S is for Saturday (and other things)

S is for sweats - nothing like heading out for the day in a pair of sweats (sweatpant capris to be exact)

S is for sticky - it was a humid day

S is for Starbucks - mmm...a nice green iced tea (unsweetened of course) after walking to Davis

S is for Sex - Sex and the City the movie...saw it with Old Roommate A ("ORA"). I know it didn't get rave reviews but we both thought it was pretty good. A little over 2 hours long but definitely didn't feel like it was that long.

S is for Smoothie - On our walk back to Porter ORA and I stopped for Cape Codder smoothies at Boloco...tasted so good on a humid day.

S is for Startled - Roommate K came home this evening while Roommate D and I were in the kitchen making our dinners. The neighbors were having a party and we weren't expecting her home this evening, needless to say when the screen door opened we were a bit startled.

The above S's pretty much Sum up my Saturday!

I'm safe!

For those of you who may have seen this as breaking news, just wanted to let you know that I am safe! I live off of the Red Line and only go two stops when I take the Green Line to get to/leave work. I have checked-in with my friends who live on this branch of the Green Line and they are both safe.

For Real #1

So I spent extra time shaving my legs today so I could wear a skirt to work. It happened to be one of the windiest days (not to mention I work in a wind tunnel) and there was a MONSOON - for real? I had to stay at work for an extra hour because I had no jacket, no umbrella, and couldn't imagine walking home trying to cinch my skirt the entire time in the rain.

My long weekend in pictures

Gardening with Roommate D - she decided that our backyard needed a little color.

Grilled some chicken and veggies for dinner on Sunday night...no recipe this week.

Our other roommate (Roommate K) had a BBQ on Friday night to celebrate the end of her school year and had purchased a "BBQ in a Bag". It was way cool, just put the bag in the grill and light both ends of the bag and wait for the coals to warm. I will definitely be doing more grilling now that I know how easy it is!

Feet up, enjoying the great weather!













My table of goodies

• Iced tea from Dunkin Donuts w/lemon & 1 splenda
• Keys to the house
• Phone
• iPod
• Toilet paper (there is something blowing around that has my number)
• Magazines (I am way behind...the open issue is from December...thanks busy season)
  

18 years

It's been 18 years (this week) since my Gramps passed away. With this being Memorial weekend, and so close to Father's day, this is for you Gramps!

Grams and Gramps were married for 45 years after meeting in a dance class at the University of Oregon (in college dance classes were encouraged by Grams). They had four children and spent most of their time in Eugene, moving often but always within Eugene. After Gramps retired they moved to the coast. Oh how we loved to go and visit! We got to spend a week at a time during the summers just hanging with Grams and Gramps. Our visits involved lots of walks around the neighborhood and on the beach. The sign that read "Here he lies all cold and hard, the last damn dog that pooped in my yard" made us giggle every time we walked by. There were also the daily visits to the pool where we would show off our "awesome dives" (read as not-so-fancy jumps) into the pool with Gramps as our audience. We would usually get in a game of pool before heading back home. Grams and Gramps then moved to King City and we got to see them more often. Gramps played lots of golf and we got to go over for sleepovers.

Some things I vividly remember about Gramps:
-He ate shredded wheat for breakfast (always).
-He told us that if we ate the crust on the bread we would whistle better.
-As I was the only grandchild to acquire his red hair, he often said that my hair would stay red if I ate carrots. (His turned white in patches when he quit playing baseball and went into business...as soon as I started my gig in public accounting mine started going white...I don't get it I still eat my carrots.)
-He could talk like Donald Duck (or so we thought).
-He put salt on everything!

While many memories were made while Gramps was still with us...birthdays, fishing trips, long walks on the beach, help with homework...there have also been many that he has not been part of...graduations, weddings, new grandchildren and great-granddaughters. (Boo learned at an early age to pick Gramps out of family pictures at my aunt's house and referred to him as "her daddy Bill".)

Gramps was a special man to all of us and we (especially Grams) miss him dearly!

Weekend in Review...

Met up with Old Roommate A (ORA) on Saturday morning to catch "Made of Honor". By the time I got to the theatre the show was already 15 minutes in so we went to CVS got some drinks and snacks and sat at the "park" and chatted until the next show started (they were playing an hour apart). I am a sucker for chick flicks and this was pretty darn cute (and funny too). I can see myself buying this movie when it comes out on DVD (Mom or Dad - This is a hint for a future Birthday/Christmas gift). I think ORA and I decided that we would be seeing 3 of the 5 movies that were previewed...don't ask what they were...but they were definitely chick flicks. Next on our radar is "Sex and the City".

When we emerged from the movie there was not a cloud in the sky! ORA needed to get home as her fiance had arrived back from London while we were in the show, so I headed for a little shopping. (I was NOT ready to go home, it was way TOO nice out!) I did some damage at the Eddie Bauer Outlet and then headed to Macy's. After Macy's I hopped on the train and headed to Harvard to get some make-up and then headed home.

This morning I woke up and went to Target with one of my roommates (on the bus - Brother you can laugh now). They have decent cardigans and I needed a white one to go with my new skirt (I picked up a black one too for shiggles). Instead of heading home, we decided to go to the local hardware store for some chairs for the back porch.

I got home to find a text from ORA's fiance wanting to meet for lunch, hopped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and headed to Harvard for lunch at Border Cafe (yes, this was the second time I have been there this week). After lunch, I spent some time wandering around Harvard looking for some navy blue shoes...no dice. Walked home to enjoy more of the nice weather.

Got home in time to see the Sox and the Celtics win (and miss the sprinkles that have since fallen from the sky).

Overall Rating: Fantabulous!

Sunday Night Recipe

Italian Chicken with Chickpeas

1 tbs olive oil
1 lb chicken breast tenders
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/3 cups sliced onion
1 cup green bell pepper strips
1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic
1 (15 1/2 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
Parley leaves (optional)

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Add chicken to pan, cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
Add onion and bell pepper, saute 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium.
Add garlic, chickpeas, and tomatoes; cover and cook 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
Garnish with parsley leaves, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings

The menu suggests serving with Greek Salad and Focaccia bread.

Per Serving
296 Calories, 6.1 g Fat, 32 g Protein, 28.2 g Carbs, 5.6 g Fiber

My thoughts/modifications: I opted for Texas Toast instead of Focaccia. No greek salad, had a HUGE salad for lunch. I am so excited that lunch for tomorrow (and the rest of the week) is already in containers in the frig. I will probably take some brown rice to toss in with the mix in lieu of bread tomorrow.

Enjoy!

The week in review (or just really the last few days)

I haven't posted in a few days so I am going to post a few times today...this is so fun! A quick recap here - other things will be in longer posts following.

*Old Roommate A arrived back in town today for her summer internship. Tonight we went out for salads and drinks, and tomorrow we are catching "Made of Honor" before her fiance arrives back in town. Yay for another girls day and a total chick flick...will write a review tomorrow.

*Kids say the funniest things...was emailing with Chief the other day and she was telling me how her little girl is telling people that the name for Baby Chief will be dependent on eye color. Love it! For real - where do kids come up with this stuff?

*Got an email from Boo - I love getting emails from her - even though they are often just one sentence. The fact that she gets on the computer and writes to me is "asome" (a direct spelling from her most recent email to me)!

*Talked to Grams on Mothers Day (obviously) and she was telling me how she went to Bill's apartment to unbutton his shirts earlier in the week...giggle now (I sure as hell did)...she was just helping him out because his fingers don't work as well as they used to. I asked her if she realized how naughty that sounded, after my giggling of course. She's 88 and I love her dearly for who she is and the things she says (some of which are not appropriate to repeat).

Friends & Facials (and some bowling too)

I heart having business cards.
I heart fish bowls at fun establishments.
I heart dropping my business cards in the fish bowls.
I heart winning things at fun establishments.

My good luck started last summer/fall when I dropped my card in the fish bowl at Lucky Strike lanes and won a bowling party for 16. Since the original party was paid for by Big Boss Man, I figured it was only fair to use my free party for work peeps. (For the most part we all get along.) So we used our free party on St. Patrick's Day - super fun. Big Boss Man and I left the office early that day to hit up the Souvenir Store, he wanted to buy green Sox hats for everyone. Fun times were had by all and the green hats were a hit.

Fast forward to April. I had used a sample of some Origins lotion while in Ohio for my BFF's baptism that I LOVED! I returned to Boston on Sunday and Brother arrived in town on Monday. Monday evening we headed to Harvard Square for dinner so I stopped at Origins for some lotion. While paying I whipped out the card and dropped it in. Come Wednesday I get a phone call that I have won a Healthy Happy Hour for me and three friends. (Healthy Happy Hour includes facials, neck massages and make-up.) Yesterday was Happy Hour and it was GREAT! Me and my three favorite fellow GPSA-ers went to Origins for a little in-store pampering before heading to Border Cafe for some mexican food. Such a great girls night - must do it again - soon!

Sorry...no recipe last week

Last weekend I didn't do any "new" cooking.

Instead I had a craving...for chicken sausage and tater tots...not really healthy but I don't do it that often. So Sunday night it was a store bought meal that took minimal effort, with the exception of the Fry Sauce that I mixed up for the tots. Heart you Big Girl and Yum-Yum for introducing me!

I have a recipe for this weekend and will make sure to post it if it turns out ok!

Gravity...

Before I hit some roadblocks last December, I was a faithful gym-goer (it's a quick 3 minute walk from my house) but this year had lacked the "get up and go" (literally and figuratively). I am starting to get back into the routine of going to the gym - no matter what time of day. Well, Gym Buddy's trainer suggested that she start going to the gym in the mornings and with that try out one of the classes she teaches. Yesterday was the chosen day for both of us to try out a Gravity class at 7am at Back Bay. For those of you familiar with where I live, it's not Back Bay, so needless to say I was on the train at 6:15 for this class. Below is a picture of the contraption we used for 50 minutes.

I'm not going to lie, the workout kicked my butt. At one point I didn't know if I was going to get sick or pass out. The trainer was super cool and totally understood, I sat out a few sets but did manage to get back into it. Today I am a little sore but can't wait to go back next week. I saw Gym Buddy after work today and she admitted that even though she was sore she was going to go back - yay!

Moral of the story: I felt great afterwards mentally and physically.

Gilligan called, he'd like his look back...

I heart you Michael!

I picked these just for you, Mom!

To my Mom, Grams, Aunts, Cousins and Friends (who are moms),

These flowers are my gift to you as you celebrate this day that is meant for mothers!

I woke up today to blue skies and sunshine, so decided to take a walk around the block and find the perfect flowers to "send"!

Thinking of you a little more today than I do every day!

Love,
Erin

Bowling, air hockey and pedicures

The title of this blog is my excitement for the last 24 hours. I got an email mid-morning yesterday that was an invitation to a networking event (with managers and senior managers from the office) to be held at one of the local bowling alleys. I personally think I got the invite because the organizer wanted me on his team. You see, our lil' team at work has had a couple of group outings that involved bowling and I did pretty well. It has now become a joke among the group that I am a good bowler because I grew up in Oregon and there is nothing else to do out there (obviously they have never been). So at 3:45 I locked my computer up, changed into my jeans (which I had randomly thrown in my bag before leaving home), and threw on my sneakers. Bowling was from 4-6 and we managed to fit in four games (games 2 & 3 were played simultaneously on adjoining lanes).

Once our time was up I challenged the organizer to a game of air hockey...final score 7-6 The EOB. Next up was a manager from the group, who was quite confident he was going to kick my a$$...final score 7-1 The EOB. Third game was a senior manager who sits on our floor. The EOB had a 5-0 lead, senior manager made a comeback, when the game was 5-5 we realized the air had gone off. I don't know at what point it had gone off but it probably did when I was up. I lost steam during that fourth game and lost 7-2. Overall, not too bad. I asked them to remember my "mad air hockey skills" when it comes time for manager promotions next year.

Our weather this past week has been very nice - 70's and sunny - then rain for the weekend (go figure). It was during our nice 70 degree days that I realized how badly I needed to get my toes done. I was held back from wearing open toed shoes and was embarrassed to wear my flip-flops to and from the office (I did it anyways). So once I saw the sun start to make an appearance today, I decided today was the day. I stopped at the grocery store first to get some cash, a drink and some trashy magazines, then was off to my hour of pampering. My feet look and feel great - warm sunny days you can come back now!

Give Big (or just a little)

Through work we have quite a few opportunities to volunteer with various projects/organizations around the Boston area. This "non-client service" is recommended and is actually a factor in our year-end evaluations. A few weeks ago I got an email to help out with the United Way Today's Girls...Tomorrow's Leaders (TGTL) program and signed up to help. The TGTL program provides funding assistance to agencies providing programming that empowers girls to lead and succeed in the future by developing academic and leadership skills. We had our orientation this evening, and as a volunteer I will be reading and rating four proposals submitted by various agencies that are seeking funds from TGTL. I love that these opportunities come up through work and I am able to give back to the community. I may not be Oprah and be able to "Give Big" but I can definitely do a little something to help out.

Ahhh, the gym

Dear Gym,
You were nice to me today. Maybe I will come and visit you again tomorrow.
EOB

So I have been really BAD about going to the gym this year, in fact I can count the number of times I have been on one hand. Today, I hope I turned over a new leaf. The gym that I belong to is a quick jaunt from the office and there are quite a few other women that also go to "my gym" (it's an all-women's gym). This afternoon Gym Buddy and I decided that today was the day to get back in the groove so we left the office at 2:30 for the gym. After 45 minutes on the elliptical I figured I should probably hit the showers and get back to the office. Surprisingly I hadn't reached the "bored" or "tired" point which I consider pretty darn good considering my serious lapse! So after a stop at Bucks (Starbucks) for an iced green tea (unsweetened) I was on my way back to the office, refreshed and ready to get back to work.

Sunday night dinner

So I enjoy trying new recipes on the weekends (usually Sunday) and if they turn out ok, I tend to send them in a mass email. Well...since I enjoy reading other peoples blogs I figured I would start a blog and use it to share the recipes that I enjoy. Don't worry, I will post other stuff too. (Good thing I am starting this after busy season, otherwise all you would see is "Today I worked XX hours.") Enjoy!

To start out, yesterday for lunch I made the following:

Mediterranean Pasta with Zucchini

8 oz penne or ziti pasta, uncooked
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 medium zucchini, sliced
2 tbs slived ripe olives

Cook pasta according to package directions.
While pasta cooks, combine tomatoes and remaining three ingredients in a large skillet, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
Spoon tomato mixture over drained pasta.
4 (2-cup) servings

*My modifications: I added 1 tbs of minced garlic to the tomato mixture. Instead of spooning the mixture over the pasta I tossed it all in the pot with the drained pasta. To top it off I added 1 tbs of feta (reduced fat of course) to my 2-cup serving. Yummy!