Serena the Wanna-Be Vegetarian—After The Burger
Can I tell you one thing that has always annoyed me about the vegetarian set? It’s their holier than thou attitude gets me right in my nether regions, if you know what I mean. Whenever one them gets a crumb of bacon, or chicken in their mouth, the spitting and wrinkled face, the hand on the stomach or forehead and then the, drama “Meat just leaves a ‘tinny’ taste in my mouth” or “I can’t believe you let me eat something with meat in it!” I didn’t feel any of that when I ate that burger.
Maybe it hasn’t been long enough for me, but the meat was good.
Yes I’ve seen the pictures of crowded cages and sick cows and yes, I feel for the animals that are being tortured and killed and end up slathered with Thousand Island dressing between a sesame seed bun. Yes I know the way we are eating is hurting the planet.
My craving made me wonder if we really are meant to eat meat or not?
If it’s so natural to eat this way, and I do believe it’s a healthier way to live, why is there a such a big market for “fake meat” products?
I’m frustrated.
The cow has barely walked out the door and I didn’t have the willpower to say no. Not to mention that the chicken, turkey and fish are still hanging around. My husband and son pooh-poohed my dinnertime confession. My daughter chastised me something fierce. I think she might turn into a PETA member.
I guess I want to feel that repulsion toward meat. Honestly folks, I don’t. Is that when I become a true vegetarian?
- Serena
Take Those Fingers Out of Your Mouth!
It happened at a doctor’s visit. My newness as a mother prevented me from saying anything when the doctor bent over my eight-month old, fussy after the poking and prodding of the visit and said, “Find your fingers baby, yes that’s a good girl,” while pushing her hand toward her face. She found the middle and ring finger of her left hand and popped them into her mouth. She stopped fussing and her pediatrician turned to me and said triumphantly, “There!”
She turns ten this year, is almost 5ft. tall and is still sucking those same fingers.
As a mom, there’s shame that goes along with this. Those fingers have caused quite a battle. According to the experts I’ve done all of the “wrong” things. I’ve painted her nails with a bitter tasting polish, I’ve shamed her, and I’ve slapped her hand away from her mouth. She still continues to suck. And still I continue to feel like a lousy parent.
According to the Pediatric Advisor, the desire to suck is strongest during the first 6 months and that 80% of babies do some sucking even though they are not hungry. The American Dental Association chimes in to say that children can safely suck their thumbs or fingers until they are 4-5 years old and suggest the behavior stop after 6-7 years old as the permanent teeth begin to come in. The Dr. Spock’s of the world tend to agree at her age, the motivation to stop must come from her.
Pause.
Flu season is coming and H1N1, this new squirrely flu virus is a real concern. Her finger sucking puts her at a greater risk.
As for me, I’m going to try and spark some motivation! But boy oh boy am I open to suggestions!
- Aunt B
Milk: Independent dairy farmers are disappearing
- 22.2 billion — Gallons of raw milk produced annually by American dairy farmers
- 21 — Gallons of milk consumed annually per capita in the United States
- 4,600 — Number of dairy farms that have been closing each year for the past two decades
- 648,000 — Number of dairymen in America in 1970
- 60,000 — Number of dairymen left in America today
- 104 — Percent of growth of large dairy farms (more than 2,000 cattle) between 2000 and 2006
- $12.5 billion — Net sales of Dean Foods, nation’s largest processor of fluid milk, in 2008
- 31 — Percent gain in Dean Foods’ profits in second quarter of 2009
- 40-50 — Percent drop in prices paid for raw milk to dairy farmers in 2009 compared to 2008
- 2 — Number of California dairy farmers who have committed suicide in 2009
Sources: USDA, Dean Foods, National Milk Producers Federation, NPR interviews with dairymen
Serena The Wanna-Be Vegetarian – Falls Off The Vegetarian Wagon
It rose like a mirage out of the corner of my eye, “In ‘N Out,” the yellow arrow pointing to the drive through. I squeezed my eyes shut for just a moment (‘cause I’m driving y’all) and started to chant out loud. “Think of the cows, think of the cows.” In N’ Out happens to have (in my humble opinion) one of the best burgers on the West Coast. I smelled trouble, and grilled beef and onions too.
I’ll just order the fries, I tell myself as I turned the car into the drive through. There’s been less fast food since we started this trek to vegetarianism. My car snaked through the line and I made it to the speaker and the menu.
They have pictures of the food right there and even though I’m just there for the fries, the burger with the onion and tomato and the American cheese curling around the beef patty just so is staring at me. “Think of the cows, their big eyes, their soft moo!” How could I resist advertising like that? Think about your cholesterol!
“Would you like grilled onions?” The server asked.
Minutes later I was sitting in the parking lot with a cheeseburger with grilled onions in my mouth. It was a perfect burger, the sweetness of the spread against the salty savory of the meat, the crunch of the hand leafed lettuce, the soft bun. Ever bite was delightful.
I dipped my fries into the ketchup, undid my burger and layered them between the tomato and the cheese while feeling a twinge of guilt.
That was the best damn burger I ever had! Am I a hypocrite?
My name is Serena, and I’m a carnivore.
How Not to Catch the H1N1 Flu Bug
It’s hard not to get swept up in the panic, especially the with the twenty-four hour news reporting every pothole and presidential sneeze. Back in April, when they details about the H1N1 virus began to come out, one would have thought that government was going to suggest duct tape and plastic sheeting again. Remember that snafu?
Over 1 million people have gotten the H1N1 virus between April and June according to estimations by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and the good news is that most recovered without medical treatment.
The virus is spread by sneezing, coughing or by touching a surface or object that has been exposed to the virus. The H1N1 virus can live on a surface for up to eight hours.
The symptoms for this flu are like the symptoms for seasonal flu. There is usually a high fever (above 101), sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, body aches, chills, fatigue. With this flu folks are also reporting vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Yes a nasty bug isn’t it? According to the CDC here’s how NOT to catch it.
Take these everyday steps to protect your health:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners* are also effective.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.
Other important actions that you can take are:
- Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
- Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines, alcohol-based hand rubs*, tissues and other related items might could be useful and help avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious.
Be prepared and stay healthy!
How to tell the difference between H1N1 flu and the common cold
French Kissing outlawed in fear of H1N1
- Aunt B
A mother’s story
Every Tuesday, Mama shares a Story. Today’s story was sent in by an Anonymous Mother
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I am 25, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a teacher, a college student, a lover, and I am bulimic.
It’s so sad that with so much beauty in my life, I can’t find one thing that will give me the strength to overcome this.
It all started in college. Weird, right? There are many things that I could blame, but why? I felt inadequate, worthless, unimportant, overweight, and out of touch with what was going on around me.
It was just supposed to be a health kick. I was feeling great! I was running, eating healthy, cleaning out the negative energy around me, really loving life. Remember that feeling?
The first time it happened, I just felt guilty for working so hard on my perfect, healthy, lifestyle and then, eating so much. How dare I go outside my daily caloric intake? My friend did it and so did I. It wasn’t that bad but unfortunately, one time turned into two and then two into weeks and then weeks into….wow I can’t believe it has been haunting me for seven years.
So, here I am, sitting at my desk after teaching all day to such wonderful children, waiting until 5 so I can go pick up my 10 month old, beautiful, little boy, and in tears because I don’t know what to do.
Here I am sitting, at 25, more lost than I have ever been, looking up doctors and support groups online because I can’t do it alone anymore.
Here I am sitting, as a mother, looking into her sons eyes everyday and apologizing because I don’t know why I am doing this, how to stop it, or what effects it is taking on my body, and how long I will be able to look into his eyes.
Here I am sitting, as a daughter, hating the pain that she has caused her own mother and father.
Here I am sitting, as a friend, hiding behind fake smiles and laughs just so I can hear someone else’s voice on the other end of the phone.
Here I am sitting, as a lover, filled with sorrow for all of the early turn ins, all of the “I love you’s’” that were never said, all of the cries in the middle of the night without an explanation, and all of the questions left unanswered.
Here I am sitting, as a college student, wondering why I am so educated, and yet, so trite to think that this isn’t a problem.
And here I am sitting, as a bulimic, hoping that someone will hear my cry and answer, with what, I do not know. Maybe something that will let me know that one day I will be able to stick my tongue out at that cloud and live the life that I was meant to live.
- Anonymous Mother
Turn your trash into a ‘wild success’
Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, advocates making Sustainability Sustainable
At TerraCycle:
- CapriSun juice pouches become messenger bags and pencil cases.
- Vinyl records become clocks.
- Circuit boards are magically turned into frames.
In essence, modern day trash is turned into treasure…
- Mama
The Friend Who Got Away
What do friendships have to do with health? We get to know ourselves through the company we keep. Our friends know our failings and weaknesses, the stories behind our scars. They usually know we’re in love before we do and best of all, they know what makes us laugh. It’s with our friends that we’re our most authentic.
Unlike our family, we choose our friends and our choice tells the rest of the world who we are or who we hope to become.
As we grow and change, so do our friends. In my last post I talked about a friend who had crossed a line, and I posed the question, even though he apologized, is this the end of the friendship?
Yes.
The friendship will never be the same again.
In the book, “The Friend Who Got Away” Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell have gathered the accounts of twenty women who tell the stories behind the “blowups, burnouts and slow fades” of friendships.
In the foreword of the book they write, “We all have one. A story about the friend who got away… Sometimes we mourn the loss of a friend; other times we celebrate the break, but no matter what, we don’t forget it.”
Our lost friendships tell us how much we have grown, or points out the places we need mature. Offill and Schappell write, “Often this person knows a self we have kept hidden from the rest of the world…”
It is that trust between friends that allows us to try on our authenticity, our real selves. Our emotional health is as important as our physical health. Our friendships, the healthy ones and the broken ones show us the places where we need to grow.
This friend certainly did that for me.
And because I need to set boundaries, it’s time for me to let them go.
Do you have a friend who got away?
- Aunt B
