Though I've been neglecting you, LJ, you've been in my thoughts. I realized I never posted food pics to go with one of my last updates. So here's an easy one.

Here's the chili! And the cornbread I made to go with.




This is the Buttery Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Frosting I made for dessert:




This is what Gordon looks like after eating all that:



I made a recipe I found on Food Network's website called Hamburger Buddy. Supposed to be like Hamburger Helper, except it's real. And a bit healthier. I put garlic, carrots, mushrooms and onion in the food processor to help create the saucy base. It came together pretty quickly and pretty good, too! Gordon liked it.



I also made Cream Cheese Brownies for dessert, but I didn't get a pic. That's all for now!

So yesterday was a wash. Not that I wasn't happy. It's just that I was incredibly busy and stressed. I even had to cancel my hair appointment because work was too busy to leave. The bright spots in my day included listening to Christmas music and coming home to watch more Mad Men with Nuts.

Today's been ok so far. I'm eating animal crackers right now which is pretty kick ass. As for other happy stuff:

There's a new Muppet Christmas special on NBC tonight!! Yaaaaaaayyyy!! *waves arms like Kermit*

...which we'll be DVRing because we're heading to a Waltham bar for a trivia night in honor of a friend's birthday. Should be fun.

I finally figured out a couple of gifts for Gordon. That boy is the hardest to shop for, I swear.

Right now, I'm listening to the Christmas album by Help Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Brings me right back to childhood where my mom would play the record on heavy rotation during the holidays.

A bit late, but hey- I take the weekends off! And Friday was insanely busy. So there.

Today, the biggest news item making me happy is that I HAVE OFFICIALLY PAID OFF MY DEBT!!!! SUCK IT, BANK OF AMERICA!!!!!! While it brings me unfathomable joy, I still can't really process it and won't realize it til January when I won't fear going negative in the bank account. Hooray for me.

I walked to Harvard Square again this morning since it's 60 degrees again. Ahh, New England.

I caught up with Tricia on the phone yesterday. Always so good to talk to her. And David. Because he always answers the phone and we chat until Tricia realizes it's me on the phone. Note: Zombies came up in both conversations. Unrelated.

I baked/cooked up a storm yesterday. I made chili for the first time and in the slow cooker. I couldn't find any one recipe I liked, so I sort of made up my own. It came out pretty good- lots of heat because Gordon likes that. I made cornbread to go with which turned out yummy. So easy, too! And then I decided I wanted to make dessert, too. I couldn't quite bring myself to make the cookies I've been wanting to, so based on the ingredients I had, I started flipping through cookbooks. I settled on the Buttery Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Frosting from Betty Crocker. It was easy and soooo good. Pictures of all to follow.

We had a fun weekend, too! Friday night we hung out with Shannon and Kristopher. We played Wii bowling and I kicked everyone's ass! I finally found a video game I'm good at! And then after shopping on Saturday, we headed over to Dave and Amanda's in the North End for a cocktail party. They make super good drinks. But drinking two nights in a row really takes me down now so I was dozing away til 11 on Sunday. Good times.

One super scary thing that happened last night, though: I was startled awake shortly after midnight because Gordon bolted upright and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. He ran downstairs and I ran after him. He coughed and caught his breath and said he felt like there was something in his throat/lungs. I took a minute and calmed by heart which was jumping out of my chest and we went back to bed. What the hell?? In any event, this makes me feel like a CPR/Heimlich class is way overdue.

hmmm...today wasn't a bad day per se. It was just...uneventful. Here's my effort, though.

I walked to the train again for the second or third day this week, so I'm a wee bit proud of myself for burning some extra calories.

I'm in the process of making plans with sairtini for the day after Christmas- yay!

New episodes of The Office and 30 Rock tonight!!

I am finally in comfy pants. Ahhhh.

I am about to make chicken parm sandwiches for dinner. Not especially healthy, but yummy.

I'm getting happy just thinking about scheduling a haircut for next week.

I think that's all for today. Not bad :)

My happy thoughts for today:

Before I left for work this morning, Milo rolled onto his back and invited me to rub his belly for a good minute or so.

I got most of the Christmas cards into the mail!

Sending good thoughts to pensive_pat on her birthday!! (but yes, I am a schmuck for not calling)

Last night I stopped by the new bakery on the corner, Sofra, and picked up some cookies. Tonight I had an earthquake cookie. So delicious. Before that, I had sauce for dinner. Well, pasta with sauce. And a meatball. YUM.

I had a lovely walk to the train this morning. It's about two miles and it was downright balmy today. I've been trying to do that instead of taking the bus. Hey- it's some kind of exercise, right??

I spoke with my debt management company and scheduled my LAST PAYMENT for Monday!!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Milo came and purred and sat in my lap tonight for a good hour. Kitty love. :)

Good thing I wrote yesterday's post early. Because the day went quickly downhill.

Today is better. But another thing that made me happy yesterday was my sweetheart. Since I'd had a long day and worked late, Gordon picked me up at Harvard Sq. and then made dinner when we got home. I got to lay on the couch in my comfy pants and sweatshirt watching Good Eats while he cooked. It was fabulous.

Hmm...as for today, well, I'm happy I can breathe just a bit easier for the next couple of days at work and play catch up. No, seriously. And we've been listening to the orchestra and chorus rehearse for the Holiday Pops program. That's always fun. To top it off, the assistant manager of the Starbucks I go to now knows my drink order and name. I'm that cool.

In an effort to get back to regular posting:

The rules are that for 8 days you have to post something that made you happy that day. Tag 8 people to do the same.

Today, I am happy to see my coworker Jo return to work after two weeks in China! She and her mom went to visit her brother who lives and works there so they could all be together for Thanksgiving. We totally missed having her here at work even though she's been upstairs filling in for someone else. Yay Jo!

Same as rockchic79, I won't tag anyone. Just doo eet.

So, I am NOT ready for the cold. I broke out the winter coat this morning! And gloves!! The thing is, once you break out the winter coat, where is there to go in levels of warmness?? Nowhere! So when the temp is in the single digits, I am no better off than I am now. Bugger. This is not cool. I know I missed the seasons while I was in CA, but I sure as hell didn't miss this.

I think I'm getting a cold, too. MEH.

Last night I saw Ani DiFranco at Symphony Hall!

It was sooooo fab to go to a concert (since we've been saving for the wedding and settling back in Boston, we've cut out concerts- I hadn't been to one since Travis in August 07!) and to see her perform in the Hall! Also, in the fifth row. Yes, you read that right. I could have just had a little conversation with her, we were so close. When she came out, she greeted us as her "fellow voters" and talked about how it was nice to be back in Boston and NOT in the Orpheum. "I knew there were other buildings in this town!" She was in top form. Talking about the election, Sarah Palin, her 1-yr old. She seemed excited by the crowd's energy and said she was impressed we were all standing during the first half of the set! She busted out a "super-new song" saying "I know, because the new album just ain't new enough." The song was about Obama! It was awesome- the crowd went nuts!! There was a line that went something like "thank you for making my country more than I expected." It was great.

Typically, the furthest back in her catalog she went was Little Plastic Castles. But for an encore, she brought opener Erin McKeown back onstage for cool versions of "Every State Line" and "Overlap." Fan-freakin-tastic.

Ani was probably the most "normal"-looking I've ever seen her. And you can tell that she's a bit ...mellowed or something. That calm and happiness that comes from being a new mom. Also, the lack of sleep.

I went with Dave's girlfriend Amanda and we got dinner beforehand at Typhoon on Boylston Street where I had some delicious sushi (tempura Philly roll, anyone??) and then got drinks at Dillon's before heading over to the show. I had a lot of fun and it was nice to have some girl time. Amanda and I can always talk for hours.

What a great show. Now I have to get the new album.

Just, wow.

I stayed up to hear Obama's speech (I mean, how could I not??) and now I'm exhausted, but it was well worth it. I actually got teary when they announced the results and they showed the people in Grant Park celebrating. I've never been as emotionally invested in an election. Well, 2004 was pretty rough. But if Kerry had won, I don't think I would have been yelling out the window and texting people.

I wish he could be sworn in tomorrow. Do we really need to wait til January? But maybe he needs some rest. We've got a lot of work to do. I'm so grateful to be witnessing this part of our history. I can only hope that even better things will come over the next eight years.

Happy President-Elect Obama, everyone!!

I've been meaning to post for a while now, but I've either been too busy or too lazy and not in front of the computer. Ok, I know, I posted that Obama thing the other day. And I realize it's been the only post on mine in October. I have no excuses. But I'm here now.

I've been inspired by k_bo's Wordpress Blog, I've been taking pictures of what I've been cooking/baking. I'm nowhere near as prolific as Kristi, but I cook when I can and don't always remember to take pics. And I'm jealous of her camera.

This is an awesome smoothie I made a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, I'd never made one! I had frozen blueberries and strawberries from the summer and wanted to use them up so I added a banana, some OJ and a touch of honey. It was GOOD. (and that's my awesome orange blender)



This is an out-of-focus picture of the apple cake I baked while drinking the aforementioned smoothie. We had all these apples after apple-picking and I wanted to make something other than crisp or pie. It came out so moist and delicious. One of Paula Deen's recipes!



here's a better close-up:



I roasted a chicken a couple Sundays ago and wanted to use the leftovers, so I made a ChickenPotChickenPot Chicken Pot Pie. I also wanted to use up the buttermilk I bought for the apple cake, so I made a buttermilk pastry pie crust (top and bottom).



These are Peanut Butter Brownies I made for Gordon's birthday over the summer. Yes, those are Reese's cups stuffed in the top.



That's all for now. I'm trying to cook more often (always the goal) and I'll always share recipes!

TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN'T REST EASY

1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.

2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They're whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.

3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.

4. Those who forget history... In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!

5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.

If you agree that we shouldn't rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/obama/office.html?source=blog&id=14534-2171065-FKgDEgx&t=1

I've never been so busy at work. It's crazy. And now I find out because of a report not being set up the right way, I'm going to have to redo everything I spent ALL DAY Monday working on. This is on top of all my normal stuff. MEH.

On a lighter note, the weekend was nice. Busy, but fun. Friday night Gordon and I checked out Noises off! at the Footlight Club. It was funny! Hard to compare to the production I worked on, but I enjoyed it. They should have stayed away from the British accents, though.

On Saturday morning we went to Linda's Donuts for breakfast. The breakfast is good, but the donuts are better. That afternoon, I shopped! A very exciting thing for me since I can't tell you the last time I did it. I bought a few things for work, including a black pencil skirt from H&M that looks hot! I really wanted something mustard yellow- or plum-colored, but I didn't find anything I liked. It was fun to shop, though. I had to pull myself away from purple patent leather, round-toe stacked-heels. That was difficult.

That night, I met my friend Heather for dinner at Tavern on the Square in Central Square and then I went to see a production of Company. Let me tell you, no one wanted to go see it with me. I totally understand because I've seen (and been in) a few bad productions of Company. But this one was really good!! I went because a friend of mine from ...Whorehouse was in it and I also wanted to check out the space. Turns out I knew the guy playing Robert and the director. Once I found out Zach was playing Robert, I knew the show would be good. Everyone in the show was very talented and it made me actually like the show, which is a new feeling. I went out for a drink with Will & co. after the show.

Sunday I walked to Harvard Square while Gordon went to friend's to watch the game. I picked up a couple of needed items at Lush and chatted with Steph on the way home.

Why do the weekends go by so quickly?? I want another day to sleep in.

So I must post about my latest, coolest, best so far Symphony Hall experience: watching Sting rehearse yesterday!!

Oh my gaaa it was the coolest. Background: he's doing a few songs with Chris Botti for Botti's show "Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests" that's being taped here tonight and tomorrow. So I got to go sit in on his chunk of rehearsal (I passed on Steven Tyler's and just listened over the office speakers) along with most of my department and what seemed like a good chunk of the entire BSO staff. It. was. amazing. Being that close to him (in rehearsal, we can pretty much sit whereever we want- the best place is usually the mezzanine house left) was just sublime. He's so hot. And dude can still sing out all those high notes he wrote for himself almost 15 years ago. Sting was cute, polite, funny and wearing a leather jacket. He improvised a jazzy ending to "Lose My Faith" with his kickass band. He's doing that song, "Seven Days," "Shape of My Heart" (with Josh Groban so I saw him too) and "Fragile" (with Yo-Yo Ma, but that was later, so I missed it).

My mom was jealous and called me a biatch. She told me to kiss him for her and I told her I don't want to lose my job for accosting Sting. I'm still holding out for a random "bump-into" in the hallways somewhere. It could happen!!

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....


* If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're
"exotic, different."
* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American
story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well
grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years
as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of
the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years
in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people
while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,
Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you
don't have any real leadership experience..

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city
council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000
people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,
then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking
executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while
raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're
not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your
disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including
the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state's school system while your
unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in
a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until
age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession
of Alaska from the USA , your family is extremely admirable.


OK, much clearer now.

Didn't do all that much. Mostly read and caught up on the Netflix. Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Linda's Donuts. I think Gordon's in love. Aside from being able to get his beloved corned beef hash (bleh) close to home and on the cheap, the donuts are to die for.

I got to go to DSW while Gordon shopped for shoes. How sad is that? He got pretty sweet black slip-on Kenneth Coles, though. I just drooled over the boots cursing my gigantic calves and sorry nonprofit salary.

One thing I forgot to mention on Friday- we got season four of The Office on dvd- yay!

sairtini set a date for Allison's bachelorette party, so I'm looking forward to that. A weekend with the girls is always so good for me. It's in Saratoga which is doubly fun because I haven't been there in so long!

It's so weird to have Geno living in San Diego. How odd that we miss each other by a year or so? I'll be anxious to hear his impressions of California.

Have I mentioned I'm irritated that summer casual dress is officially over?? Because I am. I hate having to dress for work. I think it's mostly because my wardrobe is sorely lacking.

That's all I got. Monday. Meh.

Happy birthday, eastonchick!! Hope you have a lovely day!!

I've been slacking. Actually, I've been really really busy at work, which is where I write 90% of my posts. So here goes a quickie:

Gordon and I seem to have fallen into a little regular brunch thing which I'm loving. Last weekend we hit up Gargoyles on the Square which is where I wanted to go on my birthday. It was fantastic! I had Blue Corn-Blueberry Pancakes with Cinnamon Pecan Syrup and Gordon got a basic breakfast. Delicious. This weekend we're hoping to hit up Linda's Donuts in Belmont nearby where they've got more diner-y breakfast. And donuts. Yum.

We saw Tropic Thunder last weekend. Hilarious. Robert Downey Jr. was worth the price of admission.

We've been watching John Adams and it's really good. I've been enjoying it. We're five or six episodes in. Surprising how much US history you can forget over the course of your lifetime. Embarrassing, really.

I've re-joined the Somerville Community Chorus. I was really missing choral singing and I figure this is a good place to tune my rusty instrument and sight-reading skills. I dragged Gordon along with me and I'm really hoping he stays for the semester.

Today I got tickets to see Ani Difranco here at Symphony Hall in November! I'm so excited!! It's been a long time since I've seen a show and it'll be so cool to see her here. I'm hoping I can sneak into a rehearsal, too. Tickets were pretty affordable and since I could buy directly from our box office, there were no fees. Suck on that, ticketmaster!! I'm going with Dave's girlfriend Amanda. Yay!

This weekend we're hoping to get some things done around the house as well as visit with Gordon's parents who are watching Ewan for the week. We finally got a bed frame!! We got this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80121338
The key was having the under-the-bed storage. This makes me very happy. I was able to shift around our stuff and clean out some things from the closet. I'm feeling a bit more settled-in and organized as a result. Now I just need a vanity upstairs and a craft table.

Things have really been picking up at work. The pressure's on and much quicker and heavier than I had anticipated. It will be fine and good for me career-wise in the long run, but right now it's stressful and I don't see it letting up in the near future. I'm trying hard to piece things together in my life in increments: working on Encore stuff, cooking dinner most nights, feeling on top of things at work, keeping the house clean and organized and keeping only what I need/use, back to singing regularly, slowly compiling research for the wedding, paying off debt (only THREE more payments after this month!) and coming up with a budget. The only thing I cannot seem to fit in is regular exercise. Why do I have such a mental block with this?? I am sooooo dissatisfied with appearance and how I feel yet it's extremely difficult to find time for this. Granted, one huge stumbling block is that I need a good sports bra. I haven't been able to afford it. I haven't been able to afford to replace my regular bras, let alone buy a sports one. I know it'll come, but I need to get on the ball with this. As usual.

Generally, I'm feeling pretty good. If I hit most of my small goals in a week or month, I have to be satisfied with that.

I had a nice weekend! It was relaxing. We barely left the house. Gordon spoiled me- I basically got to do whatever I wanted all weekend. That pretty much ended with me making sauce Sunday afternoon in between phone calls. He also got me a beautiful watch. I can finally tell time without the aid of a cell phone! That morning we went to brunch at the Burren in Davis Square; I'd wanted to go to Gargoyles, but naturally, it was closed for renovations on Sunday. I'd spent all week going back and forth about where I wanted to go and finally decided on Gargoyles so when I had to change at the last minute, I was thrown. I don't think I'd go back to the Burren for brunch. But we sat outside and it was pleasant. After that we went to the Capitol Theatre in Arlington to see Kung Fu Panda. Yup, it was just us and a bunch of families with kids. But I mean, come on! An animated film about a panda?!? That does kung fu?? Add Jack Black and David Cross in and I basically have to see it. It was fun. After the movie, we stopped in the bakery next door and I got a birthday cupcake. Yum.

In other news, yes, I've joined the FB. I mostly joined because Gordon and I put together an Encore page and in order to be an admin. of the page, I had to be a Facebook member. So there. Now I've got flair and karma and muppets. Is everyone happy??? Like I needed another gigantic time suck on the interweb!