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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Never Forget
I won't be able to. The images are still so numbing.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, September 10, 2012
Slow Down!!
Is it really the second week of September?!? While I'm always excited to get closer to my birthday (It's the 24th. Have you gotten my present yet?) I cannot believe this year is almost over!
It seem like I'm always busy, but I never get anything done. I wonder how to remedy that...
We took our 2012 vacation 2 weeks ago to San Diego. We got to visit a state we've never seen, a city where his parents honeymooned over 30 years ago, and a friend that I haven't had a face-to-face chat with in at least a year.
I tend to plan vacations around baseball game availability. Oh! The Braves are playing the Padres near the end of August! It's Chipper's last year! Done. This is for my husband's benefit, of course. But I must admit that I enjoy anything where I get to throw peanut shells on the floor and see fit men in tight pants. To my dismay Tim Hudson pitched a couple of nights prior to our game, but we got to see him a bit during batting practice. Speaking of BP!!
Matt and I made a very joint effort to get our first Official MLB ball. It was our last night in town and definitely the cherry to our vacation sundae.
We also:
Walked alllll over downtown SD
Saw bums
Ate an actual sundae at a ghirardelli shop
Got lost on the public transit
Saw bums
Went to the zoo
Stopped at a bar b/c their sign stated $3 bloody Mary's and bubbles
Had fried bar apps for dinner
Saw bums
Went to Sea World
Went to Hash House A-Go-Go
Purchased and ate the largest pancake I've ever laid eyes on
Missed our stadium tour at PETCO Park due to crappy listing
Saw bums
Had a tour of the greater SD narrated by my good pal Lynda
Saw the whole city from really high
Learned how to pronounce La Jolla
Rode the ferry to Coronado Island
Took a walking tour of the Hotel del Coronado (The Del)
Mastered the public transit
Saw bums
Apparently downtown SD has a very high homeless population. And a Lynda said "Where would you want to live if you were homeless? Where it very seldom rains and has nearly perfect temperature year around?" Makes sense.
I wouldn't mind another vacation ASAP, but there are big international plans in the works for 2013!!
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It seem like I'm always busy, but I never get anything done. I wonder how to remedy that...
We took our 2012 vacation 2 weeks ago to San Diego. We got to visit a state we've never seen, a city where his parents honeymooned over 30 years ago, and a friend that I haven't had a face-to-face chat with in at least a year.
I tend to plan vacations around baseball game availability. Oh! The Braves are playing the Padres near the end of August! It's Chipper's last year! Done. This is for my husband's benefit, of course. But I must admit that I enjoy anything where I get to throw peanut shells on the floor and see fit men in tight pants. To my dismay Tim Hudson pitched a couple of nights prior to our game, but we got to see him a bit during batting practice. Speaking of BP!!
Matt and I made a very joint effort to get our first Official MLB ball. It was our last night in town and definitely the cherry to our vacation sundae.
We also:
Walked alllll over downtown SD
Saw bums
Ate an actual sundae at a ghirardelli shop
Got lost on the public transit
Saw bums
Went to the zoo
Stopped at a bar b/c their sign stated $3 bloody Mary's and bubbles
Had fried bar apps for dinner
Saw bums
Went to Sea World
Went to Hash House A-Go-Go
Purchased and ate the largest pancake I've ever laid eyes on
Missed our stadium tour at PETCO Park due to crappy listing
Saw bums
Had a tour of the greater SD narrated by my good pal Lynda
Saw the whole city from really high
Learned how to pronounce La Jolla
Rode the ferry to Coronado Island
Took a walking tour of the Hotel del Coronado (The Del)
Mastered the public transit
Saw bums
Apparently downtown SD has a very high homeless population. And a Lynda said "Where would you want to live if you were homeless? Where it very seldom rains and has nearly perfect temperature year around?" Makes sense.
I wouldn't mind another vacation ASAP, but there are big international plans in the works for 2013!!
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Monday, May 14, 2012
Week One
Monday, May 7th I gave up all meat, animal products, and most processed/refined food in an effort to enjoy the health benefits of a whole foods, plant based life style. I don't really like using the term "diet" because everyone associates it with a short term attempt to lose weight. This is a life change.
Week 1 went really well. I spent some time in the weeks leading up to the big switch looking on vegan blogs and bookmarking recipes that looked delicious. Then I went to Fresh (Brookshire's version of a Whole Foods) and bought a lot of stuff from their health food bins and I went to Walmart to finish up shopping for the week's meals.
I've been eating grits and oatmeal for breakfast. Not completely whole foods yet, because I want to use the rest of my quick oats and grit packets. But still a move in the right direction. Lunches have been leftovers from the night before with the exception of Monday. We had pork loin Sunday night - again, trying to use it up. So I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread. I have to say I didn't really like the banana on there, and I'll just do pb next time. I haven't given up honey yet, so I've had that in my oatmeal. I didn't plan my snacks before going to the store Sunday, so I ended up eating the same things throughout the days. It was fine for a week, I just know I can't do that long term. I've had oranges, apples, one yucky banana, mini carrots, and a bag of unsalted peanuts, raisins, and plain corn nuts. I've enjoyed that, but would like some variety. I think I'll try to make some things this weekend to have throughout the week. Our dinners have been, and will continue to be, very experimental. I always like to try new recipes, so this is nothing new. The challenge has been all mental. Matt is being very supportive. He does pretty much whatever he wants all day, but eats what I cook for dinner. So I'm trying to find recipes that aren't too hard, or full of too many weird ingredients, that I feel like will satisfy him without the meat. And so it was...
Monday - Mujadarrah - Rice & Lentils w/pan fried onion. I left off the yogurt/sour cream. We added some leftover corn on the cob and it was great! Not hard at all and really inexpensive. Matt said he would have liked more vegetables than just the onion in it. And I actually agree. It is pretty one dimensional with the rice/lentil texture. But the cool part is that you can season with anything to completely change the taste. We used our favorite spice mix, Soumas, that we've bought from the Revel a couple of times.
Tuesday - Enchiladas - Sweet potato, black beans, spinach, onion, bell pepper, plenty of spices. Topped with an avocado cilantro sauce.
I didn't put as much cilantro as the recipe called for and I loved it! Matt just kept saying "this is delicious!" I really couldn't disagree.
Wednesday - Mac n' Cheeze w/ Rhodes Multi Grain Rolls - whole wheat elbow noodles and a cheese sauce made of almond milk, Earth Balance, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, spices, and...... Roasted Butternut Squash!! Matt was amazed by it. Honestly, so was I. So stinking tasty. The recipe said to use any mix-ins. I put spinach, chopped up cherry tomatoes, and some unsalted sunflower seeds for a little crunch. I'd definitely say success, even though the rolls weren't completely unrefined. I know it's better than cheesy, buttery, garlic bread.
Thursday - Zucchini Soup w/ leftover Rhodes rolls - I learned that I want/need an immersion blender. The soup was very good. I froze the rest of the soup to wait until winter. I'm just too hot to be eating hot soup. And me and Matt both agreed that it should go with something. Like maybe I big veggie sandwich!
Friday - leftover night and I was super excited to sample everything again!
Saturday Matt made 27! I love birthdays, and no reason to minimize it just because I don't eat meat! Matt loves biscuits and gravy and spice cake. So I found vegan recipes for both. Breakfast and dessert - check! Putting the biscuit dough in a muffin tin is genius and I may never roll out & cut biscuits again. They were good and I doubled the recipe so that I'd have a bunch of leftovers. The gravy had a lot of spices and I think it ended up too salty, but the flavor was awesome. Matt even liked it. We finished off the leftovers for lunch and had a tiny piece of cake. It was a little more dense than usual, but still very moist. And not too dense, just enough to notice. I doubled that recipe also, because I wanted to make a 9x13. Worked like a charm.
It's become something of a tradition for Matt and I to have Chinese food on his birthday. So we tried out a place that was recommended months ago. I got a vegetable dish with brown rice and didn't worry about the sauce too much. I also got a side of the sautéed green beans. It was good and I didn't feel slighted at all.
Sunday - We went to Ghengis Grill with the Troxclairs b/c they couldn't go with us Saturday night. Again I got veggies with brown rice. But I think this place will easily become a favorite. They had so many vegetables and sauces to build a tasty bowl! I even had more for lunch today. After dinner Deni & Cala came over for cake (Sean had to work). She said the cake was good!
Overall, I think my first meatless week was an enjoyable success. I'm already looking forward to the meals planned for this week!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Week 1 went really well. I spent some time in the weeks leading up to the big switch looking on vegan blogs and bookmarking recipes that looked delicious. Then I went to Fresh (Brookshire's version of a Whole Foods) and bought a lot of stuff from their health food bins and I went to Walmart to finish up shopping for the week's meals.
I've been eating grits and oatmeal for breakfast. Not completely whole foods yet, because I want to use the rest of my quick oats and grit packets. But still a move in the right direction. Lunches have been leftovers from the night before with the exception of Monday. We had pork loin Sunday night - again, trying to use it up. So I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread. I have to say I didn't really like the banana on there, and I'll just do pb next time. I haven't given up honey yet, so I've had that in my oatmeal. I didn't plan my snacks before going to the store Sunday, so I ended up eating the same things throughout the days. It was fine for a week, I just know I can't do that long term. I've had oranges, apples, one yucky banana, mini carrots, and a bag of unsalted peanuts, raisins, and plain corn nuts. I've enjoyed that, but would like some variety. I think I'll try to make some things this weekend to have throughout the week. Our dinners have been, and will continue to be, very experimental. I always like to try new recipes, so this is nothing new. The challenge has been all mental. Matt is being very supportive. He does pretty much whatever he wants all day, but eats what I cook for dinner. So I'm trying to find recipes that aren't too hard, or full of too many weird ingredients, that I feel like will satisfy him without the meat. And so it was...
Monday - Mujadarrah - Rice & Lentils w/pan fried onion. I left off the yogurt/sour cream. We added some leftover corn on the cob and it was great! Not hard at all and really inexpensive. Matt said he would have liked more vegetables than just the onion in it. And I actually agree. It is pretty one dimensional with the rice/lentil texture. But the cool part is that you can season with anything to completely change the taste. We used our favorite spice mix, Soumas, that we've bought from the Revel a couple of times.
Tuesday - Enchiladas - Sweet potato, black beans, spinach, onion, bell pepper, plenty of spices. Topped with an avocado cilantro sauce.
I didn't put as much cilantro as the recipe called for and I loved it! Matt just kept saying "this is delicious!" I really couldn't disagree.
Wednesday - Mac n' Cheeze w/ Rhodes Multi Grain Rolls - whole wheat elbow noodles and a cheese sauce made of almond milk, Earth Balance, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, spices, and...... Roasted Butternut Squash!! Matt was amazed by it. Honestly, so was I. So stinking tasty. The recipe said to use any mix-ins. I put spinach, chopped up cherry tomatoes, and some unsalted sunflower seeds for a little crunch. I'd definitely say success, even though the rolls weren't completely unrefined. I know it's better than cheesy, buttery, garlic bread.
Thursday - Zucchini Soup w/ leftover Rhodes rolls - I learned that I want/need an immersion blender. The soup was very good. I froze the rest of the soup to wait until winter. I'm just too hot to be eating hot soup. And me and Matt both agreed that it should go with something. Like maybe I big veggie sandwich!
Friday - leftover night and I was super excited to sample everything again!
Saturday Matt made 27! I love birthdays, and no reason to minimize it just because I don't eat meat! Matt loves biscuits and gravy and spice cake. So I found vegan recipes for both. Breakfast and dessert - check! Putting the biscuit dough in a muffin tin is genius and I may never roll out & cut biscuits again. They were good and I doubled the recipe so that I'd have a bunch of leftovers. The gravy had a lot of spices and I think it ended up too salty, but the flavor was awesome. Matt even liked it. We finished off the leftovers for lunch and had a tiny piece of cake. It was a little more dense than usual, but still very moist. And not too dense, just enough to notice. I doubled that recipe also, because I wanted to make a 9x13. Worked like a charm.
It's become something of a tradition for Matt and I to have Chinese food on his birthday. So we tried out a place that was recommended months ago. I got a vegetable dish with brown rice and didn't worry about the sauce too much. I also got a side of the sautéed green beans. It was good and I didn't feel slighted at all.
Sunday - We went to Ghengis Grill with the Troxclairs b/c they couldn't go with us Saturday night. Again I got veggies with brown rice. But I think this place will easily become a favorite. They had so many vegetables and sauces to build a tasty bowl! I even had more for lunch today. After dinner Deni & Cala came over for cake (Sean had to work). She said the cake was good!
Overall, I think my first meatless week was an enjoyable success. I'm already looking forward to the meals planned for this week!
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
This is the Voice!
Beaubouef family singalong tonight? Genie in a Bottle. Thank you Xtina for inspiring this household.
(I'm behind and haven't seen this week's results. Surprise move and Juliet and Jamar are both in the bottom 4?! One can only hope.)
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(I'm behind and haven't seen this week's results. Surprise move and Juliet and Jamar are both in the bottom 4?! One can only hope.)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Delayed Reaction
I intended to post this on Monday, but never did. So now that it's almost the next weekend I suppose it's time.
Matt and I had a very good & productive weekend! Friday night we went to Lowe's to get weed (read: evil poison plant) killer. My backyard is a war zone that I cannot enter.
Poison!!
Anyway! While at Lowe's I decided to be Betty Homemaker and bought some potting soil, pots, and plants - basil, rosemary, and patio tomatoes. I planted them and watered them and talked sweetly to them. Now I hope they don't die.
Saturday I got up and "ran." I wouldn't go so far as to call that successful. But I did leave the house in running attire.
Also Saturday I FINALLY painted the backs of my book shelves. I was seriously talking about before we moved. Since they were completed I could unpack all of the book boxes and set up that display in my bedroom. I kind of love it!
Saturday night Sean, Deni, and Cala came over for steaks, roasted vegetable orzo, dill pickle french fries, and homemade snickers. Yes - it was a very Pinterest meal.
Deni also brought some of the best brioche rolls ever from Fresh. We are a little obsessed with them. So is Cala.
And just because I know you want to see a few more of that bundle of cuteness...
Uncle Matt getting some love!
Giving handouts to her favorite furry cousin.
And this was from Tuesday, but I couldn't deprive anyone of this fabulous-ness!!
And now it's about time for another weekend!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Matt and I had a very good & productive weekend! Friday night we went to Lowe's to get weed (read: evil poison plant) killer. My backyard is a war zone that I cannot enter.
Poison!!
Anyway! While at Lowe's I decided to be Betty Homemaker and bought some potting soil, pots, and plants - basil, rosemary, and patio tomatoes. I planted them and watered them and talked sweetly to them. Now I hope they don't die.
Saturday I got up and "ran." I wouldn't go so far as to call that successful. But I did leave the house in running attire.
Also Saturday I FINALLY painted the backs of my book shelves. I was seriously talking about before we moved. Since they were completed I could unpack all of the book boxes and set up that display in my bedroom. I kind of love it!
Saturday night Sean, Deni, and Cala came over for steaks, roasted vegetable orzo, dill pickle french fries, and homemade snickers. Yes - it was a very Pinterest meal.
Deni also brought some of the best brioche rolls ever from Fresh. We are a little obsessed with them. So is Cala.
And just because I know you want to see a few more of that bundle of cuteness...
Uncle Matt getting some love!
Giving handouts to her favorite furry cousin.
And this was from Tuesday, but I couldn't deprive anyone of this fabulous-ness!!
And now it's about time for another weekend!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
It all started with a big bang.
Have you ever noticed that tv sitcoms are NEVER as funny when you're explaining them to someone or having them explained to you? I am guilty of being the deliverer of the unfunny and this morning was the innocent bystanding victim. The 4 other people in my office are loud and unconcerned about disturbing each other. Or me. I just heard one tell a short snippet from a Big Bang rerun last night. I know that had I seen the show I would undoubtedly laugh aloud. But no. Not even an inner chuckle. It's just not the same taken out of context and spoken by anyone other than Sheldon.
As an aside - I am slightly obsessed with Big Bang. Really - who has seen the show and can honestly say they don't love it? I would wager to guess those people love the devil.
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As an aside - I am slightly obsessed with Big Bang. Really - who has seen the show and can honestly say they don't love it? I would wager to guess those people love the devil.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 30, 2012
2012 Goal #4
I'm making myself a quilt. Last year I ventured into the wide world of quilting and ended with Christmas gifts for my nieces. I really enjoyed it. So I picked quilt and bought fabric.
I'm really excited to say that I have actually started making it!
It will definitely be a while until it is finished.
But the cutting is done!
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I'm really excited to say that I have actually started making it!
It will definitely be a while until it is finished.
But the cutting is done!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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