The True and Tall Tales of my Fantastic and Brilliant Life

New Blog!

2010-03-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

Here's the link to my brand-spanking new blog! It's still a work-in progress!

New Blog Coming Soon!

2010-03-08T21:35:00.002-05:00

I admit it...I've been a real slacker the past 6 months--at least with blogging! My baby girl, Emma Claire, born August 30, has been keeping me super busy though! I plan on starting fresh with a brand-spanking new blog. My blog will most likely focus on holistic living and parenting. Once I get it set up, I will link back here so those of you who are interested can follow my new blog! Until then, here's a photo of my baby bear!

Our Newest Addition

2009-07-08T15:16:00.002-05:00

No, the baby hasn't arrived yet! We still have 6 1/2 weeks until she's due! This is Oreo, our new kitten. Isn't he cute? He's probably around 3 months old or so. Eric's coworker's daughter found a litter of kittens in the woods and so Eric brought one home! We figure it's good practice for Norton and Pumpkin. This way by the time the baby comes, they will be used to sharing us! Norton adores Oreo and Pumpkin is slowly getting used to him. I wouldn't say that Pumpkin likes Oreo but she's tolerating him...some of the time! Oreo has not yet learned to be afraid of Pumpkin. She attacks him and he attacks back! It's pretty funny.

Random Photos with the New Camera

2009-05-26T15:07:00.004-05:00

Norton in Sprout's room
Notice the lovely paint job by Eric (romantic pink!) and new carpet.

Pumpkin and Norton relaxing on the couch

Sick Day

2009-05-26T13:20:00.002-05:00

It's been almost 2 months since I've blogged. I really do need to catch up and I figure today is a good day to start as I'm home with bronchitis. It's not fun!

Lately, we've been busy doing work around the house (new carpets and windows in our room and Sprout's) and getting ready for the baby. Yesterday, we decided to do some Memorial Day shopping and we came home with 2 new a/c units for the bedrooms, along with a video camera and a new digital camera.

So my old camera, a 2 1/2 year old Canon Powershot, was good to me at first--until I dropped it. It still works but it's gotten to be slower and I had realized that with the new baby on her way, our digital photography needs had changed and we needed a DSLR.

I had my heart set on a Canon Rebel. I know so many people who have the Rebel and love it! However, after doing some research and shopping around, we ended up going with a Sony Alpha A200k. I knew it was a possibility that we would purchase something other than the Rebel, but I didn't expect to purchase a Sony. But we got a great deal on the camera and it gets excellent reviews. So far, so good. I'll have to upload some photos when I get a chance.

It's a Girl!

2009-04-05T19:15:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday we had our big ultrasound. Everything went great. Baby was measuring about 10 ounces already and looks like it has all of it's parts! And the most exciting news?!?! Even though I was sooo convinced we were having a boy, it's a girl! The tech said she was 99% sure that we're having a girl! We're just thrilled. Of course we would have been happy either way but every mother wants a little girl! And we're not 100% sure yet, but right now we're thinking of calling her Emma Claire. Emma because we like it and Claire for Eric's grandmother who passed away a number of years ago.

Good Eats in Philly

2009-03-27T11:17:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday Eric and I were visiting a friend in the hospital in Philadelphia. After the visit with our friend, we had dinner at Horizons, a gourmet vegan restaurant, right by South Street. One word--yum! Everything was delicious! We started with the Viatnamese bruschetta and barbeque seitan. So good! For dinner we shared a couple of dishes--a platter with different kinds of mushrooms, stuffed and unstuffed and crispy tofu with hearts of palm crepes and chickpea curry. I couldn't recommend this place highly enough if you have plans to be in Philly!

Baby Stuff!

2009-03-08T21:16:00.002-05:00

Since finding out that I was pregnant back in mid-December, my brain has been consumed with all baby stuff all the time! Lately, I've been kind of obsessed with craigslist! I've gotten some amazing deals on there! 13 pieces of maternity clothes for less than $40. Then a few days later, I got a beautiful wooden $185 rocking horse for $35 bucks. I'm hoping to find a rocker/glider for a good price next!

I've also been scouring lots of websites for good deals on cloth diapers. Yes, we're cloth diapering. And they are not your cloth diapers of years ago with rubber pants and diaper pins. We've already gotten some super cute ones--veggies and farm animals and Dr. Seuss. Look at some of these diapers. How cute are they?

On March 28th, we have our big ultrasound. Hopefully, Lil' Sprout cooperates and we can tell if Baby is a boy or a girl! Our bets are on boy but who knows, really? We'll be delighted either way! If it is a boy, one of my first grade students suggested the name Indiana Jones. Eric really liked that name too!

We spent the weekend baby furniture shopping. We think we found something we like but we're going to wait a little longer to order. The room needs new carpeting and a paint job first before we bring furniture in!

Our Big Secret

2009-02-18T20:08:00.002-05:00

So I have an excuse for my lack of frequent blog posts these past few months. Can you guess what it is? I'm pregnant! Eric and I are so excited! The baby is due August 24th. These past couple months, I've had hardly any energy. I come home from work, lay on the couch and eat take-out most nights these days. Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm hoping the energy comes back!

A Bucket List

2009-02-15T15:52:00.002-05:00

I stole this list from Jenn's blog because it looked like a good time-waster for a Sunday afternoon.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Does Rock Band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and Disneyworld too!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I rode in a gondola in Vegas though!)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I have seen it from the outside, just never been inside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (no way!)
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Puppy Bowl V

2009-02-01T19:01:00.003-05:00

Well, Eric is in his glory right now watching the big game. But I was happy to watch another big game earlier in the day.

Puppy Bowl V. Last year was the first time I had even heard of the Puppy Bowl and I made sure we watched it on the commercials. But this year we found out that the show would be on from 3--5 and then repeating itself for the rest of the day. So we watched it as a sort of pre-game I guess you could say.

It was so cute. If you have never seen it, Animal Planet puts on it's on Super Bowl knock-off with lots of cute little shelter puppies. They get to chase each other around a faux field, play with toys and score touchdowns. The half-time show was kitties!

This years MVP was Matilda, a beagle. She scored a lot of touchdowns. I saw a few puppies I'd like to bring home but Eric said no.

Here's Elvira. She was one of my favorites!

Early Valentines Day Gift

2009-01-24T10:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I received an early Valentine's Day gift in the mail. The tag on the gift was not filled out but I correctly guessed that the gift was from my hubby! Eric sent me a box of vegan chocolates from Farm Sanctuary! They are amazing. The chocolates are actually from Rose City Chocolates in Boonton, NJ, not too far from where we live. I think the chocolate will be gone way before Valentine's Day though...

Susan and Timmy's Wedding

2009-01-19T19:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the wedding of very good friends of ours. Susan made a beautiful bride and they were both so happy. We are so happy for them and wish them all the best! Here are some pictures of their big day!

Cake Cutting!

McKenzie, Susan and I

Greg, McKenzie, Timmy, Susan, Me and Eric

Baby Pics!

2009-01-19T19:16:00.003-05:00

I have not blogged in such a long time. I've been thinking about it but things have just been hectic and I've just not had anything to blog about! But I thought I would post some pics from the holidays. The first one is of my niece, Kayla, and my cousin's son, Vincent. They are almost a year old already! Time flies!

And here's Kayla with the Curious George jack-in-the-box we gave her!

Pizza Night and Brunch!

2008-12-14T11:43:00.004-05:00

We had some friends over this weekend for an overnight so that gave me the opportunity to create pizzas--and brunch in the morning! What fun!

So last night we made a couple pizzas with our vegan cheeses we got from Pangea the other day. First, I made the dough with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer using the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. The pizza sauce came out of a can! The first pizza was to be a buffalo tempeh pizza! So we used Katie's recipe for the tempeh. However, the sauce was altered a bit. We like it spicy so used 4 T of margarine, 4 T of hot sauce and 1 T of agave. While the tempeh was bakin', we sauteed up some red onions and crimini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms for the 2nd pizza. So our first pizza was mozzarella teese and blue sheese with pizza sauce and buffalo tempeh and the second one was just the sauce, mozz and mushroom combination. Both pizzas had an awesome thin crust. Definitely the best pizzas I've made yet. We ate every last crumb of both pizzas!

Here's Eric enjoying a slice of the 'shroom pizza!

This morning, while Eric and our friends were still sound asleep, I woke up bright and early to make Tofu Florentine from Veganomicon! It involved home fries, broiled tofu and cheezy sauce, toast and steamed spinach. It was some breakfast! Sorry for the crappy picture but here it is.

Wintry Weather Yumminess

2008-12-11T11:39:00.004-05:00

(Dr. Cow cheeses courtesy of Vegnews)

I'm not really delighted about this rain/snow/sleet/ice we're getting today into tonight into tomorrow. But in case, I am stuck at home tomorrow, at least, I've got plenty to munch on!

I love Silk Nog! Have you tried it? It's 90 calories per half cup, so instead of drinking it by the glassful, I use it as coffee creamer with my winter coffee beans. Yum! It's the perfect thing to wake me up in the mornings! (Even though, I'm not really up in the mornings until I arrive at work after an hour drive! I HATE leaving my house in the dark of morning!)

I ordered a few different things I've been eager to try from Pangea a couple days ago! Wow, and fast delivery! I placed the order on Tuesday and it arrived on Wednesday! How cool is that? I'd been eager to try some different vegan cheeses that aren't even available at Whole Foods! So a log of Teese mozzerella, a wheel of Sheese blue cheese and a tiny little hunk of Dr. Cow raw cashew cheese. The only one I've tried as of yet is the Dr. Cow cheese.

And. Wow. Everything I've read about this cheese was correct! Yes, it's expensive and I only got 3 ounces. But it was awesome. Aged goodness. I could have eaten the whole three ounces. But I restrained myself.

We're planning on doing good things with the blue cheese. A buffalo pizza with tempeh and blue cheese. Yummy! And we'll use the Teese for pizza as well.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with Follow Your Heart soy cheeses. I think they are tasty eaten raw or melted. But it's nice to have other options!

Look Who's Vegan

2008-12-05T08:37:00.003-05:00

Eric brought me home a Rachael Ray magazine last week and the last page featured rocker Bryan Adams. I was surprised to find out that Adams has been a vegan for the past 20 years. He ate completely raw for one year and now tries to eat 50% raw. Wow, look at him! Now, thats a picture of good health. Adams most certainly does not look like he's 49 to me!

Here's a link to his pineapple-ginger juice recipe.

Ah Craziness

2008-12-04T23:10:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month. Things have just been crazy. I haven't uploaded pics from my camera in a gazillion years! I need to write a blog posting, a real blog posting! I just wanted to post this message to let my readers know that I am still alive! I promise you a better posting--and soon!

Yes, We Can!!!

2008-11-04T23:15:00.002-05:00

We did it! Go Obama--our next president!

Anxiously Waiting

2008-11-04T19:32:00.002-05:00

Hope everybody voted today! Now I'm glued to CNN waiting for results.

Starbucks was giving out free coffee today if you told them you voted. I took advantage of that offer at two different locations.

Election

2008-10-20T20:34:00.002-05:00

With the election in two weeks and a day, it's hard to focus on anything else--even if you're a first grader. Our students will also "vote" for a new president as part of a schools-wide election. When I asked one of my first graders who he would vote for, he choose Obama, of course. I asked him why he would like to vote for Obama and here is the short of it.

"He's brown and has a man helper."

I just thought it was pretty funny.

Electric Orange

2008-10-14T18:39:00.002-05:00

Did I mention how much I love my new juicer? Since I've started juicing this weekend, I've made several different kinds of juices and smoothies. Here's what I made for my after-dinner snack and it'll be my breakfast tomorrow too. The juice came out bright orange and it's vibrantly sweet.

Electric Orange juice
2 servings

6 carrots
1 orange
1 apple

Juice the carrots with the orange and apple! That's it!

My apologies

2008-10-12T18:41:00.003-05:00

My apologies for my recent lack of blogging! The last month has been very hectic! I meant to blog about the corn maze we took Norton to but that hasn't happened yet. I would have had a great blog post because we almost went to a rally in Scranton, Pa today with the Bidens and the Clintons! But Eric and I were both feeling a bit under the weather so we opted to stay home and relax today.

Last weekend, we celebrated my thirtieth birthday! Woo hoo! We partied with friends on my actual birthday and the following day, Eric took me to New York to see Mamma Mia and have dinner at Candle 79. The show was great and dinner was amazing.

Yesterday, we used up some of our wedding gift cards to buy a Breville juicer. So we spent our lazy Sunday making juice, napping, and making matzah ball soup.

I owe you guys a real blog post one of these days with actual photos and all. Excuse my laziness as of late.

Watch out for 'em hot peppers!

2008-09-14T14:58:00.002-05:00

I should be blogging about what could have been an awesome salad, all put together without the help of a recipe. It was black beans and fresh corn, tomatoes and green bell pepper, avocados too. Some garlic and onion and why not a small red hot pepper for a little spice? As my salad was just about ready to be dressed, my face started feeling hot. And it was red. My nose was burning and my lips too. Then my face got swollen a bit and the splotchy red started to appear on other parts of my body, my shoulder and my hand. I had to send Eric out to get me some Benadryl so I could get some relief. I washed my face and used my Neti pot to get rid of some of those spicy irritants! I drank some ricemilk too.

Unfortunately, I had to throw the entire salad away. With all of that spice of one small pepper, not only did it taste like fire, but it wasn't worth dying.

I don't even know what kind of pepper it is. It came in a box of assorted hot peppers from the farmer market. I think the whole container has to go in the trash now.

My hands still feel hot but I'm definitely feeling better than I was--

Thanks to my darling hubby who, while on a quest for Benadryl, brought me home some Purely Decadent ice cream.

How we spent our Labor Day weekend

2008-09-01T20:37:00.003-05:00

Around the middle of last week, upon realizing that Eric and I had no plans at all during our upcoming three day weekend, I suggested we spend that time painting our bedroom. Though not a fun chore, we decided it was the only time in the near future that we had to undertake this job. No sooner than we had started collecting paint samples did the bbq and other party invitations start rolling in. We were invited to three barbeques and (I to) one shopping excursion. Unfortunately, we missed all but one of those events (and that was only because the party was walking distance away)!

We painted our bedroom a Martha Stewart color called "Mixing Pot." It reminds me of a buttercream. It really is a pretty color and it's a nice change from the aqua that was on our walls and ceiling before that! After putting our bedroom back together today, we set up our new duvet and other bedding accessories which we received as shower gifts back in May. As Eric stated earlier this evening, now our bed looks like a hotel room bed!

Now summer really has come to an end...back to school tomorrow for me!

McCain's Dangerous Choice

2008-08-30T17:12:00.002-05:00

Anybody see Obama's acceptance speech the other night? I thought it was amazing. I was riveted to that tv taking in every word he spoke.

Friday morning, I was shaking my head in disgust when McCain introduced his running mate.

Today I got this email from Move On which I found to be very informative. I'm cutting and pasting the info below.

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.¹
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.²
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. ³
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.⁴
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.⁵
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.⁶
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.⁷

This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.

We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=1

3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=2

4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=3

5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=4

6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=5

"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=6

"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=7

7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-10389487-obf5gyx&t=8

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Casserole

2008-08-26T17:51:00.004-05:00

Today, I spent the morning getting my classroom organized for next week and the afternoon trying to organize my house. Norton's girlfriend Zoe also spent the afternoon at our house. See?

They spent the afternoon wrestling, drinking water and playing tug of war with Norton's stuffed squirrel (which they later destroyed).

Dinner had to be something easy so I could keep an eye on the pups. So I decided to be creative and throw together a casserole. I tossed some fresh green beans with a can of whole tomatoes and some spices--garlic, oregano, basil and parsley. I added an onion cut into wedges. Unfortunately I had no fresh herbs--and am all out of fresh garlic! Boo! Everything went in the toaster oven on 400 degrees. I added the lentils when they were done and some leftover brown rice from the other day. I realized my casserole had too much liquid so I scooped some of the tomato juice out. A little sugar in the raw to sweeten the sauce came next, then a generous splash of ricemilk to lighten the sauce. Lastly, I added some shredded Follow Your Heart mozzerella and upped the temp to 450. I guess everything cooked all in all for about an hour. It was tasty! I think my casserole would have been awesome with some roasted garlic, maybe some mushrooms too. Trust me, it tasted a lot better than it looks in the photo!

The Vegan's Hundred

2008-08-25T17:35:00.005-05:00

Hannah came up with this list of 100 things that a vegan (or nonvegan!) should eat in his or her lifetime. It's a pretty cool concept and it is based on The Omnivore's Hundred. So here are the instructions if you'd like to participate. However, each of these food items needs to be the vegan version.

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich (can't figure out how to cross out on blogger, but NEVER, not a fan of PB)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

Veg Honeymoon Awesomeness

2008-08-25T15:09:00.005-05:00

So Eric decided that for the length of our honeymoon, he would keep vegetarian. I don't think he really looked at it as a sacrifice even though he is an omnivore. After all, the Northwest is very vegetarian-friendly and we ate at some amazing vegetarian/vegan restaurants! So I didn't take photos of them all but here were the highlights of where we ate.

First stop was Portland, Oregon. What a great city! We loved it here. Portland is a compact and really friendly city, a town that attracts all sorts of people from hikers to bikers to dog lovers to vegans! Yes, a vegan-friendly city. Portland is the home of the world's first vegan mini-mall. This mini-mall is home to Food Fight, an all vegan grocery, along with Herbivore, a vegan clothing store, a tattoo artist who only uses vegan inks, and Sweet Pea, a yummy vegan bakery. We visited all of the above (with the exception of the tattoo artist). We shared a yummy cookie at Sweet Pea and bought a couple things at Food Fight. Would have bought most of the store if we didn't need to worry about stuffing it all into already-overstuffed suitcases! I thought their sign was so funny! Can you read what it says on the door?

We had dinner at Blossoming Lotus on our first day in Portland. Though it just looks like a tiny cafe in a yoga center, they actually have amazing food! All vegan and lots of it is raw too. Even vegan soft-serve! We had some amazing raw chilled avocado soup here.

Lunch on day #2 was at Karam, a Lebanese restaurant. We had lunch here with Eric's former coworker who moved out to Portland a couple years ago. This was a good place to eat and veg. friendly.

We had to make reservations to get a table at Andina, a lively Peruvian restaurant. Neither one of us had ever eaten Peruvian before and we were eager to try it. The food was amazing! Plus the restaurant has a separate vegetarian menu with several vegan options.

Another Portland favorite was the Vita Cafe, a mostly vegetarian diner-like restaurant. Here we had some awesome "buffalo wings," and I had a tempeh reuben. I think Eric had the seitan cheesesteak. Oh, and their vegan caesar salad rocked too.

We stopped into Veganopolis for a vegan milkshake. Veganopolis is a vegan cafeteria/restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn't get to try anything else there though.

Next stop: Seattle! Our first night here, we walked 1 mile (uphill!) to Carmelita's , a great vegetarian Mediterranean restaurant. Food here was great and they had a lovely patio which we ate on.

The next day we had dinner at Vegetarian Bistro, an Asian restaurant in Chinatown. We very much enjoyed the food here. The "Mongolian beef" reminded me of pepper steak, an old favorite from my pre-vegetarian days (many, many years ago)! Tofu with mushrooms was tasty and how often can a vegetarian/vegan order the won ton soup at a Chinese restaurant?

Our favorite Seattle restaurant, hands-down, had to be Cafe Flora. According to their website, "Cafe Flora's award winning menu features modern and sophisticated vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free cuisine that is inspired by international culinary traditions and created with local, organic and sustainable ingredients." In fact, we liked it here so much that we ate here twice! Loved the vegan caesar salad and the vegan portobella french dip. The Thai skewers were pretty good too. Eric had some tacos that he really liked here and some tasty coconut tofu with lime sauce.

Before heading North to the Cascades, we had lunch with Betty Tisdale at Tamarind Tree, a Vietnamese restaurant. I haven't eaten a whole lot of Vietnamese food before, but boy, was it tasty!

I'm skipping ahead to Vancouver now because there isn't much to say for anything we ate on the road or in the Cascades region. However, we did stop at a farm stand for some fresh berries. Ever hear of Cascadian Farm? You've probably seen their organic products in the supermarket. We had some fresh blueberries and I had a soy smoothie from their stand.

We loved Vancouver, but I can't say the restaurants we ate at were all that remarkable. We had some good Indian food and enjoyed Hell's Kitchen. The Szechuan green beans were tasty and we liked their thin crust pizzas (mine was without cheese) and beer selection.

Our last stop, Victoria, had a great selection of vegetarian restaurants. We ate at Rebar on our first night here. This was a delicious choice!

After our whale watching excursion the next day, we ate lunch at Green Cuisine's extensive and all-vegan buffet! Wow! Of course, when you are paying by the pound, it comes out to be tres expensive too! But worth it!

We decided to do take-out for dinner after a long, exhausting day! Vegan pizza from The Joint Pizzeria!

Be sure to check Eric's blog for his writeup of wine and beer tasting!

Honeymoon Pics!

2008-08-22T22:28:00.003-05:00

A mere five miles from Mount St. Helen's

Okay, so I took most of the photos, and then Eric made the nifty slideshow on his laptop...then I spent hours uploading everything to Snapfish...well, these aren't all of them. We DID take 1000 photos or so. Here's 100 of our favorites from Portland to Seattle to Vancouver and Victoria. Enjoy!

We're home!

2008-08-18T18:36:00.006-05:00

We're home from our honeymoon! Had an amazing time! I have lots to blog about but in the meantime, here's a couple more wedding pics...

Mr. and Mrs. Strauss!!!

Eric and the Oakland Raiders garter!

With my cousins--Laurie, Kirsten (girlfriend of cousin) and Andrea, one of my bridesmaids

Day One of Honeymoon

2008-08-11T11:51:00.002-05:00

Here's a photo of us from the first day of our honeymoon. We drove the historic Columbia River Gorge Byway and saw lots of cool falls and Mount Hood too! We've got tons to blog about like amazing sites and wonderful restaurants but here's a teaser for now...

One Week Anniversary

2008-08-11T01:40:00.005-05:00

Well, today is our one week anniversary. Yup, we're officially married. Everything went wonderfully and almost all as planned! We're enjoying our honeymoon and will be posting pics when we have time! Portland was wonderful and tonight is our last night in Seattle.

Anyway, here's a photo from Josh Lynn, our amazing photographer. There's a few more here. Jenn posted some photos on her blog too...

An Award!

2008-07-29T07:59:00.003-05:00

Ve*ganChick has awarded me this awesome award. Thank you so much; I am really honored! Ve*ganChick is another soon to be bride! She is getting married August 8th (I think). So now I must nominate seven others for this award.

These are the rules for the people I am awarding:

*Put the logo on your blog.

*Add a link to the person who awarded you.

*Nominate at least seven other blogs.

*Add links to those blogs on your blog.

*Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

Drumroll please! Envelope? Here are the nominees!

Jess of Jesser

Jennifer of the adventures of miss president

Michelle at What Does your body good?

Avery at Commune Tested, City Approved

Alice of Alice in Veganland

Veggie at so what do vegetarians eat anyway?

Dynise at the urban vegan

So Eric and I are getting hitched in five days. I'm not really stressed or nervous. I'm excited for the wedding and for our honeymoon! Now it's time to start packing!

My New Rice Cooker

2008-07-24T08:50:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Eric and I received a package in the mail. It was a wedding gift from a friend of Eric's father. He sent us a rice cooker! I never thought I needed a rice cooker until a few months ago when I heard about this one.

Our rice cooker is a Zojirushi model. Yes, it's Japanese. The coolest thing is this--it uses "fuzzy logic." That means it changes the temperature automatically in order to cook the perfect rice. It constantly adjusts and then it's done when it sings a song. Really. It plays songs in midi-type format. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star when it starts and some other song when it's done. It's so cute! And it makes good rice! I'm trying my hand at steel cut oats this morning.

My mother would probably tell me that I'm bringing bad luck upon myself by using a wedding gift before the wedding. But I don't care! I am using it anyway!

The Bachelorette

2008-07-21T09:58:00.004-05:00

Yup, that's me with the goofy hat. Last Saturday was my bachelorette party. We had so much fun!!! Eight of us girls took a limo into New York, and let me tell you, the limo ride alone was half the fun! By the time we got to where we were going, we were all pretty buzzed!

We met three more friends at Lucky Cheng's for dinner, drinks and fun with drag queens. After dinner, we sang karaoke with a live band. It was awesome, but a lot more difficult than traditional karaoke.

Here's another fun photo. This is after the drag queens pushed my face into the cake.
We're now 13 days away from the big day, which explains my very infrequent postings! But we're almost there. The wedding plans are just about complete--we're now enjoying the process of planning the honeymoon! Eric and I are looking forward to exploring the Pacific Northwest including all of the awesome vegetarian restaurants!

26 Days

2008-07-08T10:21:00.002-05:00

I have photos on my camera of things I'd like to blog about--like the best foccacia bread ever. Yes I baked it, and that's according to my family. Or my cute as anything niece Kayla who is five months old now.

I'm not working but I'm crazy busy. Yes, 26 days until the big day. That means most of my time is spent making phone calls to vendors, ordering last minute gifts and other things. I can't believe how fast it's coming up. I've got so much to do and I'm really trying to be very organized about everything which is not my nature.

So I hope all of you can forgive my infrequent bloggings as of lately. Things will get calmer around here after the wedding or so I hope.

Vegan Comfort Food

2008-07-01T21:01:00.004-05:00

You know you're a tree-lovin' hippie when your idea of comfort food is not mashed potatoes with loads of gravy but quinoa with stir-fried greens and garlic, some tamari roasted chickpeas and miso tahini sauce. Now that's good stuff! I finally got around to making the chickpeas from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and they certainly did not disappoint! Today I discovered they are awesome on salad too!

Yesterday, I made the nearly-instant Thai coconut corn soup from Vegan Express. To be honest, I thought it was just okay until I had a bowl for breakfast this morning. I think by today, the flavors had really meshed together and it was simply delicious!

Week Gone By

2008-06-28T08:36:00.003-05:00

Well, the first week of summer break has flown by. Much of the time was spent at home doing stuff around the house. Norton and Pumpkin like to hang out on the deck when they have nothing else to do.

It was a busy week too though. Tuesday, I went with my dad to see Ringo Starr and the All-Star Band. They are amazing to see if you ever have the opportunity. Great, great show. I loved when they did Yellow Submarine!

Thursday, Eric and I had a two hour meeting with the dj down in Red Bank to finalize music choices for the wedding. After our meeting, we had lunch at No Joe's Cafe, a coffee house with a menu. I was a bit disappointed with what I ordered. I settled on the grilled veggie salad--the menu description reads an array of fresh, grilled vegetables served over greens with a sesame ginger vinaigrette. Well my salad was lettuce, grilled yellow squash and sprouts. It was fine, but I wouldn't call yellow squash an array of grilled vegetables. But it was okay, because I wanted to save my appetite for a smoothie anyway. We went to Smoothie King next and I had a fabulous smoothie with mango, papaya, soy protein and other fruits. It was delicious!

After smoothies, I headed up to David's Bridal for my first fitting. Woo hoo! The dress was huge! It needs to be taken in a whole size! I guess that is what happens when you lose 20 pounds before your wedding!

Wednesday night, I made Ethiopian lentils. We love our Ethiopian lentils! It's a cold lentil salad with a chopped jalapeño, onion, parsley and the dressing is dijon mustard and lemon juice (or vinegar). I love this salad and I ate it in wraps all week. Sorry, I took pictures but they didn't come out good for some reason.

Last night, my cousin came over for dinner with her baby. Vincent is now four months old and is getting so big. He's such a cutie! We had a yummy dinner--a big salad with miso-tahini dressing (dressing from VCon), buffalo tofu, zucchini chips and steak fries. I attempted to make the peach upside down cake from Fat Free Vegan with my huge supply of plums, but I sort of screwed up on little part and we ended up with a very tasty plum cake trifle.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Meme!

2008-06-24T11:03:00.004-05:00

I've been seeing this meme on lots of blogs lately and after seeing it on Bianca's, I decided to do it. She tagged anybody who prefers cooking to baking, and though I enjoy baking, I'm definitely more of a cook than a baker! So here goes!

What were you doing five years ago?

I was getting ready to go on a cross-country 31 day road trip! I was living in a crappy apartment in Belleville with my ex and my cat, Pumpkin.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?

1) Take a shower.
2) Go with my dad to my grandparents' graves.
3) Have dinner with my dad.
4) Go see Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall with my dad!
5) Play video games with Eric! (yeah, it's a good day.)

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1) So Delicious Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches
2) Anything dark chocolate
3) Anything with hummus
4) Popcorn with cardamom, cinnamon and sugar with some Earth Balance--yum!
5) Pita chips

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1) Pay off debt.
2) Travel the world.
3) Start an animal sanctuary.
4) Buy a Vespa for me.
5) Buy a boat for Eric.

What are five of your bad habits?

1) I am very disorganized.
2) I've become very lazy and haven't been working out lately. That needs to change.
3) I spend too much time obsessing over food (just like Bianca).
4) I'm not good with money.
5) I have a bit of an addictive personality.

What are five places where you have lived?

1) Fords, NJ
2) South Plainfield, NJ
3) Long Branch, NJ
4) Montclair, NJ
5) Byram, NJ

(I know. I'm boring. I've never lived out of state.)

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1) File clerk for a doctor
2) Waitress at Red Lobster
3) Box office sales and concession cashier at movie theatre
4) Collector for disgraceful law firm that bought out people's debts and collected tons of interest
5) Teacher

Tag! You're it if you ...

1) Have a crazy mutt.
2) Have purple hair.
3) Actually like rodents.
4) Know what lychees are.
5) Drive a Vespa.

Just copy this survey into your blog if you meet the above criteria, and don't forget to link back to mine.

Fajitas, Margaritas and Chocolate Soft Ice Cream

2008-06-22T20:41:00.003-05:00

It was a wonderful weekend. This was the first weekend in ages where we didn't have 500 things to do! Friday was my last day of school and it was a happy day! I will miss my third graders who "graduated" and will spend the next four years at the middle school. It's nice to see them grow up in front of my eyes--some of these kids I worked with since the beginning of first grade. But it's sad to see them go.

But now its summer. Saturday morning, Eric and I ran errands. I was eager to check out our local farmer's market now that the season has started. However, there was only one farm stand open. We bought some local blueberries for an astronomical price but did get a good deal on a humongous head of red leaf lettuce! After that, we did our weekly food shopping.

Saturday night, we decided to go with a Mexican theme. I tried out my new cast-iron skillet and made portobello mushroom fajitas. They were yummy! First I marinated the mushrooms, onions, and peppers with a spice marinade that I found here. In our fajitas were mushrooms, onions, peppers, avocado slices, tofutti sour cream, and salsa. With our fajitas, we had some brown rice and deliciously spicy pinto beans. I found the recipe on Fat Free Vegan, though I modified it some...the beans came out too liquidy, so I drained some of the liquid, added some cornstarch and extra spices.

After dinner, we had margaritas. I combined fresh lime juice, agave, water, tequila, and shook. Then we drank. Then we drank some more later that evening--wine for me and Bailey's for Eric. We decided to walk over to our friends' home a couple blocks away to play some board games after their four children had gone to bed.

Sunday morning, we met with the rabbi for a final meeting before the wedding, then picked up a couple wedding-related items at the Judaica store, and got Eric fit for his tux. Fun stuff! Then we got to the spend the rest of the day at home--organizing, relaxing, and playing video games. Oh and chasing a mouse. We have a bit of a mouse problem. This was the 6th mouse we've found in over a month. Pumpkin killed the first three. We chased the last three out of the house. Not an easy task, mind you.

Dinner was some of Veganomicon bbq tofu (I cheated and used store bought sauce cause we already had it) and a big salad. Then we decided to use Eric's favorite shower gift that he begged his mother to buy me--a soft ice cream maker. We made some soy chocolate ice cream. It was pretty darn good!

Six weeks and six days

2008-06-16T09:20:00.002-05:00

Yup, that's how long it is until Eric and I tie the knot. We had a very productive weekend as far as the wedding checklist goes. We ordered groomsmen gifts. Check! Ordered yarmulkes for ceremony. Check! Picked up toasting flutes and cake cutting set. Check!

Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my mom and sister. We had lunch at Chipotle, which was very good. Similar to Baja Fresh or Q'doba but everything is fresh! Then we went to see Sex and the City which we all enjoyed.

Saturday night, I made some raviolis I picked up at Whole Foods not too long ago. The brand is Rising Moon organics and we had the artichoke olive flavor, which was also vegan. However, they also have regular cheese ones too. They were delicious and pretty low in calories!

Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with our families. Eric and I took our parents' out to lunch to Krogh's, a local bar and grille with yummy food! They have an awesome bean taco salad, which I love! Plus, its right across from Lake Mohawk, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk after lunch.

After our delicious lunch, we weren't very hungry for dinner Sunday night. So I made the marinated home fries from the Made From Scratch cookbook. I wrote more about that cookbook here. Sorry, no pic but they were delicious. Diced the potatoes, then boiled, then marinated with tamari-oil-mixture with onions, then sauteed with lots of garlic and onions and peppers, topped with FYH soy cheddar. Delicious!

Hummus

2008-06-11T20:48:00.002-05:00

I should first mention that in my previous post, I was being sarcastic when I stated that I love the near 100 degree heat. However, it was nice getting out of school early yesterday because of the intense heat. Today, it was in the upper 80s, hot, but much nicer compared to the last four days!

A couple hours ago, I was contemplating what to bring to work for lunch tomorrow. I decided on a whole wheat bagel out of the freezer. A perfect accompaniment to that bagel would be some hummus. So I pressure-cooked some chickpeas and made Veganomicon's simple and easy hummus recipe.

I have to say that my simple homemade hummus I think totally beats any of the store bought varieties. And, trust me, I've probably tried just about every kind.

Sorry for the lack of photos the last couple posts. I'm lazy!

Hot Hot Hot

2008-06-09T08:14:00.003-05:00

I just love the near 100 degree heat, especially when we've got no air conditioning at home or at school. (Technically, we do have window air conditioners for the bedrooms, but we haven't had time to put them in yet. And, where we live, by the time we go to bed at night, the heat isn't quite as unbearable.) This is the third day of this horrendous heat wave.

On Friday, I decided to try out the indoor grill we got as an engagement gift several months ago. It was easy to use and great fun! I grilled up some chili lime corn, portobello mushrooms, and yellow squash. I will definately be using the grill some more this week!

Note: The photo of the grill came from the Williams-Sonoma website and I doubt those are vegan sausages!

Dog v. Mama Deer

2008-06-04T19:46:00.002-05:00

So Norton was out in the woods doing his business. I was a few yards away keeping an eye on him when I noticed the mama deer and her baby close by.

Well, guess who noticed them at the same time?

Norton decided to go run after the baby fawn.

Mama Deer decided to kick his ass.

I heard a scuffle and some yelps and Norton came back to me running, dirty and disheveled but otherwise okay. I hope he learned his lesson.

Yumminess

2008-05-30T20:45:00.005-05:00

Monday, on our way to see the new Indiana Jones (which we both enjoyed), Eric and I decided to stop at the pool and patio store to look at patio furniture. Well, we ended up purchasing a table and four chairs for our deck at a great price! Since the weather was so nice Monday night, we ended up eating our dinner outside and it was wonderful! I made these tempeh "buffalo" wingz and they were so good!

Tuesday night, I decided to make those spicy Italian vegetarian sausages that everybody's been blogging about! Though it took some time to gather all the spices needed, they were really easy and came out delicious!

Alice got me in the mood to try my hand at paella last night. It came out pretty good! I used basmati rice, some vegetable broth, a can of whole tomatoes, onions, garlic, yellow squash, red and green bell peppers, turmeric, thyme, paprika, saffron and salt and pepper. And I threw a couple of the sausages in there!

Tonight, I decided to crack open Vegan with a Vengeance and try something easy. So I made the garlicky kale with tahini sauce. It was delicious! I threw some white beans in for protein and made a microwaved-baked potato to go with it.

Our New Neighbor

2008-05-30T20:30:00.002-05:00

My house is quiet and peaceful, yet I listen to a symphony of sounds outside my back door. I can hear a multitude of frog calls and crickets too. We've got tree frogs and other kinds of frogs too here.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I had a visitor hanging out in my front yard. It was a painted turtle! Norton's friend, the eight-year-old boy across the street, informed me that it was a painted turtle, and yes, they bite. The turtle didn't stick around that long though! He moved much faster than I expected he would!

My Garden Center Find

2008-05-29T07:20:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, while at the local garden center looking at shrubs, I heard a lot of "talking" coming from the pond. Then I found this guy hanging out in the pond. Not sure if he was a toad or a bullfrog. He was very loud though! And cute!

Five Things

2008-05-28T14:11:00.005-05:00

I've been tagged by both Bianca and Alice (in Veganland) to do this five things meme. I've done this one before but I'll do it again. Here are the rules.

The rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.

2. Share 5 facts about yourself.

3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names, linking to them.

4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. When I was a teenager, our cat Tiger had three litters of kittens. Between each litter, we truly did try to get her fixed, but every time, she would run out of the house and get herself knocked up again! It was so much fun having kittens in our house for a year straight! The first litter was two kittens (though one was stillborn), and the second litter had three kittens. They were born on Christmas Eve so we called them Dancer, Cupid and...Striper! We got to keep Striper after I begged and pleaded and cried. After that, we had five more kittens! Five! But we gave all of those guys away.

2. I was fourteen years old when I came to the realization that I would become a vegetarian one day. In Global Studies class, we saw a video of how some culture (I forget which one) killed a pig. On that day, I gave up pork. A year later, I tried to become a vegetarian by giving up all other kinds of meat and chicken. However, after subsisting on two weeks of salads and nothing else, my mother convinced me to eat chicken and turkey. I really did become a vegetarian five years later--in the frozen foods aisle at Shop Rite! I was a hungry college student, and had the fixings for a turkey sandwich in my basket; turkey, mayo, bread. While perusing the frozen foods section, I was amazed at the selection of vegetarian foods--veggie burritos, veggie burgers, etc. It was then that I realized that becoming vegetarian was feasible. Now, nine years later, I'm on the path to becoming a vegan. I'm almost there!

3. I've always loved to read. When I was a kid and Mom told me "lights out," I'd frequently read by the light of the digital clock! I still love to read but don't have the time to read as often as I wish I could. Because of my short attention span, I'm constantly enthralled in several books at once!

4. I love road trips. I've been to 37 states and can't wait to go to two new ones this summer on our honeymoon to the Pacific West. My longest road trip was on a 31 day drive cross-country. My longest road trip by myself was from NJ to Columbia, Missouri, which was about an eighteen hour trip. On the way home, I even stayed in a hotel by myself which was kind of creepy and kind of exciting.

5. I still don't know what I want to be when I "grow up." I love teaching but I dream about starting an animal sanctuary. Sometimes I dream about staying home all day long with my pets so I can bake yummy vegan treats!

I tag Eric, Jess, Jennifer, Michelle and Veggie.

A Baby!

2008-05-27T21:39:00.002-05:00

Eric and I have a baby! No, it's not what it sounds like. We have a fawn! She looks like Bambi and has been spending a lot of time on our front lawn. Eating grass, sleeping. Norton tried to chase her today and I had to stop him and convince him that she is his little sister.

Isn't she cute?

Happy Shower!!!

2008-05-26T22:41:00.003-05:00

(Photo: my mom, then me, Eric and his mom)

We left the house Saturday mid-morning to attend a high school graduation party--a month before the actual graduation. I suspected it wasn't really a graduation party we were heading to. And, I was right. It was my shower!

My mother and the bridal party held the shower at a nice Italian restaurant and everything was wonderful. It was so nice to see so many of our friends and family. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of great gifts too!

I was exhausted when we got home that night but Eric had one more surprise in store for me. He had a shower gift for me too! Eric bought me five vegan cookbooks--Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan with a Vengeance, The Joy of Vegan Baking, Vegan Italiano and The Asian Vegan Kitchen.

Sunday morning, I tried out the waffles recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking, though varied them by making them cinnamon apple waffles. Later on that morning, I followed the basic chocolate cupcake recipe in VCTOTW but added some chopped up thin mint cookies to make mint chocolate cupcakes to bring over my brother's house for his birthday. Yummy! And I loved using my new mini food processor and KitchenAid stand mixer too!

Cotton Candy and Veggie Heaven

2008-05-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

Today we had our annual carnival at school. The kids love it; there are games, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, and inflatable jumpy things and slides. Us teachers love being outside for hours while the kids run around on sugar highs. For real--one of my third grade female students had twelve cotton candies!!! TWELVE!!! And then we are supposed to teach them all afternoon long after this insanity?

The carnival was set up right outside my classroom so well before 9:00 this morning, the aroma of popcorn was drifting through my windows. So when I finally was able to go outside today at 10:00, I had my morning snack of fresh popcorn (chock ful of coconut oil!) and cotton candy.

After school, I spent a couple hours in Montclair, a great town. I lived there a few years back so it's always nice to go back. My first stop was The Bread Company, a tiny organic bakery blocks from my old apartment. I had only visited this bakery maybe twice in my six months of living in the neighborhood, but I remembered their yummy breads! Well, the woman from the bakery actually remembered me, even though I hadn't been there in at least four years! So most of their breads and sweets are vegan and many are gluten-free as well. After much deliberation, I chose a chocolate ginger treat to bring home to share with Eric for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

After perusing Montclair's great independent bookstore, I decided to have dinner at Veggie Heaven, an all Vegetarian Chinese restaurant that I'd been wanting to try for a while. It did not disappoint--I had tofu with mushrooms and brown rice with a little extra spice and it was delicious!

The real reason for my being in the area was to take a drive to the next town over to pick up our finished wedding invitations. And they came out perfect! I am so pleased and impressed! If you're looking for some custom invitations, check out Hyland Creative Design. Melissa did a wonderful job.

Well, I'm exhausted after my super-long day. But it was a good one!

(I forgot to mention that I sampled some grapefruit at Whole Foods today. I always thought I hated grapefruit. But it was tangy and I liked it! Yay!)

Oprah goes vegan!

2008-05-21T19:10:00.002-05:00

Well, for 21 days, anyway! Oprah is doing a 21 day cleanse, in which she's eliminating all animal products from her diet, along with caffeine, sugar, alcohol and gluten. This cleanse comes out of Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness. Here's what Oprah has to say...

How can you say you're trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?

Read more here at Oprah's blog...also check out Vegan.com's podcasts related to Oprah's challenge...

Indonesian Coconut Rice and Tofu Teriyaki

2008-05-20T17:00:00.002-05:00

Tonight's dinner was simply amazing. I wish I had a better photo for you but Eric borrowed my digital camera today. I made the coconut rice from Vegan.com's top ten list and a simple tofu teriyaki recipe that I found at Whole Food's website and some microwave-steamed broccoli. I'm not sure that I'd make the rice again on a weeknight; it was a little time-consuming throwing all the spices together, but was well worth it! I used jasmine rice instead of the brown rice that the recipe calls for and it came out fabulous.

Last night, we had Vcon's sauteed chickpea cutlets. With it, I thinly sliced half of my giant sweet potato for sweet potato "chips." I had my cutlet with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice; Eric had his on an onion roll with some salad dressing. We enjoyed the cutlets and would certainly make them again!

For those readers who were commenting on the size of my sweet potato, there is nothing wrong with "big and beautiful," however the immense size of the thing makes it a bit too awkward to handle!

On my way back to the kitchen to make more jelly donut cupcakes for work tomorrow.

Saturday in Baltimore

2008-05-18T20:26:00.005-05:00

So Saturday started off kind of sucky. I had to go to the doctor's office for some routine bloodwork. It was not fun. I do not like shots. But the nurse did give me a juice box which was nice!

Then back home for some Mario Kart--I heart Mario Kart! And, then on to our Baltimore outing! Eric got me tickets to see The Swell Season. The Swell Season is really Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova, the musicians who wrote and starred in the movie Once.

So after making the four hour trip to Baltimore, Eric and I had dinner at The Yabba Pot, an international vegan cafe near Johns Hopkins University. The menu features specials, which change daily, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, etc. We both opted to have the royal platter. Between the two of us we had barbequed tofu, amazing brown rice, cabbage stir fry, queen's greens (which was kale, onions, tomatoes and spices), some other spinach curry and black bean chili. The food was delicious and we saved room to split a vegan snickerdoodle cookie afterwards.

The actual concert was held at The Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, an absolutely gorgeous venue with perfect acoustics. Glen and Marketa were amazing together live. Some of Glen's Frames bandmates performed as the back-up band, too.

Long drive home. Stopped a couple times for gas, caffeine, and to fetch Norton from my parents', where he spent the day. We made it home at 4:30 am.

(The photo was not from last night but was of another live show. Photo by Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto.com)

One Big Sweet Potato!

2008-05-15T22:01:00.003-05:00

So today was my organic produce pick up day from Purple Dragon. In our box of goodies was a sweet potato. Have you ever seen a sweet potato this large???

Amazing Cupcakes

2008-05-13T19:03:00.003-05:00

I decided to bake the jelly donut cupcakes out of Veganomicon to bring to my parents' house on Mother's Day. They were simply amazing!!! And easy to make too!

Norton cuddles!

2008-05-12T19:09:00.001-05:00

This weekend, Norton decided to sit on my lap for a good cuddle. In some photos, Norton doesn't look that big but I think he looks like the big dog that he is in this photo!

Spy King?

2008-05-09T10:18:00.003-05:00

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser wrote a piece for the New York Times on Wednesday titled "Burger with a Side of Fries." Apparently, the Burger King Corporation hired a private security firm to spy on the Student/Farmworker Alliance in Florida. The aim of the Student/Farmworker Alliance is to improve the lives of migrant farmworkers by eliminating sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the fields. This group uses peaceful methods of protest--such as their recent petition to ask Burger King to pay these farmworkers a fair wage. Read more here..

Top 10 Vegan Recipes

2008-05-09T09:24:00.002-05:00

Today I came across Vegan.com's collection of top 10 vegan recipes for 2008. The recipes come from this year's top vegan cookbooks. I'm eager to try some of these for myself! The Indonesian Coconut Rice and Root Beer Float Cupcakes sound especially delightful! Enjoy!

What a Week!

2008-05-08T11:02:00.002-05:00

Monday evening, I attempted to upload some photographs from my camera onto my computer. It wasn't working so I decided to restart. This was a bad idea because my trusty Mac wouldn't go past the startup screen! Ugh!!!! Last time this happened, Eric reinstalled my operating system and that seemed to work at fixing the problem. Well this time, that didn't help. So yesterday, I left my Mac in the hands of the genius at the Apple store. It's still under warranty and they can probably fix it. Unfortunately, I didn't back anything up though! Supposedly, they will back everything up for me before zeroing out the hard drive! I am so stressed about this and hope it works!

Tuesday evening, my allergies started acting up...and badly! Sore throat, stuffy nose, sneezing fits, the works. This morning, when I woke up with a pounding headache, I decided it was finally time to whip out the neti pot and allergy meds.

I wish I had some more fun and exciting things to write about right now!

Busy Week!

2008-05-05T07:21:00.003-05:00

I have several blog posts in the works--I haven't had the time to post them or upload the pics but I'll get to it, I promise.

It's been a crazy week! I spent all last week working on wedding details every day after school. Saturday, I had my hair and makeup trial. Sunday, we went to a bbq at my aunt and uncle's house.

I saw 2 movies this week--during the week, I watched Sicko and on Saturday evening, we saw Juno. In my opinion, they are both must-see's! I wouldn't say Sicko is enjoyable in the way that Juno is. But it is a Michael Moore documentary. Draw your own conclusions...

Pizza!

2008-04-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend, I was thinking about the fact that I hadn't had pizza in at least a month. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it.

So on Sunday, on my way home from Omega (which I still must blog about), I made a stop at Whole Foods. I picked up a few staples for the week, including Follow Your Heart soy mozzarella and some pizza dough.

When I got home, I made a pizza! I used some jarred tomato sauce with roasted garlic, onions, vegan pepperoni, fresh basil and parsley. It was so yummy! I found the cheese to be very tasty as well.

It was so good that I wish we had some more pizza left. But we finished it for lunch today. I guess I'll have to just make it again!

My New Water Bottle

2008-04-28T13:33:00.003-05:00

I'd been planning on buying of these aluminum water bottles anyway, because the #7 hard water bottles leech chemicals into water. Ewww, gross. The reusable water bottle I have now is a #5 plastic one. Supposedly safe, but I'm not taking a chance! As I posted last week, Eric and I received coupons for free Sigg water bottles through their website. Today I ordered mine. Here's the one I chose.

Roasted Zucchini

2008-04-24T19:25:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, my mom gave me a mandolin (not that one exactly but you get the idea). At the time, I didn't think I needed it. I gave it to my grandmother--or so I thought. Well, I guess I didn't because the other day I found it in my kitchen cabinet. Older and wiser, I now know that every kitchen needs one of these things!

So tonight, I decided to make roasted zucchini chips (along with these Ethiopian lentils and a big salad). Eric swore he didn't like zucchini. I was pretty much convinced that if I cooked zucchini in the right way, I could get him to eat it. So using my found mandolin, I sliced the zucchini paper thin, tossed it with a teaspoon of olive oil, some thyme and salt and pepper. I then roasted the zucchini slices in my toaster oven for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees. They came out crispy and delicious. Not only did Eric eat a serving of the zucchini...I caught him having seconds! Pretty amazing, I think!

Sprouts!

2008-04-23T22:09:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Michelle, I decided to make my very own bean sprouts! They were so easy to do! I soaked some lentils overnight then drained and rinsed them in the morning. I put them in a plastic container and covered them, rinsing them once or twice a day. In just a couple days, we had fresh sprouts for our salad! So easy and so tasty!

Day at the Shore

2008-04-23T21:34:00.003-05:00

This morning, Eric and I headed down to the Point Pleasant Boardwalk to play some skeeball, ride the rides--and take our engagement photos! We met our wedding photographer, Josh Lynn, down there--and we had a blast taking the photos! I am so excited because Josh posted a few of them on his blog already! Look here!

While we were down there, we had lunch at Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar. Kaya's is a vegetarian eatery which used to be Veggie Works. I had eaten there often while I was in college and it was a real treat to be back today. We had the most delicious vegan buffalo wings (karma wings)!

Thanks, Eric, for letting me choose vegan restaurants two days in a row!!!!

A Very Martha Earth Day

2008-04-23T20:29:00.004-05:00

I hope everybody had a super Earth Day and did one thing to make a positive impact on our planet. Here's how Eric and I celebrated our Earth Day...

We woke up bright and early--5:30 AM. Yes, I'm on Spring Break this week, and no we weren't going to work. Why were we up so early? To head into New York! I requested tickets for The Martha Stewart Show and we were given tickets for Earth Day! So we left at 6:30 and by 8:15 AM, Eric and I were in the line for audience members.

It turns out that it was a special live Earth Day episode! We couldn't have gotten any luckier than that! Well, maybe if we won the eco-friendly washer and dryer that another audience member did win (and she's from the same Sussex County town as us)!

Seeing Martha in person was awesome! Seeing the studio in person was amazing as well. Though it wasn't my first screening of a television show, it's always fascinating to see how many crew members it takes to keep the show going. It's constant motion. Here are just a few of the show highlights...

Jaime Pressly, from My Name is Earl was on the show. She and Martha stamped reusable totes with fabric paint and potatoes to make them a bit funkier.

Simran Sethi, host of Sundance's "The Green," shared some important information about our drinking water and the use of plastic drinking bottles.

Martha also shared some tips for washing and folding towels. She has a new line of towels available at Macy's.

After the taping of the Earth Day episode, we stayed for the taping of some Memorial Day segments which will be airing on May 23rd. Not only did we enjoy watching the taping of the shows, we got free stuff to boot! We each got a three piece set of towels, a magazine, a big book of flags, a coupon for a Sigg water bottle, an outdoor flag-hanging kit, and two free tote bags!

We walked the mile and a half to a vegan eatery in the Village that I was curious about trying for lunch. I'd read about Sacred Chow on Disease Proof and we were not disappointed! I had the shiitake mushroom and spinach salad with South Indian dressing along with the Korean tofu slices. Eric has a tempeh reuben. Everything was delicious and I highly recommend this place if you're so inclined to try it!

As we were on our walk back to the car, I couldn't resist stopping at Sabon, my favorite all-natural luxury bath and body shop to pick up some mud-from-the-Dead-Sea soap! Our last stop was at Whole Body to try some organic Aubrey shampoo--and we got another free tote in honor of Earth Day! Woo hoo!

(On another note, we stopped at Bleeker Records to peruse the basement full of vinyl and happened to stumble upon the filming of a commercial of sorts. A British female musician named Kate Nash was being filmed to seemingly promote herself and the record store. At least that's what I had gotten out of it. We had never heard of her but googled her tonight. She reminds me of Lily Allen.)

Happy Passover!

2008-04-21T17:27:00.002-05:00

Happy Passover to my readers who celebrate! Saturday afternoon, I packed all of our crackers, cereals, pastas and other Passover-no-no's into shopping bags and closed them up in our office closet. I'll do my best to keep Passover (and Eric too) but we're not super strict about it. In our home, it'll be okay to eat rice, beans and tofu, as the Sephardic Jews do. (Traditional Ashkenazic Jews would disagree with us, but that's okay. Many Vegetarians follow the Sephardic way during Passover.)

Anyway, Saturday evening we spent with Eric's parents at a Passover seder at good friends of the family. The food was delicious and we had a fabulous time. Afterwards, Eric's parents came back for the night.

Sunday, we were having my family (and Eric's parents, too) for a Passover dinner. I was sort of panic stricken. What was I, a nearly-vegan thinking aiming to cook a Passover meal for my meat and potato lovin' parents? After much deliberation, this is the menu I settled on.

Not Chicken Soup with Matzah balls (made from mix)
The not chicken soup comes from Mollie Katzen's cookbook Still Life with Menu.

Quinoa Tabouli
Sweet Potato and Carrot Tzimmes (I forget where I found this one--someplace online)
Roasted Green Beans with Garlic
Potato Kugel (Mom cooked)

Italian Ices (complements of supermarket)
Various kinds of boxed Passover candies, cake, macaroons--all supplied by Mom
Strawberries

So that was our Passover meal. Having Eric's parents spend the night before worked out perfectly. Eric's mom was a huge help in the kitchen that morning! Everything came out delicious and I don't think that anybody left our home that evening hungry!

Sooo Delicious!

2008-04-21T17:23:00.002-05:00

So I've been pretty good about eating vegan at home--I'm finding it harder to do while out, but I'm doing my best.

On Friday, while perusing the local health foods store, I decided to buy some soy ice cream. Some of the labels were horrifying though! 230 calories and 13 or 17 g of fat! Might as well have the Ben and Jerry's in that case!

But then I found this stuff: Soy Delicious Awesome Chocolate. It's sweetened with fruit and only has 115 calories and 1.5 g of fat. And it's yummy!

Can you live like Ed?

2008-04-17T07:15:00.003-05:00

Have you seen the HGTV show "Living with Ed?" I haven't caught it yet(not sure if it's currently airing) but I have heard a lot about Ed Begley, Jr. lately. What an amazing guy. Ed is a real environmentalist. He retrofitted his VW Rabbit to run as an electric car. He rides his bicycle to Hollywood events. Ed and his wife Rachelle co-star in their living-green reality show.

Ed also has a book out called Living like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life. Check out the website for Living with Ed here. Also check out the website he created with two partners--Fixing the Planet. His websites and book offer tons of ideas for sustainable living.

Ed will be speaking at the global green Expo in Jersey City next weekend but I'll be here instead...oh, well.

Organic Fruits and Veggies Coming Soon!

2008-04-15T09:04:00.004-05:00

Thursday, to be specific! I'm joining a Glen Ridge, NJ based organic fruits and veggies co-op called Purple Dragon. I tried it out about 4 years ago and really liked it but for one reason or another, never stuck with it.

Purple Dragon is a great way to support local and organic farmers if you live in New Jersey or New York. There are groups all over. If you're lucky enough to find out in your area that has an opening, join! Deliveries are made biweekly and you'll get a 15--30 pound supply of organic produce. It's always a surprise to find out what's in your bag! I find the price to be extremely reasonable for organic produce--roughly $46, every other week. And, because it's a co-op, everybody volunteers to help sort through the deliveries every so often.

Although the produce is not always exactly local, they do buy local whenever possible. According to the website, Purple Dragon shops "up and down the East Coast, Eastern Canada, the rest of the US, Europe, New Zealand, and certain farms in Central and South America and the Caribbean."

I think it's a great way to support small, organic farms throughout the year when it's not always possible to buy locally.

What's in YOUR processed fruit drink?

2008-04-13T20:19:00.002-05:00

Processed stuff is bad for you. I know that. You probably do too. Read this feature about how the additives in fruit drinks and candies are linked to Attention Deficit Disorder. In a recent study, "normal" children turn hyperactive after ingesting small amounts of these additives. Scary stuff.

Are you a locavore?

2008-04-11T10:25:00.002-05:00

The word locavore was the Oxford Dictionary word of the year for 2007. But do you know what a locavore is?

locavore--the name of a person who only eats locally grown and produced foods

The word didn't even exist until 2005! The locavore movement began in San Francisco when a group of "concerned culinary adventurers" challenged people to eat local foods only for the month of August back in '05.

Over the past year or two, I think we've all begun learning why it's so important to eat foods grown close to home. Supporting our local farmers helps our local economies. Big corporate owned factory farms put more and more family owned farms out of business every day.

Did you know that our food travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to our supermarkets? So how fresh do you really think those strawberries in your refrigerator are? Buying food in this way (the way that most of us Americans do), has detrimental effects on our economy, global warming and our health.

I just finished the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a year spent in the life of Barbara and her family who, for a one year period, live the lives of locavores. On their Virginia farm, they grow mostly everything they eat. And the rest is all local--with the exception of a few staples like coffee and spices. Most of us aren't going to be able to grow all of our own food. But I highly recommend this book. It really is something that we need to think about as the outlook for our planet grows more and more dire on a daily basis.

We don't need to have an all or nothing mentality about it. Personally speaking, I've begun to really read the labels of products. When I ran out of honey recently, I chose the honey produced in New Jersey as oppose to the kind that was flown in from far away. When our local farmer markets open for season, I'll spend an extra few dollars to buy produce there. Baby steps count!

Spring Cleaning

2008-04-09T08:56:00.003-05:00

Spring has sprung! I hope you're having a lovely week wherever you live! I'm certainly enjoying the nice weather this week!

Who doesn't want their home to feel fresh and clean for Spring? As part of my Spring Cleaning resolution, I've decided to begin "banning" icky cleaning products in my home that are full of chemicals. Isn't it better to spend a little more money on products that are better for us?

I realized this the last time I cleaned my bathroom quite recently. Although the chemical products left the bathroom sparkly and shiny, I had to open every window in our upstairs to air the house out! I was coughing and felt like I could barely breathe!

So, I've decided to pay a visit to Target this week to pick up some Method cleaners.

There was an interesting feature over at Grist this week. Eight organic bathroom cleaners were tested. It's here if you're interested...

Where do YOU get your calcium?

2008-04-07T13:54:00.002-05:00

As I'm on my voyage to becoming a near-vegan, I'm learning a lot of interesting information about foods that offer the most nutritional bang for the buck.

The million dollar question I hear is, "You don't drink milk? But where do you get your calcium from?"

Dark, leafy greens. Calcium-fortified ricemilk.

And broccoli! Did you know that a serving of broccoli has as much calcium as a serving of cottage cheese! (And I'm pleased to report that Bianca posted how she recently made some vegan cottage cheese. Woo hoo!)

How green is your candidate?

2008-04-07T11:36:00.001-05:00

Newsweek's cover story this week compares the three presidential candidates and where they stand on environmental issues. The article is here if you are interested...

Ever try a neti pot?

2008-04-04T13:58:00.002-05:00

I've been fighting a cold/sore throat/cough all week long--just after I boasted last week that I hadn't been sick all winter long! I'm doing everything possible to avoid nasty meds. I'm using some of the natural remedies on Earth Clinic. I'm gargling and drinking lots of hot tea! I decided to try one of these neti pots. Anyone ever use one? Read more here...

A Month of Organic Living

2008-04-04T07:21:00.002-05:00

I decided on the way to work this morning in the nasty pouring rain to feature sustainable and organic living this month in honor of Earth Day. So lets talk chemicals. We all know they are bad for our bodies and bad for our planet, yada, yada, yada. Personally, I'm trying to be a lot more aware of what I put in my body these days. Natural, unprocessed fruits and veggies, whole grains. For the most part. (I did have a 1/4 of a bagel this morning minus the cream cheese. Not so bad.)

But how often do we really think about what we put on our skin? The shower gel we use? The moisturizer and face wash? I just read that the skin is the largest organ in the body. Do you really want to be rubbing chemicals into your skin that can cause harm to yourself?

I use Aveeno face wash and moisturizer. I thought it was a good product. But according to Skin Deep, a site that rates beauty products, my moisturizer is rated high hazard! It has ingrediants that are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies and other gross things. And they perform animal testing. So I think when I have some extra money, I will be definately buying some organic products for my skin.

Going greener!

2008-04-01T10:42:00.002-05:00

I'm constantly debating how we can make our lives greener. Lately, I've been eyeing the Toyota Prius but, not only can I not afford a hybrid vehicle, but I still have 2 1/2 years left of payments on my Matrix.

As I'm reading the wonderful book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I'm realizing the importance of locally-grown, organic food. However, right now, there is really no local produce to be had! And the cost of organic produce tends to be astronomical! So oftentimes, I'm buying the conventional-flown-in-from-Ecuador produce from the market. But I'll make a conscious effort to do better, come summer, when local produce is available.

Today's April 1st. Yes, it's April Fool's Day, but we also observe Earth Day this month. I have a list of things I'd like to do to turn Kermit-like this month, such as joining Green Dimes and learning about composting.

Today, my AAA membership is up and instead of renewing, I've decided to join the Better World Club. Their services are comparable to AAA but they are an environmentally conscious company. They donate 1 % of their total revenue to environmental cleanup and advocacy.

Healthy Eating

2008-03-26T18:51:00.002-05:00

I've spent the last four weeks eating healthy. Healthier that I've ever been in my life. I mean when I lost 70 pounds after college with Weight Watchers, I don't think I was eating this healthy! And, it's working. I've lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks.

Preparing healthy foods is not only expensive but it's so time-consuming! I feel like I spend hours in the kitchen everday! In the evenings, I make Eric and I breakfast smoothies and salads to bring to work. I pack healthy snacks that don't come out of a package! Stuff like carrot sticks and hummus and lots of fruit.

On a side-note, I think I've consumed more bananas this week than this guy!

Yummy Vegan-ness

2008-03-20T07:22:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not a quite a vegan but I'm pretty close to it. At least, I'm trying. I've found some really amazing vegan food blogs and a book I've seen mentioned numerous times is Veganomicon, a vegan cookbook from these people. It includes 250 recipes of some really yummy sounding things. I perused it at Barnes and Nobles yesterday but opted not to buy it right away.

Last night, Eric got home, and I would say he's a good munkee. After spending a few days nervous that I was joining a vegan cult, he decided to purchase the book for me online. Yay! I can't wait for it to come.

There are a few recipes available online on their website. Tonight, I'm trying the vegan caesar salad.

Eat to Live

2008-03-18T11:17:00.003-05:00

About three weeks ago, I went back to Weight Watchers and have been really motivated about eating right. I'm trying to not only eat less, but eat more veggies and natural foods and less processed garbage.

A food blog that lately, I've been enjoying is called Fat Free Vegan. From that blog, I learned about the Eat to Live Diet.

The next day, I went out and bought the book.

I'm going to do the six week plan in which you get most of your calories from nutrient rich vegetables and fruits, some whole grains, beans, tofu, etc. Animal products are to be used minimally or not at all. Sugar and salt intake is limited as well. Yes, I'm a vegetarian but I like cheese. But I'm excited about this new way of eating and I want to see if I can do it.

Progress!

2008-03-10T10:53:00.005-05:00

I'm so excited to say that, for two weeks now, Norton has been doing utterly fabulous! We wanted to see how he would do if we stopped crating him. See, we had little choice; Norton basically ate his way out of his second metal crate. Well, he's been doing great! He is still on his meds but hasn't been getting frantic when we leave him alone. It's such a relief. We can actually go to work and not only that, but have a life, without feeling guilty about leaving the dog. We can go out without worrying the whole time! It's wonderful!!!! But when we get home, we still "check for damage." And when we find no damage everyday, we praise Norton for being the best doggy ever!

So, here's what happened when we got home from an outing yesterday. As we finagled the key in the front door, I wondered what toy would be in Norton's mouth when he came to greet us? Would it be the talk to me treatball? Or the kong? Or the toy cell phone?

None of the above. Norton met us at the door with a slice of bread in his mouth. Apparantly, Norton jumped up and grabbed a loaf of Weight Watchers bread off of the counter and ate half of it while we were gone.

I was relieved that he ate the bread and not a wall.

Eric was relieved that he wouldn't have to "eat that dry bread anymore."

So it was a happy day for all of us!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2008-03-03T11:18:00.003-05:00

...won't you wear a sweater?

March 20th would have been the 80th birthday of Mr. Rogers. As a tribute to Mr. Rogers (who died of cancer five years ago), everybody is being asked to wear a sweater on that day.

Remember when, at the beginning of every show, Mr. Rogers would put on his cardigan sweater and change his shoes?

I mentioned to a fellow teacher I work with the idea of promoting this in our school on March 20th. But the sad part is, I bet our young students wouldn't even know who Mr. Rogers is.

Instant Karma

2008-03-02T22:11:00.002-05:00

Today, while Eric was making a purchase for himself at the Sharper Image, he surprised me and bought me the cd, Instant Karma, the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Long title. Instant Karma is a two disc set of John Lennon covers by artists from Aerosmith to Jack Johnson. According to the website, "it seeks to mobilize millions around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan. It combines the power of John Lennon's music recorded by some of the world's best-known artists, together with cutting-edge forms of instant activism enabled by Internet and mobile technologies. "

The back of the cd reads this...

The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilions have been displaced.

Click here to take action...

Ever sleep in an igloo?

2008-03-02T19:42:00.003-05:00

Last night, we watched a special on the Icehotel in Sweden. I'd heard of the Icehotel before but the show we watched was fascinating! Everything in this hotel is sculpted of ice. In your hotel room, you're sleeping on some animal skin on a bed made of ice and snow. The hotel bar, a happening place, is made of ice. Instead of having some ice in your drink, your drink goes in a glass made of ice. Amazing! In the morning, you're awakened with a glass of hot lingonberry juice. According to the website, they suggest you spend one night in the icehotel and all remaining nights in a heated chalet type hotel.

Activities include ice sculpting, dog sledding, car racing on an ice track, snowmobiling, and northern lights excursion tour.

They even have an icechurch for people who would like to get married here.

Every year, they must rebuild the hotel. Of course, it melts when the weather warms up!

I clicked on the availability on their website just out of curiosity. I tried a couple random dates--for the year 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. And they were all booked up! This place isn't cheap but isn't as expensive as you'd perhaps think. After you convert to the US dollar, the iceroom runs about 300 per person, per night.

I think I might add staying at the icehotel to my lifelong list of places to see.

Out West we go!

2008-02-26T08:30:00.005-05:00

This week, I finally began officially planning our honeymoon. I booked our airfare and most of our lodging. Here is our plan:

8/4 Fly out of Newark into Portland, Oregon on an early evening flight. We'll get to Portland at 9pm Monday night and we'll be staying in Portland through Friday.

8/8 After driving to Mount Hood, we'll head up to Seattle, where we will stay until Monday.

8/11 We'll spend this night at North Cascades National Park. We'll we'll actually be staying at an inn nearby. North Cascades looks gorgeous! There are glaciers and all!

8/12 British Columbia, we arrive! We'll spend two nights in Vancouver.

8/14 Two nights in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We'll be staying at an amazing little inn right by the ocean and a huge nature preserve.

8/16 Back to Seattle for one night.

8/17 Fly out of Seattle back home.

Using Trip Advisor, I was able to find some amazing bed and breakfasts for us to stay in. We will be going in a little over five months!

Let me out!

2008-02-22T20:25:00.001-05:00

In anticipation of a real snow day!

2008-02-21T20:04:00.003-05:00

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Sort of. Well, my mom got the name Marisa from the actress Marisa Berenson but I'm not named after her. My Hebrew name is Naomi Rifka. Naomi is for my great uncle Nat and Rifka is for somebody but I don't remember who.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
When Susan and Tim got engaged!

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
Sometimes

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?
Duh. None.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Not yet.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
I love sarcasm.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE TONSILS
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Maybe in my younger, crazier days. But, no.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?
Special K with berries or kashi.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM Off?
No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Eh. So-so.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?
Mint chocolate chip. Cookie dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
I'm observant. I can tell a lot about a person soon after meeting them but I can't think of one thing.

15. RED OR PINK?
Depends on my mood. I do love pink though.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My lack of organization.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
I miss my friends who I can't see that often. I miss my Shayla.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
If you want to do a survey, go ahead and do this one.

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Tealish sweater. Brown pants.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
2 fun size twix bars

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Andy on the speakerphone.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
lime green

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
The ocean. Fresh baked bread. Chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Andy

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course or why would I spend the rest of my life with him?

26. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Umm...baseball, I guess.

27. HAIR COLOUR ?
Blondish.

28. EYE COLOUR?
Hazel green.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

30. Your favorite food?
Indian. Thai. Ethiopian. Dark chocolate.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings!!!!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Princess Bride

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Well, I like cold weather better than hot. But I do like my summers off so it's a toss up, I guess.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Love 'em both!

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT?
Anything chocolaty. Tiramasu!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Jenn.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND ?
Most everyone else.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
"Life and Times of the Thunder Bolt Kid."

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
WFUV.org

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT?
Didn't watch last night, but tonight, watched The Martha Stewart Show!

42. FAVOURITE SOUND
The sounds of the beach. The ocean surf crashing and the seagulls calling. Norton's snoring.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
The Beatles!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
US Virgin Islands

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Not really sure.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Edison, NJ.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I dunno.

Last Night's Eclipse

2008-02-21T11:49:00.003-05:00

Anyone see the lunar eclipse last night? It was really awesome! I think it was the first lunar eclipse I've ever witnessed. If you missed it, I'm sorry, because you won't have another chance to see a lunar eclipse until the year 2010.

The moon had a reddish tint and if you looked to either side, you could see the star Regulus on one side and Saturn on the other. Of course, I couldn't tell which was which.

I told my third graders about it yesterday and a few of them were lucky enough to be able to stay up until 10:00 to see it! I remember when I was in third grade, we had a solar eclipse. Well, my teacher told us that we would become blind if we looked at it. I remember feeling terrified that whole day to look anywhere near the sky lest I become blinded! It's nice knowing that it's not harmful at all to look at a lunar eclipse!

(Photo credit: I got the photo from this page and it was shot by Hal Laurent from East Baltimore.)

New Babes

2008-02-21T07:57:00.005-05:00

Kayla turned 3 weeks old yesterday! It's amazing how during those first few weeks and months, babies change so much! Here's a cute photo of her sleeping on her changing table from this past weekend.

Here's a promised photo of Vincent Joseph! This was taken Monday while they were still in the hospital. Mom, Dad and Vincent went home on Tuesday and are doing well, albeit a lack of sleep!

AccuWAIT!

2008-02-20T12:47:00.005-05:00

In the year 2008, how can seemingly intelligent people still fall into these crazy fad diets? I have a coworker who does the Accu-Weight Loss program. She has a bead behind her ear, which is the acupuncture aspect of the diet. She is supposed to rub this bead to keep focused. Here are some of the rules of the diet.

1. Only eat between noon and 6pm.

2. For two days, you can only consume whole milk products. You must have 2.5 cups of milk and/or yogurt. Thats all you eat on your milk days!

3. The next two days, you consume vegetables only. You get 2 servings of fruit and up to 1.5 lbs of veggies. Thats all you eat on your veggie days!

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until you get to your goal weight.

So, basically, you are starving your body on this diet. There are no whole grains and there are no sources of protein other than the milk. Our bodies work best when we combine many different healthy foods and eat them in moderation. I like Weight Watchers the best but in my opinion, the best diet is not really a diet but a plan you can live with permanently!

Anyone ever hear of this crazy diet?

Wedding Registering Madness

2008-02-19T08:19:00.002-05:00

I couldn't wait to begin the whole registering process back when we got engaged last Spring. Everything we had for the kitchen pretty much was either hand me downs from Eric's parents, my parents, college leftovers, and other stuff I got really cheap.

Our first registry was created at Williams-Sonoma. We figured it would be easy because it was a small store. We registered for a handful of things there. And we got some of them as engagement gifts.

Then we began a Fortunoff registry as oppose to a Macy's registry. My mom said Fortunoff was better. From visiting either store, they seemed the same to me. So we registered for our "fine stuff" at Fortunoff.

We registered for much of our everyday stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond.

We were done. Or so Eric thought. Then these things happened.

1. Martha Stewart came to Macy's!
2. I realized Macy's has a better website than Fortunoff.
3. Rumors began floating of Fortunoff going belly-up. (Okay, it seems as this point that Lord & Taylor is buying them out.)
4. I visited Crate & Barrel the other day, in search of the perfect everyday glasses, and decided we must register here!

So we decided to abandon the Fortunoff and Williams-Sonoma registry in favor of having only three registries--Crate & Barrel, Macy's, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

So yesterday, Eric and I went to Crate and Barrel to register there. It was amazing. We didn't argue. Not once. We always argue when it comes to registering. So if you're looking to buy us a gift, please don't shop at Fortunoff or Williams-Sonoma because you won't find much left there!

Three Day Weekend

2008-02-17T09:26:00.002-05:00

I love three day weekends. Even if I do have to go to the dentist tomorrow.

Today we're seeing Kayla again so I'll post more photos today or tomorrow!

And speaking of babies, Kayla's not the "baby" of the family any longer!

My cousin, Andrea, and her husband, Frank, became first-time parents this morning! They had a little boy, Vincent. It all just happened so I don't have any other details as of yet but its very exciting!

Yesterday, Eric and I explored the little town of Andover. It's ten minutes from where we live and it's home to tons of antique shops. We had a delicious lunch at a cute little coffee house called the Gristmill Cafe. We spent some time wandering around the shoppes in town and bought a couple cute things.

Then last night, Eric got yet another birthday dinner. We had Ethiopian lentils and Ethiopian green beans and potatoes. The green beans and potatoes were a new recipe and they came out pretty good! All in all, it was a healthy and delicious meal!

After dinner, we watched The Princess Bride. It's a movie that I had never seen before but it's one of Eric's favorites. It was a cute movie.

Eric v. Abe

2008-02-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

Today seemed like a fitting day to compare Eric M. Munkee to Abraham Lincoln. A fun fact that you may be unaware of is that they happen to share the same birthday! Yes, it's true. Did you know that they have other similarities, too?

Eric loves KFC and while I doubt Abe ever had the opportunity to try their hot wings, he was born in Kentucky. Abe also bears a remarkable likeness to the colonel.

Did you know that Abe was the first president to wear a beard? I think that Eric may very well be one of the first Asians to sport one too!

Abe served as captain of the military. While Eric is by no means affiliated with any sort of military, he is captain of his Strat-o-Matic hockey team, the East Coast Earthquakes. At least, I think that's what his team is called.

Did you know that Honest Abe "clerked" in a shop? As a teenager, Eric never worked in a supermarket as a cashier or grocery bagger. He blames his inability to bag groceries properly on this key fact.

Happy Birthday, Munkee!

2008-02-11T20:17:00.000-05:00

Today is Eric's 33rd birthday. Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

On Sunday, we invited Eric's parents and my family over for dinner to celebrate Eric's birthday. It was a wonderful day.

Here's the cake that I baked for Eric. It's a stadium cake! I used the stadium bundt cake pan that we received as an engagement gift. The football cookie in the middle was a gift from Ashley and Joe. Even though I did not think we had any use for a stadium bundt cake pan, it's not a bad thing to have. The cake was definitely a hit!

No More Polaroids

2008-02-09T21:39:00.001-05:00

I read online today that Polaroid is shutting down the instant photography aspect of their business. They've already ceased production of instant cameras and will stop manufacturing the film for them (though they do have enough film to last through 2009).

How sad. I admit it. I haven't owned a Polaroid camera in years. Back in 2000 or so, I had one of those Polaroid sticker cameras. They were very popular at the time!

No matter your age, there's still something magical about holding that Polaroid photo in your hand waiting for it to develop.

When my friends took me out for Hibachi on my 29th birthday, I received a birthday Polaroid souvenir. It's still on my refrigerator.

Here's a "vintage" Polaroid commercial from 1979.

Isn't she lovely?

2008-02-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

Look at this funny babe, one hour after birth. Isn't she precious?

Kayla's first picture with Grandma

Kayla and her favorite aunt!

PuppyBowl IV

2008-02-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

I watched some of the SuperBowl with Eric. Because I had to. But on commercials, we watched the PuppyBowl. The PuppyBowl, in my opinion, was so much better than the SuperBowl. It was sooo cute!!! There were no winners. There were no losers. Just puppies playing on a fake football field.

And, during half-time, there was a kitty show.

You can even go on their website and vote for the MVP.

And, I found out that all the puppies and kittens come from shelters. Eric says we can't get one though. :(