It’s March! So close to spring! Only 21 days! And this time next week the clocks spring forward! Extra day! It’s currently snowing like a bitch outside in NYC and a man hit me in the crotch with a snow shovel, so forgive me for counting the days until this garbage Winter is over, but I am READY for Spring.
True story though: I do this seasonal fear eating when the weather starts to change. At the end of September I eat as many tomatoes as possible. This past week, i’m trying to get all of the Winter foods in before it’s too late. I’ve had: ramen, pho, multiple chicken soup variations, chili, and a lot of roasted veggies. Currently eating: this big pot of baked lentils with merguez, parsnips, and kale. Still on the list: SOUP DUMPLINGS.
The onset of March also means that my experiment in austerity is over. I had some bumps in the road – there were a couple cab rides, a few meals out, and one MUCH NEEDED trip to the Russian Baths, but otherwise it was really awesome and really easy. I cooked SO MUCH. Awesome, healthy, frugal meals! For myself and my pals. I didn’t buy any physical things! I really still need pants but I made it through the coldest month ever in thick tights. #proud.
I had a good manic planning afternoon in an effort to rope my friends in to doing cheapie activities so that I wouldn’t miss out on fun.
First up was a big clothing swap at my place which was the most fun excuse to clean my closet ever. I spent Valentine’s day at work and then day drinking with my best gentleman pal which really set me up for closet-clean success. I was brave enough to strip down and try on every single thing I own to see what still worked, what could be taken in, and what needed a new home. So many babes came to my house! I made a great Mexican baked egg dish and Mexican spiced hot chocolate! Other lovelies brought homemade bread and the best brownies I’ve ever had in my life. We all laughed and were in various states of undress and wiggling into clothes all afternoon. I loved it, and I loved watching the clothes I love so much going home with rad babes who looked great in them. It also felt great to be around a bunch of awesome fat femmes and try on a bunch of sizes of clothing in my own house!
Obviously I needed a snack-centric event as well, so I goaded the girl gang into having a dumpling making party with me. Everyone brought a different type of filling and then we assembly lined the hell out of them to make a million. I ate all the ones that broke, and we all got some to take home for the freezer. We had spicy lentil, pork with ginger, garlic, and scallion, sweet potato with kale and paprika, and homemade goddamn CHEESE BLINTZES.
We gabbed. We laughed.We fried. (WAIT. MENTAL NOTE: WE LAUGHED. WE FRIED WILL BE THE NAME OF MY GIRL GANG LOVE STORY.) We steamed. It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday. It also made me realize that i’m a crazy person and only happy when i’m being productive. Like, “Oh, hey we’re going to churn out hundreds of dumplings today instead of sitting around eating brunch and relaxing like normal weekend humans.” I guess i’m lucky that my lady boss friends are the same way and will go along with my camp counselor-like activity planning.
For March, i’m focusing on moving more. I agreed to do an African dance performance as a was of making myself go to two classes a week instead of one. Logic: I’m too afraid to look like an idiot at the recital so i’ll go to class more often to make sure that doesn’t happen. I also need to get my ass back in the pool so that when it’s finally warm i’ll be in good swimming shape.
Holler if you know anyone in NYC who wants to give me some swimming pointers! I need to nail down a kickturn!
