A restaurant that had been in a neighboring town closed a few years ago. Jennifer mentioned that an Arby's had opened up in its place. Niel and I had only been to one once a long time ago so we decided to eat there. Advertised on their door were their Loaded Potato Bites. They're pretty tasty. Triangle shaped mashed potatoes with cheese, ham and herbs in them. Can't tell if they are baked or fried. I wish the server didn't forget the sour cream that went with them for dunking and I wish I realized this before I ate them.



Triangley goodness



Hmm not bad

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend! It sort of felt longer than the three days off because Thursday and Friday a couple of coworkers and I went out for a birthday lunch for one of them. The food was better at the second place but more importantly the company was fun.

Saturday Niel and Kelvin(who was in town) hung out a bit in the morning, then Jennifer, Renzo and their adorable daughter Gabriella came over for lunch. She was dressed in a cute Mets dress. We had a nice time catching up and visiting. They brought over lovely pink minature roses and a black and white cake and cookies. The theme was funny. Gabriella is so smart and funny!! We were thinking of ways to keep her busy so we gave her some crayons and paper. We hung up the two pictures she drew on our fridge. They're good people as Niel said. After their visit we went to the park. We've been going to the park more now that most of our shows are off the air. Then we went to check out the new mall again because Jennifer mentioned more stores had opened up.

Sunday we ran some errands, scored very well on some clothes(one piece each it worked out only but still really good deals) and inexpensive but quality charcoal for our families. And in the evening Niel and I went to visit my parents.

Monday we went over to Niel's brothers house. Erin, Kelvin, Shawnda and Anthony were also there. Niel wanted to bbq so he Kelvin and Mike worked it out. Everyone brought something. We brought some meat. Kelvin and Shawnda brought some ices from Louie G's a local icey shop. I ate the rainbow flavored and promptly got a blue tongue. It was so hot this weekend though. Thank goodness our current car has air conditioning. It was so hot poor Kelvin's head was steaming. He kept applying ice to it. Our latest Netflix movie Munich came in. It was a good movie but way too long. We also watched War of The Worlds which we had taped on cable. That was a long film too. It was scary how some people react in crisis. All in all a good weekend.

Happy Memorial Day everyone. And thank you to those who give America a comfortable life. Hope your weekend is being filled with adventures at the beach, getting acquainted with the grill, waving at the parade going down your Main street, laughs with family and friends, mouth burgers and slurpy watermelon.

I am not usually a fan of swiss cheese. I know suprising. A cheese that I don't enjoy. I find the taste a little plasticy. I'll really only eat Swiss in French Onion Soup. And that is only because it is melted. But I accidently purchased some Havarti and although the taste reminds me of Swiss it is much milder. It also comes in a variety of flavors such as Jalapeno and dill.

It was this or another post about cheese. Heh heh.

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

The first time I heard of Halloumi cheese was when Nigella Lawson was preparing a dish with it on her cooking show. I love cheese and wanted to try a cheese I had never heard of before. She was actually grilling it. Halloumi apparently has a high heat threshold. But I couldn't find Halloumi in any of my local supermarkets. I got to try a salad that had Halloumi as an ingredient in it at Le Souk. It was so mild tasting. Sort of reminded me of mozzarella. I finally found some at Zabar's (a NY institution). Can't wait to replicate the Le Souk salad. Here are some recipes that use Halloumi if you are interested.

I'm am really enjoying a new show on TLC called Little People Big World. At first it was just a one hour special about the Roloff Family but then TLC picked it up to be a series. The parents Amy and Matt are both little people. They were born with different types of Dwarfism. However they have not let that deter them and they don't feel badly about it. They feel like it was just the cards they were dealt. The Roloffs have a successful farm in Oregon where they sell peaches and pumpkins, Amy also holds two jobs as a soccer coach(you read right) and as a preschool teacher, Matt works in the technology market, has written a book, done amazing things on his farm and gives lectures about being a little person. Niel just reminded me Matt also played a Ewok in one of George Lucas's films. Matt and Amy have four children, twin sons Jeremy and Zach, a daughter Molly and another son Jacob. One twin Jeremy is average height and Zach the other twin is a little person. Zach has the same Dwarfism as his mother. The Roloffs are such a nice family. After a while you don't even notice that Zach or his parents are not average height. You just see them as people. I hope the show comes back in the Fall. If you are interested in viewing it the show airs Saturday nights, on TLC at 8PM. Currently in reruns but it will be new to you as Niel likes to say.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was a good one even if the weather has been rather nutty. Can't decide if it should be wet or dry or windy. I had a three day weekend. I love those so! It felt a little longer (even though I went to work on Thursday) because I saw my friend Isabel and met her sister Cora Wednesday after work. We had dinner at Le Souk. A delicious Moroccan restaurant. Not only the food but the atmosphere was equally appetizing. Le Souk was dimly lit with beautiful lanterns and candles on the tables being the only light.

Friday Niel also had off so we went to see the Da Vinci Code. It started to rain a little bit when we were getting ready to leave for the movie but got worse when the film ended. We got soaked. I am probably one of the five people who has never read The Da Vinci Code but I enjoyed the film a lot. A little long but well done. We saw two protestors when we left the theater. Two little old ladies with rosaries and signs.

Saturday we went to a Mets Game. Poor Niel the Mets lost that game but won the games on Friday and Saturday night. I just wish they won the game we saw in person. But the weather held up nicely till we got home. There were so many drunk people around us. It was annoying. How can you experience the game while that drunk? Joseph Gannascoli who plays Vito on the Sopranos was at the game. They showed him on his cell phone on the big screen.

I forgot which day maybe Sunday we watched Good Night and Good Luck. It was so well done and beautiful to look at. I recommend it as well!! Niel did laundry and I cleaned. I don't know if I should mention chores always. We do them every weekend if not more so I don't know if they are exciting enough to mention. Heh heh. My cell phone refuses to email pictures right now so I will have to share photos at a later time.

Looking at this pic of a bright green cookie Niel brought home last week sure does the trick to brighten up these rainy days NYC has had for the past week.

You know the Kodak commercial with the teacher or the tour guide explaining to school children how they should love pictures. It always makes me weepy. A few weeks ago, April 3 to be exact, Jenny
posted about how Kodak now gave the option of creating your own memories commercial. This link is
to my own Kodak commercial if you are curious. It's nicer to watch with headphones.
If you want to make your own click here.

While grocery shopping at my local fruit and veg stand I noticed pretty colored beans in their shell. They were greenish white with red dots. The sign said they were cranberry beans.

Cranberry beans are native to Northern Italy but can be found in the US as well. They are available fresh from Summer to Fall and have a creamy texture but nutty flavor. If you do find any, cook it a little longer then the recipe suggests. Unfortunetly the lovely red color will fade and become completely white during cooking.

Shell


Beans

We recently tried Enten-mini's. I brought chocolate rounds and golden rounds. You can purchase them in a box or individually wrapped. I brought one of each of the individually wrapped. The chocolate tastes a lot like their Iced Devil's Food Cake. I think a little marshmallow would have been tastier than the creme. The golden rounds reminds me of Little Debbie's Moon Cakes. I also love Little Debbie's Marshmallow Supreme's.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Although it was cloudy all weekend no rain till I came into work. Which is good cause the weather didn't ruin our plans. I came home to find a package from Jesser! An extended birthday gift. A sweet butterfly card, lovely pink necklace in a neat handmade case, a Choxie chocolate bar, note pad to scribble ideas in, and tacks to use on my bulletin board.

Friday and Saturday were cleaned and ran errands. I picked up a Spring purse for work on sale! Niel got to go to the batting cage. He then came home and made some awesome Mojitos. But I will let him post about that another day.

Sunday was mother's day. In the morning Niel, me and my brother took my mom to a pottery studio. You pick out your own pottery and paint it. I have always wanted to try. I thought my mom would like to do something artsy. Niel chose a mug, my brother a oval shaped box, my mom a elephant and I chose a curvy square bowl. We left the pottery there for the owner to put in the Kilm and then we will pick it up sometime this weekend. It was fun. and relaxing.

We worked up an appetite and the owner recommend
Nana.
A Japanese-Thai-Malaysian-Fusion restaurant. The decor was funky and they had huge orange fish, a lovely burnt orange glass chandelier, outdoor seating, and pretty good food. We enjoyed Roti Canai(crispy Indian pancake/potato curry), Tempura shrimp with lemon cream dipping sauce, Vietnamese salad(jicama/ mango/ peanut/ napa/ jalapenos), pork chop with Bok Choy in a wasabi pepper sauce, mango shrimp with mild spicy lingam sauce, grilled tuna marinated in white miso over mixed greens, shrimp Pad Thai, and pineapple fried rice.

We then took my mom and brother home afterwards. We headed back to our place and relaxed a bit before heading out to see Niel's mom, brother and Erin for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I saw fresh colored pasta for the first time. I've seen it on the Food Network but not up close. Both mom's like their bracelets but only my mom's fit.

It was funny when I wask picking out cards for my friends, the moms, aunts, cousins and Godmother I remembered that I wouldn't be picking out a card for my grandmother. That sucked.

Pictures here

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmothers, aunties and anyone who was a mother type figure! Hope you know you are appreciated every day!

I was in a baking mood and wanted some appetizers. But I decided on savory instead of sweet. I made ham and chedder cheese bundles(burnt the pan), pigs in a blanket and used this torte recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. It all came out yummy!

Anytime I pass by a street vendor selling shishkabob I think of my dad's barbecues. As the weather gets warmer outcomes his grill. Armenian barbecues consist of meat and vegetables. Such as pork chops, steaks, chicken, peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes. I think its pretty healthy. No hotdogs, burgers, or macaroni salad. Which I love but am used to my dad's version of a BBQ. He usually marinates the meat the night before in Adobo. He enjoys the flavor. Niel enjoys it too. We all do.

Niel has been wanting to try the Ben and Jerry's Black and Tan ice cream for a while now. With his whole different beer trying curiosity and all. But that is another story. We had a little trouble finding it at first but then on a whim I checked my local supermarket again and there it was staring back at me in its icey home. I scooped it up and smiled and said "Muhahahaah". Ok I didn't say the last part. Black and Tan is a beer reference. In the product the frothy part of the beer is supposedly mixed in with some chocolate ice cream. Therefore Black and Tan. The name also refers to a bloody battle between Ireland and England. Some people were not happy with the name. We chuckle at the name because it reminds us of a short lived animated MTV show called Clone High and two of the characters sort of had a detective agency used the name Black and Tan for it. Anyway inside joke. Below are the pics. I couldn't stop taking pics of Niel after awhile. He is pretty cute. Oh the ice cream just tasted like coffee ice cream. No bitterness to it. Much better than the Coke Blak crap.





















Song Stuck In My Head: "I'VE SEEN BETTER DAYS" by SUBLIME(resung)

Aren't these cupcake plates from Pfaltzgraff adorable?! Although cupcakes can be enjoyed all year round I think these plates are very springy.

The weekend was a nice one. Now that it is Spring it feels like the work day is so much longer than my weekend day. I was able to finally get into the Trader Joes Friday afternoon on Union Square. I hadn't been able to since its grand opening a few months ago. I have learned mid day is the best time. Friday night Niel and I had dinner with my brother and Christine at an Indian restaurant in the East Village called Taj Mahal. The food was good and there was a two man band sitting on tables. One was playing the sitar and the other some type of flute type instrument. After a brief stop at Starbucks we went home. I cut my nails since I had broken one and got advice from a few different people that I should start from scratch. I think next time I may just deal with looking silly with one broken nail. I like having long nails. Although the length I cut them is not bad. Ok enough talk about that.

Saturday we went over to help some more with their apartment. My dad went over as well. They got the main room painted much faster. While my brother, dad and my brother's landlord were at Home Depot, Niel, Christine and I moved around items from the main room to the living room. Moving is a lot of work I do not envy them. Or the day we will have to do it. We went home mid afternoon and recuperated before heading out for some ice cream and a nice walk when I found an inexpensive copy of The Complete Works of the Brothers Grimm. I was wearing a Grumpy sweatshirt I brought from Disney. It had a picture of Grumpy on the back and the words Grumpy on the front. I got two compliments about it. Never thought I would.

Sunday Niel did the laundry while I cleaned and both made a quick run to the supermarket. Came home and watched some shows we saved and watched Fox and HBO the rest of the evening. Yes I know exciting stuff:) Last night I had a sad dream about Jam. The Office is breaking my heart.

Got a neat cook book from Lisanne full of breakfast recipes. The book has a lot of neat ideas for morning meals. Thank you again Lisanne.

I like limes for drinks such as Limeaid and Mojitos but not so much in meals(unless Asian) but I don't enjoy lemonade but I do like lemons in meals and desserts. Another wacky food fact for you.

Because I am impatient I find it annoying when on the remote the quickest forward button isn't used.

Why can't pet owners actually take care of their pets? They aren't some object that can stand in the corner. I find these people as much at fault as the dogs.

I don't particularly enjoy eating Yoplait yogurt but I do so anyway so I can send in the tops to help raise money for Breast Cancer research.

Jessica told me that Wilton is now on TV(not in my area) but their website also has good tips.


Craving: Longer weekends.

Gee I wish there was a Dairy Queen closer to me. Maybe I can convince Niel to drive to one since it is Cinco De Mayo. I love Dairy Queen Sundaes and hot dogs. Will have to vicariously live through my own pics? And yes I was wearing a Strawberry Shortcake t-shirt while eating a strawberry sundae. Have a nice weekend all.

The best part of having the ability to take pictures on my cell phone is I don't miss an opportunity to share some of the wacky things Niel and I see on our commute to and from work. Of course the quality is not as good as it is with an actual camera but it is one less thing to carry, I don't have to worry about breaking our camera, and I can email the pics to myself and load them quicker than with my camera.
Witness the wacky below.

There was some promotion going on and there was a lady dressed as a strawberry and a guy in a banana suit.


There is a lady in our neighborhood who is in her sixties I guess who dresses very rock n roll. Spiked gray hair and high heeled shoes.




A little boy dressed as a Telly Tubby

Found on Maryland Mommy's site.

Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Jason Bateman

Who's Your 80's Heartthrob?

I was so proud of being able to grow good strong nails after being nailess in my teens and twenties. Then I break my first nail. I kind of feel it is a right of passage though.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. In some ways mine felt long other times it passed by too quickly. Friday after work I finally got into Trader Joes on Union Square. It was still so packed the employees had a difficult time keeping the shelves stocked. I found some items really affordable others not so much. But that's all supermarkets. I wanted to pick up two items but the line was way too long. So I went to Whole Foods and got in and out quickly. But they're really two different types of stores. Met up with Niel and we went home. Saturday I went over to my brother and Christine's place to help them paint and move. I took them over some food so they wouldn't have to worry about what to make. They are switching apartments with another tenant. Niel met up with me later after his softball game. Moving and painting is a pain. They were exhausted. The paint colors they chose were really nice. So far they only got their bedroom(dark maroon) and living room(latee) done. Every time I go over there I order this really yummy Chinese dish from their local take out place. I think it's called Singapore Chow Mein Fun. It is thin noodles seasoned with curry with veggies, meat and seafood. I wish my local Chinese take out had it on its menu. We then went home to unwind for a bit before we decided to go out for dinner. We were in the car when I spotted a dog running up the block without a leash with this guy running after him. So we get out of the car and start chasing it to try to catch it. The dog was fast. Practically the entire neighborhood was chasing it. We left after a while because by now we were starving. We went to Johnny Rockets. Niel really likes it there. We heard the new mall by us was open so we went to check it out. Only 10% of the stores were open but once it is fully it will be lovely. I hope it will always be. It is going to make it hard for me to want to move out of Queens. I didn't feel like I was in New York.
Sunday we went to my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday even though his birthday is today. My dad grilled porchops, peppers and eggplants. My mom made a chicken and rice dish. Mini meat loaves, mashed potatoes, noodles, salad and hummus. Tasty as usual. My mom's youngest aunt and her cousin from her oldest and now deceased aunt also came over. I took pictures on my cell phone of the weekend. They are a bit dark but here they are.