Simple math equations

Shorter work weeks + longer weekends= happy Anita

One Powerball ticket + seven matching numbers= happy Anita

Ah, the power of delusional positive/wishful thinking...

What's cookin', good lookins'? :-) How were your weekends? Mine's been pretty decent! The weather today was amazing- it might have reached 60 degrees! It was wonderful!!! I have fun new food finds, product reviews, and book updates to bring you up to speed on, so get comfy... this is a long post!!! :-)

FRIDAY:

I had a pretty good day at work on Friday. No drama, no stress, just the way every Friday should be! And it's our pay Friday, so everyone was in an extra-happy mood. It was a nice way to start the weekend.

On the way to the gym, I tried out one of the new Luna White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars that are all the rage. I liked it... it kind of reminded me a little bit of a supersweet Rice Krispy treat. My two complaints are that I wish it had had a few more macadamia nuts (although that could have just been that particular bar), and I didn't really find it all that filling. I have found that to be the case with Luna bars in general- I like them in terms of flavor, but I don't think they're a very filling snack. I think it's because they have a lot of sugar and not a lot of protein. In any event, I did think it was tasty and enjoyable!

Dinner was a standby favorite- salmon burger, sweet potato, and broccoli/carrots. No pic because I eat this constantly. But I DID enjoy it while watching the first disc of Season 1 of Gimme a Break. I gotta tell you, for a sitcom that's almost 30 years old, I still found it pretty damn funny! Maybe even more so now, because I get more of the jokes now that I'm older, haha. That Nell Carter was one sassy housekeeper... and she sure did like her men! Haha. Some of it's pretty cheesy, and the clothes are hysterical, but still pretty entertaining! I already added the other discs into my Netflix queue and should be getting the next one sometime this week. LOL!

SATURDAY:

I tried out one of my new Kashi cereals for breakfast- Kashi Honey Crunch Mighty Bites. I thought it was delicious! Very light taste, with a hint of honey that made it sweet but not overly sweet. They weren't that filling on their own, but for breakfast today I added in 1/2 cup of Fiber One, and boy, did that do the trick! I didn't get hungry for lunch until about five hours later!

After breakfast I went to get the oil changed in my car. I was there for longer than I expected because they had discovered the one of my taillights was out, so they replaced that. Good thing I brought my book, because I was there for an hour! Afterwards I swung by Trader Joe's to grab some bread for lunches for work. I also grabbed some frozen mango for kicks and giggles. :-) I love mango and hadn't had it in a while, so I thought it would be a nice treat.

Lunch was a microwaved Egg McMuffin with a Laughing Cow wedge and broccoli:

With more broccoli on the side, and salsa and ketchup for dipping excitement. The rest of the afternoon was low-key and uneventful.

I tried a new product for dinner that's been in my cupboard for a while now:

Kashi's Original Pilaf. I'm dying to try the Fiery Fiesta and Moroccan Curry flavors but can't find them anywhere.... I had struggles just finding this one! I couldn't find it at any supermarket. I finally stumbled across it at Target. I opted to cook it in the microwave, because I am lazy. I stir-fried some shrimp and peppers and onions to go along with it and added a bit of curry powder and chili pepper sauce:

I really liked it a lot! I'll definitely be picking up another one on my next Target run! :-)

SUNDAY:

I spent the morning running errands! First stop was Wal-Mart. On the way to Wal-Mart, I heard one of my absolute favorite rock-out-in-the-car songs, "Jukebox Hero", by Foreigner. That's how I knew it was going to be a good day. I most definitely channeled my inner Pat Benatar and rocked out. I'm sure that the other drivers were amused. :-D I picked up my usual Wal-Mart items- sugar-free instant oatmeal (my new favorite nighttime snack), sugar-free lemonade mix, sparking water, etc. And I also got a little lavender calming spray for only $2. I have a really hard time going to bed at a decent hour, and while Melatonin helps me sleep soundly, it doesn't always make me feel tired. I've heard that lavender scents are really calming and relaxing, so I figured I'd spray this on my bed about an hour or so before I went to bed. Hey, worst case scenario, my bed will smell pretty, right? :-)

And then I went grocery shopping... one of my favorite things to do! I restocked on my usual faves and staples- bananas, sweet potatoes, frozen veggies, veggie burgers, Boca crumbles, soy chips, etc. My favorite brand of popcorn was on sale, so I had to get on that, of course. And I treated myself to a pint of raspberries. I miss fresh berries!

And here was the shopping trip "splurge":

Has anyone tried these? I was craving a soft cookie that I could have as a dessert (and I only like soft cookies- I'm not that big on crunchy/crispy cookies... I'd rather have a nice soft chewy cookie any day of the week!), and I'd been craving a kind of fig-like cookie, like Fig Newtons... and then I came across these, and they were on sale! I don't buy Newman's products often- they're kind of expensive- but I like that all the proceeds go to charity. And these are soft, with figs, raisins, and molasses. It sounded just like the kind of cookie I've been craving lately! I'm excited to try them. :-) I'll bet they'd be extra-tasty after being zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds... I guess I'll have to find out!

I came home and unloaded and organized all my new goodies, had another Egg McMuffin for lunch (same ingredients, same everything, so no pic), and went to the gym for a quick little workout- I rode the stationary bike. Then I tried to get my haircut, and I went to the SuperCuts down the street, and they wouldn't take me! They said that they weren't taking any new customers because they closed at 5. But it was only 4, and I just wanted a trim... I didn't even want a blowdry because I live 30 seconds away from the place, and was going to come home and do it myself! Boo-hiss. By then I was tired and grumpy and had to pee, so I just went home. I'll go next weekend. I HAVE to go though. I feel like my split ends are mocking me. :-)

While at the gym, I finished Tender at the Bone. Yes, FINISHED! I tell ya, I'm just a little reading machine these days! Okay, so my thoughts:

Overall, I liked it. I did. The author really portrayed vivid descriptions of the people in her life, scenery (she does a lot of traveling in the book), etc. The author has definitely led an interesting life. That's for sure. She went to college in the 60s and experienced segregation and political rallies with her friends, lived in a commune in Berkeley in the 70s, etc. And she's got a good sense of humor. And I thought it was cool that there were little recipes scattered throughout the book, one per chapter, although admittedly, every single one of them was a recipe that I know I will never, ever make, like fried oysters, Bouef la Bourguigonne, Apple Dumplings made with lard, etc. Stuff I don't even think I'd enjoy eating, let alone cooking, haha. But nice of her to share.

My complaints about the book? Typing/grammatical errors. That drives me insane. Also, I thought it ended rather abruptly. Not in that cliffhanger, what-happens-next way either. The book was just... over. Like she didn't feel like writing anymore.

Also, I have this thing with memoirs- all memoirs in general. Authors bring in so many people into their memoirs, and some stay throughout the book and you know what happens to them, and others just disappear because their time in that person's life is over or come to a close, and I always wonder in the back of my mind what happened to them, those "minor" players in a person's life that shows up for a chapter or two and then is gone, like the best friend from high school, first college boyfriend, first boss, etc. But again, that's something I do with every memoir or biography. Does anyone else do that too, or can I just go ahead and add that to my list of silly little quirks? :-)

Bottom line? Pretty good, but glad I only paid $1 for it! I do look forward to reading the other two books of hers that I have.

And with that, I bestow to you what was my next pick:

The Don't Sweat Guide for Graduates, by Richard Carlson. He writes a whole little series about not sweating everything- life, relationships, work, family, getting married, kids, etc. This is for college graduates, which I clearly bought at that time. In fact, I remember buying it in my college bookstore.

I might thumb through it, but I'm not really considering this my "next new read". I think the timeframe might have passed on me for this one and I might be a little too old for it at this point. I've been in the working world for five years, and so I'm not really "sweating" what to do after college anymore. But I'll probably thumb through it and then put it aside for my sister for when she graduates college.

That being said, I picked another random title:

Toxin, by Robin Cook. I've had this book for so long that I have absolutely no idea where it came from or when I got it. Has anyone ever read anything by this author? I never have, but I hear good things about him, so I'm optimistic. Anyway, so Robin Cook apparently writes medical thrillers/mysteries, a genre that is new to me. This particular novel is about a doctor's daughter becoming affected with E.Coli, and the doctor goes undercover and investigates the meat-packing industry trying to target where the virus came from, and is exposed to the world of the meat industry, what really goes on behind the scenes at slaughterhouses, etc. I rarely eat red meat, but I have a feeling that after I read this book, I'll probably never want to eat it again. It's also a little ironic to be reading this particular book after coming off a food memoir, no? :-)

So that's my new read. I'll keep you posted on what I thought. No pun intended. :-P

All right, that'll do it for me tonight... I'm off to get stuff organized for the upcoming work week, make some dinner (Kashi Pilaf leftovers), do some journal writing, and put my new lavender spray to the test and go to bed! Have a good final few weekend hours... make them count!!! :-)