Um, no. I'm lying. We're actually planning at this point to not have kids. Ever.

What on earth could be the major life announcement?

Well, Amy and I have decided that we're going to become vegetarians, with the intention (who knows if it will happen) of eventually easing into veganism. And those who know me best dropped to the floor faster than when I faked that we were pregnant. Okay, maybe not because the idea of me raising children should terrify anyone with any sense of responsibility. But everyone knows that I love my meat.

We've really been pondering it and discussing it ever since we travelled to Toronto with Kory and Amy, who are vegans. Actually, we'd both been thinking about it independently before that time, but eating with them and seeing that veganism isn't as bad as we thought on the tastebuds brought the issue to the forefront. We've been looking at the alternatives, weighing our options and everything. With our world consciousness (saving animals and everything) and our desperate need for a healthier lifestyle, the more we thought about, the more sense it made. Plus, my discovery of seitan as a nice meat alternative makes this possible.

I have to admit that Amy is really the one who will keep us dedicated. I've said for a number of years that I would be willing to go vegetarian or even vegan if I had someone to deal with that sorting-out bullshit that goes along with it. It's weird, I just don't feel like spending my mental energy on food or bills or anything like that. I guess it's because I save that energy for bigger and better things. When I waste my time with that stuff, my mind goes insane.

Anyway, Amy has agreed to step up and be the one to do this. She's been reading non-stop for the past week. She's super excited about it, and honestly, so am I.

Now, in terms of logistics and financial necessity, we're not going vegetarian just yet. We're going to ease into it, mostly so that we can use up the meat in the house. We're also going to add in a multi-vitamin so our bodies don't crash and burn immediately. As we need more meat, we'll be replacing it with meat substitutes such as tofu, seitan, Boca Burgers, and a bunch of the various Morningstar products. Amy loves the mini corn dogs.

Once we get used to denying ourselves meat, we're hoping to slowly move our diets to more vegan alternatives, finally doing away with it all. We hope.

I guess we can't count our chickens before they hatch... though I'm not sure if our new lifestyle will disrupt my use of animal-based metaphors.

I don't know why I told everyone this on my blog. I guess it's kind of an announcement about something that has me personally excited. I'm not looking for congratulations or rolled eyes or approval or attention. Though if you're on that kind of lifestyle as I know a handful of my readers are, some tasty non-raw recipes would be helpful.

And I admit, I will have to make some exceptions. I will probably have to continue to buy leather shoes because the orthopaedic styles and ridiculous size-width combos I need only come in leather. Things that I have that are expensive to replace, such as my winter coat and my belt, are going to remain in the leather.

Otherwise, this is a lifestyle that I feel I'm certainly ready to embrace. I know Amy is. And I if this works, I may be the first vegetarian (or dare I say, vegan) who completely shuns salads.

Wish us luck.