Best Birthday of 2011!!!!

Today was and for the next hour and fifteen minutes is my birthday... and it has been the best one.

I normally approach birthdays full of expectation... and because of all that expectation I usually get let down...

...This year was different though...

This year, and I don't know how, I forgot about my birthday... seriously... somewhere in all the business of life and whatnot I forgot it was my birthday up until last night... and when it hit me... I went crazy! I got sooo happy... I know, I know it's super childish and blah blah blah but an intense amount of joy blindsided me and it was beautiful!

Today has been one of the best birthday's of my life... everything just clicked! Even down to the stupidest things like friends writing, "happy birthday pal" on my wall made me so incredibly happy... getting to hang out with friends was just really cool... and Tiffany (the best Girlfriend ever) made today run so smooth for me... I am really blessed.

Also, my mom made the back of this card... in my opinion it's the cutest... Ever. This is the back of the card my parents sent me...

She is the best mom... 

all in all this has been the best birthday I will have this year! 

Thank you sooooo much to everyone who made it special and took a second to say hey... it really did mean a lot! I love you guys... 

Here's to many many more years of celebrating! 

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! No other song in the world could describe how I feel right now… (he even screams about birthdays at the end!!!) 

I don’t normally get excited about birthdays… but today I make an exception… more on that later… 

but for now, it’s time to PARTAY!!!! 

Things that make me happy

Diary's Of A Somewhat Vegan... Day Fourteen - The End

Veg Date: 0014


2 Weeks! WE DID IT! I can't believe it... we did it! I am officially a vegan all-star (maybe not but it sounded cool) It's funny to think the last minute decision I made here would have turned into this whole ordeal... With making it to two weeks though I'm taking a little break from the vegan world...

I've had a few people ask me when I was going to be done with this experiment or when I was gonna drop that hippie nonsense... for a few days I didn't know but now I think I've got a little clearer idea... the answer is a "kinda never"... Here's what I mean... I in no way plan on living my life completely vegan... at least not for now... I have enjoyed these last two weeks and will go into the pro's and con's of everything sometime next week... but for now it's not 100% for me... but in the same breath I won't abandon everything I've learned these last two weeks either... I've opened up my eyes to how good (and tasty) life can be without meat... I plan on using what I've learned continually (hopefully) forever. 

I've gone for two weeks eating nothing but vegan food and in a more personal dare I've cut out everything unhealthy from my diet... I've probably drunk more water in the last 2 weeks than I did in entire months before that (sad but true) and I've eaten more vegetables than I can ever remember... and things couldn't be better I feel great and everything that goes along with eating healthy! 

I wanted to thank everyone who has been so supportive of my adventure... It has meant the world to me and I am so thankful for you... Special thanks to Tiffany for making me not give up even when I really wanted to, she really is the best... 

All this is making it sound like I did some great thing... and even though it's small... for me it was a great thing... and it may be something that will improve my life forever... 

Side note: I've wanted to end all of these with "cheers" but I always over analyzed it and talked myself out of it right before hitting send... but I like it. 

Thanks again friends... :-)

Cheers.

Diary's Of A Somewhat Vegan... Day Thirteen

Veg Date: 0013

We made it to the teens... and just in time... I am now at the awkward stage of Veganism... The Awkward Vegan Middle School Stage... I'm not old enough to drive my own vegan car and I'm to old to hang out with my vegan parents... I currently get dropped of at whole foods for hours on end with my vegan girlfriend and we go to vegan movies at the vegan cinema where they serve raw unpopped popcorn with tofu butter... My vegan girlfriend breaks up with me because of my vegan teen zits and starts dating a more mature vegan... ... ... ... I am currently tired... I am writing this too late... hopefully you enjoyed that... sorry?

Today was a good day... we are one day away from the goal of two weeks and one day closer to sweet carnivorous life... haha... More on that tomorrow...

For now I am happy with today being the full day that it was... Work, Set up and then some good quality time with my girlfriend... I had a good day...

Now the thing you've been on the edge of your seat about... what I ate today...

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Apple Sauce, Banana, OJ

Lunch: Fresh made potatoe soup... new twist, I left the peels on the potatoes... Tiffany told me to a while back and a comment reminded me it could be a good idea... and it was... thanks!

Dinner: Teriyaki Stir Fry... I'm not the best at this yet... but I'm getting better each time...

Goodnight peeps!

Diary's Of A Somewhat Vegan... Day Twelve

Veg Date: 0012

Today's been a good day... not much out of the ordinary... a lot of planning at work and things look good!

Aside from that I took a night at home... it was good to have some time just to chill out.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast -  OJ, Apple Sauce, Banana

Lunch -  Potato Soup

Dinner - Black Beans, Yellow Rice, Corn

Diary's Of A Somewhat Vegan... Day Eleven

Veg Date: 0011

I have been living the same day over and over for the last several years because it's GROUNDHOG DAY!!!! I don't know why but I've always loved Groundhog Day. I think it's super funny and the most random tradition ever... but it has a special place in my heart...

In the spirit of things I've added a new item to my bucket list... I will at some point be in Punxatawney, PA on Groundhogs Day and see Punxatawney Phil live in person... it's going to happen!

Today did pan out to be a great day... It started off at SEU where Jason spoke at the chapel there... then back to the office to work... Lunch at home and Aaron Ross came over... back to the office to finish off some video work then at 3:30 we had a staff viewing of Groundhog Day... then back home for some rest and working on some other projects... today has been a great day!

Food wise today was good too... I switched things up today for lunch and Dinner and ate a lot of vegetables... Even though I've been doing this vegan thing I feel like in the last couple of days I've gotten kind of lax on things... Eating a lot of starchy things like potatoes and high calorie, high sodium things like the teriyaki... So today was a good switch back to a healthier side of things!

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Apple Sauce, Banana, OJ

Lunch: Ministrone soup

Dinner: Steamed Zucchini, Squash, Carrots and Green Beans!

I think I might eat a peice of Banana bread in a minute too... who knows... I'm feeling crazy!

Fingers crossed that tomorrow comes and I don't relive today over and over!

Diary's Of A Somewhat Vegan... Day TEN!

Veg Date: 0010

WE MADE DOUBLE DIGITS! I know that may be a dumb thing to be happy about... but I am ECSTATIC!

I am currently watching Biggest Loser and I'm not gonna lie... These guys give me hope... At one point during the weigh in tonight Tiffany texted me and said, "They just lost a first grader!" Its true! They work so hard and get results because of it... And for me that is inspiration I need... Sometimes this whole thing is tough... but its good to see that hard work and challenges can pay off! I'm gonna keep this up!

Today has been a great day... Work was good... Guitar Lessons were good... but its also good to be home! Looking forward to tomorrow!

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Apple Sauce, Banana, OJ

Lunch: Spaghetti

Dinner: Potato Soup

Tomorrow's gonna be a good day... GROUNDHOG DAY!!!!! SO EXCITED!

Recipe Time - Potato Soup

This is the simplest Vegan thing I've made and it is one of my favorites... I think it might be my favorite because it is just a good warm meal to end a day...

Ingredients:
1 Medium Yellow Onion
5-8 Potato's
2-3 handfuls of baby carrots... (there is no wrong in this recipe... just live your dreams)
4-6 Cups of Vegetable Broth or Water or a mixture of the two (Veg Broth is better in my opinion)
2-3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

To Prepare:
Put oil in a Medium Stock pot or Large Sauce pan and set to medium heat
Chop onion into large pieces  and at to pot and cook till semi-translusent
Peal and Chop potatoes and add to pot and let cook for 2-5 minutes
Add Vegetable stock (enough to cover the potatoes by a half inch or so), salt and pepper and let boil for 10 minutes
Add Carrots and let cook for 20 minutes more
Eat

The recipe is super loose too... if you want to make more just add a little bit more of everything to whatever degree you like... Also this is one of those dishes that the more it cooks the better it tastes!

Bon a petite!

Be a man...

Ever since I've grown a beard I've wanted to do this...
It's going to happen soon...