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!

2009 is mine!

Hi beauts! I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve & celebration!

Yesterday I went to the beach– can ya believe it?! I’m sorry to those of you in horrible snowy/stormy weather! I’ll soak up some rays and tan my cancer-free skin for ya! There were tons of tourists because of the football Bowl game in town, but still, awesome! I took a run for a little over 30 minutes- not on the sand like the other day, because my calves were feeling really tight today. Light & breezy! Then, I became a bum and laid on the beach, writing my holiday thank you notes! I had a salad with some of my newest produce:

< mixed greens with roasted garlic beets, carrots, sprouts, tomatoes, & avocado. I wasn’t reallllly hungry, but I wanted something fresh, yanno?! Great, beautiful, healthy fats, with my fave Annie’s dressing, to boot! Later, I had some nuts & trailmix for some protein, mates.

I laid low, went to dinner with my parents, then settled back into my uncle’s place to watch the movie Elf about 3 times because it’s on for 24 hours! Everytime I watch it, I find something new to laugh at. Har! Har! Har! I think it’s weird, too, that Christmas is over, and we’re still watching holiday movies & sing[ing] loud for all to hear… still & always cute!

The boy, like me, is NOT a night-owl. I talked to him today and he went to bed early, haha. I wasn’t expecting any real romance for the New Year, and I’m a casual gal (fancy things don’t fit my fancy!), but a lil’ movie-watchin’ or something would have been nice. Oh, well.

I like to think I started my 2009 off well!

I bought some really great-sounding cereal the other day, by Ruth’s Hemp Foods:

I guess a lady from California requested that we order it, and you know how people in Cali are about health, so it just must be worth carrying. I actually talked to her the day she 1st bought it from us, so she kinda suckered ME into trying it! I am so-o-o glad she did & I did try it! It’s gluten-free, high in fiber, Omega 3’s & so-o-o much more, so check out the link, for more!

< pre-cook

< when I added some water, to just ~2-3 T. cereal

cha-cha-cha-CHIA, in a bowl! It plumped up!

 

 

 

 

 

< then, I decided I still needed more, so I added some cooked rolled oats & more water & soymilk… then some cinnamon, even though there’s already some in the product!

I LOVED this! It made me feel really good, not too full & not bogged-down at all, & it gave me a great feeling of energy. It says you can try it in yogurt, baked goods, or whatever your lil’ heart desires, so I will do just that!

It was a good feeling to have, because I had decided yesterday to go to a hot yoga class! Boy, did I sweat out some toxins! It was my 1st one, but like I said, I was feeling kind of tight and restless, especially when I try to sleep, so I wanted to sttttrreeeettchhh it out! Miss OP LOVED it! hmmm, guess what color my mat was?!

I drove the long way home, by the water because the sun was shining, but my tummy was talkin’ to me (“FEED ME! *nom*nom*”) I wanted to continue treating myself right, so I made a huge-ontic salad with the same goodies as yesterday, plus garlic & Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. I also had extra carrots with hummus!

< I ate it outside on the porch, because my Mother Nature asked me to join her! …and I always obey my mother!

 

 

 

I also had a Kombucha for more purification & energy for my innards!

I tried the Goji Berry one today, for more anti-oxidents (the Wild Root one is great for detoxifying because of the added herbs, though!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, I had a red banana for some potassium for my cramped muscles

 

…with a container of plain lowfat yogurt (hello, protein!), cinnamon (of course!), & a few swirls of Agave Nectar, to make this mess:

I love those lil’ red bananas because yes, they’re smaller, but they’re so pretty, like a sunset, when you open it up to eat it… that’s why I photo’ed it before adding anything! ...so photogenic! 

Honestly (because I’m an ethical blogger), I’ve thought about New Year’s resolutions, but I have come up with few things to be concrete. I must do this. I have a journal, where I can draft my ideas & things I want to work on… then, perhaps I’ll share, but I don’t know. Sorry. I think personal changes are sort of… personal.

Anyway, Happy & Healthy New Year in 2009!!! THANK YOU for reading & commenting on occasion… it lets me know I’m not alone in this bloggity-world!

The family is all gathering together again at my grandparents’ house for dinner… for the 1st time this year!  (*rolls eyes in anticipation for, “I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU SINCE LAST YEAR!” comments*) But, really, it should be a good time! It always is, when family is together!

peace

The Ghost of Christmas past has come

 < Jasper

 Tucker \/ 

“Ho! Ho! Ho!”

We had Christmas Eve dinner at my aunt’s house (mom’s sis) after church, which was great. My aunt really gets into the holiday decorating and had this display up and kept adding to it, since September! It looked great & festive!

   

 

 Isn’t it just awesome?! Can you see the Grinch on the mountain (pic #1) & my aunt in the mirror (pic #2)?! She has a train going through, which is in motion in pic #4 and she made that cute little peppermint path! She’s worked hard on it- it’s great!

 

 < The mini Christmas tree in my room, with little ornaments, T & J, and there’s also 2 school pictures of the kids I babysit on there somewhere. I got the BELIEVE ornament this year… it’s sorta my word!

 

On Christmas day, we woke up to stockings & gifts at our house, then we went to my grandparents’ (Dad’s side of the family) to do the same & eat breakie. Breakfast was homemade quiche, mixed fruit salad, pastries, *ahem*sausage*ahem*, tomatoes, OJ & coffee. mmMmm… Only one of my sisters could come home for the holidays, so I reveal to you THEE. BEST. DECORATION. OF. OP’s. CHRISTMAS, who stood in for my other sis, who couldn’t be with us. Check “her” out, drinking some wine:

She’s made fun of that thing, since the day I brought IT home in 6th grade, 9 years ago… it’s not Christmas without it! We literally took pictures with (hmm) SISTER CRACKER as if it was really her. My dad ALWAYS reads ‘Twas the night before Christmas in bed on Christmas Eve, so we called her up, had her on speaker phone, and tucked the lil’ cracker in bed with us!!! (aawww) I think she got in more photos this Christmas than if she had actually been here… oh man- GOOD TIMES!

   

  

Some gifts: a great wild-pattern dress shipped from my sista’; an organic cotton long-sleeved tee (I also got the same brand gray bag that can hold the world in it!); some Nike shoes (& a gray half-zip Nike hoodie); salt + pepper shakers to add to my collection (a holiday one & the Wizard of Oz one- isn’t that one soo cool?!); my stocking from home; the obligatory tangerine & in that cute little cloth envelope… a Starbuck’s  gift card!

since I’ve mentioned food in all my other posts, I’ll add one to this: it was a gift from the neighbors, and I’m not quiiiite sure what it is, but I’ll describe what I think it is. It was like toffee/brittle covered in a thin layer of chocolate with almonds in it! sooo rich & buttery & dee-lish! 

I got spoiled for sure! I got so much more than I could need or want, aww, blessings!

So, yesterday I went grocery shopping at the health-food store/work, to re-stock my uncle’s pantry & fridge with some more yum-si-ness. (Bella is laying on my arm, so I keep misspelling things and pressing odd keys!)

Here are some boring staples: garbanzo beans, my favorite Annie’s salad dressing, & plain soy yogurt

Produce: I filled a bag full of salad greens from the salad bar (way cheaper & organic: a bag full, for about $1.50!), an avocado, Roma tomatoes, Sweet Clover sprouts, red bananas (I have some tangerines & apples still!)

…and some goodies I hardly ever get, or have never had, but was excited about: Nutiva hemp protein powder packet, 2 different trailmixes, 3 Betty Lou’s energy balls (tee-hee, I said “BALLS!”), a raw organic food bar, & some dark chocolate ginger

^ MORE goodies:  Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal (Chia-pet for breakfast!), Food for Life  Genesis English muffins, crackers, & roasted garlic beets from the deli!

I brought my own bags like a good lil’ girl. My store donates 5 cents for every bag someone brings in, to a charity, which is different every month! I helped yesterday with 10 cents! I spent about $35 on that schtuff!

Later, I went to good ol’ Publix & picked up a bag of baby carrots, organic blue corn chips & a Luna sunrise bar: Strawberry flava’.

Yesterday, I went with my parents, sis, & grandparents (who loooove dogs) to see Marley and Me. Loved it! Adorable! I didn’t read the book, but it was sweet, none-the-less! 

Afterward, I met a friend to catch-up at Border’s. We used to meet up there in high school and take allllll the magazines we could carry to the kid’s area, look at them, talk, & put them back. Sorry, Border’s workers- guilty! We didn’t take mags this time because we had a lot to talk about in a little bit of time (because she met her mom afterward)…

You know WHY we had so much to talk about?! Well… 

…well, before that, here was a light dinner with some new goods:

^ a toasted Genesis English muffin with some Baba Ganouj hummus, sprouts, greens, & tomato. Also, a salad with carrots, sprouts, & Newman’s Own honey mustard dressing. After I took it, I added some sunflower seeds to it. My tummy was acting weird, so something light was just what I needed. I had some of my favorite tea, too: Celestial Seasoning’s Honey Peach Ginger to soothe the tum-tum.

Okay- now, the good stuff:

Me, lil’ Miss Orange Poppity-Pop had a date! *GASP* I don’t have much dating experience because in high school, I was always so busy with sports & activities, that I just didn’t care much about that. But, I met him at work– he shops there all the time & eats in the deli whenever he can. Needless to say, he’s super-healthy & a total foodie! He’s also smart, cute, sweet…

We went to a raw/veg/vegan restaurant and got a few different things, tried each others’ food, shared dessert, talked the whole time, he showed me where he is workin‘, he drove me back with plans for something else in the works! We went out once before- met at a pub, actually (he’s not a “pub-guy” but met some old buddies there), and I thought it’d be awkward, but it totally wasn’t! His friends included me & I even recognized/knew some people that were there, too!

YIPPEE! He, like me, am not a night-owl, and he had a busy day today, so we’re not getting together tonight for the last time this year in 2008, but next year for sure! I’m going to dinner with my parents tonight and just layin’ low.

When I was little, my family would turn the clocks back a few hours so we wouldn’t be up so late… we’d bang pots-and-pans and light sparklers on roller blades at like 9 or 10 PM every year! HA! This year, it’s all about the true midnight!

*FUN FACT: this year is one second longer because the earth’s rotation is slowing… so enjoy your extra-second-longer year & have fun (& be safe) welcoming a new, fabulous year in 2009! (PEACE in 2009, as we always say!)

Wii would like an update!

Friends, acquaintances, and beyond,

I apologize for my absence. While I’ve been away from the blogging world, here’s a bit what I actually have been up to:

• Playing wii! I created my own “mii” character (with her cute little orange dress, blonde curls and blue eyes!) I’ve played tennis, so far… but I popped my shoulder. Oh yes, athlete-extraordinairre! Take me to the Olympics!

 

And my mom beat up on me:

• Which means, yes, I’ve been watching those Olympics. A-ma-zing! Congrats to all those who were able to compete and to all those hopeful-Olympians: if you’re even considered, you’re great, too! What strength and work athic they must have!
• Playing volleyball. I’ve always looked up to Misty May (now May-Treanor) on the beach, but especially during her indoor volleyball days at Long Beach State University. I’ve been to the setter‘s camp, where she was made into one of the greatest indoor setters of all time! I had a great shot to be on that level, (maybe?) but stopped, due to stress from the sport, losing my passion. Bummer. But my sister has an alumni match this weekend at her college and hasn’t played since graduating in May, so I’ve been playing. At first, I was nervous and a bit embarrassed. I think I’ve given my vball days a rest because I was afraid how I wouldn’t be able to do it anymore and I’d be too weak, or something. This time, I allowed it. I’ve taken almost 2 years off!!! Anyway, it didn’t take that long to get it back. We played for probably 30 minutes, twice, and I noticed a huge difference from beginning, to the end, correcting silly mistakes I would have never made before, but remembering how it feels the right away, and the wrong way. I love volleyball again!

  < Misty May, as an indoor player!

• Established my favorite salad dressing! Thank you, Annie’s Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette, with Chamomile! I finished the bottle… waited a couple of days to get another, as it’s only at my work, not the general Albertson’s/Publix/Target stores by me! Like that V8 commercial, I felt lacking on salads (though I got other veggies) without it… *donk!* should’a had a V8!

 

• Working. I’ll cut my hours next week, as I… (see next)
• Signed up for classes at the college! Starts Monday, the 25! When I moved to Portland, I had every intention of staying long enough to gain residency and going to school out there. Well, I didn’t stay long enough, so it’s almost been 2 years with no school. I miss it, I really do! I’m excited to get back at it. I’m taking 16 hours, including a lab. Just general classes to get my requirements out of the way. I’m living at home, as it’s pretty close to campus and I’ll be working, so I’m excited, also, to be a busy-bee!
• Learned that my bloode test labs came back and the result said that I am not gluten-intolerant like I thought. Which is good. And I’m eating glutenous products again. But I’m still having tummy issues. My doc says I may have some other malabsorption problem, and I should see a GI specialist! Hmmm…
• I went to a raw restaurant with some co-workers! It’s new and I actually had the owners come through my line one night before it opened with a cart full of bananas and zucchini. The menu is all raw, vegetarian, and/or vegan. I decided on the zucchini spaghetti, after debating between that and the pesto zucchini spaghetti, which was a special. It was all raw. Tasted awesome! It was saerved with ground-up nuts, which tasted “cheesy!” Amazing! haha, but everyone at the table got something different, and I got to try the raw pizza! The “Real Deal” on their menu is one of their specialties, but no one got it… oh, well, next time! I sort of feel like Erica with her Candle Cafe escapades, because I want to go back, but know it’ll break my bank account if I keep it up!!! It’s just not that common to find such a veg-friendly restaurant, other than merely pasta/salad/(?)! It was great, and filling, and like I was eating, well, spaghetti! The sauce was nice, too: a mix of sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, with veggies!

• Reading My Sister’s Keeper. Still. I love it! I can’t wait for the movie, in 2009!
• I saw The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 with my sister. Loved it! Let’s just all go to Greece, because we want to! Easy-Peasey!

*Phew* Okay, you’re pretty much caught up on the recent life of lil’ ol’ me: Miss Orange Pop!

I speak with honest GARLIC breath!

Why, hello, my lovely long-necked friend! I saw this at the store and had to try it! Why? WHY NOT?! Yes, it is diet, but it still tasted like I melted an orange creamsicle in my mouth! I felt like I was in the 50’s at the soda fountain. Oh, a twist on my beloved orange pop! Too bad I don’t have a juke box and I wish I drank it with a straw, but now I think of it…

To back-track, I made some famous Chickpea Cutlets from V’con for lunch today. I also had Emerald Kale Salad from the deli at work, which was excellent. One bite into the cutlets and I said, “OHHH YEAH!” I made a spin off of some mustard sauce, which I could never in a million years replicate, because I just sort of put some of this in, and some of that in… improvisation! From what I remember, it had some mustard powder, Braggs, Wasabi powder, garlic, Agave nectar, some flour to thicken it… I don’t know for sure, but it was garlicky, tasty, and delicious, all together! I was very satisfied, can you tell?! The kale salad was garlicky, too, so afterward, I sort of felt like I had just eaten the entire bulb of garlic! Ha! (Jasper and Tucker did not want to speak to or kiss me afterward!)

Isn’t my mini-whisk the cutest?!

So, I went to the mall after that, because I have a few gift cards and I love a good sale, but nothing caught my bargaining eye, so I left and picked up my liquified-creamsicle and some decaf coffee (Cinnamon Hazelnut, thank you) and went home. I really wasn’t hungry for dinner. 4 hours later, can you believe it?! Usually my body is saying, “FEED ME!” every 3 hours or so, but I wasn’t hungry! I was, however, in the mood to cook. After going through my recipe books and taking stock of what I would fancy in my head, I decided I would eat a good, full, meal. And it would be tasty! I made a spin off of Pasta de la California in V’con (hmm, Pasta de la Madam Orange Pop?!), with some spicy Bar-B-Que tempeh, and a side-salad with Annie’s Woodstock dressing! How have I not known about this beauty-of-a-dressing before?! Loved it! Props to Annie and her employees! Again, I have garlic breath, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I have to be honest here. I’ve been dreaming all today when I would sneak in some exercise, other than walking around the mall. I haven’t been feeling as strong lately and it’s been probably a week since I’ve hit the gym. But, I have been walking, biking, running (minimally) and working recently. And, some more honesty for you, I’ve been feeling a bit tired, frail/thin-feeling. This is not a good feeling for me because I am usually full of energy, happy, warrior-like (yes, me, Orange Pop, Warrior Princess!)… so I knew I needed to eat and eat I did! I feel like sometimes I look like a little girl, or worse, a little boy! You know what I mean? So, here I type, full, sleepy and a bit uncomfortable, but I will be kind to myself because I’ve been not-so-kind in the past, if ya know what I mean.

So there’s honesty for ya! I promised myself and my parents I’d take great care of myself while they’re away, and always! That’s a gift everyone should let themselves have!