Damn you Megan and your sparkles!!

I'm am heartbroken for the Green Bay Packers.  They had such an amazing season and it all went down the drain with their loss on Sunday in the NFC Playoffs.  I had my sights and party planning set on Super Bowl Sunday, but now it's not even worth watching.  February 5 was supposed to be filled with green and gold!  But let's go ahead and blame the loss on Megan and her sparkly nail polish.

The Packer players have a joke going that this video and Megan's superstitions are cause for their loss on Sunday.  Clay Matthews, defensive linebacker for the Packers, wrote on his Twitter, "D_mn you Megan and your sparkles!!"  This gave me a laugh, so I thought I'd share with all the other broken Packer souls of the world.

This also makes me happy.

Trip to D.C.

My mom and I are planning a little  vacation to Washington D.C.  Neither of us has been so we are excited to make this work!  We are hoping to go for just a few days, March 1-6, but think it will be plenty of time to get everything in.  A friend of mine goes to school at Georgetown and his mom will be visiting him on those dates.  We thought it would be a fun trip for us to all get together and explore the Capital.

One of my favorite blogs is Vegan Backpacker.  It's the first blog I look at when I go on a trip someplace new...or even if I'm headed back to NYC and want to try something delicious!  I just looked at the website to see if she had been to D.C.  Turns out she has!  She lists at least five restaurants and bakeries to try.  I can't wait!  All of the pictures of the food made me very hungry.  So now I'm going to go to lunch.

Hopefully there will be pictures and stories of D.C. coming soon!

Couch to 5k

For my running resolution, I have decided to do the Couch to 5k app on my iPhone.  So far, so good!  I'm running 5 days a week and am already into week 2.  I feel really good about doing this training.  By the end of the month I will be able to run 3.1 miles (I've only been able to run 2 miles in one run), so this will be quite an accomplishment! 

I gained a good 5 lbs over the holidays.  I'm still maintaining a gluten-free diet, and with that have lost 5 pounds since the holidays have been over.  Basically, I have lost 5 pounds in 1 week.  I'm back to my normal 154, but would really like to keep this going and be at 145 by summer.  If I keep losing the way that I have in the last week then I should be good!

Resolution Update

Yesterday I started my running regimen.  I used the Couch to 5k app on my iPhone, which is a 3-day a week program that helps you run a full 5k in 8 weeks.  I decided that in order for me to actually get into a running habit, I will need to up that amount to 5 days per week.  I will be running on the days I don't have to work my second job in the weekday evenings, as well as both days on the weekend.  So my plan is to run Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.  I'll have Monday and Thursday off.  That seems doable.  I hope to start the Couch to 10k workout on Feb. 7, cutting out a full two weeks of the program.  Time to get in shape and running 5 miles three days each week!

Gluten-Free update: I have decided that I will not go entirely gluten free.  I did some research and found out that barley is gluten, which means I wouldn't be able to drink beer.  That's not an option.  Instead, I will stay away from wheat products and cut out white sugar (which I don't really eat anyway).  Basically, I will be gluten free with the exception of beer.   I just can't give up beer. 

Resolution Decided

For the past two years, I have picked a difficult yet doable New Year's Resolution to challenge myself throughout the year and succeeded both times.  In 2010 I decided that I would read a book a week for the entire year.  Check!  In 2011 I decided that by the end of the year I would be fully vegan.  I checked that off on March 1, 2011, way before the deadline.

This year, I have decided to add several things to the list.

1. Try a gluten-free diet.  Yes, that means I will be a gluten-free vegan.  I've already been asked what I will eat.  I'm honestly not sure.  It's time to research.  Today is the first day that I have so far been completely gluten free. I would love it if it worked out for the rest of the year!

2. Drink more water!  I have always been bad at this.  I'll always drink water when I work out, in the morning when I take my vitamins, or after a long night of drinking, but I never committed to the 8 glasses of water ever day recommendation. 

3. Run 5 miles 3-4 days per week.  I'd love to run 5 miles every day, but let's be realistic here.  I'm only a runner when I'm chasing my dog on mountain trails in the summer.  It's winter now and cold outside.  There's snow and ice on the ground, so running outside isn't going to happen.  Time to hop on the treadmill.  I've been wanting to do the Couch to 5K app on my phone, so why not start now?

And finally...

4. Stop biting my fingernails and picking at my cuticles.  I've noticed that when I get manicures, the cuticles are nice and moisturized and don't crack as easily.  They are also polished so I won't bite them.  I think that's the key.  Keep my cuticles moisturized and my nailed painted.  I wouldn't mind a manicure once a week, but I can't afford that.  Once a month will do!

I think those four items are a good start!

What are your resolutions?  Have you broken them yet?

Forks Over Knives

I recently watched a documentary called Forks Over Knives and it was filled with incredible information.  Throughout the last few months I have been debating whether I should stay vegan or add dairy back in and be vegetarian.  This documentary sealed the deal.  I will be vegan for a long time.

This documentary discussed many studies done all over the world.  One of the studies in the U.S. proved that casein, the protein found in cow's milk, can actually create a cancerous tumor.  Decreasing dairy will literally dissolve the tumor.  Isn't that amazing? 

Another study in Norway found that deaths were increasing right up to when the German's invaded during World War II.  The German's took all of the meat for themselves and left only plant based foods for the Norwegians.  Deaths decreased dramatically over the German occupation of Norway.  Here's a chart to prove it:

Once the German's left the country, the people of Norway started in their old ways and added meat back into their diet.  Deaths increased.

One of the things this documentary discussed that was shocking was the people on the board of nutrition.  This board creates what we all know as the food pyramid (now plate).  Meat and dairy are two things that are very important in our daily diet, according to the food pyramid.  One thing that you may not know is that every single person on that board has financial ties to the meat and dairy industries.


When I tell people that I'm vegan, the first question is, "Where do you get your protein?"  Everyone around the world immediately thinks of protein in meat and calcium in dairy.  That's not the case.  It's a misconception.  We've been lied to our entire lives! 

I'm going to purchase a little book called The China Study.  I've started reading it online and so far it's awesome!  There's so much information out there that we don't know about, or that has been given to us wrongly.  That upsets me and it makes me want to do all the research that I can possible do.

After watching Forks Over Knives I've decided that I will be raising my future children vegan.

The End of 2011

Can you believe 2012 is just around the corner?  That means one more year left for civilization...according to the Mayans.

Let's look back on the year...

January 2011: My New Year's Resolution was to slowly become a vegetarian, then a full vegan by the end of the year.

March 2011: I became a full vegan.

May 2011: I took a trip to Mammoth Mountain, CA and had way too much fun for a work trip.
      I went to Boston for the first time and fell in love with the city.  It's big, but not New York big.  The streets are crowded with people, but in a pleasant way.

August 2011: Baby Walter is born on August 11.
     Family road trip!  We drove to Vegas and spent the evening with friends we haven't seen in years!  Then we drove to Carpinteria, CA for my cousin's beautiful wedding.  After the wedding we drove up to Lake Tahoe, another place I've never been.  I decided that it's overrated.

September 2011: Another family trip to Wisconsin for a week.  We only get back every couple of years.  Cheesehead for life!

October 2011: I get to meet Baby Walter!  I flew up to Boise for the weekend and spent it holding Walter, burping Walter, and handing Walter off when he needed to be changed.  Such a cute boy, that Dubya!

November 2011: Work trip to Copper Mountain, CO.  Not as fun as Mammoth...

December 2011: I turned 27!

My brother, Matt, comes home from New York on Saturday.  I'm excited to have him home, but he'll be here for two and a half weeks.  That's a lotta Matt!  Ok, ok, it's not just a lotta Matt.  I know that we're all going to be spending as much time together as possible, and that's a lotta family time! 

Happy holidays everyone!  The next post comes from the New Year.  Stay tuned for my 2012 New Year's Resolution!