Goal Week 4

Lobster Meal

Let me begin with saying that this is three days late. I went to a couple of stores looking for lobster. I didn't find any and the only place that I knew that did have lobster was at Market Street Grill, which would have been a fortune. After much debate I decided to just get crab. Lobster/crab...same thing right? I have never cooked either, so I decided that either way it would be something new.

I was extremely over stimulated at the crab counter. Too many different choices, too many shoppers, and one obnoxious old lady struggling over a rack of ribs almost did me in. After getting home and calming down I realized that Crab is so easy to cook! Who knew? After boiling it for just a couple of minutes I dished up the claws along with pesto pasta with artichoke heart and capers. I also toasted some herb bread with mozzarella cheese on top.

After we smashed the claws and scraped out the crab we decided that we are not seafood people. We ate it all, but I instantly had regret. Anthony was asking way too many unappealing questions such as "Its weird, how do they move? They have no tendons and stuff." A Minute later he mentioned how it kept falling apart and how we were going to find the poor crabbies remnants for days all over the house. It all just got to me, the nastiness of it all. The pasta wasn't a good paring with it either. Basically I ate a lot of bread. Luckily we had coconut gelato for dessert. After cleaning up Anthony came up to me and gave me a hug and said "Thanks for trying." It pretty much summed up the night. I tried my best....and although I feel like I accomplished something, I still feel bummed. Heres the pics.....

How Long Would He Live Without Me?

This is the question of the day. I thought about this yesterday and after some pondering I have come to the conclusion that I have reason to doubt his ability to live on his own. I am referring to Anthony of course, and no I have no intentions of letting him live on his own anytime soon. This is the event that enfolded. It is short but it left me thinking.

Thursday night I was feeling as if I could not make another meal. It happens every so often in a young ladies life. The question of what to make for dinner is a constant concern but on that specific night I didn't even care if we went hungry. I passed the infamous Pizza hut on my way home from work and instantly realized that that was going to be my golden ticket for the night. I don't have any stories from that place which was a shock to me. All I saw was someone being arrested in the parking lot while waiting for my Pizza. It brought a smile to my face.

Sunday afternoon I was bunkered up in my bedroom reading a book and basically just enjoying myself. I usually make a pretty fantastic meal on Sunday afternoon but the previous days dinner blues were still lingering so I put the thought of dinner behind me and continued to read. Anthony shouted up from the stairs and said that he was going to heat him up some leftover pizza for dinner, "Would you like to join me?" I put my bookmark in my book and strolled downstairs. Here is where the question of doubt floated in.....

When walking into the kitchen I noticed two things. #1 The Pizza Hut box was still in the fridge. #2 Anthony had a Ziploc baggie with Pizza in it. "Where is that pizza from?" He gave me a weird smile and muttered some lie. I snatched up the baggie and realized that the pizza was warm. It soon occurred to me that it was from his backpack and that it had been there since Friday morning. He apparently did not eat it for lunch that day. This is disgusting! I was instantly appalled. I threw it in the garbage and then had to discuss with him why it was not okay to eat warm pizza that had been sitting out for 2 days. He was butthurt and a little upset that I had yelled at him. But in that moment I felt validated....in fact, I still feel as if I made the right decision. If yelling at him helped him to see that this is not okay, and that stunts like that could possibly make him sick, then maybe I should yell more often. He is not living in a bachelor pad, he is a grown up with a grown up career and for some reason I expect more from him.

I realize this is highly dramatic, but it makes me think. What if I go on a girls retreat for a week? Will I come home with a husband on the couch with food poisoning? I hope I can continue to instill the proper knowledge so he can eventually get through those nights without me...heaven forbid I am away for more than a night or two. Best of luck Anthony, best of luck.

Personal Matter

This post is going to be gross....this is fair warning.

I have something to say. It's a personal matter that I'm sure all of us have gone through....when we were under the age of 10. This should not happen when we are an adult, over the age of 25. Earlier today I came in contact with a man. He had the biggest booger in his nose and I thought to myself:

#1 What is that? Is it actually the substance in question or is it a tissue shoved up there?

#2 How can you not feel that? Can you breathe? Do you need medical assistance?

#3 Where is your wife and why has she not said anything regarding this?

Let's make a pact shall we? If you ever see me with a huge substance in my nose, go ahead and let me know. Give me a wink, flick your nose, grab me a tissue, whatever gets the point across. And just to make things fair, I will do the same for you! Cuz that's the kind of person I am!

 

My Weekend:

Let me begin by telling you a confession. I am terrified of staying at home by myself. I watch too many murder mystery shows on a regular basis and I read a lot of books, some are scary. This usually is not a problem, not a problem at all because I have a man at home. Well, my man was not home this weekend. Friday I was so tired from the week that I somehow managed to get through the night. I slept on the couch, my thought process was if someone came in the house and I was downstairs on the couch I would see them right off the bat and therefore I wouldn't be as scared as if I was upstairs and I heard them coming in. I really didn't think past that because of course they would kill me either way. I know.....dramatic right?

Saturday morning I got my bags packed and picked Shanna up. We decided to stay at the Inn in Logan since I had a wedding reception that I had to be to that was only a few minutes away. The reception was a bit awkward since I haven't seen this friend for years. I am glad that I went though, it was nice to see her so happy. I have one small story to tell that happened before we went to the reception.

I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. Yes, it brings a ton of fun stories but at times the stories are not worth the awkwardness of it all. Here is the story. Me and Shanna just parked at the Inn and were getting our bags out of the car, I mentioned (basically shouting) to Shanna that "I HAVE THE WORST GAS EVER!" We are close you see, we do not keep any secrets from each other so I felt completely comfortable with sharing this minor detail with her. As I mentioned this I noticed that she looked shocked (really you are shocked at this? I thought) then I see from the corner of my eye another couple approaching us. They had parked right next to us. I about died! It was embarrassing and we couldn't stop laughing. I just thought I would share that. It took a lot to confess how disgusting I am. But it was a good time. We stayed in a really fantastic room. Anth had the camera so I used my phone camera and the quality is awful. My favorite part was the hammock! The least favorite part was the bathroom...the door was basically a stall door and its awkward peeing and knowing that it echoes J All in all it was a good trip and I am glad that I am picking Anthony up tonight.

Goal Week Three

Spending as little as possible

Hi, This is not an easy feat. I would like to start off by saying that I tried as hard as I could. Okay, so maybe not. The breakfast burrito and Starbucks (everyone knows that I get the non-coffee drinks right?) that one day was needed. I took Anthony to the airport at 530am and I was exhausted during my work shift. I did have to buy Kaylee a wedding present yesterday. And I was in Logan without food so I had to go to Iron Gate for dinner.....and then we had to grab dessert later. Lets sum this up, I DID AWFUL! I am going to do better this week. You wait and see. My goal this week is going to be interesting. I look forward to next week. I feel as if this week was unattainable and cruel. That is all.

Tonight, I choose to sulk

Anthony is in California until Sunday afternoon. He is in Napa Valley visiting wineries and learning about the process of making wine for school. He has to design a winery for his final project in his studio class. I am happy that he got there safe and is having a good time learning, for learning is what he loves to do.

I on the other hand, am sulking. Recently I have thought about the relationships that I have in my life. Mostly I am thinking of a particular person that I generally was quite pleased to have in my life....Yes Jill, this blog is about you.

Jill is a friend from work, she has bright blond hair and a happy smile that is plastered across her face 99% of the time. See picture for example.



Tomorrow she is moving to California. I am really completely bummed about this. I knew for awhile that she would eventually pick up and leave. I didn't think it would be such a big deal. But it is, I am so sad to see her go. I am going to list the reasons why....

#1 She has the most kindest heart. She is accepting of everyone and she gives everyone at least 3-10 chances to redeem themselves. I usually write someone off after the first mistake.

#2 She is so fun! She is hilarious and anything with Jill involved is going to be a good time.

#3 Jill is care free. I have never met anyone that blows like the wind like Jill. It's ok, things are going to end up just fine. She thinks this and she knows this to be true. I wish I could be like her....even just a little bit. To have the faith she does. The faith that everything is going to work out, there are no regrets.

There are millions of things that I will miss about her. She was the one that taught me how to do a messy ponytail. It sounds dumb, but I just couldn't figure it out. She was always so willing and able to help me and Shanna out at work. She really would do anything for us and the Inn. She is a garbage disposal. She eats anything! I loved seeing what she would bring for lunch some days. She had really great stories too, better than my stories! She could find you a discount for anything.....this is no lie! I have a noodles and company coupon in my work inbox at this very moment because of her.

Jill, I hope you didn't find this blog to be creepy. But I really will miss you and I wish you the best of luck with everything! I hope you can find a job where you are paid well and where you are happy. I can't wait to come and visit you in California! Love ya tons!

Love, Linds

New Header

I'm working on a new header....hence the reason I have no header. Give it time dear friends, give it time.

My goal this week was pretty simple. It was “Get to work 30 minutes early”. The first day worked out nicely. Kristi (my sister) had a flat tire so therefore I took her to work. I ended up getting to work an hour and a half early. I have had a ton to do: Organizing interviews, training, bridal show prep, and all my reports that have stacked up since I have been preoccupied with all the other things. It was nice to be able to get some extra work done due to me being early. The rest of the week went pretty smoothly and I arrived either 30 or 45 minutes early every day. It was funny to see the morning clerk’s surprised face. I am not normally early. Not late ever, just never early.
This is a boring post, I understand. My goal was to be early and I arrived to work early. The end. I have stretched it out as much as I can. I hope next week my goal is more blog worthy and more of a challenge.

In regards to today,

I'm not going to talk about interviews……

 

Besides this little tib bit of course. :) I only bring this up because it is something I said as opposed to the regular cherries that normally spout out random stuff during interviews. Let me just set this up. I am defeated my friends. To the point of collapsing and crying and sucking on my thumb and then falling asleep in utter exhaustion. Did that paint a pretty picture? I did about 18 interviews last week. We hired two perfect employees. They are everything that I hoped for. Thank you new employees, thank you. But two are not enough for me…no, no, we need a total of 4 perfect employees you see. So I went on the search again. I got a whole gaggle (a what?) of people! I did about 8 today….none of which worked out :(. One of the last ones, where I was feeling low, I said something wrong, all wrong. I still am digging deep for the reason why I said this. If I could take it back I would…..

"Thanks for taking the time to come on such search notice for an interview today."

"Oh it was no problem at all, thanks for meeting with me."

"I have a couple more interviews tonight and tomorrow, but I will let everyone know regardless tomorrow night."

I stretch out my hand and give her a firm shake and then this is what came out of my mouth…..

"It was nice knowing ya….."

She looked at me with a sadness in her eyes and said "It was nice meeting you too!"

Please wish me luck for the 10-12 interviews that I do tomorrow, I need all the help I can get!!!

Love, Linds

 

Week one- Learn how to make Risotto

Webster defines Risotto as rice that is sauteed briefly in butter with onions and possibly other aromatics, and then combined with stock, which is added in several additions and stirred constantly, producing a creamy texture with grains that are still al dente.

I have always wondered how hard this was. I've seen Hells Kitchen and how Chief Ramsay feels about Risotto. It seems like such a delicate dish. When I pulled this out of my vase filled with all the goals I needed to finish this year I was very intimidated. I am pleased to announce that I did finish it and yes it was edible. Here is my story regarding risotto.

It all started with a trip to the liquor store. :)

The recipe called for dry white wine. There was a recipe with just chicken broth but I felt like if I was going to do this, and do it right, I was to use wine. The liquor store is an intimidating place. I have been in there a time or two with a friend, but never by myself and definitely not to purchase anything for myself. Upon arrival I knew in my heart that if I was going to fill 100% satisfied with this goal I was going to have to do everything on my own. I walked in filled with all the confidence in the world until all the customers and cashiers looked at me as if I was 12 years old. So what if I listened to the Glee Soundtrack cd on the way over...thats beside the point. I staggered around and finally asked the lady at the cashier. I finally purchased a $21.99 bottle of red wine for the rockin sale price of $4.99. Did you catch the flaw in that? Yes, dear Linds purchased red instead of white. I was so concerned and over stimulated I completely spaced it......red/white......who cares? Here's a picture of the drive home.

After safely getting her to the grocery store to pick up a few items and getting her home I started getting all the ingredients together. Risotto has very basic ingredients which include: Rice, onions, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, chicken broth, and fresh herbs (parsley, chives and basil). The first step was opening the bottle

...ooopsy no cork screw. Luckily Anthony was around and could tell that I was a damsel in distress.

Once I got that taken care of I worked for the next 45 minutes on stirring the rice and making sure it didn't burn. I only had to use 1/2 cup of the wine so I thought it would be nice to bring it into the girlies at work. Then the whole rule regarding open containers in a vehicle popped in my head and I decided against it. The last thing I need is for another incident like the last one. No thanks, although it is the best story ever. I can just see it now.

Officer: Are you aware that you cannot have an open container in your vehicle?

Me: Oh, well I was cooking risotto, and um, I didn't drink any, its for my "friends"....I'm a cook. I DON"T DRINK!

Officer: Please take off your seatbelt.

Anyways, I accomplished my first goal. I had about 20 interviews, training, 6 out of 7 days of working, a 6am-2pm shift on new years day which was a difficult tasks after little sleep. If I can accomplish something as tricky as this recipe after the week I just had, I can accomplish all the other goals. I look forward to the journey ahead and the posts that will follow. Please leave lots of comments. I love to hear what everyone thinks. If you want the recipe, let me know. Heres the final shot before I gobbled it down.

:)Oh and fyi....the red wine worked fine:)

1 week down, 51 more weeks to go