Hypocrite or Compassionate

Some say both, most say the first.

I am Vegan, my husband is not. We are both understanding and supportive of who we are as individuals as we are so different and not just in the kitchen. I have written about our diet differences before and have received total negative backlash for being married to a carnivore. They way I see it; he is who he is and I am who I am and neither of us are going to change. I didn't marry him to change him, that would be a terrible reason to get married in my opinion. But we are understanding of one another and our individual choices. I guess this doesn't sit well in the Veg community.

Yes, I buy the majority of the groceries and sometimes I will pick up his meat. He does the same for me, I know not exactly tit for tat but he has become so great at reading labels over the last 9 years that he will pick up on some ingredients that I have overlooked. He is supportive of my decision to raise our two sons Vegetarian and likes looking for analogs to get for our 6 year old who wants to eat like Daddy but doesn't want to eat a cow. We have blended our diets, even me going back to Vegan, so well that it's just what we do.

My issue is that as a Vegan we are supposed to be compassionate. I believe compassion does not end with animals and the environment extends to those that we love. So why would a wife being compassionate about her husbands choices be seen as hypocritical? I don't know. Maybe the compassion is really the hypocrite here.

Seriously?

So my oldest son turns seven years old at the end of the month and of course there is to be a celebration. Usually, it's small. Just a few family and the party used to be at our house. The last few years it has moved on to "venues" to keep kids busy and to house those who I don't want to clean up after. This year it has already gone out of control. I did a preliminary count of those who would be invited and the total is over 50 people including children. 50! WTF? My husband and I both have large families and it seems we are inviting them all which isn't a bad thing.

The bad thing is my brain. How do I say this; my house is not the most tidy. I live with men, three of them are little men but not one of them is a clean freak like me. I try to keep the house up but it usually just ends up right back where I started in less than an hour. How am I supposed to get it ready to withstand 50+ people in less than a month? Holy Hell. I need my carpets cleaned, but should I wait until after the party. It's pretty bad but I would hate to pay money to have it clean and then something happen. I can't drink that much during a 7 year old's party...can I? We can't have it at a 'venue' we can't afford to feed 50 people but we could swing it at the house. Man, I better get my ass in gear if we are going to pull this off.

Grease 2

I am going to go back to school. Yikes! Today I am preparing to take the assessment test so I don't get into remedial math, I so hate math. I am going to use the heck out of the tutors in my program to pass it and get it done. I guess 32 years old is better than never doing it right? Right? Sweet Saint Brigid, help me.

Snow

Today it snowed for 37 minutes, exactly! There were beautiful white, fluffy snowflakes falling all around and then the sun came out, turned them into rain and then the rain faded. Bad Sun!
I did manage to snap two pictures of me in it though.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

VEThis is from "The Kind Diet" cookbook by Alicia Silverstone. Usually the Vegan cheesecakes that use tofu don't turn out so good but this was great. I could not find honey-less graham crackers so I improvised with Ginger snaps; not bad but a bit overwhelming for this particular dessert (or so my BIL tells me). This is definitely a dessert I will make again, and again. I can't wait to add pumpkin and make it a marbled cheesecake. Yum!

No-Poo as in No ShamPOO

I found this blog post over a week ago and it has changed my life, literally. I read that Amber, the author of the blog had stopped using shampoo and used baking soda instead. Baking Soda?! The stuff that I use to bake with would clean my hair? Okay, yeah sure.

The next morning I decided to try it, me the girl with OCD who has exactly 8 different shampoo/conditioner combination's in my shower and who couldn't use the same product twice in a row was going to try this. I did, and it worked. It was odd, not to have the suds of traditional shampoo but it felt great and my hands were so soft. I dried it like normal which took no time at all and I have mega thick hair.



No-Poo Day #1 *Baking Soda wash only*






I was so happy and surprised with the way the wash, but did feel like my hair was a bit dry so I tried an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse; I mixed 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar with 1 cup warm water and poured it over my hair after the baking soda wash. When I got out my hair was so clean, soft and had such body!


No-Poo Day #2 *Baking Soda Wash w/Cider Vinegar Rinse*






I would usually wash my hair every other day and decided to give that a try and it's great! I love how soft my hair is even after not washing it for two days!



No-Poo Day #5 *No wash today, skipped a day*






Needless to say I am hooked! I feel great about using less and wasting less and I feel like I know this secret the world doesn't. I tease my my husband that I am becoming a "hippie" and he is adjusting to the my addiction to baking soda (I used it to clean my shower as well). Although he is adjusting, he has requested that I still shave my legs and my arm pits, he has a unique sense of humour.


Day #10







Oh, and besides my hair what I love almost as much:

My shower has gone from this:










To this:

These are the only products for me (and my 2 year old son)
that inhabit my shower these days!

Black Sheep am I

I am the black sheep among the family I married into. I do not eat the way they do. I do not believe in what they believe in. I do not support what they support and they make sure I know it.

I am my own person who has her own ideas and own opinions and they can’t stand that. My mother in law can’t stand me and quite frankly the feeling is mutual. According to my DH his fathers side of the family won’t talk to him anymore because of me! WTF is up with that?! I have no idea why and honestly I am starting not to care.

Drama occurred Monday night with his mother, brother and sister in law over the color of shirts! Shirts that boys from age 12 to 2 would be wearing for a picture. See, I started this about4 years ago that we would get a picture done of the grand-kids for MIL’s birthday since the woman has everything. It started with three boys and has now grown to 5. We have coordinated the clothing in the past, cheesy I know but we have done it. This year the SIL suggested the boys wear black polos and dark jeans. DH didn’t like that idea and I told her that. She wrote back that the clothing was MIL idea and that she wants the boys to be uniform. When did a present to someone turn into their dictation of the final product. I didn’t answer her back and later that night DH got a call from MIL bitching that I always have to cause drama and why can’t I just do this one thing, that she never asks for anything! It ended with DH telling his mom and brother where to stick it. That really wasn’t what I wanted.

I always thought when I married it would be a family type marriage. But with MIL it turns into a power struggle. DH has had some really tough times in his past and instead of MIL being happy that he is stable and doing well (and that does have to do with me) she has to find fault in everything that I do.

I got an email the next day from SIL saying that she cancelled the photo session, blah, blah and BLAH! Whatever! Then yesterday SS said that MIL wants him to come to her house this weekend. I can bet you that SIL will take him and her boys and get their picture done together.