Just Lauren

I started this post two days ago but just haven’t had the time to finish it or post it, so, third time’s a charm. Here we go!

Pippin spent all day at the vet’s on Thursday so he could have his teeth cleaned and 7 teeth removed. I had taken him to the vet for his check up a few weeks ago and I knew that he needed to get 1 tooth removed but I was shocked to get a call from the surgeon who told me he had to remove seven. Needless to say I felt terrible. And I already was feeling terrible because I was worried about how Pippin was feeling and faring throughout all of this. I picked him up after work and was greeted with my little cat completely out of it. I felt even worse. But I’m happy to say, he’s back to normal at this point. And with those teeth removed, he’ll actually be in less pain, which is great.

On Wednesday, my department and I had a team building afternoon where we did a painting class. It was all virtual so the previous week I had picked up the supplies. We were supposed to paint a night sky with trees but as soon as I started painting my trees I realized my painting was going to look terrible. I just didn’t like it. After tree number two I decided I had enough and I painted over them. I knew that if I kept painting trees, I was going to end up trashing the canvas and I really preferred to have something to keep. I’m pleased with my decision as many of my coworkers ended up disliking their pieces. So I ended up with a night sky I like and I plan on painting a tiny Pippin at the very bottom, on top of the hills I painted.

Yesterday, Shari, Elisabeth, Kayla, and I all carved pumpkins. Kayla joined us via google hangouts and we spent a couple of hours designing, carving, and painting some nicely round pumpkins. I went with a sunflower, Elisabeth did a night sky with all of our astrology signs, Shari did a house, and Kayla did a flaming skull, which represented her inner being. When in doubt, carve a flower into your pumpkin. it turned out so cute, I’m really pleased with it. Simple is the way to go for me, that’s for sure. Nothing too fancy or intricate means that I end up with a pumpkin I’m happy with. All of our designs came out wonderfully, really. Shari’s was adorable, she had a mini pumpkin that she painted a face on and stuck inside the house. Elisabeth painted hers black and then used white paint to connect the stars. Kayla’s was a flaming masterpiece.

I also made vegan stuffing yesterday. I wanted to try out a modified version of my family’s classic stuffing prior to Thanksgiving so I could know what adjustments needed to be made before the day of. I looked up four or five different stuffing recipes to see if I wanted to switch it up even more this year and came up with a recipe I thought would be good. I wanted to put fennel in the stuffing but couldn’t find any so maybe when November comes around I’ll get lucky in that department. Otherwise I was able to do what I wanted and I have to say, it turned out perfectly. I look forward to making it some day for my family to try, I am legit very pleased with the end result.

Tonight, Elisabeth and I are making bbq “tofu” nachos. I already messed up the tofu but we’re forging ahead anyway ’cause that’s what we do. The good news is, I don’t think I messed it up that much. My issue is that I read a recipe and then immediately change it without trying it as is first. And most times that’s no biggie, I’ve cooked enough that I know what I’m doing, but sometimes, like in this case, I should have read the recipe a full time once more before changing it. The good news is, we’re making bbq tofu again this week for sandwiches so I’ll try it properly then! I’m just so excited to have nachos for the first time since going vegan, I hope they’re tasty!