Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you all a very very happy Thanksgiving!

I am very thankful for all my bloggy friends. I hope all of you have a wonderful time today.

Today I am hosting a Thanksgiving party. The menu goes thus:

Turkey

Ham

Butter rolls

Green bean casserole

Eggplant Parmesan

Scalloped potatoes

Mashed potatoes

Corn masala

Spicy stuffing

Stuffing with veggies

Stuffing with Ondele sausage

Stovetop stuffing

Yams with praline crust

Broccoli casserole

Pea Salad

Deviled eggs

Cinnamon carrots

Gravy

Cranberry sauce

For dessert we have:

Pumpkin cheesecake

Pecan Pie

Apple pie

I better get started. 

Question: What are you having for thanksgiving? If you are making something, can you share the recipe?

Evening in NY

Going to see Billy elliot shortly.

Eating tons of good food. A typical jewish breakfast!





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In new York!

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New York Bound...

Will post some photos from my iPhone once I land.

Friends and Fashion

 

So recently I lost some weight. Which is a good thing. Unfortunately, I have very few clothes that fit me. Pants and skirts keep falling off. My jeans keep falling off and I did not have a belt that could hold them up. 

This weekend, I went for clothes shopping. Of course as soon as I told my friend, she wanted to go with me. I told her I needed 2-3 outfits that I could wear in New York. And I did not want expensive clothes since I am planning on losing 10 more pounds. 

Since I am planning on going to New York, my theme was black, black, black! Black pants, black dressy shirt and I have a ton of accessories that will go with it. 

On the eventful day, I picked up my friend and we went to some inexpensive clothes stores. She has a great fashion sense and picked outfits for me and asked me to try them out. Much to my disappointment, they were grey, grey, grey! All of them! I told her I never wear grey. Perhaps a red dress? 

Nope. So I tried the dresses on and they were great! Definitely something I can still wear after I lose some more weight. And she promised me that the construction workers in NY would definitely be whistling at me. Ah OK.

When I came home, I tried the dresses again with tights and boots and accessories. Ha. I have too much time sometimes:) My hubby told me that I was never ever going shopping without my friend A. because the clothes I gravitated towards were "not too trendy". While at first he was surprised that I bought all grey (I don't think I ever wear grey) he loved how I looked in the dresses. 

I have to admit, lately, I've been gravitating towards clothes that are shaped like a bag. But... I am ready for a change. A makeover. I am not a granny yet! I am proud of myself regardless of my age and size. I can work it baby!

So... I am thankful for my friends who reintroduced me to fashion.  And remind me that you can be beautiful regardless of the size and age.

PS: BG, If you are reading, apparently in NY the trend is to wear simple colors with a ton of accessories. Colorful ones. 

Question: Have you ever had a style makeover? Did you like it?

 

New York!!!

This Wednesday, I am going to New York! Yeah! I am so excited.

There is something very electric and magical about New York city. I've been there numerous times and every time I go, I am shocked and riveted by the energy in the city. When you are there, you feel like you are part of something very exciting and very exclusive.

So my plan is thus. Leave Wednesday and spend two days in Manhattan. Then go to New Jersey to attend a wedding. It is going to be a jam packed vacation. Full of fun, family, fashion and food.

Yum.

So my question to you is, have you ever been to New York city? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Dusk

Chilli Contest: Part 2

So the last post, I wrote yesterday and then forgot to click publish. I guess I messed up Nablopomo but oh well. Life goes on.And so what if I did not post yesterday? I'll post twice to abuse my poor dear readers.

Bad news first. I did not win any prize. Oh well. I should have made more of an effort instead of just throwing a bunch of ingredients together. And I showed up 30 minutes late. I rarely show up late for anything but things happen.

When I went there, the first thing I noticed is the number of really serious chilli contenders. There were all kinds of chillies. Mine was plain beef chilli. "Only beef?" I got asked over and over again. "Yep. Only beef."

The guy next to me made 2 chillies. 1 was a veggie one with Tofu and all kinds of vegetables except corn "Since corn is not really a vegetable and I dislike it intensely". Okey Dokey. The other chilli he made had beef, veal, pork, venison and God knows what else meat. It was good! He did not win a prize either.

My friend Diane, the one who forced me to do this, made a pork and beef chilli. Then she did something extra. She had all kinds of garnishes. Like avacado, sour cream, scallions, chopped onions, cilanthro, cheese, etc. etc. etc. She certainly gets an A for effort! And she did get a 3rd place prize. I am so happy for her! Her chilli was the best in my opinion.

I have to say, everyone was so super good with their chilli and made such a great effort. There was this guy who marinated brisket and pork for 2 days, smoked it, chopped it up and then made chilli out of it. He also used 6 different kinds of peppers. His chilli was spicy! He won.

I think I was the only one who had "only beef" chilli. And ground beef at that too. I would give myself a D minus for efforts. But I had a great time!

Now what should I do with the leftover chilli?

Chilli Contest

Sometimes you take control of your life, plan things and do them. Other times, things just happen and you find yourself doing things you never really envisioned doing.

Today I find myself committed to making chilli for a competition. With at least 9 other contestants. At a very popular restaurant in Austin.

How did I get myself into this? Why did I get myself into this?

Le sigh!

As far as recipe goes, I don't have any. Usually I just start dumping  stuff in a pan. And add tons of spices. I prefer to go from the left of my shelf rack to the right. Everything goes. And then I just smell the chilli to see if it is right or not.

Needless to say, I am in huge trouble today. There are some serious chilli makers and then there is me.

I'll keep you posted.

So what are your plans this weekend?

Fish tacos

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Happy Diwali

Peace and goodwill to all.

Grapes

Fishy!

So yesterday I got a phone call. I don't get very many phone calls so I was surprised. When I answered, I heard this.

Congratulations! You have just won an all expense paid vacation to the Caribbean! Please stay on hold while our representative is available. Once again congratulations!

Seriously. This was wrong at so many levels.

If I had won something so big, would I get an automated phone call? Nope. The only way I would believe this is Ed McMahon showed up at my house with big balloons.

And who gives away all expense trips to peeps but cannot find an actual person who can make the call?

Who buys into this stuff?

So I did some research and found the following terminology.

Phishing: Scam via email.

Smishing: Scam via sms or text messaging.

and finally

Vishing: Scam via phone.

Who comes up with these terms?

Question: What kind of offers that are scams have you received? Do tell!

Happy November!

Yeah! And it is November already! Time certainly flies!

Yesterday for Halloween, I was too lazy to dress up. We weren't out anywhere. Just distributing candies. I could have opted out but being the drama queen that I am, decided to wear a green dress. And then slather myself with a green facial mask. I called myself the green monster as I greeted the kiddos at the door.

We had numerous fairies, angels, snow white princesses and even a frog. One boy about 12 and much taller than me came dresses in regular clothes. I laughed and told him that I cannot give candy to kids taller than me so he had to perform a trick. He had to sing or dance. Or anything to show case his talent. 

So he squatted down and started barking like a dog. LOL. He got an extra candy.

I on the other hand started getting itchy as the mask started drying. What seemed to be a good idea at that time, turned out not that great at all.

At one point, a little girl said to me, "your mask is drying. Is that the mint mask?" So I knew I had to pass on the candy bowl to the hubby and went for a shower.

That's what happened at my Halloween. How did yours go?