what i'm liking right now-whoopie pies

for administrative assistant's day, my boss gave me these red velvet whoopie pies-he knows me so well. these tasty little cakes are a close 2nd to my love fo cupcakes- real close-what are you liking right now?

10 on Tuesday-saving at the grocery store

carole didn't actually say what was "saved" at the grocery store, so i'm using a bit of artistic license-most of my list consists of stuff that saves me money.
1. time-i go with a list that i've made based on dinners for the next week-my family has learned that if we're running low on something, or they want something special from the store if it's not on the list it doesn't get bought.
2. buy one-get one: loves these and use this as a chance to stock up on pasta, crackers, bagels and nuts
3. watch for sales: certain items run on a cycle like boneless/skinless chicken breast (which i use a lot of), starbucks coffee, cereal, etc.
4. compare prices: i pretty much just shop at costco and publix i'm learning their system and stock up when prices are good.
5. waste-i take my own bags-they are not only better for the environment, but they are much sturdier-i've acquired quite the collection and never come home with plastic bags
6. recycle-on occasion i'm able to reuse the produce bags (see #5)
7. freezer-i freeze a lot of stuff especially when #2, #3 and #4 occur- i have a food saver which i love
8. buy in bulk-this takes some planning and consideration 'cause buying large quantities doesn't always make sense.
9. aggravation-i shop after work on wednesdays and almost NEVER on the weekends unless i have to get something fresh. this saves me time and aggravation especially at the deli counter where everyone has to have a sample, and they are getting like 8 different things.
10. costco rotisserie chicken- at $4.99 each-what a deal, i can't buy a raw bird this cheap, not to mention the time and utilities to cook it.

monday moment.really?

am wondering if i should cry now or not! can't believe that pj is getting ready to graduate-sigh.

10 on Tuesday. snacks

i do like to snack which can be a bit of a problem since some snacks can be LOADED with fat and calories. having tapas is one of my favorite ways to eat out. my goal is to eat natural snacks, and i'm about 90% of the time successful, and i really like homemade snacks. so here's my list
1. cheese with crackers, bread, or fruit
2. peanut butter with apples, carrots, on oatmeal raisin cookies, or crackers
3. hummus and veggies
4. oatmeal as an afternoon snack-i like it better then rather than for breakfast
5. fruit-apples, pears, grapes, cherries, strawberries, etc.
6. popcorn-no butter and very lightly salted
7. granola
8. trail mix-especially with dried fruit, m&m's and something salty
9. nuts-preferrably cashews or almonds
10. pretzels

multi-tasking

one of the things i love about my new laptop is how the opened documents, web pages, etc magically appear across the bottom so if i need to shuffle through things i get these cute snapshots of what's open. so here, i'm uploading photos to flicker, reading blog posts, and making comments-this takes multi-tasking to a whole new level. of course, there are other nifty things this little toshiba does that i haven't been able to figure out yet, but in due time i'm sure i will.

Paris and the French.

finally a review of our trip to France.  needless to say it was amazing, there are 500 + pictures here, that i'm still reviewing and adding descriptions. so i'll give you a cliff notes version of our trip. the group shot above is myself and PJ, along with Alaine, Maryline and Emmanuel Podaire.  Emmanuel was our exchange student from last summer and his parents hosted us for a few days in Toulouse.  a truly wonderful and charming family whom we hope to be able to continue the friendship through correspondence, and who knows another trip in the not too distant future. now the review-

~the weather was awesome. jeans, t-shirt, and a jacket (in the morning) was all that was required, and the french were easy to identify since they still had on their jackets and scarfs even when it hit 77 in Paris.
~the food-AMAZING-bread, macarons, cheese, etc. i tried duck breast and duck terrine for the first time (i'm shamefully addicted), i had foi gras at a restaurant which i've had before, but am glad that i tried it in france to have an authentic point of reference.  i also had country terrine when PJ and I had our meat and cheese dinner which was made from pork, that's all i'll say about that except that it was good-you don't need more details.
~new love-crepes! both savory and sweet-i so want a crepe pan now
~all the french wear wristwatches-men and women-i've gotten so used to using my phone as a watch i found this strangely amusing.
~scarfs-men and women both wear these with flourish
~french women wear very fashionable shoes-although they look painfully uncomfortable, but i learned in france as far as fashion, anything goes, as long as it fits. that seems to be the really fashion miss among many americans.
~french men are gorgeous and know how to dress
~the french were very friendly-always willing to help out, and there were only a couple snotty folks.
~flowers-while it was a bit early for the gardens to be in full bloom there were a few colorful parcs.  the french love their flowers, and i was surprised to see how many plants in france are also in the us such as-hydrangeas, azaleas, pansies, and coneflowers.
~the city sites-there is so much to see in Paris, and since the weather was so good, we did a LOT of walking. we visited- the louvre, musee d'orsay, musee caranvalet, the eiffel tower (day and night), the arch d'triumph, pere lachaise, sacre coure, champs elysee, used the batobus to get around on the seine, notre dame cathedral, st. germain des pres, and MANY other churches. paris is truly a beautiful city
~the architecture is so awesome to look at, i couldn't get over the iron work and the buildings.
my only question is when do i get to go back?