Training for 2 races

It's been a while and I'm not sure I ever posted about myself running the innugural Nike woman's half marathon in 2013. Well since than I've barely jogged 3miles. 2015 will change all of that. I signed up for the DC Rock and Roll half next March and Monday I found out that I was selected for the Cherry Blossom 10miler in April. One thing I leaned this area is very competitive in races most of them you have to enter a lottery and hope for a miracle. Anywhoo at the advice of my pal Bill "loves steak" Walker since I'm always looking for accountability and I'm always online (Instagram and Twitter) why not blog my journey about getting back into shape and preparing for these races. Well whoop here it is post #1

Some background although I don't jog regularly I do cycle a lot in dc. However I guess different muscles groups are being used bc biking 10mi does not equate to running like a boss Lol!!!

Well since I moved out my swank bldg I had to find a new gym. This summer I joined balance (shouts out to Thomas circle). So I've been in and out the gym since about Aug. 

The schedule I'm following for the race is 12 weeks which puts me on the clock officially next week as the RnR half is March 14th. So I've been using dec to warm up slowly doing 2mi on the elliptical machine. I been battling going to gym afterwork it's cold it's dark I want to go home. So I'm testing going first thing more so get to work about 730 drop stuff off at work make sure no fires than workout 8-9am.  It's been successful thus far. Well today I went and added 1 mile of treadmill running (no incline). 

I'm a lil achy so I've been drinking the Vega protein mix (all vegan). Much more on nutrition will be posted later. Anyway tomorrow's rest day so I'll be back thur with a post. 

When I came home this cool shirt was in the mail

Myers lemon

Snagged this from whole foods just tasted it raw had tangy tart but hints of sweetness in between flavor profile

I'm about to make one of my quick meals steamed spinach w lemon garlic tahini dressing

Morning tea

Making my first blend

Green tea : organ Sencha
Mixed with white tea: silver yin zhen pearls

The taste: the green tea is the dominant flavor but finishes with the sweet floral undertones of the white tea. 

Don't laugh at me drinking tea outta Mason jars lol

Either way I hope this blend provides good energy about to drive back home to attend church homecoming with my family.

Caplady out!

Ps this first blog attempt from mobile device hope it look ok

I have time to blog now.. Hello!

well the blog was dusty but I'm posting before I ht my "one year she no post anniversary" LOL

let see in the last year what's been up?

-Work: Quit my job at the big 4 much happier now.. still loving and working in infosecurity but the consultant life ay...I say this as we fedcontractor & govvies arise back from our furlough "holiday" meh...giving myself 1-2 years top I want to be working purely in the commercial work. My dream job is amazon.com which is in the DC Area trust I will get a job there!! 

-NBA season soon: still playing fantasy basketball and venting about my Wizards. I guess my  Lakers are gonna suck this year.. RIP Dr. Buss we are in turmoil

-Weight Loss: Not only have I kept my weight off from my highest weight ever to know I'm down a smooth 70 lbs.. but since late 2011 I've lost about 50 lbs.. amazing seriously. I'm down from 16/18 to 12.. I've never been this small EVER (as an adult). Yes the veganism helps but the exercise and the no car life in DC helps. I can now bike to work with my new job and I still walk everywhere. 

-Half Marathon: Ran the inaugural Washington DC NIKE HalfMarathon in April:  Again my old coworkers were the ones behind me getting in shape they run the marine corps, army 10 miler all the popular races so they were like leave that 5k baby stuff behind and go for the gold. Jogging is still growing on me but all winter I did my lil runs around the city..and ran (& WALKED ALOT)  that joint in about 3 hours. 

Let me tell you the next day this 31 year old body was in PAIN like slow walk pain LOL. What was most embarrassing my cowoker >50 did the race she was fine the next day. Horrible..my training was bad I did not get enough long runs (>.10miles) in so I shocked my body but damit I made it through the finish line and I would love to run this race again. 

-Current Obsessions:
Technology, Technology, Technology - Before I get into this let me stamp that I've been a gadget junkie since a kid. Seriously  in my only child world I was always an executive (cappy trait) LOL I had a filofax organizer as a kid, my family laced me with all gadgets the 1st was the almighty casio electronic organizer

and yes I had the ORIGINAL Palm Pilot during my last year of middle school.. 1st computer by 1995.  My senior year of high school I was interning at our town's only internet service provider.. so again STAMPED geeked from the 90s baby LOL

Anyway I'm loving this era we are in.. coding/development is cool, gadgets are a plenty the internet has soo much for learning/growing. Social media overload - I've calmed down with twitter (got old), IG i like and FB will always be there but I do take SM breaks time to time-- its soo easy to get caught up.

Given my maturation as IT chick- tech is fun but I realize to make it you have to tie to business value. So tech strategy blogs/articles are my new thing. I'm sooo sad to see how Blackberry has faltered but I enjoy reading and watching the OS/Phone/Internet/Startup wars that are going on these days

My current tech portfolio: Phones I have 2 LOL - my main line is blackberry - I'm sorry and i did try but i need a physical keyboard ..i just do. My 2nd phone is Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (rooted) with Sprint (unlimited data) it serves as my modem to keep my ipad computer and friends gadgets online when we are in a pinch lol. Basic dell laptop, my old kindle DX (great for reading). I plan to build a badazz PC next year to help serve for virtualization testing and I do want a MBP.

Juicing: Move over vitamix j/k green smoothies 4 life but my treat to getting a new job in August was the purchase of an Omega Juicer - Love Love Love green juice .. working my way up mentally to do a juice fast one day

Apple: not the fruit...so I am an Android fangirl however when my job gave me the iphone last year; life changed LOL. I was able to understand the apple fan'ism the phone was simple too simple but easy to use and practical. Coupled with the fact that apps still goto iOS first I've purchased the 64GB - Retina ipad and that joint is my baby! I do want a macbook (eventually) but that $$$$$$$ Apple is overrated but its a lifestyle and those purchasing financially are capable hence the extraordinary sales.

Shopping: Not so much these days LOL...one I had to take a hiatus during the weight loss as my clothing size was all over the place so if It wasn't coming from a target sale rack - I did not buy. Major progress as many many people reminded me that I wouldn't be caught dead in target clothes a few years ago LOL. I have not purchased a designer bag in almost 2 year. that's all I gotta say about this topic people can change. Don't get it twisted the capricorn in me still love nice high end things but I'm learning how to be more financially responsible and purchase things not so spontaneous. 

Welp that's its folks.. I'm hoping seriously to blog more and I want to migrate this blog to my own domain as I've learned how to manage wordpress sites..well see LOL

dusting these html pages off

what up fam!
omg...i'm so past due (like that's nothing new) on my blog entries; I have SOO much to talk about. For now since I have milliseconds of downtown let me just rock a freethought entry
I'm teleworking about to head into the office soon.
Enjoying a healthy breakfast. I've been on a whole grain kick as I realized that was lacking in my diet. I made Bob's Red Mill 6 Grain Hot Cereal with Flaxseed contains stone ground wheat, rye, corn, oats, spelt, Kamut® and flaxseed. I cook it with almond milk & add coconut & cinnamon - yumm-O!

Other than work I've been focusing on my health and utilizing the heck out of my bldg gym. I'm down about 15+lbs so far and inching closer to my 1st goal or reaching my high school weight.
I told myself that if I can eat a strict vegan diet and not work out - whats the point? might as well go back to eating meat. Now I see results from the marriage of good nutrition + exercise.

As a HUGE fan of android I"m very sad reading about google's change to the privacy policy. Its very scary and I'm upset to the point that I thinking about moving to the dreaded Iphone/Ipad combo.. hence I don't believe apple not looking at my data but at least they aren't a major hub of search engine data.

well my 5 mins are up and I must go.. more to come lata (me hope) :\

happy labor day

What up peeps.. up early moms in town and I took her to Eastern Market. Besides being addicted to yellow peaches I wanted her stamp on the produce & products I've been buying all summer. Granted nothing in the DC Area will compare to Eastern Shore she def said the quality was great and the prices ehh lol just a lil bit higher than back home.

I'm back on a Earthy Kick LOL...picked up 2 new plants - Parsley & Cilantro.
The parsley wilted like a mofo and I just re-potted the cilantro so I hope they both perk up.

My garden just about complete except I need 1 more plant thyme. Hopefully we get a few more weeks of warmth and sunshine than I will start transitioning everything inside.


Conducting a Milk off:
I know yall like uhh your vegan why are you drinking milk lol... well not to go into a long rant but I stated hate for soy milk however DR diagnosed me with vitamin D deficiency - so research says Soy helps with that issue. Well I finally understand why hardcore veggie folks avoid soy- bottom line its a Genetically Modified Object (GMO) even the organic. Its recommended that humans only consume fermented soy (miso, tempeh, seitan) OCCASIONALLY! I'm not gonna life I loves my tofu in my asian food and tempeh bacon :0 YUM! so its going to be hard but my goal is to try and put that healthiest +purest foods into my system so dueces to Soy.
So I'm researching alternative milks that are high in Vitamin D for my health condition and for something else that I'll explain in a bit.. now onto the contestants"

most of these "milks" I got the unsweetened version or if I was scared the taste would be "out there" I purchased the vanilla flavor


1. Rice Milk- I've always drank very sweet..
2. Almond Milk- I hated it in the past.. funky aftertaste still on the fence
3. Coconut Milk- yumm goes into my smoothies
4. Sunflower Milk- LOLOL haven't opened this yet - no idea what to expect
5. Hemp Milk- LOLOL ^^^^
6. Oat Milk - "same deal as ^^^"








Vitamix:

Dear QVC I hate you! Sike well I've heard about the VitaMix blender from watching youtubes on green smoothie. This blender is like the bently of blenders in the veggie/raw foods world.

To define a green smoothie: A regular fruit smoothie with some type of green- Kale, spinach, Collards etc. This culture stems from the book "Greens for Life" which I already blogged about here.

So this blender is supposed to the greatest bc it will blend anything (I've seen vids where folks throw whole avocados in there smoothie pit + all). If you blend things long enough it warms up the product, makes soups, ice cream so its pretty versatile. For the dough I'm like this joint better turn my kitchen into Smoothie King. I upgraded to kitchen aid blender but I will admit that berries & flax seeds still give me a grainy smoothie. I've made a few green smoothies w/ the vitamix while I'm not blown away, my smoothies def are SMOOTH.

Given the 5 easy payments lol I don't feel the hurt of paying for this blender all at once so I will keep as it fits in with my goal of continuing to be a healthy mofo. I realized that I suck as a vegan.. lk in the last few weeks I've gone to more Yoga and exercised more bc I cannot keep eating so well and not exercise. I might as well go back to eating meat if I'm going to dogg my body out like that. So besides this blender, more exercise me and another homey in the city are splitting a CSA membership.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture):

Some folks call these farm clubs but pretty much its a way to get local produced delivered.
We went with Washington Green Grocer subscription. Kinda nicked says small box 12-18 lbs LOL. Right now I'm all about hitting up the farmers market but this will be so handy come fall/winter. The first order should come tomorrow here's a sample listing of what should be delivered:

• Sweet Corn PA
• Eggplant PA
• Grape/Cherry Tomatoes PA
• Yellow Squash PA
• Red Leaf/Romaine Lettuce CA
• Delicata Squash PA
• White Mushrooms PA
• Golden Supreme Apples (IPM from PA)
• Peaches (IPM/Food Alliance Certified from PA)
• Red Seedless Grapes CA
• Ruby Red Grapefruit FL
• Bananas S.A.

Welp peeps I'm about to go a bike ride in.. forecast says more rain coming.

Enjoy the holiday folks :)

Earthquake & Part 2 + hurricanes - OH MY!

sERIOUSLY!
this week was not fun. I work in a community of high rise bldgs and the quake shook me up!
I liken the feeling to airplane turbulence except when one walking into an airplane you kinda know hey! this plane could go down so for a building to shake and sway when its assumed to be rigid is scary. As a east coaster my office didn't know what to do some hid under their desks.. others took to the doorway. Me I stood up holding my desk in disbelief that an earthquake was occurring while the building was swaying. Emergency preparedness education is key. Cell phone service was blocked.. couldn't get on-line it really makes you think about communication backup. Seriously after 3 hour drive home > I reallllly had to count my blessing and be thankful. Not that I ever took the Cali or Asia quakes & 9-11 lightly but experiencing a small disaster gives you perspective to how those in a major disaster had to cope.

I'm typing this as light rain has began to fall as we prepare for Hurrican Irene. Man I'm about to move to Seattle with my family because the Maryland/DC Area should not be exp this much weather turbulence - no way! I'm most concerned about my family on the Eastern Shore as they are going to get the brunt of the storm not to mention all the low lying streets and bay run-offs.. alot of evacuations planned.

Given the wind DC schedule to receive I bought my lil herbal garden inside
Its been fun this summer started w/ an eastern market box of Dill, Basil, Thyme, Marojam, Oregano Sage and Parsley...Growing up on the eastern shore we used to plant flowers. my great aunt had a small vege garden and my mom grew tomato plants upside our apt for years- so I felt my thumb was pretty green. Hmm well after I repotted everything.. the dill died, the thyme singed and burned during the heat wave.. the parsley went MIA.. I still can't tell the difference btw Marajam & Oregano but that is still growing along with the Sage. I just scanned through my recent blog posts and I see the one I started on my 1st basil plant never made it out of draft. To give you all some history I got that plant back in April from Mom's Organic Market. Basil just keep it outside (sunny) + water it grows like a weed. One of my coworkers took pity on my failed attempts and bought me in a pot of Sage, Thyme, and ohlala Purple Basil.

So just to bring ya'll to my current roster:


More Pics here

• 3 instances of Sage- wayyy too much and Sage is used w/ meats (ugh) trying find a way to get rid of
• Thyme- i spritz w/ water seems brown & dried again even though I did not keep outside :(
• Regular Basil- my all star plant
• Purple Basil- one instance died the other doing well so cannot wait to try
• Peppermint- growing well gonna use in my tea and rice paper wraps
• Rosemary- growing well
• Oregano - growing well

I'm actually gonna use the time barricaded in this APT to work on harvesting and drying herbs esp my basil plant is LEANING - lmao because the leaves are so heavy

I'm planning to continue my garden over the winter so I can make lots of fresh veggie stock so I'm researching how to transition the plants inside.


Everyone on eastcoast be safe this weekend!!

news & views on current technology

what up peeps...bloggin live from the new home.. still renting but moved to Washington DC. Finally moved after talking about it for years.. #1 commute has been very draining.. working in VA - 9 yrs strong

I've finally stepped into cool phone land and divorced Verizon in the process..
newly minted sprint customer w/ an Android Device - Evo Shift - couldn't let go of my keyboard but other than me being a anti-touch screen chick and the nuances that come with it.. the phone is pretty vicious. The android app store def lacks the hollywood apps of Apple but is still very comparable in inventory.

Right now I have the Evo Shift, and 2 BB for work - one including the BB torch.

Today's post is a rant on RIM..inspired by these article in WAPO -"For federal workers, BlackBerry slips as device of choice" & Federal government loosens its grip on the BlackBerry

First let me highlight some other articles who are on the same page of me:

PlayBlackBerry bruised by rivals

4 ways for BlackBerry to stay alive

I lovvvvvvvvvvvvveee my blackberry no doubt.. it gets the job DONE no bells & whistles. BEST EMAIL MGMT EVER!

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee BBM - though my buddy list is dwindling BUT my first choice of messaging through & through.

I guess im becoming a late apple fan girl not for the cool gadgets but one of my favorites magazines Fortune is exposing me the BUSINESS side of the world - (super weakness for a g33ky gal like myself and being exposed even further working at "big4" /end rant) but you have to admire whats under the hood at a company that was hot in 80s.. cool in 90s and than took off..
respect to Jobs + his mgmt style.

I got caught up w/ the cool app life with my ipod touch..all still while loving my blackberry but I knew times were changing one morning the alarm on the BB was going OFF.. and I'm pressing the screen like mad only to realize hello.. no touch screen LOL!

So that brought me to a point in which I knew after my move I was going to switch my personal phone to Android...I like Iphone but the lack of physical keyboard was a deal-breaker PLUS too redundant to my Itouch.

Sprint had a special $125 credit for switching over.. said good-bye Verizon. That's another future Rant.. I never truly minded paying for the expensive service of VZW however in the last 1 yr myself and one of my homegirls admitted service has not been so peachy aka most dropped calls ever in span of being customer for almost 10 yrs. Given the 3/4G and stability of the other wireless carriers and for the most part I frequent metropolitan areas with good service - I could risk leaving VZW. #1 I was astounded that for 60$ I get unlimited everything .. like I had to keep asking the customer service representative how much was the data? the txt package? She kept reminding me 60$ = all in one LOL

So far given my new bldg cell coverage sucks in general.. I can see where Verizon outside is better.. but Sprint inside works in places I would never get VZW service. Big minus I miss being able to have pretty decent reception in metro- Sprint = total fail.

Ok ok back to my RIM rant-
pretty much RIM is the mobile MS, meaning you had the game on lock but dude check the rear view- your company is flailing..
-OS6 sucked.. like I cannot stand that wack frequent/all/favorite menu system- the thought process was there delivery not so smooth
+Webbrowser is improved but not the true to PC exp like one gets on safari or android
-App store- how about me and paypal aren't in a relationship anymore.. well no paypal = no appstore acess AT ALL- blew me to the worlds end!
+BB Torch very solid much better blend of touch & traditional than Storm

I don't have to keep nitpicking but bottomline RIM just released another weak product (BB Playbook) just google the review..I think it may have more software now but I know it shipped with no email or browser access //like wtf//

Rim needs to realize they need to OVERHAUL their OS or keep faith in this QNX acquisition. I'm no SME but basically QNX is an emulator and RIM has been selling the fact android software can work on the Playbook via QNX...so that's cool to have BBM/BB stuff & cool droid apps but that's admitting some defeat by deferring to another OS granted its somewhat embedded - not the strongest move.

What will kill Rim and seriously I see you Jobs.. I get it.. have everyone embrace your gadgets & computing devices.. rock with your own OS (iOS) your own internal services (mobile me)..shake, stir and ascend to the next level. As announced at WWDC apple has merged a whole mix of things and embraced the cloud (gag- me not a fan of cloud computing- another post).. recap below (wapo)

As one of the core new features highlighted today in iOS 5, iMessages has one purpose: to kill SMS. That is, traditional carrier-controlled text messages. iMessages will do this by replacing SMS with a service that Apple is in control of across all of their iOS devices. And here’s the real death blow: iMessages will be completely free.

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. But as Apple announced today, there are over 200 million iOS devices out there now. That’s a lot. Like Blackberry Messenger before it, Apple now has the strength to create their own device-to-device messaging application. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. And considering what a colossal rip-off SMS is, I can’t help but love this move. It’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for

"iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices." And by "automatically," he means it: in addition to every day content, such as purchased music, iBooks, photos and videos, device settings, and app data that will be automatically backed up over WiFi, Documents in the Cloud will effortlessly sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all of your iOS devices.

I'd def would embrace and hopefully SOON will embrace once I get an Ipad...my beef w/ cloud -C is.. it is what you put into it.. don't be mad if your world is stolen by hackers but for a person who knows what to keep on-line I have no beef w/ trying this new apple services and trust if you had a Macbook, Ipad, Iphone.. this will make your life simpler and people are gonna eat it up and Apple will get more business. Trust that i-messenger .. What do I need a blackerry for again?

Other than email and honestly Microsoft (wake up) should try making their new win 7 phones use the power of outlook to gain corporate email shares over RIM. Again I can only speak with a DoD voice.. and given the Ipad STIG was pulled LOL.. idk when or how we can say yes to iphone/tablets/android etc on sensitive networks. Trust right now one of my systems is mobile project the old school win ce.net phones - like security holes out the wazoo but we are stuck with using it bc - no "approved" DoD replacement.. but that's a rant on security in form of checkboxes (yet another future blog post)

anyway enufff ranting.. let me get to some fun stuff in my life than I must try get rest.

my move: woot! I never knew why but when I was 14 about the time my mom shot down my dreams with the whole I'm not paying for Howard University.. the ONLY time I give my mother full credit.. sorry HU peeps UMCP >>> HU (costs less & degree just as good if not better) heheh
but I faked, got cold feet.. at the end of the day I'm a small town country girl DC seemed overwhelming & expensive. But seriously the move has been great so far.. I'm broke as heck lol paying this fake Manhattan rent but the goal was to improve the work/life balance.

other stuff:
like people think IT folks be on the ish.. i know i be tired.. like the PCs in my home aren't fly flashy.. seriously they are patchwork jobs overloaded w/ RAM. I bring this up bc I went to my main site to search. I swore I had posted about my basil plant.. wholetime - why do I NOT have a search button on my blog - LMAO - terrible. My blog is stuck in the 90s LMAO! Imma try peeps to upgrade to wordpress & migrate to my own domain- maybe by end of summer or 2011- meanwhile I'll try make some cosmetic upgrades to "blogspot"

new obsession :Keriug Kcups machine- supply of the energy for this post. Blame QVC & 3 easy payments LOL.. its a nice machine w/ a huge variety of refills plus at the end of the day.. anything that takes away the urge to spend 5$+ at Starbucks = FTW

basil:

forgive me I believe the plant before & after growth pics are in the old BB - sorry.. all I have is the harvesting of the plant..not gonna fake it was SCARY to say like ok I can pluck this and throw it into my food LMAO.. but after much research apparently that's what you do.
So I ripped up 3 leaves tossed into this marinade I was making - fresh lemon juice, ginger, garlic & red wine vinny- WOW like it taste so Italian-y lol meaning that fresh basil made it POP.. delish. Next plants I want to grow : thyme, mint








bedtime peeps

tea tour continues

Sat - DC has a taste of spring.. which closed up quickly because Sunday I awake (cold) and it was rainy and cloudy :(

Sux because I've finally upgraded my bike (thanks to my job and their 500% health subsidy) to an entry level pro hybrid. Its an REI special aka purple lightening.. not the vicious cannondale I desired but hey.. I've taken it out twice and it already drives/feels 9million times better than my target special

ok back to Saturday went on a Georgetown walking tour with my tea meet up group.
We visited:
Cha Cha Chang
DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Capital Teas

1. Cha Cha Chang -1063 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W

I've shopped here many many years - they sell the best empy tea bags ever. Its small very very traditional tea house but this time I finally was able to sit down enjoy tea and eat.
I ordered veggie dumplings and broke down got $20 pot of my #1 fav tea ti kuan yin (oolong).

Our group learned a traditional way to enjoy tea via the assemble to the left.
Not pictured but we had a reg kettle filled with hot water
(working off memory here but description about 80% accurate)

1. take hot water and pour into brown(clay) pot that has the tea leaves
2. you always want to discard the 1st brew --> goes into the bigger white/blue pitcher
3. take the discard pour into middle cup
3. take the discard and pour on outside of brown teapot

(2&3 are supposed to keep the pot and cups warm- something like that )

4. hot water poured into clay pot (let steep about 60 secs)
5. pour brewed tea into white/blue pitcher
6. serve in the small cup (bottom right)

repeat

What I most enjoyed what the heavy clay teapot and holder like of course you spilling water everwhere and the bottom part catches everything. Clay pots rock so heavy and unlike ceramics require no soap & water bc chemicals eventually steep into the liquid.

2. DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Small shop in a rowhouse... def worth visiting if you want to check out custom spice blends. Customer service wasn't all that and the Alexandira location is bigger. The tea selection is so-so - I wouldn't necessary be pressed to come here often. Coolest thing was the salt blocks for sale LOL

3. Capital Teas- I've blogged about them already but man these folks keep opening more and more DC stores.. this was my first time visiting the gtown location. The store is in an alley but
same selection as the National Harbor store. Great customer service- and I had to shout these guys out bc after becoming a facebook fan I won a free giveaway- Royal Wedding Tea

A commemorative union of our bold Cream Earl Grey Black and our light and refreshing Cream Earl Grey White, enhanced with the essence of roses. Available for a limited time only. Price is per 4 oz.

I have not sampeled yet- I'm not a big fan of flavored teas but just happy to have won something. DC be on the look out for these guys to overtake Teaism they have 2 more store opening planned Friendship Heights and another NW location.

Remixed-Roasted Plantains

Remixed this recipe from the web:

Vegan Approved -
My lovely naija friends put me onto plantains - and I normally eat them fried but unless im out- i don't fry food in my kitchen. I tried this plantains baked w/ olive oil and loved it- so figured this would be worth trying.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon raw cocoa butter
3 very well-ripened plantains (rinsed) salted lightly
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons flaked coconut
2 tablespoons agave nectar

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut ends off plantains; slice through peel lengthwise for easy removal. Remove peel; slice plantains thinly and place in medium bowl (lightly salt). Stir in melted cocoa butter, brown sugar and allspice, gently, until evenly coated. (Remove baking dish from oven.)
3. Spoon plantains into baking dish. Sprinkle with coconut; then drizzle with agave. Bake 12–15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and plantains bubble around the edges. Serve.


I'm not a fan of sweets so I was worried about taste- not bad mix...one thing I did was lace the pan w/ olive oil bc the plantains will burn easy- watch and turn often ! Next time I will use a lighter oil either sesame or coconut - the dish was pretty good but I could taste the EEVO not the best mix


sorry no pics -I got yall next time

dropping recipes like bombs..

Curry Veggie Lentil Soup Overload

Sorry peeps- I'm bad at cups/measurements - normally my style of cooking is to borrow from many variants of the same recipe and conform into own. Not alot of pics either- only decided to capture the moment halfway through the creation process :\


base

1 small yellow onion
2 leeks
half root of ginger
veggie stock/water blend
2 cans diced tomatoes
EEVO


spices:
red pepper flakes
indian curry (alot)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp thyme or fresh sprig
1/2 tsp cinnamin/nutmeg
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
black pepper



veggies:
yellow squash
zucchini
Brussels sprouts
string beans
broccoli
kale

2 cups (mixed) french/green lentils

chop up all veggies to size..add just a lil bit of salt to veggies only

VERY IMPORTANT - when cooking a lentil soup.. salt makes lentils rubbery hence add salt for overall flavor the last 10 mins or so..


The prep is heavy overhead but once everything is chopped up

Get a large pan base with some EEVO warmed- throw in the base dry ingredients first when almost brown add liquid & spices. I don't add water to my veggie stock until i've bought everything to a boil. Retaste make sure flavors are to personal liking.
Toss in veggies let cook good 20 mins on low simmer with top on.
Lentils go afterwards 30-45 mins+

Note I like my veggies soft you can opt to throw those preferred to be more firm closer to the last 20 mins of cooking time.


---

TV wise I hate reality TV and the only shows/stations I watch are:

FoodNetwork
Sports
Cartoons
Old Shows (e.g Golden Girls)
MSNBC -
Documentary shows

From the foodnetwork the person I love and adore is Ina Garten aka BAREFOOT CONTESSA



IDK what it is about this lady but her style of cooking just resonates with me.
I love her steezo. She's calm quiet yet vicious when it comes to picking ingredients for cooking, and flavors- plus I love her home and how the incorporates aesthetic value towards picking dishes and decor to match the meal - That's a personal goal of mines when I buy a big house - Although the vegetarian thing will be an obstacle I'm so about hosting dinner & tea parties




Anyway I hope to be back with a few blogs- I have long coming rant against RIM- Blackberry

Work's kicking my butt as usual but check ya later peeps

Raw Foods detox - Day 1

hewwo peeps... its about to go down my annual sometimes bi-yearly Raw Food Detox; details below:

When: Sunday, March 6th – Saturday, March 19th (14 days)

What: This is our classic RAW/Cooked detox.

How:
*Each day, you can enjoy as many uncooked, unprocessed foods as you like (fruits, veggies, etc).
*In addition, once per day (before 6pm) you may enjoy 1 cooked meal.
*Your cooked meal may consist of whole grains, veggies, beans, eggs, and baked/broiled fish/seafood (this is a new ‘perk’ for you classic detox challenge participants). Dairy, other meats, and other processed foods are restricted during the 14days.

I'm preparing to really really embrace true raw food meals with the hopes to strength my vegan principles. Thanks to our local borders going outta business I've scooped a few books to aid my journey.

1. I mentioned greens for life (previous post)
2. Raw Food for Everyone: Essential Techniques and 300 Simple-to-Sophisticated Recipes


What I like so far about this book is I learned technically balsamic vinegar is not a raw food as it comes from reduced cooked grapes. I'm also LOVING the idea of herb infused olive oil - like OMG I always make my own salad dressing surprised I never thought of this concept earlier- gonna take my dressings to another level!

2. 1000 Vegan recipes- I had 2 great vegetarian books but I was overdue for good vegan cook book. I haven't read much with this book but I'm looking to some help with healthy breakfast options.

Welp
I'm about to go continue working on meal planing as I prepare to visit the best organic market in the DC Area - shout out to MOMS Organic Market

Vegan Pizza

Hello i need to blog more so im going to put on my vegan hat and talk about this pizza i made

now i make many variants of pizza depending on whats in stock at the organic market so imma give the FULL shagbang and show what is and is not always necessary

ingredients

a gluten/vegan pizza bread

oilive oil

garlic

onions (1/2 to 1) depending on your love for onions // also have used onion flakes

ginger root

red pepper flakes

Italian seasoning

basil

pizza sauce

nutrional yeast flakes

veggies:

eggplant

zucchini

red peppers

spinach leaves/salad

leeks

Directions:

prep:

chop up veggies sprinkle with salt

chop up garlic onion ginger root to the desired size - I like mines minced as possible than I sprinkle red pepper flakes all into a lil bowl and let sit to the side 5-10 mins (minimum)

take your dough and baste olive oil

add pizza sauce + itailan herbs (to heart's content) + ginger/garlic/onion base

add veggies

sometimes i like to add more sauce mix it all up

sprinkle sprinkle lots of nutrional yeast (what provides the cheese taste) + more Italian herbs + fresh basil + drizzle lil bit of olive oil

pop in oven 15-20mins+ depending on how crispy you like your pizza and eat up

Since I'm currently reading Greens for life book - i remixed my pizza last night and chopped up my salad greens as topping and WOW- i loved it!

Eat up peeps- and I'mma try to blog more .....

its december

Tea leaves
tea loves
loves tea
Lives tea
leaves tea?
never.
-UNIEK SWAIN

I'm excited just sent out invite to my fab0O-ulous birthday tea party.
this is the year of 29 - no comments on that LOL....so I know yall she just gonna flow into blog without apologizing for the 4 month lay off.. I think my thirst for twitter slows my passion for blogging. I plan to work on that ratio in the 2011

One of my good college friends "j9musiclife" started her own blog and I served as a guest poster when I reviewed the Rhianna concert in Sept. Horrible I know :( neglecting my own blog for someone else. Here's the story

So in July - I was a disheveled mess preparing for the CISSP exam.. the great new me passed! woooot I'm a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) feels good I def worked hard for it.

I've been peeking back into the world of academia. Sat in for a GRE course- went WAY like Stratosphere over my head. I felt like ok did I even get a college degree the math was okay but that GRE verbal no good son! I also enrolled in pre-req (Networking 101) for the grad program I'm feeling GWU High Tech Crime Investigation. The program is excellent the tuition OC & the GRE is required unlike most other grad programs in the area, but I know its worth the struggle to get accept so I'm still 50/50.

as always attending the 2010 Logan Circle House tour this year with one of my coworkers. Upset I went on a slight work trip to Hampton last month and left my digi cam in the rental major FML.. so no pics this year though Ill get my friend to take some. Just a sidebar but I'm def moving into the city next year possibly a house staytuned #stillscared ...but there are deals so lets just claim it early for the 2011 #noshopping I've given my CC, Neimans, & Macys cards to my best girlfriends so and I'm about to start leaving my debit cards and home I really need to focus and not be a "single black female/addicted to retail" such a capricorn/woman issue LOL...

let see back to tea.. I've tried many of the last few months .. thanks to my new fav forum
tea chat I found new vendors:

Golden Teahouse
First-Grade Tie Guan Yin- basically an oolong best tea i ever. It had like sweet rose tasting tea and what I've learned good tea can be re stepped a good 4-5x and the flavor gets better each time.. yum a 5star tea LOL

Jing Tea
Lychee Red Black Tea- naturally sweet black tea no sugar/honey needed
Li Che Hong Cha- chinese green tea..i like normally the 2nd steeping and beyond is when the flavor really takes off
Traditional Iron Buddha Oolong (Monkey Picked*)- I ordered this bc local shop pearlfinetea had this last yr 2nd best tea I ever had.. this was good but not like the one I tried in the past
Tie Guan Yin Wu Long- umm was not as good as Golden Teahouse version but I enjoyed

Zhi Tea
Darjeeling Green- Green tea from Indian i loved it- quietly need to re-order some more
Dong Ding Oolong - Bought off of a recommendation it was OK
GABA Oolong- Gaba is a chemical that reduces stress.. but makes tea taste Nasty-- i hated this

ok me out.. hopefully catch yall before year end mi loves :)

Tea Fiend

my name is caplady1225 and I Love tea...

I can't get into a lengthy blog because I'm about to take a nap. My entire life is disheveled.
Work = insanity and I'm signed up for the CISSP exam again next month (more on those topics in a future post)



No its not a cookie (lmao) its a PUERH (pooh-air) tea cake (circa 2005) from Teaism (DC).
Here's how it looks unwrapped:


Scary yes! its literary tea leaves pounded together and aged. Puerh tea cakes from way back in the day can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars..
Its prepared by being chopped apart into teaspoon sizes from there you can put into a tea bag or brew via loose leaf brewer. It can be re-stepped 4-5 times and has aged earthy flavor.

Puerh tea is close in family to black tea which is the strongest compared to White (lightest), Green, Oolong (cross btw Green & Black) & Black (strongest).

But if you are following me on twitter like u should!! You'll see my daily ramblings different teas I try and more..

ok loves off the nappy land

back 2 back blogs... FTW!

as promised...let me jump right in because its Sunday night need to start getting mentally prepared for the M-F 9-5 grind. My new job...lets just say its with one of the "big 4" Audit firms in the US. I was hired as a Sr. Info Security Consultant lol sooo different from my normal title of Defense Contractor. I'm learning everything at the Big4 is different one all these audit/financial things mixed into EVERYTHING its weird in a we aren't in Kansas anymore way lol. I have so many compliance courses to take. At my old gig I barely had any corporate side taskers outside of annual evaluation. My job is still with the DoD family working in support of Military Healthcare which is such a blessing like in this time of a 'recession' I'm working in 3 fields heavily supported by government funds: Defense, Cybersecurity & Healthcare. I need to milk it for all its worth things can change so quickly. I'm still learning the ropes but being a 'consultant' is funny I do work but mainly I instruct others on what to do and I make sure they do it not in a managerial way but I''m 'overseeing' the end to end processes... blah.. lol
One thing about these Big4 is they are heavy players in the commercial world and good way for me to get on that side of the house (away from DoD) and maybe do so more traveling.
I'm only into month one so there will be more to report as I continue to get acclimated but IM HAPPY and do not miss my old project, agency or coworkers (minus a few folks).

my Kindle DX...SWOOOON



trust I had been eying ebooks readers for a minutes as talked about in several posts here. Since I'm older & wiser now LOL I don't like buying 1st generation or even 2nd electronics because new ones come out so fast example: Apple Ipods. However yes I sure did want to treat myself since one I def worked hard for this new job but with the Ipad release on the horizon I was scared Amazon would drop the price of the DX and I'd be short over paying. That's the risk you have to take but technically the KDX is the 3rd gen of Kindles and Im sure they are working on a K3 prototype you just can't win with technology.
I bought this device so that I wouldn't have to carry around 500pg+ technical books and let me say the reader does a great job of taking my tech pdf and displaying them on the screen. When I unboxed the Kindle it was even scary for me I kept touching the screen staring at the e-ink like eww weird lol. I love my device on the low low Amazon.com is my favorite website so the integration btw the site and the device is beautiful. The FREE 3g network built into the device is cool I don't play the net heavy on the KDX but its good to know I can wiki or tweet even check my gmail just incase my blackberry, comcast or whatever network is offline. I have been reading alot and slowly trying to get back into CISSP study mode...

Last topic I stopped into wholefoods (WF) in DC last week off the random.. yall know I do not mess with that expensive store. I stick to shopping at my main market which I fully endorse MOMs organic Market. I can't deny that WF selection of goods is impressive. I'm always on the search for a good rawfood/vegan bar so I went a lil crazy in there picked up 6 bars lol for reviewing.


LOL they are all Spirulina (basically algae) based.. don't get weirded out.. any green food mixed with the right amount of fruit & sweetness cancels out the seaweed taste you think the bars would have. Give me some time to digest and access but I'll have some comments soon..

The Meaning of Tea- Review

a lil incentive to get me to dust off my blog a le bit more often .... thanks (again) to twitter in conjunction with meetup.com. I won another free ticket to a lovely event hosted by the DC Asia Society around Dupont Circle. Here's the PR blurb

Alexis Siemons at The Meaning Of Tea, Director of Marketing & PR [masked] (New York City, NY) – March, 2010- Asia Society Washington invites members and guests to a tea tasting and D.C. area premiere screening of the lyrical documentary, The Meaning Of Tea. Filmmaker and Director of The Meaning of Tea project, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt, will be introducing the film, in addition to signing books and sharing a few of his favoriteteas during the tea tasting reception.

The Meaning of Tea is a 74-minute documentary film exploring the calm and purposeful nature of tea life. It is an ongoing, tea-inspired journey that celebrates the history, rituals, spirituality and simple, pure enjoyment of tea through the eyes of tea lovers in places where tea is revered-from India to Ireland, from Taiwan to Japan, from Tea, South Dakota in the USA to Morocco, England and France.

Through inspiring interviews with people from all over the world of tea - tea pickers and plantation owners, street sellers, raders, teapot makers, tea tasters and eloquent tea scholars - The Meaning of Tea film explores the profoundly positive role that tea can play in the renewal of our modern world. The Meaning of Tea is also accompanied by a companion book and a CD of the film's original tea-inspired music. Each one explores the underlying sentiment of tea.

Following a sold-out screening and tea tasting at the Asia Society in New York, The Meaning Of Tea is thrilled to offer its second screening hosted by the Asia Society Washington D.C. during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This stimulating series of events coincides with the Asia Society’s online discussion that asks, are tea rituals still relevant today?

Along with this online discussion, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt hopes to carry on the conversation as he continues to blog, tweet and
tour the nation offering exclusive screenings that inspire us all to seek out a deeper meaning of tea.

Scott Chamberlin Hoyt is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, budding tea connoisseur and director of The Meaning of Tea project. His longtime interest in tea increased when he began studying various alternatives to orthodox modern medicine and learned that tea, and the enjoyment of tea, is one of the cornerstones of living life well. His perspective is augmented by years of world travel, and deepened by decades of exploration into Eastern thought. Scott is on the board of directors for Global Learning Across Borders, a member of the Directors Circle for the American Botanical Council, and he is President of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. He holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from New York University.

Asia Society Washington, Asia Society established its office in Washington, DC in 1985 to provide a forum in the nation's capital for diplomats, members of Congress, government officials, journalists,scholars, artists, business executives, and other interested individuals to exchange views on a wide variety of subjects concerning Asia and the increasingly important US-Asian relationship. From Iran to Japan, from Central Asia to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Asia Society programs inWashington look at contemporary issues and the cultural context of the Asian region as well as the implications of future trends. Our programs are designed to address major issues and discuss recent events with key U.S. and Asian practitioners to promote a greater awareness about Asia in the Washington community."

When I arrived, I knew I was gonna be in for a good time. I walked in and saw a few people sipping from the Ultimate Tea Cup easily had from Teaism. What makes this cup great is its sectioned off the hot water & loose tea.. brews & no mixing, no spitting out leaves and the outside does not get hot after you add water lol.

They had a few tables set up for the slight tea tasting..I got this organic herbal blend called Rejuvenation..yummm so minty and refreshing. I also saw jasmine green, an oolong and I believe a black tea available for tasting. The set up for the screening was pretty basic; big room with table & chairs. I was ultra nervous, rolling solo and not knowing anyone but I learned a tea lover is a tea lover regardless of race,creed or status. Besides the wealth of information shared I think the bonding also made this a great experience. Unfortunately although we probably watched about 45mins of the DVD it was skipping chapters so we missed out on alot of content. The DVD was filmed at several areas in the world known for tea (e.g China, Japan, India, England) the premise was give some insights on the tea manufacturing process (growing, picking, tasting, packaging) as well as show how this beverage is more than a drink but a cultural statement to others. I don't want to give too many spoilers but some interesting things I noted:

-tea tasters- taste 2k cups of tea a week.. crazy!

-to hold the tea cup with your palm facing in = good manners

-most "real (non lipton lol) " teas are handpicked.. automation has no occurred- surprising to me.. I just assumed technology had automated 1/2 the things in the living world . Obviously alot of tea farms believe keeping the process as natural and historic as possible to preserve taste and reputation. One scene that stuck out to me was a tea co. that had the tea leaf & ladybug as their logo. The farm manager believed firmly in no pesticides and letting nature intermingle.

-Good tea stays in your heart- so tru .. I only have 2 teas on my list that I can stamp as the BEST EVER lol (Pearl Tea Monkey picked oolong & Teaism World Peace tisane). The rare Gyoruko I got from Germany good reviews online but it tastes like regular green tea to me I've only brewed the lil I have twice but I also picked up some brewing tips last night so I will try the Gyo again soon.

enough rambling.. I need to wrap this entry up and finish my work day. Coincidentally I'm going to a women's tea talk afterwork sponsored by my NEW JOB!!

I have another blog entry coming soon (me promise) to talk about the new gig & ..................... my kindle DX (took that plunge) LOL

things im feeling

..so yall know I just became a huge vocal trance fan the last few months and the king of trance is Armin van Burnin so of course being a black person loving electronic friends are always like yuck when it comes to trying out techno clubs..I only got them to go to town danceboutique because of the draq queen shows, but if you are talking glowsticks, foam and black lights- I'll get the "ill pass" responses. According to my Asian co-worker back in the day (90's lol) DC used to have many spots for that type of party Nations etc but just like the classic go-go spots its all shut down. She's now over 30 and married so she can't hang out with me like she wants so the point of my story is I just become a fan (thanks Facebook) of Glow (Fur-transformed into dance club) and I see this posting from 19 March

Glow Washington DC The #1 DJ in the world ARMIN VAN BUUREN live tonight @ Glow. Tickets will be available at the door. www.ClubGlow.com for more info

Mad as a mofo out here... I would went to that event ALONE if had to. Anyway I will be checking out this Glow place see how it compares to town and hopefully my bff will come she like dance music but won't go to Town because its a gay club and that's against her religion (not even getting into that story) im like uhhh dance clubs=gay guys .

Anyway.. feeling good in a great mood knocked out a bunch of spring cleaning this AM. About to get my locs retwisted soon as my girl wakes up and come through so before I wash my hair here are things I'm feeling:

Don't know if I posted it but for lent I went back on raw food/vegan - 1 hot meal a day fast && also gave up shopping so I'm digging these:

Raw Revolution Live Food Bar
the coconut & agave nectar - yumm
spirulina & cashew- yumm tasty way of getting some algae into the system lol

:sidebar for the fast and forever no more eating honey as technically its an animal by products the agave nectar is good very sweet not alot is needed read up on what exactly it is here

Dooney & Burke Rolling Trunk- $325
LOL being press since I'm an international travel star now I want a nice piece of lux (carry on) luggage- I would not bread on something nice that could be stolen for me to have to kirk on the airline. The price is not bad but my aunt reviewed the measurements and shes like its TINY L 13.75" W 8.5" H 19.5". I would only want to carry laptop or 2, electronics, maybe 1 outfit and 1 pair of shoes.. still debating this one


Coach Bonnie Cashin Line
Can't never say Coach has fallen off.. they price still seem to be flatlined at to me LV rates but there stuff is hella cute. I was at Pentagon City yesterday when I walked in (looking) very impressed.






Scarfs are like my new fav accessory going nuts for them.. I'm planing to save for Hermes scarf for le birthday but meanwhile.. this LV hair scarf is calling me.. man I'd be killing them and this would be so cute with me locs.. HMMM
$145


Last item my new glasses have arrived I can't even get into the story about these things.. lets just say they are discontinued and I had to go through at least 6 sites before I found one who had them in stock. When Caplady wants something she will search the world for it LOL
YSL- Yves Saint Laurent

These are replacing these Fendis had them for about 2 years then all of sudden seen too many bammas in the area with them.. gotta keep it original ova here


one thing I forgot to i'm addicting to nu-jazz (remixed, electric, acid) in particular my Jazz Diva's been downloading oops acquiring albums like crazy

Back in DC Area whats goody?

Bahrain was a wonderful experience for my professional growth and personal.
Here are a few pictures, though It was not a lot of time for site seeing we worked 10-12 hr days, got dinner than sleep. The time difference was crucial +8 hours. We got back to our hotel by 9-10pm each nite which meant my friends were still at work so I would spend 2 hrs catching up via IM and I wouldn't go to sleep until after midnight. I just caught up on my sleep as of this weekend.



Layover

Yummm can't afford jack!



Germany



Bahrain Int'l Airport


Hotel (we do it big lol) joint was vicious mad I couldn't get spa appt joint was booked apparently its the best SPA on the island

Neighborhood Life w/ Villas in the background


The dessert was more like dusty dirt than actual sand



LOL sampling of the 'taliban' scarves I bought back for my DC homies

---

The biggest question from my peers in Bahrain was what certs do you have? CISSP? Net+ My excuse of failing the CISSP by 4pts in 07 is not going to fly anymore. I know I keep saying Imma chill from hanging out stay in and study I have to like no more playing around- wish me luck on this dream.

Lents around the corner starting 25 March- My Raw Foods Detox group emailed me they want to go the entire lent on this modified nutrition plan. I'm down need to get back on my vegan/vegetarian diet along with exercise- heading back in the wrong direction. I always give up shopping for lent so Ill be a no eating no shopping fuel but hopefully this will motivate me to have my butt in the house studying- we'll see.

Last topic: NBA since all -start weekend just passed time to re-evaluate my predictions from an earlier post.


East
1. Celtics- Correct prediction; though KG out 2-3 weeks can they keep this spot?
2. Cavs- Correct; Just got DWest back hope they overtake the Celtics for top spot
3. Pistons- 6th place; AI= team cancer but they will have alot of cap room in 09/10
4. Orlando- Surprise team in 3rd place; lost starting PG can they maintain in the playoffs?
5.76ers- Squeaked into 7th place.. Elton Brand signing looking like a bust.
6. Raptors- Next to last place in the East these bammas are SOFT!
7. Wizards - I could write a whole page on the anger with my hometeam. We better get #1 draft pick. 111miyon to Arenas who hasn't seen the court in 2 years. We need a hardcore coach who isn't going to baby the players and make them play DEFENSE!!
8. Miami- 5th place.. don't like that JO Neal trade (soft injured bammas)

Surprises:
Atlanta hanging in there 4th place and Milwaukee 8th place Skiles has his team playing D.


West

1. Lakers- Correct; worried bout Bynum knees; predicting lakers vs cavs final
2. Hornets- What happend to them? 7th place no buzz no magic from this squad.
3. Jazz- 8th place but mad injuries hope they don't resign Carlos Boozer (injured bamma)
4. Mavs-6th place another weird team no buzz no magic another first round exit?
5. Spurs- Grr these bammas 2nd place Im not a fan of the Spurs but I respect Pop and they program (winners!) Got DC Roger Mason glad to see that young brother doing well and excelling.
6. Houston- 5th place- TMAC= soft injured bamma; like he needs to retire.
7. Clippers- My worst pick LOL another lottery pick i didn't realize how bad the clippers franchaise is.
8. Blazers/Denver - Blzaers 4th, Denver 3rd; Oden not feeling his constant stories of injuries but Blazers need positve vet next year get them over the hump. Denver surprise team once AI left Chauncey came in turned them around probably will get out the 1st round.

Surprises: Phonix as of today out of playoffs.. dont like the way they carried Terry Porter