Monday, January 26, 2015

Ready as we'll ever be

Yesterday it was All over the news, starting at around 4am my phone beeped with a special weather alert that there was an impending blizzard.  As the day went on my phone beeped just about every hour with updated snow amounts, special warnings from the NYC Mayor, the Senator and everyone else in between.  "A Historical storm with totals this city has never seen before"  The thought makes me cringe.

Like I've said before, I've lived in New York my entire life, I've only moved in a 50 Mile radius of where I grew up and I don't like winter.. I despise it.   I hate the cold and the snow.

We did our weekend shopping Friday  night and then went back to the store yesterday for some last minute things and all I"m gonna say is we spent WAY too much money on groceries this week, the good thing is nobody needs anything else for the next few days, well... at least they'd better not.

We left this morning at 7:30 to get to work on time but the roads were fine and it started snowing around 8.  It's now 10:37am and I"m sitting here in my 4th floor office and the snow is coming down steadily.  They're calling for between 16-24" where I live and I'm not looking forward to this at all.

I'll try and update with pics here, if not check out the FB page and I"m sure there will be regular updates on this crazy storm.

Be safe out there!

Friday, January 23, 2015

Quick Artichoke Casserole

I was searching for this recipe this morning totally sure that I had posted this recipe a long, long time ago... turns out I had stuck in a recipe box long before the blog started.

I got this recipe from a coworker years ago and it's absolutely fantastic paired with some good crusty bread or as a side with pork or chicken

Quick Artichoke Casserole


Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 (7 ounce) can pitted black olives, Drained
1 (7 ounce) can button mushrooms, drained
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste

pepper, to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large, ovenproof casserole dish combine all ingredients.

Mix well.

Cover and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with Hot garlic bread, pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

I would have loved to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but instead I spent Christmas Day sick. Since Christmas eve I'd been having trouble taking a deep breath and my left ear was killing me.  I managed to cook Christmas dinner and bake a birthday cake for my honey, but after sitting at the table with my family and not even being able to finish a slice of lasagna I passed out on the couch and woke up literally in ear splitting pain.  Friday morning my honey took me to urgent care (and it was SO packed there wasn't even a chair to sit in when we got there!)  After waiting for over an hour I finally got in to see a doctor.   After I got the usual work up by the nurse a bit later the dr came in, asked me a few questions and I was gasping for air when he asked me to take deep breaths to hear my lungs.

Not surprisingly he ordered a chest X-Ray to rule out Pneumonia, half an hour later... the diagnosis?

I've got freaking pneumonia.  I haven't had pneumonia since I was six years old and it sucks big time.

Remember my stories of the office witch? She's got competition...

Had it not been for a co worker coming in sick and not having the common decency to cover her mouth when she coughs I'd never have gotten sick at all.  I am a generally healthy person, I get the occasional cold but nothing that lasts more than a few days.  I had planned on taking the two weeks for Christmas and New Years off and spending them sick was not anywhere in my plans.  So instead of spending time with my family and friends I'm stuck at home in bed sick.  This is the first time in the ten years I've been working in this office to become sick like this and I'm seriously pissed about it.

I called this weeks ago when this lady came in sick, coughing her lungs out without covering her mouth.  I work in a fairly small office and she sits behind me to the right.  You'd think a grown woman would have the common sense to cover her mouth when she coughs, to not spread disease through the office or, ya know... stay home when you've got freaking Pneumonia and not come in hacking away and bring your breathing machine with you when you've got to administer meds every few hours to yourself! The boss had to send her home and then her Dr told her to stay home for a week.

I go back to work on Monday, the day after I finish my medication but the Dr says it could be 3-4 weeks until I feel like myself again.  Think I'm not gonna say anything to this woman?  I already told my boss last Friday.. I told him thanks to her coming in sick I've got pneumonia for the first time since I was a child. Last year it was brutally cold here and I walked over three miles every day back and forth in the cold and rain and snow to get the train to work until I got my new to me Jeep.

Whether or not anyone says anything to her before I get back to work is a mystery to me, but I'll be sure to say something for sure.