Monday, October 29, 2012

Monday Matters

  1. I have had a busy week!  There's so much to tell everyone....Although I think I already told most of you everything in previous posts.  Oh well, what's a little recap, right?

  2. Yesterday Scott and I, my mom, and my cousin Tina sat down to a few healthy games of Mah Jong.  I won two games and Scott won two games.  We are the rulers!!!  Normal process dictates that when you get your first Mah Jong, you have to take a picture...And since last night was the first time Scott or I won, we took pictures!!!


  3. Did you notice the beautiful curls in my hair?  I already blogged about it, but I made those curls with a straightening iron.  Yup.  It's probably the best iron I've ever used.  It's the One 'n Only Argan 1" Hair Straightener.  The ceramic pieces are infused with Moroccan oil and you don't need to put any kind of [stuff] in your hair prior to using the straightener.  It's amazing.  I love it.  I don't know if I'll use my hot rollers ever again.

  4. I made Fried Rice in the crockpot on Friday.  It was so easy (you literally just dump everything in), and it was delicious.

  5. Hurricane Sandy is currently barreling up the East Coast, and everyone is in a state of panic.  Including myself.  Sort of.  I didn't go in to work today (I'm working from home, because I can't justify trying to drive an hour each way in awful weather when I have the ability to do all of my work from the dining room table).  Rhode Island / Massachusetts is definitely going to get hit, but it seems as though New York and New Jersey are going to get it really bad!
  6. photo from cbsnews.com

  7. Since the hurricane is supposed to hit us pretty hard, I made sure to go to the market yesterday and stock up on some essentials.  Like bottled water, and snacks.  I was surprised that the Stop and Shop wasn't like a war zone.  Granted, there was barely any bread left (there was not a single loaf of white bread left on the shelves), but there was a TON of bottled water (they clearly stocked up before the storm).  I got some non-perishables, but also bought a few things like cold cuts so we could have sandwiches.  I also bought a massive bag of ice just in case we need to switch everything over to the cooler.

  8. I'm hoping that Sandy doesn't interfere with Halloween.  I remember, as a kid, being so upset if it rained on Halloween.  Who wants to be all dressed up and get drenched while trying to hoard copious amounts of candy?  Not me!  We didn't eve celebrate this year - we were invited to a party but never made it.  Being that I was in New Jersey last week, I had no time to prepare costumes or anything.  I just wasn't feeling it.  We'll have to make up for our party poopishness next year!

  9. House update:  The bathroom is plumbed, with the exception of the sink.  We're still waiting on the contractor to fix the vanity.  After that, it's the doors (which can be done when we move in) and the hardwood floors.  I'm projecting a move in prior to Thanksgiving!!!  I can't wait to be there.  I can't wait to have a <30 minute commute.  I can't wait to cook in my own kitchen, have my piano right in the next room (and play it whenever I want), and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed!  Keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

  10. We had the gutters cleaned out at the house on Saturday, just in case we got a ridiculous amount of rain.  There is a [possibly diseased] pine tree in the front yard that has already shed a million needles, which were clogging up the gutters.  In an attempt to not have my basement flooded, we had the cleaned.  I guess we'll eventually have to take that tree out. Seriously, this house maintenance is never-ending.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Homemade [crockpot] Fried Rice

I decided to make fried rice.  No, I've never done it before.  But it's all about confidence.  And faking it.  "Fake it till you make it."  Right?  Right.  

Ok.  This was easy.  Like seriously, easy.  It took all of about 10 minutes to prepare.  And 2 hours to cook. Wait, what?  OHHHH.  I knew that crock pot was good for something!!

That's right, crock pot fried rice!

I got the idea from A Year of Slow Cooking.  Or really, I got the idea from Pinterest.  But whatever.
Everything all in the pot. 

Like I said, this was the easiest thing I've made in a long time.  Here's what I did:

The Ingredients

  • Rice (I didn't have any leftover rice, so I made some fresh.  I cooked 2 cups dry rice to make enough for about 4 people)
  • Vegetable (Once again, I didn't have any leftovers....So I chopped up some onion, carrots, and red bell pepper.  I also used some green peas).
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

The Method

  • Dump everything into the crock pot.
  • Mix
  • Cook 3-4 hours on low OR 2-3 hours on high

ENJOY!!!

Note:  I made this for dinner and one of my friends needs to eat gluten free.  Well, the soy sauce I had on hand was not gluten free.  In order to not kill my friend, I used all Worcestershire Sauce (about 3 1/2 Tablespoons).  It was still really delicious!!!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Fun stuff

Tonight I learned how to curl my hair with a flat iron. Yes, a flat iron.

I have a 2" iron, but it's really not possible to curl your hair with it, so I used a 1" instead. It really only took about 10 minutes to curl my whole head (and I have a lot of hair)!!!

Check it out!!
 
 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Hello from New Jersey!!

Hi All!  Greetings from New Jersey!  I've been here since Sunday evening for a work conference.  It's been really great!  A bit overwhelming because of all the info, but very informative.  I've been able to contribute a lot, and make a lot of new contacts.  Overall, a successful trip!

Tonight I drove up from where I'm staying (The Morris Plains area) up to my sister's house (Westchester County, NY) to have dinner with her and her husband.  It was a little bit of a drive, but we had a lot of laughs and a delicious dinner!

Steph made a sausage and feta cheese quiche, and it was so delicious!

Steph had a log of Jimmy Dean sausage, so we browned up half of it in a pan.  She used half a tube of Pillsbury rolls as the crust of the quiche.  She mixed together the cooked sausage, crumbled feta, onion and olives, and put that evenly over the un-cooked crust.  Then she added 4 eggs mixed with milk over the top.  Baked for about 20-30 minutes, and it was delicious!!!

My awesome sister, posing with her delicious quiche!!
A Masterpiece!!