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.