Flexitarianism? Whaa?

I received two of the books I'd ordered today. One, which relates to the crafty part of this blog:
I've been enamored with Amigurumi for a while now, but I tend to err on the side of creepy-cute rather than just cute;) So when I saw this book (and I recognized the author from her etsy.com Needle Noodles site) I had to pick it up and see what it was all about.

Omg. Seriously some of the most adorable little ami-dolls I think I've ever laid eyes upon. Very worth it, they make faboo gifts and I think I'm going to sit down in the next week or so and make one of each from the book!

When you've finally decided to quit smoking, you need something, anything to do with your hands. At least in the meantime, right? Quick stats:

1 day, 8 hours, 27 minutes and 48 seconds smoke free. 27 cigarettes not smoked.

Since I'm on a health kick lately too, I snagged this book:
Because, let's face it. Here we are in the Pacific Northwest. We can get fresh fish, but more importantly, some AMAZING veggies and fruits for dirt cheap. Yes, money has been tight, but with the introduction of this new job, there's no excuse anymore. It's time to get serious about our health (Dragon will have to get used to it) and this is a good plan that suits us both. See, I'm a carnivore by nature, Dragon - even more so. I love veggies, but I cannot exist on veggies alone. I know that if I'm going to go in a more....vegan trend with my eating there has to be some way to still incorporate the occasional meat product (I adore fish/chicken, where Dragon is a pork/beef kinda guy).

No guilt. Just healthier eating!

Of course, I'm sure all of this stems from the Doctor's appointment I have tomorrow. Finally, I should get some answers about what's going on with me and get started on being human again.

In the meantime, I will keep you all updated...have no fear! I think I'm going to plunge into this book and start absorbing as much of it as I can so I can circumvent any complaints Dragon might have;)

XOXO
~Bella

Tea anyone? ::Daily Cuppa::

As part of my New Year, New Health initiative, I decided to start drinking more tea. I mean, I collect teas like some people collect rare figurines. I'm entranced by the idea of tea, moreso than the flavor of it. I love the idea of a tea tasting like sweet raspberries, or green tea being bitter but oh-so-good for you.

So today, I fired up the old tea kettle and I'm currently steeping a Tazo Wild Sweet Orange teabag in my little glass cup. The smell is divine. I'm a sucker for oranges. And rather than being a muddy shade o' brown water, this is an inviting deep amber.

The official description from Tazo states that this tea is: "A full-flavored, juicy infusion of lemongrass, citrus herbs, licorice root, and orange essences. Sweet, yet tart, this is a cup of liquid sunshine, radiating multilayered orange flavors with exotic hints of spice and a distinctive floral finish."

And they aren't kidding. Woo boy. This tea doesn't need anything in the way of sweeteners. Not that it's all sugary sweet, but this tea has some serious flavor going on. Juicy? Hell yes. Tart? Quite, but delicately so. It's not like sucking on a lemon, it's more subtle than that. I can taste the bite of the lemongrass, but it's mellowed out quite a bit by the orange.

This is a tasty tea!

And since I want to make this a regular thing, I created a little rating system, with obligatory icons, to denote how I feel about the tea I'm partaking of. SO...without further ado, I give this Tazo Wild Orange tea....*insert drumroll*

5 outta 5 cuppas! *applause*

XOXO
Bella

Like a virgin.

I've never tried soymilk before.

In fact, I'm not a milk fan in the slightest. I like dairy foods (cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) but I cannot stand the taste of straight milk. Not even on my cereal. Not even with a TON of chocolate syrup in it. I can handle milk shakes from time to time, but even then, there comes a point where I get annoyed with the milk flavor.

So when my doctor suggested going on a Biocleanse this month (which I haven't done for other, personal reasons, but WILL be doing next month) I was perusing the list of foods we CAN eat, and it mentions soymilk. I'm not even going to go into the list of foods we cannot have because, frankly, it's everything we do eat right now. So it's more than slightly depressing;)

I asked around, various friends, to get suggestions for what is a good soymilk to try and one told me about 8th Continent. I haven't been able to find it here, and we wanted to try something out, so we settled on vanilla Silk.

I'd been sitting here looking at it everytime I open the fridge for the last couple of days, trying, I suppose, to work up the courage to just drink it. Instead, today, I opted to put it on my cereal. Although I have 3 cereal options, I picked plain ol' Life because, I figured, if it tastes bad on Life, there's no hope for it on anything else.

Let me tell you! It actually tastes pretty damned good! I still won't drink it straight, but on cereal? It's definitely a winner. Light, sweet, with none of the milky aftertaste that makes me gag. I really enjoyed it.

So if you're soymilk shy, I'd have to recommend Silk vanilla in the blue carton. Seriously tasty stuff. I wonder if it'll be good to cook with? Anyone know?

XOXO
~Bella

Chilly, but not rainy!

Stepping outside this morning into the chilled air of our part of town, I took a deep breath and paused.

It wasn't drizzling. *laughs* In fact, it was that dry, cool air that makes your cheeks ruddy and your breath crystallize in front of your lips.

Looks like it's going to be a nice day out there.

**I know, I know. I got the memo. I'm not supposed to tell non-Seattle-ites that the weather isn't nearly as bad as they've been led to believe.**

I'm trying to be creative with breakfast, so I'm doing a toasted english muffin with a touch of butter and another touch of bumbleberry jam, along with a small serving of cottage cheese. Exciting, yes?

Not sure what I'm going to do today (aside from work). I've already gotten the dishes mostly finished (they're percolating away in the dish washer) and the kitchen has been wiped down with clorox wipes.

I'm over halfway through The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone! It's an excellent story that I've just been plowing through. I adore NG's work, I really do.

I think I may sit down and plan out the Thanksgiving menu today. It'll be just the two of us this year, vastly different from anything I've been used to, so there won't be much need for an overkill of food. I'm thinking cornish hens with a few sides and a pie. Maybe a small ham. Time will tell what I'm in the mood for as I'll be doing all the cooking;)

Well, I'll leave this be for now. To keep it relevant, I'm nearly done with my scarf! Only a few more pattern repeats and I'll be done. Then I can move on to the glovelets with the bamboo and toy with a few ideas for socks I might want to try. I'll keep you updated;)

XOXO
Bella

It's a small, small world.

I was browsing around on my other journal today and someone had posted this link:

How to peel and eat a pomegranate.

3 things of note (aside from the sheer awesomeness of the post itself):

1. The author and I share the same name (even the same spelling, which is so awesome I can't even describe it)
2. We share the same city
3. We share the same adoration for the color Purple (not the book, the hue).

And it struck me as I read the post that....wow...this is an awfully small world sometimes. *laughs*

In other news: The weather outside isn't nearly as frightful. A bit drizzly and grey, but it's lightened up since this morning. A crisp 50-something out there which makes it entirely pleasant to keep the window open:)

Shadow-cat is mooing at something in the backyard while the other beasties are passed out in their typical spots.

I made a Whipped Cream Butter Pound-cake the other night because I had a hankering for something simple yet decadent (that, and my Dragon has been pestering me for a cake the past few weeks). I realized earlier today when discussing the merits of this particular pound cake as the base for Strawberry Shortcake, that I'm in blackberry country now, so I think I'm going to try to get my hands on some blackberries, macerate them, and try for a blackberry shortcake. Mmm.

Still plugging away at the scarf. It's coming along very nicely.

I find myself at a loss for words today. I think I'll go back to knitting and dreaming of blackberry shortcake.

... Or perhaps I'll make a nice spinach salad as a healthy alternative. LOL!

XOXO
Bella