Me: Days 26 – 30

Day 30: September 2, 2016

I made it to Day 30. I’ll recap my thoughts in more detail in my summary post in the next few days, but right now I’d give myself a B for my 30 Days of Me.

I made a lot of progress on my goals – health-wise and debt-wise. There were some things I did really well at, and some decisions I could have chosen more wisely.

I’ve got about month and half before the deadline for those goals, so I am going to keep working on them to the best of my ability, and I plan on having an update for everyone mid-October with good news. =)

Day 29: September 1, 2016

Damn you Matt! I sent him to Publix to get some wine for the dinner recipe and he shows back  up with French Onion dip and Ruffles chips. There’s a reason why we don’t keep that stuff in the house – it’s waaaaay too tempting. Le sigh. I guess a few won’t hurt…

So bad, but so good…

At least I worked out today and followed up the chip indulgence with a healthy dinner – Parmesan-Crusted Avocado Benedicts. I think I found our new go-to weekend brunch staple.

Day 28: August 31, 2016

PAY DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I have been waiting for today for the past month, as we get paid out our monthly bonus on the last paycheck of the month. July was my best month ever, so today’s paycheck was the highest one I have ever received. I used the proceeds to pay off my two credit cards and add to our savings. We still have about $1,800 left on Matt’s Amex from recent travel purchases we had to make for upcoming trips, and about $2,150 left on our Line of Credit from when we moved. (It turns out that coming up with the first and last month’s rent AND multiple deposits adds up quickly.)

That leaves us with about $3,950 before we are debt free again.

I am hoping we can have that taken care of by the end of September, or by my birthday at the latest, in accordance with my goal. That means we have to tighten the belt a bit when we are home over the next few months. Good thing we have a ton of shows on Netflix we want to watch…

PS: I paid off the couch today. The boys love it…

Day 27: August 30, 2016

Bam! Double dippin’ today. I hit up the gym in the morning and over lunch. It’s actually not so bad to workout over lunch. The few times I have done it now, I am able to make it there, change, workout, change back, and return to the office in under an hour (or just about). I brought my blow dryer to the gym, too, which definitely helps reduce the sweatiness when I return to my desk.

For dinner tonight I tried another new recipe for artichoke cakes. The were good, but a little too artichoke-y for my taste. Matt doesn’t like artichoke very much so he didn’t like them. I think if I made it again, I would make it as a dip and add more vegan Parmesan cheese…

Day 26: August 29, 2016

Let’s talk about Mondays for a sec. Like Fridays, I find it crucial to workout in the mornings on Mondays. I don’t know what it is, but when I get home from work on a Monday, the last thing I want to do is work. Or workout. If I don’t do it in the morning, then it doesn’t get done.

Adding to the mix is the fact that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays there is a class at LA Fitness at 8:30am, which means I have to be done working out around 8:15am at the latest lest I risk the wrath of the ladies who like to come in early and set-up their area. Which is fine, except that Matt is in charge of waking us up in the morning, and on Mondays especially he likes to hit the snooze one too many times. Normally I can let this derail me and skip the gym, but today I made sure to squeeze it in, even though I was rushed.

Success!

No Drinking: Days 26 – 30

Day 30: March 22, 2016

Well, it’s my last day of abstaining from alcohol, pop, and coffee. I have to say I am super glad I decided to do this the past 30 days. It really helped me kick-off my new workout program in a positive way, and I feel like I have made much more progress in that program, and have been much more productive at work this past month.

For the most part it has been pretty easy to cut these beverages out of my life, which I find reassuring. Yes, there have been a few days where I could have enjoyed a cocktail or a coffee, but I’m glad I exercised the self control to skip them and give my body a break.

I’ve gone 30+ days without drinking before, so I knew I could do that part, but I’ve never combined that with not drinking coffee or pop, so the totality of the experience was definitely new for me. I think blogging about it made it easier, too, since my friends and family knew what I was doing and why, and so I had their support through the last 30 days.  (Except for a few times when Matt tried to peer-pressure me into a cocktail. Naughty, Matt!)

Final Matt Update: He’s at the computer right now. I have to say, I am really proud of him for committing to working on his music every day. Things have been happening so quickly for him now, I am determined to continue to support him as he pursues his dream of becoming a full-time DJ and producer.

Day 29: March 21, 2016

The countdown is on. Only one more day!  I got this. Today my worker and I actually went to Starbucks, but instead of a coffee, I got a hot chocolate. I know a lot of my Minnesota family and friends will make fun of me for getting a hot chocolate when it is 68 degrees outside, but I have to say, after almost three years in Florida, my blood has definitely thinned out, so to speak.

Not only was it cold outside, but it was freezing in the office, as per the usual, so the hot chocolate made that much more sense. Plus, as discussed in previous posts, I have been doing really good at watching what I eat and my portion sizes over the last few weeks, so I was able to justify a little caloric treat in my mind (although I did get soy milk and skipped the whipped cream).

Day 28: March 20, 2016

Sunday Funday! Just kidding. More like Sunday Get-Shit-Done Day.

Today I got up and worked out, then I had to head south to pick up Matt and Chris from Miami. Have I mentioned that I hate driving in Miami?  The lanes are so narrow and everyone is going 90 mph and texting, it seriously stresses me out. The fact that I made the drive just goes to show how much I love Matt. Awww… And actually, I’m glad I did, because Matt surprised me with a gift when I picked him up: the new Thug Kitchen cookbook. (Did I mention I am obsessed?)

The only thing about this new cookbook is that it includes recipes for cocktails. Only a few more days…

Matt Update: He spent some time working on his track while I made dinner and Chris napped on the couch.

Day 27: March 19, 2016

Matt and his friend are in Miami for the weekend, so that means it’s time for “me time.” Yay! I decided to get a jump on the errands for the weekend so I went to PetSmart and Whole Foods. I will say this, going to the grocery store without Matt is less than preferable. You just can’t put enough value on a man who knows how to properly bag groceries, am I right? If you don’t have a proper bagger, then you end up with smoothed produce, like this roma tomato. RIP, little roma.

I also decided to spend some time doing some baking, and I made us these delicious apple cinnamon carrot muffins to take to work this coming week from a recipe in the Thug Kitchen Cookbook. I highly recommend it!

Besides errands and baking, I spent the rest of my lazy Saturday watching period films on OnDemand and Netflix that Matt would never watch with me. It was glorious! Especially with Oliver keeping me warm as a hotdog cat, lol… 15 pounds of kitty “beef.”

Matt Update: Although he couldn’t work on music since he was in Miami and his computer was here, I still give him credit because he actually took notes at the shows he went to today on his phone to reference when he gets back tomorrow and has time to work on his track again. Now that’s dedication.

Day 26: March 18, 2016

Today was a challenging day. It started out great, as I got to the gym in the morning and worked out, then it all pretty much went downhill from there.

First, I got to work to find that although we had cancelled the Friday morning meetings two weeks ago, there was in fact a meeting, and I was late (I HATE being late). Then I had a particularly challenging meeting, which, even though it was challenging, I am grateful for, because if everything was easy peasy, you would never grow. But it just sucks sometimes when you go from being late to a meeting, into a challenging meeting back-to-back, you know what I’m saying? #firstworldproblems, I know. After the meeting I decided to do something to move the team in a positive direction, which was not reciprocated. I can’t feel too bad about that, though, because at least I tried to open a dialogue to address the issue.

After that, I remembered that my coworker is going to be out all next week again for paternity leave, so that means I’ll be doing double duty and the only internal contact for all of our reps. At least it’s not promo time like it was a few weeks ago when he was out, so I have that to be grateful for, but I know that next week will be challenging.

Of course, the first thing I thought of was getting home and having drink and relaxing on the couch. But since I’m not drinking, I decided to wind down by researching other ways to destress after work besides a nightcap, so that I am ready with alternatives when my 30 days is up on Wednesday. Here’s what I found:

Yoga, Reading, Cooking, Taking a Walk, Meditating, Taking a bath (I’ve never really been a bath person, but I guess I could give it a try), Play with the cats (we definitely need to do this more!), Writing (I found this one pretty interesting. I have been thinking about starting up a creative writing project. I used to write all the time as an adolescent and teen and then stopped when I hit college.)

What do you do to unwind after a long day of work that doesn’t involve a drink?

Matt Update: He had a little time to mess around on his track this morning before they headed out for the day.

Gratitude: Days 26 – 30

Day 30: December 15, 2015

Today I am grateful for my cell phone.

I can’t believe this wasn’t the first thing I was grateful for, but I guess it just goes to show how things can get so easily overlooked when it comes to gratitude.

Honestly, I don’t even know what I would do without a cell phone (that’s sad, I know). I use my cell phone all the time. We don’t have a landline at home, so our cell phones are the only phones to reach us on. I use my phone for my camera. I use it for directions. I use it to settle ridiculous arguments with my friends or to look up information online. I use it as my calendar. I use it as my plane ticket. I use it to read the news. I pretty  much use my cell phone for everything.

Now, I am old enough to not have acquired my first cell phone until I was a junior in college, and I didn’t have the internet for my entire life, so I still can recall the days of taking notes in an actual notebook and having to go to the actual library to do research. In essence, I remember a life without cell phones (barely).

Since I have come to use my cell phone at this point for so much, I am very grateful that I can afford to get a nice one (I don’t need the newest iPhone by any means, but I keep quasi-current). I am also very thankful that I can afford to pay the monthly phone bill – Can I get an “amen” to that?!

So the next time you are looking for a quick gratitude fix, take a moment to tell your cell phone that you are glad you are have it, and are thankful for the life you live that enables you to afford it.

**Today’s note went to my wonderful husband, tucked into his lunchbox.

Day 29: December 14, 2015

Today I am grateful for my glass tupperware collection.

I’m sure Tupperware doesn’t appreciate me using their brand name as a generic term, but oh well. I also realize that showing appreciation for food storage containers probably dates me, but again, I don’t really care.

Without my tupperware collection, I would not be able to bring my food to work every day. I’d also probably use a ton of plastic baggies, etc., if I didn’t have my containers. I love being able to bring healthy food to work and to be able to save leftovers from other meals throughout the week.

I actually really enjoy solving the puzzle of “which container is going to be the perfect fit for these leftovers?” Also, the actual storage of the storage containers provides another challenge that I actually enjoy conquering on a weekly basis. I pretty much have it down to a science, depending on which containers are clean and need to fit into the cabinet..

I’m also very grateful that we have been able to upgrade most of our tupperware from plastic to glass. Not only does the glass not stain, but it also doesn’t leak nasty chemicals into our food, and it much safer to use in the microwave. It’s certainly not as cheap as the plastic kind, but in my mind, it is worth it to get the higher quality glassware considering how much we use it.

**Today’s note went to a fellow lover of Irish boy bands.

Day 28: December 13, 2015

Today I am grateful for our debt tracking board.

First of all, what exactly is a “debt tracking board?” Well, it’s a little black dry erase board that we keep on our refrigerator door that lists all of our debts on the left and all of our savings on the right. It is a daily reminder for ourselves to continue to be smart about our money and to work towards our shared goal of becoming debt free.

At the bottom is the word “Freedom” in giant blue letters, since that is what being free of debt represents to us (see 30 Days of Cash Only for more details).

Since our board is on our refrigerator, anyone who comes over can see it and knows exactly where we are at in terms of debt and savings. Most people might freak out even thinking about that, but I believe that to hide it is to be ashamed of it, and being ashamed of your money situation is a major roadblock to actually changing it.

We are not ashamed of our debt. We own our debt. There are many things that contributed to that debt that Matt and I are incredibly thankful for – trips, DJ equipment, being able to move to Florida, etc. If we never would have gone through this process of paying off our debt, then we might not be able to appreciate it as much when we do pay off the last of it.

Holding ourselves accountable via our budget tracking spreadsheet and the tracking board have allowed us to reduce our debt by over 60% in the last 2.5 years we have lived in Florida (not going out us much or having our friends and family to see every weekend also helped), from over $37,000 down to under $13,000. That is why I am so thankful that Matt was onboard (no pun intended) with using our debt tracking board.

**Today’s note went to a high school friend of mine.

Day 27: December 12, 2015

Today I am grateful for our cat tree.

I’m not going to lie, this was an impulse purchase. Matt and I have been meaning to get the little hambinos a tree for a long time, but we just couldn’t justify the $179.99 price tag. The other day we went to PetSmart and they had them on clearance for $69.99, so we pulled the trigger. The boys couldn’t be happier!

They immediately jumped on it and started laying in all of the different layers. They now like to sit on their perch and watch the people and dogs below in the park, something they couldn’t do before when they were on the floor level.

I’m so thankful we have our little bears, since they bring us so much joy every day (even when they’re being little shitheads). Seriously, the joy of owning a pet is something that everyone should experience, although many people do not have the means to. I’m glad we are able to have our little turkeys, and that we can afford to give them a good life and treat them with things like the cat tree.

**Today’s note went to two old friends of ours.

Day 26: December 11, 2015

Today I am grateful for our beach radio.

I remember the day we bought this from Target for a friend’s birthday party she was having on a pontoon boat. We said we would bring the portable radio, as we were looking to get one anyways. This one was by far the best sound out of the ones available at the time (this was 5+ years ago), but it was over $100. Matt and I decided to spend the money and get this one over the cheaper options, and I am so glad we did.

This little radio is the shit. Seriously, we have gotten well over our $100 worth from it. You plug it in and it charges the battery, which lasts for hours, even when you have an iPhone plugged into. That, in and of itself, is pretty amazing.

Also, in the words of Timex, it takes a licking’ and keeps on tickin’. This radio has been to the beach with us pretty much every time we have gone, and has a crapload of sand in it. And yet, it continues to work, and to produce a high quality sound at a pretty amazing volume for such a little radio.

I’ve talked about the power of music before, which is why I am even more grateful to be able to have this little beach radio so that we can listen to our music wherever we want, whenever we want.

**Today’s note was sent to a workout friend of mine.

 

No TV: Days 26 – 30

Day 28: September 6, 2015

This will come as no surprise to any of you, but pretty much all we did on Sunday was watch tv. Ugh.

After our definitely-heart-UNfriendly breakfast we ordered as take-out (You’re welcome West Palm Beach), we watched some of Kill Bill Volume 2 on tv as Carrie and Jai packed up and got ready to go back to Minneapolis. =(

We took them on a quick tour of Palm Island and all of the mansions? compounds? homes? of the 1% of the 1% that live there. We did manage to snag a free parking spot, so at least we were able to get them a picture at the beach, if we never actually ended up making to the beach as an activity. All the more reason for them to come back and visit us, right?!?!?!?!?!

Needless to say, once we dropped them off at the airport that evening, all Matt and I could do/wanted to do/were capable of doing was going home, flopping back on the still blown-up air mattress and watching tv.

And let me tell you, It. Was. Glorious.

Day 27: September 5, 2015

As it turns out, Friday was our last official day of no tv.

We ended up turning on the tv for a bit on Saturday as we nursed ourselves back to health to face day 2 of our Reunited-And-It-Feels-So-Good (except for right then) weekend.

By this time, I was happy to comply, as we discussed how vacations in our 30s are different than vacation in our 20s. In our 20s, we would have been up at noon, feeling fantastic, ready to pour it on for another day and night of shenanigans. There would be no tv, only blasting music as we geared ourselves up for another best. day. ever.

In our 30s, however, vacations have come to include, out of sheer necessity, hangover recovery time. Instead of getting up at noon, we were all awake by 8am, feeling like crap, and no one could get back to sleep. By 2pm, we were up-and-at-’em, but still feeling like crap. By 8pm, we were feeling better, but only because we had stumbled off the wagon again and back into happy cocktail zone on our rescheduled sunset cruise. The cocktail train proceeded until 2am, when no one actually remembers going to bed, but we know we did because that’s where we woke up the next morning (minus a few other events in between that must remain in the memories of us four only. What happens at the Banyan tree, stays at the Banyan tree).

Sunset cruise!

Day 26: September 4, 2015

Friday was a pretty easy day to go without tv. I left work at 1pm to head to the airport and pick up our friends Carrie and Jai for the weekend. After we got Matt from work, what can only be described as a “descent into debauchery” commenced.

We took them to our favorite place for happy hour, Kabuki, then ended up over at Le Rendez-Vous once we found out our sunset cruise had been cancelled due to weather. As pretty much any post that includes Le Rendez-Vous goes, the night started to go downhill quite quickly once we took shots of Vincent’s homemade Fireball.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of fun, and I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants many times. It was the kind of night that one has with best friends that live thousands of miles away and haven’t had a chance to hangout with for a whole weekend in years. But I need to set it up properly so that you will understand my next post…

Besties.

I blame Vincent.

Cash Only: Days 26 – 30

Day 30: July 29, 2015

Today I flew back home to West Palm from Dayton, OH after our appointments for one night in my bed before we jet off tomorrow evening for Chicago to go to Lollapalooza.

The first thing I did when I got home was to balance the checkbooks, since I knew Matt had used his debit card in my absence. It was a good thing I did, since he only had about $9 left. Somehow he had gone through over $100 on gin, parking, oil for the car, and eating out in the two days I had been gone. As the saying goes, when the cat is away the mice will play…

To be fair, I did have the last of the cash with me in case I needed it, so technically, we ended our 30 Days of Cash Only with $54 left to spare. That’s plenty to get us through tomorrow and grab a quick bite at the airport tomorrow night before we fly to Chicago. We both get paid this coming Friday, so we just need to make it through tomorrow before the coffers can get replenished.

And that’s it, folks!

Day 29: July 28, 2015

After our appointments in New Jersey on Tuesday, we flew to Dayton, OH to get ready for another round of meetings on Wednesday in the Dayton/Cincinnati area.

Again, nothing too exciting here since everything was paid for by work, so this will be a pretty brief, dull post.

Day 28: July 27, 2015

Another day, another work trip. On Monday afternoon I headed out to Newark, NJ with my coworker. This was my first time in Newark, and let’s just say it was interesting… We had to drive through downtown Newark to get to our hotel, and I’m glad that drive took place during the daylight hours, if you know what I mean.

There isn’t too much exciting to post about when I’m on my work trips because I don’t really spend any money. Everything goes on the corporate card, unless I do an excursion, which did not happen since it was already close to 8pm by the time we got to our hotel.

Day 27: July 26, 2015

Today we went to the grocery store and ran our errands for the week. We were trying to keep it relatively cheap a the grocery store as Matt was the only one who needed any food for work, and that was only for a few days since we leave for Chicago on Thursday and I am heading out for another work trip on Monday. We ended up leaving Whole Foods with a total bill of user $80, which is pretty good for that place.

As for our cash reserves, we definitely have depleted them a bit over the last few weeks, taking out $20 here and $40 there to over us, but in the end, that’s what I built it up for, so I don’t feel too bad about that.

After the errands were done we did some more shopping to finalize the items we wanted for Lolla. I used up the last of my $150 in gift cards, and ended up paying $0.81 cents out-of-pocket for a dress as Francesca’s.

We even had enough left over from our thrifty shopping that we decided to stop at Mellow Mushroom for dinner and Sunday happy hour, something we pretty much have avoided this whole month. We each had a few celebratory cocktails to commemorate our progress, and shared a pizza. All in, we were under $40 including tax and tip. Take that Rachael Ray! J/k…

Day 26: July 25, 2015

At my work we have a rewards program, where you can earn points for various things, such as having an anniversary, winning a contest, or doing something well. I recently had my one year anniversary, so I was awarded some points that I cashed out to get us $150 in Visa gift cards (1 point = $1). I had been saving these for this weekend so that Matt and I could use them to go shopping and get some new stuff for Lollapalooza next weekend.

We ended up going to the outlet mall by our house. I scored two new pairs shoes – one for Lolla and one for work, and a new dress. Matt picked up a new shirt and hat for Lolla. We used the gift cards for each purchase and ended up getting everything for around $120, with $30 still left on the cards. Shopping without spending cash?  It’s awesome.

We did have one incident, though, where $25 ended up getting put onto Matt’s Amex. =( It all started when we got to the mall and decided to split up for a while so Matt wouldn’t have to wait for me to try things on at Express. He left and went out on is own. As I was done at Express, I went to text him where I was going next, only to realize I had forgotten my phone at home. Doh.

First I decided to wait outside of Express until he figured it out and came back around. After about 20 minutes in the sun and Florida heat, I abandoned that plan. Next I decided to make the most of my time, and to continue my shopping, thinking that I would either find a pay phone and call Matt’s cell, or ask to use the phone at the checkout counter of the next place I made a purchase. Except, there are no payphones anymore, and I didn’t make another purchase.

Then I decided to drive home to get my phone, since the mall is only a mile or so from our house. I went to buckle my seatbelt, only to realize that it was jammed, and I couldn’t pull it down to buckle it. I was going to call Matt for help, but was reminded again that I didn’t have my phone.

Seriously irritated at this point, I drove home anyway without a seat belt (grrrr…. I ALWAYS wear my seat belt), grabbed my phone, called Matt, drove BACK to the mall without my seat belt again (double grrrr…) and called Matt to meet me in the parking lot. By now, I am also seriously hangry, so you can see where this is going…

Matt gets to the car, fixes the seat belt, drives us to Starbucks so we can get a much-needed coffee and something to eat. When we get there, though, we realize that Matt’s account on his phone is below the $25 we set as the minimum, so upon this purchase, it would automatically reload and add $25 from his credit card. You know what I said at this point?

Fuck it.

Vegan: Days 26 – 30

Day 30: June 2, 2015

For my last day of the 30 Days of Vegan, I decided to keep things pretty simple. I had toast with almond butter for breakfast, crackers with hummus and sliced roma tomatoes for a snack, and a chickpea salad sandwich with chips and salsa for lunch. I got the recipe for the chickpea salad from “The Oh She Glows Cookbook” (Are you noticing a theme here?).

Chickpea salad sandwich

For dinner, I was rushing to meet Matt and some friends at Mellow Mushroom for trivia night after yoga class, so I ended up having a dinner that consisted of hummus with baked pita wedges, and some vodka with grapefruit juice. Not exactly a meal my mother would approve of, but it was enough to satisfy my hunger while we crushed the last few trivia questions. Note: I use the term “crushed” loosely here…

Day 29: June 1, 2015

I feel like I have been to Kabuki about 1,000 times over the last 29 days, but if something isn’t broken, then why fix it? Upon my latest visit yesterday for lunch with my coworkers, I decided to again branch out and try something different, and got the Drunken Noodles to go with my veggie roll. It was good, although I thought the noodles were a touch heavy to be eating while sitting outside on a 90-degree day. Perhaps if the weather was cooler, I would have enjoyed it more. I have still yet to find anything that I like as much as the red curry, but the quest will continue.

Drunken Noodles with a veggie roll.

Since we were behind on Game of Thrones due to Beach Yoga Day, dinner was pretty simple, consisting of a veggie burger with vegetarian refried beans. Nothing too exciting there (unlike that episode of Game of Thrones, am I right?!??!?!??!!?).

Day 28: May 31, 2015

Sunday was our 2nd monthly Beach Yoga Day with the Flight Club crew. We went to Caroline’s house this time and then headed over to Delray Beach for some inversion fun in the sun. It took some time to get warmed up, but after a while I was able to get a few really good handstands and headstands in. Pincha was a bit more elusive, as I found that every time I attempted it, my elbows would sink in the sand and I would fall over. Perhaps I need to start bringing a board or cardboard for under my towel?

I didn’t take any pictures of the food I ate at dinner after the beach, but I can tell you about the dishes I brought to share (all were recipes from the Oh She Glows website or cookbook – http://www.ohsheglows.com).

First I made a mango guacamole using fresh, organic mangoes from a farm in Miami. It had avocado, mango, strawberry, red onion, and cilantro. I also made my favorite bean salad, which had blanched green beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas, parsley, jalapeno, and orange pepper. It was topped with a homemade dijon vinaigrette.  Finally, for dessert, I made these dark chocolate, peanut butter, coconut crunchy ball things. Those were definitely the hit of the party!

2nd Monthly Beach Yoga Day

Day 27: May 30, 2015

Quick yoga update before we move on to food… At Flight Club this past Thursday I had my best handstand ever, and held it for at least two breathes. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but for anyone who has ever learned how to do handstands, it was an eternity. Caroline say me do it, and was just as proud of me as I was myself. It has to be amazing as a teacher to watch that kind of progress in your students. It’s taken a number of months, but to see all of your hard work pay off as a teacher, and as a student, is really wonderful.

As a result of that class, I had a new burst of confidence when I attended Caroline’s 11am class on Saturday. During the flow, when Caroline called for a handstand our of standing leg splits, it was the first time I was ever able to actually do a handstand in class, and not just kick my legs up and down a bunch of times. Granted, it wasn’t as long as my spectacular display on Thursday night, but it was at least a breath, and in my mind, that’s legit.

After class, Matt and I ran to ChickPea to get lunch to go. I ordered the falafel bowl, which I have had before. It is one of those dishes that every time you eat it, you love it even more. What more could you ask for? Spinach, hummus, turmeric rice, falafel balls, pickled onions, beets, cucumber, tomato, cilantro tahini sauce…  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I mean, come on.

Later that afternoon, I went to a special 90-minute yoga tribute class for Paul, Caroline’s best friend who passed away a few weeks ago. I had the privilege of meeting Paul a few times at our yoga dinners and beach day. Matt got along with him like two peas in a pod as part of the Men-Whose-Ladies-Do-Yoga Club. On our last beach day, they hung out and had a few beers while the group was practicing their inversions in the sand. Although we didn’t know him for a long time, seeing the community response to his passing reminds me that sometimes good people come into your life for a very short period of time, and to be grateful for the moments that you have with them, however few.

It has also been very spiritual and emotional for me to watch how yoga has helped Caroline through this very difficult time in her life, and how the yoga community has rallied around her during this time in need. It reminds me of my earlier post during the 30 Days of Yoga, where I talked about the sense that I got that yoga was preparing to help me cope with a difficult time in my life that has not yet occurred. It gives me comfort to see that idea at work in real life.

After the tribute class for Paul, we went to a dinner at Juice and Java Cafe in Boca as a group. The cafe was gracious enough to close the entire place just for us for the night. The menu was an abundance of food that is meant to nourish your body, and I spent more time on that menu deciding what to eat than any other during the past 27 days. I ended up with a veggie burger quesadilla, made with soy cheese instead of Monterey Jack. It was super tasty, and gave me an excellent new weekday dinner idea. The only thing I would have changed was a bit more salsa on the side. But that’s because I like a certain salsa to other foods ratio that might border on ridiculous.

Veggie burger quesadilla

Day 26: May 29, 2015

Once again, I ended up grabbing lunch with a coworker today. We didn’t have much time, so we went to the Subway right by our office. I’m not sure if the veggie patty is vegan or not, but I did my best to make a sandwich that didn’t have any animal products in it (to my knowledge). I ended up with the veggie patty on flatbread, and had a side of these Pop Chip things. The hardest part was NOT getting the fountain Diet Coke. I’m proud to say that I did not give in to temptation and have remained pop- (or soda-) free for 26 days now. Woo hoo!

Attempt at being vegan at Subway.

For dinner, Matt and I went to Wine Dive. As an appetizer, we split the falafel plate, which is a dish I have always ordered there. I don’t know what they put in the green sauce that they drizzle on the plate, but it is delicious.

Falafel plate

For dinner, the menu said to ask about their vegan flatbread options, so I did. The waiter told us that it was basically the veggie flatbread, but minus the cheese. I decided to give that a try, since there wasn’t anything else that didn’t have cheese or meat in it on the menu. This is what arrived at our table about 15 minutes later:

Vegan veggie flatbread

While the roasted veggies were good, it was basically like they were served on a cracker. There must have been some garlic oil or something on the flatbread, because that was the only flavor I was picking up on besides cardboard. I definitely would have preferred this dish if they would have just served up a big bowl of the roasted veggies like a confetti salad and left the crust out of it. Note to self: don’t order the vegan veggie flatbread again.