Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Red Lobster Biscuits!

I have no idea why it's there but it immediately caught my attention when I saw Red Lobster biscuits as a trending topic on twitter just now. I know everyone loves them, including me, but why would they be talking about them on twitter? Clicking on the topic didn't tell me much as twitter is having a problem and older tweets are unavailable. Maybe everyone was just bored with reading about free insurance quotes. Or maybe they are hungry. Or maybe it's just a great promo by Red Lobster.

Kitchen Update

The kitchen renovation and expansion are moving along well. The plumber moved the pipes and the electrician did his thing. The floors were finished this past weekend. The built in pantry was completed yesterday and the painting is in progress. If everything goes as planned the cabinets will be installed next week. It's exciting to see it all taking shape. Right now it seems like a very big empty room!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Heard of the Bustaurant?

Food trucks are all the rage right now. Big name chefs are getting into them, it allows them to move around and take the food to where the people are. Now there is a new addition, it's called a bustaurant. Like the name says, it's a bus. It allows room for patrons to come inside and even has some seating. So the next time you run down to the store to pick up some vigrx or anything else on your shopping list, don't be surprised to see a bustaurant parked there.

Spring, the Season of Diets

Women all over the country are realizing that spring is here and that means bathing suit season is not far behind. I think spring is probably the biggest time of year for diets. Almost everyone gets a little lazy over the winter and adds a couple of pounds here and there. Now it's time to look at things like the quick trim burn and cleanse and find a way to get rid of the weight. Salads here we come!

Arsenic in Apple Juice!

If you give your children apple juice to drink, you need to pay attention to a recent report that is out. It states that apple juice contains high levels of arsenic. Of course the FDA has issued a statement saying that they don't think there is much cause for concern. I think parents need to be aware and make an informed decision about what they give their children. It is too late once the damage is done.

Back Into the Routine

As much as I hate to think about it, it's time to get back into the routine to be ready for bathing suit season. I've already started my pedicures, I like for my toes to look perfect when sandal season comes around. Now I need to find some fast weight loss pills to take care of the extra five pounds I seem to have picked up this winter. It's funny how winter clothes lend themselves to hiding a few extra pounds here and there. But summers ones certainly don't!

Unexpected Guests

I don't know about you, but I am not much into unexpected guests. Last night I was particularly tired and decided to take a shower, put on my pajamas and night cream and relax in front of the TV. My husband even promised to make popcorn for us. Then all of a sudden the doorbell rings. Needless to say we were not happy with the unexpected company. I think dropping in uninvited should be against the law!

What Happened to Spring?

The weather has been fantastic lately, picture perfect spring weather for the gulf coast area. I have had the doors and windows open enjoying the sweet smell of fresh air. Then all of a sudden we got up to cold, breezy weather today. The wind has been blasting and it feels like winter again. I've got my fingers crosses that it will blow itself out of here quickly. I want my spring weather back!

A Major Undertaking

I gathered my wits and made a trip into town today. That may not sound like much to you, but I live in a tourist resort area and it is the height of spring break. A quick trip to pick up some makeup or acne wash can turn into an ordeal that takes hours. Fortunately, I seem to have timed it correctly. I hit the sweet spot between everyone going out to breakfast and the lunch time rush. Hopefully I now have enough of everything to last for a while.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I Could Get Lost

I made a trip to our local independently run health food store this morning. I find it fascinating and could get lost in there for hours looking around. There are pills for everything. They have hgh pills, diet pills, sleep supplements and anything else you can imagine. They even have a whole section devoted to pet care and feeding. You can take care of your whole family by shopping there.

I'm a Little Jealous

I've been hearing about how hot the food truck trend is in larger cities. Some of them are supposed to have great food. Unfortunately, no one here has picked up on the trend and started one. It would be a great idea for feeding all of the hungry hoards at the beaches, but it would be seasonal. Maybe that's what is stopping them. Maybe I should start one, I could do my special Cuban pork sandwiches and my spicy beef ones. Now if I just had the funds...

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A Little Side Trip

I have decided to plan a little get away for my husband and I as a reward for him. I want to show him how much I appreciate the new kitchen we are building. My inclination is an Orlando vacation. He loves it there plus his brother and two of his daughters live in the area. He's always happy when he can visit them. I'll time it so that we can spend a day at one of the theme parks with his grandkids!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Where to Go?

My sister has decided to plan a family reunion. With the way our family gets along that could turn out to be a dangerous undertaking but I'm not going to rain on her parade. She called me yesterday wanting advise on where to hold it. She is considering lining up some Outer Banks vacation rentals. I told her it sounds like an excellent idea. What I didn't tell her is that I would have agreed to anywhere that involves holding it more than 100 miles from me!

Putting It To Good Use

Now that the weather is behaving a little more like Florida weather, I have started using my outdoor kitchen. When we planned the renovation I had the idea that I could cook in my outdoor kitchen while it was in progress. Unfortunately, we have had the coldest winter in 20 years here including tons of rain. Things have finally improved and I have moved outside. I smoked ribs yesterday. Today I am planning hamburgers on the grill and sauteed potatoes. I love it when it's warm!

What to Choose?

Now that the kitchen renovation is moving along it's time to make some decorating decisions. I went to Lowe's yesterday and brought home a stack of paint chips. Our house is near the beach so we have a beach theme. I'm going with nautical colors in shades of blue and green. What I haven't figured out are the window coverings. They had some nice faux wood blinds in white and that's the way I am leaning. I like bright, clear colors accented in white and these were in white. There's so many decisions to make on a remodel!

My New Gig

I've shared with you before that I write online content for a living. What I haven't shared is my latest job. I have started taking on twitter account. My official title is "social media manager." Sounds fancy, doesn't it? What it means is I tweet for companies and people. My newest client deals in business insurance. It's a little difficult to come up with interesting tweets for such a dry subject but I'm learning. Isn't life on the internet grand?

A Little Austin Envy

SWSX is going on in Austin, TX right now. Every other tweet that I see has the hashtag in it. I have to admit to a little bit of envy on my part. Everyone in SEO , social media, blogging and every other online entity is in attendance. One of these years I swear I am going. I might walk around like a star struck kid with my mouth hanging open but I would enjoy every minute of it. Can you imagine hanging out in the blogger lounge and seeing someone like problogger? .... I can dream, can't I?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Shopping Fun

I made the mistake of going to the outlet mall yesterday. For some reason it didn't dawn on me that it is the middle of spring break. When the spring break crowd gets tired of the beach they head to the outlet mall for some shopping therapy. The poor sales clerk in the Coach outlet was waving a barcode scanner and ringing up merchandise as fast as she could. Needless to say, I left. I didn't need a new purse that bad.

Can't Stay Inside

This week has had the kind of weather than I live in Florida for. Spring is my favorite time of year and it is in full bloom here on the gulf coast. Our ipods have been getting more use than they have in months because we have been going on walks every day. It was a long, cold winter but things are looking up and we are enjoying the sunshine.

New Neighbors

The good news is that the house next door finally sold. It has been on the market for almost three years. We were excited to hear that we were finally going to have new neighbors. The bad news is that so far they look like the kind of neighbors everyone hears about. You know the kind, the ones with a yard full of cars and other miscellaneous objects. So far they have two disreputable boats, three cars and two picnic tables that look 30 year old. This may turn into a nightmare.

Rearranging Everything

Our kitchen renovation is morphing into a complete redecoration of the living area. The kitchen is open to the family room so it all goes together. I have decided to upgrade the family room while we are doing things. I plan to go out and look at entertainment centers this week. I want something more modern to hold all of the stereo equipment and the flat screen. It all needs to look unified. At least shopping will get me out of the house and away from my messed up kitchen!

How Much Longer?

I was at the store yesterday and watched a cashier who was stymied by a customer paying cash. She is so used to people paying electronically that she was unsure how to make change. She even had problems getting the cash out of the mmf drawer. I wonder how much longer it will be before businesses stop taking cash altogether. Credit cards, debit cards and online transactions are taking over, it's only a matter of time before cash is passe.

Loving Them

I haven't mentioned the two puppies, Bella and Jake in a while. They are doing wonderfully and growing daily. Bella is a little ball of fire and always busy, even too busy for kisses a lot of the time. Jake, or JJ as we seem to call him more and more, is the most loving dog I've ever had. He is always ready to give affection. It's been fun to see them win my husband over to the small dog side. He has fallen totally in love with them.

Spring Is Here

Spring is finally here in north Florida. The arrival of the spring break crowd is not the only sign. The daffodils are blooming, my cherry tree is beautiful and the redbuds are ready to burst out into their beautiful lavender colors. It was a very long and cold winter but it looks like we have finally come to the end of it. It is time to remove the spa cover and jump in. Who's ready?

Changing Careers

I am so thankful to have my career as a writer of online content. I have been able to maintain my career even with the downturn in the economy. Unfortunately, I have some friends who have lost their jobs. It has been so sad to see them struggling.

The only good to come out of it is that one of them has decided to make a career change. She kept seeing jobs in healthcare so she decided to get some training and make the change. She is loving it. It's great to see her happy now.

In the Midst of Renovations

You have probably wondered why I haven't blogged about food lately. The reason is that I don't have a kitchen! We are doing a complete kitchen renovation including expanding it into the bedroom behind it. When it is all done I will have a beautiful, big new place to play with recipes.

Right now all I have is a toaster oven and a microwave in the family room. I am in complete cooking withdrawal. Hopefully I will be cooking again in a few more weeks.