"30 Days" Episode

What happens when a Hunter goes to stay with an Animal Rights activist for 30 days? Watch this episode to find out:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/24012/30-days-animal-rights

OMGuacamole!

Every time I eat Guacamole I think "This is the best guacamole ever!" But seriously THIS batch is the Best Guacamole ever!!

Here's my directions:

Smush up 1 big Squishy Avocado with a fork, Spray with Lime Juice, Add 1/4 of a chopped up Purple onion, Add 1/2 of a chopped white onion, 1 hand pressed garlic clove, Pour in some Salsa, & season with grated Sea Salt and fresh Ground Pepper.

The Lime and the purple (or is it red?) onion give it the most flavor. The Salsa really makes it creamy. I never really measure things so try tasting it and add things to adjust the flavor to your liking. 

A Weekend of Affirmation- Dallas to Saginaw to Wylie to Highland Village & back

This weekend was a wonderful affirmation of what I am doing and why. 

Friday- I went on a lovely double date to the famed Vegetarian restaurant in Dallas named Cosmic Cafe. We started with an Indian sampler appetizer with Nan bread and Hummus and Samosas. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I then ordered the Trinity Tacos, which were amazing and was way too much to eat. Matt ordered a pizza that had Black Bean burger crumbles and has told me several times how much he liked it. Yeah. 

Saturday- We woke up early and were off to visit Matt's parents and to introduce our doggies. This is Spencer intently studying the Texas landscape and loving the wind in his hair. The dogs met and didn't kill each other so I guess that could be a success. The good surprise for the day-- Matt's mom had planned an amazing vegan meal for me. She went to the store and got my favorite Tofutti American cheese and found some Black bean tamales and refried beans. I had an enormous plate complete with guacamole. It didn't stop there either. She had a special desert just for me- a vegan brownie with Rice Dreams Ice cream. Oh ya and cantaloupe. I was truly astonished. I haven't expected anyone to accommodate me but she did without me even asking. Thanks 2nd mom! I'm soooooo lucky. 

I'm realizing now that for the most part everyone is very accepting and does not try to convince me to eat differently. I think it helps that I do not try to change what others eat. Mutual respect is key. If someone asks then I will be happy to share what I have learned. The blog will remain my vegan outlet- the one place I can share with everybody and nobody all at the same time. Alot like leaving your diary in the lunchroom as a kid--it never happened to me, but I am very familiar now with that uneasy feeling. 

Sunday- was supposed to be my official Leesha Crocker day. I was going to clean the whole house, do all the laundry, grocery shop, and cook meals for the whole week. Instead, Spencer and I rode off to Wylie, Tx to visit with my parents and grandparents. We drove in my grandpa's antique WWII jeep to the marina and then Spencer got to go on his 1st ever Boat Ride! He was really enjoying it and spent the whole time with his head over the edge looking at the water. 

Spencer is my biggest affirmation of why I am doing this. I can tell when he is sad, lonely, excited or bored. He eagerly greets us in the morning and when we come home after work, with exuberant tail wags and hugs. He also yelps when he is in pain and barks when he is scared. I believe that animals are more like us humans then we want to believe. No they don't talk or think deeply about their finances; but they have emotions and the ability to feel pain both physically and emotionally. I often look at Spencer and wonder how a pig or cow or chicken could be that much different. They also cry out when in pain and express emotion in their actions. They too are SENTIENT- living, conscious, & aware. 

My grandma also told me that when she was growing up on the farm they hardly ever ate meat because they couldn't afford it. She said they had beans and vegetables at almsot every meal and then said "Maybe that's why we were so healthy" In her days obesity, cancer, and heart disease were rare. I told her that I am pretty much eating how she grew up eating- Fruits + Veggies + breads + nuts + water. They all have the vital nutrients we need to survive. 

Monday- A quick snippet-- At my early morning photo shoot- took a step backwards while looking through the camera to get the perfect shot--AND walked right off of someone's driveway and fell into this concrete ditch, camera gear and all. Everyone rushed to help me and were deeply concerned.. they were even having me bend my arms and make sure I didn't break anything. It was truly embarrassing, but so typical of me. I ended up with a scratch on my elbow, a cut on my pinky toe, a headache & wet, muddy clothes. Thats it!

I got home and started thinking about how many people break their ankles or wrists during normal falls. I consider this a reaffirmation that I am healthy & strong. With my girliest cheerleader cheer !Go vegan! 

A Lion King baby hat

I have yet to successfully photograph any of my knitting, so I'm doing a pre-emptive post as a promise to show you this one when it is finished. 

I just started a baby hat that looks like a lion. It's so cute with 2 ears on top and a furry mane. I can't wait to show you. Right now it's just a ball of golden yarn and a 12" circular needle. Cast on 48 stitches and knit to 4-1/2"Ready-Set-Go! No crazy pattern required. (Just decrease for 12 rounds, add mane, ears, eyes, and nose)

I had 2 skeins of $7 yarn in my hand and thought I better check out the back of the store where the clearance was at and there were 2 skeins of almost the exact color (different brand) for just 99¢ each! Yeah, what luck!

I'm also going to make some matching booties with mane-like yarn sticking out at the top. 

I'm so giddy thinking about how cute this is going to be..

You know on Arrested Development when Lucille's private detective (Gene Parmesan) surprises her and she very giddily squeals "Gene!" Well, 2 things have done that for me lately-- finding the perfect baby knitting project/yarn AND finding vegan chocolate. (You will find me literally squealing in the aisle!)

2 Diets live as 1

These are true "Leesha Crocker" meals. I know now that it is the vegan versions of "normal" food that I love best. The meat analogs and weirder foods just don't work out as well, but I'm sure it is just something I have to get used to.

This was that amazing double date Pizza Feast I mentioned previously. Mine is the one in the back that's cheeseless. I added Broccolini + grilled eggplant + onions + mushrooms + black olives + Pineapple. We also made some Capellini Pomodoro pasta from scratch. Check out Olive Garden's website for the recipe. YUMMY!

My Veggie Burger plate includes: Open-faced veggie burger with Tofutti American Cheese, romaine lettuce, onions, avocado slices, pickles, mustard and tomato. Oven Fries and vegetarian baked beans on the side. With some strawberries for dessert. I felt so NORMAL eating this meal. It's nice to be normal every now and then. I could only eat 1 of these burgers, and I had originally intended to make it a double stack burger.

Matt and I customized our own Thai dinners during our THAI NIGHT. I boiled some Thai noodles and added onions, mushrooms, chives, and sesame seed to mine. Matt added shrimp and sun dried tomatoes with sesame seeds to his. We tried Sea weed for the first time and it was very tasty, but then I noticed it had HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) in it! I don't understand why they would do that to such a nutritious food. Note: The Sunkist is not mine.

I love white bowls and plates

so clean, so crisp

the food readily awaits.

A New age of Thrift

In honor of my friend's fabulous blog ( http://thedebtfreelife.blogspot.com/  ) I am posting some ideas I just thought of for how to SAVE.. and believe me switching to a vegan diet is a little pricy at first. Eventually I will be all stocked up with the pantry essentials to be able to live healthily within a reasonable grocery budget. But in the meantime I am still searching the aisles for things like Arrowroot, Buckwheat, millet, and seitan. New produce I used to never buy includes eggplant, tamarind, fresh tomatoes, celery, red onion, tofu, zucchini, cantaloupe, & fresh herbs.

I figure the price increase is a viable trade off for the increased health benefits. 

OK, some ways to SAVE:

1. Never Buy Media again- Seriously, so much gets wasted on this pursuit. 

• Listen to music for free on pandora.com

• Listen to & Watch Free podcasts on iTunes.

• Share music/movies/books with friends (the good old fashioned, legal way)

• Go to the Library! Its fun when you take home 12 books and 2 movies for free!

• Shop Amazon- Why buy a book for full price when you can pay $3 or so?

• Watch TV on hulu.com or similar site-- Never pay for cable again. We seriously don't have a tv plugged in at our house and don't have a cable bill.

2. Check Craigslist! So far I have bought a great used car, found an independent caterer for my wedding, hired a stylists for my wedding updo, sold furniture, notified the public of a garage sale, & found contract design jobs for my husband and I on Craigslist. Not to mention some laughs at reading the rants and raves.

3. DIY or don't.. DIY projects are all the hype right now but when we painted our entire house we spent almost half of the quote in buying all the materials and tools we didn't have, not to mention the entire week we took off of work. If I could go back I would find some experienced, independent contractors (yes craigslist) to "help us" and pay them an hourly rate..

4. Watch the hobbies- This is the advice I'm giving to myself and have yet to follow..Stick to 1 project at a time! Look for coupons from Michaels and sign up for emails at your favorite craft store. 

5. The Art of Re-gifting & stock-piling- Thats right, this is quite taboo but alot of Americans are already doing this and saving alot of $$. We currently have a big box of "gifts" ready to go at any moment. Some of these are gifts we are given directly and don't know what to do with, but mostly are stockpiled from things given to us from work or items we buy when we catch great deals on clearance. I recently found something I was given years ago that I never used and can't wait to give it to someone I have in mind who will love it.  

6. Do the Un-Popular- I've been a mad woman searching for all the vegan specialties at the grocery store and recently went to my nearby run-down Kroger. Turns out in this poorer area it is not popular to be vegan! Great for me because almost everything is being put to Clearance and still has several weeks left of shelf life. Yippee! Look for ways to apply this logic in your life too. 

7. The near Free Date- It seems like I can never get enough alone time with my husband.. and when we do have time, we don't have money to go "out." So these are some of our free dates we have done in the past:

• Walk (or run) in the Park

• Go Swimming- find a friend or nearby apartment to sneak into ;-) (Helps if you run to the apartment complex, then it doesn't look fishy when you get out of your car)

• Play a new game together

• Go to Barnes & Noble and look at magazines

• Look for Free festivals, concerts, & events

• Go to the Farmers Market

• Cook an adventurous meal together

• Do a double date! (We recently did this and each made our own custom pizza. Tons of Fun!)

  • Spontaneous Road Trip- We once drove 3 hours in search of Water Falls, we ended up finding several waterfalls, a lake to swim in, & some crazy kite flyers. 

8. Reduce, Re-use, Recycle- I've started to look for ways to re-use some common everyday things. GLASS JARS can become vases, food storage, pantry containers, candle holders, future gift holders. BOXES can be "wrapped" to be used for office supplies like those expensive Container Store boxes. I currently save all my gift bags and tissue paper I am given. Gift Cards can be reused by cutting the cover off and gluing it to construction paper.. add your own creativity to it.  Clothes can be swapped with some friends. Sweater arms can become leg warmers. I wasn't sure what to do with Aluminum cans, but here is a link: http://www.aluminouspublishing.com/index.php

Any more ideas for re-using things?

9. Don't wear makeup when your home alone- I do this just because I'm lazy, but think of all the money I'm saving!

The Perfect Wife

Ha, this is what YearbookYourself.com did to me! This pic made me think about my previous post about having a Good Cook Personality that comes and goes. I thought this is what she would look like. Leesha Crocker!

I'm really struggling lately to be "the perfect wife". Laundry and dishes are taking over and my desk is stacked 1ft high. My whole life has turned upside down. Food is the core of life and when you make a change to what and how you eat, you really have to reprogram your life. I have recipes everywhere, cookbooks, and notes.. I'm constantly listening to podcasts and soaking up articles and videos. With this new constant learning I am really falling behind on all the things I normally do around the house. 

My husband currently works full time and goes to school full time. In the few hours he is at home I know he would love to have a yummy meal ready for him. And I- eagerly hoping to make something he might like, offer oven-friend Polenta Fries and roasted Eggplant. Yuck for him! It is getting very hard to balance what a strict vegetarian eats with what an omnivore expects to eat. I know that his "love language" is Acts of Service, especially food.. and I feel I am failing. 

On that note, I am reminded of the nearly impossible advice printed in Home-Ec textbooks in 1954, called "How to be a Good Wife". (I'm just wondering what manual the men were given with advice on How to be a good husband.. )

Ok, ladies, here's what the textbooks say: 

"Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

 

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

 

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

 

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

 

Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home.

 

Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

 

Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

 

Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

 

The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit."

 

Interestingly, I KNOW he would love these to happen.. my high-tech, open-minded, free-thinking, inventor and artist husband still wants a prepared meal, from a happy, pretty wife with no worries. Looks like much hasn't changed in the last 25 years of American society, and maybe there is a place for such advice.. with a grain of salt. (In my most sarcastic tone possible, "I think I'll try putting a ribbon in my hair")