To someone I look up to

Today I wanted to take some time to write a very special post about a person that I admire and look up to not only as a mentor, but as a person and a friend. I have only known this person for a few short months, but in that amount of time she has changed my outlook on more things than she knows.

This blog post is dedicated to Dawn. I met Dawn a few months ago when I started working on a new team at work. She was leading the team and the girl who was working under her quit. I didn't have much work on the team I was originally hired for so I started helping her out. Honestly, once I started working on the team with her my thoughts about work completely shifted. I went from being completely miserable and bored out of my mind to genuinely excited about coming to work again. We work on a cancer treatment for patients with a very specific type of lung cancer (the FDA just approved it last Friday which is a big deal and a very exciting feeling for all of us that work on it). Dawn is honestly one of (if not the best) bosses I have ever had. I have learned so much from her, but she doesn't micromanage or question everything I do. There is honestly nothing worse for me than micromanaging. She has given me a renewed sense of passion and excitement for what we do, because at the end of the day we are partly responsible for a patient's life being extended when they thought they didn't stand a chance. She has the most positive attitude all the time, even when the work gets really stressful (something I'm still trying to learn more from her). Essentially she is one of the most well-liked people in the office, and we would all be sad if she ever left the agency.

But it's more than just a working relationship. I feel at ease just from walking into her office and sitting on her couch. We have become really good friends, and I can honestly say that whenever I do get married she will not only be invited, but there will be a very special dance for her and I to "Show me Love" by Robyn S which has become one of our many jokes.

Her attitude toward life is amazing. Though I can't claim to know that much about her and her background, I do know that she has faced some hardship in life. Yet despite it all she is the person that everyone wants to be around. Lately she has been going through a pretty hellish time at work (literally has not had a day off in weeks, works every weekend, and even worked through the hurricane that NYC just experienced). I wish there was more that I could do for her to help ease her workload, and I hope she knows how much I look up to her and what she means to me.

So to one of the most amazing women I think I will ever be lucky enough to cross paths with, and someone that I am so happy to call my friend......This shot of Jameson is for you!

Fantasy Football '11

I tried to come up with a clever title for this blog post about fantasies, but it just wasn't happening, so I finally decided to call a spade a spade.

Those of you that know me, know that I'm a pretty big football fan. I LOVE the months of September through early February (despite winter) because it means that Sunday Funday gets taken to a whole new level. As a reminder I am a Patriots fan, and I usually watch the games at a bar with the other Pats fans in NYC. I've been going to the same bar almost every week for the last 2 football seasons, I've learned most of the ins and outs of the game, and have even gotten to the point where a loss actually affects my mood. But this year, I decided I was going to try something new to make football season even more amazing (if thats even possible) and I joined a fantasy football league.

The league I am in is an all female league that we are doing just for fun. I have been hesitant to do fantasy football because outside of the Patriots players I really don't know any key people in the NFL. When my friend mentioned this free league to me I figured it would be the perfect way to learn. I registered for yahoo and created my team (Team name - Check out my TDs). We had our draft on Monday night and I ended up with a pretty decent roster. I will say the draft process was a little intense. It moves really fast and you don't have a lot of time to select your players, but I think I did okay for a newbie.

Now I just have to sit back and relax until September 8th when the fun really begins. LETS GO PATS!

(Also - insert key refernces from the show The League on fx - prob one of the best shows on television and everyone should watch it)

Epic Dinner Fail

So first, I want to say that I'm sorry for being MIA. I used the lack of a computer as an excuse, but I've decided that it's acceptable to blog at work (esp. considering I work in markerting and everyone is pushing social media).

I have so many things to blog about since my last posts back in March, but I figured I'd start off small and ease my way back into it with a silly post about my epic dinner fail that I had last night.

Lets start with the fact that I haven't really grocery shopped in forever! I think it had been about 2 and a half weeks since I went to the store. When I went I stocked up on my usual, tons of fruits and veggies, hummus, yogurt, all the good stuff and no junk. Unfortunatly, after I shopped I worked late just about every night (and by late I mean the earliest I got home was 10pm). And lets be honest, if I'm getting home at 10pm I am not making a real meal. So all my yummy produce got thrown away. However, I did also pick up this apple cinnamin chicken sausage that sounded interesting and that had a much longer shelf life.

Fast forward to last night when I no longer had produce but decided to make pasta with my sausage and homemade cream sauce. I decided I would try to make the sauce with almond milk to make it healthier. MISTAKE! First, I ruined the first batch of sauce because I was distracted by my fantasy football draft (more on that in a later post). Anyone that knows how to cook would know that you need to watch the cream sauce the entire time and stir frequently. Needless to say when I returned to my kitchen several minutes later I had a sauce mess on my hands. I dumped batch #1, washed the pan and tried a second time after my football draft was over. Even on the second attempt my sauce did not come out so great. I followed the recipe for a typical alfredo sauce, but I think because I used almond milk the sauce never really thickened and got the right consistency. Then my parmasean cheese never really melted into the sauce. All in all it was a messy disaster. I ate it with my pasta and sausage, and even cut up a few chunks of mozz cheese, but I don't think I'll be attempting that again (unless I use cream this time).

I like to try new recipes and things in the kitchen a lot. Usually they come out pretty tasty, but this time it was a bit of a flop.

What are some of your cooking horror stories? What are your favorite recipes to make? Can anyone teach me how to make a homemade cream sauce?

I'm Back!

Very exciting news....I finally bought a new laptop!!!! Which means, I will be able to blog again!

Pardon my appearance

Of my blog that is. I've decided I needed a more simple template for my blog. Though I enjoyed my old look courtesy of cutest blog on the block, I want to go in more of a clean and simple style. While I'm looking for a new template that I like, please bear with me and my lame blue background. It will be back up and running soon and then I'll really get to blogging for you all!

Thanks!

Going in a new direction...

So I think I have decided to take my blog in a bit of a new direction. Lets face it, my dating life is less than successful, so I can probably man bash every day about something or someone new. And I'm sure there will still the occasional dating/relationship/man bashing post, but I've decided to shift the focus of my blog and make it more about living my life in NYC.

I've been blessed with the ability to move to NYC after college, have been here for almost 4 years and have finally begun to set up a life for myself here. There are so many people who dream about living here, but just can't do it. So now, I am going to embrace the fact that I can and let you in on all the things NYC has to offer (Good and Bad).

I'm Still Here

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here and I plan to get back to blogging very soon. I'm actually going through blogging withdrawls, I miss writing like crazy.

Unfortunately I used to use my company laptop from my old job for personal use as well. And since I started my new job I no longer have a computer (and I don't feel comfortable blogging at work yet). I plan to buy a new laptop very soon and then I'll get back to updating on a regular basis.

Sorry for being MIA for so long.