Sneak peek

Today I spent my day looking for a bridesmaid dress for Shell's state-side wedding on December 10th.  I wasn't the only one looking for a dress, actually all 3 of us bridesmaid had the day free and we decided to head out together with Shell on an adventure to find something in the same color but something that flattered our different body types.  After multiple stops and a cake testing (yum!), we settled on this....(the lighting isn't the greatest but we're in marine, otherwise known as navy)

I have one month find shoes and get it hemmed to the proper length.  Besides that, I'm not sure what I need to do.  This is my first (and probably only) attempt at being a bridesmaid.  I just hope I make a decent one.

In other news, I have worn myself out the last few days, I'm planning on taking this extra hour tonight and putting it to good use....sleep!  Let's hope my body cooperates.

Wow!

What a way to officially end the season and a baseball career.
From Yahoo news

After 3 World Series titles, La Russa retires

Source: AP

"A rare manager with a law degree, La Russa was voted AL Manager of the Year three times, and NL Manager of the Year in 2002. He will be up for consideration for the Hall of Fame in December 2013, at the same time as Torre and Bobby Cox."
“I think you can make a case for him as best of all-time. Absolutely,” said Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who coached for La Russa with the White Sox after managing against him in the minors.
Leyland said La Russa was the “total package” as a manager, obsessing over the lineup card, outfoxing opponents during games and refusing to bend to public opinion."

Congrats Tony on an amazing season and an fabulous career.  You will be missed by the players, fans and all of St. Louis.

The time has come!

Way back in April I wrote this post.  I was excited then for October 30th and have been waiting patiently for the premiere.  Tonight's the big night on Food Network!

Source

And while I'm on my own to catch this season of The Next Iron Chef, you can bet I will be watching every episode.  I have my favorites picked already and for the final two Super Chefs, I'm picking Chef Robert Irvine & Chef Anne Burrell.  Let's see how close I am to being right by the season finale.

Now, in the words of the Chairman, "Let the Battle Begin!!!!"

P.S.  Feel free to watch along with me each Sunday night at 8 pm Central and comment as the season progresses.

CHAMPIONS!!!!

Source: AP

 

 

 

Congrats to my St. Louis Cardinals who went from earning a Wild Card spot the very last game of the regular season to becoming 2011 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!

Love this quote from a Yahoo article talking about the win:

In the waning days of August, St. Louis had a 0.2 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to AccuScore, a company that calculates probabilities by running thousands of game simulations. Expressed another way, the Cardinals faced 1 in 500 odds
And that was to make the playoffs. Their chances of winning the World Series were miniscule, like a speck of Midwestern dust somehow reaching Manhattan or Malibu. It might have been the greatest comeback in baseball history.

The Cardinals have made baseball history and I'm ecstatic to be able to call them my home team!


Oh, and if anyone happens to know Allen Craig, would you pass my number or email on to him?

Source: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Just in case you were wondering

And because I'm sure you were worried after last night's random post, here's my latest tweet --


Bought my Halloween costume! I'm heading back into the 1920s for this Saturday's parties. Can u guess what costume I picked out?!?

Whew, I knew you were on pins and needles waiting to see if I would get my costume before Saturday.  No need to think about that anymore.  Now you can focus on what I'm going to be.

Oh yeah and now, I'm going to 2 parties that night.  At least my costume will be put to good use.  :)

Back to our regularly scheduled randomness

Ok, time to get back into the groove here and because it seems like I have an attention span of a gnat right now, you're getting the rundown of anything that's been on my mind.

* Remember when I said I got to meet Alton Brown a few weeks ago?  Yep, it was super exciting getting to meet another one of my favorite Food Network personalities.  Here's the pic taken by his assistant --

His question and answer session before the book signing rocked my socks off.  He definitely inspired me to keep working towards my culinary dreams.
And my gift to myself that day --

Pretty cool, right?

* Speaking of culinary dreams, I have been cooking up a storm.  Not just for myself because...well, I have a hard time cooking for one, but I've made dinner for my Mom and Michael last week (Mexican Lasagna), my Dad & Bro (Pork w/Oyster sauce) and homemade from scratch brownies for a World Series party I went to at MO's on Saturday.  (Did you see that game?!?!  16-7!  Go Cardinals!)  And because I was really proud of my brownies, I had to take a picture of them as well.

* On Saturday before the World Series madness, I bought this bad boy --

A mini donut maker, really Lindsay?  I thought you were so healthy...how can you justify that purchase?  Easy, I'm going to make healthy donuts.  I figured its much easier for me to justify eating a donut that I made than to buy them at a bakery.  (Fyi, I couldn't tell you the last time I had a donut.  This purchase makes me very, very happy and I'm hoping to test it out next weekend.)

* Besides cooking and buying gadgets and books, I planned a trip with 3 of my favorite girls to see a great band for a good cause.  3 Doors Down is playing in Tunica, MS on November 19th and they are doing the concert to benefit their Better Life Foundation charity.  I wanted to go to the concert from the time I heard about it and I was able to convince the girls to take the road trip with me.  Actually I am using this trip as a thank you for helping me through all of the changes of the past few months and let's get crazy outside of the Lou just simply because we can.

* Really, I should be spending the little bit of down time I have working on finding a costume for this Saturday.  I have been invited to not 1 but 2 Halloween costume parties and I haven't thought of a costume yet.  :(  I'll come up with something I'm sure  What's even more exciting is that one of the parties is also a homecoming for Shell, who will finally make her way back home after spending nearly a year in New Zealand.  I last saw her 4 days before she left for the trip and I can not wait to see her when she finally gets back to town on Thursday.  We've been friends since the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade and we've gone our separate ways over the years, but even with that we've remained good friends.  I can't wait to catch up.

* On the work front, well, it's work.  I haven't quite made up my mind about the place yet but I'm trying my best each day to take in everything and do what I can do.  However, if anyone wanted to give me a pile of money to start my restaurant/catering dreams, I would move on in a heartbeat.  Until then, I'll just keep plugging along.  This week we have the European partners in from the Netherlands.  Of course, in our office they call it Holland and every time I hear it said, I giggle to myself.  Why?  Because in my head I'm hearing it pronounced by Goldmember from Austin Powers.  Silly, yes, but I can't make it stop.

That's all for now.  I'll check in again soon.  And maybe by that time, my randomness will simmer down (or not!)...have a good one!  And GO CARDS!!!

By Now I'm Sure You've Heard

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours, I'm sure you know...

My St. Louis Cardinals Are Going to the WORLD SERIES!!!

Jonathan Daniel/GETTY IMAGES

 

 

 

 

 Like the article in the Washington Post says,  No one will ever use the word “classic” to describe this series (NLCS). It is never a good sign when the member of the winning team who gets the most ink is the manager. None of the six games in the series featured a lead change after the fifth inning. There were no memorable starting pitching performances on either side, or even transcendent offensive ones – with the exception of Cardinals third baseman and series MVP David Freese, who singled, doubled and homered Sunday night to complete a 12-for-22 series.

But we'll take the wins and head off to the Championship Series, especially since it was just about a month ago that my team was nearly down and out.  I'm definitely excited for this series and you can be sure I will be watching and cheering on my team the rest of the way.  I think we even have watch parties scheduled for every game already also.  Yes, we take our baseball team seriously.

Let's Go Cardinals!

My deepest thanks

"You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it."

Out of the few accounts that I follow on Twitter, this was a tweet I happened to catch last night.  It seemed to scream out to me and even though I thought I've been able to pull myself together a little bit the last few days, it hit me hard.  I'm trying to adjust my life, remember what it was like before I had someone that cared about me so much.  It's not about the relationship so much as it is the friendship.  The person I would call when something great happened, the person I called to joke around with when something silly happened, the person I offered support to when his life was not going as planned and also the person that picked me up when I needed a boost.  I would be ok if I at least knew I still had a best friend.  Yes, I loved him like the man I wanted to spend my life with, but I also loved him as a friend that could laugh with me, cry with me and just bring joy to my life.  Friends like that are hard to find and that's what makes this so difficult.

Many of people have stepped up to get me through this the past 6 days and I'm extremely grateful for everyone's support.  It's so nice to know that many other people care about me.  I've appreciated every word of encouragement, every ounce of hope and most of all, I'm grateful for the kind words directed towards me as a person.  I am hoping that at some point, I can be that same rock for someone else.

Now is the time for me to focus on my life and make the most of what I do have left.  I have many goals, many things I would like to see worked out and changes that I thought I couldn't make in myself before now, I'm going to give all of that my full attention.  I also hope to renew other friendships and relationships that I may have neglected in the past.  Overall, I want a full and happy life.

As the inscription on my ring tells me, Live the Life You Love. Love the Life you Live.
I'm going to work my best to do just that.

Change of Course

Well, I had this great post in my head about the fun weekend I had with my class reunion on Saturday night and then the book signing on Sunday where I was able to meet Food Network's Alton Brown, but at it always seems to happen, when things are going really well, something horrible has to happen. And those posts got pushed to the wayside shortly after I got home on Sunday night.

As of Monday morning at 5:30 am, Broccoli decided we could no longer see one another.  He hoped to fix the dysfunction in the rest of his family and could no longer be with me.  I am hurt, shocked and completely devastated.  Our relationship wasn't perfect but I cherished every minute of it.  We became a couple after we both had faced some really hard times in our life and after 3 1/2 years together, I thought we were moving forward.  I never pressured him for more than a commitment of spending time with me a few days a week and while it seems strange, marriage and kids were never something brought to the table and we agreed the way we operated worked for us.  He has kids already and I adored them immensely but I never wanted to be the person stepping in to try to be their mother, only a positive female role model at a later time.  He understood that and agreed that my feelings were the best given everything he had dealt with in the past.  There never seemed to be any issues with that.  And because I am the person that I am, if he asked otherwise, I probably would have accepted anything asked of me.

I lost my best friend, my boyfriend and the guy that motivated me most to excel in everything I tried to do.  He was my motivator, cheerleader, and overall esteem builder when times got tough.  I'm lost, I'm at a crossroad in my life now.  I need to move forward and while everyone keeps telling me there are more fish in the sea, I just want the one back that gave me so much life.  I guess now I take this hardship and learn from it and work to make my life what I want it to be once again.

Sorry for the downer post, but I've tried to remain myself as much as possible in blogland and this is the reality of me right now.

Name the Year...

- Top Movies included Pearl Harbor; Vanilla Sky; Bridget Jones's Diary; Shrek and Ocean's 11
- U2 won Grammys for Beautiful Day for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year
- Other top Songs included Survivor by Destiny's Child; Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse; Fallin' by Alicia Keys; Drops of Jupiter by Train; Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down; The Way You Love Me by Faith Hill and Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliot.
- The Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants in the Super Bowl
- The Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series against the New York Yankees
- The Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
- Dale Earnhardt was killed in the  final lap at February's Daytona 500 when his car crashed into a wall

- Federal spending was $1,864 billion and the Federal debt was $5,807 billion

- The Unemployment Rate was 4.8% and the Cost of a first-class stamp was $0.34.
- The Anthrax scare was in full swing.
- Heather Mills became engaged to former Beatle Paul McCartney.
- Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman decided to separate and ultimately divorced.
- Gladiator won five Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Actor, Russell Crowe.  And, Julia Roberts won for her role as Erin Brockovich.

- George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States.

As for me, well.....

Senior Prom

- Lindsay was a Senior in high school.
- She was a member of FBLA, FCCLA, National Honor Society and even took 4th placed at the State FBLA competition in Accounting. 
- She worked part-time as a Third Key Manager and Ear Piercing Specialist at Claire's Boutiques.

Lindsay Hard at Work

- She signed a letter of academic intent with McKendree College for the Fall.and pretty much was trying to figure out where life was going to take her.
- Finally, if there was any free time left in her crazy, busy schedule (there's one thing that hasn't really changed!), she could be found hanging out with Shell, Lizzie, Amanda, Cara, Greg or Matt.

Project Graduation -- our school celebration after the BIG DAY!

Think you know the year????


If you guessed 2001, you'd be exactly right!!

Tonight I am attending my 10 year class reunion.  I'm not sure what to expect and I am excited to see how much has changed for everyone else over these last 10 years.  Sure, I check in on Facebook nearly every day and I follow what some of my classmates have been up to, but I think it still will be fun to catch up on a more personal level.  High school for me was not a walk in the park; I worked hard and aimed for perfection in nearly everything I did.  I was quiet and shy and tried my best to stay away from any sort of attention throughout my 4 years in high school.  Now, I am proud to show off my accomplishments (to an extent!) and actually feel comfortable talking to people and being somewhat normal and personable.
Broccoli is going with me tonight and I'm also excited for that.  In the time we've been together, I've really just glossed over my time in high school and besides telling him I was a big nerd, I haven't given him much of a clue as to those 4 years of my life.  I'm not sure what he expects, but my main hope is that we have a fun night out!

10 years!  Geez, I still can not believe it!

Source for non-Lindsay related facts: 
http://www.infoplease.com/year/2001.html
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/2001.htm

Source for Lindsay related facts: 
the one and only Random Girl!

In 9 innings and beyond?

Saw this pic on Facebook today and had to laugh:

Tonight I'm on pins and needles waiting to see what happens in the Cards-'Stros game and Braves-Phillies matchup.  Could we have a one game playoff or could my team be headed to the post season or could my team be packing up tomorrow and getting ready for winter?  I guess we'll find out in a few hours.

I, myself, probably will not be watching the game since Broccoli says I jinx the team and cause them to lose when I either watch it or attend one, but I'll be rooting for them while watching episodes of Restaurant Impossible on Food Network.

LET'S GO CARDS!!!!

The Next Bobby Flay

I got a text from my brother this afternoon that read this:

So I wrapped boneless chicken breasts in bacon.  Seasoned with ginger and hot sauce then marinated with italian dressing overnight.  Pan seared then roasted in the oven with red peppers.  Then I reduced some white wine with butter and garlic salt and dressed angel hair noodles with that.  That's right. Your bro reduced wine and made a sauce.  :)

He also sent me this pic just to rub it in:

Besides being highly impressed,  my initial thought was, geez, I should hire him to cook for me.  All I had tonight for dinner was sauteed veggies in a rice vinegar glaze and some grapes.  Obviously not the dinner of champs here but after a long day at work, its about all I could muster up with the little bit of energy I had left.  Of course it didn't help that my stove and oven didn't work all weekend either due to circuit breaker issues and couldn't plan ahead with a few pre-cooked weeknight meals.

Also, you can bet that when he comes over for our next edition of Sibling Saturday this upcoming weekend, I'm putting his butt in the kitchen to whip me up something delicious.

A new chapter

A few days before I started my new position, this email was sent by my new employer to my email and all of my co-workers:

It is my pleasure to announce the following additions to our Team:

Lindsay will be joining us on September 12^th; filling the open Staff Accountant position.

We are excited and confident that Lindsay will bring her expertise in accounting and enthusiasm to the accounting department.

New Sales Rep (NSR) has accepted the position as the new Midwest Representative for Really Awesome Shoes. NSR lives in Chicago and will come to the St. Louis office Thursday to meet everyone and pickup her samples.

Join us in welcoming Lindsay and sales rep to their new roles!

And from that, I was accepted into my new position.  I can say it's definitely been a crazy two weeks but I am slowly adjusting to the new job.  It's a big change from the business and industry I came from but I think eventually everything will click.  I have become more comfortable in some of my responsibilities and I even got my key to the office this Friday. (I hope this means I'm a keeper!)  I got through an inventory on Friday and this week is month-end (eeeek!).  Ultimately, I need to stay positive and remember I can handle just about anything thrown my way.  (Broccoli has been drilling this into my head since we've been together, guess I should really listen to him now, it may really come in handy.)

Perhaps the coolest thing so far was after work on Tuesday when Coco and I decided to go to dinner and hit the mall.   While browsing one of the stores, I found numerous styles of one of our brands and more specifically one of the brands I do all of the Accounting for.  I became a giddy little school girl and had to take a pic with my phone to send out.  (Yeah, my friends think I'm quite silly!)

In any case, I'm starting to get into my groove and hopeful that things continue to move forward and look up.

Moving on

So my last day at work went fairly well.  There were tears but there were also promises to meet up for lunch in the next couple of weeks.  My new position is literally down the street from my old place and I have told everyone that just because I'm not in the same building we can still all hang out from time to time.  Coco, of course took my leaving the hardest.  We became good friends because of the job and experienced a lot of stuff over the past 6 years on both a personal and professional level.  She came into work Friday with a little note saying thanks for being my friend all these years and these for me --

I, of course, had a card written out for her too saying thanks for putting up with me and getting me through everything life has thrown at me.  I was also going to pick up flowers for her, but I knew she was supposed to head out of town after work to catch her son's college soccer game so I put that off until a later date.

Broccoli met me for lunch on Friday and tried his best to deal with my roller coaster of emotions.  He offered support and encouragement for my new position (yes, I am a bit scared!) and understood why I was crying about leaving the old place (cue, Memories please) and overall eased my mind.

After work I decided to finish out this job the same way I started it 6 years ago.  I went to my Mom and Michael's for dinner with them.  Back then we went to Chevy's for Mexican.  This time, I wanted to change it up a bit so I decided to on Chinese from one of my favorite hometown spots.  I had a good time catching up with them and mostly tried to de-stress from my two long weeks of training everyone on every little duty and job detail in my head.

Saturday was the second edition of Sibling Saturday 2011.  I met my Bro at his apartment and we spent some time catching up and just hanging out.  We also went into town to pick up some much needed apartment essentials for Ryan and his room mates and then grocery shopped so we could make dinner for my Dad.  Ryan and I thought it would be fun to surprise Dad with a visit and dinner.  And Dad was surprised when he came home from work and found both Ryan and I camped out in kitchen creating a masterpiece.
Our creation --

Our version of Moo Goo Gai Pan

 

 

 

And here is Bro enjoying our delicious meal --

Today I've spent my day just trying to prep for my first day tomorrow.  I have my clothes ironed, my paperwork organized and my lunch packed.  I am excited and nervous but overall I'm ready for 9 am.  Transportation turned out to be quite an interesting industry, I can only imagine what shoes and the fashion world will be like.  :)

Simple vs. Real

This was sent to me the other day and I thought it was the perfect thing to post today.

A Simple Friend has never seen you cry.
A Real Friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.

A Simple Friend doesn't know your parent's first names.
A Real Friend has their phone numbers in the address book.

A Simple Friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A Real Friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A Simple Friend hates it when you call after he or she has gone to bed.
A Real Friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A Simple Friend seeks to talk with you about their problems.
A Real Friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A Simple Friend wonders about your romantic history.
A Real Friend could blackmail you with it.

A Simple Friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A Real Friend opens your refrigerator and helps herself.

A Simple Friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A Real Friend knows that it's not a friendship until after you've had a fight.

A Simple Friend expects you to always be there for them.
A Real Friend expects to always be there for you and for you to know that they are.

Today is my last day at work and I can say, I consider quite a few of my current co-workers my friends, but ultimately I know who my Real Friends are here and who I will continue to remain friends with as I move on to a new phase in my life.  They are the few people that in spite of my attitude or tears or days that I didn't have much time to catch up and chat because of my workload, still cared and still wanted to help make things better.  These are the same people who encouraged me to move forward and make myself happy even if it meant I couldn't see them and spend time with them every single day.


I work closely with two of my closest, dearest best friends.  They are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet.  They have provided me with an infinite amount of support and have helped me through some of the hardest days of my life.  To them I am eternally grateful.  Leaving my position was a piece of cake, leaving them is proving to be a bit harder.  Yet, I know, we will always be Real Friends.

The Final Countdown....

Thanks to the helpfulness of one of my co-workers, this song by Europe has been stuck in my head ALL DAY LONG!  He started his morning by asking if I was ready for my last 4 days in the office and proceeded to sing part of the song to me.  Of course, me being the music lover I am, started singing the rest of it and now that's the only song stuck in this head.  As I was training my replacements, I'm humming it to myself.  As I'm doing data entry to help Coco, I'm humming it to myself.  As I go to lunch and try to chill out and enjoy the early fall-like weather, I'm singing to myself.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I hope tomorrow someone has another good bye tune for me...something has to get this out of my head!

Almost like the real thing

Broccoli would probably completely disagree with me, but I found a great alternative to a hamburger.  I've been making turkey burgers rather than using ground beef for the last year or so and finally on my last grocery shopping trip, I decided to try something different.
So, let me introduce my newest food adventure --

To me, they taste like a regular burger.  I may even go as far as to say that they are better than a regular burger because I wasn't left feeling stuffed or like I had just clogged my arteries with all sorts of fat.  In any case, I just heated them in my new Paula Deen skillet and then made a burger like normal.  Of course, Broccoli would tell you that the only reason why it tasted like a beef burger to me is due to the fact that I pile my regular burgers with so many "extras" (lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions) that I never really taste the meat anyway.  I did the same thing with my Boca burger.  :)
Now I'm ready to test out some other Boca products -- who knows what kind of yummy lunches or quick dinners I can whip up with their veggie burgers, crumbles or chik'n patties.  It's amazing how many more foods I am now willing to try and prepare when I know calorie counts and other valuable nutritional info.

Note:  I have not been paid by Boca in anyway for this post.  But, if you happen to know someone there, would you tell them how much I love these burgers and have them donate a few boxes to me?!?  Thanks!  :)

Sucked in

It's a 3 day weekend and I've already spent my Saturday running errands and cleaning up my apartment.  While I was at the gym this morning, I was flipping through my favorite channels and happened to find a marathon on Bravo.  Of course, I got sucked in and I've decided that since its a gloomy day here in the Lou, I'm going to spend the rest of my day chilling at home and being entertained by:

It's definitely a train wreck, but so fun to watch.

Hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

And so it begins...

At 11:36 am an email went out from my boss to the entire company,

I am writing to inform you that Lindsay with be leaving (insert company name here).  Lindsay has been a valued asset to (insert company name here) for 6 years and we are sorry that she has decided to move on.  She has graciously agreed to stay on with us until Friday, September 9 to transition her responsibilities to others.

(Mean girl with a horrible attitude) will continue to do driver payroll, but will assume the weekly mechanic and guard payroll, so please send that payroll information to (Mean girl with a horrible attitude) starting with the next payroll.  For now, everything else should be directed to me, and I will assume it.

Again we greatly appreciate the many contributions Lindsay has made to (insert company name here) over the last 6 years.

And with that, everyone found out...I'm leaving. 
It's possibly the best decision I have made lately.  The stress is slowly (actually very quickly) taking its toll on me.  When my boss said he will assume all other responsibilities, he has no idea what he is in for.  Not only do I handle all Accounting functions, I handle nearly 90% of all Admin and HR functions in our company.  It makes my head spin and I've been under this mountain of work for 3 1/2 years with nearly no time off, no lunches and 9-10 hour days.  Good luck with all of that!  And good luck finding one person to take on all of those tasks.  I am training our new part-time Accounting clerk, who officially was given a full time job when I resigned yesterday, but as a fresh Accounting grad, it's going to take awhile to get into my full on "intense Lindsay mode" groove.  But, I hope that I can train him and pass along as much of this knowledge that is in my ever expanding brain.

It was nice to see some of the replies from my closest co-workers too:

"What am I going to do now!

You will be truly missed and I want you to know I greatly appreciate everything you have done the last year to help me.  You are a great person and I wish the best for you in what ever you do."

"sorry to see you go, good luck. you will be missed by most of us around here.  especially the cool people like me.  keep in touch."

"Hey what the heck????????????  Good luck in what ever you're going to do, I will surely miss you dearly.  You have been a great friend.  Thanks for everything"

"AWESOME FOR YOU, SUCKS FOR US. ALONG WITH YOUR (insert company name here) CONTRIBUTIONS I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR MAKING THIS PLACE A LITTLE BETTER LOOKING EVERYDAY, THANKS YOU ROCK. PLEASE SAY YOU'LL STILL POP IN FOR HAPPY HOUR SOMETIME, I'VE YET TO SEE YOU HAMMERED, I HEAR IT'S QUITE ENTERTAINING :)"

"Damn girl, I hate to see you go.  (Boss) let me know earlier and it made me sad.  But I'm sure you are doing what is right for you, and I wish you well."


"I don't get to speak with you very often or see you.  But I wish you the Best of Luck with whatever you do!! Thanks for helping me when I do need something!!"

"WOW..!!!  Really..?? I wish you the best of luck and hope that you are happy with your career change..

I am very happy for you....Just wondering, I was planning on having you do our 2011 taxes..Will you still be available for that??  Let me know, and I wish you the BEST....GOOD LUCK!!!!!"

My response to them and just about everyone else that I talked to today was similar, I'm heading back into the world of being a Staff Accountant.  I will be working in a completely different industry but one that I love and hope I can be successful in.  I am excited for the change and ready to get back to my Accounting roots and I start my new position on September 12th.

Oh and as for happy hours, taxes and keeping in touch, I am planning on all three and hopefully more.  Some of my best friends work at this company and whether I work there or anywhere, they are my friends for life.  I will find a way to make it all work.

Mantras for a happy life

Post 300!  Hard to believe that I've continued to post my randomness for the last 6 years and still find  something to write about on a semi-regular basis.  Things have been a bit out of control around here lately and I have been contemplating many things, much of which affects numerous aspects of my life.  I had to talk myself out of quitting my job, packing up and moving to Memphis/Northern MS and starting over more times than I would like to count over the past 2 months.  It's not because I want to live without all of the good things I have here, but I just figured it was easier to start with a clean slate somewhere relatively close rather than trying to fix all of the stuff affecting my attitude and daily well-being. (Brilliant idea, I know....just keep following me, would ya?)

So instead, I tried to look for other ways to make small changes.  I'm not one that likes to admit failure, but I can tell you, I've failed tremendously at trying to keep my attitude in check lately.  Then I happen to find the two quotes below while researching a happy life online and something just clicked.  I've decided to make these my mantras for a happy, balanced life.

Someone once said..."There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living."

It doesn’t just end at being passionate about what you do. It’s about taking care of yourself (physically and mentally), striving for happiness in a relationship, and having a hobby or interests that stimulate your brain.

My life is changing at a fast pace and in order to get through everything, I need to accept whatever is thrown at me.  That doesn't mean that I can not still fight for what I believe is right and fair.  I know this change will affect multiple aspects of my life.  It will send me into another unknown phase, but one that I am hoping to bridge with some of what is already familiar.  I've run more ideas by Broccoli and Coco than I thought humanly possible, hoping they can figure out how to decipher all of this.  I've been on a roller coaster of emotions and from one minute to the next I don't know if I'm happy and excited or sad or scared or angry.  Ultimately, I want to be happy.  I want to have that life I've dreamed about.  

I know these changes will make the difference.

Riddle me this....

What is one way to make an extremely overwhelming and stressful Tuesday a bit better?!?! 

How about some Paula Deen cookware?!?!

I know it seems silly, but after being stood up for my consulting gig tonight.  I decided to hit the gym for a little de-stresser elliptical workout and then make my much anticipated cookware purchase.
As of right now, it's still packed away nicely in the box, but I'm breaking these bad boys out tomorrow night!  CAN NOT WAIT!!

Yes, I'm easily pleased.  :)

More randomness

Sorry, right now there is a lack of time for me to formulate a clever post, so I'll just update you on the stuff floating around in my head at the moment.  Ironically, most of it links together is some weird way.
So here we go!

-- Reserved my spot for my 10 year class reunion being held in October this past week.  It's hard to believe that I've been out of high school that long and for me, A LOT has changed in these 10 years.  While I debated as to whether or not I wanted to go back and relive any of that, I decided it may be fun just to check in and see what others have been up to over the years.  We will see what I think after I attend.

-- What's even more crazy is that my dear precious little Nicole starts high school on Tuesday.  That seems darn near impossible.  I felt old when Ryan went to high school, I'm feeling ancient now that its Nicole's turn.  I may just have a mid-life crisis when she graduates.

-- Speaking of age and birthdays, my Mom's birthday was yesterday.  (Happy Birthday Mom!)  I invited her and Michael over for dinner on Friday night and I must say, I was highly impressed with my dinner of strip steaks, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet corn on the cob, salad and most importantly, orange dreamscicle parfaits.

-- Every time I cook a dinner for more than myself, I realize I need to get better pots and pans.  This again was the case after Friday night so I went browsing while I was out running errands yesterday.  I found two sets that I liked and now I'm trying to figure out if and when I will break down and buy a better set than what I currently own.  I'm not sure why I need to justify that this is a good purchase, but I am thinking it over way too many times.  Yes, I need new pots and pans.  Yes, I enjoy cooking and need something better than the starter set I bought when I moved out on my own 6 years ago.  No, this is not a life-altering decision (well, unless you consider the fact that I have to choose between Paula Deen and Rachael Ray).... 
GO BUY SOME POTS & PANS LINDSAY!

-- Tonight is the season finale of Next Food Network Star.  While we are all thrilled Mary Beth isn't competing in the finale, we're torn between the final three.  I'll watch any of the three however, I will be a bit irritated if my signature sammich recipe ends up on Jeff's show.  Of course, then I'll know for sure the casting directors read my 11 page application!

There are some of the highlights of items rattling around in this head.  I'm off to enjoy the rest of the afternoon before I head back into the out of control world of Transportation Accounting tomorrow morning.  Catch ya later!

Matchbox Twenty & Kitchen Gadgets

I'm sure you are aware how much music rules my life and how much I relate songs I hear while working or driving or working out to every little aspect of my life.  This morning was no different.  I was heading home from my Saturday morning workout, feeling a bit over-whelmed by the amount of projects I had to today's to-do list, and all of a sudden a blast from the past came on the station I've been listening to lately.  (St. Louis' own 100.3 GenX Radio for those of you with the iHeartRadio app) -- Matchbox Twenty's Real World.  And then it hit me as I was belting out the lyrics to the song -- I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me.

So rather than letting all of the chores and side projects I felt needed to be accomplish today overrule trying to de-stress from another wild week at work and other things I wanted to do, I promptly came home, handled a few things, showered and did something I felt was more important.  Something dorky you may say, but something I promised my Bro after he helped me through my (unsuccessful) casting call last weekend -- I bought some kitchen gadgets for his new apartment.  Shopping (and not even for myself!) actually calmed me down enough to come back home and finish the next part of the tax project I agreed to work on. 

Household chores aren't finished and who knows when I'll get around to them.  But right this second, I'm telling the real world to stop hassling me.

Chasing a Dream

With the two most important guys in my life by my side, I took a leap of faith this morning and went to the Food Network Star casting call in downtown St. Louis.  I wasn't sure what to expect especially since it is the first time I have ever done any sort of thing like this, but I figured this was the perfect platform for me to represent my cooking skills and my ideas regarding healthy living and eating.  After my short interview with the casting rep, I walked out of there confident that I presented myself to the best of my abilities.

Perhaps the funniest part of the morning came from the fact that while I was waiting for my turn in my group, my Bro was in the holding area making friends.  When I got back from my interview, I find him talking to another applicant.  Broccoli's response, "You can tell you two are related.  You will make friends wherever you go." (Of course, this is also after the fact that when he stopped by, I was in line talking to other women in my interview group.)

Overall, it was a memorable morning and I'm so glad I gave it a shot!!  *Fingers crossed for what's next!*

And Bro and Broccoli -- you two definitely inspire me.  From taste-testing all of my dishes over the years, to listening to my tips and tricks about healthy eating & fitness and even proof-reading my application, I'm grateful for all of your support and I thank you for being there today!

Back to the real world

Another weekend I had been looking so forward to has come and gone.  It's amazing how long I seem to wait for these things to come around and how fast the 36 hours of fun passes.  The good news is that we had an absolute blast together and I have an extra day to rest up since I took a vacation day tomorrow.

And yes, we are an unbeatable team.  :)

6 years going on a lifetime...

Today is my 6 year anniversary at work.  It's the longest amount of time I've spent in any one company and I've faced enough trial and tribulation in the past 6 years to last me a lifetime.  To anyone who ever thinks that a semi is just a tractor-trailer on the road or that the transportation business is just about moving freight, feel free to come visit me for a few days.

Right now, I'm holding my breath that I can at least get through my day somewhat unfrazzled, leave at a reasonable hour and not be left with a huge backlog for tomorrow.  I may need a celebratory drink if I make it through and don't yell or cry at least once today.  (You may laugh at this, but the two people that usually get me through my rough times are both gone today.  I'm on my own and not feeling so confident in my abilities to stay grounded.)

Ok, time to take a deep breath and put on a happy face....here we go.

Thanks Pooh!

I forgot how much I liked this song until I saw the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie.  Now I can't get it out of my head, which I'm fine with at the moment.

So why don't we go..........

Somewhere only we know.

Taking the plunge

Fearing a commitment and debating whether or not this was the right time to upgrade, I finally decided on Friday to look into something bigger and better than my current options.  By the time I compared services, features and equipment, it wasn't that hard of a decision after all.
Allow me to introduce my brand new main squeeze --

HTC EVO 4G

It's only been a few days and I'm in love.  It surprises me constantly and has left me with a warm fuzzy feeling.  Who knew?!?!
(Don't worry -- Broccoli understands completely and actually encouraged this relationship.)

Sibling Saturday, Summer 2011 Edition

Seems like forever since I've posted and the past few weeks have passed in a blur.  If I'm not working at my full-time job, I'm working on my side projects or I'm at the gym.  Sleeping appears to be non-existent.  (And, not really by choice.)
In any case, that's not the reason why I'm posting and don't worry, I'll get through all of that.
But.....today is a BIG FUN day here!  It's the first Sibling Saturday of 2011.  Yes, I realize it is July and I seem like the biggest loser sister for not planning one of these sooner but both my bro and I have been busy and our schedules haven't worked out until now.  There are no set plans for the day, just hanging out and doing whatever sounds good.  Plus, I'm visiting him with gifts!!

I think I should be the best sister ever!!

Girls Night Out

Last year, Rosemary, Coco and I took a chair and pole dance workshop for my birthday and had a blast while getting an awesome workout!  This year the same studio posted a similar deal and this time offered Hip Hop.   Since I'm always looking for a new and entertaining way to work out, I asked the girls if they would want to take a class with me.  Rosemary couldn't make it but Coco, GMP and myself hit the fitness center, felt the beat and got the one of the best and most entertaining hour-long workouts. 

Now I'm trying to justify a monthly membership to another, yet different kind of fitness club.  Too bad money doesn't grow on trees....

Just sayin'

A major morning workout at 4:30 am, followed by a full 9 hour day at your main job, followed by 2.5 hours of side accounting work and then going out for drinks with your friends afterwards and not getting home until 10:30 makes you very tired and makes it very difficult to get up and be raring to go for Tuesday.

I don't know what made me think that Monday was a great time to push myself to my limit but I'm definitely feeling it this morning.  Oh and in case you're wondering, my alarm went off at 4 am so I could get my morning workout in again today and it promptly was turned off.

Right now, I'm just hoping I stay awake at work today.

Happy Father's Day to all of the awesome dads out there, but especially to my own Dad, who I must say is the absolute best!!

Guy, Paula, Memphis & more

Well, since I officially agreed to more side accounting work starting up again next week, I figured I better provide some details on all of the fun from the past 4 weekend rewards before I have to buckle down and get back to work.
So, here we go!

Bon Jovi came to town and rocked my socks off!

Dad and I got to meet one of my Food Network favorites!

An essential part of any 3 H weekend -- home of the best hoecakes!

Learning a few tricks of the trade from another one of my Food Network faves!

So it's not really Paula, but I was still really excited!

Me and the King -- Memphis is definitely one of my top spots for a road trip.

I'm extremely glad I let loose a bit and I enjoyed every second of my extra time off.  Now it's back down to business...at least for a few weeks.

Love & Best Dishes

My love of cooking has grown dramatically over the past year.  I feel comfortable and most at home when I'm in my teeny tiny kitchen or talking about ingredients, recipes, my restaurant dream or anything else food related.  Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was able to see Guy Fieri when he visited St. Louis and I thought I was in heaven getting to attend an event of someone pursuing their food dreams.
Soon after I purchased my tickets to see Guy, a notification on my popped up on my Facebook page that another one of my food icons was scheduling a visit to Harrah's in Tunica on June 11th.  Normally, I would wish to go but never follow through with a plan to actually make a trip to an event like that.  Until now...
 
After verifying with Broccoli that I was not crazy for wanting to take a 24 hour trip to a city 5 hours away for something as silly as seeing one of my favorite Food Network stars live and in person, I decided to ask Coco if she would be willing to tag along on my adventure.  And....she willingly agree to make the trip!  So tomorrow morning, these two girls are headed to Tunica to see one of the greatest home cooks/restaurateurs of all times, Paula Deen!

Photo credit: PaulaDeen.com

The Tunica/Memphis area is a great place to visit anyway and being able to make this whirlwind trip to see Paula is a once in a lifetime chance.  I am soooooooooo excited!!

One upped

Remember when I posted this?!? 

I didn't think there would be another chance to experience anything nearly as awesome as that weekend back in January, yet, this weekend totally surpassed it.  A weekend break away from home, away from the hustle and bustle of my job, away from my household responsibilities and away from my crazy workouts.  It was a chance to relax my mind, body and soul and enjoy some quality time with the person that loves me despite all of my idiosyncrasies.  I truly am one lucky girl.

I definitely had a hard time being thrown back into reality when I got home tonight and I'm not really ready to restart my routine but I am hoping that all of the fun weekend memories will make it easier.

That's Money

In the last few years my brother and I have shared the interest in cooking (him more so with grilling) and creating our own signature dishes.  Then, somehow I managed to get Broccoli involved in my love of cooking to the point where he is coming up with meals to wow me with.  He also doesn't complain when we watch hours and hours of Food Network.  Now, I've even gotten my Dad on board with the culinary craze!

Tomorrow, Dad and I are going to....

The Guy Fieri Food Tour presented by the National Pork Board will mix the best elements of a live cooking show, the fun of a variety revue, and the non-stop adrenaline rush of a rock concert.  Fieri will take center stage with an unscripted and wildly entertaining performance—complete with interactive cooking stations, secret tips and dishes from his forthcoming cookbook, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from the road, and much more.

We've made it a Dad and Daughter event and I'm really excited!  In fact, as Guy would say, it's "Off da Hook!"

It's all about balance

"Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices."  -Betsy Jacobson

I've started to push the Type-A Lindsay boundaries a bit but I'm really thrilled with the choices and fun things I've planned for the next 4 weekends.  After working my tail off for nearly 6 months with all of the extra accounting and tax projects I have taken on and finally giving the last completed project to its rightful owner on Friday afternoon, I decided to let loose and enjoy my new found free time to the fullest. 
Tonight starts the first of 4 weekend rewards.  From concerts to cooking to mini road trips and hanging out with some of the greatest people in my life and I'm looking forward to experiencing every minute.

If I remember my camera, I'll update and post pics of my adventures.  No promises though as my brain is enjoying the free time as well.

Very Impressive

I went to the gym this morning, like I do most mornings, and got into my zone so I could get my long Sunday workout in.  Saturdays and Sundays are usually my big workout days as I try to make up for the lack of gym time I have during the week.  I also try to work harder on the muscles that may not have gotten full attention during my early morning before-work workouts.
This morning, I finished my cardio and proceeded to pull out all of the items needed for my core workout.  I did my supermans with 12 lb weights, planks, crunches, bicycles and push-ups (boy-style, not girl) non-stop for 3 full reps.  Overall, it's about a 15-20 minute routine, nothing too out of the ordinary for me.  I've actually gotten pretty accustomed to this routine or a similar one at least once a week and it (along with the combo of all of my other workouts) has left me with a fairly flat mid-section.  I finished my routine this morning and went to put all of the equipment away and while doing so, someone else in the gym came up to me and asked if I was preparing for some sort of fitness competition.  I told him, "no, I'm just doing my regular workout." 
He about fell on the floor from shock that this was my normal workout.  He told me he was a trainer at another gym and had been observing me doing my workout and he couldn't believe how intense it was and it was highly impressive for someone my size.  He also told me that even though he's a trainer, he wouldn't have been able to go non-stop through my whole routine.
I had to smile.  I have worked my tail off to get to the point where I'm actually impressing other people in the gym.  Not so long ago, had you asked me to put together an intense workout, I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what to do for one and secondly, I probably would have given up because it was "too hard" on my body.  Now, I have other in-shape people watching me and seeing all of the hard-work I put into staying fit and healthy.
Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself and it made my arms, chest and back workout afterwards seem like a piece of cake.

Scrambled thoughts

I really wanted to post, but my thoughts are heading in different directions, so today you're left with more of my randomness.

- Last Sunday was the season finale of America's Next Great Restaurant and I was pleased with the outcome.  Congrats Jamawn "Soul Daddy" Woods!!

I've never really ever wanted to travel to Minneapolis, but now it may be fun to experience some of the food that landed Jamawn 3 fast-casual restaurants around the US.

- Last Thursday, Coco, TL and I went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and rather than trying to fight the crowds at every Mexican restaurant around town, we settled on a sports bar and billiards parlor.  Believe it or not, they had specials for the Mexican holiday as well.  I could totally eat my weight in chips and salsa.
 
- Speaking of weight, today is the 6 year anniversary of me taking the plunge and starting my weight-loss journey.  While the last year has been more maintenance than weight loss, I still must have the same drive and focus to make sure that all of my hard work continues to pay off.  There are some days that I still wonder how I was able to lose over 80 lbs, but I'm very proud of the healthy changes I've made in my life.  And for the record, I weighed exactly the same today as I did on this day last year.  Hoo-ha!!

- I'm working on my vacation for the summer and am having a few set-backs in the planning since the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers have decided that flooding is more important than me getting some much needed time away.  In years past, I've gone to Memphis for the Memphis in May BBQ championships along the Riverfront.  This year, the Mississippi has proven she's mightier than any plans I could have had, so I'm backing down for now.  I'm just hoping that by the time my official summer vacation rolls around the flooding will have subsided.  If not, a spur of the moment Plan B will be thrown together -- I'm thinking Vegas.

And finally, tomorrow is Mother's Day.  Happy Mother's Day to all of the women who are lucky enough to be called Mom.  May you have a wonderful day!

The Highlight of Fall

Earlier last week I found out that Scripps released a statement on the next season of The Next Iron Chef and I won't lie, I was a giddy little schoolgirl when I found out who was competing to be a part of the Chairman's culinary crew.  I was so giddy that when I met Broccoli for lunch on Wednesday that the first words out of my mouth after hello were, "you have got to read this press release!" and I handed him a copy of the info I found online.  And, I do believe he was nearly as excited as I was after reading it.
Perhaps the funniest thing comes down to the fact that we have so much invested in catching our favorite Food Network or food competition shows that we knew of nearly all of the chefs competing giving each other our opinions as to how the competition will play out.  We're even working on our own The Next Iron Chef fantasy team and of course, we've pegged who the other person will pick as the winner.

You may not be as excited as we were, but here's the release from Scripps:

Food Network Selects Roster of Ten Superstar Chefs for the Ultimate Culinary Battle - Each Looking to Become The Next Iron Chef

Elite Chefs Go Knife-to-Knife in High-Stakes Challenge to Become ‘The Next Iron Chef’ 
Hosted by Alton Brown, Season Four Set to Premiere Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT

NEW YORK – April 18, 2011 - Food Network, the leader in food and lifestyle entertainment, today announced the all-star casting and start of production for the ultimate season of The Next Iron Chef.  Slated for premiere on Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT, Alton Brown will again host this 8-episode, top-rated series, which will shoot in Los Angeles and New York. The elite cast includes ten renowned chefs:

 

• Anne Burrell – Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
• Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant (Napa Valley), Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello (Cooking Channel)
• Elizabeth Falkner – Citizen Cake, Orson (San Francisco), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Alex Guarnaschelli – Butter, The Darby (New York), Alex’s Day Off, Chopped (Food Network)
• Chuck Hughes – Garde Manger (Montreal), Chuck’s Day Off (Cooking Channel), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Robert Irvine – Robert Irvine’s eat! (Hilton Head Island), Dinner: Impossible, Restaurant: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
• Beau MacMillan – Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain (Phoenix), Challenge, Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Spike Mendelsohn – Good Stuff Eatery (Washington D.C.), Kelsey & Spike Cook (Food2.com)
• Marcus Samuelsson –Red Rooster Harlem (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)
• Geoffrey Zakarian – The National, The Lambs Club (New York),  24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)

 

Judges include the original ‘Next Iron Chef’ Michael Symon, esteemed food journalist Simon Majumdar and UK Iron Chef Judy Joo.

 

In The Next Iron Chef, the contestants bet on their culinary skills and put their reputations on the line for the chance to compete in legendary Kitchen Stadium.  The winner will join the ranks of chefs including Bobby Flay, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto and Symon as a member of the Chairman’s team on Iron Chef America.

 

I'm definitely not wishing the summer away but I can't wait to catch this series!

Not a Good Friday

A very scary evening here -- storms and tornadoes have pummeled us for days and tonight it was a little too close for comfort.
A tornado touched down at Lambert Airport tonight around 8:15.  You're probably saying, "So what?  The Midwest is known for their crazy springtime weather and chances for tornadoes."
And I would agree with you, of course when you live less than a mile from the airport, it starts to freak you out a bit.  Tonight was one of those nights when I was at a complete loss as for what to do and where to go.  I saw the circulation in the air and couldn't believe it.

Definitely don't think I could be a storm chaser.

Saturday morning update:
After all of the devastation last night, here's the latest from KMOV.com..

Now the fun begins -- figuring out which areas that I regularly travel were hit and avoiding them until all of the damage is assessed and cleanup begins.  Thank goodness most of my friends in the area were not seriously affected by the storms and are safe and sound!

Just like old times...

I took today off of work and decided to just have a day to enjoy the spring weather and recharge myself.  I was planning on meeting my Dad this afternoon for lunch and to hang out with him for a bit.  Come to find out, my brother was also going to be able to meet us.  We ended up having the best afternoon!!
 
It reminded me off all of our Thursdays nights growing up.  Thursdays used to be the night my Dad came to pick us up and we would bum around town for a few hours and grab dinner and just catch up.  Some nights we'd go to the park and play, other nights we'd go to the library and then other times we'd go shop for school supplies or clothes or whatever we were in need of at the time.

Today we grabbed lunch, all shopped for new tennis shoes at Kohls (yes...New Reebok Retones!!), stopped into Verizon for a new phone for my Bro (I was too chicken to upgrade my LG EnV2, which I'm still in love with), picked up a new spring skirt for me at Old Navy and browsed Best Buy.  It brought back many good memories of all the time we got to spend together as my Bro and I were growing up and it made me cherish the great relationship I still have with both my Dad and Ryan.  It's not all that often anymore that our schedules all work out to enjoy time together, but I'm so glad that I had the opportunity today. 

I may have to take days off and do this more often....

Afternoon surprise

Guess who gets to ditch work early tomorrow and go to the afternoon Cardinals game?!?

This girl does!  Woo hoo!!

My boss emailed me today and told me that an opportunity presented itself and if I was available, he would like for me to attend the baseball game with him and our bankers.  I was excited and after re-arranging a few things, I am all set for the game!

The bonus -- the weather is supposed to be a perfect spring day as well!!

The wildcard -- whether or not the Cards can pull off a win against the Pirates!  LET'S GO CARDS!!
 

How 'bout them apples?!?

The company worked for during college throws together an NCAA March Madness basketball pool every year and while I know next to nothing about college basketball, I still enter a bracket or two, just for the fun of it. 
 Most years, I end up middle of the pack and just donate my $3.00. 

This year, I will either finish tied for 2nd if UConn beats Butler or 4th if Butler wins.  Either way, I'm thrilled!  What's even funnier is that I offered one of my current co-workers a shot at entering a bracket into this pool as well and he's in the money as well.

I'm not sure if we'll be invited back into this pool next year, but you can bet, I'll be watching the game tonight!!

Experimental Baking

I decided to try making a somewhat healthy egg-less chocolate cake today.  Not sure how its going to taste but I figured it might be a nice complement to the dinner I'm hoping to whip up before America's Next Great Restaurant and the finale episode of Chopped All Stars.

On a semi-related note, I totally want this game.

USAopoly Scrabble Cooking Edition: 

The Cooking Edition of Scrabble includes classic Scrabble fun with a cooking twist allowing players to earn bonus points for words related to everyone's favorite past time. Recipe cards are the perfect mix as players double and triple their scores with directives for all new custom game play. Become the master chef as you spell your way to victory with tasty abbreviations and names of your favorite celebrity chefs. Can you spell D-E-L-I-S-H?

 I love playing Scrabble and cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, so why not combine the two? 
Sounds like a great idea to me!