The one where I finally try something new

Okay, so I never work out.  I mean, really, never.  I'm not trying to say that I'm in such great shape that I don't need to work out -- that is not the case.  I'm just lazy.  Many, many years ago, my ex-husband and I would go to the gym at 7:00am every day to exercise before work, and I think that just made me hate it.  Now, I only exercise as a consequence of other activities (like riding my bike to work in the summer or walking to lunch or playing a game of kickball).  But, I'd like to change all that.  In fact, I want to run (read: jog) a 5k with a couple friends this spring.  Right now, I could easily walk a 5k, no problem, but jogging? I'm not so sure.  So when I saw the February Fitness Challenge on Pretty in Orange, I thought, "Yeah, sign me up!"  What I didn't think was, "I'm going to be gone as many days in February as I'll be home ... when will I exercise?"  In fact, I have not spent seven contiguous days at my house since sometime in mid-January (but my cat is there protecting my worthless belongings, so don't get any ideas!).

This month's challenge is to try something new.  As you may have gleaned from the above, pretty much any deliberate exercise will be something new for me right now.  But having to do this exercise outside of the comfort of my routine adds a new depth to the challenge.  There are a few things you should probably know about me: (1) I don't like to back down from a challenge to myself and (2) I never remember to pack gym clothes when I travel.  Obviously, with no gym clothes, taking advantage of any hotel exercise facilities is out of the question.  But I can get creative!  My solution this month has been taking advantage of Netflix streaming workouts.  You might think Netflix streaming is only good for old episodes of Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  And while it is good for all of those things, they also have a lot of workout tapes available.  I've been focusing on pilates workouts because I have some serious back problems stemming from my complete lack of back muscles.  I hear pilates is good for that sort of thing.  I've tried all of these videos, and I've enjoyed them all.  My favorite part of it is that I'm doing it all in my own hotel room, alone, so if I look totally goofy no one will know (except you guys since I'm posting a couple pictures of me looking goofy doing the "the one-hundred"). Plus, I can do these in my jammies - no special gym clothes required.

* Yeah, these are my pajamas. Nothing too exciting here. *

I know Kara has done some workouts on Netflix, and I've got her suggestions queued up.  Have you ever done any video workouts?  What do you suggest (that I can get on Netflix, anyway ... )?

Technology can get the better of anyone

Today's caturday comes with another video!  Theresa of The Tropical Vegan reminded me of this video that gives us some insight into why printers are so frustrating (and why British cats are so funny!).  I've also included a rather long clip from Eddie Izzard's Glorious tour about Techno-Joy; the pertinent part begins around 3:25, but, as with all Izzard, it's all funny.  I will warn you, though, that both videos have some pretty choice language.  Depending on your job (and the availability of headphones), they may be NSFW, and NSFchildren as well.

As always, if you have any cute photos of cats, funny videos of cats, stories about cats in hats, or anything even slightly cat related that you'd like to share here on Caturday, please email me at theradioactivegan (at) gmail (dot) com.  Until then, happy weekend!

Don't give me any crepe

* This is how the Frenchies do it! *

My good friend (probably my best friend within 200 miles of me at any given time), Elizabeth, is half French (other half regular ol' American, I suppose).  As such, she is always talking about how great crepes are; I think French people have crepe batter flowing through their veins.  After all this build up, we finally scheduled an evening to make crepes at her place.  I was super excited because I've never had a crepe in my life.  I did make some really bad, flat pancakes once .. but it wasn't really the same.

So, back to our crepe-tacular!  For my first ever crepe making experience, I turned to the batter recipe in Veganomicon.  This version uses chickpea flour to make up for the missing eggs.  If you aren't interested in using chickpea flour (which tastes pretty much awful until it's cooked!), then I would turn to this recipe at VeganYumYum; I haven't tried it myself, but I've never gone wrong with a VeganYumYum recipe.  If you try it out, please let me know!

Every time I asked Elizabeth what would be good to put in crepes, she basically said "you know, stuff you would put in crepes" ... no, I didn't know.  But I guessed: sauteed mushrooms, sauteed rainbow chard with garlic, and Daiya cheese.  Turns out, I was right!  This made for some delicious crepes.  

   

So, how do you make crepes?  Well ... heat your pan over medium heat.  Get it nice and hot so that your crepes will cook quickly.  It is important that you have a very flat pan here, not a sloping pan like you would use for most things.

* Don't cook your hand! That wouldn't be vegan. *

Pour in some crepe batter (a ladle full - maybe a quarter cup), and swirl it around to fill out the pan with a thin, wide pancake.  Let it cook for a few minutes while you contemplate the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything ...

* Hmmm ... Considering crepes *

Then flip that bad boy over and put in some delicious toppings!  I used some sauteed chard, mushrooms, and Daiya.  For a savory crepe, I think greens and mushrooms are a delicious combination.

* My very first ever vegan (or any kind of) crepe! *

Flip the sides over and let it heat through for a few minutes -- or until you are so excited about crepes that you can't handle it anymore!

While you enjoy your most delicious crepe, other people will make other crepes.  These will not be as good as yours, because, well, you didn't make them.  But you will encourage your friends all the same just to be nice :)

* Michael is a crepe twirling king! *

* Mary wins the prize for being most excited about crepes *

In addition to my savory, "main course" crepes, I made a dessert crepe, which was really just filled with Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter that I got on mega-sale a few weeks ago, and topped with confectioner's sugar.  Throw some sliced up banana in there, and you'd be golden.  Golden!

* Dessert crepe. It has two s's because it's So Sweet! *

As we ran out of crepe batter (there were two kinds -- regular, and my super deluxe vegan batter), Elizabeth wanted to test her crepe flipping skillz.  She poured the last little bit of batter into the pan, and we immediately saw this guy:

* This one looks like Slimer. *

Then she went mad, and flipped it up into the air!

* Flipping the crepe in the pan! *

And caught Slimer-crepe like a pro!

* Total flipping success! *

Not only was the final crepe a flipping success, the whole night was!  The great thing about crepes is assembling your own however you want to.  So mix up some batter, ready your fillings, and invite your friends over for some crazy fun.  I really enjoyed cooking and eating crepes; I think they may be my next movie night adventure!  I actually went ahead and bought a crepe pan for my next crepe adventure.  I haven't used it yet, but at $10.21, you can't go wrong for an introductory pan.
Have you made crepes?  What do you like to put in them?  We rebranded "French Fries" as "Freedom Fries" ... how could we rebrand "crepes", an obviously French word?  Damn Frenchies. ;)

The cutest thing you'll see all day.

All day, all weekend, and possibly all year!  This may be the best commercial I've ever seen for anything, especially for pet adoption.  I will tell you that it trumps those sad abused puppies in cages set to slow indie rock ballads commercials hands-down.  Just watch it and try to tell me you don't want to race to Winnipeg to adopt a cat today!  I'll probably be seeing you there.

More adventures in interviewing (Or: Why I hate being short)

I had an interview last week for a job in Boston (there are four candidates for the position, but I still put my chances at maybe 5%, if that ... but that's a story for another day).  The interview itself was nothing short of brutal, harrowing even.  But the fact that I got called at all was simply amazing, given my general lack of experience at anything other than grad school... but really that's neither here nor there.

* Seriously, it was an honor just to be nominated ... *

If you follow weather at all, then you might realize there is a TON of snow in Boston.  We're talking about piles seven or eight feet high from clearing roads, sidewalks, and parking lots.  The amazing part to me was the general lack of acknowledgement by the people of Boston that anything inconvenient was going on.  I understand that they get a lot of snow, so they are used to it, and they know how to handle it, but, to a girl who's lived the last ten years in a city that SHUTS DOWN for just a few inches of snow, it was mind boggling.  People were riding bikes in the snow (without helmets, I might add ... come on, Boston, I thought you were supposed to be smarter than that!).  The threat of additional major snowfall on Wednesday night didn't keep anyone at home.  I sat at my interview dinner and watched many, many passersby out the window (I was already pretty sure by this point I wouldn't get the job, so why bother with small talk?).  I even saw a few people in flip flops!  The city did get a good bit more snow over Wednesday night, as you can kind of see from the photos.  The piles of snow made me a little less sad that I'm not going to be hired for this particular job.

* The view from my hotel room Wed. night *

* The same view Thurs. morning *

So, you're probably wondering by now, "This post is subtitled 'Why I hate being short'.  How is any of this about shortness?"  Well, that is an excellent question.  Here's where my diminutive stature comes in to play:  I can't buy pants that fit.  No, seriously.  Even "petite" or "short" size pants are for people taller than I.  And I know that; I've been dealing with it since probably fifth grade, so I should be well aware that any new pants I own have to be hemmed before I wear them.  However, until very recently I didn't own much in the way of "business attire."  I'm a jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl, a fashion sense passed down to me by my father.  I still don't have many interview clothes (I'm assuming here that I will have a job that allows me to dress much more casually than I would for an interview; fingers crossed!), but I have been slowly growing my wardrobe, thanks to some hefty sales at Kohl's.  But herein lies the problem -- I forgot to hem my new pants!  So, as I was getting ready for my interview Wednesday morning, I had to ghetto-hem my pants.  Luckily, I remembered the problem as I was packing and threw in a sewing kit.  We're not talking about a minor hem, either.  We're talking three or four inches, with heels on.

* The thread on the left leg blended in, but on the right I had
to use a very noticeable khaki.  Luckily, engineers aren't known
for their fashion sense. I don't think anyone noticed. * 

* Yep, that's mad sewing skillz right there. *

So, we can add not being able to wear pants off the rack to reasons I hate being short.  In all my interviewing, I've been waiting for someone to ask me one of those inane "What's your greatest weakness?" questions.  I know the popular answers are things like, "I really just work too hard."  "I'm a bit of a perfectionist."  "I don't know how to do a bad job."  My answer will be, "I can't get things off the top shelf."  Yeah, I'm ready for that one.  

Valentine's Redux

I think we should rebrand Valentine's Day.  I know that a lot of people don't like the "holiday" for whatever reason - they aren't in a relationship, they don't like how commercial it is, their significant other is too dense to realize that even stupid holidays should involve chocolate ... whatever the reason, Valentine's Day is contentious at best.  I'll admit, I (usually) like the holiday.  I've never had anyone go crazy overboard for me on Diapered-Baby-with-Wings Day (anyone going with me on this one? maybe not a great name either ...), but I like the little punny notes that kids give out; I like seeing people walking around with random flowers and goofy grins; I like sending cards and unsolicited texts to my friends in the hopes of making them smile; I just like Hallmark-Says-I-Love-You Day (okay, that may be a little too close to home).

And the chocolate -- oh, man, I love the chocolate.  I remember the pure envy I felt for every girl walking around high school with one of those gold boxes that just screamed, "Someone loves me enough to spend $100 on three pieces of chocolate."  One year, I was one of the lucky, jealousy-inducing recipients of just such a box.  I remember victoriously (but oh-so-nonchalantly) carrying my prize around school all day ("What this? Just something my BOYFRIEND got me for VALENTINE'S DAY." Yes, even nerds are catty.).  And I can tell you, the chocolates were all the sweeter for having shown them off all day long.

I'd like to say that I've grown up since then, that I realize Commercialization-of-Romance Day is just that -- a way to encourage people to spend money needlessly.  But we all need to admit that there is a reason this holiday works so well: Everyone wants that tangible reminder that someone really does care.  Words and actions are sweet, but all too often they are forgotten during normal, day-to-day life.  This is a chance to say, "Hey, I care about you, I remember you, and I took time out of my life to find something to show it to you."  It's about the thought, and it's about the gesture.  I completely agree with people who say that every day should be a Celebration-of-Your-Undying-Love Day, but who really has time to live it?  I am happy to settle for 364 days of mutual respect and one Here-Are-Flowers-and-Chocolates-and-I'll-Take-Out-the-Trash Day.

I'm rambling on here, but the main reason I'm writing this is to remind everyone: It's nearly THE Day.  If you are romantically involved with someone, don't just let the day pass you by.  Take the chance to let him know you're so happy to be in the relationship.  If you aren't romantically involved, do something special for your friends, your family, and yourself.  In addition to all the great vegan chocolate options posted here, I like to give charitable donations for holidays (because, really, most of my friends have everything they need).  And there is always the ever popular jewelry.  Instead of diamonds and rubies, why not try some recycled glass pieces this year?

What are your feelings on Chocolate-in-a-Box Day? Yay? Nay?  What do you want to give or get for the big day?