Delayed anniversary

Mom and Michael's anniversary was on the 27th, but with being sick and having to plan funeral arrangements that day, I wasn't able to cook them dinner like I normally do.  To make up for this we had planned on me coming over after the funeral yesterday and whipping up a dining masterpiece and enjoying game night at their house. 

But first, presents!  Mom had been asking me time and time again to see if anyone had the movie Meet Joe Black, she had been searching for it and hadn't found it anywhere (For the record, Mom is not an online shopper either.).  She went so far as to go to Best Buy on Tuesday where they told her there were two copies in the store and yet when the associate and her went to look for it on the shelf it wasn't there.  However, I did find a copy of the movie on Monday when I went out to Best Buy shopping for anniversary presents and I was able to surprise her and Michael with it and a digital photo frame last night.

As for dinner, my menu for the night included orange-balsamic glazed chicken breasts, parmesan risotto ("Come with me, I teach you how to make risotto."....a prize will be given to the first person that knows who said that on Next Food Network Star.), sauteed green beans, a mixed greens salad and mini chocolate donuts for dessert.

Orange-balsamic glazed chicken and sides

Undressed mini donuts - its do it yourself with icing and sprinkles

After dinner we played Scrabble where I got my butt kicked in all 3 games and even after I had the best word ever in game 2!

Can you find my best word ever?

I'm not sure if it was the wine or my Catholic upbringing poking it's head out, but I so spelled out homily.  We got a good laugh about that and many other things throughout the night.  (Like when Mom got 7 tiles of 4 I's and 3 T's. or when Michael just started making up words.)  The night was a total blast and I'm so glad I got to spend the evening with them even if my cheeks did hurt from the constant Scrabble laughter.

For New Years Eve tonight rather than tackling all of the crazies out celebrating in the city, I've decided I'm going to head back over to my parents' house for round 2.  I've got my menu planned and my game face on!  I'm ready to ring in the New Year and ready for the challenges and changes 2012 brings with it, especially after all of the trials, tribulations, heartbreaks and happiness I faced in 2011.

Happy 2012 to you!  And may the New Year be a happy, healthy and prosperous one to you and your family.

Perfect Sandwich?

Chef Fabio's Perfect Sandwich

Found this article on Yahoo's Shine Food about the perfect late night sandwich and all I can say is obviously Chef Fabio has never had a sammich.  According to my supporters, my sandwich creation has a perfect meal record to date and the sammich is close to heaven on a plate.  What was once as a last minute experimental lunch panini for Broccoli months ago, has turned into my most requested meal.  In fact, I think Broccoli may just in fact regret breaking up with me for this reason alone.

Making it's debut in blogland:

Lunch sammich

Sammich with some sides

And while it may not seem all that fancy or out of the ordinary, it's all about the seasoning blend on the chicken.  I think I could package that blend and sell it, its that good.  Essence of Emeril?1?  Blah!  Let's try Essence of Lindsay!  (Ok, doesn't have the same ring to it but it could work.  Bro, my marketing genius, get working on a better product name please!)

Deja Vu and Medicine Heads

I made it through my day and my week in spite of the holidays, being sick and dealing with the 1 year anniversary of losing my Grandma.  It's hard to believe its already been a year and it's still so weird to go visit my parents and know my Grandma isn't around, some days I just expect her to pop her head around the corner and tell me about all of the things she's been up to with her friends, music classes and jokes she's played on Mom and Michael.  We thought all of the holiday heartbreak was over with everything that happened last year, but as luck would have it for our family, my step-dad Michael lost his mom on Christmas Day this year.  So the holidays were a bit strained once again and now we're preparing for another funeral tomorrow.

On top of the normal holiday stress and dealing with losing another family member, I somehow came down with the worst cold possible.  I don't know how that happened, I haven't run myself ragged the last 8 weeks or anything, but the day after Christmas I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a bus.  I loaded up on vitamins at first thinking I'd fight it off with those and finally Tuesday morning, I stopped into Walgreens before work to get the good stuff.  Of course, me not being one for taking medicine very often, I felt even more dazed and so much so, I guess it finally showed at work today.  I couldn't find a simple journal entry error in the write-offs I was posting and then locked up the batch I was working on in our system.  I emailed my boss to "unlock" my work because I was stuck and couldn't figure out why.  She promptly recovered my journal entry, informed me of the error and sent me this via email:

December 29: medicine head

Mental fogginess resulting from having taken cold/flu medicine. Common side effect of certain antihistamines.

"I took some NyQuil and now I have medicine head like you wouldn't believe. Everything feels and looks surreal -- but at least I can breathe without coughing."

Appropriate isn't it?

At least I'm done with work for the week so I can hopefully get better and not bring this thing with me into 2012.

Next Cooking Mission

Saturday afternoon my Bro and I held another edition of Sibling Saturday.  He has been anxiously trying to get me to visit this new restaurant that has amazing wood-fired pizza, unbelievable home-made soup and desserts to nearly die for.  So before we tackled the crowds to finish our Christmas shopping, we stopped into Peel.

Source

We had a fab time catching up and the food was as delicious as Bro promised.  He even treated me to lunch!  (Thanks again Bro!!)  Lunch did come with one stipulation -- learn how to make the Wild Mushroom Soup.  And so my challenge begins!  Thank goodness I have some extra days off during the holidays because now that I've experienced Peel, I believe I'm on the clock.

Fancy Dresses & Unlimited Cake!!

Because I know you've been anxiously waiting to see how Shell & R's wedding turned out, here are the highlights from the festivities last weekend --

- The Happy Couple!

- The girls and by far, we're the best bridesmaids ever!

 - The dinner menu.  I'm posting this because that wonderfully nice handwriting is mine.  This was one of my bridesmaid tasks and I would like to think I nailed it!  Not too bad for a lefty either!  (Sorry, it's a bit dark, total random cell phone pic.)

Yes, that bottom line says unlimited cake

- And here is me in my pretty dress all dolled up, with my unlimited cake.

I ate both pieces too!!

- There was also a smores bar, dancing on top of the DJ's table and a random conga line around the ballroom.  But perhaps the funniest part of the night came from Shell's mom who had a bit of fun once we cleaned up after the reception.

It was a great day and a fabulous night and I wish Shell & R a lifetime of happiness!

Merry Christmas to me!

The calendar may not say December 25th, but tonight is totally my Christmas.  After weeks of competition, the final battle is tonight and the newest Iron Chef will be crowned!  Pastry Chef Elizabeth Faulker faces off against veteran chef Geoffrey Zakarian.

While neither of these chefs were pegged as my favorite picks when the competition started, they worked hard to make it to the finale.  And tonight, I have a feeling I'll be more anxious waiting for the Chairman's Iron Chef decision than a kid waiting up for Santa next weekend.

I live for this kind of excitement!

St. Louis' Christmas Wish

Stan the Man has the right idea....

Source: KSDK

In fact, I think this is on just about everyone in St. Louis' Christmas list this year.

Thursday night update:  Well, it looks like we can scratch that off of our Christmas lists!  I'm still hoping I get a cast iron dutch oven.  Maybe that's a more realistic gift from Santa. :)

Yep, I'm alright

I was at the gym yesterday morning, going to town on my elliptical when one of the regulars came up to me and started chatting.  It's a common occurrence for me to mention all of the stuff going on in my daily life, especially if I see you day in and day out at the gym (or you want to know something, just ask me, I'm not about to shy away from much) and this time I started talking about Shell's wedding this Saturday.
After mentioning all of the prep work and how excited I am that the big day will be here so soon, he asked me if I was feeling alright and doing ok since all of my friends are either getting married or are already married and I'm one of the only single ones left.  I assured him I'm alright and I've got so many other things going on and I'm not even thinking about getting married anytime soon.  And before you tell me that he's either trying to date me or set me up with someone, I know that is not the case.  I guess he was just under the impression like many others are that I've got the wedding timer set and it's about ready to go off.

Sure, I'm probably a time bomb, but not for wedding bells.  Even when I was in a relationship, that was the last thing on my mind.  Guess I'm just a different kind of girl and no, weddings do not make me go bezerk.

Christmas decorating!!

In order to get myself into the Christmas spirit and get ready for the holiday season, I took some time to get my Christmas tree out in my apartment....

It even comes with lights!

Perhaps this is a better view...

Yes, its small and fits on one of my end tables.  But isn't it adorable?!?  It was given to me by my Grandma and it's perfect!

(Don't judge...it's all I have room for here and I at least got it out this year! It's more than what I can say for the past two.)

Cue the Christmas music!!

Rock Stars, Turkeys, & Hockey Players...oh my!

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Blog posts are few and far between here with everything going on...still bear with me until I get some stuff sorted out.  You would think with the extra two days off from work this week, I could get on track.  However, as luck would have it, I've taken the extra days off and found myself planning anything and everything I could for this long weekend.

First off, pics from last weekend's road trip....which by the way, was super AWESOME!

From 3 Doors Down instagr.am -- we're the ones with our hands up in the crowd!

 3 Doors Down was so great and the girls and I had a total blast driving down there, going to Beale Street, attending the concert and then making the trek home.

Me in my fun hat we bought on Beale Street!

Trouble x 4!

 It was a short week at work which was also very much needed.  I still am struggling with learning everything and now there is the added stress of preparing budgets for next year and working on year-end projects.  I was thrilled when 4:30 rolled around on Wednesday afternoon and I headed out to start my holiday.

I was able to spend Thanksgiving with both of my parents and the day went off with very few hiccups.  Dad made a turducken which was exciting in itself.  Being the foodie that I am, I've always wanted to try one and since we were having a small gathering, Dad thought why not test it out this year.  It got my seal of approval and it's another food adventure I can take off of my food bucket list.  Mom was a little less adventurous and stuck with turkey and ham, but won me over with her sweet potato casserole and home-made peach cobbler.  I was definitely headed for a food coma when I finally made my way back home late Thursday night.

My Thanksgiving Present from Mom & Michael

Yesterday, I got up and tried to get back into my routine and hit the gym for a much needed early morning workout.  There was no way I was going to get out and fight the 4 am Black Friday shoppers so while everyone was out making those "money-saving" (or notsomuch) purchases, my butt was in the gym.  I did decide late in the day to venture out and continue my Christmas shopping, but after a few stops, I ended that little excursion.  Plus, I had tickets to the Blues game last night, so I didn't want to spend the entire day out tackling the crowds.

The Blues game last night was fantastic!  Did you see it?  The Blues shut out the Calgary Flames 2-0.  Elliot looked great in net and I was amazed with all of the obscure saves he was able to make.  Hitchcock has steadily been turning the team around.  I'm really starting to get back into hockey now too.  (This is probably a really good thing considering how poorly I'm doing in my fantasy hockey league right now.)

And this brings us up to today, on the schedule is a birthday party tonight and trying to get some things settled for Shell's bridal shower tomorrow.  I'm coming and going and I have so many things floating around in this head.  Thank goodness this is a random blog!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A Concert for A Cause

I can barely contain my excitement right now.  This weekend the girls and I are headed down to Tunica for this tonight...

Source: http://thebetterlifefoundation.org/

3 Doors Down are playing a show for their foundation and I bought tickets!  It's a much needed girls' trip for all 4 of us and I am happy to help out one of my favorite bands as well.

Have I told you how much I love the Tunica/Memphis area?  Oh yeah, probably only a dozen times already.  I'm definitely looking forward to going back and by taking 3 of my favorite girls with me, we'll definitely be in for a grand time!

P.S. Have I also mentioned that my signature karaoke song is When I'm Gone?  Yep, I even have pics to prove it.

Getting ready for my debut -- Girls Trip 2009

3 Doors Down karaoke SUPERSTAR!!!!

(Sorry for the dark pic, I was solely focused on singing and turned camera duties over to one of the other girls.  I look like a pro, don't I?)

Ahead of the game

My mom and I decided to go out shopping this afternoon since she needed some supplies for her classes this week and I decided to go along for the ride, but as luck would have it I actually decided to start my Christmas shopping.  I think this is a first for me, starting a few weeks before Thanksgiving rather than waiting until absolutely necessary to start.  You'd think for someone who plans out as much stuff as I do, starting my Christmas shopping early would be routine.  Notsomuch...but I am pretty proud of myself right now.

However, I am not ready for Christmas music, decorations or anything else that will make the next 5 weeks pass by in a blur.

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.