B Vegan: Jeremy Bentham Quote

...the question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

Being a Band Wife: Terror Threats in Norway??

Okay, so I've been wanting to add a section to my blog about being a band wife for a while, but today I got the push I needed because there's something I want to talk about. Fear.

Why have I been inspired to talk about fear? Because, my sweet Mr B. has been spending a large percentage of his time in Norway, a country that many Americans barely know anything about, but one thing we do know is that we never hear about political struggle or terrorist activity or really anything bad. From what we understand, Norway is quiet, cold, dark (in the Winter), wealthy, secluded and more-or-less off the radar. As a wife, that makes me sleep well at night. Risk is low. He's safe. 

So when I get a call from Mom B (a habitual worrier) telling me there are terror threats in Norway, my head spins. What happened to low-risk? What happened to safe? My mind suddenly goes into overdrive wondering where he is in relation to the susceptible areas, wondering if there will be focus on large gatherings of civilians or if it will be more government-focused, wondering wondering wondering. STOP. 

Then I remind myself that there is nothing I can do about any of this. I can't put a stop to the tour. I'm not the type of wife to tell him to come home (if I was, he wouldn't have gotten this job 2+ years ago - he doesn't like to bail on people). And that the people who are able to do something are probably on overdrive right now. Norwegians love their citizens and they will do everything they can to keep them safe. 

So I'm reminding myself that worrying won't make him safer, it will just cause more unrest in me. That's unhealthy - read: unsafe. So why should I spare my safety and make Mr. B have to worry about me, worrying about him? Nope. Not gonna do it. So I will continue to find my calm, zen, bliss, peace. And await his safe return. Until next time. 

B Vegan - Grilled Artichokes!

Mr. B and I were seriously craving some vegan BBQ the other night. I happened upon some glorious looking artichokes at my second-favorite grocery, Whole Foods, and tried my hand (again) at grilling them. The reason the "again" is parenthetical is because I didn't feel like I had successfully grilled artichokes as of yet, and I wanted to try my hand at it again. Back on the horse. This time I steamed them for a bit before placing them on the grill, and that was exactly what they needed.

Step 1: Rinse artichokes
Step 2: Cut artichokes in half as pictured. CAREFULLY. They're delicious, but not worth losing an appendage over.
Step 3: Steam them for 10-15 minutes, depending on your tenderness preferences. I put the artichokes over cold water and turned on the heat, but didn't start the timer until I could hear the water boiling. I set the timer for 10 minutes and then turned off the heat when the timer went off. The coals on the Weber weren't ready yet, so I'd say I let them sit in there until the water was no longer "steamy". My tenderness preference would've called for another 5 minutes over steam, but Mr. B liked them that way. So, good.
Step 4: Remove artichokes from steamer with tongs. Again, CAREFULLY. No scalding necessary for delicious artichokes.
Step 5: Cut out the prickly thistle part. Those things are like needles on your tongue!! Get rid of every single one!!
Step 5: Spray with oil - with my favorite cooking toy, "Misto"
Step 6: Season to taste. Mr. B. is a master of seasonings, so when I cook for him I try to stick with the basics. Or have him do it. Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder. Boom-diggity.
Step 7: Grill them!! Our coals were SUPER hot, so we really didn't have them on for very long. And we kept them around the edge. But they got the crispiness and flavor we were looking for, so we achieved our goal! Wheeee!!
Step 8: Make your dip - preferably before the artichokes are ready. They're not as good when they're no longer hot. I don't have the wherewithal to debate the preferred dip for artichokes. That's some serious business, so I'm going to let you do what you do. If you're in the mayonnaise camp, of course I'm going to suggest Vegenaise. Duh. And lime. And dill. Hmm, I said I wasn't going to go there, but then I did. Oops.

Please let me know what kind of success or failure you had with your grilled artichoke adventure!

Much Love,
Annette

June Lake getaway

Did I tell you I almost moved to NYC? Yeah, well, I seriously considered it. To make a long story short, I didn't. In my decision I was sad to miss out on a big adventure, but I resolved to find every opportunity to have what I like to call "local adventures". Not like I coined the phrase or anything, but I just needed to call it something when I was trying to convince myself to not feel stuck. 

So anyway, one of our first "local adventures" was a trip to June Lake for some winter wonderlandness (yes, I just made that one up and I'm not changing it). It snowed on us the ENTIRE drive up the mountain and into the darkness. I seriously freaked out when the snow plow STOPPED PLOWING halfway to our destination and I had to drive my Toyota Corolla in 6" packed snow in the dark. You know I'm from a Southern California beach town, right? Yeah, I've never driven in packed snow before. Holy crunching. That's got to be the worst sound ever. 

So anyway, the nerve-racking drive was TOTALLY worth it, because we woke up to the most amazing views!! Just perfect. We will definitely be back. Until then, we're going to continue to go on other local adventures.

Much Love,

Annette

Happy Birthday to My Other Sister!!

Happy Birthday to My Sister!!

Counting my blessings.

It's been one of those weekends. One of those when I really didn't expect much. I knew I would be busy, coming out of a loooooong week, looking forward to a 3-day weekend, missing Mr.B...did I mention I knew I'd be busy? Just focusing on one thing at a time. Getting it all crossed off the list. (This month, I've been working on "showing up" to things. Unfortunately, that's not one of my strengths. If someone needs me to move furniture or help in a crisis, I'm your girl. But if its a leisurely, optional thing, I'm 50-50.) So I came into this weekend with my "planner" eyes on. I had it all worked out. Be here at this time, there at that time. 10 minutes to rest and then get back up again. Make any necessary phone calls in transit. Check and see if friend needs ride. Run errands in between.

Then I really had a few minutes to reflect on everything I've been doing.

I got to witness my best friend's baby shower. This was not just any shower. This baby is making an appearance. A grand entrance. We've been anticipating her arrival for a very long time and the world will never be the same now that she's (almost) here. I got to give my friend a very special, sentimental gift. I got to see all her friends and her hubs's friends and both their families gather around to celebrate their gift that they are bringing into the world.

I got to listen to a friend in need. There is such power in "talking it out" and I'm honored to be the one friend that she has confided in on a particularly tender situation.

I got to be a part of my husband's family celebration - without him having to be there. To talk leisurely with the matriarch of the family and to a cousin who is finding her place in the world and in the family.

I got to work on promoting a charity event for my women's group. I'm so proud of what we've done and all we've accomplished in 2 years, and I'm so excited about all the amazing things I know we are capable of doing and will do in the future.

I got to welcome my Mr. B home. I've done a marvelous job of coping with his absence this week, and we did a marvelous job of reconnecting upon his return. I love that man.

I even got to go to the city's rinky-dink St.Patrick's Day parade. I walked there and back so it was an hour of exercise, too!

It's St. Pat's Day, so the Irish Catholic deep in me is counting her blessings and looking for more ways to be grateful.