Spread The Word

J'pas raciste mais...

I'm voting (of course) but love overall message in this video. A pregnant woman was attacked in our province this week for wearing her traditional head dress. The ignorance and racism here, in my own backyard, is getting worse. It's so sad.

Parents jusqu'au bout

I see Melanie from time to time at Baby's rehab centre, swimming with her daughter Leonie whose stiff body looks almost peaceful in the water. Melanie and I have never spoken but I know her story intimately. Leonie is handicapped, a 3 year old currently functioning like a 3 month old, she will never walk, never speak, never eat orally, and will always be dependent on her family. It's this dependence that prompted Melanie, along with 2 other moms of severely handicapped children, to start an organization called Parent jusqu'au bout. Their aim is to get the government to recognize that they are the best caregivers for their children and to get some recognition (in the form of financial assistance) for it! Being forced to quit their jobs to meet the demands of their children (sleepless nights, countless days in hospital, medications, specialist, therapies, doctors), adapting a house and car to be wheelchair friendly, paying for ambulance rides, medications, hospital parking... it all takes a huge financial toll on a family. What other options do these moms have? Institutionalize their child which would cost the government $100 000+/year? What about single moms? What about the best interest of the child? Doesn't make any sense...

What can you do?
You can support Melanie by buying one of her super cute organic cotton bandanas online from La Meraki.

Get your friends, family and coworkers to sign this petition and mail it before Sept 10 to

Actions familles
Att. Pétition Parents jusqu'au bout
164 b St-Joseph
Sainte-Martine, Qc
J0S1V0

I Can't Wait!!

Registration for this year's YMCA Spinathon is complete! Organized by the wonderful Jean Luc, the aim is to raise $10 000 for community programs. I do it every year, and it's... crazy. This year's event looks particularly intense:



I can't wait!!

Stroke of Insight

Ayahuasca: Sovereignty over consciousness

Man

30 Days Update

The 30 Days are over (finally!) so, as promised, here's the update:

8. Eat vegan for 30 consecutive days: Chocolate junky

It's no secret that I have a chocolate addiction, but I realized this month that I have a serious chocolate addiction. My initial plan was to cut all chocolaty goodness out completely, but during the first few days, my cravings were just too strong; thankfully, Miko helped ease my withdrawal symptoms by bringing me some dark chocolate... on more than one occasion! I didn't actually buy it so how could I refuse? This is how I rationalized my consumption... Then Oreos (vegan btw) were purchased... but does that really count as chocolate? Midway through the month, on a particularly busy Monday, I caved and bought some dark chocolate at the dep close to work. As I savoured my first bite, I noticed, to my horror, that it contained milk ingredients!!! I quickly hid it far back in my desk and texted Miko to let him know what had happened (and for some moral support). The next day, I had another bite. And the 35 grams were shamefully finished before the end of the week. There was also another case of mistaken identity last week with a similar piece of dark chocolate... To my credit though, major will power was exercised considering all the Christmas chocolate I received (and bought on sale)- none of which I touched.

Chocolate wasn't the only non-vegan food I ate this month though. There may have been milk ingredients in a (ok, 3) cookie(s) that I ate on day 1, parmesan cheese in a soup that I bought at a restaurant (it was only after the soup was ordered that I noticed it in the ingredient list), I may have eaten gelatin (not vegetarian btw) on one or two occasions, some fudge & ginger cookies my boss had made, some chocolate cookies (the shame), and spring rolls were eaten almost every time I ordered sushi (are those vegan? I never bothered to ask). Last week, Miko (vegetarian btw) and I went to a restaurant and ordered Ramen soups. In discussing vegetarian options, the waiter mentioned that all the broth was pork/beef based. We got the soups anyways because it was cold out, and we wanted warm broth, and the alternative was leaving... in our defense, we felt really guilty that evening and I got a stomach ache.

Despite these (mostly junk food related) failures, I think I did pretty well. I bought less coffee at work, and when I did, enjoyed drinking it black (although, I did indulge in $4 soy lattes from time to time). I brought my lunch more often, and ate lots of salads and fruits and nuts all that good stuff that makes you feel good too. Almond milk is actually a hundred times better than cow's milk and will now become a staple in my fridge. I found vegan tea biscuits that did the trick. And Nutella, well I missed that, and I'm looking forward to eating this.

Merci Miko for doing it with me for almost the entire month! I'd say we did the best we could, and will continue to choose more vegan options when available.

15. Do Pilates everyday for 30 days: Pilates kitty

Done and done! I may have cheated a little by rushing through the movements to shorten the workout on those days when I really wasn't feeling it; but, without fail, Pilates was done everyday for 30 days. Moka found her place on the mat beside me almost every time, including that one time I did it last minute at 1:00am and groggily at 7:00am. I did it once with the door closed (Miko was over) and when I opened it, I found her scowling for having excluded her from our workout!

I promise to keep it up, maybe not everyday but at least alternate with gym days. I actually do feel stronger, slightly more flexible, but never got a flatter stomach like the ladies in my DVD... Maybe it's because of all that chocolate!

30 Days

Starting today, January 2nd, I'm tackling numbers 8 & 15 on my list. This means that for 30 consecutive days, I must abstain from eating anything animal derived and dedicate 30 minutes everyday to my Pilates routine. 

8. Eat vegan for 30 consecutive days

Adapting a vegetarian diet to a vegan one isn't that much of a stretch; in fact, I became a vegan shortly after declaring my vegetarianism back in 2000. I maintained the diet for 2 years, but decided to revert back to being a vegetarian after eating a Kit Kat bar on a grueling hike in the Adirondacks (no joke!). My sister Van and her partner P have been vegan for over 10 years and they really are an inspiration- I always eat super well and get new recipe ideas whenever I visit them. But despite my past experience and family support, it won't be easy! There are a few things that I will really miss:

Nutella
Milk and cream in my coffee
My favourite tea biscuits
Nutella smeared on my favourite tea biscuits dunked in creamy coffee
And anything with cheese (excluding the aforementioned)!

15. Do Pilates everyday for 30 days

The Pilates DVD I have is actually a relatively short (30 minutes) and relaxing exercise routine, so I'm not stressed about having to do it every day. By January 31st, I should have a stronger core and be more flexible, and if I can keep it up throughout the winter, it will help with yoga (see #5) and prevent injury when I start running in the spring (see #1)...

A step in the right direction 

43 Million Refugees

prisoner of the road- sivert hoyem

To Dream

I always had a dream of living on a farm ...

Earth Day

Earth Day was yesterday and I totally missed it! ...

Cry

A chimpanzee named Washoe signed "cry" when she found out that her caretaker, Kate, had a miscarriage... It blows my mind just how sentient animals are!

Girls Who Run The World? ...

... When we are not even close to being equals!

link

HAPPY EARTH DAY

1 Wish To Change The World

"I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global project, and together we'll turn the world... INSIDE OUT."

Thanks T!

Oh No ... :(

Equals?

7 Billion