veg4me

veg4small

A quick rendering of what I envision if I actually agree to buying that television for Christmas.

Illustration Friday "Small".

veg4oxfam

In 48 hours people all over America will be loosening their belts and belching their gratitude for another over indulgent Thanksgiving- myself included.

Countless shoppers will flock to the stores the following morning, thinking of leftovers as they stand in endless lines for the item that was deemed a "must have" this year - myself NOT included.

"Must haves" for a percentage of the world consist of things that we take for granted. Things we are supposed to be thankful for, but that we really just expect and even sometimes demand. Like that turkey on the table, the fresh veggies, and healthy and happy company.

Heck, my 7 year old son has had his Santa list written out for almost a month now. He's reached the age where he still believes in Santa (whew) but his present requests are becoming more and more demand like.

Tonight we had this conversation.

"Maaa, this Lego super battle droid attack clone blaster war thingie is only seventy dollars!"

"Well, that's a lot of money. Maybe you can save some of the money you get at Christmas and put it towards that "must have" Lego set. I think it would be smarter to ask for several less expensive gifts so that you have something other than one box to open on Christmas morning."

Stomping of the feet and wild hand motions accompanied the following pleads "Maaa, the other sets are like a hundred dollars. This is only seventy! That's nothing!"

"That is more than we pay to use the water and watch TV in this house for a whole month, I just want you to have a better idea of how much money $70 actually is. I am not saying definitely NO, but Christmas isn't about forcing someone to buy you one particular gift."

Sigh, it's not as if we don't have three TV's in our house, a Playstation 2 (that Santa got him last year) and countless DVD's, not to mention Lego's, Bionicle's, etc. I am not against toys. Toys are great! I just don't want him to have the ability to read without it being coupled with the understanding of cost vs. value.

Not long after that conversation I was on the computer (looking for cheaper Lego sets!) and came across this website. A perfect illustration of what a "mere seventy dollars" can get you when you don't shop at lego.com.

I'm not suggesting that any sane mother sticks a card under the tree that reads "Merry Christmas! NO presents this year! Mommy and Daddy bought a goat for a child in Sri Lanka in honor of you!", but seriously, take a minute to look through the website and think about one "must have" item on your list that doesn't need to be bought this holiday season.

Will a $50 lego set suffice? If so, that $20 you saved could buy two chickens. Yeah, that's right. I'm promoting buying chickens. You know why? Because I have the luxury of buying gourmet veggie things at Trader Joe's. Some people just need to have a fresh egg every day or so. And one chicken isn't going to do much good on it's own. So buy two.

Maybe don't buy that expensive bottle of wine to pop open on Christmas Eve. Instead, drink cheap beer and raise your glass to someone who has never had the luxury of asking Santa for a "must have".

veg4free

The vegetarian's interpretation of "Free" for Illustration Friday.

At this time of year people often ask me "Oh, but what will you eat for Thanksgiving? What about Christmas?!"

Well, I'm lucky. I get to skip the main course and head straight to desserts with a slight detour at the veggies and breads.

While you're busy carving another helping of meat, I'm eating your helping of pecan pie. I might eat one for the turkey, too!

veg4playdough

I thought it would be fun to prepare some homemade Kool Aid playdough with the kids this afternoon. A nice wholesome activity, devoid of video games and cartoon characters.

After we finished mixing the ingredients, I set them up at the craft table in the living room. Tons of cookie cutters and two heaping mounds of cherry and grape flavored dough.

And then I smiled and said "Use your imagination!"

I came back in the kitchen to clean up and heard 4 year old Cakes yelling for me "Mom, look I made a snake and he has a hard on!"

I slowly walked back into the living room and stood behind her as she was giggling.

There was a foot long purple snake. He had two eyes and a tongue.

And a big, cherry red cookie cutter heart on his middle.

Heart on.

veg4cookbook

 

Photo Friday "Worn"

I love cookbooks. I read them constantly. I sometimes soak in the bathtub while reading them. The edges of the books are swollen from where the pages have touched the water as I envision expertly executed recipes arriving on the table simultaneously. A table that two freshly scrubbed children have set to perfection. There's fresh flowers, matching plates and dare I say- napkins!

Then I drain the tub and float the little whirlpool back to reality.

A reality of tons of cookbooks housed within old pear crates on my kitchen counter. Millions of recipes that have never been brought to life in my kitchen. Sometimes, like Martha says, that's a good thing. Take the cookbook on the far right of the picture. It belonged to my grandmother in the 50's. Tasty morsels like Rinktum Ditty and Golden Glow Casserole are forever preserved in those pages. There is even a section on preparing...(please don't let me get coal in my stocking this year for mentioning this) REINDEER.

Sorry, Santa. Maybe the Golden Glow Casserole can light the way instead.

veg4matrix

If you've left your house any time in your life you've probably noticed how people are different. They look different, talk different, walk different and think different. You can choose to embrace those differences or you can run back inside your house, slam the door, close the blinds and cower in the corner.

Have you also noticed how some people make a first impression on you that forces you to think "Fuck embracing differences, I want to smack this bitch across the face"?

We've all felt like that from time to time. If we are somewhat rational people, we do the mature thing and remove ourselves from the situation, making a mental note to steer clear of the pyscho in the future. Sometimes you don't have that luxury. Maybe your boss is that person or maybe your next door neighbor. You're bound to run into them from time to time so you just have to develop some coping mechanisms, right?

That person could also be the mother of a student in your child's class.

The first time I met her at parent/teacher night my brain crawled out through my ear, smacked me repeatedly on the face, pulled my hair and hissed "NEVER FORGET THIS MOMENT". Then I pretended my earring was loose and I stuffed my brain back into my ear, smiled the biggest fake smile and promptly forgot about her.

Until I invited her son to our Halloween party last month. When she called to RSVP and say he would be attending I heard my brain knocking inside my head and whispering "Psst, be careful, I warned you".

On the phone she nicely asked (fifteen times in five minutes) if I would like her to stay or if I needed any help for the party. I explained that we had it all under control, but if she felt more comfortable staying, she was more than welcome to. My brain cleared its throat, asking "What did you just say?" and proceeded to weasle out of my ear once more in an attempt to hang up the phone. Before I hung up with her I gave her the rundown on the party, since it was going to be a bit spooky. I didn't want any child showing up unprepared for a full fledged Halloween party.

On the night of the party she arrived on time and I invited her into my house. She explained that she wouldn't be staying and she looked a bit uncomfortable. I smiled and said that it was fine, just please be back by 8pm when the party was over.

As I walked her to the door she turned and said "We're on our way to church to make up for all the sinning that you are doing tonight".

I laughed it off and promised I had no intentions of throwing that kind of a party for a bunch of 4 to 8 year olds. As she left the house it occured to me that she might be serious.

My brain chewed on that comment and spit it out and in the spirit of Halloween fun I let it go. I had a party to throw! Not just a party, but a party full of sinning! Let's get on with it!

The party was a blast. The kind of party that kids will talk about for the rest of their lives. Everything I had wanted it to be and then some.

She returned to pick up her son and I saw her walking up the front path looking quite rushed.

Once again I welcomed her into my home.

"I can't stay to chat" she says as she tells her son to get his shoes on.

What a crying shame, say it ain't so. You're fifteen minutes late picking up your son and you insulted me in my own home. Please don't leave so soon.

Shut up brain, remember we're trying to accept differences.

"Thanks for bringing Collin over, we had a great time" is what I actually said.

"Um yeah, well my husband is really upset right now. We need to get out to the car. Collin, Daddy is in the car waiting for us."

Then she turns to face me and says "We just aren't pleased that we let him come here instead of coming to church. He shouldn't missed church, especially not for this reason. It's just not right, he should've been at church instead of here" and shook her head, looked down her nose at me and pushed her son out the door.

For the last two weeks I was feeling sort of badly about the whole thing.

Until today when I had lunch with my son's class and ended up sitting next to Collin.

"You know what my favorite movie is ?" he asked me.

The Ten Commanments?

Passion of the Christ?

"Gee, Collin. I don't know. What is your favorite movie?" I replied while being truly surprised his mother even lets him watch television.

"Well, The Matrix and Austin Powers 2. They are both my favorite".

And that struck me as really funny, because my 7 year old son would not be allowed to see either of those movies, but I do let him celebrate Halloween.

Which of us is the better parent? I'm not sure. I guess we're just different.

veg4notgood

The morning after Halloween. It's hard to fathom, but there are still bags of candy left.

I calculate that it will take the veg4fam until Groundhog Day to make a dent in all of it.

That calls for extreme cleverness.

The candy must be incorporated into our meals in nutritious ways! Just like parents sneak veggies into sugary baked goods, but exactly the opposite. Sugar snuck into healthy food! Pure genius!

Recipe #1 to come out of the post Halloween veg4kitchen.

Toasted peanut butter and raisinet sandwiches for breakfast.

Any ideas for lunch?