Witness

Normally I'm use to talking to witnesses to crimes. As a criminal defense attorney, witnesses can be key to my cases and clients. I'm use to working with witnesses. I'm not use to being a witness, at least not until last night.

Last night was memorable for several reason. I had my first girls' night at my new place and had a wonderful time catching up with good friends. Before that though, things got a little crazy. When my first guest arrived, I went outside to meet her, but as I walked into the parking lot, I saw a man chasing his wife to her car, screaming at her, grab her, and pull his fist back to punch her in the face. There was a toddler screaming on the balcony, and another baby already in the car.

So what do you do? Ignore it, reassuring yourself that it's not your problem, that you don't even know these people? Or get involved? I chose to get involved. I started yelling at the man to let go of the woman or I was calling the police. The man let go and took off into his apartment. I walked over to the woman to see if she was hurt or wanted me to call the cops. That's when the man came back, got in my face, and started yelling at me. I really thought at that point that he was going to hit me. He was irate and threatening, but I didn't back down and the big coward did (luckily for me).

In a way, I shocked myself, but I couldn't just stand there, do nothing, and watch a woman get abused. I never would have forgiven myself. And while I'm a little shaken (and scared), I know I did the right thing, and I hope someone would do the same for me if I was ever in that situation.

Real Housewives

I'm a huge Real Housewives fan. I watch them all - Orange County, New York, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, and Atlanta. I watched Miami and DC, but I don't like them so much and am very glad DC has been cancelled (those women couldn't have been more annoying and boring if they tried). The more I watch the franchise the more I wonder if these women do anything but attend parties, have fancy lunches, shop, and vacation. Must be nice. 


Except it doesn't seem to be so nice at all. Very few of these women seem to have real friends, seem honestly happy, or could make it in the real world. They really seem petty, desperate, and sad. Watching them doesn't make me jealous, it makes me feel much better about my life. I might not have all the money they do, but I definitely have more class and happiness than they ever will.


There are a few exceptions. Bethenny (formerly of RHONY) seems to have it all. Now with her own spin-off show, Bethenny has left RH behind and is one of the few who doesn't appear to have let the series consume and transform her into an egotistical, entitled bitch. Lisa from Beverly Hills is another exception to the rule. Lisa is who she is, and as over the top as she may seem (let's face it, anyone who wears that many diamonds all the time is over the top), that appears to just be who Lisa is. 


Generally though, it just seems to me that these women are struggling to find themselves and making asses of themselves for our entertainment. They really do seem to believe that they're God's gifts to the earth and that everyone else agrees. They won't look in the mirror, and we're not forcing them to. I don't think they'd like what they saw if they were really honest with themselves, but I also don't think they'll ever really see themselves the way the rest of us do.


Real Housewives is a hot mess, but I love it and will continue to watch. What can I say? It's a train wreck, but I can't turn away.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had as nice of a day as I did. I hosted my first Easter lunch (my first holiday event period), and it went very well. The slow-cooked cranberry pork loin I made was a hit, and the ricotta cake I baked was an even bigger hit. Both were delicious, but the cake was especially good. So here's the recipe and a few pics. 


Ricotta Cake


Ingredients:

One 18-1/4 ounce package yellow cake mix

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

2 pounds ricotta

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease oblong 13 x 9 baking pan. Mix ricotta, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Add yellow cake mix. Mix well. Bake 55 minutes to an hour. Cool and invert. And voila!

It's a moist cake that's very filling. I'll definitely be making it again. 

Btw, my car was an easy fix. Thank God for small miracles. 

I'm pretty sure my car hates me.

Being without a car has made for a very long six days. Car problems suck and mine just keep going. I don't like relying on other people so having to ask for rides to and from work has driven me absolutely crazy. Luckily for me, I have some very nice co-workers and a great boss who have all helped me out. But unfortunately, my car keeps acting up. I picked it up this afternoon, and things seemed to be going well. And then I saw smoke. This time instead of overheating, it appears that my brakes are locking. So tomorrow I'll be taking my car back to the shop to see what's going on. Considering that they just put new brake parts in my car, I'm hoping it's an easy fix. I'm also not holding my breath.

 

I'm hosting Easter lunch/dinner this year at my apartment. Being without my car has meant that I haven't been able to do the grocery shopping I need to do or go to Target to pick up the Easter-related things I need yet. So far I have my menu planned, and nothing I've picked seems to be too complicated (and yes, I know I totally just jinxed myself again. You'd think I'd learn my lesson this week). I'm making a slow-cooker cranberry pork loin, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, and a ricotta cake. My mom's bringing green bean casserole. I'm excited (and a little anxious) about cooking for everyone, but I think it'll be fun. At least I hope it is. Keep your fingers crossed for me. If all goes well, I'll post the recipes here Sunday or Monday.

 

I'm so glad this is a short week. My firm is closing for Good Friday. Yay! Let's just hoping I'm going to get my car back tomorrow and that I'll be able to run my Easter errands and to get everything together for Sunday. 

Extreme... Couponing?!?!

For starters, my car has issues with it that I don't understand, but I'll have it back tomorrow. I do not understand cars at all so the explanation of what's wrong with my car went in one ear and out the other. I'll just be happy to have my car back and not be relying on rides to and from work. 

Since moving out on my own, I'm all about coupons. I check coupon websites once or twice a week, and I even have a coupon app on my iPhone. I thought I was doing pretty good at couponing until I caught the show Extreme Couponing the other night. I'm not sure whether I'm horrified or jealous of the people on there. One couple I saw purchased $300+ worth of groceries and spent $0.29 total with all of their coupons.  

It seems too good to be true, and maybe it is. Couponing has consumed these people's lives. Couponing IS their life. I'm not dedicated enough for that. Not that that's a bad thing. These people have a sickness in my opinion. It sounds silly, but I think couponing is a dangerous addiction for them, just as bad as hoarding is for others. Several of them talked about thinking about coupons every minute of the day and not being able to sleep because they might miss a deal. Coupons are wonderful, but like everything else in life, there has to be a balance. 

Before grocery shopping, I go through all my coupons and make notes on my shopping list of things I need or want that I have coupons for, but I don't let coupons dictate my entire shopping trip. Some of the people on Extreme Couponing talked about going to the grocery store at the crack of dawn just to score a deal. That will never happen with me. Heck, I won't even get up that early for Black Friday shopping, and I hate grocery shopping with a passion. Unless someone is giving me hundreds of dollars of groceries for free just for showing up at the grocery store before daylight, I'm not going to be there. 

Because I don't get the paper delivered to me and only get a few coupons (mostly pizza related) in the mail, I do my couponing on the web. Two of my favorite sites for coupons are Coupons.Smartsource.com and Redplum. They're free and easy to print out. I'm just not cut out for hours of couponing like the Extreme Couponing people. 

And while I will not be showing up on Extreme Couponing anytime soon, I will continue to save a few dollars here and there on my grocery trips. I use to think that couponing was uncool for someone in their 20s and maybe it is, but I could care less. The savings add up here and there, and these days, every dollar counts.

Hoping for a better week

Last week was one LONG week. When I said I hoped I'd have time to blog during the week, I was just jinxing myself. Everything culminated Thursday with me sitting in a restaurant parking lot for an hour waiting for someone to come help me since my car had overheated and who knows what kind of liquid had come gushing out of my car after I closed the hood. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. Friday I had to have my car towed to a service place, and I'm waiting for the verdict tomorrow on what's wrong with car and how much it's going to cost. So I've been stuck at my apartment all weekend, stranded without a car. I'll have to get a ride to work tomorrow and figure out what I'm doing from there. Lovely.

Friday I did get my washer and dryer delivered. Yay! I was finally able to get some laundry done (boo/yay), and I'm very happy to have my own laundry set. Here they are in all their glory.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that my car trouble is nothing serious or expensive. Hopefully I'll have a nice update to post about that tomorrow.

I sure could use a 3-day weekend right about now...

Another weekend over (boo!!!), and I was pretty productive after all. I'm down to a few boxes of books only, and those can't be unpacked until I get some bookshelves so at least I'm pretty much done with unpacking now. 

I've been trying to cook more at home and spend less at restaurants and drive-thru's. My boss is probably correct with the way grocery prices are going up, that you spend about the same amount of money eating out as you do on groceries and food prep (especially when you live alone), but I'm still trying to do more at home than I have in the past.

Last night I tried one of Banquet's Homestyle Bakes, specifically the Creamy Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Biscuits mix. 

The meal was cheap, delicious, and more importantly, easy to make. I'll definitely be buying it again and trying the other varieties. I have plenty of leftovers. Add a few veggies, and it'd make a great sit-down, family meal.

I've also been collecting new recipes to try, and hopefully I'll have some time to try them in the next week or so. 

Today I went and bought a washer and dryer. Talk about a headache. I ended up paying for the machines themselves, installation charges, delivery charges, hose fees, sales tax, and probably more fees I don't know about. My entire tax refund went into this big, oh-so-exciting, adult purchase. Yuck. But at least I won't be blowing $40/month renting them from my apartment complex. I pay those people enough as it is each month. 

I've got another long, busy week ahead of me at work, but that's okay. I'd rather be super busy than the alternative. Hopefully I'll have some time to check in during the week, but if not, have a great week everyone!

I'm back!

Oops. It's been almost a week since I've posted, but in my defense, it's been a very long week. I was in court every day, pretty much all day. Fun, fun. I really do enjoy my job, but it can be exhausting.

This weekend I'm determined to be productive as far as my apartment goes. Things are getting cleaned, unpacked, and moved around. I'm ready to feel settled finally. It already feels like home, but I'm ready to be comfortable and have everything where I want it. Once that happens, I can finally post some pictures.

While internet window-shopping, I came across a few things I really want. Here are my top five at the moment in no particular order.

1. Mosaic Hurricane Candle Holder from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

2.  Perfect Date Plates from BarbieCollector.com

3. UT Square Face Leather Watch from the University of Texas.

4. Pink Furla Candy Bag from Furla

5. Kate Spade Michaeline Cardigan from Kate Spade

What do you think?

Weekend Roundup

I can't believe it's already April. This year is going by so fast. I wish it would slow down. I've already been in my new place for two weeks, and that doesn't seem possible at all.

I paid my first rent (ugh) and went to the grocery store yesterday. I absolutely dread grocery shopping. Most of the time I come out with things I didn't really need and without half of what I actually needed. This time, however, I did good. I spent under the amount I'd decided to limit myself too, and I bought plenty of easy dinners to make for myself during the work week. It's not always easy cooking for one, especially when you get home from a long day of work and stopping by a drive-thru on the way home to save yourself the time and trouble is so tempting, but I'm determined to spend less on take-out and cook for myself. Maybe I'll even have some recipes to post here from time to time.

I started reading Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey last night. I've been on a reading dry-spell for the last week so hopefully this turns that around.

I also ordered Bethenny Frankel's Place of Yes, and it should be here this week.

I adore Bethenny and can't wait to read her new book! I'm sure it's going to be full of good advice and stories. I'll have a full review of the book as soon as I finish it.

Tonight is Wrestlemania. Yes, I'm a big wrestling fan (and yes, I know it's fake). I watch all the WWE PPVs with some friends of mine and make a party out of it. It's a great break from all the stress in my life, and I'm really looking forward to tonight's show. I've got a full week in court ahead of me so it'll be just the relaxing, fun night I need.