Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My Ode to Music and Food

Hello. My name is Layne, and I'm a gLeek. (Hi Layne) I've been a gLeek for about 2 years now, and I have no plan to recover. After last night's episode which featured one of my new favorite gLee songs ever (My Man), and with anticipation for the Season Finale -aka Nationals episode- I have decided to share with you my favorite gLee songs over the past 2 seasons. It will be very evident from my list, but I am a huge Lea Michele fan. That chick has pipes. Not only is she oober talented, but she sings with passion and heart, and danggit I wish I was her somedays. I've liked her since before the show aired, she was in Spring Awakening on Broadway, and while I never got to see that in person - I did have the soundtrack and watch the cast perform on the Tony Awards, and pretty much loved it! My love for such a wide variety of music makes this list completely random. I not only love the true-blue showtunes, but throwback 80's music and current top100 songs make the list, too. So here are my favorite performances from the past two seasons!

Maybe This Time- Lea Michele and Kristin Chenowith
Bust Your Windows- Amber Riley
Endless Love- Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison
Take a Bow- Lea Michele
No Air- Lea Michele and Cory Monteith
Rose's Turn- Chris Colfer
Touch-a, Touch Me- Matthew Morrison and Jayma Mays
Don't Rain on My Parade- Lea Michele
Take Me or Leave Me- Lea Michele and Amber Riley
I Feel Pretty/Unpretty- Lea Michele and Diana Aragon
Go Your Own Way- Lea Michele
Songbird- Naya Rivera
Rolling in the Deep- Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff
My Man- Lea Michele

Another love I have is for food. I love love love food. I love cooking it, eating it, learning about it, watching cooking shows and competitions. Lets do this again... Hello, my name is Layne. (Hi Layne) I am a foodie, and I've been a foodie pretty much as long as I can remember. It's a long standing joke in my family that from being toted around with my parents on business trips I got used to room service and staying with my grandparents one weekend asked for an assorted fruit plate for breakfast. I was not a snob, I just didn't know that my request was unusual. I was also introduced to the luxuries of Brie and Duck Pate in Elementary School. Before I was pregnant I was a vegetarian for the most part. No meat other than from the ocean. It was one of the healthiest, fittest, best feeling I've ever been. When I found out I was expecting I stayed on the vegetarian course until about 12-14 weeks, and at that point I let my cravings from the growing baby be an excuse to dive into a big fat cheeseburger from Salty Nut Cafe in Columbia, SC. I told myself it would be more work than I was prepared for to try and get enough protein for the baby and me through nuts and beans and faux-meat- but really I think it was a temporary fatty moment on my part and I decided that I'd put meat back on the menu while I was pregnant. I still have not had any chicken in about 8 months. I just can't do it. I know too much, I've seen too much. It just ain't happening.
Last night I went to a Relief Society (women's church group) event with some ladies from church and we had Oriental Cooking lessons. During the eating of our learned recipe I had a great discussion with some women about what you eat reflecting how you feel. One of the sisters told me that she had suffered a lot during her life from health problems and a few years back began eating raw. For those of you who don't know much about the raw food movement- and I only know a little- it doesn't mean baby carrots and broccoli spears- it means unprocessed foods. She eats only raw dairy products that she gets directly from a local farm here near North Augusta. Raw milk, cheese, butter, etc. Her veggies she buys locally and if necessary organically, and her meat, if she eats it, is more than just "free range"(which is a term a lot of farms use too loosley). I know I'm pregnant, but I was embarrassed by the difference in amounts of food on her plate versus mine. She ate like a bird. She explained that through trying different eating habbits and finding what made her physically feel the best she has really learned to be in tune with her body and know what it needs. How awesome is that!? I haven't had any major illnesses, but I have some of the worst allergies of anyone you'll meet. If you have allergies you know they are the worst ever and can lead to pretty much any sickness, so over my lifetime I have been sick (not seriously) a fair amount. I catch things easier, I get migraines, I suffered with chronic tonsilitis until I was 23 and finally had my tonsils removed, worst of all is for years I suffered from vomitting due to excessive post nasal drip- YUCK. As I'm listening to this lady explain how much better she feels and her increased quality of life simply from adjusting her diet and being observant of what she put in her body- it made me think. I can't cure my allergies, I can't speed up my metabolism, but what I can do is be observant and pay attention to my body. I know that when I wasn't eating meat I was the healthiest I had been in several years. Not because meat is unhealthy but because it made me lean toward healthier meal choices and obviously significantly increased my fruit and veggie intake. So, I've been thinking maybe I shouldn't be lazy and use this pregnancy as an excuse, and maybe I should go back to veggies and seafood only. It wouldn't take much effort or change as far as cooking and meal preparation- it would just take me letting go of my new fondness for pork chops cooked on the grill...so delicious. I'm going to take another night or two and sleep on the decision, but I'm feeling empowered and a little "amped" up-so I think I'm leaning toward going for it and kicking the meat! It helps that there are so many yummy meat substitutes out there. I'm going to Earth Fare grocery shopping tongiht for inspiration. If any of you have some good vegetarian recipes please post them or email them to me! Like I said, I love everything about food inlcuding learning new tricks and recipes. Wish me luck! Love, Layne

1 comment:

ScottsHelper said...

Hi Layne! I'd love to know your friend's source for milk! We are moving to Augusta in July and I'm trying to line up some sources for healthy food for my family! Would it be possible to let me know? My email- scottshelpers at yahoo dot com Thanks SO much!
Heather