i'm a meat eating VEGETARIAN :)

Based on the things i've been eating this past week, you would in NO WAY guess that I was a full pledged vegetarian just a month ago! Yep, 4 1/2 years completely meatless (except that time chris PROMISED that he brought home a cheese taquito and we were both surprised when i took a huge bite and found pork inside... and that time i TORE UP some of cute-will's mom's homemade dip until I found out it was loaded with bacon, lol).

Yep, vegetarianism wasn't a diet... it was a LIFESTYLE! And an easy one at that! You see, I ate the exact same thing any other "meat eater" would eat, just prepared in a different way! I used meat substitute, soy protein, etc. It was quite an easy transition for me bc i've never really been a big meat eater! I was one of the few, the PROUD, the vegetarian!

I've never been a card carrying member of PETA... in fact, i've said millions of times that I don't think there's anything wrong with eating meat and vegetarian's are necessarily any healthier than anybody else. I personally was against the growth hormones and preparation of meat and so i chose not to eat it. Was that my primary reason, maybe, maybe not. It's a tough question to answer to be honest.

Another common misconception was that I "forced" my daughter to be a vegetarian. SO NOT TRUE!! Chris and I have never forced her to do anything... is it even possible to force a baby/toddler to do anything in life? lol. However, let me be clear that I did withhold introducing her to meat because I wanted to lay a solid foundation for her as far as eating is concerned. Lots of children won't eat vegetables bc they don't have a solid foundation of eating them. I started off feeding her vegetables so vegetables would be all that she knew for a while. Then came fruit (sugar), then came meat. I have been and still am EXTREMELY INTENTIONAL in feeding Cady. I make it a point to feed her at least 1 rainbow a day! I never bought her baby food. I made it with fresh ingredients every day from the time she was 6 months until she was 1 year old. For the first 6 months, I did exactly what the experts recommend and she exclusively ate (drank) breast milk. "Normal" people may have thought that was strange, but i researched and did exactly what every pediatric specialist/professional/expert in nutrition recommended... so yes, i'm guilty, i listened to the experts instead of them, lol. We laid a foundation which introduced her to nothing but healthy, non processed food. I was very very intentional in that! And i'm proud to say that my daughter makes very good eating choices because of that :) She still chooses leafy greens over non healthy stuff and that makes me smile :) Rarely do we feed her anything that's not home made... but i'm normal and have been known to feed her a kid's meal a time or two ;) But do I feed her avacado's with her Sonic kid's meal?? SURE DO! Gotta have something green on that plate, lol

Now, with that being said, I told chris that I was thinking about reintroducing meat into my system. I did think this through because there are a whole lot of benefits to being vegetarian. It was soooo easy on my system! I mean, i was able to digest food in a matter of minutes it seemed like. I rarely got that "heavy" feeling unless i really did eat too much.

Well, let's rewind to about 3 weeks ago... being the smart vegetarian I am I know that reintroducing would be a sorta slow process and i needed to start with either chicken or turkey...i chose chicken and to be honest, was NOT impressed in the least! Didn't matter if i cooked it or ordered it, i just was not a fan! The texture was weird, the taste was weird and i just wasn't impressed. Chris said the texture that I felt from eating chicken was comparable to the texture others felt when i made them eat my vegetarian "meat" haha. My bad guys :) After the first 3 days I told chris i was going back to my ways but first wanted to try something else........

and that's when I started eating turkey! It was week 2. I made teryaki turkey legs and they were DELICIOUS! Not so great as left overs. But great otherwise.

I'm thinking, ok, i can stick to turkey and be fine :) .... until i was making Cady some spaghetti and was blowing her ground beef to cool it off and i tasted the juice... then i took a bite.... and that is when i found TRUE LOVE!!! I've been hooked since that first day!! haha I've had spaghetti, hanburgers, taco's, sloppy joes...all things that I ate prepared in the vegetarian way but it was NOTHING in comparison to the deliciousness i felt from ground beef! I'm already planning on eating taco's for breakfast :)

I will say that beef is EXPENSIVE!!! I hold true to my word and only buy all natural, meat with no added hormones, etc. A pound of ground beef is about $6 for the 98% fat free, all natural stuff. The hormone added, 80/20 meat is about $1.99/pound. I'm not happy about the price but I think it's worth it. I'm sure i'd be singing a different tune if I had to feed more than 2 1/2 people though, lol. I get chicken and turkey at central market and surprisingly, it's not too expensive!! It's the same price as regular meat at Kroger. Maybe Central Market will have their beef on sale this weekend! I'm balling on a budget ya know!

I do feel "heavy" after eating beef in particular, so when the package says 4 servings, i usually stretch it to 6 servings.

Sooooo, with that being said, I, ERIKA J. KNOX, THE PROUD VEGETARIAN, LOVES BEEF! :) Could I go back to being a vegetarian? Of course, very easily! And I probably will end up going back one day i'm sure. I plan on eating meat only a few times a week.

But not now... not today! I'm eating tacos!!!

XoXo- the meat eating vegetarian :)

DUH.... opposites attract

We live in a society where people get to chose their spouse... in some cultures, your spouse is chosen for you!

I'm almost 100% POSITIVE no online dating service would match me and Chris.

But somehow, we found each other and after more than 9 years together are are still very much so in LOVE... and in LIKE, on most days, lololol.

If there's one thing you notice right off the back when you meet me and christopher and learn that we are married, it's the fact that we are almost polar opposites! LOL And yes, i say that with a smile :)

Chris is a man of few words! He may not talk alot, but he makes darn sure that what he says counts (many of you know what i'm talking about). He chooses his words very carefully, is soft spoken, and has been 30 years old since the day I met him if you know what I mean, lol. Chris, thinks before he speaks. If you ever wonder why you've been around chris for months or even YEARS and have barely heard him say 3 sentences, let me give you a heads up... he is watching you... studying you... and is very much into the conversation so when he does speak, make darn sure you LISTEN because it will probably be quote worthy, and you will probably want to take notes!!! He is very neutral so if you ask for his opinion he will give you a very wise answer that has insight and will probably open your eyes to a different light. I totally love that about him! He will tell you and FULLY SUPPORT you when you are right.... but when you are wrong, you will know it too! I have the pleasure of being his wife so he'll pretty much have my back on anything, HA :) lol

Me on the other hand, i will talk about everything and it don't mean NOTHING! I talk often, i talk loud, i talk long, i talk talk talk! I love conversation. I can probably talk about any subject that any one in the world brings up and will probably have a strong opinion on the matter. It's hard for me to be neutral. My opinion is based on either a personal experience or what I THINK YOU SHOULD DO or should have done, lol. Though I may not always be right or accurate, i can guarantee you will at least be amused by what I have to say. Chris says i say stuff for shock value. I recognize that not everyone gets my sarcasm or sense of humor, like when I introduce him to people as "my first husband, Chris..." or the day after I gave birth and the lady came by to pick up the birth certificate and i asked her if we would still need a paternity test even though he signed the birth certificate... I recognize that I say things that are random. I often speak before I think. But i NEVER intend on being rude or offensive.

Chris is very organized, very responsible. Me on the other hand, I like to consider myself a free spirit ;)

Chris is tall, I'm short and proud of it.

Chris has 15/15 perfect vision... i have 70/80 vision, and the $135 eye exam bill to go with it :(

Chris is very calm and i NEVER raises his voice... EVER!!! I will yell in a minute! Not in a mean way, but just to be loud and hear myself talk :)

Chris lets me practice my Nikita moves on him every thursday, and i get to practice my Italian/new jersey accent after each episode of the Cake Boss.

Chris is far from perfect... and so am I... only Jesus is..... however, we are PERFECT for each other.

And because of those oppositions, I understand why people would never in a million years put us together... but you know what people... WE WORK!!! and we work great :) Chris calms me down, and i liven him up and because Christ is the center of our relationship, we have 9 years down, and 100 more to go :)

x0x0 - E.J. Knox

THE day-- "V" day

It's always fun to hear people talk about how their boy/girl friend or wife/husband treated them extra special and bought them super sweet and romantic gifts for Valentines day. In my mind, i'm like, why couldn't she/he show you all that love on Feb 13...why do they have to wait for a hallmark holiday? I never really get it. honestly!

Poor Chris, right? EXACTLY! LOL. I don't like chocolate, i don't like flowers, teddy bears get thrown somewhere in the back of the closet, gifts will probably be lost, and overall, I would prefer he NOT "prove his love" on the same day other people in a relationship go and "prove" theirs.

I mean, don't get me wrong.... i appreciate the cards that he gives me :) I usually get 2 cards. 1 funny one, followed by one "serious" one that always has nice hand written letters inside. I LOVE those :)

I pretty much never buy him any thing for V day. I will hand write him a card or something. I can NEVER find a card that says exactly what I want to say to him, so i just write my own.

We have never really made a big deal over this holiday. I mean, we may have the first few months we were dating. I remember he gave me a singing bear, and made me this HUUUUGGGGEEEE card with the gigantic construction paper :) It was nice and sweet. At that time he didn't know that that was not my love language and it was really thoughtful of him :)

One v-day, he left a fake rose on my car (we lived in the same apartments) with a handwritten note about how roses are always beautiful but the beauty fades but how i'm beautiful and like the artificial flower's beautify will never fade, neither will mine :) SO SWEET, right! :) A few days later we got engaged, so it was just a set up ;0

I read on FB how someone's husband woke up super early and made her breakfast while her kids were still sleep and though I agree that was soooo sweet and thoughtful, all i could think about that would be an epic fail if that were my husband doing that! i HATE breakfast, and the thought of eating before 2 hours of me waking up would suck lol.

Other people talk about what gifts they received and blah blah... again, would be an epic fail.... gifts is NOT my love language and RARELY am i impressed with any gift i've ever received. Don't confuse that with me not appreciating gifts! I do appreciate them :) But u know the saying "it's the thought that counts" well, that's me! I'd rather someone be extrememly THOUGHTFUL and buy me a $4 gift that I would mean a lot (or make something that I could treasure), than putting no thought in to a $500 gift card... seriously! The best gift I've ever rec'd from Chris was when I was pregnant and had the worse fibroid pain EVER, he bought me a $20 gopher so i could pick up stuff without having to bend over! That gift was TREASURED and i used that thing until it broke! Oooohhh, one Christmas, Chris' parents bought me my FAVORITE childhood candy that you can't find in stores (Big Hunk) so they had to order it from somewhere. Talk about a gift that ROCKS :)

Different strokes for different folks so THIS valentine's day, i hope you celebrate in what works for YOU and YOUR RELATIONSHIP! What may be the sweetest and most romantic thing EVER to one couple, may be the most BORING and BLAND think ever to another couple. Whatever it be, have fun this valentine's day, and to my married friends, have a fun Valentine's night :)

driving in the snow without wings

Picture this: Texas. August. 2005. Chris and I were 2 newlyweds in LOVE and on our honeymoon in Port Aransas. You know what its like to be brand new in your marriage.. i'm talking 3 days into being Mrs. Christopher B. Knox II... nothing could erase the smile on my face! Not our first argument as a married couple in our hotel room (over chap stick), not me getting lost in downtown san antonio in a car alone with no cell phone and not being able to remember the name of our hotel. Not even the group of girls asking me if it was my Quincinera (how do u spell that?) when they saw me walking in the hotel lobby in my wedding gown. NOPE, NOTHING!

We were in love. We were 1. We were MARRIED!

We were driving from place to place just enjoying each other's company when we decided to drive to the beach :) The first day, it was beautiful! Chris drove my little Mitsubishi Mirage on the sand to find the perfect location for us to cuddle, kiss, and prove to any and everyone who was looking that we were in LOVE!!!

The next day we go back to the beach, and as Chris is driving in the sand I ask (in my newlywed 16 year old school girl crush voice) "Can I drive"... I can tell chris was a little hesitant but he said "Sure!" I get behind the wheel and as he is kinda screaming (chris doesn't really ever raise his voice so it was the closest thing to a scream he has) "Press the gas harder!! Don't let up on the gas!!!" I ask "WHAT?!" as I let my foot off of the gas!

... and that's where we got stuck! :( We were both a little dumbfounded, i was a little in shock, and chris was borderline upset (Chris never really gets upset so i'll say he was disappointed). I'm still a newlywed right, so it's "cute" that i'm stuck in the sand. No big deal, right? WRONG! Chris ended up having to dig my car out of the sand BY HAND! it took FOREVER. Remember, it's in the middle of the day in August in Texas! I get out the car, not to help, but to watch of course. After about 45 minutes a guy pulls up and tells us he has a friend who can tow our car out for a small fee of course. He calls his friend and i think he was gonna charge us like $150.... My college tuition was due in a couple weeks so it didn't take us longer than half a second to tell that guy no thanks and Chris dug some more! Meanwhile I'm searching for the camera because I have to get a picture of this!!! Still, no help from the new bride, lol.

A few minutes later, some teenage "partiers" in an old beat up car ask if they can help. By the looks of their car we were doubtful, but it managed to work :) We were free and I haven't driven on sand since.

That brings us to the current day. It's snowing outside :( Yesterday I drove on the slick roads and as I pull out of the garage, my loving husband comes to the car to tell me to "put it in 2nd gear so you won't roll" and to "drive safe" and the other precautions that a loving, responsible husband tells his care free, yet careful wife. I made it to my destination and he called to check on me :)

Today, i think i can drive in the snow right? I've been driving for well over 10 years but my loving husband pulls the car out of the garage and makes a "path" for me. He comes in with this ice shovel thing and tells me how to use it on my windshield (that ain't happening!!! Any decent man anywhere will do it for me, right ;) lol. He gives me a few pointers on safety, etc., and kisses me goodbye.

I walk to the car and go on my merrily little way. About 20 minutes and 4 miles down the road, I had to stop at a light :( I tried to go when the light turned green but guess what happened. I got stuck :( I didn't panic... i just heard my love's voice in my head and moved to 2nd gear... nothing. 1st gear... nothing! Reeve the engine, 1st gear, 2nd gear, reeve, 2nd gear... NOTHING! I called my husband... no answer. I tried again.. no answer. Still no panic because i'm a big girl now! Breathe... 1st gear.. nothing.. 2nd gear.. and SUZIE SUZUKI decided to drive! I did it!!! :)

I drive for about 4 seconds and my mind immediately goes back to driving on the sand and getting stuck. Yesterday, Chris said the Suzuki was safer to drive in the snow than the Mercedes (which i wanted to drive bc it's a manual transmission) but that thought immediately left my mind and i slowly but surely drove back home (after my trip to target, which was my turn around spot).

and the moral of this story is.... you can't drive in the snow without wings!

Toodles, MRS. C. B. Knox II