It's been one of those months....busy with work. I have a four day weekend starting tomorrow. All I want to do is curl up on the couch with a blanket and watch a good movie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Part-time Job

Last night, I started my new part-time job. It was awesome. I will definitely enjoy this job. While I was working last night, the Red Sox were playing the Rockies in game one of the World Series. My roommate knew I was slightly disappointed that I would not be able to catch game one or two (I work tonight also).

When I left work last night, I checked my phone. While I was working, he texted me an update early in the night. I thought that was really sweet because he's not crazy about baseball. I texted back and then he says that he is recording it for me. How awesome is that?

The Usual

I haven't posted much about my personal life lately. Everything with the roommate and I are doing well. Life couldn't get any better than this right now.

Same Sauce Different Recipe

Last week, I made pork chops with an awesome sauce. Well, I took that same sauce and created a simple Chinese-like dish.

Chicken breasts
Rice
Chicken Stock
Pineapples
Frozen Broccoli or Mixed Vegetable
Sauce from other recipe

Cut chicken up into bite size pieces. Create the sauce. I put the chicken in the sauce while I prepare the rice and vegetables.

I cook my white rice in the microwave using chicken stock. Follow directions for rice. Once done, set aside. I use frozen vegetables by Birds Eye that steam in the bag. Follow directions for frozen vegetables.

While those are cooking in the microwave, I put a little olive oil in a skillet. Let it get hot. Put the chicken in the hot pan. Add the remaining sauce to the skillet at this time. Cook chicken thoroughly.

Once chicken is cooked, combine the chicken, rice, and vegetables together in a big bowl. Do not put the sauce in the mixture just yet.

The sauce is much better if it is thickened with corn starch diluted with cold water. Pour the corn starch mixture in the sauce in the skillet. Constantly stir to allow sauce to thicken. Once thicken, pour sauce over chicken/rice/vegetable mixture.

This is great as leftovers.

Need recipe title

It's been a while since I have posted. It's been a busy month with working 70+ hours per week. I have been reading blogs during my lunch break, but haven't had time to put together a decent post. So, tonight I bring you my most recent gluten-free, dairy-free creation: Pork Chops.

I just threw bunch of ingredients together. I didn't measure anything, just eye-balled everything.

Sauce:

Dark brown sugar
Gluten-free soy sauce
Honey mustard (used French's)
Honey
Sherry cooking wine

Mix everything together in a baking pan. I used my 13x9 corningware pan. It's what I had on hand.

Add pork chops. At the last minute, I sliced an apple. Arrange the apple in the sauce. To be creative, I gently sprinkled some nutmeg on top of everything.

I cooked them at 350 for 25 minutes, turning once at the half way point. Next time, I would only cook them for 20 minutes.

While cooking, it made the house smell really good. It got two thumbs up from my roommate.

Served it with butternut risotto* (used soy milk) and southwestern seasoned corn.
* On the risotto, I sprinkled some nutmeg.

The flavors were great. I need a title for this recipe. Any suggestions?

Fallen for him

It's been over 3 weeks now living with my roommate. He's a great roommate. Always there to lend a helping hand whether it's with moving something to preparing dinner to making me laugh when I have a good or bad day to watching movies that I have never seen even though he's seen them a million times. He's very patient and understanding in regards to my gluten and dairy free lifestyle.

I look forward to coming home every night. I want to leave work so I can hang out with him. There's something about him that I really like. This is so cliche, but he's a guys guy; big, strong, but yet has a soft side. He doesn't watch your traditional sports, which surprisingly, is fine by me. He keeps my attention, which can be very hard to do considering that I get bored very easily.

As you may have guessed, I have fallen for him. So far, I am enjoying the ride. I can only imagine where this ride will take me. I am so ready for the adventure.

New PT Job

That's right. I have a new part-time job. I'll be starting there in early October. I am extremely excited as I have never worked in this part of the job sector before. It's kind of like retail, but the store offers necessities. The discount is behind awesome considering the type of store. Let's just put it this way, the discount will come in great use in regards to the culinary lifestyle changes I have made in over the past year or so.

Happy Happy Happy

It's been a while since I last posted. It's been a really good month.

Towards mid August, I started thinking about finding a roommate to share my apartment. After some thinking, I realized that I wouldn't be able to find a roommate because of my apartment. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent apartment but not for the money I would be asking. So I decided to start looking to share a house/apartment with someone else. I went looking and found a few that were worth considering. After some comparing between the places, I decided on living with a single guy who happens to live near my full-time job. I know, I know...a single female living with a single male who she does not know. We are both taking chances here. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut instinct and that is what I did. My instinct has not failed me yet.

My roommate and I get along very well. I am expanding his cooking skills and he is helping me extend the number of movies I have watched. Before I moved in, the number of movies I have actually seen, very low. In the almost three weeks I have lived with him, I have seen at least four, if not more. That's a lot of movies for me. To make it even better, he's great eye candy. You can look but don't have to touch.

For almost the past two months, I have made many choices that have changed my life. Thankfully, all the changes have been positive. I am glad that I am making these changes. I believe everyone needs some change in their lives once in a while.

Overall, I have been really happy since the beginning of August. So happy, that some of co-workers are telling me that they notice my new found happiness. I guess this is what happens when you rid of things that bring you down.

The next post will be about my hiring experience at my new part-time job.

All Smiles Here

A lot has happened since the last time I have posted, but I am really happy with myself and my life right now. This is the happiest I have been in a really really long time. My co-workers at both jobs have mentioned how much happier I am. Life is going well right now.

I'll post at a later time why I have been so happy lately.

Garfield is one my favorite comic strips.

Working Under Pressure

There is nothing like working under a tight deadline. I feel the pressure in my stomach, on my shoulders, and in my mind. Oddly enough, I like working under pressure. Sometimes, I actually produce my best work while under pressure. This time though, working on the tight deadline was not my fault. I didn't procrastinate! Yippee!! My boss had to go out of town unexpectedly for a few days, so my reports had to be done before he left.

Normally, I take my time while working on these reports. I want the reports to be as accurate as possible. I mean, I am working with money here. I completed these reports in one day, today that is.

Gotta love working under pressure.

Gluten & Dairy Free & Single

Now that I am single, I want to spend some time to myself, however, I do want to date people. However, I am really nervous about dating because of my dietary restrictions. When I tell my friends what I can and can't have, some of them look at me like I have ten heads. I can only imagine telling potential dates of my dietary needs. It's not like I can hide these dietary restrictions. As soon as I am contaminated with gluten or dairy, I am sick. I can actually feel the gluten or dairy as I am eating it. I know too much information. But you get my point.

I think dating and maintaining my gluten and dairy lifestyle will be a challenge. But I like challenges. I have never turned down a challenge before and I am not going to now. I am just going to have to find a person with my same dietary restrictions or a find a person who is understanding and likes a good challenge.

Love

I stopped loving my ex-boyfriend over a year ago. However, I didn't do anything about my feelings at that time. I didn't discuss my feelings with anyone. I kept going on with life like nothing was wrong. I am not sure what I was waiting for. A sign that the I could relove him again. Not too sure. I guess mentally and emotionally I shut myself off towards him. We just lived together like roommates. Then I decided I couldn't physically go on with the relationship. That's when I had to end it.

I guess at an early age, I learned how to stop loving someone quickly. Maybe that comes from having so many people come in and out of my life in a short period. I do not enjoy not loving someone when you really should. It's a hard feeling to explain. In a beginning of a relationship, I have noticed that I start loving people early on. However, if for some reason the relationship is not working, I can stop loving them quickly. It's almost like I have a switch inside of me.....turn love on....turn love off. Sometimes I feel like Coldheart from the Care Bears.

I guess that's just who I am.

Update on my Beef, Beans, and Rice

Last night, I was hungry for something that stuck to stomach. Enter in my chili recipe. I took this recipe and add a few more items.

I added hot sauce, garlic, onions, green peppers, and dark brown sugar. I sauteed the garlic and onions with green peppers. Once that got going I added the beef. I followed the recipe like normal. Once I tasted the final product, it was a little too hot for me to handle. Looking through my pantry, I decided to add some dark brown sugar. My taste buds were doing the hokey pokey, it was that good. The dark brown sugar gives it a subtle sweet flavor. When I took a bite, I first experienced the slight sweetness then the heat.

Definitely will make again.

What do you add to your chili?

Finally A Posting

It's been over a week now. I am happy and relieved. It feels like a load of bricks have been taken off of my shoulders. Yet at times, I wonder what the hell did I do a week ago. There are times I cry, there are times I am smiling from ear to ear. There are times I feel like I made a mistake. I am looking forward to reclaiming my independence.

What exactly am I talking about? I ended my seven and half year relationship with my boyfriend last week. If you review my posts from either last July or August, I was not happy with our relationship. Well this past Thursday, I snapped mentally and emotionally. I didn't snap at anyone, just myself (if that makes sense). I wrote my boyfriend a letter stating that I would like him to leave. I cried as I typed that note. It was one the hardest things that I have ever done. Writing that letter was much harder than putting my father in jail.

I prefer not to discuss all of the reasons why I made that decision, but the above referenced posts will give you the reader some insight as to why I ended the relationship.

I refuse to be one of those people who constantly bad mouthes their exes. Growing up, I saw this attitude from my parents and step parent towards each other. It's not classy, healthy, and it's just down right depressing and hard for me to do. I will have nothing but good things to say about him. I realize and understand that everyone has their flaws. No one is perfect. Some people may say, "Why did you end the relationship then?" Those people do not need to know my explanation. I just prefer to take the high road.

It's finally starting to set in that I am by myself again. I understand when other bloggers state that they miss having that other person in bed with them. There's this cold feeling. Slowly, I am adjusting to this cold feeling. I don't like the feeling, but it's something that I am learning to handle.

Here's a question to anyone reading this: Do you keep the things that an ex has given you? I have some nice items that he gave me throughout our relationship. This was my first real relationship and my first real break up. So, I am not sure what I should do. My heart says to keep these items and move along in my life.

One of my coworkers gave me a card today, it said, "Boys go to Jupiter to get stupider." All I could do was laugh. I understand that the card was to make me laugh and it sure did. I keep that card in my desk in my glass box with the words "Pull out for laughter". That card came in use today when several things were not going to plan. I just pulled out that card and it made me laugh. I was able to regain my mind and plow forward with my projects. She doesn't realize how much that card meant to me.

A lot of times, actions speak louder than words. However at times, words do speak louder than actions. As in the case of my letter and my coworkers card.

I haven't disappeared, just haven't felt like writing lately.

Let's see...what has been happening. The carpets are finally okay. However, I still don't have a desk. I am actually saving up for a new desk. Yes, you read that right...saving.

I have been going to physical therapy for the past few weeks. The therapy is working. I just have to find time to do the exercises at home. Here's the problem with my knee, I somehow badly bruised the cartlidge between my knee cap and the bone behind the knee cap. The cartlidge between those two bones does not get a regular supply of blood. Due to this, there will be irriation. To help the blood circulate in that area, I have to do my exercises. Over time, the cartlidge will start to heal. It hurts the most when I am sitting for too long. The doctors call it "a movie knee". I am constanly getting up and down because of the irritation.

Lately, I have noticed that eating out at restaurants is becoming a lot more difficult for me. The cross contamination of gluten is killing me. Recently, I went to two restaurants that offer gluten free menus. I specified to the staff about my gluten-free needs. However with both meals, I could feel myself getting sick as I was eating my food. The weird thing with me is, I can actually feel if I will be getting sick as I eat the food. It's as soon I digest the food, I can feel the pain and other effects. I am lucky that it does not take too long for me to feel the "poison (gluten)".

I have been gluten free for almost a year now. Since then, I have realized that I am becoming for more sensitive to cross contanimation. This is making it hard for me to eat out at other people's houses and at restaurants. Due to my sensitivity, I will be making my own birthday cake. I plan to make Karina's Coconut Carrot Cake. I made this cake for the holidays and everyone (gluten-filled people) couldn't believe there was no gluten in it.

Well, I am planning to have a good weekend as I will be celebrating my birthday up in Portland watching a Sea Dogs baseball game on Friday night. Technically, my b-day isn't until Sunday, but I like starting it early.

Today's Comic - This made my day

I love the Non-Sequitur comics. I wish I could have those visual aids as an accountant and HR rep. I'll update more when I have a chance.

Catching up

Since I last posted, our apartment sustained water damage, I have had several doctor's appointments, my car needed major repair work, and both of my interns are done for semester. It's been a crazy week and half.

Due the water damage, we had mold on our bedroom carpet. The mold actually grew on the bottom of my desk. So, I am currently without a desk which means no computer right now at home. It stinks not having a computer at home.

Back in February or prior months, not sure when, I strained my ACL in my knee. Now I have to go to physical therapy starting early next month. I also went to see my OB/GYN doctor. The birth control pills that he prescribed sent me through a loop. I was constantly moody and could snap on anyone at any time. I know this was one of the side effects, but I just could not handle to emotional rollercoaster. I have tried several different kinds of the pill, but I get severe side effects from them. Normally, I am a calm mild-mannered person. My doctor and I decided to try no birth control pills and gave me another prescription to regulate everything. Let's hope it works.

I am hoping that next week will be much calmer than the previous two weeks. I have been itching to get back into the kitchen to make some sweet gluten-free desserts. I have a huge sweet tooth. However, nothing will ever replace ice cream. During the past two weeks, I actually had ice cream and chocolate for dinner.

Beef, Beans, and Rice

Lately I have been craving beef, hamburger in particular. I made my boyfriend hamburgers for dinner. I wanted something different though. For my dinner, I started thinking back to the days when my family couldn't afford alot of food. We always had rice and hamburger on hand because back then, it was cheap. Well, those ingredients were my base then I started to clean out the pantry and freezer for the rest.

Ingredients:

Ground beef (I like 80/20) - I know it's not the healthiest, but it has so much flavor
Favorite Spices - Cumin, Cayene Pepper, Chili Powder, Salt Pepper
Gluten Free Beef Broth - can use water instead
White Instant Rice
Red Kidney Beans
Can of Hunt's Diced Tomato with Sweet Onion
Mild Thick and Chunky Salsa
Corn Kernels - thawed - I had frozen on hand - Use whatever you have


I used my 5 quart dutch oven pan to brown the meat. I added my favorite spices to the meat as it was browing. Once the meat was browned, I drained grease from the meat. Put the meat aside. I quickly rinsed out the pot, but leaving some grease in there for flavor. I then boiled the gluten-free beef broth. Add equal amounts of instant white rice. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked, add the drained meat, kidney beans, diced tomato, salsa, and corn kernels to the pan. Stir. Adjust the seasoning levels to taste.

I made a big pan of this so it would last me for a week. I think I will add some sharp cheddar cheese to it for lunch one day.

Enjoy!

HR

Sometimes I don't like being the Human Resources administrator. At times, you are put into tough positions. On one hand you are a co-worker to these people. Other times you are their friend through work.

No one ever tells you how hard HR really is.

I'm still alive. I haven't had time to write due to work. Will try to write more as the month end nears.

Tortilla Casserole

While shopping in my local market, I found Dr. McDougall's Vegetarian Tortilla Soup Mix. On the back, it gives a recipe for Tortilla Casserole.

The recipe sounded good, but it needed more flavor. This recipe can be altered in many different ways. So here is what I did:

1 Package Dr. McDougall's Tortilla Soup Mix Pouch
4 Cups Water (I used gluten-free chicken broth)
1 14 oz Can Stewed Tomatoes (with liquid)
1 Cup uncooked white rice (To use brown rice, substitute 4 cups previously cooked brown rice for 1 cup uncooked white rice)
1 Small Onion
1 Garlic clove, minced
Raw chicken meat (I like to chicken breasts with rib meat and use the rib meat for this dish)

Seasonings: (Use what you like)
Cumin
Black Pepper
Salt
Red Pepper Flakes
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 Lime
Handful cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour dry soup mix into a 3 quart casserole dish. Add water, stewed tomatoes (with liquid), rice, onions, garlic, chicken, and seasonings. Stir. Place casserole uncovered in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Cover loosely with foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. With ten minutes left, spinkle on cheese. Use as little or as much cheese as you like. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Right as I was serving, I squeezed some fresh lime juice and placed some cilantro on top.

This recipe makes about 8 servings. I had a lot of leftovers.

I have been tagged

I was tagged by TAB to list 6 weird things about myself.

1. I don't like watching movies in movie theaters.
2. I consider Valentine's day a made up holiday, which was created by Hallmark.
3. I have had only one serious relationship in almost 26 years. The relationship is now in its
seventh year.


Do you have any weird things you are willing to share?

A little of everything

I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. Why? It's TAX TIME! Granted, I am not a tax accountant. Thank goodness. However, I help oversee a payroll that consists of approximately 285 part-time employees. The part-time employee base is mixed; students, home makers, and retirees. The students are the worst around tax time. The students start coming in asking why there weren't any federal or state taxes taken out of their paychecks. They were hoping for a refund. I try to explain this is the most basic terms possible. Some students get it, some students will never get it. The students who don't get it, better hire a tax attorney right after college or marry someone who has a clue about taxes and withholdings.

This time of the year also brings a new host of fresh meat, interns that is. I have two this semester. One of them is great right off the back. He actually gets here right around the time I do. Impressive. The second one, well, I just get this vibe that I am not going to like him too much. However, I must treat all interns the same. I think the second one is fake. Fake pesonality; faking to be interested in this internship. Yes, I know I hired him, however, he was the second best out of the pool. What was I to do? Only three more months.

I found some great recipes last week. The first one is San Francisco Pork Chops. Not too sure why it's called San Francisco. I was able to convert it so it was gluten free.

The other recipe is from one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks. I can't think of the name, but it has spinach, black beans, red peppers, onions, garlic, and other items. I'll post one day. It's a good recipe to add your own twists too.

I am looking forward to trying a recipe boyfriend and I found in one of our New England cookbooks. Basically, you take salmon, vermont maple syrup, brown sugar, and butter and grill it. Don't have a grill, so I am going to make it work on the stove top. Will let you know how it works out.

Thanks, aLs for adding my link. Check out his blog, if you have a chance. It's always a good read.

Seven Years

In my short life span, I have had only one real relationship. I dated two other people prior to my current relationship, but as you can see it didn't work out. This one real relationship has lasted seven years as of Sunday.

Boyfriend and I met during my freshman year and his sophomore at college. We met on the internet back in December '99. We communicated through email for about a month or so then decided to meet. Less than two weeks, we were actually dating. We instantly clicked.

In the seven years, we have had our fair share of battles, but nothing too big. We agrue once in a while. I like to think that we bring the best out of each other.

In the seven years, there were a lot firsts for me:
* Attending professional basketball, football, baseball, and hockey games
* Attending college hockey and basketball games
* Trying Portugese food
* Exploring a lot of Southern New England
* Attending a NASCAR event (I enjoyed myself)
* Trying New England Clam Chowder
* Trying clams, quahogs, oysters, little necks
* Trying a variety of new seafood (Little Necks)
* Watching my boyfriend try some of my food from backhome, scrapple and Tasty Cakes.
* There were many more first items during this time, but I can't think of all of them

It's been a good seven years and looking forward to many more. Yes, one day, we will eventually get married. But, I am in no rush to get married. It will happen in the next few years.

My boyfriend and I have it easy, we don't celebrate our anniversary! We spoil each other year round.

Recap

It's been over a week since I last posted. I had a bunch of deadlines that I had to meet last week. Never want to go through that again.

Recently when I am watching television, I noticed that I would rather watch Trick My Truck on CMT (TMT) over most other television shows. Not too sure why. Maybe it reminds me of being back home, where life was easier and calmer. I know TMT is based on MTV's Pimp My Ride. However, I can't stand MTV's version.

Thinking of about being back home, I miss scrapple. I sooo miss this breakfast treat. When I was home visiting my mom last time, she took me to an auction. On the auction premises there was a small restaurant operated by an Amish family. (Not sure if they were actually Amish or something close.) There they had homemade scrapple. I cheated! I had to have a piece. The piece of scrapple was one inch thick and about 6 inches across. It tasted so good. Unfortunately, I paid the price, but that is the one and only time I have ever cheated while being on gf diet.

Frustrations

There are some days I just want to punch something, cry, and go for a long walk all at the same time. I have been feeling this way since the beginning of the year. When I am angry, frustrated, or sad, I get like this. I am not angry or sad, just frustrated that there isn't enough time to accomplish everything in one day. I don't allow myself get stressed. I actually do quite well handling stress. I have a lot on my plate both personally and professionally at this time.

I usually manage my time quite well. I make lists prioritize them and usually follow them. I need to work off of lists. I have been staying late and coming in on the weekends to catch up on my work. By staying late and coming in on the weekends, I am neglecting somethings in my personal life. It's a vicious cycle.

I was going to watch Sunday's AFC Championship game (Go Patriots!) with my boyfriend and his family, but I am thinking that my time will better spent working during the day and prioritizing my personal life at night. I don't know when I last balanced my checkbook. Don't worry, I check the balance online and have a mental account for everything, but come on, I am an accountant. Even though it's online, I still need to have everything in my check register. It's drilled in me.

I am hoping once my new interns start in little over a week, things will calm down at work. Some of my other co-workers don't understand that my two interns do a lot of work for me. When they aren't here, the work is left up to me. The vicious cycle starts again.

During the summer in college, I was able to walk after dinner. I would go walking/running 10 miles 4-5 times a week. Talk about feeling relieved. I used that time to clear out my mind. I didn some of my best thinking during that time. Once I finished college, my company allowed employees to join a gym at a discounted rate. I enjoyed that time too. The company that I have been with for the past 2.5 years, doesn't have anything like a discounted rate for a gym membership, etc. I am not about to pay those outrageous gym membership fees.

I am also not about to go walking in the New England weather. Yes, the New England winter weather has finally arrived. I left the apartment around 7:00 this morning and it was 10 degrees. Not sure what the temp was if the wind chill was included.

I need to find something to clear my mind and get rid of my frustrations.

Childhood Memory

I went to my part-time job last night. As I entered in the breakroom to put away my belongings, there it was on the refrigerator hanging. The paper was approximately 4 x11 with 8 boxes displaying the products that were being sold. You could put your name and phone number along with how many of each product you wanted. Each product sold for $3.50.

I stood there starring at that simple piece of paper. It was one of my manager's children selling these products. I used to sell these products as a young child. I always looked forward to selling and consuming these products as they only came around once year. After you were finished selling them to family and friends, you would go to the local market to sell more products with other children and adults.

I realized at that moment, that I could not buy any of these products for the first time in my life. I wanted to rip that piece of paper up when I realized that I couldn't consume these products anymore. Damn my gluten intolerance! I know I could probably make something very similar to what was being sold, but it's just not the same. I can't wait to see that piece of paper leave the refrigerator. It's a constant reminder of what I can't enjoy now.

Does anyone know what product(s) I am referring to in my post?

Warning Labels

Wacky warning labels

Never thought of putting a warning about not ironing your lottery ticket.

Nothing much

Just have been laying low trying to recover from last week. I am still sick with this annoying cough. Finally made an appointment with the doctor for today.

A New Year

I thought I was well rested. Hah! Now I have come down with an annoying cough and sore throat. Non-drowsy cough syrup makes me loooopppyy. But cough syrup is the only thing that works for me cough & sore throat. Currently it's a lose-lose situation.

No news in regards to my father's condition. My brother said he would try to find out some more information.

Other than that, trying to lay low and get rid of this annoying cough. Hope everyone had a nice New Year's.