The Struggle is Real

I've been struggling with being happy lately. And by "lately" I mean the past month plus. So today, I'm going to list the little things I should be happy about.

1. It's Friday. No explanation needed. 
2. Fall is coming, and it's my favorite season. Pumpkin everything, crisp cool air, cardigans and boots, fairs. 
3. Speaking of cardigans, I wore one today so I wouldn't freeze my tuckus off at work (again). 
1. It makes me happy because it's so soft. 
2. And, because I'm so warm.
4. Speaking of freezing my tuckus off at work, the executive assistant purchased a desk heater for me so now I can have my own bubble of warmth.
5. I tried a couple new recipes lately that were wonderfully delicious (shrimp coconut curry and chicken enchiladas), and found a couple more that sound great! 
6. I'm going canoeing tomorrow with the SO on a date day, because we suck majorly at those. Packing a little picnic lunch, sun screen and bug spray. Now just the rain needs to go away!
7. I think after the canoeing we're going to try to catch the hot air balloon launch in Plainville. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures! 
8. Next weekend is a long weekend for me. Yay holiday!

A Beautiful Mess Indeed

I decided to try an overnight cold brew iced coffee, and opted for a recipe found on A Beautiful Mess.

Her recipe calls for the usual coffee to water ratio, but adds two tablespoons of spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger or a combination of the three. The addition of spices won me over.

I brewed mine last night with two tablespoons of cinnamon, and added two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk this morning. It was heaven in a cup! Unfortunately, none of these blogs warn you how MESSY it is to filter the cold brewed coffee the next morning! I'm sure I can find a more effective solution moving forward -I'll definitely be doing this again!

Notes: The recipe calls for 5 oz of coffee to 2.5 quarts water. I only had a pitcher that held 2 quarts, so I used 4 oz. I don't have a food scale (I hope to rectify that soon!), so I measure out 1 1/4 cups of ground coffee for the 4 oz. I used this chart to help me determine the proper ratio.

Other Note: This makes a coffee concentrate! Dilute it to your taste, otherwise you may be so over-caffeinated you'll feel like the top of your head will vibrate off. I speak from experience.


(credit: www.thugkitchen.com)

Shame

Quite a bit ashamed I had a delicious piece of blueberry pie for breakfast this morning - from Bishop's Orchards. Yum.

A little bit ashamed to admit that Skrillex can always get me pumped to focus on my work again. No classical "focus" music here.

Not at all ashamed to admit I twirled around like a ballerina in the pool last night, multiple times. I may have also been overheard asking "Is this almost like real swimming?" Something about a swimming pool turns me into a relaxed, grinning child again.

Am I Too Turtle for the Turtle Club?

Wednesday night I attended my first book club Meetup in Wallingford. I learned two things quickly.

1) You put 26 awkward turtles in one room, and it can be very awkward. Case in point, the girl next to me asked me what I do for work. My reply was "I'm a pricing analyst and forecast analyst for a manufacturing company in Watertown." Brief, concise, and free of details no one cares about. Her reply? "Oh, you're one of those people who make my eyes glaze over when you discuss work." Ummm...ok? Also, when I initially walked into our reserved room, it closely resembled a much older version of a high school dance. Boys on one side, girls on the other, with some people awkwardly attempting to hug the outer perimeter of the room. Possible explanation: no one had an alcoholic beverage in their hand yet, and our ringleader hadn't yet arrived.

2) I can push my social anxiety to one side and have a good time. (With the assistance of the aforementioned alcoholic beverages.) I ended up making small talk (shudder) with a couple girls, and a more in-depth discussion with one other. I signed up to go to trivia in the middle of June, which is a maximum of 12 people. Hopefully it'll be easier to get to know people more in-depth in a smaller group. We'll see!

Now if I could only convince them a nerd game night is in order...

Friends, Frigidity and First World Problems

I'm big on alliteration lately. It started with my "Bocce ball bitches!" post on Instagram last Sunday and hasn't stopped since. Bear with me. Speaking of Instagram, follow me there! jojobeect

I have come to the conclusion that I need to make some Connecticut friends of my own. I have always been friends with friends of my significant other, but I learned the hard way with my divorce that those friends tend to stay with the significant other. And I end up...rather alone. I'm not an overly social person, but I do like to hang out every now and again. I'm friends with K's friends, but they tend to be very YOUNG friends. Sometimes I want a glass of wine and "adult" talk vs. a beer and planning our summer road trips, y'know? So I decided to join a social book club in Wallingford. The first event I planned to attend was last night - and I didn't go. I convinced myself I didn't feel like being social all evening, and bailed. Behold, an introvert at her finest. I RSVPed yes to a gathering next Wednesday as well, and I will go. I hope. I think.

My office is the typical crappy office - the AC functions at a level of either too warm or too cold. There is no "just right". The past week or so it's been quite warm, so the complainers really revved up their complaining. It reaches such a fevered pitch yesterday, the maintenance guy "fixed" the AC. Now I'm convinced I will never feel my toes again. Goodbye, dear toes. It's been a good run.

My intangible pile of electronic work is piling up this morning, so back to the grind for this girl. 1.75 days until the long weekend! #firstworldproblems

Goin' Veggie Week 2

So far, so good ! Making some Swiss Muesli for my breakfasts for the week, and I have some Roasted Vegetable and Israeli Couscous Salad in the works right now. Recipes to be shared later...timer is beeping!

Swiss Muesli
I had something very similar (I hope) to this while in Hungary, and it was amazing. Hopefully this will be as good! I added some golden raisins and coconut to mine.

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 -2 apple, peeled and grated
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup low-fat yogurt (any flavour you wish)

Directions:

1 Combine oats, milk and honey and leave soaking in the refrigerator overnight.
2 Next morning, add the grated apple, hazelnuts and yogurt.

Israeli Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables

I forgot my feta at work with the other dairy I picked up on lunch today, but even without it, the bit I tried tonight was amazing. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow! 

Yield: Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

1 small eggplant, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 cups water
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups dry Israeli Couscous
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup feta cheese
For the Balsamic Dressing:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. To roast the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, onion, and garlic on a large baking sheet. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 30-35 minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally. Remove vegetables from the oven and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring three cups of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, stir in the Israeli couscous. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until couscous is just tender, with a slight bite, about 10 to 13 minutes. Drain into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine couscous and roasted vegetables. Stir in the basil and feta cheese.
4. To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over couscous and vegetables and stir until well combined. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

 

Wednesday Thoughts...

1. You know that moment when you leave work a bit late, end  up getting stuck in traffic because of an accident, and you just hope your husband beat the accident so maybe  he's home already to let the dog out? Then you look in your rear view mirror, and he's right behind you? No? I do. :-( lol
2. What about that moment when you go to check on your potentially lovely roasted vegetables, after they've been in the oven almost an hour? You can't figure out why they're not sizzling and delicious, until you realize they've been sitting in a rapidly cooling oven for an hour because you turned the oven off when you took your husband's dinner out. Not familiar with that one either? You're missing out. :-)