Meatless March

I’m doing it! I’ve been toying with the idea of cutting out meat from my diet and I figured that I might as well take the plunge. I already eat very little meat on a weekly basis, perhaps cutting it out all together will have positive advantages (yes, I’m secretly hoping to drop five pounds). If you have any fantastic vegetarian recipes, I’d love for you to send them my way. I’ll need to spice up my cooking this next month (rather than just eating TJ’s pre-made foods) to keep me satisfied.

My only real concern with the idea is my upcoming trip to Chile. I was told that Chileans enjoy more meat than Americans and that it is very difficult to go without meat while there. I’m not sure how I’ll tackle this. I want the chance to try Chilean food and get a better understanding of the culture (since that is why I’ll be there), but I want to see how I feel about vegetarianism. Any ideas on how to tackle this?

Another slight issue is fish. I really can’t see my life without sushi. I think I could make it a month without sushi, but I don’t know if I could sustain a life without it. I’ve been considering going to an All You Can Eat sushi restaurant before the big day, but I really have no time these next few days. Oh well! Perhaps I’ll take on sustained pescatarianism as my next challenge.

So who is with me? Who wants to see how our lives would be different with less meat in our diets?

I should note that I heard a lecture from a nutritionist this week and he mentioned that most individuals get more than their daily value of protein. Removing meat from your diet shouldn’t change that drastically.

Wordless Wednesday – The Napa Edition

This weekend I took a few hours off for myself and explored a small winery in Napa. I had a fantastic time tasting the different wines and relaxing with a friend. Here are a few of the photos I snapped during my trip.

The winery was gorgeous, I was quite impressed with their architecture and aesthetic

Walking in I noticed Beyonce and her son (see The Bloggess for more information about Beyonce and a good laugh)

And then I snuck into the barrel room for a better look...

We had a lovely lunch and wine overlooking their fields (which are currently out of season)

And we saw a cute dinosaur made out of beans and other grains

Overall it was a fantastic trip. I look forward to returning sometime in the near future and going to a few more wineries.

Hope you are having a lovely week!

Friend Making Monday – Habits

Since I seem to have some extra time (at two in the morning), I thought I’d join in the fun of Friend Making Monday.  If you’re not familiar, FMM is a wonderful survey of sorts run my Kenlie over at All The Weigh.  Check out her blog to see her answers and read others responses to the questions.

1. Are you proactive, or do you procrastinate?  That really depends.  I’m typically the proactive type, but at the moment I’m stuck completing work that is due tomorrow morning.  People in my office know me as the person who is “on top of things” and I usually have all assignments completed early.
2. Do you eat breakfast everyday? If so, what’s a typical meal like? I always have breakfast, it is either granola and Greek yogurt or cereal. If I’m feeling rushed then I’ll toast an English muffin with some peanut butter.
3. How much time do you spend watching TV on an average day? Television? I don’t have time for that nonsense.  I’m lucky if I can watch shows on my Hulu queue before they expire several weeks after airing.
4. Do you talk on the phone, or do you prefer e-mail and/or text messages?  Sadly I’ve become the type to use e-mail and text messages to communicate.  I find that I get very distracted when I’m on the phone and I don’t always give my complete attention these days, something I definitely need to work on.
5. Do you exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening? I exercise when I can find the time. Usually before class, but every once in a while I’ll fit in a run in the afternoon if I can sneak out of the office early.
6. Do you take time for yourself regularly? I used to…  I will again one of these days, but for now it is time to focus on my graduate career.
7. How often do you make your bed? Once in a blue moon?  Or when I’m expecting a friend to come over and I don’t want to look like a slob.
8. Do you plan meals? If so, how far in advance?  Last week I rocked at planning my meals and managed to bring food to the office everyday.  Sadly that is a rarity, I imagine I’ll be back on a spontaneous eating kick very soon as work picks up.
9. Do you wake up at the same time everyday? Heck no, it really depends on when I get to bed and what time I have to get to the office.
10. How often do you brush your teeth? In the morning and at night, are you supposed to do it more frequently than that?

Now it is your turn, tell me about your habits! If you’d like to share with the world, write your own responses and post your link on All The Weigh.

Vain Friday

Because no one else has had the pleasure of seeing photos from the ball I went to last week, I thought I’d share my favorite with you lovelies.

I don’t quite remember what emotion I was feeling in this picture, but I sure do love it. A friend was kind enough to do my hair and makeup (because I am inept). Somehow dressing up makes me feel so much girlier and more elegant.

A bit about the event I went to, the ball is based on Edward Gorey and his fantastic works. Everyone gets dressed up in steampunk attire and dances the night away. In fact, I took dance lessons just to prepare for the big day. There was a fantastic market at the event and I had to talk myself out of purchasing a carpet bag. Instead I’m going to make my own from a pattern I just created (we’ll see how that goes…).

When was the last time you did yourself up? How did it make you feel?

Hello world, it’s been a while

I feel like it has been ages since I’ve written here. Fortunately this is because I’ve been busy with the wonderful world of student life and some added socializing! Shockingly I’ve found the time to get out in the world which was much needed. Last quarter there was minimal time for anything but work, but now I’m doing my best to make the time.  In fact, I may finally make it to Napa this weekend! (Yeah, it is about damn time…)

Sadly I haven’t had much time to run. I’m trying not to let it get me down and doing my best to live by Laura‘s mantra – Someone busier than you is running. This literally pushed me to get off my derrière Tuesday morning and I bet it will do the same tomorrow. On a more positive note, my pace has been slowly picking up. I’m not planning on setting any PR’s in the near future, but I don’t mind seeing a lower per mile pace. Hopefully I can keep this up for Big Sur in April.

Perhaps I should take this advice….

But enough about me, how are you fine folks doing?