Holiday Meals Are Impossible to Resist

Sometimes, I wish my mother and mother-in-law weren't such great cooks. I can't resist eating big meals at the holidays because everything tastes so good. Of course, being a blogger who likes to talk about food, I have photographic evidence to back up my claims about their cooking talent.

Pictured: ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese, crescent roll, corn and stuffing at mom's supper

Pictured: mom's homemade rice pudding with whipped cream

Pictured: goose, stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, mixed vegetables and roll at mother-in-law's supper

Pictured: pumpkin pie with whipped cream
I expected my weight to be up this morning, so it wasn't a big shock. I just know I've got to get back to eating less in the very near future. Between the stress of losing my job and the holiday eating, I've put a few pounds back on that I really wish I hadn't.

I need to start thinking about the future, specifically after January 18, when my job ends. I want to adjust my eating plan before then, but that's when I expect to get a lot more active. Being without work isn't going to be an excuse to sit around the house doing nothing. I want to make the best use out of my time as possible.

Christmas at the Exner House

The tradition I enjoy most this time of year, other than spending time with family and friends, is decorating the Christmas tree. Some of the decorations on my tree are handmade. Some ornaments are gifts from people I knew long ago. One is brand new this year. All of them have special meanings.

Pictured: tree during the day

Pictured: closeup of tree during the day

Pictured: cross stitched Mickey Mouse

Pictured: cross stitched Minnie Mouse

Pictured: cross stitched Donald Duck

Pictured: newest ornament, acquired on Wheeling trip in November

Pictured: tree in the afternoon
Merry Christmas, from my house to yours! I hope whatever you do to celebrate, you enjoy this time of year.

Christmas City Village, Bethlehem PA

Because Christkindlmarkt was moved to South Bethlehem this year, there was an opening for another holiday-centric market in the downtown area. This led to the establishment of the first ever Christmas City Village located on Main Street, behind the historic Sun Inn.

The market is smaller than Christkindlmarkt, but there's enough variety to make shopping there interesting. As usual, Jay and I mostly bought food items. I was tempted to buy some wonderful potpourri that smelled strongly of oranges, but didn't for fear that it would annoy Jay's allergies in some way.

Pictured: entrance to Christmas City Village

Pictured: greenery for sale

Pictured: pottery display

Pictured: potpourri vendor

Pictured: yummy treats for purchase

Pictured: back view of the Sun Inn museum
I have to wonder what the market would have looked like earlier in the month and on a less cold and dreary day. The space is big enough to handle a large crowd of people. Hopefully, they'll have even more vendors there next year.

Molto Pazzo: Very Crazy (and Very Yummy)

Today was one of the last days to visit Christmas City Village in downtown Bethlehem, so Jay and I decided to have lunch downtown before taking a walk behind the Sun Inn to see the crafters. We passed several restaurants on Main Street before deciding to try one we hadn't been to already: Molto Pazzo.

Molto Pazzo (Italian for 'very crazy') is a relatively new restaurant. It opened in November, replacing Olio Trattoria, an Italian restaurant that we unfortunately didn't get to try. The inside is beautiful. The decor is what you'd expect in an Italian restaurant, with brown, yellow and orange color everywhere, creating a warm rustic feeling.

Pictured: outside of restaurant

Pictured: view of the doorway from inside
I was a little afraid that sitting near the doorway might be a bad idea on a cold December day, so I asked if we could sit as far from the door as possible. Even though other customers came in after us, I never felt any cold air. It's possible that the curtain inside the doorway kept most of the cold from reaching us.

Pictured: wine bottles on the wall

Pictured: prettiest part of the restaurant

Pictured: Jay, with the kitchen behind him on the left

Pictured: frittata panini and pasta salad
Jay ordered lasagna, while I had a frittata panini, a traditional omelet with potatoes, onions, peppers and cheese on the most delicious toasted bread. Instead of fries, I chose pasta salad. I was only able to finish half of my meal. I brought the rest home to have as either supper tonight or breakfast tomorrow.

I'm already looking forward to going back for a different meal. The one Italian food they don't have on their menu is pizza, but given all the other choices, it won't be missed.

Back to School

My job at D&B is ending on January 18, 2012. The company was nice enough to extend my end date from December 31 to January 18, allowing me to reach my 30 year anniversary. It'll be a sad day, but I'm okay with everything that's happened. I've had a wonderful career there and I'm leaving with a positive feeling about the company.

As much as I loved publishing, I know my skills developed at D&B aren't really transferable to another publishing company; therefore, I'm going back to the industry I first wanted to work in when I graduated from high school: healthcare. My goal is to earn a job as a medical coding and billing specialist.

I'll be taking classes at Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School. My schedule keeps me in classes from January until September, but I only take one class at a time and my classes are at night.

01/17/12 through 03/08/12 -- Medical Terminology (Tues/Thurs, 6-9pm)
03/19/12 through 05/30/12 -- Medical Office Administration (Mon/Wed, 6-9pm)
06/06/12 through 09/26/12 -- Medical Billing and Coding (Wed, 6-9pm)

I'll lose part of my severance if I get a job before the end of June. Right now, I'm planning to not start looking for a new job until then. My hope is to be employed at St Luke's Hospital, so I plan to apply to work there as a volunteer during the time of my severance. Even if I don't eventually end up being employed there, it will benefit me both as work experience for my resume and as a way to keep busy during my unemployment.

I might also apply to be a volunteer at the Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley. I'd like to do something to help animal charities since I may not be able to donate as much money in 2012.

Having a plan, even if the plan changes along the way, is a big mental boost for me. I hope I can avoid the depression that hits so many people when they lose their jobs.

Modern Version of a Farmer's General Store

When I heard that The Sands was adding a mall to their casino in Bethlehem, I didn't think I'd be excited about the choice of stores. I was wrong. One of my favorite shops from The Quarter in Atlantic City's Tropicana now has a Bethlehem location, and I couldn't be happier!

The shop is The Old Farmer's Almanac General Store. They have an online store, but it lacks the joy of seeing how beautifully displayed the items are in the physical store.

I got caught taking photographs by an employee. I thought he might ask me to stop, but he offered to pose for me, instead. Thanks, Eugene! All of the employees were equally as nice and helpful. That makes going to the shop an even better experience. I know I'll be sure to visit there every time I go to The Sands.

Spending More Time with Emeril

Jay and I needed to go to The Sands last week to do a little holiday shopping, so we decided to have lunch at Emeril's Italian Table. We'd been there for supper already, so we had a good idea of what the food options would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they added a new menu for lunch that included additional choices and smaller portions.

Like we did the first time we dined at Emeril's, we asked to be seated as far toward the back of the restaurant as possible. That way we knew we wouldn't have to smell smoke from the casino. This time we sat all the way in the very back, so we got to see different decor than during our first visit.

Pictured: Jay, sitting at our table

Pictured: closeup of the mirrored wall

Pictured: rosemary bread with lemon, parmesan and herb butter
That bread was so yummy! I could have just eaten the whole loaf with the butter for a meal. I'm such a carbohydrate addict.

Pictured: roasted red pepper soup, sandwich with pork and provolone
I should have written down the name of the sandwich that I had for lunch. Unfortunately, the new lunch menu isn't available online, so I can't check for the name there. It had pork, provolone, pickles and lettuce. At least I can vouch for it being delicious. I'd get it again in a future visit, but there are too many other items I'd like to try.

One of these days, I'd like to go to Emeril's for coffee and dessert.

Melt, Center Valley PA

I recently had the pleasure of having lunch at Melt, one of the restaurants at Center Valley's Promenade Shops. The restaurant is a little on the expensive side, but it was a celebration of a co-worker's service anniversary, so lunch was paid for by the company.

Melt is a more contemporary type of Italian restaurant than the Italian places I usually visit. While I appreciate the rustic atmosphere at Italian eateries, there's a lot to be said about how beautiful the modern design of Melt looks. It's especially attractive sitting near the candle display in the main dining room, which replaces the traditional fireplace.

Pictured: Traci, waiting for the rest of our group

Pictured: candle display

Pictured: light fixture

Pictured: grilled sausage panini with roasted red peppers and onions
I decided to have a panini for lunch. My favorite meal, petto di pollo (chicken breast marinated in garlic and lemon with herbs), is only on the dinner menu. I probably could have ordered it, but I decided not to make a fuss. The panini was delicious and very filling.

I did order dessert, not because I was still hungry, but because Melt makes a fantastic dessert called meringa. It's a baked meringue surrounded by fresh berries and balsamic syrup. I've never had it anywhere else, so I always make sure to save room for it at Melt.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, I thought about taking a photograph of the meringa after I'd eaten most of it. At least it gives me a good reason to go back again.

2011 Christmas Vacation, Day 3: Pittsburgh, PA

The final day of our trip was the drive home from Wheeling, WV by way of Pittsburgh, PA. We had a three hour tour of Pittsburgh, but unfortunately it was raining, so we didn't get very many decent pictures of the city's sites.

By the time we stopped for lunch, the rain had stopped. Our best photographs are of the area where we spent our afternoon, PPG Place. Resembling a castle, PPG Place is a series of six buildings that are easily the most beautiful modern buildings in the city.

Pictured: tree and skating rink at PPG Place

Pictured: gingerbread house display at PPG Place
One of the PPG buildings had a food court, so that's where we headed for our lunch. It was very crowded, so we went for a vendor that didn't have a super long line. Jay and I both ended up having pizza from Sbarro. As usual, Jay's pizza had a lot of meat, and mine was a white pizza with fresh tomatoes.

Pictured: white pizza with spinach and tomatoes
After lunch, we went to a different PPG building in the complex. The Wintergarden was decorated for the holidays with a huge tree, a train display with more gingerbread houses and the annual "Spirits of Giving Around The World" exhibit. The exhibit consists of life sized figures representing the spirit of the holidays in various countries throughout the world.

Pictured: figure of St Stephen (Ireland)

Pictured: tree with train and gingerbread houses display
Jay and I tried walking around outside a little, but it was cold and very windy, so all we did was walk around the building before coming back inside. I'd love to visit the city again when it's warmer and more dry. I always imagined Pittsburgh being a dirty, run down city, but it's actually a lot nicer than I expected. It's a very culturally diverse city with many interesting places to explore.

The rest of our drive home was fairly relaxing. We watched a DVD of Elf on the bus before stopping at Bob Evans in Carlisle, PA for supper. I was still feeling fairly full from lunch, so I had a small cup of beef vegetable soup for supper. It was a welcome change from the buffet suppers of the previous two days.

This was the second bus trip Jay and I took with Transbridge in 2011. I have to say that I enjoy traveling with them very much. Their prices are reasonable, they have great tour guides and drivers, the tours are well planned and, while they seem geared toward an older traveler, they have enough activity to keep younger travelers well occupied. I hope to go on another one of their trips in 2012.

2011 Christmas Vacation, Day 2 (afternoon/evening): Centre Market, Good Zoo and Light Show

Our afternoon started with lunch at Wheeling's Centre Market. To get to the restaurant area, we passed through an exhibit of paintings, pottery and other artwork created by local artists. We decided to keep lunch simple, knowing that we were having another buffet supper.

Pictured: entrance to the Centre Market

Pictured: Wisconsin cheese soup, egg salad sandwich
After our bus tour of the city of Wheeling, we stopped at the Festival of Lights Christmas Shop, for yet another chance to buy holiday themed souvenirs. I had to resist the temptation to load up on new ornaments for my Christmas tree.

We also visited Good Zoo, a small zoo created by the Good family in honor of their son who died from leukemia. We were supposed to see a laser light show in the afternoon, but we had to come back later for it because it wasn't working. Instead, we saw the zoo's train display and visited with the zoo animals.

Pictured: Good Zoo photograph booth

Pictured: railroad display's steel mill
After finishing up at the zoo, we went back to the lodge for our supper. Once again, the food was very good, but there was way too much of it. The only regret I had after supper was having two desserts. One would have been enough.

Pictured: beef stew, squash, rice, pasta salad, vegetable lasagne

Pictured: pumpkin cake, key lime pie
Our evening ended with a trip back to Good Zoo to see the laser light show, followed by the famous Wheeling Winter Festival of Lights. The displays were very impressive. My personal favorite was the dinosaurs.

Pictured: dinosaur light display
It was a long day, but it was a lot of fun. Definitely worth the trip from eastern Pennsylvania to West Virginia to see the lights.

2011 Christmas Vacation, Day 2 (morning): Oglebay Park

Day 2 of our Wheeling WV trip was spent touring Oglebay Park and the city of Wheeling. We also went to the Good Zoo and saw the Winter Festival of Lights show. Since I have so many pictures to share, I'm breaking Day 2 into two posts: one for the morning and the other for the rest of the day.

We began our day with a buffet breakfast. Buffets are a great place to overeat, and I'm especially likely to do that at breakfast. It's my favorite meal of the day!

Pictured: scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, cinnamon bun, fried apples
What I didn't photograph was the second plate of food, consisting of two small blueberry pancakes and syrup. Having eaten all of that, Jay and I decided to go for a walk around the property before our tour group was scheduled to meet. Almost as soon as we left the parking lot, we saw deer. There were five deer in the small herd that approached us. They aren't afraid of people, since they're protected on the property.

Pictured: Jay taking a photograph of a deer
After our walk, we met up with the rest of our tour group for visits to the various buildings on the property: the Carriage Glass House and museum, the greenhouse complex, the gourmet food shop and the Mansion Museum.

Pictured: stained glass in the Carriage House

Pictured: Christmas display in the gourmet food shop

Pictured: looking down into the greenhouse complex

Pictured: Sharon and the 4'10" Sweeney punchbowl
One of my favorite pictures is the photograph of me standing next to the Sweeney punchbowl in the glass museum. The Sweeney brothers were well known glass makers in the 19th century, and this was their most famous piece. It once stood on Michael Sweeney's grave, but has been moved indoors to protect it from vandalism.