Vegan Again?

Over dinner Ryan and I were discussing the purpose of a blog, especially in relation to Facebook. He said as long as a writer had something worthy to share with the world, then a blog is not simply self-serving. He said lifting up the value in home life is noble and that I should write to my original goal. I feel as though I have not been present and contributing to our home environment enough to write about it. I've been away too much with work, both literally and metaphorically.

I've also had my brain on my job search, which has not been fruitful over the past month or so. I was rejected from two jobs that I was supposedly qualified for without even being offered an interview. Thankfully, there are about twelve more I have identified that I will apply for, but I've got to muster the courage to do it. I worked on one very difficult cover letter for a job I'd really love at my current place of employment. I asked Ry to be my editor which usually doesn't end up being pleasant for either one of us. A cover letter is touchy because it is essentially a representation of myself and my skills. It shouldn't be emotionally charged, it should be practical. But for me, my worth gets all tied up in it, causing me to become very sensitive. I'll do the applications. I have to, I just need to make sure I get to it in a timely fashion.

Over the weekend we brought dinner to our friends, Ryan and Elise, who recently had a lovely little baby girl named Chloe. I'm sure it's an insane amount of work, but they make the new addition to their family look like an absolute joy. As if I didn't already have baby fever. That's part of the problem with my motivation for this job search. I feel very conflicted about what I believe my role in our home and my role in the work place should be. I realize this perhaps makes me sound ultra conservative. Not my intention. I'm trying to understand what my values are and I think family is winning out hands down.

We are counting down the days until Mexico City. Ryan is gearing up by looking at pictures and video from his past few trips to Mexico. I am gearing up by reading a Barbara Kingsolver novel, The Lacuna , which takes place largely in Mexico City in the early part of the 20th century.

I am also considering another experiment in veganism. Last year at this time we experimented with a vegan month. The health benefits in that short amount of time were astounding. I felt wonderful, except when I felt emotionally distraught at certain points when I couldn't eat dairy. I am an absolute cheese addict and living in Wisconsin is not helping this problem. I'm considering an entire year. Ryan says he would do it with me. The goal would be to document changes in my body and hopefully a move towards a greater degree of health and wellness. It would take real restraint and would be a huge challenge. I think if I could achieve this goal, I could achieve almost anything. Last time there were moments where I felt freed from our industrial food system and my own dietary road blocks. If I commit to it and write it here, then I'm in it. I'm still on the fence trying to push myself down from it. If I commit, it will be after Mexico.

A few pictures from the weekend:


Sunday Breakfast.


Hubby Weekend Bread Creation #1: whole wheat, rye, quinoa loaf.


Hubby Weekend Bread Creation #2: white, rye loaf.


Hubby Pizza Creation (a.k.a. what I would miss terribly in the proposed vegan year).


Messing around with Alpha King at dinner. One of the reasons I know our little ones will be absolute goofball terrors.

Also, the kids are out for spring break and it is absolutely quiet here. Hallelujah.