Meat is dead

When I was growing up, and then driving, the 1989 Buick Century was plastered with a blue "Meat is dead" sticker, with an upside down cow on it. After my dad's hippie phase passed and he started eating meat again, the sticker was a reminder of the times when he didn't eat meat. I inherited the car, but not the vegetarianism. My stepsister's & stepmother were vegetarian when they moved over here, and one of them still is. I think it's amazing that to this day she can say she's lived her entire life, including gestation, never having eaten meat. And you could say she's even healthy, though managed to survive on baked potatoes and pierogies for quite a long period. Gotta love picky vegetarians.

I may have mentioned my decision to go meat-less as my New Years' resolution, and I'm writing to say that it's still going strong. Yes, I have not eaten meat since January 1, 2010, which is a whopping 29 days. And I'm proud, because I've made it through almost a month. To be fair, I didn't expect this to be amazingly difficult, given my housemate is a vegetarian, though a very lax one at that (pâté de foie gras is one exception). I am not tempted to cook meat at home. I am tempted and give into temptation in a lot of my dreams, which is a strange thing for me. The other day, I was offered a roast beef sandwich, and I ate it, then realized I would have to start over with my vegetarianism. Whoops. Good thing it was only a dream. That wasn't the only one, but the details of the others are fuzzy at this point, and thankfully they are happening less and less.

So here I am, nearly done with one month of a successful resolution.

This week I'm giving up sugar. Just for 7 days. Day one was difficult. Very very very difficult. I am 200 times more addicted to sugar than I am to meat. I imagine tonight's dreams will involve every sort of delicious treat that could be thrust my way, horrible caving in, and then very intense feelings of guilt. It'll be like I'm in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I'll be Augustus Gloop and fall into the chocolate river and enjoy every minute of it because I'm a decent swimmer. Probably better in chocolate. Oh man, I could really go for a white chocolate pistachio blondie right about now. So glad I brought the leftovers to work... (Recipe here: Flagrante Delicia). Oof.