Make it A Great One!

I think you should make it a great year. Because you can.

I made this inspiration board and now all my hopes and dreams will come true (that’s how it works, right?). You should probably do the same if you want to be awesome!

I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to set some of the same goals as I have above, then we can all be a little closer to perfect. (Or at least a little less likely to drown in the ocean!)

Now get yourself out the door for that run you’re supposed to do! Or go for a nice bike ride.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/Rg6G5EFFwuYwTT_VSBZoZQ

Twentyone

The other day, on the 22nd, I awoke to find someone had let a serial killer into the house. The evidence was creepily scribbled all over the wall on torn pieces of newspaper. It was cruel of them to do that to something I hold dear to my heart (the LA Times which I read religiously). It wasn’t until I put my contacts in that I realized it was the work of my mother. Of course.

It was nice, and much nicer than how Dwight Schrute would have done it.

 

Before that, I had been greeted in bed by my brother holding a box of vegan treats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A donut and a cupcake! I halved each and ate that for breakfast. They were delicious. But that is not a well-rounded breakfast and I actually took a halfhour nap afterwards. Too much sugar to start the day off with! When I came to, I looked through my new book and was happy to see that the recipes were pretty basic and don’t use weirdo ingredients. That’s good because it means I can throw my own in! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got myself ready for work but didn’t bike. My mom was going somewhere nearby so I hitched a ride. We stopped at Figueroa Produce because I wanted kombucha but they were out. I feel like they’re always out. If they’re the only ones in all of Northeast LA that carry it, why don’t they stock up?! Please?!

At work, I didn’t tell anyone it was my birthday because everyone already acts so incredibly nice and generous- they gave me some amazing homemade banana bread to snack on and sometimes send me home with fresh homemade granola and recently, organic farm-fresh kiwis! After work I biked and bussed to my next job. There I was gifted with a bag of organic Trader Joe’s potatoes! Since no one knew it was my birthday I was laughing on the inside about this awesome ‘present’. When I got out of work at 8, my growling stomach and I met my family and Severin and we went to nearby Taco Spot. I split guacamole fries and a grilled veggie burrito with Severin. I hadn’t ate all day and this was AMAZING (seasoned with hunger!).

The restaurant started closing so we ate the vegan cake my mom made once we got home. It was brownie-like and so yummy with the frosting of melted TJ’s chocolate chips!

Look I turned one! 21 actually. But beginning and ending the day with cake was as crazy as it got for me!

Thai IDEA Vegetarian in San Francisco

I spent last weekend in San Francisco, a trip to celebrate my birthday, visit my boyfriend and sight-see with a friend visiting from Germany. After a day of walking all over the city trying to soak up as many touristy sights as we could, we were starving. The guys were happy to eat anywhere but I was hesitant to do that because I figured that being in San Francisco, we should settle for nothing short of amazing. And vegan preferably!

 

You can imagine how ecstatic I was when we came across a place exclaiming ‘GO VEGAN!’ in the window. We hurried in and sank into the seats, so relieved to finally rest.

The boys wasted no time in ordering soups; we were hungry and $2.50 seemed like a great deal. Like smart foodies, they each ordered a different soup. One was spicy and the other was coconut milk based and very sweet. I tasted each but the flavors were a little too exotic for me. I did steal baby corn from the bowls though, it was great!

After much deliberation, I finally decided what I wanted. (Such a difficult thing to do at vegetarian restaurants because everything sounds amazing and nothing is off-limits!) I went with Pineapple Cashew Fried Rice- it includes faux shrimp, faux chicken, brown rice, and onion. The toasted cashews and pineapple were amazing. It was so sweet and just melted in my mouth. The faux meat was perfect as well. I shared this (huge portions!) and also tasted the other dishes.

Severin had a spicy noodle dish that was really good. He demolished it after I stole some mushrooms.

Our friend Ludwig was reluctant to try vegan food, particularly the meat but was more than satisfied with his order of curry that included faux duck meat. He really enjoyed it.

Overall it was a wonderful experience- attentive server who filled my water glass plenty of times, serene atmosphere, amazing food for vegans and omnivores. The complaints I would have are that House was playing on a huge TV in the restaurant and no one wants to see the graphic medical imagery of that show while dining. We were charged dinner prices, something we did not expect since we ate around 3 and received our bill exactly at 4:00pm. We could have asked about this but frankly we were too tired and didn’t have time to take care of that. I like that the server asks ‘Vegan or not?’ when you order, so egg was left out of my dish for instance but I think a family at another table had trouble with this. They repeatedly told the server they were gluten-free and vegan but the father was forced to exchange words with the chef after discovering egg in their dish. I understand if there are kinks to work out though, seeing as they opened a few months ago.

I can’t wait til next time I visit San Francisco, I will have to make it a point to eat here again!

Vegan Waffles for Breakfast

I threw together some vegan waffles for breakfast.

Batter up!–> about 1 1/2 cups of oat flour (oatmeal that went for a ride in the Magic Bullet); pinch of salt, spoonful of baking powder and sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, ground flaxseed, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, vanilla almondmilk (enough to get the right consistency) and blueberries.

It’s a nice holiday treat. And what I love about waffles is what I also love about hot oatmeal- TOPPINGS! My waffle corners this morning have real maple syrup, banana, peanut butter and vegan butter.

Served with a side of orange juice and conversation with the boyfriend about American consumerism prompted by the above-pictured piece in which we are encouraged to be considerate in the purchases we make. I say we all go minimalist!

Happy White Friday! 

Vegan L.A.: Doomie’s in Hollywood

It was a dark and cloudy day. The kind of day where all is calm out because the sun’s absence keeps us Angelenos from venturing outside. Seriously, it’s spooky! But Severin was in town for the long weekend and we wanted to make the most of it. Also, I was tired of drooling over all of quarrygirl’s posts mentioning Doomie’s secret menu. So we armed ourselves with sweaters and an umbrella and walked 1.5 miles to the nearest bus stop.

The bus was quiet and cozy; the televisions were showing hilarious sketches from funnyordie as well serious announcements from the chief of police in which he declared that “starting today he would do all he could to keep bicyclists safe!”<—it was all so ideal I thought I was dreaming! Then we got off the bus in Hollywood and I was freezing cold and that snapped me back to reality; I haaaate being cold. More incentive to walk faster! After a half-mile walk we stumbled onto Doomie’s, unassuming vegan and vegetarian restaurant in a strip mall.

I was so excited! The menu had a ton of amazing things listed but I knew exactly what I wanted. Well, what I wanted was one of everything but even I can only handle so much. 

I had prepared for lunch by sticking to a breakfast of frozen mango and some coffee (with almondmilk). Before ordering, Severin asked ‘Are you really going to order that?” thus making me incredibly self-conscious and we were both laughing a ton because I was getting so embarrassed. It didn’t help when the very nice waitress said ‘Okay, but you’re going to need a fork and knife to eat that’. (As if that would stop me!)

The food arrived at the table and I was happy to see the vegan Big Mac I ordered standing tall in all it’s glory. I was definitely going to need utensils! The fries were so perfect and the burger (eaten with a fork) was ‘disgusting’. But I mean that in the nicest way. I like to describe food like that because sometimes it’s so over-the-top indulgent but sooo satisfying in the most gluttonous way that it’s disgusting. If I had been in my right mind, I would have ate this with a Coke because hello! I shared some of the burger and fries with Severin and packed the remaining to-go (where I ate it at home with my hands, a small detail that made it taste that much more amazing!!). 

Severin ordered the Philly Cheesesteak with fruit (I guess so that I’d have to share my fries?!). He really enjoyed his sandwich and had to stop himself from inhaling it!

I can’t wait to go back to Doomie’s to try everything else!

After we left, we wandered into Amoeba in the middle of radio station KCRW hosting it’s 10th anniversary party! We browsed through a ton of music and movies but didn’t find any great deals or any of the golden concert tickets that were hidden throughout the store.

I needed a bathroom break and worried for a second because no places around here have public restrooms. But then Severin realized that we were near the library!

It was a cute library with a ton of old-timey movie posters up on the walls. I checked out dvds of Party Down and am in LOVE. Absolutely hilarious TV series. Adam Scott (of Parks and Rec) is the best.

Walking is also the best, because you can see so much more than from a car! Like Nickelodeon cartoons painted inside a parking lot and the Walk of Fame.

Forest Lawn 5K- Run Forest Run

Sunday October 16 was the first ever Forest Lawn 5K Run/Walk for friends and family of Forest Lawn employees. I have two uncles that work there and so we were able to register for the free race! This made me very happy because I love running races but can’t afford luxuries like race fees right now. #darnstudentloans

I had been excited about the race but also reluctant because I haven’t run lately. I commute by bike about 60 miles a week. I can’t run before work (and the commute) because then my legs will be too exhausted to cycle efficiently. This is incredibly frustrating to me because I love running and it’s what keeps me sane. Cycling is fun but it doesn’t do what running does for me, mentally. I also don’t feel like cycling provides the same fitness as running, and the only thing I can supplement it with are upper-body workouts (abs and arms), so as to not exhaust my legs. I used this race to help me see if my legs could run a good race without any running prep- only cycling, abwork and weight-lifting.  

Woke up around 6am to be ready to leave the house by 6:30. I am embarrassed to say that we live only a few miles away from the beautiful Forest Lawn in Glendale but…drove. We were saving our legs! We got there a bit before 7 and had 45minutes til the race started. I had ate a banana and drank almond milk at home but probably should have ate the ClifBar I had too. It was a cool morning- a welcome surprise from the high temps we’ve been experiencing. My mom and I got our bibs (along with t-shirts and pedometers), after repeatedly asking my brother whether he wanted to sign up for the race; he had planned only to spectate but a few minutes before race start he announced he wanted to run it. The excitement in the air must have got to him! We decided that he and our 6year old cousin Michael would run it with my mom. I figured adrenaline, race excitement and basic kid energy would help them keep up with her.

There were quite a few walkers so the runners moved to the front of the pack. I noticed a handful of people in technical running gear and thought that they’d be the first to finish though the crowd at the front consisted mostly of young teenagers. My dad had already ran 6 miles around town and to the event but was looking to still push himself.

The gun went off and everyone bolted pretty fast. Not too long afterwards, the road was empty as people settled into their pace. I had no idea how I was going to do but wanted to give all I had! I ran for a little with my dad but then he took off (or maybe I slowed down) and he caught up to the girl in first I had been chasing. He ditched me and started pacing her-no loyalty at all! I could see that I was in seventh or so and I really wanted to move forward but I was dying! I think I would have benefited from warming up and stretching- my cycling muscles: quads and calves, were feeling so fatigued I was tempted to lie down in the road for a quick stretch. I almost did, especially since I could hear that there wasn’t anyone close behind me but instead I just took a few walking breaks. I felt silly walking for such a short distance race but I knew that it would help me power through. I wish I had remembered my watch because I had no idea what pace I was running or how close I was to the finish line. All I knew was that it had better come soon because I didn’t have much fight left in me! The finish line snuck up on me and I went out as strong as I could but couldn’t push past the boy I was neck and neck with. But I did get 2nd place for women!

My dad told me good job and then ran back up the course to find my mom, brother and cousin. A few minutes later, my uncle ran in pushing a stroller to cheers of “First Baby!”. He left his adorable daughter with me so he could run back up the course to finish with his wife. I waited for the 3rd place girl since we were all supposed to take pictures together and then I ran with the stroller back up to the parking lot to grab my camera. By the time I got back to the finish line, everyone had already come in! That was a bummer but at least everyone finished and looked happy! So proud of everyone!  

The kids got their finisher’s medals and then we all went to replenish ourselves with the juice and snacks they had out!

We stuck around a little longer to wander around one of the beautiful buildings; no touring of Michael Jackson’s grave though my mom said a song of his came on her ipod when she ran past it…The kids were getting tired (those little champs ran 10minute miles in Converse and denim!) but we stayed a few more minutes for awards. My dad collected his 3rd place medal alongside a couple of youngsters and then I got my 2nd place medal. He finished in 19-something and I did it in 21:33. Not too shabby! I guess cycling isn’t as awful for my running as I think it is. I just have to remember to stretch my legs more!

It should be noted that he’s wearing bronze, NOT gold!

Then my dad had to be a show-off and run home. I really wanted to do that too but I was saving energy for the bike ride to work I had later in the afternoon. I had forgot how hungry and tired running makes me! I was an eating machine the rest of the day and was basically a zombie when I rode home at night after work. But it was worth it!

Go run!

CicLAvia October 9, 2011

What’s that you see? Oversized chess set in the middle of the road! What’s going on here?! It’s Los Angeles’ 3rd ever Ciclavia, of course! The inspiration for the event stems from Ciclovia, when streets are shut down to cars so that they can be more bike and pedestrian friendly. Muchas gracias to Bogota, Colombia because they were the first to do this! Also thank you to all the dedicated people who helped put this free event on for us to enjoy!

Severin came down for the weekend to partake in the fun with me. He is an urban studies major and dreams of car-free streets so there was no way he could miss it. Well actually we did miss the first 2 since we were in the Bay Area the past couple of years but he couldn’t say no to it this time! He met me at my house this morning, made delicious amazing grass-almond milk-frozen banana shakes so we’d be energized and then we took off to catch the bus a few blocks away. We were running late but arrived at the stop at the same time as the bus! I love when that happens. We were taking the bus to Downtown LA, only about 6 miles away so I felt a little embarrassed that we didn’t just bike there. Especially when I realized that the cyclists riding alongside the bus arrived there at the same time…But we were saving our legs so that we could bike the entire 10.5 miles of car-free street (and back). We arrived at City Hall to some relatively empty streets. It was 10:30 and the event began at 10am so it was nice and spacious for awhile.

It was a beautiful, clear day. Warm but breezy and for some reason, the air was really clean and nice to breathe. Huh, I wonder why.   Severin and I had a lot of fun biking without the worry or stress of having to beware of crazy motorists.

With the streets so much safer than usual, the possibilities were endless when it came down to what to do in the open space. There was giant chess & dodge ball to play… 

awesome music to listen to…

running to do… (I really wanted to run but I also wanted to cover the entire route so I chose to cycle it. Maybe next time I’ll bring running gear so I can do both!)

 rollerblading! (I need to dust off my rollerblades because all the rollerbladers I saw seemed to be having a blast.)

And interesting stuff to see everywhere!

dog!

We biked basically a marathon since we did the whole route (out and back) and then biked back to our neighborhood. It was so nice to be able to cruise along and not feel rushed or frightened by speedy cars! My legs didn’t feel a thing, I guess because by now they’re used to me torturing them but Severin has a shorter bike commute in the Bay (lucky!) and was getting worn out. Probably also because he was borrowing my dad’s bike.

Besides splitting an apple, a ClifBar and 2 drinks we bought at Subway (a water and a Coke) and some candy (an impulse buy from when I ran into a Walgreens to purchase sunscreen), we ate nada! Hyped up on sugar and euphoria I suppose. Thankfully, when we got to my nana’s house by 4 for a cousin’s birthday party, we were greeted with veggie burgers because when hunger hit, it hit hard!  I had a lot of fun, it was so relaxing to bike and not have to fight with cars for space on the road. I also loved exploring parts of LA I’d never before visited. I cannot wait for the next Ciclavia! I will definitely sign up to volunteer because it’s such a great thing to support. And you get a free t-shirt!

Come join us next time! When else can you just hang out in the middle of the street?!