Paint it Golden

Happy Friday everyone! It's such a beautiful Anchorage day, I can hardly get over it! Light breezy clouds float in the sky and downtown is so full of bustle. I love working down here, sendetary-fanny-pack-wearing-polo-shirt-toting-khaki-short-sporting tourists and all. The mornings are my favorite. Kaladi Brothers and Dark Horse Coffe Company are full of folks heading to work, catching a bus, or starting their morning off with a newspaper perusal. There's a constant light breeze (sometimes not so light) between buildings, and with the right walking song, it's about the best part of the day. I'm a morning person, if you couldn't tell. Baristas have told me several times, while getting a grand americano, that I probably don't need that anyway. (Oh, but dear barista, you save me from the 3pm slump and it smells so good)! Truthfully, I'm probably more addicted to the holding of a warm cup in my hands, especially in the winter time, than I am to the coffee. Go figure. And, when I'm not driving by(through) them, I love tourists. They are so enthusiastic about being here! They ask questions, are eager, get lost, and are always pointing around. The groups of Japanese tourists with their flags are my personal favorite. Or the backpackers. It's a pretty good tie between the two. I even find appreciation for the hot dog vendors.

What do you like about where you work?

My falafel is here keeping my company. I love falafel! Yay falafel! And I baked it with a brushing of EVOO instead of having to fry (I don't like having to fry) and it came out wonderful! The little circles almost look like cookies. . .mm nom nom nom

I even made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today. MEH made fun of my singing. AGain, I sing to my food. The little diddy went something like "I am making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's going to be very lovely today! I cannot wait to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Yay yay yay yay yay!" The conversation, also, went something like this:
Me: Guess what!
MEH: What?
Me: I just realized I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch today!
MEH: Did you just figure out how to make one of those dear?
Me: No, you butthead (yes, I called him a butthead), I just remembered that you bought strawberry jam last week and so I have everything I need to make it! And guess what else?
MEH: What dear?
Me: IT'S GOING TO BE A CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH!
MEH: Ooookaaaayyyyy
Me: I am makig a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! It's going to be very lovely today! I can't wait to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Yay yay yay yay yay!
MEH: I think you should record that. We could post it to YouTube. You'd be famous.
Me: You're right. We should. Ha. You butthead.
MEH: Penis face.
Me: Dingleberry.
MEH: Assface.
Me: Penis Wrinkle!
MEH: Asshat
Me: You can't use the same word twice in a row. That's cheating.
MEH: Okay. Asshole.
Me: Still cheating!

. . . and so it continued. Yes, we are so grown up that we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and call each other douche bags and penis wrinkles. It's a very healthy relationship we've got going on. Ahem.

Do you ever have these episodes in your house?

So I've decided to make a very important change to my diet (I know, like there are a lot of choices left), and no, it's not to return to my dairy or egg consuming days, and absolutely not meat. I will (drumroll please. . . ) be eliminating/heavily reducing my wheat gluten and tofu intake. I just can't handle it anymore. Hour plus long stomach aches must be a sign of something my body isn't happy with. So it's going to be a goodbye to two of my favorite food companions in this world. . . *sigh*

. . . and it will increasingly make my out of home eating more limited. Anchorage has a serious shortage of vegan friendly restaurants (though there are some) and an even more serious shortage of those where the vegan items don't include tofu or wheat gluten. Good lord. Is it so much to ask Cafe Gratitude or Blossoming Lotus to please migrate north? Please? Because like any good granola in ANC, I love my MiddleWay Cafe, Snow City, and Beartooth Grill, but I'm pretty sure I've exercised my tastebuds on all of your me-friendly foods. . . ahhhh my. On that note, it looks like there may be some more potlucks at my house to help out with my desire for social activity but inability to eat out. Or, dare I say, a going out with a gluten and tofu bang? Heaven forbid I repeat my dreaded Brie Episode of 2009.

(In June of 2009 my dear ladyfriend Sweet Carolin brought a baked brie dish to my wine tasting. It was this beautiful loaf wrapped in filo dough, drizzled in honey, and showered in apricots. I waited until everyone left my house and ate the whole half loaf that was left. Don't judge. Even MEH thought I was nuts. I cannot repeat that again. Cannot!)

Have you ever cheated on a diet/food lifestyle change and regretted it? Lived to tell the tale? What was the food/drink?

Many of you know I am an avid Googler. If you don't, well, now you do. Ask me a question I don't know the answer to? Google! Want to reconnect with someone I can't find on Fbook? Google! Want to stalk some unknowing victim? GOOGLE! I love this tool. When I have nothing better to do, I Google things. This week in my Google Searches (I think this will become a weekly post):

The Nathan Kampen Act. Nathan Kampen was a friend in middle and high school. He was killed in a car accident our senior year on September 11, 2003. Known for a universally positive attitude and loyalty to all of his friends, his death was a huge shock to our school and to his friends and family. The Act, which I doubt many of us (I say us meaning his friends) realize that in order to erect the "Please Buckle Up" sign that is posted by the State at the site of his accident, his mother actually had to pursue the legislature to expand the memorial road sign laws. In doing so, they renamed it The Nathan Kampen Act. How freaking cool.

I also frequented Hawaii MLS to search for my Kauai DreamHome. Found it. Just depends if I feel like shelling out/search for/hunting down 12.5 million dollars or 232,000. Hmmm . . .

Tofu Intolerances and Avante Medical Center were up there yesterday.

I also checked on Jasmine Webber (cue my morbidity, sorry Jazzie), another friend from high school who died my Junior year, and her freshman year of college. She was a gifted journalist, and I also found some of her stories written for the Northern Light online.

Much of the rest of my searching has involved hunting down photos and hotels and restaurants for my friend Michelle and her fiance for their honeymoon, since they will be visiting my beloved Garden Isle and well, I'm in love with the place. Other minor searches included the corpse flower, Campbell Soup nutrition facts, and Chugach Peaks photograhy. I am your Google go-to girl.
Do you frequently use Google? Are you an avid random searcher? What about Wiki?

Mantra of the Day: Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. I know I'm recycling. But I'm in a great mood today (yay short weeks!) and when I'm in especially good moods, I love this mantra. I use it for my runs - one of which I did last night - and I think it's so pretty! On days like today - so pretty and blueskied - I do wish all beings happiness and freedom.

Question of Gratitude: What or who are you grateful for today? I am grateful for the sunshine. Now that the solstice has passed, our days are slowly getting shorter and living in this great state necessitates as much sun loving as possible. Thank you sun! Keep it coming!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!