'is it worth it, let me work it....' (a.k.a. thoughts on the coming year)

it's the last day of 2009 and i'm resisting the urge to review. of course it's natural to think back on the year and ponder all the good, the bad, and the ugly, but really, this new year's eve, my heart is looking forward. i'm actually just ready for 2009 to become a series of memories so that i can forge ahead into what's next.

here are (some of) the reasons why....

1. i have some fitness and weight loss goals that i want to bring about. no time like the present to get moving!
2. i have a stack of books that are calling my name, just waiting to be read.
3. i have fun plans on the horizon in less than a month.
4. i have lots of new cookbooks to peruse and use as inspiration to create fun, healthful meals.
5. there's always the possibility of professional growth and new opportunities. at the very least, i still have a great job, and i'm super thankful for that.
6. i have some beautiful people in my life, and some of the ones who are far away, i may even get to see this year. that makes me sublimely happy.

there are probably a million more reasons, but the bottom line is this: tomorrow holds promises that today could not fulfill, and i'm ready for what lies ahead...not just what will come to me but what i can and will bring about by my hard work and dedication.

i'm well aware that some of my dreams may not come easily, but where's the satisfaction in having life handed to you like some type of freebie? putting in hard work means that, at the end of the journey, you understand the worth of what you have.

and me? i'm ready to have it all. so let's get to work!

happy 2010, everyone. may this year knock your socks off!

all wrapped up

i should be sleeping right now, and i am quite tired, but i got myself into a book that i haven't been able to put down! i'm reading one of ruth reichl's books, comfort me with apples. it's really engaging and delightfully foodie-ish. it's the first pleasure reading i've done in ages, and it's making me wistful for the days when i'll have hours of time to spend doing whatever i want!!

in the spirit of my book, i did a bunch of cooking today. for lunch i made tilapia lightly slathered in olive oil and sprinkled with a cranberry-herb salt; steamed green beans; and a small red potato that i mashed up on the plate and blanketed with shredded asiago cheese. later i seared some ordinary beef burgers (sometimes plain is best) on my grill pan and served them up with roasted grape tomatoes (apparently safe) bathed in olive oil and herbs and some cheesy macaroni bake with a breadcrumb topping. i also cut up a bunch of strawberries and bagged up some grapes to take to work with me, and with all the cooking i did, i have lunches and dinners for a few days. that feels tremendous.

today was the perfect weekend day: i slept in until about 9, showered, ordered a couple of things from online, cooked, read cookbooks, started and became engrossed in a non-school book, watched some cooking shows, caught up on DVRed programs, made some sun tea (and drank quite a bit of it, i might add), had some great phone convos (happy father's day, dad!), washed all my dinner and lunch dishes, and plan to fall into a delicious sleep thinking about words and sentences and the way that i want to someday tell a story that other people will stay up past their bedtime to read.

and speaking of bedtime, i'm off to it.

this is what i get for thinking too hard on a sunday

not 15 minutes ago, the sky was dark and foreboding and rain poured down onto the streets as the wind whipped about. now, however, the sun is beaming, the leaves are verdant and there are birds gleefully chirping outside my window. this is some kind of weird spring day we're having.

so, it's sunday, and i'm getting that old familiar feeling of having to go back to the grind tomorrow. salimah and i were out and about earlier; i got some groceries and picked up a prescription at the weg, and then we went to the bux for some coffee and just to sit and chat and take pictures with our camera phones. i'm quite sure that i should now be doing some homework to get a leg up for the week. will i or won't i? that remains the question du jour.

for dinner tonight: some crab-stuffed tilapia (wegman's made), zucchini, and some whole grain melange i bought at trader joe's a few weeks back. in all likelihood, i shall watch some episodes of 'sex and the city' and perhaps prepare a few things for breakfasts this week. oh, who knows? maybe i'll just sit on my rump and do nothing. also a viable option:).

in other news, i've realized that, when it comes to relationships i'm becoming more and more practical and fiscally minded the older i get. things that used to seem preposterous to me are now filtering through my brain and being slotted in the 'reasonable' column (because you know, one must always categorize one's thoughts and ideas...separate the wheat from the chaff....that sort of thing): prenuptial agreements, separate bank accounts, eloping, casual relationships, etc. i'm not saying that i no longer believe in love and commitment and all of that. really, i still do. i just think that one must be reasonable and must not allow sheer emotion to rule the day. heavens!

okay, i think i'm having some sort of jane austen attack. must go do something not quite so heady. grad school homework....yes, that's it.

ttfn!

monday evening's post, in which i admit that i am a complete cheeseball

it's 8:41 on a rainy monday night. it's been unseasonably cold here today (in the 40s), and i'm desperately sleepy. unfortunately, i've got pages to read before i sleep (thank you, robert frost) and very little motivation to allow my weary eyes to peruse them.

dinner tonight was so tasty. since being out in the world made me feel less than awesome today, i decided to make something a little spiffy, so i did my customary roasted butternut squash with cinnamon (tossed with orange-scented cranberries and fresh spinach after coming out of the oven); israeli couscous with herbs; and a deep, rich, saucy chicken with red wine and mushrooms. i did the dishes after dinner (yay, me!) and am now blogging to avoid reading. what else is new?

see, the truth is that i'm afraid if i go sit down to read, i'm going to fall asleep, and i really don't feel that i need that to be happening. see, there are two reasons. one is that i'm extremely studious and i would hate to miss an opportunity to do my homework (snort!) and the other? well, um....thebachelorfinaleisonat10! okay, there i said it quickly, so perhaps you won't decode it and find me dorky. well, who am i kidding? i'm a complete goober. i can't help it. i got sucked into this season. he's british....so sue me.

anyway, i should go and get SOMETHING done. *sigh* there is no rest for the weary, the wicked, or those in grad school.

summary of the last several days of my life

okay, i need a numbered list to help me out with this one:

1. i did a LOT of cooking this weekend, including making a batch of soft, buttery cookies with dried cranberries in them. i also made a pan of some fake moussaka (ground turkey, not lamb), as well as some bacon-laced pancakes. mmm. bacon. you know you want some. (as a side note, cooking is probably the one reason i haven't gone completely insane lately.)

2. i have spent a total of 8 billion hours doing schoolwork lately. seriously.

3. i am busier than ever at work and after spending 9 hours intently focusing on my work stuff, to come home and then have to intently focus on some homework is making me want to curl up under a comforter and not come out for at least 4 days.

4. i work with some truly sarcastic people. this makes me SUPREMELY happy.

5. i have a total of 3 work crushes. one of them is probably 50 and from a foreign country, but he's still dreamy. i think it's the accent. oh, and his argyle sweaters. (nb: a work crush is someone you would likely never date in real life. you just flirt shamelessly with him at the office and then move on with yourself. there is no actual interest, probably very little in common, and thoughts of him shouldn't really occur outside of work hours. then that's a real crush. you must define your terms.)

6. today i ate some cow and drank a real soda (i almost never do this anymore). it made me happy.

7. today i also used the term 'marijuana cigarette' without batting an eyelash. i feel that this means that i am a) antiquated and charming, b) some type of old-fashioned fuddy duddy, and/or c) in need of some type of intervention. (please be aware, however, that i am in no way interested in marijuana cigarettes for my own use. i was simply referencing them when someone asked the official meaning of the term 'doobie.')

thank you and goodnight.

connection

i had such high hopes for the one-a-day food blog, but after my camera was out of commission for over a week, i've abandoned the notion that i'm taking a photo a day. plus - and this is really the biggest part - i'm freaking busy. SO, i'm planning on taking pics when i can and posting them. i know. it's really not the same, but then again, this is for me, right? i get to make the rules.

it's a good thing.

speaking of food, though, can i just say - i had the nicest little dinner: crunchy breadcrumb-coated tilapia, buttered rice, and roasted green beans. on the side was a couple tablespoons of a cinnamon-cranberry-walnut compote i made tonight just for kicks. people, let me tell you - deLISH.

i washed all the dishes, managed to roast myself some poultry breakfast sausage for the rest of the week, and now i'm just hanging out until 24 comes on in roughly 50 minutes. it made me so happy to use my rice cooker tonight. with pots bubbling, pans sizzling, that little guy steaming away, and the smells of winter and homey-ness swirling all around me, i felt SO in my element. how great it is to reconnect - even if for just a few moments - with what you love.

and speaking of things i love, hellOOOO jack bauer:).