Shopping at TJs

My last errand last night was grocery shopping so I decided to try to do my week's worth of shopping at Trader Joe's only.  Some of the food was cheaper than I thought it would be, which was a nice surprise, while some stuff was far more expensive than at a regular grocery store.  Most of my purchases were frozen foods and pantry items but the cheese was much cheaper than Vons, so I'll def buy TJ cheese only moving forward.  I didn't get everything I needed, but I def got enough to get me through the week.

Trader Joe's cookbook

I have a Trader Joe's cookbook that I've been trying to use for a while so I made a Mustard and Maple Chicken dish.  SO easy and actually really good.  I'd never cooked dark meat, so that was interesting too.    Basically you mix together maple syrup, dijon mustard and rice vinegar and coat the chicken and bake.  I made some veggies and rice to go with it.  It's definitely added into the rotation. It may not look tasty-- but it was oh so good.

Scott Pilgram vs. The World

I love Netflix.  It allows you to watch movies and shows you'd never think to watch.  Last night I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Netflix guessed that I'd give it 2.5 stars, it was close, I give it 2.  When you have a queue of over 100 movies or shows, there is bound to be a bad apple.

The movie is based on a comic book, but that usually doesn't automatically mean I'm going to hate the movie.  I love the Batman movies.  Ironman is fun.  This one was too weird for me and I couldn't connect with the characters.  For me, the best part of the movie were Scott's roommate, played by Kieran Culkin, and his sister played by Anna Kendrick.  I would have watched a movie just based on the two of them.

I'm not going to waste any more of my time on this movie, but can we stop giving Michael Cera leading roles?  He's trapped in one really long Juno movie. His characters are always exactly the same.  It's time to move on.

I did get another run in last night.  It took a lot of convincing by myself to do it.  It felt great to be done, but getting out there was hard.  It's better to run outside because once you're halfway done, you can't stop, you still have to make it home.  I felt like stopping after a little over a mile.  Too bad, Deegan, you're still over a mile away from home!

Blind date.

Okay, now onto the blind date.  He's a nice guy, just not for me.  I think it ultimately comes down to our personalities not matching.  I'm a very outgoing and social person and he's not.  I'd rather be hanging out with friends than sitting alone at home and he seems to be the opposite.  And I was interrupted a few times while talking - NOT the way to get a second date.  I'd be asked a question and before I could finish the complete answer, he'd change the subject.  I was trying not to do the one word answers and he wasn't feeling it.  I didn't feel like he was there to get to know me.  Lastly, I think he was uncomfortable with my height when I was in heels.  If you're still taller than me when I'm in heels, I'm going to wear heels.  Don't make me feel bad about it. 

The date actually made me more comfortable being single.  I'm glad I'm confident and know what I want.  I'm not going to settle.

I really said I'd do that?

Yesterday started out normal.  I woke up, got to work a little early, worked hard and did good work. 

When I got home I made mussels for dinner.  I've never cooked them before and they were delicious and so super easy.  I cheated and got the frozen mussels from Publix and they cook in just 7 minutes and have sauce with them already.  I served them (to myself) over some spaghetti and light tomato sauce.  The only thing I was missing was the toasty bread to go with it.  Next time.  And I'm not sick!  I was really worried that I'd get sick from the frozen seafood, but I'm safe. 

Here is where I surprise myself - while cooking dinner I agreed to go on a blind date with the brother of a guy and old co-worker has started dating.  I'll give you a second to work that out in your head.   Yep, I'll be going on a blind date.  I don't know much about him, but my friend has given him the thumbs up, so that's all I can go on right now.  I know I'm not going to meet someone at a bar, so maybe this is the right way to do it.  He now has my phone number and he'll be calling sometime today or tomorrow to set up our date.  I hope it's soon so I can stop thinking about it!

Mad Men: Season 1

I used to work in Advertising (Puerto Rico), Mad Men is about the advertising industry in the early 1960s on Madison Ave.  I thought I'd hate the series, so I never bothered to watch.  I thought it would be so far off from what really happens in an agency that I'd get mad and turn it off.  Like a doctor watching Grey's Anatomy.  There is no way there is that much drama at a hospital, or at least that much sex between co-workers.  BUT, I have Netflix and Mad Men is on Netflix so I gave it a shot.  I just finished Season 1.

I LOVE IT.  It's not a fast paced TV show, there aren't crazy cliffhangers at the end of every episode, but the characters are amazing.  You hate each of them yet at the same time you're pulling for each of them at the same time.  It might be one of the most true-to-life programs I've watched in a long time.  Not everyone is perfect and Mad Men does a good job showing that even those with the perfect face and perfect family and perfect home can be sad and have their own demons.

The thing that shocked me about the show is how much people smoked!  In meetings, in elevators, in their baby's nursery, while eating breakfast.  It's nuts.  BUT talking with people who worked in advertising back then, or not long after, that's exactly how it was.

I love how beautiful everyone is in the show and I'm so impressed with the details that the producers put into set decoration and costumes.  I now finally understand why the show keeps winning awards.  It was just announced yesterday that Season 5 will be postponed until early 2012!  WHAT!  No! I want it this Fall, but it seems the creator of the show and AMC have some differences of opinions when it comes to payment.  Good thing I still have Seasons 2-4 in my queue to keep me company.

The Good Guy

Last night I watched another movie that I got on Netflix, The Good Guy, starring Alexis Bledel.  It's weird, I'll basically watch any movie she's in.  I think she's a great actress and I always enjoy her characters.  Maybe it's because she plays a similar role in every film?  

The basic plot goes like this: Cute girl, Beth, in NYC is dating Wall Street guy, Tommy, who looks like Prince Charming.  He's on top of his game and successful at work and he's making her fall in love with him. As the film goes on you learn more and more about Tommy and his co-workers.  For me it was another example of first impressions don't always tell the whole story.  It's for this very reason that if I meet someone and they ask me out and I'm interested enough to give my number, I'll go on a date.  I always want to give someone a chance to show me who they are.

I give the move a 4 out of 5.  It's nothing original, it's the good guy vs the bad guy story but I wanted it to go on 30 minutes longer, so that has to mean something.  It felt like it flew by.  I recommend it for those looking for a nice chick flick to watch with a glass of wine.  I drank two glasses and ate a small bowl of ice cream.  Don't judge me.

Back to Middle School/High School

I'm still struggling with how to keep motivated to run 4x a week.  I want to run, I know I'll feel better when I'm done, but some days I can't get myself off the couch.  One problem I was having was with the music I was listening to.  I have some good, upbeat stuff, but I don't want to get bored.  So, I went back to my club volleyball days in high school and thought about what I would use to pump myself up before games.  One CD came to mind - Booty Mix 2.

 It's full of '90s classics and just what I needed.  I bought Booty Mix 2 and it's sister, Booty Mix 3 on Amazon.com and they were delivered yesterday.  I made a new playlist for my iphone and I hit the road.  Check out the songs:

1. Shake A Lil' Somethin' - 2 Live Crew
2. Hear What I Hear - Kilo
3. Scarred - Luke
4. Heiny Heiny - 95 South
5. Give It All You Got - Afro-rican
6. Tootsie Roll - 69 Boyz
7. 2 Much Booty (In The Pants) - Soundmaster T
8. Can't Stop The Rock - D.J. Kizzy Rock
9. Get Retarded - K.J. & Da Fellas
10. Dickey Ride - Southern Playas
11. Run Forest Run - Get Some Crew
12. Bass Mechanic - M.C.A.D.E.
13. Booty Bounce - Goon Sqwad
14. Work It Out - M.C. Shy-D
15. Shake Watcha Mama Gave Ya - Poison Clan



My favorites being Scarred, 2 Much Booty and Run Forest Run.  I need to really work on the playlist to make sure those 3 songs play when I'm approaching the 2 mile mark and I'm getting tired. 

Technically, this isn't a 'new thing' for me - but I haven't had the CD since 1998 - so there should be a 10 year plus caveat.

I'm back!

I know, I know.  I've not posted in a few days but it's been crazy busy at work and I was sick this weekend so nothing really got done at all.  I'll update as much as I can on the days that I missed. 

Last Wednesday was our Dinner Club night with a Mexican theme.  YUMMY!  I brought an Apple Enchilada Dessert.  Basically, and apple pie in tortillas instead of pie crust.

The ingredients were pretty easy, see above.  You probably have most of that in your pantry right now.  It was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made.  I got a lot of compliments on them and I'm pretty proud of how they turned out.  

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
• 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.
3. Bring margarine, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
4. Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12.

My house smelled wonderful for days, too.