Vegetarian?

I'm toying with the idea of being a vegetarian. Well, a seafooditarian to be more precise. (I simply cannot survive without seafood. I could eat it every day if I could.) Meat is fine and good, but I'm finding that the idea of eating an animal is getting harder and harder for me. I used to like chicken quite a bit, but as I was eating my burrito yesterday, I did not like the feeling of the flesh in my mouth. I was thinking that a little chicken had to be slaughtered so I can have a little protein in my food. I'd rather eat tofu. Shoot, I like tofu!

This has been something that's been on my mind for a few months now. I was watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network one day and she busted out with a slab of cow for her taco. My initial reaction was, "Ewww," which was quite suprising to me at the time. I was like, "Where did that come from?" And a few days ago, I was watching Anthony Bourdain eat a suckling pig in Thailand. I felt so bad for that little piggie. I found out that those piglets are killed between two and five weeks of age. I was mortified to say the least. So I'm definitely anti-suckling pig and anti-veal. At least give the poor babies a chance to live!

Now don't misunderstand. I'm not a crazy PETA type chick. In fact, I don't support PETA because of their crazy antics. (I'm also anti-fur, but I don't believe they should wreck other people's belongings and judge them.) You like cow? Good for you. That's fine and dandy. I think I will simply choose not to eat it, but I don't really care if you do.

Busy Busy

Holy smokes! This is going to be one of those weeks...

TODAY:

• 9:00am meeting
• 1:30pm pick up new glasses
• 3:00pm meeting
• 5:30pm exercise
  
• 7:30pm dinner with old friends

TOMORROW:

• 1:00pm lunch with co-worker
• 6:30pm Core Fusion class at gym

WEDNESDAY:

• 10:30am meeting
• 11:00am meeting
• 11:30am lunch with a manager on our team
• 6:30pm Kickboxing class at gym

THURSDAY:

• 12:00pm lunch with co-workers / friends
• 6:00pm cousin's 18th birthday dinner

FRIDAY:

• 11:30am lunch with co-workers / friends
• 5:30pm exercise
  
• 9:30pm girls' night out with co-workers / friends

SATURDAY:

• 10:00am Core Conditioning class at gym
• 2:00pm family picnic
• 6:00pm watch friend play gig
• 9:00pm go out for friend's birthday

SUNDAY:

• 7:00am LiveStrong Challenge
• 10:00am girls' day in San Francisco with cousins
  

Baby on the Mind

I want a baby. Plain and simple. My party pooper husband, on the other hand, is not so excited about it. I'm a bit frustrated right now, as I'm sure you can tell. C'mon husband! Get with the program while we still can!

My biological clock is definitely ticking; I'm turning 31 this year and time is running out. My plan is is to have two kids by 35, while I'm still young enough to go through the pain of pregnancy and have some sort of energy to chase kids around. I see all these babies around since a few of my friends are currently pregnant and I have a ton of friends that already have kids.

I would love to be a stay at home mom. That would be a great job for me. Not sure that's feasible here in the Bay Area though. Anyhow, at this point I'll take what I can get. How about just being a mom? Hopefully the husband will change his mind...

Economy Schmeconomy

So the bad economy is like everyone's favorite scapegoat. But I've been thinking of ways to make extra cash and save extra cash without changing my lifestyle too much. Here's what I've come up with:

• Recycle! Okay, I know loading up on aluminum, glass and plastic seems like its for the real downtrodden. But it's totally easy to do and it's good for the environment. I load up on the recyclables and bring them down to my local center. Poof! 10 bucks! Paul has said it's not worth the hassle, but I don't think it's a hassle at all. I figure I get about 10 dollar every trip and we go about every other month or so. That's $60 for the year!
• Starbucks Gold Card membership! So you have to pay $25 up front. But you save 10% on practically every purchase. If you drink enough Starbucks in the year, you will definitely save more than $25.
• Reuseable mugs! If you bring in a mug into Starbucks, you'll get $.10 off your drink. Combine that with the Gold Card and you're talking like $.50 off. Not bad! Plus, it's better for the environment than all those white cups floating around.
• Part time job! This one isn't as fun, but I'm definitely working on it. The trick is to work for a place where you can get a discount on what you want. My sister in law is a 2nd grade teacher, but works at Ann Taylor Loft part time to get the discount on clothes. I would totally work at Trader Joe's, and my first choice is as a server at a sushi restaurant. Then I can feed my sushi addiction at a lower cost! I'm thinking Paul should work at our favorite local winery on weekends. Schelp some wine, talk some wine, and bring home some wine!
  
• Coupons! The Sunday paper only costs $1, and you can definitely find more than $1 worth of savings in there. It's totally frugal, but you can definitely save. I save about $5 during each trip to the grocery store. Plus if you like to eat out, you can find coupons to chain restaurants like Baja Fresh, Red Lobster, Sweet Tomatoes, etc.
• Leftovers! We're definitely cooking a lot more, which leaves a ton of leftovers. So instead of going out to lunch, we'll bring leftovers. Unfortunately that means I sit at my desk and eat, but it does save time, money and gas. But I still go out to eat every so often so I don't get sick of our food and I don't go stir crazy.
• Restaurant deals! One of my go to lunch time restaurants does something I've never seen anywhere else. Towards the end of the lunch hour, the sushi boat starts to consolidate their plates. Meaning, instead of two pieces of nigiri, it becomes three. A plate of oysters normally costs $4.50, but they bump it down to $2.50. My average cost at this restaurant on a regular day is $15+. When I take a late lunch, it's closer to $10. I wonder if any other restaurants do stuff like this...
  
• Restaurant.com! This is by far one of my favorite websites. I like to cook, but I love to eat out. Restaurant.com offers $10-$50 in savings to some great restaurants at low cost. A $10 gift certificate costs $3 and a $25 gift certificate costs $10. If you're on the mailing list (like me), they send a discount code multiple times per week, which can be up to 80% off. So a $25 gift certificate will cost you $2. Paul and I rarely go out to eat without one!
  
• Library card! I'm still working on this one. I love having a gigantic library of my own so I buy books all the time. However, it gets me into trouble because I'm running out of room and sometimes the books end up sucking. Case in point, I bought The Dim Sum of All Things because it sounded interesting, was based in San Francisco, and was written by an Asian American woman. It was AWFUL! I would donate it to a library, but I don't want to punish the library either.
• Reusable bags! Some retailers offer a discount if you bring your own shopping bags. Safeway gives you $.03, which isn't much. But hey, it's better for the environment.
• Carpool! No brainer here. Saves gas and puts less pollution in the air.
• Matinee shows! I love to watch movies, but they're getting pricey. Paul and I will catch a weekend matinee rather than going at night. It saves a couple of bucks and it's less crowded. I also buy discounted gift certificates through work. Instead of $10, it costs $8, so I stock up on those. If we decide to watch a movie at night, we'll use those.
  

My Hot New Shoes

SEXY! Now I just need an occasion to wear them!

I love being a consumer.

As I was drinking my coffee in my giant mug, I got to thinking how much I love that mug. Then I got to thinking about all the other household things I love.

Bed Bath & Beyond Ultra Slim Hangers
Breville Cafe Roma Espresso Maker
Crate & Barrel Amara Pillow
Crate & Barrel Avocado Slicer
Crate & Barrel Celadon Dinnerware
Crate & Barrel Coffee Mug
Crate & Barrel Bamboo Tea Bag Box
Global Knife Block Set
KitchenAid Artisan Standing Mixer
Krups Stainless Steel Electric Kettle
Martha Stewart Cake and Cupcake Carrier
Martha Stewart Cookie Scoop
Wustof Mincer

WWF

So lately I've been feeling the need to live a bit more green.

• I always bring a mug into Starbucks.
• I shop with reusable grocery bags as often as possible.
• I unplug power cords that aren't charging anything.
• I wake up earlier in order to carpool with Paul.
• I send in donations to the WWF.
  

I'm so sad about the global warming issue and how its affecting the Artic and Antarctic regions. We must save the polar bears and the penguins! It freaks me out to think that the polar bears could become extinct within my lifetime. It's just so sad. So this morning I was extremely tired, but woke up early to carpool. Paul said he could just go without me, but I mustered up the strength. With a "save the polar bears" shout I got myself out of bed. I hope the little things I do will help, and also hope that others are trying also...