Thanksgiving

I started off my Thanksgiving by going live on Super Talk 1570 AM. My friend, Rusty, a producer and on-air talent, invited me on Super Talk's morning show so they could do a vegan Thanksgiving taste test.

I'm always eager to share tofurkey with people, and I appreciated the opportunity to speak about having a cruelty-free Thanksgiving by leaving animal products off the plate.

Ready to go live!

Rusty's first bite of tofurkey.

For the show, I made tofurkey, crispy green beans, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.

I am happy to report that Rusty really dug the food!

We chatted on air for a while and took some calls from listeners (who were quite supportive).

Thanks so much to Rusty and Super Talk for having me!

I spent the rest of Thanksgiving with my mom and Dan.

We're officially in 'I hate the cold so I insist on wearing a jacket indoors at all times' season.

Oh, and this cute boy, too:

Our annual Thanksgiving staring contest.

We made the typical Thanksgiving fare (green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts, rolls, and cranberry sauce), which started as this:



And ended as this:


We also tried Field Roast for the first time, I absolutely loved it and found it to be pre-spiced to perfection. Plus, I liked the texture, which was firmer than tofu and felt more like tempeh when I bit into it.

For dessert, we had pumpkin pie and Dan's specialty: vegan ice cream chocolate pie. Basically, he makes the crust from crushed Oreo's, fills the thing with chocolate ice cream, and then tops it with chocolate sauce and pieces of dark chocolate. I'm pretty sure I went into a food coma after consuming it. Oh, but what a sweet food coma it was.

Halloween

On Friday, I went to a Halloween party. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I really have no excuses for why I didn't have a costume ready to go until the last minute. Something about working, going to law school full-time, and traveling across the country to tell jokes every weekend tended to get in the way.

So, I pulled together what I could and came up with Rosie, the Riveter. Original, I know.



Turns out some other people had the same idea. As I opened the door to the party, I was greeted by these two:



Before the party, Dan and Meg came over to get ready.

Who's attractive?

Dan glued famous Supreme Court cases to himself and went as Bear-ly Legal, a big hit at the law school party.

The party was a lot of fun, and the people there definitely put in way more effort than I did (I'm looking at you, burrito and Power Puff Girls costumes).

No idea who this dude is.

The day after the party, we pulled our hungover selves together and went to an MSU football game. I figured after going to school there for three years, I might as well squeeze in one, right?

To be honest, I don't even know who the Spartans played. I just know that there was a torrential downpour that was so not fun. I also know that one of the fans sitting next to me almost popped a blood vessel from screaming so loudly at the referee.

Turns out sunglasses also double as rain goggles.

Some other things I know: 

-I know I was more interested in the band's halftime show than in the game.

-I know I was significantly happier once it stopped raining.

-I can confidently say I now know what a down is.

-I know what to do when someone screams "go green!" in my face (apparently, I am to yell "go white!" with an equal amount of enthusiasm).

-And lastly, I know that I never want to attend another sporting event where my head gets pelted with water again.

Chicago Diner and Walk for Farmed Animals

I had a great weekend! I performed at Wisecrackers in Merrillville, Indiana. And I convinced Dan to meet up with me in Chicago. As soon as I picked him up at the train station, we immediately went to the Chicago Diner (AKA my happy place).

There, I had the vegan macaroni and cheese, and the mock chicken Caesar. Both were amazing!

Dan got the onion ring burger, and you know I had to "try" at least half of those fries.

On Sunday, we headed to Grand Rapids (where we met up with my friend, Alicia) to participate in the Walk for Farmed Animals fundraiser for Farm Sanctuary. If you're not familiar with Farm Sanctuary, I encourage you to visit: farmsanctuary.org. They do absolutely incredible work!




It was so inspiring to be around so many other local activists. And it was a perfect day weather-wise to walk downtown Grand Rapids. I even won a Farm Sanctuary cup at the raffle and got to try some amazing vegan desserts.

Miniony Birthday

Thank you so much to my mom, brother, and boyfriend for allowing me to celebrate my birthday like an eight-year-old.

Thanks to my awesome mom for veganizing this recipe.

And a serious one where we attempt to act our respective ages.

NKOTB!

I decided sometime earlier this year that summer 2015 would be one of the best I've had in a long time. This may or may not have coincided with the New Kids on the Block deciding to tour again.

I was lucky enough to be at to see my favorite boys in three different locations: Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cleveland.

My first show was in Indianapolis. This was slightly awkward as I attended the show by myself since it was on the way home from one of my gigs in Illinois (shout out the Main Hangar in Decatur!). Despite the lady behind me looking like she wanted to stab me in the throat, I couldn't contain my excitement.

I was also pretty pumped about the seeming ability to shoot laser beams from my nose.

First, I watched Nelly and TLC. And, while they were good, I wanted to get the NKOTB show (I mean, technically, seeing as they traveled from Boston, they already were on the road) on the road and watch them.

I had nosebleed seats that were the second-to-last row from the back, but that didn't keep me from screaming like I was in the front row. And, I even got to pretend like I was all V.I.P.

Easily the best outfit of the night.

My second concert was in Louisville. My friend, Todd, and I went together, which made it so much more fun. Not only does Todd's love for NKOTB rival my own, but he's also vegan. So, we stayed in Kentucky for the weekend and ate, sang, and step-by-stepped our little hearts out.

First up: vegan fish tacos are Ramsi's Cafe on the World.

I seriously thought about dropping to my knees and proposing marriage to these guys.

We had similarly crappy seats, but again, we didn't mind.

I pretty much had this look on my face the entire trip.

Before our drive back, we stopped for the best Ethiopian food I've ever had in my life.

That's the vegan sampler at Addis Bar and Grill. And it's Kentucky, so you better believe they served bourbon, too.

For our last show, we decided to splurge and get front row tickets in Cleveland. Despite being a broke law student, they were worth EVERY. PENNY. You better believe I'd pay top dollar to nearly be sweat on by Joey McIntyre.

Ears are ready!

Todd got to shake all of the New Kids' hands, while I missed out on Jordan and Danny. But, hey, Joey, Donnie, and Jonathan aren't too shabby, eh?

I almost got to shake Jordan Knight's hand, but then this happened:

P.S. That's what it looks like when a boy band member walks by you and extends his hand to shake yours, but you're so nervous that you just scream in his face and shake so badly that your picture turns out blurry.

Todd, it should be noted, was as cool as a cucumber, and gave him a high-five. Meanwhile, I was a screaming, sweaty mess. Such is life, I suppose.

The drive home from Cleveland was sad as we knew it would be our last show, but fun as we reminisced about 25 years of fandom.

And if you didn't get a chance to experience the awesomeness yourself, well, my friends, you can now.

Until next tour...