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.