Days 223 - 230

I can't believe how fast the time seems to be passing. Within the course of less than a year, I've lost weight, gained it back and gone Vegan. There is more to say on the subject of being Vegan, but first I want to share a bit about Office Essentials this week. I'm keeping it simple this week again with just lipstick, lip

Pretty lips and a powdered nose!

gloss, powder foundation (for touch-ups) and hand cream. The lip products are from BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie line. The lipstick is in the shade Speak Your Mind. A lovely pink that is quite close to the tone of my own lips. The gloss is in the shade Spark Plug, which is very similar in color of the lipstick. These were both items included in a value sample kit purchased at Sephora late last year. The powder foundation is a sample of Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Foundation Powder in shade #04. I purchased a full size of the powder as I found the sample to be a perfect match for me, color wise anyway and I loved the finish of the powder foundation. The sample is such a nice one and it is very easy to tote! I use the full size at home and keep the sample tucked neatly into a small make-up tool kit I carry in my handbag. The hand cream is from L'Occitane; Shea Butter Hand Cream. The mirror is my favorite from the Hello Kitty Wild Thing line. This week the focus is on simple beauty.

Okay, so about being Vegan...yes, I'm still holding onto my goal. I really do believe that eating this way is helping me. Gone is the stomach pain I had trying to digest meat, but I am missing cheese more than you can imagine. I'm going to keep going as I am for now. But that cheese in the refrigerator is calling my name...I'd love to eat some, but then I wouldn't. I'll see how long I can keep it going!

I did learn that there are a couple of things I don't like:

1. Vegan cheese is just nasty and if you are trying to simulate cheese, stop it...stop it right now and just have some real cheese, please!
2. Fake meat is kind of like the cheese. If you miss meat so much, please just eat it.
3. I don't really like the label: Vegan. I think it is limiting and I'm not in this to wave a flag around!
4. I am hungry...all the time now. I find that I have to eat lots more frequently to keep from passing out!
5. I thought that Vegan would equal healthy and that just isn't the case. You still have to pay close attention to what you're eating. There is just no substitute for a focused, balanced diet.

So, for me, I won't call myself a Vegan. My label is Nancy, HumbleVoyager or even HV! Here is how I'm going to describe my diet:

I Eat Food; the kind my grandmother would recognize as food

Not too much

Mostly plants

That's the crux of it! I refuse to be labeled. I am my own woman and I eat what I want. I don't happen to want to eat cheese or meat at the moment and I might look like I'm a Vegan, but really I don't want to be tagged as such. It's good to keep learning about yourself! I would have never dreamed that I would have such a negative reaction to a label and the life limitations it presents.

Well, that's it for this time span.  It's been days, but trying to figure out what to eat and how to eat it take lots of time and energy. For now, I'm eating a plant strong diet and I'll be taking the cheese and eggs thing one day at a time. Thanks for stopping by and checking in. So, until tomorrow when I'll share more about life with Nancy, Godspeed, Voyagers!