Tony Bourdain: Sellout or Genius?

You be the judge. Before the new season of "No Reservations" I remember seeing his commercials for that search engine from Microsoft (you know which one) and feeling oogey about it. I like to watch the show don't get me wrong, it just makes me laugh to see him pull out his CHASE Sapphire (look, they get another plug) card to pay a bill. It's fun to try to figure out which meal on the show he is going to pull it out for. What is really funny is the sarcastic and cheesy way in which he does it. I am leaning toward genius. After all, we can't all be that lucky. I want a credit card endorsement deal! I certainly have used them enough in my life. I surely have the debt to back up the fact that I use them...I have definitely been paying for my college books for the last 12 years. They need to have lowly bloggers like myself singing the praises of their credit products...or not. Don't worry, I won't be holding my breath, although it would be awesome. For now I will continue trying to find legitimate employment. No instant gratification here. Ah, life.

Pie Wars

Along with unemployment comes the weight gain. My Sweetheart (who is also unemployed) and I have decided to go to the gym 4 times a week which has gone great so far, as I have gained 15 pounds since I lost my job in June. What can I say, I have had more intense food cravings...I am a food addict, yes, I said it. It's either that or drink my entire wine collection (which is slowly dwindling down). So which one is better? I don't know, but at least with the extra exercise I can keep the further weight gain under control. Perhaps if I share the wealth I can refrain from eating. One of my many obsessions: Icebox pie. Here are a couple that I love and where to find them.


The first is the Lemon Icebox pie from Tom's Home Cooking in Five Points (Denver): What makes this pie so good is it is the perfect combination of tartness with a lovely sweet graham cracker crust, with whip cream not meringue.
Tom's Home Cooking
800 East 26th Avenue
Denver, CO 80205-5147
(303) 388-8035 (call each day for the menu)



The second is the absolutely evil Peanut Butter Pie from Granny Scott's Pie shop in Lakewood. I can't tell you how they make such a rich tasting pie with such a light consistency but, holy cow, it is awesome! It is a really good thing that this place is not close by me because I would be HUGE. Try it with a sandwich or soup special where everything comes with a slice of pie!
3333 South Wadsworth Boulevard
Lakewood, CO 80227-5118
(303) 986-6240 www.grannyscottspieshop.com

Unemployment is Good for Your Budget

OK I know it is nearly Mid-March and I haven't written in a while. I apologize but here is a thought I recently had that is kind of funny: Unemployment is good for your budget. What do I mean by this? Suddenly you have no money coming in other than your unemployment benefits, you don't think you need anything. The truth is you still need things. You need medicine, you need clothing, you need cosmetics. You put your credit cards away and you don't use them...this is interesting to me because the justifications you had for getting them, "I will just use them for emergencies", no longer exist. The truth is that I was using them all the time for really stupid things when I was working. I always thought I could pay them off eventually. It didn't occur to me that I would be unemployed, I was in complete denial. After all of these months I have begun to realize what I was doing, I was living beyond my means. Yes, I know "DUH" but until now I just didn't get it. I am saving money and putting it aside now, which is something I didn't do before. I have also started thinking about doing things differently with my money once I am working again. I used to think I couldn't do it but as it turns out I can...go figure. It took my world falling apart to get me to realize it. Perhaps this was the lesson the universe was trying to teach me all along.