Sunshine, You're Beautiful.

Regardless of what is going on in my chaotic life, the sunshine can always balance me out. It can lighten my mood, make my day brighter and make me more appreciative of the simple things life has to offer. If I really take the time to enjoy it's warmth, I'll literally feel the energy being absorbed through me. It's powerful, it's natural and it's beautiful.... Peace, Love & Sunshine!


- Posted from Jennifer's iPhone

Vitamin B12

This article on vitamin B12 is too useful to not share. Most vegetarians/vegans use Nutritional Yeast as a supplement but it also comes in tablet form. Just be sure to read the label to be sure it's suitable for a vegetarian diet!

If It Were A Religous Stunt, People Would Be All Over Her, But It's Not.... She's Only Wearing Meat

Lady Gaga's appearance on Ellen wearing her raw meat dress can be compared to Sinead O'Connor's appearance on SNL when she ripped up the photo of the Pope but it's really not that big of a deal to the majority of people, considering the majority of people in this world are not vegetarian. Ellen is VEGAN and Lady Gaga wore her offensive meat dress on her show.... People were outraged and horrified when Sinead did what she did saying it was insulting, offensive and unmoral but no one really thinks too much about it when a star such as Lady Gaga stands on Ellen's stage wearing abused, tortured, slaughtered beings. Sinead's stunt got so much attention because it hit a nerve amongst religious groups across the world, but Lady Gaga gets away with being un-ethical because most people don't think there is anything wrong with eating (or wearing, obviously) animals. Shame on her.

I Don't Give A Damn About My Bad Reputation

Although I'm not a strong leader, I'd like to think I've never been much of a follower. My girlfriends to this day expect me to make the plans and organize our events for our group. It's just always been that way. I am the decision maker for most things in my life. I'm a mom and a wife and I tend to play a leading role in the planning of our day to day lives. With so many decisions to have to make, I've learned to be quick about it and I've stopped over thinking a lot of things. Sometimes in retrospect I see that I could have made a better choice had I given it more thought but in that particular moment if I felt (and I base most of my decisions of emotion... I know this about myself) it was the right thing to do, then I'm ok with that and will stand behind why I did what I did. It's just the way it is. And people get pissed off with some of the things I say and do. They judge when I do things like take my children to animal rights demonstrations  or raise them differently than they are used to but as long as I can be honest with myself and feel good about what I say and do, then I don't give a damn about my bad reputation. ; )

Joan Jett for PETA

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Vegetarian Joan Jett and PETA

Pigs Are Intelligent Animals. Stop Slaughtering Them, Ribfest.

Every year, my hometown hosts an event called Ribfest and every year I say I'm going to get a group together to demonstrate on the animals behalf but.... the smell of their death and roasting flesh makes me physically ill. I wouldn't be able to stand being there! I hear there are over 150,000 people who attend and over 100,000 pigs are slaughtered for this annually. Pigs Are Intelligent Animals and it saddens me to know they have suffered for greedy human consumption.... Something has to be done... and sometimes just stating the obvious is enough to open some people's eyes and create the awareness surrounding animal cruelty....

The Tables Are Turning

It was only a few short years ago that I was a mom to two very young boys and caregiver to various other children, all of whom were like my own to me. Many of those days are still a blur. I'd answer the door before 6:30am and would often close the door behind the families at 6:30pm...sometimes later. As long and as exhausting both physically and mentally as those days were, I got up every morning looking forward to my job. There were many mornings where I would go out to get coffee before any of the kids arrived but by 9am I'd have given my right arm for another. Once in awhile, my mum would call and offer to drop one off to me. And once in awhile I'd ask her to stay with the kids once they were all napping so I could run out to the dentist or pick something up from the store. She would almost always agree and I was careful not to ask too often but I always felt like she had no idea how trapped I was sometimes, because of the kids routines and needs. She was a stay at home mom so you'd think she'd remember what it was like but that was a long long time ago. In my line of work there is no such thing as a lunch or coffee breaks so when opportunities for me to leave the kids for half an hour would arise, I was more appreciative than anyone will ever know.

Last week my Grandmother, who lives with my mother, had a stroke. My mum has been on duty catering to her every need since it happened. I see the exhaustion in my mum. I see her struggling to keep it all together for the sake and well being of my Gran. But I also see there is a want to be that person, similar to how I wanted to be that person to my kids and the kids I provide childcare to. Today, my mum asked me to pick up a few things at the store for her and when I asked if she wanted a coffee I could hear that same sound of desparation in her voice that I once had when she would offer to bring me one. When I arrived at her place, I asked if she needed to run out anywhere and told her I would "granny-sit", just as she had agreed to "baby-sit" for me when I needed it. I could tell by her reaction that she was thankful to be getting out of the house for awhile....a feeling I can relate to.

My kids are all school-aged now and I can run out or get coffee whenever I want. In fact, I've never been as free as I am these days. I'm seeing the tables turning now though. My mum has been free for many many many years now but is entering a new chapter of her life where she is once again depended on full time. My childcare job taught me a lot of things over the years and the sense of appreciation I developed will carry forward as I do coffee delivery and "granny-sit" more often from now on.


- Posted from Jennifer's iPhone

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future"-Paul Boese

The Definition Is This

Vegan: A person who does not eat or use animal products of any kind (including meat, dairy and leather items).
Vegetarian: A person who does not eat meat products.
Pescetarian: A person who eats no meat products with the exception of fish. A lot of people will use this as a bridge to convert to vegetarianism.
Tofu: A soft, high-protein food made from soybean milk.
Tempeh: A food that originated in Indonesia, made from cultured soybeans. Since it retains the whole soybean (unlike tofu), it is a source of higher protein, fiber and vitamins. It also has firmer texture and stronger flavor, and is a widely used meat substitute.
Seitan: A meat substitute made entirely of wheat gluten. It is an alternative to soybean-based substitutes like tofu, and has texture and consistency very similar to meat.


Read more: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/thoughts/#ixzz0wjCF1Iw0

Diamonds Are Not This Girls Best Friend

Just a few short months ago, my husband and I went out shopping for my new diamond ring. We're celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary this year and I suggested getting a new wedding set.... I felt as though I should get a newer, bigger diamond because I had somehow earned it and that it was owed to me. Chris had me try on rings that cost more than I would spend on a new car and as beautiful as they were to look at, they didn't feel right on me. There was something unknown that just didn't sit well. Our anniversary is fast approaching and so I have been learning as much as I can recently in order to make the best decision. I've spoken to many retailers and diamond specialists and have learned a lot about cuts, clarity, colour, weight etc.
Then.... through research online, I discovered articles on the unfair labour, bloodshed, brutality and the loss of precious life that comes as a result of people like myself who purchase these precious gems. I honestly had no idea. I know... I've lived a sheltered life but this is no excuse to not know about something this huge! I've been misinformed about these stones and feel ill reading about all that goes on in the diamond industry. Conflict diamonds, blood diamonds and child labour articles are swarming the internet, yet still we don't talk enough about them. It's so easy for people to turn a blind eye when their eyes are filled with the gleaming sparkle of carats I guess.
I've since taken a good look at the role I play in our marriage and have put much thought into what it is I thought a big shiny diamond ring would do for me. I've realized wearing it would represent many things to many people's eyes, but the feeling I'd have would not be a good representation of who I am or of the word "reward" at all. It would go against all that I stand for in terms of world peace first of all and second, the love I get from my family is the ultimate reward for being who and what I am to them. Thanks anyways, but no diamond needed here.