It’s Been Awhile

I’m here, I’m alive, just have not been in the mood to blog whatsoever.
The slow season is in full force at work, so Tuesdays and Wednesdays are very slow, thus being able to hop online to find time killers.

Pete and I will be traveling to Annapolis on Thursday. I’m hoping the cats won’t tear the apartment apart while we’re gone (my parents will be checking in on them, don’t worry). They’ve gotten into this bad habit of chasing each other around when I get up for even a few minutes during the night so they’ve had to be shut out of the bedroom for several nights now. They freak out for a little bit, then settle down.

Starting to get a bit of a cold. The better part of my drive to work involved driving with one hand, and wiping my nose with whatever napkins or tissue like options I could find. I’m reminded of Emily’s poem on phlegm:

PHLEGM BOT

3 a.m. my cell says
awake so’s not to asphyxiate
mucous trapped twixt
soft palate and esophagus

(phagus phage thing-that-devours)

cough
sputum suction
harsh hacking
drip draining
sticky snot

6 a.m. out of bed
frost warning, fumbling clothes
dawn’s promise clear but
watery and far away

drive
defrost
headlights
soft talk from car speakers

cough
something
yellow
semi-solid

stomach lurching
inside out
reach for the glovebox
fast food napkins
stashed for such emergencies
supply dangerously low

red light stop
fumble past insurance card
and ads for nitrogen inflation
white paper savior
pull out serviette, push down bile
spit

saliva coating
perfect noxious membrane
ochre orb of doom

phlegm bot
infiltrated my system
mission: seek and destroy
likely to fail
but when it does
secondary mission: upon expulsion
make her expel her breakfast

Now, I’m not quite that bad, although my nose makes noises when I breathe in. Not overly loud, but obnoxious noises.

So…

What do you do when you come to terms with the fact that you returned to school for all the wrong reasons, but now it’s said and done and you really wish you could start over? Granted, had I not done things the way I had, I would’ve never met Pete, but still. I feel so lost at times in the position I’m in. I graduated college finally, but I feel like I wasted my time there by not spending enough time exploring my options and a bunch of other things.
Sorry to rain on the normally happy parade, but this has been weighing me down lately. I feel somewhat lost really.

Long post is long?

Me: “Good morning, [place of work]“
Guy on other end: “Yes, is this [place of work]
No dude, I only say it to try and confuse the crap out of people

Me: “I’m sorry [co-worker] is on another line with a driver, can I take a message?”
Idiot: “No, [co-worker] did not pick up the other line. Can you try him again?”
It pays to listen to me, seriously. Moron.

Those were sadly the high[low]lights of my day. The rest of the workday was spent between the database that won’t be put into effect until the beginning of the new year, and the usual Thursday bullocks… And playing Farmville on Facebook because, well, I’m addicted to the damn game. That and reading blogs. Like I told Emily, I just have not been in the mood to post, so I haven’t.

I ended the vegan experiment after a bad run in with some eggplant and opting to eat yogurt to try and get some of the good bacteria in my system. This was last Saturday and I’ve been having a hell of a time with a lot of different foods since. Should we be surprised? No.
Amazingly enough though, I still haven’t had meat/fish/poultry other than chicken eggs, which yes, my stomach is making me pay for. Oh well

I have learned to listen to my body a little more. I’m also doing my best to try and keep track of what I eat now since I’ve been having problems. I’ve also learned little things, like chard is awesome and aids in making really awesome green smoothies and that Mustard Seed Market in Solon is the most awesome grocery ever.

On a different note, I wish I had known about Halestorm sooner. They’re a pretty awesome group, yay for hard rock groups with female leads!

Have to go to my parents’ this weekend, which in all honesty, I’m not looking forward to. Especially with the major political insanity going on and Dad going on his ignorant high horse saying idiotic things and throwing out the n-word and death wishes left and right, I can’t stand being around him. I need to get more of my stuff out of there, but I hate subjecting myself and Pete to it, and I honestly refuse to go there alone anymore. I still have some emotional issues and dealing with a minor depressive funk, but getting out of there was one of the best things and I don’t think I could ever go back there to live. On the downside, Ohio in and of itself still doesn’t feel like home to me. I don’t think it ever will :/

Whee

I’ve been bad about updating. I’m sorry

My new favorite snack is a mix of dried fruit and peanuts. Simple, yet majorly yummy. Thanks Pete.
Need to get more spinach for my smoothies, they actually taste better to me with a handful of it in there which seems crazy.
I’m exhausted so I’m cutting this short.

*Insert U2 song title with the word “Sunday” in it*

I woke up with a headache and cramping. Yeah, that time, like you really needed to know that.

Have eaten very little, mostly pineapple slices and admittedly, a couple rice krispie treats (these used soy products in them as opposed to milk, which I found interesting, but considering soy is subsidized, I’m not surprised).  Also had my daily green smoothie, plus a cup of tea and some water.

Chaucer the bear saw I was making tea and wanted a cup of his own. My demitasse cups are the perfect size for him and I cut a rice krispie treat into bear size portions, serving it on one of my little dipping sauce plates.

Naturally, I had to snap a picture

Green Smoothies

I’ve mentioned how much I’m loving green smoothies, so it only seems appropriate that I post what I put in mine.

My blender has been getting a workout since the first day I got it.  I forgot how much I had enjoyed having one.

Anyway, my basic green smoothies contains the following

1. handful of spinach

2. filtered water

3. blueberries

4. honey or agave nectar

5. banana

Always blend the spinach and water first plus whatever other veggies you want in there as you want to make sure everything is well blended. Add whatever else.  The only one I haven’t liked is one I put peanut butter in. It just wasn’t good for whatever reason.

First Week in Review

I went to bed far later than normal and yet I only slept in until 6. Then again, I could’ve gone back to bed after visiting the loo, but chose to stay up. Watching Giada cooking up one of my favorite non-vegan dishes – stuffed shells manicotti.

Anyway

So it’s been a week since I decided to start this experiment and I’ve had a few slip ups. Ultimately though, I’ve done quite well, and I haven’t given up on it, which says a lot.

So here’s what I’ve realized thus far:

1. I have a LOT more energy. I’ve gone the entire work week without a cup of coffee, which given that I’m up at 3-3:30 in the morning, says a lot.
2. While I’ll question a little bit longer if it’s a fluke or not, my mood has picked up drastically. I still have those few little issues that bother me, but in all seriousness, they could bother me much more than they do.
3. Green smoothies are awesome and far surpass the power of any of those energy drinks while being far less harmful
4. I’m drinking more water, and my skin and body are thanking me for it.
5. The bulk section of the Whole Foods on Chagrin is my new best friend

I won’t be doing nearly the amount of cooking I did last weekend, but I do plan on making falafel and possibly the banana nut muffins Meghan posted about in her blog. I’m also making my way through Green and Crunchy (Thanks again Amy!) and am going to snag a few things from there.

And since I haven’t been posting too many pictures, here’s another one from last weekend’s venture to Chagrin Falls.

The person in blue is sitting there painting. There were a couple people settled down there doing that, pretty cool

It’s Friday, I’m in Love

I’m not going to bore you with a post

Instead, I must share with you this macro that is very reflective of Tuxie, that is until we covered the space under the fridge with a piece of cardboard

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Now, he just bats his mice under the kitchen cart, which we in turn fish out using a wire coat hanger.

Oy

Headache like none other, but that’s what I get for consuming too many dried wasabi peas.  They’re gone now (finally) so no more pain from eating too many.  As my body adjusts, I found myself having to start one more round of omeprazole (acid reflux ftl).  Overall though, I’m noticing my personality and mood taking a turn for the better, which I’m hoping is a result of this change in diet and not just a fluke.  I’m definitely feeling a heck of a lot better overall.

I think green smoothies are my newest weakness. Thus far, I haven’t made one I didn’t like (nor found one that Pete likes), and hell, it’s getting me to consume nutrient rich avocados! Go figure right?

Thanks to Miss Amy, I’ve been following Green and Crunchy. This is seriously one awesome vegan oriented blog.  There’s a lot of inspiration in that blog.

Oh! I took the last bit of vegan brownie into work and shared it with people. It smelled like soy sauce at that point but those who tried it loved it! And boo to one of my bosses, who wouldn’t try it because it was vegan, your loss pal, this was better than the regular brownie out of a box you’re used to!

In other news

Panda Cam! A new little panda was born at the San Diego Zoo yesterday.  I’ve been watching the panda cam in hopes of catching a glimpse, though it seems to be stuck on the den cam and I don’t think that’s Mama Panda and little one sleeping there

They also have polar bear, elephant, and ape cams

I should be taking pictures

Last night’s meal wasn’t impressive in looks though, but it was pretty yummy. The avocado was ripe so as I mentioned I made sushi. Avocado, cucumber, and carrot were the fillings, wrapped in nori and served with some sauteed asparagus.

This morning I’m drinking the other half of the green smoothie I made last night. This one’s a cocktail of remnants and other stuff. Avocado, carrot, cuke, spinach, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, water, and soy yogurt. I’m really surprised at how yummy these are.