I'm Still Around...

Just a quick update to say that I'm still around but life has thrown me more curve balls!

I'm trying to deal with things.  I'm trying to work on myself and my stress, anxiety, and depression.  I have taken a step to work on that.  In the last couple of months - DH had a set back from his surgery and battled an infection.  We lost my step-father-in-law.  My mother had 2 surgeries to take care of her skin cancer.  

My sleep issues aren't really getting better which contributes to even more problems.

Having said that...there are some great things happening and things to be grateful for!  They were able to get my mother's skin cancer in ONE LAYER.  She's healing now.

My niece is keeping things interesting and joyful.  I get a kick out of her.  She really IS my world.  I adore her more than words can express.

This group of ladies has been a real comfort in trying times.  My Zontian Sisters!  This is a bunch of us celebrating Zonta International's 100th Birthday.  We received the traveling flag and signed it.

I'm really feeling YOGA calling my name the last several months to a year but I'm having a hell-of-a-time getting back into it.  I'm trying to at least start with 1-minute breathing/meditations.  I'm not sure that has really helped, to be honest.

My pain has returned but I'm convinced it's stress related.

Sorry to be such a Debbie-Downer.

Hopefully, I will be my crazy blogging self again soon!

Kombucha Journey, New-To-Me Vegan Amy's Kitchen Products, & Ms. Trinity

YIKES!  Yet again...time has gotten away from me!  I have way too many photos to post and things to blab about so I'll have to work towards checking those items off my list and not overload everyone in one post.  Altho...I have a feeling this post will surely be long enough on its own!  First up...an update on my Kombucha Journey!    This was the 2nd batch I did and we did do a 2nd ferment with it!  My parents found a few of these cute bottles at TJ Maxx for cheap!

In the first photo, you will see our first flavor.  It was straight-up Kiwi!  In the 2nd photo, that is pure blueberry!  Both were fizzy and both were tasty!

And finally, this one is orange and kiwi!  We have started our 3rd batch and it should be ready to fruit and 2nd ferment in about a week.  It's been FUN!  We already have quite the SCOBY Hotel going, too!  I think we might have to start doing more than one batch at a time!

A few weeks ago I went to the Erie Target and found a few new-to-me Amy's Kitchen Vegan Labeled Products including this Ravioli!  It was SUPER tasty!  The sauce really MADE it!  The only problem with these Amy's meals is when I find one I really like I could eat like 4 more in one sitting!

Then there were these Asian Dumplings.  At first bite...I thought it was 'ok' but as I continued eating it I found myself really enjoying it!  After it was all gone, I found myself wanting more!  

Paella!  Another winner!  I really didn't have much of an opinion of this going in only because I'm not a Paella Guru by any means.  I think I only had Paella maybe twice before and I made it both times and I made it myself so who knows if it was close to a traditional Paella.  Regardless, I did find this one quite tasty and I would certainly buy it again!

And to finish out this post I thought I would post a pic of my wonderful niece with my parents dog.  I have a series of these photos on IG in case you want to see more.  Ms Trinity calls me Aunt Ja Ja.  She's a gem!  I love her dearly!  

Thayers Unboxing, New Camper, Christmas Recap, LOTS of Veganized Food, Family Update!

I'm ALMOST to the point where I am caught up enough to start posting regular daily posts again!  YAY!  This SHOULD be the last post of 6-pack splash of photos!

In this first photo, you can see the kitchen in our new camper!  I'm sure I will elaborate on that soon!  But...YES...we traded in our 2014 Starflight Travel Trailer and bought a 2017 Cougar 5th Wheel! 

I recently received a WONDERFUL gift box from Thayer's!  I will be doing a full post on this VERY SOON!  Spoiler warning...I LOVE the products Thayers sent me!  There was a soap bar, Lozenges, and 2 Witchhazels!  One was cucumber and a spray and the other was lavender and a large bottle at that!

My father was recently in the hospital.  Right before Christmas, actually.  We were thrilled to have him home in time for the festivities!  He's been a lifelong Asthmatic and had 3 bouts with a terrible cold over the last couple of months.  It turned into Bronchitis.  He was treated by his regular doctor for that but everything they gave him didn't work.  He ended up in the hospital and had Severe Bronchial Spasms.  He was put on at least 3 steroids - among other things!  He would go on hour long coughing jags.  It was very scary!  With all the steroids he was on it messed with his blood sugar.  They tried combating that with other things and that messed with his heart rate.  They combatted that and it messed with his oxygen levels.  Now that he is home he has made a lot of changes to his diet and really keeping tabs on his diabetes.  He's doing much better with the bronchial issues - THANK GOD!  I signed him up over at MyFitnessPal and they are cooking at home a lot more.  Mom and Dad are trying new foods, too!  He's already lost 7 pounds!

The plate of food you see above is one of the meals I ate with them the one night (minus the chicken he added to his plate).  Mom and I made seasoned Sweet Potatoes, Seasoned Cauliflower, and I made some pasta.  Sweet Potatoes are a near freebie for him so we are trying to incorporate more and more into his diet.  I bought them an Air Fryer for Christmas.  This was even before all of the doctors and such.  So far they have tried Sweet Potato Fries and Asparagus in there and enjoyed it.

As you can see in the one photo...my little niece is holding a hella-huge Sweet Potato.  She thought it was a football and started running around the house with it!  GOD...I love her!

Here you can see Trinity in her Christmas Eve Coat.  It's a faux fur type material that her other grandmother made for her.

I've been posting a lot of the Thayers stuff on IG because I love it so much!

A few days before Christmas I was still going over to my parent's house a lot for my Dad's meals and holiday prep!  My mother found crazy leggings at Walmart for $2 each.  She bought a few pairs and we decided to wear them that night and again on Christmas Day...you will see that photo below with my sister and Trinity photo bombing us!

Like I said before, my father is starting to eat more and more Sweet Potatoes!  And to be honest I have been too!  I figured WHY NOT and other than stand alone and fries I haven't done much with them.

I was trying to figure out what to top it with and I'll tell ya...I have a new favorite!  Baked Sweet Potato topped with Salsa and Guacamole!  YUM!

A while back I found Kite Hill Rav's and finally made them the one night for dinner!  I LOVED them and can't wait to get my hands on them again!

On Christmas Eve, my mother made some Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins!  They turned out GREAT!  We had them on Christmas Morning!  Other Christmas Eve foods you can see above are...Vegan Cream Cheese Pinwheels or Roll-ups that I made with Daiya Cream Cheese...my sister made a Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip.  She used Earth Balance Mayo, Tofutti Sour Cream, and Follow Your Heart Parm.  Mom made some Spiral Pasta, and we also made some Cheesy Potatoes!  They made a regular version for them and a vegan version for me!   Actually, it was a tag team effort...my mom made the potatoes and left some out for me after cooking them up plain...she then added Daiya Shreds and baked.  She was busy with other hustle and bustle so I took them out of the oven and added Earth Balance Margarine and more Daiya Shred!  They were YUMMY!

Christmas Eve, Trinity wore a cute plaid dress under that coat (pic above).  The next morning she had a blast opening presents and we had an even bigger blast watching her!  She got a Disney Tent/Tunnel thing from my parents as you can see above.

The last two photos on the bottom here show her opening gifts and one of the things Dale and I bought her...a Farmers Market Produce Cart!  Leave it to the VEGAN AUNT, eh!? 

Christmas Morning we always do a big breakfast!  I usually make grits.  To mine, I add vegan cheese.  This year I had some leftover Smoked Gouda I cubed up from the night before.  I paired that with leftover Vegan Spinach Artichoke dip from the night before and it was darn tasty!  I ALMOST forgot to mention that I finally used the JUST EGG and my first attempt with it was a success.  I did a plain omelet.  I'm looking forward to trying other omelets and getting more creative with the product down the road.  I threw a little salsa and gauc on there, too...and a half bagel!

This is the time of year we usually try and pinch pennies a bit.  First quarter is always tighter than the rest.  I wanted to see what I could buy for very little and will probably be doing more of this in the coming months as I have in Jan-Feb-Mar in years past.  I recently went to our local Tops and bought 6 different frozen veggies, 4 cans of tomato sauce, rice, and quinoa.  I only spent about $8 on this trip!

How was your Holiday Season?

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!

Vegan Finds, Changes, & Updates!

I was going back thru a slew of photos I have been sitting on since my hiatus and realized just how many I still have yet to post - to blog about - and to share!  This post will be just as busy as yesterday's if not BUSIER!  First I wanted to share with you a salsa I made.  I was lazy the other day and opened a cheap storebought salsa.  It was pretty underwhelming.  Once I added sweet corn and black beans it made all the difference in the world!

Before fair week I went to Wegman's for one last shopping session before all the fair craziness!  My mother and I went and had their salad bar.  This is what I was able to find and it was tasty!  There were 2 kinds of greens for salad base, pickled sweet peppers, butternut squash zoodles, carrots, mushrooms, various seeds, cabbage, peas, artichokes, etc.  I believe I topped it with a Pomegranate Balsamic of sorts. 

One of the items I finally broke down and purchased was Miyoko's Vegan Butter.  I had not yet tried this because it's usually quite pricey.  I remember it being on sale by a buck or two so I figured WHY NOT.

I grabbed a package of these to have in the camper freezer.  I have had them before and with the right dipping sauce, they are pretty good.  

In my travels over the last couple of months I have been seeing more and more places carrying Lenny & Larry's!  I remember having them when they first hit the food shows last year and enjoyed the ones I tried up to that point.  I was just so excited that I saw these at our local Sheetz that I had to grab one!

I picked up these but I cannot remember where I got them.  I want to say they were over at the new Giant Eagle in Erie but I could be wrong.  They were pretty tasty.  I would probably purchase them again if I came across them.

These Vegan Potato and Onion Pierogies were something left from last last Ohio Trip.  They were YUMMY and I remember making a Cashew Based Alfredo Sauce which was even better than the Pierogies themselves!  I was just sooooo thrilled to find a storebought Vegan Pierogies that I couldn't pass them up!

About a month ago or more I made my first online BRANDLESS purchase.  There were a few things that didn't go as planned with my order but it all worked out in the end.  This was one of the things I bought and I am so happy I did!  It's delicious!  And I'm not going to lie...I recently had a couple of spoonsful stand alone and straight up.  I know that's weird but it was tasty and I bet would make a good soup!

One thing I made before Fair Week kicked in was this Lentil Curry.  I just used what I had on hand (which wasn't much) but I made do with what I did have.  Lentils from a Halal Market in Buffalo, Frozen Spinach, Canned Coconut Milk, Canned Stewed Tomatoes, and some spices.  It turned out fine and dandy!

Next up is this Vegan Camping Food Plate.  I have to apologize for the foam plate.  I don't usually buy them or use them.  It was someone elses and it was a thrown together potluck meal.  My mother made Baked Beans which were vegan and no one even knew.  I made the Sweet and Sugary Tomato Salad and there wasn't much of that left.  I used an organic and vegan natural sugar for it.  I also made the Vegan Macaroni Salad which is now being requested by many on the fairgrounds.  Of course that makes me smile.  I'm glad I'm not the only one eating the vegan stuff...eventho...the other people aren't vegan.

One of the new things over at the VIP Tent during fair week was the 'throw back' looking popcorn machine.  The accidently vegan kicker was the 'buttery' look...it was actually a non-dairy coconut oil base.  YAY!

Our fair was the first full week of August but this past weekend we went to a neighboring fair.  We were treated to a special 'ice cream' and because it wasn't vegan I wanted to participate somehow.  I noticed they had frozen bananas on a stick.  I asked if they could do one PLAIN and she said yes.  Oddly...I HATE BANANAS!!!!  But I thought I would step out of my lil box of comfort and try it.  When it was completely frozen it wasn't too bad.  When it started to thaw I couldn't handle the banana taste or aroma.  I ate what I could and shocked my husband in the process!

I did find another accidently vegan option this past weekend, too!  This was a Blooming Potato!  I asked the vendor about the oil and the fryers all they used in the fryer was potatoes and the oil base was vegetable.  There were tons of toppings you could opt for but I stuck with the basic potato and hit up the condiment bar.  I put onion, relish, and ketchup on them and they were VERY filling!  It was a WHOLE POTATO afterall!  I shared with about 6 other people, too!  It was a real winner!

Not sure if I mentioned on the blog but I mentioned on my IG that our town recently got a new Ollie's Bargain Outlet!  I used to visit the one in Erie when I was around and always had to hit up their book section for vegan cookbooks!  Now I don't have to go to Erie!  I have one right here!  So far I have bought at least 4 or 5 discount vegan books there and added them to my collection.  This was one of them.  It was only $2.99.

I absolutely LOVE this photo I was able to take of one of the stray cats in our neighborhood.  I felt bad for her that she was stray but she seems to be fine with being outside.  Prior to leaving for fair she was laying and sleeping on our front steps and stoops.  As soon as I approached her she would run away.  I haven't seen her in about a month.  I hope she's ok.  I always worry about our busy street and animals getting hit.

Another thing I haven't updated you all about in a while is my adorable niece who FINALLY started walking the past couple of weeks.  My mom and dad watch her 3 times a week and took her to a local park yesterday.  Here she is with my mother and their dog Lexi.

And speaking of furkids...here are my two pups!  They have been doing more and more of this since we lost Paco.  Riley is about 17 years old and our feral cat Charlie is 18 so I'm afraid what the future may bring with the two of them being older at the same time.  

Cricket is about 5 now, I think.  She is still the Queen of the Castle.

And another thing I forgot to tell you was that I finally cut my hair a couple of months ago and think I'm already due for another haircut!  With my last two haircuts they cut off about 14 inches of hair!  WOWZA!

Husk Tomatoes, Decorated Rocks, Niece Update, Local Vegan Soups

A friend/co-worker of mine brought in some Husk Tomatoes not too long ago and shared them with us.  They were pretty yummy!  Her father grew some of them this year!  Here's a stock photo of them.  They were almost like a berry (some people say they are like a Gooseberry) but they also had a hint of cantaloupe/cucumber likeness to them, too, on top of the sweet tomato, that is.

I've been having fun with the decorated rocks I have been telling you about lately.  I have been finding a lot of them as well as making some of my own.  Here are 5 that I decorated last week.  I've had some luck with Sharpies.  I took a few of them to a State Park over the weekend.  I forgot to take photos but will be blogging about it at some point.  It was a very nice fall weekend at a historic place that is for sure.  My parents and I took our Wildtree stuff and sold quiet a bit of it.  We were supposed to do the Busti Apple Festival this Sunday but I'm not sure if we have enough stock.  At the end of this year we will be ending our Wildtree run.  It's been a great 9 years but the company is making a lot of changes that aren't really what our area focuses on, unfortunately.

About a month ago my niece had her Christening.  My sisters' husband/family is Catholic.  My sister and I were raised in a Pentecostal Church (altho my parents were not Pentecostal - but that's a story for another day).  After we moved to PA my sister stopped going to church.  I continued and was even in IVCF while in college.  IV or IVCF is Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship.  It was open to everyone.

These days - I know what I believe and have strong beliefs but do not attend church regularly.  I will attend different churches for different reasons such as volunteering or to see a speaker or attend a celebration, occasion, etc.  I respect all other religions and feel my personal beliefs don't really match to any said place of worship.  I also think that it's a very personal choice - and eventho I appreciate hearing what other people believe - I don't want someone telling me what TO believe or telling me what I believe is wrong.


Plus with the way politics have been the last several years that has been a real tough one for me too.  It seems politics have entered the church and many churches are more political than about the fellowship and togetherness and equality.  I rather hang on to the values I grew up on in the church that I remember and take them on my journey from here on out.  To treat everyone equal, to be compassionate, help others when I can, and try and make the world a better place.

I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm against church - that couldn't be further from the truth - it's some of the people that confuse me - not the ideas and beliefs.  My thoughts and feelings on the subject are very complex and many don't understand them but I'm ok with that.  I feel it's what's on the INSIDE that counts.  My purpose is not to judge people - nor is it anyone's job to judge people - and I think that many have forgotten or disregarded that simple way of thinking.

Sorry for the rant here - my real purpose - was to post a photo of my sweet niece - but wanted to explain why she was in a dress 6 times the size of her.  Regardless - she is adorable and wonderful!

A while back I was telling you about a new place in town that was VERY vegan friendly.  It's called Total Evolution.  This week they started featuring soups.  3 of them - that they made themselves.  2 are vegan and the other one is meat and dairy free but contains honey.

I enjoyed both of them.  This first one is Butternut Squash and Rice and the other one below is Purple Potato and Leek.

This morning I had one of their Wild Cherry Cranberry Smoothies.  It was lovely.

They have a new and seasonal smoothie for the Halloween Season called the Frankie that I am going to have to try before too long.

I really need to get to a few local produce stands before the winter gets here.  I dread the winter months not only because of the snow and cold but because the produce is narrowed down to store bought which is usually drab and dreary.

And speaking of weather - I hope everyone is ok with all of the hurricanes and earthquakes that have been striking!  YIKES!  Please let me know in comments!  I want to hear from you!

I already have one more post on deck - hopefully I will be posting it tomorrow - it's something new-to-me that I have been eating that I am totally addicted to now.

I also have a few other grocery store finds I need to share with you so stay tuned!