www.vegankaren.com
New web site will be up and running by the weekend.
VeganKaren.com for all things vegan.
Your one stop vegan shop!
17 April 2012
NEW WEB SITE:
Okay, the new web site is up and running.
This blog will stay here. You will be able to get great Vegan info here and updates on health and wellness.
You will not, however, get free recipes anymore. :(
They are available on the web site now.
www.vegankaren.com
I will take the "leg work" out of going vegan for you.
There are 28 Day Menu plans available and 7 day detox plans available as well.
I will even send you a juicer if you buy the 7 day detox plus!
So fret not, movie reviews will still be seen here.
Cycling info and fitness in general and all things vegan (sans the actual recipes)
See you at vegankaren.com!
This blog will stay here. You will be able to get great Vegan info here and updates on health and wellness.
You will not, however, get free recipes anymore. :(
They are available on the web site now.
www.vegankaren.com
I will take the "leg work" out of going vegan for you.
There are 28 Day Menu plans available and 7 day detox plans available as well.
I will even send you a juicer if you buy the 7 day detox plus!
So fret not, movie reviews will still be seen here.
Cycling info and fitness in general and all things vegan (sans the actual recipes)
See you at vegankaren.com!
15 April 2012
This blog is moving.
www.vegankaren.com will be up and running shortly.
Please enjoy all the blog posts you have come to expect plus MUCH MUCH more on the new blog.
See you there!
Please enjoy all the blog posts you have come to expect plus MUCH MUCH more on the new blog.
See you there!
11 April 2012
Snowing....Coffee...Orioles....Biggest Loser...pizza and pancakes.
Waking up this morning, I came downstairs to look out the window and see snow flying all over.
I was hoping it was the lovely white flowers from the tree in the garden, however, it was snow.
GAH!
It's April.
I have seedlings sprouting on the back porch.
I want to plant stuff!!!!!!!!!
We had 80 degree days in MARCH! Now it's mid April and snow is flying.
Now, I live in an area that DOES get snow late in the season but after having such a mild winter, I am ready to start planting.
I want to work the soil and plant tomoatoes and lettuce and carrots and peppers. (Oh my)
The snow didn't fly for long, but it did fly.
The cats went out and promptly came back inside.
We have the gas fire going.
I wore shorts in March! Now I am wearing sweats!
Okay, I know, stop complaining, I can't do anything about the weather.
Have you tried Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee? We recently got a K-Cup coffee maker at work and I have tried the Dark Magic, regular and decaf and they are GREAT!
I love the K-Cup idea. I don't want one for the house, since I think it's too expensive for home use but for work it's perfect.
Work is a movie theater and of course, like in most theaters things cost a little more, but the coffee price is $2 a cup (10oz) but the best thing of all that I have found, with the K-Cups you can go as small as 4 oz or as large as 12 oz. Sooooooooo, I buy a cup of coffee at the $2 price. BUT, I make sure I buy it after all the customers have gone into the movies, so that I can brew my cup at 6 oz, that leaves me room for Soy Very Vanilla milk, AND when I drink that, since I haven't removed the K-Cup from the coffee maker, I run another 6 oz through the cup. TA DA! It's like getting a 12 oz cup of coffee, but I get to take my time and it's all warm! LOL!
How 'bout dem O's?
They are doing really well this season. Yay! That epic game with the Yankees last night was something! I am holding out the GREAT HOPE for this season. I think this will be the one!
When will the Biggest Loser (a show I used to watch all the time but have stopped watching with the exception of the last two shows since Michelle Obama was on it) stop letting meat industries sponsor the show and tell the contestants the truth about meat and dairy?
I am guessing that will never happen.
People need to be educated about what meat and dairy actually DO to your body. Then maybe we will see REAL healthy people coming off that show.
The weight loss would be HUGE without meat and dairy consumption.
We had pizzas again last night. This time I made the "no cheese" sauce for one and thai sauce for the other. Topped them with orange bell peppers, portabella mushrooms, spinach, corn, tofu, pineapple and the crust was made from whole wheat and buckwheat. They were awesome!!!!!!!
Buckwheat pancakes this morning with banana and walnuts (and a couple pecans, as I had a few left.) Also Very Yummy!!!
Good food for cold April days.
Ugh, I want to PLANT THINGS!!!!!!!!!
I was hoping it was the lovely white flowers from the tree in the garden, however, it was snow.
GAH!
It's April.
I have seedlings sprouting on the back porch.
I want to plant stuff!!!!!!!!!
We had 80 degree days in MARCH! Now it's mid April and snow is flying.
Now, I live in an area that DOES get snow late in the season but after having such a mild winter, I am ready to start planting.
I want to work the soil and plant tomoatoes and lettuce and carrots and peppers. (Oh my)
The snow didn't fly for long, but it did fly.
The cats went out and promptly came back inside.
We have the gas fire going.
I wore shorts in March! Now I am wearing sweats!
Okay, I know, stop complaining, I can't do anything about the weather.
Have you tried Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee? We recently got a K-Cup coffee maker at work and I have tried the Dark Magic, regular and decaf and they are GREAT!
I love the K-Cup idea. I don't want one for the house, since I think it's too expensive for home use but for work it's perfect.
Work is a movie theater and of course, like in most theaters things cost a little more, but the coffee price is $2 a cup (10oz) but the best thing of all that I have found, with the K-Cups you can go as small as 4 oz or as large as 12 oz. Sooooooooo, I buy a cup of coffee at the $2 price. BUT, I make sure I buy it after all the customers have gone into the movies, so that I can brew my cup at 6 oz, that leaves me room for Soy Very Vanilla milk, AND when I drink that, since I haven't removed the K-Cup from the coffee maker, I run another 6 oz through the cup. TA DA! It's like getting a 12 oz cup of coffee, but I get to take my time and it's all warm! LOL!
How 'bout dem O's?
They are doing really well this season. Yay! That epic game with the Yankees last night was something! I am holding out the GREAT HOPE for this season. I think this will be the one!
When will the Biggest Loser (a show I used to watch all the time but have stopped watching with the exception of the last two shows since Michelle Obama was on it) stop letting meat industries sponsor the show and tell the contestants the truth about meat and dairy?
I am guessing that will never happen.
People need to be educated about what meat and dairy actually DO to your body. Then maybe we will see REAL healthy people coming off that show.
The weight loss would be HUGE without meat and dairy consumption.
We had pizzas again last night. This time I made the "no cheese" sauce for one and thai sauce for the other. Topped them with orange bell peppers, portabella mushrooms, spinach, corn, tofu, pineapple and the crust was made from whole wheat and buckwheat. They were awesome!!!!!!!
Buckwheat pancakes this morning with banana and walnuts (and a couple pecans, as I had a few left.) Also Very Yummy!!!
Good food for cold April days.
Ugh, I want to PLANT THINGS!!!!!!!!!
05 April 2012
Woody Allen and me...
Woody Allen and I have had quite a tumultuous affair over the years.
His sense of humor has dazzled me and sent me into fits of hysterics. Then sometimes I was bored so senseless that watching paint dry would have been preferable.
Manhatten Murder Mystery - LOVED IT!
Annie Hall - uh no thanks.
Sleeper - great!
Love and Death, Zelig, Radio Days - J'Adore!
Manhattan, Everyone Says I Love You and Mighty Aphrodite - BLECH! I never want to see them again.
But now..., this strange moment in time, this exact place in space, where my thoughts and Allan Stewart Konigsberg's thoughts intermingled for a blissful 94 minutes.
Midnight in Paris.
Ebert liked it with 3 1/2 stars.
Peter Travers gave it the same.
Pete Hammond of Box Office Magazine gives it 4.5 stars!
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 93%, not so rotten.
I give it a 10 out of 10.
I was completely and utterly blown away.
And not for the reasons that everyone else was.
Yes, it was a "Valentine to Paris..." and it was a "daydream of American Lit majors."
It was also the most fleshed out story about someone who thinks "if only I lived THEN!"
I have been guilty of this most of my adult life... whether that time be a time of the past or possibly a time of the future (Thank you Douglas Adams for sending me in that direction!)
Midnight in Paris is superb in every respect.
Owen Wilson, whom I usually disdain, was perfectly fine in this lead role. I didn't have to so much become invested in him and his ideas since this IDEA was not foreign to me in the least, quite the contrary. This idea of living in another time, via a portal of sorts, is a lover to me.
I can remember the very first time travel movie that started this intrigue, or should I say obsession.
Planet of the Apes. The sight of the Statue of Liberty's head still gives me goosebumps.
I remember each movie or story that sparked the tiny ember that turned into a towering inferno in my brain.
Time After Time
A Christmas Carol (the book)
Somewhere in Time
Dr. Who
The Final Countdown
Time Bandits
Quantum Leap
The Time Machine (Books and Movie)
Back to the Future
Slaughter House 5
Peggy Sue Got Married (where she was going to CHANGE things!)
Frequency
Timeline
Even Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This list can go on and on!
Of course The Restaurant at the End of the Universe allowed me to view time travel in a completely different light.
But my own ideas about being able to slip away and live two lives, one in the present and one in the years that I prefered (and yes, like Woody I have dreamed of the 20's but mostly I lived my fantasy in the 40's.)
This movie sang to me. A loud and playful song about dreams, desires and reality.
This movie didn't preach to me, it prodded me in the right direction.
I highly recommend this movie, as I feel it will be something different each of us.
And for anyone who had their bag packed with spare clothes and a towel (because you really have to know where your towel is!) should see this film.
His sense of humor has dazzled me and sent me into fits of hysterics. Then sometimes I was bored so senseless that watching paint dry would have been preferable.
Manhatten Murder Mystery - LOVED IT!
Annie Hall - uh no thanks.
Sleeper - great!
Love and Death, Zelig, Radio Days - J'Adore!
Manhattan, Everyone Says I Love You and Mighty Aphrodite - BLECH! I never want to see them again.
But now..., this strange moment in time, this exact place in space, where my thoughts and Allan Stewart Konigsberg's thoughts intermingled for a blissful 94 minutes.
Midnight in Paris.
Ebert liked it with 3 1/2 stars.
Peter Travers gave it the same.
Pete Hammond of Box Office Magazine gives it 4.5 stars!
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 93%, not so rotten.
I give it a 10 out of 10.
I was completely and utterly blown away.
And not for the reasons that everyone else was.
Yes, it was a "Valentine to Paris..." and it was a "daydream of American Lit majors."
It was also the most fleshed out story about someone who thinks "if only I lived THEN!"
I have been guilty of this most of my adult life... whether that time be a time of the past or possibly a time of the future (Thank you Douglas Adams for sending me in that direction!)
Midnight in Paris is superb in every respect.
Owen Wilson, whom I usually disdain, was perfectly fine in this lead role. I didn't have to so much become invested in him and his ideas since this IDEA was not foreign to me in the least, quite the contrary. This idea of living in another time, via a portal of sorts, is a lover to me.
I can remember the very first time travel movie that started this intrigue, or should I say obsession.
Planet of the Apes. The sight of the Statue of Liberty's head still gives me goosebumps.
I remember each movie or story that sparked the tiny ember that turned into a towering inferno in my brain.
Time After Time
A Christmas Carol (the book)
Somewhere in Time
Dr. Who
The Final Countdown
Time Bandits
Quantum Leap
The Time Machine (Books and Movie)
Back to the Future
Slaughter House 5
Peggy Sue Got Married (where she was going to CHANGE things!)
Frequency
Timeline
Even Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This list can go on and on!
Of course The Restaurant at the End of the Universe allowed me to view time travel in a completely different light.
But my own ideas about being able to slip away and live two lives, one in the present and one in the years that I prefered (and yes, like Woody I have dreamed of the 20's but mostly I lived my fantasy in the 40's.)
This movie sang to me. A loud and playful song about dreams, desires and reality.
This movie didn't preach to me, it prodded me in the right direction.
I highly recommend this movie, as I feel it will be something different each of us.
And for anyone who had their bag packed with spare clothes and a towel (because you really have to know where your towel is!) should see this film.
03 April 2012
Are we waking up as a nation?
I am hoping the answer to this is yes. More and more we are seeing articles, online stories, documentaries and tv "magazines" spots on Heart Disease and Cancer. We are seeing the link between animal milk and cancer and animal products and heart disease. We, as a society, understand that eating these items is making us FATTER, giving us cancer and heart disease and simply put, KILLING US.
A recent report has given us the news that our children are going to be the first generation to live less years then their parents.
Take a moment to comprehend this.
If you are in your 30's today, and your children are in elementary school today, then if you live to be 70 years old, your child will not make it that long.
All of this due to heart disease, kidney disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes (which has been renamed due to all the kids getting it! It used to be called Adult Onset Diabetes, but with so many kids getting it they changed the name!!!)
As I watch these documentaries that explain to people who are grossely overweight that if they do not change now, they will not live to see thier children graduate High School.
These same people say they understand and that they want to change but they can't.
Those words "I CAN'T" have always made me insane. I have used them in life from time to time but it's been a lie. I could have, IF I WANTED TO. I just didn't want to. I liked NOT doing whatever it was that someone wanted me to do. LOL.
These fat people CAN change is what I thought.
Well, that's half true. They can change if they want, but the odds are against them. I am currently reading a great book called "The End Of Overeating." by David Kessler, MD.
It explains that the "opioids" in our brains that are released when we equate pleasure with something are released almost on a constant basis when we eat high fat, high sugar, high salt content foods.
There is no coincidence that the chain restaurants hire chemists as well as PR people.
These chemists KNOW the precise percentages of fat, sugar and salt that will equal a persons "bliss point" with food intake.
Once the chemists create the most saturated foods to get people to release opioids, thus creating a "need" for that food item, the PR gurus take over and write LAVISH dramas, aka: commercials, where they describe in vivid detail what each mouthful will taste like.
This onslaught bombards us daily. You can't watch CSI, House Hunters, CNN news, or even Grimm without being assailed by commercials for unhealthy foods.
At this very moment that I am writing this, I have another window up with my facebook page and RIGHT THERE, despite my blogs to the contrary, there is a Dairy Milk advertisement! (Yes, I do click the X button and then click the OFFENSIVE button - LOL - over the top, maybe, but proving my own point!)
I read recently that the sales of animal milk has been steadily dropping since 1990. Conversely, the sales of Almond Milk rose by 79% in 2011! YAY!
This has, of course, given the Dairy industry a fright of monumental proportions. They have decided to launch a barage to the FDA to ban the use of the word milk by anyone not using it for Cow's milk. Hmmmm, The Leche League should be thrilled by this!
However, even with this attack on the populace, we can still get a grip as a nation on our food consumption.
Changing to a plant based, whole foods diet will not only make us healthy, it will save our lives.
We all die. There is no changing that fact. But how we live until we do die can be dramatically different then what life is like without changing.
Wouldn't you like to be able to ride a bike, or go jogging, or maybe just get up off the sofa without having to maneuver to the edge first and then do the double push up to get up, until you are ancient?
I know I would.
Well, I will be able to do all those things, since I have embrassed life on a plant based diet, I will be able to ride my bike well into my 80's. Steve will be jogging along side my bike as well.
We will be active, right up to the point where we keel over. LOL.
I am hoping as a nation we wise up, put down the McDonald's fries and pick up the kale.
The cost of health care in this country is skyrocketing. We pay more than any other industialized nation for our health care cost.
This will cripple us completely soon. I won't say "in the future" because that future is not far enough away. Yes, 5 years from now is the future, but using that word makes people think they have PLENTY OF TIME to deal with it.
YOU DON'T!
The time is now.
We MUST deal with our health before we completely bankrupt ourselves.
And why not? We will feel better, have more energy and be happier!
Good Luck. (You won't need it, because you can do it!)
A recent report has given us the news that our children are going to be the first generation to live less years then their parents.
Take a moment to comprehend this.
If you are in your 30's today, and your children are in elementary school today, then if you live to be 70 years old, your child will not make it that long.
All of this due to heart disease, kidney disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes (which has been renamed due to all the kids getting it! It used to be called Adult Onset Diabetes, but with so many kids getting it they changed the name!!!)
As I watch these documentaries that explain to people who are grossely overweight that if they do not change now, they will not live to see thier children graduate High School.
These same people say they understand and that they want to change but they can't.
Those words "I CAN'T" have always made me insane. I have used them in life from time to time but it's been a lie. I could have, IF I WANTED TO. I just didn't want to. I liked NOT doing whatever it was that someone wanted me to do. LOL.
These fat people CAN change is what I thought.
Well, that's half true. They can change if they want, but the odds are against them. I am currently reading a great book called "The End Of Overeating." by David Kessler, MD.
It explains that the "opioids" in our brains that are released when we equate pleasure with something are released almost on a constant basis when we eat high fat, high sugar, high salt content foods.
There is no coincidence that the chain restaurants hire chemists as well as PR people.
These chemists KNOW the precise percentages of fat, sugar and salt that will equal a persons "bliss point" with food intake.
Once the chemists create the most saturated foods to get people to release opioids, thus creating a "need" for that food item, the PR gurus take over and write LAVISH dramas, aka: commercials, where they describe in vivid detail what each mouthful will taste like.
This onslaught bombards us daily. You can't watch CSI, House Hunters, CNN news, or even Grimm without being assailed by commercials for unhealthy foods.
At this very moment that I am writing this, I have another window up with my facebook page and RIGHT THERE, despite my blogs to the contrary, there is a Dairy Milk advertisement! (Yes, I do click the X button and then click the OFFENSIVE button - LOL - over the top, maybe, but proving my own point!)
I read recently that the sales of animal milk has been steadily dropping since 1990. Conversely, the sales of Almond Milk rose by 79% in 2011! YAY!
This has, of course, given the Dairy industry a fright of monumental proportions. They have decided to launch a barage to the FDA to ban the use of the word milk by anyone not using it for Cow's milk. Hmmmm, The Leche League should be thrilled by this!
However, even with this attack on the populace, we can still get a grip as a nation on our food consumption.
Changing to a plant based, whole foods diet will not only make us healthy, it will save our lives.
We all die. There is no changing that fact. But how we live until we do die can be dramatically different then what life is like without changing.
Wouldn't you like to be able to ride a bike, or go jogging, or maybe just get up off the sofa without having to maneuver to the edge first and then do the double push up to get up, until you are ancient?
I know I would.
Well, I will be able to do all those things, since I have embrassed life on a plant based diet, I will be able to ride my bike well into my 80's. Steve will be jogging along side my bike as well.
We will be active, right up to the point where we keel over. LOL.
I am hoping as a nation we wise up, put down the McDonald's fries and pick up the kale.
The cost of health care in this country is skyrocketing. We pay more than any other industialized nation for our health care cost.
This will cripple us completely soon. I won't say "in the future" because that future is not far enough away. Yes, 5 years from now is the future, but using that word makes people think they have PLENTY OF TIME to deal with it.
YOU DON'T!
The time is now.
We MUST deal with our health before we completely bankrupt ourselves.
And why not? We will feel better, have more energy and be happier!
Good Luck. (You won't need it, because you can do it!)
01 April 2012
The Innkeepers
So, Abbey and I watched The Inkeepers tonight. The trailer looked really good and spooky and I thought, WHAT THE HELL, I will pay for it. So we rented it on Dish on Demand.
Hmmmm, where should I start?
How about DON'T PAY FOR THIS MOVIE!!!!! EVER!!!!!
Now, I can say that the first 3/4's of this movie are really cool. The suspense builds and things are funny and spooky at the same time.
Sara Paxton is really good and believable as is Pat Healy. Kelly McGillis shows up (sans Tom Cruise or a jet fighter jacket, thank goodness!) and is looking VERY different these days. However, she is very good in her part. Her character is extremely interesting and even though she is a supporting character, she is well fleshed out.
The Woman and Child (AKA: Gozer and the demon seed) are there possibly as red herrings or possibly as a modern day illustration for the "myth" of Madaline.
The movie is slow but not annoyingly so. You are invested in the characters and Luke's slow decent into complete horror is very well filmed. (and acted)
Claire of course ends up doing the ONE THING she is told NOT TO DO.
Which since this is a horror movie, we expect her to do even while we are shouting at the screen NO NO NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? GAH! Don't go in there!!!!! GAAAHHHHH!
Now, I know what you are thinking, this movie is sounding awesome. Why did you tell me to never pay for it?
Well, the ending is why.
I think I can really consider myself a horror movie afficionado, after the GAZILLIONS of horror movies I have watched and the script that I and an old friend have knocked around once. So, I NEED A PAY OFF.
When you build up my interest and make me care about characters, then you damn well better tell me, show me, or make it so I can explain WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!
S P O I L E R A L E R T ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
When the ending goes through the motions of wrapping things up, but doesn't really explain a thing, then it really can't call itself and epilogue now can it?
The little chapters breaking up the movie into parts was really cool.
When you get to Chapter Three: The Final Guest, you are really stoked to see what's going to happen.
He is perfectly creepy and insistant and HORROR-IFIC.
Sigh.
I really wanted to see what happened to her, or hear how it effected the other two characters, or at least have Kelly McGillis' character tell us that she knew it was all going to happen and WHY!!!!!!!
Unanswered questions are okay in a horror movie, as long as you have been giving the tools to figure it out for yourself.
We were giving the tools and a lot of other "half-tools" that we needed more info to process properly.
Ok, Madaline hung herself and was stashed in the cellar by the hotel owners so as not to cause a commotion in the town and for publicity.
But, we then hear that there isn't just one spirit, but three.
Really? Who are they? Why are they there? What's their beef?
This is very dissapointing.
The build up was cool, but the pay off simply wasn't.
Hmmmm, where should I start?
How about DON'T PAY FOR THIS MOVIE!!!!! EVER!!!!!
Now, I can say that the first 3/4's of this movie are really cool. The suspense builds and things are funny and spooky at the same time.
Sara Paxton is really good and believable as is Pat Healy. Kelly McGillis shows up (sans Tom Cruise or a jet fighter jacket, thank goodness!) and is looking VERY different these days. However, she is very good in her part. Her character is extremely interesting and even though she is a supporting character, she is well fleshed out.
The Woman and Child (AKA: Gozer and the demon seed) are there possibly as red herrings or possibly as a modern day illustration for the "myth" of Madaline.
The movie is slow but not annoyingly so. You are invested in the characters and Luke's slow decent into complete horror is very well filmed. (and acted)
Claire of course ends up doing the ONE THING she is told NOT TO DO.
Which since this is a horror movie, we expect her to do even while we are shouting at the screen NO NO NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? GAH! Don't go in there!!!!! GAAAHHHHH!
Now, I know what you are thinking, this movie is sounding awesome. Why did you tell me to never pay for it?
Well, the ending is why.
I think I can really consider myself a horror movie afficionado, after the GAZILLIONS of horror movies I have watched and the script that I and an old friend have knocked around once. So, I NEED A PAY OFF.
When you build up my interest and make me care about characters, then you damn well better tell me, show me, or make it so I can explain WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!
S P O I L E R A L E R T ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
When the ending goes through the motions of wrapping things up, but doesn't really explain a thing, then it really can't call itself and epilogue now can it?
The little chapters breaking up the movie into parts was really cool.
When you get to Chapter Three: The Final Guest, you are really stoked to see what's going to happen.
He is perfectly creepy and insistant and HORROR-IFIC.
Sigh.
I really wanted to see what happened to her, or hear how it effected the other two characters, or at least have Kelly McGillis' character tell us that she knew it was all going to happen and WHY!!!!!!!
Unanswered questions are okay in a horror movie, as long as you have been giving the tools to figure it out for yourself.
We were giving the tools and a lot of other "half-tools" that we needed more info to process properly.
Ok, Madaline hung herself and was stashed in the cellar by the hotel owners so as not to cause a commotion in the town and for publicity.
But, we then hear that there isn't just one spirit, but three.
Really? Who are they? Why are they there? What's their beef?
This is very dissapointing.
The build up was cool, but the pay off simply wasn't.
25 March 2012
Customer Service
I am an avid fan of Jennifer Lancaster, the author and late night online purchaser, who lives in the Chicago area. I read her blog, her books, and have her on my facebook. She posted a link today to one of the people she reads and this link was an open letter to a food delivery company called Flavor 180. Now, living in a rural-ish area of Maryland we don't have large food delivery services. We have pizza delivery and Chinese delivery and believe it or not we have Sushi delivery! LOL! I KNOW! Right?! But that is the latest enterprise in our lovely mountain 'berg. I hope it does well. I really like it when something new and NOT PIZZA opens up in town.
However, I digress, I am aware of how things in a large city work (I used to order food when we lived in the Baltimore area all the time.)
So this woman, Gina, who is an online blogger and from what I gather, rather a big name in media, tried 3 times with this company called Flavor 180 to get food. Please click here to get to her letter.
I will let you read her letter and not go on about it here, but I will also like to talk about customer service.
Those of you who know me, know I manage a movie theater in my town. You also know that I am quite talkative and have a habit of being very friendly when tranacting (is that a verb) with customers.
I have had moments of customer service faux pas over the years. Some customers have found me offensive and not funny, as my intent surely was at the time. However, I did have one really blatant bad customer service moment. It was not excusable, despite the fact that the Frostburg State University student was horrible and deserved it, I was the manager and I should have been professional.
Now, I am all for understanding when customers are complete assholes and deserve what they get, but still, as far as customer service goes, you strive to be excellent, or at least you should.
I want customers to think of my little theater as the friendly place where we know your name, or at least how you like your popcorn! Customer Service is my number one priority as I tell my employees, to make sure when a customer has two movies they want to see, our wonderful service will help them decide to come to our theater and not the other one.
I also feel for cashiers in shops where the customer in front of me is a total ass. That poor cashier can't tell them off, not if they want to keep their jobs, so I like to butt in and tell them off. Since I am just in line, I am a customer and can say whatever I like. Or when it's my time, I like to say that things that I KNOW that cashier must be thinking. Make them smile, let them know that Yes, indeed, we all saw that asshole and know they are an asshole.
Have I ever been a customer from hell? OF COURSE! Who hasn't? They has been a time in everyone's lives when we were irritated by a cashier, or person that is supposed to be helping us and they are not. We act the fool and then storm out of the shop. "Yeah, that will teach them, we think to ourselves" but it doesn't, they just think, what an asshole and move on.
Bad customers upset my employees a lot. Since we are a small theater with a small staff, the kids take it personally when some moron gives them crap because the movie sucked.
I would love to say "Oh yes, since my employee was the director of that film, she is very sorry you hated it." But that would be bad customer service. I try to deflect that kind of barrage, I tell my employees that they are paid minimum wage and thus do not make enough to have to listen to that crap, but I am salaried and am paid to listen to it.
When something unfortunate happens in a customer service situation, as the manager, you try to smooth it out.
Recently, I had such a situation. I was, I thought, making a little tease to one of the customers buying a ticket but they did not take it that way and it was blown up into some rediculously large situation. To the point of a phone call from a relative of the customer.
I simply appoogized to the customers that were with that customer when they complained. Explained that offending them was not my intention. However, that didn't seem to do it, so the phone call came in, I again appologized. This time, I believe that it was accepted.
An illustration of a bad customer service moment rescued? I do hope, however, you never can tell.
I have been at my theater since 1999 but took a sabatical, if you will, for 2.5 years. While I was gone from my theater an incident took place that I will bring up here because it is a perfect example of bad customer service.
It was during Brokeback Mountain and the manager was on the box office window selling tickets. A man came up to buy a ticket to Brokeback Mountain and evidently this movie was long and he was the only one that was buying a ticket to that film. Now, to understand, sometimes at my little theater will show a movie that is super long while the other movies are short. So if one person shows up for the long one, you will be at the theater for the extra hour waiting for that movie to get out. However, as I feel, if you want to see a movie, then you should see it. Whether or not you are the only one in there and I have to wait, and wait and wait some more after I am done all my work for the movie to get out. After all, we are getting paid to wait. Not too shabby, I think! However, this manager I am writing about thought it way shabby evidently. While this customer was asking for a ticket to Brokeback, there was another customer waiting behind them to buy thier ticket.
What I heard was the following: The Manager was reluctant to sell the ticket, so much so, she was telling the customer that he was the only one in there. Words were exchanged back and forth and when the ticket was finally sold to the customer, the manager wads up the change, throws it through the window at the customer and says, enjoy your movie, one of them dies.
WOW!
Really, this is what happened. I do know, because the customer that was behind this poor customer happened to be friends with my ex-assistant who told him about it after she walked away and didn't bother to buy her ticket. I was all the way in Memphis, TN at the time, but got the email. Along with that email, I got the word that I was BADLY missed at the theater and my old customers wanted to know if I would be coming back!
I bet!
When I did finally return, I found several letters writting in to complain about one bad service or another.
My first act as the manager once again was to write to all the letter writters to let them know I had returned and offer them free passes to come back and try us again.
All but 2 of these passes were used.
Then one night about a year after I returned I met two customers that SWORE they would never return after thier nightmare with that interum manager. They told me that they had come to see a movie with thier child and while in the theater the child became ill and vomited. They had to leave, of course, and appologized to the manager for the vomit. She handed them a mop.
(Pausing here for you to re-read that statement. It's not a typo.)
Yes, they were handed a mop.
I was livid and speechless. The woman said to me, yea, how you look is exactly how I felt at the time.
I appologized to them for being treated like that.
She says to me not to appologize, I had nothing to do with that incident.
Still, I felt awful that THAT had happened to them.
I assured them they would NEVER be treated like that again. After their movie was over, I gave them some passes to use for them and their family.
They were very grateful and more grateful that I was manager there again and not that other person. They said they would tell all their friends they could lift the boycott of the cinemas.
Needless to say, customer service is very important and giving great customer service should be priority number one for every business.
So next time you are having a bad day, remember not to take it out on your customers or on that unsuspecting cashier who is only doing her job.
(And if you hate the movie, send an email to the Distributor, don't yell at the usher cleaning up the theater.)
However, I digress, I am aware of how things in a large city work (I used to order food when we lived in the Baltimore area all the time.)
So this woman, Gina, who is an online blogger and from what I gather, rather a big name in media, tried 3 times with this company called Flavor 180 to get food. Please click here to get to her letter.
I will let you read her letter and not go on about it here, but I will also like to talk about customer service.
Those of you who know me, know I manage a movie theater in my town. You also know that I am quite talkative and have a habit of being very friendly when tranacting (is that a verb) with customers.
I have had moments of customer service faux pas over the years. Some customers have found me offensive and not funny, as my intent surely was at the time. However, I did have one really blatant bad customer service moment. It was not excusable, despite the fact that the Frostburg State University student was horrible and deserved it, I was the manager and I should have been professional.
Now, I am all for understanding when customers are complete assholes and deserve what they get, but still, as far as customer service goes, you strive to be excellent, or at least you should.
I want customers to think of my little theater as the friendly place where we know your name, or at least how you like your popcorn! Customer Service is my number one priority as I tell my employees, to make sure when a customer has two movies they want to see, our wonderful service will help them decide to come to our theater and not the other one.
I also feel for cashiers in shops where the customer in front of me is a total ass. That poor cashier can't tell them off, not if they want to keep their jobs, so I like to butt in and tell them off. Since I am just in line, I am a customer and can say whatever I like. Or when it's my time, I like to say that things that I KNOW that cashier must be thinking. Make them smile, let them know that Yes, indeed, we all saw that asshole and know they are an asshole.
Have I ever been a customer from hell? OF COURSE! Who hasn't? They has been a time in everyone's lives when we were irritated by a cashier, or person that is supposed to be helping us and they are not. We act the fool and then storm out of the shop. "Yeah, that will teach them, we think to ourselves" but it doesn't, they just think, what an asshole and move on.
Bad customers upset my employees a lot. Since we are a small theater with a small staff, the kids take it personally when some moron gives them crap because the movie sucked.
I would love to say "Oh yes, since my employee was the director of that film, she is very sorry you hated it." But that would be bad customer service. I try to deflect that kind of barrage, I tell my employees that they are paid minimum wage and thus do not make enough to have to listen to that crap, but I am salaried and am paid to listen to it.
When something unfortunate happens in a customer service situation, as the manager, you try to smooth it out.
Recently, I had such a situation. I was, I thought, making a little tease to one of the customers buying a ticket but they did not take it that way and it was blown up into some rediculously large situation. To the point of a phone call from a relative of the customer.
I simply appoogized to the customers that were with that customer when they complained. Explained that offending them was not my intention. However, that didn't seem to do it, so the phone call came in, I again appologized. This time, I believe that it was accepted.
An illustration of a bad customer service moment rescued? I do hope, however, you never can tell.
I have been at my theater since 1999 but took a sabatical, if you will, for 2.5 years. While I was gone from my theater an incident took place that I will bring up here because it is a perfect example of bad customer service.
It was during Brokeback Mountain and the manager was on the box office window selling tickets. A man came up to buy a ticket to Brokeback Mountain and evidently this movie was long and he was the only one that was buying a ticket to that film. Now, to understand, sometimes at my little theater will show a movie that is super long while the other movies are short. So if one person shows up for the long one, you will be at the theater for the extra hour waiting for that movie to get out. However, as I feel, if you want to see a movie, then you should see it. Whether or not you are the only one in there and I have to wait, and wait and wait some more after I am done all my work for the movie to get out. After all, we are getting paid to wait. Not too shabby, I think! However, this manager I am writing about thought it way shabby evidently. While this customer was asking for a ticket to Brokeback, there was another customer waiting behind them to buy thier ticket.
What I heard was the following: The Manager was reluctant to sell the ticket, so much so, she was telling the customer that he was the only one in there. Words were exchanged back and forth and when the ticket was finally sold to the customer, the manager wads up the change, throws it through the window at the customer and says, enjoy your movie, one of them dies.
WOW!
Really, this is what happened. I do know, because the customer that was behind this poor customer happened to be friends with my ex-assistant who told him about it after she walked away and didn't bother to buy her ticket. I was all the way in Memphis, TN at the time, but got the email. Along with that email, I got the word that I was BADLY missed at the theater and my old customers wanted to know if I would be coming back!
I bet!
When I did finally return, I found several letters writting in to complain about one bad service or another.
My first act as the manager once again was to write to all the letter writters to let them know I had returned and offer them free passes to come back and try us again.
All but 2 of these passes were used.
Then one night about a year after I returned I met two customers that SWORE they would never return after thier nightmare with that interum manager. They told me that they had come to see a movie with thier child and while in the theater the child became ill and vomited. They had to leave, of course, and appologized to the manager for the vomit. She handed them a mop.
(Pausing here for you to re-read that statement. It's not a typo.)
Yes, they were handed a mop.
I was livid and speechless. The woman said to me, yea, how you look is exactly how I felt at the time.
I appologized to them for being treated like that.
She says to me not to appologize, I had nothing to do with that incident.
Still, I felt awful that THAT had happened to them.
I assured them they would NEVER be treated like that again. After their movie was over, I gave them some passes to use for them and their family.
They were very grateful and more grateful that I was manager there again and not that other person. They said they would tell all their friends they could lift the boycott of the cinemas.
Needless to say, customer service is very important and giving great customer service should be priority number one for every business.
So next time you are having a bad day, remember not to take it out on your customers or on that unsuspecting cashier who is only doing her job.
(And if you hate the movie, send an email to the Distributor, don't yell at the usher cleaning up the theater.)
20 March 2012
The Three Musketeers
Just watched the new version of the Three Musketeers. The one with Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan. He wasn't that great but he was okay. Milla was awesome as usual as Lady De Winter. Matthew MacFadden was good. Mads Mikelson is always great. I adored Ray Stevenson in Rome and keep waiting for that one great movie that will make him "pop" in the spotlight, however, I don't think that is going to happen now. Sigh.
(The Punisher 2 was crap.)
I can't recommend this movie for people who like realistic movies, but it was diverting.
So, if you like the actors and are ready to COMPLETELY suspend belief then enjoy!
(The Punisher 2 was crap.)
I can't recommend this movie for people who like realistic movies, but it was diverting.
So, if you like the actors and are ready to COMPLETELY suspend belief then enjoy!
8 Women
I have a very soft spot for crazy oddball movies and the French kind are always welcome to me. I have watched 8 Women once before and it was totally off the wall. I am rewatching it and this time I am finding it amazingly interesting. I am a fan anyway of several of the actresses in the film (Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Ardent, Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert)but seeing them again in these wacked out roles, bursting into song and dealing with a murder is just plain fun!
I am recommending this film but only for those who love B movies and reading sub-titles.
I am recommending this film but only for those who love B movies and reading sub-titles.
19 March 2012
Spreading the Plant Based Diet News
No, I am not turning into Frank Sinatra and "spreading the news" what I am doing is starting with my FIRST "client" today. Worked hard over the last few days and made index card recipes for her. For privacy reasons we are calling her D. D is coming by today to make a meal with me and eat it. We are going to do the first Plant Based grocery trip tomorrow. D lives with her Dad, whom I have known for years, and I am hoping he jumps on this bandwagon along with her.
D has tried lots of different things over the years and they haven't worked for her. She is ready to try this. I can only hope she feels as great as I do after her month of the Plant Based Diet.
Anyone out there thinking about doing the same, please pick up a copy of The Engine 2 Diet Plan. GREAT reading and it gives you loads of information on how to make a change in your life that will not only help you lose weight but helps you feel AWESOME!!!!!
So, if you are wanting to live longer, live better and feel like a kid again, consider a plant based diet.
D has tried lots of different things over the years and they haven't worked for her. She is ready to try this. I can only hope she feels as great as I do after her month of the Plant Based Diet.
Anyone out there thinking about doing the same, please pick up a copy of The Engine 2 Diet Plan. GREAT reading and it gives you loads of information on how to make a change in your life that will not only help you lose weight but helps you feel AWESOME!!!!!
So, if you are wanting to live longer, live better and feel like a kid again, consider a plant based diet.
15 March 2012
Spring is springing out all over
I know the ticker on my page says we have 4 more days until Spring, but I have to differ.
These daffodils are ready to BURST FORTH in my yard. Ahhhhh, and the short sleeves that I am wearing and the shorts that I was wearing yesterday tell me that the warmth I am feeling is SPRING!
I LOVE PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME......
It may not be Paris (and believe me I am glad about that, I've been to Paris, I prefer Frostburg) but it's just as lovely outside here.
Yay! Warm Weather.
These daffodils are ready to BURST FORTH in my yard. Ahhhhh, and the short sleeves that I am wearing and the shorts that I was wearing yesterday tell me that the warmth I am feeling is SPRING!
I LOVE PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME......
It may not be Paris (and believe me I am glad about that, I've been to Paris, I prefer Frostburg) but it's just as lovely outside here.
Yay! Warm Weather.
11 March 2012
Just a reminder from the past....
Before you say that the research supports eating of animals, let's remember this:
And let's not forget this one:
(Ads courtesy of:
http://www.crazy-picsblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-health-lies-cool-cigarette-ads.html
and
http://medtechinsider.com/archives/1189)
And let's not forget this one:
(Ads courtesy of:
http://www.crazy-picsblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-health-lies-cool-cigarette-ads.html
and
http://medtechinsider.com/archives/1189)
09 March 2012
Warm Weather
Yesterday was very nice. It was warm, in the high 50's or maybe even low 60's. Today the wind is blowing, I do not know the temperature right now, but Mrs. Doyle went out without having to be chased around the library and grabbed, meowing, and tossed out the door. So that means something! LOL. She loves it outside, she just likes it to be her idea. (Oh, Mrs. Doyle is a cat by the way, I am not chasing my mother-in-law or someone like that around my library!)
Ripley loves to go out. (other cat) She lives outside. She begs to go out late at night, even when it's FREEZING!
I want it to get warm now. I know I have the COUNTDOWN TO SPRING on this page, currently reading 10 days. But I want it NOW!!!!
I don't think this is an impatience thing, it's more of a NEED TO CYCLE thing.
I haven't been on my bike since the end of November (or maybe it was just the beginning of December.) I miss it! This winter has been really mild, I think I have only shoveled snow twice, or possibly thrice, since the cold hit.
I think that makes it harder to deal with the 30 degree days of March. When you have been able to wear a light jacket in February you want to get moving with SIGNS OF SPRING.
As my best friend, Linda, showed us on her Facebook page, Spring has Sprung in the Baltimore area. (She posted a pic of crocuses)
I saw my daffodils peeking through the grass yesterday. I see the buds but they aren't open yet. Steve keeps a sharp eye on his fruit trees as of late in case he needs to wrap the floating row cover around them.
I have a large job ahead of me in the garden, clearing out the overgrown side of the veg area.
I have a feeling I am going to look like one of those Amazonian explorers hacking my way through the hostile vegetation. Maybe I should get a Panama hat for it. LOL.
I am looking forward to it however, so I can plant LOADS more veggies this year. I want to plant my own lettuces as I LOVE salads but don't trust the store bought kind not to give me E-Coli. Ugh.
I will post pics of the work as it goes along. It should be amusing, at the least! hahah.
Well, here's to dreaming of warmer days, in the VERY near future!
Ripley loves to go out. (other cat) She lives outside. She begs to go out late at night, even when it's FREEZING!
I want it to get warm now. I know I have the COUNTDOWN TO SPRING on this page, currently reading 10 days. But I want it NOW!!!!
I don't think this is an impatience thing, it's more of a NEED TO CYCLE thing.
I haven't been on my bike since the end of November (or maybe it was just the beginning of December.) I miss it! This winter has been really mild, I think I have only shoveled snow twice, or possibly thrice, since the cold hit.
I think that makes it harder to deal with the 30 degree days of March. When you have been able to wear a light jacket in February you want to get moving with SIGNS OF SPRING.
As my best friend, Linda, showed us on her Facebook page, Spring has Sprung in the Baltimore area. (She posted a pic of crocuses)
I saw my daffodils peeking through the grass yesterday. I see the buds but they aren't open yet. Steve keeps a sharp eye on his fruit trees as of late in case he needs to wrap the floating row cover around them.
I have a large job ahead of me in the garden, clearing out the overgrown side of the veg area.
I have a feeling I am going to look like one of those Amazonian explorers hacking my way through the hostile vegetation. Maybe I should get a Panama hat for it. LOL.
I am looking forward to it however, so I can plant LOADS more veggies this year. I want to plant my own lettuces as I LOVE salads but don't trust the store bought kind not to give me E-Coli. Ugh.
I will post pics of the work as it goes along. It should be amusing, at the least! hahah.
Well, here's to dreaming of warmer days, in the VERY near future!
08 March 2012
Yumminess!
This recipe is not my own. I actually haven't tried it yet, but JUST LOOKING AT IT made my mouth water.
It's from Surf Haven in Bali. You may recognize that name if you are a House Hunters International watcher like me, they were showcased on that show recently. It is a place I WANT TO VISIT very badly, but since it's on the other side of my world, I will have to wait a while.
However, you don't have to wait to try this recipe.
Coconut and Almond Bliss ball:
1 cup of raw almonds
1/2 cup of sunflower kernels
A small handful of sultanas
A small handful of pitted dates
2 – 4 tablespoons of honey
Roll in desiccated coconut
Mix all ingredients together, roll into balls about the size of a small apricot and chill well before serving so as the ingredients bind. These little morsels will keep in the fridge up to 7 days.
It's from Surf Haven in Bali. You may recognize that name if you are a House Hunters International watcher like me, they were showcased on that show recently. It is a place I WANT TO VISIT very badly, but since it's on the other side of my world, I will have to wait a while.
However, you don't have to wait to try this recipe.
Coconut and Almond Bliss ball:
1 cup of raw almonds
1/2 cup of sunflower kernels
A small handful of sultanas
A small handful of pitted dates
2 – 4 tablespoons of honey
Roll in desiccated coconut
Mix all ingredients together, roll into balls about the size of a small apricot and chill well before serving so as the ingredients bind. These little morsels will keep in the fridge up to 7 days.
America the Beautiful and land of the Citizens, new and old.
So, besides the fact that Steve and I are going to live a whole lot longer than we were going to recently since we no longer eat animals and animal products but now we get to live, BOTH OF US, as Americans. Steve was granted his Citizenship yesterday! YAY!
So now we are plant based diet Americans! WOOOOOO!!!
It has been a long road to get to here with all the paperwork and the meetings and filing forms and then filing more forms, not to mention the costs of filing. (Oh I mentioned it.)
HOWEVER! It's all paid off! We thought we were going down to Baltimore (Bawlmer) for a simple last interview and when that was over, Steve being the silly bugger that he is, came out of the interview room, whilst I was sitting in the waiting area with LOADS of others waiting to become Americans, and he had a face like thunder! He did one of those annoyed twitches of his head that meant LET'S GO! and I got up, followed him and said as soon as we were out of the door, WHAT HAPPENED????? He says, We have to come back! WHAT??? WHY???? I say, then he says, At 2 o'clock to become an American citizen!
(Bastard! Tricking me! I could have gone off on one!)
YAY! I said instead!
So we did what any two Americans do when they have a few hours to kill, we went shopping! Whole Foods is in the city very close to where we were so we picked up the things that we can't get at home. (Nutritional yeast! WOOO! Going to make that recipe from Engine 2!)
Then we went over to The Avenue at White Marsh to eat our lunch (that we brought with us, since I have to be super cautious about food consumption due to the casein allergy.)
So Steve got a coffee and we ate our pasties. Then we went back to the Government building and Steve got to sing the Star Spangled Banner and then recited the Oath of Allegience to the United States of America!
Then POOF! (haha) Steve was an American!
(Yes, I was crying - but that is me! LOL)
It was AWESOME!
So now we are plant based diet Americans! WOOOOOO!!!
It has been a long road to get to here with all the paperwork and the meetings and filing forms and then filing more forms, not to mention the costs of filing. (Oh I mentioned it.)
HOWEVER! It's all paid off! We thought we were going down to Baltimore (Bawlmer) for a simple last interview and when that was over, Steve being the silly bugger that he is, came out of the interview room, whilst I was sitting in the waiting area with LOADS of others waiting to become Americans, and he had a face like thunder! He did one of those annoyed twitches of his head that meant LET'S GO! and I got up, followed him and said as soon as we were out of the door, WHAT HAPPENED????? He says, We have to come back! WHAT??? WHY???? I say, then he says, At 2 o'clock to become an American citizen!
(Bastard! Tricking me! I could have gone off on one!)
YAY! I said instead!
So we did what any two Americans do when they have a few hours to kill, we went shopping! Whole Foods is in the city very close to where we were so we picked up the things that we can't get at home. (Nutritional yeast! WOOO! Going to make that recipe from Engine 2!)
Then we went over to The Avenue at White Marsh to eat our lunch (that we brought with us, since I have to be super cautious about food consumption due to the casein allergy.)
So Steve got a coffee and we ate our pasties. Then we went back to the Government building and Steve got to sing the Star Spangled Banner and then recited the Oath of Allegience to the United States of America!
Then POOF! (haha) Steve was an American!
(Yes, I was crying - but that is me! LOL)
It was AWESOME!
28 February 2012
Photos of proof that Plant Based Diets work
I thought I would post some of my fat pics on here for people to see the difference in my body. The pics start in 2006.
Here I am in front of the Red Neck Cafe on the West Coast at about 185 pounds.
This photo I am in New York in 2007:
I weighed about 190 pounds at that time.
Steve and I at Sandusky Park in Ohio. Road my first roller coaster there. (also my last ride on a roller coaster, thank you.)
And this last photo was taken by my eldest this past holiday 2011.
I do ride my bike in good weather, but the bulk of this weight came off due to cutting out animal meat and animal by-products (also known as liquid flesh)
Yes, I did get an allergy that caused me to give up dairy but I have been susceptible to the effects of dairy on my body for years.
Changing to a plant based diet has brought my health to a level that is amazing. I feel so great these days and I have LOADS of energy to do everything that I need to do. I have ZERO days of being "blocked up" and ZERO days of the lethargy that comes from consuming flesh, cholesterol and fat.
So check out the pics and see how my body has changed.
Here I am in front of the Red Neck Cafe on the West Coast at about 185 pounds.
This photo I am in New York in 2007:
Steve and I at Sandusky Park in Ohio. Road my first roller coaster there. (also my last ride on a roller coaster, thank you.)
And this last photo was taken by my eldest this past holiday 2011.
I do ride my bike in good weather, but the bulk of this weight came off due to cutting out animal meat and animal by-products (also known as liquid flesh)
Yes, I did get an allergy that caused me to give up dairy but I have been susceptible to the effects of dairy on my body for years.
Changing to a plant based diet has brought my health to a level that is amazing. I feel so great these days and I have LOADS of energy to do everything that I need to do. I have ZERO days of being "blocked up" and ZERO days of the lethargy that comes from consuming flesh, cholesterol and fat.
So check out the pics and see how my body has changed.
25 February 2012
The year of living Veganly.... or other bad movie title puns
So, as my readers may know, last year I discovered I had suddenly been "ALLERGIZED" or in other words, developed an allergy to dairy products.
At first this was daunting and really pissed me off.
Now, however, I have to say honestly, it was the BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME.
Steve and I both cut all dairy out of our diets. We also cut out meats, since the way BIG FARMS feed cattle is atrocious and it also contains dairy whey or casein which was making me ill.
We were going to continue to eat fish and seafood. I was trying to coin a new term for it (peskavegan) which didn't seem to catch on... grrrr.
BUT now we are COMPLETELY plant based!
No more meat, fish, dairy or processed foods.
We shop the produce section of the grocery store and the frozen veg section and since we drink almond milk, we shop that outter ring. The only things we shop the inner isles of the grocery store for these days are grains, beans, canned tomato and cat food. (ladies monthly products as well, however I didn't think that should be typed without brackets.)
I am 43. Will be 44 in May. I feel like I am 16.
I don't have to stretch my legs before I get out of bed anymore to ward off the pain in my foot.
I can climb stairs quickly and take two at a time if I like.
I can walk up the SUPER big hill by the house to Main Street and can still hold a conversation while doing it.
I weigh 130#!
Yes, 130 pounds! I haven't been this thin since I was 20.
As soon as the weather breaks and it gets warmer up here I should be dropping those last 10 pounds by cycling all over the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal bike trail. WOOOOOOOOO!
The best thing there is I have maintained the 130# through this winter, with no exercise. Now, I am not advocating no exercise, but just saying that a plant based diet has make it easy for me to stay at this weight when I am not very active. WOOOO!
So, I am going to post a recipe a day for 30 days so that anyone who says, WELL I DON'T HAVE TIME TO COOK will have to eat their words, while eating a lovely plant based dinner!
AWESOME!
LET THE FOODING BEGIN!
At first this was daunting and really pissed me off.
Now, however, I have to say honestly, it was the BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME.
Steve and I both cut all dairy out of our diets. We also cut out meats, since the way BIG FARMS feed cattle is atrocious and it also contains dairy whey or casein which was making me ill.
We were going to continue to eat fish and seafood. I was trying to coin a new term for it (peskavegan) which didn't seem to catch on... grrrr.
BUT now we are COMPLETELY plant based!
No more meat, fish, dairy or processed foods.
We shop the produce section of the grocery store and the frozen veg section and since we drink almond milk, we shop that outter ring. The only things we shop the inner isles of the grocery store for these days are grains, beans, canned tomato and cat food. (ladies monthly products as well, however I didn't think that should be typed without brackets.)
I am 43. Will be 44 in May. I feel like I am 16.
I don't have to stretch my legs before I get out of bed anymore to ward off the pain in my foot.
I can climb stairs quickly and take two at a time if I like.
I can walk up the SUPER big hill by the house to Main Street and can still hold a conversation while doing it.
I weigh 130#!
Yes, 130 pounds! I haven't been this thin since I was 20.
As soon as the weather breaks and it gets warmer up here I should be dropping those last 10 pounds by cycling all over the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal bike trail. WOOOOOOOOO!
The best thing there is I have maintained the 130# through this winter, with no exercise. Now, I am not advocating no exercise, but just saying that a plant based diet has make it easy for me to stay at this weight when I am not very active. WOOOO!
So, I am going to post a recipe a day for 30 days so that anyone who says, WELL I DON'T HAVE TIME TO COOK will have to eat their words, while eating a lovely plant based dinner!
AWESOME!
LET THE FOODING BEGIN!
13 February 2012
RENOVATIONS!!!!!! (Or what I am fantasizing about today)
Okay, so I can't really DO any renovations today, or tomorrow, or next week for that matter and I am not just talking about the snow.....
However, the lack of funds does not stop me and Steve from talking about all the AMAZING things we want to do.
Todays amazing thing is the parking pad at the bottom of the lot.
It's cold out up here in the Burg today. It's been bitter cold the last few days and the wind has been whipping like a sum'bitch. (that's a technical term in Western Maryland.) But today, the sun is shinning nice and brightly. When I let ol' Ripley out this morning the back porch was actually warm!
The car however, is plunged into winter by being parked in the shade of the estate (I have decided to call our house THE ESTATE now. I like the ring. So until I think up a name for the place - and yes, I intend to think up a name- I will refer to it as THE ESTATE.)
So even on days when the snow is melting and Steve thinks he can get a tan in the "redders" weather, the car will have ice on the windshield that I have to scrap to be able to see out of it. Ugh.
Thus the idea of how to make a car parking pad in the front where the sun shines like the Bahamas. WOOOOOO!
We figure we can back-hoe out the front area by the street and use garden style railroad ties (I guess that is how you spell it, that's how it sound when people say it to me) to create a wall at the back and bricks on the side as well as for some steps. We could do this ourselves. After all, my old boyfriend was a bricklayer, so I can do it! (HAHAHHAHAHAHA - I know, I can't wait to see if I actually can or not.)
THEN we started talking about how we would take up the walk way to create a new straight path from the steps right up to the front porch.
THEN I realized that if we simply back-hoe the area right in front of the mailbox and next to the driveway, then we can pull in head first, be in the sun, be able to break up the bad part of the path with the back-hoe and the steps will be way easier as the natural slope will work in our favor! WOOOOOOO!!!!! It's not even a part of the yard we use! It will work!!!!
Now, we just need to find someone who has a back-hoe and LOVES movies, so I can do a free movies passes for a year to pay for it. Then I have to find someone who can asphalt it for the same payment! LOL! Ahhhhh fantasies.
However, the lack of funds does not stop me and Steve from talking about all the AMAZING things we want to do.
Todays amazing thing is the parking pad at the bottom of the lot.
It's cold out up here in the Burg today. It's been bitter cold the last few days and the wind has been whipping like a sum'bitch. (that's a technical term in Western Maryland.) But today, the sun is shinning nice and brightly. When I let ol' Ripley out this morning the back porch was actually warm!
The car however, is plunged into winter by being parked in the shade of the estate (I have decided to call our house THE ESTATE now. I like the ring. So until I think up a name for the place - and yes, I intend to think up a name- I will refer to it as THE ESTATE.)
So even on days when the snow is melting and Steve thinks he can get a tan in the "redders" weather, the car will have ice on the windshield that I have to scrap to be able to see out of it. Ugh.
Thus the idea of how to make a car parking pad in the front where the sun shines like the Bahamas. WOOOOOO!
We figure we can back-hoe out the front area by the street and use garden style railroad ties (I guess that is how you spell it, that's how it sound when people say it to me) to create a wall at the back and bricks on the side as well as for some steps. We could do this ourselves. After all, my old boyfriend was a bricklayer, so I can do it! (HAHAHHAHAHAHA - I know, I can't wait to see if I actually can or not.)
THEN we started talking about how we would take up the walk way to create a new straight path from the steps right up to the front porch.
THEN I realized that if we simply back-hoe the area right in front of the mailbox and next to the driveway, then we can pull in head first, be in the sun, be able to break up the bad part of the path with the back-hoe and the steps will be way easier as the natural slope will work in our favor! WOOOOOOO!!!!! It's not even a part of the yard we use! It will work!!!!
Now, we just need to find someone who has a back-hoe and LOVES movies, so I can do a free movies passes for a year to pay for it. Then I have to find someone who can asphalt it for the same payment! LOL! Ahhhhh fantasies.
31 January 2012
Knitting and good food.
Is there any more to life than a good hobby and great food? I think not. Well, a good book is essential, however, I must forgo that this day as I was unable to get the one I wanted from the Library.
(Not to digress, but, I want to mention that the libraries in the UK are under attack. The local governments are closing down LOADS of libraries. You can read about it here. I am outraged and would LOVE to do something, but have no ducks in a row yet, as my father would say. I have been reading about this in Private Eye Magazine. Will keep you posted.)
So, today was my last knitting class which is sad, but I will simply change my day to visit the shop to Wednesdays when they have open knitting time. YAY!
Well, at the last class Ping asked me to bring in the bread machine recipe we use since her machine didn't have a book with it. So I did, and I took some samples, Steve gets props for that, it was his idea. I also had to take my lunch with me, as I was too busy before class to eat. I also had to go see a man about a piano (another blog for another time.)
There we were, eating bread, butternut squash soup and talking about knitting, bread machines and the crazy snow storm we had Sunday.
Ahhhh, what a lovely day.
It's days like these that make me so happy to manage a movie theater and work nights.
The newest knitting project will be socks. I got some lovely purple yarn, it's soft too, and will be knitting the cabled designed socks this week.
While knitting away, I think we will have to coconut-pad thai shrimp again. Mmmmmm, sounds good.
Now, I need a kindle. :)
The scarf I knitted for Natalie:
(Not to digress, but, I want to mention that the libraries in the UK are under attack. The local governments are closing down LOADS of libraries. You can read about it here. I am outraged and would LOVE to do something, but have no ducks in a row yet, as my father would say. I have been reading about this in Private Eye Magazine. Will keep you posted.)
So, today was my last knitting class which is sad, but I will simply change my day to visit the shop to Wednesdays when they have open knitting time. YAY!
Well, at the last class Ping asked me to bring in the bread machine recipe we use since her machine didn't have a book with it. So I did, and I took some samples, Steve gets props for that, it was his idea. I also had to take my lunch with me, as I was too busy before class to eat. I also had to go see a man about a piano (another blog for another time.)
There we were, eating bread, butternut squash soup and talking about knitting, bread machines and the crazy snow storm we had Sunday.
Ahhhh, what a lovely day.
It's days like these that make me so happy to manage a movie theater and work nights.
The newest knitting project will be socks. I got some lovely purple yarn, it's soft too, and will be knitting the cabled designed socks this week.
While knitting away, I think we will have to coconut-pad thai shrimp again. Mmmmmm, sounds good.
Now, I need a kindle. :)
The scarf I knitted for Natalie:
26 January 2012
Okay, out of the Ravens coma I come
Ok. So we didn't go all the way. Sigh.
Steve is still not over it. My whole ZEN EXPERIMENT thingy is working as I am ok about it all, not going to watch the superbowl however, since I don't give a fig about the teams. (Tho secretly I am saying GO GIANTS as I LOATHE the Patriots)
The weather is blah. I am itching to get on the bike but have to wait. Ugh it's even going to snow this weekend possibly. (Just checked out the weather)
HOWEVER, on the bright side (Monty Pythons Life of Brian)I received my digital recorder, so I will be able to speak my chapters into it while I am doing all the things that never allowed me to stop and write it all down before! WOOOO!
Also, I finished Natty's scarf for her birthday and sent that off. It looks SOOOOO good. I did not, unfortunately, take a picture as the batteries in the camera were dead. LOL. I need to buy batteries.
Interesting, shouldn't we be on some kind of solar-perpetual power or something like all the sci-fi movies told us we would be by now? Hmmmm.
I am already thinking about the vegetable garden. I am getting quite excited about that. I want all sorts of veggies. I will be doing the two sides of the garden area and I might even be doing the back area, if I can get all those crazy weeds out of there. LOL!
If you see me walking around like Death with a sythe don't worry, it's just for the yard! LOL!
I have a new hat pattern that I will begin knitting today. Yay. I am totally hooked on the real material yarns.
I still would like to have a sheep one day, but I must learn to spin my own wool first. :)
Oh, and if anyone needs a good laugh, I know this is late for all the UK friends of mine, but I only just looked this up: Fenton the dog.
Steve is still not over it. My whole ZEN EXPERIMENT thingy is working as I am ok about it all, not going to watch the superbowl however, since I don't give a fig about the teams. (Tho secretly I am saying GO GIANTS as I LOATHE the Patriots)
The weather is blah. I am itching to get on the bike but have to wait. Ugh it's even going to snow this weekend possibly. (Just checked out the weather)
HOWEVER, on the bright side (Monty Pythons Life of Brian)I received my digital recorder, so I will be able to speak my chapters into it while I am doing all the things that never allowed me to stop and write it all down before! WOOOO!
Also, I finished Natty's scarf for her birthday and sent that off. It looks SOOOOO good. I did not, unfortunately, take a picture as the batteries in the camera were dead. LOL. I need to buy batteries.
Interesting, shouldn't we be on some kind of solar-perpetual power or something like all the sci-fi movies told us we would be by now? Hmmmm.
I am already thinking about the vegetable garden. I am getting quite excited about that. I want all sorts of veggies. I will be doing the two sides of the garden area and I might even be doing the back area, if I can get all those crazy weeds out of there. LOL!
If you see me walking around like Death with a sythe don't worry, it's just for the yard! LOL!
I have a new hat pattern that I will begin knitting today. Yay. I am totally hooked on the real material yarns.
I still would like to have a sheep one day, but I must learn to spin my own wool first. :)
Oh, and if anyone needs a good laugh, I know this is late for all the UK friends of mine, but I only just looked this up: Fenton the dog.
22 January 2012
RAVENS!!!!!
YEAH! Baltimore Ravens!!!!
Let's go boys! YEAH!!!!!
Torrey Smith is MY MAN! He's AWESOME!!!!
Let's go ALL THE WAY Bawlmer!!!!!!!!
This is just fantastic! It's nice to be still into Football this time of year.
WOOOOOOO!!!
Let's go boys! YEAH!!!!!
Torrey Smith is MY MAN! He's AWESOME!!!!
Let's go ALL THE WAY Bawlmer!!!!!!!!
This is just fantastic! It's nice to be still into Football this time of year.
WOOOOOOO!!!
21 January 2012
Shoveling update!
LOL! As Steve says "nothing cheers me up as much as other peoples misfortunes." AND boy howdy, are there misfortunes, LOL!
The neighbors are shoveling "THEIR HALF" and they are huffing and puffing and moving slowly and I might add, having to BOTH get out there and do it.
Now, some might say (Oasis) two doing the work of one makes things easier.
I say, smoke another cig and drink a beer, mate!
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!
If they had only.... well, we know how I feel about that.
I think the next snowfall I will do the WHOLE driveway and see what happens!
I think this is my new favourite game!
The neighbors are shoveling "THEIR HALF" and they are huffing and puffing and moving slowly and I might add, having to BOTH get out there and do it.
Now, some might say (Oasis) two doing the work of one makes things easier.
I say, smoke another cig and drink a beer, mate!
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!
If they had only.... well, we know how I feel about that.
I think the next snowfall I will do the WHOLE driveway and see what happens!
I think this is my new favourite game!
Icy snowy Saturday
I've been awake for two hours now and I am ready to go back to bed.
The sleet was coming down last night as I left work and it made a lovely blanket of crap on the ground for this morning. So, Steve went off to work and I shoveled our half of the shared driveway.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not that kind of person. When you are already shoveling a driveway that isn't that wide, then why not do the whole thing. That was my idea (as well as Steve's) when we shoveled the last three times. One of those times I even shoveled their parking pad that is no where near our half of the area. Why not, I said to myself (probably out loud as I tend to talk to myself all the time.) They were at work and I thought it would be nice for them to have the place where they park their cars to be shoveled. It snowed a bit over it, but for the most part it was obvious that someone had shoveled all that area.
Then it snowed again and they shoveled... their half of the driveway only. Then after I shoveled the whole drive again on the next snow, they followed up on the following snow by doing... DUN DUN DUN, their half only again.
SOOOOOOOOOO! The other snows have been those fluffy, easily moved light snows. This snow is the snow of the dead. It's heavy, it's covered in ice and it doesn't want to let the shovel even break the surface.
I shoveled our half. ONLY.
I would have gladly done the whole thing but HEY, fuck em! I noticed after I came in she was peeking around the side of her house to see what I had done. That just proves that they KNEW I DID IT BEFORE.
Ugh. I have to put up with watching him in the hot tub with his fat gut and gold chains, a little reciprocation on the shoveling would be nice.
(Please let them put up some lattice or something this hot tub season!!!)
I am not even asking for a thank you, I don't need it. Just a sharing of the snow removal.
Now, this may sound like I am being silly or feud-ish but I am not unfounded here. When we moved in we were friendly and talked to the new neighbors. She told me that the previous owners were assholes about everything. I could see that as they were complete morons about selling the house and what they were supposed to do. We had to settle a week late due to their incompetance. So I asked how they deal with the winters. She said they used to shovel and the previous owners put out the salt. I explained that I worked at night, so I wouldn't be shoveling in the morning but that I would be shoveling in the afternoon and that the driveway would be cleared of daytime snow when they got home from work. We could work it that way.
Hmmmm, seems they don't want to work it at all. That's fine. While they smoke their cigarettes and drink their beers, I am breathing my fresh air and eating my vegetarian fare, who will be in better shape to shovel.... ME that's who.
(And I could have been doing the whole driveway if they had simply been kind.)
Oh, for those of you who are reading me, yes, I am vindictive sometimes. I am working on my book and mostly it is about cycling, but it is also about becoming calm and centered and I am not blind to the fact that this rant is as far from calm and centered as you get, although, I am pretty calm, just off center! LOL!
All I can say there is OLD HABITS DIE HARD!
The sleet was coming down last night as I left work and it made a lovely blanket of crap on the ground for this morning. So, Steve went off to work and I shoveled our half of the shared driveway.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not that kind of person. When you are already shoveling a driveway that isn't that wide, then why not do the whole thing. That was my idea (as well as Steve's) when we shoveled the last three times. One of those times I even shoveled their parking pad that is no where near our half of the area. Why not, I said to myself (probably out loud as I tend to talk to myself all the time.) They were at work and I thought it would be nice for them to have the place where they park their cars to be shoveled. It snowed a bit over it, but for the most part it was obvious that someone had shoveled all that area.
Then it snowed again and they shoveled... their half of the driveway only. Then after I shoveled the whole drive again on the next snow, they followed up on the following snow by doing... DUN DUN DUN, their half only again.
SOOOOOOOOOO! The other snows have been those fluffy, easily moved light snows. This snow is the snow of the dead. It's heavy, it's covered in ice and it doesn't want to let the shovel even break the surface.
I shoveled our half. ONLY.
I would have gladly done the whole thing but HEY, fuck em! I noticed after I came in she was peeking around the side of her house to see what I had done. That just proves that they KNEW I DID IT BEFORE.
Ugh. I have to put up with watching him in the hot tub with his fat gut and gold chains, a little reciprocation on the shoveling would be nice.
(Please let them put up some lattice or something this hot tub season!!!)
I am not even asking for a thank you, I don't need it. Just a sharing of the snow removal.
Now, this may sound like I am being silly or feud-ish but I am not unfounded here. When we moved in we were friendly and talked to the new neighbors. She told me that the previous owners were assholes about everything. I could see that as they were complete morons about selling the house and what they were supposed to do. We had to settle a week late due to their incompetance. So I asked how they deal with the winters. She said they used to shovel and the previous owners put out the salt. I explained that I worked at night, so I wouldn't be shoveling in the morning but that I would be shoveling in the afternoon and that the driveway would be cleared of daytime snow when they got home from work. We could work it that way.
Hmmmm, seems they don't want to work it at all. That's fine. While they smoke their cigarettes and drink their beers, I am breathing my fresh air and eating my vegetarian fare, who will be in better shape to shovel.... ME that's who.
(And I could have been doing the whole driveway if they had simply been kind.)
Oh, for those of you who are reading me, yes, I am vindictive sometimes. I am working on my book and mostly it is about cycling, but it is also about becoming calm and centered and I am not blind to the fact that this rant is as far from calm and centered as you get, although, I am pretty calm, just off center! LOL!
All I can say there is OLD HABITS DIE HARD!
15 January 2012
WOOOO RAVENS!
YES! The Ravens won! Next stop New England Patriots. This is AWESOME!!!!!
Want a win in NE then we can kick butt in the Superbowl. That would be awesome.
First Superbowl in the new house would be great to be the Ravens!
First Superbowl in the new house would be great to be the Ravens!
14 January 2012
Procrastination.... (that's what Carly should have sang.)
I have given myself a deadline of the 31st of January to finish the Autumn section of my book. I have a little bit already written, but as you may or may not be able to tell, I have done everything BUT write lately.
It seems that I end up thinking about what I want to say when I am in the most unusual places... like the restroom at work! GAH!
I recently talked to Devann about this and she said that they have those little recorders at Wal-Mart and I think that I need to invest.
That way, when I am thinking (and when I have no paper the BEST lines are in my head) I can record it and transcribe it later on when I am awake at 3am and the rest of the house is silent and asleep.
I know how I want the Autumn section to pan out. I have even set up the photos that I took in the order (or close to it) as I want to put them in the book.
I AM JUST SO LAZY!!!!!!!!
Well, maybe I shouldn't call myself LAZY. I mean, after all, I am biking all over the place for this book. I am getting out on the trail in the craziest of weather, snow blowing and icicles... icicling? However, when it comes time to sit and type all those ideas out on virtual paper, I find a million other things to do.
I am almost halfway through this month, I really need to get with it.
So, if you see a woman walking around looking like she is avoiding something just yell out to me "GET TO WORK!!!!"
It seems that I end up thinking about what I want to say when I am in the most unusual places... like the restroom at work! GAH!
I recently talked to Devann about this and she said that they have those little recorders at Wal-Mart and I think that I need to invest.
That way, when I am thinking (and when I have no paper the BEST lines are in my head) I can record it and transcribe it later on when I am awake at 3am and the rest of the house is silent and asleep.
I know how I want the Autumn section to pan out. I have even set up the photos that I took in the order (or close to it) as I want to put them in the book.
I AM JUST SO LAZY!!!!!!!!
Well, maybe I shouldn't call myself LAZY. I mean, after all, I am biking all over the place for this book. I am getting out on the trail in the craziest of weather, snow blowing and icicles... icicling? However, when it comes time to sit and type all those ideas out on virtual paper, I find a million other things to do.
I am almost halfway through this month, I really need to get with it.
So, if you see a woman walking around looking like she is avoiding something just yell out to me "GET TO WORK!!!!"
11 January 2012
Real fibers found in nature (or how much I want to own a sheep)
So I took my first knitting class at Millicent Yarns in Cumberland. WOW! Is what I have to say about the shop. It's amazing! There are so many yarns there to choose from and so many colors, you could spend all day in there! The ladies are also SUPER NICE and very helpful.
So, even tho I am not new to knitting as I have already made a cardigan for Steve, a sweater for me and Mom and a mini shopping tote, I decided to take the intro class so learn things "properly."
I have learned 2 things already.
1. Real fibers are far superior than man-made fibers. I am using a mix of 85% lambs wool and 15% Mohair. It's making my stitches so even and lovely.
2. I learned a new way to cast on. And it's easy and even!
My sweater and Steve's cardigan were made from man-made fibers. They are funky and not in that Wild Cherry way. They pill up and get all frayed.
I made that tote out of recycled cotton and I noticed a difference then too, as it was smoother to use. This lambs wool is AWESOME!!!!!
I am very excited to make a sweater from a natural fiber. I will finish this scarf and then I will work on a sweater. WOOO!
The lady teaching the class is fabulous. She is also a cyclist! WOOOO!
I am very excited to be able to ride my bike down there this spring. They have 2 days a week that you can just come in and knit with the other women during an open knitting time. I didn't realise we had anything like this at all in Allgany County! It's so nifty!
I read about a shop like this in one of my mystery novels. When I was reading it I thought, "Geez, I wish we had something like this around" and we do!
Sometimes my powers scare me. LOL!
The teacher of the class, whom I shall call J, asked if we were animal lovers. (we being me and the other lady in the class.) She said that she has found most people who knit also have animals. I told them my little dream of self-sufficency where I grow all my own veggies, ride my bike everywhere, we have solar panels, a wind turbine and a sheep. Then the sheep eats the grass, so I don't have to cut it ever again, and then I get wool from her. I spin the wool every year and make sweaters to keep warm all winter. WOOOOOO!
Yes, I am the modern answer of a Hippy. :)
Ahhh, what a dream.
So, even tho I am not new to knitting as I have already made a cardigan for Steve, a sweater for me and Mom and a mini shopping tote, I decided to take the intro class so learn things "properly."
I have learned 2 things already.
1. Real fibers are far superior than man-made fibers. I am using a mix of 85% lambs wool and 15% Mohair. It's making my stitches so even and lovely.
2. I learned a new way to cast on. And it's easy and even!
My sweater and Steve's cardigan were made from man-made fibers. They are funky and not in that Wild Cherry way. They pill up and get all frayed.
I made that tote out of recycled cotton and I noticed a difference then too, as it was smoother to use. This lambs wool is AWESOME!!!!!
I am very excited to make a sweater from a natural fiber. I will finish this scarf and then I will work on a sweater. WOOO!
The lady teaching the class is fabulous. She is also a cyclist! WOOOO!
I am very excited to be able to ride my bike down there this spring. They have 2 days a week that you can just come in and knit with the other women during an open knitting time. I didn't realise we had anything like this at all in Allgany County! It's so nifty!
I read about a shop like this in one of my mystery novels. When I was reading it I thought, "Geez, I wish we had something like this around" and we do!
Sometimes my powers scare me. LOL!
The teacher of the class, whom I shall call J, asked if we were animal lovers. (we being me and the other lady in the class.) She said that she has found most people who knit also have animals. I told them my little dream of self-sufficency where I grow all my own veggies, ride my bike everywhere, we have solar panels, a wind turbine and a sheep. Then the sheep eats the grass, so I don't have to cut it ever again, and then I get wool from her. I spin the wool every year and make sweaters to keep warm all winter. WOOOOOO!
Yes, I am the modern answer of a Hippy. :)
Ahhh, what a dream.
07 January 2012
World Book Night
On April 23rd I will HOPEFULLY be giving away a bunch of books. World Book Night started in the UK last year where volunteers gave away books to people who aren't avid readers. This year it will be held on April 23rd. You can apply online at: World Book Night and share the joy of reading. There are 30 books chosen for the give away and they are GREAT ones!
Fingers crossed I get picked to be a GIVER!
KEEP ON READING!
Fingers crossed I get picked to be a GIVER!
KEEP ON READING!
06 January 2012
It's CLLLLEEEAAANNNNN!
As I laid in bed (laid? Lied, no laid) this morning I thought that today would be the day for cleaning the basement. There are three spaces that I did not touch when we moved in. The Basement, the room off the bathroom upstairs and the garage. I made plans to clean these spaces after the holidays and into the spring. Then, this morning, as I woke at an earlier time than normal (10am) I figured that today would be perfect as being winter with snow still on the ground, there should be none (or at least just a few) spiders in the cellar to jump out and attack me.
Oh, I know what you are saying, PA-LEEZE Karen, spiders don't attack people! Well, I beg to differ. When spiders see me they think LUNCH! LOL!
So I got out of bed, put on my sweats, grabbed my head scarf and headed down to the cellar with broom, dustpan and trash bags in hand.
It actually went a lot faster than I thought it would. Armed with my MP3 player and Jesus Christ Superstar blasting in my ears I tackled the basement with zeal!
Three trash bags and a large box filled with empty and half empty paint cans later the cellar was swept and no longer scary. AND I only saw three spiders. One I let live, my generous gift to the arachnid world but one just looked scary and poisonous so that one got stepped on. The other one I thought was dust that fell off the air conditioning unit and only saw it was running like hell as my rag whipped it and the rest of the dirt off the table onto the floor. Oops.
Other than that, I saw a cricket type thing that freaked out when I moved the large flattened box from beside the furnace. It didn't know where to hop to so I gave it a little help by slapping the broom behind it, moving it towards the back of the furnace, but nothing else. Yay.
I was able to clean off the table that sits down there and empty the crap from the drawers and refill them with items that the previous owners left behind that I find valuable. I also found left over wall-paper that is in the house. Which is FABULOUS as there is a small area in our bedroom that has ripped paper and needs fixed! (Our bedroom being the ONLY wall-paper in the house that I like)
So I am posting pics of the basement. I am sooooo happy.
I did, however, feel like I was channeling Zelda Rubinstein from Poltergeist when she says THIS HOUSE IS CLEAR. Now, THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN!
(Those of you that know me personally, know that I have a LOT of problems with music lyrics and such, so for YEARS I thought Zelda was saying THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN - thus that is why I think of her now.)
Either way, I am one step closer to having all of the house be completely ours! YAY! There is one area in the back part of the basement that is truly a cellar. It has dirt floors with pallets and boards down to walk on. There are a few things in there that need tossed out, but I will clean that area later on. Then I will be able to use it for all the amazing canned items that I will be canning this summer from the awesome bounty of my garden, but that is getting slightly ahead of myself.
YAY me... for now. :)
Oh, I know what you are saying, PA-LEEZE Karen, spiders don't attack people! Well, I beg to differ. When spiders see me they think LUNCH! LOL!
So I got out of bed, put on my sweats, grabbed my head scarf and headed down to the cellar with broom, dustpan and trash bags in hand.
It actually went a lot faster than I thought it would. Armed with my MP3 player and Jesus Christ Superstar blasting in my ears I tackled the basement with zeal!
Three trash bags and a large box filled with empty and half empty paint cans later the cellar was swept and no longer scary. AND I only saw three spiders. One I let live, my generous gift to the arachnid world but one just looked scary and poisonous so that one got stepped on. The other one I thought was dust that fell off the air conditioning unit and only saw it was running like hell as my rag whipped it and the rest of the dirt off the table onto the floor. Oops.
Other than that, I saw a cricket type thing that freaked out when I moved the large flattened box from beside the furnace. It didn't know where to hop to so I gave it a little help by slapping the broom behind it, moving it towards the back of the furnace, but nothing else. Yay.
I was able to clean off the table that sits down there and empty the crap from the drawers and refill them with items that the previous owners left behind that I find valuable. I also found left over wall-paper that is in the house. Which is FABULOUS as there is a small area in our bedroom that has ripped paper and needs fixed! (Our bedroom being the ONLY wall-paper in the house that I like)
So I am posting pics of the basement. I am sooooo happy.
I did, however, feel like I was channeling Zelda Rubinstein from Poltergeist when she says THIS HOUSE IS CLEAR. Now, THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN!
(Those of you that know me personally, know that I have a LOT of problems with music lyrics and such, so for YEARS I thought Zelda was saying THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN - thus that is why I think of her now.)
Either way, I am one step closer to having all of the house be completely ours! YAY! There is one area in the back part of the basement that is truly a cellar. It has dirt floors with pallets and boards down to walk on. There are a few things in there that need tossed out, but I will clean that area later on. Then I will be able to use it for all the amazing canned items that I will be canning this summer from the awesome bounty of my garden, but that is getting slightly ahead of myself.
YAY me... for now. :)
05 January 2012
Sony Streaming Device
OMG! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! (giddy school girl scream) I am sooooooo excited, happy and yes, giddy! I got us a Sony Streaming Device at the end of December and it arrived yesterday. I let it get to room temperature overnight and then today I have hooked it up. AAAAAHHHHHHHH! (yes another giddy scream)
No, Elvis, Fabian nor Justin Bieber have enter the room, I am just so giddy because as I type this out I am listening to the Streaming NPR radio program Car Talk!
I adore this show. It comes on NPR on Saturdays at 10am. I know that a lot of people are awake at that time and up and able to listen without issue. I, however, work nights at the theater, so I am still in bed, ususally, at 10am. I set the alarm and lie there some saturdays just to listen to the show. The problem in my lovely home (which I am completely in love with) I have CRAP signal strength for my cell phone and all radio signals that aren't the country music station that is located here in Frostburg. So, Since my radio alarm clock DOES manage to get NPR, I should add here it gets it now that I have rearranged the furniture so my radio alram clock is VERY close to the window, I am able to listen to these guys (Car Talk) as long as I am in bed.
NOW! With the Sony Streaming Player, I can get NPR on my TV!
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!
I can hear you guys now.... WTF? you are saying. This technology has been around for a while... what is she so giddy about?
Well, in this household, when new technology arrives on the scene, my wonderful husband says "OOH look a new product. (Insert name here) sounds really cool. Let's wait a rediculous amount of time for all the kinks to be worked out then we will get it."
Well, I may be taking a liberty there, as Steve doesn't really say a rediculous amount of time. But, it's the gist. Case in point, we do not own a Kindle or its ilk yet, as Steve says they do not transcribe all the books properly.
I want a kindle.
Badly.
I've almost ordered one secretly two times, but I held back and didn't.
The old style Kindle is $79 now on Amazon. I will not be able to hold back for long. hahahha.
I digress, however. The Sony Streamer is AWESOME!!!!!!
There are so many cool features on this thing too, I might not be available for days! hahaha
No, Elvis, Fabian nor Justin Bieber have enter the room, I am just so giddy because as I type this out I am listening to the Streaming NPR radio program Car Talk!
I adore this show. It comes on NPR on Saturdays at 10am. I know that a lot of people are awake at that time and up and able to listen without issue. I, however, work nights at the theater, so I am still in bed, ususally, at 10am. I set the alarm and lie there some saturdays just to listen to the show. The problem in my lovely home (which I am completely in love with) I have CRAP signal strength for my cell phone and all radio signals that aren't the country music station that is located here in Frostburg. So, Since my radio alarm clock DOES manage to get NPR, I should add here it gets it now that I have rearranged the furniture so my radio alram clock is VERY close to the window, I am able to listen to these guys (Car Talk) as long as I am in bed.
NOW! With the Sony Streaming Player, I can get NPR on my TV!
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!
I can hear you guys now.... WTF? you are saying. This technology has been around for a while... what is she so giddy about?
Well, in this household, when new technology arrives on the scene, my wonderful husband says "OOH look a new product. (Insert name here) sounds really cool. Let's wait a rediculous amount of time for all the kinks to be worked out then we will get it."
Well, I may be taking a liberty there, as Steve doesn't really say a rediculous amount of time. But, it's the gist. Case in point, we do not own a Kindle or its ilk yet, as Steve says they do not transcribe all the books properly.
I want a kindle.
Badly.
I've almost ordered one secretly two times, but I held back and didn't.
The old style Kindle is $79 now on Amazon. I will not be able to hold back for long. hahahha.
I digress, however. The Sony Streamer is AWESOME!!!!!!
There are so many cool features on this thing too, I might not be available for days! hahaha
04 January 2012
The Great Allegheny Passage in Winter
For those of you who know, I am currently writing a book about the Great Allegheny Passage. This is the bike trail that is almost in my front yard. I have biked my way from Cumberland, MD to Myersdale, PA this past Autumn and have LOADS of pictures that I took along the way. The book will encompass all four seasons on the trail and hopefully help me achieve the subtitle to the book (Biking my way to Health, Happiness and Serenity.)
Today was quite a serene scene on the trail. The silence was so absolute that it pressed into my ears with unrelenting strength. It was really nice, until the texts started.
Oh yes, I take my phone, just in case, you know how it is, I may feel one with the universe but my feet sometimes have other ideas and I don't quite fancy lying in the snow with a twisted ankle and no phone to call for help. So, there I am having a zen experience with the woods and Steve starts texting me.
Is it busy?
Is there a lot of wildlife?
Are you having a nice time?
Is it serene?
OMG! No, no, yes and no! You are driving me insane! LOL.
Don't get me wrong... I don't mind texts from him usually. However, when the snow is on the ground and I am bundled up to my eye teeth, reading texts is a pain in the neck. I have to stop, remove my glove, get my phone out of my ski pants (I like to be warm) and read it. Answer it, if needed, put it back in my pocket, un-velcro my sleeve, put the glove back on, re-velcro the sleeve around the glove and start off again.
Other than that, it was quite lovely out on the trail today and I did get a lot of nice pics.
These are just a few of the pics. It really is lovely out there. ALSO I was able to ascertain that there was enough snow out there for me to use skis if I like. WOOOO! That is exciting. Now, let's hope we get more snow!
Today was quite a serene scene on the trail. The silence was so absolute that it pressed into my ears with unrelenting strength. It was really nice, until the texts started.
Oh yes, I take my phone, just in case, you know how it is, I may feel one with the universe but my feet sometimes have other ideas and I don't quite fancy lying in the snow with a twisted ankle and no phone to call for help. So, there I am having a zen experience with the woods and Steve starts texting me.
Is it busy?
Is there a lot of wildlife?
Are you having a nice time?
Is it serene?
OMG! No, no, yes and no! You are driving me insane! LOL.
Don't get me wrong... I don't mind texts from him usually. However, when the snow is on the ground and I am bundled up to my eye teeth, reading texts is a pain in the neck. I have to stop, remove my glove, get my phone out of my ski pants (I like to be warm) and read it. Answer it, if needed, put it back in my pocket, un-velcro my sleeve, put the glove back on, re-velcro the sleeve around the glove and start off again.
Other than that, it was quite lovely out on the trail today and I did get a lot of nice pics.
These are just a few of the pics. It really is lovely out there. ALSO I was able to ascertain that there was enough snow out there for me to use skis if I like. WOOOO! That is exciting. Now, let's hope we get more snow!
Iowa Caucus
Hmmmm. Interesting. It's 11:45pm on Jan 3, 2012 and Rick Santorum is ahead. But not by much. Romney is in a close second place. The most amazing thing to me is Jon Huntsman being in last place. Now, don't get me wrong. I completely support Obama. I think he is AWESOME and if we could get a few more Democrats in office Obama could get some real things going. However, Jon Huntsman getting LESS than 1000 votes. 1% of the vote. Really? This poor guy. He is the one candidate they have who is ACTUALLY qualified to be President.
The man has served under 4 Presidents (Reagan, Bush the 1st and 2nd, to name the Repubs) and was Ambassador to Singapore in 1992-1993.
He was Governor of Utah in 2004 and was re-elected in 2008 with 78% of the vote. He resigned as Governor in 2009 to accept Obama's offer that he be Ambassador to China. He only resigned from that to run for President himself.
He identifies himself as a center-right Republican.
He signed an inititive as Governor to lower Utah's Greenhouse gases. (That means he understands the science and doesn't throw stones at it like um, all the other candidates!)
His foreign policy makes more sense than the others, as he understands diplomacy and the need to use it in Asia and the Middle East.
He has seven kids, which you would think would make the GOP-ers happy.
But, oh yea, he is a Mormon... that pesky cult that doesn't sit well with the fringe fanatics on the far right.
Well then, forget all that other stuff, if the GOP are going to elect a Mormon just go with Romney then. He's a business man after all, and that is what this country needs, a real CEO that can straighten out Washington.... blah blah blah.
Poor Jon Huntsman. I can imagine how he feel this evening. Wondering where the America of Reagan went. Psst, Jon, it went down the toilet with the choice of Sarah "lipstick pig hockey mom" Palin.
That flushing sound is your hopes and dreams GOP!
Good Luck.
HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!
The man has served under 4 Presidents (Reagan, Bush the 1st and 2nd, to name the Repubs) and was Ambassador to Singapore in 1992-1993.
He was Governor of Utah in 2004 and was re-elected in 2008 with 78% of the vote. He resigned as Governor in 2009 to accept Obama's offer that he be Ambassador to China. He only resigned from that to run for President himself.
He identifies himself as a center-right Republican.
He signed an inititive as Governor to lower Utah's Greenhouse gases. (That means he understands the science and doesn't throw stones at it like um, all the other candidates!)
His foreign policy makes more sense than the others, as he understands diplomacy and the need to use it in Asia and the Middle East.
He has seven kids, which you would think would make the GOP-ers happy.
But, oh yea, he is a Mormon... that pesky cult that doesn't sit well with the fringe fanatics on the far right.
Well then, forget all that other stuff, if the GOP are going to elect a Mormon just go with Romney then. He's a business man after all, and that is what this country needs, a real CEO that can straighten out Washington.... blah blah blah.
Poor Jon Huntsman. I can imagine how he feel this evening. Wondering where the America of Reagan went. Psst, Jon, it went down the toilet with the choice of Sarah "lipstick pig hockey mom" Palin.
That flushing sound is your hopes and dreams GOP!
Good Luck.
HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!
02 January 2012
It's the New Year, now what...
So you've rung in the New Year, managed NOT to have a hang over but DID have loads of fun. You watched the Ravens KICK BUTT on New Years day! YAY! You saw the English Premier League have upset after upset in the results. YAY! You woke up January 2nd and it was snowing (at least where I am) so you say NOW WHAT?
Well, for those of you who make resolutions, my advice is to make REALISTIC resolutions. Don't promise to lose a specific amount of weight, instead, do a little bit of excerise every day. Put on some tunes and dance around your living room. Or use a step stool and a cloth and clean your walls. Up the step stool wipe from ceiling to floor, on the next bit over, use the other arm, then keep switching it up as you go around the room. Do one room a day. When that's done, do your windows, insides only since it's so brrrrr outside. This will give you some excerise AND clean the house.
After all that cleaning, you will be hungry, so feel free to choose a recipe from the ones I have blogged on Yahoo Shine () or you can choose one from here.
Eating healthy is much easier than you think. It's also fast as well. The lie Americans have been fed for years is that you need a microwave and frozen foods to make quick and easy meals for you and your family. The problem with this is that you have to think about what you are going to eat for dinner that morning, so you can defrost it. Of course, you can use the microwave to defrost but that adds time as well.
Eating fresh and healthy allows you to have a craving on the way home from work (if you work a 9 to 5) and with a quick stop off at the grocers or with staples you keep in your fridge/pantry you can whip up a GREAT meal in minutes.
FOR EXAMPLE:
THAI INSPIRED PASTA
(Depending on the number of people you are cooking for adjust your ingredients. I am making this for 2)
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
Can of Coconut Milk (if you don't have this, you can use milk in your fridge)
3 medium vine ripened tomatoes diced
(You can use a can of tomatoes if you like but fresh is best.)
2 teaspoons Thai Chili paste
Olive Oil
Any kind of pepper (orange, red, yellow or even green)
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced or crushed (good size cloves)
frozen peas (about a cup)
frozen corn (about half a cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
salt & pepper
Kidney beans (if canned, rinsed thoroughly - if dry, soak overnight and boil til soft.)
Get the water boiling and add the pasta.
In a large skillet, sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the coconut milk and 2 teaspoons of the Thai Chili paste. Stir until the paste is disolved. Add the peas, corn and peppers to pan and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans. Boil until the frozen veg are warmed through and the peppers are softened. Reduce heat to low. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and rice wine vinegar. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes. Drain cooked pasta and return to pot, adding the pan ingredients to the pot. (I find it easier to mix everything in the pot than in the pan.)
Stir together and serve.
You will be eating a lovely, healthy and easy meal in no time at all.
You have controlled the salt content and the fat content. Skipping meat and dairy helps keep your cholesterol in check.
Keep checking here for more recipes and ways to make your life easier and healthier.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Well, for those of you who make resolutions, my advice is to make REALISTIC resolutions. Don't promise to lose a specific amount of weight, instead, do a little bit of excerise every day. Put on some tunes and dance around your living room. Or use a step stool and a cloth and clean your walls. Up the step stool wipe from ceiling to floor, on the next bit over, use the other arm, then keep switching it up as you go around the room. Do one room a day. When that's done, do your windows, insides only since it's so brrrrr outside. This will give you some excerise AND clean the house.
After all that cleaning, you will be hungry, so feel free to choose a recipe from the ones I have blogged on Yahoo Shine () or you can choose one from here.
Eating healthy is much easier than you think. It's also fast as well. The lie Americans have been fed for years is that you need a microwave and frozen foods to make quick and easy meals for you and your family. The problem with this is that you have to think about what you are going to eat for dinner that morning, so you can defrost it. Of course, you can use the microwave to defrost but that adds time as well.
Eating fresh and healthy allows you to have a craving on the way home from work (if you work a 9 to 5) and with a quick stop off at the grocers or with staples you keep in your fridge/pantry you can whip up a GREAT meal in minutes.
FOR EXAMPLE:
THAI INSPIRED PASTA
(Depending on the number of people you are cooking for adjust your ingredients. I am making this for 2)
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
Can of Coconut Milk (if you don't have this, you can use milk in your fridge)
3 medium vine ripened tomatoes diced
(You can use a can of tomatoes if you like but fresh is best.)
2 teaspoons Thai Chili paste
Olive Oil
Any kind of pepper (orange, red, yellow or even green)
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced or crushed (good size cloves)
frozen peas (about a cup)
frozen corn (about half a cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
salt & pepper
Kidney beans (if canned, rinsed thoroughly - if dry, soak overnight and boil til soft.)
Get the water boiling and add the pasta.
In a large skillet, sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the coconut milk and 2 teaspoons of the Thai Chili paste. Stir until the paste is disolved. Add the peas, corn and peppers to pan and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans. Boil until the frozen veg are warmed through and the peppers are softened. Reduce heat to low. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and rice wine vinegar. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes. Drain cooked pasta and return to pot, adding the pan ingredients to the pot. (I find it easier to mix everything in the pot than in the pan.)
Stir together and serve.
You will be eating a lovely, healthy and easy meal in no time at all.
You have controlled the salt content and the fat content. Skipping meat and dairy helps keep your cholesterol in check.
Keep checking here for more recipes and ways to make your life easier and healthier.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
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