Going Vegan

So March 9th ushers in Lent for practicing Catholics. So yeah, I know Buddhists don't "do" Lent but well, somehow I got talked into going Vegan "for Lent." And well, as a former Catholic I could embrace the timeframe, and seemed like a way to try it out for a defined period of time.

I'd been thinking of the Vegan way of life for awhile after a friend "went Vegan." Granted she's a crazy college kid, and why I should even listen to anyone under the age of 30 is beyond me, right? But she's an amazing young woman, well-reasoned and made a good argument for giving up animal product.

And then another colleague suggested, "Hey! Wanna go vegan for Lent." And shore as I was sitting there, I said, "Why not?"

What is IT with these persuasive under 30s????

Well, besides, I almost never eat meat anyway. But cheese. Oh, glorious cheese. Goat cheese. Gouda cheese. Romano cheese. Parmesan cheese. Pecorino cheese. The list goes on. I'm drooling now at the very thought. However, my proclivity for migraine headaches, and an increasingly touchy gut has given me pause for my ingestion of dairy.

And let's talk about the impact on our environment. I know, a lot of vegetarians/vegans are crazed animal lovers, but to me it's environmental.

So I will begin this 40 day journey and see how it goes. Of course I will be living at Trader Joe's and Plum Market. An easy goody is here:

One of my easy "cheat" meals I've discovered is combining these two:

It's so easy, heat each bag for 90 seconds, no preservatives, protein and fiber up the ying-yang. The Seeds of Change is a multi-pack from Costco of all places!

So here we go. In advance I've sworn off the "fake" stuff. I mean why go vegan if you're just gonna do fake meat, fake cheese, etc.? I'm going to venture into the full realm of vegan and look for alternative ways of eating healthy without relying on our overburdened animal industry.

Buy My House!

Selling our home has turned into an interesting experience. And, well, living with a realtor adds to the nuances of it all. Before we even listed our home, Mike had everything planned to "T" on the best way to stage our home. Being it's just the two of us makes it easy to keep it in tip-top shape day in/day out.

As soon as it hit the MLS, that evening we got our first showing. Whoo-hoo. The next day, two showings. The next day four showings. And the next, and next and next.

Now hold on just a minute. Two and a half weeks elapse and we're up to 35 showings, a couple of do-overs, one who overstayed their welcome and NO OFFER!! I know, you say, the market is crummy, we shouldn't expect anything so soon, but even my realtor husband is surprised by the number of showings / feedback.

Having access to Mike's "Showing Desk" I can read all the Feedback that's received. The most interesting reveal is the agents get it, but so far no one's biting. Almost all the Feedback for "How well does the house show?" is "Excellent." Next question, "Is client interested in property?" It varies from "Not at all" to "Maybe." Then there's a free-form comment section. We've had a number of "I can't believe you don't have an offer" and several agents who've said "Home shows great, I'm going to bring another client."

I think it's indicative of today's society. We live in a world now where no one can make up their mind, everyone wants something for nothing, and more importantly, perfection for nothing. The comments related by the agents from their clients just has us shaking our head. Did anyone look at the photos online? What did you think would look different from the pictures? Um, you DO realize this home is used, right? It was built in 1958.

I know eventually it will happen, but hiding the good jewelry, and packing up the
d-o-g is growing old. Ugh, I can't imagine if I had kids, too!