Friday, May 31, 2013

Date Day....Table for 1....

Today I decided not to go to work (Wait one second...I'm not a total badass ditching today I actually have to work a wedding tomorrow, just incase anyone I work with reads this post.) and spend the day solo taking myself on a date! 

First stop walking the lake this morning!! When I drive to work in the mornings I always envy those who are out for a late morning jog or walk. So on my days of during the week I always make an effort to be that person I envy so much! This morning was awesome and almost no one as out walking. Usually the lake is PACKED with people, animals and strollers! This morning it was already warm and in the 80's at 8am! Woooo Hooooo! (It felt good this morning at 8am now at 6 and it's still 95 out, not so much!)

Next on the list...breakfast with Alex where we realized two things....1.fake bacon (AND for the record HE picked this out!!!!) is disgusting and 2. Tofu scrambles don't taste like real eggs. They taste like good seasoned tofu crumbled with veggies. Ugh! The quest for breakfast ideas continues!! 

A quick shower and I was on the road! Wind in my hair 


 because I'm too poor to fix the AC in my car the wind is ALWAYS in my hair! Good tunes on the iPod....PLUM ISLAND HERE I COME!!!



I wasn't sure what to expect...let me tell you the people watching did not disappoint at all! 

Women in bikinis with fat rolls where it looks like the fat rolls are eating said bikini....CHECK

People who are too old to be that tan.....CHECK
(As my dear friend Heather Ladner once said "if you can't tone it, tan it!" This does not apply to those who are one Twinkie away from a heart attack or look like the woman from 'Something About Mary')

White trash holding babies while smoking butts, wearing lots of jewelry and trying to help tie dye bikinis make a come back....CHECK

Tourists from the Midwest swimming in 54 degree water....Yep got those too! 

All for the low low price of $10 to park which I negotiated down to $8.27 (it was all the money I had and there was a line of cars behind me so I couldn't pull out. sorry adorable 18 year kid if I got you in trouble!!!!) 

3 hours of burning in the sun, a smooshed pbj sammy, my beach umbrella flying away into the ocean (Opsie), slowly inching my chair back from the shore line every 10 mins with the tide coming in... it was time for me to go. 

Where did I go you ask? 

To COOL OFF!!!! It was/is so freaking hot outside and my car was a toasty 200 degrees that I went to the nearest bar with AC I could find to have 5 HUGE glasses of water and this cold..so very cold beer. 

After all this liquid I had to pee and during this time I realized something. Since my late 20's I have become slightly over weight and decided that no one needs to see me in a two piece any more in public AT ALL. So I have begun a new relationship with the one piece bathing suite. This bad boy has some spanx action with that 50's tiny little skirt to it and is sort of flattering with the right wrap around my waist. BUT biggest downfall to the one piece? TRYING (more like slowly peeling it off my body) to get it off while wet when needing to pee and than TRYING to get it back on again. In Mexico after one too many trips to the swim up bar in this bad larry I took a tiny tumble in the bathroom while balancing and hopping in the stall trying to get it back on. It's like when you are trying to get on freshly washed, a little snug jeans and you bounce around your bedroom. Try doing that in a tiny bathroom stall after a cocktail or 10 with wet feet. NOT SO MUCH! I had a mini repeat of this in Newburyport (sorry lady in the stall next to me if I scared you when I almost fell over again!)

With that said I am now back at home, relaxing, eating homemade pizza and having a wine (YEP) 
spritzer! 

ha ha SUCH a good day. I can't believe it's already 6:30! Happy Friday! 


If you live in New England, stay cool friends! xox


Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend...Beers, BBQ's and Old Friends!

My liver hurts in the best way possible from this past weekend. We have had food from a grill for the past 3 days straight, even in the pouring rain. Today I could barely pick my head off the pillow but I rallied to play 9 holes of golf, walked half the lake in our town and then went back down into the city for another BBQ with some great friends.

Honest to god it was a great weekend but I have learned a few things about myself and life....

1. I do not, under any circumstances, look good in wide horizontal stripes! EVER!



 



 Can you believe these outfits?!

 2. I have some of the greatest and funniest friends alive and even at our ripe ages of 30-something we can still have a great time in a bathroom during a party!




(That is a very raw cheeseburger Krissy is kissing)

 3. Cold and rainy during Memorial Day Weekend...NO BIG DEAL AT ALL, The grill must go on!!!!





 4. Did I mention how great my friends of 25 plus years are.....






















Hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Well...well...well...fancy seeing you here.

Talk about being lazy with writing! I feel like it's been forever friends. Tonight I had to get my hair cut....I looked like a shaggy dog for weeks and have been wearing my glasses at work lately to keep my bangs out of my face. BUT I am back baby! Let there be light! I can see again!!!!


So I know you are all wondering..."What the hell did Beth do this weekend?!!?" Oh friends let me tell you!

I am still killing it on the 10,000 step mark every day and throwing in a little bit more exercise here and there as well! Please see my calendar below that I keep on my fridge. If I can't make it in my current career telling people what they want to eat I think I can fall back on my career as an artist and yes that is a VERY happy taco on the calendar and NO I did not draw the calendar I am talking about the small pictures in the boxes every day. 


Have I lost any weight? NOPE! But I have faith! If you work out (and stop eating crap), YOU WILL loose weight. And if I don't I am opening a new credit card up and I will hire someone to smack food out of my hand that I shouldn't be eating. :)

What else is going on in my world you ask??? Am I still a plant eating son of a gun....Why YES! This weekend I did kill some lobsters but I am ok with this because when I went to buy them from my lobster guy (Yep I really do GOT A GUY! I feel like an old Italian Mobster when I say that) I was able to meet, I SWEAR TO GOD, the guy who caught these guys. His boat was literally outside. It's a hole in the wall on the water in Beverly owned by two brothers, Lynch Lobsters, please go they are WONDERFUL!!!!! There was another guy in there just shooting the shit with one of the brothers. When the brother went around back to pull my new little buddies out of their tanks I thought I should play the "getting to know you" with the other guy (1. because I will talk to a wall if it will stand up long enough and 2. I don't do well in a dim lit place with a strange large man.....I watch WAAAAAAAY too much Law and Order SVU) 

I say, "Great place here uh!?"

Grumpy Old Man "Yep"

Me in an overly cheery voice "Are you picking up some lobsters too?"

Grumpy Old and now CLEARLY trying to ignore me Man "Nope"

With sun shine shooting out of my ass "Don't you just love this place! I drive up here from Wakefield just to pick up some lobsters! They are the best I have ever had for sure! I still can't believe...blah blah blah blah blah"

GOM (Grumpy Old Man) "I am a lobsta-man. Wait look, yep that one's mine (plop on the scale), oh that one's mine too....(plop)....and that one (plop)....Oh looks all four of yours are mine! They are from the rock!"

His new best friend (Me!) "Get....out...of...town!! What's from the rock?"

GOAM (Grumpy Old Annoyed Man) "Full of meat! Haven't shaken his old shell!"

And on that note....drum roll please.....I give you...LOBSTER RACES!!!!!! (yep I am officially kicked out of the vegan club) I actually am stilling cooking mostly vegan but a little seafood every now and then sounds good to me!

And this is the last thing I did this weekend....I had a break through "ahhhh haaaaa" moment. One some of you will be VERY proud of. It all started last year..YEP...you heard me correct! Last year, there I was surfing on Tory Burch.com looking at their new Spring Line and saw this beautiful pair of silk mary jane one inch pumps. They were cream with yellow and green stripes...and wait for it.....wait for it....a pretty yellow bow! I was going to change out that bow they had on them with a bright yellow silk bow but no big deal, details...details. They were $300 plus tax. My $300 dollar shoe days are long gone so I decided to hold off on buying them. This past weekend I was at the Nordstroms Rack (I think you know where I am going with this now) in Danvers...and what did I see.....
THERE THEY WERE!!!!!! The shoes!!!!! In my size!!!! I squealed in the store as I put them on. For the next 1/2 hour I walked around the store shopping in the shoes because I own WAY too many pairs of shoes that I "THOUGHT" were comfortable, bought them and can now never wear them because they hurt too much. A wise woman I had never met before once said to me while I was shoe shopping by myself, "If a pregnant woman was in labor....are they comfortable enough to run and get towels for her?!" Wise words honey...wise words. After that comment her, her friend and myself went to three different stores and shopped more together before we parted ways! They were my people!

These were marked down to $200 and to be honest they were pretty comfortable BUT after a half hour on my feet I looked down and said to Alex (YEP! He was there and following me around the store saying I should get them) "You know I think if we went out to eat in Boston I couldn't wear these shoes. However if we went out to dinner and could park the car close by it wouldn't be a big deal. BUT these are cream silk.....I stain EVERYTHING....what the hell am I thinking buying cream silk shoes!?" I put had to give them to someone else to put back but I left the store without them....

Case in point...below is a picture of Alex's shirt from Saturday night. He SAT NEXT TO ME and I ATE something with a red sauce which I GOT ALL OVER HIM! And I almost bought cream silk shoes!!! JESUS! Dodged that bullet!




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Something new I learned this past weekend and have a new approach to gettin skinny

Since the 1st of this month I have made a very serious effort to walk over 10,000 steps (hellllooooooo fitbit, BUY ONE!) AND every other day do something active above that. Like throw kettle bells, go on a bike ride, walk the lake after dinner, go for hike (ok I did that once) and every now and then hit the gym. So far so good. I have a calendar on my fridge that I write on every day to cheer myself on. I also keep the previous months on there to motivate me to do better this month than last but also to see how much I have accomplished because for me it's important to see the big picture verse the day to day. It helps me not get bummed at myself when I have a lazy day. I can look back and say..."Wow the whole month of April I only had 9 lazy days that I didn't go to the gym" Not bad...not bad at all.

Fitness friends help me help you help me...I'd love some great ideas to motivate myself! What do you guys do??

So we, all ladies the place, know how we feel when ANYONE calls us "Ma'am". No matter what age you are when they call you this you ALWAYS feel old. I don't think guys feel the same way being called "Sir"and from what Alex says he could careless. (he is my measure of what all men think at this point in time, no not really) But this past weekend I have reached a whole new level of being "ma'am" I was MOMED! 4 times this past weekend I was said, "Happy Mother's Day!" to.
I....
A. I do not have any children nor do I hang out with any children (friends with kids...we should hang out more)
B. I do not have a wedding ring nor do I wear ANY rings for that matter which would lead to having said kids (ALEX GET ON THIS GOD DAMNIT, he doesn't read this)

What does this mean you ask.....it means I LOOK OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE KIDS! 32 years old and EVERYONE (including my ovaries) is telling me that I should be having kids!!!! Here I was happy I am at the age where they ONCE in a a great while "they" (the 22 year old college kids making extra cash bartending or waitressing having the times of their lives and no idea how good they actually have it) ask me for my id when I order a drink (which I get excited about until they say, "Wow! I didn't think you were THAT OLD."....thanks 22 year old serving me hopefully you won't be paying off your college loans for the rest of your life while working at this restaurant because there are no jobs out there....blame the republicans. kidding kidding)

On a completely different subject Alex and I had another riveting discussion last night about this whole "vegan chapter" in (and let's use the following term VERY loosely because only one of us is actually participating in this chapter on purpose) our lives. I was trying to explain to him how I feel bad for factory farmed animals and how I don't think I should actually be called a vegan but more someone who is trying to eat all the vegetables I can at every meal blah blah blah. Alex then goes, "Well you know...I actually feel bad for the vegetables! They aren't trying to hurt anyone. They just go about their business all day, just making air for us to breathe until someone like you comes along grabs them out of the ground, throws some olive oil them and away they go!" Oh.... my...... god....and this is argument to me for him wanting more pork in his life. While he's chanting "Plants and people too!"

Thursday, May 9, 2013

What you're about to read....is....well....nothing short of a miracle, hell... I am still in shock!

Alex told me even last night that he was going out to dinner with a friend tonight and wanted NOTHING to do with this experiment. And honest to god I thought this was going to be horrible! I mean absolutely digesting! I had no hopes at all for this dinner but god damn it was DELISH! It was MUCH better than I thought and even better than some real mac and cheese I have had in my day. It was creamy, warm and some what cheesie. I loved it! So here's what you do....all for about 500 calories (not super low cal but no saturated fat at all) if you get 8 portions out of this which you totally could (make a big green salad on the side) it would be about 360 calories.

(Pictures to follow are doing this no justice at all)



We all know I couldn't come up with this on my own...THANK YOU Veganista!!!!

Grab the pasta of your choice (16 oz), which makes about 8 portions with all of the sauce below. (you could easily cut this in half.)

For the bread crumbs on top I used Trader Joes Panko with a couple of small dabs of earth balance on top...baked this puppy at 350 for about 25 minutes and broiled for the last 5 minutes or so....HOT DAMN!

Cheese Sauce of Goodness...oh molten golden goodness!

1 1/2 cups of raw cashews, soak these guys over night if you can (or at least 2 hours), rise them off and in the blender they go!
1 3/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk (start with 1 1/4 cups in the blended and keep adding depending on how thick you want the sauce. I used it all)
1/3 cup of nutritional yeast
Fresh Lemon Juice (about one large lemon)
2 cloves of whole garlic, just toss it in the blender
2 TBSP Olive oil
1 tsp of White miso paste (THIS IS SO KEY!!!)
1 tsp Salt, I used kosher but use whatever you want
1/2 tsp of Paprika
1/4 Turmeric (use as little or much as you want...it's all about how orange you want this to look)
1/8 tsp of Hot chili powder (you can omit this or just use hot sauce at the end, again up to you)

Blend this all up (if you have a Vitamix...break this bad boy out and go to town on the cheese sauce)


Baked and eat...SO FREAKING GOOD!!!!!


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

A post about food...all about fooooooooood! :)






Spring has sprung here in Boston and it has been BEAUTIFUL out for the past two weeks. Weather like this honestly makes up for such a shitty winter and really makes you appreciate how good 2 weeks of 70 degrees feels. 

It also makes you want to eat less comfort food and dig into some of these awesome spring veggies! In the past two weeks I have been doing a lot of cooking but the last few nights have taken the cake for things we made. (In a good way, not like the train wreck last week that we can't even talk about)

Curried Roasted Eggplant and Lentil Salad with Cashews and Mango....(AAAAAAMMMMMMMAAAAAZING!) EAT IT!100% an eating well recipe...MAKE THIS!!!!

And tonight's dinner is brought to you by one of my new FAVORITE food blogs, Love and Lemons. It's beautifly photographed (the blog not my dinner) and all of the recipes are not overly complicated. I didn't make it exactly as listed only because I had other sauces I wanted to use up but I think you get the idea. I give you (drumroll please)....Quinoa Mushroom Lettuce Wraps!!!! We added sliced jalapeno's on top for some extra heat VERY tasty!!! I also topped ours with a pineapple curry sauce. I am excited for left overs tomorrow, that's how good it was.



Finished with some fresh strawberries and a tapioca based whipped topping. My point...not hard to be vegan at all and stilL VERY tasty! Does it taste like whipped cream, not exactly but DAMN CLOSE!



Tomorrow's adventure...mac and "cheeeeeze". Alex has already said he is going out to dinner with a friend. ha ha ha ha He has no faith! He also deserves the bacon cheese burger he's craving because he did make it 14 days as a "fair weather vegan".



Sunday, May 5, 2013

Veganville....Population 0....

I fell so hard off the vegan wagon this afternoon and hit every single piece of raw sushi on the way down! Hell, I made it 12 days!!! And I still haven't had dairy or meat yet only fish. It all started with a craving for freshly shucked local oysters and an ice cold beer....and then it was some sushi and now Alex is picking up some asian veggie noodle. I feel guilty but it all tasted so good. So so good!

Here's what I have realized in these past 12 days....

The Pro's....
- Being vegan is not that hard. There are TONS of things you can eat and most of these things are VERY tasty. We did have a couple of EPIC fails but for the most part it was great. And to be honest not being a vegan I have made so HORRIBLE things over the years so that is a moot point.

- I actually did/do feel very good up until this weekend. This weekend I am puffy. I feel like I ate a salt lick and am retaining water like a 9 month pregnant woman.

- I think I might have a slight allergy to dairy. My tummy feels a lot better not eating it at all.

- I love ALMOND MILK!

- Throughout this whole thing I have TONS of energy, I was not hungry (well any more hungry than I usually am) and I think focusing on eating better made me want to be more healthy in general.

The Con's...
- Being vegan, at least for me, is not cheap. But to be honest us eating anything is not cheap. I am not a cheap date when it comes to the grocery store. Plus I had to buy a bunch of staples that we would not normally have in the house. I bet over the next month or so the bills will go down now that I have some stuff.

- Fake cheese and meat are no replacements for what you are craving. You are better off not eating it at all.

- There are fat vegans and vegetarians out there. There is a lot of stuff and recipes that are vegan or veggie and PACKED with calories.

- I am not GLOWING! I really wanted to be one of those vegans who glows. God dammit!

- It SUCKS going out to eat at certain places with your options being very limited and people not always knowing EVERYTHING that is in everything. I think some people just guess and say "Oh yeah there's not dairy in that" and then turns out there is.

Other than that it was a REALLY positive experience. I am planning on being vegan when it is convenient for myself. Yep, I am a selfish/fair weather vegan! No honestly I wish I could do this all the time and maybe one day I will get there but for now I am happy eating a plant based diet for the majority of the time and then when a fish or egg craving comes along I am diving on in! I don't think I will be eating much dairy again (YAY FOR DAIRY COWS!!!)



Thursday, May 2, 2013

Ukulele Update...

I had ukulele practice last friday and this past Tuesday, oh I am a pro. I played (in between commercials  breaks while watching crap tv) until my little hands began to throb! This was about 15 minutes MAX. Both days Alex happened to be out of the house. Now don't get me wrong it's not that I don't like playing while he's home but he asks a lot of questions which I take a judging (even though he absolutely is not at all), then I pick a mini fight,  put down the ukulele and then commence snacking on ANYTHING. It's vicious cycle but someone's gotta do it.

So here I am, Ukulenny and myself, on Tuesday night playing twist and shout LIKE A PRO! Just jamming away! *please read, 'better than a blind 3 year old with no hands'. (I know, I know...it's not very PC but that's all I got I am in a vegan peanut butter coma and all I want is a GOD DAMN LOBSTER ROLL!!!!!) Tonight I pick up the uku and Alex goes, "Oh are you going to serenade me?!" I said, "Oh yeah! In between commercial breaks while we are watching Chronicle!" First commercial break comes and I dive right on into the three cords I know...strumming away... Oh Beatles eat your heart out!!! I stop and say, "SO!!??" Alex hesitates and goes, "Ummmmm....um...what song is that?" UH?! WHAT SONG IS THAT?!?!?! "IT'S TWIST AND SHOUT!??! Are you DEAF?!!?!!?"

He goes, "Oh! Well, maybe it just needs to be tuned?" (Here's a fun fact for you, he tuned it before he handed it to me to start this jam sesh) We all know that tuning is not the issue here AT ALL! So I turn on the You Tube video with Ukulenny and we play along "together" (use this word VERY loosely, I am strumming so off key that almost sounds like a cat in heat). Alex goes, "Ummmm, I don't think you are playing that right..." He is trying so hard to be gentle here.

I try two or three more times and then put it down and begin the downward spiral of pouting and snacking....hence the peanut butter coma (I am ADDICTED to the honey roasted, I am not that kind of vegan this week, peanut butter from whole foods that you grind yourself...oh sweet delicious peanut butter goodness you making everything in life so much better.

I think that's enough ukulele playing for one night, that lasted a whole whopping 5 minutes. There is always tomorrow people...there is always tomorrow. Ukulele band auditions will be postponed for a few more weeks I think. More to come!