Ho, Ho, Ho...

Merry Christmas! A day late!

We have been so busy with family stuff this Christmas that I have obviously not posted in awhile. Hope you and yours had a good holiday!

Our festivities began last Friday when Chad's sister Jana came to town. Here's how the weekend went:

Friday night -
Dinner at Moonshine with Karen, Jim, Jana, and Jay
Hung out at Chad's mom's house

Saturday -
10 mile run at 8am
wrapped presents and finished last shopping
went to the Billings Family Christmas party (Chad's mom's family) (3pm-9pm)
hung out at Chad's mom's house afterwards

Sunday -
Church
Christmas lunch with my mom and presents
Movie with mom - Charlie Wilson's War (11am-6pm)
Chad and I ate dinner at Wahoo's
Hung out at Chad's mom's house in the evening

Monday (Christmas Eve) -
Went to Town Lake with Chad, Jana, and Jay. - ran with Jana
4 of us ate lunch at Wahoo's
Went with Chad to do last minute shopping
hung out at Chad's mom's house during preparations
Christmas Eve service at Riverbend (6pm service)
Watched 'A Christmas Story'
Had Christmas Eve dinner and opened presents (9pm-1am)
Partied until about 1am with the family

Tuesday (Christmas Day) -
Felt horrible sleeping - had horrible cramping and could not sleep (got about 4 hours total)
Went over to Chad's mom's house to see his dad. (11:45am-1:15)
Opened presents with Chad's dad.
Traveled to Buda to visit with my family at uncle Ruben's house (2:15-6:30)
Tried to go see the 37th street lights - left early when I found that my favorite house had changed their lights.
Went to Chad's mom's house to hang out (8:30-10:00)

What I'm starting to realize is that this year the time balance between families was much more heavily weighted on one side than the other. I didn't realize that it was that way until about halfway through the weekend. I don't have a problem with sharing time, especially when people come into town to see you. When the situations are reversed and we need to flip the time balance in the other direction, I hope that will go over okay.

'Fortune'-ately for us...

Is 'small success' actually a good fortune to get? Shouldn't we want 'great success'?

Maybe the problem is due to what was written on our chopstick wrapper. Hmmm...it is disturbing to get messages like this while you are eating.

Skinny Bitch

Most people who know me know that I am a vegetarian, and that I have been for a while. Chad and I tried to figure out how long it has been, and I have concluded 8 1/2 years. I began my life of vegetarianism the summer of 1999, weighing 183 pounds and in horrible physical condition. I regularly consumed Totino's party pizzas and Kahlua milkshakes with my college roommates. I was completing a degree in Zoology, studying ecology, animal physiology, and a host of other classes revolving aroung animal biology. It was a really easy decision both physically and ethically to stop eating meat.

At first I was a 'junk food vegetarian'. It took a while for me to adjust from the food choices that I had been making to a more healthy, balanced diet. I ate potatoes in their various forms, cheese, milk, yogurt, and lots of fake meat products to get by. I have always liked various vegetables, but it became fun to experiment trying new veggies like bok choy, kale, and the like. Within a few years, I became much more strict in my diet, almost becoming vegan, and let the vegetarian lifestyle influence my choices in cleaning products, clothing, and cosmetics.

Since I have started running more seriously, I have given in to some of my 'beliefs.' I found myself 'craving' fish a couple of years ago and started using the excuse that it is easier on everyone else in my family if I were to start eating seafood. I also have found that I am back to buying regular cleaning products, more leather shoes and purses, and regular cosmetics. I don't know if I can ever fully give up leather shoes and purses, or that I will always buy natural cosmetics, but I definitely need to do better.

Recently my friend Tara introduced me to a book that she had read called 'Skinny Bitch'. The book is marketed to be a diet book for modern women. After listening to Tara describe the changes that she is making in her diet, I realized that it was a book promoting healthy eating (and as a consequence a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle). I bought the book this weekend to read it for myself.

I highly recommend the book for anyone (man or woman) who wants to learn more about the effects of food on their body. The authors have done their research, and though it is written with a slanted opinion, the facts in the book stand for themselves. The majority of food that we eat in this country is horrible for us. The book helps educate folks who are unaware of the crap that they eat every day and helps the rest of us refocus on the food that is good for us. 'Skinny Bitch' also does an awesome job of bringing to reality the horrors of meat production in America.

I have new life in my vegetarianism. I am so thankful to Tara for introducing the book to me. With all of the bitching that I have been doing about my weight and exercise, it is nice to regain focus on the healthy foods that I should be putting in my mouth. I have already re-stocked my kitchen with the vegan options that I need and am ready to pare down the milk/cheese/fish that is still here.

For those of you reading this who think 'I could never do that' or 'She is such a wanna-be hippy', I suggest you read up on what it means to be vegetarian or vegan, and the effects of eating animal products on your body. I am not trying to sound like a snob or put others down for their own diets, but simply think everyone should be aware of what they are putting into their mouth and how each food item came to be on their fork. I don't think any of us will ever eat a perfect diet. I fully expect that I will have moments where I want some milk products or break down and have a taste of someone's seafood dish. Between those moments, however, I hope to improve my overall health.

Okay...now stepping off of my soapbox. (But really, if you are curious to read the book, it is an entertaining and quick read. I will let you borrow my copy.)

Some Updates

Obviously my posting frequency has diminished over the last few weeks. I have had a lot of things going on between the Thanksgiving holiday, work, and wedding planning. It is probably a good sign that I am not always in the mood to sit down and blog about everything. Anyhow, it is time to play catch-up...

Thanksgiving was great. I felt like even though the balance of time between families was uneven, Chad and I spent time doing the things that we wanted to do at the holiday. Thanksgiving eve we spent with my mom at my house. Actually, she came over earlier in the day and chatted with me as I wrapped up my work day and worked some in the kitchen. Chad and I started the turkey cake and got pizza for everyone for dinner. Mom didn't really have the appetite for a traditional turkey dinner, and I found it pretty refreshing to get to eat something besides turkey.

The Turkey Trot was fun. I ran comfortably hard without looking at my watch. It was great! I saw several people during the run (including John F who sometimes reads my blog) and it was nice to catch up with everyone on a holiday.

We went with some of Chad's family to the Austin Club at lunch for their Thanksgiving meal. The food was better this year, as it was less creamy and heavy. We also were surprised that Chad's grandma Gene was in attendance because we thought she would be out of town. She gave Chad his grandfather's wedding band to wear when we get married and made it clear how happy she was that he was going t0 wear it. We are really excited that his ring has been passed down to Chad.

Immediately after our Austin Club dinner, we went to my Dad's house and made it just in time for our circle of thanksgiving. Everyone (15 or so people) makes a big circle and holds hands and declares what they are thankful for each year. This year was significant because it is the first Thanksgiving without Grandpa Sanchez, and it was really hard to see tears in everyone's eyes.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been working hard. My job picks up significantly in December and January, so I have been rather distracted during the day. I wish the time would go by faster and that February would come sooner. I am looking forward to the holidays, but really I am more excited about the wedding.

This past weekend my cousin Traci got married. I have to admit that I was not as excited as I should have been for her.

This is totally selfish of me, but I am going to be honest about my feelings...I have been holding on to some negative feelings for a while now because Traci and her husband got engaged after Chad and I did, but decided they wanted to get married as soon as possible in the Fall. Traci was the 3rd girl in my family to get engaged recently (I was the 2nd and Crystal was the first). Crystal had been engaged for a while and had finally set her date for November 10. I had considered dates in November, but thought it would be too close to Crystal's wedding and couldn't find a fall weekend that worked. Traci stepped in and was going to have her wedding one day after Crystal's wedding until someone told her it was not good to do that. It would have been kind of rude to step in and 'steal some of the thunder' of the weekend, especially since Crystal had been engaged for a while. It is better that Traci decided on December 2. Even still, I felt like being the 3rd cousin in the same family to get engaged that she should have waited until after our wedding. It's not like our engagement is particularly long...9 months. Like I said, it is totally selfish of me to think that way, but I can't help how I feel. I know that I don't own the calendar and that I should not feel bad about another person's decision on their own wedding.

Anyhow, their wedding was elegant and beautiful, and I'm happy for her and my aunt and uncle. They had an intimate ceremony and a reception that was pretty. We enjoyed all of the food, beer and champagne, and the dancing music was fun (though I danced with my niece, Avery, not Chad). I am really excited that ours is next!

That is all for now. We continue to dance, go to counseling with our minister, and make more decisions about the ceremony. I have also decided to hire a wedding coordinator to begin taking over the planning before the ceremony, yay!