I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. Mine was quite enjoyable. Saturday night I went to the city to celebrate the Man of Action’s birthday. A group of us had a dinner at an Italian place downtown, and then we all went to a hotel bar in Midtown which is celebrated for its pool that is nestled behind the bar so that swimmers can order a drink while submerged in four foot deep water. Even though it seemed like it would be fun to swim without doing laps, I declined, since staying dry is one of my favorite things. Besides, I was having a great time talking with the other party-goers, many of which were the few friends from high school that I would ever care to see, including the first boy I ever kissed, who I hadn’t seen in over ten years. Other than being married, he hadn’t changed much.
On Sunday, I headed to New Jersey to join the family in order to celebrate the death of Jesus at the hands of egg-wielding bunnies and his resurrection via marshmallow peeps buried in green cellophane grass. We had brunch at an Italian place, went home to play board games and nap, then we went for a walk, and then we all decided we wanted Chinese food. Ah Chinese food, the cuisine that can be counted on to be there for you on Christian holidays.
Since I’m setting my own rules for vegan March, I decided to give myself a 24-hour respite for the weekend so that I could eat at the restaurants on Saturday and Sunday without having to resort to a dinner of “mixed greens, with tomato.” I also made exceptions for the few little items I had in my house like the leftover eggs and the cup of yogurt. But now there is a new temptation that is sitting on my kitchen counter, taunting me:
Rocky Mountain Chocolate brought to me by friends who went on vacation, Girl Scout Cookies, and Creme Eggs bought for me in four pack form by a well meaning friend. Even though the temptation to eat these delicacies is palpable, I’m going to abstain, and it’s because I’ve got really disappointing news about my dairyless month.
I’m upset because vegan March is doing exactly what I hoped it would. I weighed myself over the weekend, and I’ve lost five pounds since the beginning of the month. Also, I’ve had a lot more energy than usual (which is still a ridiculously low amount of energy). There’s also the fact that I’ve had less stomach cramping (I think I’m lactose intolerant based on what happens when I eat too much cheese or drink milk in any form), I’ve saved money on groceries and eating out, and my skin has cleared up a little. There’s one other thing, but if there are any men reading this, please skip to the next paragraph. Ladies, the other unexpected result was that my period this month was totally light and almost PMS-free.
So all in all, not eating cheese and dairy seems to be doing nothing but good, and that totally blows because I love cheese and milk chocolate and ice cream. I’m also worried that come April, I’m going to devour everything in that picture in one sitting, after ordering myself a large pizza and eating the whole thing. Maybe I’ll finish it off with a celery stick, just for balance.
