Moving Along

Life is moving right along, nothing exciting, nothing new really, pleasant and pretty uneventful. That of course means I don't have a lot of material to write about, hence the low number of new posts by yours truly.  I have had a few interesting customers at work.  It's been an experience going from public school to working with the "adult" public.  Some of them still have some growing up to do!  I have been treated as if I am a complete idiot who obviously must not have much education since I'm just a lowly secretary.  Yes, I'm being sarcastic.  It has been interesting to see how people react to me though.  Some customers prefer talking to a man and some just prefer talking to someone other than a secretary.  I wonder what they would think if I hung my college diploma above my desk?  On a positive note, we do have many great customers who are very appreciative of our service.

My personal life is going fine, nothing really new and exciting there either.  There aren't any major prospects in the romance department.  I don't know that I'm looking very hard.  I'm enjoying having fun with friends.  I did have an 18 year old hit on me! lol  That was a nice little self-esteem booster, albeit creepy.

I really wrote a lot the last year or so and would love comments from people.  They don't have to be positive necessarily.  I'd love some insight and politely worded honesty or even just a "been there too".  Hope you enjoy reading my jumbled thoughts!  I'm off to take a glorious nap and continue waiting not so patiently...

Internet Goes On Strike!

Contact your congressional representatives today!

The B*tch is Back!

*Read this post as if Elton John is singing that song in the background.  Loud and Proud!

It's been a while since I've posted and the last few have been pretty weak.  Clearly all I've done consistently is eat. I noticed it in a picture from New Year's Eve too! eek!  Oh and drink wine, forgot about that.

Professionally, my life is going well.  I'm enjoying my new job and love the people I work with.  It's a very low stress, low drama environment.  We had a fun, fun Christmas party!  I'm not even dreading going back to work tomorrow after a holiday weekend!

Romantically my life is well, complete shit.  The boyfriend and I have broken up and gotten back together so many times in the last few months that I've lost count.  After duking it out over text messages and facebook, we both realized it's just not working.  I just can't quit though.  Basically, I told him to take some time and get his life in order and then maybe we could try again.  I told him take a year if he needed to.  I also said I couldn't make any promises though.  I'm not going to spend that year pining for him.  I'm going to go and live my life and hopefully we end up coming back together.  If not then we really aren't meant to work.

I'm glad it's a new year.  I need to start fresh.  I need a new attitude and I'm working on it.  I've been asked out a couple of times since Thanksgiving and I've said no.  I know I need to heal and grow on my own.  I need to decide what I really want in life and what I deserve.  No more accepting less than I deserve.  No more excuses for others' poor behavior.  No more excuses for my poor decisions.  Bring on 2012 because I'm back y'all! 

Instead of the resolution going out though, it's the man! Adios!

Buffalo Chicken Ring

The other night I decided to get off my behind and actually cook something.  I made this Buffalo Chicken Ring and it was soooo good!  My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and picky nephew all liked it.

Buffalo Chicken Ring

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 packet ranch powder mix
Diced celery to taste
Buffalo wing sauce to taste
Diced/shredded chicken, cooked (2-3 chicken breasts worth, or 1-2 cans of canned chicken)
2 packages crescent rolls
Ranch dressing for dipping (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a cooking sheet, spread the unrolled crescent rolls out leaving a small circle in the middle. Mix chicken and buffalo sauce to taste and add in celery. In separate bowl, mix cream cheese and 1/2 ranch packet together. Microwaving cream cheese for about 30 seconds makes mixing easier. Mix all ingredients together.

Place spoonfuls of mixture on crescent rolls and fold rolls over to form a ring shape and cook for about 15 minutes or until crescent rolls are nicely browned. Serve with ranch dressing and extra hot sauce for dipping.

I got the recipe from jayesel.com.

This picture is from the original page.

I left the celery out of course and didn't think it needed ranch for dipping at all.  It was awesome by itself.  Here's what mine looked like. 

Not bad for the first time!

Tex-Mex Chowder

Since the weather here in Central Texas has finally gotten below 80 degrees, I figured it was soup time!  I made one of my very favorites.  As with most of my recipes, this one has very little nutritional value and is not at all low-fat or low-cal.  Let me introduce you to some cheesy goodness.

Tex-Mex Chowder

serves 6 

1 lb ground beef 

1 large onion, diced

1 (15 1/4 ounce) can corn, undrained

1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans or black beans, undrained

1 (10 ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes, undrained 

1 lb Velveeta cheese

1 cup milk

Brown ground beef with onion; drain fat well.
In a large pot combine ground beef, corn, beans, and Ro-tel tomatoes.
Cube cheese and add to soup pot; stir over low heat until melted and blended.
Add milk as needed to get desired consistency.  

*I used Ranch Style Beans instead of pinto or black and dehydrated onions instead of a whole onion.  Enjoy!

My Tex-Mex Chowder

I'm Back Y'all!

It's been six months since I started applying for jobs in the big city and  I haven't found anything.  Well, actually, no one chose me.  My current position is a whopping 4.5 hours a week!  That does not even come close to paying the bills!  I've been staying with my cousin three days a week when I worked and then coming back to my little town the rest of the time.  I've been hoping something full-time would come up so I can move to the big city, but it just hasn't happened and my family can't keep supporting me, nor do I want them to.  Last weekend I ran into a friend from high school and she told me one of the local insurance agencies was looking for an office assistant.  I happened to have my resume in my truck and so she passed it along to her friend who worked there.  When I got home I emailed my resume and cover letter to the agency manager.  He emailed me back within a couple of hours.  I had an interview on Thursday and Friday I started working.  I am now employed full-time!!!  Thank you, Jesus!  I had some reservations before the interview because taking this job means giving up my big city dreams for a while, like at least a couple of years.  I talked to my boyfriend also because I wasn't sure what this meant for us either.  He was extremely supportive and said he had no problem coming to see me more often.  For the last few months I've been in his city, so I always went to see him.  Knowing that he was supportive helped a lot.  I already knew a couple of the people in the office and the other three are great so far.  It's a small office and a very low stress group.  I think this job is exactly what I need right now.  It's in a fairly quiet environment.  The people are friendly.  It's not a stressful place at all.  I'm getting used to the idea that I'm going to be working in my hometown, the town where gossip abounds.  My dad already reminded me, no more going to the local bar! lol!  He wasn't kidding though.  I haven't worked in my hometown since high school.  It's been twelve years since I've been a full-time resident here.  It has it's perks though.  I really enjoy seeing familiar faces come in the office every day.  I can't tell you how many people have congratulated me on the job, knowing what I've been through the last few years.  The people really are supportive and I've missed that.  I'm going to have to get used to having to go out of town to have a drink, but oh well.  My aunt always says when God closes a door, he opens a window.  I think this time instead of a window it was more like a screen door!  But then, that is where I feel most comfortable.

Country Girl's Dream

Monday night I had the opportunity to go to a concert that is every country girl's dream!  It was a benefit concert for the Central Texas area wildfires.  The line up included George Strait, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks, Asleep at the Wheel, Randy Rogers Band, and at least four others.  It was AMAZING!!!  This really is a once in a life time type of line up.  What's even cooler is that all the musicians that performed are from Texas.  Y'all know how much I love Texas!  My seats weren't quite as stellar as the music, but that's okay.  I was sorta behind the stage, but very close, so I could see the performers talking to the band and watch them when the first walked on stage, so it turned out well.  They music was perfect.  I knew every song the five big performers played.  My boyfriend went with me. (yes, we're back on)  He's not a huge country music fan, but he had a good time and was a good sport about how completely excited I was.  I clapped and danced in my seat and sang and oh it was awesome!  If you don't know who these musicians are, you really need to look them up!

The Dixie Chicks

Willie Nelson

(Deborah Cannon AMERICAN-STATESMAN- all 3 photos)

George Strait waves to the crowd as he walks onstage at Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas at the Frank Erwin Center on Monday, October 17, 2011