In Other Related News...Clark County Museum Jaunt & 3 Year Anniversary Today!!!

Okay, so I got my cheeseburger lovin' fest over with! I'm past it, I've moved on--time for me to hop back on the train to vegetarian town!

But, speaking of trains, last night, before the cheeseburgers, Colin and I saw quite a few. We went to the Clark County Museum out in Henderson, Nevada and it was truly awesome! It was the grand re-opening of the Candlelight Wedding Chapel and a celebration of Clark County's Centennial (which means, Clark County has been a county for a 100 years now)! To celebrate, they opened the museum up for one night only with free admission (Admission is normally only $2.00, but hey, free is always nice! We saved $4.00!) and a live jazz band and cookies, wedding cake and champagne! Oh my goodness (apparently that's my phrase for today) it was delicious too! I did take ONE sip of the champagne, and it was so good I had to hand it to immediately hand it over to my husband so I wouldn't keep drinking and get smashed---because even though I really don't drink, yeah, that champagne was quite good! The wedding cake was good too, but not great. The cookies, oh my, the cookies at each house from a different era--so much fun! I love history, I love food and what a better way to mark history than with food from that time period. Clark County Museum is an actual museum, but it's also a few tiny streets lined with houses from different eras dating back to 1906. We saw original (and obviously refurbished) houses that were part of the Clark County/Las Vegas/Goldfield/Southern Nevada landscape during that past 103 years! We saw houses from 1906, 1912, 1923, 1933, 1941, 1944, 1952 and 1958....I could've stayed in each house for at least thirty minutes--but I didn't (tons of people, Small houses, crowded), what I did see was so cool though! In each house, there was furniture, clothing, appliance and decorations from that time period--the 1906 house was pretty much a one room house with NO indoor plumbing (can you imagine?!) and a HUGE megaphone record player. So beautiful though, that record player was cobalt blue and looked like a budding morning glory flower--so neat! The 1912 and 1923 house had indoor plumbing, and gorgeous clothing. The 1912 house had only one bedroom but a really neat under the staircase closet! The kids apparently slept upstairs back then, or in the basement, in this Vegas heat? I'm surprised they lived! The 1923 house was cool, LOVE the clothing from there, but I can't remember much else--very sparse. I noticed as the houses went up in years, the more stuff that was in them. The 1941 and 1944 houses had WWII memorabilia, Army Coats and Navy Uniforms. And newspapers with headlines declaring that Pearl Harbor had happened and then that V Day was here and we'd won the war! I actually got pretty emotional in those homes because it made me think about how hard everyone fought back then, how many sacrifices the families/mommies/wives made, the women that went into the Army, the factories and the colleges (for the first time) to fill the jobs of men that were sent away. Rosie the Riveter was in the 1940s' houses too! And she is so very cool! It made me realize that even though it's over sixty years later, and the technology, appliances and way that houses are built are really different--some things never change. We're still at war, there's still men and women fighting for our freedom and still so many sacrifices being made in the name of freedom! I paused in those houses and thank God for my freedom and all of those who made it possible! The 1952 house was kind of odd, it was painted a screaming pink inside (I like pink, but not on my walls) with very retro furniture. It was the first of the houses to have a TV--so in the "history" room (each house had a room converted to a museum room w/ history from that time period), there were about ten TV's--those things were huge back then, but the screens were small. So cool! The clothing was very proper and smooth, and neat! I could imagine my mother growing up in a house like that, with a HUGE dining room and smaller bedroom. Although the houses back then had WAY bigger bedrooms than the houses today; and actually, if you asked me, I'd rather have a house (with the addition of closets of course because there weren't too many of those back then) built back then than one built today. They were so much more cool and efficient, in my opinion. Anyway, the surprise of the evening was that my favorite house was the 1933 house. THAT thing was SO neat! The kitchen was medium size--big enough to work in, but small enough not to get lost in. Electric appliances (oven, stove) had just come out and the stainless steel little dials on the stove, and the small little oven--so cute! I could picture my Grandmother's grandma cooking up a storm in there--canning, making fresh bread, frying bacon and onions in a cast iron skillet. I could see it so well! It was awesome! The bedroom was actually pretty large and had a TINY little closet, but still, it had a closet. The dinning room was small, but quaint--you know, the kind that only holds a 4 person table, with four chairs, so you're kind of forced to sit close and talk to one another at mealtime--the way it should be. The living room was spacious enough with a fireplace. And the bathroom was HUGE! Sincerely, a claw foot tub, stand alone square sink, a toilet in between--I wanted to pick up the bathroom and bring it home because it was bigger than mine! Behind the kitchen was also a small little laundry room that held the first electric washing machines--no dryers back then. It was sincerely one of the cutest, most wonderful little houses I've ever seen and I could totally picture living there--even now! So cool! After our tour of the houses, we went into the actual museum, it was so neat! I learned a lot about Washoe County and Northern Nevada History when I was growing up--it was pretty much shoved down our throats at school--but last night, standing in the Clark County Museum--it hit me "I love my home state. This is really the only place I've ever lived, and while I would indeed love to travel the world, and see things, I love living here! We have such a rich history, such a different culture, it's just fascinating!" It felt good to learn more about Clark County's History, see the Native American Tribes and archaic people that first inhabited Southern Nevada, thousands and thousands of years ago! Then the pioneer settlement and auctioning of land that NO ONE thought would be worth anything--as the sign itself said at one exhibit--they were mistaken! Yes, I would agree! Nevada is nicknamed the Silver State, but us Native Nevadans also know it's the Battle Born State, and it's fitting--Nevada has battled the elements, the Native Americans, the wishy-washy weather, the changing times, the government, and even itself SO many times throughout our 165 history--it's so NEAT! :) I'm really, really proud to be a Nevada Native and I had the most fun I've had in a long time, touring the local county museum! :)

I need to go get ready for mine's and Colin quick get away, though! Happy 3rd Anniversary to us--my longest relationship yet--very cool! I love you, babe, thanks for hanging out and sticking it out with me for three years! And thanks for a great night last night, it was truly so much fun! Time to go get all dolled up for my man--I think I'll curl my hair and put on a pretty dress!

Thank you, Lord, for Colin's presence in my life, the lessons that he taught me and the stronger woman he's helped make me! Thank You, for a fabulous night, here's prayers for another one tonight, and and overall, terrific life! It's all because of You!

In Light N' Love,
-Sarah Liz :)

Ode to a Cheese Burger!

Confession: I had a cheeseburger last night. My very first cheeseburger in over four years. Yes, you read that right--over four years. And oh my goodness gracious--it was sinfully delicious!

You see, for the past three (plus) weeks I have been dreaming of cheeseburgers. Literally--at night, I would go to bed and have very vivid dreams about cheeseburgers; you know; big, thick beef burgers with thick cut bacon (four strips), tons of melted (cheddar) cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard--the works. A big fat beautiful burger with all the fixin's......

And last night, well, my really came true!

Colin and I went to the Clark County Museum (totally awesome little place, so much fun--more of that at a later date, though!) and then stopped at this little tiny hole in the wall of a casino (in Henderson) and won two free cheeseburger meals. I asked God (seriously) before we spun the wheel to let me win a free cheeseburger and then to let me eat in peace, without getting sick beyond belief. We won the cheeseburgers; I took it as a sign that it was okay to eat one.

Now, let me be clear, I didn't become a vegetarian when I did because I'm such a lover of animals. I am, I'm never for their abuse or mistreatment, and up until three weeks ago, every time I'd even THINK about beef, I'd cringe. Like, why would I want to eat ground up cow? Pretty gross, right? Well, it wasn't so gross last night, in fact, it wasn't gross at all! But, back to my story--when I became a vegetarian over four years ago it was due to the fact that WHENEVER I ate meat, it sort of ate me back. I liked it, but it hated me; that said, I was never a big beef eater--and I could always take or leave it, even prior to my going vegetarian. In the years since I have been one, I've studied it and come to realize that I'm doing it now for a much bigger reason--it's healthier, you smell nicer, you're not so damn tired all the time, it's easier on the planet and of course, kinder to the animals one eats when they're not a vegetarian. But I've never been one of "those" vegetarians where I JUDGE people for eating meat--because I truly never did, and I still don't. I understand why people eat meat, and I understand why they don't. For me, it was a very personal decision that was made to improve my overall health. The thing is, whenever I would eat meat, it would make me deliriously sick, tired, gassy, nauseous and on and on and on. To put it bluntly; it was not a pretty picture--especially beef. So I simply stopped eating it. It just wasn't worth it to feel like crap.

But like I said, the last three weeks I've been CRAVING cheeseburgers with a vegeance--every time I passed an In N' Out Burger--I'd sigh and repeat this mantra 'just keep driving, just keep driving,' and I would.

But last night, I said "screw it, bring on the burger!"

This burger was truly amazing!

It was one of those big fat thick burgers that I'd been dreaming out--with lots of cheddar cheese in all of its melted glory--with freshly sliced tomatoes, crisp lettuce, tangy dill pickles (my favorite kind of pickle!) and a spicy kick from an onion; okay, minus the bacon, mayo and mustard; but you know what, it didn't need it! It was perfectly seasoned: salt, pepper and a hint of garlic powder, the way really good quality beef should be seasoned. (Nothing to get in the way of it) I cut that monster burger in half (I knew ahead of time, I would only eat half of it)and devoured it as if it was my last meal.

I think I embarrassed Colin a little because anyone looking at me would've thought "Has this girl ever seen a burger before? Does she even know what one is?" Yeah, it was that kind of delicious! I feel a bit guilty, and totally pathetic having this much joy about a cheeseburger--but on the other hand, I don't care.

It was bar none one of the best burgers I've ever had in my entire life--and don't just take my word for it, I asked Colin as we were eating our cheeseburgers "is it just me, and the fact that I haven't one of these is over four years, or is this really an exceptionally good burger?" His response was, "No, it's not just you, it is really, really good. Unbelievable!" And that's when I knew, it wasn't just me. Colin and I have been together long enough (3 years TODAY!) that we KNOW if the other is enjoying their food--we have our own "leave me alone, I'm eating" expressions...and last night, we both were wearing those expressions as we ate our yummy cheeseburgers!

After we ate, I said a little prayer that I wouldn't get so sick that I'd want to die; and that all of my healthy eating lately would balance out my cheeseburger madness! And this is what I thought about: a cheeseburger, every now and then (even more than once every four years), isn't that horrible of a meal. The beef has iron, minerals and other vitamins we need; the bun has fiber and carbs (which we also need) and the toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles) are vegetables, and being the (sort of) vegetarian that I am, Lord knows my burger had extra portions of those on it. So, all and all, it wasn't that bad.

It was kind of like this: even though I have NEVER smoked a single cigarette my entire life, I kind of equated my burger enjoyment last night to a smoker who is craving a cigarette something fierce; and when they light up and take that first drag, their whole body calms down and feels immediately satisfied. That is what I felt last night. After I stopped (I actually left about three bites of a half on the plate, and took the other half home with me as I cannot stand wasting food of any kind!), I didn't feel sick, I felt RELIEVED. I felt satisfied and good and full--like I gave my body what it needed, and for some very odd reason, it needed a cheeseburger.

I just feel so lucky, no thankful, that it was beyond delicious, that it was FREE (because me and free food--a forever match), and most of all, it didn't make me sick! It was a truly awesome experience and one that I'll remember forever! I know, that sounds incredibly weird that a simple little (or rather, not so little) cheeseburger could make a girl this happy, but it did. It really is the simple, small things in life--and anyone who knows me knows that there are few things in this life that I enjoy more than great food! I am a foodie, a food snob and a health nut--but hey, even a snobby health nut has to break her own rules once in a while!

I no longer want a cheeseburger, by the way, my craving was fulfilled. But I learned an important lesson--even if it's out of the ordinary for you, your body will tell you what it needs, and it's amazing what happens when you listen to it, and follow it!

So, here's to great cheeseburgers, fabulous food and simple pleasures everywhere!

Thank you, Lord, for a fabulous night last night--the amazingly delicious cheeseburger, a great night with Colin and three years of togetherness today! It is all because of You, and I am most grateful for it all!

In Light N' Love,
-Sarah Liz :)