the Shakedown: slang. "a thorough search of a place or person." (dictionary.com)

License to breed

Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2004 at 2:40 pm

Gena wanted to know what I thought about a childree site that she came across the other day. I know Gena is a single mom just like me, so I can understand her interest in what my opinion is on the subject.

As far as people choosing not to bare children? Well there is no law that says everyone has to have children. In fact, I believe the majority of our population is unfit to be parents. So for people who recognize that they don't want to take the time, energy or money to raise children, I say, more power to ya. As for people who feel pressure from other parents to have children of their own? We all feel pressure from someone or something to do or not do something in life. Worrying about what others expect of you in life is a complete waste of energy.

There are millions of children in this world who are being abused, teased, starved, molested and neglected at this very moment. So for me to have anything but compassion in my heart for children everywhere just seems wrong. I've run into my share of bratty children, but to think that that child is rotten and discard him as some waste of space is wrong. I joke around about wanting to beat some bratty kid, but in reality I feel sorry for bratty kids. Because bratty kids almost always have shitty parents and for that, I feel sad.

Our society (in the USA at least) is driven by selfishness and individualism. There is a definite lack of community and compassion for our neighbors anymore. You always hear people complaining about what moronic asshats their friends and neighbors are, rather than trying to empathize with whatever life turmoil those people might be experiencing at that time. I'm guilty of this myself. To hear people complaining and "ranting" about the latest "breeder" or "brat" they run into doesn't phase me. I don't take it personally. Why should I?

Everyone needs to vent once in a while. That is why the majority of us have these online diaries. But when a site turns into bashing and hatefulness towards a specific group of people, then it just seems a little ridiculous to me. That's fine if people want to devote their lives to complaining about other people, but personally I'd rather just live my life the best that I can. And instead of pointing fingers, I find that it's much easier to turn that finger back around and look inside myself for whatever it is that I'm unhappy about in life.

And when that doesn't work, I just push my son down for a good laugh.



And because steak smells like cow butt!

Monday, Mar. 15, 2004 at 3:27 pm

I've always thought about going vegetarian in the back of my mind. But not for moral or health reasons necessarily, but because I'm just not a big fan of meat. I never crave a big fat bloody steak or some chewy pork chops, actually the thought of them kind of makes me gag. Occasionally I want some chicken wings because I love the wing sauce doused in ranch. And rarely can I resist some salty bacon. Well, then I guess there's shrimp and crab, yum. But I think you can eat seafood and technically still be a vegetarian. Isn't a vegetarian basically just someone who doesn't eat red meat? And a then a vegan is someone who doesn't eat any animal products? Please correct me if I'm wrong, I've never done a lot of research on the subject.

You wouldn't know it by looking at my fat ass, but I'm actually very fascinated with nutrition. I'm always reading about it on the net and any book I happen to run across. I have this book called The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. It's practically my Bible! And the more I read about nutrition over the years, the more I'm actually leaning towards a vegetarian diet. There just doesn't seem to be much benefit from eating animal products, at least not any that outweight consuming a raw, natural diet.

I've stopped smoking again. This time for good. Watch me! Also, I've completely cut out caffiene. Again, this is another source that I've researched that does absolutely nothing good for your body and over a long period of time can really damage it. So, what's the point? I'm trying really, really hard to cut back on my absolutely favorite food in the world: french fries. Sodium is so bad for the heart. I'm really interested in my heart health right now. I'm also researching nutrition that builds your immune system. And sodium doesn't help in that department either. Also, I'm working at limiting my sugar intake, white flour products, and basically anything that is highly processed. If you've read anything at all on nutrition, you know those are all bad for you in large quantities.

I guess I'm just at a point in my life where I'm looking at food as what it is really intended to be: fuel for our bodies. I want to live long, I want to be healthy, I want to feel good in my skin, I want run around the yard with my kid, I want to never be sick or in pain. I don't want to let food run my life. I don't want food to be my emotional crutch anymore.

In all honesty, I used to always have a reason to eat. If I was bored, I ate. If I was lonely, I ate. If I was tired, I ate. If I was sad, I ate. If I was happy, I ate! If I was worried, I ate. If there was free food, I ate it! I know there are a lot of people out there who are like this, but for me to actually be admitting this now is a big step for me. I'm not really embarrassed either. It's just the way I used to deal with life. But not anymore.

Why am I putting all this in my diary? I don't know. I guess because it's been heavy on my mind lately and if I can't spill my guts here, then what's the point of having this thing? I'm just tired of worrying about what I'm going to eat next. I'm ready to start building my body to make it strong, so I can last as long as I can. Forty years from now, I want to be the spitfire grandma that nobody messes with!



"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis