Yell it from the mountain tops:

We made it!
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme.

I can eat CHEESE again!!! The great vegan challenge is over. Yesterday I celebrated with an entire 6" Zelda's pizza, all to myself. I slept well last night, very, very well.

I hate vegan cheese, but I love podcasts

So this lousy vegan diet is going on week number 2. Without cheese, I am left feeling completely unsatisfied by every meal. I just ate a giant tofu taco salad without my usual mound of shredded cheddar on top, and I couldn't stop thinking that my dinner was a complete waste of space. I got desperate last week and tried vegan cheese. Did you know most soy cheese has milk products in it? I was so sad to find that out. I found one completely vegan cheese and tried to eat it on a burrito. It tasted like rancid plastic, so I threw the rest of it out. To hell with you vegan cheese! You aspire to be what you simply cannot!

Let's talk about something else. I got an ipod for christmas and at first I was like, "oh, cool. a really long mix tape for the car." But then I discovered several podcasts that I'm in love with and I take this thing to bed with me and fall asleep listening to all my favorite shows. Here are some of them:

NPR stuff
This American Life - FYI coming to Showtime tonight!!

Fresh Air - But I get a twinge of guilt every time Terri Gross tells the podcast listeners to support their local NPR stations.

A Prairie Home Companion - It's just the News from Lake Wobegon.

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - I can listen whenever I want! Much better than trying to be in front of a radio on a Saturday morning. I must admit that it makes me miss Whaddya Know very much.

Driveway Moments - Since I don't commute anywhere any more, I can finally catch all the awesome little stories from All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

Latino USA - This show only airs at an impossible hour, so I'm glad I can download the weekly podcast and keep in touch with what's going on with my people.

Sunday Puzzle - I have a big bad crush on Will Shortz and I love word puzzles. I have been playing along for ten years and it's my dream to be selected play on air with Liane Hansen and The Puzzlemaster.

Hidden Kitchens - Rarely on, but this show features awesome stories about food.

KCRW's Good Food - Since Hidden Kitchens episodes are few and far, I get my weekly foodie fix from LA's raddest NPR affiliate, KCRW. What's in season, food trends, new restaurants and food-related writing and literature. Do you know what salumi is? I do!

Quick ones
There is a series of short podcasts I love from a website called qdnow.com. They feature "quick and dirty tips" on a few different topics. I subscribe to Legal Lad (legal advice), The Mighty Mommy (parenting tips), Grammar Girl (grammatical questions), Money Girl (financial advice) and Mister Manners (etiquette).

Por Fin Aprende Ingles - These short, intermediate Spanish lessons help me brush up on my language skills. My only beef is that this one is kind of home made. Sometimes the audio is jacked or one of the hosts little kids is on pronouncing the vocabulary completely wrong.

Are there any other good podcasts out there that I should know about?

Oh, quick baby update. Ira can sit up and has two tiny teeth coming in. Finally! The teeth.

Y'all come back now

Memphis, 3/11/07
Originally uploaded by riblet.

We had a nice time in Memphis last weekend. It was my first trip to the South, so I was very excited to see what it was all about. Or at least Memphis anyway. I felt like I did a good job of minding my sirs and ma'ams. So what did I think? People were nice, it was weird to not see mountains on the horizon, the Mississippi was wide and everything else was big. The houses were bigger, the yards were bigger, the cars were bigger, the people were...well, bigger.

We spent much of the time hanging out with family in the greater Memphis area. They were just sweet as pie and fed and watered us to no end. Did you know that in Memphis, you can buy a house twice as big as mine for about half as much? Yeah, but then you'd have to live there.

We hit up Graceland, where I nursed Ira through the jungle room and a couple of rooms after that. Now I can say I whipped it out at Elvis's house. Can you? No? I also whipped it out at Sun Studios. When we got there, we thought we could take Ira in, but they didn't allow babies, so I sat in the cafe and drank an IBC on the house. Then Ira drank his usual...on me. I swear, I never had to feed this kid in so many different places.

We also got to peek in the window at Gibson Guitars and watch some guys paint and cut wood for mega expensive axes. Then we hit Beale Street, which was cool I guess if you are into the boogie-woogie blues, bbq and sipping on a "big ass beer," as advertised in many restaurant windows. When hunger hit, we had fries and sweet tea at a little diner. Though Ira stated he would have much preferred the local Hooters restaurant. Men!

Getting to know more of Leon's mom's side of the family was really nice. We even had a family photo taken. Poor Ira was overdue for a nap and cried through the whole thing. I can't wait to see the pictures of me wincing, arms pressed to chest and Ira wailing.

In all, I feel like I got more of a suburban experience and less of the Southern experience I was expecting. I'd really like to go back and visit some other cities. Atlanta? NOLA? Where my dawgs at?

Oh, P.S.? I have been vegan since Tuesday. It's hard. Really, really hard. You know, with that half gallon of Samoas Girl Scout Cookie ice cream sitting in the freezer. Indescribably hard. Ok, buck up little camper because we have about 2 more weeks to go.

Baby Cheese-Us!

Those cheeks!
Originally uploaded by riblet.

I've decided to can the vegan diet for now. We're going to Tennesse this weekend to visit family and I think it will be to hard to have such a strict diet in the South. It might be hard enough to be vegetarian there. I've never been, so I have no idea. In my imagination, the South is a place where every food is fried in bacon fat. I'll just be a good little vegan and nix dairy when we get back. Since I've decided to have my cheese and eat it, too, I'm not messing around. I'm eating it by the handful. Bring the cheese, I say, bring it on!!!

Except Ira cheese, that I can do without. Poor kid has been spitting up lots of curdled milk (baby cheese). I feel like it has to do with getting his shots recently. He was pretty cheese-less before them, now it's like he's a cottage cheese fountain. Gross, I know. Well, it seems to be getting better, or less frequent.

I'm a little worried about taking Ira on the plane this weekend. I hope he doesn't freak out. I would be so embarrassed to be "the bad mood" on the plane to Tennessee. The family with the screaming baby is no fun for anyone. Fingers crossed!!