anyway, i apologize for any rambling, length and/or incoherency (is that a word?). now that that is over with....here are some thoughts. completely random.
- first, i love avacados. i've always loved them for making my own guac. but recently i've been using them to dress up lots of things. like sandwiches, quesadillas, or plain old boring salads. add avacado and its like...zing! instant party. love them.
- speaking of food. did anyone catch this last night? (i didnt. unfortunately i was working at the dumb Bee. still don't like it. at least i have a job.) well maybe i can watch it online. but i've been thinking a lot about food lately. in our church, we know its important to take care of our bodies. they are a gift from God. what to do to/with them, and what we put into them really do matter. the 'word of wisdom' teaches us what we should and shouldnt put into our bodies. unfortunately, we often focus only on the 'shouldnt' part. i've been reading it lots and trying to decide about the 'should' part. we recently watched a video from some friends who are new/recently converted vegans. that's right people. vegans. they are hard-core. they don't eat (or use) any types of animal products. that includes eggs, honey, and leather. and probably a whole list of other things i can't think of right now. but the video was so compelling and gave such a long and convincing list of reasons why to be vegan....i was pretty much convinced. (hint: save the environment, save your health, save money, save the animals, save the world!) jonny and i tossed around the idea and decided that maybe we should try being vegetarians first. so we did. and it wasnt half bad. we like eating healthy, we like eating from-scratch (which is pretty much what you have to do if you want to eat healthy in this country, because so many preservatives/lard/nastiness is used in pretty much all restaurants out there.) but, its not as easy as it sounds. you think 'all natural' or 'organic' sounds so good for your body, but you factor 'life' into the equation and it gets complicated.
- but for the moment we were still trying. so i decided to check out the local food co-op and natural foods store over on the hippie side of town. (champaign is known for the schmooziness, and urbana for its earthies) i was so excited that i rushed out the door not even minding what i was wearing (big mistake!) and forgot to bring my all-natural, made from recycled materials cloth grocery bag (even bigger mistake). now this is important, i would never say i was excited to go grocery shopping. because i HATE grocery shopping at those huge stores like superwalmarts. but that is another post in itself. so, i was excited to try my hand at being a 'naturalist'. and when i got there, it was tiny! which was nice because i could skirt through all of the aisles with the two cashiers lazer-eyeing my back the whole time (or, more accurately...my old Ugg boots i've had since high school. my old LEATHER Ugg boots. it was snowing, alright? pretty sure i could hear them judging me out their ears. excuse me, for leaving my 93$ vegan sandals at home.) after browsing all 5 tiny aisles, twice, i was convinced: a. they had some really neat stuff. and i always love changing up our same-old grocery list. b. everything was way too expensive. eating natural sure is hard on the wallets of cheap grad students. and c. i could not leave the store without buying something, for fear that the hippie host at the register would strangle me with her beaded stone necklace (which i'm sure she carved/strung/sewed herself). so, i settled on a couple of small (but still too expensive) items-thai curry mix and some jasmine rice from the 'bulk' section. of course, more judging came when i had to confess that i didnt have my own grocery bag. (gasp!) at least they gave me a paper one (which is more than what the next place would do...i ended up putting an acorn squash in my purse).
- all in all, i felt like a kid getting caught coming home well after curfew through the front door, after sneaking out their bedroom window to go to a party (not that i ever did that, mom). 'how dare you! don't you know its bad for your health and for the environment! you heathen.' give me a break, ok? i'm an amateur. at least i'm trying. i'm new at this stuff. i'm trying to figure out whats worth spending those precious pennies on. and at the moment, i might take some extra preservatives and save my dollars for a trip! or student loan payments...
- speaking of being an amateur...even after the lame day 'natural grocery shopping', i was still determined to help us find more ways to reduce our impact on the environment and feed our family healthy food. i'm preparing to be a mother, after all. everyone knows mothers have superpowers. i was not going to let one nasty cashier knock me down from my burgeoning pedestal/quest of 'green/eco/hippie/healthy' living for my family! (note: that was not an announcement. don't get too excited. also, i just used the word burgeoning! maybe i'm not as dumb as grad school makes me think i am.) when i found out that a very sweet woman at our church is a master gardener and was holding a seminar on a friday night, i was there. my friend katie came along with me and we were definitely the only people under 45 yrs old spending their friday night learning about seed packets. it was actually very interesting and it totally made me want to grow a garden! unfortunately, the only time i piped up to ask a question amidst the comments and suggestions from seasoned gardeners, i made myself sound like an idiot who had definitely never held a trowel in her dirt-free-fingernail-ed hand. but i am still excited about it and i still want to try. our new place will have a tiny yard, and at least a patio to house some potted veggie plants. i just hope something grows out of there. i'm gonna try my darndest to fight away the bugs and weeds. even if its one tiny tomato, i'm sure i'll make an entire dinner around it and savor the flavor as jonny and i split it in half to share. jonny teases me, but i'll show him. just you wait! henry higgins. (my fair lady, anyone?)
- in totally unrelated news. one of our favorite shows to watch online is Modern Family. its hilarious. and usually not too offensive either. an amazing feat for our era of TV. anyway, i'm in love with Gloria. she is hilarious, gorgeous, so sweet, and has that thick Columbian accent (and hair!) that is to die for. i wish i was her. not really, but you know. kinda. just like i always wanted to be Catherine Zeta-Jones in Zorro. what is it with my latin-woman fantasies? just jealous i guess. too bad my skin is paler than the soymilk in our fridge right now. (thats right, soymilk. twice the price of the hormone-infested, watered down, 'exploited' from a cow regular milk. and kinda weird-tasting.)
- summer, please hurry up and get here! my latinesque tan needs to start ASAP if i'm ever going to look like Gloria.
- today, i am going with Katie to DeMotte, Indiana. everyone says if you've seen Illinois, you've seen Indiana... and Iowa too, for that matter. but i'm still excited. woohoo for another midwest adventure! have fun sitting on the couch watching college basketball and throwing your socks anywhere you please, jonny, my love. and eat some sunflower seeds for a snack, too. those are organic, right?<3
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