On My Way Here

The photo is of my Excedrin migraine medication. How I loathe and need thee.

After work today, my son, my sister, her fiance, and myself all went to Whole Foods and Meijer for grocery shopping. I bought some teeny fresh clams from Whole Foods. I ate them this afternoon, just steamed them open. I actually liked them! I shall have to get more next time I go to Whole Foods.  I bought all sorts of nummy goodness. I also bought a tiny thing of avocado rolls, eh. They were ok. I think the massive amount of pickled ginger in the container altered the flavor of the avocado for me. I just really want to like sushi-like food. For no logical reason. I have such issues.

I don’t know what it is this week, but I’ve been very not mentally all there. It just hasn’t been the best week… Jess noticed this and gave me the glory of Adagio Tea which I adore so much. I got a variety of white and green teas. I also got some lovely chamomile.  Just fabulous. I’ve been drinking 3 – 6 cups of tea at work the last couple of days.

Right now with the wind chill it’s –32. I’m sitting here with socks, pants, t shirt, sweater, and comforter wrapped around me. I am so sensitive to cold lately. Anyway, tomorrow is the super bowl of which our beloved Bears shall beat some ass. Everyone is so excited. I will actually watch the game this year. It’s practically sacrilegious to not be from the Chicago area and not be a Bears fan. I’m not too excited about the half-time show which is supposed to be Prince.

For dinner I made Chicken Italian Sausage Penne w/fresh herbs. Here’s the recipe!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cook your penne in salted boiling water until al dente and drain. This has 6 servings with Weight Watchers points of 5 per serving.

• 4 raw chicken italian sausage links, casings removed
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced
• 1 large can of drained diced tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 cup finely shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• salt and fresh black pepper to taste
• 3 cups cooked penne

Now you can also use olive oil but I use an olive oil cooking spray as to not add points to my dinner. Spray a skillet and place on high heat. Add your sliced onions and cook until soft and golden brown. Put the onions in a large bowl. While on high heat, cook your chicken italian sausages, crumble the meat with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Add your onions back and the garlic. Cook about a minute or two for the garlic to get happy. Add your diced tomatoes, salt, and fresh black pepper. Cook about 5 minutes until everything is heated through. Stir in 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese and add your basil and parsley. After everything is well combined, spray a baking dish, I think mine is 9x13, and dump the whole pot of goodness in. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and the mozzarella cheeses. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes or so.

Really tasty, really filling. The sausages are just as tasty and moist as pork italian sausages.

Recipe: Black Bean and Veggie Tostadas

The photo was taken at the park, I really loved the golden pink light reflecting on the snow.

Firstly, a recipe for Black Bean and Veggie Tostadas

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

• 1 small avocado, diced
• 4 small corn tortillas
• juice from 1 lime
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 bell pepper, any color or various colors, sliced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1/4 sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup store bought pico de gallo
• kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Put the tortillas on a cookie sheet and place into the oven for 5 – 10 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. In a small saucepan, lightly saute all veggies except for the avocado, feta cheese, and pico de gallo.  Pour into a bowl, add the avocado, feta, pico de gallo, taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if you need to. Lightly toss until everything is well mixed. Evenly divide the mixture into four even portions and top the warm crispy corn tortillas. Weight Watcher Points per tostada is 3. For all four tostadas it is 14 points. So yummy. So healthy. So filling. A nice meat free dinner!

Today has been a long day. Work was fine, I had a victory over lunch. I decided upon Wendy’s for lunch (small chili, side salad no dressing, plain baked potato) and my boss wanted a sandwich. She gave me cash for her sandwich and I was going to pay for my meal on my bank card. So I drive in the balmy cold (it was practically 35 degrees although windy), order our food, go to the drive up window to pay, and was VERY specific on what amount was to be placed on my card and what would be paid in cash. Suffice to say the woman (who is ALWAYS very rude, other people who have gone to this particular Wendy’s have told me so), screwed it up. I didn’t want to gyp my boss out of her change so I went into the Wendy’s and was very polite and explained the situation to the cashier. He got me the head manager who was super friendly and we discussed the complicated change situation. I even did the math on a napkin for him! Long story short, he didn’t even bother charging my card the extra $1.58, gave me the correct change back for my boss, AND a free medium (although in Wendy’s sizes it’s more like a large) Coke Zero! I was SO thrilled they provide Coke Zero now!

Then when I got home, I hurried and got Daniel ready to go and we went to the park to play for a bit, after freezing my hands into frozen chunks, we went to the bank and then the grocery store. I took a photo of the freshly misted corn because well… it’s pretty.

Daniel then wanted to take some photos, which naturally I am still full of glee about because he has some mad photo skill! Look at the photos he shot in the store! My five year old son ROCKS!

So after dinner and everything, I worked out for an hour and am currently freezing. I noticed after I lost the first 25lbs or so, that I am CONSTANTLY cold. It’s so irritating sometimes although come summer I’m sure I will appreciate it!

iTunes had an offer to download, for free, the premiere episode of The Dresden Files. I watched it tonight and thought it was very interesting! I am looking forward to future episodes. So download and check it out!

We also decided on a late night Blockbuster run, we rented Employee of the Month and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Lastly, what song would you use to define your life?

Imbolc, Pizza Recipe, and Happy Songs

The photo is of one of the cat’s sleeping on my bed.

Imbolc is next Friday (February 2^nd) and I want… no… I NEED to do something. It’s about renewal and I feel like I need to renew MYSELF. Purge the anger and bitterness. Let go of things I can’t control. Accept situations that have happened in my life. Move on. Any suggestions?

Tonight, yes, it was flatout bread pizza again! Here’s the recipe and point value for all those Weight Watcher’s out there.

Preheat oven to 350 and bake the flatout bread for 7 minutes.

• 2 Light Flatout Bread Original
• 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup red onion
• 2 cloves garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 Tbsp Kraft Spicy Honey Barbecue Sauce
• 1/4 cup scallions
• 1/2 cup Kraft 2% Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, without oil
• 1 lime

After 7 minutes, pull the flatout bread’s out of the oven. Cover each flatout bread with 1 tablespoon of the kraft bbq sauce and then add all the toppings, evenly divided, holding back the scallions and lime. Put back into the 350 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until the cheese is all melted. Take out and squeeze a bit of lime and sprinkle some scallions on the top. Cut into at least 4 pieces. Yum yum! So for all of that, it’s 9 WW points.

I worked out to the Biggest Loser 1 DVD for an hour and now sitting down to my tasty Edy’s Light Vanilla Bean ice cream. I made Danny some cinnamon sugar toast. Well I guess I am going to go through the podlet for a bit.

Lastly, what are your favorite songs that, when you listen to them, you can’t help but smile and feel happy? Oddly enough, being Pagan ‘n all, I really like Christian Pop music. As long as it isn’t overly specific about Jesus and such, the songs are really perky. I am also really loving the band Dropping Daylight right now. 

Into The Sun

The photo is of my son shoveling snow. It’s not snowing too hard, we had some sleet action and flurries that acculturated to about an inch or so.

I’m having the worst time writing lately so I asked my son for a bit of help. “Dan, what should I write about?” He put his hands on his hips, gazed off into the distance, then said oh so dramatically, “You should write about ME!”. I told him I did mention him shoveling the snow… he nodded, it was good enough for him.

If you haven’t already, go to OneLotus over at Flickr! Join and participate and I will love you in naughty ways!

I am trying to get back on track with Weight Watchers. I haven’t gained any weight but I haven’t lost any either. Tonight for dinner I made pizza using Flatout Bread which is only 2 points per bread piece thingy! I topped it with a fresh tomato sauce (I had 3 roma tomatoes that needed to be used up), shredded chicken breast, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, and shredded mozzarella.

Preheat oven to 350. Pop one of the flatbreads onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 6 – 7 minutes.

• 1 Flatout original bread
• 1/2 cup tomatoes blended up with whatever seasonings you want especially garlic
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup shredded chicken breast
• fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup finely shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

After you pull out the slightly baked flatbread, top with the sauce, chicken, basil, and cheese. Bake for another 10 – 15 minutes at 350 until the cheese is golden and bubbly! This pizza is awesome because it’s so filling and crisp. Cut into at least 4 wedges. Each pizza is 5 points!

I was thinking, since I have no idea what visitors I have. If it wouldn’t be a good idea to discuss WW more? Post more WW recipes? Although really they are not WW specific but I would list the point value so it’s a bit easier… thoughts?

I’m also looking for a new stability/fitness ball because the one I had seems to have a large gash in it. Weird since I bought it 2 months ago and never used it, but alas it’s trash. So brand/cost suggestions?

Lastly, what is your favorite music to work out to?

Save Me

The photo is an older one, taken over the summer. I haven’t really been shooting much lately. It’s been snowing lightly all day, just enough to make the roads and traffic scary but not enough for the pretty factor.

I removed a bunch of members who haven’t been logged in since October and such. Feel free to re-register.

I am going through a lot lately. Just emotional stuff. I’ve come to a lot of realizations in the past week. I would go into more detail but apparently my son’s father makes it a point to stalk OSN. I will try and do a private entry later this week. Sometimes I feel like a butterfly trying to break out of my cocoon which is harder than I thought. I just can’t seem to let go of anything. Hell, I even have emails dating back to early 1999.

What are some songs that make you feel motivated? It doesn’t even have to be the lyrics or even the music itself, but something about the song makes you smile and feel like you CAN handle everything that is being thrown your way.

The snow is coming down faster now. Swirling and twirling about. Covering everything. Erasing the grime, making everything go away just for a little bit.

All I can think right now is a lyric in a song, “please don’t erase me”.

Step Up

Yesterday was my son’s fifth birthday. Thanks to a suggestion from my Heather, I took him bowling for the first time. He had a blast! We went with my sister and her fiance and it was fun for all of us. My sister surprisingly rocked it with strike after strike. My elbow is seriously hurting today so that’s a bit of a downfall.

His father didn’t send a gift, card, e-card, or phone call. I’m not surprised. He is a bad person. Pathetic person. Worthless person. I can’t deal with it anymore and I refuse to put my son through it anymore. His father does not deserve to even be in my son’s presence. My son who is amazing, intelligent, technologically inclined (I taught him how to switch from the PS2 to the DVD player for his power ranger goodness, and how to open Firefox and browse to his power ranger website!), and a joy to be around. His father is missing all of that because he would rather well… a lot of you know what he does I don’t need to repeat it yet again.

I have to regain control of my life somehow.

Anyway, I am already so very excited about the upcoming season of American Idol. I wonder if anyone can come close to topping my last season’s obsession (which hasn’t stopped!) of Daughtry. I adore Daughtry.

I was so thrilled to see the iPhone was unveiled today! I could never afford one but they look fantastic.

My plans for the rest of the evening is to watch PhotoshopTV and Diggnation on the podlet and attempt to relax. I’m worried about the rain that’s coming tomorrow and Friday because I’m out of my Excedrin. I suppose if it comes down to it I will stop by my sister’s tomorrow to get a couple doses. I normally get a migraine each and every time it rains. Not looking forward to it.

I am so grateful to everyone’s suggestions for the “Cry” playlist. To jump off of that, what are your favorite songs you play for sheer volume and beat?

Highly Emotional

Ever have a day where it’s raining, it’s cold, it’s grey, and all you want to do is cry? That’s the kind of day I’m having.

I’ve been trying to hunt down a new car insurance company so I can attempt to save some money each month. That is proving to be much more of a struggle than I anticipated. I then had an ever so delightful conversation with my ex about our son’s upcoming birthday and such. I ended up calling him a harpy and that he was emotionally traumatized. I came home, made myself some spicy chicken stir fry and watched the last episode of Charmed and got sobby.

Speaking of sobby, I am creating a cry playlist. Why? Because I want to emotionally torture myself every so often. Besides, I look all dramatic when I cry (well visine cry whatever). What songs make you physically cry and why?

I need a hug. Oh and a vanilla latte! I think I shall go read my beloved photography books for a bit.

ETA
Thank you Thomas for giving me the link to the Free Hugs video! It put a smile on my face!

Someday We’ll Know

I was thrilled to receive the books I had ordered when I got home from work this afternoon! Thanks to a gift card I was able to order the following:

• Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography
• The Digital Photography Book
• Digital Portrait Photography and Lighting: Take Memorable Shots Every Time

My week didn’t get off to a good start. My DSL modem burned out (this time not by lightning!) and after calling the company to find out it was no longer under warranty, had to go to best buy, shell out a lot of money I didn’t have to get a new one. Also my car insurance payment is coming up and I’m trying to find a new company. A co-worker suggested his Chicago based company which gave me a quote about $40 cheaper than everywhere else. However a lot of people suggested I go with a larger corporation. What auto insurance company do you use?

Lately I’ve been pulling a daily tarot card, just to reflect on the upcoming (or ending) day. Without fail each and every card is reversed. I will even “cheat” and MAKE SURE the deck can’t even give me a reversed card and yet… so anyway the card for today is the Power (Emperor) card. Basically reversed it means a loss of personal power. I surely can related to that lately. I just wish I knew how to change it. How does a person take back their personal power?

• WordlessWednesday: Hair Fluffs
• Blast from the Past: Old OSN Designs
• Leap into Spring: Finale
• Leap into Spring: Grass/Green
• Bubbles
• May 2012 Julep Maven It Girl Box
• Life Updates
• Leap into Spring: Rain/Water

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