Keepin' it real in Longbeach

Sean, Eddie and I took a little trip to Longbeach a couple weekends ago to celebrate our "three-year anniversary."
Sean and I take many trips together, but they usually include camping in a tent, sleeping in a car, or multiple days of driving (i.e. very little time for straight chillin'.)
The only other time we stayed in a hotel for over 12 hours was "Adventures in Lars' Vegas Wedding" two summers ago... but I feel like Vegas doesn't even count because "chillin'" in V-town consists of desperately fending off impending hangovers, lots of walking in the blazing hot sun, and little-to-no relaxation time, (unless laying by the pool surrounded by a million strangers with blasting dub-step counts...?)

AND we almost never get to bring Eddie with us (even when we're camping) because Eddie is an odd-ball and has dicey relationships with other dogs...  

THE POINT BEING, this trip was quite different than any other weekend getaway for us.

We booked an ocean-view condo, where we stayed - IN A BED - for three nights. There was a full kitchen. A fireplace. A deck. And a large, jetted tub. And Eddie got to come! It was perfection.

I realize that to most of the world, this probably doesn't sound like the most exciting vacation of all time (Longbeach in the middle of January is slightly ghost-townish) but for us it was precisely what we wanted.

We relaxed, cooked food, ate food, explored the sites, walked on the beach, read books, took naps, watched TV, and just simply enjoyed each others company without another care in the world.

And here are some pictures from our fairly scenic trip:

This is the view from the bathtub of our pimpin' condo. (I took a bath every day we were there.)

Sean and Eddie at the beach. Because of the aforementioned "dicey behavior" we kept Eddie in a muzzle when other off-leash dogs were roaming the beach nearby.

Crazy dogs need love too! I like to think of Eddie as the fun-loving, furry version of Hannibal Lector.

smooches, pooches!

Eddie very happily enjoying muzzle-free time.

Grey Whale Skeleton!

Buffy and I at Leadbetter State Park

Hazy afternoon at the Ilwaco Lighthouse

Eddie and  I at the Lighthouse. Zoom in to view Ed's hilarious facial expression.

Sean taking a pinhole shot.

More views from Ilwaco.

Ilwaco Lighthouse

Sunset view from our condo.

And, of course, some LOVE! (anniversary post has to have at least a bit of sap, right?)

THE END!

Me love food.

So I've been slacking on the blogging lately.

I've even missed getting Naked on Sunday once or twice (SO SORRY!)

But it's probably because I've been crazy busy eating all this bomb ass delicious vegan food, and it's not polite to talk with your mouthful.


So without further ado, here's some photos of some recipes I have either made myself, or eaten myself, that gives omnivore "junk" and "comfort" food a run for its money.

(DISCLAIMER most of these were taken on my cell phone in a mad dash to get a shot before the food in question was completely wolfed down, AND unedited, so please excuse all the blur and poor framing.)

First off, the grocery shop.

I know there are a fair share of WINCO haters out there (trust me, I see them with their protest signs literally EVERY time I go to the discount super grocer) but I just gotta go with a place that I can get two weeks worth of food (including a varied selection of fresh produce, organic bulk dried goods and some pretty decent vegan specialty foods) for around $50. And it's less than five minutes from my humble South End abode. 

I usually round it out with trips to Fred Meyers, Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe's (when I'm feeling extra energetic) but hot damn, B! 

You really can't beat WINCO for the basics of a good, well-rounded vegan diet on budget. 

And moving on to all the downright deliciousness I've created with that and similar shopping trips.

We'll start with my Scratch Pizza. 

This is/was one of my pride and joy recipes I made a while back, COMPLETELY from scratch from COMPLETELY delicious, healthy and whole ingredients. 

This is also the only food porn you will see today that was taken with my "real" camera, and spruced up a bit in Photoshop.

Here is the uncooked model:

And AFTER about 20 minutes in the ol' toaster oven. 

I topped this super easy, scratch, whole wheat pizza crust from The Preppy Vegan with some super rich and fresh pesto I just "whipped up" right quick, sauteed onions and greens (can't remember now if I used kale or spinach), sliced red peppers, sliced red tomatoes, a simple cashew ricotta from Hipsterfood and tempeh sausage crumbles from the venerable Isa Chandra Moskowitz's go-to vegan recipe guide Vegan with A Vengeance.

OMG IT WAS SO MOFREAKIN GOOD THIS PICTURE CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I WANTED TO CRAWL INTO A HOLE AND DIE AFTER EATING IT BECAUSE MY LIFE WAS PRETTY MUCH COMPLETE.
But the best part is, this was so the opposite of the super trashy, greasy pizza I usually lean towards, I actually didn't want to crawl into a hole and die because the ingredients were so good I felt close to amazing after eating it.

No gut-bomb. No guilt. PURE LOVE.

And speaking of the aforementioned trashy, greasy pizza I so adore, there is still a special place in my heart for that breed of goodness as well. 

Behold, homemade (but definitely not from scratch) stuffed crust, gooey, greasy, bad-for-you-pizza complete with melted garlic butter and ranch for dipping. 

And tall boys, of course. 

I used a pre-made Pillsbury pizza crust, stuffed the edges of it with more Daiya mozzarella than should be legal, spread out a healthy slather of BBQ sauce, topped that with even more mozzarella, threw some diced white onions, olives and pineapple on top, coated the stuff'd crust with butter and garlic seasoning, and while that all baked up just perfect like, I melted a heaping spoonful of Smart Balance with garlic, and brought out the home-made vegan ranch that I had made the day before just with pizza-dipping in mind.
To avoid the risk of sounding redundant, please go back and refer to the completely bolded paragraph above if you are interested in how the enjoyment of this, pretty much my favorite meal of all time (I'd probably eat something similar before being sent to the electric chair) went down, but skip the part about it being all healthy and shit. 

And now moving onto something much more healthy: rawchos!

Here's the plate of completely raw nachos which I enjoyed on my first trip to the new, almost completely raw restaurant downtown: AmeRAWcan (pronounced American) Bistro.

They were delicious, fresh and I can't wait to go back and try more off their raw-tastic-menu.

Is that a vegan torta? Or are you just happy to...  ---  OMG HELLS YES THAT IS A VEGAN TORTA.

what?!

 So for those of you who know me, know there is one food that is pretty much on par with pizza in the "favorite" slot on my list of top comfort foods.
And that would be sammiches.
And about a year ago, I experienced a torta (a Mexican sandwich) for the first time, and it has been true love ever since.
After going vegan, and not realizing that there was a good vegan mayonnaise on the market (my first attempt at vegan mayo was Nayonaise which just did not do it for me) I thought I would never enjoy the amazing flavor combo of a well-made torta ever again (as mayo is one of the key compliments to a good mexi-sammich-stack.)
 And then one fateful day I discovered the utter holiness of Vegenaise.
Thus, my homemade vegan torta was born.
Smashed up black beans, thick sliced cold tomato, white onion and avocado, melted pepper jack Daiya, a nice schmear of mayo, cilantro and a home-grown Serrano pepper all put together within two thick and crusty pieces of toasted soft roll.
I ate one and an half of these in less than 30 minutes.
And I am not ashamed.



And then, with my leftover, large soft roll and pepper jack cheese, I made a delicious broccoli and cheddar (dare I say?) "hot pocket" sandwich for lunch the next day.
Nothings super crazy, but definitely a "spot hitter" for a Monday in the cube.

And that wraps up my food porn update for today!

I realize it's mainly pizza and sammiches with a slight detour into the fine world of nachos,  but I gotta share when I do "normal food" vegan and it turns out a million times more amazing then I could ever even imagine.

For the record, I do not eat these types of foods on the daily - they are once-in-a-while meals I spring for when I get inspired to veganize something and put a pesky craving to bed.
I make a wide variety of healthy greens, beans and whole grain dishes too, just like every good vegan should, and maybe sometime I will share some of those with you as well.

But until then, just enjoy the pizza and nachos, aight?

Paddles Up!

A quick look at the annual Tribal Canoe Journey's stop at Owen Beach (in Tacoma)  on their way up to Swinomish (in La Connor).

I've always admired the dedication these canoers have, paddling eight hours a day, for days on end, just to clear their minds and tune into their culture, traditions and spirituality.

But it kinda makes my  three-hour paddle down the Wenatchee this weekend pale in comparison...

 

Thanks, Grace!

So I'm generally a pretty happy, easygoing person. 

Don't get me wrong,  I get straight heated when the time is right, but I usually don't just walk around thinking that the world sucks.

But for whatever reason, today I was totally not in a happy mood. 

I woke up normal, and moderately happy.

Then work happend. 

Rain in July.

Got about three disappointing text messages.

And voila! I'm grumpy.

And I really don't like being grumpy.

Being grumpy actually makes me more grumpy because I fixate on how annoyed I am that I'm grumpy, which obviously fuels the fire. 

It's a pretty vicious cycle, really.

So, in order to distract myself, I decided to read my sister's blog , which didn't actually help matters because he content of her latest post is midly depressing and, she has the flu. 

BUMMER.

So naturally, I moved on to my neice Grace's blog, where she had recently shared a few simple things that make her smile.

Not only does Grace alone always make me smile, but so does thinking about the little things that make her smile. 

So, in an attempt to be less bitchy and more smiley, I'm taking a cue from the noble 12-year-old in my life and going to focus on the many, many things that make me happy, instead of the handful of things that don't.

Here goes!

(And these are in no particular order)

First off, Grace 

and her blog

because pretty much everything that she posts makes me smile in some way- whether it be her hilarious, witty or observant rambings, or her always sunny, bright and cheery photos (usually of people that I know and love, which obvi adds to the smile-factor.)

P.S. isn't she freakin' gorg?!

2nd:

Yesterday I picked up my oldest friend Courtnay from the airport. 

I hadn't seen her since April, and she hadn't set foot on the West Coast since January. 

Not only am I super excited to be able to hang with her for the next few days (which includes a whitewater rafting trip in Wenatchee.... whaattt?), the pick-up itself was hilarious and definitely makes me smile!

(Brief recap: we told Court that Taylor had to work so she wouldn't be able to come with me to pick her up. But we lied. Taylor hid in my trunk, and when Court opened the hatch door it was hilarious!)

THREE

My boyfriend's latest Facebook post. (Cheesy, I know.)

But without him even knowing my day wasn't exactly up to par, he sent me a Facebook note saying "Hope yer days goin well shoooga!"

(please ignore the grammatical errors. he sent it from his phone.)

And he's not exactly the Facebook-wall-posting type.

Simply stated, made me smile. 

(Among the many other sweet and hilarious things he entertains me with on the daily.)

four

my dog.

Literally all I have to do is think about his wacky ass, and I'm usually beaming from ear-to-ear, if not completely in stiches. 

Much love.

 Five:

My family, in general.

Not only do I have an intense love for all of my crazy relatives, it makes me smile that I get to see most of them on a pretty regular basis.
From my awesome sister, whom I don't know what  I would do without;

to my sweet and unknowlingly hilarious mom; my goofy, but loving, brother; my even goofier, and equally as loving dad; three impressively adorable/handsome/funny/smart/talented nephews; myriads of unique and enviably talented cousins, aunts and uncles; three out of four grandparents, not to mention all the non-blood-related family members that I hold extremely close - you name it, I got it! 

And I know a lot of people don't. 

Which means I should buck up and smile about it, dammit!

Six:

Nice weather.

Even though we are not experiencing that at the exact moment (see fig. 1 below) when it does pop up (like fig. 1 says it might tomorrow) I know I'll be smiling about it then...

fig. 1

7!

The peanut butter pretzels and chocolate chips I packed for a snack, which I will soon be eating.

AND the hot, homemade soup I am eating currently (I know it's July, but remember, it's RAINING? soup makes sense. and makes smiles).

eight:

the sweet new paint job I gave my bike this weekend

(before)

(after)

nine:

This joke (which I have unofficially dubbed as my 'favorite joke of all time')

What's brown and rhymes with snoop?

scroll to the bottom of this post for the punchline.

10.

It's Thursday, which only means one thing: tomorrow is Friday! 

Which mean's I can bring out the Rebecca Black. 

Saturday comes after that, and then... it's Sunday... and I got no complaints on weekends, people.

So bring it on, pissy mood!

My "things that make me smile list" will totally defeat your sorry ass!

and here's the punchline to number nine:

Doctor Dre, motha effas!

(I know you all wanted to say poop. Don't lie.)

Feliz Dio De Los Padres!

(a.k.a. Happy Naked Father's Day. Trust me, it's not as gross as it sounds.)

 Prep for "Andreas Vegan Day" barbecue. 

Explanation for the above barbecue title:

I am vegan. 

My Dad's name is Rob.
His middle name is Andreas (he has been going by Andreas as of late).

Now that I'm vegan, he is adding "Vegan" to his new "name" because it "sounds good."

(For the record, Andreas' idea of veganism is "not eating anything that has been touched by a human cow.")

But I digress...

Anywhoo - loved that we had so many fresh, local veggies incorporated into the Father's Day grill .

...and moving on...

 Two of my best girls, Alecia "Leech" Campbell and Katherine "Kathy-Cadaver" Murts.

 Sistah Rachel and Uncle Chicker. (Andreas Vegan's older bro.)

 Token awesome niece-and-nephew-shot (Grace and Charlie).

 Camden playing bass for the first time ever.

He did really well and has a scary-striking resemblance to his Uncle Pete.

And please, disregard that this is possibly the most inappropriately-stickered-instrument for a 7-year-old. 

(For the record, he was too excited to play the bass than to actually read it.)

Back-flips in the front yard with Sean Kemp and Jesus.

And last, but most certainly not least, Robert "Andreas Vegan" Jensen. 

The mack-daddy of the entire event.

Love you  Dad!

And Feliz Dio De Los Padres, to you all!

Naked Sundays, round 12:

Happy Belated Birthday, Pete!

My brother Pete, age 23

Wondering if 27-year-old Pete would be much different than 23-year-old Pete? 

Would he have his drivers license yet? 

Would we still be neighbors? 

Would he even like the newest Nofx album? 

Or have ever really filled in his "Wolves and Wolves Clothing"  tattoo ?  

(Sorry Pete, but that tattoo was pretty lame... not that I didn't already tell you that to your face...)

Would he approve of my tattoo? My long, red hair? Or my dating someone older than him?

Would he still be rocking the "Not My President" t-shirt? Or have remembered to vote in the last presidential election?

 It makes me sad to think of what would have been, because it will never be, but I sooo wish it were.

Because all I do know is that a 27-year-old Pete would definitely be making my life 100 times more awesome, fun, and filled with love.

MISS YOU BROTHER! 

And happy belated Birthday :)

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

This is right when Sean and I started dating, waaaay back in 2009.

It was our first road-trip/adventure at Duckabush River Trail over on the Olympic Peninsula. 

He wanted to show me a waterfall, but we didn't account for the fact that the snow out there still hadn't melted, which meant we couldn't  get far enough down the trail to actually see the waterfall, but far enough to see fresh cougar tracks... (CRAAAY FREAKY!)

Anyways, we were new. 

Probably awkwardly asking "get to know you" questions, while simultaneously trying to impress one another.

It is a good memory, and I have had this picture framed in my house ever since.

Anywhoo- things are so different now. 

Not only are we two years older (he officially turned two-years-shy of the big 3-0 yesterday in fact... Happy Birthday, Boo!)

We've gone from perfect strangers to best friends and are so far past the awkward stage, it's not even funny.

Actually, it is hilarious. 

And so fun. 

And seems just to get better with time.

I love you Sean!

Linking up with Tia for Flashback Friday!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Life's too short to just barely exist.

My big brother Pete passed away three years ago Wednesday.

This is the picture of him I have at my desk, which means I end up staring at it. A lot.
Sometimes it makes me smile, sometimes cry (usually both) but it always makes me feel like he is at peace, yet still full of life, even though he is no longer physically with us.

Pete was an amazing person, truly unique, full of love, life and laughter.
He was a best friend to many, including myself. He had the enthusiasm, generosity, and caring to turn any negative situation into a positive one, and the ability to make anyone smile at the drop of a hat.

He was a talented drummer and musician overall.
He was a fast talker with a slight stutter.
He loved to sing, dance, hug and kiss.
He was a perfectionist in some ways, and completely lax in others.
He was hilarious.
He was sincere. 
He was my rock.

I cannot believe he has been gone for three years... in the back of my mind I am half expecting him to show up somewhere, and join me again in this life, like he was gone on an extended vacation.

My life would be so different if he were still here, and I miss him more than I ever thought possible.

I am sad that I will never have a new photo to share of my brother Pete, but  the memories I have of the times we shared together are worth more than anything to me.

Rest in Peace, Pete! You are alive and strong in my heart and mind until I see you again!

Linking up to Christopher & Tia's Flashback Friday.

HOMIE BREAKDOWN

My BFFLs!

This is a well-educated foreshadowing of what will be happening tomorrow, at approximately 9 a.m. EST. (That's only 6 a.m. back here in the PNW.)

At that time, I will be reconnecting with two of my closest and oldest friends Courtnay (left) and Rianne (center), both of whom I have not seen in over FOUR MONTHS.

This photo was actually taken a little over two years ago, when the three of us took a trip to Las Vegas. 

At that time, Courtnay and I (who have lived in the same city for the majority of our lives) had not seen Rianne (who is a career nomad) for close to a year.

The trip was a kick off to Rianne moving back to Tacoma from Georgia for a few months to finish college. 

Meaning the three of us actually lived in the same city for the first time since...  sophomore year in high school? (That was rad, by the way.)

Now, we all live in different places. Court has taken up a career as a travel nurse, and is wrapping up her first assignment in Virginia. After that, she might take up an assignment in Michigan, Florida, Nebraska, Maine - who knows?

Pretty much the same thing goes for Rianne.

She is currently finishing up an internship in Charleston, SC (where we will be reuniting tomorrow morning).

 After her internship is finished, she too will be relocating again, and my bet is it won't be back in the South Puget Sound (at least for a while.)

That means this extremely happy "reunited-and-it-feels-so-good" image will be created continually over the next few years while we manage to meet up here or there across the nation, until the two of them get enough sense to come back home to Tacoma for good. 

While I miss my friends dearly, seeing them even sporadically makes my life damn near complete (as you can see in my over-the-top giddiness in this photo here).

In conclusion:  I am SO looking forward to this weekend... not only will I get to have some QT with two of my favorite people, I also just might get a tan.
And did I mention, there will be palm trees?! AND SUN?!

...Oh the simple joys for us drab and dreary Northwesterners.

Linking up to Wordless Wednesday (But With Words) because this is one of my wordiest-Wednesdays in a while!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

This is my old friend Caitrin and I at one of our many  back porch-BBQ-summer hangout sessions at her and Darin's old place, circa 2006.

 During the winter, we had just as much fun at our indoor-kitchen-dance-until-the-bars-closed-and-the-boys-came-home parties (we weren't old enough to go out drinking in public, yet.)

So many fun, carefree, awesome memories with one of my closest friends of all time.

I really miss her.

Linking up to Flashback Friday

Day 365 of the 365 Day Project

Here it is.

The 365th day of the 365 day project I took on 365 days ago.

You may notice a striking resemblance the last photo of the year has to the very first photo of the year.

(I thought a "full circle" approach was the way to go for the big finale.)

I've thoroughly enjoyed this year of taking pictures every godforsaken day. It has been challening. Enlightening. Frustrating and fun.

But at the end of the day, its pretty much just me and my dog in my mud-colored living room. 

So there ya go!

(Sort of anti-climatic, I realize, but we hope you will stick around for what's next....)

What is next?

What is next for this blog, you ask? 

I am not going to take on another year of POTDing... but at this point I plan to continue blogging on a regular basis, sharing photos that I deem worthy of posting on the web -  not just because I feel like I "have to" because another 24 hours has passed.

I  haven't decided yet if I'm going to try out a specific theme, time line, subject, or what (and I am open to suggestions) but in the meantime you can at least expect to see some pictures that I take that I like, coupled with my enchanting wit and over-use of terms like "hells ya!" and "redonkulous."

So, I hope you will continue checking in with "This Is Me, Getting a Life" from time to time and see what I'm up to, and what great directions my blog just might take!

And to all my loyal followers throughout the year (whether official, comment-leaving, or not) your thoughts, support and encouragement kept me going through it all!

THANK YOU!

365 Day Project - Day 359

I got SOUL!

Two of my Valentine's Day gifts from my special someone.
"The Immortal Otis Redding" (a thoughtful alternative to me having to skip tons of songs on my Otis Redding Pandora station to get more OTIS!) and the original version of one of my all-time Karaoke songs: Roberta Flack's "Killing me Softly." (I usually sing the Fugees version for its hip-hop qualities. 'Cuz you know, I feel like I got some pretty cool hip-hop moves...)

I also got "The Brick" (don't ask) and "Harry Belafotnte's Greatest Hits" on vinyl, as well as  Marvin Gaye's Greatests  on compact disk. 

 I couldn't be more excited! 

This means a serious dance party is in order...

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365 Day Project - Day 354

Surprise!!!

My sister Rachel was very surprised today at her first ever suprise party as an adult. 

Notice her husband Chris' proud "fist pump" for actually pulling it off.

Oh, Snap's! 

Happy Birthday, Sister !

LOVE YOU!

365 Day Project - Days 350-352

Jade Palace Chinese Dinner

NuGrape Soda 

Bedside Table