Kinda Sketchy: Jesus don't want me for a sunbeam...

Sunbeams are not made like me.

I crack myself up sometimes

How to Win at Grilled Cheese: in Six Easy Steps

Eeeerhmergerd!!! Daiya Made Wedges!!!

I buy food like most girls buy shoes... even though I'm trying to save money... I tend to splurge here and there, haha

My Hub Is Amazing

I feel loved! He made me a pear puzzle! I'll take a surprise like this over some silly ol' flowers any day!!

Sleepy Snow Day

This is how we handle the blizzard

Things I Do at Work: Curried Squash Tacos with Cran-Apple Chutney and Coconut Rice

Inspired by my drunken Zombie Pub Crawl nourishment

Just a thought: Make-up

Think about it... make-up is weird. Many women, myself included, paint their faces daily to enhance their own features. Which is fine, but whose to say I can only paint my face in certain areas? Like my eyes, cheek bones and lips. I've got lots of skin to play with, and if your body is a canvas why not color outside the lines every now and then?

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm having a laps in judgement. Maybe I'm just bored. Either way I'm just sayin'.

Oh How The Days Do Fly: One Year Later

Happy Veg-iversary to me!! (cough... actually it was yesterday...). Scoff if you must, but it's something I'm very proud of. Seriously through all the crap and the odd questions I get on a regular basis and all the struggles figuring out how to do it the right way, it has been one of the best decisions of my life.


I had always been curious about going meatless when I was younger, I even pretended to once. But it wasn't until my husband bought me the book "Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook " did I give it any actual thought. And after reading though the introduction sections of the book, I felt like I had to make the change.

At first I just planned on eating less meat... two days later I figured I would just try being a vegetarian that still ate eggs and dairy (octo-lacto). Of course then I was hit with another wave of my famous stomach issues (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and best of all sulfur burps... attractive I know) and down and out for a few days. This sort of thing was happening more frequently. I had tried adjusting my diet before but nothing ever seemed to help. So frustrated, I decided to say "F*** it" and gave up eggs, dairy, meat and poultry on the spot. (though

In the beginning, I was really unsure of the whole experience. Not to mention the reaction of my husband and family (some of them were not thrilled). I wasn't sure how to balance out my diet and as a result felt fatigued for a good month and a half... that and criticism and comments I was getting off the bat from a lot of my friends and loved ones (people whose opinions meant a lot to me) were almost enough to make me through in the towel... After doing some research on proper vegetarian nutrition and supplements, (and a little pep talk from my Mom) I decided to give it one more month.

Today I feel amazing! I have energy like I've never had before. I rarely ever get sick, and if I come down with anything I'm only out for a day. My muscles heal faster. For the past few months I've been able to pull off working 60-70 hour weeks, not that that's good for me but that's beside the point, ha.

My stomach issues are gone, except the couple of times that I've been in a situation that I had consumed (to my knowledge or not) something with eggs or dairy... family situations mostly (I really try to be polite, I never want to be snobby about it).

My hair, and skin have never looked better!! Neither of them really get oily, and in fact I can easily go a few days in between showering and you'd never be able to tell the difference (which is super weird because before I would be a grease bomber the day after showering, it never failed).

(click to see larger)
I'm aware that I make the same face in pictures.

I guess over all I just feel happier, life doesn't seem to drag me down like it used to. I wake up in the morning with a smile inside and out... In this past year I've met so many amazing people, tried so many amazing new foods, had some of the craziest experiences of my life thus far, learned many new things, I guess overall it's nice to be able to say that I'm happy.

Best of all I found there are those of you who take the time to read all of this and enjoy what I put up here and I really just wanted to say thank you for all of your awesome love and support! You guys mean so much to me!

Here's to 2011 and all the new exciting things to come in 2012!!

Not Your Gramma's Bars: Indian-Spiced Rice Crispy Bars

Nothing brings a devilish grin to my face like taking a beloved American classic and turning it on it's ass! Take for instance the rice krispy bar. I don't think I could even begin to fathom the sheer number of these babies I've consumed in my youth...

Blood, Booze, Food and the Walking Undead

Well folks, another pub crawl has come and gone, and to be honest I think this was the best one yet. Mostly because I got to actually spend an entire evening out with the big man. I've been working my ass off between two jobs and it honestly was like a mini vacation, even if it was just a night. As hungover as I am, I feel refreshed and ready to hit the ground running.

If you know anything about me you know that I will jump on any excuse to throw on some fake blood and have a good time. But when I also discovered that there were food trucks involved I felt like I had died and gone to... well you get the idea.

I feel like such a small town Minnesota girl when I say that this was my first experience with real food trucks! The lines were a little ridiculous but I couldn't settle on just one. Hola Areapa and World Street Kitchen were the two I actually got through to and oh my god, the black bean areapa with a tangy red cabbage slaw and bright red tomato was as tasty as it was colorful and my curried squash tacos were seasoned perfectly served with a spicy chutney and a lot of fresh green onions and cilantro, it was to... die... for... (no pun intended).

Soooo good!!!

The rest of the night was slightly a blur, but I do remember a faintly a loaded veggie dog and us getting lost on the way back to the hotel (a 15 minute walk turned into a hour +)

I could eat this every morning!

but we topped off a bloody evening with a lovely breakfast at The Triple Rock Social Club full of toast, tofu (eggs for Mike) and good conversation. Oh what a weekend it was!

Today I will leave you with a festive little recipe to get you pumped for the up coming holiday... homemade fake blood!

Blood:

• 1c corn syrup
• 1/4c chocolate syrup
• 3-6 drops of red food dye
• 1-2 drops black food dye (optional, add more chocolate syrup if you don't have black dye)

Mix together in a bowl. (Hey I never said it was hard)

Be warned this stuff it really sticky and it takes a bit to dry but when it does it looks awesome!

PS. I apologies for the lack of posts, I recently had my old computer died and finally replaced it last Wednesday and haven't had much of a chance to set it all back up. So bear with me, I hope to be back up and running again very very soon!

Mama's Got Some New Weapons in Her Arsenal

This Made Me Laugh Out Loud... Emphasis On The Loud

Thank you Ms. Jessica, for dusting off a gem from my past!

Do I smell super awesome obscure Halloween costume?? Perhaps :)

While on the topic of muppets, I highly recommend checking out Muppets: The Green Album. A bunch of current artists rerecorded classic songs from The Muppet Show and various movies. It's definitely worth a listen!

New phones are fun!

So I'm just testing this out
I finally have a new aged phone and for the first time since senior year in high school I feel up to snuff with current trends. So hears to my fancy-pants new iPhone and all the on the go blogging goodness!

Ps. Clearly Miles is not as amused by my new toy...

Something Reeks of Excitement!!

As you are all aware I love me some good ol' zombie fun. I just bought my tickets for this years Zombie Pub Crawl in Minneapolis. It's the seventh annual one and it's expected to be bigger than ever!! (though last year had somewhere around 10,000 or 12,000 people which was insanity) This will be my third year and I'm super pumped!! If you've never gone or thought about going I highly recommended it! Sweet bars, awesome bands, drink specials and amazing costumes... oh and tons of blood :)

A small sample. Yes those are ALL zombies

2010

2009

It Like My Childhood and Adulthood Combined!!

If you have the time please check out Organ Trail by The Men Who Wear Many Hats, a group of indie game developers. If you were a child of the 90's like I was then you'd love this game. Be prepared for awesomeness!!!

Kinda Sketchy (30 Day Drawing Challenge Edition): Day 5-9

Soooo I'm a little behind in posting here's my latest submissions to the drawing challenge

From top to bottom:
Day 5 - Best Friend: My Hubby (awww I know so cute)
Day 6 - Favorite Book: The Post Secret Books (Get it? a postage stamp with shhhh... on it?? I don't read much...)
Day 7 - Favorite Movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas (Don't judge me)
Day 8 - Favorite Animated Character: Link from the Legend of Zelda
Day 9 - Favorite TV Show: Scrubs (I drew an Appletini, I didn't color it in yet)

Kinda Sketchy (30 Day Drawing Challenge Edition): Day 4

I was kinda lazy today, probably only spent 10 minutes. Favorite place:

The kitchen... obvs. But it was a close call between that or my bed or up north. By the way this is my oven (or at least a representation of it)

Kinda Sketchy (30 Day Drawing Challenge Edition): Day 3

My favorite food... this one took me forever!!! Not to draw, just to think of what my favorite food was. So I gave up and drew a couple... I swear I could fill a sketchbook on food alone.

I have been really digging this song tonight. Enjoy it... because I said so.

I Haz A New Fran!

I think we've decided to call her Wednesday, or Wendy for short.

P.s.  we've had her for almost 24 hours and Miles is already powerless to her... wait to go ya' big burnt marshmallow.

Kinda Sketchy (30 Day Drawing Challenge Edition): Day 2

Favorite Animal:

I picked a cat... not super out there but meh, I love my fatty-blobby pile of fur and pur so deal with it.