Beware the Produce Aisle!

As usual this morning I had the news on as I was getting dressed and doing my hair/make-up. I always have the news on so I know where the traffic spots are going to be and just generally what's happening in the world. This morning I heard and truly horrific story about a deadly spider found in a Whole Foods Market in Oklahoma.

I guess this HUGE Brazilian Wandering Spider was found wandering in the bananas. A store clerk caught it in a plastic deli container and they called the local university to see if someone could come and identify it. See below...

YUCK! If I saw this in my grocery store I would have a heart attack right there! Apparently the Brazilian Wandering Spider is poisonous an it's venom will kill you if left untreated IMMEDIATELY... (as in, you better get bitten at the hospital or else) which then reminded me of another story I heard a few weeks back about another produce loving spider.

Everyone loves Costco... heck, I'm the biggest supporter of it and go there a few times a week. BUT ever since I heard this story I steer clear of the grapes:

A lady bought a pack of red seedless grapes from Costco (the kind that comes in that huge plastic container with holes in it). When she got home she wanted to wash the grapes before putting them away, so she dumped the container of grapes into the sink to rinse them off. To her surprise this is what greeted her...

A BLACK WIDOW SPIDER! GOODNESS GRACIOUS! The lady luckily wasn't bitten, and was able to capture the spider in a jar and called someone from a vet clinic that referred her to an insect expert at the university in that city.

I don't know about you but I have a serious case of the heebie-jeebies and I don't even want to touch produce, nevertheless go near the produce aisles. I was already avoiding grapes, and now I must avoid bananas?! I know I don't have to avoid them, but I don't want to come across ANY spider.

Everybody Knows...

...it sucks to grow up, but I can honestly say that I'm not having a crisis about my birthday like I did last year. I feel more at peace with the big "2-4" for some odd reason. Who knows why. Maybe it's because I'm keeping myself occupied with new adventures, or maybe it's because I realize that my time lines don't matter so much anymore.

On a related note (food adventures)- vegetarian food is spicy... and I like it. It seems the more and more I'm diving into eating this way, the more I find that you need to keep it interesting and varied. I also like that a lot of ethnic foods are vegetarian so I don't have to think of replacements for part of my meal. New food adventure for the week: Quinoa (pronounced keen- wah). I've eaten it before and not thought much of it, but I realized how versatile it was this week when I made some plain and stored it for a quick filler in dinners. It's a great alternative to rice or cous cous in a dish, and is VERY healthy for you. I guess it's not a taste that pleases every palate (my sister absolutely hates it), but I tend to find that it takes on whatever flavors you pair it with, despite it's inherent nutty flavor. I've been putting an olive oil/balsamic vinegar and veggie (think cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic and some Italian herbs) mixture over it... a little greek-ish almost. Also, I was reading an article about it today and technically Quinoa is an herb. There's your fun fact for the day!

Ok, so back to birthday stuff. My 23rd year definitely wasn't my favorite so far... there were some ominous signs that I should heeded but instead I plowed on through, which is ok too. I learned some things I needed to learn. It wasn't all bad, though. I made some wonderful friends and got to experience some firsts (ie: Foo Fighters concert, Weezer concert, taking Ballet as an adult, traveling alone multiple times to strange places (Boise, etc), going to professional ballet performances that weren't The Nutcracker or Swan Lake, it goes on).

So here's to 24! May it be full of fun, love and laughter and hopefully no lessons will have to be repeated.

(Go ahead and say it, I'm getting old)

Happy Birthday!

I took my sister to Kathy Griffin last night and it was AWESOME. Not only is she hilarious, but the crowd she draws is pretty hilarious too. Not to mention we had AMAZING seats. Seriously 4 rows from the front and a little to the side so there was nothing blocking our view.

Part of our fun for the evening was people watching as we waited for the show to start. Another part of our fun was being on camera a BUNCH. They taped the two shows Kathy did last night for an upcoming Bravo special, and being on the edge of the aisle and close to the front meant that we pretty much had our very own camera man. I know they'll edit it and we may not even end up on tv, but I'll have to watch the special when it comes out to see!

Oh yeah, and we got to dress up all cute and wear cute shoes... so the night was complete.

Going to that show was the best birthday present I've gotten so far. Yay for 24!

I'm Going to Try It...

(Photo Courtesy of VegSource.com)

My sister has bounced between being vegetarian, vegan, and none of the above a couple of times. It seems like it's hard work and requires some planning in order to not eat the same thing every day (out of convenience and lack of suitable food). After talking with her about it last night, I decided it would be interesting to try and, if nothing else, would be a healthy change. Starting last night was already out of the question since I had eaten a chicken sandwich for lunch; oh well.


It seems like breakfast will be cake since I eat oatmeal, a piece of fruit and caffeine free herbal tea most every morning without exception. Lunch will probably prove harder and more time consuming as I rarely pack my lunch since I tend to run a bit on the late side in the morning. Subway is my usual lunch fare, however it changes depending on the weather and upon whether I feel like driving to a close town that offers more than Subway, McDonald's or Jack in the Box (limited choices when you don't work downtown). More planning will have to be involved for a sucessful lunch. Dinner for me is usually something quick since I'm usually starving by then... I like salad with grilled chicken breast or I throw a thin steak or fish on the grill and steam some veggies. Looks like my first stop on the way home tonight will be the grocery store for some animal protein alternatives!


Some websites that are helpful in my new endeavor are:




1. www.vegsource.com

2. www.chooseveg.com


They've got some great ideas for how to have a balanced diet sans beef, chicken, pork, etc. I'll keep you all updated on how this vegetarian trial is going. Who knows, maybe I'll love it and stick to it... or maybe I'll just walk away adopting some healthier habits. Either way, I think it's worth the extra effort.

Early Birthday Gift

I'm just so excited, I couldn't wait to share:

I got an early birthday present yesterday and it's two tickets to Kathy Griffin's live performance this week at the Schnitz. I CANNOT HANDLE IT. She may be a bit dramatic and lewd, but I absolutely love her and I cannot wait to experience the insanity. Kathy is one funny lady. It would be even better if I got to meet her. We'll see how it goes.