Hi Bloggie Friends! How’s Your Day Going? I’ve been going a million miles an hour today, but I’m doing wonderfully because I had a Blogger Meetup with Alyson of Nourished Fitness. Alyson’s in the process of moving and was not feeling super into gratuitous photos for the blog and believe me, I concur, but did it anyway. So please excuse my wet hair.
Alyson and I had a great time chatting it up! Alyson is a Fitness Competitor and so we had plenty to talk about. Shoes, hair, turning yourself orange competition spray-tanning, posing, you name it!
In the past Alyson and I met up Here.
And This Other Meetup Here, Alyson took one of my fave pics, ever, of Skylar and I. I still owe her big time for this one.
Today was great and I can’t wait til the next time Alyson and I can chat it up! And props to Skylar for being the perfect food blogger’s daughter: smiling and looking into the sun, just to get the shot. Thanks honey!
After parting ways with Alyson, I hit the bank, Whole Foods for Veganaise, and then the regular grocery store for a produce re-stocking. Tons of fresh produce found it’s way into my cart (much like my “What I Buy at the Grocery Store” post) but today’s highlight was fresh cherries!
I love cherries and can’t wait to do some damage on this stash!
After my meetup and shopping, I came home to find this coffee waiting for me.
I won it in Emily’s Give Away.
From This Site
Unión MicroFinanza is a non-profit organization which aims to provide microloans and expand markets in the rural mountains of La Unión, in western Honduras.
Working directly with farmers, UMF sponsors agriculturally based loans aimed to improve both the quantity and quality of goods produced. Not only do we focus on the production of coffee and other locally grown goods, but it is also our goal to improve market accessibility both within and outside of Honduras.
Learn more about our organization and approach at unionmicrofinanza.org.
In a nutshell, this coffee is helping support poor families in impoverished places and to me, that’s wonderful! Thanks Emily and Thanks to MicroLoanCoffee for the work that you’re doing!
You know I love my coffee. Sadly the Smores Coffee probably isn’t helping the world’s poor, but it sure tastes good!
From Yesterday, I am so glad you enjoyed my Raw Vegan Taco “Nut” Meat
The Raw Vegan Taco “Nut” Meat and Raw Vegan Taco Salad I made was so fast and easy!
Yesterday’s Post had Many Links to Previous Nut Pates and Savory Dinner Recipes so Please Check out This Post if You Missed Anything like….
Vegan Fajitas with Vegan Sweet Ginger-Lime-Cumin Dipping Sauce
And Many More Savory Recipe Ideas, Click Here to See Them!
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed seeing All the Recipes and also if you’re a Short Order Cook, or not. Some of you don’t have families or it’s just you and your significant other, but it was great to hear how you handle either making separate food and entrees for those you’re cooking for, or not.
And I will be sure to tell Skylar that everyone loved her Shoes!
Green Food Today: an Edamame Salad with Romaine, Tomatoes, Cukes
Dressed With Homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing using Reduced Fat Veganaise
Dessert was Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse!
Click Here for the Recipe. I cut the recipe in half as I mentioned and suggested when making this for 1-2 people, Use 2 Secret Ingrediets (avocados!) not 4, like I did last batch.
And no, you cannot taste the avocado, at all. Everyone asks that and no, you really can’t, I promise!
I portioned the mousse into 3 bowls and popped them in freezer.
Oh Boy. This Chocolate Mousse is Rawkin’ and Amazing and Scott, who doesn’t really even like guacamole and “doesn’t like avocados” loves this stuff and begs me to make it!
Gym & Weights Workout Today: Day 3 – Chest/Shoulders
Yoga Today is Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock Pose). This is one of my favorite yoga poses, ever. I love forearm balances!
Tip of the Day: Staying Married or in a Committed Long-Term Partnership
Tomorrow, May 14, is my 9 year wedding anniversary! We are not doing anything special, we have a child and no babysitter, but that’s ok.
Everyone asks us how we met. I was working at a bar in Chicago, and Scott used to come into the bar and after a year of coming into the bar and talking with me, he asked me out. I used to get asked out all the time, like ten times a day, and always said no. But for whatever reason, when he asked me if I would like to go out on a date, I just blurted out, Yes! We exchanged numbers and he said, ok I will pick you up at your place in a week and we’ll go out.
The week went by and I was super excited for my date. He picked me up, and planted this huge kiss on me within seconds of seeing me. Like whoa, dude. Chill. But I went with it. We got in his car and I thought we were driving to a restaurant or something first date-like. We ended up at Midway airport. He was taking me to Atlanta for our first date! As a 23 year old woman, I was game and just did it with very little thought towards my safety or much thought at all. Talk about living in the moment. The 5 vodka on the rocks I had at Midway helped, too.
When we got to Atlanta, we drank, laughed, had a ball, and fell in love in 3 days. He moved in with me the next week. A month later we picked up and moved across the country to a quaint little beach town in North Carolina where we didn’t know a soul, and we started our life together.
About 6 months later, we got married. We were flying to Vegas for a business trip of Scott’s and once we got there we thought, ok, well, let’s just get married. So, we did. We got the $199 wedding package from the Hollywood Wedding Chapel (no longer in business but our marriage is, and they said it wouldn’t last!).
Our limo driver picked us up, took us to City Hall, we got our marriage license (some other couples had just met...as in, the guy won the “jackpot” of $1000 on the slot machines and some girl thought she was going to be “set for life” and married him…saw plenty of those in line with us).
From city hall we went to the chapel, I walked down the 5 foot “aisle”, complete with a plastic bouquet they provided, I wore a hot pink Betsey Johnson minidress, I had a huge light-up plastic pink ring that was my wedding ring, and the Minister had spiked hair with a tail. Classy wedding, I’m telling you. After the 5 minute ceremony, they handed me the Kodak disposable camera with 24 pictures on it, and those are my wedding photos. We went out that night and didn’t come in til 9am the next morning. It was so much fun and we proceeded to have many years of fun times and living in the moment and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Things with a child put a different spin on it, but we each other’s best friend and that’s what makes it work.
I am not an expert, but after 9 years married and 10+ together, things that I think help make long term partnerships work are as follows. There are no guarantees, and this is not a complete list, but these things help give a union a better chance of survival.
A Sense of Humor
Open Communication
Not Lying/Being Truthful
Admitting when I’m Wrong
Saying I’m Sorry
Sacrifice
Rolling with Changes and accepting that People Change, Life Changes, Situations Change
Having Fun
Being each other’s Best Friend
Laughter
Listening
Showing Support for his Interests
Giving Space & Freedom to Pursue things that have nothing to do with Me or the Relationship
Showing Empathy
Showing Tough Love when needed
Respect
Admiration
Acceptance that no one is perfect
Tolerance for things that annoy me but I practice accepting them anyway
Patience
A little bit of luck that the person I married is sane and normal which helps a lot…haha!
Letting the little stuff slide as much as possible
Gratitude for our marriage and for Scott being in my life and being my life partner!
I love you, Scott! Happy Anniversary! And they said it wouldn’t last, 10 moves, a child, and 10 years later! And I don’t publish photos of him on my blog for professional reasons of his.
Questions
1. Do you like cherries? And if so, do you have any tips on pit-removal?
I love them and do have one of those cherry de-pitter gadgets and it works fine, but it’s kind of a PITA (pain in the arse). I would like Skylar to eat cherries too but it’s and at age 3, the concept of cumbersome to de-pit them spitting the pits doesn’t resonate, yet.
2. Are you married or in a long term relationship? What makes it work for you?
3. What’s the longest relationship you’ve ever been in? If it ended, why do you think that was? Was it mutual to end it?
4. When you break up with someone, have you been the one doing the breaking up, or the one “receiving” the breakup. Dump-or vs. Dump-ee? Which happens more often?
Before Scott, I had my fair share of getting my heart broken because I allow my heart to be incredibly open in relationships, perhaps too soon, and it got stepped on. But I can also say I broke a few hearts along the way, too!
5. Do you think monogamy is natural? Is it a natural state for you? Is it a natural state for any of us?
This is such a loaded question because although I have been in a committed partnership for 10 years, I don’t believe that monogamy is necessarily natural. It’s what we “do” as a society, and many people do it successfully, and although I have done it for 10 years, and I do think that Scott and I will always be together, I don’t necessarily think that all people are destined to be monogamous and with the same person forever.
And no, that doesn’t mean that cheating if you’re in a committed relationship is acceptable. I don’t condone cheating, ever. But I think some people are more destined to spend 5 years with someone, 3 alone, then 7 years with a partner, 6 alone, type of thing. Serial monogamy perhaps is more “natural” for some people and as long as all parties know what they’re in for, that can work for them.
As with food, exercise, and everything else, our relationships are filled with nuances and intangible qualities and such interesting dynamics. What works for you?
Stay Tuned For A Coconutty Give Away…