Something Light and Easy

I like to consider myself a well-rounded woman who has interest in food, culture, health, entertainment, and more. There is a one-stop internet stop that I cruise each day that links me to all these different interests. My first stop is Buzzsugar where I learn about what is new in the entertainment world. It tells me what shows are new, storyline clues, and upcoming projects.

Then, using the left sidebar, I check what is new and interesting in the world of tech with Geeksugar. The tech stuff is usually way to techy, even for me, but I move on quickly to Yumsugar where I can find a delicious recipe or food idea. This site just goes on and on with light and fluffy information on money, health, celebrity gossip, advice, and more.

Midwestern Mixed Tape - Vol. 2

I appreciate Apple and all it brings into the world. I don't need to go on about how I love the Iris the ipod or my computer, Margot the Mac. I also love the songs that Apple uses for advertising.

Midwestern Recipe: Monster Cookies

Along with eating healthy, I have been avoiding my baking cupboard because I know that if I bake it, I will eat it.

However, I have a great excuse to bake this weekend. I will bake some delicious Monster Cookies to give to my co-workers for carrying the load when I was gone this week with my terrible cold.

After five days of cold, I am 95% recovered. I have my energy back. I can taste food. I am not nearly as congested. I don't want to see another cough drop for another year. I no longer smell of Vicks. My hair no longer has that matted, bed-head look that is so alluring. I am vertical.


Monster Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a very large bowl, beat the eggs.
3. Add the remaining ingredients in order, mixing well.
4. Use an ice cream scoop to put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Round Two

I hate to write another "I'm Sick" post, but that is what my life has been for the last five days. The boring old symptoms of a simple cold. The most annoying symptoms being a low-grade fever and hacking cough. I can't return to kindergarten as long as I have a fever. We don't want kids there. Why would we want a grown-up there if she is running a fever.

I am annoyed by my inability to taste food too. I wish I was one of those sickies that loses weight when they are sick, but I still eat. I never lose my appetite even if I can barely taste the food.

The past four days have not been a total waste since I have completed season two and three of The Office. I am staying home tomorrow. The decision was easy. I tried to put on some clothes other than pajamas, but I had to lay on the bed afterward because it took all my energy to do that. This would not bode well in a kindergarten class.

That Barack Obama is Funny...I Like Him Too

I think this is pretty funny. I love that it is live and Obama delivered each line perfectly. My favorite is #8.

Ruby Slippers

I deserve smart red shoes. Whoa. Red shoes are so-very-un-Sara! Well, there are moments in a 31 year old's life when red shoes are exactly what is needed. Unlike when I paint my fingernails a blazing red, this is not a practical joke on myself.
Yes, it is January and I will hardly get to wear them, but that is exactly why we need smart, red shoes...because it is January. The picture doesn't even do them justice.
As a kindergarten teacher, there are times when I look in the mirror and think I am frumpalicious. It is up to me to undo the frump. This is a good start.

A Midwestern Mixed Tape, Vol. 1

Before you start to read my blog, press play on today's mix tape. Mixed just for you, readers. Oh, then, open a new window because this post will take only about 30 seconds to read and process and you will want to hear all of the tunes. I am feeling bossy. Sorry...some are just a sampling of the tune.

I don't care what anyone says. Being a kindergarten teacher is a hard job. I won't go into it because, well, that is unprofessional, but I am completely exhausted tonight. There is nothing left for me to give to anyone. I am spent.
Are you like me? Do you have an "I Deserve It" mentality when it comes to your weaknesses? Tonight, I think I deserve the delicious buffalo chicken cheese steak. However, I will stay strong and not give into this temptation. Instead, I will deserve some new tunes from itunes. I deserve songs too.
Have discovered a pattern with this post.

ME. ME. Me.

If this was a perfect world and I was a size 6, this is the completely incomplete list of things that I feel I deserve when I am feeling all selfish and lacking a 31 year old's perspective...oh, I do realize that in reality, I really just deserve to breathe. The rest is up to me.

1. Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak
2. Teleportation
3. A Snow Day
4. World Peace...can't forget that one.
5. Some sort of television marathon during that deserved snow day
6. My bangs to have some consistency from day to day.
   

What do you deserve tonight?

Michael Jackson Monday

Did you hear that today was Blue Monday? This is supposed to be a sad and downer of a day because of all of the reasons that people are usually bummed out. Some scientist did a bunch of research to determine that today is Blue Monday. Do you feel blue? I don't. I just feel like it is cold and things are kind of boring.

Okay, maybe I am feeling a little guilty because I should have been doing something helpful and kind to help the world on this MLK holiday. Instead, I used it to get caught up in kindergarten and clean that mess of a classroom. Okay, I guess that helps the kindergartners...and me.

And maybe I was feeling a little something because where I usually just put the ipod on shuffle and the odds are in favor of some folky singer-songwriter, I found Michael Jackson and listened to him the whole way home from school today. The song list went something like this...

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Rock With You
Beat It

Then, I started reminiscing about how I used to listen to MJ in my basement with his Thriller record open to the photo of MJ with his two little white tigers. At the time, I thought those two little tigers were so cute. Now, when I look at it, it is kind of creepy. Man, I loved Thriller. Beat It is my favorite.

Call me a simpleton, but maybe what everyone needs is a little 80's pop music to get them out of the downers.

Midwestern Endorsement: Laughing Cow Cheese

After three weeks of healthy living and eating, I am reaching that common place where I am bored with the foods that I have been eating. So, yesterday was a long day at the grocery store where I took my time to read labels and think creatively to solve this problem rather than use it as an excuse to fall back into unhealthy eating habits.

One of the foods that I am enjoying today after my shopping trip is The Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges. I like turkey sandwiches, but I like mayo or cheese and The Laughing Cow gives me that without the high fat or calories. For example, I eat a whole wheat mini pita, deli turkey, and one wedge of spreadable cheese. Only 50 calories and 4 grams of fat for lots of flavor.

RIP: Maple Frosted

I am in the midst of healthy eating and exercise, but when Tim told me that the Dunkin' Donuts near our old apartment had closed, I was quite sad. Embarrassingly distraught. It all comes down to two words...

Maple Frosted.

It is my favorite flavor of donut and they are the only Dunkin that makes them...that I know of or that I am willing to drive to.

I am taking it as a blessing disguise since I am all about healthy eating. I will rely on my memories of the delicious maple frosted.

Just Another Monday Night

I just wrote a whole post about the difference between pride and self-respect, but then I felt a little bit like Dr. Phil. The long and short of the post was that I think too much pride keeps us from living a rich life full of relationships, moments, and adventures. Nothing new in that thinking.

That being said, I have some topics that I would like to discuss that are not so deepy-deep-deep. My friend is having a baby. She likes traditional names. I hate to boss you, but please share your favorite girl baby name. AND...(this is important)...if you have a strong opinion about a name that is shared by a reader, please keep it to yourself. People say the craziest/rudest things when people share their baby names. I remember when a friend shared with her mother that she was thinking of naming her son, Murphy. Her mother told her that was a dog's name.

I just purchased some new/old tunes from itunes.

"And She Was" by The Talking Heads - I think I will dance as I make my Easy Beef Bourguignonne.
"Watch Us Work" by Devo - I think I must have been going through a 80's thing tonight.
"Raspberry Beret" by Prince - Yep. Definitely going through an 80's thing.

Jersey Girls

I have taken many adventures since moving to the North Atlantic region, but this is the first weekend that I have spent time in New Jersey. I took many interstates and turnpikes to get to my friend Courtney's home to help her celebrate her birthday.

I have met many of her friends and enjoyed their interest in my exotic roots of North Dakota. One of my favorite parts of the weekend so far was going to a local bar where karaoke was being held. These people were serious. So serious that they didn't even need the words that were on the screen. They had been practicing! At one point, this guy got up and he sounded EXACTLY like Bruce Springsteen. He sang three songs and when he was called up for his last song, he sang "Jersey Girl". All of the women except for Courtney and I were swooning. Swooning, friends. At one point, Courtney was talking to another woman and she turned to Courtney and said,

"Have some respect, Courtney."

I have a feeling that this was half in jest and half serious. Too funny. Jersey girls are so much fun. They are a new favorite group of mine.

Parking Wars

Have you heard of this A&E show Parking Wars? It combines a lot of my favorite elements for a reality television show. First of all, it takes place in Philly. It should have all of the decorum and charm that Philly has to offer as they are issued parking tickets in the City of Brotherly Love.

Can you sense the sarcasm?

Now, that being said, I am not saying that all Philadelphians are rude or angry, but I know that the show is going to show this part of the parking authority's interactions with Philadelphia residents.

A tried to give up reality television, but there are just some shows that fascinate me. Parking Wars is about real people doing their real jobs. I like those kinds of shows. I am not a fan of reality shows with competitions or relationship issues.

Tomorrow night, Parking Wars will premiere and I will be watching.

Midwestern Endorsement: Eat, Pray, Love

I am one of the millions of people who have read and liked Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

It is a memoir of a woman who searches for her own recovery from a sad divorce, a passionate but failed rebound romance, and a general dissatisfaction with her life. She implores her new sense of spirituality to guide her to Italy, India, and Bali over the course of one year to discover her own self without the distractions of romantic love, occupational pressure, and the past always ready to drag her back down again.

Many reviews have been full of praise for this book. I like it. I like it a lot, actually. Some reviews have painted Gilbert as selfish and self-absorbed. Well, yeah. The book is about her. She is pretty honest about the ridiculousness that can be be our own narcissistic tendencies, but we all have them and they can all be the reasons for our own undoing. I enjoy how Gilbert can take those "always in our head moments" where we hope that no one can read our minds and find humor and even reflection in them.

A part of me was annoyed to find out that even Oprah loves and has had Gilbert on her show many times. (You know how Oprah kind of bugs me.) It makes sense because this is a story about growth, hope, and knowledge...especially about who you really are as a person.

I like how Gilbert used her past as a driving force and not an excuse to move forward in her spiritual, emotional, and physical life. She did not speak to the sordid details of her failed marriage or wreck of an affair, but more how that brought her to her year long quest and its implications throughout that year.

Maybe because I was partially alliterate (can read, chooses not to...not something that I was particularly proud of) in 2007 or that I was reading bad books, but I enjoyed this book the most last year. Quick. Funny. Thoughtful.

Sicky

As I lay on my couch, I am surrounded by two tissue boxes, one bottle of Delsym, Vicks VapoRub, and a mug of water mean only one thing. I am sick. So much for my immune system of steel. It was bound to happen. I just wish that it was easier to call in sick. I am hanging in there, but I know when the line has been crossed when I will have to call in sick. So far, I believe that I will be able to make it through tomorrow and get to the weekend.
On another note...I used to be clever. This is not a self-depricating kind of thing. I just used to spend more time constructing my blog posts and now I will just slop down any kind of word mix. What do to about this? I have no idea.
On another another note...I am really into biscotti lately. I had no idea they were a low calorie cookie. 90 calories for an entire biscotti. If I ever get a dog, I am going to name her Biscotti Cookie. No joke.