Let's be friends...and live longer!

I know what you are thinking. "Shouldn't you be studying for that big test tomorrow, Anne?" YES yes, I know. I should! I partially am studying, you know. All of my papers are right next to me and I can tell you the entire process of metabolism if you truly wish. I am here to discuss a little article that I read. So basically, this procrastination is entirely CNN's fault. How dare that news site. Anyway, let's stay on track because I do need to get back to the thrilling night ahead of me.

The article: Social relationships key to survival, study says. By Elizabeth Landau Cnn.com Health Writer (aka The woman who has the job I need/desire in this lifetime)

This article was extremely interesting because it was all about having a good relationship with people and just by having that, you could live longer! Well how 'bout that, folks! Add a dozen years to my life, please! The study believes that having said relationships could equate to just how great it is for people who don't smoke and their increased lifespan. Okay, add another dozen years! I won't get carried away but apparently "people with adequate social relationships have a 50 percent greater likelihood of survival than people who have poor or insufficient relationships". Now, for the role of the Devil's Advocate. It will be played by Yours Truly. Ahem. What if I want to go out to restaurants with my group of social relationships and we go eat french fries and alfredo and cheesecake and LARD! Then we have milkshakes and margaritas! Mind you, we are such a close group of friends. Our relationship is legendary, even. Then what? Does the clogging of arteries cancel out and allow us to live longer? Hmm? Just checking (and I hope so.)

On a serious note (really, me? Serious?), I honestly adore the article. I don't care if those researchers just threw it together and put it in a journal of Medicine. I am a firm believer that laughter is the best medicine. So why can't friendships make you live longer?

Best,

Anne

Wildly delicious!

I am so addicted to blogs. Ahem, food blogs, that is.

How do I know I am addicted?

1. I go through every blog before checking my email.

2. I love food writers (and food, duh!).

3. I think food photography could be better than any other photography out there.

4. I diligently check for new posts throughout the day and feel empty when they aren't posted yet.

5. If I have no interest in being addicted to video games or drugs, why not be addicted to beautiful writing and delicious recipes? Boom.

Since I am always the one taking recipes from these food bloggers, I figured I'd include you on this gem that I made. Before I continue, I must confess that this recipe is not mine. Not one thing is my own. BUT I'd like to thank the Co-Op in town for allowing me to try this delicious food and inspire me to make it. The only thing that is my own are the measurements. You may not want to take them from me if you try this because I'm clueless when it comes to "estimating". In addition, I only made this dish for me. Little ol' me. So think about the serving size! I still think you should try it. If you don't like it...well at least it's not my recipe ;-D

This is the perfect salad for a warm summer day. It's nice and refreshing as well as filling! Perfection.

Wild Rice and Kale Salad

Makes 2-3 side servings

3/4 cup Wild Rice-cook as described

1/4 cup green onions

1 Red Pepper, diced

1 cup Kale

2 T Lemon juice

2 T Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Mix all together and eat after it has chilled. Enjoy!

Best,

Anne

CAR-ried away...

I have been attempting to come up with a blog topic for quite some time now. I am more than in the mood for writing but that is completely useless without something to discuss! Then it hit me like a car. Pun intended, and you will soon learn why. Let me tell you about a friend name Frankie. Actually, I suppose the proper spelling is in all capital letters. FRANKIE. If you ask me I'd tell you that there are enough letters to fit that onto a license plate. That's just where I've seen them too. To be clear, she isn't technically my friend. Just someone who lives in my apartment building and is in love with her red Volkswagen Beetle.

I've known people to love their cars. They clean it, make sure it sparkles, and don't like any crumbs anywhere inside. Well, that's fine. I don't see anything extremely wrong with that because who cares? A typical neat freak enjoying what they spent so much money on and I back those people up one hundred percent! No no, FRANKIE is a bit different than those car lovers. I guess you could say she is more affectionate toward the good ol' bug convertible. Many weeks ago I had my first encounter with my friend. She doesn't know we had this encounter but I just happened to pull into a parking spot at the exact same time as her daily ritual was taking place. Something looked a bit strange so I stalled (no, my car isn't stick shift) in the car to see what was happening. I was incredibly surprised at what I saw before my eyes. The woman who drives her VW was gently resting her arms and head on the top of the car. Well, okay...I suppose it's not the weirdest thing I've ever---ohh okay, there it is. There's the weirdest thing I've ever seen. She gave that car a very big kiss. After the initial shock sitting in my car, I couldn't get out. Not yet, anyway! I had to see what was next. What was next was a casual walk to the other side of her car where she would, again, gently lay her head and hands on the top of the car followed by a nice smooch. Don't think the top of the car was the only spot to receive such kind passionate actions. That license plate, FRANKIE, was blown a kiss, too. As she slowly walked away from this four-wheeled hunk of metal, she turned and smiled fondly as if she wouldn't see the Red Beauty for years. I've had the pleasure of catching this ritual twice and even after explaining it to people, I feared they would never believe me. Let's face it, I couldn't make this stuff up! It's mind-BUGgling!

Thankfully, today would change that because I had a witness. My friend drove me home from class and sure enough as we were pulling into my parking lot, FRANKIE was outside. I told my friend to park because I needed her to see this. Today was a special treat. The top was down in the convertible and that meant her fuzzy seat coverings were nice and warm from the afternoon sun. FRANKIE was saying her goodbyes and my friend was a witness. I had never explained the story to her before we were sitting in the parking lot today but I sure am glad she saw her cozying up to those seats. After she made the rounds and said goodbye to the license plate, I simply stated, "Now she will walk away but don't worry, she'll turn around for one last look". Ding ding ding!

As I started to write this post I began to feel a little bad about posting this for all the world (and by all the world, I mean the handful of you that actually read this) to see but then I realized that she is the one who does this in the middle of the day. She doesn't care who sees her. She is the one who is in love with an inanimate object. Most importantly, she better not make any sudden moves toward my Mazda.

Best,

Anne

Give me a break....or five.

Let's just say I put the "pro" in procrastination. I'm not sure how to go about getting any sort of studying done during the summer. It's hot (too hot) and I'm uncomfortable and all I want to do is just sit around and not have to worry about studying for a test. Alright, that sounds lazy. Even lazy for me...but still, summer school is such a bittersweet aspect of my life (a little more bitter than sweet). Anyway, all I want to do is travel. My main goal is Portland, Oregon this summer. Let's hope it happens! After all, it's only a four hour drive or so. I think I can arrange something like that. Can the next goal be Greece? That's really all I think about these days. What I would do if I was in Greece. Sigh. Until then, I'll stick to eating lots of feta and hummus on a day to day basis.

Well the countdown continues! Whenever I don't feel like working on school nonsense I start cleaning or packing little by little. Three and a half weeks until I'm moving! I cannot wait! That means roughly three weeks until my dad comes to help haul my stuff a few minutes away....and also enjoy a few days off? I'm not sure what he'd prefer but since I know he has a great background in moving his children from one apartment to another, I know I'm going with the right guy for the job!

Well, I suppose I should get crackin' on my studying. Thanks for listening.

Best,

Anne

Hello, July!

I woke up this morning with a great attitude to be completely productive. It helps when you go to bed before ten and wake up at seven. Plenty of hours to accomplish various tasks, right? Well, for the most part. I only have twenty-nine days before I have to move out of my apartment. Such a bitter sweet thought but I am certainly excited to move in with other human beings. Why not take advantage of it? I have a feeling that packing up and cleaning will take me awhile and I’d rather not rush it. I’m starting to slowly get rid of things I don’t need. Even though these magazines are what keep me up to date with the more important things in life, (Food, Exercise and Celebrity gossip) I decided it was time to recycle. :-D

So back to today, I began with my closet. It was time to get rid of some of those clothes “I may wear sometime…if I was doing something….that would require that certain outfit”. Well, if that day ever comes along then the joke is on me! I have two bags of clothes to give away and…a whole bag of shoes I sadly must get rid of before I look at them any longer. If you know me, I love shoes. Don’t worry, not the expensive ones. If I see a good deal I don’t think twice (even though I should). Now it is time to get rid of some of those deals from way back when.

After the clearing out of clothes and tidying of the closet, I thought I’d move on. I went to the refrigerator. It’s not that bad, but I REALLY needed to get rid of some older food in there. No mold yet, but certainly not edible. What? I’ve been busy! Once that smelly process ended, I began to gather all of my laundry to head downstairs and look forward to clean clothes. I had a lot of laundry that I’d been stacking up. It’s not that big of a deal because I’ve had plenty to wear but it was time. I had three loads to wash and dry so I got right to it. When I knew the clothes were washed I headed back downstairs to transport them to the dryer. I noticed one of the washers said nine minutes to go when the others were done. Some sneaky person must have bumped it and stopped the wash. I decided it was fine and put everything in the dryer (thinking in the back of my head that I’d probably have to add extra time to the dryer since they were more than soaked still...hence the puddle of water in the washer). Fifty minutes later I went to grab the dry clothes. Sure enough, the sopping wet ones were still as wet as they had been at the start. Great, another 50 minutes of waiting around for dry clothes. I paid another dollar and went upstairs. Meanwhile, all these household chores were catching up to me and I was getting a bit tired. Finally, the time was up and I went back down to get my clothes. What surprise greeted me? Soaking wet clothes. Still. Guess who found out that dryer didn’t even work in the first place? I’d had just about enough with that laundry room so I threw the very wet, not damp, clothes in the laundry basket and bitterly walked upstairs. I refrained from snapping a picture, but there are clothes hanging from every inch of my bathroom and kitchen right now.

Needless to say, I have had a somewhat productive day but not completely. I enjoyed a late afternoon run and pancakes for dinner. That in and of itself is perfectly productive J Have a happy 4^th of July weekend all. (JULY!?! Goodness gracious, time flies!)

Best,

Anne