Hmmmm.....

Are giant handfuls of spicy pepitas considered to be a well-rounded breakfast?

No?

Oh, just wondering.

Because they're delicious!!

I remember as a kid my parents would pick through our pumpkin "guts" and roast the seeds, but I never found them interesting AT ALL.

However... last night The Huz carved a pumpkin and history repeated itself.
I picked through the guts, rinsed the seeds, and let them dry overnight.

This morning I doused them in a bit of olive oil, salt, paprika, cumin, chipotle and cayenne pepper before popping them in the oven at 250 for 80 minutes.

YUMTASTIC!


Non-Vegan Confessions: yesterday was not a good day on the vegan front. The in-laws invited us over for brunch and though they were careful not to serve me sausage, they did plate up some beautiful, fluffy, tasty swedish pancakes that clearly contained eggs, butter and possibly cream. On the brightside - literally - we dined al fresco and I had tan lines by the time we were finished! Oh California, how I love thee.

And then? Ummmmm..... yeah, I ate some "fun size" Twix and Almond Joy.
Shitskis!

Alright lovely lasses, I'm headed out for a much-needed trot.

PS: I think we're switching gyms. A new one (that looks a lil' ghetto, but we'll see) recently opened about a mile from our house (as opposed to the 15 minute drive to our current gym) it stays open until 10pm (as opposed to EIGHT at our current old-people gym) and I think it costs less. (Fingers crossed) Maybe we'd actually GO TO THE GYM if it was right by our house???

Kapow!

This rocked my socks off. And not just mine - The Huz devoured a large bowl full too.
Who knew that a combo of veggies pureed with cashews and Earth Balance could produce a super creamy, delicious cheese-like sauce? (The recipe is completely free from overly processed weird cheese-analogs. Not that I'm totally against those - gotta put something on the pizza... but I try not to eat them regularly.) The slathering possibilities for this stuff are endless. I took a picture but I'm not known for my photography and the photo did NOT do this dish justice.

What is it with mac 'n cheese and vegans? Everyone claims to have THE BEST recipe.
And since giving up the dairy, I've made a few different versions.
How many times did I make mac 'n cheese from scratch as an omni? Oh, a grand total of ZERO TIMES.


In other news...

Guess who went for their first run in MONTHS??
Yep.
Moi.
4.37 miles, to be exact. And I went slow. And I huffed and I puffed. And I still had to take a few walk breaks. Holy guac, am I ever sore. I wish I had some of my PDX PB&J'ers to trot with.

Though I am in gawd awful shape, it felt good to get out there in the sunshine, breathe the fresh sea air, and do some sweating, as Katy Perry (I'm not proud of this) sang to me about her Teenage Dream, and Beyonce + Lady Gaga told me about their Telephone. So... this afternoon, I shall do it again.

I'm thinking of starting a vegan cooking/eating blog. The Chubby Vegan and The Tubby Vegan are both available but I can't decide which one to go with. The tag line will be something like: Think all vegans are pale, skinny, and angry? Think again!

Since I am a wannabe entrepreneur (I've pondered no less than 854,188 ideas), I'm now thinking of something pertaining to local vegan eats. Maybe I supply coffee shops with delicious, omni-approved treats for their baked good cases? Maybe I do a vegan foodcart serving a variety of bowls + some treats? It would have to be REALLY good food since there probably aren't many vegans here, I'd have to have a loyal following of omni fans. I'm marinating.

I also love the idea of a hip general store on our main drag. The Huz and I have discussed this one at length. We'd have a variety of "green" household goods, non-mass produced gifty items, and a long counter with tasty baked goods under glass domes. It would be in stark contrast to the ridiculous beach-themed knick-knacks that most of our downtown retailers peddle.

This is a very disjointed post. I guess I'll get back to my day job!

Hi Ho! Hi Ho!

Back on the pill I go.

Thank your deity of choice: my period came today.

I have peed on no less than than 1/2 dozen sticks in the past 3 days.

I was convinced that I had come down with a case of the small-cluster-of-cells-that-may-eventually-become-a-baby. AGAIN!

Apparently I am not good at ye olde Catholic rhythm method.

And it also brought to light this point: I AM REALLY NOT READY!!
(even though sometimes I used to think I might be.)

PHEW!

Now, to quote Tim Gunn: carry on

PS: While in PDX, a friend was walking through Powells and insisted on getting me this book and I guarantee - it will be the death of me.....or at least my waist.

Vegan Paradise

Is Portland.

I am squatting at my bachelorette pad in NE this week, trying to secure new tenants and make a few repairs. Though I'm having fun, and reuniting with a ton of friends (hello ladies that I have a hot date with TONIGHT!), I am eager to kiss my husbando and pooches. A week is a long time, yo!

You should see my set up - I have one pot, one bowl, a french press, a mug, and an air mattress. (And a pound of Stumptown!!)

Using the "Happy Cow" app on my phone, there are about a billion vegan food options within a 10 minute walk from this place. Seriously! Alberta St. might as well be re-named VEGAN AVENUE, given the fact that there are not one, but TWO vegan bakeries, several veg-friendly restaurants, and even A ENTIRELY VEGAN FREAKING BAR (supposedly run by hot boys, but I haven't been in yet to verify), people!
I don't remember it being like this when I lived here.... but then again, I was still a full-fledged Omni at the time and probably wouldn't have noticed anyway.

I've eaten my way up and down Mississippi too, and have determined that I would happily eat a Native Bowl from those cute food carts every single day if I lived here.

So: the 22nd marks one month of veganism.
Have I lost weight? I haven't weighed myself but I don't think so.
That wasn't really the point anyway. (Though I realize if I am going to ever wear jeans again, I will definitely need to STOP BAKING ALL THE DAMN TIME! Oh, and possibly reunite myself with this activity known as exercise.)

Here's the TMI part: I've never been more regular. Like, ever. Even when I'm in hotel rooms, which used to require pills.

And also? I haven't ever given two shits about my nails, (they weren't even painted on our wedding day!) but can I just tell you that they are long and luxurious and strong and I should probably get a mani so that I don't wind up looking like this:


The only downer: I don't feel comfortable coming out of the closet with a lot of people. For instance, my colleagues. They already think I am the weird hippie from Oregon because I am not Catholic (like ALL of them! No joke!) stopped eating chicken, and carry recyclables with me until I can dispose of them properly. I can typically side-step the vegan convo by suggesting Asian restaurants.

And with clients? I am DEFINITELY not comfortable. In my professional life I feel enough like an outsider because I am not Christian or Republican. I'm sure a lot of these feelings are self-imposed and I am probably being judgemental by assuming that these people will think I am a gigantic weirdo that they no longer want to do business with, let alone have lunch with. Sigh. For now - I just do the best that I can. Twice I've eaten dairy, and another time I had soup that was likely made with chicken stock. Sales are tricky.... you often have to make the client think that you could be friends. I don't hunt, fish, golf or scrapbook (a sample of common convos) but I can fake my way through it decently enough.

Also: when someone invites me to their home for dinner, I will say that I'm vegetarian, but I don't want to put them through the agony of suggesting that I prefer not to eat dairy or eggs. It was just nice of them to invite me over, you know?

Okay - had better get back to scrubbing mold off of the bathroom ceiling. Don't ask... it's gross and hopefully I've fixed the issue.

Vegan-ish????

Perhaps for the past 6 months or so, I've been seriously contemplating vegan-style eating. And then, a sign, of sorts, arrived in my mailbox. My cute mid-western-would-never-turn-down-a-factory-farmed-porkchop mom saw Alicia Silversone on Oprah, figured I might be interested in her book (TRUE - have been wanting it!) and ordered it for me as a random little surprise.

About 2 hours into reading, I kind of knew that I had to at least spend more time considering my dairy intake. And by the end? Yeah, I decided to go for it.
I've been meat-free (minus an isolated incident here or there) for awhile without any pangs of sorrow, so why not at least try to drop the dairy? (I know what Gazelle will say: CHEESE is the reason! Haha!)

I'm only about two weeks in. And for the most part? No issues. There have been slip-ups, for instance - I had friends in town and was super jealous of their cheese consumption (house-made burrata) at a restaurant... so I joined in...but hey, this is a journey, and I'm sure I'll stumble.

The decision was made only a few days prior to a business trip to LA. Typically, business trips are a pitfall for me, food-wise. But you know what? Being committed to this has it's perks on the diet-front. For instance, if I pop into Starbucks for an afternoon iced soy latte, I can't exactly grab a dairy-laden cookie while I'm at it.

If only I'd make this decision years ago, when I lived in the vegan paradise known as Portland! (Or LA - I stumbled upon a vegan cafe that knocked my socks off called Native Foods)

And friends, do not be concerned: I vow not to become one of those self-righteous angry vegans either... there are so many of them trolling the message boards pointing out each others vegan sins,all of them trying to be crowned "most vegan human EVER". It's a real turnoff.

The Huz just warmed up some leftover chili and cornbread, so my stomach is calling me downstiars.

Now - I command you PDX ladies to send me your favorite recipes from your vegan week experiment!

Announcement: Eleven Point Five Down

Yes, I don't blog, but I *AM* still dropping some chunk.
Albeit s.....l.....o.....w.....l......y.

But whatevs!

You wanna know what else? I have seriously slacked on working out, so the fact that I am losing weight anyway, is okay with me. If watching consumption + 30 minute nightly dog walks = slow weight loss, then I'll take it!

But I haven't been sitting on my a$$.

We have a little guest shack behind our house in dire need of updating (ugly yellow grandma wallpaper, etc...) and I finally got to work fixing it up. Painting like crazy, new furnishings, updating some of the electrical, etc....

While it's nowhere near completely finished, it's starting to shape up nicely!

On a lark a couple of weeks ago, the Huz and I threw an ad up on Craigslist to rent it out. You see, there was a GIGANTIC fancy car show going on a couple of miles from our house and all hotels in the area had been sold out for months. Anyhoo, it was rented immediately by some great people. It was FUN meeting new peeps, making them breakfast, and I've always loved entertaining, so it was a fabulous way to make $400 with very little effort.

And it got us thinking.. Maybe we could moonlight as innkeepers and make a little extra dough???

I found an awesome new(ish) BnB website and listed our little guest shack, just to see what would happen.

And we're booked. Like every weekend in Aug. Several weekends in Sept. And already for a week over Christmas!

At this rate, the guest house will have a new flat screen and that Pottery Barn duvet I've been eyeing in no time.

So that's what I've been up to....
That, and my usual west coast work tour.

See you at 15 down??

Like, Whoa.

It's been awhile, friends!

3 second update:
I am down 8 pounds.

Insert clever phrase about slow and steady winning the race right here: ______________________________________________________________________________


I am also, semi-psychotically contemplating doing the Cape Cod Marathon, in a mere 15 weeks. How much can I run right now, you ask? That's a good question! Maybe 8-10?
Also... just 3 weeks after the Cape Cod Marathon, I am doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk (20 miles per day for 3 days in a row.) Is it unreasonable to think I *MIGHT* be able to do both? Input please.

Food: still tracking. Trying to eat more protein, but less carbs. Difficult as a vegetarian! I'm not trying to be a no-carber, but I'm trying to reduce the cycle of oatmeal for breakfast, tortilla/wrap thing with my lunch and say, quinoa for dinner.
New breakfast: greek yogurt w/ 1 scoop protein powder and fruit (around 35g protein!). Lunch: whatever. Dinner: fish or tofu w/whatever else we're having.

Sorry for the boring post. I've written about a dozen clever posts in my head over the past month but haven't taken the time to write them.