Sasha & Digweed

The crackcrew was well-represented at the show by Mikey, Jess, Justin (who gets the I'm-old-and-leaving-REALLY-EARLY award), Brian, ChrisLe, Leah and L (who was imported especially for the occasion). I also ran into a blast from the past (always interesting), was totally impressed with the light show, and realized that I had not been to the TLA since a Violent Femmes show in like, 1994.

And listen, I know everyone everywhere should already know this, but on occasion a reiteration is in order:

L + M = awesome

We danced our totally sober asses off for nearly five hours, and were among the last to leave.

God damn... why exactly did we stop doing this every weekend?

Hezbollah Tofu!

How fun is this?!

Sweetness!

Hello mikaela danielle!

Your Quit Date is: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 12:00:00 PM
Time Smoke-Free: 118 days, 16 hours, 59 minutes and 21 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 356
Lifetime Saved: 2 days, 17 hours
Money Saved: $110.13

Hard to believe it was four months ago :)

Rico

I have the best coworkers on earth. This fact was most recently proven by the fact that I found these pictures in my email inbox early this morning.

Avery's art teacher is my coworker's wife, (got that?) which means that AC's latest art project, Rico the Sock Monkey, came for a visit to the office :)

My kids

The football-, lacrosse-, basketball-playing skateboarder:



The goes-with-me-everywhere, loves-to-visit girl:


Sigh. They're the best! :)

Totoro Fan Club

Ms. Susan V. and E. over at the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog turned us on to the Totoro love a few months ago. We rented, watched and absolutely fell in love with My Neighbor Totoro. Recently, Avery ordered the bento box.

Our favorite scene in the movie involves the very large and lovable Totoro, who has a Buddha vibe (and belly), standing under a rain-soaked tree holding an umbrella. As the raindrops gather on the tree leaves, they collect on the tips, creating heavy, larger drops of water that fall onto the umbrella, sounding out a very satisfying PLOP! Totoro makes the connection between the tree and the sound he's hearing from beneath the umbrella, grins, looks up, and jumps in place, shaking the ground, which in turn rustles the trees, and causes several drops to gather and PLOP! all at once. The look of happiness on his face is priceless. Clearly, Totoro is on the path to enlightenment.

And with this bento box, so is Avery.

We'll be hooking up with my sister sometime soon to learn how to make a proper roll, but there was no way Avery was waiting until then to use his new lunch box. We scavenged the kitchen for bento-worthy goods and came up with, from top left: stirfry (brown rice with frozen Blooming Glen greens, onions, corn, peas, broccoli and tofu sauteed in Soy Vay, caribbean spices and red chili powder), steamed carrots, toasted and cubed complet bread from Bakers on Broad, a square of Japanese caramel candy, and sticks of raw zucchini. He's also packed a clemantine on the side for morning snack.

His lunch totally kicks my lunch's ass. I love him and all, but he better keep a close eye on that bento box.

Joyful

(via 28 Feb 2007 REUTERS/Reinhard Krause)

I heart L _ 01

My best friend? Yeah, she's leaving.

Which, selfishly, really fucking blows.

*Un*selfishly though, it's pretty amazing, and I am so incredibly happy for her. I cannot even begin to explain how much I am going to miss having her beautiful spirit 200 miles, instead of *2,000*, miles away.

She is my inspiration, my excitement and my silliness. She's my girl. I don't know how else to say it.



I love you, L. Even though you and your insane Vegan Treat metabolism makes me eat way too much of the dessert... I love you. I love you like no other best friend has ever loved.

Like. EVER.

I have the shape of a mother

A few weeks ago, I submitted my photos and story to The Shape of a Mother, and they were posted a couple days ago. On my sister's birthday, a fact that I believe is an extra bonus :) If you haven't already, I encourage you to visit the site that Bonnie began with this in mind:

"It occurred to me that a post-pregnancy body is one of this society's greatest secrets; all we see of the female body is that which is airbrushed and perfect, and if we look any different, we hide it from the light of day in fear of being seen. That makes me want to cry. Sure we all talk about the sagging boobs and other parts, but no one ever sees them. Or if they do, it's in comical form, mocking the beauty that created and nourished our children.

"It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I am asking for mothers to send in photos of bellies, bums, boobs or any other body part (even my lower legs and face show changes since my pregnancies!) to be posted on this website. The pictures can be anything you like from a simple snapshot to something professional. They can be as anonymous as you'd like, or you may choose to have your name and contact info posted with them."

That's right, a site full of pretty mommas. And you know what? You should *tewtally* participate in this awesome project. I've found incredible joy just perusing the essays and photographs, as I believe all moms, dads and non-parents will. It's a little bit of authenticity and beauty peeking out of the over-processed, over-thought, over-consumed, over-everything-ed static of our surroundings. Visit the site and I bet you'll immediately feel the urge to share the link. Yup, that's right, I betcha!

Personally, by making my own contribution I feel a little extra bit of sisterhood, calmness, self-awareness and love in my spirit. If you are a momma, I do hope you'll consider sending in your story :)

Mikaela

The first time I visited The Shape of a Mother, there were only a few submissions, and I thought, "I have to do this." It's taken me several months to *finally* do it, but here I am, thanks to all the amazing moms who’ve already posted :)

Before I really had the chance to even consider whether or not I wanted children, I became pregnant. We were high school sweethearts, together for almost four years and engaged. I was 18, he was 19, and we were living together, far away from home. I don’t remember much about being pregnant, other than *loving* it.

I’ve never in my life ever felt so beautiful than I did during those nine months. Even when I was working double shifts and throwing up in a trash can at my desk, I was absolutely joyous over my belly.

Being so young, my body weight and shape went right back to where I started almost immediately. However, the nearly 40 pounds I gained left me with many stretch marks; all over my tummy, on the tops of my thighs and on my breasts. I never had a stretch mark in my life before then and I thought they were just the wildest things.

I’ve always been self-conscience of my body, always very modest, and so these scars didn’t really change the way I dressed or undressed or displayed myself. I hadn’t owned a bathing suit in years, I never wore belly-bearing tops and I never undressed in front of my boyfriend. As much as my modesty has been a burden, I believe it also really helped me adjust to my new appearance. I’d always had a private, intimate relationship with my body – getting to know it with these unusual stretch marks wasn’t difficult.

I do love them. Seeing them, I am reminded of just how clueless I was ten years ago when I got pregnant. What were we thinking?! 2,500 miles away from home, barely making it on our own, living it up every weekend, no car, still kids ourselves… It’s amazing that we were allowed to have a child!

Like most mommas, I now know that I was intended to give birth to my son; I know the world was simply not complete without him. He is an amazing, thoughtful, creative, cuddly, nonstop, tackling, building, drawing, high-energy, high-impact, collection of skateboarding legs, basketball playing arms and long hair. He’s my monster. My number one man, my light, my heart and my soul. And every time I brush a hand across my stomach and feel one of my deep stretch marks, or catch a glimpse of them on my breasts, the edges of them poking out the top of my shirt, or notice them on my thighs when I change at the gym, I am reminded of him, and I feel proud and insanely touched by the fact that I am a mom. A mom – wow!

Now that I’ve had the time and experience to consider parenthood, I know that had I not become pregnant then, I never would have. Sustainability, economics, consumerism, politics and just plain fright play major roles in my decision to *not* have any more children. Thank goodness I was too young and stupid ten years ago to know any better! As difficult as being a very young, and eventually a single mom, has been, I feel like parenthood was the universe’s gift to me – the only way I could become a mother, was to let it happen before I could even think about it. Thank god it did :)

www.mdmintake.blogspot.com

Snow Day!

Finally! A snow day!

Except it was more of an ice day, so no sledding... but there was soup!

ALKALINE VEGETABLE + BARLEY CURRY SOUP
Serves: 12

6-quart stock pot with lids
3 tbs olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cups dark leafy greens, chopped (I used a frozen Blooming Glen mixture of carrot greens, kale and swiss chard)
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 1 1/2 cups pearled barley (use more for a thicker stew)
32 ounces butternut squash soup (I use Imagine brand)
5 scrubbed, but unpeeled* carrots, diced or sliced into discs
5 scrubbed, but unpeeled* parsnips, diced or sliced into discs
1 rutabaga diced - if there's wax on the skin, peel it off, otherwise just scrub it clean
5 stalks of celery, diced (I use the leafy parts, too)
4+ tablespoons of curry powder (spice it up to taste)

*Most of the nutrients in root vegetables live close to the surface; by peeling them you'll inadvertently loose the good stuff.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened (about five minutes). Add the garlic, greens and half of the curry powder; saute for about 30 seconds. Stir in barley and soup Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, skim off any froth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add root veggie loveliness, celery and remaining curry powder. Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes more, or until barley and vegetables are tender; add water if necessary. I served this with Dave's Own Pumpernickel bread (shipped from RI by Grandma G.).

We had such a great day hanging out together. I wish everyday could be like this :)

AC ventured outside while I was making soup.

After lunch, we built the best Lego army base EVER.

Clearly, Cinder was too busy to play in the snow, cook soup or build an army base.

(More photos on flick'r: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikaelamartin/sets/72157594537320127/.)

No school, no work... just family time, cooking, building, playing and finishing the day up with cuddle puddle on the couch while watching Totoro (one the best movies ever created).

Yeah, man :)

Forever 4

You know how sometimes when you learn something and it's just so right and so perfect and so mind-blowing that you actually start making real changes, implementing what you've learned into your life? When something you've read or seen or heard actually changes your life because you couldn't possibly ignore it? When you open your brain to what's being said and allow it to affect you instead of considering it something that you "should" do or something that you'll "do later" or "get to eventually?"

I'm sure we've all experienced it when we've made big changes; maybe when we became a vegetarian, or moved from vegetarian to vegan, or left a sedentary lifestyle for daily gym visits, or maybe even converted to a different religion. Changes like that are incredible and at some point, you think "how did I ever not do this?" You feel good - you feel great! It's all so clear and obvious and right.

Time passes though, and it's possible that what was once so clear and obvious and right is just... a little less. Maybe you forget how much those teachings meant to you and before you know it, you're slipping and maybe picking up some old habits, using old excuses. Maybe you allow yourself to have junk food/meat/dairy "because it's a special occasion" or skip the gym a few times because you're just "so tired" or spend less time meditating/praying/chanting because you're "too busy." Maybe you even feel bad about about slipping and so you try to satisfy your feelings of inadequacy with your vice/s of choice - cigarettes, television, sex, gambling, dressing up like a chicken, or, ahem, drinking large quantities of red boxed wine.

Maybe you catch yourself and return to the lessons and re-read or re-study, and get back on track. Or maybe the excuses get so loud and the distractions so many, that you forget what you learned entirely, as if the lessons never existed and the change never happened.

That forgetting thing was so totally not what I wanted to have happen after I read The Four Agreements. I read it one afternoon about a year and a half ago - in less than three hours my life was changed.

And it felt good! As I started making changes over the next few weeks, I felt so amazing that I thought, "man, I've gotta get this tattooed on my forehead or something so I never forget how right this is." Of course, having a tattoo on one's forehead to serve as a reminder is kind of dumb. How often do you see your forehead? I knew that I wanted a tattoo symbolizing The Four Agreements somewhere on my body where I could refer to it often, someplace where it would serve as a daily visual reminder.

About a year after I read the book, I loaned it to L, and seven months later, this weekend, together we got those tattoos, thanks in part to 43 things kicking us in our asses. I love when shit comes together like it has for us over the last few weeks :)

So, "live the Four Agreements." That was the big plan for our tattoo. Kind of vague, yes? We went through some ideas, but really, had no clue what we wanted. Thankfully, we had a very talented artist and an insanely patient man on our side. Paul (from Gallery of Living Art at Fifth and Cannon in Lansdale) worked with us to come up with four brilliant designs using the elements we wanted:


The scoop on the design
The flower and bud design comes from the cover of the book (specifically, the lower right corner) and to us, shows growth, change and life. We found that the specific design of one fully bloomed flower and three buds was symbolic of the book's teachings: The flower represented the first agreement, "be impeccable with your word," the agreement on which all others hinge; without impeccability of one's word, agreements just can't be made. Additionally, agreement one is not only the most important agreement, but also the hardest to accomplish. The three flower buds then, represented each of the following agreements noted in the book, "don't take anything personally," "don't make assumptions," and "always do your best."

Perfect! So, we looked at Paul's art and choose a design that fit the placement we wanted (we placed our tattoos on the same forearm, but not exactly in the same spot).

Because L is the greatest best friend in the entire world EVER, she let me go first. I have one other small tattoo that I got 12 years ago. Piercing has always been my body modification practice of choice, and I was nervous about the thought of extended needle time.






















I shouldn't have worried. The experience was awesome and I can't wait to go back and get the next one (AC's name on the opposite arm). Also, it helped that L held my hand. Thanks, lady!




















More pics on my flick'r page: http://flickr.com/photos/mikaelamartin/sets/72157594518548057/

Of course, L blogged about this, too: http://frekur.blogspot.com/2007/02/its-hurty.html

My arm is a little swollen and itchy as hell, but I love my tattoo. In fact, I keep catching myself loving everything - I love my best friend, I love Paul, I love the Four Agreements, I love tattoos, I love change, I love all of it!

Except maybe the dog and cat hair that sticks to the bacitracin ointment that I have to keep on the tattoo. I don't really love that.

But everything else!

Everything else is fucking beautiful! :)

100! Look ma, one pot!

AC stealing a macaroni noodle. And the shot.

My 100th post - fun :D

I've been spending most of my time at the Y or on the net, leaving little time for much else. Things like having a decent conversation with AC, changing out of my gym clothes, working or cooking a decent meal have just not occurred to me.

Leave it to JUST REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE! semi-soft bell peppers to get my attention while at the market yesterday.

They weren't organic, but the freegan in me had to purchase six tri-color bell peppers for, get this, two dollars and sixty two cents.


Because of their impending compost-worthy fate, I had to act quick - so I started cooking as soon as we got home tonight. I also had a couple packages of needing-to-be-consumed tempeh in the fridge, and a half-box of whole wheat fettuccine that has been in the pantry for several months.


I used Crystal and Ryan's roasted veggie sauce recipe, modified to use canned tomatoes and feature only roasted bell peppers and onion; I also ended up not needing the tomato paste. To add to the sauce, I made Vegan with a Vengeance tempeh sausage crumbles (page 22), minus the fennel seed. Given the extraordinary amount of peppers and two packages of tempeh, I doubled the recipes, BUT I managed to keep it to one pot :) I topped off the plate with some vegan grated topping.


Yeah, I know. It's macaroni and sauce.

But it took forever to make - I worked real hard!

We didn't eat until 8:30!

And, it tasted really good!

Of course, by the time it was finally ready to eat, I had already filled myself with sneaky "tastes" of the sauce and tempeh, stolen saltines from the pantry and leftover carrot sticks from AC's lunch. But, whatev. I had a few bites of the final dish.

You know, as I post these photographs, I keep thinking about Susan V. She posted a little while back about the "truly awful" photographs she took in her early days of food blogging: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/09/odds-and-ends.html (about a third of the way down). Dang... if those are awful, I hope she never sees my pictures! ;) I'm currently saving money for a "real" camera, and with that will come motivation to learn how to use it really, really well, and maybe even a photography class. I can only hope that one day, my pics turn out half as incredible as hers - even her truly awful ones :)

<3 life

http://www.freewebs.com/bluebricks/lifelove.htm

(via wooster)

We base our life decisions on like, *really* important stuff

l: maybe we could pick a place to move *together*
m: and after ac is done college, we will all join pc!
l: yes, most def
m: where would we move?
how about canada?
or mexico?
l: hmmmm... i'd consider it.
mexico might be more my speed.
or shit
let's just go to costa rica
m: yeah?
l: dude, they have no army
m: bahahahahhaa
l: yea
m: falling off of the fucking couch!
l: they're all peaceful and shit
they just all smoke the cheeb
and surf
l: man... i'm so projecting like 10 years from now

Awesomeness

You want to recycle what? http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/ :D

(via Treehugger)