nice out this weekend :) and the brand new LL Bean store in Dedham is having a grand opening this weekend. I love that store and now there is one 15 mins. from my house whoo hoo!

well i will talk you ya later

yall have a nice night now

blah blah blah

2009-07-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

hmmmm never thought i would be this persons out of site out of mind friend....

kinda feels like high school... you know when you can so easily be replaced by that new kid or you get told " hey gee we had so much fun at ( insert activity here ) to bad we couldn't make room for you to go too, next time for sure "

yup it's true people really do suck.

PPPPPPPPPPPPP

2009-06-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

not in too good of a mood :(

- On the down side i need a root canal on the up side i get to keep me tooth

-down side someone important let me down i should be used to it i always end up being the expendable friend. up side? i really only need myself to be happy. while this is true it is nice to have others around who actually care how you feel.

-down side in a bad mood and sad. up side i am still looking for the silver lining and grabbing onto every little happy moment i can, as i always say " lemon aid, people, lemon aid "

-down side baby head butted me today (right where my bad tooth is). up side baby hugged me and patted me on the back and there was giggling involved

VACATION

2009-06-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

I went on vacation to wiliamsburg Virginia for a week with my brother, this is the second time we have visited this area. It was very pretty with a lot of fun historical things to see.

the main area is the historical village it is a mile long with lots of side streets to go down. First we had a tour of the governors palace and his garden. The governors garden was my favorite, it is big and beautiful. It had a water feature and a large maze made out of tall hedges. It was designed for children to run through and find their way out but i of course could not resist running through it myself. I even started a really fun game of Marco polo with my brother and the other children had to join in.

We also visited york town Battle field and the James town settlement both very interesting. York town had a working historical farm with lots of turkeys running around.

Let's not forget the "food glorious food" One night we ate at an old time tavern, the food was yummy and the price was right but the best part of this dinner was the location. the dining area was located in the basement which is made of bricks and lit by the candles mounted on the wall. All of the staff was in colonial costumes and there was a man playing what i think was a mandolin and singing. We even had dessert MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The last night we were there we ate at a Fancy shamcey restaurant that had a seafood buffet. My brother had 4 plates of food ( he got his moneys worth) there were king crab legs, shrimp, salmon, cod, scallops, crab cakes, honey glazed pork, grilled chicken, mashed potato's (MMMMMMMMM) home made bread, sushi ( we passed on that ) I am not a huge fan of seafood but i really enjoyed the cod fish and crab cakes the pork and chicken were good too. Oh, i made two trips to the dessert station, they had bread pudding to die for and lots of different types of mini tarts (MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM)

We took a lot of pictures too but it was with my brothers camera so i have to wait for him to put them on the computer, he won't let me do it. So once they are on the computer i will post them here :)

"He's not that into you"

2009-05-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

o.k i have been reading the book "He's not that into you" I decided to read it because everybody is talking about it and they made a movie about. One of my friends started reading after a very bad break-up and told me that she found it enlightening and that it was good to hear the truth.

I have also participated in many many different conversations with many different people about this book. i thought to myself if this many people have this many opinions and feelings about this book ( most of them hadn't read it) than i should check it out. I have found the book to be very eye opening and at times funny.

I seem to encounter a whole lot of women that were convinced that they didn't need to read the book " oh, i'm not one of those women" they would say. I am here to say that everybody needs to read the book. Don't assume that you wouldn't put up with any of the stuff these women in the book put up with until you are in the situation, and if you have ever gone out of your way, inconvenienced yourself, or made an unnecessary sacrifice for a man just to end up with hurt feelings THEN YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THE BOOK.

I am not really sure why there seems to be soooooooo many women that are sooooo afraid to admit that they should read this book. Really people it is just a book that happens to contain information they may help keep you from making a mistake with the next guy you date.

just stop being judgemental and read the dam book.

o.k just wanted to get that off my chest

getting lots done

2009-05-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

I had an extra long weekend five days to be exact. I got a lot of stuff done and still had time to mull around.

I finished two of my three on going projects I finished a shrug for a girl at work and i finished my sun hat

I had to frog this thing three times ahhhhhhhhh! I actually didn't mind too much because it was a small project ( A: have i been converted ? ) And i have made a lot of progress on the sweater i have been making for myself too :) My hope is that it is done by the fall.

I took take of a couple of things at the bank and mailed a few things at the post office ran an errand for my mom. I also decided that i need to go through all of the cloths that have piled up in various corners of my room. I have THREE ! bags of cloths to give to goodwill, that is a lot of cloths and i haven't even touched my closet yet!!!!

wow it sounds like i had a really boring long weekend, but i did go shopping twice, took my self to lunch on friday, lounged on my hammock multiple times, got a good buzz on saturday, took a nice walk. so i did take some time for myself to relax. :) back to work tomorrow tha's not so bad i get to see my babies :)

green

2009-05-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

going green seems to be a big deal right now with the ozone layer dissolving and all. well every little bit helps. As an individual one can make a difference by just changing one or two things. I traded in my disposable coffee cups for a travel mug and i try to use my sub/zero water bottle when ever possible. also I recycle at home and at work we do too.

If one individual can make a difference with one little change then imagine what a large company could do, even if some of these manufactures just changed their packaging that would be a really good start. I hate when i buy something and the package is more than half empty what is up with that? My mom just recently ordered two bottles of her favorite shampoo through the mail ( you can only get it through mail order ) They shipped them in two different boxes!!!!! and each box was big enough to hold 5 or 6 bottles of shampoo!!!!!!!! my mom and i were both really pissed about the whole thing. I mean really two giant boxes when they could have used one much smaller box? really? what ere they thinking?

hello

2009-04-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

well i don't really have a whole lot to write about i just haven't been on here in a while so i thought i should log and write something soooo let's see hmmm oh my brother and i have been talking about going away on vacation in june. we go away for a week every summer. We couldn't come up with anywhere new to visit this year so the other day he asked me if i wanted to go to williamsburg Virginia again ( we went there about 6 or 7 years ago) we had a really good time when we went there before. I said i would like to go again. last night he started looking up information on where we should stay flights there........ well this boy must have done some quick planning today ( he had the day off ) because he just told me that our trip is all planned and taken care of like 5 minutes ago. wow so i guess i am vacationing in williamsburg Virginia on June 15th. whoo hoo for me

easter

2009-04-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Easter is going pretty well and had a few small but fun surprises. well, just when i am convinced that my brother is thoughtless and doesn't really care he surprises with a kind gesture.

He gave my mom and i Easter baskets! didn't see that coming it was full of yumminess like chocolate bunny, Reese's pieces, jelly beans, peeps and the worlds cutest little stuffed bunny that plays two songs by making hopping sounds! omg it is soooo cute ( wow i guess i really am just a big kid whoo hoo for me) here is a picture of the little guy

isn't he cute!

and i can smell the turkey dinner that my mom is cooking MMMMMMMM

I just had a rather weird day off

2009-04-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

I guess weird isn't the right word just very up and down. To start with i had today off , i took a vacation day ( up )

i got up this morning and it was really really nice out ( up )

Then i got a text from my co-worker telling me that today was going to be the last day in our programfor one of our children, she is one of the most fun and lovable children on the planet i didn't get to say bye or anything (down)

besides i am tired of seeing these parents do what is best for themselves without considering what is best for their child ( down )

I went to Lowe's to get some potting soil for my planting project ( up )

while i was there i noticed that the herb plants were a really good price i got basil for my mom and mint for me ( up up and up)

went to Lambert's salad bar and got the best salad ever ( UP )

Well when i got home I discover that something was leaking in our basement it was and old water tank that my dad put in decades ago (down)

we had a hard time getting a hold of anybody to come and fix it ( down)

neither my mom or i could turn the handle that would shut the water off (down)
MY next door neighbor was able to come over and turn the water off for us ( up)
my mom and brother got into an argument about the water leaking ( down )
we had really yummy corn chowder and home made corn bread for dinner and my brother and i split a Sunday cup for dessert ( up )

do you see what i mean very strange i think there was a full moon this week. My mood was all over the place i was happy then not Happy then happy then not happy very strange. However i am very proud of myself for still finding joy in my day even though it had some crap going on. ( UP )

old friends

2009-04-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

this past Tuesday i got together for a drink with an old friend from high school. His name is tom and i haven't seen him in 14 years. I guess you could say we had a love hate friendship. We were very good friends and he did always have my back when i needed him too but we did argue not often but when we did it was loud. I think part of this had to do with how differently we viewed things and the fact that we were spending sooooo much time together that we would get on each others nerves. well any way seeing him was great. WE got to catch up i was proud of all the things he accomplished and he was proud of me and really really surprised that i had done so much.

Him and i have known each other since grade school and we had been friends since high school. I am not sure why we lost touch. He has a very busy schedule so he doesn't have a lot of free time between work, his children, his new wife, but we are going to keep in touch and he wants me to meet his wife and children at some point.

nightmares

2009-03-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

oh, i have never been what you would call nightmare prone i generally just have very vivid dreams that are usually pleasant or at least not scary. Sometimes my dreams are rather odd and seem to relate to nothing but that is o.k. by me.

well any way when i do have a night mare it usually fairly scary. i had one last night and it went a little like this: I am outside walking through a play ground my phone rings and the I.D. says it's my brother so i answer " hi what do you want?" creepy voice on phone " I love you" ( not my brother ) ME: "who is this?!" creepy voice: " it's me, i love you" ME: " who the fuck is this?!!!!" creepy voice: " it's me i have your bother and his phone at your house, i love you" ( at this point i realize the voice is the abusive ex boyfriend) I drop the phone and run home, i got there in like two seconds, i guess time runs faster in your dreams. i get home my mom is having tea in the kitchen and my brother is not there nor is his phone. I run up to my mom and scream " he's in the house he's in the house!!!!" she has a frantic look on her face and seems to know who i am talking about with out asking any questions. i scream " we have to leave he's in the house he has J.W. he's in the house!!!!!!" we run for the back door because it is closest and the ass hole appears in the window on our door. so we book it out the front door to a neighbors house call the police ........... then i wake up in a cold sweat to the sound of my alarm clock.

You know i though i had gotten rid of him. sure i let go of him and what he did ( or so i thought) i guess the after effects can linger. all i know is that isn't the first night mare i have had with him in it and i need to find some way to get him out of my soul. I kick him out of my heart and my mind but i guess he is still in my subconsciousness.

MMMMMM chicken salad

2009-03-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

There was some left over baked chicken breast in the fridge from Thursday nights dinner. My mom and i were hungry ( yesterday ) it was lunch time so we made the best chicken salad i have ever had!! oh, it was so good and so simple to make. Now this wasn't just regular chicken salad it had a couple of extras in it that made it so yummy.

we chopped up the chicken and mixed in mayo as usual but we also diced up some apple and walnuts and mixed them in too MMMMMMMM.

The apples give it a nice crispness with just a little bit of sweet and the walnuts give it a slight richness. Oh so yummy. I am drooling just thinking about it and there is enough left over for two more sandwiches!!!!

I think i may have a food addiction, oh well happy eating y'all

hospitals suck

2009-03-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

yup i hate hospitals. I think that most people do. I don't like the way they smell, the confusing hallways and maps, I really don't like being a patient in one. doctors, sometimes they suck too. Why do some of them minimize your feelings about a diagnoses like it is no big deal, or the discomfort you may feel before or after certain tests or procedures. For them it's no big deal because they do these things all the time, there not the ones being poked and prodded but for the patient it can be very scary or uncomfortable.

o.k just wanted to get that off my chest.

men stupid stupid men....

2009-02-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

o.k. i just don't get it, how can they be so obliviously stupidly clueless. oh, and not to mention cheap let's not forget the cheapness.

I met some "boys" through the internet i went out with one of them last weekend. He seemed really nice, we talked on the phone for about an hour, it sounded like he was interested. So we make a date to go to the Gardner museum ( he picked it ). We met at the entrance by the front desk, he was kind of cute in a nerdy way ( that is one of my types ) we shake hands walk up to the counter to pay our admission ( it cost twelve dollars for one adult that's a pretty good bargain ) I quickly found out that i had to pay for myself!!!!! cheapo couldn't cough up 12$ ? this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. so, we go through the museum had nice conversations about the art work, that is really all we talked about. Well it gets better. we walk through the gift shop towards the exit and stop for a moment to look at another painting. I ask if he knows where the bathrooms are? he does, i start to head to the bathroom and he says "well we are all set here so i will be going now" and shakes my hand again!!!! cheapo couldn't even walk me to the door? hello couldn't walk with me out of the entrance? forget about he's not that into me I'm not that into him!

I am totally convinced that all of the good men are either taken or gay.
This whole dating thing is very tiring, dating is supposed to be fun isn't it? I just want to go out with someone nice, I'm cute it shouldn't be that hard to find someone nice.

baby stuff finished !

2009-02-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

As i may have mentioned before my best friend had a baby girl about a week or two ago. Since one of the grandmothers knits and the other crochets i decide to sew a few things for the baby. I had planned on finishing before she was born but life tends to get in the way so i just finished this past weekend. here are some pics I made two bibs ( i decide to do this without a pattern i guess i like to do things the hard way) a burp cloth ( you can never have too many of those) and a turtle blanket ( my friend sue loves loves loves turtles ! )

now all i have to do is mail them that should take me more than a week or two to get around to that.

things i am happy about....

2009-02-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

I decided to make a list of things i am happy about ( this usually puts me in a good mood). let's see how long it gets, well even if i end up with two or three things that is still good.

1. I have a three day weekend coming up that is always a reason to dance
2. it is Friday
3.i am almost done with my friends hiking socks, they have been a pain to make
4.it was warm out three days in a row
5. almost all of the snow has melted
6.i will be baking cookies tomorrow
7. i got home tonight and dinner was waiting on the table for me and my family to eat
8. and last but certainly not least my best friend had a baby girl last week!!! i get to be an auntie whoo hoo!!!!

hmmm 8 things that is pretty darn good!
i feel better all ready :)

snow snow everywhere

2009-01-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

hi y'all,

Well we seem to have plenty of snow a little too much if you ask me. I just realized this year that i am the worst shoveler of snow ever!!! I don't know how this happened but i just never seem to know where to put the snow once it is on my shovel. I look at other peoples walk ways and cars they have nice neat paths mine is always a hot mess. My 75 year old mother shovels better than i do.

Well i seem to have made to my computer while in a good mood. I noticed the nicest thing while looking out of the trolley window on my ride home the other day. Have you ever noticed that a couple of days after snow has fallen it always sparkles on the surface ? well it does and it is one of the prettiest things i think i have seen in a while. I also seem to be having flash back memories from when i was a kid. I remember always looking out at my yard and thinking that the snow looked like frosting on a cake and that the trees and picnic table were decorations made of candy. I think i may of had a sugar addiction! I have always had a vivid imagination.

hmmmm....

2009-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't been on here much and there is a reason for that. My mom always says " if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all" I don't want to be a downer or nasty . i have had some nice things to say at different times but by the time i get to my computer all those happy things poof gone. hopefully this will past because i have done some fun things that i want to write about. i just want to write them while in a good mood, so i can do them justice.

Birthday

2009-01-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

My birthday was yesterday I turned 36. At my job we celebrated my birthday on Friday I got two very nice cards a really yummy cupcake from the bakery down the street, and a flower. It is a custom for our boss to give us a flower on our birthday. mine is very pretty.

My mom cooked a special dinner for me on Friday we had her chicken cutlets made from scratch, Delmonico potato's ( very cheesy ) and green beans with almonds and of course a lemon cake MMMMMMM. My brother gave me a 30 dollar gift card to old navy, my mom gave me a turtle necklace, fuzzy gloves, hello kitty knee socks, and some nice lip balm.

Saturday, the day of my actual birthday, I actually ran a lot of errands blah, but that's o.k because i went to a party that night. Now it wasn't an actual birthday party it was a post Christmas party ( it was originally planned on a day that had a storm ) I got to have disaster cake and a friend ( who couldn't be there) sent along a pretty candle that we used when i was sang too. Oh, and there was a group of my friends moms friends there and they kept telling me how young i looked and what nice skin i had so that was nice. I had some wine whoo hoo and OMG there was so much yummmy yummy food there!

so even though i have not been in the best of moods lately ( and my family bickered all through my special dinner) I did all in all have a nice birthday :)

the new year

2009-01-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

New years eve was really nice this year. I hung out with a couple of friends, watched movies that had to do with new years, filled my face with Chinese food MMMMMMMMM. We slept over, it's more fun that way and it just isn't worth going home at 1 or 2 in the morning.

I know some people get very excited about the new year and what it will bring. I think i was one of those people at one time and i want to be one of them again, I just seem to be having a hard time feeling positive about the beginning of a new year. Maybe it's the catholic in me you know waiting for doom to arrive. Of the last two years did not have such a great start. I try to be positive and for the most part i am able to find joy in the smallest most simple things it just gets hard sometimes.

yummy treats......

2008-12-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

o.k. as you may have noticed i like food, cooking it, eating it, smelling it....... it's all good. Well i did a whole lot of talking about yummy healthy food not too long ago and it is time that i start eating, finding, and sharing some of this healthy food i was talking about. I have done a whole lot of eating of bad for you treats over the past week or so and now is the time i start a turn around with my food choices.

Hear is one yummy snack that i have always enjoyed and it is pretty good for you. It has protein, fiber, vitamins, low in sodium and calories.

green apples with peanut butter dip

peanut butter
cream cheese ( you can use reduced fat if you want fewer calories)
brown sugar

mix together equal parts of peanut butter and cream cheese;
mix in a tea spoon of brown sugar for every cup of dip you make; you can put more or less to adjust the sweetness of the dip, i tend to put less.

slice up your apples ( with the skin on is better ) This goes really well with green apples but you can use any variety of apple that you like they all taste good.

I think that i will be sharing this treat with my friends!!

I am planning on putting up more recipes for different things as i find them. It won't be just snacks i will put up other types of recipes too.

Happy eating!!

christmas is here and almost over

2008-12-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

hi,

well today is Christmas it was a good day. I spent time with my family, we had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts. I am definitely a little spoiled when it comes to Christmas. My mom always goes over board, it is not unusual for me to get at least 8 or 9 gifts just from my mom. here are a few of my favorites.

This is a new mason-Dixon knitting book with several projects that i want to try out when i get a chance. I would also like to get the original book which i have been eyeing for awhile now.

any time you get something from the yarn harlot collection that is a good thing. ( i think i just channeled Martha Stewart for a second)I only have one of her books but i am a fan and check her blog on occasion.

My mom also gave me some knitting gadgets. She always finds some obscure tool that she thinks i would like. Some of the past i have used while others i have just looked at with awe partly because i don't know if i would ever have the skills to use it or i can't figure out what it is for. This year two of the tools she got me ( cable needles and bobbins) with both be very useful. She also got me a very cool looking Norwegian thimble. This is a tool that you put on your finger while knitting and you us it when you are knitting a pattern with two colors of yarn. it has two loops that you run the two different yarns through to help keep them from getting tangled. it looks very cool i will have to find a pattern that i can use it on!

I of course got several non knitting gifts too.

She gave me this really cute shoulder bad that will be great in the spring and summer. It has a lot of pockets and the straps are long enough to put over my shoulder. I love anything with turtles and this turtle shape puzzle looks like it will be really fun. I have never been a big puzzle person but if i have someone to do it with i do find it to be enjoyable. My mom loves puzzles and she said she would work on it with me!

I also got a couple of sweaters and the standard socks and underwear plus some really soft flannel sheets! I told you i was spoiled by my mom at Christmas ;)

so all in all it was a very nice holiday!

tomato soup

2008-12-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

i made the best tomato soup ever about a week ago. I think it may have been the best batch i have ever made! I decided to share the recipe with all of you:

1 12.oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 12.oz can of chicken or vegetable broth
a couple of pinches of oregano or a couple of whole bay leaves
salt and pepper

put the tomatoes and broth in a pot with the spices; bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 to 30 minuets; if you used bay leaves remove them now; let the soup cool down a little and then put in the blender ( in batch's if you have a lot ) and blend until smooth. I have a hand held immersion blender this make it easier because i can blend it right in the pot, if you don't feel like blending it you can leave it chunky it is good that way too.

This makes about 2 or 3 servings you can make a bigger batch if you want as long as you have equal parts tomato and broth just get a bigger can of each.

well that is my soup it is pretty easy to make and really hard to ruin.

why do we put up with it?

2008-12-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

I was watching a show about a battered woman the other day, it was pretty bad. i just kept asking myself why do women put up with this kind of treatment? we deserve better. we are strong beautiful smart independent women and we still for some reason put up with crap from men. is it because we don't want to be alone? are we afraid that we will never find anybody better? perhaps we often choose the devil we know instead of the devil we don't know? I will never understand what makes us put up with this type of treatment. I know it is not fun being alone it can be very hard at times especially as we get older but I have decided that being alone is better than being abused.

i want to scream.........

2008-12-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

well lets see work kind of sucks right now. why is it that the people who are reasonable, non judgemental, flexible always seem to get all the crap thrown at them. I also hate that when someone else makes a stupid decision other people ( ME ) get stuck living with the bad consequences.

let me back tract for a moment. a year ago we interviewed a woman for a part time position in the room next to mine, My feeling was that she wasn't capable of doing the job and that if i had to spend more than 10 minuets alone with her i would rip all of my hair out. well the woman who would be working with her said she would be just fine in her room . so they hired her and she has proven to be incompetent. so, they MOVED HER TO MY ROOM!!!!!!!!!! i said no don't want her!!!! they encouraged me to give it a try ( they didn't give me a choice ) so it i talked to my other co-teacher and we decided to have an open mind she couldn't possibly be as bad as everybody was saying. the first two weeks weren't bad at all then it went down hill fast. She has significant limitations, he's forgetful, pessimistic, spacey, nosey, gossipy, doesn't know how to clean-up after lunch or play with the children no matter how many times i explain to her what she should do or examples of things to try just not capable. So because the idiot in the room next door has no judgement or standards for hiring i now have a crappy teacher in my room! I hate when other people's fuck-ups mess up my day!

yup, i'm talking about food again.....

2008-11-30T10:48:00.000-08:00

this is the season of food! as I sit here writing this i can smell the turkey pot pie that my mom is making from scratch from the leftovers mmmmmmm

as you can tell i love good food. The challenge this year is to not over do it and to focus on eating things that aren't really bad for me and to not gorge myself with sweets. since i do enjoy eating healthy things it shouldn't be too hard to find stuff that is good for me when i go out, the problem is once i get a taste of something that is bad for me i want to eat all of it!

so this is my mission: to find recipes for yummy things that are either healthy or not bad for me ( low calories, fat, high nutrients ) there are a lot of really yummy things to be found if only we take the time to look and taste. Later today i plan on making tomato soup from scratch, mmmmmm oh how good that will taste with a nice piece of bread mmmmm o.k enough of that i should go before i go into a food comma!

who doesn't love a four day weekend

2008-11-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

well this was a short work week for me. I guess i am one of the Lucky ones, i don't have to work on Friday and i do know that a lot of people do have to work that day. Today was an easy day, I only had 6 kids in my room and they all went home early. The last one left at 4:30 I don't get off until 5 so leaving a half hour early was nice! and the traffic wasn't bad at all! well even though this was an easy day i am feeling very tired tonight so i think i will take a nice hot shower, curl up with a hot cup of tea and go to bed early. I will wake up tomorrow to the aroma of a roasting turkey MMMMMMM.

food glorious food!!

2008-11-19T17:43:00.000-08:00

ahhh, food oh how i love good food. I love thanksgiving because it is a holiday that is completely dedicated to cooking and eating food with friends and family MMMMMMMMMMM. Let me tell you my mom can put together a really yummy meal she is a very good cook.

speaking of eating with friends one of my friends invited me over to hang out tomorrow night and see their new place of course there will be food involved. My friend described to me over the phone what we would be having and i have been drooling for the past few days just thinking about it. my friend is going to cook a pepper jack chicken ranch sandwich on a toasted bulky roll with tater tots and sauteed green beans oh how yummy that sounds. I can't wait!

since i have been watching what i eat i have become obsessed with food eating good healthy food. food is the one common denominator for all people no matter what race you are or where you live we all eat food. well i seem to be yammering on a little here so i guess i will go now.

hmmmmmmm where to begin.....

2008-11-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

let's see where should i start. well exactly one year ago this past Tuesday would have been the first date i went on with what is now my abusive ex boyfriend.... It was kind of a hard day. While i would never ever go back and i am glad to not be with him anymore when this relationship started it was very sweet and wonderful for like a month or so then it got bad......... well i made it through the day ( i had it off from work ) without any scars. yesterday the ass sent me a friend request on myspace i asked him why ( I know i shouldn't respond to him I just couldn't help it ) today he sent a message saying he wanted to be friends! he felt bad about how things ended! he wants to talk and fix it! he would feel better if we could reconcile how this ended and be friends! Umm how is this somehow about making him feel better? He abused me, he stole from me, he treated me bad, he tried to break me, these things can't be fixed. The fact that he thinks they can tells me that he just doesn't get it. IT WAS NEVER ABOUT HIM!

I know that over a camp fire in early October i let go of most of the horrible things he did but hearing from him right as that one year mark came up just made me real angry for a moment. I think i should probable just ignore him but i don't know if i should or if i should respond? and tell him how it really is cuz he's got no clue. He wants to be friends he should be happy i didn't press charges.

good choices

2008-11-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

well i have decided that i need to start making good choices about what i eat. i am in a few high risk groups for things like diabetes and heart Diseases. i have tried a couple of times over the past several months to be more mindful about my eating but i didn't do so well. I heard about a web site called http://www.calorieking.com/ and thought i would check it out. It is a really cool web site you type in what you have eaten for the day and it adds up all of the calories and nutrients for you, you set goals for yourself, keep track of exercise. there are forums, blogs, food databases, resources, you get daily tips and advice. They will even generate a bar graph of calories, minerals, and nutrients that you have consumed if you want. for the time being i am really have a good time looking up stuff and seeing what i am taking in using this site. They have a 7 day free trial and it only cost $50.00 dollars for the whole year. Unlike other diets this site doesn't tell you to omit certain food groups it is based on the food pyramid and it just guides you in the right direction. I am hopeful that i will be able to stick with this long enough to get in the swing of things.

Voting day

2008-11-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

well as we all know today is voting day, and this is a historic one. I went to vote before work today and i stood in line for 1 and 1/2 hours! I have never seen such a long line to vote before. I had very contrasting feelings about this long line i was standing in. On the one hand i was aggravated because i had to stand in line and would be late for work but on the other hand it was really nice to see that this many people were coming out to vote. I have been on the edge of my seat all day in anticipation of what the outcome will be. I will continue to sit on the edge of my seat until we know who our new president will be.

Halloween

2008-10-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

a booga booga booga.......... Halloween is one of the funnest holidays of all. I love getting dressed up in a costume that i made myself. Last year i was queen of the spiders... OOOOOOOOOH.... I made a crown of spiders and i had a wand with spiders on it that i could use to control my minions! I was an evil queen! This year i am going to be mother nature. There will be lots of green and i have a crown of flowers. I would like to be somewhat seductive as this character we will see how that works outs I tend to be better at portraying scary characters. I will be sure to post pictures of my costume when it is all put together.

Daddy

2008-10-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me and my daddy in honor of the anniversary of his passing : October 16, 1994

cranky

2008-10-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today i am feeling cranky!! i have been rather moody the last few days and i couldn't for the life of me figure out why? then last i was talking to my friends about how i was feeling moody. One jokingly said " you need medicine for that " That made me laugh :) then another one of my friends looked up and said " It's October" and a light went off in my head, October 16th will be the 14th anniversary of my dads death! That explains my moodiness HELLO how could that of slipped my mind.

Well today i have been really really cranky! It has been many many years since my Daddy pasted and each year it becomes easier to deal with, well easier is not the right word it is never really easy but it is less heavy. i guess this year it was at least light enough for me to forget it was coming ( that's a guilt trip waiting to happen ) or perhaps i just pushed out of my mind. who knows? I guess i am being a downer today, oh, here, i will share a happy memory of my daddy that will make me feel better:

let's see, hmmmmm, i know, i will list a few things i loved about him:
1. he gave the best hugs because he had a squishy belly
2.he used to laugh out loud while reading the Sunday comics
3.I was without a doubt a daddy's girl
4.Whenever he went out to the store he would bring me back something. when i was about 14 he started to not know what to get his teenage daughter so he bought me a fork, yup, that's right, a fork. It had a pretty handle and he thought i would like it. While it is an odd gift i have used it every day to eat dinner since. Actually it may be the perfect gift, It will last forever, i won't out grow it, It is useful, and i can pass it on if i ever have children.

well on that happy note i will go now

my time.....

2008-10-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

let's see this has been a rather univentful day but pleasent just the same. True joy in life is found in the little things that occur each day. You don't need fireworks and pareads to experience joy. Joy can be found almost anywhere if you just slow down and open your eyes. Here ar some examples of where i find joy everyday..... a babies smile, a cool fall breeze, a nice hot cup of tea, hot shower, knitting with friends or by myself, finding a dollar in my pocket.................... I could go on and on but i won't.

The past few months have been particularly hard for my to find joy I have managed to find some it was just a lot harder than usual. There are several reasons why this has been hard let's see: job burnout, having an abusive boyfriend, dumping an abusive boyfriend, expensive things keep needing to be fixed on the house well those are the big ones i won't drag on.

So i have decided to try and focus on all of the little things that are wonderful and cherish every happy moment i have.