Meat Eater!

For a whole weekend, I tried the vegetarian lifestyle. And it was great! I felt healthy, energized, and tasted some savory vegetarian cooking. And I would not be opposed to such a lifestyle, to such a way of eating. In fact, I've decided that I need to eat more veggies ( or speshtables, as lil man puts it), and incorporate more whole, natural foods into my diet. BUT <---and that is a HUGE, GIGANTAUR BUT---I LOVE MEAT! Especially my chicken, and fish, and beef. I live in TEXAS; my veins pulsate with the long bloodline of flesh eating Pacific islanders....I cannot escape my heritage to be a CARNIVORE!

When I came back home from my vegetarian excursion in Austin, my mouth salivated, and dripped with a craving for burgers, and steaks, and fried chicken. I resisted against the gravitational pull to meat but *unsatisfied groan* the desire was too much, and I found myself pulling into a drive thru ordering a big, fat, unhealthy juicy, greasy burger. I went home and snuck up to my room and felt a rush the second I bit into that succulent, patty of meat supplementing the meat sandwich with moist, puffy fries. Each bite brought a pleasurable grin to my face. Then as I took the last bite, memories of a healthy, vegetarian weekend popped into my head. And I'm not sure what I felt.... REMORSE? GUILT? FAILURE? Well, I felt what might have been those feelings for a short bit, and then just as quickly, I've made up my mind to combine the two lifestyles somewhat. I DO want to eat healthier but I know that meat will always be a part of my life. No guilt there. =D

Oh but here is a food that I will eat more of!! ACORN SQUASH. I love most squashes but I've never had the pleasure and opportunity to eat the acorn squash. Well my weekend in Austin introduced me to this most awesome, meaty-ish, gorgeous article of food. And I'm IN LOVE! Yes, readers. LOVE is in the air and I can say confidently it was love at first sight, first taste. The squash was cut in half, stuffed with vegetarian butter, spiced with spices that I can't remember the names of, and baked to a golden, heavenly finish! I was given my piece and I swirled the pool of "butter" with the spices and my oh my oh my!!! I pigged out! Vegetarians can pig out!!

And then one more food item that I was introduced to by my fabulous office friend at the same time lil man was being introduced to at his awesome daycare: EDAMAME! Both lil man and I could eat bags and bags of this stuff all day long. GREAT stuff. 

Be still, my soul

I found this as I was getting ready for church. The voices are so rich but the words, lyrics in this hymn...well, it speaks volumes. Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side...how comforting and uplifting to know this and to have a testimony of the Atonement.

Ingredients for a Sabrina

It's been a weird day today....so I've been in a weird mood. It's a new year...time for new beginnings. But I find myself studying my past self quite a bit lately. I've been reading through my journals...I found a journal I keep with writings to Dallace. And I found the journal I kept during my last year of marriage. And can I say WOW. Change is constant. Life is painful. These two facts are evident in my life. I have changed so much and most of it is due to PAIN that I have caused myself, or the pain I've caused to others, or the pain others have caused me. Yes; many, many changes in me.

But these things remain the same; these things make Sabrina Yakana:

*I am still a bookworm. I will never lose my love for reading. I have started reading a little bit more non-fiction but my favorite author is still Louisa May Alcott and fantasy and science fiction are still my favorite genres.

*I have a deep love for music. Especially classical piano. But I will listen to everything and give every song a chance. For me, life without music is bland and boring. It is my goal to put together the soundtrack to my life...you know, in case my epic life somehow becomes a movie... HA! And YES I love Yanni. Boo to you if you think that's lame...YOU'RE lame for thinking that...well...moving on...

*I am a nerd. And that means I am usually more introvert than I am extrovert. My glasses are PROOF that I am a nerd and I don't think I'll ever allow myself to wear contacts again because these days, I just love my NERD status and gotta play it up, ya know? LOL. Well I'll consider contacts if it means I could have deep, royal purple colored eyes....maybe.

*I tend to choose with my heart rather than my mind. No matter what. No matter who breaks my heart, no matter the darkness, my heart will always remain the biggest part of me. My heart is <-----------------------------------------------------------------------> much bigger than that...just saying.

*I write and write and write and write. My fingers, when there is no other task for them to do, are either typing or grasping a pen as thoughts, speculations, and stories spill forth out of this crazy head of mine. And someday, Riley will have her moment of glory. =)

*I am short. That's all there is to say about that...shall we move on?.....

*I will always be friendly first before I am ever MEAN. And I turn mean when I feel pressured to be anything I'm NOT.

*I hate my feet AND I hate your feet. Your feet and my feet should never touch unless you want a crazy reaction which might mean you won't have a pinky toe. So bluntly put, FEET frighten me. WHEW. That was hard to even type...cuz now I'm thinking about icky feet!!! Ok MOVING ON NOW!

Yup, I'm a Mormon...

I am reading this book:

I believe in magic. I believe in divine powers. I believe we are all here to learn about the magic of life, the power of agency, and the miracle of love. Reading this book has made my view fill with more magic, more majesty; that Eve was not the treacherous woman the world would make her out to be. That we, the women in this world, are truly adored and cherished by our Creator. That we truly are special and precious to Him.  If I sit here and meditate on that fact alone, it makes my mouth drop open wide to know that God trusted women enough to give them the power to START life. We are the spark of life. And we know this. It humbles me and uplifts me all in one motion. 

And then the next series I'll be starting:

Out with the old...in with the NEW

So I'm thinking I need to do something with this hair of mine. It has become rather BLAH lately and perhaps it's time for a NEW look. So, I've been perusing the web to get an idea of what might work for me. And I found three possible looks. And like a good blogger, thought I'd consult my readers on this one. Because you guys have been so abundant with the advice on some of the very difficult issues I battle day to day, perhaps you guys could help me on this SUPER DUPER SO VERY HARD decision. I kind of have an idea of which I am going to pick, but maybe some consulting wouldn't be a bad idea first. So here goes.

1. I like the cut and I would leave more black in...

2. So I'm in love with purple and the A-line cut

3. Since I'm getting the grays...might as well make it hip.
My hair is shorter than this so.....

And there you have it. And the reason I consult is because I don't want this to happen again....