Oops

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Oops is right. Guess I was in too much of a hurry yesterday to give some deets on the new J-O-B.

Truth is, I don’t want to tell TOO much about it. But I can tell you that it’s and Accounting Coordinator position for an industrial company. I’m really excited about it because I’ll essentially be the only person in my department, so I can really organize everything the way I want it. And the perks aren’t bad either! Good hours, benefits, and the dress code is up to me (ok, he didn’t word it like that, but he said I could wear jeans or ‘whatever’ so you know I’m having a field day at the mall)

Today is my last weekday of unemployment and I’m both excited and sad. I’m really ready to get to work, but after having all this time at home, I’m going to miss taking the puppies out for long adventures. And naps. And all-day pajama wearing.

Another thing I’m REALLY going to have to work on now is meal planning. I’ll have to get back to sitting down each weekend and planning our upcoming wee’k dinners, and also prepping lunches and snacks for work. Which reminds me, I need to buy a lunchbox. Or lunch pail. Or whatever they’re called these days.

On to other topics…

Two words. Sound like Schmike Yuelmand. Guesses? If you guessed Nike Fuelband, you would be correct. The dang think broke AGAIN!

Tyler got me the first one for Christmas, and by January it already busted. (Tip: Don’t plug it into the wall. It needs to be plugged into something with a time clock. The instructions don’t tell you that.) I called customer service and they were SUPER nice and sent me a replacement right away.

This time, I pressed the button to see how many fuel points I earned and it said ‘Memory Low Sync’ so I plugged it into my computer and got an error message right away. Customer Service said it was a hardware issue that couldn’t be troubleshooted so they’re sending me yet ANOTHER band.

Couple of things with this situation:

NIKE customer service has been AWESOME. I honestly don’t mind speaking with them to have an issue resolved.
HOWEVER>>>>I’m not a huge fan of the fact that I’m on my third band in 8 months.

That said, anyone have suggestions on possible alternatives to the fuel band? I really do love tracking my activity and I love how simple this band is. I really don’t want to invest in something that’s $$$$$ or complicated to navigate.

(insert 4 hour delay in typing this post while I got to the mall)

….and buy this stuff:

3 pairs of pants, a pair of jeans, leggings, 2 dresses, 3 tops, a sweater and a belt. I’m a FANTASTIC bargain shopper. In fact:

Yes, yes. This is what all that education prepared me for. Shopping. Shopping for clothes for the job which I acquired with the same education.

BARBECUE FRIENDS (OR: TOMATO FRIENDS)

Please go slice a tomato in half. Drizzle with EVOO/S&P and slap that sucker on the grill. You’ve love it. And me for telling you about it.

Funny little tweet I sent out earlier today that has yet to generate response (I obviously know the answer, I’m just trying to be funny AIGHT?!)

LAST THING BEFORE I LEAVE YOU TO YOUR WEEKEND:

I want to try to reach 200 Like on my Facebook page. And if I do, I’ll be hosting a giveaway (I know, pretty crummy I’ve never hosted a giveaway before, but umm I’m not sponsored by any company nor did I have any money to personally send you anything anyways.) But since I got this jobbity job, I feel I could scrounge up a few pennies and send one lucky winner something pretty sweet- just not sure yet what it’ll be. So tell all your friends to go like my page so we can get this giveaway started.

Have a great weekend!

Recent Gets

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Lots to show you guys today.

Today started bright and early at the gym with a nice and sweaty spin session.

Towards the end of my workout, the alarms went off and it turns out someone got hurt near the treadmills. Kind of scary, but there were tons of people rushing to their side. Hope he’s ok!

Fast forward a bit, and I got myself ready for the day.

I first had to drop of some stuff at the Y downtown, then I figured I’d get my ring cleaned while I was in the area.

Nice and sparkly!

Next up, the mall. I party fouled and walked into Lululemon first to try on my coveted jacket. Tyler, if you’re reading this, size 8. Thanks

Le sigh. It was so comfy and wonderful and delicious.

My only purchases from a 2 hour stint was a thermal shirt and hat. Both on SUPER discount sale.

Since I’m sharing some material good with you all, I might as well tell ya what came in the mail. First, my Sephora order:

How to Look the Best at Everything by my favorite makeup brand ever, Benefit

Because I ordered this online, I got a sweet freebie bag along with it:

6 perfume samples, some eye shadows, mascara, toner, and some oils. Not too shabby!

And….my Glymm box! Before moving to Calgary, I was OBSESSED with getting my Birchbox every month (they only deliver to the US). After being here for nearly 9 months, I finally came across a similar monthly subscription service for Canadians!!! Woo hoo!! This was what I got in my November box:

Fancy Schmancy shampoo and conditioner (good timing with my ‘new’ hair!), deep blue polish (appropriately named The New Black), body scrub, and perfume.

Now on to some of my crafting accomplishments:

I actually saved a couple of the boxes from my Birchbox subscription and repurposed them into gift boxes! How smart am I? A coat of paint, glue, and glitter. The end.

A yarn wreath:

And some Christmassy pots that have been sealed with a pottery spray that has a been of sheen.

(Source)

No, not that kinda sheen. The shine:

Now it’s time for me to get started on dinner. Bacon is involved.

(Source) <—almost wrote bacon right there.

If the boot fits..

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Friday, internets!

The sun is shining and I am in a good mood (rare). Tyler gets outta work early and he’s taking all next week off. And we are going to a corn maze/pumpkin patch tomorrow. And Sunday we are having our Canadian Thanksgiving. You bet your bippy Tyler’s the one sticking his hand up that turkey butt.

I think listening to FIT Radio first thing this AM helped too. I like being in a dancey mood while I’m brushing my teeth and eating spoonfuls of Nutella (and not in that order).

So yesterday, I went shopping. The mall I went to takes forever to walk around, and I got through about 3/4 of it and still hadn’t found anything I was there for. Sure, I tried on stuff that looked good, but either the jeans looked redic on me if I tried to sit down, or they didn’t carry my size shoe. Yeah, I know I know I wasn’t there for winter boots, but dude they were calling to me yesterday. I finally got my tush in a sweet pair of jeans THAT WERE ON SALE- so I figured that justified that boot purchase I scored right after.

You bet the top was on sale, too. Hello, orange clearance sticker! (Wearing the lulu headband from Chelsea– thanks girl!)

Dinner last night was a success. I wanted Mac n Cheese like it was nobody’s business, and I wanted to make it from scratch. So, I played around with this recipe.

Mac n Cheese Y’all

Here’s what you’ll need:

A box of macaroni
1 tbsp butter
1/4 c flour
1/4 c minced onion
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1.5 cups shredded cheddar
2 tbsp Frank’s buffalo sauce
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs
8 pieces BACON

Here’s what you do:

Cook the bacon. Once it’s cooled, crumble and set aside.
Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Spray baking dish and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a BIG ‘OL skillet, melt butter. Add flour and stir with a whisk (here’s what I did because I was feeling bad ass. I used the same skillet I used for the bacon and I didn’t drain all the grease. I know, it’s fatty, but I have been super healthy all week and I figured a splurge is a splurge is a splurge).
Add onion, milk and chicken broth and continue stirring with a whisk. Increase heat and stir until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
Remove from heat; add cheese and buffalo sauce. Once it’s fully incorporated, add macaroni, baby spinach and crumbled bacon. (Again, I HAD to add the bacon because I intended for Tyler to eat dinner)
Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish, top with parmesan and bread crumbs.
Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to brown the bread crumbs.

I was mindful of my portion because I planned on some cardio afterwards.

And cardio, I did.

25 minutes of SUPER INTENSE spinning, and 10 minutes of sprint intervals. Topped off with 100 stability ball situps.

Ok, and now onto serious conversation. Let’s talk sleeping arrangements. In Boston, Layla had her bed and I had mine. A queen sized bed. And usually Layla slept on her bed, except in the winter and when I wasn’t home. But she had her designated space and I had mine. Since moving here and adding another body into the equation, things are different. She still has her bed, and Tyler and I have our King. Let me draw for you how we usually go to sleep: (note: characters are not drawn to scale)

To clarify, I put a skirt on my character. And no, we don’t smile when we sleep, but that’s how I draw my stick figures.

Then, at some point in the night, when we are sound asleep, something happens.

Tyler is super comfy, and I am smooshed off the bed from the pup. And yes, at that point, I DO have a frown on my face. There is so much dead space in the middle of our bed. It’s like Layla wants me gone, and needs to keep an eye out-from a distance- on Tyler to make sure he gets a good night sleep.

PREPOSTEROUS I SAY.

I have things to do, so I must be off.

Plans for the weekend?

This week in words

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Crap, it’s Sunday already. No es bueno. Since I have been pretty M.I.A. in posts this week (besides my minor tangent on relationships through music) I decided to recap the week. Do you care? No. But I have been reminiscing all day so I’m going to write about it anyways.

Monday

Workout: Strength Circuits in my room

Other: Group tasting for my wedding food. It did not go well. And by ‘not well’ I mean that I decided to go with the company I met with last week instead.

Tuesday

Other: Bought my Wedding Dress! (Not showing anyone but Kysha and Katie and my parents until next summer) Here’s the best part: since I have a freakishly irregular shaped body, I had to customer order the gown. How freakishly irregular, you ask? (Think in dress-size terms. Boys: skip ahead) My chest is size 5, waist is size 8, and hips are 14. Woof.

Workout: Liz’s Kix class and Athena‘s circuit training. After I bought the dress, I headed out to Boston to see my gym family and have a 2 hour workout. Best 2 hours ever. Super sweaty, pain, laughs…basically all of my favorite things.

Wednesday

Workout: I stayed overnight at Athena’s and she taught spin the next morning. I haven’t taken a spin class since March, even though I have been using the bike in my own workouts. She had fantastic music, and used some of Tina’s intervals from Best Body Bootcamp (If you can’t tell already, Athena and I are fitness twins. Except, sometimes she can do way more regular pushups than me.)

Other: After spin, I went shopping. Actually, is was more like wasting time. But I did buy a shirt. Then I headed to Kysha’s surprise baby shower! I hadn’t seen my bestest friend in a year, and she looks fantastic. Better than fantastic. Once the shower was over, I headed up to my cousin’s house to crash. I was a total couch surfer this week. And I put 1,000+ miles on my parents car. Whoops.

Thursday

NO WORKOUT.

Other: I helped my mom buy a wheelchair for my aunt. Yes, a sentence I never dreamed of typing. I also met up with my high school bestie- she lives right across the street from my parent’s house and we may or may not have matching tattoos that were established roughly around our 18th birthdays. We had a drink- she introduced me to a Baby Guiness (a shot with Kahlua on the bottom and Bailey’s on top)- and stayed out till 3 am. Insert headache here. Not from the booze, but from the late bed time.

Friday

I’m not even kidding, I sat on the couch from when I woke up (11:30am) until 11pm. What was I watching? The Police Women of Memphis and Police Women of Broward County on OWN. That’s right, Oprah stole a show from TLC.

Workout: I actually fell to the floor somewhere between the hours of 8 and 10 and did lots of ab work.

Saturday

EARLY WAKEUP, Y’ALL. I had to pack, do my homework, paint my nails, workout, and do my hair before my 11 am departure time. Which turned into noon.

Workout: I trekked down to the basement for a good, sweaty 60 minute session. I did intervals on the treadmill and strength circuits. Here’s how I broke it down:

Once I got BACK to Boston for the second time this week, I slapped on some makeup, and we all met up for my girls night/bachelorette party. (I took a whopping ZERO photos, so I am waiting for Athena to post her recap and I can direct you guys to her!)

We started off with dinner at Granary Tavern then headed over to Ned Devine’s for the Improv Asylum’s bachelorette/drag show. One of them kissed me ON THE MOUTH.

And I capped off the night with street sausage. I do recall referring to it as ‘saw-seeeeeeeeige’ for quite some time.

Sunday

Today sucks. I left Boston, got stuck in redonk traffic, and was crammed with a few hours of plug-n-chug homework. And I still have to work out. Since my brain is fried, it will probably be something similar to yesterday’s.

To end on a funny note, I will tell you that this picture can pretty much sum up the entire night last night:

A HUGE thank you to all the girls who went out of their way to make last night super awesome! I can’t wait to get back to Boston already!

More recent purchases

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Yeah, I know I am not making any money. So of course, I shouldn’t be spending what little I have left. buticanthelpmyself. We are going up to Banff tomorrow and I want to buy stuff for it! (Plus, I had to return something, so I practically MADE money today.)

First up, Nails Inc. nail polish in Sloane Square.

When I did a test coat in the store, it went on really easily and dried in a flash. I can’t wait to have glittery nails tomorrow!

Next, a Benefit brow pencil.

I am OBSESSED with Benefit cosmetics. I even told the girl at Sephora today that I was a Benefit Whore. She laughed, but I don’t think she got that I was kidding.