Under Construction!

I'm making some improvements (I hope, anyways!)...bear with me, I'll try to be quick!

tak suka, dan benci

MALAS nak update blog. sbb leteyh + ngantok.

esok ade kelas pagi2 lg. tp kan. alang2 tgh geram.

sbb ade perasaan x diundang dtg, meh sini nak ckp terang2.

tak terang lg pergi pasang sportlight bebnyk ok.

TAK SUKA

org yg suruh aku jd diri sendiri, tp die tuh yg dah lupa diri. hilang diri.

sdngkan aku mmg jd diri sendiri, cuma aku perbaiki diri.

nak taw 1 bnde? aku bangge jd diri aku sebenarnye.

TAK SUKA

org yg budget die baik sgt lah. budget die tuh bagus sgtlah.

tp terang - terang kau pun benci aku. kutuk aku.

skodeng aku memanjang. ishhhh...

x berubah - ubah. ingt dah insaf. mengong~

BENCI.

semua pun dah maklum. sy benci lipas kan.

maaflah. semlm + hari ni je ade lebeyh 12 ekor tekorban.

innalillah~

BENCI.

dan dr dlu lg. bad habit jgklah kan. aku mmg pntang.

org ade bnda / brg same cam aku. cam beg ke, bantal ke, ape ke,

yg sejibik sejibun. mmg aku x akan pakai dah bnda tuh.

mmg tak ske. nak buat mcm mane. kecuali... bnda yg mmg x leh elak.

cthnye. berjuta kot org ade tudung / shawl hitam.

gediklah aku kalo x nak pakai jgk.

BENCI.

makanya dr perangai atas ni, aku pantang org nak tiru aku.

tak kesah tiru gaya aku menulis ke, gaya aku berckp ke, PANTANG.

lg cam hampeh kalo ko yg tiru aku ni, org yg mmg anti aku.

and, yg hilang diri sdiri jgk tuh. HOI. benci lah perangai ko tuh.

diulangi. tak payah terhegeh - hegeh nak tiru aku sgt.

tayah ssh payah nak buat / dptkan ape semua yg aku ade.

sbb ape. sbb. skali lg aku tegaskan. hidup aku biaseee je. biaseee sgt. aku sdiri pon. biaseee teramat lah sgt. makanya. bodowla kalo ko tiru. bodowla ko sebok nak skodeng manjang. bodow jgkla ko lupa diri. bodow jgklaaa ko nak cari salah aku je, tp, ko jgk nak jd cam aku.

jd. tlglah. stop pretending. stop being copycat. stop being a drama queen. mmg stupid dam-dam la nak buat aku berdose je kan. nak marah ko manjang, buat darah tnggi je aku. plz ye. jgn tiru aku. jgn jd diri aku. n jgn budget ko bagus or kenal aku sgt. pdhal ko skit pon x kenal aku. btw, see, aku x perfect pon. kalo marah. marah jgk kan. ok? terima kasih.

owhhh ye. b4 terlmbt. nak ckp skit, just, repeat blk ape yg ko ske ckp. "be urself". haa. aku ckp blk dkt ko. ok? ko tu lg perfect la. ko tu yg kene blaja trime diri seadenye. and, poyooonyeee ko. kalo ko depan aku aku bwk cermin. biar ko nmpk dlm cermin tu diri ko.

mintakkk maaf la kalo trase. tp, sape mkn tomato terase masamnye.

sekian.

College Football Snackies

Question to bloggers: how can I get my text box where my posts go to be wider? There's so much wasted margin room...I hate that! Also, I've had some requests to not use white font so people can read blog posts on their Google Reader. Is there a way to change the font color of ALL my previous posts to make that transition easier? Thank you!

My poor Illini got pummeled by the Buckeyes yesterday...*tear*. I figured we were in for a tough game, but not even a field goal? Ouch! Yet, we were still able to enjoy ourselves with good drinks, good friends, and of course, good food!

Our weekend beer of choice as of lately has been Michelob Ultra -- lower in carbohydrate than nearly all other light beers. I'm gearing up for my 30 days as a diabetic, I guess!

And as for our snackies: Buffalo Chicken dip - yum! While it's certainly not THE healthiest thing in the world, it's a nice treat...especially if you enjoy it on celery stalks like myself! Also, in adopting this recipe into my arsenol, I did some research on "wing sauce". Ends up, there's more to wing sauce than mild, medium, and hot! Hooters wing sauce, for example, has 80 calories and 9 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat!!!) in just 2 tablespoons! Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce contains 15 calories and 1 gram of fat per tablespoon. Both are packed with sodium, though...beware! Anyways, the Buffalo Chicken Dip is a fun crowd-pleaser, and a lighter version of many football weekend snackies!

Buffalo chicken dip

1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby Jack cheese blend or reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2 medium)
Whole grain crackers or celery sticks, if desired 

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in dressing, buffalo wing sauce and water until blended. Stir in chicken and cheese. Spread in ungreased 1-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate; cover with foil. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir and top with onions. Serve hot with crackers or celery sticks.

Our OSU friends brought over chili...and if anyone knows how to make chili, it's them! It ALMOST makes up for the fact that they're OSU fans. And here they are in their OSU jerseys and their poisonous nut necklaces (*eye roll*)!

Josh and Tiffany

 Josh and Tiffany being silly...and our ugly red couch

And here's our happy family...even Pinky (our snake) came out to join the party yesterday (he's crawling on Mark's arm)! Not a great picture of anyone, especially of me...trying to hold up our 35+ pound bundle of joy!

Lily caught a nap at half time...

Enjoying a relaxing Sunday with plenty of sleep and the usual fresh fruit smoothie beefed up with flaxseed oil and protein powder - yum! Enjoy the rest of the weekend, thanks for reading!

Tender Fillet of Veal in Breadcrumbs with Herb Roast Potatoes and Red Cabbage Salad

Veal can of course be a very expensive meat to buy but it is so delicious if prepared correctly that the outlay is more than worth it every so often. This tender fillet of veal just melted in the mouth and went very well with the accompanying herb roast potatoes and red cabbage salad. This recipe is for two people.

Ingredients

2 fillets of veal
12 (approx.) baby new potatoes (unpeeled)
1/2 small red cabbage
1 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro in USA)
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 eggs
5 to 6 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put the potatoes in to a large pan of boiling, salted water to parboil for fifteen minutes and the oven on to preheat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6, a flat baking tray inside to also heat.

Chop/shred the red cabbage with a sharp knife and put it in a fairly large bowl. Add the coriander and white wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir very well and cover until required.

Put one tablespoon of sunflower in to a large mixing bowl and add the herbs, seasoning with salt. Stir well. Once the potatoes have boiled for fifteen minutes, drain them well before adding them also to the bowl and swirling them around until they are evenly coated in the herb and oil mixture. Put them on to the baking tray and in to the heated oven for another fifteen minutes.

Break the eggs in to a shallow but wide dish and beat with a fork. Place the breadcrumbs on a large dinner plate and evenly spread them out. Add a tablespoon of sunflower oil to a large non-stick frying pan and bring up to a medium heat. Dip each fillet of veal in turn firstly in to the egg then pat both sides in the breadcrumbs and repeat before placing them carefully in to the warmed pan. Fry for ten minutes, turning them over carefully after five minutes, then turn off the frying pan and leave them to rest for the final few minutes of the potatoes' cooking time.

Plate up your meal and enjoy your dinner.

Mission Accomplished

I'll spare you the bathroom pictures. But you get the idea.

Yes, I am dog-tired. Yes, I busted my you-know-what to get all of this done in three days. If you know me, then you know that I am usually pretty modest about stuff. But you know what?

I did a KICK-ASS job here!

Of course, my father-in-law (who is the REAL owner of this building) will be in the city on Tuesday and he's going to inspect my work. Let's hope he approves (oy, is my insecurity showing or what?)

Anyway, it's done. And I managed to survive New York without too much damage to the diet (a few too many glasses of wine, but oh well). April (my son Andy's girlfriend) and her mom who was visiting, put together an amazing (and healthy) Israeli dinner last night It was like manna from the gods. A home-cooked meal and I didn't have to cook it! It was soul-satisfying and delicious. Thank you Andy, April and Anat.

But then there was that flight home today. Not so wonderful. Can you say "turbulence?" Like for the entire flight. I will tell you that I am a terrible flyer. How in the hell does something that heavy remain suspended in the air for such extended periods anyway? Ugh, and I hate sitting by the window, which is what I had to do today. And there was a smelly guy sitting next to me. So I plugged into my iPod and just tried to ignore the whole thing, which pretty much worked.

I'm glad to be home now, even though it is raining again. Jeez, can someone explain this to me? First we were in an extended drought and now we are drowning. Huh?

And so, it's raining and my dogs decided that they needed to pee all over the floor in the hallway. And of course, I stepped in it with my bare feet. And then they did it again 30 minutes later.

Hello? Can I please go back to the rat race that is NYC?