What is life worth if we can't indulge in things that we enjoy (whether it's good or bad) now and then? Like having popcorn at the theater even though it isn't good for one's high cholesterol :-) Like seeing memorable movies that last with you. My most recent must-see movie is Slumdog Millionaire. It was about a guy in India who won 20 million rupees and the show producers thought he was cheating. So he had to retell the story of his life and how he learned the answer to each question. It's a very tight plot and it has a lot of buzz as a best picture contender. There are a lot of great movies this Christmas that I can't wait to see such as Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Milk, Valkerie, the Reader, Confession of a Shoppaholic (OK, I like the actor and actress in it even if it might be a slightly ditzy movie), etc.
Another indulgence that I enjoy is trying out new restaurants. It's always exciting for me to try out a new restaurant, cuisine, or dish. My absolute favorite restaurant is in my own town and it serves fusion southern food that is California cuisine crossed with Lousiana southern food. Since the chef used to be obese, he uses healthier cooking methods to make his fried chicken and cornmeal catfish. So somehow the food isn't very greasy and all the greens are super fresh. So how can you beat yummy southern food with much less guilt! Although I have only managed to find time to go to their Sunday brunch once, this restaurant's whole wheat waffles and fried chicken still swim in my head every Sunday morning.
Another indulgence is finding a good bottle of wine. I have always liked bold red wines and I am a softie for any Rhone or red blends. The best bottle of wine I have tried had somehow always been from my Yosemite picnics. I don't know if I just pick better bottles for Yosemite or it's the hiking or the scenery. My most memorable bottle of merlot was a half-bottle Clos du Val, which was small enough and light enough for a hike. Another great bottle of red was a Rhone blend that I accidentally chilled. Because it was slightly warm in Yosemite in September, the accidental chilled red was really refreshing - who would have thought that of red wine :-) This last month I have really gotten to like Riesling and the occasional Chardonay even though previously I really didn't stock much white wines at home.
Going to the bookstore to buy new books and read at their cafe is another of my favorite indulgences. For some reason, I go through phases where I stop going to the bookstores and then I pick up and start going all the time for a long stretch. I am on one of those stretches right now. The same thing with reading. I go on stretches where I read a bunch and then I can't seem to want to read. I once had to wait in line at a foreign airport for at least an hour and a half and got so into Middlemarch that I didn't realize how thick the book was. After that, George Eliot became one of my favorite authors.
Speaking of foreign airports. OK, I don't love foreign airports but I do love traveling. I love seeing new sights and visiting new places. I have always wanted to visit Italy or other parts of Europe outside of France/Belgium/the Netherlands. I had some "close" opportunities to go to the UK this year with my husband's business travel but that didn't pan out. My husband and I are plotting and planning for a possible trip to Italy next year. Let's just hope that our frequently flier mileage will all work out and that this trip will be possible next year.
Finally, surprised and complimentary services are always so nice to have because it makes the indulgence guilt-free. I had a choice of a complimentary massage or facial as part of my gym membership promotion. Since facial was the one spa treatment I had never had, I picked that to try. The facial was wonderful. The steam and the different treatments done were all very relaxing. My skin felt so light and glowy for at least a couple days - may be it was all psychological but hey at least something else worked if not my skin :-) Now I know why the Hollywood stars always get facial treatments. I don't think I am hollywood enough to spend that kind of money but it was great while it lasted.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Couldn't the break just last a bit longer?
I don't understand why a week off from work would go by so fast. I had thought that it would last and feel very long -- like a month worth...but then it came and went and I felt like I only had 3 days off. How did that happen? It was slightly depressing when Friday and Saturday rolled around because the inevitable Monday was around the corner. By Sunday, I had finally come to term with it and so it wasn't as devastating :-) Now I just can't wait for Christmas to be here.
Part of the reason why my break felt so short was because I spent Monday dealing with the plumber who tried to fix our leaking faucet. It didn't get fixed by the way because apparently we now need a brand new faucet - oh, the joy of dealing with plumbers (even though this one was actually very good). Speaking of plumbers, I now have a fear of cablemen. I didn't used to but my 2-out-of-3 California experience with cablemen left me slightly scarred. When I was recently asked whether I would like a cableman to come by and install a DVR or pick it up and install it myself, I was adamant to install it myself. It's like a crapshoot with the cableman that you get. I have had 2 really scary ones. So when a nice one came recently, I found myself telling him how much I appreciated his helpfulness and knowledge. I asked how I could request him next time. Come to find out, my cable line was really messed up that day and he was a specialist and that was why he was so good. So I am only calling cablemen for "serious" and "specialty" problems from now on.
Another reason why my week off was so short was because Tuesday was spent on going to the dentist for a deep teeth cleaning and some fillings. The dentist had to give me numbing shots to do the cleaning because I was too sensitive to pain. I couldn't speak or eat for 4-5 hours afterwards. I made the mistake of dropping by the grocery store to pick up some food. Not a great idea when your mouth is all numbed because you wouldn't be able to feel the drooling or your face to wipe it off. It was kind of funny actually. I also wasn't smart enough to have a big meal before going to the dentist and couldn't have dinner until 9:30pm when the numbing wore off. Then my jaw ached, my tongue was still numb, and my teeth were too sensitive to enjoy dinner. I remembered that the dentist paperwork actually asked if one was afraid of being at the dentist. I think I will mark yes next time.
The rest of the week was much more relaxing. I am a huge believer in keeping Thanksgiving and cooking in general simple and easy. So of course I ordered a pre-cooked turkey meal. Trust me, it's still very good but with none of the stress and mess.
I also got to see tons of movies last week. Australia for starters and then 2 black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movies (the Maltese Falcon and To Have or Have Not). Australia was not great and not bad either...but definitely cheesy...and it was 3-hour long. The black-and-white movies were great and they were at this beautiful old theater that was very well ornated. There is always a man that plays the organ before the show starts. Feels very old timey and posh.
My husband and I also managed to sneak in a hike at Mount Diablo on Saturday. It was only supposed to be a 5-mile hike but more than half of it was uphill and on the side of the mountain. It really wasn't fun trying to not slip and hurt oneself. At one point we thought we were lost and couldn't find the loop that was described in our printed internet info. We kept going because turning around seemed worse. It was one of the harder hikes that I have had recently.
I also managed to try out a new class at the gym last week and I don't plan to take it again. I don't get why people like spinning classes so much. It's hellish! The seat is extremely uncomfortable and who can ride a bike for an hour with resistance being increased throughout the hour. I started to check the clock after the first 5 minutes and was out of gas by the 30-minute mark. I hanged in for the remaining 30 but barely and couldn't really increase the resistance the way the instructor wanted. It's a great workout but I don't have the endurance. I also need to practice getting used to a bike seat first because I could still feel the seat days later.
I also spent time re-reading some of my old novels. I made the mistake of tivo'ing Bridget Jones's Diary and so I have been re-reading the book and the sequel (the Edge of Reason). I kind of like the sequel better because the first novel barely talked about Bridget and Darcy's relationship and hence their romance was not very believable. Anyhow, I kind of enjoy how Bridget is very expressive and slighly neurotic --- kind of relatable somehow.
I just wish that there was more time in the day or week, especially while one is on vacation. I had had high hopes of being able to make Christmas cards this year. Well, let's hope the Christmas break will feel longer somehow.
Part of the reason why my break felt so short was because I spent Monday dealing with the plumber who tried to fix our leaking faucet. It didn't get fixed by the way because apparently we now need a brand new faucet - oh, the joy of dealing with plumbers (even though this one was actually very good). Speaking of plumbers, I now have a fear of cablemen. I didn't used to but my 2-out-of-3 California experience with cablemen left me slightly scarred. When I was recently asked whether I would like a cableman to come by and install a DVR or pick it up and install it myself, I was adamant to install it myself. It's like a crapshoot with the cableman that you get. I have had 2 really scary ones. So when a nice one came recently, I found myself telling him how much I appreciated his helpfulness and knowledge. I asked how I could request him next time. Come to find out, my cable line was really messed up that day and he was a specialist and that was why he was so good. So I am only calling cablemen for "serious" and "specialty" problems from now on.
Another reason why my week off was so short was because Tuesday was spent on going to the dentist for a deep teeth cleaning and some fillings. The dentist had to give me numbing shots to do the cleaning because I was too sensitive to pain. I couldn't speak or eat for 4-5 hours afterwards. I made the mistake of dropping by the grocery store to pick up some food. Not a great idea when your mouth is all numbed because you wouldn't be able to feel the drooling or your face to wipe it off. It was kind of funny actually. I also wasn't smart enough to have a big meal before going to the dentist and couldn't have dinner until 9:30pm when the numbing wore off. Then my jaw ached, my tongue was still numb, and my teeth were too sensitive to enjoy dinner. I remembered that the dentist paperwork actually asked if one was afraid of being at the dentist. I think I will mark yes next time.
The rest of the week was much more relaxing. I am a huge believer in keeping Thanksgiving and cooking in general simple and easy. So of course I ordered a pre-cooked turkey meal. Trust me, it's still very good but with none of the stress and mess.
I also got to see tons of movies last week. Australia for starters and then 2 black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movies (the Maltese Falcon and To Have or Have Not). Australia was not great and not bad either...but definitely cheesy...and it was 3-hour long. The black-and-white movies were great and they were at this beautiful old theater that was very well ornated. There is always a man that plays the organ before the show starts. Feels very old timey and posh.
My husband and I also managed to sneak in a hike at Mount Diablo on Saturday. It was only supposed to be a 5-mile hike but more than half of it was uphill and on the side of the mountain. It really wasn't fun trying to not slip and hurt oneself. At one point we thought we were lost and couldn't find the loop that was described in our printed internet info. We kept going because turning around seemed worse. It was one of the harder hikes that I have had recently.
I also managed to try out a new class at the gym last week and I don't plan to take it again. I don't get why people like spinning classes so much. It's hellish! The seat is extremely uncomfortable and who can ride a bike for an hour with resistance being increased throughout the hour. I started to check the clock after the first 5 minutes and was out of gas by the 30-minute mark. I hanged in for the remaining 30 but barely and couldn't really increase the resistance the way the instructor wanted. It's a great workout but I don't have the endurance. I also need to practice getting used to a bike seat first because I could still feel the seat days later.
I also spent time re-reading some of my old novels. I made the mistake of tivo'ing Bridget Jones's Diary and so I have been re-reading the book and the sequel (the Edge of Reason). I kind of like the sequel better because the first novel barely talked about Bridget and Darcy's relationship and hence their romance was not very believable. Anyhow, I kind of enjoy how Bridget is very expressive and slighly neurotic --- kind of relatable somehow.
I just wish that there was more time in the day or week, especially while one is on vacation. I had had high hopes of being able to make Christmas cards this year. Well, let's hope the Christmas break will feel longer somehow.
Monday, November 3, 2008
A Fun Week and V-Day
So I had a pretty fun week last week because I took Monday off. I got to do some shopping in San Francisco and had some good finds with jeans and exercising pants. Since I am wearing more jeans and going to the gym more these days, these 2 clothing items seem to be all that I need. My husband and I also got to try out a popular Chinese restaurant in the city and visited the Ferry building for some shopping.
For Halloween, we stayed in to watch rented scary movies and gave out candies. I missed Halloween last year and also the earthquake that came with it because I was traveling for work. So it was great hanging out at home watching TV. The kids who stopped by really love seeing our dog and getting to pet him. We had a decent turn-out with about 10 groups of trick-or-treaters, but I wished there were more because I am still left with too much candies.
This weekend, we went to see a new play in the city called Quality of Life. The cast of 4 included actors that have been in many movies, sitcoms, and TV series. One of the cast members was that the lady who played Rosanne's sister on Rosanne. It was a pretty good play about 2 different couples from the the midwest and California and their different perspectives on life, death, and religion. It was kind of depressing though since it dealt with death.
So I am looking forward to Voting Day (V-Day) tomorrow. California has about 15 Propositions to vote on this time. It seems that anyone who can collect enough signatures want to burden the rest of us with their proposition. For example, I don't need to vote on a proposition that would allow the gov't to give Californians incentive money to buy a fuel-efficient car. How about No on that proposition since California already has a huge budget deficit and this is just not a priority! People can buy their own fuel-efficient cars or just carpool! These propositions are super confusing because both sides of the issues try to be all biased and often lie about their points. I have finally managed to read up on all propositions this past Sunday and now I am all informed and ready to vote.
Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage, is a hot button issue in the Bay area. A couple weekends ago, both of our main streets were covered with people with the Yes (a ban on gay marriage) and No (in support of gay marriage) signs. The cars that drove by carried and waved their No signs at the Yes people. It was kind of funny to see how heated people are in the Bay area about this issue. The polls have been flip-flopping several times this year. Part of it is because it is very even split. Earlier in the year, it was 50-something percent in favor of Yes (i.e. a ban on gay marriage). The September poll was 44%-49% in favor of No. Today's poll has shifted in the opposite direction again in favor of Yes. So this could go either way and it's a bit scarry. With the margin of error being around 5%, I guess we won't know how this will turn out until after Tuesday.
For Halloween, we stayed in to watch rented scary movies and gave out candies. I missed Halloween last year and also the earthquake that came with it because I was traveling for work. So it was great hanging out at home watching TV. The kids who stopped by really love seeing our dog and getting to pet him. We had a decent turn-out with about 10 groups of trick-or-treaters, but I wished there were more because I am still left with too much candies.
This weekend, we went to see a new play in the city called Quality of Life. The cast of 4 included actors that have been in many movies, sitcoms, and TV series. One of the cast members was that the lady who played Rosanne's sister on Rosanne. It was a pretty good play about 2 different couples from the the midwest and California and their different perspectives on life, death, and religion. It was kind of depressing though since it dealt with death.
So I am looking forward to Voting Day (V-Day) tomorrow. California has about 15 Propositions to vote on this time. It seems that anyone who can collect enough signatures want to burden the rest of us with their proposition. For example, I don't need to vote on a proposition that would allow the gov't to give Californians incentive money to buy a fuel-efficient car. How about No on that proposition since California already has a huge budget deficit and this is just not a priority! People can buy their own fuel-efficient cars or just carpool! These propositions are super confusing because both sides of the issues try to be all biased and often lie about their points. I have finally managed to read up on all propositions this past Sunday and now I am all informed and ready to vote.
Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage, is a hot button issue in the Bay area. A couple weekends ago, both of our main streets were covered with people with the Yes (a ban on gay marriage) and No (in support of gay marriage) signs. The cars that drove by carried and waved their No signs at the Yes people. It was kind of funny to see how heated people are in the Bay area about this issue. The polls have been flip-flopping several times this year. Part of it is because it is very even split. Earlier in the year, it was 50-something percent in favor of Yes (i.e. a ban on gay marriage). The September poll was 44%-49% in favor of No. Today's poll has shifted in the opposite direction again in favor of Yes. So this could go either way and it's a bit scarry. With the margin of error being around 5%, I guess we won't know how this will turn out until after Tuesday.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Point Reyes Hiking and Pumpkin Festival
Last weekend was a fun weekend for me because I took off from work on Friday and as a result had an extended weekend. I really should take off more often. I certainly still have lots of vacation days left.
So on Friday, my husband and I decided to go hiking in Marin County at Point Reyes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Reyes). We were on this Coastal Trail that was along the cost for the first mile and the coastline was very pretty.
Saturday we decided to go and visit a pumkin farm in Half Moon Bay. Normally, that would have been a very pleasant experience but last Saturday was also the Pumpkin Festival. So the traffic was horrible on the way there. We had to see the festival, which was kind of lame but then again may be we are just not festival people. It was just a very typical festival with kiosks selling trinkets and some artsy stuff - none of which were exciting enough to buy. The food was as usual a lot of deep fried stuff. We managed to limit ourselves to some pumpkin beer (which was good), pumpkin mac-n-cheese (which has no pumpkin taste in it), and pumpkin pie. I was sorely tempted by the corn dogs but thanks goodness I prevail and didn't have any.
We also managed to see a couple movies this week: W and Religulous. With all the hype about W, I would have expected it to be better since there is so much good material with George Bush to work with :-) It is not a bad movie by any means but it wasn't a great movie. It might have been the storytelling or filming style that bugged me. Josh Brolin did a very good job with W's mannerism though.
Religulous was kind of interesting - still not best movie or my most recommended movie. Although Bill Maher can be funny sometimes, most of the time I tend to be a bit skeptical of his view since I know that he is so skewed on one side. Anyhow, my neighbors who are normally Bill Maher fans didn't think the movie was very good. So perhaps because I went in with such low expectation that I came out of the movie thinking that it was actually an OK movie and was worth seeing. Bill Maher raised some interesting points and I definitely learned a few new things from the movie. There were other points that I wished he had raised to balance out his one-sided view, but then that would not been the Bill Maher that we know :-) I think it's the science/math side of me that would like to see the pros and cons or both sides of an issue and I have to remember that most documentaries are not made that way...Most people have a definite opinion about something and that's the point-of-view that they attempt to prove in a documentary.
So on Friday, my husband and I decided to go hiking in Marin County at Point Reyes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Reyes). We were on this Coastal Trail that was along the cost for the first mile and the coastline was very pretty.
Saturday we decided to go and visit a pumkin farm in Half Moon Bay. Normally, that would have been a very pleasant experience but last Saturday was also the Pumpkin Festival. So the traffic was horrible on the way there. We had to see the festival, which was kind of lame but then again may be we are just not festival people. It was just a very typical festival with kiosks selling trinkets and some artsy stuff - none of which were exciting enough to buy. The food was as usual a lot of deep fried stuff. We managed to limit ourselves to some pumpkin beer (which was good), pumpkin mac-n-cheese (which has no pumpkin taste in it), and pumpkin pie. I was sorely tempted by the corn dogs but thanks goodness I prevail and didn't have any.
We also managed to see a couple movies this week: W and Religulous. With all the hype about W, I would have expected it to be better since there is so much good material with George Bush to work with :-) It is not a bad movie by any means but it wasn't a great movie. It might have been the storytelling or filming style that bugged me. Josh Brolin did a very good job with W's mannerism though.
Religulous was kind of interesting - still not best movie or my most recommended movie. Although Bill Maher can be funny sometimes, most of the time I tend to be a bit skeptical of his view since I know that he is so skewed on one side. Anyhow, my neighbors who are normally Bill Maher fans didn't think the movie was very good. So perhaps because I went in with such low expectation that I came out of the movie thinking that it was actually an OK movie and was worth seeing. Bill Maher raised some interesting points and I definitely learned a few new things from the movie. There were other points that I wished he had raised to balance out his one-sided view, but then that would not been the Bill Maher that we know :-) I think it's the science/math side of me that would like to see the pros and cons or both sides of an issue and I have to remember that most documentaries are not made that way...Most people have a definite opinion about something and that's the point-of-view that they attempt to prove in a documentary.
Monday, October 13, 2008
My Vegan Food Adventure Continues...
So my vegan food adventure continued this weekend and I am feeling that this deserves another post. This weekend, my husband and I decided to try out a new vegan place in the city. So we googled and found Cafe Gratitude: http://www.cafegratitude.com/
Cafe Gratitude is a cool vegan restaurant with a bunch of locations all over the bay area. One of the cool features about the restaurant is the communal tables that sit about 6 people per table. So it's a great place to strike up a conversation with friendly strangers, which was exactly what we did. The folks that we met were all regulars at the cafe and so they had great tips to share about what to order. It was also very cool to hear their experiences with vegan food. We even found out that one of the girls we talked to lived a couple miles from us.
We had some split pea soup, a warm Thai quinoa bowl and a sampler plater with a little bit of everything. While everything in the sampler plater was good, I realized that I am less of a crunchy crackers and dip kind of person and more of a soft grain and warm food person. So naturally I like the "warm" Thai quinoa bowl the most and I was very impressed with how authentically Thai (not that I really know what this is) the taste was. This cafe also has so many dessert items in their glass case that it was hard to decide from the Rasberry creme pie, German chocolate cake, tiramisu, chocolate mouse and creme pie, etc. We settled on a chocolate creme pie, which was probably the best part of the meal. Ever since we discovered vegan desserts, my husband and I are convinced that vegan desserts are the best. They are even better than the best desserts that I have had at my favorite pastry shops. The frequenters at the cafe all raved that vegan desserts are the best. I think we are now sufficiently sworn off non-vegan desserts.
While eating at Cafe Gratitude, it occurred to me that the food from the vegan cafe in my gym is also very phenominal and yet slightly cheaper than Cafe Gratitude. It's also more accessible since it's inside my gym. Located at the entrance of our gym, our local vegan cafe is actually a cafe that is open to the public and not just to our gym members and so it does stock itself with a variety of vegan dishes. While I do enjoy the food and the experience at Cafe Gratitude, I am not sure that I would be back simply because I am going to go to the vegan cafe in my gym more often instead.
One great thing about a vegan meal is that we both felt lighter and brighter after the meals, which isn't always the case with non-vegan food. So because of our positive experience with Cafe Gratitude and with vegan food so far, today my husband and I decided to "join the program" and created a prepaid tab at our gym vegan cafe. The prepaid tab there is a reasonable small amount, and we can now take out food from there without having to bring a wallet with us. Also, a minor benefit to the tab is that the cafe gave us more spending dollars than what we prepaid as incentives. I am really excited about being able to take out vegan food from time to time to complement or substitute for my non-vegan cooking.
So guess what our first purchase on the prepaid tab was? I swear this was why my husband was so enthusiastic about the prepaid tab. A whole chocolate creme pie of course! I know that it is not the best thing to get given that there are other healthier options but I am just going to have to rely on my "great" self-control and not eat too much. I think this chocolate creme pie is even better than the one from Cafe Gratitude. I am not the only one who find their pies delicious -- apparently so does Whole Foods. I found out today that Whole Foods will start carrying their pies. I don't know if this means only the Whole Foods in my area or everywhere but I am guessing that it's probably just the ones in my area.
Cafe Gratitude is a cool vegan restaurant with a bunch of locations all over the bay area. One of the cool features about the restaurant is the communal tables that sit about 6 people per table. So it's a great place to strike up a conversation with friendly strangers, which was exactly what we did. The folks that we met were all regulars at the cafe and so they had great tips to share about what to order. It was also very cool to hear their experiences with vegan food. We even found out that one of the girls we talked to lived a couple miles from us.
We had some split pea soup, a warm Thai quinoa bowl and a sampler plater with a little bit of everything. While everything in the sampler plater was good, I realized that I am less of a crunchy crackers and dip kind of person and more of a soft grain and warm food person. So naturally I like the "warm" Thai quinoa bowl the most and I was very impressed with how authentically Thai (not that I really know what this is) the taste was. This cafe also has so many dessert items in their glass case that it was hard to decide from the Rasberry creme pie, German chocolate cake, tiramisu, chocolate mouse and creme pie, etc. We settled on a chocolate creme pie, which was probably the best part of the meal. Ever since we discovered vegan desserts, my husband and I are convinced that vegan desserts are the best. They are even better than the best desserts that I have had at my favorite pastry shops. The frequenters at the cafe all raved that vegan desserts are the best. I think we are now sufficiently sworn off non-vegan desserts.
While eating at Cafe Gratitude, it occurred to me that the food from the vegan cafe in my gym is also very phenominal and yet slightly cheaper than Cafe Gratitude. It's also more accessible since it's inside my gym. Located at the entrance of our gym, our local vegan cafe is actually a cafe that is open to the public and not just to our gym members and so it does stock itself with a variety of vegan dishes. While I do enjoy the food and the experience at Cafe Gratitude, I am not sure that I would be back simply because I am going to go to the vegan cafe in my gym more often instead.
One great thing about a vegan meal is that we both felt lighter and brighter after the meals, which isn't always the case with non-vegan food. So because of our positive experience with Cafe Gratitude and with vegan food so far, today my husband and I decided to "join the program" and created a prepaid tab at our gym vegan cafe. The prepaid tab there is a reasonable small amount, and we can now take out food from there without having to bring a wallet with us. Also, a minor benefit to the tab is that the cafe gave us more spending dollars than what we prepaid as incentives. I am really excited about being able to take out vegan food from time to time to complement or substitute for my non-vegan cooking.
So guess what our first purchase on the prepaid tab was? I swear this was why my husband was so enthusiastic about the prepaid tab. A whole chocolate creme pie of course! I know that it is not the best thing to get given that there are other healthier options but I am just going to have to rely on my "great" self-control and not eat too much. I think this chocolate creme pie is even better than the one from Cafe Gratitude. I am not the only one who find their pies delicious -- apparently so does Whole Foods. I found out today that Whole Foods will start carrying their pies. I don't know if this means only the Whole Foods in my area or everywhere but I am guessing that it's probably just the ones in my area.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Vegan Food
I have always been very willing to try any new cuisine or dishes because I don't want to stick with the same old cuisine when there is so much diversity. So although I am not a vegan, I have always liked vegan food because the ones that I have had are so yummy.
One of my favorite vegan food is this Indian dish (I can't remember the name) at Whole Foods with tofu as a substitute for meat. Adding a little hot sauce to it and I could eat this dish all day. My only issue with this dish now is that I would like brown rice instead of white rice.
My gym has this fantastic vegan cafe. Everything there is super healthy and vegan. They give huge portion for the meals and the prices are reasonable and so their meals make for great take-out. Their desserts, like the chocolate mouse pie and chocolate clusters, are also very good but they are pricey and so as a result I am not as tempted to eat their desserts that often.
Last night was our gym night and since my husband and I both had early gym appointments with our trainers, I decided to not cook. So we had some take-out meals from this cafe. My husband ordered the Kale Quinoa Toss and I had the Fiesta Quinoa Toss. While they were both extremely yummy, I liked mine much better because you can't go wrong with anything fiesta related. I have never had quinoa before. So I had to ask the chef about it and googled it afterwards. Apparently, quinoa is a very healthy grain that is high in protein. The good thing is we still had quite a bit of left-over quinoa for another meal later tonight.
If I can have a full-time chef like Oprah and my chef can cook vegan meals like these, then sign me up to be a vegan...in fact, I'll be anything my chef wants me to be as long as I am fed with good meals that I don't have to prepare :-)
One of my favorite vegan food is this Indian dish (I can't remember the name) at Whole Foods with tofu as a substitute for meat. Adding a little hot sauce to it and I could eat this dish all day. My only issue with this dish now is that I would like brown rice instead of white rice.
My gym has this fantastic vegan cafe. Everything there is super healthy and vegan. They give huge portion for the meals and the prices are reasonable and so their meals make for great take-out. Their desserts, like the chocolate mouse pie and chocolate clusters, are also very good but they are pricey and so as a result I am not as tempted to eat their desserts that often.
Last night was our gym night and since my husband and I both had early gym appointments with our trainers, I decided to not cook. So we had some take-out meals from this cafe. My husband ordered the Kale Quinoa Toss and I had the Fiesta Quinoa Toss. While they were both extremely yummy, I liked mine much better because you can't go wrong with anything fiesta related. I have never had quinoa before. So I had to ask the chef about it and googled it afterwards. Apparently, quinoa is a very healthy grain that is high in protein. The good thing is we still had quite a bit of left-over quinoa for another meal later tonight.
If I can have a full-time chef like Oprah and my chef can cook vegan meals like these, then sign me up to be a vegan...in fact, I'll be anything my chef wants me to be as long as I am fed with good meals that I don't have to prepare :-)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sizing Down and Sushi Boats
I am trying to fit 2 separate topics into 1 post today. So the 2 topics in the title really don't have anything to do with each other.
First, the sizing down part...I have had to lose weight recently due to my high cholesterol. The nice thing about losing weight is I am dropping a size or two as a result. The bad thing is none of my pants fit anymore and so I need to go pants/jeans shopping and I really hate shopping for them. Because I am short enough to need petite sizes, finding pants or jeans with short enough length so that I don't have to alter is painful...and because I hate taking things to the alteration shop to alter, I refuse to buy any pants that won't fit me length-wise to begin with. Tops are a lot easier to buy because it doesn't have to fit perfectly. The only place that I used to be able to buy dressy pants and jeans was The Limited. I don't like shopping at The Limited for a couple reasons: First, their pants are never on sale when I need them and I always feel like I am paying an arm and a leg for the pants. Secondly, if you are not a size 0, the Limited tends to give you a complex when you go there because everything there seems to be a size 0 -- all the clothes that look so good on the manequins are size 0 and the manequins are 6 feet all and so the clothes don't look so hot on you when you try them on. Since Ann Taylor Loft does carry a very nice assortment of petite jeans that fit me well and since I don't have to buy pants for work anymore, I don't have to mess with The Limited for a while.
Another bad thing about losing weight is that now I am all confused about what my new size is. So it requires some returns when I order things online. For example, I had scoured the Bay area Ann Taylor Loft store for a larger size with my Pumpkin Spice jacket, it arrived today, and it was too big. So then I had to go back to the store (though only 5-10 minutes away) to switch to the smaller size at the store which I had tried on previously and thought it was too small. All of tops also seem to be down a size now and since this is my first or second time shopping since I have lost weight, I am still trying to figure out what my current size is. So it's really annoying to have to grab 3 sizes of each -- the size that I used to be in, the smaller size that I am in now and I am still learning that this is now my new size, and the one size smaller than my current size that I "wishfully" hope I can be one day (although I think I finally figure out today that this last size is still in the "wishful thinking" category).
Finally, another bad thing about losing weight is that if you still have say 5 more lbs to go, it's very frustrating trying to get the last 5 lbs off. You are also at a quandry as to whether you should buy pants for the size that you are now or the next size down which does fit you but is a bit snug and will definitely fit you when you are 5 more lbs lighter. See my dilema? I know, it is not really a dilema but it does make shopping tricker. Now I feel like a Seinfeld episode with all the neurotic explanation about the different sizes -- Seinfeld or George would definitely have gone into depth about all these possiblities :-)
Now the second topic...Sushi Boat. I am liking sushi a lot more now that I am in the Bay area. My favorite sushi places is all close to my house, which makes it very addictive and costly. Today when I went to exchange my Pumpkin Spice jacket, I saw a sushi boat restaurant where
boats full of sushi move around in front of you and you can just grab the plate that you want. The plates are color coded so that the waiter/waitress can tally your bill based on the color. I decided to stop by this sushi boat restaurant and try it out. In truth, sushi boat restaurants don't make the best sushi because to me sushi is better when it's freshly made and the rice is still warm. Today, I chose some sushi from the floating boats as well as ordering some fresh ones and the fresh ones were noticeably better than the floating ones that have been sitting out. Although it is not the best sushi, I do like sushi boat restaurants because it's a lot of fun seeing the boats float to you and choosing from the variety of sushi available. My sushi dinner today was surprisingly cheap. I will probably go back to this restaurant again even though it's driving distance (still just 5-10 mins) since there is only one other sushi boat restaurant near my house and it is not a very good one.
First, the sizing down part...I have had to lose weight recently due to my high cholesterol. The nice thing about losing weight is I am dropping a size or two as a result. The bad thing is none of my pants fit anymore and so I need to go pants/jeans shopping and I really hate shopping for them. Because I am short enough to need petite sizes, finding pants or jeans with short enough length so that I don't have to alter is painful...and because I hate taking things to the alteration shop to alter, I refuse to buy any pants that won't fit me length-wise to begin with. Tops are a lot easier to buy because it doesn't have to fit perfectly. The only place that I used to be able to buy dressy pants and jeans was The Limited. I don't like shopping at The Limited for a couple reasons: First, their pants are never on sale when I need them and I always feel like I am paying an arm and a leg for the pants. Secondly, if you are not a size 0, the Limited tends to give you a complex when you go there because everything there seems to be a size 0 -- all the clothes that look so good on the manequins are size 0 and the manequins are 6 feet all and so the clothes don't look so hot on you when you try them on. Since Ann Taylor Loft does carry a very nice assortment of petite jeans that fit me well and since I don't have to buy pants for work anymore, I don't have to mess with The Limited for a while.
Another bad thing about losing weight is that now I am all confused about what my new size is. So it requires some returns when I order things online. For example, I had scoured the Bay area Ann Taylor Loft store for a larger size with my Pumpkin Spice jacket, it arrived today, and it was too big. So then I had to go back to the store (though only 5-10 minutes away) to switch to the smaller size at the store which I had tried on previously and thought it was too small. All of tops also seem to be down a size now and since this is my first or second time shopping since I have lost weight, I am still trying to figure out what my current size is. So it's really annoying to have to grab 3 sizes of each -- the size that I used to be in, the smaller size that I am in now and I am still learning that this is now my new size, and the one size smaller than my current size that I "wishfully" hope I can be one day (although I think I finally figure out today that this last size is still in the "wishful thinking" category).
Finally, another bad thing about losing weight is that if you still have say 5 more lbs to go, it's very frustrating trying to get the last 5 lbs off. You are also at a quandry as to whether you should buy pants for the size that you are now or the next size down which does fit you but is a bit snug and will definitely fit you when you are 5 more lbs lighter. See my dilema? I know, it is not really a dilema but it does make shopping tricker. Now I feel like a Seinfeld episode with all the neurotic explanation about the different sizes -- Seinfeld or George would definitely have gone into depth about all these possiblities :-)
Now the second topic...Sushi Boat. I am liking sushi a lot more now that I am in the Bay area. My favorite sushi places is all close to my house, which makes it very addictive and costly. Today when I went to exchange my Pumpkin Spice jacket, I saw a sushi boat restaurant where
boats full of sushi move around in front of you and you can just grab the plate that you want. The plates are color coded so that the waiter/waitress can tally your bill based on the color. I decided to stop by this sushi boat restaurant and try it out. In truth, sushi boat restaurants don't make the best sushi because to me sushi is better when it's freshly made and the rice is still warm. Today, I chose some sushi from the floating boats as well as ordering some fresh ones and the fresh ones were noticeably better than the floating ones that have been sitting out. Although it is not the best sushi, I do like sushi boat restaurants because it's a lot of fun seeing the boats float to you and choosing from the variety of sushi available. My sushi dinner today was surprisingly cheap. I will probably go back to this restaurant again even though it's driving distance (still just 5-10 mins) since there is only one other sushi boat restaurant near my house and it is not a very good one.
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