My Easy Lunch series will feature small, easy-to-make lunches and snacks made with basic ingredients.

Container Contents:
- 2 slices of deli cheese wrapped in deli ham
- 1 piece of garlic bread twist

Container Contents:
- a slice of (store-bought–shhhh) cheese pastry
- two strawberries sliced in half

I packed these really quickly when bringing my boyfriend something to eat at work. It makes for a good snack. And the cheese pastry is delicious with the strawberries! The original pastry was huge so I cut a small slice of it to pack. Maybe store-bought goods aren’t so bad if you dress them up a bit…

This isn’t a “real” post per se, but just some things I want my readers to take note of:

- The site has been adjusted slightly to look less-strange in Internet Explorer. It still looks strange, but c’mon, you all should be using Firefox anyway.
- The link to my Art is now functional. It leads to an updated version of my homepage, www.paperfox.org.
- There is a donation button in the menu for those of you who’d like to help me fund my way through studying abroad this fall
- I am currently on the look-out for a new web host, since for whatever reason this site seems to go down frequently. This has been a major factor in the lack of recent updates :\ Any suggestions are welcome!
- I am also on the look-out for guest writers. If you have something you want to share, feel free to leave me a note in the comments or send me an e-mail. Starting mid-June I won’t be able to update this site as frequently. I would hate to see it go stagnant!

Feel free to use this post to ask me any questions or make any suggestions. I would love to hear from you.

I hope all of you are enjoying a marvelous Earth Day. In New England we have been kindly given awesome weather after so much time spending spring in the rain (not that that’s a bad thing!) Here are different ways you can contribute to Earth Day.

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Now that spring has arrived, a lot of rain has come with it. I don’t mind the rain so much because I have a good set of “rain gear,” or stuff I wear or do only when it rains. Here’s what I recommend for those who are are unprepared for rainy days or don’t feel like doing anything else but loaf around.

- Footwear: Invest in some nice waterproof footwear. For guys it’s probably sturdy boots, but women are lucky because they have their choice of awesome galoshes. They make you feel invincible when you wear them in puddles (think back to wearing snowsuits in the winter) and spare the ends of your jeans from getting yucky. The only downside is that the rubber smell can get kinda intense, but it’s worth it to spare your favorite sneakers from the elements.

- Little umbrellas: I love little umbrellas. They are really cheap (around $5) and are durable since most are designed to handle being blown inside out on windy days. Little umbrellas are good to have in your bag or your car for emergencies (especially if you live in a place where squalls are common.) I bought a really cute one at H&M.

- Jackets with big hoods: I like long jackets with big hoods attached. They protect better than the dinky ones that come of hooded sweaters, but if you wear one of those underneath the jacket then you are doubly-warm and protected. You will feel like you are being hugged, always.

- Rainy day music: This is more for when you’re listening to music and you just aren’t feeling the Ricky Martin. Rainy day music is nice and mellow and just a tad depressing. It’s music that sounds good against the backdrop of the rain. (Suggestions: Sparklehorse, Noriko Tujiko, and Keren Ann all make you wish you had a glass ceiling from which you could watch the sky.) I probably wouldn’t recommend listening to this in the car because it might make you fall asleep! Hint: Rainy day music also counts for good headphone music.

- Make soup: My equivalent to having cocoa in the winter is having soup when it’s rainy. Vegetable soup or something with a chicken stock is perfect–nothing too heavy. Have it with some good quality bread, such as focaccia or any good dipping bread (as in, not Wonder Bread.)

- Bake things: Being stuck in the house is a great excuse to make food. Baked goods just somehow seem to fit the rainy atmosphere. Since you are less inclined to run out for ingredients at the store, challenge yourself by using only the ingredients in your pantry. You’d be amazed at how much stuff you can make with just basic baking ingredients! The smells of baking will make the house or apartment seem even more comforting to those who just came in from the rain.

Of course, there are tons of things to do on rainy days (see: Cat in the Hat), but this post is just a sampling of what I feel makes rainy days more enjoyable (notice they mostly involve rain gear and food.) Next time you’re stuck with a rainy day, try doing things that are comforting to you so that bad weather won’t get you down.

Other things to do:
- catch up on a book
- watch a really long movie
- catch up on sleep by taking a nap
- create something
- learn and do origami
- re-read your favorite comics
- hold a rainy day party, complete with little umbrella drinks
- write a story or fill up some sketchbook pages with rain-themed ideas

Writing this is making me look forward to the next rainy day! (although I don’t want to jinx the nice weather we’ve been having~)

There are so many reasons why you should make your own oatmeal. It’s cost-effective, lasts a long time, is great for your heart and cholesterol, and has endless variety to it. I also find that when I have it for breakfast I feel more full (a good effect of eating whole grains) and eat less at lunch. I love simple dishes that can be tweaked and changed, so that’s why I enjoy making instant oatmeal. Read the rest of this entry »