Why am I awake!?!?!?!

So I'm going to go ahead and tell you....you might as well skip this post.
There's no point behind it.
For some reason..at 3AM...I woke up..
And I have been WIDE AWAKE since.
I'm not fully rested at all. I had gone to bed around 11:30. That's not much sleep! Did I mention it's my day off too? I think part of the reason I woke up is because my stomach is so empty. I only ate twice yesterday. I know...not smart. To be honest I haven't been much in the eating mood for the past few days.
Yesterday we had to put my cat to sleep. My baby girl Precious. She would be turning 16 in September. She was given to me as a gift when I was 4. My family knew the time would come, she was getting more and more sick as time went on. Yesterday was very rough...to say the least. This was the first time I have ever experienced having to put a pet to sleep. But I do feel a lot of relief knowing she is finally out of pain.
Now, on to a brighter note. I have my appetite back. I am craving so many different things right now, it's ridiculous. But I think I need coffee first.
Oh yea...THAT topic. I've been meaning to write a blog about it...and since I'm being the king of random this morning...let's fire away. I know many vegans/vegetarians/healthy people in general frown on coffee. I have tried to cut it out. I really have. I've even succeeded before! But then I end up consuming my weight in coffee in one sitting. Don't get me wrong, I drink tons of water too. But I just can't completely give up the coffee! People often tell me it's a caffeine addiction, but I assure you it's not. I have had caffeine addiction before..not fun. I just really love the taste of coffee! Decaf, regular...whatever! I'm like the Whitney Houston of coffee...I do so well, then hit rock bottom and down an entire pot of coffee in an hour. In my last relationship...my ex wouldn't even kiss me if I was drinking coffee. We all see how THAT turned out! Ok, so I can't blame that one on coffee. What are your views on coffee?




Final randomness. I turned on VH1 this morning, and to my surprise and absolute ecstaticness this video was on. I just love this song. It's one of those great windows down in the car, sing at the top of your lungs kind of song.

"So that means you love each other!"

I wanted to share this adorable video. I came across this vid a while back and loved it, now it seems to be getting some media attention!






How cute! I love the simplicity in the way this little boy figures things out for himself. And can we talk about how absolutely excited he is to meet two husbands for the first time?! What blows my mind the most is when he says "So that means you love each other!" Such common sense from a small child that is rarely even found in grown adults. Every time I watch this video, it makes me smile. :-)


*****UPDATE*****
Unfortunately the original owner of the video has taken it down and won't let it be used at all. It's sad because the message was so pure and sweet. Hopefully some of you got to see it!

Happy July 4th!

I have been trying to get a new post up for about a week now, forgive me for my vanishing act. With my nephew on summer vacation from school, I haven’t had much peace and quiet. I was going to post about my birthday and include a bunch of pictures of yummy food, but now that that has been a month ago, I figure I’ll just move on from there. I think that many vegetarians/vegans can agree that summer months can be a bit challenging with cookouts and such. During the summer, my family gathers for a cookout at least twice a month. Since my family isn’t too keen on helping me out with my way of eating, I’m generally on my own with getting food I can actually eat.

A big problem with cookouts involving carnivores….THE GRILL!!!! DUN DUN DUNNN!!!
I had this problem just yesterday at a family gathering. Most non veggie people don’t understand that it’s not just avoiding the consumption of meat...but any sort of food interaction with meat. I brought two veggie protein links to cook up, and since I wasn’t messing with the grill, I checked out the scene first. My links were not placed on an area where meat had been sitting….but there were burgers a few inches away. I had a problem with that. But I didn’t say anything. In my family, if I would have brought the issue up...things probably would have gotten a little heated. BE INFORMED. I ate the thinks, but I wasn’t happy in doing so. I try not to rock the family boat as much as possible since issues escalade very quickly with them.

Family cookouts are the only time I eat anything off of the grill. At home, when the parentals grill, I opt out. I just don’t feel right with the whole grilling thing. Maybe I’ll devote a whole post to the all mighty grill. Hmmm.

Anywho, yesterday I made a quinoa salad for everyone. I think maybe three people tried it...but I was very pleased! I just threw some things together and it turned out quite yummy. I made an entire box of quinoa, threw in a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), some peas, sauteed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes sliced in half and some basil. I then drizzled some vegan champagne salad dressing over it and let it chill in the fridge. Very refreshing!

What challenges do you face when at social gatherings?
Any summer recipes you’d like to share?

On a non food note. I would like to just take a moment to say how happy I am for New York on passing gay marriage. It’s true, most states still do not support gay marriage, or gay anything, but this IS a step forward.

Check out this great project, get involved!
And yes...that still image before starting the video is in fact my lesbian wife Tegan Quin

Self Evident Truths from Self Evident Truths on Vimeo.