on the road again.

Greetings from the Casinos!  Last week, Jams and I had a little weekend get-away in Laughlin, Nevada to celebrate Chris and Lizzy's birthdays -fun!  We stayed at the Aquarius Resort and Casino... yes, this is where I won $1,000 on the Wizard of Oz Penny Slot last year (This year, not so lucky) there year we left with a measly 45 cents...!

We spent the entire weekend gambling, eating, playing caveman keno, drinking, more slot machines and of course, partying!  Yay!  My only gripe - it smells like rotten smoke - everywhere!  It's been a little under a year since I quit smoking and I swear, the scent of smoke just gets stronger and stronger.  When I was a smoker, I actually would get super excited when I could smoke in public!  Especially in casinos... I could sit at a table for hours, and regardless of how much anxiety I got from that way-too-big-of-a-bet rush, it was totally "acceptable" to light up and keep throwing my money across the table.  Now, I am the girl with my scarf over my nose, disgusted with that older person sitting next to me at the penny slots with a barely there cigarette hanging out of their mouth and another two packs of smokes stacked up next to the machine to keep the chain going.  Yikes, I might just turn into an old grump if I don't watch it...

With all this travelling we have been doing, I have had to get quite creative with my food choices.  It's not easy to eat healthy.  Fact.  It's even harder to eat healthy when you are not home.  Fact.  Aside from my brown rice cakes and seaweed strips that were packed in the back seat for the trip, I have been left with slim pickins when it comes to "dining" on-the-go.  When the salad bar looks questionable, I'm left with hash browns, toast and pasta.  I can feel the starch expanding my body, ew so gross.  This leaves me with my "detox" plan.  Water only.  Green tea if I'm feeling sleepy in the morning.  Granola for breakfast, salad for lunch and I'm only eating dinner if I am completely famished.  OK, yes, I'm joking!  But seriously, it's time to get super strict for a little bit on what goes into this body... at least until I don't feel like I need to "suck in" while buttoning my pants...

Anyway, we had a great time!  Sunday was a beautiful day to drive for four hours with the top down.  Despite my sunscreen attempt, my forehead is still pealing and my nose looks like Rudolph.  Oh, the gripes of driving a convertible.  I should really stop complaining, I know :)

lifestyle changes.

Have you ever tried to do something you never thought you could do? Some of you might have. If you succeeded, you probably shared with your friends or family because you were proud of yourself. That's good! You should share your accomplishments!  You never know who will be inspired by your story! Have you tried something and it didn't go so well? Thought you could do it, but then ended up gave up? That's ok too. It's in those trying times that we don't quite make it that we find the path to success. Keep trying, because your mind is the most powerful thing... and if you believe you can do something - you can.

Jams vowed on the day I stopped smoking that he would not eat meat anymore. This, to me, seemed like an unequal change of lifestyle. Um, do you know how hard it is to quit smoking!? I have tried, like, a bazillion freaking times and it has never worked! Plus, I'm already vegan so how hard could it possibly be to stop eating meat? I mean, come on... I was already cooking for him so it seemed like an easy transition. No more fast food... no more steaks... no more free buffet at Bajas... no more taco truck... no... No... NO!!!!

When you make a big change in your life, your mind automatically switches to the "I can't have this" or "I can't do that" mindset. You think about the "I cant's" and it's tough. Unless you have something inside of you reminding you WHY you are making these changes, it is very hard to stick with it and that is why most people relapse. Look at alcoholics or drug addicts... those addictions are SO bad that they have centers for these people to go to for support for the withdrawals. And even after a significant amount of time, there is no saying if they will stay sober. That's why it is very important to find the WHY when making a big change. Keep people around you that will support you and remember those "whys" so you can reflect on them in those times of temptation!

While we are on this topic, let's discuss this whole thing about men and meat. A man's mentality tends to think - Strong, Hunter... Carnivore! Many believe that a REAL man eats meat. Being a woman, I never thought about this too much when Jams stopped eating meat. It really didn't come into my mind until he started communicating with his friends and family what he was doing. Everyone gave him a hard time and to make matters worse - of course, it was my fault. Thankfully, he IS a strong man and also a very knowledgeable man. He had his reason why he was changing his eating habits, and believe it or not, it was not my doing at all. He watched this movie, called Forks Over Knives, and saw certain health benefits not just for himself but also for some family members and people he knew that might benefit from changing a few bad habits.

Well, in the end - to each's own. We all have this wonderful thing called choices. Whether we make good ones or bad ones there is always something to gain. Let's just hope when we do make those bad decisions we remember those experiences for the next time we see that same fork in the road.

You can do whatever you put your mind too... I still can't believe that it's been almost a year and we're still smoke & meat free :)