Naughty Little Cheese!

(*this could be a long one.....) So I've been on a quest for a year and half to eat healthier both for weight loss and for my health (I don't want any nasty cancer or diabetes coming my way!!!). I started this journey after I read, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. As cheesy as this sounds that book changed my life because it made me change the way that I looked at food. I wanted to cut out all the processed junk, send high fructose corn syrup into the trash, and was determined to not eat anything that's ingredients list was long and full of things I'd never heard of and sounded like plastic. I wasn't entirely sure where to start and then an amazing little publication came my way, landed in my lamp and saved my taste buds!!! It's a fabulous magazine called "Clean Eating"

So that's where I started. I got excited about cooking and discovered that I love chopping veggies!!! Daniel loved it because we had homemade tasty meals every night that were healthy and good for you. Tosca Reno is a contributing columnist to the magazine and she had a book called the "Eat Clean Diet" so I got that, read it cover to cover and started my eat clean diet lifestyle. I was eating well, drinking TONS of water (and peeing like crazy)- I was stoked... and then.....da, da, duuuummmm- I gained 15 lbs!!!! yes that's right I GAINED on a diet!!!!!!! sooooo not stoked about that!!!!

So I had to re-evaluate what I was doing. Why was I following a diet to what I thought was a "T" and gaining weight? Well here's the answer. After really looking at what I'd been eating I realized that it wasn't the food at all but my portion sizes and my free- for- all attitude, because I thought "well these are healthy good- for- me foods, so I can have meals and snacks and some more snacks!". So I went back on weight watchers (which I had done once before successfully 2 years ago) BUT I was doing it with my "eat clean" foods. So, still no processed foods etc.... but using the weight watchers points system to keep me from overdoing my portions.

Fast forward 10 weeks and 10 lbs less (yeeesssssss!!! and below is my inspiration picture that I keep on my fridge!) and I'm still exploring healthier eating habits.

A little background before I get into the next and current leg in my journey (and the WHOLE reason for writing this particular blog). My fabulous co-worker and friend Jenn became vegan around the same time I started eating clean. I've been inspired by her and am so glad I've been able to witness her journey too!! I've been flirting with the idea of becoming vegan, so I went back to being a vegetarian, which I was for 10 years, in the hopes that I could make the leap to being vegan.

So I picked up a copy of Alicia Silverstone's book, "The Kind Diet" which is a vegan cookbook (and explains the reasons to be vegan and why meat, dairy, etc... is bad for you). I wouldn't say it's mind blowing because I am aware of all the information in the book BUT the way she writes has really inspired me and I feel I can relate to her and she makes me feel like I can make the leap. She's also not judgmental about just dipping your toes in and not just jumping into the lifestyle. That makes me happy because I'm not quite ready to go all vegan all the time. I have an addiction to dairy that I need to kick. I can't help it, I love me some good creamy ice cream! Oh and I can't forget that naughty little cheese. Cheese and I have had a strange relationship over the years. When I was a kid I didn't like cheese at all (or eggs for that matter cuz they smelled yucky) because it was gooey when melted (except for mozzarella on pizza). Then I had a grilled cheese sandwich (can't say what age this was) and from then on I never met a grilled cheese I didn't like. I would love to turn back the clock and not have that grilled cheese that started the love affair, but honestly it was going to happen anyway, you addictive little lump of goodness! So this my friends is why I'm not quite ready to go completely vegan- goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, feta crumbles in salad, cheddar cheese and crackers, jack cheese on a garden burger, blue cheese and apple slices in salad and mozzarella on pizza- the list goes on... Anyway it's a process and we'll see how I do. If nothing else I hope to at least be eating lots of whole grains, veggies and things I've never tried (like nutritional yeast which tastes like parmesan cheese!!!!!!!!)

I'm Allergic to Myself.

So I've been pretty sick the last two weeks, but was hanging in there and just thought I had that nasty virus going around. I wasn't worried and was kinda enjoying my husky voice until yesterday.

Yesterday I woke up with a nasty case of the hives! All I could think about are the warnings on over the counter drugs that say "if you have a rash you should see a Dr. immediately as you could have a serious illness". To put it mildly I freaked! Daniel and I carpooled, so the whole drive to SLO I was obsessing. I took Benedryl so eventually the rash went away, but I knew it was time to bite the bullet, face my biggest fear and see the dreaded Dr. (and yes I cried when I found out my mom couldn't go with me- yes I am a big baby!!!)

Up until this point I just thought I had bronchitis, cuz I was coughing something major but didn't have a congested nose or sinuses and wasn't coughing up colored mucus. Due to my crazy coughing my stomach muscles hurt and my voice was nearly gone, and when I did have it I sounded like an 80 year old crispy smoker from Florida. Needless to say my husband did not find it sexy and said I sounded like a robot on the phone. Not good. The worst I would have to say was coughing so hard I started to dry heave. That happened a few times and wasn't so fabulous.

So anyway, the universe stepped in for me yesterday and provided me with a 2 hour cancellation so I could see the Dr. I got to the office, filled out all of the paperwork and waited. So of course my rash was long gone and I wasn't feeling too bad at that point but stayed put.

I finally saw the Dr. after having my vitals taken and proceeded to spill every detail I could think of regarding my illness. After a thorough examination where the words, "I don't want this to turn into a girlie show" were uttered by the Dr., I was diagnosed with Pneumonia and Bronchitis! Lucky me!! I also got to have chest xrays, which was a first for me. Let me say how very strange it is to see your own organs (and to see what pneumonia looks like- it looks like white plant roots growing in you lungs)!

After he addressed the pneumonia, then he addressed the hives. So apparently I'm having an allergic reaction to the actual illness. Crazy. He said it might be an allergic reaction to the over the counter meds, but that seems unlikely as they are all things I've taken in the past with no problems. So basically I'm allergic to myself- or so I like to say. I have regular and chronic eczema for an unknown reason all my adult life and now I break out in hives when I get sick- just wonderful!

So here I am hopped up on drugs and doing my best to get better. I have also found out that I have side effects from the inhaler I was given. I am to take 2-4 puffs ("Like you're taking a hit"- oh yes, I have a Californian Dr.) Well I did 4 puffs yesterday which was probably 2 too many. About 6 pm last night while I was still working my eyesight started to get funky. I was experiencing black and white squiggles that flashed. At one point I looked at my client in the mirror and it looked like she only had one eye because I couldn't see her other eye, my vision was that messed up (and thank goodness I was just blowdrying and not cutting because that would have been impossible at that point!!). I knew it had to be the inhaler, as I hadn't taken anything else, and I had just had my eyes examined at the Dr.'s and they were fine. So I'm trying to lay off the inhaler- though I did use it today but only 2 puffs and so far no vision problems.

So here I am 11 days after I started to get sick, with pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchospasm, an allergy to myself (ha ha!) and a newfound addiction to "The View". That is what 3 days off of work, a computer and hulu will do to you!!!

Shakin' the Family Tree

This dapper fellow is my Great x's 4 Grandfather on my Father's side- he sure was a looker!

Shakin' this family tree has produced some very interesting people. LOTS of Reverends, Deacons, Ministers, A Mennonite leader executed in front of his family while at home, Ship Captains, a Salem Witch (yes one of the originals!!!), a Massachusetts's Governor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, intermarrying cousins, a man buried near the grave of Mother Goose, a President of Harvard and Founder of Yale, 3 siblings marrying the 3 siblings of another family, English Loyalist's that had to flee to Canada after the Revolution and Patriots who helped start the Revolution, Civil War Yankees and Confederate soldiers, lunatics in a Texas insane asylums (not a direct relations, thank goodness), yellow fever victims, a casualty of the French Indian War, a family all but completely massacred in an Indian raid.

We're Irish, Dutch, German, English and a bit Scottish- all this while I thought we were English, Scottish and maybe some German, little did I know that the Scottish have been hard to come by, the English are subtly dominating with their Boston tea parties, the Irish are popping up EVERYWHERE (it's like they didn't believe in birth control or something), the Germans have efficiently infiltrated both sides of my family, and the Dutch have colonized my dad's side like they own the place.

Let's review two of the more interesting (and better documented ones, who both happen to be on my mother's side).... I think everyone would unanimously like to start with the witch.

Margaret Stephenson Scott is my Great x's 10 Grandmother on my mother's side. (That's a lot of greats!) Margaret was one of the original 20 "witches" hanged in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, along with Rebecca Nurse, Giles Corey (who was crushed to death), Sarah Good, Martha Corey etc... The Widow Scott (who was one of the oldest accused) found herself accused after living a long life for those times, losing a husband, bearing 7 children and losing 4, fending off suitors, losing her land and living a life as a beggar. She was accused by 3 people- one of them a rejected suitor who wanted her land, and imprisoned 45 days before her execution. She professed her innocence until her execution. Margaret was hanged with 7 other people (Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Willmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell and Mary Parker are hanged with Margaret. Giles Corey is pressed to death. Dorcas Hoar escapes execution by confessing.) on 22, Sept 1692 on Gallow's Hill, Salem, Massachusetts. Margaret Scott's name was not cleared until 1954, 262 years after her death.

Now for the Governor, my Great x's 10 Grandfather (there was just something about 10 generations back),:

This handsome fellow is Governor Robert Treat, notice his lovely pilgrim-like garb.

Not only was this fellow a Governor of Massachusetts but he and one other man founded Newark, New Jersey (apparently Newark is supposed to be New Ark- like Noah's Ark- oh those Puritans!). He must have been okay as a Governor because most of the info about him kind of glosses over the fact that he was Governor and focuses more on the founding of Newark. His grandson was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and is buried near Mother Goose in Boston- I'm related to him 2 different ways and it kind of does my head in to figure that out....anyway back to the Governor, he helped found Newark, didn't get along with his co-founder very well so he moved back to Connecticut where he lived before founding Newark, and died in 1710. Apparently Thomas Edison is a descendent of Robert Treat, but I haven't researched how- but i do know that it's not from my direct line, so I can't claim him.... darn it, all we were missing was an Inventor genius!!

**I'm currently trying to find a connection with my Dad's Dutch/Swiss Mennonite's with the founder of the Amish branch, Jacob Amman, as we have a bunch of Amman, Ammen, an Amen ancestors from the Netherlands and Switzerland where he was from...

This my friends is why I'm online all of the time but never answer the "chat" from Facebook- I'm a researching fool!!

New Moon- I'm sucked in again!

I just watched the trailer for New Moon and I haven't been this excited about a movie for awhile (okay it was the last Harry Potter, but still it doesn't happen that often)....

I was fully immersed and obsessed with Twilight, I read them all, saw the movie and then moved on to another obsession- not looking backBut now...... now New Moon is set to come out in November I'm sucked RIGHT BACK IN!!!!!! Oh..... that one trailer brought me right back.... I think I'm going to have to read the books again (watch out Sarah I might beat your record of 3 time each ;) )

The photo from above is so atmospheric and beautiful- I want it poster size so I can drool over it's beauty and the raw emotion- it's brought me right back to my teenage goth years, it's indulging my Tim Burton-esque fantasies. The clip of this scene is even better- she puts her hand through his face and it slowly disappears into the water- oh it's so beautiful I could cry!!!!!! Watch this: minute 1:08 is the moment

I'm off to be a total dork now and watch clips on YouTube- no better way to spend your day off on

a cloudy day.....

Loving Life!

Married life is so amazing!! I wish we would have done it sooner but you know the whole, it happens when it's meant to happen thing is true so I guess it's amazing because it's the right time! I finally feel secure and content, knowing that my husband isn't going to be leaving for the UK with long stretches of time between our time together. We're almost done with the immigration process, which I'm excited about. We're waiting for the date of our final interview and then we can sit back, breathe a sigh of relief and truly start our life in earnest!!

We've been so busy with this and that, that I never got on here anymore to post things. We don't have internet access at home at the moment so I can only get on while at work during breaks like today where I had a cancellation. 

We're getting ready to go to San Francisco to the ballet for my birthday weekend so I am soooo excited about that!!! I can't wait to head to the city with my husband and just have a fantastic time!! I'll blog about that after the fact because right now apparently I don't have anything exciting or interesting to share- other than general happiness and contentment with married life and that wonderful husband of mine!!!!

OH and an amendment to the last blog about the rodent situation at the lighthouse..... after writing in to National Geographic Traveler Magazine to their "Help Desk" column where they help you get refunds etc...... we received a FULL refund for both nights!!!!!!! So yay- being pro-active does work!!!!!!

Married Life

I am so loving married life!!!! I've never been happier- it feels so natural!!!  Daniel and I were just saying over lunch how it feels like there wasn't a time we weren't married and it's only been a day!!!

We've already had some unexpected adventures as a married couple-nothing we can't handle and I guess they make for good stories! First we went to lunch after the ceremony, which was nice but oh, the service was terrible. The waitress was nice enough but everything was SO slow!!!!! We were ready to bang our forks and knives on the table!! I thought Daniel was going to die of thirst before she remembered to refill his water glass. But we made it through and the food was delicious!!!!

After eating we went in search of our hotel, The Pine Inn which was absolutely gorgeous! We checked in, got fawned over by the receptionist who figured out that we'd just gotten married, and settled in. Despite the fact that the room had a floor that was uneven we loved it. We had a basket of fruit, cheese and champagne. Our first little story for the kids is when Daniel opened the champagne. There we were a happy newly married couple who were giddy with excitement. Daniel proceeded to open the champagne and broke rule #1- never open a bottle of champagne unless it's facing away from you!!!!! The cork popped before he even had the little wire unwound and the cork hit him square in the cheek- not a half an inch away from his eye!!!!!!!! He got a nice little bruise from that. We were so grateful that it didn't get his eye!!!!!! No one wants a hospital visit on their honeymoon!

We had a great time in Carmel- bought lots of honeymoon souvenirs and wedding gifts for each other- a Coach bracelet for me, -Vintage airplane statue and a rocket lamp for Daniel. All in all Carmel was a great success!!! We had an amazing breakfast at Il Fornaio- the restaurant below the hotel and a REALLY good mocha from their bakery.  We left on a high note!!!!

It was sooooo hot today!!!! The drive was a bit miserable but we made it to Santa Cruz without melting. We had lunch on the pier after shopping downtown. We drove up Hwy 1 to get to our next accommodation- the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. It started off so promising- the lighthouse is amazing close up and we had a cottage all to ourselves. We dropped our stuff in the room and proceeded to drive to Half Moon Bay for coffee and sandwiches. We brought the food back to the room where we were horrified to find a mouse run across the floor of the kitchen. We took our food and barracaded ourselves in the room. That was the first of our bad feelings about the place. It was extremely isolated and creepy. I was on the computer when I got this creepy horror film feeling- we're isolated with just the groundskeeper and no one to hear you scream. We've seen too many horror films and I just kind of freaked out. We knew we were never going to sleep and we certainly didn't want to take our normal clothes off to go to bed. Then while we were huddled on the bed reading we heard mice above us in the attic and thought screw this, we're leaving!!!! So we packed up the car and drove back into Santa Cruz and we're staying at a very expensive, very nice hotel on the beach. It's our mini honeymoon afterall!!!!!!!! So tomorrow we'll head back to the lighthouse and check out and give our key back. Unfortunately we'll lose our money but we've both decided that it's worth it. So there's our adventure so far. Tomorrow it's back to the lighthouse and then fun in the sun that will involve the hotel pool!!!!!!

Yay for married life!!!!!!!!!!

1 More Night!!

Tomorrow is my wedding day. I am sooooooo excited about it!! I'm nervous but I know it will go really well and we'll be happy no matter what.

We met with Pastor Norm today, he is adorable and I'm really glad that he's marrying us!! He's short, soft spoken and really gentle. He was very excited to be marrying us, and he really put me at ease. He explained exactly how the ceremony will go and it's just how I wanted it. I get to get ready at the church with my mom and then my dad will come get me to walk me down the "aisle" into the garden where Daniel will be waiting.  I can only hope that my mom feels comfortable taking the photos because I really want some good ones of my dad walking me there and giving me away.  I also hope someone gets a good pic of Pastor Norm standing on the boulder that he needs to stand on in order to be closer to our heights!! Daniel questions whether he's sincere but I think he's precious and I just want to squeeze him!!!! Daniel says that as long as he puts me as ease he's happy.

Our drive up the coast on Hwy 1 was really lovely but it took forever because we stopped alot!!!!!! But since we were in no hurry it was okay. In fact we got in a little earlier than we thought so we were early for our appt. with Pastor Norm. 

I'm not quite sure it my in-laws are enjoying their time here- we've been forcing them out of their box, but I'm hoping they go home with fond memories. Today has been a really long day but a nice one. I can't wait for tomorrow to be here and gone just so I can breathe again!

Here's to a fabulous day and please be thinking good thoughts for us tomorrow at 1pm!!!!