Thursday Thoughts

1. I finished Sons of Anarchy on Sunday. It took just under a week to watch the whole series, about 70 - 75 hours of TV. I'm obsessed and wish there were 6 more seasons. I don't know how I'm going to wait until September for the next season premiere.

2. My best friend is coming to visit this weekend. I haven't seen her since last Christmas, the longest we've been apart in 22 years of friendship. We don't have any big plans. I'm just so excited to hang out together!

3. I have been a Nutriblast nut this week. I've had more fruits and vegetables in the last three days than I have in the last three months combined. And the Nutribullet continues to amaze me. It blends right through fruit skins, seeds, anything I've thrown at it. It's magical. 

4. Going back to work after 13 days off sucked. I had to actually set an alarm and put on real clothes. Not cool. I really could have used a few more days to get through the to-do list I had made for myself and completely neglected because of my SoA obsession. 

5. Now that Christmas is over, I'm basically ready for April or May to get here. These next few months suck. Cold weather, nothing exciting to look forward to. Bring on springtime!

6. I'm tired and out of thoughts. 

Thursday Thoughts

Oh hey. Happy New Year! Yes, it's been over a month since I last posted, and no, it's not because I died. To put it simply, I just didn't have the time. It's kind of a shame, because I had grand plans for my December posts. A whole week of Christmas cookie recipes, appetizers for New Year's parties, holiday cocktails. Grand plans. But, during the time of the year when I do the most cooking and baking, there was just no time to sit down and write about all that cooking and baking. Between work, Christmas decorating, shopping, wrapping, parties, cards, etc., I suddenly find myself sitting here on January 2nd and I don't know where the hell the last 6 weeks have gone!

But, on this first Thursday in 2014, I figured there's no better time to post some Thursday Thoughts. I've been off of work for the past 10 days and have been planning out what to post on here for the next month, so I'll be back at it with regular recipes starting next week.

1. SONS OF ANARCHY. Who watches this?? I've been told for years that I would love it and should hurry up and watch it. Well, I already watched a ton of TV that I can never keep up with, so I hadn't started it until now. But with all this time off, I decided this was an appropriate time to immerse myself in Charming, CA. I can't freakin get enough. I have watched 52 episodes in the past 4.5 days and have no doubt that I'll get through the last two seasons before I go back to work on Monday. Then begins the LONG wait for Season 7 to start in September.

2. My brother got a Nutribullet for me for Christmas and it is amazing. It pulverizes my smoothie ingredients, even with raw cashews in them, in mere seconds. A-mazing.

3. I would be so awesome at being a permanent lady of leisure. I know some people get stir crazy hanging out at home, and crave human interaction and a sense of routine, but I am not one of those people. The first half of my break was filled with Christmas stuff, but the past 4.5 days have been blissfully lazy. With the exception of a New Year's Eve party, I have slept, read, and watched Sons of Anarchy, obviously. That is all, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

4. I don't know how I'm going to get back into a proper sleep schedule. I have stayed awake until 4, 5, sometimes even 6 in the morning this week, then slept, then woken up to watch more SOA, then slept a little more. My system is a mess.

5. Monday I am back on the discipline. I've had so many holiday leftovers this week that I wasn't even going to pretend to be good, but Monday it's back to cleaner eating, counting points, and exercising 5 days a week. It's been too long since I've been really disciplined, and it shows in how I look and feel. I don't like it.

6. In about 3 minutes, it will no longer be Thursday, so I'd better hurry up and post this. Plus, it's been like 4 hours since I've watched any Sons of Anarchy and I think I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms. See you next week!

Thursday Thoughts

1. THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. I’d like to take a small amount of credit for their win. I wore the same Red Sox tank top for the last three games of the Series, including to work yesterday (without washing it). They kept winning, so clearly it was a lucky shirt. Weird? Only if it doesn’t work!

3. Happy Halloween! For me today will be like any other. You know, aside from the fact that the RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES last night. I haven’t really celebrated Halloween in probably over a decade. I don’t get dressed up, I don’t get trick-or-treaters, and didn’t even get a chance to carve a pumpkin this year. I’d like to speed up time and bring on Thanksgiving!

4. I freaking love hot chocolate with whipped cream. I always used to get it when my mom took us out to breakfast when we were kids and I still sometimes order it now. I’ve had some whipped cream left over from my Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie and I’ve been adding it to a mug of hot chocolate for dessert all week.

5. Perhaps related to my love of whipped cream and chocolate, I split my favorite pair of jeans last weekend. I was helping some friends move and took the large step up to climb into the moving truck. I heard a terrible ripping sound and suddenly the spot right where the top of my thigh meets my butt cheek was free and breezy. Even worse, the jeans were Gap Long & Lean, which have been discontinued, so I need to find a new denim love.

6. I’m newly in love with Redd’s Strawberry Ale. Have you tried it? SO GOOD. It even smells delicious. I can’t get enough.

7. On this day one year ago, I was driving from Charlotte, NC home to Connecticut after getting stranded in Orlando due to Superstorm Sandy. I was lucky enough that my best friend lives in Charlotte, which is almost the halfway point between Orlando and me, so I stopped at her place for a day to break up the drive and give things back home a chance to settle down a bit. It worked out well, as I got home about 3 hours after power was restored in my neighborhood after being out for nearly three days. What a crazy time that was, and no matter how bizarre my experience was, I know it was nothing compared to what so many faced (and are still facing) today.

8. Why are Starbursts like crack? So delicious.

9. THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday Thoughts

1. I’m so disappointed in the Starburst candy corn. They’re allegedly supposed to taste just like real Starbursts, but they do not. They don’t even taste good at all. It’s not often that I turn down candy, but I had just a few pieces and then brought them into work to get rid of them.

2. Real candy corn, on the other hand? Can’t get enough. So good.

3. I blame myself for the Red Sox losing last night. I was secretly hoping that they would make it to a Game 6, because I’ll be in Boston for work on Saturday and it would be fun to watch the game at a bar in Boston. I guess I got my wish. Oops.

4. I need a day to organize my kitchen. I’ve accumulated more stuff since becoming a Pampered Chef consultant, and my shelves and cabinets were already bursting at the seams. I think I need to buy new storage racks/shelving. Any kitchen organization suggestions that have worked for you?

5. Tailbones can be a pain in the ass. Literally. At least 6 or 7 years ago, I fell down a flight of stairs, landing on, and bruising, my tailbone. It was incredibly excruciating to walk, sit down, stand up, pretty much make any movement at all for quite some time. Then it gradually got better. But still, all these years later, if I sit too much, my tailbone becomes exceedingly sore. It’s sore right now, which doesn’t bode well for the train ride into New York City that I have to take later today.

6. I’m a little short on thoughts this week. I think I’ve been too busy and my head is too jumbled to really piece anything together. So that’s all she wrote.

Thursday Thoughts

1. I can officially never live outside of the eastern time zone. I’m in Chicago for work this week, and on Tuesday, when I arrived, I sat through a very frustrating two hours of traffic to go the mere 15 miles from the airport to my hotel. I couldn’t wait to check in, pick up some dinner, and watch New Girl. But no, out here New Girl is on at 8. How do people handle having “prime time” TV start at 7 pm?? Who is settled and ready to watch TV by then? East coast forever.

2. When I’m traveling for work, I have a tendency to eat as if I’m on vacation. Deliciously bad things all around. I may do a post about eating my way through Chicago if I have enough decent photos to share.

3. I’m not cut out for city living. I can’t handle not being able to just jump in the car and easily park wherever I need to go. Relying on cabs or subways, or paying exorbitant parking fees, makes getting around so much more difficult.

4. It is nice to have a bajillion food options within a 5 minute walk though. Within two blocks of my hotel I could probably get any type of food I could possibly want. On second thought, it’s probably best that I don’t have that option at home. I find enough ways to shove food in my face as it is.

5. I love king-size beds. I try to get one every time I stay in a hotel and I love all the extra space. I think if I ever get married, a king-size will be a must.

6. Why do hotels always have the most terrible water pressure? I’m lucky enough to not have to wash my hair every day, but when I do, it always feels like I never quite get all the shampoo and conditioner out. I miss my shower at home.

7. Kanye West is the WORST. The worst. I actually think he’s a little mentally unhinged.

Thursday Thoughts

1. I might have found my soulmate. A man who built a bacon-based empire? Yes, please.

2. Did you know I’m a dork and I keep a spreadsheet of all the books I read, movies I see in theaters, and new recipes I try? This started a few years ago when I was keeping track of these things for my 30 by 30 list, and I decided to keep it up. I love comparing how much I’ve done year to year. And it’s fun, especially with the recipes, to look back over the list and remember what occasion I made each dish for and how completely delicious some (most?) of them were.

3. What does your favorite Disney princess say about you? My favorite Disney movie/princess is Sleeping Beauty, and that description of Aurora is pretty spot on for me. I LOVE to sleep. A lot, and late into the day. I just need to find out how to get me a prince with a trust fund.

4. I love Christmas. Love it. But Christmas displays in September?? I’m ok with the decorations starting to go up around Halloween, but this year, on September 28th, I saw my first Christmas display of the year. WHO is already buying any Christmas decorations? Are the stores getting any business from setting stuff up so early?

5. I have seen that Bud Light commercial with the quinoa about a dozen times and it still makes me laugh every single time. What is that, a loofah? It’s a queeno.

6. And speaking of commercials, Hump Day will never not be funny.

7. I did a bad thing and bought these boots. I shouldn’t have, but I don’t care.

8. I would really love to go on vacation. Work has been ridiculously insane lately and I just want to get the hell out of dodge. But I can’t, because I spend my money on boots. See point #3 above about needing to find a prince with a trust fund.

9. But, no matter how crazy work is, I’m still pretty lucky because of the people surrounding me. Yesterday I had lunch with my brother and then a great happy hour with my friends. Life is good.

Thursday Thoughts

1. Have you heard of Stitch Fix? I feel like I’m a little behind the times because I only just heard about it fairly recently, but it seems like every blogger out there has already signed up. Basically you pay $20, give them some info on your size, style, and budget, and they send you five items picked just for you. Return (with free shipping) what you don’t want, and buy what you do. They’ll apply your $20 deposit toward anything you buy. I’m intrigued.

2. Blogging has not been conducive to getting to bed at a reasonable time. I’ve been spending way too many late nights planning what to cook and scheduling and writing posts. This is not a good thing, because it means I hit snooze every morning instead of getting up to exercise. I’m pretty sure my Weight Watchers ActiveLink monitor thinks I died.

3. Does anyone actually use a real phonebook anymore? I can’t believe they even still print them, but apparently they do. Someone made the rounds in my condo complex last week dropping off the new Yellow Pages. Such a waste of paper and such a nuisance to drag it out to the dumpster.

4. Who is watching Sleepy Hollow? I really liked the first episode and was thinking it might be a keeper. But the previews for the upcoming season look like it might get too scary for my taste. I’m a baby when it comes to scary things. A huge baby who will be driven nearly to tears by things popping out of the shadows. I haven’t gotten a chance to watch this week’s episode yet, so we’ll see how it goes.

5. I was reading an article on Thought Catalog the other day that was full of advice about men. This was my favorite: “Beware a man who never smiles when he eats. Most likely he’ll be bad in bed.” I can’t say I’d be into a man who doesn’t get excited about food anyway, but that seems like pretty solid advice.

6. I am no longer undefeated in my Fantasy Football league. I lost last week by 6 points. Grrrr.

7. I had my first in-home Pampered Chef party last weekend. It closed at nearly $800 in commissionable sales for me. Woohoo for earning some spending money! (Or really, money to cover the cost of Pampered Chef things I bought for myself…)

8. I intend for these Thursday Thoughts to be light and fun, and I enjoy jotting down thoughts throughout the week to share, but I need to let this last point get a little heavy. On Monday, my next door neighbor was found dead in his home at only 64 years old. I had seen him outside the day before chatting with some neighbors, and by all accounts he was fine. I didn’t know him well, but he was a kind, friendly man and I’ve thought a lot about him this week. I’m reminded that life could be over in an instant, with no notice, so it’s very important to live the life you want right now. Love and hug your friends and families. Spend your free time doing what you want to be doing, not what you think you should be doing. Let the laundry go until tomorrow, and stay up a little later. Make sure you spend as many of your days as possible in a way that would make you happy to have had that as your last day.