10 Things That Make Me Happy

It's Friday and the weather is gorgeous, so I thought I should keep things upbeat and positive.
Happy friday!

10 Things (some trivial) That Make Me Happy
(in no particular order)

friends and family
springtime
vacations
dessert
working out
the weekend
dogs
tv
sleeping in
sunshine

I bought myself flowers

I guess the title says it all.

Work has been a pretty tense place lately and while looking through a Stop and Shop flyer, I came across tulips, and just had to have them.

I picked up a bunch of beautiful purple tulips (similar to the ones to the left). I threw them in a plain vase and have them sitting immediately to the left of my monitor.

I must say, it is making a huge difference.

Looking at these sunny, pretty flowers makes everything seem a bit more cheerful.

Of course a few people did ask me who I got flowers from, but I was proud to say I bought them myself. I think this just may become a once a month ritual.

If something so small can make me smile, why not?

Passover Delicious-ness

I don't have much to comment on today, but wanted to post a recipe that is the hit of the Passover Seder's. This recipe is so tasty that no one will even know that they are Passover-friendly, but it will surely wow your Jewish friends when you tell them.

I've been wanting to experiment with them using flour, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Passover Brownies
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 scant cup matzoh cake meal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350
Lightly grease a 7 by 10-inch rectangular baking pan, a 9-inch square pan, or an 8- or 9-inch springform pan.
In a bowl, mix the sugars into the melted butter, then the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, cake meal, nuts (if used) and chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Do not over-bake. The brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch, but there should not be a crust around the sides. Cool in the pan.

There's lot of frustrating/stressful crap going on in my life at the moment. Most of it is pretty trivial, but annoying none the less.


I could very easily rant about that, but quite honestly, i'd rather not devote even more time to it.



That said, I've decided to do an informal book review on here whenever I finish a book. Maybe this will be useful/interesting to people, maybe not. But it will successfully take my mind off other things, just like a good book does.

24 - Karat Kids
I found this book on the Candy Covered Books website.
This book is about a recently graduated pediatrician (Dr. Shelley Green) who ends up getting a job at an ultra-posh practice on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The book touches on almost every aspect of her life; her family, her boyfriend, the crazy parents and kids she sees at the practice and the utter wealth had by those who live on the Upper East Side.
I finished this book in about a week and enjoyed every minute of it. The writing was solid and lighthearted. Shelley is a likeable character and it was enjoyable to experience her world.
I'd definitely recommend this book to my fellow chick-lit fans. If you're looking for a light read that will leave you smiling at the end, pick this book up.


Next up is Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (i've actually already finished the book through an informal book club at work, but will write about it next go round)

Spring Tease

My cold/illness, whatever it is, went all wacky on me and forced me to see a doctor. I'm now doing the z-pack thing and feeling a little better.
Given that everyone and their mother seemed to have the flu I'm hoping I escaped with it's less evil brother. Where did I get that from?

Anyway, the weather here today is GORGEOUS! I love warm weather so I was thrilled to be able to eat outside at lunch. It was lovely!
We picked up some mexican take out and had a little fiesta on the patio at our office building. Quite nice.

Unfortunately the next few days are going to be rainy, so just like my subject, it was a spring tease. I hate teases.

I am so ready for the warm weather! Vaca is in 46 days and I can not wait. Granted it will probably be warmer by then, but the escape is much needed. Can't wait!

Back to work, enough procrastinating. Happy thursday!

Looks like i'm losing the battle

Those lovely little critters to my right are GERMS! And yes, they look nice and likeable, but they're not.

It seems that these bad germs are everywhere! Everyone seemed to be getting sick, especially at work. I imposed an unofficial quarantine on myself and did everything in my power to stay away from these sick people. I fought hard for the past three weeks and it seemed I was victorious.

Until Friday happened.
I woke up with a little itch in my throat and since then it's gotten worse. I'm still fighting, but it's looking more and more like the germs have gotten in. No!!!!!!!!

So it's off to resting and drinking plenty of fluids. According to research I've found online, it's ok to work out at a "moderate" intensity if your symptoms are "above the neck" (i.e. stuffy nose, sore throat, headache). Anything more than that and rest is encouraged. I definitely fall in to that range, but I'm also tired from lack of sleep, so the jury's still out.

Keep up the hand washing folks, it's a germy world out there.

What's pissing me off today

Granted most of these are pretty trivial, but none the less...

• coworkers needing total silence to work (that shouldn't be my issue)
• the rain
• getting a coupon for a store the day after making a purchase
• forgetting my socks last night
• i need to get gas, again
• i need to get my oil changed, again
• vacation can't possibly get here fast enough
• the smell of smoke in my apartment/hallway (who the heck still smokes inside?)
• falling asleep cold and then waking up sweating
• the fact that i've been fighting the beginning of a cold for a couple of weeks now
• i want to get my hair highlighted but don't want to spend the big bucks
• my boyfriend has been away on business for way too long
• i can't walk anywhere from my apartment
• no one i know has a dog i can play with

Play Ball!

It's that time of year, baseball season is here!

(I didn't mean to rhyme)

I love baseball season and here's why I'm excited...

• the warm(er) weather is on its way


• going to games and drinking beers


• watching games on tv


• the BBQ season


• my first date with a certain someone was to a Yankees game


• the last year at Yankee Stadium is a great time for a championship (no pressure)


• Shelley Duncan


• Joe Girardi

Enough said. :)

I'm Frustrated

The running saga continues.

I did manage to hit 2.6 and then 2.65 but have been struggling recently.

On Friday I attemped to run and made it to just shy of 2 miles. However I have to say that I hadn't been feeling well all week and had a bad headache and was overall rundown. That was my excuse. I pushed myself as hard as I could and then just wanted to lie down.

Yesterday I gave it another go. I started out strong. Made it about a mile and then my shins started hurting, badly. I haven't had this problem in quite a while so I tried to work through the pain. It didn't work. I stopped to stretch my calves/shins and noticed a bump protruding from my left shin. That freaked me out a bit and told me I probably shouldn't push myself any further. So I stopped, having only made it a mile. I did however make up for it with other cardio, but the running curse seems to have its eye on me.

I can't seem to grasp why on some days I'm good and others I'm not. Granted, fighting a cold probably took its toll on my entire body. As for yesterday, I'm just not sure. I was feeling better and the only thing I can come up with is that I wore heels to work. I know that wearing heels shortens your muscles (or something like that) so I figure maybe it caused the tightness in my shins. But, I'm not sure. I'm going to test this on Wednesday (or Thursday) when I plan to wear comfy shoes to work and see how the running goes.

Does any of this sound logical to anyone? Can anyone understand where I'm coming from? Any advice? (besides stretching my calves/shins beforehand)