A Year in the Life

[Penny]

Today is my birthday.  What a difference a year makes.  Last year I was flirting with leaving out meat from time to time.  I read.  A lot.  I watched DVDs. A lot.  I became educated.  A lot!

I learned about heart health and the impact of dairy and animal products on the body.  I learned the horrors of the meat industry. I learned how simple changes can impact a life.

I had daily migraines that became incapacitating so I went Raw for a month.  That was not easy.  But I felt wonderful after.

Then I slid into Vegan/Vegetarian.  Fish and cheese were the hard parts.  Not that I particularly like cheese a lot, but it's just i so much.  Fish, that was (and still is) harder.

I have bounced around, vegan, not, veg, not, raw, not, pescatarian, not.  I'm still looking for my balance.

Life got in the way.  Big time.  A year ago I was paralyzed with depression.  I'm still depressed, but medicated.  Would love to lose the meds (they are expensive!)  I'm no where near that place now, I've made good progress.  I've worked on coming to terms with things out of my control, managing those things that are, and tried to give up emotional eating.

Emotional eating - still a work in progress.

I became a pain in the a$$ about things like Monsanto, DuPont, and all the others involved with GMOs in our food supply.  I rallied for the California initiative to label foods containing GMO's...even though I live in Florida.  Some days you can tell it's a "pick on GMO day" by the looks of my Facebook page.  Fortunately, I haven't been un-friended for it.  

In fact, I have four dreams.  Go to Base Camp of Mt Everest, travel to Lhasa in Tibet and see the Potala Palace, see the day that the Dali Lama may return to his treasured homeland, and for GMOs to disappear from the universe.  I don't think that's asking too much!

A lot has changed, come along, gone away, become less important.  One thing remains clear.  Plant Based is better for my health, my mind, and my soul.  I continue to find the balance.  I fall, I get up, I dust myself off, and I continue on.  

 

[Tiffany Mikkelson]

Happy Birthday!!!! :-) 

[Ashlee Piper]

Happy belated birthday, Penny!  The animals love you, we love you, and we couldn't imagine this Community without you!  Thanks so much for being wonderful you!