The SNAP Challenge

I am taking the SNAP Challenge. What is this you ask? SNAP is the acronym for the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka America's Food Stamps. The government program which benefits financially struggling families in The States, is scheduled to be the victim of budget cuts in November 2013 and will drop the benefit level from the current average of $1.50 per meal per person to less than $1.40 per meal.

I decided to take the challenge for 3 days. In anticipation, I have carefully planned my menus to stay within the $4.50 daily food budget, while also trying to maintain some sort of nutritional balance. I am a vegetarian, bordering on vegan, so avoiding higher priced meat cuts is not a problem for me, but staying within the RDA for fruits, vegetables and grains is another matter.

The challenge begins tomorrow, and in preparation, I am soaking white beans overnight to provide carefully measured protein for two days and simmering oats on the stove to make hearty oatmeal for the next 3 mornings.

While I'm not someone who minds cooking at home, being vegetarian it is certainly more in line with my diet and lifestyle, the rigidity of controlled measuring and meal planning is something I haven't spent much time doing in the last 10 years. Making a good living in a comfortable job has allowed me to have a rather Laissez-faire attitude towards portion control. Perhaps the waistline tells the real story.

I will report back tomorrow with the Day 1 menu and my thoughts on how the day went.

Why the Dan Stevens Cruelty Must Stop

I’ve never personally written anything about an actor, but I feel compelled to write something for Dan Stevens.

The past few days, after the Christmas Special aired in the UK, I have been shocked to see unnecessary ugliness, and in some cases downright hatred for the man, over his decision to leave Downton Abbey, and the manner in which his character, Matthew Crawley, was exited the show. Oh, there have been some words of support, but they don't get the airplay the ugly does.

I had seen articles for some time that Mr Stevens was considering leaving the program, but as a massive DA fan myself, I was still sad to learn he was officially gone. While I’m an American in the US, and won’t actually see the series 3 “Christmas Special” until sometime in February when it airs on PBS, one would have to live under a rock to have not seen all the spoilers about the finale this week. 

All the online chatter I've read has got me to thinking about what it is that an actor does and why it affects us so deeply. (That is probably the inspiration for a different blog entry.) While I am not a professional actor, I have done a bit of theatre and television commercials, really as a hobby while raising my daughter. For a living, I work for a major US corporation. It’s a fine job, I make enough money to support my lifestyle, and it has opened my world to many wonderful friendships and lovely opportunities. What would it be like, however, if I were to want to leave this job-- say for my childhood dream of acting? 

My daughter is nearly graduated from university now, and once again I think about that dream, its possibilities and the new sacrifices I would need to make for it: I am somewhat known in my current job, respected by many people in the industry and if the indicators are accurate, apparently well-liked. I believe I do a good job at helping my internal sales teams do well and I think folks would be sad to see me leave. But what if I gave my notice and there was an outcry from every single one of the people I’ve come to know over the years? What if they began to tweet and blog ferociously with their opinion of my decision? What if they said they hated me and wished that I would fail in my next endeavor? It seems obvious, but clearly that would not be a very smart way of trying to get me to stay. In fact, I would likely become weary of their comments and begin to avoid them altogether. It would certainly not stop me from leaving. On the contrary, here’s what it might do, it might cause me to feel sad and maybe even a bit frightened. What is it about humans that we feel we have the right to our own demands at any cost? Consider for a moment that each of us must make decisions based on our own place in this world. What is it we are here for? Is it to fulfill the desires of others, or is it to provide a very real impact in our own way, following our own inner voice?

Frankly, it’s none of our business why Dan Stevens wants to leave DA. He may well love the program, but feel a deep burden for another calling on his life, one that he should not have to share with us. He may have family reasons (like I did) or he may simply feel the need to spread his wings and fly.

So, please, let’s give Dan a break. He deserves to follow his dreams just like the rest of us, it just so happens he must do his dreaming in public. For that we should cut him some slack.