Spring is here!

Today is March 21st; the first day of Spring. Here in Dallas, it was sunny and warm with a high of 82. It was one of those days that made it difficult for anyone to be in a bad mood. Everything seemed to be alive and awake, growing and thriving.  I woke up earlier than usual this morning and had a light cardio workout, followed by a yummy bowl of Kashi cereal (my favorite) and 2 cups of coffee.

Work was productive and I was able to take care of a lot of administrative things I have been meaning to do. When I left my office, it was still clear and warm outside. I would have put the top down if I had a pony-tail holder with me, but instead I had to settle for rolling the windows down. I listened to some of my favorite tunes, The Doves as I made my way home, and I gave a homeless man on the corner of the street an orange.

I was too sleepy to work out immediately when I got home, as I usually do, so I decided to lay down and take a quick snooze. This turned into an hour-and-a-half nap. I woke up, reoriented myself and threw on some workout sweats. I decided to work out in my living room with all of the doors open and music blaring overhead. The cats kept fighting and interrupting my workout, but I just yelled at them every once in awhile and they knocked it off. After I was finished, Blake and I made a fresh dinner with the veggies we bought from the Dallas farmers market yesterday and watched an unbelievable sunset over the skyline. It was a great day, and a perfect way to start off the week, and new season. I truly am blessed to live in such a wonderful place, with amazing friends and family close by.

Knox meets Nora

My Christmas present this past year from my amazing boyfriend Blake was another Bengal kitten (I already have one). If you know how much I love cats, you can only guess how ecstatic I was! Blake surprised me by having me open a box that contained a picture of a kitten. At first glance I was a bit confused, but after about 5 seconds of processing why he would give me a picture of a kitten for Christmas, I freaked out! It was the perfect gift and I decided to name her Nora.

In case you have never met or seen a Bengal cat, they look like miniature leopards. The name is a bit deceiving because they are bred from an Asian Leopard, not a Bengal tiger as the name would imply. While they have the coat of a leopard, they are only a bit larger than a typical domestic cat. Fans of the breed like to claim that Bengals have personalities similar to dogs. They can learn to fetch, they like water, they love being around humans, they are extremely active, and they are typically very vocal.  All in all, they are pretty cool cats.

My first Bengal kitten was Knox. I went through a breeder (cheetahsdenbengals.com) to find him. When I adopted him, he was already about 7 weeks old. Most accredited  Bengal breeders have a policy of not releasing the kitten until it is at least 12 weeks old. This is fine and completely understandable, but it makes the anticipation of waiting to bring your kitten home excruciating. I consider myself a patient person, but for some reason waiting for a new baby kitty drives me crazy!

Anyway, back to Knox. After waiting  5 weeks, I was able to bring him home last May. Ever since he became a part of the family, my life has become much more interesting! At first he drove us crazy because he was clawing everything in the house, especially our leather furniture, but has since become more mindful. He still cries whenever you leave the room, cries when our 7:00AM alarm goes off until you feed him (so much for snoozing), and loves to play a game called "Attack Shannon whenever she walks by". Needless to say, I often have claw-marks and scratches all down my legs and arms. While we love having the little guy around, I was beginning to feel as though Knox was bored. With Blake and I gone most of the day, Knox is alone a lot... something that is not ideal for a Bengal. So when Blake adopted another kitten for us, my mind was eased at the idea of giving Knox a companion.

Well, after three long months of waiting... and waiting... and waiting... we finally brought baby Nora home this past Wednesday. She is such an Angel! Unlike Knox, she loves to snuggle and cuddle. She is much more affectionate, and less aggressive. She has the most beautiful, feminine face with piercing brown eyes and a squatty little body that is so adorable it would make a die-hard dog lover convert .

When we first brought her home and tried to introduce the two, it went much worse than we had hoped. Obviously, I didn't expect for Nora to jump out of her carrier and greet Knox with a big hug while Knox held a hand-painted "Welcome Home" sign, but I guess I had higher hopes than what actually happened.  

The second Knox noticed the foreigner in the house he started growling a deep, wild growl I have never heard him emit. He was hissing furiously at her, but to our surprise she simply counteracted his aggression by sniffing his nose. She's a brave one! Unfortunately, that entire first night Knox was enraged and wouldn't even let us go near him. Nora just continued to play and prance around, even as he hissed directly at her. This same pattern repeated the following day and night, although the severity of Knox's anger subsided slightly. Finally, he lightened up some yesterday when he realized that Nora didn't mind it when he chased her. A light switched on in his head and he discovered that she might just be fun to have around.

Now it is Saturday and they are doing MUCH better together. They have been chasing each other (in a playful manner) all day long and Knox has only become frustrated with her once or twice all day.  I am highly impressed with their progress and am now confident that they are going to be best friends!

Make sure to check my "Cats" album on my website as I will be updating pictures to include the two playing soon!

Why am I a Vegetarian?

I am asked this question often, especially during pageant interviews. People always want to know why I don't eat meat. Is it because I am an animal rights activist? Is it because my parents don't eat meat? Is it because I am a weirdo hippie? Well, the truth is that I just don't like it!

Ever since I was old enough to recall eating, I have turned down meat. As a child my parents would try to insist that I eat it, but I was always disgusted by the idea of chewing on flesh. Of course I love animals, but I honestly believe that God put them on this earth for humans to consume and use for various needs like warmth, shelter, etc. I am not offended when other people buy/cook/order/cosume meat... I just don't want it in MY belly.

You might even say I am borderline Vegan. I don't eat eggs, I don't drink milk, and I am turned off by some other dairy products. Again, this boils back down to the fact that I just don't like it. I don't like the taste, I don't like the texture, and I don't like the smell. I have never even tried/tasted an actual steak in my entire life and honestly, I have no desire to.

Another question I am often asked is "How do you get enough protein?" The truth is that I probably don't get enough... but I certainly try. I eat meat substitutes, lots of soy products, any kind of whole grains with increased protein like Quinoa or Kashi cereal, and protein shakes daily. However, I haven't always been this conscious about my health. As a child, I could care less if I took in enough protein or vitamins. It didn't hit me until I was about 17 that I probably don't get enough nutrients in my diet.

Now, I'm kind of obsessed with making sure that I am eating properly for more than one reason. I won't go into detail about my dad's heart health just yet, but I will say that due to his extreme heart issues I am much more concerned for my own future state of health and try to promote heart health awareness as much as I can.

Please feel free to ask me any vegetarian related or heart health related questions! I am happy to help or give my insight!!