The Beatles speak again:

HELP! I need somebody, HELP! not just anybody… (YOU?!) Read on…(please!)

Remember when we would rather be “WOKKING?!” (I admit I kept thinking it was meant to be working, but it made more sense if it was a play on walking, since it was a car & they were driving!) Well, now look what’s being advertised:

Cute! Of course, this was in the parking lot after yoga! Hippie-freaks Earth-lovers! ☮

So… ho-hum, what’s going on in the world of OP?! During my long no-blog-time, I was contemplating stopping the blog! Just vanishing– *poof!* But, I really do like it & I’d miss it too much. I love reading your blogs, too, & commenting. How weird would it be if I commented, without having an online identity?! Oh, shame! I’m sorry to say this was what I was thinking, but happy to report that I’ll continue! I love writing! I love the community! I want to RAVE about more than what I’ve been doing… (I’m better than that, right?! hah!)

Okay, okay. I also want to ask you guys for some help here. I want to make a “Recipes” section/page on this site. But I also want to make it through a link, so you can search it, without hitting the arrow down, through all of the recipes! Can anyone help a sistah’ out?! Okay, this is me, being helpless! PLEASE & THANKS!

GRUB!!! I made the Smokey Split Pea Soup from E,D&BV (love it!), but I didn’t add the smoked tofu it called for. I also used smoked paprika instead of regular, so it was still “smokin‘!”

 

served with these “everything” pretzels–>  

I also made a new batch of hummus. I go through one batch by myself, per week. Luckily, my new ED&BV has an entire section for hummus (& dips)!!! This makes me a happy girl! I’ve tried 3 so far, but this batch was modified, from Dreena’s version: it contained curry, raisins & tomatoes, along with the “regular” stuff:

  < part of a raisin on one side of the carrot, tomato piece on the other… not so friendly!

THEN, I had a great idea! This hummus is spicy, but it’s also kind of sweet (think Indian cuisine!), so it would be great with a mango chutney, or something… well, I didn’t have mango chutney on hand (ha!), so I improvised, sammich-style! I used these guys on each side of a toasted ww bagel:

 

& added these guys (onion, cucumber & sprouts):

 to get this:

Va-Va-Voom!!! GREAT combo, if I say so myself!!!

I’m going to try to mix up the posts a little more. What do you want to see? As I’ve suggested before:

• tea time?
• health-nut food store people & stories?
• entire day’s worth of food (because I just post parts of meals & only some of them)?
• doggie-stuff?
• contests?
• OTHER?! Should I dedicate a specific day to one of these ideas (such as “Tea-time-Tuesday” & “Weird Health Store Wednesday” etc.)?

Also, I’ve been feeling VERY CRAMPY during my running (I am running further & longer lately- RAWR!!!)- any tips, advice or insight to this?! My appetite goes away for a few hours, but then once I do get hungry, it’s NON-STOP!!! I don’t mind eating (:-D) but I want to feel more “regular” with meals & hunger!!!

SO: I have a few requests in this post. I hope ya’ll (someone!) can help me out! Youz guyz iz great! 

(I am so vulnerable here…)

Sweat Shop

I’m Miss OP, & I support them:

^ this shirt was a lighter color before I visited the sweat shop. It was certainly lighter in weight. It was very dry, but it became wet… with sweat. (Sorry if you’re grossed out… it’s only natural!)

I’m really talking about one of my latest visits here:

 

…because it makes me sweat!

It’s really beautifully decorated outside, with a garden area & an outdoor canopy/cover with chairs & couches (to the right, once you walk past this welcome arch).

I have been LOVING yoga lately: Hot, Power, Hatha, Vinyasa… whatever I can get! I’ve even started doing it on my own, from what I remember from classes & from this podcast I found at Yoga to the People!

Upon leaving the Yoga Village, they serve some of my favorite Yogi Tea (Chai) with s’milk & honey. Definitely makes getting through the challenging class: the way it makes me feel + the delicious inner warmth of the tea!

I’ll leave you with a quote that hangs on the wall- I hope you like it:

Never Give Up!

I know I haven’t been around lately… I’ve been busily working on school stuff & my summer plans, but I am still photo-ing my rave-worthy eats & doings! AND I’m still reading & commenting on your blogs!

Have a great week, darlings! ☮

(DISCLAIMER: I do not support “Sweat-Shops”- just places that make me sweat!)

Hollerin’ Back ya’ll!

Hi, sugar-boogers! I have missed you. Since you’ve I’ve been gone (Kelly Clarkson?), I have been trying to comment on your blogs of interest- sorry if I’ve been so terribly unfriendly & distant. I want to feel the love again. I feel it for you; can we share it?! I also had my Spring Break & just laid-low. I went to the beach to get my tan on (& keep the blonde-ness up!), hung out with some friends, started running more, did some quality yoga (7 more classes on my magical pass!) & only worked for 2 of the days. I didn’t blog. So, I must have done something!

On this perhaps lucky day of St. Pat’s, I found a dollar– HOLLER!

 

I also got a free sample in the mail- anyone can request one & you can send them to other people’s addresses, too, to “Feel the Good!” Guess which one I tried first?!

 

It was an Emergen-C!!!

*ATTENTION: will the REAL ORANGE POP please stand up?!

 

^ There’s my substitute for the “pop-ness” that made me Orange in the 1st place! Deliciously carbonated & chemical-free!

Other meals? Here’s a sweet potato gnocchi with Vodka cream sauce, green beans & a Boca Italian sausage (I bought everything & cooked/heated it myself. This is not homemade, as much as I wish I were just that good!):

 

snack: totally digging those Annie’s Bunny Grahams! Here they are with vanilla ice cream & strawberries:

meal: whole wheat pita with avocado, hummus, cheese & veggies (tomato, sprouts, lettuce); along with a Sunshine  Garden Herb burger & roasted veggies  (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions & tomatoes):

   

Wallaby yogurt (Banana-Vanilla) with cinnamon & sunflower seeds (I love this brand- great flavor, texture & fun flava’s!):

I had an Indian packaged meal, too, from Tasty Bite: Kashmir Spinach. My awesomely-active-&-delicious-food-eating friend from Gliding Calm has eaten & reviewed this meal twice  here and here! …so I’ll let her reviews take the stage, because I agree that the “bulking with veggies” is necessary. I added green peppers, onions & eggplant & ate it with pita bread:

   Tasty Bites! (but not pretty-lookin’)

Another International meal I’ve made came from this cookbook:

 My nutritionist is Israeli & she lent it to me, noting some of her favorite (vegetarian) recipes… I made a Chickpea-Eggplant-Tomato stew & I added wheat berries & ate it with a pita with buttah’:  < There it is!

IF YOU’RE STILL READING, thank you!!! I’m sorry for ginormous posts- this is what I get for being away for so long. I find it daunting when I don’t post for a while because then I have to make up for all that lost time! I tried to keep the comments short, though. Message me if you have questions or sum’thin!

…a few more:

 

^ wrap on a locally-made pita (don’t think it’s whole-wheat, but I do know it’s soft & short ingredient list!) stuffed with veggies & hummus (there may or may not have been more- I don’t remember, but it was tastttyyy!)

In order for me to get excited again about blogging (which I am! But, you know, it’s the whole “here’s-what-I’ve-been-up-to-lately” thing…), I made a different kind of oat breakfast. I’ve read about people putting an egg or egg whites in their oats, but I’ve never done it. I always sort of think it’ll scramble. Today I added one egg white at the end of cooking my oats (half oat- bran & half –meal), plus pumpkin, walnuts, s’milk & golden raisins: 

 < see the little white-flecks? Any advice to make it more “custard-y” without actually baking it?! It was good, but I really didn’t taste much of a difference… oh well, maybe I missed something & will have to re-visit this technique!

ONE MORE THING: If anyone can tell me what this is, you get 10 points!

*HINT: I got it fresh from my local produce market, but you can also get it pre-packaged. It’s more of a “European” thing, I’d say. (It’s not just a plastic bag– what’s on top of that-there bag?!) Have fun!

Oh, & if anyone’s missing a folder, I know where it might be:

I’m working on some interview questions for a select few- thanks for those of you who volunteered! I’ll get-chya thinking soon enough!

Interviewed

Erin, from Vegan & the City has interviewed me! (sorry it’s taken me so long!) Here it is:

1. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods with you, what would they be and why?

1. apples– for *crunch* & natural hydration!
2. almond butter– for satiation, protein & pure enjoyment
3. tea– to stay classy on an island, & to wash it all down!

 
2. List 5 people you would invite to a dinner party…famous, dead, whoever. 

1. Simon Baker (so I could look at him)
2. Kathy Griffin
3. Ellen DeGeneres
4. &
5. My 2 sisters (so we could gossip about it all)

3. What is your all-time favorite movie to quote?

       Dumb & Dumber–> “We got no food, no jobs… our PET’S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!”

4. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner and why?
 

     Breakfast, because it jump-starts my day, giving me energy to do anything I want/have to do for the day, with a strong focus (not thinking of my tummy all morning!). I love the way that consistently eating a hearty breakfast has made my days brighter. By making something I ENJOY, I look forward to waking up & starting my days!

5. Tell me one random thing that others in the blogosphere don’t know about you!

      I’ve written fan-mail to Celine Dion before… but she didn’t write me back!!! (Now, with Kathy Griffin, we can gossip about her at dinner!) …she may or may not be sorry:

Thanks, Erin! That was fun!

If YOU want ME to interview YOU now, here’s how it works:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2. 
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions). 
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. 
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post. 
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Love what I see & taste!

Okay, now that Jasper is safe & acting like his weird self again today, I can breathe! I have to say that today was much more relaxed & I felt more energized than in the past few days.

Ya’ll know how I love tea? Well, I do. I am trying to cut back on caffeine (I can totally drink coffee in gross amounts, anytime of the day. I love the taste, but don’t love the way it makes me feel). Plus, I add cancer to my coffee, in the form of little yellow packets. Not good. Trying to get off the stuff, & it’s a love-hate fight. I’m winning today! So, I brewed this kind this morning:

 < look at the triangular pyramid bag! It’s Lipton blueberry & pomegranate flavor white tea. White tea still has caffeine, but less than black. 

I had breakfast, went to class, stopped by the store & used some coupons that expire soon, had a snack, checked on & fed hungry-monsters Bella & Milo, went to another class (where we’re watching a documentary on surfing- KELLY SLATER, I love you!)  After I wiped my drool, I walked Bella, went home, & made a fantastic lunch (in which I enjoyed while watching Teen Cribs & reading some blogs!). Today, I also ate another snack, went to the gym (I am sweating a lot more lately these days!), fed Milo & Bella (again?!), took a shower, ate dinner, & am having a snack, consisting of something at the end of this post! 

Here’s what I ate for lunch, though:

 < this new Rachel’s (wickedly delicious, she boasts!)product. She carries yummy yogurts, but now she sports cottage cheese, too! They have fruity flavors, but I chose this cucumber-dill flavor, with lower sugar than the others, but I also like cottage cheese as a dip sometimes & thought this would be tasty in that way. I also had an interesting combination of ingredients in a whole wheat wrap: roasted garlic beets, homemade smoked paprika hummus, avocado & lettuce:  < See?

I ate some crudites (well, carrots, tomatoes & some extra avocado) to eat with the container of cot-chz:  < that’s some black pepper on Rachel.  This was great! I loved the texture, protein & flavor of this. Except the price wasn’t marked, so I took a chance to discover it was $1.50 for one!!! A treat (like Greek yogurt) every once & a while, but a tub of regular cot-chz will do me just fine, thanks! I usually buy small curd 4%, by the way. I loved the flavors of the wrap, too. Yummy, healthy fats to power up my afternoon! RAWR! 

I almost bought another PB-recalled Clif product, but when it didn’t scan at the register, it hit us (duh!) that it was because of the recall.  Soo, I exchanged it for something else. Someone’s lookin’ out for me!!!

Per the title of this post, between Kelly Slater & the beautiful day (80-degrees & not a cloud in the sky!) & food, my eyes are pleased, as well as my taste buds. No, I didn’t taste the man. Just the food. You stop!

And since it’s a blog & not a… well, not 3-D, I’ll give ya another picture of something to rave about:

 < the newest Vegetarian Times, Back to Nature granola (new to me!), & one of my favorite all-purpose orange notebooks! It’s not full-sized & easy to tote around, as I sketch weird things of my imagination, write lists, or whatever… keep tabs on Jasper, perhaps?!

I want to start cooking more. I subscribe to Vegetarian Times online & get a few new recipes each week, & have a couple of cookbooks on hand, but I want to ask YOU:

*Where do you turn for meal ideas when you crave something new, tasty & exciting?! Thanks, in advance!

PB?

I ate a PB Cookie Luna bar yesterday, without thinking of the recall. Now I feel sick & on the toilet…

just so you know!

What do I do?

Who do I tell?

Skool iz Cool!

School has begun once again (Monday). I’m taking 12 credit-hours, after the 16 I took last semester. I felt pretty overwhelmed & spread pretty thinly over all my subjects…I just wasn’t satisfied with my focus & how I did in all of my classes. I excelled mainly in those that interested me & got by in the others. So, I lightened the load (minus 1 class & 1 lab). Here’s what it looks like:

• Mon/Wed– 9:35-12:15 pm (with a break in there) –> I get 6 credits for 1 class (2-for-1), which blends Composition 2 + Humanities 2
• Tues/Thurs– 8-9:25 am –> Applied Ethics
• Tues/Thurs– 11-12:15 pm –> Cultural Anthropology

I am most looking forward to the Cultural Anthropology course. My teacher is really enthusiastic, it’s a big class in a teaching auditorium & we’ll have some hands-on assignments. 

It looks like I’ll have a lot of reading. And, I was asking for book recommendations, & I found one before classes started. I’ll finish it, for sure now! I just love it!

  < true story & inspiring!

Last semester I had all male teachers!!! In 6 classes! All of them! This semester, I have 3 males + 1 female (in the blended class). I like it this way. I think I perform better in class taught by a male teacher… I don’t know why! I was the same way with coaches, when I played sports. **What is everyone’s preference in this? Nervous with males, but excel with females? Don’t care?** I find it interesting in how many men are teaching now! Cool!

I might have an edu-crush on them, meaning I respect their styles, accomplishments, & knowledge so much, that I like them! Even if they’re older? Eek! I just feel like I don’t want to let them down sometimes, yanno?! It’s all good. No trouble here. I see the line.

You want food, you say? Okay:

^ Dinner the other night: tempeh in Annie’s ginger marinade; green beans; broiled tomato; red + regular quinoa

Today, I went to class (so long that my lil’ Mac ran out of power from taking notes on it!), walked Bella (gosh, she’s a bundle of energy!), went to the gym, then made something, starting with this:

… then I had a wonderful Elvis-inspired fave-rave:

…in the blender-upper:

I also added some sogurt, ice & water to thin it out. It was thick & indulgent! I stuck it in the freezer while I took a shower, like this:

< in my Shrek cup, over-flowing with goodness! I started drinking it with a straw, but it was too milk-shakey for me, so I got out a long, thin, diner-style spoon. Wow! It was a great combo, but I’m not sure I’ll buy a whole tub of this flavor. It’s good for special occasions or sweet/rich cravings!

My dad & I went to dinner tonight… juuu-ust the 2 of us (~thanks, Big Willy!) Whenever I ask him where he wants to go, he always asks me what I want. But, I know what he really wants. It’s always… THAI! Which I L-O-V-E, too, so it works out!

We went to a place we’ve never been, but I’d heard good things about it. The verdict: it might become a new favorite. We both RAVED about it. I took no pictures, as I was enjoying the meal with pops, but we were both served a soup to start (him: chicken-rice; me: vegetable… I love how the veggies in Thai food are still a bit crunchy!), then I got some red-pepper eggplant dish with tofu. It was very good, but I would request less sauce next time (’cause oh- there will be a next time!) because it was drenched! We got brown rice & it came on a plate, shaped like a star! How cute of them! …a very nice evening!!! 

When I’m at my uncle’s house, I spend most of the nights here, not at home, so I don’t get to see my family as much, though I still call & visit! haha. Is it weird that I like being away from home, on my own, even though it’s only 5-10 minutes away.

Finally, I had some of my favorite tea:

comforting & soothing!

Tomorrow, I have class, pick up my paycheck from work, & my dad is going to join me for HOT YOGA tomorrow night! I haven’t done a night class there, so it’ll be nice to challenge myself then, since I’m usually a morning/afternoon exerciser, usually!

Hope your days are as wonderful as mine!!! The weekend is almost here, folks!

51 more weeks of 2009!

Week #1 of 2009 is under our belts: Yow-zee! How are ya’ll feeling?

So, I apologize that while most bloggers play catch-up during the weekend, I am a total slacker. I will tell you why:

• My uncle comes home on the weekends and lounges at his house pretty much the whole time, so I scoot my boot’ back to my house on weekends, to:
• sleep in my own bed
• see my own dawggies & 
• just kick it here. 
• I get a better internet connection there so it’s easier to blog & 
• I work more on weekends than during the week.

So, there’s that. Thanks for understanding, like I knew you would!!!

However, I did manage to snap some photos & remember what I’ve been up to…

Last night after work I came home pretty hungry! (YIPPEE, because my appetite was M-I-I-A (Missing In In-Action) during the day. I made myself this:

< toasted Genesis English muffin with Skippy Natural chunky PB, cinnamon & a squirt of honey

 

 

 

& this:

< plain soy yogurt (I’ll call it “sogurt“) with my Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal, more cinnamon & another drizzle of honey

 

 

 

Stirred all up, I LOVED it with so’gurt. It was perfectly crunchy & sweet!

This morning I woke up to another beautiful day in FL! I decided I’d head to the beach (don’t throw a snowball at me for it!), after I filled my innards with some goodness! I had an almost-all-black banana that was crying out for some saving… so, I mashed it up, added some regular oatmeal (because half of my good groceries are still at my uncle’s house), cinnamon, raw wheat germ, & a splash of soymilk. Where’s what it looked like:

Making my oats this way with the mashed ‘nana made it super-thick, even without something like PB or nuts in them… schweet! I headed to the beach soon after, after stopping at my favorite place to get coffee. I bring my own mug (BYOM?) and pay $1.06 each time… but I fill my mug with my own soymilk (I shall call it “smilk“)because they “only” have half-n-half, skim & 2% milk… and I like the way my own smilk tastes in my java.

So, yes, the beach was dee-lightful! I spend a little over 2 hours there, took a lil’ walk, picked up some shells, soaked up some rays, fo’sho! I’ve been a little sad because my hair is growing in a lot darker than the ends show. Wah! I LOVE being a natural blonde, so spending some time outside definitely lightens it up! HOO-RA!

I took some veggie cookbooks & my journal to look through, because I’d love to get back in the habit of cooking some good food, instead of relying on the basics. Though I love me some PB&J & sogurt concoctions, I still love a nice meal & interesting new tastes on occasion!

When I got home, I had some leftover soup:

< my mom made it & it has: barley, lentils, a variety of vegetables, spicy canned tomatoes, & some fresh corn from the ear (not HER ear, though!)

 

 

 

I’ve got to tell ya… you know my possible boy interest? Well, we’ve been hanging out (we went to Starbucks where we both enjoyed some green ginger tea), my favorite Thai restaurant, & I met him at work before I had to work to talk, then he came through my line so I could check him out (OH, yes I did!) Unfortunately, though, he said he doesn’t want a girlfriend but would love to still hang out and get to know me because I seem like a cool girl and he’s sorry if he sent me mixed signals. I graciously said thanks for letting me know, & that I’d still like to hang because there aren’t that many of us that appreciate good food & healthy living! TRUE story! Oh well, he seems suuuuper-cool, so it’ll be great to have another friend in town! Way to be positive, OP!

School doesn’t start until next week, so I’ll be enjoying another week of sunny days & leisure time! Good luck to those going back tomorrow! I’ll be able to get my blogging under way a bit more this week, too… take care & have a peaceful week! 

I’m in the market for a good book: any suggestions, my trusted ol’ friends? I love things that are relatable, interesting, some sort of psychology involved, possibly (?), biographical, heart-warming… anyone?

• *P.S.* I love you. 
• But really: is my bolding & italicizing too much? 
• Tell me what you REALLY think. It takes more time to do this, & I think this may contribute to why I blog less than some of ya’ll, but 
• how often should I use these features? 
• How else might I improve upon the blog? 
• Anything you’d like to see differently/more/less of?
• THANKS!

I’ll leave you with one more sad photo. The holidays are over, you know why?

…just take a look, yourself:

…back to it’s natural habitat, I suppose.

blog, stay put!

I want to blog, so I sure will.

I’ve got to fill ya in on my Christmas & most recent shenannigans & grocery trip! 

“YAY!!!” they all say.

Please stay tuned, and as Arnold says (not the bread-man), I’ll be back!

Thankful and Giving! (and getting)

What a wonderful day I had on Thanksgiving!

^ Here I am with Mr. & Mrs. OrangePop… those who birthed me! I love them a lot and am very fortunate to have such loving and supportive parents! I have 2 older sisters who, unfortunately, weren’t able to make it. My sister who is away working at a ski resort went to a church and had a free dinner with the old people who sponsored it!!! How cute! My other sister had her traditional meal the night before and she ate leftovers (which, I think, is one of the best parts of the food-part of the holiday!) that day and lounged, watched the parade (where she actually went to see it in NY last year!). She came home the next day and we’ve been hanging out, when I’m not at work. 

^ My Vegan with a Vengeance cake! The Ginger-Macadamia Nut-Coconut-Carrot Cake was a total hit!

 Quorn Turk’y Roast– I loved it! Even the biggest meat-eater tried it and agreed it tasted just like turkey and admitted to even liking it! Yay! It’s not vegan, but I’m not. I rubbed it with olive oil and Italian seasoning and then baked it wrapped in tin-foil! Delish!

  Sweet Potato Casserole– my favorite side, which became more like the center. Plenty of walnuts, brown sugar and goodness in this baby!

My Black Friday started at 6am, when my mom and I went to Target (oh, love) and saw people LEAVING when we got there… whatttt?! Ludicrous! It’s not that I just needed anything or was looking for something in particular, but this gal loves a good deal, so I was on the hunt… I also loved that it marked the beginning of the holiday season so it was fun listening to the first bit of holiday music on the way there, while it was still dark. I got a sweater-ish top, a pair of black high-tops, Werther’s hard candies, and gum. Woo, big-spender. Then, we went to Michael’s where I got 2 types of yarn (I can crochet!) and some stationary. Then, Old Navy, where I bought two T-shirts. All on sale. Because I’m thrifty like that!

Today, we (my parents, oldest sis & I) went to get our Christmas tree! Beforehand, we stopped and got coffee and bagels, then skipped along to the tree-tent.  We’ve been debating whether or not to get a small tree and put it on a table, like we did last year when Jasper was a very curious pup; or to get a regular-sized tree and risk him eating the ornaments off the bottom, try to drink the tree’s water, or something else spontaneous and odd… in the end, we decided on a tall tree! The very 1st one we looked at was the one we got! It’s just beautiful and it fills the house with a comforting, lovely smell! Live trees are just the way to go! I’ll show you a picture once all the ornaments go up, but for now:

 

*Tucker & Jasper taking turns playing Santa!

As we decorated, we, of course, listened to holiday tunes. What’s your favorite song of the season?! I love (I think it’s Paul McCartney?) the song that goes, “Simply- having- a wonderful Christmastime!” It’s so happy and fun! Traditionally speaking, I love “Silent Night” (sad and lovely, because it reminds me of my Grandma) and “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” especially by Bing Crosby!

 

I hope everyone had a fantastic, loving Thanksgiving, like I did! 

Oh, another school week begins, sooo make it a great one!

XOXO~Gossip Girl Miss OP