Bad Vegetarian, Bad!

It's been a week and a half since I revealed my grand plan to become a vegetarian in support of my BFF's 30-Day run at Veganism.  I thought today would be a fine time to report on my progress.

Day One - No meat whatsoever!  This is easy!  I am totally rockin' this whole Vegetarianism thing.  Hooray for broccoli!!!   I am down with the herbivores!   Potatoes...  They're what's for dinner!

Impossibly Easy Southwestern Pie

Days Two & Three - On a mission to locate awesome vegetarian recipes.  Searching online and finding some super-yummy stuff.  Created a "Vegetarian Recipe" board and started pinning away.  I can't wait to try my hand in the kitchen!

Day Four - Ohhh...  You know what would make these recipes really good???  Meat!!!  Still haven't eaten any, but that Southwestern Pie would sure be yummy with some hamburger.

Nutty Mixed Up Salad

Day Five - Went to J@son's Deli for an office birthday lunch and got the absolute best salad I have ever had!  "The Nutty Mixed Up Salad..."  Organic field greens, grapes, raisins, dried cranberries, apples, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, raspberry vinaigrette dressing...  Granted, it had grilled chicken breast in it, but I didn't think about that until I was finished.

Day Six - Katie informed me that I am officially "the worst vegetarian ever" just because I had chicken in my salad at lunch yesterday!  Glad I didn't mention the pizza rolls that I had for dinner tonight...  I don't think those should count though.  There's barely anything in there, and I think it's fake "meat" anyway.  :-)

Day Seven -  Man, I really want a taco.  Like the kind with shredded beef from Fuzzy's...  I wonder if I could be a vegetarian most of the time, but with an occasional "cheat day."  Like an "a little meat for two meals out of the week" is okay kind of thing...  I think that's acceptable.  I'm going to Fuzzy's!

Mimi's little insomniacs after they FINALLY crashed.

Day Eight - Got a late-night phone call from Heaven asking if I could keep Booger and Banana overnight so she and Kelly could take care of a little emergency that had come up.  When they came to pick up the kids afterwards, they brought me a Chili's giftcard as a "thank you" and wished me "good luck on that whole vegetarian thing" (giggle giggle).  I wonder if Chili's chicken fried steak could be considered a vegetarian dish...

Day Nine - Made a pork tenderloin that I've had up in the freezer for dinner.  Can't just let it go to waste, right?  I wonder if I could be a 2/3 vegetarian...  Like "meat-free for two out of three meals of the day..."  Works for me!  Or maybe I could just give up red meat so chicken and pork could be fair game.  That sounds doable!

Day Ten - OMG!!!  I WANT POT ROAST!!!  I haven't made a pot roast since last winter, but boy oh boy does it sound delish...  Forget this mess!  Katie is on her own!  I am officially a "vegetarian who eats meat."

Meatballs at Midnight

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Last night just before midnight, I had just laid down for bed when the familiar "ring, ring" alarm sounded on my cell phone.  I had a text message from my BFF.

Katie:  "I want a meatball.  I'm pretty sure I have issues with food.  Pitiful."

Me:  "You're a mess, and I am totally going to blog about you tomorrow.  :-)"

Katie:  "I mean, this is ridic.  It's midnight, and I'm thinking about meatballs!"

Me:  "Perhaps this veganism isn't your thing..."

Katie:  "I'm committed to 30 days.  I keep telling myself it's for my health.  It'll get better.  Right?!?!?!?!?"

Me:  "Oh totally!  :-)"

Katie:  "I sense sarcasm."

Me:  "From ME???  Never!!!"

Katie:  "I hear vegans are really in touch with their bodies and surroundings.  I think my special vegan power must have picked up your sarcasm."

Me:  "That must be it...  Who wants a meatball when you can have superhuman abilities???"

Katie:  "Exactly!  Well, off to dream about dancing steaks and hamburgers.  Nighty night!"

You see, Katie is beginning Day Three of a 30-day Vegan challenge.  She doesn't do anything half-way when it comes to diet and exercise.  She's always trying to convince me to do some crazy "health" plan.  And by "crazy," I mean things that involved sweating and/or diets consisting of weird four letter foods that no normal person would consume like kale and tofu.  I like foods that end with "a" like "enchilada" and "lasagna" thank you very much!  There was the time that Katie tried to get me to train for a 5K "Fun Run."  When that didn't work, she tried to convince me to sign up for an Elite Boot Camp.  F'real!  Do I strike you as the type of person who would willingly wake up at 5:00am to go sweat???  She's even managed to sucker me into joining Fat Class at work (aka. Weight Watchers) before!

When Katie presented her "let's go vegan" proposal, she attempted to win me over with a picture of a super yummy looking smoothie.  It really did look good, and I made the mistake of mentioning that.  Katie replied with "It is good!  So you just need to take the plunge and go vegan with me!!!"  I proposed a counter offer of "modified vegan..."  You know...  Where I get to still eat meat, cheese, and other dairy products...  Katie wasn't impressed.  At least she can't say I'm not supportive!  I offered!  :-)

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I have gone vegetarian before for about a year, and am giving that some serious thought as a good compromise on the vegan thing.  I was almost convinced that it was a good idea this morning until Katie made the mistake of sending me a photo of this morning's smoothie.  It was green and runny, and her "you need to go vegan" spiel was "You really can't taste it.  Just didn't get the texture right so it sticks to me teeth."  In the past 48 hours I have heard, "It's hard not to be jealous, but I'm eating apple slices for breakfast!"  "I think my stomach is shrinking." and "I considered eating my own finger a few minutes ago just to get some meat in my mouth."  Um, yeah...  I think she needs to work on her marketing skills a bit.

So here I sit, trying to decide just how far I am willing to go as the supportive BFF.  I'm thinking "vegetarian" with one "free day" a week so I can still get my Tex-Mex fix.  I wonder if Katie will find that acceptable...  I just can't bring myself to do vegan.  If I'm going to eat spinach lasagna, it had better darn well be packed full of cheese!  Wish me luck!  I think I'll have to start tomorrow (seeing as how I've already had a meaty breakfast burrito this morning. ;-)  Stay tuned as I give a play by play of my attempt at vegetarianism in the days to come!  :-)

It's a Twin "Thing"

After 6 1/2 years, my sister finally got the baby shower she deserved the first time around!  When Christy got pregnant with Buddy and Ka-Diva after years on the fertility treatment roller coaster ride, we were all thrilled silly.  We started planning her baby shower early because she lived in another state at the time, and we knew that she wouldn't be able to travel later on.  Little did we know, she'd end up on bedrest at 20 weeks.  So our baby shower plans kind of went down the drain.  :(

Now, 6 1/2 years later, Christy's pregnant with her second (and last) set of twins!  And this time... bedrest or not...  We were giving her a shower!  At least she's back in the state, so it made things a lot easier.  :)  My BFF Katie and I were determined to throw her an insanely awesome shower to make up for the one that she never got for Twin Set #1, and I have to say, I think we pulled it off!

The Theme:  Dr. Seuss Starring Thing 1 and Thing 2!  (Perfect for twins!)

The Inspiration:  Just Google it, and you can find all sorts of awesome ideas.

So here's what we came up with, in photos...  (I will tell you now that you will not be seeing photos of the guest of honor.  She is very pregnant with twins, and I fear for my physical well-being should I post photos of her on the World Wide Web for all to see.  ;-)  We did get some great pics though.  :-)

Katie's house is currently being remodeled, so we had to get a little creative when it came to covering up exposed beams, etc.  We (and by "we," I mean "Katie" because I'm a big giant chicken when it comes to standing on ladders) covered just about all of the exposed beams with turquoise table coverings.  A "life"-sized "Cat in the Hat" greeted guests as they arrived.

Lots of Dr. Seuss books and little "hidden" touches throughout the house...  Complete with a kids' table and homemade Dr. Seuss coloring books for the kiddos.

The Sign-In table...

Guests signed a matted photo of Thing 1 and Thing 2 in place of a traditional guest book. The picture was framed so Christy can hang it in the nursery.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Diaper Cakes...  We'd never done diaper cakes before, but they were surprisingly easy!  We knocked these out in less than 30 minutes!

Yes, we even had a candy bar.  (Hee-hee...  Get it?  A "candy bar?"  ;-)

Thing 1 & Thing 2 cupcakes that Katie's mom made for the shower. SO CUTE! They started out with blue cotton candy "hair," but the humidity was a little too high, and it quickly melted. :( Mama Havins was prepared though, and Plan B worked out perfectly! Thank you, Kathy!!! :D)

SUPER-YUMMY cake that my friend, Jeanne, and her husband made for us.

One table of food... Green deviled eggs, "Thing" Jello parfaits, fruit salad, our awesome "Thing" cake, raspberry tea w/fresh raspberries, and cranberry lemonade punch...

Christy's favorite of the day was the "Thing" jello parfaits... But the green eggs were gone within 15 minutes.

More yummy food!!! Goldfish crackers & Chex Mix, cheese & crackers, fresh veggies w/ dip (thank you, Mom, for putting those together!), and ham & cheese sliders (sandwiches went FAST... Got the recipe here).



Close-up of the individual veggie cups with dip. SUPER CUTE, and everyone seemed to like them.

The game table... We did the "Baby Food Guessing Game," the "What's in the Diaper Game," and the "Guess How Many Candies Are in the Bottles Game."

I kind of think the candy in the bottle game was rigged. Christy won the M&M one and was only ONE PIECE OFF!!!

Game prizes...  Katie laughed at me because I wrapped and "Seuss-ed" them up a bit.  :-)

I saw this frame idea on several sites, and HAD to do it.  It was a fun way to make sure that we got pictures of everyone at the shower, and we all had a blast.  We had one escapee, but managed to capture everyone else.  Here are a few of my favorites...

My mommy! :-) We forgot to take pics of ourselves because we'd all been working so hard, so we took some last-minute ones so we could prove that yes, we WERE at the shower too. :-)

Katie's mom, Kathy Sue (not to be confused with MY mom, Kathy Sue). We couldn't have pulled this shower off without our moms! They were AWESOME!

Even the kiddos got in on the action!



Besties and co-hostesses... We really do need to go into business doing this. It would be so much fun planning parties with other people's money! :D)

Overall, I was pretty proud of how everything turned out.  I think I hurt in places I didn't even know I had for a few days afterwards, but it was worth it!  Christy got an awesome shower with house full of her closest friends and family.  Katie, our moms, and I were so happy that we could pull this together for her!  She deserved it!!!  :-)

That is SO WRONG! (Or Maybe Not... They Might Be Onto Something...)

Ever since I started blogging, I've had people come up to me with topics or their own ideas about what I should write about.  I'll get random emails from people with photos attached saying something along the lines of "What do you think of this?!?"  That's actually how my first "That is SO WRONG!" post came into being.  A co-worker sent me a photo of high-heeled swimming flippers, and I felt the need to share.  I'll be talking to my BFFs about something and they will say, "You need blog about that!"  Or, like this evening, I will receive a random text from someone giving me my next blog post assignment.

From my BFF - "Blog idea...  PajamaJeans.  Saw them on TV.  I won't lie...  I would like a pair!  :-)  lol, seriously!  Check it out!  :-)"

So, of course, I did.



I have to say, what I thought was going to be another "That is SO WRONG!" post is kind of turning into a "They Might Be Onto Something Here" post.  I mean, seriously!  Who doesn't want a pair of pants that have "the styling of your favorite jeans together with the comfort of pajamas?!?"

"PajamaJeans are so comfortable, you'll want to sleep in them!"  (I freaking love to sleep!  And there's nothing more irritating than coming home from a long day of running errands in real jeans, only to have to change into pajama bottoms before taking a nap.  By all means, save me those thirty seconds!!!)

"Just because you're busy, doesn't mean you can't look sharp."  (So true!  I can ROCK those PajamaJeans!  Just you wait and see!)

"The secret is in the DormiSoft fabric."  (Seriously, people!  It's cotton and spandex!!!  Does it get any better than that?!?)

"High contrast top stitching.  Back pocket design details.  Even brass rivets, so they look like they were made by some European designer!"  (I have to admit, this statement worries me a bit.  They "look like" they were made by "some European designer."  I think I'd feel a little more comfortable if the actual designer stepped forward to claim their work, but then again, I don't know...  They do have brass rivets, people!  Them's "fancy" jeans!)

"Available in 8 sizes including extra small and plus sizes!"  (Awesomeness!  Because definitely, if it can fit an extra small super model chick it is totally going to fit me too!  They are made out of DormiSoft fabric, remember?)

"Run a few errands in sweats, and they start to wrinkle and sag."  (This, I would not know.  I am a firm believer that sweat pants were not made for short, chunky chicks.  I actually don't believe that sweat pants were made for anyone for that matter.  But I'm sure if I were a skinny girl, and I actually owned a pair of sweat pants, I'd probably hate it when they wrinkled and sagged.  Then again, if I were a skinny girl, I would totally dress like a high-priced call girl and wouldn't have a need for PajamaJeans at all!)

"For the first time, you can get PajamaJeans with DormiSoft for just $39.95!"  (Wait a minute!  You expect me to pay $40 for a pair of pajama bottoms?!?  Albeit, pajama bottoms that "look like" they were made by some European designer...  They are still pajama bottoms.)

"If you order now, you get this 100% brushed cotton t-shirt absolutely free!"  (Oh, well...  I suppose if I'm getting a free t-shirt...  I love me some free stuff!  And you know this little t-shirt is gonna look great on my chunky bod!)

So...  I haven't yet made the final decision on whether or not to take the PajamaJeans plunge, but if you see me "looking put together all day long" in some soft-looking jeans with high contrast top stitching and rivets, and rubbing my legs like the girl in the commercial, you'll know I caved (but I think I'll let Katie buy them first.  :-)

"Motivational" Posters

My BFF works in a department that most people are afraid to go anywhere near.  Not so much because of the nature of the work that they perform...  but more because of the volatile atmosphere.  We're talking screaming matches, theft, vandalism of personal property, fist fights, etc.  AT WORK!  There is one woman in particular who is the common denominator in every single battle, and in Katie's words "that b1tch be crazy!" 

In an effort to alleviate some of the animosity in the department, a couple of the group's employees have taken it upon themselves to display varying motivational posters and email daily inspirational quotes to the entire department.  So naive...  So optimistic...  So completely delusional...  Katie of course sends them my way...  Not to inspire me, but to allow me the opportunity to laugh and mock others right along with her.  Because, seriously...  I think fist fights and vandalism are way beyond the point of "thinking happy thoughts" to make it all go away.  Personally, I think someone needs to be fired.  Namely, "Crazy B1tch."  But we're not big on change around here, so I think unless the actual police get involved (as opposed to our rent-a-cops on campus), Crazy B1tch's job seems to be safe.

Being the super-awesome BFF that I am, I have taken it upon myself to help Katie locate some amazing motivational posters of her own that she can share with her department.  Personally, I think that I would be much more inspired to shape up my behavior and attitude if I was sent one of these as opposed to a sweet little poster telling me to "Rise Above."

The mere thought of having to ask, "You want fries with that?" on a daily basis should be enough to send any grown person into a panic.  I think if my boss sent me this poster, I'd shape up fast!

I think this would work well too.  Short.  Sweet. Concise.  Effective.

What exactly are you trying to say?!?  I don't want to be the stupid person!

This is one of those reverse psychology things.  "Wait a minute!  The smart people left?  I guess I need to quit so I can say I'm a smart person!"

A not-so-subtle way of telling everyone to "embrace change."

Okay...  So this one would probably provoke another screaming match or fist fight, but I think it's pretty funny.  :-)

And these, I just think are funny and wanted to share...

While my approach to group motivation and team building might be a little unconventional, I think it could work.  Katie, tell your boss if he's not going to outright fire Crazy B1tch, he should at least consider sending out my motivational posters.  You never know...  It could work!  (Although in Crazy B1tch's case, I think a little jail time is the only solution.)

Albino No More!!!

Had a fun day today!!!  BFF Katie and I took the day off work and brought the twins and her little boy to the waterpark.  I am no longer Tamu, The Great Albino Whale!!!  After five hours outside, I have been upgraded to Tamatoo, The Great Water Tomato!

When I told my sister that I wanted to bring the kids to the waterpark when she and my brother-in-law were out of town this week, she replied with, "Oh!  They'd love that!  Thank you!"  Then the "Mommy List" quickly followed.  "Make sure they drink lots of water so they stay hydrated.  It's hot out there.  And be sure to apply and reapply sunblock throughout the day.  On second thought...  Have them wear a t-shirt!  And make sure they wear their lifejackets." etc. etc. etc.  ;-) 

I followed Christy's orders to the "T..."  So much so, that Katie called me "the mom who sucks all of the fun out of things."  But I feared my sister's wrath if those kids got heat stroke or a horrible sunburn!  We took breaks every 45 minutes to drink water, reapply sunblock, eat a fairly nutritious snack (grapes...  because they have water in them!), and get out of the sun for a few minutes.  Unfortunately for me, I was concentrating so much on keeping the children out of harm's way, that I completely neglected my pasty white self, resulting in a lovely, rather lobster-like shade of red.

We had a blast though, so I think the waves of heat radiating off of my body and the pain that I am certain is to come will be well worth it.  The kids loved the wave pool and the lazy river, and Katie's little boy thought that Buddy was really cool.  Buddy has a way with little kids, and they all love him to pieces.  The twins even went on a couple of the "big kid" slides by themselves!  There was one that was about 2-3 stories up, and I really didn't think they'd go on it alone, but they did!  They made me go first so I could wait at the bottom for them, and they did a really good job listening to the lifeguard who told them when it was okay for them to go.  They're already planning next summer's trip to the even bigger nearby waterpark!  :-)