Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That…

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a splendid weekend.  Jerod had to work all weekend, but I still had a great weekend.

First!  I have been weighing myself once per week on the same day, same time, etc.  I lost 2.5 pounds last week!  I need to fully immerse myself into this meal plan thing!  But I’m pretty pleased.  However, that will likely all be gained back and perhaps more while on vacation (I sure hope not), but I’m not going to worry about it!

What I’m Reading

I have already finished Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline: Where the Crew Lives, Eats, Wars, and Parties: One Crazy Year Working on Cruise Ships by Brian David Bruns.  I’m not sure why it needed four titles?  As the title discloses, it is about an American working on cruise ships.  Now if you have never been on a cruise, this would not seem note-worthy.  However, I have been on 2 and the percentage of Americans I have seen is low…seriously probably less than 1%.  Now the cruises I have been on were Carnival, so that may factor into it as well.  The book was interesting especially having “cruised” before.  I think people are either cruise-people or non-cruise-people.  I believe myself to be in the latter category.  The first cruise I went on was in February 2010 and was a seven-day cruise porting in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.  The second was a 5 day cruise porting just in Cozumel.  I find cruises a bit boring.  Sure there are lots of activities, but not many that really interest me.  Sure, on the first cruise, the wine tasting was fun.  But the pools are tiny and are jam-packed with people, so it’s not really that relaxing.  The rooms are teeny tiny and subpar at best.  I realize many people do not spend much time in their rooms.  However, if the weather is bad, you are not into gambling, and the activities bore you, well that’s where you will be.  My disclosure is of course, I have only been on two and the cruise line was Carnival.  I think perhaps a more upscale cruise line with several different port countries could be doable, but other than that, I am done with cruises!  And not to mention the horrible working conditions for the crew, I just do not want to support that.

I am currently reading: Stay Close: A Mother’s Story of Her Son’s Addiction by Libby Cataldi.  This book is absolutely heart-breaking.  One can easily imagine the pain and suffering family members of addicts go through, but her words illustrate it like nothing I have read before.  I know my family and friends had concerns when I was going through my “dark” time (probably more so than they let on), but I am thankful it never slapped them in the face and that it did not drag on for years as I know it does with most addicts.

My next two books on the docket are memoirs too.  One about Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie from Full House) and Tori Spelling’s latest book.  I freaking love Tori Spelling.

Magazine Critquer

Several years ago, I lived in DC and one my BFFEs, Ann, lived in NYC.  We worked for the same company so we would often utilize the inter-company mail (read: abuse it).  We would send EVERYTHING back and forth – dvds, books, gifts, but mostly magazines.  I am not even sure how it started, but each time either of us picked up a magazine, we had a sharpie close by.  We would then write our comments about pictures, articles, advertisements, anything in them and then inter-office to each other.  This went on for at least a year.  So, that critiquing eye (if you want to call it that) still reigns.  I also have a lot of magazine subscriptions; they have begun to taper off, but still pretty excessive.  When I moved away, I typically flew American, but occasionally took advantage of competitive fares.  Therefore, I accrued small amounts of “miles” on other airlines.  When the expiration dates approached, I began receiving offers for free magazine subscriptions to utilize in lieu of “losing” these miles.  At one time, I think I subscribed to like 15 magazines.  Mostly fashion, food/entertaining, travel, and gossip.  ANYWAY, as I was catching up on my magazines and thinking (ok most critical) thoughts, I figured the blog world would *LOVE* to hear my comments. 

Rachel Ray Everyday (or something like that)

First of all, I am not a Rachel Ray (RR) fan.  She absolutely annoys me.  And I know there is a market for what she does, but I’m not shopping in it.  Her meals used to be full of processed gunk and have little nutritional value.  I think I stopped watching her when she cut up hotdogs and incorporated them into hamburger patties – barftastic.  This was years ago, so she may have changed her ways.  And do not take my dislike of her personally if you are a fan!  Where was I?  Oh yes, her magazine.  The magazines they offer you are not often the highly sought out ones, I am not interested in Cigar Aficionado or Cat Fancy, so I figured I could find some redeeming items in her mag.  I have and as long as I avoid anything personally written by RR (or that she allegedly writes), I’m good.  But some of her recipes are questionable and atrocious. 

Some of her recipes remind of the old cookbooks from the 70s.  I remember flipping through my mother’s cookbooks (probably that big Better Homes and Gardens one) when I was a kid wondering “Who the hell ate this stuff?” and was thankful my mother was not a cookbook chef.  The food seemed to always be one color and was scary and disgusting-looking, probably due to the fact I could not distinguish what it was. 

Pretty sure butter was not intended to be used a dip – GROSS.

This sounds vile.  What’s wrong with just eating celery by itself?

What exactly is a rhubarb?  That’s a real question readers, I need to know.  I see it occasionally in recipes, but I’m not sure what it is.

Not sure what makes this Mexican?

Since bacon isn’t already fattening enough, let’s add SUGAR to it.

This actually sounds pretty good.  Sounds like a variation of a tuna nicoise salad.  I may have to try this one.

I LOVE fresh mozzarella cheese.  In fact, I don’t even need the skewers, just give me the cheese and I’m a happy girl!

This one is a bit intriguing.  I LOVE smoked salmon.  I miss going to the Jewish delis in NYC and buying smoked salmon, bagels, and cream cheese. 

This one also sounds tasty.  I love fruit in salads.

Random food thought:  It seems like I am reading articles/blurbs about how great Greek yogurt is.  So I thought I would give it a try.  I bought the Chobani – I don’t remember the exact brand, something like that in blueberry and pineapple.  NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.  The yogurt was sour and tangy.  More sour cream-y than yogurt-y.  The pineapple was a bit more palatable than the blueberry.  However, my mom tried a different brand and loved it, raved about it; so perhaps I need to give it another try.

John Frieda presents “The Instyle Hair Issue”

Instyle has long been one of my favorite magazines.   I have subscribed for quite some time.  Throughout the year, they publish “special” issues.  So, when I received the Hair Issue, I thought I might find some cool styling ideas for my new awesome straight hair.  Instead I was bombarded with John Frieda ads.  I saw probably no less than 50 John Frieda ads, so I realized the product recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt. 

There was an article in the magazine about hair straightening processes.   Look at how relevant I am!  However, I was a bit alarmed that it was recommended to consult the OSHA website prior to this treatment for safety information.  Uhhh…what the hell?

I am not a fan of the “retro wave” look.  Unless you are a flapper.  Then it is perfectly acceptable to have retro waves with your feather hair accessory or cloche.  I think this hairstyle in any other situation does a disservice to the wearer (wearer of the hair – not sure that makes sense).  Exhibit A: Heidi Klum

Speaking of hair…have any of you guys used dry shampoo?  I have heard mixed reviews.  And I don’t want to go through $100 in testing various brands if someone has a brand they love!  Mind you, I have brown hair, so I would prefer to not have white residue in my hair. 

Also, since I am a bit of a beauty products junkie (as evidenced by my bathroom closet), I should do a post about my beauty products and rituals and share all my secrets!  J  The brands I use have been chosen after careful consideration and a lot of experimentation!

I actually have another subject to blog about – Family Game Day which took place yesterday, so check back tomorrow for that one.

Lesson: Blog more frequently to avoid rambling posts.

Title Disclosure:  From an episode of Seinfeld.  A woman mistakenly believes Jerry and George to be a homosexual couple.  They adamantly deny this, but say “not that there’s anything wrong with that” as a condition to their denial.  I love Seinfeld.  I never watched it while it was on the air.  It ended in 1998 and I really do not remember watching much TV in high school and what not.  And I even watched a few episodes after and did not really “get” it.  It was when I moved to NYC that I really started watching the re-runs.  Seinfeld is one of those quintessential NYC shows so I thought I would give it another try.  I “got” it this time and LOVE it.  So I watch Seinfeld re-runs whenever they are on.  Another TV series I am debating on purchasing.

Ps...Pretty sure I have violated numerous copyright laws in this post.  Let's just keep that between us...ummmkaaayyy?