Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Bren-Friendly Thanksgiving

In recent years, I've either avoided Thanksgiving or eaten alternative food options. However this year, I was in Texas with my family, where most of my food experimenting happens, so we concocted some recipes for me that closely resembled what the rest of my family was enjoying.

Here is what the rest of my family ate.


And my Bren-friendly versions.


We even came up with a new apple pie recipe!

Can you tell which one is which?

I will post recipes for my stuffing and pie soon! I also ate turkey, baked sweet potatoes, green beans, and fruit.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Further proof my family hates me

My Mama made pumpkin cheesecake... I made my way to my bedroom so I didn't have to watch my family eat it.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

I only cook when I'm in TX, apparently

I'm noticing that the only time I have cooked lately is when I'm in Texas. I guess living with a chef in Cali had something to do with that. Another large part is my Mama wanting to come up with new things I can eat. Mostly, it's because there aren't many food options in Texas. Expect more recipes coming up!

Here's the first meal I've made so far.

Tomato sauce


(Here's the recipe for the sauce)

Grilled onions


Baked chicken and squash


All of the above over brown rice noodles


Monday, November 19, 2012

Road Trip Rejection

One of the best things about road trips is eating road-side snacks. Here are some of the things I missed out on:

Pistachio Fudge!


Cactus Jelly!


Raspberry Cider!


Those rainbow postcards above are totally mine, though. A few lucky folks will get one in their mailbox.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Route 66

Two weeks ago I packed everything I own in my car and hit the road. After spending a couple days meeting up with friends and exploring National Parks, I spent a week in LA.

In Sequoia National Park I saw the world's biggest tree.


And the Great Western Divide.


While I was in LA, I caught up with friends and and my cousin who just moved there, worked on a really fun interactive haunted play, and took my friend to get a new tattoo.



Then my Dad flew out and together we drove Route 66 back to Texas.


We went to Sunset Crater Volcano National Park, Wupatki National Monument, and The Grand Canyon. We saw snow and rain and deserts.

And we tried to find Bren-friendly food. This is the best we could do.



I had diarrhea the whole time.

Now we're back in Texas and got to hang with my Mama and niece tonight.

It was a great journey!


"These beautiful days must enrich all my life. They do not exist as mere pictures...but they saturate themselves into every part of the body and live always." -John Muir


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Some inspiration for your day

I just took this from George Takei's Facebook page and agree that this inspires me and that we should never let disability stand in our way of achieving our goals.


"These are the kinds of people who inspire me. Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran elected to Congress on Tuesday, representing the 8th Congressional District of Illinois. Never let life, or anyone, tell you that you can't."

Monday, November 5, 2012

On The Road, Again

On November 1st, I packed up my car with everything I own and hit the road. The week before, I said goodbye to The Bay and the people there who I love. Because I travel so much, many people thought I'd already moved. Awkward Really, I haven't "been there" for quite some time, even though that's where I got my mail.

I'm currently in LA, where I'll be for the next week. Then my Dad is flying here from Texas and we're taking Route 66 back.

On the way from SF, I took a route I'd never taken before, through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. It's been a long, rough, few months, so it was cathartic to spend two days in solitude and silence, surrounded by the biggest trees in the world.

I stayed at a beautiful lodge by a lake, with views of the Sierra Nevadas. For only fifty bucks a night, I had amazing views, sit down meals, WiFi, a nice warm room, and peace. It was perfect!



On the other side of this tunnel is the biggest tree in the world!


This is the ascent to the top of Moro Rock, which I climbed all by myself, athankyou.


Here's the view from the top! You have a 360 degree view of The Great Western Divide and much of Sequoia National Park. It was well worth the climb.


"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into the tree." -John Muir


Sunday, November 4, 2012

New tricks

I don't ask for help much. It's the hardest thing in the world for me to do and something I'm really bad at doing. But you can't get good at something you never do, so I've been practicing more, mostly because I haven't had much say in the matter.

Turns out, you can teach old dogs new tricks!

Thanks to unbelievably supportive friends and family, who I recently went to for help, I was able to pay off my medical debt in San Francisco and have my medical care there signed off on. I can't begin to describe what a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I've been ready to leave The Bay for a while now, but felt trapped because my health and finances couldn't afford it. I'm so glad to be done with my physical torture and blood treatments and moving toward new opportunities!

It's  been a rough few years and I've been really run down the past few months. I need to rest and regroup, so I'm headed to LA to play for  a bit and lift my spirits, then I'm headed to Texas for a bit for some R and R.

"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream." -John Lennon

“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it.” -Lena Horne