Snooty Foods Night - Bombay House

We've instituted a Snooty Foods group where we gather together and enjoy "snooty" food. This month was Indian food (sorry Lauren) at Bombay House. We took pictures of us being snooty. Here ya go.

Baby Back Ribs and so on and so forth

I am finally going to tell all of you lovelies about my weekend. We'll start with Friday night.

We went to Chilis. It was asked why we chose Chilis. The answer was because I wanted to eat there and Christy agreed with me and no one else got a say in it. I'm totally fine with how that went down.

We were a much smaller group than I anticipated, but we had a good time. Our friend Sierra from the single's ward came and met us which was fun. So that made me, Christy, Sierra, Alyssa and Jacob. We spent a long time perusing the menus. By we I don't mean me because I order pretty much the same thing every time. I'm a creature of habit. Our waitress was not awesome. It had been Sierra's birthday so I told her it was her birthday and the waitress gave me attitude and told me they didn't do anything for birthdays. I think she is a liar since I went to Chilis on my birthday like two months ago and got free Lava Cake.

Anyway, while we were eating and such, we took the opportunity to be loud and obnoxious, in the funnest sense of the words. I think people are more tolerant of loud and obnoxious if one of the loud and obnoxious people has an accent. Christy has an Australian accent. I think that confuses people and they try to listen and figure out where she is from.

Anyway, now for pictures.

Free Stuff

I'm not so advanced at this interactive blogging that I can begin to give away free stuff, but I am able to let you know when other people and/or places are giving away free(ish) stuff!

Today that would be McDonalds. I needed a quick, cheap lunch and that's pretty much one of the three options I have close to where I work. I decided I wanted a large cup of ice and I didn't want the hassle of trying to get the geniuses working there not to put ketchup on my cheeseburger so I went with the large Big Mac value meal.

I drove up to the first window and gave the lady my card. She gave me my card back AND this...

A black, classy looking Coca-Cola glass! I didn't pay enough attention to the menu to see that you get one of these puppies FREE with a large extra value meal. So that was a happy surprise. I really like that it's black. Apparently it comes in other colors as well (pink/red, blue and green I think). So yay for McDs and free glasses.

I also think this ad is funny. The 1 is blocked, but it says "100% beef. 0% anything else." Like, nutrition? Customer service and satisfaction?

**Here's a thanks to co-worker Angie who went and bought McDs for herself and her daughter for lunch so they could get me two more free glasses! Now I just need to get McDs one more time to have a set. I really can't eat there very often. And, yes, I'm a nerd.

s-a-tur-day night!

For those of you who don't know, I am in charge of activities for the Young Single Adults (ages 18-30) in my stake. For those of you from Utah, a stake in Maryland does not draw from a two block by two block area - it covers pretty much all of Southern Maryland. That's three whole counties plus a couple areas in two others. It's a huge stake. The YSA numbers, however, are not huge - which is okay for now because it makes planning more manageable on my end.

My big summer activity is over. It was a combined activity with the Glenn Dale Ward (the singles ward that I attend, which is not technically part of our stake). We had a "70s Summer Movie Night" where we ate copius amounts of unhealthy snacks, tie dyed stuff and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I am told it was very successful. I realized that I need a partner in my calling...but that should be coming soon (I hope, I hope, I hope). But, it was fun, and we tie dyed a lot of things. Everyone enjoyed the movie (which we projected up onto a sheet in the gym) as well. We hid "golden tickets" on random pieces of candy and we gave out some silly prizes which everyone seemed to enjoy. So I'm happy it went well and I'm happy it's over. Now I just need to catch up on some sleep and other things I have been putting off in order to get ready for this event. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the night (there are more on facebook for those of you interested):

The fire department came because we were having a little trouble with the popcorn machine. They were not amused by our high spirits and did not want to eat any of our popcorn.

After the activity, a couple of us went to Denny's. We had to drive 45 minutes to get there (which got us home around 1:30am) and I didn't really eat much of anything (since Denny's and I are not friends), but it was a very fun night and I'm glad we did it. Christy and I spent the night at Alyssa's that night, which gave us lots of fun girly time. Getting ready for church in the morning reminded me of happy times at BYU with roommates. We swapped earrings and told each other how great we looked. It definitely speeds up the preparation process to have people there telling you how hot you are and helping you make quick decisions on important things like which shoes to wear. I really am happy to have Christy and Alyssa here right now. They are an answer to my prayers and I'm glad we all make the time to hang out together.

Pizza Pizza

This post is not about Little Caesars or Brick Oven pizza. I'm talking real, honest to goodness, tres delish pizza.

When I was in Utah in March for Miri's wedding, I went out to dinner with Curt. Curt is one of those people who is totally content and not weirded out by going out to eat or to the movies alone. He goes and looks for new, fun places to eat. That's how we found "our place"(Ultimate Broiler and Grill - delish Greek food) a few summers ago. He texted me a while back and said he found a fancy new place to go to when I came to visit so we went HERE. Pizzeria 712. It is hidden in that new complex on State street in Orem, one of the only things open there when we were there in March. But it was SO GOOD.

It's small and cozy, but posh. Something you would expect from NYC. The chefs and the oven are clearly visible behind the bar and there are as many tables as possible squished into the space. Curt loved the bathroom. haha. He made me go into the ladies room before we left even though I didn't really need to just to see the design. It was really nice. It reminded me a lot of Paris. They brought out small glasses with carafes of water. The pizza was amazing. Simple and yummy. We had what amounted to a meat lovers - only the meat was prosciutto and something else I can't remember how to spell. If you live in Utah (or are ever in Orem) - go to Pizzeria 712. It's a fun atmosphere with delicious food. (check out the menus - and the times. Nothing more than $12)

My next favorite pizza place is California Pizza Kitchen, but not because of the pizza. Although the pizza there is very good (it doesn't compare with the above mentioned pizza) my heart belongs to the Thai Crunch Salad (half size, with avocado) with a Hummus appetizer. It's good every time. I love all the crunchy bits in the salad. Thai crunchy noodles, peanuts, and those weird white crunchy things. And it has edamame. So. Freaking. Good.

So now that I've made myself incredibly hungry so these specific foods. I'm going to go pretend it's not only 10:30 in the morning and try to make it to lunch time when I will probably be feasting on the tres chic Way of the Sub.

{something} is {a vegetable}

This blog is called "Fashion is Spinach," which reminds me of the quote wall...specifically the quote, "Celery is porn."

There's an explanation and clear connection between celery and porn (you use more calories than you get when you eat celery - porn takes more from you than it gives, therefore celery is LIKE porn ergo celery IS porn). I'm curious to know how fashion is spinach? Are we talking in terms of Popeye? If we open up a can of fashion will it suddenly make us posh and glamorous? If so, where can I purchase said can? If I mix fashion with artichoke hearts and cream cheese will it too make a tres delish side dish that is yummy with chicken or steak? More importantly, does it work the other way around? Will we soon be seeing top fashion models walking down the runway in spinach-esque outfits? Will it be leafy green or frozen?

So many questions...

More food updates

Cottage cheese is amazing. haha. Some cottage cheese and a nutri-grain bar filled me up much better than just the eggs. I might need to make more eggs and add more cheese next time I have that for breakfast since that's all I'll eat. Or maybe I'll have eggs and cottage cheese but that sounds like an icky combination. The nutri-grain bar was crumbly and soft with only slightly more chewing than a soft potato so that is good.

Lunch today will be mashed potatoes and creamed corn. I love creamed corn so that is exciting. Then tonight for dinner I'm trying corned beef hash and eggs. Should be filling and mushy. Hopefully the can stuff doesn't taste too bad.

Here's the most annoying part. All I'm hungry for is stuff I can't eat. Things like jerky (which seem to be everywhere I go) and peanut butter crackers and hard crust bread. Boo.

I also slept with that mouth guard and it's only annoying when I'm awake or partially awake. Blech.

So, it's day two and I am noticing a slight difference, although relaxing my jaw still takes some focus - Next up on the therapy list - warm, damp compress.

Isn't my life just so amazingly exciting?! This play by play is keeping you on the edge of your seats I'm sure.

soft food update

thanks for the suggestions! my outlook is more positive now.

after a day of feeling like I was starving approximately every hour and a half, I went to Wal Mart and picked up the following:

creamed corn
nutra grain bars (should be soft enough - at least I'm hoping)
cottage cheese
snack packs
apple sauce

in addition to eggs, potatoes (mashed, which i ate tonight thanks to my amazing sister), soup, and whatever else I can find that's soft enough, these things should give me some energy/snacking options throughout the day.

And, Annie, I chew eggs, don't you worry. haha. They are just really soft and I'm eating them scrambled which makes them into small, manageable pieces. Appetizing, no?

P.S. I also got a mouth guard to sleep in. It is not comfortable and I am afraid I'm going to wake up drenched. Yuck. Hopefully this therapy will correct whatever is going on with my jaw so I don't have to do this often...or ever again.

I need YOUR help!

Today starts my amazing soft food/liquid diet as part of my TMJ therapy. I'm not supposed to chew anything harder than mashed potatoes...which basically means no chewing for an entire week.

Having said that, what, pray tell, do I eat?

This is what I have had so far on day 1:

eggs
jello
milkshake
eggdrop soup

I'm going out to the movies tonight and have no idea what I will eat for dinner. The easiest option is another egg meal - but that's far too many eggs in one day. I'd like to continue to enjoy eggs after this week. Also, with such limited choices, I'm really hungry - I need a more filling breakfast option (will have to stop and buy some oatmeal) and some more snacks so I can just eat a little here and there throughout the day (maybe some yogurt and cottage cheese). But, as it is with eggs, if those are the only things I'm eating for an entire week, chances are I will never want to eat those things again.

On top of everything else, I am a carb-o-holic. I want bread and pasta. Those eggs this morning would have been perfect IF I was allowed toast. That eggdrop soup I just finished (which was pretty filling, just not an option for everyday) would have tasted delish IF I could have eaten the crunchies that came with it.

But I'm strong. I can do this for one lousy week.

So, now I'm asking you, any ideas for soft foods and/or filling liquids - keeping in mind that I work in Dunkirk (which has two grocery stores, a McDs, Arby's, a pizza place and a Subway) and I can be a picky eater.

Although I did just think that I should make some loaded mashed potatoes - get some more cheese in the diet.

Well, wish me luck. This should be a "fun" week.