Polyester pants and pleather shoes

Selecting what to wear today was a bit challenging. No leather, no silk, no wool. Last night I went on-line to study veganism and plan my day…from what to wear to what to eat, today was very calculated.

According to wikipedia: Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.^[1][2] Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind.^[3]

I had several meetings today…so it was important for my vegan clothing to look appropriate. After checking several labels, I found a purple polyester jacket and brown polyester slacks (not nearly as atrocious as you might think). Shoes were a bit more challenging and a handbag even more of a challenge. But thank god for the nine west things I held on to- all pleather…off to work…peanut butter in hand.

Our intern is a huge Chipotle fan so she suggested we go there for lunch. She’s up on the hip best places for vegetarians. No sooner than I told her I had never met a vegan…I was introduced to Chip who whipped up the MOST delish salad. Have you ever tried their salad dressing. Heaven. I’ll have dressing with a salad on the side next time. So within the span of a few minutes, I had two new things to report…a real life vegan and a first time lunch at Chipotle. Seriously – my new favorite. If you ever need a partner in crime for a quick bite, I’m in!

My day as a vegan was almost over, but not before a little yoga to help digest all of those beans and a quick rinse in the shower….no soap, no deoderant…and I was off to Bunko. Bunko girls wanted to make sure everyone knew that I didn’t use soap or deodorant yesterday…so if I was a bit stinky….my apologies. I wasn’t sure if my current products were vegan friendly and I wanted to make sure I did this new thing correctly.

All in all a good day. My stomach was a little upset at the end of the day. Certainly not accustomed to so many fibrous foods. Let me also note, that being a vegan is not conducive to South Beach…which is my normal way of eating. Being a vegan was challenging. Hats off to those who are…but give me some leather pumps and big steak!

Pay it forward

Today’s new activity was sooooo fun. I had some errands to run during lunch so I stopped by Chik-fil-A for an iced tea (thanks W. for the tea recommendation). While in line waiting for my drink, I remembered KD’s suggestion and decided today was the day to pay it forward, afterall Karma was not working on my side last week. I was the last in line for a few minutes…but hey it was 12:15 on a sunny day. I knew the line would amass behind me…and it did. The lucky driver of a purplish two door Pontiac pulled in behind me.

Bingo- my lucky winnner: a middle aged woman with blondish hair.  Thoughts swirling in my head about who she was. All the time, hoping she wasn’t placing an order for 12 kids who were home from school on Spring break. So exciting. Quick post on facebook, and it was my turn to pay.

I was kind of nervous. Defintely butterflies in my stomach. Tried to play it cool and told the lady that I’d like to pay for the person behind me. She smiled and asked me if I knew this person in the purplish Pontiac. I very proudly said no. She told me that she once read that for every one person who does this, 7-8 people will pay it forward  just by hearing the stories.

Pay it forward people. Next time you swing by a fast food drive through consider doing a nice gesture for someone else. It’ll make you feel so good from the inside out. And….you never know when you might be the one of receiving end!

Tomorrow- I’m going Vegan for the day! Let me know if you have any pointers. Don’t think I know any vegans.