Snowflakes falling to the ground...

Today has been an interesting day. Nothing spectacular happened, but it was a nice day all to myself. I haven't had this much time to just sit and be... alone in quite some time.
One thing I did today was go to the grocery store because I needed to grab a few things. I was browsing in the natural and organic section and I spotted my favorite meatless 'chicky nuggs' (that's what I call chicken nuggets, I don't know why.) I hadn't purchased them since starting being vegan. I grabbed a box to look at the ingredients and was surprised to see they were filled with eggs and powdered milk. As I was putting the box back and I thought, "Man, there are so many things that I can't eat!"

Interesting moment #1: 

Thinking about what I can't eat will only make me fail. Immediately after I thought about the things I couldn't eat, my mind flooded with challenges and temptations and thoughts of just giving up now. Just then, I was rounding the corner into the meat section and my mind went a completely different route. All of those animal never had a choice. From the moment they were born, it was already decided for them what they were going to be- food. I felt sick as I looked at all of the packaged meats, cheeses, and yogurts thinking of all the animals that are not even valued as such. Their only purpose is for human consumption. Even if you buy organic, cage free, grass fed, or whatever other tactic is used to make us believe these animals are in the best condition, there's still no such thing as humane treatment. Laws are in place to ensure animals are treated humanely. I'm sorry, that's impossible. The very definition of humane is "marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration." There's no way any death of an animal or use of animal for consumer purposes is humane. 

After coming home, I watched a movie called Mary and Martha. It's about two women who travel to Africa with their sons, and both sons end up dying of malaria. After their deaths, the mothers become dedicated to the cause of malaria treatments and aids such as mosquito nets to help lessen the number of deaths from the terrible disease. I cried. Straight cried like a baby. This is partially because Aunt Flo is on her way and mainly because the sad reality is that mothers and fathers lose their sweet, innocent children every day from something that has some ability to be protected against. I can't imagine what it's like as a parent to lose a child, especially to something that could have possibly been prevented if there were appropriate resources.

Interesting moment #2: 

What am I doing here? I spent $600 on a gym membership I never use, $20 on a pair of jeans, $5 on a bundle of flowers, an almost daily $3.53 on my espresso drink, and god only knows where else I've childishly spent my money. Where are my priorities? Do I even have any? What are they? Before you think "This is America, not Africa- we have these resources!" just hear me out. I understand these countries are starkly different in their resources, but communally, think of how much we could help with the 'resources' we have. When I went to Vietnam, I raised almost $1,000 dollars. What if I, we, approached helping others with the same ferocity instead of buying something we don't really need? I guess this is a roundabout way of saying I want to gain better control of my finances, and use them in a way that is actually helpful to our society.

After watching a bit of the Olympics and doing some homework, I was exhausted, so I took a four hour nap. I don't think I've done that since I was a toddler. I woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow outside, and couldn't resist the urge for something warm to drink. I decided to make cinnamon chips and cinnamon hot chocolate. Thanks to my awesome aunt, Erika, I made a delicious vegan hot cocoa powder. The cinnamon chips were super easy, too. The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman who is about as far from vegan as it gets, but I made some substitutions and they turned out wonderfully. (find the recipe HERE!) Mine weren't as aesthetically pleasing, but still just as yummy.
Once my coconut/almond milk was warm, I stirred in my cocoa mix and dipped the chips in the foamed delicousness. So tasty!

Interesting moment #3:  

Being vegan isn't easy... yet. I'm still getting into the routine of checking ingredient labels, but what I am beginning to value is the ability to do so much of this by myself. By that I mean making a lot of things from scratch, and using much healthier alternatives to what I normally used. Watching the snow fall while listening to jazz (my good high school friend Jimmie Herrod) and sipping my hot chocolate allows my mind to wander and I get to a point where I think just how grateful I am for everything. For life, for family and friends, for every breath I get to take, and every moment in between. There's something about snow that seems to wipe away the mental impurities- Even with an inch on the ground, I feel peace. I feel like I'm beginning a very delicate, meaningful transition in my life, and I am ready to take it on. 

XO