What recipe?

Okay, I love alfredo sauce....it's a bit of an obsession. Anything with butter and cream is A-OK with me. I've had a hankering for alfredo for a few days, and so I decided to whip some up on Saturday night.

I started off by roasting two red peppers, peeling the blackened skins off the peppers, slicing them into strips, and set them aside. Then I minced a few cloves of garlic and sauteed it in a tablespoon of olive oil, and added 8 oz of sliced baby bella mushrooms until they were soft. I added a tiny bit of chicken stock to deglaze the pan, and then I tossed in a ham steak that I had diced up, and half a package of frozen peas.

In a separate pan, I brought 2 cups of heavy cream and 5 tablespoons of butter to a boil, and simmered it for a few minutes to thicken. I added 6 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese, and whisked it until the sauce was smooth, and added a dash of freshly ground nutmeg and some salt and freshly ground pepper.

I boiled a pound of penne pasta, since we didn't have any fetticini, and I mixed the vegetable mix with the alfredo sauce, tossed on the red peppers, and added a bit more parmesan cheese.

Not exactly a healthy meal, but no one has accused me of being a health nut foodie. It was quite tasty, and hit the spot.

Frankie Blue Eyes

B called me frantically on Tuesday, informing me he had caught a cat. We've had a colony of stray cats living in our apartment complex for several months, and I have been trying unsuccessfully trying to catch the cats to spay and neuter them.

So, B caught a cat, and then didn't know what to do with it. So he secluded it in our bathroom, and we took a few pictures and put up some signs around the neighborhood. He's a very nice cat, declawed and neutered, and very friendly. Of course, Bear and Bella are extremely curious.....they LOVE to chase cats!

We've had Frankie for a few days now, and everyone seems to be getting along amicably, although the cat is definately cautious of the dogs. Bear still wants to chase Frankie, but Frankie won't run, and seems to have figured out the guest room is a safe haven for him. Bella is most interested in sampling the cat food.

So, we're going to continue looking for his family....I'm sort of shocked that no one is missing him, but maybe he's been on the run for awhile. Who knows where he came from. I've already contacted a cat rescue that might take him, and we can foster him while he's up for adoption.

I confess I would like to keep him, but B doesn't seem to want another animal right now. That's totally understandable!

My new favorite fruit: Kishu mandarin

Frequenting our favorite foodie spot, Central Market, I spied some interesting fruit I had never seen before. Kishu mandarins! They are a variety of tangerine, small, sweet and seedless. They are only in season in January, and such a treat! I loaded up with two pounds of them, and took some to work to share, and have been munching on the rest myself. They are so tiny and tasty, I'm sad that I can't eat them year round.

The animals met the Animal

It's no secret our house has a hairy dog problem......with 190 lbs of hairy dog, no vacuum stands a chance. Both B and I had our own vacuums from our single days, but they have been dying a slow miserable death since the addition of Bella to our household. My poor vacuum has suction, but the brushes don't turn anymore (even after replacing the belts and cleaning everything out). It fought a brave fight for 7 years, but alas it's time has come. B's vacuum was literally held together with masking tape, and not really working very well, more just spreading the hair in a fine layer across our carpet. We do have a Roomba, but it just can't keep up with the hairy duo's output.

So after much debate, we decided on a Dyson vacuum, as many pet owners seem to be pleased with the vacuum. I realize it must seem mundane to get excited about a vacuum, but this is a really cool vacuum. It's so easy to use, and it's just so effective. The bin was completely full after just vacuuming our living room, although it's slightly horrifying to think about the amount of dirt we've been wallowing in. It's so well designed, and the attachments will be great for cleaning furniture and floors. I'm just really with it so far.

The true test will come when Bella blows coat, as it literally looks like it's snowing inside our house. I think the Dyson is up to the challenge though!

Steve Jobs is an evil genius

Meet the newest laptop offered by Apple: MacBook Air. It weighs a mere three pounds, and is only three quarters of an inch thick at it's thickest point. It's ultra portable and ultra cool. And I want it!

It's got the same touch technology as the iPhone, so you can pinch and spread your fingers on the trackpad to shrink or enlarge text. The screen is arsenic and mercury free, so it's a green laptop. I normally leave the techno gobbledygook to B, since my eyes usually glaze over when he mentions RAM and GB stuff, but it's got 2GB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive, for what it's worth. It's got pretty good battery life (better than my Powerbook G4 at least, which sucks electricity) and has the iSight camera built in.

It doesn't have an optical drive, meaning you can't pop a DVD or CD into it, but it has some remote disk thing so you can use a CD/DVD drive from another computer, or buy a separate drive that plugs into the USB port. Whatever - the point is it's ultra thin and ultra light, and would be perfect for travel.

I think it would be perfect for my new job as a field application specialist, don't you? *disclaimer, do not have the job yet*

Boomer

Boomer was our most recent foster, through a local rescue league. He was seized from his owner as part of a cruelty investigation, and I picked him up from the city shelter the day he was scheduled to be euthanized. He was literally covered in mats, had a terrible yeast infection all over his skin, his feet and tail were bloody and raw, and he was heartworm positive.

B and I fostered Boomer for almost four months. We had to give him several baths with betadine and baby shampoo, and round after round of antibiotics to get his skin infection under control. We nursed him through his heartworm treatment, and gave him all sorts of fancy food to help him gain weight.

Here's a link to an album of his pictures while we were fostering him.
http://tinyurl.com/2xaxtq

Through it all, he had the sweetest personality. All he wanted was kisses and attention, he was so happy to be loved. He learned to play with toys, and discovered wrestling with Bella. Every day he grew a little stronger, and finally he was ready to go to a new family.

I took him to an adoption event, not thinking anyone would take him home that day, and the perfect home found him. I can't imagine a better place for him, they love him so much. Today they sent me some pictures to update me on how he's doing. He's gained another 10 lbs since they adopted him, and his hair is finally coming back. He is simply a stunning dog now. My cup runeth over.

I'm siiiiiicccccckkkkkk

:-(

My throat hurts, my head hurts, my nose is running, I feel weak and shakey. I've spent the entire day ensconced in my big arm chair, with a fluffy comforter and lots of pillows. B has been very kind and giving me soup, water, tissues, etc.

Arg, I hate being sick. I had so much I needed to do this weekend, and all I can do is sit here. I am sooooo tired.

Detox STAT!

Kidding of course......I just say no! I had another interview with HR at the company I'm really excited about, and I think it went well. We discussed the position more, and she told me a bit about the company and the changes they've undergone in the past few years. I really like the company philosophy, they seem to be happy to let people transition into different jobs to play up to their strengths and interests. I like that I wouldn't be boxed in, and I think it would be a fabulous learning experience to see the different facets of the company. I REAAAAALLLLLY hope they call me for the last round. They are going to choose 2-3 top candidates to fly up to Jersey for a final round of interviews, and make a decision that day. The HR person was really nice, she had a funny Jersey accent that popped out occasionally.

She also mentioned they'd be doing a drug screen and a background check! Not that I have anything to hide at all, it just seems strange, weird to have unknown people looking at your personal information. I feel a bit violated! So I think I'll have to go into detox, wouldn't want them to know I love wine as much as I do! I like the drunk monkey the best. ;-)

Lots of news on the job front

I had two different phone interviews Monday and today. Both went really well. The Monday interview wants to meet in person later this month, and the interview today will have one more phone round, and then a face to face meeting (if I pass the HR person's interview).

I'm really excited about the interview today, the job would be a great opportunity for networking and making lots of contacts. Plus I think the job would be fun and interesting, and I think I would be really great at it. It's the perfect blend of biochemistry and still uses my experience in human genetics, and I'd get to travel and talk about science.

SO keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully I'll get the next interview! :-)

Things feel like they're finally looking up.

check this post for updates on the 100 mile challenge!

I'm still in first place!

ooooooooohhhhhh YEAH! I have to take it down a notch though, I normally run 10 miles a week, and I've already run 13 in the last 4 days. I have to squelch the competitiveness in myself to not get injured! Tomorrow we drive back to Georgia, so I have 14 hours in the car to look forward to. :-(

Then my back to my fun job and my cruddy apartment. Hooray!

On a happier note, I am madly applying for jobs, so hopefully I'll have some more interviews soon.

L O V I N G my Nike +!

I am a gear head. I love gear. I have a closet full of camping, golfing, hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing gear. It's totally out of control. And I've been on a running kick for the last few months, and got a BUNCH of cool new gadgetry for running. I got a nano, a Polar F6 heartrate monitor, and a Nike + plug in for my iPod. B is calling me the bionic running woman.

The Nike + is so cool, it keeps track of the distance you ran, your speed, your total miles, etc, and you can store it on the Nike website and do virtual challenges with other runners. So I entered the "Nestie 100 mile challenge" with about 10 other girls all over the US. The first person to run 100 miles wins! The challenge started yesterday, and today I hammered out 5 miles, so I am the current leader. I'm sure I'll drop back tomorrow, since we'll be in the car all day, but I think I can crank out some miles over the weekend. It's so fun beating people!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year with my parents, and we went to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in my hometown, Hugs. They make an amazing pink fettuccine alfredo that I must eat every single time I'm in town. It's so bad, but sooooo good!

So onto the annoying New Years resolutions. This year I resolve to get a new job that I enjoy, move out of our apartment, and take better care of myself. I've been pretty good about running, but I have all this fun new gear that will make it even better! I want to run at least 10 miles a week, with the goal being able to run 5 continuous miles.

I'd like to spend more time with the puppers, taking them on walks and playing with them. They haven't gotten much attention since I've been so busy with H&C.

I know most people make all these New Years resolutions that they never stick to, but I think mine are pretty attainable. Good luck in your goals!