Ugh

I haven't been around because things have not been so well and have been entirely overwhelming. I have a complete stress overload in my life right now. I took a vacation and came back to a worse situation than when I left. Sometimes it seems like the best option is just to walk away and never look back.

Times sure are changing..

So at the grocery store I'm juggling an armload of freezer items because I figured I'd be in and out. Well all the 20 item or less aisle had silly long lines so I picked what I thought was the shortest one behind two chatty Cathy's about my age or so who kept giving me dirty looks like "look at that idiot  without a carriage." So I switched to the next aisle because I was so over them where a nice older gentlemen with an oxygen tank tells me immediately to go in front of him because "no lady should have to stand there like that." Then has the nicest conversation with me about how he used to be a marine and loves to cook and we talked about what we were making with out 20 items or less. The woman in front of us had ditched some cheese in the candy so the man addresses the cashier by her name and hands her the cheese so she can get it back to the dairy section before it spoils and the rude little cashier, who I wanted to then slap the crap out of by the way, says in the sarcastic way possible, eye rolls included, thanks you just saved the store like $5. Oh cashier Brittany, it's the principle of it and clearly you know nothing of the anatomy of a raise. So the cashier rings in all my stuff, with items ringing in incorrectly and her explaining to me that she's not going to fix it because the items are the same price and that "if your basil bag is ripped that's my fault." On my way out I made a point to thank the man for the 3rd time or so and reminded him to have a nice day. I wish I had remembered to thank him for his service to our country but I was so disgusted at my generation it slipped my mind. 

It's just a blatant reminder of how times are changing and not necessarily for the better. People are too busy in their own worlds to stop and help out a fellow human being. Or even just to be polite and considerate. It really concerns me the direction our species is taking. We're so wrapped up and focused on technology and efficiency were are forgetting key life skills as this shopping trip exploration demonstrated to me today. I would have never asked or expected this man to be so generous to me but it meant a lot that he was. 

rollercoaster

a lot has happened since i last updated. i brought home my new baby Sydney and she has been doing wonderful. been super beyond busy with work. began the process again of applying for grad school. been toying with the idea of moving and have been lightening the load ever since. you know. took some vacation time before i lost the time from work, during which one of my ferrets had to be put down due to receiving a diagnosis and complications from adrenal disease and prostate cancer. and had an adventure with my boyfriend in proviencetown. so needless to say it has been a rollercoaster ride lately. i'm starting to feel like i've developed a rapid cycling bipolar diagnosis.

i did want to share some pictures to keep you updated, so here we go:

nature hiking at weetamoo

lobstering in provincetown

beach!!

gift i made for my mother on mothers day

Sydney kisses

shes a big salad lover

and sweet potato

RIP Eddie 2/2008-5/25/13

Eddie in healthier times

Making the decision to put Eddie down was one of the hardest things ever. he was in so much pain and there was not much of a chance he would have survived a $2000+ surgery or even become stable enough to have the surgery completed. i did not expect him to be the first ferret to go at all as i have another one who is almost 9 years old. one of the things i regret is not doing all of their pawprints when i had the chance. i planned to do it soon but just hadnt got around to it. luckily the crematory is going to do it for me, for a nominal fee, and i am making it a huge point to do it with the rest this week. Eddie was bonded with another one of my ferrets Alfie who has been utterly depressed and is withdrawing, barely eating, and moving less than he was. i fear this is going to be a domino effect. i truly hope it isn't but im going to have to start ensuring Alfie is hydrated with pedialyte.

hope everyone else is experiencing more stability than i am at the moment.

MIA

So I've been a little MIA lately. It's been really hetic lately and I've been somewhat blue.

Travis' prints :(

Just days before my birds 15th birthday she passed away. I'm still not sure exactly what happened because the vet I brought her too was not so crystal clear as to what was going on and how they were treating her. From her behavior it looked like she was having either a stroke, explaining the partial paralysis, or seizures, explaining the talon clenching and erratic behavior. Either way I'm not going to know now and she won't be returning to me alive. I decided to have her cremated, which was one of the most heart breaking things I've had to do. This bird was with me through everything difficult in my life. She was a tired soul I think. We travel so many times I think she just finally decided to rest now that I've finally found some stability in my life. My one regret is not getting to the vet in time. But how was I to know? They called me and told me she could come home then less than 1hr later called to tell me she collapsed and they were starting CPR. I still miss Travis tremendously. My house is so quiet with out a bird. I'm at such a loss.

Travis refused to do anything but cuddle me in her final hours

However I do feel at peace knowing Travis is home with me even thought its not the same.

Travis 3/31/98-3/24/13

I went to an old bird store I used to frequent to see if they buy back cages and found myself falling in love with another baby bird. I went back a week later and she was still there. And another week later i decided this would be my new baby. I am in no way under the impression that this bird will replace that hole in my heart but I am excited by the thought of building a new bond with a bird. I had toyed with the idea of getting another before Travis passed but couldn't seem to find the right one. So now I have my sweet Sydney. She's going to be 4 months tomorrow and is almost ready to come home. So I am busy nesting and preparing for her arrival.

So on top of my already busy schedule and what have you, I have been preoccupied. Ill be back shortly.

i forgot!!

so i forgot to talk about this a while back and i'm really not sure why, but i recently helped a friend dread her hair. eww dreads? YOU'RE WRONG! awesome, dreads. this was so much fun to do, i almost wanted some too. i don't think my job would let me get away with it but it looks absolutely fabulous on her. it didn't take as long as we had expected it too. 3 hours of back combing, palm rolling, and capping the ends. they look so good on her and she is so happy. i'm jealous.

i recently went out to breakfast with my mother too. breakfast is an obsession of mine. there's this little breakfast place i love going to thats not too far from my house called alice's last stop. its an excellent diner if you're ever in the area. great college kid prices. they always have muffins that i want to try to bake on my own. i have had egg nog muffins there that were absolutely to die for. for saint patricks day they had green muffins/mint chocolate chip muffins. that were so good. they are absolutely monster muffins.

so this week at work has been draining. i am in dire need of a weekend. and a vacation. i have been trying to plan a week or so to florida to visit family and friends but i am not sure when and if that will happen. i seem to keep getting caught up financially with silly expensive expenses. i have had to fix my car twice this month bringing my car expenses alone way over $1000 including repairs, gas, and regular maintenance. its such a bummer. i am so disappointed now that the vacation is essentially on hold until i pay off my car next month and have some expendable income. it's been almost 2 years since i have taken a vacation at this point. i NEED a get away. i am thinking florida needs to happen soon. if not i need to get to vegas and live it up for a hot minute.

who has instagram? feel free to follow me on IG to keep up with my daily photo micro blogging.
refriedbeatss

 

that is all.

spicy sausage pasta

i made a lot of things from pinterest and had a pretty decent success rate. HOWEVER, this one recipe did not come out even remotely close to what the picture looked like. still tasted good so i guess it's not a fail. it just did not look as good as the pin. i'm going to copy the recipe exactly how the pun described it. the only change i made was i used milk instead of heavy cream because i'm trying to avoid heavy things like the plague..

spicy sausage pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce package smoked turkey sausage, sliced into rounds (I used Butterball brand)
1 1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce can Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Green Chiles, Original Style
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Thinly sliced scallions
Salt, to taste


Heat oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe skillet) until smoking. 
Add the sausage and onion, and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the broth, Ro-Tel, heavy cream, uncooked pasta, and pepper, and give the mixture a good stir. Bring to a boil, cover the skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking. Preheat the broiler while the pasta is cooking.
Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in 1 cup of the cheese. Taste, and add salt as needed. Top with the scallions and remaining cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and lightly browned - about 3 minutes.

tortellini-alfredo casserole

honestly, i don;t know if i can make it again because neither myself or my boyfriend were able to moderate our portions. it was freaking amazing. i found a sundried tomato alfredo sauce when we were grocery shopping and decided to use that instead of a regular one. you really don't need the refrigerated sauce, the regular jar kind in the sauce aisle is perfectly fine. i think the next time i make this i might add chicken because to me it seemed like if anything was missing it would be that.

just proceed with caution. seriously. we did not have left overs.

 

tortellini-alfredo casserole

ingredients

• 2  containers

  (10 ounces each) refrigerated Alfredo sauce
• 1/8  teaspoon

  black pepper
• 1  package

  (20 ounces) refrigerated green and white mixed cheese tortellini
• 1  package

  (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained
• 1/2  cup

  garlic and herb-flavored or Parmesan-flavored bread crumbs
• 1  tablespoon

  olive oil

directions

1. heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. in medium-size bowl, stir together alfredo sauce, 2 cups water and pepper. pour 1 cup sauce mixture into bottom of 2-1/2-quart shallow casserole. arrange half the tortellini (uncooked) in a single layer over sauce (see photo 1); sprinkle with chopped broccoli. pour 1-1/2 cups sauce over top. repeat layering remaining tortellini and remaining sauce. cover with foil.

3. bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. remove from oven and heat broiler.

4. in small bowl, stir together bread crumbs and olive oil until evenly coated and sprinkle crumbs on top.

5. place casserole under broiler about 4 inches from heat until crumbs are golden, 1 to 2 minutes. let stand 10 minutes before serving. makes 8 servings.