Flying Spaghetti Monster

 I have been a believer of the FSM Philosophy since I first read about its existence, back in my undergrad years. I believe in the FSM because every time I eat a plate of pasta I can feel FSM's presence, especially when the pasta is particularly delicious. I have also always felt joyous, and that I belong, when I am surrounded by people who dress as pirates. Today, when I was catching up on the news from my various online sources, I found yet further evidence that FSM is real and that others believe in him just as I do. 

Flying Spaghetti Monster spotted at Apple!

OBAMA WINS!

And he is still winning as the final electoral votes have not all been tallied. Right now the tally is Obama 338 to McCain 156, with only 270 needed to win. SUCK THAT YOU EVIL, WAR MONGERING REPUBLICANS WHO HAVE RUINED MY COUNTRY'S ECONOMY AND WORLD STANDING!!!!!!!!! Finally, the heart-gripping political saga is over. No longer will I worry about the miss-use of the work "maverick". Tonight the American public spoke and then dramatically spat Republicans out to the sewer. We now have a brave new president in addition to a democratic majority in the Senate and the House. America will rebuild, reshape and reform. I am so happy. I want to dance on the roof. I want to sing HALLELUJAH. 

However, not all is celebrations and jubilee. California's proposition #8 is not doing very well. I have many dear friends who have fought so hard and waited so long to have equality in marriage rights. I expected better from my fellow Californians. What ever happened to the American values of Equality and Justice for all? How dare you vote to take away another person's rights, just because you perceive the other person as different from you? How dare you try to impose your personal beleifs about marriage on other people? 

Side Effects of Vegetarianism

I have been a vegetarian for almost two weeks and I have several observations to make about the experience:

1) You fart. A lot. This is a side effect of being a (new) healthy vegetarian and it is pretty much unavoidable until your stomch adjusts to your new diet.

2) I have gained weight. I have gained at least two pounds since turning vegetarian. I think my mind is secretly trying to compensate for my lack of eating meat by tricking me into believing that I can and should eat more of everything else. (Remember, I used to eat A LOT of meat every day of my life before deciding to reform.) Once I realized what was going on I started to manage this problem. No permanent damage has been done and I should return to normal by next week. However, also adding to my weight-gain is #3.

3) I am so excited about eating tasty vegetarian food!! There are so many great recipes out there. I’m only now starting to discover tofu… and I just want to eat everything. I have been cooking up a storm. I even subscribed to the magazine Vegetarian Times.

4) I do not miss meat as much as I thought I would. If fact, I do not think it would be a stretch to say that I do not miss meat at all! Can you believe it? I went from thinking that life without meat would be unbearable to not missing it at all between three and five times a day. Now when I think about eating meat I get a little grossed out. Like, I really, really do not want to put animal flesh inside of me. I do not know what to attribute this to, as I am a far cry from being an animal’s rights activist.

5) I am very happy with my decision to become a vegetarian. I feel healthier and lighter and I also feel great about my contribution to the environment.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I made Cranberry Flaxseed Muffins to celebrate. Recipe HERE.

Www.NatalieDee.Com


nataliedee.com

I love this website.

Portland
(Part II)

Did I mention that Portland is very vegetarian friendly?

Vegetarian? Me?
SURPRISE!

Last week I came to a conclusion and I decided to act upon it. The conclusion was: I need to take better care of my body. So I started doing a little research on things that I could incorporate to my life that would be beneficial to my health. My research led to the following: Being a vegetarian can be very, very healthy. I was shocked at this revelation. I have plenty of friends who are vegetarians but their main reasons for being vegetarians are environmental, religious and ethical. I heard rumors that not eating red meat might benefit a person with high cholesterol or high blood pressure. But, I hadn't really considered that not eating meat could also be extremely beneficial to people without those types of medical problems or moral beliefs.

Let me be clear on something: I love meat. I love the taste of it. I love the many different varieties and ways you can prepare it, and most of my favorite foods are meat based. I grew up believing that your body needs meat and a lot of protein (which you obtain from the meat). That somehow eating meat made you stronger. That meat was good and necessary and yummy. These beliefs were so ingrained in me that I never questioned their validity until last week, when I really started looking at the statistics. I was impressed. In fact, I was so impressed at all of the evidence against meat and the evils it does to the human body that I have decided to try being a vegetarian.

Who would have thought that I would ever become a vegetarian? Certainly not I, the meat lover who constantly craves steak and sausage. But here I am, quitting meat, cold turkey (pun intended!). I'm on my third day. Its hard. But I have faith that my decision is what is best for my body (and the environment too). By quitting meat I am reducing by at least half my probabilities of getting cancer, especially breast cancer, not to mention reducing the likelihood of diabetes, kidney diseases, osteoporosis and God knows what other weird diseases associated with all the unnatural ways livestock is handled... and I may be increasing my life span as well.

To tell you the truth, being a vegetarian kind of scares me. This way of eating, of living, goes against what I was raised to believe was normal and healthy. I come from a meat-loving family; they might seriously think that I've lost my mind. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The love of my life is always on Atkins! I honestly don't know if I am strong enough to pull it off. But I will try. I think I owe it to myself for my own peace of mind and out of respect for my body. If it doesn't work out, then at least I can say that I gave it my best shot.

Information about why vegetarianism is awesome: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE

Portland

Portland is a combination of Berkeley, forest and rain. Portland is Awesome. Portland is very close to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, which makes delicious cheese and ice cream. Portland has no sales tax. Portland is where our friends Ian and Rachelle live. Portland has pumpkin patches, interesting museums, excellent universities and a zoo. I bought a Monkey-Sock hat in Portland. Portland is so freaking cool my love and I would consider living there.

I would like to give a special thanks to Ian and Rachelle for hosting us during the long, action-packed weekend we spent in Portland. I had so much fun and they were such great hosts. It was very hard to leave.

My Eyes Are Burning

Between Facebook, Blogs, CNN online, Flickr, Video Games, TV, Reading and Work, my eyes are done. Just plain done. I need an Eye-Vacation. In fact, I need an All-Body-Mind and Soul Vacation. It has been well over a year since Alan and I took even a week off from work.

Somewhere between the evolution from Cave Men to Britney Spears life got way too complicated.

MM's Philosophical Thought of the Day

If you need help, ask for it. Seriously. Who do you think you are fooling?

Flowers

Alan spent almost two years tending to a little, kind of pathetic looking orchid plant. It finally bloomed!

Wui Yeen's Birthday Party

The Decadence:

I love cake

Presidential Election 2008
Summary

Barack Obama (A Black Man! For the first time in history...) is the Democratic presidential nominee. He has chosen Joe Biden as his VP running mate. John McCain is the Republican presidential nominee. He has chosen Sarah Palin (A Woman! Note that there has never been a woman nominee for the VP position on a Republican ticket before...) to be his running mate. Current president, George W. Bush, is Republican and widely unpopular due to the war in Iraq and the country's economic problems.

McCains choice of Palin has caused a media sensation, since she was widely unknown in Washington or the rest of the country until her nomination. She is currently serving, for the first time, as the Alaskan governor and she also has the experience of being mayor of a small (pop. 8000) Alaskan town. Palin also happens to be very young and good looking. Many speculate that she was chosen despite of her lack of experience as a gimmick, as Hillary Clinton left a lot of disappointed voters when she did not win the democratic presidential nomination. On the other hand, Biden is a lawyer. He has been working in the US Senate since 1973 as a representative for Delaware. He has extensive foreign relations experience and is very well versed in Washington politics. Joe Biden had been working in the senate for 11 years before Sarah Palin won her first beauty contest in 1984. In terms of knowledge and experience, who would you chose as a VP?

I would like to point out the following article about McCains VP pick: Click HERE. Palin is curently under investigation in Alaska for allegations of innapropriatly terminating the employment of a government employee. In addition, I can't help but mention that Palin has a very conservative stance and is a very strong advocate of abstinence until marriage, yet at this time her 17 year old daughter is unmarried and 5 months pregnant. Think about it. Just like I would not vote for a politician who preaches against domestic violence and then goes home to abuse his wife, I would not vote for a politician who would like to influence education in our schools with indoctrinations that did not even work in her own home. I know that the personal lives of nominees should remain private and normally I would not take the actions of an independent minded teenager as a reflection of the inefficacy of the teenager's parents, but in this case I will make an exception. The future of our country is too valuable and too vulnerable to overlook such obvious inconsistencies in the lives of the people who might be running it.

The Race is ON! The elections are in November and there are only 9 more weeks for the nominees to campaign. Make sure to VOTE!