Yay! Another Blog!

Veganism

2007-10-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Since becoming mostly vegan earlier this year, I have done rather a lot of research on what being vegan actually means. (By "mostly vegan," I mean that I am not totally militant about it; I eat vegan when I have control over the food, and feel significantly better about that, but tend to eat just vegetarian when I go out or eat with friends, for convenience. Being vegan is not always the easiest. Also, I still eat honey.) Yesterday I purchased The Vegan Sourcebook, by Joanne Stepaniak. She discusses the reasons behind becoming vegan, the psychology behind it, and gives different nutritional information about the vegan lifestyle. She suggests that being vegan is not just about animal rights; it is also about human rights. One example of this is when she writes about cane sugar, and whether or not vegans should use it; I have chosen to use mostly raw sugar, since cane sugar is frequently filtered through charred animal bones (not only is this kind of gross, but it also means that the sugar itself loses most of its nutritional value in the processing), but she says that it also leads to exploitation of workers. The people who usually produce sugar are illegal immigrants, earn less than minimum wage, work excessive overtime without the proper compensation, and do not receive any kind of benefits. The book also outlines the vegan food pyramid, and has a number of recipes for "alternative" meat and dairy products, made directly from plant sources. This is important, since a lot of vegan food is heavily processed. I think this book is really significant, especially if you are concerned about impacting the environment. The author gives a number of reasons why veganism could possibly be the right way to go. One other thing that she points out is how people really have a hard time supporting others who have decided to go vegan. I found this to be quite true in my own life; the only person who has thoroughly supported me is my boyfriend, who is not even vegetarian (by any stretch of the imagination!). I was rather surprised by this, as a lot of the people close to me who were supportive of my vegetarianism were entirely opposed to my becoming vegan. To a certain extent, I can understand; I know that many are concerned because of my ED history. However, I have been making a concerted effort to NOT lose weight on the vegan diet (which, for me, is a big step!). This is in part because of my job (since I work with ED patients, I try to keep my weight relatively steady), and also because, over time, I have come to accept the way that my body is, and my setpoint weight. She also says that being vegan makes it difficult to be around nonvegan people, which I have not found to be the case at all. I know that I have chosen a certain lifestyle for myself, and although I wish that others would also choose it, I certainly don't expect them to. It does not bother me at all that my boyfriend is a big meat-eater. As long as I am doing what's right for me, he can do what's right for him, and that's what's important.
Anyway-I also bought The Joy of Vegan Baking, and am looking forward to trying some of the recipes. I was invited to a Halloween party next weekend, and I'm planning to make vegan Chocolate Cheesecake to take with me. I'm guessing nobody knows it's vegan. :) I'm also excited about making vegan bread; I've never made bread at all before, and happened upon a very easy vegan recipe. I think I'll try it this week. And for those of you who are concerned about the processed vegan foods, there's almost no need to eat them at all; almost everything that I eat right now can be made from scratch, directly from plant sources.
My point here is: I felt really good about becoming a vegetarian. It was something that I had wanted to do for a very long time (I remember talking about it when I was probably 11), but I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. Once I did it, my overall health improved dramatically. Eating vegan has improved that about 10 times more. It did not restrict my diet at all; rather, it opened up a whole new world to me. I feel better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This new phase in my life has left me with so much clarity about myself and the world around me. Being vegan is not about what you don't do. It's about what you do, as far as taking care of the environment, doing your part in the preservation of our planet, compassion for other beings, and so many other things. This has been an extremely rewarding experience for me, and I'm really excited about continuing it.

2007-10-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Go Rockies!!!!!!!!

2007-09-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

Ahoy buckos! This day be International Speak Like a scurvy Pirate Day, so in honor o' that, me message has be completely translated into scurvy pirate speak. If ye want to translate your message, or anythin' else, ye can be off to this website:

http://www.postlikeapirate.com/translator.php

Arrr! Have a great day, mateys!

What It Feels Like to Walk on the Moon

2007-07-31T08:26:00.001-07:00

This is pretty cool:

http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=4884951

Two in One Day!

2007-01-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

1) Using FOOD names, spell out your name:
a-apples
n-nuts
n-noodles
a-artichokes
2) What song makes you cry?Actually, a lot of songs make me cry. I think the most recent was "Breathe," by Rebecca St. James
3) What do you like to listen to before bed? Silence

a p p e a r a n c e
HEIGHT: 5'4"
HAIR COLOR: Light brown
SHOE SIZE: 7
PIERCINGS: One in each ear. I used to have a belly button ring, but I had to take it out. TATTOOS: None, but if I did have one, it would either be a butterfly or the NEDA symbol on my hip (NEDA symbol=ED recovery)
r i g h t - l e f t ? Right
PANTS YOU'RE WEARING: Pink pajama pants.
WHAT SONG ARE YOU LISTENING TO?: Porcelain, by Moby
WHAT TASTE IS IN YOUR MOUTH?: Wine
WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE?: Rainy.

d o - y o u
GET MOTION SICKNESS?: Nope
HAVE A BAD HABIT?: No. I'm practically perfect in every way. :)
GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS?: Generally.

f a v o r i t e s
TV SHOW: House, Mythbusters
MAGAZINE: Cosmo
THING TO DO ON THE WEEKEND: Clean, run errands, read, do crafts. I like to feel like I've accomplished something.

h a v e - y o u
BROKEN THE LAW: Nooooooo... :)
RUN AWAY FROM HOME: I tried one time when I was 8-ish, but when I got to the end of the driveway, I realized that I wasn't allowed to go any further. That ended that trip pretty quickly.
SNEAKED OUT OF THE HOUSE: Nope
EVER GONE SKINNY DIPPING: I don't think so.
MADE A PRANK PHONE CALL: I don't think so.
USED YOUR PARENTS' CREDIT CARD BEFORE: Only the one that I was supposed to use.
FELL ASLEEP IN THE SHOWER/BATH: No.
LET A FRIEND CRY ON YOUR SHOULDER: I would, but I don't think it's ever happened.

l o v e
CHILDREN: I hope to have some soon.
BEEN IN LOVE?: Yes.
HAD A HARD TIME GETTING OVER SOMEONE: YES.

r a n d o m
YOUR CD PLAYER HAS IN IT RIGHT NOW: Jewel.
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?: Carnation pink.
WHAT'S THE NEXT CD YOU'RE GONNA GET: I have no idea.

PART TWO
1. Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work? No. :) I've never even heard or thought of doing that.
2. Have you ever puked at a bar or club? Nope.
3. Have you ever dated someone you met online?: No, but I went on a date with someone I met while driving down the street.
4. Have you ever smoked pot at a concert?: I've never smoked pot.
5. Have you ever dated/fooled around with a coworker? Yes. :) My BF was a coworker at one point.
6. Ever been involved in a hit & run?: Kind of, but it wasn't bad. Someone scratched my car up a little.
8. Have you ever been on a blind date?: Yes - it was the worst date I ever had.
9. Are looks important?: Not especially.
10. Do you have any friends that you've known for 15 years or more?: No. Well, not one's that are my age anyway.
11. By what age would you like to be married?: ASAP.
12. Does the number of people a person's slept with affect your view of them?: Only if it's someone I'm dating. I have a limit (like if they've slept with more than that, I probably wouldn't date them anymore). Otherwise, I really don't care.
13. Have you ever sacrificed yourself so your friend can get in good with a person of the opposite sex?: No, but I would.
14. Have you ever drank milk that was past the expiration date? Yes, all the time.
15. Are you a good tipper?: If my waitperson is at least 25% decent, I am a great tipper.
16. What's the most you have spent for a haircut? Probably $25.
17. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Yes, a few. :)
18. Do you know all the words to the first verse of Ice Ice Baby?: Umm...no.
19. Have you ever had crispy bangs?: Well, kind of, but mine weren't the 80's spinach bangs. I had the 90's sausage roll style.
20. What was the worst style of the 80's?:I can't pick a worst. I can't pick a best. Sometimes I think that period of time should just be erased from all memory.
21. Have you ever peed in public: Not really in public, but out in the open. Hey, if you've gotta go, you've gotta go.

Fanny Farmer is My New Best Friend

2007-01-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

Yes. It's true. I think my Fanny Farmer cookbook is probably the best investment I have ever made (and at $6.99, quite a steal!). After looking for a recipe online for several days, it occurred to me that I would probably find it in Fanny's plethora of wisdom. I made macaroni and cheese from scratch tonight, and it was really yummy. If you don't have one, you should get one.
Here is all of my exciting news:
My sister FINALLY had her baby last night. It's a boy: Samuel Robert, weighing in at 8 lbs, 9 oz. And only 12 days late! :)
I just got my second acceptance letter to CSULA, so I will for sure be attending next quarter. (I had already been accepted, but I decided not to go this quarter, so I had to re-apply.)
I was nominated to be in the National Dean's List-apparently they have a book that's published every year. Only 0.5% of the nation's college students make it in, so it's actually quite an honor.
Needless to say, I'm pretty happy right now. :)

A Little Birdy Told Me...

2007-01-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

As I was getting ready to leave work tonight, the patients were just starting dinner. Rebecca (one of the therapists) came into the office, and said, "Um, there's a bird in the dining room...". I was like, "Okay - do you need help?" She said she's not scared of birds, but that she could use some help. I went into the dining room, and there was this little bird - I think it was a finch - just chilling on the windowsill. I closed all the doors except the front door, because I completely expected it to start flying around, but when I walked up to it, it just looked at me. At this point, I figured that it had flown into the window and stunned itself, so I grabbed a bowl to pick it up with. I got up right next to it, and started petting it, and kind of nudged it into the bowl. It hopped onto the rim, and I carried it outside. I didn't want to leave it on the ground, because I was afraid that Sylvie, the hospital cat, would get it, so I was trying to put it somewhere up high. It took a minute, but then it just flew away, so I guess it wasn't stunned. All the patients thought I was pretty cool after that. :) I must be a bird whisperer.

2007-01-23T18:34:00.001-08:00

Sorry to those who didn't get to look at my dress. (See previous post.) It's really sexy, though.

I read somewhere yesterday that the average person reads 300 books in their lifetime. Tonight I'm going to the library. :)

2007-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

I just checked the PCC website, and saw that I am for sure getting my two degrees from them. Yay me! :) Somehow I managed to get an AA and an AS - not that either one will do me any good whatsoever, but at least I'll have some more things to frame and hang on my wall. Still waiting to hear from CSLA about whether I got accepted again...
Kendall is taking me to see "Wicked" next month. This is the dress that I will be wearing:
http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=Dresses&product%5Fid=2034234288&Page=1
It actually gives me boobs and a waist!

13 Things

2006-12-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

Thirteen of My Favorite Things -- Like You Really Needed to Know This:

My favorite food is a big fat bean and cheese burrito, followed by chocolate.
My favorite song is "Outta My Head", by Fastball. I know it's completely inappropriate, but it is on the song list for my wedding reception because I love it so much.
My favorite character from "Rocky Horror Picture Show"... I kinda liked the big blonde dude who ran around half naked for the majority of the movie. He was the only remotely normal character in the whole thing.
My three favorite books are "The Blue Castle," by L.M. Montgomery; "Mr. God, This is Anna," by Fynn; and "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe," by Fannie Flagg.
My favorite time of day is early in the morning. I wish it would just stay that way all day.
My favorite food item that I can never run out of is chocolate.
My favorite section of the newspaper is the comics, although the coupons in the Sunday paper are a close second. Especially the 50% off at Michaels one. :)
My favorite 'thingie' these days is my new house phone. I can pick the ringtones, like on a cell phone, and it has an intercom and a monitor. I can spy on anybody now.
My favorite day is.............Christmas!
My favorite sound is the sound of waves breaking. I could listen to that forever.
My favorite season is fall.
My favorite sports are basketball, figure skating, (to watch), and gymnastics (to play).
My favorite thing about this list is reading what other people write for their answers.

Oh, and for anyone who's interested, I'm back from the blogging dead. Yes, that's right-school's out! No more PCC for me!

2006-10-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well, if you absolutely must be a terrorist, at least do it the Buffy way:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15302476/?GT1=8618

2006-09-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jamie, Kendall and I went to the LA County Fair. It was a lot more fun than I expected; I'd actually never been to a fair like that before. I liked looking at all of the farm animals; it's funny to be around cows, sheep, and goats now, because I realized that I really like the way they smell. (Pigs not so much.) My favorite part was the Home and Garden section; they had some really neat gardening ideas, and they also had wine tasting. :) But the best part by far was the little art stand inside the wine tasting area. I finally got an Alphonse Mucha poster: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Bieres-de-la-Meuse-Posters_i290944_.htm . I can't wait to get it framed. :)

2006-09-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Quote of the Day:
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own!" -Adam Savage, "Mythbusters"

Jamie and I were talking about our ghosts today. (This conversation was preceded by watching the show "Most Haunted", which we both love, and which also scares the crap out of me.) He tends to have a lot more Unusual Incidents happen to him, but we have both experienced the activity in our house. When we first moved into this house, there was a lot of activity, especially in the kitchen; it was REALLY cold in there, and the door between the kitchen and living room would be open in the morning when I knew I had closed it the night before. As we filled up the kitchen cabinets, the phenomena decreased, but any time we talk about it, it starts up again. Anyway, when we talked about it this morning, we realized that we've both had the same experiences here: there are two entities, one an older woman, the other a man. The woman's name is Margaret, and the man's name is Ned, or something like that. I think the relationship was something like a mother and son; she was unhappy in love, and I don't think he ever had any romantic relationship. They both seem a little jealous of our relationship, but I notice that there's more activity when we're not getting along. Jamie is creeped out by the old lady, which I think is because she really loves this house, and knows that I do too, but he's not such a big fan of it. The guy creeps me out a little, but I like the lady. We're cool. :) (We had another entity when we first moved in that was occupying the carport, and made some really strange stuff happen to my car, but I think that was a more transient spirit. It's gone now.) I don't think that either of these people died here; I get the impression that this place was significant to both of them, and some of their essence got left behind.
Now, though, I'm really curious about the previous tenants of this house. I'm going to ask my landlady about it, but in the meantime, does anyone know how to research this?
Oh, and by the way, I'm really not into the whole ghost, spirit, paranormal entities thing. I'm way too concrete, and choose to ignore things that are too scary for me to deal with. In this case, they just made themselves quite obvious.

Drumroll, please...

2006-09-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is my first post from my own house, and my own computer. Yes, that's right-I have finally entered the modern world, and now have a phone, a computer that can actually access the Internet, and cable TV. It's pretty great. :)
See you on MySpace!

The Food Meme

2006-08-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

How do you like your eggs?
Soft-boiled; or scrambled, with cheese and ketchup.

How do you take your coffee/tea?
Sweet and white.

Favorite breakfast foods:
Not so much into breakfast, but if I’m going to eat it, I want something light, like fruit and a muffin.

Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy?
As long as it’s salted, I don’t care.

What kind of dressing on your salad?
Depends on my mood-usually Italian, Ranch, or Thousand Island.

Coke or Pepsi?
Generally neither, but if I had to choose it would be Coke. Pepsi is too syrupy.

You’re feeling lazy. What do you make?
Probably a frozen, microwaveable cheese enchilada from Trader Joe’s.

You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
Pizza Hut, pan crust, extra cheese.

You feel like cooking.
Mushrooms stuffed with feta cheese and red onions.

Do any foods bring back good memories?
Watermelon always reminds me of sitting on the porch with my sisters on summer evenings and having seed-spitting contests.

Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Lemon loaf from Starbucks. I won’t go into the whole story, but it involved a cockroach.

Do any foods remind you of someone?
Taglioni reminds me of my grandma, because that was the only thing she knew how to make that was large enough to feed the whole family, so that’s what we always got when we went to her house for dinner.

Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Jello. Food that moves on its own is NOT okay with me.

What was your favorite food as a child?
Burritos. (Still true, actually. :) )

Is there a food you hated as a child but now love?
Avocadoes. They were too slimy then, but now I can’t get enough. It’s like I’m making up for lost time.

Is there a food you loved as a child but now hate?
Onions. I used to eat them raw while my mom was cooking, but now I almost never have them in anything (except for the aforementioned stuffed mushrooms).

Favorite fruit:
There are too many to pick just one-apples, cherries, red grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches… Yummy. :)

Favorite vegetable:
Spinach

Favorite junk food:
Cheez-Its.

Favorite between meal snack:
Not really a snacker, but if I’m going to eat between meals, it’s gonna be chocolate.

Do you have any weird food habits?
I eat the crusts off my sandwiches first-I start at the bottom, then eat the sides, then the top, then the middle. And if I eat more than one M&M color at a time, I have to bite them in half, so both sides of my mouth get an even amount of each color. I actually have a lot more, but everyone would think I’m crazy, so I’ll stop now.

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
No spicy for me, thanks anyway. And I’m not really into Indian/Thai food as a rule-too much meat.

Can I get you a drink?
Lately I’ve been doing vodka tonics, but my favorite is a “What About Jackie?”; chocolate and raspberry liqueur with a splash of cream. It’s pretty much the awesomest drink ever.

Red wine or white?
Red, all the way.

We only have beer:
San Miguel Light.

Favorite dessert:
Find all the chocolate you can, and put it together into something cake-and-ice-cream-y. Then put some more chocolate (ganache is good) on top. I'll be licking the plate. :)

2006-07-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, here's a big surprise:

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=228739&GT1=7703

2006-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my cousins, Jen and Chad; Julian Porter Macy arrived at 6:00 this morning, weighing in at 9 lbs., 10 oz. (and only two weeks late! :) ).
Yay babies!

Mortimer

2006-07-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

So I never thought that I'd be saying this, but I'm absolutely in love with my little baby tortoise. He's the cutest little guy EVER. He's not quite a year old, and fits easily in the palm of your hand (it will take him about 5 years to be the size of a hamburger, and about 30 to be the size of a dinner plate). When Jamie decided to get him, I thought he'd be Jamie's pet, but now... I could sit and watch him all day. We've been taking him outside to play in the afternoons, and he's so little that he can't even push the grass on the lawn down all the way, so he sort of swims through it. He's gotten used to us holding him, so now when I pick him up he'll usually push his head against my finger so I'll pet him. And when he eats, he sticks out his little tortoise tongue. He'll chew and chew, and then after he swallows, he does this big sigh before he takes another bite, like it's such an effort to eat. :)

Justice Is Served

2006-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

On my drive to work this morning, there was this girl behind me who was in WAAAAAAY too big a hurry, and kept tailgating everyone. I was doing my best to not let her pass, because she was really irritating me. (The tailgating thing is one of my biggest pet peeves.) She ended up right behind me, tailgating again, so I hit my brakes a couple of times to warn her to back off. It didn't work. Then we came to a red light, and as I was slowing down, she passed me on the right, like she was going to turn at the light, but then pulled back in front of me-RIGHT in front of the cop who was sitting in the parking lot driveway. She got pulled over. It was great. I hope she looked in her rear-view mirror and saw me laughing at her. :)
Have a great day-I know I will!

One-Word Survey

2006-06-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

1. Yourself: Quirky.
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: Goofy.
3. Your hair: Blonder.
4. Your Mother: Artist.
5. Your Siblings: Christogirls.
6. Your Favorite Item: Chapstick.
7. Your dream last night: Shopping.
8. Your Favorite Drink: Water.
9. Your Dream Home: Castle.
10. The Room You Are In: Office.
12. Your fear: Sharks.
13. Where do you Want to be in Ten Years? Elsewhere.
14. Who you hung out with last night: Beany.
15. What You're Not: Hungry.
16. Your Best Friends: Kendall.
17. One of Your Wish List Items: Diploma.
18. Your Gender:Female
19. The Last Thing You Did: Answer.
20. What You Are Wearing: Shoes.
21. Your favorite weather:Fall
22. Your Favorite Book? The Blue Castle
23.Last thing you ate? Enchiladas.
24. Your Life: Slower.
25. Your mood: Happy.
26. The last person you talked to on the phone: Jamie.
27. Who are you thinking about right now? Jamie.

2006-06-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

In my Internet search for my new favorite artist, whose name I still can't remember, I stumbled across a very cool website. My mom, at least, will appreciate it. And if anyone knows the name of the (I believe) French artist who painted fairies and muses with cool borders around them, in the Art Nouveau style (think the poster in Monica's living room on "Friends"), and whose first name starts with an A, that would be great. :) In the meantime, look at this site. It's really neat.
http://www.artcyclopedia.com

Update: Never mind, I found it. His name is Alphonse Mucha. And he's not French, he Czech. Hence the confusion on my part. :)

2006-06-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

This was my day yesterday:

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20060624/cx_crbal_uc/crbal20060624;_ylt=AqEmlnKOeMTqu.Ji5rnkl4HpcLQF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

'Nough said.

2006-06-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Duh!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13370762/

2006-06-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is for the ChristoGirls:
http://doihavetocallitablog.blogspot.com/2006/06/wordnerdiness-101.html .
Enjoy!

Dixie Chicks

2006-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

This morning on my morning radio talk show the hosts were talking about the Dixie Chicks, their comments about Bush, their new album, and their new-and growing, apparently-fanbase. The new single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," has been banned from a bunch of radio stations, (which is unfortunate, because it's a great song), so hearing it twice on the same station within 20 minutes was really a treat. Anyway, it got me all fired up, so I'm going to try to be diplomatic, since I know some people who read this blog are considerably more conservative than I, but I'm still going to write about it.
When the Dixie Chicks first made their comment about Bush, (Natalie Maines said that she was embarrassed to be from Texas, because that's where he's "from", although he's actually from Connecticut-don't let the accent fool you), I was really impressed. It took a lot of guts, particularly since, at the time, about half the US supported him. But what I think is really great is that even when people came down on her for the comment, she didn't backpedal. She stood by what she believed. To be completely honest, if I'd been in a foreign country at that time, I probably would have done something similar; I may have been born and raised here, but I didn't vote for Bush, I don't have to agree with the things he does, and I don't have to think he's a great person and that he's doing a great job running the country. This is what America is about. The founding fathers were a bunch of raging liberals, and what they said to England was basically the same thing as what Natalie Maines said about Bush: "We don't agree with what you're doing, and we want the world to know that we're not a part of it."
I'm very lucky right now to be living in a state where almost everyone I come into contact with is liberal. It's extremely validating to be surrounded by people who share your opinions (although how we came to have a Republican "governator" is beyond me). But regardless of whether you're liberal or conservative, standing by your beliefs is really important. (Even though conservatives drive me crazy sometimes, I realize that they're just as important to the future of the nation-and the world-as liberals. You need a balance.) And I don't think there's anything wrong in disagreeing with what the government is doing, particularly if they're not the administration you voted for. We are, after all, a "free speech" country, whatever that means now.
And that's all I have to say about that.