Monday meant some more yoga, but I bailed. I ended up finishing the recording for the LAM! LAM! tour and getting my screens set up and considering paint color, then hit the gym. Food was...a banana. An apple. A noble attempt to eat more kale salad both before and after work, then a grapefruit and a handful of almonds for dinner/pre-bed snack.
Tuesday, Day 14:
Today was a barn day! Sadly, Shep, my trainer, doesn't think Jazz is ready to do lessons, so I rode Newman, my old love. Newman is still a totally awesome horse; just am totally amped on Jazz. Regardless of a little misbehavior (apparently, Newman has not been ridden again since I last rode him!) and silliness, he was a very good boy and listened well.
After riding, I decided to finally pull out my Sun Warrior and made a shake of almonds, water, chia gel and frozen strawberries, which I put in my bag for work and drank there. I forgot how congealed the Sun Warrior shakes tend to get. Or maybe it's the Chia doing it. Whatever, I choked it down but the shake wasn't as filling as I remembered said shakes being, so I ended up stopping at Whole Foods and picking up some new stuff. I got some more kale, zucchini, tomatoes, apples, a little guac and these "Brad's Raw" chips.
So reviewing the Brad's Raw Chips. I decided to go for the "cheddar" version because I wanted something to eat with guacamole and figured the nacho type chip would be the best for my needs. First thing, these chips are EXPENSIVE. Like, $8. Ouch. But, they are good. Some of them are better than others (like, in the same bag), because the slightly thicker ones, while sturdier, have that sort of chewy fruit leather texture as a opposed to the light crunch of the thinner ones. Overall, my impression was that they tasted like slightly spicy, healthy wheat thins. And ya know, that works for me. Hell, it's probably even worth the $8 splurge every so often, like tonight, when I just want something quick and easy and tasty. Or when I'm craving the bready crunch. Also, they supposedly give away free chips and prizes (HELLO I WOULD LIKE SOME FREE CHIPS THANKS!) if you join the mailing list or like them on facebook. So overall, I'd say the company is not totally evil and the product is good, but this is definitely a once-in-a-while indulgence because of the price, so stick to your sun warrior and apples and bananas if you are cheap like I am.
BUT that said, I did just totally splurge on a food dehydrator so I'm gonna make some kale chips and zucchini chips and maybe fruit leather yayyyy.
On another note, I don't often get into politics, but feel it is necessary to start to raise awareness for something that is a really important issue here in the state of North Carolina. The civil and human rights of people in same-sex partnerships in the state of North Carolina are currently under a huge threat. Amendment One proposes to make the same-sex marriage ban in North Carolina part of the state constitution.
Just to be clear, same sex marriage is ALREADY illegal in the state of North Carolina.
This bill would essentially lay the groundwork to invalidate existing same-sex arrangements like custody, estate settlements without wills, visitation rights at hospitals and prison and could even be used to overturn restraining orders or convictions based on "domestic violence."
If you would like to know more about the amendment from a fairly unbiased source, you can see the BallotPedia Page for Amendment One. If you would like to contribute or get involved, Protect All NC Families is an excellent organization doing fine work. The best thing you can do, though, is tell anyone you know in North Carolina about this upcoming issue.
Regardless of how you or your family feels about same-sex marriage, remember, it is ALREADY ILLEGAL in the state. This bill is not about banning gay marriage in NC, but is about the LEGAL marginalization of a minority group. Replace "gay" with any other minority group and you'll know how to vote. We are beyond this as a culture.
