Grab the tissues

Grab those tissues and watch the video. You may have already heard of this.

Kids and weight...

Ah! I've been neglecting the blog, my apologies.

August is nearly over and the first signs of Autumn are in the air...and I couldn't be more excited! I mean, I am down right giddy! Around here, summer likes to hold on for as long as it can. We can go for a few days of cool crisp weather, then suddenly be in the 90's again. I think it is pretty safe to say that the 90's are done for the year. Hopefully.

On Monday my nephew goes back to school, which also has be damn giddy. He's going to be a third grader....yeesh. With going back to school and all, I've been thinking a lot about the health of little kids these days. When I was in elementary school, we had two kids who were the "bigger kids", meaning they were a little on the round size. We never made fun of them, we never teased them, they were just the bigger kids. Now when I go to the very same elementary school for my nephew, I see "small kids". I see a lot of "bigger kids" and very few who were my size and the size of my friends. And their parent's are much larger than the parents of my fellow students and friends. It may seem unfair for me to say this, but it's one thing if you have a few larger kids and a few large parents...it's another when EVERYONE is super sized. That's when we really need to take a step back and look at the problem. I ate the same cafeteria food (and to this day I can't believe I ate some of that stuff), I played hard outside at recess (yea so I'm sure none of the kids pretend that they're Buffy), so where's this coming from? I'll be bold and say it...HOME. No, not all of it. The school food SHOULD be healthier. Enough with the processed (as if that's all that's wrong with it) garbage. They do however have better fruit and veggie options. If that's what you want to call canned fruit and steam bagged veggies.

But what's going on at home? Are they repeating what they see their parents do/eat? I'll admit, my nephew get's away with eating A LOT more junk than my sister and I did. If we wanted chips, we got a cup full and didn't dare ask for more. If he asks for chips, he gets a bag. This makes me furious. My nephew IS one of the "bigger kids". Now, I will say that in the summer he has baseball and in the fall soccer, so he loses a good bit of weight. But the in between and the constant up and down of weight, no good. It sounds like my mother. My mother who caters to him. When he asks for a snack, the go to is a bag of chips or candy. That is, unless mean Uncle Tommy is in charge, then it's healthy organic fruit or some veggies...which he complains about then gladly eats.

So is this the same with other kids? Is this what is happening in their homes? Why are the adults dooming their children to a life of health problems just because they are giving up on their own health? I understand parents are busy and can't always have a well balanced meal for their child/children. It happens! But maybe try stocking your cupboards and fridge with foods that are better for you, so you have no choice but to eat what's there?

I'm not saying this is the case for every parent, every child, every household. I can what's going on in the heads of parents reading this.."Look, you don't understand what it takes to raise a child". Look, I do. I helped raise my nephew. He's lived with us all of his life. I do know. And I do see the areas that have "failed". I do see the things I will do much differently with my own children. But this all worries me. I worry about my nephew. I worry about your children. I worry about you. Do you realize what is happening? Your weight problems aren't just yours.

When I was little, I was very very skinny. I ate, I was just very skinny all through my childhood. For as long as I can remember, my mom has hated her weight. She has gone from diet to diet for the past 21 years. As a child, I could see how skinny my mom was, but she couldn't. So when she would call herself fat, or move on to yet another diet...I was always confused. Fast forward to my awkward early teen years. Acne, weight gain etc. I thought I was the ugliest, fattest thing in the world. I picked up my self-loathing habits from my mom. I won't go into a huge therapy session here, but keep your in mind that your kids pick up what they hear and see from you. So make wise choices for yourself, and your kids will likely follow.

Well, I believe I have rambled on enough for one day.
Be kind. Be curious. Be a good role model.

Rawesome foods raided: A sad day for America

Check out this article. A friend brought it to my attention, and I can't stop shaking my head. What are your thoughts?

Rawesome foods raided: A sad day for America

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.

I'm melting! Oh what a world!

SWEET. BABY. JESUS.
THE HEAT!!!
Summer is definitely cramping Spring’s style right now. It is 10 a.m. and already 84 degrees with about 620% humidity. If you’ve read my blog posts from way back when, you’ll know I don’t do well in the heat. I’m like dairy. If you leave me out in the heat for an extended amount of time...bad things will occur. Ever since I was little I have always dreaded summer days here in south central PA, but have always loved the cool summer nights. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of summer nights that are just as miserable as the scorching days...but they are slightly more manageable. It seems as though the last few weeks of spring have been forgotten about and summer is in full swing. Just last week Mother Nature was apparently PMSing and whipped up a tornado right down the street from me. That was not pleasant.

So on Saturday I shall be celebrating a birthday. The big two-one. For the past year or so most people hear that and tell me “I’m so taking you out to get trashed!” and all of that kind of jazz. My response? “Nah.” Call me crazy but...I would like to remember my birthday...and not be violently sick the day after. How is that celebrating? To be honest...been there, done that. It’s not for me. Do I enjoy an occasional drink? Sure. But I don’t see what the big deal is.

For my birthday I am gathering a group of my closest friends and we are having a vegan pot-luck! And then we are watching Alanis Morissette in concert on DVD (‘cause it’s MY birthday and I get to choose!). I’m really excited to see what all of my friends come up with! I know some are having anxiety attacks, but I know they’ll bring something yummy. Oh, and I told them that if they bring a salad they are “Uninvited.” Get it? The Alanis song? Oooh yeah, I went there. I really want my friends to explore different aspects of a vegan diet. I’ve already been told a few different times… “I didn’t know you could make that vegan!”
I personally have so many recipes I want to wow my friends with, but I keep reeling it in. I need to remember that it is my birthday and that I shouldn’t be in the kitchen all day. But we’ll see how that goes. One thing I am absolutely making is Watermelon Granitas. I have never made a granita, but since it will likely be hotter than the hinges of Hell and what is more refreshing that frozen fruit?...it’s a win! I’ve been thinking a lot about summertime vegan goodies. What are some of your favorites?

Well, until next time! Be kind, be generous, be cool. And enjoy this tune!