Resolutions

It's crazy to think that it's been only, and already, 2 years that I decided to make a change for the better and eat a more plant based (vegan) diet.  I actually had to go back through my facebook time-line and find a picture to confirm.  At first I though it was only a year ago, but at the same time I'm thinking "what took me so long!".  It's too bad that the word "vegan" has such a negative connotation.  I remember thinking being vegan was not only weird (okay well I am!) but also so far out there.  I mean, how could you live without eating meat or cheese!!

I started seeing things so much differently when I started working at the Oregon Humane Society.  Here I was devoting over 40 hours a week to a cause that I passionately believed in, but did my love for animals stop at dogs and cats?  And chickens just because I had them as pets?  A couple of weeks after I started we rescued a group of cats from a hoarder.  I remember being appalled at the conditions that these furry friends came from, but I also left thinking "how about the animals we eat every day".  How can I be so dedicated to bettering the lives of cats and dogs, only to clock out and eat a dead pig or cow that came from comparable (if not worse) conditions?  It's a very touchy subject for most because nobody wants to face the truth..it hurts, I know :(  I had a few vegan coworkers that I started talking with, and one of them gave me a book to borrow called The China Study.  My husband hadn't read a book from start to finish in years, but he really enjoyed it!  A few documentaries and books later, and we were both sold on the vegan lifestyle.  We balance each other out perfectly because I do it for the animals, and he does it for the health benefits.  As a bonus, the both of us are in the best shape of our lives!  My husband ran his first triathalon in 2015 and I ran two full marathons in addition to 4 other road races!
 

Thanksgiving without Turkey? Oh My!

The holiday season is upon us and my personal favorite is Thanksgiving!  It's the only holiday where you just get together to be thankful for each other, and nobody expects anything from you. But if you happen to be a turkey, it could be the worst day of your life!

Portland has done many wonderful things for me, but I'm most thankful to it for opening my eyeballs to a more compassionate lifestyle.  In true Portland Thanksgiving tradition, we're heading over to our best friends house for the big feast.  Cam and I are in charge of apps and sides, so it looks like we'll all be eating a lot of lettuce and almonds on Thursday....JUST KIDDING!  We have a few tasty dishes up our sleeves, my favorite being the Nutter Butter Ice Cream Pie by The Tolerant Vegan for dessert!  For an appetizer we're bringing over a dish we just discovered at Kirbie's Cravings called Bang Bang Cauliflower!  We did a test run of it this weekend and it's very addicting, but also very light so as not to fill us up for the main feast! We made it vegan by using vegenaise instead of mayo, but we did use a freshly laid egg from EggBerta for the batter.  I plan on slipping a vegan cheese I purchased at New Seasons onto the cheese plattter when we get there just to see what happens!  I've always had a hard time justifying paying $13 for a cheeseless cheese, but it's a holiday so I'm going for it!  But if I say that it's vegan nobody will try it.  After a couple of glasses of wine or a few cocktails, I bet everyone will gobble it up.  We're also making homemade cranberry sauce and a Sweet Potato Casserole.

Another FOSTER FAIL

Stan and Blue

And this time I mean "Foster Fail" in a good way!  We officially adopted our foster 'Big Blue', formerly known as Wren on August 27th!  We considered keeping Xen too but unfortunately he didn't know how to use his potty box :(  I've been in contact with his new owner and she said that things are going well and she doesn't mind his accidents (well if it were up to me I would call them his "intentionals"!).

Blue fits in so well here with us.  We didn't realize how much we've missed having a feline friend in the house!  He loves being near us and enjoys being pet and loved.  He watches TV with us on the back of the couch, and when it's time for bed he runs into the bedroom before we get there and sleeps in his basket beneath the window.  Lately he's been skipping the basket part and just sleeping right on my pillow with me.  He just got a beautiful new cat tree from a local artist at The Royal Meow that he climbs up and he loves playing with string.  He's extremely talkative and handsome, and every day he makes me laugh.  I am so happy that our home is his forever home!

His fancy tree from The Royal Meow

Foster Fail!

Blue and Weazy

We're currently fostering 2 cats from a large rescue in Klamath Falls that we received at work.  A woman was caring for 98 cats and became overwhelmed and reached out for help.  Many of the cats from the rescue need dental work done and I have Wren and Xen (whom I've renamed Blue and Weazy) until July 22nd when they can go in for their cleanings.  They are great cats!  Blue is a big, medium hair 12 year old blue (grey) male, and Weazy is a 6 year old seal point male who is only 5lbs!  The siamese cat reminds me of a ferret so I wanted to call him Vin Weasle but it wasn't sticking...so I'd just been calling him "Wease" then "Weazy"!  They were understandably a little shy at first, but are now really enjoying all of the one on one play time and pet sessions.

The great escape!

I've been keeping them in the "Foster Room" with supervised outings into the rest of the house.  They really enjoy exploring and playing, but for the most part stick right by my side.  On Friday night we had a big sleepover - me, Cam, Slim, Stan, Weazy and Blue all watched Wayward Pines (the cats seriously watched the whole thing) and I decided not to put them back in their room.  Saturday was Independance Day and I was excited for my three day weekend so I woke up at 5am, let the chickens out, opened the blinds and kitchen window, gave Slim his pill, made coffee and went back to lay down and read.  Around 8am Cam asks where Weazy is but I figured he was sleeping somewhere. Next thing you know it's 10am and I'm walking around the neighborhood hanging "Lost Cat!" signs and talking to every neighbor I see.  I looked EVERYWHERE.  I thought (was hoping!) I was being dramatic and that he was still hiding in the house.  The only way he could've escaped was the kitchen window that was only open 3 inches (I measured it!) and didn't think he could have even if he wanted to get out.  But I was wrong :(

not my cat!

I was pretty down the rest of the day, and was getting especially nervous because it was the 4th of July, and Cameron and I had planned an anniversary trip to Crater Lake the following morning.  Nighttime came and Weazy wasn't back and the fireworks had started.  I set 2 alarms after midnight after reading that cats come out to feed between 1am and 5am.  Around 2am I went out side shaking his dry food (he won't touch wet, not even with his rotten teeth!) and I heard a meow!!!  I followed the meow to the front of the house and I was SO excited, only to find it was my neighbors cat who had climed out of the 2nd story bedroom window onto the roof because he wanted the food! Bummer :(  Before we left on Sunday morning I walked around the block a few more times, and found cats, but not MY cat.


We contemplated not taking our road trip, but we had done everything we could and staying at home wasn't going to help anything so we left.  Cell reception was spotty driving through the forest, but at one point I looked down at my phone and saw a text: "i think i found your cat..."!  I couldn't believe it!  And I couldn't call or text back because we were in the middle of nowhere!  When we hit a small town I gave the number a call and it was my neighbor whom I had met the day before while she was looking for a friends dog who had gotten out!  And she's a pet sitter for a living.  She had heard meowing on the side of her house, and it was him!  I got her in touch with my dad and she reunited Weazy with the farm.  I am so happy and grateful that he found his way home.  This poor guy has had a rough start in his life, and I want to make sure he is safe, comfortable and loved.  No more windows open around here!  So what if it's 100 degrees!

He loves me.

He gives hugs and PURRRRRS!

When I first got him he had a bad kitty cold.

Newport Marathon 2015

I did it!  I ran a MARATHON!

When I moved to Portland 3 years ago the only running I'd ever done was on the treadmill at the gym...and I hated it!  Thanks to my best friend and fellow runner Bekka and the beautiful weather and scenery in PDX I started running regularly.  Within six months of being here I had conquered a 15K and Half Marathon - I was hooked!

Nothing about training to run 26.2 miles is easy.  I was running 3x a week, logging upwards of 30 miles weekly near the end (and that was the lenient schedule!).  Luckily there are beautiful places to run here, and Forest Park is less than 2 miles from my front door - just over the scenic St. Johns Bridge.

Cam and I drove to Newport, OR the night before the race and got settled into our hotel and scoped out the scene.  We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant, but I think the butter I ate on my pasta didn't agree with me because I found myself puking my guts out at 4 in the morning.  My stomach was still uneasy when I woke up and I wasn't able to eat or drink exactly as I had planned, but I muscled through it.  The start line was less than I mile from our hotel room so we headed out together and the fresh air did me well.  The race was smaller than any other race I have ever run, and there was a nice group of spectators supporting the runners. Running through the tiny town of Newport was fun, and once we were through it was 10 miles out and 10 miles back! I hadn't planned on being without cell reception so was unable to listen to any music for the entire time..which wasn't as bad as it sounds.  Cam met me at the turn around point and snapped some photos which was a big help to me because I was starting to feel some aches and pains!  As hard as the last 10 miles seemed to be, the last 3 seemed easy.  It's funny what goes through your mind - like after running 23 miles thinking "I only have a 5k left!".  The road was quiet and at 25.5 I still couldn't see (or hear) the finish line.  But a little jog up hill left us at 26 miles and the rest was .2 down to the finish line!  I saw Cam from the top and ran as fast as I could (which was probably not much quicker than a walk!) and flexed my muscles!  I got my medal, got some water, then got a print out of my time....4:37:38!  Not bad for my first marathon :)

I'm not sure if I'll ever run another one.  During training I thought "absolutely not!" but a  tiny part of me wants to run one in 4 hours.  What I do know is that if I train for another it'll be a larger race like the Rock n' Roll.  I really enjoy entertainment and cheering and the vibe that you get from a larger race.  Who knows what the future holds...but I gotta say it again - I RAN A MARATHON!!

Check out my husband's website noremaCStudios for more pictures!!

Plant Powered!

 When we first started our journey towards following a more plant based diet, I discovered Isa Chandra's website The Post Punk Kitchen and it's the best!  She has great recipes for some all time favorite "comfort foods" that you can easily be made at home without any animal products.  Now that the way we eat has become a way of life, we find that our cupboards are always full with delicious staple foods that help us make delicious meals.  I often look in the fridge and think "we don't have anything to make for dinner" only to discover that whole, plant based meals are at our fingertips!  A few days ago I made Mushroom Stroganoff and one of my go to "we have nothing to eat" meals is Stir Fried Quinoa and Eggplant.

Please won't you meet Mr. Speckles :)

After 5 years of a catless household, we are pleased to introduce our first foster, Mr. Speckles!

He's a handsome, 2 year old domestic shorthair, who is white with brown tabby speckles (they're really more just like big circles, but we didn't name him!).  He was surrendered to OHS in January, then got adopted and returned because of a severe inner ear infection.  Along with the ear infection he caught a kitty cold, and the combination had him feeling pretty crappy.  He wasn't eating, had lost a lot of weight and was on a ton of meds (5 to be exact).  His adoptive mom

didn't feel that she could give him the proper care that he needed, so she surrendered him to us (me) and when his treatment is complete and he's doing better she will be redeeming him.  Bottom line: Even if I wanted to adopt him I can't!  Perfect 1st foster!

He transitioned to the new home environment pretty quickly, and he actually fits in very well right now.  He wouldn't eat at all at first and I was giving him subcutaneous fluids as needed, but after some TLC and a prescription for diazepam he's eating really well!