Vegan for a Month

At the beginning of every year I like challenging myself to do something interesting or new. This year I decided to go vegan for the month of January.

While I have not been totally successful in my quest (had some cheesy pasta and some chicken once) this has been an interesting month.

Mostly, I cannot wait for it to be over. I miss yogurt for breakfast. . .

For some reason I expected to feel different by the end of the month. Not sure how this difference would manifest itself: more energy, better sleep. . . I don't know, something. Alas, nothing has changed. I feel the same as I did at the beginning of the month. I think this is because I don't eat that much meat and dairy to begin with, so it has not been a huge transition for me.

Overall it has been a fun experiment. This experience has showed me that I can cut down even more on my animal products consumption without much effort. Moderation is the key. . . and yogurt for breakfast!

On Twilight

Yes, I admit it, I read all four books in the Twilight Saga.

I have always been a fan of vampire tales so I found it hard to resist this teenage drama. Everyone (under the age of 16) seemed to be reading it so I thought: "Why not?"

It totally got me hooked. For three weeks every free minute I had went into reading. It became quite an obsession. I just wanted to finish the books.

When it was finally over I was thoroughly dissapointed. First because the ending of the book left lots to be desired of. Second, I really did not like the casting desicions made for the movie - the people on the screen did not match the people I had created in my head. Finally, there was a bit of a let down. I spend so many hours with the characters it felt like they were a part of my family. Then they were all gone. With one flip of the final page my life went back to normal and I realized that I had no idea what to do next. . .

The quest continues!

Book Recommendation

Over the holidays I read various books. One of the books I read was Sex God by Rob Bell. This book explores sexuality and spirituality and the connections that we sense but are not always sure why.

I came away from this book thinking: "My kids have got to read this." Why? Because in my opinion this book explains in a very concrete way the emotional consequences of pre-marital sex. While parents usually like to mention the scary stuff like an unwanted pregnancy or STDs, the emotional impact of sexual relationships is the best reason to abstain until marriage. That's my opinion anyways, so I appreciate some resources in that department.

Bell does a great job of applying biblical soundness to the sometimes insane world of sexuality that we all face on a daily basis. It is also a very quick read!

Holiday Pictures

Now that I am feeling much better I thought I would post some pictures. We spent Christmas in Arizona along with Trevan's parents, Heather, Patrick, Ainsley, and Uncle Larry and Aunt Gillian.

Here is Ainsley with aunt Shari. . .
. . .And here is Ainsley with uncle Trevan

If you got a call from me over the holidays. . .let's just say my phone was being help hostage.
We also got to go to the Phoenix zoo, and I got to see a Sumatran tiger for the first time in my life. It was a very exciting experience.
Finally, it would not be a holiday unless someone got frisky with the ostrich!

To 2009!

This year has started off with a bang!

On New Year's day I threw-up on my way to the airport and have been sick for about a week now.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I have an upper-respiratory infection...

I am looking forward to great things this year!

Great Food Blog

This morning I was searching for a fun soup recipe that I can try this weekend and I ran into this blog: www.eatnvegn.blogspot.com.

Trevan's cousin Kim, and her husband Paul are coming to visit for the weekend and I will attempt to make the Samosa soup for them. It sounds and looks delicious.

I will let you know how it goes.

My First Vote!

One of the disadvantages of moving from one country to another is that your citizenship ends up in the country you don't live in at election time.

This year, I finally was able to exercise my right to vote at the ripe, old age of 27. I consider this to be a momentous occasion in my life and I am very excited that my vote might actually count since I live in Virginia.

Now we can only sit and wait until all the votes are in.

An Inspiring Story

Audrey is a former co-worker of mine. She is a woman of great faith and great conviction. Over the past couple months she has been a God-sent mentor for me as I have struggled with some decisions in my life.

When the primaries started she was an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton, but once the primaries were over she fully got on board with Obama's campaign, and has even been volunteering some of her time to make phone calls.

This morning she sent me this email, and I just wanted to share it with you because I know the struggle ex-convicts that are trying to live a good and honest life face. Richmond is my home now, and I am proud that such a touching story came out of the streets where I live.

Audrey's story: "I can't get this out of my head so I thought I would share this story. It is short and it is another affirmation that Obama has a heart for the American people no matter where they come from.

Yesterday, I heard a most wonderful story from a man by the name of Tommie Cox. Tommie is a 60 year old African American man who spent about 30 years in prison. He was released last year and entered a so-called training program in the Richmond community. Tommie is a member of my church and a small group of us had been working with Tommie to help him find employment. Over the past two weeks I have been meeting with Tommie advising him on how to fill out applications and dealing with his job search.

As many of you know, on Wednesday, Barack Obama was in Richmond at the Coliseum. It was packed to capacity 13,000 plus. There were over 7,000 waiting outside. Tommie said that he went to the Coliseum, arrived early so that he could get a good standing position to see and hear Obama. When Obama finally began to make his way to the podium, the crowd reached out their hands to touch him. Obama found his hand shaking Tommie's hand. Within that short time, Tommie told Barack Obama that he was an ex-offender, spent 30 years in prison and needed employment. Obama told him that his campaign could offer him short-term employment at $9.00 per hour and the Senator told him to report to the Obama Headquarters. Tommie said that Obama also told him that the $9.00 wasn't much but would hold him until he gets what he wanted. Someone with the Senator then gave Tommie the location of the headquarters so that he could report for orientation and employment.

At 12:00 noon yesterday, Tommie was scheduled to report for work. When I checked on Tommie at about 2:00 p.m., Tommie was employed, he was out canvassing and knocking on doors with an Obama supporter and partner.

I know that some people find these kind of stories hard to believe but I Believe in God, our Creator, who has given Obama ability, skill and all the he needs to lead us into a new era. I Believe! I Believe in Obama! Only God can orchestrate such wonderful things--out of 20,000 people, Tommie, an ex-offender who is struggling to get on his feet, touched one of the most powerful and compassionate African American men in the world. This is the kind of President that I want, the table has been set, all we have to do is partake by Voting. Grace and Peace to Barack Obama and his household! Blessings to you and your household."

One more on the Candidates

I got this in my email about the candidates' educational backgrounds. It is very interesting.

Barack Obama:Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Jurist Doctor (J.D.)

John McCain:United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

Obama in Richmond!

Today Obama was in Richmond for a rally.

The rally was suppose to start at 12:00, so we got downtown at 9:15 and stood in line for about an hour in the freezing cold. It was great that we got there early because they had so many people come out that they turned people away. Even with that the coliseum was packed, about 12,000 people.

He was so inspiring. He challenged people to take responsibility for the current crisis. Not just blame our problems on the government, but take responsibility for the things we have caused ourselves. We have our own part to play in improving our children's education by being there to turn off the TV and help them with their homework. We have to take responsibility for the energy we consume, the cars we choose to buy, and the lights we choose to not turn off. He made me feel more than ever that I have a part to play in making this a better country and a better world.
It is nice to know that I still make a difference.

Cake - Week 5

This week I decided to be a bit ambitious with my cake since it was my last class. I designed a vineyard as an ode to my in-laws who live close to the Napa Valley.The house is made of chocolate cake. It was very hard to shape, but it was worth it. I tried to create a vine going up the side of the house with some flowers on the side. That did not come out exactly the way I envisioned it, but it looks ok.There is a little mount that come up from the cake with these little green bursts that are meant to look like a row of planted goodies (maybe cabbages).
Here is the aerial view. You can see the pond that is in there.
I put a gold fish in the pond. Thankfully Trevan has this rake that he got at the Pastor/Teacher Convention this weekend. It was a great prop to add to the cake.
So it comes to an end. My class was a lot of fun and I do not regret the many hours I have spent baking cakes and making icing. If you ever get a chance to take a class you should do it. In addition to learning great techniques for decorating your cakes, you also get great ideas from your classmates.

Cake - Week 4

Here is last weeks cake. Trevan and I were gone all weekend to the Potomac Conference Pastor-Teacher Convention and I totally forgot to post pictures.

This cake is meant to be a bit of a painting. Flower blossoms coming out of a basket like in some artsy paintings. I have a very ambitious design for my last cake. Tomorrow will be my last cake and I am very happy and sad to come to the end of this journey.

Tomorrow is also my birthday, so I get to make a cake for myself!