Spider bites and restaurants

As some of you know, I have been spending my days in Freeport, IL since the end of July. I am here supporting my old team for work as we go live on a new enterprise planning system (SAP, for those of you who are familiar). I am stationed at a distribution center up here. My team is holed up in a corner of the DC cafeteria. Here is a picture of my workspace, and my chair... Speaking of these chairs, they are painfully uncomfortable and I need a massage. ASAP. Anyone know of any good massage places in Charlotte?? I'll be back on Friday night!

The electric chair?

Yes, that is a smidge of sunlight that I see!

I have basically been working, working out (if I am lucky - read: not lazy), eating, and sleeping. I have squeezed in two movies (potential movie reviews to come?) and two trips to Chicago during my time here. All-in-all, it has been a pretty good trip! Slim pickin's on the restaurant selections though. In a small town, you tend to eat at the same places over and over again. My expense report looks something like this: Subway, Subway, Fuji (sushi), Subway, Cannova's (pizza), Subway, and Sushi.

It is a given and has already been discussed that I get some variation of Subway breakfast every morning since the hotel "buffet" is less-than-stellar.

Before I left Charlotte, I was nervous (read: 100% positive) that I wasn't going to be able to find any sushi in Freeport, so I was trying to squeeze it in at any possible meal. I was pleasantly surprised to find Fuji Sushi and Hibachi just down the road from my hotel. I was even more pleasantly surprised with the quality of their sushi - I have now tried at least 5 different rolls and each one has been divine. The cucumber salad is some of the best I have ever had: simple with julienne'd cucumbers, that tangy vinegar sauce, and sesame seeds. Below is a picture off of their Facebook page (I regrettably have forgotten to take pictures of my meals!) My favorite roll that I tried happened to be the first one that I tried: tiger roll - eel and avocado, topped with salmon, tuna, and whitefish. Second runner up? A roll not on the menu - summer roll: salmon, tuna, and whitefish topped with a spicy crab meat mix. Simply divine, and so happy that I found sushi in Freeport!

Cannova's is a locally owned pizza/Italian restaurant in Freeport (website has the correct menu, but an alternative location). I highly recommend the pizza - I have tried a pasta dish before (only once, for a reason) and I was not extremely satisfied. But perhaps they were having an off day, or my taste buds were having an off day, or I just ordered the wrong thing... Their pizza on the other hand is very good - they have a light, crispy crust and a sauce full of Italian flavor. Their mozzarella cheese is top notch quality. The first specialty pizza on their menu is the Cannova's Classic: diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, spinach, black olives, sweet basil, house cheese, and mozzarella. This is my favorite! I wish I had a picture, I really do... but trust me, this pizza is very good!

On to the spider bites (how do you segue between food and spider bites?), so this small corner of the cafeteria is infested with bugs. Apparently a spider got up in to my pants, and left me two gorgeous and itchy red marks. I am trying to ignore the fact that there are spiders living in my work area... but these love bites make it hard to forget! I'll be here until Friday afternoon - hopefully I can keep these little creepy crawlies away from me until then. I've started keeping my feet propped up on a chair, because in my (completely logical..) mind, this will keep the spiders at bay. You know the feeling when you think bugs are crawling all over you and they really aren't? Yeah. That's what I have going on.

And back to food - this central standard time is throwing me off! It's almost noon here and I am getting mighty hungry. Hopefully the catered food is not chicken (I just don't like chicken.) and I can have one less Subway purchase on my expense report...

Chocolate is the cure for Monday's

It's officially been over a year since I wrote in this blog. I've been inspired by other bloggers I have read on the internet, and decided to pick this back up again. Hopefully I can make this a regular habit. I have more time on my hands these days. A lot has happened since I last blogged! Check it out:

- I moved from Knoxville to Atlanta. Lived there for a year. I just moved to Charlotte (back to NC!!)

- I joined Weight Watchers, so I didn't have to go through my weight loss journey alone. I have lost 18 lbs! Give or take a few that I may have gained in the last week or so... and I have met and bonded with some great people along the way. While the title of this post contradicts it, I have really adopted a (mostly) healthy lifestyle and feel really good about my decision to become a "Weight Watcher." It is a lifestyle and a commitment - not just any old diet.

- I am no longer a "recent college graduate." Is that weird? I was in Chicago this weekend visiting friends - some kid started chatting me up, he asked where I went to school... He was working in Chicago on an internship. Boy, did I feel old.

- My hair is long again. Current dilemma (as recent as this morning's throw-it-into-a-ponytail/bun routine) - do I cut it off again? My hairdresser remains in Atlanta, so I guess I can't decide until my next trip there is finalized.

- I graduated from my rotational program at Newell Rubbermaid. Now I have a big girl job... it is basically the same job I did my first year, but with a different team, in a different location. It all worked out for the best - because the job is NC, and a Katie in NC is a happy Katie.

- I am now one class away from graduating from ECU with my MBA. One class?! Even I can't believe it. The past two years have been a struggle - but I now can truly see the light at the end of the tunnel. 129 days until graduation. I can't believe I am almost in double digits!!

I think that summarizes my main life changes. I am ecstatic to be back in North Carolina - closer to family, friends, and the beach. I love my apartment. I decided to live in the city. Of all the apartments I have had (SC, TN, GA), I have always lived in the 'burbs. While my Atlanta apartment was gorgeous and in a great location with respect to work, it wasn't in a prime social scene. Not that I had time to socialize anyway when I lived there. Things are about to change! I moved on June 30th, but things have been pretty crazy in my life. I was in the middle of summer school, starting a new job while still doing my old one, traveling back to Atlanta for work... I really haven't had time to explore Charlotte. I focused on getting settled in to my apartment. Looking forward to getting back there and meeting some new people, and spending time with old friends. As much as I love Raleigh, I am trying not to use it as a crutch to fall back in to old habits. I could easily go back every weekend, but I remind myself - I live in Charlotte now, I need to learn to love it too!

For the past week and a half or so I have been in IL for work - a small town about 2 hours west of Chicago. It has been nice - I was able to travel back to Chicago the past two weekends and see some friends. I love Chicago (in the summertime). I had to remind myself of the blizzards in the wintertime and how much a Midwest winter really stinks - or else I would totally move to Chicago... The summertime in the Midwest is just so picture perfect. Also, the food doesn't hurt either. The town I am in is very small - so I don't have a plethora of restaurant choices; however, I did find a delicious sushi place only a few miles from my hotel. I have been frequenting their takeout option most nights - it is a light, healthy choice compared to some of the other things I have been eating. Deep dish pizza tonight, whattt?

A pro and a con to traveling for work is that you have to eat out - while this is fun and games for the first few days, I am dying for some home cooked goodness. Ready to get back to Charlotte and my beautiful kitchen (pictures to come). Also, my coworker and I are splitting a Farm Share. So ready for that to begin so I can get fresh and delicious seasonal fruits and veggies every week. The upside to this is that breakfast at the hotel is basically disgusting, so I have been getting Subway breakfast every morning. I will never, ever complain about eating this. It is one of my favorite things, ever - and I tell everyone I know to try it. On your average day, I will get a muffin with ham, egg white and pepper jack cheese topped with spinach, peppers, onions, tomatoes, S&P, and a drizzle of their chipolte southwest sauce. That sauce is the ticket. On particularly hungry days, or days where I am picking it up for brunch - I will go crazy and get the 6" flatbread or two muffins (egg white and cheese only).



I will get off of my soapbox for Subway Breakfast, but seriously though - if you haven't tried it... I dare you. The muffin is the best $2.00 you will ever spend! Let me know how you like it!!! The flatbread is only $3.00... you really can't go wrong. It is also much more healthy and nutritious than alternative fast food breakfast choices - super filling too. I have found through my very non-scientific survey of people that certain people fill up on eggs, and other people fill up on oatmeal (and that will hold them over until lunch). I am an egg girl. If you are an egg girl or boy, this breakfast will absolutely hold you over until your next meal. I have tried making it myself - is it good? Yes. Is it as good as Subway's version? Hell no. Ok, I'll really stop talking about this now. But I promise, it won't be the last you've heard from me on this subject!!

I also recently started pinning. Have you heard of it? I discovered this phenomenon via reading other people's blogs - I admit, I was a skeptic but now I am hooked.

I suppose I should bring this post to a close. In light of my impending weekend at the beach - I invited myself on my parent's mini-vacation... technically I invited them to Charlotte and got rejected - so my mom invited me to the beach with them - here are some inspirational words that really are so true (if I were artistic, I would add chocolate to the pretty painting). Happy Monday!