Biggest Loser (Not Looser NIcole)

At work, we've all decided that we're tired of being fat. Some more fat, some more tired. All a matter of perspective I guess.

I of course signed right up. Me being a bit over weight and all.

There was a minimum entry fee of only $10, but with thirty people in, makes for a fabulous cash prize in the the end

The winner will be determined by who loses the largest percentage of weight between now and April 15. Hopefully, I weigh in before Emily's birthday cake. Or not, any leftovers might as well be on death row.

Some people have complicated yet sensible strategies, like keeping food diaries and working out. Which is way too complicated.

Others have opted for strategies like fasting or working out until their exhausted. Too drastic for me.

Me, I'm a simple girl, so easy is the best way to go. And I don't like to be uncomfortable. So starving and sweating really would be more than I want to take on right now. Originally, I thought of going back on the TrimSpa and energy drink diet. But, I can't buy TrimSpa at walmart. And if I have to buy it on the internet and wait (because we all know how patient I am), I'm going have to pass.

So plan is, and I do have one, to stop drinking pop. Not more gas station food. For me, that is like eliminating an entire food group. But it's for a good cause, cash.

As for fitness, I bought Appetite for Destruction for my iPod. It is the rockinest work out/running cd evar. For a little variety, I might buy Republica next. We'll see how this goes.

So far, I've lost eight pounds which is about 4% of my starting weight. (For you nonmathletes, I started at 159)

I'll keep everyone posted. If I win, I'm buying doughnuts for everyone.

Hippie Stew

After much searching and agonizing and cussing, I finally got all the ingredients to my Hippie stew

1 large red onion

1 large yellow onion

Mushrooms, lots of them and in different varieties

half a bag baby carrots

1 stick butter (sorry vegans)

Some fresh green bean if you like

A few heaping table spoons of flour

1 cup merlot

1 box vegetable broth

1 box mushroom broth

salt

pepper

sage

oregano

garlic

other spices hiding in the cabinet next to the stove

In a large soup pan, melt the butter over low heat.

Slice the onions

After the butter melts, but isn't scorched, add the onions. (if I had real garlic, I would add some diced garlic at this time, but I didn't)

Cook the onions until they're mushy (technical term there, I swear)

While the onions are cooking, wash and chop the mushrooms.

(If you're using some dried wild mushrooms, soak them in water or wine)

Add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, sage, thyme, season salt

Stir it up

Add three or four heaping spoonfuls of flour and mix until you have an oiniony mess

Add the mushrooms (including the juice)

Add the broths and wine

Stir

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally

Add green bean, carrots, and other fresh vegetables

Simmer for a while

I would say share and enjoy, but since I didn't bother to add meat, no one else in the family will eat it

Amytopia Movie Awards

I've managed to see more movies this summer than I have in a long time. It can be a good way to kill a couple of hours. Or a horrible let down. Since I'm bored and all ready made my nocturnal trip to Wal-Mart and caught up on Project Runway and I don't feel like sewing, here are my 2009 (so far movie awards

OMG! That was Awsome: Star Trek. Fantabulous reset of an old favorite. The effects were awesome. The story bring a little humanity to Spock.

Honorable Mention: Zombieland, Up!, and The Wrestler

Great, Now I Really Need a Beer To Cry In: The Wrestler. For an ugly guy, Mickey Rourke can act.

Honorable Mention: Up!

German Shepherd Head Tilt: Terminator. Great action, awesome story, until the end. Really needed a better ending. Goes to show a Hollywood ending doesn't make for a good story

Surprise, It Didn't Suck: Land Of The Lost. Could have waited until it came out on DVD, but it didn't suck

I Want My Two Hours and Twenty Bucks Back: Shorts. Nickelodeon's feature was a kid movie that felt like it was written by twelve year olds.

Office Barbrady, "Nothing to see here." Award: Surrogates. Bruce Willis as a police detective with a damaged home life. Yeah, same song different verse.

Honorable mention, G-Force. Disney animal film. Hamsters save the world.

No Hit Wonder

Recently, I purchased a new mp3 player. OK, not recently, I bought at the Circuit City failure sale, but just now getting a chance to use it.

I ripped most of the cds I own to my new laptop. (Yeah, I really needed to buy one those too) And then I set about finding more music on the Internet, only a legal and authorized sites like amazon.com, walmart.com(they have the best prices), etc.

The nice way to describe my musical taste is eclectic. A more accurate term is schizophrenic dj.

If you were to get your slimy (not Sliimy) hands on my collection, it might just drive you a little batty, if not down right crazy.

There is the usually collection of hair bands(Journey, Nickelback), hard rock (Cabo, Slayer), country pop(Big and Rich, Brad Paisley), mega acts (Beyonce, Green Day), odd balls (Rehab, the band not the song, Rednex) and pretty much everything in between.

So, I was searching for songs I love, songs I like, songs i forgot, and songs I never heard of before. Some of the gems I've discovered or recovered include such classics as Covens's One Tin Soldier or Paris Hilton's Stars are Blind. And who doesn't love the rousing sing along (at the top of your lungs) quality of You Don't Have to Call Me Darling, Darlin'?

Sometimes I don't even know what triggers a search, by artist or song. A song clip during a commercial or a US Weekly fresh scandal might explain the presence of Britney Spears, Eminem, and Whitney Houston. (Wait, I don't think I have any Whitney.)

Anyway, whilst checking out perezhilton.com, my interest was peaked by Jessica Simpson. She's a singer, or so I thought. After a little search, I realized I don't know any of her songs. Oh, there are a couple of cover songs and a bunch of Christmas songs, but nothing original that I recognized.

That does not bode well for Jessica. Seriously, not one song title stood out. I love a one hit wonder, Mambo No. 5, anyone? I even have a few (ok, a lot) of songs by obscure artists few people ever heard of, Dear and the Headlights, Amy LaVere, The Beat Farmers or Jane Child ring a bell?

So, unless Miss Simpson starts worrying more about music and less about men, she may be destined to be a no hit wonder.

Oh, wait, I do own some of the shoes she designed. She put her name on. Whatever

Purpose, direction

My friend Carrie thinks she has finally found her calling. That passion that Oprah is always telling us to find. Carrie has the advantage that she doesn't have to work. So she dove into making pillow case dressed. She found her passion and ran with it.

With the down turn of the economy, the USPS is offering a modest buyout opportunity. There are people ready to retire that plan to take it. There are a few with a few years invested in the career that are taking the money and starting over. The surprising thing is the few people that are wanting to take the money, resign, and never look back. The are looking at the money is a little cushion and an opportunity to follow their passion.

Now I'll admit to having a passion, several of them actually. They doesn't pay well. Seriously, how many people get sit around all day watching television and get paid. I can even multi task, I can sit in front of the big screen TV with my laptop and watch the latest episode of Project Runway (oh how I missed Tim and Heidi) while surfing the Internet. Sometimes serious news or weather, but usually facebook, twitter, or other time wasting site.

To push the limit, I can text while I'm waiting for updates. And transferring music to my phone or music player. Yeah, I'm that good. As far as a profitable passion, yeah still looking

note to Keebler: jalapeno flavor over whelms the whole box

Food For Thought, or not

Recently several people at work were forcibly transferred due to lack of work. (Actually not, since they got called back right before the warden flipped the switch.) So, in an attempt to bid them bon voyage, we threw together a little carry in.

Every Bobby Flay wanna be has dreams of putting together the ultimate carry in success. No left overs and people asking for the recipe. Of course when feeding thirty people, a recipe has to be fairly simple, transport well, and hopefully be inexpensive. Unless you really like your coworkers, then time and money don't matter. Or you're uber competitive and then make sure to serve it in your finest china.

Me, I usually almost forget and just grab a bag of chips or a couple boxes of cookies on the way in. In the rare times I actually remember to make something, I opt for cheap and simple. Kind of like my brother's first two wives.

So I decided to make my soon to be legendary Pizza Dip. And I'm not one to measure anything so good luck with this.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 package diced pepperoni (or cooked Italian sausage. Or raw if you want a trichinosis outbreak)

1 jar pizza sauce

1 can diced Italian seasoned tomatoes, well drained and rediced, because Red Gold cans them in chunks

Mix it all up, bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes (or you can microwave it for about ten, whatever works for you)

Save a handful of mozzarella and sprinkle it on top to make it pretty

Serve with Club crackers or those crunchy bread sticks or pretzel sticks or sliced Italian bread

Now, if you know your crowd, throw in a can of drained mushrooms or diced green peppers or some green onions. That crowd would not include my brothers, they're kind of picky eaters.

Back to the Grindstone

Some lucky South Carolinian just won Power Ball. That means I, nor any one I am related to, won the quarter of a billion dollars. Too bad, I had all ready spent most of it. It would have been nice.

I could have paid off the credit cards. Of course I wouldn't require them anymore, so I wonder what the fee is to shove a card up a CEO's rectum is up to these days? I won't be finding out anytime soon.

And that tropical island I was eyeballing in the South Pacific, the Caribbean is too close for my tastes, isn't an option. No Mai Tais and cabana boys. No watching the sunset or sunrise from my private beach. Nope, looking like another cold and snowy winter in norther Indiana.

And a car I want, not one the one I settled on. Not that the roller skate is horrible, but I want a Range Rover. Or an Escalade. Something big and obnoxious. For a few weeks, then my hippiness would take over and I'd hire someone to convert it to a hybrid. I'd be rich, I could do what i want.

And my job. The one that doesn't feel like they need me, yet occasionally offers me overtime. The one that pays well, but still hasn't decided where they need me the most. Yeah, that one. I'll be back Sunday night.

Maybe, the next jackpot is only twenty million. Ten if you take the cash payout. After taxes, I might get to keep 2.5 to 3 million of that. Enough to pay everything off and follow my passion. Once i find it.