Pretty day

Today it was beautiful outside!
I've been planning to do a couple blog posts on "my favorite things" and today since it was so pretty out I was going to go out and take pictures in my dresses (because dresses are one of my favorite things).
Well, it didn't quite work out the way I had planned. I have 4 dresses I was going to take pictures in, but I didn't feel like changing that many times and trying to get four good pictures.
I did, however, decide to still go out and take some pictures in my favorite dress!

Cubby wanted to have her picture taken too...

 She's pregnant, if you can't tell.

I'm still wanting to do a couple posts on "my favorite things" but I'll have to do that sometime when I feel like taking pictures of my favorite things.

Today feels like Friday. I am ready for the weekend, even though after the weekend my spring break will be over. Although, my spring break hasn't consisted of much. Just work in the morning and then resting. I don't mind though, I'm just like an old lady. And at least I have fun plans for tomorrow night and saturday!

Shoes

My favorite pair of shoes are most definitely my Toms!

(My Toms say "Make Art Not War" on them)

I wasn't wearing them that much because it was cold, but since its getting warmer I'm breaking them out again! I'm also wanting to order two new pairs (hopefully sometime this week or next week).

I want the red canvas classics

and I also want the silver glitters!

I love Toms shoes because not only are they adorable and super comfortable, but they are a great cause as well. Toms has a "one for one" policy, which means for every pair of shoes you buy, toms will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. I definitely recommend Toms shoes. They have womens, mens, and youth(for 4 to 10 year olds) styles and they also have "Tiny Toms" (for pre-walker to 4 years old)

so cute! :)

Well, I guess I'd better go. I have biology and advanced college writing homework waiting for me. Fun fun!

Vegetarian

Four (almost five) weeks ago I became a vegetarian. At first I wasn't sure if I would give up meat slowly or if I would just "try" to be a vegetarian (like still eat meat but not very often).
I went ahead and gave up meat altogether, all at once. It wasn't super hard because I wasn't a huge meat eater to begin with. I loved chicken and turkey but giving them up hasn't been too hard. I mean, I have had my moments where I've missed meat and craved it a little bit but I haven't caved in.
I'm not saying I'll never eat meat again. Because I might. I'm just saying I'm going to try my hardest to go without it. After learning about factory farmed animals and how horribly they're treated I just don't feel right eating meat anymore.
I'm going to post some of the article about factory farmed chickens that PETA has on their website, and if you read it you'll understand a little about why I feel the way I do.

"Chickens are inquisitive, interesting animals who are as intelligent as mammals like cats, dogs, and even primates.¹ They are very social and like to spend their days together, scratching for food, cleaning themselves in dust baths, roosting in trees, and lying in the sun. Dr. Chris Evans, administrator of the animal behavior lab at Australia’s Macquarie University, says, “As a trick at conferences, I sometimes list [chickens’] attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people think I’m talking about monkeys.”^{2 Chickens are precocious birds. Mother hens actually cluck to their unborn chicks, who chirp back to their mothers and to one another from within their shells!3 The intelligence and adaptability of chickens actually make them particularly vulnerable to factory farming because, unlike most birds, baby chickens can survive without their mothers and without the comfort of a nest—they come out of the shell raring to explore and ready to experience life.} 
But the more than 9 billion chickens raised on factory farms each year in the U.S. never have the chance to do anything that is natural to them.⁴ They will never even meet their parents, let alone be raised by them. They will never take dust baths, feel the sun on their backs, breathe fresh air, roost in trees, or build nests.
Chickens raised for their flesh, called “broilers” by the chicken industry, spend their entire lives in filthy sheds with tens of thousands of other birds, where intense crowding and confinement lead to outbreaks of disease. They are bred and drugged to grow so large so quickly that their legs and organs can’t keep up, making heart attacks, organ failure, and crippling leg deformities common. Many become crippled under their own weight and eventually die because they can’t reach the water nozzles. When they are only 6 or 7 weeks old, they are crammed into cages and trucked to slaughter."


All of the above article was taken from the PETA website, here is the direct link to the page about chickens: http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens.asp
You can also learn about other factory farmed animals on their website. 


A lot of people have said to me that God put animals here to provide for us, and I'm not arguing with that at all. I'm just a very compassionate person and my heart breaks for the animals when I see the way they are treated. And I know God understands me and the reasons why I'm doing this and I don't think He looks down on me for living off of the other things He put on earth to provide for us. 
And to end this post I also want to say that just because I've decided to become a vegetarian doesn't mean I'm a "crazy" vegetarian. I don't look down on people who eat meat and I don't get offended when people eat meat around me. Being a vegetarian is my personal decision and I would never judge or discriminate against someone for not being a vegetarian. 

Songs I couldn't get enough of in 2009

The wind blows-All American Rejects

Falling in love at a coffe shop-Landon Pigg

Cant let go-Landon Pigg

Boy with a coin-Iron and Wine

Samson-Regina Spektor

Look Up-Bradley Hathaway

The Chain-Ingrid Michaelson

Fireflies-Owl City

Vanilla Twilight-Owl City

If my heart was a house-Owl City

I'm not ashamed-Hillsong kids

Merry Happy-Kate Nash

Nicest thing-Kate Nash

Coney Island-Good Old War

Maybe Mine-Good Old War

Thats Whats wrong-Good Old War

I'm not for you-Good Old War

Stolen-Dashboard Confessional

Closer to Love-Mat Kearney

I'm sure there's more, but these were the first ones that came to mind.

Blah

After one semester of college writing I am so tired of writing! I have to take Advanced college writing next semester too, so I have a feeling my poor blog will be left without any updates again next semester : (