Blog on leave of absence... June 12th

I just don't have the time or energy to blog anymore with everything I have going on. What used to be a fun thing for me has now just become one more "chore" to do! :( So I'm putting the blog on hold until I can devote more time to it again! I don't know for how long, but I do appreciate all the support and friends I've made along the way in the blogging community! I can't believe it's been OVER 2 years since I've started this blog (back on May 30th 2009!).

But, you can continue to follow my new career here, and I may decide to start the blog up again at a later date! And I again, thanks for all the support!!

May Recap! May 26th

I've been so busy with my new real estate career, I haven't had time for much else. I do miss having the free time, but I am grateful to actually have a job now when so many people don't! Anyways, here's what's been going on outside of work!

I found a good asian restaurant near my job called Fusia Asian Cuisine (at 56th & Lexington). I've gone there 3 times already since starting my job 2 weeks ago! And here are my 3 lunches:

Miso soup and udon noodles with veggies and tofu (you get a choice of free miso soup or soda with their lunch special).

The next time I went in I didn't get a lunch special because I wanted to try their spring rolls and steamed mushroom dumplings!

They were quite good and I'll definitely be getting them again.

The third time I was in a rush and desperately need the caffeine, so I got a coke along with their fried rice with vegetables and I had them put tofu in it (rule of thumb for fellow veggies-- always get your protein in with your meals for energy!!).

This fried rice, while nowhere's near as healthy as my beloved Wild Ginger, was still REALLY good. Some of the best I've had (and at least they put a lot of veggies in it!).

Luckily the other day I was still able to squeeze in a lunch with Melissa at Sea Thai too! :)

I got the usual of course... spring rolls & broad rice noodles with tofu.

Then last weekend my mom and I went upstate with my uncle to visit my grandparents. I got to see my beloved Mae too. :)

My mom, grandma, and I got to go out to one of my favorite places Upstate called Fo'Castle Farm. They have both a really nice store and restaurant.

I got my usual lunch there... swiss cheese sandwich, chips, pickle, and pink lemonade.

I also got some of their chocolate chip cookies to go which were SPECTACULAR! Seriously some of the best cookies I've ever eaten (despite how plain they look!).

And in their store I got something for Peanut (I'm a typical guilty parent the second I leave him and have to bring him home something! lol).

Meet Rodney, a cute little hamster/gerbil toy! :)

And speaking of Peanut... he has been his usual adorable self!

I will try to update the blog when I can still... I've already tried a few more places by my job and by various leasing offices that I will be blogging about in the near future, so stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day! May 8th

I hope everyone is enjoying the day with their mom! But first in other news, I've passed both my real estate exams on the first try and will start working this week! :) So I'm going to be a lot busier now, but will try to squeeze in blogging when I can!

My mom and I went to brunch today, rather than dinner (which we normally do). We decided to go to Omonia Cafe, which I'd been to once before and liked. One of the reasons I like it is because it's such a good value! For $12.95 you get...

Choice of 2 beverages, one alcoholic and non-alcoholic (I got an apple juice and a screwdriver), entree of your choice (I got the strapatsada again)...

and an amazing dessert! This time I tried the "amygdalou" (which is an almond creme cake), while my mom got the strawberry shortcake (which I got last time).

Yesterday while running errands I stumbled upon the best pizza place yet in Astoria! It's called Dino's and it's at 30th & Broadway. Next time we'll definitely be ordering from them!

And of course, even though I'm not a "real" mother yet, I am a "kitty mother" lol, so this day DOES have some special meaning to me!

Peanut may look cute, but he can be a handful... like when he "blackmails" me. How, you ask? Let me explain...

I may have brought this up before, but sometimes when Peanut wants my attention and I'm busy doing something else, he'll deliberately "threaten" to bite my computer wires! He's actually done it before too and he knows it makes me really mad!

But generally he's a good boy. He's very quiet and most of the time he just goes about his business, like...

Playing on the back of the toilet seat (chasing his tail mostly)...

Playing in paper bags...

And of course, cat napping!

He can get grumpy if I disturb him! lol

But I did force him to take a "mommy and me" picture today! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Time Flies... April 30th

I can't believe it was two years ago yesterday that we got Peanut! And to refresh your memory, Peanut got his name because he was this small when we got him (and weighed less than a pound at nearly 7 weeks!):

But he's grown up to be a big boy!

(Getting a chin rub!)

I've been very busy lately with my real estate course, but I have gotten some good eats in...

The other day I went to one of the only good Thai restaurants in Astoria, called ThreeE on Broadway (b/w 34th & 35th st.). It really reminds me a lot of Spice, Sea Thai, etc. and I'm able to get really good pad see ew there (which is broad rice noodles with tofu in a black soy sauce-- one of my favorite dishes).

(It's on a leaf plate, so kind of hard to see.)

The only annoying thing is that nowhere in Astoria can I find really good lunch deals. For example, you can't get a free appetizer like spring rolls with your lunch. You'd think prices would be much better in Astoria, but not really!

But when I was in Manhattan the other day I stopped by my favorite authentic chinese restaurant, Suzie's (in the village).

Talk about a deal for a lunch special! You get all this food for around $7!!!

Vegetarian wonton soup.

Bean curd home style (which is basically tofu) with vegetable fried rice and veggie egg roll.

And today I went to a new brunch spot in Astoria with Melissa called Pomme Cafe (at 38th & Broadway) and we really enjoyed it.

They start you off with complementary croissants with nutella, yum!

And their pre-fixe brunch for $14 including choice of drinks... I got a mimosa and an apple cinnamon spice tea.

For my entree I got their omelette with gruyere cheese and zucchini (Melissa and I both got egg white omlettes), and this came with home fries and toast. It's funny, this is actually a picture of Melissa's dish because she got her omelette with goat cheese instead, and once I took a bite of hers I realized they had given us the wrong dishes, so we had to switch them! lol

Overall we really liked Pomme Cafe. It's a classy spot in Astoria and we'd go back again.

It looks like it's going to be a VERY busy May, so I won't get much time for blogging, but I'll try to when I can! Unfortunately I don't have this guy's schedule...

Happy Easter! April 24th

Hope everyone had a good Easter! I just spent mine at home with mom and Peanut. Peanut was pretty tired this morning... I think he was up all night waiting for the Easter Bunny! ;)

Oh and he likes sleeping in his carrier. His carrier is like his own room! lol

Now on to the Easter eats!

My chocolate bunny (a baby/mini one).

Leftover pizza from last night... we ordered in from Astoria Pizza (and I think this is the best pizza place I've found since moving to Astoria... their delivery is good too!).

Deviled eggs (not all of them, but this is the lovely tray mom made).

For dinner we made a pasta with artichoke dish (you can see the recipe here).

And of course, cheesecake! (See my recipe here.)

Ok, just a brief update today. I'm working on finishing my real estate course and have the exams to pass in early May. But please comment and let me know how you guys have been doing!! :)

News & Life Changes... April 12th

A LOT has been happening lately. For starters, I had to bring Peanut in for his yearly check-up early (he's not due until June but I brought him in late last week), because he got a stye under his eye that had to be looked at. You can see it slightly here:

Luckily Dr. Sane was able to give him an anti-biotic shot (because his stye got infected) that should get rid of it within a few weeks, instead of having to give him eye drops or worse still, having it surgically removed.

Peanut has been doing fine otherwise (as you can see with the way he's grinning while he sleeps!).

He was a very good boy at the vet and doesn't mind car trips at all, which is one of the reasons why we didn't change vets just because we moved. In fact, he slept like a baby most of the way back & forth! But as a little treat, I picked Peanut up a new toy at Petco today. :)

It's this cute little parrot with a feather tail and it makes a tweeting sound. He seems to be very fascinated by it.

Sunday I was meeting a fan of my blog who also lives in Astoria in Union Square. And out of nowhere, I met a fellow blogger who I've talked with but never met, who lives across the country! Jaclyn (Justjac) came up to me while I was waiting to meet my other friend, and we recognized one another right away! One thing that blogging has taught me is that it really is a small world! (And I felt like a celebrity being recognized like that! lol)

Anyways, while I was in Union Square running some errands, I stopped for brunch at the Blue Water Grill. Their restaurant is pricy, but they have good brunch deals. Here's what you get for free:

(Tasty bread and drink of your choice- I chose orange juice.)

For my entree I got an egg white omelette with veggies and home fries.

I had a meeting today (which I'll go into more in a minute), and afterwards I had lunch at Zen Palette (which was close by, off Park Ave).

I ordered wonton soup...

and their portobello mushroom burger with yam fries.

Both things lacked flavor and reminded me why I've always felt that Zen Palette does not come close to the caliber of other vegetarian/vegan restaurants in this city! I have to give them credit though, they were one of the first of their kind, but now so many places have really outdone them by leaps and bounds!

And today brings about some other news... I'm working on a major career change myself and have decided to go into real estate. This is mainly because it's one of the only real job opportunities that have come up for me. So over the next few weeks I'll be working on getting my real estate license. I had a meeting with the head of a real estate company today who offered to sponsor me. So that's where my focus is going to be indefinitely I guess! But I will try to blog when I can... Life is a funny thing, you never know where it will take you.

The Veg Food Festival that wasn't.... April 3rd

Ok, so before I explain the title of this post, let me start out by apologizing for my absence (again). But I have a lot of catching up to do after this weekend!

So yesterday my friend Melissa and I tried out a new brunch spot in Astoria called Omonia Cafe. I had walked by this place the previous weekend and was intrigued when I saw their brunch menu. You get SO much for your money, which is always a bonus! So this weekend we checked it out and here's what I got (all for $12.95, their pre-fixe brunch rate):

Choice of beverage (I chose orange juice).

Choice of alcoholic beverage (I got a screwdriver which was very watered down, as was Melissa's mimosa).

Choice of entree (I got the "strapatsada" which is scrambled eggs with tomatoes, feta cheese, and oregano, served with pita bread).

(Melissa got this as well and we both thought it was delicious!)

And finally, choice of dessert (I got the strawberry shortcake, which was as good as it looks!).

So overall we really liked it and would definitely go back... their desserts alone are reason enough!

Now, on to today's fiasco... I have been looking forward to NYC's first ever Vegetarian Food Festival for weeks (as I blogged about last time) and had planned to meet up with some friends (and fellow bloggers) there. I was the first of my friends to arrive a little after 11:30 this morning, and I saw a line bigger than anything I had ever seen in my life! You can imagine my shock and horror when I realized that THIS was the line just to get in the food festival!!!!! (So much for our ecomony being on an up-swing! It reminded me of a great depression bread line, albeit slightly more cheery than that). No one could have EVER predicted this kind of turn-out for a vegetarian food festival, which is why admission was free and there were no tickets (note to whoever runs this event, MAKE PEOPLE BUY TICKETS NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!). I mean literally everyone and their brother was there, to the point where it looked like an American Idol audition or something!

So, I used some quick thinking and high-tailed it out of there down to Sacred Chow! I KNEW it would be empty, since every vegetarian in the city was standing outside the food festival, and I was SO RIGHT! Sacred Chow was literally EMPTY, which is unheard of on a Sunday. It was great because I had the restaurant all to myself, got my food right away, and it was nice and quiet! Luckily I was able to warn some of my friends away from the food festival (if they didn't want to stand on a 2 or 3 HOUR line and wait all day to eat!!).

So I got my usual tofu scramble....

And after all that aggravation, no plate of food ever looked so beautiful in my entire life! I left completely happy and satisfied, and the waitress thanked me profusely for coming! :)

Btw, I knew that Sacred Chow was going to be AT the food festival, which is one of the reasons I wanted to go, but luckily I still got their amazing food and I didn't have to stand in an enormous line for it either!

As for Peanut, here are some pictures from his day to day life in the new apartment... and as you can see, he's got it rough! lol

I really do look forward to hearing how the food festival WAS from any of the brave souls that stood on that horrendous line! So please come forward and let me know. Maybe they'll handle it better next year... one can only hope!

But, every cloud has a silver lining, right? And you know what, in retrospect that huge line makes me very happy. Why? Because that means there are a LOT more veggies out there like me than I even realized! And even if all those people weren't vegetarians, I'm certain that some of them are close to "converting" or are definitely open to the idea! And that is ALWAYS a good thing. :)