Day One

I've been thinking of doing some sort of a cleanse/detox for a while. I've read a lot about different juice cleanses like Blueprint Cleanse, and Red Carpet Cleanse where you basically drink all your nutrients for a number of days. I've also heard about the crazy lemon juice/cayenne pepper nonsense. I found something that is neither of those, but will hopefully help me get right with food. I'm hoping to reset my sweet tooth, something I haven't been able to do through sheer will power alone. I'm also hoping to ferret out any food allergies I may have. As many of you know, I'm a vegetarian, but I love me some cheese and I love anything that falls into the starch category. By not eating any dairy or wheat products for the duration of the cleanse, and then reintroducing dairy and wheat I may find out that I have an actual allergy. We shall see.

Anyway, today is Day One of The UltraSimple Diet. I don't like that it's called a diet, but I guess technically it is. So whatever. I did a bunch of food prep yesterday after buying a bunch of veggies, tofu, broth, etc that will take me through the cleanse. Not everything I'll eat is pictured. So no worries that it doesn't look like enough.

I was a little apprehensive about the UltraShake that you have for breakfast, - it's basically silken tofu, soy milk, 1/2 non-sweetened berries, ground flax seed, and ice or water to get the consistency you want. The book suggests adding some almond butter and a 1/2 banana. I'd hate to think what it tastes like without those last two suggested ingredients. It was actually pretty good with them. Breakfast will be easy.

Here's my lunch from today:

1/2 cup brown rice, a cup of broth, and a bunch of sweet potato fries. You get to have at least 2 cups of approved veggies. Thanking my lucky stars that sweet potatoes are on the list, because I heart them. I tossed them with some olive oil and some garam masala, black mustard seeds and salt for an Indian flair. Tasty. I felt full after lunch. I had some carrots and hummus for a snack a bit ago and am starting to think about dinner. Clearly I'm not going to go hungry.

There's a lot of thought that's gone into the food I'll be eating. I've been looking at cookbooks and for recipes on line so I'm actually excited about the items I'll be eating instead of just sticking with steamed veggies and brown rice (and tofu at dinner). I think that's an added bonus for me because this is going to get me out of my comfort zone of always eating the same things because they're easy to cook. If you knew how many times a week I cook something with a Mexican twist. Some of you actually do know first hand - RTL! It's a lot. I also end up eating a lot of cheese that way, which may not be my healthiest choice.

I saw the Krispy Kreme flyer in today's paper featuring TRIPLE chocolate filled doughnuts and for a few seconds wanted to scrap the cleanse and go get some. Maybe someday, I'll be able to have just one or a bite of one and not want to eat a whole box of them. That's the goal anyway.

Time for my dinner.

Golden Globes Glamour

Anna Paquin in Stella McCartney. Normally not a fan of anything in gold, but I like the cut of this dress. It's simple, yet daring. And it's something different than the most of the one shoulder or strapless numbers on the red carpet.

Sandra Bullock (who won the Golden Globe for best performance a motion picture drama for The Blinde Side) in a purple Bottega Veneta gown. Pretty sure the rain made the dress a little see through. Bummer. Perhaps her stylist had the rain in mind for her hair - sort of half up on the side. Not a fan, but you can't really tell if it's messy on purpose or messy because of the weather. In that case, it's a win.

Jamie Pressley. She's a tiny sparkler! I'd like to see this bead/sequin work on a dress cut like Anna Paquin's dress above. Combine the two and we'd be in business.

Susan Downey. Pretty Dress. Perfect for the wife of a nominee. It's not too flashy, not too fashion-forward where she'd be the one in the spotlight. They look good together. I would have made him shave his goatee though. The whole sculpting a goatee or beard deal, it's too contrived. I was happy that he won, he was entertaining in Sherlock Holmes.

Maggie Gyllenhaal in pink dress by unidentified designer. Something about this dress says Origami. Will she be able to fold up her dress into a giant swan at the end of the night? I think the dress is pretty, but would lose the asymmetric one shoulder bit and just go for strapless. Also, her hair is too severe for the dress. I would have liked to see her hair down with some soft waves.

Julia Roberts in vintage Yves Saint Laurent. Here's what I don't get, this dress is technically a black long sleeve dress. Nothing spectacular, right? This is a going out to dinner dress, not a presenting at the Golden Globes dress. Meh, I was not impressed.

Drew Barrymore in Atelier Versace. Um...this might have worked if there was only one small spiny hedgehog-looking attachment to the dress. There definitely does not need to be one on a woman's hip! For the love of God. It looks like a growth of some sort. Not a good thing. And it's a one shoulder dress...*shakes head*. How does this dress get picked? Did someone have to talk Drew into it or did she pick it willingly?

Kate Hudson in Marchesa. Beautiful. Nice to see Kate in something that is a little different for her. There's no whiff of patchouli with this dress. The only drawback to the entire ensemble is that in this particular photo, being able to see only the front of her stacked heels really bugs me out. It makes it seem like she's wearing some chunky white orthopedic shoes.

January Jones in Lanvin. She's totally channeling a 60's era Barbie and I dig it.

Courteney Cox Arquette in Victoria Beckam. Simple and elegant. I really like this and would probably pick something similar if I had an award show to attend. Maybe a little too safe for the Golden Globes though.


My overall thoughts on the show - no to the asymmetric one shoulder look. I'd probably hold my own umbrella if it were raining on my award ceremony night. Definitely a long dress. Mo'nique's acceptance speech made me get all teary-eyed. I was happy for Jeff Bridges (the Dude). I want to see Crazy Heart now. I love how even though it was raining on the red carpet all the lights make it look like it's sunny. There's something to think about. Even in the utmost dark, light, positive thoughts make all the difference.

Did you have a favorite look or moment from last night's Golden Globes?

Chow

Wow! There's a show on the Travel Channel called the Chow Down Countdown. Each episode features 20 eateries that are worthy of being featured on a show that includes the words Chow Down in the title. I happened to catch a bit of the 80-61 show the other night. Looks like they've only aired two episodes so far, so if you play your cards right, you may be able to catch the first two and the new episodes as they air.

My initial thought upon seeing some of the featured dishes, "this is why Americans are fat". Interestingly though being someone who loves to cook and eat, I couldn't get enough of the show! It was total food porn. Clip after clip of amazing, drool-worthy food located all over the country that I will probably never eat. Here are a few of the features that stood out to me. And if you've got some extra time, a few pics from the episode can be found here.

#76 An ice cream sundae called the Kitchen Sink.

#75 The Buffet at the Bellagio looked like it was a mile long and had amazing looking everything.

#73 A ballpark with a burger served in a grilled Krispy Kreme doughnut.

#67 A five-pound burrito called Burritozilla.

#64 Round Rock Donuts. A place that has a doughnut so big they use a five gallon bucket as the dough cutter.

Watching one episode made me totally hungry for junk food in huge delectable portions. It's probably a good thing that these places are located all over the country and not in my back yard! Probably also a good that I don't have cable to be able to watch shows like this on the regular.

One of my favorite out of town food memories is when I visited Sherman's Dairy in South Haven, Michigan on a high school camping trip. I had been on the road with classmates for nearly two weeks traipsing around out west and we stopped in South Haven for an almost-home snack - ice cream cones that were GIGANTIC! I like to say that large portions of food are "bigger than my head," but look at that picture, the cones really were that big!

Wonder of Wonders

Wondering:

Why Facebook makes suggestions about people you should get back in contact with. I think the suggestion has only worked a couple times on me. I haven't heard from anyone random lately, so I know people who are getting me as a suggestion for a wall post or message are ignoring.

How I should celebrate my upcoming birthday. This one seems like a big one and I'm not terribly excited about it, so I'm trying to think of something fun to do as a diversion to the fact that I'll be one year closer to 40!

When I should embark on The UltraSimple Diet. Supposed to be a great way for a 7 day cleanse and to figure out if you're allergic to certain foods, while still eating actual food. I'm pretty sure I have some food allergies that have gone unchecked. Need to do it soon before I get too far into training for the River Bank Run.

When my tax documents will get here. I usually wait until sometime in March to file and want to file as soon as possible this year. TurboTax makes filing so simple. I've used it for several years now and am a fan.

If I'll be able to get through my book club book, Cleopatra's Daughter. It just came in the mail yesterday and I'm already on chapter 4. Only 16 more to go!

What are you wondering about?

Paparazzi

During a recent conversation with K, we discussed what it might be like to live with paparazzi trailing your every move. Can you even imagine? I do not think I would enjoy it.

Today they would have snapped me walking to lunch in my work-at-home clothes (thankfully I was not working in my pajamas!), no make up, hair in braids with winter hat on. Hat stayed on to cover messy hair throughout lunch. There would have most definitely been shots of me scarfing my grilled cheese and tomato soup. Although, now that I think about it, we chose our table wisely, the paps would have had to be in the restaurant to snap either of us. We were sort of hidden. I guess we're savvy in pap-avoidance techniques without even knowing it.

Every minute detail of your life would be documented. Bad hair days. Comings and goings. Who you're with. Who you're dating. Questionable outfit. Are you going to the gym regularly? Weight gain/loss. Did you fall asleep in that meeting? What are you buying at the grocery store?

I think it would be particularly terrible if you were going through a break up. They'd get you with puffy eyes if you forgot to don your shades. If they're photographing you, they'd most likely also be photographing your ex and whomever he might be canoodling with. Uck.

While I would not enjoy having my life documented by the paps, I do enjoy seeing the lives of others documented. I know, it's not fair, but that's how it is. I'm also not getting paid millions and millions for the work I do. Hang on while I go check my google reader for the latest celeb news and photos.

do not like

We went to lunch at Qdoba today and I can still smell the restaurant grill smell on my clothes. I'm so not a fan of food smells permeating clothes. I even went as far as to leave my giant winter parka in the car so my coat wouldn't smell. So while the parka may have been able to escape being bathed in the pungent aroma of lunch, the rest of my outfit, not so lucky.

Dear Qdoba,
What exactly is going on in there? Do you need better ventilation. I think you do. Seems funny that you'd have a restaurant - you cook food for customers - and not have adequate ventilation for those customers. It's not like it's a surprise that you cook huge volumes of food every day. It's not like you're grilling up veggies and quesadillas for yourself for lunch and all of a sudden there are hundreds of people who want to eat lunch with you so you're forced to prepare food in less than adequate conditions. You are a restaurant for crying out loud!! I want to eat your food for lunch. I don't want to smell like my lunch after I eat it. I'm considering breaking up with you. Remember the sweater incident? (*)You were on my list for a couple years after that situation. Do you want that to happen again? You're on thin ice, my burrito-making friend. Don't think I don't have other burrito making friends in town. I'm just saying. Please do us all a favor and review your ventilation system.

-*fish

*many years ago. The ex and I visited the Qdoba on 28th Street between lunch and dinner. We were two of maybe four people in the place. I somehow left a light sweater behind. I called the restaurant within a half hour of our departure. When I described the sweater, they said they had it. I went back shortly after the call and they tried to pawn a fleece from the lost and found box on me. It was so not my sweater. I'm pretty sure one of the staff members snaked the sweater for themselves. Of course there was no way for me to substantiate my suspicion, but it took me a couple years before I'd even consider eating there again.

New Banana Bread Recipe

Trying new recipes is something I want to make a part of my new year, and hopefully I'll share my discoveries with you along the way.

I've been making my own Chocolate Chip Banana Bread for years. It's my mom's recipe and instead of adding walnuts, I add a half a cup of chocolate chips. I love it, but when I saw this recipe from Confessions of a Tart for a slightly healthier version that uses less butter, slightly less eggy-badness (one full egg and two egg whites), buttermilk and whole wheat flour, I bookmarked it for the next time I had bananas that had turned a corner.

It was time. The recipe is pretty straight-forward. The one thing I wondered about was the 34 grams of applesauce. Turns out its 2 Tablespoons, which is explained in the butter line just above the applesauce line in the recipe. I used Sir Mix Alot, my KitchenAid Mixer, instead of a hand mixer, but I'm sure the hand mixer works just fine. I didn't have whole wheat flour, so I used all white flour instead of mixing it like she does. I also used 3 1/2 bananas to yield 2 cups of mashed banana. I guess it just depends on the size of your bananas. I also used soy milk that I added about a teaspoon of white vinegar to instead of buttermilk. All told, it turned out just wonderful. Next time I want to try it with the whole wheat flour though to see if you can taste the difference.

Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland by *fish

One thing that hasn't changed with the new year, it's still winter here in Michigan! I created this fun Winter Wonderland inspirational collage featuring some of my favorite looks, textures and colors. I love the idea of incorporating a little luxury into an outfit, whether it's the sparkle a pin or necklace or sequins for a special occasion. I tend to get into the rut of turning to my warmest, softest clothes in the dead of winter and just keep repeating the same looks. I went through my closet yesterday to organize it a bit. I still had some summer pieces that needed to be put away. I'm now set to take on the winter cold and will remember to add a splash of color or a little sparkle to liven up my go-to cozy, warm outfits.

Happy New Year!

Wow, it's 2010!

This year, I'm on a quest to do new things, to become more engaged in my community and keep learning about myself and the world around me.

One thing that I won't be changing in 2010, training for and finishing a good number of races. I'll do my second 5/3 River Bank Run in the spring, my second Lowell Half Marathon in August and I'm even contemplating running a full marathon later in the season. I'm so glad I started running and am psyched for another year of training and races.

My family is going to have a reunion this summer. Everybody in the same place for the first time in probably three years. It's about seven months away, but I'm already looking forward to all the fun times we'll have together.

What are you looking forward to in 2010?

Best Dress(es)!

My friend K sent me the link to InStyle's compilation of the 100 Best Dresses of the Decade this week. She then blogged about her favorites. Taking her cue, I painstakingly scoured the list for my own favorites and share them with you here.

Kate Hudson in Versace, from 2003 is the # 1 dress.

Eva Mendes in Dior from the Golden Globes in 2009.

Gwen Stefani in Valentino at the 2004 Golden Globes

Cate Blanchett in Prada, 2000 BAFTA Awards

Kate Beckinsale in Givenchy, 2001

Halle Berry in Diane Von Furstenberg, 2006

A couple things I noticed right off the bat in looking at my choices, seems I prefer white/off white and sparkly. I'd wear each and every one of the dresses unaltered, except for the Eva Mendes dress. I'd have to take the front pouf off. The whole silhouette would be much more streamlined without it. It reminds me of a droopy flower. The only way I'd keep it on is if you could carry small items or snacks in it somehow. Since I doubt that, it's got to go.

The jewelry in all looks is very minimal, save for the Eva Mendes dress and she's rockin' the turquoise, which I LOVE! Halle's even got a simple strand necklace with turquoise beads.

While going through the list, there were a few dresses that came to mind that were not on the list and I thought should have been.

Michelle Williams in Vera Wang, Academy Awards 2006

Isaac Mizrahi, 2008

The yellow Vera Wang dress on Michelle Williams is one that sticks out of all the dresses and all the awards shows over the last decade. How could it not? She looked lovely and it's such a striking dress! A true stand out. The Isaac dress is a fun one because my sister in law M and I often choose a dress to "wear" for the Oscars. We'll ask, "who will you be wearing?" In 2008, this was my dress! I'd love to see it in person and OMG, to actually wear it for an occasion! I wish I had a dress up occasion coming soon! I guess I'll have to create one!

Christmas Eve

It's the eve of Christmas, y'all! I had to work a half day, which surprisingly was rather productive! Then ran to the grocery store to buy some fixins for dinner tonight and some things to nosh on tomorrow. The store was a little crazy, but not overwhelming. I talked to a few friends to wish them a Merry Christmas (a day early) and came home for a few last minute preparations. Tomorrow's the big day!

Here's a little of what I've been doing leading up to Christmas:

Sugar Cookie Cutouts with Royal Icing

Oreo Truffles

Fresh Ginger Ginger Snaps

I hope that whatever you have planned, you have a very Merry Christmas! Honestly, with family being all out east again this year (I'll miss them and all the hubbub of Christmas morning with kiddos), it's going to be pretty quiet here. And...there's an ice/freezing rain storm predicted, which would make things really interesting, no going anywhere! Glad I stocked up on snacks and DVDs!

Wonky

You know when you get a shopping cart with one wheel that's just a little off and it makes pushing or steering said cart a bit of a challenge? That's kind of how my day was. My day had a wonky wheel. Don't get me wrong, overall, it was a good day, it was just a little off.

On way out of house for second day in a row visit to the gym, I got temporarily stuck on some ice in the alley. I was able to free myself in a matter of minutes using my finely-tuned back-alley Houdini skills. Trip to gym back on.

I pull into the gym parking lot, score a pretty good parking spot. I'm gathering my things and realize an almost full bottle of Vitamin Water, Orange Orange in flavor, has decided that a trip south, out of the bottle into my gym bag onto the car seat and down to the car mat below in the back seat might be a good way to escape a trip to the gym. Plans for gym abandoned, due to wet shorts, wet shoes and a soggy attitude.

My next foray out of the house started a little better, I was able to get out of the driveway without sliding around on the ice. As you may know, I'm getting braces soon. I thought my driver's license expired in 2010, so I had the great idea to renew early so I don't have braces in a photo that will legally represent me for four years. I drive all the way to the Secretary of State before actually double checking my license. It actually expires in 2011!

I also had a sharpie decide it needed to be free to roam about the bottom of my bag uncapped. Luckily that only meant trouble for the inside of my bag.

The rest of the day wasn't so bad, somewhere along the line balance returned to the four wheels on the cart carrying me through the day.

I got to visit with two of my girls briefly.

I got to visit with my mom for dinner.

Snowy roads weren't any trouble on the way home.

Here's to a well-balanced day tomorrow!

Where Everybody Knows My Name

There's a coffee shop in town, one of the first, that I used to go to all the time. I felt like I was a regular. Apparently I didn't go quite often enough to warrant regular status in the barrista's minds, because everytime I went in there, I was still faceless, nameless. They didn't even know my regular drink. It was kind of off-putting, but after a while I just chalked it up to the fact that they were not proficient in warm customer service and they had no desire to brush up on the finer points.

I had an experience with genuine customer service last night that truely warmed my heart. I've been in sort of a funk for the last week or so and this was exactly the kind of thing I needed.

I went to my favorite restaurant, Marie Catrib's, one I've been going to since they opened. Marie, the owner, and her son know me by name. I have a fondness and such gratitude for them and the food they create. I took at seat at the counter. My server, a guy named Mike greeted me with a smile and some water. As he hands me the menu, he remembers something about me that made my night.

"We've got just one serving of tomato fennel soup, I know it's your favorite. Do you want me to get it for you?"

It was such a simple thing. It meant a lot and completely characterizes the way Marie's operates. I got to have my favorite soup! And through a simple gesture, they guaranteed (again, as they have continually over the last five years) my return.

I also had a small chat with a girl that sat down a chair away from me at the counter. We talked about soups, studying and our common name. This visit to my favorite restaurant not only fed my hunger for food, it also fed my human longing to be known, to be recognized as someone who matters simply for being me. When so much of our personal interaction these days is via some electronic form of communication, I know I can be left feeling like I know all these people, but so rarely interact with them on an in-person basis. It feels lonely sometimes.

This is one local establishment where I can go when I feel adrift in a sea of technology and am in need of some true humanity and a wholesome meal. I feel grateful for this space and the people who make it feel like home. I hope everyone is lucky enough to have somewhere like this, a place that even if they don't, you still feel like everybody knows your name. (Cue the Cheers theme...)

the corner of blizzard and crazy

It's still snowing here in Michigan! I haven't left the house since coming home after dinner last night. Work at home days are great! I'm trying to get into the spirit of winter, but sub-zero temperatures and blizzard-like conditions aren't really helping. I'm already feeling a little cabin fever-y already as I head into four days off of work. Not good. Egads what will I do?!

If my plans work out properly tomorrow, I'm actually thinking I'll go into work for our holiday luncheon and to secure my share of some homemade vendor Christmas cookies. Crazy, right?! If you had these cookies, you'd know what I'm talking about. Really. These cookies are ridiculously good - same vendor brought them in last year and over the past year we've periodically discussed how good they were.

I've also got big plans for cookies of my own...holla for some Christmas cookies! Can't wait to get baking. I've got an easy new recipe I want to try and I'm going to bake a couple of other favorites - frosted sugar cookies (I just bought my first set of cookie cutters!) and ginger snaps.

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Wintry Day Work Outfit

This is basically what I wore to work today...comfy and warm for a wintry day in Michigan with a little color from the handbag. Mine is from Target a while back, but I thought this one was fun and reminiscent of my own!

Wintery Day by starrfish featuring DKNY Jeans

That time of year

It started snowing here in the midwest - and it's sticking. I'm not particularly fond of snow and cold. Like I just told R, everything is just better in the summer. It's warmer, obviously. More day light. Cute clothes. More shoe options. More activities. I'm going to have to make a concentrated effort not to fall into winter's cruel trap of isolation. Tonight I feel like I just might want to hibernate until April.

I sent off a box to my brother and sister in law who are expecting my baby niece any day now. I'm excited for her to arrive! Sending out packages though reminded me I've got a few more things to pick up and ship out to the East Coast in order to have my holiday ducks in a row. Ugh!

I have a few cookie recipes I want to try out for the holidays. I'm contemplating playing Santa for myself and picking up something that will make baking even MORE fun. I'll let you know if it comes together. There are some pretty good deals to be had right now.

Tomorrow night is the UICA's Holiday Artist's Market. R and I are going to check out that scene. Looking forward to going since it's been a few years since I've gone. From what I've read, it looks like there will be some cool stuff! We may even go to the tree lighting ceremony in front of the GRAM. Maybe all that will help me feel more at peace about the fact that it's actually winter again!

Tuesday Before Thanksgiving

A list of random things in my head as I prepare for my journey north for Thanksgiving:

What kind of snacks should I bring on the 7-hour road trip? I usually don't like to eat an entire meal since that makes for sleepy driving.

The cats are going to on a "holiday" at the kennel. They've never been in a kennel. R jokingly said they're going to jail. Some of their behavior does almost warrant a light sentence. I found a brand new loaf of my favorite bread on the dining room floor this morning. Through the hole chewed through the little cellophane window you could see a sizable chunk of bread missing. Do these cats really think they're going to starve? Or do they just have a thing for bread. This is the second loaf. Note to self: keep bread in a cat-proof bunker.

When we're in Marquette, I want to look at the eyeglass place I got my glasses. They carry Jean La Font frames, which is what I have now. Technically, I'm due for new frames, but I'm kind of in love with my current frames. If I can find something spectacular, perhaps I'll go for something new. I'm going in for an eye exam next week. I hope my Rx hasn't changed that much if at all.

Another stop in Marquette is Getzs. They have the most North Face gear I've ever seen and the last two or three years we've been going to Marquette for Thanksgiving I've been able to score amazing deals. Here's hoping.

I'm supposed to be packing for the trip, but clearly this blog entry seemed more pressing! The blogosphere needs to know what's going on in my head!

I wish everyone in my family could be together this Thanksgiving. We're kind of all spread out and I will miss those who won't be with us!

Happy early Thanksgiving! I really need to go pack!

What Gives?

Maybe it's the weather or the fact that it gets dark by 5:30 p.m. now, but I've been feeling kind of low. Technically there's nothing wrong with me. No drama. Nothing to feel melancholy about.

Late last week, I did something that if I did more often wouldn't need to be done at all, I cleaned out my office closet. It's a single door closet with a five foot tall metrowire shelf inside. It's been packed to the gills with all sorts of office type materials: photos (actual hard copy photos!), books, tons of paper & images for projects and notes, my sewing machine and all that entails and other stuff that I haven't found another suitable home for.

Doing anything orgizational like this is very theraputic for me. It's one of those projects that you can get lost in, focusing only on the details in front of you. I'm not really sure what's going on, other than neglecting said closet for too long, but I felt compelled to work on that closet Thursday night. I've read that, from a feng shui perspective, an overabundance of junk/clutter can cosmically weigh us down. Maybe that's what it was. Maybe it was something more. When I was basically done with the closet I started noticing other areas around the house that I could apply the same declutting energy to. I want to feel lighter. I want to have more energy. I'm going to declutter.

R says getting back out to run might be helpful. I've only run a couple times since the Grand Rapids Half Marathon on October 18. A running deficiency could have something to do with my mood. The thing is, I don't want to run. Yet. I know at some point soon, I'll feel compelled to get back on the road. I guess I'm just waiting for that moment when my head is too full of clutter and I HAVE to go. Just like the closet. It will happen. I'm thinking sooner rather than later.

NYC Scenes Captured!

big moves, big eats

I'm in the process of making some pretty big moves with my grill. Just under two weeks ago I got upper and lower fixed expanders installed in my mouth as the first step toward getting braces. If you've had expanders, you know the exact level of frustration I've been going through learning how to eat anything other than soft foods and speak without sounding like I have a mouthful of marbles. Try saying "Peter Sarsgaard" with your best fake slur and you'll know what I'm up against.

The installation came just three days before I hopped a plane to visit my brother and sister in law in my favorite city for eating. After my first attempt at a meal at home, I was quite worried about my prospects for eating my way through the City. Food was getting caught where I didn't want it. Swallowing anything other than a smooth soup was quite difficult. I was feeling pretty sure I'd be eating/drinking all my meals for the next three months.

The trip to NYC proved to be exactly what I needed in order to overcome my eating with expander frustration. I was determined to try most everything I would normally eat on a visit, rather than just sticking to soup, oatmeal and yogurt.

Here are some highlights of how I did:

Mulligatawny Soup with flat bread from Cafe Medina

The bread was a little difficult to eat plain, but I got by with ripping off small chunks of bread and sprinkling them in the soup. Soup was delicious! I so wish we had a place like Cafe Medina in Grand Rapids!

Chocolate Chunk cookie and Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. This was late afternoon on my first day. Sister in Law and I had been shopping all afternoon and needed a snack and some caffeine. The cookie was a little hard around the edges and the chunks of chocolate in the cookie were a little difficult to manage without getting stuck in the upper expander.

Without even knowing about the extent of my challenge with hard foods, my sister in law made soup complete with a swirl of pesto that we ate my first night in town. After a long day out and about, it hit the spot! The perfect consistency and taste!

Breakfast on day two. English muffin with Earth Balance. I had to take small bites, but this went down rather easily.

Whole wheat bagel with sun dried tomato tofu cream cheese from David's Bagels. There's nothing like a New York bagel. I've heard it's because of the water in New York City. I believe it! Always a must when I visit the city. The bagel's chewy nature provided quite a challenge for me and my expanders, but I made it about 3/4 of the way through. Luckily my brother was more than happy to finish the remaining 1/4 piece.

Sister in law made two amazingly delicious salads for dinner Friday night. The one in front had red onion, new potatoes and peas. The other one had bulgar, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and greens. Both had the same balsamic, olive oil and mustard type homeade dressing and were so good I asked for the recipes. Because of the small chunks of food, both were a little difficult to eat with my expanders, but well worth the challenge!

Plantain Bajji from Saravanaas in Murray Hill (aka Curry Hill because there are so many Indian restaurants in the neighborhood). Quite flavorful with the different chutneys. Definitely not a challenge to eat! We were quite hungry, so this appetizer didn't last long.

Masala Dosa from Saravanaas. I've had dosa before, but it's been awhile. This was somewhat difficult to eat because of the crispy consistancy of the dosa. Loved all the chutneys though and did my best!

Ah, Burritoville. You used to be a NYC favorite, but it seems you've undergone a bit of a re-branding. I'm not so sure it was for the best. The burrito I had tasted more corporate cardboard than I would have liked. Nothing like it used to be! Not the easiest meal to eat either, with small bits of brown rice and tomato to get stuck!

Monday afternoon back in the City for my last day. We went back to Cafe Medina for another soup. This one was Tuscan Tomato Bread soup and it was a winner. Very flavorful, a little sweet. Not so chunky that I couldn't manage it with the expanders.

I talked for days about wanting to get a real NY slice of pie, but it didn't work out how I wanted it to. I ended up having this slice of cheese pizza at the Sbarro while waiting for my flight to leave LaGuardia. Yeah, not ideal, but it was a slice and much better than my alternatives. Had to avoid the super crunchy crust with the expanders, but that was the only trouble.

Emergency Landing

If you've ever had the slightest feeling that something might not be right, you're probably right.

I had a 6:00 a.m. flight to New York's LaGuardia airport yesterday. We boarded on schedule. I was half asleep and wanted to be all the way asleep, so I tucked myself into my seat and closed my eyes waiting to pull away from the gate. Once away from the gate, it seemed like we were dinking around too long on the tarmack. They kept revving the engine and then letting it wind down, with no take off. I've been on enough flights to know what seems normal and this activity did not seem normal. We eventually took off though.

They gave the green light for electronic devices. The i-pod got clicked on and I was that much closer to dreamland. Until the announcement came...

"Ladies and gentleman, we're going to have make an emergency landing in Buffalo, due to a problem with one of our engines."

The announcement was so matter of fact, like they'd just announced they'd be bringing the beverage cart along. At first I didn't really think anything was seriously wrong.

"It's gotta be like when your check engine light comes on in the car. It doesn't mean you have to stop immediately, it means go get this situation checked out when you get a spare minute. I hope it's just something like that."

Then they started reviewing the safety procedures...AGAIN! Not good.

I started thinking that maybe this Emergency Landing was more than just a check engine light scenario. We made a pretty rapid altitude descent into Buffalo. The lights flickered. The guy next to me started talking about how we might have trouble landing if there's something wrong with one of the engines. That's when my palms started to sweat and I starting thinking about the fact that I got on a flight this morning not thinking it might be my last...EVER.

Safe and sound. Safe and sound. It was my mantra until wheels touched the ground in Buffalo. We were met by numerous fire trucks and police cars. They said that was just routine procedure, but I overheard one of the other passengers later on when were waiting to be rebooked say that something was actually on fire and the plane was being hosed off. I don't know if I believe that.

Regardless. I did get right back on another plane and finally made to NYC to visit my brother and sister in law. Safe and sound. Just another reminder to live each day to the fullest and with purpose and to cherish the people you love because you never know when you might have to make an emergency landing.