Peace...

On a whim a couple days back I taught myself to make really good Frogs-in-a-hole!! I made two for myself, two for my husband, and one for my friend who had just eaten something beforehand so she didn't want a lot.

You've gotta use the olive oil cooking sprays, not regular Pam, to nonstick your pan! And heat the pan to just below medium heat.

Both sides of the bread should be buttered(I use low fat margarine), and its easier to poke the hole first in the center. Set the bread in the pan.

Break the eggs carefully so that it doesn't spill egg out yet so that you can try to aim the yoke into the hole when adding the egg.

Just do a few minutes on each side so the yolk is still a runny sauce when its done. :) (Unless you hate wet eggs in that case give it five minutes.) When its time to flip, slowly remove the bread/egg from the pan but flip swiftly once you're lined up with it so that the yolk stays in the hole.

And these are extra-awesome with some cottage cheese dabbed on top. :)

So a bumper sticker yells at me as I sit behind the other vehicle at a stoplight. Kill your television.

What does that mean?

Is it just the removal of the television's influence from your life? Taking up activism to improve the quality of the programming offered? (Which will only really be done by everyone not tuning into the dribble...) Literally taking hammer and gleefully smashing your T.V. to smithereens in the name of anti-consumerism?

It occurred to me that I don't watch much on cable. The news on occassion, and documentaries about obesity and binge eating on TLC. What Not To Wear on the same channel (not really a healthy show to watch when I think of it, considering they are encouraging a form of consumerism and supposed good taste making me wonder if my own wardrobe is up to par and creating a need in their viewers to go spend money on more clothes.). Random tv shows on the cartoon channel at night like Robot Chicken or Morel Orel. (Do I really need to watch these? Doesn't this come from me zombieing out in front of the television at night? They make me laugh but at best they are a cynical or violent humor.)

The TV itself gets most of its use when the Wii is turned on, or an excercise DVD is playing. I tend to play nonviolent games so I don't think gaming (in moderation) is a bad thing, and the excercise DVDs are a good thing for me (You can't go outside to excercise in winter here, its -27*C!!)(-17*F) So you're not going to see me pushing the tele over the balcony and wishing it bon voyage. Besides, that might squish the terrier on the first floor.

If I cancelled my cable that would knock $55.95 off my monthly Shaw bill (I bundled my phone, cable, and internet together but am not on a contract, so really I could cancel the cable part...) Considering we don't make much money in this home that may be a good idea. That money could go toward groceries, rent, or just going out with people for coffee once in a while.

Perhaps removing cable television from my life would cut down on overall spending, with the advertisements for fast food, gadgets, and other unneccesities out of my sight. (Don't you hate when the tv puts up a pizza ad, and suddenly you are craving pizza really bad even though you know you don't need and don't have spare cash for pizza at the moment, because the ad does its job THAT well of making sure you WANT to order in tonight?)

I have a question for you, Gaia: Do you live without viewing TV, perhaps even not owning a TV at all? How does this affect your life? How does this compare to the lives of those around you who do watch television often?

I talked to my husband and we have decided to go ahead and cancel our cable service, I wonder how this will affect me in the end. There was no argument to save the cable that couldn't be answered with "But I use the internet for that anyway," or "But I would prefer to read the graphic novel for that show."

It seems there is a growing trend toward vegetarianism now, and that's great! It really is. In that trend there are also people sitting on the fence, calling themselves vegetarian and still eating meat once in a while. For those people (flexitarians) allow me to provide some definitions to keep you from stepping on the toes of vegetarians.

• A vegetarian does not eat ANY meat, including fish. No food with a face! Vegetarians may or may not eat eggs (ovo) or dairy (lacto). Those that do are called ovo-lacto vegetarians, or if they only do one of those they might call themselves ovo-vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian.
• A vegan does not consume any animal products, including buying clothing made from animal products or any other household goods.
• An omnivore is someone who will eat meat, like most of society.
• A pescatarian is someone who eats fish, but no other meat or poultry products.
• A flexitarian (a modern word here) is an omnivore that has greatly cut back on his/her consumption of meat, but still eats it once in a while, so while they may mostly eat vegetarian they are still omnivores due to that once-in-a-while.
  

Sure sure you can go on about how you don't live in labels or whatever, great for you. But in this particular, non-religious case, its important to understand what category you are in so that you don't confuse others.

This is my attempt to help keep this new flexitarian movement from further confusing people about vegetarianism. I've been asked (so many times) "But you still eat fish right?? Won't you at least eat some turkey at Christmas??" to which I say No, vegetarian is vegetarian, not eats-it-at-Christmas!

I've met some people (that fall into the flexitarian category) that aren't bad people, but seem to want the label of vegetarian attached to them for vanity. This kind of thing is only going to confuse people about what vegetarian is (Veggies have been trying for a long time to get more options on restaurant menus, don't kill that for us please!!). They may not be aware of the vanity, but it is the nature of calling yourself something you aren't.

Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are also often tied into a passion for animal equality and protection of animals or at least trying to advocate humane farming methods (I'm the third part there, humane farming methods). Calling yourself vegetarian and then eating meat anyway is going to be like a slap in the face to people like this. It's like blowing smoke in a non-smokers face. Most veggies won't care if they see you eating meat when they know you're not vegetarian (or if they do care, they're likely to be polite and try to ignore it). It's the lie (that you might not even have realized you told) that is the problem.

So please think carefully about what category you fall into, becoming vegetarian and no longer eating meat means exactly that, no longer eating meat. Period. If you don't honestly live that lifestyle, please identify with the proper category! Vegetarian is not a fashion label or a starbucks cup; it is not meant to boost your ego by making you look good in front of others.

"As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by censure or praise." Dhammapada VI, (81)

Thank you "Words of Dhamma" program...

I needed this.

Throughout my life I have been the go to girl for advice. For as long as I remember I have been asked about my opinion on things by my peers, and later in life even by my own father (which shocked me actually but I gave it my best shot.) I like to think I give good advice. My husband says I do, and my many satisfied customers seem to affirm this. But is this the same as being a wise person, or just someone with an opinion?

Lately two people have been relying on me to help them through their issues. I walk slowly through the problems with them, trying to help them look at the underlying causes of their problems and the attachment they have to those underlying feelings and tendencies that leads them into their problems. Once these things are identified I can only encourage them to work on detaching from the causes and taking whatever steps needed to stop the cycle.

One of them, after I poured 3-4 continuous hours of sympathy, compassion, and reason into the problem, seemed completely liberated from the problem, and assured me of the steps this person was going to take to make sure not to fall back in. I personally felt quite good, I felt like I had really helped someone, perhaps my ego even started to say No wonder you want to be a teacher, you are so good at guiding others. Look how well you've helped this person, Perhaps you are growing to become wise! Even the person I helped praised and thanked me greatly, feeding this egoic compulsion to suddenly feel "wise".

And then.... the next night... I find out that this person did not take any of the steps, just after I spent an hour and a half on the phone helping the second person (not related to the first person in any way) with their problem. The first person wanted to go over it all once more, attaching to the problem again and repeating the self-pity analyzation cycle I had thought I had helped the person out of, and I just could not do it. I told the person to review our chat history, and that I just had to say no this time, and how I had just been working with person 2. I said that nothing in my perspective has changed, and that I don't appreciate my kindness being thrown into the trash.

My ego, who had built itself up as so lovely and wise over the day leading up to this, was seriously angry. "What is the point of spending all MY energy helping them when they won't take the neccessary steps to do anything beyond the philosophical side of it? They have to do their part!!! I am not drive-thru salvation, the things I pointed out require effort on the part of the person who asked for it!! Dammit, I give GOOD ADVICE! This is why I love E so much, when E comes to me for advice, I give it, and she either takes it or leaves it, but may the gods love her for not coming back to me the next day with the same problem after I gave advice!!"

I went offline, turned off the laptop, and my frustration was taken out cleaning paint brushes from oil painting earlier in the day, oh how clean they are now...

I meditated until my heart could return to a loving place, I read a book, then went to sleep.

This morning, I woke up cranky two hours later than I normally wake up. I had to write this blog entry, and am feeling better now. However, there are questions in my heart still.

What is the value of advice given? When a person takes your advice, your compassion, but is not moved to make any real effort on remedying their situation, was the compassion worth anything at all?

I also see that I had begun to think of myself as a kind of rock or mountain as far as a third party advice giver goes. I try not to react to the dramas of others, but to look at the tale from a neutral view, and be the rock to lean on.

"As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by censure or praise."

I was shaken to sand by praise and retractions, the rock that I suppose to be is circumstantial. It only is a valid statement when regarding my ability to listen to others' problems, but when it comes to me in general I apparently am still more egoic than I liked to think. Something to work on. I was aware of my self-praise as I gave it, and tried (a little) to detach from it, but obviously I did not detach from it enough.

(This blog was typed in the morning but posted in the evening as the internet was down for a bit.)

Just because I am in a fair mood. :)


1) What do you love to do in your free time?

Read, meditate, paint, draw, play games.

2) What music helps you relax?

Radio3.cbc.ca They have great variety, and its all modern Canadian music.

3) What movie did you enjoy recently?

The Dark Knight, yes I finally saw it!! It was AWESOME!

4) Who makes you laugh?

Hmm... well lately toast makes me laugh. :p My dog is silly and makes me laugh, random conversation with friends, ironic things in life.

5) Where do you go/ do to recharge?

I go home, I take a nap, and meditate. I picked up a copy of the Dhammapada today, I am finding it very relaxing.