Lunch Skins

image from veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

For the past few years or so I've been ever-so-subtly phasing out all meat in our diet except for fish. Every once in awhile T would notice and request more chicken or turkey, but mostly he was satisfied with the meals so he didn't mind. But when he has a choice, he will most always choose beef, pork, etc... at restaurants or when the option arises. The other day he read an article in the Reader's Digest about a dude who does a "vegan before six" diet and it has immensely helped his cholesterol, glucose, etc... Since Type II diabetes runs in T's family, he wanted to try it out. The article says that he eats mostly vegan before six and then eats a regular dinner. But since T goes out to lunch sometimes during work, he thought he'd do vegan for breakfast and dinner and not for lunch. I was excited to try it. It definitely takes a lot of research, but last night we ate tofu steaks with roasted red pepper relish on a bed of greens and it was so tasty that we're inspired. It won't be too hard since the aforementioned phasing began years ago.

So in my search, I've subscribed to many vegan blogs in my Google Reader, one of my favorites being Vegan Lunchbox. On her blog, I found this fabulous product and I wanted to share it with everyone who wants to use less plastic in their life. It's a washable (even dishwasher-safe) baggie that can be used in place of a ziploc or whatever for sandwiches, grapes, etc... in a kid's lunch. Or anyone's lunch really. I love it.

oh-nine

I still can't believe it's 2009. I still remember when it was Y2K and the rumor was that the world was going to end. 12:01 hit and nothing happened. That was pretty funny for all those who bought all kind of preparations last minute in case the world crashed. And now we're only 359 days away from Y2K+10. That means that Boozie will be turning 1 in 28 days. We had a wonderful oh-eight. With Boozie in our lives, nothing could be better, really. Who knows what this next year will bring, or even the next few months regarding T's job, but we think it'll all turn out.

We had a great Christmas trip in Utah even though it was sub-freezing temps the entire time. The runs were not very enjoyable, except when they were indoors on the treadmill while watching Family Feud (we still need to go on there, peeps). We were gone for almost 2 whole weeks so the past 2 days have been very offish; I don't know how to have a schedule/routine/work anymore. Here's a summary of our great trip:


First, we enjoyed CB's first Christmas at home. He preferred the bows.

Next, Oma Belt presented Boozie with his first Christmas pj's and matching hat. Darling.

Next, Oma Belt presented CB with homemade cloth blocks that spell everything under the sun. He preferred the box.

Next, he realized that he has not one, not two, but three Opas. Who could be luckier?

And last, he got to celebrate the beginning of Anj's best year yet. And help her open gifts? What an aunt!

(And that's just a brief summary. Boozie also loooved playing with his cousins. Especially when Buddy made him laugh with the keychain on his head).

Honung

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The title is honey in Swedish. Pronunciation: Ho-Noong, FYI. I love honey; I think it's delectable. When others take brown sugar on their oatmeal, I take honey. When we read The Secret Life of Bees for our now-nonexistent book club I really thought it was such a dreamy thing. There are honey scrubs, washes, candles, etc... and they all smell divine. When we were in Oregon for Thanksgiving we went to this great store called Winco. Everything is dirt cheap, you bag your own groceries, and there are approximately 600 aisles of everything you could ever imagine. (Except for organic cheese, hormone-free milk, etc... but let's be honest, they're not trying to compete with Whole Foods) Not to mention the bulk food. I love bulk food. You can get a little sample of a snack for like 20 cents and call it good. Or you can 20 cents worth of organic lentils and 30 cents worth of organic thick rolled oats for Boozie to eat while in Oregon.

I digress. There was a grinder to make your own peanut butter. Seen those before. Then next to it was something I've never seen: a make your own honey contraption. There was a sign attached that said, "Live Bees Inside. Please don't open." What?!? It was a beehive right there in the store. Actually 2 of them that apparently had used different nectar to make different honey. This raised a few questions in my mind:
1. There must be people that are just curious and open it. I almost did. Do the bees all fly out and they have to evacuate Winco?
2. Where are these bees getting their pollen to make the honey? There aren't any flowers in Winco that I saw. And if there are, no one's opening the hive to let the bees out.

Maybe this shows my ignorance regarding honey-making. Perhaps bees just need to stock up on nectar and then they work for awhile in their hive without needing to restock? No clue. I was visiting the world's best website, Tastespotting, and found a recipe for Honey Cake. I think I must make it. Too bad I can't get my honey from those busy little bees in Winco.

love/hate 26.2

I ran my 2nd marathon last Saturday in Memphis and it was a great time. There were bands/DJs at every mile marker and even Elvis impersonators! And when you're running 26.2, any entertainment is good. T and Boozie drove around and met up with me at certain mile markers to cheer me on. From about mile 6 to 19 I didn't see them and it was because they had to make an emergency run to IHOP. Boozie woke up from his nap and hunger was calling. He was a big fan of the pancakes.


At around mile 17 or so, there was a table set up with candy and beer. I almost gagged just thinking of just the smell of beer after running, but it was a big hit so apparently it's the added boost that some need; I guess the PowerAde just wasn't hitting the spot. It's an interesting distance because it's so mental. Your mind keeps saying, "Let's be done now" but the body keeps pressing on. Around mile 20 or so you say to yourself, "This is my last marathon ever; this is insane." But somehow at the finish line you say to yourself, "When can I start training for the next?" For anyone who hasn't ever run a race before, I highly recommend it. It's addicting. Just ask Doge.

i heart the maya wrap

Pretty much everyone who knows me knows I loove the Maya Wrap; I could be their spokesperson. Everywhere I go peeps ask about it: if it's comfortable, how heavy the baby can be to be in it, if he likes it, etc... Boozie lives in it. He loves it more than I do, I bet. He used to lie down in it and take naps while I went to church, went to Sam's Club, went shopping, etc... Now he's too big to lie down, and also he doesn't catnap every hour like he used to, so he sits slung on my hip and gets to see and try to grab everything. He even uses it as his lovey sometimes. And I just found this giveaway on SafeMama so everyone who doesn't have one should enter.

He'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain

La Hacienda = delicious!

T ran a 10K last Saturday. His first ever 10K. He was a little nervous because it is up a mountain in Hot Springs National Park. I (and a much smaller version of Boozie) ran it last year and warned him that it's not an easy race, but he decided last year that he wanted to do it so he trained and did it. It was freezing cold (28 degrees at the start) but so much fun. We stayed in a great condo on Lake Hamilton and enjoyed good food at the same Mexican restaurant we did last year. We decided that we're fans of Hot Springs.

We ate some oatmeal while we waited for him to finish.


He made it! (and even 10 minutes faster than he thought possible)

Boozie Boy

Having a baby is a weird phenomenon. Random strangers love him so they always talk to him, look/smile at him, touch him (not a fan of that--watch out for mama bear), etc... People say the oddest things. We recently returned from a trip to Oregon and Boozie was playing on the ground on a blankie while we were in the Little Rock airport waiting for our flight. A mom and her 2 daughters were looking at him and smiling at him as they ate their McDonald's food. The mom then said, "He's big. He doesn't miss a meal." What? Do babies miss meals? Are there anorexic babies that are body-conscious? Not that I know of.

They kept talking to him and he was oblivious and just playing with his toys. Then the little girl came over to see him and at one point was telling me about the rash she gets on her thighs. Her mom wasn't really paying attention or I picture she might not have wanted her telling me that. Then the mom starts telling me a story about how they used to call the little girl "Finger Sucker" because they were at some dude's house and he was playing the guitar and the little girl fell asleep so they moved her to another room. Then they heard loud sucking and she was sucking her finger. Surely if Boozie wasn't there, I might have smiled at the family as I sat down to wait, but wouldn't have learned any of the things I learned. For better or for worse.

Today we were at Sam's and this lady in front of us said, "That's a big boy to be carrying around in that sling. I bet he loves it." "Yep, he loves it," I said. "I'm sure he does. He just loves being lazy." What? Lazy 9-month old baby? Because if he was sitting in the E. coli section of the shopping cart, he'd surely be burning calories. Or maybe if he crawled yet, I should've let him crawl around Sam's to burn calories. Makes perfect sense. I should've said, "Actually lady, he jumped in his Jump-N-Go for like an hour today. I bet it's more than you did. Now who's the lazy one?" No wonder we all grow up having issues...