JANUARY 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Today is my mom’s 53rd birthday. WHerever you are mom, I hope youre rockin it.

January has been so insane for me that Im going to make a list here and now to see how I spent the month. I keep getting dates and weeks and weekends blurred together.

30 - Hoboken No Jokin - Maxwell’s Concert
31 - TAI’s House, Ball Drop, Haven New Years Party
1 - shopping with Sophian, New Year’s Day Dinner with Kate and Jen
2 - broke up with Sophian, spent the day with the band
3 - Kate and Jen came over for dinner
4 - date at the Haven
5 - Matterhorn came to visit!
7 - Anthony came to visit! Tali’s Bday Party @ Shoolbred!!
9 - BCS Championship Game with Chris, Jen, Joshua, Sarah and Allie Icicle Lights
10 - date @ Three Jolly Pigeons
11 - date @ Sunset Park
14 - Santino’s Birthday @ Rock n Rose
15 - Applejack Diner, Giant’s Game @ TAI, shepherding Santino around NYC
16 - Jen’s House dinner with roommates
18 - Hanging out @ Vinny’s
20 - party @ Jens
21 - Canal Room & Rubix Cube for Anns bday
23 - Jersey with Danny
24 - pregaming at Rock n Rose
25 - Scarlet Carson Headline debut @ Tammany, after show- hot tub party @ TAI
26 - Girls night at my place/marikart64tournament
27 - Slumber Party with Jen
28 - Hot Tub Party
3 - Scarlet Carson/TAI at the Stone Pony on the Jersey Shore
4 - Jersey Shore
5 - Super Bowl Party in Astoria

So THIS is why I have to spend the next 5 days (including today) doing an hour of exercise each day. I want to look GREAT on Friday at the pony.

Motivations for the week include (but are not limited to):

emoticon the black corset Im wearing Friday
emoticon suddenly finding myself often in my panties without warning due to the new hot tub at TAI-HQ
emoticon close encounters of the oops kind
emoticon about to make my second venture into the Jersey shore area scene, want to feel my best
emoticon (sunshiny secret in 2 weeks)
emoticon bare. midriff.
emoticon sexy time.
emoticon this year, we dance.
emoticon 3 months til the beach… groan - not that it really matters since im having to rock bikini in my pale pasty lumpy body right NOW
emoticon someone there has seen me naked.

SO

an hour minimum each day this week- I dont care what I do (as long as its more than stretching) I dont care if its:

ballet
boxing
pilates
sexy hot naked pilates
unsexy awkward ridiculous jumping jacks
planks and body weight exercises
freeweights
resistance bands
running
rollerblading
IDONTCARE

get sweaty, get stupid, for an hour every day this week.

This week’s Meal Plan

Monday - whole wheat pasta with homemade fresh sauce from farmer’s market tomatoes, onions, peppers and olives
Tuesday - chicken and cashew nuts with brown rice and veggies
Wednesday - asparagus and baby corn stirfry and lamb
Thursday - Tuna filet and brussels sprouts
Friday - redbull and vodka (but for my mid-day meal Im having salmon)
Saturday- good lord- whatever I can find on the boardwalk
Sunday- probably bad- super bowl food

Here’s some pics of what I’ve been up to!


besties!


serious birthday karaoke business at Rock & Rose

(before the real show- see below)





my two favorite bands taking over the stage at Tammany Hall



Bryant Park


Also - Im updating my online photography profile, it can now be found at:
frame23.smugmug.com/

emoticon So this week, I gotta pamper my ego a bit, cause Im about to be in front of tons of people and I dont want inner Bri to freak the frak out at the last minute. I need yoovie/bri to be one person, bright shiny engaging happy dancing free spirited and NOT SCARED.

emoticon Best way to do that is to go no prisoners all week.

emoticon YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

NAKED.
FEBRUARY BIKINI.
HOT TUB.
STONE PONY.

NO FEAR.

emoticon

Times Square - New Years Eve Recap

emoticon Friday Night - “Hoboken No Jokin”

outfit:


Jen and I ran to the Bowling Green and caught the PATH to HOBOKEN and trekked over a mile along the waterfront, in beautiful dry 50 degree weather, lovinnnnnnnnnn the view of the skyline, especially after just coming FROM the World Trade Center, which now SUPERdwarfs the Empire State Building.

view:

(picture by MYSELF but if you think im putting first/last names, you are quite naive about internet safety)

We walked through the very strange alternate universe of Hoboken, through gorgeous brownstones and walkups that made my mouth water… seriously, some were such gothic estates, I was amdly in love and almost forsook NYC for NJ in a heartbeat.

But then we got to Maxwells and had an AMAZING show, during which Joshua handed me the mic *heart* although, in this picture, it looks more like Im making out with Tim No 37 more than singing along with the guys :)


^picture credi tto Sonya Hanafi

After the show, we all got ishfaced and made a caravan back across (under) the Hudson River, then the East River (over), back to the burg (through the woods), where we went on a 2 am run for coffee, redbull, beer, brooklyn wraps, mountain dew and Jameo in painful shoes and involved a couple of the girls (not mahself) peeing illegally lololol (PEE ME A RIVER)

Then the band got back from unloading their gear and we had a slumber party. HIGH FIVE.
Great way to start new years eve.

As a sidenote, TIm No 37 says, if you’re a gay metal fan in NYC, come out of the closet and you’ll get this for NYE:



Nightly walk mileage total: 4.7 miles

emoticon Saturday: The NYE Triathlon (not an actual triathlon)

Woke up around 9 am, laid out on the deck with Joshua and Jen, soaking up some extremely unseasonal clear skies and hot sunshine! Ordered brunch a la couch and pigged out with everyone, laughing about the hilarity that ensued the night before, such as Peter rolling down 10th street, Joshua peeing on a curb for almost 6 minutes, the two girls wearing so much makeup and feathers and SoCo on their outfits that they were just… ANYWAY…

Then Jen and I took a short graffiti walk through Bushwick:






Then we took the N back over the Manhattan Bridge to get ready for Times Square and caught an amazing sunset:




Next we take the train to 7th Ave/53rd Street just north of Times Square and decide to brave the crowds by sneaking in from the north mostly down 7th, and then via 6th before cutting into the bowtie. Let me illustrate:



Now, the ball was blocked from our view because of the ESPN building, but we were able to see it reflected in the other buildings- so Im cool with that. It took us about an hour to get from my apartment in Brooklyn, to the front of the police barricades by 11:10 or so. I took out my camera when it was less than insane, because I had no intention of taking it out later. I originally planned to take it out in the insanity- but not til next year when I can be more prepared and its not a last minute I WONDER I COULD DO THIS O_O thing.

pictures of the walk up until we got to 42nd and 6th:









^ Empire State Building from Bryant Park





^ crowds coming from the East, Bryant Park side



^ getting close!



^from now on everything looks like this

because it was like this: (from Jersey North Shore News)


except for the ball dropping


(^ reflection)






and our proud asses at the very front of the police barricades (horns up)



Then there was screaming and fireworks and confetti and we made a mad dash for the D train in Bryant Park to escape the stampedes and get back to Brooklyn for part deux de la nuit.

Fast forward 45 minutes and a 10 degree temperature drop and Jen and I are changing from jeans/tshirts/sneakers to LBDs/twinkly jewelry and pumps in the middle of 58th and 4th Ave to get to the Haven’s Black & White Ball for champagne and dancing to meet my French boy.

HIGH FIVE for NYE with Jen.

Day’s Walk Mileage Total: 8.2 mi

emoticon Sunday: Woke up at 3pm after enjoying our sleep-in and diner dinner and kisses and quickies a bit too much before French boy and I brave Best Buy and Target on NY’s Day to get hime a laptop just in time for closing. Then I run to Jen’s for homemade gumbo a la her MOST AWESOME ROOMMATE (Iron Chef Soux chef Kate- soon to be on Bravo)



OM-NOMMITY-NOM. Then I ran all the way back to the french boy’s house to sleep there.

Day’s Walk Mileage Total: 3 miles

emoticon Monday: ugh

8:37 am Got dumped MID-gardening session because apparently the mere sight of me naked after 10 dates is just too horrible to stand any longer because it makes his gardening tools soft. FINE.

emoticon Monday: REDO!

called Peter and and headed straight to the band’s apartment for beers and movies and louging away until I had to get up to go to work, which was much nicer than playing translator for le douche.

sad; new body issues; whaddyagonnado?

It couldnt dampen the rest of a phenomenal NYE weekend and THAT is why it is by farrrrrrrrrrrr my favorite holiday.

Day’s Walk Mileage Total: 5.5 

Weekend Total Mileage: about 20-22 miles
Weekend Total Cost: $11.12 sht you not.

Alter-Ego Saviors and the BIGGEST BANG Theory

Friday, December 30, 2011

Oh its the MOST wonderful time… of the year.

NYE is my fave holiday :) Didja know that? Probably- i mean it makes sense, what’s shinier than New Year’s Eve?

I can think f one thing.

Times Square on NYE. Much shinier.

First though, I would like to say something.

Everytime I say Im overwhelmed, or sad, or wanting to hide- dozens and dozens of you come out of the woodwork to hater bash. Please see that I stopped complaining about haters a long time ago. When I say, ‘my role on SP’ -which is the role of a popular blog award winning motivator- this has nothing to do with haters. When I say, I wish I could hide or hibernate- this is not about haters bothering me- this is my real life shyness injecting itself into my online persona- because BRI is who I am. Yoovie is just who I sign in with the face that I use to interact with the world out there.

Yoovie comes up with amazing ideas and goes balls to the wall all the time and is just a giant gas giant of illegal fireworks going off. I need her to keep Bri from slipping into nothingness.

Bri stands against the sidelines at concerts and parties. She smiles and nods and clinks glasses. She stands in the front row when the bands go on stage and sings her heart out because she knows every word and the guys on stage are her little bothers. Because the crowd behind her filled with people that dont know her, scares the confetti out of her.

Yoovie is the part of my brain that makes Bri live.

Yoovie gets me to walk into the bedroom wearing nothing but a smile and a Viking Hat on the 2nd date.

Yoovie gets me to wear skimpy swatches of sequins and 4 inch heels.

Yoovie gets me to the best spot in the photographer’s pit.

Yoovie gets me to the Verrazano Bridge when Bri is convinced she’s ok with achieving nothing that day.

If it were up to Bri, I’d wear flannel pjs and have missionary gardening sans orgasms for the rest of my life. I’d wear sweatshirts and mom jeans to concerts and I’d slink along the back side of the photo pit and try not to bother anyone. I would never have started running.

Bri is shy as sht. She is socially awkward and most people dont get her sense of humor and that causes serious problems when the translation and tone dont carry through text. She’s always worried about stepping on toes and making sure everyone likes her. She is quick to give in and give up when people criticise her goals. Bri NEEDS yoovie.

So when you tell me that I know Im awesome, that I need to be slapped, that I would suffer without the attention I have probably gotten used to… you are assuming that the girl that walks around her house at 1 am, overthinking every aspect of her life and fighting against disappearing yet again and starting over elsewhere… is someone that you are such close friends with.. for so many years… that you can shout these things at her from the internet and she will take them as you mean for her to take them… since she also knows YOU so well.

Can you see my personal dilemma here, when Im writing myself into a frenzy all the time and people assume they know me because I write from the heart… but the catch is… Its not equal. You do not show me the same things I show you- I barely leave my page, I dont talk more than a few people, on occasion, on this entire website. Im terrified of most of you.

So slap me for compliment fishing, refusing to accept my popularity, complaining about my diamond shoes, pretending to dislike the attention or not being able to shrug off the invisible haters… and when you call me out on these things.. remember you are offering me this advise (in my head) as a stranger on the street that overheard a phone call I was on and shoved their two cents in.

Now sometimes I need 2 or 10 cents.
Sometimes your advice changes my life.
Sometimes it makes me cry.
Sometimes it makes me mad.
Sometimes it makes me ashamed.

But when you don’t read what I have actually written, and you assume its me ‘bitchin about haters again’ and throw the standard THEY JUS’ JEALOUS at me.. you can understand my O_o?? Assuming im ALWAYS talking about haters is crazy. I was told months ago to shut up and I DID. Its not ME that bitches about haters anymore. I put a sign on my page and shut up.

I changed my entire LEAVE ME ALONE about me section to something more informative and less isolationist.

I have somewhere to blog when I need to say more than I do in my blog here, but I dont like to because it feels like Im hiding those truths from myself.

I also stopped complaining about getting popular blog awards on my private embarassing humiliating tear filled blogs and instead just put a disclaimer on the ones I dont want to be voted for, made a cartoon and slapped it on my page.

So slap me. And then slap yourself. Cause pushing your views and needs on my alter-ego means only the real me can feel them. Not yoovie. Bri.

NEXT


newsbizarre.com/2009/12/
live-video-new-years-eve-2
010-times.html

Im about to undertake one of the greatest challenges Ive ever attempted in NYC.

Getting into Times Square for the ball drop.

I promised my little kid self when I was 16 that I would find a way to do it for her. Now Im going to be 4 miles from there and I see no reason why I should not take advantage of a dry as a bone, high 40s evening with no precipitation and a blueprinted plan and some Adderal and my BFF right there.


jgriffinstewart.com/blog
/2009_01_01_archive.html

This will be EPIC. If I can go out with the biggest bang ever, what a confidence boost to take my wallflower self into the next year from the mouth of the madness uner a METRIC TON of confetti listening to Pitbull, Gaga and Beiber.. I can do this.

Everyone says I cant handle it.
BUT I CAN.

And I will then be rewarded with a brand new deck of 365 and a kiss.

What will yo do with your brand new deck?


www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2
010/12/22/how-to-spend-new
-years-eve-and-day-the-nam
aste-way/

Happy New Year! Let’s evolve in 12!!!!!!!!

look ma im on the internet

Thursday, December 22, 2011



^ Me (in my shiny dress) and Peter at the benefit (you can see me around 2:02)

youtu.be/AON2l5mG3nU

This is the information about Hate the Hate and its origins told by Tim himself. Anyone that’s been asking for info on this movement- here ya go babes

I doublechecked the link, it works unless your computer has youtube blocked.

Remembering Why Im a Badass - 2011 Adventures Tally

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

from my AB team & mamalittle:

emoticon My 2011 Bragging Rights emoticon

emoticon Fitness:
pounds lost: 5 (did not realise I was at 179 on 1/1/11)
sizes lost: 2 
Inches lost: 12 
Bra cup sizes lost: 1 (D to C)
17204 Fitness minutes (which is an average of 47 minutes per day)
Ran/walked/strolled 973.7 miles
158 popular blog awards
8 half marathon distance runs (not races)
I beat my body against a rock wall with Joshua for my bday and got addicted

emoticon Work/Life:
emoticon promotion
emoticon bigger office in the executive wing with ace coworker (despite no raise)
emoticon Shot 12 bands and 16 shows
emoticon Had 11 photos published in various media including a guitar endorsement for Paul Reed Smith Guitars on their website.
emoticon And the promo shots for sold out shows at the famous Irving Plaza, Webster Hall, Sullivan Hall, Tammany Hall, Highline Ballroom and Gramercy Theater.
emoticon And was IN THE THICK OF IT for two sophomore CD release parties, one of which I did the cover art for and got my name credited with the track listing.
emoticon I got to attend the last rock show at Crash Mansion EVER
emoticon I carved my name in the wall at old CBGBs
emoticon spent my birthday weekend/9/11 on a yacht trip around manhattan island taking amazing pictures
emoticon I had 20 first dates, 9 second dates and 5 third dates
emoticon I learned the G line, the D line, the J line, the M line and the Q line and now getting around the city is way easier
emoticon I spent Memorial Day at a bbq on long island like youre supposed to
emoticon I spent the fourth of July and the entire summer in a bikini in Far Rockaway
 emoticonI spent Veteran’s Day taking pictures in GreenWood Cemetery of the graves from the battle of Brooklyn
emoticon I spent Labor Day weekend grilling burgers and watching football.
emoticon My college football team is undefeated and warming up for the BCS-SEC smackDOWN!!!!
emoticon I got to roadtrip and go to Fright Fest Dead and Local Halloween concert at six flags with my adopted family
emoticon I shot the band Saliva and then ended up consoling the lead guitarist when his girl dumped him right after thanksgiving
emoticon I shouldered Alec Baldwin getting out of a towncar at Madison Square Garden so i could catch my train to the Jersey wilderness
emoticon I shot Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Lincoln Center from the photographer’s pit at the runway behind Vogue and Bazaar photogs for several of my favorite designers
emoticon Including Gwen Stefani and Vivienne Tam, both whom I was able to meet and photograph
emoticon I was able to shoot the progess of the new World Trade Center as well as Occupy Wall Street, both of which will become part of history.
emoticon I got to shoot pictures across eastern America as I roadtripped from bon temps to brooklyn
emoticon I took a chance on dating again and did the hold hands, have emotions BS risk, and lost
emoticon But I stood up for myself and walked away when someone couldnt give me the bare minimum of what I needed, much less wanted.
emoticon I had the first tests of my friendship with Joshua and we lived through it and know each other much more, and know we can weather the storms.
emoticon I moved Jen to NYC.
emoticon I went through hell this past summer and still havent bailed on this life and started new and anonymous elsewhere
emoticon This is the longest I have lived in one place since I moved out of my parents house
emoticon I wore an itsy bitsy teeny tiny sparkly dress on 3 occasions,The August Infinity’s CD Release at Irving Plaza, the Scarlet Carson CD Release at Starland Ballroom and the Hate the Hate Benefit Concert (a charity event created by a dear friend of mine, for a cause I hold dear as well) at Sullivan Hall.
emoticon Sat on the jetty at night on Coney Island and watched the fireworks from the ocean
emoticon upheld our end of summer tradition of swimming out past the breakers, and watch the world die
emoticon I was able to see my parents for the last time and tell them goodbye
emoticon I made countless breakthroughs in my own mental blocks
emoticon I was able to tell a boy that I was crazy about that I couldnt see him ever again because I found out he had a girlfriend, and that took more self-respect than I had
emoticon I went to a Cyclones game and we won
emoticon I got to see Incubus with my best friend on Jones Beach for my birthday!!!
emoticon I learned Brooklyn soooooo much better
emoticon I dated a lawyer/pilot and a super cop, and now a French boy straight off the boat whom I now fall asleep kissing at night
emoticon I built an 8 foot snowman with Tom, and my dear friends got engaged in the snow and lights beside it on New Year’s Eve
emoticon Our Halloween decorations were featured in the New York post (OWEN BONEMAN SHOUTOUT!!!)
emoticonI made it to 42nd and 6thin time for the ball drop in Times Square on NYE!
emoticon I survived the Great NY Blizzard of 2011, the Great NY Earthquake of 2011 and the Great NY Hurricane of 2011 and HEATPOCALYPSE NY 2011…
and
emoticon I get laid an average of 3 weekends per month.

Your turn, biznatches, BRAG TIME. no humility allowed

I reserve the right to update this as the holidays get closer.

HATE THE HATE Benefit & my weekend

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Hate the Hate Benefit was amazing. There was the young adult outreach theatre troop from Maimonides Hospital which put on skits about cruelty to peers, including things such as… asking girls out as a joke… which really resonated with me and I was so glad to be in the audience.

An audience full of mohawks and tattoos and giant piercings and metal and people that most mainstream Americana consider to be violent drug-addicts when they look at them. But one of the truest things about the rock and metal scene is that they are by far, the most tolerant group of music fans in NYC. If you are different, or people shun you for not being like the rest of ‘normal’ society… the rock scene here loves you that much more and welcomes you in with open arms.

The audience was in tears and we were all so moved by everything that was being talked about. The organizer, our dear friend, Tim No.37, has been a victim of a hate crime and his tireless efforts to raise money for suicice prevention and tolerance have certainly become a magic and heartfelt charity that the scene here is wholeheartedly embracing, It makes my heart swell.

Here is me in my dress:



Once evreyon else uploads photos, Im sure I will have a full body shot I can show. My dress got a shoutout from the stage, so Im happy :)

Here are some pictures from my walks this weekend, yes it was Sunset Park AGAIN but the sky was so amazing:





^ you can see how big the Freedom tower is getting (left- tallest building, black on top), its finally bigger than the Empire State Building! (far right)



I ate all these things at the christmas party lol

Also, I had date #3 with the french boy… le happy
photo credits all to myself, frame23.tumblr.com

sparkly dresses, motivation of the day and a drunk christmas kiss

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

SURPRISE! My bff JEN has caught the fitness bug! Im soooo proud. What with Joshua in full-blown P90X mode and me always running my tush off, how could she not cave in to the pressure? Of this spring boards my own motivation!

What do I do when I get motivated? I GET MOAR MOTIVATED.

Its sooooooooooooo hard to get motivated when you just… arent. But its soooooooooooooo easy and fun to build up mounds and mounds and mounds of motivation, when you are ALREADY motivated… so it will last longer.

Im a motivation hoarder.

Today’s motivations come from Reasons To Be Fit! ( reasonstobefit.tumblr.co
m/ )



Yup, this week I’ve been motivating myself by doing it for the bragging rights. Ashamed? no.

How was your day today?
Pretty good, got in almost 6 miles before work.
On the treadmill?
Nope, on da road baby.
AWESOME, I ran up and down the stairs an did planks and situps and pushups
High Five JEN
High Five BRI

^ positive happy conversation.




Not in a talky talky mood today.
But I did get a kiss in the middle of fifth ave at 2 am from a beautiful french boy who walked me home.
It was a christmassy type kiss.
I wish I could have floated out of my body and taken a a picture so I could believe it.


(NIKE.COM)

Here are my pictures from Jen and I’s walk on Saturday, back and forth and up and down Fifth Ave. (quote source frame23.tumblr.com aka me)








^jEN SEEING THE LIVE TREE FOR THE FIRST TIME (ABOUT 1/3 MILE AWAY)

ugh crapslock

TOMORROW is the HATE the HATE Benefit show a Sullivan Hall, and Im excited because I get to wear a dress that I have never gotten to wear before (nailed to the wall last year) It looks like this dress (from forever21 but not exactly the same, different pattern on the sequins and mine is black and silver, no pink)



And Im crushing on someone that just may perhaps slightly but i doubt it be there.
crosses fingers
forgets to eat and breathe

leaving you with this thought: (from believe-toachieve.tumblr.com)



Im wearing that dress and I refuse to talk myself out of it.

Saturday

Saturday, November 26, 2011

I somehow have officially gained 17 pounds since November 15.
The only reason I can find for this BS is that thats about a week after I switched to whole grains and wheat cardboard.
So you know what?
F$%# you WHOLE GRAINS.
At least when I ate white bread and bagels I only had 5 servings a week (maybe).

emoticon I know I love myself today because:
emoticon When I saw another 5 pounds on the scale this morning, I decided to go for a short run instead of doing an ST session.
emoticon Instead of doing two and a half miles, I did 8.70 miles.
emoticon Instead of going to Park Slope or staying in my neighborhood, I treated myself to the Verrazano for the first time in forever.
emoticon on my period.




 

THXGVG: Food Porn, Photos, Recipe, Stuff

Friday, November 25, 2011

I decided to finally cook something and take you along with me! Here is the healthy casserole that I made to bring to Westchester for those of us that didnt want to eat a pile of salt and butter and fat!

Here’s what you need:

emoticon about a pound of chicken, messily chopped/torn up into bite sized pieces
emoticon about 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, fat-free, fat-full whichever you prefer
emoticon about 8 oz of chopped up broccoli tops (or one 9 oz box of the frozen stuff)
emoticon handful of minced onions
emoticon handful of sliced mushrooms
emoticon about 20-25 quarter inch pieces of sundried tomatoes
emoticon 1/4 cup sliced green beans
emoticon 2 tbsp of butter or whatever you want to use to keep sht from sticking to your skillet
emoticon half a package of neufchatel or cream cheese, low fat, non-fat, all fat whatever (4 oz)
emoticon a cup of chicken broth, homemade, can, carton, I dont care
emoticon 3 cups of dry pasta, the swirlies and fusilis and big ziti ones work nice

Make your oven 375 and boil water for your pasta.
Heat up a “non-stick” (lol) s’killit and melt in whatever butter/i cant believe its not/olive oil in the bottom and dump your chicken in and stir it constantly.

When its all cooked white on the outside, stir in your chicken broth and sundried tomatoes…



…and simmer it until the chicken is cooked through and about half of the broth has been cooked down or absorbed…



Now add in your cream cheese stuff, in about 6 equal sized lumps. Make sure the burner is on low and stir it slowly every minute or so while the cream cheese is melting. (You can chop onions and slice mushrooms and stuff at the same time).



It should look like this when the cream cheese is all melted and stirred in well. Now add in half of your mozzarella.



By now your pasta water should be boiling, add in your pasta to start cooking.

Dump in your onions, green beans and half of your mushrooms to the chicken part (yes in the s’killit with the cheese and stir it all together) so they can start dding their falvor to the meat as it cooks down.




When your pasta is almost done, dump in your broccoli and the rest of your veggies to cook together in the pot, yes it will need to come to a boil again.



When the pasta and vegetables have cooked, drain them and add them to the chicken mixture.



Stir it all together so that the cream cheese/chicken broth gravy coasts everything lightly.



Then pour it all into a glass casserole dish and mash it all down tight with the back of your spoon/ladel/hand/whatever.



After it cooks for 20 minutes, pull it out of the oven and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top and put back for about 3-7 minutes til its all melted and delicious. Put it up on the stove (no heat) to relax for like 10 minutes before you eat it or it will burn your tongue off.



tada!

Now here is the rest of the day!

I woke up early and went for a 4K:




It was a clear crisp BEAUTIFUL and CLEAN morning, so fresh and invigorating.
Then I hit up the farmers market to get the ingredients for my casserole that I just explained to you. And then I cooked it and Jen came over and we started drinking. (it was about 10:30 am)

I took a long luxurious relaxing bubble bath and then decided to just NOT dress up and instead, go to THNXGG in my tights and Uggs and pjs because I am allowed to do that. Jen looked adorable though. We finished getting ready and ran of to Grand Central Station to meet Tom and Lawrence by the clock on the main concourse.






Then we got up to Westchester and did the social thing for a couple hours before starting on MISSION:FDH (fat,dumb,happy).

THANKSGIVING FOOD-PORN


roasted brussels sprouts, asparagus, purple onions, baby potatoes and chestnut dressing.


turkey and real cranberry sauce!


My whole plate!



HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Whisky, butterflies, reset buttons & marking your territory

Voted Popular Blog Post: View All Popular Posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Link to video in case this doesnt work

^Scarlet Carson, Joshua & friends at Starland Ballroom, performing an all-star cover of Highway to Hell

emoticonemoticonWARNING! THERE ARE TWO CURSEWORDS AT THE END OF THIS VIDEO- TURN IT OFF BEFORE THE END IF YOU DONT WANT TO HEAR ANY OBSCENITIES- I CANT EDIT! emoticonemoticon

There’s this guy, of whom I have a picture, standing over the body of a shark.

Now, most of you who know me, and my mermaid lifestyle and mermaidy medical issues with H2O, also know that I HATE sharks. What kind of a-holes terrorize a beach? Gangs and sharks, that’s who. I HATE SHARKS.

I found out this summer, that when I come in contact with these forever hungry evil bastids, that I will do EVERYTHING that I am not supposed to do.

I stop swimming and start panicking
I start splashing around trying to move in circles so I dont lose its shadow.
I gulp lungfuls of water and pee a little, probably.
etc
etc
make like a baby seal
etc
etc

So when I see the guy, standing over the shark, my little heart goes pitter pat. OOooh squeak, look, he murdered one. heartheartheart.

And, like my AB girls pointed out to me, Im a fan of men who are extreme hunters. THe last one was sending me videos on my phone of them catching and killing monster gators that were getting too close to schools, etc.

Combine that with a few tours in Iraq, a hot and sexy hard core work ethic, some kind of magic cologne that he must have surely gotten from some secret pheromone lab, a burning love of history, burritos and whisky, a great handshake and those pretty pretty light eyes… well… LOL, you’ve got yourself a date, mister.

First date lasted over 12 hours. We stuffed our faces with these 100% super fresh burritos made from local food, we ate super messy and got it everywhere, with a big old pillar candle on the table in the back yard because the kitchen light didnt shine close enough to us and it was late. We split a bottle of Jack and a bottle of Coke, and I havent had soda in forever, damn that stuff is thick and sweet, eh? I needed the Jack just to cut it.

I must admit, without even leaving my yard, it turned out to pretty much be the best first date either of us have had. Its true, he told me so.

So take that original list that got him a date with me and add that he’s an amazing kisser, can hold his alcohol, held my hand (i just do not do that), shot the sht with my roommates (this also is usually forbidden), told me he was 20 minutes away so I could have time to panic and run in more circles before he got to my house- even though he was already parked, he’s cocky and a smartass and his humor is dead on, did I mention how amazing he smells?, has a big hearty laugh just like me, sent me a message in advance telling me he’d figured out Im shy and that it’s totally ok, and I could probably just keep on listing things all afternoon.

ANYWAY, before he left in the morning, he walked over to my bed and sprayed my pillows with his cologne. Marking his territory.

I looked like this: emoticon

So… yeah… finally, in a plausible situation, where the timing is actually ok as well… (I always either have chemistry or timing, as a rule, absolutely never both at once) I have da buttahflies. And we are going to go spend the weekend out in the country.

So he heads back home, I do a quick run, head off to Jersey for a short workday, get back to Brooklyn, run to get some lamb (1/2 mile pays for a lamb dinner, a mile if I get a burrito), speedwalk over to visit Jen, hit the train to Williamsburg and throw in another mile walk to Joshuas pad.

Reset button weekend! Joshua is my reset button, as I am his. We spend a bunch of time together all at once, get everything off our shoulders etc… actually maybe I should call him a foam roller?

Saturday, we hit up IKEA, spent hours wandering, (I got a new wok for all my asian creations o healthy om-nom-ness!) and we spent the afternoon drinking whisky and he was assembling tables and shelves and cocktails. Once we were nice and toasted, we piled into JameO and headed out to Jersey to Starland Ballroom for Scarlet Carson’s cd release “Foreverless”. I donned my lil black n white dress, which I promptly ran into the bathroom to take a picture of so I could send it to my sexy shark man. Gimme a break, it was my first strapless dress :)



I really hate that that picture makes me look like i have on black pany hose when I was barelegged, but whatever- photorgapher’s criticism right? Im glad I had the cajones to wear it. I love that none of the tiny dresses in my closet are just for decoration anymore, thanks to exercise becoming an actual real part of my life.

For their encore, they pulled up all the singers from all the bands they’d played with that evening, and Joshua, for an allstar cover of Highway to Hell——Oooh, I have a video!- brb to make this a Video blog. Joshua is all the way at the end, stage right, in a gray shirt with red short sleeves. It was so much fun! I had to take off my heels tho, the balls of my feet were about to explode.

Sunday, I wake up to an Alabama belt buckled bass player running circles around me in the livingroom, ‘i think we need cheeseburgers, god damnit, i think we do. You need to wake up young lady. Its 11 o clock and that means you’ve had about 5 or 6 hours of sleep, its time to wake up and make these cheeseburger dreams come true.’

So we packed up the band, walked to an associated food store, and well, part of the hilarity of grocery shopping with a bass player, a guitar player, a frontman and his step-dad, is that they all run around the store like 6 year olds OMG CAN WE GET THIS? HOW ABOUT THIS? I WANT THIS TOO! THIS IS IMPORTANT! BUY ALL THESE THINGS! WAIT THAT HAS MORE COLORS ON THE LABEL THAT MAKES IT BETTER!!! and. its. hilarious.



I made some seriously delicious cheeseburgers. I ate two. And a hot dog. and like… 9 beers. and like 10 shots. And one of those little things of ben & jerry’s. YEAH I WAS A GLUTTON. But it was my reset weekend :( I needed it.

So Im sitting on the deck in my post bbq food coma with Joshua and the guys and random girls and friends and neighbors who have trickled in and I look up at this patio on the roof of a neighboring taller building and see that the metal parts are burning electric orange.

THis means that behind me, out of view, is an AMAZING sunset. And Im always right about these things, so Joshua and I rounded up everyone and scooted us to the top floor roof deck for a view of one of the most beautiful sunset views I have ever had the priviledge of witnessing. And it kept changing colors!!!








And then we stayed up all night long again, running our mouths, gossiping, gushing, TMIing, the whole nine yards, just… resetting.

And then, like every early morning commute through Manhattan, as I was going over the Manhattan Bridge, the sunrise just gushed all over my world with pale gold pixie dust out the wazoo.




^ the half black one is the new Freedom Tower, 1 WTC



So I am actually concentrating on the positives in my life, though so many people are constantly telling me that Im going to burn out, that I take no time to stop and smell the cologne on my pillows, that I treat myself like a robot, that I dont love, that all I do is go go go go go …


well Im sure to some people, exercising every other day seems just effing ridiculous. And Im sure that seeing someone come out with a new blog for a series she is writing, once or twice a week, is just ludicrous. And Im sure that seeing me be so hard on myself in my private blog, when I need to sort myself out, instead of bottling it up and letting it leak out into my life, sounds stupid to lots of people. And getting up and going day after day after day after day… to someone that prefers to do the bare minimum, would be the road to burnout.

But for me, this is life.

So Im busy, don’t worry, that hasn’t slipped my mind. Quite the contrary… this is the life I hand picke for myself.

I see moms chasing toddlrs in circles 16 hours a day and Im like… um excuse me but that’s gonna kill you, lady. But i dont say anything, cause we are all designed to handle certain kinds of perpetual action, maybe yours is toddlers, maybe yours is just sitting on the couch NOT moving, maybe yours is walking around neighborhoods all the time, maybe you have a job that takes up 12-25 hours a day, maybe you run amok in NYC attending concerts and making cheeseburgers, but you can only know when YOU will burn out, not anyone else on the internet.

I get more overwhelmed by spark, than I do by my own life. In my life, Im normal and I am finally starting to be able to blend in with the background, nicely, liek I love to do, being the friend in your corner instead of in the middle of the spotlight. Im a photographer, I like being out of view. I love soaking in what I see and hear, not being WHAT is seen and heard.

So dont worry about me burning out. Im 32 and this aint my first rodeo, or my first workout, or the first website that adopted me (good lord, yall should have seen what happened with me on a certain dating site.

Im ok.

Just because I write that Im down in a blog, doesnt mean Im clinically depressed, Im just being honest in my blog.

SO now IM going to go make a plan to burn some freaking calories before I get to go away to the country this weekend with Mr Man.

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