Re-solutions, February

January has come and gone and I have been loving my green smoothies for lunch. This will definitely continue!. I can't say I feel skinnier, fitter or less tired but it tastes good and I feel good for doing it. I guess those things will just happen right?! 

So now to February. Dairy free February to give its proper name - which is actually where this whole idea of Theme16 (can I make this a hashtag?) came from. 

I'll be honest, I spent the weekend in Hawkes Bay staying with a friend's parent who was terrified by the idea of cooking for a vegetarian. So it would have been rude to have turned down the gorgeous cheese and onion quiche or the cheese platter at the vineyard. And definitely the ice cream after our day at the beach. But now I'm back in Auckland I have been taken this dairy free thing pretty seriously.....well, except for milk in tea. I love tea and I have probably 3 cups a day with maybe a teaspoon of trim milk in each one.....I doubt that tiny amount is going to fuck up my experience of no dairy for 20 something days....but if anyone knows of a good milk substitute for tea please let me know! 

Anyway, I wanted to use this as a chance to get into vegan cooking - I have the magical Grit diner cookbook of which I have maybe used 3 recipes (but I make them all the time, nom!) that I want to play with. Their tofu bacon is a revelation for us veggies who hate missing out, it means I can have a BLAT whenever I want one! This morning for my Saturday breakfast I made this,

http://minimalistbaker.com/southwest-tofu-scramble/

And it was gorgeous! I guess the time thing is what I'll find it the hardest - a scrambled egg takes 5 mins tops, this was around 20 mins. But tofu is a good substitute for eggs and at the weekend I have time. 

I don't miss cheese yet........but I suspect I'll be craving a pizza soon. As a self professed queen of pizza this is what I'll miss the most. But I need to keep repeating the motto "cheese is what makes westerners fat" (a brilliant piece of truism from an Indonesian guy we met in Flores. There's very little dairy over there and when we were there for 2 months eating nothing but rice, tempeh and eggs, I got pretty healthy looking!). I am tempted to give a vegan pizza a try, as I'm not sure Andy will want to go a whole month without pizza even though he'll face the wrath if he eats one in front of me! 

But I am open to recipes to feel free to send some my way! 

New Years Re-Solutions

So this year instead of my usual let's make lots of resolutions and then get flummoxed because it's just all too much I decided to make themed months. Theme '16.

First up January - I called it juicing January because it worked as a title (same letters!) but really it's all about smoothies in January. My attempt to drinking a healthy iron fuelled smoothie every day, because I absolutely need the iron and I probably need the fruit too. I also probably need the spiriluna but let's be honest, I have no fricking idea what it does or how it'll help me! But it cost a lot so it must, right? 

Anyway, I must say I'm happy so far with my efforts. It's been hard at work as it means no more fun lunches with work peeps, I just sit at my desk and drink green sludge. And honestly, it tastes delicious! Yes I have to go shopping every couple days for spinach and kale and coconut yoghurt but I reckon in the long run it's cheaper than $15 burgers and it's certainly healthier. I still feel knackered but I think this resolution is a keeper, way past January! 

Poetry. Honest.

I am trying to remember a poem I wrote when I was 15 called Yellow but all I can remember is the line "but I am yellow." 

It was about cowardice as opposed to too much sun (in 1990s Boro? Ha!) and I do have a copy of it in a published book at my parents house but I wish I had if here too so I could read it. 

I'll be honest, it wasn't a cheery poem but it was an authentic poem and I believe pretty good. When I thought I could be a poet (thanks to Simon Armitage), before I realised I had no idea how to be a poet. 

I wrote this one recently; I'm pretty proud of it.....

Our youth has gone

And so has your beauty

Something that used to mean

So much to me

But still, no poet. But a writer, yes. 

Long awaited update?

My self imposed retreat worked; on Sunday around 6pm it suddenly occurred to me the story was almost complete so I typed like a maniac and (practically) finished the first draft! Over 38,000 words and just the tidy up at the end. I felt so relieved. 

The next task is to tidy it up - check the final stages for errors etc then sit down with Alex Rider and Harry Potter and check the language and the tone against Adventures in Recordland. So basically I get to read (and dissect!) books. Excellent! 

Update on cows and writing retreat - proper day 1

So I woke up and all the cows had gone. Can't help feeling it's a ruse to make me feel at ease before they attack! It has been a busy but enjoyable day; an early start to watch the rugby World cup kick off then to the local market in Matakana to get supplies for the day(one of my favourite places in the world, you can stick your Angkor Wat - can you buy feijoa wine there? I think not). If you're curious supplies were 3 divine summer rolls, a bag of rocket, the most amazing kumara bread and a block of red Leicester cheese. (I may need to get more supplies tomorrow as it turns out writing makes me want to eat a lot. Or perhaps because it's the only distraction I've left myself. Either way I have eaten a LOT today). Writing was good though - current standing is 30,218 words and I really would like to hit 32,000 before the evening is through. Which isn't going to happen if I keep faffing about here.

Writers retreat - evening 1....

The cows haven't taken me yet. Finishing this evening's writing efforts on 26,100 words..... Time for Laphroaig and I Capture the Castle. Nanite!

Should I fear the cows?

You know what they say about cows.....quiet, docile creatures happy to meander in the field waiting for their time to be made into burgers. But I am sitting in a cottage with a view (and oh what a view!) and right in the bottom 3rd of that view are a bunch of cows meandering closer and closer to my area....Everyone knows it's the quiet ones you have to watch. What if they turn on me? Will they know I'm a vegetarian? Anyhoo, cows aside I am sitting at a table drinking a beer and looking out on to the impending sunset over Leigh and its surrounding area. It's quiet, except for my monkey style typing and that excited bird singing. I'm here to write so I thought it'd be good to start it off with a blog entry, just to track my motivation when I remove myself from everything I love and know (Andy, Netflix, the heat pump and our wonderful bed). So, starting at 25,474 words......what will Monday morning look like?!