Friday, October 26, 2007

Vacation Time!!

I'm heading off to New Mexico tomorrow! 7 days of hanging out with LGG & the (now) 4 cats, taking photos and sleeping in. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I'm STILL spending money.....

After over a YEAR of dealing with my poor sad broken (cause I got drunk one night and dropped it on my hardwood floor) laptop and several months of research I think I am finally going to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I was going to make the PC to Mac switch, but I've decided against it and am just going with a new version of the exact same computer I have. It served me very well, and had I not dropped it, I would probably still keep it, but my USB ports are all blown out, I have no J key (I have to cut and paste to do Js) and the battery is toast. I've been feeling inspired to work on my photography more and I'm just not able to use my current machine to do that. My hard drive is full and my memory is maxed out so even opening Photoshop crashes it. I don't really have the money right now, but I should be getting a hefty Christmas bonus this year and they have a 90 day payment plan so I'm hoping I can swing it. I can't believe in the past 2 days I've spent over $2,000! OUCH! It will be worth it though to be able to really work on my photos without worrying about the limitations of my machine.

Let's just hope I don't have a heart attack when the credit card bill comes.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Retail Therapy.....

On a whim I just bought myself a VERY expensive camera lens.

I have been working INSANE hours at work lately and its making me cranky, so I decided to buy myself a present. I'm heading to New Mexico in 5 days and thought a new camera lens for the trip would be cool, so I up and just purchased one. A little impulsive and I'm kind of having buyer's remorse, but as of now I am the proud owner of a Canon 70-300 4.5-5.6 IS USM lens.

I can't wait to try it out on my trip! Photos to come!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Back on Track

After months of unhealthy eating, it's time to shape up (literally!) and start eating healthier again. Check out my weight loss blog for new updates and recipes!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

What ARE they carrying in there?

I commute to work on the train and connect through Grand Central terminal so I see hundreds of people on my twice daily trip and lately I've been noticing something. I see people carrying multiple large bags/purses to and from work EACH day. I see women with two purses and a grocery sack, I see men with a briefcase, gym bag and backback, and I wonder: What on earth do they have in all those bags? I've seen people with up to FOUR bags EVERY day and I just can't fathom what is in there.
Any multiple bag carriers out there that can shed some light for me??

Monday, October 15, 2007

I really should be more grown up than this.....

I knew when I met Tennis Guy that he traveled extensively and that we would be apart for long stretches of time. The being apart part I can TOTALLY handle, it's the not being in contact part that's harder to accept. Practically I know that not hearing from him for 2 days is NOT something to worry about at all, especially since he's overseas and is working, but emotionally I feel like it doesn't take THAT much time to send a quick text message letting me know he's thinking about me. I can completely see going for periods of time without contact once things are established a little more and I have more security in our relationship, but so early in the game, it's hard not to assume that he's just lost interest. I know he is absolutely not the type to just disappear on women, he would definitely tell me if he didn't want to see me again, yet I still sit at work and worry he's "over me". I wonder if I'll ever grow out of my insecurities and stop being afraid that people are going to hurt me and/or leave me.

In other news: I won this week's football pool at work, so I have $50 extra dollars to blow this week, AND the books I ordered from Barnes and Noble that I thought got lost randomly showed up today.

What should I blow my $50 on? more books? a really good meal? put it on the bank? What would you do?

Saturday, October 13, 2007

I'm still here! & a Recipe

I've been a bad blog friend lately. Work is nearly killing me with long hours and crazy deadlines and it is taking its toll. I promise I'll start keeping up and commenting more! I miss you guys!!

Cooler weather is FINALLY here which means it's time to start cooking again and eating healthier. Here's a recipe I found in the New York Times Magazine last week that sounded interesting. As soon as I can find time to get to Whole Foods for the ingredients I'm going to make it. Let me know what you think if you try it out!


Eggplant in Disguise

2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper
nutmeg
Approximately 6 tablespoons olive oil
2lbs Eggplant cut in 1/3 inch slices
1 1/2 cups ricotta
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make a bechamel:melt butter in a saucepan, when foamy, whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened and smooth ~2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Cover and let cool.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add as many eggplant slices that will fit in one later. Season with salt and brown on both sides. Repeat with remaining oil and eggplant.

Fill base of 8x8 inch baking dish with 1/3 of eggplant. Cover with 1/3 of ricotta, followed by 1/3 of bechamel. Sprinkle with thyme. Repeat 2 more times. Spread Parmesan on top and make for 20 minutes. Place under broiler for 1 minute to brown the top.

Serves 6

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

The Visit

My weekend with Tennis Guy was amazing. I had a really rough week at work so I wasn't up for going out much, so we just had a lovely relaxing weekend at home being very domestic. We watched movies, talked, cuddled, cooked and just spent time together. We have plans to see each other again in early December (this time I'm flying to see him). He wants to take things slow, which I know is the right thing to do, but it's hard for me to resist the urge to just jump in and get serious since I do like him so much. I think part of his hesitation is also that he knows how resistant I have been in my past to commitment and he doesn't want to push me. I need to figure out how to communicate to him that I can stop playing around and be committed to him when the time comes.

Stay Tuned!