I did it.
I created a new blog that I will launch later today dedicated to chronicling my efforts, research and struggles with "going greener". You can get there by clicking HERE.
If you want to join my blog, let me know! The more we share, the better I say.
Topics I will be covering include, but aren't limited to:
1. Reducing Waste
2. Recycling
3. Natural Products
4. Local Resources
... and of course many others.
Again, I will be launching the site later today. Happy Thursday!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Nothing New Updates- And Going Green-er
So I've had to make some concessions with my challenge, but I some of them HAD to be done in order for me to reach my other goals this year of changing my lifestyle to have a lower carbon footprint.
1. I HAD to buy some new pants and shirts. I've lost almost 20 pounds since January and my clothes were starting to look terrible and WAY TOO BIG on me. I weighed the options of buying gently used clothing, but I settled on picking out 2 pair of new jeans that are nicer so I won't feel like a slob at work and then digging out my old clothes that I was saving for when I lost weight (high school pants!). I kept a ton of clothes from when I was smaller so I've had some items to work with so I didn't have to buy new everything. I bought a handful of new shirts, but I'm looking for organic cottons and recycle fabrics when I do. I've donated bags upon bags of my old clothing since I'd taken really good care of them and most of them look new for others to benefit from. I'm decluttering my closets and drawers and it feels great.
2. I've had to buy the puppy stuff- grooming items (brush, deshedding tool, toothbrush), food, training treats and toys but BF and I have made a concerted effort to buy top quality, all natural ingredients with as little packaging as possible. Oh yeah, and I bought some dog clothing, but you know... Rudy didn't want to get wet and they were ON SALE for super cheap since it was the end of the season. Also, no packaging and the tags were recyclable.
3. I bought a new car because mine was on it's last leg and I had already planned for that. The plus side is that this car rates pretty well on the emissions scale (much better than the old car) and gets much better gas mileage than the Subaru.
4. I bought reusable shopping bags, sandwich bags and cleaning cloths. I hated getting plastic bags when I was shopping to put my produce in, so one day while at Fred Meyer I spotted these reusable mesh bags that come in threes. I bought 2 packs of them so now I use those instead of plastic bags and if they get dirty I just rinse them off in the sink and hang to dry so I can reuse again. They are also nice because your produce doesn't get all slimy in the drawers with condensation since the bags are mesh and let air through.
I also bought some Snack Taxi bags for our lunches. I'm refusing to use plastic sandwich bags anymore so we are using the last of ours now (which I also rinse out and reuse when I can) and are starting to use these awesome little reusable, washable pouches for our snacks and sandwiches. We try to use glass and ceramics as much as possible, but they aren't always practical when you tote your lunch to and from work every day.
The cleaning cloths are to replace paper towel use. I found some awesome micro fiber cloths (they come in 3 packs and 6 packs) at Bed, Bath and Beyond and they come in different shades of green so you can assign a cloth to each room in the house where they will be used. Our dark one is in the bathroom for cleaning, the medium green shade is my dust rag for the living/dining room areas, and the light green one is the kitchen cleaning rag. We just throw them in the wash every few days with our regular laundry to clean them. We still use paper towels for cleaning up specific things (like the ever so rare dog mess), but we have switched to using the recycled paper towels for that.
5. And I almost forgot I bought a mini Kitchenaid food processor with my slot machine winnings because the blender does NOT work for everything and I don't have 2 hours each night to chop stuff up for dinner. WORTH IT.
So that is pretty much it. I think those few things (one of which was planned before I decided to do the challenge) were worth buying and will help us save in the future. Plus, I don't know how to sew snazzy outfits from my drapes like Maria (Sound of Music reference) so new clothes were in order.
Going forward I think it will be easier to not buy new stuff. We don't really need anything new and most of the shopping we do now is for groceries and dog food anyway. I think the only other thing we are looking to replace are our plastic cups, but I have been keeping an eye out for glass and stainless steel ones at thrift stores so we'll see what I find.
1. I HAD to buy some new pants and shirts. I've lost almost 20 pounds since January and my clothes were starting to look terrible and WAY TOO BIG on me. I weighed the options of buying gently used clothing, but I settled on picking out 2 pair of new jeans that are nicer so I won't feel like a slob at work and then digging out my old clothes that I was saving for when I lost weight (high school pants!). I kept a ton of clothes from when I was smaller so I've had some items to work with so I didn't have to buy new everything. I bought a handful of new shirts, but I'm looking for organic cottons and recycle fabrics when I do. I've donated bags upon bags of my old clothing since I'd taken really good care of them and most of them look new for others to benefit from. I'm decluttering my closets and drawers and it feels great.
2. I've had to buy the puppy stuff- grooming items (brush, deshedding tool, toothbrush), food, training treats and toys but BF and I have made a concerted effort to buy top quality, all natural ingredients with as little packaging as possible. Oh yeah, and I bought some dog clothing, but you know... Rudy didn't want to get wet and they were ON SALE for super cheap since it was the end of the season. Also, no packaging and the tags were recyclable.
3. I bought a new car because mine was on it's last leg and I had already planned for that. The plus side is that this car rates pretty well on the emissions scale (much better than the old car) and gets much better gas mileage than the Subaru.
4. I bought reusable shopping bags, sandwich bags and cleaning cloths. I hated getting plastic bags when I was shopping to put my produce in, so one day while at Fred Meyer I spotted these reusable mesh bags that come in threes. I bought 2 packs of them so now I use those instead of plastic bags and if they get dirty I just rinse them off in the sink and hang to dry so I can reuse again. They are also nice because your produce doesn't get all slimy in the drawers with condensation since the bags are mesh and let air through.
I also bought some Snack Taxi bags for our lunches. I'm refusing to use plastic sandwich bags anymore so we are using the last of ours now (which I also rinse out and reuse when I can) and are starting to use these awesome little reusable, washable pouches for our snacks and sandwiches. We try to use glass and ceramics as much as possible, but they aren't always practical when you tote your lunch to and from work every day.
The cleaning cloths are to replace paper towel use. I found some awesome micro fiber cloths (they come in 3 packs and 6 packs) at Bed, Bath and Beyond and they come in different shades of green so you can assign a cloth to each room in the house where they will be used. Our dark one is in the bathroom for cleaning, the medium green shade is my dust rag for the living/dining room areas, and the light green one is the kitchen cleaning rag. We just throw them in the wash every few days with our regular laundry to clean them. We still use paper towels for cleaning up specific things (like the ever so rare dog mess), but we have switched to using the recycled paper towels for that.
5. And I almost forgot I bought a mini Kitchenaid food processor with my slot machine winnings because the blender does NOT work for everything and I don't have 2 hours each night to chop stuff up for dinner. WORTH IT.
So that is pretty much it. I think those few things (one of which was planned before I decided to do the challenge) were worth buying and will help us save in the future. Plus, I don't know how to sew snazzy outfits from my drapes like Maria (Sound of Music reference) so new clothes were in order.
Going forward I think it will be easier to not buy new stuff. We don't really need anything new and most of the shopping we do now is for groceries and dog food anyway. I think the only other thing we are looking to replace are our plastic cups, but I have been keeping an eye out for glass and stainless steel ones at thrift stores so we'll see what I find.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Rudy Becomes a "Nothing", And A New Blog Idea
Rudy, our awesome puppy, will be neutered on Friday. I'm happy about this, but also sad. Is that weird? On one hand we won't have to worry about him impregnating any lady dogs, but on the other hand he will not really have much of a gender anymore... or does it matter to a dog? I don't know.
We're supposed to stop feeding him around 7 the night before and then drop him off on Friday morning for the procedure. The vet is awesome and his staff are super friendly so I'm not worried about Rudy at all. They are even going to cleen his teeth and clip his little doggy nails while he is out! We will then pick him up around 3pm or so and take his groggy little self home.
I'm hoping that everything goes smoothly and that he recovers quickly.
I was thinking about what I was going to post this week when I got the idea to start a new blog where I can post about the changes we have been making to become more "green" in our household, the things we have tried that have and have not worked for us, and places/products/etc that we like. I would like to open it up to anyone that wants to contribute, that way there is one place for everyone to have discussion over these things if they want or to just update us on what they are trying, etc.
What do you think?
We're supposed to stop feeding him around 7 the night before and then drop him off on Friday morning for the procedure. The vet is awesome and his staff are super friendly so I'm not worried about Rudy at all. They are even going to cleen his teeth and clip his little doggy nails while he is out! We will then pick him up around 3pm or so and take his groggy little self home.
I'm hoping that everything goes smoothly and that he recovers quickly.
I was thinking about what I was going to post this week when I got the idea to start a new blog where I can post about the changes we have been making to become more "green" in our household, the things we have tried that have and have not worked for us, and places/products/etc that we like. I would like to open it up to anyone that wants to contribute, that way there is one place for everyone to have discussion over these things if they want or to just update us on what they are trying, etc.
What do you think?
Monday, March 28, 2011
New York Doesn't Mean New York City, Ya'll. Also, Portland is the Best.
I don't know why people automatically assume that when someone says New York they mean New York City. That is not always the case, and you know what they say about assuming...
Anyway, as I've mentioned before (like two weeks ago) I went to New York State for Spring Break. Not specifically for vacation, but to visit family and take care of some business with the Seneca Nation... like getting my official Seneca Nation of Indians identification card and getting thumb-printed. Exciting. We flew in on Wednesday evening and visited with family and friends for a few days. The weather was a lovely 60 and partly sunny which is better than what we were expecting: 45 and rainy just like Portland.
It was nice to see everyone and all of the new babies in the family- seriously everyone but my sister and I has kids now- and to get to visit with my grandparents. We went to the casino a few times for meals because old people LOVE casinos. That was pretty funny. I won $30 by randomly playing a slot machine for giggles, so I called it good and quit playing! I ate a lot of shrimp as well since everything else was soaked in butter or battered and fried.
My mom and I visited the Seneca Museum in Salamanca, NY which was awesome, but we weren't allowed to take pictures so I have none to share :-( It was really awesome to see all of the artwork, statues and recreations.
Also there was a visit to the largest Walmart in the world. It's somewhere in the middle of nowhere upstate NY. It looks like the White House with huge columns. I tried to get a picture, but it was so large it wouldn't fit in a single frame... so I tried to do it in two or three and it was still too large. I'm not a huge Walmart shopper (actually I prefer buying what I need from local sources if possible) but this place was impressive.
We left on the following Wednesday, but it snowed... and I mean SNOWED... so our flight and many others were delayed and we got rerouted ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. We were supposed to fly from Buffalo to Chicago, then Chicago to Portland, however within 30 minutes we had been rerouted twice and then didn't even make those flights because of the delays. My mom and I waited around for a few hours before getting a flight to Las Vegas, and then hopping a flight to San Jose. Luckily we had a layover in San Jose so we could eat a super late lunch (4pm is still lunch, right?) and we were so happy because we hadn't eaten since 7am! I was so hangry (angry + hungry) I almost got in a fight with a gate agent. Not my finest moment, but to my credit that lady was a few cents short of a dollar if you know what I mean.
We finally landed in Portland 10 hours after we were supposed to be there, but we had no luggage (who knows where they sent it). The airline said they would track it down and call us, and two hours after we got home they located it. I picked it up on Thursday and my poor mother's stuff was completely soaked. I have no idea what they did with her stuff but I think they owe her a free ticket to anywhere she wants to go for that.
The rest of the week I spent recouperating from our journey and working out like a mad woman since I didn't really get to in NY.
It's so nice to be home. Every time I go somewhere else it reinforces why I love Portland, OR so much. I can find the foods I like and the stores I like to shop in. The roads are on a better grid- the East Coast is so confusing because that was before city planners were a thing and they just paved a bunch of the trails and called them roads. Also, people are a lot nicer on the West Coast in general.
Coming up this week:
1. Rudy gets neutered.
2. Heather gets abs of steel
3. Updates into my "Nothing New" challenge and natural cleansing routine
Anyway, as I've mentioned before (like two weeks ago) I went to New York State for Spring Break. Not specifically for vacation, but to visit family and take care of some business with the Seneca Nation... like getting my official Seneca Nation of Indians identification card and getting thumb-printed. Exciting. We flew in on Wednesday evening and visited with family and friends for a few days. The weather was a lovely 60 and partly sunny which is better than what we were expecting: 45 and rainy just like Portland.
It was nice to see everyone and all of the new babies in the family- seriously everyone but my sister and I has kids now- and to get to visit with my grandparents. We went to the casino a few times for meals because old people LOVE casinos. That was pretty funny. I won $30 by randomly playing a slot machine for giggles, so I called it good and quit playing! I ate a lot of shrimp as well since everything else was soaked in butter or battered and fried.
My mom and I visited the Seneca Museum in Salamanca, NY which was awesome, but we weren't allowed to take pictures so I have none to share :-( It was really awesome to see all of the artwork, statues and recreations.
Also there was a visit to the largest Walmart in the world. It's somewhere in the middle of nowhere upstate NY. It looks like the White House with huge columns. I tried to get a picture, but it was so large it wouldn't fit in a single frame... so I tried to do it in two or three and it was still too large. I'm not a huge Walmart shopper (actually I prefer buying what I need from local sources if possible) but this place was impressive.
We left on the following Wednesday, but it snowed... and I mean SNOWED... so our flight and many others were delayed and we got rerouted ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. We were supposed to fly from Buffalo to Chicago, then Chicago to Portland, however within 30 minutes we had been rerouted twice and then didn't even make those flights because of the delays. My mom and I waited around for a few hours before getting a flight to Las Vegas, and then hopping a flight to San Jose. Luckily we had a layover in San Jose so we could eat a super late lunch (4pm is still lunch, right?) and we were so happy because we hadn't eaten since 7am! I was so hangry (angry + hungry) I almost got in a fight with a gate agent. Not my finest moment, but to my credit that lady was a few cents short of a dollar if you know what I mean.
We finally landed in Portland 10 hours after we were supposed to be there, but we had no luggage (who knows where they sent it). The airline said they would track it down and call us, and two hours after we got home they located it. I picked it up on Thursday and my poor mother's stuff was completely soaked. I have no idea what they did with her stuff but I think they owe her a free ticket to anywhere she wants to go for that.
The rest of the week I spent recouperating from our journey and working out like a mad woman since I didn't really get to in NY.
It's so nice to be home. Every time I go somewhere else it reinforces why I love Portland, OR so much. I can find the foods I like and the stores I like to shop in. The roads are on a better grid- the East Coast is so confusing because that was before city planners were a thing and they just paved a bunch of the trails and called them roads. Also, people are a lot nicer on the West Coast in general.
Coming up this week:
1. Rudy gets neutered.
2. Heather gets abs of steel
3. Updates into my "Nothing New" challenge and natural cleansing routine
Monday, March 14, 2011
Birthday and Road Trips and Races
Friday was my actual 26th birthday, 23 hours ahead of my friend Brad's birthday so we were invited to celebrate it together in Corvallis.
Friday started well enough with birthday cards and balloons and a nice lunch from my coworkers, plus flowers and a spa gift certificate from my awesome boss. I got to leave early which was nice since we were heading down to Corvallis anyway and wanted to beat traffic.
BF and I dropped Rudy off at my mother's and were on our way. I slept almost the whole way there because I was exhausted from a busy week and had a little headache. We arrived a few minutes late (still hit a little traffic) to dinner with Brad and his GF, Nicole along with some other friends. We ate and sang and were merry and then the waiter brought Brad and I two sombreros to wear and we were sang to/at and embarrased. There are pictures and maybe some video but I'm not sharing that here, thankyouverymuch.
After dinner we headed to get some gelato.
It was so delicious, but WAY too much.
Saturday my mom took me to get a mani/pedi which was much needed. I don't know why, but I do the same thing to my toes and they definitely don't look that good when I'm done with them.
We had pizza for dinner because I wanted to "carb up" for the Shamrock Run ( I know... it's only 3 miles, but hey, I rarely eat pizza and it was my birthday).
We woke up bright and early (and I do mean early, thank you daylight savings) on Sunday to get downtown for the Shamrock Run and boy was it nasty out.
The day started a little cold and drizzly and was drippy, wet and windy shortly after we got downtown. The team met up at a nearby coffee shop so we didn't have to stand outside and wait for our races to start in the rain.
I ran the 5K, along with BF and his dad and sister. It was a good run and I felt I could have run it harder and faster had I been paying attention, but mostly I was trying not to run people over. There were SO MANY people; 11,000 running in the 5K event. I didn't even see a mile marker until I was at the 3 mile mark because I couldn't see the sides of the street for the other runners around me. It was still a great run and I wasn't cold or uncomfortable until after I had stopped running and was wating at the finish line for BF. I waited and waited and waited, then I waited some more and he never came. The bad part was that he had left his phone in my car so I couldn't call him to see where he was. I was worried he had slipped and been injured during the race and couldn't get a hold of me. After 2 HOURS of waiting around in the cold yucky rain I got a call from a random Portland number so I answered and it was BF and Quizno's up the street. I was relieved but also royally pissed off that I had been standing in the rain for 2 hours when I didn't need to. Turns out BF finished the race 3 minutes after me and had been standing further down the finish line looking for me as well, but then decided he needed to track down a phone so walked up the way from where we parked to call me.
We went home and took the hottest showers we could stand and made potato bacon soup to warm us up. I then took a 2 hour nap and we cleaned the house and did laundry the rest of the evening. FUN. But it felt good to start the week with a clean house and clean laundry.
This week is a short one for me since I'm leaving for NY on Wednesday morning. SPRING BREAK! I've got some packing to do... and I'm sad about it since I will be packing pretty much what I've been wearing here all winter since NY is not expecting the end of winter just yet.
Friday started well enough with birthday cards and balloons and a nice lunch from my coworkers, plus flowers and a spa gift certificate from my awesome boss. I got to leave early which was nice since we were heading down to Corvallis anyway and wanted to beat traffic.
BF and I dropped Rudy off at my mother's and were on our way. I slept almost the whole way there because I was exhausted from a busy week and had a little headache. We arrived a few minutes late (still hit a little traffic) to dinner with Brad and his GF, Nicole along with some other friends. We ate and sang and were merry and then the waiter brought Brad and I two sombreros to wear and we were sang to/at and embarrased. There are pictures and maybe some video but I'm not sharing that here, thankyouverymuch.
After dinner we headed to get some gelato.
It was so delicious, but WAY too much.
Saturday my mom took me to get a mani/pedi which was much needed. I don't know why, but I do the same thing to my toes and they definitely don't look that good when I'm done with them.
We had pizza for dinner because I wanted to "carb up" for the Shamrock Run ( I know... it's only 3 miles, but hey, I rarely eat pizza and it was my birthday).
We woke up bright and early (and I do mean early, thank you daylight savings) on Sunday to get downtown for the Shamrock Run and boy was it nasty out.
The day started a little cold and drizzly and was drippy, wet and windy shortly after we got downtown. The team met up at a nearby coffee shop so we didn't have to stand outside and wait for our races to start in the rain.
I ran the 5K, along with BF and his dad and sister. It was a good run and I felt I could have run it harder and faster had I been paying attention, but mostly I was trying not to run people over. There were SO MANY people; 11,000 running in the 5K event. I didn't even see a mile marker until I was at the 3 mile mark because I couldn't see the sides of the street for the other runners around me. It was still a great run and I wasn't cold or uncomfortable until after I had stopped running and was wating at the finish line for BF. I waited and waited and waited, then I waited some more and he never came. The bad part was that he had left his phone in my car so I couldn't call him to see where he was. I was worried he had slipped and been injured during the race and couldn't get a hold of me. After 2 HOURS of waiting around in the cold yucky rain I got a call from a random Portland number so I answered and it was BF and Quizno's up the street. I was relieved but also royally pissed off that I had been standing in the rain for 2 hours when I didn't need to. Turns out BF finished the race 3 minutes after me and had been standing further down the finish line looking for me as well, but then decided he needed to track down a phone so walked up the way from where we parked to call me.
We went home and took the hottest showers we could stand and made potato bacon soup to warm us up. I then took a 2 hour nap and we cleaned the house and did laundry the rest of the evening. FUN. But it felt good to start the week with a clean house and clean laundry.
This week is a short one for me since I'm leaving for NY on Wednesday morning. SPRING BREAK! I've got some packing to do... and I'm sad about it since I will be packing pretty much what I've been wearing here all winter since NY is not expecting the end of winter just yet.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To... or Sleep If I Want To
I had forgotten about my own rule that my birthday is a weeklong celebration because I've been too busy to even think about it really.
This Friday I will turn 26. I've gotten old. How that happened I will never know, but it is what it is. And it's not all bad.
Before I remembered it was my birthday week I was having kind of a crappy time because I feel so busy with stuff I don't really feel like I'm enjoying much in my day. Then BF took me to a concert as an early birthday present. We saw New Politics who were amazing, however they were on the same concert bill as two other bands that I have no interest in whatsoever.
The show was at the Hawthorne Theater in SE, so Tuesday night we made our way down Hawthorne, found nearby parking in a cute little neighborhood and stood in the cool night air until they opened the doors. The crowd that these bands drew was nothing akin to crowds BF and myself would fit into as we are not between the ages of 13-16 and we also aren't "stoners", at all. The first group came to see the opening band, a high-school aged 311/Sublime-esque beachy rock type of band that made me want to plunge steak knives into my earholes. I will not name this band because that would be embarrasing for them. And Portland is not the best place to play "Southern Cal" jams... we aren't a bronzed, laid back, surf community so we don't get that "vibe". We also don't get why you need to be shirtless on stage when it wasn't warm at all inside (we kept our jackets on the whole concert!).
New Politics played second and it totally made up for the crappy first band. It OBLITERATED the first band, really. The lead singer had the best dance moves and even ran up the wall and did a flip. Now that's entertainment. They played quite a good set and then BF and I got to meet them! BF bought me a shirt and we got our ticket stubs signed for the scrapbook. It made my night. It was also sort of funny because most people were there either for the first band or the headlining band (the Dirty Heads... ugh) and had no interest in NP. They were extremely nice and talked to us for a few minutes and thanked us for coming to see them. I don't think they believed that we actually came to see them and not the Dirty Heads. We got sweaty European hugs from them and then swiftly left because I did NOT want to stay and be part of the stoney mayhem that was sure to arise. We were already starting to get a bit buzzed from the drifting smoke plumes surrounding us.
After that excitement I realized that it was, in fact, my birthday week, and that I did need to allow myself to have a good time.
Having said that to myself didn't really make it so as I've had to continue the wake up, work, work out, go to bed routine. And I haven't been sleeping that well this week.
Rudy has decided that after 2 months of sleeping through the night he now wants us to wake up, take him out and play with him at 3 in the morning. Last night was the 3rd night of it in a row so BF and I decided that tonight Rudy will sleep in the crate with a toy like he used to so he doesn't come bug us at 3am again. Also, no water after 9pm because I'm not taking that dog out in the middle of the night anymore... even though BF usually does it, it still wakes me up.
Anyway, besides Rudy the rain and wind has been crazy at night (better at night than during the day). Last night after Rudy woke us up the rain poured down and the wind beat the bushes against the walls and all I could hear was the deafening "drop drop drop" sounds of the water hitting a huge puddle outside of our bedroom window. BF got up and selpt on the couch. I took a Benadryl. I don't think I got more than an hour and a half of uniterrupted sleep.
To top it off I worked out a little too hard yesterday evening and felt ill shortly after coming home from the gym- to the point where no position I sat in was comfortable and my WHOLE BODY hurt- not in an achy or muscley way if that makes sense, but just a hurt everywhere. I drank a bunch of water thinking maybe I was dehydrated and got a snack but still I felt like poop. I feel better today, just tired.
Speaking of poop, Rudy's been eating it. I know, totally gross. I did some research because I was thinking our dog was a little mentally ill if he was eating poop (we've always had dogs and they've NEVER done that before) but turns out a lot of dogs do it. Apparently dogs don't have as refined tastebuds as we do and mostly they like things for the texture. Also, poop has a lot of information in it for dogs about the animal it came from so it's almost like they are reading a note or journal entry from that animal. Either way, it's GROSS so BF and I have been extra diligent when we take him out so that he doesn't sneak one. I also bought him a doggy toothbrush and toothpaste. It's peanut flavored so Rudy thinks it's a treat and I think he liked getting his little doggy mouth brushed because he didn't fuss at all once I got the bristles in his mouth- it probably felt good on his gums since he's teething.
Tomorrow, being my actual day of birth, I've requested pancakes and sausage for breakfast. I'm also leaving work early to go to Corvallis to celebrate our friend Brad's birthday as well and eat at Block 15- our most favorite place to eat, EVER. I'm totally eating my weight in fries. And then gelato.
Saturday I'm sleeping in and then getting my nails did with my mommy. I also want to go to OMSI to see the new Egypt exhibit (I don't remember the name of it) because it looks awesome. Then it's pizza time so I can get some good carbs in me before the Shamrock Run on Sunday morning.
This Friday I will turn 26. I've gotten old. How that happened I will never know, but it is what it is. And it's not all bad.
Before I remembered it was my birthday week I was having kind of a crappy time because I feel so busy with stuff I don't really feel like I'm enjoying much in my day. Then BF took me to a concert as an early birthday present. We saw New Politics who were amazing, however they were on the same concert bill as two other bands that I have no interest in whatsoever.
The show was at the Hawthorne Theater in SE, so Tuesday night we made our way down Hawthorne, found nearby parking in a cute little neighborhood and stood in the cool night air until they opened the doors. The crowd that these bands drew was nothing akin to crowds BF and myself would fit into as we are not between the ages of 13-16 and we also aren't "stoners", at all. The first group came to see the opening band, a high-school aged 311/Sublime-esque beachy rock type of band that made me want to plunge steak knives into my earholes. I will not name this band because that would be embarrasing for them. And Portland is not the best place to play "Southern Cal" jams... we aren't a bronzed, laid back, surf community so we don't get that "vibe". We also don't get why you need to be shirtless on stage when it wasn't warm at all inside (we kept our jackets on the whole concert!).
New Politics played second and it totally made up for the crappy first band. It OBLITERATED the first band, really. The lead singer had the best dance moves and even ran up the wall and did a flip. Now that's entertainment. They played quite a good set and then BF and I got to meet them! BF bought me a shirt and we got our ticket stubs signed for the scrapbook. It made my night. It was also sort of funny because most people were there either for the first band or the headlining band (the Dirty Heads... ugh) and had no interest in NP. They were extremely nice and talked to us for a few minutes and thanked us for coming to see them. I don't think they believed that we actually came to see them and not the Dirty Heads. We got sweaty European hugs from them and then swiftly left because I did NOT want to stay and be part of the stoney mayhem that was sure to arise. We were already starting to get a bit buzzed from the drifting smoke plumes surrounding us.
After that excitement I realized that it was, in fact, my birthday week, and that I did need to allow myself to have a good time.
Having said that to myself didn't really make it so as I've had to continue the wake up, work, work out, go to bed routine. And I haven't been sleeping that well this week.
Rudy has decided that after 2 months of sleeping through the night he now wants us to wake up, take him out and play with him at 3 in the morning. Last night was the 3rd night of it in a row so BF and I decided that tonight Rudy will sleep in the crate with a toy like he used to so he doesn't come bug us at 3am again. Also, no water after 9pm because I'm not taking that dog out in the middle of the night anymore... even though BF usually does it, it still wakes me up.
Anyway, besides Rudy the rain and wind has been crazy at night (better at night than during the day). Last night after Rudy woke us up the rain poured down and the wind beat the bushes against the walls and all I could hear was the deafening "drop drop drop" sounds of the water hitting a huge puddle outside of our bedroom window. BF got up and selpt on the couch. I took a Benadryl. I don't think I got more than an hour and a half of uniterrupted sleep.
To top it off I worked out a little too hard yesterday evening and felt ill shortly after coming home from the gym- to the point where no position I sat in was comfortable and my WHOLE BODY hurt- not in an achy or muscley way if that makes sense, but just a hurt everywhere. I drank a bunch of water thinking maybe I was dehydrated and got a snack but still I felt like poop. I feel better today, just tired.
Speaking of poop, Rudy's been eating it. I know, totally gross. I did some research because I was thinking our dog was a little mentally ill if he was eating poop (we've always had dogs and they've NEVER done that before) but turns out a lot of dogs do it. Apparently dogs don't have as refined tastebuds as we do and mostly they like things for the texture. Also, poop has a lot of information in it for dogs about the animal it came from so it's almost like they are reading a note or journal entry from that animal. Either way, it's GROSS so BF and I have been extra diligent when we take him out so that he doesn't sneak one. I also bought him a doggy toothbrush and toothpaste. It's peanut flavored so Rudy thinks it's a treat and I think he liked getting his little doggy mouth brushed because he didn't fuss at all once I got the bristles in his mouth- it probably felt good on his gums since he's teething.
Tomorrow, being my actual day of birth, I've requested pancakes and sausage for breakfast. I'm also leaving work early to go to Corvallis to celebrate our friend Brad's birthday as well and eat at Block 15- our most favorite place to eat, EVER. I'm totally eating my weight in fries. And then gelato.
Saturday I'm sleeping in and then getting my nails did with my mommy. I also want to go to OMSI to see the new Egypt exhibit (I don't remember the name of it) because it looks awesome. Then it's pizza time so I can get some good carbs in me before the Shamrock Run on Sunday morning.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Easy Awesome Meal
Last week I was wracking my brain for dinner ideas. It seems like BF and I eat the same things over and over again, just in a different order each week. Not that we eat badly, it's all really good food but our classic dishes were getting a bit stale.
Who knows where the idea came from, but while I was working away at my desk a thought poppped into my head, "Fish tacos". My second thought was, "I have never made fish tacos and I also don't want to fry anything or use heavy, expensive ingredients that I have to buy".
I put the idea away and assumed I'd figure something out for dinner later. When I got home I rummaged through the refrigerator and cabinets to see what we had on hand and I ended up coming up with a pretty easy recipe for fresh fish tacos.
Here are the ingredients you will need for everything I made:
2-4 cod fillets (frozen or fresh are fine, or substitute a white fish you like)
lemon- large
lime- large
cilantro- chopped
spring onion or red onion
yellow sweet onion
red bell pepper (or any other color
green bell pepper
2 roma tomato
cumin
crushed or minced garlic
sea salt
pepper
avocado
light or fat free sour cream
mayo
red pepper powder or chile powder
1 can of pinto or black beans
tortillas (we use whole wheat)
shredded cheese- optional
Here is how to prepare:
Combine the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 a lime, 1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped spring or red onion (both work well). Pour over your cod filets and let marinate for about 30 minutes.
After marinating, strain fish from marinade and sprinkle lightly with cumin (I like to use a lot since I like that warm heat).
Cook your filets over medium heat in a non-stick saute pan. I usually add a little of the marinade solids to the pan as well so the fish cook in more of the flavor- just use a teaspoon to scoop out some of the garlic and cilantro and add that to the pan.
While your fish cook, cook your canned beans (pinto are my favorites, but BF love black beans) on medium low in a small sauce pan.
I make two toppings for this dish, a homemade pico and a tangy avocado cream dressing.
I start with the pico; you can use a food processor, but I just chop mine up by hand. Chop 1/4 of a yellow onion, 1/4 of a green bell pepper, 1/4 of a red bell pepper, 2 roma tomatoes and 1-2 tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro. I mix it all up and then let it sit while I prepare the rest of the meal so that the flavors meld but are still fresh.
Then I mix up a tangy avocado dressing. Scoop out 1 large avocado and put into a blender or food processor. Add juice from the remainder of your lemon and remainder of your lime. Add about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, a pinch of pepper, a tiny sprinkling of red pepper powder or chile powder, 1 dollop (maybe about 2 teaspoons) of mayo and 4 or so ounces of non fat or light sour cream. Blend well until you have a creamy, fluffy light green mixture.
Once the fish and beans are done, you are ready to go! Just build your taco however you like.
Besides the avocado dressing and the pico, I add a tiny sprinkling of shredded skim cheese.
I don't think it takes me more than 25 minutes to make the dish since I usually defrost and marinate the fish earlier in the day. You can also substitute the fish with chicken breast as the same spices and marinade works well with both!
Who knows where the idea came from, but while I was working away at my desk a thought poppped into my head, "Fish tacos". My second thought was, "I have never made fish tacos and I also don't want to fry anything or use heavy, expensive ingredients that I have to buy".
I put the idea away and assumed I'd figure something out for dinner later. When I got home I rummaged through the refrigerator and cabinets to see what we had on hand and I ended up coming up with a pretty easy recipe for fresh fish tacos.
Here are the ingredients you will need for everything I made:
2-4 cod fillets (frozen or fresh are fine, or substitute a white fish you like)
lemon- large
lime- large
cilantro- chopped
spring onion or red onion
yellow sweet onion
red bell pepper (or any other color
green bell pepper
2 roma tomato
cumin
crushed or minced garlic
sea salt
pepper
avocado
light or fat free sour cream
mayo
red pepper powder or chile powder
1 can of pinto or black beans
tortillas (we use whole wheat)
shredded cheese- optional
Here is how to prepare:
Combine the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 a lime, 1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped spring or red onion (both work well). Pour over your cod filets and let marinate for about 30 minutes.
After marinating, strain fish from marinade and sprinkle lightly with cumin (I like to use a lot since I like that warm heat).
Cook your filets over medium heat in a non-stick saute pan. I usually add a little of the marinade solids to the pan as well so the fish cook in more of the flavor- just use a teaspoon to scoop out some of the garlic and cilantro and add that to the pan.
 |
| The juice wasn't added, it's just what's coming out of the fish from marinating |
While your fish cook, cook your canned beans (pinto are my favorites, but BF love black beans) on medium low in a small sauce pan.
I make two toppings for this dish, a homemade pico and a tangy avocado cream dressing.
I start with the pico; you can use a food processor, but I just chop mine up by hand. Chop 1/4 of a yellow onion, 1/4 of a green bell pepper, 1/4 of a red bell pepper, 2 roma tomatoes and 1-2 tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro. I mix it all up and then let it sit while I prepare the rest of the meal so that the flavors meld but are still fresh.
 |
| My homemade Pico |
Then I mix up a tangy avocado dressing. Scoop out 1 large avocado and put into a blender or food processor. Add juice from the remainder of your lemon and remainder of your lime. Add about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, a pinch of pepper, a tiny sprinkling of red pepper powder or chile powder, 1 dollop (maybe about 2 teaspoons) of mayo and 4 or so ounces of non fat or light sour cream. Blend well until you have a creamy, fluffy light green mixture.
Once the fish and beans are done, you are ready to go! Just build your taco however you like.
Besides the avocado dressing and the pico, I add a tiny sprinkling of shredded skim cheese.
I don't think it takes me more than 25 minutes to make the dish since I usually defrost and marinate the fish earlier in the day. You can also substitute the fish with chicken breast as the same spices and marinade works well with both!
Monday, March 7, 2011
PAM- Someone Got Paid for That?
On Friday night BF and I went to the Portland Art Museum and met up with my friend Dani for her birthday. It was wet and gross outside and a perfect night to be inside.
I hadn't been to the art museum since high school so I was excited to see it again. I dressed all smart and sassy, put on my amazing BCBG silver-gray boots and BF and I headed out. Traffic was horrible, but we eventually made it. We walked the museum and I was quite enthralled until we came upon this:
Apparently this painting had taken the artist a long time to research in order to get the proper balance of the exact colors in order to make the viewer "calm". Are you joking? This did the EXACT OPPOSITE to me as I looked on in shock. Someone actually paid money for this? If this is the way to make money, buy me some canvas and paints and let me at it! I honestly don't understand this type of "art". But there were plenty of other fine paitings, sculpture, etc. on display that I did enjoy.
This last painting reminded me of that odd actor, Harlan Williams, so I had to take a picture.
Also, this just in, you can now take pictures at the art museum. I remember they used to come and scold you for that, which I just never understood.
We had a wonderful time although my feet were KILLING ME by the end (damn you, good looking boots!). I think BF and I are planning on going back, in more comfortable shoes, to explore more and maybe even pop in next door and see the modern art as well.
I hadn't been to the art museum since high school so I was excited to see it again. I dressed all smart and sassy, put on my amazing BCBG silver-gray boots and BF and I headed out. Traffic was horrible, but we eventually made it. We walked the museum and I was quite enthralled until we came upon this:
Apparently this painting had taken the artist a long time to research in order to get the proper balance of the exact colors in order to make the viewer "calm". Are you joking? This did the EXACT OPPOSITE to me as I looked on in shock. Someone actually paid money for this? If this is the way to make money, buy me some canvas and paints and let me at it! I honestly don't understand this type of "art". But there were plenty of other fine paitings, sculpture, etc. on display that I did enjoy.
Also, this just in, you can now take pictures at the art museum. I remember they used to come and scold you for that, which I just never understood.
We had a wonderful time although my feet were KILLING ME by the end (damn you, good looking boots!). I think BF and I are planning on going back, in more comfortable shoes, to explore more and maybe even pop in next door and see the modern art as well.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I Said I'd Never...
... but little did I know.
I've always been one of those people that balks at the pet owners who find it necessary to dress their dogs and cats in human-like clothing; items that animals aren't suited for wearing like hats, sweaters and scarves. I mean, if you do that sort of thing it's your own business but I just don't see the point.
But then we got Rudy; the cutest, sweetest, smartest dog EVER. And Rudy has an... aversion, we'll call it, to rain. Not the normal sprinkles and drizzle we normally have- he could care less about that- but when we have a full on RAIN like we've had here the past few days in Oregon, Rudy doesn't even want to be outside to potty. That's a problem. When he does go outside it's as quickly as possible to get the job done and he still comes inside soaking wet, trailing drops through the house and wet paw prints as he goes. We usually keep a towel by the door to dry him off with when he comes back inside, but sometimes it's hard to wrangle him and he just wants to play with the towel and not be dried by it.
My solution was a rain coat, so I started looking online for reviews of pet rain gear. I quickly dove into the world of pet apparel and was shocked at what I found (do a Google image search and you will find the items that made me laugh 'til I peed). Was I really this crazed pet owner now diligently searching for apparel for my puppy? Sort of, maybe.
After work I had to stop at the store to pick up some grocery items, so I figured I would also stop at the pet store and see if they had any of the rain apparel that I had seen online. And found apparel I did. Apparently it's not just the beginning of a people apparel season, it's the beginning of the spring and summer pet apparel season. There were beach hats and doggles and bathing suits galore! I laughed to myself, feeling a little hypocritical but still letting the internal dialogue continue- really, I wasn't there to buy a non-functional piece of clothing, what I was buying had PURPOSE, FUNCTION, and would also be cute. Gah!
Lucky for me, the Fall and Winter apparel items were being marked down so I found a great yellow rain slicker and an amazing reversible jacket/vest for Rudy to keep the rain at bay.
I also found some other awesome gems. I didn't want to buy him actual doggy rain boots so I found these smart little disposable booties called Nooby's Disposable Booties. We have yet to use them and I reserving them for when it gets muddy.
It gets even better! Last night BF and I were sitting on the couch watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince while I perused REI.com for camping gear that we may need for this spring and summer. I was happily adding things to our wish list (FYI, if we get married we are TOTALLY registering at REI) when I noticed a link at the bottom of the page that simply said "Pets". One click later and I was in hog heaven. Dog tents, sleeping pads, hiking packs... anything a pet would need for an awesome adventure! I was giggling with delight.
It's official, I'm that crazy dog owner now. There will still not be any bathing suits or Ed Hardy shirts for Rudy.
I've always been one of those people that balks at the pet owners who find it necessary to dress their dogs and cats in human-like clothing; items that animals aren't suited for wearing like hats, sweaters and scarves. I mean, if you do that sort of thing it's your own business but I just don't see the point.
But then we got Rudy; the cutest, sweetest, smartest dog EVER. And Rudy has an... aversion, we'll call it, to rain. Not the normal sprinkles and drizzle we normally have- he could care less about that- but when we have a full on RAIN like we've had here the past few days in Oregon, Rudy doesn't even want to be outside to potty. That's a problem. When he does go outside it's as quickly as possible to get the job done and he still comes inside soaking wet, trailing drops through the house and wet paw prints as he goes. We usually keep a towel by the door to dry him off with when he comes back inside, but sometimes it's hard to wrangle him and he just wants to play with the towel and not be dried by it.
My solution was a rain coat, so I started looking online for reviews of pet rain gear. I quickly dove into the world of pet apparel and was shocked at what I found (do a Google image search and you will find the items that made me laugh 'til I peed). Was I really this crazed pet owner now diligently searching for apparel for my puppy? Sort of, maybe.
After work I had to stop at the store to pick up some grocery items, so I figured I would also stop at the pet store and see if they had any of the rain apparel that I had seen online. And found apparel I did. Apparently it's not just the beginning of a people apparel season, it's the beginning of the spring and summer pet apparel season. There were beach hats and doggles and bathing suits galore! I laughed to myself, feeling a little hypocritical but still letting the internal dialogue continue- really, I wasn't there to buy a non-functional piece of clothing, what I was buying had PURPOSE, FUNCTION, and would also be cute. Gah!
Lucky for me, the Fall and Winter apparel items were being marked down so I found a great yellow rain slicker and an amazing reversible jacket/vest for Rudy to keep the rain at bay.
 |
| Rudy in his very Portland reversible vest. The reverse is a green plaid. |
I also found some other awesome gems. I didn't want to buy him actual doggy rain boots so I found these smart little disposable booties called Nooby's Disposable Booties. We have yet to use them and I reserving them for when it gets muddy.
It gets even better! Last night BF and I were sitting on the couch watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince while I perused REI.com for camping gear that we may need for this spring and summer. I was happily adding things to our wish list (FYI, if we get married we are TOTALLY registering at REI) when I noticed a link at the bottom of the page that simply said "Pets". One click later and I was in hog heaven. Dog tents, sleeping pads, hiking packs... anything a pet would need for an awesome adventure! I was giggling with delight.
It's official, I'm that crazy dog owner now. There will still not be any bathing suits or Ed Hardy shirts for Rudy.
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