On Sunday, we went to the local dog park.   Continue reading →

I meant to make this recommendation BEFORE 4th of July weekend, but it didn't happen. 

Listen, if you're into grilling with charcoal, I strongly urge you to consider trying a hardwood charcoal.  A few months back, I bought 365 Everyday Value™ Hardwood Charcoal at Whole Foods.  The price was $5.99 for eight pounds.  Theother23 says that, for traditional charcoal, he spends about $11.00 for a 20-pound bag.  We usually get three, maybe four, meals out of that.  Although the hardwood charcoal was a little more per pound, we were able to get SEVEN meals out of one little eight-pound bag, which meant that we spent about half as much in the end.  AWESOME. 

This is what it says on the Whole Foods website:

Our 365 Everyday Value™ Charcoal is the real thing made from 100% hardwoods like oak, maple and hickory. No trees are cut for our charcoal; it's made from small pieces of wood recovered from hardwood floor and furniture industries. Because this fuel is pure, with none of the additives used in charcoal "briquettes," it lights more easily; is more responsive to changes in oxygen level so you can regulate it more easily; and burns cleaner and hotter. Since it contains no impurities, you can add hardwood charcoal to the fire while you're cooking, without having to worry about waiting for the chemicals to burn off, as you would with briquettes.

Okay, so ... Yesterday, one of my best friends became, like, the TENTH person to ask me if I read that Dooce quit the cleanse.  My answer to her and everyone else has been:  Yes, and I'm comment #30 on that post.  I do disagree with her doctor's assessment, but it's not wise of me to judge as I'm not aware of her health history and other mitigating factors BECAUSE I AM NOT HER DOCTOR.  That said, I think that it is HIGHLY unlikely that a lackadaisical cleanse like this one (the Quantum Wellness cleanse) would/could/should cause a sinus infection unless, maybe, the person had been snorting parmesan cheese the week beforehand. 

I'm just saying. 

As for me, this is day seven.  I did not have a caffeine withdrawal headache.  (I drank about three small cups per day before the cleanse.)  Coffee is what I crave most, and this is only when I feel sleepy.  I feel sleepy now. 

The last few days, I have had a bit more energy and that is saying A LOT because energy and I aren't friends.  I've also slept a little better than usual.  (The first few days, I didn't sleep quite as well as I generally do.)  I don't feel deprived.  I don't feel hungry.  If anything, most days, I should eat a little more. 

A lot of people have been asking me about RECIPES and "what foods can I eat" and "you're an abomination".   Here are a few of my favorite things to eat on the cleanse.  (I have to admit that the first three feel like cheating.)  (You can also see what I eat daily HERE.)

• Amy's Organic Shepherd's Pie is THE AWESOME.  (Also, it's gluten-free and dairy free and did I mention awesome?) 
• Dooce's tostado suggestion (and several varieties thereof) is VERY satisfying and delicious.  I want one now, but I'm out of refried beans. 
• Van's Organic Waffles, which are wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and NOT yummy-free. 
• Beans.  I love them, so I make a lot of bean salads.  No recipe.  Pick your favorite canned beans, rinse them, and then add your favorite diced vegetables (or whatever is on hand).  I generally use a balsamic vinaigrette.  However, that often contains sugar, so I went with simple vinegar and olive oil. 
• Meatless meatballs with spaghetti sauce (sometimes with brown rice pasta). 

My other Quantum Wellness posts: 

• quantum wellness ... or, in praise of cheeses.
• NEWSFLASH: disclaimers and clarifications! 
• quantum wellness cleanse, day four.
• cleanse schmeanse. 

Feeling INCREDIBLY nostalgic at the moment ...

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A few people have inquired about how I'm doing on the Quantum Wellness cleanse, so I thought I'd update ...

Mostly, my food intake isn't much different than usual.  I'm eating plenty, though I do miss coffee a bit.  That's probably the most difficult part for me ... not drinking coffee.  Fortunately, I haven't had a caffeine-withdrawal headache, but I think it helps that I eased into the cleanse.  I don't even really feel like I'm missing out on anything else, and sometimes I even feel silly calling it a cleanse.  I'm adhering to the guidelines completely except for the fact that a few of my pseudo-meat products have a little bit of gluten in them.  I don't eat them every day, so I'm cool with that.  In fact, if you look at the recipes in the back of Quantum Wellness, they contain, not only these faux-meats, but also wheat rolls, wraps, etc.  I don't know what is up with that. 

Oddly enough, while I don't usually eat or crave sugary foods, I have the worst urge for Nature's Path Organic Frosted Cherry Pomegranate Toaster Pastries, which belong to X.  (Ingredient list can be found HERE by clicking on the appropriate product.)

On another note, my hollyhocks are blooming.

My other Quantum Wellness posts: 

• quantum wellness ... or, in praise of cheeses.
• NEWSFLASH: disclaimers and clarifications! 
• sweet baby cheeses. 
• cleanse schmeanse. 

Last week, my uncle gave me my dad's camera. (He died when I was six.)  My dad was the last person to use it, and his last (self) portrait was taken with it. The camera was even still set to self-timer. It has basically sat, untouched, for thirty years. Today, I loaded it with film and started shooting. I couldn't bear to clean it yet. Whatever dust is in the lens will be on the photos. I can't wait to get them developed.

This is just a short, short video showing two of my great-aunts and my grandma ... versus a normal-sized person.  They are Danish, which is a country known for its coffee drinkers, and looking at their stature you can see why people might thinking that drinking coffee stunts your growth. 

Have a good weekend, folks!

So, Mrs. G. had this idea, you see, and asked if her readers if they would like to blog about a room in their home.  I thought, "Sure, whenever I post a photo of my laundry room, people leave nice comments about the orderliness and color."  So, my plan was to take photos on Thursday.  Little did I know that my cheeriest room would become drabby from a cloudy day, difficult to photograph, and unusually small.  Huh.  Go figure.  Still, I moved forward ... I took photos of all the nooks and crannies, showing off my vintage guide books (birds, insects, etc), a lot of Pyrex, the shelves that theother23 built for me, and the view out of the window. 

None of those turned out.  Again, go figure. 

What almost turned out are photos of a cheap shelving unit that I bought at Target (on a whim) a few years back and a picture of my laundry detergent.  (Adding insult to injury, I just tried to resize the original photos and I'm having a computer malfunction; Sorry for the small pics.)  Go.  Figure.  Moments ago, I referenced said post of Mrs. G.'s to see if there were any specifics that I needed to know.  JUST THIS!

"Reader, where is the heart of your home? What room in your house makes you breathe easier-makes you feel genuinely content."

MY LAUNDRY ROOM?!!  GO FIGURE!

I realize this is a ridiculous post, so I leave you this little consolation prize, a short laundry room story:  Theother23 used to leave his shirts inside-out when he put them in with the dirty laundry.  So, I started folding his shirts inside-out.  He now turns them right-side-out. 

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Though summer has, technically, only just begun, I must say that I'm handling it rather well this year.  Generally, any temperature over 70 degrees Fahrenheit makes me pout, hide inside the house, and not answer the door.  The colder the outdoor temperature, the happier I am, and while that is still true ... I am SO trying to embrace all the seasons.  DESPITE descriptions like humid, MUGGY, and MURDER-BY-JUNGLE-HEAT-HELL-FIRE.

I'm not sure what is different for me thus far, maybe just my attitude, but I hope that it lasts through the next three months. 

PLEASE, I need it to last the next three months ... or, sign me up for summer hibernation.  Or, hara-kiri.