Entry #6: Was that due today?

   Who out there feels like this? If you've ever felt lost and like your mind is going to explode well then I know that I am not alone. By far this semester has been the biggest struggle for me. I have a 29 month old (2years 5months), a three month old at home on top of being a full time student and working between twenty five to thirty hours a week. My plates never been so full. I am constantly on the go and reminding myself of assignments and making sure I set my alarm on repeat so I get up on time so I don't miss class. I know I am not the only one. I run into a few if not many just like me this semester. We're all struggling
  I am using this blog to vent for myself and for the many others out there. I mean who honestly wants to write back to back essays? If it's not for English it's for another class. Can we get a break? I feel like when I am done studying or researching for one class another surprise assignment pops up. The school work this semester is endless. I wish I could multiply myself so that all my doubles can be where I need them to be so I can just catch up on sleep. How amazing would that be?
  I don't know that there is really much of a solution in my case. It's not like I can just stop working or taking care of my kids to stop and just focus on school. Not that that would be my choice anyways but it would definitely be easier to have to deal with less. Just like every other student out there, we cannot wait for the semester to be over. I am just praying that I can make it was all B's this semester. That's my lowest goal, of course I am going to strive for the best but just in case I slack a bit I don't want to feel guilty if I don't get A's or any A's for that fact. I am counting down the days before I can breath again and feel like myself and then we enter the gates of hell come the next semester.

Entry #5: Wall-E

   What is a plant? What is dirt? Those are the unfortunate questions we might face from our future children. I think technology is amazing and the endless possibilities that come with it but as we all know with every good thing there is always the bad that takes away from it. I remember when my mom bought the family our very first computer. It was a huge ugly box and she spent and arm and a leg for it. At the time I thought we had hit a jackpot and I felt so privileged to have a computer but looking back now with all the updates we have today, that thing was a piece of junk. It was slower than a snail. I mean who even uses dial up anymore? Now we have the need for speed.

  Technology has so many benefits. We don't even have time to name them all but a few of those are the abilities to be informed with the latest news, talk with family members anywhere in the world, have a phone on the go with us at all times and even join social networks that help us keep in touch. I rarely ever even watch TV anymore, especially the news so if I hear about something it's more than likely form the web. I am just so busy that I don't have time to sit down and watch the news. Now a days people like me are busy with school, work, and kids and we have little time to really sit down and see what's going on in todays world. The web makes that possible for us.
   Phones like the web give us a different form of communication. Instead of calling my brother, mom, or spouse I can just type up a quick text and send it to them. This way I am not disrupting what they're doing and it's a subtle way of speaking with one another. Families can Skype with each other from different parts of the world and not miss a thing. For example, my family and I Skype with my aunts and uncles in Bosnia, which I might add is pretty cool. We're able to stay close without being close in distance.
  These are all great benefits but they are many negatives as well. So many of us are dependent on technology that we've forgotten how to live without it. Really, who doesn't have a cell phone now a days? Cell phone are becoming more affordable as the months and years pass. Just the other day I took my girls to the park and I noticed a middle school student and her younger brother just taking selfies instead of playing. Really??? What kid owns an iPhone? I don't own an iPhone. I can imagine that these two have an Instagram as well. Personally, I would not be okay with my children have such social sites. I want my children to go outside and play and get dirty. Those were the most precious and best times of my childhood. No child should lose out on those experiences or miss out on those memories.
  Our children are forgetting how forever the web is and what they put out there is accessible for everyone to see. Kids are so fearless and they just want to explore but we need to limit there exposure to technology when it comes to bonding with family and friends face to face. Kids today are overweight because they rather stay instead and play games, watch TV, or be on the web. It's so important to educate our youth on what's really important, we can save their health and social skills in the log run. As we can see, even though technology can be amazing it can also be harmful.

    

Entry #4: So many options......

  I was going to write about the horrors of the meat industry but instead I am going to write about something a little less horrific and more tasty, my diet. People always ask me what I eat. Well here it is......

    These are just a few tasty options. Who needs to drink milk when you can have a tall glass of orange juice or kale chips for a snack. I know everyone is wondering what kale chips are!!! I know everyone is just as excited about kale chips as I am. They're super simple to make and cheaper than what you can find at the store. First you take some kale, wash it of course, chop it up into bit size pieces, tosh it in some olive oil and sea salt. Once you've done all of this then we can heat up our oven to 300 degrees and baked them for 20  minutes. I will say baking them doesn't always leave your house smelling lovely but the most important part is they're yummy.

  For more recipes like this you can check out eat-yourself-skinny.com.

 

  I should have given up meat and dairy years ago but the fact that it was an inconvenience was what was truly stopping me. Fast food or even frozen meals are just so easy to pop in a make within minutes but when you have to prep your meals in advance it can become a challenge. Luckily just like regular food, I can buy frozen vegan meals and no I cannot just go and get fast food but avoiding restaurants like Taco Bell, McDonald's, Jack in the Box and such places, I will not only stay healthy but cut down on their profits and hopefully cruelty.

   

 

    Here are a few yummy places to try:

        - The Green/Nami: A tasty vegan restaurant that anyone can enjoy. You can go to green and have a yummy meal and than if your up to it, walk over to nami for some yummy desert.

        - True Foods: Has the best tofu lettuce wraps! They're so delish. I am making myself hungry just thinking about it.

        - Kabuki at Westgate: No, Kabuki isn't a vegan restaurant but you can always find vegan options such as munching on some edamame, have a veggie role, avocado role, maybe a cucumber salad or even some tofu. They are now serving organic tofu as well. The options are endless.

 

    We all love to eat and trying new things is always fun, if I haven't convinced you to try one of these three, check out this website for more restaurant options: happycow.net.

 

Entry #3: Technology

      What is technology? Looking back ten years ago, I can remember my flip phone which seems like an old phone now. The first flip phone I had I remember they called it double O-7 because it had a button on the side and when you pushed it the phone would open up on it's own. It was pretty neat, at the time. Now I probably wouldn't give it a second look. I am sure many of us have experienced this. Back then I was just so excited to have a phone and having internet on it wasn't necessary at the time. Texting was in and everyone was doing it. Since then our phones have been updated with better looks and faster speeds. Now we can be on the web almost everywhere we go. We're able to stay current with the world and what's going on in it.

TO GO FROM THIS TO.............

 

       Technology has truly changed my life! I'm serious!! It's helped me become a vegan. I know that sounds silly but so true. Growing up I never really thought about or question how we came upon meat products and how we had so many choices. My mother had always assured me that eating meat was apart of life and an important part of our diet. We needed it to survive, so she said.

       Now I know otherwise. I don't even have to really search the web anymore, I can just go to Facebook. I follow Mercy for Animals. A group of vegans who give recipe tips and encourage those to give up meat but most importantly they expose the meat and dairy industry for what it really is. A sad and greedy industry full of abuse, disease and lies, lies, lies!!!!!! By using technology, I was able to learn about this cruel industry and change my diet. I may be only one person but I believe cutting meat out of my diet I can help save a cow, chicken, even a little fishy.

     Ten years ago I wouldn't have known that this was going on. With technology today I can stay up to date on what's going on in this industry and if any changes are being made. I can look all over the world and I can now research everything much faster than before. For me technology has benefited my health and my way of life but for other people technology might benefited them and their specific needs. For example, my brother loves Netflix and stays on top of all of his shows that he has missed. He is also a big YouTube fan. I've also used YouTube to watch videos of cruelty and even my daughter uses YouTube to watch educational videos from time to time. It's amazing what is out there now and how much we're able to know.

TECHNOLOGY IS LIFE CHANGING