Hashtag Real Life

I have so much to say, but my brain and body are tired, so here are random points that sum up my life right now.

• Even when divorce is the best option, it still sucks. 
• I feel like I am juggling a million balls, and am thankful that the vast majority of my friends and family understand.
• Three out of my five dogs will NOT let me touch their nails with clippers or a Dremmel like file. UGH.
• Speaking of juggling things, I have no idea how I will balance my son's increased OT appts, the needs of both of the kids when it comes to their academic struggles, counseling appts (for the kids and me), legal appts related to the divorce, the needs of my pets, housework, and my needs. 
• CrossFit is something that I refuse to give up. I love it, and I love my friends there. 
• Thursday I am applying for TANF (what some people call welfare) and food stamps. 
• As much as I theoretically would like to find Mr. Right, the thought of ever trusting someone like that again makes me feel nauseous. 
• Not being resentful toward He Who Must Not Be Named is a struggle everyday. Every single day. Thank God I start counseling soon. 
• Speaking of counseling, I am so thankful for the free counseling that the kids and I will be getting through a local agency.
• Daylight savings is awesome for my sleep pattern. 
• My family is amazing. 
• Faking it all is exhausting. Telling people I'm fine is exhausting. I'm not fine a lot of the time. I am angry, sad, relieved, anxious, hopeful, and exhausted at some point everyday.
• I no longer know what I want to do with my life professionally; literally, I change my mind everyday. My kids need so much from me right now, I just don't know how to work and be a good full time single mom. 
• At the end of the day, I get into bed with my kids & dogs, exhausted (sometimes tearful) but thankful that I have a roof over my head, wonderful children, amazing parents, crazy supportive brothers, and great friends. 

Meatless Mondays Forever

I am an animal lover, but have always eaten animals and animal products. For some reason I convinced myself that it was okay to do it, and that those food animals didn't really count. I now realize that I was completely wrong, so I am on a journey to change my life and the lives of others. My kids and I are on a journey to pesco-veganism. Yes, we will still mostly likely eat fish but we will not consume any other living thing, dairy, or things with animal products. I am still working on eggs because the kids LOVE eggs; I really want to build a coop so that we can raise our own chickens, and have fresh humane eggs. There are a lot of changes involved in going from eating animals to not eating any animal products.

Before I talk about they why, I want to talk about the how. Some people can make these changes overnight, but not us. We have started with giving up mammals and most dairy (still working on cheese and ice cream). Next, we will give up birds, which shouldn't be too hard considering the only bird we are eating right now is turkey bacon. After we give up birds, I will hopefully be well versed enough on products and recipes, that I can easily meal plan pesco-vegan and vegan meals. For me the biggest challenge will be reading labels to ensure that the packaged foods do not contain any animal products.

Now, the why. In short, I realize now how cruel the farming industry is to animals, including dairy cows and egg hens. Dairy calves are ripped from their mothers within hours of birth, and then either raised for the same fate as their mothers, or briefly raised to become veal. Cows are amazing creatures, and the pain that we humans cause them is inexcusable. We don't need their milk at all. We don't need to eat them. They are loving creatures, who even enjoy snuggling.

You like bacon and think that you can't live without it? Research the pork industry, and pigs. The vast majority are confined to small pins where they can't even move around. Pigs are smarter than dogs, and they like a good scratch and snuggle too. They are actually clean as well, and make great pets. 

Speaking of smart, chickens are smart too! And contrary to what you might think, they are actually affectionate and show empathy. Do you know what happens to baby male chicks? They are destroyed in mass, and not in any humane way; they are typically thrown into meat grinders WHILE STILL ALIVE or put in trash bags to suffocate. The cruel torturous death of countless baby chicks, that's the cost of eggs. 

There are many other cruel practices that happen in the food industry, these above are just a few examples. Honestly when you start researching it, it becomes clear that what we as humans are doing to these animals is just morally wrong. Don't care about animals? Then care about the detrimental effects of meat eating on the environment.

Want to give some vegan meals a try? Check out this BuzzFeed article with vegan meal ideas! Wondering how to get the nutrients that you need from a plant based diet? Check out the graphic below for some tips. Going vegan has really never been easier!