Unplugged. Picnicking on my porch after work, reading a book, eating veggie scramble and oranges and soaking up the warmth and fresh air

Hello, all and Happy Friday!

Things have been quiet over here at Wicked Vegan. Here’s some reasons why:

First, a few weeks ago, I realized I was getting a number of headaches. The kind of headaches where you are taking extra strength Tylenol PM at 6pm and zonking yourself out so you can sleep away the pain. I haven’t had headaches like that since I gave up dairy so I was kind of surprised. After taking a mental step back I realized, I was in front of a screen A LOT! Computer when I get up to check email and blogs, computer at work, cell phone at lunch to play candy crush, computer when I got home, cell phone all day. I caught myself at one point watching TV, while on my laptop and on my cell phone texting people. No wonder I was giving myself a headache! So, I’ve been trying my best to unplug. After work is spent at hot yoga, ballet, reading or hanging out with my friends. I’ve pushed my book club to get their act together, practiced my guitar and overall, felt a lot better. This means less time to write blog posts and edit pictures, though. I’m working on setting up a balance where I update the blog once a week, set the posts to launch at a certain time and then walk away. It’s a work in progress. I haven’t abandoned the blog though and I look forward to sharing some great recipes next week 🙂

And second, last week was CRAZY in Boston. I actually had a post for cookies and Friday favorites scheduled to launch on Friday but I was woken up at 5:30 to my work being cancelled “Due to Police Activity”. WTF? Turns out my work, which is in Watertown, was closed because the Boston Marathon Bomber was on the loose. Then the whole of Boston was on lock down! I live approximately 2 miles from Watertown so you bet your butt my roommate and I were glued to our TVs all afternoon watching the drama unfold. With everything as tense as it was, I didn’t feel like a comical blog post on cookies was appropriate so I pushed the blog back…to next week. Stay tuned!

Now, onto some Friday Favorites… because I can!

1. Favorite New Blog Find: Thug Kitchen. It’s hilarious and vegan. Homeboy’s only been up and running since August and Gwyneth Paltrow is already throwing props his way on Rachel Ray. Go. Read. Learn how to avoid dick cancer…

(picture 100% property of Thugkitchen.com)

2. Best Call-em-out, point-the-finger, and tear-them-a-new-one News Reporting. Ahh, Jon Stewart. Thank you for saying what we were all thinking.

3. New Music Video Obsession:Paramore- Still into you

4. Favorite Way to Stay hydrated: Water + muddled Fruit + a few hours to sit and get yummy= Aqua Fresca. Shown here is Pineapple Strawberry and All Citrus (Lime, Orange and Lemon). You’re supposed to get something like 8 glasses of water a day. WATER. Not fruit juice, coke, coffee or booze, all of which can actually dehydrate you and do crazy things to your blood sugar and digestion. WATER. Making water fun helps get that done.

Half-gallon mason jars hold 6 cups. That’s almost the Doctor recommended amount of water you should be drinking. Get on this!

5. Favorite New Subscription: Boston Organics! Its like channeling the excitement of getting a package in the mail, except it’s all organic produce. Isn’t that exciting!!! I’m currently signed up for a bi-weekly produce drop off. My box is half veggies, half fruit and it’s all organic. You can also have add on’s like eggs, coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, etc. Again, all organic. I’m pretty stoked! My first box arrived last Thursday so I’m still trying to work it all out.

6. Favorite concert: Andrew McMahon.  I’m so in love with him right now. I saw him a few weeks ago and I’m still riding the high. Favorite song- Hammer and Strings by Andrew’s band, Jack’s Mannequin. This wasn’t played at my concert but it is easily one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time. Check it out below.

What have you been up to lately? What are you into? This weekend I have a date with some friends and season 1 of Games of Thrones. I’m told I’ll love it. I’m skeptical… Whatever your plans are though, I hope you have a great weekend and I will be back next week with some new recipes 🙂