Uneventful August

I completed my first week on Jenny Craig and I am feeling good. I lost 2.6 lbs this week even after having 3 cheating days, so that was really good. Last night I met with Natalie for some running at the local high school. So far I can't run very far but I am hoping to build it up in case I get a call from any of the local police departments. I took the Westchester county police exam this past year and scored an 85%. It is a good score but I am 1300 something on the list for highering. I really need the time though to get in good physical shape. Being female I worry that I will be at a huge disadvantage unless I am in good physical shape. I am feeling kind of bummed today. I need something exciting to happen, I am feeling life is very mundane. There are fun things coming up but I want to do something fun right now. This month Jamie is having her 21st birthday party so I am sure it will be a blast! Next month my dad is coming out to visit, we are going to Delaware for the weekend for the Dover Nascar race and October we are going to the Florida keys.

Heartbreak

I am in a strange crossroads of my life. Everything I want to move forward seems to be stuck in some Groundhogs days repeat cycle. I have lived in New York for the past 4 years. I have been stuck in a dead end job for two years. I have been on facebook for only a couple of months but the people of my past all seem to have moved on with there lives and I am going no where fast. Every engagement I hear about rips through my heart. Rob was having a conversation with our friend Jackie the other night about marriage and he told her with him ordering his 2010 RS/SS Camaro that he couldn't afford to buy me a ring and I can't remember the rest verbatum but it immediately went into my head that he has his priorities. Am I making things to easy for him that he doesn't think he will loose me so he can keep putting me off? I love him and I hate the idea of us not being together but I feel less than special lately. I was so upset the night I started Jenny Craig for the second time in two years. I thought to myself that it didn't make him like me anymore the last time so why torture myself. I confronted him on it and he said I was being stupid but he left it at that. I feel so much better. He sounds like a piece of shit doesn't he. I agree but I really love him still so I dont know what to do. How long is too long to wait? I can't answer that question yet but I figure one day I will snap and just leave. I pray to God that day never comes, it breaks my heart just thinking about it. So as you can see I am a tormented soul lately.

Stuart Cove and Sea Dwellers

I haven't been on in a while. The Bahamas was such an amasing trip. You will never appreciate the beauty of a shark until you get to see one in its natural enviroment. Anyone looking into Stuart Cove, I would highly recommend them, it is the trip of a lifetime! Another thing worth trying in the Bahamas is the fish fry, I had fried conch and shrimp. Really good!!! I am so excited about our next upcoming trip. For Rob's birthday I booked a trip to the Florida Keys. We are going to be diving with Sea Dwellers out of Key Largo. They were out first dive after we got cerified and one of the nicest groups of people I have ever met. I am also looking forward to Snook's Bayside too. It is an excellent little restaurant on the Gulf side with a great view and delicious food. I love being with Rob so I know we are going to have fun.

Pre-Trip Anxiety

So Rob and I are leaving for the Bahamas in two days. I am so excited about it, I feel almost gitty. I am hoping the weather isnt awful though cause they are showing rain in the forcast for every day we are there. Hopefully the weather isnt like it is here today. We are having a crazy thunderstorm with lots of rain. My boss hasn't come in yet and I am having a really hard time getting motivated to get any work done. I hate having to work full time and get ready for a vacation it is very stressful. I am going to try to be better about taking pictures this trip cause I never take enough when I am there and then feel disappointed about it when I get home. I tried to get a base tan the past week before we left and I do have tan lines but my legs still look like I am a vampire. Tonight I have a doctors appointment cause I have a very wierd bump on my skull behind my ear. It is probably just a swollen lymph node but for the $20 copay it is better to be safe than sorry. Well, I need to go be my anal self and make a list of what I need to accomplish today. Bye for now.

Diving Stuarts Cove, Bahamas

I am very excited about the next couple weeks. My mom and sister are coming to visit me in two weeks. I love seeing them so that will be great! Then the week they leave I am going with Rob to the Bahamas. I am excited cause I just got new scuba equipment from Rob as an early birthday gift. We are going to be diving with Stuarts Cove. The second day of diving we are going on the Shark Adventure. On the shark adventure you dive with Carribean reef sharks while they are being baited. I am nervous and am not sure what to expect but I think it will be the adventure of a life time. I hope to find a shark tooth cause I really want a shark tooth necklace made. It is really funny that I am even trying this because I am such a chicken. I figure I need to expand my horizons a little, if we only have one life on this earth why not experience some neat stuff.

Puppy Preschool and Slammin' Shrimp Tacos

I have been so excited for the past two weeks. I signed Cooper up for puppy preschool and he starts tonight. The class is for puppies 8-16 weeks old. Cooper is 15 weeks. I hope they don't make him do too much leash walking because he hates it. It is like pulling a donkey, Frenchies are so stuborn. So two weeks ago I made Rob dinner and it was really easy and delicious so I thought I would share. I made Grilled Shrimp Tacos. You need corn tortillas, 2 lbs of shrimp, cabbage shredded, pico de gallo (they didn't have it so I bought storemade brucetta topping), a spicy sauce (I used chipotle dip but you can also buy Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch dressing) and shredded mexican blend cheese. I marninaded the shrimp in World Habors Mexican Style Fajita sauce, put them on skewers and Rob grilled them. You heat the corn tortillas in a dish towel in the microwave to make them soft then put in the spicy sauce, shrimp, cabbage, pico de gallo and a little shredded cheese. So good and so easy!!!

Big Trouble in Little Condo

I have been having a dilemma the past week. My 15 month old Frenchie Stains has been coming to work with me every day since Rob and I got her for Easter 2008. Well, last week my boss told me that his dog Rufus has a sore on the side of his face from Stains bitting his cheek. He asked that I get her a muzzle or no longer bring her to the office. She is now left home for 9 hours by herself, 5 days a week. Cooper also stays home but he is locked in the bathroom. I keep my bedroom door closed so they don't bark at each other through the baby gate. Well, yesterday Rob gets home and Stains has pulled our carpet up from the tacks by our front door. It looks horrible but I can't punish her because I know she did it out of boredom. I feel so bad about it, I don't want her to be upset! I was hoping once Rufus healed my boss would let her come back but yesterday he made me take her bed home. I am misserable! I don't like my dogs being sad but what can I do?

High School Reunion

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up in 6 months. I have been very excited to go to this event because I find it so interesting what people have done with their lives. I went onto the reunion website because they have a bio book that we are supposed to fill out to let people know what we are up to. I started to fill mine out but I had a moment out of Romey and Michelle's High School Reunion. If you haven't seen the movie these two girls get invited to their 10 year reunion but realise that their lives are boring and come up with this lie so their classmates don't think they are loser. Well, first it asked my occupation. I am an administrative assistant now but I am on the list for my county to become a 911 dispatcher. I am hoping that will be my career in the next 6 months. It asks about family. I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years this June with no ring on my finger. I want to go to the reunion a 911 dispatcher, engaged and 117 lb. I lost 30 lbs on Jenny Craig in 2007 but have since put 18 lb back on. This will be the easiest of the three goals. The other two are out of my hands. It is stupid because no one is going to think I am boring but on paper it feels that way. If they made a movie about it then I guess I am not the only one who feels that way.

Dog and Hog Blog

I am feeling a little depressed today. I am sure it is hormonal though. From the first day I got Stains I have brought her to work with me. As of Wednesday she has had to stay home because she is using my boss's dog as a chew toy and he has the scars to prove it. This morning when I left I put Cooper in the bathroom where he will stay when I am not home until he is potty trained. He was crying and I felt horrible. As I was putting my shoes on Stains was looking at me and looked really sad. I patted her on the head, gave her a kiss and walked out the door. When I drove past the house she was looking out the window to see where I went. That bummed me out even more. I still wish I could run a doggy daycare so I could spend all day every day with them. Last night Rob cooked dinner. We had hot wings, ribs and macaroni and cheese. It was really good. I wanted to post another of my favorite recipes. There is a restaurant in Brea, California called The Summit House. They have a recipe posted on their website that is one of the best ever, "Classic Creamed Corn au Gratin". Here is what you will need...

12 oz whipping cream
1 lb. Frozen Kernal Corn
1 1/2 T. melted butter
1 1/2 T. Flour
2 T. Sugar
Pinch White Pepper
3 T. Parmesan Cheese

Combine corn, cream, salt, sugar and white pepper in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Make roux from butter and flour, add to corn, mix well and remove from heat. Transfer corn mixture to casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and brown under broiler. Serves 6

This recipe is so unbelieveable. I make it for special occasions. Enjoy!

I should start out about introducing you to the two things in my life that bring me so much pleasure. The first is my 2 French Bulldogs: Stains and Cooper and the second is cooking. I graduated from culinary school in 2005 but I am too laid back for the fast paced careers of the food industry so I use my skills at home.
My Frenchies are very much like my kids. They are very demanding of my attention and I am consumed with guilt if I cannot provide that attention constantly. I was trying to decide what made me this way and there are three incidents that stick out in my mind. The first was when I went to the park with my Grandma and Grandpa as a kid. There was a duck pond and one of the ducks had a fish hook coming out of his neck. He was sitting on people's laps because the other ducks would violently attack him when he got near. I begged my grandpa to take him to the vet to get the hook removed but he refused. I was so mad at him. Then another time I was riding with my mom and we picked up two dogs that had been left to wander on the side of the road. We had them for 4 days but one was very aggressive and my mom worried about her bitting a neighbor or one of us so she brought them both to the pound. It broke both our hearts. The last was I had an irresonsible boyfriend who adopted a puppy from the pound and decided he didnt want him anymore and left him at the pound. These three incidents have made me want to give every future pet I get the best life they can possibly have. My Frenchies were not rescue dogs they are actually both from expensive pet stores but that doesn't mean they can't have all the love I can offer them. They sleep in bed with me and my boyfriend every night. They eat people food and have clothes and leather collers and go to the Bark Park. Maybe the love I give my two dogs makes the world a little better, or at least I like to think so.
In terms of cooking I like to expierement with different recipes but today I am going to talk about ribs that fall off the bone and are so delicious. I only use baby back ribs, I find spare ribs too fatty. I fill a stock pot with beer (usually Bud Light or Papps Blue Ribbon), water and chicken broth. I season the ribs with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder and boil in the beer mixture for an hour. I then coat them with BBQ sauce (I like Q Teryaki BBQ sauce) and my boyfriend throws them on the grill on high just to make the outside crispy. They are so delicious and are even better if you make some macaroni and cheese. For the love of Frenchies and Southern BBQ, bye bye for now.