To Vegan or Not To Vegan

Every once in a awhile there comes a person across your path that makes your soul scream, "Get to know them!"  This happened to me with a lovely couple from the school I teach at.  Their kiddo isn't even in my room-next door-and yet everyday when I would see them come in or walk out, my soul would just scream!  So, I did the grown-up thing and checked them out on Facebook only to find out that their both bloggers!  (Check their blog here- http://vernonsvision.blogspot.com/) With that in mind, I stalked them for two weeks before I introduced myself as "their family blog-stalker" and asked if we could ever get together to talk.  I'm pretty sure the Mrs. thought I was the craziest person on the block!

Anywho, fast forward a couple months and Nick, my sister Anjuli, and I scored ourselves a dinner invite!  Now here's the fun part-their Vegan!  I thought for sure Nick would fight me on it, but he's used to my antics and seems to find it easier to just go along. So, in the weeks prior to the dinner, Nick and I start the conversation about healthier eating, slowing down life, and the same 'ol same 'ol conversation that comes twice a year.  However, something happened that I wasn't quite expecting.  Health issues began popping up left and right, counting pills every night has become a norm, and let's just say (I can't believe I'm about to share this) I'm the heaviest I've ever been.  While a lot of it is due to the med's, I can't let them take all the blame.

DINNER

Slowly, our conversations turned into full-blown, "We gotta do something!!!"  Nick's only concern about the vegan thing was "grilling season" is coming up.  So, we looked at this dinner date as an opportunity to begin somewhere and boy did it take us somewhere!  The food they prepared was simple and delish!  Couscous with 7 different roasted veggies-even purple potatoes!  A beautiful salad with 3 different homemade dressing to choose from and a grape/berry fruit mix.  I was stuffed!  Then they had us try their morning banana and spinach shake and homemade granola.  Again, it was yummy and super filling.

 Smoothie Time

We talked well into the night with Anjuli and Nico getting one-on-one with the Mr. and me just writing in my notebook all the ingredients, websites, documentaries, etc. that was listed.  One thing that simply amazed me was this families passion for changing their family tree.  They simply decided to "go vegan" only 2 years ago for the sake of their children's health, as well as their own.  I was stunned watching their middle chow down a salad unlike any other I've ever seen.  In fact, their 3 kiddos ate the food with relish and there was no complaining!  In fact, Nico didn't even complain!  He LOVED it!

So, where does this leave us?  It leaves us with a ton of questions, a lot to read and watch, more dinners to test, and making goals.  Starting the day after our dinner, we decided to start incorporating a Vegan style of eating through the summer.  We will make banana/spinach smoothies every other day with cereal and Almond milk on the opposite days.  3 days a week we are going meatless and incorporating much more veggies and fruits into our diets.  I feel this will be easy for me as I'm not much of a meat eater to begin with, but Nick will struggle with lunches as his new job has them dining out frequently. In the mean time, we are going to educate ourselves and slowly ease into the vegan lifestyle-so, don't be surprised if you see us eating a piece of meat every once in awhile!  Of course, we will blog along the way the hardships, recipes, and changes we see along the way.  If you have any questions or stories you want to share with us about going Vegan, please let us know!

Discovering Denver

After a full day at the Powwow, we decided to take the next day to explore and site see Denver. Despite the icy conditions,  I did the best I could to take pictures while driving.  I hope that my words will suffice as the architecture was beautiful amongst the busy street trains and tourist on foot.  the bottom two pictures are my favorites.  The ocean-blue building with jagged edges was simply breathtaking.  While I'm not sure what the two large white statues story is, I had to smile as my mind thought of the white giants dancing in the snow amongst a city of busy little people.

Our first stop was the Denver Aquarium.  A large indoor dome filled with different types of fish, flash flood warnings, fossils, mermaids, jelly fish, tigers, shark and stingray petting, jungles, and walls filled with stories and facts galore!  It took us two hours to get through and there was still more attractions we didn't get to because they were  outside.  If you ever get the chance to visit, you should check out their website: http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver/

 By the time we were done walking the Aquarium, we were famished!  So, we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe.  It was noisy with good food and some pretty cool autographed memorabilia on the walls.  There was a quick stop at a hokey little Colorado store as flurries began swirling around us.  We thought we should get a move on and headed back to the hotel for naps.

After naps, some of us stayed up and watched Walking Dead while the other group stayed up and watched the Bible.  We then realized it was 10:00 and needed to eat some dinner!  So, as with all great trips, there was a late night food run.

Denver Powwow

Every year my step-mom Christina's family attends the Denver Powwow.  A 3-day event filled with drums, dancing, fancy costumes, shopping, and yummy food!  This year, I tagged along with my mom, sister-Honey, their cousin's Leigh and Tony, and Aunt Lisa.  

Despite the crazy two-hour white out on our way, we threw up a few prayers and Hail Mary's, and inched our way to Denver.  Settling into our hotel around 10:00 and eating Lonestar at 10:30 seemed quite luxurious before "hitting the sack."  We prepared for the next day and despite the time change, had a wonderful nights sleep.

The pictures above are of the grand entrance.  Different drum groups played while a variety of dancers came into the arena.  It was a breathtaking site and one I will never forget.  All ages walk/danced their way into the stadium. The elderly stoic and almost stern like, proud Native women with their heads held high, teenage fancy dancers crowing and thrashing their bodies to the beat, while teenage girls jingle dresses rang loud and clear.  There were women who wore the United States flag as proud members of the different branches of the government and Tiny tots holding hands with their mothers and fathers, introducing them to their heritage and history.  As a non-native, I was overwhelmed with emotion and couldn't help but tear up a bit.  Watching people so in depth with their culture and the beauty of handmade regalia and music, was absolutely stunning. 

We watched the dancers off and on while taking laps around the auditorium to look at handcrafted creations.  There was so much to look at and take in.  Tribes from all over the U.S. filled tables with carvings, pottery, moccasins, toys, books, bead work, antlers, and jewelry.  It was a smorgasbord of beauty and art.  I had fun browsing and even bought myself a buckskin tank top and beaded belt.  My step-mom bought me a horse blanket "satchel" and we went in together on a book called, "Keeper Of The Female Medicine Bundle."  It's a biography written by Allen Ross about his mother, Wihopa (Agnes Ross), a Mdewakanton, born in 1910. The book "chronicles the essence of Wihopa-educator and tribal leader, who lead the way and always made those of us who followed feel special."  We ended our afternoon with the best Indian tacos ever and more shopping!