Ang had her Lil girl Zoe

Well we finally will have a little girl running around here. Well in a couple years. Ang Congratulations on your new addition.

Ignore the date on the photo. I forgot to reset it!

Easter Party Pics

First thing of the day is on Easter Eggs Hunt. Which was more like an Easter egg grab because we were in a field. But they liked it. It only took 2 minutes for the eggs to be gone.
Bunny Tag ( But we had lazy bunnies) they hopped for like a minute but then they got lazy.

The day was very Chaotic. It must have been because it was a morning party or maybe all the kids have ADHA you take your pick. But we all had fun. I was trying to wear out the kids with all the running and jumping but I came home and crashed. I figured I would post a picture of them getting there food. Although it wasn't anything Veg oriented. I didn't even get to cook anything.

:(

Jelly Filled Cupcakes- Veganomicon

Well I decided to make these for the PTO meeting. It was the kindergarten parents turn to provide food. I will say it was so boring sitting there through the meeting. But at least I tried another recipe. These are a good mix of spicy but sweet and have a nice texture. I could even eat these without the jelly middles. Actually the jelly middles sunk all the way to the bottom of the cupcakes which made eating them a little tricky. I missed the part when it said make them the night before because they are better after they set. The preserves stay in the cupcakes better after they set. But just a heads up. Try these. They are pretty good. You could probably put a number of other preserves in these as well. I think next time I will make a variety of flavors. I might make them for the trip to my grand parents on Easter.

Vegan Pancakes,Waffles, & Muffins

Yes I am finally cooking again. I know it has been a long time since I have posted. Food or other wise. My house has been a total cyclone of papers, magazines, clothing, and the list goes on and on. Half of that stuff sad to say was laying on my stove and counters while "J" put in our new living room floor. But I love our new floor. Which I will have to post pictures of later. But to the yummy food. Yes it is a breakfast post. I decided to make breakfast foods to freeze for "J" to use in the mornings. I like having quick foods for the morning so "J" can have breakfast when I'm not awake. But to look at the ingredients in the pot tarts, frozen waffles, pancakes, and muffins you purchase at the store is disgusting and scary all at the same time. I know maybe a little overly dramatic but come on can you find one thing at a regular grocery store that does not have High fructose corn syrup? It would be hard. plus at the additives alone are freaky. Anyways. So my solution is make them myself. So Monday thats what I spent my morning doing. The first thing I made was pancakes. " The worlds best vegan pancakes" off of a website. They had really good ratings. I made about 13 of them 7 plane and 6 blueberry. I did not care for them. They have oats in them and I don't care for there taste. (I like oats just not i this). "J" said they were ok but he just does not like to waste anything, The next recipe I made was Chocolate- Chocolate chip pancakes from Vegan With a Vengeance (PG35). The are the best pancakes I think I have ever had. The are really chocolaty and decadent. The cake itself does have a slightly bitter almost espresso taste but then the sweetness of the chips. Next time I think I might try adding a little instant coffee or espresso just for that pungent taste.

Waffles were next on my agenda. I used another recipe from VwaV. Oatmeal-Banana-Raisin Waffles.. (PG 38) are quit tasty and the unfreeze in about 4 seconds then pop them in the toaster and they come out crispy. "J" likes putting the veggie sausage and Vegan butter and having them as a sami in the morning. So he can drive and eat. I just like to add a little syrup. Last but not least of the breakfast foods that morning I made muffins. Another recipe from VwaV.

Carrot-Raisin Muffins (PG47). They are definitely full of carrots 2 cups actually. It really fills the batter. I was looking for something a little sweeter. I know she said that muffins are not supposed to be sweet like cupcakes but I was looking for a little more sweetness. "J" said he can taste the sweetness so maybe it is just me. They come out with a really good texture and rise really well.

For all the people smirking at me because I used a cookbook for this easy post...No Smirking... :) lol. The only thing I have to say is I bought them for a reason. To use the recipes. To take a look from a different side. So yes I almost always try the exact recipe as is in the book. I might change it after that but its nice to see what others take the time to come up with and appreciate that time taken. These people sale thousands if not millions of books and have been cooking so much longer then I have. So I must give them there props. And I don't mean this in a snide attitude type of way. Just that alot of people don't even try the written recipe then they come online and gripe about the taste after they add or take out 2 or 3 things. Then they say the author is crap. Thats not right. You should not give false reviews. I hope others who read your reviews are not put off by them and understand that being naive & rude is just that and nothing else.

Garden Prep

Well it is that time of the year again. I am collecting all of the stuff for my new garden which is going to be expanded this year. Call me weird but I am so excited. I am trying to do mostly organic this year. Although my bean seeds, leeks, and a few other I could not find in organic. I finally purchased a small green house the other day to start off my seedlings. I also purchased a small sprinkler system to make sure the garden gets watered as often as needed. (Lets face it we all get a little lazy ever so often). I have planted the seeds and now we just have to wait. For the rest of the garden "J" and I still need to test the soil and decide where everything is going. Thats the hard part for me. I'm not sure how I want everything set up. Last year we had small confined planter boxes that were way to small and didn't work very well. This year we are going to take up most of the back yard and I'm not sure if I want to do it in normal garden rows or in ground planter boxes. I will post when things finally start to happen. More pictures soon to come. O' Yeah and thats a baby Beltane sneaking into the picture. He is getting so Big.

All Natural Product Reviews

I have been reading over some product reviews except I really don't find many reviews for natural products. So I think I am going to start doing some product reviews. I am going to make a star rating system for now.

1-* Would not use again probably will not finish what I purchased.

2-**Would not purchase again but might finish it just because its all natural and it is greener to finish it then toss it is the garbage. plus there is a little that I like about the product.
3-*** Might purchase again but the is a couple of things that bother me about the product. But it isn't that bad.
4-**** Would buy again but there is something I find a little off. Just something small that I can be picky about. Such as an ingredient or fragrance.
5-***** Great. I love it. It is one of the best products I have ever tried.

I will probably change these to be more veggie cute later but this is just the new quick work up of star ratings.

*****Kiss My Face obsessively natural Chinese Botanical Lotion $10.99 per16oz: I really love this lotion. Normally I purchase lotion and never use it. I am happy to say I have found a natural lotion that I love the smell of and can be proud to wear it because I know it has not been tested on animals and contains no animal ingredients. So it smells great, makes my skin feel smooth and awesome and I am proud to use it. It is a little high in price but for this product that gives me a piece of mind that ok with me. It does have a list of around 39 ingredients. Which is a little long but at least they are all natural and most are plant extracts. It is really nice to that most of the ingredients list has its origin list beside it. My skin is very dry this winter and it has really made my skin very smooth again which is of course great. The product is 100% biodegradable and the bottle is also recyclable as a plastic type 1.

**** (4 stars)Alba Terra Gloss Shimmering Natural Color 5.99 .42oz : This product is similar in flavor to the conventional lip gloss which I am really not a fan of. The color BLOOM which I picked out is really nice. It does moisturize my lips and sticks around for a little while. So if you don't mind re applying every so often it good. I don't mind. The color does stick around for a little while after the gloss goes away. I would say you would need to reapply (depending of what you are doing) around every 2 or 3 hours which isn't bad. This product does include beeswax. So it is not vegan. But I do feel alot better using it just because it is an all natural company. This product also contains tocopheryl acetate which protects from the suns UV Rays. But lists natural flavor which annoys me because you don't know exactly what is in it. The last thing is I'm not sure how I feel about the silica ( which most natural and conventional products include) because of health and mineral mining issues. ( If anyone has any info on that throw it my way please. Thanks

**Burts Bees Lifeguard's Choice Lip Balm 2.99 .15oz: This product I really loved till I read the ingredients list. Which contains lanolin ( Secreted from the skin of wool animals). I don't use wool and I don't intend on buying this product in the future. Before I noticed the the Lanolin I really liked it. The one thing that was a little strange about it was that it kinda turns your lips a white cool. Which really didn't bother me. This product reminded me of the chap stick my parents used while I was growing up that came in a little round container that you dab your finger in and apply it to your lips. The BB Lip balm is in a tube made out of 50% post industrial recycled plastic which is very nice but it does not have a recyclable triangle. But it still gives you that tingle on your lips when you first put it on ( I liked that). This product is not tested on animals.


**** Alba Moisturizing Cream Shave Mango Vanilla 8fl oz: I love this product. It makes my legs silky smooth after shaving. It smells really great and the smell sticks around until the next day. It is a great moisturizer. I never have any nicks, cuts, or irritation. My legs used to itch a little after shaving and with this shave lotion they do not. The only questionable ingredient to me is Sodium Hydroxide (also known as lye) it is found in things like oven cleaner, cleaning detergents, & drain cleaners. The other products come from more natural sources most plant extracts. This product is 100% vegetarian & not tested on animals. It is also packaged in a recyclable container. (4 Stars)

6 years Together w/ a Pittsburg, Carnegie & Whole Foods trip

This picture is of Pittsburgh right as you exit the Pitt tunnel.

We have been planning on going to Pittsburgh since mid summer last year. This is really sad considering we only live about 2 and a half or 3 hours away. Any ways I wanted to go see the Bodies exhibit at Carnegie which was amazing. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I have to admit it was a strange feeling walking in to an exhibit that has real human bodies. But the learning experience was amazing. The one thing that I didn't really think would be in the exhibit was fetuses. When I discovered they were it was a really different feeling but I still decided to go through. It turned out to be the most interesting part to me. To see a fetus at the different stages of their development was sad because they were all gone but at the same time an experience that I can not put into words. There were fetuses that showed bone structure from I think 9 weeks to 17 weeks. In 2 week increments. You see pictures on tv and in text books of babies with webbed hands and toes but to see the smallest tiniest finger bones totally developed in the 9 week old fetus it was indescribable to me. There was also fetuses from week 1 and up ( I'm not sure how far) there was 6 I think. I have always known life was amazing but after seeing the different stages of fetal growth it is more amazing to me than ever. The whole exhibit was ... WOW. I might have to get "J" to go back again. To see and read all of the information all at once makes it hard to put it all together. I also went to The Strip for some produce shopping and for some spices. Then we went to the Whole foods store which I love. We don't have one here in WV so anytime we have the chance to go to one I stock up on everything I need. But I really didn't get much this time. I should have stocked up on a little more. We seemed to get stuff like lotion, lip gloss, Shave lotion, & soy protein powder instead of food. But were we live you really can't buy Kiss my face lotions & Alba products. There is actually no store that I know of around me that sales Alba at all. So... Anyways I love Whole foods I think I could live there. But we did get some food that is really yummy. We made it home about 10pm Sat night so that was really good. On Sunday we slept till 4:30pm. I can't believe that. Its crazy. It was a really good week end. On Saturday was also the marking of our 6 years together. So Happy Anniversary to us... :)

"J" was extra hungry that day and decided to eat the old stadium.. Lol

Additional info: Well I just realized that I didn't post on the food we had the day of our trip. oops.. So we didn't have time to go to any restaurants so we purchased food on the Whole Foods Hot Bar & Salad Bar. Most of it was really yummy. We had the Sweet & sour Tofu, Vegetable fried rice, Soba Noodles, & the soy popcorn chicken. We really enjoyed everything except for the Soba noodles which looked great but tasted nasty. The soy pop corn chicken was really good tasted really close to real chicken which made me go back and check to make sure it was soy. Scary sometimes how something are so close to tasting like meat. The texture is also pretty good. Some pieces have a fatty texture that is a little off. But that might be because it sat in my fridge for a couple days. The S&S Tofu & Veggie fried rice we mixed together and was really good. I have never really tried tofu except at the house. This tofu was really good and had a good texture. I really haven't liked tofu in the past but after getting used to the tofu idea the texture of this tofu was really good. But that all we really had that day.

Sade's Adrenal Gland Surgery

I am mourning the loss of my baby. Sade past away yesterday after her surgery. I don't know what to think of this right now. My heart has been broken. I was told at 2pm so was doing good and she could go home after 5. When I got there they told me she needed to go to the emergancy vet clinic for the night. By the time I was taking her from the clinic she was gone. My baby is gone.

This picture was taken the night before her surgury. She was happy and playful. We miss her so much.

Vegetarian Junk food/ Chili Cheese Fries

Yesterday I had a bad craving for Chili cheese fries. Its funny because when I was younger and ate meat I never had chili cheese fries. I didn't like Hamburger at all. So now when I get a craving its just a little strange to me. Anyways yesterday I was watching The Racheal Ray show and she made Chili cheese fries. I could not help myself. So I took her recipe and made it veg and here it is. Very simple. The recipe is on her web site. I just substituted the meat and put the ground boca in. Plus some extra oil because the boca really has no oil. For the Cheese sauce I used soy milk, no-chik broth, light vegan "butter", and a little cheese. If you are a vegan and or can buy vegan cheese in your area you could probably make the same sauce. (As long as the vegan cheese you buy is the kind that melt.) There are oven fries under all that Boca. Just made with some smoked Chipolta pepper, Cayenne peppers, & olive oil.

New Years Resolutions, a little late.

I have taken up a new hobby. I know I am super busy or maybe I'm not, Who knows. I know that sounds weird. But I don't work and I still manage not to get much done. I think its because I just don't know where to start on getting my home organized. Its not that its unlivable I just would like to be more organized. I am one of those people that would take a label maker and label everything. I think I have some OCD issues actually. But right now my house drives me crazy. For the last almost 3 years now my house has been somewhat unorganized but I'm not sure where to even start. When I do start I have to pull everything out of were I am and reorganize it before I can even start cleaning and after I work on organizing for a couple hours I don't feel like cleaning up the mess that I started with. Its always like that. So I have taken up a new hobby for now to get my mind off of the house. Knitting. Yes, I have always wanted to learn so I am teaching myself. I knitted a baby bib yesterday. NO I'm not pregnant I just didn't know what else to knit. I really like it. It seems to get rid of some of my stress. (Considering I have another New Years resolution of cutting out most of my stress shopping. I now notice I said most. If I say ALL it will never happen. So we are working on most. But just my luck I found a new clothing store I really like. But I am happy to say I haven't bought anything there. But I'm not going to hold my breath because today is Friday and the week end is notorious for being shopper friendly for me:) I think I should write down all my New Years Resolutions. I have alot of them this year. Hopefully they go better then normal. So here we go.

1. Debt management : Cut out stress shopping and really watch how mush I am spending ( This has not been a year for cutting down on money. So far I have had to buy a car, buy new tires, buy parts for the Talon, take Sade to the vet, and now pay for Sade's surgery. I still need to get Beltane castrated, Sophie & Chloe spade, my animal room floor refinished and repainted, the list goes on and on.) its awful.


2. Exercise at least 3 times a week working up to 5 or 6 times a week by the end of the year. (I was doing pretty good for a while last year and then I got busy and stopped. So hopefully this will work out because I love doing pilates, and yoga. And when I get back in shape a little I want to start running again. I used to love to run in the morning but I have not done that in a few years. So wish me good luck on this one.)


3. Eating healthier & cut out the cheese: Yes I do eat pretty healthy but I do get on junk food cravings every once in a while. Plus I do still eat a fair amount of cheese. Before this year it was just your everyday cheese that people run in the store and grab and not think twice about it. Now I am only buying rennet less cheese ( I know as a vegetarian I should have done this all along.) which is hard to find in our area and is much more expensive. So I will not be buying as much of it. Which is fine with me. We will see how "J" fairs. I would like to go to soy cheese this year as well and cut out all the animal cheese. ( For animal welfare reasons as well as health.)


4. Keep my house clean & organized. I think this speaks for its self from the above paragraph.


5. Pay my bills on time: I know that sounds bad but I really only have a problem because I forget to pay the phone and tv bill. I don't know why but they seem to skip my mind.


6. Cooking at least 1 new dish a week along with trying new foods.
7. Work on my anger issues. I have a bad temper that I have been working on for a while now and I hope it keeps getting a little better.

I think that is all the main ones. I will update if I remember any more. Well wish me luck :)

I know this picture of Copper eating a tomato has nothing to dot with my blogging topics but I really didn't have any pictures that did go with the topic so. You get Copper.... ( I might post a picture of the bib I knitted later when I get a pic).