Just a few random Ben things

An Ode to Toblerone

This might be kind of a stupid blog post, but I just wanted to let everyone know how much I love Toblerone. It's a whole lot of fantastic.

My love affair with toblerone began in early 2005. I weighed about 120 pounds and hadn't really eaten carbs in over a year. I decided to visit my brother and his now wife in Maryland and rode down w/ my brother. The trip was going very smoothly until we hit traffic in Maryland. I started whining to him that I was hungry. He directed me to a yellow package in the backseat.

"What is this?" I asked him.
"It's Toblerone - chocolate," he answered.

Keep in mind that at this point, I don't think I had had chocolate in months, possibly even a year. But I was starving.

"Okay, I'll just have one piece," I told him, "Just one!"

Uhhh no. I had one piece and it was, like I said, a whole lot of fantastic. It was all over for me right there. That one piece turned into me eating their whole entire stash of toblerone. I buy it at airports (duty freeeeee!!), and I always have at least a triangle in the freezer.

My other favorite candy are kinder eggs, but that is a whole different story.

Great Weekend :-)

I had such a nice weekend. Friday I found out that I officially was accepted to the nursing program that I worked so hard to study for. Then we went out for Indian food and came home and had some red wine. It was nice.
Saturday we went to my aunt and uncle's house to return my cousin's bassinet. Their house is on a lake and it is very beautiful. Ben got to meet his second cousin, Alexendria, and we had a really nice dinner.
Sunday Damien took Ben over to see some of his family members.... AND I GOT TO SLEEP IN!!!! Woohoo!!! I slept from from 11 pm - 11 am. When I got up, I made myself some coffee, read the paper, and had a nice breakfast. This might not seem like a big deal...but it's the first time I've had any time to myself in a long while. Then I went shopping. I hit up Target to pick out some stage 2 food for Ben Ben (he gets to move up to meats!). Did you know that they make jarred stage 2 macaroni and cheese dinners? YUCK! That is SO not nutritious. I tried to pick out some healthy things, like chicken and apples, turkey and wild rice, apples and peaches, etc etc. I also got some work clothes for myself, because I haven't bought anything for myself in a really long time. Oh! And I also got a 10 inch springform pan that I've been wanting (so I can make tarts).
Sunday afternoon I went food shopping and cleaned the house. All in all it was a great weekend!

9/11 - Part One

For some reason, on my way to work today, I started thinking about September 11th. I do this every so often...although less frequently as the years have passed. I can't believe it has been almost 9 years. I'm not sure what makes me think about it, and I don't like thinking about it.

September 10th I went around to different sororites at NYU because my roommate and I were thinking about pledging. We had so much fun - on the way home we even stopped at the cafeteria and had a late night snack. I remember being so pissed when I got back to our dorm because my roommate had locked herself in our room w/ a boy. I slept on the couch in my suite.

On September 11th I woke up at 6:30 am, showered, dressed, and grabbed a bagel at Bagel Bob's on fifth avenue w/ my roommate. Then I ran to meet my calculus study group in Washington Square park. It was a gorgeous morning, and I was literally running - it felt so good. We studied, talked, basically got to know eachother. At 7:45 I walked with a throng of students to the main building in Washington Square park. It was such a pain to wait for the elevator, so I trudged all the way up to the 14th floor. I remember thinking - I fucking hate climbing these stairs. I'm fat, and I need to quit smoking.

My calculus teacher was a boring, boring man. I swear, he was about 90. He was sweet as anything, but very cut and dry - you know the type. He would spend about 90 minutes going over one problem. Because I was having trouble, I chose a seat at the front of the class. Class started at 8 o'clock...the professor droned on...and on...and on...I could barely keep my eyes open.

All of a sudden, a kid at the back of the class exlaimed "Holy fucking shit!! A plane just hit one of the towers!" - which jolted everyone out of their lull. Everyone crowded to the back of the class (which had windows that looked out over lower Manhatten). Everyone was talking excitedly - at this point we thought it was a horrible, tragic accident. There was a girl in my class, I remember her, she was talking about how her dad was working in the other building, but she was worried. She tried to call him on his cell phone, but he didn't answer. We all just stood there and stared - it felt like eternity. The sounds of sirens and ambulances started sounding everywhere...they would get louder and fade, louder and fade.

What happened next I will never forget. I swear, it is burned into my retinas and brain. I heard a girl scream "WHAT IS THAT" - saw a shadow...saw the plane...as it slammed into the second tower. Clear as day. The plane didn't even try to avoid the fucking thing, it just slammed right into it. There was a huge billow of smoke. Well, the girl who's dad worked in that building let out a scream that I will never forget. It was almost like a howl, and she fell to the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably. I swear, everything was happening in slow motion. I can still see the looks on everyone's faces - shock, disbelief - the girls friend helped her up and they rushed out of the room. I don't think anyone knew what to do.

The fire alarm in the building was pulled, so we got ready to leave. Then campus security came by and said that the building was on lock down, and no one could leave. So we all filed back to our seats.

I'll post the rest of my story later, right now I have to get some work done. Heavy thoughts, man. Heavy thoughts. *sigh*

Portrait Pictures

Portrait Pictures

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Just wanted to say Happy St. Paddie's day to everyone. My, how things have changed. I remember on my first St. Patrick's day being 21, my friends and I headed out to the bar at 11 am w/ the goal to make it to 12 am. We spent the whole day bar hopping, and somehow managed to make friend's w/ a giant group of people and ended up on a party bus. It was awesome. This year I'm going to wrap myself in my Snuggie and hang out w/ Ben on the couch. :-)

I had to wrestle with a 14 pound corned beef that Damien brought home from his job. I had to trim the fat (quite extensive) off it this morning and I cut my finger pretty bad :-( Oh wells. This better be the best damn corned beef and cabbage ever. Also, I couldn't find my green shirt.

In case you are wondering why mr. Snuffleupagus is hanging out in my blog post...well...it's a shout out to my favorite Sister-in-Las...Mrs. Carrie Gaffney :-) Hehe.

New York State Drivers

Suck. Or is it just drivers in general? I don't know. One of my biggest pet peeves is this. You see me coming. There is no one behind me. Why oh why, do you pull out sharply in front of me and then slam on your brakes, causing me to slam on my brakes, and then go 30 mph (when the speed limit is 45)? Do you take great joy in this, or is your intellectual level that of a small rock?

I also can't stand it when people tail me, especially now...when I have Ben in the car. It annoys the crap out of me and I've noticed that it's often young drivers. It's dangerous, and it shouldn't be done.

I had a young girl almost hit me the other day...we were driving and she almost pulled out INTO me!! I stopped the car and got out, where she started apologizing profusely, but I screamed at her. I'm not proud of myself, but how is "I didn't see you"? and excuse? I don't think so.

I'm a bit cranky this morning...long day at work ahead of me.....and I didn't have a chance to get coffee this am because I had to pick up a birthday cake (yes, at 5 am) for a work party, because I forgot to make cupcakes last night. :-(

Grammy K Visits!!

My mom came to visit this weekend...we really had a lot of fun. I miss her because she lives in Boston and I never really get to see her. We had SO much fun!!! I was pretty sad to see her go. We went out to dinner at The Garlic Lover's Corner, shopped, watched Precious, and had Ben's portraits taken (Sunday).

Here are some pictures from our weekend!

An Ode to Burritos (and burrito bowls...and just good Mexican food in general)

Can I even begin to explain how much I love Chipotle? Burritos are magical. My favorite is carnitas, guac, lettuce, medium salsa, and fajita veggies, with rice on the bottom.

Albany is kind of a black hole for decent eats (I have a vision of Alton Brown coming to visit Albany and standing in a parking lot screaming...why????) but there are a few gems when it comes to Tex Mex or Mexican Food.

I love the following retaurants:

1) Jose Malone's - Troy, NY: http://www.josemalones.com/

Five words: Giant. Margaritas. Top. Shelf. Tequila.
Need I say more? I think not

2) El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant: 144 Washington Avenue, Albany (no website)

This place is probably the most authentic of the three. Their mole sauce is unbelievable. Usually when I go their I get their vegetarian enchiladas topped w/ mole sauce - or their stuffed peppers topped with mole sauce (I like mole sauce. Got it?) They also have pitchers of margaritas (notice a theme? Awesome) and sangria. The only downside is the area. Last time Damien and I went there, I had to step over a homeless man to get inside. I would recommend parking on Lark street around the corner.

3) El Loco Mexican Cafe: http://www.ellocomexicancafe.com/

This place is right of of Lark Street and definitely has more of the ambiance thing going on. It's in a college area, so that's the crowd you'll find. It's small and noisey - but they make guacomole at your table and have 15 different types of salsa to choose from in their salsa bar. I am partial to their hard/crunch tacos. Carnitas and all the fixings stuffed in a hard shell taco wrapped in a soft taco. Kind of like a high class Taco Bell crunch wrap, without the questionable meat.

The only thing that pisses me off about this place is that they charge you per drink. Damien ordered 3 diet cokes the first time we went there and they charged us $9.75 for them. Their margaritas are thimble size too, and made with cheap tequila unless you upgrade at considerable cost.

In summation:
For great drinks, go to Jose Malone's. For great food, go to El Mariachi. If you're looking for ambiance and something that is a short walk to bars, go to El Loco Mexican Cafe.

Gracias por la lectura. No hay nada mejor en vida que buenas bebidas y buenos amigos.

What can I do to reduce my carbon footprint?

This has been weighing on my mind a lot lately, and in the next few years I would like make some changes in my life to reduce my carbon footprint. It seems like it would be a waste of time if I didn't use some of the extensive education that I've had on earth sciences to use it for some good. This year we are starting a sustainable garden to grow fresh veggies for Ben. We are also going to make a compost heap (I know, ewww smelly). I have changed out all my lightbulbs to energy savers. We started recycling, and we also joined a Co-Op. I think that's a good start, but if anyone has any suggestions I am all ears.

Pictures of Ben

Just wanted to share! He's getting so big I can't even believe it. I recently bought him a "jumper" and he's discovered jumping. He likes to take his binky out of his mouth and throw it on the floor, too.
Today we had an EPIC diaper blowout. Applesauce + Ben = bad. I swear, he had it in his hair. How does it make it from the diaper all the way up to his hair?

Update: blogger is giving me problems uploading pictures. I'll add more later.

xoxo,
Jenn

Weekly Wine Recommendations

My weekly wine recommendations are the following:

1) For a cheap, yet good tasting white wine...I would recommend Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. This has been a staple in my life since I discovered it in 2001 at a wine tasting in Allston. For it's price, it is suprisingly good! It's definitely a spring/summer wine (although you can def. be like me and drink it year round). I'm bad when it comes to what wine tastes like (wtf is gooseberry, anyway?) - but even I can tell you that this wine is heavy on the citrus....lime...grapefruit..with a bite. It's delicious, but def not rich and buttery...so if you are a huge fan of the oaky/buttery chardonnays from Cali..this might not be your favorite pick.

2) For a cheap, fantastic red I would recommend Layer Cake Shiraz. I first had this wine in 2006 and it has also become a favorite of mine. I believe they make a Malbec as well, but I've never had it. If it's as good as the Shiraz (which I normally hate) then you're in for a treat. One to learn a wine tidbit? Shiraz is made from the same grape that Syrah is. Anyway...this wine is suiting of it's name. It's dark and decadent. If I had to pick any underlying flavors I would say chocolate....and heavy cream. Yet....it's still light. Delicious.

First Post Ever

Welcome to my blog! I've never really done this before, but I figured that it would be a good way for everyone to keep track of Ben Ben. I'm pretty sure no one will read this but I'm okay with that. I'd love to blog about stuff like wine, food, and gardening....books....I'll leave the political views to my brother.