i randomly found this video online and i LOVE IT!! i’m too tired to write anything today and i didn’t have a backup post created, so i’m just going with this. it’s way cool. i love the use of the still frames to create the video… i think it’s so well-done!
enjoy and happy whatever wednesday!
i seriously LOVE mushrooms.
i could eat them with every meal. and sometimes it seems like i do. contrary to what many people think when they meet me, i’m not a vegetarian or vegan and i do not follow a rigid diet plan of any kind — however, i do try to eat about 80-90% fruits and vegetables every day. i find that mushrooms make a great meat substitute, mostly for the texture. some of my favourite meat substitutes are mushrooms. the texture is great, there is such a variety, and i just LOVE the flavour! of all kinds, really… i don’t necessarily find the need to “substitute” my meat, it’s just that i find my body doesn’t crave the meat as much as it does fish or beans or other proteins. every now and again i’ll have a burger or once in a blue moon i’ll have a steak, however i can’t remember the last time i did that. point is – mushrooms are great!
so, salmon season is pretty much over… i think we’ll get another run or two but that will be it. do you know how you can just kind of guess that the season is about over? well, have you been to the grocer and SEEN the size of salmon filets right now?! massive! like, i mean MASSIVE fish! they’ve been cruising around eating up the other fish, gettin’ all fat and delicious on us… THAT’S how you can usually tell it’s the end of the season. they’re HUGE!
whenever there is a one-day special or sale of any kind on salmon, i nab it up. i don’t like freezing my fish, so i’ll just buy enough for a nice meal with the roomie or cook a little extra for salads. all seafood is so much more expensive out here in the land-locked states, so i don’t eat it nearly as much as i would like. frozen fish just doesn’t taste as good… i prefer only eating wild-caught, in season, as local as possible fish.
the real secret ingredient to this dish and part of the inspiration for even buying the fish was to use some of this absolutely amazing marinade that was gifted to me as a generous sample. it’s a locally made product which is a basil-based vinaigrette that i was immediately hooked on the first time i tried it when the vendor was demoing the product with some simple bib lettuce. i didn’t find a website for the actual producers, but i do know that this particular bottle in the above foto was made only 3 days prior to me consuming it. talk about fresh!! i’m so lucky.
if you can find it, get it. you can buy it online and it’s actually cheaper than the store that way. the ingredients are so simple, if you had the right combo of good oil and vinegar you could almost mimic it. but i tell you, it’s the best dressing i’ve ever tried!! i’m not sure i’ll ever go back to another dressing again! and i have tried a TON of vinaigrettes! italian-style dressing is my absolutely fav, but it simply has to have the right combination of good oil and good vinegar and the right kind of spices. i mean, when you’re basing your dressing around FRESH basil, i guess you can’t go wrong… Continue reading
so… here’s the thing about me… or at least, here’s how things have typically been for me…
although i see the world as very “gray” — i LIVE it very black and white. what i mean by that is… it has appeared that for me i’m either super high and on top of it creating world peace the whole nine… OR, i’m super down and depressed feeling useless and hopeless and thinking even the flowers are out to get me… there is hardly an in between. seldom did i feel comfortable, content, “in a groove,” or most of all – peaceful. that wasn’t always something i could FEEL and feel okay with…
i suppose this stems from a shaky childhood and the survival instinct of maturing faster than most due to losing a parent. it could also have to do with my astrological chart, or the fact that i am a very very impatient old soul… but the truth is, it has always been hard for me to find a balance, or to find some comfort, some love, and some peace in the every day. i speak of this in past-tense now because i can, because i am confident in saying that i no longer live like that. i’ve spoken a handful of times now on how i feel i’ve changed over the last year, and am continuing to. i’ve written about not only feeling the change but seeing it actually play out. i make conscious choices each day to effect how i see life. what’s frustrating is when i see people in life for who they are, and all they want to do is fake it — it’s just annoying, because i want to be like “you ain’t foolin’ me” but… i have to be a friggin’ politician about things sometimes and i’m kind of over that…
i digress, as usual. Continue reading
right around july this year, my blog really took a turning point. i have fine-tuned what it is i want this blog to represent. i have collected some dedicated readers, and i’ve also created a dedicated set of specific blogs i post each corresponding day of the week. it feels nice to have some structure.
if i had time, i’d post 7-days a week. and hopefully very soon i will be able to do that. my “day job” is going great, and my foto job is starting to take a turn as well, for the better. i am digging all the positive change happening in my life lately. i’m so beyond grateful…
and since march when i began this blog – i’ve created a cool 127 posts, stacked up over 250 followers, and graciously received over 1,000 likes.
so… THANKS! 🙂
i appreciate you.
and you know what else i appreciate? Continue reading
i’ve been thinking a lot lately. about a lot, lately.
i don’t always have time to sit down and write – and i’m not even writing, i’m typing. how did people WRITE back in the day?! this is the kind of stuff i think about… i mean, i know how they did it – it just baffles me when i think about the fact that they did. it blows my mind how much we’ve advanced and yet how much we lack basic knowledge of what i would consider “common” things… for example, basic writing. at one point in our human existence, we had to take a pencil or pen and a whole ream of paper and sit and write what would now be viewable on a 30 plus inch screen. what gets me all rant-y about it all is that we have no idea how great we have it… we fill our lives with meaningless crap and other people’s ideas of what “life” should be. and LIFE is so very simple, so very easy… if we can but let go and realize that we aren’t living it, IT is living through us… does that make sense? well, at least this is what i believe.
we get to breathe every day. do you know how much has to exist, work together, and create inside of our bodies for that to happen? it’s ridiculous! i wish i could go back to like, what? – 9th grade science – and learn all about the human body again… and really pay attention this time.
or just go the library and get a huge book on it.
or google the $h!t out of it. Continue reading
these fotos are kind of old, back when i had just moved to new york – i’d been there maybe a year. and they were taken sans tripod. i think it was in september – i didn’t anticipate the weather being as cold as it was. but did you know humidity works in the cool temps?! holy crap yes it does!
i had some guests in town from colorado and they wanted to squeeze in as much tourism as possible. the empire state building was always a go-to for me when i had visitors. it never gets old for me. even though i don’t like the heights, i like the view. i took another trip up during the daytime with a friend, i’ll have to find those fotos. will i pay 30 bucks and visit again when i am in the city in october? mmmmmaybe not. we’ll see. it’s nice to know people with rooftop views – that’s like prime real estate in new york! Continue reading
so, i decided to change “wordy wednesday” to “whatever wednesday” — i just can’t put that kind of pressure on myself anymore – haha 😉
so, in honor of my first “whatever” post, i am going to repost something i wrote a while ago that i find awesome and should be shared with as many people as possible. when i first posted this way back when i started my blog, i got more hits than any other day, and more facebook shares than any other day… so i figure, this is information people actually care about…
as you know, i’m a huge foodie. i love anything with colour – so basically anything that has been in the ground, grown in soil, rich in nutrients from the earth, fibrous, healthy, and completely natural. so basically, i am pro-veggie. i firmly believe the human body has the power to heal itself using diet. we truly are what we eat. and when i discovered that some foods actually look like the body parts they help heal, i was floored. talk about intelligent design! we are truly incredible human machines.
oh and in case you’re wondering what my stance is after that whole organic vs. conventional stanford study, i don’t care… and i actually didn’t even read it, i don’t need to. it’s just like when they supposedly found this brand new thirteenth astrological sign suddenly – what was his name? whatever, it doesn’t matter. i’m still a sagittarius/scorpio cusp with cancer rising and a capricorn moon, i’m a total product of my natal chart, to a T – some random astronomer isn’t going to come along and suddenly tell me i’m not who i feel i am. and some fancy rich group of college kids isn’t going to come along and change why i eat organic food, either. {sorry, do i sound snarky?!} Continue reading
here’s my “true fat tire story” —
so… by now you probably all know that i got promoted at work – and if you didn’t, now you do 🙂
it’s a good thing. added stress is always annoying, and with management usually comes more stress… but i decided that on my shifts, there will be none of that, no drama, no “issues,” no stress. that’s just how i roll.
i digress.
so, after my promotion, i was all like “i want to buy myself a congratulatory meal!” and so, the first thing i always go to when i want to treat myself with food – is seafood. i love love love me some seafood. anything that’s been in the ocean, really. but my favourite go-tos are shrimp, crab, scallops, or salmon. mostly shellfish, mostly delicious maryland blue crab meat. i have been craving them ever since i made my homemade potato chips… when i visit NYC in october, i’m actually considering making a day trip back to the bay, to mow down on some chesapeake catches! Continue reading
i have seriously been sitting at my computer all morning – i started 3 different blogs, got distracted, ate breakfast, cried a little {good cry}, and then started all over. i blame nicki minaj. i have been listening to the song “fly” on repeat since i woke up. it’s my new theme song. my favourite lyrics :
“Everybody wanna try to box me in
Suffocating every time it locks me in
Paint their own pictures then they crop me in
But I will remain where the top begins
Cause I am not a word, I am not a line
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
well well well. what do we have here?
i’ve been in colorado for exactly a year now. i’ve been doing the same job for that entire year. that’s not normal for me – i’m very progressive, often get promoted quickly, move up quickly, etc. i just have a go-getter attitude and people usually notice that. hell, i was promoted within 2 months in new york city to one of the top managers of my store… all i gotta do is flash ’em that smile, usually – 😉
hehehe
well, as the universe would have it, i’ve once again been promoted. i’m back in my stride, doing my thing, and i have the position i needed and wanted since i moved here.
what has the last year taught me then? what has all that disappointment, struggle, hardship, nonsense, and hidden truth done for me?! what has waiting, waiting, and waiting, done for me?! what have i learned in all that?! Continue reading
“i’m starting with the man in the mirror, i’m asking him to change his ways – and no message could’ve been any clearer, if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that CHANGE!”
— michael jackson, lyrical genius.
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well, it’s wordy wednesday. and i have a lot to say this time. it’s been quite a week. a HUGE full moon last wednesday and i’m not talking viewable by a telescope huge, i mean like – effect me on all levels huge. i have always talked about how i am a huge astrology buff. i follow zoe moon astrology, and you should too! she’s fantastic and always right on! astrology and horoscopes are NOT exactly the same. i’m not saying i follow my horoscope and freak out if “my crush” doesn’t ask me out even though my horoscope said it would. i’m talking about astrology – a study of the movements of the planets. it’s a very in-depth and fascinating field that i have studied more and more as time has gone on… also, i am very “in tune” with the planetary changes. and i FELT this last full moon like, with major force. it was intense!!! Continue reading
pizza and beer, anyone?!
breakfast pizzas are popping up all over pinterest and blog sites alike, and i was so eager to try one of my own. after 14 days of cleansing, i have been obviously rather ravenous lately. carbs, bacon, eggs, and cheese were all that would suffice last weekend. so, i made my own organic breakfast pizza and served it with a delicious farmhouse saison… you’re going to want to try this. Continue reading
full moon.
bad morning.
not a lot of words today – the only thing that i keep repeating is my current mantra :
BRING TRUTH TO LIGHT, AND HELP ME NOT LOSE SIGHT.
by the way, i’ve decided to add some real structure to this blog, so i have something to look forward to posting each week, and you have something new to look forward to reading. this is how it will break down :
meatless monday – {vegan recipe}
travel tuesday – the foto {a blog about something cool i have done in NYC or somewhere along the way in my life}
wordy wednesday – {as you’re seeing here}
thirsty thursday – {on top of a new recipe, i’ll try a new beer or wine or mixed drink and recommend it to you }
foto friday – the foto {this will also be a blog about something to do with photography – most likely a portrait session or event i’ve shot, but it may be a recipe as well}
and i’ll probably take weekends off – as most people in the blogging community seem to do. but i may occasionally break that rule, too 😉
———
i should preface this by saying i appreciate you readers SO much for taking time to read anything i write – and i’m also extremely tired and i can’t proofread this as in depth as i normally do, for i need a nap. so, thanks for baring with my ramblings… it’s uber important i get out my thoughts!
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shew. what a morning.
it started with my cat, pawing relentlessly at my door until i let him in to cuddle – then i couldn’t get back to sleep so i shot up out of bed and did some quick yoga, then made a smoothie, sat down at my computer, and started crying.
this is how some days begin. Continue reading
well, here it is – the official “end” i suppose.
{oh and by the way, this is one LONG AND WORDY POST! be forewarned.}
i made it 5 whole days {entering my 6th now} eating only raw or steamed organic fruits and vegetables, juice, water and kombucha. funny thing is, i don’t think i’m going to stop. i had absolutely no idea how this cleanse would effect me – i certainly didn’t fathom it effecting me more on an emotional level than physical. and i dare say – spiritual. it almost brings tears to my eyes {again} as i write this.
yesterday was rough. the worst day to date. so why the hell would i want to keep putting myself through this?! good question… Continue reading
today was rough, i will admit that. and i think this photo shows it – maybe i should’ve photoshopped the bags from under my eyes – hA! oh well, i’m an honest person – this is how i look and feel on a 5-day DIY cleanse i randomly decided to do and invent 😉
today was harder than yesterday. but it makes sense now – after i did a ton of research on cleansing and symptoms. see, this is how i roll – i just wing it… whatever “it” is. sometimes it works out, sometimes i learn a valuable lesson the hard way, meh. anyway – i was super nervous about how i was feeling today… mostly because i was unsure if it was “normal,” if you will. and plus, i was abruptly awoken this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, so i knew i’d be a little irritable, but i worried i was doing more damage than good with this cleanse…
until google clarified it all… Continue reading
today was different.
i definitely felt the cleanse, or my body detoxing slightly, or the odd sleeping, or something. something was different. i don’t feel bad per se, i just feel different. my head is much more clear, as in not cluttered with stupid thoughts or particularly, anxious ones. which is good! mostly i feel a little sluggish, surprisingly, and my head {although clear} feels kind of weird. maybe it’s because it’s clearer, don’t know – but i feel different.
i have been dreaming of food, however. hAhA! i think last night i dreamt of pizza – no joke. i was browsing the food section on WP late at night, i’m sure that didn’t help – hA. a reader asked me if was craving anything in particular, and i will say that today i did notice i was missing carbs, starch, etc. so i made potatoes with dinner, which seemed to scratch that itch – for now.
here’s how the menu went today : Continue reading
i seriously need to learn to cook with this — it’s growing like a weed in my backyard and practically taking over :
it’s grown so much, the stems are toppled over, and it’s beginning to flower…
i had to cut it back a little… and i was talking to it like, “how should we prepare you? would you like to go in a sauce? what do you compliment best?” hAhA!
any suggestions to you herb growers/users out there?!
welp, so far so good. 18 hours into my cleanse and i actually feel pretty decent… sleepy, but decent.
here are the colourful things i came home with today :
a few organic produce items for the cleanse :
– cabbage
– peppers
– celery
– carrots
– peaches
– avocados
– strawberries
– sunchokes
– english peas
– black plums
– kiwi
and the list goes on…
i had no anticipations of feeling lousy, as i do typically eat this kind of food anyway. the real key for me was avoiding the coffee, alcohol, and that occasional entire bag of late july dude ranch tortilla chips. oh man, those sound good right now… Continue reading
food & foto 