I hate hills

Helloes!

I'm feeling more like a normal human being. There's nothing quite like a nice juicy grass fed steak.
Wait, didn't I say I was going vegan for 6 weeks? Yes, yes I did. I am. As soon as I finish the gallon of milk in my fridge.
I don't waste food if I can help it. I have 3 beers (alcohol is one of the other things I will cut out for the 6 week veganry, not that I drink a whole lot of it anyways. In fact I bought that 6 pack back in October) a third of a gallon of milk and one 8 oz block of cheese that will get eaten by the end of the week.
While I have this little extra cush time I've been checking out the prices and selection of the organic available in Appalachia. It's kind of disheartening. The town we live in seems like a black hole when I look for things. There are NO comic book stores, what kind of an American town doesn't have a comic store... that's just unAmerican. NO organic/natural markets. They say they have a farmer's market but I'll believe it when I can find the damn thing. NO quilting/spinning/old lady type stores (no JoAnn's doesn't count). Not a camping specialty store (think REI) in 50 miles of us. Bleeeeeeh.
But I can do it!!! I've already amassed some good recipes. I'm actually kind of excited for vegan shepherd's pie and noodleless lasagna.

Oh right, activity. I was supposed to be discussing my activity today. (^_^)
Well I've finally got the Zumba class worked out. I run every other day for at least 20 minutes, usually 25-30, up and down the hills around our house. I'll have to take a picture/video for you guys; I don't think you'll understand the title of this post unless I show you.
Also I've been throwing in some strength training for the Spartan Sprint Jex and I are doing with Sir Will and Melly. I'll definitely post pictures of that! It's not a whole lot, just three rounds of body weight lunges, rows, and burpees. I plan on working my way up from here.

I joined this really cool site called NerdFitness. It's been a big help. If anyone wants to hop on over and check it out just stick a '.com' on the end. It's really great to have a community to turn to when you're making changes in your life. So far I love the people. They're really positive and helpful, and totally nerdy so it make analogies so much easier for me. *laughs*

I just wish there were more people within arms reach of me.
Call me old fashioned but I miss knowing my neighbors. When we lived on base overseas we could run up the stairwell to borrow some sugar if the Commissary was closed. Or have tea with the ladies down the street. I miss being with people. I kind of hate the computer screen.
I'd love to have a running buddy. We could run up and down the damned hills and curse them together. Share our goals, swap weird heath food snacks, and, I dunno, be friends.

But I digress.
Anyone else working on working out this year? I know it's a popular new year's resolution.
How well are you doing, or not doing? So far I've kept up a par performance. Which is kind of amazing for the Queen of Inconsistency.

Till next time lovlies ~ The light heart lives long.

Because I'm back, from Outer Space!!!

I can't even remember the last time I posted anything. And you know what I'm just a little too lazy to go and check.

Hello Internet and my Internet Buddies!!!
Like the Phoenix I kind of thought of while naming this blog I completely gave up and now I'm back again.
It is the nature of being me. I'm like the ocean tide or something.

Did you guys know that there's a Super Moon out today!!! I haven't seen it yet. It's also a Black Moon, which is what one calls a new moon if it happens to fall in a month that has already had a new moon.

So I'm back for a bunch of reasons. A) I missed you guys. B) My life is less hectic right now while still being full of fun stuff, and C) I'm going to be a vegan for 6 weeks for reasons I will explain below and decided that I might need to log my journey in a more public forum because I know I'm not the only person in the world going through what I'm going through.


*Ahem* You guys ready for a little bit of a sob story?

Jex and I have been trying to have kids for over 2 years now. Yeah. No big deal, right, we're young maybe we're just not timing things right or whatever. Then my periods and my hormones went absolutely insane. I'm not kidding. I had some serious breakdowns where I felt kind of trapped in my own body watching it ride around on a crazy train while I tried to reassert control. It was all so new and weird and not on any kind of schedule I could figure (even after keeping a food/activity log).  Recently I finally got my butt into a gynecologist's office and they found two little fibroid cysts.
Did you know that fibroid cysts are like little demons that feed on your hormones and mess up all your 'normal' girl stuff? But there's not a whole lot about them on the interwebs. And even my super nice, super straight forward, doc said that there's not a lot of research done about them because they are benign growths that, unless in a bad position or if they get very large, don't really effect one's over all health.
They'll make you crazy and randomly bleed for no reason, but they won't effect anything else.

I know that the food in this country is all kinds of bad. How? Because I didn't grow up in this country and because I  left the country for 2 1/2 weeks in December and came back.
What the hell does that have to do with knowing the food in America is TRASH? I'm glad you asked.
When I first returned to the U.S. I got sick, really sick, so sick I had multiple infections and was forcing myself not to throw up on the regular.
Nope, I wasn't eating McDonald's or any of the greasy offerings that the University Cafeteria had to offer. I was eating salads, veggies, meats, and cheeses that my friend's would buy and I would cook up. I was eating healthy and it still wrecked my system so badly I had to go on antibiotics.
I just figured that was from 10 years of being away from all the molds, pollens, you know the environment or whatever.
Well it happened again, to a lesser degree, when I came back just a couple of weeks ago. I feel like shit, pardon my french. I have no energy, I threw up a lot the first week back 'home', and I wasn't eating anything stupid. I made stirfry with brown rice and ate veggie omelettes with hormone free cheese. I'm not eating potato chips or boxes of hamburger helper and cheap mac-n-cheese and I feel awful.

So, I'm going to try and cleanse my system. As well as get a freaking job to pay for the-must-be-gold-plated-because-this-price-is-ridiculous CSA organics I want/need to get my hands on this year.
I did a little bit of research. Mostly talking with friends who have changed their diets and had a lot of success. It looks like going vegan for 3 weeks, doing a weekend cleanse, then going back to vegan for 3 more weeks is the path I'm going to try.
All the veggies are going to cost me a fortune, because I won't buy anything non-organic and I'm doing my best to identify and avoid GMO's but that's harder to figure out. But like my dude says: Which is more expensive; hospital visits or food?

Pintrest is kind of my best friend. Why? Because I can't eat soy. In small quantities it's ok but it can't be a big part of my diet. And that is where 80% of vegan recipe's get their protein. Ugh.
But there's a great board on Pintrest full of gluten-free soy-free recipes. Thank GOD!
Also because I'm a meat and potatoes girl. I don't do the above mentioned crap. Give me a steak and a baked potato covered in bacon and cheese and I'm a happy camper. I don't feel right without a slice of bacon, sausage, leftover steak, with breakfast. I don't eat fruit if I can help it, though oranges are nice. As logic would have it all my recipes reflect this. Vegan is so totally opposite my usual diet that I honestly got anxious simply thinking about it.

Also, there's this image that one associates with vegans. You all know what I'm talking about. That one person who turns their nose up at anything offered them because it's not their diet. They 'don't eat anything with a face' or 'I don't exploit animals' or whatever crazy crap you assume will come out of their yoga pants wearing, size 2, sickly skinny, hemp smelling face.  Somehow they come off as looking down on you as an inferior/ primitive human being. (Note: I have since met a really sweet, cool, vegan so I know not all ya'll are like this)
^ I am not that person! ^
Frankly I don't really even want to be associated with those people. But it's something I feel like I need to do. If for no other reason than to force myself to find places that sell more fun veggies, please I just want my celery root and kohlrabi, in this land devoid of natural grocers and to learn which producers use GMO and which don't. To force me to get creative with my dinners instead of the rut I've dug myself comfortably into. And maybe to get and keep my hormones in check since I have two little demons hanging out in my uterus.

So, send me your positivity, well wishes, and/or prayers, please; because this is probably going to be the most difficult thing I've done in my life. I don't even know what to do with quinoa or how to even pronounce it. I remember my mom used to eat it with milk or something. I don't know! And this post is already so long I think I'll talk about my activity plan tomorrow or the next day.

Anywho, I wish you all the best in your own endeavors.
Remember~ The light heart lives long.