its that time of year again!
the turkey is roasting, the potatoes are mashing, the cheese is balling and the stuffing is stuffing. thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday (with christmas at a close second) and this one is looking like a great one.
The Official Holiday Menu of the Great Coughlin Feast
Cooked by Ms. Amanda Margaret Coughlin
-roasted turkey
-stuffing
-cheddar mashed potatoes
-sweet potatoes
-green bean casserole
-cheeseball
-butter biscuits
-gravy
-pumpkin pie
-cinnamon rolls
all homemade and all pretty freaking delicious. ive been the head chef of all major holiday dinners since seventh grade at least and its true that practice makes perfect. oh except for the biscuits.. i burned the bottoms.. (i was going to take them out right as dinner started so they would be squishy and warm but i underestimated the amount of time that my dad would use for prayer (a good five-to-seven minutes) and by the time we said our last 'amen's, the biscuit bottoms were a shade of black.) but other than that and a whip cream in the hair incident (thanks mary kate) this holiday went off without a hitch.
people are suprised when i say that thanksgiving is my favorite instead of christmas. i love this holiday because after more than four hundred years of celebration, the original message of family, togetherness, and thanks has survived. while christmas is all about how many presents we can stuff under a dead tree and easter is about hiding jellybean filled eggs and taking pictures with giant white rabbits, this is really the only pure holiday left. theres tradition in this thursday feast: the parade, the pies. the turkey, the toasts. the fact that families all over the country get together to enjoy food, laughter and each other gives me hope that this world isnt all that bad. even though there are some really really shitty things that we have to bear, there is still a day that reminds us to take a step back and reevaluate how incredibly lucky we are.
and for that, i am thankful.
--amandamargaret
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
a congratulatory commentary
my body is declaring mutiny.
over the past hour and a half, i have subjected my abs to numerous tightening excercises, my legs to dozens of strenthening drills and my arms to several repititions of weight exertions. and the fact that the weights were less like barbells and more like five-pound pink girl weights is besides the point. the point is that i did strictly arm excercises for the entirety of chelsea lately. thats only one-third of the total excercises! (its quite a day when i workout and use fractions..) so while im in the celebratory mood, im going to write an open letter to myself.
dear me,
congratulations! you did it! instead of sitting on your ass during pointless yet entertaining late-night television, you did menial workouts for an hour and a half only pausing to laugh at punchlines and take mild water and breather breaks while watching pointless yet entertaining late-night television. hopefully, this can morph into a habit that you swear youll keep up for months and really only do for the next three days because sheer laziness and procrastination will get the better of you.
a tip of my hat to you, good lady.
best regards,
yourself.
now that thats out of the way, its time to exclaim via typefont how much i love my new job.
I LOVE MY NEW JOB.
panera's motto is, "a loaf of bread in every arm." well in my case, its, "two loaves of bread and three bagels in every arm." thats right. one days work gets me 6.5 hours wages and enough bread to feed the inhabitants of apt 307 for the next two weeks. i believe the term "a-booyaah!" comes in handy right about now. and i happen to work with some pretty fantastic people (ten point bonus) and i learned a new skill that is wicked easy and ill get a bunch of extra hours for. and we all know that extra hours = extra money and extra money = extra happy. (add ten points bonus for every use of the word 'extra')
haaaanyways its nearing 330 and im exhausted from my extensive carb consumption so im gonna hit the haystack. can you spot all the alliterations? i spy with my little eye something i never paid attention to in lit class..
--amandamargaret
over the past hour and a half, i have subjected my abs to numerous tightening excercises, my legs to dozens of strenthening drills and my arms to several repititions of weight exertions. and the fact that the weights were less like barbells and more like five-pound pink girl weights is besides the point. the point is that i did strictly arm excercises for the entirety of chelsea lately. thats only one-third of the total excercises! (its quite a day when i workout and use fractions..) so while im in the celebratory mood, im going to write an open letter to myself.
dear me,
congratulations! you did it! instead of sitting on your ass during pointless yet entertaining late-night television, you did menial workouts for an hour and a half only pausing to laugh at punchlines and take mild water and breather breaks while watching pointless yet entertaining late-night television. hopefully, this can morph into a habit that you swear youll keep up for months and really only do for the next three days because sheer laziness and procrastination will get the better of you.
a tip of my hat to you, good lady.
best regards,
yourself.
now that thats out of the way, its time to exclaim via typefont how much i love my new job.
I LOVE MY NEW JOB.
panera's motto is, "a loaf of bread in every arm." well in my case, its, "two loaves of bread and three bagels in every arm." thats right. one days work gets me 6.5 hours wages and enough bread to feed the inhabitants of apt 307 for the next two weeks. i believe the term "a-booyaah!" comes in handy right about now. and i happen to work with some pretty fantastic people (ten point bonus) and i learned a new skill that is wicked easy and ill get a bunch of extra hours for. and we all know that extra hours = extra money and extra money = extra happy. (add ten points bonus for every use of the word 'extra')
haaaanyways its nearing 330 and im exhausted from my extensive carb consumption so im gonna hit the haystack. can you spot all the alliterations? i spy with my little eye something i never paid attention to in lit class..
--amandamargaret
Monday, November 15, 2010
and the countdown begins..
one of the greatest cinematic adventures in history is about to occur..
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART ONE
heres a countdown to keep everyone up to date on how long they have to buy their tickets.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART ONE
heres a countdown to keep everyone up to date on how long they have to buy their tickets.
everyone likes harry potter. even sith lords.
NOVEMBER 19.
get ready.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
oh my god i got it!!
this is the first blogpost written as an employee of panera bread company.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!!!! (itll catch on..)
i got the job i got the job i got the job i got the jooooobb
my orientation is on friday and then i go through the orientation called "planet bread."
uhh yeah. its called planet bread.
planet BREAD.
basically PLANET PERFECT.
not only that, but the discount is just simply unreal. it IS...
(this is where you get on the edge of your seat, start furiously biting your nails and profusely sweat in anticipation)
SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF OF ALL PANERA PRODUCTS!!
start planning my funeral because i have died and gone to heaven.
im really excited about this new job for many reasons but honestly, what is so thrilling is that i was disgruntled at my old job and instead of sitting on my ass and whining and staying gruntled (not sure thats right..) i got up and actually did something about it! i changed my life for the better and im so freakin proud of me. GO ME!
i feel like this little girl
in other news, its time to crack out the eggs, butter and cocoa powder and whip out the cake-baking skills because its the marine corps birthday!! happy 235th birthday, best armed forces in the world! i believe jeremih wants to give you a little present.. (overexaggerated wink.)
but really, i love the marines. my poppy is a marine (notice the present tense verb. he always taught me, "once a marine, always a marine.) and im super excited because on friday, ill begin my volunteering with the veterans association hospital in oklahoma city.
GIVINGBACKTOTHOSEWHOSERVEDUSCHICKAWHAAAAAAT?!
when i told my poppy i was volunteering, he freaked out. its the same reaction he gave when i told him that im a declared history education major. im pretty sure hes happy that im becoming an exact replica of him. awesome. im becoming a randomly-singing, history-loving, over-eating, political veteran.
looks like im on the right track!
again, happy birthday marines. semper fi and oorah!!
watch this. it will help you understand the sacrifices these heroes make.
life is so good. it might not always be perfect, but damn is it good.
--amandamargaret
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!!!! (itll catch on..)
i got the job i got the job i got the job i got the jooooobb
my orientation is on friday and then i go through the orientation called "planet bread."
uhh yeah. its called planet bread.
planet BREAD.
basically PLANET PERFECT.
not only that, but the discount is just simply unreal. it IS...
(this is where you get on the edge of your seat, start furiously biting your nails and profusely sweat in anticipation)
SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF OF ALL PANERA PRODUCTS!!
start planning my funeral because i have died and gone to heaven.
im really excited about this new job for many reasons but honestly, what is so thrilling is that i was disgruntled at my old job and instead of sitting on my ass and whining and staying gruntled (not sure thats right..) i got up and actually did something about it! i changed my life for the better and im so freakin proud of me. GO ME!
i feel like this little girl
in other news, its time to crack out the eggs, butter and cocoa powder and whip out the cake-baking skills because its the marine corps birthday!! happy 235th birthday, best armed forces in the world! i believe jeremih wants to give you a little present.. (overexaggerated wink.)
but really, i love the marines. my poppy is a marine (notice the present tense verb. he always taught me, "once a marine, always a marine.) and im super excited because on friday, ill begin my volunteering with the veterans association hospital in oklahoma city.
GIVINGBACKTOTHOSEWHOSERVEDUSCHICKAWHAAAAAAT?!
when i told my poppy i was volunteering, he freaked out. its the same reaction he gave when i told him that im a declared history education major. im pretty sure hes happy that im becoming an exact replica of him. awesome. im becoming a randomly-singing, history-loving, over-eating, political veteran.
looks like im on the right track!
again, happy birthday marines. semper fi and oorah!!
watch this. it will help you understand the sacrifices these heroes make.
life is so good. it might not always be perfect, but damn is it good.
--amandamargaret
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
god i hope i get it
i just got back from an interview for my dream job.
well its not really my dream job.. history channel didnt contact me about starring in a documentary and broadway didnt give me a callback and puppijikstan didnt want me to rule over the land of dogs that never grow old. BUT i did return from a second interview from none other than panera bread.
if youre reading this and you know anything about me, you know that i believe bread should be in all six sections of the food pyramid. it is definitely amazing and i could (and do) eat it every hour of everyday. so if i got this job, not only would i be getting paid an absurd amount for an easy job, but i would be able to smell bread for the entirety of my work day. (this is the part where angels descend from above and sing in high soprano melodies while looking down on me with love and admiration.) and id get a discount. do you understand how excited i am about this prospect??
i just hope i get it. there isnt a valid reason why i shouldnt, ive got great work experiences, its super close to my apartment, i love the product and im a happy person to talk to while waiting for a cherry danish. the only forseeable problem would be the fact that i permanently reside in ttown and im going to go back there for the holidays.. and the holidays are coming up rather soon...
shit.
okay everyone whos reading this (all three of you) i need you to help me out. you can do one of three things for me.
1-knock on wood.
2-knock on glass to save my ass
3-cross your fingers
4-clench your eyes together and whisper "i do believe in fairies! i do! i do!"
that last one might not help me as much as it would tinkerbell but still. gotta rep love to neverland once in a while.
until my final interview at four tomorrow ill be nervously biting my nails and maybe entertain the idea of pacing back and forth. but ill guarantee ill be singing this in my head. i cant help it, i turn to musicals in times of stress. dont hate, participate.
--amandamargaret
well its not really my dream job.. history channel didnt contact me about starring in a documentary and broadway didnt give me a callback and puppijikstan didnt want me to rule over the land of dogs that never grow old. BUT i did return from a second interview from none other than panera bread.
if youre reading this and you know anything about me, you know that i believe bread should be in all six sections of the food pyramid. it is definitely amazing and i could (and do) eat it every hour of everyday. so if i got this job, not only would i be getting paid an absurd amount for an easy job, but i would be able to smell bread for the entirety of my work day. (this is the part where angels descend from above and sing in high soprano melodies while looking down on me with love and admiration.) and id get a discount. do you understand how excited i am about this prospect??
i just hope i get it. there isnt a valid reason why i shouldnt, ive got great work experiences, its super close to my apartment, i love the product and im a happy person to talk to while waiting for a cherry danish. the only forseeable problem would be the fact that i permanently reside in ttown and im going to go back there for the holidays.. and the holidays are coming up rather soon...
shit.
okay everyone whos reading this (all three of you) i need you to help me out. you can do one of three things for me.
1-knock on wood.
2-knock on glass to save my ass
3-cross your fingers
4-clench your eyes together and whisper "i do believe in fairies! i do! i do!"
that last one might not help me as much as it would tinkerbell but still. gotta rep love to neverland once in a while.
until my final interview at four tomorrow ill be nervously biting my nails and maybe entertain the idea of pacing back and forth. but ill guarantee ill be singing this in my head. i cant help it, i turn to musicals in times of stress. dont hate, participate.
--amandamargaret
Monday, November 8, 2010
the little things
today is the best day ever.
why, you may ask, is today a special day? november eighth doesnt seem like a stand-out day by any means. 48 degrees seems like a normal temperature for late fall. so why today of all days? what cosmic event is taking place that shines a light of importance on this particular twenty-four hour period? the answer may suprise you..
today is the best day ever because a 4.5 ounce bag of snyders of hanover chocolate covered pretzels is in my purse.
...........
i know it doesnt seem like alot, but thats the whole point. lately, ive been so focused on the BIG PICTURE and BIG PROBLEMS and BIG EVENTS that completely overshadow the little things. ive lost the zest for minute details and insignificant joys like waking up with a hot mug of tea or the fact that my feet are currently the cutest boots ever designed or that i live with my best friend in the world. so many people arent able to enjoy these things and here i am taking them for granted.
well sir's and mam's, that ends right now. from now on im making a gratitude list for tiny things and i encourage you to join in.
AMANDA MARGARET COUGHLINS LIST OF ZEST
1. im breathing
2. im warm
3. i listened to billy joel yesterday
4. im going to have a bowl of soup and watch jim gaffigan tonight with my sister
5. im not a member of the lohan family
6. i dont have to eat squash if i dont want to. which i really really dont.
7. my credit card has a picture of a panda on it. cause its my nickname.
8. i have a really cute dog
9. i have leftover hideaway pizza in my fridge.
10. koalas exist
i feel more zesty already..
--amandamargaret
why, you may ask, is today a special day? november eighth doesnt seem like a stand-out day by any means. 48 degrees seems like a normal temperature for late fall. so why today of all days? what cosmic event is taking place that shines a light of importance on this particular twenty-four hour period? the answer may suprise you..
today is the best day ever because a 4.5 ounce bag of snyders of hanover chocolate covered pretzels is in my purse.
...........
i know it doesnt seem like alot, but thats the whole point. lately, ive been so focused on the BIG PICTURE and BIG PROBLEMS and BIG EVENTS that completely overshadow the little things. ive lost the zest for minute details and insignificant joys like waking up with a hot mug of tea or the fact that my feet are currently the cutest boots ever designed or that i live with my best friend in the world. so many people arent able to enjoy these things and here i am taking them for granted.
well sir's and mam's, that ends right now. from now on im making a gratitude list for tiny things and i encourage you to join in.
AMANDA MARGARET COUGHLINS LIST OF ZEST
1. im breathing
2. im warm
3. i listened to billy joel yesterday
4. im going to have a bowl of soup and watch jim gaffigan tonight with my sister
5. im not a member of the lohan family
6. i dont have to eat squash if i dont want to. which i really really dont.
7. my credit card has a picture of a panda on it. cause its my nickname.
8. i have a really cute dog
9. i have leftover hideaway pizza in my fridge.
10. koalas exist
i feel more zesty already..
--amandamargaret
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