Planned overs

Another food related entry!
A week ago Publix had Hormel meat stuffs on sale - those beef tips in gravy and pot roast and stuff - so I bought a few and froze all but one. So, for dinner I made a bunch of Texmati rice I wanted to use up (it was a really good whole grain blend with brown and red rice and pearled barley and rye berries) and the beef tips, and a bunch of frozen mixed vegetables. I had too much rice so I froze a bunch in a pyrex type container and divided the rest into the rest of my pyrex type containers. I later thawed the rice and used it for another similar meal, so I saved even more time!
Voila! 2 lunches and a dinner or 3 lunches or whatever. I like the smaller containers because its better portion control (Then I'm not too full for a piece of chocolate!). Maybe sometime I'll get more containers and freeze some and then make another meal and freeze that and I'll have variety!
I know its not very exciting, but it beats the lunch of the guy who eats lunch next to me - every day a can of soup and an individual microwavable mac n'cheese. Even though a lot of this is instant - frozen veggies, premade beef tips - its got to be a lot healthier and cheaper.
Next time I'll have to figure out the cost breakdown. $4.99 for the meat, um, $1.50 for veggies? (didn't use the whole bag) rice my mom gave me so say $1 (used a fourth of it) so... $7.49 for four meals.... Woo! $1.87 each! Can't be too off, right?
Oh, note to veg heads - mushrooms and gravy would be good too. Or whatever.


So, in review - healthy, cost effective, and relatively quick!

Adulthood

My mother was a good mom who trained us children well. I don't know if we ever had fruit loops, rarely had junk food and most of the time I remember eating well balanced meals at the table. But, the best thing about being an adult is ignoring that. Now that I am off into the wilds of the world I can drink milk out of the carton, have cookies for breakfast and chocolate pie for dinner. Oh, and meals based on chocolate soy milk. And of course, the poor person's staple: ramen noodle soup.
Oh, and while I am making confessions my bed doesn't even have a "made" state. Made is when all the covers are on the bed and sort of cover the mattress.

Its a horrible sloppy college style life I am leading - and a little late into my life to begin it. I can only hope that one day my mother's training will come back to me, and I will remember how to live like a grownup should. Until then, I shall enjoy my chocolate based diet, and sloppy ways.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 36th Anniversary Roe v. Wade!

There are two ways of looking at this anniversary - it is either a celebration of a ruling that has helped thousands of women have safe abortions and avoid births that could endanger their lives, or the life/health of the child, or put them in a situation they were simply not ready for. Or, it is a sad reminder of the thousands of children who are not alive today - unwanted, or unhealthy, or orphaned or mistreat or maybe even adopted into a loving home.

Of course I see it as a celebration of a ruling that has helped many women. I know several women who had done their best (outside of abstinence) to avoid pregnancy and had an abortion because they were simply not ready to have children. Some of those women have children now - when they can properly care for them. I do not see a young fetus as a thing with a soul and rights (above mine) that can feel pain etc. The body aborts or miscarries eggs/embryos that are either unhealthy or that the body cannot sustain and this is just a step beyond that.

I wonder if the anti-choice side is all christian. Would any other group mind?

I am currently doing (almost) everything I can to avoid a pregnancy, but I know I am not ready to have a child - I can hardly support myself, and I know I'm not taking as good of care of myself as possible. Should I let a child "mess up" my life? Or change the path I'm on? I have heard people say that if you accidentally get pregnant you should "accept the consequences", but a child is not a punishment and it should be a choice. One should choose to have children if and when ready. If one is not ready I definitely believe you should try your hardest to avoid pregnancy, but there are accidents and tragedies. I do not know how anyone (except Sara Palin) could defend a pregnancy that could cause the death of the mother, or is caused by a crime (rape or incest).

I suppose there are three reasons to support abortion; it is a women's choice, in case of harm to the mother or due to crime, and because there will be abortions regardless of legality. If it were illegal women would continue to have abortions using a variety of methods and some of the women would die or become injured, and some children would be born sick or deformed.

I joke about abortion a lot (because I don't like people joking about me having kids "oh, why don't you have kids? Your life is meaningless without children" "oh, your sick, you must be pregnant, haha") but I would give it serious thought if I did become unintentionally pregnant, and I would not take it lightly and I am sure for most other women it is not any easy out, or a method of birth control.

Perhaps if we improved our sex education in the United States we might experience less unplanned pregnancies. I do not think abstinence only worked for Bristol Palin.

Here is my can of worms. Luckily, not too many people read this so the chance of my being slammed for my opinion is minimal. But, why must it be so emotional and polarizing? I am happy as long as you do not take away my right or the right of other women, and I will allow you to do what you want. I am not forcing you to abort your baby for whatever reason, so why be so angry? I have had a woman tell me that her friends have a baby they love with down's syndrome and if he'd been aborted (something, I forget where she went with that). But, that's ok, allowing other women to choose whether or not to have a child does not stop someone else from having theirs.

Real Florida, part I

Florida is a beautiful wonderful state. I don't want to live here forever, but I do love it, and want to enjoy as much of it as I can while I'm here.

One thing I love about Florida is the diversity. There are springs and swamps and scrub flatwoods and hardwoods and pinewoods and of course the beaches.

Yes, there are golf courses and resorts and theme parks and clubs and even beach resorts, but I do not consider this to be the real Florida. Its like determining what is a native plant. If it was not here when Columbus was here, its not really Florida. I do consider St. Augustine and Fort De Soto "real Florida" so... I guess we can add a few years to that equation.

So when I am stressed or worn out I like to go to the woods (of which there are many close by in Florida - not so in Texas) and recharge.
These are pictures from my last trip to the woods, I won't tell you where, because its my special place!

I am experiencing technical difficulties uploading my photos, so I think I may have to create a flickr account to store them and link there. So... if you want to see the rest of my pictures check them out here.
I'm totally new at this flickr thing so I welcome any suggestions! I guess I'll be learning more about in in the next few days!

To-go Ware

Yeah, a food related post!
Checking up on Vegan lunch box I noticed they had a post about to-go ware and a survey that leads you to a coupon, so I thought I'd mention it here so more people can check it out.
To-go ware is a really cool website that sells utensils and containers (and other stuff) so that when you get it to go, you can use less disposables. I got some reusable utensils from them for my dad my brother and myself for Christmas. The utensils are made from bamboo and are beautiful and nice to handle, and they come in a cool carrying case that supports either a women's group in Burma or a group that recycles bags in India. They come with a knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks. I actually got mine from reusuablebags.com but 40% off is a good deal. I could get a set for someone else, or their tiffen...

The Road Goes Ever On And On

The Road Goes Ever On and On
by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though we pass them by today,

Tomorrow we may come this way

And take the hidden paths that run

Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though I oft have passed them by,

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

these are pictures from my recent walk in the woods, I thought of the "walking songs" while I was there

Valentine's Day - Part I

So the stores are once again (and a month in advance) pulling out their Valentine's wares. The commercialism of any holiday takes away from it and especially on Valentine's Day, gives fuel to those who oppose it. I love a reason to celebrate, and whats not to love about a holiday dedicated to celebrating love? You do not necessarily have to spend money and although technically you should always let your loved ones know you care, whats wrong with a day devoted to that purpose? I can only see really hating Valentines day if your just bitter about the whole love thing, and if thats the case, its best to just put on your blinders and ignore it.

Unless I find a really cool card, I like to make cards for a few people I'd like to give love to. (Don't feel bad if you don't get one! It doesn't mean I don't love you!) And although I have bought things for people before, one of my best Valentines involved having a surprise dinner cooked for me. On other occasions just spending time together was great.

I am a little bit of a pink fuzzy romantic at times, but I see nothing wrong with Valentines Day celebrated in an honest (not forced) nor "in your face" (like the stores do) sort of way.
This year I don't know what I'll do, I may crawl in a cave or I may hang out. Who knows? But, I won't hate on anyone else either way.

victory garden

What is the answer to the problem of rising costs, crappy tomatoes at the grocery store and a desire to eat affordable local oraganic produce? Grow a Victory Garden!

Today I got a washbucket - what do you call it, one of those metal wash tubs - a bag of Black Cow composted manure and a bag of Granny's Soil, a Patio tomato plant and a small lettuce. And a hanging basket of mint for outside my window.

I'm not really cooking much right now, but with a tomato and some lettuce you can at least have an easy salad or tomato sandwich. If I wanted to spend a little extra money I would get the Earth Box - which is a really cool system that makes it easier to grow herbs and vegetables. My Dad and his wife got one and they have more lettuce than they know what to do with. Which brings me to Plant a Row for the Hungry. Its a neat concept where gardeners are asked to plant an extra row of vegetables in their garden to donate to soup kitchens or food banks. At my last job we had a bunch of extra citrus from a decorating job. One of the ladies donated the extra to a soup kitchen and they were really happy to get the fresh fruit. I guess most of what they have is canned. In Florida people often have the problem of what to do with so much fruit growing in their trees, and I think this is a good solution.

Did I mention how easy the Earth Box is? I love it because you don't have to fertilize or water as often or weed and its raised... My thought is that if it was easier more people would do it. Yes, its expensive (we sell them for $59) but your going to save money growing your own produce and and it will certainly last a few years. You would definitely get a lot of use from them - or any vegetable garden - in Florida with our multiple growing seasons. I'm not sure how many we have but I know you can grow tomatoes in the spring and fall, I think eggplant and okra (and more) in the summer and lettuce and celery in the winter (among others). The only thing its hard to do all year here are herbs.

Even if you only have a small amount of space, its fun to grow at least a tomato and some basil or parsley (its so expensive to buy herbs from the grocery store). And, I think growing your own vegetables is a great way to involve kids in gardening and get them more likely to eat vegetables.

Let me know if your growing anything!

Oh, and another cool thing about growing your own - you can find some really neat varieties that would cost less than they do at the store. A friend of mine grew some really cool yellow tomatoes the other year and I think thats the first time I had yellow tomatoes. Unusual and heirloom varieties are usually more expensive at the grocery store. You might have to start heirloom varieties from seed, and it might be harder to find them, but its still cheaper and lots of fun.

Drugs

I suppose I am a bit hypocritical about my stance on drugs. I don't like a lot of prescription drugs when they do not treat the deeper problem (like anxiety or depression medicine - why are you depressed. treat that). And I don't like "recreational" drugs. Maybe the Regan administration had a strong influence on me, or maybe it was watching other people do drugs. I believe that they can lead to other things (pot to heavier things) and they can have a negative effect on your life. Make your paranoid, withdrawn, hang out with shady people... Granted, a lot of people don't hang out with shady people and can still be productive etc.. But, this is another debate that can never be settled. If I ask people who have done drugs they are biased in one direction, and people who have never done drugs are biased in another. Oddly enough some people who have smoked pot give me varying responses. I suppose it depends on the individual.

Here's the hypocritical part. On occasion, I like to have a drink. It is a drug, it can be addicting, it can lead to other habits, and it is mind altering. For similar reasons to why I am hating being sick - that my body is behaving oddly and I can't control it, that I do not know why I feel the way I do - I like to have a drink. I like to feel a little dizzy and floaty and relaxed and less in control. Which.. is odd since that is why I hate being sick! I suppose since I chose to have the drink I am somewhat in control? Granted, I have never been so drunk I have lost so much control that I've gotten sick or lost consciousness or woken up with a stranger or not been able to remember what happened.

But, I don't think those things happen when you smoke pot. No one smokes a few and wakes up with a stranger, or winds up puking... Maybe I don't like it because you must smoke it? But, there are brownies.... I'm very straight edged and law abiding, possibly the law scares me off. And the negative aura that surrounds it. Negative from society's perspective.

Other drugs, definitely not. With pot you still have control (or at least with only a little?). I can have one drink and still think fairly clearly and know it will wear off shortly and know that although I may act a little silly or giggle too much or talk too much, I'm not going to end up doing something I may regret. Well, probably not.

I don't understand the why. I suppose some people like the way they feel.. But, whatever emotion or feeling you are looking for, there are other less dangerous legal ways of feeling that (except the feeling of being attacked by giant spiders or whatever). In other words, if you need to relax, try yoga.

Also hypocritically, if a doctor prescribes for me the same drug that others use recreationally, I have no problem taking it. Possibly this goes back to the fact that now its legal, and if its prescribed and I'm taking it for pain, there is a different connotation than someone scoring morphine to get their kicks. (note, I haven't tried morphine) Yes, that is what the drug actually exists for, but I think in some geeky way I think its cool. Like "wee, I'm getting some drug, and its legal!".

Hm, is this like a virgin wondering what all the noise about sex is? "Why are peopled all crazy about this sex thing? Why don't they just take a walk and hold hands, or read a good book?" Maybe, but I like to put my thoughts down, even if you plotted this out and it looked like some yarn someone dropped on the floor, its still good to write it out.

resolutions

Alrighty, it is now January the 9th and I've come up with two resolutions.
1.) It has been suggested to me from a trusted source that I learn to capitalize. Ok, I will give it a try. Maybe people will take me more seriously if I capitalize? I know when I've house hunted I ignore the ads with poor spelling.
2.) Learn to get along with Hung. The annoying guy at work. Bothers the hell out of me, but we must get along. It makes it difficult that he's annoying as heck and won't stop bothering me but, I'm trying!

Have you made any resolutions? Do you like my fancy big city appropriately capitalized words?

the a.m.

I am becoming some insane early bird. I can no longer even sleep until 4am. What the heck am I to do with this new found insomnia? Well, I "sleep" so I suppose I can not call it insomnia. What do you call it when 7:30 is as much "sleeping in" as you can manage? Possibly I need to go on some sort of sleep inducing vacation.

I suppose I've never really been a night owl, and I've always woken up fairly easily... But I am adjusting to my work schedule too well. What am I supposed to do? Get up and be productive at 4am? Hopefully this is a passing thing and I can get back to complaining that I feel groggy because I've slept in too long. Ah, those were the days. Now, I feel groggy because, although i went to sleep at 12, my body feels it necessary to wake me at 4a.m., and then at 7:30a.m. I'm like some sort of bread, my body warms and pops up at 3 and 7, and you can not put it back into the toaster. Wait, I suppose that would make my bed the toaster?

I work with a guy who automatically wakes up early, and he uses that time to have a second job (I don't think so). I know some people would get out and jog, but its way too dark and I just don't jog. Work is the only thing worth dragging myself out of bed in the morning for, and that must be what got me in this predicament in the first place. Work and breakfast, and I don't see anyone making me pancakes.

children

the children dilemma is one i've pondered for awhile. to procreate or not to punish another creature with the gift of life. of course, i'm nowhere near in the position to carry this through (except that i posess a possibly working uterus) but i do wonder now and then.
at work they say "oh, why don't you have kids?" so i say "because i hate them and they're nasty" to which they reply "what if your parents thought that way?" "well, i guess i'd be happier or never know, wouldn't i!!!!!" i mean really, oh, what if every egg was utelized? what a horrible crowded place this would be.

i don't have that driving urge to multiply like some people do, and when i do get the urge, i beat it the heck down. for my part it also has a lot to do with my mate. i've dated people before who i would have had kids with - i knew they'd be a good father, but i have also dated people who i knew would not be able to cut it.

of course, it would be my own little science experiment. my own little guinea pig. but, it would also be my gamble. kids are a crap shoot. you don't know what you'll get. you roll the dice, test for a few diseases, live a healthy lifestyle but it is still possible that despite your best efforts your kid has some problem - gluten intolerance (i hate cooking for picky eaters), autism, cheerleader... and you can't send them back.

also, how long is the child your resonsibility? i like dogs because its an 18 year commitment at the MOST. if they are a burden on society or others is it your responsibility? you made them. granted, some things are up to fate and perhaps nature.. and, what do you do if they do something unlovable (murder, steal, professional football)? how do you reconcile that?

i don't even know if i'd want a kid for 3 years though. i wonder if i'd tire of it after awhile. all the crying and needs you would have to fulfill. love, attention, food... i just don't know if i could do it. too little me time, not to mention time with the baby daddy.

oh, and then there is the moral question of if its even right to bring more children into this overcrowded poluted world. yes, i put the fate of whales above the fate of humans. i've said before that if i ran for president my platform would be "no babies for anyone" at least not for 3 years. well, babies for whales of course. (you see, i'd put something in the water supply, but it would be hard not to affect frogs)

oh well, luckily that decision is not even here now (and that is a can of worms i'm not even opening up... not now anyways). i'm not even ready for a dog, let alone a human. and people are having kids older these days. although if i haven't made my decision in 10 years i think i'll do some house cleaning and take away my ability all together.

poll

last i checked i think a career was beating love, but now it looks like they're neck to neck again. um, i don't think there is a comment thing under the poll, so feel free to let me know here if you voted for which and why.

content?

a little dilemma, should i keep the content of this blog as is - mostly my random thoughts but nothing too personal. definitely nothing that could anger someone specifically like bitching about my mother brother father or lover. nothing too sappy like "woe is me, why am i so _". and since this is a public blog i've decided not to get too detailed about me. in other words, this is random musings (but i think that was taken), not a diary.

i had intended to post more food related stuffs, but i'm not cooking now. unless you want to know about my great nutella and natural nut butter sandwiches on wheat! they're great and they've got to be pretty healthy, right? sure, nutella has cocoa in it, but whats a little on a sandwich? i do get made fun of at work for my chocolate sanwiches. i live off of those things. i'd like to take a nutella and banana or other fruit sandwich, but it just would not last in my pocket or in a golf cart throughout the day as i munch on it.

so, i guess thats it? but if you want me to tell you about how awful my hands are and how i'll never have a lady's hands please let me know.

i think i just walked in a circle with this one. ha, maybe this should be the thing under the title that describes this blog.

Happy New Year!

Or, if you celebrate chinese new year, delay that a month.

So, another exciting year.. The Year of Obama! there is something to be happy about. May he solve all the worlds woes.

Personally, i think my job jumping will be delayed a while. unless something incredible turns up - which i don't think is likely. i suppose this is good, since my resume lacks large amounts of time at one place. on the other hand, i don't intend to delay it too long, so even a year or so at sea world won't improve my job hopping. anyways, i don't see the government (or whoever) opening a lot of forestry type jobs right now. but i'll jump on anything if i see it! i think instead i will volunteer and get to know people and network and gain skills, take classes etc. so when opportunities arise, i will look better.

this year i've made no resolutions. i'm not much one for changing me. i'm trying to purge and declutter, but thats not really a resolution. i'd like to get stronger and fitter, but i've decided to save gym money (i'm slowly replacing my car piece by piece) and delay that - and i'm certainly not going to do anything at home. maybe yoga later... sometime.
so, my only goal this year is to work towards the ultimate goal of a career in forestry/environmental something. which will lead to financial security and stability and... a dog!

other than that, western new year has not been so exciting. maybe chinese new year will be more so? maybe its still last year...