Daily Eats ~ July 2nd (Part Two)

Today I have my third job interview with Sephora, this time in Soho, the store I should be working at. So I'll let you know how it goes later (interview is not until 3). My headache did go away late last night, so hopefully I'll be headache free for today. I broke today into two parts because I wanted to do a tribute to Cloudy separately. You can part one just below this post. Today is hard, as every July 2nd will be from now on, because it Cloudy's Birthday and every year after he died last year, turns into "Cloudy would have been __ years old." Today he would have been 13. :( Anyone who ever lost a pet should definitely check out my post below. Now, on to...

Breakfast:

I made my last 2 Van's Belgian Waffles, topped with maple syrup, dollops of whipped cream, and a few mixed berries that were left. I had an apple juice box with it.

Lunch:

I had some groceries delivered from Organic Direct this morning. They deliver amazing vegetarian and vegan foods! They even deliver from a vegetarian restaurant in the East Village called The Organic Grill. So I had them deliver their 4 piece stuffed mushrooms that I heated up for lunch (these are vegan by the way).

Organic Direct also had... the new pineapple Chobani yogurt! So I got a pack of 3. I had one after my mushrooms, and added in a bit of TJ's granola with almonds to it. This was really good and Peanut was dying to have some, but some things I have to keep to myself!

Peanut has become really fascinated by the sink lately (as you can see). lol

Everytime Mom or I are in the shower, Peanut sits on the sink edge there and waits for us! He "helps" us brush our teeth too. He really is at that age where he gets into everything, much like a toddler.

Unfortunately I got caught in a bad rainstorm once I got off the subway in Soho! Thank God I had the foresight to bring my umbrella though. The interview went ok... still don't know if I'll get the job though. Anyone would think I was applying to be a brain surgeon with how long and drawn out this process has been! My first interview was back in May, my second in June, now my third in July. And if this store will hire me, I'll have to go through yet ANOTHER interview with the store's manager/director. There's only so many times a person can say the same things without wanting to kill themselves! lol I hate to say it, but I don't even really want this job anymore! I was always the type to want unstructured jobs... modeling, doing freelance makeup artistry, I even wanted to do acting, but I don't have any connections... I'm just feeling a bit down in the dumps about all this. I'm beginning to think my only hope is finding a rich husband! And you know what, I'm only half joking! lol

The Sephora in Soho where I went today for my 25th interview. ;)

Snack:

When I got home I had a Cadbury Double Decker bar, which is basically chocolate with nougats and cereal! Yum. This was another one of my Fairway Market purchases. :)

Dinner:

I had a Tofu Pup in a Food For Life ezekiel bun with ketchup on the side, and I made an Annie's single serve mac & cheese to have with it (I added in some peas too).

Dessert:

I had a Glenny's 100 calorie chocolate chip blondie warmed up in the microwave, topped with Nutella, and garnished with some blueberries.

Today was a busy and sad day. I am so glad that I have Peanut though. He has really brought so much joy into my life again! Give your pets a hug tonight, because you never know how long you'll have them for! xo

Tribute Post ~ July 2nd (Part One)

There was a love of my life before Peanut, and his name was Cloudy. He would have been 13 years old today (he was born on July 2nd 1996). But he was taken away from me far too soon, when he died of stomach cancer on May 19th 2008, just before his 12th Birthday last year. I got the cancer diagnosis over the phone when I was at my Grandparents' house in Upstate, NY for my cousin's wedding. The terrible news came on the morning of the wedding (that I was a bridesmaid in). We already knew he was very sick, and we tried many medications the weeks before we boarded him at the vet for the weekend. They were supposed to do an endoscopy on him while we were away, but they ended up just doing the sonogram because the cancer was so apparent, that there was no point in doing the other procedure. When we got back I had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep. I was so devastated, that I couldn't be there for it (I literally couldn't get out of bed). My Mom had to go to the vet's office to sign the papers. It was the worst day of my life by far. Cloudy was such a wonderful cat. He was part Maine Coon, with the most gorgeous coat I'd ever seen. I got him when I was just a little girl, back on August 23rd 1996. He was just 7 and a half weeks old when we adopted him from Bide-A-Wee (in Wantaugh, Long Island-- this shelter is now closed sadly). He was such an adorable baby, just like Peanut. He loved us so much and he loved to help out around the house, follow us wherever we'd go. He'd wait by the door for me to come home from school. He was such a trooper through all the moving we did. From selling our house on Long Island in 2006, moving out to LA for 5 months, moving back to the city in 2007 and living in a hotel for 2 weeks(!), then finally moving into an apartment that we lived in for 2 years (before moving again after his death). He was a true friend and I felt as though he was my own son. So in his memory, today I want to share some pictures of him. This is very painful for me (and I'm crying writing all this), but he has not been forgotten. I will love him forever.

A close-up of my buddy. Same white mug and cute pink nose! :)

Cloudy stretched out on my bed in my old house.

Cloudy enjoying the plush pillow top mattresses at the Affinia 50 hotel. This is where we chose to stay back in January 2007 while were apartment hunting because they are a "pet friendly" hotel. The whole staff loved Cloudy!

Cloudy with the pumpkin cat that I made. (Halloween 2007)

I loved Cloudy's coloring so much, that I always said that I wanted my next cat to have the same white markings-- except to be orange and white. The other day I was comparing pictures of Cloudy as a baby to Peanut. It is amazing how much they look alike. While Peanut will never be able to replace Cloudy, I feel as though some of the pain has eased through having a cat in my life again. I cannot stress the importance of having pets in your life. I am biased yes, because I've rescued and taken care of animals my whole life. But from my experience, people who like animals are generally good people, while people who don't like animals aren't. To this day one of the only movies that makes me tear up is Homeward Bound. I encourage everyone who reads my blog to adopt a pet. One of the most wonderful relationships that has ever existed is between people and animals, and that much I'm sure of.

Unfortunately I don't have any baby pictures of Cloudy on my phone or computer (technology wasn't so amazing back then!). So instead I took a picture of my mouse pad that my Mom had made for me one Christmas. It's one of my favorite pictures of Cloudy as a baby. Notice how he looks so much like Peanut, except gray and white instead.

You know, a couple weeks ago I was looking at some of Cloudy's baby pictures, and I told Peanut "You have some large shoes to fill." And he seemed to understand me.

I'll be updating with my daily eats (and whatever else is going on in my day) in part two, so please check back!

Daily Eats ~ July 1st

I can't believe it's July 1st already! I've never been a fan of the summer, especially in NYC... the hot, humid, rainy weather, all the bad smells, etc. Sorry to be a downer, but I can't wait for fall! I am looking forward to going out to the Hamptons though. We can't stay a whole week like we did last year, but my parents and I will be going out for at least a day this month, and maybe next month too. When our lease is up at the end of this year/beginning of next year, we're thinking of moving out there. I really miss Long Island, especially in the summer! Anyways, here's...

Breakfast:

I had an Apple & Eve apple juice box with an Apple Cinnamon Tea Loaf that I got from Fairway Market. I cut the loaf in half and spread peanut butter on each end. I wasn't wild about this breakfast, so I just had a bit.

Lunch:

I had an Amy's Spinach Feta in a Pocket Sandwich with a Mott's Peach Medley apple sauce.

Peanut came running for the apple sauce, as usual! lol

I also felt like I needed a little something sweet after lunch, so I had a small Cadbury "Snack" chocolate bar that I got from Fairway the other day...

Snack:

I finally got my Pinkberry Fruit Parfait! :) To my shock and astonishment, it only cost $3.95 ($4.28 with tax!). I was prepared for the worst-- like $7! Thank God they had the sense, especially in this economy, to charge less for it. And you know what? This is a TERRIFIC value-- better than anything else you could get at Pinkberry. You get a good amount of yogurt, plus granola and lots of delicious fruits! (Considering Pinkberry usually charges $11 a topping, this is a damn good value! lol I'm exaggerating of course, but it is pretty bad.) I thought it was very good and hit the spot on this humid day. (As you can see, Peanut enjoyed a taste as well!)

Dinner:

I've had a bad headache nearly all day (this humid summer weather has always caused headaches for me), and when I get like this I prefer more breakfast type items for dinner. So I made my last 2 slices of Trader Joe's French Toast, spread a thin layer of Nutella on one of them, made a sandwich out of it, then drizzled some TJ's maple syrup over it and topped it with berries. Nutella french toast is the best, folks! I highly recommend it!!

Snack:

I just had a Naked Juice and a handful of Blue Diamond Cinnamon Almonds (not pictured).

Still have a headache... and I was busy self tanning tonight (I'm so sick of being sickly white!). I have my THIRD job interview with Sephora tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be working at their Soho store soon... I got my new Ella Moss dress that I got on sale in the mail today too. :) So I'll be wearing it tomorrow... for anyone who's interested, this is what it looks like (I have some black spanx leggings that I'll be wearing with it similar to the look in the picture):