Tuesday August 9, 2011 8:15 PM

Dear Myself,

When you go to the grocery store to buy fresh fruit, please don't spend fifteen dollars on sushi, chocolate, and dates. And don't leave the store without buying the fruit you came here for.

Also, find someone you can feed cake to because it's depressing to think about baking a cake and then wondering what I'm going to do with it. Cake doesn't ship very well, so you can't just mail it across the country.

And save that chocolate for a snack at work tomorrow. They're starting to wonder if you even eat things other than salad.

Molly V

Saturday August 6, 2011 1:30 PM

Good afternoon!

Remember how I said I had gotten a free sample of bath crystals or something to review on my blog? Well, actually it's an "In-Wash Scent Booster" for laundry. But yeah, I'm finally giving it a review!

Tada!

So, it's lying on my bed right now - which I just washed with this stuff and regular detergent.

It came with a pair of free socks for me to toss into the first load (which I didn't - why wash clean socks?).

Downy UNSTOPABLES In-Wash Scent Booster goes into the washer before you start the wash. So take anywhere from half a cap-full or a cap-full and dump it into the drum. Then you can add your regular detergent and clothes. If you're using a washer where the detergent goes into a separate compartment, don't put this in there. It goes with your clothes.

Let's see... (typing stuff from information packet) The scent infuses your clothes, sheets, and towels, and the freshness lasts for more than 30 days (theoretically). It's safe for all colors, fabrics, and loads. Also great for active wear (hence, the socks) and towels. Safe to use with or without fabric softener (which I didn't use).

"Now the closet can be the freshest place in the house."

Oh, and keep out of reach of children.

*** ACTUAL REVIEW ***

So I did two loads with this stuff - my work clothes (permanent press) and my sheets (regular wash). I'd show you pictures of both, but that doesn't mean anything since this is supposed to add scent, not pretty colors or cleaner clothes. So you can just imagine my clothes.

My clothes did not change colors, fade, have weird reactions, etc with this product. That is a great place to start. They did not wrinkle excessively either (and if they did, it's because I let it sit for a while before actually putting my clothes away).

The bottle smells like laundry detergent but without that acrid smell that makes me sneeze. The label uses the words "fresh", "clean", "airy", and "crisp". I guess I can agree with all of that for the way the bottle smells.

My clothes smell the same as the other clean clothes in my closet. In fact, when I closed my eyes, mixed up clean clothes that used the product and clean clothes that didn't use the product, I couldn't tell the difference.

But, to be honest, I didn't put a full cap of Downy UNSTOPABLES into the wash - I only put in half a cap.

So I'm going to have to try this again with another load and more product. But right now, I'd advise against running out to the store and buying some because it really didn't do anything (though the bottle smells great!).

Oh, and they also have another scent called "Lush" that is supposed to be "luxuries", "relaxing", and "romantic" - comes in a purple and black bottle.

Final rating: INCOMPLETE

Thursday August 4, 2011 8:06 PM

It's been too long!

I moved!

I got a used car!

I got a new phone!

And finally I am back online!

Slowly and surely, things in my new apartment are starting to look like someone lives here. Today I went out and got three plants, and thanks to the guys, they have names now!

This is Clarence. He is "Virtually Care-free".

The one on the left is Herb (thanks, Mike, for the name!), and the one on the right is Mark (thanks, Kyle!).

The picture in the corner is a painting of a lemon tree. I wanted to name it, but the painting is labeled "Lemon Tree". I guess it already has a name...

When I signed the lease for my new apartment, I didn't know that it is just blocks away from the only Korean supermarket for 30 miles. So I got super lucky and now I'm super happy! Maybe I should eat things other than rice and bok choy....

Work starts on Monday, which is something I'm nervous about and excited for. My boss says she'll work me hard, plus I'm taking additional classes, so I'm looking forward to being busy. On the other hand, I'm nervous because I don't know what they expect of me. I'm sure I'll be fine, but there's always that sinking feeling.... especially since moving across the country was super expensive...

On the bright side, I am within an hour of Legoland (opening in October), Dinosaur Land, Universal studios, Disney, Tampa, and Orlando - not to mention the Yuengling factory (that gives free tours) and a whole lot more! So if you come and visit, you can have tons of fun! (wink wink, nudge nudge)

I haven't met any of my upstairs neighbors yet, but I met one woman who's been living here for 25 years! As in, this apartment complex! She even used to be the manager! So I guess it's an OK place to live if she can stand it here for that long. Or else she's stuck in a contract or something...

I met a vegetarian last night - my waiter! He's not as fun as the Korean waiter, Jeff, but Seff (that really is his name btw) was very eager to keep an eye out for me and make sure all of my food was tasty and vegan even though we were eating at a bar that mainly served wings.

In my free time, I plan on doing some volunteer work. I'll be looking for places tomorrow, and maybe that will give me something to do on Saturday and Sunday so I don't tear my hair out or buy out the local health food store.

I'm seriously running out of things to say here! Why?!?!?!?!?!!!

I'm beginning to turn into a bit of a shopaholic - and not just food. I went shopping for three hours today and bought two shirts and 6 pairs of socks. And I also spent over an hour buying a smart phone!!!! I really need to curb my spending, especially since I spent all my money on my move!! Maybe I should hide my shopping list and try to decorate my apartment with things that don't cost money... like pictures!!!!

I printed out a bunch of great pictures from college, and I'm starting to find places to put them up around the apartment. Part of me says, "Oh no, I shouldn't hang that there because if my boss comes over, I don't look professional!", but the other part of me says, "This is my place, I can put pictures where I want!"

I think the pictures are going out, and if I have company over, they can appreciate my mohawk in all its glory.

Mmm... maybe I should bake for my neighbors. But I don't have any sugar, and if I go to the store, I won't leave until my cart is full and my card is maxed out.... Bad idea...

And I'm not hungry because I just had soup. And soup is good and fills me up. Because there was a ton of soup. Like, over a quart of soup for just me.

OK, I am leaving my wallet at home, grabbing my keys, and going for a walk around my new neighborhood!

Don't let strangers into your home, especially if you live alone!

Saturday July 23, 2011 11:28 PM

Now, you may be wondering what caused this post. Well, I visited my aunt and uncle, and they are most certainly not vegan. But I am. Kinda. So I gave in to their cuisine for a couple days, and I am quite happy to be leaving tomorrow and returning to my normal diet.

Let's just say that when pancakes are made with (these are the actual measurements, no joke):

1 lb of farmers cheese

2 eggs

4 tablespoons of white flour

and are covered in a sauce that uses:

8 strawberries

2 cups of sour cream

and is served with 8 mini sandwiches that have:

a slice of salami

a slice of tomato

parsley

and half a slice of rye bread

Well.... that feeds three people. As in me, my aunt, and my uncle. For breakfast. With coffee and fresh fruit afterwards.

To say that they can eat is an understatement.

But now after this sort of food since Wednesday night, I am ready to go back to a lifetime of salads, fresh fruit, veggies, and tofu! Give me something lean! No more sausage! No more cheese! No more eggs! I want my lettuce and almonds back!

And the sad thing is, I only ate un-vegan once a day except today, where I was un-vegan for three meals (because it was Saturday and they weren't at work).

This is tonight's dinner, and this is after discussing the health effects of a diet heavy in 'animal protein', which they took to mean 'red meat'.

OK, so this doesn't look so bad! We have a lot of grated, cooked beets, two small cucumbers diced, scallions diced, and some finely chopped dill. This is the healthiest part of the unhealthiest dish at tonight's dinner.

This is a badly taken picture (sorry) of some pickled herring. Surprisingly, this is all we had for 4 people, which makes it pretty healthy too. It was garnished with vinegar, red onion slices, and parsley.

Boiled potatoes! Without a doubt, the healthiest part of this meal! They were garnished with finely chopped dill, and were the only vegan thing served!

You can clearly see the garnished herring - but what is this pink stuff? Well, remember all those chopped veggies in a bowl? Well, we diced two boiled eggs and added that to the mix. And then my aunt poured in a liter of kefir (kinda like a heavy cream-yogurt thing). After tasting it, she decided it still wasn't soup. So she added in half a liter of buttermilk and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Then she decided that it was ready to eat.

So, there was herring, cold beet soup, and boiled potatoes. But wait! That's not all! We had (not pictured) some sugary carbonated fruit drink too! And of course, what is dinner without dessert?! So then we each had a bowl of ice cream and a slice of apple strudel (technically vegan, but only because the margarine used was entirely veggie-based with no added milk products).

So how did I survive the Lithuanian concept of stuffing your guest silly? Well, I took a small bowl of soup, two pieces of herring, a ton of herring garnish, a small cup of fruit soda, and as many boiled potatoes as I could fit on my plate. I ocassionally had bites of everything else, but mostly I ate potatoes. So whenever my host or hostess looked over, I still had soup! and herring! and drink! (I couldn't get out of the ice cream though because I made the mistake of mentioning that July is National Ice Cream Month.)

It also helps to eat really slow.

Now, before you think I was forced to eat all of this, listen up: I told them that I was 'loosely vegan' and was willing to eat what they served me. They merely served me what they would have normally made for themselves. I was the one who willingly ate it, and I must admit that the food was good and brought back a bunch of childhood memories, like my first calzone, my favorite Italian restaurant, summer sausages, pickled herring in Lithuania, cold saltibarsciai on a hot day (that's the beet soup), and boiled potatoes for every Christmas Eve celebration I've ever had. So it was a trip down memory lane, and I'm happy to have tried it all again.

But maybe I should have just tried it, instead of eating a whole calzone, or three sausages with peppers and onions, or summer sausages for breakfast, and even the small bowl of beet soup.

Lesson learned - just tell people I'm allergic to dairy, meat, eggs, and fish, and only take small bites when they aren't looking if I want to taste it. And make my own food.

My aunt did ask to borrow the book I was reading - The China Study - because one of her favorite authors loved that book. I don't think she knows that it's about how eating 'animal protein' like dairy, eggs, fish, and meat causes heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other common diseases - and has the scientific research to back up each and every claim, from multiple sources.

I highly doubt it will change anything if she reads it, but I'll lend it to her. I've learned my lesson, and maybe she'll learn a thing or two too.

(P.S. I love my aunt and uncle! They are funny, smart, accomplished, and well-rounded individuals! The only thing I worry about is their dietary habits - otherwise they are people I admire and respect in many ways!)

(P.P.S. If this looks delicious to you, I can totally send you recipes! And if you eat like this everyday, don't take this as an insult - I'm not saying that your food sucks! It's tasty and full of flavor! But vegan food can be tasty, full of flavor, and healthy too.)

July 19, 2011 12:53 PM

OK, my library computer session is about to end, so I will cut this short.

Laptop cord supposed to arrive tomorrow or today.

Cannot wait to use my own computer.

Will be moving out tomorrow night.

Miss VegAnn a lot.

Got the job!

Gonna get a car too (at least, that's the plan)

Got a bunch of laundry detergent in the mail (or was it bath crystals?) that I'm supposed to write a review for on this blog, but haven't used them yet or had the time.

Went to Rochester and had a blast!

July 3, 2011 11:16 PM

Yes, it's night-time. Yes, my laptop is about to die. But will I still post?

Of course!

So, VegAnn helped me figure out the trafficking or whatever for this blog. Most of my viewers come from facebook (no surprise - I have it linked there), but there were two people that used google to find my site.

One of them googled "student car insurance" and for some reason my blog came up on the list.

The other one googled "about a shot of rum ago" - and I am the first result.

I don't know whether to be happy that complete strangers saw my blog, be ashamed that complete strangers saw my blog, or confused - Google.... what???!?!?!??!?!!!

I wanted to make paella for dinner tonight, but with all the substitutions I had... it wasn't exactly paella. I cooked garlic with basil and smoked paprika until the kitchen smelled fantastic. Then I added mushrooms and carrots. After a bit I added celery and kale. And then I added scallions and quinoa.

So, maybe it was a stir-fry instead? It was really good, though maybe I should have added cayenne.

Hmm.... gonna cut it short since the whole "laptop's gonna die" thing. I miss all of my ROC friends and my family down in Texas too!

Have a safe (but AWESOME) holiday!

June 30, 2011 5:15 PM

First 6 months of 2011 – CRAZY YEAR OF CHANGE!!!!

So I got this idea this afternoon – I have done a lot of things this year that are monumental in some way, shape, or form: why not write out a list of it all? Some of this stuff is the first time I have done this, some of it is stuff I’ve done before but still a big event, and some of this is just plain bizarre. They aren’t in any particular order, so just cruise on through the list and be amused. Enjoy! (Oh, and you’ll probably recognize some of these… and maybe be a little ashamed of some of these...)

Got a private tour of the Cleveland Clinic (#1 in Heart Surgery and treatment of heart disease) from one of RIT’s alumni who works there

Sold my car for scrap

Got an award for holding 2 part time jobs, maintaining full time status as a college student, holding more than 2 leadership positions in on-campus groups, and having a high GPA

Went ‘macrobiotic’ for two meals and gave up

Planned an academic trip for 22 students and faculty to Cleveland Ohio

My roommates tried to kill each other (according to the police)

I started and ended a relationship

I went on multiple dates with different people that amounted to nothing

Graduated college

After skipping church for a while, started going again, but didn’t go these past two weeks

Bought a car and paid it off completely

Got a NJ drivers license

Got NY and then NJ plates for my car

Wrecked my car after owning it for just over a month

Went to Wisconsin for an interview, all expenses paid

Went to Rutgers for a career fair having never gone to Rutgers for school (never applied there either)

Fought with one of my best friends for many months, cried a lot, and was finally muscled in to talking to him again (thanks Ann for being brutal with me)

Saw my parents and my brother only twice

Dealt with my coffee addiction (kinda)

Made myself a budget and stuck to it

Moved to New Jersey

Impromptu snow picnic turned into a hike and got people angry with me

Hung out with my favorite waiter outside of his job on multiple occasions

Went to the beach and didn’t swim

Lived on a couch for three days straight two times at two different places

Lived for over a month with a family that wasn’t mine

Hiked a mountain by myself (1500 ft)

Bought car insurance

Fell asleep in someone else’s closet (lol Mike)

Gave in and learned to love onions

Paid off college!

Went to two family reunions that weren’t mine

Weighed myself only once

Got sick from eating too much halvah at once

Didn’t watch the Labyrinth by Jim Henson for 6 months (NO WAY?!?!?!?!?!)

Ran events on campus while I was in class (texting = bad)

Got confronted by a professor for sleeping in class

Had a party that resulted in people throwing beach balls and wads of colored paper around the room

Considered flirting with a cop after a car crash

Planted tomatoes and cucumbers with Ann’s mom

Gave away the bacon couches for free

Boiled potatoes and ate smoked mackerel on one of my best friend’s balcony with our bare hands on the first warm Saturday of the year

Ate two dinners and a brunch at Ann’s cooking school, and they recognized me

Went to a psychic and had my palm read – going to marry a dark haired man with fair skin at light eyes at the age of 25 btw

Finally bid farewell to my stalker as of two years

Drove a friend to the hospital in light snow, having never driven in snow before (technically last year, but still a major event)

Didn’t speak with my sister at all – she occasionally cc-ed me on emails to Mom, and she never responded to my emails, calls, or texts

Went to Cleveland, all expenses paid, for a weekend with my idol – Catherine

Trained three successors – Tony for COSSAB, Stephanie for Honors, Sarah for Comp Learning

Planned a grad party for myself

Planned a party for Catherine that was a HUGE success!

My ex went to the hospital, came home with a new girlfriends, and still remained on of my best friends

After spending an hour on my hair and make-up, I went to an interview that turned out to be a scam

Had two deer walk right up to me (within hand distance with no fences or food)

Was frightened off a trail by a momma and two or three baby bears while I was on a solo hike (couldn’t tell, just ran like hell)

Got over my allergy to cats

Slept on a couch in a house with 12 birds, 1 cat, 1 fish, and 1 mentally handicapped squirrel

Left two jobs for unemployment

Got demoted from supervisor to mere minion

Did free-lance library work

Worked three days straight with only a few breaks no longer than 5 hours each

Kissed a cat

“Kissed the cook”

Kissed a guy in a relationship with someone else (and he was not at all interested in me)

Jumped up and down on the couch squealing like a little girl (all over a boy)

Ate vegan lasagna for a week straight

Ate 8 veggie burgers in two hours with chips, juice, and ketchup

Sat in a restaurant and never saw the menu (literally, they never gave us a menu)

Spent 22 hours where the only thing I ate was watermelon (no drinks either)

Baked on Easter Sunday for the first time ever

Cut my hair only once (and it was a buzz cut that was given by a friend who was doing everyone’s head in one go)

Went to bars three times and didn’t drink alcohol at any of them

Cried at a chick flick (Bridesmaids)

Had 3 cancelled flights, 2 delayed ones, and 2 that were on-time, no problems

Started a knitting project, unraveled it, and started doing the same thing again all in the same day

Was in a group where they didn’t think I was pulling my weight and then I did over half the project

Went to an art show put on by one of my friends and then made fun of all of her work (oops)

Was offered illegal drugs by someone I trusted and walked away

Made a paper airplane out of an important document and then realized that I still needed that

Ate my roommate’s last banana and then lied about it (oops- but I was hungry!)

Opened the door of my apartment twice to find cops there (not for me though!)

If you can think of any more additions, shoot me a comment, email, etc and I'll add it to the list!