About

My name is Melissa, and I’m a second year graduate student living in Denver, CO (edit: a graduate in International Security currently living in Phoenix, AZ!). I love health, nutrition, blogging, being outdoors and active, trying new food, and foreign and domestic policy. As you can tell, this is a pretty vast array of subjects, and this blog is going to try to incorporate all of my interests in one. Primarily this blog will be about what I eat and what I do on a daily basis, and will revolve around my life in school and my fervent job searching. (edit: As of March 2012, I secured a wonderful job with the City of Phoenix -  hooray!). My blog will focus on my attempts at eating healthy and learning how to cook, but will also focus on budgeting and saving money while enjoying life and reacquainting myself with the city I grew up in.

Just chillin' at a Farmer's Market in Denver.

I’m from Phoenix, AZ originally, and have lived in Spokane, WA,  and Denver, CO. I moved back to Phoenix for a job/boyfriend/family, and I’m very happy to be re-discovering my city as an adult. Amazing how things change once you graduate high school and really start to enjoy your hometown, huh?

As you might be able to tell, I love traveling. I’ve studied abroad in Mexico, Chile, and Spain, and have spent considerable time in about 6 other countries. Although I was born in the desert, I’m much more like my Mom in that I love the beach and the water. While I’m not a Pisces, I do love the water! I try to take vacations where I can spend some of the majority of my time on the beach or very, very close to the water. I’m also very close to my Mom and Dad, and you’ll probably notice me mention them quite a bit.

I love writing and trying new foods, so I’ll frequently post about the new things I try or make. I’m not a nutritionist, and I’m not even really a cook, nor do I pretend to be. I like to exercise, but I’m not in love with it. For example, although I like running on the treadmill occasionally, I would never do a marathon. They’re great for some people, just not me!

I’m also a vegetarian and have been one since I was born. It sounds crazy, but my Mom raised me as a vegetarian since birth, and I have never had a hamburger, hot dog, steak, pork chop, etc. I did for a brief time eat turkey and chicken in high school, because I played tennis and was pretty active. I mistakenly thought that I need more protein, and that eating meat was the best way to get the most “bang for my buck.” Nowadays I know better, and my diet revolves around loads of fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, and of course… carbs! I don’t think I could get through my day without carbs, be it wheat bread, pita bread, english muffins, pasta, you name it!

I also absolutely love trying new wines and beers. I don’t have a discerning palate yet, but now that I live in Colorado for grad school, I’m experiencing the beer culture here like never before. It’s my goal to visit every brewery in Colorado before I move! (edit: Okay, while I didn’t try every brewery in Colorado before moving (darn you, snow!), I have developed my tastes a little more… I at least know what I do and don’t like!)

At the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO.

And finally, speaking of moving… my ultimate goal is to one day live in Portland, OR permanently. I’m a hippie at heart, and I know the veggie-loving, Prius-driving, coffee-drinking, outdoor-loving people of Portland and I would get along immensely.

For now, I’m living in Phoenix happily. Living in Phoenix is wonderful, as my family/friends/loved ones are all here and, let’s be honest, it’s great to know exactly where you’re going on a daily basis without having to use your GPS for every.single.trip (no joke I had to do this when I lived in Denver! It’s like a maze!)

If you have any questions, or want to know anything about my life as a vegetarian (“where do you get your protein? are all of your foods bland and gross?” are questions I get a lot!), I’m more than happy to answer them! Salud!

Cast of Characters

Blake – my boyfriend of 2+ years. He’s a meat eater, unfortunately , but other than that, he’s pretty great. He’s the real cook in our family, and he makes awesome guacamole, salsa, vegetarian chili, grilled cheese… you name it, he can make it! He’ll write guest posts for this blog occasionally. His last posts were about Ron Paul and a Meat Eater’s Point of View.

The love of my life... my kitty, Madison!

Madison and Isabelle (Maddy and Izzy) – our two crazy cats that we rescued when they were kittens. No pics of Izzy (she’s an all black cat) because she pretty much hates being the center of attention… she’s shy and has a raspy meow, so we call her Smoker Kitty sometimes, or Creepy Kitty. Maddy is a little bugger, because she gets into everything! She also loves wearing a leash and going outside to play:

Molly – our newest addition, Molly is our 5 month old lab-mix puppy that we rescued from the Humane Shelter. She is the biggest baby, and she’s our baby… and we do refer to her as our baby!! So far it’s been a ton of work (and money! who knew??) to raise a puppy, but every day with her has been so funny and cute. She’s a ham!

So there you have it! Additions will be made as necessary, but now you have the basics for when I reference ‘the bf’ or ‘Molly puppy’ Now please– don’t stalk me!