My Epiphany that Lead to a Huge Decision

Hey ladies and gents! I’m so glad tomorrow’s Friday! Hooray!!

So…I had a completely different post written for tonight up until a couple hours ago. I actually had read an article in Runner’s World that I had written my thoughts on and was ready to post. However, I had a realization earlier today that I want to talk about now instead. This epiphany came to me as I was putting Soft Paws on Clarabelle. Ever heard of Soft Paws? Well, you guys probably know by now I’m a huuuuge animal lover. I also hate to inflict any type of pain on animals. Growing up, my parents always made me declaw my cats, and I hated it. Did you know declawing cats not only throws off their entire innate sense of balance, but it’s also more than just clipping off their nails. It’s a surgery for a reason? They surgically remove the cats’ fingers up until their first “knuckle.” I might catch some flack for this, but I am completely against declawing animals.

Those who declaw their cat obviously do it so they won’t ruin furniture or scratch things. However, there’s plenty other solutions to these problems other than declawing. We originally got Clarabelle a clawing post.

 

 

However, she had no interest in that. So, we turned to our next option: Soft Paws’>Soft Paws.

Soft paws are caps that go over a cat’s claws. They are a much better alternative to declawing, and are fairly easy to use! They come in all different colors and sizes. I like to get colored ones, so that it’s easy to see when she “sheds” one and it’s time to replace it. When that happens, I bust out the tools:

 

 

 

First, I clip the claw just a smidgen, and then insert glue into the cap, thusly:

 

 

Then I give her claw a gentle squeeze, and stick it right on.

 

 

 

 

And she doesn’t even mind too much. She doesn’t enjoy it, but hey, she always gets a post-soft paw treat 😉

 

My Epiphany

Obviously my epiphany wasn’t about Soft Paws, but it got my thinking…I’ve always declared myself a huge animal lover and I’ve always been against animal cruelty, I donate to the Humane Society, etc… So why am I still eating animals?! Obviously, this is just my own personal opinion and decision, and I’m not being self-righteous or any of that crap, but I just can’t justify eating meat anymore. I’ve been vegetarian twice in my life because of these same reasons, however, both times I went back to eating meat because I didn’t like what it did to my body. My hair started falling out, and I felt weak. However, that was when I didn’t have the wealth of knowledge that I do now (thanks to the bloggy world!) I now know what else makes a complete protein, where to get amino acids from, how to get my omega 3’s, etc. without eating meat.

So I’ve thought about it hard for the past week, and I’ve talked about it with Shane, and I’m going vegetarian. Now, at first, I won’t be a total vegetarian. At first, I’m going to start with being pescatarian. However, it’s still hard for me to process in my head why I’m deciding not to eat, but still eating milk and cheese and other by products. So one day, these might be phased out, too – but not now, and probably not in the near future. I don’t want to shock my system, I want to ease into it. By easing into it, I think my body will respond better, and I’ll be more likely to stick with it.

I hope you understand my decision. I’m not giving all of the reasons about what I’m doing and the way I’m doing it, because I think I’ve sufficiently explained it with what I’ve said above. So wish me luck as I give up meat!! Also—I’m not going to push this lifestyle on the hubski in any way, shape or form. He is a meat-lover through and through. And that’s fine. I’ll just have to cook our meals in a different way – one with meat, and one without.

Thanks for listening and letting me publicly declare my decision! 😀

Now I must go watch last night’s episode of Glee. But before I go, I have to present to you the most-awesome-oatmeal-combination-EVER:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoooomg. This is like my usual oatmeal combo (oats, almond milk, water. flax, half a ripe banana, agave, peanut butter and blueberries) except I omitted the blueberries and subbed in raspberries. I never realized how awesome raspberries are in oatmeal! They just kinda get soft and break apart and get all ooey gooey. I think this is my favorite breakfast ever. Oh, and a bonus – with a little stir action, they turn the oatmeal pink!!

 

One of the hardest things about changing up your lifestyle a bit is that sometimes it isn’t “the norm” and you have to deal with other’s jabs. Does your lifestyle (I don’t mean just being vegan or vegetarian) bring on any pokes or jabs from others? How do you respond to those comments?