68/101 Cheer a Friend on at a Race

This is #68/101 for my 1001 Things in 101 Days.

This is not the first time I have gone to cheer on a friend at a race....but it is the most recent that falls within my timeline for this project!

On Sunday, October 9th this year, Tommy and I took the train down to Chicago for the marathon. We ended up meeting up with the Libertyville Running Club at mile 23. They have been doing this for a few years, and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to finally go!

We took the train down from Union, and then had to take the L (The Red Line I think?) to get over to the mile marker. Alllll with my bombtastic poster.

When we got there, a lot of people were already cheering. The club set up a center for donuts to be given to runners :D and other snacks. It was a little chilly in the shade, but super manageable, It was mostly a day of "wahoo"ing and "Go runners" and what not. It was a super fun day!

Yay Spectating!

A note about climate change

Anyone else feeling left out on the conversation of climate change? Well, I was. So, like many other precious things in life, I invited myself into the conversation.

Ok. This is a big topic. You probably have more knowledge on it than I.
If you're thinking...

- It is bad.
- We need to make a change.
- If only people would start biking to work.
- "We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it." (because you heard this on the news/Snapchat/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram from President Obama)

...or any other spoon fed opinion on this topic, I'm here to add a few more ideas because you clearly don't have enough to worry about already ;) The biggest thing I've learned so far is that if we are going to actually try to do anything about climate change, we need to start the conversation with farming and food practices. It will take more than walking to work and using reusable grocery bags y'all. 

Here is what I have learned about general animal farming practices from watching various videos online, and reading multiple articles. I needed something new to watch after coming out of my Gossip Girl showhole on Netflix- cue the documentaries. 

{Click Here}

Food, INC. 2008 taught me the following things:
- The meat industry is not farmer owned (or even necessarily operated)
- Four major meat packing companies own about 85% of the industry- Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill, and JBS (A Brazilian company with a huge base in America)
- These four companies have been raising the price of meat because they CAN.
- Many farmers go bankrupt trying to keep up with codes set by these big businesses. They aren't paid much to cover costs of keeping up to code (which are set because these businesses want a product that is uniform and able to be processed in the same way all over the country)
- Farmers and processing workers are basically treated like shit by these big businesses because they are trained assembly line style (which is more efficient) and can be replaced easily, for cheaper, when needed. Also, these big companies recruited illegal immigrants to come work for them (in corn fields and meat packing houses) and the government is arresting these immigrants because they are illegal- but not handing out consequences to the big four companies that are hiring them.
- Monsanto is the DEVIL. This chemical company basically made a genetically modified soybean that resists weed killer. They sold this seed to farmers and now most use it. Monsanto sues farmers that don't use their Monsanto modified seed, and that "clean their own seed" every year to collect their best seed from their stock to use the following year because Monsanto claims those farmers are infringing on their creative patent. The whole thing is incredibly confusing, and I have yet to find an article that explains it fully. If you do, share it please!
- Monsanto also has a hand in the pockets of government officials that regulate food and farming practices in America. Surprise, surprise. 
-The last five minutes of this documentary are worth the watch (I mean, the whole thing is, but I get that you have things to do...kids, sleep, etc.)

Now, I've watched Food, INC. three times to get a handle on the situation. It had a lot of great things to say to me as a consumer. It's from 2008 though, and as much as I hate to think about the 2000s as being out of date, they are. So I continued my research with a documentary called...

{Click Here}

Cowspiracy, 2014
(If you're giggling at the name of this documentary like my husband did, don't. It's a legit thing...and very scary!)
No, it's not chalk full of slaughterhouse video clips, though there are a few scenes that are real AF.
Here are a few take aways:
- It takes a looooooot of water to farm animals.
- This is because these animals we eat are fed corn.
- Corn and soybeans are cheap to grow and process, but require a lot of water and space to cultivate. This means that forests are being cut down in other countries to make room for crops to feed the animals to feed us. 
- The world cannot be fed with meat that is only grass fed. It's just not possible feed the whole world on grass fed beef alone. We have too many people that eat too much meat. (Do you see where this movie might be going here?)
- We are killing our forests, oceans, etc. through animal farming practices. Basically, certain meat eaters are killing the WORLD. I'm working on not being one of them a few times a week. (Hey, it's a start)
- All dairy cows are eventually sold off to beef raising farms. They become hamburgers eventually :/
- Wildlife is impacted by livestock farming too. The government partakes in the killing of wildlife to make way for livestock.
- Cowspiracy is a term used by the producers of the movie to describe the strangeness that no one is talking about the number one reason for climate change and water usage: animal agriculture.
Ok, this was a good documentary. The main guy in this film is trying to make a change, and he is eloquently doing so. Watch it. It's worth it. Some of the citations are from 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2013. These facts probably haven't changed too much in the past few years, but just fyi.

Soooooo global warming. 

- Global warming is a thing that everyone is talking about right now. It's a hot topic, if you will. But one thing we aren't talking about is animal farming and it's impact of greenhouse gasses. This is the deforestation to make room for growing crops to feed the animals, make room for the animals, and waste production of animals (the methane gasses)
- Livestock produced methane gasses cause more damage to the ozone layer than transportation, which is where the big push for change is centered, not on animal agriculture.
- Whatever cause you can think of that is hurting the earth in some way, animal agriculture is hurting the earth a billion times more than that (I don't have an actual figure for you, but I am also not being dramatic here...)
- Some of the most well known environmental organizations are not as forthcoming with information as they should be. They are businesses too you guys. Keep that in mind.
It's a COWSPIRACY.



I also now know the following things from these movies (and I hope you take them with you when you leave this blog too):
Grocery store labels are created entirely to impress you, the consumer. The picture of the farm with the sun and the grass is appealing, but don't be fooled.

Basically, the McDonald's brothers ruined the meat packing industry with their idea of fast food and bringing the assembly line to meat production. If they didn't think of it though, I'm sure someone would have...

Driving less, recycling, and using less water is not going to cut it when it comes to climate change or saving water and oceans. We, as consumers, have to make the difference by choosing where we buy our food, and buying locally and organically. 

So here is a final seed of thought for you before you donate to causes this holiday season, and purchase food products for the same reason: Be smart, do your research, make conscious and conscientious choices when giving your hard earned dollars away in exchange for meat.

Easier said than done right? Well, at the very least, try to bring up the word Cowspiracy at least once this holiday season when visiting family. It's a good controversial conversation starter. And a good option if you're still mourning November 8th and "just can't" with your family.

Feel free to drop me a comment or a message if you want to share your thoughts. I'm by no means an expert but would love to learn more if you have more to give. :D  Happy Learning

#30/101 Host a Dinner Party for Friends + Friendsgiving 2016

So every year, Kelsey has a Friendsgiving for the people in her life.

It is always fun, always delicious, and everyone brings a dish to share. Tommy and I brought appetizers and wine. I tried a new recipe that was gluten free and people liked it so that was good! It was for a cheesy chip dip that I also got GF crackers to dip in :)

When it was time for dinner, we some how all were able to squeeze in at the table.....which blows my mind every year, lol. {See amazing picture below}

{Amazing Picture}

This year we had: two different kinds of rolls, mashed potatoes, corn cassarole, sweet potatoes, turkey, stuffing, green bean cassarole, and probably a few other mouth watering dishes that I'm forgetting some how.

We also had desserts that were, as my mother would say, to die for.

Per usual, we had a great time :D :D :D

So this year, as I am wanting to host a dinner party for some friends, I decided to host a Friendsgiving myself. Also, I wanted to try my hand at cooking a turkey for real this time, lol. So this post is also part of my 101 in 1001 Days- #30/101 Host a Dinner Party for Friends

I have to tell you, I don't actually love Thanksgiving food. I mean, turkey is probably my #5 meat, and I generally dislike the other traditional side dishes- green bean casserole, cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie....I do, however, love rolls and mashed potatoes and there's always plenty of those so yay.

Anyway, what I do love about Thanksgiving is the tradition. I love the getting together of family and friends, the all day cooking experience, and the Fall themed decor. Warm colors are my jam. So it felt right to make a dinner party around this time a Friendsgiving one, especially since turkey was on sale after Thanksgiving and I had school off for break ;)

I sent out feelers to see who would be available, and many people were seeing family or not going to be in the area past Thanksgiving, but Liz and Lauren said they could come and we set the date for November 26th.

I ended up buying a frozen turkey from Jewel on Thanksgiving day for super cheap. It was a 15 pounder too! It thawed just in time, with a little help from my kitchen sink and a running water bath. The process of actually getting the turkey ready was semi gross, but way manageable you guys.

To prepare the inside- I cut up half a stick of butter into thin square sections. After separating the skin from the breast, I set the squares of butter on the breast and sprinkled some herbs.

To prepare the outside- I mixed sage and rosemary together with olive oil in a small bowl. Then I used a brush to spread it on the skin. My mother says you can use basically whatever herbs you want, but she recommended those together. I also sprinkled the skin with a bit of salt and pepper.

Then I stuffed some carrots, onion, potatoes, celery, and herbs inside of the bird and then tied the legs together a bit with some cooking string. I also trussed the turkey prior to dressing it, but the website that I followed for cooking the turkey recommended leaving it untrussed so that it would cook more evenly. I didn't have any issues with this though so I would probably do it again next year! The website also called for adding chicken broth to the pan, which I did....and ended up adding more as the bird cooked because it kept drying up and I needed it to baste the turkey whilst cooking. I think maybe they recommended doing this with the broth if the bird was sitting directly on the roasting pan...but I'm not sure. My turkey was on a rack in the roasting pan so maybe that made a difference?

{Turkey humor}

I set the oven to 350 degrees, and once it was ready, I put the bird in and played the waiting game! The website said that you should schedule 13 minutes per pound, but cooking time can vary based on how you prepped the turkey and if you stuffed the bird. I was able to keep an eye on it though, and about every 45 minutes, I pulled that large lady out of the oven and went to basting. In the final 45 minutes of the cooking time, I used pan juices and melted butter to baste the turkey. It helped crisp up the skin a bit.

At about half way into her cooking time, I started checking the temperature of the turkey in the three places that are recommended: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh. It took a total of about 3 hours for it to fully cook and reach a temperature in all three places above 165 degrees. I did have to put a foil tent over the pan for the last 20 minutes or so because the inner thigh was almost to 165 when the rest of the places I checked were already there and I didn't want the outside to overcook. In the last bit of turkey cooking, I also put the green bean casserole in the oven, and warmed the mashed potatoes that Liz brought. We also mixed Lauren's salad. When it was time to take out the turkey, I also put in the rolls to heat them through.

The prepping and cooking parts of the meal were cake compared to the actual carving of the turkey...lol. Thankfully the boys were there to, um, distract themselves with football and polite conversation in the family room while the three of us tried to carve the thing.

 Lauren did the actual carving because she's brave, and I had my doubts....but she did it!

{Liz did a great job holding the platter...lol!}

Anyway, it was fun to host them and dinner turned out great! After eating, we played some cards in the family room, took waaaaaay too many Snaps, and then had dessert. It was a super fun night and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to cook with friends and hang! Can't wait for next year!

See last year's November Happenings here.

#92/93 of 101 Things

This is a blogpost on #92 and #93 of my 101 things in 1,001 days goal!

Tommy and I finally went apple picking together! I have been wanting to do this for YEARS, and have just been too lazy to make the plans to go. Then by the time I think, "Hey, we should go apple picking!" I find out all the apples at the orchards near me are picked by people who actually have their shit together at the start of Fall.

So this year I put it in my calendar, and even tried to wrangle people to go with me! It ended up being just Tommy and I, but it worked out because we were able to go see Dana and Marvin before we went to the orchard. We visited their new house!

Then we drove to All Season's Orchard in Woodstock, IL. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and the place was busy! We ended up finding a spot to park pretty quickly, and walked to the entrance. It was wet from the rain the night before, and semi muddy, but we expected that going into it so I wore my boots and it worked out well! It was $14.50 a person, and each person got a 1/2 peck bag of apples with their admission. They have a bunch of other stuff you can do there, but the other activities (corn maze, corn kernel pit, petting zoo, etc.) costs more money and we aren't 5 so we just stuck with the apple picking part.

When we walked in, we lucked out and got straight onto the wagon that takes people to the apple trees. We were given a short speech on how to pick apples, and the different kinds that were available. We got these long poles with a basket on the end to use to get the apples off without bruising them. They took a little getting used to, but definitely made the process easier and quicker! Tommy and I ended up mostly picking Jonagold and Golden Delicious. They didn't have any Red Delicious ready, which was ok with me, but they are Tommy's favorite! He ended up picking and semi liking the redder Jonagold apples that we took home.

After filling our bags, and taking a wagon ride back to entrance, we decided to get an apple cider shake, and an apple cider donut to share there. The sun started coming out and it was a fun place to sit and enjoy our treats together :) After hanging out for a bit, we walked around and picked out two pumpkins to take home.

It was a super fun day! I feel like we will definitely be coming back next year, though we might wait until they have some Red Delicious that are ready!

#54/101

This is part of my list of 101 things in 1,001 days!

#54- Visit a friend in another state

Last month I went to visit my dear friend Alyssa in Minnesota! It all happened rather fast.
Emily and I were texting one day, and since I was on my commute home, and it takes me an entire episode of This American Life to get home, I figured I would call her instead
Calling people: it's a thing.

So we got to talking and catching up as old friends do, and it was rather nice! Later that night, Emily text me around 9:00 p.m. and said that Alyssa would be alone on her bday that weekend because her husband, a pilot, would be out of town flying. Emily said that she was going to take a road trip and head up to see Alyssa. Welllll, I didn't get that text until around 11:00 p.m. that night, and after some support from my husband in helping rearrange plans, I decided that I would go too! Emily and I have both been saying that we wanted to go see Alyssa and the house she just bought with her husband, and that visit was long overdue so it seemed perfect!

I slid out of bed, threw some stuff in a bag, and then went to bed. The next day was Friday, and I had to work, but shortly after dismissing the kiddos, I drove to Emily's new house to meet for our road trip :D

On a totally separate note, Emily and Joe are doing so much awesome work on their new house. When I stopped by to see it for a quick tour, they had just painted a beautiful gray, and were going to be getting the floor done that weekend! (I saw it in person and it's gorgeous!!)

Sooooooo I left my car in Emily's driveway, along with my wallet and ID....though I didn't know that until about half way through Wisconsin. smh.

It was a super pretty and easy ride! Mostly because of the company, but also because there was a ridic sunset as we were driving. It was so nice to chat about life, try new snacks, and have a throwback with my girl. And the best thing? That what was the whole weekend was like!!

When we got to Alyssa's house, it was pretty late at night, but we got a tour and stayed up and chatted, duh. We met her doggie, Maverick, and then got ready for bed.

The next morning Emily and Alyssa were already up (surprise, surprise) making coffee and setting out muffins. When I woke up, I got myself some coffee and we sat in all sat in the kitchen together. We chatted about the day's plans, and decided that we would go to Stillwater and walk around downtown because they have good antiquing, and good food! We got coffees at Caribou (miss that place!) and went for a beautiful drive to town.

{Mug that matches my soul}

You guys, Stillwater is adorable. It's right along the river and has all of these old mill looking buildings. Totally picturesque. We went into basically all of the antique shops they had to offer and found a ton of cool things! I wanted to buy it all. It all. After a few hours we got some lunch at a place that was on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives called Smalley's and had their sweet potato fries, and chicken wings. They were soooooo good. The decor was fun too- totally pirate from floor to ceiling.

 

We moseyed on back to the car stopping here and there, and enjoying the weather. Then we headed back to pick up Alyssa's niece and go to dinner with her in-laws to a really good place called Doolittles. The food is amazing, and it was nice to sit outside as the sun set and visit with Kevin's family that is taking care of our girl out there! After dinner we went back to Alyssa's house and walked through the neighborhood and down the street to a cute little bar where they served me a drink off of a picture of my license that Joe took for me since I left my entire wallet in IL....heh. To the bartender I was like, "I'm 28 I promise. I have a picture of my passport that my husband sent me. Or here's a picture of my license that I left back in IL when I decided on a whim to drive 6 hours to come see this girl for her bday!" And the guy gave me a glass of wine, yyyyyyeeeeeeeaaaaaassssssss.

Then we strolled home to Alyssa's, chatted some more all snuggled on the couch together (duh- it's not a girls weekend without some kind of snuggling) and then poured into bed.

The next morning we drank coffee in the crisp weather on Alyssa's porch with the sun shining and the birds singing deciding where to go for brunch. The place we went to was all mason jar-y and cute and we ate outside and took a picture before Emily and I had to hit the road to be back at a decent time on a Sunday before a full work week. We hugged, and cried, and laughed, and then hugged and cried some more because it was such a nice weekend and no one wanted to leave. Alyssa suggested a different more scenic route home that was a wonderful choice, and Emily and I started the drive. (Emily is such a trooper btw. She drove that whole thing.)

{Morning coffee on Alyssa's porch- TAKE ME BACK!}

{The drive home}

When we got back, Tommy was there with Joe and they were working on some things for the house. Emily's parents were also there helping. We all checked out the new wood floors (OMG) and then got dinner at a place nearby that they liked. We ate it outside on their porch on a makeshift patio table and chatted with Emily's parents and about the trip. It was perfect. Tommy and I said goodbye around 8:00ish, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the ride home, lol.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. I mean, though I had a lot to say about the weekend {See Above, ha} I really cannot put into words what it was really like. What's it's like to have such friends. What it's like to engage in some of the most meaningful conversation I ever have in life. What's it's like to truly have people in your life that you are yourself with. That's what this girl's weekend was. In a nutshell. A very big, very happy, loving and fervent nutshell.

Love your girls fiercely and always!

Five Forgotten Photos on my Phone

{This wall at Starbucks that I want as my wall}

{Kelsey's wedding invitations that took us forever!}

{This wanna be Festivalgirlmillennial selfie}

{This way more accurate Amy selfie}

{This snap of Tommy holding a cat that doesn't look like a cat}

Oh Gosh.

These past few weeks have sucked.

_________________________________________

Lol. I love that this has been saved in my "Draft" folder for, like, years and that all I wrote was the above sentence and "oh gosh" as the title.

Podcast obsession

Hullo friends and stalkers,

The thing on my mind today? Podcasts. 

Do you listen to podcasts? Yes, Serial is a podcast. No, Making a Murderer is not a podcast. Neither is that audio book that you just downloaded through Audible. 

A podcast is like a radio show, you know, the kind that used to be on this thing:📻 Legend has it that people used to sit around their radios at a certain time on a certain night to listen together as a family to a story told with NO PICTURES! 

The thing is, these days people still do this semiregularly, but it's a little more convenient now! Podcasts are on the Internet, can be downloaded to a phone or computer, or streamed through an app that will automatically tell you when the next episode is released, and will keep track of the episodes that you have listened to...BONUS for us list makers!

Here are some podcasts that help me not to make angry decisions while driving 45 minutes to and from work everyday:

1. This American Life- It is very well known in the podcast world, and has the dreamy voice of Ira Glass. These episodes typically center around a theme of some sort and include first and second hand stories, poems, and snippits of interview with people who are experiencing the theme of the episode. Each episode is also about 45 minutes long. (Snaps to Katy for introducing me to my most favorite podcast!)

Source

2. Serial- "One story told week by week" in the words of Sarah Koenig herself: the creator/producer of the show. (Who also has a dreamy voice btw) Each episode advances the main storyline, which is a non-fiction account of one specific topic that is very complex. There is one previous season, and not only are we waist deep into the second season right now, we also are getting updates about the first season's main character: Adnan Syed. He is currently serving a life sentence for a murder that he may or may not have committed (but we don't think he did it...? Maybe?) We are getting updates on him because they are looking into his case again with a key witness that, for some reason, was never called to trial the first time around. The defense feels that Adnan's previous lawyer's declining health was to blame for this misstep. TBD on if Adnan will get a new trial or will go back to jail with forever and ever amen.
The current season centers on Bowe Bergdahl, who was in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. military. One day, he walked off of his post into to desert. In the current season that is unfolding, we are learning the many layers of why he did this, and what he hoped to achieve.

source

3. Criminal- This is the most perfect description for this podcast, as taken from it's own website: "Criminal is a podcast about crime. Stories of people who've done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle." It is not just stories are murder, but of all different kinds of crime. I think that's my favorite part about it! They are quick episodes, and they are interesting to listen to!

4. Stuff You Missed in History Class- which is exactly as it sounds. Narrated by two women who do a lot of research into the topic of the episode. Real talk right now: these episodes are gross, depressing, and mostly about murder with an occasional random show on the history of butter vs. margarine (for example). Sometimes, which I find the most interesting, they tell you about some random person from history! Yay!

Source

5. Women of the Hour- short one time podcast with extras with everyone's favorite twenty something year old to hate: Lena Dunham! This is just meh, but I see where she was going with this. It's worth a listen when you've become obsessed with podcasts (like me) and have listened to every episode of your favorite shows and have nothing left to hear!

Source

6. The Longest Shortest Time- all about life with children, children things, preggos, and the culture of having children. It's interesting. Things to know about this one: the baby/child laughter at the beginning of each episode is annoying AF, but the commercials are creatively done through a phone call the host makes to a friend/relative to tell said friend/relative about some baby/mama product. This makes the commercials waaaaay more listenable until you remember that there is a button that lets you fast forward like 15 seconds that you can use on the commercials!! (And the annoying baby in the beginning😄) Listener beware though- they just did an episode on pilling the placenta and it was HARD to listen to. I'm a firm believer of finishing podcasts (and books) that I start though so I just rode the listener train on that and tried not to lose it on the way to Target😝

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7. Guys We F****d: The Anti-Slut Shaming Podcast- I really tried to listen and like this one because of the title. I was all, "Yea! Women power! Anti-Slut Shaming is a thing!" And then I listened to this show....well, like, 10 episodes and I just couldn't do it. It's terrible, and annoying. They're comedians, and they spend the first five-six minutes of the episode just plugging their upcoming tour dates and saying a lot of "Uh, yea" to each other. Just don't on this one. (I'm not even going to provide you with a link to this one. It's that bad. NO)

This link will not take you there but just click it.

So there you go! 6 podcasts that I think are listen-worthy! If you're looking for something more stimulating than tv and less work than a book.....PODCASTS! Open that purple app on your iPhone (that came with the phone and that you can't delete) called Podcasts, click the "search" button at the bottom, or check out the "featured" button :) Happy podcasting!

And if you're looking for more...these also rock: Presidential, Stuff You Should Know, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me or any of the TED talks!