Thursday, November 30, 2006

Who stole the sun?

Has anyone seen this object lately? It's been missing from our New England skies for what seems like forever.



I lost count what day we are on for grey clouds, drizzle, and fluctuating temperatures. Once in a while, I do enjoy a day with grey clouds. However, this is too much for me to handle.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Non-Sequitur


I love this comic on so many different levels. This is true for a lot of people out in the world! This is one of my favorite comic strips. It's right up there with Garfield and FoxTrot.

Weekend

Thanksgiving dinner was gluten free and delicious. Karina's dark chocolate brownies were a hit with my co-workers and my boyfriend's family.

The day after Thanksgiving was certainly interesting. I arrived at the store at 5:30am. Yes, you read that correct. The store opened at 6am. When I arrived to work, there were people already waiting there to get in. I can think of a million things better to do than wait for a store to open before the crack of dawn.

Overall, it was a busy weekend. So busy, I ended up getting sinus pressure/cold. It is a combination of the flucuating weather and working so many hours as to why I am sick. The weather is so wacky right now, we had a few days in the forties, then we go up to the mid sixties for a few days, then right back down to the low forties. No wonder everyone is so sick right now. This is New England, we are not supposed to mid sixty degree weather in November!

Well it's back to counting those beans.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Holiday Season

While out this holiday season, please remember these few items,

1. Be patient with your local sales clerk in your local retail stores. Remember, they are human
too. It is not their fault that the store is out of the roasting pans, gravy boats, knives, chargers, glasses, or other items needed to have that Martha Stewart picture perfect holiday dinner.

2. Understand that the sales associate does not control the prices or coupons limitations. There are many different factors that control the prices of items. The sales associates do not control this. If you don't understand, go into your local library and lookup retail management and the economy. This should be a good start for you.

3. Do not ask the sales associate to turn off the Christmas music. Yes, Christmas music is playing over the speaker system and local radio stations. Once again, the associate does not have control over the Christmas music. Trust me, the associates have already mentioned this to store management. Just deal with it and enjoy it.

4. Be patient with other shoppers. Not everyone is as organized or as perfect as you. If you have nothing nice to say to another shopper, keep your mouth shut. The associate does not want to become a referee. Most likely, the associate will want to tell you both to shut the hell up.

I will add more as time goes along. If you have any suggestions to add to this list, please leave me a comment.

Thanksgiving

One more day to Thanksgiving. I am actually looking forward to turkey day this year. I am not nervous about eating at my boyfriend's parents house in regards to my gluten intolerance. I am really looking forward to devouring my desserts; dark chocolate brownies, maui wowee bars (both recipes from The Gluten Free Goddess), and gluten free appie pie from Whole Foods.

During this time of the year, most people think about what they are most thankful for in their lives. Below, is my list what I am most thankful for this year:

1. The support, attention, and love from my boyfriend, family, and extended family in getting
myself healthy.
2. The fact that our jobs allow us to have a roof over our head, food in our stomachs, and heat to
keep us warm during the upcoming cold New England winter months.
3. That I have my mom and my half-brother to call family after not speaking and losing contact
for several years.

What are you thankful for this year?

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Cleaning the Fridge

I like making sandwiches at work. I don't like making them at home because I never have enough time and they taste fresher when I make them at work. My coworkers have learned not to ask me what I am making.

I think I have found a new sandwich I like:

2 pieces of Whole Food GF Cinnamon Raisin bread, toasted
1 can Tuna Fish, drained
Sweet Relish, to taste
Mayo, to taste
Black pepper
2 Tomato slices
2 slices of your favorite cheese (I only had American on hand)

While toasting bread, mix the drained tuna fish, mayo, relish, and pepper. Once the bread is finished toasting, put the cheese on the bread. Then add your tomato and tunafish. I actually like this as 2 open faced sandwiches.

The other sandwich that I like is taking the bread from above, toasted, and adding ham, mustard, tomato, and cheese.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Voting

Today is Election day. This was my second time voting since I turned eighteen. I registered in 2004 for the presidential elections. Prior 2002, I was resident of another state. Voting was not practiced in my household when I was growing up. My father had a lot of issues, but voting and religion (won't discuss this here) were his big issues. We really never spoke about those two topics in our household. My father didn't vote because if you registered to vote you may have to serve jury duty. What he didn't realize that if you collect unemployment, you may have to serve jury duty also. He collected unemployment several different times...what an idiot. He also would not allow my mother to vote either. Talk about controlling and manipulating. No wonder why mother divorced him.

I really didn't understand what voting meant until after the 2000 presidential elections. After the '00 presidential elections, I registered to vote. Now, I look forward to voting. Next year, I will make sure I vote in the local primaries. I couldn't this year because I moved and filed to late to vote in the primaries. More than ever, I see and understand the importance of voting. This is one of the ways to let your voice be heard.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Not so good, then great

Saturday, I went to work to finish up some loose ends. While I was working, we had a cheerleading competition. I was being lazy, so I went up to the concessions stands for something to eat. I had 3 hot dogs w/ no buns of course. Everything was fine. Then I decided to go a nearby restaurant for a quick chocolate milk shake. Well, something didn't agree and I was sick for the rest of Saturday night. Not sure what did it though b/c I have had both of the items many of times before....just not one right after the other. I'll have be more careful about missing my foods.

On Sunday, we went to the Boynton Family Restuarant for some gluten free pizza, beer, and dessert. The pizza and chocolate mousse cake were delicious. As for the beer, well let's just say that I can't handle any type of beer. My boyfriend loved the dessert. He thought the pizza was good just a little too much sauce for him though. I liked the pizza so much, I bought an extra one to go. The restaurant just started carrying their gf menu. I know I will definitely be back there soon.

In March, Nickelback is playing at the DCU Center. I definitely want to go. Not sure if I want to go by myself or with someone else. Regardless, I know where I am going to eat before the show. You guessed it, the Boynton Family Restaurant. It's only a couple of minutes from the DCU Center.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Christmas Music

I go into work (my part-time job) on Thursday night. As soon as I walk into the store, I hear Christmas music. As I hear this, I am thinking Halloween was two days ago. Don't get me wrong, I like most Christmas music, however, playing it in the first of November is just insane. Let's put the Christmas music on after Thanksgiving. That makes more sense.

Since my last post, I have been keeping myself busy by working both jobs. We went to Trader Joes a few weeks ago. I love that store. I like all the odd items they carry that your normal mega market doesn't. This weekend, we are going up to Worcester to get ourselves some gluten-free pizza and beer. I have found two liquor stores in my area that carry gf beer. I am willing to try the gf beer. Let's hope I don't turn bright red after two or three sips. Most of the time when we go out to eat, I order water. I can't even handle soda or most fruit juices w/ high fructose corn syrup.

Since I have turned 21, I probably have had a total of 20 drinks in a 4 1/2 year span. The closest I come to liquor would be a frozen strawberry shortcake. Very little liquor. It's more like a thick milk shake. Smokey Bones and a local restaurant make these frozen strawberry shortcake drinks.