Spring Break, London: Day ONE (and a Half!!)

A few weeks ago, Duane and I were able to catch a flight to London.  Seat availability looked good (which it tends not to for the UK), so we headed to the airport several hours earlier than necessary, executed our usual "hurry up and wait" routine, and...it paid off!  There was even room up front, so we flew business class!!!!

We left at 10:05 p.m. Sunday night, and arrived at Heathrow around noon on Monday, London-time.  We took the tube to Victoria Station, and checked in at our hotel (the Park Plaza).  I always forget how "befuddled" I am after flying all night, with occasional sleep, and I also always forget how WONDERFUL a shower is at washing off the "airplane cooties", and reviving me...if only for a little while.

We showered, changed clothes, and headed out to explore the neighborhood.  We were DELIGHTED to discover that the UK is about six weeks ahead of Minnesota, spring-wise, and there were daffodils, tulips, and buds on all of the trees.  It was LOVELY!!

While exploring, we discovered a beautiful old church, St. Gabriel's.  It looked abandoned...a few small broken windows, and lots of vegetation growing between the cracks of the pavement inside the fence, but there were signs up for services, and lights on inside.

We also found a Sainsbury's grocery store, so stocked up on some of our "staples"...Fox biscuits, cookies, and, FINALLY, a couple of bottles of Kopparberg Cider.  I discovered Kopparberg on our last trip to London, two years ago, and have been trying UNSUCCESSFULLY to find it in the U.S. ever since.

I bought a bottle of strawberry lime cider, and a bottle of pear cider.  Although nothing ever lives up to expectations when thinking about it over a period of time, and even though it tasted like a "more adult wine cooler", it was still nice to finally enjoy one again.

We passed lots of fun little cafes, parks, theaters, and pubs...

...and even found my namesake on a stationer's shop!

The Victoria Station area is a VERY convenient "home base".  We had dinner at the Bag O'Nails Pub near the hotel...

 

...and were close enough to walk to Buckingham Palace after that.  It was cloudy and a little dreary, but there were flowers and green grass, which MORE than made up for it.

 

 

After exploring a park across the street from Buckingham Palace...

 

...we headed back to the hotel, and went to bed.

A SUPER LONG day, but GREAT to be back "across the pond" again!!!

Stop THIEF!!!!!

Identity theft…two words that strike fear, and make us all clutch our wallets and purses a little closer (as if that does any good…).  I found out yesterday that it’s happened to me. 

I received an envelope from a bank at which I have a savings account, but with which I haven’t done anything for several years.  I actually thought it was “junk mail”, and tossed it in a stack of stuff to look at “later”.  I was paying bills, and decided to see what it was.  Glad I did, because it was a letter notifying me that activity had recently been transacted.  They were writing to see if I had made any recent withdrawals from my account.

 

I called the bank, and learned that SEVERAL transactions had transpired, and the account now had a negative balance, due to monthly fees.  I assured the bank that it wasn’t me, and that I HADN’T been at a branch on one day in St. Paul, during which half the money was withdrawn, and that I HADN’T been at a branch the next day in downtown Minneapolis to withdraw the remainder of the money from the account.

The person who WAS at both locations had an ID with MY NAME on it, and signed MY NAME to withdraw the money (insert expletive here).  Not sure how this account reached anyone’s radar…it’s not an active account, and I haven’t done anything with the money in the account for several years.

 

So now I’ve contacted the Federal Trade Commission to report a possible case of identity theft.  I’m in the process of getting credit scores from the three big credit score companies.  I’ve opened a "Fraud Report" with the bank.  They are checking into it, and will let me know what they find…eventually.  A police report will be generated and, if someone is caught, prosecuted (I suggest the electric chair or something similar), and now I worry…and check my other accounts several times a day…and worry some more.

Identity theft not only steals your “information”…it steals your “peace of mind”, and for that, I wish the perpetrator a LONG, LONG incarceration, and a lifetime of misery. 

Think of how much better this world would be if people used their powers for good, and not evil.

Sorry…not a very happy post, but…I’m not very happy.

Here’s hoping YOU are not experiencing similar angst, and that you are monitoring your credit reports, and keeping your documents secure, and that you are doing whatever it takes to keep the “bad guys” from doing what they do!

6th Grade Musical

I DO NOT KNOW what possessed me...weak moment...stupidity...solar flare.  Whatever the case, I now find myself DIRECTING the 6th grade musical this year at my new school.  Ugh!

I LOVE theater...specifically BEING in the spotlight...RUNNING the spotlight...not so much.  I SHOULD have known I was in trouble when the original director they hired quit before even starting.  I should also have taken the hint that I was in trouble when "older" staff members approached me with comments like "sucker" and "are you INSANE?".  I'm doomed.

Having said that, and even though it's been one catastrophe and frustration after another since I agreed to direct, I'm SECRETLY kind of looking forward to it.  We had a HUGE turnout for auditions, and it was actually hard to choose the cast...there were THAT MANY talented students from which to choose.

Even though I had about FORTY SEVEN SECONDS to choose a play (because I was told by SEVERAL people that we were already SIX WEEKS BEHIND SCHEDULE), and I've suffered through a "parent meeting to get volunteers" in which a snarky parent was really abrasive, and I've had to switch out several cast members for various stupid reasons, and no one has stepped up to head ANY of the crews (costumes, props, set, sound, light, etc.), it's TRAGICALLY sad that this is STILL better than my previous job...right??!!

So...gloom and doom aside (and IGNORING the fact that my music director, who has been "part of the 'in charge' team" for NINE THOUSAND YEARS has it out for me because I'm relegating her to "just" music director, and not thinking about the fact that we have about eight weeks of 40 minute rehearsals three times a week to put everything together, and NOT even worrying about the fact that I have NO IDEA how to run the light board or the sound equipment in the theater, AND ignoring the fact that, in trying to reschedule the show from the dates that were chosen by someone else LAST YEAR (before I even started), I've COMPLETELY pissed off the "director of the arts" for the school district), it should be a really good show!

I've chosen "Unhappily Ever After", a musical about a counselor that has set up group therapy sessions with storybook characters because they are not, in fact, living happily ever after.  The counselor decides that she should rewrite the story and match characters up with others who share similar qualities...Prince Charming with the wicked stepmother because she's very sharp, Sleeping Beauty with the Frog Prince, because his croaking won't be annoying to someone who sleeps all the time, etc.  It turns out the counselor was right in the first place, and she re-rewrites everything again.  The characters decide they have to make the best of what they have, and all live...happily ever after.

It will be an AMAZING show.  The 6th graders are going to be AWESOME.  I will "tweak" the script enough to satisfy the prickly parent and ensure that ALL of the 6th graders will, indeed, get to do enough to make it "memorable for them too".  Volunteers WILL step up to lead the various crews.  I WILL have enough in the "6th grade musical budget" to pay for everything...and, hey...the last time I directed a show, I went down three pant sizes because of the stress...BONUS...this will help me accomplish my "weight loss goals" from previous posts...

Here's hoping YOU have not, possibly, bitten off more than you can chew, but, if you have, that your current circumstances are still better than your previous circumstances.

Oh...and that you have enough budget to pay for your stuff too!!!!!!

The Winter That WOULD NOT DIE!!!

I know it's only February, and we still have AT LEAST two months of winter left, but here I am at home on our FIFTH or SIXTH (I've lost track) snow/cold day of the year since January 1st!  I am not complaining at all (about not being at school) because, to be honest, this morning's commute was more than I could bear. 

The newscasters were calling the metro roads "treacherous" and recommended "not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary".  Thick ice from recent metling, covered with 8 inches of new snow, and winds whipping it all around at 20-25 miles per hour...no THANKS!!

The day started with the district calling a two hour delay for students, and staff instructed to report "as soon as they could safely get there".  Had I left at my normal time, I would already have been on the road for an hour by the time they called it (which is REALLY disconcerting).

So...glad to have the snow day, to "catch up" on stuff, and stay in my bathrobe, but REALLY, REALLY, SUPER REALLY ready for this winter to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Saturday, I put away the plastic snowmen that were on the deck, and shoveled off the two feet of snow that had accumulated there.  This is what it looks like again today...

 

 

 

...sigh...

Here's hoping YOU live somewhere warm...and green!!!!

Brrrrr!!!

What a strange school year, and a crazy 2014!!!!  In my last FOURTEEN years in Minnesota, I've had exactly FOUR snow/cold days. 

This school year, and this month...THREE!  I'm certainly not complaining about another "day off", but I'm SURE I will be at the end of the school year, when we have to make them up....!!!!

Here's hoping YOU aren't burrowed down in a place with temperatures that rival the average daily temperature on Mars too!!!!

The Diet Continues!!

I'm about four weeks into the diet, and I'M HUNGRY!!!  Not really...I've found some really good recipes, with very minimal Weight Watchers points.  I DO miss pepperoni and green olive pizza, and cupcakes, and "spoons full" of peanut butter, but, it's all good.

There are good days, and CRAPPY days, but, overall, I'm happy with my progress.  TEN pounds down...SIX to go to get to goal.

Here's where I started...

 

Here's where I am...

 

Here's where I want to be...

 

I'm getting there!!!!!

To that end...here are some recent recipes that I've been cooking to help achieve my goal...

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bake 

1	c. UNCOOKED quinoa
1½	tsp. cinnamon
½	tsp. nutmeg
⅛	tsp. ground cloves
2	apples, peeled and diced
¼	c. raisins, soaked for a few minutes in warm water to "plump"
2	eggs
2	c. skim milk
¼	c. maple syrup
⅓	c. sliced almonds

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour quinoa into baking dish. Sprinkle apples and raisins on top.

Whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Pour over the top of the fruit in dish. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Bake for 1 hour until casserole is set. Allow to cool and refrigerate leftovers.
4 servings = 9 pts. 6 servings = 6 pts.

Pizza Pasta Bake

1	lb. ground lean turkey sausage
1	medium onion, chopped
1	clove garlic, minced
1	carrot, minced
1	tsp. Italian seasoning
2	tsp. olive oil
1	(26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
8	oz. whole wheat rotini pasta, cooked and drained
2	c. shredded reduced fat, part skim mozzarella cheese
32	slices turkey pepperoni

 

Brown ground turkey, onion, carrot, garlic, and seasoning in olive oil.  Drain.

 

Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 c. cheese.

 

Place mixture in 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

 

Top with pepperoni.

 

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes, until heated through.

 

8 servings = 10 pts. each.

 

 

Cauliflower Oreganata

1	head cauliflower, cut into florets
2	T. butter, melted
2	T. olive oil
⅓	cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
¼	cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1	T. garlic powder
2	T. dried oregano
	a palm full of fresh chopped parsley
½	cup water or vegetable broth

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

 

Place the cauliflower florets and the water/vegetable broth into a baking dish.

 

In a small bowl mix the butter and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

 

In another bowl stir together the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic powder, oregano and parsley. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture overtop the cauliflower. Evenly pour over the butter and olive oil mixture.

 

Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.

 

Remove the foil and cook another 20-30 minutes until the cauliflower is tender and the breadcrumb golden brown.

 

4 pts. = 4 servings

 

Here's hoping YOU are attaining your "New Year's Resolution" goals too!!!

 

Adding to the "Diet Food" Repertoire

"Diet food" can be SUCH a drag...carrot sticks...celery...ground turkey...more celery.  I'm FOUR days into my "New Year's Resolution" diet, and have lost three pounds, so it's working, but temptation is EVERYWHERE!!!

This morning Duane and I went to a cupcake place that we really like, Sweet Bebe Cakes in South St. Paul, because today is their final day of business.  After two years of DELIGHTFUL cupcakes...like the salty dog...

...they are calling it quits. 

Cupcakes don't usually tempt me, but these are DIVINE.  I will really miss them.  We bought TWO DOZEN assorted cupcakes...

...and are freezing them for a cold winter day...which...apparently...will be tomorrow (a temperature of -12, and a wind chill of -9,000,000, I think...).

Anyway...what was I talking about.  Oh yeah...dieting.  I managed to only eat a QUARTER of a chocolate ganache cupcake before they were put in cold storage, but needed something TASTY to compensate.

I found the following recipes recently...the Super Sloppy Joes were in a recent edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Cauliflower Casserole came from Pinterest.  Neither are chocolate, and I wouldn't drive twenty minutes to buy them, but, for "diet food", they're pretty darn good!

Not my actual sandwhich....although it looks just like this.

Photo from:  http://www.lazarocooks.com/2010/06/quick-and-healthy-tempeh-sloppy-joes.html

Super Sloppy Joes

 

1 small white onion, finely diced

2 ribs celery, finely diced

1 small red bell pepper, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg. (1 1/4 lb.) ground turkey

1 can (8 oz. ) tomato sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

whole-wheat buns

 

In large skillet, saute onion, celery, pepper, carrots and garlic over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, or until they begin to soften.  Add turkey.

 

Continue to cook, using spatula to break up meat, for 5 minutes or until turkey is cooked through.  Add tomato sauce, ketchup,Worcestershire, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

 

Stir.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until flavors blend, and sauce thickens.

 

Serve on whole-wheat buns.

 

 

Cauliflower Casserole

 

1 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
1/2 c. water
garlic powder, salt, and pepper, to taste
2/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. skim milk

Cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces, and place in large saucepan with water. 

Steam until cauliflower is tender, drain water.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Add milk.

With a fork, two knives, or a potato masher, mash the cauliflower with milk until only slightly lumpy.

Add cheddar cheese and stir.  Place in casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove and top with mozzarella cheese.

Place casserole dish under the broiler (uncovered) for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbling on top.

Here's hoping YOU have a couple of healthy "go to" foods to make you forget things like cupcakes and chocolate too (yeah right....)!!!