2010 - The Year of Food

Perfect New Year's Resolutions or Goals

From Phoodie and Michael Pollan:

"From Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food, the rules seem more 1910 than 2010, but offer practical advice for those of you who like to have a friendly reminder around this time of year:

1. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup. Pollan’s example: Sara Lee’s Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread, which fails every test proposed by this rule. “If not for the indulgence of the Food and Drug Administration, (it) could not even be labeled “bread.”
3. Avoid products that make health claims. The FDA’s “qualified” health claims” are all but meaningless.
4. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. “Processed foods products dominate the center aisles of the store while the cases of ostensibly fresh food–dairy, produce, meat and fish–line the walls.”
5. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible. Head to one of the many farmer’s markets. In January it’s not just root vegetables that are in season: grapefruit, pears, brussel sprouts, kale, and spinach are on the list."

Pay It Forward!

Get your swag here.

Read the rules carefully.
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The first five (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. You get what you get.
2. What I create will be just for you…if you have a blog I can mine for ideas, it might be based on what I think you’ll like - or it might be random.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. It may be baked goods.
5. I reserve the right to do something strange, if inspired to do so.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note of your own - or a blog post - and make something for the first 5 people to respond to your note.
7. Send me your mailing address if you don’t live close to me!

IMPORTANT: You DO have to pay it forward.
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If you want to participate, leave a comment with a link where I can find your post. Email with your address and I’ll get around to it sometime in 2009.

Paying it forward from Kate's Blog and my participation therein.

Feeding Frenzy Takes on Food...Again

When I originally chose the name of this blog, I did it because I wanted to make it a food blog - recipes, healthy articles, restaurants, etc. Obviously, I went completely off track. I have trouble allowing something like a blog to talk about more than one subject matter but once I decided it was okay, I forgot about writing about food.

So I would say "don't call it a comeback" but ... you should, call it a comeback that is. I disagree LL Cool J - this is a comeback, even though I've been here years (2 to be exact) - I'm returning to my roots a bit.

My twitter friends may have seen me writing about volunteering - this is where my inspiration comes from. I think for my sanity - I'll let the blog wear a lot of different hats - but I'd like to talk more about food and health.

Stay tuned.

Sunday Sunshine

Philadelphia was (is) really warm this weekend. Saturday was 74 and today was in the mid 60s. Of course the beautiful weather has me thinking about my vacation in July/August. I'm so excited to go to Hawaii with Nick for our honeymoon so I thought I would share some pictures of the two islands we are visiting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zhulick/1438540377/
I didn't visit Kauai on my last trip so I thought I would borrow a picture from flickr.

From our hotel in Maui in 2006

Lavender field overlooking West Maui

Sunday Sunshine

Okay, so I've decided Sunday is the best day for me to post a compilation of things I love ala Mrs. French with her "I heart Monday" blog posts.

I hope this will brighten up someone's day before dreary Monday begins. I ended up (not even on purpose) focusing on rooms and design.

I love BSG. This one doesn't fit the rest of the group but this is
what I've really been obsessing over recently. 3 more episodes left!

I love built in bookshelves and wide-planked country wood floors.

I love gorgeous green backsplashes.
I love open kitchens with gray granite, white cabinets, and stainless steel range and hood.
I love country dining tables, vintage chairs, and silver and blue accessories.
I love outdoor beds/hammocks.
I love a driftwood beach feel especially with the ocean out the window.

Called Out

I've been officially called out by Scott on my comments.

So I'm posting something.

99 things I have or haven't done

I saw this list of events on Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog. You are supposed to copy and paste to your own blog and bold everything you’ve done. I thought this could give me incentive to start blogging again.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (sadly no, I'm a bit afraid of camping, though I'm willing to try!)
3. Played in a band (I played piano)
4. Visited Hawaii (3 times so far!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (some large hills yes)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (chorus tryouts, yuck)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (can never tell with my stomach)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (always wanted to do this!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (um lots of these)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Wow. Surprisingly, I didn't bold that many. There were several things on the list I've wanted to do for a long time: take a martial arts class, visit Paris and Italy, and learn Italian. If anyone has a suggestion for which martial art to do, I'm all ears. I have never started because I could never decide which one would be for me. I want to learn to defend myself but I'm also really interested in the culture behind it. I also like the control, concentration, and focus you develop while studying.

So there you go Scott. You are off the hook from posting every day!

Replacement for January 2nd

Oops - apparently I'm really great at keeping my New Year's Resolution already and it was literally one day in. So to make up for it (at least in my mind), I will write a post for each day I missed instead of just skipping it.

January 2nd--

Every year, I struggle for several weeks to write the correct year after the month when I write a date down. Every year except this one. I think last year, more than any, I've been looking to the future. My wedding is this year so I'm often telling vendors and various people about July 25, 2009. I'm also looking into going to school and Nick and I are having a lot of problems organizing our life schedules. He is working on making his band popular in Philadelphia and the school I'd like to attend is in Boston. I'm constantly calculating and recalculating the years of school, timing for children and a house, and the time we spend here with his band. Very complicated and is constantly causing me stress. When I'm stressed personally, I tend to shut down. If I can't get something done right or perfectly, I often won't do it. Unfortunately this also affects my crafting. I have a lot of dreams about what I can do but if I'm worried about how well I can do it, I often avoid it for as long as possible, if not forever. I'm really hoping this year will be a turnaround year for me and I'll be able to take "risks" (though they only seem risks to myself).

On a happy note - I'll leave you with a random blog I love that if you haven't heard of it, you are missing out! It is affectionately called "Dooce".
Heather started out as a casual blogger writing about her work life in LA, her ex-Mormonism and funny stories about people in the celebrity and health conscious filled Pacific city. Even though she didn't write what the name of her company was or any people's actual names, they fired her over it. Her writing style is very funny and open and she got enough readers to support her and her family through ads alone. It has a little something for everyone. She has a great sense of humor, great style, and adorable dogs that she makes jokes about and takes lots of pictures. You just gotta look at it.

Happy New Years!

So far 2009 is panning out exactly as 2008. I always expect things to happen but apparently I have to actually do something for anything to occur? Well, who ever thought of that? I always make New Year's Resolutions and never follow through. So why not continue!

Here is 1 for first day of January.
I'm going to post every day for a whole month to try and get in the mode of posting more often.

I just reread the beginning of the post and I realized it is very sarcastic and a bit sad but that's how I'm feeling now so there ya go!

Stay tuned for: home made Christmas presents and what I've been up to for the past few months

I heart hearting

Okay boys who are reading this blog, stop sniggering at what the title sounds like...

I have an obsession with blogs. I couldn't even keep up with all the feeds I have if each person just wrote one per day... but many of them have multiple posts per day! One specific post I always look forward to and read thoroughly is "I heart" on Mondays on Bliss.

Every Monday, she posts things that she loves and writes underneath "I heart ___(item)". Every Monday, I click on several of those items and also fall in love. Hopefully she won't mind me borrowing her idea for my blog because I think it would really focus my interests and possibly keep me on track with writing. I'm going to work with a more specific theme though - this week is (though I may end up doing more than one per week):

I heart Etsy art



I heart this print (yeah first one is from Bliss - told you it inspired me!)

I heart this photograph.

I heart this print.


I heart this photograph. (By Bliss herself)


I heart this photograph.


I heart this art.


I heart this card.


I heart this photograph.


I heart this print.

I heart this photograph.


I heart this photograph.


I heart this photograph.


I heart this print.

Thanks for sharing!

I'm Tagged!

I was tagged by the wonderful Bethro. And I love these things (like Beth, I love talking about myself).

Rules

• Link to the person who tagged me
• Mention the rules
• Reveal six quirky yet boring, mundane, banal and pedestrian facts about yourself
• Tag six other bloggers by linking to them
• Go to each of their blogs and leave a message letting them know they’ve been tagged!

Here we go:

• In the last 3 years, I've lost both of my big toenails. Yuck.
• I have two very large pet peeves that are mundane things for other people: chewing and sneezing. You don't even have to chew with your mouth open for it to annoy me, if I can hear anything resembling chewing - most of the time, I'm annoyed irrationally.
  
• Nick and I sing songs and change the words to add our cat Sophie into the lyrics.
• I don't laugh aloud during movies - even if I come out of the movie and think it was very funny. The people with me always think I didn't like the movie because I don't have any actual reactions at the time.
• My favorite holiday is Christmas - partly for the traditions that I associate with it. I used to go into my parents room by hiding my eyes so I couldn't see the tree in our living room and they would lead me in with my eyes closed after my mom made hot chocolate for us all. Also, Christmas Eve is pasta with two sauces (calamari fra diavolo and shrimp/clam scampi), salad and garlic bread. Yum!
• If I can't do something right away, I usually stop doing it. Very bad habit for trying new things that are pretty hard. :)
  

Now, I tag:

Nick because Bethro stole everyone else. Anyone else who is looking at this- feel free to partake, even if you don't have a blog and just want to leave it in the comments.