Day 1: Meal 1

Happy Monday!

I'm trying something new, and a little fun, this week: eating all vegan.

I have had so much fun looking up recipes, reading about nutrition, and grocery shopping - weird? But I am 100% on board the vegan train (at least for this week - we'll see where we go after that). I don't eat very much meat so cutting that out isn't difficult, especially just for a week. The tricky part is not using any dairy/eggs. That stuff is in everything! I put milk in my coffee and cereal. Cheese on pretty much everything else ;) I like the way cheese tastes. That is my main reason for eating it. Taste and convenience, since it seems like every food out there incorporates some kind of cheese or cream. I really don't eat dairy for it's nutritional content - the amount of calcium and protein in dairy is easily overshadowed by vegetables, grains, and beans. For me it's a taste thing. Queso dip, sharp cheddar, smoked Gouda  mozzarella on pizza, pepper jack slices on a sandwich, Parmesan cheese on ANYTHING EVER.

I won't get into the politics of meat/dairy consumption - at least not right now. It's a topic I'm slowly and eagerly learning about. There is SO MUCH information out there! And just as much mis-information. So, I think it's good to take it slow.

Anyway - today is day 1 of vegan week :)

Had some coffee w a splash of soy milk, and some overnight oats for breakfast (SO GOOD!) I made the oats with almond milk, 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds, and 1/4 tsp vanilla. Stirred it up & let it sit overnight. I was nervous it wouldn't be sweet enough, but the almond milk & vanilla were perfect. It was delicious cold, which surprised me also! I'm so happy to have a filling/healthy breakfast idea that I can make the night before.

Hollla back girl.

Hi

I'm giving up on this blog - unofficially.
As we know, I'm not great at updating and I never know what to write about.

I can't wait for winter to come to an end. The cozy nights and soups and warm drinks and slippers and scarves have been fun, but I miss being outside! I miss the sun. Oh how I miss the sun!

Some stuff I'd like to do in the coming months:
take a class (any), check out the yoga studio by me, learn a song on my guitar, run a 5k, try being vegan for a week, brew another batch of beer, go to a casino, call my grandparents, send a letter, start replacing cigs with e-cigs (again), go to the beach.

27 is going to be a good year for me - that's what I think.

Pop Tart

I am eating a "nutritious" and delicious Pop Tart right now. It is causing me to miss my camping trip from last summer. A squirrel stole our Pop Tarts but it was so cute we couldn't even be mad. He so badly wanted to run away with them, but pieces kept breaking off so he just gave up and chomped away. I respect that squirrel.

New thing #1

Oh hey, it's me - and I already did one new thing this year! Okay, it's kind of a stretch, but for now it counts ;)

I used my new hand blender to make soup - yippee! The best part is that it is the most delicious soup ever.

Butternut squash, potatoes, celery, carrots, and veggie stock. All squished together to make a super tasty orange colored flavor explosion.

My aunt surprised me and got me this sweet hand blender for Christmas, and now I'm in love with it. Plus, it's red. Who doesn't love red?

Resolution(s)

I've come up with a plan!
My 2013 resolution is to do 1 new thing every month.

I think I can be pretty flexible with that :) Anything from learning a song on my guitar, to cooking something different, or reading something out of the ordinary, or drawing, or taking a stab at photography, or crochet-ing! Yeah - I think I like this resolution. I will get back to you as details emerge (from my brain).

2013

Hey - you made it! We made it to the year 2013. Hip hip!

I was reading over the "resolutions" I set for myself this time last year. Whoops, kinda dropped the ball on that one. But hey, I won't beat myself up too much over it. 2012 was a busy year! Let's see...highlights from 2012: I moved out of my parent's house and in with my girlfriend. Skydiving. Got a big girl job. Started flossing my teeth regularly. No cavities! Camping. Parents: divorce. Decided I want to go back to school. Home-brewed 3 batches of beer.

Those are a few things that come to mind. Things are much different now than they were last year. And for the most part, it's looking up from here.

Do I make resolutions for 2013?
We'll see :)

This is how I feel at work.

oh, and this is me learning to use my panoramic camera feature. My cube. And judgmental co-worker.