Ketch-up!

I mean, CATCH UP! Because there ain’t no KETCHUP here! …instead… 

Did I lure you in? …keep reading to see more!

I’m sorry I have been a naughty, absent blogger–mama, but I’ve been pretty good about commenting on everyone else’s lovely blog-iggities! Thanks for keeping my interest & taking up all my free time, GOSH! No, I love it!

…continuing from Valentine’s Day, like I said before, my dad & I got pedicures. This is a picture of the little Oriental ladies (who know us by name) rubbing our dogs. Please disregard the scary Casper-legs. I’m working on it. My dad is drooling. See us in all our luxury:

 HA! My color is called “Wild Child”– a bright green-ish… my dad picked it out. I guess I’ll be ready for St. Patty’s Day!

I’ve been taking lots of yummy food-photos (the photos aren’t yummy, but what’s in them has been!) Here are some oatbran breakfasts, as of late:

   < with banana, soy, pb & granola; again with banana, nuts, soy & banana… with my mom’s cute little cocktail napkins (she thinks she’s funny & this is so her…); & with soy, strawberries & nut butter. I really forget what is in each, but they had cinnamon (of course!) & were all good & truly solidify my love for oatbran.

P.S. That’s TEA, not COFFEE!!! Weeee!!!

 < my Multi-vitamin of choice & Calcium-Magnesium-D(3) supplement, in strawberry-flavored liquid form (milky, but I like flava’-flave!)

   < Tempeh Quesadillas, based off of this recipe, from Vegetarian Times (online), but I didn’t broil it with cheese on top. I added peppers, onions, spinach, mozzarella, tempeh, tomatoes, salsa in a whole-wheat tortilla; cooked it in the skillet; served it alongside homemade guacamole (just avocado, salsa, onion & red pepper flakes!) & blue corn tortilla chips. A nice lunch, with Jasper in the background, contemplating the meaning of life… or something like that.

Friday the 13th was my grandpa’s birthday, so on that Sunday the 15th, we had the family over to celebrate that & Lover’s-Day on the 14th. (that was out of order, sorry) I made a cake from Vegan With a Vengeance: 

Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting– here it is, in the process/layers:

    

TA-DAAAA!!!

My mom is way creative (hello, teacher!) so we had a “circus-theme”, bringing out the inner child of my grandpa. Our table cloth was (*homemade*) zebra-print, & we had circus animals & clowns/ring-leaders on the table, too. Here’s the arrangement I made. I’m so 6-years-old:

 RAWR!!!

 < He likes the gorilla

 < tootin’ his own horn= ring leader?

 

… this cake turned out so moist & delicious! If you have the cookbook & have a reason to make it (& even if you don’t!), DO IT– you will not be disappointed!!! It was a major hit, if I do say so myself (& I do)! The party was great, too! Having family around is always a fabulous, beautiful thing, don’t ya agree? Even if you don’t always get along with them all, the love is still there! For sure!

Okay, this post is way-long, but I have some other great kitchen-makings that I feel really great about showing you! SOONER THAN LAST TIME, I will show you!

Until then, enjoy your weekends. What are you doing?! I hope it’s warming up in some wretched parts of the country! I’m sending warm wishes to you all- in your hearts & on your bodacious bods!

 

 

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He loves you, yeah-yeah-yeah!

Me & The Beatles say, “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, LOVES!”

I hope your day is filled with love, in all areas of your life: for yourself (#1!), friends, family, the things you do & everything in your world! What are you doing to celebrate this commercial love-filled holiday?!

I have to work tonight, but until then, I’m going to watch some romantic-comedies & get a pedicure with my dad. He loves them & he’s not afraid to say so! Last night, I saw He’s Just Not That Into You with one of my girlfriends. We’re both single, so it was our date! It make me just want to shout “STOP TALKING!” sometimes because sometimes the characters were so awkward, but it was cute & fun. Afterward, we chatted on the outside benches. Lovely!

When I woke up this morning, I saw, on my computer, a card:

 

from Daddy!!! (thanks, Daddy-o!) plus a sweet little note with it!

 

& a box of chocolate (& cash) from Mommy! (thanks, Mom-sie!)

I’m so lucky to have such a supportive, loving family! Truly, sometimes I feel overwhelmed with inheriting a great fortune, in the form of love, care & happiness! I hope you feel this way, in some part of your life, too!

Thanks to everyone on their feedback, though I was looking for even MORE than a few people. But, none-the-less, it was great to hear from a few special people & I’ve come to realize that, yes, it is MY blog, so I can write whatever, but will you read?

I think I even had a dream about my blog, leading me to some ideas… kind of cool, huh?! Would it be too much of a nuisance to change my name or blog?! Any experience with this?

Some of my favorite tea-makers sent me a sample (which I had inquired about a while back)  

with 3 flava’s: Green tea Pomegranate, Himalayan Apple Spice, & Berry Detox. I’ve tried the Green Tea Pomegranate & it’s tasty, so I’m looking forward to the others. Also, a lil’ coupon, YIPPEE!!! I love me some savings!

…speaking of TEA, I just got some new French Vanilla flavored tea, from Mr. Big(elow)!

 < it’s wonderful! I’ve been drinking it with soymilk & agave, which brings out the flavor & sweetness! mMmMm… even without coffee, I like to have a little fix of something, with some caffeine in the black tea in my mornings!

I saw the nutritionist this week again, too. While I followed the meal plan she gave me, toward the end, I felt even more hungry, even with less exercise I had been doing. So when I saw her, she weighed me (I was UP about 1.5 # in a week & a half, & I am happy with this!) & we worked on another, bigger meal plan. A “prescription,” if you will. It’s incorporating a lot of fat (mmm, hello nuts, seeds, avocado, nut-butters, etc…) & she said it’s her goal to get my *girly-thing* within 2 months!!! While I know this may be a pain (literally?), this excites me, because it’s been gone for farrrr too long! And that is just not right. 

Want to see some food? OKAY:

 < yesterday’s breakfast, with a ray of sunshine from above (mug): oat bran (thanks to Heather, I have noticed that yes, oat bran, as opposed to oatmeal satisfies my hunger a wee bit more! Check out her comparison on the nutritional info. on the 2 oats here). Anyway, oat bran with walnuts, banana, cinnamon, vanilla & s’milk, multi-grain toast with Smart Balance butter & 2 eggs with spinach + S&P & tea with agave & s’milk. WOW, filling, but delicious! 

 < a phone call, from the plain so’gurt to almond butter on the banana phone!

 in the blender it goes…

…+ ice & blueberries 

…to make:  YUM!!! Just what I needed on a warm winter day. Yes, it’s warm, sunny & BEAUTIFUL here in FL… *wish you were here!*

  

^ noodle bowl with: soba noodles, tempeh, veggies, sliced almonds, with red pepper flakes & flaxseed oil drizzled on top for some moisture & nutrient-absorbing fat! (Eaten with chopsticks, of course… Noodles are very difficult to eat with choppies so I had a fork around, too)

 < snack: Clif bar & tea (I LOVE this flavor tea!)

okay, I have a few more food photos, but instead, I’ll leave you with some great men in my life… they’re begging for you to “Be Theirs!” They’re lovers, I swear:

~*XOXO*~

p.s. I love you!

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!)

Beginning to look a lot like…

the Holidays (to not be religiously-biased) 

…even though the high will be 80 degrees on Christmas morning…

So, for my homemade gifts, I’ve decided against giving out the “Almond Joy” granola because I tasted it and it tasted… burnt. No one wants that, no matter how bad they were this year!!! I woke up yesterday morning on a mission: better granola, & something else homemade. What, may you ask? How very trendy of me to make biscotti!!! I looked up some recipes from V’con and other cookbooks and sort of varied it to my liking. I came out with my own, OrangePop variation! It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself! Healthy + Vegan + Delicious = a winning combination! 

For my 1st trick, I present…. GRANOLA:

^ this was the best, yet! I added nuts and dried fruit but I added the sliced almonds during the last 5 or so minutes because that’s where I got, um, *burned* last batch! Good move, me!

I packaged them like this, afterall:

 with a little tag with the ingredients, added later. I used mostly organic ingredients from my health-food store (aka work) so people will know they’re adding wholesome goodness to their innards! 

I also made a ginger-sunflower seed version that was great, too!!!

I shall post these recipes, okay?!

For my next trick, I reveal… BISCOTTI:

and I packaged them all differently, like this:

 I gave one to my uncle and he didn’t want to choose one because he didn’t want me to waste the “gourmet wrap job” on lil’-ol’-him! HA, it’s wax paper… and ribbon…

* I will post the recipe, because it was original when it was finished, and not exactly from any book or recipe I looked up! *

Anywho, amongst all the baking and the house smelling ab-so-lutely divine, I also baked up a cake because my grandparents came over for dinner to see the house all decorated purrty for the holidays. It was a suuuper-easy recipe my mom had, so I whipped it up real quick. It was a lemon bundt cake with a cinnamon-sugar swirl. Here’s it in the making:

…and the final product:

^ Do you see what I see? A lil’ bit of me, OP looming in the background?!

mmMmmMmm… orange soda…

One of these days I’m going to post a photo of the BEST part of our Christmas decorations. I’ll reveal that later. But now, here was our dining atmosphere last night:

HAPPY & HEALTHY HOLIDAYS 😀

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

November is almost over?

…it sure is!
I’ve celebrated 5 months of employment at my job! Ha, very monumentous… I am happy to still have a job with the way things seem to be now. Although, the price of gas yesterday, I saw as low as $1.79!!! I had school on Monday & Tuesday, but am off the rest of the time for a little break! 

I started seeing the Christmas tree tents being filled with trees the other day, too! It is always a tradition for us to get our tree the day after Thanksgiving… which is today. So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ya’ll!!! I am blogging to you straight from my couch, as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is starting. Oh, Miley C. and David A. are headliners. What youth this country has!

Last night we had 2 of my aunts and an uncle over for dinner. And some little boy hung out with us… who?! Let me show you:

Jassi’per!

Afterward we went out by the pool and had a fire in our fire pit and made s’mores! Let me tell you: it was cooooollldddd! My mom made the best soup in a large pot- plenty for seconds and leftovers! We call it “Garlicky Spicy Tortellini Soup.” It’s super easy, warming, filling, a little spicy, and GOOD! Basic ingredients: (We don’t even use a recipe anymore because it’s this easy. Just stock the ingredients and add as much or as little as you like!) 

• Package or 2 of Tortellini (we used dry Barilla tortellini, probably the Cheese & Garlic kind, but any would be great! (spinach, 3-cheese, etc.)
• Large can of stewed tomatoes, cut up
• 2 cans of tomatoes with green chilies
• Bag of fresh spinach, rinsed and drained
• GARLIC!!!!! Few cloves… or bulbs. Ha, no, but this is essential to making the soup that much better (doesn’t garlic just do that to everything?!)

Cook everything and let simmer and add spinach last, just before serving until it shrinks like it does and mixes well. You can add red pepper flakes or S&P, but it’s not really needed.

And, VIOLA! Serve with crusty bread and lots to drink!

Today, of course, is the main event of Thanksgiving! The family is going to be eating real bird, and I’ve seen the whole Tofurkey roast with stuffing, that’s like $27.99, but it’s just me and I’m weary of the Tofurkey brand (although I DO like the lunch “meat” that’s “cranberry-stuffing” flavor. So, that’s holiday-ish!). Anyway, I LOVE Quorn chik’n, so I saw a Turk’y roast (I love how ebonic vegetarianism becomes…) with 5 servings, so I got that to try! 

I’m not a pie fan. I think I used to like it, and I want to like it, but I don’t. We’re having apple & pumpkin pies and Ginger-Macadamia Nut-Coconut Carrot Cake from Vegan with a Vengeance.  Oh-la-la, I’m excited! I’ve got that to cook up today!

We used to have lunch at my mom’s parent’s house, then dinner at my dad’s parent’s. *Phew!* That’s a lot of eating. My mom’s parent’s aren’t alive anymore and everyone’s sort of adopting their own traditions with family, so we’ve decided to give my dad’s parent’s a break since they host Christmas and invite both sides of the family and whoever can make it, comes! We might take the ol’ rascal, Jasper to the park to tire him out, since we’re having a lot of people over today and he’s not a (total) crazy man!

Have a wonderful, giving, loving Thanksgiving!

*Questions for ya:

WHAT ARE YOUR HOLIDAY TRADITIONS?!

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE PARADE (if you watched!)… and/or THE HOLIDAY?!

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?!

I hope you really think about these and really tell the people you love how you feel and take note, not just today, but everyday, for all you have and are able to do! Truly, I’m thankful for so many things I want to cry in appreciation… XOXO~ “Miss OP”

*And yes, I do plan on waking up early to shop. I have to work (changed to later, though!), and even though I rarely buy much, I love the spirit of it and the “kick-off” to the holiday season!