Where have I been?

Hi everyone! So, it's been months since I've popped onto this blog. Months, eek. Very bad blogging etiquette. But, I've been busy cooking up lots of topics each day for my new health and fitness blog, Vitamin G, over on Glamour.com. Haven't seen it yet? Come stop by!

So where does this leave this blog? Kind of in limbo right now, I guess. I promise to post when inspiration strikes, but for now, I'm busy juggling a lot, especially with the new baby due any minute now! We're having another boy and eager to meet him soon!

So, wishing you all a Merry Christmas and happy 2009! Hope to see you over on Vitamin G, and back here on this blog at some point.

xoxo,

Sarah

Happy First Day of September!

I love fall. So I decided to ring it in a little earlier this year, on this first day of September, by picking blackberries (yep, we pillaged the neighbors' overgrown vine) and baking pumpkin muffins (I used a really good recipe from one of Dorie Greenspan's books).

And, a quick pumpkin progress report: I have six growing in my garden. Six! The San Marzano tomatoes have been eaten by the dog, along with the plums and the lone fig on my tree. Sniffle, sniffle. But the pumpkins, look like survivors!

And, it's live!

Come by and check it out:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/

Learning to let go

I wanted to tell you about a story I wrote recently for SELF (in the current issue) about learning to let go of things we harbor--for me, the what-ifs about a failed friendship that tanked many years ago. The article was therapeutic to write, and I hope it helps you break free from whatever unhealthy thing you're hanging on to ...

Oh, you can read the article here.

Sarah

P.S. Oh, and just because they are sooo beautiful, I'm including a photo of the dahlias from my garden--snapped in my kitchen the other day. Pure happiness.

Lumpia Cooking Lessons

Last weekend I got a cooking lesson from my brother's girlfriend, Katherine, in the fine art of Lumpia making--you know those to-die-for Filipino fried rolls (kind of like a spring roll, but soooo much better). Well, I've been dying to learn how to make them for, I don't know, FOREVER, and she was kind enough to show me. Kat is half Spanish, half Filipino and began making Lumpia at the ripe old age of 8. I've included a pic, above, so you can see our little feast--and a feast it was. (Side dishes include: watermelon with lime and mint (so so good), veggies and soba noodles, and a salad).

Oh, and tomorrow is the big day: The day my health and fitness blog, Vitamin G, launches on Glamour.com! Be sure to check it out and tell me what you think! 

xo,

Sarah

P.S. And, yep, that was my name in Women's Wear Daily recently (how fun is that?) in an article about Glamour.com's new launch. 

I love Seattle--but it's time to get tough on crime

Hi all,

I'm writing today with some serious stuff on my mind. Last weekend, a 24-year-old woman, on her way to a job interview, was brutally raped in broad daylight in one of Seattle's most beloved landmarks: Pike Place Market. My response?

Where were the police?

Where were the people--you, me, anyone--who could have helped her while she was beaten to a state of unconsciousness and raped repeatedly?

What the #%^&#! is going on in this city?

I'm angry. Really angry. What has happened to this city--this place I have loved since I was a child? Now, I know crime is a reality in today's world--especially in the city, especially in the year 2008, but I'm not willing to sit idly back and accept that this is our new reality--that I should worry about being raped when I want to, I don't know, head down to Pike Place to pick up flowers for a dinner party or rhubarb for a pie.

For me, this news was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back, for lack of a better analogy. Crime seems to be sweeping into Seattle with an eerily steady force. First there were the male gang rapes happening in Belltown (yes, male gang rapes), then the upswing in youth violence that has inner-city kids chasing each other around with guns--even my own brother was brutally and randomly beaten up last year by a gang of guys after leaving a restaurant downtown (in case you're wondering, the place was Jillian's--and, nope, not a fan of the joint).

So where does this leave me--besides being very angry? It makes me think it's time to get tough on crime. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it's time Seattle got itself some Giuliani-style "round 'em up and get 'em prosecuted" leadership. Even our friends from New York say they see more blatant crime in downtown Seattle (drug deals, you name it) than they ever witnessed on the streets of New York.

OK, have we been snoozing while crime snuck in and took up residence in this great city? Time to wake up people. You. Me. I think we can all do something about it.

I just mailed in my ballot for the primary election, and now this all has me thinking about the general election ahead. For the first time in a long while, I'm willing to cross party lines to vote for a candidate who promises to get tough on crime--in Seattle, and elsewhere in the state.

I never thought I'd say this, but the things I care about--the environment, help for the poor, and all those other worthy social issues--are all good, but at the moment, keeping our streets safe matters more to me. Seriously. Pollution control vs. rape control. Yeah, I'd vote for the latter right now--if given a choice.

What are your thoughts on this? And, for those Seattle-ites reading, which candidates in the upcoming election seem to be toughest on crime?

Coming Home From War

Cutest photo in the world: My 2-year-old niece with her dad, my brother in law. He came home from serving in Iraq yesterday and reunited with his daughter, wife (my sis) and his new son (who was born while he was in the Middle East!). 

Glamour and crannbery pie--how's that for a combo?

Hi everyone!

OK, so it's been an unforgivably long time since my last post. Believe me, I've been thinking about this ol' blog a lot, and all my pals who I need to connect with.

Speaking of blogs, I want to tell you about some exciting news: I recently accepted a gig as a blogger for Glamour.com! While I'm currently doing some ramp-up work for my new blog, called Vitamin G (get it, "G" for Glamour? Cute, huh?), it won't launch until the end of the month. (I'll post the URL here, when it does.) The blog will focus on health and fitness topics. I've been writing about health for years, and I'm kind of obsessed with staying on top of all the latest news, research and trends in the wellness arena, so it's a great fit for me and I'm so excited for the opportunity. Stay tuned for details on the blog's launch!

Lot's of other things to catch you up on, and share, but right now I want to sign off with this (which will explain the cranberry photo, above): Anyone ever made a cranberry-sour-cream pie? I know, it sounds odd, right? Well, I saw it in a The Pike Place Market Cookbook recently, and I can't get it out of my head. I guess I'm craving fall foods already. (You should see the pumpkins coming up in my garden--sugar pie and Cindarella varieties. So fun!) Anywho, back to the pie: Does it sound good? Gross? So-so? Would you try it? Would Ina Garten--godess of all domesticity--make it? (Like fellow writer Melissa Walker, I, too, am ga-ga over Ina. BTW, she just released her third young adult novel, Violet in Private--check it out.)

I'm thinking of giving this pie a test run as soon as I can get my hands on some fresh cranberries at the market. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I can talk my chef friend Brian McCracken into sneaking me a bag or two from his family's farm--they own a cranberry bog (how cool is that?).

Hugs to all--will catch up more later.