Teese Nacho Sauce Review

Teese Vegan Cheese Nacho Cheese Sauce Review

It's smaller than I thought it would be, but it holds a lot.

 

First off I have to say that this stuff is fantastic! It's da bomb!

 

I haven't had many nachos in the last year or so since I went vegan. I used to make nachos once or twice a week in college, and I have tried many different kinds of queso. I've done jars, cans, blocks of cheese, and mixes.

 

This vegan cheese is better than any other nacho cheese I have had (with the exception of the nachos at the superdome... those things are addictive).

 

It comes in a plastic casing that needs to be cut open which is messy and a little hard to do. Don't do it with a knife. Do it with scissors. Over a bowl. Trust me!

 

This is so messy!

After I put it in the bowl, I nuked it in the microwave for a few minutes, stirring every minute or so. 

The cheese before microwaving. It is a little gelatinous, but yummy.

This is the cheese once it is heated. It is very smooth and a great consistency for dipping or drizzling on chips.

These are the chips that I used. They are very thin, but didn't break when I used them to scoop up the thick cheese. I like these chips because they are not very oily and not very salty.

Here you can see the thickness of the cheese sauce.

It is enough to feed a couple of people, but if you are going to use this for a party with more than four people, I would get more than one. It is supposed to serve ten, but those would be tiny servings.

I highly recommend this product to any vegan (or non-vegan) who really likes nachos.

You can find more information about this product here.

Trip to Baton Rouge with Ashley

A few weeks ago, I went to visit my friend Ashley in Baton Rouge. Ashley and I became friends in college and she recently moved to my area of the south. We had a smashing good time exploring some of the area and fighting traffic on a Friday evening. 

After getting lost when my phone's GPS decided to quit, I finally found her apartment and we went to lunch.

 

We went to Truly Free Bakery and Deli where we split some chips and salsa. Ashley got one of the burgers (she wasn't a fan of the vegan cheese, so now she knows...) and I got this gorgeous vegan pie! Yay for veggies on pizza. I got the small size and I could barely finish it. It was a truly beautiful, animal free pizza! 

 

 

We then drove around a bit and found Coyote Moon, the metaphysical shop in town. I loved the atmosphere of the place and the super organized layout. I did not enjoy the clump of middle schoolers that decided to twitter and flirt around the store like baby birds. I ended up buying some candles, a little red resin happy Buddha for my little collection, a hematite ring, and the Doreen Virtue Ascended Masters cards. It was a fantastic shop, and I plan to go back the next time I'm in the area!

After wandering for a while, we found a little coffee and tea shop (the Magpie Cafe, I believe) where I had this lovely cup of hibiscus tea. The atmosphere was perfect for rejuvenating us before we continued our quest!

 

I then spent some great time with Ashley and her beautiful kitty. We stayed up late talking after our Mexican dinner and a trip to Fresh Market.  Isn't he adorable? 

 

 

I had to go back home the next day so I could make it to ballet class and when I got home the monster of all grasshoppers was on the back porch! 

 

 

Hopefully I will be able to go visit my friend Ashley soon! I had such a fun time visiting her and seeing new and exciting places in my area.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

Hi All!

It is another glorious rainy day here in the mountains. I haven't posted in a few days because I've been pretty busy doing lots of online research and haven't finished any posts, even though I am working on several. I did want to do a post today though, so here is a list of the things I'm loving at this moment.

1. Octopus Clips
I have pretty long hair, so getting it off my neck and back can make me feel much cooler in the summer. It is long enough to twist it into a bun and it will stay by itself, but if I want to go hiking or cook or wash my face, I need clips or pins to keep it from falling out. My absolute favorite clips are the octopus clips by Scunci. I need two to hold up all my hair, but they really work. I don't have to worry about my hair falling down at all when I use these. I've probably bought about 15 of these over the years. I ended up breaking a few because I'm a klutz and dropped them down the stairs or on concrete. I've also broken a few because my hair got too big for it to hold, hence the two I use now.

2. Watermelon Mint Lemonade
This Bolthouse Farms lemonade is the best and most refreshing drink I've ever had. We've been going through four or five of these every week between three of us. It is refreshing and not exceedingly sweet. I still water mine down because I like watery lemonade. They say that it is a limited edition product on the package, but I hope they make it a permanent item. Go check it out while you can! It is usually in the produce section.

3. MaNithyaSudevi Youtube channel

 

I started watching her videos a few days ago and I can't get enough of them. I love the vibes she exudes and I love her empowering and uplifting talks. She speaks about enlightenment and veganism a lot and has an interesting perspective on life. I highly recommend her videos.

4. Tarot Cards
I have been doing a lot of introspection and thinking while I have been sick and inside because of the rain. One of the ways I do this is meditation on my daily tarot card (I'm using my Galaxy Tarot app on my phone at the moment since I left my cards at home). I have a post that I'm working on about Tarot cards that will be going up in the future, but know that I am new to them and I find them very powerful and interesting.

5. Sports bras
I've been doing a lot of hiking and sports bras make it much easier to have a more comfortable hike. I am not usually a sports bra fan, but I have been gravitating toward them recently for normal every day wear instead of my normal underwire bra. Most of mine I got from Wal-Mart or Target. There's not much to say about this except that I am liking them more... moving on!

6. Emilynoel83 makeup collection video

 

I love watching makeup collection videos so I can get new ideas about storing my makeup and seeing brands that I might never have seen before. It is also very cool to see what other people like and decide to spend their money on. Makeup collections can be very expensive, so it is really interesting to see what people choose to add to their collections and what they don't. I've been following Emilynoel83 for several years now and I love her videos. This collection video she just put up is beautiful in both the quality of her storage containers and the aesthetics of the decorations she decided to put up around her collection.

7. DIY nails using eyeshadows
I'm not sure when I first heard about doing this, but it was a while ago and I know I did it a few times last summer when I didn't have any nail polishes with me and I wanted to change up my color. I have done it three times so far this summer once with a Clinique coral blush that made a perfect deep coral pink on my nails (I did both my fingers and toes with this one), once with a Clinique eyeshadow duo in Blackberry Frost, and once with a Lancôme eyeshadow in Suntouched with a hint of the blush Cedar Rose. Each time I've done two coats of the color and a top coat to give it a shiny finish. My fingernails last me about a week before I need to repaint them and my toenails are still going strong at three weeks without any chips in the color! In the past I've tried this with Physicians Formula, Maybelline, and Elf shadows and they have all worked well. Shimmer shades do tend to work better than matte shades.

8. "Sung to Sleep" by Michael Manring

This is one of my favorite relaxing/ rainy day songs. I've been listening to the CD "A Winter's Solstice Ⅱ"(1988) by Windham Hill Records for several years. (I think I stole the CD from my mom's room and listened to it for an entire summer on repeat before I gave it back.) It is probably on of the most uplifting and relaxing piano pieces I have on my iTunes. I highly recommend the entire CD if you like New Age and Classical music.

I hope you enjoy this post! Let me know if you want to see others like it in the future.

2013 A Year in Review: Books

2013 A Year in Review: Books

This post is long and picture heavy because I read a lot and I like pretty pictures!

I am an avid reader. I read almost everyday on either my Kindle or the Kindle app on my phone, and most days out of hard copy print books. My bedside table is a bookcase. I have another stack of books on the other side of my bed. I have stacks of them on the floor and jammed (by subject) into bookshelves. I've already made posts about Shelfari and done several book reviews, so y'all should be able to tell that I like books.

What you probably didn't know was that last year I read 213 books. Not all of them were long, some were quite short, but I did read them. I found this series of questions from The Readables on YouTube last week and I thought it was a great idea to talk about all the fantastic books I had read in the past year. I had forgotten that I had even read some of the books I had read in January a year ago. The following books do not represent the entirety of the books I read last year, just the ones I loved (or hated) the most. This post took me several days to put together and is by far the longest blog I've ever written. I hope you enjoy!

1.       Best book you read in 2013: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)


  I read this early in 2013. This was hands down the best book I read all last year. I didn't want to put it down. If you like science fiction or fantasy and you like to read older books and classics, this is the book for you. It is full of adventure, geography, history, dinosaurs, and giant plants. I kept putting off this book, but I wish I had read it earlier because it really changed how I thought about Verne. Here is my two sentence review on Shelfari.

2.     Book you were excited about and thought you are going to love but didn’t: Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James (2011) and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (2010)

 

I couldn't choose between these two books on the biggest disappointment of 2013. I didn't expect that much from 50 Shades, but I was still super disappointed because I have read better fanfiction that was FREE! Why are people buying this book if it costs actual money?! I borrowed mine from the library and I'm so glad I did so I didn't waste any money. Here is my angry rant review on Shelfari if you want to see what I thought about it. Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, I didn't even finish. I had been looking forward to it so much. They had even made a movie about it! I was so disappointed! I didn't even get halfway through the book before I gave up. I couldn't stand the way it was written and I found it to be boring in most places.

 

3.       Most surprising in a good way book of 2013: The Ancient Hawaiians: How They Clothed Themselves by Magraret Titcomb (1974)

I read this book this summer when I was bored with reading Sherlock Holmes fanfiction and fairytales. It was a short book but really informative. I wasn't expecting to become as engrossed in it as I did. It was full of drawings that depicted scenes from the ancient people's lives. If you like cultural studies, this is a fun book.

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1887)

I LOVED this book! I couldn't put it down. I watched the BBC Sherlock for the first time this year and was dragged into the wonderful world of Sherlock Holmes. I decided to read the books because I love mysteries and I thought these would be great. I was right. I recommend this book the most because it is the first book in the Holmes cannon and it is always good to start at the beginning of a series. There are four full length novels and 56 short stories in the Holmesian repertoire. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves mysteries, murder, intrigue, history, and classic literature.

5. Best series you discovered in 2013: Canon of Sherlock Holmes (1887- 1927) and the Andrew Lang Fairy Books (1889- 1910)

As stated above, the Sherlock Holmes books are my new obsession, but fairytales are another. I have always loved fairytales and folklore, but I recently have had a resurgence in the fantasy genre on my bookshelf. The colored fairy book series compiled and edited by Andrew Lang is one of the best series of fairytales out there. Lang was an anthropologist and poet who compiled these highly successful books. The stories included are as well known as Beauty and the Beast or Blue Beard and as unknown as Why the Sea is Salt. There are 12 books containing 437 stories. If you like fairytales, this is a great series for you.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013: Diana Wynne Jones, Author of Howl's Moving Castle (1986)

I first watched the Miyazaki movie Howl's Moving Castle about 5 years ago. I fell in love with Howl and Sophie and watched it several times. When I saw the book on Amazon on sale for $1.99, I bought it and read it the same day. I am so glad that I did. Diana Wynne Jones has a wonderful way with words and this story is a perfect children's story.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you: Revenge of the Dust Bunnies by Mike Kalmbach (2013)

 

This is a silly scary book geared toward middle aged boys. I don't red this genre ever. I never liked Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark, but I liked this funny book. It was short (less than 50 pages) and strange as well as funny. Great for a spooky afternoon read.

8. Most thrilling, un-put-down-able book in 2013: The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)

 

This book pushes the bounds of adventure as you follow Holmes and Watson across London in the search for missing men, a lost foreign treasure, a manhunt across the unsavory parts of society, a boat chase, running with the Baker Street Irregulars, and more. Of all the Holmes novels I read this year, this one is the one that was the fastest paced, and hardest to put down. The detail involved in solving this case is terrific and extraordinary.

9. Book you read in 2013 that you are most likely to re-read next year: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)

Again, Conan Doyle wins with his arguably most famous novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles. There was so much to love about this book. The setting on the moors was brooding and mystical. Sir Henry was a great character and the hound was terrifying throughout the book. A large portion of the middle of the story is written as letters from Watson to Holmes to inform him of the happenings on the moor, which can be a little odd, but it is all made better once you get to the height of the action on the moor with Holmes and Watson and the Hound. I will most definitely read this book again in the near future, just because it was so dramatic and brooding.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013: Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1919)

 

Just look at that awesome cover over there to the right. I love the vibrant colors, the crazy alien creature, the half naked man with a sword, and the boldness of the typesetting. This is an eye-catching cover. This will grab your attention at the store and make you think: Huh... I should check that book out. It looks interesting.

11. Most memorable character in 2013: Sherlock Holmes

 

He is so eccentric and fascinating. Holmes makes me want to read more and more and more about him every time I finish a story.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013: Journey to the Center of the Earth

 

This really was the most amazing book I read this year. The writing allowed me to vividly imagine everything in the book. It was like having a film running through my head the entire time. I wish my French were good enough that I could read it in the original language. For now I just have to read English translations.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013: Vegetable Diet: as Sanctioned by Medical Men, and By Experience in All Ages. Including a System of Vegetable Cookery by William A. Alcott (1838)

 

As can be seen by My Review of this book, I thought this is a really fantastic resource on vegetarianism in history. This book really helped me know that my veganism can be healthy and that I'm not destroying my health like so many people are quick to inform me when I tell them of my diet. I found this book to be enjoyable and interesting on many levels. If you like medical type historical resources, this book is for you.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2013 to finally read: The Hound of the Baskervilles

I cannot believe I waited this long to read it. Even my brother, who used to hate reading, read this as a child. I am so glad I have begun my journey into the Holmes universe.

15. Favorite passage/ quote from a book you read in 2013: A Study in Scarlet Part I, Chapter IV

 

"There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2013

 

Alas, I cannot sort my books on Shelfari in order from shorted to longest. Therefore, I cannot tell you which book I read was the shortest or the longest. I can make a guess and say that the shortest was a cookbook and the longest was one of the classics I read.

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reading and dying to talk to somebody about it: The Sign of the Four

 

I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the part with the boat chase is so exciting!

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2013 (romantic, friendship, etc): The Watson/Holmes friend relationship

 

I feel like this is the most amazing friendship in the history of literature. We read the books through Watson's eyes, so everything we read is through the filter of his adoration, frustration, amazement, joy, fear, and satisfaction with Holmes in every case. Holmes obviously cares a great deal for Watson because he takes Watson along with him everywhere. There have been many books and articles written about this epic bromance. It will endure forever!

19. Favorite book you read in 2013 from an author you’ve previously read: Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1920)

 

This is the fourth book in the Barsoom series. This story follows Carthoris and his quest to be reunited with the kidnapped Thuvia. It is an easy to read and exciting adventure.

20. Best book in 2013 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer (1974)

My mom recommended this book to me this summer when I was making my way through my aunt's paperback collection. I read this book in two days after staying up most of the night reading. This is a very emotional book and the best Sherlock Holmes novel I have read that was not penned by Doyle himself. It was fast paced and left you wanting to keep reading at the end of every chapter. Imagine this: Sherlock Holmes meeting Sigmund Freud. Yep, it is that awesome!

21.Genre you read the most from in 2013: Food/ Cookbooks/ Diet

 

I know it doesn't look like it from this list, but most of the books I read last year were cookbooks, diet books, or about food. They weren't all that good, which is why you don't see many of them here. I read tons of books about juicing and recipe books for ideas. None of those made it to this list.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013: Sherlock Holmes

 

Not so surprising, considering how many books on this list are about him. I love his wit and personality. I never know what he is going to come up with next to be able to solve the crime. I love being kept on my toes and Holmes certainly does this.

23. Best 2013 debut you read

 

I didn't really read any books that came out in 2013 that I absolutely loved. As you can tell, most of my favorite last year were written around 1880 to 1920. I guess I had better luck with the older books last year.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by A Square ( Edwin A. Abbott) (1884)

 

This world is probably the most amazing to imagine that I have ever read. This entire book is written from the point of view of a square. This is a social commentary, a math lesson, and a satire all rolled into one. I read most of this while flying planes and riding in cars to and from school. The world building was really spectacular and easy to picture. This should be required reading in school.

 

25. Book that was the most fun to read in 2013: Fables and Fairytales by Leo Tolstoy (compiled in 1972)

 

I spent an afternoon reading these stories aloud to my mother. It was the most enjoyable afternoon of the summer. These are well written and fun to read and fall off the tongue in a perfect manner for storytelling.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2013

I think I wasn't really in the mood for emotional reading in 2013. I can't think of a single book that I read that made me cry. I think that is from being emotionally exhausted in my real life so I didn't want to be emotionally drained by the books I was reading. Maybe I'll be in a less emotionally vulnerable place this year and I can read more sad or emotionally engaging books.

27. Book you think got overlooked this year or when it came out

I didn't really read many contemporary books this year as you can see by the general timeline of the books I liked. I seem to be stuck in the late 1800s for some reason. Maybe they just had great writers? I guess Flatland would fit into this category since it wasn't well received until later after Einstein did his work with space and time. This book was really ahead of its time. Go read it!

Looking Ahead into 2014

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2013 but will be your #1 priority in 2014:  Vegan for Her by Virginia Messina (2013)

My mom bought this for me several months ago now and I just haven't had time to read it... I got halfway through the first chapter and then stopped because Christmas was upon us. It's currently sitting by my bedside waiting for me to read its beautiful crisp pages.

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2014 (non-debut):

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur (2013)

This was my most anticipated book of last year, but then when I got it, I just wasn't in the mood to read it. I think my brain was just trying to recuperate from all the heavy reading I had been doing and didn't want to have to work anymore. I was so excited when I got this book and I really look forward to reading it this year. I love Tolkien's writing with a fiery passion. I can't get enough of it. If it is anything like his book The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun I think I'll love it.

3. 2014 debut you are most anticipating: Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain (2014)

 This is the fifth book in the Green Rider series. I started this series in high school and instantly fell in love. The multiple year long gaps of time between the publication of each book is totally worth it because the books are so good. I can't wait to find out what happens to Karigan and how her relationship with Estora will be affected by what happened in the last book (I really love that they are friends, so I would hate for that friendship to fall apart completely). I also want to know how her relationship with her father is going to resolve since there is a lot of tension there.

4. Series ending you are most anticipating in 2014

I'm not really looking forward to any series that are ending... I need to find more contemporary novels to read.

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging in 2014

Read more books that I love instead of hundreds of books that I just sort of like. Read more full length books and longer books. Read more classics and more books in foreign languages. Read more books about veganism, animal welfare, and the world. Read more contemporary books. Read more books in my TBR pile beside my bed so it doesn't trip me in the middle of the night when I'm thirsty.

So wrapping up my year of reading in 2013: I love Sherlock Holmes. I love reading books from 150 years ago. I have a large pile of books I need to read. I read too many books about food and diets on my kindle that I don't really enjoy. I shouldn't read contemporary books that everybody likes and expect great things.

Thanks for sticking with me until the bitter end. I'll update later this week about my Fitbit (which I received in the mail today!) and my Walk to Mordor. Let me know what you think about this post and if you think I should do more posts like this in the future.

The Black Hole Vortex of YouTube

Hey there everyone! I had some trouble sleeping a few nights ago and watched a bunch of videos on Youtube to try to go to sleep. The black hole vortex that is YouTube swept me away and I ended up watching videos for several hours. I'm not sure it actually helped with getting me to bed, but these are the highlights of the videos I have watched in the past few weeks and wanted to share with you.

Reiki Me

 

This video is one of the best parodies that I have seen in a very long time! Megan has a great voice and her filming of the video was very artistic. I love the original "Wrecking Ball" song, but I find the video to be a little strange. (It's the licking of the sledge hammer that really throws me off. Miley, what is that about?)

But Where Do You Get Your Protein?

 

This video answers the question all vegans hate to be asked: "But where do you get your protein?" FullyRawKristina answers that question here. I love how fun and light Kristina's energy is. It makes me happy to watch her videos.

Wobble Baby, Wobble!

I absolutely adore this music video! I heard this song on the radio for the first time about 3 months ago. I immediately turned it up loud and danced in my car at the red light. This is the ultimate low-key dance. Wobble Baby, Wobble!

Look! I Can Run Through Mud!

This is a fun review of the Fitbit Flex and the Jawbone Up, two different wrist fitness monitors. I think a mud run is a great way to test if these products work. It's also fun to watch people get covered in mud while I am clean and dry.

The Weightless Project

This is an introduction video to a wonderful project. The Weightless Project is a way to motivate you to exercise by donating money to feed the world's hungry every time you workout. For every 1000 calories you burn, $1 is generated to help the Weightless Project feed the hungry. At the moment it is only setup to work with Jawbone and Fitbit, but they will be adding more devices and apps soon. As of right now, they have burned/ earned: CALORIES 26,178,218 CONTRIBUTION $18194.23. This project reminds me greatly of the game Free Rice. The premise of this game is that it quizzes you so you can better your vocabulary or geography knowledge while also earning money to feed the hungry.

OMG SHERLOCK!

This is the video that I have watched the most over the past few weeks. I am waiting with bated breath for the new season of BBC's Sherlock. This seven minute video, Many Happy Returns, is packed full of emotional moments for fans as Watson, Lestrade, and Anderson all contemplate their (supposedly) deceased friend Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is one of the best shows I have ever seen. I have watched the first 2 seasons 5 times (all 6 episodes) and listened to the commentaries several times. And, I own both seasons on Blue Ray and both soundtracks on CD. Just another few weeks and we will all be waiting years again for the next 3 episodes!

Girls/Girls/Boys

I need to take a moment to thank my friends Rei and Lauren for introducing me to Panic! at the Disco six years ago. They have so many wonderful (and fantastically titled) songs like "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage", "There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey. You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet", and "Build God, Then We'll Talk".  This song is probably my favorite of all of them. I can't really explain why I love this song, but it gets stuck in my head and I can't get it out! So, go view this video and watch a half-naked man mesmerizingly sing at you while staring deep into your soul with his brilliant eyes!

Eternal Spirit: I Discovered a New CD

Time for a little something different: Music.

Music is a big part of my life. The last 5 1/2 years were spent as a music student, studying music every day with every fiber of my being. I love many different genres and styles, but my favorites are usually Classical, Folk, New Age, Oldies, Pop, and Symphonic Metal. I'm also a huge fan of church music and I've been involved with my church choir since middle school.

Enter the new song I heard today for the first time: Eternal Spirit

 

I was teaching my mom how to download songs from Amazon and she handed me this CD called Eternal Spirit by Ana Hernandez. (You can listen to samples here) It is the New Zealand Lord's Prayer with drone, voice, and flute. In the link above to the video, you can see how Carla DeSola's choreography captures the flow of the words and music into a vibrant living dance.

The CD Starts with "Mother Ann's Song": a haunting track with a tolling bell and vocals that set the mood of the album. This would make a great track in a movie soundtrack for a funeral march or procession into a graveyard. "Eternal Spirit", the album's title track, is next. The drone and flute are a perfect Segway into the contemplative atmosphere of this song. The third track is named "Heartbeat/Meditation No.1: Cedar". It is the longest piece on the disk at 13:51 and continues the contemplative mood set in the first two tracks with the drone and steady "heartbeat" and improvised flute. "Slender Ships" is the fourth track that evokes the ocean with actual ocean waves crashing on the shore (not something I'm a big fan of in my music, but it works well enough that I don't hate it). If you are into that sort of thing, this is the track for you! Again, the vocals are done in a haunting chant-like style. "Meditation No.2: Bamboo" is a really cool piece. The flute and freetone (a chime in the xylophone family, apparently) evoke a picture of a beautiful meditation spot in China with a sense of melancholic longing. "Canon" sounds like it could come from one of the many Celtic/Medieval/Renaissance albums I own and is based off Gregorian Chant. My only complaint is that it is not long enough.  "Aleynu L'shabey'ah: It Is Ours to Praise" again utilizes Ana's haunting voice and introduces us to the Tibetan Singing Bowl! (And yes, it does need to be capitalized because singing bowls are one of the coolest instruments out there!). This song leads straight into "The Atlantic Ocean" without pause. This nearly ten minute song returns us to the ocean with the low hum of the singing bowls. Altogether, this is a very quiet, meditative, and pensive album. It would be great for meditation, prayer, relaxation, or quiet listening.

I wanted to share my new discovery with you and I would love to know what you think about it.

In other news, I didn't end up walking today or yesterday because I'm tired and my poor legs need a break. I'm headed back to Koko FitClub tomorrow with my awesome friend Meagan, so I'll continue with my walk to Mordor on the morrow.

Take a look at my awesome hair! I did this while I was listening to my awesome new music and didn't realize how cool it looked until I looked into the mirror. The angle is a bit awkward, but I wanted you to be able to see it from the top and side to get the full effect.