Back In Black

Because Coco Chanel once said, "The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you." She was born this past Tuesday in 1883 and you best believe I wore a black dress in her honor.

Have you ever looked back on something and thought how crazy the journey has been from point A to point B?

Let me be the first to tell you that I never envisioned I would leave Franklin County, PA, move to Gettysburg, and then from there to Sandy Springs, Georgia. Fifteen minutes away from the Atlanta city line.

There have been so many incredibly good things that have happened to me since then and it is so funny to reflect on life events and see how they've funneled you one way or another. But here I am, and I am loving life.

In case I ever get famous and anyone ever reads back this far, my name is Moose. My real name is Jennifer but no one calls me that. There are a copious amount of Jennifers in the world anyway, so I keep it simple and go by Moose. The story behind my nickname is a story for another day, but it will come out eventually. Now, two years after my last post, I am 25 and living outside Atlanta, Georgia. I work for an insurance brokerage firm after leaving the nursing home I was working at during the time of my last post, going back to waitressing, and then working at the welfare office. I have the best job for the best firm, living in the best city. I am beyond happy with where I am in my life!

Since I've moved to Atlanta, I've tried to make some healthy changes in my life, especially since my new employer really places an emphasis on wellness. They gave me a free Fitbit!! How cool is that!! Just one of their many wellness incentives. I've been doing some reflecting on my eating habits and lifestyle. I have been a vegetarian for 5 years - celebrated my anniversary last month! When I gave up meat, I dropped 10 pounds right off the bat. I've never regretted it, but now it's time to ramp it up a bit. Just because you give up meat doesn't mean you get a free pass, but I certainly started out thinking that. After a few weeks in to my new veggie lifestyle, I looked at myself and thought, "No, seriously, Moose - you need to learn to eat your vegetables because you can't live off pasta for the rest of your life. Although it is possible, it is not healthy, and isn't that why you went veg in the first place?" And so, I expanded my palate and started trying veggies. What do you know - 75% of the veggies I HATED as a kid, I LOVE now!!! Isn't it funny how things work out! I LOVE broccoli. I LOVE onions. I LOVE mushrooms. I am still ambivalent about carrots and if you feed me olives I will gag and spit them out in your face. You have been warned.

So anyway, back to my thought about examining my eating habits... I've noticed that while I'm maintaining my weight, I'm not steadily losing like I want. I feel like I have a layer of fat that sits on my lower belly and hips and thighs and that it is just hanging out there because it has nothing better to do. I should make it clear that I do not see myself as fat. But I don't see myself as skinny, either. Do I see myself as healthy? Yes. But could I do better for myself? Yes. Which is why I plan on severely restricting the dairy in my diet.

There. I said it. I just can't eat dairy and expect to lose weight. Which is a sad realization if you know that if it weren't for cheese and bread, I never would have survived childhood. (Oh, I guess now you know anyway. So pity me. Okay, that's enough.) When I was a kid, I could eat blocks of cheese for days with no gastrointestinal consequences. Now, I can't eat as much, but I can still put it away. Thanks to the awesome technology known as teh intranuts, I've been exposed to a lot of awesome blogs while searching for vegetarian recipes. A while back, I made an unofficial commitment to myself to be more self-sufficient - to cook my own meals and try to make as much as I can myself. Even to the point of where I will roast peppers and garlic for recipes instead of buying them at the store. I came across an amazing and inspirational blog called Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon - she has fantastic recipes, which is great, but she is self taught! In both cooking and photography! Now photography isn't my thing - I am much more comfortable in front of the camera than I am behind it - but cooking? Hell yeah! Reading her blog inspired me to dig this one out of the closet, dust it off, and put it to good use again. I'm excited to be sharing my experiences, both in and out of my kitchen, and hope that if anyone comes across this, they will enjoy it too.

Now with all that rambling done, who is excited for the WEEKEND?! OMG. Pick me. PICK ME!! Yes, I did say a few lines ago that I love my job, but I have NO insurance background and so it has truly been a learning experience. I'm trying to learn so many things at once that by the time Friday rolls around, I am fried, and I feel like my sweet little Leopard Gecko who, when she is really tired, will splay herself out on the floor of her tank with her limbs in all sorts of directions and just veg out. So after I finish this blog post, I'm going to the eff to bed. Here's what I have going on for tomorrow...

Some kind of physical activity at some point during the day.
     (A walk in the morning?)
Drop off recycling
Farmers' Market!!!!!
Kroger!!!!!
Petco? Lizard may feel like crickets...

I think that's it. I get paid next Friday and my mom gave me a butt-ton of coupons, so there will be trips to the mall (ick! ick! ick!) next weekend.

What's On The Stove
What am I cooking tomorrow? Why, let me tell you.
Lentil Walnut Mushroom Balls with Cranberry Pear Sauce
Italian Bean Balls with Spaghetti Squash Noodles (although I have a bunch of pasta I need to use to clear out my one pantry cupboard so I won't be doing the sketti squarsh.)
My Favorite Vegan Chili with Homemade Vegan Sour Cream (thinking maybe if I start to make soups and chili, fall will come sooner. Along with my Yankee Candle catalogue with its coupon.)
Soft & Chewy Baked Granola Bars
One Bowl Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies (if I get to them, I get to them. If not, that's a sign that I have had enough sugar this week.)

All of the recipes are, of course, from Angela's blog Oh She Glows since I'm fairly well obsessed with it right now. Since Atlanta traffic is awful, I really don't have time in the evenings to come home and cook, so I save it all up and do it for a day on the weekend and freeze things. It's such a time-saver, and I love being able to warm up something good for me made by me! (Plus it makes my coworkers jealous when I bring stuff like homemade veggie burgers and pizza quinoa stuffed mushrooms to work.) I'm a little ambitious this weekend but I hope to be able to get everything done if I start early enough. It has to happen tomorrow because part of my day Sunday will be dedicated to a bellydance workshop!! Stay tuned for deets!!

<3,
Moose