PLANNING A WEDDING!

December 7th was a Monday that started off like any other Monday, dragging my butt out of bed reluctantly to head off to work, hating every minute of being out of my warm comfy bed, but the day ended differently than any other day ever has or will: I GOT ENGAGED!

Leaving work that evening my cell phone rang, which is pretty unusual in these days of texting.  It was my boyfriend, telling me he was going to be late coming home.  He got pulled over on his way home and (OOPS) his registration was expired because he was too lazy to re-register his car, so he got towed.  He was waiting on the side of the road about an hour and a half away from where I was currently leaving work so a friend was going to come pick him up and give him a ride back to the office.  From there, he would have to take a company van home and then at some point that week register his car so he could pick it up and drive it home.  I couldn't hide my aggravation at the fact that the tickets he now had to pay could have been avoided if he had just registered his car when he needed to.  I think I said something snippy like "well, you learned that lesson and won't make the same mistake in the future, huh?"  I drove home just as snippy but resigned myself to the fact that what happened was done and from here on out we try to avoid unsightly expenses at all costs.  What a day...

So I come home from work, irritated and needing to get some school work done.  However, I have an apartment to clean: dirty dishes, litter box, empty the dishwasher, and cook dinner since my boyfriend will not be home to help.  After all that is done, I can start my school work.  It is the last week of my quarter: I have a quiz to take, chapters to read, discussion question answers to post, responses to give to other learners, and a paper to finish.  All of this is due on Friday.  Awesome.

So I get to work, cleaning and finally cooking.  I don't even remember what I made that night.  My boyfriend got home about 7:30 pm.  We ate, we discussed the crappy situation at hand with his car.  After dinner, I went into the bathroom and when I came walking out I saw something brown sitting on top of my dark blue comforter of my bed, on MY side of the bed, mind you.  I said "what is this?!"  My boyfriend came into the bedroom to look and said "That would be cat shit".  Awesome.  We just got a kitten on November 28th and the kitten has never gone to the bathroom anywhere but his litter box since...except for Monday, December 7th.  I was FURIOUS.  We had just started letting him into the bedroom during the hours we were home, and while I was cooking and cleaning he went in and shat on my side of the bed.  Livid does not begin to describe how I was feeling at that moment...I looked at my boyfriend in despair and said "what else is going to happen today?" 

Finally after my boyfriend cleaned up the cat mess I sat down in the recliner to do some school work.  I was highlighting in my textbook for about 10 minutes when all of a sudden my boyfriend came over and squatted/knelt down next to my chair.  I looked over, think I said "what's up?"  Then I noticed the small red box in his hand...and I think I stopped  breathing.  My body just went into shock and I think I kept saying, "oh my God...really?? Are you kidding?  Is this really happening?  Are you SURE!?" And he opened the ring box and inside was this gorgeous sparkling stone, a round solitaire diamond set high in a gold band, absolutely breathtaking and I grabbed it out of the box to put it on myself and it didn't fit...so I put it on my pinkie and he said "will you marry me?" and of course I said YES!

Restaurant Review of John's Pizza Restaurant, 111 Rubber Ave Naugatuck CT

John's Pizza does not look like much from the outside.  It's set next to a Dunkin' Donuts and a Family Market, across the street from a Friendly's.  When you walk in, there is no host or hostess and it's as if you've come in through a back door simply because there is no one to greet you and the tables are right there in front of you.  I went there last night with my girlfriend, hoping for some delicious "wood-fired grilled pizza" as their handmade sign out front advertises.  Boy, were we in for a surprise.

The waitress came over to drop menus to us as she was bringing drinks to another table.  She was multitasking the entire time we were there, which is exactly what a waitress should do.  Within minutes she had taken our drink menus, nothing fancy, just a water and a diet coke, although they had Shiraz which is my favorite wine and I have not found that at many pizza places or Italian restaurants.  We decided on a chef salad with italian and peppercorn dressings on the side, and a small pizza with red sauce, broccoli, sliced tomatoes, and ricotta.

Our salad came out within minutes as well.  Nothing fancy, pretty comparable to any chef salad I had ever had.

Our pizza came out shortly after.  Now who are we kidding, this was the main event, what we were really looking forward to.  And it exceeded our expectations!  I love a thin crust.  The crust on this pizza was delicious, thin, light, fluffy, and tasted like a wood-fired crust should taste!  I was really impressed.  Now, a pizza can get pretty wet and messy when you have red sauce AND sliced tomatoes on it.  This pizza was not too wet, nor was it too messy, even with the added moisture from ricotta!  Instead each bite was full of flavor, chewy crust, no toppings were falling off so each bite had each of the ingredients in it.  The waitress was so attentive that my water glass was just below half full and she was bringing me a new full glass.  As soon as I took my last bite of pizza she was right there sweeping my plate away for me.  She was really great.  The whole experience was a positive one.  A great night out with a good friend, excellent food, friendly environment, and great service.  I would highly recommend John's restaurant if you are ever in the area and looking for some wood-fired pizza.

Amazing Weekend Breakfast!

So last weekend I was about to make breakfast and I noticed I had a couple of overripe bananas about to go bad and be thrown out so I decided to make banana pancakes for breakfast.  When I went to grab the milk out of the fridge was when I saw a pint of strawberries that also needed to be used, so I figured: strawberry banana pancakes.  Then for a twist, I thought I'd throw some heart-healthy oatmeal and walnuts in there and hope for the best.  I really wasn't expecting much.  How they turned out, though, was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  The strawberry and banana paired so well together and the walnuts added a new taste and texture to pancakes.  The recipe is as follows:

Mash up one ripe banana
Mix with 3/4 c. Bisquick (I was in a hurry!)
1/4 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
cinnamon to taste
chopped strawberries, about one large handful
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. walnuts

As with any pancakes, heat up your cooking surface on medium or medium-high.  I used a griddle.  Plop a large spoonful of batter down on the surface and wait until you see bubbles forming throughout the pancakes to flip them.  Once flipped, let them cook a few more minutes on the other side and that's it.  Top with some butter (I like Smart Balance Light) and light syrup.  They are really quick, easy, and taste like you spent hours perfecting them.  Good luck!

The Holiday Season

Last year was my first year celebrating the holidays while living with my boyfriend, but our second year celebrating holidays together.  This year is the first year he has stated that he is looking forward to the season, which is so exciting for me!  Last year, I was the one that wanted to cut down a tree and decorate it, and I did most of the decorating myself.  Last year we didn't have much money to spend on gifts and the holidays were stressful.  Also, we always have to run around visiting everyone and never get a chance to relax so it's tough.  But this year we plan to map out when we will do what and try to reduce some stress on ourselves, perhaps even having a holiday party and thusly eliminating the need to go see everyone on the actual holiday date.

I have officially started Christmas shopping.  I don't know what I am getting most people, and some people will be getting just home baked cookies.  But I do know what my boyfriend is getting, what my dad is getting, and that's about it.  Can't tell ya just yet...sometimes they read my blog.  But I will tell you when the holiday is over!

Of course, the holiday season actually begins with my anniversary with my boyfriend, then Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then Christmas, then New Years all within two months!  The end of the year is always pretty crazy...but fun and exciting too! :)  Can't wait!

Restaurant Review of Tequila Grill in Naugatuck

Tequila Grill has recently opened in Naugatuck.  I went with 4 other people.  There were only two tables of people eating when we got there at 6 pm.  Our waitress was friendly enough.  We needed extra time with the menu because the font used is a little difficult to read, especially when all of the meal names are in Spanish and then the descriptions underneath are in English.  If one does not know pollo means chicken, camarones means shrimp, and so one, one would need to ask the wait staff a lot of questions about the menu.

The waitress came over and we were all ready to order except one person, who stated "You can start with them and I will know by the time they are done ordering" and the waitress smiled and said ok and walked away to go to another table.  ????

To start the meal off we were given one small bowl of chips and salsa.  The salsa was extremely watery and strangely sweet, although the flavor was good.  We were never given a refill on this, which I thought was strange. 

When she finally returned, we ordered our food and then the waitress disappeared into the kitchen.   We did not see her much for the entire meal.  The food was ok.  For Mexican, I expected a little bit better quality.  I ordered chipotle chicken and expected to see a chicken breast topped with chipotle salsa as the menu suggested.  What I got was a very thin slice of chicken breast that was cut into squares and has been tossed in chipotle sauce.  The flavor was good.  However, it came with a side of refried beans topped with cheese.  The cheese was not melted because the beans were not hot.  Also on the side came a pile of lettuce, two slices of cucumber, two slices of red onion, and a tomato slice.  A salad as garnish?  There was also a side of rice which was ok; it was dry and relatively tasteless. 

One person at the table ordered chicken enchiladas in green sauce, which looked decent if small.  One other person ordered steak chimichanga which actually looked very good.  Another person ordered beef burrito which also looked decent.  I did not taste any of the other meals. 

After our meals came, a fourth friend came to meet up with us.  The waitress looked at me and said "is she eating?" then looked at her and said "are you eating?"  Nice right?  My friend said "I would like a water with lemon, that's it".   Not for nothing, we all ordered waters with lemon and we got limes.  I didn't mind, I like limes, but I would have liked to have been told that was all they had.  I wish I had taken pictures for this blog now that I think about it!

What NOT To Do In The Kitchen.

When you are cooking, especially when you are following an unfamiliar recipe because you are making something for the first time, it's important to still use your own brain power and think about possibilities instead of simply following directions verbatim. Had I followed my own advice, I would not have been cleaning up an entire roaster plan in the form of glass shards from my kitchen counters and floors.

Today I decided to make a whole oven roaster chicken for the first time ever. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to lift the skin up and place herbed butter under the skin so that while it cooks it gets crispy but the chicken stays moist and delicious. The recipe called for heating up the pan in the oven while you prepare the chicken, then placing the chicken in the pan. I recommend not using a glass pan for this process. Cold chicken, when placed in a hot glass pan, creates shattered glass. DUH. Had I been thinking instead of following a recipe I would have realized this. Instead, as I stated before, I ended up with my kitchen full of glass shards, had to throw away the entire chicken plus my rosemary seasoning and a tub of butter, and I had to clean up for about an hour and a half. Not the way I wanted to spend my Friday night. Don't make the same mistake as me.

 

What a damn shame :(

Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who picked up two mini-chickens on his way home from work, we are still able to have dinner tonight.

Restaurant Review of Legal Seafoods of Boston (in Arlington VA)

Recently on a school trip to Arlington VA my boyfriend and I decided to try Legal Seafoods of Boston for dinner. Expecting a lot from such a busy place where we had to wait with a buzzer for a table at 9:30 pm, we found ourselves to be quite disappointed. We were not buzzed for a table although there were two available and clean on the patio where we wanted to sit. We had to physically go inside and ask to be seated even though there was no one ahead of us!

Once we got a table, our waiter came over quickly and took our drinks. When he brought them, we had to stop him from walking away and tell him that we wanted to order appetizers. I ordered a cup of NE clam chowder which of course one would expect to be delicious from a seafood place. My bf ordered raw oysters.

We had finished our beers and still not gotten these items about 25 minutes later. Finally our waiter stopped by and told us sorry for the delay, he had to open three bottles of wine. We ordered a second round of drinks. Finally our food arrived: the soup was lukewarm, at best. And not that good. NE clam is supposed to be thick and creamy, but this was thin. And that’s what my bf had ordered for his meal.

My meal was shrimp wontons with seaweed salad. There was a tiny bit of salad and the wontons tasted like soap! I would not recommend this restaurant, I have no idea how they managed to be so busy when we were there waiting for a table. Mind you, we only sampled a small portion of the fare on the menu, but were pretty disappointed overall. Poor service, cold soup, and a long wait for the food after having waited 20 minutes for a table at 9:30 at night.

http://bit.ly/4nQIh

Barefoot Running with Vibram Five Finger Shoes

9/22/2010

A RECENT UPDATE: (apparently my husband was ahead of the trend on this one!  Still can't say he's fashion-savvy though ;)

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/baring-it-all-the-barefoot-running-trend-2337336/



So for my boyfriend's 28th birthday I got him the one thing he truly wanted: Vibram Five Finger Shoes.  Ugliest things I have ever seen in my life but he has been obsessed for awhile now.  He is forever following Tim Ferriss's blog where he first learned about the shoes.


http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

As soon as he came home from work he noticed the box of shoes sitting at his computer desk.  He was so excited he ran over and opened it up and pulled the shoes out of the box, then pulled the balled up tissue paper out of the shoes.  He started trying to fit his toes into the slots in the shoes and then immediately demanded we go outside and take a walk so he could really try them out.  We walked for about 20 minutes and when we got home his feet were sore, because the shoes supposedly strengthen your foot muscles.  He says once you put them on and they fit really well, you barely feel them!  Try some for yourself...

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Quick, Easy and Delicious Dinner!

Tonite I made a yummy dinner kind of spur of the moment with what I had on hand.  I cooked some cod that I had bought: in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.  I put it in a pan, coated with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkled with lemon juice.  Also, I topped it with sliced raw onion, basil, dill, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.  On the side, I cooked some wheat rotini which I mixed with butter, milk, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumbled gorgonzola.  We had no fresh veggies in the house so I opened up a can of low sodium green beans.  Deliciouso!

Traveling for School

So this weekend I will be traveling for school for the second time.  The first time was back in June when I went to Arizona for two weeks.  We stayed in a nice resort with two pools, happy hour, awesome food, and I met a ton of great people that also go to my school. 

This time we are going to DC for a week to learn about nonverbal assessments.  I am most excited for when we travel to Minnesota to learn about counseling though.  That is one area I am lacking psych skills because I have never had to do on the job counseling with clients, at least not since being an intern in group homes back in 2005. 

http://godc.about.com/od/usmemorialsmonuments/US_Memorials_Monuments_in_Washington_DC.htm

I am not excited for the trip because we start at 7 am each day.  We are required to attend breakfast together and socialize.  Does anyone care that I cannot formulate a sentence before at least one cup of coffee?  Now I will be forced to conversate with others at a time when I am usually just getting in the shower at home.  Kind of crazy.


Find your online program: http://www.directoryofschools.com/

Delicious Dinner I Made Friday Night

Baked Potato Chips

I sliced red potatoes super thin, sprayed them with olive oil cooking spray (less calories than if you were to sprinkle olive oil on them) and threw on some salt and pepper, roasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes on 425.

 

I also made a stuffed filet mignion.  I made up the stuffing myself.  I combined 1 egg, bread crumbs, one can of pink crab meat, thyme, basil, a pinch of smoked paprika, about one large handful of large shrimp that I cooked and chopped up, sauteed celery, onions, and red pepper, salt, pepper, and crumbled gorgonzola.  I sliced the filet in half almost all the way through and stuffed the stuffing inside with my hands.  I then closed the meat as best I could with a couple toothpicks and placed it in the oven at 350 for about a half an hour.  I like my meat medium rare so cook yours longer if you like it more well done. When it came out of the oven, I placed some roasted asparagus on top as a garnish, (roasted in the oven the same way as the potatoes for about 8 minutes), as well as one shrimp that I had also roasted.