The internet issue has been resolved (at least for now... my modem's a bit temperamental). So this is just a quick post to say hello and give some updates.
After talking it over with my partner, I have decided to go blonde for the few months before money gets quite tight. I'm sure there will be an intermediate orange stage but I'm willing to pull it off. In a way I don't think the ginger will be quite as bad as the weird colours that seem to come out when hair is tinted. Then it's up to me to source some vegan hair dye for the move back to my natural colour. It's quite exciting actually. I really miss being blonde (honestly, they do have more fun) and it'll only be for a few months so I'll have to enjoy it while it lasts. That plus there are many people in my life who have never known me with my natural hair colour. Hmmm, interesting.
I had a dream the other night that I was about to break my 'vegan vows' and eat Krispy Kremes. All I needed was the go ahead from my partner and I would have launched right into them! This is actually quite far from the normal patten of my dreams where I wake up sweating after a nightmare in which I've unknowingly consumed meat or cheese. Ahh it's quite funny to see how veganism really does penetrate your whole life - even your subconscious!
Off to bed for me now. I need to make getting a decent stretch of sleep every night a bit of a habit... 40 hour weeks of class time and poor sleep are starting to wear me down I think.
Happy dreaming!
Monday 20 February 2012
Thursday 16 February 2012
20 days and counting...
Yikes! It's been almost three weeks since my last post. Sorry to my readers but the internet issues have still not been resolved. That, coupled with me starting 40 hour weeks means I haven't really had a whole lot of opportunities for writing blog posts.
I'm happy to report that I'm still lactose free. I've been asked quite often in the last few weeks whether I'm on any medication, and it's certainly been strange to answer in the negative. Strange, but good. The basal body thermometre was purchased not long after my last post. My only complaint is that it beeps incessantly and when you're taking your temperature at 6 in the morning, it's not the most pleasant sound to the ears. So the FAM is well underway... I'm learning lots but I think I'll have to wait a few months as my body gets back into a natural rhythm and I can rely a bit more on its signals.
I've yet to start the Oil Cleansing Method. I've been waiting for the funds to be a little less tight so I can buy castor oil in bulk and give it a go. I'm super excited about it though, it's just one of those things that feels right without even trying it. On a similar note, a friend of mine brought the movement that is "No Pooing" to my attention. The idea is similar to the OCM in that shampoo actually strips the hair of its natural oils, meaning it overproduces and we need to clean it more often and so on and so forth in a positive feedback cycle. Apparently if you give your hair about 6 weeks to get over stopping shampoo cold turkey and find its own balance then you really have no need at all for shampoo. I should mention here that while I'm very tempted to give this a go, I also have hair that needs to be washed every day. It's very fine, but there's a lot of it and it greases up like you wouldn't believe. To top it off I've just started a new course at uni and figured that I wouldn't give off the best first impression if I were to rock up to class and/or clinics with a greaseball on my head. So for now, I've put the shampoo ban off until winter when I can wear beanies every day to disguise my lank locks.
While on the topic of hair, I've been tossing up in my head my future colour options. I haven't had my natural colour since I was 17 and I quite like it that way. Towards the end of the year however, funds will become extremely tight and it may be that colouring my hair is one of the areas that will be cut from the budget. Also, I'm aware that it's probably very unlikely that the products used at my hairdresser are vegan/ not tested on animals. This is truly where veganism and vanity are in conflict for me. A good vegan would source vegan hair colour or go au naturale immediately. But I am so insecure about the blah-ness of my natural colour that I'm really tempted to live out the next few months as one last hurrah before my financial situation forces my hand.
I hadn't planned to dye my hair for the rest of my life. I had it all worked out in my head. In a few years time, I would go from my dark locks to being a blonde again, and once I had children (and less time for hairdressers) it would be a relatively easy transition back to my real hair, light brown. But I'm dark at the moment, and aside from letting my roots grow out foryears or tinting my hair until it resembles brown (neither are really options) I'm not quite sure what to do. In a compromise between veganism and vanity I may have to sacrifice my vegan ideals for a few months and bleach my hair in order to transition smoothly to no colouring at all. Do the ends justify the means? I'll need to ponder it some more I think.
I'll end with my vegan 'moment' for the week. While having a discussion about high cholesterol with a member of my immediate family, I thought I'd throw a little vegany goodness into the mix. "You know what really reduces cholesterol? Eating no animal products." To which this person replied,"Well then what do you eat?" I'd better clarify that this person is intelligent, world-wise and full of common sense but this was not a joke. It was a serious criticism of my diet. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to this kind of 'ignorance' but to hear it coming from someone who is quite familiar with my vegan diet, cooks vegan food for me and peruses vegan cookbooks to find good recipes just for my benefit was a big shock. As some fellow vegans mentioned, comments like this are usually a reflection of non-vegans' insecurities at their own diets when faced with your healthy changes. I'm not sure, but I really hope it's defensiveness and not close-mindedness.
Until the next time I have internet access and a spare moment,
Love.
I'm happy to report that I'm still lactose free. I've been asked quite often in the last few weeks whether I'm on any medication, and it's certainly been strange to answer in the negative. Strange, but good. The basal body thermometre was purchased not long after my last post. My only complaint is that it beeps incessantly and when you're taking your temperature at 6 in the morning, it's not the most pleasant sound to the ears. So the FAM is well underway... I'm learning lots but I think I'll have to wait a few months as my body gets back into a natural rhythm and I can rely a bit more on its signals.
I've yet to start the Oil Cleansing Method. I've been waiting for the funds to be a little less tight so I can buy castor oil in bulk and give it a go. I'm super excited about it though, it's just one of those things that feels right without even trying it. On a similar note, a friend of mine brought the movement that is "No Pooing" to my attention. The idea is similar to the OCM in that shampoo actually strips the hair of its natural oils, meaning it overproduces and we need to clean it more often and so on and so forth in a positive feedback cycle. Apparently if you give your hair about 6 weeks to get over stopping shampoo cold turkey and find its own balance then you really have no need at all for shampoo. I should mention here that while I'm very tempted to give this a go, I also have hair that needs to be washed every day. It's very fine, but there's a lot of it and it greases up like you wouldn't believe. To top it off I've just started a new course at uni and figured that I wouldn't give off the best first impression if I were to rock up to class and/or clinics with a greaseball on my head. So for now, I've put the shampoo ban off until winter when I can wear beanies every day to disguise my lank locks.
While on the topic of hair, I've been tossing up in my head my future colour options. I haven't had my natural colour since I was 17 and I quite like it that way. Towards the end of the year however, funds will become extremely tight and it may be that colouring my hair is one of the areas that will be cut from the budget. Also, I'm aware that it's probably very unlikely that the products used at my hairdresser are vegan/ not tested on animals. This is truly where veganism and vanity are in conflict for me. A good vegan would source vegan hair colour or go au naturale immediately. But I am so insecure about the blah-ness of my natural colour that I'm really tempted to live out the next few months as one last hurrah before my financial situation forces my hand.
I hadn't planned to dye my hair for the rest of my life. I had it all worked out in my head. In a few years time, I would go from my dark locks to being a blonde again, and once I had children (and less time for hairdressers) it would be a relatively easy transition back to my real hair, light brown. But I'm dark at the moment, and aside from letting my roots grow out foryears or tinting my hair until it resembles brown (neither are really options) I'm not quite sure what to do. In a compromise between veganism and vanity I may have to sacrifice my vegan ideals for a few months and bleach my hair in order to transition smoothly to no colouring at all. Do the ends justify the means? I'll need to ponder it some more I think.
I'll end with my vegan 'moment' for the week. While having a discussion about high cholesterol with a member of my immediate family, I thought I'd throw a little vegany goodness into the mix. "You know what really reduces cholesterol? Eating no animal products." To which this person replied,"Well then what do you eat?" I'd better clarify that this person is intelligent, world-wise and full of common sense but this was not a joke. It was a serious criticism of my diet. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to this kind of 'ignorance' but to hear it coming from someone who is quite familiar with my vegan diet, cooks vegan food for me and peruses vegan cookbooks to find good recipes just for my benefit was a big shock. As some fellow vegans mentioned, comments like this are usually a reflection of non-vegans' insecurities at their own diets when faced with your healthy changes. I'm not sure, but I really hope it's defensiveness and not close-mindedness.
Until the next time I have internet access and a spare moment,
Love.
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