So... we're not very good vegans. I think, unless you're eating this way out of an ideological viewpoint, it's really difficult to do perfectly. Like, its difficult to even care enough to do it perfectly. For example, many kinds of beer, though you'd think they would be vegan, use animal products somewhere in the refining process. (Don't ask what animal products, you don't want to know.) But so many products have these hidden animal products. It won't be mentioned on the label, because after all, you aren't actually consuming those products, but because they were used, it's not vegan. So, unless you really want to look up the entire process of making Product X, its hard to say 100 percent that it's vegan. Also, honey, because it's made by bees, is not considered vegan. I have a really hard time accepting this. So you don't want to kill the cute little sheep and cows and baby chicks. I get that. They're adorable. Also delicious, but thats beside the point. Bees on the other hand, are not adorable. They suck. I'll steal all their honey. All day long. And its better for me than sugar, after all. And cheaper than agave nectar. So I'm just gonna keep using it.
Anyway, that rant over. The point is, I just don't care to be a perfect vegan. And with some of the big changes I've been dealing with this week, I've been caring less and less lately. It was easy to contemplate being vegan when all I had to do all day was sit around and look at vegan recipes. Now though, when I have to be ready to go out the door, having eaten breakfast, with lunch in hand at 7:15 am? Its a little more difficult. And then I get home just in time to make dinner. Its like my entire life revolves around food. So, we've gone off track a bit. But today before taking a shower, I stepped on the scale, out of curiosity, and guess what? I've lost 10 pounds. I was shocked. I haven't even been eating diet food, nonetheless vegan for the last few days, and I'd about given up on the diet. But now I'm down 10 pounds! I'm back below the 200 mark! Finally! And I think this is giving me just the push I needed to get back on track. I guess it just goes to show that even small changes can add up to make a big difference.
So, maybe if you'd like to be healthier, but you don't want to go vegan. Try cutting out dairy, and see how that goes. There are milk alternatives which, in my opinion, taste even better in cereal. (Coconut milk? yum!). And the rest of dairy products  (cheese, sour cream, ice cream) are just added fats that you don't need anyway!

Vegan day 1, Interviews, and Jobs, and Stuff

So, today was our first real day going vegan. I know, it was supposed to be the beginning of the month, but.. well.. we don't get food stamps till the 2nd. And the beginning of the month is always pretty tight financially. So I figured one day wouldn't hurt anything. However, it ended up being on like the busiest day I've had in ages, which never bodes well for any kind of healthy eating. I woke up thinking I had an interview at 9, but they ended up moving it to 11, so in the spare time we had, we did our grocery shopping. Then, I had just enough time to grab an apple and head out to the interview. This was the second interview at the day care I talked about before, this time with the owner. It went well, and she basically hired me on the spot. She told me the director would call me about starting my orientation soon. So after that, I went home, had a chance for breakfast/lunch. (I had both. Couldn't decide which I wanted, so I went with both) Breakfast was a mix of shredded wheat, grape nuts, old fashioned oats, lots of fruit, and some walnuts. And I mean lots of fruit. Everything sounded good, so it had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches and grapes. It was pretty darn good too. Then I also made myself a veggie wrap with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, sauteed onions and mushrooms with a little balsamic vinaigrette on top. I think it would have been better with a little hummus in there, but I haven't made my homemade hummus yet, so that'll have to wait. After eating, we had to rush across town to get the man to his interview, at a jewelry store. He thinks it went pretty well, but we won't hear back for two weeks. Fingers crossed! Then after that, we had to battle trains, power outages and slow drivers to try to get me to work on time. We didn't do so well. But my boss was understanding, so it's okay. Worked till nine and then finally got to come home and cook dinner. Which was... PIZZA! Without cheese, obviously. I made mine with a tomato/BBQ sauce and then put spinach, onion, bell pepper and fresh pineapple on top. It's definitely gonna be a repeat dinner. Pretty easy, and quite yummy. By the way, if you are not eating fresh pineapple right now, you should be. Go get some. Now.
Overall, it has been easier than I expected. Especially considering that I spent 6 hours of the day in an ice cream shop. And didn't have time to pack a healthy snack! But luckily, we had some granny smith apples laying around from a caramel apple exploit a few weeks ago. So I had one of those with some peanut butter. Yes, I know, peanut butter is high in fat. And since it was Skippy, it also had added sugar and hydrogenated oils. But I was pretty impressed with myself for not breaking down and having some ice cream. But, lesson definitely learned. Pack a snack! The other thing I noticed was how well my lunch stuck with me. Normally, around three or four I'm already starting to get hungry again, and I'm counting down till dinner time. But for lunch, I ate a smaller portion than normal, and still wasn't really hungry till about 7:30. I've always had the mindset that protein was what kept me feeling full through the day, but it turns out fiber is much more important. And fiber comes from plant sources. :)    Basically, I'm feeling really optimistic about this change. It's so much easier than counting points or calories or fat or whatever.
In other news, I got that call from the director of the day care earlier today, asking if I can start tomorrow. I really like the way this job is working out. Everything has moved so quickly. I applied Wednesday, and I'm starting work Friday. I'm really excited. The job means that I'll be graduating later than I had hoped, as I'll only be taking online or night classes this year, but I think the experience will make it worth it. The owner and the director both seem really nice and supportive, so it should be a great place to start out my teaching career!
Much love. I'll be in touch again soon!

College, or the job I went to college to get?

So, I had this dream a few weeks ago. I dreamt that I was down in Medford visiting my family, and while I was there, I stopped by a new bar with a few friends. The bar was awesome. It was like a vegas casino, right in little old Medford. The service, however, was not so great. Except for the owner. So, near the end of the night, I got into a conversation with the owner, and asked if she happened to be looking to hire anyone. She said that, yes, in fact, she was, and practically promised me a management position with good pay and benefits, if I moved back to Medford and started work immediately. This put me in quite the predicament. I needed to decide whether I would rather move back to Medford and take the career opportunity, or finish out my last year of school. I woke up before I decided.

Apparently, my dream was just a little bit of foreshadowing, because here I am, in the same predicament. I applied yesterday for a teaching position in a preschool. I never thought they would really give me a second look, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try. Turns out they did give me a second look, and wanted to interview with me this morning. Unfortunately, when the subject of my class schedule was brought up, we realized that there was no way I could take the job and take my planned class schedule at the same time. The director seemed to be really bummed out by it. She promised to put my application at the top of the pile in case anything part time opened up, but it was not likely, as their business hours are pretty much my class schedule. I kept thinking while I was driving home. This doesn't make any sense. I'm going to school to be a teacher. I was just practically offered a teaching position. And I have to turn it down.. so I can go to school.. to get the job I want.. which was just offered to me? Not to mention, in light of some recent financial events, I'm fairly certain that the only way I can go to school this fall is by taking out a nice fat loan, which I'm trying to avoid. Wouldn't it make sense, then, to take this job, even if only for a year, while saving up, and getting my financial aid in line? Maybe take online classes or night classes if I can afford them, but also get to work a full-time job, in my field? I mean, that work experience is going to take me so much further in my career than whatever minimum wage part-time food service job I could find to work around my schedule. It'll ultimately make me much more competitive for the Peace Corps. And I'm not talking about dropping out of school and never looking back. If I took the job, I would still finish, just more slowly, and with less debt and more experience than otherwise. Yes, part of me just wants to plow through and finish my degree, but taking the job seems to make so much more sense. I don't know what to do here.