Unfortunate Events Remind Us How Fortunate We Are

If we're friends on Facebook or you follow me on Twitter, you already know that on Tuesday, 150 Blackbaud employees were laid off. One of those employees was yours truly. I can't say that I was totally shocked, as there had been some changes over the past few months. Blackbaud acquired Convio and there was a lot of restructuring. Apparently they got in over their heads and restructuring meant layoffs. I just can't believe 150 people were affected -- around 50 of us being from headquarters.

While yes, this is frightening, because I will have to find a new job, I'm not scared enough to let it get me down. I know these things happen for a reason, one of which is so that I can find something that is better suited to my passions and skill sets. I did enjoy my position at Blackbaud, but I wasn't working to my full potential or in a place to grow. And I know that I can do that. Something so much better is right around the corner, and during this transition I will stay positive that it will come my way very soon. 

My good friend and her fiancé also worked at headquarters -- she made the cut, but he did not. Soon after leaving the office, she asked if I wanted to come drink some champagne with them. That was an obvious yes. I think we all needed some bubbly to chill out. The irony? We drank out of Blackbaud glasses. ;) Gotta stay humorous.

That evening, Danielle came right over with presents. She is an angel. She brought me wine, a pickle-shaped wine stopper, hot sauce, candy, movies, magazines, books, and the biggest wine glass I've ever seen. It's so huge that it can be filled with an entire bottle of wine. 

This afternoon, Eric was kind enough to take me to lunch at Puree. He had the Deep South Sandwich and I had the Jalapeño Cheddar Burger. Good food is a great distraction!

The outpouring of support I have already received from family, friends, and even strangers has been downright amazing. Those of you who have reached out to me are truly special people and I am so grateful that you're in my life, however that may be. Nobody likes difficult situations; it's human nature to reject change. But when you know in your heart that the change will bring you to a better place, you have to sit back and watch it happen with a smile.

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. This coconut milk dessert. It’s dairy free and delicious. There are slivers of chocolate and chunks of cookie dough. It tastes much creamier than ice cream, but lighter, if you can believe that.

2. I never thought I’d wear a romper until Kaye donated one to me. It was love at first wear. Last weekend I bought another cute one from Target.

3. Summer fashion. White jeans, blue sandals, pink toes. Color everywhere!

4. I wonder if this wine is any good. I just love the many possible meanings behind the name. Crusher as in crushing grapes? Or crushing on men? Or on men crushing grapes? So many possibilities.

5. To celebrate the release of a product, Blackbaud greeted us with candy this morning.

A lot of candy. Though I prefer chocolate, I grabbed a push pop and a ring pop.

6. I saved the candy for a rainy day and opted for lunch and dessert from Chick-fil-A. I had the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with a fruit cup and an IceDream. This picture epitomizes Hungry Meets Healthy.

7. It’s not often that I get bored, but when I do, I like to add Dom Mazzetti’s head to pictures of Kaye and me. We love him!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. At least once a week, I end up at the Blackbaud help desk. Occasionally it’s for tech support, but the majority of the time, it’s for candy. Let’s be honest. Those boys always have a ton of snacks. When I popped in last week, they were really excited to show me this vintage chair they found in a random closet. How huge is this thing?!

To put it in perspective, it comfortably fit me AND a giant bag of candy.

2. My friend Shana knows I like winking, so she sent me a picture of her breakfast.

Sriracha and egg wink at all the fine gentlemen!

3. After stopping by a pet adoption event, I was thisclose to leaving with a pup. Look at this cutie!! It was love at first sight until the volunteer told me he was part malamute and would end up the same weight as me. Ok, woah. He was really excited to take a walk around the building with me. Really excited.

4. More memes!!

WHEN I’M AT THE GYM AND TRYING TO SCOPE OUT THE HOTTIES:

Pardon the language on the next two, but they were too funny not to share.

WHEN ANOTHER ONE OF MY FRIENDS GETS A BOYFRIEND:

WHEN I MAKE A TYPO ON MY BLOG AND PEOPLE GET THEIR PANTIES IN A TWIST ABOUT IT:

5. This chart is so accurate.

6. Hot damn, you guys are excited about the new LUNA bars. Keep the giveaway entries coming! 6 days left to enter!

What’s your favorite breed of dog?

Do you make faces with your food?

Recipes tomorrow!

Thoughts on Thursday

1. I have 7 books on hold on the library but won’t have time to pick them up until Saturday. It’s like having presents but not being able to open them. That may be the dorkiest thing I’ve ever said. The next book I’m looking forward to is:

2. Last night Amanda and I had takeout from Oriental Garden. This place looks like a total dump, but has surprisingly good sushi. For just 10 bucks total, I got two huge rolls. Both the Philly roll (salmon & avocado) and the Mount Pleasant roll (shrimp & avocado) were really fresh.

Don’t be afraid of this restaurant’s exterior. It’s a diamond in the rough.

3. Charleston friends, you know my good friend Joe Girard, the afternoon DJ for 95sx? He is so funny. We were chatting via email yesterday, and when I asked him where he’d been, he responded “Been hiding. Hitting the gym and eating peanut butter.” HA. Story of my life!

Ladies…he’s single….and a cutie!

He might kill me for this, but it’s worth it.

4. On Tuesday, my cubemate Rachel had leftover pizza from lunch. She left a slice in the box and put it in the fridge at work. When she pulled the box out for lunch on Wednesday, the pizza was GONE. Someone took the slice, ate it, and left the empty box.. The worst part is she had taken a bite out of it!!! That’s disturbing you guys. She put a sign up, and I couldn’t resist leaving a comment too.

Who steals half eaten food?!

5. I don’t typically drink white wine, but I gave this bottle from TJ’s a chance because of the green label. It was good! The label claims “This pale straw colored wine has very intense orange blossom and honey aromatics while delivering a full, rich body with a core of pear and nectarine flavors followed by a smooth aftertaste that’s long and focused.” Excuse the fact that they don’t know what a run-on sentence is and give this wine a try!

6. I downloaded Nicki Minaj’s new album, Pink Friday…Roman Reloaded. I love her, but I need to listen to this a few more times before I know if I like it. Can anything top the first Pink Friday? Have any of you listened to this yet?

7. I’ve now gone to 4 Pure Barre classes in a row. OUCH. They should be getting easier, but nope. They’re getting harder because I’m getting sorer. Beach body, here I come! I won’t be back until Saturday though – Thursday is kickboxing (a must!) and Friday is a rest day.

8. Tonight I’m going to the Water Ball with my friend Logan. A night of fancy dresses and champagne at the aquarium? Yes, please! Even better, it supports a good cause: clean water!

Tomorrow is Friday!

The Friday Five–Manly Style

Hello friends! I am off for a little vaca and have a guest post (of sorts) for you.

Meet my friend Eric. Eric works at Blackbaud with me and is also food critic for the Charleston City Paper. We met through our mutual friend Rachel and bonded over a love for all things related to food and cooking. The food bond is pretty strong as we both have a slight obsession with beets and pickles. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Chick-fil-A fan too? Now you know why we are friends.

I enjoy cooking and learning about different foods, but this is where Eric and I differ. He LOVES cooking. And is really good at it. In preparation for a catering gig he was doing, he offered to let me sample some of the veggie burgers he was going to be serving.

As a new(ish) vegetarian, I was really excited to try homemade veggie burgers! Morning Star and Trader Joe’s veggie and black bean burgers have already been incorporated into my diet, but I knew it was only time before a homemade one made its way to my mouth.

While Eric played in the kitchen, I played with his pup, Copper. Look at this cutie!

Though I don’t have an exact recipe, the burgers are essentially a mix of the following:

• edamame
• red pepper
• red onion
• corn
• carrot
• spinach
• cayenne
• lime juice
• garlic
• egg
• bread crumbs
• edamame pureed with water, lemon juice, and oil

The veggies and seasonings were chopped in tiny bits, then bound together with the egg, bread crumbs, and edamame puree. So colorful!

He formed the patties,

and pan fried them.

For serving, Eric placed each burger on a mini Hawaiian sweet roll, topped them with tzatziki sauce, and garnished them with cilantro radish.

How adorable is this! Be jealous. They were flipping fantastic.

I thought to myself, “How am I going to go another day without these?” My prayers were answered when Eric offered to let me take home the leftover mix so I could make some at home.

Hash tag awesome.

Now here’s where the guest post comes in. We have the usual Friday Five post, but written by the cook himself. Enjoy!

What I'm Reading: Charcuterie: The craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman. Who doesn't love cured meats?  I'm seriously considering turning my spare walk-in closet into a meat  and beer locker. Sausages, hams, salumis, and aged beers.  Can you imagine staying in my spare room and smelling bacon?

What I'm Watching: American Idol. Don't judge me. I've never been into the show until this season. The only reason I'm watching is to support a someone I know from Charleston, Elise Testone. She's killing it right now and everyone should vote for her on Wednesday nights!

What I'm listening to: Atlas Genius – Trojans. I heard this song for the first time on Alt Nation and I'm hooked.

What I'm Bookmarking: http://www.moleculargastronomynetwork.com/ 

I've been on a molecular gastronomy kick. Making balsamic caviar, foams, basil spaghetti, mojito spheres, bloody mary candies, and more.It's cool what you can do with food and chemistry.

What I'm Drinking: Bell's Hopslam. Hops, citrus, and honey - three of my favorite things all in one beer. This stuff doesn't sit on the shelf long so I get as much as I can as soon as it's released.

Hope you enjoyed the guest post. I will tell you where I am soon..

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Would you cork your wine bottles with a pickle? I would. Check out this pickle-shaped wine stopper.

This baby can be yours for a mere $7.49 at Gadgets and Gear.

2. Just days after I was secretly wishing that my coworkers would hush their mouths about March Madness, I found myself filling out two brackets. First, I had a chance to win $1,000 from Mellow Mushroom.  The second bracket was to support Ben’s fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. That fool champion is participating in the NYC triathlon in July. Interested in donating? Do it here!

Blackbaud fully supports the madness. The screens in the cafeteria now show ESPN all day. Nice.

3. Spotted at Target: Cookies & Cream Goldfish! Ahhhhhhhh.

4. On St. Patrick’s Day, Rick’s Chick-fil-A had GREEN lemonade. My favorite drink in my favorite color. I swear, it tasted better.

5. This spring weather! Is March the new May or what? Pool Day #1, CHECK.

Lynn’s pool has these awesome cabanas. Perfect for snuggling 3 deep when a storm passes by. Yup, we cabana snuggled with Easter candy and magazines.

6. Later that evening on our way to dinner, Eric and I caught a gorgeous sunset over the bridge.

7. How many times a day can I listen to this song?

A–Z Survey for Saturday

Big hugs to Janetha for posting this awesome survey. Couldn’t resist stealing it…

A is for age: 27 3/4. Ugh. 28 is coming very soon. I was semi bothered by this number until a coworker and I talked about it on Friday. He said 28 is a great age because you’re clearly an adult, but not yet 30. Ha!

B is for breakfast today: I had a cup of grapes and strawberries with the new Gnu Foods Blueberry Cobbler bar. It is so good. As soon as I ripped it open I could smell the blueberry flavor. Once it hits the shelves, you guys need to scoop a bunch up!

Thank you, Gnu Foods, for sending me an early shipment!

C is for currently craving: No cravings at the moment. Shocking. Who am I?

D is for dinner tonight: Last night Amanda and I went to Five Loaves for dinner. I had 1/2 of the Eggplant Fritters salad (w/ grilled asparagus & goat cheese over mixed greens) and the Sweet Chili Glazed Eggplant Wrap with cucumbers, sprouts, carrots, peppers & Thai peanut sauce. This was my second dinner in a row at Five Loaves. New love!

E is for favorite type of exercise: Running or strength training. Kickboxing is my favorite  group fitness class.

F is for an irrational fear: Every now and then I worry when I’m running or driving over the bridge. Like what if it just collapsed? Eek! I’m also petrified of subway crashes.

G is for gross food: I’m still totally disgusted by all forms of poultry. I don’t know what happened or how to fix it. :(

H is for hometown: From birth – 13, I lived in Acton, MA and still consider that my “hometown.”

I is for something important: Friendship!

J is for current favorite jam: Wild Ones by Sia & Flo Rida. SO good!

K is for kids: No. Just no. Ask me in a few years.

L is for current location: Mt. Pleasant, SC.

M is for the most recent way you spent money: Dinner.

N is for something you need: New pillows. My knee to stop hurting. A good book to read.

O is for occupation: I work for the Communications team at Blackbaud. That’s all you need to know. Any more information and you’ll just be confused.

P is for pet peeve: Slow talkers. Slow walkers. Slow drivers. Slow story tellers. Loud chewers. People who yawn out loud. STOP IT!!

Q is for a quote:

R is for random fact about you: I can hula hoop for a really long time. If someone was feeding me, I’m sure I could hula all day long.

S is for favorite healthy snack: Bananas. Carrots & hummus. Fage’s cherry Greek yogurt.

T is for favorite treat: Chickfila’s IceDream. With or without pickles on the side.

U is for something that makes you unique: Dog bite scar on my left jaw. Nobody really notices it.

V is for favorite vegetable: Beets! Peas! Brussels sprouts. Asparagus. The ones everyone hates.

W is for today’s workout: Running outside. How can I say no in 80* weather?

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Remember that time I sprained my foot dancing at Trio? That’s the one and only time I’ve had x-rays done.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: It was definitely catching up with Amanda. Love that girl. The bottle of Malbec we split wasn’t bad either.

Z is for your time zone: EST.

Happy Saturday!