1 Year Vegan Anniversary

And they said it wouldn't last... That it was just a fad... That it was a diet... That I would get bored... That I would break down & have a burger... To all the naysayers I say... Haaaa Haaaa!!!!

I DID IT!!! 

One full 365 day year of being Vegan & I'm still loving every bit of it!

I love that I'm eating clean & organic.

I love that I have more energy than ever.

I love that I'm stronger & exercising at my  most challenging level.

I love that my diet does not hurt 1 single animal on this planet.

I love that my diet does not destroy the environment.

I love that I'm getting all the protein I need through plants.

And I also love that I'm comfortable with my body & that my diet suits me like no other ever has.

It's also extremely motivating that I'm dating someone who (although he isn't vegan) eats clean & works out as much as I do! He is my rock & my support system & he cooks for me ALL the time!

Like scrambled "eggs" tofu...

Raw Veggies that I slice up...

And he grills up!  Grilled Vegetables are my absolute favorite thing to eat right now! Trent just brushes them with olive or grapeseed or avocado oil & then he throws them on the grill on medium-high heat, flips them until they are nice & cooked perfectly to my taste! The whole cooking process takes less than 10 minutes! And the prep time is just a few minutes of slicing up veggies! 

So I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when he agreed to do a 3-day juice cleanse with me! Now I am NOT the type that does a cleanse! Seems too extremist to me normally...

But after a year of completely changing my diet, it just felt like it was time to go to the next level & do a REAL detox!

The couple that cleanses together -- stays together!! Ha ha he he 

We are currently on our last day of the cleanse & so far, so good! I'm not hungry & I'm not too tired. I feel a bit off balance because I miss chewing food & I definitely miss my daily cup of coffee. I have been sleeping more, but that's a good thing for me! And I have only had 2 slight headaches. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to re-joining the food world tomorrow!

And true-to-his-form... Trent has been all gung-ho about this cleanse! He has inspired me to stick with it & not give up & he has even worked out while on it! I have not. I worked out 5 days in a row before the cleanse so that I could take 3 days off, if I needed to. I feel ok on the cleanse but not good enough to exercise. My fear is that I'm not taking in enough calories to sustain the work-outs I usually do & then go to work all day, as well.

This cleanse is also kicking off a month of "going dry"... You heard right... I'm taking a break from alcohol.

Trent & I have had A LOT of fun at the Las Olas Wine & Food Festival...

The Jimmy Buffet Concert...

And plenty of other social events around town! But I have noticed that being social, often includes drinking a cocktail or 2 or 3... & I need a break! For my health & well-being, I'm skipping the champagne & doubling up on salads!

And other healthy choices...

Even being Vegan requires making the right food choices, otherwise you can overdo the carbs & the calories too! So once my cleanse is over, I'm back to my lifestyle of moderation which is essential!

And when my life is in balance, I tend to smile more... Don't you?!

Vegan in Love

Sooooo... You all pretty much know the heartbreak I endured in 2013 going through my divorce & losing my father... All within a few months. But so many of you sent me your prayers & positivity & promised me 2014 would be my year! And guess what? It certainly is! Especially since I have fallen madly in love with the man of my dreams!

But you know it wouldn't be Jacey's crazy life if there wasn't some WILD back story about how I was able to pick up the pieces of my broken heart & learn to love again, right? Well of course! Because a healthy dose of drama follows this TV girl around... Or I cause it... One of the two!

Let's start off with the fact that Trent Aric & I have known each other for 10 years! We have worked together for the last decade. I used to anchor the weather & he used to be the Boss in that department - we weren't so crazy about each other back then. I was a little hot-head firecracker who didn't take kindly to being told what to do & we were both kids, just little youngins' starting out in TV in Miami. There are actually a few email "fights" we had back in the day, over the stupidest things, like space in the weather office, food in the fridge & the type of maps we built! Comical now, we laugh at how ludicrous they were, but at the time, neither one of us would ever have believed you, if you told us we would be a couple one day!

Fast forward 10 years & we're back anchoring together on weekend nights - but now with me in the news department & him definitely NOT my boss. We've seen each other date, get engaged, get married, get divorced, embark on other relationships & finally be single... All relatively along the same timeline.

Right around my birthday, we were both in the same single boat, when two of my closest girlfriends decided to play Cupid (Tory & Giselle I'm calling you out & giving you credit all at the same time!) & hatched a plan to get the two of us together. I had never looked at my co-worker & friend as anything more than that... But now I started to. You know how everyone always says "Timing is EVERYTHING"? Well it definitely is! Our lives had pretty much run parallel over the last decade with each of us doing the same things, separately. But now for the first time, they were poised to become perpendicular. 

I had no idea when I went out with Trent for the first time, that it would actually turn into anything more than a fun friend to hang out with. We were both single, not looking for anything serious & we both love to travel. I think we both thought it would be nice to have a buddy. We never knew that our first date together would pretty much change our lives!

This night was the first time we both knew we had fallen in love & we were in big trouble! I jest about the trouble part, but falling in love is scary, you're taking a risk, making a leap of faith, tearing down walls you built up after being hurt in the past & exposing your extreme vulnerability, all for the chance, almost a gamble, that you hope you have met your match. 

After my divorce, I was scared, I didnt know if I would ever find love again. I didn't know if I deserved to. I didn't know if I believed in the fairy tale & the happy ending. To be honest, I was pretty negative. Divorce destroys a part of who you are, along with the love story you grew up believing in. But nothing restores that better than finding your other half. Before Trent, I never believed in soul-mates. I certainly didn't think that there was one particular person on this planet tailor-made for me. That's ridiculous right?! I mean, come-on, what if my person was in Paris & I was in Key West... How would I find him? But lucky for me I actually did find HIM. You can officially call me the sappiest, love-sick, annoying, obnoxious, rose-colored glasses wearing, glass-all-the-way-full optimist! And I will own it 100%!

Life has never been better! There are sooooo many cliches that I now whole-heartedly believe in! First of all, everything really DOES happen for a reason! When people were saying that to me during my divorce, I was saying, "Yeah but for now, can somebody just find a human-sized spatula & scrape me off my floor?!" I thought I was dying at the time! No matter how many times people told me "EHFAR," I couldn't wrap my head around what the reason would be that my husband would leave me... And I certainly could not comprehend that it was meant to happen for a greater purpose. Little did I know what the future would hold! And by future, I mean my past brought into my present. 

Wow! Mind blown!

I also have a VERY WISE friend that once said to me: "Relationships come about through Love or through Compatibility. But the luckiest people in the world find both." 

Sasha Tryson, truer words have never been spoken! I never thought much about being compatible with someone... I was just searching for the spark, the butterflies, the head over heels falling feeling. But to have all that with someone that you have the same likes & dislikes, ethics, beliefs, thought processes & personality too? 

Jackpot! 

I feel like I have won the relationship lottery!

Puzzle-Pieces. That's what we are. 

And now I believe that EVERYONE can have true, respectful, caring, selfless, compassionate, unconditional love. 

Just be patient. Wait. Pray. Believe in yourself. Know that you deserve the best. Your match is out there. Failed past relationships do NOT predict your future! Maybe we all need to fail in love in order to learn how to succeed. I have learned a lot & I have grown more in the past year than I thought was emotionally possible.

Find the one that makes you smile... & laugh. Look for the person that lets you actually be YOU! I always said, "I know I'm crazy... but I want a man to love me & my crazy!" It's a package deal, right?! And it takes a real man to step up & say, "I love you & everything that makes you who you are... the good... the bad... the pretty... the ugly... ALL of it"

So don't hold back. Tear down your walls. Expose your emotions. Take a chance. Gamble on yourself. Open yourself up to love. It doesn't matter if you've been hurt, or if you failed, or if ten years of your life were spent on someone who didn't really want you the way you were. All that matters is that there IS someone out there that is looking for you right now! And guess what? They want you exactly as God made you! When you find your match, your puzzle piece, your other pea in your pod... Grab them, don't let go, kiss them every chance you get & tell them how much you love them every single time you feel like it... 

Because guess what?

Final cliche...

Wait for it...

LIFE IS TOO SHORT!

Keeping this Vegan Fit

Let me list my favorite things in order of importance:

1. Eating 

2. Sleeping

3. Working Out

Now I will totally admit that I do #3 so that I can do #1 & do it A LOT!

But I do genuinely love working out, not only for the body benefits, but also for stretching the mind muscle. The endorphins get me going & feeling great, I release stress while I burn calories & I leave behind the weight of the world while building muscle.

In addition to eating clean & being Vegan, I feel working out is one of the most important things you can do for your health & well-being. Just one hour a day reaps such massive benefits & provides rewards even after you've left the gym.

I usually work out 5 days a week for just 1 hour a day - 5 hours out of a possible 168! Come on - anybody can handle that! No way can you say that you can't find just a mere 4% of the entire week to squeeze in a handful of workouts!

But I will say I am addicted to exercise!

The way it makes me feel strong & powerful, the natural energy it gives me & the way I can eat guilt-free after the workout is OVER!

And my latest obsession is BodyTek Fitness! I have found my dream workout! Ok here's the deal: I used to spend an hour doing cardio (spin, treadmill, elliptical, boot camp, etc...) & then I would spend an hour lifting weights. The reason being is that I wanted to burn calories & tone up. But I wasted so much valuable time! The beauty of this little gem of a gym that I have discovered (thanks to my BFF Giselle who dragged me there on a Saturday after I had already worked out for 2 hours!) is that you weave cardio with weights & you hit it HARD for an hour straight! But that's it... When you are done with your hour, you are done with your workout for the day! No More, No Less.

I'm one of those people that will tell you, the hardest part of my workout routine is just actually getting me to the gym! But once I'm there, I am ALL in! Now I might complain & pout a tiny bit, but there is no denying that the results are well worth the effort.

But let's remember that even if you are an exercise-freak, like I am, working out is only about 30% of the equation! 70% is the actual food you put in that body of yours that you are working so hard to train!

So it's even more important that you eat clean & make healthy choices. Choose organic whenever you can & fill your diet with colorful veggies & dark green leafy greens, like kale, spinach, parsley & chard. I said a long time ago that I will never push people to be Vegan because that is a deeply personal choice & it is not a commitment that can be taken lightly.

But I will say EVERYBODY should be eating some of these every single day! Who is going to take me to task & argue that vegetables are NOT great for you! Come on! Eat as many of these babies as you want everyday, steamed, of course!

And if you'd rather gulp your veggies down quickly, then just whip your greens up in a blender with some fruit, for a natural sweetness, that will make those vegetables taste amazing & fill your tummy up with natural goodness!

(But remember with leafy greens, organic is very important since they are so porous & will take pesticides in like a sponge.)

Food planning & preparation is extremely important when it comes to eating smart. I always make my green breakfast shakes & Vegan lunches ahead of time, because I know that if I don't, I won't make the same choices when it comes to what I fuel my body with. It takes a little time to plan ahead & make food for a few days, but I love it when it's ready & waiting, when I am starving!

Even in a pinch, when you are forced to eat fast food, you can make smart choices for your mind & body. This is what I ordered at Panera for lunch when I was stuck the other day:

Veggie Sandwich with hummus on grain bread with vegetable soup & apple slices. You can always eat healthy even when you're on the go & in a rush. It's just as easy to make the right choices, as it is to eat the junk. 

Always Remember: you are what you eat!

Even my 3 year old nephew is learning about eating healthy & cooking at home with fresh veggies & super foods filled with vitamins, minerals & antioxidants.

His Mom & Dad just planted an organic kale & broccoli garden in the backyard. And I'm so jealous that this little yard oasis has inspired me to do the same in my backyard! Stay tuned as I bring my Vegan Garden to Life!! 

That is for a future blog for sure...

Until then, it's time to rest & relax after all that exercising & eating!!

 

Dog Days of Winter

Do you ever just feel happy, content & fulfilled? Life is good, right?! Maybe not as good as this newborn puppy's life is! But we all need to remind ourselves of that more often, don't you think? Well, lately the place I spend 12 hours of my day - is also the place I'm finding I'm making a real difference in this huge world of ours! 

(And perhaps the reason I have been neglecting this lovely little blog of mine!)

Most of you are aware that I am a champion for ALL things ANIMAL! I wear the "Animal Advocate" badge proudly - at work & in my everyday life. Now that I have been focused on my AA causes, personally & professionally, I have found that I have entered a not-so-secret society of amazing people fighting for the rights of helpless creatures whose only crime has been providing humans with undeserved unconditional love.

Whether I am helping to save dogs from hoarding houses...

Investigating the legitimacy of the bad reputation given to pit bulls...

Working to adopt out special needs foster animals from rescue shelters...

Finding new homes for former K-9 police dogs...

Saving dogs that have been dumped in the street, at construction sites & in the Everglades...

Or finding out if my 6 pound chihuahua has what it takes to be a service dog...

I'm really tapping into the best & worst our world has to offer. 

And by that I really mean, humanity.

I am constantly shocked by the dichotomy that exists in animal lovers & animal haters. In my description of those "animals," I would rather say they are the people that have their special spots in hell already labeled & eagerly awaiting them.

But I digress... 

Take someone like Jay Borden, who spends every cent he has, saving death row pit bulls, taking them into his overcrowded home, rehabilitating these abused dogs, patiently socializing them & then tirelessly working to find someone willing to welcome this "bully breed" dog into their home & give them the love they never knew existed.

And then take someone like Franklin Davis who repeatedly shot a beautiful pit bull named Diesel, with his pistol & then dumped him to die in pain & agony next to a dumpster in Hollywood. 

I love my job & I know deep in my heart, that my passion & commitment to animals is saving them one-at-a-time, every single day. But I still can't wrap my head around people that have bigger hearts than I can even fathom & the people that seem to have no heart at all. The amount of animal cruelty I report on is at an all-time high.

These puppies would have died at a cement construction site if it wasn't for the amazing Lisette Alvarez & her rescue group Fur Angels. As much as I report on monsters who are more animal than the creatures they hurt, torture or abuse... It's the angels like Lisette that give their time, money & compassion to dogs & cats that  many of us would never even think twice about during our busy day.

Cherie Wachter works at the Humane Society of Broward County & she's one of my best friends. What she may not know is that she is also my hero... 

As well as a hero for all things furry with four legs. I met Cherie 10 years ago & she is the number one reason I am the animal supporter I am today.

Cherie got me involved with saving animals through my reports & stories as well as emceeing humane society events.

And because of her heart, creativity & dedication, she has saved more souls than I can count, not to mention all the humans she has had a hand in converting to the sensitive side. And because of all the drops in Cherie's bucket, that have added up over the years...

We were able to make a real difference this past week. After months of preparation, hard work, fundraising, community awareness and flat-out begging for $$$... The HSBC raised well over half a million dollars!! 

That's $500,000!!!

My furbabies Simba & Jagger were there for the festivities as the unofficial mascots representing rescue dogs (since they were both adopted from shelters) as thousands of pet parents came out to support the adoption of homeless animals throughout South Florida.

We have a long way to go as a society but I have hope & I'm more than willing to carry the torch for change, that so many animal lovers & soul saver have inspired me to do. When I see the wildfire they have started, I know that I am just beginning to scratch the surface. But a pretty wise & famous vegan once said, "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it's animals are treated."

Ghandi

Those words still ring true today... We have a long way to go... I hope you join me in the journey.