Who knew?

So I was checking out Expedia.com this morning for last-minute deals for this weekend. Since we have a 3-day weekend thanks to our country's birthday, I thought, lets try something other than going down the shore or going fishing.

I figured I'd take my chances and see what was available for a great price locally. None of the "featured" locales were good - either too far, or too expensive, or they required a plane ticket, which wasn't on the agenda. So I decided to look through the "See more last minute deals in:" window to see if anything looked interesting.

London, NYC, Madrid, Orlando, Washington DC....and JERSEY CITY, NJ?????

REALLY?

So I had to look. I mean, its like a car accident. You don't want to look, but you have to!

Now, I've been a NJ resident for a majority of my life (minus that brief stint in FL). But never did I know Jersey City is a "destination" for anything other than, well, undesirables. I mean, do they even have anything other than hourly-rate motels?

I guess according to Expedia - yes!

Jersey City?? REALLY?

Who knew!

GO ME!

Well, I have to pat myself on the back. Little Miss I Don't Cook actually made a pretty good (in my opinion) and healthy dinner last night!

Inspired by Veggie Terrain, I actually made a variation of the Edamame & Black Bean Summer Salad.

My boyfriend wasn't too hungry, and I quite honestly, wanted something different than the run of the mill salad I've practically lived on. So we scoped out the salad above and decided that if we got rid of the cilantro (his kryptonite), it might be pretty good. I also added chick peas and black olives (YUM!) and can I tell you? IT WAS FABU!! I'll be honest and admit I forgot to add the scallions and didn't wait for the 2 hours for it to chill, but I'm not a big fan of cold corn, so really, it worked out!

I made 2 little bowls for us with a side of fresh French bread and water crackers and let me tell you, I was way proud of what ended up being a pretty healthy meal. And quite tasty too!

Sorry no photos - maybe I'll post some later if I remember to take them!!

Lookie what I found!!

A friend of mine was in the market for special straws for bubble tea. Since I'd never heard of it (and wondered why he needed tapioca pearls and special straws to make it), I Googled it and inadvertently found a great vegetarian website. Its called Veggie Terrain.

Now, I'm not a vegetarian - yet. I've been working towards it s-l-o-w-l-y. A couple years ago I tried going cold turkey, and I can now appreciate what smokers must go through when they try to quit smoking. A life-long omnivore with a father who has a talent, no, a gift for bar-b-que, giving up meat wasn't easy.

I renewed my efforts a few months ago, and its been difficult to say the least. I went cold turkey again for a few weeks - maybe a month tops. And then I just had to sneak a little meat. But instead of falling off the bandwagon (and being dragged behind it as I did a few years ago), I just realized that going cold-turkey wasn't for me right now, so I severely restricted my meat intake.

Now, I eat meat maybe once or twice a week - but only if I really (REALLY) want it. Some weeks I even go without! If there's something else on the menu that looks good, I go for that. Of course, when dad pulled out all the stops on the bbq front a couple weekends ago, I couldn't resist. But "quitting" isn't about beating myself up if I fall, its just about picking myself up and forging ahead.

SO...on that front, I found that site. So far my non-meat meals have been pretty pedestrian - pizza, pasta, salads, fruits. All things I love. Until I realize that that's it. I don't enjoy cooking (much) and I'm not much of a culinary experimenter. So I want it to be good, quick, easy, comforting and yummy! And not be all tofu and veggie burgers. I don't mind going vegetarian - but I don't want to to go all soy and weird either because I know me - I won't like it and then I'll fail.

So Veggie Terrain has recipes that look pretty good. Now I'm not (and most likely won't go) vegan (that's where you don't even eat animal bi-products like milk, honey, eggs, etc) but I do do cage free and organic. So those recipes (if you're feeling adventurous) can be re-altered back to using mayo, milk, honey or what not if that's your thing!

Anyhoo - I'm looking forward to trying the creamy dijon-dill potato salad...but the bubble tea? Yeah, not so much my friend!!

I SURVIVED!

Well, since I'm posting, its pretty obvious that I survived my trek to the podiatrist.  Not to give too many details, but they said that after a few laser (!!!) treatments, I should be fine.  SO....we'll see what happens after the first. 

I just might whimper like a wuss through the whole thing.  But if I didn't, it wouldn't be me! :)

Call me Yammie McPeginstein

Well, after last week's yarn and yam fiasco, I've been dubbed "Yammie" by Nicole (among other names!)...

THIS WEEK, after many years of suffering with my foot thingies (as I call them), I've finally sucked it up and am going to the podiatrist tonight. Not to be too gross (cause in my opinion its more painful than gross), I have some nobbies on the ball of my foot that hurt - but aren't dermatologically healable. Basically, 3 dermatologists a few years ago couldn't heal them. Ok, TMI, I know (sorry) but they don't LOOK like anything, they just FEEL like heck!

SO for those of you who know me, you know I'm deathly afraid of doctors. I avoid them like the plague. I'd rather have The Plague than go. So you know how painful my "foot thingies" as I call them, are if I actually made an appointment myself!

Tonight, my wonderful boyfriend is accompanying me to the podiatrist to hold my hand as I whimper like a wuss while they most likely chop my foot off so I can be rid of my thingies. Of course, that will make me foot-less. Or worse! I might die to death! (lets just hope that doesn't happen)

So just call me Peg Leg.

Or...

Yammie McPeginstein, as Nicole has newly dubbed me.

Yes, I'm a wuss. (nice knowing you all!)

REALLY?

I didn't think the yam/yarn post could get any better until I asked Nicole if she told her husband about it and she said she couldn't because he was having work issues.

What would those work issues be??

Nicole: a one legged man driving an 18 wheeler backed into his warehouse and screwed up the building. and i swear to god, i'm not making that up. but i am laughing my ass off.

Could it really get any better than that??

Typical Day at Work

Nicole (in OKC): did you see my blog post of the yarns i bought last night?

Claudia (in NJ): no! will look now

---- (minute or so passes) ----

Claudia: OMG! i thought you said YAMS! i'm all wait, this is about yarn, not YAM

Nicole: why would i show off yams?

Claudia: I DON'T KNOW! THAT'S WHY I RUSHED TO READ IT!

Nicole: well, i guess the same reason i show off yarNs

Claudia: i figured they must've been fabulous yams!

---------------------------

**Keep in mind this whole sick conversation was TYPED, not spoken, hence the confusion of yams vs. yarn.

UPDATE: Check this out...its more proof that we're sickos that share a brain!

Can it be true?

Tonight on FX, I watched the show "30 Days". Its a show where someone with certain beliefs or lifestyle will spend 30 days with someone (or a family) with completely opposite beliefs. For example, a few weeks ago, a person who believed all Muslims are terrorists, spent a month with a Muslim family and realized that they're really no different than anyone else - they just pray to a different god.

Tonight's episode of "30 Days" had a life-long hunter from the South spend a month with a vegan family and PETA activist in California.

As you'd figure, the hunter was gun-ho about his hobby. He agreed to participate in whatever the activist had planned for him (which included working in at an animal rescue farm, going to protests and living a vegan lifestyle), however, for the first half of his time with them, he stuck to his beliefs. He believed (among other things), that animals are here on this planet to serve humans. For example, he has dogs, but they're just dogs - not members of the family and don't deserve "rights" of any kind.

About half way through the episode (and half way through his time there), he went to visit a dairy factory farm with the rescue guy from the animal sanctuary, and he witnessed first hand the baby cows that were left on the ground after they died. And he witnessed first hand the cruel way the male baby cows were pulled out of their 2'x4' pens by their tails and hind legs so they could be pushed into the truck to be taken to slaughter (can you say VEAL?). And that's when it started to click for the hunter. He still believed in eating meat, and he still believed in hunting, however, he started to realize that maybe animals weren't just here to serve us - or JUST to be served to us...

And then he visited a shelter where he learned of the 6 million or so animals - dogs and cats - that are euthanized each year simply because no one wants them. And he got to witness the euthanization of a sweet, bubbly, excited, tail-wagging pit bull who did nothing wrong but be born the "wrong" breed. And he witnessed them dispose of the body in a plastic bag in a cooler.

And it clicked... And from there, he became a self-proclaimed activist.

He helped rescue a baby calf in the middle of the night who was left out in a pasture to die. He helped bring it back to life and bonded with it - and even named is Sugar. He helped paint PETA activists in plaid to protest Burberry's use of fur. He helped get signatures to support a farm bill that will lead to humane treatment of farm animals.

He got it. Or at least started to.

And by the end of the episode, he actually admitted that even though he will continue to hunt, he now believes that animals do have rights. They have a right to humane treatment while they're alive and a right to a humane (and quick) death.

It was a really difficult show for me to watch. I've been an animal rights supporter for a long time and knew about the stuff that goes on with animal testing, the fur industry, farm animals and dairy cow treatment. But even I found myself in tears at some points during the episode. And it helped to reaffirm my beliefs that all animals - domestic, farm and wild, deserve to have a humane life and death.

Kudos to the PETA activist who opened her home to the hunter and helped to open his eyes to what goes on. He started off believing that all animal activists are just out to make a statement by using shock tactics, but ended up realizing that they do, in fact, have a very real and important statement to make. I'm just thrilled that the episode aired because I think it'll help to bring more light to the suffering that goes on that a lot of people don't know about, or don't want to know about.

Kudos to PETA. Kudos to "30 Days". But more importantly, kudos to that hunter for learning an important lesson!

**I'm trying to "hunt" down a link to the episode, and once I do...I'll post it here!

WOAH!

Well, after 3 days of extreme heat (including almost 100 degrees yesterday), the heat wave finally just broke...

At 9:30pm, the temperature outside was 89 degrees. EIGHTY NINE! At almost 10pm!

Just around 8 or 8:30, Dad and I were leaving the mall and I noticed it was eerily quiet outside. WAY too quiet. No breeze, no birds chirping. Nothing. It sounded like we were in a sound-proof booth. And way off in the distance, we could see faint lighting.

By the time I got home and got on the phone with my boyfriend, the lightning was still way off but it was becoming very frequent. And I could hear the first few rumblings of thunder. And then the wind picked up... He was on his way back from near Sandy Hook (fishing) but I was glad he was in the car already. We got off the phone and I grabbed my dinner and attempted to sit outside to watch the oncoming storm, but in the couple minutes I was out there, it started going CRAZY! The wind went wild, things started flying, lightning was non-stop. So I went back inside.

And checked the radar (of course) and this is what I found:
YOWZERS! Purple?? Fuchsia?? What is that about?? And we were right in its path! I don't know (or can't remember) seeing that color for the severity of a storm in a long time. And then the warnings came...hail, 70mph winds, rain, cloud-to-ground lighting, the whole slew!

Luna was in the bedroom (with the A/C on) and was crying by the time I walked in. The storm got so severe that I actually got a bag ready to put her in in case we had to rush down to the basement or into an interior room. The lighting was so intense - non-stop for a while there. The thunder was incredible. A couple of thunders actually sounded like bombs. And my poor baby girl got so scared. I tried holding her to comfort her, but it got so bad that she freaked out and ended up scratching me to get down. As soon as I put her down, she retreated to her "safe" spot under the bed.


The storm lasted a little while - maybe a good 20 minutes or so for the worst of it. And then it passed. But while it lasted, it was incredible. My boyfriend (who was driving up the Garden State Parkway into rain and could see the lightning off in the distance) said that on the other side of the highway, it even looked like trees or something off the highway was on fire! I'd be willing to bet that was the result of cloud-to-ground lightning! He said the same thing.

Its now 10:45pm and the storm has been gone for a little while now. But you know what?? The temperature is down to 70. SEVENTY! It dropped almost 20 degrees in just about an hour. That's insane!

But let me tell you, the A/C is off and the windows are open for the first time in 4 days....and I'm loving it!

The morning after...

Yes, to quote that sappy Carpenter's song (I think it was them), "there's got to be a morning after..."

DMB was last night! DAVE! WOOT!! And let me tell you, the concert ROCKED!! It was AWESOME! I really forgot how much I really enjoy hearing music played LIVE!!

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us bring cameras into the concert (even though it seemed that everyone else was able to smuggle theirs in), so since I got no photos, I've recreated Dave for ya....

He wore a pale blue shirt and everything - so I'd say my drawing, though quite rough, its pretty accurate! Picasso watch out!

Show was rockin'. Loved it. They played all the songs I like and left me wanting for more! There were a few songs I wish they'd played, but hey, that's my excuse for seeing them perform next time!

Here are the interesting NON-DMB points from the night:

• We had lawn seats which meant we plopped down wherever on the grass. We chose a nook near the wall so we'd be out of the way, but it turns out we chose to sit near the corner where all the drunkies (girls included) decided to go to pee rather than wait for the bathroom line. Made for an interesting experience. Although it got to be fun to watch security show up and flash their flashlights on the pee-ers!
  
• Later in the evening, when it started raining - YES RAINING - people tried to get out of the open area and several people SAT in the pee corner mentioned above not knowing it! I seriously hope they went home and showered in turpentine and used a brillo pad. EEEEEW!!!
• Evidently the "thing" to do now when you're in college is to go to a concert and get exceedingly drunk (ok, that's nothing new) but then not pay attention to the concert, and instead, either A-make out with your "other" (or whomever you can grab) or B-text and spend the time having a photo shoot with friends, but NOT even photograph the stage. Figure that one out! :-D
• They wouldn't let me bring my camera in, but they evidently DID allow (or "happen to miss") the weeeeeed that some peeps smuggled in. I got a whiff of the good stuff every once in a while. So, cameras bad, weed good? I guess so!

None of that was BAD per se, it was just interesting! I think next time, though, I'll opt for the more expensive (read: dry, under the roof and away from the pee-ers) seats!! Other than that....DAVE MATTHEWS BAND WAS EVERYTHING I HOPED FOR AND THEN SOME!! So what if I only got three hours sleep last night...it was SO worth it! ;)

Tonight! Tonight! Won't be just any night...

To borrow some more lyrics from West Side Story's "Tonight"...

Today the minutes seem like hours.
The hours go so slowly,
And still the sky is light.
Oh moon, grow bright,
And make this endless day endless night...

Yes folks - tonight is FINALLY the Dave Matthews Band concert!! And I can't wait!

And in the spirit of DMB and his well-known environmentality...I got a great compliment this morning!

Long story short, my co-worker's plant got infested by no-see-ems (you know, those pesty bugs that fly in your face). Well, he sprayed chemicals to be rid of them, but it seems some migrated to my plant. Since I didn't want to use chemicals, I took my plant home, washed the roots, removed all the dirt, and replanted it completely - well, DAD did - and I helped him! Upon bringing it back to work today, another co-worker told me (when I told her what I did)..."wow, Claudia, you really are green!"

That just made my day! And DMB will totally make my night!!

Pics tomorrow (unless my brain isn't functioning!!)