As Bowie sang, “Ch-ch-changes, just gonna have to be a different man…” and it’s time for me to become not a different woman, but a better and healthier woman.

I’ve been wanting to go vegan in the way of food for a while. I will even painfully give up cheese. CHEESE. Meaning GOAT CHEESE. Oh, how I love goat cheese, but alas going vegan in the way of a diet means no more. I will start my transition from being 99.99% current vegetarian to 100% for the rest of April and then spend May transitioning into being a vegan. I know there will be slip ups along the way and I won’t punish myself or give up. I know I have to be 100 times more conscious of what I am eating and putting in my body. I have to read the labels better and stay strong at work where free food flows like a broken ATM shoveling money into a street. The work part will be the hardest part, but I know I can do it. I’m not doing this for any other reason than I’m doing this for me and my body. It’s feels healthier when it is fueled by plants instead of dead animals. It always has and I am completely okay with it.

Along with making a conscious effort to eat clean (which to me is less processed foods, more organic, more fruits and vegetables), I gave up coffee and for the love of all that is holy, giving that up is 100 times harder than giving up a bacon wrapped steak. At least the morning headaches have subsided since that was truly the only caffeine I had during the day. Currently my go to “morning” jolt is peppermint tea since it’s been helping with the wicked sinus pains I have from allergies (thank you @ElmntsofMadness & @entityflux for sharing this solution).

So with my dietary needs on a new track, I also started running again. I honestly don’t know how long I can keep this part of the healthy changes in my routine because the pain it causes in my knees is almost at “breakdown in tears and military crawl home level”. (Meaning, it hurts like a mother fucker.) I am currently in run-walk mode, so I should restate that I am running-walking again. The weather which isn’t snowing but downright cold or chilly, maybe playing a huge part in aggravating the pain in my knees, but I’m active. I fell off the being active wagon after I completed my first and only half-marathon. After doing it, I just wanted to be sloth like and now, I don’t want to be sloth like. I want to be a fit sloth…if one exists. Just not in in a gym. I find it ridiculous to shovel out money for a membership when I can run, walk, bike, and whatever for free. Grant it, you have to use the free and if you use the gym membership for what it’s worth, I am not judging you. In fact, go you.

Finally, in the land of changes, it is just to write more and continue to push the boundaries of my comfort zone when it comes to own writing. I did that while writing The Sound of Madness and want to continue to write things that make me step away from the screen and just say wow.