May PFM Scrimmage – Photo by Steve Messerer
Hello there!
Just a quick note to say, Holy Cow! Has it really been so long?! May was a super busy month of cancelled practices, traveling to Portland, scrimmage, traveling to Florida, and being sick, and it seems that I skipped writing even one update during the whole month! (A first, I think.) I have a whole bunch of things to tell you about though, so stay tuned. Posts coming soon!:D
❤
Ty Vampira Knightley
Just announced: Vida Vegan Con 3 will take place in Austin, TX! (#VVCIII)
If you received yesterday’s official VVHQ newsletter, then you’re already in the know. But for the rest of you, we’ve got some pretty big news (and subscribe here for the first look next time). So let’s get to it!
Vida Vegan Con III (or #VVCIII, if that’s how you see the world) will be in…
That’s right, after hosting two glorious, action-packed conferences in our home city (and vegan wonderland) of Portland, we’re taking this show on the road. Janessa, Jess, and I (Michele) have spent over a year scouting about for the perfect city and space in an exciting, happening vegan community to rival our little vegan mecca.
We’ll have loads of information on all things Austin, including:
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Here is a recent picture of me doing a Mohawk, demonstrating how contrary to what my brain was saying, my new strong thighs look pretty good! Stupid brain!
I originally started writing this post back in February, when I was freaking out because my weight had climbed. I was hoping to get useful feedback from other female athletes, but also reluctant to talk about a topic that can be emotionally triggering for some readers. (But here it is!)
I’d never been really been athletic or active before derby. So of course I thought I might drop a couple of pounds and tone up with this new venture. Which is exactly what happened… at first. And that was all fine and good, until the scale started to creep up, right up to a number that I had only seen once or twice before, and didn’t care to see again. PANIC MODE!
In my family, the insecurity has always been our thighs. (Even though there is actually nothing wrong with them. We’re freaking Cuban, that’s all!) As a kid and teen, I was super self-conscious, especially about my thighs. (Which I didn’t realize until years later, were SO FINE!) Societal “norms” have changed a lot since my childhood, and gotten a lot more multi-culturally friendly, which has helped so much. But when the scale started showing me higher numbers, and all my pants started fitting tight in the thighs, all I could think about was how much food I was eating, and how I needed to make it stop. However, just when I decided I needed to “zip it” until further notice, someone from my team posted this article. (Just a few hours later, as a matter of fact!)
Basically the article says: if you don’t eat enough for your sport, you’re making it very likely that you’ll get injured, because the metabolism will take what it needs, even if it’s from your healthy new bones and muscles. WHAT?! That got my attention.
So then I went through this whole period of trying to reprogram my brain. Part of this was doing a serious assessment with a wall mirror placed at an angle on the floor so that I could see my whole body. I spent about 20 minutes one night in my underwear looking over my entire physique prodding, flexing, and jiggling while Thomas giggled nearby.
I learned several things. 1. My butt and thighs are much firmer now! 2. There are muscles and definition that never before existed! 3. My calves look awesome! 😀 At the same time I also coined the phrase, “the proof is in the laps!”, because I had also recently gotten a lot faster on the track. That’s when I started to make my peace with it.
Soon after, a couple of other relevent articles came out, including this one, written by a Rat City Rollergirls, Derby Liberation Front skater, who is one of our coaches, and also a physical therapist! It was nice to read about her very similar struggles as I was going through the same thing. When I talked to another girl that I skate with about it, she confessed she had ripped a pair of her work pants about the same time that I was outgrowing my scrub pants.
It seems to be a thing that happens to a lot of girls. Which is why I thought it was worth mentioning.
So what did I do? Well, I finally had to order some new underwear and scrub pants. I mostly just wear scrubs or derby clothes these days, but in the event that I do something social (like go watch another team’s game), I’ve been wearing skirts and dresses because trying to get my jeans on is NO FUN. But eventually I’ll have to try to find some jeans that fit too. (Which has already been challenging with the skinny jeans not being thigh/butt friendly, even before derby!)
The funny thing is I’m TOTALLY happy now with my new body. I love that I’m getting firmer, faster, and stronger! I think watching the Olympics also helped tremendously. Seeing all those strong, muscled legs really helped me to look at my body in a more athletic way, instead of just as an ornament. I remember in high school thinking to myself that I would never do a sport like soccer because I didn’t want to bulk up my legs! So ironic now. But really, I’m pretty proud of me for getting around my deeply embedded, self-loathing head trip!
Here’s another blog post that I thought was great, talking about how roller derby improves body image: here!
Most of all I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be involved in a sport that embraces all body types, and all kinds of people. It’s done a lot for me in ways that I really didn’t anticipate, and I know it does that for so many people out there too.
<3,
Ty / Vampira Knightley / Vamp
Thank you, Crazy Rumors!
I’m happy to report that I’ve finally found awesome vegan lip balm! People had been telling me for a long time to try Crazy Rumors, but I was happy with my HURRAW! (reviewed here), so I didn’t bother. That is until I started cutting almonds out of my diet (Allergic, and I barely ever break out in hives now!) and realized sweet almond oil was a main ingredient in the latter.
Allergic, yet again!
Unfortunately, my path to allergy free lip love was not direct. First I picked up this baby from Crazy Rumors’ HibisKiss line. It worked great as far as moisturizing was concerned, and I loved that it was available in a variety of subtle shades. Just one problem, every time I applied it my throat would swell up (and stay swollen for hours) and I would also get symptoms ranging from a runny nose, to coughing fits, to sneezing that would immediately resolve when I wiped it off. I persisted applying it for a week, hoping that it really wasn’t my new lip gloss, but in the end I had to admit defeat and toss it. I’m assuming it’s the hibiscus in it. I’m pretty allergic to all things floral, so it’s really not a big surprise.
Despite that unfortunate introduction, I decided to give their regular balm a chance, and I’m so glad that I did. No almond oil, no floral fragrances, and their regular natural lip balm comes in a bunch of safe-for-me flavors, which I’ll describe below.
Coffee: I haven’t been able to drink coffee for years (Tea is my hardstuff), but I thought it’d be nice to smell it. This one turned out to be a little more like the old acid coffee taste/smell to me that I find off-putting. (Coffee breath?) Not my fave flavor, but the balm itself works great.
Chocolate Mint: More minty than chocolatey, and kinda subtle. I decided this is a good one for bedtime.
Pistachio: Yum! It definitely tastes like pistachio ice cream and cake! So good. This one lives in my labcoat at work.
Rootbeer (not pictured): I went back to Vegan Haven and got another one for my regular coat pocket, since I gave the coffee one to Thomas. LOVE THIS!
Conclusion:
This formula is absolutely fantastic! By the time I acquired these, my lips were cracking, burning, and splitting from the lack of lip lube. In two days they were fully healed! (Below) I’m usually the type that likes to peel and bite at my lips, and I don’t even do that now, because they’re always in perfect shape!
Thank you Crazy Rumors!
Happy, healthy, moisturized!
You already saw this picture last month, but I thought it was appropriate since I was all decked out in Rat City gear.
Quick post to brag about my big deal derby accomplishments this past week! If you’ve been wondering where the heck I’ve been, well, I realized last night (after two back to back practices, and after watching another league’s bout) that I skated 6 of 7 days last week! I wasn’t consciously trying to do that, but that’s just how it ended up. Part of the reason was that it was really nice and sunny all week, so we went to skate around Green Lake last Sunday, and then Thomas had new wheels to try out, and then I got new skates.
What’s that, new skates?! I HAVE AWESOME VEGAN SKATES NOW?! YES, YES I DO!
They look like this!
The Bont microfiber boots I ordered during Fast Girl’s annivesary sale came in, and Thursday I was able to get them mounted and molded. Unfortunately, the plates I had on my old skates were too big for the new boots (so I will be selling them, as well as my other skates) but I liked them so much, I bought them again in the right size in a really pretty red.
Bont Hybrid in microfiber with Crazy Venus plates and lightweight kingpins.
These are incredibly light, and I got to skate in them a little bit yesterday afternoon. I already love them. Just have to finish heat molding the toe box, and get used to the slightly looser truck setting that I have them at right now.
And then the extra big news…
I skated for the Rat City Rollergirls assessment yesterday to try to get on Rat Lab Fundamentals. (read all about their multi tier freshmeat program here) After skating with their rec league sporadically, and having a few of the girls I skated with make it on in the last couple of months, I decided to go for it. I tried to remain as calm as possible all week, and not let me talk myself out of it. (It helped that one of my good friends from PFM was going too!) It was a hard practice, but I made it through the entire thing, remained positive, and gave it my all. I got my closest to 27 in 5 yet, just a foot or two short of the whistle! I think I will definitely be getting there on my next attempt, after a plateau of 26.75! And even though I was sure that they’d pass on me this time, when it was all said and done, I received my congratulatory email yesterday as I was getting ready to go watch the Tilted Thunder Rail Bird‘s bout (banked track roller derby). I was in complete shock and overjoyed!
Midna & I all tuckered out at the end of the night last night. (Photo by Thomas)
So I will now be officially training with the Division 1 WFTDA ranked #13 team, Rat City Rollergirls!!!!!! SO excited and thankful for the opportunity to take my training and skills up to the next level, just had to share. I would stay and tell you more, but I actually need to get dressed for my regular team practice!
I’m still working on finishing up that post on roller derby and body image, so that should be coming up this week!
As always, thanks for reading!
Ty / Vampira Knightley
PS- Check out the awesome dinner we had last night at In the bowl after my practices! It’s an all vegetarian place in Capitol Hill, right next to our apartment. None of the mock meats are vegan, but we love tofu anyway…
Thai Peanut Sauce with wide noodles and tofu, $10.29. Stir fried with bok choy, broccoli and carrot then topped with peanut sauce. OMG, YUM!
Thomas had Ginger Fried brown rice and tofu, $ 9.99. Stir fried with carrot, green onion, snow pea, celery, broccoli and fresh ginger.
Around a month ago, a wonderful, fantastic, should-I-really-get-my-hopes-up? rumor started fluttering around vegan circles in Seattle… Highline is going to re-open their kitchen, but just for brunch. I was overjoyed, and immediately planned on starting a twitter campaign to let them know that I supported them. (Which I promptly forgot about, and never ended up doing!) Fortunately for us, this rumor turned out to be partially true.
Highline was planning to re-open, but only for dinner between the hours of 4 and 8, and only on Mondays and Tuesdays, to start.
So of course we were there on the very first day of renewed food service. And the day after. And the week after that. And so on. Afterall, this is the bar we most fell in love with as soon as we moved to Seattle. The whole first year we lived in First Hill, we would check craigslist for apartments, and map them to see how close we could get to it. So you can imagine how sad we were when they closed their kitchen last summer. And even more so every time we passed the glowing sign these last 5 months, since we did in fact end up moving ever so close by.
So here’s what they promised:
We’ll be serving food from 4pm-8pm Monday’s and Tuesday’s for the next while. The menu and days, though short and sweet now, will expand as the weeks pass by. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone over the few weeks! On behalf of all the staff, a HUGE “thank you” to everyone who’s helped spread the word and aims to support us! This is a long time in the works and we expect to exceed everyone’s expectations. love-Highline Bar
And here’s what they delivered:
More Cumin Than Cumin Tacos $9, and Seitan Fingers $8
The above was from the opening night. They even came over to see how the food was, and to get our feedback on how we thought the reinvented Seitan Fingers compared. We were thrilled. They now have a dedicated taco section to their abbreviated menu, and after having these, and the ones from Taco Tuesdays of the past, I think it was an extremely wise and tasty decision!
Crazy Train and Reubender, $10 each, or $12 with a side
These sandwiches were okay. I ordered the Reubender and it was pretty good, though I’ve had better. Thomas seemed to like it a lot, but to be fair, that’s typically the type of sandwich Thomas will order, and not so much my go to. I thought his sandwich was pretty good, except it was just a bit on the bland side. Either the tofu needed marinade or it needed a punchier sauce. They didn’t ask that week, so I didn’t get to give them the feedback that time. Not bad though. I’ve always loved whatever bread that is that they use.
Then there was a week when we didn’t get there in time for food, but stayed for a little while for Britt’s birthday. (Not pictured!)
The Bell Toll $10, and that night’s special: Cactus, Potato, Soyrizo tacos $9
This was from our food last week. I decided to go with that night’s special, despite the crazy sounding cactus that was throwing everyone off. I’m pretty sure I’ve had cactus before, and basically as long as it’s not an animal or a mushroom, I’m game. YUM! I saved one for later, and it ended up still being really good after sitting in the fridge for nearly a week. Haha. Yah, totally ate it days later. 😉 Thomas’ sandwich was good too, especially after clearing all the mushrooms off!
Verdict:
So far, so good! We really love the punk, gothy, rock vibe of this bar, and will be supporting them in all their efforts. It was easy for people from other vegan friendly towns to complain about this or that off the old menu, but there was a tremendous void when Highline shut down; it was the only all vegan bar we had! Personally, I had very little to complain about the old menu besides that the quality of the food was sometimes inconsistent. I think with the smaller menu and their concerted effort, they’ll be able to keep that in check this time around, and hopefully be able to expand their dinner service again too!
WELCOME BACK, HIGHLINE! 😀
The new booze menu!
Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes with Chili Chocolate Ganache
Tonight was a pretty inspired evening! I came home craving cake and chocolate. Not too much of a mystery why, since everyone at work got to eat from a very nice looking cake today. Truly, two of the girls tried to pick me up a vegan cupcake this morning, so they at least they did try to include me, but man, that cake did look good!
A quick text to Thomas determined that he’d take me up on the offer of doing my laundry if I made cupcakes. (Score!) So I got to spend tonight doing all kinds of non-derby things like shaving my legs (they were completely grown out! at over 2 months, it was a new record for me), doing my toenails, putting away laundry, and baking! Woo! Grooming, accomplishments, AND delicious goodies!
I made these using Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Just a few of shakes of cayenne pepper into the chocolate cupcake batter, and half a recipe of chocolate ganache made with half a bar of Green & Black’s Spiced Chilli dark chocolate. Wow, ganache is simple to make, and way easier than going the frosting route! It was my first time and it only had 3 ingredients: soy milk, chocolate, and maple syrup, which I just stirred until smooth over low heat. Easy!
If you like spiced chocolate, I highly recommend trying this or a similar variation. The cupcakes came out perfectly moist and rich! Mmm!
And here are the boys being adorable while the cupcakes were cooling. It was a lovely, productive evening at home. ❤
Photo by Thomas. Thighs by Derby.
Today marks the 4th birthday of the blog! And with each passing year, it has definitely morphed into something more distinct and more confident. This year certainly took a big turn with a name change that really reflects where I am in my little vegan life.
VEGAN DERBY CAT PARTY .com!
Ah derby… Derby has certainly taken over my life in the last 5 months, and I am completely, unapologetically in love with it. CameraPhoneVegan.com served me well for three years as a jumping off point, but the new focus has lead to a clearer idea of what I want to write about. (When I actually have the time!) I am happy to report I will soon have a nice collection of vegan skates! Our local skate shop, Fast Girl Skates, was having a 20% off sale to mark their store anniversary (which is today, same as my blog!) so I got to order myself some nice microfiber boots that I’ll be switching my awesome plates over to, and I’ll also be getting a cheapie pair to skate in outdoors this summer! Yay! 🙂
Moving to Seattle has proved to be a perfect decision for us too. I miss my family terribly at times, but we’ve really found a place that offers us so much, including a sense of fitting in that we never had in Florida. We’re completely at ease with the seasons, the mild city life, and interesting, liberal, artsy minded folks. Oh and the food, we are very, very lucky to live in a city with so much delicious vegan food! (That delivers no less!)
Anyway, thanks for reading! More vegan food, derby, and cats to surely come!
❤,
Ty / Vampira Knightley
Yay! A lunch break! But also proof that I am still cooking sometimes and drinking water.
Just a quick hello on my lunch break from your favorite (?) vegan derby vampire! (Please link me if you know any other vegan derby vampires who blog!)
I’ve been meaning to write this long, involved blog post about weight gain, body image, and my new physique, but honestly, I really havn’t had the time. Instead I’ll just tell you that my prime blog writing time (lunch) has been hijacked by an increasing patient load at work, and that I might finish writing it eventually. Maybe.
Also, I’ll tell you about the typical week day meals that have been giving me fuel for practice, making my muscles, and pleasing my palatte. I don’t pretend to know tons about work out nutrition, but one of the girls I skate with asked. She used to be vegan, and is contemplating doing it again, but was curious how it would work with derby. I’ve been trying to drink more water and make sure that I have lots of fruits, veggies, carbs, and our important friend… protein.
(This will go quick, because I only have 10 more minutes!!)
Typical day…
Breakfast: I’m generally a bad at breakfast person. I’ve been drinking emergenC (because people just keep on getting sick around me!) before I leave the house, followed by white tea. By the time I get to work I’m hungry, so I’m usually eating a Luna bar.
Snack: banana
Lunch: Food (kale, noodles, tofu type meals like above, peanut butter sandwiches, or bean/lentil dishes), yogurt and/or an orange
Snacks: banana/Luna bar/peanuts/raisins/cereal/and I would be lying if I didn’t include chips & salsa, but I’m trying to cut back!
Dinner: This one varies a bunch. If it’s a practice night, I tend to get some tofu in there, either with high protein tofu at home or tofu pho (soup) from the restaurant if I get back early enough. Beans, lentils, and that sort of thing too, which is where my leftover lunches come from.
Anyway, that was a super quick rundown, but you get the idea!
Talk to you again soon! (Hopefully!!)
Photo: Robert Bakie
Here’s a pro shot by Don Jensen from last scrimmage.
So we had a busy last week full of ups and downs, but it was filled with food, derby, friends, and love! Here’s a picture heavy run through of the week…
One of my very best friends Joanna was in town from Denver, so I gave her a quickie vegan tour of Seattle on my day off Tuesday.
Dirty South, $10
We split this awesome Dirty South at Wayward in order to leave room for some desserts and drinks. A half-rack of tangy BBQ seitan ribs, potato salad, and garlic steamed kale. We hit Violet Sweet Shoppe next for some coffee and tea and I had a little bite of Jojo’s seriously good snickerdoodle, but I was saving myself for Mighty O. I took her to see the Freemont Troll, and some other scenic locations before meeting up with Thomas at our favorite neighborhood bar for a quick drink before we said our goodbyes. It was so nice to see her!
Donut feast later that night with Thomas.
Thomas and I also made a stop in at our extremely close and yummy vegetarian noodle shop, In the Bowl, this past week.
Phad See Ew with small noodles and tofu, $8.99
Phad Thai with small noodles and tofu, $8.99
We spent Thursday over at a friend’s for game night, and I snapped this pic of the space needle on our two block stroll back home. We LOVE our neighborhood.
Capitol Hill’s view of the Space Needle
Friday night Thomas and I just opted for staying in and ordering burritos from Bimbo’s (not pictured). But Saturday we walked up to the Seattle Center to meet up with some of my derby girls to go watch the Rat City teams battle it out in Bout 2.
Me in all my Rat City/Grave Danger gear!
PFM girls plus one possible recruit!
The two bouts were both great to watch, and the Derby Liberation Front / Throttle Rockets game went into overtime in a edge of our seats finish with DLF winning.
DLF vs. Throttle Rockets in the last few minutes of a tied game!
And here are some more pics by Don Jensen from our last scrimmage…
Lori coming in to block me
Me trying to get past
Success!
Me realizing Amy was getting by, and that Zwack needed some help!
Coming in just a little too late.
Me jamming on through
Looking for a hole!
As always, thanks for reading!!
🙂
Vegan Derby Cat Party 