Roll Call!
Edit. The following intro is a bit old. I unfortunately ended my long term relationship after nearly ten years. Just couldn't be worked out. I got the house and the dogs and am relatively happy now. I finished my online RN to BSN program and am a genuine college graduate at the age of 48!!! Woot!
Edit #2 - I finally reached the ripe old age of 50 and am feeling fabulous! I always get the "you don't look 50" thing, and I attribute that to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
I deleted my Myspace page. I do have Facebook and love to have vegwebbers for friends. You can private message me and I'll give you my name. Or you can find me on the vegweb fan page.
Edit #3 - Finally went vegan. The last couple of years, I've been slowly getting there, replacing household and personal products with vegan items such as vegan soaps, candles, cleaners. I've bought vegan shoes, belts and wallets. I'm loving it! Decided to let my hair go naturally grey instead of coloring it so I don't get the "you don't look 50" thing as much anymore. LOL I now have a desk job in the admit-transfer center and hate it hate it hate. I just can't be stuck behind a desk, and I'm the lookout for something else.
Edit #4 - Found a position at the hospital I currnetly work on an ortho floor. I think I'll like returning to the bedside and not a desk job. w00t
It's been a while and I thought it might be nice to for everyone who posts here to tell a little about yourself. I took a little sabbatical from this site (went back to eating meat for two years..........bleech), but lurked from time to time, but have been a part of this site for gee, can it be 8 or more years???? But I don't know a lot of you.
I am a nurse. I am a male. (yes, a person who will remain nameless called me a "she".) I am gay. I've been in a monogamous relationship for the last nine years with a great guy who now travels a lot. I was an ovo-lacto veg*n for about 12 years before slipping, I plead insanity.
I'm currently in an online program to go from an ADN RN to BSN RN and hope to finally graduate from college at the age of 48 next year.
I have a very boring blog here: http://allnurses.com/forums/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=13
You're turn. Tell me your business!
Hi Tweety! Okay, I'll be next. :)
I've been lurking on VegWeb without signing up for years! I became very dependent upon the site when I was living in Peru for 15 months during 2004-2005; when I'd get hungry for something or come home from an open-air market with my shopping bags bulging with something unfamiliar, I'd browse the site for ideas.
I just quit grad school (a painful decision!) and am job hunting. I had been a graduate student in anthropology for years, and was studying social interactions in the marketplaces of Peru. My partner is an archaeologist working in the same area. While we were in Peru he began to show symptoms of AIP, which can be partially controlled through diet; essentially, he needs a constant supply and high proportion of carbs to keep him from suffering some serious pain. It makes a veg diet even easier to commit to!
I am a woman. I've been vegetarian or mostly vegetarian since 1995, but I have always preferred a mostly vegetarian diet. It's about purchasing power for me, so it's not as strict for me as it is for more rigorous vegans, but I respect anybody making any kind of conscious decision about ethical consumption. I was married in 1988 to my wonderful partner, and enjoy him more with every passing day. We don't have kids, but we do have one "child"-- an elderly housecat named after Pepe le Pew. We love the children of our friends, and like kids very much.
My blog is not off the ground yet, but I'll link it if/when I ever get it rolling.
Who's next? ;D
Hello!
My name is Jessica-- I'm 23 years old and live in San Francisco. I have one dog and one cat. I work at a law firm and plan to apply to law school. I went to USC and hated it, and I'm glad to be back in SF. I'm a member of my local NOW chapter, and we have been trying to work with the City to get trans-fats banned from school lunches. After a lot of run-around, we discovered that a ban was in fact already in place, it just isn't currently being enforced. So we're working on getting compliance right now. I think it's a step in the right direction! I think that's about it. Nice to meet everyone!
Duckalucky,
I have been to Peru 9 times. Where did you stay? I love the fruits there esp. mangoes and cherimoya's. My boyfriends LOVES the lima's.
OK about me. I am 34 female and became vegetarian after staying with friends from Peru (they have their own farm, eat wonderful organic meals) It was wonderful to realize there's so much yummy healthy food to be eaten that does not revolve around meat. And I cook now which before I didn't.
I follow a mostly vegan lifestyle as does my boyfriend but I will eat the occasional muffin/cookie. I really try to stay away from processed foods as well.
I love this website and have found great recipe ideas here. I live in the suburbs but hope to retire to a nice property one day where I can garden and live near the mountains.
Ayagirl: I lived in Pacasmayo, on the north coast (so I was lucky, since the food there is renowned throughout Peru!) The small-scale raising-your-own lifestyle really is seductive, isn't it? I'm crazy for the produce-- did you get to try pacay?
Thanks to Tweety for starting this! It's fun!
HI,
My name is Cristina, I am 26 female, and have always preferred veggies to meat for the most part. I became Vegan a couple months ago after an article I was reading led me to the PETA website...they'll get ya everytime! I have been a CNA for 7 years, and just recently moved to a HUGE city(Houston) from a very small town of only 38,000 people.I LOVE all things science and medical. And have found I have a passion for Microbiology, I would love to be in forensics. While most girls growing up played with dolls and such, I was taking things apart to find out how they worked. I am very curious by nature, and need to know the what,the why,and the how of things.
I stumbled onto Vegweb after going vegan while looking for a gumbo recipe. I realized that growing up, the veggies and foods I knew from childhood(being from the south) were fried okra, fried green tomatoes, fried squash, etc etc you get the picture, which are great comfort foods to me, but not exactly healthy. Then I found this wonderful site, with all it's recipes and such diversity and I fell in love.
I love the fact that everyone here, is so considerate, not judgemental, and always willing to help, especially for those like me, very new to this. Even though it is supposed to be a recipe Q&A, it's more of a discussion board which I think is great. It gives me the opportunity to ask my questions, give my opinions with other people who may not agree with me, but are willing to listen to what I have to say. I have found since going Vegan most of my friends and family are supportive, and express a healthy curiosity about this lifestyle, but there are always a few ready to belittle, and make snide comments about my choice. I feel as though here I have found a group of people who share this lifestyle, and share a lot of the same opinions, and I feel comfortable being me!
Great idea Tweety, its nice to know about ya’ll.
I’ve been on VegWeb for about 2 ½ years, about as long as I’ve been vegan, and this site (and the rest of the internet, including blogs) really has made veganism easy for me. I was a lurker for a long time, and only rarely posted, even now I don’t post much (I’m pretty shy). I’m 25 now and have been married for three years—and I didn’t even grow up in West Virginia like mdvegan :). I was born and raised in Las Vegas and still live here. I flirted with vegetarianism through high school, abstaining from meat for a few weeks here and there until I gave in to eating meat again. My parents were supportive, but they and I really didn’t do or know enough about vegetarianism to make it work—just removing meat from the plate doesn’t do it. After I got married, became more internet savvy, and starting doing my own cooking and shopping is when vegetarianism became easy for me. Reading John Robbins' Diet for America really made the final push for me and I haven’t looked back.
I’m vegan for environmental, health, and ethical reasons. I don’t have a problem with human beings eating meat. For instance, I do not think native peoples who hunt their food now and in the past are/were immoral, unethical, or doing much harm to the environment or to their bodies (although humans have always had some effect on the environment—e.g. extinction of mega fauna in both North America and Australia may in part be due to over hunting by human hunter/gather societies many tens of thousands of years ago—but that’s a tangent).
My problem with meat consumption is the modern industrial factory machine which affects how I think about health, ethics, and the environment. It could be argued the same is true for plant industrial agriculture (in terms of chemicals/animal-derived fertilizers, human rights issues, GMOs, patenting of seeds, flying food around the globe at enormous environmental and economical costs…list goes on and on) and there are always some “you’re so hypocritical” arguments floating around in my head, but I have to eat something and short of going to live out in the wilderness I don’t think its possible to live a perfectly environmentally-friendly, ethically-sound, and healthful life. You just do the best you can, and I respect anyone who self-examines their life and diet and chooses what is right for them. All or nothing arguments don't work for me.
I have a BS in ecological and evolutionary biology, and I still really love those subjects along with paleontology, but right now I’m going for my second degree in nutrition—I think all this veganism "stuff" really got me interested in it. Science/mathematics have always been my interests. At 25 I’m still not sure what I want to do with my life, and I guess that’s ok. What I’d really like to do, if finances would allow it, is to quit school/work and have 1 baby (only want one). I’m just a homemaker with a scientific curiosity at heart. Well, that's probably way more than anyone wanted to know. Sorry for being so long-winded :)
Elizabeth
I am 46 and a straight female. I have six kids, but 2 are raised, one about to go to college in another year, and 3 "little" ones still at home. I am remarried (not the kids' dad) and he is an omni. He is also a traveling man and when he is not home we veg it. I have been a veggie off and on for about 30 yrs. I slip and come back to the fold. I have been doing the vegan thing (or trying hard) for about 3 yrs. I found out I am allergic to eggs and dairy, so if you are cutting out the meat too, you are vegan.
I have lupus and have a lot of pain, though I notice my recent protracted flare to be easing up finally!!! I am going to be trying out that fried unchiken on the kids tonight that I found here because I am well enough to stand in the kitchen long enough to cook today.
I have been disabled and have not worked in quite a while. It looks like I have about maneuvered my way into a retraining program and I hope to start my graduate school stuff after the first of the year. It seemed the best thing to retrain with since I can't stand for very long, can't walk very far or for very long and I have to rest in the afternoons. It sucks, but I am alive and hoping for better things in the future. I hope to teach in a couple of years.
I love this site and I can't remember how long I have been coming here. When I take a break and come back I am always surprised to read all the comments about my bulk cheese mix. I am glad I was of service.
I'm 37. I've been married for 16 years. I have two children: a daughter who is 11 and a son who is 9. I've been vegetarian for about 11 years and vegan for 7. My husband and children are also vegan.
I am a teacher. I taught high school history and government for many years, but for the past year I've been working in adult education. I spend half my time teaching GED classes and the other half coordinating a youth workforce program.
I've been hanging out here for about as long as I've been veg. I've seen a lot of changes take place, and I miss a lot of old faces. Ok - so they're faces I'd only pictured in my mind. But I still miss them.
I also have lupus, but I'm doing very well. My symptoms eased dramatically when I went vegan. I've found that sleeping 8 hours a day and drinking 80 ounces of water a day and exercising at least 1/2 hour a day help me tremendously.
I live in Kentucky for the time being, but our stay here will end in June. I couldn't be happier!
Greetings all
Thanks for the friendly push Tweety.
Like Ladydragonfly, I too am 46 years old and female. 1960 was a good vintage! I live a quiet, semi-rural life in the idyllic Waitakere foothills, on the western fringe of Auckland, New Zealand.
In terms of diet, while I am not vegan or even strictly vegetarian, my diet is, for the most part, vegetarian in nature. I eat very little red meat and cheese, some fish, dairy milk almost never. I prefer to eat mostly vegetables, grains, beans, tofu, pasta, soymilk and eggs(once every so often). My diet has been predominantly vegetarian since I was about 17 and in the ensuing years there have been several long periods of time when I ate no meat whatsover.
I have a raised, organic vegetable garden which provides a lot of pleasure, not to mention good food. Books, birds and film are passions of mine. I have a gorgeous 20 year old daughter, a 9 year old grimalkin and some great friends. And like Tweety, I also have a blog: http://www.doubteverything.blogspot. com
Cheers!
Rebecca :^)
Hey! Its so neat to read everyone's bio! Everyone is very accomplished! My name is Daphne and I am a 35 (GULP!! ::) ) year old married female. I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and I'm a student of History and anthropology at the U of Colorado, Colorado Springs. I am GRADUATING in DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o ;D ;D :D 8) :o ;D :D Not that I'm excited or anything. LOL. I am hoping to get a full time position as a wine rep for a company based in Denver, but until then, I'll take almost anything w/ a decent salary!
I have been vegan /vegetarian for quite some time now, but I have fell off the wagon a few times and had cheese or a little chicken from time to time in the past. I have issues with my vegetarianism b/c I feel soooo bad (like I bombed a final or something) when I have eaten meat or dairy. I know it sounds weird, but I really do strive everyday to avoid animal products of all kinds and I try to buy organic whenever possible and I seem to take it as kind of self-inflicted affront when I find myself in these situations. I KNOW I need therapy......don't remind me!!! ::) I live with my husband of 8 years and 4 cranky, crazy cats whom I adore. I love to hike and ride my bike on the many trails we have here...its so beautiful here I can't imagine living anywhere else except if we went back to Italy! ha! Well, it was really nice reading about everyone. I feel as if you are all real people now instead of a bunch of user ID's! ;) Take care...talk at ya later!
Hey all,
Good idea Tweety, we haven't done this in a long while, and there are so many new faces, and not so many old ones. I've been coming here for a long time, almost 9 years me thinks :o I lurk a lot, post infrequently, and just remembered my password again after forgetting it a few months ago...
I'm 29, married, with 2 1/2 year old fraternal twin boys (hence the 2 in my handle). ~Watch out Hopfrog, I only wanted one child to, but sometimes you get two for the price of one :D ~ We are owned by one rather grumpy, large, black cat.
We are lacto ovo vegetarian (I'll also eat Salmon if I have to and as long as I don't think about what I'm eating) Before I had the kids I was pretty darn close to vegan, but being preggers with two kinda messes with the body and tofu would send me running :-X Now that the boys are bigger getting them to eat is sometimes a challenge and cheese always goes over well with little ones. Luckly they won't eat meat, I've tried giving them salmon but they just ignore it on their plate.
We hale from Vancouver, BC and today it's gloriously sunny (don't worry, it will rain tomorrow). Hope you are all enjoying your day!
K^2
Good choice for a thread, Tweety.
I've been on vegweb (on and off), and a veg*n since 1998. Mostly vegan, but did some experimenting with cheese and eggs last semester. I have no plans on doing that anytime soon, and my digestive system thanks me for it.
I'm approaching 29 years old, female, married (4 years), two cats (Crookshanks and Phoebe), live near Boston, MA (poor ol' Sox), grad student (Archival Management in a Library and Information Science program). I'll graduate in December 2007, hopefully. I'm actually at school right now procrastinating before class this afternoon.
hey everyone,
this is so much fun- now we can put traits to people- like a mini-english assignment! i am 40 1/2 years old (proud of every year) divorced, one teenaged child, and i teach special education for junior high students with learning disablitiies. i have been vegan for 7 months and have not cheated once. i originally became interested in veganism because of boredom in cooking. i loved the way my old body changed after (i went from a 10 to a 7 and sometimes i can even squeeze all of my boodie in a 4.) i also enjoyed my reved up energy level and my rejuvenated taste buds. after about a month, i started doing research on farming, animal liberation, economics of the meat industry, and alternative medicines. i became hooked on more than the food. my life has changed because of this website and because of the vegan philosophy. i have become more aware, more tolerant, more serene, and much more compassionate. now i want to do more for the world because now i can see the world through loving and compassionate eyes. thanks for the wake up!! ;)
Hi all!
What a great idea Tweety to instigate this! I discovered this site after deciding to go vegan this May, so I am a newbie still. I have checked out a couple other veg sites, but I am most impressed by this one, probably- as ChristinaDawn already mentioned- the people here are so great and the Q&A site is a wonderful addition!
I am a 33 y/o female firefighter in the Kansas City metro area (Kansas, midwest USA- for those outside of States). I have a wonderful husband who is a bit of a workaholic and who originally hoped my veganism would be a passing fling, but who now grudgingly admits that there are some pretty tasty dishes (thanks to this site) and that (gasp!) it is probably more healthy, too. ::)
At the moment I have 2 spoiled-rotten horses, a pampered dog, and a few barn cats (whom we inherited when we bought our 20 acres) whom I had tamed down until I took them to be spayed and have now since gone wild and disappear except to eat the food I put out for them. :(
I love to be physically active, try new adventures, and be mentally stimulated. I grew up with 8 siblings (all full- and yes, my parents were crazy!) and it's interesting how we all can have such different views yet we all still love and accept each other. I believe that has helped shape me to be so accepting of others. Although I enjoy children and my horde of nieces and nephews- after babysitting so many of my younger siblings growing up- I do not plan on having any children of my own. Too selfish!! ;)
I really enjoy reading the different perspectives and advice the members here offer, along with the wonderful recipes!
- Tomina (Too me nuh) And, no- my parents weren't stoned-- you should hear my other siblings names!! ;)
Hey all,
What a wonderful break from working all day! I'm 30 years old, female, gay, and living in beautiful Western New York. I'm only mildly sarcastic on that last point. I love Buffalo. I'm originally from Montana, but I've been here for four years doing the neverending school bit.
I've been vegetarian for many years, and an aspiring vegan for just as many. When I started dating my vegan partner 2 years ago, she gave me that friendly and much-desired push over the edge into vegan-living. I can't imagine ever wanting to go back.
I spend most of my time reading, writing, teaching 18 year olds how to compose thesis statements, educating people about natural foods, and running on a treadmill as much as the rest of my schedule allows. Oh, and I love horror films. My oldest and furriest companion is my 12 year old, quarter bobcat, half Himalayan fuzzball cat, whom I love dearly.
I suppose that will do. Back to work!
Veg Web has saved my life....and my cooking! I think almost all of my recipes are derived from here if not copied exactly. I am 35 (but I feel 23), married 8 years with a 5 year old boy and one cat (our dog died a few months ago). I became vegetarian 2 weeks before I got married, so my husband thought he was marrying a semi-meat eater. I would only eat meat before if someone else prepared it....I couldn?t fathom the idea of touching raw meat. Then one day I finally realized how gross it was to chew up dead animals, so I quit eating meat entirely. I knew NADA about nutrition or cooking, so I started researching what to eat, and in the process realized how unhealthy it was, not to mention the torture endured on the animals and earth. So my initial ?meat is gross? reasoning has developed into a vegan lifestyle based on health, animal rights, and environment. I buy as many organic and unprocessed foods as possible too. Now I love to cook and look forward to every new recipe I find! I also feel better than I ever have health-wise.
I am not an activist, nor do I push my views on people, but I do explain my view points in a non-threatening manner (I think!). I am not militant about somethings when I am away from home because we all have to survive, and sometimes eating bread with whey in it, or eating a salad that my aunt Betty made especially for me with Worcestershire(sp?) sauce is better than starving to death or alienating myself and family who (try) to please me. I am of the belief that in the grand scheme of things, one might do more harm than good by squabbling over one tiny ingredient than he would if he just quietly digested the questionable ingredient (read the intro to Animal Ingredients A to Z...it makes perfect sense!). My husband has become semi-veg since then, and were are raising our son on a (mostly) vegan diet. My son is very accepting of it, and it is just natural for him. He asked me the other day, "?How did you know that I was vegetarian when I was born??".
I am originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area and received my degree from Ohio State. I taught art for 10 years in Florida, where I met my NY husband, and got pummeled by a hurricane, so we decided to move to North Carolina, where we live now. My husband is still teaching music and I am currently working at an historic hotel...hoping to land an art job again one day! We love the mountains, fresh air, younger demographics, culture, and greener way of life. There are many more veg options here, and vegetarians in general. My little town has its own veg restaurant.....we will probably live here forever.
My name is Laura. I'm 22 (23 on the 11th). I live with my parents. Work as a waitress. No husband, no boyfriend. (I'm not coming off so good in this am I?) Not too much to tell. I've never really liked meats that much. Sometime in middle school I stopped eating them altogther. THen started again during the last 2 years of high school. Then stopped eating meats again within the last 2 years. I guess I've been moving towards a vegan diet for about 5 months.
Edit: I'm 23 now. I live in a tiny apartment, work as a nurse's assistant, and just try to get by! I did become a vegan for a while, but now I eat lacto-ovo mostly and seafood sometimes. My son is 4. Still no husband or boyfriend.
Hi ;D My name is Janelle (or more commonly online, Jane). I'm 19 years old, bisexual, and a sophomore in college studying psychology (but I'm having a hard time sticking with it; ever since I started reading The China Study I've been VERY interested in possibly studying nutrition.)
I went vegan cold turkey 7 months ago and have never wanted to look back. :) I was never a big meat-eater in my family but I was the DAIRY QUEEN. (ha, ha.) And if I could drop the dairy for the animals, any vegetarian can. Anyway, going vegan is probably the best and most important decision I have ever made.
I'm starting a new part-time job at the mall tomorrow :) Woot!!
oh, i forgot to mention on my 'hiya' post yesterday- i am from chicago and i have never ever eaten a cookie i did not like! ;D ;D ;D
veronica
Thanks for posting everyone! I hope more people with introduce themselves soon. Nice to meet you!
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