Fish Fry

I've always been afraid of eating fish because of the fear of chocking on bones. It's an irrational fear. Also, I like fish, so it's a very annoying fear. Of course, I have learned that I can buy boneless fish from the grocery store, and slowly my fear of fish bones is diminishing. Today I decided to try my hand at frying fish. I breaded the tilapias with Zatarain's seasoned fish fri and pan fried it in some oil. It turned out pretty good and I enjoyed having fresh fish for dinner. So my moral of the story - you're never too old to overcome your fear.

Party Time

I came home to this package from House Party. I was selected to host the Kraft Ultimate Sandwich Makeover Party via House Party and this was the party kit. This feeds into my love for freebies and I get to share with others too. I love coming home to find packages at my door!

Eat Eat Eat

Tonight's dinner was salmon Wellington and no I did not make it. My local grocery store, Publix, has a little area in the fresh meat and seafood sections where they have already seasoned and created meals made from fresh meat or seafood. I love it because while I am trying to stay away from frozen prepackaged meals, I still like to make my life easier since cooking is not a major forte of mine. But I was getting a little burnt out of the same old meals and when I saw this I had to try. The verdict: it was interesting. The pastry was tasty and it had a thin layer of ground beef on top which was weird but interesting at the same time. It was a little too heavy a meal for dinner and I don't see this as a meal I'd cook often but it was a nice change.

Pizza

This was dinner today. Mondays are always difficult for me to get motivated so a quick and easy dinner usually works for me. I saw that kashi's pizzas were on sale and decided to give it a try. It was pretty tasty and is supposed to be all natural (I can only hope!). I am so ready for this week to be over so I can sleep in and do whatever I want for one whole week!

The funny thing about Margherita pizza is that it always reminds me of my days working at Planet Hollywood in Singapore. I have a love-hate relationship with that time of my life but I have so many fond memories from that point in time.

Fenced In

There are so many things I want to do but being an adult means I have obligations and responsibilities to take care of before I get to do these things. Then when I do have the time, it is about how much I can afford. I wish travelling the world would be cheaper but with the rising fuel prices it is only going to get more and more expensive. I do not want to wait until I retire. What if retirement never comes? Life is too short to keep saying "later". I guess I am feeling a little fenced in. Being an adult is tiring.

Wet Wet Wet

It has been raining all day and I am so glad to see the rain wash away the dreadful pollen. Wet rainy days are best for stationing in front of the TV and catching up with TV shows and that is what I did. It is storming hard right now and the perfect lullaby for falling asleep to.

Shopping

I couldn't resist. I have been wearing my favorite tops to the point where they look old and worn out, so it was time to shop! I also got a 30% off coupon in the mail for Kohl's which lately is the old store I seem to find clothing I like. So after work I headed to the mall. Unfortunately, the fashion for tops this time isn't much to my liking. They were drappy and grandma looking. However, I found a bunch of dresses I liked. I ended up with 2 dresses, a skirt, a shrug, and 2 tops. Total damage $88.87. But I also earned $10 in Kohl's cash.

Sandal Season

With the weather being warm and sunny lately, it was time to break out the open toe sandals. Unfortunately the one I have had been worn down so I decided it was time to splurge on a new one. I needed something comfortable yet stylish enough for work since I am often chasing after children and on my feet. So I found this pair by Clarks. Perfect sole that's cushy, and it looks good with pants and dresses. I love sandal season!

Pollen Season

The past couple days my eyes have been itching like crazy, my throat itchy, and nose a little more congested than normal. What do you know, it's pollen season. Today my eyes itched so bad, I wished I could remove them and wash them out. So out comes the anti-histamines. I should have started taking them earlier, but I hate having to take pills but today has left me with no choice. Either I go blind from scratching my eyes out or I swallow the damn pill.

Freebies

Those who know me well, know that I cannot pass up freebies. Sometimes I sign up for useless freebies but a lot of times, I get really neat ones. Today's highlight was this freebie from Target that came in the mail. I love samples because it means I get to try new things without having to buy them. Usually I never do, because I am cheap like that. Anyway, I really like the pouch it came with. Perfect for carrying my drugs around. hah!

Hot Potato, Hot Potato...

One of the reasons I am fat is because I love all things starch. Give me bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes anytime and I will be happy. Tonight was baked potato night. There's something about a piping hot baked potato with sour cream that hits the spot. I am a happy camper.

Grass

I got in the Scotts grass seed Bzzcampaign on Bzz Agent and received the kit in the mail a couple days ago. It was perfect since we have so many bare spots on our lawn especially in the backyard. This is just one of them. Hopefully the grass will take off and I can get some awesome before/after pictures.

My Crappy Car

I followed Jason to get his truck checked on so he could ride back with me. When we got there, I parked, turned on the AC and sat back to relax while he dealt with the shop owner when they come up to my car signalling for me to pop the hood. Apparently while I was sitting there, they heard a hissing sound and my radiator had burst. I guess it was perfect timing because he was able to call in for a new part and had it replaced right there. My piece of crap car once again has been saved.

The End

The empty pill bottle signifies the end of this round of steroids and antibiotics and hopefully for a very long time. I do have to say that the antibiotics that cost way too much did do it's job and I feel like myself again. Now that I am done with all these medication, it means, the party life can resume. Hah, who am I kidding? I don't have much of a party life anymore! But I can at least enjoy a drink or two every now and then without having to worry.

St. Paddy's Day

What did you for St. Patrick's Day? The kids and I made leprechaun hats, drank green milkshake and ate green cookies. Holidays are so much fun in Pre-K. Other than that I had a really long day at work and did not get home until 8ish in the evening. So no green beer for me! But I will be having that margarita really soon!

Grilling Season

With the weather warming up, grilling season has officially begun. We made burgers on the grill tonight and it hit the spot. There's something about a pink juicy burger with melting cheese on a toasted bun that makes everything alright again. OK I exaggerated but it was pretty darn good!

Washed Away

With spring in the air, so is the rain. I know we need the rain, I just wish it wouldn't rain when I am at work or having to get to work. Since my house sits on a slight elevation in the neighborhood, whenever it rains, we get a stream of water running down through the backyard and down the driveway. It is a pain because it makes one side of my backyard especially slushy, and whatever plants we plant in the line of fire ends up dead. This is a picture of a small portion of this stream of destruction. It's not a big deal, just more a nuisance, especially when I get out of my car and my shoes end up soaked from the "gushing" stream.

Green

Keeping up with my "buy myself flowers" agreement, I bought a new bouquet since the one I bought almost 3 weeks ago have pretty much started to wither and die. I decided to go with the St. Patty's Day theme since it is this Thursday and I thought the green and white flowers looked interesting. The arrangement wasn't as fancy as the ones I bought before and they were the same price, but I'm guessing I paid for the novelty. But I love it, and that's all that matters right now!

The View

This is the view I see every time I sit on the pot. I thought it would be the perfect picture to share since I have been on it way too many times these past few days. While the antibiotics have definitely gotten rid of the sinus infection, it wrecks havoc in my stomach. Perhaps, you didn't need to know all this, but it is a nice view. :)

Sunny Spring

Today was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. I spent a good chunk of the morning lazing on the back deck. It felt so good to feel the warm sun shine down on me, that is, until I got hot and went back in to watch tv. All in all a restful Saturday. Just what I needed.

Winner

I received this package at my door today. A prize pack from a contest I entered. I used to enter sweepstakes all the time and win lots of cool and sometimes useless prizes. Then life happened, I got busy, and I stopped entering. I've been missing getting something fun in the mail but I lack the energy, time and attention span to enter sweepstakes like I did back then. So I enter a few every weekend or so. This is one of 2 prizes I have won since. A perfect way to start the weekend off.

Storm Clouds

I hate cold cloudy days unless I get to stay home under the sheets. My emotion for the day equaled that of the weather. To top it off I have a runny nose, scratchy throat and worse of all diarrhea. I am not sure if it is a cold or allergy related but either way I am not too enthused because I was getting better and I do not need any of this. But life goes on, and storm clouds pass by and give way to sunny skies.

Chicken Rice

So ever since reading my sister's blog post about getting chicken rice in New Zealand, I have been craving it. I had the spice packs that came free with some other spice pack I bought so I decided to use it. It wasn't good, nor was it bad. It was easy though, and I just cooked the chicken together with the rice in the rice cooker, so hassle free and fast. I do wish I had some chicken rice chill to go with it but I made do with some lime sambal.

Exceptional

This week is Exceptional Children's Week and as a special education teacher, I could not let it pass without posting about it. Having worked with children with disabilities for the last ten years of my life, I have to say, that there is never a dull moment. I am also happy to say that while this year started out really rough, I am settling well into my role and loving it. Some days I think I am pretty darn good at what I do, and then some days I feel like I am the most unprepared teacher ever. I guess that's good. It keeps me learning, and I learn new things every day.

Loco Cocoa

Ladies and Gentleman, I am a chocoholic. I crave chocolate all the time. When I'm sad, I think chocolate, when I'm happy, I want chocolate, when I'm celebrating, I do it with chocolate. So lately instead of candy bars (which are oh so good and bad for you), I have been feeding my chocolate fix with Goldfish's Grahams Chocolate. So much for my diet, I'll blame it on the steroids!

Horse Pills

I present you the horse pills I have to take every 12 hours. They are huge, the quarter is there to emphasize just how large these damn pills are. And to add icing to the cake, they cost a whooping $90 for a 14 day supply. But I have to say, I think they are working but I have been indoors all weekend and the pollen levels have been down but that aside, I have more energy (possibly from the steroids) and my nose is not stuffed up. In fact, today has been the first day I have been clear all day. So hopefully these huge ass pills will do the job.

Incidentally, Urban Dictionary also states that in Thailand amphetamines are referred to as horse pills. But just to clarify, I am talking about their size. ;)

Dogwood

Today was a gloomy rainy Saturday. The only thing I did was run around in the morning to pick up my prescriptions of which cost way too much and burned a hole in my wallet. So with nothing better to do and achy from the steroids, I decided to step out for a bit to check the mail and take this picture of the dogwood trees across the street from my house. At least I think they are dogwood trees and if so, they are young ones. And seeing the dogwood trees bloom reminds me that the dogwood festival will be here soon, and usually always end up on our anniversary weekend. And by that time, the countdown for summer break will have begun. Little things, my friends, are what keeps me going and right now I need many little things.

Exam Room

I hate waiting for the doctor, so today's picture if of the exam room I had to wait in. I am so over being sick. The prognosis is that my sinuses are still inflamed and infected. So I will be doing another wrong of super strong antibiotics and a round of low dose steroids to quell the infection and inflammation. On the positive side, my lungs are clear, I do not have much asthma symptoms except for a cough which he determined is from post nasal drip from my sinuses. So in darkness we look at the little light shining through. My silver lining of sorts.

Stopped Again

Let me share with you a mundane part of my daily life. Every day, on my way home from work, just before I turn into the street before I turn into my sub-division/neighborhood, I have to stop at this light. It does not matter if the light is green when I am approaching it. It will never allow me to turn until I have stopped at this intersection. I used to try to beat it, but it has defeated me over and over again, so now I have been beaten into submission, and I always stop and await it to turn green. So I am sharing with you my view while I wait. On the bright side, it usually does not take very long for it to turn green and I am on my merry way and today, I was singing along to sweet child o' mine on the radio with the windows down. Life is good.

Trash Day

Since today was absolutely boring with nothing interesting to note except that it was trash day, I present you, my smelly trashcan next to my beloved mailbox. With spring in the air and plants starting to bloom, I have been plagued with headaches, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, and stuffy nose. So much fun!

Blooming

So remember the flowers I bought myself a week ago, in the bouquet, there was a stalk with 3 buds and I had no idea what kind of flowers they were. When I got home from work today, I noticed that one of them had bloomed into this beautiful flower. Of course for the life of me, I have no idea what kind of flower it is, but I love it! I also absolutely love the flowers that are still sitting on the kitchen island. I am thinking that when these die, I'll replace them with another bouquet. Life is short, why not make yourself happy with little things?