Tag Archive: Food -N- Drink


Wearing of the GREEN

Filed under: Miscellanea
March 17, 2011

Is not part of the plan today. It never is, since I don’t observe holidays. And the more I don’t, the more I don’t like them.

Take today, St. Paddy’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day whatever you like to call it. What exactly is its purpose? Em says Irish Catholics make a huge deal of it. They go to church, they get together with the family, have dinner etc. Yet for the rest of people it is just an excuse to wear green, go to a parade, get totally wasted and bug me on the train. Well I suppose not all of them want to bug me on the train, but the girl who patted my breast? Yeah, that bugged me.

But seriously, does anyone really remember who St. Patrick was and what he did for the Irish people? Or what the legend says he did? I seem to recall a story about snakes. Is anyone else bothered by the fact that this supposedly historic and important act has been turned into a joke? An excuse to get drunk and be rowdy? Exactly how many of these people, wearing green, dying their mustaches and hair green or red, drinking beer, how many of them are really Irish? I’m not Irish, I’m Spanish and English, two nationalities not exactly known for good relations with the Irish. Another reason for me not to wear green, it would be hypocritical.

Not that I have anything against the Irish, this rant is not against them. Just against March 17.

That is all, she says.

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And the week ends

Filed under: Health
March 13, 2011

With me still sick, it is a full blown cold with stuffed up head, trouble breathing, aches etc. Except I have a slight fever, which is not normal with a cold. I am soldiering on though, being a little tough girl.

Today was pretty much the usual routine, church, lunch at Panera, taking care of garbage and oh yes, the continuing marathon of White Collar, courtesy of iTunes (and my Visa card).

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Just when you thought it was safe

Filed under: Animals, Beauty, Family N Friends, Health, Sports
March 9, 2011

Today was my Wednesday off so I made plans to go out with Christine. I woke up with a wicked sore throat. Couldn’t swallow without pain. It was pretty annoying considering I woke up in time. Thinking that maybe if I got up and started moving about I would feel better, cause sometimes that does happen, I got up and made eggs for breakfast. I sprinkled some of my very hot red pepper flakes on them. Red pepper is good for sore throat. It didn’t help, the longer I stayed up the worse I felt so I ended up going back to bed.

Of course in this house you can only stay in bed if you have the plague or are dying, or is that, ‘dying of the plague’? Eventually I had to get up. Em wanted lunch and Gwen wanted to go up to apply for a job at the mall. I also wanted to try for Yankee tickets. After getting home the mail came and my findings arrived, so now my Yankee earrings have lever-back ear wires instead of posts. One more thing ready for opening day, just have to get tickets.

My hair appointment had been changed from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. since my stylist had to go to a funeral. After my appointment I was supposed to pick up Nick. Of course first the stylist was late, then it took forever to do my hair. When I tweeted ‘Why does it take so long to do my hair?’ Em tweeted back, ‘Do you know how much hair you have?’ This much, this is how much hair I have, but it does look good doesn’t it?

Finally she was done and I left without getting it dried. Picked up Nick and some other kids, took them all home and then we got home. I was so happy to be home, but the day wasn’t over yet. As I was coming up on the deck I heard a commotion inside, Butterscotch was running back and forth on the windowsill, and I was wondering what was wrong with our cat? Then I realized it wasn’t our cat. It was one of the feral cats from the neighborhood (yes one of those cats I hate, unreasonable I know), that had somehow gotten inside. Abigail was locked upstairs, Butterscotch put in the basement, and while I stood in the cold with my sore throat and wet hair holding the door open so they could chase this demented feline out, it ran the opposite way into the living room, up on the windowsill behind the computer desk and almost took out our router.

Stitch manged to catch it and put it outside, where it rocketed away from the deck. It is not the cat’s fault it is stray and wild, but if that cat ever gets in our house again, it is getting the business end of my boot.

The rest of the evening our two cats were eying each other, perhaps to make sure we hadn’t replaced one of them? Abigail kept sniffing the windowsill, after all that is her perch to watch the world go by. And an impostor had been on it.

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Coconut oil

Filed under: Health, News — 1 Comment
March 7, 2011

Recently there was an article in the NY Times, Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World, you can click on the link to read the article in full but in summary, at one time coconut oil was considered to be very bad for you, containing more saturated fat then butter, lard or beef tallow. It was the reason movie theater popcorn was so bad for you, because it was popped in coconut oil. Recently however, its been available in the health food stores and the attitude toward coconut oil is changing. Apparently, the studies were done on partially hydrogenated coconut oil, we all know any hydrogenated oil is not good for you. But virgin coconut oil isn’t so bad for you.

The article goes on to talk about how not all saturated fats are considered equal and while its uncertain if coconut oil, like olive oil, is good for you, in small amounts it is not bad for you.

However many good things might be said about coconut oil, I still won’t eat foods made with it, I like breathing better. Air in and air out is good, no air in and no air out is bad, very bad. This brings up two concerns of mine about coconut. First of all, coconut is not a very common allergy, so while you can look at the list of ingredients and at the bottom of the list in bold print, is whether or not the product contains, peanuts, wheat, milk, soy or tree nuts, coconut is not mentioned. Which brings me to my second concern, why don’t people consider coconut a nut? Doesn’t it have nut right in the name? And that tall thing it grows on, isn’t it called a palm tree? It makes me wonder where this woman’s head is:

Elizabeth Schuler, who writes the blog mycommunaltable.com, started baking with coconut oil after her son’s severe allergies to tree nuts, eggs and dairy were diagnosed. She searched out vegan recipes and was surprised by the number that relied on margarine and Crisco, a no-go as far as she was concerned.

This means I have to be super vigilant about coconut, it helps that I know what foods are likely to have it in them, Lindt Truffles, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Girl Scout Cookies, other high end chocolates, Häagen-Dazs® chocolate covered ice cream bars, some fudge ice cream toppings and some soft serve ice cream. And I read the labels, all the labels, every little ingredient.

Like I said, I like breathing, a lot.

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New sinuses needed

Filed under: Health, Weather
February 28, 2011

They should be in good working order, not like the ones I am dealing with now.

However I did come to work. I almost tweeted if anyone knew if tea was good for depressurizing sinuses. Instead I just made some and went in my drawer for some Aleve, because I also have a backache. I found some Zyrtec® and for a moment was happy, then realized it was antihistamine only. Then I found a pack of Flare™ gum. That’ll help! Maybe not. I’ll just have a happy mouth.

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Saturday we cleaned

Filed under: Miscellanea
February 21, 2011

In preparation for the big move, because I don’t want to take a lot of useless junk, I am going through everything. Throwing things out like crazy. So all day Saturday that is what Gwen and I did.

We took a break to go to Sonic and then Borders, she checked her e-mail when we were at Sonic, (free wi-fi!) the Borders near us is closing, or has closed by now, and everything was on sale. I bought a couple of note books. One with a really pretty red rose on the front, two aluminum water bottles and Gwen got some DVD’s and notebooks. Two didn’t have prices on them so the clerk just said, “They’re yours.” and put them in the bag. Then we went up to Barnes and Noble, the cafe was closed and I hadn’t had any coffee yet. We also bought a couple things there.

Then it was back to cleaning, then after we were done throwing things out, I got to put the things I am keeping away. Of course now it is a lot easier.

Next weekend I will be cleaning another spot in my room.

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The great hill

Filed under: Manhattan, Miscellanea
February 20, 2011

Friday and Saturday were busy days that I am now paying for. While I rest I am going to try to catch up on my blogging.

Friday was spent in the city with Gwen. Em had a Groupon for bike rental in Central Park so we started off early. Even with stopping for breakfast (o.k. it was just coffee and yogurt at Starbucks) and walking we were there before the place opened. So we got strawberry tarts.

There is a bike path that bicycles are supposed to stay on with arrows pointing the direction you are supposed to ride in, I almost called one bicyclist a ‘dumbass’ right in front of Gwen. Oops. After I while I determined we were on the small loop, we wanted to get the whole park experience. We had the bikes for the whole day. This nice man with a poodle (a standard poodle, not one of the annoying midget versions) helped us figure out the way to get out of the circle, then he pointed to the far north part of the map, “Take the easy path over, you don’t want to go up or down this hill.” That sounded good to me, considering I can’t remember how long it had been since I had been on bike before Friday. It is true however, that you never forget.

When we spoke to this man we were between the Sheep Meadow and the Tavern on the Green, heading south, since we couldn’t turn around we continued south, looped around past the Carousel, the Mall and the Playfield to the exit for 72nd which is where the big loop starts. I knew I had made the right turn when the Loeb Boathouse came into view. Here is some very important information, when you see the sign for Belvedere Castle on the left side of the road and turn in, the way to Belvedere Castle is to the right, if you go on the path to the left (you should walk your bikes down here, its the law) you come to this building. Why is this important? This building at the edge of the Ramble, has bathrooms! Ladies to the left, Mens to the right. If you’re looking for it on the map, its the Ramble Shed.

We get back on the road and start riding and riding, I keep looking off to the left for the ‘easy’ trail, suddenly I notice we are riding next to Central Park West and ahead of us is the Great Hill. Gulp, oh boy. We made it, we conquered the Great Hill! We are amazing. We even rode the bikes on Broadway when we left to have lunch.

After we dropped the bikes off we did some shopping and stuff, but what made the day amazing was the bike ride in Central Park.

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All I need

Filed under: Technology
February 11, 2011

Is a Starbucks and my iPod touch. No laptop required to post a thoughtful collection of words on my blog. Unfortunately time is required and that I am out of.

Sent from my iPod

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Tired

Filed under: Health, Technology
February 10, 2011

That is the only reason I have for not posting. Not writer’s block, I have all these great ideas. Then I look at my computer, and just don’t have the energy to get it out and turn it on. Yesterday I was home and got an e-mail from the library that my book was in, so I went to the gym, then I went to the library to get the book. I took my computer thinking that would be the perfect opportunity, but the wifi wasn’t working. By the time I packed it up and got home, it was time to get Em.

So tonight, as I was playing with my iPod, I got the idea to write about my favorite apps. Since Verizon now has the iPhone, I will probably be getting one in December. Here are two of my favorite apps.

Groupon (free)
Groupons are coupons you buy online, then print out and take to the company that issued it to redeem it. They are for restaurants, spas, museums, classes, bike riding in Central Park and so on. K and I use them all the time when we go to Manhattan.

This app signs into your Groupon account so you can see what you have, you can sort them by ones close to you or in order of expiration date. You can use the app to redeem the Groupon if you don’t want to print it out. You can also buy the current deal through the app.

Starbucks Card Mobile (free but you need to have a Starbucks card)
This has got to be the coolest app ever. I absolutely love it. If you have a Starbucks card, first you need to register it online. Then you get this app, add your card to it and then you can pay at Starbucks with your iPod or iPhone. After you pay, the app updates and give you your new balance. This is my app, yes I have $80 on my Starbucks card. Don’t judge me, yes I’m addicted. It’s a gold card and everytime I get 15 stars I get a coupon for a free drink. I have received a lot of coupons.

I would say these are my favorites, but I have to also mention I have game apps besides Words with Friends, I have Angry Birds, JewelMagic, Spider Solitaire and Word Warp. I also have the following apps iBooks, Kindle, Kobo.books and Nook for reading e-books. I have apps for Weightwatchers and Chase bank, my iPod keeps me pretty much connected with the world and makes my life easier.

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Why does my tummy hurt?

Filed under: Health, Manhattan
February 5, 2011

Friday (yesterday) Em came to meet me at Sabrina’s because she had broken a nail and needed it fixed. All of my nails had to be removed and redone because I had broken them when I fell. After the nail appointment we went down to Maria Tash because Em’s earring was in.

Em and I wandered around for awhile looking for a restaurant to have dinner in. She had her Groupon’s with her and we were trying it find someplace downtown to eat. The first place was a bar/pub/grill sort of place, it was happy hour and so was packed, we left. She had a couple of places to go, one said ‘Reservations Required’, but it was close so we stopped and they showed us to a table.

The food was billed as North African. The tables were so close together I felt like we were sitting on top of the other diners. This lady at the table next to us, every time I looked over at her she have me a look. I almost said to her, “Lady I’m almost sitting on top of you, where do you want me to look?” We were in an alcove, the waiters had to sidle in to get to the tables. The food was worth it. To a point.

We had an appetizer, toasted pita bread with dips, hummus, fava beans and yogurt with cucumbers (blech – don’t like cucumbers, Em loved it), Em tried the hummus (she liked it so much she made me buy some for her today), she got these chicken appetizer things, wrapped up with almonds, I got a veggie burger, black beans, eggplant and portobello mushrooms. I couldn’t eat it as a burger, had to eat it with my fork and it fell apart.

Then at 2 a.m., I had the worst stomachache ever. I don’t know if it was the beans, the hummus, too much of all that, or the beer I had on the way home. Beer doesn’t usually affect me this way, at least not if it’s the beer I’m used to. But I was sitting here thinking I needed to write something, and I can’t think of anything because my tummy is hurting so bad. But the food was really yummy. The waiter was slightly creepy.

That is all, says she.

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