Great in 2008!

This is shaping up to be a pretty good year so far...

First, I actually completed my resolution last year! Which was something to celebrate when the clock struck midnight. Then I took it further and added to it this year!! Last year I minimized my intake of mixed beverages (hard alcohol) to 2 mixed drinks per Quarter. This year I've limited myself to 4 beers and 2 mixed drinks max per Quarter, with unlimited wine. yum! (Next year is going to be tough if I decide to continue this little trend.)

Second, my brother and his girlfriend gave me the Nike+iPod system for Christmas. At first I was intimidated at the idea of having to workout in order to use this very thoughtful gift. I hadn't worked out in at least 6 months. I was terrified. But also dying to get back in shape since I no longer walk everywhere like I did in New York. Well, turns out this was exactly what I needed to get back on track. I started running (jogging) on January 6th and have kept pretty steady ever since. I'm totally psyched about working out now. I even throw a Yoga workout in there every so often. The Nikeplus website allows you to set a 2008 resolution and then set monthly goals to attain your resolution. My resolution is "If I don't run 3 times or 6 miles a week in 2008, I will give up popcorn." (Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep this running thing up.)

And of course, when you workout, you start eating a bit better. I've started making dinners at home again. I mean actual, balanced meals. Not just quesadillas from the quesadilla-maker (super delicious, don't get me wrong). I've even started taking leftovers into work the next day for lunch. So much better than the slim pickin's from our cafeteria where I usually order an Egg Salad sandwich or Quesadilla because the salad bar makes me sick. That's also a $$ saver!

Lastly, my sister reminded me that I have a blog. And you know what - I'm going to try to start writing again.

And THAT is a pretty darn good start to being "Great in 2008!"

2/9/08 - Oh yeah, and towards the end of 2007, I started cutting back on my coffee intake. I now drink only half caffeinated and half decaf coffee and am down to about one cup a day of the half-half mix. If I have two cups, I make the second one decaf. Fun!

SUPER SEEDS!!

I found a quicker, less painful, less obsessive way to get the most out of sunflower seeds.

You go to your neighborhood Indian Market and you purchase these...

SUPER Sunflower SEEDS! Oh my goodness, aren't they humongous?!


"Curry Hill" (Lexington Ave in the upper 20's)
is my new secret to successful sunflower seed adventures!

Sugary Wedding

A PICTURE STORY

Two weekends ago, I went to my friends' wedding. Carrie & Dan are an awfully cute couple.

So cute, in fact, that their theme incorporated old time candy at every table. Gummy bears, york peppermint patties, hershey's kisses, rock candy, red vines, M&Ms, pixie stixs, mary janes, gum balls, lollipops and smarties. And every guest got a bag to fill with any and all the candy of their choosing. Oh...call the dentist!


They even sealed their program by wrapping it with candy dots!

Oh-my-goodness-clever-and-cute!

My friend, Robyn, started flirting with some guy at our table and creating these sculptures out of tableware and candy .

It was quite amusing to all of us at the "misfits" table. Sugar boosts your creativity.


This is what six hours of sugar consumption will do to you.

We're a rather giddy bunch. Hip! Hip! Carrie & Dan!


Random acts of lifting. Sugar makes you strong!

(Boy was I glad to be off those heels for even a minute! phooh! Thank you, sugar muscles!)


Awww...Sugar makes you sweet.

Isn't that just the sweetest pose you've ever seen?

Sunflower Guts!

Sometimes I feel guilty talking about the hippie neighbors upstairs. I mean, they are well intentioned. Also, I told them how much fun I had toasting the sunflower seeds that they gave me an entire bowl full of sunflower seeds, already removed from the flower!

I washed the seeds and laid them out to be toasted. Then I had a thought! Since the hippies were so nice as to already remove them from the flower, why don't I remove them from their shells. This way, when they are done toasting, they will be ready to eat, sans shell. Brilliant!



5 HOURS LATER...



I had the product you see below.



Left: Hulled shells, sans seeds
Right: Seeds, sans shells...Not much of a pile.

And some rather bruised thumbs. Ow!


I persevere (despite the thumbs). I lay the freshly hulled seeds out to be toasted.

Seeds a toasting in the dim toaster oven.

I was amazed to learn that the seeds still POPPED! Despite the lack of shell. I had thought, that perhaps the shell cracking was the popping noise I heard the first time I toasted sunflower seeds. But there they were - right in plain view. Sunflower seed popcorn was jumping off the foil like mad.

A little to quickly, too. Because, after five hours of intense labor, hulling seeds for easy and more delicious consumption...

I burnt half the product in just under 10 seconds.


Burnt and unburnt toasted sunflower seeds.

The upside is the ones that survived the carnage tasted pretty dang good.

And Andy wasn't complaining because he got to eat a bunch of tiny tasty sunflower seeds, in ten seconds flat. Plus, he likes burnt things.

Happy Anniversary, Linda!

Why, Thank You, Blog! Thank you for caring.

Today is my one year anniversary at my job.

Does anybody care? No.

Nobody really cares when someone can hold a job for a year. They care when you can hold a job for twenty-five years! Then, and only then, there will be EXTRA cookies for everyone!

But, you know what? I'm okay with this. Because today my boss and I hosted a meeting, and provided lunch. And there were LOTS of cookies left over.

Since it's my anniversary...I DID NOT REFUSE THOSE COOKIES. I enjoyed them thoroughly.

Congratulations, me.

Thank you, you.

You're welcome, me.

REFUSE THOSE COOKIES!

In the office, a lot of free cookies get passed around.

At most offices, and mine is no exception, there is cake on birthdays. We have cake. And chips. And soda. AND cookies! I like cookies.

When I go to meetings, there is always a plate full of cookies up for grabs. And what else are you going to do while you are pretending to listen intently to all that jibber jabber on corporate overhead? You are going to eat a cookie. That's what else.

There are a lot of women on our floor. Whenever one of them is going on a new diet, they empty their desk drawers and cupboards and mini-fridges of all the chocolates, candies, sweets and cookies they've been hoarding and lay them out for everyone to share. I usually grab a cookie or two.

My desk is right next to the dining halls at work. One of the kitchen staff has taken a liking to me. The other day he brought me a plate full of fresh, whole fruit. I was very excited. I shared them with my co-workers, they were very excited. Then, ten minutes later, he brought me a bowl full of cookies. I tried to share them with my co-workers. They adamantly refused. What was a girl to do? I ate two. Okay, maybe it was three. Then I found a small child running around the office and gave him the rest. I mean, a boy of four has got to have energy to keep running full steam like that. He needed the sugar.

There is a conference room on our floor that none of us use, but many other departments book full all month long. They have catered meetings. When the meeting is finished, we all swoop in like vultures upon the leftovers. Usually, it's a few meat-laden sandwiches and a bunch of cookies. I eat the cookies. It's free! How could I refuse?

Summary: I like cookies. I can't say "No" to free cookies. I eat a lot of cookies at work.

So what should I do? Stop going in to work? Good Idea. Although I'd probably just start baking cookies at home. And not having a corporate body of people to bestow a gift of sweet treats upon, I'd just eat more cookies. Hm.

I think the answer here is "Just say NO." This is a lesson I learned as a child. And I'm not sure I applied it to all the right areas of life. I mean - Cookies! - they are a deadly habit. Shouldn't they warn you about these things when you are interviewing for a job? "We really like your resume, Ma'am, but I want to tell you, this office is Pro-Cookie. We eat a lot of cookies around here. Do you think you can handle that? Are you up to the challenge?"

Pop Pop STOP

I eat a lot of popcorn. I'm serious. A LOT. Ask anyone that's every lived with me. I eat a bowl of popcorn a day. (Pictured below is the bowl.) Lately, it's become two bowls. That's a lot of popcorn.
My friends say, "That's okay, popcorn is good for you."

My physical trainer says, "That's okay, popcorn is good for you."

My doctor says, "That's okay, popcorn is good for you."

I ask them, "Yeah, but certainly AS MUCH popcorn as I eat can't be good for you?"

To which they all reply, "It's fine." "Better than something else." "It's not going to hurt you."

How am I suppose to cut down on the eating or stop this excessive behavior if everyone's so positive about my obsession? Sure, it's cute. It's unique. It makes me ME. But, honestly, the main problem here, besides the kernels stuck in the teeth, is the GAS.

I'm a vegetarian. I already have a lot of gas. And what is popcorn, anyway, but a bunch of puffy white fiber balls just waiting to balloon out in my stomach. (I also eat way too fast for fear someone will one day share my obsession and eat more popcorn than me. This is perhaps a separate issue owing to the fact that I grew up in a family of five kids, me being on the younger end of the totem pole and having to fight dually hard for my rations. Rations being cookies, gummy bears, sinfuls, peanut brittle, "chicken" salad and of course, popcorn.)

So, please, I LOVE popcorn. But I hope that I can one day find someone who will at least say, "You know, maybe you should make smaller portions. You know, if it's just going to be you eating it."

To which, in reply, I will probably pop a third bowl of popcorn.

Anyone want to go to the movies?