Hairy Restlessness

My hair is getting long and I'm feeling that urge again to chop it all off. I feel like it's been floating around in the same-ish style—with varying lengths—for two years now. And I'm ready for a change.

I've been thinking that I want to go short—really short. Pixie status! Emma Watson style! And all that. See inspirations below:

The very cute Carey Mulligan!

I don't really love Kiera Knightley. In fact, she kind of drives me crazy. Something about her mouth when she talks is the worst. BUT her hair here has serious attitude.

This is my favorite and probably the one that I will take into whatever hairdresser I end up hitting up. Look at it! SO BEAUTIFUL.

So, what do you think? How should I end up doing my hair?

Menu Mondays: Salsa Fry-Up

Howdy, y'all! I haven't done a Menu Monday in a while. Well, I really only ever did one. Shame on me. But here is a new one.

I've kind of hit a recipe rut, you know, cooking the same things over and over. So I decided to go hunting the internet for some tasty veg recipes. I found this month's vegetarian menu complete with a shopping list (and coming up with a shopping list could be one of the chores I hate most), it seemed plenty worth giving it a try. This is the first recipe from the menu.

Salsa Fry-Up

In the summer, make this with fresh tomatoes, peppers, corn, and cilantro. It'll knock your socks off! However, the version below takes about 15 minutes to whip up if you have rice ready. This serves 2 people with leftovers for lunch, or 2 adults and 2 children.

• 1 sm onion, diced. Sautee in some oil and add...
• 2 c. black beans {I substituted one can w/ pinto}
• 2-3 tbl. chili seasoning (add 1/2-1 tsp. salt if it has no salt added) {I substituted taco seasoning just fine}
• 1/2 tsp cumin {I thought I had cumin but I was wrong! I subbed coriander}
• 1 tbl. flour
• 1/2 c. water. Simmer until thickened, then add:
• 1/2 jar salsa {I used pineapple salsa for a sweet kick!}
• About 2 c. cooked rice {I put the salsa fry-up on my brown rice rather than mixing it together}
• Heat through and top with more salsa, shredded cheese, and a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream, as desired. {I also added for toppings: fresh cilantro, avocado, and lime wedges. Delicious!}
  

This would be easy to add some ground beef to. Just cook it up w/ the onions, and add the chili powder at that point, too.

The meal turned out delicious and was fast to make. I must say, just from looking at the recipe, I didn't expect to be impressed—but I really was! Chris also liked it.

My Guide to Multicultural Vegetarianism

I can make yummy pad thai!

If there is one thing I love most about being a vegetarian, it has been learning to broaden my palate and appreciate new tastes. I never liked mushrooms, and then I decided to forgo meat; now they are one of my favorite foods.

The thing about being married to a vegetarian of 11 years is that Chris knows all the secrets. And the best one is that Americans suck at meat-free entrees, but that everyone else (with a few exceptions—here's looking at you, China) pretty much rocks at it.

I had never tried Indian food until I was a vegetarian, and now I crave it pretty much all day long. It's the best in the whole world. See what I mean? Weirdly enough, cutting out meat really opened up my mind to alls kinds of foods.

So here is my multicultural guide to vegetarianism. Basically, this is what you've gotta try in this particular branch of cuisine, my top picks for vegetarian-friendly cuisines.

Thai

Appetizer: Spring Rolls, fresh or fried

Entrees: Pad Thai, Mango Curry with tofu; you can order almost any dish at a Thai place and substitute tofu for meat.

Dessert: Mango with sticky rice. Best thing ever.

Indian

Appetizer: You can't go wrong with somosas and naan.

Entrees: Paneer Tikka Masala (a creamy curry with cheese cubes in it), Matar Paneer (cheese cubes in curry with green peas), Coconut Vegetable Curry, Chana Masala (a red curry with chickpeas), Malai Kofta (fried veggie balls in curry)

Dessert: Lassi as a beverage, Gulab Jamun (fried dough balls w/ powdered sugar)

Mediterranean

Appetizer: Why, hummus, of course! If you want to mix it up, try fool (fah-ool), which is hummus made of fava beans.

Entrees: Falafel wrap (of course), Roasted Stuffed Peppers, Lentil Soup

Dessert: Baklava

Ukrainian/Russian

Appetizer: Green Borsch (also called Okroshka), Pirozhki (deep-fried potato pie)

Entrees: Blinok (a thicker, Russian version of a crepe; get it with raisins and nuts or cheese and mushrooms), Verenyki (potato- or onion-filled dumplings. Chris informs me they can be filled with almost anything, including cherry, cabbage, and so on.)

Dessert: Napoleon Tort, a sweet Blinok or Verenyki

Mexican

Appetizer: Chips and salsa and guac, duh.

Entrees: Breakfast burrito, Cheese Enchiladas, Veggie Burritos, Nachos! Get extra beans instead of meat.

Desert: Mmm rice pudding. And who doesn't love some horchata?

Consider Yourself Updated.

So I have been getting the blues lately. I don't know exactly why; maybe it's the cooped-upness of my life getting to me. I'm not sure, but I would definitely like a change. And soon. There are only so many books I can make in the process of trying to keep myself sane, you know?

In any case, I have an interview next Tuesday that I'm actually pretty excited about. I really hope this pans out; it's part time and would be basically perfect. So say a prayer for me sometime between now and then!

Chris and I had a lovely Valentine's Day. He sent me roses, a set of a dozen in pink, white and red. I really love fresh flowers. I just felt silly because he had ordered them almost two weeks before then, but the Thursday before Valentine's I trounced home from grocery shopping with an armful of fresh flowers. Now my kitchen is full of them. I do love fresh flowers.

We also took a lovers' walk around the neighborhood and ordered the Pie's ultra veggie pizza. I don't know what it's actually called, but it's covered in artichokes and feta and onions and roasted tomatoes, and it is so delicious. There cheesy pull-aparts (breadsticks) are also pretty tasty. Yum!

Chris has turned in his applications for grad school. It's a little weird feeling that our future is pretty uncertain. There are a lot of questions and variables, but I guess life is like that when you're sharing it with someone. And it's always worth it.

I've had trouble falling asleep lately. I feel bad because after lying awake for an hour, I usually get up to do something which means 1) I wake up Chris, and 2) I leave him alone. Not happy times. And it also makes it nearly impossible to wake up before noon the next morning.

New blog: Handmade Library

SOOOO everyone, I know I haven't posted here in a while! But, I was working on one of my goals—to make a new blog. And I'm pretty darned-tootin' excited about it.

It's called Handmade Library and it's a bookmaking blog. You should bob on over there and check it out.

Oh, and tell all your friends, too!

Curry fever

I've been on the prowl for a job since, well, the beginning of December. With the expiration date of my internship fast-approaching, I was feeling the pressure.

Now, more than a dozen applications and résumés sent out and a month and a half later, I have only had one job interview. It felt like it was impossible to even get someone to e-mail me back about an opening—let alone hire me. What is

up with that?

I'll admit, I was feeling pretty frustrated this past week. I've finally kind of hit my time limit for how long "taking a break" (i.e. unemployment) was fun/relaxing/enjoyable. Instead I felt like a bum and was getting serious cabin fever. Also, I'm just barely catching up on all the cleaning I've been wanting to do. What's up with that? It was depressing to feel like all my time, energy and effort just got suc

ked into a big black hole—maybe the same one that my applications seemed to be disappearing into.

But, I got my first interview this past Friday, and I actually feel pretty confident about how I did. I liked the interviewee, who would be my boss, and the job sounds like a lot of writing—right up my alley! We'll see what happens with it. In any case, it's a good step forward and was the boost I needed to keep trying and sending résumés out there (though I would be pretty jazzed if I got an offer and didn't have to!).

I watched Outsourced on Hulu while I folded laundry. It's about an American whose company moves him to India to manage their call center there. Anyway, the whole time he was complaining about missing barbecue and hating the lack of meat, I was salivating over all their trays in the cafeteria. Indian food is a vegetarian's heaven.

In any case, it made me crave some curried deliciousness, so

Chris and I had Indian food tonight.

We got take out, matar paneer and chana masala from Star of India. It really hit the spot.

Now I'm going to put away the laundry I folded and pester Chris to finish his personal statement. Life is good.

The Year of Discipline

Happy Two Thousand and Eleven!

photo by my talented and lovely sister, Ashley Ashworth

I like setting goals. In fact, it’s something I took to doing every three months or so this past year. That works better for me; that way I have a time to stop and assess how I’ve been doing and course-correct as needed.

Chris and I sat down and made some goals to start off the new year. Mine included flossing daily, running a marathon, and starting a blog about bookbinding. Also featured was getting my house tidier/more organized and paying ¼-1/2 of my school loans.

But I’ve been thinking about myself and the things I really want to change. As I stared at my list of things to do, it seemed that most of the things on the list of goals were things I should already be doing (flossing, keeping my apartment cleaner). And I knew that it was likely that most of these things would happen—but all of them? And what would fall through the cracks?

My sister Brittany posted a link on facebook to Christine Kane's post about New Year's resolutions. She suggests a different approach; instead of setting goals, pick one word that you want to kind of encompass the change you want to see in yourself. I liked the idea.

I looked over the list and almost immediately I knew what it would be for me: discipline. I consider myself many things, but disciplined is not one of them. I think, for me, it was a way to rebel when I was younger. I’ve never liked being told what I should do. It always seemed to me that if I absolutely should do something, it would happen eventually. Like dishes getting clean or essays written, book read or even graduating from college. They happen, right?

But I guess that I’m starting to realize that somewhere along the way, I was losing control. Losing my power over my time and how I would use it. Losing my ability to focus and accomplish.

And that’s really what I’m feeling like true discipline is about—not doing things because others think I should, but rather, keeping the commitments I’ve made to myself. Getting a little follow through for all my hare-brained schemes.

So, my mantra for 2011 is discipline. Already I’ve caught myself getting off task and been able to ask myself: is this a disciplined way to do this? Is this really what I’ve committed to doing right now? Looking at my list of goals, the only way to make sure they happen? Discipline myself. Make a plan and stick to it. Become my own best friend and personal assistant.

I talked to my sister, Kristin, about this idea. She shared a quote with me that went something like this:
“You can either face the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried regret on for size a few times and I don’t much care for it. It’s itchy and chafes in all the wrong places. My guess is that the pain of discipline will be closer to the burn of a good work out and the delicious achiness that follows. The pain of strength.

So here’s to a regret-free 2011.

What are your goals and ambitions for the coming year? And what is your plan of action?