It’s sugar-water and I’m not kidding!

Bring one cup of water(purified) to a boil and add one tablespoon of sugar. Stir and let cool. Add it to a bottle with a fine mist. It’s that simple. Store in refrigerator. Shelf life is a week.

A few extra tricks:

1) Rinse nozzle under hot water after each use to avoid clogging.

2) Let hair dry completely before adding another layer.

3) Find the right mixture for your hair, it doesn’t matter if you just want a small hold or an 80’s do, simply add more sugar for a stronger hold or use less for a weaker concoction.

4) Optional: By adding a tablespoon of vodka or isopropyl alcohol, it can extend shelf life.

5) Optional: You can add a few drops of any essentials oil for scent. Also, Rosemary oil is said to add volume.

Where do you start when you begin a bucket list? Completing my childhood dreams seemed like the only logical decision. I didn’t find a desire for all the things that I use to want to possess or achieve. How do I feel about that horse that I spent nearly a decade asking for? No, thank you! To my surprise, being a vegetarian seemed to be the one thing that stuck out the most. All the materialistic things that I could have bought for myself to attain my childhood visions and I pick the one thing that was to require hard work, dedication, self-control, and let’s not forget a whole slew of bad habits and emotional dilemmas that I would be forced to deal with. Clearly, this wasn’t going to be easy.

So, the story begins, when I was just 5 years old I stumbled onto a picture of my father working at a slaughterhouse. Next to my dad hung a cow upside down by a hook, its eyes was still open, though I do believe it was dead. Those eyes still haunt me to this day. It was the moment that I realized that beef comes from cows. It was a traumatizing experience and I began to wonder why we would kill to eat but if my parents, family and friends all did it, then it couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Fast forward a decade and add a significant amount of weight to a child who dared not to question society and you would find a very unhappy teenager. Obviously, the McDonalds, Super Mario, and Simpsons routine of the stereotypical 90’s, middle class child had taken control of my life and my body. How much weight, you ask? In the 5^th grade I was already a whopping 180lbs, by the end of middle school the scale pushed 220lbs and as a newly licensed driver I weighed 260lbs. Though, at this point in my life, this detail played no part in my thoughts of vegetarianism. It was freshman year when I took Biology and was required to dissect a fetal pig as part of the curriculum. It was a reminder of my ideals behind the slaughtering of animals for gain only to man. I was disgusted enough to not touch pork for about a month but the truth was I had done been brainwashed into believing the western culture diet was the only option and long been addicted to the greasy, fatty foods that it made readily accessible.

This leads me back to present day and the attempt to assemble my bucket list. The idea of vegetarianism is something I’ve thought about my whole life, a desire that I refused to explore. How can something be so important to someone and yet, they are so quick to believe it impossible? I had somehow managed to lead myself down a path that I wished never to take. I did not like this person who had let themselves down but I had no time to sulk over the past, if I was to make change I would have to figure out why I had not taken the less beaten path and overcome these obstacles.

My starting point wasn’t to change my diet, I would first educate myself. I visited the PETA website to attain more information; it offered me ideas, resources, and support. It also told me that the easiest way to maintain a vegetarian diet and to deal with the back lash of society was to define my reasoning for my choice. I then turned to my local library. Reading gave me the knowledge and confidence in my decision and the ability to defend my ideals. The first month was difficult and I slipped up a lot. Then, I came across a book called Veganist by Kathy Freston, it’s a fantastic read and it gives insight on all the different positive aspects a vegan diet will bring to your life. After getting halfway through chapter 3, which talks about viruses, my choice to be a vegetarian became my choice to become a vegan and I haven’t touched meat, eggs, or dairy since. I feel confident in my decision and believe I have the power to tackle such a lifestyle change. The best part is I have found out that this choice will also help me in my quest to lose weight, become healthy, and help make a greener world.

A note to the skeptics: At the age of 24 when I started this, I weighed 276lbs. I’m at week 10 in my vegan journey, including that month that I was a “failed” vegetarian and I have already lost 28lbs. Watch me go…

-Jessica Marie LaPelusa

There came a point in my life not long ago that I began to question the path my life is headed. It was to be expected, when you’re unemployed and broke you have plenty of time to think. On this particular day, I sat on my bed and reflect over the last 24 years of my life. “Am I happy?” I ask myself that at least a dozen times. Even though I knew the answer, I didn’t want to answer it honestly. It’s easy to make excuses but to face the truth is where you really find out who you are. Isn’t that the problem with the world today? We make excuses or blame others for our misfortunes and we never have to face anything when you have reality TV and Facebook to distract you. I don’t want to play the victim because I know in my heart that I have the power to make a difference not only for myself but for the world. That’s how this whole thing began. I knew it was time to start construction on my life and what an overhaul I have begun. It hasn’t even been a full month since the start of my lifestyle rehab and it already hasn’t been pretty but I know that tearing something up is required to rebuild something beautiful.

I thought that writing my bucket list would be a good place to start. It wouldn’t tell me my whole purpose to life but it would be a start, plus I thought it would be a fun project. I let myself dream big even if I felt like it couldn’t be done. My only stipulation for each of the events to make my list was a reason why. These reasons didn’t have to make sense or even have to be anything grand, there just had to be one. Number 6 on my list is to have dreadlocks, simply because I’ve always wanted them. How could there be any better reason than that? Through starting my bucket list I have begun to find other project and adventures that I want to pursue, things that I feel will shape my life and hopefully help shape the people and places around me. So, here is my journey that I want to record and share with you. –Jessica Marie LaPelusa