Oh, that infamous, nearly unanswerable question--"So, what's new with you?"

Even though I just spent the evening with my parents and my Dad asked me this, I didn't give him the straight answer. Not on purpose, but just because the vast majority of us have that programmed response, "Oh, nothing much. School is busy."

But I think there are some new things in the life of Britt.

I had a fun Labor Day, helping prepare and eat Chicken Curry, potato cakes, and hummus at Shawn's dad's with his family. His sister even said, "Look! You fit in perfectly!" I won't go into the details of what I think about how I fit in with them, but I digress.

Almost humorously, I thought that Labor Day would be the last day in my life to eat meat. I've been playing for quite a while with the idea of becoming vegetarian (vegan, in fact), and this week I've started to take it to the next level. But the problem is all these food committments. And tomorrow I go to some old family friends' house for probably burgers (yuck!). But I have a hard time telling people. Usually because I think they'll judge me. As, oh, LOONY. But it's not loony to me. It makes sense in my head. And while I don't have the energy to type up all the whys of why vegetarianism/veganism appeals so much, I know I do it out of a sense of compassion. I think I'll actually be healthier thinking more carefully about getting balanced meals. Maybe I won't be able to make the change all at once, but I guess a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a step.

Ever the rebel, I'm thinking of taking a short course in naughty terms in American Sign Language. No, it's not really because I'm a rebel (although I positively am dreaming at this very moment of getting my nose pierced). But it's necessary to know those words if you work in education. This way I can shock the kids who try out all the "new words" they learn.

Wow, there are a lot of other things I won't go into detail about: how I have an interview scheduled with Big Brothers, Big Sisters (I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew), how I cooked fantastic spaghetti with sauteed veggies tonight and felt quite the accomplished cook, how I spent a day this weekend having a blast with just myself (I went to Pet Warehouse to look at all the animals, then grabbed sushi from the grocery store and ate it in Starbucks. Then I read for a while and wrote for a little bit. It was all a blast!), how the little girl in me would love to start taking horsebackriding lessons again, how I've started writing every day...

There's so much to life. Even in the shadows, it's ever beautiful.