Posts Tagged ‘mcginnis sisters’

I have been fueling my body so poorly these past few days.  Coffee is delish, and I love it, but I cannot depend on it to keep my brain sharp or by body running properly.  Same for sugar.  The past few days I’ve been needing to go to work early (leaving here at 6:30 AM), neglecting to bring along any food and relying on the (gasp) candy dish to keep me fueled. 

I think we all know that doesn’t work at all, and I’m sure we’ve all heard the same excuses about time but I would definitely say time is not my friend now.  The past two days, I blink and the work day is over. 

Council suspended the employee that collects sewage, and when you are gone from a job, all the skeletons come out of the closet.  I’ve been trying hard to calm down people that come in yelling.  Tears are not present anymore with this sewage collection.  Yelling is.  And it’s not me yelling, it’s the residents.  And it’s not me crying,

 

I’ve also learned a few things…

My favorite red turtleneck looks okay in person.  Not on camera.

Shannon Perrine is really skinny.  She was probably the most informed reporter so far as well.

They love to interview you when you are swamped.  Who would have thought this would turn out to be news?  Me not wearing turtlenecks on camera is a good thing. (PS.  That woman was late.  Lieng is easy.  Facts do not lie)

Depression is a medically approved way to avoid paying bills (and avoiding shut-off).

I love how they zoom in on my birthmark.  It looks like a war wound.  Like, I got assaulted by a resident who didn’t pay their bill.

 

Enough of that. 

I could re-blog this picture again and again.  I know I just got done saying how bad coffee is, but at 5:00 am, that’s a different story

 

 

 

Things I am proud of:

• The compliments of professionalism that my family and friends have heard and channeled to me
• Going into this position with the clean-up that needed to be done. 
• Getting the clean-up done
• The mornings that I have run outside that it is bone chilling
• The evenings that I have managed to spin despite mental and physical exhaustion
• Jared said this is a defining moment for me.  If I can weather it, I will be set.  I never thought about it that way.  I guess I should be proud.

 

Things I am not proud of

• Needing to explain to residents that a staff member, under my watch, has made mistakes, leaving them misguided.
• The candy dish.  Enough said.
• The mornings I sleep in, missing my runs
• Pizza.  Sorry, I had to “say” it.
• Missing the relay with Jared this weekend.  Yes, I’m still bummed about it.

 

In short:

Wow, talk about a need for balance now.  I mean, seriously.  Not a lot of my blog is serious.  But I guess between how professionally and personally difficult this has been (because I don’t want to shut off a utility for people, I don’t like tears and yelling and threats), but I have to do my job. 

I jokingly said to Council on Monday night “If i knew how hard this was going to be, I don’t know that I would have done this” to which some said “Well now it’s your job and now your job depends on this”.  Okay.  Fine.  I understand that, but you experience this.

In other news:

source

I ordered (no pun intended) and Jared agreed to watch this documentary last night.  He wasn’t thrilled because the last one we watched, King Corn, I fell asleep during.  I wanted to watch it to see what all the buzz was about.  I didn’t make it in time to see it in theaters.

Impression: the film didn’t teach us anything new.  I think, in general, most educated people would agree that sustainable and organic practices are the best means of production for food.  No one would argue that. 

However, given the economics of organic (over mass production, subsidized farming, etc), the most cost efficient choice will always be something that is not organically grown.  Until organic becomes the standard practice, organic will not win.  I think we all know that as well.

Jared said he would eat all organic if he could.  That makes me happy.  I would buy all organic if I’d have known that. 

The film also touched on something else: The availability of organic at Walmart.  I love that.  Here is a store (Walmart) that is the middle class dream, supporting organic.  A huge corporation (insert obligatory hiss) that has just provided access to organics for millions of people in an affordable way. 

In my opinion, if you want to make a statement, it would be to buy organic at Walmart.  It makes perfect sense.  Walmart is able to drive it’s prices down, so organic becomes more affordable, while purchasing into this food production system.  It should be a dream come true.

 

No, I won’t stop shopping at my loved McGinnis Sisters

 

Happy Thursday

Lots of food & health bloggers are obsessed with organic this & organic that, that their produce and meats may still be shipped from so far away that the fuel, packaging, etc compromises some of the sustainable promises that go along with organics.  Don’t get me wrong, I support organic agriculture to the fullest, but I think I have an alternative I can feel good about when choosing my groceries…

 

I blogged about my love of McGinnis Sisters in the past, and continue to do so.  I haven’t found another market in Pittsburgh that embraces buying locally aside from McGinnis…

Brunton Dairy is one of the dairy options at McGinnis.  I was initally attracted to this Dairy because of the sustainable glass jugs the milk comes in.  Old school, but practical.  I can return the glass jug to McGinnis, get $1.50 off the next milk purchase, and know that my glass is being reused. 

Just 45 minutes away, I feel happy knowing the milk is fresh, and my dollars are being spent close to home.  They also have a milk delivery service, but I haven’t gone that far.

 

Eggs.  I am done purchasing eggs that do not come directly from a local farm.  In fact, when I visit my parents, I try to buy my eggs from their neighbor.  My parents moved to a pretty rural area a few years back.  However, I need a substitute when I don’t get out to see them.  Enter Greenawalt Farms. 

Another 45 minute drive, southeast of Pittsburgh will land you on this farm.  While I couldn’t find a website for this farm, I was happy to see that they are closer than I expected.  Their eggs, or at least the ones I’ve seen & purchased at McGinnis are just white—no brown option.  I’m okay with that as well.  I usually only purchase brown eggs while at my parents as they are readily available and cheap (!) about $1.50 a dozen.  Yes, it’s true.

 

Hope this puts things in perspective for everyone!

I make minestrone about 2x month from October-February.  Between the beans, the broth, the veggies, and the warmth, it is my second favorite soup.  In fact, the only reason I love it more than lentil soup is the broth.  So I took these (carrots, celery, broc, onion, etc) put it into the crock pot Sunday and have loads of soup for the next two weeks. 

 

Many of the canned goods I have on hand, and bought when they were on $1 sale.

 

From my McGinnis grocery shop on Sunday, I purchased this bread mix.  It had a yeast packet inside.  I followed the directions exactly… 

I made sure the water temperature was right on…

 

 

This little guy rose like no other!  I made bagels and a few pretzels.  Delish

Well, I may not have officially overcome my yeast troubles independently (aka from scratch), but I’ll take a sign of progress instead (aka from a mix).

 

I made a faux-b LT yesterday for dinner.  It was delicious.  The bagel was not huge, but small, grainy, and filling.  

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Yesterday marked an interesting run.  I was a little sore from having done the 30-Day Shred, but decided to try to run it out.  I ran well.  Though my 30 minute run turned into a 50 minute run.  I was okay with that.  It was a gorgeous morning.  I ended up running 5 miles instead of three.  By the time I was on mile 4, the lightening transitioned to rain, and I turned around and ran home quickly.  The downfall to running home quickly are the hills.  I tried to keep an 8:00/mile pace, but the rolling hills make it hard.  I think it took me about 

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Work is fine.  I finally entered the remainder of the 1,500 rental properties into a database.  I am looking for an intern to volunteer their life time to helping me enter a ton little information into access…  My trouble is that I know how to use this program, but I don’t know how to start a database.  I don’t know if I have the time to learn how to start using it. 

I’ve got a night meeting tonight.  This one will be one of the more interesting ones as Council will be meeting with the Carnegie CDC.  They will be talking about “hot-topics” such as demolitions, vacant property, and development in general.  I will keep my opinions to myself.   There won’t be any yelling, I don’t think, but an old-fashioned schooling.  More of a “be smart” conversation.  I hope to be done and home by 9:00.  Ugh.

 

Jared and I are very fortunate to live within walking distance of a local grocery store called McGinnis Sisters.  Giant Eagle (the biggest grocery chain in Pittsburgh) relocated right next to this located several years back.  When you have a great business, it can withstand competition.  When you have a niche, it will also help aide in the longevity.

 

As a South Pittsburgher, I remember driving past this place countless time as a child.  I always asked my mom to stop and check it out but she never did.  I don’t think it was a personal objection, I just think it never interested her.  Then again, good, quality food interests me, so when I started living on my own, I tried it out first thing.

 

I love McGinnis Sisters.  Seriously, there are three in Pittsburgh, go shopping there once.  It is what a grocery store is meant to be.  They buy local produce, stock fresh meats, cheeses, and seafood, and the dairy options are local as well! 

They stock all the great health-foodie items as well!  I know Whole Foods is the buzz grocer, but this is a local niche market that deserves more attention than WF.  Whole Foods is not a buzz grocer to me.

And as far as pricing goes, I think it is fair.  I could go all out and buy lots of gourmet items, or I could balance and spend $30 on groceries for the week for Jared and I, which is what I did…

 Here’s what I got

• Bag of celery ($2)
• Bag of carrots ($2)
• Bananas ($1.50)
• Mozz Cheese ($3)
• Frozen spinach ($1.50)
• Gormet mustard ($2)
• Pizza Crust ($2) (from their freezer… homemade and delish)
• Raisins ($2)
• 2 pork chops ($5)
• 1/2 pnd bacon ($1.50)
• Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Bread Mix ($3)

For $30 I will have the following meals (this includes items I have on hand already)

1. Minestrone Soup (using the veggies)
2. Pizza (using the pizza crust & cheese)
3. Stuffed Pork Chops (using the pork chops and raisins)
4. BLT’s (using the bacon)
5. Breakfast for dinner  (using the bacon, and perhaps the bread mix)

Also, I bought the bread mix to make bagels for go-to breakfasts Jared. 

 

I will re-use the carrots and steam them for pork-chop night.  I will make a simple pizza with basil, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce.  The soup I will eat through-out the week. I’ll post recipes for everything eventually…

 

This is Jared’s response to me telling him to go study…

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