Changes all the time, as I’m sure it does for most people. At this very moment, I’m going to say “Redeemed” by Charlotte Martin and “Across the Universe” by the Beatles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dowlq6TwfU&feature=related
My favorites cycled through depending on my age/mood. A few items that held the title for awhile were my Lite-Brite, my Power Rangers action figures, my Spirograph and one of those giant toys with the beads on wires that you see in hospital waiting rooms. If anybody knows the technical term for that last one, I’m beyond curious. ;)
<emo> Like I’m not enough. Like the world is passing me by. Like I need to STFU and dump on a shrink, not the Internet. Oh, and physically ill. :P </emo>
Short answer: It was a long journey, but now that I’m where I’m want to be, it was an incredibly worthwhile journey.
Long-winded testimonial answer: Vegetarianism was something I’ve been leaning toward since high school, when I encountered a lot more openly vegan/vegetarian people. I remember thinking, “I really respect what they’re doing, but I don’t think I ever could.” I had a very “meat ‘n potato”-heavy diet most of my omnivore life and was very picky when it came to fruits and vegetables. I wrongly believed that life as a veg*n would limit me to nothing but salad everyday. The cruelty of the animal agriculture industry was something that continued to bother me, but tuning it out proved to be pretty easy in a society where we’re so separated from our food and the meat and dairy industries have so much influence over the media. During Lent of 2004, I challenged myself to give up red meat and that eventually led to me cutting it from my diet permanently. I still wasn’t eating all that healthily though and by the time I was 21, I was about 30 pounds overweight. Joining Weight Watchers in 2009 and committing to the program for a year was what really made me expand my palate and eat vegetables beyond canned corn and green beans. Without intending to, I began eating a lot more meatless meals and I switched to non-dairy milks simply because of the better taste and lower Points value. (I never cared for that watery fat-free milk. Yuck!) At this point, veganism seemed like something that was actually feasible. On 7/31/10, I tried to dive right in as a vegan but wound up eating more ovo-lacto vegetarian just because I had a hard time shaking my cheese addiction and found it more convenient when dining out with omnivores. On 9/12/11, I took the vegan plunge completely. At this point, I’ve totally lost my palate for cheese. Just the smell makes me queasy. All that being said, I will never forget what it took to get here. There are a lot of overly judgmental veg*ns in the world who need to remember that they were once struggling omnivores.
When I was about 3 years old and Erin was about 9-12 months and more mobile, my mom would put her in one of those baby walkers when she needed her hands free to take care of the house. I remember sitting on it so that I could watch Mary Poppins and trying to keep her occupied with one of those balloons on a stick when she started getting fussy. :P
Possibly. My biggest motivation for going to church is taking care of my spiritual health. I’m not too obsessed with the label. That said, I would be really uncomfortable if his religion were Mormonism or anything leaning more to the conservative side. I know there are some cool, progressive Mormons out there who might be reading and I mean them no disrespect, but if I’m going to be putting my time/money into a religion at least once a week, I don’t want all of that energy supporting things like Prop 8. This is a big reason I’m no longer identifying as Catholic and going to mass regularly. I’d be comfortable occasionally worshiping with my significant other pretty much anywhere….I mean, if he’s love of my life, he’s not spending every Sunday with the crazies at Westboro Baptist Church or anything. ;P But conversion is a much bigger deal. Conversion to a liberal branch of Christianity would probably be the easiest for me. Anything else, I’d have to do a lot of research and discernment before making a decision.
My very first one. I was a hostess at the Red Robin on Saratoga when it first opened, along with Leti. Overworked, underpaid, no breaks and parties of 7+ constantly giving me shit for seating the party of 2 that came in after them first. The one thing I did like about that job was rocking the giant Red Robin mascot suit on the occasional Friday night shift with a lot of kids. Spent the entire shift in yellow leggings and giant shoes passing out balloons, dancing with the birthday singers, getting hugs and making small children cry!! ;D =P
Eh….Once I commit to a class long enough and pick up on the teacher’s style and vocabulary, I consider myself a sufficient dancer. I definitely have the musicality and a passion for the arts, but building technique takes time. At the clubs or at parties…yes, when drunk. ;P
