Chapter Four: Monday, Monday.

Hello, Monday. I never thought we could be so cordial, but it is pleasant to know that even we can be respectful to each other, even when you suck.

Okay, so my Monday did not actually suck. Yay! I hope yours didn't either. The older I get the more I dread Mondays, and often that dread seeps into Sunday nights which sucks as well. Again, I am trying to be more positive and thankful for my job, but hey, baby steps right? I wasn't necessarily dreading Monday, however, I wasn't thrilled that my Monday at work was going to start at ... *breath* ... 6:30am (unfortunately by my own accord). I still ended my day at my normal time and while I was slightly afraid that I might drop my face onto the desk from utter exhaustion, I survived the longer than usual day as though it were any other. I definitely applaud my change in diet as well as the super yummy smoothies I have been happily consuming as the source of my endurance. The work day seems to fly by and my wings have not been tired at all. It is fascinating. 

As I stated in Chapter Three, today was the day that I started adding exercising to my diet change. I am thankful to live in a complex where we have access to a decent size gym that has a few good options in terms of weight machines, an elliptical, two treadmills and 5,000 spin bikes. Now, back in my more fit days, I would spend a good hour in this little gym bouncing from machine to machine. Today, I decided not to push the envelope too heavily. Now that my lifestyle has changed, I want to take every step not necessarily gingerly but with some consideration for the changes happening in my body. Denise joined me and we did some cardio on the treadmills, testing the incline function and speed until we broke a sweat. I also played with the dumbbells because who wants a pair of Arnold thighs with flabby arms? I can't help but have nightmares about my underarms melting down to the floor like some kind of Dahli painting - yowza! The visuals! 

I didn't do anything core-specific this time around because I want to re-introduce my body into moving at a pace faster and more efficient than the slobbish zombie-sprint I generally do en route to the couch. My body didn't put up too much of a resistance today, but as it is only day one, we shall see what tomorrow holds. I am just excited that when I came home from work my attitude didn't turn into "meeeehhhhhh, do I really want to change and not take this God-forsaken bra off, and then walk in the cold to the gym, and then make myself move faster than normal to force myself to sweat" as it usually does. 

I won't lie, though; my mind was focused on the prize the entire time. That's right - food, glorious dinner. Denise made some rice and corn with ground "meat," mixed into some tomato sauce, tomatoes, onions and green beans. 

How I managed to only chow down on one bowl-full is beyond me.

Denise and I love bowl meals. Throwing a bunch of random stuff into a bowl is easy and yummy and leaves so much room for creativity. As I stated above, I did only have one serving of this hot mess. Even better than the surprise of my odd self-control, for dessert I only consumed three squares of this decadent beauty:

If the Golden Ticket tastes anything like the bar itself, I'm swallowing it.

I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE. I also LOVE truffle. Put them together and I die. Simple as that. Don't get me roses, manfriend; get me a thick hunk of dark chocolate and truffle! This was my first time trying the Trader Joe's brand of chocolate and it was anything but a disappointment. It's the little things that really make the day :)

Anywho, tomorrow brings a new day and a new smoothie. Denise has prepared for us the Purple Power smoothie, comprised of two cups kale, a crap-ton of blueberries, two bananas and she added two tablespoons of flaxseed. I know I generally show off the post-warfare of the Ninja, but tonight I will give you the creation prior to it getting the karate chop.

Pre-massacre. Kind of.

Alas, I am sure you are done reading my ramblings for tonight. At 9pm, I am happy to say that I am ready for bed feeling content with all I have accomplished today. I am looking forward to my Purple Power smoothie for breakfast. Here's to a powerful Tuesday! 

Cheers!

Chapter Two: Furry Midday Ramblings.

After many a moment spent stressing about deadlines and meetings, I have officially given up on stressing. I have been getting too many headaches as of late to stress about work, and nothing is worse than trying to write up reports while it feels like your hair is being ripped out of your scalp hair by hair. Ouch. So, while still working on what needs to be done, I have decided that I am not going to kill myself over the frivolousness of it all; instead, I am going to work at my own pace so that everything gets completed with concrete detail. 

That still doesn't mean that I am going to be focused 100% of the time. If you don't know me, putting me in front of a computer for an extended period of time means that I am going to browse around the web of files and read. If you put me in front of a computer and I am well aware that I have a friend on on the other end of Outlook that is bored out of her mind, I am going to start writing her novels. Well actually, I was given a novel first and then the back and forth of noveling ensued. It was lovely, especially because one of the topics we covered was about our love for animals. This brings me to the reason as to why I even considered giving up animal products in the first place. Case and point:

Cue Sarah McLachlan.

I have blogged about our dog, Nellis Mae, several times before. In fact, little Nell Bell just celebrated her second birthday yesterday (yes, I have no shame in declaring this and will probably continue to do so well into next week). So why I am shoving my wee little dog in your face? Well, simply because she is the source of my animal-free inspiration. I had the pleasure of disclosing my little story to my friend via e-mail today while I was procrastinating on my mountain range worth of work. I'll give you the run-down.

We got Nellis when she was only four months old and ever since, she has made life interesting. From wet little kisses in the nostrils at 3 a.m. to endless barking at random strangers at the dog park, Nellis is a handful of love. She is spoiled rotten by her two mommies and daddy, and every day I find myself more in love with her. So when I started reading those articles on factory farming, I began to have a Lisa Simpson experience. Do you remember the episode of the Simpsons in which Lisa becomes vegetarian? The meat on her plate transforms into the animal she is about to consume, in this instance a lamb who begs for its life. And while I didn't actually manifest Nellis' ridiculous face onto the faces of the animals I was reading about in the factory farming articles, my brain kept spinning like an emo broken record: what if that was Nellis - would you eat her too? All I continued to think about was Nellis being left to die in a small pen being poked and prodded with electrical sticks and other various sharp objects, crying out for affection, naively excited at the sight of a human presence and then being dragged off to the slaughter. Even now as I write this I am feeling the same depressing cloud of reality rolling over me, making the world around me even clearer despite the heavy fog. I love this dog a lot, and it brings me so much pain that anyone would want to kill such lovable creatures, dog or not. I knew I had to do something and this is where I ended up. I could not be any happier about my decision, and I am definitely thankful for her. 

It is an amazing thing to think about the fact that a little four-legged creature whose language I cannot understand could make such an impact on my life. It is very humbling. I often recall a quote online that gets passed around a lot, the one that goes something along the lines of, "While [a dog] may be a part of your world, to [a dog], you are their entire world." This quote always makes me smile. Again, it is very humbling to think that something like our little Nellis could feel that way about her parents.

So there it is, the very essence of why I gave up meat and started this transition from vegetarian to vegan. I am still in my infant moments, looking around at this vastly green world, suckling at all I can get my hands on, anxious for new tastes and ready to mature into a knowledgeable and confident vegan woman. For now, I am going to continue to do my research and experiment with vegetarian and vegan foods. Unlike my awesome roomie and partner in veg crime, Denise, who has already begun her thirty-day juicing and smoothie challenge - and who has given me the other half of her creations, which are extremely yummy by the way, I have yet to try any true vegan recipes. Once I do, though, I will be sure to include plenty of pictures and, of course, each recipe so that you, too, may indulge along with me. As of right now, I am obsessed with tofu. 

Yes. I am.

Well kids, so ends the second day of the rest of 2014. Another meatless day gone, and I look forward to the week's end tomorrow. Right now, and like the mindless human slave that I am, I intend to follow in Nellis's paw prints...

Because nothing is more stimulating than mommy blogging.

Sweet dreams <3