Wanted: One True Vegan Fortress

So, our hunt for the new Vegan Fortress begins.

Jon and I were recently approved for a house loan and have started the giant worldwide (ok, so maybe just Eastern Cleveland-wide) search for our new even better Vegan Fortress. Really our current Vegan Fortress, although fortress-like, is just a 1200 sq. ft. second floor apartment, placed so conveniently above a hamburger-loving fool. So, we really need to find something great to be our true Vegan Fortress.

Although we have only been out one day, I have fallen in love. Actually twice, but I retract the first fall. They are both wonderful houses, but in the first, I have suspicions of more than ghosts and boogiemen lurking in the depths of the basement. The second is what has come to be known as the Gingerbread House. Adorable from the outside, tons of quirky personality on the inside, I can picture Jon and myself living in this house. We promised our Real Estate Agent, Jesse, that we will look at 15 more houses, and we will. I just cannot make any promises that the Vegan Fortress de Gingerbread will not be dancing in the back of my mind.

And who knows, we may find an even better Vegan Fortress on our continuing search for the perfect house...something a little sturdier than gingerbread, like peanut brittle.

Happy Birthday Dad.

So, today is my Dad's 49th Birthday. I only wish he was here to celebrate it. Before he passed away, I had thought about throwing him a 50th birthday party, after hearing about how other people did that for their parents. He probably would have been mad at us for spending the money on him and making a big deal, but in the end I think he would have appreciated it.

Since my birthday is exactly 2 weeks before my Dad's, we always celebrated them together at Grandma's. Now I feel as though I lost my birthday partner. And I am squeezed in with the May-June birthdays.

It's been a rough year. I hate life without my Dad. Without him, my mom has been given free reign (and money) to let out the crazy. My sister and brother no longer speak, and I am forever trapped in the middle of every argument. Most of the time, I feel like I have no family. The only person that took the time to mail a birthday card was my best friend, Emily. My Dad never forgot my Birthday, his card always arrived on time, and his checks never bounced.

Are birthdays one more thing I'm going to have to add to my list of things to hate?

So Happy Birthday Dad, I hope you know how much I miss you.

Wow, I am really bad at this whole blogging thing.

So, it has been about 4 months since my last blog update....I am really bad at this. I think the only reason I am writing this is because my friend and new roommate, Melissa, mentioned that yesterday, part of her productive day, included writing a new blog.

Speaking of roommates though, the ex-roommate keeps trying to start drama with Jon and myself. I just don't get it. We've been over this situation for about 2 months now and she is STILL talking about it. I wish she would just get the hint that WE DON'T CARE. She can reference us all she wants in her facebook, twitter, myspace...whatever- but it's funny because we don't follow her in any of those, so we don't read them! Oh well, if she needs the extra drama in her life, thinking that we're worried about what she says about us, then so be it. We have a lot more important, fufilling things going on in our lives.

Enough about that. We have Foster kittens again!!!! Kirby and Kendall, cutest kittens ever.

We foster through the Geauga Humane Society/Rescue Village and get excited about every new litter of kittens we get. This is the third group of kittens we've fostered.

Next Quarterly Brinner will be held Wednesday May 6...Mexican Themed in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Make sure to RSVP on Facebook. I've heard rumors of a breakfast burrito bar and dessert tacos made of pancakes. Everything vegan of course, when at the Vegan Fortress.

Vegan Pocket of the Day:

Some boxes of instant Jell-o Pudding Flavors are vegan. Hooray!

I'm Breaking Up With Christmas.

I loved Holidays. I admit it. I was one of those people who get excited over mundane, stupid things like holidays. I decorate, I bake, I throw parties, I even get married on them. I go nuts. But this year was different.
My Dad also liked holidays. He loved spending time with the family, watching cheesey Christmas movies, eating whatever vegan treats I brought from Cleveland and having wrapping paper wars at his sister's house.
Christmas just does not feel the same anymore without him. I still decorated, baked, and spent time with family...but it felt...wrong. As much as I wanted to have a good time and make it a wonderful first Christmas for Olivia, things were just depressed and empty.
Christmas night, Jon and I went to the cemetery and brought my Dad some chocolates I had made. I wished the ground would have opened up and absorbed them, so I would know they reached my Dad. Or better yet, if a light had shown down as they slowly ascended into the night air. But, neither of those things happened. Instead sprinkled with my tears, they lay in the snow, probably to be eaten by a raccon or squirrel by morning.

Today, January 3rd, I am grateful the holidays are over. I hate them. They bring nothing but sadness and a longing that will never be filled. My sister, Cassi, when Jon and I saw her Dec. 23rd, said something that I now finally agree with. She said she was cancelling Christmas this year and instead celebrating "Cassi Day". I now understand what she meant when she said that in the cleared out, emptiness of my Dad's house.
Let's celebrate Cassi Day.