A Side Order of Guilt

Last night Tony and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie (hooray!). We got there about an hour and a half early, so we opted to sit down at their cafe and split an order of french fries. I LOVE french fries and potato chips, but I usually avoid them due to the greasiness, high calorie content, and lack of nutritional value. I hadn't had either in a while, though, so I figured, meh, what the hell! But then, as we sat there munching on fries, I looked over at the next table where they were having fried chicken tenders. I thought to myself, "Hmm, I wonder if they have separate fryers..." Now, I know most places usually do have separate fry and meat fryers, but I've heard that if the restaurant gets busy, they'll often toss whatever into whichever.

I guess that thought bothered me more than I knew at the time. Every once in a while when I feel guilty about something I've eaten, I'll have a nightmare in which I eat meat. Last night was one of those times. I dreamed that my mom served up fried chicken for dinner, and I had a few bites before realizing, "WAIT! WHAT AM I DOING!? I DON'T EAT MEAT!!!" Then I set the chicken down, disgusted. Sometimes parts of dreams feel so real, and tasting the nasty, greasy chicken fat sure was a horrid, realistic feeling. I think the fact that Thanksgiving is coming is another reason I had this dream. I've been dreading seeing that poor animal carcass sitting on the table while the rest of my family chows down on its flesh.

My point in all this is not that vegans and vegetarians should beat themselves up over little slips. My point is that you should listen to yourself. From now on, I'll probably never touch a restaurant french fry again. I'm obviously not OK with eating them, and I feel good knowing that I discovered something about myself.

I'll end with a little plug for Farm Sanctuary. If I had ANY spare money right now, I'd love to donate to this. Hopefully someone else out there will read my blog or one of the many places it's posted and decide to take part. Maybe I can convince my mom as a way to make our Thanksgiving more compassionate. Check it out, and sponsor a turkey! http://www.adoptaturkey.org/

My new favorite vegan products

I finally gave a few of Strawberry Hedgehog's products a try after many months spent lusting after them. I learned about Strawberry Hedgehog through the wonderful Vegan Beauty Review (awesome blog, check it out)! Strawberry Hedgehog products are ALL vegan and handmade without chemicals, sulfates, parabens, artificial fragrances, dyes, or other harmful crap. Hooray!

My absolute favorite new thing is Tracy's organic whipped body creme. It's "unscented" other than the natural scents of the ingredients, which make it smell like almondy, vanilla-y, chocolatey cookie deliciousness. The creme is a bit thick, but after a little rub between my fingers I can smooth it on with ease. This stuff is heaven. Literally. A lot of lotions and body cremes don't really seem to absorb into my skin, but this one is very hydrating without being greasy. How fantastic does this look:



I'm also loving her tea tree rosemary face soap/cleanser/thing. Recently my face was getting pretty icky. I could feel the dead skin in a few places (sexy, no?), but nothing I tried would get it off. Just one use and those nasty patches started coming right off. Two uses later, my skin feels 100x better. Not to mention I've been very blemish-free for me (though I also gave up caffeine and started drinking a lot more water, so that could be from any combination of things).

I'd really like to try one of the facial treatment oils next time I make a purchase... which will definitely happen soon because I AM IN LOVE.

Save the Date!

4/29/2011!

In Appreciation of my Kitty Love

This may be a bit of an odd post to the majority of people, but I felt it needed to be made. I owe so much to my baby girl; she has been a blessing in my life. It's strange to think that one little cat could significantly change the world, but the way I see it Kitty has. Especially my world.

Tony and I adopted Kitty together very early in our relationship. We were both slightly different people back then, and without her our love may not have survived. Both of us were somewhat anti-commitment and would rather walk away than fix our problems. We broke up a few times, and that probably would have been the end of things if it weren't for Kitty. She kept me coming back. My parents wouldn't let me keep her at home, so I had to go over to Tony's daily to see her. I couldn't abandon my baby! Where our pride and stubbornness kept us from making amends, Kitty came in; we were connected by her. Eventually we stopped fighting it. We realized how great of a couple we are and that we wanted to spend our lives together.

Then, of course, she inspired a huge change in my lifestyle. If it weren't for her I doubt I would have gone vegan. Now when I think about the animals that other people eat, I think how if they are anything like Kitty, I could never harm them. I want them to have the love, respect, and lives they deserve, just as I try to give her and little Cindy. They never cease to amaze me with their intellect and adorableness hehe. Kitty melted my heart and helped my love and appreciation of animals grow. Thanks to her I've lessened my carbon footprint, around 100 animals a year are saved by my diet, and Tony and I are both healthier.

Here are a few pictures of the kitty that made the world a better place:

Napping in mommy's lap


Getting in the Christmas spirit


Peek-a-boo!


With daddy :)




Being a good sis


I LOVE YOU KITTY! I LOVE YOU CINDY!