Posted under
General by Catherine on February 29th, 2008 3:02 pm
90% of the time when I tell someone I’m an auditor and a CPA it is normally followed up with a tax question. My reply is normally along the lines of I have nothing to do with taxes and then a puzzled look from the asker.
I have the day off today to relax and recharge. You see as an auditor my job involves reading and testing the balances on client’s Form 10-K (F pages) and Form 10-Qs to make sure there is nothing funky going on that would cause investors to freak out like bad numbers (but not fraud that is not our job).
So every May, July, and Sept I have about 2 late night weeks (aka 8-9pm) to crank out the 10Qs and then starting Jan 1 thru Feb 28th I have to deal with the beast aka “10K” to us auditors which involves late late nights (10pm-1am) and no free weekends. Additionally it involves lots of caffeine (just insert the redbull iv into the left arm please), takeout (hmm with the limited choices do I want Mexican, Chinese, pizza, or burgers… AGAIN??), nonexistent exercising, and generally grumpy people. I mean no matter how chipper and nice we are pretending to be no one is happy to see the auditors unless you are bringing in the ever popular chik-fil-a breakfast Friday morning.
So while my job does not sound glamorous (rather depressing right??) and you might be wondering why I am doing it, it is quite challenging, normal the rest of the year, and once filings are all over I get a sense of accomplishment that makes me feel like it was all worth it. I definitely got that feeling at 12:00am last night when I got to pack up from work due to the official “pencils down” rule because we filed! So today I am off to celebrate by going to WholeFoods and making a huge, colorful salad and then heading to the gym tonight to get in some much needed cardio. I might have kept the pounds off but I didn’t keep the pudginess from coming out.
Happy Friday!
Posted under
Beauty by Catherine on February 19th, 2008 1:19 am
I find applying makeup to be a work in progress for me. Meaning I’m always on the lookout for new tips and tricks to speed the process up or to change my “look”. Othertimes though I just need a tip on how to correct “issues” that either occur naturally or that I create 
.
I’ve compiled a listing of my own tips and tricks that I hope will be as helpful for you as they have been for me. I look forward to any tips you may have so please leave a comment below!
- When planning to wear eyeshadows with glitter in them, apply with a wet brush/applicator by patting gently all over your eyelids.
- Also, when wearing shadows with glitter, apply your eyeshadow first then you base. That way if you need to get the glitter off you can use a piece of scotch tape to pick it up and not take off any of your foundation leaving your makeup uneven.
- If you have trouble curling your lashes apply a light heat (via hair dryer or car heater vents) to the curler before curling your lashes. Heating your curler will have the same effect on your eyelashes as a curling iron on your hair. Be careful though and check the temperature of the metal before applying to your lids as you can burn yourself if you overheat your tool.
- Don’t be afraid to use your fingers to blend. Sometimes brushes don’t do the trick when trying to blend colors so try blending with clean fingers. Your ring finger is best as it isn’t as strong as your pointer and middle fingers.
- Trying to make your pout a little bigger? Apply your lipstick first and then dot some clear or light colored lip gloss in the middle to give the illusion of fuller lips.
- Need to set your nail polish quickly? Place your fingers in cold water after applying polish for 30 seconds. The cold water will help set the polish.
Posted under
Recipes by Catherine on February 13th, 2008 1:49 am
I absolutely love desserts. Fruity desserts to be exact followed by the odd chocolate one every now and then. Most diets though tend to tell you not to love desserts - fruity or otherwise - unless you want something that tastes artificial. But alas I have found 2 delicious recipes to share with you that are both tasty and diet friendly. One I came across years ago on a weight watchers message board and the other was from the back of a bisquick box that I tried once for my Folklore and Fantasy class in College (we had a 3 hour class with a scheduled break with snacks). Both are favorites of mine and take minimal work to make. I wish I knew how to format better but I have yet to figure that one out so once again so sorry for the loooong post. Hope you enjoy!
Banana’s Foster
1 large banana
1 serving PAM cooking spray 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 fl oz brandy or dark rum
½ cup breyers French vanilla ice cream
- Slice banana into long thin diagonal slices, about 1/3 inch thick.
- Spray PAM into small frying pan. Heat to medium/medium-high. Add bananas.
- Heat until lightly golden then Flip. When the other side becomes lightly golden, add the brandy/rum.
- Add the brown sugar and sprinkle the spices over the bananas. Add only a pinch of cloves.
- When the bananas are soft (but not mushy, they should retain their shape) remove from heat.
- Divide the ½ cup serving of ice cream into 2 small serving cups. Top with the bananas and sauce.
3 points per serving. Makes 2 servings.
Lemon Bars
Courtesy of the Bisquick box
1 ½ cups Bisquick Reduced Fat Baking Mix
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
3 Tbsp firm margarine or butter
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp Bisquick Reduced Fat Baking Mix
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
¼ cup lemon juice
4 eggs
Glaze (recipe to follow)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 ½ cups baking mix & powdered sugar in medium bowl. Cut in margarine using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives until crumbly. Press mixture in bottom of ungreased rectangular pan 13×9x2.
- Bake about 10 minute or until light brown. Mix remaining ingredients except glaze. Pour over baked layer.
- Bake about 25 minutes or until set and golden brown. Loosen edges from sides of pan while warm. Spread with Glaze. Cool completely. Cut into about 2×1.25 inch bars.
Glaze: Mix powdered sugar (3/4 cup) and lemon juice (1 Tbsp plus 1.5 tsp) until smooth. These ingredients are separate from the list above.
1 bar: 80 cals, 2gms fat, 25mg cholesterol, 95mg sodium, 15gms carbs, 11gms protein. 2 WW points. Makes 36 bars
Posted under
Beauty by Catherine on February 8th, 2008 1:16 am
Growing up I often got the “au naturale” look confused with the “neutral” look. I often thought they were one in the same meaning mostly boring brown hues. I also thought the thought of an au naturale look created through applying makeup was a bit of an oxymoron. Seemed silly to apply makeup to look like you weren’t wearing any! Little did I know that the au naturale look didn’t need to be dull, boring, brown, or caked on. By my usual methods of trial and error thanks to Sephora and my love of visiting message boards I created my own beauty bag for an au naturale look that works for me. I find the lightness of the tinted moisturizer give me a subtle glow and evens out the skin tone without putting on a heavy foundation, the shimmer in the eyeshadow delivers a nice pick-me-up for brown tone, and the blush gives the perfect hint of color without looking silly. While the name is a bit silly it is one of THE BEST beauty staples so don’t worry about bringing it to the checkout with you. Everyone seems to keep it in their beauty bag.
- Stila Tinted Moisturizer - available in 9 shades!
- clear mascara to shape brows into place
- Benefit’s Lemon Aid eye shadow base - can double as a concealer
- Stila eye shadow in Kitten or Urban Decay’s eye shadow in Sin - light shimmery beige eyeshadows
- Nars Blush in Orgasm just on the apples of your cheeks - soft peachy pink shade
- She Uemura Basic Black Mascara - subtle black mascara
- Chapstick/lip gloss of your choice - such as Kiehls lip balm, blistex, or Stila lip gloss in vanilla or brown sugar
Happy Shopping!
