just when I'm inspired, you drain the drive right outta me

happy halloween!

i'm eating leftover vegan pizza for breakfast. yesterday was norwalk's trick-or-treat. firstly, i would like to express my disappointment that it was not on halloween night, nor even on a weekend. a tuesday? what the crap. halloween here in ohio is not like it was when i was growing up in michigan. we would run from house to house and yell and carry on. you had to yell "trick-or-treat" to get people to come out and give you candy. it was dark. it was so much more. here and now, it's simple and uninvolved. most kids had a store-bought costume. i made our own costumes, just like i've always done.

we were ninjas! a whole family of ninjas. joshua carried nunchucks, penny had her sais that she picked out herself, and i had a sword. i was so darn excited. we trick-or-treated with nicole, shannon and killian. haha, and their dog, shrapnel. killian went as robin, and shrapnel was batman until he peed on his cape.

we had to scoot outta there right when we got back, because i had ordered a half vegan, half meat lover's pizza. i felt kinda awesome walking in with a full-on ninja outfit, complete with sword, to pick up my pizza. then we went to ken and kelly's to see them and joshua's grandparents, and show them our costumes. i found out that one year, grandma dressed as a ninja, too!

there are two reasons for the title lyrics i chose for this entry. the title of the song is this secret ninja. the other reason is that lately i've been feeling so overwhelmed. i have much to do, and much that i want to do, and when i finally get the motivation, something else comes along and sucks it right back out of me. i'm trying to do as much as i can, but sometimes, i just don't feel it's worth it.


title: this secret ninja - afi

your blood, their blood, serves the same

i'm at my new job as a receptionist for kasper auto group, at the toyota dealership in sandusky. i answer all the incoming calls for all 5 dealerships, but mostly sit and look pretty. i enjoy it, whether we're busy or not. it can be boring at times, so i spend the time reading, drawing or researching.

today i'm researching more indepth about vegan and vegetarian options in non-vegetarian restaraunts and fast food chains. i'm reading a book published by the vegetarian resource group that answers a lot of common questions. it has a lot of good resources, and does an excellent job of pointing one in the right direction.

on their website, www.vrg.org, i found a good article on tipping your servers when you eat out. i think this is good for everyone to read, be you vegetarian or not. keep in mind how economics work. generally, vegetarian fare costs less, and if you tip on a percentage, you tip your server less than is even fair. they need to eat, too! support your choices! you can read the article, "rethinking restaurant tipping" here.

in our world, the biggest influence you have is where and how you spend your money.

make a difference.


title: conflict - meat is murder

i've got the straight edge!

i enjoy this little chart that i found at the we like it raw blog. it helps remind us where our priorities really lie. i also like how the bars are home-drawn. cute.

click to see it larger.

taking care of yourself and your health is so important for a happy life. try not to worry so much, but do what you can. it starts at home, with yourself and your family. teach your kids how to stay healthy and happy, and care for each other.

keeping away from smoking, drinking and drugs can up your chances exponentially! i'm straight edge, and stay away from all those unnatural highs, and it's not a temptation when you know where you stand (and how nasty it is). watching what you eat can help, too. stay away from processed foods, refined sugars, preservatives and pesticides. if it comes pre-made, that's a good sign it might not be good for you. learn how to cook!



title from minor threat

in the orchard

wednesday, nicole and i drove up to cleveland without tickets, to see tiger army. we we're able to get in without any problem, and were within the first 10 people there. we snagged a spot directly in the front and center of the stage. the beauty of the small room at the agora is that the stage is low and there is never a barricade. the first band was static age, and they were pretty decent, with a bassist that had this crazy hand. the second band was called street dogs. turns out the singer used to be in the dropkick murphey's, and joshua has seen them before. i enjoyed their set very much, and their bassist, johnny, (who was rather hot) took a couple pictures of us with my camera, while they played. the singer, mike mccolgan, put his hand on my face, and sang to me, and then later on the top of my head. it was odd, but i didn't see him do it to anyone else. maybe he thinks i'm cute. *shrug* still made me feel special, even though i was weirded out a bit. while waiting for tiger army, joy division played through the speakers! i was in heaven.

it's so good to see such an all-around good show like that. the openers didn't suck. tiger army was incredibly awesome. nick13 was incredible. jeff, the bassist, plays a stand-up bass. he was hit in the head with something right as they came on, and he bled hard the whole set. he's so hardcore! they were intense, and performed well. nick13 was delicious and amazing to watch, and sweat-soaked by the end of the show. we were able to touch him, but i didn't want to interfere or offend him any, so i kept back (although it was quite hard not to reach out). nicole got one of jame's drumsticks. she said "looks like he used this one." yes. it looked like a chipmunk had attacked it. very used.

i'll upload pictures later, but now i have to go to a halloween party!

i've uploaded the pictures!

title from tiger army

i love you, you pay my rent

tonight i made the most delicious homecooked vegan dinner, that even joshua liked. it consisted of a fancy pants salad with the works, followed by some healthy whole wheat spaghetti with a cabernet marinara sauce and "meatballs," and some "cheesy" basil and rosemary garlic bread. i'm happy that i can cook so healthy, and be so completely satisfied without overeating.

i've been wanting to make some pumpkin pie, seeing how it is october now. however, the last couple days have been a freakish 90 degrees out, and not at all good for baking. i love baking. well, maybe i just love eating what i baked. haha, yum.

i took a glorious nap today, on grandma mary's amazing reclining lounge chair, outside in the warm breeze. one of my most favorite things is simply breathing the fresh air, listening to the cacophony of birds and insects and enjoying a gentle breeze on bare skin. the simplicity and wonder of it brings me such a sense of relaxation, stillness and quiet joy.

and the dang phone rings while i'm recounting my little reverie. bah.


title from some pet shop boys song that was amusing me yesterday

what if there were no hypothetical situations?

sunday was a day full of fun. joshua and i took the big truck and a trailer full of fourwheelers, along with casey and amanda, and adam, nick and justin, in another vehicle down just south of columbus, ohio. we spent the whole day riding trails. it was so beautiful, and we had such nice weather.

i am sore!

my back is sore. we did some pretty hard rough riding. joshua showed me where he flipped his fourwheeler a few months back, and got a 3 month vacation off of work from his injuries. we did not go down there. we had a good time, and i could easily see myself going again.


we took a photo of all of us in a neat rocky area. there were so many places to take beautiful photographs, but no one was interested in stopping for me. maybe next time.