On the edge of becoming vegan...

So here is my post about why I am on the edge of becoming vegan! If you don't want to know - skip this one and the next one will be about why we don't have kids - chock full of hilarity!!!

The past six months has been an interesting journey. It was a combination of a few things.....

Six months ago I was on my way to Birmingham for work and I was eagerly anticipating stopping at a chik-fil-a for drive through dinner. I LOVED chik-fil-a sandwiches. About two miles out from the exit I got behind a semi-truck hauling chickens (presumably to slaughter). Feathers flying everywhere, filthy truck.... completely killed the craving for a chik-fil-a sandwich. It amazes me how we are able to compartmentalize and avoid acknowledging where meat comes from - that nicely wrapped in plastic sanitized slice of meat at the grocery store does not register for most people how it got there, we simply don't want to know.

I digress..... At this very same time my sister was reading the notorious book "Skinny Bitch". When I returned from this trip she loaned the book to me... I read it and about every other thing out there I could get my hands on within about a four week time frame.... Omnivores Dilemma, Mad Cowboy, Fast Food Nation, The Way We Eat - Why Our Food Choices Matter. Then came the podcasts, Meat Free Radio, Vegetarian Food for Thought, Vegan Freak Radio. All of the blogs - especially during October "VEGAN MOFO" (vegan Month of Food) were lots of fun. The list goes on - all extremely inspiring. I fed myself a constant supply of vegetarian and vegan information. And I have not looked back.

To answer the question on many minds right now - was it hard to "give up meat"? Not at all, it was like a switch went off in my head, and that was it. My dear sister has been my companion, alli and partner all along the way - we have had constant conversations about all sorts of things vegetarian. Its been a bonding experience for us - I feel like we are 8 year old sisters rallying together in some common childhood crusade!

I have also had someone in my life that is not a meat eater - my dear friend Beth has been a vegetarian since she was in high school. For her, the past six months have been a hilarious bout of quiet reflections of "see, I told you so". In the past we have occasionally had some discussions. I vividly remember a conversation probably ten years ago about the environmental impact of McDonalds... all I heard at the time was blah, blah, corn, blah, blah, cattle, blah blah pollution...and all I was thinking is man I love a happy meal. Now Beth - I hear you LOUD AND CLEAR.

Work has also been interesting. We have meetings - we eat together. In the past six months I have had my fair share of meetings with an obligatory sandwich platter - nothing is more satisfying than a cold cheese sandwich. Or worse, when lunch is ordered in and no one bothered to ask if anyone has any preferences - so Jason's deli ham sandwich boxes all around! Great, thanks. Again not wanting to call attention to myself and not make anyone go out of there way - I crawl "into the pantry" and suffer while I try to make a lunch out of a bun and maybe some chips. I have since learned to call ahead and quietly request that I have a veggie option for lunch.

And being newly veggie, the conversations and questions of course come up. My favorite is the assumption I am doing it to loose weight... ugh, I assure you I am not and in fact I think I have gained a few pounds exploring all of my new "options". This is NOT about weight.

What I have also noticed is that my day to day life and to those close to me my food choices have become a non-issue. There is no need for explanation or discussion - which is a very nice quiet and NORMAL place to be. So for those of you just beginning this - I promise it gets easier and you will eventually not have to talk about it so much!

A few brave people have asked: So why are you not eating meat? And again I am back to my perplexed state of what do I say. Do I say - "its a personal choice" stay in the pantry and move on; or blurt "Because of the horrors of industrially produced meat (aka factory farming) and the fact that over 70% of the corn grown in this country is to feed livestock that aren't even supposed to be eating corn and the fact that I can no longer justify that eating a cow is okay but it's not okay for me to eat my great dane - is why I do not eat carcass. And if you knew what I know you would not eat meat either." And stand and watch their jaws gape open and then they awkwardly move the conversation on. Typically my response is a sanitized combo of both of the above responses and if the person is even remotely interested I will tell them to watch "The Meatrix" - http://www.themeatrix.com/ it's a cartoon play on "the matrix" and pretty much sums up why I am not eating meat. It's benign and easy for most people to stomach.

Which brings me to .... Earthlings. I have not watched Earthlings. I started to... and I am too afraid. Having read and listened to everything that I have in the last six months - I am AFRAID of this documentary. I am afraid of what it will do to me. The documentary is nicknamed "The Vegan Maker". It is a VERY intense documentary that details the exploitation of animals as pets, food, entertainment and research. I watched the first section on pets and knew that it only got more intense from there. I am afraid it will make me hate people (more than I currently do now), I am afraid it will make me jump off the deep end and pack up and leave in the middle of the night to join the Animal Liberation Front. I am seriously afraid of this documentary. It's like "The Meatrix" is a Disney film and "Earthlings" is XXX pornography. Or perhaps more appropriately a "snuff" film.

I am afraid of Earthlings.

So I am on the edge of becoming vegan... I have switched to soy milk. That itself was funny - I tried vanilla silk soy milk, hemp milk, almond milk, rice dream... and FINALLY bought just plain ol unsweetened silk soy milk and it is REALLY GOOD. Lesson learned - stick with the basics - you can't go wrong! I have "sour supreme" and "better than cream cheese" and earth balance "butter" in my fridge. I am in love with field roast and match meat. We've discovered a GREAT vegan cafe here in our small town - and have become regulars. I crave their ruben tempeh sandwich - it is INCREDIBLE.

I am almost vegan - I think there were eggs in a few things that I ate yesterday (Thanksgiving). There are a few products that I have I know have egg in them - Quorn is "NOT VEGAN". (for those of you that listen to Vegan Freak Radio you are laughing right now) But it is a really REALLY good chicken substitute - makes a really mean stir fry!

Side rant - I wish more manufacturers would put "VEGAN" on their labels - but it's almost like the mass public would automatically think - ewe that can't possibly be good. SO not true - you'd be surprised what IS vegan - OREO's are vegan - Surprise they are still YUMMY!!! Okay back to the blog

I look at my suede jacket in my closet VERY differently now. I know where it came from. It makes me sad. I buy cosmetics and toiletries that are not tested on animals and do not contain animal products.

My dear Hubby is an omnivore - but he is a REALLY good sport. He likes food as much as I do - and if it tastes good he will eat it. He doesn't care if it's cow or soy. I greatly appreciate that he is supportive. I think at first he was scared that I might jump off the deep end - but has come to respect my choices and it is not a problem. I am encouraging him to make better choices and when he does eat meat it's "Happy Meat" (again vegan freak fans are laughing here).

I am doing what I can. My sister's favorite quote is "Be the change you want to see in the world". I know that I cannot change the world - but what I can do is be one less meat eater on the planet. Deep down inside I do think if you knew what I know you might reconsider your choices.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes - "You laugh because I am different, I laugh because you are all the same"

On the edge of surviving my first vegetarian Thanksgiving!

It's the day after Thanksgiving.... I am on the completed edge of my first vegetarian Thanksgiving with my family. Successfully completed without controversy. We actually had a nice Thanksgiving... you never know what kind of holiday you are going to get. This one was a good one.

So why is it so significant that I am a vegetarian at my family's table? It amazes me that people that are "family" can have such completely opposing views on the world. I think everyone has moments where they think - Am I really related to these people???? How can we be SO different? In this situation it applies to my brother primarily - he's a cowboy and a ferrier by trade, rodeos and raises bucking bulls as well. He's a good guy, I love my brother - but, wow, does he have a different view on the world. A few Thanksgivings back we practically had world war three around the table debating the Florida amendment to ban pig gestation crates. It ruined Thanksgiving that year. I am a member of the Humane Society – they (my brother and his wife) HATE the HSUS. And they REALLY hate PETA. And it makes sense – everything that their lives are about are all greatly opposed by those organizations. We have very differently ideologies.

So this year I was concerned that the topic of vegetarianism might come up. In comparison to the debate on the gestation crates - this discussion probably would have been THE actual apocalypse. Thankfully we all ate and no one noticed that I or my sister didn't have a slice of carcass on our plates. I also enjoyed a helping of dressing that was made with veggie broth instead of chicken stock - thanks to my very accommodating parents. I fixed my plate last and pulled a serving from what appeared to be the "extra" pan of dressing. Sneaky.

I am a conflicted veggie this holiday season, as I am sure that many are. On one hand I want to stay "in the pantry" and cause no commotion over our personal eating choices. Ensure that no one has to go out of their way to accommodate my preferences. Essentially keep the holiday peace.

On the other hand - I want to jump up on the table and proselytize to everyone who can hear me. I want to wear a t shirt that says "if you knew what I know - you wouldn't eat that". Or one that says "we are all being LIED to" !

So how DID all this get started? That will be my next post…. If you don’t care to know – don’t read the next blog post. I think the one after that one will be about why we don’t have kids… and I’ll give a shout out to my friend Anne Marie who shares my sentiments on the kiddies!!!

For now, I am thankful that we had a good Thanksgiving this year. I am at home today giving thanks that I no longer work retail especially on black Friday. I hope everyone enjoyed time with their friends and family. I am looking forward to a VERY festive "meat free" holiday season.

Today I am on the edge of... creating a BLOG. So this is the inaugural post of Misty on the edge of... My Mother always told me I should be writing a book - this will be a nice compromise. No publishing fees. No editors, save me.

So who am I - I guess you will get to know me through this blog. For starters I am in my mid 30's - the photo here was taken last week (let the sarcasm begin), have been married for 13 years, have four big dogs - a Great Dane, a Great Dansky (huskymix) a chocolate lab and a staffie, love mid century modern architecture, work for a large non profit organization in development, have not eaten meat in a little over six months, ON THE EDGE OF becoming vegan (this will be another post!) enjoy long walks on the beach..... this is beginning to sound like a singles post!!!!

I hope that if you have randomly stubbled upon this blog you will find it remotely entertaining. I intend to have current "on the edge of" topics, but also to do some "flashbacks" and provide some entertaining looks back at when I was on the edge of doing whatever - hindsight being 20/20 I'm sure it will be amusing.

So a little more about the title - it is an homage to one of my favorite artists - Ms. Stevie Nicks and her song "Edge of Seventeen". I have been contemplating a blog for sometime and could not for the life of me come up with a title. Early this morning I thought this would be great way to spark some topics and be a nice tip of the hat to Ms. Nicks.

So here it is the inaugural post - a little boring, but to my defense it is early Saturday morning and I have not yet finished my morning dose of caffeine. Although this morning I am thoroughly enjoying my pumpkin spice silk soy creamer.

I feel like I should be smashing a bottle of champagne on my computer like a christening ceremony for a ship! So here's to my blog:

"Many before me have taken to blogging. We have crafted the written word to provide opinions, instructions and amusement. These blogs will nurture and care for us through great times and through perilous times! To them we toast, and I ask you today to celebrate On the edge of... Everyone raise your glass (for me this morning it is a cup) and shout, "TO THE BLOGGERS OF OLD…TO MY NEW BLOG ON THE EDGE OF we toast". The moods of the blog are many, from tranquil to violent. We ask that this blog be given the strength to carry on. The keel is strong and she keeps out the pressures of the sea." Again raise your glasses or cups, and the shout, "TO THE BLOG...TO THE BLOGGERS OF OLD...TO THE SEA!"

Now I have to go and clean the coffee out of my keyboard - thank you for helping me christen my new blog! See you next post!