The Silver Lining

The job fair was a total bust. I pulled in the parking lot at 8:40am since it started at 9am. I drove in front of the hotel and looked inside. There were construction workers inside doing drywall. What the heck? I drove around to the back and the same thing. I got out and walked up to the sign by the road that I saw last week advertising the job fair. In tiny little mice type at the bottom it said "Georgia Dept. of Labor Career Center" (a.k.a. Unemployment Office). Oh C-R-A-P. I've been to this ofc several times since I got laid off in February. They don't open til 7:30am, but the people start lining up outside the door at 7am, and that's WITHOUT a job fair going on.

I drove over there to see just how bad it was. I counted 53 people standing outside of the building, and there were probably another 30 in line in front of them inside. I am actually desperate enough at this point that I would have stood in line behind 83 people to apply for a job, however, there was just nowhere to park. Every spot was full...people had parked on both sides of every curb, leaving VERY little room to squeeze my car through to maneuver around the parking lot. There were signs posted saying not to park on the grass. I counted 12 cars parked on the grass. I was feeling down, deflated, disgusted, and I finally made it out of the parking lot and back on the interstate.

As I was driving along I remembered a scenario from years past. I was job searching another time and had applied and interviewed for a position that I really, really wanted. I didn't get it. I called my friend Gregg and told him. He said, "Oh....well.....thank God!!" "Excuse me???", I said incredulously, wondering when my friend had suddenly turned into a moron. He explained that I had prayed fervently for that position, always praying that His will be done in my life, and the same with this job. He said since I didn't get it, then it wasn't meant to be, and I should thank God that I didn't get stuck in a place that wasn't right for me. I would have been miserable.

Hmmm...maybe my friend was smarter than I gave him credit for. That was certainly one way to look at it. Always one that enjoys the positive side of life way more than the negative...I decided to accept and be thankful for the silver lining that my friend had found in my cloud of despair. I adopted the same attitude today.

Feeling better, I headed on up to the unemployment office in the new county I just moved to and had my claim transferred. This office is much less busy, with much more pleasant employees. I only had to wait 5 minutes to see a counselor and handle the paperwork. While I was there, I found out that I've been approved for 27 more weeks, should I not find a job, which means my bills are at least going to be paid through the end of March. Praise the Lord!! Now THAT is an answer to prayer. :)

A couple of my lovely followers on the blog asked me to post the recipe for my breakfast casserole that I mentioned in last night's post. I'm happy to do so!

First let me say that I've made several of these and every time they're a little different...it all depends on what meats I have on hand, what fresh veggies were on sale that week, and how many calories I want to spend on breakfast. Here's a list of all the items I've used so far....you can mix and match them to whatever suits your taste:

rotisserie chicken
ham steaks cut into cubes
homemade turkey sausage (way less sodium than store bought; 99% fat free)
Canadian bacon (only 120 calories for 6 slices)

summer (yellow) squash
zucchini
onions
fresh or jarred mushrooms
every color of bell pepper (green, red, yellow, orange)
fresh spinach
baby asparagus
frozen broccoli (thawed)


Kraft Fat Free shredded mozzarella (1/4 c is 45 cals)
Kraft Fat Free shredded cheddar (1/4 c is 45 cals)
Kraft or Sargento reduced fat shredded Colby Jack (1/4 c is 80 cals)
Kraft or Sargento reduced fat shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend (1/4 c-80 cals)

The 2 staples in this casserole that never change are 10 egg whites and 1/2 c. of fat free cottage cheese (I use store brand). Egg whites are 17 calories each and 1/2 c. of fat free cottage cheese is 80 calories.

I use an 8x8 glass baking dish so it's a perfect square and I get 4 even pieces. I spray it with Pam olive oil cooking spray and preheat my oven to 375.

Next I chop all the veggies I'm going to use and sautee them for about 10 mins with a lid on the pan to cook out most of the liquid...this cuts way down on any liquid that cooks out while you're baking it in the oven. I do it on medium high heat, taking the lid off for the last few mins to let all the liquid evaporate.

If you're using homemade turkey sausage, you obviously need to cook that first. Little 2 oz patties cook up very quickly. If you're using ham, Canadian bacon or rotisserie chicken then there's no need to sautee ahead of time.

Layer the veggies in the bottom of the dish. Add the meat on top of that. Add your cheese on top of that, whatever amounts and blends you choose.

Mix 10 egg whites and 1/2 c of fat free cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and stir briskly with a wire whisk if you have one. Add a little salt and pepper to the mixture (I also add onion powder). Pour over the top, making sure to go around the outside edges first then finishing up in the middle. This will seal the top with egg whites and give you a nice browned, slightly crispy top on your casserole. Bake uncovered in the oven for 40 minutes. If you're oven cooks hotter, cook for 30 minutes and check it...but my egg whites are never fully cooked at 30 mins. 40 minutes is perfect in my oven.

Here's the specific ingredient list for the casserole I made this week that was 211 calories per serving:

6 oz. rotisserie chicken breast
2 c. yellow squash
1 c. red bell pepper
1 4.5 oz. jar of sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. vidalia (sweet) onion
4 c. fresh spinach
3/4 c. fat free shredded mozzarella
1/4 c. reduced fat shredded colby jack

Total calories: 844
Cals per svg: 211

It's a bit of work to sautee the veggies and get it all baked, so it's a good thing to do in the evening if you're just sitting around watching TV...it frees up your time in the morning, and especially if you have to go to work or get kids to school. I just pop a piece in the microwave for 40 seconds and Voila! :)

My weigh-in is tomorrow morning. I am holding my breath. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it, and start working on the next weigh-in. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Job Fair Tomorrow

It's been another busy day....I had a lot of errands to run and stuff to take care of. My sister Amy came over late this morning and we went to the park together and walked the 2 mile trail. It wasn't my normal power walk, but it wasn't a stroll either. The weird thing is, I was even MORE sore after today's walk than I was after yesterday's which was much more rigorous. My body is so strange, lol.

Mom met us at the park with my niece and nephew after we were done with our walk. She brought Krystal's for lunch....I was going to eat 4, but knowing they were 160 calories each, I decided to only eat 2. I have a love affair with Krystal's that just won't seem to die....but I'm getting way better at having them in smaller amounts when I do have them. They're just a terrible caloric value...so little food for so many calories, and I like making better use of my calories.

I had a piece of breakfast casserole this morning that I made yesterday...it was 211 calories. I love making these....I cut it into 4 pieces and have breakfast that morning....and then don't have to cook breakfast for the next 3 mornings! These will come in really handy when I finally get another job. I made a French style pork stew in the crockpot for dinner....it made 3 servings and was 400 calories a serving, and quite tasty I might add. I love coupling pork with rosemary. It's a lovely, fragrant combination.

I had a few snacks throughout the day and came in right at 1500 calories for the 2nd day in a row. One more day before weigh day and then we'll see what the damage is. I've been drinking tons of water, just like I usually do, so I should have flushed all the sodium out from the moving weekend. Of course there's the bloating now that Mother Nature has so graciously bestowed upon me....but there's just nothing we can do about nature. Except cuss it, which I've done profusely. :)

The job fair is tomorrow morning at the Embassy Suites hotel...they are hiring for all positions. I'm hoping to snag something in Accounting or Bookkeeping...say your prayers!! It runs from 9a-3p...I'm going to be there at 8:30am. I've got my resume ready to go...3 copies actually....maybe I'm a little overzealous? lol The most stressful thing about getting ready for this was searching through my clothes in the closet. Oh my. I came upon the realization that I haven't bought any new work clothes in YEARS. I was at the last job for 3 1/2 years, and I guess when you get comfy in a place and get used to wearing the same outfits, maybe you don't realize how worn they're getting? At least I didn't.

The other problem is, I lost 20 lbs VERY SLOWLY over the course of last year...and then another 29 lbs since I started this blog in June. That's dang near 50 lbs!! Everything is now not only worn out, but oversized. It's not exactly falling off yet, thanks to my voluptuous hips, but if I sucked my stomach in, I feel sure my skirt would hit the floor. Gonna' have to watch that tomorrow, lol.

Well I'm off to cuddle with Scarlette. Poor baby....she's loving having the fenced in front yard, after leaving the apartment....but it's a two-edged sword. She's found absolute delight in munching on bugs at night when they come out and start crawling across the sidewalk...but last night she got stung on the nose by a fuzzy caterpillar, and tonight she got stung on the lower eyelid by a bumble bee. It's a little swollen, and she keeps rubbing her eye on my leg...I feel so sorry for her. Maybe she'll learn soon to snack selectively. 'Nite nite. :)