gratia

Since I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats wondering if I decided to eat turkey or not, I'll keep you waiting no longer... I did. A very small amount, but I did. And it was delicious. I didn't eat very much during Thanksgiving dinner, which is too bad because it was such delicious food. The past few years I've spoiled my Thanksgiving due to one thing: Chuls rolls. I find that I simply can not restrain myself from eating numerous rolls during the process of making them and of course, sampling them post bakage. This year I counted 7 baked, but you'd have to add at least 2 more if you take into account the amount of dough I ate. (I have a thing for dough.) So, because of the continual consumption of rolls pre-Thanksgiving feast, I couldn't stuff in much more. In my defense, these rolls are the best things you will ever eat. If you were in my shoes, you'd have eaten them too.

I heart Thanksgiving. I think it kind of gets the shaft because everyone's worried about Christmas, but I like to hold onto it a little bit longer.... so, even though this is coming a day late, here are just a few of the things I'm grateful for (in no particular order):

nature, trees, sunrises, beautiful sunsets, mountains, the gospel, my grandparents farm, books, music, my family, schwestern, rugby, my rugby team, my friends, my best friend, second chances, chacos, mercy, my education, NPR, Pennsylvania, Texas football, longboards, sunshine, long walks, going to places where you can't hear any cars, traveling, europe, the opportunity to become better, sports, food, experiments, laughing, the Silly Symphony, fireplaces, sleep, ... and I could continue... but I won't. I have much to be grateful for...

results

So, Ja and I didn't make the week of veganism. On day 4 we broke down and went to Smith's for a carton of ice cream (yes, this broke both our veganism and our no sugar. Sorry folks. I'm not perfect). Call us weak, call us crazy, call us whatever you want... I do, however, have a new found respect for vegans and their lifestyle. I sure ain't strong enough to do it.

Last night I went to the most un-vegan place on this great earth for dinner: Tucanos. Cousin Sammy headed into the MTC today and since he eats meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he chose Tucanos as his last dinner before he's restricted to cafeteria food. *sidenote- just a little glimpse into Sammy da Bull's eating habits: his quintessential meal is a Wendy's Baconator, which consists of six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb. beef patties, washed down with a Full Throttle. Anyway... my vegetarianism is still on, so thank heavens Tucanos has a salad bar. Sammy put down an ungodly amount of meat last night, but hey, who could blame the kid? I'm going to miss Sammy da Bull. Since he's lived next to my parents the last two years, he's become pretty much a part of the fam damily. He is definitely my favorite punching bag, and it's nice because he's wiling to dish it right back. I'll miss Sam the next two years, but he and I will get back around the same time... did I just allude to something? Perhaps...

I still can't decide if turkey will be on my plate this Thanksgiving. I'm definitely leaning to yes, but I haven't eaten meat except for 3 occasions, since January. Do I indulge for a day? Please voice your opinions...

Until next time.

Cruel, cruel, irony

At least they're together...

In further news... day 3 of being vegan. Ja and I went to the grocery store on Monday and I bought my first carton of soy milk and skipped over the yogurt and eggs, which is too bad because I love yogurt and eggs. All I've got to say is good thing we're only doing this for a week! (However, the soy milk, I will admit, is tasty.) I asked Janelle if we could stop being vegan today because I was really craving eggs for breakfast, but she said no. We then proceeded to discuss why anyone would want to be vegan for an extended period of time.... we couldn't come up with an answer. It's not terrible, but certainly not a lifestyle I would choose. I'll let you know if my attitude improves about it. But as for right now... I want some eggs.

expérimenter

After indulging in sweets for Halloween after being off sugar for the month of October, Janelle and I re-signed our pact to be sugar free-- this time from now until Thanksgiving. Honestly, after going with out chocolates, ice cream (this one was the hardest), and other candies, I felt really sick after eating just a little bit of junk food. I suppose this is a good thing. Janelle is a food science major and last night, the regional confectioners association had a meeting up in Salt Lake at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. This meeting's topic was chocolate. Score! All the students in Ja's major were invited and they could bring a friend. Ja so kindly invited me and how could I refuse? Needless to say, my body is definitely in need of the 3 week detox of sugar after last night. But it was good. SO good. But as of today, here's to being sugar free!!!

Speaking of dietary experiments, Janelle and I are also going to try being vegan for a week as soon as we finish off the milk and eggs that are currently in our fridge. I'm already vegetarian, but hey, who needs animal products at all?! Well, I do, definitely, but this is the time in my life to try some new things. Wish us luck!

Blue is my favorite color...

except for when it came to this year's presidential election.

I voted for the first time yesterday. The touch screen was pretty great. Alright, that wasn't the ONLY cool thing about it... What a great privilege we have to vote. I just wish the majority of people in this country hadn't voted the way they did as far as the president is concerned. I'll be honest, I don't like John McCain a whole bunch either, but eeks. These next few years will be interesting.... I'm nervous for Obama's socialist leanings, i.e. making the government in charge of health care (and everything else for that matter), his insane tax plan, etc. etc.... I'm not saying McCain was my numero uno, but he was certainly the preferable choice in my mind. We'll see if Obama can pull through on all this "change" he's promised over and over again. I'm sure things will change, but I not sure it will be for the better.

Anyway... there's are my feelings in brief. Feel free to disagree. But hey, props to America for electing an African American president. We sure have come a long way... It's just too bad it had to be Obama.

Trick Or Treat

I thought this one was pretty good....

Hiatus

Haven't posted in awhile... whoops. Lots has happened. Brief summary:

1) Canadian Thanksgiving with the rugby team = lots of carbs and post-dinner, playing penalties in which the teammate who loses the game of spoons has to a) eat food that someone else chewed up, b) Down a shot of a concoction that included raw egg and mayonnaise, c) give an unsuspecting boy at a random house a kiss or d) eat a live fish. Thank heavens for my cat-like reflexes.

2) My roommate Janelle and I made a pact on October 6th that we would not eat any sugar (i.e. candy, chocolate, ice cream, etc.) until Halloween. Stupidest decision of my life, but yet very good for me.

3) Went to a rugby tournament in Albuquerque, NM this past weekend. Festivities included: 9.5 hour car drive on Friday, 3 rugby games on Saturday, and 9.5 hour car drive on Sunday. Thank heavens for "would you rather" and amazing teammates or else I would not have survived. As for our games, we won 2 out of 3, and we should of won the third. But learned a lot. It was a great trip.

4) Today, I officially fail at life. Good thing there's tomorrow.