December 3

Writing on the Chalk Board at one of the (deserted for the winter) rest stops along the North Kaibab Trail - this was BEFORE all the snow...

Trail Breaking, nothing quite like being the first person to walk on fresh snow

While I don't always love snow, there is something VERY magical and Christmasy about it.

December 2

I am going to try to post a picture a day from Dec 2 to Dec 25. It should have been the December 1, but I didn't take a picture that day.

Hiking down into the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibab Trail, 12/2

This is why I'm late posting, no internet in the Canyon!

Christmas ≠ Consumerism

I love Christmas.

It is probably my favorite holiday hands down. Glittery snowflake decorations (not much snow in the Sonoran Desert, not that I miss it!), sparkly lights, yummy cookies, the smell of cinnamon, ginger and cloves in the air. Times spent with close friends and family, enjoying each other’s company, playing games, just being - together. As a child and teen, I have fond memories of going out Christmas caroling to shut-ins, the hospital and nursing home. I still remember to happy faces of the older people, requesting a favorite carol, offer hugs and hot spiced cider. I can still sing the first, third, and fourth verses of most well known carols from memory to this day.

In my twenties, living away from my childhood home – I worked on making my own memories. In Washington, DC, I would also visit the Christmas display in front of the White House. I try to find a Christmas production of some type no matter when I live, the Nutcracker Ballet, Handel’s Messiah, a church’s Christmas play or musical. These are things I love and remember from year to year.

I hate mindless consumerism.

I have this urge to slap people when I hear the phrase ‘I need to buy Christmas.’

Christmas cannot be bought. Christmas is not things.

Since 2008, when a man was killed during the black Friday madness, I have boycotted shopping of any kind on that day. Thanksgiving (another holiday I love!) has been swallowed up and is now being referred to by some as “Gray Thursday” since many stores have started opening Thanksgiving evening. This makes me want to cry and scream and yell.

I am joining my voice with all the others, calling for an end to this madness. For an end of over extending of one’s finances, for the buying of cheap plastic things that break before the new year, for the waste, the greed.

Instead, make memories with friends and family. Make gifts (useful things!). Make Friends. Make Laughter. Share Joy and Hope and Love and Peace. Give. The Christmas I celebrate is about giving. Not getting. God gave His Son. The Wisemen gave gifts. The Sheppard’s gave their worship.

This season I will try to spend less, give more, create memories, and reach out to others on their own.

All my gifts this year will be created and/or handmade.

I will work towards giving more to those that truly need.

I will work to create memories with my friends and family and for myself since I will be spending the Christmas Season on my own (Don't worry, I'll have a crazy adventure planned as always!).

I will try to find other people on their own for the holidays and spend time with them.

Below is a video which gave me much to think about and will hopefully give you much to ponder as well.

http://youtu.be/gOxO3y21Y8w

May your season of Advent be filled with Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love.

Puffy Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat
1 tablespoon baking power
2 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar or sweetener of choice
1 teaspoon or so of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice or your choice of spices
about 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling!)
about 1/3 cup of apple sauce
about 1.5 cups of almond milk or non-dairy milk of choice.
Optional
about 1/4 teaspoon of maple flavoring if you have it
OR 1 teaspoon vanilla

Put everything in a bowl and mix, add more or less milk to get a thick pancake batter. cook just like any other pancake. These will be thick and puffy if you use a thick batter. I ate them with pumpkin spice coffee and topped with (vegan) butter and brown-sugar syrup.

Brown Sugar Syrup - mix some brown sugar with a little bit of water so it "melts" then spread on warm pancakes.

Chatting with friends

Me: So I have set the bar - I will not go out on a date with a guy who doesn't have lenses in his glasses

L: sometimes, regardless of what other people think, we have to have standards and I think that having lenses in your glasses is a good standard to have.

Me: Oh, so the guy in the grocery store without lenses in his glasses - well I was 90% sure he was hitting on me, yet 95% he was gay... I'm so confused!

L: maybe lensless guy was confused too

Me: LOL probably and he was maybe 23

L: Possibly he was confused as to why he couldn't see since he didn't have lenses, and figured he would feel better if he hit on you

Me: LOL -you ARE priceless my friend, priceless

L: But then you shot him down, and he was all, jeeze I better get the lenses

Me: I have a rule, if I'm 95% sure that a guy is gay I reject the null (assumed) hypothesis that he's straight and shoot him down in flames

L: But having a guy whom you are 95% sure is gay AND who doesn't have lenses in his glasses has to be an outlier

Me: and therefore should be shoot done too,

L: absolutely, and also ignored right? I was doodling a lot in data analysis class and didn't really pay attention

I love my friends and all the weird, epi/data/stats nerdy things we talk about.

Purple Streaked Hair? Why not!

That's pretty much my thought pattern. Okay, the shortened version. Honestly, I've been thinking about dying the bottom 1/2 of my brown hair, a dark purple color. I'd dye over my natural color to tone it down and no way am I bleaching my hair - I did that once and it didn't go so well.

So fast forward to Sunday:
I went to Sally Beauty Supply for some eye droppers (to measure out kitchen extracts of course:-)), and saw IT. Yup, lovely, purple-y semi-perminate hair dye. You bet I bought a tub. Once I got up I looked up directs for dyeing my hair, selected a large chunk behind my left ear and dyed.

I love it! Its more like purple-y highlights when the sun or light hits it then it is a true purple. Which is pretty much what I wanted - something purple-y that wouldn't get me looks from my co-workers and boss.

I know that if/when most people see it, they will ask "Why?" with a raised eyebrow. To which I will calmly reply: "Why not?" with a raised eye brow of my own (I've been practicing my "Why not?" look). It makes me happy. I love color, so why not add some to my hair? In a tasteful way. That won't get me fired or on a probation plan.

My challenge to you - do one "why not?" thing a week! Something that you've always wanted but not done because you're worried about what others will think. Mind that you stay in the laws and stay true to your moral and ethical leanings, but otherwise have fun! Enjoy the simple things like purple-tinted hair. Life is to full of pointless rules, don't impose more on yourself. You're never too old or too young or too this or to that, unless of course you make yourself "too."

And in other notes from the weekend - I now own a craigslisted bike and (new) climbing harness and etc from REI. Rocks, here I come!!!!!!!!!!

Live life to the fullest and "Why Not?"

Its been a year!

Its been a year since I arrived in Maine ( promptly left 345 days later). A year since I started eating a vegan diet. Yeah, I tend to do everything at once. I have to say that moving to a few place and starting over as a vegan was far easier for me then starting a vegan diet in the same place.

Anyway, what's a vegan diet? A vegan is a person who doesn't eat animal products - meat, seafood, fish, dairy, eggs.

How to I put this into practice? I cook 100% vegan and feed whoever comes over for a meal vegan food, but I allow them to bring their own cheese, sour cream, butter, etc. I do this for me and my food choices should not be forced on others - I'm just happy to feed people a vegan or vegan based meal. Also, I do eat honey. As far as I know bees haven't been genetically modified, pumped full of antibiotics, or consume massive amounts of energy to raise. I also buy it locally from bee keepers in the area and believe that it helps support the immune system. I do make exceptions, if other people have prepared me a vegetarian meal but it has small amounts of dairy or eggs in it, I'm okay with that. My intention is to try and eat a vegan diet as much as possible, without being a jerk or wasteful. A few of my friend's mom's have made me veggie meals but cooked with dairy, a my cousin's uncle fixed a elaborate meal for us not knowing that I was vegan, so I picked out the veggies and called it good. This is not a political statement for me, so I'm okay bending the rules a bit from time to time.

Why did I make this chance? Well I have been trying to live a health live style, which I think, means eating very little if any meat and animal products. I also try to avoid all things artificial, over-processed and labeled "healthy." I also buy organic when I can afford it.This means that I cook, a lot, but I love it! Over time my reasons have changed from just wanting to be healthy to also wanting to use my food choices to mirror my world view. These now include - being green, giving up meat greatly reduces your carbon-foot print, uses less fossil fuel, increases the amount of plant-based food available to people. Good for me, Good for the Earth, Good for Others, Good for the Future:-)

Is it hard to eat out as a vegan? No, not for me. I order vegan from the menu, beans and rice, pasta with red sauce, cheese-less veggie pizza, french fries and steamed veggies, veggie burgers (not a fav, but eatable!), veggie sandwiches - hold the cheese and creamy sauces, etc. Most ice-cream places have at least one fruit sorbet as well. Since I decided to not worry about the tiny details when eating out, I've been okay. About 1 in 100 people are thought to be vegan, with about 1 in 30 being vegetarian, more and more restaurants are offering vegan/veggie options and all (even Taco Bell!) will modify your order to you specifications (no cheese on the bean burrito!). If you can veganize a dish in you head by removing one or two items, the order it and enjoy!

How long will you stay vegan? I don't know - this started out as a three, six at tops, month experiment to see if I could eat vegan and enjoy it. And you know what? I did, I do and I still love it. The first set of holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, were a bit hard. Okay well I spent Thanksgiving in Canada solo, so I looked up a local vegan restaurant. Christmas was at a beach house with my family, so that was a bit trickier, but it worked. Everyone my friends and family, have been supportive and pitched in and eaten vegan with me when I've visited and cooked. My sister and I found the Loving Hut in her city and have enjoyed it a lot. So yeah, no plans to start eating animal products again any time soon. I also realize that I have the blessing of being single with a vegan-friendly guinea pig who happily shares kale, carrots, mango, grapefruit, cherries, cilantro, etc with me without asking for a steak or bacon (or maybe he does since I don't understand guinea pig).

So yeah, that's that in a nut shell. Well coconut shell:-) I'm going to try a post more of my vegan creations in the near future. As you can probably tell, this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I believe in using food as a medicine. I believe that our food system is broken and that people are being poisoned by the food-like substances sold in grocery stores. This is my soap-box.