Vote: The Chicken or the Pig?

Did you Vote?

Confused about your choices here in the title? You should be. 

They are not the usual party affiliations, they are not even Boston Market choices...

Recently I have been struggling with going vegan and finding a way to live that is healthy and kid friendly. I want my children to strive not just survive. So with all the blogs devoted to crying over who won and who lost in the presidential election, all the commercialization of the process and the lack of real control I am writing about Living with the choices of others.

You really have two options in any election, vote and live with the choice of the majority or veto and live with the choice of the majority. It used to be drastically different and voters had a measure of control. As did the electoral body, the president and the lobbyists. Now? Not so much!

I have been very concerned about the health and well being of my children. It's been over a year since my near death surgery and my 'letters to my kids'. I feel even more confused with every new piece of information I find. It always amazes me at the age of the material I 'uncover'. These breaking stories and scandals have been brewing for years, even decades and no changes are on the horizon.

I'm trying not to be doomsayer but the election process is messed up and has been since big business bought off compassion. After World War II the population needed to be fed for less. They needed to feel like they mattered in the equation and they were frightened and worried about their children's future. Today... hmmm, sounds pretty similar to me.

I honestly think either candidate would have done similarly good and perhaps a similar level of bad. What I really worry about is how complacent we Americans have become in general and what legacy we are leaving our children.

I used to be proud to be an American. Proud that my father served. Proud to be living the American dream. Then I lost everything and realized that none of that mattered! We are not entitled simply because we were born American citizens. We are not even supportive of our service members current or past in this country. We say all the right things because we are a generation of politically correct cattle. It should be fitting that we are all going to slaughter but it's not my head dangling on the bleeding line, it's my children's. 

If you could wake up tomorrow with only three things, people, or senses each... What really matters to you? Your health? Your family? Your job? Your car? House? Family Bible? Grandmother's quilt? Pet? The real answers might elude you until you are literally faced with the options. I pray none of you or my children find yourselves in that situation.

There are many organizations out there speaking out against animal abuse across the species. I am not even touching on that in this post. Instead I want you to REALLY THINK about what you are eating, what is in it, what it is, where it came from, and if you need it.

We are so used to having what we want, how we want, when we want and for so cheap it might as well be free that we are selling our humanity and our children's health for convenience sake. Humans no longer NEED to eat MEAT! Yep I said it!! We don't need to! Why do we? Because it's hard to learn how to cook substitutes... because it's cheaper... because we like anything quick and easy... because we would rather spend our money on clothes, shoes, movies, or other want item... because we aren't used to being deprived of anything we want.

If you see a half starved, crippled cat, dog or horse covered in oozing sores and mangled with mutated genes and the effects of human cruelty and your first thought is "Yum, guess what's for dinner!" Then there is no changing your mind. You are always going to be a carnivore. But if your heart breaks and you want it put out of it's misery, healed and allowed to live a happy life... then why is it ok to eat grossly mutated farm animals covered in oozing sores, blisters and the marks of their confinement?

If you think going vegitarian or vegan is for wimps or bleeding hearts give this a thought: What keeps me up late tonight is the newly acquired knowledge that the last major flu to jump species and kill was caused by birds. And that's what they are now saying causes all the previous pandemics as well! Are you even reading this? PUT DOWN THAT CHICKEN LEG and pay attention!!! The genetically altered animals we now serve, buy and eat are the direct cause of flu viruses that have killed and are due to kill millions. These viruses are already present in migrating water fowl. Chickens and pigs are the incubators needed to spread these cross-breeds to humans. 

So if you don't care that your dietary CHOICE causes the proliferation of mutant animals that could never procreate or survive in nature due to the faulty genetics and drugs in their bodies, maybe you should CONSIDER that as long as the demand for these beasts as edible carcasses exists, the REAL threat of a worldwide virus spree is closer and closer.

I want my children to grow up strong and never sacrifice their compassion for convenience, their appetite for another's illness or their voice for financial gain.

Who's with me?

Kitchen Tips 101

My Mom was a whiz in the kitchen. My sister was her best pupil. I was always outside... getting filthy... playing with the boys in the dirt... I laugh thinking of it now, but i was terrified the first time I had to prepare a meal on my own. My mom was the one laughing then. She says, "I tried to teach you, but you never wanted to stay in the kitchen and learn". And she was correct of course. The only time I ever spent in the kitchen was when it was my turn to wash the dishes. Which it seemed to be often because I was forever trading turns with my sister in exchange for something or another.

Now in my thirties with two kids of my own and both too young to care about kitchen tips, I think it's time to log my tips and tricks for you to pick up and share. And maybe one day they'll look back on these posts and sigh with relief. I know my stand-by is calling Mom with even the simplest of questions. My favorite to date was probably, "Mom I'm making soup and it's too thin, how do I thicken it a bit?".

So here is my first post of Kitchen tips I have picked up either from searching or from trial and error.

My all time favorite TIP:

When boiling pasta of any kind (Mac N Cheese to Ziti) add a teaspoon or splash of olive oil, or your favorite oil, to the water. Add it after filling with water and place on the stove.

If you like to add salt to your boiling water like me, add the salt when the water starts to boil, before adding the pasta.

Once you drop in your pasta, swish with a spoon.

Cook as usual. You should notice that it sticks less, esp when draining!

If you have trouble with pasta sticking to the bottom of your pan, spray with pam (or other brand) before adding water and/or stir more often.

Hope this helps! And YES, it really does work! (That's why my olive oil is next to the stove always!!)

Valentine's Day #116

I remember feeling so sad on this Holiday in my youth above all others. Valentine's day seemed to be about what you GET and not what you share. So, in a better judgement moment, I decided to define love instead of focusing on what I lacked, and this is what I found:

My search took me to two great 'chapter'. One of my all time favorite sonnets is Shakespeare's #116. In my eyes it is the definition of love similar to the "Love chapter" in the Bible. They both parallel the meaning of TRUE love to me. So, here is my paraphrasing of the two:

Shakespeare's Sonnet #116	In My WORDS
Let me not to the marriage of true minds	I am not trying to implying that what you have is
Admit impediments. Love is not love	not real, but to me Love is not true
Which alters when it alteration finds,	When it changes to meet different circumstances,
Or bends with the remover to remove:	or tries to erase faults like an artist with an eraser.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark	It is like the north star in the unchanging night sky;
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;	that can look on hurricanes never flinching;
It is the star to every wandering bark,	or like the beacon that leads lost ships home,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.	which can be seen, and is worth the most to those saved
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks	Love is not fooled by youth and lust
Within his bending sickle's compass come:	which fades with time and can never outlast death.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,	Even if shared for a short time, it remains
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.	unchanged even at the very end.
If this be error and upon me proved,	If I am proved to be wrong about all this then nothing
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.	I have ever written is true, and no one has ever truly loved

And why do I think it correlates to the Bible?

1 Corinthians 13

...⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away...

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

In MY Words:

The Definition of love is that it show these qualities: Patience, Kindness, Honesty, Humbled, and not be Jealous, Selfish, Violent, or Begrudging. If someone Truly Loves you they would never find it funny or laugh at your misfortune. They would show sincere applause when you did well, even if it was better them them. True love nurtures, protects and has faith in you. True love will outlast and obstacle even the end of all civilization.

It is important to have faith and keep your hope, but it is Love that is the greatest and most powerful of these. 

A side note: relationships that are about hoping that it changes and having faith that it will, are not based in honesty. And since love can be described as honest, those relationships are not in a mutual true love.

Love is amazing and doesn't always have to be romantic. I hope that those that are without a "Valentine" today will look instead for the True love they already have in their lives and instead return THAT love and feel truly special this year.

Above is a snapshot of today's news reel from a popular news site.

There are places to share the story and then highlights on the presidential candidate race and below all this in bold pictures was info on the celebrity awards. I wonder how many of us even read this?

War is all around us. Nations are clashing and people are are suffering for no reason other than greed and power struggles. Why? Are we so worried about movies and popular votes to not even see this?

What I want to drive home was better said by George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". And although I completely agree, as a kid history was my least favorite subject. It might have been that my teachers seemed bored to tears to pass the knowledge on, and that so much of it was dumied down and falsified to benefit the US. Awhile back, they didn't really want us to know all. Now that it is generally accepted that the truth must be known fully to prevent repeat failures, no one seems to care.

No matter what your teachers lack in charisma, please pay attention to our past. Not everything in the text books is correct, so when a story grips you, research for yourself to get to the true facts. You may not be rewarded in class, and may even be discouraged from sharing this new find. But you will know the back story and be able to recognize a similar path when it approaches.

No clue what I mean? There is usually a greedy or power hungry source to almost every dramatic war or atrocity. How they hide this agenda is what you need to see in order to avoid being the victim of or unwilling participant in this act. How many people would have knowingly assassinated another race or tribe? But how many paid and supported the leader and groups that carried out the crimes? Do you see now? 

It is not enough to sit by and avoid confrontation anymore. We have to become more involved in the direction our country is taking or we won't have a country to call ours and take pride in for very long.

The Soda Pop Perils

So, first I would like to thank all the informative, if not scary, emails I have received over the years about the contents and effects of pop. If you didn't already know I am a self proclaimed Dr Pepper addict.

I used to be blatantly addicted to CocaCola but when we were about smashed by a Coke Truck I switched to Dr P and never looked back. Now after 2 decades of drinking my favorite brown soda, I'm inclined to quit the habit.

So you know who you are, Thank you for all the emails, videos, posts and info you have all sent my way. I am finally kicking the habit and going back to water. Why?

If you don't have great friends like mine you may be unaware of the dangerous side effects of brown pop. Besides giving you a hideous smile and terrible breath it has been studied to add 'hidden' fat to your bodies organs, like the liver! (This will kill you) and slowly zaps away your magnesium levels which can cause a plethora of symptoms including heart palpitations, muscle cramps and nervous ticks. Caffeine alone is linked to several health risks, and diet soda is the worst offender of all. My fav Brown pops though will also plummet you into diabetes faster, mess with your metabolism of sugars and cause your skin to loose it's healthy glow.

We now have a dark circled eyed, overweight, one the verge of diabetes, and cramped up generation of pop addicts in our country. And why do we keep at it? Study any addictive substance and you'll see your answer. I have known for years that it was my biggest fault but kept drinking it. Now that it has landed me in the ER on two different all nighters with kidney infections and has me at this very moment jonsing for a hit, I have said "Enough!"

I don't know what it will take for you. But if you have a sugar or soda habit, take my advice and look at it very carefully. Find the facts for yourself and just try to go ONE DAY with out a sip or taste. If you dislike the way you react when the thought of loosing this beveridge or sugary snack is removed, do something about it now before you are overweight, crippled by muscle cramps and having heart issues.

Think I have over exaggerate? In fact I've UNDER played it. I've denied the facts for decades and have finally had enough of feeling like crap and looking like it too. It's back to water for me and I'm moving back to the natural in my pantry as well. It will take some time to switch out everything, but my kids are worth it and we are too. I have deliberately left out most of the claims, you should always find them for yourself, I'm just trying to push you to get the REAL nutrition facts and risks today before your decades are enslaved like mine were.

I encourage you to seriously consider your next sip.

Your Own Worst Enemy

OK, maybe "enemy" is a little too strong, but I recently discovered that often it is what you most aspire NOT to be or do becomes what you always do and are. Confused much? Ok, say you really dislike it when your bestie calls you pet names. Silly, endearing or stupid names really get on your nerves. So you start listening for them everywhere. And guess who is the biggest offender? Yep, YOU are.

Maybe you don't have this issue. But I have discovered that, just like in goals, what you focus on is what you bring into being in your life. So if you are zeroing in on what you like least about this or that, watch out or you just might become your own worst enemy!