Eat It

I've got another head cold (Samson, too!), so at least I have an excuse to go so long between posts right now. That and the 100 + degree weather we've had for the last few days. Today it was back in the 70's, it's no wonder I'm sick.

Yeah, also, screw the no meat thing. Maybe just not as much meat. I won't eat the cute animals, only the animals that are jerks to their mothers and pick on the other animals at school.

Only if they invent animal-gluten-sugar-alchohol-caffeine-free bacon

A couple weeks ago, Max and I decided to stop eating meat for a little while. We are not, however, totally nuts, so we kept seafood on the menu. To go from being carnivorous monsters to all out vegetarian so quickly would surely shock our fragile systems, sending us into a deadly tailspin of tofu and brown rice.

A couple of weeks ago. Feels like a damn eternity. And when Max reads this post, he will become aware of the fact that there may have been just a *teensy* bit of cheating up in Portland, but he'll still love me. Because he knows how hard it's been for me to give up turkey sandwiches. Ahem.

It's actually been pretty great. Not great eating or tasting (although not horrible by any means), but great feeling. Like I can actually do something different and leave my comfort zone. But the reality is, I'm not leaving my comfort zone. I'm leaving my bacon-steak-turkey comfort zone and settling nicely into my pasta-cheese-pie-potato-chip comfort zone. And how, exactly, does that involve important things like "doing the right thing" or "being a better person" or "living more healthfully?" Granted, not eating animals (except fish, yes) is all of these things. In fact, this whole challenge started when we watched Babe recently (who knew bacon was so damn cute??). But It hasn't given me the sense of hope and accomplishment that I thought it would, the hope that I could loose some goddamn weight and that I could have more energy and that I could feel better about myself. It's hard to have hope for these things when dinner has 3 different types of (delicious) full fat cheeses in it and and a quarter cup of brown sugar. So I like my pasta sauce sweet, you wanna make something of it?

Then Dooce and Mighty Girl jumped on the Oprah train and I'll be darned if I'm not thinking about trying this 21 day cleanse thing, too. Minus the meditation and visualization. Cause that's not how I roll.

Of course, all of this comes up right when I'm getting ready to start giving meat to the baby. If I can't have turkey sandwiches or bacon, I'll make sure he gets all of the turkey sandwiches and bacon in the world.

It was over before it even began

I got fitted for new contacts today, Third time's a charm is what I'm hoping. The disposable store brand that I tried in 2005 just made my eyes feel tired. The Irish store brand dailies that I tried in 2007 literally make my eyeballs hurt. And since I can't take a hint, even when nature might as well have spray painted on my wall in 12 foot tall letters YOUR EYES WERE NOT MADE FOR CONTACT LENSES, attempt number three was today. This time, I asked for the most premium, top of the line, moisture filled lenses they make, and we'll see what happens. So far, so good.

So after I got fitted, I of course had to go to the Walgreens next door for the obligatory cheapo sunglasses that I love to buy and can only wear with contacts and are actually 99% of the reason I keep trying contacts. I found a great pair of huge glamor frames, and as I walked by the brightly colored aisle of Easter candy, I said to myself, "Self, this is going to be the first year I can remember where I go through the whole season without eating any Cadbury Creme Eggs." After all, I've been attending boot camp more or less regularly, I've been more or less sticking to the points diet, and I'm making some headway on the small elephant sized amount of weight I'd like to loose this year. But getting through an entire Easter season without eating ANY Cadbury Creme Eggs is tantamount to going to Disneyland and not riding Space Mountain. And not because it's closed for renovations, but because you choose not to do the most fun thing in the world ever.

And I didn't get a Creme Egg, and I didn't get any Mini Eggs. But my brain was not entirely convinced that this was a good idea because as I walked by the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, I reached out and grabbed one.

And I ate it in the car on the way home. And it was delicious.

And I will still get through Easter Season 2008 without eating any Cadbury Creme Eggs.

You're so cute, I could eat you up...how many points are you?

I've gone and joined Weight Watchers. Yup. I'm going to try and get rid of some of this baby weight. Then I'm going to try to drop the "I'm leaving Ireland soon so I better get my fill of curry fries" weight. Then I'll try to loose the Turkey, France, Italy and Portugal weight. Then I'll work on the "I'm leaving San Francisco to live in Ireland for a year so I better get my fill of Raja's Indian Pizza" weight. I mean come on, they have pizza with tandoori on it. It's especially good when dipped in chicken tikka sauce. And they deliver. Sigh.

I've heard good things about people's experience with the whole points system, especially after having a baby. So far, I like keeping track of all of the points. It's like a game. A game where I go to bed hungry and dream about cheeseburgers.

It's working well with the Disneyland trip; I get to set two-month short term goals, like fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes and getting to the point where I eat 3 different kinds of veggies each day. And I can celebrate my inevitable success with cotton candy! Can you say counter-productive?

On a completely unrelated note, I discovered today while listening to Andrew Bird that I only like "blues" music when the part traditionally played by the harmonica is played by a violin or a trumpet or some other horn, but not a saxophone. I found this to be interesting and enlightening.