text:
and THIS is the weather I am dealing with?
I see that it's cooling down to the 80's, but I want fall weather dang it! I am reading all of your blogs and you all seem to have nice and cool weather (I am oozing with jealousy!) I can't believe this is the last day of September 2010! Where has the time gone? It seems that summer has really flown by!
My work situation is in a little transition. My office manager offered me a position that is more of a data entry/administrative assistant to the various project managers we have working here. It's a long back story that I won't get into, but the way things have been going around work and the way it was presented to me, I felt like they were pushing me out of my job for a less qualified individual that happens to be part of the bosses family. Then they were just going to move me where I wasn't happy. Needless to say, after my pow wow with the big boys, I was frustrated, stressed, and needed to get outta there. Thankfully my knight in shining gym shorts was home yesterday so instead of the gym, I went to vent to him and get advice. Long story short - he helped me see the positive in the offer and how this is actually a great thing. The position they want to move me into would allow me to take home a lot of stuff while I'm on maternity leave (and when I finally do tell them I'm not coming back lol). My other worry was stress since the project managers here are very stressful people to work for, and my hubbster calmed me down and told me not to let it stress me out, it's just a job. It's so true if you think about it. The last thing I need right now is stress, and there are WAY more important things (and people) in life, than work and I shouldn't let it get to me. Easier said than done, but it made sense to me and I'm pretty sure I'll be successful at keeping the stress to a minimum. Plus, I'm gonna get a new desk- A-YO! So excited about that!
So a lot of new changes, and all the details are still being ironed out, and things probably won't be set in stone for a week, maybe 2. I will keep you all updated :) I started thinking too, I only have 2.5 months until I leave work for maternity leave (and for good, ha!). Crazy how time is really sneaking up on me!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
1 more day of September
and THIS is the weather I am dealing with?
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, September 30, 2010 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Bunny Boo
Happy Hump day muffins! It's halfway through this (HOT!!!) week which is always a fabulous thing. If your like me, you have already started to plan your weekend :) 11 years ago today, one of my favorite people in the world was born. My niece aka, The bunny boo. She has asked me a handful of times why it is I call her my Bunny Boo, so I thought you guys might wanna hear the very short story. Ready? She was a bunny rabbit for Halloween when she was 1. Told ya it was a short story. So the name just stuck from then on.
The Bunny boo to me is: goofy, shy to those who don't know her, amazingly smart for an 11 year old, a GREAT artist (and has been since she was little), a little fashionista in training, originally funny, a girl who loves to get our family together in the living room just so we can laugh and hang out, an animal lover, someone who is always turning up the music if it has a beat (lately it's been hip hop), and of course, she is my bunny boo! Happy 11th birthday beautiful girl!!
Being silly at the Walk for MS
My 23rd birthday - oh how I can't wait to get back to that body - ha!!
Being goofy with Gma (left) and Aunt Debbie
Being goofy with her Aunt Karli
Posted by californiadreamin at Wednesday, September 29, 2010 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: bunny boo
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Birthday recap
Happy Tuesday lovely followers! My birthday was a great one and thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! After I posted a new blog post yesterday, I was true to my word and with bells on my toes, went to the gym. I had an extra pep in my step once I got there because as soon as I logged in, the receptionist at the desk said "Happy Birthday Karli!" I loved that he knew my birthday! And truley, being there made me realize how much I really do miss going to the gym in the mornings. I saw all the same faces I use to see and it was just nice knowing I was starting the day right, ya know? I treated myself to an hour of cardio instead of the regular 30-45, and then did some leg burning workouts. FABULOUS BIRTHDAY WORKOUT! After stopping and treating myself to a Starbucks, I headed home, showered and set off to meet my best girls for some birthday breakfast. Let me tell you, had I not devoured my omelet so quickly, I would have taken a picture. I got an egg white turkey omelet w/red bell peppers, onions, and I believe some spinach was in there. Of course I got the side of toast and potatoes too :) After that I jetted off for mani's and pedi's with my bestie Jenni. Twas an amazing pedicure and I recommend every woman get's one at least 4 times a year. The rest of the day I enjoyed window shopping (and getting one hell of a deal from Old Navy on some maternity jeans!)
Now I know yesterday isn't something that will or would happen on a regular basis when I stay home with my little man, but I enjoyed yesterday to an extreme. It made me realize that I'm not too happy with my M-F working life. Don't get me wrong, I am SO thankful that I have a job, but the work environment Im in is negative about 80-90% of the time. People who work here don't like each other, or their work situation either. I won't go too much into it since bashing where I work probably isn't something I should public ally do -- it's better left for when I get home and let Nick hear allll about it :) I genuinely look forward to being a housewife/stay at home mom. I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom when I grew up and it's going to be coming true so soon. I just felt happier yesterday. Even on the weekends when I do 'play homemaker' and do the running around and cleaning and grocery shopping and gym time, I love it! I just FEEL better. I always am someone who wants to live life in the positive and wants to make everyday count, and I can't imagine leaving my little boy for a place that brings me down or makes me grouchy.
Posted by californiadreamin at Tuesday, September 28, 2010 5 comments Links to this post
Monday, September 27, 2010
Go shorty, it's your birthday..
GOOD MORNING LOVELY BEAUTIFUL READERS!!!! It is me - the birthday girl, mua haha!! I took the day off, and what time am I up? 4:40am!! I am just that excited to soak up this entire day and spoil myself. Thank God the gym is open at 4am, right? So here is the plan for my day:
Eat some sort of light pre gym bfast - probably half a banana and a piece of pb toast, then hit the gym with a smile on my face since I know it won't be crowded like it normally is when I go. Then, I will be meeting my mama and sister once the sun actually comes up for some breakfast --- I have already looked at the menu online, and I will be getting a veggie egg white omelet! After some delicious breakfast, it'll be time for mani/pedi's with the Bestie! What girl doesn't love a little pampering?
I hope you all have a FABULOUS day! I'm off to start mine as 1 year older (not till 1:45pm PST!)
Posted by californiadreamin at Monday, September 27, 2010 5 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 24, 2010
24 weeks and this weekend
Are you guys ready for the weekend!? Luckily for me, I'm having a 3 day weekend (taking my birthday on Monday!!) and it's a packed but fun weekend!
Saturday: I am running around like a mad woman! 1. Gym 1st thing in the morning 2. Running errands and trying to find a dress for my birthday dinner with Nicky poo. I seemed to have forgotten I had a huge belly that non of my sexy dresses I own will allow me to fit in. 3. Go to dinner with my stud muffin man!
Sunday: Football and family birthday party at my parentals. Every couple of months, we couple all the birthdays happening during the surrounding months. It's always a good time and good food!
Monday: 1. Wake up Nick and yell, "its my birthday!!!!!!!" 2. Hit the gym for a quick workout (this may or may not happen depending if I can go back to sleep after Nick leaves for work -- he's my personal teddy bear and I sleep like crap w/out him) 3. Break my fast with my sister and mamacita 4. Mani and pedi's with Bestie Jenni (aka Bon Bon!) So excited for this, my toes are looking pretty gnarly.
I hope you all have a packed and fun weekend planned! Go out there and live it up and have a drink for me!
Now, onto my baby update -- after all, this post wouldn't be complete w/out it!
How far along? 24 weeks
Baby's size? Mr. Troy Maximus is about the size of an ear of corn
Weight Gain? 15 lb's the entire pregnancy. I'm hoping I can keep my weight gain to 4lb's a month for the rest of pregnancy, but we shall see :)
Maternity clothes? YES!! I went to Motherhood Maternity with my MIL the other week and got some leggings I will be living in this winter and fall and some really cute tops.
Stretch marks? Nada *knock on wood* I got my prenatal massage yesterday and the massage therapist said that the EVOO I'm using is one of the best things since it has Vitamin E and other good fats in it to keep my skin elastic and healthy
Belly button in or out? Still in, but shallow.
Sleep? Well the past week I've been sleeping pretty soundly, but I still get up about 2 times a night to pee or shift which wakes me up
Foods I am loving? Pretty much everything except Chinese food. Poor Nick - he loves the stuff and I used to before pregnancy, but now, it's gross to me. I am still loving sweets! PB&J's are the best because it's the perfect carb/sweet ratio :)
Foods I am hating? Ground turkey, Chinese food
Best moment this week? Hearing that our little man is growing at a perfect rate & I only gained 4lb's this past month haha! I also just FEEL really good
Movement? Oh yes. He moves around quite a lot during the day while I'm at work. In fact, he is moving now :) I can't wait to see what those little movements exactly are! Is he stretching? Is he giving me a swift kick to the ovaries? Is he sucking his thumb?
Symptoms? Not much new, I feel really good still, my workouts are actually way easier than they were in the beginning of pregnancy. On my lunches I do the 30 minutes elliptical and on Friday and Saturdays I do 45 minutes of cardio (splitting between elliptical and treadmill on incline). I'm REALLY hoping I can keep this up till Troy shows up. People tease me I'll probably give birth at the gym, HA!
Gender? A little mister
What I miss? I was just talking to Nick about this - I do miss having a drink when I want. Not so I can get drunk or anything, but just the unwinding/relaxing feeling I get when I have a glass of wine on the couch in my sweats or a margarita while we're BBQing. Also....I MISS RUNNING TILL I'M DRIPPING!!!!!!!
What I'm looking forward to? Working on the nursery! Gosh, we really need to find a paint color ASAP!
Weekly Wisdom: Always have water bottle in my purse. I get thirsty in a matter of 30 seconds!!
Milestone: Getting to 24 weeks people! This is huge and I'm always halfway to 30 weeks!
Emotions: I'm way more sensitive. I watched Biggest Loser this week and bawled more than I normally do. Thankfully, I didn't have my makeup on yet :)
Posted by californiadreamin at Friday, September 24, 2010 5 comments Links to this post
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Massage day!!
Hello cupcakes! I hope you are enjoying Fall so far! I am SO excited for tomorrow, not only because of the obvious, "It's Friday!", but because Friday's mean I treat myself to a nice extra hot non-fat decaf grande mocha from Sbucks!
Hey, it's good protein for Troy, right? That's how I'm justifying it at least. So speaking of my little man, my appointment yesterday went FABULOUSLY! Got in there right on time, pee'd in the cup (routine to make sure no proteins are in my urine which in turn would be an alarm for preclampsia), and then it was to the scale - blah! I had myself all psyched up that I was going to gain another 7 just like last time. I have the biggest sweet tooth known to man kind during pregnancy, and for the most part I keep it in check (hence 2x a day gym routines), but ya just never know. I was pleasantly surprised when I gained 4lbs according to that scale! Again, I know it's okay to gain weight and even expected during pregnancy, but I just want to make sure I'm not gaining 10lb's a month. Are you picking up what I'm throwing down? Good! Once I met with my doctor (who was in a FABULOUS mood might I add), it was just more great news. I went in for my ultrasound when I was 20.5 weeks and Troy was measuring at 20 weeks, which she said was perfect. Everything look great, my cervix was measuring 3cm which they say they like it to be above 2.5 so that was great, and my placenta is in the back which is where they want it (this is all gibberish to me, but she said it was all 'excellent' so I'm trusting her on this one). His heartbeat was measuring strong and he even gave her a swift kick which made the loudest 'SWISH!' noise on the doppler. My next appointment will be in 3.5 weeks, and then I start going in every 3 weeks for the next 2, and then I go to every 2 weeks, then it's every week! This is moving crazy fast! Oh and another thing I scheduled yesterday - my glucose test. I've heard mixed reviews on this. I've heard the orange drink really isn't that bad, and then I've heard others say they gagged. I think I'll be okay, so we shall see. I will admit, with my crazy sweet tooth, I am a TAD paranoid that I'm going to test positive for Gestational Diabetes just because of my sweet tooth, but we shall see :)
Today is my hour prenatal massage, SOOOOOOO excited!! Mama needs a relaxing break in between my work day :)
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, September 23, 2010 5 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I'm so happy, oh so happy!
Good afternoon lovely readers! I hope your hump day is speeding right along. The faster today is over, the faster we get to the weekend, right? Right! Fall is in the air in Sac town people! WOOT WOOT!! But like I said in yesterday's post, it is taking a warm turn this weekend and giving us 92 degree weather. Which is fine, I am going to lay out in the sun and soak up any color I can!
So I took a quick break from my desk and when I came back what did I see? An enveloped with MY name on it sitting on my keyboard. Hmmmm....so I open it and it's a 'coupon' for a 1 hour prenatal massage for tomorrow on my lunch break!! 2 of my lovely workmates went in on it for my birthday (not until the 27th for those sending gifts haha!). How sweet is that?! So I guess I'm just gonna HAVE to skip the gym tomorrow on my lunch ;) I am so excited!!!
Another lovely thing that's happening today? I get to hear the results from the u/s!!! I see my OB at 3:15 and I can't wait to hear all about my little man and how big he is measuring. Not only do I get to hear about him, but I also get to do something I love doing: LEAVE WORK EARLY, BOO-YA!!!! I'll be leaving here in about 2 hours to pick up Nicky poo and head out!
Hope your day is as great as mine! Another little reminder for those who forgot: TODAY IS THE 1st DAY OF FALL :)
Posted by californiadreamin at Wednesday, September 22, 2010 4 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What do you do on your way to work?
Good morning my little cherubs! I hope you all had a great evening last night. The Niners were THIIIIIS close to beating the Saints, but that last field goal did them in (sorry dad!).
Fall is in the air ladies and gents! This morning when I took Daisy Mae out for her morning potty time, the air was just a little crisper than yesterday. Although, I just looked at the weather and what do I see?
What sort of bullhonkey is that?! Don't get me wrong, I need all the sun on my body I can get before the sun calls it a year and disappears, but I REALLY want Fall weather to be here. I want 60-70 degree days with some sun and/or clouds! Did they not get the memo? Feeling the chill this morning made me really want to go and 'celebrate' the weather and head to Starbucks on my way to work for a extra hot beverage, but I resisted. I am on the '1 a week' plan -- 1 Starbucks treat a week= happier wallet & happier thighs/ass/love handle area.
On the way to work, I was behind a volvo with a middle age man and do you know what HE was doing? He had a GINORMOUS handkerchief in his ear and he was cleaning his ears out! VERY random. I mean, he didn't have any sort of tint on his windows, so all of Highway 50 could see him going to town on his ear wax! Blah! It made me think of all the other random things I see people do when driving on the way to work: putting on mascara (this freaks me out: what if you poke your eye out!?), eating their bfast, writing last minute notes, putting on ties, and I've even seen someone brushing their teeth and flossing!! Where do they put the left over spit/tooth paste combo? Blah!!
Posted by californiadreamin at Tuesday, September 21, 2010 3 comments Links to this post
Monday, September 20, 2010
Another day, another dollar
Honestly people, 2 questions: Where the heck do Sunday's go? I mean, they move faster than Saturday's in my opinion. And #2: Where did September go?! We only have 10 days left of this month and that's just nuts to me! I can't complain though, since I only have great things to look forward to as the days pass. On Wednesday I have another OB check up (oh goodie - let's see how much weight I've packed away this month! *laying the sarcasm on pretty thick*). I am actually excited to talk to my OB because I have a few questions such as: would it be okay to take the T man out of the country (Mexico) when he's about 4-4.5 months old, and is she going to insist I get the flu/whooping cough vaccine and when? I also get to see how I'm measuring and go over my ultrasound results (what I'm REALLY excited for). I want to know how big my little man is measuring. Hopefully it'll give me a little bit more of an accurate date of when he should make his arrival.
Then in 7 days is my birfday!!!! I plan on taking the day off of work (DUH! Who wants to be around people your not so fond of on YOUR day?!) and going to bfast with my mama and sister, then doing some sort of pampering and possibly buying these pairs of boots for the winter
Cute, right? I love wedges, and these are wedge boots!! Their at DSW, so I'll be making a bee line there sometime next Monday to try them on and see if their the lucky ducks that get to grace my swollen pregnant feet all winter.
On Friday Nicky poo and I went to get some paint samples. I'm passing on all 3 samples we got. Green is SUCH a tough color to get right. If the lighting isn't right in the room, your green will look yellow or like baby poop green, not the green tea green you picked out in the store. So it's off to look at more paint samples. I want to get the room painted before we jet off to Denver at the end of October for sure, so we can enjoy the holidays once we get back. I'm still looking into getting a decal for behind his crib and skipping wallpaper and just doing cute wall hangings. The way the furniture is, we don't have TONS of room for wall hangings, but we'll figure that all out. First, it's the paint.
The start of a new week, starts a new workout week too! Last week I was doing amazingly, and same with the week before. I've been going every day during my lunch and doing 20-25 minutes on the elliptical. Then after work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, I'll be doing the same amount of cardio with some strength training. I'm determined to be full labor and delivery ready once my little guy decides to make his appearance! Now if I could only keep my sweet tooth in check...
Posted by californiadreamin at Monday, September 20, 2010 2 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 17, 2010
23 weeks, TGIF!
Who is ready for this weekend to start?! Meeeeee!!!!! So, let's get to my 23 week post shall we? I know it always sends you all into your weekend the right way ;)
How far along? 23 weeks, which means 14 weeks till I'm full term (and 14 weeks till XMAS eve!)
Baby's size? My little guy is a little over 1 lb and is over 11 inches long. He is the size of a large mango
Weight Gain? 11 lbs so far, but in 4 days I'll find out how many more lb's to add to that 11.
Maternity clothes? All maternity and now I got some great new threads to spiff up my wardrobe thanks to my mother in law
Stretch marks? Nope, still EVOOing it every night and keeping hydrated like a mo fo
Belly button in or out? Innie, but shallow
Sleep? Still the same as last week - I get woken up super easy and have a tough time going back to sleep, but the initial falling asleep and towards the end of the evening, I can fall asleep fast and sleep well
Foods I am loving? No favorite foods other than sweets. Hence why I'm making more pumpkin cookies tomorrow :)
Foods I am hating? Still can't do ground turkey, but everything else is sounding good to me
Best moment this week? Hmmm probably getting to meet my family for dinner mid week at BJ's brewery and getting this little baby for dessert. I know it's not baby related, but that was my best moment so far :)
Movement? Oh yes, and my little man's kicks are getting stronger. I can feel more rolls and thumps when I've been active and finally sit
Symptoms? Hunger!!! When I'm hungry and want to eat, don't talk to me, don't try to stop me making my bee line to the kitchen. You have been warned :)
Gender? A future Denver Bronco tight end..aka a little man!
What I miss? Being able to have beer, wine, and a margarita. Of course Mr. T is worth it
What I'm looking forward to? Painting! We got paint samples today, and I think we might have found the color. Nick has to put another coat on it to see how dark it's going to get, but I'm pretty sure we've found it. Oh, and since we're doing Troy's room in jungle theme, I'm thinking I want to get this decal for behind his crib
Weekly Wisdom: Things move really fast. Write down every little thought you want to remember, including going into detail on how you feel. Your 1st pregnancy only happens once and you will always want to remember how you felt.
Milestone: 6 months in just crazy to me! Also, my belly seems to have gotten way firmer than it was before. I cant wait to go over the ultrasound results with my OB and hear how big he's measuring. I sometimes worry he won't be big enough? I'm sure I'll be cursing I ever thought that thought when he comes out 10lbs!
Emotions: hungry and tired. Also excitement: FALL IS IN THE AIR!!!
Posted by californiadreamin at Friday, September 17, 2010 3 comments Links to this post
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Who wants a long weekend?!
I would LOVE another long weekend. I feel like I need 1 more day to get the things done I want to get done. Little Miss Daisy Mae needs a pedicure bad, along with a nice long bath. So I'm taking her to Petsmart for sure to get all that done. Along with the gym, making more pumpkin cookies, hanging out with my familia, grocery shopping, football, etc. Whewy!
So yesterday my awesome mother in law took me to Motherhood Maternity for a little girl shopping. Let me just tell you about that place if you've never been there: the sales assosiates are pretty cool. Sure, it's bordering the line of going to Victoira's Secret where they convince you to get stuff from a sale they SWEAR is the best of the season, but their such a great help! The girl started a dressing room for me and then continued to add more things in there she thought I'd like based off of my style I was going for. Needless to say, it was like having a personal shopper and I loved it! I immediately asked the girls working there where Heidi Klum's line was (I'd love to look like her after Troy + 2 more pop out!). Another funny thing when trying on clothes at MM? they have a fake bump you can strap on that adds 3-4 months so you can know what will fit you then. It was pretty funny to see. I walked away with these HOT pieces!!!
A lot of the sweaters are going to look really good with some boots (or uggs! haha) and the leggings. I am ready and set for fall and winter!!
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, September 16, 2010 2 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Hump day= forgot phone & need starbucks!
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah, I am tired. These past couple of days hubbster Nick-a-roo's mom and her boyfriend have been in town and it has made for a couple late nights. It's always great to see family especially since we haven't seen his mom in little over a year due to her living in Colorado, so it's always worth it. Pregnancy is no joke my friends. The sleepiness that you encounter (or at least I do) combined with a late night = MUCHO CAFFEINE NEEDED, but then it's like "oh wait, I can't have mucho caffeine". Oh and on top of that, I forgot my phone aka my life line! How am I supposed to give it my all on that elliptical on my lunch break?
Troy is moving like a maniac lately and I couldn't love it more. Every time I feel him move, I immediately put my hand on my stomach to feel. Not only that, but he seems to be taking full advantage of the room he has in my belly, as my stomach seems more firm and less squishy these past 2 days. Troy seems most active when I do cardio at the gym. Almost like he wants to workout with his mommy -- oh how I'm so proud *tear*. Speaking of workouts, I have been on a steady 5 day a week workout. I work out every day on my lunch break (on average 25 minutes on the elliptical) and then on Tuesdays, Wednesdays after work it's back to the gym (20 minutes cardio w/strength training) and of course Saturdays. From what other fitness mom's have told me, working out while pregnant pays off in the delivery room. Not only that, but it'll be so much easier to get back into the swing of things (and back into my express jeans) after he comes out. I'm an avid reader of Oxygen magazine (which my subscription is about to come to an end, sniff..sniff...sniff :( ), so I usually always get my workout plans from there. These past 2 months, their magazine has gotten me so amped up to get back into my heart pounding, exhausting, drop to the floor workouts. The women in these magazines exude strength, beauty, confidence, and health. Exactly where any woman would want to be, right? There is one picture in particular that I am going to be cutting out and will be hanging on my fridge after the little man is here. Karli's tip of the day: Well we haven't had much of that lately, have we? Visual motivation is a great way to reach your goals. Start by cutting out pictures of women you aspire to be like or pull out old photos of yourself when you were feeling your best. Place these visual motivations around your house, on your fridge, or even in your office at work. That way when you've had a long stressful day at work, you have something in your face reminding you "Hey, don't even think about skipping the gym today! You deserve 'you' time!" Same with pictures on the fridge. That little visual can tell you "HEY, maybe grab a string cheese or a low fat pudding cup instead of that gallon of ice cream".
Make it a great day beautiful readers!
Posted by californiadreamin at Wednesday, September 15, 2010 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: baby, Karli's tip of the day, Troy, working out
Monday, September 13, 2010
Is it Friday yet?
Happy September 13th lovely readers! I made it to work sadly. Nicky poo and I have a grumble session every morning, which makes waking up more fun and easier in a way. We'll lay there for about 10 minutes and kick and scream (okay, that's only me) and grumble how we don't want to go to work. And ask each other, "Do we really have to go?" I recommend trying it, even if you don't have someone laying next to you, it's good to get out those morning grumbles out early :)
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I know mine was (which is why I didn't want it to end). Saturday was my normal routine: Gym, then grocery shop! After a FABULOUS workout sesh and dropping some dinero on some comida, I headed over to my parentals to get some sun on my pasty preggo behind. That night, the mister and I did our nightly ritual: watched Lost. Nick and I watched it all the way through season 5, then he went ahead and watched the final season w/out me so he knows what's going on and I don't. So we started it over completely and are sitting cozy at season 3 right now (when it starts getting interesting in my opinion). I've heard a couple spoilers of how season 6 ends, so I'm keeping them all in mind while I re-watch the whole series to see if any of them make sense. Oh and what else did I do Saturday night? I made pumpkin cookies!! With that little fall weather teaser Sacramento had last week, it got me in the mood to break out some Fall recipes. I was too lazy to take my own picture, so here is what they look like via a google search
These little gem's are soooooo delicious and I'm actually pretty P.O'd that I forgot to grab some for work today, BA! The little things in life, right? haha. Sunday was another fabulous day because it was FOOTBALL DAY!!! Sadly the Broncos lost by a touchdown and that just sucks. While Nick watched the rest of the games, I visited with the ladies (mamacita and sister) and we did our own little Iron Chef experiment. We all had to make a creation using 1 common ingredient which my niece had picked out: Top Ramen? Yup, Top Ramen. I relied on my trusty method of doing anything: googling. So I googled recipes using Top Ramen and came out with this nacho type of concoction. It was: a layer of cheese Doritos, cooked chicken flavored top ramen, chunks of cooked chicken and some shredded cheese on top (it really wasn't that bad actually). My sister made Chinese chicken salad, my mom made a peanut butter/melted chocolate chips with dry top ramen, and my niecey poo made pudding cups with dry top ramen. HAHA, it was interesting to say the least.
Have a lovely start to the week ladies and gents !
Posted by californiadreamin at Monday, September 13, 2010 2 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 10, 2010
Santa Barbara Pics
These pictures went backwards when I uploaded them, so you'll be seeing them in reverse order, but at least I finally uploaded them, right? :)
Posted by californiadreamin at Friday, September 10, 2010 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: getaways


text:
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To get a return authorization number please contact us within 90 days of the shipment date. You can email or call us with your questions, comments or concerns at any time. We welcome and appreciate your feedback. We hope that you enjoy shopping at PetWellbeing.com and feel confident about your purchases.
You can obtain a return number by calling a customer service agent at 1-877-633-2401 or email email@example.com
Returns must be sent (freight pre-paid) to:
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Natural Wellbeing Distribution Inc.
Suite #2005 - 401 West Georgia Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 5A1

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Quonset chic: New hut district in the works?
If you tell Gib and Liz Akin their new house looks like a Quonset hut, they won't be offended. In fact, a Quonset was both a joke and the inspiration for the structure going up on Kelly Avenue. That would be the one that has a big sign out front that says, "Warning, NASA test facility."
The idea of the galvanized metal structure sprang from the Akins' frustration at trying to find a material that would enclose a lot of space inexpensively.
"My wife was in an art class and said, 'I could live in a Quonset hut,'" recounts Gib Akin, a professor at the McIntire School of Commerce. "Someone said, 'There is one.'"
They were directed to the headquarters of Gropen Exhibits on East Market Street. From there, they contacted architect John Rhett to learn how to turn a Quonset hut into a residence.
The exterior going up now is a galvanized metal upgrade called Galvalume. "The shell is a very efficient use of material that encloses the most space with the least amount of skin," says Rhett. "That's why the military uses them."
Rhett compares the shape of the large open structure to being inside a cave. "It has a very sheltering quality," he says. He also describes it as like being under a wave, an idea that came from one of his favorite architects, Spain's Antonio Gaudi.
An indoor waterfall will blur the line between outside and in, running through the wall and into the garden outside. The 3,500-sq.-ft. interior is largely open, with a 1,000-foot mezzanine for Liz's art studio.
And is the Galvalume as economical as they'd hoped? Gib Akin declines to discuss cost. "I don't think I want to talk about that," he demurs.
The house is within a block or so of two other double-take houses designed by architects for themselves (and featured in the March 27 Hook): Edward and Jane Ford's Farish Street place with the big green V-shaped steel supports and butterfly-winged roof, and Carrie and Kevin Burke's copper-clad residence on Park Street.
Is north downtown becoming a hotbed of innovative architecture?
"It appears so," answers Rhett. "I think there are a lot of architects in that neighborhood."
Phoebe Frosch, whose Evergreen Avenue lot abuts the Akins', has had architects interested in building on her property. "If you want something interesting and architecturally designed downtown, there's not that much land available," she says.
The Akins bought the lot on Kelly Avenue in 2000 for $175,000 and tore down the existing 1950s modular building that Frosch calls "a ratty little house." And she thinks teardowns– long popular in Southern California– might be more of a trend for well-heeled Charlottesvillians.
Frosch has no problem with the new house. "It's different and out of keeping with the architecture of the neighborhood but the architecture here isn't all that interesting anyway," she says.
And she envies the way modern architecture integrates indoors and out in a way that her 1930s house doesn't.
But not everyone is impressed with the shiny metal frame taking shape. "Someone asked if it was a hangar," says Akin, hence the NASA sign put up by the metalworkers.
Willie Mae Perkins has lived on Kelly Avenue for over 30 years. When asked her opinion of the Akins' house, she laughs and says, "You wouldn't be able to print it."
Perkins doesn't understand why such avant garde architecture is going up in a traditional neighborhood. But her larger concern is the effect on her property values.
"My main gripe is my appraisal goes up," she says. "They build these enormous structures, and older residents' taxes go up. That's not fair."
Perkins takes solace in the fact that the Quonset house is set back from the street on a fairly secluded lot. And it won't always have the current gleaming metal exterior. Insulation will be sprayed on, giving it a gray, stucco-like finish, says Akin.
He's looking forward to the open space of his new home with its radiant heat floor and the huge kitchen with "serious firepower." And the couple will build more barriers to screen their huge windows from the street. Completion date is scheduled for April.
Neighbor Perkins sounds dubious when she says, "I guess they call it progress."
It's not a hangar, but it was inspired by the architecture of a Quonset hut.


text:
3600 kirby dr #h @ richmond
first walking in, you'll notice that not too much has changed inside except the wall color and some art work. the green tea stained walls are now a warm brown hue, but hue, the former restaurant, is now a goner. that upscale, vietnamese restaurant that opened last year almost to the exact day has been put to bed and the azuma group have decided to focus on what they seem to do much better: sushi.
so interestingly enough, there is no robatayaki (japanese style charcoal grill) in sight. i was told they are planning to build a grill outside which seems even stranger. i'm sure i'll return and actually try the robata - i dig any foods usually served on a stick - but tonight was for omakase. i was here to find out how sushi chef hori-san (from kubo's) was settling in behind his new sushi bar. i definitely recommend sitting front stage when you go. hori-san is a real pleasure to chat with and totally understood all my photo taking even showing me his own photos on his i-phone from catalan a couple weeks ago.
it's been awhile since i've actually felt the need to blog about a meal as soon as i got home. tonight i felt it. i don't think i've ever been excited about japanese cuisine in houston, but now i am. this is what omakase (chef's choice literally translated "it's up to you") looked like tonight.
lobster ceviche. lobster tail, avocado, spinach, green leaf, tomatoes, and red onions in a soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, & yuzu vinaigrette: a tad overdressed, but the dressing was tasty and brought out the sweetness of the lobster tail.
japanese red snapper (madai) sashimi w/asian truffle oil sauce. the sauce of white truffle oil, yuzu and soy was absolutely delightful and the yamamomo ("mountain peach") was a wonderfully sweet and luscious palate cleanser to save for the end. (available on regular menu)
uni & king crab spoons. the sweet uni and the dashi-heavy and tangy sunomono sauce had a wonderful smokiness to it. black caviar added a bit of salt and texture. (available on regular menu)
"kakuni" pork belly. pork belly braised in sweet soy sauce over butter sauteed spinach with micro greens. i can't explain how delicious this was. the pork belly was tender and unctuous but the buttery spinach sent each bite over the top with the added depth the butter imparted. chinese hot mustard garnished the plate and helped balance the fat. (available on regular menu) don't we have a pork belly throwdown coming soon?? this would rival the best of them.
foie gras with daikon. foie was a tad overcooked but still very enjoyable. the sauce was smokey from dashi, slightly sweet from mirin, and had a nice depth imparted by fish stock made from hamachi fish bones. very good dish, but totally outshined by the foie dish to follow. (available on regular menu)
shima aji (japanese striped bass), o toro (tuna belly), copper river salmon sashimi (from left to right). both the toro and salmon melted in my mouth from the high fat content. all of the fish was very fresh. the copper river salmon seemed smoother and more mild than regular salmon. this was served with hon wasabi.
hon wasabi on sharkskin grater. stolen from behind the sushi bar for the photo, this is what fresh wasabi (japanese horseradish) looks like. it's grated to order and is milder than the powdered, bright green stuff that we're used to that is cut with mustard to make it cheaper and more potent. the crisp, radish-like texture is enjoyable. once you taste this stuff, you might not ever accept the cheap, powdered stuff again.
foie gras and scallop sushi. served on a nugget of white rice, this was such a winning combination of creamy, buttery foie and a completely different kind of creamy, buttery scallop. topped with a bit of nabeyaki (sweet eel sauce), this dish was truly amazing and easily the highlight of the meal.
soy marinated tuna. we were instructed not to use soy sauce with this course. the tuna was already salted from the marinade. the fish was firm almost a bit rubbery, but not in an unpleasant way. it was very interesting to experience tuna this way.
amaebi with uni sushi. i have to admit that i'm not a big fan of amaebi (sweet shrimp). i usually order it at a sushi bar if they'll deep fry the heads and i'll try to pawn the shrimp off on a dining companion or i'll reluctantly eat it just to get rid of it. it has an unnerving creamy texture that i don't like. today i learned it can be enjoyable with uni on top. the uni tonight (on a monday btw) was so sweet and fresh. i'd eat amaebi any day if it were served like this.
copper river salmon sushi. a much deeper orange than regular salmon although it's not apparent from this photo. simply prepared with yuzu and a little sea salt. was instructed by the chef not to use any soy sauce. a great ode to the "simpler is better" school of thought.
anago and toro & takowan maki. the steamed sea eel (left) was tender and rich with nabeyaki and hon wasabi on top. hori-san said he orders the sea eel whole from japan and cuts it himself. the maki doesn't look very enticing but the buttery toro combined with the crunchy takowan (japanese radish) was a tasty combination.
after twelve courses, i cried uncle and then the desserts came out...
black sesame creme brulee. i never met a creme brulee that i didn't like and ground black sesame adds a wonderful nuttiness to it. totally yummy.
yuzu sorbet. very good too. the sorbet was smooth with a great mouth-feel and the yuzu (japanese citrus) added fantastic citrus-y and floral tones. it was refreshing and great summer dessert.
green tea tiramisu. good but not great. i wanted more floral green tea flavors from it. it was delicate and very hard to offend.
hori-san said he has more creative freedom at his new home. i'm glad i don't have to deal with kirby traffic and village parking to visit him now. also, totally excited that i have a new restaurant to add to my rotation of restaurants open on monday.
and i've been saying that the "don't eat seafood on mondays" axiom that bourdain propagated with his book kitchen confidential really doesn't apply to houston. tonight i think i proved my point.
p.s. i asked hori-san if there is any good ramen in houston and he said no.


text:
You are hereBlogs
Clinton Campaign On Alert For Undercover Conservative Sting
Hillary Clinton's campaign offices around the country have been put on alert after at least two women approached Iowa staff under the guise of being supporters in an apparent effort to catch the campaign engaging in improper or illegal activity, a Clinton campaign official said.
New Campaign For Accountability
IndictBreitbart.org is a new campaign to seek accountability for the violations of criminal law committed by Andrew Breitbart, James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles. O'Keefe and Giles illegally and surreptitiously recorded employees of the Baltimore ACORN office in the summer of 2009 and then their employer Breitbart illegally published their edited versions online in order to harm ACORN. This is a grassroots campaign to let law enforcement officials in Maryland know that ordinary citizens want accountability.
Since that illegal conduct occurred, numerous official reports have come out showing that O'Keefe, Giles and Breitbart acted illegally/unethically with regard to their ACORN recordings. Those reports are listed here. Also, James O'Keefe has been arrested and convicted for tampering with the phones in Senator Mary Landrieu's office, and he is under investigation for attempting to lure a CNN reporter on to a boat in Maryland for nefarious purposes. Andrew Breitbart was responsible for posting an edited recording of Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod which resulted in her improper firing. A subsequent investigation determined that she did nothing wrong and should be reinstated.
You can help hold these people accountable for violating Maryland law by signing this letter to Gregg Bernstein, the new Baltimore State's Attorney.
Sign the letter to Baltimore State's Attorney here.
James O'Keefe death rumors are a hoax.
If you've heard any rumors about conservative weasel James O'Keefe dying in an attempt to sexually molest a horse, the source is the Teabilly parody site below:
As far as anyone knows, O'Keefe is still alive and well, and will probably crawl out from under his rock again soon...
Have You Seen This Man?
Indict Breitbart is cooperating with law enforcement agencies that have opened criminal investigations into illegal activity by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas at the DC Board of Elections and that this person has been identified as the man who entered the BOE on April 3rd, falsely identified himself, and surreptitiously video recorded BOE staffers. We are offering a $500.00 reward for a positive ID on this man.
Epic Breitbart Revisited
-Posted today by political cartooninst and friend of the site Mike Flugennock
June 14, 2012- A couple of weeks ago, my comrade Isis hipped me to this pants-pissing hilarious article in Wonkette about this absurdly overwrought portrait by David Bugnon, glorifying recently-deceased rightist "journalist" Andrew Breitbart as a Nordic knight. Posters and postcards of this hysterical tribute were available for purchase at Patriot Depot, your one-stop shop for all your right-wing drama-queen kitsch needs, for the bargain price of $3999.95. (Such a deal! I'll take two!)
Now, those of you who know me and my work know that there was no way in hell I could ever resist parodying this great heaping sloppy slab of fanboy bilge.
Epic Breitbart Revisited II
When we first became aware of the... shall we say, idealized picture of Andrew Breitbart above, we couldn't help but be reminded of another portrait in the same romantic vein- another "man of the people", with a similar understanding of the use of propaganda to influence ideas and events. Interesting that two artists so many decades apart should view them in such similar light...
And yet, as Wonkette might remind us, in 1934 you actually had to do your own painting...
Press Release: Board Condemns Video Showing Fraudulent Activity on Election Day
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
April 10, 2012
Contact: Alysoun McLaughlin, firstname.lastname@example.com
202-727-2511 (direct) / 202-441-1121 (cell)
Board Condemns Video Showing Fraudulent Activity on Election Day
Investigation underway; evidence of potentially criminal activity will be referred to federal and District law enforcement authorities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Board of Elections today condemned a video circulating on the Internet that shows a person misrepresenting his identity at District polling places on Election Day. The Board confirmed that it is investigating multiple incidents that occurred on Tuesday, April 3.
Shirley Sherrod: My Prayers Go Out To Brietbart's Family
Shirley Sherrod, who was a primary target of Andrew Breitbart's criticism, released the following statement on the conservative media icon's death:
"The news of Mr. Breitbart's death came as a surprise to me when I was informed of it this morning. My prayers go out to Mr. Breitbart's family as they cope through this very difficult time."
Re-posted from Talking Poionts Memo
Andrew Breitbart dead at 43
March 1, 2012- Andrew Bretibart died today during a pitched Twitter war defending James O'Keefe. We have long advocated for accountability in the courts for Mr. Breitbart and Mr. O'Keefe because of their lawlessness, intolerance and smear campaigns. Sometimes, however, accountability comes in other ways from a greater power than the courts.
Mr. Breitbart carried hate in his heart. He raged at liberals, Occupiers, Muslims, Democrats, and women. He used his mouthpiece to cause divisions and to foment violence. He caused immeasurable hurt and suffering to a great many people. Last month, he spewed invectives and blind rage at the CPAC Conference, causing many people, mostly on the left, to call for him to seek professional help for himself. Instead, he continued raging against his imagined enemies until his heart could no longer take it.


text:
Amarok is a nice music player for KDE. Inspired by iTunes interface, it features a clever random mode, provides Wikipedia/lyrics/photos pages for the currently played song, handles mtp devices and works with lastfm so you can have online stats of what you listen to and find people that listen to the same crap too. That's definitely a nice software. But, unfortunately, it's quite buggy.
This morning, Amarok would not start, no matter what. Well, it's started once I erased .kde/share/config/amarok and .kde/share/apps/amarok. Then, shortly afterwards, it failed to start once more. I'm not quite frankly prepared to remove my Amarok config twice per day. So I decided I would just give a shot to a more recent version and the first beta for 2.4 around seemed a good pick.
Here's amarok 2.4beta1 (2.3.90) packages for Debian testing amd64.
It was built with amarok Debian experimental directory (a new entry added in debian/changelog, usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/* removed from debian/amarok-common.install, usr/lib/strigi* removed from debian/amarok.install, usr/lib/kde4/*.so and usr/lib/*.so* added to debian/amarok.install, target override_dh_shlibdeps: added to debian/rules and all patches removed from debian/patches/series) and amarok official latest source package (renamed amarok_2.3.90.orig.tar.bz2) using the command
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot inside the amarok-2.3.90 directory (source tarball decompressed) containing also the debian directory.


text:
"Super Teens on the Job," New Era, Nov. 2013, 34–37
Super Teens on the Job
Every job has something amazing to offer. These six youth talk about why hard work offers so much more than income.
It's a sad fact that in this day and age one can spend months searching help-wanted ads without finding a single one asking for a professional candy taster. Likewise, it's amazing just how few positions are available for part-time race-car testers.
The good news is that any job can be exciting and rewarding, even though it may not seem like it at first.
For the Strength of Youth teaches, "Work is honorable. Developing the capacity to work will help you contribute to the world in which you live" ([2011], 40).
Work can provide needed income, life experience, and valuable skills. Every job has something to offer. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, "Whether one is a neurosurgeon, forest ranger, mechanic, farmer, or teacher is a matter of preference not of principle" ("'Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel,'" Ensign, May 1998, 38).
So the type of work you do in your youth, whether as a paid employee or as service for your family or community, may not matter so much as learning the value of working and contributing to the world. Here, several youth whose lives have been blessed through hard work share a few tips about what they've learned.
Stitching Together a Business
Not many teenagers get a chance to launch a small business with one of their parents. But when 15-year-old Blythe G. and her mom made a one-of-a-kind cloth doll for Blythe's younger sister, they had so much fun that they decided to keep going. "We started selling them," Blythe says. They also donate one doll a month to a sick child.
Blythe, an artist, loves her part of the process. "My main job is to paint the dolls' faces," she says. In addition, she's acquired other talents along the way. "I've learned a lot about marketing," Blythe says.
She's also learned how to sew. "That's been really fun," she says. "Now I can make all sorts of things." In fact, Blythe has already put those sewing skills to good use. As she and her mom sold more dolls, they added stuffed animals to their lineup. Blythe personally designed several of the stuffed animals they now sell.
Running this business has brought Blythe and her mom closer together. "I love doing it with my mom," she says. "My mom is my best friend."
To other youth thinking about starting a job, Blythe says, "Go for it! There are a lot of things you can't learn in school that you can learn only from going out there and doing stuff."
Taking the Plunge
Seventeen-year-old Amy J. lives in a part of Alabama, USA, that is popular among tourists. As a result, many businesses stay open seven days a week. And yet, Amy has been fortunate enough to find a job that doesn't require her to work on Sunday—something very important to her.
Amy works year-round as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local recreation center. She enjoys her job, especially teaching swimming lessons. "I like working with the kids," Amy says.
The job also provides valuable income. "Last summer I was able to save up money and buy a car. That has been a tremendous blessing," she says.
In short, she says it's a fantastic job. So how did she land it? By first joining the swim team. "My swim coach texted me about a job she knew of," Amy says. Amy believes she never would have found this opportunity if she hadn't been putting herself out there and meeting people. She advises all youth to become involved in activities and to network.
Amy, too, has picked up useful life skills from her job. In her case, some of them may prove extremely helpful. "I want to go into the medical field," she explains. The CPR and first-aid training she received as part of her lifeguard duties are excellent foundational skills.
She's learned about balancing work and school schedules too. "Time management skills definitely come from having a job," she says.
Last, but certainly not least, Amy has gained a testimony of paying tithing as a result of the income she receives from work. "I can see that when I pay tithing, I'm able to use my money in a more productive fashion," she says.
Super Babysitter
At age 12, Emma L. is a babysitting force to be reckoned with. She has a résumé and business cards. She's certified by the American Red Cross as a babysitter. She has a well-stocked prize box for the kids she babysits. And she has enough clients to keep her babysitting as often as she wants.
"It's a really enjoyable job," Emma says. "I've always liked little children."
Before starting as a babysitter, Emma saved up and used her own money to attend a two-day babysitting class taught by the Red Cross. Her philosophy to develop her skills before starting the actual work was simple: "If you do a sloppy job, they won't call you back."
On the other hand, Emma believes that if you do a great job, then you'll not only be asked back, but you'll also get referrals. That's how Emma keeps picking up more clients. "It's easy if you start with one person and you're a good babysitter," she says. "Start small, and work your way up."
Because of her babysitting experience, Emma has gained other abilities, such as how to be a problem-solver when young kids aren't getting along. "Patience is something good I've learned," she says.
She's learned to enjoy her work—a great skill to pick up at any age. "I like being around the kids and seeing them happy," says Emma. "I like helping them out."
The Cutter of Grass and Slayer of Weeds
If an obnoxious weed tucked deep in a flower bed seems to heave a smug sigh of relief when the local teenager shows up to mow the grass—because, hey, a teenager coming to do a quick job is no big threat to its existence, right?—then that moment of satisfaction is going to be short-lived if 13-year-old Nathan D. is the one behind the mower.
Nathan started mowing lawns for his neighbors in 2012. He knows how to keep customers happy, in part because he believes in not merely doing the job right but also in doing a bit more than is required.
Once he turns off the mower at a job, he double-checks the lawn. "Make sure everything is done right and that you haven't missed any spots," he advises to others interested in lawn care.
After that, it's time for the little something extra. "Before leaving the job you've done," Nathan says, "look for some extra things that wouldn't take much time to do." Pulling stray weeds is one of his favorites.
As a result of his income, Nathan has also learned great budgeting skills. Now in his second year of mowing lawns, Nathan has been able to buy school clothes and save for a mission.
Music, Money, and Mission Prep
For the past four years, Brandon R., 17, has been able to earn spending money and save for a mission all while doing something he loves: teaching piano lessons. "I love influencing others to enjoy the wonderful gift of making music," Brandon says.
Brandon has been taking lessons himself since he was only two years old. He currently has students ranging from ages 6 to 15. He loves watching their progress as they learn to enjoy playing.
"When I started teaching one student," Brandon says, "he would run away. But then he started liking it more and more."
Now in his senior year, Brandon is seeking additional students so he can save money even faster for his mission.
Brandon believes that from teaching piano, his teaching techniques in other areas have improved. "I think, for example, it's easier to teach my brother something in math or to teach somebody something in a class," he says. "There's no better way to improve your teaching skills than to practice."
She Does That Too
If having a variety of skills and work experience on a résumé is a good thing—and it is—then 16-year-old Sarah K. is off to an awesome start. She has worked at babysitting, house cleaning, and doing yard work. She's done photography shoots at weddings and receptions. And for the past nine months, Sarah has been working part-time at a restaurant as a hostess and a busser.
"I believe in a strong work ethic," Sarah says. She believes firmly that every job she's had has taught her something useful.
Sarah got started in her work-for-hire jobs the same way many Latter-day Saint youth do: by checking first with people in her ward. "The Church members started hiring me, and they would tell their friends," she says.
It's also been a family effort with her siblings. Sarah is the second-oldest of nine children. Her younger brothers know how to network and find yard-work jobs. "Whenever they had a gig, I would tag along," she explains.
Her work plans are only getting started. "My goal is to be a cosmetologist and to have a business degree so I can build on that skill," Sarah says.


text:
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SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
On-line version ISSN 2078-5135
Print version ISSN 0256-9574
SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. vol.99 n.5 Cape Town May. 2009
Mental health service use among South Africans for mood, anxiety and substance use disorders
Soraya SeedatI, *; David R WilliamsII; Allen A HermanIII; Hashim MoomalIV; Stacey L WilliamsV; Pamela B JacksonVI; Landon MyerVII; Dan J SteinVIII
IMB ChB, FCPsych (SA), PhD, MRC Stress and Anxiety Disorders Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, W Cape
IIMPH, PhD, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, and Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., USA
IIIMD, PhD, National School of Public Health, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), Pretoria
IVMB BCh, DTM&H, DPH, MMed (Public Health), African Public Health Initiatives, Johannesburg
VPhD, Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tenn., USA
VIPhD, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., USA
VIIMB ChB, PhD, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town
VIIIFRCPC, PhD, DPhil, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town
BACKGROUND: Europe and North America have low rates of mental health service use despite high rates of mental disorder. Little is known about mental health service use among South Africans.
DESIGN: A nationally representative survey of 4 351 adults. Twelve-month DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition) diagnoses, severity, and service utilisation were determined using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Twelve-month treatment was categorised by sector and province. South Africans in households and hostel quarters were interviewed between 2002 and 2004 in all nine provinces.
OUTCOME MEASURES: 4 317 respondents 18 years and older were analysed. Bivariate logistic regression models predicted (i) 12-month treatment use of service sectors by gender, and (ii) 12-month treatment use by race by gender.
RESULTS: Of respondents with a mental disorder, 25.2% had sought treatment within the previous 12 months; 5.7% had used any formal mental health service. Mental health service use was highest for adults with mood and anxiety disorders, and among those with a mental disorder it varied by province, from 11.4% (Western Cape) to 2.2% (Mpumalanga). More women received treatment, and this was largely attributable to higher rates of treatment in women with mood disorders. Age, income, education and marital status were not significantly associated with mental health service use. Race was associated with the treatment sector accessed in those with a mental disorder.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial burden of untreated mental disorders in the South African population, across all provinces and even in those with substantial impairment. Greater allocation of resources to mental health services and more community awareness initiatives are needed to address the unmet need.
Of the national burden of disease, neuropsychiatric disorders are third only to HIV/AIDS and infectious disease, according to revised DALY (disability-adjusted life-years) estimates for the year 2000.1,2 Yet mental health services are grossly under-resourced and there are many barriers to health care for the mentally ill.3,4 Barriers include lack of accessibility, acceptability and availability of services, stigma, lack of awareness, perceptions that treatment may not be effective, cultural beliefs, and language problems.5,6 Failure and delays in treatment seeking for mental disorders are greater and more pervasive in developing countries, contributing to high levels of unmet need.7
South Africa has a legacy of racially inequitable, fragmented and inadequately resourced mental health care services,3,8 characterised by provincial variability.4 Findings suggest that two-thirds of patient contacts with mental health services occur through ambulatory care services, with low outpatient attendance rates corresponding with low admission rates in most provinces.9 No systematic data exist on (i) the current use of health (and non-health) services for the mentally ill, or (ii) the nature and extent of unmet treatment needs. Nationally it is critical to identify how to allocate resources more efficiently and equitably across provinces and ensure that the mentally ill receive adequate and appropriate care. To do this it is important to develop population-level insights into the unmet need for mental health services among individuals with mental disorders. As part of the South African Stress and Health (SASH) study, we examined 12-month mental health service use and its association with socio-demographic (gender, race, province) and mental disorder variables in the general population. We expand on findings10 by reporting on (i) provincial prevalence rates of service use for mental health reasons by type of service, and (ii) gender differences in patterns of use.
Data for the SASH study were collected between January 2002 and June 2004 from a national probability sample of 4 351 adult South Africans living in households or hostel quarters.11 Hostel quarters were included to maximise coverage of young working-age males. Individuals in institutions or the military were not included. All racial and ethnic backgrounds were included. The overall response rate was 85.5%. The sample was selected using a three-stage stratified and clustered area probability sample design. The first stage selected a stratified probability sample of primary sample areas based on the 2001 South African census enumeration areas (EAs). The second stage selected a probability sample of housing units from each EA. The third stage involved the random selection of one adult respondent in each sampled housing unit without replacement. The final sample of respondents was weighted to adjust for differential probabilities of selection within households, for differential non-response. A post-stratification weight was used to make the sample distribution comparable to the population distribution in the 2001 South African census for age, gender, and province.
Version 3.0 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0) was used to assess the presence of DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition) disorders.12 SASH interviewers were lay individuals extensively trained in the use of the CIDI. The translation of the English version of the CIDI into the six other languages used in the SASH was carried out according to WHO recommendations of iterative back-translation conducted by panels of bilingual and multilingual experts. The interviews, lasting an average of 3½ hours, were conducted face to face in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho or Tswana, many requiring more than one visit to complete. Mental disorders assessed in the SASH study were anxiety disorders (panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder), mood disorders (major depressive disorder, dysthymia), substance use disorders (alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, drug dependence), and intermittent explosive disorder.13 Disorders were further classified according to severity.12
Respondents were asked if they had seen any treatment provider for problems with their emotions, nerves, mental health or use of alcohol or drugs in the past 12 months. For each type of professional, the number of visits in the past 12 months, the duration of the visit, and treatment continuation/discontinuation were assessed. Treatment providers were classified into general medical provider (medical doctor, nurse or other health professional not in a mental health setting), mental health specialist (psychiatrist, psychologist, other mental health professional), human services (religious or spiritual advisor, social worker), and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) (traditional healer, chiropractor or other healer not in a health setting). The mental health and general medical sectors together were also defined as 'any health care'.
The study was approved by the Human Subjects Committees of the University of Michigan and Harvard Medical School, and by a single project assurance of compliance from the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA) that was approved by the National Institute of Mental Health (USA).
Analysis procedures
Patterns of service use were established by calculating proportions in treatment and the median numbers of visits among those in treatment. All gender-stratified and province-stratified analyses were limited to four service use categories (any mental health care, any health care, any non-health care, and any treatment). Logistic regression was used to assess socio-demographic and disease predictor variables of receiving any treatment within the past 12 months and reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Socio-demographic variables included age (<35, 35 - 49, 50 - 64, >65 years), education (0 - 6, 7 - 9, 10 - 12, >13 years of education), gender, race (black, coloured, Indian, white), marital status (never married, separated/widowed/divorced, married/cohabiting), income (low, low average, high average, high), income quintiles (rands) (0, 1 - 1 500, 1 501 - 16 500, 16 501 - 97 500, >97 501); while diagnostic variables (yes/no) included any anxiety, any mood, and any substance use disorder. Racial categories were used as a marker of historical social and economic opportunity with respect to health-related outcomes. Weighting and geographical clustering of the data were taken into account in data analyses by using the Taylor series linearisation method in the SUDAAN statistical package.14 In logistic regression analysis, multivariate significance tests were calculated using Wald chi-square tests. Statistical significance was based on two-sided tests set at p<0.05.
12-month use of mental health services: Gender, race, provincial correlates
Of the 4 317 respondents with complete data, 15.3% had sought treatment in the prior 12 months, including 25.2% with a DSM-IV disorder (21.8% of males and 27.8% of females) and 13.4% with no disorder (12.0% of males and 14.6% of females). There were no significant gender differences for any of these observations. Furthermore, only 5.7% of those with a mental disorder had received any mental health care (Table I). The sectors most frequently used were the general medical sector, followed by the mental health care sector. Generally, service use was highest among respondents with an anxiety disorder (27.6%). Use of the mental health service sector was highest for anxiety (6.8%) and mood disorders (6.8%). The association of service use with race also differed by sector. Among those with a 12-month disorder, blacks were most likely to have accessed the CAM sector (OR=25, χ2=12.81, p=0.005), while whites (OR=10.9) and coloureds (OR=4.1) were more likely than blacks to have seen a psychiatrist (χ2=19.62, p=0.0002). Whites with a 12-month disorder were also more likely than blacks to have used other mental health services (OR=5.29, χ2=14.73, p=0.0006). Although women had higher rates of treatment seeking overall, among 12-month cases there were no significant gender differences, except for mood disorders, for which the rate of treatment particularly in the non-health care sector was higher for women (Table II).
Table III shows 12-month treatment use stratified by province for respondents with and without a mental disorder. Across the nine provinces, the Western Cape had the highest rate of mental health use among respondents with a DSM-IV disorder (11.4%), while Mpumalanga had the lowest rate in that sector (2.2%). When respondents with no disorder were included, rates of mental health treatment ranged from 1.6% (Eastern Cape) to 4.4% (Western Cape).
Service use by severity
Only about one-fourth of respondents with either a moderate (26.6%) or a severe (26.2%) disorder had used services in the past year, with only 5.3% of moderate cases and 9.4% of severe cases receiving any mental health care. There were no significant gender differences between disorder severity and use of any mental health care.
Number of visits
The mean number of past year visits for those with a mental disorder in any sector was 5.1 (0.7). The highest number of visits occurred in the 'any mental health care' sector. Generally, there were no significant differences between males and females in the number of visits across sectors, except for any non-health care service use, where females had more visits than males (4.1±0.5 v. 2.8±0.2, t=2.7, p=0.010). Respondents with an anxiety disorder in any treatment sector had the highest mean number of visits (6.4±1.2). Those who reported a substance use disorder had the lowest number of visits (3.8±0.5). The mean number of visits for those without a mental disorder was 4.4 (0.2).
Service use predictors
No socio-demographic variable predicted treatment within the previous 12 months in cases of anxiety, mood or substance use disorder. However, stratification by gender yielded the following predictors of service use: (i) among women with any mental disorder, age (35 - 49 years) (OR=4.26, χ2=8.21, p=0.041) and any substance use disorder (OR=1.85, χ2=4.54, p=0.033) were associated with an elevated odds of receiving any treatment; and (ii) among men with any mental disorder, the presence of a mood disorder was associated with a lower odds of receiving treatment in any sector. Considering the effect of race in respondents with a 12-month disorder, stratified by gender, white females and males and coloured females had the highest odds of seeking mental health services (Table IV).
These results demonstrate a high level of unmet need for South Africans with common mental disorders. Even among severe and moderate cases, only about 1 in 4 had obtained some form of treatment for problems with their mental health or substance use in the 12 months before interview. The 15.4% of the population who reported any 12-month service use is similar to that in some WMH survey countries (e.g. USA and New Zealand), and substantially higher than rates in other low- and low- middle income countries (e.g. China, Nigeria, Ukraine, Mexico).15
More respondents used the general medical sector than the mental health sector for mental health problems. This is compatible with mental health services in the country, where access to specialty mental health care tends to be reserved for the very ill, and where the majority of those with mental disorders have first accessed community-level primary health care facilities. Overall, use of the CAM sector was common, especially among black respondents, who were the least likely to have accessed the mental health sector. This is not surprising given the high use of indigenous traditional healers by this group (Sorsdahl et al., unpublished data). Differences in perceived acceptability of using health services for mental health reasons may also be contributing to differences in service use.
Mental health consultation rates were highest among those with mood and anxiety disorders and lowest among those with substance use disorders. This is consistent with other surveys.16 We did not find any socio-demographic predictors of service use in respondents with these disorders. However, notable patterns of use emerged from the data. For example, there were provincial variations, with an up to fivefold difference in rates of mental health service use among those with mood, anxiety and substance use disorders, with the highest rates documented for the Western Cape province. This too is consistent with data on community indicators for patient service utilisation of mental health services, with the highest outpatient attendance rates in the Western Cape (458 patient attendances per 100 000 population) relative to the other provinces.9 In the aforementioned study, utilisation of both hospital and community services was low (below the national rate) in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, similar to our findings. Further study is needed to explain differences in the type of resource preferred and used for mental health reasons across provinces.
We found that gender was significantly related to any 12-month service use, particularly for mood disorders, with women more likely to seek treatment than men, mirroring other WMH surveys.15 The gender difference could be explained by women being more likely to acknowledge symptoms of affective distress than men.17
To our surprise, respondents without any of the disorders assessed in the survey accounted for a high proportion (13.4%) of respondents in treatment, with the highest proportion of treatment in the general medical sector, and few receiving care within the formal mental health care system. The potential draining of limited treatment resources to persons without apparent need is grounds for concern. It is likely that some respondents classified without a 12-month disorder actually had one, since the CIDI does not provide a fully comprehensive assessment of all DSM-IV disorders. Alternatively, a proportion of respondents may have been sub-threshold cases that were assessed with the CIDI18 but not captured by the categorical diagnostic ascertainment. High levels of service use for somatisation may also contribute to treatment seeking among those without diagnoses.
These findings should be interpreted with the following additional limitations. First, we relied on self-report measures of service use, which may have underestimated rates of unmet treatment need, particularly if mental health care seeking is stigmatised. Second, the influence of co-morbidity on service utilisation was not explored. Third, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were not evaluated, which is the case throughout the WMH surveys, as earlier validation studies have shown that these disorders lend themselves to over-estimation in lay-administered interviews. Fourth, reliability and validity of the six translated versions used in the survey were not established; in particular, the lack of a clear dose-response relationship may reflect inconsistencies and/or inaccuracies of disorder severity ratings by lay-administered interviewers using the CIDI. Fifth, persons in institutional settings and the military were excluded.
Nevertheless, this study provides the first national, population-level insights into mental health care seeking in South Africa. The findings are informative in guiding the distribution and targeting of resources and interventions for mental disorders across the country. Measures such as greater allocation of resources to mental health services and community initiatives to promote awareness of mental health and available services are needed to help address the huge unmet need.
Acknowledgements. The South African Stress and Health study was carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. We thank the WMH staff for assistance with instrumentation, fieldwork, and data analysis. These activities were supported by the US National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH070884), the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the US Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864 and R01 DA016558), the Fogarty International Center (FIRCA R01-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, Eli Lilly and Company, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The South African Stress and Health study was funded by grant R01-MH059575 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse with supplemental funding from the South African Department of Health and the University of Michigan. Dan Stein and Soraya Seedat are also supported by the Medical Research Council of South Africa. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/.
The authors thank Kathleen McGaffigan (Harvard University) for her assistance with the statistical analyses.
1. Bradshaw D, Groenewald P, Laubscher R, et al. Initial burden of disease estimates for South Africa, 2000. S Afr Med J 2003; 93(9): 682-688. [ Links ]
2. Bradshaw D, Norman R, Schneider M. A clarion call for action based on refined DALY estimates for South Africa. S Afr Med J 2007; 97(6): 438, 440. [ Links ]
3. Lund C, Flisher AJ. South African mental health process indicators. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2001; 4(1): 9-16. [ Links ]
4. Lund C, Flisher AJ. Staff/bed and staff/patient ratios in South African public sector mental health services. S Afr Med J 2002; 92(2): 157-161. [ Links ]
5. Kessler RC, Berglund PA, Bruce ML, et al. The prevalence and correlates of untreated serious mental illness. Health Serv Res 2001; 36(6 Pt 1): 987-1007. [ Links ]
6. Seedat S, Stein DJ, Berk M, Wilson Z. Barriers to treatment among members of a mental health advocacy group in South Africa. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2002; 37(10): 483-487. [ Links ]
7. Wang PS, Angermeyer M, Borges G, et al. Delay and failure in treatment seeking after first onset of mental disorders in the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative. World Psychiatry 2007; 6(3): 177-185. [ Links ]
8. Emsley R. Focus on psychiatry in South Africa. Br J Psychiatry 2001; 178: 382-386. [ Links ]
9. Lund C, Flisher AJ. Community/hospital indicators in South African public sector mental health services. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2003; 6(4): 181-187. [ Links ]
10. Seedat S, Stein DJ, Herman A, et al. Twelve month treatment of psychiatric disorders in the South African Stress and Health Survey (World Mental Health Survey Initiative). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2008; 43(11): 889-897. [ Links ]
11. Williams DR, Herman A, Kessler RC, et al. The South Africa Stress and Health study: rationale and design. Metab Brain Dis 2004; 19: 135-147. [ Links ]
12. Kessler RC, Ustun TB. The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 2004; 13(2): 93-121. [ Links ]
13. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: APA, 1994. [ Links ]
14. Research Triangle Institute. SUDAAN: Professional Software for Survey Data Analysis [computer program]. Version 8.0.1. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute, 2002. [ Links ]
15. Wang PS, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, et al. Use of mental health services for anxiety, mood, and substance disorders in 17 countries in the WHO world mental health surveys. Lancet 2007; 370: 841-850. [ Links ]
16. Andrews G, Issakidis C, Carter G. Shortfall in mental health service utilisation. Br J Psychiatry 2001; 179: 417-425. [ Links ]
17. Kessler RC, Brown RL, Broman CL. Sex differences in psychiatric help-seeking: evidence from four large-scale surveys. J Health Soc Behav 1981; 22(1): 49-64. [ Links ]
18. Druss BG, Wang PS, Sampson NA, et al. Understanding mental health treatment in persons without mental diagnoses: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2007; 64(10): 1196-203. [ Links ]
Accepted 2 February 2009.
* Corresponding author: S Seedat (firstname.lastname@example.com)


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- Review CentreSep 13, 2013I was able to compare a bunch of travel companies to figure out where to get the best deal. Easy to use and compare with sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and more. Could search with specific dates and change dates when needed to see different prices. Took a few seconds for some of the pages to... Read more
- ResellerRatingsDec 6, 2013I found bookingbuddy.com very recently when I was looking for details on a trip I was planning overseas; to Singapore and Australia. The site was very simple, and it made searching for my trip across multiple sites very convenient. I mustve searched about a dozen sites through Bookingbuddy before I... Read more


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Christian, don't worry about it ... the way my 'training' (Ha!) is going, Mr Goldneetle is going to need a bigger clock !!!
(and yes Goldie there IS an L in there !!)
I'm definitely going to be amongst the slower runners, but as long as I get it done, that'll be fine by me.
goldbeetle wrote (see)
We want everyone to enjoy the the day no matter how fast they are.
That's good, coz I ain't gonna be fast, and I PLAN on enjoying myself, no matter what
by 'eck, it's hilly wrote (see)
The longer I take, the more time the husband and kids get in the tank museum
It's a great museum!
STEVE TAYLOR 27 wrote (see)
You must be a really anti tank person to run a marathon instead of going by 'eck
I'd prefer to run a marathon than visit some museums
The Dawn Shadow wrote (see)
I'm definitely going to be amongst the slower runners, but as long as I get it done, that'll be fine by me.
That's the spirit!
goldbeetle wrote (see)
We want everyone to enjoy the the day no matter how fast they are.
I shall be aiming to get to Mile 20 as quickly as my legs will get me there... and then i'll be there until the sweeper kicks my ass
I'm thinking of asking the organisers if I can have the words "Official Sweeper" printed on my number so people will think I'm supposed to be right at the back !!
I thought I'd pay someone to chase me up the hills, reciting extracts from your joke collection. I figure if the threat of coming into earshot of that lot doesn't spur me onwards, nothing will.
10km Sydling Hill race route and description
The Tank Museum is just over the road from Monkey World. That is a world of monkeys!! It's brilliant. As best man I once organised a stag do - tried to get everyone to go to Monkey World after clay pigeon shooting, but no one would go.
Do you think it would have stopped snowing by June?
16 and a bit hilly miles on Saturday in what can only be described as torrential snow.
Fortunately the roads back into town were clear as grip (in road shoes) was negligible on the country lanes.
I have ordered sun and a cooling breeze
Woodlandbear - I've been tempted by the Jurassic Challenge for a couple of years - what is the middling time for the 3rd leg, do you reckon? And do many people do all three?
Woodlandbear - well done with that! I don't live down there but I have a place to stay on Portland and go down there maybe 3 times a year - I've done a few runs up the hill at the east end of West Bay (which taught me to start very slowly and slow down!). I might go for just day 2 next year and see how I get on.
...and regarding DNF - I had done 92 races before pulling a dnf in an off road duathlon in January (I fell off my bike on ice and was pissed off rather than properly injured). Then I pulled out after one lap of a 2 lap "adventure race" on Saturday - I wasn't going to crawl through foot deep mud in the snow a second time when my hands were still blue after the first lap)
ok chums less than three months to go
eek, better get some running in then.
warm in Sydling today
I've done 3,5,8,9 & 10 miles this week - the 10 was the Maidenhead 10. I have to take my visiting daughter for a 3 mile shuffle in the morning, and the plan is for a 15 miler in the afternoon. Otherwise I am relying on a number of half marathons to get me through the Avebury to Stonehenge Marathon in May. Haven't run longer than 13.1 since Abingdon Marathon in October.
This weather is bloody mental - today's 9 was yet another run with a hat and gloves on - cold body, hot head.


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Contact Information
6500 Schouest Street
Metairie, LA - 70125
6500 Schouest Street
Metairie, LA - 70125
Last-Modified: 2020-02-11 07:50:12
Oxford House is a concept in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. In its simplest form, an Oxford House describes a democratically run, self-supporting and drug free home. Oxford House Nevaeh is a women's transitional house with a total occupancy of 9. For the most current information about availability, please visit their website: www.oxfordvacancies.com
Note: Apartments may not have openings or may have long waiting lists. Call for complete details.
Are You Looking For Free Rehab Centers In Louisiana?Louisiana Free Rehab Centers
Many religious organizations offer transitional housing at no cost as part of their ministry services. Many also offer payment assistance for those that qualify. We list these resources.
Through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, grants are provided to sober homes and transitional housing facilities for those who cannot afford alcohol and drug treatment.
Many transitional housing locations provide housing on a sliding scale basis. This is generally income based support that charges based on one's ability to pay. We find and list those resources.
There are many non profit organizations that provide transitional housing. These transitional locations can provide payment assistance for those in need of services. Find these resources here and contact them for support.


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Bourbon Buffalo Mole "Chicken" Wings with Bleu "Cheese" Avocado Oil Aioli and Frisee Carrot and Celery Stick Slaw with Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette
Thank you all for being patient while I worked all the bugs out of my new layout. As much as I wish Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would've accepted my web design invitation, I feel like I did well enough adding a little flare and feng shui. The lack of balance was starting to haunt me in my sleep almost as badly as a sink full of unwashed dishes. There were some issues with the comment box, but I'm pretty sure it's working now. If you're having difficulties, shoot me an e-mail via the link in the now extremely stylin' left sidebar, and let me know :)
Before you think I'm crazy(er), enough on that topic...
In my small community of Youngstown, Ohio, Tuesday night was wing night. Meat hungry, hormone driven teenage boys would pile into their F150s and S10s, then make the trek across the state line to Sharon, Pennsylvania to a popular Nascar-themed chicken establishment for "All You Can Eat Wing Night". They would starve themselves for days, take enough bong rips to intensify their already inhuman hunger, then slam down as many chicken wings as their growing bodies could handle in hopes of be crowned Wing Eating Champ (Slob?). I'm not going to say this contributed to my lack of attraction to the male species, but let's just say that the combined aroma of B.O. and BBQ sauce wasn't exactly my idea of an aphrodisiac.
Although the aforementioned wing establishment wasn't located in our home town, my old stomping grounds had no shortage of restaurants where you could consume buckets of poultry appendages. It's nothing shy of disgusting how un-veggie and health food friendly many Midwesterners were, and it really hasn't improved much since I left. To put it nicely, on every corner in L.A. we have Starbucks, but in Ohio it's Old Country Buffet. I thank my lucky stars that Los Angeles lacks such high numbers of red-neck wing and beer restaurants.
In any event, no matter where you live, the summer months are pegged as "Barbecue Season". Company picnic, family reunion, and beach party invitations will flood our mail boxes and Facebook event pages, and 90% of them will require us to "BYOFSV" (Bring Your Own Food, Silly Vegan). Most of us have grown quite accustomed to whipping up a salad and buying a box of veggie burgers for our own peace of mind. We're also quite accustomed to the weird stares from everyone chowing down on t-bones, wings and potato salad.
Well, not anymore. Stand over those hot coals and grill with pride...and a little mischievous FU glint in your eyes. You'll feel the satisfaction of a job well done when your omni friends bite into a cruelty free chicken wing and jump in amazement at how delicious (and spicy!) vegan BBQ can really be.
with Vegan Bleu Cheese Avocado Oil Aioli
Bourbon Buffalo Mole "Chicken" Wings
- 2 batches Chicken Style Seitan, cut into "wing" shaped pieces
- 3 TBSP Vegan Margarine
- 1/2 large Shallot, finely diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
- 2 oz. Bourbon
- 3 TBSP Organic Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Agave Nectar
- 4 oz. Chili Sauce
- 4 oz. Barbecue Sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Hot Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper, to taste
For the "chicken wings"...
Grill Method:
Spray your grill rack or grill pan with non-stick spray, and get the grill or pan pre-heating.
Pour the Bourbon Buffalo Mole Sauce over the "wing" shaped pieces of chicken seitan. Toss well to coat. Insert some sucker sticks, popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers into the ends of each wing (optional).
Grill each wing for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and warmed through.
Fry method:
Heat a good amount of oil (about 1-2 inches) in a deep, heavy skillet or deep-fryer. Fry the wings until golden brown. Remove the wings from the oil and drain. Insert some sucker sticks, popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers into the ends of each wing (optional), then pour the Bourbon Buffalo Mole Sauce over the wings and toss well to coat.
- 1/2 cup MimicCreme (or Soy Creamer)
- 1/2 cup Vegan Sour Cream
- 1/3 cup Vegan Mayo
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 package Sunergia Soyfoods Soy Bleu Cheese
- 1/4 cup Avocado Oil
- 1 TBSP Fresh Dill
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Then add the remaining ingredients except the avocado oil to the blender or food processor, and turn the machine on high. While the machine is running, slowly pour in the avocado oil until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
with Toasted Garlic and Cumin Vinaigrette
- 2 medium Carrots
- 4 stalks Celery
- 1 small Red Onion
- 1/2 Corn Kernels
- 2 heads Frisee, torn into pieces
- 3 TBSP fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 3 TBSP Brown Rice Vinegar
- 2 TBSP chopped fresh Cilantro Leaves
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cumin and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, then whisk in vinegar and lemon juice. Add dressing and cilantro to veggie/frisee mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.


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Happy Veterans Day!! by
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Bless a Hero is Ready to change some hero's lives!
We are raising money to help Veterans and First Responders start their entrepreneurial journeys and help create financial freedom for themselves, their families, and their communities! What we will be doing for our contribution is matching the memberships given away! For every $299 membership raised, kulaBrands will give away one additional membership to Veterans. Any donation will do and/or a share to your friends, family, and social media!
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The Restlet Studio API platform is positioned as the "world's first" browser-based IDE for APIs. It joins APISpark, Restlet's recently launched Platform-as-a-Service for web APIs, and Restlet Framework, the most popular open source framework for developing APIs in Java.
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Restlet Studio integrates with APISpark and Restlet Framework, providing a comprehensive platform for the entire lifecycle of API development, including design, development, hosting and management. It will immediately benefit both developers who need to expose data but are not experts in the REST architecture style as well as API experts who already use Restlet Framework to develop APIs.
"We developed Restlet Studio after hearing from API developers that they needed to streamline the design of APIs through a simple, visual environment that supports the most popular API languages," said Jerome Louvel, founder and chief geek at Restlet. "While it brings tremendous value as a standalone product, Restlet Studio is also a key component of Restlet's API platform through which developers are able to create and manage APIs — and share them easily with other developers."
APISpark is a cloud service for developers seeking to quickly publish and manage APIs, and businesses that want to give application and website developers access to their data. Anyone can go to the APISpark site at restlet.com/apispark and use a web browser to securely create and publish REST APIs in minutes.
Restlet Framework is the world's most popular API development framework with 2 million downloads and a community of 100,000 developers. The open source framework is freely available from the Restlet website at restlet.com/framework or by git on GitHub.
Restlet Studio is free to use without restriction. Running in a browser, it requires no installation or configuration.


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