Kitty Comes Home

My cat, Ava, went to live with my mom while we were in Korea.  I wanted us to be moderately settled in before we brought her to Portland, so she was with mom for a few months after we got back.

I drove up to Mom's on Monday night after work.  I stayed the night there and left with Ava in her Humane Society cardboard carrier in the morning after Mom went to work.  I was sure that Ava would have a rough go of our three hour journey, but she slept the whole way, only quietly poking her nose out to investigate a couple of times.

All of her stuff is set up in the back bedroom/office/random room, I took her right in there when we got home.  I left the door closed and let her get acclimated and build a comfort zone for about an hour.  Then I opened the door and went about my chores and things, knowing she would come out when she felt comfortable.

Ava is a backwards cat.  She felt comfortable being out and exploring when we were in the room, but hid as soon as we left.  She stayed in the bedroom until my friend came over for dinner, when she came out and sat on the floor next to him.

She goes well with our decor.

So do her dishes.  She doesn't eat any artificial ingredients, either.

She watches joggers and dog walkers out the windows.

And she follows us everywhere we go and cries at our closed closet doors and the glass block window in the entryway.

Ian made this bed for her out of a suitcase that we bought at a vintage store.  She slept in it some yesterday, which, if you know how cats can be about things you do for them, is a little remarkable.

Belated Valentine's Day Out

Ian and I celebrated Valentine's Day on the 16th, partially because of our schedules and partially because we started dated (5 years ago) on February 16th.

We decided to go the day without driving.  To start with, we walked down to the New Deal Cafe for biscuits and gravy.  Upon dissecting my gravy this time, I found it sans soy, just lots of mushrooms, spices and a little celery.  It's probable that I was just being neurotic last time.

After breakfast we hopped on the Max and spent the day downtown window shopping.  I have only two pictures from the whole day.  I'm obviously already out of the habit of documenting everything.

This is the first time I've ever had someone make a design in my latte.  It was at a cafe called Public Domain Coffee.  We also had pastries there for lunch.

 The tradition lives! Party photo with random art mannequin horse outside of some shops.

That night we saw a movie at the art museum.  The Portland International Film Festival is going on now.  We wanted to see A Barefoot Dream, but it was a little earlier in the evening and we wouldn't have had time to eat dinner before hand.  So, we saw Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives instead.  That film is the first that I've seen in a long time that I didn't understand.  At all.  I'm not even comfortable telling you whether I liked it or not.  I don't know.  This is partially because the cultural gap and partially due to film style.  According to analyses, the film is supposed to be made up of vignettes.  But, for me, it was more like there were parallel stories (that I couldn't comprehend) dropped into a linear story (that I didn't understand).  In interviews, the director discussed that he purposed transitioned between cinematography styles through the film, adding to my puzzlement.

It did give me some pretty interesting dreams, however.

  

Beautiful

I love the patterns on the tops of shiitaki mushrooms.

I also love buying them for $3/pound at Pacific Market across the street.

Failures

...Or missteps if you're being nice about it.

I got sick with a crappy chest bug on Tuesday.  It became an actual issue for me on Thursday and I had to call out from two days of work.  Huge bummer.

Well, with being ill and feeling low I had a couple of failures with the challenge.  I said I'd admit to them if any happened, so here they are.  I won't call them mistakes or accidents, because I actually knew that it was against my goals, but I continued anyway.

1. Nyquil

Why is it a failure?  It contains high fructose corn syrup.

Why did I take it?  I couldn't breathe and therefore couldn't sleep.  It's the only cold medicine we've got.  I hate the stuff.  I'll be soon looking into a better option.

     2. Blue Bunny Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Why is it a failure?  It contains two or three chemical preservatives.

Why did I eat it?  I wanted ice cream and it was the only brand available at the closest store (read: lazy).

     3. Oreo Cookies

Why is it a failure?  They contain high fructose corn syrup and artificial vanilla flavor.

Why did I eat them?  They were the only cookies Pacific Market (an Asian shop) had.  I had been asking Ian for cookies.

I wouldn't have an appetite all day and then I just craved junk at night.  Good news, things are getting back on track.  I'm human and I have some really bad habits that are super easy to fall back into.  But, honesty is far better than perfection.

From Scratch

This meal is from awhile back.  I've been sick with a chest flu, so I haven't had much energy to devote to blogging.

I was really proud of this.  Everything on this plate is from scratch.  Chickpea burgers, hamburger buns, and sweet potato oven fries.  The only exception is the mustard.  I wanted to use the homemade bbq sauce that Ian made for Christmas, but his base uses a ketchup that has HFCS in it, so no go.  The mustard turned out to be amazing on the sweet potatoes.  I definitely recommend that you try the combination.

Homemade frozen yogurt with berries.  So good.  If you're making your own froyo, use full fat yogurt.  It makes a big difference.  I also read that adding a dash of vodka to the mix helps keep it from getting icy.  But, we didn't have any liquor on hand, so I haven't tried it myself.

This weekend (Tues-Thurs) I'm going to post several recipes, including:

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (the one with cumin)

Chickpea Burgers

Peanut Sauce

Keep an eye out.

Lunch Splurge

I've decided that every other Sunday (a work day for me) I'm going to treat my self to lunch at Whole Foods.  Yesterday was the first of these.

I have a penchant for mineral drinks, obviously.  Though, what Chelsea said on the Viso post has made me think that I should stay away from large magnets and Magneto.

Good stuff.  Kale, artichokes, spring mix, cauliflower, beets, tomatoes... the list goes on.  I had it with oil-free miso dressing.

On Choices

I'm really glad that a couple of folks took some time to share their opinions on their impression of Viso.  It makes me happy that people not only read the blog, but they actually take the time to think about what I'm posting.  

Rad.

But, in this case, I do feel it's necessary to elaborate on my opinion of Viso and clarify some things.

Viso is not something I would recommend having everyday.  I also find the use of the word "supplement" on the can a little amusing.  For me, Viso is a caffeinated treat.  One I consume once a week at maximum and I wouldn't recommend anyone go for it more often than that.

It's a treat because it does have a lot of sugar in it.  Compared to the average American (with whom I share culture and access to groceries and products) I consume very little sugar.  I still think I eat too much of it.  That's why one of the challenges is to spend a month away from it.  I, personally, agree with the research that says that HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is metabolized and treated differently by the body than other forms of sugar.  Most, if not all, modern soda pops contain HFCS or aspartame if they're diet.  So, I stay entirely away from the stuff and lean more toward cane syrups and plain old sugar.  I do understand, however, that sugar (or, better put, simple carbohydrates) equal fat.  Sugar isn't good for you, but there are worse things (I happen to believe animal protein is one of those things).  So, it's good to make note of the grams of sugar something contains.  I also don't think it's good to drink 20% or more of your daily caloric intake.

Caffeine is a tricky beast.  I think that natural sources of caffeine are easier for your body to handle than artificial ones.  And everyone metabolizes caffeine differently.  I don't have a problem with it.  I drink three shots over ice without getting jittery.  I also come from a coffee drinking family, but I don't know if that makes any difference.

I sure hope that people don't consume Viso for nutritional support.  I'm definitely behind the research saying that vitamins and minerals really need to come in naturally through food choices.  But, because of my vegetarian diet, I'm happy for any minuscule amount of B vitamins I can absorb.

I love Viso.  But, I know that it's candy in a can.  I work in an industry where folks are constantly dosing themselves with caffeine.  Some of the drinks of choice?  Redbull.  Rockstar.  Mountain Dew.  If we're talking about replacements (which is something I don't do, as far as my eating habits are concerned), I think Viso would be a step up.

Being healthy is about making choices.  We're not all or nothing people, so you'll never see us exclusively condemn or praise something.  Which is why there will be a "cons" section added to all Product Spotlights going forward.

And, don't stop commenting your opinions.  I really like the opportunity for discussion.  That's what this is here for, after all.