Life of Erica

Do you ever read or watch something that was popular years before, and even though it’s a good decade after it came out, you still want to chat about it like it’s hot off the press?

This is one of those times.

In a nutshell: An Indian boy survives 227 days after a shipwreck, while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a bengal tiger. He happens to be very spiritual, practicing 3 religions (Hinduism, Islam, Christianity) all at once, and also the son of a zookeeper.

A good part of the book was filled with elaborate, technically detailed descriptions of the process of staying alive in a lifeboat. I did not like this. But I highly enjoyed the spiritual imagery.

What does this have to do with anything?

Well, this weekend, my rugby team spent 10 + hours in cars traveling to the southwestern corner of Colorado to play a game (which we won). In my opinion, both road trips and rugby games are a great time for reflection and revelation.

Uhhh…why?

Well, think about it. On a roadtrip, you’re passing new landscapes….

If you’re lucky, you’ve got a mix of old and new friends.

You may stumble upon familiar landmarks.

(If you’re me, you may not be hungry for tamales and end up eating an apple, a pear, an orange, and 2 apple-cinnamon muffins for dinner without complaint, over the course of 5ish hours.)

On a roadtrip, you may get to your destination to find that it’s better (or worse) than you expected.

Better: mountain views, fluffy grass, 60 degree weather in March

Worse: field is behind a bowling alley, the opposing team plays and talks dirty

Comparing this new location to home is ok.

(Conclusion: Colorado Springs’ mountain views are prettier.)

You may want to play around a bit in the sunshine.

(If you play women’s rugby, that just means you’ll emerge a bit more scuffed up at the end)

Then you can explore the local dives…

Thanking God/Allah/Krishna/whateveryouplease for vegetarian options at a brewery…

As well as for the appetite for ice cream to fuel the 5 hour drive back home.

You may even encounter some blatant messages along the way.

(some are not necessarily to be obeyed)

And though you may come home physically worse for wear…

The reflection and revelation takes hold, some way or another.

What’s a good book y’all have read recently? What did you learn from it?

What I Ate Wednesday!

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It’s about time I jumped on this bandwagon, eh, bloggies? 🙂 I have not one, but two days for y’all!

(Funny that this week’s icon has a faint image of sushi in the background; you’ll see that farther down!)

But first things first.

Wednesday!

Free fruits + veggies, plus some unpictured mini pizzas

Spinach, pear, walnut, & blue cheese salad

(Blue cheese and me? Not friends.)

Pruuuunes!

Cafe au lait with soymilk

(One of my best friend’s names, Jasseigh, is on my mug)

Oatmeal with protein powder, maca, & prunes (yeah…our fruit supply is officially depleted)

Tuesday!

Sushi with avocado, cucumber, red pepper, scallion + pineapple

Tea x2

Mixed greens & carrots with artichoke hearts & an egg, drizzled in balsamic vinegar

Banana, side of Arabic

Whole wheat molasses bread with peanut butter, orange

(Didn’t even need the orange that morning; that bread filled me UP!)

Monday (dinner)

Mixed greens & carrots with nutritional yeast & socca

Cut to: mountain scenes!

(They’ve been camera-shy lately. Boo!)

End scene: sleepy roommate.

That’s all for now, folks.

What was the highlight of your Wednesday?

I was able to identify Meatloaf’s  “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” at Trivia Night! The song is great…as long as you don’t picture Meatloaf himself doing what he’s singing about. Hehe 😉

Into the dark

Well, it couldn’t last forever.

Not only am I referencing the gloomy, flurry-spewing cloud that has descended over Colorado Springs, but also my digestive health.

Since I have returned from Jordan, I’ve only experienced that Middle-East-worthy-level of stomach pain once…until this morning, when it hit me hard while running.

Why? I’m not sure. It’s a mystery, one that begs to be further explored.

The last time this hit me was also when I was running, about 2 months ago. Both were both I’d had a real breakfast (just a pre-workout snack), but other than that, no unusual dietary habits seemed to have triggered it. Wtf?

All I know is that it really, really hurts and it’s really, really inconvenient. I’ve already gone through one round of tests through an endogastriologist, so at least I know it’s not 1) giardia 2) an std 3) a parasite 🙂

But as bad as it was this morning, a day of rest, reading, and other forms of relaxation have left me feeling as good as new!

It doesn’t hurt that my roomates and neighbors make amazing food! Especially when it’s bread that tastes amazing, looks amazing, and makes me tummy feel amazing to boot!

Over the past few years, as my cooking and baking skills have evolved, I’ve been in the habit of saying to my mom, “When I’m married, I will do all of the cooking without complaint. But I want a husband that makes bread!“

Now I have a boy roomate that makes it. Close enough!

I’ll handle the vegan goodness myself…

Pan-fried tofu with spinach, onions, marinara sauce, and nutritional yeast

In fact, recently I’ve been preparing my much-needed protein individual appetizers before group dinners:

Mmmm. Yes. Roasted tofu marinated in balsamic vinegar, cumin, and garlic.

The perfect appetizer for a pasta dinner.

As for the sicky meal of choice?

B.R.A.T.T.Y. diet at its finest! (you know, bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, tea, yogurt?)

Honey greek yogurt with banana.

Eating it in the container was an added comfort!

In a way, being sick today was ideal; the gloomy cloud cover was a perfect opportunity to stay inside, test danish hot chocolate stirrers and philosophize.

How real is the fog over the mountains? How do we know if we’ve seen this view in a past life?

But more importantly, how much snow will there be for skiing this weekend?!

The warm weather couldn’t last forever, but at least we’ll be reaping the changes on the slopes!

Have a terrific Thursday!

Do you ski or snowboard? I ski, but I don’t really make a habit of it because it’s not my favorite thing in the world. But this time I’m resigning myself to the bunny hill and learning to snowboard!