Some people started doing it, not knowing what it was...
And they'll continue doing it forever...
Just because...
(Repeat)
No, I've not gone off the deep end; this is (kind of) the theme song from the little kids' show, "Lambchop's Sing Along". Does anyone else remember that show?
This survey-thing just keeps going on and on, doesn't it? I've been tagged yet again to list five facts about myself. But by now, I really cannot think of much else I haven't already shared. So, instead, I'm going to re-share the first meme I ever posted, since most of you didn't know me back then. For those of you who DID know me, I'm sorry for the repeat!
It always makes me feel so vain to write about myself; I think that, after this, I am going to go hide behind my protective chocolate-covered cloak and refrain from doing any more of these "5 Facts about Me" surveys for a while ;o).
K is for kind. As a vegan, I guess this one is a given. In my life, I’ve rescued-- and nursed back to health-- a rabbit, a parrot, an abused puppy, and many a spider caught in our house! I volunteer with two different organizations, and I’m also very involved in the charity I started up called Project Pillows, where we sew “Comfort Pillows” for kids going through Chemotherapy. I have another charity in the works-- wish me luck on it; I'm hoping to have it up and running in the next few months!!!
A is for artistic. I am absolutely crazy about anything and everything to do with art, be it scrapbooking, drawing, sculpting, even painting my nails, which are always decorated with stripes, spots, snowflakes… once I even made them into candy corns (yes, I know candy corn isn’t vegan, but it’s ok-- I don’t bite my nails!).
T is for tireless. I am an Energizer Bunny of energy; must be all the vegan food I consume! In high school I was on varsity tennis and soccer, and I’ve been an avid runner for the past few years. I’m also big into yoga and taking long walks with my two dogs.
I is for international. I never know what to say when people ask where I’m from. I was born in England and have also lived in Japan, Philadelphia, The Philippines, China, and Texas. My childhood was amazing-- I’ve gotten to visit so many countries (my first passport stamp was at 6 weeks old!) and learn about cultures vastly different from my own.
E is for English nerd :o)… actually I’m a language/grammar nerd in general. I love to read, expand my vocabulary, and study other languages. To illustrate my nerdiness, I got perfect SAT scores, am majoring in Spanish, know quite a bit of Chinese, and am currently studying Italian and Japanese. (But that’s the only area of my life in which I’m a nerd, I promise!)
35 comments:
I actually haven't read these facts about you before, so I'm glad you shared - don't feel vain. :)
And thanks for bringing up the Lambchop song - I for sure remember and love that song! I actually sang the tune along in my head while I was reading without even thinking where it came from...
I want to have a vegan cupcake-eating party with you too! I'll even bring my vegan cupcake expert friend. PARTY!
got any good chocolate-covered smoothie recipes that i could indulge in when i'm swollen up like a chipmunk?
Perfect SAT scores!! Impressive!! I love your post with the gecko haha. It was cute! I want to make something like you made. i've had sprouts for a while..
You are a lovely nerd, Katie! I've always been impressed with your many talents.
TWIN! You are SO smart! :) I'm so proud ;)
hey, even I remember lampchop! i'm probs one of the younger set of people that actually remember lambchop though.
and isn't lambchop a horribly unfortunate name ofr a lamb? so unvegan =D
and you're adorable!
you don't even have to post that "k" is for kind, it is incredibly apparent in all your posts! and i still think that gecko is so cute! did he ever get inside and take away your curry? i hear that geckos are crazy sneaky, and fast...hehehe..
wow a perfect SAT score?! that is amazing.
Just curious, why did you move around so much as a kid? Army family?? We moved around a lot too but that's just b/c mom changed her mind a lot lol... just around the US though
Teddy
Like vegan addict said, your kindness is always apparent!
I didn't know you were born in England? Where? You have to come back to England some day- London is great for vegans!
LOL - i used to LOVE the lambchop song... and it's really true, you can never get it out of your head ;)
I was crazy for Sherry Lewis and Lambchop as a kid! And yes, please add me to your blogroll, thanks for asking.
I think I remember this meme! But it's still fun to read again. Also, you have beautiful hair!
I watched a video of that song on YouTube once... thanks, now I've got it stuck in my head! :o)
you are adorable! i totally used to watch that show and sing the song at the end for hours & my mom would get sooo annoyed haha. don't feel bad about sharing about yourself - you're too modest and deserve to share your great qualities to everyone!
Wow, Project Pillows is such a wonderful idea! And I'm a total English nerd (and French).
Hi Katie, I'm a teenager and I'm currently exploring the world of vegan-eating and i would like to ask you a few questions.
I've noticed that lots of vegan bloggers are very fat phobic - i.e. they use very little/no oil in their cooking. Isn't oil like flax seed oil good for you?! or does no oil = healthy eating?!
I've notice that lots of vegan serves up meals that consist of only steamed/stir-fried vegetables (again with very little/no oil)and with very little amount of carbs. Is that really healthy eating, even the chinese/japanese eats more than that!
Also, do you agree that ppl are using vegan-eating to cover up their eating problems?? Do you believe in treating yourself with desserts/cookies in moderation?! I've read some vegan site that claimed that eating 'junk' food in moderation is NOT healthy - that got me really confused!
I'm so sorry for my long list of questions. I hope i don't offend any vegans out there, that is NOT my intention, it's just me and my curiosity, that's all :) have a great day
You do so many awesome things! Comfort pillows, volunteering at the animal shelter, and some other stuff that I can't remember but I know I've read about on your blog! Yea for you! That's awesome!
Haha I think when people read our comments they'll just be jealous that they won't be getting a giant banana in the mail :)
I am so in awe of your language skills and perfect SATs- wow!
Hey nat,
Actually I agree with you on EVERYTHING you said! I always shake my head when I see sites where the girls are very skinny and yet they’re stir-“frying” in water or trying to omit oil in everything they eat because they are afraid of the fat. I am always trying to tell people to not worry so much about oils, as some fat is not only ok to consume, it’s NECESSARY for a healthy diet! And you’re right—oils such as olive oil provide healthy fats. No oil does NOT equal healthy eating!
Unfortunately, people are being given a misinformed view, when they read some of these blogs, of what constitutes healthy vegan eating.
Yes yes yes, I believe in treating oneself in moderation! After all, life is short, so wouldn’t you rather enjoy it than look back on your life and be like, “I’m so perfect because I never ate any junk food!”? “Perfect” people are sooooo boring ;o). Plus, I feel like if you are stressing out about having to eat a “perfect” diet all the time, the stress is unhealthier for you than the “non-perfect” foods you’re scared of eating.
And once again, yes, I do agree that sadly many people, it seems, are using veganism to mask an eating disorder; or they do not even realize that they have an eating disorder because they truly believe that what they are doing is healthy. But as a rule, anyone who feels guilt in association with food (i.e. “I shouldn’t have eaten that cookie because it contained sugar, fat, etc.) is not demonstrating a healthy relationship with food. Eating is meant to be enjoyed. I’m sure you’ve seen the blogs that are taking “being healthy” to such an extreme that it is actually UNhealthy—the blogs of girls who are not overweight and yet are partaking in scary behaviors such as avoiding all fats, eating spaghetti squash instead of pasta, not allowing themselves to eat sugar, and most of all, cooking decadent treats for others that they will not allow themselves to taste (it’s a HUGE eating disorder red flag when someone enjoys cooking for others but doesn’t eat any of the treats).
I’m not trying to put down ANY blogs or bloggers out there—you all should know by now that I love you!!! Sometimes I just worry about some of you because you’re all so sweet and I want you to be able to enjoy life to its fullest and relish in the pleasure that should come from eating a chocolate chip cookie! Please don’t take this message to sound holier-than-thou, as that was not my intent. I am not a perfect person; far from it! Anyway, thanks for the questions, nat. Here are some blogs I recommend of young vegans who DO seem to have healthy eating habits, who eat healthily but will treat themselves in moderation (I’ll just give you three examples): rubyredvegan.blogspot.com http://eatingwiththerabbits.wordpress.com
walkingtheveganline.blogspot.com
i love reading these!
hope you don't catch too mistakes in my posts!
You sound super-cool! I'm an English-freak too. Don't you dare mispell anything! ;)
Fun to learn more about you. And I must say you're a gorgeous young lady--must be all that good vegan chow--and the fact that you're from Philly ;)
Andrea,
Thank you so much; your beautiful comment meant so much to me.
The rest of you,
I'll be commenting on your blogs sooooon (read: tomorrow, or after I finish the huge essay I should be writing at this very moment)
Why have you moved so much? That's so cool!
For some reason my comment didn't come up...weird.
Anyway, I wanted to say that your comments to nat were right on the nail and I couldn't agree more.
Also, WOW, you have lived all over the place! It's about time you came down and visited New Zealand now!
Hi chocolate covered vegan! I've never commented before (well, one time when I used to have my own blog I commented-but I since deleted it because I didn't think I was ready to take on a blog yet...haha). I just wanted to tell you I read your blog every day and LOVE IT!! I was wondering, are you still trying to gain weight? I was trying for a while but kind of gave up, it just wasn't working and I was really full (uncomfortably) all the time. ugh. I've been eating lots of nut butters and nuts though, and I'm still not gaining weight!
Dear Katie,
thanks so much for your reassuringly sane comments in response to Nat's query; I'm so glad to hear a really healthy perspective on veganism and eating in general being espoused. I've had a restrictive eating disorder myself in the past and whilst being drawn to veganism for ethical reasons have really been put off embracing it by reading vegan blogs that I sense use veganism to mask a puritanical obsession with restricting food intake in various ways. Thanks again for expressing a healthy, balanced alternative.
Maya
OMG! Katie you are so sweet to reply my message! Thanks so much, yes I read Ruby Red Vegan too... I love it ^^ - i think she got me onto waffles hahaha!! Yea, it's just that, I came across a vegan blog (which I will not name)and she claims that she doesn't cook with oil because heat ruins all the nutritional properties of it or something and she was saying something about everyone should completely STOP EATING junk food i.e.: moderation is NOT the key ... meh! yawnsss hahaha! By the way I love your blog too, can i please have the recipe for your curry stir fry? thanks
Oh no, the Lambchop song is going to be stuck in my head all day now, lol!
I am so bad - I have been tagged 4 times and haven't posted my 20 things yet. Shameful!
Nat—Yeah, there are quite a few blogs out there like that, and it’s just very sad because obviously these girls are struggling, and many of them don’t even realize that they have a problem, but I feel helpless to help them! I just wish their parents/teachers/friends in the real world would step up and help them…
Anyway, here’s my favorite curry recipe: http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/2007/11/dont-worry-make-curry.html
And thanks so much for loving my blog!!!
Maya—you are very welcome, girl :o). And thank YOU, for your sweet comments.
Caith—My dad works in international insurance, so he’s moved our family all over. I’ve loved the adventures; I wouldn’t give it up for anything! (Of course, it’s also nice to be in college and be settled in to one place for a while.)
VTgirl—It’s comments like yours that really make blogging worth the effort. So thank you for the nice comments! If you’re looking for good ways to gain weight, please feel free to email me! (veggieprincess@msn.com)
Andrea—thank you so much :o). Your kind words were VERY much appreciated!
Hey Katie!
Happy St George's Day!
Bit ironic having him as our St considering he never set foot in England!!
Where in England where you born if you don't mind me asking?
Best wishes
Sue from dear old Blighty!
That should be where in England WERE you born!
Bit late, haven't got spelling head on ;o)
Hey Sue!
I was born in Pembury Hospital (in Kent). We lived in a house called "The Little Brown Cottage". How cute is that?!
love the photo and the KATIE "poem" :)
Hi Katie
"The Little Brown Cottage" sounds lovely!
Have you visited anywhere else in the UK?
Sue
xx
Sadly, I haven't gotten the chance to go back to England since I was five. I really want to, though, and my sister is doing a study-abroad program in London next year, so maybe I can visit her!
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