#somuchsnow

Are you in the part of the United States experiencing the polar vortex? Luckily, I was able to work from home today, so I've only gone outside to help Andrew move his car, shovel our steps so I could get mail, and take a couple photos. What are you doing on this snowy day? Stevie and I are just trying to stay warm - I can seriously feel cold air coming through the windows in my old rental house. And it's really not the snow that bothers me, it's the subzero temperatures!

Not even a covered porch could save them.

Should we open a bottle of wine? ^.^

Vegan a Week #1

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to eat a vegan diet at least one day per week. I've been wanting to incorporate more vegan meals into my life, but having a tough time actually doing it, so I think this is the perfect way ease into it. Once a week is still a bit challenging for me, but it's just enough to allow me to see how time and wallet consuming being vegan might entail. I began yesterday, so I wouldn't skip the first shortened week of the year.

For breakfast I made coffee and added a bit of coffee-mate (not the purest of choices, but it doesn't contain dairy), had a couple clementines, and cooked up some Ore Ida hash browns with red onions, garlic, and topped with Tabasco sauce. I would normally cover my potatoes with cheese and cook an egg or two for the side, but I skipped it this time. I also considered making a package of muffin mix, but it contained egg. Darn, you really have to pay attention!

Mug from The Mitten State.

For lunch I just made a salad with red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, and a simple homemade vinaigrette (dijon mustard, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil - shaken). I had Stacy's Pita Chips and spinach hummus on the side.

That didn't quite fill me up, so sure enough, my cinnamon graham crackers contained no animal products, and I covered them in peanut butter for dessert.

I wouldn't say I cheated for dinner, but I wasn't sure I had anything to make at home, so we grabbed Qdoba after running some errands. I got a naked vegetarian burrito, skipping the cheese and sour cream. (Don't you hate it when they don't give you enough guacamole)? 

So that was day/week 1 of 52! I definitely snacked way less than I would have on a normal day, especially with all our Christmas candy still laying around, and I really had to pay attention to those hidden ingredients because a lot of stuff contains a little egg or milk! 

If you have any great (preferably easy/with few ingredients) vegan recipes on your blog or somewhere else on the interwebs, please share! I want this to become so easy that I do this more than one day a week.

2013 In Review

You likely don't care about my year, especially since I gave up on blogging for the majority of it. Anyway, if I don't post it somewhere, I might never remember what I did in 2013, so with the help of my Outlook calendar and Instagram feed here it goes!

January
Stevie was still a relatively new addition to the family, and I enjoyed very much getting to know my little lovebug.

February
Not a whole lot happens in Michigan in the winter. Especially by February when we're all burned out. We did have a fun Valentine's Day bowling outing with friends!

March
Even though I didn't officially get hired until later this year, March was when I found out that I would be hired and I also helped begin Steelcase's first young professionals group. We started super grassroots, just organizing volunteer events and happy hours, and we took off from there. Now we even have a budget!

I also got to see the one and only Kate Nash perform for the first time. Best show I saw all year!

April
There was a crazy flood in Grand Rapids! According to my twitter, it also snowed. Ugh. I almost forgot how short this summer was.

May
I got to attend TEDxGrandRapids! It was such a great event!

I finally was hired at my first 'real' / 'big girl' job at Steelcase in Grand Rapids. I love everything about it - from the culture, to my role in social media, to being a mobile worker. Getting this position also allowed me to really de-stress about money, which feels so, so good!

Right before I began working at Steelcase, Andrew and I visited our friends Ricardo and Kathryn in Palo Alto and also my cousin in San Francisco. We got to go north of SF one of the days and saw some real beauty in California. Andrew and I spent our last day in Napa, which was gorgeous!

June
I helped plant three trees with the United Way for Filler' Up Fuller. It felt so good!

I also hit the streets for Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids. I was on the PR team, and we launched an Instagram contest. It was a ton of fun!

I also got to see Hillary Clinton speak and Lord Huron play a show in the same night.

July
Andrew's sister got engaged. Her wedding is in about 2 months! I also had a great 4th of July, visiting my Grandma and shopping at the nearby outlet mall. I apparently was pretty engrossed in Pretty Little Liars in the month of July as well. Lastly, I won tickets to see Rodrigo y Gabriela!

August
I went on an amazing vacation in Turkey and Greece with Andrew and his family! I can't believe I didn't take a break from not-blogging to blog about it! I will have to soon.

September
I was able to find one of the stray kitties (Brave, below) a home with friends. They love having him so much! The other five kitties disappeared a couple days after my birthday and I haven't seen them since.

I turned 25. Two weeks later I rented my first car when I took a business trip to Alabama. Booyah!

October
Andrew and I attended our third annual Alpaca Fest.

I got to attend JiveWorld in Las Vegas. It was my first time seeing the city, which I liked better than I thought I would! Plus, the first snow in Michigan fell and melted while I was away, so that was a bonus.

November
I won an iPad mini from the conference I attended in October for participating in their gamification series. So awesome! Thanks, Jive!

Also, Kate Nash followed me on Twitter!

December
I received my first pair of boots that fit over my calf. Although snug, I am so happy they zip up all the way! I also got to visit my Grandma and my Grandpa and spend a week at home with my family and my cats. A very nice December!

Loyalty Programs - Which Are Worth It?

This is kind of a random post since I haven't blogged in forever, but it's almost a new year - so why wait a couple more days to start working on my resolutions?
Anyway, as I was holiday shopping it got me thinking about all these apps, rewards, and loyalty programs. So I'll tell you what I'm a fan (and not a fan) of, and please let me know what I should sign up for in the comments! After all, it's time to spend our Christmas money: )

Love it!

Banana Republic Visa
I was actually pretty upset when I received my Banana card, first assuming that it was an in-store card and not a regular Visa that I could use anywhere. Then they began sending me so many offers! In the last couple months alone, I've earned about $70 in rewards that can be used at BR, Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, or Piperlime. Then I normally save my rewards for a trip to the Banana Republic Factory Outlet store and use my extra AAA 10% off for amazing deals. It's been so worth it - with no other credit card can you rack up that many rewards - that I know of. I will say I get way too many emails from Banana though.

Starbucks
I was super mad when Starbucks 'revamped' their program a while back, taking away the free soy milk and syrups. I'm still bummed about that, but I've noticed a whole lot more offers lately - it seems like once or twice a week I'll get an email for 50% off a drink or bogo food. If I can't have my soy milk for free, they made up for it with lots of deals!

MyPoints
Yes, the site is slightly iffy, but I have had so much success with MyPoints! If you shop online a lot (who doesn't?), you can earn points from most retailers just by getting to their website via MyPoints. Although not all retailers participate (most purchases from Amazon don't count), I'm always surprised how many do - Threadless was my biggest surprise this year. Anyway, the points add up and then you spend them on gift cards. It's definitely been worth it for me!

Meijer - mPerks
I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan where there's basically a Meijer on every corner. Since I shop there anyway, I'm so happy they have mPerks. When gas shot up, they were there with a 20 cent mPerks discount. They also often have a deal on avocados, and lots of times they will do 5% off your entire grocery purchase or $5 off $50 or more. What more can I ask for?

Leave it!

Panera Bread
I used to love Panera because I only got to go to one when I took a shopping trip out of town. Now that I have them at my convenience, I'm often disappointed with my order when I go to one, and definitely disappointed in their rewards program. You sign up and they say you will randomly get rewards, like a surprise. I got quite a few right away, and then it totally dropped off. I'd rather know I'm working towards something, I guess! Sorry Panera, you're not worth the slot in my wallet. Do any of you disagree?

Not sure of these!

What do you think? I just signed up for Ulta, so I don't know what to expect, I just know they have good coupons. Sephora's doesn't really seem worth it to me - but maybe I just don't shop there enough. I do love my little birthday surprise every year though! Walgreens is a place I'm trying to shop at a little more, but it seems to be taking forever to reach my first $5 reward. And I don't think Anthropologie signed me up right, I never get their emails and my card wasn't connected to my email. Hmm.

I don't want this post to be too long, so I'll follow up with another one soon - I have way more cards than I realized!!

Helping Kitties through TNR

I've made a few furry friends lately that have caused me to feel so many different feelings. The six little guys below are living around my house, so being the cat lover that I am, obviously I had to help. I can't find anyone to adopt, all the no-kill shelters are full, and I refuse to take them somewhere that will euthanize them. I decided instead to go the TNR route through a local organization called Carol's Ferals, who's aim is to end feline over-population. TNR = trap neuter return, so that means getting these babies fixed and then setting them free again. 

So to make a long story short, I've taken in two so far to be fixed - the white mama, and one of the black and white ones that we named Bran. I just picked them up tonight, and Bran seemed just fine but Mama had some scratches under her eyes and her face was puffy. I also agreed to have their ears 'tipped' - the top tip of their left ear is clipped off to show that they've been fixed. This stuff isn't easy! I also felt guilty that she was away from the rest of her babies for a couple of days. Everyone is reunited tonight, though, and I'm going to try and get the other four in before we leave for our Turkey and Greece vacation. 

Have you ever done anything like this? I hope the kitties know that I'm just trying to help! Anyway, if you want to help out, I set up a fundraiser here. Even a dollar helps, friends!

Beautiful mama!

Brave, Bran, Pipsqueakers, Moomoo, and Grey

Bran, Brave, and Mama

Brave:3

Unconventional Workouts

Anyone else out there hate working out? I like exercise, and I know it's good for me, but the concept of paying money and taking two hours of my day preparing, going to, and cleaning up after the gym has never appealed to this girl. I also don't have enough self-motivation at home to workout, I hate to run, and I really don't think yoga is for me, so what to do?
I find unconventional means. I primarily play Just Dance 4 or Dance Dance Revolution. I know it's a little silly, but I love to dance and I'm sweating just as much as I would be at any gym. Any of you go this route? What could be better than learning some sweet dance moves and getting fit at the same time?! Also, who's excited for the release of Just Dance 2014 this October?

Dance on!

I'm Baaaaack

I haven't blogged in two months, and I don't really have an excuse for that. What I do have though, is several good excuses to begin again! I think I was trying to hard to blog like every day, but that's just not me. So I'm going to go with the flow, hopefully impress you with my new Canon Rebel shots (none yet though), and just blog what I feel!

Croatia last June.

You probably don't know that I head to Turkey and Greece for two and a half weeks in less than a month. I've been really focusing on how to pack light. It's hard for me because I honestly don't want to wear the same outfit four times like all the tips suggest, but I have taken some advice to heart, or I plan to at least.

Have any of you been to Turkey (Istanbul or Cappadocia) or Greece (Athens, Santorini, Mykonos)? I'd love to hear your travel secrets, best things to see, and packing suggestions. Did it get chilly at night? Did you find more souvenirs than you'd imagined? What are your favorite shoes/sandals that are comfy and cute? Will I really feel that out of place if my legs and shoulders aren't covered? Please fill me in!

That's all for now, but I'm happy to be back!