Some Successes and Some Burnt Sweet Potatoes

After spending most of last summer and the beginning of our dating relationship at different restaurant tables, My Man and I decided to do a lot more cooking and meal planning as we got settled into ourselves.

I'm lucky that he's so supportive of my efforts with this Nutrient Dense Challenge.  He even reminded me earlier today that I had already been moving to eat this way, but that I just didn't have the guidelines.  But it's great that he's been so helpful about shopping, meal planning, and even putting up with what I'm sure will be multiple cranky sessions.

Today, I decided to make some sweet potato chip treats for the both of us.  After doing a bit of searching around, I found several recipes that I wanted to try: a great all-around simple Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and Sea Salt style, a cinnamon style, and a chili lime style.  My only concern with all the different recipes was that none of them seemed to have the same oven temperature or time in the oven.  Well, I figured that if I wanted them to be more crispy, that I should leave it in the oven for the longer range. 

I was wrong.

Chili Lime, Cinnamon, EVOO and Sea Salt
A little delicious, a little burnt...

Some came out not crispy at all, some had great crisp but were a little more burnt tasting, and some were straight out burnt.

I'm honestly bummed about it.  But, at least I know that the seasoning choices I made were quite tasty.

With My Man's help, we made a delicious Cottage Pie.  This was the first time I've ever eaten so much cauliflower.  After this meal, I was pretty convinced that the cauliflower was mashed potato, and I'm certain I'll enjoy it as  rice substitute.  The recipe was a combination of the Shepherd's Pie recipes in the Well-Fed cookbook and Elana's Pantry.

Cottage Pie with It Starts With Food, Well-Fed Mashed Cauliflower
recipe, and bacon on the Griddler while Cauliflower cooks.

I don't think I've ever had Shepherd's Pie or Cottage Pie before in my life.  This recipe took much longer than we anticipated.  There are multiple steps that need to be prepped before putting it all together.  It definitely help to have two of us.

Day 2 on the Nutrient Dense Challenge has reminded me to be okay with making mistakes and that I don't have to do it alone.

2 Til 30 - Party Rocking

Another successful 29 year old evening

4 Til 30 - Toesies of the Month - April 2012

Can I just take a step back for a second and talk about 2 things?

My 30th birthday is quickly approaching!!! The last days of my 20's are going to go by in a rushed blur, I'm sure. 

AND...it's possibly going to rain on my birthday!!!! WHY??? I hope it's not as bad as they're predicting, but I'm actually a little bummed about it.

I'm in a production of the Vagina Monologues which is premiering this weekend.  So, that has been taking the bulk of my time.  I feel like this weekend will go by in a flash, and next think you know it'll be my birthday.

I'm excited.  But for perhaps the first time, I'm also nervous.

I've already gotten to do so much in my final month of being in my 20's.  But before I go on and wax poetic, mainly because I want to reserve that for my actual birthday date, let's focus on the now, shall we?

In preparation for the Vagina Monologues, I knew I needed to get my nail did.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to go after work the night before the premiere, and I got to relax instead of feeling incredibly rushed.

This week has also been April Vacation Week for the Boston Public Schools.  The kids (mainly 2 kids in particular) have been driving me crazy.

I NEEDED SPA TIME.

Design time!

Designed at Nails 2000, Jamaica Plain, MA
Color: Sephora by OPI - 212
Occasion: Vagina Monologues
April 2012

I also ended up getting a manicure.  Having done some performances on the stage as a belly dancer, I know that I can't be on the stage without tons of makeup and my nails done.  It was only natural that I had to do this as well.

Alas, I now have to go and pack for the rest of my day.  The idea of this is exciting and worrisome.  I definitely don't want to forget anything.  But I have to pack for bootcamp, after school, and the Vagina Monologues. 

My initial thought is, "How the hell am I going to get away with this?  I've looked like a serious bag lady all week, and it's going to be worse tomorrow."

But then I sit back and realize that I've been pretty much rocking this entire week, as difficult and exhausting as it's been.  And I know I'm going to rock Friday as well, because...well...that's how I do.

5 Til 30 - Franklin Park Zoo

This wasn't a trip that I necessarily wanted to go on during the April Vacation week.  What I really wanted was to go to the New England Aquarium. 

But I was lucky enough to get both.

Here are some of the animal highlights from my trip to the Zoo.

little show off :)

peek-a-boo with a prairie dog

Christopher the Lion was very talkative

Baby Gorilla!

Such a cutie!

Don't you want to nap with the Pygmy Hippo???
I mean...if it wasn't possibly dangerous...

Mandrill...just chillin' in his hammock...

The only animal I was sad not to see was the giraffe.  I'm not entirely sure why the giraffe wasn't about.  But it was a fun trip that tired my poor toesies out. 

It's a fairly decent zoo for being a relatively small zoo.  It would be nice to visit during the summer when more of the exhibits and animals are around.

16 Til 30 - Pillow Fight!

When was the last time you were part of a pillow fight?

I knew that the International Pillow Fight Day happened every year, but I had never been able to be part of it until today.

Oh. My. G.  It is SO fun!!! Just running through the crowd is a laugh riot!

I didn't want to use the pillows that I actually use to sleep on, so I opted for one of my neck pillows that I take on the plane.  Those things get wily!

I'm still a bit sick, but this bit of whimsy felt like a necessary reason to get out of bed.

Pillow Fighters

Tigger!

Pooh Bear!

Captain America getting some Love...
and soon to be ambushed!

Pillow Fighters with Financial District

why, yes...there were several games of chicken...
this was kind of what it looked like from the middle...

there's me and my neck pillow!
omg...so fun!!!

pillow carnage

I have some feelings about how the grass got pretty messed up from all these pillow fighters.  Knowing that the grass was a big "reason" why the Mayor wanted the Occupy camp out of the Greenway and Dewey Square, but this small bit of action was sanctioned, well...it's just interesting.

I know tents and people living in a camp does more damage than what happened today.  And whimsy and fun are more accepted than social action.  But maybe both could be combined in some fashion?

Either way, pillow fights are pretty damn fun.  I highly recommend it!

18 Til 30 - Sickly But Alive

Well, this beginning of the month has seen me more sick than I've been in the past year.  I'm trying to figure out what my body is trying to tell me.

Am I too old to be having so many late nights in a row?  Is my throat in so much pain because I've been holding in my true opinions?  Why am I able to sleep so many hours in a row now when I used to be able to live off so little?

It is certainly time that I start to really listen to what my body needs.

But, in the meantime, I still managed to look relatively cute even though I feel like death.

Death's Cute Little Cousin

19 Til 30 - Watching Blooms

I was at a stop light, and I couldn't help but notice the white blooms in the tree matching the white surveillance camera, while the red stop light matched with the red brick building.  I'm sure I could come up with some witty and poignant commentary about how the camera is angled towards the blooming tree that's part of one of the housing projects of Boston.

But it was just an interesting sight that I wanted to quickly capture before I had to keep moving.

23 Til 30 - Multiple Birthday Celebrations

March, April, and May are packed with birthdays.  Then again in September and October.  It's almost humorous to think of how many of our parents were getting busy at the same time of the year.

But it really is amazing to me to know so many people with birthdays around the same time.  Almost every week is someone's birthday.  I know at least 1 person who's birthday falls during the week of my birthday (from the 21st to the 28th), and in some cases there are several people in 1 day!

Well, I ended up attending a friend's birthday party on the last day of March.  It was pretty fun.  But the most random thing is that someone had a turtle suit.  Like a legit turtle costume. It wasn't like a Ninja Turtle.  It was like a turtle turtle.

Naturally, as there were streamers, at some point someone decided to start wrapping the guy in the turtle suit.

how often does this happen at your parties?

so many streamers...

This story isn't significant in any way, really.  It's just random as hell and for your viewing enjoyment.

But it wasn't a bad way to say farewell to March and hello to April!

30 Til 30 - Mermaid Hair

YES!!!

Today is a month away from my 30th birthday!!!

I'm so extremely excited and nervous and excited!!!

Believe me, I've given this some real thought.  I've thought about it all through my 20's, in fact.  Having always been the youngest in my group of friends, I was always looking forward to being just a little bit older.

Now that many of my friends have been in their 30's for at least a year if not more or gone past it, it just seems like there's a lot to look forward to.  Many of them talk about how they just stopped caring so much about what other people think, and focused more on themselves.  In Sex and the City, it seemed like being in the 30's opens one up for a whole different set of experiences that just aren't as possible when you're young, dumb, and...well...naïve.

I remember having friends who were not really looking forward to getting older.  When they talked about it, it felt like it would be the end of their life as they knew it.  That always confused me.  As soon as I turned 20, I promised myself that I wouldn't fear turning 30.

And since I first started this blog back in 2009, when all those Saturn's-Return-changes were all dropping on my head, 30 couldn't come any faster.  Last year, at my 29th birthday brunch with my friends in San Francisco, we joked about how I had 1 more year to blame stupid choices on my 20's.  

But we couldn't have been more right!  Remember when I got arrested?  Yup.

Now, I have 30 days left to do crazy things before I turn 30.  Though, I obviously don't think it's all going to stop necessarily.  But I still want to do these last days of my 20's BIG.

Naturally, I had to dye my hair mermaidy one more time.  It was just coincidence/fate that my appointment was scheduled for March 23rd.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures from my hair dying experience.

getting some bleach action

this is the new look, don't ya know...

blondie for 5 minutes

so awesome! so excited I couldn't
help but to take a picture on the bus!

rolled up in a minibun

a bit more how I like it

I'm sure I'll have more pictures as the days roll on.  It feels extremely empowering to have taken control of my hair, especially since I had thought about doing this since sometime last October.

My goal for the next 30 days is to go big in everything I do.  From grocery shopping to baking to work, I want my last days of being in my 20's to be lived with full intention.

Mermaidy hair is probably the easiest intention for me to see through.

Tori Amos at The Orpheum 12-6-11

As a Tori fan, I feel like I should know exactly how many of her concerts I've been to.  But my best guess is that I've seen her at least 5 or 6 times.  But now, I can say without a doubt that I've met her 3 times.

I was SO late to work...but it was worth standing outside for so long...

She had some tall boots on!
She's actually a bit shorter than me, as evidenced by my other Tori post.

I had brought her some pearl hair clips that I made for her and Tash, and she seemed to really like them.  I asked her about her shoes, which were some really cute wedge boots (a style I've been trying to look for!).  She then proceeded to tell me that she got them in L.A. (which I squealed about and told her it was my hometown) at the Nordstroms in The Grove.  She then lifted her foot and asked me to see if there was a logo on the bottom, but since there wasn't she took her shoe off (!!!) and told me they were from Steven.  I couldn't believe she took off her shoe just to tell me that!  

Then, I naturally had to ask her about what her thoughts were on the Occupy Movement and other movements around the world.  She talked about how the Native Americans have been talking about the similar issues for so long.  She also said that she thinks things will get worse before they get better, especially with the way things have been moving towards.  But, she said, I will be in charge of reminding her and others, as well as she has the responsibility to remind me and others about the need for change.

So cool.

This time around, I got to see the show with other folks who I adore and who also love Tori.  It had definitely been a while since I got to see Tori with a friend, much less multiple friends!

The show was, of course, amazing.  Here's the list of songs she played with some choice pictures I captured:

Shattering Sea
Landslide
Suede
Way Down
Leather
Snow Cherries From France

Mother
Ruby Through the Looking Glass
1000 Oceans

Siren
Nautical Twilight
Star Whisperer

Mrs. Jesus
Not the Red Baron
Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Your Ghost
Edge of the Moon
Fearlessness
Cruel

Tori was amazing.  Having the string quartet with her was amazing.  There was definitely a couple of tears shed at this concert.  It's amazing that she always chooses songs that are extremely significant for me in the moment. 

Thank goodness for Tori Amos and her music.

10 Day YOU Challenge - 1 Picture of Yourself

Well.

I promise that I haven't neglected this challenge.  Let's just say it's been a busy couple of days.  I will write all about it in the next day.  But for now, my picture will provide as a teaser.

The one picture I took of myself on October 10th at the
 Occupy Boston site at the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

If you haven't been keeping track of the news, it's time to Google "Occupy Wall St." and "Occupy Boston."

Get to it, and I'll tell you all about my first-person experience of that days events.