letter of intent

A few weeks ago I was in the kitchen with my dad and he started saying something about cheese. I don't remember what he was saying exactly, but I responded with something like, "Yeah, but I can't have it because of the dairy."

"You don't eat dairy?"

"Seriously? Remember...I stopped because we found out I was allergic and it was causing most of my skin problems...it was a few months ago..."

"Oh."

As you can see, he's not all that observant. So since I have decided to eat completely vegan and have quit allowing high fructose corn syrup into my diet, I figured I would need to be absolutely sure he was aware of it. He likes to bring home "treats" sometimes for us and if he doesn't know my limitations I'll end up hurting feelings and wasting his money if he brings home something I can't/won't eat/drink. The note above is what I left next to his grocery list this morning (I buy my own groceries, this was just the most practical place for the note). It's really just a statement that says I'm a vegan (in diet, if not in other areas) and that he and my mother shouldn't try to feed me things that have any animal products or HFCS in them.

Reading Skinny Bitch pushed me over the edge into veganism a bit. I had already been thinking about it a lot and the book gave me a lot of the information I was looking for. If you haven't read it, it's not my favourite, but it's a quick enough read that has good information and I would recommend you check it out. As the holder of a B.A. in English, I wasn't always impressed with the actual writing (sometimes you can just be trying too hard to be witty). The best thing about the book is that it is practical and a very good starting point if you are looking into vegetarianism or veganism. My favourite part was all the reading recommendations and healthy food lists in the back! So, as someone already considering the lifestyle I got what I needed from it and places to go to become as knowledgeable as possible. And there are enough genuinely funny sections that make it well worth its $13.95 price tag (I think I paid less on amazon.com).

I've been feeling healthier and healthier with the changes I've been making, I can't wait to discover what the top of the mountain feels like!