Earn Your MAT@USC Degree ONLINE Today!!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of 2tor. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was chatting with some of my ex college friends online a couple of weeks back and we started talking about the good old days. A lot of them were education majors back in college. Upon graduation, they were all so excited to go out there and be educators. Sure, it was fun initially but after doing this for years, things start to get frustrating. They want to move up in their career but it feels as though they have hit a ceiling. Many have thought about going back to school but they just do not have the time to stop working just for that. Also, finances (or the lack of it) is another big issue.

I recently found out about a program that is a perfect solution for current educators and aspiring teachers who want to earn their Masters of Art in Teaching degree but do not have the time to do so. The USC Rossier School of Education is the answer. They offer education from an elite research university with the convenience and flexibility of studying online! With a 100-year history of educating teachers to be agents of change, they have been ranked #22 in the United States, and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report! The program promotes highly interactive online learning combined with field-based experiences in your local area. That's right, in fact, Rossier and the MAT@USC were awarded by AACTE for their innovative use of technology in education. Also, you will get the opportunity to learn from distinguished USC faculty recognized for their contributions to modern education. The best thing about this is, you can do all that online, from the comforts of your own home! There is also an accelerated program that you can complete in as little as 12 months. That's right...12 months! You can actually earn your degree in a year!

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Oven Roasted Split Chicken with Vegetables

All kinds of chicken cuts were on sale at our local grocery store last week. I managed to pick up 6 pieces of split chicken (3 whole chicken in total) for less than $5!!! Mind you, they were not tiny. Those are regular sized (I would even dare say that they rather large) chickens. I wanted to make something simple and quick for dinner, so I just roasted one chicken (2 pieces of split) with some vegetables. It turned out to be really good. Here's the recipe.

Start off by cleaning the chicken under cool water and pat it dry with a some kitchen towels. Then, spray on some cooking oil onto the chicken and rub on your favorite chicken marinade. No prize for guessing what I used. Yes, of course I used Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Poultry Marinade :P Once you have seasoned the chicken on both sides, place it onto a deep baking dish. You can see from the picture that I placed the chicken on a rack that I set up inside the baking dish. This is to allow all the fat to drain to the bottom of the pan, so that the chicken doesn't sit in fat, while cooking. If you do not have a rack, you can just place it inside a deep baking dish. It might be a little bit more greasy but it still works.
Set the chicken aside. Now it's time to work on the vegetables. Peel and cut up one large sweet potato into small chunks. Depending on the size of your sweet potato, you might need two.
Then, place it into a big bowl together with some red potatoes (also cut into small chunks) and some fresh mushrooms (half them if they are too big). You can also add in some carrot if you like.
Next, pour in some balsamic vinaigrette followed by some lemon juice. Mix it all in with all the vegetables. You do not need a lot, just enough to coat the vegetables.
Once you have mixed the dressing with the vegetables, sprinkle in some dried thyme and rosemary followed by some freshly cracked black pepper. Give the vegetables another good stir and it's done.
Arrange the vegetables around the sides of the chicken. Then pop it into a preheated 400F oven for about 40 minutes.
After about 40 minutes, take out the chicken from the oven. Baste it with some melted butter. This will help to brown the chicken nicely as well as help make the skin crispy. Return the chicken into the oven for another 20 minutes or so and it should be done! Allow the chicken to rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving. I just love this recipe. It's so easy to make! Just prepare everything in one dish and pop it all into the oven. You should try it out, it's yummy!

The Perfect Luxury Apartment in Long Beach,CA

I'm sure by now, many of you know that Kevin works a Marine Superintendent for a rather large Singaporean owned shipping company. Their New York office is located in one of the terminals out in Staten Island. We totally love living here in NYC but we were just discussing the other day about where else we would like to move to, if there is an opportunity for Kevin to advance in his career. It's like, where else do you go from here? Of course, ultimately we would like to be transferred back to Asia (Singapore maybe?) but before we can do that, we will most likely have to move out west a couple of years. The company's HQ is in Arizona but Kevin says that they own a terminal out in California, so that will probably be the best place to be (if we ever choose to leave NYC).

Of course we won't be living in San Pedro, so I googled to see what's the nicest city nearest to San Pedro. Looks like Long Beach, CA is the best choice! So, just for information, I started looking around online for long beach apts, just to see how much they cost and things like that. Boy, there are so many apts in long beach to chose from! Out of all the apts that I checked out, there is one that really stood out. It's called gallery421. Located in the heart of everything, not only is it convenient but it's smack right in the middle of all the action! Just minutes from the beach, the harbor, art galleries and museums, it's just awesome. It's contemporary living room and bedroom designs as well as gourmet kitchens with granite countertops are just what we are looking for. Hmmm, I think I can get used to this Southern CA lifestyle. So, if we ever decide to move to out California, at least we now know which is the perfect apartment in long beach for us!

Tropicana Diner - Elizabeth, NJ

I've been meaning to blog about this place for quite some time but I never got around to it. Kevin and I were in Jersey Garden Mall (yes, AGAIN!) last month and as usual, we were shopping until dinnertime. We didn't want to eat in the mall so we decided to drive around Elizabeth to see what there is to eat. Kevin remembered going to this diner with his colleagues for lunch once and it pretty good. So, he suggested that we go have dinner there.
When we walked in, Kevin said it looked somewhat different. I later found out that it was recently renovated and under a new management. The decor was pretty errrmmm different, compared to all the other diners that we have been to. There we fake palm trees and tropical themed murals throughout the whole restaurant. I guess that's why it's called Tropicana? :P
After sitting us down and taking our orders, our server brought out two tiny slices of cheese pizza. Instead of serving us rolls, I guess they want to be different? I don't know. I find it a tad bit weird. The pizza was rather greasy and not really that great tasting. Maybe they made too many cheese pizzas during lunch and they were trying to get rid of it? Who knowsss...
Our meals came with a choice of either salad or soup. We both went with the Cream of Turkey soup. It was pretty good actually. Really creamy and good. There were also big chunks of turkey in it. I enjoyed it and I think Kevin did too.
For Kevin's main, he ordered the Virginia Ham Steak ($12.95). He chosen mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli as his side. The ham steak was really huge and it also came with three slices of grilled pineapple. Kevin said that it tasted alright, not too bad at all.
I got the Chopped Sirloin Steak ($11.95) with grilled sweet potato and steamed broccoli. When my meal arrived, it didn't have any sort of gravy on it. I remembered that it's supposed to come with mushroom sauce. Nevertheless, I took a small bite of the chopped steak and it tasted horrible! The meat was totally tasteless! I have never tasted anything so bland before. So, asked the server for some sauce (which should have been served in the first place). Instead of bringing me the mushroom sauce, he just brought me a bottle of A1 steak sauce!! For real??? I couldn't eat another bite, cos it was just too horrible. So, I just packed it up and planned to make my own gravy when I got home.
Since my main totally sucked, we decided to share a slice of cake for dessert. They have quite a large selection of desserts and we went with the Carrot Cake ($4.65). Now, this is really good. A slice of really moist carrot cake, with some caramel drizzled over it. Very very good.
The owner/manager was at the register when we were paying our bill. I mentioned to him that there wasn't any sauce with my chopped steak when it was served. He looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about. I had to actually open up my take away box to SHOW him. He then went on to say, oh we don't usually put sauce on our chopped steak. By then, I was already a little bit upset with him. I said if you don't usually put sauce on it, why mention it in the menu? It clearly states that the chopped steak is served with mushroom sauce. Instead of admitting that they made a mistake, he went on to say "oh you will be surprised how many people don't like that with their chopped steak". It seems they only put it on if you ask them to. I said well, I did ask the server for some sauce but all I got was A1 steak sauce! He then just shaked his head and said no no, we don't usually serve sauce with chopped steak unless you ask. Man, are you dumb? I just said that I asked for sauce but wasn't given any. He then proceed to 'explain' to me that many people don't even know what chopped steak is and blablabla. I told him I know what chopped steak is and I know that it's supposed to come with sauce. I then mumbled under my breathe to Kevin that I will definitely blog about this on my blog and guess what? Mr No-We-Don't-Serve-That suddenly became Mr Nice Guy. He suddenly smiled, apologized and even offered to get me some mushroom sauce, so that I can take it home to eat with my chopped steak. I guess he only cares when the reputation of his diner is at stake. Too bad, damage has been done. There are many other good diners out here in Jersey, so I don't think we will return to Tropicana anytime soon (not even for their carrot cake, which by the way was very very good!).

Tropicana Diner - Elizabeth,NJ
537-545 Morris Ave,
Elizabeth, NJ 07208
Tel: (908)351 7775
Web: www.tropicanadiner.com

Dollar General supports and thanks the US Military!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm not sure about you, but I don't really think much when it comes to my daily routine. If we ever get hungry in the middle of the night, all we need to do is drive out to buy some food. We do not even have to think twice about it. If we are not happy with something, we speak up. We have the freedom to give our opinions and our thoughts. You know, this is not the case in many countries around the world. They are not allowed to move about freely. Some places have curfews. Many are not even allowed to voice their thoughts and speak up in public. In short, they have no freedom.

We are so blessed that we live in a country that is safe and free. However, in our busyness in life, we tend to take this freedom for granted. We forget that this freedom doesn't actually come for free. There are millions of brave men and women out there, fighting for that freedom, just for you and me. Yes, I am talking about all those people who are (or have been) in the Military. There are many other careers that they could have chosen, but they choose to serve their country. It is because of the sacrifices made by these brave people that you and I can go about our daily lives, knowing that our country is in good hands. So, on this Veteran's Day, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Military for all that they have done for us.

We are not the only people that would like to thank all of you. Dollar General would also like to say that they too are a proud supporter of the US Military and that they, just like all of you in the armed forces, demonstrates integrity, accountability and discipline on a daily basis. If you are an active duty member, veteran, member of the National Guard and Reserve as well as family members, you will find that Dollar General is a company that shares the same values and commitment in serving others. Therefore, in honor of your military service, Dollar General will offer all of you a 10% off discount at all locations this Veteran's Day ( Thursday, November 11^th, 2010). All you need to do is identify yourself at the register to receive the discount. Remember, this is a one day event only, so take full advantage of it! Also, some restrictions apply to the discount. It does not cover Cell Phone Minutes, Rug Doctor Items, Lottery Tickets, Propane, Wine & Beer and all prepaid items (such as Gift Cards, Cell Phone Minutes, Prepaid Credit Cards...etc).

Cousins Pizzeria - Bloomfield, NJ

Our fridge was totally empty last Thursday and we were too lazy to go out grocery shopping. By dinnertime, our tummies were rumbling but again, we were just too lazy to go out for dinner. You know, it's just one of those days when you don't feel like doing anything but sit in front of the TV and stare at it :P We agreed that we should just order some food in but the question was...WHAT? Should we get Chinese? BBQ? Pizza? Japanese? Wings? Sooooo many choices!
I remembered picking up a menu for Cousins Pizzeria from the lobby of our apartment complex a while ago. So, we decided to give this place a try. According to the menu, we could order our food from it's website online. However, when we tried to do so, that particular page wouldn't load. So, we ended up calling and placed our order thru the phone.
Usually, whenever we order food in, it would take only between 20mins to 4omins (and that's really rare) to get here. We had to wait for almost 1 and a half for Cousins Pizzeria to get our food to us!! ONE AND A HALF HOURS! That's crazy. If it was a weekend, I would understand. Maybe they are really busy. However, it was a Thursday night. Why would they need one and a half hours just to bring us our food? To make matters worse, the delivery guy forgot our soda. Lucky thing Kevin noticed and asked him where the soda was. He then said it must be in the car. Geeezz, is it really that difficult to bring us our food within an acceptable time frame and also to get the order right?
We ordered 10 pieces of mild buffalo wings ($6.95) to share. It comes with blue cheese and celery. As expected, the wings were already cold when it got here. In all fairness, the wings were rather huge though. So, that's a good thing. However, the sauce was just alright. Nothing to really shout about. It might have been better if it arrived hot. Oh well...
Kevin tried the Large Meatball Sub ($7.75). The only good thing about that sub was that it was huge! It was almost the size of one whole french loaf. Apart from that, everything else wasn't all that good. The meatballs were not even full meatballs. They were cut into half. Kevin said that they tasted pretty bad, just like those cheap instant frozen meatball that you could pick in your grocery store's frozen food section. I don't think he will ever order that again.
I ordered the Sausage Calzone ($6). It was really nothing to shout about (apart from the fact that it was pretty huge!). The pizza dough was alright, but I wouldn't say that it is as good as some of the pizzerias in this area. What about the stuffing? Well, there were lots of ricotta and mozzarella cheese but the sausage was horrible. Totally tasteless. Also, by the time the calzone got to us, it was already really cold and soggy. The marinara sauce? Hah! Don't get me started on that. It was just some watery red colored sauce. I didn't even bother to try it. Horrible.
When we looked at the bill, we noticed that they slapped on a $2.85 delivery charge. No where on the menu does it say that there is a delivery charge. It only says that they will charge us an extra of $2 if we used a credit card to pay. The only thing we saw regarding delivery was a $10 minimum. Most of the places in our area do not charge for delivery, let alone $2.85! If they want to be competitive, they better think twice about this stupid fee that they have added on. Really slow service, mediocre food (well, it was actually worse than mediocre) and to top it all off, a delivery fee...hmmm, I think this is the last time we will be ordering from Cousins. There are just too many delivery places near us that serves awesome food, with no delivery charges and would only take about 20 mins from the time we order to the food arriving piping hot at our door.

Cousins Pizzeria - Bloomfield, NJ
543 Bloomfield Avenue,
Bloomfield, NJ 070003
Tel: (973) 680 8200
Fax: (973) 680 9292
Web: www.cousinzpizza.com

Go Green & Save Water (as well as MONEY!) Today!

I'm sure many of you are aware that our environment is not like what it used to be. Over the years, humankind has been slowly polluting our earth and these days, it's sad to say that it's in a very sorry state. We see reports about global warming and a host of other things everyday. In newspapers, on documentaries and news reports on TV, posted on billboards and posters. Everybody knows that we have to do something to save our environment but knowing and actually doing something is two different things.

In the recent years, Kevin and I have been quite concern over the rapid decline of our environment. We decided to make small changes in our lifestyle by going greener. After all, I feel that it's a social obligation that everybody does their part (no matter how small) in trying to save out earth. We started off by recycling more, using more reusable containers instead of disposable ones and bringing our own shopping bags when we go grocery shopping. Small steps.

After some time, we looked further to see what else we can do in efforts to do more for the environment. Did you know that 1% of our income is spent just on water? That's rather a lot, just for water. Also, when we think of droughts and water crisis, we only think of it happening in other countries. Surely we do not have that here in the U.S. Wrong! Did you know that there are droughts so severe in certain parts of the country that people have to go on water rations? With the high price of water and also the lack of it in certain parts of the country, everybody should pitch in and do their part in trying to conserve as much water as possible. The question is...how?

I came upon the concept of dual flush toilets a while back. Not only will you be saving water, you will save a lot of money in the process! Hmmm, that would mean changing our whole toilet, right? That would definitely cost a lot of money. Well, wrong! Unlike other systems, you do not need to completely remove and change your current toilets. All you need is a Dual Flush Conversion kit. SelectAFlush is a dual flush adapter and water conservation device that works with your current toilet. You can retrofit your toilet into an efficient dual flush water conserving machine without sacrificing performance when you need it. How cool is that? For just $29.95, a family of seven can save total of 18,000 gallons of water and $193 off your water bill each year! That means, it practically pays for itself with all the savings you will be getting. Everybody should look into this. It just makes sense. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself a dual flush conversion kit and start saving water (not to mention loads of money) today!

The Shannon Rose - Clifton, NJ

We spend a lot of time in Clifton, NJ (even though we live in Newark). Actually, 'a lot of time' would be an understatement. Most of our weekends are spent in Clifton (if we are not in the city). We do our grocery shopping there, our favorite departmental store is there, our favorite bookstore is there and quite a few of our favorite restaurants are also located in Clifton (there is this kickass Chinese Buffet place in Clifton that I am so in love with!). So yeah, Clifton rocks! :P
Like I said earlier, there are quite a number of restaurants in Clifton. You can find small hole in the wall mom and pop places to huge chains like TGIF, Applebees, Chevys and so on. There is this Irish pub/restaurant that we have been meaning to check out since forever. Groupon had an awesome deal for Shannon Rose a while back. So, we took advantage of that and finally headed out to have dinner there a few weeks ago.
When we first walked in, we realized that it was huge! You really couldn't tell from the exterior but yeah, it's huge. There is also an outdoor seating area for the warmer months. The decor is pretty much your typical pub/restaurant, with lots of wood everywhere. Check out their beer list. They have all kinds of local and imported draft as well as bottled beer. The beer flights (4 different types of beer) as well as the Guinness Mixes looked good too. Oh, and before I forget, there is live music playing almost every day of the week. Cool eh?
To start off, we both shared The Ploughman's Sampler (12.99). All of the appetizers looked so good, we couldn't decide on one. So, we went with the sampler. This way, we get to try some of their more popular appetizers. The sampler consist of Beefed UP Nachos, Corned Beef Spring Rolls, Irish Potato Skins and Shannon Rose Wings. I must say that all four of the appetizers were really yummy but my favorite is the Corned Beef Spring Roll. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and some spices wrapped up in a wonton skin. It's really really good. Kevin loved the Irish Potato Skins too. Definitely a good choice if you want to sample a selection of appetizers.
For Kevin's main, he tried the Homemade Shepard's Pie ($11.99). Fresh ground beef mixed with vegetables, topped with mashed potato and then baked to perfection. It comes with a side serving of soda bread. Now, I must first say that Shepard's Pie is ranked among the top 5 of Kevin's favorite food. His dad used to make the most awesome Shepard's Pie ever! So, it takes a lot for him to say that a particular Shepard's Pie is good. Guess what? He said that Shannon Rose's Shepard's Pie is really good. Wow! It must be really good then :P Also, it was huge. Kevin only managed to eat half of the portion and he took home the other half for lunch the next day.
I ordered the Guinness Beef Stew ($12.99). Tender huge chunks of prime beef, potatoes and vegetables slow braised in a Guinness broth. Mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm. It also came with a side serving of soda bread. It was a tad bit oily but it was so so so good! The beef was really tender and the stew was so flavorful. The portion was also very hearty and huge. I too has to pack half of the stew home for my lunch the next day. Overall, we would give Shannon Rose two big thumbs up. Wide drinks selection, good live music, really yummy food and rather affordable prices. What else could a person ask for? We will most definitely be back!

The Shannon Rose - Clifton, NJ
Clifton Commons
98 Kingsland Road
Clifton, NJ
Tel: (973)284 0200
Web: http://www.theshannonrose.com/shannon-rose-clifton/

Gearing up for the winter

Guest post written by Lana Robinson

It's weird that it's been so weird here lately, even though it's well into October. I've still been wearing a lot of my summer dresses and sandals, just with thin cardigans thrown on top of them. So I feel like it's a little premature to prepare for winter now, but i think it's going to sneak up on us this year. Plus, last year was so cold that I want to make sure that any of my heat isn't getting out.

Our windows are kind of old and pretty drafty so I'm getting them replaced with some more energy efficient ones. I contacted a couple of different companies, including http://homeproimprovement.com and I got the best quote from them so I'm going to get them to do the job.

I have to admit though that it wasn't just energy efficiency that made me want to get our windows replaced. I noticed over the summer that they were just looking really awful and I even repainted them but they were in such bad place that they looked ugly.

Shopping For That Special Ring

Every time I go on Facebook, all I see are pictures of babies these days. A lot of my friends have recently become new mommies and daddies and there are quite a few soon to be new mommies and daddies too. I guess at this age, that's what people do. Settle down and start a family. I remember that engagements and weddings were THE topic among my friends a few years ago. Everybody was at that stage where they were just about ready to get engaged or in the midst of planning their wedding.

I remember that we (the girls) spent hours talking about that perfect engagement ring. Everybody had an idea of what they wanted. The cut, the prong design and some people even laid out some requirements about the carat of their diamond solitaire. Oh yes, I had this friend who told her boyfriend that if the rock is smaller than 1 carat, there is a high possibility that she will say no! Not only were us girls talking about engagement rings, the boys were really busy doing their research (as well as saving money up for the ring!) too. Suddenly everybody were engagement ring experts! There were also all kinds of theories, like how much an engagement ring should be (some say it should be about 3 months salary) and so on. For me, I believe that the cut, clarity, color and carat doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, you will know that you have found that special ring when you see it. It just feels right. That was exactly how Kevin felt when he found my engagement ring. In his eyes (and mine), it was perfect.

I can imagine the pressure lifting from the guys the moment they find that special ring and when the girl says yes. All that months of planning, searching for that special engagement ring and to finally proposing is definitely a fun journey. Well, guess what guys? You think that it's over once you give her that ring and she says YES? Sorry honey, it's just beginning. Now, it's time to start planning that dream wedding and also start your search for perfect matching wedding rings!

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

I was watching a rerun of The Sopranos the other day and as usual, they were eating dinner! Carmela Soprano was dishing out some eggplant parmesan and it looked sooo good! I've never tried making eggplant parmesan before, but after watching that, I knew I just had to try it. So, I went online to search for an easy eggplant parmesan recipe. I found one that was pretty simple to make and it turned out to be really yummy. Here's how you make it.

Start off my slicing one large eggplant into 3/4 inch slices. If your eggplant is really huge (like the one I bought), you can half the slices too. Place them in a colander and sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant slices. Place the colander in the kitchen sink (or you can place a big bowl under it). Allow the eggplant to sit for about an hour. This is done so that the eggplant can sweat out as much liquid as possible.
After about an hour, wash away all the excess salt with cold water. Then, dip the eggplant slices into some egg.
Once you have dipped the eggplant slices, coat it with some breadcrumb mixture. To make the mixture, all you need to do is mix some Italian breadcrumbs with some corn meal, black pepper and parmesan cheese.
Now it's time to fry your eggplant slices. Heat up some olive oil in a pan. Once it's nicely heated, place a few slices of eggplant into the hot oil. Remember not to over crowd the pan. Once you have browned one side, flip it over and allow the other side to brown.
After frying the eggplant slices, allow all the oil to drain. You can also place them on kitchen towels, if you like. I did both, so that all the excess oil is removed. Then, set it aside.
Alright, time to put everything together. First, spread some of your favorite marinara sauce at the bottom of a deep baking dish. I just used those ready made marinara sauce from a bottle. Then, place a layer of eggplant on top of the sauce.
Scoop on more sauce on top of the eggplant slices and sprinkle a generous amount of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce. Then, place another layer of eggplant on top of the cheese followed by more sauce. Continue layering until the top. Remember not to go all the way to the top. Leave a tiny bit of space at the top, so that is doesn't bubble over while cooking.
Pop it into a preheated 350F oven for about 45 minutes.
There you go. A hot, bubbly, cheesy dish of eggplant mozzarella! Doesn't it look yummy? It definitely tasted really good! Both Kevin and I love this so much, I must say that this recipe is a keeper! You must try it. It's so easy to make and so so so good to eat. You can even make it in advance and just pop the casserole into the oven when you are ready to eat! :D

The Perfect Table For The Holidays

I woke up this morning, looked out the window and was greeted with the most amazing sight. About 80% of the leaves have changed color and it was just so beautiful. I cannot believe it's already fall. I am not complaining though, fall is my favorite season of all. I just love the nice cool weather and of course, the lovely colors everywhere. Halloween is fast approaching and before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here! I am especially looking forward to this Christmas, since my parents and sister will be visiting us from Malaysia. It's been a while since we celebrated Christmas as a family (since I am always here for Christmas and they, back in Malaysia). I just know that it's gonna be a totally awesome Christmas this year! Also, my mother in law might be visiting from Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with us over here at Jersey, so we are really excited about that too.

With the possibility of hosting both Christmas AND Thanksgiving this year, we have already started to plan for it. Every time we go out, we have been looking around for decorations as well as recipe ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I just love the idea of whole family having dinner together around a huge table, filled with all kinds of beautiful decorations and yummy food. However, since our apartment is so tiny, there really isn't much space for a large table. Looks like we might have to settle with putting all the food on one table, everybody picking out what they want and then eating on our tiny dining room table.
Oh how I wished we had bought a drop leaf table instead of our tiny regular dining room table that we currently have now. A drop leaf table would be the perfect table during the holiday season. It opens out into a huge table, with plenty of room for everybody. After dinner, we can just fold it back in and push it against the wall (just like our current dining room table). Wouldn't that be awesome? Hmmm, we have almost a month before Thanksgiving. Maybe we should consider getting rid of our tiny dining room table and getting a drop leaf table instead. What do you guys think?

Bagel Depot - Staten Island, NY

Even though Kevin works in Staten Island, we haven't really hung out that much in Staten Island. In fact, apart from driving thru whenever we go JFK, I have only been to Staten Island once. That was like almost 3 years ago, when we went to Sears in Staten Island Mall. So, a few weekends ago, we decided to go check Staten Island out. We found out online that there is a historical village and museum complex called Historic Richmond Town. It is an actual living museum, with restored buildings dating as far back as the colonial period (will blog more about that later on). Sounds pretty interesting, so it's off to Staten Island we go!
Before leaving for Staten Island, we also went online to find out where we can get some really good bagels. Just like all the other New York City boroughs, Staten Island is well known for it's bagels. There is just something in those NYC hand pulled bagels that makes it so yummy and so different from all the other bagels that I have tried before. It must be the NYC water :D Anyways, we found out that Bagel Depot is supposed to have some of the best hand pulled bagels in the whole of Staten Island. Not only that, but guess what? There is a branch in Richmondtown itself! Woohoo! That's just perfect. So, on our way home to Jersey, we stopped by Bagel Depot to pick up some bagels.
The store was rather empty when we walked in. So, we had some time to snoop around while waiting to be served. Looks like they sold other stuff, apart from bagels. There were all kinds of muffins, english muffins, cookies, danish, croissants, turnovers and even jelly rings. They all look super yummy but we didn't get any. We were focused on our mission, to get our hands on some super yummy Staten Island bagels!
Not only did they have baked goods for sale, but they also carried a whole lot of other stuff. There was a deli section that sold all kinds of meats, smoked salmon, various types of cream cheese, antipasti as well as a huge selection of salads. Also, there we all kinds of breads, rolls and buns for sale. Man, I am beginning to like this place more and more! :P
Alright, enough of snooping around. We need to get to the main attraction! Check out the bagels baby! They are so huge and yummy looking. None of those hard, dry and tiny stuff that we usually see in grocery stores or coffee shops outside of this region. This is the real thing. NY style hand pulled bagels. Sooooo good! Apart from the usual bagels, they also have min bagels and flagels (flat bagels).
Look at all the bagels that we bought home! :P Yes yes, I know. The two fatties got carried a way for a bit. In our defense, we were actually taking full advantage of their "Buy a dozen and get 3 FREE" promotion (works out to $9.60 for 13 bagels). So yeah, that's the reason why we bought so many :P Oh and for those smarty pants who actually counted the bagels, yes, one of them didn't make the journey home. It was so good, we HAD to share one in the car, during our drive home..LOL! What type of bagels did we get? Well, we bought two plain, two low carb, two wheat, two egg, two poppy seeds, two garlic and one pumpernickel. They all tasted really good, light and chewy, just like how a good hand pulled bagel should be. Those bagels lasted us for quite a long time. All we needed to do was freeze the bagels in the freezer, pop it into the microwave for a few seconds whenever we want to eat them and it taste as good as new. So, if you are ever in Staten Island, you totally have to check out Bagel Depot. They make some of the best bagels ever!!

Bagel Depot (Richmondtown Branch) - Staten Island, NY
3459 Richmond Rd
Staten Island, NY 10306
Phone:(718)987 7682
Web: http://www.bageldepot.com

Jumpstart Your Work-at-Home Career With Ashworth College!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College. All opinions are 100% mine.

I notice that it's becoming an increasing trend among my friends to quit their day job once they start having kids. However, not having a regular day job doesn't mean that those moms totally stop working. Unlike the past, where working from home means getting a job like babysitting or selling cosmetics part time, working from home mom have a whole lot of career choices these days. Many of today's work at home moms are journalist, web designers, medical billing coders, customer service reps and virtual assistants. They have conference calls while their babies nap, finish off business proposals while keeping an eye on their kids as they watch TV and still have time to put a band aid on a boo boo when junior falls down. In short, they have the best of both worlds!

With the Internet, moms now have a whole lot more choices when it comes to making money. It's now possible to work completely from your home with just a If everybody is doing it, what gives you an edge over the rest then? How do you go about it? How do you even start? Well, you should check out Ashworth College! Ashworth College is an Online College that helps you learn the necessary skills to succeed as a work at home mom. They offer a wide range of affordable accredited programs that are ideal for this growing professional segment. Among some of the programs offered are bridal consulting, interior decorating, floral and jewelry design, medical and paralegal transcription, catering and even graphic and web design!

All of the programs are flexible and self paced, so you can study whenever and where ever you like. This is just perfect for busy stay at home moms and working adults. You can also transfer up to 75% of credits earned at other schools to Ashworth. I know that finances (or the lack of it) can play a part when it comes to going back to school. Research shows that Ashworth tuition is 50% less than the average accredited online school. Yes, this includes all books and course materials! Also, they offer zero interest financing plus a low monthly payment plan. Most of the time, monthly payments can run as low as just a couple of large pizzas! Therefore, unlike other programs, you are guaranteed to graduate without student loan debt! That's totally awesome! Sounds great? Hey, don't just take my word for it. Visit the Ashworth Video Gallery to view video testimonials from past Ashworth graduates and see what they have to say. Also, Ashworth College Featured by National Education Report for it's distinguished contributions to the advancement of distance education, both nationally and internationally. So, if you are a stay at home mom looking to take that step to becoming a work at home career woman, check out Ashworth College and let them help you make that all important transition!

IHOP Restaurant - Elizabeth, NJ

We were in Jersey Garden Mall a couple of weeks ago and as usual, we would lose track of time whenever we are there :P Before we knew it, it was already close to dinner time (looks like we totally skipped lunch!). Since there isn't many food outlets (and their food court is ALWAYS packed) in the mall, we decided to drive out to see what is available around the area.
There used to be a diner just opposite the mall but we vowed never to go back there. It was a horrible diner, with bad service and equally bad food. When we passed the diner (or what USED to be the diner), we were pleasantly surprised that the diner was no longer there. An brand new looking IHOP was in it's place. Woohoo!! Looks like that horrid diner went out of business or something. Who knows. Anyways, we totally love IHOP, so we decided to go check this new outlet out.
After we settled down, we saw that they were having a special, just for the month of October. When you order one of their combos (prices start from $4.99), you get unlimited buttermilk pancakes to go with it! Yup, all you can eat pancakes! We decided to give that a pass though, cos seriously, how many pancakes can you eat? I know that the max I can eat is probably two :P Also, they are giving away a 'SCARY FACE' pancake to all kids under 12 on Oct 29th. So, if you have kids below 12, remember to head out to any IHOP on Oct 29th for your free pancake!
The servers were really friendly and attentive. They all look so happy and stuff...lol! I guess it's a new outlet, so everybody is excited. Our server took our order and came out with our drinks also immediately. Really fast. Kevin had a soda ($2.19) and I had my usual unsweetened iced tea ($2.19). Our server was really good in making sure that our glasses were always filled too. Two thumbs up for the awesome service.
Kevin ordered the Ham & Egg Melt ($6.99). Ham, scrambled eggs, American and Swiss cheese, stuffed between two slices of grilled sourdough bread. It comes with your choice of either seasoned fries, onion rings, fresh fruit, soup or salad and a dill pickle. Kevin went with the seasoned fries. He said that the melt was really good. I believe him, cos he polished off everything on his plate!
I had the Pot Roast Melt ($7.99). Slow cooked pot roast, caramelized onions, melted Swiss and American cheese topped with rich beef and mushroom gravy, in between two slices of grilled sourdough bread. Mmmm mmmm mmmmm, it was really really good.
I chose the soup of the day as my side. I had a choice between cream of broccoli and potato soup or minestrone soup. I went with minestrone. Good choice I must say. It was really thick and hearty, very very yummy. Just add in some crackers and I can have that as my meal!
Since we were in IHOP, we HAD to order dessert :P It was a toss up between pancakes, stuffed french toast, waffles or crepe and we went with crepe in the end. I'm glad we did cos it was delicious! We shared the Nutella Crepe ($6.99) and really, it was awesome! Three egg batter crepes filled with Nutella and fresh slices bananas, topped with strawberries, powdered sugar and some whipped cream on the side. We can feel ourselves getting fatter and fatter as we dig in but hey, everybody is allowed to indulge, once in a while :P Overall, we had a great dinner in IHOP, with some really yummy food, affordable prices and excellent service. I'm glad that we found this new outlet and you can bet on us returning in the very near future!

IHOP Restaurant - Elizabeth, NJ
650-672 Kapowski Road
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Tel: (908)353 7600
Web: http://www.ihop.com/