Friday, March 30, 2012

An Overture Of My Adventure Into The Land Of Vegan..

Morning y'all and Happy Friday! Today marks day 10 of 'The Vegan Experience'. Its been hard at times and not so bad at times. I've learned a few things about myself that I didn't know. 1. I am NOT gonna physically DIE without coffee(though I do feel like my loss deserves a memorial service of some degree- perhaps I will pour some coffee on the ground while Cason plays Taps on the spoons?) 2. I have SO much more energy OFF caffeine and land critters(looks like my chances of being a Ginger Snow White just increased) than ON it. Amazing, eh? #enlightenedginger

The sum of this experience brings me to some decisions. I will NOT live an entirely vegan life. I love cheese. I plan to eat it. I have landed in the zone of what's called a 'flexitarian'. I will eat fish and on occasion take part in turkey that has had the chance to live a full and happy life free in nature and has
been 'killed with care' by Lori's brother Craig(a.k.a - my brother from another mother). Seriously y'all - he is like the deer whisperer or some junk like that. He walks out into the woods and the animals just come to him like he has animal crack in his pocket. Mmmm...maybe he does? #theworldwillneverknow

<insert girlie squeel> I have lost LOADS of weight during this 10 day time frame which I fully intend to keep off :) And isn't that just gonna make my 50's 'cheesecake pin-up' dress look just a lil bit better tomorrow night? I'm.So.Excited.I.Might.Die! - The GFG

Monday, March 26, 2012

Day 7 Of My Vegan Adventure...

Holy. Weight. Loss. Batman!! Not ONLY am I successfully off caffeine - I am down 8 pounds. #doin'thehappydance

Its not been as difficult as I imagined(and trust me, I can imagine up some pretty horrific stuff y'all).
Cason and I had an awesome time yesterday. I got all hippie'd up in a floor length 70's dress and we took off up to Little 5 Points. For those of you who are not natives to Georgia - this is a super hip, artistic and fantastically magical little area of Atlanta to go dissapear in for a while. We perused the shops, ate at an outdoor cafe, visited the local brew house( I. HAD.WATER.#sadginger) and took in
all of the wildly over the top dressed folks with all colors of hair(and I do mean ALL), tattoos and places pierced that made my lil' Southern heart cringe from time to time. But my perspective is and
always will be - live and let live. So I think to myself when I see someone with enough metal in their
face to pick up satellite reception - if they feel as pretty wearing that as I do in my hippie dress..then brightest blessings to them in doing so :) #toeachtheirown

This morning there is an organic banana, a bag of raw almonds and raisins and a bottle of spring water sitting on my desk awaiting me to partake of it. I have work to keep my employed, an amazingly smart and funny son that BETTER be standing at his bus stop and one incredibly wonderful boyfriend getting ready to start his day as well. With all of this - I am completely and incandescently - HAPPY. - The GFG

Friday, March 23, 2012

Hello Glorious Friday!


Thank. The. LAWD! Its Friday and I made it through the caffeine withdrawal doldrums :)
Bounced out of bed this morning and my mind is clearer than the Spring water sitting on my desk. Better YET - I am just bubbling with energy. #Loriwasrighty'all

Cason actually attempted yesterday to go caffeine free with me. He made it all of about 12 hours and then sucked down about a liter of Coke over dinner. Amazing. Wonderful. Supportive. Man. #hetried

So now that I am actually off my drug of choice I am pondering at what I shall do
with all the money I will save and(random, I know) how will I still be using 'Rosey'(our Keurig)?
I love her and won't be  boxing her up anytime soon :) My mind wonders to this question - what do hippies drink? Well, duh. Water of course. Perhaps wine(Yay!- screams my inner Goddess), but what about hot drinks for when I just really want to hold my super awesome mug that Gamer Boy gave me for Mother's Day?

Looks like Google shall be my friend on answering this question :) So I am off to the 'interwebs' to find some form of delicious 'replacement ambrosia' for when I finish my 10 day excursion into fairytale hippie'dom. Wish me luck y'all. Happy Friday! #fistpump - The GFG

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Who Stole My Glitter?

Today is day two of the hippie fast and let me tell y'all- its not a bright n' shiny morning. I. Want. Coffee. #footstomp. I woke up late, had to get ready in a hurry, get to the gas station to feed all my tip money into Abigail(our Nissan Altima that we adore) and am now looking at this day ahead of me like its a marathon to run - in flip flops. #headhitsdesk
Okay Lori - I get it. Caffeine is a drug. I'm an addict. This is withdrawal. Don't I at least get a cookie? Oh. Yeah. Not gonna get that either. #grumpyginger. (Insert disclaimer for my behavior for the next hour until I naturally wake up). Lawd. Help. Me.
#brightside - this should dissipate in three days. My acute misery and whiny inner brat will get over the fact that she no longer gets her ambrosia IN. THREE. DAYS. Can I please have a fastforward to Friday morning?? I keep repeating in my head that this is for my own good(lip pout) and I am TRULY grateful to Lori. She is gonna help me look like her - a glowing good health infused fairy :) #grateful - The GFG

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

10 Days of 'Harmonious Ginger'

If anyone has followed along for the last two weeks its pretty obvious that I not only slipped off the yellow brick road of 'Ginger-friendly' eating... I ran like a mad woman into the field of poppies. Poppies! Yes...Poppies!!!(I puffyheartLOVE The Wizard of Oz). Okay...that was getting off on a tangent. So. Yeah. I. Goofed. Poor Gamer Boy and Cason :(  They must really love me when I mess up and wind up in 'The Doldrums'.(yes. I'm also a 'Phantom Tollbooth' kid)

Now, Lori has been 'gently nudging' me for over a year to let go of caffeine and part ways with 'meats and sweets'. I, of course, have dug my flip flop firmly in the grass, put my hands on my hips, poked my bottom lip fully out and and shook my head. NO. Uh uh. Won't do it. I cannot live like a TOTAL hippie.....or can I???(Insert obvious truth of - Don't challenge a redhead) #ponderingginger

So here I sit today - as of midnight last night I embark into the scary, vast unknown of the Vegetarian world for 10 days. My diet will consist of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and water. Sheesh. By the end of this I should at least be able to summon up small woodland creatures like Snow White, right?
#agirlcandream....Stay tuned for updates on my adventure into full blown 'Hippie Land'. #peaceout - The GFG

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Well. This. Is. Gonna. Be. Interesting....

After what I have now come to call 'the hamburger incident', I went back through all of my emails from Lori(incase you haven't read my Bio - she is my holistic practitioner) and actually contacted her. We decided it was time to hit the 'reset' button or in other words - its time to be a good lil' Ginger and stop eating the crap that HATES me. #ephiphany

I have used every. single. ounce. of Southern stubborness I possess with her as she has 'gently nudged' me towards it for over a year - come. off. Coffee. OH-THE-HORROR that arises in my heart when I even think about it. I actually believe my soul cries a little too. This morning I will bypass the hot, deliciously bubbling cauldron(pot) sent down to me from the caffeine Gods(actually it was purchased at Publix by my boss) and instead my cup that Gamer Boy gave me for Mother's Day will be filled with Acai,Pomegranate & Blueberry Green Tea. Yay! I'm so excited...NOT. #gingerinmourning

FASTFORWARD---> fifteen minutes. This stuff tasted like microwaved fruit punch!! #notsobad
It is NOT a comparison to my usual morning nectar of life but I am enjoying the fact that it turns purple as it steeps. (did I mention I am easily amused?) I will say its doing its job as far as waking me up and with the raw Agave Nectar I added it is tolerable and not All. Together. Unpleasant. I'm sitting here thinkin' - now wouldn't my Southern Belle grandmother be tickled pink at me being all proper 'n junk and drinkin' tea? I might have to call her in a lil' while and tell her. We'll just edit out the fact that instead of holding it delicately over a hand-painted saucer and wearing a 'tea dress' that coordinates the colors on my cup and saucer - i'm in a v-neck shirt, pants and flip flops :) #hippieforlife - The GFG

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

#impeccablyimperfect

I stated once(or five times) that Gluten hates me. You would THINK since I have this knowledge and am fully aware of its effects that I would avoid it like the plague(which 98.3% of the time I do), right?
#notsobrightgingermoment

I decided that since I had been sick for a few days and was craving junk food to just say to heck with it and ate a hamburger on Real. White. Oh. So. Delicious. Bread. Every single bite was amazing! FASTFORWARD----->next morning...NOT amazing in the slightest. I wake up so grumpy I don't even like the feel of air touching my skin and in such a mental fog that I just didn't want to do anything that involved even the smallest effort. Add the stiffness in my neck and shoulders and you have arrived at the sum of this equation - me + gluten = #miserableginger

So I stumbled out of bed(thank the Lawd it was a Sunday) and made it to the couch where I planted myself in all my misery and self-loathing for so long that I'm ashamed to admit it. Its moments like these that I want to laugh at myself but I am just too dang irritable to bother. I have learned that normal human interaction is beyond me when I am like this since I am crippled minus my smile and humor. Those two attributes are(in my opinion) the shiniest parts of me and without them I feel like a kid in art class and someone stole my glitter. #depressedginger

Today is the first day of the fog lifting and I am back to feeling more like a member of the human species. Perhaps this time I've learned my lesson and will never eat gluten again and will be shiny every single day? (highly unlikely) As I said before - #impeccablyimperfect - thats me! - The GFG

Friday, March 9, 2012

That awkward moment....

when you fall face first down in the grass at a public park after failing on an EPIC level to do push-ups.....UGH!! While I could chose to be embarrassed about it because Cason is standing right there watching and instructing me..what do I do? I. Get. Angry. So angry that the red head in me flares and I get all splotchy and begin to talk way too fast and begin devising a master plan to get what I want...which are nice toned arms that look all cute 'n junk in a sleeveless sun dress. (isn't that what all girls want?)

Guess I should back up a bit and tell y'all that since finding out I was gluten-intolerant and changing my eating habits I have lost over 50 pounds. Did you know that if gluten hates you that it will make you fat? #truth ....you can diet your lil' heart out but if you continue to eat the things that hate you it won't do you much good. Imagine a dirty 'ole fish tank. You can add all the clean water you want to it but until you stop, clean it up and stop putting the yuck in it - its just gonna stay grody. Yet again...#truth

So back to this morning- its ON now :) In six weeks I will be a push-up jedi...or at least able to drop and give it 20 and not die. Insert Rocky theme song here. - The GFG

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Pin Up Dress COMETH.........

Imagine if you will a six foot tall(flaming red headed) tomboy/hippie in jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops with a constantly fabulous pedicure - TA DA!! That's me. No more. No less. I've always had somewhat of a difficulty in shopping for clothes due to my height and being....(spoken in my finest Southern decorum)..Blessed.In.The.Chest. Seriously y'all. Just TRY finding anything on a department store rack that understands that I am tall, large chested, have curves but am NOT the size of a circus tent and you will begin to get some clarity to how I wound up living most of my days in cozy cotton t-shirts that actually FIT my waist and give for 'the girls'. #acceptanceisthekeyhere

Much to my dismay- Cinderella and The Little Mermaid did not have a similar problem so dressing up like a fairytale princess was out of the picture - or so I thought. Insert boyfriend that loves my shape and the 1950's and what do you get?? .....Me ordering my very first pin up dress!!! I. Am. SO. Excited. The women from that era really knew how to rock their curves, be sexy(not slutty) and looked put together from head to toe. For the sake of imagery...google Joan from the T.V. series 'Mad Men'. She is SMOKIN hot to me and I hope I live up to the dress when it arrives :) #excited - The GFG

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

This Is A Love Story. There Are Many Like It..But This One Is Mine :)

It was a typical Sunday in the South for me - I was at the restaurant waitressin' my heart out and my shift was winding down when the bell on the front door jingled. I looked up to see two very out of place looking men(if I haven't mentioned it yet - I live IN. THE. COUNTRY. Y'ALL.) standing there looking around and checking their iPhones. I greeted them with my trademark "Hey y'all, You can sit where you like." They sat down in the other girl's section and she got their drink order. She and I met up in the server's room and within a few moments decided that 1. they must be lost. 2. Due to how sharply they were dressed, how marvelous they smelled and how deep in conversation they were - they MUST be a gay couple.

I was rather intrigued to know how they happened to land out in the boondocks so I began sweeping a little bit of her section. The taller of the two spoke to me and asked how long the restaurant had been there and if I was native to the town. <heart in throat>. The moment I heard his voice it captured my attention like a marching band. (100% serious y'all. This was a straight Bella sees Edward/Sookie sees Bill moment) I caught my composure and began talking lightly with him. Turns out, he and his 'partner' were photographers out on a 'photo fieldtrip' in the country. His partner was also a very nice looking guy but the one with the green eyes HAD my attention. They took some pictures of the restaurants and the sister oaks in the field next door and were gone. Just. Like. That. - Gone :( I shrugged and thought to myself - where is the guy for me that will hold my attention like THAT guy just did?

A few moments later I heard a knock on the side door. It was 'green eyes'. I opened the door and he stared me straight in the eyes and asked for directions. I gave them to him. He reached out to shake my hand, told me it was a pleasure to have met me and gave me his name - Devin(Cason is his middle name which I think is hot) and asked mine. I gave it, and with a smile he was gone again. Okay - insert pouty lipped red headed foot stomp here- WHY in the stars did he have to be gay? #unhappyginger

The following Tuesday he returned with a girl. I, yet again, was waitressing and thought to myself..awwww..he brought his shopping friend in for dinner...how cute :) Ummmm...NOPE. Cut to me busting back through the kitchen door to tell my co-worker two important things - 1. he is NOT gay. 2. He is ON A DATE!! Yet again....#unhappyginger .....Here is where I resolved that she must be a lucky woman, put my big' girl panties on and treated them with the same respect and courtesy I treat all of my customers. FASTFORWARD---to the following week. Cason walks in and sits down at the bar. I am....guess what...WAITRESSING(you see a pattern here, right?) I poured him a drink and asked how his week was and...oh. so. smoothly. asked where his girlfriend was that evening. He looked up and very seriously told me "she is not my girlfriend, we parted ways." (picture now - me in the kitchen doing the happy dance and telling my co-worker he is single). But alas, who was I to think he would give me the time of day? #realitycheck

I waited on him several times in the next two weeks. He had a very good sense of humor and quickly
became friends with the regulars at the bar. One Tuesday morning I received a call from the receptionist at my full time job that there was a bouquet of white day lilies on my truck. I asked her if she saw who put them there and she said no. I retrieved them and asked everyone I knew(since there was NO card) if they had given flowers to what I had come to call myself - 'the divorced girl at work'. Finally I gave up my inquiry and resolved it must have been a mistake. After all, there are hundreds of trucks like mine.

The following Tuesday night I am talking with my boss at the bar and in walks Cason. He sits down and I pour him a drink. He smiles and asks me if anything 'interesting' happened at work this week. JAW. HITS. FLOOR. as I realized it was him that left me the flowers.( Evidentally - I am a classic red head and talk WAY too much, so much that he was able to over hear where I worked at full time.) I will NEVER forget the words he said to me next. They are branded in my memory. He gazed at me with those big green eyes and said - ' I've gathered enough information to know you haven't had the best of luck in love and I know its not easy for you - BUT that's okay. I'm here. Not going anywhere.Whenever you are ready to let me take you to dinner - I'm sitting on GO.'

This was one year ago TODAY. Let me tell y'all. It's been the very BEST. YEAR. OF. MY. LIFE. - The GFG

Monday, March 5, 2012

Once Upon A Southern Evening...

In the mid 1980's..in a little mill house..just after bath time..lived two sisters(me and my gorgeous older sister who is NOT a Ginger). Being that we grew up in a religion where we weren't allowed to cut our hair we often spent up to an hour detangling and brushing our hair. This particular evening we were actually getting along(which was RARE) so we donned our thin soft cotton blend little girl night gowns and took turns brushing each other's hair till it was a long wet mane down our backs to our hips. She had a blue gown with 'My Little Pony' screen printed on it and mine (which was FAR superior in my opinion) was pink with 'She-ra, The Princess of Power' printed on it :)

 Our mother worked second shift in the mill that employed most of the folks in our town. Our father was in the living room watching T.V. so we had free reign of the room we shared. So....what do two bored little girls do on an evening like this?? We brought out our stash of pop records, put em' on our Barbie Pink record player and danced on our twin beds and sang our hearts out into our matching hairbrushes to Whitney Houston's ' I wanna dance with Somebody' and the likes of Culture Club, Madonna, New Kids On The Block, Def Leppard and countless others that we loved and cherished. We made up dance routines(lame, I know, but we couldn't go outside and MTV wasn't 'acceptable' at our house) and pretended we were BananaRama or The Bangles. Such was an evening past in an episode of what we branded 'Lifestyles of the Poor and Shameless :) The thing that still amazes me MOST to this day.....music became the common thread that linked two opposite sisters and formed a bond stronger than we imagined possible. If you ever read this big Sister. I love you( and Donnie Wahlberg would've totally danced with ME first!) - The GFG

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Soup That Dreams Are Made Of....

So I'm sitting here at Los Bravos (a local mexican restaurant in Conyers, Ga) in utter 'Ginger Bliss' after an entirely gluten-free lunch. Their chicken soup is so good I could just weap at the joy of it! Its a broth base with mexican rice, chicken breast, fresh sliced avocado(which I order extra of), pico de gallo and paired with two wedges of lime to squeeze over the top. Jaw. Hits. Pretty. Tiled. Table. My STARS- Its goooooood y'all. And its also dairy free for those of you(this is aimed specifically at my friend Tiffani) who are hated by the Dairy Gods. (Its my own personal touch to add shredded Queso cheese in my bowl. Sorry Tiff!)
Top all this glorious happiness on a spoon with Cason's company and I am One. Happy. Girl. - The GFG

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Tales From Our Living Room

Gamer Boy and his best friend 'Alan the Great' are ALWAYS camped out in my living room. Alan on Xbox in front of our television and GB at what I call 'command central'. After a year of this I know two things for certain - 1. One trip to the grocery store a week is a joke. These boys are dispose ALLS. And 2. They speak a modified version of English which I have decided to brand as 'Gamer-nese'.
Throughout my time spent with them I have come to learn that 'camping' does NOT include roasting marshmallows or a tent but instead is a term used to yell into their headsets at their invisible friends for hiding during a battle on their favorite game 'Call of Duty'. The term 'no-lifed it' translates to a person who has spent the majority of their time(with breaks only for eating, minimal sleep and bathroom necessities) playing this game in order to prestige up. There are MANY more modifications made and spoken in Gamer-nese of which leave me laughing hysterically and shakin' my head at these boys.
Its a rainy day here in the boondocks so I'm sure they will teach me more today. This is just part of my every day life and I love it. The things heard in our living room are memories I will cherish always. - The GFG

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Fairytale Date Night in Atlanta...

I will start by blatantly confessing that I AM a huge fan of Cason. Having a boyfriend of such a caliber is rather intimidating sometimes :) Being that my schedule is 100% full, going on any type of extended getaway is out of the question for now. So what does he do/?... He gives me a confindent smile and says 'I got this Princess. Pack something pretty to wear'. (My. Stars. He makes me giddy.) A few hours later we are standing in a magical penthouse suite overlooking the skyline of Atlanta as the sunsets and bathes the town in an amber glow. The hue sets a tone of excitement as the city gears up for the night and we have club house seats to see it all. (I did tell you he is awesome, right?<wink>)

I get dressed at a vanity fit for Audrey Hepburn and walk around out to see him leaned against the open door to our terrace looking out at the night sky and checking his camera to make sure its just right to take long exposures of the city. The look he gives me as he turns and examines me is priceless and we are off to have some fun!! Now, its not hard to do that with me since I pretty much grew up in a bubble and haven't experienced much of ANYTHING. He gave me a tour of the Varsity(yes, I ate two onion rings even though I knew better, but they were EPIC!) and then he took me on a tour of where he went to school and to a late dinner at a romantic restaurant down the street from The Fox Theater. The entire evening was like a dream and it continued as I woke up to room service delivering a 'Ginger friendly' breakfast of sliced strawberrries, bananas and him coming through the door with Starbucks for us :) Being that I love strawberries, Starbucks and Cason - it was a perfect moment. - The GFG