Most of the Weekend

I don't think it's uncommon for people to try to make the most of their weekend. We are among those people, but it doesn't always happen. Sometimes, all we want to do is relax and watch movies. Sometimes, all we have to do is clean and do our heaping pile of dishes. Other times, we go out and do really cool stuff.

This weekend was one of those weekends. Friday night we went to a wedding reception and then went and saw the artist at The Broadway (by ourselves). It was a great little date accompanied by chocolate covered raisins and chocolate covered pretzels (which I almost ate a whole bag by myself). The movie was amazing. We left very satisfied and repeating to each other that we haven't seen a movie that good for a while. I went into the movie with lowered expectations because really, how good can a silent movie be? I was definitely proved wrong. We often rate movies based on if we want to add it to our movie collection. This one made the cut.

Saturday morning we slept in, ate breakfast, and then took off for Park City. We  I did a little shopping at the outlet stores and we grabbed lunch before we drove to Strawberry Reservoir for our first.. kite boarding lesson! This was Elliott's gift for Christmas and we finally booked it for Saturday. It was super windy and overcast, but we still had a ton of fun learning how to fly the kites. I definitely underestimated the power of the wind, which threw both Elliott and I on our faces a time or two. We didn't get to jump on our skis or board this lesson, but if we decided to try again, which we probably will, we get to go for it.

After our lesson we sped home and changed for the Real game. It was the home season opener vs. the New York Red Bulls (who have their fair share of arrogant and annoying players). There was an 80% chance of rain and high winds, neither which decided to make an appearance. We lucked out fo sho.

Sunday we did our Sunday things (church, trying to entertain/teach ten 3-year-olds, sunday dinner, season finale of the Walking Dead). For dinner we made pizza on the grill. Four of them. They were tasty. For dessert we passed around a pint of Ben and Jerry's pistachio ice cream until it was gone.

This week is going to be a good one. I can tell. Thursday, the new shopping center City Creek opens just a few blocks from our house. Friday night we have tickets for the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. Sunday, after a very very long absence, Mad Men returns on AMC. This is one of our favorite shows on TV.  We will have to wait until Monday to watch though, we have tickets for a house show played by David Bazan. We went to his last one in Salt Lake. It was amazing. (I feel like I use amazing/awesome a lot. I need new adjectives. That's where Elliott comes in. Ahem).

Other than wanting to squeeze in one more ski day, I'm ready for spring! I want to:

Camp a lot, a lot
Canyon BBQs
Wear shorts
Go swimming
Go hiking (with Mollie. She needs to lose about 6 lbs. Yeah, only about 20% of her body weight, no big deal)
Try trail running?
Go to as many Real games as our wallet will let us
Go to California for Disneyland/Magic Mountain/Santa Monica therapy

Just for Thought

Do you care about the humane treatment of animals but still loooove meat and can't give it up? Look for organic meats in your store that treat their animals like they are, well, living animals. Here's a new company I came across. It's legit:

Niman Ranch. Read about what makes it so special here.


I absolutely love companies like this and wish we could see more of them (and replace large companies like Tyson foods who abuse their animals like it's nobody's business. They just had an ecoli outbreak from their meat. Read about it here. 

Organic Hog Farming

I think this video is pretty cool:

Know your food

I have learned a lot about our food system over the past year. I believe it is very important to be educated about how things work in our society to avoid support of any exploitation, inhumane practices, etc. The meat industry has some serious changing to do, but it's not going to change until people become more educated about where their meat is coming from and why it is so cheap. A lot of meat is subsidized which accounts for the low price compared to organic meats from farms. If we would just cut down on the amount of meat we eat, organic meat would be more affordable. This video is why we do not buy meat that is not organic: (warning: this video does not hide anything. This video looks into the business of Smithfield Foods: the largest meat supplier in the country.

Click here: Undercover at Smithfield Foods

I know a lot you are going to breeze right over this post and not think anything of it, that's ok. But I really do believe that any time you buy meat (or anything else really) you are casting a vote for that company and telling them it is okay to continue doing what they're doing.

Our country already eats way more meat that is needed or that is healthy. If everyone just cut down on meat consumption, we would be healthier and we wouldn't use as many resources raising animals for slaughter.

Here's some facts:

1. According to scientists at the Smithsonian Institute, the equivalent of seven football fields of land is bulldozed every minute, much of it to create more room for farmed animals. Of all the agricultural land in the U.S., nearly 80 percent is used in some way to raise animals—that's roughly half of the total land mass of the U.S.10 More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals

2. While factory farms are ruining our land, the commercial fishing industry is pushing entire oceanic ecosystems to the brink of collapse. Commercial fishing boats indiscriminately pull as many fish as they can out of the sea, leaving ecological devastation and the bodies of nontarget animals in their wake. Fishing methods like bottom trawling and long-lining have emptied millions of miles of ocean and pushed some marine species to the brink of extinction.(overfishing is also due to the fact that fish are used to feed livestock)

3. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. More than 70 percent of the grain and cereals that we grow in this country are fed to farmed animals. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth. About 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone.

4.E, the respected environmental magazine, noted in 2002 that more than one-third of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used to raise animals for food.

5. It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons.

I could go on and on. Imagine if even half of the resources used to raise livestock was used to fight hunger in the world. And it would cut down on pollution as well. Not to mention the quality of life animals deserve. It saddens me to see such a disconnect from our food and these animals. Millions suffer every day. I used to be ignorant to these facts as many people are. But take the first step and learn about it!

Organic vs. Conventional:

Organic Chickens:

Conventional Chickens:

Organic Cows:

Conventional Cows:

Organic Pigs:

Conventional Pigs

(notice the size difference)

Organic Turkeys:

Conventional Turkeys:

Images found here

I'm sure at least one person who reads this is saying, well we're going to kill them anyway. True, but whether you believe animals are here for us to eat or not, they deserve better.

If you were to cast a vote on a ballet tommorow, what would it be?

Maple

I love all things maple. If you are looking for a yogurt that will change your life, I have just the one for you. It's all natural, made from milk that comes from happy cows that live on happy farms instead of living their lives in small stalls. The brand is Brown Cow yogurt and the flava is maple with cream top. Their other kinds are good too if you're not into maple (crazy). It's full of live active cultures which help you stay regular if you know what I mean. 

Now there is a price difference between this yogurt and something like Yoplait. But let me put in my two cents: It's not full of added sugar, is healthier, and I think it tastes better. And it's only 50 cents more! (Not that I don't enjoy the occasional lemon Yoplait yogurt).

To make it even better, Brown Cow donates 10% of profits to environmental protection efforts so we can continue to enjoy all the amazingly beautiful places around us.

Remember to recycle when you're done!

(Call me a tree hugger, but I don't care, it's important)

P.U.I

Labor day weekend was awesome..... Three day weekend + birthday + friends + farmers market + mini golf + ice cream + sweet tooth bakery cupcakes + friends + family = love

This weekend was just what we both needed. Some time away from work and school (not so much the school part if you count homework) but we both procrastinated on that anyway. Beth is on a journey to find out how to make the best homemade pizza. And I'm getting closer. I know I will not be able to replicate places such as Settebello or Vinto but I'm willing to settle (a little). I have this insatiable craving lately for authentic pizza (margarita mostly) and can't get enough! I made pizza a few weeks ago and it was a disaster. I used too much dough so it was too thick and it completely stuck to the pizza stone. After a little research I halved the dough and floured the pizza stone before I stick the pizza on. Oh and important info for anyone who has a pizza stone: put it in the oven while it is heating up. I learned this the hard way.

Anyway, craving pizza on Friday I scooted over to whole foods to get things to make margarita pizza. Whole foods has amazing pre-made pizza dough which I decided to try (still working on making my own). I also bought fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and organic tomato sauce (first time trying this. I made my own sauce last time around). That's all I needed for the pizza. I also picked up some things for a salad and made my favorite homemade poppyseed red wine vinegar dressing.

Now the shopping was the hardest part of this meal. The prep/cooking time was maybe 30 minutes and is as follows:

1. Preheat oven as hot as it goes (between 500-550 deg F). Stick in pizza stone WHILE heating up.

2. Take softball sized dough ball (approx) and stretch, throw in air, stretch, throw in air. Repeat until the dough is about as thick as a credit card. Do not roll the dough with a pin (I read it makes it really tough)

3. Get the dough really flowery (made up word?) on the bottom to prevent sticking. Lay out stretched dough on some flat surface you will be able to take over to the oven. Spread pizza sauce over dough (make sure you can still see the dough through the sauce. Too much will make it soggy)

4. Cut mozzarella in slices and place on pizza.

5. Drizzle pizza with olive oil and rub some on the crust. Add some salt as well

6. Put in the oven for about 5-7 minutes (just watch it and you can tell when it's done).

7. Slice and enjoy every bite!

On Labor Day (Beth's 23rd birthday) we did a lot of fun things. Elliott played basketball in the morning while I did homework (had to get it out of the way), then we went to breakfast with friends which was awesome (at the Park Cafe). Next we went mini golfing with the fam (beth's mom, dad, and Nick) at Mulligans in Sandy. I loved this because this is where my parents would always take us as kids so there's some nostalgia attached. My mom took a recent trip to the hospital after some breathing issues and headaches and they sent her home with loratab. Nobody in my family likes Loratab so she didn't take it. Except before we left to go golfing she accidentally took one thinking it was an IBuprofien. Elliott accused her of P.U.I or putting under the influence. She still beat me. Elliott won and I came in last. It never was my strength. I'll stick to things I can kick with my feet.

For dinner Elliott and I went to P.F. Changs. We started with lettuce wraps and the rest doesn't really even matter. It was a great day and nice that my birthday lands on a holiday every couple of years. That way nobody's working and can just focus on my birthday...just kidding...but seriously, it's awesome.

Tonight Elliott is in class and Beth is off to yoga (much needed after a 9 hour day).