Sunday, March 6, 2011

Funniest Bumper Sticker I Have Seen and Eating Out

I hated being a bummer on my blog yesterday I was not feeling the love if you know what I mean. Sometimes it is difficult to have a blog when you aren’t feeling particularly chipper.

Saturday I got up much earlier than Dan and my knee was still hurting. *ugh* My answer was to take a long hot soak and read for a while since the heat yesterday helped my knee. The heat seemed to help a little but the ibuprofen was much more helpful as much as I dislike taking pills I was popping them early in the morning. But this story ends much better than it started.

Breakfast today was Dan’s favorite green smoothie which contained: kale, frozen bananas, walnuts, wheat germ, freshly ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, powdered ginger, stevia and water. He really does love his green smoothie and it still shocks me that he does. LOL


I had my new favorite grapefruit and kale juice that I detailed here. If you like grapefruit juice this tastes basically the same only with a heck of a lot more nutrition. I can see me having a lot of these as long as grapefruit is in season. I know this doesn’t look like much of a breakfast but I had 4 glasses like the one pictured. ;-)

After breakfast we decided that this weekend we were going to take a break from my parents. Dan didn’t want me to spend a lot of time rushing around or standing in the kitchen cooking since my knee was bothering me. Instead we decided to have a nice leisurely weekend with a few errands that weren’t essential but are more fun. Of course some of these errands were food related because we all know I get such pleasure out of anything that involves food. I realize most people don’t enjoy food shopping but I love it.


Before we headed out to run errands I made us both a huge salad. This one contained: baby spinach, cold leftover multi-whole grain from yesterdays dinner, salsa, artichokes, tomato, yellow pepper, avocado and white chia seeds. Nothing fancy just healthy food but it still tasted great, IMO.


We started at the library because as you all know I am pretty much always reading. Pictured above is the stack I brought home today. How I find time to read all this stuff is beyond me but somehow I manage to make it happen.


As I left the library I saw this fabulous bumper sticker and could not stop laughing. After we took the books to the car I went back to take a photograph and the driver was in the car. I walked up to the driver’s window to ask where they got the bumper sticker and was shocked to see a mid 50 to 60 year old man with short hair in a sweater and khakis driving the car. He was very pleasant and told me where he bought it. You could have knocked me over with a feather. This interaction absolutely made my day. Isn’t it funny how some things are just nothing like you expected? I was certain the car belonged to someone in their 20’s and I wasn’t even close. ;-)


Next we stopped at Baltimore Coffee and Tea to pick up provisions. The coffee smelled so it was calling my name. However I only bought 4 bags of different teas (herbal and green) took those to the register and headed out. There really is nothing like the smell of freshly brewed coffee though. If we had been in there much longer I might have broken down and purchased a cup of coffee.



Next we went to the Asian market across town (HMart). Driving the parking lot is practically taking your life into your hands. The store isn’t much better as you get run into often. *shakes head* However it is worth it since I find things that I can’t get anywhere else. I picked up some great stuff like always.


Organic multi whole grains which I love. This is the same stuff I used in our salad today.


Organic mixed beans which I also like a lot.

I even found some organic buckwheat noodles with green tea and my favorite dried black fungus mushrooms which I love but Dan isn’t as thrilled with.


Doesn’t Dan look like he is ready to get out of the store? I had to take his picture to capture that look on his face.   See why I say it is no fun to live with me and my cell phone camera?  LOL

We decided it was best to have Ian make dinner tonight since I wasn’t home to prep anything.

The guys (Ian and Will) came up with a few things for us tonight like they always do. We are getting too accustomed to showing up and eating whatever they decide to send out for us. What would we do if we actually had to select something from the menu? LOL


We started the evening with our usual pot of tea. This time it was green tea mixed with hibiscus, pear and strawberry.


The first plate that came out was a Middle Eastern flavored chickpeas with arugula, whole wheat croutons and crispy flatbread (for texture). This was very filling and tasty. The cumin gave it a heady aroma that I adore.


Here is a picture of Dan playing with his phone during dinner. Who says kids are the only ones that fool around with technology during dinner? LOL


Dan had requested pizza tonight which is what we had next. This is an appetizer pizza with wilted spinach, apple, almond, raisin and olives. I loved the sweet and salty combination it was a very nice pizza.


The next dish was a super thin crispy pizza with red onion marmalade, roasted red peppers, olives and garlic. Since I love crispy bread this was perfect. It was so thin it was almost a cracker which I thought was fabulous.

We got full before we could get to plate number four. :-(

Ian was in rare from tonight. He was lamenting that we aren’t eating cheese since he had homemade ravioli today. He really is too cute sometimes. You would think he would be used to us eating this way by now but I think he always hopes we are going to go back to our evil ways. I don’t see that every happening but I guess he can dream.

It was a good day and a very nice dinner.

Happy thoughts:

Wow, where to I start today? I have so many things to be happy for that I am just going to hit the highlights:

• I have not had an ibuprofen in over 10 hours and my knee is almost 100%. If I weren’t worrying about reinjuring it I would be doing the happy dance. I am very lucky that my knee was nothing serious.

• It was great to spend time with Dan even it was running errands. We always have a good time no matter what we are doing. The bumper sticker had me giggling most of the day.

• I picked up some great stuff at the library today that I can’t wait to read. There are some many books and so little time. However that is a great problem to have in my opinion.

• Our trip to the Asian market was very productive. I will share more the fun things that I found when I use. I love going to ethnic markets since they always have things that you don’t see at your regular grocery store.

• Dinner out was wonderful as usual. I never get tired of seeing everyone, getting hugs, spending time in the kitchen and talking. We are so fortunate to have somewhere that we can go where they cater to us for some unknown reason. ;-)

Signing out:

Time for me to start winding down for the evening. We may head to northern Virginia tomorrow for more ethnic food shopping if we get moving early enough. I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend. Talk to you again soon.

23 comments:

  1. oh Dan looks like such a sweet guy! it took me awhile to figure out that bumper sticker...so by the time i did i was to disgusted with my slowness to lol like i was prepared to when i read your title:)

    i love grocery shopping too, any form of shopping is fun imo.

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  2. Michelle,

    Dan is a sweetie, but I am a little bit biased, LOL.

    Don't be annoyed with yourself. I am slow on some jokes too. The best part of the bumper stick was the guy driving the car who wasn't at all what I expected. ;-)

    Grocery shopping is fun isn't it? I guess that is a sign that we both really like our food.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  3. The bumper sticker cracks me up. So funny!

    Also, this is silly, but I have to tell you that the glass the green smoothie is in is so pretty! I really appreciate beautiful glassware.

    I think it is alright to share the ups and downs of life in a blog. It helps readers who appreciate your generally positive attitude to realize that you do get down sometimes, but that you live through it and put it in perspective. :)

    take care!

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  4. Aisling,

    Glad you liked the bumper sticker too. I thought it was a hoot. LOL

    I bought those glasses years ago for mimosas and now they are good for green juice. Quite a change in plans huh?

    Thanks for the encouragement on the downs. I work very hard to stay positive but some days it just isn't happening no matter how hard I try. ;-)

    enjoy the rest of your weekend,
    Ali

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  5. Love the bumper sticker! I've seen it before but forgot it and reading it was a "normal" guy in the car gives it its punch!

    I am envious of anyone who has ethnic shops. I discovered a grocery store about 40 minutes away has a great mexican section due to all the migrant workers. So I have been having a bit of fun with that. But oh, if I ever step foot in a Whole Foods or Trader Joes I know I will swoon!

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  6. Chris,

    I loved that bumper sticker and agree with you driver made it much more amusing.

    Ethnic stores are the best aren't they? The market we went to is about 25 minutes from us. Whole Foods is closer but the ethnic market is bigger and has things I can't find anywhere else.

    Thanks for reminding me about Trader Joes. I haven't been there in a while. Maybe I should stop there this week. Thanks for the nudge.

    Ali

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  7. Hi Ali,
    Looks like you had a great day! The Asian market makes me wish I lived in a bigger city, but I can certainly empathize with Dan. After shopping in Hawaii, I'm not nearly as excited to shop in large supermarkets with the glaring artificial lighting :-)
    Lots of love,
    Aimee

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  8. Aimee,

    It was a good day hanging out with the hubby. :-) Dan was definitely ready to leave the market but he is a good sport about the whole thing. I know what you mean about shopping in stores. I can't wait for the farmers' market to open again April 1. Buying my produce directly from the farmers is much more my speed.

    I hope all is well with you, hugs,
    Ali

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  9. I'm glad you're enjoying those grapefruit/kale smoothies! I had a time-saving idea the other day and wanted to share it. I like to alternate juicing (beets, veggies & fruit) with smoothies (fruit & kale) for variety, but cleaning the juicer isn't much fun. So I made extra juice and froze it in small glasses with lids. This morning I made a smoothie using one of the frozen juices along with kale, frozen banana and grapefruit--yum!

    I also made some funky pancakes (I was really hungry) with ground oats, brown rice flour, flax & chia seeds, and almond milk. They weren't too shabby, but I need to consult with some "real" recipes to hopefully improve the texture (they didn't want to cook through without burning).

    A long time ago you mentioned that you like to swim--have you been doing that at your fitness center? It might be good for your knee, at least once the pain subsides. My knee has also been acting up and it puts such a damper on any aerobics activity. I did the "easy" hike last week, but I think I'll take Advil and go with my regular group this week.

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  10. I love asian markets! Looks like you found some good stuff! That pizza looks great too :)

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  11. LOL, Dan looks a whole lot happier at dinner than at shopping! ;) And WOW, what a lot of great books you picked up!!!!

    xoxo,
    LJ

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  12. I am catching up and I didn't think you were too down yesterday. It is difficult to blog every day when you're a little crabby. But you're allowed.

    The pizza looks great - you should tell Ian that ravioli can be stuffed with things other than cheese! (Do you believe that - I do!)

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  13. I have always been curious about the Crazy Sexy Cancer books...I will be interested to hear your thoughts on them!

    It sounds like you and Dan had a great day--I am happy for you :-)

    Courtney

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  14. Laura,

    I know what you mean about not liking to clean the juicer, can't say I enjoy that either, LOL. I seem to juice mostly in the warmer months and when I do it is every day. But using the freezer is a good way to say a little time. Thanks for sharing. :-)

    On the kale and grapefruit smoothies try adding a little vanilla. That seemed to round out the flavor. I was also thinking 1/2 a banana might be good but haven't tried that yet.

    Intereting pancake ingredient combination. I haven't made anything like that in ages because I have no self control if I do. I wonder if making them smaller, like silver dollar sized one, would help them to cook more quickly?

    Sorry to hear about your knee. I hope it improves soon. I have not been swimming much since it is cold and I hate to blow dry my hair. Instead I have been using the elliptical (which I loathe), the rowing machine and the bike. However there will be more pool time in my future soon since the weather is getting warmer. Thanks for the nudge.

    hugs,
    Ali

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  15. Carissa,

    I like all the ethnic markets but his particular market is very big so they have a nice selection. The odd thing about this store is they also carry latin foods in addition to Asian which threw me off the first time I went. It is always packed.

    I hope all is well with you,
    Ali

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  16. Jessica,

    Thanks to me it felt like I was a complete downer which I dislike. It is nice to know it didn't seem as bad to others. ;-)

    Ian is funny isn't here? I did mention that ravioli could be filled with greens, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes or every mashed beans. He agreed that I was right. I think he personally prefers cheese filling. ;-)

    hope you have a good week,
    Ali

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  17. Laura Jill,

    LOL Dan does look much happier at dinner playing with his phone than at the Asian market.

    I was happy with my haul from the library. Now I need to find time to read them all. LOL

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  18. Courtney,

    I skimmed the two books quickly and they seem good. Once I have a chance to actually read them I will post reviews.

    We had a nice day on Saturday, a lot of running around but a good day overall. Of course we enjoyed seeing Ian and the gang for dinner as we always do. Dan and I are both of very fond of everyone at the restaurant as you already know.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  19. I had a kale smoothie for the first time this morning...it was a little chunky, but tasty. I may try your grapefruit version since I love grapefruit.
    I am trying to give up coffee too - and sometimes the smell is actually enough to get me a small buzz!

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  20. We love H-Mart! But... I can certainly understand Dan being ready to get the heck out of there. It can be overwhelmingly crowded.

    What is this little restaurant you guys frequent? The food looks great!

    -Megan in Bmore

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  21. Food Feud (M),

    If your kale was a little chunky in your smoothie try cutting it thinly before adding it to the blender. I don't do this with my Vitamix but is should help a lower powered blender.

    Coffee is tough to give up. Have you tried adding roasted barley tea or teecino? Both of them helped me give up coffee.

    Ali

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  22. Megan,

    I like HMart but you are right it can be a zoo. It seems to be the least insane early morning on Sat or Sun if you are a morning person.

    Ian (the chef) wasn't crazy about the idea of my advertising his location since it isn't a vegan establishment. He only makes vegan things for us since it is outside his cooking comfort zone. But he may be warming up to the idea of vegan cooking by now. I will check with him again and see if he is ready to cook for other vegans besides us. If he is I will let you know. ;-) Chefs can be a senstive group. LOL

    Ali

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  23. H-Mart! Yes! I made a nice little trip there yesterday :) Now my sushi/curious, questionable produce fix is satisfied for a little while :D

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