It's been a very busy few days in my little life...
On Wednesday evening, I was sitting in bed at 10pm when I got a text from a friend asking me if I wanted to go to the U2 concert with her in Philadelphia the next night. My response...
*blink blink*
Huh? On a work night?
Mind you, my spontaneous side flitted out the window when I left my city life years ago. Now I'm a too tired after work, sitting in bed reading by 10pm, asleep by 11:30 at the latest kinda gal. Realizing how old and sad that made me sound, when the opportunity arose, after some thought, I went for it. It was a great time...the ride down was an experience when I became co-navigator but got a phone call from Hubster at the absolute wrong time and we ended up one state further south than where we wanted to be. Oops!
Friday was none other than Harry Potter Day! I wasn't a fan from the start...I only recently began reading the books, but I caught the movie bug around the Half Blood Prince - that might very well be the first movie made after I started dating Hubster. I loved the movie and kinda want to go see it again..oh...and Hubster bought me a replica of Hermoine's wand. Before that, I was running around the house with a chopstick casting spells. Go ahead and laugh...I'm letting my geek peek thru :)
Saturday and Sunday were spent hosting parties at our house. Hubster is turning the big 3-0 tomorrow and we had a friend pool party on Saturday and then a family party Sunday. Needless to say, I'm tired and partied out. Aside from seeing friends that I haven't seen in awhile, the bonus is that we've go so much leftover food I won't need to cook for a week (which works out because this is supposed to be a HOT week). I also got my refurbished Canon dslr camera on Saturday! I was so excited to see the FedEx man backing into our driveway that I ran out of the house and slammed the door on my finger. Ouch. I kept telling Hubster it's throbbing and the fleshy part of my finger felt hard (yup, I'm that kind of patient) and he told me to ice it, but I was too preoccupied unwrapping my new toy. Buddy was over, so he and Latte were the lucky models for my test pictures. I'm pretty sure they were tired of the crazy lady chasing them around with a camera. I'm planning on taking a workshop so I can learn how to take good photos.
Here's to hoping it's a quick work week!
{ cindie }
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
what I learned this weekend
Happy Monday!
Even tho this weekend wasn't a long weekend like the last, it was still enjoyable and I'd have to say kind of educational for me. I made a few discoveries that I'd like to share {because, well it's Monday and who couldn't use a nice distraction?}
My dear friend, aka Twinnie transferred her CSA share to me this weekend and I got to pick my own veggies, fruits and herbs! For those who don't know, CSA is Community Supported Agriculture and you essentially pay a membership to a local organic farm and during the spring/summer months when crops are in harvest, you go to the farm and pick your own veggies {depending on what is available/ready for harvest on that date}. It's pure awesome and I'm seriously thinking of doing it next year.
I got spinach, bok choy, lettuce, strawberries, snow peas, sugar snap peas and a ton of different herbs that I can't wait to use! It felt good picking my own veggies and knowing they were free from pesticides and all that other nasty stuff.
I also learned that Chobani pomegranate greek yogurt is amazing! For those that know me well, I am a huge fan of pomegranates. I don't eat them often because of the work involved, but if I go to the market and I see something with a pomegranate flavor, or if I'm in a bar and they have a pomegranate cocktail on the menu I'm for certain going to get it. And this stuff is no exception!
No doubt that I just devoured one minutes ago.
Lastly, but not least, I learned that I have some truly amazing friends {not that I didn't already know that} whose strength in some of the most difficult of times is inspiring. I've learned that along life's path, you meet many people, some who call themselves your friends and then those who really are your friends. While my numbers have dwindled in the past few years, it's because I've been able to distinguish who is a 'friend' and who actually is a friend. It sucks when you make that discovery, but it's something that has to happen. And after awhile, you start to feel better about it. I'm a better person because of my real friends because they help me discover the person I want to be, and I can't thank them enough for that. They've stood by and supported me through some of the most difficult times in my life, and I only hope that I've been able to do the same for them as well as they did for me. Right now, as I type this, one of my oldest and dearest friends is dealing with the discovery that she may soon have to say goodbye to her best friend, her dog Lucy. My heart breaks for her, her husband and their little boy. It kills me that because of our physical distance, I can't be there to hold her and hug her and comfort her, that all I can offer are my words. So, if you are reading this my dear friend, I love you and I'm so incredibly sorry that this is happening. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
{ cindie }
Sorry for the abrupt change from jolly to sad...
Even tho this weekend wasn't a long weekend like the last, it was still enjoyable and I'd have to say kind of educational for me. I made a few discoveries that I'd like to share {because, well it's Monday and who couldn't use a nice distraction?}
My dear friend, aka Twinnie transferred her CSA share to me this weekend and I got to pick my own veggies, fruits and herbs! For those who don't know, CSA is Community Supported Agriculture and you essentially pay a membership to a local organic farm and during the spring/summer months when crops are in harvest, you go to the farm and pick your own veggies {depending on what is available/ready for harvest on that date}. It's pure awesome and I'm seriously thinking of doing it next year.
 |
| { via } |
I got spinach, bok choy, lettuce, strawberries, snow peas, sugar snap peas and a ton of different herbs that I can't wait to use! It felt good picking my own veggies and knowing they were free from pesticides and all that other nasty stuff.
I also learned that Chobani pomegranate greek yogurt is amazing! For those that know me well, I am a huge fan of pomegranates. I don't eat them often because of the work involved, but if I go to the market and I see something with a pomegranate flavor, or if I'm in a bar and they have a pomegranate cocktail on the menu I'm for certain going to get it. And this stuff is no exception!
 |
| yum! |
No doubt that I just devoured one minutes ago.
Lastly, but not least, I learned that I have some truly amazing friends {not that I didn't already know that} whose strength in some of the most difficult of times is inspiring. I've learned that along life's path, you meet many people, some who call themselves your friends and then those who really are your friends. While my numbers have dwindled in the past few years, it's because I've been able to distinguish who is a 'friend' and who actually is a friend. It sucks when you make that discovery, but it's something that has to happen. And after awhile, you start to feel better about it. I'm a better person because of my real friends because they help me discover the person I want to be, and I can't thank them enough for that. They've stood by and supported me through some of the most difficult times in my life, and I only hope that I've been able to do the same for them as well as they did for me. Right now, as I type this, one of my oldest and dearest friends is dealing with the discovery that she may soon have to say goodbye to her best friend, her dog Lucy. My heart breaks for her, her husband and their little boy. It kills me that because of our physical distance, I can't be there to hold her and hug her and comfort her, that all I can offer are my words. So, if you are reading this my dear friend, I love you and I'm so incredibly sorry that this is happening. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
{ cindie }
Sorry for the abrupt change from jolly to sad...
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Confession #14
I'm a huge goofball.
Ok...not really a confession since it's pretty obvious. But I'm also pretty shy upon first meeting. My shyness and awkwardness has often been misconstrued as me being snobbish which makes me sad. Cuz really...well I'm pretty awesome when you get to know me.
Last week, I had a three day training/meeting for work where I was 'forced' to interact with colleagues from Europe and some that I see in the office daily. While my awkwardness definitely hampered me from getting to know my European colleagues better, I do feel that it helped me come out of my shell with my everyday office mates. Our off-site 'social events' were a prime opportunity for me to let my silly out...and well...silly I did get (not drunk silly..Cindie's comfortable enough to be herself silly type silly). And you know what is awesome? I got to know some of these people that I would see walking in the halls or sitting in meeting rooms with me better. And they got to know me...hard working, fun loving, silly me. Not so awkward anymore. Not so quiet. They got a glimpse of who I am, as I saw a bit more of who they were. It was pretty cool.
And because I feel like a post is always better with a picture, here's one of me being me at one of our events
{ cindie }
Ok...not really a confession since it's pretty obvious. But I'm also pretty shy upon first meeting. My shyness and awkwardness has often been misconstrued as me being snobbish which makes me sad. Cuz really...well I'm pretty awesome when you get to know me.
Last week, I had a three day training/meeting for work where I was 'forced' to interact with colleagues from Europe and some that I see in the office daily. While my awkwardness definitely hampered me from getting to know my European colleagues better, I do feel that it helped me come out of my shell with my everyday office mates. Our off-site 'social events' were a prime opportunity for me to let my silly out...and well...silly I did get (not drunk silly..Cindie's comfortable enough to be herself silly type silly). And you know what is awesome? I got to know some of these people that I would see walking in the halls or sitting in meeting rooms with me better. And they got to know me...hard working, fun loving, silly me. Not so awkward anymore. Not so quiet. They got a glimpse of who I am, as I saw a bit more of who they were. It was pretty cool.
And because I feel like a post is always better with a picture, here's one of me being me at one of our events
{ cindie }
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
so ready...
....for mother nature to cooperate and bring some consistent spring time weather so the world can look like this...
...with these people by my side of course (just a few of the many)
................................................
..........but really I'm just totally ready for the weekend...
{ cindie }
 |
| purdy |
...to wear these on my feetsies
 |
| flippies!!! |
...to win this...
 |
| please? |
...so I can do this...
 |
| wish |
...and maybe open one of these...
 |
| it's a dream |
...and truly be
 |
| ahhh... |
...with these people by my side of course (just a few of the many)
 |
| LtoR,TtoB: Allure West, personal, Allure West x2, personal |
..........but really I'm just totally ready for the weekend...
{ cindie }
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
one potato, two potato...
Mmmm....potatoes
One of my best friends once gave me the nickname 'My little potato'.
Hubster has called me more than once 'Queen of Potatoes' and refers to potatoes as my subjects.
While some might think that a nickname like 'potato' or being referenced as 'Queen of Potatoes' might be an insult because potatoes are round and stumpy, I actually embrace those nicknames. Because I love potatoes that much. I love them so much that had I thought of it before our wedding 'theme' was established, I would have wanted a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head in tux and gown as our cake topper. To be honest...I still totally want them just to have and display in our house.
As promised, here's the recipe for the yummy potato and cheese croquettes!
Ingredients
*Croquettes
Chilled mashed potatoes (I use Yukon gold potatoes because they are super creamy!)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBS chives chopped
1 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 small shallot finely diced
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup Panko
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Peanut oil (or other oil with high heat index)
*Dipping sauce
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
1/2 cup light mayonaisse
1/8 cup ketchup
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 garlic clove finely minced
salt & pepper
fresh parsely, chopped
Combine the first 6 ingredients and 1 egg.
Using a spoon (or a cookie drop scoop as I did), scoop golf sized balls of the potatoes. If you have time, chill the potato balls for at least 30 minutes.
 |
| Heavenly balls of potatoes and cheese!!! |
Prepare three bowls for breading the potatoes. In one bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and chipotle powder. In the second bowl combine the remaining 2 eggs and milk. In the third bowl combine the Panko and seasoned bread crumbs.
Dredge the potato balls (hehe) in first the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko and breadcrumbs.
Once you have been breaded all the potato balls, heat the oil in a small pot over medium/low heat. In batches, carefully drop the breaded potato balls in the hot oil. Adjust the heat as needed. Transfer the cooked croquettes onto a paper towel to drain (or if you have a handled strainer you can strain them over the pot of oil).
Whip together all the ingredients for the dipping sauce, saving the parsely to garnish the finished sauce.
Enjoy!
{ cindie }
Btw...I HATE sweet potatoes. Loathe them. They are only distant cousins to the potato and yet try to impersonate them by taking their last name..sneaky sneaky yam.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
fried goodness
wow...I've been a bad blogger this week. Hope you're still hanging around...
...all five of you lol (I don't count Hubster since he's only following cuz I told him as a good husband he has to)...subliminal message..follow me mkay? please? pretty please? I'll make you something yummy :)
Anyway shameless begging aside...I was bad this week. I made a horrible SND last week and it soured the whole week for me going forward. Needless to say my dinners consisted of ramen, lean cuisine and one night a semi-inspired meal of chorizo and spanish rice. The term TGIF never meant more to me than it did today. Bad week done, time to start fresh.
And by fresh I of course mean yummy fried goodness!
A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend suggested an evening of appetizers and board games. With an emphatic 'yes!' I hemmed and hawed over what 2 appetizers I would make. I dug deep and came up with fried wontons with dipping sauce and potato cheese croquettes (because I love potatoes and well what's better than a crispy pocket filled with creamy potatoes and cheese?...well maybe the creamy potatoes and cheese with bacon...mmm). Anyway, here's the recipe for the wontons
Because you can't spell Friday without FRI-ed wontons
Ingredients
Wontons
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 lb ground turkey
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
wonton wrappers
1 can water chestnuts
1 egg
Peanut oil (or other oil with high heat index)
Dipping sauce recipe from here
12 oz apricot preserve
4 tsp yellow mustard
4 TBS teriyaki sauce
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground pork, turkey and onions until the meat is no longer pink.
Drain and transfer the cooked meat to a heat safe bowl.
Chop the water chestnuts and add to the meat. Stir in the ground ginger, soy sauce and white pepper.
Now it's time to wrap!
Crack one egg and separate the white from the yolk. Using your finger, brush some egg white onto the edges of one side of the wonton wrapper. Spoon a small amount of stuffing into the center of the square. Be careful not to put too much or else when you fry them the stuffing will burst out.
Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner so you're left with a triangle.
Make sure the ends meet and seal tight..you don't want any of that yummy stuffing escaping!
You can either leave in these triangles and cook, or you can wrap the bottom corners of the triangle around and fold into a shape that kind of resembles some Georgia O'Keeffe paintings.
In a small pot, pour enough oil so that the wontons will be submerged and heat over a medium high heat. Once the oil is hot enough, drop in your wontons, a few at a time (depending on how small your pot is). Fry until golden brown and then transfer to a towel.
For the sauce, just blend all the ingredients together. Serve the sauce alongside the wontons and enjoy!
I will also be posting the recipe for the potato and cheese croquettes.
Oh it's good to be back!
{ cindie }
...all five of you lol (I don't count Hubster since he's only following cuz I told him as a good husband he has to)...subliminal message..follow me mkay? please? pretty please? I'll make you something yummy :)
Anyway shameless begging aside...I was bad this week. I made a horrible SND last week and it soured the whole week for me going forward. Needless to say my dinners consisted of ramen, lean cuisine and one night a semi-inspired meal of chorizo and spanish rice. The term TGIF never meant more to me than it did today. Bad week done, time to start fresh.
And by fresh I of course mean yummy fried goodness!
A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend suggested an evening of appetizers and board games. With an emphatic 'yes!' I hemmed and hawed over what 2 appetizers I would make. I dug deep and came up with fried wontons with dipping sauce and potato cheese croquettes (because I love potatoes and well what's better than a crispy pocket filled with creamy potatoes and cheese?...well maybe the creamy potatoes and cheese with bacon...mmm). Anyway, here's the recipe for the wontons
Because you can't spell Friday without FRI-ed wontons
Ingredients
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 lb ground turkey
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
wonton wrappers
1 can water chestnuts
1 egg
Peanut oil (or other oil with high heat index)
Dipping sauce recipe from here
12 oz apricot preserve
4 tsp yellow mustard
4 TBS teriyaki sauce
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground pork, turkey and onions until the meat is no longer pink.
Drain and transfer the cooked meat to a heat safe bowl.
Chop the water chestnuts and add to the meat. Stir in the ground ginger, soy sauce and white pepper.
Now it's time to wrap!
Crack one egg and separate the white from the yolk. Using your finger, brush some egg white onto the edges of one side of the wonton wrapper. Spoon a small amount of stuffing into the center of the square. Be careful not to put too much or else when you fry them the stuffing will burst out.
Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner so you're left with a triangle.
Make sure the ends meet and seal tight..you don't want any of that yummy stuffing escaping!
You can either leave in these triangles and cook, or you can wrap the bottom corners of the triangle around and fold into a shape that kind of resembles some Georgia O'Keeffe paintings.
In a small pot, pour enough oil so that the wontons will be submerged and heat over a medium high heat. Once the oil is hot enough, drop in your wontons, a few at a time (depending on how small your pot is). Fry until golden brown and then transfer to a towel.
For the sauce, just blend all the ingredients together. Serve the sauce alongside the wontons and enjoy!
I will also be posting the recipe for the potato and cheese croquettes.
Oh it's good to be back!
{ cindie }
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