I need at least 10 good reasons I should not buy this camera

i can't live without one much longer and while my heart really belongs to the leica m8 it costs nearly 1/5 of my yearly income. and i like eating. in the meantime, i'll settle for the leica lens and pretend mine is just as pretty. but back to the task at hand: 10 reasons, people. TEN. I refuse to go on another vacation without a camera. sorry credit card.

babies and babies and babies, oh my!

baby velasco is on his/her way right this second, right over there! (i'm pointing across the street to swedish). i was just poking his/her head on saturday and in a few minutes it's going to be a real THING. babies fascinate me. my maternal instinct is growing (it was stunted there for a while). it's not full-blown "i want one!" phase yet, but i've definitely entered "oh yay! babysitting and baby christmas gift buying!" mode. i need to finish the baby blanket, like, yesterday.

forward movement

in other news: - i finally took my GRE and was kind of astonished to find out that my math skills are MUCH BETTER than my verbal. i've since read about the test a little more and discovered that's kind of the way it is for everyone, so not quite feeling so offended anymore. more importantly, i scored higher than the average scores for students in all of the programs to which i'm hoping to apply. that helps. - after travelling for two weeks and then intensely studying for the following two weeks, i've awarded myself a one week break before diving into the world of applications. this means that my evenings are now mostly divided between sessions of katamari, baby blanket knitting, and studying gluten-free flours. - oh yes, i've gone gluten-free. i think i've mentioned this, but am finding the gravity of this decision so immense in my daily eating that it deserves to be mentioned again. everything i love has goddamned gluten in it. on the bright side, i'm getting to experiment with brown rice flour and sorghum and spelt and my new bread machine ... and discovering that, with a little effort and creativity, gluten-free meals can taste pretty damn good. try my salmon burgers and you'll believe me. - i am cooking some amazing healthy food. my lack of knowledge about vegetables up to this point has been pretty appalling for a, well, vegetarian. embarrassing, i'd say. i just didn't really EAT them. now, they're really the BULK of what i'm eating and i can't believe i went without for so long. in fact, i'm comfortable admitting that i've actually got a bit of an obsession with vegetables at the moment. root vegetables and good old hearty winter ones in particular. last night i made delicata squash rings ... which are my new substitution for french fries. heaven. - i need a camera. and/or i need to reinstall photobooth on my computer. after a summer of one-after-another problems with my mactop, she's finally up and running again, new hard drive and disk drive in tow. she's even running parallels again, like a gem. the point here being, i want to start posting pictures of my alternafoood adventures, so that you'll actually believe that 1) i'm cooking and 2) they don't all look as horrible as they might sound.

a sudden burst of fall

when we left seattle for two weeks to fly to the other side of the earth, where flowers are nearly blooming and days are getting longer in preparation for summer, we missed the gradual introduction to fall taking place in the northern hemisphere. so when we returned, not only were we jetlagged for the first week, but we were waking up in total darkness (or two hours late) to scarf weather and bare trees. vacation was incredible, but i can't help but feel a little bummed that i missed out on my favorite part of fall: yellow leaves, sneaky chilly breezes on an otherwise warmish day. nearly a month later, i am still battling my sleep schedule ... but have acclimated to the chill and my new wool coat. i picked up the copy of "Paris to the Moon" that i've been meaning to read for the past year this morning because a new year's in paris is tentatively scheduled and i need to get in the mood. as if i need to really "get in the mood" when it comes to paris. i'm always in the mood. i've never felt more like home in a foreign place than i did in paris ... or france in general. so, really, reading someone else's love letter to the city is, well, just kind of gluttonous. but it's winter, right? i need to fatten up.

good food

I just enrolled in my first CSA this morning! I'm so excited! So from here on out I will be receiving bi-weekly boxes of fresh, organic, locally-grown fruits and veggies from Full Circle Farm. Food is becoming a bit of an obsession for me; I'm cooking real food for the first time ever and loving exploring with veggies and healthy alternatives. I've gone gluten, white potato, corn and sugar free (the last one gradually ... I crave) as an experiment. Am falling in love with the likes of spelt crackers and curried sweet potatoes and fresh beets. There is a whole world of activists who promote local, community-supported and sustainable agriculture, that I'd never tapped into before. The benefits for farmers and eaters alike are immense. You could argue that agriculture in any form is destructive to the earth, but when it's sustainable and allowed to follow natural patterns and cycles, it's a whole lot less severe. And we are what we eat. I've read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," yes, and you should too. If you're interested in joining a CSA here locally, King County has a great site!