today i...

- overslept and had to hurry, good thing it is "casual day"

- had bomb breakfast burritos and chocolate silk light for breakfast again, still bomb!

- took way too long editing since i kept editing my edits...nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrd. oh and i was already over-editing to begin.

- hardly did anything at work, oops, will make it up on monday

- probably should not have ordered from sephora but i was sucked into the promo, dang.

- finally got a haircut and feel sexy again, phew!

- got more blank cd's to unblank very soon

- ate a frozen enchilada dinner (i know, i know)

- paid my "rent"

- sucked at writing my blog

- am a "friday night failure" (to borrow from e.b.)

yawn

i need a nap so i am gonna take one. i did not get in bed until almost 1:30 this morning. i had ironed, tidied up a bit, packed breakfast and lunch, made some cd's and was really pleased with myself and excited to do more to get my act together. even after i made myself head up to bed, i had to read a bit of my laurie motaro, which is really funny so far, I am going to start it over.

it was the first really cold night we have had so far. i already had flannel sheets and extra blankets but they weren't cutting it. i was so wiped out, i didn't even want to get up to get another blanket or put warmer pj's on so i put on my bear paw mittens and eye mask and knocked out. to avoid being so ridiculous again, i will put more blankets on post haste. if i don't need them they will be on the floor when i wake up.

maybe because i don't live in "real" weather, i am grossed out by heaters and electric blankets. i just need warmer socks. if my feets are warm, i am good. or i need to get one of those huge heavy soft "mexican" blankets . i used to have a purple one with a tiger on it but i left it in boston because i didn't want to ship it home. it was the raddest ever, my roommate got it for me downtown senior year. i need to get another one. they have them in the markets but they are not as huge and don't have animals on them, boo.

il buon tempo verra

usually when i am ready to write someone off, they will call, email, or stop by. so yesterday i complained about the library and in the same fashion, it was totally awesome today. i was a bit frustrated by the slow computer and the fact that i only found two of the books that were on my list, but i did end up stumbling upon some other great books that were not on my list, so i still won. sidenote: i do need to volunteer there even if only to shelfread, it is so out of order and i cannot believe i got mad that i could not find this pillsbury christmas cooking/craft book, nerd!

here is what i walked away with:

children playing before a statue of hercules- ed. david sedaris

i love everybody (and other atrocious lies)- laurie notaro

readymade: how to make almost everything- shoshana berger

the vegetarian family cook book- nava atlas--- tons of vegan options!

real simple solultions- amanda hinnant

i checked out some cd's too: sound of music (i have confidence!), tmbg "no!" (for the kid), frank sinatra, tony bennett and andy williams xmas album. i also got some books from the "friends" store for a buck(john huston, a book about banning books, and two old rad cake decorating books which are great for reference and other craft nonsense). i looked like a pack mule walking out of there. it was great.

all of this searching took way longer than i thought and i also sat and read and flipped through to make sure i wasn't taking too much stuff. i only put back a martha stewart xmas book because i am punker than that, or ghettoer or lazier, pick one. i would definitely get it another time but i don't think it will fit into this holiday season, or any of the totes i had on hand.

i did get a lot of books but only two of them are "reading" and it's fun reading that should go fast. i already marked a ton of recipes in the cookbook and i am going to try to get myself real simple really soon because i need to, badly.

wins-day

today is my library day. it's my third trip so far and i hope to keep on going. i had been hating on the local library for a long time, partly because i was so spoiled by the university system and partly because i still wish i lived in a "real" city sometimes (other times i am glad i do not).

the good thing about the library being a few years behind on acquisitions is that i am also a few years behind on reading (and movies, and musics). before i went to sleep last night i flipped through 8 or 10 old issues of BUST for some book recommendations, on top of whatever else i might find. hopefully i can find some of them, but i won't count on it. i may just get lucky though.

i do have to keep in mind the six week max lending period and not take out more than i can actually digest in that time. plus, i am still supposed to be reading david copperfield which i can only do that in chunks, so i am on page 115 out of 900 (give or take). it's the one book i can't really rush through and i am notorious for holing up with a book and devouring it in a sitting. to contrast, i am looking for something involving less commitment, like short stories or essays, as well as cooking or crafting books.

after i am done picking my "free" books i also will cruise the "friends" sale for more. when i am all done looking for books i am going to find a table and sit down and read ms. esme's draft and make notes. i sneaked a peek, and i wish i didn't because i want to read the whole thing now.

i love wednesdays-library and project runway!


p.s.
before j.s. or anyone else tries to stomp my booty, the previous post is a joke. i did not have two of my raddest relatives die of complications to to emphysema and not learn from it. i won't delete it because it is a reminder for me.

'tis the season

 

i decided about a week ago that i would take up smoking for the holidays. i got djarum cherry and nat sherman mint cigarettes. i would only "smoke" if i had special cigarettes, fancy for the holidays (a few buck more than regular is really fancy these days-sayin'). so far i have only smoked three, two cherry and one mint. since i did start this mostly as a lark, i'm not sure how good i will be on the follow through, not that it matters, my sister will smoke them if i don't.

as is i have never really been much for smoking, usually only if i have been drinking or i am upset. i tried to have regular "smoke" break but i came back to my desk and just felt really gross. i could still taste cigarette and my fingers still smelled even after lots of washing. i kept smelling the difference between one side of my sweater and the other. maybe it's just that i went back inside too fast and didn't air out. maybe i need to bring perfume in my purse. or maybe i am just a night time smoker? maybe none of this will matter after i become addicted to nicotine.


i can quit any time i want

ladle up some leftovers

 

today i was on a mission. i hustled home from work and headed straight for the kitchen. since i knew "the dinner", as my mom calls it, would only take about half and hour, i decided to make round two of cupcakes first.

i am taking most of the goodies to work to be nice and also reduce the stigma against vegans. our cfo is really the only one who gives me grief about it, but in a fun way. he's really good chatting actually, one of the few people at work who will talk to you about something other than the person down the hall. i am going to trick him one day by making something and asking this gal in accounting who is the best baker ever, to pretend like she brought it and then he will gobble it up and then i will be like, p.s. that was vegan, bwahahahaha.

i really have been wanting to make soup but i also know i haven't cooked in a long time so i gotta ease into it. i found a quick simple recipe for minestrone so i busted that out today. it was super fast and easy, like your sister, just kidding. i would just add a few more seasonings and maybe reduce the amount of pasta for next time. for the effort i put in (practically none), it turned out awesome.

this is really the first time i have sat down since i've been home other than to eat some yummy soup. i am proud that i got stuff done and didn't waste any time. i am bummed that i didn't take the dog out but i should be able to do that tomorrow since i only have to help with "the dinner" and don't have any other kitchen tasks lined up. i had a nice post dinner smoke too, but don't tell my mom.

ouch!

i got bit by the lazy bug.

i am healing nicely and getting ready to rev up and go again.

i totally blew it and forgot, there are black yogi teas, so i may have to give them a whirl. slap me now, but i have never had earl grey or eng. breakfast. do you have to add milk to those? my whole preference for tea stems from the fact that i can steep and go and keep going all day long. i think one is slightly more black friendly than the other, but can't remember which? we shall soon see.

soon we will be off to market to see what we will be eating this week. i think one day is bbq, one day is soup, one day is breakfast dinner and i am not sure of the other. i want to make sure we use what we have on hand before we just up and buy a bunch of new stuff since neither of us is made of money.

p.s. i am really hoping for a bonus, but i am sure as heck not budgeting for one.

born to do dishes

i never thought i would say this, but i can't wait to go back to work. i have had enough of eating and resting already. also i get kind of nuts having everyone at home at the same time, don't you have to go somewhere? haha.

i was going to take the dog for a walk but ended up not taking her. i suck. she is getting chubby and it would have been good for both of us. maybe we will go tomorrow? it is too dang dark now.

today was supposed to be super cleaning day but it didn't go down like that. i did clean the floors and do the umpteenth load of dishes but that's about it. with my sister at work tomorrow i can probably get more done. instead of pushing each other to work harder, we usually just fall into the same slump of antm marathons and snacking and doing nothing. my "excuse" for not working on my room is that she is sleeping and i cannot do much of anything quietly, so i will have to do that tomorrow.

my hands are still dry from dishes i did over two hours ago, rockin!

long haul-i-day

completely exhausted, but i believe i almost nailed thanksgiving, i give myself 8 out of 10 due to an incomplete menu. i had to give up on the seitan thing, but everything else turned out great, so i don't mind. next year will be a bazillion times better, but now it is time to get into the christmas.

i have been having trouble thinking of what i want for christmas this year. i really don't like people buying things for me, just makes me feel weird, even if it is xmas, birthday, etc. i really don't need anything and there isn't anything i really want that i would ask for anyone other than the real santa to buy me. i know no one has any money (self included!) and it shouldn't be about that anyway. when pressed, i usually give a short list of a bunch of small things i know are 20 bucks or less. while overindulging on veg fried rice and flipping through vegnews the subscription insert fell out and i was like, yeah, get me a subscription to vegnews-20 bucks! so my sister will probably do that for me, rad. i will probably also say to donate to something instead of spending money on me, which is what i did for my birthday.

i have no idea what i am going to get for anyone. i might try to start making some stuff? i was thinking to give them kiva certificates maybe. i know i want to adopt a wolf for my dad and maybe a penguin for my niece, and sign my sister up for an ngo she likes? i'm not sure what i would do for my brother or mom though since they don't really care about anything, not in a bad way but they just don't seem to have pet causes like the rest of us. i thought i would get a "real" gift for each of them and then a gift that gives back, awwww.

the most exciting thing about christmas is the baking. i alread know i will make mexican wedding cakes and some sugar cookies with the child, but i will have to dip into the joy of vegan baking and find some other treasures. as i said before, that book is going to change my life.

cupcakes to the rescue

 

these turned out awesome. i doubled the recipe and went to town. i opted to not frost them, due to missing information and to avoid toothaches. i didn't notice until i started mixing that i didn't have an amount for soymilk, i didn't get the book yet so i copied it from lj, which i.c.m. said was a-ok. i tried to do it by sight/texture but it didn't really seem to be coming along, and also it was late and i was getting tired so my capacity to judge was fading. they are plenty sweet with all the chocolate chips that frosting might actually be overkill? i'll get a proper qty. and try it again next time (there will be a next time since i still have a can of pumpkin left). i'm sure ms. esme will give her input after she makes her own batch of goodness.

so far that is the only item i have prepared for thanksgiving. i still have to do green bean casserole, that scalloped corn thing and some stuffing. all of those should be fairly easy. i might do my chopping to save time in the morning. i'm still fighting for kitchen time so whatever i can do now, will be a help.

i didn't mean to miss a blog yesterday but somewhere between napping, making dinner, dinner dishes, grocery runs, frontline and probably the worst attempt at seitan ever, by the time i got my turn at the computer, i was out of steam and so was our signal. i think the new people down the block are stealing internet somehow because it has only been this weak/slow very recently. it's nancy drew time, who wants to be bess and george?

maybe the seitan will be okay but i am not counting on it. there was no sour supreme at the store last night, so unless they miraculously restock, spinach dip is cancelled. to make myself feel more kitchen confident and less like i am singlehandedly ruining thanksgiving, i think i will make cupcakes today instead of after thanksgiving. you can fix any problem with cupcakes, right?

tea-ch me

i am thinking of a little project to take the little messages from my yogi tea and tape/glue them to the inside cover of my '08 slingshot so i can carry the wisdom around with me and remind myself of all the important things i forget when i get distracted by something or someone stupid. is that lame?

i figured as long as i was going to be reinforcing it with packing tape maybe i could reinforce some ideas too.

i am going to check the site because i like the whole concept of y.t. but i really only drink the chamomille during lady time and sometimes the green mate, but i can't really remember them making black tea and that is my fave. so i can have the black and the light all rolled into one, that would make my days.

market to market

hopefully today was the last of the holiday food shopping. i went to five stores today, f-i-v-e. i know i do have to go to henry's to get sour supreme and veganaise for spinach dip but as my mom would say "that's minor shit".

this is what i am supposed to be making for dinner at my aunt's-

for everyone: green bean casserole, scalloped corn, spinach dip

for my sister, my niece and i: seitan roulade with stuffing/gravy, and more stuffing because my sister loves stuffing... a lot.

if the roulade doesn't work out, we'll just fry up peppered tofurkey slices and make sammiches. naturally i am hoping i can pull off the roulade.

since none of that should be too hard to make, more chopping/stirring/waiting than anything else, i thought i would try a dessert. i don't want to do a pie so i am thinking of pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes. i might do them day after thanksgiving since i might be kitchened out but i also might be crazy enough to do them to bring to the party.

p.s. my dad liked the cookies i made last night which is a huge compliment because he eschews all that is vegan because it is weird. he is one of those people who will eat something for a long time and then not like it after you tell him there is something in it that he doesn't like, example, sourcream lemon pie. he totally would eat the whole thing until he knew it had sour cream. now he won't touch it. but i am the weird one.

cocoa christening

 

this is the first of many efforts to kick the kitchen, and myself, back into action. after i cleaned up my baking mess, i got crazy on the cupboard and threw out at least a tall kitchen bag's worth of expired food. i felt really bad to throw so much out but hopefully now that it is neater and more organized, we won't overbuy because it is quite easy to see we already have way too much rice.

p.s. most of the stuff i threw out wasn't mine, but i still feel bad to be wasteful.

b.y.o.c.*

more food shoppings today. i almost have everything. a lot of the spices, flour, etc. were on sale so that made me happy. i am totally re-stocking the kitchen which means i need to get rid of whatever we have not used and will not use to make room for the motherload of goodness. i also forgot i had table for two, so i am going to rediscover that and start planning for the post-thanksgiving dinner blitz.i had planned on baking cookies tomorrow to surprise my niece but i forgot after tonight i won't see her again until tuesday and they won't be nearly as rad by then. since the plastic bag from the market ripped, the chocolate chips spilled into my greenbag. she knew about it and grabbed my bag and went into the other room and fished out the stragglers and ate them all up. then she came back while i was transferring them to a container and kept trying to get her chip on. there's definitely going to be a cookie party tonight!


*bring yr own chips

that's the way we get by

 

always bet on black, though on occasion i will indulge in some herb.

these are my towers of tea on my desk at work. they build me up when i am down, or something. i constructed quite the craziness by hitting it a bit too hard today but it was entertaining for most, so i don't mind.

p.s.
i hear baking soda will work to remove tea stains. i hope so. i dutifully scrub out my charity folks mug every day but i have a bit of a ring around the rim still, arrgh.

blue light special

countdown to cooking is on. i can't wait to get back into the swing of things and make food fun again. after i got off the computer last night, i saw my cookbooks were still in my greenbag. i wanted to refold it and put it back in my purse so i would have it for any on-the-fly shopping i might do at lunch or whenever else i am out.

i couldn't resist looking at my cookbooks even though i was already about half an hour past bed time. i started reading 'nomicon and got really excited to use it soon. then i started in with the joy and really got carried away with that one. since i am probably making the seitan roulade and a veggie side for my aunt's house i thought i should give up on making a dessert for thanksgiving. i did decide i would make another smaller simpler recipe on sunday just to get a jumpstart. i am going to try the mint chocolate chip cookies which are probably really easy but i only care that they are really good.

i ended up putting the books down around 12:30 or so, which was bad since i needed to be at work at 5 this morning. i didn't get quite as much sleep as i had hoped and "had to" swig the last of my wild turkey 101 to get on the way to dreamland. it worked.

thanks to a co-worker bringing in a chai for me this morning, and thanks to me, continuing to drink my usual four cups of tea on top of that, i was running wired for most of the day. by the time lunch rolled around i was out of control and making my friend take ridiculous pictures of me at the gas station and kmart and anywhere else. part of the reason for many a photo op today was because it was the first time i wore my waterloo t-shirt (atx reprazent!) and also because this stuff had to be documented.

say what you want about kmart, but i did score the anchor 11 pc. oven basics baking and prep set for $14.99. It's ten bucks more at amazon, not including shipping. they had another set that was less pieces for more money but it had a covered casserole i was eyeballing. i went for the better deal but in the process i got confused and thought i needed to buy a pie plate so i did, and now i have two- one deep and one regular. i will just keep it because by the time we go back, we will spend more on gas than i did on the plate, $2.99. plus i think we have a covered casserole lying around somewhere.

i got home from work and rested up a bit before we made the long haul to whole foods to get ready for the best thanksgiving ever. unfortunately there were no vegan fabe's pumpkin pies, so we will have to do the frozen ones. there was plenty of soyatoo thank goodness. as for the entrees, i couldn't find a few of the items but found other things that should work just as well. i had to make myself not by "regular" market stuff there but i am a ho for whole foods i guess. i am going to do another check but i think i got all of the "special" ingredients i needed. i got some canned pumpkin just in case so maybe i will make cupcakes or bread or something else.

tomorrow should finish up the shopping and the kitchen will be open again.

the usual suspects

 

out of this line up, can you identify the item that is sure to be in highest demand one week from today? well can you?

p.s. yes i hastily posed all the veg items next to each other before photographing the fridge. apparently my blog's "catchy" feature will be a photo of some sort of comestible?

cuckoo for coupons (and caprons)

today was the second time i was sucked into the borders rewards vortex, or the call of the coupons, or whatever you would like to call it. the first time was about three weeks ago.

i had a coupon for 20% off and i was pinching pennies as i was due to go on vacation very soon. i thought i would go buy the new thurston moore so i could "study" before the show on the following tuesday. back in the day i was all about "studying" for shows so i could be prepared...neeeeeeeeerrrrrddd.

i was on a mission. i got to the store and found the cd right away. i had never purchased music there before and did not know you could scan the barcode of the cd and hear song samples, rad! i "sampled" thurston moore even though i knew i was going to buy it. i also looked around to find more sounds to sample in order to make the most of my 20% off. spend more to save more, nope, still doesn't make sense. i stumbled upon a 2 for $22 section where i could only really find one that i wanted, even then it was just to replace a cd that had been through the wringer. i kept trying to find another one but couldn't talk myself into it, so i ended up spending almost two hours in the store and walking out with nothing, which is amazing.

today i had another coupon and a hankering for a cookbook. it was for 30% off with a $10.00 purchase. i figured i would get the discount on the cookbook and then get another fun book in the ten dollar range, sounds good, right?

i find the cookbooks as well as an associate who asks if i need help. do i, the girl who cut her teeth on the library of congress cataloging system need help navigating your bookstore? surely you jest.

playing it cool, i ask about the categories. before she could point, i already spy "vegetarian" out of the corner of my eye. i felt like the scene in clerks with the "new releases" sign glaring at me. i start looking for my book but the category sign is actually off by a row so i am looking in the wrong spot, which i would have noticed after trying to find the alpha author, but of course ms. helpful comes and tells me i need to move over about three feet to find what i want. thankfully. i see it, right away, veganomicon.

i pluck it from the shelf and make a big show to let her know i found what i needed and i am not an idiot and she can go help some other poor soul now. maybe if your shelves were as well organized as YRL's I would have found it right away, kidding! the funny part is i have never bought a cookbook in a bookstore. i have lots from thrift stores, yard sales, online shoppings and gifts, but i have never really looked for one until today.

i was somewhat overwhelmed by the 'nomicon so i started looking for something a little less intense to ease my way back into the kitchen. i must have spent almost two hours there, but this time i did not leave emptyhanded. i succumbed to the power of the 'nomicon and also picked up the joy of vegan cooking which is going to change my life forever, at least i hope it will. there are so many promising pages that i can't wait to dig into. results and recipes to follow!


p.s. i am going to need a capron really soon if this keeps up.

snack time!

 

this has been my fave afterschool snack of the season, but i think pumpkie pie with soyatoo might overtake it very soon..

p.s. this was my very first "blog this!" post c/o picasa2

forecast is 180 degrees

when i leave for work in the morning i want a big coat and mittens and not to slip on the sidewalk. when i leave work i change to flip flops and whatever is under my sweater and still am hot till i get home, dodging bees all along the way.

i was so excited to commit to sweaters, but weather is not permitting just yet. i feel i may have jinxed myself last week during my sweater splurge at ross (4 sweaters for $47.37!). it's too early for sweatering. cardigans till christmas perhaps?

your dreams were your ticket out

gabe kaplan can you hear me? my return from austin was a return to the "old" me in a lot of ways. for whatever reason, the really rad chick i am, was hiding under someone else for approximately six to seven years. maybe she broke a mirror or committed a misdemeanor? who knows?

anyhow, i do believe, ladies and gentlemen, i am back.

as wonderful as my trip was-the people, the places, the rocking and the rolling, in a lot of ways it was also a personal journey, awww. it was like i went back in time to catch up with myself so i would remember to have a future that begins now. i think i ran into michael j. fox at the mohawk show.

i was reminded of three things. 1. i am awesome 2. my friends are awesome 3. together we are the awesomest

i am so ready to get back on track about school and cooking and making an effort to be hot(ter) and get back into circulation. i just sort of let all that fall by the wayside for no good reason at all. it's only as tough as you make it, so none of those should be too difficult, school would pose the greatest challenge, but i know i can crush it if i am eating well and feeling great (go confidence!). i haven't put any timelines or "real" pressure on myself yet but i know i most definitely need to get back in gear.

dear me, you are awesome, never forget that again or i will smack you. xo, me