5 facts and planning for a break

As you probably know if you are on Blogger, Google Reader is going to disappear on July 1, and I’ve heard that the Blogger reading list may go away, too.

So I’ve joined BlogLovin as a back-up. Please join me by clicking on the BlogLovin’ icon down on the right side of the page, right under the Facebook icon. Thank you!

I’m joining Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday. I didn’t do it last week, and I missed it!

If you’d like to join in, link up at A Rural Journal.

Dock at Leesville Lake.

One

When I first moved back to Virginia after grad school, I was an adjunct English instructor at some local colleges.

Recently, via Facebook, one of my former students from the community college where I taught got in touch with me. He wrote in part, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of your class or enjoyed your influence over the last 20 years or so. I wanted to let you know that your encouragement meant a great deal to me then and that I did in fact achieve a number of my educational and life goals afterwards.”

He made my day.

Have you ever received an encouraging message just when you needed one?

Two

I am afraid of snakes. All snakes. Deathly afraid. I think I have a definite phobia.

Larry saw the first snake of the season this week, a long black snake. He said it was headed away from our yard, across the street.

I didn’t even like hearing that he had seen one. He reminded me that they are all around us. I know that. But I don’t like to think about it.

Are you afraid of snakes?

Three

Lately, I have been eating a little seafood and a bit of chicken. I thought that perhaps my body was missing some vitamins and minerals and that eating some fish might help my foot heal.

I have especially enjoyed eating salmon. I ate a piece on my birthday last week that melted in my mouth.

I am not completely comfortable with what I’m doing. I became a vegetarian because of my beliefs about animals.

I’m not ready to decide to keep eating seafood and poultry permanently. But for now I am mostly vegetarian, not completely.

I’m reading and pondering, taking it a step at a time.

Four

I go back to my orthopedic doctor about my fractured foot on June 14. I hope I can get rid of the boot for good. It is heavy and awkward. And I’ve had pain in my opposite hip, knee and foot, from too much pressure on them, I think.

I may have to wear a fracture shoe for a little while.

And then I’m so ready to wear two matching shoes and to take a long walk.

Five

I’m allergic to tree nuts. Today I attended a business luncheon. On the buffet were croissants stuffed with what I thought was tuna salad. When I picked it one to eat it, I realized it was chicken salad when I saw the large walnuts in it. I gave it away to a tablemate.

Back at the office in the afternoon, I was offered a chocolate chip cookie one of my co-workers had bought and left for the rest of us. I nibbled at the edges. Then my boss, who was also eating one, said, “Tina, I think this has nuts in it.” We looked closely and saw walnuts. So I gave the cookie to him.

Not a good food day, but at least I didn’t eat any of the nuts.

Are you allergic to any foods?

I’ve decided to take next week off from blogging. I will be very busy at work with my boss out of town.

And I am feeling the need for some downtime with the blog writing. I need some rejuvenation.

I will be reading your blogs as much as I can. And I’ll be back writing on Monday, June 17.

Hopefully, I’ll be inspired during my time off and come back full of ideas.

I’ll miss you and your comments! Take care, dear readers, until next time.

Why I am a vegetarian

Today is World Vegetarian Day, the first day of Vegetarian Awareness Month, according to the North American Vegetarian Society.

I have been a vegetarian since February 2011. I thought I would celebrate World Vegetarian Day by telling you why I became one.

I am not trying to talk anyone else into becoming a vegetarian. And I’m not giving dietary advice.

I don’t think people who eat meat are wrong. My husband eats meat, and we regularly eat together in harmony.

For me, though, being vegetarian works.

I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian. According to The Vegetarian Resource Group, that means I do not eat meat, fish or fowl, but I do eat dairy products and eggs. Also according to the group, an ovo vegetarian does not eat meat, fish, fowl or dairy products, but eats eggs. A lacto vegetarian does not eat meat, fish, fowl or eggs but eats dairy products. A vegan does not eat any animal products, and most don’t use animal products, according to the group.

Very simply, I am a vegetarian because I do not want to eat animals.

I grew up on a beef farm, and we always had plenty of meat to eat.

But in recent years, it has been harder for me to eat meat.

I have learned about some of the farm factory practices in getting the meat from the animal to the table.

My doctor suggested that I watch the film “Food, Inc.,” which I did.

As I became more aware of animal welfare issues, the more I became concerned about my eating habits and how they, even in a small way, might be contributing to the factory farming.

I don’t agree with some of the practices of raising animals to kill and use for food. I don’t think animals should suffer on the way to being butchered to become our food.

I feel a kinship with animals that makes me not want to eat them.

There are health benefits to being a vegetarian. My cholesterol levels are good, as are my triglycerides. My digestive system usually works more smoothly because I get more fiber in my diet than I used to. I don’t feel as sluggish after eating as I used to.

Where I get in trouble is when I don’t follow a diet of mostly whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit. I pay the price in how I feel and with my weight.

Most important to me, however, is the fact that I’m not eating animals unnecessarily.

In some cultures and some areas of the world, meat is a mainstay in the daily diet. Anywhere in the world, it’s necessary for some people’s health to eat meat.

But I can go without meat. I have access to a variety of other foods that give me the nutrients I need to stay healthy.

As hard as it is for me to make changes in my lifestyle, it was not hard for me to become and remain a vegetarian.

I started eating less and less meat, and one day I decided not to have any meat that week. That grew into no more meat. And I haven’t looked back.

Sometimes I’ll crave a hamburger or steak, or some good fried chicken, but it’s a passing craving and I move on.

I have managed not to let my eating habits become an obsessive-compulsive disorder ritual. One time in a restaurant, I ordered bean tacos. The server thought I said beef tacos. I ate some of it before I realized I was eating meat. I wasn’t thrilled, but I didn’t have an anxiety attack over it. I just reordered my food.

If you’re interested in learning more about vegetarianism, resources include The Vegetarian Resource Group and Vegetarian Times. Please remember to talk with your doctor before making changes in your diet.

  Have you ever made a major change in your lifestyle? What was it and how did you accomplish it?

A year with no meat

Last year, sometime in mid-February, I became a vegetarian.

I don’t remember the exact date that I last ate meat. I had been eating less and less with the idea of going meatless. At some point, after eating no meat for a few days, I decided to keep on going.

I don’t eat animal flesh of any kind, including seafood.

I stopped eating meat chiefly because I just couldn’t eat animals anymore. I’ve done a lot of reading about the meat industry and factory farming, and I don’t like it. It’s not necessary for me to eat meat to live. And the bond with animals that I have makes it unethical for me to eat them.

Vegetable fajita quesadilla at El Cazador

Let me say now that I am a vegetarian for my own reasons, but I don’t think everyone should follow my example. I don’t judge others if they eat meat.

My husband is a true carnivore. He loves steak, pork chops, country ham, etc. I think he eats too much meat, but that’s because I am concerned about the health effects.

Choripollo at El Cazador

I do wish that all those who eat meat would be more mindful about where it comes from. And I think all of us should be mindful of where all of our food comes from and eat it with gratitude.

I thought I would lose more weight than I have being vegetarian, but I’ve learned that calories are calories. I eat too many simple carbohydrates and too much processed food and just . . . too much food.

I’m trying to change that. I’m trying to learn more about what foods to eat to get all the nutrients I need.

I do think my digestive system works better overall without meat.

Anything I do for overall good health is going to help me in dealing with my OCD and depression.

It hasn’t been difficult for me to give up meat. And I’m happy to say that I really haven’t obsessed about it. I’ve ended up ingesting some meat accidentally when it was part of a dish I was eating, and I didn’t panic or think I had to start all over again.

Being vegetarian has been a learning experience. My husband adjusted well. He understands how I feel. When we’re choosing a restaurant to eat at, he kindly considers places where there are choices for me.

Today we had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Cazador. I had a vegetable fajita quesadilla. He had choripolla, a dish with chicken and sausage.

We’re eating late tonight. I’m having a frozen dinner that I love: Amy’s Indian Mattar Paneer, which is curried peas and cheese with rice and chana masala, with rice, tomatoes and peas. Larry is having hot wings.