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VSG Anniversary coming up!

On May 16, it will be two years since my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in Mexico. I’ve not posted here or at YouTube in quite some time, simply because I am very stable and not much has changed. I hit a hard plateau at 180 pounds which translates to size 12 jeans (actually like a half size below that) and 12-14 dress. I’m fine with that. Without surgery, I’ll never get rid of the belly flab, and I’ve decided against tummy tuck surgery. It is HORRIBLE to recover from and I just don’t have time for that shit. Or the money, honestly. And there are things like Spanx to deal with it!!

In addition to that, Nick’s 45th birfday is May 10. It’s a Thursday, so I’m not sure what we’ll do.

And, of course, we’ve got the pub thing ongoing. I’ve been working on the menu, trying not to FREAK OUT that there is no real estate available.

And on top of all this, my friend Kenny dropped dead of a heart attack on Friday April 13, so that has been rough. Friday 13 has always been a good day for me, but now, not so much. Sigh. He was my age, too. He had untreated heart issues and literally dropped dead. At least he didn’t suffer. The memorial was yesterday and of course: it sucked. His wife Carole has stage 4 ovarian cancer, so it’s all just really terrible. Sigh.

So, as you can see, the VSG anniversary is not very important to me with all this other stuff going on. I’m still grateful I did it and I still feel FABULOUS, and I still recommend it if you’ve been struggling with your weight your whole life like I did. It is absolutely worth it. Save yourself the agony of US healthcare and just go to Mexico. You, too, can have a new life in 4 days and $5000. Fuck your insurance company and their bullshit “plan” that forces you through hoops for a year then offers you no follow up care. Just DO IT.

I think I will lose that last 10# when I am crazy busy with the pub. I did lose 5# when I was working 7 days a week there for a month. But whatever, I’m not dieting and I’m not getting plastic surgery, so it is what it is. I’m happy with the way I look in clothes, so it’s all good. :)

I’d like to wish Nick a Happy Birfday in advance and myself a happy VSG anniversary!

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Happy 14th Anniversary to us!

2018 has been and will continue to be an “interesting” year. LOL

Today we celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary and our 18th year together. Amazing!

I’ve got the best partner in the world and we’re going to do great things. Love you, Nick!!

I’m also happy to announce that I gave notice at the fucking Krobar. After the union rep trying to intimidate me and a customer verbally accosting me, I walked straight to the wine steward and said “I AM OUT. Consider this my notice.” He was actually bummed and apologized for the dickhead customer. Which I appreciate. As for the union bitch, she can eat a bag of dicks. Intimidation and bullying doesn’t work with me, honey. I’ll just report you to the Kroger complaint line like I am the rest of this shitshow. I don’t give a damn. Kroger is a shitty place to work and I don’t care what anyone thinks about that statement. I am too good to work there, period.

So, almost rid of Kroger and about to embark on launching the new project. AND today is a lovely day to hang out in Decatur and celebrate our Anniversary. SWEET!

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Krobar Update! MORE!!

Here is my first flamey post about the Krobar. Now, an update! [I am no longer employed by Kroger. Thank the gods. That place is a PIT OF DESPAIR and crushed souls. 5/30/18 UPDATE 2: Kroger finally gave up on their “bars” and took it out in late 2019.]

So, still no chemicals in the goddam Hobart. Big shock. It’s been, what? 2 weeks now? Going on three? I TOLD YOU it would take a month. LOL [NEW UPDATE: I took in the drill, we made the hole and I scrounged up some chemicals! VOILÀ! Now the fucking Hobart actually WASHES the glassware. Oh, but the other Krobars DO NOT do this, so enjoy your nasty ass drinks at the other ones.]

I think I’ve sort of halfway made up with the wine steward (aka dept head). I sent him an email the other day which outlined my availability for next week and the weeks after. I told him I could work three days next week and two days thereafter. Period. I also told him that I don’t think ALL the Kroger bullshit is his fault, only part of it and that I’m aware of the horrible management of Kroger in general.

Speaking of terrible management! OMG! Last week, Friday I think, the young manager (don’t know his name) asked me where the wine steward was (it was about 10:30, he never arrives before 11:30) and I said I didn’t know. Then later, everyone (me, distributors, customers) were in the department and this same manager comes charging up to the wine steward (WS) and starts tearing him a new asshole – right there in the middle of the department, in front of all of us!!! We were all embarrassed – well, I thought it was funny since the WS was the WORST one for being late – but still. That was one of the most unprofessional, rude, nasty managerial moves I’ve ever seen. WTF is wrong with Kroger?? TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT.

Then, yesterday, I was cleaning up around the sinks and looked up at the liquor licenses on the wall. At first, I read them as Expires Dec 31, 2018…but then I looked more closely and they expired in Dec 2017!! LOL So the Krobar is serving w/out a license. I went and told the WS and he said, “Yup. I’ve been emailing about it weekly since January.” LOL I sincerely hope Kroger gets fined. They also don’t pay the ATT bill on time, because we lose our service once a month for a coupla days. PATHETIC.

Assuming that the WS reduces my hours as requested, I will keep this job for the time being. I really do NOT mind the job at all – I like it, actually. I like making all the bottles straight (OCD FTW!) and I love tending bar. I just avoid the Kroger management and I’m mostly OK. The WS and I are working it out, I think, so I guess I’ll remain. One weekday and Saturday are very doable. For now.

I’ll have an announcement and BIG BIG update about other things soon. :D

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Oh, Grow UP!

This is spurred by Facebook, of course. The land of things that irritate me. Sigh. It’s not directed at any one person, just the overall bible thumping that is STILL in my goddam feed, despite my best efforts to eradicate it. Ugh. This will irritate some of you. Sorrynotsorry.

I really hate it when I see friends fall into the Bible thumper trap. “It’s all God’s plan” or “It’s His will” makes me want to vomit. I know it’s judgy, but dammit, it’s the passivity of it all that chafes my ass. How about DOING something rather than preach about God’s will?

I find that people who preach about God and Jesus are the ones feeling generally victimized – hence wishing that some outside force will take care of them. While I can understand the urge for this, it doesn’t make it any more palatable for me. I also dislike the hypocrisy of people who suddenly find Jesus when something traumatic happens.

I’m an agnostic most days, atheist others, but on ALL days, it irritates me to hear people preach about God and Jesus. LOOK at this country and what that superstitious crap has gotten us. It’s the 21st fucking century. Can we PLEASE believe in science rather than folk tales? Can we PLEASE not refer to a book FULL of hypocrisy and bullshit as some sort of guide? Can we stop expecting help from a magic man in the sky?

If you want to be a Jesus freak and/or bible thumper, that’s fine, but just know that I will probably think less of you for it. I can’t help it. It just seems so childish to me. Look around and see the BULLSHIT that religion has brought us. Grow up and take charge of your life. There is no magic man in the sky. It’s just US, here on this rock, living out our 70-80 years. Do the best you can, do ALL that you can and LIVE! Stop wishing for a man in the sky to rescue you. ARGH.

Again, not directed towards any one person. Just my observations.

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Shrimp in Creamy Prosecco Sauce with Linguine Fini

This is my take on a VERY old recipe that I pulled from a magazine in the late 80s or early 90s. I still have the clipping (pic below) and it’s still a solidly delicious recipe! I’ve made it many times and not only is it super easy, it’s super deelish! The original recipe calls for champagne and is lacking garlic, but otherwise this is pretty close. You can change up the herbs and give it different flavor profiles. You could even make this Asian by using coconut milk and ginger. It’s a method, the flavour profile is determined by your choice of herbs and spices. I’m going to do Asian next time I make this. I’ll post the results!

Shrimp w/ Creamy Prosecco Sauce

Shrimp in Creamy Prosecco Sauce with Linguine Fini
1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 Tbl cajun seasoning or dry Old Bay
EVOO
1 Tbl butter
1/2 small package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium shallot, small dice
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
S/P
1 tsp dry basil (or dill or parsley)
1 cup prosecco or champagne
3 Tbl grated parmesan
~1 cup heavy cream
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 package of linguine fini, prepare as instructed on box (substitute: angel hair)

METHOD:
Clean the shrimp and coat in the cajun seasoning, set aside.

Start the pasta water (don’t forget to add salt!!). Cook pasta while you’re doing the next steps.

Start a large nonstick skillet over medium to med hi heat with a few turns of olive oil and the butter. When hot, add shallot, shrooms, garlic and basil. Sauté the veg until the shrooms give off their water, then add shrimp and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add prosecco and cook for a minute. Add heavy cream – use enough to create a thick sauce, it’s about a cup, more or less. Bring to boil and cook a couple of minutes. Add parmesan – this is for added flavour and to thicken. Adjust to your taste. Add in about 2/3 of the scallions and save the rest for garnish. Check for S/P levels before serving. Keep in mind that the pasta will negate some of the seasoning, so go a little heavy.

Serve over linguine fini (or angel hair) and garnish with scallions. Drink the rest of the prosecco with dinner. Makes about 4 servings.

Here is the original clipping!

Original recipe clipping!