Yes it's me dancing to Lady Gaga.

What you're about to see might scare you.  That makes sense because it's almost October which means it's almost Halloween which is evident because they're selling large quantities of candy in stores.  If you watch this video, you're as much a part of this as I was.  Own that and proceed at your own risk.

Presenting.... Me dancing to Lady Gaga!

• Because I got to watch the Ellen show this afternoon and she inspired me!
• Because I got time to myself home alone today!
• Because I am 35 and can still move like I'm 34!
• Because 'there's just something not right about that girl.'
• Because I was born this way, and this is my prayer, that I'll die living just as free as my hair.
• Because I love me some Lady Gaga.
• Because I want my kids to feel like they can dance by themselves whenever they want to.
• Because their mom is a little nuts and it's ok for them to be a little nuts too.
• Because dancing alone is not shameful.
• Because dancing is fun and you don't have to be good at it to do it!
• Because it's Friday!

17 Days Meatless

My last meat meals ever?

Ok.  So I promise that eventually I'll do a post on my own blog about something other than my recent lack of meat-eating.  But hey - I decided to do something and did it and have stuck with it for 17 days now!!  I'm pretty proud of that, darn it!

<<--- These are the receipts from the last 2 meals I ate that contained meat.  The burger was too big and overpriced.... like a lot of burgers.  It was at the Richmond airport going on a work trip.  The pool-side hotel bar fare?  I shouldn't have ordered the wings but I was sooooo hungry and pickins were slim (and pricey -yikes!).

At this point, I hadn't thought about no more pepperoni pizza.  No more crock pot pork roast.  No more Thanksgiving turkey. No more corn dogs or beef jerky or other iterations of meat products that have become near staples of society.  When I do think of those things, I do frown a little bit.  But strangely, I don't miss it and I don't want it.  I have great memories associated with eating those things, but I think my emotions have to do more with the convenience and the company and very little to do with the content.

Some pretty cool things that have happened related to my vegetarianismness:

1. We've cooked and eaten at home more!
2. I feel like I've lost a little bit of weight.  
3. I got the kids to eat veggie corn dogs and veggie sausage!  Okay so they have the words 'sausage' and 'dogs' in them.... but they were veggie so they count!
4. My dear husband has eaten things he has before sworn he would not.
5. I've been proud of myself for not simply replacing meat with cheese and eggs.  Seriously - we're eating more veggie and seriously loving it.

Have you ever thought of becoming vegetarian?  Get on the train!  Let's figure it out together.

Look Mom, No Meat!

credit:  lablasco

So I've been a vegetarian for a week.  Woo hoo!!!  I may have gone this long without eating meat before, but not intentionally, and now it's permanent.

Here's an interview with myself about this recent lifestyle change.

{Mary Beth, Why did you become a vegetarian?}

A switched turned inside of me, one that's been slowly moving to the 'off' position for a while, as I was reading "Eating Animals."  I haven't bought raw chicken in ages because I really hate touching it and cooking it.  I've always had a fear of eating meat that's not cooked all the way, of being the lucky one to get poisoned.  Then I read some books.... like Omnivoire's Dilemma, and Fast Food Nation.... and Eating Animals just took me over the edge.  Whenever I see bacon and think - yummm - I also think, Wow, I don't want to vote with my dollars for the way meat is currently produced in our country.  This is personal for me.  I actually like meat.  I kind of can't believe I won't eat bacon ever again.  But I don't want to.  I'm really committed to this.... shockingly committed, considering how fast I "turned off the switch."  And I don't miss it.

{Has it been difficult, not eating meat?}

Nope.  It has frankly been a lot easier than I thought.  I eat what I eat, without the meat.... and with a little lot more planning and thought.  I've already bought cool new things I've never eaten before like Quinoa and can't wait to try it.  I feel more free.  Does that sound weird?  I can't explain it.  I'm gradually feeling free from the guilt I've been feeling for years that I've just been ignoring.  And I'm feeling like there are so many other fun, neat, non-meat things out there to eat that I am resisting the urge to spread my new foodreligion to other people.  I'm excited.  I feel happier.

It's difficult figuring out what to do with all the meat in our freezer.  It's not a lot but....  it's an issue.

{What about your family - are they going to be vegetarians now too?}

Probably not.  Roy has already said he'll eat what we cook/buy at home (veg because I don't want to even purchase meat any more if I can help it).  But he'll do his own thing when he's out which I respect.  I need to investigate some veg alternatives to the things our kids love - chicken nuggets, hot dogs and corn dogs mainly.  But they gobbled up veggie sausage like it was the real deal!  I think it's more about the texture and the weight than the actual stuff that's in it.... which begs the question, why are we eating meat again?  

{Any interesting observations?}

At the airport the other day I couldn't find a single 'salad' that didn't start with the word 'chicken'.  All the 'salads' available started with the word "chicken" or a variation (chicken strip salad, fried chicken salad, etc.).  What's up with that??  Also, I was able to eat vegetarian at a North Carolina BBQ joint!  How crazy is that?  They offer the "vegetarian plate" but reader beware, because several of the "vegetable sides" have meat in them.  Ha ha.

{Do you think you'll stick with it?}

Yes I do.  I might even get more and more tough about it.  I already want to start asking questions like - "Can you tell me what kind of broth is in this soup?" and "Were these beans cooked with bacon?"  Somebody once told me they liked me because I never settle for less than 100%.  That will be tough here because we are so meat-centric as a culture. 

{Are you worried about anything?}

I'm worried people may not invite us over for dinner....  This doesn't happen a lot anyway, but I feel like this will even further get us on the do-not-invite list.  So - If you were ever thinking of inviting us over for dinner - please don't change your mind just because I happen to be a newborn vegetarian.  I may not eat the meat, but I may eat all the brownies!  Ha ha.

Some announcements that can't wait for the Christmas card!

No, I'm not pregnant!  Ha ha ha. 

Announcement #1:  The kids are sleeping by themselves!!!!!!  I.E. Not with mommy and/or daddy!!!!  If you know anything about our sleep situation saga, you probably don't believe this announcement.  It has been a perplexion of the highest proportion for a period of time, the length of which we need not get into at this juncture.  [Is perplexion a word?  If not, it is now because it's the perfect word.] 

It has been kind of a miracle.  Is there a kind of miracle?  A whole miracle then.... mostly because our daughter is miraculous.  We have tried every tactic under the sun.  For kicks and grins, we decided to give it another go.  Roy set the date:  Labor day.  On that day, after returning from a weekend trip, the kids were going to sleep away from us.  No ifs, ands or buts.  (Yeah, right - we had tried this before, we knew the fated ending of crying, hysteria and begging... and finally caving in.)  This time, it was different. 

I read stories to them in their new bed.  (They're sleeping together but hey, at least they're not with us.)  We tucked them in, kissed them good night, and for the first time in hmmm m mm time, we had the night after 9:00 to ourselves.  It. Was. Strange.  And great.  And sad.  What made it work?  Ivy took it up on herself to help baby Roy get to sleep.... and in the process, owned the title of 'big girl' which included not needing mama all night any more.  About this, I am sad and learning to let it be ok with my heart.  [Especially when I want to snuggle with her and she says, No, I can just go back to my room.  Sniffle sniffle.]

It's been 2 weeks tonight.  It has not been entirely smooth, but almost every night they have slept in there like the magical stories we've heard about other kids who do the same thing.  I feel like a mom in a story book.... where the kids get up a few times in the night, and then trot their happy butts back to their own bed. It's a book I like... a different book than the one that ended 2 weeks ago that I never thought would end, so in that regard I feel like I'm living in a dream.

Announcement #2:  Our kids are no longer babies.  I mean - duh, right?  But this month, wowzie boy howdy, it's like - somebody let the racehorse out of its pen in the growing up department. 

• The whole sleeping alone thing.  
• The whole no-more-potty-accidents-for-Ivy thing. 
• They gladly will play together for long periods of time, neither wanting or needing us to be with them the whole time.  
• They are eating things like peanut butter crackers, and getting bananas all by themselves.
• Ivy is really getting good at using scissors and she told me today she wants to be a painter when she grows up!
• Baby Roy is saying things like "Go away, leave me alone."
• They both just transitioned into bigger kid classrooms at school and 
• I. Am. Not. Ready. For All. This. Change.  Mostly.  But I am because it's wonderful.

Announcement #3:  I got the most awesome glasses at a great price online!  I'm a sucker for good glasses.  There is concensus that I look better with glasses than without --- so I have to have good ones because it's kind of like I get to choose part of my face. 

All of these things may still end up in the Christmas card.  So you can skip that part if you want.