Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Viewpoint



So I have the fortune of working with quite a few religious zee lots.....zee lots means "it's our way or no other way" type thinking. Now I shouldn't actually put them ALL in this category of my liking....as I do work with a preacher....who just happens to also be a truck driver...and so anyways....out of the whole lot of them....HE is the one with the most open mind of all....weird to me at first...that he would actually listen and have a delightful conversation with me...one that would never lead to us having to raise our voices to try and get our point across....which is most often the case. But not with him...and so it's refreshing.....however....there is another guy...he happens to be part owner of the company....he's retired, and comes around work a lot to "check in on things". Let me just start by saying this...he is a delightful man, and I love chatting with him....however....over the last while of getting to know him and having very brief conversations with him, things changed just the other day. You see....he has told me there is NOTHING he won't talk about and nothing scares him, as he is willing to debate any topic....sooooooooo one probably should not give me this type of information....cause you KNOW I am gonna challenge that.
So he came up to me yesterday...and he said "Robyn, you asked me a question last week, and we really didn't get to talk to much about it (the question I gave him was: What is your feeling about homosexuals) and now I have a question for you"....so I said sure...go ahead, what is your question.....he said "do you think it's normal?".
I said "first of all...I am the wrong person to ask if I think something is "normal"....cause I believe the category or statement of normal is ridiculous....because every person on earth has a different idea of what that is...and so as I get older everyday, I see things I experience things, I hear things....things evolve....and so I gave up a long time ago with the whole idea of "normal" because if I had that feeling of "oh hey, that's not normal" I had to think to myself...is that what I am thinking because I know nothing about it..and that's why I think it....because it's not part of my life right now, so there fore it has to be not normal?"
Wow...I just re read that last paragraph...and it's pretty messed up LMAO.....what I am TRYING to say here is that this: I DON'T BELIEVE IN NORMAL lol.
So this gentleman told me I was evading the question....I did not feel I evaded the question....as I don't think like he does...I do not have a problem with gay people or straight people....people are people...they are not defined by who they love or what body parts they were born with....so he then starts to raise his voice...as he's getting more and more frustrated with me.....and his last statement/question to me was this "Robyn...do you think it's normal for one man's pecker to be inside another man's asshole?"
I seriously could not stop laughing my ass off.....I looked at him and said "I feel so sorry for you that when you think of homosexuality that all you think of is the "sex" part of it...you don't think of two humans who love each other in a way that you and your wife love each other, that you can only focus on one aspect of it all"
We were then interrupted by me having to go back to work lol......but I really can hardly wait for our next round of "idea exchanging" as I do find them rather colorful.
Seriously....why can't we all just love one another :-)

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Oh runners high...how I missed you






Yup....10 days into the new year....and two weeks into my workin out routine of Mon-Fri and I did my first run today. It was -12 outside....effing cold...but I have learned from my past adventures from the running club waaaaaaaay back in my Edmonton days how to "layer accordingly".
So the first five minutes of just walking warm up are always the worst, cause you feel like "oh geez, I think my face is going to freeze off" to after 10 minutes of running "oh geez, maybe the sweat will turn to icicles on my face" and it's all good lol.
The first ten minutes of running for me are always the ones that suck...cause it's getting into your running groove and remembering that at some point the "euphoria" will kick in...and when it does....BAM....it's soooo magical...seriously....sick right? But those that run totally get it....the hubster does not get this and thinks it's all made up in my head lol....I feel so sad for him...cause there is something just so awesome about this feeling....and it's what makes runners so mental in the head....cause it's just so addicting.
So my first run in the cold out on the prairie roads was magical...and for that I am so happy. So I will make my saturday exercise routine one that is outside...and every weekend I will add a bit more and a bit more...just like I did all those years ago when I was running a loooooonnngggg ways...my goal is to get back to that...and feel ALL of that greatness.
So I say to you....TOQUE on......and layer up!
P.S for those of you who do not know what a toque is:

In Canada, toque or tuque /ˈtk/ is the common name for a knitted winter hat, or watch cap (also called a beanie); the spelling "touque", although not recognized by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is also sometimes seen in written English. The Canadian-English term was assimilated from Canadian-French tuque. Toque first appeared in writing around 1870.[6][7][8]
The fashion is said to have originated with the coureurs de bois, French and Métis fur traders, who kept their woollen nightcaps on for warmth during cold winter days. Such hats are known in other English-speaking countries by a variety of names, including beanie, watch cap or stocking cap; the terms tuque and toque are unique to Canada and northern areas of the United States close to the Canadian border.

 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Macrame...oh how you frustrate me

I am pretty sure why there was so much freakin macrame done in the 60's and 70's....cause everyone was EFFING HIGH....yeah that's right....cause there is no way one can do that shit and not be super laid back or high....seriously...this shit is making me crazy.....oh sure...I watch the you tube tutorials on how to do it....I mean...all I am trying to macrame is one lousy small owl thingy...but no...I can't even do that....I sit there on the computer doing "repeat, repeat repeat" on the you tube thingy and I still can't get it...like how hard can making a freakin knot be for crying out loud!!!!!
Well...apparently really damn hard....so not sure if I just need to go buy a joint off of someone somewhere, smoke it and chill out and THEN maybe I will get it....cause the current situation of frustration is clearly not working lol





Oh sure...you think it looks easy peasy....sit next to me and watch me try this and you tell me how easy you think it is lol....currently a half ass owl sits next to me...staring at me....taunting me....to finish it...but I can't....because half of it is all wrong knotted and messed up...and it's IMPOSSIBLE to know how far to unknot it too....grrrrrrrr...yeah....clearly they had it right back in the 60's....self medication was the way to go for this type of thing LOL.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Yep, I'm going there...again.

So it's going on a think like three years that I became a vegetarian...I'm not even sure..I have lost track of keeping count...what's the point..I just am one and that's that.
I tried a couple years back just after becoming a vegetarian to go vegan....and at the time I lived in a very small town in the middle of nowhere..so my choices were quite limited and the social support was ZILCH.
So, it's a new year...and being a few years into the whole no meat thing and already dropping the whole milk thing anyways...I figured it was time to go full vegan.
What will this mean for me. No more eggs or cheese...which is the only thing I had left to discard...and they don't do me any good or have any advantage other then fast and convenient...just like McDonalds used to be....and I don't go there anymore either...so really...it's just a matter of figuring out what I can eat if I go out to eat and what do I cook with when it calls for eggs...and in today's world there is SOOOOOO much info that really, if someone says they cannot cook vegan....they are just simply lazy.
When I have told a few relatives....hubster included that I was trying veganism again...I was met with total disapproval. Yup....thanks everyone for the support!!! I got nothing  but eye rolling and complaining that MY lifestyle decision was gonna ruin THEIR life LOL.....WTF! Ummmmmm how does what I eat have to do with you is what I feel like saying...but the answers of explanation I got...one being from my own Mother...here is what she had to say:
"Well if you go vegan, you're on your own, I can cook vegetarian but vegan is going to far...you gonna need to get way more vitamins and nutrients and eat a lot more nuts now." (cause apparently cheese and eggs gave me all I needed nutritionally lol)( also....I'm 43 and do not live at home, and she lives in another province lol)
So my Dad...he's vegetarian, has been for like 20 yrs and so here is what my Mom had to say about that.
"I can cook vegetarian for you Dad, but if he ever went vegan, he would have to fend for himself, I just can't go there, it's just too much."
Which my Mother will never have to worry about cause basically the type of vegetarian my Dad is, is a white bread, butter and eggs and cheese kinda guy....and a lot of beans lol.
His own doctor years back told him he is the fasted vegetarian he has ever met LMAO.
My own hubster thinks what I am doing is ridiculous...he complained that we will never be able to eat out again together....which I find funny, cause even as a vegetarian now.....eating out isn't really all that fun....I mean....oooohhhh goody...I can have pasta...AGAIN...ohhhhh goody....I can have a salad again....or, ooohhhh goody..ANOTHER good ol frozen veggie burger pattie AGAIN.
Yeah...my new lifestyle change sure is a fun one....NOT....however.....does it really matter what anyone else thinks? NOPE....seems that my whole life has been this way anyways..."oh that Robyn, she just beats to her own drum"...and I say...YUP...SURE DO!
Last night I tired a new vegan recipe....and OMG..it turned out soooooo great....even the hubster LIKED it....HOLY SHIT...is all I can say....the hubster admitted he would totally eat it as a meal and be happy....I am pretty  much sure I died right there.
Here is what I made:
( it was soooo good and turned out just perfect, I also served some brussel sprouts and next time might do a side potato dish too, if I were having company over er something)
( http://www.marystestkitchen.com/vegan-thanksgiving-stuff-seitan-roast-with-mushroom-gravy/) this is the link so you can watch the video tutorial of how it's done and for all the other bits of the recipe not all displayed here

Vegan Stuffed Seitan Roast with Mushroom Gravy

 

For the Dough
  1. 1 cup hot water
  2. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  3. 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
  4. 1 cube/teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder (or use double strength vegetable broth instead of the water)
  5. 2 tablespoons miso paste (preferably low-sodium, organic)
  6. 2 teaspoons onion powder
  7. 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (herb mix containing sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, nutmeg and black pepper)
  8. 1 tablespoon vinegar (white, apple cider, rice, etc)
  9. 1 tablespoon sugar (or sweetener of choice)
  10. 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (gluten flour)
  11. 1/4 cup chickpea flour (may substitute soy or other bean flour)
Glaze for basting
  1. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  2. 1 tablespoon oil or melted vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
  3. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  4. 1 clove garlic, minced
  5. 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
Stuffing
  1. 1 cup worth of Classic Vegan Bread Stuffing ( the recipe for this is in the link I posted up above)
Instructions
  1. Combine the water, garlic, ginger, bouillon powder, miso paste, onion powder, poultry herb seasoning, vinegar, and sugar. Whisk together or use a blender to get the job done fast.
  2. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the vital wheat gluten and chickpea flour. Stir together until a dough forms.
  3. Knead the dough for one minute. Do not over-knead, otherwise the seitan may come out rubbery.
  4. Allow the dough to sit. This allows the gluten strands to relax.
  5. Meanwhile, you may prepare your stuffing if you haven't already.
  6. On a clean surface, roll out the seitan dough. Press it flat with your hands, first, then gently roll the dough out to about one foot in length. The dough will be about a half inch thick. Don't worry if there are some holes or tears. Just pinch them together.
  7. Now you can either choose the STEAM & BAKE method or the BAKE ONLY method.
STEAM AND BAKE METHOD
  1. Wrap the seitan dough tightly in a piece of clean, damp cheesecloth.
  2. Steam on high heat for one hour. Make sure to check the water level of your steamer every so often to ensure it doesn't dry out.
  3. Preheat your oven to 375F or 190C.
  4. Carefully remove the seitan from the steamer and unwrap. If the cloth sticks to the seitan, wet it from the outside and it should release.
  5. Mix the glaze ingredients together. Brush the glaze on to the steamed seitan loaf on all sides. Reserve the remaining glaze.
  6. Bake on a baking pan lined with parchment paper in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, remove the seitan loaf, flip it upside down and brush on the remaining glaze. Place back in the oven to continue baking.
  7. Remove the seitan from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving with mushroom gravy. (the recipe for this is also in the link above I posted for you)
BAKE ONLY METHOD
  1. Oil the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil.
  2. Place the seitan log at one end and roll it up, twisting the ends to seal like a crady wrapper.
  3. Bake in a oven preheated to 375F or 190C for 1 hour and 15 minutes. During the baking time, give the loaf a one-quarter turn every 15 minutes to ensure that the loaf cooks evenly and does not burn.
  4. Remove from the oven carefully and remove the foil carefully. There may be steam; do not burn yourself!
  5. Let the seitan cool slightly before slicing and serving with the gravy.  

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Well then.....


So first of all I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes that were bestowed upon me. It is always heart warming when friends leave messages or phone calls, lets one know...."hey, I thought of you today". I even got a message from a friend that I have not been in contact with years...just out of the blue, just a short sweet Happy Birthday message...short yet so powerful.
The next powerful moment I had yesterday....hence the title of this post "Well then....".....was at work...of course....where else would it be...lol.....seems I have a lot of them there.
So there is this man....elderly...I think 79...he is part owner of the company...and deaf as hell...so talking for any length of time or seconds can often be hard and hilarious, cause no matter what...anyone who is near by will hear your conversation.
So this man is religious....and you know me...I just gotta poke the bear of controversy all the time...and I have been poking this bear occasionally when ever I see him...often while I should be working so I get the evil glare from one of my other bosses ( I feel like I have many bosses there let me just state this fact first ) and for the most part, we stop and I go back to work....except yesterday....it was a slow day and I was leaving for home early...so I had a wee longer opportunity to chat (or should I say yell talk).
So yesterday's conversation was about "Who is the head of household?"....and it all started with him asking me why I picked my husband...and I said "because he was the first man in my life to stand up to me"...and he laughed and said "well I would have no problem with that, that's how it's supposed to be"....to which I had a giggle...but then "umm what do you mean?". He then proceeded to tell me that "well, then man is the head of the house, and as a man I make all the final decisions in our home...I take in to consideration her thoughts and ideas, but ultimately I make the final ones".
Well....if you know me, I am pretty sure you can visualize the facial feature that appeared on my face at this statement....which was quickly resumed with a smile...because then I began...began to spew words of female wisdom....to which he replied with "ah ha...feminism, you women coined that term and it's of the devils work".
So I replied with "so because I am a strong confident woman, who believes that my husband and I are equal partners and we make decisions together, I am of the devils work? I think you and I need to sit down and have coffee together, because I feel like I need to enlighten you and I think you mind is going to be blown with what I might say and tell you".
To which he responded with "As a man, it's my duty to INFORM you of how it should be...you don't need to tell me, I don't need to defend my beliefs, it's my duty to teach you so that you can see"
Well...I just could not stop laughing....so I gave him a hug and said loudly..."oh hunny, if you think you're gonna be the man that get's me to "put me in my place" and tell me that I should be deaf blind and mute in the corner of life...get in line with all the other men behind me that thought they might change me too...cause there is a parking lot of them...there is no way that your God made me to "shut up"...in fact, when my feet hit the floor in the morning, I'm pretty sure your God says "oooohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh, she's up....get the popcorn, the show's about the start".
I understand he grew up in an era where this was how it was, the man of the household, the woman at home with the children tending to the house...he lived that life...he told me he told his wife she could not work, she had enough to do at home lol....but we have evolved...and I am so thankful for that, cause I can't even imagine how my life would have been in any other era...I would have been burned at the stake I am sure...or put in a mental hospital or taken far far far out of town in hopes that I might not come back....but thankfully...I live in TODAY....with a husband who totally gets his wife and stands next to her proudly and is not shaken by my crazy, opinionated shenanigans.


Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year






I'm not gonna lie....getting up this morning after a night of drinking with our 70 yr old neighbors and doing the first new year work out was a bit rough....thankfully I had already started this whole regime at the beginning of the week, so my body would not go into a full shock when I took it out of bed this morning. And thankfully the ab exercises are getting easier and easier with each day.
How long will I keep up with this whole working out shenanigans...WHAT THE HELL DO YOU CARE...it's my deal LOL...so lay off me okay when I perhaps sleep in a bit in stead of getting up at 4am...sheesh...hard asses lol.
I started at the beginning of the week juicing for my breakfasts too...I thought at first I was gonna die of starvation if I didn't get my regular toast and coffee routine...but as it turns out...I did not...and I actually feel a hell of a lot better for it....it's only awkward when I go to the bathroom and I think I'm dieing cause my poop is red cause I had juiced some beets in my morning juice, but other then that it's all good :-)
(awww, was that a bit of overshare? TO BAD)
So it feels good knowing that I already have my workout for the day done, I can kick back and be lazy now if I want to...except I can't, cause I have laundry to do, and house cleaning to get done, cause one of my kidlets is coming over tomorrow for some mommy birthday loves...soooooo excited.
So I bid you all a Happy New Year!