National Comedy Center Pre-View, Vegan Finds, Fur Kids, Niece, Selfies, Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

More and More and MORE stuff to share!  Still posting pics in 6's!  

A while back on IG I posted something about a Vegan HAPPY MAIL Exchange.  I haven't done anything with it as of yet.  There was a bit of interest.  I'm still considering it but haven't figured out how to organize it yet.  Maybe in the New Year I will take that step.  If you are interested in MAYBE participating let me know in comments.

I found some BITCHIN' SAUCE at the Erie Whole Foods Co-Op.  I have to say it was pretty darn tasty!  I used it on basically everything until I ran out of it.  

When they are on sale I have been buying Veggie Rings and Veggie Tots!  I have been able to find at least one of them at Tops but they have a better selection on Wegmans.

I have to get more photos of my darling niece Trinity, too!  And I've been obsessed with David S. Pumpkins since the first year the sketch was featured on SNL a few years ago!  Each Halloween I repost the video!  You gotta LOVE Tom Hanks!

A while back Erie Whole Foods Co-Op had Blue Sky Soda on sale so I thought I would try it and I enjoyed it!

One of my stops at Wegman's I grabbed some vegan sushi.  It had been too long!  I think it was the same day my parents and I stopped at a local brewery and they had their Halloween decor out!  The pumpkin was drinking a beer!  

In our travels I have been seeing more and more Dandies Vegan Marshmallows!  This year I think I bought the regular ones once and the peppermint ones twice.  I wish I could find the peppermint ones all year 'round!  I also found the seasonal flavors of Clif Bar at Wegman's!  Yum!  

I have to squeeze in photos of the furkids whenever possible!  Hope you don't mind!

Our closest Walmart has been getting more vegan options, too!  I found this Garde'in dish and it was surprisingly good!  I'm not much for fake meat but this didn't seem to have the effect on me that most fake meats do!

Here are more photos of the furkids!

I had made a Tofu and Tomato Dish a while back that ended up being so simple and so tasty!

I found Miyoko's on sale at Wegman's and couldn't pass it up!  YUM!  LOVE these pub cheeses!  Also found a Halloween Mug for super cheap so I grabbed that, too!

And speaking of Halloween and Fall...here are some more photos from around that time!  

Our Japanese Maple was a vibrant red this year while almost everything else wasn't as colorful due to the crazy summer we had.  

I was able to go Trick or Treating with Trinity and my sister and her husband.  It was fun!  The weather was mild but rainy.  She was Bell from Beauty & The Beast!

Filter FUN on IG...me as a zombie!

And some Cauliflower Pretzels I found somewhere while we were on a day trip.

These photos are 3 selfies - 2 of which were while voting - and the other one is another IG Filter.  What do you think?  Should I go GOTH more often?

Since we had a local Ollie's open I always look for Vegan Cookbooks.  I can usually find at least one per trip!  I recently found this Plant Protein Recipe Book and bought it for $2.99.

I have also been getting into these Kitchen LOVE cups.  They are great for meals on the go and most of the ones I have seen are vegan.  I think there were a few that weren't, tho.

And then another random Fall Photo!

My Aunt Kathy visited my parents in November and I was able to spend some time with them.  It was fun!  We went to the NEW National Comedy Center in Jamestown.  It's quite the experience.  So much so that I think I will dedicate a full post to it soon!  In the meantime above are a few photos from when we went.  The first one on the top was from the cartoonist nook of the museum.  The one to the right of that is when you first go in.  You create your own comedy profile and they give you a wristband and customize your entire trip!  The one with the motorcycle and green background was also in the entrance area.  That is Dan Aykroyd's SNL Motorcycle and you can read more about when he donated it to the center and the center HERE.  It's so weird that this center is getting so much attention.  Don't get me wrong...it REALLY deserves it!  But for lil old Jamestown, it's not a normal occurrence!  I recognize a few people in the photo at the link - which was featured in Newsweek!  On the outside of the building they have Jumbo-Trons!  Pretty cool!

Here are more photos from voting, Dandies Vegan 'Mellows, Kitchen LOVE, and Clif Bar.  As for the bras you see above that was the pre-tally for the bras our local Zonta Club Members shipped to FTG (Free The Girls).  We ended up shipping 408 bras with our first shipment!!!!  We have over 200 in our current stash now so I am sure we will be shipping again after the new year!  

Another thing I do each November - for work - is 8th Grade Career Day!  I go from 9 to almost 2 and spend it with a bunch of the 8th Grades in our county.  I set up a table for the radio stations and other businesses do displays as well.  The past several years I have done a 'Radio thru the Decades' sort of set up and they really seem to like it.  They love seeing the different microphones from the 1940's up to current...as well as the Records, Reel to Reels, Carts, CDs, etc.

Here is Cricket and Riley again!

Also more EATS...at Wegman's I found some Chana Masala on sale and Refried Black Beans from Goya that are VEGAN!  They were great.  Around that time I was doing a lot of LAZY meals so I took one of the cans of beans and made a Black Bean Soup out of it.  It turned out TASTY!  That's all that matters, right?

Then I found these Swapples!  I'm TOTALLY LOVING these things!  They are made from whole Yuca Root!  No Flour!  No Grain!  No Dairy!  No Eggs!  No Soy!  No Gluten!  YUP!  They are vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, etc!  I have tried the Spinach Garlic one and the Tomato one and LOVED both of them!!!

I made Bianca's Recipe for Thanksgiving with the corn, peppers, etc in a nice vinegar!  It was YUMMY!  

Some other soup I made, another Kitchen LOVE cup, more furkid pics, and then there was a stop to The Dollar Tree!  I found these breaded veggies that were accidently vegan and they were pretty good.  I also found a 'tot' by the same company and those were NOT very good.

And I think I will make my last photo blast of the day be from this past Thanksgiving!  YES!  I'm still THAT backlogged!  SORRY!  Anyhow...the one photo is a Zonta Club informational sheet that we had on display while selling raffle tickets for a fundraiser we were doing the day after Thanksgiving.

The other photos are all from Thanksgiving!  Trinity got all dressed up with a new coat and matching dress underneath.  With the help of my mother, Trinity made us all hand turkeys.  She calls me AUNT JAJA!

Then you will see some of the Vegan Thanksgiving Foods I did this year!  From left - that is my whole plate!  I did Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing (from Vegan Zombie), Green Bean Casserole, Corn Casserole (from Bianca).  We also had yams and rolls.  Everything on my plate is vegan, of course!

Weekend Round-Up & Raw Vegan Giveaway!

This past weekend it was my intention to start my weekend giveaways here but something went wrong so I will start them today instead.

But before we get to the prize at stake I thought I would tell you a little bit about this past weekend!  First up...one of the smoothies I forgot to post last week!  It was delicious!  It had Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Coconut Water, and Garden of Life Vanilla Organic Plant Protein.  I just LOVE the color of this...don't you?

No...this isn't a vegan ice cream...it's Balsamic Beet Hummus!  I made some over the weekend because I enjoyed the Beet Hummus I bought the weekend before from Trader Joe's!  In this there is...1 C Small Beets, 1 C Chickpeas, 1/3 T Tahini, 2 T Lemon Juice, 1 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil, 1 to 2 T Balsamic Vinegar.

Sunday I cleaned some of the kitchen and frig.  I concentrated on the stove and used one of the new products I got from Norwex and it worked really well.  I did 2 loads of dishes and dried some laundry.  I cleaned the dogs pens out and did some of their blankets.

I finally had time to roast some squash I had.  There were types the Kabocha Squash AND Spaghetti Squash.  I roasted them with Garlic Grapeseed Oil and 2 different kinds of pine nuts (standard and long).

I then took the Spaghetti Squash and used it in the base for the dish you will see in just a little bit and I cubed up the Kabocha Squash and used it as well.  I sampled a bit of each and they were tasty!  Below is the finished product.  It's a Thai Curry Squash with peas and pine nuts.

I ate a bowl as a soup and it was totally YUMMY.  Since I made a HUGE batch I decided to cook up some lentils and rice so I could pair it for meals this week.  For the base recipe I used...1 small spaghetti squash, 1 small kabocha squash, 1 T grapeseed oil and about 1/4 C Pine nuts - I roasted those ingredients at 380 degrees for about a half hour.  I then took 1 sweet onion and cooked it down then added half the pine nuts that were roasted and about 6 basil leaves that were dried and crumbled.  Added 1 can of coconut milk,  I added the spaghetti squash to it and simmered for a few then put in my blender to make a base.  I then added 4 T Wildtree Green Curry Paste/Sauce, the other half of the roasted pine nuts, 1 C Peas, and Black Sea Salt to taste.  It turned out great!

Saturday we sold our Wildtree products at a regional winery.  I'm thrilled because this winery doesn't use purifiers, clarifiers, or preservatives in their wine that tend to be fish or gelatin based!  Next to the door they had this crazy looking guy and they were all decked out for Halloween.  It made all sorts of weird noises and moved.  They had him on an operating table and it was fun to watch the people come in and freak out when the sensor went off!  It was a very windy day and driving home was a bit challenging at times because of the wicked wind!

Saturday night the dogs enjoyed snuggle time on the sofa.  Paco liked that I let him use my pillow, too.  He's doing well but his legs still have good days and bad days.  He's a trooper, tho, because he still trucks around the house in his own special way.  And of course he's still as cute as ever.  Sunday night the dogs seemed to enjoy family time, too!  We caught up on Grey's Anatomy and Reign which are two of the shows we enjoy during the week on Hulu.

Okay!  It's time!  It's time for the giveaway I intended for this past weekend!  All you have to do is be a US Resident and comment on this post with your email addy.  Garden of Life is letting me give away a TUB of their Chocolate Raw Meal!  It's vegan and RAW!  New packaging and everything!  Woot!  I will choose a winner sometime tomorrow and announce the winner on Wednesday!  Each weekend I will have a different giveaway, too, so stay tuned!

What I'm...

Today's post will be a mish mash of tidbits.  Before I get started I must say that the logo above isn't mine but I was drawn to it.  I then went directly to the source which was The Mobility Hub of Africa.   It's a project by Art Moves Africa promoting just about everything Arts and Culture related.

Now...on to what I have been doing and a whole lot more...

 First off I will start by saying I attended an 8th Grade Career Day yesterday and that was interesting.  I was around 8th graders all day and some of them that stopped by our table were able to record and play back so they could hear what they would or could sound like on the air.  (If you are new to my site I should probably tell you that I work in radio full time).  3 of the attendees I was especially happy to see...hubby's cousin's daughter, a friend of ours' son, and a boy who has loved radio since he was 3 and has been in to tour the studios and has dropped by our live broadcast remotes often.  

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What I'm Watching...

I have been enjoying a lot of memories from my childhood, teen, and college years on Hulu+ and Netflix as of late.  I'm currently watching from the beginning A Different World.  I remember watching each and every episode when I was younger.  It's nice to re-watch them in the evenings when winding down.  We don't have Cable, Dish, Local TV, etc...but we do subscribe to both of these streaming services!  Do you?  If so...what are you currently watching?

What I'm Drinking...

In addition to many 52 Teas I have been sipping I have been getting back into Simpson & Vail's Teas.  I'm almost done with my stash of them, tho.  I really like their MANY Black Tea offerings.  I have also been trying to get into more herbals and you can read about a few of them over at The Sororitea Sisters Website.

Another thing I have been drinking is my morning smoothies!  Last week one of my mini goals was to be more consistent and make one each morning Monday Thru Friday.  I have been doing pretty good with this attempt with the except of yesterday while I attended the Career Day.  Instead I grabbed one of the Bolthouse Farm's Multi-V Goodness bottles I found at a small local grocery store.  I was surprised they had it.  This was the first time I had tried this flavor and it was really tasty.

What I've Been Listening To...

I often listen to a slew of different types of music.  I always find my way back to the 80s and 90s and over the past several months more specifically 90's Dance, New Wave, and Reggae music has been on that list, too.

What I've Been Thinking About For Fun...

Here's a card I did back in 2011!  I can't believe it's been 4 years!!!  But I have been trying to get back into paper crafting and mixed media once again.  As you can see here I did some shading and blending with craft markers.  I know I have better example of this somewhere.

And here's another one using the same digital stamp but with paper piecing.  If you aren't into paper crafting and aren't familiar with the term paper piecing it's basically using the digital stamp on patterned paper and cutting it out and piecing it on top of the same image to make it more colorful and eye catching.  Here are a few Halloween Themed Cards I made and the creator of the Digital Stamp is my ol' buddy Lindsay over at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff.

Be sure to check in TOMORROW I will be giving away a great prize from Garden of Life!
 Happy Weekend!

Spooky, Sweet, and Filled with Treats!

FREE Ground Shipping in the US - Click Here!

I will be posting my Weekly Goals tomorrow but a heads-up as to one of them...more dehydrating!  Yup!  I want to use my dehydrator MORE this week!  I will most likely be using it to dry fresh basil since we have so much from our Container Garden but I also want to try at least 1 sweet treat in there, too!  Since I'm an Excalibur Dehydrator Affiliate I thought I would post a little bit about this and some more news from Excalibur!  CLICK HERE to receive FREE Ground Shipping on your order.

Another thing I wanted to share - in case you didn't know - their dehydrators now come with a clear 'see-thru' door.  You can order your dehydrator with it or just order the door!  I LOVE that this option is available!  I find myself peeking in on my 'goods' while I'm drying and by opening the door you lose some time but if I were to have this 'see thru' door I wouldn't have to peek and extend my drying time.  I might have to order this soon OR have it be on my Christmas List!

Another great thing about their new product offerings is that they now come in 6 colors!

I'll  have a total of 3 posts today...so stay tuned for a recipe...and scroll down to see what I did yesterday...

The Labyrinth's Vegan Take-Out & Conspiracy Theorist for Halloween

Work has ALMOST been FUN, again!  YAY!  I know this post is VERY late!  This is the FIRST time I have 'dressed up' for Halloween in YEARS!  A few co-workers and I were talking about simple yet funny things to do for Halloween!  I decided to make this tin foil hat and go as a Conspiracy Theorist.  I thought it was pretty original. LOL.

I had some neat feedback on Instagram.  One guy said I should have had all sorts of newspaper clippings in my pockets and stuff to go along with it.  Making this Foil Hat was a bitter harder than it looks.  I did wear it nearly all day, tho!  A fellow Co-Worker went as "Mother Nature" and wore a wine like halo.

It's so nice having a happier work atmosphere around here!  I'm VERY thankful for that!  Another thing I was thankful for recently was my trip to The Labyrinth in Jamestown.  I've posted about this Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant before but it's been while since I have stopped by.  I pre-ordered 2 Sunday's ago and picked up my order for BOTH Brunch and Dinner.

Yes, you could say I treated myself!  It traveled pretty well considering what I ordered!  For Breakfast/Brunch I had this little gem!  I know, I know...WHAT?  No Pictures!?  So sorry!  I started eating it before I snapped a pic.  It was really wonderful, tho!  The Lemon wasn't over the top tarty or puckery and the Raspberry was AWESOME!  The Vegan Butter was on the side and I dipped my finger in it but didn't feel it 'needed it' so I didn't add it to the Waffle.  Same with the Vegan Creamed Cheese.  The Maple Syrup was local and super sweet.  I usually don't care for Maple Syrup on my Waffles but it was tasty.  Next time I might ask for it on the side so I exclusively taste the Lemon and Raspberry on top of it!

Later than Night I grabbed the 2nd course...Veggie Burger!  This place has some great 'burgers'.  This one was a goodie but there are some others I enjoy a bit better like their Tofu Rodeo Burger, for example. 

BUT...this was pretty good, regardless!  I opted for the Vegan Cheddar.  The Pickle was puckery but in a good way!  The Hot Sauce was a nice touch, too!  Their Home Fries are similar to Breakfast Potatoes.  I really wish we had more veggie places in my region but I sure am thankful for this one!