This, That, n' Somethin' Else

I have two good things to share (and then some other related stuff):

a) Birddog passed her emissions test and is proudly wearing new tabs. So, the gypsy wagon is good to go for another year. (I ain't drivin' fast... I's just flyin' low.)

b) I'm proudly wearing jeans that are 3 sizes smaller than what I was wearing in August. Wooo! I fully intend to keep aiming for the lower numbers. Now that my mind and spirit are more in line with what I've always wanted for myself, it's time to get the ol' carcass to follow. B'sides, I wanna wander the woods, not waddle through 'em. So far it's been easy and painless to ... heh ... 'waist away'. Once I got my head where it needed to be, a couple of different things happened: I started wanting healthier things, and I stopped needing to fill the gaps in my life with food. (Janet Greeson's adage is true: It's not what you're eating - it's what's eating you.)

The other day when I shared the news with Bill (hey, dude... I'm not getting graded on this one, so I can use your name), he said, "You're withering." I replied, "No, I'm becoming." And that's really what all of this is about. I may not be able to shake the world from its apathy with my writing or artwork, my ranting or cajoling, or even my vivid blue stare (and I'm really much too passive to try the nostril/finger trick). But maybe, just maybe, if I truly lead by example, I can wake one person from their dreamless sleep. I have a rock on my desk (given to me by Laura years ago) that has a bitingly funny - but all too true - phrase chiseled into it:

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. ~Catherine Aird

Well... I don't want to be a horrible warning anymore!

Apropos of which... over the past month or so, I've found myself moving toward an increasingly vegetarian lifestyle. There are various reasons for this, and I won't go into great detail here as I'm still researching the import behind my instinct(s). Suffice it to say that it has a fair amount to do with concern for other warm-blooded beings, and concern for my own well-being. I really don't need animal fat as part of my diet, nor do I need the hormones, drugs, etc. that are used on animals and, in turn, passed on to me from the meat I might eat. So, I've come to a decision. I've decided to "go vegetarian" entirely, by the first of the year - it could be much sooner, but I've given myself that time to adjust and adapt, if needed.

I'm declaring this, not as a form of righteous indignation (caveat lector - that day's surely comin'! *sly grin*), but I am declaring it as a commitment. I'd be a pretty pathetic example of anything if I didn't allow myself to be held accountable.

So, that's the scratchy, confining little nutshell today (I keep trying to peck my way outa this damned thing!).