Meal plan

ok, so apparently this has been missed by a few, so I will do my best to keep Meal Plan Monday going on the blog.

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal with peaches
• Cereal
• maple muffins with bananas
• toast yogurt
• scrambled eggs and veggies

Lunch:

• bean burritos
• PB&J/carrots and dip
• beans/rice soft tacos...sauteed veggies and cheese quesadilla
• baked mac and cheese
• bologna sandwich, pretzels, fruit

Dinner:

• Brown Rice veggie tacos
• spaghetti and french bread
• beans and rice with vegan cornbread
• vegetable fried rice
• chicken thighs with homemade bread and salad

assorted fruits/vegetable side dishes with the above

total cost at the store this week was $99
I expect my budget to increase as all 7 kids are home now from school. However, with almost no meat I expect it to stay reasonable. I also do not use any processed foods which helps with the healthiness of the meals and keeps the cost down too. I am expecting to explore a bunch of my newer vegan/vegetarian cookbooks this summer-I cannot wait!

More on Henry Granju

Everyday I have thought of Katie and her loss. I look at his picture and the tears well up in my eyes. I am a mother. I have a 14 year old son-the same age as Henry when his battle with addiction began. I cannot imagine going through this and doing it with the grace that Katie has done. Her pain is severe-and yet she wants to educate people on drug addiction so that maybe it will help one family to NOT have to go through the loss of their child.

She has asked repeatedly for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her sons attack that led to his death. I get the feeling that she is being stonewalled by the police-and the media storm surrounding her public blogging about the problems are very critical.

Her son was attacked. Brutally beat with a tire iron to such an extent that he had a severe traumatic brain injury and never spoke more than 2 words again during the 30+ days he was in the hospital.
The people surrounding him did NOT call 911. They continued to help ingest drugs while he lay and began to aspirate on his own vomit.
Reports say:

Partial UT Medical Center records provided by the family state Henry's injuries included, "Trauma. Right skull base fracture."

We're pretty confident that he did take some drugs later that night. But he definitely suffered some blunt force brain trauma as well as compressions to his chest based on someone was stomping on his chest over and over again,says Henry's uncle, Robert Allison

The neurologist who treated him felt very confident that a large portion of the brain injury that ultimately led to his death was caused by the beating

yet the Knox County Sheriff's office says "The preliminary investigation shows no evidence that his (Henry's) death was the result of a homicide or from the injuries he may have received from an assault. An autopsy was conducted on Tuesday and the results are pending."

How can they be so indifferent? How can those conclusions be made? Yes, the drugs certainly played a part in his death-but how could his beating not? I really hope that the Knox County Sheriff's office does some more digging and does not allow a bias to get in the way because Henry was a drug user.

Justice for everyone. Justice for Henry.

Henry Granju

Henry Granju, son of popular AP blogger Katie Granju, died yesterday from results of a serious attack and drug use that happened April 26th, 2010.

It seems unreal that a person so young could die so brutally.

According to the Sheriff’s Office incident report, as well as a family member’s account, Granju was beaten with a tire iron and robbed by three assailants during an attempted drug buy in the parking lot of the Bi-lo market, 2230 W. Governor John Sevier Highway on April 26.

The attack left the victim bleeding from his ears, with a broken jaw, broken ribs and brain injury, said Robert Allison, Henry Granju’s uncle.

Allison claims that Granju’s injuries were only complicated by a dose of methadone he was given later the same night by acquaintances, who failed to call E-911 on his behalf until the next morning.

My heart breaks for Katie. In the days following her sons attack, she went public on her blog about his drug usage and injuries-and was verbally attacked for doing so! I cannot even begin to understand what is wrong with people that they would HURT another person so badly-especially when that person is already fearing for their child's life and hoping and praying that he makes it through to the next day. It is disgusting. It was unnecessary. If you don't agree with what she did, that is fine and certainly your prerogative-you have the right to NOT READ IT. It is really that simple.

Behind these blogs, behind these words-sitting at these computers are REAL PEOPLE. Real people who feel the emotion. A real person who just lost her son.

People can sit on their high horse and pass judgment and think it will never happen to them because they are a better parent or whatever stupid reason they try to convince themselves with-but you know-it CAN happen to anyone. No matter what we teach our children or how we raise them, there comes a point where they can all make their own choices. Yes, he made that first choice to use drugs-but Henry struggled with a serious disease that he was sadly never able to overcome-addiction. And an addict is still worthy of our love, compassion and help.

I pray that Henry is at peace now. I pray for his family and especially his mother, Katie-a month away from bringing a new child into this world, and now having to deal with having her oldest son so cruelly taken away from her.

Katie, I am so very very sorry for the loss of your beautiful son. You are in my thoughts.