6710 Grand

Something AWFUL happened this week. It's not your typical tragedy.  But a tragedy just the same. On Monday, I learned that I had a Tuesday meeting in Scranton.  What's the big deal?  You might say.  Well, Monday's are "Sanctuary Days". Days I spend on site in Dalton to manage meetings with my team, visit the animals and otherwise stay connected to the mission.  Tuesdays are NOT days where I do that.  But on rare occasions where I need to be in Scranton for 2 days in a row, my amazing husband often suggests that I stay overnight in Clarks Summit to avoid the drive and get a little "me" time.  I relish these moments.  I'm afraid to hope for them.  But they are glorious. I have a specific hotel that I frequent.  It's not fancy.  It's not glamourous.  But it's mine.  It's the Hampton Inn in Clarks Summit.  Along the "strip" in NEPA (past the "notch" for those who know), lies a simple, clean, efficient hotel.  I'm n...

She sat next to me for 3 hours as we drove together.  I’d never spent so much time with a live chicken before.  Peggy O, as she’d been named, wasn’t going to make it.  We all knew it.  Maybe she knew it too.  She was an elderly bird—one we’d rescued years before.  She’d lived a long and happy life—much longer and happier than anyone might have expected.  But now, her leg was in such pain that her quality of life was almost nothing.  She was in constant pain and there was nothing more that could be done for her.  She needed her pain eased.   The only way to do that was to end her life.   But that, it seemed, was easier said than done.   I’ve had dogs and cats—dogs that needed to be similarly released and a cat whose life ended very suddenly and without explanation.   It’s never easy, but it’s also not hard—not like this was.   Peggy was hurting.   But there was no veterinarian who would see her—they just don’t...

The first time Nick and I had dinner together was in his apartment in college. We weren’t officially dating, but I’m pretty sure it happened on the day that we now celebrate as our dating anniversary. I’d just gotten off work and he’d called to ask me what I was doing. “Nothing—I just got off work.” “Wanna come over? I’m making diner.” “What are you making?” “Hot dogs and macaroni.” That actually sounded good. I drove over there and hot dogs and macaroni has been one of our favorite meals ever since. I’ve had to alter it to fit our veg. lifestyle, but I think I’ve gotten it down. Actually, needing to be able to keep making this dish was what sparked my exploration into the world of veggie dogs. I’ve tried several varieties and I really only like the Morningstar Farms brand that comes in the freezer section. And you have to cook them just right. Above all, read the package directions. My first attempt to make them, I admit, was rather arrogant. I knew how to make hot dogs! W...

Being nutritionally sound is tough! I spend I don’t know how long digging through recipe books to find not only something that sounds good (to both Nick and me) but isn’t bad for us as well. I have a favorite food website, but it’s not what you think. While foodnetwork.com and vegtimes.com are two sites I frequent often, my most reliable food guide is nutritiondata.com. It’s fantastic! I just plug in the ingredients to whatever I’m making and presto! It gives me the nutritional information. I’m actually really in tune to what I’m eating—that’s not to say that I don’t totally blow it calorie wise on occasion. It just means that when I eat naughty food, I always do it intentionally. This little website also helps to answer the “where do you get your protein” question that I get all the time—especially when I’m eating vegan. I realize that I’m at least one of the oddest vegetarians alive since I don’t like vegetables, but having this handy dandy website helps me get my vitamins t...

Um, yeah, that whole giving up coffee thing? Not happening. What can I say--I missed my morning java...and my afternoon java...and my evening java..and all of the other times of day when I gotta have my java. It wasn't so much an addictive thing--I've said before that I'm not addicted to coffee and I hold fast to that. I just LOVE the STUFF! I made it through October with not so much as a Gloria Jeans until Halloween. We took Ivy to the mall for trick-or-treating and there it was--Holiday flavored coffee (yes, that's right, it tastes like a holiday!). Then there was the peppermint mocha Coffee Mate, and the Starbucks white peppermint mocha--what's a girl to do? I gave in. I actually missed being the crazy coffee person. Shockingly, I did NOT win the award for person who drinks the most coffee at the Make-A-Wish holiday party. I guess I'm not that well known yet. (I totally drink more coffee than Marcia!) Still, the prize was a can of GASP! Maxwell House. Kinda ...

Brace yourselves--I've stopped drinking coffee. Dun dun DUN! If this were an episode of Law & Order, here's where you'd here the "Glung glung!" Yes, it's true. I've gone cold turkey. I know, what's wrong with me? Well, I'll tell you--I'm trying something new. I read a book called "Skinny Bitch". The title cought my eye. It's basically promoting an organic vegan diet. Yeah yeah--heard it all before. But then I thought, "I wonder if I can do it." You know, just to try it out and see how hard it is. Well, I'm here to say--it's not that hard. I can't do the vegan cheese--just not it for me. And even though all of my wonderful Coffee Mate creamers say that they're non-dairy, there is a milk ingredient in them (sodium caseinate), so that's out. I did have a soy mocha at Starbucks and it was good, so if I'm dying (not so far) I'll have one. But really, this hasn't been tough--a...

The question I keep getting, am I going to let Ivy eat meat, is no big shock to me. The answer, no I'm not going to feed her meat, seems to be a shock to people who ask. Once the shock wears off, I get this question: "Well, you're going to have Thanksgiving turkey, right?" Again, the answer is no. I'm not going to preach on the merits of vegetarianism. Nick and I are both at the point where eating meat makes us physically sick--not because we're so nauseated by the idea of eating dead cows or soup made with what's left over after boiling a chicken, but because our bodies are no longer able to process the enzymes present in meat. Trust me, it's not pretty. So, our precious little Ivy will be raised on a veg diet, including Thanksgiving. So, then, what's on our menu? Oh, let me share! We'll be having the standard mashed potatoes. In the place of turkey gravy, I'm making a veggie version from vegetable broth. I have my mom's recipie for t...

About three or four months into my vegetarian lifestyle, Nick and I went to my grandmother’s house for a family gathering. Just about everything served had meat in it. No big deal. We were new at this and a lot of people simply weren’t aware of it. I was sitting with one of my aunts and my older brother, eating when my aunt took notice of the lack of meat on my plate. When I told her I was a vegetarian, she said, “You can’t do that.” My brother laughed. “Don’t tell my sister she can’t do something.” He’s right. It only makes me more determined. I am my own person and no one knows me better than me. A close second is my husband, followed shortly by my mother. I suspect that she doesn’t like me at times, but at least she knows me. Isn’t that true of all mothers? I also don’t think she’s worried that I won’t love my children or that I won’t be able to cope with labor or motherhood. She knows how tough I am. She knows that I won’t let anything get in my way. (Mom, if you’re shaking your he...