ew dude

ew, for the record, in case anyone is confused..you CANNOT brush your hair while sitting on a bus full of people. thats just not ok. especially if there is a person sitting DIRECTLY next to you. ew dude. the bus i catch to work arrived late this morning so there were tons of ppl waiting and it was a packed situation. we all piled on, sitting two by two and the next thing i know a girl a few seats in front of me starts brushing her looong hair practically in the face of the girl sitting next to her. ew!! the girl kind of turned her head to the side and looked a little awkward. the nasty brush girl was not even a nice discreet hair brusher...she was like a child! going to town, flicking her hair every which way. sooo not ok. i seriously would have vommed.

so this is just a general announcement...wildly brushing your hair in tight quarters with strangers=never an option!

have a great day :)

xoxo

Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes

my newest breakfast sensation: pumpkin oatmeal pancakes! i first found the recipe here (at katheats.com) and made a few minor changes. they are SO good and really filling!! and it just so happens these guilt-free pancakes are gluten free and dairy free and reaaally YUM! i definitely suggest giving them a try :)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes

serves 1

-Ingredients-

1/4 cup canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie mix!!)

1/4 cup oats

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg whites)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 small handful of golden plump raisins

-Directions-

1. mix all ingredients together in a small bowl

2. cook over medium heat like a normal pancake (makes 2-3 pancakes depending on size--i used a little olive oil for cooking)--dont try to flip it too early or it may fall apart a little!!

3. top with a little pure maple syrup or agave nectar OR your favorite fruit or nut creation!

4. ENJOY!!

TRY THEM AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!

policeman trickery

i was driving home from yoga this morning on a road that is 35 mph and i looked in my rear view mirror to see a cop driving behind me. i dont have very good luck with those guys...so when i see them, i get a little panicky and really try to be the best driver possible (which yes, i realize i should always be...but its tough when you are putting on mascara and singing to the music and trying to watch the gps all at the same time!). so anyway, i put down my latte (what?? its fiiiine to drive a stick shift car with a latte in hand early in the morning when you are not quite awake yet..noo problem..) and focused on the task at hand. i checked my speed...right around 35...looking good. then all of a sudden, the cop started gaining on me! i was like, hey buddy, mind the speed limit! but he kept doing it and so i sped up a little, but pretty soon he was tailgating me..like super close, like maybe he was going to try to bump me or something! so i sped up a little more, but then got a little nervous, because there i was speeding with a cop literally on my bumper! then i thought..oh god, maybe he's tricking me!! maybe hes like forcing me to speed so that he can pull me over! omg. so i quickly slowed back to the speed limit and he came up super close to me again. it was a total catch 22!! luckily my turn came up, so i got the heck out of there! trickster cop or just a cop who doesnt follow the rules of the road?!?! YOU DECIDE!!

happy weekend :)
xoxo

a surprise in my bloob

omg so i was eating some blueberries yesterday on my way home from work and guess what little treat was hiding inside one?? are you ready.....are you sure......it was a.....SPIDER! AHHHHHHH!! SICK! thank GOD i was paying attention while eating them!! i looked down at the bloob and noticed that there was some white on the top of it. i was like, ew, mold. but then i thought, i just bought these, why is there mold?!? so i decided to touch it..bc i wasnt convinced it was mold and because sometimes i make bad choices (note to self-never touch an unknown substance). anyway, so when i lightly touched the bit of white on the top of my blueberry, I SAW A COUPLE LITTLE LEGS MOVE AROUND INSIDE. i thought..no no, this must be my imagination. i just thought that maybe me touching the white, made the part underneath the white move so it just looked like something was inside...so, i again made bad choices and...I TOUCHED IT AGAIN! this time, i was SURE i saw legs move and got really scared and grossed out. i rolled down my window as fast as i could and popped that little sucker out, all the while shuddering and trying not to crash my car! the guy next to me (going the opposite way..so really close to me actually) saw me during this whole process and burst out laughing...omg! so rude..if he only knew the truth of what was inside my blueberries..he would not he laughing! wonder if the bloob hit his car on its fast exit from mine??

ew, it was sick. you better believe i will always eat blueberries with caution from now on...and i suggest you do the same!!

xoxo

Fakin Bacon BLT

one of the things that i thought i would miss when i decided not to eat meat was bacon! ew, i know..bacon is fatty and bad for you and gross...but for some reason, i like it! whether its in a blt, crumbled on a wedge salad, or in a quiche...i am definitely a bacon fan! so when one of my friends brought fakin bacon to my attention i was instantly intrigued!! fakin bacon, by lightlife, is made out of tempeh (which i am a big fan of!) and has 8 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and only 100 calories per serving!

my amazing sandwich:

three strips of fakin bacon, pan fried in olive oil

1/2 a roma tomato sliced suuuper thin!

handful of mixed field greens

a little spread of light mayo

piled onto a toasted whole grain roll

DELISH!! and the whole thing only took about 5-10 mins to put together!! so if you are craving a BLT, but want to cut some of the fat and eliminate the nasty factor....you should DEF give this tempeh bacon a try!! even you meat lovers just might like it :)

xoxo

Shawty fire burnin on the dance floor...whooaaaa...

its official, i have a problem. yep, i say this a lot and yep, it always true! i CANNOT get this song out of my head: fire burning by sean kingston. how awful is that?? like, all i want to do is hate this song and be irritated by it...but for some unknown reason i have had it in my head for four days now and get super excited every time it comes on the radio! hah! who am i?? i have tried listening to other songs to try to rid my mind of this song...but its no use. i even heard it on the radio yesterday and thought..whats wrong with me?? this song isnt even that good (unlike the climb by miley cyrus...which i also want to hate, but secretly like...). but i cant stop!! someone help me!! "she get it, pop it, lock it, drop it, that birthday cake. got a candle, need to blow that crazy flame away. now take my red, black card and my jewelry. shawty is cool like the fire, cool like fire......" yeeeep...thats embarrassing.....

same words, different meanings

from time to time i come across words or sayings that only make sense to my generation and vice versa with someone from another generation. for example, today i was having lunch with my boss and my intern and the intern and i were talking about a little kids hair and we described it as "weird". really, its cute hair...but its A LOT for a kid to have and the color is a little extreme and when we met the child, she was really upset and so her hair was even more wild than usual, im sure. anyway, my boss could not understand why we called the hair weird and said it was not weird, but beautiful. my intern and i both cracked up at this and said it wasnt a bad thing, it was just, you know..kind a weird head of hair, but cute too and not weird like she was thinking, like bad. my boss said it was inappropriate usage of the word weird and the hair was, in fact, not weird. this made my intern and me crack up again and we just shrugged and blamed it on our generational definition! then i thought about it and realized, i have had this very same convo with my mom about a few words. for example, she and i have very different meanings of the words "hooked up". today, we all (ppl my age, i mean) know what these words means...but when my mom uses them, she really just means that two people met up. my mom and i know that we use the words differently, but still each and every time my mom uses the words with me shes like, "tom and nancy hooked up on saturday...oh well, you know what i mean..they didnt 'hook up' like you say, but you know, well they just got together" im like, i knoow mom! haha she clarifys each time! so funny! then my intern told me another example when she was talking to her mom and described someone as a "tool" and her mom just did not get the explanation. i tried to think about this and realized that all i can think of to describe a "tool" is someone who is a tool...makes it a tricky thing to define! haha anyway, anyone know any other words or phrases that us youngins use today that ppl from other generations just dont seem to get??

SUNBURNED!

i got THE worst sunburn ever this weekend!! AWKWARD! i should definitely know better after my years of experience with sunburns! buuuuut i was an idiot, yet again, and got a little burn (slash a really big painful burn that ppl keep gasping at when they see...)! anyway, when i got into work today my boss looked at me and goes "oh noooooooo did you get some sun this weekend??" i was like, "yeah, i got a little sunburn" and she goes "well, you will pay for it later....with age spots." then she just shrugged and walked away. AHH WHAT?!?! so rude!! haha she is THE nicest boss ever..but like, you dont tell someone that! then i went to my friend for some sympathy and she said "she might be right :( " hahah omg! thats not what you tell someone either!! hah saaad! so now im sitting here, burnt to a crisp, AND worried about my future age spots.......happy tuesday?

xoxo

*UPDATE* i poured white vinegar all over my body while in the shower yesterday....weird?? i think so. buuuut someone (who shall remain nameless) told me it works to take out the heat of a burn...i guess it sorta worked?? dont know, but i DO know that i may or may not smell like vinegar today...not sure, i will have to see if ppl start avoiding me!? also put a paste of water and baking soda on a particularly bad spot..it was weird, but i kinda liked it....

awkward!

as i may have mentioned before, i am in a book club! this month our book is the glass castle by jeannette walls. i picked up the book from the library and have been carrying it around for a few weeks and i have not even had time to crack it open!! well book club is coming up so i decided i better get going! so the other day i opened it for the first time on the metro and started to read....halfway through page one i realized......IVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE!! hahah how awkward!! i am pretty much known for this type of thing. i am famous for sitting down to a movie and halfway through realizing ive already seen it (yep, halfway...im that bad) and now apparently i do the same thing with books! not only did i not remember reading it because maybe its a book from way in my past or something...you know, an acceptable amount of time to forget something, like maybe in high school or something....NOOOPE. i read it just LAST YEAR! right when i realized this i called my friend (who is also in the book club) and told her of my revelation and she goes, "oh crazy, but how did you like it??" i was like..."omg its AMAZING!! so great!! i talked it up nonstop after i read it!" shes like.."really? because you didnt even remember reading it. title didnt spark anything. the author either. sounds like you really loved it!" haha omg i swear..its SUCH a good book, i just have memory issues, i guess...maybe i should get that checked out! ha! seriously though, its so good that i thought since id already read it, i could just skip this month...but since i already had it with me, i started reading it again...and now i CANT STOP!! im already half-way through in two days of metro rides! anyway, my review is: read this book! and even if youve already read it and forgotten it completely like me, read it again!! its worth it :)

HAPPY FRIDAY PEOPLE!! xoxo

Fresh Pea & Leek Soup!

so i am aware that it is summer and it may not be the best time for soup...but i mean, come on! you will be eating it in your air conditioned homes, not out in the blistering heat...so get over it and make some soup already! OR you can also eat this recipe cold for you anti-soup-in-the-summer people!! anyway, my sister was in town last weekend and i wanted to cook her something delish and easy (always the key) that wouldnt take all day, so i decided on some PEA SOUP! ok, i hate pea soup...for the record. but this particular pea soup has NO gross ham bone in it and doesnt taste sick, it tastes really fresh and yum! i found it a few months ago when i was watching the food network. its a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa....fiiine, some people think shes not the coolest of the food network chefs...but I think shes cute and she def makes some of the best and easiest recipes of the bunch!! you can try it and see what you think!! here it is:

Fresh Pea & Leek Soup
serves 6

-Ingredients-
2 10-ounce bags of frozen peas
4 c. really good vegetable stock (you can use chicken, but i dont eat meat!)
2 leeks chopped finely--only use white and light green parts
1 c. onion chopped finely
2 tbls. butter (can use olive oil, but come on..its only a little butta and its betta!)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
optional: tofutti sour cream (as usual reg sour cream is fine) and chives as garnish

-Materials-
immersion blender (if you dont have this, you can use any kind of blender, but a blender is a must bc this is a purée)
large pot
cutting board
knife
spatula or something to stir

-Directions-
1. clean and chop leeks. leeks are sandy little suckers, so you def want to clean it well or you will be chewing on sand while enjoying your soup. to clean: cut off the top leafy part so that you only have the long white and light green part left. then cut the leek lengthwise almost all the way through. spread it out with your hands and run it under the faucet while separating each little fold to wash out the sand. shake it dry or pat it dry with a towel. now return the leek to the cutting board and cut lengthwise into fourths then lay flat and finely chop (i like things finely chopped because im a little OCD and think they cook faster and more evenly that way...but bc it will be puréed, it doesnt have to be perfect!)
2. chop onion (same chopping rules apply)
3. add the butter to a large pot and let it melt over medium heat
4. once butter is melted, add leeks and onions and let them sauté until soft (but not brown). stir occasionally
5. once leeks and onions are soft, add vegetable stock. turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
6. add bags of peas, stir, and let boil until peas are soft (takes about 4-6 mins--taste one and when tender, take off heat)
7. in the last minute or so, add the salt and pepper and stir
8. remove soup from heat and once its cooled a little, purée with the immersion blender (or put it into your blender to purée). be careful bc it may splash a bit and the soup is hot!!
9. when the soup looks very smooth, pour into bowls and garnish with a dollop of tofutti sour cream and a few chives so it looks really fancy and serve. (again, you can also eat this soup cold!)

that will do it! this has become one of my "go-to" soups because its so fast and easy and it tastes so great!! happy cooking :)

Almond Butter Cookies :)

hope everyone had a great 4th! i ended up making the salsa and it was a HUGE hit at the bbq!! you should def give it a try! i also whipped up some easy and delish cookies to bring to another dinner party. these almond butter cookies are sort of like the peanut butter cookies with the hersheys kiss in the middle (ew, hershey chocolate..not a fan)...but they are soooo much better! there are only five ingredients and they also happen to be gluten free (which means they dont have flour in them)--a little added bonus! here we gooo:


Almond Butter Cookies
makes about 24-30 cookies (depending on size)


-Ingredients-
1 c. barney butter almond butter (other brands are fine, but this is the best)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 dark chocolate chocolove bars (or any other chocolate, but this is, again, THE best)

-Directions-
1. preheat oven to 350
2. combine almond butter and sugar and mix well (dont use a blender, use a wooden spatula--my mom taught me well; cookies are always better this way!)
3. add egg and mix
4. add baking soda and mix
5. take a spoon and scoop out a little dough and roll into a ball (about the size of a golf ball, maybe a little smaller). then dip one side of the ball in granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet (sugar side up). continue this until you have a full pan. (recipe will make 2-3 pans)
6. bake 8-10 minutes (watch them bc depending on oven they may cook faster--mine started to get brown on the bottom so i took them out earlier. they will be a little doughy when you take them out and will not be fully cooked as they will continue to cook a bit even out of the oven...i learned the hard way and have burned many cookies...so watch them!)
7. while the cookies are baking, get your chocolove bars ready! break apart the little squares (if you are using other chocolate, break into pieces or buy kisses (ew) or brachs chocolate stars work 2nd best to chocolove)
8. when your cookies are done immediately top each cookie with a chocolate piece. press down a little bit (not hard enough to smash the cookie!). then set them aside so they can cool. dont store them until the chocolate hardens up again.

thats it! super easy and really good! everyone at the dinner party loooved them!! ENJOY :) Here's one more picture so you can see the cute little chocolate square!! Look at that cute heart!
PS first time posting my own pics....pretty fancy, eh?!?

SaLsA!

because its a holiday weekend and there will be lots of bbqs and parties...i decided i better post a really easy, really yum recipe that you may want to bring as your 'dish to share'!! i am a BIG salsa fan...sometimes i have a problem controlling myself at mexican restaurants...yeahhh..if you know me, you know (i ask for my own salsa, because i dont like to share!). this salsa is the fastest, easiest one i have made and it was SO GOOD!! here ya go:

Black Eyed Pea and Corn Salsa

-Ingredients-
1 can black eyed peas (drained)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (or fresh if you want..but it was GOOD with canned--cheaper and easier too!!)
1 can corn (drained)-can use bi-color kernel to make it cuter!
1/4 cup (or more, if youre me) finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove (crushed or finely chopped)
~ 6 rings diced jalapeno peppers (can use more or less depending on how hot you like it!)
couple pinches kosher salt (i only put a little bc i dont like salt..but it DOES need some)
*optional: 1/4 cup finely diced cucumbers (mom added it and loved it--i dont like cucumbers!)
*optional: cilantro
*optional: any other veggies you want to add in! make it your own :)

-Directions-
1. finely chop garlic, onion, jalapeno peppers, and any other veggies. put in a big bowl.
2. add the cans of corn, black eyed peas, and tomatoes.
3. give it a big stir, try it..modify with more salt or more peppers if needed...AND ENJOY!!!

THATS IT!!!! how easy!! RIGHT?? it was seriously delish! i ate it with both fish tacos and chips and it was awesome! you can also put it over chicken or eat it on crackers :) YUM!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!

ELLEN

"hello, you've reached the voice messaging system for ELLEN!" haha if you do not know what thats from.....you need to watch ELLEN's, HERE AND NOW stand up! she is sooo amazing!! anyway, i had a little ellen moment myself today. i was walking down the hall...feeling pretty confident. like my outfit today, hair looks pretty good, LOVE my shoes. then as im walking, strong and confident, feeling fine with my head held high, the edge of my shoe slips and does some weird slide and i lose my balance, nearly falling and rolling my ankle all in like a ten second span (which was like slow motion for me as i saw myself begin to fall). as ellen says "it only takes that one tiny trip to suck the cool right out of you"...and she is right! the situation was made worse because i was walking alone..so i couldnt laugh with someone or make fun of myself to save face...i just had to regain composure and keep walking like nothing happened. also, there were ppl walking behind me...so i knew they saw me, they knew that i knew that they saw me, and things just got awkward. when i got to the elevator and the ppl behind me walked up, we all just didnt look at each other and pretended it didnt happen. what an awkward way to start the day......