My Introduction

Welcome to my blog! 

I’ve set up this writing space to detail my journey through life.  I intend to focus mainly on veganism, exercise, and tea.   

Most of my life I have been put off by meat but it wasn’t until 2005 that I went vegetarian and then in 2009 I became vegan for ethical reasons.  I really enjoy trying new vegan products, recipes, restaurants, and vacations and I intend to write a fair amount about these new experiences. 

 

Exercise and sports are another interest of mine.  Ever since I was 12 I was interested in weightlifting and before that I tried ballet, baseball, and softball.  Most of my life I have been extremely active and fit but in 2005 I broke my hand very badly which caused a great deal of pain and caused me to become depressed and gain about 60 pounds.  This was not an ordinary break and it took doctors a month and a half before they realized my knuckle had slipped half way down my hand because the hand was casted.  After that, I needed surgery in which they had to put a plate in my hand and re-break the bone.  Since then I have lost 40 of those pounds.  I now weigh in at 145 pounds but I would like to be 130 pounds.  Recently, I started back into weightlifting and running after having a lung infection.  The antibiotics used to treat the infection caused a rupture in a tendon in my foot, so that put me out of commission for a while.  Now I am back to exercising while trying to manage my arthritis.  My ultimate goal is to run a marathon if my knees will let me.  Running, weightlifting, swimming, hockey, hiking, biking, elliptical, snowboarding, and kayaking are my main exercise interests and what I intend to focus on for the exercise portion of this blog.  

Tea is a great passion of mine.  I am the owner of the tea company Butiki Teas (www.butikiteas.com).  I sell only vegan teas and do not use artificial flavorings.  Many of the flavored teas are my own creation and all of the teas are high quality.  Ever since I was young, I loved sipping tea while talking with friends and family.  It wasn’t until college that it became a passion.  I was so focused on my studies that I didn’t have much time to relax so I started enjoying tea breaks as a way to reduce my stress.  In this blog I will mostly focus on reviewing books, dvds, tea recipes, and introducing new teas.